*I do not own, I have no rights to the work, and I make no money in this writing.
Please forgive me for being so late is getting this out there. I was at a point where I didn't want to write anything even though I knew where I want to go and how to get there. I just was being lazy lazy lazy. And then when I finally got my ass into a gear to write my wonderful beta AnnHarrisForever got extremely busy at University and so it took even longer...So it is all my fault, please forgive me.
Please enjoy!
Fred and George had gone to find Lee Jordan after their meeting so it was just Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna who went down to dinner together. After entering the Great Hall they were shocked to see Ministry Officials swarming around the professor's table and Aurors stalking the perimeter of the room. The benches, that surrounded the house tables, the ones they sat on during dinner, were pushed under the tables forcing the students to stand next to the tables. Daphne's instincts about Umbridge being up to something were obviously correct and Harry was glad that they had gotten wind of it, with them being able to keep the shock off their faces.
They managed to walk two steps into the room, before two Aurors surrounded them. One of them, a pudgy middle aged man with an air of self-importance, barely gave them a glance before pulling out a clipboard and saying, "Name, House, and Year." The other, a youngish woman who had tripped over her feet while walking to them, looked bored.
"What?" Neville asked as Harry, Hermione and Luna shot each other quizzical glances at the demeanour of the Auror.
The pudgy Auror glared over the top of the clipboard at Neville before snarling, "What is your name, what is your house and what year are you in? Are you slow in the head, boy?"
The four of them bristled at the Auror's rudeness but before Harry could defend Neville and create a scene, Draco's mind voice whispered soothingly in their heads, "Use your official titles and act superior. Remember he is just a lowly Auror, whose job, taking attendance can be done by Filch who is a squib. While you are either a pure-blood from an Ancient and Noble House or something like that with more intelligence in your pinkie finger than he has in his whole family."
Hermione had to cough into her hand to supress the laughter that Draco's words inspired. Luna just adopted an even dreamier face and Harry's face turned to stone, even though he held his tongue.
Neville, however, straightened his back, pushed his way forward and said authoritatively, "No, I am not slow in the head. My query was simple due to your obvious lack of ability to form a proper question. I am sorry that I responded with the simplicity I would use for a feeble mind as I had assumed that an Auror who is supposedly intelligent could form a full correct question."
As the pudgy man sputtered at Neville's words, Neville simply held a hand up to prevent the Auror from speaking, and continued his voice getting colder, "Now, to answer your ill-formed question. My name is Neville Longbottom and I am the heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. I was sorted on my arrival at Hogwarts into the House of Gryffindor four years ago, which means I am now in my fifth year. Do you have any other questions, Auror?"
Neville's body language conveyed that the pudgy Auror had breeched socially acceptable behaviour by not stating his name before demanding another person to reveal their name. Neville held his head up, managed to look socially powerful and seemed to look down on the man even though the man was taller.
Laughter echoed in their minds as Draco, Daphne and Blaise enjoyed how Neville handled the annoying Auror.
"I couldn't have done it any better myself, Neville, bravo!" Draco's mind voice chortled.
Before the disagreeable Auror could regain his voice, the other Auror stepped up and said, "My name is Nymphadora Tonks, please call me Tonks. Can I call you Neville, Mr Longbottom?"
Neville's eyes moved away from the pudgy man and slowly focused on Tonks. He paused and considered her request but then he gave his permission with a small nod of his head.
"It is nice to meet you, Neville." Tonks chirped brightly before continuing, "Thank you for giving us your information. The only other thing we need to do is to check your bag and then you can go stand at the Gryffindor table."
"No," Neville said without hesitation.
Tonks eyebrows drew together as she dumbly repeated, "No? What do you mean?"
"No, you cannot go through my bag. It is my private property and I will not give you permission to rifle around in it," Neville said, conviction and authority colouring his words.
The man chose at that moment to find his voice and shouted loudly, "That was not a request! We require that you hand over your bag so that we can check for certain items."
The man continued under his breath, "Stop wasting my time, you insolent brat. You are almost no better than a squib yourself and yet you fling your title around like that matters here." The man obviously didn't mean for the group to overhear his mumblings but they heard it due to their enhanced hearing. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and held on tight to prevent him from interfering.
"On whose authority do you demand this of me?" Neville asked, his voice turning glacier, as Draco whispered the correct words to deal with the infuriating man into their minds.
"By the authority of the Ministry of Magic, hand your bag over this instant!" The man, his face turning a muddy red as he could feel the disapproval coming from everyone who heard his muttered words, continued to yell.
"I had no idea that the Ministry of Magic had the authority to seize property at Hogwarts, but even if it does I will not hand over my bag until the Head of my House agrees to the search." Neville replied calmly, starting to push forward heading towards a place to stand next to the Gryffindor table.
Tonks, looking uncomfortable with the situation, moved in closer to stop Neville as she said, "We have already received permission from the Heads of Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and even Gryffindor. Please don't make a further scene and just hand over your bag."
Neville paused briefly before a smirk worthy of any Slytherin crossed his face as he said nonchalantly, "I wasn't talking about Professor McGonagall. As my bag is personal, private property and is not part of Hogwarts, I was talking about the Head of the House of Longbottom, my grandmother, Mrs Augusta Longbottom. When she gives you permission, then I will surrender my bag."
Tonks froze with a little 'o' and let Neville pass. The other Auror turned white as a sheet as Neville's grandmother's reputation for a no-nonsense frame of mind and a deadly ferocity when defending her House's rights was legendary in the Ministry.
Everyone in the room watched as Neville, with power radiating in every step he took, passed by the Aurors and found a space to stand at the Gryffindor table. Something in his eyes told everyone that this was not the time to approach him to congratulate or comment on what had just occurred, so even though he received a lot of glances the room remained quiet. Or maybe it was due to the other Aurors placing a silencing charm on anyone who dared to talk.
Tonks coughed trying to clear her throat which had dried out from it being opened so long as the male Auror looked furious at being denied the pleasure of lording over the students. He swiftly turned his head towards the remaining three students and with exaggerated politeness asked Luna, "May I please have your full name, the Hogwarts House that you were sorted into and the year you are currently in?"
Luna narrowed her eyes and showed her displeasure about the precedings with such fierceness that the man took two steps back. His motion caused him to look away for a moment and his shock of being intimidated by a small slip of a girl had him puffing out his chest and preparing to put her in her place. The only problem was when he looked at Luna again; she had adopted a shockingly dreamy smile with not a hint of any power, he was so off balance by her behaviour that he looked dumbly at her when she started speaking.
"I am Luna Lovegood of the Noble House of Lovegood. I am a fourth year Ravenclaw and, of course, you can search my bag. You can even keep my jar of sand as you have the worst infestation of Umgubular Slashkilters that I have ever seen and the sand will help thin them out. I know that the Minister of Magic keeps one, but to be frank, keeping so many of them on your person can be very harmful to one's ability to procreate." Luna said with her dreamy expression showing, which could be interpreted as concern, although the others knew that she had masterfully insulted him.
Tonks, trying not to laugh at the dumb expression on her assigned partner's face, said with overflowing mirth, "Thank you for your offer, Miss Luna, but we do not need to check your bag. Please join your classmates at your House table."
After Luna made her way to her table with her dreamy smile still plastered on her face, Tonks turned to Harry and Hermione with a genuine smile at how they were making a fool out of her partner. The smile, however, disappeared quickly when she took in the two teens' completely ice cold expressions.
Before the male Auror could even take a breath to ask Hermione her status, she stated meticulously, "Hermione Granger, Gryffindor, fifth year."
Hermione strode up to Tonks aggressively and without breaking eye contact asked with a contemptuous voice, "I am assuming that my bag is one of the bags that are required to be searched, am I right Auror Tonks?"
"How dare you take that tone with Auror Tonks," the male Auror barked out.
Hermione's eyes never left Tonks as she held up a hand to halt whatever the male Auror was going to spew out. She spoke in a derisive tone, "I was not talking to you, Auror and I will take any tone I please because even though I might not have a status of an Ancient or Noble House to stand behind, I am smart and powerful enough to devise a way to take the attendance here without needing a weak-willed, brown nosed, sad excuse of a wizard to do it for me. Now keep your mouth shut as I wait for Auror Tonks to give me my answer."
"Yes, Hermione, I am going to need to search your bag," Tonks barely managed to get out, as she was dumbfounded by Hermione's directness.
Hermione didn't disguise her anger as she indignantly replied, "I didn't give you leave to call me by my christened name, Auror Tonks. You are already violating my personal property so the least you can do is show me the proper respect of my standing of a young New Blooded witch. As I have no choice, here is my bag."
By this time even the officials that were talking animatedly at the Head table were watching the proceedings with unabashed interest. Hermione shoved the bag into Tonks' hands and walked towards the Gryffindor table before stopping in the middle of the room and said in a loud, clear voice, "I object to this search of my private property. I will require all the documents that show the Ministry's right to do this search because I plan on lodging a complaint with the Wizengamot. I will expect the documents to be sent to me tomorrow by owl post."
Hermione, then, spun on her heel and stood next to Neville who was looking at her like she was crazy
"What is the purpose of lodging a complaint with the Wizengamot?" Neville's mind voice asked
"Yeah, Hermione, what is the point? They are as corrupt as Fudge and won't actually award you with anything even with the complaint." Draco's mind voice questioned.
"The point is, we will have access to the orders written out for this attack and can discern who our enemy is, who can be bought is and at what price, whose opinions can be changed and who we can trust. It can also prove if this attack went through the proper channels or if it was something hastily thrown together." Hermione replied mentally, even as they all flinched from the anger coming off of her in waves.
Once Hermione had settled down at the table, Tonks had to walk along the table and return her bag to her causing all eyes to settle on Harry as she walked back to the only one left at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Harry's face had morphed from stone to one that looked completely uninterested in the proceedings going on in front of him.
"Do you really need me to tell you who I am, Aurors?" Harry asked with a polite disinterest, while he put his hand behind his head in nonchalance.
Both Aurors blushed as the absurdity of asking Harry Potter, only the most famous wizard in the wizarding world (no matter if you liked him or not), who he was, washed over them.
At the two Aurors shake of their heads, Harry continued, "Good because I would hate to bring even more attention to this circus than is already here."
"I know that you don't want us to search your bag, Mr Potter, but it is required," Tonks said firmly but nervously as both Aurors prepared themselves for his non-compliance.
Harry smiled an easy smile before shocking all the officials by saying cheerfully, "Sure, you can look through my bag. In fact, let's show the whole castle what is in my bag. I am sure my belongings are vastly different than any other student's bag because, after all, I am mentally unstable. I do wonder about this search though, are the things that a fifth year Gryffindor carries around that interesting to the Ministry of Magic or is it just because I am such an important person? Who knew you lot were so concerned about our education? Wait a minute; we do know how much you care about our education because you sent us all those wonderful Educational Decrees that make sure we don't actually use magic!"
Harry didn't give anyone time to respond to his questions or statements before reaching into his bag and pulling out one of his textbooks, "Ah, the first thing to be pulled out of the mysterious bag of Harry Potter, liar extraordinaire, is a Potion's textbook. Very exciting let me tell you." Harry's smile turned sharp as he continued, "The second thing to be pulled out of my bag-o-horrors is a Transfiguration textbook. The third thing is a box of quills."
Harry didn't give anyone time to interrupt or stop him as he continued to list the innocuous items found in his bag. "The fourth thing is a packet of parchment to write notes; some of the parchment already has notes on them. Geez, if I didn't know that I was so special I would say this is a normal student wizard's bag but thankfully I do know better. Shall I read you the notes or do you want to read them? I know Professor Snape would say that no one can read my handwriting but you are welcome to try," Harry said with fake earnestness.
The Aurors quickly shook their heads and Harry shrugged before reaching back into his bag to pull out the next item. Sensing that Harry was going to drag out every little item that he had in the bag to showcase the ludicrousness of the search, the male Auror grabbed Harry's bag from his hands, quickly rifled through the contents completely missing the extra pocket that held the map and D.A member list, declared him clear, and ordered him to find a space near the Gryffindor table.
Harry shrugged at the order the male Auror had given him and made his way quickly to stand next to Hermione, surprising some of the students and professors with the his compliance to the order without making any more trouble. He had almost made another comment but held his tongue because, thanks to Daphne's warning, had the feeling that the Ministry's attack had just begun.
The Ministry officials and Aurors continued to prowl around the edges of the Great Hall for what seemed like hours as other students trickled in and got searched. No other students created a fuss as they were instantly intimidated by the Aurors. Fred, George and Lee didn't even make a scene, thanks to Harry mentally telling Fred and George not to and Lee automatically followed their lead. The Aurors didn't allow any talking and would charm any student who started to talk with a Silencing Charm. The whole student body started to get restless as the boredom of being stuck in a room, and not being able to talk while nothing happened started to take its toll.
Finally after one more student walked into the hall and was searched, the male Auror turned around and shouted, "All the students and professors are accounted for, Minister Fudge and Madam Secretary Umbridge."
All eyes turned towards the Head Table as a huge smile broke out over Umbridge's face making her look even more like a toad than normal. Cornelius Fudge looked a little intimidated as he looked over the piece of paper in his hand but strode up to the podium after Umbridge placed a hand on his arm and propelled him forward.
"Hem, hem," Umbridge started, "Everyone please pay attention to our wonderful Minister of Magic, he has come here in order to place into custody a very dangerous criminal who has plotted against the Ministry. He will now read the charges and place this individual in custody. I have arranged for all of you to be here in order to bear witness to the consequences of trying to betray our Ministry and our beloved Minister of Magic."
Panic washed over Harry, as his mates and he, worried that Umbridge had somehow figured out their plan and would arrest Harry right then and there. Harry could barely sit still as his reaction to panic was to move. The only thing that really prevented him from striking the two figures with a curse and making a break for it was the Slytherins' sly minds working overtime and drumming into his head that he shouldn't make any rash movements.
"Thank you, Madam Secretary Professor Dolores Umbridge for that introduction. As you have stated I have in my hands the warrant for a person who, according to our evidence, has been plotting against me and my office. The charges are as follows: creating an illegal organization for the sole purpose of attacking the Ministry, creating plans of attack with the target being the Ministry, undermining the Ministry's power, and using their position of power to corrupt others." Cornelius Fudge, after saying this with his normal pompous air, took a deep unneeded breath before announcing to the room, "Aurors please place Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore under arrest for the charges I have stated."
Do I even dare ask for reviews after being away for so long? hmm what to do...ok I will be brave. Please Review!