Rambling and Dribbles: A dribble that I hope some enjoy.
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A Phoenix Rises
Update Ch2 - 29 Jan 2024
-oOo-
Premise:
Tired of being ridiculed, neglected and betrayed, Harry tries not to panic when he finds out what the first task of the Triwizard... Damn it, its only supposed to be three wizards!
The long story short, Harry is totally fucked, but decides he will try to survive anyways. Only a bond with a phoenix will save him. If only that worked for others caught in the crossfire.
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Chapter 1
-oOo-
November 23, 1994
Hogwarts, Scotland
Harry walked down towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest, following the path marked by ropes and poles. Students laughed or made snipe comments at him as they passed him. Harry tried not to hear them. The last twenty-three days had been miserable and today looked to be the worst of them all.
Just like it had been since Halloween, he was by himself. For the first week he had been defiant and held his head up, determined not to give into the typical bullying of the students. Hermione had tried to stand next to him, but she had given up on him and backed away as the entire school turned against him.
Now, for the last two weeks, he had been all by himself. He had no clue what was going to happen, had done his best to prepare, which he knew wasn't going to be good enough, and wasn't sure if he was just going to make a fool of himself or worse.
His feet shuffled along the path. He really didn't want to get to the tent the sign said was for champions.
As he approached, McGonagall was waiting outside. "There you are, Potter. You were supposed to be down here fifteen minutes ago," she chastised.
Harry looked at his watch. "I was told it started at nine," he said.
"The champions were supposed to be here for eight-thirty," she replied.
"I wasn't told," Harry snapped back. He hadn't been told anything and again he was late for something he didn't.
"I told Mister Weasley last night and he was supposed to inform you," she said, her lips pursing a little bit.
"Yeah, well, Ron didn't," he said rather bitterly.
"Apparently. Why aren't you wearing the champion's uniform?" she questioned.
"What uniform?" Harry asked.
She huffed. "The one I gave Mister Weasley to give to you."
Harry gave her an incredulous look. He was in his best Hogwarts robes, figuring he should look somewhat nice. "I didn't get any uniform or anything. Ron hasn't talked to me since Halloween."
Her lips pursed. "It's too late now to worry about. Come along. They are waiting for you," she told him.
"…Krum has drawn the Chinese Fireball. A very beautiful dragon, thought I hear this one is a little ornery," Bagman said with a huge smile.
Harry stopped just inside the tent. A small model of a red, sinewy dragon was wrapping itself around the Bulgarian teen's hand. His mouth dropped open to see the dragon. Delacour was holding a green dragon that was spreading its wings and growling at her.
"Now you, Mister Diggory. What surprise awaits for you?" Bagman said with a huge smile.
"Dragons?" Harry incredulously whispered.
McGonagall's brow furrowed. "Surely you knew?" she quietly questioned.
Harry opened his mouth a time or two. He had been feeling nervous about just making a fool of himself earlier. He had only managed to get through half of the fourth year charms, defense and transfiguration books in the last few weeks. He knew nothing about being able to fight a dragon.
McGonagall's lips pursed.
"That is lovely Swedish Shortsnout, if I'm not mistaken," the excitable Bagman said as Cedric looked at the model in his hand. Harry noticed that the three older champions didn't look that surprised at the dragons.
"Now if… oh, Harry! I see that you finally made it. Just in time to draw your dragon," Bagman said.
"No one told me to be early," Harry said lamely.
"No bother. You're here now. Reach in, lad. Let's see what you will face in the arena."
With a shaking hand, Harry reached into the bag. "Ow! Bloody thing," he cursed as he pulled out his model. The damned thing was trying to chew on his finger.
Bagman chuckled at him. "Ah, yes, it appears that you pulled the most vivacious one we have. A Hungarian Horntail. It does look rather vicious."
Harry was flicking his hand to get the damned thing off it. When it let go, he started to suck on his thumb as the model cracked on the floor of the tent. Delacour, Maxime and Karkaroff all looked rather put out with him, while Krum was indifferent. Profess Sprout had the same icy expression she had had for weeks while Diggory was frowning at the broken model as it tried to get up.
"This is going to be so exciting. Around the neck of each dragon is the order you will go in. Mister Potter, I believe that you will be up first today. Well, good luck Champions. Judges, if you will join me, we can get the party started," Bagman said. He clapped his hands and rubbed then together in his anticipation of the event. "When the cannon sounds, you can come out and start."
Harry knew he paled. He felt it as fear shot through him.
Delacour looked a little smug at his reaction.
Diggory was the only one to look slightly concerned as everyone left the tent. McGongall gave him a long look. She seemed to want to say something, but all she did was nod, put a hand on his shoulder, then walk out of the tent. Harry was left with the other three champions.
"You didn't know, did you," Delacour said rather smugly.
Harry shook his head, knowing if he opened his mouth he would upwell anything he had in his stomach.
"Well maybe a little boy shouldn't play in things he ought not next time," she commented.
"That's enough," Diggory said. "You really don't know, Potter?"
Harry knew his hands were shaking. "How the hell was I bloody supposed to know!" he snapped.
"Ve all know. Headmaster tell me a fortnight ago," Krum said.
Delacour gave a tinkling laugh. "I knew before it started. My papa knows people."
"Well bloody great for you," Harry snapped, a little of his defiance coming back. "How the hell am I supposed to defeat a dragon?"
Diggory looked confused. "You mean McGonagall didn't tell you? Professor Sprout had me follow Hagrid a week ago. She told me we only need to get an egg."
Harry gave a slightly maniacal laugh as his fighting response tried to fight through the fear. "Oh, if that is all!"
"You really didn't put your name in, did you?" Diggory questioned.
"Fuck off, Diggory. Don't act all surprised after the way you and the Puffs have been treating me." Harry shut his eyes. He had no clue what to do.
Before anyone could either highlight his stupidity again or make fun of him, the sound of a cannon blast rattled the tent. Harry's hands started to shake again before he willed himself to stop. He had swallow the bile that threatened to come up.
"Try to distract it," Diggory encouraged.
"Don't help the little boy. If he is not prepared to compete, then so be it," Delacour said.
Krum looked a little indifferent. "Just make competition odds in my favour."
Harry snorted.
Walking past them, Harry wasn't sure what to do. He had to compete. If he didn't, Dumbledore and the others said he would lose his magic. At first he thought that wouldn't be too bad. That was until Malfoy gleeful pointed out that it would be painful and soon after he would be dead. A trip to the library had confirmed Malfoy's statement.
He had also been told he had to perform to the best of his abilities. Dumbledore and Moody had told him that meant he had to actually try to complete the task. He was only allowed to withdraw after making three actual attempts, if he was injured, or if he was killed.
Harry made a promise to himself that if he survived, he would never enter into a magically binding contract again. Actually, he didn't care if it was magical or not. He would never have anything to do with contracts.
"Good luck," Diggory said before he walked through the tent flap on the far end. As soon as he did, the noise of the cheering and booing crowd could be heard through a stone tunnel.
He walked up the stone tunnel, he could only see the sky until he got to the crest at the top. The tunnel opened up into a wide field of rocks and bolders. In the centre of the arena was a huge black dragon that was covered in spikes. It must have been twelve feet tall at the shoulders, with giant wings and a maw that looked large enough to eat him in one bight. It was hissing at the crowd in agitation.
He wasn't sure if he had any colour left in him. He knew nothing about how to get back something like that.
His body took a few steps into the arena before his Gryffindor bravery gave out. The dragon had turned to him and gave out a roar that rattles the stands. "Oh shite," Harry muttered.
The dragon started to charge him. Even through his paralyzing fear, his body knew to move. Harry dove before a gush of flames just barely missed him. He felt the heat on the back of his neck. Rolling on the ground to get behind a boulder put the flames out on his robes.
He smelt the burned material. Instict kicked in and he rushed to pull the robes over his head as the dragon roared. Crouching behind the boulder, her covered his head as flames licked around the side.
Knowing he had to do something, he flicked his wand at another nearby boulder once the flames stopped. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
A boulder half the size of him lifted of the ground. The dragon's roar sounded like it was almost on top of him. Jumping out the side of the boulder, he pointed he wand and screamed, "Depulso!"
He had gotten lucky enough to jump out the other side of the boulder. The nasty Horntail had grabbed the rock and was rolling it to the side as the rock he had just banished towards the beast hit the side of it's neck. Flames had been licking at its jaw as the hit caused it to stagger and stumble.
Harry didn't think he had that much power, having heard how hard dragons where to fight. Not thinking, Harry pointed his wand towards the boulder he had just been behind. It was huge and must have weighed a few tons. "Depulso!" he yelled.
The dragon had just turned its head towards him as the while light hit the boulder. He had enough power to left it a few feet and send it careening into the dragon's side. The mass of the boulder was enough to send the dragon sprawling. It roared in pain as it fell over and the boulder rolled into it.
Harry didn't think he would have any better chance. He started to sprint towards the centre of the stadium. He hadn't seen the nest, but it was the only place it could be, right?
Behind him, the huge Horntail struggled to get back up. Harry was looking all about. Since it had worked so well already, Harry quickly pointed his wand to his left. "Depulso!"
The two foot wide rock shot off in the general direction of the dragon. Give the screams that came a few seconds later, and the weird sound, he had probably missed the dragon and almost hit the audience. Most around him were cheering at the spectacle.
He was looking around frantically for an egg. Any egg. He didn't care what it was. He was supposed to get an egg. A deafening roar came from behind him. Harry turned to see the Horntail starting to move towards him. He saw another big rock. "Depulso!"
The dragon was expecting it this time and dodged. Harry hit another rock with a banishing charm. It just barely missed. The dragon was starting to pick up speed and gain on Harry.
He turned for just a second to see where he was going and saw the nest.
He looked to his side. The Horntail had opened it mouth. Instead of roaring, it let a gout of flame out.
"Glacius Maximus!" he desperately cried out.
The shot of icy air hit the fire. It was like setting off a bomb. The fire immediately vaporized the ice, while the ice stopped the flame. The result was a thunder crack and a shockwave. Harry was thrown off his feet. He land and rolled before coming to a sudden stop against a rock. "Uhhh," he let out as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
He rolled over to his front, gasping for air and blinking the dark spots that had formed in his vision. He realized his wand had been knocked out of his hand, but that wasn't much use if he couldn't breath. After a frantic moment, air rushed back into his lungs. He took in some greedy breathes before feeling the ground shake.
Looking up, the world was a haze as much from the cloud of steam as from not having his glasses. He frantically started to feel around the ground as his chest burned from the impact. His hand found his wand and a small boulder that was hot. He hissed when his hand touched it.
The ground shook again and he heard a gravelly rumbling. He spun around towards the sound, his wand coming up. Without his glasses, Harry had a hard time seeing. It was very clear though that a large, black shape was leaning down over him. It made the angry sound deep in its throat. He could vaguely hear the sounds of screaming and other noises from the crowd.
It wasn't in his nature to give up, even when the entire world was against him, but he didn't see how he would survive this. He was already in pain. Without his glasses he wouldn't be able to see where to go. He didn't know where the nest was and this was one pissed of dragon.
"Glacius Maximus!" he yelled again, knowing it would be the last thing he did, but he refused to go down without a fight. The dragon had opened its maw to spew a fiery death onto him. The two elements met again. The resultant boom and explosion was even worse. He was thrown into the rock that had stopped him the first time.
What he didn't see as he was fighting the pain of breaking ribs, and most likely his spine, was the way the explosion ripped the head of the dragon apart. As it was spewing out fire, the bags in its throat that held the napalm like fluid it used to ignite burst open. It caught fire as it gushed out, catching the ground on fire. Harry screamed as he felt the flames engulf him. The last conscious thought he had was the way that his wand burned in his hand felt hotter than the flames emulating his body…
-oOo-
About the same time…
Judge's stand, Hogwarts, Scotland
Albus was watching Harry run through the arena. The boy had looked genuinely surprised when the dragon had come out of the bag in tent, which had surprised him. He knew that Ronald knew dragons were coming. He had overheard the boy telling Finnigan and Thomas. Surely he must have informed his friend?
The scathing look that Minerva had given him had him doubting his assumptions on that front.
Watching the boy reaction is what looked more like panic than any plan had him worrying even more. Yes, the banishing charms were much stronger than would be expected for a fourth year, but they were more of a nusance than anything would do real harm to the dragon.
When the one missed the dragon and hit the wall, he frowned as the wood splintered but held.
Karkaroff was chuckling. "The boy is more entertaining than I thought."
Bagman was enjoying himself as he embellished the moves of the champion and dragon while encouraging the crowd to be louder.
"You are sure the wards are strong enough, Dumbly-dory?" Maxime enquired as another bolder impacted the side of the stadium and left a sizable dent.
"The ministry paid for all highest quality wards," Crouch commented.
"And Potter has seen the eggs. Look at him run! I've never seen someone sprint like that. The mother Horntail has seen him again and is after Potter. Run Potter!" Bagman said with excitement. The man was like an overgrown child watching a Saturday quidditch match.
"The boy must know the hide it too thick for that work," Karkaroff said.
"The dragon dodged that one. Watch out in the stands!" Bagman called out as the stone impacted a railing and a splinter shot into the crowd. A few people screamed and scrambled away from the two foot long spliter that was now embedded into a bench.
Dumbledore frowned and took out his wand. "Barty, are you sure the ministry ward weavers protected all the stands?"
"Weatherby inspected their work and gave me a report on it last week," Crouch assured him.
"How is this Weatherby?" Maxim questioned. "I want my students to back away."
The woman stood and signalled for one of her students. Another boulder hit the side of the arena. It cracked the wooden wall.
"That is some power that Potter has. OH! OH! Watch it! That flame is going to hit him! MERLIN'S Saggy pants!" Bagman cried out as a thunder crack shook the stadium. Albus wand was up and a shield sprang to life before the judges. The shockwave from the spell and fire was a visible wall of air. It hit the wards and the entire stadium light up with the blue energy trying to containing the damaging impact. He noticed that a few sections glimmered out before others. He recognized that an unstable ward scheme.
Karkaroff had fallen off his seat trying to shield himself from the impact as Maxim had cast her own shield before her students. People in the stands were screaming or murmuring in concern. The joyous spectacle this was supposed to be had just turned dangerous for everyone.
"I can't see what is going on in the arena. The Horntail is back on her legs. She looks rather wobbly… does anyone see Potter? Get rid of this steam so we can see what is going on," Bagman demanded of no one in particular.
"I do not think those wards are stable," Maxime said angrily.
"Weatherby assured me they were," Barty assured.
"Do you mean Percy Weasley?" Albus asked.
"Merlin and Morgana! Dragon handlers! It's alright, everyone. I'm sure this will be alright," Bagman said. "Dragon handlers!"
Albus looked up to see the larger than normal Hungarian Horntail standing over Harry. He couldn't make out all the details in the still dissipating mist, but what he did see had his heart stop for a brief second. The elderwand was up. He cast a shield towards Harry, but apparently the wards on the arena were just powerful enough to stop his spell. As the wards around the arena glowed a bright blue, then shattered like breaking glass, an explosion echoed out from the arena. The air blast hit a second later, sending everyone stumbling back over their seats.
When Albus was able to get his bearing, there were screaming and running people everywhere. Some were crying. He caught a few students trying to get another out from beneath a section of the collapsed rail and wall. All of this paled in comparison to the giant fireball that was still rising into the air. He could only think it looked like a sick mushroom as fire billowed in the cloud as it turned to a dark, acrid smoke. Below it, there was a swath of fire in the arena. The body of a now beheaded Horntail lay on its side. It was half in the flames. What had his a pain in his chest was that the fire was where Harry had been last.
"Healers!" Bagman's amplified voice shouted.
-oOo-
Later that night…
Hogwarts, Scotland
In the quiet ward of the Hogwarts Hospital, Poppy Pomfrey sat in a chair just outside her office. She was leaning over, her hands on her knees and eyes closed as she tried to understand what had happened today.
Her hospital wing was full of students and adults that had been seriously hurt in an event that she had loudly spoken against and had been denied extra Healers to be on sight. It had taken almost an hour for the Healers from St Mungo's to organize and get to the arena. In that time she had done what she could, but being the only qualified Healer available, she has forced to treat the worst first while barking out orders to those that could help.
What she was really trying to avoid was the twenty-four white sheets along the wall at the end of the infirmary. With the number of people that needed to get to St Mungo's or here, Hogwarts was the only place for the dead to be kept overnight.
Someone moaned. She looked up to see who. A young Mediwitch from the hospital was already moving to the bed. A girl was moving about and moaning. Her bandaged hands tried to get to her head. She was going to get up when the other senior Healer next to her said. "I have this. You rest for a while more."
She gave the other woman a thankful look before putting her head into her hands. She had never seen so many hurt like this. They had come across three types of wound. The first were those closest to the blast. They were mostly burn patients. Some had been severely burned.
The next were those that had been hit or impaled by pieces of the arena or dragon. The image of a small girl missing part of her body still had her trembling some as the adrenaline was still wearing off.
The last were those hurt in the scrum to leave the arena. Most of them just had broken bones, but at least three of the dead bodies had been trampled to death in the narrow stairwells out of the arena.
After a few minutes, the poor girl had been soothed, more pain potion had been given to her and Healer Tonks sat back down after walking the twenty patients they had been able to cram into the infirmary. For mor than the room had originally been intended for.
"Thank you, Andi," Poppy said, looking up when the woman sat in the chair again.
"It's the least I can do. You probably saved more lives than we lost today before we got here," the woman said.
Poppy frowned. "I had told Albus we should have had two more Healers. Not that it would have helped much, but it would have helped."
Andi nodded before leaning back in her chair and rubbing her face. "Merlin, this is such a cock up."
Poppy gave a sound like a single, dark laugh. "Your husband is showing through again."
"Well, I did choose him for a reason," Andi replied.
Poppy nodded. "Dragons. Who thought it was a bright idea to have an underaged wizard fight a dragon?"
"I don't know, but what I wouldn't give to get them on my exam table to try out a few spells and potions," Andi said darkly.
They both fell silent as they looked over the people and children in the ward. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Not until she was sure they would all survive. Getting up, she asked, "Pepperup?"
"Something stronger if you have it," Andi said.
"I'll see what I have," Poppy said back, thinking of that unopened bottle of fire whiskey she had been saving for a special day. Well, today wasn't special, but a shot or two might take off the sting of it.
She was just enter her office when someone yelled out, "It's moving!"
She stopped to look out at the ward. "What is moving, Racheal?"
"The sheet! It's moving. Merlin, one of them is alive!"
Andi was already up and rushing towards the back of the infirmary. Poppy was just behind her as the young Mediwitch levitated a few of the sheet covered bodied out of the way to get at on in the back. Their someone struggling to get out of the tight wrapped sheet. Whomever it was was moaning and crying out in pain. Fresh blood and yellowy puss was already staining the sheet.
"Get them to this bed," Andi said as she conjoured a new bed in the middle of the ward. Poppy turned and summoned the potion cart to them. If someone was still alive they would need immediate attention.
Racheal leviated the struggling form in the sheet to the table. "Please, stop moving. We are getting you out," Andi told the person.
"Don't immobilize them yet," Poppy ordered. Doing magic on someone that might be this injured before knowing their status could cause more harm. She could feel the magic rising in the person, probably to ward off infection and the pain they probably feeling.
"Stay still," Andi ordered, but the person was still struggling. With a quick slicing motion of her wand, the sheet split open. A charred body flopped out. The person took in a large gasp of air.
"How is he still alive?" the Mediwitch questioned.
"If you don't get this sheet out of the way and get the dittany, he may not be for much longer. I'm going to stun him," Andi said.
"Easy. His magic is going wild," Poppy told her.
The red light that leapt from her wand stilled the boy. He was breathing heavily, but he was breathing. "How did they not see he was still alive?" Andi demanded as she started to run her wand over the body.
Poppy hand a vial of dittany to Racheal and she took one herself. "I'm not sure he wasn't. Look at how burned he is," she said, starting to apply the dittany to the worst to the open and cracked skin. The potion bubbled and roiled.
"I've never seen this happen," Racheal said concerned as her bottle of dittany did the same.
"It's his magic. Its reaching out to used the potion to force more healing than it should. Poppy, dilute the dittany. If we heal him too fast, new skin will never grow back," Andi ordered.
She turned to potions cart and reached for bottle of clarified water with a few beazors at the bottle. She cut the dittany potion to a quarter strength and started applying it again. The reaction was more like it should be.
"Racheal, get three blood replenishing potions and a pain relief into him. Directly into his stomach," Andi ordered as she was doing some fancy spell work. "His vitals shouldn't be this strong."
"Worry about that later, Andi. Let's save him first," Poppy told her.
It was an hour later that the boy's cracked and pussy skin sounds had been closed and cleaned. He was breathing easier, but it was still a little laboured. His vitals were much stronger than she expected for someone that had suffered such sever burns over their body. Racheal leaned against a bed of another of their patients.
"Who is this kid?" she asked. It had become obvisous that the boy was still in his middle teen years.
Andi had collapsed into a newly conjoured chair. She was still standing, unsure if she should do anything else or let time and magic do its thing for the next few hours. She shuffled her feet and almost tripped. Looking down she saw the sheet. She was so tired, she didn't bother to summon it. Instead, she reached down to find the tag. It took her a moment, but when she did, she nearly passed out. "Dear Merlin."
"Who is it," Andi asked, looking up to her.
"Harry Potter."
-oOo-
November 24, 1994
London, England
A knock on the door had her waking with a start. Her wand jumped to her hand and she slid out of her chair so she could use her desk as a barrier. She may have been office bound for almost a decade now, but it was hard to suppress almost twenty years of instincts, with a portion of that time during the Blood Wars.
The knock came again. The rhythm of it had her relax. She sat back in her chair before calling out, "Come in."
The door opened to admit a lion maned man. She tapped her wand on her wrist to set off a quick tempest spell. It was nearly eight. She must have been dozing for just over an hour.
"Morning boss," the lion maned man said. She didn't miss the bags under the man's own eyes. "Did you sleep in here last night?"
"I didn't get back into the office until almost ten and had a few meetings with the solicitors and St Mungo's," she admitted to her long-time friend. "What do you have for me, Rufus?"
The man put a thick folder on her desk. "I've not had the time to put anything together yet, but this is a compilation of the witness reports, the preliminary investigations and the latest report from St Mungo's and Hogwarts this morning."
"What the bucher's bill?" she asked, needing to know how bad the Wizengamot meet was going to be later today.
"Twenty-six dead, fifteen still in critical condition at St Mungo's, another three at Hogwarts, fifty-three still in hospital and one-hundred and sixty-three treated and released. The ones in hospital will be there for a few days to weeks," Rufus replied.
"Merlin's balls," she cursed. There hadn't been anything this bad since a quidditch stadium had been attacked by Death Eaters in nineteen seventy-nine. She opened the folder.
"The names of the dead are on the top. Three Wizengamot members died, Ami and two more are severely injured."
"Who?" she asked as she started to scan the list.
"Malfoy, Longbottom and Brown. Selwyn and Winters are in St Mungo's. I don't know for how long," he told her.
"Augusta Longbottom was still alive last night," she said looking up. That was two members of her coalition, and three of the Conservatives that had been affected. She was also good friends with Augusta.
"The healers said she suffered a heart attack late last night and slipped away just before six this morning," Rufus told her.
Amelia put a hand over her mouth. "Rufus, I'm going to need a Wizard Child Services representative. I know Augusta named me as first in line to be Neville's guardian," she told the man. She knew business had to be handled before she could fall apart later. "I also want you to send an Auror. He should know and I want him pulled out of Hogwarts and taken to Grace Hall. He can stay with Susan for the next few days."
"I'll go myself once we are done," Rufus assured her.
"Thank you." It wasn't usual for the Head Auror to do anything like this, but she trusted very few like she did Rufus. They had been partners for nearly a decade before she took a desk job soon after her brother had been killed. Her eyes rested on two names on the list. She had to swallow to keep the bile down. Hannah Abbot and Harry Potter were on the list of deceased. Susan was probably besides herself, but she didn't trust her being at Hogwarts. She would have to go home for a few hours.
"Do we know what happened yet?"
Rufus growled. "No, but I can tell you protocol wasn't followed. A junior assistant from Crouch's office signed off on the wards. We have him scheduled for interrogation this morning," Rufus told her.
She looked at the man. "And Crouch approved of him doing that?"
"It would appear that Crouch hasn't been coming into the office that much and has been sending Percy Weasley instructions. The boy only started in July and has been stepping over other senior members 'under Crouch's orders'," the man said. "He's not certified to check anything like that. I have Turgeon and Evards going through all the paperwork. Something just doesn't sound right."
"I'll trust your gut," she told him. She had flipped the paper over to look at the list of those still in hospital. "Anything else important I need to know? I have a meeting with Fudge in twenty minutes."
"Many things, but the two most important is that Dumbledore and the solicitor for the tournament is saying we need to have the other three champions do the task within the next two weeks and the rest of the tournament has to go on," Rufus said in a dissatisfied tone.
"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Rufus? The whole tournament needs to be cancelled," she growled. This was going to be a catastrophe as it is. Harry Potter dead. Twenty-five others, with three of them being Wizengamot members, not to mention what the French and other countries are going to say when they find out that one Beauxbatons and two Durmstrang students were killed. She was already working on her resignation letter, not sure she would survive this, even though she had nothing to do with the tournament.
Rufus looked ready to kill someone. "Apparently the selection tool they used makes the equivalent of a blood contract with the participants. We were told it was something that the competitors could just walk away from."
"Morgana's tits," she swore. "Are you sure?"
"I had the Unspeakables verify it over the night. The other three champions are bound to compete. They have to do the tasks that are already set as they were chosen by the Goblet of Fire and the tasks must be completed within two weeks of the dates submitted in their contracts," Rufus told her. "I don't think the judges really know all this. Well, Dumbledore probably does, but you know how he likes to keep his secrets."
The fire in her eyes would have most anyone backing away from her. Rufus was just as ruthless as she could be when pressed. "I'm going to nail his beard to the wall then use him for target practice," she growled.
"You won't be the only one, Amelia," Rufus replied.
She let out a long breath to control her temper. She couldn't afford to go into a meeting with Fudge in a raging temper. She could save that for the Wizengamot meet later today when she dressed down the idiots that agreed to all this.
"Tell Crouch and Bagman that the DMLE is stepping into this. I want goblin ward weavers to Hogwarts yesterday. They are to setup proper wards that protect the champions and the stands. I don't care the cost. Bagman's and Crouch's departments should be flush with funds from the tournament," she told Rufus. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible with no more injuries. If anyone gets more than a skinned knee, I will cut heads off myself."
"I'll get Bretons in Curse Breaking to organize it," Scrimgeour told her.
"Good. Anything else?"
"Like I said, lots, but that is everything I have solid facts on right now. I'm hoping to have a preliminary report later today," he said.
"By two. The Wizengamot meets at three," she ordered.
"Yes, boss," Scrimgeour said with a mock salute.
"Go wank off," she told him.
Scrimgeour gave a dark chuckle. "I'll have Gertrude get right on that."
She gave him a glare. His wife was a good woman she liked.
Scrimgeour stood up. "I'll have Mindy get you some strong coffee. Oh, and Amelia?"
"What?" she said, already having turned back to the folder.
"I'm sorry about Augusta and the Abbott girl. I know you were close to them," Rufus said in a sad tone.
She sighed. "Thanks, Rufus. Once this is over, I'll have you and Gertrude over. We can have a small memorial."
"Sounds good. Also, get to Susan as soon as you can. I'm sure she isn't doing well," he told her.
"I'll head home for an hour or two after my meeting with Fudge," she told him.
"Do that. I can hold down the fort for a bit without you here," Rufus assured her. When Rufus opened the door there was a commotion in the receiving area. "What is all this about? Hennessey?"
"It's Harry Potter, boss. We just got word that he was sent to St Mungo's," the young Auror said.
"They already started to move the bodies? I thought they wouldn't be ready to receive them until later today or tomorrow?" Rufus questioned.
"They say he's alive and moved to the emergency ward," Hennessey informed them.
Amelia was up. "That's impossible."
"Maybe, Director, but that is what the report we got said. I was coming to tell you," Hennessey told them.
"Rufus, go get Neville. I need to get to St Mungo's," she ordered. She grabbed her cloak and was already heading for the nearest floo.
-oOo-
Chapter 2
-oOo-
November 24, 1994
London, England
Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt was a tall, imposing man when he wanted to be. A seasoned Senior Auror of fifteen years, he had seen many things at the end of the Blood Wars and since. Though, he hadn't seen such a scene of devastation and mass casualties like this since the spring of 1980 when he was still only a year out of the academy.
He jotted down another question on his pad before he looked up to the person that just cleared their throat. Savage, a middle aged man with light brown hair and eyes was looking down at him. "They brought Weasley into the interrogation room. You ready or you want him to sit for a bit?"
"I'm ready. Have they found Crouch yet? He's the one we really need to question. And then we will have to go to Hogwarts to question the headmasters," Kingsley commented.
"Reynolds, Everguard and that new one, Tonks, went to Crouch's home this morning to check it again. Bagman is with Westin and Quinn in Interrogation Two. This is such a royal cock-up," Savage said with some heat. "My sister and her kids were there yesterday."
"Are they hurt?"
"Naw. They were close to an exit and got out before the dragon blew up. Robert was with some Ravenclaw friends, and they only got a few scrapes. Amanda is supposed to go next year," Savage replied.
"Are you good enough to do this by the book?"
"I'll keep my cool. You are main interrogator," Savage told him.
Kingsley stopped at the door and gave the man a hard look for a moment. When he was satisfied Savage would be alright, he opened the door.
The room wasn't particularly large. A rectangular table was in the centre of the room. It was bolted to the floor and attached to the centre of the table was a pair of manacles with two hands in them. It forced the redhead man behind the table to sit up straight and had his body against the table. Kingsley knew it was uncomfortable, but Percy Weasley was facing a litany of charges.
Said man looked very pale, this freckles standing out against his skin tone and his eyes looking frightened. "Auror Shacklebolt, why am I here?"
"That is what Auror Savage and I are here to talk about. Has anyone told you why you were arrested last night?" Kingsley asked.
"I didn't kill anyone. I was just following orders," Percy said.
Kingsley held up his hand. "Let me get a dictaquill setup so I can document everything we talk about."
Percy swallowed. "Do I need a solicitor?"
"That is up to you, but it may be better for you to talk," Kingsley told him.
Percy rung his fingers together. Kingsley could see the man was trying to think through things. "If I ask for a solicitor at any time, will I get one?"
"If you don't have one, the ministry has a few we can provide, but it may take a few hours to days to free one up," Kingsley told him.
Percy licked his lips.
"Mister Weasley, it is recommended that you answer all questions as truthfully as possible, and it will be better if you talk now. If we find information in the next few days that contradicts anything you give us, it will not be pleasant and could give us the power we need to use veritaserum or other methods," Savage told the young man.
Percy licked his lips again. His visage went even paler. "I didn't do anything wrong. I was only following orders."
"Are you willing to talk then?" Kingsley asked, taking a brown quill from his pocket and a small stack of the thick paper known as parchment. Kingsley was pleased to know that most parchment used now-a-days was tree or papyrus based, not made of goat skin. Though, most old spell books , grimoires and other important documents might still be because of the magic the treated skins could hold. It why the old inks were still used, and quills being one of the best methods to write with the ink. Fountain pens would work, but most wizards just didn't care for them. Trying to use the new muggle technology of ball point pens seemed to destroy the magical properties of the wizard made inks and for magic to take on anything enchanted, it had to use the special inks or paints.
It took Percy a moment to say, "I'll answer anything you want."
Kingsley nodded, blew on the top of the quill and put it onto the parchment. "This is interrogation 1994-11-863 led by Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, badge alpha-omega-six-six-five-two. Witness is Senior Auror Micheal Savage, badge Alpha-omega-four-three-seven-oh. This is the interrogation of suspect four in case alpha-bravo-nineteen-ninety-four-eleven-eighty-seven. Are you Assistant Percival Arthur Weasley of the Department of International Cooperation?"
"Ah, yes," Percy replied. Kingsley had only had to interact with the man once about a month back and all the arrogance and self-assuredness was gone.
Kingsley looked to the parchment to see if it was recording properly. He could see his line started with SA Shacklebolt while Percy's started with A Weasley.
His eyes turned back to the young man. "Mister Weasley, are you aware of the charges that have been levelled against you?"
Percy swallowed. "Only that the DMLE thinks I killed people."
"Let me read the charges. Percival Aurthur Weasley, you are charged with twenty-six counts of involuntary manslaughter, seventy-one counts of grievous bodily harm, two-hundred and sixty counts of bodily harm, falsification of records, illegal use of office, illegal inspection of a warded sight without license, illegal use of a Head of Department signature, illegal use of ministry funds…"
"Merlin's saggy balls, I didn't do any of that!" Percy exclaimed.
"I have four more charges to read. Would you like to hear them?" Kingsley enquired.
Percy's eyes had gone wide, and he looked almost white as a sheet now. His mouth opened and closed a few times. "I want a solicitor."
"Are you ending this interview?"
"I… I… now, but I want a solicitor."
"It is noted that Percival Weasley has asked for a solicitor but still said he would continue. Any statements from this point on can be contested by a solicitor after the fact and potentially stricken from the record. Do you want the other charges read?" Kingsley enquired in a calm tone.
"I… no. What do you need to know?"
"To start, have you ever been licensed to inspect ward schemes and their effectiveness?"
"I got an outstanding on my NEWTS. Mister Crouch never said I needed to be licenced. I only signed off on the form the ward weavers put before me," Percy said.
"So, you never inspected the wards?"
"No. I'm not certified for that. What regulation requires you to have a licence?"
Kingsley had to look at the charge list. "The Warding Bill of 1942 and DMLE regulations section eight-fourteen-six, paragraphs ten to forty two define how ministry ward weavers and inspectors are to act and what they are to do in their responsibilities. Is this your signature on the following documents?"
"It is to be noted that the suspect is being presented evidence fourteen a, b, c, d, and e. Documents are the rune inspection forms, certificate of conformity to designed rune scheme, validation of rune integrity and sign-off for transfer of funds form the DIC to the DMLE."
He waited a moment for Percy to shake his head. "Mister Weasley, I need a verbal response."
"I signed those, but Rune Weaver Castle said he just needed my signature," Percy said.
Kingsley moved to jot something down in his notebook. Castle not listed on the forms. Question.
"You said Rune Weaver Castle was the one to put the wards up?"
"I don't know. He was the one there with three others. Castle shoved the forms in my face and said sign. Mister Crouch's instructions said to just do whatever I needed to make sure the task went off on time and without a hitch," Percy said.
"Do you know who the other ward weavers where?"
"Their names should be on the forms," Percy said.
Kingsley nodded and took the forms back. Forms only list two ward weavers. No master ward weaver
"Can you describe who the ward weavers?"
Five minutes later, Kingsley had a pretty good idea of who Percy was talking about. He made a few more notes.
"Now, Mister Weasley, you have said you were just following orders. Do you have copies of these orders?" Kingsley queried.
Percy shuffled uncomfortable and tried to roll his shoulders, which was hard by the way his hands were cuffed to the table. "Uhm, well, you see… the orders were all marked confidential and burned up after delivery."
Kingsley frowned. That was only supposed to be used for emergency measures and only by top ranking officials. "I see. So, you don't have copies of any orders you received?"
"That isn't entirely true. My father said that the you should always make copies of everything. He taught me a few charms and I set up some rune wards, you see…" Percy said.
By the way the young man was moving, Kingsley had the feeling he might be adding another charge. "Do you have copies of the orders?"
"Yes," Percy said.
"Are they in the ministry?"
"No."
"Where are they?"
"In a Fidelius protected place under goblin jurisdiction. I only made copies in case, well for something like this. I would never have used them and would have turned over all my records when I retired…" the man stopped under the intense glare from Savage.
"How can we retrieve these records?" Kingsley pressed.
"You need to find my brother Charlie. He has the secret and the password you need to access the vault in Gringotts. It will cost fifty galleons for the fine on the magic use. The paperwork authorizing the magic by my account manager is in a safe in my apartment," Percy told them.
Kingsley was mildly impressed that the young man would go to such lengths. Knowing this and knowing that it was Arthur that gave him the hint, he was wondering if he would need to have a talk with Arthur. If the man was smuggling ministry documents out of the ministry, past wards that the Unspeakables said should prevent anything like that, he would be in trouble as well. Only years of professionalism kept him from sighing.
"When we access these records, can you tell me what we will expect to find. Were all your orders from Head Crouch?" Kingsley enquired.
"No," Percy said, his eyes darting around.
"Who else gave you orders and what did they want?" Kingsley was starting to get very suspicious something else was going on.
"Orders related to just the tournament or other issues?" Percy asked.
Kingsley made a note. Schedule another interrogation. "Just the tournament for now."
"Will the Aurors protect me?" Percy asked, a light sheen of sweat on forming on his brow.
Kingsley raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, Mister Weasley, that you will be safe here."
Percy shook his head. "I don't think I will."
A sudden unsettled feeling came over him. He shared a look with Savage, who took out his wand and started to cast around the room. "Why do you not think you will not be safe?"
Percy watched Savage as he went around the room. He didn't say a word until Savage nodded. "There are orders that come from a high office," Percy said. Kingsley waited a moment. "Senior Undersecretary Umbridge, Minister Fudge and Head Bagman."
Kingsley clamped down on his occlumency. If this debacle went up that high, then he was sure heads would roll and he didn't want to be his. "Senior Auror Savage, would you please contact Head Scrimgeour or Director Bones? I will need them as soon as possible."
He looked to the parchment to make sure the quill was still recording. They were on the fourth sheet now. He waited for the door to close and seal behind Savage before he asked, "Mister Weasley, what were your orders from Head Bagman?"
"He asked for a transfer of ten thousand galleons from the DIC for the tournament and to add in four more rows of seats. Originally the stadium was only supposed to host the three hundred and sixty eight students of Hogwarts, twenty from each of the visiting schools and four hundred extra spectators. The final stadium was able to allow in fifteen hundred spectators," Percy said. "I authorized the builders to increase the seating."
"Did you approve the design?"
Percy swallowed. "Yes."
"Are you authorized to review building plans, especially the expanded ward scheme that would have been needed?" Kingsley asked.
Percy swallowed hard again. "I was authorized by Head Crouch to do what was needed."
Add charges. Investigate Bagman.
"What other orders did Head Bagman give you?" It was better to keep Percy talking for now instead of getting bogged down in details. They could do that later. The young man really needed a solicitor and he hoped that most of this would not be thrown out later. Since Percy was willingly giving up the information, it most likely would not.
"He wanted the DIC to allow in four individuals on temporary visas. I don't know who they are. I just shuffled the paperwork to Secretary Grenwich. She took care of it," Percy said.
There was something that sounded odd in his tone. "Was there anything exchanged to make this happen?"
Percy closed his eyes. "I was paid a hundred galleons and gave Grenwich thirty to make it happen. It was against regulations, but Head Bagman said he would sign off on it."
Add bribery.
Investigate Bagman for bribery and abuse of power.
"Anything else?"
"Not from Head Bagman."
"And Undersecretary Umbridge?"
Percy's pallid, white complexion didn't change. "I was ordered to tell the dragon handlers to not feed the dragons for three days before the task. The note said the minister wanted them angry and hungry to make a good show."
Bloody hell! Kingsley yelled in his head. "I see. Was there anything else?"
"I don't know why, but she also ordered them to change out the chains that the handlers brought for ones that Senior Undersecretary Umbridge forwarded to me from the Unspeakable," Percy said. "I swear, I was only following orders. I never wanted anyone to die. I can't believe that happened."
Unspeakables? Chains?
He doubted the Unspeakables would do that. They would handle something like that on their own. What was Umbridge playing at? And did the minister know? The woman had a habit of through Fudge's name around to get her way.
He also didn't understand why
"Any other orders?"
"Not from Undersecretary Umbridge."
"And you said Minister Fudge?"
Percy nodded his head.
Kingsley gently prodded. "What did Minister Fudge ask you to do?"
"He wanted premium seats for fifteen people. I gave eight ticket to Lucius Malfoy, three to Minister Rapistan of Bulgaria and the rest to the minister," Percy said.
That wasn't unusual and not really anything that would break the law. "Did you receive anything for this?"
"No."
"What else did the minister order you to do?" Kingsley said.
Percy swallowed. "He had me submit an order to half the funding to the Auror department for security at the tasks and return the funds to the general ministry fund."
Kingsley thought that might be a general abuse of power, but still failed to understand what was wrong with this picture. He wasn't an accountant, investigator or barrister that specialized in this. He could tell that Percy understood what was wrong. "Why is that significant," Kingsley asked.
"The funds for the security were from the general funds. They came from ticket sales, donations from the ICW, funds from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, France, Bulgaria and Sweden," Percy said.
Kinsley now understood. "How much was returned?"
"Nearly a hundred thousand galleons," Percy said.
Kingsley eyes widened a bit. This was a major breach of international treaty, and he had a feeling this might be embezzlement. He would have to get a barrister on this.
Track the money.
"How much of the funds came from the ministry?"
"None. Mister Crouch was complaining when I first started that the minister and Wizengamot wasn't going to give any money for the tournament and Hogwarts was already paying for food, a few special professors and other expenses as being the host school. Auror Shacklebolt, that not the only funds I know that the minister ordered to go elsewhere," Percy said.
A knock came at the door, and he did his best not to jump. By the rhythm, he could tell that Savage had come back with one of the two he needed. "Stop recording," he said, and the quill paused where it was. "Mister Weasley, please give me a few minutes. That will be one of my bosses. I would like to continue this conversation when I come back."
Percy swallowed. "Can I get a glass of water?"
He nodded and conjured a glass and some cold water. Percy tried to navigate how to take a drink with his hands bound to the table as he stepped out. An upset Director Bones was glaring at him. "This better be worth my time, Shacklebolt. I need to get to Saint Mungo's and will now be late for a meeting with the minister about yesterday."
"I understand, ma'am. We need to go to a secure room," he said, looking at the empty third interrogation room. Her lips pursed.
"Savage, keep an eye on the suspect in that room. Shacklebolt." He followed her into the interrogation room and started to cast his wand about for any type of listening or other eavesdropping spell. Director Bones brow rose as she looked at him before taking out her monocle. When they were both satisfied there was nothing there that shouldn't be, she ordered, "Tell me what has you so riled."
"We have a major problem," he stated.
She didn't look pleased. "Tell me something I don't know."
"I need an emergency order to question Charlie Weasley, access a vault in Gringotts and potentially arrest Minister Fudge, Undersecretary Umbridge and Head Bagman," he stated bluntly.
She stared at him blankly for a moment before exploding. "Bloody hell you do! The top brass at the ministry is already in a tizzy over that is going on. What are you playing at that you want to go after the minister's office for? I already doubt I will last a week. You do this and half my Aurors will be fired as well! What the hell is going on?"
Kingsley took in a breath and then handed her the parchments he took. "If Mister Weasley has what I think he does then you will finally have the proof you want to nail both of them to the wall."
She eyed him.
"You find the information about the Gringotts's vault on page three," Kingsley informed her.
She sheafed through the parchment to find what he was looking. He knew she found what he wanted her too when her eye widened and her monocle fell off her face. "Bloody hell. Is this true?"
"I have not gotten veritaserum into him, but I believe it is."
She looked back down to the parchments, scanning the next few pages. "Get me the orders. I have to go to Saint Mungo's. Find me as soon as you have them, and you can get Charlie Weasley and anything in the vault. Tell Mindy to cancel my appointment with the minister and to hold the emergency Wizengamot meeting until six this evening. I will be back by noon. Have all the documents back here by then. If we move on this, no one can know. Savage is to stay with Mister Weasley. Get him to a safe house. I don't want me or Scrimgeour to know where. Get two others that you trust to help with this."
"Yes, Director," he said. She rushed out of the room just before Kingsley.
-oOo-
A short time later…
London, England
Healer Andromeda Tonks was running on nothing but pepper-up potions now. Since yesterday morning… almost twenty-two hours ago… she had been going nonstop. Her magic was feeling strained. She was feeling bone weary tired. The uncomfortable chair and wall she was leaning against at the moment were the only things keeping her up.
She was forcing herself to stay up to watch the still labouring breath from the figure that was on the bed. It was still covered in charcoaled and burnt skin, but the puss filled cracks and wounds had now closed and she could see the signs of pink, fresh skin forming between the charred cracks. If it hadn't been for the sheet, they would not have known it was Harry Potter. There were no distinguishable features. She hoped the boy would recover without severe scarring, but she was unsure if he would still live. By all rights, the medical report she reviewed this morning had said he was burnt to a crisp and should be dead. She couldn't even comprehend how this miracle occurred.
Her tired eyes stared to close as she watched his rising and falling breath. The wheezing should have kept her up, but in her near magical exhaustion, she was starting to drift.
The door to the room opened and she started. Her wand came up. She knew that two Aurors were outside the room, but that didn't mean they wouldn't stop everyone. When she met the eyes of Amelia, she sighed and dropped her wand to her side. "Thank Merlin, Amelia. The Aurors have already kept out some curious busybodies."
"So I've heard. The staff hear is all up about something and I feel it has to do with why you are here instead of Hogwarts," she said.
"Healer Turgeon is helping Poppy now. Merlin, Amelia. I've never seen anything like this," she said, rubbing her face.
Amelia cringed her nose at the smell of burnt flesh, healing salves and cleaning potions. "Is that really Harry Potter?"
"As far as we can tell. All the other known dead are accounted for," Andi replied.
"How? I saw the photos of his body," she asked, moving to the bed.
"The damned if I know. Like I said, I've never seen anything like this," she replied. "Tell me you will hang the one that decided dragons would be entertaining for such a tournament?"
"We are working on it," Amelia assured her. "What can you tell me about this?"
"He's alive. That's about it right now. He's showing strong signs that his magical core is undamaged and more powerful than anyone his age has any right to be. His body is regenerating. At the rate we can find, it will be a few weeks before he's back to health, but he shouldn't even be doing that," Andi said with some disbelief.
"Merlin," Amelia said, looking at the charred form that was struggling to breath. "He will make a full recovery?"
"Damned if I know. He may be scarred, or we may be able to mostly heal him. I won't know until the charred skin flakes off and I can see how the new skin is developing," Andi told her.
"How long will that be?"
"We are having to regulate the strength and how much of the standard potions we are giving him. His magic is latching onto anything it can and trying to use it to force this healing. If we rush this, he will be scared and lucky to be able to move with any type of comfort. It's going to a challenge over the next week or two," Andi told her.
"Is there any chance we will be able to talk with him anytime soon?"
The look Andromeda gave her should have quelled anyone. "My patient is not reliving that trauma until he is ready, and it will probably be a week or more before he might, and I mean might, be able to talk. From what I heard, this isn't his fault. They put a fourteen-year-old child in with a dragon. What else was he supposed to do?"
Amelia looked tired. "I know, Andi, but we need to understand what happened."
"What did happen?"
"You know I can't say anything until I go public with this. When you are ready, I will need a full report of everything you saw yesterday and what is going on here. Only Scrimgeour or I are to be given any information on him. I don't who wants to see him," she ordered.
"And what of his magical guardian? Do you even know who it is?"
"I will look. I thought it was Albus Dumbledore. He's always claimed that," she said.
"The goblins say it isn't, but won't tell us who," Andi said.
Amelia looked a little shocked. "Why did you need to contact the goblins?"
"Have you seen him? I want to try some other treatments, but without permission I can only do the standard burn and organ treatments," Andromeda said.
"I will do what I can do. Have you seen anyone from Wizarding Child Protective Services?"
"I have a request in, but it's not been an hour and I understand they may be a little busy with what happened yesterday," Andromeda said.
"If you don't have a representative here within the hour, I will give you an emergency decree for the hospital to take over his guardianship," Amelia promised. A knock came at the door.
Andi raised her wand again. Amelia just looked at her curiously. She walked over to the door and opened it. Shacklebolt was standing outside the door. Amelia looked at the parchment work before taking the self-inking quill the man was holding out. After a curt nod, Shacklebolt left.
"What was that?"
"I'll let you know when I can. I need to go check on Susan and Neville. Do you need anything else that I or my department can do for you?" Amelia enquired.
"Just mail the balls of anyone that was involved in this to a wall," Andi said.
Amelia gave a dark chuckle. " I plan to. Though, I don't think it will be just balls."
Andromeda gave Amelia a questioning look but the monocled woman just kept a straight face before leaving.
Andromeda quickly leaned back in her stiff chair and leaned her head against the wall. The monitoring charms on Harry would let her know if something happened and was quickly dozing as she kept up her vigil. The boy wasn't out of the woods yet. If he had another wild burst of magic, all the healing they had managed to start in the last few hours could be undone quickly.
-oOo-
Later that day…
Hogwarts, Scotland
The wards pinged again as another ministry Auror or official used the floo he had opened in the Professor Merriweather's old office. For the last thirty-five years he was headmaster he had managed to keep the Ministry out of Hogwarts. One day, five minutes, had changed all that.
Since the debacle of yesterday morning, it was like an ants nest had been turned over in Britain. Signs of the same thing happening on the continent were starting to show as well. He should be at the ministry or the ICW trying to contain this fiasco. Instead, he had been confined to remain in Hogwarts. The one time he had enter the ministry to help with the investigation and find out why Harry Potter's body had been removed from the infirmary had been met by eight Aurors threatening to arrest him if he didn't return. Of course, that had been after having to answer questions for an hour about the task, planning and what happened yesterday. He left out the part that it was probably him that had caused the wards to fail. With the mood in the ministry, he had a feeling Cornelius and the Wizengamot would be looking for any scapegoat they could on this.
He needed to be at the ministry to steer the investigation and guide Cornelius. With Lucius Malfoy dead and Augusta Longbottom in the hospital, he would not have a better opportunity to finally get the man under his thumb. That was a position he would need to survive the death of Harry Potter and the resources of the ministry would now be essential for when Tom returned.
That thought concerned him. He had been certain the prophesy would only allow Tom or Harry kill each other. This tournament should have been completely safe for Harry. Apparently completely safe only happened if the boys support system was operational as planned. He had seen that Harry had been struggling and that many in the school were not happy with him, but he had thought it was just a growing experience for the boy. Minerva had said something was going on with Harry's friends, but neither of them had realized how wrong it was.
He had been able to question Mr Weasley. He wanted to hex the boy five ways to Sunday. He had known Ronald Weasley had some jealousy and confidence issues, but not like this. For the last month, since Halloween, the jealous prat had eggs on members of the school and had been telling anyone he could about how bad 'Potter' was. Albus had relied on Ronald to tell Harry about the dragons and to get him in touch with his brother Charlie so Harry knew how to handle his task. There was nothing in the rules that prevented the champions from getting help, only a loose moral code that the school tried to adhere too.
TO find out that Ronald didn't say anything to Harry had been galling. To find out that Ronald hadn't told Harry about the wand weighing, the time of the champions meeting the day of the task or that he destroyed the special champion suits that they were all to receive and would have helped prevent the dragons from seriously harming the champions was about the point he had actually pulled his wand to only be stopped by Minerva.
That was another sore point. In her grief, Minerva was suddenly protective of the Gryffindors and the other students. She had never rebuffed him before but had threatened to fight him… him! The great Albus Dumbledore! She had threatened to fight him if used any student again or harmed them.
Albus never meant harm to anyone. Most just needed guiding hands to fulfil the role they needed to play to make sure that Voldemort never rose to true power again and to see everything become one homogeneous utopia.
He had almost blasted the boy when he had admitted he had chased the Grainger girl away from Harry after threatening her. The girl was now in St Mungo's after being so hurt she would be there for a week or more. He really needed to know how she had broken the compulsions to do anything she could to help Harry.
The fact that Potter had no other friends was also worrying. He had never meant for Harry to be as isolated as he was finding out he was. Again, that seemed to fall squarely on the redhead's head, though it seemed that the entire Weasley family was also in on it. He would have to get to the bottom of that. He didn't understand why the Weasley's would be trying to isolate Harry from everyone else unless Molly or Arthur was trying to make a play for the Potter fortune. They would be disappointed when they found out that Harry had already gifted everything to Hogwarts and the Order of the Pheonix if he died.
As much as Albus would prefer to have Harry to fulfil the prophecy, at least he would now have more resources to find Tom and potentially any other horcruxes. He had been convinced that the diary Harry had destroyed was the only one, but as he reviewed his notes and memories of the man, he was starting to suspect there were more. He was also curious of the connection Harry had with the Dark Lord, but that wouldn't matter anymore. If the boy had been a horcrux, it was destroyed now.
He was roused out of his dark contemplations by a bell from his fireplace. Hoping he would finally be allowed to leave to get to the tasks he now needed to do, Albus rushed over to the fireplace. He through in some white powder to unlock the wards. The fire flared white, then turned green. A second later, a young woman's head came into the coals.
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" the woman asked.
"Yes, I am he. Whom may you be?" he asked, not recognizing her.
"Headmaster, I'm Mindy Cohen, Senior Secretary to Director Bones. You are being requested to attend an emergency Wizengamot meeting at six this evening. The lock on your floo will be released at five forty for you to attend. It is mandatory for all members, department heads and the Chief Warlock," the woman informed him.
"I am Chief Warlock. I should be allowed through now so that I can know what this session is about and lead as required," Dumbledore told her, looking at the clock above the mantle and seeing it was only half past four.
"The emergency meeting is called under directive sixty-six of minister decree 1914-10-3. The Head of the DMLE will be presiding and leading the meeting pursuant to events of November twenty-third. Director Bones has declared the DMLE to be prime of the ministry for the maximum seventy-two hours, or until released," the secretary told him. "This went into effect at two-thirty-two this afternoon."
Albus stared at her for a moment. That was an emergency war powers decree that could only be activated under a few circumstances and yesterday was not one of those circumstances. "Tell me what is going on right now," he ordered, through the power into his words to make it compulsory.
The woman visible recoiled in the flames. "Aurors!" the woman called out before she disappeared.
Albus stared at the flames dumbly for a few seconds, not comprehending how that hadn't worked. Then he started to worry about what he might find when he stepped through the floo to the ministry at the required time. He was the Chief Warlock and should have immunity for what he had just done, but if Amelia Bones had seized control of the ministry for the next seventy-hours, he may be in a very precarious position.
"Damn it to Morgana!" he cried out. He needed to get to the ministry. Of all the times for Fawkes to have an unexpected burning say was yesterday. The phoenix would be next to useless for a month or more now. Glaring at the pile of ash and the small chick that had made a nest in it to keep warm, he moved towards his door. He would not be able to use his floo, knowing the ministry was monitoring it from the ministry and inside Hogwarts.
Storming out of his office, he stopped at the bottom of his stairs. "Good afternoon, Aurors," he said to the eight that were in the hallway outside his office. He was cursing the castle for not warning him, but with the amount of extra people wandering around, he was having a hard time keeping track of them all with the wards.
"Headmaster. Where are you going? We were told you and the other headmasters were under house arrest for now," one with a golden insignia on her left arm said.
"I think you are mistaken. I have many things I need to do, with looking after my students being the least of them. How can I carry out my duties if I am confined to my office?" He was studying the eight aurors, unsure if he could take on eight at once. Three or four would be no issue. He knew five or six could be done. But looking at the insignias on their left arms, he knew that five of them were senior Aurors. Eight Aurors, with five of them being senior rank may be pushing even his prodigious skills. Not even Tom took on that many directly at once. Not on his own anyways.
"I'm sorry, headmaster, but you need to return to your office for now," the same senior Auror said.
Albus was about ready to pull his wand when something pressed into the back of his neck. He didn't start or move. Somehow someone had snuck up on him. "Please don't make us use force on you, headmaster."
"Yes. Perhaps you are right," he said. The wand didn't come off his neck until he moved to turn and kept his hand far from his wand. His eyes fell upon to people. One woman and one man. By the looks of them, they were most likely Hit Wizards. If they had moved to taken him down, Albus wasn't sure he would have been able to stop his head from being removed or blasted apart.
With a magnanimous nod, he moved back towards his stairs.
It was a muttering and furious Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore that paced his office for the next hour until the alarm told him he could finally step through the ministry. When he did, eight aurors were by the fireplaces in the atrium. It was disorientated for a second, expecting to come out in his office by the Wizengamot hall on level 2.
It was a very disgruntled Albus that was forced to sit in the stands where the Heads and other officials would sit instead of taking the podium as was his right. Ten Aurors and three Hit Wizards surrounded the podium and scribe positions in the centre of the hall. His brow was scrunched to only see Amelia standing there, waiting for everyone to be seated. At exactly six, the doors to the chamber closed and sealed. He frowned to realize he couldn't feel the wards.
"Quiet," Amelia ordered, and the room quickly went silent.
"What are we here for? We were supposed to have an emergency meeting at eleven this morning," Cantankerous Nott yelled out.
"Silence!" Amelia barked. "This is an emergency Wizengamot meeting called under directive sixty-six of minister decree 1914-10-3. For the next sixty-eight hours the ministry is under DMLE lock down and control. As required by procedure, all actions that I take are recorded and checked for legality by the barristers of the Law Department. I will be fully culpable for any crimes I commit when the time is up."
"I have called you here to inform you that as of two-eighteen this afternoon, Minister Fudge, Undersecretary Umbridge, Head Crouch, Head Bagman, Head Weasley, Head Marchbanks and Head Cresswell have been arrested and detained," she said.
A chorus of yelling, complaints, jeers and concerned voices overcame anything else she was going to say. Amelia stood there stoically for a moment as many around him started to work themselves into a froth. About the time people were looking to get to blows with the Aurors around her, a deafening cannon blast sounded in the enclosed chamber. Albus winced. Many tried to shield their ears. Within seconds, the chamber silenced and looked at Amelia.
"Charges have been filed against them. Aurors are looking for others that may be involved in the crimes they are being accused of. I will request the following Wizengamot members willingly surrender to the DMLE for questioning, otherwise I will issue warrants. Regent Parkinson, Regent Nott, Regent Dearborn, Regent Prewitt, Regent…"
She wasn't able to say anything else as the room exploded in noise again. A smell was cast towards Amelia. Some screamed while others drew their own wands as the spell hit a conjured rock and send shards all over the place. Albus pulled his own wand and stunned or bound four people before the amplified voice of Amelia came over everyone.
"Arrest all those that cast anything more than a stunner or binding spell or cast anything towards me! If one more spell is cast, I will authorize the Aurors and Hit Wizards to use any means necessary to subdue the one doing so! Now, Regent Chang and Regent Mulciber will also submit or be arrested under warrant."
"The events of yesterday have led to this investigation. There is substantial evidence that corruption, ineptitude and sabotage led to the events of a fourteen-year-old being unwillingly thrust into the Triwizard Tournament and the failure that caused the deaths of twenty-seven people and hundreds of others to be harmed.
A report of all our findings will be released to the Wizengamot and remaining departments or they're under heads on Saturday at a thirteen hundred meeting. A gag order on everything that has happened here and on ministry information is active until then. I enact your oaths to maintain this."
The chamber was deathly silent. The oaths of office had been enacted like this in almost a century.
She turned and moved to exit through the back door of the chamber as her Aurors moved to detain those she named. How things had gone so horrible wrong was absolutely flummoxing Albus at the moment.