Probably not completely accurate with the trials etc so apologies for that. I'm happy the bonding between Sirius and Harry last chapter was appreciated as I thought we needed to see a little more of that.
WARNING: this chapter contains bashing of Dumbledore, Snape and Umbridge and possibly Molly so if you don't like that, don't read. It will also be a very political chapter so again, if you don't like politics, maybe my story isn't be the right one for you.
Chapter 8
It was one week before returning to Hogwarts and Harry was back in the ministry. Ron and Hermione were with him, Sirius and Remus meeting them in the Wizengamot. Over the month, Fudge had been tossed out of office and placed in Azkaban for corruption and bribery and Amelia Bones had taken his place as Minister. As the Wizengamot filed in first, everyone was chatting as the trial hadn't started yet. As they approached the courtroom doors he noticed a few other students there including Neville, Lee, Fred and George.
They greeted each other quietly, nervously hanging around until they were led in and were seated near the stand so they could be called on as witnesses. Harry looked up and caught Sirius's eye who was in his official Wizengamot robes and his godfather smiled slightly at him, helping him relax. Hermione gripped his hand tightly as the first of the accused was called in, Umbridge.
Harry felt nothing as Umbridge was sat down, her screeching washing over his head until she spotted him. That caused her to fall silent, even if only for a second. He knew she would start to scream at him and satisfaction curled in him at that, with Sirius here she had no idea what she was in for.
"YOU!" she screamed and Harry winced slightly at the volume. And he had thought she couldn't get louder. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME! YOU DESERVED THE DEMENTIRS TO SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL LAST SUMMER! YOU –"
Harry's eyes widened as murmurs sprinted around the Wizengamot. Hermione and Ron stared at him, Hermione whispering in shock "Umbridge sent the dementors after you and your cousin. That alone can get her a sentence in Azkaban."
Then, in sync, the three of them looked to where Sirius was sitting to see his reaction. They weren't disappointed. While there was no dramatic outward reaction apart from a stark paleness in his face, his grey eyes were storming and his fist was clenching and unclenching. Catching Harry's eye, his expression promised revenge.
"Dolores Umbridge! You will be silent immediately!"
Amelia's voice boomed out from the stand and thankfully Umbridge fell silent, anger still visible on her face.
"You have been charged with the abuse of minors by forcing them to use blood quills in detention and now, by that admission I am also charging you with sending the dementors are Lord Potter and his cousin last summer."
Whispers simmered in the Wizengamot, though Harry couldn't tell if it was to do with the charges, his new title or both.
Umbridge, at the accusations immediately got her back up, crying out for Fudge, apparently forgetting he was no longer in power. "You can't do this to me! I am theSenior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic –"
"You are not and haven't been since Cornelius Fudge was fired and even if you were it doesn't mean you are above the law, something you seem to have forgotten. Lord Potter," she then turned to Harry, "If you could come to the stand?"
Hermione squeezed his hand and he got a grin from Ron, boosting his confidence as he headed to the stand.
"Lord Potter, you said she used a blood quill on you in detention. Could you explain this further?"
"Umbridge made it clear she didn't like me from the start, refusing to believe me when I said Voldemort was back. I got detention for saying that, and by the end of the first term I had multiple detentions with her a week for anything, even for blinking too long. From the very first detention, when I arrived she would give me some parchment and a quill but no ink. I was instructed to write with it anyway and saw red ink appearing while the back of my hand really hurt and when checking it, I saw words being carved into it and realised the red ink was my blood. When she noticed that I had realised this, she just told me we would be doing this until the message 'sank in'."
"Lies, I tell you! He is a liar!" Umbridge screamed, but Amelia ignored her, instead saying "Could you show us the scars, as that many detentions would've left a scar."
Harry nodded, letting a nearby Auror shine a light on the back of his hand, accentuating the white scars on the back on his hand, reading I must not tell lies.
By the uproar in the Wizengamot and Umbridge's silence, Harry knew it was over for her at this point, whatever was proved about the abuse of care for the students. Thankfully, he was allowed to sit back down, with Lee, Fred and George going up to the stand next as they had all had plenty of detentions from her. It seemed like she had only used the blood quill on him, but the detentions they had served had been no kinder than his.
Even Hermione was smiling gleefully when Umbridge was taken out to be sent to Azkaban, her screams fading from the courtroom. Moving swiftly on, Snape was brought in.
"You are charged with multiple accounts of emotional abuse against the students in Hogwarts." Amelia's voice was cold, disgust in her face as she looked at him. "Could you first explain how you were hired as a death eater?"
Whispers started up at that as Snape answered, a sharp edge to his voice. "Dumbledore vouched for me –"
"And he is now awaiting trial for aiding and abetting child abuse."
A look of shock flittered across his face at the statement, the first emotion he had displayed since being brought in.
Amelia gave him no time to think, pushing on with her line of questioning. "These students sitting there have given memories of your class, where we can see how you are cruel to them and don't teach them, preferring to wait for them to mess up before mocking them, especially targeting Lord Potter and Neville Longbottom. You also target Lady Granger for being muggleborn which shows you have not left your death eater roots behind, still agreeing with core concepts and your general attitude shows you shouldn't be around children. And since we are on the topic of still holding death eater values, you can still be prosecuted for that as Dumbledore no longer holds power over the Wizengamot and shall be trialled for your…activities later."
Snape spluttered, red blotches staining his cheeks. "I didn't want to work with those brats! I just wanted to make my potions in piece, I never wanted to work at the school. Dumbledore placed me there so I would be able to serve him as a spy when Voldemort came back –"
"So you not only knew Voldemort would come back and failed to inform the ministry on this, and also as a death eater, what made you change sides? Considering you still have the same opinions did you ever actually change sides?"
"I thought this was about the students, not my past." Snape's voice was stiff, cold. However his eyes betrayed him, darting around the room and showing how uncomfortable he was with his situation.
"Your past has everything to do with this, Mr Snape. You should not have been working in a school if you are unfit for society –"
"And yet I see Black right there," he sneered back, scowling at the animagus.
Anger flared in Harry and he stood up, snapping "Sirius isn't unfit for society! He was wrongly imprisoned on Dumbledore's orders, in the cell you should've been in from the end of the war!"
Hermione tugged him back down swiftly, worry on her face as she mouthed an apology to Amelia, praying she wouldn't hold the outburst against them. Sirius clearly seemed worried about it too rather than bothered by Snape's words but thankfully Amelia carried on like he had never spoken, letting Hermione relax a little.
Once a pensieve was obtained, the memories students had given were played out in front of the Wizengamot, Hermione feeling her face heat up as hers was played. It was mortifying to be mocked by Snape in front of so many important witches and wizards, especially as she was muggleborn. Would they ever take her seriously now once she graduated?
Her thoughts faltered as a hand wrapped around hers and she caught Harry's eye, who was watching her worriedly. "You okay?" he murmured and she leaned against him, watching the trial while thinking.
"I worried that if either he or Dumbledore don't get jailed, they will come after us and while Sirius may have the money and power to do this, he doesn't have the allies since the dark side of the wizards distrust him as much as the light ones. The light side still look to Dumbledore to provide answers."
"Not anymore, if half of the rumours about Lord Potter's childhood are true," a man whispered behind them. Harry and Hermione twisted around, face to face with Lord Greengrass.
"I thought you were a neutral party?" Hermione asked questioningly.
He shrugged. "Usually, but I do sometimes take the light side but I disagree with Dumbledore too much to be a dedicated member. I know others agree such as Lord Davies and even Augusta Longbottom, a long-standing member of the light side is starting to pull away from his lead. However, while I understand you being addressed as a Lord, Lord Potter, how is your friend addressed as a Lady being muggleborn? I mean no offence by that," he added hastily.
Hermione smiled slightly, unused to a pureblood wizard apologising when he hadn't even said anything offensive, especially considering the hate she would usually get from it. "I did an inheritance test along with Harry at Gringotts and found out I am the closest living relative to Rowena Ravenclaw."
Lord Greengrass blinked, but no other reaction appeared, but when considering how purebloods were trained to look completely impassive Hermione was unsurprised.
He opened his mouth to say something when Amelia sentenced Snape for child abuse and to be held for a further trial on death eater activities. Hermione gave a relieved smile to Harry, finally another one of his tormentors put to rest along with the Dursleys and Voldemort. Only Dumbledore was left. But she knew he would be the hardest to pin anything down on, not only was there nothing concrete but even with him stripped of so many titles he still held a lot of sway over the public, something no one else really had.
"For Dumbledore, we shall be using Veritiserum to make sure he tells the truth as when he was arrested certain things happened to make this obligatory," one of the aurors stated, causing an outcry of voices, some demanding to know what had happened, others (mostly supporters of him) crying out that it was ridiculous.
BANG, BANG, BANG! Everyone fell into silence. "Bring in the accused," Amelia Bones' voice boomed out.
Dumbledore was walked in, handcuffed, two dementors by his sides. Harry felt hatred rise in him and then saw Sirius stiffen when the dementors were there. Harry tried to catch Sirius's eye and upon doing so, tried to convey his love to him, wishing he could sit with his godfather but feeling slightly better when a patronus was cast and prowled around, protecting them.
Veritiserum was administered and the interrogation started.
"Your name?"
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," he said, his voice monotone, eyes far away.
"It's working. Why did you not get Sirius a trial?"
"I knew Harry Potter was the chosen one. His parents would never let me get near him, but I needed to control the boy. Once his parents were out of the way, all that was in my way was Sirius. I got him charged for murder and subtly pushed Bagnold and Crouch to send him to Azkaban with no trial. Then I was free to take Harry."
"Why the Dursleys?"
"They hated magic and I knew they wouldn't treat him like a son. Placing him there would make sure he was malleable when he came to the wizarding world and would hate bullies. This meant he would stick to the lighter side, so I stationed the Weasleys to help him at the station as a light family under my control and then he became friends with a muggleborn witch. They would keep him in the right direction. I was also planning for him to like the wizarding world so much because it was an escape from the muggles so he would end up fulfilling the prophecy by confronting Voldemort. My plan was he would sacrifice himself to Voldemort, happy to forfeit himself for the wizarding world and while Voldemort was distracted I would take the glory and destroy Voldemort. Of course, I would erect a statue in his honour and everything, but I would be the one to be remembered."
Screams and cries ran through the court while Sirius jumped to his feet, howling, "You were planning to get him to kill himself! You bastard!"
Hermione clung to Harry, white face while Ron looked like a ghost. "I had no idea Dumbledore stationed us for you, I swear I didn't become your friend because of him –"
"It's okay, I know you didn't. if you did you wouldn't have come on any our adventures, far to dangerous for someone you don't care about," Harry replied, shrugging.
"I don't know how you can be so nonchalant about this? He was trying to manipulate you into basically committing suicide," Hermione cried, barely getting heard over the noise of the Wizengamot.
Harry looked pensive before sighing and saying despondently "I've had doubts about him for years, but locking Sirius in Grimmauld Place were there was bound to be traumatic memories didn't really fit with the benevolent man he attempted to be and how he kept me cut off from you guys, and of course attempting to get me to stay with the Dursleys was the final straw."
The three of them smirked at Dumbledore as he was taken out after being given the antidote, sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, gleeful at his furious look.
With Amelia declaring the Wizengamot finished for the day, Harry and his friends hung back to wait for Sirius and Remus, who had been in the press stand where he had been given special access to sit in.
Upon seeing Sirius Harry threw his arms around him, relief at finally being free from everyone who attempted to control him. Hermione and Ron meanwhile tactfully greeted Remus, curiously asking if he could possibly reapply for the defence job as McGonagall as the new headmistress would be sure to let him.
They only stopped when there was a cough behind them and Harry recognised Lord Greengrass along with another man. "Lord Greengrass, Lord Davies," Sirius greeted them formally.
"We were wondering if we could set up a meeting with you to discuss the current politics that is going on as now with both the light and dark leaders gone, it is anyone's game now and with what we've seen from your views, I believe we could set up a possible alliance."
Harry saw Hermione watching with bright eyes, soaking up how the Lords interacted to later put into use herself. He watched with interest as Sirius agreed, promising to meet at lord Greengrass's the day after he went back to Hogwarts, the date causing a look of disappointment to flash over Hermione's face.
Sirius must've caught that as when they headed back to the floo, he told them that "You two will be allowed to sit in the meetings soon, but you need some lessons on politics and behaviour first as Lords can easily be offended." Harry grinned at the dramatic eyeroll Sirius gave at that, while Hermione nodded, thanking him but still looking slightly disappointed.
"She's still so desperate to fight for house-elf rights, I mean, they can wait another few months right?" Ron muttered, rolling his eyes causing Harry to snort and Hermione to shoot them a look.
"We'll need to collect your stuff from the burrow Ron," Remus said. "I say we do it now before your mother hears of Dumbledore being jailed."
They all agreed and taking a pinch of floo powder, headed to the burrow, Harry's last thought a one of slight fear that Mrs Weasley would hear about it before they were gone. If so, the trip would be a disaster, needlessly costing at least one relationship. He prayed that things would stay fine. Though, even with Voldemort gone, it seemed Harry's luck would never change. Harry always had to lose something.