Author's note: Sorry for the long update. My son was sick this week and I didn't have time to write much so this was hurried more than normal. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the great reviews.

Chapter 10:

The trials for Ron Weasley and Albus Dumbledore were the talk of the wizarding world. The scandal that Dumbledore had been paying Weasley to do his dirty work erased any lingering doubts in anyone's mind about what type of person Dumbledore really was. The Weasley family was in chaos trying to make sense of everything that was revealed. Molly was still distraught about her treatment of her family and Harry and although they all told her it was the compulsion charms she was still blaming herself. Arthur was trying to hold everyone together even as all his beliefs in the headmaster and muggles were being shattered. Ginny was the only one who seemed to be doing well since the revelation since she was so relieved to be able to like Draco. The twins, Bill and Charlie were torn. They were still hurting and upset from the way their parents treated them but at the same time realized that it had not been their fault. It was going to take a lot of time to heal the family from the machinations of Dumbledore and the fallout from Ron being such a psychopath.

Hermione was both devastated and angry at everything that was revealed in Ron's testimony. She was devastated for what it would do to the Weasley family and livid at the lengths her once best friend and headmaster were willing to go to have ultimate power and prestige. She was happy for Ginny and Draco but worried about how their relationship would be received by Draco's family as well as her father. She wondered if Harry would get up the guts to ask Pansy out now that Draco and Ginny were together. She was happy for her friends but wished she could be with them as they went through this tough time. She really wanted to be there for Harry when Dumbledore was questioned as she knew it would shock him when some of his manipulations were revealed.

Severus was disgusted with his former employer and was enjoying brewing the new batch of Veritaserum for the interrogation and then for the trial. He knew the headmaster would use every trick available to get himself out of mess he had created. He assumed that Albus would ask for Severus to administer the dose and then think that Severus would either water down the dose or fake it entirely. The more he learned of the old man's manipulations the more he believed that Dumbledore had ruined his life more than the Dark Lord ever did. He didn't enjoy killing people but at least with the Dark Lord you knew what you were fighting for, what was expected of you and what the punishment for failure was. Dumbledore used all smoke and mirrors and the people whose lives he played with were only now finding out. He also realized that he had Potter to thank for that and it irked him like no other. He may have stopped being hostile to the boy, but he hated the fact that he was responsible for saving them all.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Ginny asked Harry when they were told when Dumbledore's interrogation would be.

"I would like that but I can only bring one person and I think Hermione needs to hear what he says more," Harry told her with a shrug. "I know he manipulated you too Gin but I just have a feeling that Hermione needs to be there."

"It's fine with me Harry," Ginny told him with a smile. "I'm not sure I even want to be there, it may be better hearing it from you instead."

"We'll be here waiting for you when you get back," Pansy told him with a smile. "Just remember that whatever he did, however he screwed your life up that it's over. He doesn't have any control anymore and you're free of him. It won't make the pain go away but at least remember that you are the reason he got brought down."

"Thanks Pans," he told her with a small smile.

"Don't worry Harry," Draco told him with an evil grin. "We have him now and we get to nail him to the wall. There is no way around Veritaserum unless it is a bad dose and I know Snape is making sure it's his most potent dose ever."

"Thanks guys," he told them, hugging the girls before he went to meet Hermione in the entry hall.

"My father is going to go nuts if he finds out I tagged along with you," Hermione said with a mischievous smile. "But then he is the one who gave me the invisibility cloak so it's his own fault."

They entered the main lobby of the Ministry of Magic and were met by Tonks and Remus and escorted to the interrogation room next to the holding cells. "We had to put magic suppression handcuffs on him to keep him from escaping once he realized that the Veritaserum had been authorized. He tried to break down the wards on his cell wandlessly and had almost managed by the time the auror on duty went to check him again." Tonks told them leading them into the observation room to the side of the interrogation room. They would be able to see and hear everything but Albus couldn't see or hear them. There was an intercom into the other room if anyone felt they needed to ask any additional or more specific questions.

"Are you nervous?" Harry asked Hermione, hoping he was not the only one.

"More excited to see him brought down," she told him. "I mean there is not too much he could reveal that would shock me at this point. At least I hope not."

They were joined by a handful of other ministry employees before Dumbledore was brought into the room. When he refused to take the truth potion from anyone other than Severus Snape they just nodded and led the professor in. "We anticipated that request and have had Professor Snape brew a fresh batch of the potion for this occasion," Amelia Bones told him with a smirk at his stall tactics. Severus stepped forward and had to hold in his smirk at Albus' triumphant look when he placed the three drops of potion on his tongue. The look if triumph quickly vanished to be replaced first by horror and then by the lax uncaring look of someone in a potions induced fog.

After the initial questions to make sure the potion was working they began with the real interrogation. They decided to start with the questions they believed they had the answers to. "Did you direct Ronal Weasley to spy on Harry Potter and report his findings back to you?" When he answered yes they continued, "What did you promise and or pay Ronald Weasley to do this?"

"I waived his Hogwarts fees as well as gave him a small amount of pocket money for candy and Christmas presents. I promised him the Minister of Magic position when he got out of school as well as that I would make him a prefect and get him on the house Quidditch team. I promised he would be the most successful Weasley in years as well as the most powerful." Dumbledore told them, knowing he was finally caught since he had no choice but to answer the questions.

"Did you direct Ronald Weasley to steal from other students and faculty?"

"Yes."

"What did you have him steal?"

"Rare books, potions ingredients, artifacts, journals and anything that could be either dangerous or helpful to my cause that I did not want anyone to know I had in my position." He replayed and then gave a complete inventory of what he had Ron steal and from who and when. As well as whom he had Ron place charms on and why and when.

"Did you take unauthorized money or property from the Potter vault or estate?"

"Yes"

"How long have you been making unauthorized transactions?"

"Since I forged magical guardianship papers of Harry when his parents died."

"What have you taken from the Potter estate and vaults?"

"The Potter's will, letters and journals of Lily's, dark detectors, books on ancient magics, the sword of Gryffindor, other founder artifacts and journals, the deed to Hogwarts, the deeds to 5 properties, the Potter family tree and ring and all the gold from the Potter family vault, I only left Harry's trust vault alone, I took everything else of value." Dumbledore told them not realizing the impact of what he said. Madame Bones paused to answer the phone to the other room and nodding began the questions again, hoping what she was about to ask did not return the answers she feared.

"Who cast the Fidelus charm on the Potter family?"

"I did," Albus answered and Hermione and Tonks had to physically restrain both Harry and Remus from ripping Dumbledore apart.

"Who was the Potter's secret keeper?"

"Peter Pettigrew otherwise known as Wormtail." He replied to the gasps of those who did not know Sirius was innocent.

"Did you know Peter was Death Eater?"

"Yes, I helped heal him when he came back injured so his friends would not find out." Albus told them, unaware of the chaos he was causing in the observation room.

"Why did you want the Potters killed?"

"They were a threat to me. The Potter name carried too much weight in Wizengammot and they didn't believe in the opening of our world to the muggle world. Lily threatened to expose me after the third time they were kidnapped by death eaters and then I heard a prophesy concerning their son Harry and knew they all had to be eliminated." There was silence in the room as the leader of the light just admitted to handing a powerful pureblood family over to Voldemort.

"Why did you not allow Sirius Black a trial?"

"He would have implicated me if questioned under truth serum as well as I could not risk having him influence Harry."

"Did you know the Dursley's abused Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I planned it that way so he would think of me as his savior from that life and would be easier to control. I stole the Potter's will so it could not be executed and Harry placed with a Wizard family."

"What are your plans for Harry Potter?"

"He will kill Voldemort and then I will place him under the imperious curse or a coercion charm to tell the wizarding world that he agrees with everything I suggest. I will have him impregnate a witch that I can control and then have him eliminated. I will then be able to control the Potter votes in the Wizengammot as well as have complete control of his heir."

"Did you start the war with Grindlewald?"

"Yes, he was a pompous pureblood Slytherin and thought that the muggle world was insignificant and that Wizards would be better off without them. We were mortal enemies since our first year at Hogwarts. I was the one who started the rumors that all Slytherins were dark and evil and that Gryffindors were light and good. The war started when I killed Grindlewald's sister after I found she was pregnant with my child. She was unworthy of carrying my child and I would not have my name tainted by having an heir with a Slytherin as I had only slept with her to try and break Grindlewald."

After Dumbledore explained in detail his views on the war, what he hoped to accomplish and how he made sure the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor continued throughout the years many of those watching were feeling physically sick at everything revealed.

Steeling herself to finish the questioning Amelia continued, "Who have you placed coercion or control charms or potions on and why?"

The list included Hermione, her parents, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Neville Longbottom, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Tom Riddle, Cornelius Fudge, most of the Wizengammot members, all the Weasley's save Percy and Ron, all the members of the Order, all the Hogwarts staff, any member of Slytherin house, and Fawkes his phoenix. Turns out that Fawkes was not his familiar and doesn't even like him he had to charm him to keep him around. The charms on Hermione and her parents were so they would not realize she was adopted as well as a magic suppression potion. Harry and Neville were both given magic suppression potions and Remus was given a potion that had him fight the wolf within him so that he would never become one with his wolf as was necessary for a werewolf to survive without pain. The staff members and Order were charmed for obedience and the Wizengammot was charmed to elect him leader. Fudge was charmed multiple times to do as Albus commanded. Minerva was charmed to be attracted to Albus, though he couldn't understand why it never worked, and to do whatever he commanded. Severus had been charmed while he was in school to be open to taking the dark mark as well as with a loyalty charm to Albus, he basically engineered his own spy without Severus ever having a choice.

"Who is Tom Riddle and why did you charm him to be obsessed with the dark arts?"

"Tom Riddle is Voldemort's real name. I discovered he was the heir to Slytherin and knew he was the perfect enemy to have and it would help me to get my goals accomplished. I charmed him to be obsessed with the dark arts so that I could turn him into the next dark lord."

"Why and how did you turn him into Voldemort?"

"He was horribly abused by muggles at the orphanage he was placed in when his mother died in child birth. I convinced Headmaster Dippit that Tom was lying about his care there and made sure he was sent back every year. I made sure he was able to find the Chamber of Secrets entrance as I learned the location in one of the founder journals but was unable to open it without speaking Parseltongue. I was disappointed that the only artifact remaining in the chamber was the Basilisk and not books or anything of value so I charmed Tom again to shut the chamber before another student died. I knew as soon as he performed his first dark ritual the compulsion charm I placed on him along with the dark arts compulsion would push him over the edge and he would spiral out of control until he was the next dark lord. I knew I needed to defeat another Dark Lord before the wizarding world would embrace my goal of opening our world to the muggles."

Amelia sighed and nodded to the clerks to alert them that she was asking the last question, "What other illegal acts have you performed?" And they all sat there for the next half hour as Dumbledore spilled every dirty deed he had done in his life, the list of infractions covered 4 feet of parchment and they were all relieved when he stopped talking and they were able to administer the antidote and return him to his cell.

One of the good things to come out of the interrogation was the Dumbledore revealed where he had stashed everything he had stolen and Amelia contacted the goblins to retrieve everything stolen as well as a complete inventory of what was left so they could distribute damages to those who were manipulated by Dumbledore. Those who were spelled or given potions by him were sent immediately to St. Mungo's for treatment, well all but Tom Riddle since they didn't know how to treat a dark lord.

Harry and Hermione were still reeling from all the revelations and were wondering how exactly they were going to get over everything they had just heard and how the wizarding world would cope with learning what it's once leader was capable of.