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Act IV - Skin In The Game
Chapter 16: Sedition
Emmeline Vance didn't get paid enough to do her job.
On regular days, it was bad enough, being forced to search through piles of reports about witches and wizards muggle baiting and tracking down hapless muggles that saw something impossible. A century or so ago, this might've made a lot of sense, especially with the Christian Church attacking anything supernatural like an obnoxious guard dog, but the times had changed.
Today's muggles reacted a little differently upon stumbling into the supernatural.
By rationalising it until it made sense enough for them to ignore it completely.
More often than not, the Obliviator squads only made the situation worse than it actually were, with their 'one-size fits all' solution of mass obliviation until the muggles no longer remembered it. Instead, with the distinct memory-loss patterns, and occasional spotting in the cameras and other spying technology, the Obliviators ended up sticking out like a sore thumb and making the muggles question if something fishy was going on.
Emmeline had sent many letters to the upper echelons, requesting a change in the way the Obliviator Office worked, with several references to the MACUSA Obliviator force as obvious examples of the job done right.
Unexpectedly, her efforts had ended up stagnating somewhere in the bureaucratic pipeline, which was how things had always been in the British Ministry of Magic. There were times she wondered if the Ministry appointed so many people every year, just to make sure that everyone could prevent everyone else from properly doing their jobs, or else the Ministry wouldn't even have anything to do in the first place.
But ever since the damned Dark Lord had returned, everything had gone to hell. The Obliviator squads had been running ragged. Their job, which was to ensure that the Statute of Secrecy remained upheld, had gone completely out of the window, as the entire department was assigned to do 'damage control' as Minister Fudge called it. Muggle baiting, kidnapping, murders, mysterious vanishing of people, especially women and children, increases in the number of ghastly accidents, people turning up at hospitals after being attacked by fearsome beasts β it was just one thing after another.
And Emmeline had won the Scapegoat for the week prize, and was having to sit and file reports, both for the Obliviator Office, as well as the Auror squads, whose entire personnel had been assigned to active duty.
As if she didn't have enough paperwork to deal with on her own.
The worst part was that Minster Fudge was happy blaming all of this on an unknown werewolf insurgence, and his sole response to that was to further restrain the already limited rights on werewolves and other magical creatures.
"Utterly disgraceful!" claimed Henrietta Parkinson, as two Aurors came into their jam-packed office. "Dawlish! This is not acceptable! Proudfoot! First you make us fill your paperwork and now you want my best taken in for some ridiculous circular nonsense? We're stretched thin as it is!"
"Orders from the Senior Undersecretary," said Proudfoot, giving Emmeline a helpless look. "You know how it is."
"What is this about?" asked Emmeline.
"There has been intelligence about Ministry secrets being leaked out for many years now," said Dawlish in his usual pompous tone. "We've some names, and it's imperative that they be questioned first."
Emmeline cursed under her breath. She had seen that infamous circular that had been sent to every single Ministry department and also published in the Daily Prophet the previous day. She knew that something was afoot the moment that twisted woman invoked the Official Secrets Act. Dolores Umbridge was infamous for her knowledge of legal trivia, and her ruthlessness when it came to offering twisted interpretations of antiquated laws that somehow survived to modern day, and use it to promote her own bigoted propaganda.
The circular about the new security clearance checks had felt fishy, but Emmeline had thought it had something to do with Hogwarts and Harry Potter because that had taken the majority of her attention since her appointment at Hogwarts. A task, Emmeline had noted with amusement β Umbridge had been failing spectacularly. In fact, it had been a running wager in the entire Level-Two to see what Umbridge did to curse herself in the foot. The latest bet was about her attempting something to prevent the upcoming Potter-Greengrass engagement.
She had not expected⦠Well, this.
"Emmeline Vance, please, hands where I can see them."
Emmeline didn't even try to reach for her wand. Dawlish's lack of trigger discipline was as bad as his inability to pull his head out of his arse. As much as she hated it, the auror was actually one of the top Aurors in the entire DMLE, and being appointed as part of the Minister's private brigade did nothing to control the man's unreasonably large-sized ego.
So as quietly and calmly as she could, she raised both arms above her head, and crossed her fingers, as was procedure for suspects right before they were cuffed and brought in. Subtly, she reached for the crystal ring on her index finger and twisted it, just in time as Dawlish snapped his wand in her direction, and bound her with a localised petrifaction hex, disabling both of her hands.
"Proudfoot, this is going too far!" Parkinson snapped. "Vance is β"
"A betrayer," claimed Dawlish. "We have proof that she has been passing classified secrets from the Ministry to insurgent groups. Emmeline Vance, any attempt to escape will be met with stringent response. You have the right to remain silent until the interrogation."
Emmeline gritted her teeth and silently followed out of the office, doing her best to ignore the peering crowds at her as she was trudged away like a prisoner out of her office on the second floor. Imagine her surprise when she was led past the Auror offices and the Hit-wizard chambers, and walked to the elevator. As the soft ding of the elevator led them towards the lower floors, a sense of anxiety began filling inside her. Three, four, five β the levels went down, six, seven, eight, nine β
Ding!
They stepped into Level-ten, and suddenly Emmeline knew exactly where she was headed. The Aurors led her past the door to the left, through the dungeon-like corridors, towards the most infamous place within the entire Ministry of Magic.
Courtroom Ten.
The largest criminal courtroom in all of the Ministry. One that had been used to host the fast-track Death-Eater trials at the end of the last war, and as of most recently, used to concoct that sham of a trial against Harry Potter. It had backfired badly, with the Ministry having to pay twenty thousand galleons as compensation for his public defamation. A lesson that Dolores Umbridge obviously was too stubborn to learn.
The massive door opened and froze as a scream echoed out of it.
"No, no," came a familiar voice. "I swear to Merlin! I have never betrayed β"
"This is your final warning," said Dolores Umbridge's soft voice, magically magnified so that it sounded clearly over the man's desperate screams. "If you continue to lie, you will be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss."
"Arβ Arthur?"
Crouched before her, handcuffed and deprived of his wand, was Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, a fellow member of the Order and a friend. And looming over him, was a dementor, its hands grabbing him by his collar and trying to pull him up. And behind him stoodβ¦
Hestia? Daedalus? Sturgis?
It was only because of her years of practising Occlumency that kept her from showing any reaction after her initial surprise at seeing Arthur. That twisted bitch was somehow targeting members of the Order β that much was given. That she had gotten her hands on the Order member lists was worrying for two reasons β the first, because the Order maintained its cover through use of extremely stringent oaths, crafted by Albus Dumbledore and tested by Lt. Alastor Moody; and second, because it meant that the Order had a spy within its ranks. There was a third option, that someone within the Order had decided to compromise others, though the fact that someone so stupid as to throw in with Umbridge and Fudge when they were losing ground every single day was both embarrassing and frightening.
Even that rat Mundungus knew better than to loosen his lips in front of the wrong crowd.
Unlike a trial though, the chamber was devoid of any and all Wizengamot members. Only Dolores Umbridge sat on a high-chair, elevated above the ground using a podium, with two dementors floating next to her, and a corporeal cat patronus sitting next to her, and meowing softly. Emmeline took a moment to wonder how a woman as sadistic and vindictive as her was capable of casting the Patronus charm, widely regarded as the one of the most well-known feats of standardised Light magic.
"Emmeline Vance," said Umbridge in her sickly-sweet tone. "Obliviator. In service to the Ministry of Magic for twenty-one years," she paused and sneered a little. "You have pure blood in you, Emmeline Vance. It's disappointing that you were charged for such deplorable acts."
Emmeline's blood boiled for a moment as she realised what was going on, but she refused to let the outrage show on her face. "What are the charges?"
"Sedition against the Ministry," said Umbridge. "Revealing classified Ministry secrets to the insurgent group known as the Order of the Phoenix. Subverting Ministry employment oaths and clauses to act against the Ministry. How do you plead?"
"Nothing," said someone before Emmeline could even voice her annoyance. She whirled behind her, and found Madam Bones walking into the room, her monocle shining and somehow magnifying the look of disdain she was sending at Umbridge and the demonic creatures floating inside the room.
Emmeline wondered if Parkinson had run to the DMLE Head after she was carted out of the room by the Aurors.
Then she noticed Kingsley Shaklebolt standing behind Amelia Bones and exhaled in elation. It seemed her help signal had been received on time.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Umbridge.
"Nothing," repeated Amelia Bones. "Because to plead, she actually has to be charged for something substantial first by a relevant authority."
"She has been charged of β"
"I think you didn't hear me properly," said Bones. "I said, by a relevant authority. Last I checked, Dolores, you were the Minister's Undersecretary, not the Head of the DMLE. So I'd ask you to kindly rid yourself of that chair and those two dementors, and formally apologise to every single person here, so that we could be on our way."
She whipped her wand, uttered the incantation, and a magnificent bear patronus erupted out of it. It viciously attacked the dementor grabbing Arthur, making the beast screech in agony and fly towards the furthest section of the room. Not happy with driving just one, the massive bear growled and leaped towards the other two, unsettling Umbridge's desk, as the other two dementors screeched and joined their third member.
A darkness flashed across Umbridge's features. "If you would give me ten minutes to explain to you, Amelia β"
"I'd be happy to give you the ten minutes you want, Dolores," said Bones. "And two more to prove you wrong, but some of us have actual work to do. So I will, for the last time, ask you to stop this sham, or suffer my displeasure."
Umbridge puffed up in indignation like someone had pulled an inflation hex on her. She looked so much like a toad that Emmeline had trouble not laughing.
"I'm sorry if you didn't get the memo, Amelia," said the woman. "But we have precious intel about a serious leak in Ministry secrets through Ministry workers. To uphold Ministry security, Minister Fudge has signed a writ authorising a complete security check of every single Ministry worker."
She held up a piece of parchment. "We have shortlisted suspects and this courtroom is being used to conduct the investigation safely without disturbing the Ministry schedule. Surely the Head of the DMLE would appreciate the degree of subtlety and efficiency in thβ"
Before she could finish speaking, Bones silently summoned the parchment from her fingers, and quickly perused through it, ignoring Umbridge's annoyed shriek.
"What I notice is someone setting a dementor on a Ministry worker without an official warrant," snapped Amelia Bones. "Auror Dawlish, Auror Proudfoot, kindly escort Madam Umbridge from here. If she resists, then capture her and put her in DMLE custody on charges of contempt of the DMLE's authority."
"Madam Bones," said Dawlish. "Minister Fudge has β"
"Has attested the writ and issued the Circular, yes," said Amelia Bones, "and it will be followed to the letter. If the Minister of Magic indeed fears a breach of security dating back years, then an accusation as serious as this will be taken with utmost seriousness."
She gave him a look full of disdain. "Surely you know better than to leave an issue this serious in the hands of a paper-pushing secretary? If anything, I will conduct this inspection myself. You can let the Minister know that the matter is being handled with all the seriousness it deserves."
Dawlish's eyes twitched. Emmeline could tell that he was itching to say something. John Dawlish had long ago stopped trying to think for himself, and settled for blindly following orders from the upper echelons. Emmeline didn't know if he was on the Minister's private payroll, or was simply a yes-man.
"Yes?" asked Madam Bones. "Is there something you wish to say?"
"Herm-hem!" said Umbridge. 'I'm afraid that can't be, Amelia."
Bones arched an eyebrow.
"On the basis of our investigation," said the woman with that fake child-like laugh. "That list has several names with whom you have direct association, Amelia. I was wanting to keep this matter private and protect your reputation, but if it must be this way, I cannot help but unveil the truth. Your late brother Edgar and his wife Audrey, who served as Aurors in the Ministry before their deaths in 1981, were associated with an insurgent group named Order of the Phoenix. Lord Sirius Black, former Azkaban fugitive, was also associated with this insurgent group, a person with whom you have been publicly spotted as of lately."
"Are you insinuating something, Dolores?" asked Amelia, her voice dangerously cold.
Umbridge let out that disgusting laugh again. "It's just common sense, Amelia. The Ministry cannot allow someone with such potential conflict of interest to be in charge of these investigations. Why, it would be the height of foolishness! Auror Dawlish on the other hand, has no such⦠blemishes on his record. As for myself, I'm just substituting for Minister Fudge, and I even have his written permission for that."
Crap, thought Emmeline. She really hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was.
It wouldn't end well for anyone if it did.
The room instantly went a little cold, which was ironic given how the bear patronus was still making the dementors crouch away in one corner of the room.
'Is that so?" asked Amelia Bones softly. She might as well have been pointing her wand. "Is that so? And what is the basis of this⦠intelligence?"
"Classified," began Dawlish pompously.
"Well then declassify it," she said, steel in her tone. "Or I will classify this supposed intelligence as baseless."
"Hem!" interrupted Umbridge. "As per Section 509 of the Wizengamot Penal Code, it is unnecessary to inform a defendant where the Ministry procure the evidence from."
"Correction," said Amelia Bones softly. "It is unnecessary to inform a defendant where the ministry procures the evidence from, after the evidence has been proven valid."
Umbridge's smug expression faltered ever so slightly to annoyance.
"And you're mistaken, Dolores," said Amelia Bones. "I'm not asking as a defendant."
Emmeline felt a shudder run down her spine. The look on the woman's face told her that the person in the room wasn't the calm, composed diplomatic DMLE Head, but Amelia Bones, the woman who rose through the ranks because of the sheer precision and ability with which she kept taking down one dangerous dark wizard after another over the years.
The one they called the 'Iron Lady'.
The look in her eyes was akin to a lioness whose pride had just been injured.
"You see," said Amelia Bones. "This document? The one that lists Miss Vance, Arthur Weasley and every single person as a member of the Order of the Phoenix? The one on whose basis you have appointed yourself judge and jury for these hardworking Ministry workers over here? This list was sealed in 1978, by the then DMLE Head Bartemius Crouch Sr. There are only three⦠forgive me, two people that even knew of that list, much less have access to it, and one of them is the Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore himself."
There was a hungry look on her face.
"Bartemius Crouch Sr. was found dead on Hogwarts grounds last year, so unless you can procure a writ by Albus Dumbledore himself, authorising you to access these records⦠I'm certain this amounts to illegal access to the Ministry Archives, and a blatant violation of the Ministry Secrets Act. If memory serves, very recently you utilised that particular Act to bring all information related to the Defence Against The Dark Arts curse at Hogwarts."
Surprisingly, Umbridge continued to smile. "It's a non-issue, Amelia. I have a writ from Cornelius, authorising permission to access the Ministry Archives, specifically this particular document that Bartemius Crouch Sr. sealed."
Bones tilted her head ever so slightly, her posture completely relaxed. "Really? That means you were definitely the one that accessed this document from the Archive, with the writ of the Minister nonetheless?"
"Hem! I'm not sure why you're asking me that."
"It's not important you know why I'm asking," said Amelia Bones. "Just a yes or no would suffice. Be advised, if you say no, I'll demand, as the Head of the DMLE, to bring forth the person you allowed access to the Archives without permission."
"Minister Fudge wrote a writ granting me permissionβ"
"So it was you."
"...Yes!" growled Umbridge, obviously hating how she was being led around.
"Let me tell you why I'm asking. I'm wondering when you were so busy tampering⦠my apologies, altering the current provisions of the Official Secrets Act, did you not notice that any public release of a Ministry official secret classifies as a transgression worth five years in Azkaban at the minimum? You see, this document, that now is in my hands, the one using which you publicly dragged so many note-worthy Ministry employees and brought in Auror Dawlish and Auror Proudfoot to do your bidding⦠This is a Ministry secret. And you, Dolores, have broken sacred protocol by revealing it to me."
Umbridge's confident and condescending stature didn't change immediately. It took a few moments for her to slowly realise what Bones was angling for.
"I β I didn't!" She stammered, getting up from her chair. "You β you summoned it from my hand."
"Yes, I did," Bones agreed easily. " Interestingly, the Law is silent on how the Secret is revealed, only that it is revealed or not. According to the Charter, if you are not capable of protecting a Ministry secret, you are not worthy of knowing it."
The whiplash from her statement snapped Umbridge into paralysis.
"That β Iβ"
"So it comes down to this," said Amelia Bones, now completely relaxed. "The Senior Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic accesses the Ministry Archives and compromises the confidentiality of a sealed Ministry document. She then openly ignores the authority of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and employs dementors against other Ministry employees, several of whom are purebloods, while not having a single warrant in possession. I believe that's charges of Sedition against the Ministry under Section 476; attempts to murder on⦠six Ministry personnel, six charges of Culpable Homicide as listed in Section 300; and charges of insubordination against the DMLE, as listed in Section 456 of the WPC. You are the trivia queen, Dolores. Tell me, have I missed some tiny trivia for you to quibble over?"
Umbridge went white. "You β That β This is β this is simply unreasonable! I am merely protecting the Minister's interests. You are a compromised factor and cannot be trusted to act in good faith."
"I'm sorry, Dolores," said Amelia softly. "My loyalty is to the Ministry of Magic, not the sitting Minister. There is a slight difference, even if you cannot see it." She regarded Dawlish and Proudfoot. "Now, as the Head of the DMLE, I order you both to release all of these people, and take Madam Umbridge into custody."
Proudfoot looked at Dawlish, conflicted.
"You cannot!" exclaimed Umbridge, pointing her wand at Amelia. "I am the Senior Undersecretary, and cannot be imprisoned or taken into custody without the written consent of the Minister. And I'm certain Cornelius will see the light when I reveal the truth of everything that has happened here."
Bones remained quiet for a moment, her eyes flickering not at Umbridge but at the Order members. "Yes, Cornelius is clearly the type to act out in paranoia, even if it will do him no good in the end. It's too bad he had to resort to a delusional woman like yourself to do his bidding."
Umbridge looked like she was ready to attack.
"How annoying!" said Amelia, utterly disregarding her. "One would've thought he had some potential to do good after Malfoy's influence was gone."
"I know what you are doing, Amelia," snapped Dolores, looking very much like a feral cat. "You, Black, all these people β you are blind followers of Albus Dumbledore! You just want him and Potter to come into power! That's what you are after, Cornelius's seat as the Minister of Magic! What has the old crackpot offered you? A high pension plan after your retirement? Private summers in Greece? Whatever it is, I'm sure Cornelius can match that and more! Come into the light, Amelia!"
Her voice was so filled with righteous indignation that even Emmeline thought she was being truthful. Either the woman was an expert manipulator, or she was just so addled and believed her own words that it bordered extreme psychological dysfunction.
Emmeline didn't know what was scarier.
"I'm warning you, Amelia!" Umbridge went on, utterly brazen. "I'm warning you! If you stay by Dumbledore and Potter's side, you will meet the same sticky end as your β"
Snikt!
Umbridge's wand shot out of her fingers, and Kingsley grabbed it from mid air.
"Kingsley!" yelled Dawlish. "That was uncalled for!"
Kingsley gave him a sceptical look. "Pointing a wand at an Auror in uniform classifies as a felony, Dawlish. I thought being an Auror, you of all people would've known that."
'Leave," said Amelia Bones softly. "If you know what's good for you Dolores, leave this room right now."
Umbridge looked taken aback, unable to believe her luck.
"You β you truly will let her go?" asked Emmeline, unable to help herself. "That β that bitch was just about to feed Arthur to that dementor. She should be sent to Azkaban just for that."
"Her crimes demand more than just Azkaban, Miss Vance," said Amelia wearily. "She is the type to desperately cling to whatever she can get her hands on to the point of irrationality. As things are now, she is the only one that is filling Cornelius's ear with her delusions about Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter."
Bones didn't even seem to care about the fact that Umbridge was present there. In fact, her tone indicated that there were other things she'd rather be doing right then.
Her words rung with an ominous finality to everyone there.
She was right. Cornelius Fudge never did anything without any backup, and Dolores Umbridge was the only one left that was actively conspiring against Dumbledore and Harry Potter.
The pureblood lords found dead in the cemetery. The loss of House Black's support. Lucius Malfoy's fall. Shattering of the Dark Alliance.
Umbridge was the only one left that was genuinely fighting against Harry Potter.
All of the others were gone. All other distractions were taken care of.
"Make no mistake, Dolores Umbridge," said Amelia Bones. "I'm not letting you go. I'm just following the law. Come the Winter Solstice, the Wizengamot shall reconvene. And in that, the Potter-Greengrass Alliance shall gain a clear majority. And when that happens, you will have nowhere left to run."
Amelia gave her a feral look.
"Normally, I try not to enjoy hunting criminals. But this time," her lips twisted, revealing some very sharp teeth. "I believe I will make it an exception."
The look on Umbridge's face was something Emmeline would forever remember for the rest of her life.
Apologies for the delay. Got stuck in a lot of things. Hopefully I can mass publish the next set of chapters super soon and catch-up.
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