Hey, NeoRyu777 here!

I have not abandoned my Bleach fic, but sadly I have had to completely drop my World series... It's a shame, but I just couldn't keep going on it. There was no more growth to it, and I was fighting for every paragraph in the last chapter or two.

Anyway, this idea has been bouncing around in my head for years... Ran it by a friend of mine who insisted I publish it, at least as a one-shot, but I AM amenable to continuing it.

This takes place in OotP, diverging near the start of the trial.

Chapter 1: Turning the Trial

In the Ministry of Magic, a rather famous teenage wizard was being subjected to a trial in which the entire government as represented. Under normal circumstances, any boy would be shaking in his robes. However, the circumstances were far from normal. Firstly, Harry Potter was rather angry; he'd had a trying summer, and now he was being put on trial for defending his and his cousin's souls from dementors.

"Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric...Brian...Dumbledore."

Second, Harry had Dumbledore on his side. He couldn't help a smirk when he saw Minister Fudge's face pale somewhat. "You, you got our message that the time and place of the hearing had been changed, did you?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I must have missed it. But by a happy mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early." He paused to let that sink in.

Third, the Minister had attempted to get Harry to miss his trial by changing the time, so they could find him guilty in absentia. This was not helping Harry's mood.

"The charges?" Dumbledore asked authoritatively.

Fudge cleared his throat. "The charges against the accused are as follows; That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, I875, and also under Section I3 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy. Do you deny producing said Patronus?"

Wanting to simply get this over with, Harry decided to play along. Besides, Fudge couldn't really do anything. The Restriction for Underage Sorcery allowed for the defense of lives. "No, but –"

"And you were aware that you were forbidden to use magic outside school while under the age of seventeen?" Fudge interrupted.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he felt a flare of anger. "Yes, but –"

And once again the Minister interrupted. "Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot…"

Oh hell no. "We're not done yet, Minister." Harry's voice was cold and low, but everyone in the courtroom heard him. "I believe there are mitigating circumstances if you would be so kind as to LET ME FUCKING SPEAK!"

A crackle of magic punctuated his demand quite nicely, making the Minister jump, startled. He was not the only one either; several of the Wizengamot had jumped back and toppled their chairs. Before they could berate him for it, however, Harry returned to his normal volume. "Unless you'd like to prove that this is just a mockery of a trial, Fudge."

"I will NOT be spoken to in such a manner!" Fudge yelled back.

Emerald eyes flashed. "I will speak to you in however a manner I want, Cornelius Fudge! You dare demand respect from me after what you've done? You threw my first friend into Azkaban, just to be seen doing something! You refuse to take the word of myself, and of Professor Dumbledore, that Voldemort is back! Who do you think gave me this scar on my arm? Who do you think killed Cedric Diggory?"

The silence was palpable, until the woman in the pink cardigan spoke up. "Cedric Diggory… was a tragic accident."

"Can we get back on topic?" Amelia Bones asked wearily. "Mr. Potter, you said there were mitigating facts?"

Harry took a deep breath to try to calm down. It only worked partway. "My defense is simple. There were dementors. I cast the Patronus to save both mine, and Dudley's lives. That falls under the exceptions clause for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry."

"Dementors? In Little Whinging?" Amelia asked incredulously.

Fudge appeared, of all things, triumphant. "That's quite clever. Muggles can't see Dementors, can they boy? Highly convenient."

Magic tingled just under his skin, prickling and almost asking to be used. "Don't believe me? My cousin's probably still recovering from nearly having his soul sucked out back at Privet Drive," Harry replied scathingly. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I almost thought for a moment I was speaking to an impartial judge. My mistake."

"You will not speak to the Minister of Magic like that!" the woman in the cardigan bellowed.

Harry felt his hair beginning to stand on end in his rage. "Like what?" he hissed. "Like a man who seems bound and determined to get me expelled from Hogwarts?"

"He's the Minister and deserves respect!"

"I'll give him respect when he damn well earns it!" the Boy-Who-Lived spat. "Now then, if you're done trying to defend your over-inflated egos, I'd like to know where you get off on holding a full trial for a simple case of underage wizardry! Because if that doesn't strike all of you as a blatant, childish attempt to both intimidate me and set a precedent, then I must be the only sane one here."

"Now see here!" Fudge tried to interrupt.

"No, YOU SEE HERE!" Harry roared, standing as his anger reached his limits. "I have HAD it with you and your entire fucking Ministry! Two years ago I was the one blamed for a levitation charm that an unknown house-elf had done within my relatives' household, and warned I'd be expelled if it happened again! Last year Sirius Black was temporarily apprehended, and instead of listening to us when we claimed to have evidence that he was innocent, you called us all Confunded and attempted to administer the Dementor's Kiss on a man who had not even had a trial! And do you honestly think I don't know that the Daily Prophet is in your control? Ever since Dumbledore and I insisted that Voldemort is back, you started a slanderous, hateful, smear campaign! Now you want to hold me responsible for using magic in self-defense? Well fuck you, and the rest of the Ministry!"

Harry sat back down in his chair as he glared at the crux of Britain's wizarding government. "Don't expect me to save you again when I'm proven right and Voldemort comes for you."

Unknown to Harry, Dumbledore had paled almost unnoticeably as well at that declaration. He was well aware of Harry's discontent with the government, and his relatives for that matter, but to be so angry as to make a statement like that… Even if he didn't mean it as such, Harry had just thrown a very large rock in the lake of politics.

Making a mental note to talk to the boy later, Dumbledore attempted to arrest the damage before it could spread too far by taking a slightly more aggressive approach than he'd originally planned. "It's easy to see that there have been injustices made to Mr. Potter. It's also easy to tell that certain practices have fallen out of favor. It was once the case that the Patronus Charm was under the watch list, just in case of such an event, and to administer aid to those still suffering the effect of a Dementor or Lethifold, and I do believe that law was never rescinded due to well-documented cases of the victims being saved in the nick of time. Mr. Potter, was there any such aid provided by an official of the Ministry?"

Harry was glad that the Headmaster was speaking to him again, if only to prove his innocence. "No, Professor."

"I see. Mr. Weasley, please note that the Ministry has faulted in following its own law, and that it is only due to Mr. Potter's prowess at the Patronus Charm that he and his cousin escaped safely."

"There is still no evidence a Dementor was even there!" Umbridge protested.

"On the contrary," Dumbledore argued, "even if you discard Mr. Potter as a witness, the very fact that the Ministry failed to uphold its duty implies that they were the ones who sent the Dementors."

The silence that struck the room could have smothered a Lethifold.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding!" Harry burst out incredulously after a few seconds. "So now you're trying to kill me, and then when you fail I get arrested anyway for protecting myself? Just fucking perfect. Should I just draw my wand now and duel Fudge in a contest of honor or something so I can just get you off my back?"

"I assure you, Mr. Potter, there's no need for that," Amelia hastily reassured.

Unfortunately, her statement put her in direct line of Harry's ire. "And why is that, Madame Bones? Because to me, it seems like I can't trust the lot of you to keep one piss-poor Minister in line. If dueling him ensures that I don't have to deal with the Ministry trying to kill me, then let's get on with it already! It's par for the course as far as I'm concerned. Feels like every year I'm fighting to save my skin, why not get this year's over with early? Might help me study for my OWLs at least."

There as a pause as that sunk in. "What I mean, Mr. Potter," the Law Enforcement officer said regally, looking down her monocle at him, "is that the matter will be investigated to the best of our ability."

Harry snorted. "Just like the Chamber of Secrets was investigated three years ago? Oh wait, you threw an innocent man in jail until I proved it wasn't him, silly me. How about the Sirius Black investigation? Whoops, he broke into the Gryffindor Common Room, escaped from Ministry custody without a trace, and that was after Fudge attempted to set a Dementor on him. Or what about the Goblet of Fire? Why was my name spat out as a fourth contender?" He rolled his eyes. "Don't insult me. To the best of your ability means that you'll twiddle your thumbs and attempt to sweep everything under the rug and hope something bigger and more publicized comes out to make the Ministry look even better."

Fudge was turning an ugly shade of puce as the Boy-Who-Lived trashed his name left, right and center. Worse, there was nothing he could do about it. Everything he had said so far was true, and it was apparent he had the evidence to prove it. The best he could do was damage control now. "In any case, the case has been made. Those in favor of clearing the witness of all charges?"

The vote was nigh-unanimous. Only a few people had their hands lowered , one of them being Umbridge, Harry noted.

Fudge called for those who voted guilty, but it was already apparent he'd lost. "Very well. Cleared of all charges."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore remarked, pleased. "Come along then, Mr. Potter."

Harry did so with a small smirk. He felt so much lighter, having vented everything he felt towards the Ministry directly at them. He wondered what they would do next. Despite the result, he had the feeling that Fudge would be trying something else soon…

Yes, Harry is a very angry, angry teenager. It's nice to actually have him continue his anger in a productive manner. I really do love writing sarcastic Harry.

Anyway, let me know if you want me to continue it!

NeoRyu777