That Night.

Chapter Four

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"You'll be fine, Harry, calm down."

I look up at the Ministry entrance. The trial starts in ten minutes, and I think I'm going to vomit. 

As we walk in everyone's staring at me. Everyone. They don't try and hide their whispers, some people point, one person even laughs. I look down. Severus puts his hand on my shoulder and steers me to the lift.

When it starts moving, the twists and turns almost make me vomit. I clutch my stomach and his arm. Somehow, he's standing completely still, and doesn't fall over when it stops.

"Five minutes, Harry. We need to go inside."

"I don't know if I can do this," I mutter. Madame Pomfrey gives him a nod and walks inside herself, leaving us. "Harry, you need to calm down. It's going to be fine. You need to do this for him to go to Azkaban."

"What if I freak out? Will that affect it? I think I'm going to throw up. What if I throw up in the courtroom?! What if I faint or something?! What if he-"

"Calm down. No, if you have an attack it will not in anyway affect it. If you need to, we can walk out. If you faint, I can use a rennervate and you'll be awake in a second. He won't do anything."

He gives me a moment before he takes my shoulder again and walks inside. He takes us over to one side of the room, and sits down. I sit next to him, Madame Pomfrey on the other side. She was able to heal everything last week, but everything is still really sore, some of it burns still, but now they can't get infected.

Uncle walks in with that Kingsley person. His hands are behind his back, handcuffed. He turns his head, looking around, and his eyes stop on mine. 

He licks his lips and winks, as if to say you are mine. 

He's led to the middle of the courtroom and sits in the old looking wooden chair. The cuffs are uncuffed, and then his wrist' get cuffed to the armrests, ankles to the legs. "Vernon Dursley, you are here on charges of rape, child abuse and child neglect. How do you plead?"

His lawyer, I think, the man sitting next to him, looks at Ms. Bones and states "Not guilty."

Madame Pomfrey is called up first. Pictures are pulled up and shown to everyone, so everyone can see, of me. What I looked like before the healing. She goes over what she think caused them, and she confirms that they were clearly caused by abuse. One of the Ministry's Healers comes up and says the same thing.

Then it's my turn. I have to sit where they were sitting, in a comfy chair next to Ms. Bones. She starts asking me questions, like "Were you abused," or "How long has it been going on?" or, and the worst, "Can you tell us exactly what happened when he raped you?"

I tell them. Quietly. I don't think anyone can hear me but her,  because she's leaning closer, like she's having trouble hearing what I'm saying. I can't do it without crying.

I'm weak. And stupid. 

I start sobbing when they ask if I can tell them about the abuse. I can't do it.  But I have to. Otherwise I'll be sent back to him. That... that can not happen.

"H-He's beat m-me as long a-a-as I c-can remember. E-Even when I d-didn't do a-anything. M-my r-r-room was th-the cupboard under the stairs. L-Last year I-I broke out. The W-Weasleys had come for m-me. There w-were b-bars on m-my window. H-He fell out o-of the w-window, t-trying to stop me. I-I wasn't s'posed t-to go b-back t-to school."

She stops me, thank Merlin, but nods to the other lawyer. He stands and starts asking questions rapid fire. I can't even answer them, stutters come out and he moves onto the next. "Mr. Potter, the defendant claims you tried to get his entire family sick three weeks ago. Is this true?"