Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in the HP Universe.
AN: Thank you all for reading, following, favouring and reviewing.
This chapter is not betaed, so all mistakes are my own.
On with the story.
Chapter 9: The Head of the DMLE
Thaddaeus Nott, Lord of House Nott and renowned solicitor, took a deep breath, gathered his papers, threw floo powder into the fireplace, and stepped through to the Ministry of Magic.
This would be the most important, most satisfying case in his career. Not only would he be working openly for his Lord without someone screaming Death Eater at him, they would also get the better of the Minister, those cowards in the Wizengamot and Dumbledore.
He could not hide his smirk entirely, he felt like a school boy again on the first ride to Hogwarts, giddy with excitement.
Acknowledging acquaintances but not stopping on his way, he took the elevator to the DMLE. Stepping into the reception area of the office for the Head of DMLE, he greeted the secretary with a warm smile.
"Good Day to you, Gerta. You look lovely today."
Madam Bones secretary, Gerta Wilkins, a middle-aged woman who was frighteningly efficient in her work, gave him a welcoming smile.
"Lord Nott, how nice to see you. What can I do for you today?"
"Is Madam Bones available? I have something very urgent to discuss with her."
"She is in her office and her next appointment is in fifty-five minutes. One moment please, Lord Nott, I will check if she has time for you." She smiled at him again, stood up and knocked shortly at the office door. Without waiting to be asked to come inside, she stepped in and closed it behind her.
Only seconds later the door opened again and Gerta stepped outside.
"She is available and waiting for you, Lord Nott." She gestured to the open door and went back to her work.
Thaddaeus nodded gratefully and stepped into the office. It was a welcoming room done in light, creamy colours, with dark wooden furniture. On the left were two armchairs and a settee grouped in front of a fireplace, to the right, bookshelves and filing cabinets lined the wall, at the far end stood a massive desk in front of a large window.
Madam Bones sat behind her desk, stacked with parchments and looked up when she heard the door closing. She sent him a small smile and set aside her quill.
"Ah, Lord Nott. What a surprise, what can I do for you? Gerta said it was something urgent?"
Thaddaeus smiled back and tilted his head slightly in greeting, gathering his thoughts as he chose his words carefully.
"Madam Bones, thank you for speaking with me. It concerns a new client of mine, who is in quite a predicament. He wants to abide by the law, but he is concerned that due to his past and his identity, he will not be treated unbiased by the Wizengamot. He made some unfortunate decision and foolish mistakes in his youth, leading him down a very dark path, which he deeply regrets. He fears that because of this he would be instantly sentenced to the Kiss if he were to stand trial before the Wizengamot. We hope you, as the Head of the DMLE, could and would help us save him from being condemned because of something he had no control over. And as there is a group of people fixated on bringing him down, his case is quite urgent. You have the power to call in a Wizengamot session on short notice and are known for being fair and unbiased and therefore our best chance to enable a fair trial."
Madam Bones listened with keen interest and Thaddaeus could practically see the gears turning in her head. She was known for being fair and sticking to the law, and that someone could be condemned unfairly violated her sense of justice.
"This sounds like your client is in quite a predicament." She leaned back in her chair and regarded him with an intense look, betraying none of her thoughts.
Thaddaeus smiled pleasantly at her, excitement filling him. Madam Bones was intelligent and observant. She was well versed in the political game and played it well. It would not be easy to convince her, even with all their evidence – real and fake – and she would take everything they presented apart, trying to find the deceptions and gaps in their story.
He hadn't had such an opponent in a long time, and she would make an immensely strong ally.
"Yes, he certainly is. May I tell you the details?" He still smiled at her.
"Certainly, Lord Nott. Please take a seat, I will call for tea." Madam Bones stood up, gestured to the seating area in front the fireplace and walked to the door, presumably talking with her secretary.
Thaddaeus took a seat in one of the armchairs, while Madam Bones sat in the other one, a few moments later Gerta stepped into the office and placed a tea set at the small table between them.
"Thank you Gerta," Madam Bones smiled at her "Will you please inform Mister Worthington that his appointment needs to be moved to tomorrow? I have the feeling this will take some time."
"Certainly, Madam Bones." Gerta nodded and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Madam Bones waited till both of them had prepared their tea, then she settled into her armchair and indicated for him to carry on.
Thaddaeus took a sip from his teacup and started to tell her the story his Lord and himself had put together an hour ago.
"Let me first tell you background story of my client. As a child, he was orphaned and grew up in Muggle London during the last Muggle war. It left him with a deep fear of death. When he came to Hogwarts, he thought he could escape the violence, but his request to stay at Hogwarts during the summer was refused every time, and the war with Grindelwald only deepened his fear. Nevertheless, my client loved Hogwarts and still calls it his first real home. He graduated with impressive N.E.W.T.s and applied for the Defence position there. He was ambitious, but he always wanted to give something back to Hogwarts. Teaching there, helping children - perhaps even some who, like him, were orphaned or needed help to find their way in the magical world- called to him. But as he was told he was too young, Headmaster Dippert suggested that he gain experience and then come back. Taking the Headmaster's advice, he decided to travel the world, and as he was interested in obscure, ancient and forgotten magic, he visited old ruins and isolated magical areas."
Thaddaeus observed Madam Bones expression carefully, without staring too obviously. So far, nothing he had told was exactly a lie. She listened with a calm expression, not even hinting if she had a guess who his client was.
"He told me that he lived with an old tribe in India, rumours were that they practiced old and forgotten magical rituals. Not all of them were magical, the villages he lived in were equally habituated by magical and non-magical residents. They were normally suspicious of strangers, but after staying more than a year, they welcomed him and allowed him to observe their rituals and learn magic from them."
Thaddaeus swirled the tea in his teacup and took a sip. Now came the part he was not sure if his Lord had lied about or not.
"Near their village was an old cavern filled with enticing dark magic, trying to lure everyone who stepped near it inside. The villagers had warned him about it, but one day he got lost on his way back to the village and felt the pull. As he is a natural Occlumence, he could resist the lure, but he knew that this cavern was a constant danger to the village, especially to the children. Many had followed the pull into the cavern and were never seen again." He sighed. "My client was young, only just out of Hogwarts, but he knew he was powerful. He decided to investigate the cavern, hoping to find a way to dispel the dark malicious magic, and remove the danger for the village. He himself said he was too arrogant at that time, young and foolish."
Thaddaeus could see that Madam Bones was definitely intrigued by the story.
"He went into the cavern, and he found… not really dark magic, he described it as a mesmerising, powerful presence, filled with malice and a dark hunger under the enchanting surface. My client does not know if it was a curse, a dark magical object or residue from a dark ritual. He described it as if it had a mind of his own. He had never heard or encountered something similar ever again. Our theory so far, is that it could have been a residue from a powerful and malicious magical being which died in the cavern. What he remembers, is that this malicious presence took hold of him, invaded him. It settled into his mind, leaving the cavern clean and empty. My client stumbled back to the village and was ill for a few days. Afterwards it first seemed like nothing was amiss. He stayed in India for a few more weeks and then left, to see more of the world."
He placed his teacup on the table and folded his legs, resting his hands on his knee.
"What he did not realize at that time, was that the presence changed him. This thing took hold of his mind, feasted on his fears and his ambition, feeding him dark thoughts. He grew paranoid, searching all over the world for more power. This thing took his fear of death and twisted it, making him obsessed with immortality. He spiralled into insanity, hungry for more power. In this state my client was not himself anymore, he had no control over his mind and his actions."
Thaddaeus gave Madam Bones a moment to process everything so far. He could see that they had her interest and her compassion for a young man who seemingly suffered because of understandable foolishness.
"At this point my client came back to Britain and applied for the Defence Professor position again, he wanted to change wizarding Britain so that no child had to grow up like him. At this point there was still enough of him left to see the stagnation the magical society was content with, and he wanted to change this. But Headmaster Dippert had resigned and Headmaster Dumbledore refused him the post. The refusal fractured his already damaged mind even more, he always had thought as Hogwarts as his home and now it was taken away from him. He threw away his birthname and started to gather followers under an alias. The further he fell into insanity the more his goals were twisted. He performed rituals which should never be performed to obtain more power, changing and fracturing his mind and body nearly beyond repair. He grew violent. In the end, the foolish mistake of a young man named Tom Marvolo Riddle, led to the rise of Lord Voldemort."
The only indication that Madam Bones was shocked by the whole story was a brief widening of her eyes. She had listened intently so far, letting him speak without interruption. But now Thaddaeus could see thousands of questions in her eyes.
"Fifteen years ago, his paranoia was at its peak and he heard of a prophecy. A prophecy about a child destined to end him, or so he thought. He decided to take care of the threat immediately. At this point, he had slipped so deep into the dark arts, he was disfigured and completely insane. So, on the 31st of October 1981, he entered into the Potter family home in Godric's Hollow and attempted to kill the entire family little Harry Potter somehow survived and Lord Voldemort disappeared, but not completely. My client remembers that he had performed a ritual, days before, anchoring his live force and magic. So only his body was destroyed on this night, the anchor he used was destroyed instead of his spirit. He was cast out of his body and fled, as a spirit."
Thaddaeus gave her a few moments to gather her thoughts. It was clear he was not finished, but the situation was too delicate to rush.
"My client does not remember much from his time as a bodiless spirit, but what he does know is the malicious presence was destroyed with his body., His mind was still fractured, however, leaving him insane, the damage was too severe. Two years ago, he was found by an old follower. He regained a temporary body, but the insanity took him over even in this new form. They forged a plan to get him his old body back, which was successfully executed on the day of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Lord Voldemort rose again, still powerful, still violent and still insane."
"An interesting story. But why, Lord Nott, are you coming to me with it?" Madam Bones interrupted him for the first time, her expression carefully blank, not giving away her thoughts on the matter even one bit.
"Because the incident in the Ministry a few weeks ago had unpredictable consequences, which led to Mr. Riddle realising what had happened. He sought out help and regained his sanity and human body. Lord Voldemort is no more. But Tom Marvolo Riddle will be condemned for crimes he was not responsible for."
Severus heard the fireplace in his living room come to life and knew it could be only one person calling.
"Severus, my boy, are you there?" The unmistakable voice of the Headmaster called through the Floo connection.
Sighing, Severus set his teacup and newspaper aside and walked from the kitchen to the fireplace.
He already knew what this would be about- the letter from Potter. Even during the summer holidays, he could not escape the brat. At least this time, besides doing something dangerous or breaking rules, the outcome was interesting and beneficial to Severus.
"Yes, Albus. I am here." He acknowledged the old wizard.
Albus' head in the fireplace looked in his direction and smiled.
"Ah, wonderful. If you have the time, could you please come through? I have something to discuss with you." The look the Headmaster sent him told him how important the matter was.
Severus sneered mentally, but he also was curious. What did Potter write in his letter to the Headmaster? Did he mention he wrote a letter to Severus? It was not likely that he did, so the Headmaster would believe him completely ignorant of the matter.
"Certainly. Give me a moment."
"Wonderful," Albus head disappeared.
Mentally preparing himself, Severus threw Floo powder into the fireplace and called out the Headmaster's office.
As he stepped through, he saw Albus already sitting at his desk. "Severus have a seat. Lemon drop?"
Mentally sneering, he declined the offered sweet and sat in one of the chairs in front of Albus desk. "What do you want to discuss with me? As you know, the summer holidays are the only time I can freely dedicate myself to potions brewing and research."
"Ah yes, and I am sorry to separate you from your potions research, but yesterday I got a very concerning letter from Harry." Albus looked over his halfmoon-glasses at him with a troubled expression.
"You called me here to discuss a letter from Potter?" Severus sneered the name in disgust. He still did not like the boy, and he was sure he never would. Even if his recent actions had been beneficial to Severus, and he had shown some intelligence and cunning, that he took actions without consulting an adult only showed the arrogance of the boy. He would protect him, for Lily and for the oath, but if the Dark Lord did leave him be, his job would be easier and his contact with the boy would minimise. He was looking forward to it.
"What did Potter have to say? Whining about the hot weather? That he was not allowed to stay with his friends yet? That he stubbed his toe?" He sneered.
Albus looked disappointed with him at this, but Severus could not care less.
"I really had hoped that the Occlumency lessons had brought an understanding between the two of you. But alas, I did not call you here to talk about what could have been," the Headmaster sighed.
"No, Harry sent me a letter in which he told me that he found a way to bring back Tom's sanity and that he already went through with it. It concerns me that Harry did not consult with me in that matter, but after the last school year I should not be too surprised by it. He does not trust me completely anymore, I fear. As I don't know how exactly Harry has healed Voldemort of his insanity, and till I got the letter I had not thought it was even possible, I am reluctant to believe it completely. And even if it is the case, Tom is still alive. With his sanity undamaged, I fear he will be an even greater threat. I am sure he will not change his ways. Even as a child and teenager he already was ruthless and sadistic. We must determine if Tom has his sanity back and how this changes him and his plans, and we must find out how Harry managed to do it. He wishes to be left alone by me, but perhaps someone else could visit him." The Headmaster shook his head sadly. "I just don't know who to send."
"You want me to go?" Severus asked him, astonished. He had not thought Albus to be this oblivious of the relationship between himself and Potter.
"No, Merlin no. I know Harry would only react badly if I sent you. I thought perhaps Remus or Minerva."
Severus nodded, relieved and watched Albus intensely.
"Severus, did Tom send for you?" Albus enquired with an odd look in his eyes, devoid of the trademark twinkle.
Severus thought fast. If he affirmed that he had been called, Albus would asked why he did not report immediately and his Lord had not told him what he was allowed to tell the Headmaster.
"So far the Dark Lord did not send for me, but if what you say is true, I am sure he will set a meeting with his inner circle soon. How sure are you, Headmaster, that the letter was not a prank or that Potter made things up to gain attention?" Severus kept his face blank.
Albus sighed. "I am sure that Harry would not lie to me in this matter. Please, Severus, my boy, report immediately if you hear from Tom. Now, who do…"
The fireplace in the Headmaster's office flared up.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, your attendance is needed in an emergency Wizengamot meeting in thirty minutes." An official sounding voice rang through the office.
Severus smiled inwardly, it seemed Thaddaeus had been successful. If everything went as they wanted, his Lord would be a normal citizen in a few hours and could claim the title of Lord Slytherin. Everything would change.
He only wished he could be present at the trial to see Albus' face when his Lord was declared not guilty and free to go.
He looked at Albus as the fire died down. The Headmaster looked startled, it seemed he had not anticipated what the next actions of a sane Dark Lord would be and that he would move so fast. They had counted on this. Albus was oblivious.
"I am sorry, Severus. As you heard I am needed at the Ministry. We will resume this conversation tomorrow morning. Perhaps I will call for an Order meeting." Albus stood and walked to door leading to Headmaster residence.
"Then I will take my leave, Albus."
Severus did not wait for Albus to answer but stepped though the Floo network back home. He could not supress a small smile, it seemed everything was proceeding like his Lord wanted.
Theoretically he should report to his Lord about the meeting with Albus, but as his Lord was in the Ministry now, he decided to go to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa would attend the Wizengamot meeting as a proxy for her – theoretically - absent husband and could tell him how everything went after he returned.
Meanwhile, he would drink some tea, or something stronger with Lucius and ask Draco if he wanted to join him at brewing.
He had not spent a lot of time with his Godson since the holiday's had started.
Amelia Bones had thought nothing could surprise her anymore, after years of working as the Head of DMLE and sitting in trials minor and major ones, but the story Lord Nott had told her and the evidence he had brought with him, certainly took her by surprise.
She knew the moment Lord Nott revealed the name of his client what they wanted from her, knew why they would come to her. She was known for upholding the law to the letter. But she also knew that the law could be used and interpreted unjustly, and she recognized manipulation when she saw it.
She was uncertain what she should think about the case in front of her. The story was believable, but also suspicious. Who could believe that the evilest Dark Wizard had only acted because of insanity? And that said insanity was induced by some dark magic?
Could she believe that Lord Voldemort was only a fabrication born from a shattered mind and dark magic?
Could she believe that the man named Tom Riddle was innocent of what he had done while being Lord Voldemort?
Of course she couldn't, not a hundred percent, but the evidence Lord Nott lay before her spoke for itself.
Even she was not completely unbiased when it came to Voldemort, she had lost loved ones in the last war, but she was professional enough to push her own feelings for the matter aside and look at the evidence as if it was any other case.
She carefully read through the medical report done by Healer Aurora Fawley, a young but already renowned healer working at St. Mungos, specialising in the healing of dark curses and their influence on the mind. The report entailed that residues of dark magic had been found while examining Mr Riddle earlier that day, but they were fading. More in-depth examination had revealed that Mr Riddle's mind had been fractured at a young age by malicious magic but was healing now and was no longer touched by whatever magic had caused this. The report concluded that Mr Riddle had been mentally ill because of the malicious magic but was now healthy in mind and body.
The Pensieve memories Lord Nott had brought with him further confirmed what he had told her, and what the medical report implied. The memories from Tom Riddle as a teenager were all clear, showing an intelligent and ambitious young man, touched by the fear of two wars, magical and muggle. The time in India showed him to be patient, grateful and eager to discover other magical ways. The memories from the cave where disturbing, so dark and full of fear that it was hard to see anything clearly. The memories afterwards all had a dark edge, like a shadow lurking at the periphery of their awareness.
The memories grew misty and darker with time. Amelia could see how this dark shadow influenced the young and eager mind at its mercy. Tom Riddle's actions and thoughts grew volatile, erratic, and after his return to Great Britain, violent. Not only his appearance, but also his mind changed dramatically till nothing was left of the young and intelligent man from before.
There were not many memories from his time as a bodiless spirit, and those were even harder to understand than the ones from the insane Dark Lord. The mist of insanity did not lift, even after he had a body again, but the dark shadow was gone from those memories.
One memory stood out from all the others, because of the clarity. When Lord Voldemort possessed Harry Potter in the Ministry of Magic by some dark magic apparently, the connection to a complete and sane mind, and someone so young and innocent, lifted the insanity briefly in Voldemort's mind.
In that short moment, Tom Riddle realized the fractures in his own mind, and even as the insanity crept back in, ordered his followers to, not only put him into a magical coma, but also to find a cure against magical induced insanity and heal his fractured mind.
The last memory was from a Tom Riddle, waking up for the first time since his early twenties with a clear mind and the horrifying memories of what Lord Voldemort had done.
Coming out of the Pensieve she had stored in her office, Amelia could not disregard the evidence before her and when Lord Nott started to explain the law of Haxby to her, she knew what she had to do. Even if in her heart she could not believe that Tom Riddle was not Lord Voldemort, the hard evidence before her did not allow any other action.
She immediately called for an emergency Wizengamot session and trial and ordered Lord Nott to bring in his client.
Lord Nott left through her fireplace and came back only moments later. His client seemingly had waited for his call.
When the figure stepped into her office, Amelia scrutinized him curiously. He certainly looked nothing like the reports described Lord Voldemort to look.
Short dark locks carefully styled around his handsome aristocratic face, his dark eyes settling on her as he greeted her with a small smile. He was tall and did not look older then mid-thirty.
"Greetings, Madam Bones. I appreciate your giving me the chance to present my case." His voice was a rich baritone and Amelia felt herself relaxing slightly. He did not sound like a madman.
"Certainly, Mr Riddle. The evidence Lord Nott presented was very convincing. I already called in a Wizengamot meeting, which is set to begin in thirty minutes. In this time, I wish to speak to you myself and, if you are willing, learn some more details of your story from yourself."
"I am at your service, Madam Bones. I have no secrets and everything that helps the esteemed Wizengamot members to be convinced of my innocence, I am more than willing to tell you."
Amelia gestured to the seating area and settled herself in her armchair again, watching her two guests taking their seats.
In the next thirty minutes she would determine for herself if Mr Riddle was sincere or not.
Harry looked up from the picture he was drawing as he heard the rustle of feathers. Hedwig had returned a few hours ago and after something to drink, had hid her head under her wing and slept.
Harry had actually tried to write his memoirs but had lost interest fast, instead he started drawing. He drew Hogwarts how it looked in his mind- his friends, his teacher, parts of his nightmares and scenes from his adventures in Hogwarts, and Hedwig as she slept.
But now she was awake and landed on his shoulder, crooking her head.
Harry laughed and held up the picture of her he'd tried to draw.
"I know, definitely not a masterpiece, but at least you can tell it's an owl."
Hedwig hooted in conformation, or at least Harry interpreted it as such.
"Had a nice sleep?" He set the picture aside and stroke her feathers softly.
"Up for another trip this afternoon?" He stood up and walked to the desk, looking over the small number of letters left and picked up four of them.
"Mmh… I think we can send these together." Hedwig hopped on the desk and held up her leg. After Harry secured the letters, she slipped through the gaps between the bars on his window and took flight.
Harry went back to sit at his desk and started on another drawing.
Sometime around noon a house-elf had brought him sandwiches for lunch, on which Draco had nibbled while reading through a stack of books-at least he thought it was lunch, he wasn't sure.
He had taken over the reading desk, but the space on the table had been completely filled with books after a short time. Now the floor around him resembled a labyrinth made of books.
Draco sipped on a goblet of water as he turned a page of the book he was reading in the moment, paused and grabbed a quill and parchment starting to scribble frantically. Turning to the next page, he frowned and flung the book away, snarling.
He stood up and walked to the bookshelves, gripping his hair in frustration.
Somewhere there had to be something helpful.
He wandered deeper into the library, to one of the darker sections.
A small, leather-bound book caught his attention. The title written on the inside proclaimed it to be about the combination of wards, sacrificial protection and blood magic.
Potter had written something about blood wards and his mother's sacrifice protecting him.
Even if Draco found a way to share his knowledge with someone, would these wards allow them to step through?
The Horcrux problem could be solved later, after he had made sure that the imbecile lived.
AN: Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.
Many thanks to a-bit-of-madness for helping to improve my spelling and grammar.
First published: 24th of September 2018
Last edited: 6th of December 2018