Disclaimer: I am a poorly fanfiction writer who does this simply because he can. I make nothing from writing this. JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini though do.
Chapter 11 – The Sacking of Albus Dumbledore
Hermione had brought up her dream at the table the next morning with Harry and Maddie. She had considered talking to them either through the bond of in the Room of Requirement, but decided to include Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna in the conversation, knowing that they would be getting heavily involved in the fight to come.
"Well, we know that Voldemort is going to want to take the school." Hermione said. They had already talked and agreed that the others would hear that Harry had had the vision, since they already knew about his connection to Voldemort through weird dreams.
Neville frowned "Why? What good would having this school do? Or rather, destroying this school?" While those that didn't know him would be surprised at the fact Neville had actually contributed to the conversation, those in said conversation knew that Neville's confidence had increased mostly due to the support and the faith that had been shown to him by Harry, Hermione and Maddie. He knew that something had happened, something so terrible that the three in front of him had come back.
He was no fool. The memories that Maddie had shown him were technically impossible to have. He had never met Voldemort, and before seeing those memories he had no doubt that he would never have had the confidence to stand up to him the way he apparently did. But those memories hadn't actually been what had given him the need to improve and grow.
No, it had been the feeling he had gotten when he had visited her mind. He had sensed a strength and determination within her. A sense of self-confidence. The belief that those with her had the strength and ability to do what was needed.
That had been the point that changed his outlook.
"This school is a symbol. A symbol of hope, of power, of the future. The children of the future are trained here. The power that this school sits on, the power released by the students here. The hope that the children are safe, the hope that the powerful witches and wizards who reside here can help protect them and their children."
Hermione could tell that, even though she had only originally been talking to the original six, other people had overheard and were starting to listen in.
"Should Voldemort ever take over, or even gain access to the school, the hope that currently resides within the magical population of Britain will disappear. He'll also have complete access to the kids, the register of muggleborns and hold their kid's hostage. Taking control of the magic of this school will pretty much be the end of the war."
The others around the table paled at the thought that Voldemort gaining control of the school meant that the war was over, and that they and their friends would all be killed, or potentially worse.
Harry however frowned and looked at Maddie. "What's strange is that it's never been a future vision. It's always been what's happening right here, right now."
Maddie nodded. "It is unusual. Perhaps your connection has allowed you to see his fantasies or perhaps you are a bit of a latent seer. It gives us a timeline though."
They all turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
Maddie looked up. "From the sounds of it, it sounds like Voldemort is going to attack around Christmas. So we have at least until next year."
The Black Lake
Hermione was laid out on the shore of the Black lake, hidden by the trees of the forest. She had chosen this spot for many reasons – she could drop her glamour for one, Polonius could come and lay out next to her, and she could work on her tan without having to worry about getting tan lines.
The ground trembled as Polonius rolled over, stretching his wings out. Hermione ran her hand along the soft membrane as it stretched above her head and got a sense of contentment from him. Opportunities to be around and fly with Polonius were few and far between, what with Umbridge cracking down on them and the other students.
Even though she had her eyes shut, she could tell that Maddie was walking towards her. She did let out a purr of pleasure when Maddie started to massage her.
"Hmm, that is just heavenly" Hermione moaned as Maddie started to move up her legs.
"Well, when you're four and a half thousand years old, you learn quite a lot. Especially since you can get sore sitting on the back of your dragon for hours." Maddie rolled Hermione over and started to massage her back, straddling her. Hermione noticed that Maddie was as naked as her.
"You know, the sight of two naked girls, one touching the other, would definitely become the new source of some fantasies of the guys here at Hogwarts."
Hermione opened one eye to see Harry stood by the tree, wearing nothing but boxers. Hermione's eyes drifted down his chest. Even after all this time, she still loved to observe and look over her partner's body. The muscles he had were well shaped for his slim frame. She unconsciously licked her lips.
She groaned in disappointment when Maddie stood up. "Right. I think we've laid about long enough. Need to do something fun."
"The last time you said that, we ended up in a bar fight with half the police force" Harry said, looking sceptical.
Maddie glared at him. "It's not my fault that the guy I challenged to a drinking contest was both a bad loser and the commander of the police."
Hermione snorted while Harry just folded his arms. "We're not going drinking, don't worry. I actually wanted to challenge you both to an honour race."
Harry perked up instantly while Hermione sighed and put her top back on. "Which course?"
Maddie grinned. "Course 4. Anything short of lethal action is allowed. Have to finish by jumping into the lake."
Harry nodded and looked at Hermione, who pouted. Harry knew though that she was looking forward to it, even if it was more due to being able to ride Polonius.
Ophelia, Polonius and Frozzaen, once they were told, were more than keen to have the race. Like their riders, they were looking forward to being able to fly together as well.
Course 4 was a quick and popular circuit for the riders. The start point was wherever you wished, with the first checkpoint at Big Ben, where the rider had to hit a magical marker on top. They then had to get to what was known as the "UK Gateway", located at Southend-on-Sea, which was the spot in the UK which all riders would open a gateway to and alert the appropriate authorities that they were entering the country. They would then go from there to the "France Gateway", located in Le Havre, and fly from there to Paris where they had to hit the marker on top of the Eiffel Tower. They then had to fly back.
It was the shortest of the courses but allowed for faster flying. To prevent jumps from London to Southend-on-Sea and Le Havre to Paris, every rider competing was given a crystal which prevented jumps over 10 kilometres and required a five-minute cooldown. It stopped working at the gateways so that those could still work.
Harry knew that Hermione and himself had the slight advantage of being faster, but Maddie had the advantage of having more bulk and therefore would be less affected by the elements.
Settling in, Harry looked around to make sure the others were ready. Maddie cast a tempus spell. "At 4:30 we go."
Harry nodded and looked back to the time. When 4:30 appeared Ophelia launched herself off the ground, flapping quickly to get into the clouds. He could sense Polonius was not far behind while Frozzaen had a bit of a slower start. Harry grinned and gave Ophelia a boost with wind.
Albus was stood in the Astronomy tower when the three dragons burst out of the tree line from the forest. As they climbed, the wards notified him that three students had crossed over them. He smiled and watched as the dragons disappeared into the clouds. He had actually met a rider once, not long after Ariana and Grindelwald. He knew that they hated being tied down long and would always go flying. He had been surprised that it had taken Harry and Hermione that long. Maddie, being much older, was in less need to go flying.
Harry meanwhile, as soon as he had reached the clouds opened a gateway, closing it behind him as he created a tailwind. For a few minutes he was alone before they suddenly ran into a headwind. He turned to see Hermione flying towards him. He grinned and conjured a light net in front of her.
Hermione conjured a blade of light and threw it, cutting through his net. She retaliated by creating light chains to drop.
Ophelia dodged most of them but couldn't get out of the way of the last one which wrapped around her wing joint. This caused her to lose balance and Harry quickly 'broke' the chain. That momentary distraction was enough for Polonius to fly past, with Hermione giving Harry a cheeky salute as she went past.
Harry snarled and helped Ophelia to get moving again. He also noticed a gateway appear in front of Hermione, who wasn't looking in that direction. He grinned and simply helped Ophelia get some speed.
Hermione quickly grew suspicious that Harry wasn't retaliating. She turned around when Polonius swerved, though it wasn't enough to miss Frozzaen crashing into him. Because of his smaller frame, Polonius went off to the side. Hermione looked to see Maddie give her the same cheeky salute that she gave Harry, who chose to fly past her at the same time. Hermione grinned and gave chase.
They made good progress despite attacking each other constantly, and Harry was the first to reach Big Ben. As soon as he hit it, Ophelia climbed back up to the clouds and Harry created another gateway. He could sense that the others were right behind him and knew that it would come down to the last leg to determine who would win.
Harry decided to focus on helping Ophelia get to that section as fast as possible, rather than hindering the others. Creating a tailwind, he also cast a unique charm which helped decrease the resistance of the wind over Ophelia's scales and wings.
Hermione meanwhile hadn't cast that charm, instead casting a 'wind-breaker' in front of Polonius which removed any headwind while actually causing the air to come and circle around to provide a tailwind.
Maddie hadn't done anything as Frozzaen was large enough and the wind not strong enough to really affect him.
They kept changing positions as they left England, entered France. Hermione had been the first to reach the Eiffel Tower but Maddie was the first to reach the 'France Gateway'. As such, she had a small headstart arriving back at the 'UK Gateway'.
Harry opened a gateway and saw Frozzaen ahead of them. Looking around, he couldn't see Hermione or Polonius, but knew that she hadn't created a gateway and therefore probably wouldn't be far behind. He applied more wind to help Ophelia catch up. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Polonius appear.
No matter how much he tried to help though, he couldn't catch up to Frozzaen. Hermione and Polonius had slipped in front of him. As he was considering what he could do to help Ophelia, he suddenly had an idea. He quickly explained it to her.
[*It's probably the best idea. I don't think I'll be able to catch up to him in time. *] Harry nodded. He unhooked himself and opened a gateway which he jumped through and landed on Frozzaen's back.
Maddie turned when she heard the gateway and sent a light whip at Harry. He caught it and pulled, pulling her out of the saddle. Maddie twisted and landed, grabbing his ankle as she slid past.
Harry twisted and dropped another chain on Frozzaen's wing. Maddie went to remove it when she was grabbed from behind. She turned to find Hermione had sent a fire whip and caught her wrist. Not only that, Frozzaen had slowed down enough that both Polonius and Ophelia had caught up.
Hermione released the whip and Maddie turned around to see Harry's chain had disappeared and he had jumped back onto Ophelia. Maddie shook her head then sat back down into the saddle.
As Hogwarts came back into view, the six were all right next to each other. Urging Ophelia on, when they got close to the lake Harry jumped off, Maddie right next to him. The lake got closer and closer and the two entered the water at the same time.
Harry resurfaced and looked around, Maddie appearing next to him. "Well, I can't tell who won."
"I can." They both turned to see Hermione with a big grin on her face. Harry frowned, not remembering her falling in front of them. "Who won? Me or Maddie?"
Hermione shook her head. "I did."
Maddie and Harry looked at each other, then back at Hermione. "How?"
Hermione's grin got even bigger. "I jumped, created a gateway a metre above the lake and landed in it – a full five seconds before you did."
Harry groaned. He turned to look at Maddie who looked back. "Excuse me, I have to go drown myself for failing to think of that." Harry and Hermione laughed, and after a second Maddie joined in.
The three were walking back from the clearing near Hagrid's hut when Maddie stopped, then walked off in a different direction. They followed as she turned a corner and knelt near an alcove where Harry realised he could hear sniffling.
Maddie was holding her hand out towards a young girl. From her height, Harry realised that she had to be a first year. A drip dragged his attention to the floor where he noticed red drops on the floor by her feet. Looking up in growing horror, he realised that the blood was dripping off her hand, where it was flowing freely.
Maddie gently walked the girl over to the bench and sat her down. She then lifted her hand up.
The message on her hand read 'I will obey my betters'.
Maddie gave the girl a small smile as her hand rested on top of the girls. "What's your name?"
"Cyndi" the young girl whispered.
"Can you tell me what happened, Cyndi?"
"I was walking through the corridor when these older Slytherins came up to me and knocked my books out of my hands. T-t-they threw their books at me." Tears started to form in her eyes. "They told me to pick their books up, saying "Mudbloods are only good to serve their betters. W-W-When we're done with you, no one is going to want you at all."
She started crying earnestly, causing Maddie to wrap her in a one armed hug, as her other hand was still on Cyndi's, most likely healing it.
"Then, Professor Umbridge came out and I, I, I tried to report it, but she looked at me and said that I should be honoured that they would lower themselves to address me. T-Then she dragged me to her office and made me write lines, telling me that next time I am to simply do as I'm told."
Harry had to hand it to Maddie. She was helping the girl to tell her story while looking very concerned for the young girl. However, he could sense the anger that was building up within her. And it didn't take much to realise who that anger was directed to.
"Want to see something cool?" Cyndi looked up at Maddie and nodded. Maddie held her hand up and wriggled her fingers, which started to glow before they lit on fire. Cyndi's eyes widened as she watched the fire form into the shape of a small dragon. Harry and Hermione watched amazed as the dragon curled around Maddie's wrist and hand. Maddie turned back to Cyndi.
"Would you like to keep him? He'll keep you safe from those who want to seriously hurt you."
Cyndi nodded. "Will he stop Umbridge?"
Maddie may have been smiling at Cyndi, but Harry recognised the rage that was dancing in her eyes like fire. "No. I'll stop her for you. It won't be long before you won't have to worry about her at all. Now this guy" Maddie twisted her hand and the dragon moved, curling up in her palm "he'll stay with you from now on. He won't be visible to anyone but you and won't become visible unless you want him to."
Maddie held her hand out towards Cyndi, who hesitated for a second before reaching her hand out as well. The fire dragon looked at her before jumping onto her hand. Harry watched, amazed, as the dragon then melted back into fire that seemed to cover the girl in what looked like a shield before disappearing. He looked at Hermione who looked just as stunned as he felt.
Cyndi looked up at Maddie. "Thank you" She hesitated for a second before she jumped up and wrapped Maddie in a hug. Maddie just wrapped her arms around Cyndi and hugged back, watching as she then walked off.
She stood up and turned towards them both. "When the time comes, she's mine."
Hermione frowned "We should make sure she pays for what's she has done though!"
Maddie's gaze shifted so that she was looking at Hermione, who seemed to shrink back from the intensity of her look. "When the time comes, she will pay. Don't worry about that."
Defence against the Dark Arts Office, Hogwarts
Umbridge looked around the room at the few Slytherins that had signed up to become part of the new Inquisitorial Squad. Even though the squad hadn't been officially formed, Umbridge had already picked the members to Corne – The Ministers approval. Every single student in the room that had the silver 'I' on their robes were children of respectable members of society. Lucius had been very proud when she had told him that Draco was the first she had approached.
She smiled at all of them. Every single one knew what was needed to keep magical society safe from the beasts and the mudbloods. They also knew that Cornelius was the best Minister for them, as he held many functions to show off their wealth and would pass all the correct laws that would protect the purebloods.
Her smile disappeared as her mind drifted, as it always did when thinking of purifying the magical world, to the brat and his mudblood whores. She didn't have any proof that they were meeting or conducting training for the rebellion that Dumbledore that was planning. However, all she needed was a confession from a member. Cornelius didn't need to know how she got the confession, just that she had one.
She walked over to the body on the floor that some of the members had just dragged in and bent down. "You have been helping that brat prepare to destroy the Ministry, and Cornelius. I can't let that happen." She giggled and stood up. "We have all the time in the world. You're going to tell me where this 'army' of yours is meeting and who runs it. The more you deny, the more I'm just going to have to push" the smile on her face was sadistic as she cast the first spell.
ROH Meeting, Room of Requirement, 10 minutes earlier
Harry was, understandably, nervous. Today was the day that Umbridge would force Dumbledore out of Hogwarts and try to take over. While Marietta had not shown any interest or desire to talk to Umbridge, the bracelets which had been given to all the members not only had the new logo that Dean had designed, but also a discreet tracking charm that would only activate if the person had gone into Umbridge's office.
He watched as Maddie and Hermione were explaining and demonstrating how to identify the Cruciatus. After fast-tracking the Patronus, they had worked on casting and fighting off the Imperius. Some had found it easier than others to throw off the Imperius, either due to already having Occlumency training or having a strong will. Those that didn't were given quick training or simply put under the curse until they could throw it off.
When the ROH's had been told that they would be having the Imperius cast on them to teach them how to identify and fight it, they also requested to learn about the Cruciatus and Avada Kedavra. While they didn't ask for them to be cast on them, they wanted to be able to identify and learn techniques to try to avoid having them cast on them.
Harry was drawn out of his musings when a device they had on the desk at the front started to beep. He quickly walked over with Maddie and Hermione close on his heels. The rest of the ROH watched on, curious but knowing better than to argue or say anything. Harry tapped the device with his wand and it started to emit puffs of red and silver coloured smoke. He looked up at Hermione and Maddie.
"It's Ron. He's in her office with five of the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge." Hermione tapped the device which continued to emit the smoke. "Hmm. It can't make its mind up if he's there of his own choice or been forced to be there. That would indicate that he's been imperiused or he's had a compulsion charm on him."
"Compulsion most likely" Harry said. "Imperius would activate the wards and notify the teachers and the Ministry. Compulsion wouldn't." He looked up at Hermione. "We need to investigate." She nodded and moved to the chest they had placed in the room after the first session. Harry turned to Maddie. "Keep the room secured. No one in, no one out." Maddie nodded and moved to the door, pulling her sword and a pistol out.
Harry looked back to see Hermione walking over with a rifle in her hand. She handed it over and he performed a quick inspection. The rifle was a riot rifle, popular with the police of Britain as it was light and small, and fired rubber bullets. These particular rifles had been modified to fire fast enough to knock out anyone that they hit but not kill them.
Waving their wands, they altered their clothing into the black fatigues they wore on their infiltration missions. Harry handed Hermione the mask that would hide their features and allow them to communicate with Maddie. They knew that they had to modify the memories of the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge, but on the off chance that it failed they didn't want anyone to find out what they had or could do.
They moved to the door and Maddie grabbed the handle. Harry nodded and she opened the door, allowing them to slip out before she shut it.
Harry pressed a finger to a small button on his mask which brought up a map of Hogwarts. They had taken the marauders map and were able to put the layout of the castle within the masks but couldn't get the charms which showed where everyone was at that moment to transfer across. Harry set off in the direction, Hermione following behind making sure no one came from behind.
It was slow work, as they had to check around every corner for traps and possible hostiles. They came across three groups of students who they had to obliviate as they didn't want them to go and blab to their friends; the last thing they needed was word getting to Voldemort.
Soon they were outside Umbridge's office. Harry moved to one side of the door and Hermione to the other. Harry crouched and slid a mirror under the door while Hermione cast a listening charm. They both saw that Malfoy was stood on the other side of the office, Bulstrode and Zabini were stood near the fireplace, and Parkinson and Nott were stood near the window. Umbridge was stood above Ron, who was covered in blood and shuddering.
"The Weasley's have always had no ambition" Umbridge snarled, an ugly grin crossing her face. "Weak-minded, weak-willed, the Weasleys always take the easy route and are so easy to manipulate. Your father, pathetic blood traitor he is, is no different. So easy to get secrets out of" Umbridge laughed as did some of the Inquisitorial Squad. Harry snarled and was about to knock the door down when Umbridge spoke.
"Now, there's a reason why I went after you. You see Moody, in his notes he left behind last year, commented on the fact that he performed the Imperius curse on you. Potter could throw it off, Granger, the mudblood whore, would struggle and then give in. But you" she leaned in and leered at Ron "you were so easy. In fact, you still suffered for ages afterwards. So that's why I went for you – the weak link. The loser. The over-shadowed. Clearly Potter taught you something in that club, as you seem to not want to talk. Crucio!" she snarled as Ron started to scream on the floor. The Inquisitorial squad jeered at him as he screamed and thrashed about, smacking his head on the desk leg. Umbridge eventually let the spell up and leaned down.
"Where is Potter holding his little club?" she said, grabbing his hair. Ron, other than whimpering in pain, stayed silent and Umbridge snarled. She dropped him and kicked his stomach. "WHERE?"
Harry watched as Ron looked up at Umbridge and whispered "I-i-i-i-I'll never-r-r-r tell you-u-u-u-u" Umbridge's eyes widened and she cast a Crucio, making Ron scream.
Harry stood and faced the door as Hermione did the same, standing slightly behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder and he sent a blasting charm at the door, both moving forward. The Inquisitorial Squad turned towards the door as they charged in. Harry levelled at Draco and fired as Hermione targeted Zabini, who was known as one of the better duellers currently in Slytherin. The rubber bullets impacted and sent Draco flying head over heels while Zabini simply dropped.
Harry turned and fired at Nott and Parkinson while Hermione targeted Bulstrode. In the time it took to take all five down, Harry turned to find Umbridge had stood up and fired a sickly orange spell at him. Harry threw his gun at the spell which exploded on contact. Harry, however, hadn't waited to see if the gun had connected and had thrown himself forward, opened a portal and fallen through to roll behind Umbridge.
Umbridge was panicking. The weasel wasn't talking which was getting frustrating. He was the weak one! She had no idea how it had happened. One second, she had been casting the crucio, the next the door was exploding. She turned just as two people in black stepped through the door, taking out the students in the room with ruthless efficiency. She fired a spell at the taller one who threw his black stick at it.
She flinched away from the explosion and looked back to where the black person was and realised that they had disappeared. She turned to find them right behind her and before she could do anything a fist slammed into her face. It was the last thing she saw before everything went black.
Harry didn't even pay any attention to Umbridge as she dropped, instead moving over to where Ron was laid on the floor in his own blood. He crouched down and started to run diagnostic spells over him. "Ron, stay awake mate. You need to stay awake, ok?"
Ron had no idea what was happening. His brain was no longer focussing on what was happening other than that he was in agonizing pain. His brain registered that he was no longer being subjected to the pain, but it was only when his whole body started to cool down a bit before he started to register the room. The only thing he noticed was that everyone was down and that there were two people dressed completely in black. His head drooped as everything faded to black.
Harry was pulling a vial out of his pack when he noticed that Ron stopped twitching. He dropped the vial and put a finger on Ron's jugular as he cast a spelt that was the equivalent of a ECG. He turned to Hermione. "He's not breathing!" He started to perform CPR as Hermione quickly tied up everyone in the office.
"Harry, we need to get him to the Room now! It'll be able to give us what we need to save him!" Harry nodded and quickly picked him up. Hermione created a portal and he stepped through, running down the corridor towards the Room of Requirement. [Maddie, open the door NOW! We have injured!]
The door opened and Harry sped through, not even noticing that everyone in the room could see what was happening. Maddie noticed that the twins and Ginny had all gone pale and had started to move forward, but they were stopped when Maddie's sword suddenly appeared in front of them.
Maddie meanwhile had got the room to conjure a stretcher which Harry placed Ron on and started CPR. Maddie waved her hand and the medical room on Rider Island appeared. She stepped through and grabbed some potions, medical supplies and a defibrillator. She stepped back and started to place the pads of the defib on Ron's chest.
Hermione reappeared, having finished cleaning up in Umbridge's office and modifying memories, and started to prepare solutions which she put medical wraps in to help with healing the very large number of cuts that covered all of Ron. She also pulled out anti-Cruciatus, blood replenishing, nutrient and general healing potions. She grabbed Ron's arm and started casting healing spells, healing the minor cuts easily and getting the major cuts to at least knit and close so that he wouldn't bleed out.
The whole room was subdued as they watched the trio work. Especially for the Weasley family, it felt like a lifetime before Ron actually coughed and started to breath on his own. When he did, Maddie started to pour potions down Ron's throat.
Hermione turned to Harry, still casting healing spells. "Harry, you need to go. He'll be waiting in the same spot." Harry nodded and looked back at Ron.
"He'll be fine." Maddie said, not even looking up at him. "Just go, we'll protect him and get everyone else back." Harry nodded and ran out the room. Maddie looked around the room. "If anyone talks about this to anyone outside this room, it'll be the last thing you do. Understand?"
The fact that her eyes were glowing and that her sword was pointing at them all made everyone nod extremely fast. Everyone nodded and stayed away as Maddie and Hermione continued to heal Ron.
Headmasters Office, Hogwarts
Despite having a thumping headache from falling on the floor, Harry was glad that Hermione's memory charms worked, as none of them seemed to remember that they had been attacked by anyone – indeed, Umbridge had stalked into the office looking triumphant. Fudge was very pleased with the situation while Dumbledore appeared to be taking everything in stride. Harry though knew that Dumbledore had been prepared for this day for a while. McGonagall though wasn't in the office, nor was Marietta here.
Fudge's face lit up when Draco dragged Harry in behind Umbridge. He turned to Dumbledore with barely disguised glee. "Well, well, well. We can now start this and get all this over tonight."
Dumbledore smiled at Cornelius. "By all means, go ahead Minister. It is, shall we say, your party." As Fudge turned towards Umbridge, Dumbledore shot Harry a small wink. "Did you catch anyone else my dear?" Fudge asked Umbridge, though his smile shrank when she shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Minister. We only caught Potter."
Fudge frowned, but quickly turned back, a smile creeping back. "No matter, no matter. We all knew that you would try something Dumbledore. Potter! I assume you know why you're here?"
Harry nodded. "Yep. I got dragged here by Malfoy."
Fudge froze while Dumbledore's smile increased. "I'm sorry? No, you're here because you're holding illegal meetings!"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware I was holding meeting's in the Headmaster's office, Minister."
Fudge glared at Kingsley who had made a coughing sound and turned back to Harry. "High Inquisitor Umbridge has notified me that you have been holding meeting's in Hogwarts for the last six months!"
Harry just stared at Fudge, who was starting to turn red. "Aren't you going to refute that?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't think I can refute that Umbridge notified you that she suspect's I've been holding meetings, Minister."
Fudge snarled and turned back to Dumbledore. "You put him up to this, didn't you Dumbledore? Lucius was right, you are working to undermine me and the Ministry. You ordered Potter to set up these meetings? They have been meeting in a secret place and developing fighting skills so that when you march on the Ministry you have an army to defeat us!"
Harry sniggered. "You must be really worried if you think school kids can defeat you, Minister."
Kingsley snickered while Fudge glowered at Harry. Harry looked up to see Dumbledore give him another small wink. He then coughed and got Fudge's attention. "Minister, if I may ask, when did these supposed meetings occur?"
Fudge froze again. "Excuse me?"
Dumbledore smiled. "You have arrived in my office claiming that Harry here has been conducting illegal meetings with fellow students. I'm just asking what proof you had that supported your theory that."
Fudge blustered for a bit before turning to Umbridge. "Well? You have the proof yes?"
Umbridge nodded. "Yes. I was alerted that the meeting was being conducted in an empty room on the seventh floor. Upon arriving, I discovered that the room was empty except for Potter here." She glared at Harry who simply stared back. "On searching the room, I found this list. And look at the name on the top."
She pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to Fudge, who read the top and chuckled.
"See what they call themselves? 'Dumbledore's Army'".
Dumbledore held his hand out and Fudge handed it over. Dumbledore looked over it and chuckled. "Well Harry, I'm glad you got over your hostility with Malfoy and his friends in Slytherin."
Everyone in the room frowned except for Harry, who grinned. "I know. Who would have suspected that Fudge's greatest 'supporter' had his son working with me to undermine the Ministry?"
"What?" bellowed Fudge as he snatched the list out of Dumbledore's hand. Looking down the list, he saw several names of the children of prominent members of society and the Ministry. He glared at Umbridge who seemed to be shrinking into herself.
"I see. Well, that doesn't matter."
Harry frowned, as did Dumbledore. "Whatever do you mean, Cornelius?"
"It means, Dumbledore" Fudge said, a smile creeping across his face. "It means that I can say whatever I want. Your credibility is so low at the moment that no one will believe you otherwise. But I'm afraid that you won't be staying Headmaster after tonight."
"Ah, yes. And I take it that I won't be allowed to be seen by the public?"
Fudge shook his head. "No. You'll issue a statement, of course."
Dumbledore nodded. "Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I have no intention of, what's the phrase, coming quietly. You'll soon realise, Cornelius, that you have made a big mistake."
As his face went red, Fudge turned to the two aurors and bellowed "ARREST HIM". Before Dawlish could take a step, Harry sent a stunner at him. Fudge and Umbridge turned to him and Dumbledore sent a wide stunner, knocking them both out. he then turned to Kingsley.
"I'm sorry Kingsley, but I will have to attack you too."
The man nodded and Dumbledore hit him with a stunner. He however was gently lowered to the floor by Harry.
"Well, I didn't think Fudge would do what he did."
Harry looked at Dumbledore. "You still have to leave. You know that."
He nodded. "Yes. I will continue to track down Horace and find him a better hiding place."
Harry, after a quick thought, grabbed a pencil and waved his wand over it, causing it to glow blue. "Give that to him. He'll be sent to a Rider safe house. I won't say where though."
Albus nodded. "Thank you."
Harry nodded and moved over to Fudge and Umbridge. He was about to cast a memory charm on them both when Dumbledore said. "Harry." He stopped and turned around. "Good luck." Harry nodded and watched as Fawkes fire flashed himself and Dumbledore out the office. He sighed and got back to work.