Chapter 17: Drastic measures
For disclaimer and author notes please see chapter 1.
1986-03-16 16:00 UTC, location unknown
Sirius and Harry floo-ed into Nick and Penny's kitchen straight from Gringotts. Penny welcomed them, giving both of them a warm hug, and sitting Harry down near herself.
Hobby had quickly made himself invisible and stepped away as soon as they had entered. In the few days since they had met, and the excitement of Dumbledore's trial had died down, these four had become very close. Hobby was even considering becoming their elf so he could spend more time with Harry - after all, he was a free elf, and other than being confused, Malfoy could not do much anyway. The only thing that stayed him (he reminded himself) was that working at the Malfoys gave him access to information he might never get otherwise.
"So what did the wills say, Sirius?", asked Nick.
"Nothing earth shaking, Nick. Corroboration that I was not the secret keeper and that Pettigrew was, and instructions that Harry should be cared for by me, and if not by me then Alice, and if not Alice then Amelia. So - even if the old codger had a genuine excuse for not giving me a trial and did not know about Alice, he would have been forced to give him up to Amelia."
"Was Dumbledore a witness?"
"No, only Frank and Amelia were", said Sirius. "Actually, I never knew James was that close to Amelia. Anyway, she's a great choice; Harry would have been happy with her. Oh well, we'll just have to make sure he spends some time with her. I believe Amelia's niece is the same age so should be good company. And young Neville too...", his voice trailed off, thinking about how to make sure Harry grew up knowing some kids his age; clearly the Dursleys had made sure he did not have that pleasure.
1986-04-01 07:00 UTC, Malfoy manor
Hobby was re-thinking his target list. When he had asked for this form of the second chance, he had no set plan in mind, only a vague idea that he should eliminate all the death-eaters, and Fudge and Umbridge, with extreme prejudice, making the deaths at least look like the result of internecine squabbles, if not outright accidental.
But, seeing how Madam Longbottom, Madam Bones, and later even Croaker, had stepped up and taken much more outspoken stands in this conflict, did he really need to do that? Would it not be better to let nature take its course, since this was already a different world?
That's not to say that he would become complacent - he definitely had to de-fang Snape (may be easier now that Dumbledore had been pulled off his high horse). And nothing - absolutely nothing - would stop Umbridge's sad demise, that was the one thing he was certain about, and felt absolutely no guilt over. Even looked forward to.
He thought about that for a minute - why did he have less qualms about Umbridge than he had about, say, Macnair? It was clear that the death-eaters had killed and tortured more people, so why did the sight or thought of the pink-clad bitch cause his blood to boil?
I suppose it must be that she did her evil deeds in her official capacity. The death-eaters were clearly unlawful, but she would still have ways to escape, if ever called to the mat, he reasoned.
(In fact, due to the muggle-born registration committee, she had indirectly killed far more than any single death-eater, though Hobby did not realise that.)
So, next target, Umbridge, then Snape. The question was, how? A quiet and simple exit was well within his means - he could, if he wished, pop anywhere and kill anyone. He was literally that powerful.
But two very important points militated against that. First, and most importantly, even though he kept telling himself he did not have a conscience or morals when it came to the bad guys, the fact is that he did, in fact, have a wee bit of queasiness about such a course of action.
Secondly, he did not want to make anyone think any of these killings were suspicious, or that they were anything but what they seemed to be - in-fighting among the death-eaters, accidents, and so on. People mysteriously turning up dead tended to make people start wondering what was going on, and he did not want that.
1986-05-07 07:00 UTC, Malfoy manor
Hobby got his chance a month later. Things had been very quiet on all fronts for a month or more now. Downright boring in fact. And then...
Malfoy was telling Narcissa something, with great relish. "Dumbledore has pretty much stopped coming to the ministry. It seems he threw a tantrum about having to submit his wand for testing, or whatever they do, at the security desk, but the guy at the desk said 'rules are rules'. Which was something Dumbledore always said - when it was convenient to him of course!"
"He must be cursing Sirius, that Reiter chap, and especially Madam Longbottom, every time he breathes", said Narcissa, laughing.
"Oh I'm sure. About as much as I am cursing the Bones bitch", said Malfoy.
"Wasn't it Robards who hit you?"
"Yes but he was just doing his job. Bones apparently stood drinks for almost the entire auror corps that evening. That makes it personal. Too bad she didn't die with her brother and sister-in-law."
He paused to reflect a bit.
"Anyway, I've been practicing with my left hand and I think I am good enough to challenge her now", he said.
"Don't be stupid, Lucius. If Bella were alive she would have a field day calling you a Gryffindor. Anyway, weren't you and Fudge also in on the plot to charge Sirius with kidnapping the Potter boy? You should count yourself lucky the axe fell only on Dumbledore.
No no, you cannot retaliate against Bones. Get someone else to do it - someone who is not a death-eater, otherwise the Phantom might keep his promise."
"I don't believe it - you are afraid of that nameless, faceless, wizard?"
"Yes I am, and I don't mind saying so. You have no idea what it felt like to wake up in someone else's backyard, a bunch of other people's children and elves around you. The feeling of loss of control is... extremely frightening.
So, as I said - you will farm this off to someone else, and you will do it in such a way that there is no hint of any connection with you."
Hobby was, of course, listening to all this. Aha, he thought, time to give Umbitch some 'suggestions' on offering her services for Malfoy's noble cause. She's not a death-eater, so the Phantom's ultimatum won't kick in too!
1986-05-08 07:00 UTC, Ministry of Magic, Minister's office
"Ah Dolores, come in, come in. How are things with you?", said Fudge.
"Cornelius, I wish to speak to you on a very sensitive subject - the current state of our world, this Phantom, and especially some people in the ministry", Umbridge started off without preamble.
"Ah yes, I myself have been quite exercised over the matter, but have been unable to come to any definite plan of action. Perhaps hearing your views would help".
"I'll be frank with you. I think it is shameful what happened to Lord Malfoy, Although not directly Bones's fault, she being the senior I think she bears a large part of the responsibility. I would like to help, in any way I can, to remind her where her primary responsibilities and loyalties should be".
"I see. Did you have a specific plan in mind?"
"I have actually thought of challenging her to a duel, but I am concerned that she will cheat her way to victory".
"Dolores, much as I do not like her, I have never known her to cheat in any way. What exactly do you mean?"
"She knows more spells than I do - that is what I meant by 'cheating'".
Ever the politician, Fudge did not let a contemptuous laugh come out; he gave not even a hint of his feelings on Umbridge's definition of cheating. "Ah of course; yes. So a formal duel is out. Well, let me think about this for a bit, then I will get back to you. Come back in an hour, and we can continue this discussion."
A few minutes later he was on the floo to his good friend Malfoy, describing to him what had just happened, and asking how best to use Umbridge in this endeavour.
"Cornelius, that is indeed very very coincidental!" - or your house-elf went and laid a compulsion charm on Umbitch after hearing your discussion with your wife, you moron!, Hobby snorted to himself - "Cissy and I were just discussing this yesterday, and we had come to the conclusion that it would have to be someone who had not been put under the imperius by the Dark Lord and forced to take the dark mark. I think Umbridge would be an excellent candidate for this."
"She is magically weak, has no concept of tact or finesse, and in general is completely useless in any type of combat situation. What would be the best way of using her, do you think, Lucius?"
Malfoy turned his head when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Tell him Umbridge needs to ambush Bones with some story; best to have her call Bones and tell her she knows something about the Phantom and would like to see Bones in her office. Then have her stand behind her door and stupify Bones as she comes in. After that she can do whatever she wants, but make sure she is unable to tell people what happened except under veritaserum".
Around 9am, Umbridge came back to Fudge's office to receive her instructions. Unknown to them, Hobby was also there, invisible, in the corner. In fact, he had made a quick jump to Umbridge's office and used a compulsion charm to delay her until he, Hobby, was able to get away from his morning tasks in Malfoy manor. He needed this pensieve memory.
"Dolores, come in, come in. I have been thinking about what you said, and I agree that Bones's influence and power need to be drastically cut down. If drastic measures are needed, then so be it."
"What about Longbottom? After we spoke earlier this morning, it struck me that Bones derives a lot of her confidence from being so close to the Chief Witch."
"There is no need to be too ambitious, Dolores; let us deal with one first, and then worry about the other." Translation: if you manage to do one...
"In any case", he continued, "I believe I have what will be the simplest way to deal with Bones. Tell her you have heard something about the Phantom and would like to see her in your office. Stand behind your door and ambush her when she walks in. A very simple plan; complicated plans don't always work out."
Neither do simple ones if I have anything to say about it, thought Hobby.
Without waiting much longer, Hobby decanted the memory into a vial, made himself invisible, and popped straight into Madam Bones office. She was - luckily - not in at the moment, so he put the vial on her desk, with a note saying "compliments of the Phantom".
He then went looking for her, and stayed with her until she came back to her office, saw the vial and viewed the memory; otherwise there was a (slight) danger that the event would happen as Narcissa planned.
Amelia was livid. She was going to turn around and go straight to Fudge, to arrest him and Umbridge, when a mild cough sounded from one corner of the room.
Not the kind to panic even in if there was any real danger, she calmly turned to the corner and said "the Phantom, I presume?"
"Yes Madam Bones", said a deep voice which reminded her of someone else; she could not remember who, but that would have to wait.
"I would not advocate confronting the corrupt bastard right away, Madam Bones", continued the voice. "Borrow one of the combat armour suits for the day, disillusion it. When the message comes, take someone with you - I suggest Shacklebolt or, for poetic justice, Robards - then let the trap spring. Umbitch's magical power is close to squib; she can't do anything that will get past the armour, and your colleague will be close behind, to shield, deflect, or whatever. Worst comes to worst you duck; your reflexes are pretty good and you are not going in unaware of what may happen".
"Hmm, good points. I can make a much better case from something that actually happened, than from something that was merely planned. Especially when the pensieve memory cannot be sworn to". She gave him a look, though she could not see him. "I suppose it is too much to ask you to reveal yourself and swear to that memory?"
"Not yet, Madam Bones". Why the heck did I say that? I had no intention of ever revealing myself; I simply cannot! Oh well, that was not a promise anyway.
"Can I ask why you are doing this?"
"This specific issue? Clearly because I want you as minister! Didn't I make that obvious?", he laughed.
Amelia laughed too; she found she could not truly be angry at this... what was he, a murderer? Whom had he murdered? People who were in Azkaban, and should have been, for the rest of their lives, but had somehow - due to the corrupt minister - escaped. Every day they went free was a day when any number of innocents were at risk of being murdered. And her friends Frank and Alice had very nearly been murdered, too.
Law enforcement is trained to think "vigilante bad", but maybe - after seeing what they wanted to do to a couple that was already beyond all help anyway - there was something to be said for quick justice. She would need to think it through much more carefully.
In any case, she had no power over this man. He had disappeared silently. From a warded room and building. Right in front of her.
She donned the armour, and sat down at her desk. May as well get some paperwork finished while waiting.
1986-05-08 09:30 UTC, Ministry of Magic, Senior Undersecretary's office
Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE, walked into Dolores Umbridge's office a few minutes after receiving a request to discuss something. Shacklebolt was a couple of feet behind her, but he did not completely enter the room, in order to avoid being seen by someone hiding behind the door.
"REDUCTO", came the curse, from behind the door - exactly as expected. Amelia ducked low while Shacklebolt quickly swept around the door and hit the witch with a petrifaction spell.
1986-05-08 14:00 UTC, Ministry of Magic, Courtroom 7
"Good afternoon, everyone; please settle down". I seem to be saying that a lot these days, thought Madam Longbottom. So many high-profile cases since the beginning of the year, one had to wonder what had gotten into people.
"Bring the prisoner in", she said once a modicum of quiet had been established.
Dolores Umbridge, former Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, was brought in, ankles and wrists chained. Muggle chains, not magical ones - someone knew what would piss her off more and was enjoying this. She wondered who that could be, but it was useless to speculate; the field was too big.
Umbridge was made to sit in the chair in the center. Courtroom 7 was about the largest they had, and they had had to move the trial from room 10 because of the number of people who were attending.
Word had also leaked about the Minister being under a cloud, and Madam Longbottom's next words confirmed this:
"For reasons that will become clear, Minister Fudge has been asked to recuse himself from this case; he will, if he chooses to attend, be part of the audience.
We will now start the proceedings. Madam Bones will provide her testimony first".
Amelia Bones took the floor. "Shortly after 9am today, I had returned to my office from a meeting, and found a vial containing a memory, with a short note attached to it.
She waited for the susurration to die down.
"I will now play the memory. It is very short, no more than a few minutes. Please hold all your comments and discussion till I complete my testimony".
She then played the memory. The entire Wizengamot saw Fudge casually describe the need to "cut down" the influence and power of Madam Bones. They heard the phrase "drastic measures". Finally, they heard the actual plan outlined by Fudge.
"I am gratified that my name came up too", said Madam Longbottom with a smile. Then she continued, "The reason we did not bring Minister Fudge himself in, is because the person, whose memories we are viewing, will not be coming forward as a witness. As such, the memory itself is inadmissible as evidence, without someone to swear to it in our presence. Madam Bones, please continue your testimony".
"Thank you Madam Chief Witch. The note that accompanied the memory merely said 'compliments of the Phantom', which of course made it very clear to me that he would not be appearing in court. So I decided to do nothing, and just wait and see what happens.
I did not have to wait long. Barely twenty minutes later, I received a message from Dolores Umbridge, saying she had some information about the Phantom, and would I please meet her in her office. I took one of my senior-most aurors - Shacklebolt - and went to her room. Please note that at this point I was still not sure if the memory was genuine or some sort of prank. I did tell Shacklebolt about it, and told him to stay alert.
I entered the room, only to find Dolores was not at her desk. However, her room contains some filing cabinets in one corner, and it would not be unheard of for her to be filing something or looking for something there, so this was still not quite proof of any skullduggery.
But a bare second later, I heard a loud 'REDUCTO' from behind the door. Since I was already somewhat primed for action, I managed to duck low - lower than the spell from this unusually short woman - and avoided being hit. Shacklebolt ensured that she could not try for a second shot, and we arrested her.
Since this is, clearly, an assassination attempt on a department head, any suspects are to be given veritaserum to ascertain all possible details. That is what we will be doing. This is standard procedure - just because it has not happened till now does not mean it is a new rule or something".
Senior Auror Shacklebolt administered the veritaserum to Umbridge, and also did the interrogation. Somewhat unusual, perhaps, but the two people who would have taken precedence were either implicated (Fudge) or interested (Bones). Though, to be honest, I am just as interested as Amelia is, Madam Longbottom smirked to herself.
After the usual "name, occupation" type questions, Shacklebolt started the real questions.
"Was that memory we saw accurate as far as you know?"
"Yes". There was not even a struggle, as is often seen when a person under veritaserum is forced to admit or say something she would normally not have done. Either she didn't care, or she was so weak that the veritaserum completely overrode her will.
"What were you intending to do to Madam Bones?"
"I was intending to kill her."
"Why were you intending to kill her."
"She has become too powerful. Upstanding citizens like Lord Malfoy suffer injuries that would normally result in Azkaban to the perpetrators, yet not even an inquiry happens".
Everyone knew there was no point arguing with someone under veritaserum so the questions continued.
"How did you plan to hide the body or the fact that Madam Bones would have last been seen in your office before she disappeared".
"I would have expected Cornelius to take care of that".
And that was basically it. A call to arrest Fudge went out - he was found in Gringotts, trying to clean out his vault - and he was brought in to the courtroom. The fact of where he was caught and what he was doing at the time, were also submitted as evidence of malicious intent.
Finally, both were charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to murder a ministry worker. In addition, Umbridge was charged with attempted murder and attempted murder of a ministry worker. She got life in Azkaban, while he got fifteen years. (And after a bit more politicking, Madam Bones was elected Minister for Magic, not unanimously, but by a more than decent margin).
Hobby was glad Malfoy was not implicated. He still needed his information source.
Score: Rookwood, Macnair, Lestranges and Crouches dead, Pettigrew, Umbitch, and Fudge in Azkaban. Now to get Snape to join them, he gloated.