Reparo" Harry pulled his wand out and repaired the cup with a single flick before saying, "Me. The memory of Riddle came out of the diary to confront me and pretty much followed his older self's suit in taunting me: blah, blah, blah, 'your mother was a Mudblood' , blah, blah, blah, 'you stand no chance against me Potter', blah, blah, blah, 'I opened the Chamber and framed Hagrid.'"
Hagrid looked at Harry in shock. "He…he told yeah that…but…" the larger than life man struggled with his next objection, "Yer not of age, 'arry. Yer memory can't be used as evidence!"
"Right now, yes." Harry acknowledged, "When I turn thirteen though, I can put on my Heir's Ring, which gains me a few rights, responsibilities and statuses. Chief among them in this case is the fact that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has to treat any testimony given by me as one given by an adult. Unfortunately, they have to question me with the truth potion Veritaserum when they do that."
"Bloody hell!" Ron blurted, "That's the strongest truth potion in existence!"
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded on automatic while she looked at Ron with an eyebrow up in surprise. "How do you know that?" she asked. There was no way Ron looked it up from the NEWT-level coursework as he hated to study, so how…?
"Dad told me about one time when he had to testify in a case after being given it." Ron explained. Arthur Weasley was the Department Head for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, so this was probably one of the cases when he'd been on a raid and had to testify about what happened and what he found.
"He said that he couldn't hold anything back." Ron looked both fearful and disgusted by the fact, "Tasteless, scentless…a hundred percent effective and undetectable. That's why it's illegal for anyone to spike a drink with it. It earns you time in Azkaban if you're caught doing it."
"What matters here is that taking the stuff lets me testify that Hagrid is innocent!" Harry said with an eye roll.
"Yeh…yeh'd do that fer me?" Hagrid asked hoarsely.
"Of course!" Harry said, "You're my friend, Hagrid! Besides, Riddle has won every day that this stupid charge has hung over your head. I don't want him to win for any longer than is needed."
Hagrid, seemingly speechless with emotion, engulfed Harry in a vice-like hug that felt like it was snapping his ribs.
"Thank yeh, 'arry." He said once he let the last Potter go, "I dunno how I can thank yeh."
Harry, his ribs aching, nonetheless smiled at his first friend in the Wizarding World. "Just let me take you to Ollivanders once you're cleared so I can return the favour from before Hogwarts, alright?"
Once again, Harry was treated to the overenthusiastic hug of a half-giant, after which he had to go to the Hospital Wing in order to get a Pain-Relief Potion from Madame Pomfrey.
Later that Day…
"This is odd." Harry said abruptly. He, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Library while the smartest witch of their year browsed the shelves for books on law, even conscripting the aid of Madame Pince to her cause.
"What is?" Ron asked. The redhead was reading 'Quidditch Through the Ages' yet again while eyeing Hermione occasionally as if she were mad.
"I was supposed to get an statement from Gringotts today about my vaults." Harry replied, "Did none show up with post for me before Hermione came to get me?"
"Nope." Ron replied, "Just Hermione's copy of The Daily Prophet and a letter from mum telling me to look after Ginny."
"Odd." Harry muttered, "Oh! How is Ginny anyway?"
"About what you'd expect." Ron said as he turned the page, "Quiet and a bit withdrawn. Not even Fred and George can get her to smile. Been like that since mum and dad went back to the Burrow."
"Should I have a word with her?" Harry offered, knowing full well what was causing the youngest Weasley's withdrawal from her family: guilt. She had been told by her father 'not to trust anything when you couldn't see where it kept its brain', but had ignored that advice when it came to Tom Riddle's diary and Harry -not to mention everyone who had been petrified- had almost paid the price for that.
"Nah, it'll be fine." Ron said dismissively, "Once she gets home, Mum'll help her get over it."
Harry and Hermione exchanged sceptical looks at the lazy reassurance from their friend. Harry made a note to track down the only female Weasley and straighten a few things out with her before they left on the Hogwarts Express the next week.
"Mr Potter." the precise speech of Professor Minerva McGonagall echoed across the Library, earning a scowl from Madame Pince, but no other reaction from the usually volatile librarian as the Transfiguration Professor walked across the Library towards Harry's table.
"Yes Professor?" Harry asked once she got close enough. He didn't want Madame Pince to take her anger out on him!
"Mr Potter, Professor Dumbledore would like to speak with yourself, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger in his office." the stern teacher informed him, "I am told that you know the password."
"Y-yes I do." Harry replied, his mind racing. What now? "Thank you for telling me."
Professor McGonagall merely nodded before striding out of the Library. Harry turned to Hermione and was amused to see that the bookworm was torn between which books to take out and which to put back on the shelves. He casually offered to let her use his own allotment of books, which earned him one of the bushy-haired girl's patented hugs before she tore off towards Madame Pince's desk with the large stack of books in tow.
"Blimey." Ron remarked, "Mental that one."
After Hermione checked out what seemed like half of the Library and deposited the books in her dorm room, the trio set out for Dumbledore's office. When Harry gave the password and the gargoyle jumped to one side, Hermione started muttering under her breath as she tried to figure out which spells made it move, which made Harry grin slightly.