I don't own Harry Potter.
Well, here is another chapter. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews that you have sent my way. Keep them coming.
Sorry it took me so long, our land lord is selling the house and we have to move. It was only yesterday that we found a place.
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty–Seven
It was a week after the wedding and it was finally the trial of Dolores Umbridge. Harry and Rita Skeeter were being called into testify to the incident that had taken place during their interview. Fudge was there sitting in the gallery, watching what was going to be taking place within the court room. Harry and Rita were sitting in the witness area, waiting to be called to the stand.
Everyone settled down as court came into session. The judge was one of the members of the Wizengamot, who was chosen at random to presided over the trial. When she was sat down it was time to bring in Umbridge. She looked frazzled, but neatly dressed, she scowled as she saw Harry sitting nearby.
She was taken to the middle of the room and placed in the chair, manacles shot out and gripped around her wrists and ankles, to make sure she could go no where and do nothing to anyone within the room.
"Dolores Jayne Umbridge, you have been charged with attempted murder against Harry James Potter, and grievous bodily harm of Rita Louise Skeeter." The woman, Madam Helena Beattie said coolly. "How do you plead?" she asked looking at the woman in the chair.
"Not guilty," Umbridge said glowering at the judge in front of her.
"Very well, prosecution, you may go first." The judge said as she nodded to the prosecution.
"Thank you Madam Beattie," the prosecutor, Mr Paul Karl, said as he stood up. "we wish to call up our first witness Mr Harry James Potter."
Harry stood up from where he was sat and went over to another chair that was near where the judge sat. he sat down on the chair, it was comfortable, which surprised him.
"Mr Potter, please state your name, age and occupation for the record." Judge Beattie said as she looked down at the teen.
"Harry James Potter, Fifteen years, Fifth Year Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry said nervously.
"Mr Potter, can you please describe the events of June 21st pertaining to when the defendant, Dolores Umbridge entered the room?" Prosecutor Karl asked as he stood in front of his desk.
"I was doing an interview with Rita Skeeter, we were taking about the Ivy Leaf pendent that I ware, and who gave it to me. I was about to tell her when the door blasted inwards and hit me and the chair I was sitting in. I was stunned a little, but not hurt by the blast. I saw that it was Umbridge standing in the doorway, I got up, and asked her what she was doing outside of Azkaban. She didn't answer directly, she told me that Fudge knew she was right, in trying to get rid of me. We argued, I told her fudge was finished for the way he had handled the war, among other things, she called me a liar and threw a Cutting Hex at me, it was aimed at my head. Rita Skeeter jumped in the way, she was hurt, but she managed to stun Umbridge. When that was done Sirius Black and Remus Lupin was coming to warn me of her escape." Harry explained briefly.
"Thank you, Mr Potter." Paul said with a gentle smile. "Have you ever done anything to provoke Umbridge's ire?" he then asked.
"Only if telling the truth can be classed as provoking. During our first lesson with her. She told us that Voldemort was not a threat, that he was dead, I had witnessed his rebirth a few months ago, along with Cedric Diggory's death." Harry said stumbling a little over Cedric's name and the memories that it brought it up. "I told her that Voldemort was back, she gave me detention and made me use a blood quill to write lies, after a few lines I felt pain in the back of my hand, the words I was writing were being carved in my hand. I stunned her and walked out, told the headmaster, but because of Fudge's manipulations he had no power to protect the students so I gathered others that had gone through it and we organised a sit down protest until Umbridge was taken from the school, Rita helped bring in the parents of the students as well. During this time, Fudge walked in, Umbridge went to him. And I told him he had to remove Umbridge and what she had done to a number of the students. She used the Cruciatus Curse on me, I was pregnant with my twins at the time. I thought I was going to lose them." Harry answered, telling them everything he could on what had happened that may have uncured Umbridge's wrath.
"do you know if there was a trial for the incident at the school?" he then asked the teen.
"I don't know, it was in the paper, a press release from Fudge, that she had been sent to Azkaban. I don't know if there was a trail, if there was I was not called in to testify against her and her actions." Harry answered.
"Thank you Mr Potter." Paul Karl said as he then turned to Judge Beattie and said, "I am finished with this witness Madam Beattie."
"Defence, you can now question the witness." She said as she turned to the defence table.
"Thank you Madam Beattie," Defence Attorney Yvette Smithson said as she stood up and walked around the table to face the chair where Harry was sitting. "Mr Potter, do you have a grudge against Miss Umbridge, a want, a thirst for revenge?"
"No, I don't want revenge, and I don't have a grudge against her, I just was to feel safe when I go out. She has attacked me twice now, not counting the time with the blood quill. One could have caused the death of my twins, the other could have caused my death, or Miss Skeeter's." Harry said strongly, without rising his voice.
"Of course you want revenge, who wouldn't in your position." Smithson said.
Harry shook his head, "No, I don't. Like I said I want peace and quiet, for once, all I have done since entering the Wizarding world is protect myself from evil defence against the dark arts teachers that all but one had it in for me. Quirell, wanted me dead because he had Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, Lockhart was an incompetent fool who tried to obliviate me and ended up obliviating himself, Remus Lupin was the best teacher we ever had at the school, then we had Mad Eye Moody, but it wasn't Mad Eye it was Barty Crouch Jr, a convicted death eater, that was released by his father. Then we have Umbridge, who came to the school, on Fudge's orders to inspect the place, it was more than likely he wanted to keep and eye on Headmaster Dumbledore and I, and then she proceeded to terrorise not only me but the other students in the school."
"She was there to make sure that you were being taught all you needed in life." Smithson argued back.
"Then why the blood quill, why?" Harry asked back.
"No further questions," she said abruptly, not answering the question.
"Thank you Mr Potter you may return to your seat." Judge Beattie said.
Harry got up off the chair and went back to where he was sat by Rita Skeeter.
"Madam Beattie, I do not feel the need to call in Rita Skeeter as witness, the testimony of Harry James Potter is enough to present the case against Dolores Umbridge." Prosecutor Karl said as he stood from his chair to talk.
"very well. Is there anyone else that needs to be called?" she asked him.
"No Madam, we have written testimonies from the Auror's on scene as well as Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. We also have testimonies from over seven hundred individuals pertaining to the incident at Hogwarts, during the middle of September of last year, these include members of the Wizengamot, and some of the Ministry workers, and various students at Hogwarts, I do not think we need to call Miss Rita Skeeter." He said, holding up, in two hands, so many rolls of parchment.
"They will be entered into evidence, please hand them over Prosecutor Karl. I agree, the testimony of Mr Potter is enough about that incident," Madam Beattie said as he walked up and handed over the rolls.
"We have no other witnesses Madam Beattie, we wish to call Dolores Umbridge to the stand if she so wishes to testify for herself." Karl said with a smirk as he looked to the manacled witch.
"Defence Smithson, is your client willing to take the stand?" she asked the woman sitting as defence.
"Yes, Madam Beattie, she is willing to take the stand." She said with a nod.
Umbridge was let up and escorted by two Auror's. She sat down in the chair, the chair changed a little to resemble the one she was sat one before, and once again manacles shot out of it, trapping her in the chair.
"Defence you may go first, as she is your client." Madam Beattie said with a sharp nod.
"thank you Madam Beattie," Smithson said as she walked to where Umbridge was now sat, "Miss Umbridge, explain your reasons for your actions, if you please," she asked nicely and calmly.
Umbridge smiled and said, "I was asked to go to Hogwarts in an advisory capacity. Mr Potter was antagonistic right from the start, he blew up within the classroom, and when I gave him detention he did the same and stunned me."
"But why the use of such force?" the defence asked.
Umbridge sighed sadly, "I found in such a short time at the school that Mr Potter did not respond well to requests and normal methods of discipline. So I tried some, rather, out fashioned methods, using a blood quill. When he besmirched the Ministers name, well it was just intolerable, he had been saying some awful things over the few days I was there, that I could no longer control myself and I snapped."
"You snapped, Mr Potter drove you to take drastic action to make sure he toed the line." She clarified,
"yes, I am sad to say he could drive a saint to murder."
"No more questions for my client," she said as she looked at the Judge and nodded.
"Prosecutor, you may question this witness." Madam Beattie said as she then looked over to Karl.
"Thank you Madam," he said as he got up and walked forwards a little. "You say you snapped, what about the other students that you used the blood quill on?" he asked Umbridge.
"they were stubborn, would not listen to me." She said snottily.
"So they were stubborn, A first year Hufflepuff, was stubborn, we have photographic evidence on what you made her write, what scar she will have on her hand for the remainder of her life, the lines you made her write, 'I must not laugh loudly' an eleven year old, not the only one getting a detention for a very stupid reason, 'I must not read defence books' you taught defence against the dark arts?" he asked her.
"Yes, I did." She replied to the question.
"Then shouldn't you have been proud of the Ravenclaw for taking an interest in the subject, encouraging that kind of behaviour not punishing them because of it." He stated.
"She didn't need to read that, they only needed the theory." She growled defensively.
"Only theory, could you pass N.E.W.T levels with only theory, no I do not think so, because the examinations themselves rely on practical work for almost eighty percent of the final grade. Wrong on that Miss Umbridge. Why were you sent to Hogwarts?" he asked her.
"To make sure the students were being taught what they needed." She answered.
"You were doing the opposite, were you not. You were stopping them from learning what they needed to pass their exams at the end of the year, especially the O.W.L and N.E.W.T level classes, theory can only go so far in learning, practice as they say makes perfect." He said to her with a small smug smile.
"They did not need the practical part, and they only needed to know the basics of defence, there was nothing to defend from." She argued.
"Fudge was told of Voldemort's return last year, he killed a young teen, Cedric Diggory, the boyfriend of Mr Potter. Was there still nothing to defend against." He said.
"Fudge wanted the boy destroyed, he was a pain, telling people that Voldemort had returned, it was not true, the battle that happened at Hogwarts was a farce, it did not occur it was just Dumbledore and potter trying to put poor Cornelius out of a job, they want to take over. I did what I had to, Cornelius made sure that I would not get in any trouble, ha, people thought me in Azkaban, I never went, why would I be sent there, Cornelius knew I was in the right, I should have killed him instead of throwing the Cruciatus at him. I was in hiding, waiting until it was the right time to attack Potter and do what I was supposed to do in the first place, then he did the interview with that Skeeter wench, the Leaky Cauldron, what an easy place to be nabbed, to be killed, that stupid bitch stopped me. Got in the way." She shouted angry that they would all see Harry Potter as an innocent little boy.
"Miss Umbridge, do you know what you are saying?" Madam Beattie asked.
"Yes, I want Harry Potter dead!" she yelled, her eyes were looking a little wild. "I want him DESTROIED,"
"Miss Umbridge, I have one last question for you," Madam Beattie said.
"What," she yelled in response to the request.
"Did Cornelius Fudge order the death of Harry Potter?" she asked seriously, murmurs spreading around the court room.
"Yes. He asked that I do something to make sure Potter would be unable to tell anyone else about the return of Voldemort, Cornelius knew that if it was to get out, he would be out. When I used the Cruciatus, he told me to go into hiding until the right moment, he had told me he wanted Potter dead, so I wanted until the perfect moment, when he would be out from under Black, Lupin and Dumbledore watch. I tried and failed." She answered with no emotion.
"Miss Dolores Umbridge, you may return to your seat," Madam Beattie said as she nodded to the two Auror's.
she was escorted back to her seat and manacled back in.
Madam Beattie looked at her and then around the room, "Because of your own words, you have been found guilty of the crimes, Attempted Murder, Grievous Bodily Harm, Torture of Minors, Endangering Lives of Unborn children. You are sentenced to Azkaban, for a period of fifteen years, and when that time comes to an end you will be given the Dementor's Kiss." She said as parchment appeared in front of her and she signed it. "Auror's take her to waiting room where she will be readied for Azkaban."
The two Auror's took away the screaming, ranting and raving woman. The rest of the courtroom waited a few moments before they moved. When the judge was out of the room, the rest left, leaving Harry and Rita standing together, waiting for the other to get to them, so they could leave and go home.
"I don't know whether to be pleased with that out come or not." Harry mumbled as they walked to the Floo station.
"We understand Harry, you just want peace." Sirius said as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry Harry, I think it is a sure thing now," he smiled.
Harry smiled at him and went through the Floo, home to his two children.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, tell me what you think?