FicWad

Harry Potter and the Witches' Secret
Chapter 22
12 Sept 1995 (Sidereal)

Hogwarts
Headmaster's office

Dumbledore stumbled into his office from the attached quarters, completely exhausted. He had not slept much. He had aches and pains all over and had made at least five trips to the loo last night. He would have to see Poppy.

After that he had to go to the Ministry. He would have to do some political maneuvering to keep that Bones bitch in her place. Nobody spoke to him like she had yesterday.

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Hogwarts
Great Hall

Angelina and Fred sat at the Gryffindor table. They watched in amusement as George came in with Alicia, followed by Ron and Lavender, and lastly a terrified Neville with Romilda in hot pursuit.

Over at the Hufflepuff table, boy-girl pairs were forming in the absence of what Angelina called all the serious competition.

Ravenclaw looked a little lost without the epicenter of male attention that was the Cho/Marietta alliance, and the posse was leaderless.

Slytherin just looked sad. With Daphne and Tracey gone, the little beauty and light that house had left was dependent on Parkinson. It looked as if it would go wanting.

The Staff Table was a different story. McGonagall, Sinistra, Vector, and Babbling exuded a quiet confidence and strength. Flitwick and the other male teachers were amusing in the deference they paid to these four and the sidelong glances they stole when they thought they were unobserved.

Oh yes, life got quieter with Harry gone, but infinitely more amusing.

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Ministry of Magic
Lobby

Amelia stepped gracefully from the fire, smiling. PT and breakfast had been good this morning. Of course, Harry doubling her and Emmeline had been an excellent wake-up call.

She saw Rita standing by the Fountain of Magical Brethren. Rita had a genuine smile on her face, too. Amelia approved; it softened her features so much.

Rita and her cameraman, Bozo, approached Amelia, and as Bozo snapped a picture Rita peppered Amelia with questions, all the while apologizing in the bond.

Amelia gave her some stock firm, upbeat answers and they parted.

"Rita, what's going on? Where is Fudge really?"

"He was arrested at Hogwarts yesterday, Bozo. Now you know all I know. Now come on, we have other sources to check."

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Ministry of Magic
Minister's office

Amelia entered the Minister's office suite and found Emmeline, Hestia, and Tonks already there. The Minister's secretary saw her and said, "Madam Bones, thank Morgana. I'm so glad they arrested that pig of a man yesterday. His pureblood cronies were always coming in here ogling me and trying to get dates."

"Well, I'm sure we would be interested in all you know. Meanwhile I need to call a session of the Wizengamot."

Cecelia had been an executive secretary for a while, and while she might have gotten the job because of her looks, that wasn't how she kept it. She was a good witch and administrator, and she was good at what she did. "Certainly, Minister. Will 9 a.m. be all right?"

"Yes."

"I'll notify the members."

"Thank you, Cecilia. Leave out the Chief Warlock, if you please-eerrr, rather, tell him to attend at 10:30. After you're done with that, come help us; we're going to go through the Minister's files.

"Yes, ma'am."

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Potter Castle
Library

"Your Grace, you can't be serious. That's more than double the size we had considered."

Harry looked at Hookknife. "No, I'm not Sirius, I'm Harry. He's Sirius." Harry smirked and pointed to Sirius.

"Very droll, Your Grace. So you wish to increase the capacity of the Royal Academy to twelve hundred students per year here in the Hollow, with Hogwarts eventually taking a maximum of four hundred per year in the sixth through twelfth grades?"

"Yes. This will give us six thousand students in first through fifth grades here at the Royal Academy, fifty-six hundred here for sixth through twelfth grades, and twenty-eight hundred for sixth thru twelfth at Hogwarts."

"You want space for four thousand undergraduates in the university and one thousand graduate students?"

Harry nodded. "Yes-classroom space only for first through fifth grades, and classroom and rooming space for the rest."

"Harry, this facility is going to be enormous-four million square feet at least."

"You can do it?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Please begin. When can you finish?"

"The buildings will be up at the end of December, Your Grace."

Harry turned to Chu. "So my simple math takes me to 780 or so teachers and Professors."

"I would say closer to a thousand, Harry."

"Narcissa, how do we pay for this?"

"Taxes, Harry. The purebloods have been paying nothing for years. We institute a flat ten percent income tax on all income and see where we get to. Then we adjust from there."

Harry was grumbling about paying taxes.

"Or you could just pay the whole bill yourself, Harry."

"That hardly seems fair, Nym. I don't even have children yet."

"Harry!"

"Eerrr, in school, anyway, Sorry, Nym, forgot about Juliet and Julius."

The mates all had to take a moment to themselves, wherever they were, as they were overcome with laughter. Nym was a hugely overprotective, doting mother for the twins. Harry was in so much trouble.

"Harry, you actually have the money, but it would be better for the people to pay a little tax; otherwise they'll get complacent and even greedier than they are.

"We'll use the money to run the school, fund the Ministry, and fund St Mungos. There will also be research to do and the endless litany of government to fund."

"Okay, Narcissa," Harry said in a very small voice.

"Don't worry, Harry. Some of us like playing with your money."

"It's not my money, Anastasia."

"Yes, it is, Harry; you are Magical Britain, so the taxes that come from it are yours."

It took Harry the rest of the day and several stern commands relayed from Her Majesty through Sarah to get over that.

Daphne entered the library. "Harry, read this, please." She handed Harry an invitation for the parents of the bonded to attend dinner that evening at the Castle and to stay for the next three days. It included an apology for the short notice and an explanation of how they would be transported.

"It looks good to me, Daphne."

"Good. Susan, Megan, and Sally are going to Diagon Alley to send these by post-owl. We'll have the owls wait for replies."

"I'll go with them."

"Uh, Harry, we'll call you if we need you."

Harry nodded and sent his affirmation into the bond. He turned back to Narcissa and Hache and continued to review the estate.

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Ministry of Magic
Wizengamot Chambers

Eleven members of the Wizengamot had assembled in the Chambers. There they found Amelia, a table with a Pensieve, and five crystal vials of what were obviously sealed, certified memories.

"I have called this extraordinary session of the Wizengamot to relay several pieces of information," Amelia began.

"First, Minister Fudge has been arrested and questioned under Veritaserum. He has admitted to hundreds of crimes and to indirectly supporting the Dark Lord. He has provided a list of Death Eaters he knows.

"Second, Undersecretary Umbridge has similarly been arrested and questioned under Veritaserum. She has similarly admitted to hundreds of crimes and to being a Death Eater. She has also provided us with a list of Death Eaters.

"Third, Severus Snape has been arrested and questioned under Veritaserum and has provided a third list of Death Eaters and of his crimes. Many of these crimes have taken place at Hogwarts, implicating the Headmaster or at least calling his competence into question.

"Fourth, Lucius Malfoy has been arrested and questioned under Veritaserum and has admitted to thousands of crimes and to being a Death Eater. He has also given us a list of Death Eaters.

"Lastly, APWB Dumbledore has been questioned under Veritaserum, and while not directly implicated, I believe that Dumbledore has been irrevocably tainted by the events that were uncovered in questioning Snape and the subsequent memory extraction. It is my belief that he should be removed from the leadership of this body and from the representation of Magical Britain in international bodies. Once he has been removed, I wish to have him bound over for questioning and prosecution for at least malfeasance in office and child endangerment."

Griselda looked over her spectacles at Amelia. "Let's see Snape's memories, then, Amelia. No use wasting time."

The members present nodded and Amelia moved to the Pensieve. She cast Snape's memories into it. She pressed a rune and the memory began to play. She sped past the humdrum and played the pertinent memories of the rapes and the abuse he constantly heaped upon the children.

After watching the memories, to say the members present were not amused was like saying the Titanic had a small leak. It took several minutes to restore order amongst the twelve members present.

"Amelia, I move to remove Dumbledore as Chief Warlock. There is no way he didn't at least suspect these activities."

"Thank you, William."

Augusta Longbottom said, "Second."

Amelia said, "The question is called to vote; vote the question."

Amelia put her thumb on the green-tinted crystal at her seat and the board showing votes lit the yes light next to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Bones, Abbot, McGonagall, Fudge, Malfoy, Sinistra, and Potter.

The others did not notice as they voted and only found out when the board was completely lit with 22 yes, 7 abstentions, and Ogden as the lone no.

Amelia looked at the board and cringed. "Motion carried."

The Wizengamot exploded. The Founders' seats had not been voted in hundreds of years, and the Potter heir was not of age.

Griselda and Augusta knew exactly what had happened and they knew where it came from. Griselda wasn't going to let the idiot men devolve into anarchy, however.

"I move to remove Albus Dumbledore from official posts in all international bodies."

Augusta said, "Second."

Amelia, a little dazed by now, said, "The question is called; vote the question."

She hesitated before she placed her thumb on the crystal, and this time most of the members saw the tote board light at the same time she did. That answered most of their questions.

"The motion is carried."

The noise started to grow. Tiberius shouted, "I demand to know to whom you have bonded that could be the heir of so many houses, Amelia."

A figure materialized beside her. It was Harry, and he was not morphed at all. He was also in a towering rage, and his aura was completely unsuppressed.

"That is none of your business, Lord Ogden."

Tiberius looked at Harry and sat back down. The boy was shimmering like a mirage.

"Right you are, Lord Potter."

"Know that Amelia Bones holds all my proxies."

Harry faded from view.

Griselda looked at Amelia. "We really must talk, you know."

Amelia sighed and shook her head. "After the session, Griselda."

The bond were overjoyed. What had looked to turn horribly ugly had just in fact turned into another opportunity. Harry and Amelia had met the challenge and taken possession of the Wizengamot.

The fathers who had already had notes from their daughters were now very sure that their daughters had not been deluded. The boy actually did have that much power. And now they were going to spend three days at his castle. This should be very interesting.

"Amelia, do you happen to know where the members are who are not present?"

Amelia smiled at William. "Since they were all Death Eaters, according to Malfoy, I suspect they were picked up coming to the meeting and we'll be receiving reports of their interrogations soon. I'll check after the session."

This thought sank in for a moment and Odd Lovegood asked, "Is there any other business, Amelia?"

"Dumbledore has been advised that there is a session scheduled for 10:30. I expect since it's gone ten he'll arrive any moment. I will, as acting Chief Witch, inform him of his dismissal."

Almost as if on cue, the door opened and Dumbledore strode into the chamber. He headed down the center aisle, and as he approached the high bench, Amelia said, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, in extraordinary session the Wizengamot has voted to remove you as Chief Warlock of this body and as Britain's representative to all international bodies."

Dumbledore stopped and in an obvious fury he raised his hand. Amelia, calling on her bonded, cast a shield around him and the spell he cast was absorbed by the shield. Seemingly from nowhere, two Aurors appeared and Dumbledore was hit with several Stunners and an Incarcerous. Harry appeared a split second later with three women clinging to him. He had transported them all, despite their efforts to stop him, when Dumbledore had attacked Amelia.

"Dumbledore, I-mmmphhhhh!" Hermione, knowing Harry was about to challenge Dumbledore to single combat and remembering Luna's warning, had placed her hand over his mouth and was begging him in the bond to let Amelia handle this.

Griselda saved the day. "Lord Potter, an attack has occurred against the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot will handle this; you may have the idiot when whatever punishment we impose is completed. Aurors, find out what that spell he cast was."

Hestia picked up Dumbledore's wand and cast Priori Incantatem. A ghost image of the spell shot from the wand, and after some analysis she said, "It was Sectumsempra."

Hermione, Daphne, and Luna managed to drag Harry to a seat and get him in it while this was happening. Amelia's assurances through the bond that she was fine were mostly responsible.

Nym, standing on the other side of Dumbledore, was shaking with rage. Moody came through the door, looked at her, and went to relieve her. He sent her to sit with Harry; Lana moved from her position at his right side and Nym took her seat. Lana sat directly behind Nym and Hermione moved to a position directly behind Harry. Daphne stayed on his left.

Griselda looked at Moody and smiled. "Alastor, wake him up. We all saw it. We're going straight to trial."

"Madam Marchbanks, he has no defense."

"You're right about that, Tiberius, but the proprieties will be observed. You will act as defense council. You are still in good standing before the bar?"

"Yes, madam." Tiberius knew he was sunk. What the hell could Dumbledore have been thinking?

Moody had cast an Ennervate on Dumbledore, to no effect. Hestia cast one and the wide, bright, butter-yellow beam snapped Dumbledore to full alertness. The wizards in the room were suddenly very alert, too. That had required an enormous amount of power.

Lester Jones, Hestia's uncle and Megan's father. blinked. Well-so the Joneses had two in this bond. He smiled broadly. His niece shot him a small frown and an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are charged with the attempted murder of the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, the body then being in session. How do you plead?"

Dumbledore went white. The least sentence he could manage out of this was life in prison. "Not guilty."

Tiberius whispered desperately in his ea.r "Dumbledore, have you lost your mind? We all saw you. If she hadn't cast that shield, you would have killed her. We've all heard about that nasty little curse your pet Death Eater came up with. Most of us were in the first trials when it came up."

"They dare not convict me. I am the leader of the Light!"

Tiberius resisted the urge to put his head in his hands.

While Tiberius tried to make Dumbledore see reason, Harry had been talking to Minerva in the bond. "Min, call an Order meeting for 4 p.m. today at Grimmauld Place. You need to get there early and talk to Sirius and Remus. I'll tell Alastor to meet you there early. This is our opportunity to take the Order. Maybe we can avoid me having to dissolve the government and attack the Order if we play this right."

Minerva sent her affirmation.

Harry relaxed slightly and sat back.

"Present your defense, Dumbledore." Madam Marchbanks was wasting no time.

"I am the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; therefore you can not charge me."

"Disallowed. You were removed by a majority of this body before you entered the Chamber."

"I did not call that session; therefore it did not happen."

"If the defendant is going to be an idiot, I am ready to pass sentence."

Dumbledore panicked. "You cannot charge me. I am the Leader of the Light. I rule here; you peasants are not my peers and cannot judge me."

The Wizengamot looked at him. Madam Marchbanks said, "It is clear that the defendant is mad. It is the judgment of the Wizengamot that he be removed to a medical facility to be healed if possible before we consider his crime further. Due to his level of power, the defendant will be placed in restrictors, the key to which will be held by the Minister."

Since she had taken on the roll of judge and this was not technically a sentence, the Wizengamot quickly moved to vote in concurrence. The Board lit green with the seven white abstentions.

Harry nodded his head as the bond discussed this and decided it was possibly the best outcome.

Griselda moved over to Amelia. "Child, what is going on?"

Augusta joined them and cast a privacy bubble. The three turned their backs on the room.

"I am in a multiple bond with Harry Potter. It is a full bond, fuller than any I ever heard of. We are in each other's minds and can draw on each other's magic."

"You are Alpha?"

"No, Augusta. Look, this is a bad place to talk about this. I'll send elves to you tonight. Pack for three days. You'll be staying at Potter Castle."

They nodded; as the elder stateswomen of the magical world, this had to be resolved by them.

Moody, who had left at the judgment, returned with a set of wrist bands and a neck band. He placed them on the struggling Dumbledore, who he was finally forced to Stun. He brought the key to Amelia and then went back and Ennervated Dumbledore.

Dumbledore immediately attempted wandless magic and felt the restrictors absorb the magic. He was well and truly trapped. Moody cast a Finite Incantatem on the ropes binding him and took him to St Mungo's. Dumbledore raved the whole time. There were more than a few with tears in their eyes. Harry was one of them.

He had not intended Dumbledore to snap.

"Harry, this isn't your fault. I believe it's simply age catching up with him. Sometimes it takes people this way."

"See what you can do, Ann-Marcia, you and Anna, too, please."

"We're already at St Mungo's, Harry."

Harry nodded to Amelia and raised his arms. He Daphne, Hermione, and Lana faded from view.

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Harry reappeared in the entry hall of Potter Castle with the mates. The Castle was an absolute hive of activity; the bond was awash in a confusing flood of information. Harry snagged Parvati as she trotted by.

"Parvati, what's going on?"

"The Queen's Chief Butler and security advanced team arrived while you were gone, Harry. She'll be with us on the Turn starting tonight."

"What? The parents are coming tonight! Morgana, could she have picked a worse time?"

"Harry!"

"What, Sarah?"

"Don't insult your liege's judgment."

"I'm not, Sarah. It's just-"

"Harry-Susan, Parvati, and Ginny have this well in hand. Minerva is in complete control at Hogwarts, and Hogwarts will help her if needed. Amelia is in absolute control of both the ministry and Wizengamot at the moment. We'll call you if we need you. Why don't you go play with Hookknife and the other Goblins?"

"Sarah, we're going to have a long talk about you sending me off to get me out of the way."

"Yes, dear. Now run along and play."

Harry could feel her amusement and her satisfaction that he understood. He faded from view.

"Daphne, you were right: he is smarter. It took Andrew two years to figure that out. Harry might be worth the trade-in."

"Sarah!"

"What, Nym?"

"The girls!"

"Oops."

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Harry reappeared at the construction site, smiling at his Alpha's antics. He was immediately enthralled by the ongoing construction. Soon he had the Goblins proudly showing him the spells they were using for construction and the crew Goblins trying to prank him by sending him for tools that didn't exist, and all the other normal workplace pranks on the "new guy".

The foreman, half to prank the boss and half to get him out of the way, showed Harry the stone quarrying spells and the plans for the foundation. "If you want to help, Your Grace, we need to excavate this. Just cut the stone up in blocks and levitate it into a pile out of the way. We'll use it for the walls later."

Slasher chuckled to himself. The young wizard would soon be exhausted; the rock was a super-dense I type granite extrusion. It had been wearing out the Goblin quarrymen; they'd had to start alternating crews of four between blocks, one crew cutting a block while the other rested.

Harry nodded and watched the quarry men for a moment longer, then he looked at the plan and walked over to a pin in a corner. He started cutting rock and Slasher turned and got the crew back to work. Soon he forgot about the young human wizard in the turmoil that was the construction site.

Harry kept working through the day, pausing for lunch when Geoffrey popped in next to him with a plate. He would take breaks every once in a while when the elves brought him water or a snack, but all in all he was thoroughly enjoying himself and concentrating on the work.

He felt all the activity in the bond, but as the mates had settled into a kind of joyous, panicked state, he just kept an "eye" out for trouble.

He didn't notice the stream of amazed Goblins that appeared behind him at the rim of the pit, nor did he really notice the huge crowd of them as they gathered, watching him and making bets as to when he would fall over from exhaustion.

The day wore on and the Castle was prepared for the parents and the Queen to stay for the seventy-two hours of the Turning. Minerva settled in and Hogwarts was humming with happiness.

Amelia cleared the Minister's office and settled into consolidating the Ministry with the Death Eaters gone. The snatch stones had been very efficient. Twenty-seven Ministry personnel or members of the Wizengamot were missing. Geoffrey confirmed they were in cells in the dungeons.

At 4 p.m. Minerva arrived at Grimmauld Place and a tense bond listened in as she smoothly relayed to the Order of the Phoenix the story of Dumbledore's removal from the Wizengamot, his subsequent attack on Amelia, and his trial and the results thereof.

Poppy added that he was suffering a kind of dementia that was seen in older people sometimes, and there was very little hope for his recovery. Poppy said that he would probably slowly grow more and more demented as time passed. He was receiving the best care possible at St Mungo's and was in a secure private room.

At Minerva's suggestion, leadership of the Order was vested in a council made up of Moody, Sirius, and Remus.

At 5 p.m. Nym called to Harry.

"Harry, come back to the Castle. It's time to get dressed. The Queen will be here at six."

Harry nodded and faded out from the bottom of the hole where he had been studying the plans before continuing with his rock-cutting.

He appeared on the rim of the hole beside Hookknife and Slasher. "I'm sorry, Slasher, but I have to go. I'll finish it tomorrow."

Hookknife answered for the gobsmacked Slasher. "That's fine, Harry. Don't worry about it. We appreciate the help. Come back any time."

The crowd of Goblins watched in popeyed amazement as Harry nodded and faded from view. Groans were heard as they realized that they owed Hache thousands of Galleons. Hache had bet the wizard wouldn't collapse or quit but that he would continue until called away. The odds had been 100-to-1 against.

Harry reappeared in the master suite. "Nym, did you see my foundation?"

"Yes, Harry. It's a very nice hole."

"Nym!"

Nym took his arm and steered him to the illusioned wall. He felt her pride in him and her amusement at his pouting.

"It is very nice, Harry, but you have to admit it's a bloody great hole in the garden."

"But it's my hole." He pouted and Nym hugged him and chuckled.

"I love you, Harry. Now, come on-time to get dressed."

Harry went to the bath with her as the other mates appeared in their rooms and began bathing. The ladies' maid elves laid out beautiful underthings and gowns for them. The bond wisely waited to dress until after the Alpha's mutual orgasm washed over them.