AN: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Chapter 6

"As you know Harry, I am your father. So I am technically not kidnapping you." James explained merrily as he flew the remains of his and Sirius' lunch to the sink. The two had spent the short meal reminiscing, while Harry had sat insolently on a couch, refusing to join them.

Continuing to ignore him, Harry did not respond to James. "You're not exactly making this easy for us you know." He said, showing for the first time some annoyance with Harry. "I am not asking for you to jump into my arms and profess your love for me, though don't let me stop you if you get the urge, I'd just like you to give us a chance." He finished as both he and Sirius rose.

Sirius went to the corner of the room and brought back with him the two brooms. Harry eyed them with barely veiled distaste. "Too late Harry, you can't pretend to hate Quidditch, James has already seen you. So get off your bum and come play." Harry got up and grabbed one of the brooms before Sirius had time to rethink his offer. If they wanted him fly, he'd fly. And if they were stupid enough to trust with a broom then they deserved whatever they got.

Angrily he strode to the door, and was only slightly surprised when it opened despite James' earlier warnings. The brightness of the sun gave him a moment's pause, his time in the house had seemed like hours, but instead it was still light out, extremely light. After his eyes had adjusted appropriately, Harry glanced behind him to see if the others had followed. Unfortunately for him, they had.

Though on another note, the self-assured grins had slipped from their faces in replace for what might have passed for a worried expression. Harry felt a small bit of satisfaction at that, they should be worried. He walked a bit farther, examining the area with each step.

If Harry hadn't known better he would have said he was somewhere near Hogwarts, that was the only possible answer. There was nothing, trees, and a lot of green, and nothing surrounded this place. He was in the middle of nowhere. Harry could have been in the muggle world for all he knew. Shrugging away the disappointment from not finding anything familiar so as to guide him in his escape, Harry stopped walking.

Remaining mute he mounted the old Moonbeam and flew steadily into the sky. When he was a reasonable distance, above the trees and unable to see Sirius' and James' faces clearly, he started to fool around. Though definitely slowly, the Moonbeam still worked. Harry closed his eyes briefly, savoring the feel of the wind on his face, as he did a few loops and drills. Neither of the two on the ground showed any sign of joining him, so Harry decided to test their trust.

He broke east, flying straight, his intent obvious. After Harry had flown a half a mile or so he began to sense a change in the atmosphere. The weather was still warm, the sun still shinning, and yes unfortunately Sirius and James were both still visible. Deciding to ignore it, Harry continued. The farther he flew the more intense this feeling became, almost like those power surges young wizards experience when doing experimental magic. Realizing he did indeed have a problem but unaware of what do about it at the moment Harry just flew.

Then it came, this feeling of deep pressure, pushing against him and his broom. Harry fought like he would a gust of wind, head down and almost parallel to the broom. The closer he seemed to get to this invisible barrier the more difficult it became to fight it. But fight it he did. Harry flew determinedly, calling out once when he fell back a little. After a particularly tough section, the sensation ceased. Poof, it was gone.

Harry sat back and shook his head in wonderment, what the hell was that? The answer was that it was some sort of restriction barrier was clear, but how had he gotten through it then? Not wasting any more time to ponder his good luck, Harry sped off. He decided to continue in the same general direction, not wanting to be slowed down by any more barriers he might come across.

James was only momentarily surprised at what his sin had done. He had forgotten how powerful Harry was, and because of his mistake Harry had managed to escape. Not for long. James summoned a broom from within the house, his Quidditch broom kept in a trunk, away from baby Harry. While his Eclipse took it's time getting there, Sirius mounted his broom.

"Well isn't it good to know he's on our side?" Sirius said in hopes to lighten the mood. What Harry had just was no ordinary feat. He'd be willing to bet James might not be able to cross the barriers.

"For now. Now start the spells." Aha! So he had been right, James could not fly through like Harry had. Smiling to himself Sirius began to do as instructed.

"Oh and take that stupid look off your face, I definitely could get through there! I am just choosing not to in this case." He said pointedly as he too began the spells to bring down the barriers, while his summoned broom lie at his feet.

"Sure Prongs, anything you say." Sirius answered, still grinning.

James shook his head and sort of sighed grunted in disgust, Sirius wasn't sure which. It took a full five minutes to bring down the barriers that Lily had so easily put up so many years ago to keep James from getting fined from being seen by muggles, again.

They lost no time, quickly flying through the air. They could see a small black dot in the distance, rapidly becoming smaller. Both put in an extra burst of speed at the sight. He was farther away then they thought, and he was only becoming harder to see. Deciding this was not the time to point out what a great flyer Harry was, Sirius kept silent.

After thirty minutes of solid flying, Harry finally disappeared. James continued at the same pace even though they had lost sight of their prey. For another ten minutes they flew without a glimpse of him. Dejectedly James slowed. Sirius gratefully followed suit.

They then apparated to Godric's Hollow, not an easy feat mounted on a broom. Once inside the house James spoke. "You do have to admire his mettle though," he said switching moods like a pregnant Lily. Sirius decided to be grateful for James' happy view on what had just happened, because he knew that Lily was not going to be so. Adding Harry to that mix and he would have had three very pissed off Potters on his hands.

"Guess we really can't put this off any longer can we?" James asked hopefully, glancing warily at the fireplace. Sirius shook his head no, equally displeased about what they had to do next.

~ ~ ~

"I told you so." Lily said simply as James and Sirius appeared back at the Black Manor minus Harry. She had warned them when they had told her of their hair-brained scheme to kidnap Harry, for the second time, but did they listen? No. Lily had refused to participate, knowing it was not going to work, and had told them where she would be when they needed her help.

Lily had instructed Molly months before, right after summer had begun, to put a tracking device on Harry. Dutifully Molly had replaced it every Sunday, so it would not wear off. Unbeknownst to Harry he was being tracked, and could be found within a matter of moments. If not for this reassurance, Lily would never have let him go so unsupervised all summer.

Carefully putting away the last of the plates she had been washing to distract her from worrying about Harry, she went to the cupboard. Lily drew out several long pieces of parchment, all with various scribbles on them. After placing them on the table she weighed them down with table condiments before facing the dubious men.

Remus had arrived shortly after the other two, confirmed that they had indeed "misplaced," according to Sirius, Harry, and had gone to bed. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and although the afternoon's activities did seem promising, he needed rest. So opting to sit this adventure out, Remus had tiredly made his way to bed.

"Now according to this, Harry stopped at a wizard house in Humdry, flowed to Diagon Alley, and then to the Burrow; which is where he has been for the last two and a half minutes. Who would like to explain to me how he got there exactly?"

"Why? You just did a very nice job of it, we'll just be going to the Burrow, thanks for your hel-"

"No Sirius, now James," she said turning towards his husband. "How did you manage to lose him?"

James wasted no times with excuses. "He flew through the Quidditch barriers." He said with far more pride in his voice then embarrassment.

Sirius apparently thought he needed to put in his two cents worth. "Yea it was great, didn't even think twice about it, did it on an old Moonbeam too!" He said excitedly as he waved his hands about with no semblance at all to a broom or person.

Lily seemed to accept this rather well; at least now that she knew that Harry was safe at the Burrow. Before reading the maps she hadn't spoken to either them since her initial cold greeting. "Maybe you two should give Harry some more time," she added helpfully as she sent the pieces of parchment away with a simple flick of her wand. "Everything else hasn't worked, perhaps taking things gradually may be better."

James and Sirius seemed to think about that for all of two seconds before shaking their heads no. "Wouldn't work, we gave him the whole summer to adjust. Prolonging the inevitable any longer will just make it worse for all of us for a longer period of time." James pointed out reasonably. "You want to join us this time?"

~

Ron climbed the creaky stairs to his room quickly, taking them two at a time. A minute ago Harry had returned, a broom in hand, and apparently early from wherever James and Sirius had taken him. They had all just returned from Diagon Alley with their supplies, Mrs. Weasley had Harry's in her bags, and was sitting down to lunch when the owls had arrived. Two Hogwarts owls dropped two identically heavy envelopes in front of both Hermione and Ron before taking flight. The third owl was an ugly old black thing, and dropped a brown envelope on the counter; it was addressed to Harry Potter.

Ron and Hermione hadn't paid any attention to the third letter, so immersed in their own. Hermione ripped through hers first and gave a triumphant shriek. "Yes! I knew it!" She yelled whiling shoving the Prefect's badge in Ron's face. That gave Ron pause. If Hermione had gotten a Prefect badge, and that was no surprise there, then what the hell had he gotten?

Gingerly Ron finished pealing of the Hogwarts seal. Cautiously he peeked inside. There was something gold and round in there that looked suspiciously like what Hermione was holding in her hand. Ron was shaken from his revere as George grabbed his envelope from him. "Noooo." Fred moaned. "Say it isn't so…"

"Not another one!" George put in gloomily.

"Oh hush!" Mrs. Weasley said after grabbing the package from George. "Ohh I am so proud of you Ron! Another prefect!" Then she seemed to remember Hermione, "Congratulations Hermione, though I am not surprised in the least." She finished as she handed the envelope back to Ron, who finally had a chance to read it for himself. Though still shocked Ron managed a grin. Him, a prefect, imagine that!

It was then that Harry had bounded in, disrupting the happy mood. He did not even bother with a hello, he just went straight for the stairs. Mrs. Weasley had then yelled up after he had dissapeared, though he hadn't answered. Mrs. Weasley had begun muttering to herself before shoving Harry's envelope to Ron and ordered him to follow. It wasn't like he would have done anything else, Ron thought as he reached his bedroom door.

Ron knocked as he opened the door, figuring Harry wouldn't have answered anyway. As Harry wasn't packing his trunks are doing anything drastic, he was simply lying on his bed, Ron didn't panic. He tossed Harry his letter before flopping down on his own bed, in a pose similar to Harry's. Harry caught the letter and opened it wearily, not bothering to sit up. Ron stared at the Chudley Cannon's poster, giving Harry time to read his post.

"Great, I've been summoned to go to court in front of the Ministry of Magic." Harry grumbled before throwing a now crumbled piece of parchment to the floor.

Ron bolted up in surprise, hitting his head on the low ceiling on the way. "WHAT! They can't do that! What's it for!" He yelled before running and picking up the summons to see for himself.

Harry smiled at his friend's outburst which was so typical for Ron. "Apparently there was a Dementor attack near the Durselys. When they went to check up on me I wasn't there. So now there're calling me in for not being with my legal guardians… what bs. I bet Fudge is behind this!" Harry finished vehemently.

"Uh…" Ron began after reading the letter. "Didn't your aunt try to poison you?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes well apparently that isn't grounds for running away." Harry finished with disgust. "So you want to play Quidditch?" Ron looked at him as though he were insane. "Guess not, oh well then I suppose I should show this to your mother then." Ron bobbed his head stupidly in agreement before heading to the door, parchment in hand. He paused only to be sure Harry was following.

Harry tiredly rose, wondering when it would all end.

Ron stopped at the landing before the final steps to enter the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was most likely to be. "You first mate." Ron said stepping aside to allow Harry to pass. Harry muttered something beneath his breath before going down. He checked to make sure no one else was there, though he didn't know why he bothered, they'd find out anyway.

He spotted Mrs. Weasley sitting at the table, drinking tea while reading the newest Witch Weekly. He pulled out the chair on her right and sat down while Ron did the same on her other side. He slowly slid the summons to her, watching as she carefully put down her paper and picked up his. Her eyes widened as she read the letter. "They cannot do this! They can't do this! Don't you worry Harry I'll speak with Dumbledore and he'll clear this all right up." She finished trying to mask her worry as she patted Harry comfortingly on the head. Mrs. Weasley then rose and immediately set to work on a letter for Dumbledore.

Two Days Later

Harry had been unable to avoid the summons, despite Dumbledore's aid. Though Harry had yet to see the man this summer he had been told he had been kicked off the board and was therefore unable to help Harry that much. Presently Harry was running with Mr. Weasley down the Ministry of Magic's building late for his court date. This however was not any one's fault; the meeting had been moved forward unexpectedly, though Mr. Weasley assured Harry that he need not worry. After a few more minutes of weaving between wizards, they reached a large oak door. Mr. Weasley pulled up to an abrupt stop and wished him luck before shoving him inside.

It was dark, though the room was better lit farther away from the door, Harry wasn't anxious to get to that side. He walked slowly down the aisle, if he was late he might as well savor the few moments he had before hearing his fate. The long room seemed to take only seconds to cross as Harry approached an area that resembled a muggle courtroom.

As he neared the front of the room he was able to make out a group of older witches and wizards seated together higher up than the seat left for Harry was. Fudge was in the center looking entirely too self-assured and important. Harry didn't recognize any of the faces but their names plaques showed that at least some of them had relatives that attend Hogwarts. Harry read off Bones and Friaw, two names he recognized before coming to the end of the row, where Percy Weasley sat. Percy was sitting by himself while scribbling furiously, doing everything but meeting Harry's eye.

Harry was interrupted from his observations when Fudge's voice commanded him to sit. After doing so his 'trial began.' "Mr. Potter are you aware of the Dementor attack in Little Whinging?" Fudge boomed loudly from his high seat. Harry didn't respond immediately, choosing instead to get something out of this. If Harry was doomed to hell then so be it, but he'd be damned if he didn't take Fudge with him.

After a full minute the silence was broken. "Hmm Hmm Hmm." Harry resisted the urge to stare at the hideous witch who was coughing unceremoniously, clearly trying to catch Harry's attention. It did not work. The little toad tried again before Fudge interrupted her little coughing fit. "Mr. Potter we are waiting…" He finished while waving his wand menacingly.

Harry sighed dramatically before rubbing his eyes, then temples, as though exhausted. "Define aware Sir." He said finally.

Fudge sputtered, his face became dangerously red and his veins on his neck very pronounced. The ugly dumpy woman at his side mimicked his appearance but had no problem speaking. "How dare you! You insolent brat you are lucky we are giving you a trial at all! Bring in the vertiserum!" She shouted gleefully to the guard at the door.

Harry didn't bother to turn; he heard the door open and close, then open again moments later. "Is that legal minister, I mean administering a highly dangerous drug to an unwilling fifteen year old?" The minister shook his head jerkily in 'yes' before turning to watch the guard approach with the serum. "Alright just be sure that everyone stays to hear my confession about Voldemort's resurrection, which DID occur in June." He finished loudly so that even the deaf old wizard on the end of the panel could hear.

Smugly Harry put his hands behind his back, reaching behind the chair, and tipped his head back. He opened his mouth widely and said, "I'm ready when you are minister."

As Harry stared at the ceiling a face blocked the view, "I do not believe that will be necessary."

AN: PLEASE REVIEW!!!I know it's been a while but I am having extreme technical difficulties…I have the next two chapters all typed up but my internet connection isn't always working…so bear with me please.

Thank you to all my reviewers, and please keep reviewing!

The reason as to WHY exactly Harry's on trial will be revealed in the next chapter.