Beta: AriArlene [real life friend who loves fanfiction and not through the beta'ing service]
Original Release Date: 9/27/15
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other universe.
Chapter Thirty Three – Tell The Truth
"Mr. Potter, I'm simply telling you to tell the whole world that you learned how to fight the basilisk from my class" states Lockhart.
"But professor, that simply isn't true. Your classes had zero bearing on me surviving the fight with the basilisk" answers Harry, anger laced throughout his voice.
"Mr. Potter, I have journeyed around the world and saved countless communities from destruction, so it would make perfect sense that you learned how to do such a feat from a master like myself" states Lockhart loftily.
"To be honest sir, I doubt the authenticity of your books based on your in class performance" remarks Harry.
In a very quiet but snarling voice, Lockhart leans in and states, "You want to know something, Potter, you're right. I used memory charms to make it seem like I did all of those fabulous events. But the original actors wouldn't have sold as many copies of the books as their wardrobe choices were deplorable. And you my friend, will have the story that will bolster my book sales to record amounts."
Chuckling, Harry answers, "And yet the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is already aware of my side, Neville's side, and there are multiple aurors who watched Neville and I finish off the basilisk. Therefore, you would fail."
"I guess I'll just have to modify their memories as well" grins Lockhart with his flashy smile which had captured the hearts of many women, as he raises his wand.
"Stupify!" shouts Neville, hitting Lockhart in the middle of his back.
Catching Lockhart before he falls, Harry states, "I think we should report this Professor McGonagall first, but let Amelia know as well."
Within minutes they had let their respective parents and guardians know and arrived at Professor McGonagall's office. Knocking, the two didn't have to wait long before their Head of House answers the door, gasping at the sight of Professor Lockhart being propped up by Harry and Neville.
"What happened, and how did Gilderoy get into this state?" asks Professor McGonagall.
"He asked me to talk with him in private, said he wanted me to tell everyone that he had taught me how to fight against the basilisk, and then said he was going to modify my memory" answers Harry.
"That doesn't explain why he is stunned."
"Oh, he was raising his wand at Harry, and I just happened to be around the same area and sent a stunner his way when I saw his wand" answers Neville.
"Oh boys, you will be in big trouble if he wasn't doing anything of the sorts. Expulsion is quite possible" states Professor McGonagall.
"Have we ever lied to you before, professor?" asks Harry calmly.
"No, but this is different than anything else. Honestly, attacking a teacher, I've never heard of it before" chides Professor McGonagall.
Getting up from her chair, Professor McGonagall revives Lockhart before stating, "We'd better go to Dumbledore's office, so we can discuss this as an entire group."
"Ok. We did let our guardians know about this already, just to let you know…" mentions Harry in an offhanded tone.
Turning around and sighing, Professor McGonagall asks incredulously, "You did what?! Boys…some times I wonder about you all."
"Wh-where am I?" asks Lockhart, finally coming to.
"Going to Dumbledore's office" states McGonagall curtly, leading the way out of her office.
Arriving at Dumebledore's office, Professor McGonagall enters without knocking announcing, "Albus, Messrs Potter and Longbottom came to my office and declared that Gilderoy had tried to modify Potter's memory!"
Turning to Harry, Dumbledore inquiries, "Is this true, Gilderoy?"
Snorting most unlike himself, Lockhart answers, "Of course not! I would never harm a hair on a student's head."
"Mr. Longbottom, did you stun Professor Lockhart before arriving at Professor McGonagall's office?" asks Dumbledore.
"I did, after he raised his wand at Harry" answers Neville.
"I'm afraid Mr. Longbottom, that simply attacking a professor based them having their wand out in the presence of a student is an expelling offense-" begins Dumbledore.
"And yet skipping over sides of the story isn't the way to come about giving punishments, Headmaster" interjects Amelia, in the doorway of the office, Pensieve in hands.
"Ah, Amelia, I was just about to call for you" states Dumbledore.
Placing the Pensieve onto Dumbledore's desk, Amelia conjures a chair beside Harry before answering, "And fortunately I was already on my way here. We can see, impartially, all three sides of the story and get to the root of this conflict. I believe, for fairness, that Professor Lockhart, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Longbottom that while they provide their memory of the event in question, that they are not to view any other memory other than their own. This way, if there are questions regarding what we have just seen, we can ask them and not influence any other memory in any way."
"That is fair, Director Black" states Dumbledore without a trace of any emotion in his voice.
"I think that we should first see Mr. Lockhart's memory, unless anyone has a valid reason why we shouldn't? No? Professor Lockhart, if you would be so kind…" states Amelia.
Shaking a little, Lockhart pulls out a silvery strand from his head with his wand, placing said strand into the Pensieve, diving in with Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and of course Amelia. Roughly ten minutes later they emerge from the Pensieve, Lockhart is able to retrieve his memory before Amelia asks, "Mr. Longbottom, please provide your memory of the event."
About the same time as before, Dumbledore, Amelia, Professor McGonagall, and Neville emerge from the Pensieve, frowns growing on Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. Retrieving his memory, Neville sits back as Harry plops his memory into the bowl and enters alongside the others.
Fifteen minutes later, those who had entered emerge, frowns deeply etched on both Dumbledore's and Professor McGonagall's faces.
"I'm afraid Headmaster that I must place Professor Lockhart under arrest for threatening to harm a minor" states Amelia firmly as she places cuffs on an unusually quiet Lockhart.
"Director Black, if you take Professor Lockhart with you, what shall Hogwarts do for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" inquiries Dumbledore calmly.
"You can teach the course yourself, or find a replacement. But remember Headmaster, you only have two weeks before the ministry gets involved and assigns you an instructor. I am willing to assign an auror who isn't presently too busy as an interim instructor for the two weeks, that is if you aren't willing to teach the course yourself."
Sighing, Dumbledore answers, "Alas I am too busy to teach. Please send an auror over for the mean time, Director Black."
"I shall, and thank you for your cooperation" replies Amelia, escorting Lockhart out of the office.
Arriving at the ministry, Amelia places Lockhart in his cell, placing his belongings that were in his pockets into a wooden container labeled with his name. Looking at a piece of parchment on her desk, Amelia strides over to Kingsley's desk and asks quietly, "You have a lighter schedule than most, do you mind filling in at Hogwarts as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, at least until Dumbledore gets something sorted out for the position?"
"You're asking me to teach?" comes Kingsley's rich baritone, laughing.
"Yes, for a period of no more than two weeks, while Dumbledore finds a replacement, or until the ministry appoints a professor. If you don't feel comfortable, I could get Trainee Tonks to…" begins Amelia before Kingsley answers, "I'll do it. Might be worth it to find some more auror qualified candidates. It'll be hard to replace Mad Eye once he retires."
Smiling, Amelia says, "Thanks. Scrimgeour is out investigating and I obviously have to stay here and be available for any reason."
Walking towards her office, Amelia stops at Moody's desk and says, "Mind interrogating Lockhart about his attempted assault on Harry Potter for me? Conflict of interest for me, and it gives Tonks a chance to learn another part of the job, that is if you're up to it."
Grunting, Moody stands up and motions at Tonks who follows him as he limps towards the holding cells. Looking at the pile of parchment that Tonks had left behind, Amelia begins sorting through the pile, determined to get the massive amount of paperwork filed away.
Hours later, Amelia makes her way home, eager to spend some time relaxing with the comforting sounds of explosions coming from the basement where Sirius and Remus spend many hours creating new and upgrading old products. Entering the house, Amelia enters the dining room where Sirius and Remus sit with a small wooden chest at her place, table void of any food.
"Dear, what's happening?" inquiries Amelia as she sits down and eyes the chest warily.
"Just a little something I think that you might like in regards to organizing your office. And of course keeping records secure" states Sirius, smiling.
Blinking exactly twice, Amelia answers in an emotionless tone, "What is it? And don't play games with me, please."
"Fine. It's a server, just like what we have, but this is an interesting device, as it requires security badge access which logs who accesses a console in the office, what file(s) they access, when they accessed them, etc. With some special Omni Plays, these similar members can access the files they need on the go, assuming they have the security access. This particular unit allows you to deposit the files you need, it categorizes them and makes exact copies available to anyone with access, as well as being able to make a copy of the requested file, which is then made on the fly, keeping the original intact and secure. One last thing I think you'll like is the ability to essentially write on it, but it has a standard look about the lettering, making them all the same so it won't be so hard to read what someone wrote."
Sighing and hanging her head, Amelia finally raises her head and asks, "So who controls the security access?"
Exchanging looks with Sirius, Remus answers, "We can…technically, but we were going to give you full access and remove ourselves from the equation. This means you can add or remove privileges from aurors and other staff as needed."
Looking it over for a few moments, Amelia asks tiredly, "Can it take what is spoken and turn it into written format, like a dictation quill?"
"We can work on that next then. Do you like it?" asks Sirius energetically.
"Yes. I just want my meal" states Amelia right before their three house elves enter the room with platters of food.
Eating their meal and quietly conversing, the three finish up, proceeding to do some light exercise before winding down for the evening. The next day Amelia leaves for work a much earlier than normal, eager to set up her new equipment before getting busy with other tasks.
Placing the server in a corner in her office, Amelia marvels at the simplicity of the system design, expecting near flawless execution of the new tech. Placing the basic scanning and printing unit outside her office against a wall where everyone can access it, Amelia moves to place a writing pad and a specifically designed Omni Play-like devices, coined 'WorkFlow' at each of the desks of the aurors.
Finishing up the permission levels on the badges, Amelia brings them out as the aurors file into the office.
"Attention everyone, I have a lot of news. To begin with, we are testing out a new system in which should save everyone time in filing paperwork, keep our files more secure, and of course provide access to our new training facility. These security badges are your ticket to your workstation, to be able to access our records, and will transport you and grant you access to the DMLE training facility. Each auror will be given one, but DO NOT LOSE IT! If you misplace it and can't locate it within two hours, contact me immediately to restrict access for your particular badge. Now to the workstations, these 'WorkFlow' devices are similar to the Marauders Emporium Omni Play, but are meant for work. Now you can search through our records and find what you're looking for faster than sifting through the heaps of rolls of parchment. And more than one person can look over the same document at the same time, hopefully leading to more productivity. In addition to that, the WorkFlow devices will allow you to take photos at investigation scenes and we will automatically have access back here at the office. In addition these badges should be worn in addition to your standard attire to identify you as a legitimate Auror. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, or reference the 'Help' manual available on each workstation. Any questions?" Not seeing or hearing anyone speak up, Amelia finishes, "Then get to work."
Passing out the badges, Amelia hears a familiar thumping sound as a growling voice states, "Wish you would have told me about these things yesterday."
Turning around and facing Moody, Amelia answers, "I didn't know about them until dinner last night. But so far, and this is only an hour and a half of use, they seem to be a good choice. I've been adding our rolls of records into the system, and haven't encountered an error so far."
"What about access to our records? Explain how they are more…'secure'" growls Moody.
"Once they are in the system, the physical copies are unable to be retrieved at least for almost everyone. I have direct physical access, but no one else does, at least for now. And every time a file is accessed, it is logged on who did, what time, for roughly how long, etc. This won't be looked at very often, mostly when we suspect someone is leaking information. But I personally think it is better than having unmonitored access for anyone in the ministry to just waltz in here after hours and access the records."
"I guess you're right about that. I don't trust all of this…tech…yet" states Moody, wordlessly handing Amelia a roll of parchment, taking his badge, and thumping off to his desk.
Patrolling through the office, helping those out with questions, Amelia learns some more about the system, alongside smiling at the amount of ink not being used. Returning to her desk an hour later, Amelia unfurls the parchment given to her by Moody, Amelia goes to Scrimgeour's desk and lays it out before asking quietly, "Do you think we would have enough against Lockhart to take him in front of the Wizengamot? It looks to me that he's been lying about quite a few things, especially his book series."
Skimming over the document, Scrimgeour replies, "I'd say so. Want me to handle it?"
"If you wouldn't mind. It might be seen as a conflict of interest if I tried to, especially with Harry's incident" answers Amelia.
"Right, I'll see what I can do" states Scrimgeour.
Just a few hours later in a small courtroom, Scrimgeour stands on the floor in front of a small jury of twelve high ranking officials in the ministry, and a thirteenth member as Cornelius Fudge.
Doors closing, Fudge bangs his gavel , bringing the court to order. Recognizing the following silence to begin his opening speech, Scrimgeour speaks, "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement charges Gilderoy Lockhart of one count of attempted harming of a student at Hogwarts and over twenty five counts of writing fictitious material solely for the purpose of monetary gain. With your permission, we request to use Veritaserum confirm his guilt."
Looking at the jury members, Fudge announces, "Permission granted."
Giving Lockhart a few drops of the serum, Scrimgeour begins again, "Are you Gilderoy Lockhart, previous temporary instructor at Hogwarts and author of a book series?"
"Yes."
"Did you attempt to coerce a Mr. Harry Potter to make an announcement regarding how you supposedly gave him an education on how to fight and defeat a basilisk?"
"I did."
"And when he declined to do such a thing, did you or did you not threaten to modify his memory?"
"I did."
"Were you or were you not about to perform said threat when you were knocked unconscious by a Mr. Neville Longbottom?"
"I was."
"You so knowingly would perform a lasting memory modification to make Mr. Harry Potter forget much about his magical education, supplemented by your own knowledge?"
"Yes."
"Have you done such memory modifications in the past for financial gain?"
"I have."
"Were any of these memory modifications in regards to anything you've claimed you have done in your books?"
"They were."
"Did you do anything that you claim you have done in your books?"
"I have not."
Turning back to the jury, almost all with a look of surprise on their faces, Scrimgeour states, "That is all at this time."
Erecting a privacy bubble, the jury begins debating as the Veritaserum wears off, and the weight of what he had just admitted to hits him, causing Lockhart to have tears streaming freely down his face.
"Why?" is all Lockhart manages to get out before sniffling.
"Because you attempted to modify a student's memory to gain more renown" states Scrimgeour.
The banging of the gavel ends any more conversation between the two, with Fudge announcing, "The jury finds Gilderoy Lockhart guilty of all charges, fining him five thousand galleons-" FIVE THOUSAND GALLEONS?!" exclaims Lockhart before breaking down in tears once more. "-alongside a ban on teaching any more students and writing any more books claiming feats he has not truly achieved", before leaving with the jury members.
Narrowing his eyes, Scrimgeour releases Lockhart from his shackles, the latter exiting the courtroom the fastest he could while still looking graceful. Grabbing a copy of the transcribed proceedings for records, Scrimgeour wordlessly exits the nearly empty court room, making his way back to the DMLE offices.
Knocking on the door before entering, Scrimgeour shuts the door before setting the parchment on Amelia's desk, not saying a word as she finishes something on her WorkFlow and then skimming over the parchment.
"A hefty fine, a ban on teaching, and a ban on writing books claiming feats he hasn't achieved. Harumph. It isn't what I was hoping for, but it's better than leaving him available to teach students. Thank you Rufus."
Nodding his head, Scrimgeour asks, "Director, what of this training facility you spoke of earlier today?"
"You are aware of Neville Longbottom's announcement of buying land for a training facility, correct? Work has been on going and should be available to be used—" as Sirius's head appears in 3D out of the WorkFlow and states, "Amelia, great news! The training facility has just been completed."
"How do we access this facility?" asks Scrimgeour.
"Turn your badge over and place a finger for five seconds. It should transport you there" states Amelia quickly grabbing hers and transporting with Scrimgeour who disappears right before her.
Looking around the sturdy metal flooring, the rough packed dirt walls, with the arched ceiling and the three humungous fields enclosed by thirty feet tall chain link fencing that doesn't even reach the ceiling, Scrimgeour asks, "An underground facility? Quite an interesting choice I must say. But it does give us some privacy."
"I think with some more spell work we can brighten this place up. But Rufus, what do you think about weekly training sessions? I'd hate to see our skills decline because of disuse" states Amelia as the two walk slowly around the facility, looking at everything.
Pausing to think while still walking, Scrimgeour answers, "I think it is a decent idea. But what would we do for training? That I think will be somewhat of a challenge."
"I'll think of a few things and then we can think about when to begin" says Amelia.
Returning to the office, the two go to their respective desks, Amelia looking over reports recently entered into the system, jotting down some ideas for training practices.
'I think having two screens available would be more productive than using just a single one at a time.' Thinks Amelia.
Days pass by as Amelia is consumed with paperwork from other departments requesting certain documents, going to scenes and investigating, writing up reports, alongside making up part of the Wizengamot as various cases, laws, and the likes are passed through.
Quickly the allotted two weeks for Kingsley to be working at Hogwarts approaches, causing Amelia on the last day to make a trip to Hogwarts to discover how Dumbledore had fared in finding a replacement instructor.
"Headmaster, I'm afraid that I need Kingsley back in my fold at the end of today" states Amelia as she sits down in a chair across from Dumbledore.
Placing his fingertips against each other, Dumbledore replies, "I am aware. He has been most excellent of an instructor. It's a shame he couldn't be the replacement…or could he, Director Black?"
Shaking her head, Amelia answers, "I'm afraid that I can not allow that. May I inquire as to whom you have found to be the replacement instructor?"
Hearing a knocking sound, Dumbledore smiles and replies, "I think he has just arrived."
Turning around in her chair, Amelia sees the last person she'd guess to be the replacement professor enter into the office.
Author note: Thanks to everyone who has helped make Unseen and Unheard From such a smashing success. My first ending spot for this chapter was at the training facility, but after a few reviews about chapter thirty two, I decided to extend this chapter a bit. :)