Some of the Daily Prophet's interview questions were suggested by one of my alpha-readers and real-life friends, Debi Binder.
Chapter 18
Harry Is Judged
The next morning (Tuesday, 23rd July), 9:30 a.m.
Office of the Minister for Magic
Harry met briefly with Minister Scrimgeour. Harry gave the Minister a warning about what tomorrow's Daily Prophet would print.
Scrimgeour pledged, "All the Aurors you need, when you need them, they'll be there."
Then Scrimgeour casually asked, "What does Dumbledore think of your plan?"
Harry replied, "No idea. I don't speak with the headmaster now, unless I'm forced to."
Hearing this, Scrimgeour's eyebrows shot up.
A half-hour later: 10 a.m.
Just outside the Daily Prophet building, Diagon Alley
Harry, Daphne and Hermione were about to announce their betrothals, in the most public way possible. Since 5th July, Wizarding Britain had wondered who the future wife of Lord Black would be—today, the question would be answered.
As the three magical teenagers stood outside the building, Harry said to the girls, "You both look stylish in the 'Oi, we're betrothed!' dresses that I paid you to make—"
Daphne was wearing new, midnight-black dress-robes that matched her black hair. However, her shoulder-covers, shoes, bracelet, necklace and hair-net all were white. By an amazing coincidence, the colours of Daphne's House of Black betrothal ring also were midnight-black and snow-white.
Hermione was wearing a clay-grey, sleeveless summer dress. Her high-heeled shoes, wide belt and earrings all were black, as was the black silk scarf around Hermione's neck. Her outfit coordinated perfectly with the grey-and-black House of Potter betrothal ring that she wore.
Harry was wearing two betrothal rings, whose collective colours were black, white and clay-grey. Harry was deliberately underdressed in comparison to the girls: he wore black wool slacks and black socks, leather shoes and belt; a white dress shirt; and a grey satin tie—he looked quite Muggle.
"—and the second two outfits I commissioned," Harry continued, "the white outfits, are they finished, even though you won't be wearing them today?"
"Yes," Daphne answered, "my brand-new white dress-robes are ready to be pulled on anytime."
Hermione said to Harry, "I have my dress, which fits me well, and I have bought white jewellery. My only question is about the shoes. Do I wear low heels that I can stand in for a longer period of time, or do I wear shoes with higher heels that are dressy but painful?"
Harry answered instantly, "Go with the higher heels. One way or another, you won't be on your feet for long."
Then Harry looked at Daphne and grinned at Hermione. "I predict that a photo of the three of us, with Daphne in her white dress-robes, Hermione in her white dress and me in my top hat, will be in all future editions of Hogwarts: A History—"
Hermione actually squeaked. Now she was beaming.
"—so plan your dress-up accordingly. You'll want to look fabulous when you help me vanquish Voldy."
Then Harry turned towards the Daily Prophet building, as he squared his shoulders. "Come, ladies, let's talk to the press."
Minutes later, in the newsroom
"That's Harry Potter!" a voice said.
"Who are the girls with him?" a different voice asked.
"The bushy-haired one is Hermione Granger," a third voice said. "She and Potter are always together."
As the front-desk receptionist was leading the three teenagers through the newsroom to editor Barnabas Cuffe's office, Harry spotted Rita Skeeter at a desk, working. Actually, Rita was sitting at her desk and murmuring, whilst Rita's acid-green Quick-Quotes Quill scribbled.
Harry veered off to approach Skeeter's desk; Hermione followed. Daphne stopped walking and turned to watch the show. The receptionist likewise stopped walking, but she looked panicked.
The newsroom had gone dead silent.
Harry and Hermione walked up behind Rita in her chair and stopped. The couple stood there for several seconds, behind Rita, as silent as Dementors.
Rita stopped murmuring to her Quick-Quotes Quill. In a louder voice, she said, "You're standing too close. Back up."
Harry said innocently (and loudly), "But Rita, I thought you liked closeness. During the Triwizard, you put yourself quite close to me, and you even grabbed me. Aren't I your friend?"
Hermione growled, "You better not grab him now, hack, because now Harry and I are betrothed."
Rita gasped, and whipped her head around. "You are? And isn't that Heiress Greengrass with you? Oh my, such a story! My dears—"
Harry interrupted: "Such a story, yes, which we'll tell to Barnabas Cuffe, in an exclusive. Or perhaps we'll talk to the Quibbler, in an exclusive. Either way, Rita, you are passed over, because the three of us want nothing to do with your lies and libels. 'Bye now."
Hermione pointed to what the green quill had written. "Do you know nothing about the Muggle world, Rita? There are two s's in brassiere."
As Harry and Hermione walked away from Rita Skeeter, other people in the newsroom applauded them.
Two minutes later, three teenagers, and one man in his forties, all were sitting in Barnabas Cuffe's office. Cuffe began the interview with—
"Lord Black-Potter, you are now the ruling Head of House for two Most Ancient and Noble houses. What are your political plans?"
Harry answered, "My immediate plans are to deal with Voldemort. There's a prophecy that says it's up to me to put him down like a rabid dog. Along with vanquishing Voldemort, I have two more years at Hogwarts. After school and after Voldemort, I'll get married—twice! Sometime in late 1998, I'll take up my Wizengamot seats. But that's later on—next month, I'll go to the Wizengamot to grant new proxies for my seats. Right now, Elphias Doge holds the proxy for my Potter seats and Albus Dumbledore holds proxy on my Black seats; but next month, this changes."
Cuffe asked one more political question, about the Light, Dark and Grey factions in the Wizengamot, which Harry dodged.
Then Cuffe asked, "How did the three of you meet? You're all in the same year."
Daphne laughed. "Harry and I didn't truly 'meet' till this summer—that is, we never had a conversation that wasn't about classes or homework till late June of this year. But Hermione Granger, her I remember well—I was behind her in queue for the Sorting Hat, when she started telling the boy next to her about the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling. Then she added, 'I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.'—"
Hermione shrieked, and covered her face with her hands. "Oh Merlin, I was hoping everyone would forget that! I was quite the know-it-all then."
Daphne grinned at Hermione, then said, "I thought to myself, 'What a pure swot! She's Ravenclaw for sure.' "
Harry squeezed both girls' hands. "Daphne, you were wrong about the 'Ravenclaw' part, but right about the 'swot' part. If Madame Pince would allow it, Hermione would dorm in the Hogwarts library."
Hermione nodded, grinning.
Then Harry looked at Cuffe. "The story of Hermione and me isn't exciting. Ron Weasley and I were in a compartment on the firstie train, then Hermione opened the door. Hermione said to Ron and me, 'A boy has lost his toad. Have you seen it?' Then Hermione introduced herself to Ron and me. Soon afterwards, she used the Reparo spell to fix the frames of my glasses."
Daphne said, "Hermione knew the Reparo spell before she'd ever seen Hogwarts?"
Hermione shrugged, blushing. "Every summer, I read ahead. I've done this since primary school."
Later
Daphne was saying to Cuffe, "...It's beautiful to see what Harry and Hermione have. A hundred years from now, there will be poems, and songs, and stories, and ... what are those Muggle picture-plays called?"
"Movies," Harry and Hermione said together.
"A hundred years from now, there will be movies made about the love those two share. My own relationship is nowhere so grand, because Harry and I are just beginning to know each other, but—I love him. I know what you're thinking—this sounds so Muggle-born, right? I know what readers are saying now: 'Heiress Greengrass, remember that you're a Pureblood.' But when I looked past what the Daily Prophet wrote about Harry"—Daphne glared at Cuffe—"what wizarding radio said, what Pureblood bigots in Slytherin said; and when I realised that Harry Potter is not The Boy Who Lived, I realised something else. Namely, Harry James Potter is a young man whom I like a lot. Whom I respect and admire too."
"I agree completely," Hermione said.
Harry blushed.
Two minutes later
Cuffe asked, "Hermione, why didn't you go to the Yule Ball with Harry?"
Daphne said, "Yes, Hermione, why didn't you?"
"Because Harry didn't ask me! When I told him that I was going with Viktor, Harry got a sad look, then he said, 'I should have spoken up sooner, right?' I said, 'Yes, you should have.' "
Cuffe then asked, "Harry, why didn't you ask Hermione to the Yule Ball? Why did you ask Parvati Patil instead?"
Harry said, "Because I'm ignorant about girls! By the time I worked out that I wanted to go to the Ball with Hermione before anyone else, I was too late. Then I panicked. I was afraid that I'd better ask somebody quick, else I wouldn't go with anyone."
Hermione said, "Erm, Harry? Just so we're clear, you're not saying that Parvati Patil was a bad date, she just, in your mind, came in a distant second to"—Hermione hissed in embarrassment—"me."
Harry, blushing, said, "Right. Parvati Patil is a gorgeous young witch, and someday she'll make some wizard a fine wife."
Daphne asked, "Did you ever consider Slytherin? I know for a fact that two girls in Slytherin would have said yes if you'd asked them. I was one of the two."
Harry stared. "Really? Wow. No, I figured you all were Pansy Parkinson wannabees."
"Oh, please." Daphne stuck her tongue out at Harry.
Later
Cuffe asked the trio, "How long will the betrothals be? Till after you sit your N.E.W.T.s, or will you marry later?"
Harry grinned. "So you're asking me, once I finish seventh year and have my N.E.W.T. scores in hand, ditto my two lovely betrotheds, do I plan to wait any longer to get married? What do you think?"
Hermione looked at Daphne, then both girls looked at Cuffe and grinned. Hermione said, "We girls don't want to wait to get married either. I can't speak for Daphne, but I will be tapping my foot and biting my lip during the marriage ritual."
Cuffe asked, "Have you set a wedding date or dates yet? Have you decided where the weddings will take place?"
"No!" Harry yelled. "Are you thick?"
"That's two years in the future," Daphne said.
"I've scribbled down a few ideas," Hermione said. The other two teenagers rolled their eyes.
Cuffe asked, "Are you going to have separate weddings, or will you marry both of your ladies at the same time?" Cuffe showed a small smile at Harry. "Will you subject yourself to every man's nightmare—having to remember two anniversaries?"
With no hesitation, Harry said, "Both weddings will be at the same time. Otherwise, one wedding would come first and one wedding second, right? And no matter what I said to the second wife, what she would hear would be, 'I'm more eager to marry her than I am to marry you.' Well, I have no plans to spend my second honeymoon sleeping on the couch."
Hermione said, "And this is exactly what would happen: Harry getting the second wife permanently brassed off at him. Harry is brilliant in many ways, but he is hardly a silver-tongued bloke who could talk himself out of insulting his second bride like that."
Daphne said, "But if for some reason we do have to have two weddings, Hermione and I shall decide the order by a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors." Noting Cuffe's puzzled look, Daphne explained, "It's a Muggle game. Because of Harry and Hermione, I'm becoming more Muggle every day."
Cuffe again: "Do you have a theme to your wedding—erm, weddings?"
All three teens rolled their eyes. Harry replied, "Again, Mr Cuffe, it'll be two years before we have to decide such things."
With an angelically innocent look, Daphne said, "Besides, Gryffindors never plan anything; they prefer to improvise on the fly. Slytherins plan; but the Slytherin here is outnumbered two to one."
Hermione said with exaggerated haughtiness, "Daphne dear, I plan things all the time. Five years ago, I caused a hatstall between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
Cuffe asked, "Will Albus Dumbledore be officiating the wedding or weddings?"
"Impossible," Daphne said, frowning.
"Impossible, I agree," Hermione said. "If Dumbledore married us, somehow the parchmentwork afterwards would say that Harry was married to Ginevra Weasley."
(Hearing Hermione's words, Daphne raised an eyebrow. Hermione mouthed, Later.)
Meanwhile, Harry was saying, "I would break Cornelius Fudge out of Azkaban, just so I could ask him to perform the marriage rituals for us, before I'd ask Dumbledore to marry us."
Cuffe's eyebrows shot up so high in surprise, they were almost up to his hairline.
Then Cuffe sighed. "Since it's two years till your wedding—or weddingzzz—there is no point in asking you about plans for your honeymoon. Or honeymoonzzz. Correct?"
"Correct," all three teens answered together.
"So of course, given your two magnificent mansions, you will have two separate households, but are there times when the three of you might stay together in one or other of your homes?"
"At Christmastime, maybe," Hermione replied, acting unaware of Cuffe's innuendo. "At Christmastime—"
"Yuletide," Daphne corrected.
"—Lady X might stay in the guest bedroom of Y house, along with the adorable X children," Hermione said.
Cuffe had to pause and to think-through Hermione's statement, since algebra was never taught to magicals except as part of the arithmancy elective.
"I think, you two," Daphne said, "what Mr Cuffe wants to ask in a roundabout way is, Will we be having threesomes?"
Harry said, "I would never, not in a million years, ask for such a thing. But by the same token, if both my wives walked up to me one day and said 'Let's do this,' I wouldn't think of refusing."
Hermione grinned at Daphne. "Oh, the sacrifices this man is willing to make, in order to keep his wives happy!"
Hermione then grinned at Cuffe. "Right now, I can't see such a thing happening. But if it ever does happen, Prophet readers won't be told even a hint by any of us three."
Harry leant forwards and murmured, "Make sure your unregistered beetle-animagus understands this."
Cuffe choked, then said, "One last question: Ladies, how do you really feel about sharing Mr Potter with another wife?"
Hermione gestured to Daphne: You first.
Daphne said, "A bit disappointed—this is not at all what I was raised to expect. But then, I never expected to be married to even half of 'the Boy Who Lived.' As for Hermione, I don't understand her at all, what with her being so bright and a Muggle-born besides, but she has good character. As opposed to Pureblood girls whose names I could mention, whom, if I found out that one of them would one day be my co-wife, I would rip up my betrothal contract during that same minute—even if doing this made me a squib."
Hermione said, "I feel pretty much the same way, except, erm—I'd pretty much picked up the idea that all Slytherins are evil, but nobody in the Greengrass family is evil, so maybe I'm wrong."
Daphne replied with a haughty voice (but also with a smile): "My family is not evil, we are strategic. Learn the difference, Granger."
Harry said, "In Gryffindor, I've heard 'They're all evil' said about Slytherin. But I didn't believe most of what I heard, for one simple reason: at first the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, and I know I'm not evil."
Hermione said, "I agree. You are suicidally daring, but you're not evil."
Five minutes later
Harry had just been asked who was "Fake Bellatrix," the woman who had shot to death both Fenrir Greyback and (the real) Bellatrix Lestrange.
Harry frowned at Barnabas Cuffe. "I won't tell you who Fake Bellatrix was. Furthermore, I won't say why I won't say."
Hermione said, "I was not Fake Bellatrix, contrary to rumour, but I know who she really was."
Daphne said, "I was not Fake Bellatrix either, and my feelings are hurt that I'm considered not worth starting a rumour about."
One minute later
Cuffe smiled at the three teenagers and said, "Those are all the questions I have for now. Thank you, Lord Black-Potter, Heiress Greengrass and Miss Granger, for talking with me."
Harry said, "I have two things I want to say at the end. First, I found out only a month ago that Albus Dumbledore put an owl-redirect on my mail, for as long as I've been 'the Boy Who Lived.' So if you've ever owled me a letter and you've wondered why I've never answered you, the answer is that I never read your letter. I'm sorry you were disappointed.
"Secondly, let me tell you some things you don't know about the impostor who calls himself 'Lord Voldemort.' The first thing you should know is that his real name is Tom Marvolo"—Harry spelled the name—"Riddle, born in 1926."
Harry explained: Tom Marvolo Riddle was the bastard son of a magically-weak witch, Merope Gaunt, who was the daughter of the Heir of Slytherin, Marvolo Gaunt. Merope was so ugly that nobody would marry her, except for the handsome Muggle man she love-potioned. When she let the love-potion lapse, the Muggle man, Tom Riddle, abandoned her. She gave birth to her son in Wool's Orphanage, then died in childbirth.
Harry concluded, "...Tom Marvolo Riddle is a literal bastard, a halfblood who puts on airs, whose parents were a Muggle and a female rapist. Now let me share with you something that the shade of Tom Riddle boasted about, three years ago."
Harry then wrote on a piece of parchment:
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"Close up the spaces, and what do you get?"
IAMLORDVOLDEMORT
"Rearrange the letters, and they become—"
TOMMARVOLORIDDLE
"Put spaces in, at the right places, and voilà—"
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
Cuffe stared at the parchment.
Harry said, "I now issue a challenge to the coward, 'Lord Voldemort,' also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. He's a coward because he sends his Death Eaters out to face Aurors' angry wands, whilst he stays safe. But no more, Tommy, no more.
"I've faced you several times, Tommy, and I've won every time. The first time I beat you was when I was fifteen months old. The last time I will win against you will be the last day that I am fifteen years old: next week on 30th July.
"Tommy, I challenge you to a duel to the death, Tuesday one week from today, at high noon. The place will be the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. I pledge to not only kill you, but to vanquish you. Show your noseless face and be vanquished by my hand, one week from now, or spend the rest of your miserable life shamed as the coward that you are."
Barnabas Cuffe now stared at Harry, looking utterly gobsmacked.
After the three teens left the Daily Prophet, Daphne kissed Harry on the lips, outdoors where anyone could see. Then Daphne said to Harry, "I'm quite impressed about the interview you gave in there. You acted like you've been giving press interviews for years."
Harry shrugged. "Since the day I boarded the Hogwarts Express as a firstie, I've wanted to be treated as 'just Harry.' " Hermione nodded. Harry continued, "In five years, 'just Harry' has never happened to me in the wizarding world. What elderly Harry's book-letter made me realise was that 'just Harry' won't happen in the future, either. I'm stuck with being famous, so I need to make the most of it."
7:06 that evening
Number 12 Grimmauld Place
Harry was talking to Minerva McGonagall, as he escorted her from the Floo Room to the dining room that was being used as the meeting-place for the Order of the Phoenix.
In the dining room, all of the Order members were already present (except for Dumbledore, Fletcher and Snape, the three who again had not been invited). Five Weasleys—Arthur, Molly, Bill, George and Fred—already were seated, as was Bill's girlfriend, Fleur Delacour. As had also happened a week ago, Hermione and Neville were seated on either side of Harry's empty chair. Tonks sat on Hermione's other side.
Just as had happened a week ago, whilst many chairs surrounded the dining table, there were more attendees than chairs, so some Order members were forced to stand.
As Harry and McGonagall walked into the dining room, Molly did not wait for Harry to take his seat (and for McGonagall to be offered a seat by Kingsley Shacklebolt). Molly picked up a parchment from the table and began to read aloud, even whilst Harry still was walking towards his chair—
Greetings from Albus Dumbledore, leader of the Order of the Phoenix, to members of the Order.
Confirmation code: Number 3, "frogs chocolate."
Harry Potter has told you about the prophecy that mentions him. I do not approve of his immature action, but what's done is done. He uses the prophecy as basis to claim that he should lead this organisation that dedicates itself to fighting Voldemort and his followers.
Harry is a good boy, mostly, despite my fears that he is turning Dark. But he lacks the years and the wisdom to lead you. In any case, it is to me, not to him, that you have given an oath of obedience.
I call upon your oath by giving you two orders: The first order is for all of you, except for Molly Weasley, to make owl-birdcalls when Molly says "Begin," and to stop when Molly says "Silence."
Molly lay down the parchment, gave Harry a contemptuous look, then said, "Begin."
Except for Harry, Hermione and Neville, and Molly and the twins, everyone in the room began making owl-sounds. McGonagall looked sick with embarrassment.
When it was clear that it was impossible for any Order member not to make owl-sounds, Molly said "Silence."
In the sudden silence, Molly again looked scornfully at Harry, picked up the parchment, and resumed reading—
Here is your second order from me. By your oath, I now command you: You are to do nothing that Harry tells you to do, until I approve Harry's ideas in person. Signed, Albus Dumbledore.
Harry scowled. I'm finally just days away from defeating Voldemort, with the help of the Order, and the conceited longbeard decides to come in now and trample on everything!
Meanwhile, Hermione was saying almost the same thing: "This is disgusting. Harry is on the verge of defeating Voldemort, but Mr Twinkle-Eyes wants to budge in and steal the glory."
Molly yelled, "Young lady, show respect to Albus Dumbledore! He is a great man!"
Harry said, "Is he? Besides forcing me to live with abusive relatives as a child, and stealing from my trust vault, Dumbledore is thick as a general. Need I remind you that Voldemort was days away from defeating the forces of Light until a fifteen-month-old toddler saved you all? But then, what else can anyone expect except to lose, when your great leader's orders are 'Stun them and rope them, but don't hurt them or kill them.' Hm?"
Elphias Doge taunted Harry: "It doesn't matter what you think, you disrespectful whelp! We are ordered not to obey you, until you put yourself under Albus's leadership."
Neville asked in a worried tone, "What will you do now, Harry?"
Harry replied, "What I'll do is to call upon a higher power—"
Harry yanked out his wand, and pointed it at the ceiling. "I call upon Magic itself to judge—"
Many people in the room gasped. Hermione painfully squeezed Harry's forearm.
"—whether Albus Dumbledore is, or I am, more suitable to own oaths of obedience by members of the Order of the Phoenix. Should I be judged less suitable, I will accept whatever punishment that Magic chooses to inflict on me for my cheekiness. So mote it be."
Light flashed in the dining room, brighter than the brightest Lumos that Harry ever had made.
Dumbledore suddenly (and silently) appeared at the far end of the table, whilst sitting on his golden throne. For an instant, the old man looked startled because of his instant transportation, then he looked at Harry with twinkling eyes and a triumphant smile. "Harry, my—"
"Silence!" said two disembodied voices, a man and a woman speaking together. "Your worthiness as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix shall be judged now."
With these words, Harry froze; only his eyes could move. Dumbledore's face was frozen mid-word.
Harry's chair and Dumbledore's throne slowly rose above the table. Then Harry's view of the dining room mostly vanished, as purple sparkles rushed from right to left in front of his eyes.
Then Harry remembered things.
Harry remembered all the summers with the Dursleys after first year, when he was angry with one or more Dursleys and he wanted to fetch his wand and curse these people. Yet he never did.
Harry remembered a year ago when the two Dementors attacked him and Dudley in the park and, rather than only save himself from the Dementors, Harry also rescued helpless Dudley.
Harry remembered breakfast, a week and a half ago, when Harry chose to praise Dudley, after Dudley had offered help to Harry when Dumbledore had come to visit Privet Drive.
Harry remembered second year and all the times he was bothered and annoyed in the common room by firstie Colin Creevy, with Harry wanting to shout GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM ME! But Harry never actually spoke rudely to his overenthusiastic admirer.
Harry remembered all the times he fiercely wanted to curse Draco badly enough to put the blond boy in the hospital wing for weeks. But just as with Colin, Harry never gave in to such urges.
Harry remembered floating at the bottom of Black Lake, by magically asleep Gabrielle Delacour, waiting for Fleur Delacour to arrive and to rescue her sister. When it became clear that, for whatever reason, Fleur was not coming, Harry rescued both hostage-Ron and hostage-Gabrielle.
Harry remembered the fight with the mountain troll in the third-floor girls' loo, when Harry had attended Hogwarts for only two months. Harry risked his life to rescue a girl whom he mildly disliked at the time, simply because it would have been wrong to let her die.
Not quite two years after rescuing Hermione, Harry rescued Ginny Weasley from the shade of Tom Riddle, and saved the school from the basilisk that shade-Riddle commanded. Despite the danger to himself, Harry fought the basilisk and fought shade-Riddle, because Harry would not be able to forgive himself if he let Ginny die and let Voldemort return.
Then Harry remembered every minute of every meeting of Dumbledore's Army in the Room of Requirement, of Harry teaching DADA. Harry remembered how he taught the stupid children, the timid children, the magically-weak children and the youngest children, how to protect themselves from magical attacks.
Harry's involuntary recollections ended, and the moving purple sparkles in front of his eyes all vanished. But Harry still could not speak; and only his eyes could move.
His eyes saw that, across the dining room, a vortex of sparkling purple was hiding Dumbledore's head. Harry realised this made sense: Dumbledore was much older than Harry was, so Magic would have more of Dumbledore's memories to review.
Harry realised then that Magic had not reviewed all of his memories. His memories of time spent in class, in either Whinging Primary or at Hogwarts, had not been reviewed; his years spent with the Dursleys before he had gone to Hogwarts had not been reviewed.
Harry figured out then, what all his reviewed memories had in common: A moment when Harry had felt the urge to help, or the urge to harm, what had he decided to do afterwards? And was his decision based on what was right, or what was selfish or safe? The memories with Dumbledore's Army showed Harry's leadership (or perhaps the lack of it); when Hogwarts students in the Room of Requirement willingly obeyed Harry's orders, were their lives better afterwards?
Twenty minutes later
The purple-sparkles vortex that hid Dumbledore's face, suddenly vanished. The disembodied man's and woman's voices intoned, "Harry James Potter and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, hear now your judgements!"
The voices said, "Potter, we find no selfishness in you, no evil. Whenever you have felt the urge to do good, you have done good—and done good effectively. Whenever you have felt the urge to do evil, you always have resisted the urge. Many times you have accomplished what had been thought impossible—and you have accomplished the supposed-impossible whilst keeping your conscience clear."
Harry still could not move or speak, so he was unable to say Thank you, Magic.
The voices said, "Dumbledore, you always have been secretive, and now it has corrupted you. You refused to share secrets, then you told yourself, 'I know things my advisors do not know, so I am free to ignore their counsel.' From there, it was only a small leap to you thinking, 'If I think I'm right, then truly I am right, no matter what I do.' To you, 'It's for the Greater Good' justifies anything and everything you do. You truly are unbothered by all the Order of the Phoenix members who have died because they trusted your orders. You truly were unbothered by using Order of the Phoenix members to keep Harry James Potter and Sirius Orion Black prisoner. Now you plot the death of Harry James Potter in such a way that he shall die and you shall regain your glory. Two years in a row, you endangered the schoolchildren who had been put in your care, in pursuit of some 'Greater Good' vile scheme of yours. In short, your soul is blighted with evil now, you foolishly believe in your own inerrancy, and you are inept as a leader."
Apparently, Dumbledore could not move or speak any more than Harry could, but now the headmaster's eyes were narrowed in anger.
The disembodied voices said, "Magic finds Harry James Potter to be more worthy of obedience oaths by the Order of the Phoenix, and so the subject of these oaths is transferred."
Light flashed in the room, and many people gasped.
The voices continued, "As punishment for the misdeeds that Magic has found, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore shall lose 10 percent of his magical power, as well as his special wand, both being given to Harry James Potter. Finally, the bond between Dumbledore and his phoenix is severed."
Now Dumbledore's eyes looked panicked.
Meanwhile, Harry suddenly felt magically stronger. It felt almost as if Harry drank a Pepper-Up potion whilst he already were well rested.
Meanwhile, the voices said, "Albus Dumbledore, unworthy wizard, unworthy leader, begone!" Dumbledore and his golden throne both vanished from above the dining table; at the same time, Harry discovered he could move his face and body again.
Harry's chair slowly dropped till it was back on the floor. On the table, by Harry's right elbow, lay the Elder Wand. Harry pocketed the wand.
Meanwhile, the room was completely silent.
Harry said, "Order of the Phoenix members, I command you, by your oath of obedience, to sing me a song."
Harry cut off the singing after ten seconds. By then, Elphias Doge and Molly Weasley looked panicked.
Harry said calmly, "Molly, silently hand me the parchment that you were reading from."
When scowling Molly handed over Dumbledore's letter, Harry tore the letter in half, r-rip! Harry handed the two pieces to Hermione, who pulled out her wand and vanished the parchment-halves.
The room still was silent.
Harry looked at Fleur, and at everyone in the room who was older than Fleur was. Harry said, "The only time I will demand that you obey me is to keep an operation secret. Still, I'm 15.98 years old, and once again I'm the youngest person in this room. If you are disturbed by the idea of taking orders from me, I prefer that you resign from the Order right now. My house-elf, Kreacher, will walk you to the Floo Room."
Elphias Doge and Molly Weasley immediately resigned.
When Molly tried to browbeat Arthur Weasley into also resigning, he refused, saying, "Molly, your loyalty to the old thief is misplaced. I'm glad I'm free of him. Now go home and wait for me." The twins, Bill and Fleur all looked shocked, hearing Arthur talk to Molly this way.
After the two Dumbledore loyalists had left the townhouse, Harry asked, "Does anyone have any questions, before I start the meeting that I wanted to start thirty minutes ago?"
Neville asked, "Do those of us who are not members of this group, have to take oaths of obedience to you?"
"No. No oaths of obedience, no loyalty oaths. I'm fighting Voldemort here, not setting up a cult of personality. I have an idea for an operation quite soon that I will want the participants to take Unbreakable Vows for, but in general? Such oaths are not needed."
Hermione, Neville and the twins all looked relieved to hear this.
Harry now grinned a shark's grin as he looked around the room. "I've changed how we fight the Death Eaters. We don't show up after a long delay now, and we don't fight 'nice' anymore. If you've been reading the Daily Prophet within the last three days, or listening to wizarding radio, you've heard the question asked, 'Who is Fake Bellatrix?' Fake Bellatrix shot the real Bellatrix dead, and shot Fenrir Greyback dead. Well, I'm here to tell you that Fake Bellatrix is here in this room."
"Actually, Harry," said Tonks, "you got the order backwards. I killed Greyback first."
Everyone other than Tonks stared at her. McGonagall murmured something in Gaelic. Kingsley Shacklebolt said, "I knew it."
Harry said, "For you Order members, I invoke your oath of obedience: Discuss what you just learnt about Auror Tonks only with other people who now are in this room. Hermione, Neville, George and Fred, I cannot order you, but I strongly request that you don't share the secret about Tonks."
Hermione and Neville nodded. The twins pantomimed zipping their lips shut, and did not admit that they already knew Tonks's secret.
Harry said, "Two more announcements. Firstly, one week from today, 30th July at twelve noon, I'm challenging Voldemort to a duel at the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch—"
Pandaemonium.
When the noise had dropped a bit, Tonks said, "You challenged Moldyshorts? This is bloody brilliant."
"Yes I did," Harry replied. "Order of the Phoenix members, as for the duel, I won't invoke your obedience-oaths to order you to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters with me. I simply point out now that each of you joined the Order because you wanted to battle Tom Riddle and his minions; and in one week, you'll get your chance to do exactly this."
Harry was pleased to note that nobody in the dining room looked scared by what Harry just had said, whereas he spotted many bloodthirsty grins.
Harry said, "My second announcement is that I need four volunteers for a dangerous mission. A secret dangerous mission that you volunteers will have to take Unbreakable Vows for, to make sure that you don't chat about the mission, even years from now. I need four volunteers who are skilled with a broom, and who aren't frightened to fly high."
"How high?" asked Mad-Eye Moody.
"Much higher than a hundred feet off the ground," Harry replied.
