Disclaimer: Thank you very much to all of you who have compared my writing to J. K. Rowling. The unfortunate fact remains however, that I am not her, and therefore, do not own Harry Potter. (Just yet, anyway) I can however, lay claim to the staff Draconis, Marten Diggory, Marcus Sideson, Archie Murmoose, and the Bremus. (Anyone who wishes to use a Bremus in their story may do so as long as I am stated as the original creator. Permission need not be asked.) (This list just gets longer and longer doesn't it? Oh well!)
Author Note: Thanks so much to all of you who've reviewed, you have no idea how wonderful it is to know people are referring their friends to your stories. I haven't had a response this enthusiastic since my Gundam Wing fic "Heero's Goldfish." But enough about the past. I was mean and went away for the weekend. However, I spent most of it tapping the chapter you're about to read out on my Palm V keyboard. (Gotta love that Keyboard!) And since I was away for a while and haven't posted for days, I'm rewarding all of you for your patience by giving you an extra long chapter. I hope you enjoy!
4. The Headmaster's Hearing
The car ride was short. Far shorter in fact than it would have been for muggles. The green car pulled out of Privet Drive, traveled about a block, then turned down an alley. Harry was bidden to step out by the three men and watched in amazement as, after a quick incantation, "unprestio!" the car was sucked into the oldest man's wand with a strange sucking sound, almost like water emptying down a drain.
The man (Harry had had no introductions so far and sensed that questions were not welcome at the moment) then gestured to a trash can lid at the end of the alley. All four of them crowded around it and picked it up. Mr. Weasley looked down at his watch and nodded. "Here we-" he muttered, but did not get a chance to continue. Harry recognized the now familiar sensation of using a Portkey It felt as if a magnet had been implanted in his stomach and Harry watched as the alley disappeared in a gray rushing whirl.
The world came back into focus and Harry found himself standing in an impressive corridor with bright torches burning in gilt sconces. A deep purple carpet covered the floor and the high walls were lined with huge portraits of stern, imposing looking wizards and witches. At the far end of the corridor a pair of large oak doors stood. Smaller door were spaced between the portraits at even intervals.
"-are." Mr. Weasley finished.
The oldest man tucked the beaten trash-can lid under his arm and nodded to Mr. Weasley. "You've got five minutes Arthur."
Mr. Weasley nodded and said again in his strained voice. "Thank you."
The old man and the other wizard, Harry had not seen him do anything since the three of them had arrived at the Dursleys, turned and hurried towards the large oak doors at the end of the hall. "This way Harry." Arthur grasped Harry's shoulder and led him through the nearest door. Harry noticed a small sign as they passed that read, Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, before he was swept inside. The room he was swept into had several desks, each of which was piled high with mountains of parchment. In the corner was a rather old looking vacuum cleaner on a leash. When Harry and Mr. Weasley neared it, it turned itself on and began to make sounds that were remarkably like the growling of a dog. It lunged forward with a loud revving but was pulled short by the leash. It subsided and growled again. "Don't mind it," Mr. Weasley said distractedly, "been working on it all week," He move forward to the desk farthest in the corner, and moved a large pile of scrolls from the chair to the surface of the desk, "will tire itself out in a minute." He pushed the seat forward and nodded to Harry, "Sit."
Harry glanced around as he sunk into the beaten leather chair. "So this is your office?"
Mr. Weasley nodded , "Yes, yes. But that doesn't matter. Harry!" He snapped harshly, for Harry had still been glancing around the room with interest. Harry swung rapidly to face Mr. Weasley. "Harry we've got little time so you must pay attention, this is very important."
Harry nodded solemnly.
"Harry, you will be given a choice, and you must not take the Veritaserum."
"But won't they suspect?"
"Quiet, Harry! We've no time. They'll have a Bremus in there and-"
"A what?"
"An animal that can tell if you're lying. So Harry, don't lie, but give them round-about answers. There are several things that you must not reveal, things that Veritaserum would force you to tell."
"Like Sirius?"
"Exactly." Mr. Weasley looked down at his watch. "Good luck Harry, I'll see you afterwards." He turned abruptly and stated, his voice once again oddly strained. "Mr. Potter, please follow me."
Harry adjusted his glasses and stood. He expected Mr. Weasley to head back out to the main corridor but he turned instead towards a small door at the very end of the office. It looked as if it hadn't been opened in a long time. Mr. Weasley produced a very ornate key from his robes and unlocked the door. I swung outward and a babble of voices filled the small office. Mr. Weasley stepped back and gestured for Harry to step through. The vacuum growled once as Harry passed but Harry wasn't paying attention. He was too busy starring at the room he had entered.
He found himself standing in a small marble booth. A plush velvet chair sat directly in front of him. Harry heard the door click softly shut behind him. Off to his right stood another raised marble box. Three wizards in dress robes were seated inside, but Harry could not see who they were because they were huddled together in deep discussion. To his left was a much larger gallery, this one crowded full of babbling witches and wizards. Harry noticed with a bit of confusion that the doors at the entrance of that gallery seemed to be identical to the ones at the far end of the main corridor he had been in earlier. Directly across the room was another stand, identical to the one Harry had found himself in. Harry took his seat and looked to the opposite box. In it was seated,
Dumbledore!
He looked calm and undisturbed by the goings on around him. He nodded to Harry, and Harry was sure he detected a hint of a smile.
Harry realized in a flash that this was the courtroom. He was surprised, having expected it to be the room he had visited while in Dumbledore's Pensieve. It bore no resemblance at all to the dank, underground room where Harry had seen those trials. It was well lit, warm, and Dumbledore was not bound to his chair by magical golden chains. Harry supposed he would have to ask Mr. Weasley about it sometime.
Harry looked around once again and noticed that all the people in the room were wearing lavish, formal, dress robes. Harry glanced down and felt very out of place in his muggle clothing. Especially since it consisted of oversized hand-me-downs from his cousin Dudley.
The trio of wizards seated at the head of the room sat up and a hush reluctantly settled over the vaulted chamber. Now that they were sitting up straight, Harry recognized Minister of Magic Fudge on the left and the elderly wizard who had led the group that had come to collect Harry in the center. Harry had never seen the man on the right before.
The central wizard cleared his throat and spoke, his voice magically amplified so that all could hear him. "The recess has come to an end, now that the witness has been summoned. The Ministry of Magic Hearing to Investigate Magical Misdemeanors will now resume, Judges Cornelius Fudge," He nodded to the minister, "Marcus Sideson," he indicated himself, "and Archie Murmoose residing." A final nod to the remaining judge. "This tribunal hereby calls upon Harry Potter to testify in full truthfulness and detail in the matter of his activities at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft an Wizardry as they pertain to former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore." He turned to face Harry for the first time. "Mr. Potter, do you accept this summons?"
Harry nodded, and replied in a slightly faltering voice, "Y-yes, Sir." He started for a moment as he heard his timid reply boom through the impressive chamber. He hadn't realized that he too was sitting in a magical bubble that would amplify every sound he made.
Sideson nodded matter-of-factly and continued. "This is a hearing dealing with the highest matters of wizarding law. We therefore need to be assured of truthfulness. You will therefore, be asked to choose between the truth potion Veritaserum, or the witnessing of a Bremus. Which do you choose?"
Harry considered for a moment, not wanting to answer too fast, before saying, "I'd like the Bremus."
Sideson nodded again. "Very well, bring in the Bremus."
A small door which Harry had not noticed before opened on floor level to the lower right of the judges box. A short wizard, Harry supposed he was a bailiff, emerged with a small golden cage. Inside was a bird that looked remarkably like an overfed hummingbird. It's plumage was a brilliant green and it resembled nothing so much as a feathered tennis ball with a bird's head and tail feathers.
Sideson spoke up again. "Harry, we need to calibrate the Bremus, please answer each of these questions as truthfully as possible."
"Yes, sir."
"What is your name?"
"Harry Potter." No reaction from the Bremus.
"What year have you completed in your magical studies?"
"My fourth." The Bremus was giving the remarkable impression that it had died on its perch.
Sideson nodded, "Thank you Mr. Potter. Now, regardless of their truthfulness, please respond, 'no' to the following questions."
"Yes sir."
"Are you a member of the Gryffindor house?"
"No." The Bremus molted in an instant, littering the floor with its green plumage and replacing it instead with neon red feathers.
"Are you seeker on your house Quidditch team?"
"No." The Bremus remained its brilliant shade of red.
"Thank you Mr. Potter, please resume truthful responses to our questioning." He straightened and shuffled a bit of parchment in front of him. "Mr. Potter, to the best of your ability, please identify the man seated in the witness box directly across from you?"
"Albus Dumbledore." The Bremus molted again and returned to its original shade of green.
"Have you ever known Albus Dumbledore to partake willfully in breaches of wizarding law?"
The world seemed blur at the edges a bit as Harry's mind drifted back through all the times Dumbledore had, if not broken, certainly bent Magical laws. The incident that sprang most forcefully to mind was the time he had helped Harry and Hermione save the most wanted convict in all of Britain, Sirius Black. Then there was the harboring of a werewolf student, Remus Lupin. And of course, he had allowed Hagrid to stay on as game keeper when, in his third year, he was suspected of causing the death of another student. Mr. Weasleys advice to give them round-about answers had seemed all well and good in the crowded office, but no help at all now that he was in the courtroom. He became aware that they were all scrutinizing him closely.
"Y-yes." He stammered.
* * *
And on it went from there. In retrospect, Harry supposed he did fairly well (only once did the Bremus begin to molt, Harry chose his next words very carefully and it re-grew its green feathers.) The questions were fired off rapidly, ranging over all matter of subjects, Sirius Black, The Triwizard Cup, (Harry caused quite an uproar when he gave his full, truthful account of Voldemort's resurrection. Fudge ordered it stricken from the record as biased testimony, tendering that Harry had been so confused at the time, he truthfully believed his hallucinations) and Hagrid. Harry admitted to having seen Sirius on the grounds his third year but hastily added that when he awoke, locked in the hospital wing, the next morning, Black was gone. The Bremus looked at him oddly as if guessing he was omitting part of the story but remained green and Harry doubted if the judges could see the strange way it had cocked its head at him before it resumed its normal position.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of dodging their questions, answering truthfully and lying at the same time, Sideson cleared his throat and said. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for your testimony. Will Arthur Weasley please remove him from the witness box?"
Harry heard the door click behind him and turned to see Mr. Weasley looking out at him with the most peculiar expression on his face. Harry stood, feeling as though his legs were made of wood, and teetered out of the box. Mr. Weasley closed the door behind him and let out the smile he had been suppressing while in view of the court. "Well done Harry. I'm sure they still suspect, but you gave 'em little to work with. Good dodge telling them you knew he had broken the law. Did very well showing it was all for the best. Made it all seem minor. Very good Harry!"
Harry glanced around and noticed they were in a different office than before. "This isn't your office?"
Mr. Weasley smiled and held up his key. "No, this is a Dodgekey, works nearly the same as a Portkey, very similar enchantment. Whatever door I use this key to open, will then open onto the witness stand of the court. Very handy when we want to brief witnesses separately, especially if they might be prone to argue and fight." He turned towards the main office door at the opposite of the room. "Now come along if you want to hear the next witness, they should be the last for the night."
He hurried Harry out of the room, into the main corridor. Harry noticed they were on the opposite side of hall as Mr. Weasley's office, and significantly closer to the large pair of oaken doors. They stepped quietly through these and took seats at the back.
Sideson, Fudge, and Murmoose were again locked in discussion. Fudge seemed to be disagreeing vehemently with Sideson and Murmoose, every now and then he would angrily stab a hand towards the witness seat where Harry had been seated or the opposite box where Dumbledore sat silently, serene throughout. Finally they seemed to reach a consensus, though fudge still looked extremely miffed, and sat straight. Once again, the excited babble of the assembled witches and wizards died down.
Sideson cleared his throat once more. "We now summon our final witness for the evening. The Hogwarts employed house-elf, Winky."
Author Note: *evil grin* Now isn't this fun? Yes, yes it is. Now I love all of you, and I love those of you that review the most.
Questions, Comments, Problems, and all manner of threats, accusations, and personal slanders are to be sent to Sechsmarquise@hotmail.com
As always flamers are accepted.
Oops!: This is the column where I admit I've screwed up but am too lazy to go back and change it! Yes, Harry already owns a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages so instead, Ron gave him a different book, House Cup to World Cup: The Road from Hogwarts Team to International Legend. Also, please not that Snape's first name is Severus and not Servus, as I would prefer.
And one final note for all of you who nit-pick every little thing (John!): The three wizards did not simply apparate to the Dursley's house when they came to collect Harry because, as far as anyone knows, you can't apparate back with another person. Otherwise, why bother with Floo powder?
