A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I'm glad that you're all enjoying it. And as always. a special thanks to Bonnie and Mainsail for beta reading this and thus improving on the original. If you have questions or concerns about what's going on, feel free to include them in a review or a PM — I'll try to answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Broken Wand, Broken Chains" by Squirrel of Shadow. Harry is convicted at his sham of a trial and has his wand broken. Instead of leading to tragedy, however, this actually leads to the best outcome.
Italics: a person's thoughts.
Chapter 11 - ...And Justice For All
Friday, August 13, 1995, Morning.
"Say, Hermione," Jasmine said as they and Mr. Weasley walked down the street to the visitors' entrance to the Ministry of Magic. "Did you notice today's date?"
"Date?" Hermione asked. "What about it? It's... ugh!" She groaned in annoyance. "Great. Just great."
"What's wrong with the date?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Friday the thirteenth?" Jasmine said. When Mr. Weasley continued to look at her quizzically, she went on, "I guess it's a muggle thing. In the muggle world, at least, this date is considered very unlucky for some reason."
"Is it really?" Mr. Weasley said, his eyes brightening. "How fascinating! Do muggles have lots of unlucky dates? What about lucky dates?
"Uh, not that I know of," Hermione answered. "I guess this isn't an unlucky day for witches and wizards?"
"Not at all," Mr. Weasley said as they arrived at a phone booth. "The number thirteen is arithmantically important, so this date might be auspicious for certain endeavors, but beyond that it isn't significant at all."
Once they had all taken the bizarre elevator to the atrium and the witches had handed over their wands — something they did with great reluctance because they were worried about ever getting them back again — Mr. Weasley started taking them up to his office, where they'd wait for their 9AM hearing. Part way there, though, he received a message that seemed to upset him greatly.
"This is bad," Mr. Weasley muttered as they hurried down a nondescript hall. "Very bad indeed." The girls looked at each other anxiously, all too aware that anything that could pull Mr. Weasley out of his perpetual good humor had to be pretty dire.
"Can you explain to us what's going on?" Jasmine asked.
"They rescheduled for an hour earlier. We'll barely get you there before it starts, and the sole reason for that is because you came in early at my normal work time," he answered. "Had you come just before the hearing was supposed to start, like most do, you'd have missed it entirely, and they'd have ruled against you without you ever being able to defend yourselves. As it is, I don't know if Dumbledore will get here in time."
Both witches blanched, but he wasn't done. "Even worse is the fact that this is being held in a courtroom, not a Ministry office like a normal hearing. I think you two are being put on trial before the Wizengamot, which will be much more difficult for you to get through successfully. Fudge isn't just trying to force a conviction — I think he's doing it in as public and humiliating a manner as possible. Even if you somehow win, your reputations might still end up being trashed as a result."
Jasmine's fists clenched tight as she realized how much worse their situation was than she had imagined — and she had a pretty good imagination for bad things happening to her, given how often they occurred. Hermione gripped Jasmine's arm, both to offer and receive comfort. "We'll manage," the brunette witch said with more confidence than she felt.
More softly, she added, "Remember to stay calm. The last thing we need is for you... well, for either of us to fly off in a rage." Jasmine nodded. After learning about their soul bond, they had come to understand that their at times tenuous emotional control was a symptom of the bond still being incomplete. Having Jasmine blow up at the trial and set the walls to shaking wouldn't do them any favors — especially since it wouldn't exactly be appropriate for Hermione to jump up and kiss her to calm her down.
Mr. Weasley couldn't enter with them, and when they walked alone into the courtroom, it was like nothing they'd ever seen. The large, circular room had what appeared to be one area for the Wizengamot, judging by the formal robes of all the people seated there, and on the other side was additional seating for an audience. It was packed, indicating the Fudge had made a point of spreading news of the trial — and probably only to supporters, which meant that they'd not likely find any allies on either side of the room.
In the middle were two plain wooden seats, both of which had an ominous air about them.
"Ah, so you finally decided to grace us with your presence?" Fudge drawled. "We were about to get started without you, figuring that you had decided not to bother answering the charges. I'm glad to see that you have at least a little bit of sense after all."
The two witches shared a worried look. They had known that Fudge would be out to get them, but the level of hostility in his voice was beyond anything they had expected. They both jumped when the doors behind them slammed closed, then jumped again when Fudge shouted at them.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" he demanded. "Sit down!" He pointed at the plain wooden seats in the middle of the room. The girls nervously made their way to the chairs. Once they sat down, leather restraints and chains magically appeared and bound them, preventing them from moving much at all.
"We wouldn't want you to run again, now would we?" Fudge sneered from his seat above them. "You two will sit right there and accept your punishment for your crimes."
Turning to the figure next to him, he said, "Weatherby, read the charges." That was when they realized that it was Ron's brother, Percy, who was assisting the Minister. Jasmine narrowed her eyes, angry that a Weasley would betray friends and family like that.
Sitting ramrod straight, Percy read in an officious manner: "Jasmine Potter and Hermione Granger are charged with multiple violations of the statute on the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Magic, of using spells in a muggle area and in front of muggles in violation of the Statute of Secrecy, and of fleeing the scenes of their crimes in order to avoid Ministry prosecution. Hermione Granger is further charged with using dark magic."
"Once we reveal the evidence we have from the Improper Use of Magic Office, this won't take long at all," Fudge declared with a shark-like smile, but before he could continue the doors flew open. Craning their necks around, the girls could make out the figure of Albus Dumbledore as he strode in. Despite their many issues with the old man, just at that moment they were exceedingly relieved to see him. Hopefully he'd manage to put an end to the proceedings — given the hostility of the faces around them, they had little confidence that their recent study of the law would help them now.
"I apologize for my tardiness," Dumbledore announced, "but for some reason I wasn't notified about either the change in time or venue for this... well, it was supposed to be a simple hearing on underage magic, but as I look around, it seems to me that we have a full trial before the Wizengamot — something quite unheard of for what should be a straightforward matter."
"Yes, well, given Miss Potter's lengthy record of violating the law," Fudge said, "it was deemed necessary to make sure she understood that actions have consequences. And as for your tardiness, I'm afraid that we can't be held responsible for your inattention to your owl mail."
"Did I say you were responsible, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked mildly as he gazed up at the sputtering minister. "No, I'm confident your owl simply got lost or something. Quite understandable, really," he said with an airy wave. He then turned slowly, looking at all the people gathered. "I think we can continue, yes?"
Fudge looked agitated at Dumbledore's words, but he quickly recovered and called forth Mafalda Hopkirk, an assistant at the Improper Use of Magic Office, to testify about what she saw and how she handled the situation. With a bit of prompting and several leading questions from Fudge, Hopkirk explained how and when the Ministry sensors detected the use of magic at both houses, how she sent out letters which soon returned, then finally how she sent them out again the next day.
Once she was done, Fudge asked to have lists of the spells entered into evidence, but Dumbledore interrupted to say, "Perhaps I could be allowed to ask a few questions of the witness before she's dismissed?"
The sound of quiet conversations in the audience increased slightly as Fudge waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, very well, if you insist. I don't see what the point is, though. You're simply wasting everyone's time."
Dumbledore ignored Fudge's comment as he turned to Hopkirk. "Did you record any spells cast by anyone else at either of those locations?"
"No, we don't do that," Hopkirk answered. "We only monitor the spells cast by underage witches and wizards."
"Really, Dumbledore," Fudge asked scornfully, "are you suggesting that the Ministry monitor the activity of every witch and wizard across all of Britain? I don't think that anyone would stand for such a loss of privacy!" Murmurs of agreement arose from all around the courtroom.
The headmaster brushed aside Fudge's grandstanding and asked, "Why wasn't anyone sent to investigate the circumstances under which those spells were cast?"
For the first time Hopkirk looked uncomfortable, but after a long moment of squirming and looking to Fudge as if for guidance, she finally said, "We were told early in the summer that it wasn't necessary. That Potter and her friends were just troublemakers." There were unhappy mutterings around the courtroom in the wake of that admission. Both Jasmine and Hermione seethed at learning how far the Ministry had gone to set them up — and moreover, that if someone had been sent to help Hermione sooner, she and her parents might have been spared being tortured.
"And why was that?" Dumbledore asked.
"Because, Dumbledore," Fudge interrupted, "while you may favor Potter by running to help her any time she causes trouble, that doesn't mean that the rest of this government needs to do the same. When there is no report of a problem, there's no need for the Ministry to waste resources by sending valuable employees to check on every muggleborn or muggle-raised child that chooses to violate our society's most basic laws. All that's necessary is for them to be taught a lesson — or, if necessary, expelled from our community so they won't pose a threat to the Statute of Secrecy ever again!"
Dumbledore continued to ignore Fudge and asked, "Since you didn't send out anyone to investigate, you can't say for certain whether anyone else was there casting spells or not, can you?"
Hopkirk tried to say no, but Fudge cut her off by demanding, "Who, Dumbledore? Who else could possibly have been there?"
At this point Jasmine and Hermione had had their fill of the pompous politician's blustering. Almost simultaneously, Jasmine said loudly, "Dementors came into the house and attacked!" while Hermione said, "My family and I were attacked by a large group of Death Eaters!" Dumbledore looked at them both for a moment, then turned back to the Wizengamot and held out his hands wide, as if to say, "There you go."
Fudge, though, snorted derisively. "Do you really expect us to believe such fantastical tales from two troublemaking teen witches? Witches that you, Dumbledore, have been unable or unwilling to control despite their long, sordid history of acting out? We are not so gullible. We are not so easily led astray."
"Or perhaps they are telling the truth, Cornelius," Dumbledore calmly responded. "Perhaps they were attacked by dementors and dark wizards. And if they were, that's something we should all be worried about because it means that none of us is truly safe, not even in our own homes."
"Then where is your evidence, Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded. "Dementors are controlled by the Ministry, and last time I checked none had gone missing. As for so-called 'dark wizards,' we've received no reports or complaints about any bands of dark wizards attacking anyone, so there's no basis for imagining that they could be to blame." Jasmine wanted to shout out that she had made just such a report, but a quick look from Dumbledore caused her to remain silent.
"While I was at the scene, two cloaks were discovered..." Dumbledore tried to say, but Fudge simply talked over him.
"Cloaks? What cloaks? Do you have them here, now? Do you actually expect us to believe that two dementors just happened to leave their cloaks behind?"
"Hem, hem," came a noise from behind Fudge, cutting his questions short. A diminutive, round, pink-clad witch raised her hand and asked, "Excuse me, but surely you're not suggesting that the Ministry of Magic is unable to control the dementor population? Surely you're not implying that people need to fear being attacked in their very homes by roving bands of dark wizards?"
"See?" Fudge said as he slammed his palm on the table in front of him, "This is exactly what we've been reading about in the Daily Prophet for over a month now. This is nothing more than fear mongering, obviously designed to shake the people's confidence in the Ministry, possibly for the purpose of bringing down our entire government!"
"Yet despite all of your complaints, Cornelius," Dumbledore said in a tone that was still amazingly calm, "you cannot deny that you have not conducted any sort of investigation into what happened to Miss Potter and Miss Granger."
"To what end?" Fudge demanded. "We have the evidence of their use of magic, despite being underaged. They don't even deny it! This isn't the first time for Potter, either! Without some sort of formal complaint and evidence that something happened to her, there's no reason for the Ministry of Magic to run around, catering to the whims of attention-seeking students of yours."
"People I trust visited both scenes," Dumbledore interjected, finally starting to show impatience. "And they informed me..."
"Hearsay!" Fudge shouted. "Nothing but hearsay! I see no need to continue this proceeding indefinitely while you and your students continue to spin more and more fantastical tales. Maybe next you'll blame it on dragons, perhaps? No, it's time that we finish this so people can go back to their important and valuable jobs." Jasmine and Hermione looked at each other, scared now — they hadn't known what to expect today, but it certainly wasn't this.
Before Fudge could do whatever he intended, the doors to the courtroom once again banged open and Amelia Bones swept in, flanked by at least a half dozen wizards and witches wearing red robes. "It seems that someone forgot to inform me that a hearing on this matter was even being held, much less that it had been turned into a full-blown trial," she announced to the room at large.
"I'm sorry, Amelia," the pink-clad witch said condescendingly, "but we can't run around behind you, trying to ensure that you make it to all of your meetings."
"You should, however, make certain that people are given notification about important meetings and changes," Bones shot back.
"You were!" the witch insisted, her voice rising.
"It seems that I wasn't the only one who failed to receive proper notification as required by law," Dumbledore observed. When the head of the DMLE raised a questioning eyebrow, he added, "I just happened to be in the Ministry very early today and so managed to avoid being very late.
"Auror Proudfoot!" Madam Bones barked out. One of the red-robed men behind her stepped forward and she continued, "There's been tampering with Ministry communications. You're to go to the offices of the Minister for Magic and begin your investigation into all communications sent from those offices to determine which ones are being interfered with and by whom. This is your sole task until you have answers — and I want your initial report on my desk first thing Monday morning."
"Yes ma'am!" he said before he spun on his heel and left.
"You... you..." Fudge sputtered. "You can't do that!"
"Actually, Minister, I'm required to do that," Bones said sternly, causing him to go still. "Your own undersecretary has just effectively informed me that the security of Ministry communications has been compromised. Ministry communications are fundamental to the integrity of the Ministry itself! If someone can intercept our internal messages, that's bad enough, but it's also just a step away from being able to forge or alter existing messages and pass them along as genuine."
Jasmine and Hermione could see concerned expressions all around them as the implications struck home. "That's why even a suspicion of such interference has to be investigated by the DMLE," Bones continued. "The law requires it. But don't worry — I assure you that I'll catch whomever is responsible and see to it that they are punished to the fullest extent of the law."
She seemed to ignore Fudge's stricken expression when she turned to give Jasmine and Hermione an encouraging look, then asked Dumbledore for an update on the trial. Others in both the Wizengamot and the audience caught it, however, and there was more than a little muttering.
"Cornelius was just trying to explain why it isn't necessary for the Ministry to investigate the circumstances under which Miss Potter and Miss Granger used magic," Dumbledore informed her.
"It's the responsibility of those two to prove that they had good reasons to use magic," Fudge insisted, suddenly remembering that he had a trial to win, "not to spin lies and fantasies to us!"
"It's a good thing that I did investigate, then," Bones said smoothly while Fudge and the pink-clad witch blinked at her in surprise. Pulling several sheaves of parchment from her satchel, she continued, "The first incident occurred when Miss Potter and her relatives were attacked by dementors."
Before she could get any further, the hostile witch in pink interrupted, "Hem, hem. Since you arrived so late, Amelia, you couldn't know that we've already dismissed her testimony because the word of a single attention-seeking, underaged witch isn't sufficient to prove anything."
Jasmine's hands curled into fists at once again being insulted by that horrid, ugly person. "My relatives were almost kissed by those dementors!" she blurted out. "They can testify, too."
Fudge scoffed, "Muggles can't even see dementors, so their testimony won't be accepted either."
"Fortunately, we don't need their testimony," Bones announced. "We have the cloaks and other remains left behind when the dementors were apparently killed by Miss Potter's patronus."
"Killed?" the pink-clad witch asked incredulously. "Dementors can't be killed — everyone knows that. Perhaps someone has confunded you, my dear?" Jasmine and Hermione were equally confused, not having heard anything about this.
"Apparently what everyone knows is wrong, Madam Umbridge," Bones said. "I have here affidavits from aurors and an Unspeakable that the cloaks and remains most likely came from two dementors. If they were not in fact killed, then something rather strange happened to them." With a silent wave of her wand, Bones duplicated the page she had been holding and caused the copies to fly out to the members of the Wizengamot. She remained silent for a few long moments as they digested the summarized information, and there was quite a bit of distressed murmuring.
"Next," Bones announced, "was the Death Eater attack on Miss Granger and her family."
"The word of a single mud... uh, muggleborn carries no weight here," the woman, now identified as Umbridge, tried to insist, though Jasmine and Hermione could tell that she was faltering.
"I was there too!" Jasmine cried out.
"That doesn't matter," Fudge said, sounding less sure of himself now. "You are a... a known attention seeker. Without a reliable eyewitness..."
"I think that the bodies of ten marked Death Eaters is sufficient evidence to prove that there was a magical attack," Bones interrupted.
"Bodies?" Fudge asked, paling a bit. Evidently no one had told him about this.
"Or pieces thereof," Bones added.
"Pieces?" Umbridge asked weakly.
Bones nodded, once again duplicating a piece of parchment and sending the copies flying out to the members of the Wizengamot.
"If they were both there and they both killed wizards, then they are both guilty of murder!" Umbridge suddenly cried, appearing to believe that she'd finally come up with a way to salvage Fudge's case.
"Please, Dolores," Bones said in an exasperated tone. "It's not murder when you're defending yourself and your family against hostile intruders who are intent on torture, kidnapping, and/or murder. And that happens to be exactly what our investigation points to: these two witches defended themselves against a force of older, more experienced wizards who were only there for the purpose of harming them. You'd know all of this already if you hadn't prevented Mafalda Hopkirk from sending a team to investigate — as is standard procedure!"
She turned to Hopkirk and addressed her directly. "You can, but are not expected to, send out investigators for reports of most simple spells, because it is assumed that no one was harmed. Even in those cases, however, it's expected that at least an Obliviator will be sent out in case muggles witnessed the magic. When more serious spells are detected, however, an investigation team complete with at least one Obliviator is a requirement!" Hopkirk looked down at her feet and nodded silently.
"How... how could a half-blood and a muggleborn..." Umbridge mumbled before shaking her head and continuing, "It doesn't matter! We already know that they cast dark spells. Your report confirms it, too! That means they are both guilty of Dark magic! Those are Dark Witches sitting there who need to be punished!"
"We thoroughly investigated the incidents," Bones declared, "and no illegal spells were cast by either witch. That was verified by having their wands checked by a senior auror, by the way. They may have used spells that we don't normally see teen witches using, but they didn't cast anything illegal."
While Umbridge spluttered, Fudge asked, "How did you investigate all of this? You shouldn't... I mean, you can't—" He checked himself abruptly.
"Why, Minister!" Bones exclaimed in feigned shock, "Are you suggesting that the DMLE shouldn't be investigating major crimes?" Her voice suddenly lost any trace of humor. "Or perhaps that we shouldn't be able to investigate major crimes, given how your office has recently been interfering with our ability to investigate anything at all?"
"What are you implying here?" Umbridge demanded.
"Oh, I'm not implying anything," Bones answered. "I'm simply providing evidence in a case that never should have gone to trial in the first place — and never would have, in fact, if proper procedures had been followed. What's more, now that we have a clear string of related major crimes, all involving Unforgivable curses and attempted murder, I'll be combining them and putting most of my department on trying to solve them."
Fudge and Umbridge refused to respond to that, so Dumbledore stepped into the growing silence to say, "You will have my full support, Amelia, to pursue those investigations. If you lack the appropriate funding or personnel, I'm confident that a special session of the Wizengamot can be arranged so our government can get them for you." He looked back up at Fudge before continuing, "Perhaps the Wizengamot can divert funds from some of the less critical projects going on. After all, we cannot afford to stand idly by while dark wizards and dark creatures attack our children, can we?"
After a long moment during which the only noise was some angry muttering among the Wizengamot members, Dumbledore said more sharply, "Can we, Cornelius?"
No longer full of bluster and confidence, Fudge simply shook his head. Dumbledore seemed to think that that would suffice for now and called for a vote on the guilt of the two young witches. Only Fudge, Umbridge, and a small handful of others voted in favor of conviction; everyone else voted to declare Jasmine and Hermione innocent.
With a slithering clank, the chains and other restraints immediately pulled back, freeing the two relieved witches. Released from their own constraints, the audience members erupted into noisy chatter as the girls approached their defenders while trying to rub some feeling back into their wrists and arms.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said simply. He inclined his head gravely.
"Yeah, and thanks, Madam Bones!" Jasmine added. "We were getting kind of worried there for a bit."
"You're very welcome," Bones responded with unexpected warmth, "but you owe your thanks mostly to Susan. It's because of her that I knew this was happening. Without that, I wouldn't have been prepared and probably wouldn't have even been here. Fortunately, though, I ran my investigations without anyone noticing and so could bring the evidence here today."
"We'll be sure to thank her, then," Hermione said.
Bones turned to Dumbledore. "We should talk soon about what resources I'll need to pursue these investigations. I'm sorry, by the way, that you had to come in here and face this lot without any of the relevant evidence. I of course wanted to keep my investigations secret, and so long as this was supposed to be a simple hearing, it wasn't necessary to let anyone else in on what we had discovered. Had I known that a full trial was to be conducted, I'd have ensured that they had proper counsel, complete with all necessary evidence."
"That's quite alright, Amelia," he responded genially, though there was a troubled look in his eyes. "You couldn't have known what he had planned, and it all worked out in the end. As for meeting, perhaps we should get together this afternoon? I may not have the same power I did even at the beginning of this summer, but I will use what influence I have left to help you." When she agreed, the old headmaster turned back to the younger witches and said, "Congratulations — I'm glad we could beat this. It was going far worse than I had hoped it would, and I think it's primarily thanks to Amelia here that it turned out as well as it did." He sighed sadly, looking older and much more tired than they ever remembered seeing him.
Finally, he continued, "I still have a great deal to do in the Ministry today, I'm afraid. Arthur will take you back — I believe he's waiting for you outside. Hopefully I'll be done in time for the little party which I suspect Molly is planning even as we speak." With a nod and a smile, he exited the courtroom alongside Madam Bones, the girls following along soon after.
Friday, August 13, 1995, Afternoon.
"This is a disaster! A complete disaster!" Fudge raged as he stomped back and forth in his office. Rather than try to talk to him immediately, Dolores Umbridge poured them both large measures of aged firewhiskey from the Minister's private stock. "Not only did we lose, but we lost in front of most of my closest allies! And more than a few neutral members of the Wizengamot!"
He abruptly stopped to look at her. "And what about those missing messages? Will Amelia be able to find anything?"
"Absolutely not," Umbridge insisted, remaining calm. He fixed her with a withering glare before returning to his pacing, still muttering about how much of a disaster the day had been.
"It may have gone badly today, but we haven't lost yet," she finally said.
"What?" he asked as he stopped his pacing again.
"We haven't lost yet," Umbridge repeated. "Not completely, at any rate. There is still more we can do — that is, assuming you still intend to send me to Hogwarts this coming year."
That finally seemed to get through to him. "Yes, you're right, there's still more we can do!" He went behind his desk, sat down, and pulled out some blank parchment. "There's a lot we can do, in fact. Even though you won't be taking the Defense post, you will still have authority in the school. As much authority as I can give you! And you'll use that authority to stamp out the sedition, disloyalty, and rebellion that Dumbledore has been breeding in the castle. Stamp it out, I say!"
Something that might have been a smile played across Umbridge's face as she sipped her firewhiskey. Today had been quite a setback, no doubt about it, but she wasn't out of the fight yet. Soon, she'd make Potter and Granger pay.
Friday, August 13, 1995, Evening.
That evening, there was a celebration at Grimmauld Place as everyone congratulated the two girls on their legal victory. Jasmine and Hermione were asked to recount this or that part of the trial multiple times by different people, even though neither of them had ultimately done much — they had been almost as much spectators at their own trial as people in the gallery. They did, however, graciously oblige everyone because they appreciated the support.
"I'm really surprised that Dumbledore was losing so badly there at the end," Tonks said after they had told the story to her.
"With him in charge of our case, we nearly had our wands snapped," Jasmine groused, but she was prevented from launching into a rant by Hermione putting her hand on her arm.
"It really didn't look like it was his fault," Hermione pointed out. "At least, not entirely. I'll admit to being disappointed, too, but based on what Madam Bones said, she was keeping a lot of evidence secret while she ran her investigation. If the Headmaster had had that information, I'm sure he would have done a lot better."
"Yeah, I suppose," Jasmine said grudgingly.
"So she ran an investigation after all?" Tonks asked. "I was hoping she would, but after Shack, Moody, and I submitted our evidence, we never heard anything more about it. We were afraid that Fudge had managed to suppress it all or something. I know Dumbledore was worried about that, too, but still hoped that he'd be able to persuade the panel at the hearing that he was right."
"Maybe he could have, if it had just been a small panel," Hermione said. "Especially if it was people he knew. As a full Wizengamot trial, though..."
"Stacked with Fudge supporters, no less," Jasmine added.
Tonks frowned. "He didn't stand a chance, I suppose. Lucky for us Madam Bones did investigate. I guess that's why she kept it secret, even from us — she didn't want to take any risks." She still sounded troubled, however. When Hermione and Jasmine talked about it later, they concluded that it was probably just her becoming disillusioned over the corruption of the Ministry, which was certainly something they could relate to.
In a corner of the first floor sitting room, Emma and Lindsey Granger sat together on a couch, his arm around her as they talked quietly. They'd been anxious ever since they'd learned about what might happen to their daughter should the Ministry rule against them, and their fear had only been exacerbated by the fact that they couldn't go along to show support, didn't understand the relevant laws, and wouldn't be able to help if there were any problems.
The legal proceeding against their daughter had exemplified everything they were coming to dislike about magical society... and now that she had won, they were actually going to send her back, right into the thick of things.
"Am I an awful mother," Emma asked softly, "if part of me is sad that she won — sad that we won't be taking her with us now?" She watched as Hermione came into the room. As always, Jasmine was right beside her, so close that Emma would have been hard-pressed to slip a sheet of paper between them.
Lindsey shook his head. "No, of course not. And I think Hermione would agree with me, because I'll bet that part of her would like to go with us as well."
"Just not the larger part," Emma said as she continued to watch the... couple. Yes, that's what they are, she realized, a couple. I'd wonder why no one else notices, but neither did I a month ago, and looking back, all the signs were there.
"No, not any longer," Lindsey agreed with a sigh.
In another corner, Sirius leaned casually against a wall and subtly threw up a privacy charm so that he could talk to Remus. "So, I've been meaning to ask," he began, flicking his gaze in the direction of the girls, "how have they been treating you?"
Remus grimaced. "They basically ignore me, though some of the looks I've gotten have been a bit hostile. They haven't said much at all. Miss Granger's parents are the same." After taking a sip of firewhiskey, he added, "In fact, Miss Delacour hasn't said anything to me either, not even about my offer to help her set up Defense classes. It could be that they are all ignoring me because they've been focused on preparing for the trial, but..."
"But you doubt it?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded glumly. "So what are you going to do about it?"
Remus sighed. "I'm not sure. I should apologize, ideally, but when? How? And will they even accept it?"
"The 'when' is easy," Sirius said with a shrug. "As soon as possible. Though not tonight, I'd say — let them relax. But maybe tomorrow morning? I already told them that you regret your decision, but they need to hear it from you. As to how, just be sincere. Maybe ask if there's anything you can do to make it up to them. Keep in mind, apologizing to her will probably be more like apologizing to Lily than to James."
Remus blanched slightly, remembering some of the times the Marauders had had to apologize to Lily Evans. He still had one of the scars. "That's supposed to help?"
"Nope," Sirius said with a smirk as he took another sip of his drink. "And as scary as that is, it's twice as bad when the two of them are together." Sirius' demeanor turned more sober when he said, "And if they don't accept your apology... unfortunately, I can't help you there. You can't force them to accept it, you can only try to be a better person."
Remus nodded, then scowled deeply. "Hey, when did you get to be so... wise? You aren't Sirius Black! Who are you? How'd you get in here?" Grabbing his wand, he broke the privacy charm as he shouted, "Polyjuiced imposter! Polyjuiced imposter!" while casting a series of pranking spells on his friend. In short order a large pink and green dog sporting moose antlers and a beaver's tale was chasing Remus through the house, much to everyone's amusement, including Jasmine and Hermione.
There was far less good cheer in Malfoy Manor when Voldemort received news about what had happened in the Ministry of Magic. Even though he hadn't known in advance about the trial, in his mind if Lucius had done a better job, he'd have still had a position of influence with the Minister and could have ensured that the trial produced a conviction. Nott was trying to fill Lucius' shoes in that regard, but it wouldn't happen overnight.
Naturally, this meant that it was Lucius' fault that the Potter brat got off instead of having her wand snapped and her magic bound, which would have made it far easier to kill her. Not only did Lucius pay for that, but so too did Narcissa and Draco. Of course, Voldemort didn't want to waste the punishments, so he had some of his youngest followers deliver the torture curses.
The Malfoy family was fast becoming not only a constant object lesson to all of Voldemort's other Death Eaters about the price of stupidity and failure, but also a convenient teaching tool for those who needed live targets for practicing the Unforgivables. So Voldemort sat and listened, smiling, to the Malfoy screams while occasionally giving pointers to the young Hogwarts students about how to improve their technique.
Deep under the Gringotts bank in London, War Chief Sharpaxe looked at the report about events in the Ministry that day. He shook his head in exasperation at the stupidity of so many witches and wizards.
This is one of the reasons why we've been unsuccessful in developing positive relations with them, especially on this island, he thought angrily. Rude... corrupt... no common sense... Had those two witches been convicted, it might have activated the Armageddon Clause in our new treaty with the veela, leading to all-out warfare with wizarding Britain after the Horde stormed the Ministry to rescue them.
He set aside the brief and pulled out some fresh parchment so he could draft his own report to his queen. Maybe the Goddess is watching out for them and us after all, he thought as he began to write.