AN: It's time for Harry's trial. Hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.
Mando-Vet - Fudge will get his dues. Percy won't have an easy redemption.
mwinter1 - Thanks! Hope you enjoy the trial
Arctic Wolf Fury - Hope you enjoy it. I have read a couple stories with lawyers, but not many.
stars90 - Cyrus is definitely going to give his dues.
GreengrassRebel - The Twins scene with the name change was fun to write. I have to make sure the humor sticks around. Yeah, I don't really enjoy it when Harry masters the whole situation himself either. Just doesn't fit. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy my take on Angelina, though hopefully you enjoy my take on Katie and Alicia as well. I rather enjoy the Lady Potter thing as well.
scrappy8 - Ron and Hermione will get better, and Fudge is going to get a lesson.
Bellalphine Black - Oh, Fudge is going to get his dues.
Chapter 48
The night hadn't been pleasant. They had stayed at Cyrus's office, where he had a set of rooms dedicated for people to stay in before trials. Alicia and Jamie were both there, Alicia as a witness, and Jamie as a member of the press, though not the Daily Prophet like most of the Ministry would think. The rooms were comfortable, but the change in Harry's circumstances for the trial weighed on his mind, despite Cyrus's and his family's assurance everything would be okay.
The next morning was quick, with Harry wearing formal robes, with the Potter Crest, the Black Crest, Hades's symbol, and Athena's symbol reflected on his chest. It was hard convincing Astra not to come with them, but Cyrus was confident her presence would only make matters worse, so she finally agreed to stay back. Once he was a mage in full, nobody would be able to say anything about her not always being at his side, and even wearing his blade would become almost expected, but for now, she was just going to antagonize members of the Wizengamot.
They left early, arriving at the Ministry and making their way through security quickly, not even allowing the guard to fully realize who he had let in before they moved past and made their way to the DMLE to wait out the filling of the courtroom. Cyrus needed them to be late in order to be able to hold the failure of notification against the Ministry, and he couldn't let them know that they knew, so Harry tried to relax while they waited, and before he knew it, they were making their way down to the courtrooms, with the intent of being no more than five minutes late.
Harry wanted to gasp as he, Angelina, Alicia, Jamie, Dora, Sirius, and Cyrus walked into the room. The large dungeon had walls made of dark stone, dimly lit by torches. Empty benches rose on either side of him, but ahead, in the highest benches of all, were many shadowy figures. They had been talking in low voices, but as the heavy door swung closed behind Harry an ominous silence fell.
A cold male voice rang across the courtroom.
"You're late."
"Sorry," said Harry nervously. "I wasn't notified about the change of time."
"That is not the Wizengamot's fault," said the voice. "An owl was sent to you this morning. Take your seat."
There was a chair in the center of the room which had chains dangling threateningly. In the benches above, roughly fifty people sat, all wearing plum-colored robes with an elaborate worked silver "W" on the left-hand side of the chest and all staring down their noses at him, some with very austere expressions, others, looks of frank curiosity.
In the very middle of the front row sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. A broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair sat on Fudges left; she wore a monocle and looked forbidding. On Fudges right was another witch, but she was sitting so far back on the bench that her face was in shadow.
"I'm afraid you are wrong," Cyrus said coldly. "It is the Wizengamot's fault that neither the defendant or either of his two guardians were notified of the change of time and venue in a timely manner, especially when I was notified the night before."
Madam Bones leaned forward.
"What do you mean they were not notified, Lord Greengrass?"
"Oh, just another one of Potter's excuses," Fudge said with a feral grin. "I know an owl was sent out."
"Are you calling me a liar?" Cyrus asked dangerously, and Harry watched members of the Wizengamot stare at him a bit apprehensively. Some of them sat up straighter, clearly taking this more seriously. "Lord Potter stayed with me last night, and while I was notified as a Wizengamot member, neither Lord Potter nor his guardians were notified. Not last night nor before we left this morning, as you are clearly stating that they were. The only reason they are here is because I notified them."
"Well, there you have it," Fudge said triumphantly. "They were notified."
"Not by us," Bones said sternly, looking at Fudge. "As a member of the Wizengamot not related to Lord Potter, he does not count as official notification, especially since I was unaware he was representing Lord Potter. It is not his duty to notify his clients."
"Precisely, I was not notified as his Counsel, but as a Wizengamot Member," Cyrus said curtly. "My notification does not warrant official notification which is why my client will be filing a counter lawsuit against the Ministry and the Wizengamot for failure of notification and a breach of the Wizengamot Charter of Rights. Now, we expect a full apology before this trial even begins, lest we leave right now and take this to the ICW," Cyrus finished coldly.
"Apology?" Fudge asked dangerously.
"Of course we apologize," Madam Bones said, and Fudge looked at her like she was insane. "We apologize for the oversight and it will be looked into, and you will be notified of our findings."
"You can't apolo -"
"Minister, if we don't, our rulings could be suspended from the International Confederation of Wizards for breaking international law, which the Wizengamot Charter of Rights is simply a sub document of," Bones hissed, and Fudge licked his lips nervously. "They would be well within their rights to dismiss our court and leave this room right now."
"Oh, very well," Fudge said. "Now, the accused being present - finally - let us begin. Are you ready?" he called down the row.
"We're not done yet, Minister," Cyrus cut in. "You have once again violated Wizengamot law by not notifying all members of the Wizengamot for a full trial."
"What do you mean?" Fudge said, confused, looking around. "Everyone is here, except for you, Lord Greengrass, and you were notified."
"You did not notify House Potter or House Black," Cyrus said.
"They cannot sit up here, seeing as how the only members of House Black and House Potter are either guardians for the accused or are the accused," Fudge said smoothly.
"You are wrong," Cyrus said sternly. "Lady Potter is perfectly capable of holding proxy for the Potter seat as well as the Black seat, via familial bonds."
"Lady Potter? What rubbish is this? There is no Lady Potter," Fudge said heatedly.
"You are wrong, once again," Cyrus said coldly, looking irritated with Fudge's behavior. "There are actually two Lady Potters, but seeing as one is his guardian, I will leave her out for now. As of July 31st of this year, however, formerly Angelina Johnson became Angelina Potter by blood adoption after she was disowned by her family and renounced her familial name. She cannot sit in judgment as she is a witness, but you are unaware of her being Lady Potter and unaware of her being a witness, which means the Ministry is once again in violation of its own edicts."
"There is no Lady Potter!" Fudge hissed. "This is just another lie . . ."
"Minister, I have the legal documentation, which I verified against Ministry records," Cyrus cut him off firmly. "I can assure you that we are also prepared to have a blood test given here and now to prove the authenticity of the adoption ritual."
"We don't have time for . . ." Fudge started to say.
"Yes, we do, if you are going to try and ignore Lady Potter's right to hold the seats," Bones said sternly. "Once again, we apologize for the insult to House Potter and House Black. Our failure will be looked into."
"I appreciate that, Madam Bones," Cyrus said, "but my clients will wait till the end of the trial to demand recompense for the now multiple slights against them."
"Of course," Madam Bones said solemnly, to Fudge's fury.
"Very well," he said angrily. "Now, are we ready?"
"Yes, sir," said an eager voice Harry knew. Ron's brother Percy was sitting at the very end of the front bench. Harry looked at Percy, expecting some sign of recognition from him, but none came. Percy's eyes, behind his horn-rimmed glasses, were fixed on his parchment, a quill poised in his hand.
"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," said Fudge in a ringing voice, and Percy began taking notes at once, "into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident of Shadow Hold, Northumberland."
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for 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."
"Counsel for the Defense: Cyrus Richard Greengrass," Cyrus said. "Court Reporter: Jamie Michelle Spinnet -"
"Court Reporter? There is no court reporter," Fudge interrupted. "This is a closed session."
"Minister, under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, my client is entitled to a public trial if he chooses," Cyrus replied. "Am I expected to keep citing the Wizengamot Charter of Rights or is this body going to hold itself to its standards and stop attempting to circumvent the law?"
"We apologize, Lord Greengrass, House Potter, House Black," a stern voice said from behind Fudge. "Minister, I encourage you to stop attempting to circumvent the Charter of Rights, or we will be forced to remove you as interrogator and possibly from this body as a whole."
Fudge gaped, but nodded stiffly.
"Thank you, Lady Longbottom," Cyrus said politely. "Now I will continue. Court Reporter: Jamie Michelle Spinnet. Witnesses for the Defense: Angelina Marie Potter, Alicia Constance Spinnet, Sirius Orion Black, Nymphadora Tonks Potter, Mafalda Rowanda Hopkirk, Improper Use of Magic Office, and -"
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," a voice said quietly from behind, and Harry turned to see Dumbledore stride serenely across the room wearing long midnight-blue robes and a perfectly calm expression. His long silver beard and hair gleamed in the torchlight as he drew level with Harry and looked up at Fudge through the half-moon spectacles that rested halfway down his very crooked nose.
The members of the Wizengamot were muttering. All eyes were now on Dumbledore. Some looked annoyed, others slightly frightened; two elderly witches in the back row, however, raised their hands and waved in welcome. Harry could see that Fudge was very flustered with Dumbledore's appearance.
"Ah," said Fudge, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. "Dumbledore. Yes. You-er-got our-er- message that the time and-er-place of the hearing had been changed, then?"
"I must have missed it," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "However, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done."
"Yes-well-I suppose we'll need more chairs-I-Weasley, could you-?"
"Not to worry, not to worry," said Dumbledore pleasantly; he took out his wand, gave it a little flick, and several squashy chintz armchairs appeared out of nowhere, appearing next to Angelina, Alicia, Dora, Jamie, Sirius, Dumbledore, and Harry. Dumbledore sat down, put the tips of his long fingers together and surveyed Fudge over them with an expression of polite interest. The Wizengamot was still muttering and fidgeting restlessly; only when Fudge spoke again did they settle down.
"Yes," said Fudge again, shuffling his notes. "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."
He extricated a piece of parchment from the pile before him, took a deep breath, and read out, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge -"
"Objection!" Cyrus called out, and Fudge stopped reading in surprise.
"Lord Greengrass, you cannot object to the charges," Madam Bones said with a frown.
"In this case, I'm afraid I must," Cyrus said. "The Minister is attempting to use Lord Potter's expunged record against him. Legally, he has received no warning for any previous offense from the Ministry of Magic."
"Yes, he did," Fudge said savagely. "In his second year, he performed a hover charm -"
"That was Dobby!" Harry exclaimed, not expecting that injustice to be brought up. He'd thought Cyrus had been barmy to want that explained.
"Indeed, a house elf performed that charm while he was still with his muggle relatives," Cyrus said smoothly.
"A house elf? In a muggle home! HA!" Fudge exclaimed. "More cock and bull stories."
"Minister Fudge, I would advise you to stop talking," Bones said swiftly, glaring at the man.
"The Ministry did not conduct an investigation and thus charged Lord Potter without verifying the accuracy. It was later verified by the Ministry that Lord Potter had not cast a charm with his wand, and that a house elf had done so, and his record was expunged."
"The house elf is currently employed at Hogwarts and can be summoned to provide testimony," Dumbledore added pleasantly.
"I - We haven't the time to listen to house elves -" Fudge started to say.
"You do if you are claiming his expunged record in this court," Cyrus said firmly. "You also do if you are claiming that Lord Potter's story is false. I'm confused on how you are even aware of Lord Potter's previous charge, being that it was expunged? Did you view his sealed records before this trial?"
Fudge gaped as people around the room looked at him severely.
"Minister, answer the question," a middle aged, reedy man said.
"I did not view his file," Fudge said shortly. "I was just aware of the incident."
"And brought it up outside of the investigation?" A short, older woman demanded.
"My apologies," Fudge said shortly. "The charges will be amended."
"I want Minister Fudge's admittance of bringing a sealed record into court documented," Cyrus said, looking at Percy severely, who glanced at the Minister, nervously, looking at him for guidance.
"Mr. Weasley, you do not work for Minister Fudge in this Hall of Law," Bones said sternly. "You work for the Wizengamot and for the Defense, providing protection to both. If you are incapable of providing an unbiased service, than I'm afraid we'll have to remove you -"
"No, I can do it!" Percy protested, looking borderline panicked.
"Lord Greengrass? The decision will be with your client," Bones said politely.
"Percy Weasley was Head Boy and Prefect at Hogwarts while I was there," Harry said slowly, softly, deciding he didn't want to further alienate the third eldest Weasley. "I knew him as someone who followed the rules and was above approach. I would like to assume this was just an oversight and not a stain on his integrity. He may stay if he can stay unbiased against me and unbiased for Minister Fudge."
Percy flushed with embarrassment but nodded, and quickly started writing a great many things down on the parchment in front of him. Either he was working to overdocument things to make up for it and prove he was up to the task, or Harry sadly suspected he was adding things he should have added beforehand.
"Continue, Minister," Bones ordered, and Fudge nodded stiffly.
"The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, produce a Patronus Charm in a public area, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offense under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy."
"I'm afraid I must object again," Cyrus said, and Fudge glanced at him in shock.
"What about?" Bones said with a frown.
"The charge of performing magic in a public area," Cyrus said. "Lord Potter was on the land that his guardians own. It is protected by wards to prevent anyone from entering or seeing. Thus, he was not in the public, nor was he in danger of breaching the Statue of Secrecy. I have the documentation of Lord Black's estate to show the property lines, and I'm sure that the Improper Use of Magic Office can provide the exact location of Lord Potter's use of magic to verify my claim."
Cyrus gestured over to the witness section where Mafalda Hopkirk was sitting, looking slightly nervous. She nodded in agreement to Cyrus's words.
Fudge's mouth hung open, while around the room, angry mutters continued.
"How aren't we aware of where Lord Potter cast the magic?" Bones asked Fudge.
"Because no investigation was done," Cyrus answered smoothly.
"No investigation was done?" a tall, broad-chested man asked slowly. "And this is the second time that the Ministry has charged Lord Potter with using magic without a proper investigation? We are now trying to expel him without a proper investigation or warning?"
"And since he cast magic in his own home, we're attempting to expel him in a full Wizengamot trial for a simple case of underage sorcery?" A willowy, brown haired witch asked in shock.
"I'm afraid that at this time, we will not allow the Ministry to back out of this trial," Cyrus said somberly. "It is not our fault that the Ministry did not conduct an investigation, and we would like all failures and crimes against my client documented for a reparation trial to immediately follow this one."
Fudge glared at Cyrus.
"Very well," Bones said archly. "The charges will be amended to only reflect the breach of the Restriction for Underage Sorcery. Can we proceed with this trial now?"
Cyrus nodded politely.
"You are Harry James Potter, of Shadow Hold, Northumberland?" Fudge said, glaring at Harry over the top of his parchment.
"Yes," Harry said.
"You conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?" said Fudge.
"Yes," said Harry, "but -"
"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?"
"Objection! Badgering!"
"Sustained," Bones said sternly. "Minister, the defendant is allowed to provide his justification." She turned back to Harry with a curious frown.
"You produced a fully-fledged Patronus?"
"Yes," said Harry, "because–"
"A corporeal Patronus?"
"A - er - yes," Harry said with a frown. "My patronus is a grim. It's always a grim."
"Always?" boomed Bones. "You have produced a Patronus before now?"
"Yes," said Harry, irritated that Cyrus wasn't interrupting Bones, "I learned it in my third year. Professor Lupin taught me because of -"
"Impressive," said Madam Bones, staring down at him, "a true Patronus at his age . . . at the age he learned it . . very impressive indeed. "
Some of the wizards and witches around her were muttering again; a few nodded, but others were frowning and shaking their heads.
"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Fudge in a testy voice, "in fact, the more impressive the worse it is!"
Those who had been frowning now murmured in agreement, but it was the sight of Percy's sanctimonious little nod that goaded Harry into speech.
"I did it because of the dementors!" he said loudly, before anyone could interrupt him again.
He had expected more muttering, but the silence that fell seemed to be somehow denser than before.
"Dementors?" said Madam Bones after a moment, her thick eyebrows rising until her monocle looked in danger of falling out. "What do you mean, boy?"
"Please address my client by his proper title," Cyrus rebuked, and Bones nodded slowly.
"My apologies, Lord Greengrass. Lord Potter, please tell us what you mean," Bones said firmly.
"I mean, seventeen dementors came onto my family's property and attacked myself, and my two friends."
"Ah," said Fudge again, smirking unpleasantly as he looked around at the Wizengamot, as though inviting them to share the joke. "Yes. Yes, I thought we'd be hearing something like this."
"Dementors in Northumberland?" Bones said, in a tone of great surprise. "I don't understand -"
"Don't you, Amelia?" said Fudge, still smirking. "Let me explain. He's been thinking it through and decided dementors would make a very nice little cover story, very nice indeed. Highly convenient, highly convenient . . . so it's just your word and no witnesses. . . ."
"We have two witnesses, Minister, as Lord Potter just said, if you were paying attention," Cyrus said, shutting Fudge off quickly. "In addition, we would like to present the bodies and cloaks of all seventeen dementors, which Lord Potter, his familiar, and a pack of other hellhounds killed for trespassing on Lord Black's land."
"Enough, enough!" said Fudge, with a very supercilious look on his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story–"
"You don't get to avoid this, Minister," Cyrus said sternly. "We have two witnesses. Lady Angelina Potter and Ms. Alicia Spinnet, both of age witches with Lord Potter on the night in question. We also have two other witnesses, Lord Sirius Black and Lady Nymphadora Potter who recovered the dementor remains."
Fudge's plump face seemed to slacken, as though somebody had let air out of it. He stared down at Cyrus for a moment or two, then, with the appearance of a man pulling himself back together, said, "We haven't got time to listen to more tarradiddles, I'm afraid. I want this dealt with quickly–"
"That is not for you to decide," Cyrus responded archly. "My witnesses are allowed to provide their testimony."
"True," said Madam Bones. "Perfectly true."
"Oh, very well, very well," snapped Fudge. "You may call your witnesses."
"Lady Potter," Cyrus said courteously, and Angelina stood up confidently, glaring up at Wizengamot.
"Full name?" said Fudge loudly, and Angelina glared.
"Angelina Marie Potter," she said, and murmurs broke out in the room.
"Where do you reside?" Fudge asked.
"Shadow Hold, Northumberland," Angelina said firmly, and murmurs in the room increased, and Fudge frowned before he looked back down at her, his eyebrows raised.
"Very well," he said aloofly. "What is your story?"
"On the night in question, Harry and I had been at our friend Alicia Spinnet's place for dinner," Angelina said. "Afterwards, we all agreed that swimming sounded like a nice way to end the evening, and the property of Shadow Hold contains a lake that we often use. We were enjoying our time when everything went cold -" and here Angelina's voice shook. " - the stars disappeared and everything grew dark. It was like being back at Hogwarts when the dementors swarmed the Quidditch Pitch and attacked Harry, but this time it was directed at us as well."
Bones leaned forward in interest, and she wasn't the only one.
"We tried to get back to the lakeshore, where our wands were, but if it wasn't for Astra, Harry's familiar, we wouldn't have made it. She bought Harry time to get his wand, and Shadow Hold attracts other shadow hounds, so a pack that was there that night started helping to fight the dementors with Harry and Astra, but Alicia and I were helpless," she continued, sounding depressed as she relived the memory. "A group of the dementors went for us, and if Harry hadn't conjured the patronus, they would have kissed both Alicia and I. We owe Harry our lives for his actions that night."
"Very well," Fudge said shortly, and then leaned to his right to listen to what the woman in the shadow was whispering to him. "Before you leave, what is your relationship to Mr. Potter? What is your parentage?"
Angelina glared at him.
"I am a pureblood witch. My mother died when I was young. I was disowned by my father, Kenneth Johnson, and I have been friends with Harry since 1991. As of this past summer, I live with him and his, and now my, magical guardians, and I joined his family as his sister through a blood adoption ritual."
"So, we could say that you are indebted to Mr. Potter for providing you a way of avoiding a marriage contract?" Fudge asked lightly.
"I am grateful for what he has done for me," Angelina agreed. "He and his family helped me out of an abusive home and gave me back my rights, and he would not want me to perjure myself for him."
"Very well," Fudge said shortly again. "Is the next witness ready? Hopefully someone outside of Mr. Potter's family?"
"First, you will address my client by his proper title," Cyrus rebuked the Minister who scowled.
"Minister, you will address Lord Potter by his proper title," Bones agreed. "His age does not allow us to show him the disrespect we have been showing him today."
"As for our next witness," Cyrus said. "She is not family to Lord Potter."
Harry frankly would have disagreed with that, but this wasn't the time.
"Our next witness is Ms. Alicia Spinnet," Cyrus said, and Alicia stood up and provided a very similar story of the events.
"Harry saved our lives that night," Alicia said, smiling gratefully at Harry before giving a stern look towards Fudge, "and I am not a member of his family, nor do I have any debt to him that would force or convince me to perjure myself for him."
Cyrus hid a grin, while Fudge scowled.
"Very well, you may go," he said. "Is that all you've got? Two witnesses, both of whom are noted as close friends or family of the defendant?"
"Objection. Minister, their relationship does not disqualify their testimonies, especially when you have conducted no cross examination to disqualify their testimonies," Cyrus said, his eyes narrowed. "Your personal opinion is not allowed while you are the lead interrogator."
"Sustained," Bones said sharply. "Minister, you will refrain from voicing your opinion to try and sway other Wizengamot members. Your comments are to be ignored and any more from you will result in your removal as lead interrogator."
Fudge looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, his face red, glaring down at Cyrus and Harry.
"As for further evidence," Cyrus continued, "we enter in the seventeen bodies of the dementors from that night."
"What nonsense is this?" Fudge demanded, as Sirius started pulling a box out of his cloak. "The patronus doesn't kill dementors!"
"You are right, Minister," Cyrus said. "However, while Lord Potter used the Patronus to repel dementors and save Lady Potter and Ms. Spinnet, he also used it to stop the dementors from fleeing, allowing for him, his familiar, and the assisting pack of hellhounds to destroy the creatures for encroaching on their land and attacking them, as has already been testified to by Lady Potter and Ms. Spinnet. Lord Potter is almost a fully qualified shadow mage and also does possess a stygian iron blade capable of killing dementors. We already said before that we had their bodies as evidence, but it is clear once again that you were not paying attention."
There were some mutters of approval around the room at that final barb and Fudge turned red from embarrassment, looking around at the many glares now being thrown his way.
Sirius enlarged the box he was holding, revealing a trunk. He opened the trunk with his wand, and soon most of the Wizengamot was gasping as he levitated the forms of the dementors that Harry, Astra, and the other hounds had killed.
"What is this?" Fudge asked, revolted. He wasn't the only one making sounds of disgust or looking revolted.
"These are seventeen dementors, far away from Azkaban, who trespassed on Lord Black's lands," Cyrus said. "Lord Black and Lady Potter are willing to testify about when these bodies were retrieved, if you wish, Minister."
"How do we know these aren't the dementors that Potter killed a year and a half ago?" Fudge demanded desperately.
"Are you telling me that the Ministry didn't keep track of the dementors that were at Hogwarts at that time?" Cyrus demanded cooly.
Fudge backtracked swiftly.
"Of course we did, but what are the chances of seventeen dementors randomly attacking a wizard's home? That's preposterous! Even Bagman wouldn't have bet on that!"
"Oh, I don't think any of us believe the dementors were there by coincidence," said Dumbledore lightly.
The witch sitting to the right of Fudge, with her face in shadow, moved slightly but everyone else was quite still and silent.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Fudge asked icily.
"It means that I think they were ordered there," said Dumbledore.
"I think we might have a record of it if someone had ordered a team of dementors to go into Northumberland!" barked Fudge.
"Then perhaps these were dementors that were outside of Ministry control," Dumbledore said.
"There are no dementors outside Ministry control!" snapped Fudge, who had turned brick red.
"Then I'm afraid we must accuse the Ministry of attempting to murder Lord Potter, Lady Potter, and Ms. Spinnet, and perhaps even attempted murder on Lord Black, Lady Nymphadora Potter, and Mr. Lupin who was at the residence not far away at that time," Cyrus said gravely.
In the complete silence that greeted these words, the witch to the right of Fudge leaned forwards so that Harry saw her for the first time.
He thought she looked just like a large, pale toad. She was rather squat with a broad, flabby face, as little neck as Uncle Vernon and a very wide, slack mouth. Her eyes were large, round and slightly bulging. Even the little black velvet bow perched on top of her short curly hair put him in mind of a large fly she was about to catch on a long sticky tongue.
"The Chair recognises Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," said Fudge.
The witch spoke in a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice that took Harry aback; he had been expecting a croak.
"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Lord Greengrass," she said, with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. "So silly of me, but you can't honestly believe the Ministry would order an attack on this boy?"
She gave a silvery laugh that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up. A few other members of the Wizengamot laughed with her. It was clear that nobody was really amused.
"I'm afraid I must," Cyrus responded seriously. "If there are no dementors outside of Ministry control, as the Minister just said, and we have the bodies of seventeen dementors here, that the Ministry seems to have not noticed missing for a week and a half, to prove that they did indeed attack Lord Potter's home, then I'm afraid we must accuse the Ministry of attempted murder by dementor. Unless the Ministry would like to acknowledge that it does not have complete control of the dementor population? I'm afraid the Minister's statement about having complete control of the dementors is rather flimsy. This is, afterall, the fifth incident of dementors attacking those they were not ordered to, all within the last two years."
"Fifth?" An old man with short dark hair, but still some classically handsome looks said.
"While the dementors were stationed at Hogwarts, they attacked Lord Potter on the Hogwarts Express and had to be chased off by then Professor Lupin. They attacked the Quidditch Pitch during a match, and almost killed Lord Potter, and attempted to feed off all the other students and faculty, as is well documented," Cyrus said. "That year, they also attempted to kill Lord Potter again, after he apprehended then suspected murderer, Lord Black, and wanted Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew. Again, well documented. Last June, the night of the Seventh Task of the Triwizard Tournament, it was revealed that Barty Crouch Sr. was being impersonated by his son, a convicted Death Eater, presumed dead, but having escaped Azkaban because of Barty Crouch Sr. and his position. Before any formal investigation could be done, a dementor accompanying Minister Fudge performed the dementor's kiss on Crouch Jr."
"He was a raving lunatic!" Fudge exclaimed. "It was no loss!"
"That's neither here nor there, Minister," Cyrus said simply. "Unless you wish to admit that you ordered the dementor to kiss Crouch Jr, and thus deliberately removed the perpetrator of a murder and plot to commit murder without the investigation, then It counts as a rogue dementor attack. Now, we have this attack on the Black and Potter home, and if the Ministry is indeed unaware of the orders to attack, then they are out of your control. This indeed marks the fourth attack on Lord Potter by Ministry dementors."
Cyrus paused for a moment, letting them all digest that.
"Regardless, they are Ministry representatives, and House Potter and House Black will have reparations paid out by the Ministry for the attack, for the lack of an investigation, and for the disrespect that has been continuously shown on this day. However, before we get to that, unless the Ministry has any evidence to counter my defendant's case or wishes to cross examine our witnesses further, then we deserve a verdict. The presence of the dementors gave Lord Potter the permission to use magic in defense of his life and the lives of two other members of our magical community as is stated in Clause 7 of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery."
"I would remind everybody that the behavior of these dementors, if indeed they are not figments of this boy's and the two girls' imagination, are not the subject of this hearing! We can't even confirm those are dementors!" said Fudge. "We are here to examine Harry Potter's offenses under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery!"
"Indeed we are, and evidence has been amply provided to prove that he has done underage magic legally. It is on the burden of the prosecution to prove guilt," Cyrus cautioned. "Since the Ministry failed to conduct or chose not to conduct an investigation, you can provide no evidence that Lord Potter has broken any laws other than that he cast magic. As already shown, the only evidence you have was faulty to begin with, and only added false charges to Lord Potter. Now, if you are choosing to ignore evidence and testimonials all because of your bias against Lord Potter, and the rest of the Wizengamot chooses to follow, then there is no value to us being here, and we will simply take asylum with the International Confederation of Wizards in order to resolve the serious miscarriage of justice."
"Serious miscarriage, my hat!" said Fudge at the top of his voice. "This boy has been involved in more incidents and created more cock-and-bull stories to get out of his flagrant misuse of magic than anyone else in our history! His guardians are no better. They plead to get him an exemption for underage magic on the premise he needed to learn to defend himself, which was granted. Then he went and won the Under 16 Dueling Circuit! Not long after he was winning the Triwizard Tournament!"
"You are referring to the exemption that you gave Lord Potter at the end of June of 1994?" Cyrus asked. "The exemption that allowed Lord Potter one week of magic in the summer before the 1994 British Dueling Circuit? I must admit, if Master Moody was able to take a then thirteen year old boy and train him to win his bracket in one week, then he might be the greatest dueling instructor in history, and I would like to hire him to teach both of my daughters."
There were some nervous or outright laughs to that, which mostly faded with Fudge's glare, but not completely.
"Now, as for the arguments about my client needing to learn to defend himself, I believe it is well documented that You-Know-Who attempted to kill him as a baby, that former professor, Quirinius Quirrell, attempted to kill him while trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and that he rescued a young girl and slew a basilisk in order to end the Chamber of Secrets incident while fighting off a cursed object," Cyrus continued. "He also had to defend himself from dementors as well as Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater that we didn' know about that tried to kill him that same year. Not even a month after the Dueling Circuit you brought up, the World Cup was attacked, and Lord Potter was instrumental in fighting off and capturing several of the deviants, and not long after, he was forced to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, a tournament meant for of-age students, and he was once again almost killed by an escaped Death Eater, whom we didn't even realize had escaped Azkaban. So, I would tend to agree that Lord Potter needed to learn to defend himself, since Hogwarts and the Ministry have failed to protect him time and time again."
"He wouldn't have been in many of those situations if he had done as he was told," Fudge retorted.
"And it is generally agreed that several people might have died if Lord Potter had not intervened," Cyrus retorted mildly. "I would also point out that it was proven that Lord Potter had nothing to do with his entrance in the Triwizard Tournament, so you are mistaken in claiming he would have been safe if he'd done what he was told. Besides, as you pointed out, Minister, the dementors are not on trial here. That also means that Lord Potter's actions at Hogwarts and outside of the event are not on trial and are not relevant to this hearing. Now, I believe you have attempted to denigrate my client enough. If the Ministry has no further evidence or questions to ask, then I believe we are owed a verdict."
Up in the benches, the entire Wizengamot had fallen into urgent, whispered conversations.
Harry looked at his feet. His heart, which seemed to have swollen to an unnatural size, was thumping loudly under his ribs. He knew that Cyrus had made a great case and dismantled Fudge, but Harry hadn't exactly been impressed with the Ministry thus far, and was not confident in their ability to deal with Fudge.
Then the whispering stopped. Harry wanted to look up at the judges, but found that it was really much, much easier to keep examining his laces.
"Those in favor of clearing the witness of all charges?" said Madam Bones's booming voice.
Harry's head jerked upwards. There were hands in the air, many of them . . . more than half! Nearly all of them. Breathing very fast, he tried to count, but before he could finish, Madam Bones had said, "And those in favor of conviction?"
Fudge raised his hand; so did half a dozen others, including the witch on his right and a heavily-mustached wizard and a frizzy-haired witch in the second row.
Fudge glanced around at them all, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, then lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and said, in a voice distorted by suppressed rage, "Very well, very well . . . cleared of all charges."
"Very well then, now I believe it is time to move to the trial of Harry Potter against the Ministry of Magic for reparations," Cyrus said before Harry could even process his relief, and Fudge glanced at him angrily.
"We don't have time for that today, Lord Greengrass," Fudge started to say.
"I'm afraid it is the law, Minister," Cyrus replied sternly. "You do not get further time to prepare the Ministry, nor do you get to sweep this under the rug or delay this. Now, I accuse the Ministry of Magic, and the Minister's Office specifically of failure to notify a defendant of a change from a small hearing on underage magic to a full Wizengamot Trial. Lord Potter and his guardians were not made aware of the change in time or venue, which is a secondary insult to House Potter and House Black not being notified that the Wizengamot would be in session, as has already been examined."
"Further, the Ministry illegally expelled my client after being accused of underage sorcery, backtracked and then illegally suspended my client from Hogwarts when it had no legal basis to do so," Cyrus continued. "The Ministry neglected to perform an investigation or chose not to do so when attempting to illegally provide judgment on my client. Ministry representatives have now attacked House Potter multiple times, and House Potter is now bringing up the previous attacks by dementors against the Ministry since the Ministry has not curbed the issue and seemingly has ordered attacks against House Potter. House Potter, House Black, and my own House Greengrass also take offense to the actions and blatant disrespect that has been shown during the previous trial. I will also prove that Minister Fudge chose to remain as lead prosecutor despite a clear bias and having taken actions against House Potter and Black all in a plot to take advantage of Lord Potter's youth and expel him from school, which would have destroyed his chance to fiscally survive in the magical world."
"You go too far!" Fudge snarled.
"Minister, you are lucky we are doing this here," Cyrus said back coldly. "I am magically bound to assist my client to the best of my ability. I should be convincing him to ignore this court and file injunctions with the ICW. Lord Potter has graciously agreed to not ruin our government for these mistakes, pending we make things right."
"You claim much," Bones said solemnly. "I hope you are able to prove your claims, or the Ministry will be forced to file a countersuit to your reparations trial for slander and grandstanding."
"Of course, Madam Bones," Cyrus said with a nod. "Now, let's begin with the failure of notification. I was notified about this trial as a member of the Wizengamot by the Minister's Office. Why wasn't the defendant made aware of the trial?"
"He was sent a letter," Fudge said firmly. "We already apologized for this! It's a simple misunderstanding!"
"You apologized, rather poorly I might add, to allow the trial to continue," Cyrus said severely. "That is not a proper reparation, especially with the Wizengamot's attitude towards Lord Potter for being late. Now, you say a letter was sent. I can assure you that when Lord Potter, Lord Black, and both Lady Potters left my residence this morning at 7 o'clock, no missive had been received. Lord Potter, as a guest, is required to go through the Guest Entrance to the Ministry and must register his wand before navigating to this place, which he might and frankly would be expected to be unfamiliar with, and which could take some time depending on the number of visitors to the Ministry. Since the letter did not arrive, I see no way that he could have been here on time, which ensured you were able to scold him for being late, and if I hadn't stepped in, might have even made him delinquent for the trial, ensuring his expulsion. Further, I have a signed confession from Rufus Scrimgeor that the Minister's Officer ordered the Auror Office to deny leave to Lord Black and Lady Potter for this morning so they would be unable to escort Lord Potter to his hearing. He was forced to desist in this action by me."
"What!" Bones exclaimed sharply, looking at Fudge, and there were some nervous shuffles around the room and angry glances at Fudge, who looked like his world was falling apart.
"It seems to me that with the change in trial, change in venue, change in time, failure of notification, and attempting to tie up the defendant's guardians that the Ministry was attempting to ensure that Lord Potter, being underage, was unable to attend his hearing and would be expelled on principle. Since he was also not made aware of his rights, and his guardians were supposed to be unable to be here, it seems to me the Wizengamot was going to bully my client, using his muggle upbringing against him should he manage to show," Cyrus said coldly.
Fudge licked his lips nervously.
"It was a simple misunderstanding, nothing more," Fudge said weakly.
"A simple understanding that could have destroyed my client's life," Cyrus said firmly. "Thankfully, my client is forgiving and understands mistakes happen. All he requires is a public apology paid for by the Ministry, published in the Prophet, written by Ms. Spinnet, on the front page, acknowledging the Ministry's fault, and admitting it's wrongdoings."
Mutters went around the room, and he could see various members of the Wizengamot looking at Cyrus in horror.
"We can't do that!" Fudge exclaimed. "The public will have a field day!"
"You should have thought about that before you allowed, by my count, eight counts of failure of notification to be allowed and a failure to notify the defendant of his rights, not to mention the other shady dealings, which while not illegal, are certainly vile," Cyrus said, uncompromisingly. "My client will accept no other form of reparation for these slights. Should you choose not to do so, we will take the case to the ICW, and since Lord Potter wanted an open trial, Ms. Spinnet will still publish an article outlining the Ministry's actions, which will highlight the lack of an apology in order to save face. There is no room for negotiation on this demand."
"Your proposition is accepted," Bones said, glaring at Fudge. "We will work with Ms. Spinnet to have a draft printed up and published in the paper."
"It will be published two days from now, and my client and I will see a draft before it is printed," Cyrus said sternly.
"You accuse us of not accurately living up to the reparation?" Bones asked, looking highly affronted.
"My client has now been accused of underage magic twice by the Ministry without an investigation either time, both of which have now been expunged, highlighting that he did nothing wrong. My client was forced to participate in the Triwizard Tournament last year, held by the Ministry, and was nearly killed by an impersonated Ministry employee while another Department Head assisted with the impersonator's plans. Again, no investigation was conducted, despite the death of one of his fellow Champions who was also a friend. Members of the Ministry have threatened to try and take away Lord Potter's familiar, and have tolerated the Daily Prophet slandering him in what now accounts for hundreds of article published over the past year, while disrespecting his fellow Champions in the Triwizard Tournament, which I might add is why the French Ministry and several Slavic Ministries have frozen or cut most diplomatic ties with our Ministry at this time. The Ministry has not intervened despite multiple attacks by dementors, and have now attempted to circumvent his rights to have him expelled from school, and almost all of this before he turned fifteen years old, and he only re-entered this world at the age of eleven," Cyrus said, coldly. "My client has no faith in the Ministry due to its own faults and infractions to him, done in less than three years by my count, and he does not trust the Ministry to accurately apologize for its faults. I can't say that I blame him."
Bones sat back stunned, and Harry glanced around in shock seeing a fairly large portion of the Wizengamot looking at him shamefaced, while even those he knew were from the Voldemort supporting houses looked at him nervously, and others still looked highly affronted, though if that was about his gall or because of the situation, he couldn't tell.
"Very well," Bones said sadly. "You will have the draft by the end of the day."
Fudge looked around in horror at what his attempt at discrediting Harry had cost. Sadly for him, they weren't done yet.
"Now, let's move on to the illegal expulsion, illegal suspension, and lack of investigation," Cyrus said. "Professor Dumbledore, will you enlighten us on this issue?"
"Certainly, Lord Greengrass," Dumbledore said with a gracious nod. "The Ministry has no authority to punish Hogwarts students for misdemeanors at school, nor does it have the authority to expel Hogwarts students, being that Hogwarts is a separate institution from the Ministry. The authority for expulsion resides with the Headmaster and with the Board of Governors. I was forced to remind Minister Fudge of this on the night of the second of August after his office personally intervened with the Improper Use of Magic Office. The Ministry has no authority over what Harry does at school."
"Oho!" said Fudge, trying to fight back. "Not our business what he does at school, eh? You think so?"
"Unfortunately, Minister, it isn't," Cyrus said. "Unless you wish to get a law passed, making it so, but if you do so, we will be forced to prosecute every student at Hogwarts for every transgression."
"Which we would never get approved, nor would we ever be able to come up with the funding for," Bones said firmly.
"Exactly. The Ministry cannot specifically target one student for their transgressions," Cyrus said, intoning his head. "Now, we wish to call Mafalda Hopkirk, Improper Use of Magic Office, to ascertain why an investigation was not conducted on multiple incidents, and why my client was illegally expelled without a warning."
"We don't have time for this . . ." Fudge started to say before Bones glared at him and his voice died.
"Lord Greengrass," Bones said. "I can shed some light. Investigations for Underage Sorcery are not generally conducted for first time offenses due to budgetary issues and lack of personnel. If the charge was made and was a mistake, the witch or wizard can challenge it and prove otherwise, as Lord Potter did. We have never done a full trial for a simple case of underage sorcery," she finished a bit uncomfortably. "I am unsure why no investigation was done before an expulsion however."
"How are muggleborns to know what to do?" Greengrass asked. "If Lady Potter had not taken over Lord Potter's guardianship, he would not have known to expunge his record. However, I see your point, and I believe this is an issue for a proper Wizengamot session at a later time. That does not answer why the expulsion was issued without proper procedure, nor does it answer why proper notification was not given."
"Hem, hem," Umbridge said. "I believe I can shed light on this. With recent issues with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Minister has been making efforts to ensure the rule of law is enforced. I myself find it rather questionable that the Ministry cannot expel students or hold them accountable for their infractions. This was simply a misunderstanding."
"A common excuse that seems to be prevalent, Madam Umbridge," Cyrus remarked dryly, causing the witch's eyes to narrow. "In an effort to save time, we are willing to cut out Mafalda Hopkirk's testimony. However, since the Ministry is in the habit of accusing my client of underage sorcery and using it as an excuse to expel or punish him," Cyrus said, "we would like a full exemption from the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery."
Harry glanced at Cyrus in surprise, but Greengrass kept his focus on the Wizengamot.
"Absolutely not," Fudge said furiously. "I gave him a partial one before and he abused it!"
"Did he?" Cyrus said quizzically. "From what I'm aware, he was only allowed to use it while he was in lessons for self defense while being watched by one of his guardians. Do you have any proof he used it outside of that scope? Again, the Ministry seems particularly focused on punishing Lord Potter for Underage Sorcery. This trial makes House Potter and House Black extremely nervous about the Ministry's motives. Admittedly, as Head of House Greengrass, I too, find the Ministry's actions alarming. As reparations for continual accusation of breaking the restriction, despite lack of evidence, we demand an exemption, so that the Ministry cannot continue to use the Decree as a method of inquisition against my client."
"Granted," Bones said, and Fudge glanced at her incredulously, but when he looked back and saw a sea of angry Wizengamot faces looking at him, he faltered in any sort of protest.
"Thank you. Now, my client demands an answer about why dementors came to his home?" Cyrus asked.
"We will have to look into that," Bones admitted with a grimace.
"I'm afraid that isn't good enough," Cyrus said flatly. "You had your chance for an investigation from the second of August until now. Now, we demand answers. Minister Fudge claims all dementors are in control, which means the Ministry either needs to publicly admit that it ordered dementors to attack the House Black and House Potter and must publicly declare war against both Houses and provide their reasoning, or they must disavow the Minister's words, and admit that they do not hold control over the dementor population."
"Lord Greengrass, surely you can be reasonable," Bones said diplomatically. "That could incite a panic."
"It very well could," Cyrus agreed. "However, my clients and I included are far more afraid of the concept that the Ministry is using dementors to attack those they dislike since the beasts are known to be almost unkillable, can get past almost all magical wards, and a great many witches and wizards never learn the patronus charm to defend themselves. We equally find it frightening that the Ministry does not in fact have control of the Dementors, as they have stated, for all the same reasons, and want to know who else might have been affected by the creatures, muggles and magicals alike, and whether the Ministry has been covering this up, and other attacks like it for some time now, or is simply unaware since they are incapable of keeping track of dementors, who might be attacking muggles and risking our exposure."
Mutters went around the room, and Harry could see that Cyrus's arguments were in agreement to quite a few others in the room. Either concept was frightening, and they did believe the public should know. Others were along the lines of Bones's thought process in that it would incite a panic.
"Surely we can come to some sort of compromise," Bones said diplomatically. "Inciting a panic at this time seems foolhardy. Surely there is something else you would take as compensation?"
Cyrus glanced at Harry, and Harry took a breath and addressed the Wizengamot.
"I will accept the extermination of the dementors as an acceptable compromise to avoid panic," Harry offered up, causing many to gasp and even Cyrus to look at him a little impressed.
"Forget it!" Fudge said. "Some of us sleep well at night knowing they guard azkaban."
There were nods of agreement to that.
"I don't, Minister," Harry said coldly. "At this point in time, dementors have gone out of their way to attack me four times, against Ministry orders, or now possibly on them. I was forced to learn the Patronus Charm at age thirteen, which Madam Bones was impressed about, in order to protect myself because these Ministry officials were affecting me and attacking me. Now they are also attacking my family."
"Can you allow the Ministry time to conduct a thorough internal investigation to see if the Dementors were ordered to attack you or whether they were out of control?" Bones asked a bit shakily. "We don't have the support staff to man the prison without them, not with budget cuts to the DMLE. Removing them could lead to escapes by some of the worst criminals in Magical Britain."
"Or those like my friend Hagrid or my godfather, both of whom were sent to Azkaban without trials, simply because of suspicion and bias," Harry responded shortly, getting grimaces and winces from many in the room, before glancing at Dora and Sirius who gave him a "work with them" look and he sighed. "However, I am willing to allow an internal investigation. The investigation must be done in a timely manner, though, and must have a decision on whether they were dementors out of control or on orders to attack by Ministry Officials. If it's the former, I will expect the Wizengamot to meet to discuss possibly removing the dementors from Azkaban and having them destroyed in order to protect the people of this country or at least major checks being placed to ensure this never happens again. If the Ministry is unwilling to safeguard my friends and my family, as a servant of Hades, I will do what I must to eradicate the creatures, regardless of the Ministry's stance."
"Is that a threat? It is not for you to decide what the Ministry does, Potter!" Fudge said, angrily.
"You are correct, Minister," Cyrus said, giving Harry a look that told him to let him take back over. "However, as a future member of the Wizengamot, and member of Magical Britain, he is allowed to demand safety from our own guards. He is allowed to demand accountability from the Ministry. If he couldn't defend himself, this trial would have been about the Ministry's attack on House Potter and how the kiss was performed on three Hogwarts students. That wouldn't have just incited a panic. That would have incited a rebellion."
"You are correct, of course, Lord Greengrass," an older voice said from behind Fudge. "A full investigation will be conducted, and Lord Potter or his guardians will be read in upon the completion and will be given a seat in the decision for what happens after the findings are reviewed. Will that satisfy you?"
Cyrus glanced at Harry who thought it over and then nodded.
"It does, Lord Ogden," Cyrus said. "Thank you. Finally, we demand an apology and financial restitution in the form of 5,000 galleons to be donated to St. Mungo's for allowing Minister Fudge to be lead prosecutor despite his clear bias and his attempts to circumvent the law. In addition, his disrespect towards House Potter shown in this room, along with his clear lack of understanding on the basic Charter of Rights require us to demand that Minister Fudge be banned henceforth from participating in Wizengamot trials, until such time as he earns himself a Mastery in Wizarding Law and Practice."
"What?!" Fudge nearly exclaimed. "You can't demand that."
"We can," Cyrus said, his eyes flashing. "Right now, I will speak to you as a member of the Wizengamot, Minister. In over twenty years, I have never seen such a sham of a trial."
"You have been belligerent and have attempted to bully Lord Potter in order to circumvent wizarding rights, and you have several times, by my count, attempted to move things along because I quote, "we don't have time for this" which is not an acceptable reason to move things along in the court of law." Cyrus shook his head. "You haven't been able to even keep your bias in check to address him by the proper title. Not a single time, despite being warned. If it had been me, I would have felt the need to challenge you to a duel for your insults to my family and myself. You should be thankful that Lord Potter hasn't done so, since he has been proven to be quite the duelist and a formidable opponent."
Cyrus paused for a moment.
"You are the reason the Wizengamot is being forced to submit to Lord Potter's demands, and we have no choice because to not do so would destroy this institution's reputation and stain the reputation of every family that is currently a member. We'd be thrown out and disgraced if Lord Potter took this to the ICW. He would be well within his right to demand a far larger financial restitution but has chosen not to do so out of principle. You were a fool to think you could use his age and your position against him, and as a member of the Wizengamot, I want no further part of you being a member of our body for any and all trials of law, lest you bring us to financial, professional, political, and legal ruin," Cyrus finished firmly.
"I agree with Lord Greengrass," a voice said, and Harry realized it was Emmline Vance, an Order member. He knew she had gained the seat left vacant with Barty Crouch's death due to her incredible career and service both as a hitwitch and with her abilities as a master warder. She was still currently the Head of the Hitwizards. She had enhanced or improved many of the protections on government and public places, both during the first war and ever since. She was a very valuable member of the DMLE and the Ministry as a whole. "In addition, I think we need to have a serious discussion about Minister Fudge holding the position of Chief Warlock based on his actions here today."
"Seconded," Bones said archly, and Fudge glared.
"I disagree."
"I second the Minister's disagreement," Umbridge said, her simpering tone gone.
"Cyrus?" Harry whispered.
"It takes a full vote of the Wizengamot to add or remove members from its body for any reason," Cyrus explained quietly. "This, of course, is only a partial removal, but it still takes a full vote since this will technically remove three votes from the Wizengamot in a trial, unless someone else acts as the Chief Warlock."
"All in favor of Minister Fudge's removal from Wizengamot trials?" Bones asked, and Harry wanted to laugh as nearly three quarters of the room raised their hands against Fudge who looked like he couldn't decide whether to cry or rage. "All opposed?"
The remaining quarter of Fudge supporters and dark families raised their hands, but Harry noted that even some of the dark families voted against Fudge. Then again, someone who let bias get in the way could be used against them as well. From what Harry knew, Fudge wasn't dark, just greedy, cowardly, and power hungry. He did hold to the pureblood ideology, but at the same time, he was not a Voldemort supporter, so did not hold to the ideology to the extreme, and thus if turned against certain families, could be a dangerous enemy in this courtroom.
"Motion passed," Bones said. "Minister Fudge, you are henceforth, removed from all judicial legal proceedings of the Wizengamot until such time as you prove yourself capable by achieving a mastery in Wizarding Law and Practice."
Fudge started to splutter but Bones ignored him and looked back down at Harry, his family, and Cyrus.
"Your apology will be included in the news article, and your financial restitution is approved and will be donated with a bill of proof for donation. Is there anything else?"
"No, Madam Bones," Cyrus responded. "House Potter and House Black are satisfied, pending Ministry promises are kept."
"Then this concludes this trial," Bones said, and Harry breathed out a sigh of relief before he was engulfed in a group hug by Angelina, Alicia, Dora, and Sirius.
"Excellent," said Dumbledore briskly, springing to his feet, pulling out his wand and causing the armchairs to vanish. "Well, I must be getting along. Good day to you all."
And without looking once at Harry, he swept from the dungeon.
Harry frowned after the man, but then smiled at Cyrus Greengrass and shook his hand.
"Thank you very much," Harry said honestly.
"The pleasure was all mine, Harry," Cyrus said with a nod. "Keep me and my firm in mind should you ever need legal assistance again."
Harry nodded firmly, and Cyrus turned and made his way out of the courtroom, leaving Harry with his family, official and pseudo.
Harry shook his head in disbelief. Not only had he been cleared, but he now could do magic, and the Ministry was going to apologize. More than he ever had hoped for. Cyrus had even found a nice way for the Ministry to pay, which would further cement their fault, while ensuring the money went to a good cause, which Harry was very appreciative of.
With his presence no longer required, the Wizengamot seemed to largely ignore him and his family as Dora and Sirius led him, Alicia, and Angelina out. Jamie had to stay behind to work on her story . . . though Harry knew she was actually working on two stories. The apology that the Ministry was now forced to print, she would write for the Prophet, but also she would publish the apology and another article outlining the trial even further for Sirius's new paper.
"I can't believe Fudge attempted to circumvent the law so much," Alicia muttered angrily.
"He's paying for it now," Angelina said, grinning evilly. "The bastard is probably regretting this a lot right now."
It was a quick journey through the Ministry before Dora and Sirius escorted Alicia home, wanting to make sure she made it safe. Then they escorted Angelina and Harry back to Grimmauld Place before they left to return to work.
Soon, Harry was celebrating with everyone else in Grimmauld Place. Ginny had kissed his cheek before joining the twins and Angelina in a circle jumping around making as much noise as they could shouting about him being cleared, while Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione all smiled, exclaiming how they knew that everything would work out just fine, and everyone, except a slightly disapproving Mrs. Weaslely, was properly jealous about Harry's new exemption from Underage Sorcery.
Harry certainly felt properly relaxed now that he knew everything was actually okay. Plus, now he really needed to talk to Mrs. Weasley because he and Angelina could now practice elemental magic together. Maybe he could see if they could smuggle Katie and Alicia into the house so the other two girls could do it as well . . . Hermione, Ginny, and Ron would probably like to at least witness their work, and use the theory to maybe pick things up themselves. It wouldn't hurt to offer it to them.
Regardless, things were looking up.
Two days later, the Daily Prophet was delivered, and Hermione was one of the first to eagerly read it, gasping as it outlined everything that Angelina, Alicia, Dora, Harry, and Sirius had explained. It delved into some of what they'd mentioned in the trial that struck people like Jamie and other Wizengamot members who were unaware of the many injustices done to Harry. Things that Harry hadn't mentioned after the trial, not really thinking about explaining things that those in the room already knew about.
The article, which was read by many, shook many's faith in the Ministry within the magical community, including those who didn't believe Harry, and still didn't even with the trial. In fact, it didn't change the opinion of many people on Voldemort's return, which wasn't the intent anyways, but it did generate large waves of sympathy for Harry and outrage at the Ministry's handling of judicial matters. Calls for accountability were thrown at the DMLE and the Minister's Office, and unfortunately for Fudge, the DMLE was able to satisfactorily provide evidence that it was the Minister's Office's influence and major cuts to the budget over the past ten years that had led to such widespread neglect of the law.
Already there were large calls for major reforms to prevent outside influence from affecting the DMLE, calls for budget increases to satisfactorily investigate matters, especially when also factoring in Sirius's lack of trial long ago, and calls for sanctions against the dementors.
While Fudge claimed many people slept better because of the dementors guarding Azkaban, he was now finding that people were sleeping not nearly as well with the Ministry unable to answer whether they had control of the dementors or whether people in the Ministry were using the dementors as their personal attack dogs to steal the souls of those who they considered a threat. Within a day of the article, the Ministry was forced to place a temporary ban against the dementors from even leaving Azkaban, and from any Ministry personnel utilizing them on the mainland for any reason whatsoever without full approval of the Wizengamot. While the internal investigation was being conducted on satisfactorily answering what happened, there were also talks to decide on whether the Ministry could afford to continue using the Dementors or whether it was time to move to a different guard force and greater enchantments.
Fudge's removal from judicial proceedings was met with widespread approval, with more than one person voicing the opinion that if he wasn't capable of judicial procedures, then was he capable of being involved in legislative matters? By the end of the week, he just managed to hold his post as the Chief Warlock, though it was close, and while it was not easy to remove a Minister, and there weren't many calls to do so yet, but there were calls to stop the corruption and calls to ensure that the Minister had no further involvement with the DMLE, even should he gain a Mastery. Fudge's popularity had fallen drastically and people were watching his actions carefully.
The other institution that took a major hit on the same day was the Daily Prophet. While some of that came from the apology letter, which stoked sympathy for Harry Potter, and thus made a lot of people look back critically on Prophet articles which had been slandering him for over a year despite him never being interviewed, the real hit came from the first published edition of a new newspaper, delivered to every known magical household, free of charge for the whole first weeks editions. There were also copies in every major Wizarding area, also free of charge for the first week. Sirius had spent a pretty penny on his initial investment to start the paper off.
"The Shadow Chronicle?" Hermione asked, glancing at it in surprise, before looking at Harry, thinking about what he'd mentioned, and he nodded.
"Yeah, Sirius thinks it's really funny to keep naming everything after my first chosen element and my connection to my patron, and Dora and Remus agree, so here we are," Harry said, gesturing at the paper.
"Jamie's Ministry apology is in here . . . and an interview with Rita Skeeter! There's also an article written by Skeeter!" Hermione gasped, and immediately started reading the first article.
"How did you get her to admit to writing false implications and making up rumors in order to hurt people's reputations and sell papers?" Hermione asked, as she made her way through paper before she passed the paper around for others to read before she'd eventually want to read the rest of the paper. "You also got her to throw the Daily Prophet under the bus, claiming they not only knew what she was doing but encouraged it, and encouraged it for all their other journalists! I noticed there are other articles by other journalists in here with a great many articles representing stories she and other Prophet journalists had written, outlining facts, destroying some of the more dubious rumors or opinions. Some even about you, bringing up things like your parseltongue as fact, but absolutely destroying the rumors and slander printed against all of us and you. And I noticed this paper has a section on muggle news and politics, both British and international news and politics. International magical news also! I see sections for Muggle and magical sports, and certainly more than just Quidditch for the magical sports. Harry, this is wonderful!"
"You have to give credit to Sirius, Dora, and Remus," Harry said. "Some credit also goes to Angelina, not to mention the staff who are actually making it run, but yes, you'll notice our paper is quite different from any other paper in the Wizarding World. It covers muggle and magical events, to an extent, muggle and magical sports, mostly highlights, except for the major sports like football, Quidditch, and Dueling, but you'll see mentions or articles on the broom races or even Quodpot across the pond. There's also sections for travel, magical creatures, health and wellness, business, and for every edition there will be an educational article written by a rotating and growing roster of Professors, Experts in Fields, and those with Mastery in all manner of subjects. They even got magazines like Transfiguration Today or other papers like the Quibbler to give them some of their major articles so that they can include blurbs to help enhance our paper, provide educational information, and then advertise for those other magazines for the full articles and information."
Hermione glanced over at Dora who was looking at the paper with a very smug smile.
"To answer your question about Skeeter, we completely own her now, and basically threatened to destroy her entire life if she didn't work for us and do exactly what we wanted. Because of us, we've now forced her to burn the bridge to her previous employment as well, which means she is stuck working for us," Dora said. "She's certainly getting paid a fair wage, better than at the Prophet, but she now has to hope that she's always useful to us because if we burn her, she'll spend time in prison, and then she'll have no choice but to leave the country to find work, and she'll never work in journalism again, no matter where she goes."
Hermione looked at Dora with awe.
"What exactly did you threaten her with? Her animagus form?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"Yes, and no," Dora said, sipping her tea, with an evil grin. "The penalty for being an unregistered animagus is up to five years in prison. Unfortunately, Rita has used her ability to trespass and break into a great many places and hear a lot of privileged information, or at least that is what we will claim. So, with the amount of articles she's written and people she's slandered, many of whom we've interviewed and many of whom can claim that she couldn't have obtained what real information she had through normal means, we can put her away for the rest of her life unless she reveals sources to prove otherwise, which will burn her journalistic integrity and destroy her ability to work in the field. In addition, because of her time at Hogwarts, over the course of a whole year, we threatened to charge her with watching minors in their dorms and in private areas, including bathrooms," Dora said, and Hermione gasped.
"I'm sure she never did that!"
"I doubt she did," Dora agreed darkly. "It doesn't matter that we can't prove it. All we need to do is imply that dear old Rita was getting her kicks off of watching children while they were exposed, and she'll never work again. We've used her own tactics against her, and now have forced her to help us hurt the Daily Prophet. She's ours until she retires or she pisses us off and we put her out to pasture."
"Bloody hell," Ron and Ginny both said, looking at Dora warily, a bit in awe of her and Sirius's ruthlessness.
"Very Slytherin of you," Fred and George both said complimentarily.
"Yep," Dora said, grinning. "As Sirius says. Sometimes you need to be a knife with precision, and sometimes you just need to get past subtlety and swing away with a hammer. Hopefully, Rita writing for us will draw her fans to our paper, and along with the hits against the Prophet, like you said, along with her confession, there are also several articles going against Prophet articles, showing both sides of things to let people come to their own conclusions, all fact checked, and generally written without opinion. Much of this first week will have important news that people want in a paper, but we're also publishing a lot of stuff reporting on news that the Daily Prophet didn't report accurately. The idea is for this paper to be articles almost exclusively written in information format, allowing people to see dry facts without bias. There will be exceptions, but they'll have disclaimers about it being opinionated, like the editorials or some interviews with experts in specific fields. We head-hunted a lot of the better writers from the Prophet as well as people the Prophet had wronged or people who didn't want to work for the Prophet because of its lack of journalistic integrity. Rita was very helpful with that, having a wide knowledge of people. We even have a few werewolves working with us, and word is spreading among that community that we're non discriminatory."
Dora's hopes were proven quite true with a great many readers of the Daily Prophet canceling their subscriptions in light of Rita Skeeter's confession, none of which was prosecutable since she never did outright slander anyone, so the Prophet and Barnaby Cuffe had no means of going after Skeeter for her betrayal. That which they'd used for years against others was now biting them in the ass. While there were a great many people who were a bit wary of a paper that retained Skeeter, quite a few were at least open to giving it a chance, especially since quite a few fresh names printed articles in the Shadow Chronicle along with some of the more objective writers from the Prophet, who had clearly jumped ship when seeing the chance for a fresh paper. Rita was by no means the senior writer at the Chronicle, which many saw as her being closely watched and reviewed.
While the Ministry apology hadn't convinced people that Voldemort had returned, the Shadow Chronicles first week of articles had swayed some people to the truth of Voldemort's return. Or at least acknowledging that, while they didn't want to believe it, he at least could be back. The fact that the Ministry had done no investigation into Harry Potter's claims after the Seventh Task, with a dead champion, rubbed many the wrong way. For all they knew, Harry was right, or Harry himself had killed Cedric Diggory, or perhaps he had gone insane seeing what the maze had done to Cedric, and just made up a lie to try and comprehend what was happening. It could be any of the three. The public certainly wasn't swayed, but the Ministry's and Daily Prophet's slandering of Dumbledore and Harry were far less welcomed, now with objective articles showing how insubstantial many of both institution's claims had been.
The Daily Prophet certainly wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but the Shadow Chronicle's debut got the paper up and running successfully, giving the Prophet real competition, which would hopefully at least force the Prophet to watch its publishing practices. It also gave the Order a venue to move against some of the dark families and the shadier practices that the Prophet had been more than happy to stay quiet about, and a medium to be critical against the Ministry, without Ministry influence, since the paper's owner refused to bow to Ministry influence. It was also the first paper to openly provide information about the muggle world, something that drew muggleborns and halfbloods to them in droves, all eager to keep up with what was happening in the muggle world, and something that allowed purebloods and even curious halfbloods who had left the muggle world a venue to see some of the major improvements and innovations of the muggle world.
With the Ministry and the Prophet both taking major hits, people could see a major change on the rise. Whether it was for good or bad was yet to be determined. Harry and most of his friends and family knew that it would be both.