Author's note- Two chapters in one post.

Coins in a Fountain

Alastor Moody felt old. He had retired from the department of law enforcement. Now he hoped that working with the students at Hogwarts would bring a spark back into his life. It was a good idea. It even worked most of the time. He loved seeing the young witches and wizards grow. He'd happily spend the rest of his days doing exactly that. He couldn't help what else he saw. He saw the horrible divisions that plagued the rest of magical society creeping through the school. He saw the intimidation and the threats. He saw the students form into insular groups. Some of that was the typical bullying that came with adolescence. Some, but that ignored most of what he saw. Most of it felt much darker. He saw the groups evolve into gangs. He saw the gangs grow. He saw fear in the student's eyes that he didn't remember from the days when he was a student. That fear tore into his heart. Moody spoke up.

Alastor Moody collected reports from the other staff members. Filius Flintwick agreed with him and was wholeheartedly on his side. So were Professors Sprout, Sinistra, Vector, and Madam Pomfrey. Minerva was loyal to a fault. Albus Dumbledore refused to call a toad a toad. Instead of consequences, Albus offered warnings and fourth chances.

It had been a long day for Alastor Moody. Moody reset the security wards around his rooms. There was no telling who had once lived in these rooms at Hogwarts. Alastor emptied his pockets onto the top of his dresser. He also slipped a Knut into the side of his change purse. My gods the goblins were smart.

Alastor Moody had worked in the field as an Auror and then as an investigator. He had done that on and off for years. That was when he had two legs. Decades ago, he used to send a Patronis to his handler at the end of every day. That was his way of reporting where he was and that all was well. Whoever developed the micro-portkeys and thought to put them into a change-purse was a genius. He owed that person a pint of ale, if not a pint of blood.

The Aurors called the change-purse their insurance plan. A Knut in the morning and a Knut at night told the goblins that all was well with the account. A Sickle meant that the depositor was going to be out of touch for a day. Two Sickles meant two days. Depositing a Galleon at any time was an alarm.

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Some goblins had a strikingly different opinion about wizards. Greeneye enjoyed his job at Gringotts. As a goblin, he saw all kinds of magical creatures, though they drew the line at a depositor storing their dragon eggs in one of their vaults. Greeneye was a young goblin and had just turned 50 years of age. He had formed strong opinions about wizards, and he held strong views about goblins as well. The goblins he knew were all hard working. Wizards and witches were episodic by comparison. The wand wavers would develop an interest and then spend the next decade or two hounding an idea like a frantic Kneazle after a wounded rat. Just as suddenly, the humans would lose interest and move on to study something else. Their preoccupations were odd.

It was Greeneye's job to watch the micro deposits. This was his second job out of school. He had worked in the mines for a while before he'd been accepted at Gringotts. His activities in this job had changed from year to year. At first, each micro account had deposited their coins into an individual can. It had been his duty to watch and record when the small deposits were made as well as the amounts. It took time, but Greeneye and his mates had developed a set of runes and charms to record the relevant information onto a logbook. After a few years of testing, they had brought the development to their supervisor. The micro-account attendants were rewarded with a bonus. They also gave Greeneye more of the micro-accounts to manage. Reliability was crucial.

They had a duplicate set of charms monitoring each account. No more than 8 accounts were allowed to rely on any recording set in case a quill ran dry. They had installed a second chronometer and a parallel sets of alarms only a few months ago.

Greeneye didn't know why the information was important. He simply reported when a depositor missed his morning or evening deposit. That was his job. He knew that his supervisor took his reports very seriously. They thanked him each time he reported a missed deposit or if someone deposited a Galleon.

From what the young goblin could tell, it never paid to miss a promised payment to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

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A Show of Magic

It wasn't every day that you had two imposing Aurors standing behind you. That was a nightmare for some, but it was an opportunity for Ted Tonks. The three wizards came out of the floo one after another. Headmaster Dumbledore's office looked unchanged. The three wizards, the Solicitor and the two Aurors, deliberately arrived several minutes before their scheduled meeting. They were in luck. The wizards they needed to see were already at work.

"Ah, Solicitor Tonks. I wasn't expecting you for a while yet. You didn't mention the Aurors in your owl," Dumbledore said.

Both Aurors had their wands out. The larger of the two Aurors answered for the three of them. "Honorable wizards, please keep your hands on the table, palms down."

The Aurors were already in position at each end of the table. The three judges of the Triwizard Tournament stiffened, but their hands remained where the Aurors could see them. It took them several seconds before their hands were face down against the top of the wooden conference table.

Ted felt a surge of relief. He had hoped that the two imposing Aurors were a sufficient show of magic that the three wizards would comply quietly. Now it was his turn.

"Wizards Ludovic Bagman, Bartemius Crouch Senior, and Albus Percival Dumbledore, you are hereby charged separately and together with kidnapping, contract fraud, abuse of a minor, and the aggravated magical assault of one Harry James Potter. You are also charged with conspiracy to commit the same. By order of the court, your magic will be bound pending appeal."

The second Auror interrupted. "Please sit down, Director. We can do this easily here, or we can do it in handcuffs in the ministry basement. The choice is yours."

The three wizards seemed too confounded to speak, though Director Crouch sputtered a bit as he sat in his chair.

"If you would all remain seated, please." The larger Auror stood guard while the smaller Auror went from wizard to wizard. One by one, the Auror performed the spell and bound the magic of each of the three judges. Their magic remained strong enough to summon a quill from across the table. They would probably splinch themselves if they tried to apparate across the room.

"Why is my magic being bound?" Bagman asked.

Ted walked along behind the Auror and handed a parchment to each wizard. "Here is a copy of the charges. You're being sued by the Crown for binding the magic of Lord Potter without his consent.

"To answer Mister Bagman's question, if Lord Potter loses his magic, then his lost magic is replaced by yours."

"You're free to move your hands." The Auror said, and the two officers stepped back from the table.

Director Crouch was the first to protest. "You can't do this! I'll have you for this!" The former D.M.L.E. shouted as if volume alone was enough to repair his poor legal position.

The larger Auror spoke up again. "Director Crouch, anything you say can be taken as evidence." The large Auror waved his wand over Crouch and then took half a step back as if he'd been pushed. He scanned the other two judges who had their magic bound. After a nod between the two Aurors, the smaller Auror scanned the judges as well.

Tonks answered the Directo Crouch's question as the Aurors worked. "This court order says we can. You kidnapped Lord Potter's magic and held it for ransom. These Aurors can take you directly to holding cells in the ministry. Trials take time, and I'm trying to reach a solution before things get that far."

"But he has to compete," Bagman replied. Of the three judges, he looked the most nervous. His forehead was already shiny with sweat.

"Does he really?" There was more Ted wanted to say, but the smaller Auror stepped up beside him.

"We have to take them to the Ministry. Nothing that Crouch says can be used as evidence."

Tonks was surprised, but both Aurors seemed to agree on what had to happen. Evidently their plans had changed.

It was the larger Auror who took charge. "We have a new schedule. We're going to move to the front gate and then we'll use a portkey from there."

Tonks watched as the smaller Auror collected the judges' wands and then make a floo call. Something had happened, though he wasn't sure what it was. This wasn't his meeting any longer. Ted Tonks followed along as the Aurors and judges walked through the castle. One minute he felt that he was in control and the next moment he was as much a prisoner of events as the judges of the Triwizard Tournament.

There was so much more he had planned to do.

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Author's Notes- Please leave a comment. What would it mean to live 300 years?
What did you think of Tonks surprising the judges, and of the Aurors then surprising Tonks? What will happen now that the schemes of the Triwizard Tournament are disrupted?