Title: Judgment Day
Author: A.W.
Rating: R
Summery: Harry exibits the importance of a well rounded education
Characters: Harry Potter
Disclaimer: I don't own the concept, the characters, or really anything
Judgment Day
History of Magic was not a topic Harry Potter found particularly interesting. In fact, the only reason the massive volume was even open was because the small boy had exhausted all other sources of entertainment within the two months he'd been relegated to his room. He'd even resorted to reading all five of his Potion manuals and writing a complete schedule for the next two years worth of DA. He was quite beyond 'desperate'.
Daily nightmares, the pain of his scar, and turbulent thoughts kept him from a restful, let alone peaceful, sleep. Therefore his seemingly perpetual state of being had progressed far beyond merely tired and grumpy. At random intervals, Harry alternated from imagining unique methods of mutilating Tommy and his little band of detritus feeders to simply leaving England's protection to the backstabbers, sniveling turncoats, and petty power mongers. Although he'd yet to make up his mind on which course of action he'd prefer, the longer his stay with the Dursley's the more it leaned toward the later.
As he read through the pathetic Ministry devised laws and often ridicules restrictions those in power placed on the Wizarding World within the last couple hundred years, Harry began to realize why the world of magic appeared so stagnant and underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world. It seemed as though everyone; from the Minister to members of the Wizangmont; purposely sought to keep the Wizarding World as far removed from the rest of society as possible. Their world had in fact changed very little in the last thousand years, encouraging the distrust and hatred of all things 'muggle'.
The ignorance was encouraged even in Hogwarts as Muggle Studies was little more than a joke and muggle-born children were given no introductions to allow them to fully integrate into the world of magic. It explained why History of Magic was taught by a mind-numbingly boring ghost with an interest in little besides Goblin Rebellions. It explained why everything in society was oriented toward Purebloods; from Ministry positions to Gringots accounts.
Many laws only pertained to citizens with 'impure blood', forcing those raised in the muggle world to comply with 'pure' standards or leave. There were multiple restrictions for those of less than half wizarding ancestry: some concerned employment while others regarded marriage and procreation. Why start a messy war in which precious purebloods could be harmed when those with 'dirty blood' could simply be encouraged to leave of their own accord?
Harry was shocked to discover that a 'pure' witch or wizard could not be held legally responsible for any actions taken against a 'mudblood'. In fact, the only reason the Ministry sought Voldemort fifteen years previously was for his crimes against purebloods. Had the Secret Keepers betrayal not killed James Potter, Sirius would not have been sent to Azkaban at all. Lily's murder and the death of countless muggle were actually of little consequence in wizarding society and only mentioned because of there relation to the true crime; the death of a pureblood.
As the small boy contemplated the injustice of this world he'd been forced into, an idea slowly coalesced within his mind. A concept so brilliantly perfect that no amount of bribery, lies, or deceit could talk their way free of the legal labyrinth. Doggedly searching the text upon his lap, Harry began jotting down laws and regulations that applied to dealings among those of 'pure' blood.
*
The book was very old. If random pieces of thick, musty parchment bound together by a stained animal hide could even be referred to as a book. The rough skin was worn thin at the edges and the strap tying the four inch flap closed had ripped in multiple areas. It smelled of blood, decay, and Merlin only knew what other assortment of peculiarities. However, it was not for appearances sake that Harry was diligently searching said book, but for the knowledge held within.
Just short of three months previously Harry Potter would not have been caught dead hidden away with his head buried in a book. In fact, those rare times he was discovered in a room laden with books, he had quite obviously plopped himself down at any old table with no intention of staying long. He most certainly would never be surrounded by scrolls and texts of all sizes with hand-written notes strewn amidst the mess. The Library was for people like Hermione who enjoyed every aspect of books in general, not someone who's longest read consisted of Quiditch Through the Ages.
On this rare Saturday night though, that's precisely where Harry was.
The moment Dumbledore had allowed Harry out of Privet Drive; the small boy had virtually locked himself in the Black library. It had taken weeks of searching through ancient books, scrolls, and pamphlets, but finally his hard work had paid off. In a book that surely predated Merlin, Harry found the answer to his problem: a way to rid the world of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, permanently.
*
"Mr. Potter, we understand that you were distraught after the death of your godfather and under Dumbledore's advisement, we will take that into consideration. However, the murder of more that two thousand individuals is a very serious crime; one that cannot simply be ignored due to emotional trauma." Amelia Bones stated with a harsh glare in Dumbledore's direction. "Can you please explain why you committed these crimes?"
"I didn't murder anyone."
Several members of the Wizingmont stared incredulously at the small boy, while others seemed outraged at the denial.
"Mr. Potter, do you deny casting the spell that resulted in the death of Minister Fudge and several Ministry employees?"
The child's brows furrowed briefly, "I didn't cast any spells; I would have been expelled."
"Mr. Potter!" Madame Jones began indignantly.
"Harry, I personally traced the magic to you." Dumbledore scolded the boy. "We know it was your magic that produced the wave of power that swept the English Isles five days ago."
"Well of course it was my magic."
"For Merlin's sake…"
"Mr…."
"Harry, what precisely did you do?"
"Oh, I guess I should start at the beginning." the unusually small boy sat forward eagerly. "Well, I found a bunch of stupid laws the Wizingmont made to protect purebloods from half-bloods and muggleborns while I was stuck at the Dursley's. So I got to thinking that there must be all kinds of old rules that had more to do with justice than blood. I found a ritual in the Black library in a really old book; 'The Judgment of Ahisma'…"
"The judgment of what…?"
"What does A… Aisma mean?"
"Harry, what was the judgment of… what was it for?"
"It was originally used by the Bhraman priest Hans more than five thousand years ago to judge accused criminals. The magic would weigh their sins, if they were found guilty, the ritual punished them. Only the innocent or those who had performed enough good deeds in their lives to outweigh the evil would escape."
"Mr. Potter, that was not your decision to make."
"'I' didn't judge them." Harry stated slowly as though speaking to a fool. "The magic in the ritual found them guilty of their crimes."
"Are you aware of the full scope of what this 'ritual' has done?"
"Of course I am; while the Ministry put an innocent man in Azkaban for twelve years, allowed known Death Eaters free without retribution, and punishes werewolves and multiple other magical creatures on a daily bases for their mere existence, I used a completely legal ritual created for the sole purpose of ensuring that only those who had committed incredible acts of criminal intent would be punished for what they'd done."
"Those forced to commit crimes by the Imperius…" began a pompus Wizard.
"…Would not have been held accountable for the deeds of others; like Draco Malfoy who was held under Imperius last year. Just as those who made steps to atone for their crimes were not punished, otherwise Professor Snape would not be alive."
"Harry, a lot of people were effected by this ritual, including your Uncle."
"Then they must have done really horrible things."
"What gave you the right to even perform such a ritual?" snarled a rotund, walrus-like man at the end of the table.
"Originally I was going to use 'Castus Consilium', but realized that stopping Voldemort wouldn't actually solve the problem. One of Voldemort's supporters would simply take over where he left off, and we would still be at war. The Ministry wasn't doing anything and Dumbledore's idea of resolution was some stupid prophesy made by a lunatic."
"What precisely is 'Castus Consilium'?"
"An ancient form of legal action those of Wizarding society may take under extreme circumstances. The magical suit has not been utilized in more than a thousand years because of the strict conditions under which a petitioner must apply. Its last application was in 532 CE at which time Morgana Le'Fay cast the ritual after Merlin assisted Uther Pendragon in taking Britain's throne. It was through Merlin's actions that a child later known as King Arthur was forced upon an unwilling Queen by Pendragon. Many factors contributed to the inciting of the ritual; however the one detail which made it all possible was the 'theft of essence'. It is this crime which has now allowed Harry Potter to perform this nearly forgotten piece of magical judgment.
"At the end of his fourth year, Mr. Potter's blood was stolen to create another life. In doing so, the perpetrators of the crime; Tom Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort and a previously thought dead Peter Pettigrew; completed the final stage of requirements necessary within the confines of the spell. It is a very powerful ritual." Dumbledore explained to the crowd.
"And really complicated," Harry nodded his agreement. "I'm no good at potions and I didn't take Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. So I decided the Judgement was a much better solution to the problem."
*
As the sun rose above the horizon on September the first, citizens throughout the Wizarding World untied various newspapers from post owls. Most continued on about the business of preparing for work or starting breakfast fully intent on reading the paper at a later time. Others however, immediately opened them, eager to discover the latest happenings of their world.
In bright red print, 4 words were splashed across the page:
Old Laws Force Action
"In a bold move, The-Boy-Who-Lived declared 'The Judgment of Ahisma' yesterday evening in his Godfather's London Home. For those not aware of the significance, the spell; or ritual as it is more accurately described; is an ancient form of trial. It was originally performed by the Bhraman priest Hans more than five thousand years ago to judge accused criminals. The magic weighed the sins of the accused, if they were morally corrupt, the magic would administer a suitable punishment. Only the innocent or those who had performed enough good to outweigh the bad would escape unscathed.
"In doing so, it is therefore this journalist's great pleasure to announce the permanent death of Lord Voldemort…"
The article continued on the third page; extolling the history of Tom Marvello Riddle, his unfortunate birth to a muggle father and disgraced Witch, and his rise to power in the wizarding world. Related articles announced the death of Minister Fudge and several prominent pureblood wizards.