Harry Potter and The Power of Memory
For disclaimer see prologue
"Mind Speak"
Chapter 10 The Trial
The following morning everyone staying at the cabin with the exception of Dudley who was left in the care of the house elves met with David and Norman in the Atrium at the Ministry. After having their wands checked, they were greeted by an Auror who led them to courtroom 10 where the trial was to be held. David and Norman showed Harry to a table facing a raised area that Harry assumed was where the Minister and the Wizengamot set. Pointing out a row of seats behind them, they asked the others to sit there until they were called upon to give testimony. On the opposite side of the courtroom, also facing the raised area was another table. At, which sat two men, one of which according to the description given to him was Albus Dumbledore, Harry could only assume that the other one was his solicitor. After a short wait Harry watched as a the Wizengamot entered and set in the raised area, they were followed by Minister Fudge and a woman that Harry thought looked sort of like a toad. Minister Fudge sat off to the right of the Wizengamot and the woman sat at a desk at floor level directly in front of him. As the Minister sat down the whole room quieted.
"Madam Umbridge please read the charges against one Albus Dumbledore."
"Albus Dumbledore you are charged with "Failure to comply with a Will, Encouraging abuse, by use of a compulsion charm on a letter in order to cause harm to a wizarding child. Binding the powers of a wizarding child without the guardian's permission, Hiding the Magical Heritage from a wizarding child, Neglecting a magical ward, Interfering with wizarding mail, and Trespassing. How do you plead?"
"I plead guilty with extenuating circumstances."
"Your honor although Mr. Dumbledore has pled guilty we would like to request the use of veritaserum."
"Granted, all testimony will be given under veritaserum."
"Mr. Patil please call your first witness."
"I call Albus Dumbledore to the stand."
"Auror Bones please administer the veritaserum."
Auror Bones placed three drops of veritaserum on Dumbledore's tongue and watched him closely, As soon as his eyes glazed over she announced that they could proceed with the questioning.
"Please state your name."
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"
"What is your date of birth?"
"July 20, 1881"
"You are Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Mugwump of the Wizengamot?"
"Yes, although I am currently suspended from both until this trial is over."
"Mr. Dumbledore since you have pled guilty with extenuating circumstances, we will go through the charges one at a time. The first charge was failure to comply with a Will. Can you please tell us why you did not follow the instructions that were left by Lily and James Potter in regards to Harry's placement upon their death?"
"When Lily died protecting Harry she invoked old magic which allowed me to place blood wards around Harry to protect him from any of Voldemort's followers, but they would only work if he was with a blood relative in this case Lily's sister Petunia."
"Next I would like to ask you why you wrote a letter that you had put a compulsion charm on which seems to encourage his relatives to abuse him."
"I needed Harry to depend on me when he came to Hogwarts. I thought that if he felt that I had rescued him from his relatives he would be so grateful that he would do what I asked of him without questions. I felt that they would spoil him if I did not, then he would be impossible to deal with. I had no idea that they despised magic. I would have never used the charm if I had known."
"Why did you not just visit him and tell him that you were his magical guardian, you could have formed a bound that would have accomplished the same thing."
"I felt that he was too young to learn about our world. I did not want to confuse him since he was living with muggles. I would have told him when he was older; I really thought that it was best that he be older so that he would understand better."
"You also bond half of his magic, why did you do this without his guardian's permission?"
"I felt that it was necessary he was already performing accidental magic and he was being sent to the Muggle world. I was afraid that if I did not bind part of his magic, muggles other than his relatives would find out about us. I also knew that I was going to apply to become his magical guardian and that it would most likely be granted, so as his magical guardian I had every right to bind his magic."
"You have also been charged with hiding his Heritage from him and neglecting your duty as a magical guardian. What is your defense for this?"
It is as I said earlier that I felt that he was too young. I would have contacted him when he got older after all he is only six, and I was not aware that he had a photographic memory. Had I known I would have contacted him sooner?"
"The last two charges were interfering with the mail and trespassing. Please explain your actions regarding these charges."
"I put a block on the owl post because I was afraid that his family would be overcome with both good and bad post. I thought that Harry was too young to understand some of the things that people would have written to him about, also if the post were, able to get through then Voldemort's followers would have been able to find him and that would have been disasters. As far as trespassing, I admit that I should not have entered the house, but I had to see if Harry was all right. I wanted to explain everything to him but no one was home."
"That is all I have for this witness your honor."
"Thank you Mr. Patil, Auror Bones administer the antidote. Mr. Dumbledore you may step down. This court will take a short break we will reconvene in 15 minutes."
After the courtroom had cleared, Norman turned to the others.
"I don't think that I have to tell you that right at the moment it is not looking good for us. With what we have heard so far Dumbledore will just get a fine. He has given very reasonable explanations as to why he did what he did. I could tell that his answers were just what are called surface answers, he told the truth but only part of it because he was not asked to go into detail. I am going to try to get the deeper answers. We might be able to get 5 years if I am able to get him to admit to some other plan than Harry's welfare."
"Norman what about unbinding Harry's magic. Do you think that they will allow it?"
"I don't know Sirius, I will try to convince them but Dumbledore brought up a good point about his age and the fact that he was living among muggles. If nothing else I will ask that they are unbound on his 10th birthday so that he can learn some sort of control before he attends school at 11."
"Norman do you think that any of us will have to testify?"
"Right now it does not look like it will be necessary. However if it is I would like to question you first Petunia. Mainly your relationship with lily, and if you truly did despise magic. Then if you feel that you would have abused Harry if there had not been a charm on the letter."
"As I told Harry a couple of weeks ago. I could never hate him; he is all that I have left of Lily. I do not think that I would of or even would have let Vernon abuse him if not for the charm."
"Petunia I should have asked you this earlier. How far did you and Vernon go with the abuse?"
"Mostly yelling and making him do most of the household chores. Vernon would grab his arm occasionally when he would try to leave the room when he was being yelled at, but he was never hit. Dudley would trip, push, and call him names that he heard Vernon and I use. The worst thing happened about a month before his birthday. He had just finished making breakfast and was bringing the plates to the table when Dudley tripped him and the food went flying onto Vernon and I. For some reason Vernon got really angry and grabbed Harry up by the neck, Harry managed to wiggle out of his grip and started heading for the door, Vernon grabbed him by the arm to pull him back when he slipped and hit his head on the edge of the counter. As soon as we realized that, he was hurt we took care of him. Since that day no one has laid a hand on him, we were so scared that he had been hurt that we knew that we could not touch him again or it might be worst the next time and we really did not want him hurt. We even stopped Dudley from hurting him after that."
"Norman, why don't we ask to cross examine Dumbledore at a later time? Then put Petunia and possibly Harry on the stand so that people can see the effect that the letter had."
"You have a point David, we need to get their side out before Mr. Patil tries to make them out to be more abusive then they were. However if I can get Dumbledore to admit he had other plans than just Harry's welfare then we will not need to Petunia or Harry."
"David, why would you suggest Harry instead of Vernon? Would they still use veritaserum even though he is still a child?"
"Yes Sirius they would still use veritaserum. However, it would be a smaller dose. I would say that for Harry's size it would only be one drop. We would only use Harry to back up Petunia's testimony."
"Harry I need to ask you if what Petunia said is true, that they never really hurt you physically until that day that you hit your head."
"It is true that they never hit me even though I was afraid that they would. They always seemed so angry over the littlest things. I did not really understand why until I found out about the letter then that explained a lot. The worst thing that Uncle Vernon did was to grab me by the arm and shove me into the cupboard that was my bedroom, and lock me in sometimes it would be two or three days before he would let me out again. When Uncle Vernon was at work Aunt Petunia would let me out to eat and go to the bathroom but I had to be in my room when Uncle Vernon got home or he would have been angry at Aunt Petunia and I didn't want that to happen."
"Well time is almost up we had better get ready. As I said first I will question Dumbledore, then if necessary I will put Petunia and Harry on the stand."
After everyone had retaken his or her seats, Minister Fudge once again called for order before the trial continued.
"Mr. Proffitt would you like to cross-examine this witness or call another?"
"I wish to cross-examine your honor."
"Very well, Auror Bones please administer the veritaserum."
"Mr.Dumbledore you stated that you placed Harry with his Aunt because of blood magic that you could perform to help protect him. Did James and Lily not state in their will that under no circumstances was Harry to be placed with them?"
"Yes they did but I'm sure that they did not think about the possibility of blood wards to protect him if one of them died to protect him."
"Are you sure about that, When was the will written?"
"The current will was dated Oct. 23, 1981"
"You are telling us that the will was dated one week before their deaths and they would have wanted you to change their request just so you could protect Harry with blood wards?"
"No but Harry needed to be protected from Voldemort's followers."
"And could that not have been accomplished by placing him with one of the people listed in the will and under Fidelius until everything settled down?"
"Yes it could have, but I wanted him to depend on me when he came to Hogwarts and that would not happen if he was with someone who loved and spoiled him."
"Then you did know that Lily's sister would not treat him the way a parent would treat their own child?"
"Yes I thought that they would treat him more like a visiting relative than their own child so I added the charm to the letter to make sure that he was not spoiled. I did not know that they despised magic."
"Would you not have found out that they despised magic if you would have handed Harry over to them instead of placing him on their doorstep with no way to contact anyone from our world if something were to happen to him?"
"I needed Harry to stay with them so that he would depend on me when he came to Hogwarts."
You keep stating that you needed Harry to depend on you when he got to Hogwarts. Why is that so important?"
"So that I can train him to be my tool to defeat Voldemort."
"What do you mean a tool to defeat Voldemort? Voldemort is dead."
"No he is not he was cast out of his body and he will find a way back some day. When that happens Harry needs to be ready he is the only one who can truly defeat Voldemort when he returns."
"Why does it have to be Harry why can you not defeat him?"
"There is a prophecy that says Voldemort will mark a child as his equal. He did that when he gave Harry his scar, it also says that that child will have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Harry is that child he is the only one that can defeat Voldemort."
"You say that Harry is the only that can defeat Voldemort, but you bond his magic so how is he going to do that without all of his magic?"
"I would have unbound them as soon as we knew that Voldemort was back."
"What if in the process of coming back Harry was killed because he did not have his full power?"
"I did not think about that being possible, I always assumed that we would know when he was back in time for me to unbind his power. Now I have to rethink all my plans."
"I remind you Mr. Dumbledore that it is not your place to make plans concerning Harry, you are no longer his guardian magical."
"But he needs to be trained, If he is not trained then the Voldemort will take over and the Wizarding World as we know it will no longer exist."
"I am sure that Sirius is very capable of training him after all he was one of the best Aurors there was before he was sent to Azkaban."
"But there is so much that I can teach him that no one else can."
"Then perhaps you can talk to Sirius and arrange to assist him when it comes time to train Harry, until then you have no say in anything that concerns Harry."
"Let's move on shall we. We can understand why you would block the mail from the general public but why did you block mail that Harry would get from friends of his parents such as birthday and Christmas presents."
"Because I knew that they would spoil him and I couldn't have that, it is also the reason that I put up wards against anyone but me going to see him this way he would only trust and depend on me when he came back to the Wizarding World."
"Your Honor I am finished with this witness."
"Thank you Mr. Proffitt. Auror Bones please administer the antidote. Mr. Proffitt you may call your next witness."
"Your Honor I feel that with the testimony of Mr. Dumbledore there is no need to call further witnesses. However, I would like to ask that Mr. Dumbledore be made to unbind Mr. Potter's magic so that he will have it at his full disposal to train in case Mr. Dumbledore is correct and Voldemort does return without warning. I would also ask that everyone in this room be put under a secrecy oath so that the prophecy cannot be told to anyone that does not know the full content of it."
"We will adjourn until the Wizengamot has reached a verdict. Everyone will be notified as soon as a verdict has been reached"
"Your Honor I request that the secrecy oath be performed before anyone is allowed to leave this courtroom."
"Quite right Mr. Proffitt that is rather necessary. Wands out everyone I want that oath this very minute, we can't have that prophecy leaked it could put Mr. Potter in grave danger. Everyone will file before me and give the oath so that I know that I know everyone performed it. Let's start with the Wizengamot move on from there. Aurors please guard the doors do not let anyone out that has not been to me first."
Harry and the others watched as one by one everyone in the courtroom took the oath and left until only Fudge, Umbridge and them were left.
"I take it Mr. Proffitt that your party has already taken an oath since you did not seem surprised at the news of a prophecy."
"That is correct Your Honor When Harry started getting his memories back one of them was of the prophecy, we realized the impact it would have if it got out and took precautions so that none of us would be able to leak it. I believe Minister that you are the only one that still needs to take the oath, if you would be so kind I will be more than happy to witness it for you."
After Fudge and Umbridge left, it was decided that they would go to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch then head to Norman's office to wait for the verdict. However as they were finishing lunch an owl arrived informing them to return to the courtroom to hear the verdict.
"They reached a verdict faster than I thought they would I hope that is a good sign."
"It should be with the information that I got Dumbledore to give I think that we will win I just don't know if they will grant everything that we asked for."
The group made their way back to the courtroom took their seats and waited for everyone else to arrive. As the courtroom filled once more, everyone seemed to be waiting with breath held. Finally, Minister Fudge took his seat and called the room to order.
"Madam Heathrow I have been informed that the Wizengamot has reached a verdict."
"We have Your Honor."
"Please read the verdict."
"As to the charges of Failure to comply with a Will, Encouraging abuse, by use of a compulsion charm on a letter in order to cause harm to a wizarding child. Binding the powers of a wizarding child without the guardian's permission, Hiding the Magical Heritage from a wizarding child, Neglecting a magical ward, Interfering with wizarding mail, and Trespassing we find the defendant Guilty."
"Will you please state the resulting punishment?"
"Albus Dumbledore you will be taken to the Wizarding Prison Azkaban where you will spend 5 years in minimum security with visitation rights, you will also upon your release serve 5 years probation, and before you are taken away you will unbind any magic which you have bound on Mr. Harry Potter."
The courtroom erupted in cheers Sirius in the excitement grabbed Harry into a hug a spun him around in circles.
"We did it Harry we won now Dumbledore will have to unbind your magic remember what I told you though the sudden influx of power might cause you to pass out or become sick for a little, but don't worry we'll all be here for you. Won't we guys?"
"Of course we will, it look like they are almost ready to have your magic unbound are you sure that you still want to do this Harry?"
"Yes I am positive if I my parents were alive they would have never had my magic bound they would have helped me to learn to control it as it came."
"alright let's get up there and get this over with."
Helios can you please show yourself now and stay with me until this is over with I'm kind of nervous about getting my magic unbound."
" I'd be happy to Harry not only that it is time that the Wizarding World knows that you have a Golden Phoenix as your familiar"
As Helios appeared all those left in the courtroom gasped at the sight of a golden Phoenix on the shoulder of Happy Potter. Norman and the rest of Harry's group smiled at the shocked looks on the faces of Dumbledore and the rest of the courtroom. Norman and the others walked forward so that Dumbledore could unbind Harry's magic.
"Harry if I had known that you were destined to be bound to a Golden Phoenix I would never have bound your magic, I am very sorry and I hope you can forgive me some day."
With that, Dumbledore was allowed his wand one last time so the he could unbind Harry's magic. After his magic was unbound Harry did indeed pass out as Sirius predicted. Sirius lifted Harry into his arms and carried him out of the courtroom with the others following in his wake.
A/N: Sorry this took so long I hope to have my next chapter ready in a couple of weeks. I finally have a descent-working computer.