Chapter 18
After dinner, Hermione accompanied Ginny into her room to show her all of her new things. Hermione smiled sadly at the circumstances, but had been heartened to hear that so many witches and wizards had helped them out. It avoided an argument, even though Arthur was all but certain that Harry had contributed the lion's share of the gold.
As she was leaving, Ginny asked Hermione, "Will you do another favor for me, Hermione?"
She looked at her friend, and said, "Of course. How can I help?"
The lithe fireball replied, "Would you thank Harry properly for me? He'd probably fall over dead if I grabbed him and kissed him up and down like he deserves."
Hermione thought for a moment, smiled at the thought, and replied, "I don't know about the up and down part, but I'm certain that he'd appreciate a hug. We just didn't want you to be uncomfortable."
Ginny chuckled and replied, "I'm uncomfortable that Tom's goons tried to kill my entire family and burned our home down. I'm grateful that some people thought enough of us to help us out. Dad said that different people transferred over sixty thousand Galleons into our vault today. He can take a few weeks off from his job and he and mum can get a proper home designed and contracted. How could I be uncomfortable? I feel like the luckiest witch in Britain." Then with a sly smile she added, "Well, maybe the second luckiest witch." Smiling she added, "Thanks again Hermione."
As Hermione walked away, Ginny knew that most of the gold had most likely come from Harry, Hermione and the members of the Order. She counted her blessings as she fell asleep, knowing that at that moment, not all of her schoolmates had been so lucky.
The next day Harry and Hermione received an early morning visit from Minister Bones regarding the upcoming trials. She explained that there were three trials scheduled in the next three days. The first was against the eleven Death Eaters captured in the Department of Mysteries
Thoughts of that evening came back to Harry as vividly as ever. Harry wanted Bones to know what had happened, and asked, "Minister, how much time do you have available today?"
Knowing that Harry wouldn't ask for anything trivial, she replied, "Harry, I have as much time as you need. I presume that there are some things that you want to tell me or show me. Is your solicitor pensive available?"
Harry went to get it. When he had left the room, Amelia asked, "Hermione, have you and Harry had a true confession discussion about that night yet?"
The young witch shook her head, and replied, "I was so drugged up with potions that school was over before I had a chance to talk with anyone. Harry never wanted to talk about that night other than to apologize repeatedly for leading us there. He didn't force us to go with him, rather we insisted that we all would go with him. I don't think that he's told anyone everything that happened."
Amelia asked, "Would you prefer to have your parents here with you as you go over this?"
Hermione replied, "I don't know how they would react to seeing their daughter struck down."
"Speaking for myself, if it had been Susan there, I would want to know, but the choice is yours. They will almost certainly attend tomorrow."
Harry walked back into the library, gathered the essence of the conversation and invited everyone to have a seat. He said, "Ginny and Ron were there too. Their parents have a right to see as well." Hermione nodded, and said, "I'll go gather everyone."
A few moments later, Molly, Arthur, Dan, Emma, Ron and Ginny joined them. Amelia said, "Good morning. I have come here to preview the proceedings regarding the trials that will be held over the next three days. The Department of Mysteries trial to be held tomorrow, the attack against the Granger house, and a trial regarding Delores Umbridge will be held Wednesday, and the hearing regarding the attack against the Dursley house will be held Thursday."
Harry didn't understand, but Hermione who was just naturally quicker at these things asked, Minister, "I wasn't aware that there had been any arrests regarding the murders of the Dursleys."
Bones glanced at Harry, who obviously hadn't heard anything either, and said, "We'll come back to that later.
And so in ten minute snippets which was the limit of the memory size that Harry's pensive would hold, they told the stories of the worst day of their lives. Beginning with Hermione's memory of Harry's planted vision attack during their History of Magic OWL exam, to Harry's frantic fire call search for Sirius, to Umbridge's confession that she had sent the dementors to get Harry, they showed their story. When they got to the Department of Mysteries on the thestrals via Hermione's memory, it was obvious that they were accompanying their friend into a trap.
Dan and Emma had tears in their eyes as they watched the dozen masked Death Eaters confront the teens as they searched in vain for Sirius. As they watched the next ten minutes of the memory, the adults all came to the same conclusion regarding the teens – sheer nerve under pressure.
Molly broke into sobs as they watched Sirius fall through the veil. She would never forgive herself for chiding him regarding his parenting skills. She had seen her son attacked by those creatures, Ginny break her ankle, Hermione slashed with a fire brand, Neville battle on, Luna fall, and Harry fight against increasingly desperate odds.
As the image moved to the lobby, Harry suddenly stopped the pensive. He looked at Bones, who said, "Maybe we can take a short break while we sort things out." The Weasleys got up and left the library, closing the door behind them. Amelia asked, "What is it Harry?"
Harry replied, "I chased after Bellatrix and I got carried away."
Amelia immediately understood. It happened too frequently in firefights. She asked, "Before you cast a curse at her, had she thrown one at you?"
"Several."
She looked at him and said, "You don't want the Weasley family to see the next part, do you?"
Harry shook his head. Tears of shame were running down his face.
She said, "I'll ask Molly to prepare something to serve. They can come back in twenty minutes. Will that be long enough?"
Harry nodded. Emma went up to Harry, put her hands on his shoulders, looked him in the eye, and said, "Harry, there is nothing else that we can see from that night that will lesson our opinion or our love for you one bit. Nothing. Do you understand? We watched in awe for the last two hours as you, Hermione, and your friends did what you had to do when faced with a horrible situation."
Amelia said, "Harry, you have not been charged with any crimes that may have taken place that evening, nor will you. Shall we continue?"
Harry withdrew two more strands and placed them into the swirling dish. Then he tapped the side to start the image, and they were again transfixed by the holographic image before them. Harry chased Bellatrix out of the room, dodging curses that she fired at him. When he got off the lift at the lobby, she began taunting him and it happened, "Crucio." She was knocked down by the force and began taunting him again for being unable to cast the torture curse. A moment later, Voldemort and Dumbledore appeared, and began fighting. Bones watched in awe over the casual attitude that Dumbledore battled Riddle until Riddle possessed Harry and taunted Dumbledore to kill them both.
Hermione was sobbing at the torture that her boyfriend had going through, and watched in utter disbelief as Harry exorcised Riddle from his mind, only to be harassed by Fudge moments later. Finally the image sank back into the dish.
After collecting her thoughts for a moment, she said, "Harry there are many rules of war. The muggles usually refer to them as rules of engagement. Some are logical, others seem absurd, like what kind of bullet you can use to kill an enemy with. In the wizarding world, it is illegal to cast the Cruciatus curse against another human being."
Harry said, "I know. I've had it used against me a handful of times."
Amelia's heart went out for the young man who had endured so much suffering in his life. She needed to put an end to this and move on, as she felt the worst was yet to come. She said, "Harry Potter, I fine you a thousand Galleons for use of an illegal curse while defending yourself. You have thirty days to pay the fine. After you pay the fine, the matter cannot be brought up in any court again. Do you understand the penalty?"
Harry looked at her and replied, "Yes Minister. I apologize."
She looked at him again, and said, "Good. Now that that is settled, I must first congratulate you. You are only the second living human being who has knocked Bellatrix Lestrange down with a spell. Secondly, I must echo Dr. Granger's words. No one in this room thinks one wit less of you now than we did before. You showed amazing courage and did what you had to do. Do you understand?"
Harry wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his robe and replied, "Yes Minister."
She replied, "I'd like to give you a few minutes to collect yourself before we continue. Would ten minutes be long enough?"
"Yes Minister."
They watched in pain, as Harry walked out of the room by himself. Hermione got up to go with him, but Dan held her back. "Just give him a moment to breathe, kiddo. He'll be all right."
Five minutes later, Harry walked back into the room. It was obvious that he'd been sick. He handed Bones a Gringotts draft. She took it from him and nodded.
Hermione looked at her dad, who nodded, and said, "Come on Harry. Let's get you cleaned up." She took his hand and led him upstairs. Ten minutes later, they walked back in together. The Weasleys were back in the room, seated. Ginny smiled and handed Harry and Hermione each a bottle of butterbeer.
With some trepidation, Amelia asked, "What is the last memory that we should see, Harry?"
Harry tapped his pensive once more, and the holographic image of Dumbledore's office appeared. Dumbledore gave his rationalizations regarding Sirius' imprisonment, and told of the prophecy. Molly, Arthur, and Amelia watched in horror as the ethereal image of Trelawney uttered the horrible words appointing Harry to battle Voldemort.
Dan and Emma watched helplessly as Dumbledore piled the weight of the world on Harry, then gave his reasoning for not telling him previously. They watched as silver instruments went flying and a table was knocked over. Finally the image shrank back into the bowl. The silence was deafening.
Moments passed and no one said anything. Finally the silence was broken when Ginny knocked over a half empty butterbeer bottle with her foot.
Molly and Ginny both bent over and said, "I'll get it."
Harry explained, "So that's why Riddle killed my parents, and has been trying to kill me for the last sixteen years. Someone heard the first two lines and told him. I would have thought that Dumbledore would have taken better care of his weapon."
Smack!
Ginny had walked over and slapped Harry. "You're nobody's weapon. You're Harry Potter, our friend, Hermione's boyfriend, Dr. Granger's adopted son, and an honorary Weasley. Dumbledore can take that weapon talk and shove it up his ancient arse. You ever talk that way again, and I'll hex you into tomorrow, you got that, Potter?"
Half in shock, Harry replied, "Yes, Ginny."
Dan asked, "If I may ask, what has your schoolmaster or the government done to prepare you to prevail and survive this prophesized conflict? Also, what is the wizarding world's interpretation of by his own hand?"
Amelia replied, "To my knowledge, Harry has received no special training, other than adventures of his own making. Tell me Harry, how many times have you faced Voldemort?"
Thinking for a moment, Harry replied, "Once as an infant, twice when I was eleven, and once when I was twelve. I dueled with him twice in the cemetery when I was fourteen, and once again last June. I reckon that's seven times."
Dan said, "There's a big difference between experience and training. It sounds like Harry has more experience than anyone fighting this madman. Where can he get some proper training? Professor Dumbledore has had five or fifteen years to act, depending on how you count it, and apparently hasn't provided any."
Ron broke in, and said, "The only extra training that I've received is what Harry has taken time to give to us."
There was a knock on the library door. Dumbledore walked in saying," I heard that you were here Amelia. Might I have a word?"
"I'll be right back." She walked out of the library, and closed the doors behind her. Those closest to the door could hear some indistinct, loud words. Dobby popped in and brought another tray of beverages.
After five minutes, the doors reopened. Before Dumbledore could say anything, Dan stood and in a very businesslike tone asked, "Headmaster, does the Hogwarts standard curriculum offer any training that will specifically help Harry survive his next encounter with Voldemort?"
Dan had not left Dumbledore any wiggle room. Amelia was still a member of the board of governors and was perfectly familiar with the curriculum used by the school. Dumbledore replied, "Not specifically."
Before he could expound on his answer, Dan asked, "Do you have any specific knowledge to pass onto Harry that would be any more lethal for fighting Voldemort than shooting him with a shotgun or a sniper rifle, or having the military drop a bomb on his house?"
Molly gasped. She had never heard anyone directly challenge Dumbledore before with such impudence. Amelia hadn't either. She was rather enjoying herself.
Dumbledore replied, "The prophecy clearly states that either must die by the other's hand. I don't think having a Royal airman drop a bomb on his house qualifies."
Dan was livid. "Are you saying that if I were to take a pistol out and shoot my son right now that the bullet would just bounce off? Headmaster, are you that sure of yourself?"
Dumbledore thought for a moment and admitted, "No."
Dan was almost raging. "Headmaster, you broke the law taking Harry away from his rightful Godfather's care, driving him over the edge. You placed Harry in a home where he was unwanted, unwelcome, and abused for years. You left him completely in the dark regarding his resources, and his heritage. You left him completely in the dark regarding his prophesized destiny, and unless I'm completely wrong, you have no documented training regimen to help him live a full life. How in the world could you possibly expect that we would sit back and watch you bungle the next two years?"
Dan was nowhere near done with the old wizard. "You claimed that this is the second time that Voldemort has tried to rise to power. Was your plan to have Harry the infant end that war too? What was he supposed to do – blast him with a bad pair of nappies?"
Dumbledore had been called many things in his extensive lifetime, but he had never been humbled before by a pair of stinky nappies. "Dr. Granger, I assure you…"
Dan would not be swayed, and replied, "Right now, you couldn't assure me about the certainty of death or taxes. If you know the name of a few tutors that we can hire, I would be very interested. Otherwise, please leave us alone, and take your little informant with you."
Amelia didn't miss his words. "What informant?"
"The bodyguard, Tonks."
Bones was almost as livid as the dental surgeon. "Auror Tonks." No one could have missed her voice, regardless of the size of the house.
She arrived thirty seconds later. "Yes Minister?"
"Auror Tonks, have you been informing on the whereabouts and activity of the people that you were assigned to guard, despite written instructions specifically prohibiting you to do so?"
Tonks was a lot of things, and by no means an angel, but she was not a liar. She clearly replied, "Yes Minister." Dumbledore cringed.
"Tonks, you're sacked. Turn in you badge and identification card before the end of your shift." She nodded, turned, and walked away.
Dumbledore softly said, "Excuse me Minister, but strictly speaking, you can't sack Miss Tonks. Only Director Hammer or the Wizengamot can do so."
"Fine. Tonks, I expect to see both you and Director Hammer in my office this afternoon at four. If you have no other business, Professor, I suggest that you return to the castle. Please close the door on your way out."
Amelia took a minute to compose herself. She was so disappointed in Tonks, who had assured her that she would leave her Auror business separate from her participation in Dumbledore's militia. She said, "I want to thank each of you for your patience, co-operation and complete honesty. It is my intent that none of the men who you helped capture will ever walk the street again. There will be two cars and a detail to escort you to the Ministry tomorrow. Can you be ready to leave by 7:00AM?"
Everyone nodded. She replied, "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and walked away.
Harry turned to Molly and asked, "Mrs. Weasley, I apologize for having to ask, but I think you can see why I'm asking. Were you or Mr. Weasley asked to keep tabs on me, and report back to the Professor?"
There was an uncomfortable silence. Molly looked at Arthur, who shook his head. She replied, "I'm sorry that you had to ask Harry, and I want you to know that we respect your privacy. We've said nothing regarding your whereabouts or activities since the day you spoke with Arthur on 5 July."
Ginny and Ron shook their heads. Ron had come to realize that for most of his life, and at least the foreseeable future, being Harry Potter stunk.
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After lunch, Dan and Emma drove the Weasleys to the local mall to do a bit more shopping. They returned about dinnertime each carrying sacks and shopping bags. While they had been waiting for the Weasleys to pick out several sets of muggle clothing each, Dan and Emma discussed their declining interest in having either of their children return to Hogwarts in two weeks. From what they knew of wizarding law, once a child had completed their fifth year and had taken their OWL exams, they were not required to continue school. On the flip side, the wizarding world was not required to educate a sixth or seventh year witch or wizard if there was just cause, either at Hogwarts or one of the lesser wizarding schools.
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Lunchtime at Hogwarts was quiet. Moody had previously warned Dumbledore to not press Tonks for details regarding the Grangers or Harry. The two men sat having lunch in companionable silence. Moody had stopped just short of saying "I told you so," when he heard about Tonks' troubles.
Minerva had caught enough of the conversation to have gathered what had happened. Entering their conversation uninvited, she said, "Dumbledore, you're doing it again. Harry's as angry at you for hovering over him this holiday as he was that you ignored him with those awful people for all those years."
She too decided to give him an earful. "Albus, Molly and Arthur have been your friends for nearly forty years. Did it occur to you to take a minute and inquire if they had the means to rebuild their home?"
Moody was silent, thinking, 'Old friend, you boned the pooch this time.'
McGonagall continued, "You were specifically told to keep away from Harry and Hermione except on school business. Amelia let it slide that you crashed his birthday party. You took that as a green light to barge into his home uninvited today. Did you even bother to knock at the door?"
Dumbledore knew better than to interrupt while she was storming.
"I'd be very surprised if the Grangers weren't seriously considering pulling their children from school at this very moment."
In her anger, she spilled her water goblet on the table. Without a word, Dumbledore waved his hand and dried the spill. Deep down, he knew that she was right, or at least had valid points for everything that she said. She didn't grind the ax, but she had made her mark. He sincerely hoped that Dr. Granger was not thinking about pulling the two teens that were so important to his plans.
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Despite Bone's call for dismissal, Connie Church placed Auror Tonks on disciplinary probation with cause. This was a serious blemish on her record that would follow her for the remainder of her career as an Auror. On the other hand, Tonks went back to her flat that evening still wearing the burgundy Auror robes and carrying her badge. She wrote a letter of apology to Harry and the Grangers to give to them the next day at the trials.
That evening Arthur and Molly left to go visit with the building contractor. They revised the plans from the original burrow to have a second bathroom, larger kitchen, larger family room and another bedroom. In total it would have the space of one of the floors of Harry's home, but it felt quite expansive to Molly and Arthur. Work could begin in a week, and be done two or three weeks after they had begun. The contractor had estimated that they could complete the construction for 35,000 galleons, quite a bit more than Tonks had estimated, but within their current means, leaving them with about 25,000 galleons to furnish their home. Again they thanked their lucky stars that no one was killed, and that they had made lifelong friends who had willingly come to their aid.
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Everyone got up about 5:30 the next morning. Winky had breakfast ready by 6:00 and an hour later everyone was ready. With Hermione's pleading, Dan and Emma each dressed in a set of slate gray robes that Harry had purchased for them. He wanted them to appear as inconspicuous as possible.
Shepard and O'Hearn drove. The adults and another Auror rode in one car, while the teens and Church rode in the other car. Hermione held Harry's hand on the way, and the conversation was quiet. Each was glad that Bones had come over the day before to prep them.
Three at a time, they took the visitors entrance to the ministry. Crammed into the telephone booth, Harry felt a sense of dread as the entered the lobby. The Magical Brethren statue had been replaced, as had Eric the visitor entrance guard who had been sacked for letting Voldemort and twelve Death Eaters into the building on his watch.
Arthur and the Aurors led them down to courtroom number ten – the same courtroom where Harry himself had stood trial a year before. The other witnesses were already there. Harry nodded at Neville, who was sitting near his Grandmother and Luna, who was sitting silently next to her father. As a point of interest, Harry noticed that Mr. Lovegood was the only media person there. There were no spectators per se. Harry noticed a few witches at the other side of the courtroom, one of whom he recognized as Narcissa Malfoy. Harry inconspicuously pointed her out to Hermione.
Bones and Hammer arrived shortly after Harry and the others had sat down. She gave Harry the slightest nod and shuffled through her paperwork.
Finally the Wizengamot judges filed in. There were only 48 seated judges as Umbridge and Michelle Edgecombe's positions had not yet been filled pending their own trials.
One by one the prisoners were led out, and placed in the chained chairs. As they sat down, the chains wound themselves around their arms and legs. Harry looked at the men impassionedly. Nott, Jugson, Rodolphus Lestrange, Crabbe, Rabastan, McNair who had tried to kill Buckbeak, Avery, Rookwood, and Mulciber. He really didn't know these men and held no personal grudge against them. Finally at the end, he spotted Anton Dolohov who had tried to murder Hermione, and Lucius Malfoy who had tried to kill them all.
One by one, they were charged, with their common and individual crimes. One by one the witnesses were called. First Hermione, then Neville, then Ron, then Ginny, then Remus, then Moody gave their testimony.
Finally it was Harry's turn. He answered Amelia's questions but did not volunteer any information that she had not asked. She didn't ask anything regarding his duel with Bellatrix, and only asked one question regarding his witnessing of Voldemort fighting with Dumbledore.
There was no real doubt of their guilt or innocence. Bones and Hammer seemed intent on charging them, and collectively finding them guilty on as wide a variety of crimes as possible - For what exact purpose, Harry could not see.
Additional witnesses were called in regarding Malfoy's dealing with ministry officials. Hammer called a second witness regarding McNair's activities. Harry expected that each witness's had been testimony had been rehearsed or at least reviewed as Harry's had been. Bones seemed to be following the rule, Never ask a question that you don't already know the answer to. From her perspective, there were no surprises.
Dan and Emma watched the trial unfold with rapt fascination. Held at a much faster pace than their American counterparts, indeed much faster than the normal British hearings, Bones and Hammer painted a clear picture of the men's involvement in years of organized crime. By the short noon break, it was obvious that the evidence against them was damning. By two PM, she was involved in summation of the damages that the men had caused.
At three PM, Dumbledore, who ultimately proceeded over the trial, asked the defense solicitor if he had any questions for any of the witnesses or witnesses of his own.
It seemed that only Malfoy had prepared any sort of defense. He claimed that he was acting under the Imperius curse, and cited a lifelong list of good deeds that he had done. He was less able to explain how his Death Eater mask happened to have his name on the back.
The defense solicitor called Harry back to the witness stand.
"Mr. Potter, You previously stated that it was your opinion that there was no way that my client Lucius Malfoy could have been acting under the Imperius curse the night that you met in the Ministry of magic. How can you be so sure?"
Harry replied, "Well, Mr. Whopper, One of Voldemort's Death Eaters had infiltrated Hogwarts and was impersonating a professor for most of my fourth year. He taught us the Imperius curse, and placed it on us so we could attempt to break it. He specifically told us that you could notice the difference in a person's eyes."
Whopper didn't like Potter's answer and made another mistake, asking, "So I suppose that you are an expert on having the Imperius curse cast on you?"
Harry replied, "Voldemort tried to cast it on me twice in one night. I believe that I've had my share of experience and training regarding that curse. Yes."
Whopper knew that no one would believe that Malfoy had been controlled to lead a raid and tried a different tactic. "Mr. Potter, are you familiar with the Cruciatus curse?"
Harry replied, "Yes. I've had that cast at me about a dozen times and have been hit with it several times. In fact Voldemort has hit me with each of the unforgivables at one time or another." There was some tittering in the audience, but Harry knew that he was on thin ice.
Whopper asked, "Mr. Potter, have you ever cast the Cruciatus curse on anyone?"
Bones started to get up, but Harry beat her. "Sir, my actions over my lifetime have been thoroughly reviewed, and documented, probably more than any wizard in Britain. When appropriate, I have paid my fines. If you have any witnesses that are here in this room to dispute my words, please bring them forth. Will that be all, Mr. Whopper?" The big bluff seemed to have worked. Whopper looked flustered.
Whopper couldn't produce Bellatrix, and knew that he would lose his license to practice if he pushed the issue any farther. Besides, Potter wasn't the one on trial. Potter had been coached too well. He replied, "No more questions."
At 3:30 the proceeding broke for deliberation, to determine guilt and fines. The guilt aspect would be handled by a simple vote for the ten men and a separate vote for Malfoy who had requested a separate vote. They both ended up 45-2, with Dumbledore abstaining, as he was acting in Bone's place as head of proceedings in this trial.
When it came to the punitive phase of the trial, it became obvious what Bones tactic had been. Wizarding law was such that a person convicted of will damage to property while committing a crime was punishable by ten times the value of the damage. Bribing an official had a similar clause, except the penalty was a hundred times the amount involved. She had in effect set up a set of charges that would not only send them back to prison or through the veil, but drain their bank accounts which in Malfoy's case had just as much potential to do damage as he did.
As Dumbledore looked at the final tally sheet that the finance subcommittee had presented, he was staggered – Four hundred million Galleons, over half of which was assessable against the Malfoy estate! Further, Bones had offered the Gringotts goblins a twenty percent finders fee to locate properties and vaults that were held in factious names or dummy corporations. He had wondered why Draco had posthumously been charged with three counts of arson for the hearing later in the week.
Each of the men was sentenced to a life in Azkaban. The escaped prisoners were sentenced to the veil. As the sentences were read, there was a grim satisfaction on the faces of the witnesses and the few spectators. As they were being led out, Malfoy shouted coldly, "My son will avenge me."
Bones simply replied, "Mr. Malfoy, Your son is dead. He got himself killed last month." She turned and walked away.
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The Weasleys rode in one car on the way home and Harry and the Granger rode in the other car. Harry commented that neither Tonks nor Kingsley had been called to testify.
Hermione replied, "They're damaged goods. Auror Tonks is on probation, and Kingsley had been dismissed. You and Neville both testified that LeStrange killed your Godfather. They presented the wands tested for the last spells that they had cast, so they had their witnesses, and they had their smoking guns. What else did she need?"
When they got home and were eating dinner, Dan asked Arthur, "Excuse me for asking, but in general terms, how much do wizards make?" The salaries for government paid workers were published information, so it really wasn't too foreword of a question.
Arthur replied, "An entry-level clerical position right out of Hogwarts might start at 3,900 Galleons a year. Someone with top grades might start at 4,250. The Minister of Magic might pull in 32,000. A Hogwarts professor might bring in 10,000. The better money can be made in owning a business. I expect that my sons Fred and George will be wealthy men in a few years. Bill is doing well at Gringotts, as they pay a bonus." He finished saying, "It's probably the same in the nonmagical world."
Dan nodded and replied, "Similar, except the government seems to collect most of the money for taxes." Both men nodded and smiled. Then he commented, "So the money collected today would seemingly go a long way to fund the government this year.
Arthur nodded, and replied, "Yes but assessing the fines and collecting them are two separate things. The Malfoys, Dolohovs and Mulcibers are, or were wealthy families. I doubt that Peter Crabbe ever had a chamber pot to his name, at least one that wasn't stolen. I believe that it is realistic that the Ministry will eventually collect half of what had been assessed today. The goblins will be highly motivated to help with the research.
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Neither Harry nor the Grangers slept well that evening. Hermione came in to Harry's room early to give him a wakeup kiss, but saw him staring at the fireplace when she cracked the door open. She said, in a soft voice, "Hi Harry. Could I come in?" He nodded and she went to sit by him, leaving the door open. She took his hand, and gently placed it on her left breast, and said, "I love you. We'll get through this."
Harry smiled at her and a minute later gently held her head with both hands and said, "I love you too. There's something that you need to know. It's really important."
"What?"
"I'm almost certain that Snape didn't die from the spell that you shot at him."
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A/N
Time seems to be running out for the Professor to clear things up with Harry and Hermione? How could he do it ? Would he?