Bowing slightly towards Madame Bones and with a quick glance at Dumbledore, Harry continued. "Now with the court's indulgence, I would like to tell all of you gathered here today a little story. Pay close attention, Fudge, I think there's a part that even you don't know about.
It started several weeks ago, a couple of weeks before my seventeenth birthday in the prison of Azkaban. During one of his routine inspections of Azkaban, Minister Fudge, in passing by Lucius Malfoy's cell, stopped to chat for a moment. Malfoy, along with many of the other prisoners, had regained much of their former persuasiveness and cunning since the departure of the Dementors from Azkaban and their replacement with human Aurors. When Fudge passed by, Malfoy caught his attention with an offer of assistance.
Malfoy once again pled innocence and argued that he had been acting as a double agent, that he had secretly been working to weaken Voldemort's power from within. He argued that he had undermined Voldemort's efforts at creating several critical alliances, that he had purposely mismanaged the pursuit of various magical artifacts Voldemort had sought to obtain, and that he had delayed the completion of several research and development projects that would have easily won the war for Voldemort. He reminded Fudge of their old friendship and managed to convince him that Voldemort's defeat was due more to his efforts than by anything I had done.
As proof, he told Fudge of a new potion that he had been placed in charge of developing. Called a Mental Suggestion potion, it would plant either a strong sense of attraction or rejection towards a selected set of people or actions. It would act very subtly and with permanent effects. He explained to Fudge that he had perfected it several months before he had been captured at the Ministry, but had never told Voldemort. Voldemort had wanted to use it to convince me that I could no longer trust any of my friends and that I should no longer try and oppose Voldemort or his Death Eaters. He then explained to Fudge that it could just as easily be used to convince me that my best friend and supporter had always been Cornelius Fudge, and to create an urge within me to do whatever would be in the best interest of Fudge's aspirations.
Malfoy quickly had him convinced. Malfoy explained that all he would need would be some personal information about me, information about my friends and current activities, so that the Suggestion could be planted in such a way as to avoid suspicion. And, Malfoy explained, he obviously would need to send a private, sealed message to the hidden Death Eater who could prepare the potion. When Fudge protested, Malfoy countered that his contact would have to believe he was still working in Voldemort's interests, not that of anyone else in order to actually complete the potion. Malfoy assured him that he would tell his lieutenant that the Minister had turned a blind eye to the rise of Voldemort and would suggest that through this new potion Fudge would influence me to do the same, thus allowing the power of the Death Eaters to rise again, but this time with less resistance.
Besides, argued Lucius, Fudge could always continue to take his chances with me and what he described as my erratic and increasingly hostile behavior towards Fudge. He also reminded Fudge that I seemed to take great pleasure in embarrassing him publicly. Convinced by Malfoy's lies, Fudge made his decision and there was no turning back. He ordered additional surveillance of me and my friends by Aurors, under the cover of providing protection, and enabled the smuggling of several sealed messages from Malfoy to his unnamed contact…"
"This is quite a little tale you seem to be weaving, Mr. Potter."
"Oh, it's about to get very interesting. Especially for you.
As I was saying, Malfoy, with the assistance of Minister Fudge, was able to put into play his plan-though it was actually much different from the one that he had explained to Fudge. I don't think I need to remind the court that Malfoy was always a very skilled liar. Not even his lawyer could hide that. Anyways, the plan did not involve the use of a potion like the one Malfoy described, but for all I know, there may have actually been a potion like that in development. No, the plan Malfoy set into motion was a series of murders carried out by a very skilled assassin. The first was Katie Bell."
Gasps filled the courtroom while Harry continued. "The next intended target was actually to be Ron Weasley. But nobody, except for Katie and Ron, knew that they had…er, a falling out. So the assassin altered the plan slightly, and tried to kill my other best friend, Hermione Granger. The ultimate goal was to assassinate me, as revenge for defeating Voldemort. Fortunately, we were able to defeat the assassin before he could finish off Hermione. We weren't so lucky with Katie. But the assassin died before we could get any information out of him."
"What are you talking about, Potter? The murderer, that person you claim was a vampire, escaped both you and Mr. Hunt."
"The vampire wasn't the assassin. And Katie Bell had already been murdered long before she entered that clearing with Hermione. You see, the assassin that killed her took the exact form of Katie Bell in order to kill its next victim." Fudge's eyes widened in surprise and fear. The rest of the crowd discussed this latest revelation in horror and disbelief.
Harry raised his voice slightly in order to continue and the courtroom quickly quieted in order to listen. "Ah, I see Malfoy neglected to mention the other assassin. You see, when Malfoy learned that I had survived, he was very upset. So was Fudge, but for different reasons. Fudge confronted Malfoy, who denied that he had anything to do with the attack. But Fudge wasn't entirely convinced.
So Malfoy had to resort to an alternative plan. One of the Azkaban guards had been bought off by Malfoy several months ago. This guard named Winters, was also one of the Aurors that had volunteered to serve on several of the additional shifts that Fudge had ordered. Winters thus had access to the Burrow, where I believe he would have been able to get into my room. That's probably how he got the hair he needed for the Polyjuice potion-I imagine he simply took some hairs from my comb. Once Malfoy had the hair, he was ready to launch his other plan. He had Winters tell Fudge that the Mental Suggestion potion was ready and to come see him. This final meeting took place last week, the day of the attack on Azkaban.
Fudge came with Winters to meet with Malfoy. It didn't last long. Winters, or at least the assassin who looked like Winters, with Malfoy's help, overpowered Minister Fudge and took his wand. Malfoy then took some of his own hair, put it in a dose of Polyjuice potion, and forced the Minister to drink it. The assassin then absorbed Fudge's memories so that he could copy his every thought and action perfectly and left behind a body that now looked like Lucius Malfoy. With the Minister's own wand, Malfoy then cast the Avada Kedavra curse on the Minister, even though he was already dead, thus faking his own death. Obviously, if a wizard dies while under the influence of a Polyjuice potion, he does not return to his normal form-that's why it appeared Malfoy had been murdered.
Malfoy then took the remaining vial of Polyjuice potion, sprinkled some black hairs in it that were from me, freed the remaining Death Eaters, and then killed all but one of the remaining guards. That would have been fairly easy because Winters, before he left Malfoy's cell, took the shape of Minister Fudge. Though it might have been odd to see Fudge and Potter visiting together in Azkaban, I'm sure none of the guards suspected anything until it was too late.
Then Malfoy made sure the last surviving guard saw only him, in the form of Harry Potter, so that not only would nobody bother looking for Malfoy, but he would ensure that the entire world turned against me and I ended up in either Azkaban or St. Mungo's for the rest of my life. Maybe not as good as killing me, but almost as satisfying."
There was complete silence in the courtroom, broken only by the delayed clapping of Minister Fudge. "Bravo, Harry. Bravo. Truly, you have missed your calling as an Auror. You are far too creative for such a mundane occupation. But, there is one tiny little detail missing from your wild account. If I am, as you claim, some assassin secretly working for Mr. Malfoy, how is it that I can look like the Minister of Magic without a Polyjuice potion? There is no spell for it, nor have I taken a potion in the last hour. Please, don't stop now with these wonderfully inventive yarns."
"Oh, well that's simple enough. You're not human."
Fudge began laughing over the murmuring of the crowd. "What am I then, a delusional house-elf? A transfigured centaur? A dwarf hit with an Engorgement charm? A pixie with special faerie dust? Really, I think this court has been more than lenient enough with your defense, Mr. Potter. Now I will…"
"No, you're a shapeshifter."
Puzzled looks and furrowed brows surrounded Harry. Fudge stopped and stared at Harry in shock.
"You know what I'm talking about. Thankfully, you're just an aberration, an unnatural freak, even in the magical world. How on earth the Death Eaters managed to create two of you, I'll never know. What I do know is that you can assume the form of anyone you kill and absorb their memories in order to act just like them, which makes it nearly impossible for you to be detected."
"So, Mr. Potter, then there is no way to either prove or disprove your theory. You are simply asking the entire gathered Wizengamot and all those in attendance to believe that I am an imposter, some sort of magical assassin, and part of a diabolically clever scheme merely aimed at putting you in prison. And we are to accept all of this without any shred of evidence, any witnesses, any sort of proof beyond the fact that you say it is the truth. My, my boy, you are delusional. I've heard enough."
"I already stated that I can prove this, with your help."
"I think you'll understand if I decline to participate in your mad little game. Now we are quite through wasting the time of this court."
"I will give you a choice," spoke Harry in a very quiet voice as he began approaching Fudge and then added in a voice so low only Fudge could hear it, "Yonnua."
Fudge blinked, and then his eyes went wide with fear for a moment before he regained control.
"Guards! Seize him! Stun him!"
"Accio wand!" thundered Harry. Sparks of light burst from the manacles binding his hands together. The metal bands burst apart and they rattled to the floor loudly. He reached out his right hand and deftly snatched his wand from the air as it streaked towards him from a pouch in Dumbledore's cloak. Right foot forward, in perfect balance, Harry pointed it straight at Fudge's chest. "Call off your thugs, now!" he commanded in a sharp tone.
Fudge looked unconcerned and replied, "Harry, surrender your wand immediately. Do not make this any worse than it already is. Please do not do anything foolish that may harm your close friends in the audience. You cannot escape. There are anti-Apparation wards in place, as well as spells which will block your own unique teleporting ability. Unless you want to kill all of us, which I do not doubt you are probably capable of, there is no escape. Surrender now Harry, and I give you my word that I will get you the best possible treatment at St. Mungo's."
"Shut up!" yelled Harry. "Tell them to back off. NOW!" Out of the corner of his eye, he could sense the three guards, joined by perhaps a dozen others, slowly encircling him.
"Harry, surrender now. This is your last chance. At my command, they will stun you into submission and then we will retire to decide your fate. You do not…"
A deceptively soft voice masked the steel tone in Hermione's reply. "Call off your dogs, Fudge, before they get hurt. One of them might get a spell off, but there won't be a second spell." Hermione was standing in her seat, to give her and her wand a better angle at the slowly circling Aurors. When Fudge glanced from Harry to the audience, he saw a slender, slightly bushy haired witch nearly surrounded by red haired wizards, all of whom had their wands out and aimed at different Aurors. Then he saw a number of adult wizards and witches near them who also had their wands out and aimed, waiting quietly. From the stern looks on their faces and the easy stances which they held, he knew they were not only deadly serious but combat hardened. And he knew that most of their experience had come during the last battle with Voldemort.
Madame Bones and Dumbledore both rose at almost the same moment.
"I will have order in my court!"
"Friends, I'm sure we can settle this without dueling. Please calm down. Minister, tell your guards to step down. There is no need…"
"No need?! He nearly attacked me. He's broken his chains, summoned his wand-which you seem to have brought here for him, Dumbledore-used wandless magic, and now his friends have drawn their wands to threaten the guards during the middle of a trial. They should all be arrested and charged…"
"Yes, I am sure there are enough irregularities in the proceedings of this trial to employ special investigative commissions for several years. However, I believe Mr. Potter was still providing his defense…"
"Don't tell me that you believe any of this…but of course you do, Dumbledore. I should have known, you've always tried to undermine me. Well, I'm afraid you won't be able to save your favorite pupil this time. He's done more than break school rules this time, and he'll have to pay for it." When Fudge returned his glance towards Harry, he noticed that many of the Aurors were casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the wands being aimed at them from the audience.
"As I've been trying to explain, we can settle all of this very easily," stated Harry. "We could have Dumbledore or someone else cast an Infravision charm on members of the Wizengamot in order to look at you for themselves."
Fudge looked at Harry in horror briefly before regaining control.
"Of course, there will always be those who doubt, or who will argue that Dumbledore or I somehow created an illusion that only made your head glow twice as brightly as a normal human being, thus revealing your inhuman nature.
Or…we can simply ask you to cast a spell."
Every eye in the courtroom swiveled to stare at Minister Fudge, whose face had paled considerably.
"Any spell will do. You don't have to do a Patronus charm or transform a teacup. A simple Lumos will do. Just make the tip of your wand glow, or shoot a few sparks out of the end. Dumbledore told me that you got excellent marks in Charms, so it shouldn't be that difficult. After all, you are the Minister of Magic. You can do a simple light charm, can't you?" Even most of the Aurors were staring at the Minister now, whose forehead was beaded with sweat.
Suddenly Fudge dove behind Madame Bones and grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her up in front of him to use as a human shield. "Fine, Potter. Since you've discovered what I am, you know exactly what I am capable of. Dumbledore, have the anti-Apparation wards removed, now! And you, witch, you are going to Apparate both of us out of here on my command. And don't even think about trying to leave me behind, I can read your every thought and if I even get a hint of betrayal, I will strip your mind clean in a heartbeat. And you, Potter, drop your wand."
Harry stared at him for a moment. Spreading his arms out wide, and bending towards the ground, Harry replied in a defeated tone of voice. "Fine, fine. I'll just put it down right STUPEFY!" he shouted as he swept the wand back forward, in a motion faster than the eye could follow, to aim right at Madame Bones.
Both Bones and Fudge flew backwards for nearly twenty feet, knocking aside several chairs and other wizards and witches sitting in the Wizengamot. They struck the back wall with tremendous force, Bone's head cracking solidly against Fudge's nose, before they both fell forward after the initial impact. Dumbledore was running towards the two shouting for everyone to clear away and make room. Harry was right behind him. With Harry covering Fudge's unconscious body with his wand, Dumbledore rolled him over with his foot and then rolled and dragged Madame Bones' body away from the Minister. Harry continued to watch Fudge closely. He heard Dumbledore whisper Enervate and then heard him call for someone to summon healers from St. Mungo's. As his wand hand began to shake, he felt a comforting arm around his side and felt Hermione's hair brush his arm.
"She's going to be fine, Harry. Dumbledore just wants to make sure. She's just shaken up."
"I could have killed her, Mione. I cast a very strong stunning spell. I was afraid it might be too much for her. I just wanted to make sure he didn't escape. Who knows who else he might have killed. But she could have died."
"Harry, she would have died if you hadn't stunned them. He would have escaped and then he would have killed her without a second thought. You saved her life, Harry. You did."
"I hope so. I don't want any more deaths on my account."
"I know, Harry. I know."
Harry could see the nervous and fearful looks sent his way by several members of the Wizengamot standing well away from Harry, Hermione, and the stunned assassin.
"Well done, Harry," spoke Dumbledore quietly as he laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Do not worry about Madame Bones, she will be fine. You handled this as well as…"
"Slicio!" shouted Harry and with a short, slashing motion launched a quick spell at the Yonnua, who had suddenly sprung up and charged towards Harry and Hermione with a long dagger in his fist. The Yonnua fell a foot in front of them, his legs nearly cut out from under him by the force of Harry's spell. His right leg was slashed deeply and began bleeding quite severely.
"Finish me off," hissed the Yonnua, his eyes full of hate and spite. "Make it a clean kill."
Harry raised his wand to point directly at the Yonnua's forehead. "I should, for all the murders you have committed, and all those you will doubtless commit in the future." Harry's knuckles cracked as he gripped his wand even more tightly. Harry remembered all too vividly the terrible consequences of preventing Remus and Sirius from executing Wormtail for his crimes.
"Harry!" "No, Harry!" came the twin pleas from Dumbledore and Hermione.
Harry stared at the prone assassin for a long moment before speaking. "But I won't. I'm not a murderer like you. I won't kill you in cold blood. Petrificus Totalis!" The Yonnua was completely paralyzed, his face frozen in shock. "Hermione, can you stop the bleeding until a Healer arrives?"
While Harry kept his wand aimed at the Yonnua, Hermione knelt, extended her wand, and closed the wound, which had continued to bleed profusely. Satisfied that he would live until the Healers could give him further treatment, she stood and Harry waved his wand again, causing a number of very strong ropes to bind themselves tightly around the immobile figure. Only then did he look aside to Dumbledore.
"How can we guard this guy? I can't believe he shook off that stunner I hit him with. They're going to have to come up with something better."
"Do not worry, Harry. We will find a solution. And thank you for concealing the true nature of the Yonnua. I still believe that is something that is better left unknown if possible. But now you should return to your seats. Technically, we still need to decide the case, but I believe these last minute revelations should prove very helpful to your case Harry."
Harry and Hermione returned to their seats while Dumbledore placed a heavy guard on the immobilized Yonnua which was composed mostly of members of the Order. The Yonnua was then taken away. Dumbledore quieted the courtroom, which was still loudly discussing what they had just witnessed, trying to make sense of the bizarre turn of events. In the absence of Minister Fudge and Madame Bones, Dumbledore asked Harry if he had any further testimony to present, and then called for the Wizengamot to retire to deliberate. After ten minutes, they returned with a unanimous vote to acquit Harry of all charges. They also decided no charges would be brought against any of the people who had threatened to use magic against the Aurors guarding Harry.
Cheers rang throughout the chamber at Dumbledore's announcements. Harry felt like his ribs would be crushed as he endured crushing hug after hug from the Weasley family, the remaining members of the Order, and numerous classmates from Hogwarts who had somehow found their way into the chamber after the verdict was announced.
Finally, Harry found Hermione again, and just wrapped his arms around her.
"Thank you Mione. Thank you. I owe you my life. You never gave up on me-you saved me. How can I ever thank you enough?"
"You don't have to Harry. You would have done the same for me. Don't you realize yet that I would do anything to help you, to protect you?"
"I love you Mione. What did I ever do to deserve someone as special as you?" And he gave her a wonderful, sweet kiss that took the breath from both of them. Neither of them noticed the flashing lights around them.
"Nice move, Harry," commented Fred.
"I'm sure that kiss just landed on the front page of every paper tomorrow," chuckled George.
"Yeah, hearts all over the world will be breaking tomorrow," chimed in Fred.
"And the day after, poor Hermione will start getting the Howlers from every witch in the world who wanted our little hero Harry all to herself," added George.
"Knock if off, you two," threatened Harry in an attempted serious tone, only to break out laughing himself.
Hermione sniffed, "And to think I had considered not confiscating any of your illegal products that might find their way into Hogwarts for the entire year. After those remarks, I believe I've changed my mind." Despite her stern look, there was a trace of a smile she couldn't quite hide.
Taking control of the situation, Molly surged forward and pulled Harry along, circling her arm around his back. "Come home to the Burrow, Harry. You look skinny as a scarecrow. I'll have you back in proper shape in no time at all. And I won't take no for an answer. Come along then, the whole lot of you." Her family and Harry and Hermione happily fell in behind her. "Has anyone seen Ron?" she asked as they exited the courtroom. Harry and Hermione had been wondering the same thing. He had been sitting with Hermione and his family through the whole trial, but had disappeared a few minutes after congratulating Harry right after the verdict was given.
As the group exited the lift and walked into the entrance lobby, Hermione stopped so suddenly that Harry bumped into her. She was looking over at something off to the side. Harry looked over and saw a tall young man with bright red hair embracing a much shorter witch, with jet black hair. Her face turned slightly and Harry recognized her immediately. Cho Chang! Her face blushed slightly when she realized that Harry and Hermione were looking at her and she quickly looked down. Harry prodded Hermione, and they started walking again, trying to catch up with the rest of the Weasleys.
"What on earth was that all about?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know. And I'm too tired to even think about it today. But let's keep this between the two of us. As much fun as it might be to give the twins or Ginny some new material, I don't really feel like dealing with one of Ron's temper tantrums right about now. I just want to spend the next week before school starts relaxing with people I care about. If Ron wants to tell us something, we'll let him bring it up."
The victory feast at the Burrow quickly erased any uneasiness there might have been at seeing Ron with Cho. Ron did not say anything, and neither did Harry or Hermione. Well fed and very tired after visiting with friends as close as family that afternoon and evening, Harry slept better than he had in a week.
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Next Chapter: End of Vacation
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