Chapter Four
"Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, the Wizengamot stands ready to open on this the hundred forty-fifth day of the forty-third year on the reign of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the second of that name to reign over the British Isles, Defender of Faith, Lord of all that is Magical. Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore presiding at the pleasure and the sufferance of her majesty."
The sentry stuck his staff thrice at the East Threshold, before turning to face inward. Harry stood with the other three new members at that threshold, waiting.
"Lords and Ladies, Witches and Wizards, I await the pleasure of her Majesty, for it is at her sufferance we exist," Dumbledore intoned from his seat at the head of the chamber.
At the South threshold, another sentry announced. "All rise for the representative of her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Dominions Beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of Faith, Lord of all that is Magical." The sentinel pounded his staff three times before continuing as a figure in a hooded robe entered the hall. As the figure stepped over the threshold, the hood dropped. "His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, Commander of the Royal Victorian Order."
Harry watched as the Duke of York, in resplendent navy blue robes strode down the center aisle of the Wizengamot. He had noticed that the sleeves of the robe had two medium gold stripes with a single thin gold strip running between them. He wondered how many of the wizards would have realized which royal it was just by that clue. The Duke took the stairs to the dais two at a time, before taking the seat to the right of Dumbledore's. It was actually a step upwards.
"Be seated," the Duke ordered. The members of the Wizengamot took their seats. As soon the sounds of the chairs being pushed back stopped echoing, he spoke again. "This session now stands open on the orders of her Majesty, the Queen. All here in serve at the pleasure of my majestic mother, the Queen. May you serve wisely and give her no cause to withdraw her charge. Chief Warlock, I understand that we have new three members today, and one seat remains unfilled, to take their oaths."
"We do. One hereditary member, one merit member, and one proxy for a member too young to serve await at the threshold. Most regrettably, her Majesty's hereditary member from Devonshire has departed from this earth with no recognized heir of the body, nor any living relative within three generations. They have been summoned to the threshold, so you may do your duty for your majestic mother, the Queen." Dumbledore passed the list over to the Duke.
"Harry Potter, merit member serving the County of Surrey, enter and approach to give your oath."
Harry had not expected to be first. Generally the hereditary member was called first, but Dumbledore had told him that was the Royal's choice. He knew that this was the first time the Duke had played this role. He'd been expecting it to be the Princess Royal. The sentry escorted him to the well of the chamber, announcing, "Your Grace, I present to you the member from Surrey, nominated and approved by this body on merit, Harry James Potter."
"Mister Potter, you stand before us, young, but of age," the Duke began. "You were chosen when you were but a babe, yet you stand before us, young but a man tested in battle none the less. Her Majesty has accepted you as one of her loyal Wizards, to serve her magical people in Surrey and in these isles. Raise your wand, and swear your oath."
Harry raised his wand and read the oath, carved into the side of the secretary's table under the presider's podium. "I, Harry James Potter, swear by my magic that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, by law and by magic, So mote it be."
"We accept your oath," the Duke said. "Take your seat, and know that all this chamber and her Majesty holds you to your duty. Roderick Danegeld, son of Edwin who served as the member from the County of Yorkshire, as did his father, and his father before him, enter and approach to give your oath."
Harry missed the oath, as it took him a while to find his seat. It was not in the back like he expected, but in the second row, next to Madam Longbottom.
"... Sapphire Eagleton, newly nominated proxy for Ophelia Campbell, the Durbarton, approach and give your oath."
"I, Sapphire Eagleton, stand in proxy for Ophelia Campbell. I serve in her stead and at her pleasure, and I swear by my magic that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, by law and by magic, So mote it be."
"Take your seat, Miss Eagleton. Lords and Ladies, Witches and Wizards, you are here before us, short one of the forty-nine seats, as Bartemius Crouch, the member from Devon, has died without a recognized heir. Her Majesty wishes that this seat not be left open. In accordance with her wishes, I call Amos Diggory, father of Cedric who so recently lost his life, a member of your Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creature, to stand before us and take his oath."
A mummer went through the crowd gathered in the gallery, as well as among the members. The monarch had not been this active in over a century. Harry heard a man behind him mutter, "not done."
A bell toiled, as a sentry left to seek Amos Diggory.
"As we await the arrival of Amos Diggory, I have a message for you all from her Majesty, one we trust we shall have no need of giving to Mr. Diggory," the Duke said. "Her Majesty is aware of the return of the terrorist known as Lord Voldemort, born Tom Mavolo Riddle. She hath declared his life forfeit in this realm. Should any of the members of this chamber support him, they shall be considered to have broken their oath before her and this body, and forever they shall be without home in this land. So says her Majesty."
"So mote it be!" some of the members, Harry among them, replied.
It was tradition for the Royal to stay in the antechamber during the remainder of the First Day of a Wizengamot Session. It was started due to late arriving new members, but the tradition held. So, as soon as the Duke left the chamber, Draco Malfoy left the Heir's gallery, where he and Pansy had been uncomfortably seated between Longbottom and Campbell. He knew this was his only chance, the only way he could see that he could get himself and Pansy out of this.
As he approached the special entrance to the antechamber for the Heir's gallery, he noticed that the hooded figure standing at the inner door was a lot shorter than the one he'd seen the last time. It definitely wasn't Peter. He'd hoped it was, because he knew that he wouldn't have to use the formal lines that he always fumbled to ask see the Royal. It wasn't the first time he'd seen the Royal, but it was the first time that he'd tried to see the Duke of York.
It was tradition for the heirs to at some point sneak down and see the Royal. With the younger ones, it usually resulted in receiving some sort of muggle candy. Draco had been particularly enamored of the creame eggs, which were for some reason only available in spring sessions. He knew from his father in better days, that it was expected that the young heirs do so.
"Royal guard, I come to see his grace on a matter of some urgence, a matter of state. I am Draco, son and heir to the seat of Wiltshire."
The hooded figure turned and knocked on the door. "It is Draco of Wiltshire on a matter of urgency state."
Draco smiled, as the hood of the guard slid back a bit, reveling reddish hair on the boy, who was not quiet of Hogwarts age. Draco had managed to get it right, but the boy had not.
"Bid him no hindrance," the Duke said from with. The boy royal opened the door, and Draco strode through it.
The Duke of York was seated in the usual wing-backed chair, with what his father had told him was an ash tray stand next to him. It was filled, as had been in his childhood, with candy. It looked like the Duke had chosen to stock it with more fruit candy than the chocolate that the Princess Royal tended to. The pair of ottomans provided for the child heirs of Wizengamot members flanked the chair. A pair of other chairs, wooden, were to the Duke's right, and a bench directly in front of him.
"Draco, be seated," the Duke said, his hand gesturing at the bench. Draco took his seat. "What matters bring you to the antechamber?"
"Your grace, I feel I must inform you that my father has betrayed his Queen, his country, and his oath to this assembly," Draco said. "He is an active Death Eater, and came to the Dark Lord's side on the eve of his rebirth. I have seen proof, and offer witnesses to his behavior in the part of the Honorable Member from Surrey's testimony."
The Duke stood up, and strode over to the door to the Wizengamot Chamber. He opened it, and whispered to the short, but taller than the other, hooded guard on the other side. Through the open door, Draco watched as the guard headed over to the desk of the member from Surrey and then return with Potter following.
"Your grace, the honorable member from Surrey," the guard said.
"Thank you Wills," the Duke said. "I think I need you to stay." The guard closed the door behind him. "Mister Potter, please be seated next to Mister Malfoy." There was a brief pause before the Duke spoke again.
"Mister Potter, Mister Malfoy contends that you, as a unwilling witness and participant inTom Mavolo Riddle's rebirth, witnessed his father's return to the side of Riddle, as one of his Death Eaters."
"I have," Potter answered firmly. Draco envied that firm response. He was barely able to stop the trembling of his hands. "I witnessed nine Death Eaters come to his side."
"Are you willing, under oath and with Royal Protection, to testify to those names?"
"I am."
"I shall require those names, before we return to the Wizengamot," the Duke said.
"Crabbe, Goyle, Walden Macnair, Lucius Malfoy, Nott, Peter Pettigrew," Potter said. "Unfortunately, those are the only names I know of the nine."
"We shall find out the rest," the Duke said. "Are their additional charges that you wish to add to your father's, Draco?"
"Yes, he is currently in possession of several muggle females, kept captive beneath Malfoy Manor," Draco said, unable to stop his hands from trembling now. "He is deliberately sabotaging the Pride of Portree Quidditch team in order to manipulate the betting market, and as of this morning, he is harboring the Dark Lord in his manor."
"This is way above me," the Duke said, reaching for a device on a table nearby. He did something with it's base, as he picked up and placed the other part next to his ear. "This is the Duke of York, your majesty."
"Yes mum, I know mum. I'll talk to my little bumblebee when I get home. We have a problem. At least three, I think. No, I don't think it's required, but if you really want to send him, I won't object to it. All three of us? Good. Thank you, your majesty. Yes mum."
Draco had no idea why the Duke was talking into the device, but it was obvious that he was speaking to someone, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who. It had to be some muggle version of the flue, he figured. As he sat there, he noticed that the guard had put down his hood, and was picking through the candy. With a series of head motions, the guard confirmed that both Draco and Potter would like a piece, and tossed them a golden piece of hard fruit candy. Being both Seekers, they easily caught it.
The Duke having restored the device back to the way it had been, returned to his seat, but did not sit down. "Your father messed with my Quidditch Team?" the Duke said. "All the preseason reports said that I was finally going to support a team that would beat Edward's. Charles is never going to win the family pot, though. For some reason he likes Chuddley."
"My friend Ron supports them too," Potter said. "Can't quite say why, either."
There was a sudden crack, and two figures appeared right behind the Duke. The duke jumped a bit at the sound. "Edward, you've got to stop doing that."
"Charles put me up to it," the younger of the two said. "Peter and Zara are on their way, through the muggle entrance." He wore a black robe only marked by the Tudor rose.
The other's black robes were differenced by four medium gold bands, and a badge with three feathers rising through a crown. "I'm not briefed yet..."
"Spent too much time getting Edward to arrive behind me."
"Andrew. I know we're going to sit in judgement, but why?"
"At least three charged with treason are in that chamber, among other things," the Duke said. "This is Draco Malfoy, who brought his own father's misdeeds to our attention, and the Honorable Member from Surrey, Harry Potter, who witnessed Tom Mavolo Riddle's return."
"I read the Prophet," the older man said. "Mister Potter, your country stands in your debt."
"Thank you, your Highness," Potter said, bowing.
"Edward, can you charm these black?" the Duke asked. "I should have taken your advice on color." The younger man pulled out his wand and made the Duke's robes black. Meanwhile, the older man, who Draco now knew had to be a prince of some sort, opened the inner door, and pulled the other guard in. Minutes later, two other hooded guards arrived, one of which Draco immediately identified as Peter.
The oldest took charge as soon as they arrived, addressing the guards. "Wills, you will go ring the bell, then stand in the center of the chamber, while the rest of you bar the chamber doors. Here is your cue card, you'll need it. Try not to look at it too much.
"Mister Potter, return to the chamber, and stop by Madame Bones, and tell her just one word, trial. Mister Malfoy, I shall need you to come with us. Enter and behind us, and then take a seat at the pages bench. Try not to draw attention to yourself. Hoods up, everyone. It's time."
The four guards entered the chamber from the antechamber door, three of them immediately heading for the East, South, and West doors. The fourth headed for the large bell installed at the base of the throne, no longer hidden. The doors slammed shut and the bars slid home, almost as if by one hand. Then the bell tolled, the bell that only rang when the Wizengamot stood witness to the charging and trial of one of it's own.
As it rang, the three royals in black robes, their identities once again concealed beneath their hoods, entered. Their steps were slow and measured, the work of their training. You could almost hear the cry of left right left in between the toiling of the bell.
Draco found a place on the pages bench, in between two Hufflepuff third years. He placed his finger on his lips, to indicate his silence, only now noticing that his own robes had been charmed to match that of the pages.
The guard the eldest royal had called Wills faced the Chief Warlock, the Royals standing behind him, and announced. "Chief Warlock, I come before you as the herald of judgement. Behind me stands the three judges royal. Yield your gavel, and take your place among your peers to witness the judgement of your Queen."
"Noble herald, I bear no hindrance," Dumbledore said in the silence of the chamber, before descending to the well of the chamber and presenting the gavel to the middle of the royals, the one with the feathered badge. He took it.
The royals then moved up to take the seats on the level where Dumbledore had been seated, the eldest taking the seat where the Duke had been.
"Guards and Pages, escort the accused members to the well of the chamber, where their new seats await. Royal herald, read the names and charges."
Three chairs, manacles waiting, rose from the floor, as the three other guards headed over to the pages to pick up partners. Peter picked Draco, and he immediately started dreading the next few minutes. Peter noticed. "Don't worry, Draco," Peter whispered. "Uncle Edward has the charm on you. Bloody brilliant wizard he is."
"Lucius Malfoy of Wiltshire," the herald began. The youngest guard headed towards Draco's father's seat. "You are charged as an active Death Eater, with murder, terrorism, rape, kidnaping, harboring fugitives from the law, lying before a court of her Majesty's, with the use of curses, unforgivable and cruel. You shall answer these charges under truth serum, for this court of her majesty's own shall not accept otherwise."
The next youngest guard, whom Draco was sure was a girl, headed out for the next. "Walden Macnair of Fife, you stand charged as an active Death Eater, with murder, terrorism, rape, and kidnapping. Your further stand charged of lying before a court of her Majesty's, with the use of curses unforgivable, with the use of a deadly mundane weapon in the course of these crimes. You shall answer these charges under truth serum, for this court of her majesty's own shall not accept otherwise."
Finally, Draco accompanied Peter as the last member charged was announced. "Gregory Goyle the Fifth of Durham, you stand charged as an active Death Eater, with murder, terrorism, kidnapping, and rape. You further stand charged of lying before a court of her Majesty's, with the uses of curses unforgivable. You shall answer these charges under truth serum, for this court of her majesty's own shall not accept otherwise."
Draco escorted the father of one of his loyal followers in Slytherin to the well, and assisted Peter in securing him in his place. Then they both stepped back, and Draco followed the other pages back to their bench.
Then the youngest of the royals sitting in judgement said, "Amelia Bones, honorable member from Kent, and head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I ask that you go with our herald and his brother to obtain the veritaserum from the Antechamber, then assist in the distribution of the drops."
The room remained in stark silence as the veritaserum was retrieved. Draco kept his eyes away from his father. Instead his eyes somehow caught Potter's. At first he was not sure what Potter's answering expression was. He'd never quite seen it directed towards him. After a couple minutes, he realized what it was, and why he'd never seen it directed towards him before. It was an expression of respect.
"Administer the drops, two of them, as this is the Phillips formulation," the Duke ordered. Draco watched as two drops were placed on his father's tongue. "Malfoy of Whitshire, you shall now answer the charges with your pleas as the herald reads them again."
"Multiple counts of murder..."
"Guilty"
"Terrorism"
"Guilty."
"Multiple counts of rape."
"Guilty."
"Multiple counts of kidnaping"
"Guilty."
"Harboring fugitives from the law, notably Tom Mavolo Riddle at your manor."
"Guilty."
"Lying before a court of her Majesty's during a previous trial as a Death Eater."
"Guilty."
"The use of unforgivable curses, in all three types."
"Guilty."
"The use of curses cruel in the operation of a sports enterprise, namely that of the Pride of Portree Quidditch Team."
"Guilty."
"The prisoner has answered all the charges, your Highness," the herald concluded.
The eldest of the royal judges replied. "You have answered the charges we have given you, in response to what the honorable member from Surrey, and your own son have made us aware of. Your guilt is admitted, but we must know how deep your guilt is. Explain your guilt in each of these charges."
For the next two hours, Draco listened to the depravities of his father. He heard how his father tortured his victims to their death, how his father had, even during the time of the Dark Lord's vanquishment kept muggle girls to rape beneath Malfoy Manor. He heard how his father used the unforgivable curses on them, and even on his fellow Death Eaters in service of his master. He heard how his father had bribed the judge who had tried him for being a Death Eater, holding the judge's daughter at the manor, returning her without her virtue.
Many of the members of the Wizengamot were visibly sick at his father's testimony. Draco got through an hour before he lost his last meal. Somehow, Potter kept his expression flat, even when it was revealed that his own mother's dead body had been desecrated by Lucius Malfoy.
Draco did not want to be related to his father, anymore. He did not want to be like his father. His father was devoid of all that was right and good. There was no punishment that Draco knew that would be too harsh.
"Enough!" the eldest judge said, after looking at notes handed to him by the other royal judges. "Administer the antidote. Gathered Wizengamot, have we not heard enough to judge his punishment? Does anyone here believe we need to hear more?"
There was silence.
"Then hear us, Lucius Malfoy, gathered Wizengamot, this court has reached it's judgement. We accept your guilty plea on all counts. You shall be taken from this place, to the Tower of London. There in you shall be questioned further, before serving your sentence. Stripped of your magic, you shall be hanged by the neck until dead, then beheaded, where upon your head shall be displayed at the Traitors' Gate. Your body shall be quartered, and buried in unmarked graves near the four corners of the kingdom. Your shares in the Pride of Portree shall be forfeited to the crown. Malfoy Manor shall be burned to the ground and left for ten generations as a reminder of the penalty for treason towards her Majesty, the Queen."
"Your seat shall be given to your son, who has shown to us courage and honor. While the name Malfoy shall be cursed in this land, he and his heirs shall not be. Draco, rest assured that this court shall not leave you penniless and alone. You stand now under the personal protection of her Majesty, the Queen."
Albus Dumbledore looked longingly at the painting he'd hung in his office a long time ago. It was of a DB5 like his own on a British road. Had it only been a couple days since he had taken Harry to Cedric's funeral? It seemed like a couple weeks at the very least.
He had expected to spend the afternoon after the Wizengamot opening working on the garden of Number Four Privet Drive. The session did not end until well after dark. He had sat in his desk through it all. Dumbledore had known that Death Eaters were depraved and did much evil, but until the testimony for sentencing, he had not really known what that meant.
Testimony under veritaserum was only available under wizarding law in three cases, by the request of the witness, in cases where a prior trial had been given and new evidence had revealed lying, and by order of the Royal Family. The last two had applied for all three of the cases, and most likely would for several other trials upcoming.
Madam Bones had been allowed to leave after Malfoy's sentencing, but all the other members and those in the galleries had been confined until the last sentence was given. There were now three magical prisoners in residence of the Tower of London. He was required to witness their deaths at sunrise on Monday Morning.
He'd witnessed a portion of the questioning of Malfoy at the hands of the Royals and Madam Bones. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York had been the primary questioners, and he'd been surprised at how much they had known about the wizarding world. It had been especially surprising when they had gotten around to exploring Malfoy's work on the Pride of Portree. It was clear that both were well versed in Quidditch lore. He was especially surprised when the Prince of Wales had stated that he had known something was up when his Cannons had been ousted from last place.
The door to his office opened revealing an obviously exhausted and recently healed Madam Bones. "Amelia," he stated. He did not know what he wanted to hear from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head.
"There weren't as many there as I thought there would be, Albus, but there were enough," Bones said. "I lost two Aurors, and another dozen will be out for a good amount of time. As for Tom Riddle, as the Royals call him, he and a dozen others managed to escape, but not before giving us quite a hard fight. I suspect that he made it much easier for the Royals to carry out their burn the manor to the ground order.
"On the Death Eater side, we will be burying six of them, and last I heard eight of them will require recovery before they can stand trial. We arrested a dozen and a half, including, I'm afraid three who are not yet of age. Filling that juvenile judge slot just became a priority. One of the three will be up for murder.
"Investigation of the manor is ongoing, of course, but thus far we have discovered ten muggle girls who were being used as sex slaves, as well as the remains of at least three dozen more. Judging from bodies and ... well, let's just say that I will watch with pleasure when that bastard is hung, and I may have to hold a lottery to chose which Aurors will get to see it."
"And Narcissa?"
"We found her in what appears to have been Voldemort's throne room. It will take questioning to determine the extent of her involvement, but that will have to wait a while. She has a crushed larynx, and is suffering from the results of being flung with great force into a wall. She also appears to be in shock. May I ask what has happened to Draco Malfoy?"
"Draco and his betrothed, Miss Pansy Parkinson, have both been taken to a secure location by the Duke of York," Albus said. "The Duke said he will make it available to you, and that you should contact the Princess Royal for the information." He then pulled a piece of folded parchment out of his drawer. It had a broken seal of red wax whose impression could still be read, 'E II R.' "This arrived an hour ago."
"I take that the Queen is not happy with recent events."
"The Queen is summoning Minister Fudge to Buckingham, and suggests that we put choosing his successor on our agenda for Monday. I intend to nominate you."
"Albus, I will tell you the same thing you told the Wizengamot right before they chose Fudge, I will not accept if nominated, and will not serve if elected," Bones said, before adjusting her monocle. "This is no time for me to leave my department. We can't afford to suffer through someone else learning the ropes now, at the very least!"
"Then do you have any other suggestions?"
"A few, Albus, a few."
Author's Note:
This was the first bit of my vision of how the Wizengamot works. I have chosen to integrate the Royal Family more into the workings of the Wizengamot, where as the Prime Minister deals more with the Ministry of Magic. You should expect more on this in coming chapters, as Honor to Serve is focused on Harry's summer serving in the Wizengamot.
There are some who have indicated that I'm redeeming too many characters. Yes, I am redeeming Draco, but you should not expect any other Death Eaters, unless otherwise indicated in canon, to be redeemed. The Dursley situation will be explained more shortly. For the purposes of this story, I am not taking their behavior to the extreme sometimes implied by canon.
One final note, the posting of this story is dependent on the inspiration of the muse. The only reason this chapter is ready this soon, is I took a week off last week, and was inspired. One thing to note however, is that I do have a policy of delaying posting one day for every "post more soon" review, and generally will not post parts closer than a week apart.