A/N: Welcome to chapter ten, my friends! Time to get to Dumbledore's trial, and find out what happened to the Dursleys. Also, does anyone think that Dolores Umbridge is similar to Margaret Blaine, from the Christopher Ecclestone Doctor Who? Disclaimer is in chapter one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CIRCLE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amelia was reviewing various statements taken by her Aurors. Having heard from multiple witnesses about the actions of one of her active Aurors, she was left with no choice. A knock on her door rang out through the silence of her office, and she sighed.
"Enter."
Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody opened the door, his magical prosthetic eye scanning the entire room - as if he hadn't already done that using the filter that allowed him to see through physical objects, Amelia thought to herself. "So, why am I here, Amelia?"
"I think we both know why you're here, Alastor. Care to explain why you decided to moonlight as a private investigator?"
Moody's real eye narrowed slightly. "I don't see how it's any business of yours, Amelia? All actions were undertaken while I was off-duty, so I haven't done anything wrong as far as I can see."
"And that is exactly the problem, Alastor. You don't see that failing to report an incident of attempted murder is worth reporting to the department. Why? Because your old war buddy Albus didn't want other people sticking their beaks in? Or is there a more sinister reason?"
"Albus asked me to look into a possible threat against one of the students. I didn't have enough information to warrant calling in the rest of the department."
"That excuse might wash in your mind, Alastor. It might even wash in Fudge's mind. But it sure as hell isn't going to wash with me. If there was a threat towards any student, any student at all, the Aurors should have been called in to investigate immediately. And even if it was only a threat, once you arrived, surely the students informed you of the attempt on Mr Potter's life? At that point, you should have immediately informed the Head Auror, if not the Director of the DMLE. That sort of breach of protocol is not permissible. I will not have members of my department taking orders from people outside of the chain of command. Albus Dumbledore has no authority in this department, except to issue Wizengamot edicts. And as no such edict was issued, your actions are not endorsed by the department."
Amelia sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. "I cannot have any member of the department involved in this sort of scandal, Alastor. More importantly, I cannot have any member of the Auror Corps ignoring crimes, and the attempted murder of Mr Potter is a crime. I'm going to give you until tomorrow, Alastor, because I respect you, and because of the years of service you've given the Corps. Clear out your desk and give your notice within the next twenty-four hours, or be fired in disgrace. Those are your only options. I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Alastor."
Moody nodded, rising from his chair, his posture that of a man accepting defeat. "I understand, Amelia. Thank you for at least giving me the opportunity to keep a little dignity. Goodbye."
As the door closed behind one of the best Aurors Amelia had ever worked with, she dropped her head onto the desk with a resounding thunk, wondering just how many more lives were going to be ruined by Albus Dumbledore before the week was out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MATRIX~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Molly Weasley was many things - a mother, a wife, an avid believer that Albus Dumbledore was a good man - but of all those things, she valued being a mother more than any other. Which was why she was currently sitting next to her George's bed in St Mungo's, stroking his hair as he slept, and cursing the name Dumbledore for all she was worth. When the Aurors first arrived at the Burrow to tell her that Albus Dumbledore was being arrested, and that she would need to give evidence at the trial, she was ready to unleash a Howler-worthy shouting match on them. Then they had told her the reason she was being called upon as a witness, and the focus of her anger changed.
Writing down a note for Ginny to explain where she was going - Ginny had gone over to Luna's house for the day, so she knew her daughter would be fine in Xeno's hands - she went with one of the Aurors - Savage, she thought his name was - who took her to the hospital to see her baby. And it had broken her heart, when she had walked into the room, and said hello to her own son, only for him to ask who she was. One of the Healers in the room had taken her aside and explained that because of the head injury George had sustained, his memory was affected, and only time would tell whether or not it would be permanent. Arthur arrived at that point, and Healer Cadwallader had once again gone over the situation with him, before leaving them to talk.
Molly had been all for rushing into the Ministry, blasting her way into Snape's cell, and wringing the greasy man's neck for what he had done, but Arthur had quickly talked her out of that plan. Instead, Arthur had gone to call in a favour owed to him by an old friend from Hogwarts, one Algernon Graves, calling a civil lawsuit against Snape - and though he hadn't told his wife this fact, against Dumbledore, too - and Molly had taken up a vigil beside her son, praying to whatever deities existed that her son would remember her someday soon.
"Mummy?"
Molly's head snapped upwards so fast she thought it might fall off for a moment, finally registering her daughter, along with Xeno Lovegood and his daughter, standing in the doorway. She was on her feet in an instant, scooping her little princess into her arms in what everyone referred to jokingly as a 'Weasley hug'. Ginny started to sob, and that finally opened the floodgates for Molly, who began to cry her own heart out in fear for her son, neither even noticing when Xeno steered Luna out of the room and closed the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BODY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry stirred, his eyelids fluttering as he slowly clawed his way back into consciousness once again. Dimly, he registered a voice saying that someone -him?- was waking up, followed by the sound of a fire flaring up. A hand rested on his back, and a glass was pressed to his lips. Finally realizing how thirsty he was, Harry began to gulp down the water noisily, his eyes finally open completely. He noticed Amelia Bones walk into the room, and saw Hermione coming back over from the fireplace - he would need to ask what that was all about at some point, he decided.
"Mr Potter, are you awake now?"
"Yes." It was then that Harry realized something was wrong. He could hear himself answering, but he wasn't in control of his body. He began to panic, trying to struggle, but nothing he did had any effect.
"Please calm down, Harry. It's a simple truth potion, mixed together with a temporary paralysis potion. Commonly used when questioning unwilling criminals, but we adapted it for this case. Now, can you tell me how the Dursleys have treated you over the years?"
Trying desperately to fight off the effects of the potion, Harry became even more terrified when he discovered that his mind wasn't responding. "They treated me like a slave."
Amelia growled slightly. Even under a truth potion, getting a straight answer from the child in front of her was like pulling teeth from a Hippogryph. "Harry, please don't fight the potion. We only want to help you. Now, can you tell me where you sleep, or have slept, in the Dursley household?"
"The smallest bedroom," Harry stopped, still trying to avoid saying any more than he already had, "and the cupboard under the stairs."
Amelia grimaced. Apparently Tonks had been right when she claimed that she had found what looked like a bedroom in that cupboard. Making a mental note to offer to complete the young rookie's training herself, since Mad-Eye was now gone, she continued her questioning. "What sort of chores were you expected to do?"
"Wash the car, mow the lawn, weed the flowerbeds, paint the door, paint the fence, varnish the shed, clean the windows, clean the bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen, do the laundry, cook the food, and anything else my uncle came up with."
Now they were getting somewhere. Amelia checked to make sure the Auror-grade DictaQuill she had set up when she arrived had recorded everything he said - it had - before continuing. "How much food were you given, on average?"
"It depended on whether my chores were done, and whether my uncle was in a good mood or not. If they were all done, and Vernon was happy, I got to eat half the size of meal my aunt ate. Otherwise, I had to make do with the table scraps."
Amelia ground her teeth together. She had seen the amount of food his aunt considered a normal meal. Half of that again would barely be enough to support the laziest, least active child on the planet, much less a child doing all those chores near constantly. Making a mental check against the term 'witholding food' on her mental checklist, Amelia continued on. "Did your relatives ever physically strike you?"
Now, he was really fighting the potion, she could see. Clearly, he didn't want the information to be revealed, but she couldn't leave a child in those conditions. A little discomfort now in exchange for a happier life was worth it, she was sure. Amelia only hoped young Harry felt the same.
"My aunt never hit me. My uncle only really hit me once or twice, and it was only a slap on the cheek. Dudley and his friends beat me up all the time, though. They called it Harry Hunting."
Amelia promised herself that at least one Dursley would never see the light of day again. "Describe Harry Hunting."
Harry remained silent, and Amelia ground her teeth in frustration once again. The clever little bugger had discovered the loophole in the truth potions; unless the person under one was asked a direct question, the potion would not compell them to answer. "Alright, then. What is Harry Hunting?"
"Dudley and about four or five others woould chase me until I couldn't run anymore. Then one of them - usually Piers - would hold my arms behind my back while the rest punched me in the stomach."
That was consistent with Poppy Pomphrey's report of severe abdominal bruising, as though he had been punched repeatedly, she thought to herself. Checking her notes one last time, Amelia deactivated the quill, and gave Harry the antidote to the truth serum. As soon as the effects wore off, the boy glared at her, and she couldn't help thinking that in a few more years, that look would be truly intimidating, if he kept at it.
"What the hell did you do that for?!"
"Language, Mr Potter. And I did that to confirm information I already had," alright, she was stretching the truth ever so slightly when she said that, but even so, "and incidentally, I had every legal right to do so, as you are currently a ward of Mr Flamel, and he had already given permission for the potions in question to be administered."
"What? Ward? And what do you mean, you already knew about...that stuff?"
"Petunia and Vernon Dursley were arrested yesterday afternoon, on suspicion of abuse and neglect of a child in their care. Since they were unable to be considered your guardians at the time, custody of yourself was handed to the closest family member we could reach. That just so happened to be Mr Nicholas Flamel. I asked his permission to question you under the influence of a mild truth potion in order to determine the extent of the abuse you had suffered, and he agreed that it was best to get it out of the way quickly."
The boy's hands were clenched into fists, she noticed. "It doesn't matter."
"Why do you say that, Mr Potter?"
"I went to the police, once. Told them about the abuse the Dursleys put me through. Two days later, no one except me and the Dursleys remembered a thing about it. And how did you know about the cupboard, anyway?"
Interesting. So someone had somehow erased all knowledge of that incident from people's minds? That reeked of illegal Obliviations, and if she found Albus Dumbledore's sticky fingers anywhere near it, heads were going to roll. Starting with the man in question's head. "When I went to your family's residence to inform them of your injuries, your aunt was rather...belligerent. She seemed unwilling to admit to ever having known you, and when I revealed who I was to her, she informed me that if you had gotten yourself into some kind of legal troubles, you could sort it out yourself. Certain other comments she made," no need to tell him about the money from Dumbledore, "indicated at least a neglectful household, so I decided to bring the pair in for questioning. After that, two of my Aurors swept the house for any evidence of abuse. One of them noticed what appeared to be some form of makeshift bedroom in cupboard. Given your relative size when compared to your uncle and cousin, I felt it rather likely that the cupboard had been your bedroom at some point."
"Oh." A sudden flash of understanding appeared in his eyes. "Hey, wait a minute! You didn't actually know about it at all, did you?"
Smacking herself mentally, Amelia admitted that she hadn't actually known any facts about his treatment. "However, Mr Potter, I would remind you that this was done with the full permission of your current legal guardian."
Shrinking in on himself slightly, Harry deflated visibly. "Oh. So, what's going to happen to me now?"
"That depends. Nicholas has indicated that if there are no other families with a closer blood connection, then he would be willing to take you in as his ward. However, there are also cousins on your father's side of the family who might be available. One of my Aurors is, in fact, the daughter of your father's second cousin, I believe."
"Oh. Ok, then, so where do I live while that's going on? And do I get a say in this?"
"Certainly, your opinion will be taken into account during the process, but you may not reject any family simply because you do not like them. Unfortunately, news of this has already spread to the newspapers, and several families of varying allegiances have stepped forward to offer to adopt you. Chief among them being Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa, who are claiming a blood connection through the Black family."
"Huh?"
"Narcissa Malfoy was originally Narcissa Black, who was a cousin of your father's through his mother. Thus, right now, they have the strongest familial connection to you, and are likely to be awarded custody unless you can provide some very good reason not to do so. I can contact Andromeda Tonks, another cousin of your father's, and Narcissa's sister. She has an equal blood tie, however, unlike the Malfoys, her family is not rich, and she was disinherited from the Blacks," seeing the look of confusion, Amelia elaborated, "kicked out, Harry. The Malfoy family can afford the best lawyers, and are likely to be virtually unopposed. I thought I should warn you. They will not do anything to you, however. They wouldn't dare, considering that the whole of magical Britain is likely to be watching them once you go to live with them."
"But Malfoy and I hate each other!"
"And you may make that argument in court, but Lucius is a consummate politician, and will no doubt wave the whole feud away by saying that you got off on the wrong foot, and coming to live with them would help heal the rift between you."
"But I don't want the rift healed, I don't want anything to do with the Malfoys!"
Nicholas stood up. "Amelia, if blood is the concern, mine is as pure as any. Purer than Malfoy's, and I lived through the beginning of most of the traditions he worships these days. Half of them, we called fads, laughing at the idea that they would ever catch on. If money is the problem, I have a source of unlimited wealth. I can simply transmute any gold needed to counter Malfoy's actions. You and I both know that Lucius Malfoy being placed under the Imperius curse is nonsense, and I have not lived nearly a thousand years simply to see a member of my family handed over to a servant of the man who tried to kill that same family member! Call whatever lawyers you need to, but make it known that Nicholas Flamel is willing to adopt Harry Potter. That is, assuming that is alright with you, Harry?"
"Are you kidding? Live with you, leave the Dursleys, and not have to live with Malfoy? Sounds too good to be true!"
"Well, I can assure you that for once, it is true. It's high time you had some good news in your life, so let's hope this is the start of a new chapter in your life, lad."
Amelia smiled at the simple, honest joy on Harry's face at the prospect of never having to live with the monsters that pretended to be his relatives ever again. Deciding that her second bit of news could wait, after all there was no reason to spoil what was rapidly becoming a celebration, as both of Harry's friends dogpiled him in happiness, she quietly slipped out the door, returning Nicholas' nod as she did so. Nothing got by that old alchemist, apparently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SOUL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At a nondescript cafe in the heart of Muggle London, two people sat down at a booth next to the window, one still with their hood up on the odd jacket they wore. Leaning across the table, the hooded figure picked up the sugar and added two spoonfuls to their tea.
"Well, Croaker? Are you going to explain why we are here, or not?"
"Patience, Amy."
"Don't call me 'Amy'. Bad things happen to people who call me that."
"You're rather cute when you try to threaten me, you know? You can never be sure of who might be listening."
"We both know you've swept the entire city block five times since we got within a hundred metres of this place. Get to the point."
"Fine. The wraith was indeed the disembodied soul of Lord Voldemort, as you suspected. Thanks to your spells, a piece of it broke off during the battle just after the Potter boy lost consciousness. Since I was already there, I managed to entrap the fragment inside an old quill I had in my pocket for such occasions."
"Only you, Croaker, would carry an old quill just in case you meet the disembodied spirit of the most feared British Dark Lord in a century, and managed to chip a piece off."
"What can I say. Be prepared, Amelia. Incidentally, good, creative use of exorcism spells. I'm impressed."
"Still not interested, Croaker."
"Oh well. One day you'll join the Department, Amelia. One day."
"And it'll be a cold day in hell, that day. What else?"
"The rest of the soul managed to flee. I've been looking into ways of tracking it, along with how he managed to survive the first time round. Popular theory in the Circle is a Horcrux, possibly multiple Horcruxi, given how unstable his soul seems to be."
"Okay. Putting aside the fact that I want to vomit right now, any other theories?"
"There's a distinct possibility that the scar that the Potter boy has is somehow connected to Voldemort. Right now, we aren't certain whether it is a Horcrux, or something else."
Both people at the table fell silent as the waitress brought their meals. Thanking her, they dug in.
"So what do you intend to do about it?"
"Amelia, let's be honest. We both know that Horcruxi don't work. If they did, we would have hundreds of ancient Egyptian wizards and witches running around. Do you know how many Horcruxi were found in Gringotts' latest trip to Egypt?"
"Twenty?"
"Try two thousand. And that's two thousand separate people, not in total. That means there should, by all rights, be two thousand immortal Egyptians running around somewhere. But there isn't. Only thing we can figure is that Horcruxi don't work. They keep the fragment of soul inside them from moving on, but the rest of the soul isn't similarly tethered."
"Meaning that when the body dies, only that fragment of soul is left behind. The rest moves on, correct?"
"That's right. Which is why we're confused. By all rights, Voldemort only made Horcruxi. He shouldn't be here. Which is why we think Potter's scar might be something else. A different kind of anchor, perhaps."
"What about the Dark Mark? Could that have some connection?"
"Normally, I'd say no, but in this case, nothing seems certain. I'll bring the idea to their attention."
"If you need a test subject, I just happen to have a child-abusing scumbag with an ugly tattoo on his left forearm who isn't going anywhere anytime soon that I can offer."
"Thanks, Amy. I might take you up on that offer." Croaker dropped a few coins on the table in front of him, before leaving the cafe. Behind him, Amelia Bones realized what he had said, and gave chase, yelling at him all the way to the Ministry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TRANSMUTE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dumbledore complicit in abuse of Britain's Saviour?
Boy-Who-Lived Abused by Muggles!
You read that right, ladies and gentlemen. In a stunning series of revelations, it has become apparent that Harry James Potter, whose story we are all well acquainted with, was abused by the very people he was placed with for protection. In the November session of the Wizengamot, in 1981, Albus Dumbledore declared that in the interests of safety, Harry Potter had been placed with his maternal aunt, and blood wards had been erected over the property. These wards, claimed the Chief Warlock, would keep anyone intending to do harm to young Harry away from the property. But it seems that they do not work quite as intended. For despite having kept young Harry safe from external threats, they did nothing to protect him from the savage treatment he endured at the hands of his Muggle aunt and uncle. When questioned about the reason they had taken young Harry in, despite so clearly not wishing him there, Mrs Petunia Dursley is quoted as having said that "We never wanted the boy here, and if it weren't for the money Dumbledore gave us, he would have been off to the orphanage first chance we got!" Why was Albus Dumbledore paying the Dursley family money, when it is well established that the Muggle government already provided monetary assisstance to raise the young orphan? Since hearing the news, multiple families have already stepped up and offered to open their homes to the young hero, and leading the pack is Lord Lucius Malfoy, of Wiltshire, who is quoted as saying, "It is quite clear to me that a travesty of justice has occured here. Mr Potter should clearly never have been left in the hands of Muggles, since it is quite obvious that they are incapable of raising a magical child. I have to ask, why do we as a society focus on protecting such feral beasts, when in reality we should be protecting our children from them? Mr Potter will always be welcome in Malfoy Manor, and I do hope that he is happy, wherever he may go from here." Also putting his name into the running is Master Alchemist, and all around legend, Mr Nicholas Flamel, noted for his creation of a Philosopher's Stone. Mr Flamel has claimed custody of Mr Potter based on the marriage of his great-great granddaughter to Haraldr Ignus Potter in the early 1300's, meaning that Harry Potter is technically a direct descendant of the Flamels. Mr Flamel was unavailable for comment, but his wife, Perenelle Flamel nee Hufflepuff, was quoted as saying, "My husband isn't available at the moment, since he is trying to help bring the monsters who treated our great-great-goodness knows how many greats-grandson to justice for what they've done. We would be delighted to welcome the child into our home, it's been so long since there's been a child's laughter in these halls, but we hope that wherever he goes, he'll be happy there." Both families are clearly capable of coping with the financial side of raising a child, and both have blood ties to Mr Potter. Let us hope that no matter who is awarded custody of our hero, they will treat him with the kindness and respect that he so rightfully deserves. Until then, I remain, dear readers, your stylish and witty crusader for the truth, Rita Skeeter For more information on the history of Harry Potter, see page 13. For details on the Malfoy and Flamel families, see page 15. For further details on the charges faced by Albus Dumbledore, see page 22-27.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FREEDOM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: More and more parts of the plot are starting to come together, and the webs are getting tangled. Rita's first article has appeared, and I think it seems quite demure for her. But really, she doesn't really need to exaggerate this time, does she? Hints as to what is going on with Harry and his scar, and the Department of Mysteries are getting involved. And yes, I'm making the Weasleys good guys. I just think that Molly and Arthur are very 'family-first' in the books, so that's how I made them here. Also, yes, Deathly Hallows reference - Snape attacks George - but that's it. No Hallows. The cloak is just a cloak. A really good one, and if anyone can guess how it keeps from fading, cookies to you. No Dumbledore this time, but there wasn't a good point to bring him in. Within the next couple of chapters, I promise. Also, I was originally going to have Harry live with Amelia and Susan, but I decided against it. It just didn't seem to fit with the story. And Alastor Moody gets kicked out. Welll, not really, but essentially, that's what happened. Maybe he'll wake up and realize that Albus doesn't care about his pawns, just what he can get from them? Or maybe he's just too loyal. That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please remember to review!