Hermione followed Dumbledore through the gates of Azkaban once they caught their balance from the portkey. The guards led them through the courtyard into the abandoned church and opened the trapdoor for them. Two of the guards then walked with them through the tunnels until they reached Harry's cell. She had given only one word responses to Dumbledore's attempts at conversation, thinking the less she said, the easier it might be to pull off the charade. As they approached Harry's cell, she tried to steel herself in anticipation of what she might see.
When she entered, she saw Snape and Bill Weasley on one side of the room, two other guards inside the room in addition to two guards standing outside the room. Obviously the Ministry was taking no chances. What almost broke her heart was the sight of Harry laying on the bed, occasionally thrashing around on the bed, as if he couldn't find a comfortable position or relax into a deep slumber. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to resist the impulse to run to his side and cradle him in her arms and try to comfort him. Instead, she stepped to the side of the door and quietly gritted her teeth. Bill rose tiredly to his feet and walked over to Dumbledore. Snape simply glared daggers at her, which she felt more than happy to return.
As he walked past her he snarled, "Bloody Yank!"
She replied with equal viciousness, "Slimey Brit!" Snape ignored her and went to stand in the hallway. Dumbledore followed Bill into the hallway and continued chatting quietly for a moment. Harry began tossing and turning again on the bed and began to cry out as if in pain. One of the guards moved closer to the bed and raised his hand as if to slap him when he froze in place.
Hermione's wand was digging a painful little hole in the side of his neck, right behind his jaw. "You lay one filthy paw on Harry, and I swear it will be the last thing you do in this world." When she caught movement from the other guard out of the corner of her eye she roared, "Back off! Unless you want to read your friend's mind all over the wall over there then back off. Now!"
"Samuel! Samuel!" It took a moment for Hermione to realize that someone was yelling at her. She turned her head slightly only to realize that Dumbledore was yelling at her. "What are you doing?"
"I was just chatting with the guards about the proper treatment of defenseless prisoners. These two were just about to offer to switch places with the two standing guard outside the door." She then turned back to the guards and hissed in a quiet voice full of deadly menace. "Now go. Both of you. If I see either of you in here again it will be your last shift."
The guard who had been the immediate target of her wand went quickly and quietly for the door. His companion, showing a bit more bluster and considerably less wisdom, tried to protest. "Who do you think you are ordering us around? We're Aurors for the Ministry!"
"More like trolls from the Goon Squad. Since when is it Ministry policy to beat on defenseless prisoners? Tell you what, you don't like the way I've handled the situation, why don't you file a complaint. Now get out of here."
The guard made one final attempt to salvage his pride by glaring ferociously at Hermione, only to quickly look away from the barely controlled rage he saw in her eyes. He quickly left the room in search of his companion.
Dumbledore's hand on her shoulder helped her calm herself down after the confrontation. "I did not know you felt so strongly about Harry's safety, Samuel."
"Uh, yes, well they were going to hit him while he was sleeping. I couldn't let them do that. Uh, even if the boy is nothing but trouble."
"Well, if your little show is over now, Hunt, I think I will be heading home now," sneered Snape.
"Yeah, why don't you run along home to your nice, cozy dungeon, Snip. What happened to your Gryffindor robes? Are they in the wash? I loved the hat by the way." She could see the muscles clenching and unclenching in his jaw as he fought to maintain control and then stormed out. Bill passed by and winked at her, trying to keep from laughing as he followed Snape out into the corridor."
There was a sparkle in Dumbledore's eye as he spoke again to Samuel. "I must congratulate you on your considerable restraint, Samuel." "The Samuel I know, provoked in such a way, would have likely fired off a spell or two, probably accompanied by several punches."
Though Dumbledore's mouth kept moving, she wasn't sure if he had actually spoken the words or if she had simply read his mind. The look of confusion must have shown on her face, since he suddenly grinned.
"I couldn't help but notice your flask there Samuel. You wouldn't mind giving an old friend a sip, now would you?"
"Uh, it's a mild anti-congestion potion. I thought I was coming down with something, so I brought it along to keep me from getting any worse. I don't think you would want any." "Does he suspect something? I think he does. No, he can't. Just play it cool, Hermione. You can get through this."
"Ahh. Yes, Polyjuice potion has a very nasty taste, doesn't it, Hermione?"
Hermione sighed. "Game's up, huh?"
"Well, you did give in rather quickly last week after our discussion. You rarely do that unless you are considering an alternative plan. Samuel is usually much nastier this early in the day, he is not really much of a morning person. And he rarely misses an opportunity to toss an insult my way. Your concern for Harry and your reaction to the guards were much different from the actions Samuel would have taken. Samuel would have used his fists first instead of immediately launching veiled death threats."
"Yeah, I overreacted a little, but he was going to hit Harry."
"I did not say you were wrong in how you reacted. It has been a very tough week for all of us. But I must admit that you did handle Professor Snape with the appropriate lack of respect that Samuel has always had for him."
"Look, Professor. I know you thought it was too dangerous for me to come here, but I wanted to make sure that we got through to Harry. But I, uh, I don't meant to insinuate that you couldn't help Harry, I uh…"
"Do not worry, Hermione. There is no offense taken. It has probably worked out for the best this way. Now Harry has the best possible chance for preparing himself for tomorrow. I am afraid the real danger will await you back at the Burrow in the form of Molly and Samuel."
"Yeah, well, I'll just have to worry about that later. Should we see to helping Harry?"
"There is no time like the present. Saldar, can you assist us?"
"I believe so."
Both Hermione and Dumbledore sat down in chairs alongside the wall and prepared to concentrate.
"Hermione, do not forget to take your potion at least once every hour. We wouldn't want you turning back while we were visiting Harry."
"Of course not, sir." Hermione then took a quick sip and then focused on Harry's still body lying on the bed.
--
Hermione thought of the last time she had entered Harry's mind and tried to visualize the labyrinth outside the large castle. When she opened her eyes, she discovered she was floating amidst what seemed to be clouds of constantly changing colours. "Dumbledore! Saldar!"
"Over here," came the reply. She paused for a minute and then tried flapping her arms and nothing happened. Embarrassed, she quickly looked around her to make sure nobody had seen. She then simply focused on moving through the clouds to where she had heard the voices and soon enough she was there. She saw dimly the forms of Dumbledore and Saldar floating in the mist beside her.
"We should be looking for a labyrinth surrounding a tall castle. But it could be in any direction. I can't tell which way is up in this cloud," she complained.
"Yes, the clouds must represent the effect of the potions they have been giving him."
"Is there any way to counter the effects?" she asked in frustration. "We should have had Snape give him some sort of antidote."
"That would have been very difficult to do. That is why the Ministry posted Aurors inside the cell as well. They wanted to make sure that Harry remained incapacitated while imprisoned here."
"Do you have any ideas, Saldar?"
"Perhaps if one of you could actually place me in his possession, I might be able to help guide you to him better."
"It's worth a try."
Hermione went over to ask the guards about breakfast for Harry and tried to stand in their line of sight to Harry. Meanwhile, with the beltloop hidden between two of his fingers, Dumbledore pretended to straighten Harry's covers around his body and placed the loop on the side of his jeans. A few minutes later, they both returned to their seats. Hermione took another nasty sip of potion and then they returned to Harry's mind.
They found themselves once again floating aimlessly amidst the blue and purple and rose coloured clouds of Harry's subconscious. Dumbledore peered steadily and thoroughly in every direction. Hermione looked around as well, but she still couldn't sense where either Harry or Saldar were. After a few moments, Hermione gave up looking with her eyes and focused with her heart. "Please Harry. We have to find you. I know you're out there somewhere fighting this. We need to talk to you. We can help. But you have to help us find you."
With her eyes still closed she told Dumbledore to follow her. She didn't know how long they flew, but she finally heard Dumbledore's voice beside her.
"Well done Hermione. You have done it. You can open your eyes now, the castle is right before us."
Hermione opened her eyes and smiled at the towering battlements rising before her. On the top of one tower stood Saldar, firing spells into the air, trying to dispel the mists of colour still blocking most of the sky. She gazed towards the top of the other tower and her heart skipped a beat. There was Harry casting spells and calling upon the wind to dissipate the multihued mist.
In the blink of an eye she transformed into her owl form as she leaped from the ground and quickly flew up to Harry. She returned to her human form only to be swept up in a tight embrace and a wonderful kiss from Harry.
"I missed you," she whispered.
"Missed you more," he replied.
"Ahem." coughed Dumbledore rather politely. "There are a few other rather more pressing items we need to discuss right now."
Blushing red, Hermione answered. "Right. Right. Back to business. Now pay attention Harry. You were right, the Eye of Sauron gave us the information we need to get you out of this mess. Well, it told us what happened-we haven't quite figured out a way out of it just yet. But this is what happened."
When she had finished, Harry looked stunned. "Right, then. Let me think about this for a minute. What if I…"
At Hermione's odd expression he paused.
"I've got to go, Harry. I'll be back as soon as I can. Dumbledore can explain." Then she simply disappeared.
Hermione blinked and quickly reached for the vial, praying neither of the guards had noticed anything. She took a sip and grimaced and then grinned. One of the guards was asleep and the other looked like he was about to doze off. Then she focused on Harry and returned to the billowing clouds. She found her way back to Harry's castle much more easily and quickly this time.
"You took Polyjuice potion to impersonate Samuel to sneak into Azkaban?!" roared Harry.
"How did you think I got close enough to enter your mind?"
"Uhh-well…"
"Besides, it was easier breaking in this time than it was when Fred and I came for the Eye of Sauron."
"What?! I told you to have Dumbledore or Lupin do it. It was too dangerous…"
"Well apparently it wasn't, because Fred and I got out fine. And I've already had a lecture about it from Remus and don't care to hear another. Now we have more important things to do, like overcome the effects of these potions and then figure out a plan for the trial."
"Fine," grumbled Harry, "but we'll talk more about this later."
"No we won't. Now let's focus on the first problem here. We need to find a way of countering the potion's effects. If we can do that, I believe Saldar can help you maintain your clarity of thought, but you will need to continue to act as if you were under the influence of the potions until the proper moment tomorrow."
With the three of them working together, they began clearing away a large amount of the clouds, only to have new ones float in and replace them.
"This isn't working!" cried Harry in frustration looking up at the clouds drifting in.
"Perhaps another approach is needed," mused Dumbledore thoughtfully.
Harry's face looked thoughtful for a minute. "Mione, you found your way here and back out, right?"
"Yes, why?"
"Do you think you can take something back with you?"
"Take something with me? Like what?"
Harry was down on one knee, waving his wand in large circles as a thin cord fell from the tip of his wand in a growing coil on the ground. "Go get Saldar and take him out with you. Have him take one end of the line to connect me to the outside world. I'll keep feeding you this line that will reach back to me here."
"Do you think it will work?"
"I hope so." Hermione summoned Saldar, who took one end of the line and followed Hermione and Dumbledore up into the sky.
When Hermione opened her eyes again, she looked over at Harry, who appeared to still be sleeping. "Harry. If you can hear me, roll over on your side." Nothing happened and then he rolled over. "Just to make sure, kick your left leg."
"I'm not a trained monkey, Mione. I'm fine. I feel a bit groggy and my whole body aches, but I've woken up in worse shape in the infirmary at Hogwarts."
"Good, now we can focus on the more important problem. What do we do tomorrow at the trial with the information we have?"
"Right. Look, I've been thinking and you were right-I'm going to have to confront Fudge. And I think this is the best way to do it."
He began explaining his plan, with Dumbledore and Hermione making occasional suggestions. They spent several hours working out details and contingencies for various situations. Finishing, he explained, "I know it's risky, but I think it will work. The truth is, I don't see many other options."
"I agree Harry. I believe it is your best chance." He then leaned against the back of his chair and stretched his legs in front of him.
Harry, still faking sleep on the bed, and Hermione, periodically taking sips from her flask to maintain the image of Samuel, spent the rest of the shift mindspeaking softly about a variety of things, ignoring for a brief afternoon the dangers to be faced on the morrow.
When Bill and Charlie came to replace Dumbledore and Hermione, Charlie grinned and whispered quietly to Hermione. "Bloody brilliant. I reckon mum will grouse a bit, but she's not as upset as I thought she'd be. Ginny had a few words with her early this morning. And Samuel, well I think he was more embarrassed that the twins slipped something into his drink than anything else. He didn't seem too surprised though." He winked and kept chuckling with Bill, who flashed her a wide grin as well.
The return to the Burrow wasn't nearly as bad as Hermione had feared. Samuel was not there, and Molly simply looked at her kind of sadly and gave her a big hug rather than a lecture. They had a fairly quiet dinner and Hermione tried to go to bed early to be well rested but sleep proved elusive. A cup of cocoa and another mild sleeping potion finally helped her unwind enough to fall asleep late that night.
--
Hermione, the Weasleys, Dumbledore and the rest of the Order left very early the next morning for the Ministry to be there plenty early before the trial was set to take place even though they had reserved seats. Even so the Ministry was a circus. Inside the building, the entrance lobby had been magically expanded in order to accommodate the enormous crowds expected to appear on the day of the trial. Ministry officials were desperately trying to prevent the crowds of wizards and witches with signs both for and against Harry Potter from getting out of control as they hurled arguments and insults at each other. It appeared they were having little success. Hagrid, in a very foul mood, was easily shoving people left and right, clearing a wide corridor for the rest to follow. The shouting matches toned down somewhat as people began recognizing the group, though some chose the moment to hurl bitter taunts their way as well. Dumbledore's light hand gently restrained a quickly angering Hagrid, and likely prevented a dire need for magical healers. Ignoring both sides of protestors, as well as the numerous reporters, the small group filed down to the lift and descended to courtroom number ten. Security was much tighter below and outside the immediate entrance to the courtroom, but they passed through easily.
Dumbledore and McGonagall took their respective seats with other members of the Wizengamot who were already present and watched as Hermione, the Weasleys, and the remaining members of the Order took their seats behind where Harry would sit. The audience area had been expanded as well, to accommodate the intense demand for public access to the trial, especially in light of the competing versions of the inquiry that took place last week.
They tried to remain calm while the gallery slowly filled with prominent Ministry officials, influential and wealthy wizards and witches, and reporters, but waiting was sheer torture. Ron kept fidgeting in his seat while Hermione alternated between biting her lip and rubbing her fingers against her cheek. The rest of the Weasleys were nearly as anxious.
Finally Fudge arrived with a confident gait and with a smug and condescending glance around the room, took the center seat. He stood and declared the court to be in session.
"Bring in the accused, Mr. Harry James Potter," he commanded. As the doors to the side opened, there was a rustle in the aisle behind the Weasleys.
"Get out of the way! Move it! Step aside you bloody idiot!"
Turning around, she saw the angry faces of Bill and Charlie Weasley, rudely shoving their way towards their family and the other members of the Order. Ignoring the glares of the others around them, Bill hissed towards his father, "Somebody's got to tell Dumbledore. Those idiots at Azkaban just gave Harry a double dose of potions. He doesn't look too good right now."
As Hermione heard a rising crescendo of voices from the audience, she returned her attention to the opening doors at the side of the courtroom. Six guards were now dragging a snarling, screaming figure out into the courtroom. Gasps emerged from the crowd and Hermione's face went white with shock as she saw Harry's reaction to the potent potions he had been given. Her gaze hardened when she caught the look of satisfaction on Fudge's face.
Dumbledore was already rising to protest the obvious mistreatment of the prisoner as Hermione sat in her seat and closed her eyes in deep concentration. The last thing she heard was Fudge's denial that there had been anything given Harry beyond a mild sedative and that it appeared obvious that he had finally cracked and gone completely insane.
Immediately she found herself in a swirling kaleidoscope of whirling colors. Where the clouds of her last visit had been soft pastels that slowly changed colour, the painfully bright images that threatened to blind her moved and shifted with such speed it made her sick to her stomach. Her head pounding and her stomach threatening to empty its contents, she slowly despaired of being able to find Harry, let alone help him find his way to consciousness. Nevertheless, she refused to give up on Harry and struggled to move forward, to at least try and help him in some way. No sooner had she moved then she encountered some sort of resistance that slowed her down, and then violently threw her back.
A scream of anguish left her lips and as she opened her eyes again to get her bearings she realized she was back in the courtroom and the court was completely silent. She could feel hundreds of eyes upon her as Molly reached over and placed a comforting arm around her.
Fudge glared at her. "Another outburst like that Miss Granger, and I'll have you removed from this courtroom. I'm sorry if the facts seem to incriminate your very good friend Mr. Potter, but justice must be served. Please continue, Mr. Grimaldi." Through the tears beginning in her eyes, Hermione could see Fudge was not sorry at all, but rather basking in his imminent victory over the young man who had snubbed him and made look like a fool in front of the entire wizarding world several times.
She saw that three of the guards were physically restraining Harry in his seat, though Harry did not seem to be moving at all.
Turning to Molly, she whimpered, "What happened? How did he calm down?"
Nearly sobbing herself, Molly replied, "They stunned him. Four times! What do they think they're doing? They're going to…" then she refused to finish her thought.
Crying into Molly's shoulder, Hermione said, "It's over then. I can't reach him. His mind is whirling so fast, so fast…I couldn't find him. He's lost. Everything we've done…for nothing. I've lost him, Molly. What am I going to do?"
Molly couldn't summon her voice, she just hugged Hermione tighter, who had begun to shake uncontrollably. Grimaldi had already questioned the surviving witness from the attack on Azkaban and had nearly finished presenting the rest of the case for the Ministry. With a curt nod to Grimaldi, Fudge stood. "We understand that Mr. Potter's defense attorney has no witnesses to call to challenge the testimony already presented."
A young, very nervous young wizard stood at the table where Harry was being held down and responded. "Once again, I wish to lodge a formal complaint about the manner in which the preparation for the defense of Mr. Potter was hampered. I was only assigned to the case three days ago…"
"You were appointed by the court because Mr. Potter failed to secure his own counsel," replied Fudge.
"Yes, I understand that sir, but that is not very much time to prepare an adequate defense for a trial of this magnitude. Besides…"
"That is irrelevant. You are a competent and highly skilled lawyer, and you have provided an adequate defense for Mr. Potter. Do not be ashamed if you lose this case because the facts clearly demonstrate his guilt."
"But again, I must protest. I was never able to speak with my client in order to organize an adequate defense. He has been medicated and kept unconscious for the past week, since his initial hearing."
"And I have already explained that that step was a necessary precaution in order to prevent both his escape and the possibility of additional violence at Azkaban. You have been provided with the entire manuscript from the informational hearing, which I may add, was illegally leaked to the press."
"Yes, and that manuscript indicated there was a witch by the name of Hermione Granger who could provide an alibi for Mr. Potter during the attacks."
"Miss Granger is an underage witch and therefore unable to testify in a court of law. Besides, it's common knowledge to anyone who reads a newspaper that she is a very close friend of Mr. Potter's. It would surprise nobody in this room that she would provide him with an alibi. Now, if you have nothing further to add to his defense, you may sit down. And the Wizengamot will retire to decide the verdict."
"I have nothing further," answered the crestfallen voice of the defeated young lawyer.
"Good. Then I will ask the Wizengamot to retire and…"
"Wait," came a small, raspy voice. There was complete silence throughout the courtroom. Hermione stopped shivering for a moment and looked up from Molly's shoulder.
Fudge rose and glared at the young lawyer in his chair. "Did you say something?"
"No he didn't. Now tell your thugs to let go of me and I'll answer for my own defense," stated a slightly stronger, but still husky voice. Hermione stood up and began rubbing her arms, which she realized were covered with goosebumps. She shivered again and then realized how cold the courtroom seemed to be compared to a few minutes ago. With a spreading smile on her face she realized what was happening. "He's fighting it! He's fighting it!" she whispered happily, as if fearful that speaking too loudly might break the spell.
Hermione watched, as did the entire courtroom, the three bulky Aurors slowly back away from the still form of Harry Potter. His arms still bound tightly behind him, Harry slowly and very stiffly rose from his chair and stepped awkwardly around the table. He moved haltingly to the center of the space between the seated Wizengamot and the gallery of onlookers. He planted his feet firmly and then raised his gaze to meet directly the eyes of Minister Fudge.
Harry bowed his head mockingly and spoke, "Minister Fudge…"
"I object! The witness first needs to be sworn in and then…"
"You can shut the hell up!" snapped Harry, his voice growing steadily stronger and more controlled. "I have neither the time nor the energy right now to deal with a worthless little cockroach like you. Crawl back into your hole." The chilly air seemed to crackle with magical power. Grimaldi cowered and hunkered down into his seat.
"Temper, temper, Mr. Potter. Can I assume you've given up trying to prove you're crazy in order to get a reduced sentence in St. Mungo's? Well, let me tell you what young man, you're going to get everything your wild acts of vengeance deserve. In addition to those Death Eaters you murdered in cold blood, you killed innocent guards who simply got in your way. Now if you have any witnesses who can testify and provide you an alibi, please call them forward now. Otherwise, this trial is over and we will retire…"
"Not just yet, Minister Fudge. Mr. Potter can call witnesses, if he has them. But he can also testify on his own behalf, if he wishes. That is how this court functions," insisted Madame Bones.
"Very well," sighed Fudge angrily. "Do you have any witnesses to call Mr. Potter?"
"None that this court will accept."
"I take that is a no?" smiled Fudge without warmth. "And I suppose you are going to explain your alibi again to the court-which, as you have just admitted, cannot be corroborated."
"No, I am not going to give you my alibi. I'm going to give you the real murderer."
The courtroom exploded in commotion at Harry's statement.
"Order! Order in the court!" yelled Madame Bones.
Fudge and Harry continued to glare at each other.
"Oh, this ought to be good, Mr. Potter. I do so love your stories. They get better every year."
"I doubt you're going to like this one much, since you're such a central figure in it."
"I'm involved? Ahh, let me guess. The murderer is…Dolores Umbridge! She somehow escaped St. Mungo's and orchestrated a clever conspiracy to make you look like the murderer because she dislikes you so strongly. Really, Mr. Potter, is that the best you could come up with?"
"No, the killer is not Dolores Umbridge. Nor is it one of your other underlings. You're the murderer." Harry replied in a chilling, quiet voice that reached the far edges of the courtroom.
Fudge looked at him for a moment and then began laughing out loud while Harry just looked at him calmly. The rest of the courtroom erupted in pandemonium at Harry's accusation. It took Madame Bones several minutes to silence the court again.
"Really. Now that is a good twist on some of your previous stories, Mr. Potter. But then I suppose you felt you needed new enemies after you defeated You-Know-Who. Please, tell the court if you have any evidence that can prove I murdered Mr. Malfoy and the others at Azkaban."
"I didn't say you murdered Malfoy or any of the Death Eaters. In fact, I suspect they're all still alive, hiding in some remote hole somewhere, looking for a new Dark Lord to make something of their pathetic, pitiful lives. So I don't have any evidence that you murdered any of them. But you did commit at least two murders. One was a guard at Azkaban. And the other man you killed was the real Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge." There was a shocked silence followed by a growing buzz that spread throughout the room as the people in the room asked their neighbors to make sure they had heard Harry correctly.
Fudge's angry glare turned to one of mocking scorn. "Trying the insanity route again, are we Potter? Lucius Malfoy is dead and you are on trial for his murder. And I am very much alive, as I believe most people here in the courtroom would agree. Now if you're somehow suggesting I'm an imposter, like that mad instructor Dumbledore brought to his school, and that I'm somehow using a Polyjuice potion, these same people can testify that I haven't drank anything since I've been in this courtroom, over an hour and a half ago. Now I think this court has heard more than enough. So unless you have any relevant evidence to provide the court, instead of these wild and only slightly amusing accusations, I move that the Wizengamot retire…"
"Oh, but I can prove it," replied Harry in a confident tone. "And you're going to help me do it."
*-*-*
Next Chapter: Bringing Down a Minister
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