Harry Potter: United as One
A/N: A VERY SPECIAL Thank you to all of my followers and reviewers! Thank you for bearing with me and for being so receptive and patient with this story. I am trying to be more regular in my updating instead of constantly putting it off. Without further ado, enjoy the chapter.
A/N2: This story is completely off canon. Where bloodlines of the Houses differ. What makes houses Noble. And different rankings of the Lords (i.e. Count, Ældorman, Earl, etc.) as well as certain character ages that will be more closely fitted.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything Harry Potter, copyright related. All rights go to the amazing J.K. Rowling whom I honestly hope reads this! She does support FanFiction after all.
Chapter 4: Dumbledore Loses Control
November 1st, 1981 10:00am
Lily Potter and Narcissa Black strode into the Wizengamot chamber dressed in their finest political robes.
The Full Wizengamot was in session. Lily sat in the ancestral Seat of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, while Narcissa sat in her son's place as proxy for the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy.
Sirius took the Black Seat sat next to Amelia Bones, Regent of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones. And longtime secret girlfriend of the Marauder Padfoot.
The murmurs of the Wizengamot members echoed indistinctly between one another, before Albus Dumbledore took his Seat as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
Lily growled in hatred but waited for their plan to to fall into place.
Dumbledore banged his gavel, negligent of Lily, Narcissa, and Sirius in their Seats; and began the Emergency Sentencing of Marked Death Eaters.
"First order of Business." the Old man began.
"First to be sentenced, Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape. Who were not apprehended but turned themselves in." Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody Senior Auror First Class announced. His magical eye fixed on Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's eyes widened at the two names. He began to nervously tap his fingers. He thought Severus had died from magical exhaustion.
'And Bellatrix? Why had the witch, who'd been so devoted to Tom. Turn herself in? She was apparently at the Longbottoms before evading arrest.'
Amelia Bones stood. "Objection! Chief Warlock you are known vigilante leader of the organization known as the Order of the Phoenix. As such I move that the Head of Magical Law Enforcement should preside over these trials, as your opinion. Would be biased against the accused."
Ecbert Abbot stood and seconded the motion.
Dumbledore sighed but accepted the motion. Sat next to Minister Bagnold as Bartemius Crouch Senior, rose to Dumbledore's podium.
"Bellatrix Lestrange you are charged with murder in the First degree in multiple accounts, vandalism of property, trespassing, two counts of torture on the Lord and Lady of a Most Noble and Most Ancient House, as well as the attempted murder of the sole Heir to the same House. How do you plead?" Crouch began.
Bellatrix sat knelt in while being restrained in magical suppression cuffs.
"Witness for the Defence! Regulus Arcturus Black Heir Presumptive of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!" Regulus States as he stormed in through the door.
"Heir Black. What does your client plead?" Crouch sneered.
"Not guilty. And not half as guilty as Your own flesh and blood Barty!" Regulus glared.
The members let out a collective gasp.
"I request that my client be submitted to Veritaserum to prove her innocence!" Regulus declared.
"Granted. Auror Moody, administer the potion!" Crouch barked while he calmed his rising ire.
Dumbledore blanched as he shuddered to think of what Severus would say if he could take the Veritaserum. He began pondering ways to silence the man before he could speak…
Moody poured the potion down Bellatrix's throat. And her eyes became glazed.
Regulus asked his first question.
"What is your name?"
"Bellatrix Black."
"Was it ever Lestrange?"
"Not legally nor in the eyes of magic."
"When were you born?"
"October 7th 1957."
With the preliminary questions out of the way, proving her identity and the potion to be working, he began.
"Bellatrix Black. Were you a marked Death Eater serving the Dark Lord known as Voldemort?"
The room collectively shuddered.
"Yes."
"Of your own free will?"
"No!" she vehemently answered.
"Where you subject to any form of mind-altering or compulsion?"
"Yes."
"Namely?"
"A subservience clause in my marriage contract to Rodolphus Lestrange that took my free thought away. As well as Imperius Curse from Rastaban Lestrange."
Outrage was heard from the members. And disgust from others.
"Do you regret the crimes committed while your mind was not your own?"
"I'd give my life for any one life that I had taken then."
"Were you given orders October 31st to go to Longbottom Hall and kill the Heir to the House?"
"Yes."
Augusta Longbottom stood in outrage and shouted "What did you do to my Grandson!?"
"I covered him with a blanket to protect him from the other two Death Eaters before confronting them."
Shocked the Regent Of Longbottom house staggered and sat. Crying tears of relief. 'Stupid Aurors!' She thought, 'They found a dead Death Eater and let another one escape, but didn't bother to look under the blanket of Neville's crib!?'
"What were the names of the two Death Eaters?" Regulus asked predatorily.
"Antonin Dolohov now deceased. And Bartemius Crouch Junior!"
Shock was apparent in the room as Barty Crouch Senior stood in shame as he drew his wand, and ordered a company of Aurors to follow him on a raid to his own home.
On the way out he said "I hereby appoint Amelia Bones as my successor to the Director of the DMLE, as I know Moody would refuse it, and Shacklebolt is missing. In doing so I resign my commission of Director."
After that he rushed out with two Aurors on either side of him, wands drawn.
Smirking Amelia rose to the podium from her Seat. Everything was going according to plan.
"Bellatrix Black. I find you innocent as you were acting under Imperius Curse and an illegal subservience clause in your marriage contract. Unless my eyes deceive me I see no Dark Mark on your arm. I also hereby pardon your flight from arrest last night as you've both subdued a Death Eater and lead to the possible capture of another. You are hereby cleared of all charges, unless any of the members call a vote to prove otherwise."
Not a soul raised their wands.
"Next order of business. The trial of Severus Tobias Snape. How do you plead?" Amelia began.
"Not guilty." Severus clearly stated.
Dumbledore knew Snape would immediately give him up. Seeing no alternative, and for the Greater Good, Snape's life had to end.
Dumbledore wandlessly cast a switching spell on the Veritaserum in Moody's hands with a Vial of poison from his own robes.
Anyone else would have drank from the poisoned vial. Anyone but Severus Snape.
"As a potions Master I know every fume and color from every potion and every poison. As such I know that vial is no longer Veritaserum."
"Auror Moody. Verify this claim." Amelia barked.
Moody raised the vial to his nose and smelled.
"Pure extract of Wolfsbane!" Moody shouted.
Again the crowd gasped.
Dumbledore began to sweat as he rose from his seat subconsciously. Drawing all eyes on him.
Moody immediately fired a Body-Bind Curse at the old man. It found its mark.
Frozen in place Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"If you perform a tracing spell on the vial I believe you'll find where the Veritaserum was moved." Severus snarked.
Moody nodded and cast the spell as a pale blue line went from the vial to Dumbledore's robes.
Snarling, Moody hobbled over to the the man. Knowing already that he'd cast a switching spell, his magical eye saw the movement of Dumbledore's hands and lips. The spell was only for the crowd to see.
Many thought that he'd trust Dumbledore with his life. Truthfully Moody didn't trust anybody, not even himself. Constant Vigilance!
He grabbed the aged wizard by his robes and bound him in magical suppression chains.
"Albus Dumbledore! You will be tried before this political body for attempting to murder a man in custody of the DMLE!" Amelia snapped.
"Madam Director if I may?" Severus interjected. Amelia nodded. "As the Veritaserum has obviously been tampered with. I offer to give an Unbreakable Vow to prove the validity of my testimony."
Amelia approved and walked to Severus as they grasped each other's forearms. Moody drew his wand and chanted the spell to bind the Vow.
"Will you Severus Tobias Snape, answer all questions truthfully, fully, and straight to the point? Under Pain of Death?" Moody asked.
"I will."
Moody nodded to Amelia as magic accepted the Vow.
"Are you a Marked Death Eater?"
"I bear the Mark. But I was never a Death Eater."
"Why do you bear the Mark?"
"My own insistence to place myself above reproach in the Death Eater ranks."
"What did you do to earn your mark?" Her eyes narrowed.
"I betrayed my best friend." He said in a forced voice.
"Why did you join the Dark Lord?"
"I made a deal with Albus Dumbledore. He would keep Lily Potter and her family safe as the war raged and I would be his spy in the ranks of Death Eaters and submit to a Loyalty Potion keyed to him."
"Before or after your Mark?"
"As soon as the Dark Lord became an obvious threat. So before."
"You said you betrayed your best friend. How?"
"While with Albus Dumbledore I overheard a Prophecy, made by one Sybil Trelawny. I only heard half. And I believe that was deliberate."
"How so?"
With hate in his eyes directed at Dumbledore's bound and silenced form. He shouted "Because directly after hearing it, Dumbledore sent me to the Dark Lord to 'earn my Mark' and divulge what I knew, directly the Dark Lord! Earning my mark, unwittingly betraying my best friend, and rising my station to the Inner Circle!"
Outrage ensued and Dumbledore was shielded from from many curses and hexes from now standing members of the Wizengamot.
"ORDER IN THIS ROOM!" Amelia shouted through a sonorous charm.
As the members reigned in their fury and sat, she continued.
"Whom did you betray?"
Severus wept. He had yet to tell her, though she had already known in her heart by now. "Lily Potter."
"How?"
"The prophecy referred to two boys. Born at the end of July. Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. Marked as the Dark Lord's equal. With the power to vanquish him. I had not known of the boys' births. Else I would have slit my own throat."
"Did you attempt to make amends for what you did? Once you realized who the prophecy pertained to?"
"Yes. I kept an open ear, but knew the Potters had gone into hiding. I hoped and prayed to every god I could think of that the Dark Lord wouldn't find them. The Potters cast the Fidelius Charm over their cottage in Godric's Hollow. And the Longbottom were shored up in Longbottom Hall."
"Was Sirius Black the Secret Keeper?"
"I had thought so. But it was Peter Pettigrew."
"He betrayed the Potters as well?"
"NO!" Severus stated vehemently. "He was captured and tortured into telling the Secret of the Potter's location. As soon as he was able to he turned into his rat animagus form and sought me out..."
From there he detailed the battle at Godric's Hollow. The deaths of James and Peter, and the wraith of Voldemort escaping into the night.
A member stood and proclaimed "How do we know that what you say is true?"
"Aside from the fact that I am still alive. I will show you!" Severus remarked.
The Wizengamot chamber held a pensieve, that projected a select memory for all members to see.
Amelia drew the memory as Severus focused on the events, including what happened at Hogwarts as he had yet to reveal.
Amelia dropped the memory into the pensieve and it began to play. As the events at Godric's Hollow concluded, minus the conversation with Death; mysteriously. The members were shocked as the memory played on to include the events at Hogwarts. After they had played, Severus, wandlessly gave a magical oath stating that the memories were true and unaltered by himself. Magic flashed and accepted his oath. He cast a lumos charm in the palm of his hand as proof that his oath was true and his magic intact. Needless to say, they were stunned into silence. Not only was the oath true, but he'd performed it wandlessly, risking not only his magic, but life as well
Lily stared at the man in shock. She wanted to hate him for being the reason that Voldemort had come after them. But she couldn't she knew his will was not his own, he didn't know what he was revealing, and like her, was duped by the wretched old man now cowering under the collective gaze of the Wizengamot.
If the term glaring daggers had any physical relation, Dumbledore would have been the next Julius Caesar.
Moody hobbled towards Dumbledore as Severus was cleared of all charges. He roughly hoisted the man into the accused chair and allowed the chains to wrap around the old man. Moody then dispelled the silencing charm after making sure, that Dumbledore had no wand on his person.
"Please… I-" Dumbledore began before he was harshly cut off by the voice of Amelia.
"Albus Dumbledore the charges against you are staggering and many. I refuse to read them out as they all bear the same sentence, the Veil."
Dumbledore blanched.
"The evidence against you is overwhelming. But this chamber requires your confession to several other matters. Moody! You have the permission of this political body to use the Imperius Curse on the prisoner!"
Moody smirked his scarred face contorting in a visibly disgruntling manner. He cast the curse but was disappointed to realize that it had no effect on the old man.
"Madam Director, I am afraid that his Occlumency shields and willpower are too strong. Even for me."
Amelia huffed in annoyance as she couldn't waste time to send for more Veritaserum. She knew the old man had something planned just in case. She just knew it.
"If I may be of assistance Madam Director?"
Amelia nodded and listened.
"I am a Master Legilimens. I can, with your permission will attack Dumbledore's Occlumency shield while Auror Moody casts the Imperius." Severus offered. Glaring at Dumbledore.
Amelia pondered momentarily and nodded to the black robed man.
Dumbledore closed his eyes in a vain attempt to prevent Severus' mental attack. Severus Snape focused his magic as he looked into Dumbledore's eyes, Moody had forced them open.
"Legilimens!"
Dumbledore's eyes suddenly became sharp and focused; battling Severus' mental onslaught.
Moody seized the chance.
"Imperio!"
Dumbledore's eyes became glazed and Moody ordered him to answer all of Amelia's questions.
Although he still looked as though to resist, he answered several damning questions tarnishing his reputation, beyond repair. Including but not limited to; setting up the Potters, attempted murder of Severus Snape, playing a role in the downfall of Tom Riddle for to him rise into Voldemort, dueling and obliviating Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and shockingly lowering the Longbottom Hall defense wards. Augusta Longbottom declares Blood Feud on the Most Ancient House of Dumbledore.
As Moody released the curse, Severus released his mental probe on the old man. Severus' eyes burned in hate.
A revelation that went unnoticed in the Chamber, not only did Severus occupy the defenses of the Headmaster, or rather former Headmaster. He delved into the guarded secrets and machinations the old man had locked away in his mind. Secrets that had no place in the Wizengamot.
His bided his time reviewing everything in his own mind. Amelia's sentencing of the man and stripping him of his titles drowned out by the pensiveness of the black cloaked Potions Master.
His eyes burned, his heart ached, his fury was boundless.
Dumbledore had been unsilenced by Moody as they began to take him out of the room to Azkaban.
Dumbledore called out, "Fawkes!"
The Phoenix appeared above the old man, Dumbledore siphoned Fawkes' ambient magic to break through the chains and went to grab the Phoenix's tail feathers, and flame teleport away.
However, Lily had apparated to intercept the man, yet not before Severus had delivered a blow to the man's gut. Forcing him to his knees.
Dumbledore looked into Severus' eyes and balked at the rage inside.
Severus growled at Dumbledore and thrust forth his right hand on to the left side of Dumbledore's face, and poured his rage, his hatred, and his magic into his hand; he bellowed, "You are beyond contempt!"
Dumbledore cried out in pain as magic poured into his face and burned his skin, scarring it into a Pentagram symbol. A badge of shame and evil.
"I Severus Snape, hereby Curse you with this badge of shame and evil to bear the rest of your days and brand you for all to see in the Light, you! A Dark Lord hiding in the shadows!"
As though the proclamation was guided by magic itself. The Chamber darkened and Fawkes had literally and viciously severed his bond from Dumbledore, trilling in relief.
He landed on Lily's shoulder who looked to Severus in shock.
Severus stepped back, still glaring at the old man as Aurors surrounded the unbound prisoner.
Out of nowhere Dumbledore summoned his wand. His twinkling blue eyes now Red. His white hair now looked deathly pale as though on a corpse. His skin looked shrunken onto his bones as the brand glowed as though on fire.
He began to incant as Lily rushed forth, her right hand balled into a fist and delivered a sickening crunch to the new Dark Lord's nose. She had broken his nose and prepared to use her youth and anger to tear the man limb from limb.
Before she could, he banished her and the Aurors backward, and apparated out of the Chamber with a deafening crack, maybe even the country, no one knew. One thing was for certain, he was gone without a trace, and he'd return with a vengeance.
Pandemonium had turned to silence, as Lily ran to Severus and embraced him tightly. He slowly responded in surprise before he heard her whisper, "I forgive you, you could never betray me."
His heart wept and soared, but he knew his love for Lily was that of a protective brother for his sister. Only this and nothing more, as his gaze was drawn to the violet-eyed beauty dressed in black robes.
Severus, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Lily left shortly afterward as the political body had been unceremoniously and abruptly adjourned. Fawkes, Lily's new familiar had flame teleported them to Malfoy Manor.
The Daily Prophet would not only release an article of Albus Dumbledore being branded as a new Dark Lord and shamed by magic itself, but one of Lily Potter, the Lady of Flames. Perhaps the sheep of the wizarding world would see the Lady Potter, mother to their Savior, and new Leader of the Light...
On a Darker note, the ramifications of the Wizengamot session would resound throughout magical Britain and the World. And no matter where he fled, Albus many-middle-names Dumbledore, former Headmaster, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump and newly branded Dark Lord, would never be welcome anywhere again…