Chapter 13:

Hermione raced up to Severus' rooms holding a book like precious cargo. "Severus!" She yelled as soon as she was in his room and quickly headed towards his sitting room. As soon as she saw him sitting in his favorite chair in front of the fire she started talking. "Sev! I found the answer. I found the counter charm to Dumbledore's compulsion as well as a cleansing ritual and spell that can be performed to get him back to being Tom and not Voldemort!" She was almost bouncing with excitement. She had dove back into her research after Albus told them what spells he had placed on everyone and she was able to look them up in the books in the chamber and find their counters. The only real way to get her father back was to use an ancient cleansing ritual and imbue an item with the cleansing, then the item had to be worn by the individual needing to be cleansed and a very powerful spell had to be cast on the wearer. She knew the only person strong enough to cast the spell was Harry and that it would meet the prophesy description of vanquishing the Dark Lord.

Severus was happy for her and was just as excited as she was to realize the war could be ended without a long drawn out battle. The two spent the rest of the night going over the ritual in detail and trying to determine if they had everything they would need to perform it. He knew they had to hurry the ritual as Tom was fading more every day and Voldemort was reasserting himself. Even Hermione's letters were not having the same affect they used to according to Luicius and the other inner circle members.

Harry woke up from a strange dream. He had been dreaming about being in an orphanage and being beaten and then about being an outcast from his own house and how his salvation came from reading and how he always felt better after performing dark arts, like it was soothing to his soul or a fix for an addiction. It took Harry a moment to realize he must have just experienced one of Tom's dreams and he was once again startled to note all the similarities between their lives. He wondered what Tom would have accomplished in his life if Dumbledore had not interfered. Tom would probably be Minister of Magic or someone very high up as he was charismatic, powerful and had legitimate blood ties to one of the four founders.

Harry had been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days and realized that he was half way to fulfilling the prophesy and if he could only find a way to cleanse Tom Riddle of the plague that was Voldemort then he could finally be free to live his life the way he wanted. He was not as unobservant as others thought and knew that he had feelings for Pansy and that they were returned. The only reason he did not act upon them was fear of things turning out poorly in the end. He was afraid it would come down to him fighting Voldemort to the death and he didn't want Pansy to suffer at the Dark Lord's hands if he lost. He knew Draco could protect her if he lost as long as she had never been his girlfriend, he was also hoping Draco would be able to protect Ginny now as well. He wasn't sure it was possible to protect Neville at this point but at least he knew Hermione would be safe no matter the outcome.

The war was weighing heavily on him and the fact that Ron and Dumbledore's trials were starting in a few days was only making everything worse. He was excited about the changes they were going to be making to the school and hoped everything would work out. The sorting hat had chosen McGonagall to be the next Headmistress and she and Hermione had come up with a plan to revitalize the education given at Hogwarts. He had even spoken out and shown his support to the new system, hoping the Ministry would come on board. The new university program was exactly what the world needed to get out from the oppressive thumb of manipulations that Dumbledore had laid down for the past 50 plus years.

"If you continue to think that hard your brain will fall apart," Draco drawled to him from the doorway. "Hermione has been asking for you and I couldn't find Neville so I had to come all the way up here myself. So stop brooding or whatever it is you are doing, get dressed and get your arse to the ROR." Draco smirked at him and disappeared. Harry chuckled and did as he was told, knowing it was best not to make Hermione wait.

Harry entered the Room of Requirement and was surprised to see all his friends as well as Professors McGonagall and Snape. Hermione was setting the room up for what looked to him like some sort of ritual. Severus was speaking softly to Minerva who seemed to be trying not to cry and the others were watching in confusion just as he was. Hermione spotted him and grinned before clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming," she told them and they could all see that something had her extremely excited. "I have finally found a way to cleanse my father of his darkness." She told them with a huge smile. "It requires a ritual of cleansing to be performed. This is a unique ritual as it requires both a balance of magic and the elements. It will require 8 witches or wizards to cast it, and it has to be an even number of each. The cleansing ritual is cast on an item of some sort that can be worn. When the person who needs cleansing wears the item it begins the cleansing process. The only way to actually complete the cleansing is through using a very powerful spell on the person that works in conjunction with the ritual item and finally expels the darkness in the person."

She went on to explain the ritual in more detail. "My mother and I will be in the North and South positions of the compass to signify both Light and Love, Harry and Severus will be on the East and West positions to signify both Dark and Connection. You see for the ritual to work at least 2 of the casters have to have a tangible connection to the one being cleansed or it won't work, that's why it is only mentioned in obscure texts as rarely do people have connections that strong with multiple people. Harry's scar and Severus' Dark Mark will allow us to complete the ritual. Neville you will stand in the NW compass point and represent Earth as you are so good at Herbologry and are such a compassionate person, opposite you at SE will be Draco representing Air since he loves to fly and his name represents a constellation. Ginny you will stand in the SW compass point and represent Fire with your red hair and fiery temper and finally Pansy you will stand opposite her at NE and represent water as the final element. We place the object in the center of the compass and perform the ritual." She then handed them copies of the ritual to read over and memorize their parts. She then handed each of them a different colored robe, she and Minerva were to wear white, Severus and Harry in black, Neville in green, Ginny in red, Draco in yellow and Pansy in blue.

They spent the rest of the morning going over the ritual in detail, practicing it three times in its entirety before they left the room to go down to the grounds as the ritual had to be performed outside at sunset near all the elements. Severus quickly built a small bonfire near the lake where they would perform the ritual. They knew they looked odd to the students watching them but didn't care if this would end the war. Hermione set a ring in the center of the compass points that had been outlined in white chalk. The ring was attached to a golden chain and she coiled the chain around the ring before stepping back and lighting 33 white candles and floating them at their appropriate positions around the compass. Each of them donned their colored robe and stepped into position before the sun began to set. As soon as the sun began to set they began the ritual by bowing to each of the cardinal directions and calling on an element to bless them in their cleansing. Then Hermione began the ritual by tossing white rose and white lily petals into the air for purity and beginning a Latin chant. Minerva was next and tossed lilac and red rose petals in the air for love and joined in the chant. Then Harry tossed Orris Root for oneness and Severus tossed onyx shavings into the air for darkness and both joined the chant. Neville spoke a blessing to the earth before tossing a handful of dirt for longevity and different fir leaves for life into the air and joining the chant. Draco spoke a blessing to the air then tossed Peony into the air for healing and tangerine for openness before joining the chant. Ginny spoke a blessing to fire before summoning some of the ashes from the fire nearby and scattering them for renewal and joined the chant. Pansy spoke a blessing to the water and then poured a small jug of lemon water on the ground for cleansing. They repeated the process around the group again each tossing a different item to the wind and keeping up with the chant including white tulip for forgiveness, pine needles for hope, Allspice for compassion, Freesia for trust, Marigold for grief, Ginger flower for beginnings, Sage for knowledge, and Anise for purification. When the last person had finished their part they all paused and then spoke as one another incantation and the ring and chain glowed a vibrant white before returning to normal to signify that their ritual was complete.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and extinguished the candles and stepped from her position on the compass. She smiled at all of her friends in thanks before gently gathering the ring and chain from the center of the circle. She was glad she had spent the time snooping throughout the chamber as she found a small vault with precious Slytherin family treasures in it, including the Slytherin signet ring which they had used for the ritual. She knew there was no way her father would pass up wearing the Slytherin ring; it was something she knew he had always wanted. Now she just had to perform the counter to Dumbledore's compulsion charm and get Harry close enough to her father to cast the final incantation. She knew it would not be as easy as she hoped but at least they were part of the way there. She just needed to sneak out and meet her father now to give him the ring.

Severus cautiously approached Voldemort's current hide out, hoping that he would not curse first and ask questions later. He had to deliver a message from Hermione. He held the box with the Slytherin ring in it close to his chest, scared something would happen to it before he got it to Tom. He cautiously knocked on the door to the room he thought the Dark Lord to be in and waited for the rat Wormtail to open it. He was let into the room and hurried over to bow in front of his current master. Since the fall of Dumbledore he only had one psychopath to bow to remaining and he hoped that Hermione's plan would take care of that as well.

"What news do you have for me Severus?" Voldemort asked knowing his servant would never come without being called unless he had something important to convey.

"I have a package to deliver My Lord," Severus told him. "Your daughter told me it was something that you would want in your possession immediately. I offered to hand deliver it to keep her safely in hiding."

Voldemort blinked and his face softened some as more of Tom emerged. He took the small box from Severus and opened it carefully wondering what his daughter would think so important to send. His eyes widened as he saw it was a ring in the box and he immediately recognized the crest as Slytherin. He excitedly read the accompanying note before plucking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto its rightful place on his finger. Most would have been terrified to see Tom Riddle with a huge smile on his face but Severus was just relieved he would not be cursed.

"Tell my daughter she did well," Tom told Severus once he had schooled his face into its normal intimidating look. "I will write her later today. How is your courtship progressing Severus?"

"Slowly My Lord," He responded. "She is in hiding and the only time we have been together where we could continue the process was when we were in the hospital." No one had mentioned to the Dark Lord that Dumbledore had manipulated him as well as none were brave enough to risk being killed for being bearers of bad news.

"Good, continue to treat her well and I will allow you to marry her at the end of her schooling." Tom told him and then dismissed him so he could go admire his new signet ring.

"Do you really think this will work?" Harry asked nervously as he practiced the cleansing ritual spell for what seemed like the 100th time in the ROR. He wanted the war to end more than most but he doubted his abilities. "What if it goes wrong and I have to fight him?"

"Then you will fight him and win the war that way instead," Hermione told him trying to calm him again. They had been practicing for a few hours and Harry just seemed to get jumpier every time he cast the spell.

"But he's your father; won't you be upset if I have to kill him?" He asked her.

"Harry I have always known you would need to kill him and I have helped you in any way I can. Yes I will be upset because he is dead but I will not be upset with you. You need to end the war and if that means you have to kill my father when you kill Voldemort I can accept that. I just ask that you try using this ritual first and if it doesn't work then do what you need to do. You're my best friend Harry and I want you to survive. I can live without Tom Riddle in my life but not without you Harry. So concentrate, practice and let's get this thing over with!" She told him giving him a hug and them pushing him back towards the practice dummy.

Harry was relieved to hear her say those things. He loved Hermione like a sister and the idea that she would hate him if he was forced to kill her father scared him more than he liked to admit. He was determined to try and save Tom if he could and only kill Voldemort. He refocused his thoughts on the spell and continued to practice. They were going to give the ring a few weeks to do its magic and then Hermione and Severus would take him to Tom for their last confrontation.

Ron Weasley's trial was quick and to the point. The court scribe read out the charges against him and then the transcript of his questioning under truth serum. The testimonies of the witnesses during the initial questioning were enough and they were not even required to re-testify. Ron was being represented by a ministry appointed lawyer since his parents refused to help him and Dumbledore was in no position to help him either. The ministry law wizard was disgusted by his client's behavior as well as his lack of remorse and was only doing his duty to present a fair trial by representing the boy. The Wizengamot quickly came to a unanimous decision of Ron's guilt but took longer in deciding upon his punishment. As much as he deserved a Dementor's kiss for attempted murder and all his other assorted crimes, he was still a kid and the court was hesitant to assign such a punishment to someone so young. They finally decided on 50 years of imprisonment in Azkaban with the offer of a reduced sentence of 40 years if he expressed remorse for his crimes.

When Ron was told of his options the gathered crowd was able to hear his yells of protest. "How can they do this to me? I was just doing as I was told by Albus Dumbledore. Anything that I was told to do by him was for the greater good of the wizarding world how can I be held responsible. How can I be sent to Azkaban for attempting to rid the world of another Dark Lord. You'll all regret your decision when Potter starts burning down your houses and raping your children!" He screamed up at the Wizengamot members. Ron's lawyer just signed the paperwork for the 50 year sentence and handed it to the clerk before the Dementors came into the room to collect Ron. "You'll all be sorry when you realize I was right. You'll be begging me to come back and become Minister of Magic!" He yelled as he was hauled from the room.

Molly had completely broken down in sobs when she heard the verdict but was also relieved that he would not receive the kiss. Arthur was shaking his head and wondering where they had gone wrong with Ron while holding his distraught wife. With the outcome of the trial he had decided he should formally disown Ron from the family so that his crimes could not be held against his other children or himself. He handed Molly off to the twins, who were very subdued after watching their younger brother taken away, before heading over to the inheritance offices before Dumbledore's trial began.

Albus Dumbledore was livid that they were tying him for treason and a multitude of other charges. He couldn't understand how his firm control over everything had snapped so suddenly. They had placed magic restraining cuffs on his wrists since he had tried to disable their wards wandlessly. He realized that there was no getting out of the predicament he was in with all of his credentials and wealth still in tact and had been trying to escape to flee the country.

Harry sat stiffly in the row of benches reserved for witnesses. He was uncomfortable with being called as a witness as he knew the publics' opinion of him was constantly changing. He wanted Dumbledore brought to justice he just wished he didn't have to be involved in the actual trial. Dumbledore was being charged with 15 different offenses, many with multiple counts:

1 count Treason (For starting and prolonging the war)

2 counts Murder (Grindlewald's sister and unborn child)

2 counts Accessory to Murder (James and Lilly Potter)

54 counts Magical Coercion of a Ministry Official

92 counts Magical Coercion

2 counts Unauthorized Total Obliviation (Frank and Alice Longbottom)

4 counts Dampening Another's Magic (Harry, Neville, Hermione, Remus)

2 counts Child Endangerment (Harry, Tom Riddle)

3 counts Embezzlement (Potters, Hogwarts, Ministry)

1 count Attempted Escape

1 count Harming a Protected Magical Creature (Fawkes)

2 counts Falsification of Magical Records (Potter's will, Ron's grades)

567 counts Theft

1 count Coercion (Ron)

1 count Invasion of Privacy (Harry)

It took the entire first day of the trial just to get through reading out the different counts of the crimes he was accused of as well as opening statements and the reading of the transcript of both Albus' and Ron's official questioning. Harry wasn't called to testify until the third day of the trial and was glad to see that by the time he testified no one seemed surprised by anything they found out about the headmaster. He had to tell of his life at the Dursley's and how he told Albus he didn't want to go back, how he had not been told of the magical world until he got his Hogwarts letter, how he was never given his key or any of the account statements to his fortune or informed that he held a seat on the Wizengamot, it seemed to him that he was on the stand for hours telling things he never wanted the public to know about his life.

The testimonies continued for another week and a half until all the charges had been addressed. The first day of the trial Dumbledore's attorney had thought they would read a couple charges, revoke his roles on the Wizengamot and as Headmaster, give him a small slap on the hand and send him on his way. As the trial grew longer, the attorney realized he was fighting a loosing battle and only asked a few questions of each witness to move things along. The transcript of Dumbledore's own confession under Veritaserum was the worst of the evidence against him but with every new witness some other new aspect of the man's manipulation of the world became clear.

On what everyone hoped to be the last day of the trial Albus demanded to testify in his own defense. His lawyer advised against it and then sat back as his client just guaranteed that he would never see the outside of Azkaban again. Albus began his speech with proclaiming that he was the only one who knew what was good for the wizarding world, that everything he did was for the betterment of their kind and that it wasn't really his fault that everyone else was too stupid to see that being completely open and honest with muggles was the way to go. He even hung himself further when he said that the loss of lives was normal in a war and that he had always weighed the risks against the rewards. When asked why he stole so many items and so much money he responded that he was entitled to the money and items as he had better use for them and many of the people they belonged to did not deserve them. Any doubt that it was all somehow a misunderstanding was washed away when he was asked if he was sorry for the life he inflicted on Harry.

"The life of one spoiled child is insignificant in the larger picture of what I was accomplishing. His parents coddled and cooed over him constantly and were unwilling to submit to my demands. After they were out of the picture I learned that young Harry was the only one who could defeat me and knew I had to have him under my control completely. I don't regret placing with those abusive relatives of him as it achieved the end I needed by having him think I was his savior. The only regret I have in this whole thing is that somehow I lost control of everything. I should never have even been charged with these crimes as I am only guilty of looking out for the betterment of our species." Albus told everyone while sending a glare in Harry's direction. He didn't understand how one stupid boy could ruin all his years of hard work! He knew the trial was going badly but he wasn't worried as he knew the Dementors would recognize his power and let him escape once he got to Azkaban and he could begin his fight again.

Albus Dumbledore was found guilty of all charges on all counts. The sentencing for him was unique and designed to show him the error of his ways. He would be stripped of all his magic and sent to a high security muggle prison on death row. He would also have complex charms placed upon him so he was unable to talk about magic or the magical world. The ministry would keep him there for 10 years before he would be moved to Azkaban for 10 more years before being administered the Dementor's Kiss if he was still alive at that point. The punishment had been suggested to them by an anonymous party (Hermione) before the trial began and they thought it was the most fitting for his crimes.

As Harry returned to the school after the trial he realized that with Dumbledore being found guilty that he was officially ½ way through the prophesy and that with Tom already wearing Slytherin's ring he only had a few more weeks before he would either be free or be dead. He sat outside by the lake thinking about what his future would hold. The idea that he could be free of the war before graduation made hope blossom in his heart. He would be able to take any job he wanted, get married, have a family, serve on the Wizengamot and just live his life. He thought about his friends and how Hermione and Severus would get engaged once she finished school. He knew Draco and Ginny were together and that somehow, he assumed with Hermione's help, Draco was able to get his father to break off his betrothal to Pansy. Neville was planning on taking an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout the next year to become a Herboligest and would be staying at the school. He realized he didn't know what Pansy's plans were yet and was shocked to find he was scared of loosing her. He had kept a safe distance from her to keep her safe if he lost the fight to Voldemort. He could tell that she had feelings for him and hoped that she would still want to be with him once things settled back down. He thought the name Pansy Potter was quite nice sounding. He had already begun to shop for gifts for her for once he began the courting process. He had even already started the formal letter to her father asking his permission. He even had everything planned out for how he would begin the process, now all he had to do was win the war.