章 356: HPF281-290
Chapter 280
The four ladies then set about writing down
the list of just over two dozen names, before
running through the rest of their wedding
plans.
Once the wedding planning was out of the
way, that was pushed aside.
Deece then delved straight into the next
topic.
She turned to both girls and asked, "You two
are still taking your contraceptive potions,
yes?"
"Yes, Mum," both replied, blushing a little.
"And you're also casting the contraceptive
charms?" she pressed.
"Yes, Mum," both replied again, blushing a
little more.
"But, I really don't understand why both,"
continued Hermione.
"As soul bonded your magic is so closely
linked that it practically thrums between
you," explained Deece. "Magic knows you're
compatible. On top of that, it's also clear
Harry is quite the magically powerful young
wizard. And that will carry across to his seed.
"Powerful seed, with magic recognising the
bonding, means magic will want you to
reproduce. It knows, from such a union, your
children will also be magically powerful.
"Taking the potion and casting the charm is a
fervent hope magic's desire for you to
conceive is not as strong as the potion and
charm combined to prevent it."
"We do that," said Daphne, a little confused.
"Good; but, what Cele and I want to talk to
you about, now, is muggle methods to
prevent conception."
"Oh, Gods," winced Hermione. "You want to
give us 'The Talk' again."
"Think of this as... The Talk, part two,"
smirked Cele.
When the girls were finally able to escape,
they disappeared into their room upstairs.
Both were madly blushing away.
With an embarrassed giggle, Daphne said, "I
don't believe Mum and Mum Granger felt
they needed to give us that talk."
"I know!" Hermione softly exclaimed. "It's
not as if we were thinking about having sex
for the first time. We've been doing that for a
few months now!"
"We can't take the muggle Pill, because it
could interfere with the potion; and may not
work on witches, anyway," said Daphne.
"And the Rhythm Method only allows for a
few days each month to have full sex. I don't
like the sounds of that. And, Harry's allergic
to the powder, or whatever it is, of those
com-com things."
"Condoms," Hermione unconsciously
corrected. "I also don't think it's wise for
either of us to be fitted with an IUD if we're
planning on convincing Sirius to teach and
help us become animaguses; and there's no
evidence it would work for a witch, anyway.
Finally, there's spermicide. However, it has
no evidence of success working on the seed
of a wizard; so is probably a similar moot
point to other muggle methods."
"So, we're stuck with continuing doing what
we've been doing and hope for the best,"
said Daphne. "Sorry, but, thank Merlin
for that! We'll just have to get Harry to also
remember to use the wizard's sterility charm
as a third anti-conception method and that's
going to be about all we can do."
Hermione nodded back, just as relieved.
After Sirius, Matthias and Deece left; Harry
called for Dobby, who fetched their trunks.
Then he and Winky unpacked them.
The three changed out of wizard casual wear
and into muggle casual wear in case Ant and
Cele had unexpected visitors; or they wanted
to do a quick run down to the shop.
Then they plonked themselves down in front
of the television for a while and watched a
video on the VCR. They didn't even notice
Winky dropped off popcorn and soft drinks
for them.
When Ant returned as the credits scrolled up
the screen, he asked, "So, no plans for the
summer?"
"No, Dad," the three said.
"But, we do hope you won't mind if we have
friends over, now and then, for a visit," said
Hermione.
"Of course not," said Ant. Turning to Harry,
he said, "Now, son; the ladies will be
spending a lot of their time occupied with
wedding planning. I, for one, am happy to
leave that up to the ladies and those angels
of yours.
"Instead, I wonder if and when you're not
doing anything else, you'd like to work with
me in building an elevated deck out the back
door."
Surprised, Harry said, "Yeah, that'd be nice.
But, I don't really know much about how to
operate electric tools. I only know how to
use ones like a hammer and stuff."
"That's quite alright," smiled Ant. We'll figure
it out together."
The next day Ant and Harry disappeared for a
while. They went to the local timber and
hardware supplies store to purchase up on
what they needed. Ant had with him a book
on home construction jobs and a sheet with
written measurements.
Taking a look at the notes and numbers,
Harry said, "You've had this planned for a
while."
"Guilty," smiled his father-in-law. "This has
been a major home improvement project for
a couple of years, now. It's only recently,
with your mother-in-law falling pregnant,
that I decided I should remove the ol' digit
from the rear and get on with it."
Harry thought about it for a few minutes
before he said, "The house faces north, so
the back deck will always be in the sun. You'll
need hardwearing timber for the deck, and
use a lacquer that's sun resistant."
Surprised, Ant grinned back and said, "The
entire structure will be made of hardwearing
timber, Harry. I'm also building it with an eye
to roofing it over later. So it has to be built
with enough strength to support a roof, as
well."
With the aid of a tradesman shop assistant
with a depth of experience in home
construction projects, Ant discussed what he
wanted to build and what he felt his needs
were. The shop assistant made a few
suggestions, and also referenced Ant's book
as they went.
Once they were finished choosing timber and
concrete for the footings and deck, Ant paid
for the lot and organised for it to be
delivered later that day. Then they headed
for the tool section.
Again referencing his book, Ant chose good
quality tools specific for the job. They
included a circular saw, an electric plane, an
electric drill with enough strength to power a
half-inch drillbit through four inch thick hard
wood, and an electric screwdriver with
power to drive two inch long 3/16th wood
screws through hard, pre-bored, timber. He
then added a selection of nuts, bolts, and
timber screws; a large tin of creosote and
two similar sized tins of outdoor wood
decking oil; and a long-handled post hole
digger.
"I already have the rest of the tools and drill
bits we need, so no need to buy them," Ant
explained to Harry.
A little concerned with the costs involved,
Harry took Ant aside and softly asked, "You
know us three can magic a deck up for you,
don't you?"
Ant grinned back and said, "Building it is part
of the joy of it, Harry. We get to work hard,
escape wedding planning and, at the end of
it, we can stand back and admire our
handiwork. Besides, it's also something I can
tell my friends and our non-magical family
about how it came to be. Its 'bragging rights',
son! I get to tell people my son-and-law and I
built it ourselves."
"As a bonding exercise?" asked Harry, better
understanding.
With an even bigger grin, Ant slapped him on
the back shoulder and said, "Exactly!"
Chapter 282
Over the next two weeks, Ant and Harry put
in the hard effort and converted the small
rear back verandah into a decent-sized
wooden deck that stretched the width of the
house, and projected out into the back yard a
dozen feet. Due to it's height off the ground
it was bordered by a railing, and a set of
stairs descended to the existing path directly
opposite the back door.
At regular intervals, the four inch square
wooden support beams continued up to a
height of nine feet above the height of the
deck surface. These would eventually form
the support structure for the roof. For now,
Ant would be using them to support a gazebo
style wooden slat roof with clear Alsynite
style sheeting to keep out rain.
While they worked on their 'summer project'
the girls, accompanied by Cele, went
browsing wedding catalogues and shops.
Hermione had chosen to wear a traditional
muggle bridal gown while Daphne would
wear a traditional witch's bridal robe.
At various times, friends also came visiting.
Blaise and Neville found themselves helping
out, at one point, in building the deck.
Neville loved it and asked plenty of questions;
even going so far as declaring it was a
concept he wanted to include at Longbottom
Hall. Though putting in an equal effort, Blaise
just appeared bemused by the whole thing
and couldn't understand why they couldn't
just build it with magic. It took Ant and Harry
about an hour to convince him of the
pleasure that came of doing it by hand.
Watching a pureblood like Blaise pushing the
drillbit of an electric drill through a four inch
square vertical wooden beam highly amused
the other teens, with the girls coming out to
watch. When he'd finally pushed it through,
he looked up to see the others grinning back.
They even applauded him for his effort;
leading him to grin back.
"That was actually fun!" he exclaimed to Ant.
"What can I make a hole in next?"
After laughing about the Italian-descended
Slytherin boy's expression and choice of
words for a few moments, Ant showed him
where he needed more holes drilled, before
leaving him to it.
But the two weeks weren't just about
building the deck. Harry and Neville also had
to accompany the ladies, when they were
required, to give their opinions about a few
things relating to the wedding. On most of
those occasions they were also accompanied
by Luna and Tracey in their roles as
bridesmaids.
Some of those visits were to muggle shops,
and some were to Diagon Alley and other
magical shopping areas that Daphne knew
about. The latter trips were by way of the
Knight Bus.
The completion of the deck led to Cele
buying a six-seater outdoor setting for it
while Ant bought a decent sized gas-powered
barbeque. And the next night, once the
decking oil had dried, they had a mini-party
out on the new deck to celebrate.
As summer deepened they had just entered
into August when the three teens were
walking through the local neighbourhood,
enjoying the warm day. Hermione was
showing them the local sites, including
where she attended school, when the
weather suddenly turned foul.
Unforecasted storm clouds rolled in, so the
three were making their way back to the
Granger residence when the air suddenly
turned very chilly and heavily laden with
moisture. They were taking a shortcut
through a pedestrian right-of-way when
Daphne suddenly cried out. "Dementors!"
Looking behind them and where she was
pointing, Harry saw three of the horrid
beasts heading straight for them. He
immediately popped his wand into his hand
and cast his patronus, with Hermione and
Daphne - who the two had taught during the
previous year - right behind him with their
own.
As Harry's patronus stag led the way, it was
joined by the patronus does of both his wives.
And all three patronuses charged straight at
the dementors. In only a few moments the
three dementors were driven off with the
patronuses chasing them back into the sky.
Not wanting muggles to see the magic, the
three debated whether to race for 'home' or
stay to make sure the beasts didn't return.
They waited a further couple of minutes
before they realised they were gone. And the
storm like conditions faded away again.
As they hurriedly walked, Harry pulled out
his mirror and contacted his godfather.
"Hiya pup!" answered Sirius, until he saw the
expression on Harry's face. "What
happened?" he asked, now quite concerned.
"We were just attacked by three dementors,"
Harry almost snarled back.
"Where are they and where are you, now?"
asked Sirius, almost snapping out the
question.
"They're gone. But, we're about half a mile
from the Granger's home and hurrying back
there now," he replied.
"We'll be there soon," said Sirius.
When the mirror went dead, Harry dropped
it back into his pocket and quickly scanned
the skies again, just as the girls were doing,
as the three quickly headed back to the
house.
When the three hurried into the yard of the
house Sirius and Remus were waiting for
them out front. They were concerned the
dementors had been there ahead of them.
Their worries were unfounded when they
found Ant and Cele hadn't even realised a
dangerous situation had occurred until Sirius
and Remus suddenly apparated directly into
their sitting room, startling them both, and
explaining what had happened.
"You're both alright?" asked Hermione,
hurrying over to check them over.
"Yes, we are," replied Cele, checking them
over right back. "We didn't even know there
was anything wrong."
"They didn't harm you, did they?" asked
Sirius of Harry. "Do you need chocolate?"
"We're fine," answered Harry. "I'm just
bloody glad the three of us know and can do
the patronus charm."
After the six of them began to settle down,
Sirius was about to leave to head directly for
the Ministry when a Ministry owl flew in and
dropped off an 'official' Ministry letter.
Remus grabbed it and quickly scanned it for
traps and the like before releasing the owl of
its load. He handed it to Sirius to read while
he took the owl to release it out the back.
Sirius ripped it open and quickly read
through it before handing it off to Harry. He
was fuming.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received intelligence that you
performed the Patronus Charm at
twenty-three minutes past six this evening in
a muggle-inhabited area within view of and
near the presence of muggles.
As you have already received an official
warning for a previous offense under section
13 of the International Confederation of
Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to
inform you that your presence is required at
a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of
Magic at 9 a.m. on the 5th August.
Hoping you are well,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE
Ministry of Magic
"Don't worry, Harry," said Sirius. "I'll be
taking care of this."
"This is Umbridge," said Harry, as Remus
walked back into the sitting room. "This
happened in the old timeline but we didn't
expect it to happen this time. This time I'm
emancipated and not living at the Dursleys.
Chapter 283
"It was her attempt at an assassination. She
didn't expect me, or the girls, to know the
patronus charm as it's not taught until
seventh year. Hopkirk is acting on her orders.
"Go see Madam Bones. Hopkirk works in her
department," said Daphne as Harry offered
the letter back to Sirius. "Take the letter with
you. Ask her what is meant by 'intelligence'
and how the letter got here so fast. It was
obviously prepared in advance."
Hermione added, "Point out how neither
Daphne nor myself received a similar letter,
when we were there with Harry and casting
the same charm.
"Next," she said, "Demand she head directly
to Umbridge's office. I bet you'll find the
orders to the dementors still there. Though
the Pink Toad'll try to pass them off as rogues,
they weren't. All three were wearing control
medallions."
Nodding, Harry said, "Move fast and play it
right and we should be able to use this to get
Umbridge sent to Azkaban. And, hold onto
the letter. If this gets pushed, as the Minister
will want to do, I'll need a copy of it for
Stewart Ackerman."
Sirius took the letter and immediately made
a copy of it before giving the original back to
Harry.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, before
apparating away with a copy of the letter in
his hand.
As soon as Sirius left, Ant furiously asked,
"Someone tried to use those beasts
to murder you?"
Turning to look at him, Hermione said, "Yes.
Last time, though, Umbridge thought she
was on a win-win situation. She sent two
after Harry, then. She expected them to 'Kiss'
him; a horrible way to die. If he'd managed
to drive them off, which he of course did and
which can really only be done with the
patronus charm, then she had him for a
breach of the underage magic laws and, just
like this time, breaching the Statute of
Secrecy. That would have meant time in
Azkaban."
"Bitch!" Ant softly snarled.
"Hence our nickname for her - Umbitch,"
smiled Daphne, unconcerned by the
language. Even Hermione didn't scold her
father for it.
"Though the letter tells Harry the hearing is
at 9:00am on the 12th of August... a week
later than last time... at the last minute the
Minister moves the hearing to an hour
earlier," continued Hermione. "He tried to
hold the hearing before Harry even turned
up, using it to make it seem Harry had no
care about his actions or held the Ministry
and the wizarding world's laws in contempt.
"Luckily, Harry was there just after the
hearing started and well before the Minister
could wrap it up. And, that time,
Dumbledore swooped in and managed
Harry's defence. Personally, I think it might
have been a Dumbledore set up that way to
make him, yet again, appear to be a hero to
Harry."
"This time, if the hearing isn't cancelled by
Madam Bones by tonight, I'll be
there two hours ahead of time," said Harry.
"On top of that, as a member of the
Wizengamot now, I'm entitled to a lot more
than just a few minutes warning. If I don't
receive notice well in advance, it'll be
another black mark against Fudge. It may
finally be enough for Matthias to convince
Ogden to run for Minister."
"You'll be wearing your Wizengamot robes
when you go, Harry," Daphne firmly said.
"It'll be a poke in the eye to the Minister to
do so."
Harry nodded and said, "While we wait for
Sirius to return, I've got a letter to write to
Stewart."
"It might be moot within a couple of hours, if
that, love," said Daphne.
"Yes, but it also might not," he disagreed. "It
will not hurt to draft the letter up ready to
send if Sirius doesn't return with word the
hearing has been cancelled."
"And Stewart will be most wroth with you if
you leave him uniformed again," smiled
Hermione.
While they waited for Sirius to return, the
three sat at the kitchen table and wrote up
the letter to Stewart. As they were writing
Remus sat with the Grangers in the sitting
room and told them all about the charity
bursary fund he managed on behalf of Harry
and the Lily Potter Memorial Fund.
The three agreed to include the original of
the letter from Hopkirk as an attachment to
the letter to Stewart.
Once finished, they quietly returned to the
sitting room and waited. However, it wasn't
long before Harry was on his feet and pacing.
After putting up with it for only ten minutes,
Daphne frowned at him and firmly said,
"Harry, stop it. Sit down and meditate."
"I don't think I can meditate while Sirius is
away," he sighed, stopping.
Remus was about to comment when
Hermione beat him to it.
"Being able to meditate, even when it's a
highly stressful situation, is important,"
lectured Hermione. "Anyone can mediate
when it's quiet and they're calm. You should
be skilled enough at it now that you can
meditate while we wait."
"Hermione's right," the old wolf agreed.
"Now is a great time to meditate. Take a seat,
Cub."
Grumbling about traitorous wives and pushy
honourary uncles, Harry found a clear spot
on the floor in the corner, and sat and
crossed his legs in a semi-lotus position.
Focussing on his breathing he was soon
dropping down into his meditative state.
He didn't even notice when, about thirty
seconds later, Remus cast a charm on him.
Tilting his head slightly to the side while he
looked at his cub, Remus softly said, "That's
not bad. Considering the emotional state he
was in as he sat down he dropped into his
meditative state very quickly."
"He's eager to start finding his animagus
form," said Daphne. "All three of us are."
"Any ideas on your forms yet?" he asked the
girls.
Both grinned back and Daphne said, "Yes. All
three of us know the type and have some
idea of the... breed of each."
"And they are?" asked Remus, honestly
curious.
Chapter 284
"... Going to stay a secret until the potion,"
grinned Hermione. "You'll have to wait until
they're revealed."
With a snort of amusement, Remus returned,
"An answer worthy of a Marauder."
Though the three had explained to Ant and
Cele what an animagus was, they were both
very curious as to what the potion would do.
Remus was explaining its effects, and how it
rapidly progressed the learning stages
towards becoming an animagus and what
those stages were, when Sirius returned. This
time he apparated into the garage and came
in through the interconnecting door.
"I'm back," he called before he walked into
the sitting room.
Harry immediately popped out of his
meditative state and stood up. "What
happened?" he immediately asked.
"Lots!" grinned Sirius. He then explained
what happened from the time he left until he
returned.
"So, it was a murder attempt by Umbridge,
and my hearing is now being replaced with a
trial for her," said Harry. "What of Fudge's
part in this?"
"He's not being asked any questions, yet,"
replied Sirius. "He'll be suddenly required to
bear witness on the twelfth at Umbridge's
trial. They want to try and keep him in the
dark as much as possible. If they can keep
him thinking the trial is actually a hearing for
Harry, the less chance there is of
interference.
"In the mean time, Umbridge is being held in
the cells at the DMLE as a 'flight risk'. In
reality it's so she can't run to Fudge and get
him to try and get her out of it; or give him
time to come up with a valid defence.
"However, Amelia has her dead to rights. As
you 'suspected' it was her order that sent the
dementors after you. However, she sent
them here only on the off chance you would
be here. However, if you weren't, the
secondary order to the dementors was to
take out Ant and Cele and, possibly,
Hermione."
Cele gasped as Ant went white. Cele sat
there for a moment before she mumbled,
"Excuse me," and ran for the downstairs
toilet.
Ant quickly followed her.
Looking to Hermione, Sirius looked abashed
and apologised. "I'm sorry that sounded so
blunt; but, there was really no way to soften
that blow."
Hermione scowled back at him.
"It wasn't your finest moment," murmured
Remus.
As they waited for Cele to finish revisiting her
dinner, Hermione called Winky and asked her
to prepare a peppermint tea for her mother
and English breakfast tea for the rest of
them.
With a look of concern on her face, Winky
quietly said, "Yes, Mistress." And quickly set
the makings up on the stove in the kitchen.
"Peppermint?" asked Sirius.
"It's a good herbal remedy for settling the
stomach," explained Hermione. "Mum drank
a fair bit of it while she was suffering from
morning sickness. She'll want some when she
and Dad return."
As Cele returned to the table, she muttered,
"Sorry."
Winky immediately set before her a hot cup
of peppermint tea before then setting cups
of black tea before everyone else. The scent
of peppermint immediately began to
permeate the room.
Sirius immediately replied, "No, I'm the one
who should be and is sorry. I should have
found a better way to break that news to
you."
Cele just waved him off as she sipped from
her cup.
Ant said, "Sometimes, you can't be anything
but blunt."
With a nod back Sirius turned to the three
and said, "Though it's no longer a hearing for
Harry, the three of you will be called as
witnesses. You can expect Amelia to get in
touch with you some time tomorrow."
"With these three coming to visit my home
on the weekend for the next couple of weeks,
I'd like you to consider coming, as well.
There's more than enough room."
With his own nod, Ant said, "We'll consider
it."
"Good," said Sirius. "I know you have the
tunnel and the portkeys; but, I think
everyone will be happier if you're behind
wards for at least the next couple of weeks."
"What about the wards that are here?" asked
Cele.
"They're an alert ward and an intent-based
ward on the boundary of the property; and
anti-fire and similar wards on the house
itself," explained Sirius. "Mainly, they're
designed to slow them down enough for you
to be aware you're about to be attacked, and
allow you enough time to get into the tunnel.
"That's all we can put up on a muggle home
without breaking the law. Even then we're
skirting it. But Harry, Amelia and Augusta -
our three sitting Wizengamot members - are
trying to get laws through that'll allow us to
put stronger wards up. It's yet another thing
Fudge has been blocking; and another reason
we need to get rid of him."
Harry nodded in agreement.
Four days later, Harry and the girls were up
very early and dressed, ready to head to the
Wizengamot. While Harry was dressed in
Wizengamot robes, the girls dressed in their
finest non-formal robes. All three wore a
light cape with the disillusioned Potter crest
on the breast, and a hood that could easily
be hitched up and over their heads to help
mask their faces as they travelled.
Walking downstairs they entered the kitchen
where Winky had already prepared for them
a light breakfast of pastries and small mixed
fruit cooled compotes. None of them had the
stomach for the usual fare for an English
breakfast.
They learned Fudge had only remained
unaware of the trial until late morning the
day after the attack. He immediately headed
for Madam Bones's office and demanded
Umbridge's release. He was flatly denied.
However, the fact Fudge found out about it
so fast demonstrated to Madam Bones that
she had at least one 'tattletale' in among her
aurors. That was yet another untrustworthy
auror she needed to ferret out.
However, even though she denied Fudge the
release of Umbridge then and there, the
woman was still released that night after she
went home for the evening. The Minister
simply browbeat a lowly 'guard' auror to
release her.
The Granger household received an apology
letter from her the next morning, the
Wednesday. Only about thirty seven hours
after the attack.
Chapter 285
What none of them were aware of until later,
was that Umbridge simply walked back into
the Ministry, that morning, to return to work
as if she'd done nothing wrong. Two aurors
on guard duty in the lobby of the atrium
immediately recognised her, stunned her and
portkeyed her directly back to the cells,
before she could even open her mouth in
protest.
This time, Madam Bones made sure there
was a senior auror on guard duty that was
told if he released the woman, no matter
how much Fudge demanded it, he'd better
lock himself in the cell if he released her;
because that's where she, Madam Bones,
would stuff him as soon as she learned of it.
The three were still sitting at the kitchen
table when Ant and Cele joined them for
their own breakfasts.
After Winky laid a plate in front of him, Ant
looked at Harry and said, "Promise me you'll
be keeping these two safe today."
"I'll be doing my utmost to keep them
safe all the time, Dad," Harry firmly replied.
"You need not ask."
With a nod of acknowledgement Ant dug
into his breakfast, while Harry returned to
reading articles in the Prophet over
Hermione's shoulder.
About fifteen minutes later, Sirius, Remus
and Matthias entered from the garage and
bid everyone a good morning.
"Ready, you three?" asked Remus.
With verbal nods, the three stood and bid
the Granger adults a good day before walking
into the sitting room and being side-along
apparated to the Ministry apparition point.
From there they immediately headed to
Madam Bones's office for a quick meeting.
They were ushered directly in.
"Morning Amelia," greeted Sirius, first in the
door.
"Sirius," she nodded back. As everyone else
filed in and greetings were exchanged she
ushered everyone to chairs already in the
room for the purpose of their gathering.
Looking to Harry with a slight smirk on her
face she slid a document towards him and
said, "Mister Potter, it seems you forgot to
sign the demand for trial for Dolores Jane
Umbridge you had cause to be sent to me."
Cocking an eyebrow and smirking back, and
knowing he had never done such a thing, he
replied, "Did I? How careless of me."
While someone snorted in amusement from
his side of the desk, Harry leaned forward
over the desk and quickly scanned down
through the form. Once he'd read through it
he asked, "Would someone mind loaning me
a quill? I believe I can rectify this oversight
right now."
Almost with a flourish, Sirius quickly offered
him a self-inking one.
Harry quickly signed the form and slid it back
to Amelia.
"I trust this grievous error on my part will
remain between us, Madam?" he asked.
"I'd hate to be embarrassed by it, if anyone
should ever find out."
"Of course, Mister Potter," she returned with
a grin, dragging the form back to herself.
Once she had it back she quickly slipped it
into a folder near her left hand. Harry
immediately realised that it contained all the
documentation for the trial the woman
didn't want to be made public yet.
"Now that that small oversight has been
rectified, shall we go?" she asked, rising from
her seat beyond the desk and picking up the
folder as she stood.
As they were walking back through the
aurors' offices, Harry asked Remus, "Thanks
for joining us today, Remus. It's appreciated."
With a smirk back, he replied, "Think nothing
of it, Cub. My boss is a wonderful man, who
willingly allowed me the day off to attend."
"Did he just?" grinned Harry. "I'll have to
thank him for that, if I ever meet him."
With a chuckle, Remus said, "You do that."
On the way out of the office they met up
with Stewart Ackerman, who had insisted he
act as legal counsel for the three, even
though they weren't on trial but were,
instead, witnesses for the prosecution.
Taking two separate lifts, the group exited on
the ninth floor and walked down the steps to
the Wizengamot chamber. And, as they were
witnesses, the three were escorted direct
into the witness waiting room. They were
also joined by Sirius as a fourth witness.
"How long are we likely to wait, this time?"
asked Harry, once they were all ensconced on
comfortable chairs.
With a slight shrug, Stewart replied, "That
depends on how Madam Bones runs things. I
would expect chronologically to the best of
their ability.
"Are we the only witnesses?" asked
Hermione. "I would have thought they'd
have witnesses from when Umbridge
ordered the dementors after us to appear
first, then."
"There are," Steward replied with a nod and
a small smile. "However, they're being kept
in a different room."
Half an hour later, Daphne was called in to
give her version of what happened, and
Stewart accompanied her. Fifteen minutes
later, it was Hermione's turn, and five
minutes after that Harry was called in.
When he ascended the witness box there
was quite a bit of grumbling from the
assembled over his wearing his Wizengamot
robes.
Amelia, chairing the trial, banged her gavel
and sharply said, "Mister Potter is a peer. As
such, he is fully within his right to wear his
Wizengamot robes to this trial, as do you
all."
While waiting for the grumbling to die down,
Harry took a look around. Daphne and
Hermione were now sitting with Matthias
and Remus in the visitors' gallery; so they
were safe now.
In the middle of the floor, on the accused's
chair, sat Umbridge. She was deliberately not
even looking towards his direction. Instead,
she sat there as if butter wouldn't melt in her
mouth and as if she hadn't a care in the
world. However, Harry could see the slight
shaking of her hands as they rested on the
arms of the chair. And she did look a little
pale.
Looking in the other direction Harry saw
Dumbledore in his seat among the warlocks,
and Fudge sitting alongside Madam Bones
but slightly back. Both were scowling, which
Harry thought was a good sign.
Once the assembled had settled down again,
Harry's attention was drawn to Scrimgeour,
who was acting as the prosecutor for the
trial.
Scrimgeour's questions were simple and clear.
He asked Harry to relate the events that
happened in 'Muggle London' near
Hermione's registered place of residence, his
first sight of the dementors, recognising that
all three were wearing gold control
medallions at the time, driving them off with
patronuses, and rushing back to the Granger
residence to ensure they were alright.
Then it was the defence solicitor's turn.
Chapter 286
The only question of any significance the
slimy looking man asked was. "Mister Potter,
when you, in contravention of the Statute of
Secrecy, cast..."
"Objection!" both Stewart and Scrimgeour
shouted.
"Sustained!" Madam Bones barked. "Mister
Pennybaker! That is the third time you've
been called to accounts for that line of
questioning. Another such and you'll be
spending the next forty-eight hours in the
holding cells upstairs. Do I make myself
clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the man said, a little contritely.
But, it was clearly an act.
After that, the man asked only one other
question to do with how Harry was walking
through 'Muggle London' at that time of
night before the questions were wrapped up
and he was able to join his wives in the
visitors' gallery.
Of their group, last came Sirius. He spoke
quite eloquently about what had happened
from his point of view. Harry even heard a
few things Sirius hadn't mentioned when he
returned to the Granger residence on the
night of the attack.
Next was Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had
been one of two aurors sent to find the
control orders for the dementors. They
testified finding the other pairings of the
three dementor control medallions in
Umbridge's locked office, inside the drawer
of her locked desk. And their forensic charms
examination showed that they were put
there by Umbridge.
He was then asked about whom he
interviewed relating to the matter, but was
not required to speak on what they'd said.
From Remus, he found out that the people
Shacklebolt named and identified as having
valid information were required to testify
before Daphne was called in.
Unsurprisingly to the three bondmates, the
forensic examination also found three
unregistered blood quills. That had led to
further charges.
Lastly, when Madam Bones asked Scrimgeour
to call his next witness, Scrimgeour called out,
"The prosecution calls to the stand, Minister
Cornelius Oswald Fudge."
The shocked man gaped back in shock for a
few moments, while the hubbub of noise
from the tiers rose a bit, before he suddenly
surged to his feet and loudly exclaimed,
"What?!"
Madam Bones had to bang her gavel a few
times before she restored order.
Once she had it, she turned to Fudge and
said, "Minister Fudge, you have been called
to the stand. Please take yourself there,
now."
"I will not!" he roared.
"You will, sir," Madam Bones ground back
out forcefully. "Or, I will have you treated as
a hostile witness and have you forced!"
Fudge and Bones engaged in a staring contest,
for a long few moments, before Fudge gave a
huff and stormed down to the witness stand.
Pennybaker rose to his feet and firmly stated,
"I object to this witness being called. I have
not been notified of him being called and,
therefore, am not prepared to question him."
"Overruled," said Madam Bones.
"You were aware Minister Fudge was called.
His name appears on the list of those
required to attend, this day."
"I believed his name was only included on
the list as, as Minister, he sits on the
Wizengamot," tried Pennybaker.
"Then that is your error, Mister Pennybaker.
It is not for the court to ensure you haven't
made incorrect assumptions."
Pennybaker glared back for a moment before
his expression changed to a calm one and he
gently sat down again.
Once he was ready, Scrimgeour began his
questions.
From the questioning it was determined
Fudge did not know Umbridge was planning
on sending dementors to deal with Harry or
the Grangers or both, did not know she had
in her possession three unregistered blood
quills, or a couple of other matters.
"Minister," said Scrimgeour. "The woman
is supposed to be your Senior Undersecretary
- your most trusted confidante and advisor -
her behaviour reflects directly back on you -
how could you not know these things?"
Now Harry understood why Fudge was on
the stand. It had nothing to do with
providing further evidence against Umbridge;
and everything to do with making the man
look incompetent.
Fudge almost muttered an answer where he
said he could not be expected to know
everything that went on in the Ministry, as
he was a busy man and trusted in others to
do their work and keep an eye on things for
him.
"Such as Dolores Umbridge?" asked
Scrimgeour.
"Yes," glared Fudge.
"Then it appears you placed your trust in the
wrong person, is that not so?"
"Yes," the Minister gritted out.
"After your error of placing your faith in
Lucius Malfoy, who was only a few weeks ago
positively identified as a willing Death Eater,
why did you not take steps to ensure
everyone else you've placed your trust in was
worthy of it?"
Straightening up his posture, Fudge pretty
much declared, "I've known Dolores for more
than twenty years. In all that time I've not
had cause to lack faith in her."
"Do you not think that, if you did not have
blind trust in the woman, you would have
spotted her crimes earlier?"
"Errr... no," blustered Fudge.
When Pennybaker stood to question for the
defence he tried to get Fudge to admit that
he was responsible for ordering Umbridge to
take at least some of the actions she took.
And, from her expression, it was clear
Madam Bones anticipated this. She looked
almost eager.
On one such question Fudge managed to can
his Ministership, right then and there, with
an ill-thought answer.
"No, I did not want to know she was doing
something wrong..." Realising what he said,
he immediately snapped his mouth shut.
However, it was already too late.
Harry looked to Madam Bones and grinned.
Then, looking further into the tiers, he
spotted Ogden. The man was openly
scowling at Fudge. Checkmate.
Turning to his wives, Harry whispered.
"Fudge just sunk himself. He might hang on
to his post over the weekend, but he'll be
gone by Monday morning."
Both girls were happy to agree.
Chapter 287
When asked if she wanted to speak in her
own defence, Umbridge almost snootily
replied, "I am the Senior Undersecretary to
Minister Cornelius Fudge. I do not need to
explain myself to you; it's you who have to
explain yourselves to me.
"You may not understand the reason behind
some of the things I do, nor do I expect you
to. However, everything I have done is for
the betterment of the wizarding world in
general, and wizarding Britain in particular."
That 'rang bells' for Harry. Even more so
when Scrimgeour asked, "That sounds like
you're saying... 'Everything you do, you do
for the greater good'. Is that what you
mean?"
Harry gave a little shudder.
Knowing the question was fraught with
danger but not being able to avoid it, she
gave a little huff and replied, "I would not
use that term; but, yes."
When the Wizengamot returned from their
deliberations - less Harry, Umbridge and
Fudge - the verdict was quite significant
against the Pink Toad.
She was sentenced to life in Azkaban for the
attempted murder of a member of the
Wizengamot, five years for the attempted
murder of Hermione and Daphne, five years
each for each blood quill, five years for the
accepting of multiple bribes, and her
immediate termination as an employee of
the Ministry and forbidden from holding a
position within the Ministry ever again.
However, after the first sentence was read
out, life imprisonment, everything else was
moot. When the wizarding world said life
imprisonment they meant it. By their order,
Umbridge was never to be released until she
was dead. And, as the first sentence related
to a capital crime, Umbridge was going into
the maximum security section and would
now be dealing with dementors up close and
personal.
The three bondmates were quite relieved.
"No 'Professor Umbridge'," Hermione
happily grinned.
"No blood quill," agreed Harry with a grin of
his own.
When the six returned to the Granger
residence, the grins on everyone's faces
immediately told the Grangers the verdict.
"How long did she get?" asked Ant.
"Life, and then some," replied Sirius.
"If the kids are right and Riddle makes an
attempt on Azkaban to get his people out
soon after Christmas, we might be lucky and
she dies during the attempt," said Matthias.
"We can no longer rely on that previous
information, Dad," said Hermione. "In the
previous time, Riddle was able to both
operate in secret; and had a few more people
helping him.
"This time he could be slowed down due to
having less people; or sped up as he needs to
get his people out faster to rebuild his forces,
and he no longer needs to concern himself
with losing the element of the failed
acknowledgement of his return."
"I think it'll be later," said Harry. "He cannot
move on Azkaban without having enough
people to make the raid a success. And he
cannot have a failed attempt as he knows it
would push the Ministry to boost the auror
force on the island."
"And a failed attempt will make him appear
weak," added Daphne. "Which means even
less people flocking to him."
"Amelia's 'taking steps' there, anyway," said
Matthias. "I don't know what those steps are,
but she's confident they'll be enough."
Because of the result of the trial, and that
the actual address of the Granger residence
was protected information during said trial,
the Grangers were happy to remain in their
home and maintain their dental practice.
However, the attack gave Matthias and Sirius
enough evidence to have the wards on the
property strengthened. They saw to that
immediately.
The day after the trial Hermione called aside
Winky and Dobby and gave them quiet
instructions. She spent about twenty minutes
softly talking to the pair of them before she
dismissed them.
When she saw the expression on Harry's face
she explained what instructions she gave the
little elves. In case the Granger residence was
directly attacked, Winky was to immediately
summon Dobby. Then, the two of them
would make sure the Grangers were able to
get into the tunnel and would be safe.
Their next job was to pack up certain effects,
get them out of the house and into the
Potter vaults in safe storage. And, finally,
their own safety was primary after the
Grangers. If they weren't able to get
everything out before Death Eaters entered,
what ever remained to be packed away was
to be considered abandoned; and the elves
were to join the Grangers in the tunnel safe
room.
Two days after the trial and, as planned, the
three moved to the Black House.
They were immediately shown to their old
room, which both Sirius and Remus made
sure was reserved for them, and it was
suggested they change into something 'more
appropriate'. That is, into casual wizarding
wear.
Once they'd changed, Sirius showed them
the room next to their own and said, "This
one is now set aside for the Grangers. I know
you've done the same at Potter Retreat; but,
I believed such a room should also be set
aside here for them.
"From here they'll still be able to run their
practice. That's something they can't do from
Potter Retreat."
A very grateful Hermione quickly moved in to
hug Sirius and said, "That's very nice of you,
Sirius. Thank you very much."
"You're very welcome, my darling," he said,
enjoying the hug. Giving it a few moments,
he then pushed her out to arms length and
looked her in the eyes. "This is the sort of
thing families do for one another; and, you're
family."
Once they were ready, the three followed
Sirius back downstairs to the parlour. A
nervous Narcissa and Draco were waiting for
them. As the three walked in both
ex-Malfoys rose in greeting.
With a grin on his face, Harry walked over
and offered his hand to Draco. "Ferret," he
said.
As a matching smirk blossomed on Draco's
face, he accepted the handshake and said,
"Scarhead."
That little exchange had everyone else
relaxing from how tense they all were.
"Everything alright?" asked Harry.
"It is not Malfoy Manor; but, we are
comfortable. Thank you," said Draco.
With a nod back, Harry then moved to
Narcissa.
"Cousin Narcissa," he said, taking the lady's
left hand and very lightly kissing the back of
her knuckles. "You're looking well."
"Cousin Harry," she softly replied. "As do
you."
Chapter 288
Once the girls had stepped forward with
their own greetings - and neither ex-Malfoy
so much as sneered at Hermione for being a
muggleborn - everyone found seats.
"How was your time living in the muggle
world for a couple of weeks?" Draco asked
Daphne.
"Amazing, as usual," she replied with a wide
smile. "You really should try it some time,
Mal... err... Black. Draco."
Daphne's slip made Draco smirk back a little
and acknowledge the faux pas with only a
gentle nod.
He asked, "I've heard they have the most
wonderful toys."
Both Harry and Hermione were interested in
how Daphne viewed the muggle world, so
remained silent and just listened as the
conversation developed.
"Toys, yes," she acknowledged. "However,
they also have the most amazing devices to
make their lives easier and more
entertaining.
"For example, they have a device in almost
every home - and sometimes more than one
- called a television. It's a one-way
communication device with images and
sound. They... broadcast, they call it... a
signal from a central point; and all these
televisions pick it up and display the sound
and image in the person's home.
"It can be used to display recorded plays that
you can watch over and over again, if you
wish. Or, among other things, show news
events from far and wide. It's truly amazing.
"But, that's only one device of a great many.
My time with the Grangers has really opened
my eyes with how modern muggles really are.
We pay them a great disservice to think of
them as less than witches and wizards."
Draco was honestly quite curious. He said, "I
hope to have the opportunity to see this for
myself, at some time."
"That can be arranged," said Harry.
"We should make plans for a trip into muggle
London so Draco and Narcissa can experience
London, muggle-style," suggested Hermione.
"We can do that," nodded Sirius. "For now,
though, what are your plans for your time
here?"
"Nothing concrete," said Harry. "Other than
the wedding in two weeks, my Ancient Runes
exam, studying in advance for the coming
year, training and what we've already
discussed."
"That's a lot already," he smiled back. "In the
meantime, we have that project we've been
working on. Do you want to get the potion
side of it out of the way this evening when
Remus gets back?"
Harry looked to his wives and saw they
wanted to do it. Turning back to his godfather,
he said, "Yeah, alright. Let's do it."
With a nod of happiness, Sirius said, "Good.
In the meantime you need to meditate to
prepare your minds. Remus should be here
about 5:00pm. He's promised to be here
early, this evening. We'll do it as soon as he
arrives."
As the three teens nodded back Sirius smiled
again and said, "Excellent. Now, away with
you. Go meditate."
The three bowed their way out of the room
with Harry hamming it up. "Yes, oh great
memsahib; oh, great master of pranks; oh,
great and wonderful..."
Harry felt himself lucky he was able to catch,
out of the corner of his eye, Sirius quickly
drawing his wand and raising it in his
direction. He was able to leap out of the way
of a quick snapped stinging hex.
Laughing, he ran from the room and chased
after his wives.
Remus arrived a few minutes after 5:00pm,
as promised. The three, who had spent a
significant portion of the afternoon
meditating, eagerly awaited his arrival.
Once he arrived, and greetings and hugs
were exchanged, the five of them trooped to
the library, where the furniture had been
sent to the edges of the room to leave a large
clear area in the middle of the floor.
Sirius, almost ceremonially, carried up with
him the three bottled potion phials of 'Intra
Animalis' (Animal Within) potion in a
wooden phial rack.
For the first change, the three were dressed
in comfortable and loose muggle shorts and
t-shirts. And Remus carried three large
blankets. It was unknown, for the first
change, whether their clothes would survive
the change. When the wizard initiated the
change using their own magic, the clothes
went with them. However, the potion forced
the internal magic to make the change; and
clothes often didn't survive the experience.
When the Marauders sought out their
animagus forms they didn't know about the
potion. So, they did it the hard, and long,
way to initiate their first changes. Remus
estimated the potion bypassed almost
eighteen months of hard effort.
Once they were all inside, Sirius used his
Head of House authority and spelled the
door shut. They wouldn't be bothered until
he opened the door again.
"Alright," he said when he was sure they
were ready. "Who's first?"
"I am," said Harry.
He collected a phial off Sirius, yanked a hair
out of his own head, and dropped it into the
now uncorked phial. With a gentle swirl of
his hand, he waited until the potion changed
to the right golden colour before nodding
once in satisfaction and moving to the
middle of the room.
Turning back to face his family, he kneeled on
the floor, sat back on his haunches and
looked back in not a little fear at his family.
Seeing the looks of love coming from them,
and the trust he had in them, he took a deep
breath and downed the potion.
Not a little worried themselves, the other
four watched as Harry downed the potion
and closed his eyes. As Harry obviously and
quickly slipped into his meditative state he
started to glow with a minor golden aura
similar in colour to the final potion.
Only a few moments later his body began to
shift.
Very quickly his body morphed and flowed
from human teenager to dark furred wolf.
Standing on four legs where Harry kneeled
was a Eurasian wolf with what appeared to
be darker than normal fur colouring and
wearing Harry's t-shirt and shorts. He even
appeared to doggy-grin back at them as he
sat on his haunches.
A few moments later he reverted back to
Harry. Leaving a grinning Harry kneeling on
the floor and sitting on his haunches.
Thankfully, his clothes were only in a little
disarray, and he was able to move the
clothing about a bit to have it sit better on
his frame.
"It's a wolf," Sirius suddenly said, surprised.
Chapter 289
"Why surprised?" asked Harry. "My
godfather and honourary uncles are both
canines of a form. A dark furred Eurasian
wolf seems to be a great blend of the two."
"My galleon was on you being a bird
animagus, considering how much you like to
fly," said Sirius.
"I fly for the freedom of it," said Harry. "I
long more for family - pack."
Both adults nodded back in thought.
"I think I'll be next," said Daphne.
As she walked over to take her own phial she
snapped a hair out of her scalp and dropped
it in. Once it turned gold she walked to
where Harry now stood and got out of her
way.
As did Harry, she kneeled on the floor and sat
back on her haunches.
As soon as she was ready she barely
hesitated in chugging back the potion and
dropping into her meditative state, glowing a
little.
And, as with Harry, she quickly morphed into
her animagus form. Both adults were
stunned by the result.
While Harry's form took that of a Eurasian
wolf, her own took that of a Grey wolf with
blonde highlights.
"That's... highly unusual," said Remus.
"Two wolves?"
"I guess we should have expected it," said
Sirius.
As she was about to transform back, Harry
quickly grabbed a blanket off Remus, flicked
it out to open it right up and quickly stepped
forward to wrap it over Daphne's back and
around her shoulders.
When she transformed back, and while Harry
held the blanket around her, Daphne quickly
rearranged her clothes back into a
presentable fashion before standing up.
With a nod to Harry she stood up straighter
and removed the blanket from her shoulders,
before the two rejoined the others.
Hermione had already taken one of her own
hairs and dropped it into the remaining
potion while Daphne was getting sorted out.
As she passed Daphne and Harry she grinned
and winked at them as she sat where her two
bondmates had sat.
"Any bets on whether it's another wolf?"
asked Remus.
"No bet," Sirius immediately shot back.
Assuming the same pose on the floor,
Hermione shot back her own potion and
closed her eyes.
A few moments later she glowed and
transformed. Where once sat human
teenager Hermione, now sat a Timber wolf.
"Damn!" said Sirius. "All three of them. They
really are kindred souls."
"You doubted that?" asked Harry, a little
amused.
"I guess we shouldn't have," acknowledged
Remus.
When Hermione looked like she was about to
transform back, Harry hurried forward with
the blanket and covered her as the
transformation took effect. As with Daphne,
he held the blanket in place as Hermione
reassumed her human form and rearranged
her clothing under the blanket.
As she stood she took the blanket off her
shoulders, grinning the whole time.
"They're the same and different," said Remus,
once the teens were fully back to being
presentable. "All wolves but slightly different
species."
"Uh-huh," agreed Hermione. "Harry's a
Eurasian wolf, but with darker colouring to
more closely match his natural hair colour.
Daphne's a grey wolf with the similar effect
on her hair. And I'm a timber, or Eastern, wolf
with hair that's a touch frizzy... like
my own natural hair."
With Daphne and Deece's help in getting the
right hair potions, Hermione's hair was now
in long wavy locks.
"The Eurasian wolf, Canis Lupus Lupus, and
the timber wolf, Canis Lupus Lycaon, are both
subspecies of Canis Lupis, the Grey wolf;
which is Daphne's form. Canis Lupus
Familiaris, the domestic dog, includes Irish
wolfhounds... Sirius's form; so, the Irish
wolfhound is actually a subspecies, a few
removed, of the grey wolf, too."
"We're pack!" Sirius happily exclaimed. "This
means we're really going to be working hard
on getting you to change into your animagus
forms over the next couple of weeks. If
possible, I'd like to have you confidently
making full transformations before your
wedding.
"We're going to be able to have so much
fun!" he said, before he switched to his form
and bounded around the room, barking
happily.
The others all laughed at his antics.
"No wonder you three kept it a secret,"
grinned Remus.
"We thought it'd be a nice surprise," grinned
Daphne.
After an evening where the entire household
of seven sat down together for dinner, the
three retired to their room to discuss the
events of the day.
Speaking about the revealing of their forms,
Daphne said, "Sirius and Remus's expressions
seeing our forms were quite funny."
"It was hilarious," laughed Harry. "I'm glad
Hermione suggested we keep it secret until
the potion. Seeing the expressions on their
faces when we each changed, especially your
two, well made it worth it."
"What's next?" asked Hermione; as always,
eager to learn.
"Next we meditate, seek out the wolves
within each of us, and attempt to merge with
them," explained Harry, as if they hadn't
discussed this numerous times before.
"However, we shouldn't even think of doing
that without adult supervision with either or
both Sirius or Remus."
"I still don't really understand what they
mean by that," she grouched.
"I think it'll become obvious once we start,"
said Daphne. "I think I have a fair idea now;
but, I don't want to say anything in case I'm
wrong and set us back."
"When do we get our names?" asked
Hermione.
"By Marauder tradition, that's up to Sirius
and Remus," smiled Harry.
"It's not much of a tradition if Remus and
Sirius were part of the four who
supposedly started the tradition," she
grouched.
"All traditions start somewhere, love," said
Daphne. "Why not with the original
Marauders for the naming of animagus
forms?"
"I just..." she sighed. "I just... don't want
mine to be something I don't like."
"We'll make sure it's something you'll like,"
said Daphne. "I very much doubt that
'Prongs', 'Padfoot' and 'Wormtail' were first
choices, either."
"But, Moony might have been," said Harry.
"According to Sirius, your dad gave him that
nickname before they all became
animaguses," explained Daphne. "It was
discovering Moony was a werewolf that led
to them searching for a way to accompany
him while he was in his transformed state;
and that led to them studying up on and
becoming animaguses."
With a few nods back, Harry turned to
Hermione and asked, "I daresay, since you've
discovered your form, you've given thought
to a few nicknames. What sort of name
appeals to you?"
Hermione flipped open her trunk and pulled
out the journal she'd taken to keeping.
Opening it up to a specific page, she read,
"Stalker, Fleetfoot, Sprinter, Tracker..."
Harry and Daphne started to gently laugh.
"What?" asked Hermione; confused.
"We get it," said Daphne. "You want a name
that more closely resembles the nature of
your form, rather than just the
physical type of form. Each name you
mentioned relates to something the
form does, rather than is."
"For example," said Harry. "You could have
chosen names like Fang, Ruff, Woodsy, and
Frizz; but, they all refer to the form itself.
Understand, love?"
Hermione looked down at her journal,
gnawed a little on her bottom lip, and said,
"You're right. I've got nothing like that here."
"As the three of us are wolves, I think
Hermione's wish is likely to come true," said
Daphne. "It would be a bit difficult to assign
us names based on physical characteristics
when we're all pretty much the same."
"I'd already thought of names for the both of
you," grinned Harry. "But..." He held up a
finger before either could ask what it was.
"But... I'm not telling you what they are
until those two are ready to start assigning
them."
Both girls grumbled back.
Chapter 290
As expected, but still surprising nevertheless,
was the resignation of Fudge as Minister that
was announced in the Daily Prophet on the
Monday morning; and less than four days
after the revelations in the trial of Umbridge
sunk his Ministership. The man had called a
press conference on the sly the previous
evening to make his announcement
on his terms. In the article it even named the
person he wanted to have as his successor,
Elphias Doge, who had joined him at the
press conference.
Harry already knew that wasn't going to
happen, as Doge was a dyed-in-the-wool
Dumbledore supporter. However, it now left
the field open for Ogden to step forward as a
candidate, and immediately announce he did
so with the support of the Potter and Black
alliances.
The announcement was so big it led the front
page on the Tuesday morning. By lunchtime
Doge had withdrawn and, with no other
viable candidates, it was an assured win for
Ogden when the Wizengamot next sat. With
what else was going on, that was sooner
than most people thought.
"Now all he has to do is stay alive," said
Sirius bringing their joy back down to earth.
As well as the announcement from Ogden of
his intention to run for Minister, other - and
far more major - ructions were going on in
the Ministry.
Madam Bones and Unspeakable Croaker
seized the opportunity and had their aurors,
hit wizards and Unspeakables at the Ministry
well before the sun was up and were
arresting people left, right and centre on the
Tuesday morning.
They had set their place to make their arrests
immediately in front of the lifts on each floor
of the Ministry building except for the atrium.
With aurors and Unspeakables working
together off preprepared lists of names, they
arrested all marked Death Eaters; and had
them immediately transferred to
Unspeakable holding cells. Those named as
accepting bribes were immediately
transferred to holding cells in the DMLE.
Blood supremacists and others who
answered yes to the bigotry question were
allowed through... for now. No one was
allowed back into the lifts before the arrest
operation was completed. And all outgoing
mail, private Floo's and the like were blocked
for the duration.
With only a few names off their lists missing,
whether it was due to the owners of those
names being on either holidays or off sick,
the whole operation was completed before
10:00am.
Once they'd rounded up all they could in
their arrest net, aurors moved on to the
withheld outgoing mail. From that, a further
five were arrested for interfering with an
ongoing auror investigation. All five were
caught attempting to warn others as to what
they had to look forward to if they turned up
at the Ministry. All those they were trying to
warn were on their arrest lists.
Overseeing the entire operation, Madam
Bones was in direct communication from her
desk with Croaker down in the DoM.
For those of the four names on the list who
did not turn up for work that morning, teams
of three aurors each were sent to arrest them
in their homes. The only one to slip that
move was a brother-in-law of Beauregard
Nott; a previously undiscovered Death Eater
who worked in the Floo Regulation Authority.
An arrest-on-sight order was put out on him.
To stop another notifying someone who
could call for an emergency sitting of the
Wizengamot earlier than Madam Bones
wanted it, she called for the emergency
sitting and for it to take place the following
Saturday.
For the rest of the week the aurors, using
judicious doses of Veritaserum, built their
cases against those who accepted the bribes.
When it was discovered who was bribing
them, those names were also taken down
and arrest warrants prepared. Almost all
names were of senior members, if not the
Heads of, powerful Houses.
As the information flooded in from the
interviews Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour
and Gawain Robards collated the information
to build cases against those who did the
bribing. In the process they also developed
quite a substantial amount of claims against
both Umbridge and Fudge. Umbridge, of
course, was no longer a worry; but the
information was sufficient to arrest Fudge.
He'd be left until later with the other
perpetrators.
While they were working hard all three
finally admitted to one another they were
having the most fun they'd ever had.
The stay of the three at the Black House went
past pretty quick.
The first major hurdle after the
potion-induced transformations was Harry's
combined third and fourth year exam for
Ancient Runes on the following Friday. For it,
they had to go into the Ministry. Sirius was
happy enough to take him and seemed to
spend time wandering about and chatting to
the pretty witches in clerical jobs throughout
the building. Of which many had just recently
received significant promotions and were
happy to celebrate.
Harry was just happy to get out of there at
the end of the exam, not just because the
exam left him mentally wrecked, but from
the embarrassment his godfather was
causing him.
The next morning, Harry rose early to head
back to the Ministry. He was required for
duty attending to the many trials that were
taking place immediately following the early
full Wizengamot meeting.
Immediately after the new Minister, Ogden,
was 'elected' at the first order of business,
the meeting was closed with various
members heading for three court rooms for
the trials. A last minute attempt at a motion
to overturn certain of the arrests was
soundly defeated.
And, immediately after the gavel came down
for the close of business, three of the
members were immediately arrested on
bribery charges. One of whom moved the
motion to have certain arrests overturned.
Their cases were added to the current
dockets.
Harry was required to invigilate cases in one
of the courtrooms, to learn how to try a case
when it would eventually become his turn.
He watched as, almost on a production line,
defendants were brought in, questioned,
evidence was presented, and rulings were
made. For most, they were ordered to pay
the amount of the known bribes plus ten
percent directly to the Ministry as fines; and
forbidden to hold another position within
the Ministry ever again. Those who were
unable to pay, or pay the full amount, were
sentenced to six months per one hundred
galleons or part thereof in outstanding bribes
to the low security section of Azkaban, as per
already established conditions of sentencing.
There was much wailing and crying from
so-called upstanding members of society
who had received quite a lot of bribe money
and no hope of paying it back without
putting their families out on the street and
destitute. The brave souls among them opted
for longer prison terms so their families
wouldn't suffer.
Harry found the whole thing necessary, but
sad to watch.
At the end of the day, Harry tracked down
Madam Bones and asked her when they'd
see the trials for the marked Death Eaters.
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