The chapter title refers to the 1952 Gary Cooper movie, High Noon. The main conflict in the movie is utterly different than what Harry Potter faces; but just as with Voldemort in this story, in the movie there is a deadly confrontation between good and evil that is scheduled to be fought at 12 p.m.
Chapter 23
High Noon
Tuesday, 30th July, 11:50 a.m.
Ten minutes till the Duel
Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey
Petunia Dursley was sitting and watching the telly in the sitting room, a perfectly normal activity, when she heard a Pop! sound come from the kitchen.
From time to time during the last few years, Petunia had heard the same Pop! sound come from Harry's closed bedroom door. Whenever this happened, always Petunia had heard Harry's voice and an excited second voice, just before or just after the pop.
Now Petunia considered hiding in the sitting room, avoiding whatever had made the Pop! sound. But then Petunia imagined Lily saying You coward! So Petunia, though she was frightened, made herself walk into the kitchen.
Nobody was in the kitchen, to Petunia's huge relief. But on the kitchen table lay a letter that had not been there before. The letter was addressed to "Vernon and Petunia Dursley."
Petunia recognised Harry's handwriting, though the letter looked like it had been written with a quill pen on strange paper, instead of having been written with a normal Biro pen.
Petunia broke the wax seal(!), opened up the strange paper and began to read.
Meanwhile at the Quidditch pitch, Hogwarts SOW&W
Whenever school had been in session, Dumbledore always had arrived "fashionably late" to the Great Hall for meals. His clear intention had been that all eyes would be upon him as he walked to, and sat upon, his golden throne. In contrast, today on the Quidditch pitch, Dumbledore was early when he approached Harry, Hermione, Daphne and Neville. The headmaster's eyes were a-twinkle and he wore a grandfatherly smile on his face.
The headmaster today was wearing lemon-yellow robes and a lavender cap. Hermione muttered, "Oh my, they can see him from space!"
Dumbledore glanced at Harry's close friends, then said, "Harry my boy, the first thing we need to do is to move your betrotheds and Mr Longbottom back to the castle where they will be safe."
As frowning Hermione and Daphne drew their wands, Harry chuckled. "Ah, Albie, I was wondering how you would try to take over and try to separate me from my friends. There is no 'we.' This is my show, not yours, and your place is there"—Harry pointed to where Hogwarts faculty had gathered, about twenty yards away—"with McGonagall and the other professors. You are dismissed."
"Harry, I must insist—"
Harry glanced at Hermione and Daphne. "Now," he said.
"Stupefy," Daphne and Hermione said together. Two red spells hit Dumbledore, who dropped to the ground.
"Need some help with Mr Inconspicuous there?" a young brunette asked. Harry did not know her name, but she had been a Slytherin prefect during Harry's first three years.
Harry said, "Yes, thank you, erm..."
"Gemma Farley," Daphne prompted.
Then Daphne said to the girl, "Gemma, it's good to see another Snake on Harry's side."
Gemma sighed. "There aren't many of us Snakes opposing You-know-Who, that's for sure."
Then Gemma looked Harry in the eyes. "Five years ago, I told firstie Daphne that Slytherin is the House for cunning and ambitious people, not evil people. I believed this then, I believe it now, and I believe You-Know-Who is a disgrace to Slytherin. I'd face him today myself, if I were better at dueling. My mother is a Muggle-born, and You-Know-Who wants to kill her!"
Then Gemma gave Harry a crooked smile. "Sorry about the rant. I'll go deliver Mr Twinkle-Eyes to Professor McGonagall, hopefully before the show starts."
Then Gemma paused. She looked Daphne, Harry and Hermione up and down and said, "You three look fabulous. Harry and Miss Granger, the Muggle clothes are a good choice for you today. Don't let Malfoy or his sort tell you differently."
Hermione said, "Draco is dead. Actually, both Malfoys are dead—Harry killed them both. Harry is Lord Malfoy now."
Gemma's eyebrows shot up. "Would I be a bad Slytherin if I said, 'I'm glad the blond boys are dead'?"
Daphne asked testily, "Gemma, why did you just address my betrothed, Lord Black-Potter, so familiarly? 'Harry,' really? He is the Lord of two Ancient and Noble Houses. Not to mention, he's a Lord however the Malfoy line fits in."
Gemma smiled patiently at Daphne. "Yesterday your betrothed was the Lord of two Houses. Tomorrow he will be the Lord of two Houses. But today, wearing the fabulous Muggle clothes that include a cape? Today to Muggles and Muggle-borns, Harry is a superhero."
As Gemma Farley walked away, levitating unconscious Dumbledore, Neville laughed. "Harry, I can't believe that you Stunned Dumbledore!"
Harry said piously, "It wasn't me. It was Daphne and that chronic disrespecter of authority, Hermione Granger, who Stunned him."
Hermione grinned, whilst Neville said, "I wonder what Rita Skeeter would say if she'd heard all this?"
Harry's grin was evil. "Let's ask her."
Harry pointed his wand at Hermione, said "Homorphus animagi," and blasted her.
Nothing happened.
Harry bespelled Daphne—still nothing.
But when Harry cast his spell on Neville, Neville fell over when he suddenly had a blond woman in his hair.
There was a heavy Auror presence at the Quidditch pitch; the Aurors were intended to fight all the Death Eaters who would come to the Duel. But the youngest Auror was ordered away from the pitch towards a holding cell, escorting an unhappy and handcuffed unregistered beetle animagus.
Meanwhile, Hermione had conjured a child's periscope, and was using it to look over people's heads to spy on the faculty. "Professor Dumbledore is awake," Hermione informed her friends, "but now he's standing behind the other professors."
"He's planning something," Daphne said. "I don't like this."
Harry beckoned his three friends to come closer. He asked quietly, "Is everyone wearing their no-mental-magic rune sheets under their clothes?" Neville, Daphne and Hermione all nodded.
Meanwhile at Number 4, Privet Drive
Petunia read the letter that Harry had written to her and to Vernon—
30th July 1996
Back in 1981, the evil wizard who named himself "Lord Voldemort" murdered both my parents, and tried to murder me. I lived and Voldemort died (technically), but to this day, nobody can explain what happened that night.
A year ago, Voldemort regained a solid body, by use of an evil ritual in which I was an unwilling blood-donor. A month ago, I was told about a prophecy that says I alone have the power to "vanquish" Voldemort. Note that the prophecy doesn't say that I will kill him, only that I can.
A week ago, I challenged Voldemort to a duel. Today at high noon, I face him.
If you see me at the house tonight, it means I've won the Duel. If I'm not at the house tonight, it means I'm at Saint Mungo's (the wizarding hospital), I'm celebrating with my friends or I'm dead.
If I'm dead, my friend Hermione or her parents will telephone you soon, about coming to this house and collecting my few personal effects. I TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP NOTHING THAT I OWN AS A REMEMBRANCE AFTER I AM GONE. Dudley is welcome to take his clothes back, since they never fit me at all.
I won't write "It's been nice knowing you," because this would be a lie. Nor will I wish either of you "Good luck," because you certainly don't deserve it. "I hope Voldemort's thugs don't kill you" is as friendly a sentence as I can honestly write to you.
Petunia rushed to the telephone and called Vernon at work. Then she spent the rest of the day waiting for the telephone to ring or for Harry to walk down the stairs.
12:01 p.m. at the Quidditch pitch
Once a minute since Harry had arrived at the Quidditch pitch, he had cast the Parseltongue Parsel-spell-detection spell, but had gotten no hits. Finally, he got two hits.
Harry was surprised; he had expected more Death Eaters to be coming. Harry thought, Hot damn, blasting Malfoy Manor actually worked!
The source of the Parseltongue spells was not anywhere near the destroyed Malfoy Manor. No, the spells had been cast from somewhere in the Midlands. Cokeworth maybe, where Harry's mother Lily had grown up?
Harry yelled, "Voldemort is coming! Places, everyone!"
As Harry expected, soon two (and only two) flying-black-smoke balls landed on the Quidditch pitch; these transfigured into Voldemort and Severus Snape. The duo arrived with wands out, but pointed over Harry's head.
Harry drew his wand then, but did not cast any spells—two actions which all his allies copied.
Nagini the horcruxed snake had not been brought to the pitch by Voldemort. To Harry, this was great news.
So who was here to fight for Voldemort? Only Voldy himself and Snape. Whilst who was here to fight for Harry? Hermione, Daphne and Neville. The Order of the Phoenix, except for Remus, Mundungus, Severus and ex-members Elphias and Molly; Dumbledore was here, but was distrusted. Arthur, Bill, George, Fred and Ginny Weasley; plus Fleur Delacour at Bill's side. Daphne's Slytherin cousin Millicent Bulstrode, and Daphne's Slytherin friends Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini. Gemma Farley, formerly of Slytherin. Almost all of the students whom Harry had trained in Dumbledore's Army last year; Luna Lovegood now gave Harry a dreamy smile. Many Hogwarts professors, including the distrusted Dumbledore. Lord Cyrus Greengrass. Many Aurors. Nymphadora Tonks (as one of the Aurors) and her mother, Andromeda Tonks (amongst the Healers).
Today it was the case that Harry's allies and defenders vastly outnumbered Voldemort and his one defender. This was quite a change from last time.
The Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, according to elderly Harry, had happened at night; but fortunately, not during a full moon. That timeline's Voldemort had brought werewolves (in human form), vampires, giants and many, many Death Eaters; acromantulas were attacking both sides.
Elderly Harry had been very matter-of-fact in his description of the battle, as if he were describing a jumble sale ("I saw perambulators, work boots and bottles of malt vinegar on offer, and a lady would paint your portrait in oils for five hundred quid.") But behind the plain-words description of the Battle of Hogwarts, oh, the fear for himself that elderly Harry must have felt that dark night, and the fear for his friends, and the despair! Put aside for the moment, elderly Harry's mistaken belief that the only way that Voldemort could be brought down would be for Harry to let himself die. The battle must have been terrifying for that seventeen-year-old boy.
Just minutes ago, Harry had been called a "superhero." But the true hero, the man whom Harry respected above all others, was the other version of himself who had faced all the shit of the Battle of Hogwarts—and oh by the way, had emerged alive and victorious.
For some reason, once Severus Snape found himself standing on the Quidditch pitch next to the Dark Lord and found himself facing Harry Potter and his allies, neither the Dark Lord nor Potter spoke at first.
This gave time for Snape to think about what he was seeing.
The first thing that Snape noticed about his opponents was what any Slytherin would.
Snape saw that only a few Slytherins opposed the Dark Lord. Whilst Snape recognised the faces of many current and former Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who were allied with Potter, only seven Slytherins stood with Harry Potter: Aurora Sinistra, Andromeda Tonks, Gemma Farley, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. On the other hand, Snape recalled all the Death Eaters who had died yesterday in Malfoy Manor, or had died nine days ago in Diagon Alley; 95 percent of them were current or former Slytherins. Snape thought, After today, Slytherin's reputation won't be the house of Purebloods, but rather the house of Death Eaters.
Snape saw that he and the Dark Lord were outnumbered and outmagicked. Disregarding the Aurors, the Order of the Phoenix members, and the many Hogwarts student who had come to show solidarity with Potter, the Hogwarts faculty alone was more than a match for Voldemort and Snape: Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Septima Vector, Aurora Sinistra, Charity Burbage, and the headmaster.
(Horace Slughorn and Sybill Trelawney, however, were elsewhere.)
Finally, facing off against himself and the Dark Lord, Snape saw, were Harry Potter, Daphne Greengrass and Hermione Granger. Death Eater costumes were designed to create fear, but Potter and his women were dressed to soothe hearts with hope.
Daphne Greengrass's dress robes were white, but with a thin green stripe and a thin silver stripe that ran vertically in front, just to either side of centre. Daphne's shoes, bracelet, necklace and hair-net also were white.
Hermione Granger was wearing a Muggle sleeveless summer dress, hemmed two inches above her knees. The dress was white, with a thin red stripe and a thin yellow stripe that ran vertically in front, just to either side of centre. Granger's sky-high heeled shoes were white except for yellow bows and red ankle straps. Her stockings were white. She wore white earrings and a white scarf about her neck that was tied to the side.
But it was the clothing of Harry Potter, who stood between Granger and Greengrass, that drew Snape's eyes. Potter mostly looked like he was dressed for a Muggle wedding—he wore patent-leather shoes, wool slacks, a silver-cufflinks dress shirt, a bow tie, a swallowtail coat, and a silk top hat. All of Potter's clothing, including his shoes, socks and belt, was snowy white. Round Potter's neck, draped over his shoulders and falling down his back, was a snow-white nylon cape.
Harry Potter was a Muggle-raised wizard with a Muggle-born mother, and a Muggle-born girl was betrothed to him; but until today, these were merely biographical facts about the boy. But Potter's clothing today sent a message: This is Harry Potter, who fights for the right, who shall protect Muggles and Muggle-borns from wizards and witches who would harm them. He is the Muggles' and Muggle-borns' champion. It was not merely a message of I reject the idea of Pureblood superiority; Potter's clothing sent a message of Fuck you, Tom Riddle and your ilk.
Granger's clothing, along with Greengrass's, sent their own message: We support Harry Potter, and we stand with him in his fight.
Snape realised one thing more: If Potter loses to the Dark Lord, dressed like Potter is now, the boy will look foolish; but if Potter kills the Dark Lord whilst wearing the Muggle clothes and the superhero cape, he will change the politics of Wizarding Britain forever.
Snape realised then, that he deeply respected the young man in white who stood in front of him. In fact, Snape realised, he respected Harry Potter more than he respected every other person here, and this included Minerva and the headmaster. If nothing else, Potter singlehandedly had wiped out all of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters and had killed the Dark Lord's big snake—these were notable achievements.
Snape opened his hand, to let his wand fall. Nobody on the pitch had spoken yet, so it was Snape who broke the silence—he took the last breath that he knew he would ever take, to say, "I surrender to the son of Lily Evans Potter."
"WHAT?" Voldemort screamed.
Voldemort spun around then, to shoot his favourite green spell at Snape.
After Voldemort Avada Kedavraed Snape, the Dark Lord glared at Harry. "As I killed Snape, I shall kill you and the pathetic bearded one. Then I shall be master of the Elder Wand, and I shall go on to conquer Wizarding Britain."
Harry laughed. "Dumbledore doesn't have the Elder Wand anymore. I had it, for about a minute, then I snapped it in half and burnt up the pieces." To Harry's left and right, he heard gasps, whilst Voldemort glared at him. Harry grinned scornfully; "The Deathstick is gone—accept the fact."
Then Harry said to Voldemort, "You didn't bring your giant snake with you. Because the snake is dead, right? Here is, Tom, a marvelous riddle for you: What starts with an 'H', ends with an 'X', and you have no more of?"
"I've destroyed all your horcruxes, Tom," Harry said in essence.
Disillusioned-invisible Dumbledore thought, You've just sealed your fate, Harry. Whether by Tom or by me, you will die today. Then I will kill Tom and become famous forever.
The withering curse is killing me, but I will still achieve heroic fame again before I die.
On Voldemort's face, Harry saw a split-second of panic, after Harry had told him that all his horcruxes were destroyed. Then Voldemort attacked.
One second, Hermione was watching Mr No-Nose way over there, as he and Harry exchanged witty barbs. The next second, Voldemort was directly in front of Harry. Voldemort had not used flashy black-smoke flying to move himself this time; instead, he had used simple (but noiseless) Apparition.
At the same time, Hermione heard Dumbledore's voice quietly behind her: "Imperio." At the same time, Hermione heard a bell-sound in each ear.
Dumbledore quietly ordered Hermione, "Stupefy Harry."
Dumbledore had figured it all out. After he had been Rennervated from Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass Stunning him, he had moved to stand with the Hogwarts faculty. But Dumbledore had said, "Let you younger folks stand in front of me, so you can see the duel better." Minerva had given him a suspicious look, but had said nothing. The instant that Tom had appeared on the pitch, Dumbledore had Disillusioned himself, then had hurried over to stand behind Miss Granger. Then Dumbledore had waited.
At the right moment, Dumbledore quietly had cast the Imperius curse on Miss Granger from behind, then quietly had ordered her, "Stupefy Harry."
This was when Dumbledore's grand plan developed unpleasant aspects (translation: when the plan turned to shit).
Hermione did a 180-degree spin. With her wand up, she yelled "Stupefy!"
Dumbledore did not have time to think No, no, this isn't what I meant! before his world turned black.
Voldemort sneered at Harry, "Potter, you think you're—"
Apparition! Suddenly Voldemort was not over there, by dead Snape, but was here, two feet in front of Harry.
"—so clever, don't you?"
Hermione, to Harry's right, suddenly spun about and yelled, "Stupefy! Hominem revelio! Expelliarmus!"
But Harry could not take time to find out what was happening with Hermione. (Or with Daphne, who just had yelled "Incarcerous!")
Even as Harry was stepping forward to meet Voldemort, Harry was hissing "§Gladius§."
When Harry was right in front of the Dark Lord, Harry's left forearm swatted aside Voldemort's right forearm (and the wand that it held). Harry bent his knees a bit, to reduce his right arm's height from the ground, then Harry plunged his sword-wand into Voldemort's abdomen, angled up.
Voldemort gasped in pain.
"Septumsempra," Harry said. The spell was deliberately underpowered, but this made no difference when the spell was being cast from inside Voldemort's chest cavity. A front-to-back, straight-line wound appeared in the Dark Lord's shoulder, as if an invisible man had chopped down on Voldemort's shoulder with a war axe, just missing the Dark Lord's neck. Harry yanked his sword-wand down and out of Voldemort's body.
The Dark Lord did not gasp again, he did not speak, and his face did not change expression; he simply dropped limply to the ground.
Harry said to dead Voldemort, "The Prophecy is fulfilled: You have died by my hand. Literally."
The total time from Voldemort black-smoke flying onto the Quidditch pitch, to him dropping dead? Twenty seconds maybe. The Dark Lord truly had been vanquished.
Harry realised then that neither Hermione nor Daphne were looking at Voldemort; instead, they were looking away from the Dark Lord. When Harry turned round to see what Hermione and Daphne were looking at, Harry saw Dumbledore on the pitch, Stunned and trussed, and Hermione holding two wands.
Hermione shot a stinging hex at the unconscious headmaster. "Harry just did the great deed that he forever will be remembered for, and I missed seeing it because of you!"
An instant later, Daphne shot her own stinging hex at Dumbledore.
Meanwhile
Neville used his wand to Scourgify blood-spatter off of Harry's white clothing.
Whilst Neville did this, Harry switched his sword-wand to his left hand, then he picked up Voldemort's wand with his right hand. Harry used Voldemort's wand to Scourgify the blood off his sword-wand. Right after this, Harry murmured "§Finite gladium§" to turn his sword-wand back into his regular holly-and-phoenix-feather wand, and pocketed that wand. This left Harry holding Voldemort's wand in his left hand. No way in hell did Harry want to keep this evil stick as a souvenir; so Harry snapped Voldemort's wand in half, threw the pieces to the ground, then used his own wand to vanish the pieces of Voldemort's wand.
Harry then walked over to the corpse of Severus Snape. Harry picked up Snape's wand from where the potions-master had dropped it, and put the wand in a pocket of Snape's robes so that the potion-master could be buried with his wand.
Harry murmured to Snape's corpse, "I won't name a son after you, but I pledge to shake your hand when I pass over. Be proud of what you did today, professor."
When Albus Dumbledore was revived from being Stunned and was told that it was not a crime to cast a failed Unforgiveable, he thought of his situation as only a temporary inconvenience.
Yes, he would be put on trial for the attempted murder of Harry Potter, and this was scary; but the three witnesses against him (Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass and Mr Longbottom) all were minors—and furthermore, Dumbledore easily could invent plausible reasons for the three teenagers to hold grudges against him.
Besides, Dumbledore had ordered Miss Granger only to cast a Stunner spell at Harry—he was sure he could bedazzle the Wizengamot away from seeing his action as attempted murder.
Much more annoying to Dumbledore was that when he was revived, the first thing he saw was the Spirit of Hogwarts (the woman-shaped marble statue which could move and talk, and which was wearing four-colour robes that displayed the Hogwarts crest) and Minerva. Both the Spirit of Hogwarts and the Deputy Headmistress were looking down at Dumbledore and were scowling.
The Spirit of Hogwarts said, "For attempting to murder a student, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are dismissed from every position at Hogwarts School—"
Dumbledore said smoothly, "But I did it for—"
"Minerva McGonagall, you hereby become Headmistress, and the school wards are shifted to your control. The school charges you to repair these wards, which have been reduced to a deplorable state."
The Spirit of Hogwarts glared at Dumbledore and continued, "The Founders never intended that a cerberus, trolls, marked Death Eaters and the Dark Lord all could enter what was intended to be a haven for magical children. Nor did the Founders intend that wicked students could curse other students in the corridors. Shame on you."
Dumbledore was Portkeyed away (whilst wearing not one but two pairs of magic-suppressing handcuffs), whilst Harry walked back to stand by Neville, Daphne and Hermione. There Harry pulled a parchment list from the pocket of his swallowtail coat.
Harry pointed his wand straight up and said, "By Right of Conquest, I claim the Slytherin, Gaunt"—now he was reading from his parchment list—"Avery, Crabbe, Flint, Goyle, Lestrange, Macnair, Mulciber, Nott, Parkinson, Rookwood, Rowle, Scabior, Selwyn, Travers, and Yaxley Houses; the coinage, property and debts of these Houses go to me. I further declare all of these named Houses to be extinct. Heirs and Heiresses of those Houses lose their Heir or Heiress status, I do not name anyone as Heir or Heiress for any of these named Houses, and nobody may claim Lordship of any of these named Houses after I die. So mote it be."
Neville stared at Harry, shocked. So did a few others within hearing. But Daphne said breathily, "Ooh, what a cunning way to end the power of the Dark families."
Then Harry yelled, "I call upon the ghost of Myrtle Warren. Please come to me."
The transparent grey ghost of the bespectacled fourteen-year-old Ravenclaw student appeared on the Quidditch pitch; onlookers gasped at Moaning Myrtle's sudden appearance.
Ghost-Myrtle looked about. "Wow, sunlight—it's been fifty-three years since I've seen it. Hello Harry, you look posh in the swallowtail coat and the top hat. Why did you call for me?"
Harry replied, "In 1943, you were killed by a Parseltongue-speaking student, Tom Marvolo Riddle." Harry gestured towards the monstrous-looking corpse a few feet away. "This is Riddle—dead. You are my friend, and I have avenged you."
"Oh Harry, you are indeed my friend, and you've just proven it! This was what was holding me back: not having even one true friend. Now I can pass on."
Ghost-Myrtle stepped up close to Harry, but looked to Hermione and Daphne when she asked, "May I?" When both of Harry's betrotheds nodded, Ghost-Myrtle stepped closer, put her hands on Harry's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.
Then Myrtle turned opaque, and her grey robes turned white. Myrtle rose up into the sky, smiling for as long as Harry could see her face.
6:26 p.m.
Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey
The telephone rang. Petunia ran to answer it. "Hello?"
A man's voice asked, "Is this the home of Vernon and Petun—"
"Yes, yes, I'm Petunia Dursley."
"I am Dr Daniel Granger. Our daughter Hermione will marry your nephew in two years." Petunia's eyebrows shot up. Harry is engaged and he chose not to tell us?
The male voice continued, "Are you aware that today Harry fought Lord Voldemort to the death?"
"We're aware," Petunia said, "but we haven't heard how things turned out. Neither Harry nor his lot can ring us from where they're at, as you know."
"Hermione sent us an owl," the man said. "My wife and I just arrived home, so this is our first chance to ring you. Anyway, Hermione wrote to tell us that Harry killed Lord Voldemort, but Harry himself is unharmed."
Petunia released the breath she had not realised that she had been holding. "Thank you, thank you for telling us this."
The man said, "Hermione would have rung you herself, but Harry and his friends all are celebrating right now."
Now the man's voice sounded disgusted: "Harry is a hero in the magical world, Mrs Dursley, and Emma and I feel honoured that he has chosen to marry our daughter. If the magical people ever find out that your family used to beat and starve Harry, it shall not go well for you. Goodbye."
Wednesday, 31st July, 1996, one day after the Duel
Courtroom Ten, the Ministry of Magic
Dumbledore's attempted-murder trial was held the day after his arrest. His day started badly when he was informed, before his trial even began, that the ICW had voted him out of his Supreme Mugwump position.
Then, once he walked into Courtroom Ten, Dumbledore had to endure the indignity of being stripped of his Chief Warlock title, even if he would talk himself into an acquittal.
But Dumbledore did not talk himself into an acquittal. His Oi, mates, it was only a Stunner defence burnt to a crisp when Cyrus Greengrass said to the room, "A tripping hex isn't attempted murder either—unless you cast it on someone who is walking up to the edge of a cliff. Harry Potter was fighting for his life against You-Know-Who; if he'd been Stunned then, he would have been easy meat. Which is what Albus Dumbledore planned on."
Then too, Dumbledore had attempted to murder Harry Potter, who was back to being the wizarding world's darling again. As a result, the Wizengamot clearly was unwilling to be lenient.
Dumbledore was sentenced to forty years in the maximum-security wing of Azkaban, with all Healer treatments disallowed. Dumbledore recognised his official punishment to be a polite death sentence.
Meanwhile at Gringotts Bank
Now that Voldy and his Death Eaters all were dead, Harry hired the goblins to tear down and to recast the Fidelius charm on Number 12, Grimmauld Place, with Harry as the Secret Keeper.
Also, Harry hired the goblins to permanently remove all wards from Malfoy Manor—"Your last step: Take the wardstones with you!"—and to remove and destroy all Dark Magic objects found at Malfoy Manor. Harry threw in a freebie: The goblins would be permitted to keep any goblin-made objects that they found in Malfoy Manor.
That afternoon, at Potter Manor
Harry wrote duplicate letters to Auror First Class Salemia Johnson and to receptionist Heather Tidwell (both at Obliviator Headquarters)—
"For your records: Nobody in Obliviator Headquarters informed me what 'Code FW' meant, or dropped hints. All on my own, I figured out what the Code meant, and why you've made the Code so secret. I'm sure by now you've heard the rumours about Malfoy Manor."
