Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.

'Where am I going to sit tonight?' Harry wondered, as he entered the Great Hall together with Teddy, Ginny, Neville, Draco and the twins. Lucy was running ahead in apparent excitement.

"Let's sit here, while we wait for the others to arrive," he said, pointing at the nearest table, which was the Hufflepuff table.

"Are you going to stay here for the welcoming feast?" Neville cast him a questioning look.

"Hmm. I was wondering. Perhaps, I should better sit at the Ravenclaw table, considering that there are the most bitches among the older students," Harry replied, pensively, recalling how the older girls had treated Hermione, before he had told them off one day.

"Maybe, that would be the best." Teddy nodded, gravely. "The older girls in our house are really horrible. I wonder where Nina and Tony are going to be sorted."

"True." Harry nodded, smiling. His first two elf friends, who had attended the elves' class together with him, had volunteered and been chosen by him and Barney to become the new first-year elves.

As soon as the first students noisily stormed into the Great Hall, Harry and his friends moved to their respective tables, from where they observed the Sorting ceremony.

Harry did not know any of the new first-years except for Nina and Toni as well as Luna Lovegood, whom he had met at the party, when he had received the Order of Albion on August 30. Somehow, Harry had the impression as if more time had passed than just two days.

Harry smiled, when Luna sat next to him.

"Hello Harry, I didn't know that you're a Ravenclaw," she said in a soft voice, giving him a dreamy look.

"Ah, I'm not. In fact, I'm not in any house."

"Ah, that makes sense, considering that you're the owner of Hogwarts." She shocked him to the core, as she continued, "You might not know this, but your birth mother was my godmother."

"My birth mother?" Harry asked, incredulously, knowing that everyone only knew him as Harry Prince, even if Minister Bagnold had once mentioned his original name in the first Wizengamot meeting he had attended. No one seemed to have picked it up at that time.

Luna shrugged and smiled. "I just know things."

"All right," he replied, uncertainly, and swiftly introduced Teddy and Hermione, who were both sitting on his other side, efficiently diverting the topic of conversation away from himself.

HP

Harry was happy to hear that Remus had indeed called for a meeting of the Wizengamot for Saturday morning, the main topic being Lucius Malfoy's trial.

While he usually stayed at home to look after Felix, when his parents attended the Wizengamot meetings, this time, he had agreed with his parents to leave Felix with Misty, Cicero Teddy and Lucky.

'I hope I can find out who put me under the Imperius curse,' Harry thought, as he took his seat next to his mother on the Lestrange seat.

They did not have to wait long, before Remus opened the meeting in his capacity as the head of the Wizengamot.

"Today, we have gathered for the trial of Lucius Malfoy. I give Amelia Black-Bones the floor."

Harry smiled. He really liked Sirius' wife. She was not only very friendly but also extremely trustworthy.

Amelia greeted the members, before she pointed out that Minister Fudge insisted on handling the Malfoy's trial himself.

Several groans could be heard from all sides of the table; however, as the Minister of Magic, it was Fudge's right to demand to oversee a trial himself. The ministers rarely ever made use of this right; however, apparently Fudge found it important.

He addressed the evil wizard, who was sitting in a wooden chair in chains, flanked by two Aurors on both sides.

"Lucius, ahh sorry, I mean Mr. Malfoy, you are accused of freeing prisoners from Azkaban. How do you plead my friend, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Innocent of these trumped up and outlandish charges."

"Veritaserum!" Harry did not know who had shouted, however, he fully agreed. 'Such a liar,' he thought, eyeing Draco's father in disgust.

Unfortunately, Fudge merely shook the comment off with an impatient wave of his hand.

"Who freed the prisoners then?"

"Dolores Umbridge."

"Really? Then you are innocent, I think we can dismiss the charges at this point."

"I don't think so, Cornelius. Continue with your questioning or I will declare you unfit to act in any capacity in this trial," growled Madam Bones.

"How did Dolores manage to do such a thing when she wasn't there?"

"She controlled the Dementors. She simply ordered them to take the prisoners away from Azkaban."

"On Ministry business, I assume. And where did they take them to? To which department?"

"No, she took them to her own home, but someone attacked us, and I don't know what happened afterwards."

"They were found at Malfoy Manor."

The accused looked surprised. "Perhaps, it was them who attacked us, and they then fled to my home. I am not aware of what happened, as I was at St. Mungo's.

"How did you suddenly recover?"

"Mr. Prince used his healing abilities and healed me. Thank you for that, boy." He looked in Harry's direction.

"Harry, is that true?" Sirius all but shouted.

Harry rose from his chair. "It was not by my own free will. Someone put me under the Imperius curse."

He received a couple of gasps, while very few people were laughing.

"How old are you, boy?" Fudge enquired.

"I am twelve."

Fudge nodded, rolling his eyes. "As if a twelve-year-old knew what he was talking about.

Severus rose and was given the floor. "My son knows very well what he's talking about."

"Well, enough of this nonsense." Again, Fudge impatiently waved his hand. "I believe that we don't have any proof that Lucius, ahhhh, Lord Malfoy has done any of the deeds of which he is accused. As the Minister of Magic, I declare him innocent."

A small break was announced, after which a couple of minor decisions were going to be made. Harry slowly walked through the chamber, where the members were talking in small groups, with Lucy in tow. He realised two things, first of all that most of the members were extremely upset about Fudge's way to handle the trial, and secondly, he recognised the minister's magic.

'Dad, it was Fudge, who placed me under the Imperius curse,' he thought to his father, before he telepathically informed Marvolo and Sirius as well.

HP

As soon as everyone was seated again, Marvolo rose from his chair. "Professor Lupin, I have a request."

Remus nodded, allowing him to speak.

"I instigate a vote of no-confidence against Minister Fudge. I am fairly certain that it was him who placed Harry Prince under the Imperius curse during a ball at Buckingham Palace on August 30. Lady Black-Bones, I request that you question him under Veritaserum."

tbc...

Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter.