Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used within this story, they all belong to J.K. Rowling. I own none of the places referenced within this story, they belong to their respective owners or J.K. Rowling.
Note: This is set after the fourth book, with a much more pro-active Harry Potter, with the duel in the graveyard acting like it should have done in canon; as a kick up the ass to get him moving faster down the path of greatness.
General response to the reviews for the previous chapter; the chapter was meant to leave more questions than answers so that this chapter could be such a large clean up. In short… it's time for some Sirius Business people!
I fought the law (and the law won)
Harry yawned once again as he and Neville made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast, once again ignoring all of the whispers and pointing that erupted when they were spotted. Of course, this time it wasn't because of a daily prophet article or any of Harry's near-death adventures. This time all of the students were whispering and pointing at the space where Harry's lower left arm used to be, now absent thanks to the efforts of Ron Weasley and Severus Snape. Hannah waved at Neville from the Hufflepuff table and the boy grinned,
"Seems that we're being summoned." He muttered to his friend as he went around the end of the Hufflepuff table to sit beside Hannah. Harry sighed as he sat down opposite Hannah and Neville,
"Great. I get all of breakfast to listen to you two flirt and watch you making eyes at each other. Oh don't worry; I didn't want to keep my breakfast anyway." He joked, piling on what food he wanted for his breakfast. Hannah flushed and Neville scowled playfully,
"Two words mate; Pansy Parkinson." He replied smugly. Harry's face twisted in distaste and he pushed the plate away again,
"And just like that, I'm not hungry anymore." He commented, tapping the side of his cup to have it filled with orange juice. Hannah made a face,
"I've never understood why you like that stuff." She muttered quietly, trying not to let her disgust at the orange juice show on her face. Harry chuckled and took a sip,
"And I've never understood why pumpkin juice is seen as normal." He shot back playfully. Neville rolled his eyes,
"It's not to be honest. It's just traditional to drink it at Hogwarts." He commented, taking one of Hannah's hands in his as he went to take a sip of the afore mentioned pumpkin juice. Hannah coloured slightly and Harry chuckled to himself,
"So when are the two of you going to stop dancing around the issue and start dating?" he asked, only half joking. This made Neville go red in the face as several of the Hufflepuffs seated around them turned to watch the conversation. Hannah, blushing furiously now, smirked as she thought of something,
"Oh and when are you going to choose a girl?" she shot back, earning herself a wide-eyed Harry, which encouraged her to continue, "You can't have both Susan and Daphne. Your heart may be big enough but I doubt you could keep up with two of them!"
Harry smirked as the Hufflepuffs around them laughed at his expense,
"Oh really? Trust me when I tell you this Hannah…" he pointed to the Rune of Body and Mind, hidden though it was by his school robes, "It doesn't just give me regular energy in spades."
A purr behind his ear let Harry know why exactly Hannah had been smiling quite so much,
"Mmm… now that sounds promising, Harry…" Susan Bones purred into his ear, breathing lightly on his neck, "I hope you live up to the hype…"
Harry swallowed,
"Good morning to you as well Sue." He replied, trying hard to keep his tone even and measured. Susan smirked and sat down beside him,
"Morning." She greeted brightly, causing most of the surrounding Hufflepuffs to laugh a little. Of course, several of the Hufflepuff boys were now giving Harry dirty looks. Between Harry and Neville, the most beautiful Hufflepuff girls had been taken. Neville chuckled,
"Now that's a morning greeting." He turned to Hannah with a smirk, "How come I only get a wave?"
Hannah smacked him on the arm,
"You're lucky you get that." She shot back, equally as teasing. Harry rolled his eyes and went to reach into his school bag for his schedule, not having memorised it yet. Susan frowned,
"Why aren't you eating Harry?" she looked concerned, "Is it… is it because you can't use a knife and a fork… since yesterday?"
Harry looked up, surprised,
"Oh what? Oh no, no." he threw Neville a dirty look, "Longbottom of Longbottom over there ruined my appetite with a very unsavoury remark."
Neville grinned, proud of himself,
"I do try to please." He replied before growing serious, "On a more serious note… is everything ready for Operation Bird-Takes-Weasel?"
The hyphenated 'operation' had been born after both Professors Snape and Dumbledore had left Harry, Neville, Susan and Daphne alone in the hospital wing after the confrontation with the Weasleys. Of course, most of the plan had come from the fiery displeasure of Susan and the cold ruthlessness of Daphne. Harry had had just enough input to make it clear that he didn't want to kill Ron, his declaration of a Blood Feud having been made mostly due to physical shock and lack of blood, but that he wasn't too fussed if Snape died. From that point on Susan and Daphne had argued and debated the plan for hours until the plan had been hammered out entirely. Oh and Madam Pomfrey had thrown them out of the hospital wing, that put a quick end to the planning session. But Hannah had not been present and was understandably confused,
"Operation what takes what?" she demanded, her curiosity now peaked. Harry, now serious as well, dropped a small privacy ward over the four of them,
"It's Susan and Daphne's plan to make sure that I get rev- I mean, justice." He told her, smirking a little as his intended slip. Susan, her face as mask of restrained anger, shot him a glare,
"This is nothing to joke about Harry. The old man has gone too far with this! Letting the Weasel and the Death Eater get away with is nothing short of criminal!" she raged, showing her obvious passion for the subject. Harry raised his hands in surrender,
"Peace. I never said that it wasn't needed or appreciated." He reassured her, making her calm down just a little bit. Hannah frowned,
"Is this about the punishment that Weasley's supposed to be getting? There's been a rumour flying around that he's only got detention." She scoffed, sure that the detentions had been a rumour. When Susan grew angrier and both boys tensed, her mouth dropped, "You're joking. Detention? He exploded Harry's arm off with a Dark Arts spell! How in Merlin's name could Dumbledore only give him detention?"
Neville shrugged,
"He's trying to use the whole 'everyone deserves a second chance' line but no one's buying it. Hell, half the Weasley family has sided with Harry on this." He told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Hannah calmed a little before she thought of something,
"Hang on… what about your arm? I know that if the limb is destroyed by Dark magic then it can't be regrown but why didn't it get reattached?" she asked. At this question, both Neville and Susan grew angrier while Harry merely looked indifferent. Susan was almost breaking the table; her grip was so tight,
"That greasy haired bastard Vanished it during the duel! Blamed it on reflexes and it being a non-rubble duel!" she raged loudly, making Harry thankful that he'd thought to put a privacy spell up. Hannah paled,
"Snape Vanished his arm? He Vanished it? As in, broke it done into small components with magic and didn't let it reassemble?" she asked, building up into a rage like her best friend. Harry put a calming hand on Susan's shoulder,
"Both of you need to calm down." He told them, giving both Susan and Hannah pointed looks, "The plan will ensure that they get theirs. But we need to be more calm and collected if we're going to go through with it without a hitch."
Susan relaxed slightly into his warm touch and Hannah sighed, moving closer to Neville as he put an arm around her shoulders,
"Promise me that they'll pay for what they did…" she murmmered, almost burrowing herself into Neville's side, much to the boy's embarrassed delight. Harry smiled slightly,
"I promise."
Lunch was a much tenser affair for Harry than breakfast had been. This time he and Neville had decided to visit the Slytherin table for their meal. Sat across the table from them were Daphne and Tracey, giggling almost silently to each other about the discomfort of the boys sat across from them. Neville frowned,
"How is this funny?" he hissed, leaning across the table in a further effort not to be heard, "It feels like they're trying to kill us with their eyes!"
This caused Tracey and Daphne to giggle slightly louder. Harry rolled his eyes at the display, they were trying to giggle quietly when they'd just seen him put up a privacy spell. He sighed a little as he looked up and down the length of the Slytherin table, noting all of the hateful glares from the boys and the half-concealed appraising looks of the girls. He chuckled lightly to himself.
Chicks dig limb loss.
Or was it scars? He could never remember. Daphne poked him in the shoulder, breaking him out of his daze,
"Huh? Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?" he asked with a weak smile. Tracey rolled her eyes,
"Honestly Potter… can you at least try to pay attention?" she drawled casually. Harry smirked,
"Honestly Davis… could you try any harder to sound like Snape?" he shot back in the same drawl. Tracey went red in the face,
"I am not like Professor Snape!" she snapped back, "That insufferable pig of a man deserves to die a painful death for what he did before he came here! I still can't believe that Dumbledore let a Death Eater teach here…"
Neville sat back with a sigh,
"Well believe it. After all…" he smirked, "It's all for the 'Greater Good'. Always remember the capital letters kids."
Daphne rolled her eyes,
"Oh do shut up Neville. You'll miss the fireworks after all." She commented with a vicious smirk. Harry turned round in his seat just as the doors to the Great Hall flew open, letting Amelia Bones and twenty Aurors in. Gasps resounded throughout the hall as the stormy-faced Madam Bones led her blue-clad Aurors between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Professor Dumbledore stood up imperiously,
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, his voice thundering through the large hall easily. Amelia gestured and stopped, the Aurors halting behind her,
"Headmaster Dumbledore, I have here three arrest warrants." She declared loudly, matching the Headmaster's level of volume to be heard over the excited chattering of the general student body. She pulled three scrolls of parchment from her robes, "I have signed arrest warrants for one Ronald Billus Weasley…"
At this, Ron shot up out of his seat with an angry red face,
"But I was already punished by the Headmaster! He said I wouldn't have to worry about this anymore!" he shouted at the witch, apparently not caring that she was more powerful magically and politically than he would ever be. Dumbledore visibly flinched at the red-head's words, so damaging were they to his already damaged public image. Amelia turned to regard Dumbledore with anger burning behind her eyes,
"Did he now?" she asked thinly before nodding to the closet Aurors, "Regardless, you will be escorted to the Ministry of Magic to await your trail by the Wizengamot."
The colour left Ron's face immediately as two Aurors walked slowly towards him. He panicked, drawing his wand clumsily. A flick of the wrist from the lead Auror and the student had ropes binding his hands and legs, his discarded wand already being summoned away from him. Amelia opened one of the scrolls as the bound Weasley was levitated away from the Gryffindor table,
"Ronald Billus Weasley, you are under arrest for the use of a Dark Arts spell, with malicious intent, and attempted murder of the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House. You do not have to say anything; however it may harm your defence if you fail to mention something which you later rely on in court." She rattled off before nodding her head again. The two Aurors nodded and marched from the room, Ron Weasley floating behind them while shouting repeatedly that he was innocent. A few seconds later, one of the Aurors had stunned the struggling youth to speed up transport. Madam Bones turned back to the staff table, looking at the Potions Professor, "Severus Snape, you are likewise under arrest."
Snape stood up from his seat, sneering at the two Aurors that had been moving to take him,
"I can still walk by myself." He turned to the Slytherin table with a smirk, "I'll be back before dinner, behave like true Slytherins while I am absent."
Madam Bones narrowed her eyes,
"You won't be back here at all if even one of your charges stick." She cleared her throat, opening another of the scrolls, "Severus Snape, you are charged with wilful misconduct as a Witness for a duel involving one of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses, the indirect and wilful dismemberment of the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House as well as a breach of your life debt to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."
Snape's sneer turned into a scowl and he sent Harry a particularly hateful glare,
"Trying to get me arrested on trumped up charges Potter? Just as arrogant as your father I see." He sneered, still trying to sound superior. Harry scowled right back and stood up from the Slytherin table,
"Madam Bones, I would like you to add 'Slander of a Most Ancient and Noble House' to the charges." He told the head of the DMLE firmly. Madam Bones nodded,
"It will be so. Aurors Shacklebolt and Dawlish. Take Mr Snape to his ministry holding cell." She commanded. Immediately, both Aurors moved up to Snape and took his wand away from him before binding his hands together in magical rope. As his potions professor was led out of the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore stepped forwards,
"Madam Bones, I trust that you will not be taking any more of my staff?" he asked, trying with all of his significant willpower to remain the friendly grandfather figure. Amelia smiled, a vicious and predatory expression,
"After this, yes." She drew herself up to her full height, "Albus Percival Wulfirc Brian Dumbledore, you are under arrest for interference in a duel involving the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House and for attempting to disrupt the path of justice on two counts."
Dumbledore's eyes widened dramatically as the remaining Aurors cautiously began to approach him, wands at the ready. Quickly scanning the staff table, he found that none of the staff looked willing to rise to his defence. He sighed and slowly, so as to avoid being stunned by a nervous Auror, gave his wand to McGonagall,
"For safe keeping my dear." He told her gently before walking around the staff table and allowing himself to be bound at the wrists and led out of the Great Hall. Once the headmaster had been led out, Amelia Bones made her way over to the Slytherin table,
"Lord Potter." She greeted him sternly as she approached. More whispers broke out around the hall, many of them obviously thinking that Harry was going to be arrested as well. Draco Malfoy, in an almost Weasley level of stupidity, spoke up loudly,
"It's about time that someone took Scarhead away!" he called out loudly, causing some of his regular minions to laugh uproariously. Amelia Bones snapped her head up to glare at the outspoken Slytherin boy,
"You will show the proper respect to the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House or I will have you arrested for slander of said house." Her gaze bore into Draco's as he tried to make himself as small as possible, "Do I make myself clear?"
Draco, not trusting his voice after being so thoroughly damned, silently nodded. Harry smiled a little at Madam Bones,
"I'm guessing that you will need me present for the trails?" he asked her, making her finally drop the glare she'd been giving Draco,
"Yes Lord Potter. Requests have also been made, by their Heads of House, for Miss Daphne Greengrass, Miss Susan Bones and Mr Neville Longbottom to accompany you." She lied smoothly. Of course Amelia was one of the very few people who knew that all four of the teenagers were the heads of their own families and were required as members of the Seven. He bowed slightly,
"We will, of course, follow you to attend." He informed her as Daphne and Neville stood up from the table to join them. With a nod from Amelia, Susan joined the group as they left a thoroughly shocked student body in the Great Hall, two professors less and their lunches forgotten in their gossip.
Daphne tutted at Harry again as he fidgeted once again in his purple Wizengamot robes, the golden collar around his neck signifying his position as one of the Seven. Of course, it was said golden collar which was causing him to fidget. She sighed a little before pulling Harry's prying fingers away from the status symbol,
"I know it's constricting… but you need to show them the Lordly side of you, not the real side of you. The Lordly side will be fine in the court, the real side probably won't." she reminded him, smoothing out his flowing robes gently. Harry took a deep breath and looked around the empty Chamber of the Seven. The high-backed chairs were all unoccupied, with Daphne and him standing in the middle of the Chamber and the other members nowhere in sight,
"Where are Neville and Susan?" he asked, frowning slightly at their absence. Daphne smirked playfully and hit him on the arm,
"Why Lord Potter… a girl could start to think you didn't like her like that." She scolded playfully. Harry smirked right back,
"Well, said girl would be rather silly to assume that I didn't like her." He replied, noting the slight reddening of her cheeks. Daphne's eyes narrowed when she saw his small grin and she hit him in the arm again, harder this time,
"Prat." She spat with the beginnings of a smile. Harry, wincing a little, hopped from one leg to another,
"You know… it's at times like this that I could do with another arm…" he smirked at her now horrified face, "Just to rub the other one while looking sheepish of course."
Daphne hit him again, repeatedly, before falling forward onto him, her face buried in his chest. Harry frowned when felt her shuddering against him. He raised her head to look him in the eye and saw the angry tears there,
"Don't you dare joke like that again!" she told him tearfully. At his dumb nod she continued, "It's hard for me to see you like this Harry… I don't like to think about what that… that… bastard! What that bastard of a Weasley did to you!"
Harry gently cupped the side of her face, whipping at her tears with his thumb, smiling down gently at her,
"Don't worry Daphne… it's not a problem. I've told you before; I just need to stay without one for just a little while longer." His smile wilted a little, "For me."
Daphne's face scrunched up and she balled some of his Wizengamot robes up in her hand in her frustration,
"Why Harry? Why do you have to put yourself through this?" she demanded, her tears coming back angrier than the last time. Harry frowned, his face setting,
"I have to drive the lesson home Daphne. I have to feel the ache of loss with my whole body before I can continue down the path I am on." He told her firmly. Daphne shook her head, batting her fists against his chest,
"Fuck your path! I want you whole again god-damn it!" she cried out, bunching his robes up in her fists again as she rested her head against his chest again. Harry sighed a little, running his fingers lightly through her hair,
"I'm a warrior now Daph…" he felt her look up at him at the use of the nickname, this being the first time he'd used it, "And I can't afford to make mistakes in battle. I'm staying like this until dinner because I need to feel some of the pain of loss. Because next time…"
He looked deep into her eyes,
"Next time it could be something more important."
"The following is a trio of trials, before the whole Wizengamot, brought forward by Lord Harry James Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, one of the illustrious Seven. Madam Amelia Bones presiding judge, with Minister Fudge as acting Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot." The court scribe, one Percy Weasley, read out loudly so that every member of the Wizengamot could hear. He turned to the side of the courtroom, where the three defendants were sat, waiting and chained, to a bench, "The defendants are; Albus Percival Wulfirc Brian Dumbledore, Ronald Billus Weasley and Severus Snape. Between the defendants we have two counts of disrupting the course of justice; one count of interfering in an honour duel involving one of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses; one count of wilful misconduct as a Witness to an honour duel involving one of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses; one count of indirect and wilful dismemberment of the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House; one count of acting against an active life debt; one count of a Class 2 Dark Arts spell used with malicious intent; and one count of attempted murder of the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House."
Minister Fudge banged his gavel almost gleefully, ready to see Dumbledore go down in flames on criminal charges, and his 'ridiculous' story with him,
"The Wizengamot is ready to hear the evidence presented." He announced, a little too much of his happiness bleeding out into his tone of voice. Madam Bones nodded slowly,
"The judge of their joint cases is ready to hear the evidence presented." She declared firmly, her face a mask of steely resolve. Percy nodded absently as he looked down the scroll,
"Prosecutor was initially filed to be one Lord Harry James Potter, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, but was withdrawn due to a conflict of interest." He looked up from the scroll of parchment again, "Prosecutor for their cases shall be Lord Longbottom of Longbottom. Defendant Ronald Billus Weasley has refused his right for legal representation by attempting to resist arrest. Defendants Snape and Dumbledore have declined legal representation to represent themselves. First case; the case of Lord Harry James Potter against Ronald Billus Weasley. The defendant will take The Chair."
Ron was unshackled from the bench but didn't seem willing to move, his eyes fixed on the Chained Chair in the centre of the dungeon-like courtroom. After a few seconds the closest Auror, Auror Dawlish, grabbed Ron by the upper arm and half-dragged him across the room to throw him bodily into The Chair. The teenage wizard tried to twist away from The Chair but the magical chains quickly wrapped themselves around his limbs, binding him to The Chair, and pulled them back in. Dawlish shook his head in disgust as Ron began to mumble and writhe in The Chair in obvious discomfort. Madam Bones glared down at the defendant,
"The Prosecutor, Longbottom of Longbottom, may approach." Neville moved closer to the centre of the courtroom, setting a small folder down on the scribe's table. At his nod, Amelia pointed to Ron, who was still struggling valiantly, "You may begin with your case."
Neville nodded respectfully before walking in front of Ron, his back still to the struggling boy, as he began to address the Wizengamot,
"Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot, before you sits one of the most insidious creatures known to man… a person who was willing to go against the established rules of an honour duel." He turned suddenly, pointing at Ron contemptuously, "Look at him! He writhes around and struggles to escape from his crimes like the honourless coward that he is!"
There was a general murmur of agreement from many members of the Wizengamot, accompanied by much head nodding or shaking. Ron pushed against the chains especially hard,
"No! I only did what I had to do!" he pleaded before the chains clamped down and slammed him back into the wood of The Chair again. Neville gestured at Ron again,
"You see? Even now he flaunts our ways and our laws! He resisted arrest, poorly, but he did resist. His resistance forfeits his right to legal defence and yet he sits there and pleads that what he did was the 'right thing'." He shook his head in a show of disgust, "Has there ever been a non-lethal honour duel where the use of a Class 2 Dark Arts spell has been justified? The answer is no! A Class 2 Dark Arts spell is a lethal spell and is punishable by a total of no less than thirty years in Azkaban!"
Ron squirmed even harder in The Chair,
"No! You can't send me to Azkaban! He was going dark! I swear it!" he pleaded, fighting hard against the efforts of The Chair to restrain him again. His eyes locked onto his brother, "Percy! Please! I'm your brother! Don't let them throw me in Azkaban! Please!"
"SILENCE!" Percy thundered, taking much of the court by surprise with the sheer volume of his voice. Of course, he was the son of the infamous Molly Weasley, "You have brought disgrace to yourself and the family name! The only reason that Lord Potter has not killed you to satisfy the blood feud is that he has graciously seen Azkaban as enough of a punishment."
Ron still struggled,
"But I'm your brother!" he cried, wailing as he fought the chains. Percy's face grew almost as red as Ron could make his own,
"You are no brother of mine!" he roared, reminding the older members of the court of a younger Barty Crouch Sr. and just like with the elder Crouch, his word was the general view of many members of the Wizengamot. Various shouts rang out from the members in support of Percy Weasley's statement, causing Ron to break down and start sobbing as he was pinned to The Chair once again. Madam Bones banged her gavel several times,
"Order! Order in the courtroom!" she declared, her voice amplified by the magical gavel, "The Wizengamot will now vote on the proposed punishment for both crimes as a thirty year imprisonment in Azkaban!"
A silencing ward sprang up around the upper levels, cutting the courtroom floor off from the members of the Wizengamot while they votes. For a few moments, only Ron's sobs could be heard on the courtroom floor. The wards dropped and silence resumed, everyone on the lower level holding their breath. Minister Fudge stood up, looking very self-important,
"We, the esteemed members of the Wizengamot, find the defendant, one Ronald Billus Weasley… guilty of all charges." He declared, causing Ron to let out a desperate wail and Dumbledore to sadly shake his head. Fudge continued; a cruel smile in place now, "The defendant is sentenced to an increased sentence of forty years in Azkaban prison. Effective immediately."
Aurors Dawlish and Shacklebolt moved from the sides of the courtroom floor to remove Ron from The Chair. Picking the boy up by his upper arms, the Aurors began to drag him out of the courtroom as he kicked and screamed,
"Percy! Percy, help me! I'm your brother Percy!" he screamed and wailed. Percy Weasley showed no indication of hearing the pleas, which were silenced and the courtroom doors slammed shut. As the members of the court shuffled their papers, changing their information of the first case for their information for the next, two nondescript Aurors unshackled Severus Snape and escorted him to the Chained Chair. A very visible shudder ran through Snape's body at drawing close to The Chair and he became, if it was possible, a shade whiter than he already was. The Aurors pushed him slightly and he sat down heavily in The Chair, swallowing hard when the chains jumped to life and bound him to the unforgiving wood of The Chair. Percy Weasley stood, professionally detached from his brother's earlier trial,
"The trail of Severus Snape. Mr Snape is charged with one count of indirectly and wilfully dismembering the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House; one count of misconduct as a Witness to an honour duel involving said Head of Most Ancient and Noble House and one count of acting against an active life debt." He read out the charges before sitting again to begin work as the scribe. Madam Bones banged her gavel to get the attention of the whole courtroom,
"You have been read your charges." She eyed him with just a hint of malice, "How do you plead?"
Snape swallowed to clear his throat,
"Not guilty." He managed to mutter in a poor attempt at his usual drawl. The Chair had that effect on Death Eaters, 'reformed' though they may be. Madam Bones' eyes narrowed slightly but she continued,
"Lord Longbottom of Longbottom, you may proceed." She told the teenage Lord. Neville nodded tightly before retrieving a sheet of parchment from his file, still resting on Percy's table,
"Mr Snape… I have here a Ministry record which states that your life was saved by one James Charles Potter." He pretended to read it over again, "Harry James Potter's father saved your life. Is that correct?"
Snape had gritted his teeth throughout Neville's opening statement and it seemed to take a great deal of effort for him to open his mouth again to reply,
"Yes." He muttered; his voice barely above a hiss. Enchantments on the Chained Chair amplified the hiss so that it could be heard by the whole Wizengamot. Neville nodded slowly,
"And do you know the price for wilfully going against an active life debt, even if it has been passed down from Father to Son?" he asked, pacing up and down in front of his restrained Potions Professor. Snape gritted his teeth yet again,
"Yes." He ground out hatefully. Neville frowned, feigning surprise,
"So you knew that acting as you did, to harm Lord Potter-" he began but was cut off,
"Objection!" Snape shouted out, "The incident in question was down to reflexes alone and not due to any malicious intent!"
Neville gave him a condescending look,
"Really? Are you trying to tell the court that you hold no malice towards Lord Potter for his parentage?" he asked with a sad shake of his head, "Please, evidence of your hatred for Lord Potter has been witnessed in each and every one of your interactions with him. Care to dispute that when the court reserves the right to use Veritaserum?"
Snape ground his teeth together,
"No." he ground out eventually. Neville nodded,
"So we have established that you have a history of hating Lord Potter." He commented, continuing at Snape's brief nod, "And you expect us to believe that you Vanished his arm, thereby permanently dismembering him, purely accidentally?"
Snape scowled darkly,
"As I have previously stated, Longbottom, I acted out of reflex alone in a non-rubble honour duel. I am innocent of any wrong-doing." He protested scornfully. Neville chuckled lightly,
"Oh of course." He picked a small vial of clear liquid up off of the scribe's desk, "Care to take a drink and let me repeat the question?"
"Objection! Prosecutor is badgering the witness!" Dumbledore called out from the bench at the side of the courtroom floor. The members of the Wizengamot began to mutter amongst themselves at his intervention when Fudge banged his gavel several times to gain silence,
"Silence! Albus Dumbledore, you are not the defence for the defendant and so you will keep your objections to yourself!" he called out with a cruel glint to his eyes. Snape slumped in The Chair as he noticed the staring contest going on between Fudge and Dumbledore. It was now obvious that he was going to be railroaded in this trial; just to get it over with so that Fudge could get to Dumbledore's trial. An aide quickly stalked amongst the members of the Wizengamot to stand beside Minister Fudge. The Minister leant closer and the aide whispered something into his ear before passing him a note. Fudge looked annoyed for a second before banging his gavel once again, "This body has heard enough. We shall deliberate and give our judgement. Afterwards we will have a brief recess before the trial of Albus Dumbledore."
The privacy wards went up again, separating the courtroom floor from the debating Wizengamot. Neville walked over to Percy's desk, tapping his file to get the man to stop writing and look up at him,
"How are you holding up Percy?" he asked quietly, genuinely concerned, "I know that it can't have been easy to say those things to your own brother."
Percy's business-like appearance faltered for a second before it was back in full force,
"There are certain members of my family that I have missed since our… falling out, but I will admit that Ronald was not one of them." He bowed his head a little to resume writing, "Terrible as that may sound, it has not affected my performance today. He deserves his punishment, his actions have shamed the family name. Essentially meaning that any Weasley trying to enter the ministry in the future will have less opportunities because of him."
Neville wanted to roll his eyes, the same old Percy. Still trying so hard to be professional instead of human, in the hopes of outgrowing the stigma of his family name by making his own in the ministry. Instead of rolling his eyes, he nodded respectfully,
"I understand." He told the older man before smiling faintly, "What does a guy have to do to get a cup of coffee around here anyway?"
Percy frowned a little but nodded slowly,
"An elf named Timmy brings coffee to those who ask for it." He replied before completely submerging himself back in his duties as scribe. Neville stepped away from the table, idly wandering around the courtroom floor,
"Timmy!" he called out. A House Elf, dressed in a plain black strip of silk, popped into existence beside Neville's knee,
"Honoured one be calling Timmy?" the small creature asked with a mix of fear and respect. Neville nodded,
"A cup of coffee please. White, two sugars." He told the elf before resuming his idle wandering as the elf popped away. Timmy popped back a few seconds later, a steaming cup of coffee waiting. Neville smiled a little as he took the cup, "Thank you Timmy."
The House Elf nodded briskly, his ears flopping from side to side, before popping out of the courtroom again. Just as Neville was about to take a sip, Snape pulled against the chains, getting his attention,
"They won't convict me and you know it Longbottom!" he snarled, in what Neville saw as more of an attempt to convince himself. Neville shrugged,
"Probably not." He agreed before smirking, "Though I seriously doubt that Fudge will let you just walk away."
Snape sneered hatefully,
"I have protection from being sent to Azkaban and am one of the few potions masters qualified to teach at Hogwarts." He said, attempting to drawl it out as his usually did. Of course, the noise sounded strange when the context was that he was in The Chair and was about to have judgement passed on him. Neville smirked,
"Are you so sure?" at the professor's self-assured sneer he continued, "After all, those protections were put in place by Albus Dumbledore. And who is the Ministry trying very hard to discredit in every conceivable way…? Oh! That'll be Albus Dumbledore."
Snape's eyes had widened at this but the look of utter dismay was soon replaced by another hateful sneer,
"I don't need Albus Dumbledore to fight my battles for me." He spat out venomously. Neville looked up as the privacy wards fell,
"We'll see Snape… we'll see…" Neville muttered, just low enough for Snape to hear it. Fudge opened by banging his gavel several times, to stop the impending argument between Neville and Snape,
"The accused has been found not guilty of the charge of going against an active life debt, as the life debt has not triggered any adverse effects on the accused." Fudge read out from the parchment in front of him, causing Snape to smirk victoriously at Neville, who simply nodded towards Fudge again,
"The accused is found guilty of indirectly and wilfully dismembering the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter and misconduct as an official Witness in a duel involving the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter." He read out, his attention focused solely on how Dumbledore was taking the news. Snape's face contorted into a mask of fury as Neville smiled slightly to himself. Madam Bones picked up from where Fudge had left off,
"This body has decided to be lenient due to the shortage of capable potions masters/mistresses in the country at the moment and your obvious skill in the area." She announced, almost bringing the smirk back to Snape's face, before she continued, "Therefore this body has decided that Mr Snape will pay the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter reparations up to, and including, 200,000 galleons and that he be removed from his position of Head of Slytherin House along with his teaching position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, pending an investigation into his teaching abilities."
Snape pulled against the chains of The Chair,
"This is outrageous! All of this for some attention seeking brat of a child?" he roared as the two Aurors from before began to unchain him from The Chair, "My vault doesn't even contain that much money!"
Madam Bones narrowed her eyes into deadly slits, even as the members of the Wizengamot were leaving,
"Then it will be taken in property. Consider yourself lucky that I am still not allowed to fully charge you… Death Eater." She threatened, her voice cold as she spat out the phrase 'Death Eater' as if it were some curse. Snape calmed slightly as he was led away by the Aurors, who was most likely going to be taking him to Gringotts to see to about transferring the funds and assets. Neville smiled a little before turning to look over at the benches. He frowned when Dumbledore smiled back at him, the twinkling back in his eyes. Neville left the courtroom floor with barely restrained rage at not seeing it earlier. The note the aide had brought had been from Dumbledore, probably agreeing to give Fudge something for the cases against him to either be dropped or punished only as they had agreed beforehand.
The old man had played on the corruption of the Fudge administration, as Neville and Harry had done in the planning of Operation Bird-Takes-Weasel, and he'd managed to worm his way out of any real punishment.
"That god-damn son of a bitch!" Neville raged as he entered the Chamber of the Seven, making Harry look over his copy of the Daily Prophet (which had since stopped all slander against him and focused entirely on discrediting Dumbledore) at his angry friend,
"Inside voice Neville." He scolded with a light smile. Sat in the Greengrass seat, just to Harry's right, Daphne gave him a glare,
"I happen to think that his rage is justified." She commented stiffly, her frustration at their earlier confrontation is apparent. Harry sighed and folded up the newspaper,
"Come on guys… Dumbledore's been working these halls for how long?" he asked, throwing the question out. The door opened and Susan Bones entered,
"Around fifty years or so." She replied before sitting down in the seat reserved for the House of Bones. Neville stomped noisily over to his own seat before sitting down heavily. Harry nodded slowly, setting his newspaper aside,
"Around fifty years. I think that fifty years is long enough for anyone to become a master at weaselling themselves out of trouble." He commented, almost disinterested in the conversation. Neville frowned,
"How can you be so blasé about this? That man has wronged you and he's going to get away with it!" he stormed. Daphne's eyes suddenly brightened,
"No he's not." She announced suddenly, giving Harry a side long glance and a smirk, "Since when were you so Slytherin, Mr Potter?"
Harry chuckled,
"Since first year to be honest. The Sorting Hat nearly had a fit when it was trying to decide which house to put me in. Due to… outside influences, I begged it to go with Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Shame really." He replied with a small smile, thankful that Daphne wasn't beyond letting her earlier anger go. Susan smirked a little,
"I get it." She announced just as suddenly, before grinning widely, "Dumbledore will have a fit."
Neville, finally fed up of being out of the loop, growled in frustration,
"And what is it that everyone gets?" he ground out. Harry smiled reassuringly,
"Don't worry mate. If I hadn't been sat on the Seven's balcony with these two little political geniuses then I wouldn't have thought of it." He replied, absently noting that both girls were beaming at the praise, "The Seven are above the Wizengamot… meaning that we can 'amend' their punishments."
Neville, finally catching on, hit his face with his palm,
"My god… it's so simple that Gran would kill me for forgetting about it!" he cried out before pulling his head back to reveal his smirk, "I assume that by 'amend' you mean to render the original punishments FUBAR?"
Harry grinned wide and nodded, causing Neville to grin widely in response. Daphne and Susan shared confused looks before Susan spoke up,
"What does FUBAR mean?" she asked tentatively. Both boys grinned wider and answered in unison,
"Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition!"
"This body of the Wizengamot finds the accused, Albus Dumbledore, guilty of interfering in an honour duel involving the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Lord Harry James." Fudge read out pompously as Dumbledore sat serenely in The Chair, "This body has agreed that Mr Dumbledore shall be removed from his position as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to be replaced by Undersecretary to the Minister Dolores Umbridge, and his Order of Merlin revoked."
As Madam Bones was about to declare her acceptance of this judgement, the parchment burned away quickly for no apparent reason. Minister Fudge looked shocked and outraged at the same time, leading many of the Aurors in the courtroom to begin searching for a person in a position to burn the parchment with a spell. Madam Bones was about to speak when another sheet of parchment materialised in front of her from a blaze of flames. The sheet of parchment stayed suspended in the air and many in the courtroom recognised it as the same way that a howler was suspended in the air as it delivered its message. Just as a regular howler, this piece of parchment twisted itself and formed a mouth,
"THIS IS THE WORD OF THE SEVEN!" boomed a deep, throaty, voice from the enchanted paper. Many of the Wizengamot members began to mutter about this new development while Fudge was wildly banging his gavel for silence. The modified howler continued, at a much more conversational level this time, "Six members of the Seven have found the punishments agreed upon by this body as inadequate. By the right of the Seven, these punishments have been overruled and replaced."
Several of the more outspoken members of the Wizengamot stood up and started to declare their outrage at being overruled by a body that they had largely over-looked in the past. The wiser of the members stayed completely silent, aware that the legitimacy of the Seven had been assured since the time of Arthur while the Wizengamot had only been formed by the Seven in the 1400s. One of the ever-shaded members of the Seven stood from the blacked-out seats of the private balcony. The entire assembly turned to watch as the unclear figure moved to the edge of the balcony,
"Enough." Came the softly spoken command, issued in the same deep and throaty voice as the howler. Although the voice was not loud, the word echoed throughout the courtroom and the outspoken members of the Wizengamot wisely sat back down, now happy to keep their opinions to themselves. The figure, completely anonymous thanks to the incredibly powerful privacy wards on the balcony, seemed to look across all of the assembled members of the Wizengamot before nodding once and sitting back down. The howler, seemingly aware of its creator's little speech, continued,
"The new punishments are as follows; 50,000 galleons shall be paid in reparations to St. Mugos' Permanent Spell Damage ward at the request of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter; Albus Dumbledore shall be demoted to co-headteacher of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Madam Umbridge acting as the other co-headteacher; A restraining order is to be placed on Albus Dumbledore, preventing him from directly interacting with the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Failure to adhere to any of these rulings shall result in a further 250,000 galleon fine. So is the word of the Seven!" the howler declared before crumpling inwards and bursting into flames. The prosecutor, one Neville Longbottom, clapped his hands gleefully to get the attention of the flabbergasted Minister Fudge,
"Well then… that about wraps it up doesn't it?" he asked with a large smile. The Chair released Dumbledore and the normally peaceful man stood up with more than a little anger present,
"I demand a re-trial!" he declared fiercely, apparently he'd sunk a lot of money into making that deal with Fudge. The Minister sneered a little, he'd won both the attempt to smear his 'enemy's' reputation and snag some of Dumbledore's gold because of the intervention of the Seven,
"Request is denied." The Minister proclaimed gleefully. Dumbledore frowned once before sweeping from the courtroom in a stream of multi-coloured robes. Neville Longbottom grinned up at the Minister,
"Would it be possible for me and my school mates to get a portkey to Hogsmeade? It appears that we'll be just in time for dinner."
Harry gritted his teeth against the almost unbearable pain of the specially treated basilisk venom burning the runes into his flesh. The stump of his left arm was bare, the sleeve of his robe and the sleeve of his shirt having been cut off, and a very uncertain Neville Longbottom was delicately painting the runic symbols onto the pale and uneven skin of his friend. In a stroke of genius, that meant that Harry didn't need to be strapped into a variant of The Chair, Susan had immobilised his entire body from the neck downwards. Susan and Daphne had wanted to numb the stump of his left arm but Harry had stopped them, knowing that the ritual required the person to endure the pain of the symbols in order for the magic to work. Apparently his grandmother had been well informed of the Potter tendency to work despite intense pain. Neville stopped, pulling the brush away delicately, careful not to let any of the altered venom drop,
"I'm finished." He declared quietly. Harry, who's closed his eyes half way through, looked around the unused classroom and couldn't spot either Susan or Daphne anywhere. He turned his head to look at Neville,
"Where are the girls?" he asked, his voice hoarse from his now sore throat. Neville frowned a little,
"Did you really expect them to stand and watch you go through that?" he asked, genuinely curious. Harry nodded his head grudgingly,
"Not really." He answered, looking down at his stump. The pale skin was now almost entirely covered in black runic symbols, all of them flowing lines which joined and connected with each other in their various patterns. He smiled, "Good job Nev. I don't think Borgin could have done half as good a job."
Neville shrugged,
"Don't worry about it. Although I'm worried I didn't do it right…" he muttered, "Didn't the book say that the regeneration of the limb would be immediate?"
Harry smirked lightly,
"No, it said that the limb would regenerate at the command of the person." He chuckled, "Let's just say that I'm going to put a lot of people off of their dinner."
Neville chuckled a little to himself, cancelling the immobilisation charm on Harry's body with a flick of his wand,
"You really are a prankster at heart." He noted dryly as Harry stood up stiffly from the regular wooden chair. Harry shrugged,
"Runs in my family." He replied with a secret smile before walking over to the door, opening it to find two very nervous girls waiting just outside, "Don't worry… I can regrow it on command now."
Daphne, who was wringing a part of her robes in her hands, frowned,
"Then why haven't you already done it?" she asked, her regular 'Ice Queen' mask long forgotten. Well, forgotten when Harry was around anyway. Susan, who had been pacing up and down until the door opened, frowned a little,
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to be feeling up for dinner?" she asked, her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. Harry grinned,
"Oh I'm just going to wave to the Headmaster before dinner, like I promised." He replied innocently as he began to make his way to the Great Hall. Susan's frown deepened,
"Why am I not reassured by that statement?" she probed, trying to figure out how far Harry was going to take this. Daphne clamped down on her emotions and assumed the 'Ice Queen Mask' as Harry ignored Susan's question in favour of sweeping into the filled Great Hall with his arm and his stump both raised to point up at the enchanted ceiling,
"Headmaster Dumbledore!" he called up to the Staff table. Every head in the Great Hall turned to look at him, those closest gasped and began whispering about all of the strange lines drawn all along the stump of his left arm. Professor Dumbledore, who was now sat next to an extremely pleased looking Umbridge, stood up graciously from his meal,
"Lord Potter… I take it you believe you've found a way to re-attach your arm?" he asked, the twinkle in his eye as it was widely known that Harry's arm could not be re-attached as it had been Vanished. Harry smirked,
"Of course Professor… I have succeeded!" he declared loudly, shocking most of the staff and assembled students into whispered conversations. Dumbledore just looked amused,
"Oh Lord Potter… I'm afraid that you must be misinformed. A limb severed by a Dark curse cannot be regrown through medical means." He countered in an almost happy tone of voice. Several of the other teachers sent the now co-headmaster some rather dirty looks for blatantly taunting a student's disability. Harry laughed a little,
"Then watch closely Professor Dumbledore…" he declared before closing his eyes tightly. Immediately, the black runic symbols running across his stump lit up bright yellow as his magic actively pulsed through it. Several of the closer students suddenly screamed as the end of the stump began to bubble; almost as if the pale skin were a boiling liquid mass. Harry concentrated harder and the bubbling and boiling of the skin increased, the rippling of the skin increasing tenfold in frequency. After a few seconds of this, Harry opened his eyes and grinned, the boiling of his skin having stopped. He raised his right hand and waved slowly at Professor Dumbledore before turning his body slightly to the right, so that his stump was pointed at Dumbledore. When nothing happened immediately, Dumbledore went to speak again but the what happened next caused the words to die in his throat.
A new arm, the skin a perfectly matching the tone of the rest of his body, literally exploded out of the stump. A fully grown arm, Harry's new muscles and all, was all but pushed out of his shoulder, the pointed hand spearing through the flesh of the stump and sending it flying in all directions. Finally the new arm was fully formed and fully aligned, pointing directly at Dumbledore's wide-eyed expression of shock as the remaining gore of the stump dripped and slide across the new skin of the limb. Mockingly slow, Harry waved at Dumbledore with his left hand, exaggerating the movement to show that he had full motor skills with his new arm. He twirled his left arm in a simple circle before bowing deeply to Dumbledore,
"I believe I have won our discussion Headmaster! I have regrown my arm inside of a day and have waved at you at dinner to show you!" he declared proudly before simply moving to the side and sitting down at the nearby Hufflepuff table. A shell-shocked Susan and a slightly queasy Neville sat near him, a silently gaping Hannah Abbott sat across from them. Before Harry could begin to eat, the sugary voice of Umbridge carried across the hall to him,
"An extra two months of detention with me Potter! I will not have you exposing the children to Dark rituals!" she declared venomously, or as venomously as her sugary voice could be. Professor Dumbledore spoke up next,
"I do not believe that runes have ever been considered Dark when used in rituals." The headmaster stared intently at an apparently bored Harry, "You did use runes, did you not Harry?"
Harry shrugged happily,
"Family secret Professor Dumbledore." He answered. Dumbledore frowned but nodded, sitting back down in his seat and allowing the detentions to stand. Harry grinned back at his friends, all of whom were still struggling to cope with what had happened, "Seems like I get more time with Umbitch. Shame that."
"Enter!" came the sugary sweet call from the other side of the office door. Harry opened the door to Professor Umbridge's office, his smile from earlier still in place even as he reported for his first detention. Umbridge's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of his smile before she too smiled, a malicious glint in her eyes, "You will be writing lines for me Mr Potter."
Harry shrugged, still on a high from the adrenaline rush the regrowth ritual had given him, and sat down at the other side of Umbridge's desk. He pulled a piece of parchment from his bag and bent to retrieve a quill and some ink when Umbridge stopped him,
"Oh no Mr Potter… you will be using one of my quills." She told him with a smile and the same glint in her eyes as before, "And this one doesn't require ink."
Harry shrugged and sat up straight. When he saw the dark red quill that he was expected to write with, he frowned and looked up at his new co-headmistress,
"I'm sorry Professor but this isn't a quill." He told her, fighting through the high of adrenaline to focus on the negative aspects of writing with the implement in front of him. The Professor's smile increased,
"Why of course it is a quill Mr Potter." she replied, before her smile fell a little, "You will write out 'I will respect my betters'. You may begin."
Harry picked up the dark red quill and began to turn it over in his hand as he inspected it more closely, his attention snapping back as the adrenaline high all but evaporated. He looked at her again, a harder edge to his eyes,
"You want me to write lines with this?" he asked her, his voice losing the carefree tone it had carried when he was still on the high. Umbridge's eyes darkened,
"Yes, Mr Potter. You will write lines with that quill." She told him, her smile quickly falling away. Harry's frown deepened,
"How many times?" he asked her, now certain that he knew what the instrument in his hand actually was. Umbridge's smile returned, apparently taking his question as the beginning of acceptance,
"Oh, until the message sinks in Mr Potter. Until the message sinks in." she replied with an edge to her sugary sweet voice which spoke of the ill-will she felt towards him. Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously,
"You want me to write lines with a Blood Quill?" he asked, now ignoring the subtle approach. Umbridge's eyes widened at this, obviously having thought that he would not know what the object truly was due to him being muggle-raised. She coughed a little,
"I'm not sure what you mean Mr Potter, that quill is merely self-inking." She lied cheerfully. Harry scowled,
"Don't lie to me." He told her, his voice harder and colder than she had ever heard it before, even when he'd almost killed the Ron with his bare hands. Umbridge's eyes narrowed in response, her nostrils flaring,
"I don't think I like your tone, Mr Potter. You are speaking to your co-headmistress!" she declared, the smile now replaced entirely with an ugly scowl which succeeded in making the woman even more physically repulsive. Harry held the quill between the middle and pointer fingers of his right hand for a few seconds, staring deep in Umbridge's piggy little eyes,
"And I don't like yours. You are speaking to the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House, one of the Seven. Disrespect on this level is grounds for a fine." He nodded at the Blood Quill, "If you had assaulted me with this Dark Artefact then it would be grounds to see you in Azkaban."
Umbridge's face grew bright red and she stood up sharply from his seat,
"This is ridiculous! You are a liar and nothing more! You may have managed to trick the Minister and the rest of the Wizengamot into believing that you are the head of one of the Seven but I will not be so easily led astray!" she screeched, lunging across the table in an effort to grab the Blood Quill. Harry, with the reflexes of the great seeker that he was, moved his hand just in time to make Umbridge almost lose her balance in her attempt to grab the object. He stood up from his own chair and took a few steps back,
"You must respect your betters, Professor." He spat with distain before snapping the Blood Quill in two with his fingers. Umbridge's eyes widened and her nostrils flared once again in anger,
"You insufferable little brat! You will pay for that!" she ranted, moving to draw her wand. She had almost reached it when she found that he body would no longer move. Her eyes, the only part she still controlled, bugged out as she saw Harry's wand lazily pointed at her. He tutted as he watched the dark red blood empty from the Blood Quill onto his right hand, his wand in his newly regrown left arm. After watching all of the cursed blood drain from the Dark Artefact, he turned his gaze back to Umbridge,
"Now, now Dolores…" he said with a sigh, as if scolding a child, "What are we going to do with you?"
A breeze from the open window caught the petrified professor on the flank, sending her crashing to the floor heavily. Harry slowly wandered round the desk to look at Umbridge, still frozen in the same position, now lying on her side on the floor,
"You don't look too comfortable down there Dolores." He told her with a sad shake of his head as he knelt down beside her head so that she was forced to look at him, "But I suppose discomfort is the least of your worries at the moment, isn't it? After all, I'm a member of the Seven… I could send you to Azkaban right now and there wouldn't be a thing that your precious Minister Fudge could do about it."
Umbridge's eyes bugged out again and wildly began to shake in their sockets. Apparently she was mad at that statement. Harry tutted and patted her cheek condescendingly,
"Don't do that Dolores… it's bad for your eyes." He scolded her in the same childlike manner as before. He looked down at her with a pitying smile, "Oh poor Dolores… living in your delusions of grandeur."
His eyes narrowed again and he brought his face closer to her, showing her the intent in his now cold eyes,
"You playing a dangerous game Dolores." He warned her as he slowly stood up, "I am patient but if you don't end this vendetta soon then I promise you one thing…"
He flicked his wand casually and one of the plates, depicting a mewing kitten, exploded in a shower of porcelain. Umbridge's eyes bugged out in panic as, one-by-one, each of her decorative plates exploded and their remains fell like snow to the floor. Harry stamped his foot once to get her attention again before beginning to make his way over to the door,
"I will crush you Dolores Umbridge." He turned to look at her petrified bu aware form, "I will use my magic to crush your bones into dust. I will use my money to slander your name until people will be baying for your blood. I will use my influence to have dementors continuously sucking at your soul but never being allowed to fully take it."
His eyes flashed dangerously and the spell cancelled, allowing Umbridge to take a deep, steadying, breath,
"No one hears of this. If I hear that someone else has so much as an inkling as to what has transpired here…" he left the sentence hanging as he exited the room, leaving Umbridge curled up on her office floor.
Omakes!
What the scouter says about the word count!
Remus: Sirius, what does the scouter say about his word count?
Sirius: *crushes scouter* It's over nine thousand!
Remus: *jaw drops* What? Nine thousand? There's no way that can be right!
Susan and her aunt discuss Harry having one arm!
Amelia: *awkward* So… I'm wondering if you're still aiming for Harry. After all he only has one arm at the moment.
Susan: *thinks* I think I could work around that. Might even be easier this way.
Amelia: *blinks* How would it be easier?
Susan: Well this way I only have to handcuff one hand to the bed to have my way with him.
Amelia: … please tell me you're joking.
Susan: *evil grin* I don't know… I mean have you seen what he's packing?
Amelia: *groans* Good God… I'm going to have my own niece up on rape charges…
Susan: *singsong voice* It's only rape if you don't enjoy it…!
Neville Wright : Ace Attorney!
Snape: *sneering* I didn't do it on purpose-
Neville: *points at Snape* OBJECTION!
Fudge: On what grounds?
Neville: *thinking* err… hadn't thought that far ahead yet…
Harry is so manly!
Remus: So I hear that Harry is getting a lot of attention from both Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass…
Sirius: *sniff of happy tears* My Harry is so manly!
Remus: … is that you Genma Saotome impression?
Sirius: *stops crying* Why? Is it any good?
Remus: *shrugs* Needs some work.
Umbridge brings a cousin in to class!
Umbridge: Now class… I want you to be extra nice to my cousin, or detentions will be given.
Hermione: Professor… what is your cousin's name?
Umbridge: Kermit.
Class: …
Harry: Before or after the first voice guy died?
Umbridge: What are you talking about?
Harry: … nothing.
I think this is the single longest chapter I have done and it is mainly in response to the numerous reviews I received that focused upon how I "didn't handle the situation with Ron and the others realistically". Well here you go, for your troubles you get a very clichéd court scene, with the Minister eagerly rushing the trials in an effort to discredit Dumbledore and those who associate with him, such as the Weasleys.
To one particular reviewer… tick another cliché off the list my good sir! The more we get through, the closer we get to the major divergences from major fanon!
Oh and I still need suggestions for the Omakes! Just PM me with your suggests and I will gladly work them in.
Peace.