Bab 123: Abrupt Happenings
November 1994
Ministry of Magic
Andromeda's counter arguments were again able create the balance in favour of Harry Potter. Even so it was not leaning heavily in his side as much as before the trial had resumed for the day.
Dumbledore's points had planted the seeds of confusion and uncertainty in the minds of members of the Wizengamot and it was now not easy to remove these seeds.
Dumbledore smiled in response to Andromeda's questions, "What Mrs. Tonks said makes perfect sense."
"But what you imply, Mrs. Tonks," grinned Dumbledore "are merely speculations."
"You have no shred of proof to even slightly back your claims of me plotting against Harry."
He faced towards the chief warlock, "Madam Marchbanks, this is nothing but waste of the precious time of this esteemed body and its members."
"From day one, I have maintained that discussing the events of the past would yield no result… we need to focus on what happened during the selection of champions for the Triwizard tournament."
He continued, "But what Mrs. Tonks has been doing from the start of the trial is merely narrating stories and making assumption out of it."
He smirked, "If she does have any evidence to support her claims then she should put it in front of the council."
"Now that Harry Potter 'owns' Hogwarts, he should have no problems in finding out at least few evidences of my wrongdoings. He could use some help and try to gather some evidence against me rather than wasting time in this useless story narration."
"And if Mrs. Tonks is merely interested in story telling then she could organise a grand function and speak before a larger audience," mocked Dumbledore.
"Or maybe using a newspaper would also be a good option," he added further.
Madam Marchbanks sitting at the chair of the chief warlock had a serious expression on her face.
She sighed deeply, "Mrs. Tonks, although, I sympathise with Lord Potter for all the mishaps that have occurred in his life… what Albus Dumbledore says makes sense."
Andromeda tried to protest, "Madam Marchbanks…" but the old witch cut her off.
"Sitting on this chair," Madam Marchbanks continued, "I must be impartial."
"I have given enough time to you to go beyond the scope of the case which we have been dealing. But you lack evidence…"
She added further, "We will now move to the specifics of the case which we ought to deal with."
She looked towards Amelia, "Before I allow the two of you to argue, Madam Bones, please present all what you have been able to find out regarding the case."
Amelia nodded and walked in the well. She faced the Wizengamot, "For the past few days, since Lord Potter have registered his complaint, DMLE have been conducting a meticulous investigation."
"Let me talk about the conclusion which we have been able to arrive at," continued Amelia.
"Firstly, with the help of the department of mysteries we were able to conclude that the Goblet had been tempered with."
She continued, "A very powerful confundus charm was cast on the Goblet. It made the articraft to believe that not 3 but 4 schools were participating in the tournament and Lord Potter's name was put in the goblet as the sole participant from this fourth school."
"As Mr. Dumbledore have already confessed, due to his inaction all magical traces on the goblet was lost and it is not possible now to find out which wizard or witch cast the spell."
She looked around and continued, "The other point of contention is the age line. Two points stand out with this regard."
"Firstly, the age line which was created by Dumbledore," sighed Amelia, "was utterly useless."
"Not only that any average wizard or witch would have been able to breach the line through various methods, it also lacked in other aspects."
"For example if a minor would have thrown his name into the Goblet outside the age line or maybe have used an elongated stick to put his name in the Goblet, the age line would have detected nothing."
"What I am saying that the age line simply prevented anyone from crossing that line and not from putting his name in the goblet. This is kind of mistake which cannot be expected from someone as experienced as Albus Dumbledore. The Goblet had no such compulsion to only choose from wizards or witches not of age," concluded Amelia.
She continued, "And now this brings us to our second point."
"As we are already aware, that a powerful magical contract is used to enforce the rules of the tournament then why was the age limitation not added in the contract itself."
She chuckled, "And the answer to this question is that Albus Dumbledore decided that it would not be a good idea to tweak with the magical contract which have been used for centuries and that an external protection would be enough."
Dumbledore remained calm during whole time.
Amelia continued, "Sadly no professor or student at Hogwarts have been able to report any suspicious activity which could have given us a lead in the case."
Madam Marchbanks nodded, "Thank you, Madam Bones."
She looked at Andromeda, "Mrs. Tonks you can begin now."
Amelia was about to leave the well when Dumbledore interrupted her, "Sorry for my intrusion, Madam Bones."
He added with a smile, "Although it was clear from your statements, I must ask it clearly."
He asked, "You have not been able to find a single evidence which could point that myself, Ludo Bagman or Barty Crouch have a direct involvement in Harry Potter's name coming out of the goblet. Is this true?"
Amelia felt irritated at Dumbledore's smiling face and him rubbing these things in her face but she could only nod her head, "Yes, Mr. Dumbledore. What you said is indeed correct."
Dumbledore chuckled, "Thank you, Madam Bones."
"Mrs. Tonks, the stage is all yours," said Dumbledore.
Andromeda was about to open her mouth when the gates of the council were forcibly opened with a bang.
Two wizards dressed in the uniform of aurors came running inside and before anyone could understand what was happening, one of them screamed.
"Madam Bones... the Azkaban.... has been attacked by death eaters," said the auror in trembling voice.
"And... and.... another group was seen flying towards Hogwarts," finished the auror.
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