A/N: Here's the next chapter, it's a bit longer than the previous chapters, so hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters from J.K Rowling's books.
Chapter 14
Once Severus said this, chaos ensued in the court, Albus is frantically trying to get the Wizengamont members to calm down, and finally manages it by firing off a canon blast out of his wand.
"Thank you Albus, now Severus, I have a few more questions for you, can you give us a list of fellow Death Eaters?" Amelia asks, glad that this interrogation has led to this.
Knowing that it's futile to fight the veritaserum, Severus replies, "Apart from Lucius Malfoy and I, there's Igor Karkaroff, Abraham Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, The Lestranges, Augustus Rookwood, Walden McNair, and Marybeth Bagnold. These are the people I had worked with the most on the missions the Dark Lord sent us on."
"What about Sirius Black, is he a Death Eater?"
"No, that pompous wet dog is not a Death Eater, never has been, and never will be." Severus replies.
"Thank you, Severus, no further questions. Unspeakable 88, please administer the antidote to Mr. Snape. Members of the Wizengamont, we have heard directly from the horse's mouth, a man has wrongly been sentenced to Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. Now, although Chief Warlock says that Mr. Snape has his complete trust, we cannot ignore the fact that Mr. Snape admitted to voluntarily becoming a Death Eater, although he later became a spy. Members of the court, we cannot let Mr. Snape's deeds go unpunished, I move to sentence Mr. Snape to 10 years in Azkaban, and strip him of his Potions Mastery. Does anyone oppose to this sentence?" Amelia says to the court.
"I oppose, Ms. Bones, it would be unwise to punish someone so harshly for a mistake he made in his youth. Might I suggest a year of community service? For his punishment he must teach at Hogwarts without pay, and after the year is up, he will be able to collect a salary." Albus states, glad that Augusta removed the silencing charm from him. "I think that would be punishment enough."
"Absolutely not Chief Warlock! He admitted to torturing and murdering members of the Ministry that you vowed to protect with your position! Were he to begin teaching students, he could possibly brainwash them to Voldemort's ways of life! A man like that should be nowhere near young impressionable minds." Augusta says, seeing that a lot of people in the Wizengamont are agreeing with what she has said, apart from some members of the Dark Faction. "I stand by Ms. Bones' suggestion of punishment, and that little agreement he signed with you is null and void, simply because there were no witnesses to the signing of this contract."
"Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom, lets put this matter to a vote. Those in favour of sending Mr. Severus Snape to Azkaban, please raise your wands." Once Amelia finishes speaking, three quarters of the Wizengamont raise their wands in favour of this punishment. "Those oppose?" Amelia asks. The remaining quarter raise their wands opposing the punishment, Dumbledore included. "Majority wins, Mr. Snape, you are hereby sentenced to 10 years in Azkaban for torture and murder. You are no longer a Potions Master and will have no chance of regaining that title when you're released. Aurors, take him away, and bring Mr. Sirius Black to the holding cells in the DMLE so he can stand trial once Mr. Snape is securely behind bars."
Once Severus is taken out of the courtroom in chains, Amelia turns back to the Wizengamont, and with a nod from Augusta and Rockgrinder, puts their plan in motion. "With the evidence gathered by the trial of Mr. Snape, I make a motion to put Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore on trial for obstruction of justice. Will anyone second the motion?"
"I second the motion," Augusta says, standing up, giddy that Albus is about to get his just desserts.
"Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom, does anyone oppose to putting Mr. Dumbledore on trial?" Surprisingly, no one objects, not even the Light Faction. "Motion carried, Mr. Croppy, please place Albus in cuffs and take him to the stand." Amelia says, looking back to the Wizengamont she asks, "Does anyone have a suggestion as to who can take over for the Chief Warlock temporarily?"
"I nominate Augusta Longbottom, Ms. Bones." Arthur Weasley says, "She is tough, but fair, and I believe she will listen to the facts before sentencing."
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, can anyone second the nomination?" The words are barely out of Amelia's mouth when several people stand up to second the nomination at the same time. "Well, that helps. Does anyone oppose to this?" No one raises a wand in opposition. "Augusta Longbottom, do you agree to becoming the temporary Chief Witch for the rest of this session?"
"I do, Ms. Bones, now may I call my proxy from the visitor's section?"
"You may do that Mrs. Longbottom."
"Thank you, Rockgrinder, please come to the Longbottom seat, you are now the Longbottom proxy." With that said, Rockgrinder comes out of the visitor's section and takes his seat, while Augusta goes to the Chief Warlock's seat that Albus has since been dragged out of. Once Augusta is seated, and the oaths are taken, she bangs her gavel to begin the trial. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the trial of Albus Dumbledore will now commence, the other Death Eater trials will be rescheduled for the next Wizengamont meeting. I request that Albus is to be given veritaserum for this trial, anyone oppose?" Augusta asks, with that, Elphias Dodge pipes up, "Surely that's not necessary, Albus is one of the most powerful wizards on earth, he's the defeater of Grindelwald, Leader of Light, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, he isn't a Death Eater, so he shouldn't be treated like a common criminal."
"Be that as it may, Mr. Dodge, we have proof that Mr. Dumbledore isn't the man everyone thinks he is. According to Mr. Dumbledore's account information, his blood status lists him as a half-blood, so if the Chief Witch requests that he is to be given veritaserum, she has a good reason for it." Rockgrinder says from the Longbottom seat.
Albus smirks hearing that he will be given veritaserum, and says from the stand, "I will voluntarily take the veritaserum." Not knowing that the tea he drank this morning with the antidote for the veritaserum was swapped with a flushing potion courtesy of the house-elves at Hogwarts.
"Thank you for making this easier on us Mr. Dumbledore, Unspeakable 88, please administer the veritaserum." Amelia says, glad that their plan is coming together. Once the unspeakable has given Albus the serum, Amelia looks towards the members of the Wizengamont. "If it pleases the court, I would like to question Mr. Dumbledore, does anyone have any objection?" Only one person tries to object: Mr. Justin Croppy, her boss. "Amelia, I will question him, to show you how a true auror questions people on trial."
"I'm sorry Mr. Croppy, I cannot allow that. You see, I have documentation courtesy of the goblins, that Mr. Dumbledore has been sending you money monthly ever since you took up the head of the DMLE position, therefore, it is a conflict of interest for you to question him." Augusta states, holding a copy of the account statements for the rest of the court to see. "Does anyone else object to Ms. Bones' leading the questioning?" No one else objects. "Very good, Ms. Bones, please begin your questioning."
"Thank you, Chief Witch, Mr. Dumbledore, please state your full name and old Hogwarts house for the court so we know the veritaserum is working properly." Amelia begins.
"Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore, Gryffindor graduate, I later became the Transfiguration Professor, and eventually the headmaster." Albus says in a similar monotonous voice as Severus did, while inwardly freaking out. 'How did the veritaserum take effect? I took the antidote?' Albus thinks, glad that he was able to keep that thought from slipping out of his mouth.
"Thank you, members of the Wizengamont, please note that the veritaserum has taken effect and working properly. Now Albus, you have been charged with obstruction of justice for attempting to keep one Severus Snape out of jail, how do you plead?"
"Nnnn-guilty." Albus says, trying to struggle against the truth serum, much like Severus did.
"May I ask why you tried to go around the law and offer him a job?"
"He's my spy, I needed him close to me for when Voldemort returns." Dumbledore says.
"When Voldemort returns? What do you mean by that? You told the Daily Prophet that Voldemort is gone, that young Harry Potter defeated him, or was that a false statement?"
"Voldemort is gone for now, not forever. It all ties in with the prophecy. When Voldemort returns, the war will continue on." Albus says, not being able to hold back about the prophecy.
"We are back to the prophecy, Albus, may I ask why you were talking to Sybill in a bar?"
"I was interviewing her for the position of the Divination teacher at Hogwarts, we met at my brother's bar in Hogsmeade because she needed the darkness of the bar to help her inner eye, my office is too bright for her inner eye to work properly." Albus explains, while trying to shut himself up.
"I think we need to hear the rest of this prophecy, and I would personally like to know who you placed young Harry Potter with, since I have been getting several letters from one Remus Lupin wanting to know where his unofficial nephew is."
"I placed Harry with his maternal muggle aunt, he needs to be raised outside the wizarding world for his own safety." Albus says, holding the full contents of the prophecy back for the moment.
"Do you know who James and Lily appointed as guardians for their son?"
"I know that Sirius Black is his godfather, but with him in Azkaban, there was no one else appropriate to raise him, and they never wrote a will."
"That is where you are wrong Albus, Harry is not with his maternal aunt, James and Lily's final will and testament was secured in Gringotts." Amelia states, seeing his shocked face, she continues. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a couple memories I would like to show you. Before you ask, they have already been verified as untampered by the Unspeakables." Seeing no one objecting, she taps her wand to the first memory, showing the court Minerva's memory of bringing Harry home with her and the meeting with the goblins the following morning. When Albus saw this memory, he was seething inside, and due to the veritaserum in his system, was unable to hold back what he was about to say.
"She lied to me! She told me she needed a leave of absence due to taking her niece into custody! I told her that Harry had to stay at his Aunt Petunia's for his own protection, no matter how horrible they may act! The blood wards I erected there were to keep him safe from enemies."
"Thank you for admitting that you were willing to leave a young boy on someone's doorstep in the middle of the night. Now, back to my original question, what did the prophecy say?"
(Again, this is taken directly from The Order of the Phoenix, page 741)
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies. This prophecy had only two people who fit the description: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Therefore, Voldemort sent his followers to the Longbottom household, while he went after the Potters, he wanted to kill both boys so that no one could stand in his way."
"It seems you know an awful lot about how Voldemort thinks, why is that?" Amelia presses, knowing that he cannot fight against the veritaserum.
"I taught him a number of years ago, back then he went by Tom Riddle though." Albus says.
"Now how do you know that Voldemort will return?"
"He talked to Horace Slughorn shortly before he graduated Hogwarts, asking him about Horcruxes and if it would be possible to make more than one of them. A few years after he graduated, and after I became headmaster, Riddle came to me asking to become the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, I, of course, declined, knowing what he has been doing both during his Hogwarts years, and after." Albus says, while still trying to fight the veritaserum in his system. "Ever since I declined him the job, I have never been able to keep a Defence teacher for more than a year."
"That is all well and good, but may I bring up another point that was shown in that memory we all watched? The point being that Albus has been stealing from the Hogwarts budget for years, possibly as early on as becoming the headmaster." Amelia says, looking at the Wizengamont. "Minerva kept pushing Albus to hire more staff to reduce her workload and replace the History of Magic teacher, since students cannot learn from a ghost that puts them to sleep every class. Everyone here should know that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it?"
"I needed that money to sway the minister, fellow members of the Wizengamont, and the Board of Governors at Hogwarts so that my plans for Harry can come to fruition. I needed Sirius in Azkaban, Remus out of the country, and him raised by his aunt, no matter how she would choose to raise him. Voldemort placed a horcrux in Harry's scar, and Voldemort himself must kill Harry, to kill the portion of his soul, so that I can kill Voldemort after the fact and get even more power and recognition."
"Luckily that will not need to happen Albus, did you even consider that there was another option? Members of the Wizengamont, the second memory I wish to show you was given by a house elf, regarding Albus' reaction to Minerva's leave of absence, and the staff meeting he held after the fact." Once they all saw Albus's temper tantrum, Amelia continued. "I received word from Minerva McGonagall that Harry has been cleansed of this abomination, and the Unspeakables have noticed that the prophecy Albus heard has been fulfilled. Now Albus, why did you decide to keep this information to yourself? Why not ask for help instead of bribing people and making enemies everywhere you go? Why do you want to give Death Eaters like Severus Snape a second chance, but let an innocent person like Sirius Black rot in jail? Can you answer that, Albus?"
"It was all for the Greater Good. I am the most powerful wizard here, I belong in power, without the headache of the title, so by bribing the minister I can whisper in his ear as much as I want, pulling his puppet strings to the beat of my own drum. I learned in my teenage years that people make mistakes when they're young, and they need a chance to see the light. If people are sentenced to death, how can they atone for their mistakes?"
"Many of these young people, as you call them, are grown, married people that know the difference between right and wrong, and yet they offered themselves to a madman who promised them power and their hearts desire. They killed thousands of people, muggle and magical alike, and you want to give them another chance? To do what? Kill and torture more people when their master returns?" Augusta interjects politely. Seeing Amelia nodding, Augusta continues, "Because of your inactions, and love of keeping secrets, two young boys have been orphaned, multiple old pureblood families wiped out and our economy is in jeopardy. Am I missing anything?"
"May I speak up, Chief Witch?" Rockgrinder asks. "Yes Rockgrinder, what is it?" Augusta asks.
"Thank you, members of the court, the old families may not be as dead as you fear. You see, Lily Potter entrusted us with some research she and her husband were working on. They were trying to figure out why muggleborns seem to appear out of thin air, and after reading through their very thorough notes, and talking to my fellow goblins, I believe we have found the source of these muggleborns. Our research concludes that muggleborns are descendants of squibs that have been cast out of their childhood homes, and into the muggle world. Now, I believe we need to reach a verdict on how to punish Albus Dumbledore, I've had enough of his monologuing to last me a lifetime." The members of the Wizengamont are shocked with this revelation and wondering to themselves how this can help the wizarding world.
"Thank you, Rockgrinder. Now, we can all agree that Albus Dumbledore is guilty of obstruction of justice, but I can think of a number of other charges to this." Amelia states. Seeing the looks of confusion on the Wizengamont's faces, she continues, "Not only obstruction of Justice, but child endangerment, embezzlement, bribery of a ministry official, and accessory to murder. Does the court disagree with any of these charges?" Not a single member raises their wand in objection. "Chief Witch, what punishment do we feel fits the crime here today?" Amelia asks Augusta.
"Since he feels that he is the most powerful wizard alive, we must help him realize that he is still human. I propose that Albus Dumbledore is stripped of his magic and sent to live the rest of his days as a muggle in the muggle world." 'This should satisfy everyone who is against the Death penalty' Augusta thinks to herself. "Any objections?" Augusta asks the court. Seeing Rockgrinder raise his hand, she motions to him to speak.
"Stripping Albus of his magic is a wonderful idea Augusta, but do not send him into the muggle world, due to the embezzlement charge he has been found guilty of, he is now an enemy to the goblins. I propose that along with Albus being stripped of his magic, he is sentenced to lifelong servitude to the Goblin nation." Rockgrinder offers and smiles when he sees Augusta nodding her agreement.
"That is an excellent suggestion Rockgrinder, does anyone else have a punishment in mind?" Augusta asks and isn't surprised that anyone else has any ideas. "Alright, lets put the punishments to a vote. Since we agree that stripping Albus of his magic is a good start, we need to vote on the latter of the punishment. All those in favour sending him to the muggle world, please raise their wands." A little less than half the Wizengamont raise their wands, so Augusta continues, "Those in favour of sending him to the goblins?" The rest of the Wizengamont raise their wands, once Augusta is done counting the votes, she addresses the court, "By two votes, the guilty party, one Albus Dumbledore, will be stripped of his magic and sent to work for the goblins for the rest of his life. Unspeakable 88, please administer the antidote to Albus, and take him to the Department of Mysteries to drain him of his magic, also confiscate his wand and his robes and give him a set of prison garments before you take him to Gringotts to begin his sentence." Augusta bangs her gavel, signalling the end of this trial, and smiles seeing Albus getting physically dragged out of the courtroom. "Now that that filth is going somewhere he can no longer do harm to those around him, we need to make a few changes around here. Rockgrinder, I have a question for you, is there a way to figure out which muggleborns are descended from which ancient family?"
"There is a simple test we can do at Gringotts, all the muggleborns will have to do is come into Gringotts and ask for an inheritance test. This test will show their family tree spanning generations, hopefully back to the time of the Hogwarts Founders." Rockgrinder explains, "We will cover the cost of the inheritance test through the money in Albus Dumbledore's account, since he will no longer have a use for it while working for us."
"Thank you, for the offer Rockgrinder, and I will also donate 10,000 galleons towards the cost of the tests as well." Augusta says. "Now, onto the next order of business, we need to appoint a new Chief Witch/Warlock, I will remain as a backup, but I cannot take on the position full time due to having custody of my grandson since his parents' deaths. Any nominations?"
Remus Lupin stands up and says, "I nominate Lord Greengrass to be the new Chief Warlock."
"Can anyone second this nomination?" Augusta asks.
"I second the nomination." Amelia interjects. "Lord Greengrass is as fair as you are Mrs. Longbottom, and a part of the neutral faction, I think he would make an excellent Chief Warlock."
"Any objections?" When no one says anything, Augusta continues, "Lord Greengrass, do you accept the position of Chief Warlock?"
"I accept, Mrs. Longbottom. It is an honour to be appointed, now I have a question, what are we going to do with the remaining Death Eaters now that we know the mark is taken willingly?"
"I propose we reinstate the Death Penalty, it may seem harsh, but we cannot allow these psychopaths to walk free." Augusta states, shocking many of the Wizengamont members.
"I would agree to reinstating it, but it will only be used on the most dangerous and psychopathic supporters. We shall reconvene a week from today to finish the trials of the Death Eaters, now Augusta, if I may ask, what are you going to do about Hogwarts? Hogwarts needs a new headmaster now, and hopefully its someone who is trustworthy." Lord Greengrass asks.
"I will call an emergency board meeting tomorrow since it has been a long day for all of us here. I have a few people in mind for the position, but the board must make a unanimous decision on it. Also, make sure that Sirius Black is the first person on the trial list for next Saturday, I have a feeling his godson would like to see his godfather again." Augusta replies, while packing up her things, "Now it is getting late, and I must go pick up my grandson from the babysitter. My proxy, Rockgrinder, will be taking over in the Wizengamont until further notice, I'm getting too old to raise a child and work in the Wizengamont full time, have a good night, Lord Greengrass." With that, Augusta leaves the courtroom and exits the Ministry of Magic, heading to Minerva's house to pick up Neville and let her know how the trials of Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore went.
End Authors Note: That's it for this chapter, I will hopefully have a new chapter up tomorrow. Hope you all enjoyed, please read and review.