Chapter 4: Amelia and Harry's Long Day
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Amelia Bones was a woman on a mission. She wanted to know who set the purebloods on the protesters. They had to know that she was out of the building, which stank of inside information. That meant there was a leak either in her department, or in the ministry or both. The whole thing reeked of a set up. There were a few people she had always had her eye on, and she was headed towards one of them now.
This particular woman was vile and according to Jackie, her wayward secretary, had lied on her application to get to be Undersecretary. She was going to have to check out that accusation. She did wonder if it was that she was a pureblood like Fudge believed her to be. Amelia knew better. She had known the woman's father when he was a janitor here. The man was a pig. He had married a muggle and had two children with her, when only Dolores turned out to be magical, he had abandoned the wife and squib son to the muggles.
She had questioned those in her department and learned that Dolores Umbridge had been sniffing around that morning. Dolores had asked questions about the whereabouts of everyone that was not present this morning. The woman had asked many questions, like 'what is she investigating?', 'how long will she be?', and 'does the minister know?'. Things the woman had no business asking.
That was enough for Amelia to go and question her. The damn busybody would know better than to come to her bullpen and ask about things that were none of her business. Amelia had already reamed her people about answering the woman's inquiries. She would plug those leaks if she had to fire all of the loose lips and start fresh. As it was, she was going to have many meetings to go over what was protocol and what was not.
"Dolores," she said as she came up to the woman's desk. She hated this woman and her constant airs of value. She wasn't that important, but she tried to pretend that she was. That, and she insisted on wearing pink everything. Even her desk was decorated in pink. Amelia had nothing against pink, but there was such a thing as too much.
"Yes, Amelia," the coy woman said, making a casual wave of her hand as if having the head of the DMLE at her desk was a minor inconvenience.
"Why were you in my department this morning?" Bones asked, her eyes narrowing. She kept an eye on the woman's face, not that she could see much with how piggy her eyes were.
"I am allowed to go anywhere in the ministry," the woman simpered, in that little girl voice of hers. "I am the Undersecretary to the Minister," she said with the airs that Amelia hated so much.
"No, that doesn't mean you can do anything you desire. Or ask any questions you wish," Bones said, leaning down and placing her hands on the woman's desk. She leaned forward and put her face near Dolores'. "That just means that you work for the minister, not that you run the ministry," she explained. "My department is my department. Not your personal playground. Where I am, and what I'm doing is none of your concern. Now, I will ask again, what were you doing in the DMLE this morning?" she asked again, her voice menacing.
"I was trying to report the mob in the lobby," the woman sneered, her grating voice not backing down one bit. She still felt she was in the right. "They are causing discord here in the building. No one is getting any work done," she added, looking at Amelia like she wasn't doing her job.
"They are peacefully protesting," was the rebuttal as she still leaned forward. "Now tell me the real reason," she insisted.
"That was my reason," the toad-like woman insisted as she batted her eyes innocently. Even if it wasn't for the malice look in her eyes, she still wouldn't have pulled it off. Her face was just not made for innocence.
"You see, I think you were there to find out if it was safe for your cohorts to come and harass those that are peacefully protesting. That almost started a riot, which would have caused casualties. If that had happened, then you would be under arrest at this time. If I find out you did it again, I will arrest you for attempted murder. Do you understand me?" Bones said, getting even closer to the vile woman's face, her monocle glinting in the light. She wanted to make sure that her threat was understood.
"You can't speak to me that way," Dolores said, pushing back her chair, standing and getting her face away from Bones' face. She wasn't going to be intimidated by this woman. "I am the Undersecretary of the Minister," she said loudly like it was the most important job in the ministry. "I will not be harassed by the likes of you," she persisted.
"Oh, you will find that I can 'harass' you," Amelia said, straightening and fixing her shirt. "You will also find that I have far more power than you do. Or even more than your precious minister. You see, I uphold the law, of which you are not exempt, and I only answer to the Wizengamot." She smirked and then walked away, leaving a sputtering Dolores behind her.
She heard a wordless scream of rage and grinned. She knew Umbridge would go straight to Fudge with this, and that she would receive a visit from him. She would have to remind the man of that fact as well. He would do well to understand that only the Wizengamot controlled her department, and they were not all in his pocket like he liked to believe they were. He was one bribe away from a no confidence vote. If she found out he had anything to do with the almost riot, then he would be out before his knut hit the ground.
The purebloods were still in her cells, so she decided to go back to Hogwarts. They needed answers and soon. There was a basilisk about, and the students needed to be protected. First, she was going to go to her department and let them know that if there was any leak this time, she was going to make heads roll. She would grab a few of them and take them to the school where she could keep a better eye on them. Not that they were bad, just green.
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In the Hospital Wing, many things happened at once. Mr. Finch-Fletchley drew his weapon and fired, Xeno Lovegood cast a spell and Harry Potter came barreling through the door. The headmaster screamed in pain as his hand developed a hole from the bullet that passed through it. His wand went flying and he fell forward as his body was slammed from behind.
"Shite," Harry said when he realized that he had run into the old man. Then he noticed the blood and registered that he had heard a gunshot. "Shite," he said, again. He ducked and went to the old man's side, to keep him from being shot again. He put his hands over his head and leaned his body to protect the headmaster.
"No one move," Mr. Finch-Fletchley said, pointing the gun to the ceiling.
Poppy ignored him and went to the headmaster to stop his bleeding.
Everyone else froze. Harry because he knew what a gun was, likewise with the Creeveys and Justin.
Xeno Lovegood because he held the Elder Wand. Not that anyone else knew this, but Xeno was in heaven. It had been a lifelong dream of his to see this wand, let alone hold it. Now it was his, he could feel it. In more ways than one. It was speaking to his soul.
"Don't shoot," Harry said, his hands in the air as he still crouched over the headmaster. "I am just here to tell the headmaster that there are a bunch of parents that want to talk to him," he said in a hurry. He didn't want to get shot. "I didn't mean to startle anyone," he said, like it was his fault the gun went off.
"We came with them," Justin's dad said, his gun still pointed at the ceiling. "What were you going to do to my son, old man?" he asked the still groaning Albus. "Move, son," he said to Harry, who did as bid, but not far.
Harry stood, his hands in the air, but close enough to protect Madam Pomfrey or the old man if necessary. He might not like the old man right now, but he didn't want to see him dead.
"He can't go around telling people about young Ginevra," Dumbledore gasped through the pain. He had never felt such pain in his hand before. Sure, he knew what a gun was. He had seen them when he was fighting Grindelwald. He had never been shot before though, and it hurt. "It will cause untold problems," he added, wincing when Poppy put some potion directly into the bullet hole.
"So, what? You were going to wipe our memories? You arsehole, you can't just go around messing with people's minds like that," Mr. Finch-Fletchley stated, pointing his gun at the old man now. He was so going to take his son from this mad house. "Justin, get up, lad. We're going home." He moved to keep his son behind him. "Creevey, are you staying or coming with?" he asked the other man.
"Coming," the milkman said, grabbing his son's hand and going to stand behind the other man. He knew his son would have to come back, but hopefully everything would have settled down. He wasn't leaving him here when there was a large snake that could petrify him again.
The four of them made their way to the door. Justin stopped his dad with a hand on his back. "Harry," he said, looking very guilty, "I'm sorry, I accused you of being the heir of Slytherin. It's Ginny Weasley." He then moved to leave.
"Wait, that makes even less sense than it being me," Harry said, moving to follow them. He didn't leave the room, but he went a few steps further from Poppy and Albus.
"I saw her too," Colin said, still holding his dad's hand. "She was leading the snake that got me. I would have gotten a picture, but I think the camera broke," he added, looking a bit sad at that. Truth be told, he was more upset over his camera than his petrification.
"She must be being controlled somehow. That is the only thing that makes sense," Harry said, not moving any closer since the gun was still pointed at the headmaster, who was behind him. He desperately wanted that to be true. Ginny was his best mate's younger sister. If she was doing this, it would gut Ron. Not to mention the rest of the Weasleys.
"Maybe, I don't know. All I know is what I saw," Justin said as he followed his father out of the Hospital Wing. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. He was scared shitless. He didn't want to stay here where there was a basilisk.
"You can't just leave," Pomfrey said, making to stop them. "You were just healed. And Mr. Finch-Fletchley just shot the headmaster. You need to answer to the Aurors for that," she stated, going to the floo. She was going to call Amelia to come and take this man to task. Who did this muggle think he was? Injuring the headmaster without so much as a 'by your leave'.
"They can find me at home," the man said, still brandishing his weapon. "Come on. Let's go," he said, making his way out of the door and out of the castle.
As they went, they gathered up the rest of the parents and children that were leaving. It was a great deal of them. The parents were scared, and the children learned that there was a 'great ruddy snake' about, and they were more than willing to go home until it was dead. And with that, at least a third of the school's students were gone.
Once they were gone from the room, Harry went to find his friend Ron. He wanted to make sure Ginny didn't get caught in the backlash of Justin's accusations. He ran through the halls as fast as he could. He knew from experience how cruel the kids of this school could be.
The rumor mill of Hogwarts was fast. Soon it was known that there was a large snake about the school and that Ginny Weasley was responsible for it petrifying at least two people. Everyone was terrified that they would be next. Not one person doubted the words of the two boys as they left with their fathers. They were eyewitnesses after all.
She denied it of course, and her family surrounded her in her defense. However, she could not account for her whereabouts on the days in question. It was to this that Amelia walked in on, as if she didn't have enough to deal with.
They were in the Entry Hall and Ginny was shoved into a corner, her brothers were all surrounding her with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in front of them. There was an angry group of students all trying to get to the girl.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a huge bubble in front of them as they were in front of the rest of the Weasleys. It was a spell that Percy was maintaining from his place in the back of the group. He would be the last line of defense to protect his sister.
"I won't let you falsely accuse someone else," Potter was heard to say. "You lot have been saying I was the heir for weeks, now you're saying it's someone else. You have no proof," he said, holding his wand up and ready. He wasn't going to let them hurt a younger girl on hearsay.
"Justin said it was her," Susan Bones said, leading the group that wanted to get to Ginny so they could take her to her aunt. Well, that's what she wanted. She didn't know what the rest of them were there for.
"He said the same thing about me," Harry stated, glaring at the fickle witch. "You believed him then too," he declared, pointing an accusing finger at her with his free hand. "You lot better back off. The professors will take care of this and call the Aurors. It is not your place to do this," he said with conviction that he didn't feel. He had no trust in the so-called authority of this school. The whole sit-in had proved that, but this lot didn't understand that.
"Susan Beatrice Bones!" came the voice of her aunt, making Susan feel small and relieved at the same time. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" the woman said as she came up to the group and got between them. She was getting tired of breaking up mobs. It seemed that was all she was doing lately. She had received the call from the frantic mediwitch, but Albus was not fatally injured so he could wait.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley woke up and said that Ginny Weasley had led a snake that petrified him and Colin," Susan said, like it was her right to be doing what she was doing.
"So, what? You decided to take the law into your own hands? I thought I taught you better than that," Amelia said, making Susan blush bright red. She had taught her better than that, and the girl knew that. She was leading a mob, and that led to people being hurt.
"I was going to hold her until you got back," Susan defended herself. She knew she was in the wrong, but Hannah and the others had pressured her into getting Ginny into custody. They said it was for the girl's protection.
"All of you, leave," Amelia said, pointing to the crowd of students that had been hellbent on getting to the youngest Weasley. "Find something better to do than harass a first year," she said, her tone hard.
There was a lot of grumbling about it, but they did disperse. Many of them shot glares at the small group that was remaining.
"Thank you, Madam Bones," Harry said, sagging in relief. He didn't think they would have won if spells had started being fired. He would have tried though. "I thought we were buggered," he said, only to be smacked on the head for his language.
"Language, Harry," Hermione said, blushing in embarrassment.
"You are more than welcome," the head of the DMLE said, nodding her head to the group. "Susan," she said to her niece, who had remained behind. "Go to your dorm. I will come and talk to you later," she said, giving the girl a hug.
"Yes, Aunty," the girl said, returning the hug, and moving away. She knew she was in for a lecture, but it was nice to know that her aunt still cared.
"What happened?" Bones directed her question to Potter.
"Justin woke up and told everyone that Ginny was the one that led the snake that petrified him, and the school went after her. We tried to protect her, and you saw the rest," he said, as succinctly as possible.
"Miss Weasley, come here," she said in her official voice. The others parted the way, reluctantly. Ginny, shy as ever, came forward meekly. Her eyes cast imploringly to her brothers, but they couldn't go against the law. "Come, child, I have a few questions," she said, making beckoning motions.
Ginny sighed, and knew the gig was up. She went to the woman, but she latched on to Percy to come with her.
"Can we get my parents?" Percy said, holding his sister's hand. "They should be here. Well, my father at the very least. Mother might be a bit of a bother," he reiterated. His father was the head of the family and should be here regardless. His mother though would cause more problems than be helpful.
"Too right," the twins said, seeing their mum being more than a bit of a bother. More like a hinderance. Her nagging and wailing would make it impossible for Bones to do her job properly.
Amelia made a Patronus and sent a message to Arthur. "Hopefully, he'll be here soon. Until then, come with me. I have other things I need to see to. You lot, clear off," she said, indicating Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys.
They all started off, but they were just as reluctant as the group before them. They wanted to protect Ginny, but she was the head cop, and they couldn't go against her orders.
"Madam Bones," Harry said before he left. "The headmaster is in the Hospital Wing. Justin's dad shot him when he pointed his wand at Justin," he said, thinking she might need to know that.
"Of course, he did," she sighed, knowing that Albus did something stupid. "I'll go and check on him," she said. She had known that already and was on her way there when she had come across them. Now she was going to have to take these two with her. What she hadn't known was that Harry Potter had seen it, and that it had been one of the victim's fathers.
"Oh, and most of the muggleborn have left the school. Justin and Colin told them about the basilisk. The other students are talking about leaving too," Harry said, not wanting her to get caught flatfooted.
"Thank you for telling me," she said, making shooing motions, so she could get to work. Now that was a bit of bad news. Not that she wasn't thinking about closing the school anyway, but now she was going to have to go to their houses to talk to them. She had been hoping to catch them before they left.
Harry and the group moved off to get into trouble. Well, they were going to the dorm, but trouble seem to find them anyway. Hopefully, they wouldn't find anymore today.
Amelia went to the Hospital Wing to question those that were there. When she got there, there was an argument going on. It had been too much to hope for, to not have to break up another confrontation.
"Xeno, give me my wand," Albus was saying from the bed he was laying in. He looked pale and old, like he had lost too much blood or something. Which should not have happened from a hand wound. Maybe he had a bleeding disorder? She didn't know, she was not a healer.
"It isn't your wand anymore," Lovegood stated, holding the wand to his chest. "I won it fair and square. You were going to Obliviate that poor man and his son. I could not allow that." He turned to Amelia. "I am glad you are here," he said to her.
"He was going to Obliviate who?" she asked, directing the two Weasley siblings to sit on one of the unoccupied beds.
"The muggle father of one of the petrified students. Mr. Finch-Fletchley and his son. He might have done it to the Creeveys too, I'm not sure. I stopped him as the muggle shot him," Xeno said, still holding the wand protectively.
"Tell me what happened from the beginning," Amelia demanded, getting out her notebook and pen. She hoped he wasn't drifty like he tended to be.
"The boy woke up," Xeno started, sounding sound of mind, "after the father demanded that the antidote be brought from St. Mungo's. The first thing the boy said was that he had to apologize to Harry Potter, then he said, that he saw Ginny Weasley guiding a 'great ruddy snake'. That was when the headmaster raised his wand. I couldn't let him hide that memory. So, I called the wand to me. The father shot Albus in the hand, Harry Potter knocked Albus over. Then the muggle took his boy and the other boy, with his father, home." He sighed a huge sigh having spoken that all in one breath.
Ginny squeaked and hid her face in Percy's robes.
"I could not let him accuse the young lady of something that was beyond her control," Albus said, his voice sounded so sure that what he had tried to do was the right thing to do.
"That is not your call to make. Besides, how do you know it was out of her control?" Amelia asked, looking at the girl when she said it. Albus was correct there was something there that said that the girl was feeling guilty, but in an unattached way. As if by association, and not directly.
"I have my ways," was all the answer she got. He did have an annoying way of answering questions in that manner. She was going to have to rely on drastic measures to get the truth from him.
"I am going to hold you for obstruction of justice," Bones said, raising her wand and tying his good hand to the bedrail.
"Amelia!" the headmaster cried out, as if he could not believe she did such a thing.
"You'll survive." She held no sympathy for him.
"Wait, you let the whole school believe that Harry Potter was the heir of Slytherin but wanted to protect Ginny from the accusation. I'm not sure if I like that or hate you for it," Percy said, confusion in his tone. He was all about justice and fair play. It wasn't right to let someone suffer needlessly yet protect someone else from the same thing. Even if it was his sister.
"He's let the whole school believe the Boy-Who-Lived was the culprit behind the Chamber opening?" Bones asked, jotting that down. "Is it because she's a pureblood? Albus, I never knew you were a purest," she said, mildly. His actions were telling.
"I would never," the old man said, though his protest fell on deaf ears. Everyone in that room didn't believe him.
"Your actions speak louder than your words," Xeno said, unknowingly echoing Amelia's thoughts, moving towards the door. He stored the wand in his sleeve with his other wand. "I have an article to write. Do you have any more questions for me?" he asked Amelia.
"Not at this point, but try to write the truth," she warned, not wanting two sensationalistic writers to deal with.
"I always do," he quipped and started for the door.
"Mr. Lovegood, my wand," Albus tried again.
"It's mine now," was all Xeno said as he left.
"Bugger," Dumbledore stated as he fell back onto the bed.
"Now let's talk about the basilisk," Amelia said, watching the faces of everyone there.