The entire chamber went into an uproar as soon as Dora said those words. This was unheard of, to interrupt a session in order to perform an arrest. Dumbledore raised from his chair and raised his hands to calm down the noise and as soon as he recovered the calm he directed himself to Dora.
''Nymphadora, what is the meaning of this?. This is a session of the Wizengamot, and during it the Aurors are to guard the entrance, no perform an arrest in it.'' Said Dumbledore, with a grandfather-ish tone. Dora was struggling, as she was between telling Dumbledore off for calling her for her name and amazed that the Great Warlock of the Wizengamot knew it. Ezekiel, on the other hand, saw it for the disrespect that it was: Dora was on the clock, as well as everyone else and as such and until she was replaced in her shift she was Auror Tonks, not Dora and certainly not Nymphadora, as everyone in the law enforcing side of the Ministry knew that she hated her full name.
It seemed to be a recurring theme with the conversations that Dumbledore had in public, he was Albus Dumbledore, yet he was to be referred as Headmaster, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock or as everyone said in an almost religious tone, Dumbledore. All the other people that he spoke to were treated by their first name and first name only, regardless of their position or own achievements. This rubbed Ezekiel the wrong way but, who'd hear him? Even Dora idolized the old man. As far as everyone was concerned Dumbledore WAS the Light, to go against him was to go against the Light itself.
Still, Dora was able to get over whatever was on her mind at the moment and remained professional "I'm sorry, Great Warlock but this is a matter regarding the disappearance and possible death of the previous Head of the Old House of MacNair. Mister MacNair is currently under investigation which is why we suspect that he tried to run away when he was confronted by Auror Black. We believe that he was going to use the carriage that we found on his property with the unregistered Thestral in order to create an illegal disenchanted vehicle in order to flee the country.''
Dumbledore didn't show much surprise, as he shifted his gaze towards Madam Bones "Amelia, is this correct?". Madam Bones meet his gaze and said "Yes, Great Warlock. Mister MacNair was being investigated when he attempted to escape. We're also looking into who leaked the information to him, as well as who tried to eliminate the proof of his crimes from the Archive".
Again, Ezekiel noted, Albus Dumbledore showed little surprise. "From the Archive you say? My goodness Amelia. The security of the Auror department seems to be quite lax these days. It makes me think that we may have to run a full revision of character on the members of the Auror department." Said Dumbledore, and many of the Light started whispering their approval.
"That won't be necessary, Albus, this was a carefully set plan on a need to know basis. His supporters will soon be captured and brought to this very court.'' Amelia Bones stood her ground, she could deal with Dumbledore's attitude, she could deal with the fact that her value was being questioned yet again, but there was no way in hell that she'd let Dumbledore run her department. The man had gathered an insane amount of power over the years and now his new idea would essentially give the him his own army, an official one, unlike that ''The Order of the Phoenix'' militia that he had during the war. Thank Merlin that they managed to get rid of that after the war ended. Luckily, Dumbledore decided to let it slide and moved to the subject at hand.
''This is undoubtedly is an exceptional case. As such, and seeing that both the case presented and the one that we're currently handling seems to be connected in some way, I'll raise the vote to handle both cases as one." Ezekiel couldn't believe what he was hearing, was this even possible? Legal, even? Probably not, but Albus Dumbledore had made a request and those who identified themselves as the Light bend over backwards to appease him. The Dark had some struggle as well, but since the idea was to save MacNair (if possible), and now with the added bonus of discrediting Bones and possibly send Ezekiel Black at Azkaban, the offer was too tempting. Providing that the case was made of circumstantial evidence that they could refute. Ezekiel looked at Needle and for once was happy to find a kindred spirit. The man was appalled that the law was being bent just so Dumbledore could have his way. Maybe all hope wasn't lost, even if the man hated his guts.
The trial continued as Dumbledore requested and started again, this time Nettle had much to say, it seemed that he was indeed trying to protect MacNair, but Dumbledore produced some gibberish that sounded like legal lingo and the trial continued. Ezekiel didn't like this for a second, this was not how things were supposed to go. This was suppose to follow the law, to set the bait, present the evidence and get the arrest, but now with Dumbledore's meddling this thing could very well be illegal on itself. He had the unshakable feeling that this was already an open and shut case, regardless of the fact that the evidence was solid, Walden MacNair's fate was already decided and all that was left was Dumbledore's guilty sentence. Still, even with this charade they'll have to at least try and make it believable. No doubt MacNair's Law-Wizard would present an appeal for this, so they needed to make it as airtight as possible. If the option to appeal was even possible at this point.
Madam Bones raised from her seat and announced herself as the prosecutor for the case. "Members of the Wizengamot, as some of you my know, fifteen years ago Alistair MacNair, the Head of the Old House of MacNair disappeared. We didn't knew were he was or when he disappeared as the missing report was filled two weeks after his supposed disappearance, when some of his colleagues filled the missing person report. Because of the time of his disappearance wasn't clear and the fact that he didn't have many friends or social live the case was archived. However, we were able to get an itinerary from questionings, as well as the receipts that we were able to get from Gringotts. Using that and several reports from different witnesses that were successfully corroborated we've managed to create a timeline, as well as determine the reasons of his now certain demise.
We'll start at the beginning, with what we know: Alistair MacNair was the head of the Old House of MacNair, he was the oldest of two, him and his sister Katherine MacNair, both of them pure-bloods. His sister married a Muggle, since the ceremony occurred on the Muggle side of Britain and their parents disowned her, we don't have records of his name, but as we all can tell, a child was born of their union." The fact that MacNair's blood status was being displayed for all to see didn't set well with the wizard. "Unfortunately, tragedy striked when Walden MacNair was seven years old. Official records show that his magic manifested while the family was travelling by car, resulting in an accident that claimed the life of Katherine MacNair and her husband. "Many wizards couldn't help to smirk, they've heard of this 'cars', leave it to the Muggles to travel in a metal coffin. "At the time Alistair MacNair was a part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, working on the Beast Division. After learning the death of his relatives he choose to magically adopt Walden MacNair back into the family as his own, after that he attended Hogwarts, where it is worth noticing that was suspected of the death of several animals, however, since this incidents didn't involve any magic he wasn't accused. Upon graduation he started working on the same department as his now father and we can assume that in order to avoid claims of nepotism he was assigned to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, where he quickly raised the ranks until becoming the Appointed Executioner three years after entering the department.
Now this is when our official information ends, and our theory begins. I'd like to ask to to keep an open mind and check the evidence that we have gathered. Alistair MacNair's social life was lacking, but five years after his son had joined the ministry he had basically became a recluse. By all accounts his routine became house, work and then house again. Except, two days before a full moon and one day after, which leaves us to believe that Alistair MacNair had been infected by a werewolf curse." A second after those words left MadaM Bones mouth the entire chamber had gone into an uproar, except, as Ezekiel, Dora, Bones, Dumbledore and Nettle noticed, Walden MacNair. The wizard had become livid once he heard how his uncle had adopted him and his hands had turned into fists. So far, so good.
Again, Dumbledore had to calm the chamber so that Madam Bones could proceed. "The evidence that we have, obtained after several subpoenas to Gringotts shows an increment of receipts for food for the House of MacNair, all of them made for different butcher shops. As many of you'll know, the reason why it's easy to identify the average werewolf is their malnurished state. This is because the werewolf transformation is a two part process: the magical curse starts the change every full moon and the biological part forces the body to undergo a massive transformation, which it includes but isn't limited to the following:
1 - Bone enlargement, in some cases a complete shift in the shape, position and even creation/destruction of bones for the new body.
2 - Additional muscle tissue is created to allow movement.
3 - Relocation, reestructure and again, in some cases creation/destruction of organs for their wolf form.
This process is extremelly taxing and painful for the body, as it basically destroys one body to create another one and this happens while the curse keeps it's victim alive and conscious. Werewolfs are unable to get stable jobs because of the physical and emotional strain that would usually leave them up to a week in bed, if we take into account that a full moon last around four days on average. Alistair MacNair already possessed a small fortune in Gringotts thanks to several investments that his father had made. We have recounted for several recepits for food that were signed using the MacNair's family seal, which only the Head of the House can possess. We believe that Alistair MacNair was incrementing his weight to allow the curse to use the extra fat and transform it into the necessary materials for the new body's construction. We've also noted several withdraws of Galleons at different times of the month. Unfortunately, we have found no receipts for this, but giving the amounts, they all add up as the price of the wolfsbane potion at that time. This potion allows the bearer of the curse to keep his humand mind after the transformation, since in the usual case the werewolf is basically a traumatized newborn which would react aggressively to any form of contact and will look for nourishment. Unfortunately, this potion hasn't been improved much since it's creation and the victim still feels the pain of the transformation. We've also noticed several request to different potion masters for anesthetic potions, which are used for medical uses and popper-up up potions, the name says it all. We believe that Alistair MacNair used this self-made regime in order to avoid suspicions over his condition, however, as I said before his founds were limited and this burn out almost all of his money in a matter of years, we believe that he resorted to steal from his own son's vault using his authority as Head of the House.
It is at this point which Walden MacNair attempted to access his funds that he found that several thousand Galleons were missing, he created such a commotion that he was expelled of Gringotts. We believe that he confronted his father and a result of that confrontation he killed him, using that very axe" she pointed at the axe that the two Aurors had carried before and was still to be moved." that instrument is indeed cursed as Law-Wizard stated and it's not the Axe used by the Appointed Executioner of the Ministry of Magic, as a matter of fact "she nodded to the two Aurors that had brought the axe and one of them another axe, this one looked different, this was a two-handed axe made of some sort of blue steel that had several runes inscribed on the blade, the wooden body and the metal pommel as well. "THIS is the executioner's axe issued by the Ministry of Magic."
Before Madam Bones was able to continue she was interrupted by a cough. She didn't have to guess who that was, the same toad-looking bitch that had clawed her way up the chain betraying everything and everyone, herself included. That blood-supremacists cunt, who now whispered her poison into the very impressionable ear of the man that was supposed to be the Minister for Magic, who of course was not present at this meeting because that would imply that he was at least competent. She knew that ignoring her wouldn't be possible, even though she was a mere secretary and this was a meeting for senior members of the departments as well as the Lords and Ladies of the Old and Noble houses, as she had managed to get the representative power for the Minister, Merlin knows how.
Dealing with men was easy, after a lifetime of being looked down, of having to work thrice as hard for only a fraction of the recognition she managed to learn her lesson. She had reached the top of her department and she had done it without selling herself, like some of those who were above her had suggested, and she'd done it square. The reason she was seen as incorruptible was because she could afford to offend those who though themselves to be above the Law. She had managed to create a semblance of peace. A peace that the woman in front of her almost destroyed by convincing the Minister that laws had to be created in order to segregate the werewolf community in England. That sad excuse of a human being had almost created a new revolt in order to push for the creation of werewolf capture squads and ensured that if another Dark Lord raised all he had to do was to promise her and he'll have their she managed to do all this while at the same time getting every woman on the Ministry fired, demoted or resign and setting the idea that any woman that wasn't her couldn't be trusted to make a decent job, all while setting their fight for equality back at least a decade.
"Ehem" that thing said again "Excuse me, Madam Bones, but as everyone knows, the Minister has accompanied Executioner MacNair several occasions and in all of them he was carrying that instrument. Are you suggesting that the Minister knowingly accepted this?"
Amelia Bones had to use every bit of self control that she had not to hex the witch out of existence. She wouldn't be getting rid of her anytime soon, that she knew. Her only consolation was the fact that IT was much older that her and that she'd live to see the day that toad would finally kick the bucket. She had a special bottle just for that day, best ten thousand Galleons ever spent.
"Of course not, Madam Undersecretary Umbridge, however, the possibility that MacNair confunded the Minister cannot be discarded. I'd suggest for the Minister to had his mind checked in order to confirm that it hasn't been tampered." Of course how one could know if the mind had been tampered when that thundering dumbass skull was so empty that one could hear the echo of the only brain cell that he had bouncing around. This seemed to satisfied the bitch, which Amelia Bones refused to recognize as a person even in the privacy of her own mind.
"As I said, this " she pointed at the first axe that the Aurors brought " isn't the axe provided by the Ministry. This " signaling the blue engraved axe" is. The axe that Mister MacNair carried is called a Lochaber axe, it is different from normal axes since the blade of a Lochaber axe is bound on one side of a long shaft at the end rather than mounted directly on top of it. This is indeed a cursed item, as it has a blood binding curse that will surely and slowly kill anyone that tries to use this axe other than Walden MacNair. The second curse is directly on the blade, this allows the blade to cut most substances, however, our experts have also verified that this blade causes an incredible amount of pain once a wound is inflicted, thus the very last thing that it's receiver feels before dying is unbearable pain. This makes this a higly illegal weapon and one that goes against the policy of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and honestly, this goes against the good conscience of any upholding citizen of the law.
The axe provided by the Ministry, on the other hand, it's a special kind of metal, in fact, a one of a kind of metal since it is the only time in magic history where both Goblins and Wizards actively collaborated to create a weapon, as we all found common ground on the fact that some creatures are indeed too dangerous and to avoid tragedy. However, this axe is not permanently bounded to the executioner, but partially, thus allowing it to be used by the executioner's successor once the current one retires. The second thing that's worth noticing, is the fact that this axe cannot be removed from it's deposit without a magicaly signed warrant by the Minister or the Head of the Auror Department, myself, in case of an emergency. This axe possesses goblin steel, which allows it to absorb the properties of the creatures that it kills. This allows it to cut even dragonskin, which is indeed it's purpose.
This axe is only to be used on the creatures that the Classification of Magical Creatures clasifies as XXXXX or Known Wizard Killer. This is because the Appointed Executioner is the only wizard in all of Magical Britain that is legally allowed to use the Unforgivable Avada Kedavra." The entire room had gone silent after this. Clearly this was new information for both the Dark and the Light, and even Dumbledore's eyes widened once he heard this. "This was done because the effects are inmediate and it was considered merciful towards the creature, and the axe was simply for those creatures that are resistant to even such spell, such as Dragons and Basilisks.
Returning to the victim, while the body of Alistair MacNair couldn't be found despite many tracing spells being cast, we were able to get in touch with the Muggle law enforcement agencies and found one decapitated body belonging to a male aroun the victim's age in the vicinity where Alistair MacNair lived. Unfortunately, the victim's corpse was on an advance stage of decompositon and when his blood was tested before any analysis could be done and because of the results found in it showed it to be recognized as what is known in the Muggle community as a Biohazard Danger and promptly destroyed. What we can see is the type of injury that the corpse had and compare it with the many, many photograps that we were able to recover from Walden MacNair's office while he was being investigated in secret." She gave another nod to the Aurors who started passing an album, once it was opened the members of the chamber looked away from it and passed it to the person next to them as fast as possible. If one could say one good thing about Walden Macnair, photography wouldn't be the first thing that came to mind. He was able to use the camera masterfully to get every detail. If only his subject was lest sinister.
We have no explanation as for why the corpse wasn't disguised or destroyed, we can only asume by the large number of injuries that a fight between father and son started over the money and in the struggle Alistair Macnair tried to escape by apparition when Walden MacNair injured him with the axe which resulted in the body Splinching. Therefore we can assume that the body was indeed Alistair MacNair's, that the weapon that was used for his murder was indeed the one used by his son Walden MacNair, the only other wizard capable of wielding it." Madam Bones rested her case.
Dumbledore took a moment while the rest of the chamber members spoke among themselves, one the murmurs stopped he addressed MacNair's Law-Wizard "Very well, it seems that the prosecutor has rested a very solid case, does the defense has anything to say?"
Nettle tried to raise a defense " Great Warlock, unfortunately we are not prepeared for this trial, as the changes were not informed as they should. We'd like to require an extension to-" Dumbledore raised his hand and interrupted him before he had the chance to say anything else "Law-Wizard Nettle, I'm aware of the circunstances, but due to the nature of the crimes that he's being judged we've found it necessary to gather all the cases into one. If you're unable to produce a defense I'll move directly into the sentence." was almost speechless, yet tried to even start a defence, but the simple truth was that he was completely unprepared for those charges and in the end he was asked to stop and await for the sentence.
Ezekiel was furious, this was a mockery. Yes, a terrible criminal was going to Azkaban, that was the desired result, but not like this. This opened a complete new set of possibilities for the Dark to recruit, if Dumbledore could just spew whatever he wanted, might as well give him the Magical Treaty of Great Brittain and a pen to make up whatever he saw fit. He was so engrossed on his thoughts that almost missed how MacNair was sentenced to Azkaban for life and was taken kicking and screaming. He had to say something, if no one did then this Light would grow so big and bright that it would blind everyone while it leads them to their ruin.
"Great Warlock, members of the Wizengamot, if you may, I've got something to say" He could see how every gaze rested on him, along with Madam Bones and Dora, who tried to mouth him to stop whatever he was doing and to sit down. Dumbledore looked at him and smiled. "Ah, yes. Ezekiel, regarding your case I'll say that given the severity of their crimes the Old House of MacNair is no more, their vaults content to be transferred to the Black's vault, their properties as well and I beleive that they also had a Family Grimoire, that will also be passed on to you. I'd like to thank you as well for all the hard work that you've been doing over the years." He paused to take a breath and then continued on a lecturing tone before Ezekiel, who was beginning to get quite mad for the first-name-thing again could start. "I know that the sins of your family are indeed great, but you've been adamant on your family's redemption. I made this offer to your father yet he refused me, but I'll extend it for you as well with the I hope that you would join the Light, for the greater good."
Madness, pure madness. Great Warlock or not the man before him had no right to end a House, handle their Family's Grimoire and their assets just on a whim and even worse, expose him to the Dark. It would be open season on him again, just as when he was a kid. Dumbledore had left him with two options: join him or else.
Fuck him.
FUCK HIM.
FUCK HIM.
"Great Warlock, while I appreciate yor kind wordsI'm afraid that this process has bee-" He had to stop and cover his ears as the sound of a screaming and crying children suddently assaulted him. The painful groan that he let out made everyone look at him with concern. Before he was able to say anything Dumbledore raised his voice loud enough so that everyone could hear him "Ezekiel what are you doing, cease your family's magic this instant, this is the chamber of the Wizengamot!" Ezekiel was going to reply to the man as his magic or the family's one were active, when he realized that his family ring on his right hand was giving a golden glow. This was new, especially since the family magic glowed silve.
"I- I'm not doing it."He said, when suddently he grasped his chest and screamed at the top of his lungs. The pain was big enough to left him on the floor using his hands to stop himself from hitting the floor and gasping for breath, Dora ran towards him before another burst of pain it him, but this time a loud crack sound appeared, and he was whisked away before anyone could do anything. Everyone started screaming about the issue for so long not because Ezekiel had disappeared, but because the chamber was warded specifically against those sort of things by Dumbledore himself. Dora and Madam Bones started shouting orders at the Aurors at the same time but as far as everyone knew Ezekiel Black had done the impossible.
Ezekiel Black had vanished from the Wizengamot.
I don't own Harry Potter, all characters except OC belong to J. K. Rowling.