Dumbledore walked confidently out onto the floor. He would have this madness cleared up in moments and everyone would worship him once more and place the blame where it really belonged—on Harry Potter.
He couldn't believe the brat had bested him—him! No one bested Albus Dumbledore.
But no, he thought with sudden relief, it didn't really matter because he hadn't actually been bested. He would come out on top, as he always did. Just look at that mess a few years ago with the basilisk. They had practically begged him to return to his position.
He hadn't bothered to put up a fight when the Aurors showed up at Hogwarts bearing the potion that would block his access to his magical core as well as the charmed bracelets that prevented active magic. It was all immaterial, see—he would be set free within a few hours when he could finally expose the bastard boy and his Father.
There was absolutely no way that the Wizengamot would ever side against him. It was simply inconceivable. Most of them had either been fed stories about him as bedtime tales as children or else they had seen him in action when he had slaughtered the last Dark Lord. Either way, they worshiped him. Just as he deserved, really.
Not to mention the simple fact that he was doing this all for them. Well, sort of. It was at least partially for the good of the Wizarding World. Who had the right to question him and what he knew best anyhow?
He looked up as the Wizengamot arrived, feeling perfectly ready for this.
"Are you Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry?"
"I am."
The examiners didn't waste any time with preliminary questions.
"Did you place Harry Potter in the Dursley's care?"
"I did."
"Were you aware of the circumstances in which he lived?"
"I was," Dumbledore said confidently, quite certain that he would be able to get out of this once his whole story was told.
The Wizenmagut sat in stunned silence for a moment, not quite certain how to proceed after that brazen admission. "If you were aware of the abuse then why did you allow Harry to remain in that house?" a woman finally asked.
"Harry Potter has a single purpose in this world: to rid us of Voldemort. To do this he needed to build strength and character. I made sure that he did that."
"Strength and character?" a man sputtered.
Another man's voice took over. "Who are you to decree what is or is not a person's purpose in this world?"
"It has been prophesied. I merely assisted in carrying it out. I am but a tool of Lady Destiny's making."
A few members of the Wizengamot rolled their eyes at that brilliant statement.
The audience bit back laughter as well.
"What exactly has been prophesied?"
"I cannot reveal the precise words but it revealed that Harry Potter is the only person who can possibly kill Voldemort."
This did not shake the Wizengamot as much as Dumbledore had assumed it would. Evidently most of them were not strong believers in destiny.
"But still," a woman argued, "you cannot decide that was to be his only purpose. Perhaps he could have vanquished You Know Who, had he only been given the chance to have a normal and healthy childhood."
An old woman spoke up as well, irritated that Dumbledore had forgotten the primary rule about prophecies and seer magic. "Prophesies are impossible to interpret until they have come to pass—it was the fate of Cassandra and it is the fate of all true seers. Attempting to force a meaning out of a prophecy is madness."
"I wish to return to the matter at hand here," the head examiner suddenly said. "We are not here to argue what may or may not have been a person's fate or purpose or whether or not it is possible to force a prophecy into a specific interpretation. We are here to determine what degree of criminal neglect Dumbledore is accountable for. Tell me, Dumbledore, did you know that the muggle uncle abused Harry?"
"Of course."
She cocked an eyebrow at his cavalier attitude. "And did you know that he raped him?"
"I was not aware of that until the boy arrived at Hogwarts, no."
"Why then, did you not pull him out of the house when you did find out the truth?"
"Because that would ruin all of my careful planning. The boy has a terrifying amount of power. If he was not properly broken then he would become a second Dark Lord. He needed to be abused. He needed to be raped. We should be thanking Vernon Dursley for doing it for us."
"Thanking him?" an old man yelled out incredulously.
"No one needs to be raped," the head examiner said acidly, "and no one deserves it either. You are despicable."
"I am making sure that what needs to get done gets done. You place the security of our world in my hands and then you damn me for protecting it!" Dumbledore protested, finally growing angry.
"And this is the root of the problem, old man," a woman finally said. "No one placed the security of our world in your hands. You are the headmaster of a private boarding school. You are not the Minister of Magic, the Captain of the Aurors or the Head Unspeakable. You are not, in fact, anyone who has any sort of authority over our world apart from determining the class schedules of a bunch of children. The security of our world is in the hands of the Ministry, not the headmaster of a private boarding school, however prestigious it may be. You count yourself far more powerful than you are."
Dumbledore finally realized that things were not going at all as he had planned. He had been aware that there were a few people who were slightly shaky on his defense but he had assumed that they would, like everyone else always did, eventually see the rightness in his ways and agree with him.
"You do not understand though," Dumbledore protested. "I have done this for the boy's own good. He needs the discipline in order to stay on the side of the light. If he does not have it he will turn Dark."
"You continue to refer to him as though he were alive. You do realize that he was murdered over two weeks ago, do you not?" a woman said sarcastically, irritated by the very presence of someone she used to hold in such esteem.
"Someone or something was murdered," Dumbledore agreed amiably, "but Harry Potter is still quite alive."
His eyes twinkled as he pulled out his trump card. He had been waiting eagerly for nearly six months now to unveil it and he was immensely proud of himself for saving it for such an auspicious and note-worthy moment. Pity the press wasn't here.
The Wizengamot broke into chaotic whispers at this news.
The head examiner banged her gavel loudly, bringing them to silence rather easily as they all wanted to hear more from the mad wizard in front of them. "Do you have any evidence to support this, Dumbledore?"
"Of course I do! This summer I revealed to young Harry that his birth Father was not in fact James Potter as he had always believed it to be. His true father is my Potions Master Severus Snape. Harry has been living in disguise with his birth father as Tallis Snape since that day. As you all know, young Snape is alive and well."
A few members of the Wizengamot actually started laughing.
"Harry Potter is the secret love child of Severus Snape and Lily Potter?" a man wheezed out between his raucous laughter.
"Really, Dumbledore, you should at least make an attempt at speaking truthfully."
"Harry Potter agreeing to live as an ex-Death Eater's son!"
Dumbledore was starting to get flustered. This was not the reaction he had expected. "But it is the truth! I showed Harry and Severus my memory of Lily confessing her son's true parentage to me. At my advice, she set up a scam marriage with James Potter to offer Harry some form of protection since she was certain that she would die soon after his death. She picked him for his title and his money."
"The Potters were deeply in love. Everyone knew that."
"James Potter loved Lily but she was simply using him as a shield for her son," Dumbledore explained quickly.
"This is ludicrous," someone muttered.
"Are we to listen to an old man's ravings all day?" a man asked, clearly irritated.
"I can show you the memory in which Lily confessed to me!" Dumbledore protested. "I know it cannot count as true evidence but at least allow me to prove myself to you as your colleague!"
"I am ashamed that you would even ask such a thing of us," the head examiner said sternly. "You know that is a completely illegal tactic. Nothing that can influence the members of the Wizengamot strongly in one way or another through such dangerous, imperfect and impartial means is admissible."
"Well then at least bring Tallis Snape in for questioning. That should explain everything! You've seen Harry Potter's medical charts—there is no way for anyone to hide such a thing if it is true."
The examiner sat silently for a moment, thinking over his words. "It will be as you request," she finally said. "Tallis Snape will be called to question two days hence. I sincerely doubt he will do anything beside prove that you are insane, but if that is your wish then so be it."
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Tallis reached his hands out to accept the large golden owl. He patted the owl's soft feathers for a moment before looking down at the letter that he bore.
His breath sped up slightly as he recognized the envelope.
A ministry envelope.
Calling him to court.
Making him testify at his own murder trial.
"What do you have there?" Bill asked absently, sorting through a stack of Quidditch journals his brothers had bought him.
"A summons," Tallis said softly.
Bill's head shot up. He hadn't been expecting it so soon. He had been sure that Dumbledore's testimony would last longer than it had. "When?"
"I haven't opened it yet."
Bill walked over to his side, placing an arm around the slim waist. "Shall we open it together?"
Tallis gave a jerky nod and the two slowly opened the envelope. Tallis breathed a sigh of relief. "Two days. I have two days."
"That's not so bad," Bill said. They had been scared that he would be summoned to appear immediately. Evidently they did not give Dumbledore's claims much credence, although they were willing to check into them for the sake of appearances.
Tallis nodded. "I can do this. Hermione and Ron said the examiners weren't terrible."
"I'm sure you'll do fine. Just remember to breath, stay calm, and have faith in your spellwork and potions. You're safe."