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Tea had been brought, and Ginny's bruised hand had been healed. Harry had the second most comfortable chair in Fudge's office, oversized enough that Ginny was pressed comfortably against his side. Arthur, after making a quick Floo-call to let Molly know that both of them were well and they'd be home in time for a late dinner, was seated beside them, turning a teacup around and around in his hands. Fudge himself had pulled the big chair around from the back of his desk and was perched anxiously on the edge, wearing his best sycophant expression.

"Minister, I'm truly sorry about the trouble earlier. I'm sure if you'd realised we were heart-bonded, there wouldn't have been any unpleasantness," Harry said.

"Of course not," Fudge assured him. "If only you'd let us know what you intended, we could have arranged to... ah... assist the young lady in her moment of crisis in a far more gentle manner. But... I apologise, Lord Potter, but I still don't understand why you felt such a risk to the both of you was necessary."

Harry sighed. "Because Dumbledore will do whatever he needs to keep me 'safe'. The problem is, his decisions are... questionable, at best. How much do you know of the way my relatives treated me?"

"Well, ah, the Headmaster did make me aware of the shameful neglect of your, ah, 'relatives'," Fudge said. "And of course, Arthur here has mentioned several details that he perhaps, um, overlooked. They were totally unsuitable, of course, totally. But you were already being removed from their custody, I promise you that!"

Harry nodded. "The problem is, Dumbledore chose them, and he'd already tried to convince me that I should go back. I was afraid he'd find some way to force me, or that he'd make an equivalently poor choice...." He trailed off. "Wait. Why did he have any say in who my guardian was, anyway?"

"Well, technically, he didn't," Fudge said, wringing his hands. "The law says that your closest wizard relative would have custody, following that, any godparent, and since there were none that were living and unincarcerated, that left only your Muggle relatives. Normally, since they were blood kin, they would have had free reign until you reached a majority, and certainly until you reached school age, but since they were Muggles and there was some reason to fear for your safety, we felt it was better that they be monitored. Dumbledore, as Headmaster of the school you'd be attending, was the logical choice for that. We couldn't legally keep you from your kin, not if they asked for you and didn't give up claim, but we could at least keep an eye on them."

"But they didn't want me," Harry said. "Still... oh, that's right, I was never allowed to tell you."

"But we were assured that they asked for you, that your aunt was terribly grieved by the loss of her sister, and trusted no one else with her little nephew!" Fudge said. "Oh, there were some things Albus said about protection, as well, but... well, Harry, blood ties are very important to us. Until all of this came to light, it was just assumed that they were raising you as best they could. Some misunderstandings were inevitable, of course... they always are when you raise a wizard child in a Muggle family, but we didn't realise it was anything out of the ordinary. Or that they no longer desired custody of you. Why, there were any number of families who would have been happy to adopt you, if we'd known!"

"Or my godfather," Harry said. "Who's innocent, and I can prove it. It's a shame that somehow he was never questioned under Veritaserum when he was arrested, but from what I've heard about that time, I'm sure it's an understandable oversight, and of course no one would want to bring it to your attention, not when it would mean admitting that they'd messed up on such an important case...."

"What are you talking about? Of course he was questioned... I don't know about the serum... perhaps it was assumed he'd taken the antidote, there are rules governing Veritaserum, you know," Fudge said, glancing around awkwardly. "If his counsel had asked, he could have been held past the useful time of the antidote, then questioned, but since they didn't try that defense, it was assumed that he didn't want to be questioned that way, meaning, ah, I'm sorry to say, that there was no doubt of his guilt. Unfortunate, but... well, there were many, many witnesses, I'm afraid."

Harry shook his head. "Do you have a pensieve? That would probably be the easiest way to clear this up," he said. "I don't want to waste your time; I'm sure you must be tremendously busy."

"Well," Fudge said, flushing with a touch of pride. "We do have one, yes. But while I am a busy man, of course I have time for you, especially after all the unpleasantness you've been through. But I don't see how a pensieve would help, I really don't. You'd have to have seen what happened yourself to have a viewable memory of the event, Harry."

"I wasn't present for the crime, no," he agreed. "The memory I want to show you is from a few years ago, when the actual perpetrator confessed in my presence."

"What's that?" Fudge asked, his eyes widening. "Are you certain?"

Harry nodded. "Positive. I wonder if perhaps what happened was a paperwork mixup somewhere, and it was thought that my godfather had been questioned under Veritaserum already. There'd be no point in doing it twice, of course, and given the hectic events, well, mistakes do happen."

The Minister tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Of course, of course. But really... would there be any point to rehashing things now? I mean, no one knows where your godfather is, and by all accounts, he's quite mad. I'm afraid the best we could do is contain him safely and offer him treatment at St. Mungo's, in hopes of someday restoring some small bit of sanity to him. Perhaps it would be better, he'd be happier, if he stayed lost."

"Oh, no, he's not mad at all," Harry said. "I don't know precisely where he is at the moment, but I know how to get in touch with him. I'm sure he'd be extremely grateful to have this unpleasant situation resolved, and while I no longer need a guardian, he was one of my parents best friends...." He let his voice trail off.

"Well," Fudge said, thoughtfully. "I suppose it won't hurt to see what you have. If he truly did never receive a proper trial, then it's shameful that he was imprisoned for so long. Especially with the Black lands needing their Lord... it's been rather a trial, honestly. Some of those old tenant families can be quite... difficult, without what they view as a 'rightful' Lord to report to. Still... do you think he could be, ah, reintroduced, ah, peacefully into wizard society?"

Harry smiled. "I'm sure I can prevail on him to see reason."

"Well! If you're certain, then, I shall call together a Ministry meeting, and allow you to present your evidence, Lord Potter," he said, smiling broadly. "I, of course, will take your word in this matter, but if you will present the memory for pensieve viewing at the meeting, I will be in your debt, and that way no one can say that any 'improper' influence could have taken place, eh? I'll gather them as quickly as possible and summon you straight away. Shall we say, a week's time?"

"Hmm," Harry said, frowning. "Would I be allowed to leave Hogwarts for this? I'm afraid I'm not certain of the rules in such a situation."

"Of course!" Fudge seemed scandalised. "A summons by the Ministry takes precedence over any school function! And, of course, as a landed lord, you've also your own hereditary duties to attend to, for which you will be excused just as any other young lord without a living elder or an appointed regent."

"Oh, good," Harry said. "I was hoping that was the case. Just let me know when, and I'll be here. As I said, I don't know where my godfather is, so I'm not sure if he'll be able to be here. If he's out of the country, he may not be able to make it here in time."

"Oh, that's fine!" The Minister sounded quite relieved, honestly. "He doesn't have to try and scramble to be here. If he's judged innocent, in fact, his travel expenses will be on the Ministry, ha ha. We'll arrange everything, you've my word on it."

"Thank you, Minister," Harry said. "I appreciate you taking the time to see us today. I'd invite you to the wedding, but I don't believe we could provide the kind of security arrangements the Minister of Magic needs."

"Oh. Of course," Fudge said, glancing nervously at Ginny. "Time for family, anyway. New family. I'm sure I couldn't get away, especially not while I'm trying to arrange the meeting, but my best wishes are with you, of course. I'll have Percy bring along a little something from me, when he comes, and of course he can have the time off to attend."

"Oh, thank you, Minister," Harry said. "I'm glad he'll be able to be there."

He could feel the slightly amused disgruntlement from Ginny. "I suppose I am, too. But I can't smile politely much longer, love."

"Happy to do what I can," Fudge said. "Call on me anytime!"

Harry smiled. "I think we've taken up enough of your time, Minister, and I'm afraid we've got a lot of arrangements to make for the wedding...."

"Oh! Certainly, my lord. I'll have someone escort you out." Fudge stood up and offered his hand. "And if you need anything, feel free to call on me. I've always supported the old traditions, you know."

"Thank you, Minister," Harry said, shaking the offered hand.

Harry managed to maintain appearances until they stepped in the Floo downstairs and arrived back in the parlor at the Burrow, partially by leaning discretely on Ginny. But once they were safely away from potentially hostile eyes, he simply couldn't help but collapse in an exhausted pile on the nearest chair. So, it goes without saying that he wasn't prepared for the feminine missile that launched herself at his chest, hugging him tightly. He had just a moment to register Hermione's curly brown hair tickling his face before she pulled back and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking vigorously. "Harry James Idiot Potter! Don't you EVER do anything so stupid again, do you hear me! Oh!" Another choking hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Then more shaking. "And if you worry me like that again I'll kill you! What were you thinking?!"

"That I needed to be free?" he asked, looking helplessly at Ginny.

Hermione burst into tears and once again threatened to squeeze the life out of him, then she let go and turned on Ginny. "He's just a boy! You're supposed to take care of him! You can't just let him do anything he wants!"

Ginny blushed bright red, but determinedly inserted herself between Hermione and her rather oxygen starved fiance. "I intend to take very good care of him, Mya. But I don't intend to run his life for him. I want him, not someone who'll obey every order I give him. Harry knew I'd die if he didn't come back... he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't had to, and nothing could have made him more careful. Now he needs to lay down and have something to eat, and then go to sleep. It's been a... trying day, and we could all use some rest. You, too, since you're my bridesmaid. Harry knows you care without you needing to yell at him this time." She turned to the twins, who were staring at her with open-mouthed admiration. "You two help me get him in bed, and then I'll fetch him a tray."

"I... but... you... he..." Hermione opened and closed her mouth, then finally closed it with a nod. "Alright, then. I'll make the tray." She waved her hand at Fred and George. "Get on with it, you two."