Chapter Fourteen
Albus Dumbledore thought that searching for a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor each year was stressful however it was nothing compared to the search for a new Potions Professor. He was down to his last two options; it seemed that everyone else felt that teaching young people how to brew Potions was a waste of their time. He hoped that his old friend Horace Slughorn would take the position as the only other option he had was Perenelle Flamel, who due to the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone would soon start on the next great adventure.
Dumbledore had hoped to use Harry's fame to convince Slughorn to join the staff but due to his imprisonment he wasn't available and it seemed that Fudge was doing everything in his power to make sure Harry didn't return to Hogwarts in September.
He slowly walked to the gate of Hogwarts deep in thought; he had been contacted once again by Ginny Potter who had informed him that all those residing at Potter Castle would withdraw from Hogwarts if Harry's trial wasn't sorted out soon. He hoped that his meeting with Horace went well so that he could focus on getting Harry's trial sorted out.
Dumbledore appeared in a dark alley close to the house of his long term friend. He had not bothered to make an appointment as he suspected that Horace would disappear before the meeting. He slowly walked up to the door and notice that it was slightly ajar and the room looked like it has been trashed.
Taking his wand he quickly scanned the room and determined that there was only one other person present, he was currently hiding. Dumbledore conjured himself a Chintz chair and sat down next to his old friend.
"Good evening," Dumbledore said to the large chair next to him.
There was no response to his greeting so Dumbledore continued on.
"I know you are hiding there, my old friend. You know that you could never fully transform yourself correctly could you?
"Are you going to sit there all evening or finally acknowledge that I am here?"
Several minutes later Slughorn finally transformed back to his natural form, it then became clear that Horace has detected Dumbledore approaching and decided to trash the house himself so that it would appear that he was no longer there and Dumbledore would leave quickly.
"Albus, what brings you here?" asked Slughorn as he started repairing his possessions.
"Horace, I am in need of a Potions Professor," Dumbledore replied as he helped repair the damage.
"I'm sorry; as I told you before, I don't want to be involved in teaching any longer. What happened to that slimly git you had teaching; did he finally follow his old master?" Slughorn replied nastily.
"Actually, Severus Snape died an honourable death, he took a Killing Curse from Voldemort that would have hit me," responded Dumbledore angrily.
Horace wasn't a weak person but the sheer amount of power that flowed off Dumbledore as he spoke shocked him to his core.
"I'm sorry my friend I had no idea, I was wrong to speak badly of him," Slughorn offered quietly.
"Severus made some terrible mistakes in his life but he more than made up for them when he became our spy against Voldemort. We have lost a valuable friend and colleague which is why I need you to come and teach again," Dumbledore replied as he began to calm down.
Slughorn slumped down in his chair, he knew his old friend would not give up on this and to be honest he could use the money, ever since that stupid bet, where he lost most of his money, he had been struggling to have enough to live on.
"Okay, okay I'll do it," replied Slughorn in resignation.
Dumbledore was expecting it to take much longer to convince him so was slightly surprised when he said yes so quickly.
They spent the next couple hours catching up and discussing the plan for Slughorn to return to Hogwarts. It was decided in the end that he would travel on the Hogwarts Express with the students as another level of protection. There would already be significant protection on the train as they were not going to take any chances after what happened at the end of last term.
The next morning a private memorial service took place for Severus Snape. The staff currently staying at Hogwarts gathered near the lake with several other people who wanted to pay their last respects and knew what had happened.
Snape had requested that his body be cremated to remove all evidence of the Dark Mark that had been a curse for many years. Dumbledore followed his request out of respect for what he had done. A simple memorial stone had been placed looking out over the great lake.
Severus Snape
January 9, 1960 - August 20th 1995
Dumbledore addressed the few who had gathered, news of Severus's death had not been released to the general public to ensure that the Minister could not interfere.
"Friends, we are gathered here to remember Severus Snape, from an early age he had a troubled life and made some terrible decisions that ultimately cost him more than he ever imagined.
"Severus was once close friends with Lily Evans; however he soon lost that friendship when he decided to follow Lord Voldemort. Several years after that he made a second mistake, this changed his live more than anything that happened to him.
"As a result of this mistake and the damage that it caused Severus, he became a spy against Voldemort. He worked tirelessly from that moment on, providing information that helped stop many attacks that Voldemort planned. It was never an easy road for Severus and several times he had to make terrible choices in order to keep his cover but he never swayed from that path.
"Severus made the ultimate sacrifice when he took the Killing Curse that was meant for me, he was a loyal friend and colleague and will be sorely missed," Dumbledore finished and quietly watched over the lake.
Before anyone else could speak four flashes of light announced the arrival of four Phoenixes, for the next ten minutes they flew around the lake in what could only be described as a beautiful ballet as they finished an eternal flame appeared on top of the memorial stone.
The group spend the next couple of hours talking about their memories of Severus; both good and bad before they returned to the castle for lunch. Dumbledore refused to answer any questions about the Phoenixes except to say that Fawkes was one of the four.
Finally on August 28th Fudge reluctantly agreed to hold the trial for Harry Potter. He had run out of excuses for not holding it and knew that Dumbledore would be able to call an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot if he didn't set the date in the next couple of days.
"Mr. Weasley, Please can you notify the Wizengamot that the trial of Harry Potter will be held on 1st September at 11am. In addition please publish a notice that any students of Hogwarts age who are present at the trial will be arrested and charged with truancy from school and would be punished severely," Fudge announced.
"Yes, Minister," replied Percy as he quickly noted down the instructions.
He then made his way to send off the notifications.
Percy had been loyal to the Minister since he left Hogwarts but recently had felt let down by the actions of the Minister. He still remembered vividly the attack on Ginny during the Tri-Wizard Tournament and had no doubt about what Harry had told them afterwards. He had also been there when St. Mungo's was attacked, yet despite all the evidence Fudge refused to acknowledge that Voldemort was back.
Percy made a life altering decision at that moment to not follow the path that he had once set out for himself. It was clear to him that Fudge and the others could not be trusted so he would need to gather as much evidence as possible against Fudge and those who were loyal to him. If he played his cards right he could one day replace them and would then right the wrongs that they had done.
'Ginny, I know you want to be there to support me and there is nothing I would like more, but you have been told what Fudge said. I am not going to let you give them a chance to arrest you,' Harry replied as they continued to argue about her attending the trial that morning.
'He did this deliberately so we couldn't support you,' replied Ginny angrily.
'Yes, but you know that you can be there with me even if it isn't physically,' Harry reminded her.
Ginny wasn't happy with the outcome of the discussion but she couldn't find fault Harry's logic or his desire to keep her safe. She decided that it wasn't worth fighting further with Harry as it would just cause more issues for the trial than he needed to deal with.
'Please don't be angry with me,' Harry said a moment later.
'I'm not angry with you, Harry,' replied Ginny before sending her love for him through the bond.
Ginny finished packing their stuff and sent it all to the Founders Study bedroom at Hogwarts, before heading down for breakfast with the others.
Meanwhile Harry sat in his cell and watched them enjoying their breakfast together as he enjoyed the food that Maxim has brought him. The guards had kept up the pretence of feeding Harry so not to arouse suspicions but knew he was being fed better by his own house elf.
The trial was set to start at eleven just as the Hogwarts express was to pull out of Kings Cross. As Ginny and the others left Potter Castle for Kings Cross Harry told her that he would see her soon. The guards then came to transfer Harry from Azkaban to the Ministry.
Harry was escorted into the court room and took his seat. The room was full of people dressed in long robes, some black and the rest red. Cornelius Fudge was sitting in the center seat looking down on Harry smugly.
Fudge slammed his hammer down loudly to get everyone attention before he addressed those present.
"Members of the Wizengamot, we are here today deal with the crimes committed by one Harry James Potter," Fudge said loudly.
"Harry James Potter, you are charged with the murder of Henry King Jester. Have you anything to say before we decide on the sentence?" asked Fudge.
"I admit that it was my curse that caused his death, but..." Harry started to say.
"I told you," shouted Fudge before Harry could continue. "He readily admits that he is responsible for the crimes."
"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I was protecting my girlfriend Ginny Weasley at the time," replied Harry angrily.
"There was nothing to defend against," replied Fudge feeling confident. He had made sure that any evidence that had been gathered; disappeared before the trial began so it could not be used, this was the cause of the delay in having a date for his trial.
"He was carrying a knife that was covered in very rare and deadly venom. If he had succeeded in stabbing Ginny, she would be dead by now," replied Harry getting angrier by the second, it didn't escape the notice of Madam Bones or several others the amount of power flowing off of Harry as he spoke.
"Yet you are unable to produce any evidence of this, Mr. Potter," replied Fudge with a smirk.
"The Auror's took the knife after the attack in Diagon Alley," Harry told them.
"We have checked all the evidence that was collected from the scene of the attack and there isn't such a knife," Fudge told him.
"Member's of the Wizengamot as you have heard the defendant; Harry James Potter has admitted killing Mr. Jester. He has also not been able to provide any evidence to support his claim that Mr. Jester was attempting to attack Miss. Weasley. Therefore I believe we should consider the information provided, and pass sentence," Fudge told them confidently.
Before anyone could say anything Harry spoke up, "Madam Bones, I believe that under the current laws of the Wizengamot I am allowed to submit memories for review."
"Yes, Mr. Potter that is correct," Madam Bones replied with a smile.
"I would like to submit two memories for review," replied Harry.
Percy Weasley who had been recording the proceedings quickly disappeared and returned with a witness Pensieve.
"I will need my wand please," Harry announced.
"Mr. Weasley, please provide Mr. Potter with his wand," Madam Bones replied.
"I object to Mr. Potter having his wand, he is too dangerous," snapped Fudge.
"Minister Fudge, Mr. Potter is entitled to submit the memories and will need his wand to accomplish this," replied Madam Bones quickly before indicating to Percy to continue.
Percy passed the wand to Harry who was watched very closely by Fudge who had his hand on his wand the whole time. This caused Harry some amusement as he doubted Fudge would even be able to get a curse off before he was hit if he really wanted to do anything.
"Minister, do you honest believe I would attempt to escape from here when I am about to prove my innocence. If I had wanted to escape I wouldn't be standing here today," announced Harry as he pulled both of the memories out and placed them into the Pensieve. Once they were safely stored in the Pensieve Harry passed his wand back to Percy without any hesitation.
Fudge was about to say something about his comment but was stopped by Madam Bones. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley please can you setup the Pensieve so we can review the memories."
Everyone around the room was silent as Percy tapped the Pensieve twice and the memory started to play for all to see.
The first scene quickly unfolded before them, they could see Harry and Ginny battling the Dementors using their Patronuses. The scene changed as Harry quickly spun around and fired a stunner at Mr. Jester while pulling Ginny out of the way. Everyone could clearly see the knife in question. The scene changed again as the battle continued and they saw the terrible injury to Mrs. Weasley before the memory ended.
Moments later the second memory started showing the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore. They could clearly hear them talking about the knife and what was on it. Towards the end of the memory the saw the knife in an Auror evidence bag being handed to Fudge by Auror Chambers.
"Minister Fudge, it is clear from these memories that Mr. Potter is telling the truth about what happened," Madam Bones stated clearly annoyed. "Will you please explain why this evidence is not in court today?"
"Obviously these are false memories," Fudge replied but not as confident as before.
"Minister, you cannot serious be telling us that Mr. Potter faked those memories?" Madam Bones said.
"Of course he did, otherwise the evidence would be here today," replied Fudge whilst shifting nervously in his seat. This whole process was taking longer than it should and he was getting worried as the seeds of doubt had been sown.
Moments later Fawkes appeared in the court room with a very angry Dumbledore, he had been deliberately delayed by Umbridge who claimed to have important Ministry business to deal with regarding Hogwarts.
"Sorry I am late, Madam Bones, it seems that Minister Fudge requested his assistant to arrange an emergency meeting to stop me from being here today," he said angrily looking around the courtroom.
"How dare you accuse me like that" replied Fudge clearly upset that Dumbledore was here. "This trial has nothing to do with you anyway."
"It might be none of my business, but you have one of my students on trial for crimes he didn't commit," said Dumbledore the power flowing off of Dumbledore was just as impressive as the display they had seen from Harry not that long ago.
"That is where you are wrong, Dumbledore. Mr. Potter has already admitted to this court that his curse killed Mr. Jester and we have all seen it with our own eyes. He has been unable to produce the so call evidence of a knife," replied Fudge is confidence building again.
"How could he produce that evidence when it is hidden behind the cabinet in your office?" replied Dumbledore.
Suddenly all the color drained from Fudge's face, how could Dumbledore have known where it was. He had been very careful to ensure that no one saw him when he hid it.
There was silence in the court room again as everyone waited for Fudge to respond.
"I protest you have no evidence to support these charges. Madam Bones I request that Albus Dumbledore be arrested for defamation of character," announced Fudge hoping to kill two birds with one stone.
"We will take that request under advisement," replied Bones before turning to Percy. "Mr. Weasley, please can you and Auror Shacklebolt check the Minister's office for any hidden items and return with whatever you find, whether pertinent to this trial or not" Madam Bones announced.
"We will take a fifteen minute recess," she then announced before dismissing the members.
Percy and Kingsley quickly returned with the knife and several other items that they found in the Minister's office. They presented them to Madam Bones when the session started again.
"Minister Fudge, please can you explain why these items were found in your office. It is clear from the evidence submitted by Mr. Potter that this is the knife in question?" asked a very angry Madam Bones.
Fudge refused to answer clearly knowing that he had not only lost this case but would most likely be out of a job soon.
"Based on your lack of response your request to have Albus Dumbledore arrested is denied. In addition you are put on notice that a thorough investigation will be held on this matter and any charges deemed appropriate by this court will be brought against you," Madam Bones announced to the court.
"Mr. Potter, please accept the apologies of this court for what has happened here today and since you have been in Azkaban. The evidence clearly shows you reacted in self defense, and only with a simple Stunning Curse.
"To compensate for the time you have spent in Azkaban a total of five thousand Galleons will be paid to you. In addition based on the recommendation of Albus Dumbledore you and your friends will each be issued with an Underage Magic license which will allow you to perform magic outside of school," Madam Bones announced.
"Madam Bones, I would like to request that the money be put into a trust fund to help those of have suffered at the hands of Voldemort and his followers," announced Harry.
"Very well, Mr. Potter, who would you suggest to head up this trust?" asked Madam Bones.
"I would like to suggest Mrs. Weasley," replied Harry knowing this would piss off a number of the Purebloods.
"Very well, I will contact Mrs. Weasley immediately to set this up."
"That isn't possible at the moment, she was badly injured during the attack at Diagon Alley as you saw in the memory and still hasn't fully recovered," Harry told them.
"How could you possible know how she is doing," asked Fudge angrily.
"Mr. Fudge, Albus Dumbledore isn't the only person to be bonded with a Phoenix, as I said earlier if I wanted to escape then not even Azkaban could have held me. That should be evidence enough that I wasn't guilty. I have been very aware of what is has been going on in the Wizarding World since being locked up.
"Madam Bones, I believe if you review the other items presented to you by Mr. Weasley you will find several Auror recording devices showing the attack on St. Mungo's," Harry told them before leaving the court room with Albus Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley before anyone else could speak.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as they walked towards the exit.
"You're welcome, Harry. I am sorry I wasn't here earlier but as you heard Umbridge tried to delay me," Dumbledore replied.
"I am just glad it is over and I can go home to Hogwarts," replied Harry happily.
"I would be happy to escort you," Dumbledore told him.
"Thank you, Professor," replied Harry for those who were listening. 'I am going to flash to the train and return with Ginny,' Harry projected to his mind.
Dumbledore nodded to acknowledge what Harry had told him, before disappearing with Fawkes.
He then turned to Arthur, "Thank you for your support today. I hope Molly won't be too angry with me for putting her as head of the trust fund."
"Don't worry about Molly, I think having something to do will help her immensely. She spends most of her time worrying about the rest of us," replied Arthur before hugging him and leaving too.
Ginny had been quietly listening to the trial though the bond as the train moved north. She had made sure to seal the compartment so that no one could disturb her and knew that Xavier was also keeping watch. The others had all disappeared knowing that she wanted to focus on the trial.
As the verdict was announced she jumped with joy and for the first time in several weeks was able to openly smile knowing that Harry would be back with her soon. They had been together but he wasn't free so it wasn't the same.
She decided to find her friends and give them the good news; unfortunately she wasn't concentrating on what was happened and ran into Malcolm Baddock, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle outside her compartment.
"Well what do we have here," said Malcolm as he looked into the empty compartment and pushed her back inside.
"What do you want," she replied coldly.
"I think we want to finish what Draco Malfoy wasn't able to do last year," replied Malcolm while looking her up and down.
She shivered when she sensed the thoughts that were going though his mind, it was clear that he wasn't any good at Occlumency.
"What makes you think you will do any better than he did?" she asked mockingly.
"Well for starters you don't have you stupid boyfriend to protect you, I would imagine by now they have sentenced him to life in Azkaban," mocked Malcolm. "And unlike Draco I know how to get what I want."
He pointed his wand at her and shouted "Imperio." When nothing happened he tried again only to fail as well.
"Hmm, not working I see. It seems that you are just as incompetent as Draco," replied Ginny before laughing.
"Grab her, if that won't work then we will do it the old fashioned way," shouted Malcolm.
Crabbe and Goyle lunged forward but were stopped by a golden shield that appeared directly in front of Ginny.
"Will you never learn," asked Ginny as she watched the five of them attempt to destroy the shield with a number of different curses.
While they were attacking the shield a bright light filled the compartment and when it faded; Ginny wasn't alone as standing beside her was Harry.
"Sorry I am late," Harry said before kissing Ginny very passionately.
"Just in time actually, I was about to teach these insects a lesson," replied Ginny happily.
"Oh, I am sorry let me get out of the way then," Harry told her as he sat down in the corner.
The five Slytherin's had not moved since the light filled the compartment.
"Mind you it won't be very entertaining if they just stand there like idiots," continued Harry as they both watched the five of them.
"You just have to spoil all my fun," replied Ginny in mock outrage before settling down in his lap.
"What are we going to do with these idiots?" Harry asked after kissing her again.
With a wave of her wand Ginny vanished all their clothing except for their underwear and then took a picture of them before chasing them out of the compartment to howls of laughter from the large crowd that had gathered outside the compartment.
The journey to Hogwarts was rather uneventful after that and they soon arrived ready for a new term.
"Gin, where did you send their clothes," asked Hermione as she spotted a very angry Professor McGonagall standing at the station.
"Hmm, well I might have sent them directly to the Great Hall. And I may have accidentally sent all their other belongs as well so they couldn't get other clothes," replied Ginny as the others fell about laughing.
Amelia Bones returned to her office after the farce of a trail that has been orchestrated by Minister Fudge. She had a lot to think about, the whole affair was an embarrassment not only to the Wizengamot but the Wizarding World in general. Fudge's obsession with bringing charges against Harry Potter had blinded him to the impact it would have if he was proven innocent as he had been.
What concerned her more however was the fact that Fudge deliberately attempted to hide evidence that clearly proved that Harry was innocent, and as he claimed had only cast the Stunner to defend his girlfriend Ginny. And then when Percy Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt returned from the Minister's office they had found other items, some them would show what happened during the attack on St. Mungo's.
She planned to review the information once Kingsley arrived in her office; he was one of the very few Auror left that she trusted completely. He was also her second in command and had proven many times his complete dedication to the job.
The other thing that amazed her was the amount of power that was coming from Harry Potter during the trial, it very clear to her that he was just as powerful as Dumbledore if not more. The similarities between Harry and Dumbledore were remarkable, not only were they both bonded to a Phoenix but they both showed an amazing amount of control over their emotions and both had an incredible amount of power.
As she sat at her desk contemplating what had happened that morning Kingsley arrived at the office and took the offered seat. Kingsley knew they would be discussing what had happened and made sure to deactivate the tracking device on his badge before entering the room.
"Thank you for coming, Kingsley," Amelia said as he sat down.
"No problem, after what happened this morning I wanted to talk to you anyway," replied Kingsley.
"I can understand that, it seems that our Minister has a lot to explain. I believe that you already know what is contained on these recording orbs, and after what I saw this morning I can understand why Fudge would want this hidden away."
"Yes, he claimed that because Tonks made the recordings they were not valid and confiscated them. We should have foreseen this but it was too late to stop him from doing anything without giving away too much," Kingsley told her as he took the orb and started the playback for her to see.
They sat and watched the events the transpired during the attack, Amelia was stunned to see the Death Eater take the curse that was aimed at Dumbledore. She was even more amazed when the young man appeared and dueled with Voldemort and quite easily defeated him in the end. If it hadn't been for the Death Eaters they most likely would have captured Voldemort.
"Who was that?" asked Amelia after the recording had finished.
Kingsley was sure that he could trust Amelia but knew that he could not reveal that it was Harry Potter who had been involved. He knew he would have to lie to his long time friend, colleague and boss; but vowed to explain everything if the truth was ever revealed to her. He would also speak to Harry when he next had a chance.
"We have no idea, he appeared as you saw suddenly and then he disappeared soon after the battle was over."
"Surely we have some ideas? There cannot be too many people who could do that!"
"We do have one idea but we have witnesses who put him at a different location at the time of the battle so we are not able to prove it. However there are only a couple of people who I have ever seen with that much power and we saw two of them today. As one of them was lying on the ground unconscious we know it wasn't him."
Shacklebolt noticed Amelia face as she realized who he was talking about and clearly indicated to her not say anything.
"Now we have to decide what we should reveal to the public and how to go about it. They need to know that Voldemort has returned but we cannot go against the standing orders of the Minister. It seems that our dear Minister has been planning this out for a long time. I recently received reports of several changes to the law that he attached to other legislation that effectively mean we cannot prosecute him or remove him from office until his term is over or he is dead, or proven to have broken the law.
"I have already advised the senior members of the Wizengamot who we can trust to review every detail of future laws to ensure that no other changes are made. In the mean time I would like you to lead the investigation into the activities of Fudge and put together the evidence so we can present them if the chance arises," Amelia explained.
"Amelia, I have a contact who has already gather quite a lot of information about the activities of our Minister. I cannot reveal the details or who the contact is but I will talk with him and advise him of this investigation. However based on what you have said I don't see what we can do to stop the Minister?"
"Kingsley, have you ever researched the ancient laws of the Wizarding World?"
"Not fully, we did the basic research during Auror training but nothing going back that many years," replied Kingsley.
"I have spent a number of years researching and there is something that can be done, unfortunately we don't know if there is anyone alive that can activate it and have no clue where to even start looking," explained Amelia without revealing too much.
"I will complete the investigation as soon as possible and will speak with my contact and let you know what they say," replied Kingsley as he got up to leave the office.