The next two days passed easily for Jamie. She finally got to enjoy the company of her family. By the end of the second day, she had forgotten all about the hearing.
She was talking to Ron on the couch, while Sirius had a rousing conversation with the twins when her mother and father came in.
"Jamie." Her father said quietly.
She stopped in mid sentence, and looked at him.
"Can we talk to you for a moment in the kitchen?" He asked, Jamie could see the worry lines deepen in his forehead, her mom looked frightened.
She frowned, not sure what they were so worried about.
The reason hit her like a train. She felt her stomach tighten, she felt like she was going to be sick. This time tomorrow night, she could be trapped in the Malfoy manor... she could be with her blood father.
The thought made a shiver run down her spine.
She got up weakly, and followed them into the kitchen. She sat stiffly on a chair, trying not to show how afraid she actually was.
Her mother and father sat opposite her.
"Dumbledore and I will take you to the Ministry tomorrow." Her father said.
"Your hearing is at 9 in the morning, so we will have to be out of here by 8:30."
She nodded.
"What am I suppose to say?" She said, trying to sound strong.
"Tell them the truth." Her father said.
"It's our best defense now..."
At 8 the next morning, Jamie trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen, collapsing on to a chair.
Sirius, her mother, and father were all sitting at the table; drinking coffee.
"Morning." Sirius said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.
She looked at him blankly, and nodded.
"Jamie, have a bit of breakfast dear." Her mother said, pushing a plate of toast towards her.
"I'm not hungry." She croaked.
They sat in silence. The time seemed to speed up as they neared their leaving time. Before Jamie knew it, she was standing at the door. Her mom hugged her tightly, tears in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll come back." Jamie said, not sure that it was the truth.
Her father took her hand, and pulled her into the street. Albus was standing there, waiting for them. He held out his arm for Jamie.
"Good morning! I will be apparating with you my dear." He said brightly.
Jamie nodded, not trusting her voice. She grabbed his arm, and the next moment they were at the ministry. It was a blur as they headed to the room her hearing was to be held in. Jamie's main focus was on not throwing up. They stopped outside a large oak door. Dumbledore smiled at her, and turned her to face him.
"Just relax Jamie, everything will be alright." He said soothingly. He then took a hold of her arm and steered her into the room.
There were seven people in the front of the room, they already looked ready to hand her over to Lucius, who was standing in front of one of the podiums facing them. There was a small crowd of people that sat in chairs along the wall. Jamie recognized most of the faces as known Death Eaters, probably there to make sure she wouldn't escape, if the ruling was in their favor. Lucius looked at her with a fake smile plastered on his face as she stood behind Dumbledore who took the second podium. "Anna Taryn Riddle. Can you please step forward." Came a voice from a stern looking woman. Jamie felt her stomach drop, as she stepped in between the two podiums.
"We are here today to discuss the matter of your custody, to which one Lucius Malfoy is claiming that you are by law suppose to be in his care. However, you have instead been raised by Arthur and Molly Weasly. Is that correct?" She asked.
"Yes, that is correct." Jamie said, her voice cracking slightly. The woman raised an eyebrow.
"We will start with Lucius Malfoy." She said, looking at the man to her right. He smiled at the lady.
"Your honor. I would like to bring forward the evidence of the will, left by her father who was her only surviving caregiver." He held up the document.
"In this will, he states that I something were to happen to him, or if he should disappear, that Anna's care should be given over to myself, and my wife."
"I would also like to say, that my family is much more capable of financially supporting Anna in the future, and that we have more time to spend with her, making sure she is living up to her full potential." He finished, and shot Jamie a look of triumph.
"In defense?" The woman asked, turning to Dumbledore.
"Your grace, I would like to ask Anna a few questions that I think will help shed some light on the situation." He said, turning to her.
"Anna. Are you happy with the Weasly's?" He asked her politely.
"Yes, yes of course I'm happy." She said quickly.
"Do you wish to leave them, and join Lucius in his home?"
"No." She said firmly, not looking at Lucius, though she was sure she heard him make some sort of noise behind her back.
"No? Even if it means having less opportunities? Less money?"
"I love my family, I do not wish to leave them." She said, holding her head high.
"I rest my case." Dumbledore said simply.
Jamie felt shocked. What? That was it? He just expected them to let her go, just because she didn't feel like going with the Malfoy's. Jamie hung her head, knowing all hope in returning to Grimmauld place was fading fast.
"We will discuss our decision, and return in a moment." The woman said, getting up with the seven other individuals, and leaving the room.
She was sure she heard Lucius chuckle lowly. He had won; Jamie guessed he had something to be pleased about. Her father would probably reward him when he brought her within his grasp, honor him with something. The seven judges filed back into the room, they sat down and the woman looked at Jamie.
"We find no reason at this time to hand over custody of Miss Anna Riddle." Jamie felt her whole body relax with relief. She heard Lucius make a surprised noise beside her.
"We do however, believe that this case should be monitored, incase Anna changes her mind, or the court finds reason to believe the Weasly's are no longer taking proper care of her. Therefore, the case will stay open until she comes of age."
With that, the seven judges filed out of the room.
Jamie was ecstatic; she couldn't believe they had won! She turned to Dumbledore, and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you." She whispered excitedly in her ear.
He chuckled.
"It was you that did it Jamie, not I." He said softly, beginning to walk towards the door. She followed him, but felt a hand pull her backwards.
She turned to face Lucius, glaring at him.
"You lost Malfoy. Let go of me." She snarled.
He chuckled darkly.
"My dear, the game has just begun Anna." He said mysteriously, and withdrew a letter from his coat.
"Your father asked me to give this to you, in the event that we lost the case, which we have... for now."
He placed the envelope in her hand.
"See you soon." He said, smiling evilly at her, he stepped quickly out the door, followed by the mob of death eaters her father had sent with him. Some of them shot her angry glances, others looked curiously. Jamie waited till they had all filed out of the room, then she went out to the hall. Dumbledore and her father were talking, but they stopped when she emerged. She smiled at her father, and ran up to him, throwing her self around his neck. He laughed and hugged her back.
Jamie felt truly happy for a moment, but the voice of Lucius echoed in her head.
The game has just begun Anna.
The game has just begun...