Chapter Seven

"Hello, Cornelius."

Fudge jumped at the sudden voice from the barred window.

"Amelia! Are you going to let me out of here anytime soon?"

She looked at the man in the cell. Fudge hadn't noticed her at first, having finally gotten used to the sounds of cell doors opening and slamming over the last few days and hadn't looked up at the window in the door. The man was haggard and didn't look like he had slept well, which made perfect sense. Amelia Bones wasn't running a getaway resort here. He had been in the cell for close to two weeks by now, as she chased down her leads. Aside from the hour of exercise and meals, there hadn't been much interaction and he was practically climbing the walls.

"No, Cornelius. There was an incident that you need to be made aware of. I came here to do that."

The confusion on his face was gratifying, although she didn't show that on her face.

"Incident? What are you talking about?"

"There was another attack at the Grangers, aimed at Lord Black. Lord Granger responded – he has that Oath of Sanctuary to think of, you know – and there was a lot of bodies when he was done. Not all were breathing afterward."

"Good! Er, it was good, right?"

"It wasn't good for them once the Lady Potter caught a nasty cutting curse from somebody. She was taking down several and somebody hit her in the back."

"Lady Potter? We have a Lady Potter now?"

"Not officially, but we damn sure will soon, if Harry Potter's actions have anything to say about it."

Fudge gulped in an almost reflexive motion.

"What did he do?"

"He and that Goblin that Lord Granger was hosting…"

"Goblin? Lord Granger? What's all this about, Amelia?"

She ignored him.

"...mowed down the attackers. Not all dead, mind you. Lord Black was hit first, but not injured severely thanks to his ducking most of the spell and the quick actions of Lady Granger. I lost two good Aurors, Cornelius, and I'm not happy."

The look she gave him made him gulp again. Both of them imagined that they could hear it echo within the confines of the small cell.

"We got some good information from those that didn't get killed, Cornelius. Then we got some more information after running all that down and learned some things to add to what we already know."

She stared at him with a cool glare that he didn't like one bit.

"Um, what things?"

"Things that'll come out in your trial in a couple of days. Do you really think I'd tell you?"

"Trial?"

"For murder. This is your notification of those charges, added to the things that saw you put in there in the first place. Have a good day, Cornelius."

She left. The sound of the far steel door clanging shut behind her echoed in the back of his mind and he was too shocked to realized that it had never clanged like that before. He also didn't realize that the whole cellblock had been quiet as the other detained wizards and witches had stopped what they were doing and been listening in to what the Director had been saying the whole time. Fudge also didn't noticed the increased buzz of conversation between cells, as he was far too distracted by what she had said.

=-{}-=

"Seal the doors!"

The doors to Courtroom Ten closed with a hollow boom at the order. That action informed all inside that this was not going to be in any way the usual day after what would normally be a common order. Any doubts about that were quickly laid to silent rest at the sound of rarely-used chains slithering into place with a disquieting rattle and melding themselves into the very surface of the doors, the hinges, the nearly half-foot ironwood casings, and the somewhat dirty floor for good measure. The sizzling sparks thrown off each link as they made contact with their chosen destination made people jump and look at each other in some concern. The unease in various faces showed that many had started to question being here.

There had been a good bit of debate between Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones in the last day or so on the subject of his role today. He had taken the time to look over some of the worse of the evidence that Amelia held that he really had already and hadn't arranged as well as she did. Dumbledore sat in his chair in the Headmaster's office deep in thought after she had left. Amelia had given him a huge amount of things to think about.

Considering his history with Cornelius Fudge and the things that he'd dealt with, Amelia had mentioned that he was considered too close to really be impartial. There was also the niggling perception that Dumbledore had too much motive for revenge for all the political hitjobs and jabs that the erstwhile Minister had directed toward him as either Headmaster or Chief Warlock or let happen to him. It was something that happened too often lately.

The old wizard couldn't deny that, since he had expressed out loud his irritation more than once. Granted, it had been in the 'privacy' of his office, but the portraits of the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses, the Sorting Hat, and Fawkes had heard it all. There had been their own opinions expressed and Albus knew that even as stubborn as he could be, those opinions had been expressed enough that he'd shifted enough to come to an agreement with a good bunch of them as new information had become available.

There had also been the pointed mention of the amount of jobs that he was holding down, but he chose to ignore that barb.

It had been a surprise to many and surely to Fudge that Albus Dumbledore had recused himself from that day's agenda's events, claiming that he needed to witness such in silence as the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards.

The 'in silence' part was astonishing to practically everyone as everyone knew that Albus Dumbledore secretly or not-so-secretly loved to hear himself talk and/or express his opinion. The astounding silence had stretched on for long enough that the old man had trouble containing the blush but was thankful that he had a beard thick enough to help in the possibility of that occurrence.

He had watched in hidden amusement as Lord Morley-Liddlecoat of Whitewillow stumped his way to the raised desk of the Chief Warlock to temporarily accept the gavel and title and call for the doors to be sealed. No one could gainsay the grumpy old man's intent as he was the senior of the Lords present in the Wizengamot's special session. The amusement had come from the memory that Lord Morley-Liddlecoat had once told Cornelius Fudge in a fit of pique that six day old pudding had more backbone than he did and looked better to boot. The acerbic old man had gone on to say that for that matter, a frozen noodle was stronger than he was and when things got fairly warm in any situation, the noodle stood erect more than he did. Morley-Liddlecoat hadn't specified what 'situations' applied to his assertion.

There had been no requests for clarifications as everyone within earshot at the time had been laughing too hard and thinking up various 'situations' to chuckle about. Well, everyone but Cornelius Fudge.

Dumbledore bowed to the group after this, and with a wave of wandless magic from his slightly crooked fingers charmed his robes to the dark robes of the ICW. He chose to ignore the murmurs that these looked a lot better than his normal robes, as the muted robes couldn't help that they didn't have the same flair he did.

He sat down in the assigned ICW seating and watched a few bets being made between friends. Dumbledore wondered to himself what in the world would they have to bet about, considering the seriousness of a special session?

=-{}-=

"Ten galleons that he'll never be able to keep his yap shut during the whole session."

"You're on. He wouldn't have changed his robes like that without a good reason."

"I don't think I've ever seen him with any robes that didn't at least glow in the dark, have you? Even in bright sunlight?"

"No, but then I don't want to deal with all the… er… stuff at the ICW, either."

They looked at each other at the obvious substitution.

"I can't say that I blame you. I don't either."

"Where does he find them anyway?"

"Don't have the slightest. Why, you jealous, Nate?"

"Noooo, not at all. Katie would have my hide if I wore something like that."

"Plus, you wouldn't have something else either." The comment was accompanied by waggling eyebrows.

"Too right. Now shut up, I want to hear what old Morley-Liddlecoat is saying."

"This should be entertaining. Old man doesn't have a filter."

"That's the truth, now hush!"

=-{}-=

Fudge had distantly heard what the jokers had to say to each other seated ten or twelve feet away, but he had more important things on his mind. The fact that he'd wondered the same thing about Dumbledore's robes himself more than once and put it down to eccentricity was unimportant to him. The visitor he'd had this morning was enough to drive out every single thing else in his mind.

It had been a very learned barrister, the best currently practicing in Magical Britain in fact, that had informed him of what he was going to be doing and the memory of that encounter had been running through his mind on repeat.

"Cornelius Fudge? I'm Perley Bateson. I'm here to represent you in your murder trial. I need to know everything, and I mean everything. If you fail to tell me, I fail to keep you from the Veil."

"B-but the protections of my office!"

"Won't help a bit if you get shown to be acting along with criminals."

"Criminals! But... who? Everyone I've interacted with as Minister has been of the most upright character! Well, except for those in Azkaban during inspection tours."

Fudge shivered as he sat in the hard and very uncomfortable chair at the defense table. Sirius Black had made him want to wet himself, and that was over a simple request to have the paper for the crosswords! He had wondered a few days ago what Dolores was doing and how successful she'd been in getting him out of this. Apparently not too well! Where was she?

He resolved to take her firmly in hand and speak to her about the duties of her office in the most unwavering manner he could when he got out of here.

The memory of that barrister's visit reached the end and skipped back to start again, and he almost missed what happened next.

=-{}-=

Unfortunately for Fudge and the memories he was reviewing as he sat in that hard chair, Dolores Umbridge had already had her own problems to deal with. The attackers of the Granger home had either been killed or captured, and by a stroke of luck, one of those taken alive had been extremely high in the off-the-books organization that she had assembled. Another had been some kind of section leader and a third had been some kind of comptroller. The presence of the third one seemed odd since having the person that controlled the purse strings present on a dangerous mission that could make that person very dead would seem to make it hard to continue operating, at least in a financial sense. The DMLE Aurors just shook their collective heads at that and got on with what they were doing.

The first and second of the caught had been fed Veritaserum and squeezed for every bit of information that they had. That allowed the no less focused, meaning pointed, questioning of the quite scared comptroller. She broke when it was pointed out to her that under the terms of her account with Gringotts, having used 'official' Ministry resources to attack an on-duty Goblin meant that she and the others could be remanded to their jurisdiction. After all, it would look a lot like the Ministry was starting an attack on Goblinkind for whatever the latest number of attacks in their shared history was. Tenth or twelfth or whatever it was, and did she want to be the reason for the next one when the history books were finally written?

Then the interrogation team told her that it would be done after she served her Azkaban prison sentence. If she told them what they wanted to know now, freely and without coercion, then they'd see if the Goblins would be willing to suspend their claim on her. No promises that it would be successful, but they'd try. Goblins were known to be really stubborn sons-of-bitches when it came to something involving them, and that was putting it mildly. She knew that, they were sure and didn't really need to be told that. Right?

Then one questioner mentioned off-hand to another that he'd overheard a Teller mention that the Goblins were running short of people who had been convicted of various crimes to muck out dragon stalls. It was probably because they never offered their prisoners showers and things like that under their penal codes, like the Ministry did. Gringotts was sovereign territory, remember? He was more or less sure that he could think of something to offer them that could help her case, and did she have any ideas?

It didn't take long after that.

She sang every note and some they hadn't heard before in a quivering faintly broken voice. The Dictaquills had to be replaced four times. The pitcher with water had to be refilled twice.

This flood of information frankly astounded the team and the first look at all of it made them want to retch. It had set up the arrest and interrogation of a rather amphibious looking witch. This one wasn't as easy as the comptroller's had been – in fact, it was louder and filled with verbiage combinations that most of the Aurors decided to remember for later use.

It had given Madam Bones several more arrows to her quiver, and she had made sure that the take from the interrogation had been kept secure and duplicated – just in case.

Her demeanor in Courtroom Ten revealed nothing of this to Cornelius Fudge, but he couldn't help but look a certain way to the others in the sealed room watching him. They concluded that he looked a lot like he felt there was a giant weight descending toward his head every time she glanced at him.

=-{}-=

"Madam Bones, are you ready to begin?"

There hadn't been a lot of preliminaries. Morley-Liddlecoat didn't believe in wasting time or any ostentatious ceremony and got right down to it, which caused some discreet grumbling about ignoring form. None of it was loud enough for the old man to hear it or pretend he didn't hear it.

"I am, Chief Warlock."

"Trial Master Bateson, are you ready to begin?"

"I am, Chief Warlock."

"Then get on with it!"

Fudge was brought out of his woolgathering and watched as Madam Bones stood up calmly to speak.

"My Lord, there is a solemn duty trusted to each of us who undertake positions of leadership with Magical Britain, the same as anyone in any of the other Magical countries. We all observe and guard the International Statute of Secrecy, we maintain our lives in solemn accordance with the gift of Magic, and we stand at the battlements to defend those who mean ill to those who cannot fight back."

She paused for a moment to look at the others.

"We also have a duty to check ourselves, to follow the rule of law along with the rule of Magic, and when the occasion pops up that there is a need to correct our path, we must do so. I have been made aware of such a need. That need is to be addressed today along with others."

She turned to stare at Cornelius Fudge without speaking for a moment and all saw his face pale before she faced the Chief Warlock. They wondered why Fudge was so pale.

"My Lord, I will prove that during his time as Minister for Magic before his arrest, Cornelius Fudge took bids and bribes for actions highly detrimental to Wizarding Britain and many of those residing therein. I will show how the actions he took and the action that he enabled threatened the Statute any by extension, threatened us all. I will prove that he tried to commit murder of an innocent man who had no trial. After I do so, I will refer to the laws on the books that determine the costs for such actions and I will push for those costs to be enacted."

She sat down after speaking without looking at Fudge or anyone else on that side of the courtroom. After a moment, Morley-Liddlecoat harrumphed and looked at Bateson. The man rose from his seat without hurry. Time was money, after all, and the more he could charge this idiot's vault the better. Fudge didn't know he was being charged double the standard rate, anyway.

"My Lord, the office of Minister of Magic of Wizarding Britain is quite fraught with dangers in times like these. Those dangers are usually political, but in this case also quite somatogenetic in nature and the reactions to those dangers are to be expected in order to see to it that the proper purposes are served."

He'd looked up the word 'somatogenetic' in order to sound learned to those in the room. He was indeed learned, but he wasn't above a bit of verbal manipulation right off the bat, either. Bateson didn't look at his opponent or his client. His attention was focused solely on the Chief Warlock and the Wizengamot as he spoke.

Bateson knew that no one sitting in those seats would bother looking up the word even as he obliquely called his client a spineless fool. He had to get his amusement somewhere, and if he got the man judged 'not guilty,' he'd get his gold too. The accounts had been billed for the time looking for the right word too – among things.

Since Bateson wasn't looking at Madam Bones, he didn't see her roll her eyes as he plowed further into his opening statement.

"But what are proper purposes, My Lord? That would seem to indicate that those are the health and welfare of the common wizard and witch of Magical Britain, the bedrock of our society upon which we rest. If those fail us, then where are we?"

He puffed out his chest in righteous indignation.

"There are many things that have to be seen to in order to procure a safe and secure Magical Britain, and I will show that Cornelius Fudge has done just that in spite of certain… types… working in opposition to him."

He turned and gazed at Madam Bones as he paused in his speech, who merely raised an eyebrow at him. Bateson could see that the monocle was gleaming as he sat down and wondered about that.

There was another bit of silence which let the sound of the reporters' quills be clearly heard. The crankiness in Morley-Liddlecoat's voice.

"Call your first witness, Madam Bones. I don't want to waste time here."

The woman stood up.

"I call Lord Doctor Daniel Granger!"

To everyone's shocked surprise, the door to the witness seclusion area opened and Dan Granger stepped out.

He was attired in a set of open wizarding robes in a blue color so deep as to be almost black. The suit underneath was a subdued mustard brown color with a tie that matched the robes and contrasted against the light khaki shirt. There was a crest on his left breast that showed a mortar and pestle surrounded by sparks and backed by an open book. The light thrown off from the numerous wall sconces glinted off the medal he wore at his neck, the one that he wore below the crest and the rings on his finger. There was enough space between the group and Dan Granger to see that his shoes shone in a high polish and the light twinkled off the leather as he moved to the chair with an assured pace. A stunned murmur susurrated for a moment from place to place before several wizards jumped up in indignation.

"What is the meaning of this outrage?"

Amelia Bones stared down Corban Yaxley for a minute or so after he shouted out the question.

"Outrage, Lord Yaxley? Where is this outrage?"

"You would defile our chambers with this filth? This… lesser than we, unfit to carry our castoffs? And what's with this…" he sneered out the next phrase, "Lord Doctor falsity?"

The imperious finger stabbed at Dan Granger, who stood with his hands behind his back waiting for Madam Bones to answer. The medals shone, glimmering with the minute movement of his breathing. A good observer could see that his eyes narrowed at the insults.

"As Lord Doctor Granger acts with the providence of Magic itself and has earned the title 'Doctor' by dint of hard work and much careful study, it seemed appropriate. He works as his version of our Healer. Magic has conferred the title upon him and who am I to argue against it?" Madam Bones didn't feel it was necessary to go into the different types of doctors and dentists, since it would waste more time.

"Magic! I don't believe that pile of shite one bit! Get that animal out of here!"

The gavel pounded down. Fudge jumped at the sudden rapping, all but forgotten by the others.

"I'll ask a few questions of the witness."

Dan Granger turned to him.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"How is it that you had the providence of Magic and the title of Lord conferred on you?"

Dan nodded at the question.

"At the risk of exposing the strategy of Madam Bones in this case, My Lord, I will answer that I was providing Sanctuary under Magical rules to a wizard in need. She is aware of the reasons for that provision. As my daughter and her beloved are both magical and also participated in a defense of my home and lands after Sanctuary was given, accepted, and overseen by Magic, the Essence we could call Magic elevated me by virtue of the Intent underlying the actions of my Protection. I held a conversation with Magic and it is my understanding that the recording of that conversation is part of Madam Bones' case."

"But you don't carry a wand, Muggle filth!" Yaxley was back, cutting off whatever the Chief Warlock was about to say.

"Who said I needed a wand?" Dan Granger replied calmly as he extended his hand, palm up. Eyes when wide as a small column of flame erupted from his hand and surged upward for a moment. Everyone watched him standing there without seemingly a care in the world as fire crackled in his hand. Dan closed his hand into a fist to extinguish the flame and sat down in the chair without another word. There were general murmurs wondering how he'd done that.

The chains wrapped themselves around his lap like a loose seat belt, avoiding the medals and his arms completely. Everyone saw the actions of the chains but no one knew that Dan was thinking to himself good thing I found that magic and joke shop with the flaming hand trick.

It took some effort but Madam Bones managed to keep from staring at the heavens. She listened to Morley-Liddlecoat slam the gavel down again.

"Order, damn your hides!"

People calmed down, although there were more than a few ugly looks. The Chief Warlock stood up with a grunt of displeasure.

"I will not have a bunch of babies throwing their toys out of the pram! Madam Bones has called her witness and I will hear from that witness!"

There was more that he was muttering as he sat back down but aside from speculations on ancestries of certain Members of the Wizengamot and the possibility that either they never got enough breastfeeding as babies or had soured milk, there wasn't anything else.

In the public galleries, there were a few exchanged coins and a good deal of quill scratching. Lord Morley-Liddlecoat had never been as quiet as he thought he was, but no one felt brave enough to tell him that. There were several that didn't want to tell him, just to see what he'd say next.

"Now, I want to hear from the witness. The next person to spout off about his origins will be handed over to do the nastiest job I can think of. If I have to volunteer their services to the Goblins, I will!"

There was silence. Everyone watch as he pointed the handle of the gavel at Dan Granger.

"And as for you, Lord Doctor Granger, any more tricks like that and I'll have you charged with contempt! I've got enough to worry about with these little brats without you making it worse!"

"Of course, My Lord. I apologize."

The Chief Warlock stared at him for a moment and Dan stared back. The old wizard harrumphed again after a moment before sitting back and looking at the prosecution table.

"Carry on, Madam Bones."

She began to administer a magical oath to tell the truth while under witness, which Yaxley started to jump up at. The fact that he caught Morley-Liddlecoat's eye at the last moment kept him in his seat. To his surprise, he saw that the oath took the same as every other wizard.

"Objection! As Lord Doctor Granger is a Muggle, what assurance do we have that this is a true oath?"

"Madam Bones?" The Chief Warlock rumbled out the question.

"The answer to that will be revealed in my line of questioning of Lord Doctor Granger. He has already alluded to it in his answer to you, My Lord."

"Very well. I'll allow it, but don't waste my time!"

"Of course not, My Lord. Lord Doctor Granger, can you expand on your earlier answer to the Chief Warlock? I believe you said 'providing Sanctuary under Magical rules to a wizard in need.' In what respects are you able to do that as a Muggle?"

"I am the owner of my house and lands with no mortgage or other such collateral agreement attached to it, along with my wife. My daughter resides at my address as her address on record in her school records and as the address that Professor Minerva McGonagall went to for the initial notification of her status as a witch and the invitation to Hogwarts. As such, my home meets the definition of both a non-magical and magical home and lands. As I am the primary signatory on all documents pertaining to the home, I also fit the definition of Master of the Lands of House Granger. With all that in mind, and the fact that magicals that are formally welcomed to my home by me feel the magic of greeting, gives me that ability."

Amelia Bones looked at the chair along with everyone else and saw that it hadn't reacted to this statement in any way. They had to take that as truth. She had told Dan about the reaction she'd had to his welcome and what it most likely meant, and they agreed to have it mentioned in the testimony he was to give.

"I see and the chair agrees with you, or you'd be unconscious. You were aware of the rules of Sanctuary before you made it?"

"I was. One of those advisors was my daughter and if any of you know her, well, she would have looked every bit of it she could. I came to understand that if I broke the rules of Sanctuary that my 'magic' would be taken, but in my case it would be my life."

A bit of amusement ran around the courtroom, even through those of a less charitable mind toward the Grangers. It was unwilling, but they couldn't deny it either.

Amelia looked at Dan and received a minuscule nod. She thumbed a button on her coat.

"Very well, with the understanding and with the observation that you seem to be quite alive and have been hewing to the terms of Sanctuary, we should move on. As Magic accepted the Oath, the wizard had to be truly 'in need.' Who was that wizard, Lord Doctor Granger?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

The courtroom erupted into bedlam. A group of Aurors dashed to the front, alerted by the pulse sent out by the button Madam Bones had thumbed. In the disarray of shouted voices, someone acted. There was a cry of a spell from the Dark section of the Wizengamot seats.

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a gasp as Dan was still held, however loosely, by the chair's chains and couldn't dodge the green spell dashing his way at great speed in time.

=-{}-=

In the witness seclusion rooms, Harry sat uncomfortably. He knew something was happening. What it was he had no idea, just that there was something going on that made him uneasy. He directed a thought toward Hermione. He well knew that she wouldn't hear it, but doing it made him feel a bit better anyway. She was in one of these rooms just like he was.

Whatever was bothering him just surged again. What was going on out there? He could hear feet running, but knew he couldn't get out until someone let him out.

He picked up a raggedy copy of the Quibbler and debated trying to do the runic crossword before realizing there was nothing to write with. Maybe there was something about whatever fantastical animal the Lovegoods were chasing.

He still didn't know what a snorkack was supposed to be and kept forgetting to ask Hagrid if he knew what it was. Of course, he might not know if it was as cuddly as Luna professed it to be. Harry could ask anyway. Maybe later, if sitting in this room didn't bore him to death twelve times over!

=-{}-=

Hermione was pacing the room, in no better shape. What was going on out there? It was time and past time to get things done. She directed a thought toward Harry, knowing there was no way he'd get it, but doing it made her feel a bit better anyway. There wasn't much to read that interested her unless it was a stack of old Quidditch magazines and that was more Harry's speed than hers anyway. She wondered if Harry was supposed to get this room and she was supposed to get his current room.

He was probably climbing the walls, too.

The date of one of the Quidditch magazines caught her eye. November, 1968?

She looked at the rest of them and realized that the oldest one was from January of 1962 and the most recent one was from August of 1978. Did the Ministry not have a current subscription or something?

This was past silly. Even if she was into Quidditch, this would bore her to death twelve times over!

=-{}-=

Emma Granger sat in the visitors gallery, watching. She knew what that curse and green beam meant and screamed in abject fear. She had heard too many things from the magicals in her life not to know. Her husband sat trapped in that chair and his eyes turned up to meet hers with a message that she could read without any problems. It caressed her very soul with a warmth that was completely his.

I'll love you until the end of time.

Her hands clutched at her face and she sobbed out her anguish, wanting to be next to that foul man who called her husband those names, just so she could rip him to shreds with her bare hands and unable thanks to the several pairs of strong hands holding her down without remorse.

=-{}-=

Dumbledore had been sitting silently watching the proceedings. A white eyebrow had rose when Dan Granger had walked in wearing robes and those medals. The old wizard gave mental points to whoever the tailor was, as the whole outfit was of a good cut and looked sharp. The colors weren't really his style but they looked like they suited the other man. Frankly, that was what counted however.

The medal on a wide ribbon had surprised him. It looked like a Victoria Cross but he thought it was on a different color. There were provisions about the wearing of medals on wizarding robes, but he hadn't expected to see Dan Granger of all people doing it. The other medal he didn't recognize, but conceded that if it was a military medal he wouldn't necessarily know much about it.

The reaction by Corbin Yaxley was to be expected. The old wizard wasn't surprised at all by that, although he could have done without all the vitriol.

He listened to the questions and the answers given and didn't really give them much thought. It made sense enough to him that it wasn't that important. Dumbledore wondered what was going to happen next and he found out.

Unlike the testimony so far, the Killing Curse being cast was important. He snapped off a transfiguration of one of those medals into an angled wall that reflected the curse into the ceiling. The rain of ceiling plaster and bits of beam showered down on that part of the gallery and distracted most of them, including the one that just tried to kill Dan Granger.

=-{}-=

Corbin Yaxley didn't know what hit him. The accursed Muggle had been protected from his Killing Curse with a transfiguration of one of those bits of metal hanging from his robes. He had to duck the pieces of the ceiling that was falling after that, since some of them was good sized chunks, thanks to the power he'd put into the spell. He straightened up just in time to see cold blue eyes over a wand that spat something out at him and it didn't look like a Stunner.

He didn't know what hit him at all, and there wasn't time to figure that out before he hit the marble floor. Yaxley had no clue that he was there before the broken pieces of the ceiling had finished landing.

=-{}-=

"Nate! You all right?"

"Yeah, Ezra. Sore but I'm okay. Did you see that? Dumbledore took him down like it was nobody's business!"

"And he didn't say a thing, either. All silent casting."

They shivered at the old man's power.

Up at the Chief Warlock's desk, Morley-Liddlecoat was banging away with his gavel.

"Get that man out of here! Is everyone else okay? What about the witness?"

All eyes turned to see Dan Granger looking back at them. The transfiguration had reverted, and Dan was running his fingers over the medal. He was wondering if Hermione or Harry could show him how that worked. He didn't even know who had performed such a feat.

He heard the question and spoke up.

"I'm fine, My Lord. No injuries."

His eyes flicked up to meet Emma's in the visitors gallery and he could see the fear and worry in her eyes.

"I'm okay, dear heart," he told her from the chair and watched her start to settle back in her chair in trembling relief.

There was a bit of a commotion at the door. It was carefully left unsaid by anyone that the pair of Aurors dragging the insensate body of Corbin Yaxley out of the chamber had let his head hit the doorjamb on the way out. It was unintentional, or so they would later say and no one was going to disagree. Everyone in the Dark section had seen the reaction speed of Albus Dumbledore and was loath to invite any further demonstration, possibly on themselves.

The sound of a throat clearing redirected all attention back to Morley-Liddlecoat, and he said, "Let the record show that Lord Corbin Yaxley succumbed to an unexpected health event and was released from the Chamber. As we still have sufficient number among us, we will continue. Madam Bones?"

"Thank you, Chief Warlock. Lord Doctor Granger? Are you able to continue?"

"I am, Madam Bones."

"Very well. Before that… situation, let's say, had arisen, you had said that you provided Sanctuary to Sirius Orion Black. Why?"

"It had come to my attention that he had never received a trial for the things that he had been imprisoned for. Such is unthinkable."

There was a moment of astounded silence, before a cannon blast charm blew a hole in everyone's eardrums. The old wizard at the raised desk was spitting mad.

"The next person to raise their voice without being called upon because of something revealed in testimony can be made to join Yaxley! Who wants to be that person?"

From the sudden absence of sound and a few looks at Albus Dumbledore, who still had said nothing, no one was volunteering. He raised an eyebrow at all of them, inviting questions before smoothing out the ICW robes over his knees.

Madam Bones received a nod to continue.

"And you decided to provide it based on that fact?" she asked her witness.

"That and the fact that I discovered that a Kiss-On-Sight order had been signed for him. As he hadn't had a trial, and from what the description of the order was to me, I came to the conclusion that for him to suffer those consequences would be nothing more that state-sponsored murder on an innocent man."

There was an outcry.

"But he betrayed the Potters!"

The gavel came down sharply as the old wizard jumped to his feet.

"Aurors! Remove that woman!"

The courtroom was silent as the witch was hustled out. Her face was in shock. Morley-Liddlecoat glared at everyone for a good five minutes, a vein pumping in his head and visible to everyone, before he planted himself back in his chair. The cushions wheezed out a protest.

"Proceed." Morley-Liddlecoat waved a hand at Madam Bones.

"Let's address that point. Do you have any knowledge that he did, in fact, betray the Potters?"

"I have no direct knowledge that he did so. As he had no trial and should be considered innocent until it's proven otherwise, I acted. The conversation that I had with the Essence of Magic would seem to indicate to me that he is innocent."

This caused a stir in the court but no one said anything.

"As I was there when that happened, but not part of the conversation you are referring to, have you a way to substantiate that?"

"Yes, Madam Bones. I have a Goblin-made memory module that I'm told is admissible in court. That was turned over to your office as part of your investigation. That conversation may well relieve any questions about the magical oath that was raised earlier."

No one commented on the oblique reference to Corbin Yaxley's actions. Madam Bones turned to the Chief Warlock.

"I have the 'memory module' mentioned and would like to enter it into evidence after playing it."

"Proceed, Madam Bones. I want to see it."

The cube was brought out and Madam Bones tapped it with her wand after setting it on an empty table by an empty wall. The cube unfolded itself and projected a viewing of its contents easily visible by everyone in the courtroom.

The sight of a worn-out Sirius Black in black terrycloth greeted them. He looked awful, as would be expected from a stay in Azkaban. Everyone watching the memory could see the grey hairs winking throughout the previous coal-black hair. Every line in his face was deep and they could see the haunted look in his eyes.

Others looked at his image, thinking about the assertion that he had no trial and was uncomfortable with the thought that the terrible-looking wizard on display could be them. They watched from Dan's point of view in the memory as Sirius saw the platter of apple turnovers being put down by the Boy-Who-Lived and the delight sparking in the man's eyes.

There was unanswered questions starting to be babbled at Harry Potter's appearance and a solid rap of the gavel made them go silent. They watched Sirius Black scarf down two apple turnovers.

"You're going to make yourself sick, Sirius!"

The voice filled with exasperation made several of the women grin despite themselves, having thought the same thing.

They watched the discussion between Dan Granger, the Aurors and Madam Bones. They wondered why Madam Bones was prosecuting the Minister and what this had to do with anything. They didn't find anything wrong with the substance of what was being said, if they ignored that it was Sirius Black that was being talked about. It made sense enough to them.

The declaration by Harry Potter and the sight of the green fire in his eyes as he spoke the intent of House Potter had several people fanning themselves. Even in the memory, the charisma in him reached out and grabbed them.

"I'm willing to try. Sirius needs help. Pumpkin?"

The image of his daughter jumping up to help her father made those wizards with daughters of their own smile.

"A wizard or witch, she said. What about both?"

They watched as Dan's attention shifted from Amelia Bones to Harry Potter, who had just took his other arm.

"Couldn't hurt. Thanks, son."

The audience knew when something happened when they heard a snap sound and saw Dan's memory glance at Harry.

The next shock was the sight of Sirius Black kneeling before Dan Granger. What happened to 'Blacks bow before no one?' they wondered, conveniently ignoring two of the Black sisters around the Dark Lord. The fact that the Black in the memory looked dead on his feet to begin with was carefully ignored as well. The supplication and acceptance surprised them all for the power in the words, words that they didn't think that a Muggle could generate.

The conversation with Magic left them all speechless, even Lord Morley-Liddlecoat and Albus Dumbledore, who had yet to actually say anything anyway.

Everyone watched as Sirius fell over, out cold, and stared at Dan Granger sitting smugly in the chair with chains draped loosely around him. The next few minutes of the memory was more or less ignored as many different thoughts ran through many different heads.

Madam Bones tapped her wand twice on the splayed open cube as an image of Cornelius Fudge slamming the door open was frozen in place.

"My Lord, there is more after this point, however I would like to reserve that for the latter part of my case."

"Very well. Do you need to close that up or whatever?"

"No, My Lord. It will go dark in a moment until needed again."

"Very well. Continue."

Madam Bones turned her attention back to the witness chair.

"Lord Doctor Granger, what happened after that?"

"The defendant, Cornelius Fudge, burst in without invitation with a pair of Dementors. Ugliest damn things I've ever seen and I'm counting him, too."

An amused ripple ran through the courtroom as the gavel tapped down.

"Lord Doctor Granger."

"My apologies, My Lord." Dan didn't sound apologetic and everyone knew it.

"Dementors?" Amelia Bones asked with a frown. "You could see them?"

"Yes, Madam Bones, I saw them. Long, dirty, ripped cloaks, skeleton limbs, floating everywhere, made everyone and everything cold and felt like the pits of despair."

Despite themselves, many of the viewers shivered at the description. Fudge went pale as he remembered what had happened. Dan went on.

"And several of my neighbors were killed by those things, who I was later told were magical."

Shock ran through the courtroom as Madam Bones gestured to the memory module.

"And that leads to the next part of what I want to enter as evidence. May I do so without introduction, Chief Warlock?"

"Objection!" came from the defense table. "Supposition from the… witness." Bateson sneered.

"Overruled. Continue, Madam Bones. Dementors are not to be taken lightly."

She said nothing but tapped the splayed out cube again.

There was absolute silence in the courtroom as they watched the confrontation, again through Dan's point of view. They saw the question to Hermione, saw the actions of Cornelius Fudge, saw the Dementors, the results of their presence and the reports of the Aurors after seeing the stag Patronuses rip them apart.

They also saw Fudge throw his weight around trying to get Harry Potter arrested and saw the sudden silencing after Dan snapped at them.

The confusion of the on site Aurors matched the confusion of the viewers, and the courtroom wondered about how the spell was done if there was no magical core in Daniel Granger. The reminder some had for the others about the visitation of Magic before Fudge showed up seemed to explain that… somehow.

The noise had grown enough after the memory went dark that Lord Morley-Liddlecoat had to tapped his gavel firmly to get people to shut up. He looked at Madam Bones.

"I am entering into the record the whole of Sirius Orion Black's case file from October-November of 1981. There is no entry of a trial having been held at all. I am entering the Wizengamot meeting schedules and minutes from the same period, showing no trials of anyone with the name Sirius Orion Black at all."

"So noted."

"Chief Warlock, as this shows that Cornelius Fudge had come with Dementors to apply the Kiss to Sirius Black, and as he has not had a trial meaning innocent until proven guilty, I am submitting that this would fit the charge of attempted murder. As the Gringotts memory module showed innocent bystanders being Kissed, I am submitting that this would fit the definition of manslaughter. There is more pertaining to abuse of office, fraud, peculation, and bribery, but that will be revealed with a later witness."

"So noted."

"I have no further questions of this witness."

"Very well. Defense?"

Trial Master Bateson looked at the man in the witness chair and knew that anything he could have asked had already been answered by the memory.

"No questions, My Lord."

"Very well. You are dismissed, Lord Doctor Granger."

The chair released Dan Granger and he was escorted to the side door and around to another door to access the public galleries, where he sat down next to Emma. She clung to him and shook, but was silent.

The next witness was Hermione Granger, who corroborated her father's statements. She was released with no questions from the defense table. She was similarly escorted out and around to the public gallery side door.

The next witness was Harry Potter, who was asked about his relationship to Sirius Black.

"He's my Godfather, by oath."

This caused a stir, as most of the audience was aware of what that meant. Those that didn't was informed of what they didn't know, meaning betrayal meant death.

Harry Potter also corroborated the events as he'd seen them, but the defense table was ready to ask a question.

"Mister Potter, are you of age to be using magic outside of school?"

"I am under seventeen, yes. However…"

The barrister cut him off.

"And why are you using magic? It's my understanding that you have underage magic warnings on your file. What's to keep me from snapping your wand right now, as an officer of the court?"

They could see the green fire in the young man's eyes.

"Why? Because people were being killed by those Dementors. I hate Dementors. I've been attacked by them before. And what's to keep you from snapping my wand? It's a little thing called magical emancipation underwritten by the Goblet of Fire. Try to snap my wand and you will regret it. There's no trace on my wand for a reason, Mister Bateson."

"Surely you jest."

"I don't jest where those foul things are concerned." A part of Harry's mind wanted to add and don't call me Shirley, but he was too worked up now. "Also, those underage magic warnings? Then-Minister Fudge put me up before a complete Wizengamot trial, just like this one, and that sealed the deal with the magical emancipation. Trial as an adult plus Goblet of Fire equals adult. Next question."

Bateson started to say something, but the gavel cut him off.

"Move on, Trial Master Bateson. Attempting to undermine the witness is not going to work. There has already been enough separate evidence to prove what he's saying."

"Yes, My Lord. No further questions."

"Madam Bones, your next witness?"

Madam Bones got to her feet and crossed to the memory module first to collapse it before facing Lord Morley-Liddlecoat.

"I call Dolores Umbridge."

-[=]-

Author's Note:

One more chapter after this. I was going to make this be the last chapter, but I decided that I didn't want to post a 16,000 word chapter when the last ones aren't that big. Thank you for reading!=