Chapter 5: More Worries for Harry.
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Before Gibbs made his way to the castle, he was stopped by Jen who gave him the warrant to search the castle for the gun. She was still on the phone with Tony, but she was going to floo Amelia as soon as she was done. He decided to stop at the DMLE and grab some Aurors. When he got there, he was waylaid by Amelia Bones, who had just gotten off the floo with Jen.
"I'm glad you stopped by, Jethro. I want to talk to you about Harry Potter," she said, coming up to him brandishing a folder. She looked very put out, like he had turned her world upside down. She didn't like the work that this gave her, or the things that it made her think. According to this, nothing she thought about the boy was true.
"What about him? I've already cleared him of this case," Gibbs said, getting defensive. He remembered that she thought the boy was guilty. He didn't want her to drag him back in it again on some trumped-up charge.
"I'm talking about this folder you dropped on my desk about his physical report. Is this accurate?" she asked, once more waving the folder about. It had caught her completely off guard. The boy had been abused, and by all accounts tortured at that school. Well, not tortured, but not looked after that's for sure.
"That's out of my hands. I'm putting that all on you," Jethro stated, holding up his hands and stalling any questions she could ask.
"What about this dark magic on his forehead and the basilisk venom in his blood?" she persisted. She had no idea what to do with it.
"Again, that's out of my hands. I have nothing to do with it. It doesn't pertain to my case," Gibbs stated, taking out his notebook. "We didn't ask him. You'll have to do that yourself."
"What am I supposed to do with it?" Amelia said, huffing in response.
"I'm about to head to the castle to talk to Dumbledore about Umbridge. Why don't you come with me and ask him about it? Most of it happened under his watch. After all he said he was the boy's guardian," Gibbs said, snapping his notepad shut and tucking it away. He nodded to Todd, who had just returned with the Aurors who were going to search the castle. There were three of them. They were going to search the two teachers' quarters, and Colin's and Harry's room. Plus, the victim's room and classroom, one more time.
"I have nothing better to do at this time," the head of the DMLE stated, looking at her watch. "I suppose I could come with you." She went over to her secretary and started to talk to her for a moment. Then she rejoined Gibbs.
"The more the merrier," Gibbs said when she came back. "Just let me ask my questions first." He wanted to get there and go. He had a lot to do.
"I have no issue with that."
With that, the two of them decided to go to the castle and harass Dumbledore. They chose to talk a bit on the way about Harry Potter and the abuse that he had and what they could do about getting him out of his home. There was also the discussion about what to do about Sirius Black, since he also seemed to be innocent and it could also help Harry as he was the boy's godfather.
Once they got to the castle, Gibbs sent Todd off with the Aurors and made his way to Dumbledore's office with Amelia in tow. They went up the winding stairs and knocked on the door.
"Enter," came the voice from inside.
Gibbs entered the door and came into an office so stuffed full of more needless things than he had ever seen before. There was so much noise going on in that office that he wasn't sure he could concentrate. There were little things puffing and other things whistling, and everything just seemed to be moving so that he wasn't sure he could look anywhere at once without seeing something else move off to the side. Using his iron will, he concentrated on the man in front of him.
"Albus Dumbledore, I have a few questions I need to ask you," he said, looking at the old man in front of him and ignoring the gizmos around him.
"Of course, my good man, I am always happy to avail myself to the law enforcement," Dumbledore stated as if the cops were always showing up on his doorsteps.
"I need to know what else Dolores Umbridge was doing here besides harassing Harry Potter," Gibbs said, pulling out his notebook and poised to take notes. He looked at the man with an eagle eye, like he meant business and wouldn't take any bullshit.
"I'm sure you are mistaken, my dear boy. Dolores was not here to harass Harry Potter," the headmaster stated as if that were fact.
"Uh, no, I'm sure she was. I have witnesses stating that fact. What else was she doing here?" Gibbs contradicted him without pause.
"It seemed that she was sent to the castle to undermine me," Albus stated jovially, like it was an everyday occurrence, and he enjoyed it.
"And you didn't want to notify me this because?" Jethro asked, a bit of menace in his tone. He was noting that down in his book.
"I did not want to make myself a suspect. I knew it would make me look bad," Dumbledore stated, once more with great joy, like this was all a game and he was the gamemaster.
"Where were you at the time of the murder?" the head cop asked, getting beyond frustrated.
"I was right here in my office." He spread his hands out to show his office and all it encompassed.
"Can anybody vouch for you?"
"Alas, no. I spend a great deal of my time in the office by myself. But you could ask the portraits," the headmaster said, waving to the many portraits the hung on the walls behind him. They were all voicing their opinions and stating the fact that the man had been there at the time of the murder.
Gibbs ignored them and asked, "Would they lie for you?"
"The portraits do not lie, my dear boy."
"That is not true. I know portraits that have lied upon the stands if they are so inclined," Gibbs said, knowing this was true. "Especially those that are loyal to the people that they have been around most of the time. These being headmaster portraits, and you being a headmaster, they might be inclined to lie for you." He still ignored the portraits that were shouting at him, loudly protesting that they would not lie for the old man.
"Then, alas, I do not have a witness," Dumbledore stated, shaking his head, this time in a sad manner. Though not quite as sad as he should have.
"I'm going to have to take you in for some questioning then, sir," Gibbs said, not really thinking the old man guilty, but not leaving any stone unturned.
"You would accuse me of murder?" the headmaster asked, aghast. He even went so far as to put his hand to his chest, as if he never would have thought anyone would accuse him of anything so vile.
"I don't think anybody is above such a thing," Gibbs deadpanned.
"Very well, I will clear my schedule for you."
"Now, Albus," said Amelia, jumping into the conversation while she had the chance, "I want to talk to you about Harry Potter." She pulled the folder of Harry's physical out and looked through it.
"What about Harry Potter?" a perplexed headmaster asked, unsure as to what the Head of the DMLE would want to ask about the boy. He had kept everything a secret. She should know nothing.
"I wanted to know how he got basilisk venom in his blood," Bones asked, holding out the report.
"I am not inclined to speak about that," Dumbledore stated, his entire face shut down. He did have to wonder how she obtained her knowledge.
"And the phoenix tears? It is your phoenix, I assume?" she persisted, waving to Fawkes in the corner.
"Again, I am disinclined to speak about this." He didn't like this. He had done everything to keep this under wraps. How did they find out?
"Are you telling me that there was a basilisk on the grounds, and you did not let us know about it? My niece goes to school here, I had a right to know," she stated getting angry.
"Whyever, would I let you know? We had it completely under control," the old man said, a twinkle in his eyes.
"How did you keep this under wraps?" Bones wanted to know. There had to be some way the word had to have gotten out. There were just too many children in the school. Someone somewhere had to have written home.
"My dear Amelia, there's nothing that goes on in this school that I cannot control," the old man said, like he was a grand puppet master.
"So, you knew that that woman was torturing your students?" asked Gibbs, leaning forward a bit, with a hard look on his face.
"She was not harming them… permanently," the headmaster stated, waving the crime away as if it were trivial.
"They will have scars on the back of their hands for the rest of their lives. I consider that very permanent," Jethro disagreed, getting angry on the children's behalf.
"Alas, I do not consider that undue suffering." In his time a few scars were not considered anything special. It was a mark of adulthood. Many young men went through trials just to get marked so they could show them off to the young ladies.
"You're a real piece of work, Albus Dumbledore. I think you're a man out of your time. Nevertheless, I'm bringing you in for questioning," Gibbs stood and indicated he meant now.
"Can I not come in upon my own time?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the mounds of paperwork he had on his desk. He didn't want to go now; he'd rather not go at all.
"No, I think we should get this out of the way as soon as possible," the head cop said, motioning once again towards the door. He'd like to put the man in cuffs, but he really wasn't a suspect, just a person of interest.
"Very well," Albus said with a very put-upon sigh.
"Just to let you know, there are people searching the castle right now looking for the gun," Gibbs stated, wanting to make sure the man knew they were doing everything they could to find the killer.
"I already know this; the wards told me," the headmaster said, importantly. He smiled benevolently at the man.
"Of course they did," Gibbs grumbled. He didn't think the wards were all they were cracked up to be and the old man was playing him. He'd have to see if he could sneak a question in there about that. If they were all that, then the old man would know who the killer was. If he knew that, then he was impeding this investigation, and Gibbs was going to throw the book at him.
"Speaking of wards, I shall have to hand them off to Professor McGonagall before we go anywhere," Dumbledore said, writing a note and handing it to Fawkes. The bird burst into flames and disappeared.
"Do what you must. I'm going to just go speak to Amelia here for a while," Gibbs said, then with a jerk of his head, he indicated to Amelia that he wanted to speak to her privately. The two of them left the office and went down the hall. He threw up a privacy ward and said, "I don't think he's going to give you a straight answer. If you want to get any answers to your questions, you're going to have to talk straight to Harry Potter. I believe the kid when he said he was innocent. You didn't see the shrew that was his aunt. Remember, he's been abused, starved at the very least." He would let her draw her own conclusions.
"Yes, but how am I going to get him out of this school without Albus knowing?" Amelia asked, going over what she had read and what he was saying in her head. The Boy Who Lived, abused. It was unheard of. Not to mention what went on in this school. The rumors alone were unbelievable. If only half of them were true… well, she had her work cut out for her.
"I'm about to take him in for questioning. Now is as good a time as any," Gibbs pointed out, wondering where her head was.
"You may be right. I'll go grab the boy while you take Albus in," she said with a shake of her head.
"Give me a good twenty minutes. Meanwhile, my agent and your men will check the castle for the gun. You can say you're gonna stay here and oversee that. You don't even have to take Harry Potter off the grounds. You can question him here," he suggested, thinking that would be a better solution.
"That's a good idea," she agreed, tilting her head. She looked around the halls like she was looking for a likely place to have her questioning session. There were many classrooms that weren't used anymore. Hundreds of hidey holes that no one knew about. She remembered many of them from her time here as a student.
"All right. I'll go grab my… suspect."
As he was saying that, Minerva McGonagall went past them and up to the office to receive the wards. Gibbs decided to wait, while Amelia went off to search for her men. After a while Albus came down the stairs.
"I am ready whenever you are, my dear boy," the old man said jovially, like they were going on an outing.
"I am not your boy," Gibbs snapped not liking when anyone, not even Ducky, addressed him that way. "Amelia is going to stay and oversee the searching of the castle. She will make sure they only search where they are supposed to. Come on, let's go." He took Dumbledore out of the castle and down the path.
"I can meet you there, I am able to get through the wards," Albus stated, trying to show off.
"You don't know the way," Gibbs stated, keeping his hand on the old man's arm.
"You are correct," the old man conceded and followed him to the gates.
Jethro took him back to headquarters, grabbed Jen and took him into one of the interrogation rooms. "Do you need a lawyer?" he asked, laying out his notebook and pen.
"No, I did not do anything wrong," the self-important man said, sedately. He sat proper and regal. He acted as if he were sitting to tea and not about to be questioned for murder.
"Do you want to do this under Veritaserum?" was the next question.
"If you feel we must," Albus said, not the least bit worried about spilling secrets. He had only told the truth so far, and they didn't know enough to ask about anything else.
"Open wide," Jen said, happy to oblige. She had been wanting to get this man under Veritaserum for years. Too bad she couldn't ask him anything she wanted.
After administering the three drops, Gibbs got down to questioning. It only took a few questions to clear Albus Dumbledore of the murder. He wanted to ask about Harry Potter and everything that had gone on at the school, but it had nothing to pertain to his case, so he couldn't, especially with Jen sitting right there. He did, however, get to ask what Umbridge was doing at the school.
"I do believe that she was sent by the minister to upset the school and pull me out of power," was Albus's answer, still under the influence of the potion, though it was fading.
"Why do you think that?" Gibbs wanted to know. He wrote that down and puckered his brow.
"Minister Fudge feels that I am trying to take over his job," Dumbledore said brightly. Yup the potion was definitely wearing off.
"And why do you think she was harassing Harry Potter?" the head cop asked, wondering if there was enough left that the old man would answer true.
"Because they do not believe that Voldemort is back," Albus answered with a sigh.
"And you do?" he asked, knowing the answer.
"Yes, Harry Potter saw him resurrected not six months ago," Dumbledore stated as fact.
"And you believe the boy?"
"Yes."
"And why do you think Fudge does not?" That was just speculation. It wouldn't hold up in court. It was merely hearsay.
"Because he does not want a war, and he is in cahoots with many of the Death Eaters," the headmaster answered, the potion now being out of his system. He was leaning forward and answering in a conspiracist type manner. As if he were sharing a deep secret.
"What is a Death Eater?" Gibbs wanted to know, only having heard of the group in passing and on reports.
"They are followers of Voldemort's," Jen answered. "They are known killers and rapers. They will do whatever the man tells them to do. They were his thugs and minions in the last war," she elaborated. "I'll get you a more detailed report on them later that isn't filled with speculations and gossip," she added, looking at the head of the Order of the Pheonix.
"Do you think any of these Death Eaters could have killed Dolores Umbridge?" Gibbs asked Dumbledore, he wanted the man's opinion. Even if the potion had worn off, he might tell the truth.
"No, I do not believe any of them could have come upon the grounds without my knowledge," the man boasted, making Gibbs sigh.
"Are you 100% sure of that?" was his sharp question, in a 'tell the truth' tone.
"Alas, no," Albus said with a sigh.
"Is there any way to get on the grounds that you know of that you don't know of?" he asked, just to see what the man would say.
"To my knowledge, there are at least three secret passages that I do not know of. I mean, I know of them, I just do not know where they are," he elaborated, laughing a small laugh. It was all a game to him.
"Who knows of these secret passages?" Gibbs wanted to know. This could open whole new paths to his case. It all depended on where these passages were.
"You might ask the Weasley twins," was the calm response. There was a conspirative twinkle in his eyes. Again, it was as if this was all a game, and he was the leader.
"Is there anything you can tell me about the murder of Dolores Umbridge? If you have such iron control over the wards, does that mean you know who the killer is?" Gibbs stated, knowing the man was either lying earlier or going to now. It was too bad there was a cool down time on the potion. You couldn't give it back-to-back, or you could poison them.
"That is the extent of my knowledge. I know who went into her classroom and for how long, but I do not know what went on while there. She has no portraits in her room," the headmaster said, in a lamented tone.
"Who went into her classroom at the time of the murder?" Gibbs asked, looking at the man anxiously.
"I am not inclined to answer that question. I do not want to accuse someone of something they might not have done. I can tell you that the four that you are already questioning were there," he stated, regally. "Along with Hermione Granger," he added as an afterthought.
"There were others?" was the next question.
"I will not answer," Dumbledore said, running his hand down his beard.
"Can I make him?" Gibbs asked Jen.
"No, not without his lawyer," she said, looking put out.
"I will endeavor do get one," the old man stated, standing as if to leave. He was going to keep his secrets to himself.
"Very well," Gibbs said and with that, he reluctantly let Albus Dumbledore go back to the castle with a firm warning not to discuss the case with anybody.
When he got back to the bullpen, he found a very frustrated Amelia and Kate standing over a sullen Harry Potter. The kid was sulking and in handcuffs.
"What the hell is he doing here, and why is he in cuffs?" he demanded, going to his desk and grabbing the coffee he saw there.
"You'll never guess where we found the gun, Gibbs," Todd said, sighing heavily.
"You didn't," he said, sighing just as heavily.
"Yup, in the kid's trunk. I sent it to Abby," she said, putting Harry at the same desk he had been the last time he was there. Amelia followed them. She still had to ask the kid some questions.
"I have no idea how it got there. I've never seen that gun in my life," Harry said loudly, holding up his hands in surrender and protestation.
"I know, Harry. It looks like someone is trying to set you up. Did you, at any time, touch that gun?" Gibbs asked, knowing they might get some prints from the gun. That might break the case.
"No, I never laid eyes on it until they pulled it from my trunk," Harry said, telling the God's honest truth. "Do I need a solicitor?" he asked, knowing he could afford one.
"Yes, I'd get one if I were you," Amelia answered for him. "I have many questions to ask you, and I want them answered under Veritaserum. You will need a good solicitor for that." She was going to grill this kid for all he was worth.
"Alright," Harry said, looking at the phone on the desk. "I have the number to one. May I use your phone?" he asked, knowing the number to one that Sirius recommended. Well, it was actually Tonks that recommended him. He worked with her father. Her father was a barrister.
"Yeah, go ahead," Gibbs said, waving his hand. He just hoped the kid knew what he was doing. "I'm going to see Abs. Hopefully she's got some good news for me. Did anyone get her a CafPow today?"
"Yes, boss," Tony said, handing the large soft drink over. "I got it just a while ago. I was going to bring it down to her, but Kate waylaid me."
"Hopefully, it's not flat," Gibbs said, taking the drink and his coffee and heading down to the lab. "What have you got for me, Abs?" he asked, upon entering. He handed her the drink and took a sip of his java.
"There are four sets of prints on the gun, the kid, Colin's, and the victim, Umbridge's. Then there are two that are unidentified. Harry Potter's prints are nowhere to be seen," she said with a brilliant smile. She grabbed her soft drink, twirled around and went back to her computer. Bouncing the entire time. She was just happy it wasn't the kid.
"That is good news," he stated, looking around the room for any inspiration. "No spell residue?"
"There is a spell that put the gun in the Potter boy's trunk. That's it," she said with a shrug. "It's an easy enough spell. Anyone over fifth year could do it. It was a simple switching spell. You just need to know who your target is and what you are switching with. In this case it was probably a book," she explained.
"So, we're looking for a smart teen or an adult. No kid would know that spell," Gibbs suggested, tapping his pen on his notepad.
"Not unless they were a genius," she agreed. "Like me," she preened, having known that spell in third year.
"Alright, thanks, Abs," he said, leaving the lab.
"Bring me another CafPow, this one is flat," she called, drinking the pop anyway.
"Well, like I thought, your free to go," Gibbs said as he entered the office area. He immediately took the cuffs off the boy.
"I'd like to question him here. If I take him back to the Ministry, Fudge will try to lock him up," Bones said, tapping her finger on the desk she had been talking to Harry at. She didn't like what she had been hearing so far. This was far from the attention-seeking brat she had been led to believe the boy was. He was shy, polite and honest, as far as she could tell.
"I don't mind," Gibbs said, looking to Jen.
"It's not against the rules," she said, with a shrug.
"Great, when his lawyer gets here, we'll use one of your rooms," Amelia stated, going back to just chatting with the teen. She put up a privacy ward so they would not disturb the rest of the people in the room.
"I'd like that," Gibbs stated, wishing he could sit in on that session, but knowing he couldn't. Well, technically he could, but he had his own case to solve. "DiNozzo, what have you got on Severus Snape?" he asked, waiting for the answer on that one.
"Not much, boss," Tony said, clicking the slide show and showing a picture of Snape in all his black glory. "Severus Snape, born 9 January 1960. He was a half-blood wizard and the son of the witch, Eileen Snape (née Prince) and a non-magical named Tobias Snape. There are reports that the dad was abusive. He was in the muggle system until he was eleven. He was a good student, and there were reports of said abuse, but like Harry, they were ignored. Snape graduated from Hogwarts in '78 and went on to become the youngest potion master in Great Britain. He took the job as a professor in '80 when the war was at its peak. There are reports that he was a Death Eater, and that Dumbledore vouched for him, keeping him out of prison. That's how he kept his job. That's all we can find on him," he finished, pushing the button and vanishing the picture of the sneering professor.
"So, he is in no way related to our victim?"
"Not that I can find, boss," DiNozzo stated, looking through his reports. "Only that she was in the same school at the same time he was at the time of the murder."
"Damn it," Gibbs said, getting up from his chair, and pacing in front of his desk. He was missing something. Someone was going through a lot of effort to make it look like the kid was guilty. Why?
"I can tell you that he does hate the kid though. There is a lot of animosity between the two," Tony said, looking to where Harry and Amelia were behind a privacy bubble.
"You don't say," Jethro said, looking at the kid and tilting his head. That could be a clue. Maybe not but it was more than they had a minute ago. "How so?"
"He despises the kid. There hasn't been a year gone by that he hasn't tried to get him expelled from Hogwarts," Tony stated, pulling out a sheet of paper with the record of the man's complaints on it.
"How did you get that?" Kate wanted to know.
"I know people," Tony said with a smirk, like he had slept with the right secretary to get what he needed. Which was probably true.
"I don't care how you got it, if this is true, it's a clue," Gibbs said, snatching the paper and reading it. The point deductions, the detentions and the complaints were ridiculous. There were things on here that would make a normal person laugh at how outrageous they were, but it seemed this man would stop at nothing to see Harry out of Hogwarts. Breathing too loud? What kind of penalty is that? "I'll question him tomorrow," he said, taking them and formulating his strategy in his head. "Thanks, DiNozzo, you and Kate knock off for the day. Be here bright and early tomorrow. We've got a busy day," he stated, giving them an early day.
"You got it, boss," Tony said, grabbing his jacket and hotfooting it out the door. He didn't need to be told twice.
"Sure thing, Gibbs," Kate said, right on Tony's heels.
"Alright," Gibbs said, sitting down and waiting. He'd wait to see what Bones had to say when she was done with Harry Potter. He settled for reading the report on Snape. He had to interview him and Trelawney tomorrow. Hopefully that will put this to bed.