Chapter: 4 Dumbledore takes the stand

Minutes later an obviously irritated Dumbledore arrived wearing yet another eye searing robe (aquamarine with florescent red kangaroos hopping and bopping around) and took the witness seat as though it was a throne. He was obviously dismayed when the healer approached him with the bottle of veritaserum. "Stop! What is going on here? Amelia what is the meaning of this?"

"You are the fifth and last witnesses this is to be administered to. You will be asked two specific questions after which normal questioning shall resume," Madame Bones stated. "Are you refusing to take the dose?"

"No," came out of his mouth, reluctantly but came it did. "I just dislike the idea of taking it."

Harry raised an eyebrow but heroically kept his mouth shut. Despite obviously trying to fight the potions effects the veritaserum rapidly took control and relaxed Dumbledores self-control.

"Mr Dumbledore have you ever, without due process of law, ordered one or more individuals to be either given the Dementors Kiss or be unlawfully imprisoned or killed?

Then he gave the first damning answer, "Yes."

"How many?" queried Harry.

"Four."

"Name your victims."

"Lindsay Turner, Xiang Chan, Francis Welsh and Sirius Black."

"Albus Dumbledore, have you ever known of or conspired with one or more individuals to, without due process of law, order one or more individuals to be either given the Dementors Kiss or be unlawfully imprisoned or killed?

"Yes."

"Who where your victims?"

"Mickel Johanneson, Marie LeClerc, John Evanson, Lisa Smith, Sirius Black and Severus Snape."

Harry turned to Madame Bones and raised an eyebrow at her. Most of the Wizengamot were staring dumbfounded at Dumbledore in sheer disbelief at his answers whilst several were nodding their heads thoughtfully.

Suddenly the chains on the witness chair rattled before snapping closed on Albus Dumbledore which startled everyone else out of their daze and the uproar began. This time it took a fair bit of effort for Madam Bones and the aurors to get everyone to shut up and sit down again.

"Mr Potter you may ask your other questions now," stated Madame Bones.

A startled Harry turned to her and said, "Now ma'am? I thought we agreed…"

"Now Mr Potter," she replied in an almost unrecognised voice.

"Very well ma'am."

Turning to Dumbledore Harry began his questioning. "Mr Dumbledore have you ever arranged for someone to be killed or betrayed to the Dark wizard commonly known as Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Whom?"

No longer trying to fight the veritaserum effects he replied, "Edgar Bones, Fabian Prewett and his twin Gideon Prewett, the Potters and the Longbottoms."

"Mr Dumbledore, regarding the wards placed on the Dursleys residence, when were they placed, by whom and why?"

"I placed them within hours of your parents' death to protect you while you lived there."

"What area is covered by these wards?"

"200 yards centred on 4 Privet Drive."

"Would any of these wards have detected the presence of any other magical people or creatures near the Dursleys?"

"Yes."

"Would any of these wards have notified you if I was ill or injured at or near the Dursleys?"

"Yes."

"How frequently were you alerted to my medical conditions both before and after I was informed about Hogwarts?"

"On average as a pre-schooler every few weeks; at muggle primary school roughly every fortnight. And not many after you started at Hogwarts."

"What did you do to remove me from my relatives 'care' once the abuse started?" asked Harry with a Snape-worthy sneer on the word 'care'.

"Nothing beyond ensuring they didn't cripple you," answered Dumbledore blithely.

"How many times did the Ministry or the Crown authorities attempt to remove me from the Dursleys custody?"

"Approximately 17 times between Christmas '82 and today."

"What did you do or have done on these occasions?"

"I personally handled any events involving illegalities by the Dursleys. I'd obliviate any and all muggles involved with a compulsion to destroy the paperwork involved.

"Events involving accidental magic were handled the normal way by the Reversal Squad and then I had the individuals report to me for debriefing before reporting back to the ministry. I checked with each in case they had seen anything reportable, if so I'd memory charm or obliviate their memory before sending them on their way.

"Is there any spells, charms, artefacts or anything else affecting any or all of the inhabitants of 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging?"

"Yes, a 'despise Potter' charm."

"Had you read my parents will at that point and if not why not?"

"Yes," stated Dumbledore who'd by now had totally succumbed to the veritaserum.

"By what authority were you permitted to see it?"

"I'm listed as a secondary witness of the Potters will."

"Have you fully executed the Potters will?"

"No," stated Dumbledore.

"Did you make any serious effort to follow and obey the Potters wishes?"

"No," stated Dumbledore.

"Why not?" enquired Harry.

"What they wanted was irrelevant," stated Dumbledore.

"Who changed the Potters secret keeper from Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew?"

"I did," stated Dumbledore. Harry quietly noted the grim attention everyone else was paying to Dumbledores answers.

"Who are the individuals listed in the Potters will to be my legal guardians and if so stated, why?"

"Heir Sirius Black – godfather; Alice Longbottom – godmother; Lord Designate Severus Snape - secondary godfather; Edward Bones – colleague; Amelia Bones – colleague, Remus Lupin - honorary godfather."

"In my parents will the listed individuals were to have custody of myself if my parents were dead or unavailable; these were people they trusted to carry out their wishes regarding raising me. At least three were aurors, one of them now a Wizengamot member here today. You knew that none of them were the Potters secret keeper as you had personally changed the secret keeper from Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew only days earlier. Of the six chosen custodians only one was a publically suspected death eater and weeks later in his trial you happily and loudly proclaimed him to be your personal spy thus consequently freeing him whilst simultaneously arranging with Umbridge to steal his inheritance as Lord Prince. So why did you arbitrarily decide that these individuals were unfit to raise a child?"

"It was for the greater good," Dumbledore mumbled in reply.

"In her will and codicil my mother specifically stated that under absolutely no circumstances was I to be left with her sister or brother-in-law as they are quite thaumaphobic. Her codicil stated Vernon Dursley had repeatedly attacked and attempted to rape her simply because she was a witch and thus a subhuman in his eyes. This you knew as she had reported these attacks to you whilst she was in the Hogwarts hospital wing recovering from amongst other things, various cracked ribs, severe bruising, missing teeth, semi-starvation and exhaustion instead of being at the Starting Feast for her last year. Did you obliviate her and planted a story of a car accident at Kings Cross Station before leaving the hospital wing?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It was for the greater good."

"In what manner was your illegal, immoral and unethical treatment of her and any other individual - student or not - for the greater good?" asked Harry, the blatant sarcasm thickly emphasising the 'greater good'.

"It is important that people believe that muggles are good people who wouldn't dream of hurting us just because we are superior to them," replied Dumbledore.

"On what legal grounds did you override the Potters will and contrary to both Crown and Ministerial laws and regulations having kidnapped Harry James Potter did you arbitrarily abandon him on the Dursleys doorstep where he laid alone for over 6½ hours?"

"None," stated Dumbledore.

"If you didn't want custody of Harry Potter then why did you effectively kidnapped him from his legal guardian Sirius Black?"

"For the Greater Good," stated Dumbledore.

"In what way was it better that this baby be raised by violently abusive anti-magical relatives rather than with a loving magical family thoughtfully chosen by his parents?" asked Harry who was not at all impressed by Dumbledores answers so far and by the quick looks at the nearby aurors and Wizengamot members in the room didn't seem to be very impressed either.

"How did death eaters gain access to Frank and Alice Longbottom?"

"I captured Rabastan LeStrange near Maillaig on the Sound of Sleat, and implanted a memory of Voldemort informing him of the Longbottoms address before he left for the Potters. I implied that the Longbottoms would know what really happened at the Potters."

"How many other individuals have you done the same or similar to?" asked Harry who was horrified of the answers he'd already gotten.

"I'm uncertain," replied Dumbledore in the potion induced monotone.

"Having abandoned me to that merciless scum as a baby wizard did you actually expect me to survive long enough to go to muggle primary school little alone Hogwarts?" asked an honestly confused Harry.

"No, I expected you to die," replied Dumbledore. "You almost did several times but unfortunately you didn't." He sounded almost regretful.

"Why do you want me dead?" asked Harry.

"You're a potential threat to my position as the greatest wizard alive since Merlin," Dumbledore said in a monotone. "I had it all arranged to trap and kill the great Dark Lord Voldemort and then you, a little baby still in nappies did it. I had to ensure you died dishonoured in the publics' eye whilst I get or take the credit."

"Are there any other reasons you want me dead and if so what are they?" asked Harry apprehensively.

"So I can claim your vaults as your heir by your parents' will and a specially written will which you'll sign," stated Dumbledore.

"Have you used such forged wills before?"

"Yes."

"Were you aware of or did you participate in the changing of the Potters secret keeper from Auror Heir Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew?" asked Harry.

"Yes. As I was the caster of the fidelius charm I had to be the one to change the secret keepers."

"When and why were they changed over?"

"Three days before Halloween I changed them over. They were attempting to add an extra layer of security. Sirius had gone around for several weeks discretely but honestly saying he was the secret keeper and then Peter Pettigrew was to take over on grounds that as a trusted but admittedly weak minded friend no one would suspect him of being the real secret keeper whilst Sirius continued to pretend to be the secret keeper."

"How long before the time of my parents' death were you aware that Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater?"

"Four and a half months."

"How did you find out?"

"I used my legilmency powers on him of course."

"Briefly what is legilmency?"

"Legilmency is the ability to read others thoughts and memories."

"During this period did you make any effort to have him arrested or to warn others of his true allegiance?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It was easier to manipulate Tom by feeding him misleading information through multiple spies."

"Who is Tom?" Harry quickly asked.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," replied Dumbledore.

Harry decided to take the opening given and made a slight diversion in his pre-prepared questions. "Have you been officially asked if any student named Voldemort attended Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"What was your reply?" Harry asked as various Wizengamot members looked quizzically at the seemingly irrelevant question.

"No one by that name has ever been enrolled at Hogwarts," stated Dumbledore as Harry watched with internal delight.

"Did any student use the nickname 'Voldemort' whilst at Hogwarts or afterwards and if so what is their full birth name?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," replied Dumbledore again.

"Why did you first meet him and where?"

"As Deputy Headmaster it was then my duty to meet all muggleborns, explain the magical world to them and their guardian then introduce them to Diagon Alley and explain how to board the Hogwarts Express. He resided in Wools Orphanage, London where he had been born."

"What, if any blood relationship is there between yourself and this muggleborn Tom Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort?"

"He is my great grandson through his mother Merope Gaunt."

"What did you do to make his life a better one?"

"Nothing."

"Why?" asked Harry apprehensively.

"At first he was nothing more than a muggle raised guttersnipe, then just a piece of Slytherin scum whose mother was too weak and stupid to qualify for Hogwarts. Later I found out that with his death the last remaining Slytherin Heir would die and his quarter share of Hogwarts would default to my ownership as the current headmaster and next of kin," stated Dumbledore.

"To your knowledge which individuals or families were attacked or harmed based on information Pettigrew probably gave to Riddle after you became aware of Pettigrew's true allegiance?"

"Edgar Bones and his family, the Prewett twins, Benjamin Harris, Augustina and Walter Grieve, Eric Maple and two of his daughters, Alfred Walsh and later his oldest son Xavier as well as the Potters."

"For your own ends did you in any way, shape or form encourage Pettigrew to report any of these people as 'good' targets to his true master? And if so whom and why?"

"Edgar as he kept undermining my stance regarding muggles; the Prewett twins because they were becoming suspicious of my methods and aims; Augustina because I didn't like her and had no need of her but could still influence her children."

"So effectively you are accessory to various acts of violence, rape, torture and murder due to your deliberately chosen actions and inactions?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It is for the greater good."

"Define the term 'Greater Good' and what it means for you."

"The term 'greater good' means what is best for the future prosperity of House Dumbledore and naturally myself, then Wizarding Britain and everyone else," defined Dumbledore.

"Is it your practise to deliberately arrange events to encourage students, particularly those from Slytherin and others from the so-called dark families to become criminals? And if so why?" asked Harry desperately hoping and fearing this question.

"I, yes it is. As Leader of the Light I needed to have Dark enemies. What better way than to have everyone believe that those from the House of the Ambitious were all Dark and after the power to control all of Britain and then the world," stated Dumbledore whose voice was beginning to regain its natural timbre.

Everybody in the whole room just froze in yet another shock. No one could believe that Dumbledore had just admitted what he had done to so many generations of students and their families.

"How did you capture Gellert Grindelwald?" asked Harry.

"I had seduced and raped him when he was an underage child. A few memory modifications and we were lovers. I knew that if I could distract him I could get close and kill him so I found that useless whelp Riddle; portkeyed and apparated ourselves near to Gellerts home in Greater Germany. I imperiused Riddle and sent him in with a formal note to arrange a meeting to be in a weeks' time at an old guesthouse we use to frequent. For old times' sake I gifted Riddle to Gellert for the week. When we met in our old suite we talked and made love until Riddle inadvertently distracted him and I was able to render poor Gellert unconscious swiftly followed by Riddle. I removed all evidence of Riddles presence at the inn. Riddle I force fed the Draught of the Living Dead to before I portkeyed him to my home in Britain where I later modified his memory to believe that a pair of muggle homosexuals from Soho had held him prisoner for the week and raped him repeatedly till he found his wand and escaped. I dumped him unconscious in the East End near some abandoned buildings."

While Gellert was still unconscious I also altered his memory to completely forget Riddles presence and that after a glorious duel I'd defeated him before portkeying us to the ICW auror headquarters."

And that point the veritaserum finally wore off and Dumbledore consciously realised what he'd admitted to. The hatred, horror and disgusted looks on virtually everybody's faces along with the gleeful looks on others told him he was done for. To make it worse he had no way out of the prisoners chair little alone the chamber.

After a long shocked then considering pause Madame Bones spoke empathetically, "Albus Dumbledore you are by the Wizengamots authority hereby ordered to be held without bail in a ministry high security cell with your magic bound. You are to undergo further questioning to discover the full extent of your culpability, victims and co-conspirators. Please note prisoner Dumbledore that further charges and modification of charges may be added as further evidence becomes available. In addition as per the various acts governing wizarding Britain you are hereby suspended from all ministerial positions and other official positions without pay pending the outcome of your trial. Accordingly you are also no longer the Great Britain representative to any and all native or foreign organisations. Consequently copies of your testimony will be forwarded to Gringotts and the ICW for their legal consideration. In regard to your position as headmaster of Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Board of Governors will also be formally notified of your arrest and the charges pending against you."

"Auror Chifley, you and your squad are to escort this prisoner to a separate interrogation cell for initial questioning regarding the stated charges and any other allegations that arise during questioning. Notify his lawyer of his predicament. Except for the prisoners visits with his lawyer he is to be kept in strict solitary confinement at all times under both the assassination and suicide protocols for maximum security prisoners. He is NOT to be released from the magical suppressors. Also ensure he cannot communicate with any other prisoner."

There was a long pause whilst everyone watched as Dumbledore was handcuffed with magical suppressors by the aurors who also then removed his wand before he was released from the seat of judgement and escorted away to the maximum security cells.

Harry stood and happily watched as the Wizengamot members began discussing and mentally deconstructing Dumbledores destructive 'Greater Good' policies which had resulted in the deaths, injuries and trauma to thousands of people and the virtual extermination of so many families both muggle, common and noble. Of course there was all the collateral financial damage of crippled or destroyed businesses.

Suddenly Harry - amongst many others - almost jumped through the ceiling as there was a loud BANG from Madam Bones wand. "My Ladies and Lords and others present. At this point I'm adjourning the Court for an hour. All of this case is still sub judice and is not to be spoken of except within these chambers."

Having watched the courtroom for a moment she gestured Auror Forde over. After a short conversation he quickly ran out of the room.