A/N: Thank you to all the well-wishers out there! It was actually my son again, not me this time. Here is the rest of what was supposed to be the last chapter...Enjoy!
~OOooOO~
Minerva strode forward to welcome the Head of the Board of Inquiry, as Albus didn't seem capable of intelligent thought at that moment. Inwardly, Minerva smirked; she understood exactly what Parkinson and Amelia Bones had up their sleeves.
"Madam Bones...Welcome to Hogwarts." Minerva shook the younger woman's hand and raised one eyebrow in question; a small smirk that would have done a Slytherin proud was her answer, never mind that the woman had been in Hufflepuff...oh yes, they had definitely planned this.
"Thank you for your welcome, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. Although I had thought it was the responsibility of the Headmaster to greet us, I am not against you acting in his stead." Amelia made a small gesture and the remaining members of the Board fanned out to stand behind her and her two companions. "Headmaster Dumbledore and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, I am here to inform you that the Board of Inquiry has arrived and is ready to begin its task. I am the Head of the Board and Head Auror Shacklebolt is here only in an official capacity as an Auror; he is not part of the Board, but we will be reporting all of our findings directly to him. The other Board members are as follows:" Amelia flicked her wrist and a piece of parchment appeared in her hand.
Roderick Parkinson - Head of the Hogwarts Board of Governors
Lucius Malfoy - Member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors and former Hogwarts Professor
Arthur Weasley - Member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors and Ministry Employee
Magdalena Anderson - Retired Auror and Advisor to the Minister for Magic
Alastor Moody - Retired Auror
Sirius Black - Former Auror and Concerned Citizen
Josiah Dearborne - Advisor to the DMLE
Maximilian Bulstrode - Advisor to the DMLE and Director of Bulstrode Industries
Trevor Haverforth - Solicitor and Concerned Citizen
Almira Wandsworth - Wand Maker and Concerned Citizen
Xenophilius Lovegood - Owner of The Quibbler Newspaper and Concerned Citizen
Remus Lupin - Former Hogwarts Professor and Concerned Citizen
Oliver Wood - Professional Quidditch Player and Concerned Citizen
Charles Weasley - Concerned Citizen
"These were the names drawn by an impartial person in the form of Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic; there will be no alterations or substitutions to this list...if one of the members becomes ill or has to leave for some reason, we will carry on without them. Such are the rules set forward by the by-laws of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, amended on 16th September, 1952. Are there any questions Headmaster...Headmistress?" When neither one spoke up, Amelia nodded shortly; she hadn't expected either of them to complain, especially not Minerva. "Excellent...if we could be shown to our rooms, we will join you for the evening meal; I am assuming that it is still held at 6:00, correct?"
Minerva nodded. "That is correct, Madam Bones; we will expect you then. If you will all follow me, I will show you to the rooms allotted to you for your stay." Minerva led the group off, ascending up to the fourth floor where their rooms were located.
Albus stomped off, much like a petulant child, to his office where he could fume in privacy.
~OOooOO~
Once all of the students had filed into the Great Hall and had taken their seats, Albus stood to speak. It was his unfortunate responsibility to inform all of the students exactly what was going on and what they could expect until the Board of Inquiry finished its duties.
"May I have your attention...Students of Hogwarts, the school is playing host to a Board of Inquiry; there are fifteen members, all of whom you see before me." He gestured to the front of the head table and to the sixteen people standing there. "Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt is here to make certain that none of the members of the Board is harassed or tampered with in any way; please do nothing to instigate any difficulties with them. During their investigation, certain students will be withdrawn from their classes to be interviewed by the Board members; please cooperate with them to the best of your abilities. Due to the nature of the Board of Inquiry's investigation, the use of Veritaserum is supported by the by-laws of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and enforced by the Ministry of Magic; each of your parents received a permission slip regarding its use, if deemed necessary, and all of them were sent back to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall last week. If your parents declined to allow Veritaserum to be used on you, it will be noted next to your name on their list and the Board members will abide by your parents' wishes.
"The purpose of this Board of Inquiry is to judge whether or not I am adequately performing my duties as Headmaster; I ask that you keep your personal views to yourself and answer the questions as honestly as you can. I am certain that, if we all participate fully and with complete cooperation, justice will be served by the Board. If you have any questions regarding their mission, feel free to ask myself, Professor McGonagall or Madam Bones for clarification. Dinner is served."
Albus sat heavily behind the head table and rubbed his fingers over his temples; he was afraid that he was going to be nursing a migraine for the duration of the investigation.
~OOooOO~
Minerva knocked on the door to the room housing her former student; as Head of the Board of Inquiry, Amelia Bones had been given her own room...the same concession had been made for Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. While she waited for Amelia to answer, Minerva considered the other members of the Board. All of them were firmly of the belief that Albus Dumbledore could easily be replaced, and by someone infinitely better; most of them, minus Sirius Black and Charlie Weasley, had locked horns with the ageing codger at least once...some of them more than once, in the cases of Lucius Malfoy and Roderick Parkinson. The moment she had seen the members of the board, she knew that the selection had been rigged; there was no way that that many former Slytherins would have made it on the Board of Inquiry otherwise. Minerva knew that she would be interviewed for the investigation and hoped that Amelia would be doing her interviewing; there were things she knew about Albus that, while she was not supportive of him, would do more harm than good to the school if they got out to the general public. She genuinely smiled when Amelia finally opened the door.
"I'm sorry, Minerva; I just got out of the bath and didn't want to greet you in my towel. What can I do for you?" All of this was said as Amelia ushered the older witch into her rooms and to a seat.
"I just wanted to see my former student before all of this mess gets under way. How the bloody hell did Sirius Black get on the Board?" Forgetting that she was supposed to be there just to see Amelia, Minerva couldn't control the question that had been lurking on the tip of her tongue since she had seen him in the crowd of Board members.
Amelia chuckled and smirked slightly before answering. "I wanted him there...as to my reasoning, well...let's just say that he apparently knows a thing or two about Albus that would be horrifying to the old goat if they got out. You do realise that we have to be interviewed after the whole thing is over and before we make our decision, don't you?"
Minerva straightened in her chair and stared hard at the Head of the DMLE. "What does he know?"
"Ah, ah, ah...I can't tell you that, but, with proper questioning, under Veritaserum, the answers will come out. I notice that Albus didn't mention that we will be interviewing the teachers as well...do they know that?"
"Yes, I got the joyful task of informing them of that this morning. You should have seen the reactions of some of the more faithful of Albus' supporters; I'm supposing that they're not going to be happy when you demand to give them Veritaserum."
Amelia chuckled again. "No, I can also assume that they won't be happy; especially Flitwick and Hagrid. Those two will be rabid once they find out."
The two women continued to talk for a while before Minerva left to complete her rounds for the night. She was looking forward to this investigation...immensely!