Harry Potter and the Mother Who Lived

by Gracques

When Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry Potter, he agreed to a request from one of his disciples to spare his mother. The Dark Lord remained true to his word. Lily Evans Potter survived the night of October 31, 1981. Follow the story of Harry Potter where Voldemort kept his word and Harry was raised by his mother.

182. Amelia I

Released way later than I planned. I apologize again.

On the bright side, you get quite a lengthy chapter, along with a new POV.

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AMELIA I

Amelia Bones walked in the empty halls of the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain and Ireland. It was four in the morning and she was already at work, when no one else had yet arrived. This was her moment of the day to relax, to prepare her day before requests, files, trials and reunions began coming in. She knew that a good cup of coffee was waiting in her office, to help her begin the day. Her first assistant arrived each day before her to make sure everything was ready. He also had the right to leave much earlier than others as a consequence.

Amelia had woken up at three and a half in the morning, took the time to clean before the day began, then left her small apartment of two rooms in Westminster to walk all the way to the Ministry of Magic. It helped her to clear her mind before work began and she was confined into the undergrounds of London for the rest of the day. But the moment she used the phone cabin, work began in her mind.

Her assistant welcomed her when she arrived at the door of her office, a welcome she returned. Then she entered, finding her breakfast, her coffee, and a planning for the day on her desk. She read it right away as she began to eat. Up until eight o'clock, nothing was planned. She would use that time to deal with files and problems she couldn't solve or complete yesterday. Then at eight o'clock was the interdepartmental meeting of the Heads of Department. They used this opportunity to inform each other of the most pressing issues to treat this week, and to discuss potential collaboration on certain files.

These interdepartmental meetings were opportunities for the heads of department to ascertain their authority over some files, to delegate controversial ones to their colleagues, and to create or destroy temporary alliances to strengthen their position. Amelia mostly used these meetings to inform other departments of her own priorities. Being the head of the most important department in the Ministry, she often had the final word and took precedence on her colleagues when she wanted laws, regulations or resources. She tried to leave enough resources to other departments to conduct their activities and to get their cooperation, but sometimes it was difficult. Many heads of department, although competent, remained human and looked for advancement, promotion, political capital and opportunities to strengthen their career. Amelia disapproved this line of conduct, as it made cooperation between departments, and as a consequence the work of the Ministry, way more difficult. Each and every head of department looked for ways to get the recognition for any success, and to divert blame for failures on others. Even Barty, despite his high competence, did not escape this pattern.

Amelia missed Barty. She had worked under him when he was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, until the day Fudge was elected and he was moved to the Department of International Magical Co-operation, while Amelia replaced her former superior. Although Amelia didn't always agree with Barty, and they had many disagreements after her promotion to his former position, she sorely missed his presence in such troubled times.

On her planning, the interdepartmental meeting was immediately followed by the disciplinary hearing of Harry Potter at nine o'clock. Amelia sighed at this point on her planning. This wasn't something she was looking for, and for many reasons. The main reason was that this whole thing had been handled with clumsy hands from the very beginning. Under Crouch's supervision, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had been very efficient, but also followed a tendency to rush judgements and to circle around both rules and laws. This could be justified during the war, as Voldemort and his supporters represented a threat that required quick action in all circumstances. But after his fall, Amelia had struggled to restore procedures and the respect of laws and regulations in the department. Barty opposed it at the beginning. The state of affairs during the war had increased his power, and he wanted to keep a department with which he could do what he wanted. But after his son received a life sentence, he was no longer in position to impose his will, and Millicent Bagnold forced him to reform his department under threat to fire him. Barty had no choice. He folded and followed Bagnold's instructions to remove corruption, favor treatments and lawbreaking from the department. It was during this period that employees like Amelia climbed the ladder, Bagnold encouraging their promotions. Barty partially fought this, but not entirely. He wanted to be surrounded by competent people, after all, but also of people who were loyal to him. Still, Amelia had proven herself competent enough that Barty did not request total subordination from her. And she was allowed to contribute to the reforms, making the department better in terms of integrity, efficiency and righteousness.

When Fudge had become Minister, he removed Barty from office and asked Amelia to take his place. Fudge had asked to conduct the department with the same efficiency and integrity than Barty did in his later years. Truth be told, Amelia wanted to bring things even farther. She accepted Fudge's offer, with the condition that he would let her lead and manage the department as she saw fit. Fudge had accepted after some hesitation. This meant that Amelia controlled each and every aspect of the department, from the naming of its employees to the decisions to prosecute or not cases. Fudge never complained much, as Amelia managed the department very well. However, recently, Amelia noticed a growing trend that worried her. It had begun almost three years ago, when it was reported that Lord Voldemort was seen at Hogwarts.

Amelia knew that the man responsible for the murders of her parents, her brother Edgar, his wife and children, was not dead. She wasn't the only one. In the weeks and months following his disappearance, some people believed he was still out there, hiding. But with the years, as his supporters got arrested or repented, and there was no sign of the evil lord, most people came to believe he was gone for good. Amelia knew better. She had conversations with Dumbledore about this back then, and even with Barty. All of them believed he was still alive. Even Millicent Bagnold never entirely discarded the possibility that he might still be alive, hiding somewhere. But then Fudge was elected, and it seemed fewer and fewer people believed it was possible. It was then that the accident in the dungeons of the wizarding school took place, at the end of 1992. The accident involved Lily Evans and her son, Harry Potter, the only two people who ever survived the man. Dumbledore warned the Ministry about it. Reports of the events were kept under seal. Cornelius himself was informed, and although he listened to Dumbledore, in private he said that Dumbledore worried too much and that Voldemort was truly dead. Then the Chamber of Secrets was opened the following year, and Fudge, who previously let Amelia handle security matters on her own, following her advice, decided to take direct action by ordering Amelia to arrest Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, who had been expelled from the school when similar events happened fifty years ago. Although it wasn't the decision Amelia would have taken without Fudge's intervention, she had to admit that it made sense. Four children from Muggle families were Petrified, parents were worried for their children, and Dumbledore seemed unable to manage the situation. Even Amelia had to concede that putting the half-giant under arrest in a preventive way could bring more good than harm. Although like Cornelius at the time, she disapproved of the decision from the Board of Governors to suspend Dumbledore.

And then there was the Pettigrew case. His arrest and highly publicized trial were a success for Cornelius. Amelia had nothing to see with the marketing campaign surrounding the trial. She simply ensured they had more than enough proof to condemn the man and that he would have a fair trial. Death Eater or not, he deserved it, like every wizard and witch accused of any crime in the United Kingdom. But then, he escaped the prison of Azkaban. The Minister was furious. It was the first time Fudge was furious at her, or at least that he showed it. Amelia had to admit that she should have taken additional precautions with Pettigrew, knowing he was an Animagus, to prevent his escape from Azkaban. She did everything she could to find him afterwards. That didn't stop Cornelius to impose her to send Dementors to Hogwarts. Amelia was not comfortable with the idea personally. She didn't believe it was safe to have Dementors, as obeying they could be to the Ministry, wandering around inhabited areas, especially where children studied. At least, she managed to ensure they would remain at the outskirts of the school and that their activities would expose as few wizards as possible to them. Despite this, accidents happened. Not only did Dementors left their positions to approach students during a Quidditch game, but three accidents happened when Dementors almost attacked civilians in Hogsmeade. The Minister managed to silence the people with huge indemnities accompanied by a contract to never divulge the accidents. Finally, this proved useless, as Dementors failed to find Pettigrew and he finally died while attempting to attack the Boy Who Lived.

And then came the riots at the Quidditch World Cup. After that, Fudge began to poke into her department's work at every turn. Amelia continued to run it the best she could, fighting to find the culprits and ensure the safety of the population. The excess of attention on her department lessened temporarily when the affair of the Goblet of Fire happened, and instead it was Barty and Bagman who came under fire. As a result, months later, Barty was forced to resign, and Bagman resigned due to debt problems.

But this was even worse since Dumbledore began to claim that Lord Voldemort had actually returned. Fudge had made it clear the very morning after the final task of the Triwizard Tournament that, in his opinion, Voldemort was gone for good. He assembled his heads of department and told them in very clear terms that whoever spread the same lies as Albus Dumbledore would be considered a threat to the public order. Bartemius Crouch had opposed the Minister's position vehemently, resulting in Fudge ordering his resignation. As for Amelia, she had taken a less confrontational approach, instead asking Fudge what proofs Dumbledore provided that Voldemort had returned. Fudge had not appreciated that Amelia seemed to give some credit to Dumbledore, but he used the opportunity to reveal to all heads of department, who were unaware of this at the time, that Cedric Diggory, one of Hogwarts' champions for the Triwizard Tournament, had died during the final task, and that Dumbledore was trying to use a rumor concerning Voldemort's return to camouflage his own failures at ensuring the students' safety during the tournament. He then went on to explain how Dumbledore had failed, over the last few years, to ensure the safety of his students, citing the cases of Petrifications, the Pettigrew affair, dangerous creatures such as trolls entering the perimeter of the school, and his responsibility in the scandals surrounding the Triwizard Tournament. And most heads of department believed him. Over the following weeks, Fudge and his supporters across the Ministry made it very clear that anyone showing any support to Dumbledore or sharing his convictions about Lord Voldemort should resign before they were fired.

This whole situation placed Amelia in a precarious position as well. Fudge had always trusted her, ever since he nominated her at the position, to ensure the respect of the law and the safety of the wizarding community. But Amelia also knew that it was partially following one of the many advices he asked Dumbledore that Fudge came to choose her to lead the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Or at the very least, Dumbledore supported her nomination. She was sure that Fudge had not forgotten it. She perceived the reduced trust he had in her. Lately. She could see various signs that Fudge and his supporters interfered in the operations of her department. They didn't do it openly, but she couldn't miss the irregularities in the services she oversaw. The way that the Improper Use of Magic Office dealt with Harry Potter's use of magic over a week ago was only one of many examples in the list of failures her department committed recently. It was unacceptable that her department almost proceeded to destroy a wand without having first convicted its user. This was against the very laws Amelia helped to establish and was supposed to enforce. If the Ministry of Magic, if her own department failed to follow the law, how could they expect the wizarding population to respect it?

But there wasn't much Amelia could do, except work as diligently and efficiently as she always did, and do everything she could to ensure that her department maintained the same criteria as before. No matter the political maneuvers of Fudge, his staff, the other heads of department and any employee of the Ministry, her job remained the same. It was to ensure the safety and security of the wizarding population, maintain the rule of law, arrest and prosecute criminals, and ensure a fair judicial process for anyone accused of any violation of the law.

Truth be told, Amelia hated politics. She knew that many of her colleagues in the Ministry reached their high position in no small part thanks to tactics that were morally questionable. Getting the credit for successes that were not theirs. Blaming others for their failures. Hiding problems instead of dealing with them. She was also aware of the existing corruption inside the Ministry. She struggled all her life against those practices, and she managed to get promotions through her hard work and efficiency as an employee. She disapproved of anyone who managed to get to their positions through bribes, calling of favors, or even intimidation or blackmail. Or by approving everything the Minister did. Amelia was conscious to be among the few employees who still dared to question Fudge's decisions and that it put her in a vulnerable position. She was careful to not show publicly any support to Dumbledore. She wouldn't serve the greater good by getting fired and being replaced by one of Fudge's minions. She worked too hard to improve the standards of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to let a sycophant ruin everything she built.

To some extent, Amelia understood why some people refused to believe Dumbledore. They were afraid to relive the hard times of the previous war. For most of them, Voldemort was a horrible memory from another era. And they were not aware of his recent activities, only known to very few people. But the proofs about Voldemort's return were too many to be ignored. Even if there could be doubts about his return, it was Amelia's duty as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to take very seriously the probability of his return and take action. It was also Fudge's responsibility too. But Fudge was a politician, and now he was persuaded that Dumbledore wanted to take his place as Minister, something without any basis considering the many times Albus Dumbledore was offered the position and refused it. To Amelia, it was irresponsible that Fudge did not even consider the possibility that Voldemort had returned, not when they had a body, a witness claiming his return, and Dumbledore who believed it.

Looking at her planning, she noticed her meeting in the late afternoon with her Canadian counterpart, Alexandra Tremblay, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the Ministry of Magic of Canada. The North American woman sent a message yesterday, asking for an urgent meeting with her. The message was very serious about the need to meet her quickly, so she accepted. Amelia wondered what it would be about. She hoped it wasn't about a Quebec wizard who violated the law in Ireland and two Ministries of Magic fighting between them to represent his rights. She hated it when she had to deal with those two Ministries. With them, it was impossible to advance a file without their representatives fighting over which Ministry had the right to do what. Amelia thanked the heavens that there were no significant separatist movements among the wizarding populations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales or Cornwall. It would make the management of prisons, justice and security forces way more difficult.

She went on to read various memos that were left on her desk late yesterday. One was from the Improper Use of Magic Office. It was the annual audit on the efficiency of the Trace to track unlawful use of magic among underage wizards. The audit was conducted by an independent body whose creation Amelia recommended over ten years ago. It was among the new practices she encouraged after the end of the war. Independent organizations had fewer problems reporting the issues of the Ministry's services and could think outside the box, unlike Ministry's employees who could be reluctant to question their own methods. Amelia had encouraged many of her colleagues in other departments to use similar processes, not with as much success as she would have liked.

Another memo concerned a proposed agreement to regularize joint investigations between her department and the others. Such an agreement had been in discussion for years now. Although all other departments, except the Department of Mysteries, had to answer to Amelia's department, there was resistance from them when it came to cede authorities over their spheres of intervention. For example, if a murder was committed and a wizard died alongside a magical being, like a house-elf, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures still resisted allowing Amelia's department to lead the whole case. It fought to keep complete control over the part of the investigation that concerned the magical creature. This resulted in a waste of resources and expertise, as Amelia's department was the only one with real experience to conduct investigations. If this new agreement came to pass, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would lead all investigations involving a crime, and other departments would be forced to share their own expertise in magical creatures, transportation, sports or catastrophes to help Amelia's investigators.

She then read a report prepared jointly by her services and the Department of International Magical Co-operation. They had sent a delegation in North America to study their systems of law enforcement and prevention of interference with Muggles. Great Britain and Ireland could draw many lessons from their procedures, since Canada and the United States had much larger and more urbanized wizarding communities than in Europe, making them better experts to avoid Muggles noticing magical activities in densely inhabited areas. The delegation highlighted several recommendations to improve systems for their ministry, but Amelia took additional ideas from what she saw in the report.

She then had to confirm the hiring of a new employee in the Wizengamot Administration Services, highly recommended by the Minister. Hiring of employees, pay increases and promotions in those services had to be approved by the Minister of Magic, the Chief Warlock and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Under Millicent Bagnold, a process had been established that the three of them would interview together new applicants. Over the years though, especially after Fudge's elections, Dumbledore had stopped attending the interviews, saying he trusted Amelia and Cornelius to choose the administrative employees. Then, Dumbledore was fired from his position on the Wizengamot. And here Fudge was recommending the nomination of a new employee, without conducting an interview. Amelia saw no trace that any interview had taken place. Maybe it was another one of Fudge's minions, maybe not, but she couldn't hire a new employee without a proper hiring process, especially when there was no indication that this person's resume and references were verified. She left a note on the document, indicating that an interview would be conducted by someone of her department before the hiring could be confirmed.

Then there were various requests for exceptional additional human and financial resources from many services. Their budgets and staff were decided on a yearly basis, but they could request additional resources throughout the year in urgent circumstances, which was distributed by their head of department. This was a tricky exercise of balancing. Amelia was forced to choose where resources would be the most useful. Some services and offices regularly came with the same request, indicating they were drowning under work. Sometimes, Amelia knew they needed additional resources, but they weren't part of the most vital services the Ministry gave, and she could rarely grant them what they asked. She noticed yet another request for extraordinary assistance from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Its head, Arthur Weasley, was requesting a third employee and an increase of ten per cent of its budget, documenting yet again how much extra time he and Perkins had to make last month. Amelia shook her head in exasperation. This office was indeed neglected, but she couldn't grant it what it asked. The emergency funds were needed in other critical areas. Biting glasses and regurgitating toilets were not high enough on her list of priorities, not when they had the most powerful dark wizard of the century free in the nature. She had to give priority to divisions like the Auror Office, the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol and information services that would be very useful, very soon. Fudge may not believe Voldemort was back, but Amelia could use her department's resources to prepare for the time when the fight would begin, and support covert activities to track this Dark Lord. Arthur Weasley and heads of other minor offices would have to wait for the end of the year to request yet another budget increase. But given this budget had to be approved by the Minister, she doubted Fudge would grant them any increase. In fact, Amelia even feared that the Minister might cut into the overall budget of her department. A Minister who believed there was no major threat for the wizarding community would certainly not be prone to increase Amelia's resources.

It was now seven and a half. In thirty minutes, she had to be sitting in a conference room at the seventh level, the Department of Magical Games and Sports playing host for this interdepartmental meeting. They moved those meetings from one department to another every week. She still had some time left to deal with some grievances from employees before that meeting, when knocks were heard at her door and the voice of her assistant on the other side requested to enter. She told him he could.

"Madam Bones," he said. "Sorry, but this is urgent. We just received this. It's from the Minister's Office."

Amelia seized the small memo he handed her and read it. If it came from Fudge's office, it had to be indeed urgent if her assistant came to give it to her the moment he received it. He sorted most of her messages and read them before she did.

To the attention of the members of the Wizengamot and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,

It has been decided, in view of the severity of the accusations and to ensure proper judgment, that the disciplinary hearing of Harry James Potter, charged with violation of Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, will be held on the twelfth of August, 1995, at eight o'clock, in Courtroom Ten, before the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot will be to decide of the guiltiness of the accused, under the supervision of interrogators Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Dolores Jane Umbridge and Amelia Susan Bones.

All Wizengamot's members are requested to attend the hearing, as required by their function.

Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic of Great Britain and Ireland

Amelia looked at the missive for some time, then stood up without hesitation. Looking quickly at her watch, she saw that she had twenty-five minutes before the hearing began.

"Contact the other heads of department. Explain to them that I will not be able to attend the interdepartmental meeting," she told his assistant, catching her briefcase and brandishing her wand so the files of the case rushed inside of it as she was heading to the door.

"Yes, Madam Bones," her assistant said as she left her office.

As she hurried along the corridors of her department and towards the lifts, Amelia wondered why Fudge took such a decision. This was a simple case of underage use of magic. The Wizengamot was not asked to deliberate or rule over such minor violations of law. It was assembled for major cases, such as murders. And the Wizengamot was certainly not called and informed of a new audience only thirty minutes in advance. Furthermore, Amelia viewed it as an invasion into her department's daily activities by the Minister. She was supposed to handle those minor cases of law violations, not the Minister or his staff. She would need to have a few words with Cornelius Fudge.

But as she climbed into the lift, using a key giving her priority over the other users and bringing a lift immediately to conduct her to the ninth level of the Ministry, she suspected immediately why Cornelius did such a move. This was Harry Potter's hearing. The Minister had been on a crusade to discredit him, Dumbledore and any of their allies ever since they began to declare that Voldemort had returned. She suspected that Fudge wanted to bring them further down. She shook her head in exasperation and even disgust. She hated that the Minister used their judicial system as a political tool. She would definitely need a word with him. She wouldn't allow Fudge to turn their courts of justice into public shows. There better be no journalists when she would arrive into Courtroom Ten.

After the lift opened, she went down the stairs to the tenth level and headed for the courtroom. Members of the Wizengamot were beginning to arrive. Some of them looked very tired. They had indeed been warned at the last minute just like Amelia was. Amelia quickly said hello to a few of them, but she headed directly into the Courtroom Ten, and there she went to the Minister and Dolores Umbridge right away. They were among the few who had already arrived, and they were discussing in low tones in the first row of benches. As she approached, Dolores looked up at her and immediately stood up, all smiling.

"Hi, Amelia," she said. "Good morning."

Amelia knew better than to trust the apparent sweet smile on this face. Dolores Jane Umbridge had begun her career as clerk inside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, just like Amelia. However, whatever these two women had in common stopped there. Umbridge had entered the Ministry years before Amelia, and she joined the Improper Use of Magic Office right after she left Hogwarts. She was a half-blood witch, her father being a wizard, a janitor working at the Ministry, and her mother a Muggle. She also had a brother who was a Squib, whom she never talked about. Her parents divorced when she was about fifteen-years-old, and as far as anyone could tell, Dolores never had any contact with her mother and brother ever since. As for her father, who continued to raise her, he retired from his job not long after his daughter arrived at the Ministry herself. Dolores never spoke about her father neither. There were suspicions that she herself pushed her father to retire early against a small pension. About ten years after joining the Ministry, she managed to be named head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, a few years before Voldemort's criminal activity began.

All of that, Amelia knew it because she had been among the officials of the Ministry to investigate Dolores Umbridge. When she joined the Ministry, she was first assigned to the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol as a minor clerk assistant. But as the threat of Lord Voldemort increased, she was asked to take on additional duties. Amelia proved to be quite good at ensuring the patrol was always provided with the best available information, tools and resources, and even went to coordinate their actions on the terrain, the head of the unit preferring to lead directly from the frontlines while Amelia led their operations from inside the Ministry. She quickly became his right hand, and he eventually brought her with him on missions where she proved talented at fighting. The times were dire and resources scarce. The Ministry could not allow itself to leave a capable spell caster within offices under the ground. When her superior died, victim like many others of Voldemort, Amelia replaced him at the head of the Patrol. According to her evaluations, she distinguished herself by obtaining the best results on the terrain while limiting losses for her unit. Her predecessor was courageous and wasn't afraid to dive into battle, but he also had the habit to be reckless, and his employees suffered as a result. Amelia chose to better prepare, coordinate and lead her operations, resulting in fewer losses for similar results. The Ministry wasn't winning the war thanks to her efforts, but its losses were reduced. Every damage inflicted upon the enemy by the men and women under her orders resulted in fewer losses for the Ministry than previously. And then, Voldemort was defeated.

In the immediate aftermath of the Dark Lord's defeat, the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol that Amelia was leading was tasked to re-establish peace and order in Great Britain and Ireland, which was no easy task. That was when Bartemius Crouch Senior, then Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, somehow promoted her at the head of the Investigation Department, a subdivision of the Auror Office. This was not really a promotion, as she retained the same level of authority, but rather a transfer. She was now tasked with heading the investigations into the Death Eaters and other former supporters of Voldemort currently fleeing or already under detention. During her time on the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, Amelia had quickly understood that it was useless to arrest a suspect if you were not sure he was guilty, or if you didn't have enough proof to condemn him. You could either send innocent people in prison or let criminals walk out free in those cases. She had trained the Patrol to actively and efficiently gather evidence every time they arrested or stopped someone, evidence that was then transmitted to the Investigation Department, the Wizengamot and other services under Barty's authority, to minimize the risks of arresting the wrong people and releasing criminals. She favored collaboration with the other services, something that caught the eye of Crouch back then. He somehow judged she was best placed to lead the efforts to investigate known and unknown criminals who followed Voldemort. That was when Amelia had led an investigation on Dolores Jane Umbridge.

During the whole war, Dolores had remained at the head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. This was a crucial service of the Ministry, though way less dangerous than others within the same department. Whenever magic was used inappropriately by a partisan of Voldemort, this Office transferred the case to the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, the Auror Office or the Witch Watchers. The risks for the employees of this service were relatively minor, and they were no more in danger than the common wizard on the streets, maybe even less as they spent most of their time inside their offices. Amelia would be surprised if Dolores herself ever set foot outside the Ministry's offices during the whole period. This time was particularly marked by an increase in the severity of the office towards underage wizards and witches, though this increased severity was muted by Barty who judged the Ministry had more important matters to focus on than a few boys and girls having fun turning plates into frogs during their summer holidays. Amelia remembered that Umbridge once sent Barty a long list of repeat offenders, students under the age of seventeen who regularly used magic outside of school. Among these offenders were James Fleamont Potter and Lily Jane Evans. Barty judged that as long as the magic was practiced inside their homes, and without the presence of Muggles who were unaware of the wizarding world, it wasn't worth punishing these kids.

But it wasn't her management of the Improper Use of Magic Office that led Amelia to investigate Umbridge. It was denunciations from various employees of speeches Dolores held in their presence, often in a drunken state. Not only some reported she recommended the pure and simple extermination of various magical beings, from merpeople to centaurs, even goblins and elves, but also her pure-blood rhetoric, even going as far as to discuss the incarceration of all Muggle-born people and the execution of all Squibs. It was already common knowledge at the time that Dolores was sensitive to pure-blood policies. She had opposed the improvement of Squibs' condition during the Squib Rights marches at the end of the 1960s, trying to influence the policies of Eugenia Jenkins' administration. Already at the time, she was increasing and using her influence inside the Ministry to influence politics that went beyond the responsibilities of her Office. As a result, Dolores was deemed to have been potentially in league with Voldemort and his supporters.

However, no proof was ever found that Dolores conspired with the enemy. Amelia supervised the investigation, although she mostly let her employees conduct it, her attention being mostly focused on the most serious cases of murder and torture. The investigation concluded that although Dolores Umbridge most likely shared many ideas of pure-blood supremacists, many of which followed and supported Voldemort, she most likely remained loyal to the Ministry for the whole duration of the war. Still, the conclusion of the investigation led Amelia to view her with high suspicion afterwards.

Under the tenure of Millicent Bagnold, Amelia and Dolores both remained in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, serving under Crouch. But while Dolores remained Head at the Improper Use of Magic Office, Amelia moved from one office to the other. Once the main chase of Death Eaters was concluded, Crouch sent her to lead the Witch Watchers units, responsible to apprehend fugitive criminals. She then moved to lead the Hit Wizards units of the Auror Office, before finally returning to the Investigation Department. Everywhere she went, Amelia strived to implement the necessary reforms to make law enforcement and justice services of the Ministry more efficient while being more respectful of the fundamental rights of the population. She could count on the support of Minister Bagnold, reining in Barty who tried to maintain the special measures implemented during Voldemort's war that gave him more power. In the meantime, under the same Minister's orders, Dolores reduced the severity of her own Office towards people who broke the laws restricting magic use.

Even back then, Amelia knew enough of Dolores to know that she didn't take this direction under Bagnold because she believed in the relaxation of laws. Previously, Dolores had kept insisting on hardening the discipline on law breakers. But after Voldemort was defeated and Bagnold famously declared to the International Confederation of Wizards, when the organization called the celebrations following Voldemort's downfall a night of large-scale breaches of the International Wizarding Statute of Secrecy, that wizards had an inalienable right to party, Dolores changed her policy entirely, aligning it on Bagnold's. This didn't fit with what Amelia knew of Dolores, and she heard more than enough while moving across the services of the Ministry that Dolores still shared many ideas precious to pure-blood supremacists.

When Bagnold retired and Fudge took her place, Amelia found herself named as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement while Barty was sent to another department. She hadn't asked for this promotion, and she knew that part of the reasons why Fudge replaced Barty with her were political. Crouch had been a contender for the position of Minister, and Fudge wanted to remove him from such an important department. Amelia was aware of the reputation she built over the years as an efficient, hard-working official staying out of politics, who wasn't looking for promotion or advancement but accepted them when it happened. Fudge named her at this position because he knew she wasn't looking to replace him and that she would never stab him in the back, and also because he wanted the department to be run efficiently. He even allowed Amelia to run the department independently from him, with little oversight, as she saw fit. And one of her first actions was to review the performance of each and every head of office.

Dolores Umbridge was among the individuals in Amelia's line of sight. She wasn't impressed by the woman's service records. Everything showed she didn't hesitate to dismiss coworkers she considered a threat to her position and to take the credit for others' accomplishments. She was the exact kind of employee Amelia didn't want to see in her department, even less heading a service as important as the Improper Use of Magic Office. However, Amelia had no grounds to fire or even demote her. If she excluded the woman's trend to turn against her own colleagues, there was no proof of negligence or failure serious enough to remove her from her position. What Amelia could do, however, was to move her into another position, considered to be at the same level as her actual one. She considered sending her to manage the Department of Intoxicating Substances or even to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. She also began discussing with Fudge and her counterparts to move Umbridge into another department, like the Department of Magical Transportation or even the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Umbridge may have questionable work ethics, but she could still manage some services efficiently, and her experience could compensate, to a certain extent, her behaviour. But Amelia didn't want her anywhere in a position where she could directly influence criminal codes and law enforcement. Before she could move Umbridge though, Cornelius named her Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. In other words, she became one of Fudge's closest advisors.

Ever since that day, Amelia and Dolores maintained a respectful professional relationship. Amelia still didn't believe this woman was in the right position, but this was the decision of an elected Minister of Magic, and she couldn't oppose him naming the people of his own office, unless she deemed them a threat for the wizarding community of the Minister himself. For now, nothing suggested it was the case. Still, she remained careful with this woman. Amelia had no doubt that Dolores knew she tried to oust her from her department, and that meant Dolores might consider her as an enemy. With the current situation at the Ministry, she had to be careful to not put this woman on her back. Amelia had to make sure Fudge knew she was more useful to him heading her department than out of office.

"Dolores," Amelia nodded in her direction, then turning immediately to speak to Fudge as she sat down next to them. She always addressed the Minister directly when Dolores was present and did everything to deal with Fudge directly rather than with Dolores as an intermediary. "Minister, may I know why you changed the hour and the place of this hearing, and why you summoned the Wizengamot to judge this case?"

"Don't worry, Amelia," Cornelius said. "This will be over very soon." He smiled in a satisfactory way as he spoke.

"You changed the place and time of a disciplinary hearing I was supposed to conduct, without warning me," she insisted. She didn't use a reproachful tone, but the one she used made it clear that Fudge should have informed her of this development earlier.

"I am afraid this wasn't our intent to cause you problems with your schedule, Amelia," Umbridge intervened. "The Minister and I decided this very morning that it would be better if this case went to the Wizengamot. We simply chose the best time available to the assembly, and informed everybody as soon as the decision was taken."

Amelia highly doubted this was the case. The members of the Wizengamot, who still trickled into the courtroom, had obviously been informed just right now like she was. All this looked very unorganized.

"Fudge, are you sure this is the best strategy to summon the Wizengamot to judge a case of underage magic?" Amelia asked.

Fudge turned to face her at this. "Yes, it is. This is Harry Potter we're talking about. It is time for the entire community to see him for who he really is."

So that was it. This was a political decision. Fudge wanted to condemn the boy in front of the most respected members of the wizarding community. He was turning a disciplinary hearing into a show. Amelia despised these kinds of tactics. And she was now sure that it was no coincidence if they were all warned at the last minute. She opened her briefcase and pretended to be looking for something.

"It seems I have forgotten some files." She stood up as she declared her lie. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

She went out of the courtroom, where Wizengamot members kept arriving, some looking barely awakened. This was really a farce. What was Cornelius thinking about? Putting some space between her and the courtroom, she opened again her briefcase and pointed her wand at it. A long sheet of parchment came out, split into four, then four weathers came out of the briefcase, each writing the same message on the four pieces. Then it folded into memos, and with wand strokes, she wrote the names of the recipient on each memo. Miranda Savage. Kingsley Shacklebolt. Nymphadora Tonks. Lily Evans. With another wave of wand, the four memos went flying at full speed. They were made of the same paper she used for communications concerning secret cases like the search of Barty Crouch Junior. The moment the recipients would read it, it would consume. With some luck, at least one of them would receive it in time and make sure that Harry Potter showed up at his disciplinary hearing in time. The only thing that could make this hearing even more uselessly complicated was if the accused did not arrive on time because the hour was changed at the last minute and he wasn't informed in time. She went back to the courtroom, took back her place next to Cornelius and prepared her files for the hearing. Even though the involvement of the Wizengamot was useless, they were there, and now she had to make sure the hearing would go smoothly, following the laws and regulations of the Ministry.

The file of the accused, Harry Potter, included a copy of his birth certificate, his admission certificate to Hogwarts, and his criminal record. The latter was clean. The boy had never committed any violation of law. This was his first infraction. The birth and admission certificates proved he was only fifteen-years-old when the infraction happened, hence the reason this hearing took place. There was also a report from the Improper Use of Magic Office, detailing the spells the accused's Trace detected that night and where it happened. One Wand-Lighting Charm, followed by three Patronus Charms, within a timeframe of less than two minutes.

Amelia had to admit that she was intrigued. A Patronus Charm? This was a very high feat of magic. Some members of the Wizengamot may not even be able to perform one appropriately. Why did this boy cast a Patronus Charm in an area inhabited by Muggles in the middle of summer? And did he really manage to produce one? Bagman told her, during an interdepartmental meeting when he detailed the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, that Harry Potter distracted the dragon he faced by creating a Patronus. Amelia had to admit that it was impressive for a boy who was only fourteen-years-old at the time. She herself only learned to create a Patronus after she left Hogwarts, when she followed additional lessons while beginning to work as a clerk.

The benches of the courtroom were now full on one side. The entire Wizengamot was assembled. They were approaching eight o'clock. Only one minute was left. If Harry Potter didn't show up in time…

It was then that a door on the side of the courtroom opened. For a moment, Amelia herself was uncertain about who walked in, as benches prevented her from seeing who did, but then the voice of Percy Weasley, one of Fudge's Junior Assistant, who acted as scribe today, resonated.

"You made it just in time, accused."

"Sorry. I was just told the time had been changed." The voice was grave, that of an adolescent boy. It seemed like Harry Potter had arrived.

"This is not the Wizengamot's fault," Weasley replied. "An owl was sent to you this morning. Take your seat."

Amelia watched as Harry Potter finally came into view, walking to the chair with chains at the center of the courtroom. This chair was installed a very long time ago. It was meant for dangerous criminals, with magical links that ensured they could not escape. Amelia saw the boy walking slowly to the chair. She supposed he might be afraid. But he didn't have anything to fear. The chains were not magical for nothing. They only activated when the person sitting in the chair wished to escape. Otherwise, the chains would remain unmoving. And indeed, when the adolescent sat down, they barely made a sound, and he remained free of his movements.

Amelia stared carefully at the boy. The last time she saw him was two years ago, during Peter Pettigrew's trial. He must have been thirteen back then. He had obviously grown up in the meantime. He wasn't far from being a man. And it was this boy, who looked at her, who was dating her niece.

Amelia stared back at him, trying to gauge him. She didn't see Susan very much recently. And when she learned that her boyfriend was going to face a disciplinary she would preside, Amelia sent a message to Aurelius, telling him, his wife and their daughter that they could not have any contact of any sort with Amelia until this hearing was over. She could not take the risk that they could influence her ruling, or even give the impression that they could influence it. She had to remain impartial in this case. Whoever Harry Potter was, whatever relationship he had with her goddaughter, Amelia would not let this influence her judgment. Only the facts mattered today.

"Very well," Fudge loudly said. It was obvious he was the one presiding this hearing. "Now that the accused is present, finally, let us begin."

Amelia noted in her mind that if Fudge had better informed the accused, he might not have arrived at the last minute. But it didn't matter. The hearing was beginning, and she had to focus on getting as many facts as possible to ensure the Wizengamot could make a ruling with the most complete and accurate information possible.

"Are you ready?" Fudge asked the scribe.

"Yes, sir," Weasley confirmed.

"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August, 1995, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number twenty-four, Abandoned Tower, London," Cornelius recited. "Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic. Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley…"

"Witness for the defence," a quiet voice emerged from the other side of the courtroom. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Unlike Fudge and the rest of the Wizengamot, Amelia was not surprised to see Dumbledore here. He warned her that he would be present for his student's hearing. And since Amelia didn't allow a change of hour and place to prevent her from doing her job, she would have been surprised for it to be enough to destabilize a man like Albus Dumbledore. His presence elicited various reactions from the assembly, going from annoyance to excitement. The old wizard still had friends inside the Wizengamot, despite Fudge's best efforts.

"Ah," Cornelius emitted. The Minister was clearly taken aback. "Dumbledore. Yes. You… got our… message that the time and… place of the hearing had been changed, then?"

Amelia rolled her eyes internally. There she had her proof. All of this was Cornelius' attempt to judge Harry Potter without the presence of Dumbledore. Well, in this objective, he failed spectacularly. And Dumbledore, if he was troubled by those tactics, didn't show any sign of it.

"I must have missed it," the former Chief Warlock declared kindly. "However, due to a lucky mistake, I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done."

"Yes… Well…" Cornelius stammered. "I suppose we will need another chair… I… Weasley, could you…"

"Not to worry. Not to worry," Dumbledore said, and he produced a comfortable armchair with his wand, next to the accused.

Amelia noticed the calm attitude of Dumbledore compared to the destabilized state of Cornelius Fudge. Of course, she knew that under his calm attitude, Dumbledore could hide many things. But what it told her the most was that Fudge was indeed afraid of Dumbledore. Very afraid. He finally looked through his notes and tried to reassert himself.

"Well, the charges," he said, still stammering. He took a piece of parchment, a copy of one Amelia had on her side, inhaled deeply, and began to speak on a very official tone. "The charges against the accused are as follows. That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, being aware of the laws concerning the use of magic by underage wizards and witches, used the Wand-Lighting Charm, and Patronus Charms, in a highly populated Muggle area, on the second of August at thirteen minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlock's Statute of Secrecy."

Fudge now glared at the accused. The Minister had recovered his assurance.

"You are Harry James Potter, residing at Apartment 24, Abandoned Tower, London?"

"Yes," Harry Potter answered.

"Like every young wizard who grew up in a wizarding family and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you were surely informed quite early that it is illegal to use magic outside of your school, weren't you?"

"Yes, but…"

"And yet, you used not one, not two, but four charms, including the conjuration of a Patronus, on the night of the second of August?" Fudge cut him.

"Yes, but…"

"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside the school while you are under the age of seventeen?"

"Yes, but…"

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?" Fudge once again interrupted the boy.

Amelia now saw where this was heading. Fudge didn't want to let the boy talk. He clearly wanted to say something, to explain himself, but Fudge only wanted to drive his point. The wording of the accusation he presented at the beginning was made to emphasize that he was guilty. This was not how disciplinary hearings were conducted, certainly not for minor cases of underage magic, and certainly not under Amelia's direction. People accused had the right to explain themselves and to present their defence. Currently, Cornelius didn't allow for any of this. She decided it was time to interfere as well.

"Yes, but…" the accused began, but Amelia chose to interrupt him before Cornelius could.

"You produced a fully-fledged Patronus?" she asked him.

The boy looked taken aback by her question. He needed some time to answer. "Yes, because…"

"A corporeal Patronus?" she further asked, to be certain the Wizengamot would get the facts straight.

"A… what?" he asked, frowning.

"Your Patronus had a clearly defined form? It was more than vapor or smoke?" she explained.

"Yes, it's a stag. It's always a stag."

"Always? You have been producing a Patronus for long?"

"Yes, maybe a year now?"

"Impressive," she commented. "A true Patronus at this age is very impressive, indeed."

The rumors behind told her that some in the Wizengamot approved. At least now, they knew exactly what kind of magic was used there. And it seemed Cornelius understood it as well, for he jumped back into the fray, and he didn't sound impressed.

"This is not a question of how impressive the magic was. In fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boy did it in an area inhabited by millions of Muggles!"

Over that, Amelia couldn't argue. Unless Harry Potter could provide a good explanation as to why he used a Patronus Charm that night at this place, the detailed information they just got played against him.

"I did it because of the Dementors!" the boy shouted at this moment.

The declaration was welcomed by a stunning silence. Amelia had been taking notes of useful information since the hearing started, but she stopped dead in her track, and stared at the boy sitting below her, her brain fully set on what he just declared.

"Dementors. What do you mean?" she asked the boy, frowning.

"I mean there were two Dementors down that alleyway and they attacked us!" the boy thundered.

"Ah! Yes," Fudge said, almost laughing. "Yes, I thought we would be hearing something like this."

Unlike her Minister, Amelia was not on the verge of laughing, quite the opposite. She found nothing amusing in all this.

"Dementors? In London?" she asked. "I don't understand…"

She truly didn't. The prison of Azkaban was under the responsibility of her department. The Dementors were confined to the island. They could only leave the location with a special permission from either her own office or that of the Minister. In the past, they escorted prisoners between Azkaban and the Ministry when trials took place. But the practice was abandoned, banned after the Death Eaters trials. Ever since, prisoners were transferred from the Ministry to the prison by Aurors, who delivered them to Dementors once they set foot on the island, and not before. And if a prisoner had to leave the island, whatever the reason, Aurors went directly to their cells and escorted them out of the island. After June, Amelia had increased the security and surveillance in and around the prison. Patrols of the Ministry's employees regularly went on the island and inspected the prison and its occupants, and additional staff patrolled the surroundings of the island, on the sea and in the air, to ensure that not only prisoners but also Dementors did not escape. How did Dementors happen to be in London? She didn't understand how they got through her safety measures.

"Don't you, Amelia?" Fudge said, smirking. "Let me explain. He's been thinking it through and decided Dementors would make a very nice little cover story. Very nice, indeed." He turned to the accused. "Muggles can't see Dementors, can they, boy? Highly convenient, highly convenient. So it is just your word and no witnesses…"

"I'm not lying," Harry Potter protested. " Everything went dark and cold. There were two of them. They trapped us in a corner of the alley. If I had not…"

"Enough! Enough!" Fudge stopped him in his tracks.

Amelia wished the boy continued though. She wanted to know what had happened, and the only way to know whether it was true or not was to listen to the accused. Fudge was not making her job or that of the Wizengamot easier by interrupting him all the time. But he presided over that hearing, and there wasn't anything Amelia could do about it.

"I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story. But since you can produce no witness of the adventure…"

At this moment, for the first time since the hearing began, Dumbledore interfered. He cleared his throat, and the entire Wizengamot felt silent along with Fudge. "Pardon me, Minister. We do, in fact, have a witness to the presence of Dementors in that alley. A person who not only saw the Dementors, but who was also a victim of their attack."

Dumbledore's declaration plunged the entire courtroom into a death silence. You could have heard a fly. Cornelius lost his composure and seemed uncertain about what to do. Amelia, on her side, frowned deeper. But now that she thought about it, Harry Potter stated that the Dementors cornered them. This meant he was with at least one other person. A wave of relief went through her. If there was a witness, then they had a chance to truly know what happened, instead of listening to Fudge claiming everything the accused said was a lie. But Fudge was obviously not over.

"We haven't got time to listen to more unbelievable stories, I'm afraid, Dumbledore," he declared. "I want this dealt with quickly…"

Indeed, Cornelius preferred when problems were solved quickly. That was among the reasons he named Amelia at her position, because of her efficiency. But Amelia never confused speed with efficiency. And she never sacrificed conducting an investigation appropriately to save time.

"I may be wrong," Dumbledore pointed out calmly, "but I am sure that under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case? Isn't that the policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones?" he asked her directly.

Here they came. Amelia looked quickly at Fudge and sent him a look that meant she had no choice there. She turned back to Dumbledore immediately and answered. "True. Perfectly true."

"Oh, very well, very well," Fudge complained loudly. "Where is this person?"

"I brought her with me," Dumbledore answered. "She's just outside the door. I will bring her in." And he walked towards the door.

"No. Weasley, you…" Fudge began to order.

"No. I insist to bring her myself," the headmaster of Hogwarts insisted. Fudge ceded without a word.

Amelia arranged her notes in front of her and prepared to take some more. Whatever this witness was about to tell, she would need to take as many notes of what this person would say. She wouldn't rely on the scribe's notes that would only be available after the hearing was over. The door closed, and Amelia reviewed the report on the accused's Trace, to remind herself of all the details they knew of the events of that night. She then looked up to see the witness arrive. And her heart literally stopped.

Accompanying Dumbledore, there was a young girl who Amelia knew way too much. Her niece.

Susan looked with a timid expression at her as she sat down in the armchair Dumbledore previously created, while the headmaster remained standing tall. But Amelia's eyes were glued on her niece. What was Susan doing here? What did she have to do with all this?

"Full name?" Cornelius asked, not noticing Amelia's reaction or that the witness was constantly, nervously looking at her. Of course, Cornelius didn't recognize in Susan the niece of his head of department. He never met her. Amelia kept her family far away from her job and the politics surrounding it, separating completely her family life from her professional career.

Susan didn't answer immediately to Fudge. So he repeated his question impatiently. "Your name?"

Susan looked away from her aunt towards the Minister, and she moved her lips, but no sound came out of it. She was obviously nervous, shaking. His impatience getting the better of him, Fudge lashed at Dumbledore. "Is your witness mute? Very practical to say there's a witness when she can't utter a single…"

"Susan Rosa Bones."

Her niece finally uttered her name, and very loudly to cover Fudge's voice. Immediately, the courtroom was silent, and even stunned. Cornelius turned to look at Amelia, then back to Susan.

"Eh… Do you have any family tie with Amelia Bones here?"

"She's my aunt," Susan answered after a moment.

This caused mumbling all across the Wizengamot. Fudge stared at Amelia in utter confusion. She wished she could explain to him what it meant, but Amelia was herself just as surprised as he was. After a moment, and before Fudge could regain consciousness, Dolores stood up.

"Dear members of the Wizengamot," she declared, very sweetly, "it seems that a potential conflict of interest has appeared in this hearing. I'm afraid that under the Wizengamot Code of Procedures, we must request a recess to examine the situation. The hearing is suspended for the time being. We appreciate your patience."

Amelia closed her eyes in exasperation, and she knew she wasn't the only one. This very decision would result in a loss of time for both the Ministry and the Wizengamot. She could already hear some of its members complaining in low tones that they were called at the last minute and now told to wait while the interrogators discussed between themselves. But Amelia had no choice but to stand up and follow Fudge, Umbridge and Weasley into a separate courtroom to discuss the matter. As soon as they had left Courtroom Ten, they fell upon Lily Evans, waiting for her son, who Fudge, Umbridge and Weasley ignored. She looked at Amelia as she walked by, but Amelia couldn't tell her anything, and she had to limit herself to nod in Lily's direction before entering an empty courtroom. The moment the door closed behind the four of them, Fudge roared at her.

"Amelia, you have ten seconds to explain what your niece is doing here, and why she's testifying for this boy?"

"Cornelius," she answered as calmly as she could, "I assure you, I'm just as surprised as you are that she is here today."

"You claim that you have no idea why she's here today?"

"Yes. Because I didn't know she was coming. But since she was called as a witness, I suppose she is here to tell us what she saw on the night of August 2nd, when Harry Potter is accused of using magic."

"And you have no idea how she ended up being a witness in this case?" Fudge further asked, still angry.

"I don't know, Cornelius. I haven't seen my niece and her parents in quite a while. In fact, when Harry Potter was accused and I learned that I was going to preside his hearing, I sent them a message to not contact me in any way until the hearing was over. I wasn't even aware that she was present when the accident took place."

Fudge continued to look suspiciously at her, and Amelia didn't miss the delighted expression on Dolores' face behind him.

"Look, Cornelius," Amelia continued, calming her voice further, trying to remain cool-headed, although it was in turmoil ever since she saw her niece walk into that courtroom. "This situation does not please me anymore than it pleases you. I don't have children, but this girl is my goddaughter, and she's the closest thing to a child I will ever have. You think I want her to testify in a criminal trial, in front of the whole Wizengamot? You have children, Cornelius. Would you like to see them in a similar situation?"

Cornelius' facial features relaxed. She seldom used that kind of arguments, wanting to keep other employees' families away from their jobs as much as hers, but the circumstances were exceptional. Cornelius Fudge had many flaws, but he loved his wife and children. He seemed to understand her now.

"Fine," the Minister said, much less loudly, sounding more annoyed than furious now. "So, what do we do? We still have a conflict of interest on our hands."

"May I suggest a solution?" Amelia asked.

"Go on. I'm listening."

Amelia cleared her throat. "I cannot interrogate my niece. Even if I try my best, I may not be able to remain impartial while questioning her. So, I suggest that I recuse myself from the interrogation of this witness. You and Dolores will question her alone. I will be there to listen to what she has to say, since her testimony could be pertinent for the entire case, but I will not intervene in her interrogation. This way, the procedure will not be tainted by a conflict of interest. And we will avoid delaying the hearing. What do you say?"

Fudge seemed to think about it for a minute. Then he nodded. She had reminded him at the end that if Amelia's presence was considered a conflict of interest for the whole disciplinary hearing, then they would have to cancel and postpone it to a later date, something which would not please either Cornelius or the Wizengamot, given the circumstances in which they were brought to this case. By only identifying the testimony as problematic, they could limit the damage by removing Amelia from the interrogators during Susan's testimony.

"Fine. I guess this should work for the Wizengamot. Then let's return to this damn courtroom and be done with him. This whole case is already taking more time than it should."

"Excuse me, my dear Cornelius," Dolores interfered with her honeyed voice as the Minister was standing up, preventing Amelia from speaking before they would leave. "But there is something I would like to understand." She turned to the other person in the empty room. "My dear Amelia, you said that you warned your family, the parents of your niece, to not contact you until Harry Potter's hearing was over. May I know why?"

This was the thing Amelia wanted to tell them before they returned to the hearing. Now that Susan was here, the matter would certainly come forward during her interrogation. It was preferable to inform Cornelius and Dolores before. "Because they live in the same apartment tower than many other wizarding families, including the accused and his mother. Because my niece is in the same year at Hogwarts than he is, and they have been friends for some time. And because my niece has been dating the accused for a few months now."

Fudge was again under shock.

"What did you say?" he say lowly, but on an undeniably angry tone. "Your niece… is the girlfriend of the accused?"

"Yes," Amelia simply confirmed.

"And it is now that you're telling us!" he thundered.

"Yes, because there was no need to tell you before my niece came to testify."

"No need to tell us?" Dolores said, a little laugh on her lips. "Pardon me, Amelia, but since you were supposed, only a few hours ago, to preside over the trial of this boy alone, don't you believe this is a conflict of interest?"

"No, I don't think so," Amelia stated.

"You don't think so?" Dolores made a squealy sound. "I must admit that I find it hard to believe."

"On this, Dolores, we agree," a new calm voice said from behind. They all turned to see Albus Dumbledore walk in. "I find it hard to believe."

"What are you doing here?" Fudge shouted at the headmaster. "You are not part of this conversation, Dumbledore. You have no right to be present."

"According to the Wizengamot Code of Procedures, yes, I can. If I consider that one of the interrogators may be biased towards the accused that I represent." Amelia acknowledged that he was right. But Dumbledore didn't turn to Dolores or Cornelius, who obviously despised the boy, but towards Amelia herself. "Madam Bones, are you telling me that you hold no ill feeling towards the accused that might affect your judgment or the way you treat him? After all, what's telling me that you don't disapprove of this relationship, given what's been recently said about Harry in the newspapers? Is there any guarantee that you will not try to get the accused convicted to send him away from your goddaughter?"

Amelia frowned at the insinuation, but given Dumbledore's slightly amused expression in his eyes as he stared at her, she quickly suspected he had something behind his head, something that might be escaping Fudge and Dolores as they looked at Amelia with interest now, waiting for her answer. She gave the only answer that was appropriate.

"I'll be honest with you, Dumbledore, I have no opinion about their relationship, because I have no opinion on Harry Potter. I haven't seen him since he started dating my niece. In fact, the last time I saw the boy was two years ago, during the trial of Peter Pettigrew, and we didn't exchange any word. I'm much closer to his mother, because she is my employee and as such, I interact with her on a regular basis. But if I was to recuse myself because of my professional links with Lily Evans Potter, well…" She turned to Cornelius and Dolores. "No one in the Ministry would ever be able to conduct any judicial procedure as soon as one of our employees or someone close to him was accused of any law violation."

Fudge looked skeptical. Dolores looked even more so. Dumbledore came back to the charge.

"With all due respect, Madam Bones, this girl is your goddaughter. And given Harry's reputation lately, and the fact she didn't tell you about their relationship before June, months after they began seeing each other, plus the fact that she ended in the bottom of the Black Lake because of him during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament… I must admit that I cannot stop myself from having a few doubts. What do you say, Minister?"

Amelia now began to understand what game Dumbledore was playing. Fudge was now looking at Amelia, then Dumbledore, then Amelia again. Dumbledore did not only create doubt that she would be favorable to the boy, which Amelia would never allow in a judicial procedure, no matter his relationship with her niece. He planted the seeds in Cornelius' head that she might actually have a grudge against the boy. As such, she was barely surprised by the next question, asked very calmly by the Minister.

"Amelia, you swear to me that you can be impartial towards the accused in this case?"

"Yes, Minister. I can. And if you want, I can swear it under oath in front of the Wizengamot."

She perceived a small smile on Cornelius' face. "Well, in this case…" He turned defiantly to Dumbledore. "I trust the Head of my Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Dumbledore shrugged, as if he just lost, but Amelia noticed the twinkling in his eyes. "If you say so. Then I guess we can all go back to the courtroom? The Wizengamot must be impatient to resume," he pointed out.

"Wait a minute," Dolores then intervened. Amelia realized that she had something in the back of her mind as her sweet smile, though forced, remained there. "Forgive me, but I'm afraid this might still be an issue. As you know, whenever a trial takes place, the people presiding it, the interrogators in this case, must all sign a document revealing any potential conflict of interest they might have in this case, and the office of the Minister must sign one as well, revealing all potential conflict of interests he might have knowledge on. Weasley, can you give me these documents?"

Percy Weasley swiftly searched through the documents he was carrying. He took three pieces of parchment he handed to the Undersecretary.

"Dolores, I don't think…" Fudge began.

"Pardon, dear Cornelius, but I see that Amelia did not disclose the relationship between her niece and the accused in her document. In fact, when she signed, she declared that she had no known potential conflict of interest in this case," Dolores insisted.

"True, because I had no conflict of interest, like I just explained," Amelia confirmed.

"But you had to disclose all potential conflicts of interest. And I'm afraid there was one. Even if you didn't know your niece was going to testify, you knew the accused was her boyfriend, and this is a potential conflict. I'm afraid you failed at your duties, Amelia." Dolores turned to Fudge. "Imagine that the Wizengamot found about it."

Fudge looked worried all of a sudden. He didn't want to have the Wizengamot on his back.

"Maybe it would be best for Amelia to recuse herself entirely from this trial, with all the respect I have," Dolores suggested sweetly.

Amelia was beginning to be fed up. They were really losing time now.

"May I see those documents?" she asked.

Dolores gave them to her, all smiling, but the smile showed she thought she had won. Amelia almost snatched the documents away from her hands. She looked through them. Cornelius, Dolores, Amelia, and the office of the Minister all signed one, declaring that, to their best knowledge, there was no conflict of interest between any of the interrogators in this trial. Amelia had signed right when she arrived in the courtroom, before Harry Potter arrived. It was part of the procedures.

In the meantime, Fudge discussed with Umbridge, saying this was a pure administrative procedure, but Dolores was already in the process of changing his mind, indicating it could be dangerous if the Wizengamot found about it. While they discussed, Amelia noticed the signature at the bottom of the document where the office of the Minister assured that, to its best knowledge, no interrogator had any conflict of interest.

Percy Ignatius Weasley.

This wasn't unusual. Fudge often delegated the signature of those kind of documents to his subordinates. As long as it was a member of his personal staff who signed, a member of his own office, it was deemed acceptable, especially when Fudge himself was presiding a trial and he could not sign both for him as an individual and for his office. That gave an idea to Amelia.

"Mr Weasley. You signed for the Minister's office?" she asked.

"I did," he answered proudly. Fudge and Umbridge stopped talking.

"So, you confirmed that, to the knowledge of the office, which you're part of, you had no knowledge of anything that might put me, Mrs Umbridge and the Minister in a position of conflict of interest?"

"Exactly."

"So, you don't consider the relationship between my niece and the accused as a potential conflict of interest?"

Percy Weasley seemed to hesitate at this moment. He looked at the Minister, then Dolores, then Dumbledore, then Amelia again. "I wasn't aware of that relationship."

Amelia frowned at this moment. "It is strange. Because it is you who informed me about this relationship, several months ago."

Percy Weasley's face turned white immediately. Amelia noticed how both Cornelius and Dolores were taken aback by the information. Indeed, as part of the Triwizard Tournament, Amelia had asked that reports be made on the safety of each task. Although Bagman's department was mostly responsible for the organization and supervision of the Tournament, her department had to make sure no student was put in danger by the tasks. Given what happened during the choosing of the champions, it had become even more important to ensure their safety. After the second task, Percy Weasley had prepared himself the report, having been present during the task. He had brought her the report in person. Amelia had noticed that this Weasley often wanted to bring reports to his superiors himself, and he never missed an opportunity to give additional details or to discuss with them. Amelia found that most details he provided were useless to be given. And this day, when he brought her his report, among the useless things he told her, he mentioned the fact that he approved the fact her niece was dating Harry Potter. Amelia had not reacted at the news. She was surprised, of course, but hiding her emotions was part of her job. And truth be told, afterwards, she told herself that it didn't concern her. Susan was fifteen at the time, and she was at the age when it was normal to start relationships. Though she was surprised it was with Harry Potter of all the boys she could meet at Hogwarts.

Percy Weasley seemed lost for a moment, but then tried to regain his composure. "Madam Bones… I'm truly sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."

Amelia frowned at this. "You don't remember?"

"Well… I'm pretty sure… that I never knew anything about this… relationship. I mean… You must have confused me with another of your employees… I don't see any other explanation to your… Well, I mean… I'm sure you're not lying, Madam Bones… Not willingly… But I think you confused me with someone else who must have told you that…"

If he tried to convince Amelia that she made a mistake, he was failing spectacularly. Amelia saw more than enough people lie in her life to recognize the signs. Percy Weasley was lying at her face, and in the presence of the Minister.

Fudge stepped in at this moment. "Percy, you can confirm this to us… You had no knowledge of this relationship? You didn't know that the accused was dating the niece of Madam Bones?"

"No, Minister. I swear," Percy said. "If I had any knowledge of that, I would have told you immediately."

Now Amelia understood. Percy Weasley had not been in the Ministry for long, he had never worked for her, but she knew enough about him from discussions with Barty and seeing him quite regularly, since he had been Barty's assistant for a few months. The boy was hard-working, serious, very respectful of the authorities and the law, but he was also ambitious, and prone to praise and compliment his superiors in front of them. He was the very kind of employees that could be dangerous without even realizing it. An employee without the means to use his judgment or to question his superiors' decisions.

"Fudge," Dumbledore chose this moment to say, "I am afraid that your junior assistant is not telling you the truth."

Fudge turned again towards Dumbledore. "And how can you say that? Do you have any proof?" the Minister asked, smirking.

Dumbledore remained calm, plunged a hand into the folds of his robes and produced something that looked like a little box. "I sometimes carry one, to remind me of good memories."

He placed the box in the air. It levitated. And right when he touched it with his wand, Amelia noticed this box had a binding. The small box grew to turn into a large grimoire. But when Dumbledore opened it, they realized that it was a photo album.

"These photos were taken during the Triwizard Tournament. And if I remember correctly…" he trailed as he turned the pages. "Ah. Here." He stopped at a page, showing photos of people, mostly adolescents, wearing garments in Hogwarts' Great Hall. "These were taken during the Yule Ball, in December. You were there, Percy, weren't you?"

"I was," Weasley confirmed.

"And is it you on this photo?" Dumbledore asked, pointing one that grew for everyone to see a group of sitting around a small oval table. Amelia recognized among its occupants Dumbledore, but also the headmasters of the two other schools of the Tournament, Olympe Maxime and Igor Karkaroff. And indeed, Percy Weasley appeared very quickly on the photo, looking very merry.

"Yes, this is me," the young Weasley confirmed once more, on a dark mood.

"And the young man sitting on your left, isn't that the accused? Harry Potter?" Dumbledore further asked.

"Yes, that's him," Fudge's assistant reluctantly acknowledged.

"You seem to have a good time discussing with him," Dumbledore commented. Amelia realized he was playing with the young man, who was increasingly fuming. "And discussing with the young girl next to him. Do you recognize her?"

Amelia didn't have any problem recognizing her. Susan was sitting there, wearing an old robe from her mother, Rosa. No doubt, it was her. And the Minister now saw his own junior assistant discussing happily during a ball with the boy Fudge absolutely wanted to condemn. He was obviously not happy about this.

"Mr Minister…" Weasley stammered, "I…" Fudge was clearly waiting for explanations. "This happened a very long time. And yes, the accused did come to this ball with Madam Bones' niece. But this was a ball for teenagers. Most of them came with partners who were only friends. There was absolutely nothing suggesting that Harry Potter was actually… dating this girl."

"Perhaps not that night, Percy," Dumbledore recognized, "but you were one of the judges during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. The one where each champion had to dive into the Black Lake and recover the person dearest to their hearts. Perhaps you can remind us of who this person was for Harry Potter."

Percy Weasley was now clearly panicking. His mouth remained shut. Amelia knew the answer. She had been quite displeased when she learned that it was her own niece who was kept for hours at hundreds of metres deep into a freezing lake. If it wasn't Dumbledore who supervised the task, she would never have allowed something like that to happen.

Dumbledore turned to Fudge, as if Percy Weasley's reluctance to talk was proof enough. "Cornelius, you may choose, of course, to inform the Wizengamot about all this, declare that your office and one of the interrogators both failed to report a conflict of interest, and postpone this hearing. I am sure that the Wizengamot will be pleased to see you admitting to your mistakes."

The Minister was boiling now. Amelia rolled her eyes internally. As always, Dumbledore proved more intelligent than Fudge. He should definitely have become Minister of Magic when he was offered the position.

"The Ministry made no mistake," he declared. "There is no conflict of interest here. I'm not… I'm not going to let a teenage love affair delay a trial where the entire Wizengamot was convened. We will go back to the courtroom and resume the trial where it stopped. Madam Bones will not interrogate her niece and this will be more than enough for the Wizengamot."

"Well, if you say so, Cornelius… I hope this will be the case," Dumbledore commented, still very calm.

"Now, go! You're not even supposed to be here."

Dumbledore left without another word, but Amelia was almost certain that Dumbledore had gotten exactly what he wanted.

"Now, let's go back. And…" He turned to Amelia. "Let's not talk about the relationship between your niece and the accused. It will be better for everybody if the Wizengamot doesn't learn about it."

"They may learn about it anyway, Cornelius," Amelia warned him. "You're going to interrogate my niece. She's going to tell you what happened and what she saw. It's more than likely that she will tell about it, or that the Wizengamot deduces…"

"We will make sure it doesn't happen," Fudge snapped. "I don't want any problem with that. And Weasley, we're going to have a very long conversation once this hearing is over."

"Yes, Minister," the young man said, looking horribly afraid.

"In the meantime, I suggest you fulfill your duty as scribe perfectly, or else you will have even more problems."

Weasley nodded feverishly. The four people still in this abandoned courtroom returned together to Courtroom Ten, where they took back their place. The Wizengamot returned to silence and to its place, many of its members having left their seats in their absence, holding conversations in smaller groups. Some were even surprisingly close not only to the accused, looking like they were discussing with him, but also with Amelia's niece. She wondered how much was said in their absence. Members of the Wizengamot were free to ask the questions they wanted to people accused of crimes, though they rarely used that right in trials. Dumbledore was back, standing next to the accused and the witness who went back to their own places.

Once seated, Fudge whispered to Amelia. "Listen, no one will mention the… relationship between your niece and Harry Potter. It will be better if the matter is avoided."

"It may be unavoidable, Cornelius," Amelia warned him again. "My niece may mention it during her testimony."

"I'll make sure she doesn't."

He said that on a tone that was both threatening and reassuring. He then leaned on Dolores' side. The whispers that Amelia didn't understand looked more lively. Dolores finally nodded in the end. Fudge cleared his throat and addressed the entire courtroom loudly.

"The hearing may resume. Dear members of the Wizengamot, we thank you for your patience. After deliberations, it was decided that, given the witness' family ties with one of the interrogators, Amelia Susan Bones will not interrogate the witness. Her interrogation will be conducted entirely by Cornelius Oswald Fudge and Dolores Jane Umbridge."

He then looked at her niece. Amelia was now powerless. All she could do was watch and listen. But she would listen very attentively. She wanted to know how her niece ended up a witness of those events, and why she didn't talk to Amelia about all this.

"So, Miss Bones," Fudge began, addressing Amelia's niece, not on an unkind tone. "Harry James Potter, the accused, is charged with using a Wand-Lighting Charm and three Patronus Charms on the night of August 2nd, in a Muggle-inhabited area of London. Were you there to witness it?"

"Yes," Susan answered.

"So, you confirm that you saw the accused use a Wand-Lighting Charm, and the Patronus Charm three times?" the Minister went on. Amelia understood. He wanted the Wizengamot to hear a confirmation that Harry Potter broke the law.

Susan didn't reply right away. Amelia noticed her niece looking her way. And when she answered, she surprised everyone. "No."

Amelia frowned. Some members of the Wizengamot looked confused, others intrigued.

It was then that Dolores cleared her throat for the first time. "Forgive me, my little girl, but I think we misunderstood you. You said that you were a witness to these violations of the law, but now you claim that the accused didn't cast those spells?"

Amelia saw how nervous Susan looked. "That's not what I said," she replied very quickly. "I… I saw him use a Wand-Lighting Charm, yes, and I was there when he used the Patronus Charm, but I didn't see him create a Patronus. I couldn't see him when that happened."

This created further questions on the people's faces in the assembly.

"Okay, so…" Fudge continued, "you only witnessed a part of the events of that night? What part were you a witness of?"

"Of… everything," Susan replied. "I was there the whole time."

Fudge sighed. "You just said that you didn't see him use a Patronus Charm…"

"Because there was a Dementor leaning over me and I couldn't see anything else!"

Susan had snapped. She looked down the moment she said it. Amelia felt her hand squeezing the feather it was holding. All around her, the Wizengamot murmured between them. Fudge was thrown off balance by her outburst. Amelia leaned towards her Minister, choosing to ignore partially the rule she set at the beginning.

"Cornelius, I think it would be better to let her tell everything that happened. Everything she saw," she whispered in a way only Cornelius could hear. He cast a glance at Amelia, the nodded and tried to regain his composure.

"Okay. Let's start from the beginning again," he said. "Tell us what happened this evening. Tell us what you saw."

And so Susan went on to tell them. It was obviously a difficult testimony for her. She recounted how she and Harry were coming back from a park nearby the tower where both their families lived at the end of the day. How as obscurity fell, suddenly, the temperature turned cold, despite the fact they were in the middle of a heatwave. How all lights disappeared, from the lamps in nearby houses to the stars. How all nearby sounds stopped. How she and Harry ran, and he produced light with his wand at this moment. How they came face to face with a Dementor by turning a corner. How Susan saw another one coming their way from the other side of the alley. How Harry tried to produce a Patronus, in vain first. How she fell on the ground, barely able to breathe, and got a Dementor over her, removing his hood and approaching her. How her worst memories in life resurfaced. How the Dementor was pushed aside by a silvery shade, with the shape of a horse or something like that. And finally, how she and Harry went back to their apartments after that, once the Dementors were far away.

The last part of the testimony was especially difficult for Susan to tell. Amelia could see it. She gripped her feather until the very end of her testimony, when she broke it. She was furious. Furious that something like that happened to her niece, but also furious at Susan herself. Why didn't she tell Amelia that she was assaulted by Dementors? This was the first thing she and her parents should have done. Why did Aurelius and Rosa tell her nothing?

For a moment, Amelia doubted. What if Susan was lying? Could she be inventing this, only to justify what her boyfriend had done? But seeing her niece struggling to tell the latest parts of her testimony, Amelia didn't believe it a single second. And she knew her niece. Susan was not the kind of person to lie. In fact, it was easy to tell when she lied. She looked away and spoke very low. She looked ashamed. She may be looking away and speaking weakly now, to the point that Fudge had to ask her to speak louder once, but there was no shame in her voice this time. Instead, Amelia heard… terror in her speech. And the way Susan was shaking at some moments of her testimony… No, she wasn't lying. Her niece wouldn't lie in front of the Wizengamot. She knew the consequences of such a thing.

When Susan was done with her testimony, Fudge needed some time before he finally reacted. "Oh. Very well. You may leave," he said clumsily.

Amelia's niece stood up and walked away to the benches behind the accused, where she sat down. Usually, witnesses were invited to leave the courtroom once their testimony was over, but there was no clear rule prohibiting them from staying, unless the Wizengamot decided so. And no one told her anything. Amelia did not take away her eyes from her niece. In fact, their gazes met after Susan sat down again. She nodded very slightly. It meant she was saying that everything she just said was true. Anger rose yet again within Amelia.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that," Umbridge then declared, "but as interesting that story may seem, it is quite unlikely to be true."

Amelia stared at Dolores right away. "Excuse me?" she asked, outraged, her anger showing up.

"Okay," Cornelius intervened, and Amelia remembered right away where she was. She was in a trial, and she had to remain objective, impartial and rational. She might be angry right now for what happened to Susan, but as hard as it may be, she had to put those feelings aside for now. She had to focus on the matter at hand.

"I must… admit…" Cornelius continued, "that two Dementors wandering in a Muggle city and just happening to come across not one but two wizards…" He made a nervous laugh, while sending an apologizing look to Amelia. "The odds on that must be very, very long. Even Bagman wouldn't have bet on it."

Fudge didn't believe her niece. That's what he meant by sending an apologizing gaze. He thought this was an invention. Amelia had to thread carefully on this. Susan's testimony was over. She could intervene again, but she couldn't show too obviously that she believed without any reserve her niece's testimony. Luckily enough, she didn't need to protest. Dumbledore did.

"I don't think any of us believe the Dementors were there by coincidence," he declared.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Fudge asked, hostile once more.

"It means that I think they were ordered there."

Fudge snorted. "I think we would have a record of it if someone had ordered a pair of Dementors to go strolling through London."

"Not if the Dementors are taking orders from someone other than the Ministry of Magic these days. I have already given you my views on this matter, Cornelius."

Indeed, Dumbledore had. Amelia realized they were on a slippery slope right now. They couldn't go there. If the hearing went on the question of Voldemort's return, this would quickly degenerate, considering Fudge's views on the matter. Amelia knew this was serious. Of course, these Dementors were unlikely to have happened upon Harry Potter and her niece by mere luck. Someone gave the order, for sure. But was it really Lord Voldemort? Did he already manage to reach the Dementors and gain some control over them? Maybe, and it frightened Amelia. But there was another possibility, which frightened her even more.

"Yes, you have," Fudge countered angrily, "and I have no reason to believe that your views are anything other than bilge, Dumbledore. The Dementors remain in place in Azkaban and are doing everything we ask them to," he concluded on a definitive tone.

"Then, we must ask ourselves why somebody within the Ministry ordered a pair of Dementors into that alleyway on the second of August."

Dumbledore had spoken quietly as always, but very firmly. And the entire assembly was dead silent as a result, as they took in what Dumbledore declared.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," Dolores then said in her very sharp voice. "It may be silly of me, but it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on this boy."

She then laughed, but very few followed her example.

"If it is true that the Dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two Dementors attacked Harry and Susan a week ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks," Dumbledore explained, still calm and controlled. "Of course, these particular Dementors may have been outside Ministry control…"

"There are no Dementors outside Ministry control!" Fudge shouted.

"Then undoubtedly," Dumbledore acknowledged, "the Ministry will be making a full inquiry into why two Dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization."

"It is not for you to decide what the Ministry of Magic does or does not do, Dumbledore!" Fudge snapped once again.

Amelia could feel that some in the Wizengamot were beginning to find Cornelius' behaviour inappropriate, much like she did. And Cornelius could say what he wanted, Amelia was going to lead an investigation on this. These were serious allegations, and they had to find out the truth about all this. And indeed, Dumbledore looked at her while he spoke next.

"Of course it isn't. I was merely expressing my confidence that this matter will not go uninvestigated."

Indeed, it wouldn't. But Fudge seemed to be done with all that.

"I would remind everybody," he said, "that the behaviour of these Dementors, if indeed they were not figments of this boy's imagination, is not the subject of this hearing! We are here to examine Harry Potter's offences under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery!"

"Of course, we are," Dumbledore confirmed, always calm. "But the presence of Dementors in that alley is highly relevant. Clause Seven of the Decree states that magic may be used in the presence of Muggles, and also in Muggle-inhabited areas, in exceptional circumstances. And as those exceptional circumstances include situations which threaten the life of the wizard himself, or any witch, wizard or Muggle present at the time…"

"We are familiar with clause Seven, thank you very much," Fudge cut the headmaster.

"Of course you are. Then we are in agreement that Harry's use of the Patronus Charm in these circumstances falls precisely into the category of exceptional circumstances the clause describes?"

"If there were Dementors, which I doubt."

"Cornelius, you have heard it from an eyewitness. This witness happens to be the very niece and goddaughter of your Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. You doubt her word? If this is the case, after everything we've heard, then I guess you could question her again. I suppose she would not object."

"I… that…" Fudge seemed to be losing his ways entirely. But then Dolores grabbed his attention and whispered into his ear. She whispered for some time, and Fudge seemed to be thinking. But he finally nodded by the negative, and Amelia heard him whisper back. "Out of the question." He then turned back to Dumbledore, trying to calm himself down. "It is out of the question, Dumbledore. I'm not going to listen to a witness again and again. I want this over with today!"

"But naturally, you would not care how many times you heard from a witness, if the alternative was a serious miscarriage of justice."

"Serious miscarriage of justice, my hat!" Fudge looked outraged now. "Have you ever bothered to tot up the number of cock-and-bull stories this boy has come out with, Dumbledore, to cover his flagrant violations of the laws?"

"Which violations? Unless I'm mistaken, Cornelius, apart from the accusation we are currently dealing with, the criminal record of Harry Potter is clean. He has never been condemned, not even charged with any crime. His mother is a well-respected Auror who happens to have the order of Merlin First Class. An Auror you hired yourself, Cornelius."

"I… We are not here to talk about his mother, but his violation of the law!"

"Presumed violation, Cornelius. A violation he committed to save his life and that of another person nearby."

"We would first need to confirm that there were Dementors there. But there isn't any proof of that, because there were no Dementors there!"

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't know what else we can do, Cornelius. The accused has acknowledged that he used the charms he's accused of using."

"Yes, he did," Cornelius jumped. "He admitted that he's guilty."

"He also acknowledged that he used it only as legitimate defence. And you have a witness who confirmed everything he said. You have all the proofs you need, Cornelius, but still, you refuse to believe it. Perhaps because you don't want to believe that Dementors attacked those children under your watch as Minister of Magic."

"Who would believe such a thing, when it is clearly impossible that Dementors could have been there?"

"Well, anyone who listened to the accused and the witness," Dumbledore said, looking at the Wizengamot. Amelia could feel that right now, most of its members were on Dumbledore's side.

"Maybe you haven't listened to them enough, Cornelius. Perhaps you have assumed from the very beginning that they would be lying?"

"And why wouldn't I, after the stories they produced? Who would believe that Dementors were wandering about in London? Who would believe what the accused is saying…"

"I believe we are getting outside the scope of this hearing," Amelia interrupted, not wanting to hear more rambling from any side. She looked at Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, we understand very clearly what the accused is saying to justify his actions. But… do you have any other proof to produce that would help the Wizengamot in its decision?"

She looked at Dumbledore, who quietly smiled. "No, Madam Bones. We have no other proof to present. I am afraid that the only people who were present when this assault happened and who can say with certainty what happened are the accused and the witness. I have no knowledge of anyone else who would have seen what happened that night. So unless the Ministry can present a witness or any proof that the accused or the witness have been lying, I'm afraid we must rely on their word."

"It's not to you to say who the Wizengamot must rely on or not," Fudge declared. "In fact, I can only encourage the Wizengamot to doubt the word of two adolescents."

"You may doubt it yourself, Cornelius, if you want," Dumbledore said, "but it is not to you to decide whether they are trustworthy or not. It is to the Wizengamot to judge whether the son of an Auror and the niece of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement are telling the truth or not. This is why you summoned them, didn't you? This is why you summoned them at the last minute, very early this morning? To hold a criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of underage magic!"

Seeing how Cornelius reddened, how many in the Wizengamot suddenly became far more hostile to Fudge, and how many of them also seemed uncomfortable, Amelia knew that Dumbledore had won. The former Chief Warlock still held great influence over them, and he had won them with his arguments.

"I don't believe there is anything to add," Dumbledore continued, right as Dolores whispered again into Fudge's ear. "Harry Potter has been charged with unlawful use of magic. He told you why he used this magic, and a witness came to confirm his words. All we can do now is to await your verdict."

But Fudge seemed to barely give any attention to Dumbledore now. Instead, he was listening to Dolores whispering in his ear again. Finally, he leaned back, and looked at Amelia with an annoyed expression. "I apologize, Amelia," he whispered, tired.

Fudge turned to Dumbledore. "You asked us whether we wanted to interrogate the witness again, Dumbledore? Well, I may not have other questions for her, but Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, has some. We call the witness back."

Amelia frowned. This was odd. And she didn't like it. That Cornelius called her niece back to testify, and for Dolores to question her… She could feel something dire was coming. Susan slowly came to sit in the armchair Dumbledore left empty. And then, Dolores came down of the bench and approached Susan on the floor.

"Miss Bones, hi," Dolores said in her sweet voice.

"Hi," Susan answered, sounding uncertain.

"So, we heard your testimony before. We heard what you say happened that night. But I am curious. How did you end up in this alley in the first place?"

Susan frowned. "I told you. Harry and I were going home. Our families live in the same tower…"

"I know. I know. But… Let me be more clear. You said you were coming back from a park nearby. So, what were you and Harry Potter doing together at this park, and so late?"

Amelia frowned. Was she really going down that road? Cornelius' apology and his refusal to question her niece again, leaving Dolores to do it, did not make her feel better. And so Susan answered.

"He's my boyfriend."

The reactions were instantaneous. Many in the Wizengamot started whispering to each other. Amelia rolled her eyes. People went silent when learning of a Dementors' attack, but they couldn't stop themselves from talking when they learned that her niece had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who happened to be the accused, though. The boy didn't look very comfortable right now, no more than her niece.

"Oh!" Dolores said, as if she was surprised. "So… you're dating? You're in love? How sweet. But… That makes me wonder. Miss Bones, you know that he is accused of a serious breach of the law."

"I know he is accused of illegal use of magic," Susan replied shortly. Amelia seemed to note that Susan's voice was more firm than last time.

"He is. And do you know what he risks if he is declared guilty?"

"For illegal use of magic in an area inhabited by Muggles, under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, and Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlock's Statute of Secrecy, the sentence can vary from a simple warning up to imprisonment in Azkaban and the prohibition to practice magic, depending on the gravity of the violation and any extenuating circumstances."

Amelia heard Dolores squealed, her back turned on her. This meant she was probably smiling widely once again. "I see you know the law. Very good. So… you don't want him to be condemned, I guess?"

"Of course not! He used magic only because we were in danger. If he had not produced a Patronus, we would both be dead."

"Yes, I hear you. But… I cannot stop myself from thinking… It is quite a chance in some way that you were there." Amelia's niece frowned at that. "I mean, your boyfriend is accused of illegal use of magic, and you just happened to have been there, and to be able to give an explanation that would make him innocent. And no one else was present. I cannot help but wonder…" Dolores stopped for a moment. "Would you lie to prevent him from being declared guilty?"

The question hung high in the air for a moment. All the Wizengamot looked down at Susan. Amelia, on her side, had a hard time forcing herself to remain silent and to let the procedure go on. She couldn't intervene in her niece's testimony. She offered and agreed herself on that.

"Never," Susan finally answered.

"Truly? You would let him be expelled from Hogwarts? You would let the Ministry confiscate his wand without saying a word? You would even take the risk of seeing him go to Azkaban?"

"I would never lie in a trial," Susan replied, suddenly looking very sure of herself. "Anyway, what does Harry risk? Usually, the Ministry only gives a warning for the first offence of illegal use of magic of an underage wizard. And this is Harry's first infraction. By committing perjury in front of the Wizengamot, I could be sentenced up to ten years in Azkaban. Do you really think I would risk that to avoid him… a warning?"

In the Wizengamot, some murmured, and Amelia got the distinct feeling that most, though not all, agreed with her niece's words. But Dolores was not finished.

"He risks more than a mere warning, Miss Bones. He used magic in a Muggle-inhabited area. This is far worse than performing a little charm at home."

"Last year," Susan replied, "a girl of sixteen was prosecuted because she used magic during a football game, in a stadium full of thousands of Muggles. And for that, all she got was that her use of magic was restricted and highly monitored by the Ministry until the age of twenty-one. Are you saying that Harry would have worse for using magic in an abandoned alley, without anyone to see it? And to defend himself?"

Amelia remembered this case. She had dealt with it last summer. In fact, it was her who talked about it to Susan. She never disclosed any name related to the case. She only told her niece what happened in general. It seemed Susan remembered it very well.

"Well, who knows? This isn't your aunt who's deciding of the sentence this time. Unless you assume the Wizengamot will follow her decision without thinking." Amelia didn't like Umbridge's insinuation. "The truth is, we have no proof that you're telling the truth. We have no proof that you were in this alley that day. How can we be sure that your entire testimony is not simply an attempt by a desperate young girl to save the boy she's in love with?"

Now Amelia really saw what this was about. Dolores and Fudge saw they had lost the trial, so they recalled her niece to testify only to discredit her. But again, despite Amelia's wish to intervene, she couldn't.

"Well, you know I was there," Susan said. "Because of my Trace."

Everybody went dead silent. "Your Trace?" Dolores asked.

"Yes, my Trace. This is a charm every underage wizard receives at birth. It allows the Ministry to detect any magic performed around a wizard or a witch before his or her majority."

"We know what the Trace is, young girl," Fudge interrupted then, choosing to embark in the interrogation. "There's no need to tell us."

"Well, I was right next to Harry when he used those spells. My Trace must have registered them, as much as Harry's did."

She was right. Amelia realized that her niece was right. If she was there when the Dementors attacked, when her boyfriend pushed them back, her Trace should have detected the Patronus Charms. The only problem was… She searched her notes, and the only report she could find on a Trace was that of Harry Potter. There was no report of another Trace detecting the same spells that night.

"Well, young girl," Fudge declared, "this is where we have a problem. Because your Trace detected nothing that night."

Amelia was stunned, just like Susan was. "But… But… That's impossible!" her niece shouted.

"And yet, it is. According to your Trace, no magic was performed around you at the time the accused threw the Wand-Lighting and Patronus Charms. This means that you were not around him when this happened."

"No, I was. I was only a few feet away from him," Susan protested.

"Not according to your Trace. In fact, according to your Trace, Miss Bones, you have been lying to this court since the very beginning," Cornelius Fudge said on a triumphant tone, not granting a single gaze to Amelia before he accused her niece of perjury.

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I again apologize for ending the chapter there. You will get the conclusion of the trial in the next chapter.

Amelia Bones is going to become a recurring POV as well. She will be the eyes through which we will get to see events unfolding within the Ministry of Magic.

Please review.

Next chapter: Lily