Into the Blue
Book 1: Way of the Warriors
Chapter 3 – Cover up
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…
TIMELINE: AU. The fifth and final instalment of the OOTB-series. Takes place during the Order of the Phoenix and begins where Come What May (part 4) left off. Includes spoilers for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. With Voldemort's return, and the Ministry's refusal to see it, things are more caotic than usual. Not even Hogwarts is safe anymore, something Harry and the rest of the trio, along with Sarah, who is to start her first year, is about to experience first hand. Remus and Buffy face problems of their own, at the same time as they must try and save Sirius…from himself. United they'll stand, divided they'll fall – but as the Wizarding World descend into chaos, will the light side conquer or crumble?
"Oww!" Harry hissed, glaring angrily at his Godmother, while rubbing his green eyes. "What did you do that for?"
Buffy just smiled brightly. The two of them were currently standing outside the courtroom, already late, since they had not been informed of the time and courtroom change. Buffy didn't let it bother her, though, and they had gone to the new location at a calm speed. "In approximately ten minutes," Buffy said quietly, "that spell I cast in your eyes will sting so badly you'll begin to cry."
"Cry?" Harry hissed angrily. "What for?"
"The best way to fool stupid and ignorant bureaucrats that do nothing except sitting on their asses all day and drink tea, is to act like one yourself," Buffy explained. "That will be my job. Once inside that courtroom, I will take on the role as a stupid, ignorant pesky girl in order to make them underestimate me." She clapped Harry on the back, apparently a little harder than she had thought, since the boy almost fell over. "You, on the other hand, are the victim. A sad, intimated and scared person who misses his parents and only want to go home and doesn't understand what you've been doing wrong. Understand?"
Slowly, Harry started to smile also. While he didn't really think it would be fun, letting all these people believe him to be...well, pathetic, really, he saw why it would be necessary. "Brilliant," he said, green eyes sparkling.
"I thought so," Buffy said smugly. "Now, remember, let me handle the talking. Whatever they say inside, don't let it get to you. Remember, you are a sad, intimidated - "
" - Scared person who misses his parents and want to go home, I get it," Harry finished, smiling, while turning on the heavy iron handle, opening the door to the courtroom. Immediately, he put on what he hoped was a frightened expression. Beside him, Buffy straightened her back, her eyes widened slightly and her wide grin was unmistakably fake, but he didn't think the Ministry officials would notice, if they were as ignorant as Buffy assured him they were.
The courtroom door closed behind them with a loud bang, and Harry gasped in shock as he was grabbed hard by the arm and dragged to a chair in the center of the room by one of the guards by the door. Harry gulped nervously, eyeing the chains on the arms of his chair which rattled threateningly.
"You are late," Cornelius Fudge's voice rang out coldly.
"S-sorry," Harry stuttered, not having to pretend being afraid anymore. His heart was beating so hard against his ribcage he was dead certain everyone could hear it.
"We never got any notice the time and place had been changed." His Godmother's voice rang out, clear and strong across the courtroom and Harry felt himself slowly relax. He wasn't alone in this. "Your owl must have missed us. Too bad." She shrugged carelessly. "Oh, well. We are here now, so let's get down to business." She grinned in anticipation, walking over to Harry and placing her hands on his shoulders.
"What," Fudge's voice said coldly, "is she doing here? This is a private courtroom and you have no business - "
" - It is my Godson you are interrogating," Buffy interrupted just as coldly, but with a bright smile. "I am here in the form of his closest relation in the Wizarding World. The law clearly states that if the accused is underage, that is allowed."
"That is correct," another voice, this time a female, rang out, and Buffy beamed at her. She was a broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair. "Oh, hello, Madame Bones. I have to say, your niece, Susan, was a most delightful student. Very bright, very talented." Madam Bones swelled with pride. "Why, thank you, dear." On her right, Fudge was fuming silently, slowly growing red as a tomato.
"We are not here to chit-chat," he said, teeth gritted. "Weatherby!"
"Yes, sir," a voice said importantly. Percy Weasley was sitting at the very end of the front bench. His eyes were fixed on his parchment, a quill poised in his hand, ready to take notes. He didn't even spare Harry a single glance.
"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," Fudge began and Percys quill scratched back and forth on the parchment. "Into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."
Buffy barely held back a loud yawn, earning herself a glare from most of the Wizengamot members in their plum-colored robes.
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge - "
Buffy's eyes narrowed. So that was the person who was sitting on Fudge's right, her face in shadow. That was the person who had made their lives hell. Her hands tightened on Harry's shoulder. " - Senior Undersecretary to the Minister;" Fudge continued. "Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley; Relation to the accused, Buffy Summers. Now - "
"Lupin."
Fudge, who had been on his way to begin a new sentence, abruptly froze and his eyes turned to stare down at Buffy who met his look calmly. "Excuse me?" The Minister said, eyes blazing.
"Lupin," Buffy repeated. "Buffy Summers-Lupin. Or, if you want to be even more specific, Buffy Anne Summers-Lupin. You decide. I'm not that picky." On his left, Madame Bones suddenly coughed, and Buffy was dead sure that she was trying to hold back a laugh. "But really, Minister," Buffy continued with a huff, "we have already had this conversation once. My marital status has not changed since our last meeting. If it had, you would have been among the first to know, I am sure. To be frank, I am quite insulted - and disappointed - that you don't remember." She smiled sweetly at Fudge.
Harry's lips twitched at his Godmother's antics. Fudge was not nearly as amused and he opened his mouth to tell her off...
The doors to the courtroom opened once again and Dumbledore strode in, wearing long midnight-blue robes. "Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," the Headmaster said.
Fudge's face, red in anger up to this point, now paled to a pastry white. Harry wanted to cheer. With his Godmother and Dumbledore here, there was no way he'd lose. Unless Buffy and Dumbledore started to bicker with each other...he knew they weren't on the best of terms at the moment. In fact, that was the only interesting thing that had happened at Grimmauld - Buffy, Remus and Dumbledore's disagreement.
"D-Dumbledore," Fudge stuttered out. "Ah...I-I'm so glad you could make it." That statement would have been more believable, Harry thought, had Fudge not looked as if he'd just swallowed something unbelievably sour.
"Oh, me too," Dumbledore said, smiling, his eyes twinkling brightly. "If I hadn't had the foresight to be here three hours earlier than the appointed time, I would probably still be in my office, mending my socks. You can never have too many, you know." The Headmaster of Hogwarts looked completely serious as he said this, as though he had just revealed something secret of the outmost importance.
Buffy choked back a laugh, as did Harry. Most of the Wizengamot members now looked terribly confused, some angry, some terrified and some simply delighted at this turn of events. Fudge was not one of those.
"W-well," he said. "Eh...Weatherby. A chair for the Headmaster..."
"Oh, not to worry," Dumbledore said, still smiling. "Don't go to any trouble for my sake. I'd rather stand. Old limbs, you see. I grow so stiff if I sit down for any length of time."
Harry could feel his Godmother shake from held back laughter.
"Y-yes...well..." Fudge shuffled with his notes nervously. "The charges, then. Eh..." Finally, the Minister found what he was looking for, and he extracted a rather wrinkled piece of parchment from the pile, and he took a deep breath. "The charges against the accused are as follows:" Fudge's voice was shaking slightly, but it slowly grew more confident as he continued. "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..."
Buffy didn't even bother to hide her yawn this time, as Fudge continued to drone on and on.
"Harry Potter."
Harry jumped in his seat, and the chains moved forebodingly. "Y-yes."
Fudge, who had apparently finished reading out the charges, glared at the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry felt his eyes sting as Buffy's spell took effect, and he blinked, several times. Merlin, it hurt!
"You are Harry James Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge asked, glaring at Harry over the top of his parchment.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Well, duh," she said. "You said his name, he answered; I'd have thought that would be obvious."
Fudge looked startled as he once again lost his composure, not prepared for any interruptions. "Uhh..."
"Not to mention; the boy-who-lived, the hero of the Wizarding World, is hardly unrecognizable. Is there anyone in here who doesn't know what he looks like?" No one raised their hands and Buffy gave Fudge a smug, pleased look. "Didn't think so."
The Minister was sweating slightly. "Eh...well...yes..." He coughed uncomfortably. "Uh...s-so now when we h-have established that Mr Potter is, indeed, Mr Potter...Y-you received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?"
Harry's eyes were stinging terribly, and he blinked against the approaching tears. "Y-yes."
Fudge looked triumphant. "And yet you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?"
"Y-yes," Harry choked, his voice thick, and the tears started to fall freely down his cheeks. Fudge didn't seem to notice: "Fully aware of the fact that you are not permitted to use magic outside of school while you are under the age of seventeen?"
"Y-yes, b-but - "
" - Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?" Fudge continued, his eyes glinting smugly.
"Yes, but - "
" - Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a muggle at - "
" - As you can see," Buffy cut in smoothly, moving to stand beside her Godson, instead of behind him. "My Godson is highly upset by this."
Dumbledore looked surprised as he, too, noticed Harry's tears for the first time, but then his eyes started to twinkle again and he pulled out a lemon drop from his robe pocket, popping it into his mouth, looking highly entertained.
Fudge grew a bit red once again. "I don't see how that is relevant - "
"Oh, not that he produced a Patronus," Buffy hurriedly added, once again interrupting the Minister of Magic in the middle of a sentence. "But the fact that he has been called here as no better than a common criminal, when the real question is why he conjured the Patronus in question."
"Why?" Fudge asked incredulously. "Is it not obvious? He is a rule-breaking, good-for-nothing - "
" - wizard, who, when he vanquished Voldemort, saved all your asses," Buffy finished for him.
Fudge blinked, while Buffy started to pace in front of the Wizengamot. "My Godson is fully aware of the consequences of using magic outside of school in front of muggles, as we have already established. Doing so anyway, while knowingly risking expulsion, would be unbelievably stupid, don't you agree?"
"W-well, yes," Fudge stammered, confused.
"So, if we are to go after your accusations, my Godson is stupid," Buffy said, coming to a stop in front of Fudge.
"What? No!" Fudge exclaimed. "I never said that."
"Why, yes, you did," Buffy said calmly. "When reading up your charges, that is how your...eh...message, came across. So, now when we also have established that my Godson is not stupid, the real question is, why would he still have conjured up a full-fledged corporeal Patronus - taught by my husband, in his third year, by the way - in front of muggles?"
Fudge squirmed, while some of the members in the Wizengamot looked impressed at Harry's magical abilities. "A Patronus?" Harry heard some of them whisper. "A full-fledged, corporeal Patronus! In third year! Amazing! And maybe, the werewolf was not such a horrible choice to have at the post after all! Imagine! Teaching a thirteen-year old to conjure a Patronus!"
Buffy had to smile as she heard these comments, and her heart swelled with pride for her constantly underestimated and shunned husband. "As far as I know, the Patronus is first and foremost a very known defence against the Dementors," she said. "The only conclusion I can come to, when taking all the factors into consideration: Harry's charges, and the reason he is not an idiot, is that Dementors were in Little Whinging."
The courtroom broke into chaos as everyone stood up and started speaking at once, ignoring Fudge who was desperately trying to make them settle down, to no avail.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared, and everybody froze, and then sat down sheepishly, feeling thoroughly chastised.
"Eh...thank you, Dumbledore," Fudge said. "Back to the subject at hand." He smirked unpleasantly. "Dementors. In Little Whinging. That is preposterous!
"Why is that preposterous?" Buffy asked calmly.
"The Dementors are at Azkaban!" Fudge said, rolling his eyes. "It is obvious you have been thinking this through very carefully. Dementors would make a nice cover-story for his law-breaking, would it not? Not to mention, muggles can't see Dementors, so it is just your word for it, with no witnesses."
"Well," Buffy sighed sadly, holding up her hand to stop Dumbledore who had been on his way to say something. "Then we are back at square one. Why would my Godson conjure up a Patronus, when we have established he is not stupid?" Buffy let an eyebrow rise. "If he had wanted to break the law, I am certain he would have done something far more useful to him than a Patronus." She then shrugged. "Of course, maybe he just wanted something nice to look at, in which case, I don't really blame him. God knows his supposed family are far from pretty."
Some of the Wizengamot members did their best to cover up their laughs with coughs, and Dumbledore's lips twitched.
"It is not my job to know to know what the accused are thinking!" Fudge boomed, now terribly angry, and feeling humiliated.
"My, what a temper you have," Buffy said, eyes wide. "That can't be good for your heart. But yes, it is your job to know what the accused is thinking, because it would be horrible if you sentenced someone wrongfully to, say, Azkaban. Like Sirius Black, for example."
"Oh, not that 'Sirius Black is innocent'-story again!" Fudge moaned, rolling his eyes.
"Minister?" Madame Bones asked mildly. "I don't understand - "
" - It doesn't matter!" Fudge interrupted, leaving Madame Bones looking very put out. "We are not interrogating Sirius Black today!"
"True," Buffy said, nodding slightly. "Which is a pity, considering he never got a trial." Before the courtoom burst out with loud chatter once agin, she hurriedly continued: "Anyway, I am sure we can clear this matter up with no trouble. Dumbles?"
"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked up - or rather, down, since he was much taller than Buffy. "Oh, yes, with no trouble at all. We do, in fact, have a witness to the presence of Dementors in that alleyway, other than Dudley Dursley."
Fudge's plump face slackened, as though he was a balloon somebody had jabbed with a needle. "A-a witness?" He repeated stupidly.
Buffy allowed herself to smirk. Having a witness would make this so much easier, and she was actually glad Dumbledore was here. She wasn't quite sure how she would have gotten Harry out of this mess otherwise. Her plan...well, she hadn't really had one, other than walk in here, start talking as though she owned the place, and confuse the Wizengamot so much that when it was time to leave a verdict, they wouldn't quite be aware of what they were doing...
"Cleared," Buffy told Remus later that day, throwing herself onto her stomach in their bed at Grimmauld. "Of all charges."
Remus looked confused at her. "Then why aren't you happy."
"Umbitch," Buffy spat. "Umbridge was there, and after Dumbledore had left - leaving Fudge and half the Wizengamot in a foul mood after practically accusing the Ministry for attacking Harry, since Dementors are supposedly under Minisrry control - she tried to turn the entire hearing, which was over by that point, since Harry was cleared - into an interrogation of me. Or rather, us," she finished.
"It was to be expected," Remus said. "We all know what Umbitch is like."
"Yeah." Buffy sighed. "Anyway, I somehow managed to keep a lid on my temper, and walked out of there, along with Harry, while she was still on her beginning statement."
"I'm impressed. Knowing you, I'd have thought you'd have cursed her into tomorrow." Remus sounded amused, and Buffy glared.
"Believe me, I would have, if I had been alone, and if doing so wouldn't most assuredly land me in Azkaban."
Remus nodded in agreement. "True." He massaged her shoulders gently, making Buffy moan in delight, her muscles slowly relaxing.
"That's...good..." She mumbled sleepily. Remus smiled, leaning forwards and kissing her hair.
"Try to sleep," he told her. "It's been a long day."
"A...very, very, long day," Buffy agreed, yawning, burying her head deeper into her pillow.
A/N: I have reached my new school/home - and I do have the Internet - albeit a very slow connection, but at least it's working, for which I am eternally grateful! Anyway, please REVIEW and make a poor student happy.
/Ida
