Gobbledygook
Sharpaxe nodded again, and made some notes on a piece of parchment while Griphook finally spoke up.
"Now that Dumbledore has gotten himself in trouble officially, we need to discuss how we are going to go from here and how much of our plans we need to move up." He said, and both Goblins and Amelia smirked ferally. Dawlish barely had time to wonder what he got himself dragged into this time, before they started plotting and scheming.
Harry leaned against the wall outside Potions, listening to the chatter about what just happened and trying to plan out how he was going to 'earn' his first detention of the year. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering Severus's mask. Of course, he was also thinking of the newspaper article delivered at breakfast, and how perfect it was for their plans. They hadn't even had to do anything, Dumbledore did it all on his own.
It was Dean's turn to wake up Ron, so they were running a little late. Dean had always had the most trouble waking Ron up, for some reason. Harry always had the easiest time, but the trick was getting Harry himself in time for him to have to get Ron up. And it was rare that that even happened. By the time they walked into the Great Hall, the mail was already being delivered.
Harry thanked Hedwig when she flew over to him carrying a package and letter from Sirius, as well as a newspaper. When he looked confused at the newspaper, Hedwig shared the memory of when Sirius gave her a letter to take to the Daily Prophet reminding them that as majority owners in the paper, they got a free paper morning and evening. Harry nodded and walked to his seat with her perched on his shoulder. The package and letter both disappeared in the pouch he kept tied to his belt, he'd look at them later, in private.
When he got to the table, Harry held Hedwig off the bacon long enough to make sure everyone nearby had what they wanted, then he let her attack what was left on that platter. He then ignored the people slowly moving away from the bacon-crazed owl sitting in the middle of the table happily devouring a plate of bacon. Only stopping long enough for her wizard to give her a potion.
By now, the Gryffindor's watching Hedwig noticed that the Hall fell completely silent. Said Gryffindor's quickly grabbed their own newspapers after noticing what held the rest of the Halls attention.
Albus Dumbledore Attacks Head of DMLE in Auror Offices! Banned from the Ministry!
Dumbledore Responsible for DMLE Budget Cuts, not the Minister?
By: Jane Smith (edited by: Rita Skeeter)
Yesterday, this reporter was in the Auror office, getting more details of the incident with the flying car the other night (for further details, see page 3). However, what was witnessed was much more important and... disturbing.
Headmaster, Chief Warlock, and Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore entered the office, only to find himself at held at wandpoint by every Auror in the room. On hearing the commotion, Madam Amelia Bones left her office to see what was going on. Right after Madam Bones came out to investigate, one Auror said, 'Albus Dumbledore is no longer welcome in this office. If he really thinks us so useless that he won't fund us, then I don't see why he has any business being here.' Upon confronting another one of her Aurors, a sheet of parchment was summoned and handed over. Upon examining it, Madam Bones realized she must have accidentally included the months budget report, complete with a list of cuts the department was once again facing and who on the budget committee recommended those cuts, when she handed out the list of laws currently on the table for discussion and a revote. For further details, see page 3.
After Madam Bones apologized for leaving that in there and informed him that he should not count on Auror aid in the future, she then 'politely reminded' Mr. Dumbledore that the DMLE cannot do their jobs properly without the proper funding needed for training, new recruits, paying the Aurors they already employed, equipment, etc. At the end of her reminder, Albus Dumbledore then pulled his wand on her and attempted to curse her!
You read that right, our beloved Albus Dumbledore tried to curse the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement right in front of her own Aurors and this reporter.
Before Mr. Dumbledore could cast the first curse, however, he was hit with several Body-Binds, Incarcurus, and one disarming charm.
Mr. Dumbledore was then escorted out of the Ministry after being informed that, because he attacked a Law-Enforcement official, the Head Official to be exact, in her own offices, he should have been arrested on the spot, were it not for his status as the Chief Warlock. A policy that Mr. Dumbledore himself put into place, and a policy that is now under review. For a more detailed list of what laws are under review see page 6. For more details about this policy, see page 3.
However, because he is the Chief Warlock, and they cannot arrest him, he will be under an official investigation. It was also made clear that because of his attack on a Ministry official, within the Ministry building, his access to the Ministry was to be restricted to official Chief Warlock duties, trials requiring his presence and Wizengamot sessions, or meetings with the Minister or Madam Bones herself when they specifically summon him. Otherwise, he is not to step foot in the Ministry.
And if he's not truly responsible for the budget cuts, then why has Minister Fudge let everyone believe it was him? Would he not have protested being held responsible for something he was not responsible for? Or did he not even know it was happening?
Why would Albus Dumbledore just attack like that? Is he really the grandfather figure that many of us know? The scene witness by this reporter suggest that he's not. Could Albus Dumbledore be getting too old for the amount of responsibility on him? He holds seats important stations, is it possible the stress is getting to him? If he was so quick to attack Madam Bones when she was perfectly polite, then are our children really safe with him?
We at the Daily Prophet will be following the investigation very carefully.
Harry and everyone else were stunned. When Harry glanced up at Severus, he saw the barely restrained glee on the mans face as he watched Dumbledore. When Harry looked at Dumbledore himself, he saw the man turning colors, kind of like Uncle Vernon would when he was really mad. Those were usually when he could expect a beating. Or, as much of a beating as a fat Muggle like Vernon was able to give. Those didn't happen often though.
Harry quickly nudged the Gryffindor's closest to him, and had them look at Dumbledore, when they looked, the noise level started to rise again as everyone started whispering about it and looking at Dumbledore. He noticed Hermione was watching the Headmaster too, but her look was more like wanting him to get up and tell her that it wasn't true. That he didn't just attack the Head of the DMLE out of nowhere. Harry was a little relieved. Hopefully now it wouldn't be so hard to convince her after all... if Dumbledore kept screwing up like this... yeah, he could work with this.
Back to what Dumbledore was doing.
As Harry (and the rest of the student body) watched, Dumbledore started shaking as he tried to force himself not to lose his temper, his face was turning different colors, and the paper in his hands started smoking. Finally, the paper burst into flames. Then, he held out his hand and all the students copies of the Prophet burst into flames too, making all the students drop their copies quickly to avoid getting burnt, as if he could keep the students from reading it. Which, of course, it was too late to do.
"The Prophet is banned until further notice. I will look into this, and I can assure you it will not happen again." He said, and he sounded calm, but everyone could see that his eyes were burning with anger, and it was obvious that he longed to tear something, or someone, apart. Which only proved the question asked by the Prophet to be correct. Just how safe were they with him? But, the way he said it was meant to imply that somebody was masquerading as him and going around attacking people. Or something. Of course, the implication and his reaction sent two completely different messages. He also wondered if he shouldn't get a warning to the Daily Prophet that two of their reporters were in danger.
Obviously, him banning the Prophet was only going to ensure it was seen by everyone in the Great Hall. Did he really think that the students would listen to a newspaper ban when it was obvious that there was something in it that he didn't want them to see? Please. They were a bunch of teenagers! If you tell them not to have something, they would find a way to have something! Especially the Weasley Twins. Who were going to be even better at getting away with stuff now that their abilities weren't blocked off anymore.
Perhaps he just had enough of the Daily Prophet for the past few days and wanted to make sure the students didn't know what was really going on? After all, it could undermine his authority as Headmaster, and when the student body no longer revered him, the student body would start to question his teachings, particularly about the Light and Dark debate. After all, if the champion and leader of the Light, all that is good in the world, is capable of some of the stuff that had been in the Prophet the past couple of days...
The moment was kind of ruined when Hermione looked at her watch and said they were going to be late for potions with the Slytherins.
So, now here they were. He'd considered bringing up the subject of the newspaper article on the trip down to the dungeons, but decided against it in the end. He was still trying to figure out what to do to earn a detention. Because it sure wouldn't be due to a bad potion. If he tried pulling a stunt like that, after all the lessons Severus gave him in the past few weeks, Severus might kill him! (Not really, but still!)
In the end, he decided that he would just have to wing it, or maybe... he could also see how Malfoy treated him today... although his letter from Sirius the day before said that he would be speaking with Mrs. Malfoy that day, and he didn't know how that talk went or if she would have already messaged her son. He knew what Sirius would be talking to her about, and he also knew that, as Heir Black, Draco Malfoy had to respect him as the Heir of his House. The question was, how much of that would be overshadowed by how the Malfoy family saw themselves.
No, he didn't want his whole plan for getting detention to hang on Malfoy. The year before, that would have been all too easy. Just sit there, and wait for Malfoy to fling something in his cauldron. Then, when he did, protest it, loudly, and then get detention from Professor Snape for being loud, disruptive, and trying to get other students in trouble. Well, he would keep an eye out, and if the opportunity with Malfoy presented itself, he would take it.
He was brought back to reality by the door slamming open and Severus snarling for everyone to 'get in'. When he past the stern professor, he quirked a quick grin that nobody saw at him before scurrying past him and claiming the Gryffindor's usual seats, at the back of the room and far away from the teachers desk.
He was surprised when Draco sat closer to them then he normally would. A fact that made all the Gryffindor's suspicious if the looks they were shooting him said anything.
Harry sighed quietly when Severus called role, and paused at his name before sneering as he called it. If he wasn't wearing the amulet Severus gave him after the meeting with Sharpaxe and the rest of the Alliance, he would have thought that everything from the past few weeks with the man would have been a dream.
Surprisingly, compared to last year where they got a small speech and asked some questions before brewing a potion, this year, Severus started out by demonstrating a few things.
"Now, this year we are starting on some more... complicated potions. Those we brewed last year only caused minor damage if exploded... and they only exploded if you were really Dunderheaded while working." The Slytherins all turned to laugh at Seamus and Neville. Neville was well known for being awful with Potions, and Seamus... well, Seamus blew everything up. "However, this years potions will be more... volatile. They will blow up easier, and, with some of them, even the smallest wrong cut when preparing your ingredients will have a negative impact on the potion itself. But those ones will be later in the year. However, we will start on proper knife handling technique now, so that when we do get that far, you will hopefully not be complete Dunderheads. Last year, it was not much of an issue. This year, however..." He paused and looked around.
"Everyone come up here, so you can see better. Shorter people in the front!" He snapped. Which made Harry groan, because he was one of those shorter people. Luckily, he could count on Ron to stay behind him and watch his back against any of the Slytherin's. Severus waited until everyone was surrounding the table at the front of the room, and he was sure everyone could see.
"Alright, today's potion will contain butterfly wings. Unlike last year, where we just used them whole, this year, you will be required to slice them. Now, when slicing the wings, you must be careful to..."
Sharpaxe sat back in his chair, satisfied. The trials for the Dursley family were scheduled for the next week, and everything was going smoothly. Of course, if it weren't for the fact that the Muggles could find no record of Harry Potter ever living in that house beyond his school records, and the fact that the fat Muggle fought the police officers... they would already be in the mines.
But, as it was... the Goblin nation was charging them with embezzlement and child neglect, while the Muggle government was charging them with kidnapping, child neglect, child abuse (apparently some very old bloodstains were found on the mattress in the cupboard), and they were also adding resisting arrest and assault on a police officer to Mr. Dursley's charges. Since Mrs. Dursley was fairly well-behaved about the whole thing, even going so far as getting her son to not join in on her husband's attack, she was avoiding those charges.
So, now they were going to be tried to the full extent of Muggle law, which, according to the agreements the Goblin nation had with the Muggle government, meant that the Goblins were going to have to wait to get the Dursleys in the mines until after their sentences in Muggle prison were served. If they even survived Muggle prison. He didn't know what it was about criminals... but, it seemed to be some sort of unspoken code that you do not mess with children. Which lowered the survival rates of those who did significantly.
They were also going to have to decide what to do with Dudley. The Goblins would send anyone to the mines, at a certain age and older. That age happened to be fifteen. Which Dudley Dursley was not. According to the Muggle authorities, the boy had an aunt, but the woman herself was now being investigated for animal cruelty and running an animal breeding operation without the proper licensing. Apparently, she had been having her neighbor, a retired soldier, drown the puppies she saw as worthless runts for years.
What she didn't know, was he that he was actually saving those puppies and taking them to shelters or otherwise finding good homes for them. In fact... she had several litters right now, and there were several pups that the colonel claimed he would have had to rescue. What she also didn't know was that he was keeping record of every dog she had him drown. For when the police came calling. He had tried to go to the police before, anonymously, but nothing happened. A police officer came out to speak with her, but he just left without even looking around.
He would speak with Sirius about whether it was okay for Harry to get a puppy. If he remembered right from the reports, one of the litters was from a German Shepherd. They were very loyal dogs... For now, he would speak with the police in charge of that investigation to let him know which shelter they took the dogs to.
Some of the dogs though, he was told were mean and vicious. They were probably going to have to put those dogs down so nobody got hurt. (It was a shame too, he quite liked pit bulls.) Especially the one the woman called Ripper. Which, according to Severus, was a name Harry mentioned often whenever they spoke about the Dursleys. According to Harry, that dog was the woman's favorite. That dog also seemed to have a pathological hatred for Harry. Constantly attacking him, chasing him up trees and not letting him down, Harry swore that the dog would deliberately make a mess just so Harry would have to clean it up.
Now, he just had to inform his young client and friend that he was required to be at the trial. He tried to get it so Harry didn't have to go, but the Dursley's lawyer was insisting on it. As if the medical reports and Pensieve memories wouldn't be enough. They were even putting the Dursleys under Veritaserum, for gold's sake. The only reason he could possibly see for the lawyer to insist on Harry's presence was if the lawyer was one of Dumbledore's. Their only saving grace was that the medical reports didn't state any lingering health issues aside from the malnutrition.
They were sending teams out to the Black properties within the next few days to purify them, and just to be safe they were sending the Horcrux team to each property as well. They were considering the fact that a Horcrux had been found in the vault of one Bellatrix LeStrange nee Black, and she had been a Death Eater. So, they were going to be cautious and make sure that none of the other Blacks within Voldemort's ranks had been given an item to keep. And this would be their only chance at finding any that were within the Black Family wards.
He doubted that anything would be found at the Potter properties, they were strictly neutral, and if an object like that had ever been brought onto their properties, they would have known about it before it came within five feet of the wards surrounding the property. Besides, he doubted if anyone would be allowed on the properties anyway. For as many years as he had been working for the Potter Family, he could count the number of times he'd been invited out to the Manor on one hand. As dark as the Black family was, the Potters were equally secretive and private.
Oh, people were invited to the other properties all the time, and they threw parties and balls, when it was a 'required function'. Meaning, if it was their turn to host the Wizengamot's yearly ball. Or a Yule ball every other year. But those balls were always at the Manor, and the only places guests were allowed to be was the Floo room connected to the ball room. Other than that, the place was locked down tight. They didn't like people in their main home.
He didn't mind though, if he was the only one kept out, he might, but they kept everyone out who wasn't considered family. And the only one who got that honor that wasn't a Potter in the last hundred years was Sirius Black.
He was still amazed that Charlus let that one family live there like he did. The son used to be a skilled Curse-Breaker and owned that trunk shop now, if Sharpaxe remembered right.
Oh, they were outgoing, and quite the leaders, but for the most part they usually stuck to themselves when they weren't doing political work.
"Ah, Barchoke, did you need something?" He asked when there was a knock on the door and the Black account manager walked in.
"I was wondering if you had a minute to go over some of the Potter accounts with Lord Black now. He's asked about them, and it is within his rights as the adopted father to Heir Potter-Black. He was also wondering about the Dursley's trial." Barchoke said.
"Hm, I'm surprised he hasn't already been asking." Sharpaxe mused.
Barchoke shrugged. "He's been going over his own accounts with me and making arrangements for his properties to be purified. He's also been taking care of other family business."
"True. Alright, I'll be down soon."
When he got down there, it was to find Sirius at his desk, writing something and double checking with some of the books strewn out in front of him.
"Hello, Sirius, I see you are doing better." He said after knocking on the door and getting Sirius attention. It may be a private room, but the Healers preferred having the door open just in case. They didn't like closed doors in their infirmary unless they were working and needed to keep others out.
"Yes. I have the Black accounts and family matters sorted out for the most part, arrangements have been made, and so now all that is left is to see what I will be working with in the Potter accounts. I will, of course, be getting Harry's opinions when it comes to investments and giving him more responsibility with it as he gets older and shows himself capable of handling it. Before that though, I was wanting to know what the latest word was on the Dursleys."
Sharpaxe grinned ferally. "Their trial is next week. Unfortunately, their lawyer is demanding Harry's presence, so he will be required to be there, we suspect this lawyer has loose ties with Albus Dumbledore. Now, we would already have them in our mines, except the Muggle courts are bringing the Dursleys up on charges of their own. Charges of kidnapping, abuse, and neglect for both Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, while Mr. Dursley is getting charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest added. We will only get them if they survive their sentences in Muggle prison. Since they are human, and non magical."
"What about the boy, though? I know Vernon has a sister of his own, can she not take him?"
"Miss Marjorie Dursley is being investigated herself for animal cruelty and running a breeding operation without proper licensing. The animals in question were dogs. Speaking of... she had several litters of puppies which have now been taken to shelters with their mothers, one was a German Shepherd. I was wondering if it would be alright for Harry to have one of them...?" He asked.
"Hmm. German Shepherds are good dogs... loyal, can be fierce, but also sweet and gentle. They make good guard dogs... I don't see a problem with it." He said after thinking for a moment. Privately, he considered that it would also give him some company when Harry was at school. Especially if Remus wasn't around. Where on earth was that old wolf, anyway?
"Excellent. I'll find out where the litter was taken and go pick one. Now, along with the teams of Curse-Breakers being sent to the Black properties, I am also sending the Horcrux team and a contractor to assess the condition of the buildings on those properties. Especially the townhouse in London, Barchoke advised me that that is the official residence for the Heir to live in after moving out of the Manor? Which means that Walburga Black lived there. Alone. For at least five years before she died." He said. "I hope you don't mind?"
"No, no, send in the Horcrux team. Who knows, they might actually find something there. And, I was going to hire a contractor to go in and assess Grimmauld Place anyway, along with an interior decorator. Find out what kind of work needs to be done to the place to get it livable again. A pest control company probably wouldn't be remiss either." He muttered.
"Good, that just leaves the Potter accounts. I should tell you... concerning the cottage in Godric's Hollow. When the Ministry set the place up as a national monument, I closed it down so nobody could get inside. I know there are some people who were trying to get inside and run tour groups through the house, not to mention thieves. However... when the Ministry set preservation charms up to preserve the house in its half destroyed state, Gringotts stepped in and repaired it. We set up wards to make it seem as if the house was still ruined, but... other than repairing the damage, clearing out the kitchen of perishable food, and moving the more valuable items to a vault, we haven't touched anything." Sharpaxe informed Sirius.
Sirius took a sharp, shaky breath, before he shoved his hands through his hair and nodded before abruptly changing the subject. Sharpaxe let him. "So, the accounts. How much are the various businesses making, what changes have been made over the years as the businesses grew or died, how much did Dumbledore mess up, all that."
Sharpaxe nodded and pulled out a file from the stack. "Well, as far as the businesses go, there are several that I want to sell the stock as they are no longer making any money. Unfortunately, I have been unable to as that would require permission from either Heir Potter or the magical guardian. And since legally that has always been you and you were unavailable until now... but, you are here now, so you can approve changes made to the accounts assets."
"Alright, which businesses do you want to sell out of, and which ones would you recommend buying?" Sirius asked.
"Well, there is an opportunity to buy more stock in the Daily Prophet..." Sharpaxe said ferally. Sirius grinned. How he loved doing business with the Goblins. Especially THIS Goblin.
Arthur sighed quietly. He had taken a few days off work to take care of personal matters. Luckily, they had the Family vaults back, along with a good sized fortune again so he could afford to do this. Not to mention paying the fifty Galleon fee Amelia gave him for the car. If this had been a few weeks ago, he would have had to sell some of his wife's jewelry or take a loan out from the bank. He supposed he could have also tried selling some of his Muggle stuff around town too, if he needed to. But, that was a few weeks ago.
Now, now he had requested a meeting with Madam Longbottom, Lord Greengrass, Lady Bones, and Lord Abbott.
He had asked if they could come to the Burrow and discuss old Wizengamot business. Namely, why the Weasley family was kicked off it in the first place and what he knew now to have been what really happened. He had the documents sitting on the table in front of him, just waiting for them to ask to see them. Molly was bustling around in the kitchen getting tea around, including cake. He still needed to head to the Farm and see what its condition was, and if any of the Elves were still there. He thought they should be... but it had been a long time since anyone was there.
He looked up when the Floo went off in the other room, and went to greet whichever of his guests would be coming. This one happened to be Daniel Greengrass.
"Daniel, its good to see you again, thanks for coming out." Arthur said.
"Arthur, it has been a while, hasn't it?" He asked as he looked around curiously. He'd never been to the Burrow before. It didn't really surprise him how cozy it was and how much it felt like a home, despite its somewhat shabby appearance. Shabby or not though, it was well looked after. "I like your house."
Arthur flushed red. Compared to the manor this man had... "It's not much, but..."
"But its home." He finished with a smile. "Its simple, modest, and it suits you. The Weasley family was never one for flaunting its wealth with big homes and grand gestures. You know this better than I do, being a Weasley and all... Be proud of your home! You've done a good job building it."
"Thanks. You remember my wife, Molly?" He said, gesturing to Molly, who had just taken the cake out of the oven when he Flooed in and was finally satisfied she could leave it for a moment.
"Yes, it has been a while though. You're looking well, Molly, and I love your home." He complemented her.
"Thank you, Daniel. How is Hannah doing?" Molly asked after making a small curtsy, as was polite when greeting a Lord of their society. Arthur could get away with not doing anything since he was technically a Lord himself, even if the Weasley's lost all credibility and their positions. But, that's why they were here. The seats were still there, if the Ministry or somebody else claimed them, then they could accuse whoever it was of Line Theft.
"She is fine, thank you." Daniel said, nodding to her. He turned back to Arthur. "You wished to speak with me? You said it was important, and related to the Wizengamot." He prompted.
"Yes, we are just waiting for Madam Longbottom, Amelia, and Charles." He said, "Here, why don't you wait in the living room, Molly has the tea...?" He turned to his wife questioning, in response she merely grabbed the tea tray and took it in the living room ahead of Daniel.
Daniel couldn't help but notice that Arthur looked a little flustered by something. He didn't ask though, he was sure that whatever it was, he would learn of it once the others arrived, although he did have to wonder just what it was that it involved some of the Potter Alliance. Of which the Weasley's were a part of before they got kicked out of their seats, despite the Potters best efforts.
Once everyone had finally arrived ten minutes later, with Amelia being last, an emergency had cropped up that required her attention before she could get away, and Arthur had waited for Molly to finish serving everyone, he started on why he asked them all there.
"Amelia, you already know about this, since Sharpaxe said he would send it to you, but... for the rest of you..." Arthur paused, unsure as to how exactly to proceed. Finally, he decided to just make sure of what they knew and go from there. "You all know, that my grandfather lost the fortune and the Family Seat gambling, losing everything to the Malfoys, correct?" He asked. When everyone except Amelia nodded, he took a deep breath and continued. "And if I were to tell you that that version of events was wrong? I just learned this a few weeks ago, but... according to the Goblins, my grandfather never gambled a Knut. The fortune just... vanished."
They were all silent.
So, Arthur continued. "My grandfather apparently made a deal with the Malfoy family, they would help us out financially so we didn't lose everything, they came up with a payment plan, and that plan was carried out. The Weasley Vaults are open now, though." He said.
The others sat back and looked at each other, confused. "But, if that was true, then why was an investigation never started? Why did your grandfather tell everyone it was gambling?" Daniel asked.
Augusta sighed. "Let me guess, Dumbledore?"
Both Amelia and Arthur nodded in her direction. Daniel ahh'd in understanding, while Charles was confused. That didn't explain why none of them knew this.
"Dumbledore is... liberal in his use of memory charms and modification. The goblins have managed to track several vaults contents to Dumbledore, Jack at the trunk store, his family is one of the ones who lost everything. The thing is though, the Goblins still have no idea how he was doing this and getting away with it. All this time, all those families, it was always thought they made bad financial decisions." Amelia explained. "Nobody has even tried to look deeper until recently." She didn't mention Severus's involvement in all this.
"This is only some of what Sharpaxe couldn't tell us at the meeting the other week. There is much more to this, Dumbledore's been manipulating and stealing his way to the top for many years. The less people that know about it right now, the better." Augusta finished.
"Did you know about this, too?" Charles demanded of Daniel.
"No, I only know what Dumbledore has done in regards to House Potter." He said. "I'm assuming that this meeting is in an effort to repair the reputation of House Weasley, and get you your seats back. Since they were stolen from you..." He said to Arthur, who nodded.
"Problem is, we were kicked out by majority vote. The Potters were the only ones who didn't vote us out, even some of their alliance voted against us. The rest abstained from voting." Arthur said.
Charles nodded thoughtfully. "May we see the records from Gringotts?" He asked. Arthur nodded and gestured towards them on the table.
"The problem here, is that the Ministry has been using your seats. I don't know when that one happened, one day they were just... there." Charles said after he studied the parchments for a minute. "How could this happen to one of our own? This is..." He muttered to himself.
"When we get our seats back, I can charge them with Line Theft. The others, once they realize what happened, how we have been tricked over the years, they will not let it slide that the Ministry took over and started using the seats of one of their own. Especially since it was initially the Ministry that 'found' the evidence of gambling and 'politely reminded' them all of the rules regarding that." Arthur said with a sigh.
"This is going to take a while to get you your seats back, it might not be possible while Dumbledore is still in charge. I may have restricted his access to the Ministry, but he is still the Chief Warlock. You may not be able to get back in your seats until after we get him up on charges. The newspaper campaign against him will start tomorrow, We decided to move up our plans after his visit to the office yesterday." Amelia said.
Charles looked around at them all. "This has been a long-term investigation, hasn't it?" He asked Amelia. When she nodded, he asked the others how long they'd been part of this.
"I'm the only one here who knows everything Dumbledore has been up to. Those outside this house are: the Goblins, Severus Snape, and now Kingsley Shacklebolt as soon as he finishes reading the file I told him to go through to start the investigation. I don't know if the Goblins have gotten around to telling Sirius yet or not, I know he's been spending the past few days taking care of family business." Amelia said, she was taking a risk naming Severus like this. If Dumbledore found out, he would have Severus in a cell faster than she or the Goblins could act to keep him out of it. If he didn't just arrange a little 'accident' first.
"Snape? That Death Eater?" Charles asked incredulously.
"He's Harry's other godfather. It was the biggest argument Lily and James ever had, I'm told. James wanted Sirius, and Lily wanted Severus. Eventually, they compromised and decided to ask both." She said with a shrug. "And don't worry, I've already asked Severus under Veritaserum about his days as a Death Eater. He may have initially taken the Mark, but he regretted it and went straight to James and Lily about what he'd done. He's been a Death Eater in name only ever since." She explained quickly. "We can do what we can to get the Weasley Family restored..." She sat back in thought for a moment. "We may have to switch up the contents of our newspaper campaign. The articles we want are already written, it shouldn't be too much to simply use the ones pertaining to the money thefts towards the beginning... Yes, I believe we can get this to work."
"And in the meantime, we can gather support in the Wizengamot. When the time is right, we call for a vote of having the Weasley Family reinstated, and I don't see there being any problem with it since it will be under grounds of fraud and 'potential' Line Theft." Charles said, sitting back in his seat. He was still somewhat confused as to what was happening, but he trusted Amelia. "And I see here that the debt was completely paid back three years ago, but then why did the Goblins not contact you about this three years ago?" He asked.
"Quickjaw said they were waiting for us to go in and claim it. He didn't say anything else. But, it could be likely that something was set up between Quickjaw and my grandfather when all this happened? I don't know, I haven't been able to get in and really go over things with him yet, I've been focusing on my family and work. The Muggle-baiting is getting bad right now. We've had ten exploding doorknobs just this week! And according to the law, we can't really prosecute unless somebody is seriously injured or the Statute of Secrecy is broken, which just means that all I can do is go in, give whoever I catch a warning, and let them go again to do it all over again!" He ranted.
The others just stared at him wide-eyed. Then, Amelia looked thoughtful, although she was confused. Was it really that bad. "Ten? I only heard of one."
"One? No, there were ten. Didn't you get my reports? I file them with your people every time I go out and catch somebody at it... I even include their names so you can keep an eye out for them to escalate."
"No, I only got the report of one." She frowned. "I'll look into it when I get back to the office." She promised.
"Well, is that all the business we had to discuss?" Daniel suddenly asked. When they looked at him, confused, he grinned. "Come on, we all have kids who are the same age, surely some of you have embarrassing parenting stories? Arthur, I'm sure has more than the rest of us." When the others all laughed,, Arthur called Molly in to join the discussion now that they were done with business, and Bill even joined them for a bit when he came home for lunch before going back out on his next assignment.
Just because the Goblins were keeping him in England right now for his expertise on Horcruxes didn't mean they weren't keeping him busy on other things while they waited for the Rune schemes to find another one. And they weren't going out to the Black properties until the next day.