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The courtroom within the International Confederation of Wizards, in Lichtenstein, was like many magical government buildings, dark inside, lit by high chandeliers and small glowing lights to mark each row of benches for the audience. An usher led Tony and Sirius to the first row of seats, reserved for witnesses and those who had a claim for damages against the accused. The area for the ICW Security Council, who heard criminal and civil proceedings, was reminiscent of the United Nations Security Council Chambers, the walls rounded and a huge wooden desk in the shape of a horseshoe. The accused and prosecutor were sat at a table within the open end of the large table. A huge banner of the ICW hung on the dark back wall, golden sconces held slightly brighter lights which illuminated that end of the grand hall.
Tony had opted to dress in a three-piece bespoken black suit, with a red overrobe, his family crest embroidered in gold on the left front, along with smaller crests of Harry's Houses below his. Sirius had chosen more traditional black robes over his dress trousers and tunic shirt, the Back family crest prominent in pure silver on the back of his robes. Tony had rolled his eyes at his partner, muttering something about being ostentatious, to which Sirius had just grinned. Harry had pouted, wanting his own set of robes.
The five-year-old was staying home with Remus, and the house-elves watching over him. When Tony had explained about the trial, Harry had shuddered at the thought of being in the same room as Dumbledore. He'd kissed them both several times and made them promise to call him on his new Marauders Mirror, with the enhanced runic array. With Taffy and Mazzy taking care of Harry, Happy and Pepper living at the mansion with them, the security team, and Rhodey just a call away, Tony felt confident in leaving his son. Or so he tried to tell himself.
The delegates from the ICW began to take their seats as the benches around Tony and Sirius filled up. Arcturus joined them, sitting on Sirius' opposite side, along with several people Tony recognized, including Aurors Bones, Proudfoot, and Shacklebolt from the British Ministry, and Auror Fontaine from MACUSA. A glance around spotted three of the Hogwarts professors Tony remembered from his summer studies. Members of the media took up the back row and Tony made a point not to look in their direction. He was still a relative unknown in the magical world and hoped to keep things that way as long as possible. It helped that Harry Stark held no interest to them and shouldn't until he was revealed to be the blasted Boy-Who-Lived.
A tall, black man clad in beautiful earthtone robes of brown, tan, and gold strode forward and took his seat at the top of the U-shaped table. Babajide Akingbade, the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, if Tony was correct, signaled for the proceedings to begin. A half-dozen barristers filed in, sitting at the far end of the inner table. A panel at the back of the room opened and a contingent of ICW Aurors stepped out, escorting Albus Dumbledore. The bastard looked a little thinner, but had his head held high, dressed in bright blue and red robes, which washed out his already paste complexion. Both his hair and beard had been cut shorter, but otherwise he appeared well-kept and healthy.
The Supreme Mugwump gaveled the session open, and the clerk of the Confederation spent the next twenty minutes reading out the list of charges, including those specifically for crimes against Harry and Tony: kidnapping, failure to probate wills, child endangerment leading to injury, withholding a child from a parent, crimes against a Noble and Ancient family, and various embezzlement and theft charges. Additional charges included knowingly taking blood without consent and theft from Muggleborn children, use of the Unforgivables, binding the cores and magic of children without permission, illegal incarceration, and use of compulsion spells.
The morning was spent listening to the witch prosecuting the case lay out the basis details of the crimes, documenting a timeline of suspicious activities and unbelievable coincidences. From the unseen duel with Grindelwald, to locking his ex-lover into his own tower, to the questionable interaction with Tom Riddle, the prophecy, and the Potters. The prosecution detailed Dumbledore sending the Potters into hiding, casting the Fidelius Charm himself, before sending Sirus to Azkaban, and Harry to be abused with magic-hating relatives. The dark-haired woman, whose hazel eyes blazed with righteous indignation, described Dumbledore's systematic testing of Muggleborn students for a magical ancestor and acquiring signed authorization to any family vaults the students might have.
The defense's response was as arrogant as their client, dismissing all the charges as being decisions which had fallen to Dumbledore as the leader of the Light, for 'The Greater Good'. Tony ground his teeth in irritation while Sirus gave a snort of disbelief.
Testimony began immediately, with a parade of witnesses Tony had never heard of. Occasionally, Sirius would lean over and whisper to him as to who the person was – Dumbledore's brother, an old professor, a former Auror. The old wizard never looked their direction, which Tony was very glad of, as he was trying to keep ahold of his temper and that might be too much provocation. Listening to the minimal questioning of the witnesses by Dumbledore's barrister, Tony had to wonder why anyone else who might be a witness had been allowed to attend the trial before they testified.
His ears had focused in when he heard the name Tom Riddle being bandied about by the prosecutor. A heavyset, older man was on the witness stand, speaking about Dumbledore's odd fascination with Riddle and his belief the child was evil personified. An orphan whose magical roots went back through the Gaunt and Slytherin families. The names stirred a memory and Tony made a note on his phone for Rockjaw to check the properties Harry had inherited by conquest for Horcruxes.
Tony was called to testify the afternoon of the second day, his favorite black pin-striped suit with the red over-robe which matched his tie, causing whispers in the gallery. He felt the weight of Dumbledore's furious eyes as he sat down but refused to look in the man direction. When asked, Tony identified himself with his doctorates and inherited titles, causing a ripple through the audience when he included the Duchies of Sardinia and Genoa. The prosecutor waited until the murmurs died down.
"Lord Carbonell, are you not also the Regent for the Most Noble and Ancient House of Peverell?"
Tony just kept the smirk off his face. "I am."
The witch seemed to double check her documents. "And are the biological father of Lord Peverell, also known as Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived."
The reminder that James and Lily had died sent a shiver down his spine. "I am."
"Can you tell the assembly how that came to be and why, please?"
"James Potter and I were cousins, sharing Dorea Black Potter through my mother's blood and James' father. I spent most summers being tutored in magic from the time I was about eleven until I was twenty-one, a year after my son was born. James was sterile due to a curse he'd taken while working as an Auror; he and Lily asked me to donate sperm so they could conceive. Harry was born nine months later."
The prosecutor nodded, giving him a smile. "And you interacted with Harry after his birth?"
"I did, he called me Papa Tony," Tony answered, crossing his legs and relaxing back in the chair. "I visited a number of times over the first fifteen months of Harry's life."
"May I ask why you stopped visiting?"
Tony carefully folded his hands in his lap, not allowing any emotion to appear on his face. "Lily and James became increasingly concerned for both mine and their own safety. The followers of Tom Riddle, the self-styled Lord Voldemort, had stepped up their terror attacks and they knew I was as big a target as they were. Additionally, Lily became very concerned over the obsessive way Albus Dumbledore was acting concerning Harry. He'd apparently heard what he described as a iprophecy/i, and had urged Lilly and James to take Harry, going into hiding in Godric's Hallow. Which was suspicious as hell to me."
"And why was that, Lord Carbonell?"
Tony answered matter-of-factly. "Potter Manor was protected by ancient and powerful wards and enchantments, unplottable, and would have been much more secure for them, however Dumbledore insisted they stay in the cottage instead."
"You disagreed with that?"
"I did, as I knew there were many other, more secure properties they had access to, including any of the Black homes, as well as my own mansion in the United States. However, as they were both members of Dumbledore's secret vigilante group at the time, and James, particularly, felt they needed to listen to him. Dumbledore cast the Fidelius Charm and declared that was enough."
"What happened after the defendant cast the charm?"
Tony sat up straight and glanced over to meet Sirius' eyes. "Lily was still concerned about their safety and Dumbledore's continued interest in Harry as a child of Prophecy. Just after Harry's first birthday, she and my mother came up with a plan to ensure Harry was looked after in the event something happened to her and James. They removed my memories of the family and magic, to protect me from my father and those magical relatives who supported Riddle. They had already made wills with Gringotts which gave me custody of Harry should anything happened to them and in the wills, they directed the charm on me be reversed." Tony couldn't help the bitterness that colored his words."
"What happened to your son when the Potters were killed, Lord Carbonell?"
"Based on eyewitness reports, he was kidnapped from the cottage on Dumbledore's orders by one of his employees, taken somewhere and subjected to multiple blocks put on his magical core and abilities, and the soul piece which had attached itself to my son was sealed inside his scar. He was then left, in the middle of the night of November 2nd, 1991 on the front porch of Lily's nonmagical sister and her husband, who hated magic, where he was abused and neglected for four years."
The prosecutor made eye contact with every council member. "Why were the Potters wills not adhered to, Lord Carbonell?"
Tony could help but sneer his answer. "Because Dumbledore, as the head of the Wizengamot, sealed them without having them read or probated, sentencing my son to years of misery!"
The defense barrister jumped to his feet, but the prosecutor cut him off. "Is what you have stated fact or supposition, Lord Carbonell?"
"Established fact!" Tony stared down the barrister.
"As you most certainly have your memories back, could you enlighten us on how that happened?"
Tony smirked, looking for the first time at Dumbledore. "My mother was a Black and Lily, a formidable and intelligent woman – they left the Pensieve with my memories in the care of the Potter family account manager at Gringotts with the directive to send it to me just before Harry's fifth birthday, if the order had not been rescinded by then. Master Account Manager Rockjaw sent it to me on July 1st this year and I was able to collect my son from his prison on July 2nd."
The prosecutor addressed the council. "All of the memories mentioned by Lord Carbonell have been made available to this body. At this time, I'd like to have Lord Carbonell step down for a moment and call Gringotts Master Goblin Rockjaw to the stand."
There were a few murmurs throughout the assembly as Tony returned to his seat. He gave Rockjaw, clad in the blood-red suit Harry loved, a small bow as the goblin walked by. Sirius was trying to stifle his chortle as Tony settled back into the seat beside him. They both knew Rockjaw was going to talk about the wills, the unauthorized withdrawals from Harry's trust vault, Harry's exam, the lack of any blood-based wards on the Dursley home, and the unsealing of the wills. The same wills which exonerated Sirius and condemned Dumbledore. If the testimony and documentation weren't challenged, Sirius might not even have to testify, as his trial transcripts would be entered into the record.
The defense barrister waived questioning either Rockjaw or Sirius.
Tony returned to the stand to describe how he'd found Harry that night in July and what the Dursleys had said about his placement with them. He described the nightmares and lingering issues Harry was dealing with, especially after Dumbledore's attack on them in Malibu. In the end, the evidence was irrefutable, and the defense barrister didn't bother to cross-exam him, either. Apparently, Dumbledore's arrogance would not let him believe he might be found guilty.
The prosecutor called various other parties, including Hagrid, the half-giant who had taken Harry from Sirius, as well as Professor McGonagall, whom Tony remembered from his tutoring in the summers at Potter Manor. There were several other witnesses, British Ministry employees who either couldn't remember anything or had vague recollections of events. Tony and Sirius exchanged a look at the general poor memories the individuals had, wondering how many Obliviates had been cast.
The exception to this were several of the British Auror corps, including Shacklebolt, Proudfoot, and Bones, who were able to collaborate Tony's testimony and who had work or trained with James Potter. Shacklebolt and Bones, who had actually worked with James and Sirius before the attack, testified they were aware of Tony's existence and that both men considered the American as a close family member. The defense again waived asking any of the witnesses questions.
After the Prosecution completed their testimony, Dumbledore's barrister stood up and called Dumbledore to testify. Both Tony and Sirius straightened up in their seats and Tony reached over to slide his hand onto Sirius' thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The barrister had Dumbledore recite all his former titles and honors, with took five minutes on their own. The next four hours were spent listening to the barrister guiding Dumbledore through his version of his life story, including his heroics during the Grindelwald war, and helping out Allied Special Forces during WWII in their fight against Hitler and HYDRA. He didn't mention his relationship to that Dark Lord and Tony glared at him, careful not to meet his eyes.
With skillful questioning, the former Chief Warlock was portrayed as a powerful but benevolent wizard who championed the Muggleborn and Half-bloods of the wizarding world. Tony felt his jaw ache with the way his teeth were clenched, and Sirius had taken his hand in a tight grip. The wizard brought Dumbledore around to Voldemort and the attack on Godric's Hallow, his "devastation" at the loss of the Potters and placing their orphan son behind Blood wards with his mother's sister. The barrister nodded solemnly at the answer.
"So, you were doing what you could to keep the child safe?"
"Of course, and with family is always the best place for children."
"And the matter of continuing to take funds from the Potter vaults?"
Dumbledore's attempt at an innocent smile made the hair on the back of Tony's neck stand up.
"James was an ardent supporter of the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort and gave generously to the help offset financial burdens."
"This continued after Lord Potter's death?"
"Of course." Dumbledore glanced at Tony with a gleam in his eye. "As per the behest in his will, the payments continued."
"How can you be sure there was such a behest?"
A magnanimous smile was turned towards the ICW. "I was the executor of the will and signed it as a witness—"
The ensuing uproar silenced the old bastard as the entirety of those in the chambers were on their feet. Pushing down his own rage, Tony grabbed Sirius, whose wand was in his hand and had surged forward. The Supreme Mugwump used his wand to fire what sounded like a minor explosion into the air, when the firecracker he tried first failed, halting all conversation in the room.
"There will be order or I'll have the Aurors throw all of you out!"
The spectators quieted down immediately and between he and Arcturus, they wrestled Sirius back into his seat. The barrister proceeded to further question the specific charges against Dumbledore, who admitted to each one, and spoke on his knowing Harry was underweight, overworked, and downtrodden, as he needed a malleable savior in order for Harry to manipulated into sacrificing himself for ithe Greater Good/i. Admitting freely that once Harry had played his role, Dumbledore would be able to kill Voldemort himself.
The room was deadly silent.
"Why, Mr. Dumbledore?" Even the barrister looked dumbfounded.
"It is his destiny and, of course, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
It was Arcturus who cast the body binder on both Tony and Sirius, to keep them from physically attacking the former headmaster. The chamber remained eerily quiet as the barrister quickly finished the defense questioning. The prosecutor stood, her normally caramel colored face pale, and she shook her head.
"I'm not even sure how to follow that line of testimony, so I will request the council deliberate on the testimony as given for both the criminal and civil issues before them." With a shake of her head, the witch abruptly sat down.
The red had faded only slightly from Tony's vision as the council retired to deliberate. Arcturus allowed the room to empty before he took out two small vials of translucent lavender potion and held them up.
"I will release you and you will take these Calming Drafts. No matter how much you would like to tear that bastard to shreds, it would only lower you to his level."
Tony managed to take one of the vials with a semblance of grace as soon as Arcturus released him from the bind and tossed the potion back. Sirius had to be cajoled by his grandfather before he did the same. He knew they were all thinking the same thing, something about Dumbledore's smug arrogance which told them he expected to be freed to continue his insane behavior.
"This is not Britian, and the fucker has made a calculated error," Arcturus judged critically. "The ICW does not support vigilante armies and that was what Dumbledore led. Nor do the majority of adults subscribe to any type of child abuse or consider a child's life forfeit, despite any predesignated destiny."
Feeling the potion taking effect, Tony let out all the breath in his lungs and dragged in another lung full. Blowing that out, he nodded thanks to Arcturus and put a hand on Sirius' forearm.
"Even if we don't eat anything, we should at least get up and walk around a bit." Tony stood up and extended his hand to Sirius. Arcturus sighed and withdrew two larger vials from somewhere and handed one to each of them.
"Nutrition potion, as I know you won't be able to choke anything down and it's inappropriate to have a liquid lunch at this time."
Tony groaned, but downed the unpleasantly brown liquid in two gulps, and shuddering before recorking the vial and handing it back to Arcturus. He led Sirius out into the atrium, where they used the restroom before wandering around the area. Stopping at a large fountain in the center of the entrance area, Tony paused, shoving his hands in his pockets, and watching the spray of water shower a revolving globe and fall back into the pool with a iplop/i. Sirius let out a soft laugh as he saw the member nations outlined in gold.
"Rumor has it, that reporter – Skeeter – has disappeared since she published the story on Dumbledore and Grindelwald."
"Probably in hiding," Tony commented, remembering a drunken encounter or two in fountains. "Especially if Graves and his new assistant are correct, and the remnants of HYDRA are not only still around but teamed up with Death Eaters." He reared back as a beetle flew towards his face and he batted it away. "What the hell? I walk by this fountain, and a fucking beetle gets in my face?"
Sirius nudged the fallen beetle out of the walkway with his toe. "That's funny, the wards usually keep insects out of the interior."
"Someone's falling down on the job then," Tony murmured as they turned and walked side-by-side.
Sirius shrugged. "Possibly, but a number of wardsmiths construct wards, especially those around government buildings and private dwellings, in the shape of domes. They make the assumption that wizards won't try to tunnel under the building in order to get inside."
Tony frowned. "Would that include the cliffs below the Malibu house?"
"The goblins are usually more thorough than that, however, they might not think anyone could get into the house from those sheer cliffs or even through the rock the foundation is set in."
Tony reached into his pocket and activated his phone. "JARVIS, remind me to check the cliffs under the Malibu house to make sure the wards cover that area."
"Of course, sir."
A low gong sounded through the atrium and Tony exchanged a glance with Sirius, perplexed. It hadn't been an hour since the council had retired to the conference room. With many others in the area, they made their way back into the gallery where Arcturus had saved their seats, as the prosecutor was seating herself at her table. To his surprise, Ian Smythe joined them, smoothing down a black formal robe over his dark gray suit. Rockjaw, wearing a frightening grin, seated himself on Smythe's far side.
Tony arched an eyebrow at them both and Smythe leaned his way.
"We both received notification concerning the civil cases filed against Dumbledore, saying they had all been settled as well."
The answer surprised Tony. He imagined they would be here another day in order to plow through the civil lawsuits. Forcing his body to relax on the uncomfortable seat, Tony drew in a deep breath as he watched the council members begin to filter in. Sirius slid his hand into Tony's and interlaced their fingers, filling Tony with warmth. He'd never been as glad to have a partner to rely on, especially with his relationship history. The only thing better would have been Rhodey on his other side.
All the seats were filled by the time Dumbledore was led back into the chambers. The elderly wizard held his head high, giving the impression of untouchable arrogance as he sat at the inner table. Tony scowled at the implication of Dumbledore's smirk, but quickly smoothed his face into his time-honored media expression, bland neutrality. He could feel Sirius' eyes on him, before shifting closer as Sirius' eyes returned to the front.
The Supreme Mugwump, Babajide Akingbade, stood and called the session back to order. He turned the floor over to a petite, Asian witch whom Tony didn't recognize, but who had been made spokesperson for the council.
"Albus Dumbledore! Rise and receive the decision of this body." The witch waited until the barrister helped Dumbledore to his feet. "Albus Dumbledore, it is the decision of this council that you are guilty of each and every one of the charges leveled at you and only regrets it that we have no authority to add to the charges for knowingly using your authority as Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock to further your own nefarious activities."
"My dear lady, I simply can't agree—"
Tony felt elated at the decision but knew enough about Dumbledore to know whatever monologue he was going into was a cover for something. He let go of Sirius' hand and flexed his wrist, allowing his wand to slide into his hand. He knew Zin and Lenz were right there, invisible, and would teleport them and Arcturus home if anything happened.
"—and I will not accept your authority. Fawkes!"
A phoenix flamed into existence above the inner table and Dumbledore turned to face the gallery as he lifted his bound hands into the air. "Lord Voldemort will return—"
The phoenix's great wingspan lifted it higher and beyond the reach of Dumbledore's grasping fingers, seeming to watch as one of the Aurors recovered their senses enough to cast a Petrifying Spell on Dumbledore. The magical bird circled slowly as everyone watched, head up, looking around the room, before locking eyes on Tony. The phoenix warbled and flew over to circle above him, a feather dropping on to Tony's lap. Gingerly, Tony picked it up, surprised to find it was still warm.
"Thank you!" Tony knew being gifted a phoenix feather was extremely rare.
Tony could have sworn the bird winked at him before disappearing in a burst of flames. Turning his attention back to the council, surprised to find Dumbledore's stiff form being held up magically by his barrister and the council debating charging the man with attempting to escape. Tony slipped the feather into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Able to still feel its warmth as he waited for the debate to conclude.
"Albus Dumbledore, it is the decision of this council to permanently bind your magic and sentence you to spend the remainder of your natural life in the highest security wizarding prison in the world. A prison so remote and secret that no one will know where you are.
As for the civil lawsuits brought forward by Lord Carbonell and his son, whose life you were so cavalier with, we find in the favor of Lord Carbonell and Lord Peverell. In addition to the conviction on kidnapping, child endangerment, and failing to carry out your sworn duties as Chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot, we find you personally responsible for failing to probate the wills of James and Lily Potter, falsely imprisoning the child's legal magical guardian, removing heirlooms from a minor's family vault, and failure to monitor a child you claimed custody of. We also hold warrants for you issued by the British Minister for violation of varies Boy-Who-Lived laws.
For the civil lawsuit brought by Lord Arcturus Black, on behave of his heir, Sirius, and the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, we find you personally responsible for Heir Black's unlawful incarceration and the subsequent negative impact on House Black. Additionally, we find you civilly culpable in withholding a blood relative from his rightful guardian by keeping Lord Black's great-grandson from him.
We direct all your real property, possessions, and funds be immediately seized by the Goblins of Gringotts and liquidated. One half of the funds will be awarded to Lord Carbonell and his son, a quarter of the funds will be awarded to House Black. The remaining quarter of the funds will be held in lieu of payment for any future lawsuits brought against Albus Dumbledore."
With that, the Supreme Mugwump and the council gathered their papers, silently filing out of the chamber. The prosecutor stood and nodded to her assistant who dropped what must have been a portkey on Dumbledore's chest and the two of them disappeared. She walked over and had a quiet conversation with the barrister, before signaling to Tony, Sirius, and Arcturus.
For Tony, the succinct end of the proceedings had knocked him for a loop. He'd expected the deliberations to take at least hours, if not days, and then they would have to argue the validity of the lawsuits. The ICW members had proved themselves no-nonsense individuals who were expeditious to the extreme. Not that Tony was complaining; he'd just thought it would take more effort, was all. As he followed Sirius and his grandfather to the inner table, Tony could help groan when he found a pile of paperwork waiting. Rockjaw grinned evilly when he added another pile of parchment on top of the original for Tony's signature.
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It was half-eight in the evening before the three men walked back across the atrium, tired and hungry. Tony decided they needed to grab something to eat before they went home. Quickly calculating the difference in time zones, Tony knew it was just before noon in California, giving them time to have a leisurely meal and still make it back to Malibu before Harry was out of class.
Max popped up in front of him and Tony took one look at his face.
"Max? What's going on?"
Max wrung his hands. "Wes be under attack, sir! Come quickly!"
Tony grabbed Max's hand. "Zin! Lenz! Grab them and go!"
Gritting his teeth, Tony held on tightly for the long moment between Lichtenstein and the cool, bright sunshine of the California coast in November. Max had brought him back to the edge of the grass lawn, just up from the edge of the cliffs. A quick scan showed several uniformed Aurors around the yard, a crumpled form close to the edge of the cliff, and a large supine form laying on the lawn with Harry standing protectively over the figure. Remus shielded Harry from the Aurors' wands, Helena clinging to him as she sobbed.
"Papa! My friend saved me again!" Harry shouted fiercely, before turning and trying to stop the blood flowing out of the black clad man.
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