Hello again.
Now we'll be tearing away from Jasmine for the moment, and focus on some of Draco, Professor McGonagall, and Amelia/Bellatrix/Sirius. Draco's got some thinking to do, while Sirius and Bellatrix need to get set up in both society and the Potter Family.
Don't own Harry Potter
Revelations Abound (in more than one)
XXDracoXX
Breakfast was filled with thoughts for Draco that morning.
The evening before, as he and Slytherin House went down to the Slytherin Common Room, he had overheard a couple of older students insulting Jasmine, the girl who gave him a chance to step away from his father. He felt like he shouldn't let her down.
"Who's to say she doesn't have a power beyond any magic behind her 'unique' form?" He had retorted. "Anyone who has stared into her eyes can say with surety that she does. But just what lay there? And most importantly, why?"
'Why?' That was a big question for such a small word for him. Why was the Girl-Who-Lived like she is now? And why did he feel that he shouldn't cross her at all?
Things just got even more confusing that morning when he caught a glimpse of who he thought was his aunt Bellatrix. But shouldn't she be in Azkaban?
Thankfully, one question that came up was easier to bring out, although it was mainly because it was purely academic in nature.
"Hey, Flint." he said to the nearby male Slytherin Prefect. "Was there supposed to be only one prefect for a house? Because it's looking like Gryffindor only has one."
"Actually, no they shouldn't." said prefect answered, curious himself. "Weasley was the only one that had shown up during the prefect meeting on the train. Why do you ask, Malfoy? They're not our house."
"But Jasmine's in Gryffindor." Draco said.
"Still don't see why's she's so important to you." Flint quipped.
"She...she was the first who gave me the benefit of the doubt." Draco answered, a bit hesitantly. "Which is confusing, because she had never met my father. So how did she know about him and his past?"
That silenced Flint. If she truly had never met Lucius Malfoy, then how did she know about him, let alone the fact that the man was once a Death Eather
Maybe Draco was actually on to something about the girl.
Although one of the most perplexing pieces of the Potter puzzle (wording intended) was the stuffed toy wolf she always had with her. He had no idea what, but something about that thing, at least once he thought about it, felt...alive. Like it wouldn't hesitate to help Jasmine in any way it could.
Making two strange reasons to not cross her in any way. He thought to himself as he ate. However, his attention was diverted to a blond-haired girl he recognized as Daphne Greengrass. "Yes, Ms. Greengrass?"
"I can give you some information about Potter." Daphne told him. When he urged, she went into detail. "One time, Mother came home from a trip to Diagon Alley, and was shocked at something. She told us that she had saw 'a strange dark-skinned girl with pale green eyes' doing magic. In front of muggles at that."
The students that heard her gasp, but she wasn't finished by far.
"But not only did the Ministry not come to the scene, the two Aurors that came across the scene were forced away by the fact that it was too easy for the entire city of London to find out. To keep magic a secret, they had to let it go."
None of Slytherin House could believe their ears at that. The Girl-Who-Lived doing magic in muggle London, and getting away with it? Even more so, the muggles actually not attacking her because of it?
First order of business, Draco thought. contact Mother and get some answers. All I know is that it all centers around Jasmine Potter, but otherwise just what the bloody hell is going on?!
XXProfessor McGonagallXX
"Again, I'd like to apologize for not entirely believing you about Ms. Potter, Minerva." Filius said during breakfast.
"It's understandable, Filius." Minerva responded. "This isn't exactly something you'd expect, even in our world. However, it has allowed her to help discover a problem in Gryffindor House."
"Oh?" asked Filius.
"Mr. Weasley had asked me last night about where the other Gryffindor prefects were." She explained. "The older years somehow forgot over the summer, and the one in his year never received the notice. Some time today, I'm going to have to go and fix the issue so that it doesn't happen again."
"I'm sure it wasn't anything serious, Minerva." Dumbledore said.
"Maybe, maybe not. But the fact remains that it shouldn't have happened." Minerva stated. She then sighed. "On a different note, Ms. Potter is most likely going to need accommodations, otherwise she'll need another student to carry her back and forth from the Common Room. And don't start, Severus, it'd be a similar case if a Slytherin had trouble dealing with the dark or being underground from the Slytherin Common Room."
That silenced the man that was about to say something, seeing sense in her words.
"So she's afraid of heights?" Filius asked.
Minerva nodded. "That's at least what Mr. Weasley and Hagrid have both told me. Ms. Granger had to carry her over each set of stairs so far."
"I'll see what I can do to help." Filius offered. A few of the other teachers offered as well, getting Minerva to smile at the support. Although inwardly she was somewhat suspicious about Dumbledore's lack of response in particular out of him and Snape. Why wasn't he willing to help?
XXBlack, Black, and from Bones' POVXX
"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT IT?!" Amelia yelled out into the panicking Atrium.
"Told you I should've gone with the cloak." Bellatrix grumbled, being the cause of the disturbance.
"But, Madam Bones, what is Bellatrix Lestrange doing here?!" a nearby employee demanded.
"Bellatrix Potter is here to see justice be done in regards to the offenses done to both her and her house from the Lestrange House." Amelia shot. "By Acient Law, she was never a Lestrange."
"I would've pressed charges a lot sooner if I had known." Bellatrix declared. "Too bad I can't add the Lestranges having known about the law to the charges."
"Unlike me with Bagnold, Crouch, and Dumbledore." Sirius added. "They were supposed to uphold the law, yet not only was I sent to Azkaban for crimes I didn't commit, but without a trial at that."
The crowd gasped, while Amelia quirked an eyebrow at Sirius's words. Then an incredibly annoying voice cleared her throat and spoke. "Are you suggesting that the Ministry is in error? Everyone knows that you were responsible for the death of the Potters."
"Was there an official record, or just heresay?" Sirius replied. "And if the current Ministry is willing to help ensure justice, then I can't exactly add the rest of you to the docket, now can I?"
So that's it. Amelia realized what Sirius' game was. But he wasn't quite done.
"How about this? I challenge you all to find actual evidence against either of our claims. If there is, and it is irrefutable, then we'll return to Azkaban without a fight. If not, then..."
He left it hanging, not needing to speak to tell them what would happen. Especially to ones like Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy that were in the crowd. If they tried to do something, then it would most likely backfire on them, hard.
And since the evidence against the claims are non-existent, any evidence that shows up would be fake and thus invalid.
Oh, was she going to enjoy their faces during the hearing.
With a little help from a few trustworthy aurors, the three made her way to her office to wait until the appointed time for the hearing. Granted, it would be a pretty big spectacle, but it was a clear cut case.
Once inside and the door was closed, Amelia turned to Sirius and said, "You just love riling people up, don't you? Right in the Ministry, and too many people heard to not have at least one person try and look into it. You just made it as clear cut as it could possibly get right now."
Sirius smiled mischievously. "That was the idea."
Bellatrix and Amelia started laughing, with Sirius joining in. After calming down, Sirius brought the conversation over to Jasmine, the biggest reason they were there in the first place. "By the way, where is Jasmine staying anyways?"
"At a warehouse by London docks." Amelia answered. "Once we're done here, I can take you there to at least get an image in your head. She'll have to let you inside, though."
"A dock warehouse?" Bellatrix asked to be sure.
Amelia nodded. "One that she also apparently works out of. It explains a lot of recent cases that had popped up had muggles getting 'hexed' into embarrassing situations, and yet nothing showed up to indicate who did it or even if it was truly a muggle-baiting crime. A common one was for people to unexpectedly catch their clothes on something and end up buck naked in public, only to be arrested and discovered having other crimes as well."
Sirius and Bellatrix fell down out of laughter at the image. A person, just walking down the street, unknowingly gets their clothes caught on a nail or something similar, and only find out after someone tells them about. And that someone usually being the non-magical aurors. Even without them, it was hilarious to the pair.
The conversation lapsed into more casual topics until it was time for the hearing. The three went down to the appointed court room, but Bellatrix eventually stopped as she remembered something. "Hey, Amelia. Any chance we could get on of the goblins there for a little something?"
"Why do you ask?" Amelia responded.
Bellatrix looked rather nervous. "As that crazy bitch, I might have put something in the Lestrange vault that would piss them off. I want to deal with it as soon as possible."
Amelia wasn't sure what she was nervous about, but decided to at least humor the woman. All things considered, it wouldn't be a surprise if it turned out to be true.
A little detour later, and a goblin was on his way down to the hearing as well, curious about why his presence was requested at all.
Upon arrival, they found Umbridge, Malfoy, and the entire Wizengamot there alongside a mildly pudgy man in a green bowler hat and robes and a blonde woman that they recognized as Rita Skeeter.
Amelia wasn't impressed. "Are you trying to get me to arrest you? The only reason the hearing is down here instead of someplace like my office is just the need of multiple witnesses and a reporter. The entire Wizengamot isn't needed."
"On the contrary, Madam Bones." Umbridge said. "Two criminals of such standing des-"
"Finish that sentence and you'll be going to Azkaban." Amelia declared. "Mr. Black was never tried, and you need to be convicted to be classed as an official criminal. And even you can not go against the Ancient Laws."
"It's true." a voice called from the side of the Wizengamot. "His records are non-existent and her's has new evidence that needs to be taken into account."
"Thank you, Madam Longbottom." Amelia said to the speaker.
"Be that as it may," Lucius spoke. "some would be more assured if the entire Wizengamot declared the same. Wouldn't they?"
"The coward's got a point with that, Amelia." Bellatrix said. "While it wouldn't convince everyone, some would be better off hearing from either more or certain mouths."
"What did you say?" Lucius shot, mildly annoyed at Bellatrix's remark.
"A bloody coward, because you didn't even try to challenge your status as a Death Eater." Bellatrix shot back. "You just swept it under the rug to get off the long sunken ship known as Dork Lord Baby-Bart."
Sirius was one of the few who had trouble composing themselves due to how much laughter they felt at 'Baby-Bart.' Even Lucius couldn't help but let out a quiet snort at that, despite the anger he felt from the woman's words.
Amelia, Umbridge, and the man in green didn't quite see it so funny, albeit for different reasons. The man, known as Cornelius Fudge, was sweating at the claim that Malfoy was a criminal, which could take him down as well. Umbridge was angry at the insinuation that a prestigious man like Malfoy could possibly be a criminal. And as for Amelia...
If it ain't one thing, it's another with the Potters. Sigh.
It got even worse when the goblin showed up, only for Bellatrix to say "My apologies, Master Goblin, but in regards to the vault of offending family in this hearing, I might've put one of those in it at the behest of the Death Eaters."
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
'Baby-Bart' is just really meant to make 'Voldemort' an insult from the meaning and his actions. He attempted to cheat death, and while death is indeed scary, actually cheating death means he's nothing more than a cowardly, hypocritical baby. And that's one of the nicest insults for someone like him. The '-Bart' is just because '-mart' is kind of overused.
Not entirely sure what to do about Pansy at the very least yet.
Until next time. Please let me know what you think.