It's My Life
Albus was fuming at Harry's statements because the man fully intended on Harry not being permitted to take the truth potion for whatever reasons. It normally wasn't issued to minors, but Harry plotted this move hours ago during the recess, asking Percy Weasley to slip it into the teenager's cup of water unseen while Harry took the oath to tell only the truth. And then the brat brilliantly answered all control questions during his testimony.
To make matters worse, something unquestionable, Harry swore by his own magic that he told the truth and nothing happened. Albus knew he was guilty, but he'd been hoping to pin the boy a liar or unfit to stand trial. Those chances are gone now. Albus would have to go up there and be put under the serum while being asked everything possible to oust him as whatever they considered him. A manipulator, a dark lord even? All his plans were coming undone, Harry was never to figure out the truth until the end.
Ralph recovered from the shock of being outsmarted by a teenager and relaxed. Surely, everyone else was in shock too at what was learned. Including Harry's lawyer, father, boyfriend, and Mrs. Malfoy. It seemed no one knew exactly what Harry had planned, some were surprised, others impressed. Harry came to win. Even Amelia had said she wouldn't put Harry on the stand, but Lucius claimed Harry would be happy to.
"Well, Mr. Calprine, do you have anything further for Mr. Potter-Snape, or can we move on?" Amelia asked.
"No, your honor…Nothing more." Ralph backed down as Harry moved out of the stand and to his seat.
"We're going to have a serious talk later, son…" Severus sighed quietly.
Yeah, Harry had expected that between this and the mark thing earlier. Harry had no choice, it was necessary because he didn't trust Albus one bit. Albus was going to try and out Severus as a death eater, probably Lucius and Narcissa too. Of course, Narcissa was entirely safe because Harry removed her mark easily. But Lucius's had been temperamental and Harry, in the end, could only break its ties to Voldemort's magic and alter it slightly.
On the left arm would surely reveal it's just under a glamour or had been changed by Voldemort himself to ensure Lucius didn't lose his political standing. That's why Harry had the tattoo move up to the back of the shoulder, now the arms of Lucius were bare. And for Severus, Harry knew already that Albus had probably seen Severus's mark in the past, so Harry had to rid his father of it entirely.
However, since he didn't have time to fully do as he did with Lucius, and knew his father didn't want him taking it…Harry went and used the slightest magic to switch with his father. The mark now sat on Harry's left arm. Nobody knew what Harry had done, but Severus knew something had happened and Lucius did too because their marks had responded to Harry as a parseltongue.
"Your Honor, if we may get to the end. I call Mr. Albus Dumbledore to the stand, and as with everyone else, placed under Veritaserum." Lucius stated calmly.
"Yes. Mr. Dumbledore, you will come forward." Amelia ordered.
Albus was guided to the stand and forced to sit, then he was given the serum and asked the questions all others had been. When Percy Weasley, again, gave the nod of acceptance the potion was working, he stepped away to allow Ralph up first.
"Mr. Dumbledore, have you ever endangered any children's lives?" Ralph began.
"No."
"Are you guilty of the crimes you are accused today?" Ralph smiled.
"No."
"I thought he shouldn't be able to lie?" Draco whispered to his uncle.
"The serum affects the use in the way that they reveal the truth to them. If Albus believes he's innocent, then he is telling his own truths. I'm sure your father has already seen this and knows how to ask his questions to ensure the true crimes are admitted." Severus revealed softly to his godson.
"I have nothing further, at this time," Ralph walked away.
Lucius now stood again. "Mr. Dumbledore, did you, in October of 1991, willingly send the Slytherin students to their dormitories when it was revealed by a former professor that there was a troll in the dungeons?"
"Yes."
"And why is it you just claimed you did not endanger students when, in fact, you sent the Slytherin students to their dorms…Which resides in the dungeons?" Lucius asked.
Albus looked like he swallowed a lemon, but he was forced to speak. "They were…Not my concern at the time."
"So only some students in the school matter to you? Not all?" Lucius continued. "Pity. Let's try again. Did you, in the year 1991, place a Cerberus inside Hogwarts on the third floor?
"Yes, to protect the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort."
"In the school year 1991-1992, how many times did you knowingly aid hinting Mr. Potter to do as you hoped he would?" Lucius pushed.
"The entire year. I placed a compulsive charm on Harry Potter when he walked through the doors for him to choose wanting to be in Gryffindor. Driven to believe Ronald Weasley, who told him that Slytherin was the house where all dark witches and wizards came from. Driven to be curious to the mysteries surrounding the Sorcerer's Stone and used the same charm on Rubeus Hagrid to be the one providing information I gave him about the stone's protections and location. I drove Harry Potter to go after the stone to fight Voldemort."
"You knew the dark lord was not gone?" Lucius inquired.
"I knew his body was destroyed, but yes, he was not gone."
"Did you know the dark lord was possessing former Quirinus Quirrell?" Lucius asked.
"Yes."
"During the school year 1992 to 1993, did you know there was a Basilisk down in the chamber of secrets?" Lucius looked at the man.
"Yes."
"Were you aware all year that the chamber had been opened and the Basilisk was petrifying students?" The Malfoy Lord stated.
"No, just until Harry relayed that he heard the Basilisk talking to him as it moved through the pipes." Albus informed.
"And did you use any compulsion charms on Mr. Potter during this school year?" Lucius went on.
"I did, to compel him to find the chamber and kill the monster inside."
"Did you know that the dark lord preserved his teenage self in the pages of a diary and used it to possess a helpless first year, ordering her to open the chamber?" Lucius questioned.
"I did not, but I knew it had to be the work of Tom Riddle because it was him who opened the chamber fifty years before, and set the Basilisk on a muggleborn girl, Myrtle Warren. Known now as Moaning Myrtle."
"In the school year, 1994 to 1995, why was Mr. Potter allowed to compete in a dangerous tournament?" Lucius jumped over third year, but Harry wasn't sure why. He assumed the man had a reason and would just listen for now.
"I knew after third year that Voldemort would be reunited with his most faithful servant and that he'd return. The signs were there after the Quidditch World Cup and the dark mark was in the sky. It would be the year the dark lord returned to full power." Albus replied.
"So you were okay with sending an undertrained wizard of age fourteen to battle the dark lord?" Lucius scoffed.
"It's always been Mr. Potter's destiny to defeat the dark lord. The time had come," Albus revealed.
"Objection, your honor…He's merely-," Ralph stood.
"Silence, Mr. Calprine! The line of questioning is more than valid." Amelia warned. "Carry on, Mr. Malfoy."
"Were you made aware that Mr. Potter may have not survived the tournament due to not having a full education?" Lucius asked.
"Yes."
"Did you know the cup was a portkey?" Lucius pushed on.
"Yes."
"This school year, did Mr. Potter tell you Dolores Umbridge was using a blood quill?" Lucius inquired.
"Yes. Dolores had permission from Minister Fudge and myself to use it, only on Harry Potter, to make him obedient."
The room burst into whispers.
"Why did you need Mr. Potter to be obedient?" Lucius questioned.
"To prepare him to face his destiny of defeating the dark lord. I picked up how distant Mr. Potter became from the moment he first left the Dursley's, and saw that he was not warming up to me as he always did. I understood that something must have happened and realized my compulsion charms had been broken."
"Did you try to place them back on Mr. Potter?" Lord Malfoy asked.
"Yes, on Halloween night. I attempted to make him follow my orders with a wandless and wordless one, but it failed. When Mr. Potter refused my demands, I barricaded my office and pulled my wand to use the Imperius Curse."
Oh, this man was digging his own grave. Harry wanted to laugh, he really did, but kept himself composed. "Mr. Dumbledore, did Mr. Potter approach you to tell you of the abuse he suffered with his muggle relatives?"
"He did."
"How many times?" Lucius wondered.
"Every year since his first at Hogwarts."
"And did you send Mr. Potter back to the abuse knowingly?" Lucius narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
"Have you ever been told of abuse with other children and sent them back to abusive environments?" Lucius asked.
"Yes."
"Notably, who in the past did you do this to?" Lucius pushed.
"Mr. Severus Snape and Mr. Tom Riddle."
"And who is Tom Riddle, he was mentioned before when we spoke about the Chamber of Secrets too?" Lucius wondered.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort."
"Your honor, my next set of questions may seem out there, but I promise, there is a reason and point. May I proceed?" Lucius questioned the judge.
"You may, Mr. Malfoy." Amelia nodded.
"Mr. Dumbledore, going back to 1981, the night the Potter's were killed…Did you leave a one-year old child on a cold November night with only a letter to the relatives to find the next morning?" Lucius asked.
"Yes, but Harry was in a blanket."
"Was there a protective barrier over him, a warming charm perhaps?" Lucius pushed.
"No."
"Where did the wards reach to?" Lucius inquired.
"The house itself, any and all inside the four walls."
"So then all this need to keep Mr. Potter safe inside the blood wards, but you left him with no heat and no protection on the front step where the wards could not even ensure his safety?" Lucius remarked.
"Yes."
"That's undoubtedly one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard in all my years. Moving on…" Lucius paused. "I have a statement here from Rubeus Hagrid claiming that you refused to allow Sirius Black to take his godson the night the Potter's died. This letter says Hagrid arrived at the house in Godric's Hollow to find Sirius already there with Harry, but you had Hagrid tell Sirius you were going to place Harry somewhere safe until the madness died down, and you encouraged Sirius to go after Peter Pettigrew. Is this true?"
"It is." Albus sighed.
"So then Sirius Black, at the time, was not convicted of any crimes and free to legally take Mr. Potter as his godfather custody had begun. And you did not allow it? Instead you sent him after his own friend?" Lucius remarked.
"That is correct."
"Mr. Dumbledore, may I inquire if you're familiar with the Fidelius Charm?" Lucius pushed.
"I am."
"Have you ever performed this charm?" Lucius inquired gently.
"I have."
"On whom or what?" Lucius asked.
"The Potter's home in Godric's Hollow while Lily was still pregnant with young Harry."
"Did you have a reason for believing they needed to be under such a vast protection?" Lucius remarked.
"Severus Snape approached me to ask if I would protect the Potter's because Voldemort was going to kill the child they were having believing he was prophesied to destroy him."
"Your honor, this has nothing to do with anything. If at all, it proves Severus Snape was working for the dark lord!" Ralph informed.
"Mr. Snape is not the one on trial." Amelia said curtly.
"Go ahead, Mr. Malfoy. Ask my client if that is true! If it is, surely Severus Snape loses his parental right to Harry for being unfit and the one to set the dark lord on the Potter's!" Ralph argued.
"It's true that Severus worked for the Dark Lord, as do Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy; they're all death eaters. Harry knows it too." Albus stated calmly.
"I demand those three be removed at once and the entire case be thrown out as this is just a ploy for the dark lord to remove Albus Dumbledore as Harry's main source of protection!" Ralph commanded. "Madam Bones, surely you cannot condone this case continuing if there are death eaters among us!?"
"No, unfortunately, I cannot…" Amelia frowned. "But, Mr. Calprine, I'll need you to prove it."
"Albus just said…Under Veritaserum-," Ralph began.
"Dear Merlin, I'm getting a migraine from this dragging out. You want proof that Albus is lying under the serum about this?" Harry remarked.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Potter?" Ralph asked.
"You know that the Veritaserum has a clause for the drinker to reveal the truth, but only what is the truth to that person. If they believe something entirely, then they are speaking their truth and not necessarily the real truth. There's no way to prove he's speaking the actual truth, or his truth." Harry informed calmly.
Lucius, Severus, nor Narcissa understood. What Albus said was absolutely the truth.
"What I said had been the whole truth because I not only testified under oath, but Veritaserum and a vow on my own magic. You have no claims on The Malfoy adults or my father being death eaters." Harry said.
"You said you could prove they were not, so prove it kid." Ralph challenged.
"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, and Dad…If you don't mind. Reveal your arms to the court, please?" Harry asked. Maintaining their calm images, the three stood together before the court jury and Amelia, sliding up their arm robes to reveal naked arms. "As you can see, no dark marks."
"It's obviously a glamour!" Ralph tried.
"It is not because if you knew anything about the mark, then you would know it cannot be removed or covered by any magical means." Harry stated. "I told you before that your client knew about the prophecy for me to destroy the dark lord and he's admitted to it."
"My father begged for the safety of my family out of the love he had for his best friend, my mother. Not a romantic love, a friendship one." He informed. "Now, how about you sit down and stop accusing people not on trial to try and save face your client has been figuratively caught with his pants down regarding his own crimes. Is that alright with you, Madam Bones?"
"Perfectly. Mr. Calprine…You will sit down and mind your courtroom manners during Mr. Malfoy's questioning." Amelia hissed angrily. "Mr. Malfoy, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Madam Bones," Lucius said, keeping his shock to himself. "Mr. Dumbledore…If you placed the charm over the Potter's then surely you knew their secret keeper. Yes?"
"Yes."
"Was it Sirius Black?" Lucius asked.
"No."
"Who was the Potter's secret keeper?" Lucius pushed.
"Peter Pettigrew…"
"On the night the Potter's were killed, why did you insist Mr. Black go after Mr. Pettigrew?" Lucius ordered.
"I needed Sirius Black out of the way to have control over Harry."
"Is that why, during the school year of Mr. Potter's third year, 1993 to 1994, you did not reveal to Mr. Potter that the escaped convict, Sirius Black, was Mr. Potter's legal godfather?" Lucius remarked.
"Yes. I didn't want Harry to get close to Sirius Black because I knew Sirius would reveal the truth."
"What truth?" Lucius pressured the man.
"That Sirius Black was innocent and I made sure he went to prison without trial for crimes he did not commit!"
The room gasped. "Order. Order I say!" Amelia smacked her gavel on the desk. "Mr. Malfoy, Sirius Black will have his day in court and I see it going very quickly. This, I'm afraid, does not show Mr. Dumbledore's wrongdoings to Mr. Potter. Does your line of questioning get to that point you made mention of?"
"Yes, Madam Bones. Right now, in fact. So, Mr. Dumbledore, it's clear now you wanted Mr. Potter away from his godfather because it would interfere with your bid to control Mr. Potter? Is that correct?" Lucius inquired.
"Yes."
"Mr. Dumbledore, would you please tell us why you were so insistent to Mr. Potter's need to be behind the blood wards when, in fact, the dark lord was of no actual threat to him until the end of the school year in 1995?" Lucius inquired. "Why couldn't he be with a loving godfather?"
Albus tried to keep his mouth closed, but the words just forced themselves out. "I needed Harry to be pliable for molding into the hero of the wizarding world, ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good. If Harry had been raised by Sirius Black, I wouldn't have been able to control Harry unless I was his magical guardian."
"Objection!" Ralph tried.
"Not another word, or I'll hold you in contempt!" Amelia glared.
"So you would say you needed Harry to suffer, become so upset and ready to die that when the opportunity arose for Harry to defeat the dark lord; he would pass freely to escape the life you made him hate?" Lucius demanded harshly.
"Yes."
"I am through with questioning…And I will request a recess to calm down because what I've heard alone from this man is sickeningly angering that he'd self-sacrifice a child." Lucius commented truthfully.
"No, no…I want Mr. Calprine to ask the question I told him to before anything else. I want to hear it…" Harry stated as he grabbed the defense lawyer by the arm and pulled him over towards Albus. Lucius had stepped back.
"It's a fair request that I grant. Mr. Calprine…Ask your client what Mr. Potter told you to." Amelia demanded.
"Mr. Dumbledore…Is it true there is a prophecy that says Mr. Potter is destined to defeat the Dark Lord?" Ralph asked.
"Yes. I was told the prophecy by Sybil Trelawney when I hired her for Divination teacher at Hogwarts. She foretold when Lily Potter discovered she was pregnant about a child born who would defeat the dark lord." Albus said and it was this moment that Albus grabbed Harry's hand and pulled the boy closer to whisper into his ear.
"Unhand him." Amelia ordered. Albus refused as Aurors were coming closer.
"My boy, there is a piece of the dark lord that resides in you, a piece that latched on when your mother cast herself between you and Lord Voldemort. It's why you have the connection to the dark lord, why you can speak to snakes. A part of Voldemort lives inside you. Part of his soul and as long as it lives in your living body, the dark lord cannot be destroyed. You, Harry, must die for Voldemort to be killed."
"I-I…" Harry couldn't even find his words.
"It's why I wanted you to conform to the idea of sacrificing yourself for the greater good. I've sent you to fight Voldemort all these years because I expected you to be killed…" Albus informed. "My boy, it must be done. For the world as we know it."
"Get him out of here!" Amelia commanded firmly, now on her feet.
Draco, and Severus had hurried up from their seats to get to Harry, who was slowly backing away after Albus let him go.
"Harry? Harry, are you alright?" Draco asked quickly when he noticed Harry's labored breathing.
"Harry? Son…Talk to me?" Severus asked.
"I-I don't…Feel so good, Dad…"
And then Harry just blacked out, going limp as Severus caught him.
"Harry?! I need some help, now!" Severus yelled.