FicWad

Chapter Twelve: End Game

For a young Auror, the scene of Flourish and Blotts was one that one Harper Quincy was not quite prepared for. Looking down, he spotted two bodies, dead from the distinctive signs from the Killing Curse. Having only joined the ranks of Aurors the year after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named fell, Quincy saw little action. Granted there was the odd Death Eater that still lurked out there that the Ministry hadn’t managed to track down following that fated Halloween Night.

“Definite signs of the Killing Curse,” declared the voice of the young bald black Auror that had just entered the shop, having scoped the scene outside, before turning to the shopkeeper who looked rather petrified before proceeding in a reassuring voice. “Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Harper Quincy, m’am, if you could just tell us what exactly happened here.”

“That m-m-man right there came into my shop, getting into a confrontation with some of the customers,” declared the shopkeeper, her voice shaking still, pointing at the crumpled form that Quincy had not noticed before. “It was two men and two children, a boy and a girl. That man on the floor attempted to attack the customers, but two other gentlemen entered the shop, but were quickly shot down by the Killing Curse. I called for help at that point but I did manage to overhear that man trying to put one of the children under the Imperius Curse.”

Quincy stepped forward, at the sound of muffled voices that came from the back of the shop. Kingsley looked towards his partner, as he picked up the sound of the voices as well.

“Check it out, he might have accomplices” muttered Kingsley before adding. “While I check the wand for spells.”

Quincy nodded, quickening his pace as Kingsley walked over. The supposed attacker was unconscious, but a faint pulse told Kingsley he was still alive. In the blink of an eye, the Auror picked up the wand, before checking it for spells.

“Two successful Killing Curses, an attempted Killing Curse, and an Imperius Curse,” muttered Kingsley as his partner walked back over. “Good for a long stint in Azkaban.”

“Whoever was back there, they got away now,” said Quincy as Kingsley nodded, before bending down.

“Help me search him for any emergency portkeys,” declared Kingsley and Kingsley nodded, before turning the prisoner over, to reveal that it was Severus Snape.

“Snape, that means…” started Quincy but Kingsley cut him off.

“It’s up to Crouch to find out what this means, our job is to check him for any portkeys and make sure he is properly secured before bringing him into the Ministry so he can be questioned,” replied Kingsley in a stern voice, as the two Aurors began to search Snape, following proper protocol. With Snape’s wand taken as evidence, the two Aurors secured the prisoner, before bringing him to the Ministry.

Around this time at Hogwarts, Dumbledore’s quiet in his office was interrupted when his younger brother Aberforth appeared out of his fire place, looking rather frantic and roughed up, not bothering to avoid dropping soot on the floor.

“Albus!” yelled Aberforth. “Repo-goblins just kicked me out of my bar, saying they are going to auction it off.”

“Repo-goblins?” asked Albus with a confused look.

“Yes, Albus, repo-goblins, the most vicious, blood thirsty goblins of them all,” continued Aberforth. “They kicked me out of my bar, my home, and what’s worse, they took all my goats!”

“Now calm down, Aberforth, I’m sure it is all a misunderstanding,” declared Albus.

At that minute, Dumbledore’s office door burst open and a smoking gargoyle head flew through the doorway, landing right at the foot of the Headmaster’s desk. In a flash, a dozen vicious looking goblins dressed in grey jumpsuits and wearing black facemasks, carrying what appeared to be hairdryers. The repo-goblins began pointing these hair dryers towards several of the instruments in Dumbledore’s office. All of the paintings had woken up, and were watching, some, like Phineas Nigellus Black, enjoying the show as both Dumbledores seemed to be helpless before Albus found his voice.

“Now wait a minute, you can’t just barge into my office and take my possessions without a proper warrant,” declared Albus in a feeble voice, which caused the goblins to glare at Albus.

“Oh yes, antagonizing any type of goblin, never mind the most vicious type of goblin, a real swell idea, Headmaster,” declared Phineas in a snide voice. “Why don’t you put your head into the mouth of a hungry dragon for an encore?”

“You seem to have us confused with your Ministry, human,” declared one of the repo-goblins in a snide voice as the repo-goblins broke open Dumbledore’s cabinet, revealing his pensieve.

“The pensieve, no, it contains some of my most private memories,” declared Dumbledore desperately.

“Excellent than it should increase the value of this item by several galleons,” said one of the repo-goblins wickedly, as they took the pensive, which caused Dumbledore to rise to his feet, in a vain attempt to fight off these blood thirsty, money hungry, savages.

A snap of the fingers, caused Albus Dumbledore to fly upwards, hanging upside down on the ceiling. The repo-goblins laughed evilly at Dumbledore’s predicament as his wand flew towards the ground, where one of the goblins caught it casually.

“Dumbledore’s wand, should fetch about a few hundred galleons,” declared one of more wicked repo-goblins, as she joined her fellow goblins in laughing at the plight of this human, as Aberforth Dumbledore wisely decided to stay mostly out of the way of the repo-goblins.

The repo-goblins continued to search Dumbledore’s office, securing various possessions, before using their transporters to send his possessions towards a chamber in Gringotts, to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

“Everything’s been cleared out,” grunted one of the repo-goblins.

“No, not everything,” contributed another repo-goblin with a bit of a sinister grin appearing on its face, eying Dumbledore. “Nice outfit, Albus Dumbledore, should fetch maybe a good ten or so galleons.”

Albus Dumbledore’s eyes widened in horror, but that was about all the movement he was allowed to make, as the repo-goblins pointed their transporters towards Dumbledore, causing his robes and all of his other clothes to vanish into thin air, leaving Albus Dumbledore stuck to the ceiling in all of his glory, which caused several of the paintings of past headmasters and headmistresses to recoil in absolute horror and even the repo-goblins seemed to be horrified, which said a lot as goblins were among the most fearless of all magical creatures. Mercifully, one of the goblins conjured a burlap potato sack, causing it to wrap around Albus, preserving what little decency that the old man had left.

“According to our calculations, even with all your property seized and the Dumbledore family vault wiped clean, you still owe five hundred and seventeen galleons, three sickles, and a knut for your crimes,” declared one of the repo-goblins and Dumbledore looked baffled at the mention of these crimes. “If you fail to repay this money within ninety days, you will be sent to the goblin labor camps to work off your debts.”

Albus had heard the stories of the goblin labor camps. There was pretty much a consensus that most wizards would rather spend fifteen years in Azkaban than fifteen minutes in the goblin labor camps. The Headmaster didn’t know of anyone alive who had attended the camps, but even to someone who didn’t even have the slightest fear of death, the stories caused a great amount of intimidation.

“Exactly what crimes did my brother commit?” asked Aberforth. He wasn’t disputing that Albus had mucked up somewhere royally but since the fact he lost the Hog’s Head bar and his beloved goats, he was extremely curious at exactly why the repo-goblins had seized everything with such a fury.

“Little reading material for you,” declared one of the repo-goblins in a rough voice, before the repo-goblins moved out of the office, with Albus still stuck to the ceiling.

“Aberforth, if you could please get me down?” asked Albus.

Aberforth shrugged his shoulders, before pulling out his wand and using every charm that he could think of, but nothing seemed to dislodge his brother from the ceiling.

“Sorry, Albus, but no go,” declared Aberforth and Albus sighed. If he had his wand, he could easily get himself down, but the repo-goblins walked off with it.

“No matter, either Minerva or Severus should be able to find a way to get me down,” replied Albus in a resigned voice. “Perhaps, while I’m up here, you could enlighten me to the contents of the folder that the repo-goblins left.”

“I’m a bit curious about this one myself,” muttered Aberforth, as he moved over to the desk, before opening the folder. The younger Dumbledore brother thumbed through the contents of the folder, with his expression growing graver by the second, before shifting towards an expression of slight disgust, seeming lost for words.

“Do tell, please and not keep us in suspense,” declared Phineas in a snide tone of voice.

“Well, Albus, it seems you have just lost every knut in the Dumbledore family vault thanks to where you placed Harry Potter,” declared Aberforth calmly. “And since that wasn’t enough to cover it, all the assets that you own were taken, including the Hog’s Head and my goats, so I hope you’re happy.”

“Not particularly,” replied Albus in a grave voice. “Not only is Harry missing, but we don’t have the resources to locate him.”

“We, Albus,” declared Aberforth in a thunderous voice. “You shamed the entire Dumbledore family, so unless you have a mouse in your pocket, there is no we about it. I’m not stepping one foot down your crusade, not that I would have in the first place mind you.”

“Now, I put Harry Potter in a home where I feel he would have been safe,” declared Albus. “Exactly what Lily and James would have wanted, I might add.”

“Albus, bad things happen when act upon what you think other people should want!” snapped Aberforth angrily, which caused Albus to shudder slightly. “I just hope for your sake that the boy is still alive, otherwise you may have some painful explaining to do to the Wizengamot.”

“Now, Aberforth, I’m confident that Harry is still alive, Severus is looking for him right now and I have instructed him not to return until he finds Harry,” remarked Albus.

“Providing these mobsters that the boy was with don’t find Snape first,” declared Aberforth. “Actually that won’t be the worst outcome, still don’t know why you would trust Snape, we both know he is a sneak, listening in when Trelawney read that prophecy…”

“Enough, the reason that I trust Severus is between him and I,” declared Albus. “He will return soon enough, with Harry and then he will be safe.”

“If you say so,” replied Aberforth blandly, humoring his older brother.

“Now if you could please fetch someone to get me down,” remarked Albus calmly and Aberforth gave a curt nod, before walking off, as Albus hung from the ceiling, wondering if his situation could get much worse.

Severus Snape’s eyes flickered open, with an insidious ringing sensation echoing through his head. The last thing he remembered he came face to face with the Potter brat and attempted to gain information from the boy’s mind, under the pretext of determining how Potter knew exactly what the Killing Curse was. On the contrary, Snape suspected that the boy might have pieced two and two together about what the Potions Master did to those two mobsters, but his actions were far too quick for a six year old who should have been petrified. He had known seventh year Gryffindors who had frozen when come face to face with him, yet this six year old snot nosed brat had shown little fear. As Severus contemplated on it, it seemed to be more like loathing.

“Well, it looks like you’re finally awake, Snape,” declared a cold voice and Snape looked up to see the face of Bartemius Crouch. It was now that Snape realized that his arms were shackled to the wall and his legs to the floor.

“Crouch,” replied Snape calmly. “I’m guessing someone alerted the Aurors to my location and knocked me unconscious from behind.”

“If you must know, you were unconscious once the Aurors showed up, but that is beside the point, Snape,” replied Crouch curtly as Snape looked baffled, wondering who knocked him unconscious.

“You will never be able to hold me, Crouch,” declared Snape coldly. “Once Dumbledore knows…”

“Dumbledore can do nothing, not if he wants to damage his reputation further,” replied Crouch. “Your wand told us all we need to know, the fact you killed two people and placed the Imperius Curse on a young child.”

“Potter needed to be taught a lesson in manners,” replied Snape calmly.

“But who said anything about Harry Potter, Snape,” declared Crouch and Snape winced, his delirious state having caused a slip up. “Still, very interesting, perhaps there is something else you would like to tell us, other than your possession of Ministry restricted body armor.”

Snape remained quiet, refusing to incriminate himself with any further information.

“Snape, you can either tell me willingly, or the Vertiaserum can cause you to tell me,” replied Crouch calmly.

“I believe that it is custom to have a trial,” remarked Snape in a scathing voice.

“Trials are luxuries given to individuals who don’t attempt to use an Unforgivable Curse on a small child,” answered Crouch sharply. “Very well, Snape, you will remain here and pending how useful you may be at the Dumbledore hearing, your punishment will be reviewed. Perhaps time will loosen your tongue”

Snape wisely said nothing as Crouch departed, leaving Snape alone with his own thoughts. Dumbledore or the Dark Lord would spring him from Azkaban; it was only a matter of time.

Adrianna Zabini looked over the book that she took from Flamel, in frustration. The rituals inside the book were extremely difficult, perhaps the most complex magic she had ever seen. She reasoned that while there were many other sex change rituals that were much easier to pull off, the effects could have been reversed. The ancient ones detailed in Flamel’s book were permanent, but the problem was if one minor part went wrong, the entire ritual was botched. Adrianna found that out the hard way once she attempted it on a mouse as a test, but butchered the animal because she waved her wand at an incorrect angle.

Her daughter was becoming troublesome, as Blaise reminded Adrianna of how she was as a child and if she continued that behavior, it could be a problem once the girl got much older. A problem that Adrianna hoped to correct in time, no matter how long it would take to successfully perfect the rituals whether it be weeks, months, or even years. As long as it was completed before her daughter or rather future son, was to go to Hogwarts, Adrianna wasn’t in a hurry. Muggles were nothing but easily manipulated imbeciles. Her husband wouldn’t be a threat, as he was preoccupied by this new mob boss and the potential of the weakening of his criminal empire would cause him to lose favor with his men, a fact that Adrianna planned to exploit for her own gain, as her husband became rather close to outliving his usefulness.

Drained from the attempt of the ritual, Madam Adrianna Zabini resolved to attempt again tomorrow and any time she could until she perfected it. She would not be denied; Adrianna Zabini always got what she wanted.

In his office in one of the worst parts of London, Boss Edward Zabini waited for his report from his men, who had sent a message to his new upstart rival. Frankie and Vito walked inside his office, looking thrilled with themselves.

“Well, I trust you two dealt our new friend a rather strong message,” declared Boss Zabini as he placed his hands upon his desk.

“Yeah, boss, we really showed him big time, we slashed his tires and stuff,” declared Vito in a pleased voice.

“And we also broke his windows, he won’t bother you anymore,” said Frankie.

“And did you egg his house, toilet paper it too, perhaps leave a flaming bag of shit by his door before running off cackling like chicken,” declared Edward Zabini sarcastically. “Maybe you called his house and told him that Prince Albert was in the bloody can or his refrigerator was running!”

“No boss, but that sounds like a great idea,” declared Frankie in an excited tone of voice.

“I was being sarcastic you fool!” exclaimed Boss Zabini. “Give me your gun, Frankie.”

Frankie handed over his gun towards Boss Zabini, before Zabini aimed at him before pulling the trigger, shooting Frankie in the chest in cold blood. The mobster dropped to the ground, a blood staining his shirt.

“Would you like to be stupid as well, Vito?” asked Boss Zabini in an icy voice.

“No of course not Boss,” declared Vito quickly.

“This is what I get for hiring people who didn’t finish school,” muttered Zabini as he got to his feet pacing around.

After a few minutes of pacing, with Vito cowering in the corner, looking fearful.

“Next time take the car and blow the fucking thing to smithereens, just make sure no one is inside,” declared Zabini before adding in an afterthought. “Except for maybe my wife, Dolores Umbridge, and that telemarketer that keeps bugging me. Is that clear?”

“Yes, boss it won’t happen again, I swear, if he gets in your way again…” declared Vito before Zabini waved his hand off.

“There wouldn’t have been a next time if you two fools hadn’t bungled everything up,” said Boss Zabini through gritted teeth. “I blame myself personally. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Now leave me.”

Vito quickly backed out of Boss Zabini’s office to avoid his wrath.

“And fetch someone to clean up this mess!” barked Boss Zabini, looking at Frankie, who had since bitten the dust.

Severus Snape sat in a cell in Azkaban, looking outside, two days after that unfortunate incident that landed him inside the prison in the first place. The Dementors would be by once again in any minute, not that it mattered, as his cell was warded against all magic making escape impossible.

“You have a visitor,” declared a curt voice and Snape’s head snapped up, looking to see who it was and Albus Dumbledore made his way towards Snape’s cell, wearing tattered robes.

Dumbledore stood in front of Snape for a few seconds, surveying him before deciding to speak.

“Explain,” declared Dumbledore calmly, without any elaboration, not that Snape needed any.

“As you had requested, I searched for Potter, managing to come across him by mere chance in Diagon Alley,” explained Snape. “The mobsters that had kidnapped Lupin and Potter were also there and they turned their guns on me for no good reason whatsoever. I was forced to use drastic measures to defend myself as they had intended to kill me for simply attempting to snatch the boy from their clutches. In the heat of the battle, I sent a pair of Killing Curses at them.”

Dumbledore looked as if he aged several years but beckoned for Snape to continue.

“I had attempted to convince Potter to come with me, but the boy was an insolent little brat and refused, so I attempted to force the issue,” declared Snape calmly. “Unfortunately another child was there, apparently a friend of the brat’s, she stepped on my foot, breaking my concentration so I attempted to silence her so I could leave with Potter.”

“What did you do to attempt to silence her, Severus?” asked Dumbledore calmly, but a small part of the Headmaster really didn’t want to know. Snape remained silent. “Severus, you need to tell me everything.”

“Killing Curse,” muttered Snape under his breath. “Potter reacted violently to it and managed to barely pull his friend out of harm’s way. Acted in a way that no six year old had ever acted.”

“Well, Severus, your story partially checks out from the account I managed to get from Amelia Bones after she interviewed the two Aurors who checked your wand,” declared Dumbledore. “You failed to tell me that you put the Imperius on young Harry.”

Snape refused to meet Dumbledore’s eyes.

“Anything else you’d like to add to your story, Severus?” asked Dumbledore in a forced kindly voice.

“I attempted to use Legilimency on Potter as well,” declared Snape slowly, deciding it would be best to get it out of the way, as Dumbledore was intelligent enough to deduce that fact anyway.

“I knew you were hiding something, Snape, the use of Legilimency on a minor is forbidden by Ministry law!” declared a voice in triumph and Barty Crouch walked into the room with a gleeful look on his face. “Dumbledore, I thank you for your help, now the Aurors can escort you out, see you on the Potter hearing on the twenty first. Until then, don’t allow me to catch you anywhere near the Ministry or you may have a cell in this prison next to Snape.”

Dumbledore looked at Snape as a group of four Aurors surrounded the Headmaster, wands pointed on him. As the Aurors began to lead Albus Dumbledore away, he slowly turned to Snape with a blank expression on his face before allowing the Aurors to lead him off without a word.

The day of the hearing regarding Dumbledore’s handling of Harry Potter had approached. Members of the press, including Rita Skeeter had swarmed the area around the Wizengamot, in an attempt to get an idea of the proceedings. Several Aurors had moved forward.

“Everyone who is not strictly involved with the trial, out,” declared an older Auror. “This is not a media circus to sell your papers, this is a serious matter.”

The reporters protested loudly at this decision, but backed off when wands were pointed towards them, a few sparks flying threateningly in their direction. Half of the Aurors entered the Wizengamot while the other half remained on the outside to allow any press pests inside.

Once everything had been calmed down, a booming voice echoed throughout the courtroom.

“The prosecutors will be Bartemius Amadeus Crouch, Madam Amelia Susan Bones, Robert Anthony Yaxley, and Minister of Magic, Millicent Annabelle Bagnold, with witness Petunia Dursley,” declared the voice. “The defense is of course Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.”

“Very well then, Mr. Dumbledore, please tell us of the circumstances that lead to have Harry Potter left with his Muggle relatives,” declared Madam Bones in a fair even voice, even through the slight narrowly of her eyes showed that she did not quite approve of this action.

“Very simply put Madam Bones, I had the safety of the boy in mind,” declared Dumbledore. “There would be those still with sympathies to Lord Voldemort that might have looked for Harry to finish the job their master started, so I put him in the last place they would have thought to look, the home of Petunia and Vernon Dursley, where I was confident that Harry would be safe until it was time for Hogwarts.”

“But, that was proven to be false, was it not, Dumbledore?” interjected Crouch. “Did you once check up on the boy during his five years at the Dursleys?”

“No, Bartemius,” declared Dumbledore. “I felt there was no need too.”

“You took such an interest in where the boy was to be put, yet you did not take every precaution to ensure his safety,” said Crouch. “Yet, you took interest to the boy around the time that he had left your mandated safe house. Is that correct?”

“I had only hoped to return Harry to his home…” started Dumbledore but Crouch held up his hand.

“A simple one word answer is all that is necessary, Dumbledore,” declared Crouch.

“Yes,” replied Dumbledore. “You see I had to…”

“I would like to bring to the attention the will of Lily and James Potter,” declared Yaxley in a shrewd voice turning to Madam Bones. “We have a copy that we can use to refresh Albus Dumbledore’s memory with, is that correct?”

“Yes, Yaxley, that would be right, perhaps you would like to do the honors,” declared Madam Bones as she pulled the will out of a pile of documents and handed it to Yaxley, who walked over towards Dumbledore, before using his wand to highlight a section of the will.

“Do us the courtesy of reading us this passage of the will Dumbledore for the court,” declared Yaxley.

“If in the event we die, our son, Harry, is to be placed in the custody of his godfather Sirius Black. If Sirius Black should also die, then Harry should be placed in a loving home that he will grow up happy,” declared Dumbledore before looking up from the will.

“There’s more, Albus,” replied Yaxley silkily.

“Under no circumstances whatsoever should our son Harry be placed with Petunia and Vernon Dursley,” said Dumbledore very quietly.

“Repeat that sentence one further time just for the record, Albus,” declared Yaxley.

“Under no circumstances whatsoever should our son Harry be placed with Vernon and Petunia Dursley,” repeated Dumbledore in a saddened voice, as many of the Wizengamot court members had their eyes fixed firmly upon him with disgust. “Now I was certain that Petunia would see it in her heart to care for her sister’s child.”

Petunia snorted in disgust at how someone could be so old yet so naïve.

“Yet, you were wrong, Dumbledore,” added Crouch. “The evidence that we saw of the cupboard that the boy had to sleep in was enough to give Vernon Dursley the Dementor’s Kiss. Perhaps you would like to view the pictures to refresh your memory?”

“I feel that won’t be necessary, Bartemius,” declared Madam Bones and at that moment the door of the Wizengamot chamber began to crack open.

“I thought I said that no one was to be in here but those strictly involved in the trial!” barked Crouch as the door opened to reveal a dozen mobsters walking into the courtroom, escorting an intimidating figure with grey hair with signs of balding and black eyes, along with scars on his hand, wearing a suit.

“Oh, but I am involved in this trial very much,” declared the lead mobster as he leaned on a stylish looking cane that seemed vaguely familiar to some of the more high profile members of the Wizengamot. “I represent the interests of Harry Potter.”

That caught the attention of both Crouch and Dumbledore.

“Very well, you will then tell us where the boy is so the Ministry of Magic can track him down and bring him in,” declared Crouch as he pointed his wand towards the mobsters who laughed at him.

“No, I don’t think we’ll be doing that,” declared the mobster with a smirk and Crouch proceeded to attempt to stun him but he found that his wand didn’t work. “You will also find that your wands have been nullified for the next six hours, a useful yet obscure feature of the Ministry that we’ve managed to discover. Not that you’ll ever discover it mind you.”

“Very well then, we must ask if Harry Potter is safe,” declared Albus Dumbledore calmly.

“Dumbledore, you have no right to…” started Crouch but he was struck silent.

“My wand however does work,” replied the mobster before rolling his eyes. “And yes, I’m a wizard.”

The mobster then turned to Dumbledore with a calculating look.

“So the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore honors me by speaking directly to me. Really my heart’s a flutter!” exclaimed the mobster in a slightly sarcastic voice. “To answer your question, Harry is perfectly safe in fact he’s being taught how to avoid people who might attempt to use him in ways that are most certainly not in his best interest. I also have people teaching my young friend some magical theory, to prepare him for further training later in life to properly defend himself. You’ll be seeing Harry once he is old enough to attend Hogwarts, but only if you behave yourself”

Crouch pointed to his mouth, looking angry, much like a fish out of water.

“Oh, I see you want to speak, very well let’s cancel the spell,” declared the mysterious old man and as a result the spell was cancelled, leaving Crouch with his ability to speak once more.

“I demand to know your name!” yelled Crouch.

“My name is of little importance, not with the information that I have with me pertaining to another charge of mine,” declared the mobster.

“Just please state your name for the record,” declared Madam Bones in a tired voice before Crouch had another outburst.

“Very well, I have many aliases but I am most commonly known as Allan Michael Barone,” replied the mysterious mobster.

“Mr. Barone, you have not only kidnapped Harry Potter, but you have also kidnapped Remus Lupin,” declared Crouch in a forced calmness.

“Really, kidnapped is such a harsh term, I merely liberated them from your clutches,” declared Barone in a calm voice. “What am I supposed to do, turn Harry Potter over to the magical world so he can be displayed like a circus animal for all to see?”

Barone looked around at the court, who were whispering among themselves.

“As for Remus Lupin, he’s been shunned for what he is and I don’t think I need to drag that skeleton out of the closet,” declared Barone calmly. “He is also perfectly safe, not that many of you care all that much, only because you might try and force information of the whereabouts of young Harry out of him.”

“Fair enough,” said Minister Bagnold in a tired voice, looking weary as she was very old indeed and reaching the age of retirement. “We will come back to you later Mr. Barone, but right now the matter of Dumbledore’s handling of Harry Potter comes first.”

“Correct, now I believe Petunia Dursley has something she would like to share with us,” declared Crouch.

“Oh believe me I have a whole lot to share with you freaks,” declared Petunia harshly. “The minute magic entered my life, it was ruined. Yes, when perfect princess Lily got her letter for that rubbish school, my parents adored her, I was considered second rate. She was special, she was unique, she was a saint that can’t do any wrong! Of course, Petunia’s nose magically swelling up can’t be Lily’s fall, she’s beautiful and perfect! Petunia had to have provoked her!”

Petunia looked hysterical, before turning to face Dumbledore.

“Once I moved out of the house and married Vernon, I thought I was well shot of this rubbish and I never looked back, but you couldn’t have that Dumbledore,” declared Petunia. “You dumped the boy on my steps, saying that I was to take him in, that we were going to bring that unnaturalness into our perfect life. Of I course I couldn’t refuse, you said in no uncertain terms there were ways to make us normal folk care for your freakish offspring. Believe me, I wanted to go with Vernon’s suggestion and drown that brat in the bathtub the first day he was put there, one less little freak the better, but I was paranoid that you might be watching us and I never wanted to become a puppet.”

Petunia spat the last word.

“And the fact you thought I would change my opinion on your lot shows that you’re a fool Dumbledore, it shows how messed up your world is when someone like you is put in charge of school children!” yelled Petunia, who was getting more hysterical by the second. “I never liked magic, I never like magic, and the sooner your entire lot is hung the better!”

“Did you participate in any abuse on Harry Potter?” asked Crouch.

“No, I didn’t, my husband was the one who did so, but nothing further than a few backhands and using a belt on him for upstaging our son Dudley in school, as it’s obvious that the boy used his hocus pocus rubbish to cheat on his work,” declared Petunia casually. “And one time my husband had a bit too much to drink and broke a glass bottle over the boy’s arm for sneaking into the kitchen to steal food, but he got off lucky in my opinion.”

Several members of the Wizengamot glared at Petunia, who folded her arms, looking very sour.

“Mrs. Dursley, I find it alarming that such bile can be directed towards an innocent child, no matter what your thoughts on your sister was,” declared Madam Bones coldly.

“As if any of your kind could be innocent,” spat Petunia.

“I recommend this court order the Dementor’s Kiss, as it is obvious that Petunia Dursley is a danger to herself and others based on her comments today,” declared Crouch swiftly.

Madam Bones looked out at the court.

“All in favor of this recommendation,” declared Madam Bones and every hand on the Wizengamot raised their hand, some higher than others. “Very well, Petunia Dursley, you will be escorted back to Azkaban and receive the Dementor’s Kiss tomorrow morning.”

“The next matter is the incident three weeks ago in Diagon Alley,” declared Crouch. “Severus Snape attacked Harry Potter in Diagon Alley, killing two men in the process, in an attempt to drag him back to Albus Dumbledore. His wand was tested and found to have cast two killing curses, failed at casting a third, and used the Imperius Curse in a short amount of time. It was also found out that he attempted to use the obscure art called Legilimency, which crudely put is reading other people’s minds. An art that is illegal to perform on minors.”

“Do you dispute this Dumbledore?” asked Madam Bones.

“No, but Severus Snape had misinterpreted my orders to convince Harry to come with him to ensure his safety,” declared Dumbledore calmly.

“Yet, much like Petunia Dursley, you misjudged Snape’s character,” declared Yaxley with glee in his eye. “I feel that the court should remember that I attended Hogwarts when Snape was there and even through I was two years higher than Snape, the animosity between Severus Snape and one James Potter was all too well known for anyone who attended school during that time period.”

“Your point being Yaxley?” asked Madam Bones.

“Dumbledore actually placed Harry Potter in more danger by sending Snape to retrieve him to ensure he was returned to safety,” declared Yaxley, adding the last word with quite a sarcastic air. “Many times the child pays for the sins of the father or mother, depending on the situation and this is a clear case of bad judgment by Albus Dumbledore, one of many.”

Dumbledore lowered his head, it couldn’t get any worse but Barone slightly raised his hand.

“The floor recognizes Allan Michael Barone,” declared Madam Bones.

“Dumbledore did commit several serious breaches of logic in his life, but he’s not the only one in this room who has wronged someone,” declared Barone. “Harry Potter and Remus Lupin are not the only one’s who I have liberated from injustice, I also represent the best interests of Sirius Orion Black.”

The court went so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“You have Black, you are to surrender him to the Ministry immediately or be branded a fugitive yourself Mr. Barone,” declared Crouch as he raised his nonfunctioning wand, before realizing it was still nullified.

“And for the record, there is a five thousand galleon reward that you can collect on if you surrender Black,” declared Yaxley.

“Please, I can buy and sell the Ministry many times over without putting the smallest dent in my bank account,” declared Barone, as he rolled his eyes. “Still, the Ministry can be of some help, as I have been unable to find any records of Sirius Black’s trial and I was hoping you might be able to direct me to a copy.”

“Black was never issued a trial,” declared Madam Bones. “I know little more than that, as it was two years before I joined this council.”

“Very well, you’re off the hook,” declared Barone with a nod towards Madam Bones. “Still, I am rather confused about something. Sirius Black received a trial yet recently incarcerated Death Eater Lucius Mafloy received a trial where he received the chance to claim he was underneath the Imperius Curse by Voldemort.”

Most of the court winced at the utterance of Voldemort’s name.

“You know if I say Voldemort’s name, I can gun you down before you finish wincing,” declared Barone casually before adding. “Still, back at the matter at hand, Lucius received a trial but was there any reason why Black never received a trial.”

“Countless witnesses saw him destroy the street containing the twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew!” barked Crouch.

“I believe he was also charged of betraying Lily and James Potter to Voldemort, yes Voldemort, but never given a chance to defend himself in a court of law,” prompted Barone.

“Albus Dumbledore gave evidence that Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper to the Potter’s, using the Fidelius Charm, which hid the house from view,” declared Crouch.

“Dumbledore told you that,” said Barone. “As in Albus Dumbledore, the person who has made two bad judgment calls already that have been picked apart in this court.”

Dead silence, no one seemed to have had an answer to that.

“I rest my case, Sirius Black gets a fair trial under Veritiserum, brewed by a third party Potion master with no biases either way to state his case,” declared Barone firmly.

“You can’t just order the Ministry of Magic around,” replied Crouch calmly but his eyes showed that he was seething.

“Or Harry Potter will receive his magical education elsewhere,” declared Barone sharply. “Have fun explaining that one to the Wizarding World, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started bombarding this place with torches and pitchforks. Personally I’m partial to Durmstrang but that’s just me.”

“Very well, Black will get his trial but it will take weeks, even months to get everything arranged,” declared Crouch. “This is a very busy time of year for the Wizengamot.”

“Yet you had time to squabble over a six year old when there was no one here to defend him, but in any event, forward the date of the trial to Gringotts, my associates in the bank will make sure that I hand it over to Mr. Black,” said Barone crisply as he looked around, with the four prosecutors deep in conversation before Madam Bones turned to address the court.

“Based on Albus Dumbledore’s actions, we feel that some form of action needs to be taken,” declared Madam Bones. “I bring forth the recommendation you will never be allowed to attend the Wizengamot as a member, effective immediately stripped of your title as Chief Warlock, along with the order that you voluntarily resign as the Chief Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. You will be allowed to remain as Hogwarts Headmaster but be warned, you will be on probation for a period of five years. Under no circumstances are you to come near Harry Potter during that time period or send anyone to attempt to bring him to you for his own good. If we find you are breaking the terms of this probation, you will be stripped of your Order of Merlin, First Class and will be sent to Azkaban for a period of twenty years.”

Madam Bones paused for a few seconds to allow all that to sink in.

“All those in favor of taking these measures against Albus Dumbledore,” declared Madam Bones and over seventy percent of the Wizengamot members raised their hands. “All against.”

A few people still obviously thought that Dumbledore could do no wrong and raised their hands as well, but they were far from enough to let him off the hook.

“Very well Albus Dumbledore, you are off the Wizengamot and are ordered to resign from the International Confederation of Wizards along with being placed under a five year probation where you are not to come near Harry Potter in that time frame or send anyone to retrieve him,” declared Madam Bones. “Should you break the terms of this probation, you know the consequences.”

Dumbledore nodded grimly.

“Court dismissed,” declared Madam Bones as everyone filed to get out of the courtroom.

The mobsters made there way down towards an empty corridor, making sure no one was there, before Barone pulled his wand out, sealing the door and putting a silencing charm on the parameter of it.

“Merlin, Harry, imagine the look on those mobsters face if Sirius Black, Harry Potter, and Remus Lupin were in the courtroom right under their noses and they didn’t know it,” declared Sirius to Barone, who was in fact Harry Potter incognito.

“Yes, that was mildly satisfying. Remus, activate our illegally made Portkey if you please,” declared Harry calmly. “I feel a bit tired from holding this form for a long period of time and activating that nullification spell, thanks to the floor plan the goblins gave me on this place, and I would hate to spend an entire week unconscious again.”

Remus nodded, as everyone crowded around the Portkey, before the werewolf activated it. With a yank, everyone was pulled from the Ministry, with no one the wiser of their presence on their day.

In his cavernous base of operations underneath the city of Hogsmeade, Yaxley kneeled before Lord Voldemort.

“Report,” hissed Voldemort.

“My Lord, Albus Dumbledore has been put on probation over the next five years where is not to meddle in the affairs of Harry Potter,” declared Yaxley.

“Perfect, everything works out, the boy will be much easier to find with Dumbledore out of the picture,” replied Voldemort. “Snape’s failure has displeased me greatly, but perhaps all is not lost.”

“My Lord, there is something else you should know,” declared Yaxley.

“Tell,” replied Voldemort.

“The mobsters who have the boy is led by a man named Allan Michael Barone, who is a wizard” declared Yaxley. “Barone nullified every wand inside the Wizengamot; he apparently knows structural secrets within the Ministry that he can manipulate for his own gain.”

This little tidbit caught Voldemort’s attention.

“Yaxley, Snape failed me but perhaps you can gain some favor by tracking down this Barone and bring him to me, along with Harry Potter,” declared Voldemort. “I must have the pair of them by my side, they will prove to be invaluable to my cause but tread lightly as Snape’s botched attempt to nab Potter will make it even more difficult.”

“I will not fail you, my Lord,” declared Yaxley.

“Let’s hope so, for your sake, Yaxley,” declared Voldemort as the man gave a short bow, before Voldemort dismissed him with a crude wave of his hand and Yaxley made his way from the room without another word as Voldemort was left with his thoughts.