DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. New Movie coming in April! Hurrah! Yeah, for Fanfiction – a great place to stretch your imagination and enjoy someone else's creativity too!
Harry Potter's summer gets exciting in July and August.
Chapter 5 The Trial Continues CHANGE SCENERY HERE: More Dumbledore vs AbbotTheodore Tonks fought to keep a smile from bursting across his face the second morning of the trial. Samuel Abbot was disconcerted by the change in his attorney's demeanour; he was unaware of developments with the trial during the previous evening. The businessman hoped Ted Tonks would skewer the headmaster today so that the Daily Prophet would stop printing that Abbot Potion Labs was an untrustworthy business. Ted's promise of a defamation lawsuit to recover losses and enforce retractions at the front of the paper gave Abbot more hope.
At the table once again, Ted arranged his folders, smiled at his wife in the gallery, and waited for the day to begin. Both Tonks and Abbot saw Professor Sprout seated in the gallery with Professors Flitwick, Babbage, and Sinestra flanking her. Around her, more Hufflepuff alumni waited to cheer them on to victory against someone challenging the family that was the Hufflepuff Clan.
The door opened, and Madam Marchbanks entered the well of the Wizengamot once again, looking perturbed before opening the court for the day. When she noticed that Albus Dumbledore was not present, her face grew sour, and she glanced around the room, looking for someone else. Finding an Auror standing near the door, she spoke to the witch who sent a message to someone with her Patronus. The dolphin swam through the air and into a wall after passing through several spectators who giggled with the good feelings the image left behind.
"Has anyone spoken or heard from our missing attorney this morning?" Marchbanks asked the general public to be seated and waited for the court to convene.
There was a chorus of "No" from almost everyone, and Madam Marchbanks frowned once again. The door to the hallway opened once again, and this time it was Madam Bones, Director of the DMLE, who entered the room. There was some minor disturbance in the galleries as several goblins entered the chamber to take seats in a special section with accommodations of the proper size for their stature.
While she waited for news of Dumbledore, Marchbanks noticed that Lady Longbottom was accompanied by her grandson this morning. None of the other members of the Wizengamot had brought their heirs with them today. Neville was shooting up like one of his greenhouse plants this summer. And she also noticed that Andromeda Tonks was present for the second day – an outrageous use of the woman's hours – the witch billed almost seventy galleons an hour when handling a defence case.
'Have I missed something? Ted will handle all the slander and defamation suits Abbot can file.' Once again surveying the attendees, Marchbanks forced herself to remain calm – she'd never seen as many Hufflepuffs in the gallery at one time in her life.
'What are the badgers plotting? Some plan is coming together from ten different directions without anyone seeing it. How can a Slytherin survive in a Hufflepuff world?' she wondered.
"Madam Marchbanks, I have no news of Albus Dumbledore," Bones reported without any inflexion in her tone.
Smirking slightly, Marchbanks decided to proceed with her published schedule once the five-minute mark arrived. Sitting at her desk and giving no sign of agitation, Griselda kept her eyes focused on the chair at the desk where Dumbledore should have been seated. When a chime was heard, indicating that five minutes had passed since the adjudicator had entered the chamber, Griselda Marchbanks banged her gavel on the desk once and declared, "This is the second day of the preliminary case of Albus Dumbledore versus Samuel Abbot and his company, Abbot Potion Labs, in the matter of an allegedly stolen basilisk."
She continued, "As adjudicator in the court, I shall rule on all motions and objections, and once all evidence and testimony are provided, I shall render my verdict. The members of the Wizengamot in attendance for the whole of the trial will vote to support or overturn my verdict if either party questions my verdict."
"Since the plaintiff and his attorney have not arrived in court in a timely manner, I shall start by asking opposing counsel to begin presenting his case."
With the statement by Marchbanks, Ted stood, determined to cast his 'spells' before Dumbledore could arrive to muddy the waters.
"Thank you, Madam Marchbanks. The defence states that the three transcripts provided by Director Bones yesterday are not questioned. The interviews with Auror Alastor Moody (retired), Mundungus Fletcher, and Sturgis Podmore can be entered in the record as sworn testimony before this court."
Surprised that Albus would permit this move by his absence, Griselda wondered if the elder statesman was senile, overwhelmed by his many responsibilities, or just deluded and believed everyone would take his word as gospel.
"Hearing no objection, the court does so order that the transcripts as mentioned earlier be entered into the court record as if sworn testimony in the room," Marchbanks replied.
There were some mutterings in the gallery but nothing enough to warrant her attention, so she motioned and said, "Continue, Mr Tonks."
"I call Harry James Potter into the well of the court to testify for the defence," Ted announced.
This time, the mutterings grew immediately into a dull roar. When they threatened to grow louder, Madam Marchbanks banged her gavel on the desk, raised silencing charms between the floor of the chamber and the visitor's gallery to protect the scribes who made a record of the hearing. Aurors in the galleries managed to settle the guests, and magic would prevent any member seated in their chairs from interfering in the case.
When the door to the hallway opened, Harry Potter stepped into the well with his wand in one hand and a Pensieve in the other. The boy smiled broadly as though this was an adventure and not a serious matter. Ted Tonks paused for just a moment, but he glanced toward Pomona Sprout, who smiled and gave him thumbs up for Mr Potter's arrival in the well of the Wizengamot.
Madam Marchbanks continued without a hiccup and directed the young wizard to the witness chair. She solicited an oath from him, to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, which he willingly gave. Then she directed the teenager to sit in the chair.
"No one will ask any questions of Mr Potter except for Mr Tonks," she announced to the others in the well. "He is not under any compulsions, but I will not have him harassed."
Amelia snorted and muttered, "Dumbledore."
Scowling that Director Bones might summon the devil by saying his name, Ted immediately began his questions, "Are you, Harry James Potter?"
Nodding, Harry answered, "Yes, my name is Harry James Potter, and I just recently completed my third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Did you receive a subpoena requiring you to appear here today?"
"No, sir."
"How did you know to come to this court today?"
"A friend told me that I was needed to provide testimony concerning the basilisk being sold for potion ingredients," the young wizard replied.
"What testimony can you provide, Mr Potter?" asked Ted, noticing Harry grimaced as he began his tale.
"I killed the basilisk in June of 1992. This past autumn, a brilliant friend at Hogwarts gave me instructions to send the carcass to Mr Samuel Abbot. He is the best wizard in Britain to manage the poisonous materials and sell them safely to potion masters around the world."
Uncomfortable to be asking questions for which he did not know the answer his witness would provide, Ted asked, "Who at Hogwarts told you to go to Samuel Abbot?"
"Fawkes, the phoenix who lives at the castle."
"The phoenix spoke to you?" asked Ted while everyone in the hall sat silently in amazement.
"Yes. She is very friendly. I think Fawkes got lonely in the headmaster's office, so she's decided that starting 1 September, she'll come to breakfast and supper in the Great Hall every day. She plans to sit with different students and talk to them about school."
Ted stared for a moment, and then the boy winked at him, shaking him out of his stupor to ask, "Where did your battle with the basilisk occur?"
"In the Chamber of Secrets underneath the castle…sir, can I show you the memory? This Pensieve projects memories with sound. And it can be stopped, backed up, and move in slow motion, too."
"What?" asked the usually unflappable attorney.
"Yeah, some goblin rented it to me to use today," Harry replied. "He said it would be a great advertisement for the Projection Pensieve 3000 that goes on sale next week at Gringotts."
Samuel Abbot snorted, and Madam Marchbanks coughed but maintained their composure. Amelia Bones approached the young wizard and the colourful bowl. She examined the bowl and then conjured a platform in front of the boy where he placed the bowl. She watched him draw the memory from his mind and drop it into the bowl.
Taping the side of the Pensieve with his wand, Harry said, "This begins the memory where Gilderoy Lockhart refused to help Ron Weasley and me save his sister."
While watching the memory for the second time in two days, Harry could tear his eyes from the projection above him and protect the adults. Madam Bones had conjured a chair though she kept her eyes glued to the memory. Madam Marchbanks grew pale and pursed her lips while clinching her hands repeatedly. Ted Tonks and Samuel Abbot lost all pretence of pureblood manners and stared with their mouths hanging open as a twelve-year-old wizard sparred with the memory of the Dark Lord and evaded a monster before killing it with a sword – no spell or other magic – just cold steel.
Among the members of the Wizengamot, Harry noticed several of them rise and sit back down multiple times. Neville cheered memory-Harry on while Lady Longbottom covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Harry saw that Lucius Malfoy rose and fled the chamber. The young wizard watched the wizards and witches scream with fear and anger in the visitor's gallery. But no one bothered the goblins who sat with their knives drawn and watching the wizards closely.
There were screams from the members of the Wizengamot when memory-Harry stuck the Sword of Gryffindor through the top of the basilisk's mouth into its brain, and then more screams when they realised a basilisk fang bit the boy-who-lived. Tears flowed down many faces as the memory-boy returned to the floor of the chamber to be taunted by the teenage spirit that none of them could identify. Then the room grew deathly silent as the memory of the young wizard took the fang and stabbed the dark book. Black ink poured from the book, and the ghostly projection screamed. Flipping the book closed, memory-Harry stabbed the cover with the fang, and black ink poured out as the spirit screamed as though in agony and disintegrated.
Finally, the second appearance of the phoenix who cried her tears into the wound on the arm of the boy-who-lived brought cheers from the audience. Madam Marchbanks found herself on her feet applauding and cheering for memory-Harry Potter, but then she sat about restoring order to her courtroom. At the same time, Madam Bones ordered Aurors to do the same in the gallery, where visitors continued to cry.
Once order was restored, Madam Bones spoke quietly to Marchbanks, who reluctantly permitted the Director of the DMLE to speak with Harry Potter.
"Mr Potter, I have one question for you," Amelia said. "Who is that boy that appeared in the memory? I didn't hear him very well when he tried to cast magic."
Grimacing, Harry announced, "That was a memory, or soul jar, of Thomas Marvolo Riddle. He went to Hogwarts in the early 1940s. After he graduated, he began calling himself Lord Voldemort. He ain't all the way dead."
Ted Tonks leaned forward; his knuckles pressed on the desk to hold him upright. Samuel Abbot sat back and took deep breaths to calm himself. He'd seen the carcass and could imagine the creature chasing the youngster in the chamber. Madam Marchbanks cursed under her breath for three minutes without repeating herself a single time. Madam Bones stared at Harry Potter, who stared back confidently. Among the members of the Wizengamot, there were shouts, three fainting spells and two heart attacks. The audience in the gallery panicked, and many wizards and witches fled the chamber. Each team of reporters split – one left for the office, and the other remained to see what happened next.
As quiet fell in the Wizengamot, the door opened, and Albus Dumbledore finally appeared, more than ninety minutes late.
"I say, what is the kerfuffle about? I was almost stepped on in the hallway!" he complained. Seeing the two witches in the well, he continued, "Ah, Griselda and Amelia, good morning, good morning."
Then he noticed Harry Potter sitting in the witness chair and frowned.
End Chapter
