Harry Potter sat in front of the court, staring up at Cornelius Fudge. He had no idea what was going to happen next. Would he be expelled?
The thought of being stuck with the Dursleys forever made his throat feel tight.
"You have been charged." Fudge said, his voice icy cold. "With the use of the Patronus Charm in front of a muggle…"
Fudge smirked.
"And I see that today, even your beloved Headmaster has failed to come to your defense."
A loud chuckle erupted from the crowd. Harry felt uneasy. Did Fudge just imply he would not be allowed a defense?
"As Dumbledore is not present." Fudge said. "You have will be immediately found-"
"Innocent of all charges."
A smooth, soft female voice came from behind him. Harry gave a soft jolt as a small hand fell on his shoulder.
"I will accept the role of defense." The woman said. Harry looked up at her, eyes wide.
She was an extremely pretty woman. She had light orange hair and a small smile that immediately made him feel at ease. When she caught his eyes, Harry found himself feeling lost in hers.
"M-Makima…" Fudge said, clearly a little taken aback. "This… this is not a matter that concerns public safety. Or Devils."
"My apologies, Minister." Makima said. She raised her fingers and snapped. Immediately behind her a long series of memos, folded in the shape of paper airplanes, zoomed into the hall. They soared around in the air for a bit, before finally settling down in front of each and every member of the court.
"What is this?" Fudge demanded, as he stared at the paper flying circles around his head with great dislike.
"Public Safety." Makima said, her voice still very pleasant. "Detected the presence of Dementors on the night of the incident in question. A Devil Hunter was dispatched to dispose of them, but before she could arrive Mr. Harry Potter drove them all away."
She smiled.
"Before I could report this to you, however, you had already arranged to have him expelled."
Fudge had suddenly gone very white.
"I received n-no notice of this!" He barked. "Who from Public Safety was sent? Who would testify to this boy's innocence?"
And Makima answered:
"I did."
The room fell very silent. Fudge was shaking now. The woman sitting in shadow sat forward.
"Please forgive me, Makima…" The toad faced woman purred. "I must have misheard you… you believe that the boy performed magic to fight off dementors-"
"Believe?" Makima interjected. "I know." She lowered her head and glowered. "Who sent them, in fact."
The toad faced woman looked completely taken aback for a sent, before giving her an uneasy smile. "The Ministry has complete control over the Dementors. No one outside of the Ministry could have-"
"You did it, Dolores." Makima said, her voice cold.
Harry had no idea what happened next, but suddenly the woman had gotten to her feet.
"Minister!" The woman called Umbridge cried. "This devil speaks lies!"
"I know it, Dolores." Fudge said, his voice heavy. "Makima, this is a courtroom. Baseless conjecture will not be tolerated."
"You intend to ignore Public Safety?" Makima asked. Her voice sounded dangerous.
"I intend to continue with this trial." Fudge said. He seemed to have regained his composure somewhat. He was sitting up a little bit taller.
"Very well." Makima said. "Therefore explain why he is being charged for performing magic in front of a muggle who is a member of his household."
Silence.
"What?" Fudge repeated, a little taken aback.
"Dudley Dursley, the muggle that Harry Potter performed the Patronus Charm to protect from Dementors, is a member of Harry Potter's household." Makima elaborated. "Who is already well aware of the existence of our world. As a result, the severity of the crime has been greatly exaggerated by this court. You never even had a case."
Harry could hardly even believe his ears. This woman, who he had never seen before in his life, but she had come out of nowhere to save him when no one else could. He looked up at her in awe and surprise. She did not return the look, choosing instead to stare up at Fudge with an unreadable expression.
"It is not your place." Fudge said, his voice cold. "To administer Justice."
"Neither is it yours." Makima said lightly. "I suggest you stick to your position, Minister." I doubt you will keep it much longer."
To Harry's surprise she planted a hand on his shoulder.
"You're free to go."
"I did not give you permission to leave!" Fudge snapped.
"Ignore him, Harry." Makima said, her voice gentle.
Harry was at a complete loss. He felt a strong attachment to this woman, and deeply wanted to do as she said. But at the same time, he couldn't help but worry that doing so would compromise his entire position.
The woman, Makima, leaned forward.
"Do you know who I am, Harry?"
Harry felt his throat dry up. "No."
She brushed her hair behind her ear with her finger and smiled.
"I am Makima, a member of Public Safety." She said. "It is my responsibility to protect muggles from Devils… which, of course, include Dementors. Our department should have been closely involved in the investigation, and yet for whatever reason the Minister has chosen to ignore my memos regarding the situation."
She tilted her up upward, and Harry could see that the paper airplane was still flying in circles around Fudge's head. The entire court turned to notice, and Fudge, flushing, grabbed the memo out of the air.
"Your claims have been dismissed, Makima." He said. "This matter does not concern you-"
"I will not sit by and allow you to continue to pretend as if Lord Voldemort has not returned." Makima said.
The room fell completely silent.
"You are in with Dumbledore, are you?" Fudge said, his voice stiffening.
Makima smiled.
"I am not." She said. "But surely you know this, Minister… no matter what your government may claim, it does not change the reality of the situation. Lord Voldemort has returned, and is gathering his forces as we speak."
"I will not hear of this!" Fudge barked. "This is a trial regarding the use of-"
"You have no case, Minister." Makima said coldly. "This trial is null and void. My department will be filing an investigation into Dolores Umbridge and why she chose to send Dementors after Harry Potter."
The Umbridge woman had sat back down, glowering hatefully down at Makima. Makima herself, however, smiled down at Harry.
"As I said, you are free to go." She said. "I will escort you, if you like?"
Harry nodded. He got to his feet, and the two of them made their way to the door.
"This isn't over, Makima!" Fudge called after them. "I will have your job for this?"
"Not if I have yours." Makima whispered, quietly to Harry. He couldn't help himself. He grinned.
They made their way back into the hallway were Arthur Weasley was waiting, looking very anxious. He jumped when he saw Makima.
"Harry?" He asked, concerned. "What happened? Were you convicted?"
"No, he's fine." Makima assured him, smiling.
"Thanks to you." Harry said gratefully, looking up at her. "Thank you!"
Arthur Weasley gave him a startled look, and then glanced back at the still smiling Makima.
"You're very welcome." She said. "I detest what the Ministry is doing… I only wish I could do more."
She ignored Arthur entirely as she turned, tightening the clasps around her jacket, and then was gone.
…
"Makima, huh?"
Hermione frowned. "I've never even heard of her."
"You wouldn't have." Sirius said. The atmosphere around the table was a lot less joyous than Harry would have expected. There was very little celebration or congratulations. If anything, the atmosphere was rather grim.
"How come?"
"She's Japanese." Sirius answered. "She's a well known Devil Hunter. She isn't the best by any means, but she's up there."
"The Ministry goes after devils?" Harry asked.
"Of course they do." Hermione answered. "In fact Public Safety is the only branch of government to encompass both Muggle and Wizard societies."
"That's right." Sirius said. "Devils are magical in nature, but they've been impossible to hush up. So the Ministry had to resort to simply allowing muggles to accept that they exist. Because of that, high ranking Public Safety people like Makima have a lot of influence on the global stage. Fudge had no choice but to yield when she stuck up for you, Harry… she has more power than he does."
His tone was concerning.
"You're saying that like it's a bad thing." Harry said slowly. "She's on our side, isn't she?"
"The world isn't divided into good people and death eaters." Sirius said. "Makima has a very bad reputation, Harry. It's concerning that she's taken such a strong interest in you."
"Well, why wouldn't she?" Hermione interjected, casting Harry a look. "By the sound of it she was trying to put a stop to this farce before it even started! If she's really more powerful than Fudge she could really help us!"
"But what would she want in return?" Sirius countered. Hermione faltered, looking a little taken aback. "Look, you three are still very young. You don't understand…. Makima throwing her weight around like this is going to cause problems internally at the Ministry, and with Dumbledore."
"She did say that she didn't think of herself as Dumbledore's ally." Harry recalled. "But that was to convince Fudge that Voldemort really had come back."
"Dumbledore doesn't approve of her methods, or the amount of influence she has." Sirius said. "Considering he couldn't make it to the trial to defend you, Harry, she probably stepped in to put him in her debt."
"She seemed nice." Harry said, his voice defensive. He didn't occur to him why everyone else was being so cagey. And neither, did it seem, did Hermione.
"We need to work together." Hermione said, her voice firm. "We can't just… overlook the fact that she did something nice for us."
"She knows that." Sirius said. "And she will take advantage of it."
Sirius gave Harry a dark look.
"It is very likely that she will come find you again." He said. "If that happens… if she corners you… keep in mind that she isn't to be trusted."
…
Makima sat in her office in the Ministry of Magic, sipping a cup of tea. Her eyes were on the paper in front of her, her attention completely on important matters. The tiny, cramped office that Makima had been gifted by the Ministry had been converted into a large, spacious enclave bigger than the Minister's own.
She was about to sign a document when the door to her office was blasted open. She did not even look up as a squad of Ministry Hit Wizards, led by Dolores Umbridge herself, entered the room, wands drawn.
"Good evening, Dolores." Makima said pleasantly, as she dipped her quill in ink. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You're under arrest, Makima." Umbridge rasped. "For framing the Under secretary of the Minster for the attack of a-"
"Whatever you're hoping to accomplish, it won't work." Makima interjected. "Do you really believe a mere prison could hold me?"
Umbridge's smile widened. She looked as if she were about to swallow a particularly juicy fly.
"The Dementors like you a lot, do they? Like you enough to give you a little… kiss, I daresay?"
Makima sighed, shaking her head.
"There are very few thing worse in this world than the Dementor's kiss." She said. "But unfortunately for you, Dolores…"
She stood up. The Hit Wizards raised their wands and pointed them right at her eyes. Her odd, swirling spiral eyes stared blankly at them.
"I am one of them."
..
A/N
After concluding A Spy on Privet Drive I elected to begin a number of new projects, and this was one of them. That's right, I'm working on a Chainsaw Man X Harry Potter crossover. I suppose this can be described as the polar opposite of what I did with A Spy on Privet Drive because Anya is a good person and Makima is… uh, not. But I hope you enjoy the story nonetheless.