HP Magic Biography

The house-elf that caused the problem is now a servant of Valin-Air, and an employee of Hogwarts, said Dumbledore, and I can summon him to testify at once if you wish.

I-no-I don't have time for that house-elf crap! Anyway, it's not the first time - swear to God, he's knocked his aunt out! Fudge thumped Inquisition bench and knocked over a bottle of ink.

Harry was a little annoyed. If Hermione was here, she would have to tear Fudge's mouth open. It seemed that there was nothing wrong with it, vomiting... er... House Elf Rights Association.

I admit, that time you were very kind and dismissed the matter, and said that even the best wizards can't control their emotions forever. When Fudge was frantically packing up the documents, Dumbledore said calmly. And I didn't mention how to punish him at that time.

However, I think you should be clear, Connelly, that the Ministry of Magic has no authority to punish students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Witchcraft for misconduct on campus. Harry's behavior that time has nothing to do with this hearing, Deng said. Baddo was even more polite than before, but there was a cold undertone behind his words.

Oh! said Fudge. That means it's none of our business what he does at school, huh? Is that what you think?

As I reminded you on the night of August 2nd, the Ministry of Magic has no right to expel a student from Hogwarts, Connelly, said Dumbledore, whether or not the Ministry has the right to confiscate his wand until the investigation is complete. To the end; I would like to remind you again, as on the evening of August 2nd, that your excellent delays show that you yourself have neglected some important legal provisions, and I am sure that you did not mean to.

Laws can be changed, said Fudge savagely.

Of course it can be changed, said Dumbledore, nodding, and you're sure to make many, Connelly. Why, in the few short weeks since I've been off the jury, have I dealt with such a simple minor? The question of casting magic while using a criminal justice procedure so heavily armed that even summons most of the Wizengamot?

Some wizards on the jury squirmed restlessly in their seats. Fudge's already dark brown face was a little darker now.

However, the toad-like witch sitting on Fudge's right just gave Dumbledore a glare, her face expressionless.

As I realized, continued Dumbledore, there is no law in this place anymore, and the whole function of this court is to punish Harry for every bit of magic he ever performed. responsibility as he defended himself. All Harry and I can do now is await your ruling.

Dumbledore crossed his fingers again and said nothing.

Fudge stared at Dumbledore, visibly exasperated.

Harry looked at Dumbledore sitting next to him, and felt very relieved; Fan Lin was right, Dumbledore could not give up on him, so Dumbledore appeared here, and now he not only fully believed that Dumbledore had just said The jury was absolutely right, and now is the time to reach a decision.

Once again, however, Dumbledore seemed to want to ignore Harry's attempts to look him in the eye. He continued to look up at the row of benches above, and all the members of the jury were conducting urgent consultations in a low voice. Harry looked down at his feet.

His heart appeared to have swelled to an unusual size, and it was pounding loudly under his ribs. He had expected the hearing to be a little longer than it has been. He was not at all confident that he had made a good impression on the jury.

He didn't say much. He should have explained more fully about the Dementor's problems, about how he fell, and how he and Dudley had narrowly escaped the Dementor's kiss of death...

Twice Harry looked at Fudge and tried to speak,

But his swollen heart restricted the flow of air, and every time he could barely take a deep breath, he looked down at his shoes again.

Then the whispering stopped. Harry wanted to look up at the jury, but he found it easier to look down at the laces than up.

The jurors who agree to dismiss all charges against the defendant, please raise their hands? Mrs. Bowness said quickly.

Harry's head jerked up.

Lots of hands raised in the air... more than half of them!

Harry's breath came quickly, and he tried to count as hard as he could, but before he could finish, Mrs. Bowness said, Whoever finds the defendant guilty please raise your hand?

Fudge raised his hand; he was followed by about two jury members, including the toad-like witch to his right, and the squat mage with the disproportionately large beard, and the curly man sitting in the second row. Hairy witch. Fudge looked around, as if something was stuck in his throat, and then his hand dropped.

He took two deep breaths and said in a voice distorted with pent-up anger, Fine, fine... drop all charges.

Fantastic, said Dumbledore happily. He drew his wand and made the two chintz armchairs disappear.

Okay, I'm leaving. Good-bye, everyone. Then, without looking at Harry again, he disappeared from the dungeon.

Dumbledore's sudden departure took Harry by surprise.

He was still sitting in the manacled chair, fighting his shock and trying to relax.

The jury members all left their seats, they talked among themselves, put their papers in their bags and carried them away.

Harry stood up. No one seemed to be paying Fudge the slightest attention, save for the toad-like witch sitting to his right, who was now looking away from Dumbledore to Harry.

Harry deliberately ignored her. He tried his best to find Fudge or Mrs. Bourness with his eyes, and wanted to ask him if he had nothing to do now, but Fudge seemed determined to ignore Harry, and Mrs. Bourness in Busy packing her briefcase, he tentatively took a few steps towards the door, and then left quickly when he was sure no one would call him back.

His last few steps were a dash, slamming open the door and almost hitting Mr. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley was standing outside, looking pale. Dumbledore didn't say—

Undo, said Harry, closing the door behind him.

All accusations! Mr. Weasley beamed, grabbing Harry's shoulders. Harry, that's fantastic! Well, of course, they can't convict you, there's no evidence, but even so, I can't hide the fact that it wasn't—

But Mr. Weasley did not continue, because the door of the courtroom opened again. The members of the jury filed out.

Excellent! declared Mr. Weasley in surprise, pulling Harry aside to let the jury pass. Have you passed the shackle chair test yet?

I think so, Harry said quietly. One or two of the group of wizards nodded to Harry as they passed, while others, including Mrs Bonness, wished Mr Weasley good morning, but most of them looked away.

Cornelius Fudge and the toad-like witch were almost the last to leave the trial court. Fudge acted as if he considered Harry and Mr. Weasley to be part of the wall, but again, the witch gave Harry an almost appraising look as she passed.

Last of all to go was Percy. Like Fudge, he completely ignored his father and Harry; clutching a large roll of parchment and a handful of extra large quills, he walked forward, his chest folded, his eyes on everything else. Mr. Weasley's mouth was drawn into a tight line, but otherwise he gave no indication that he had seen his third son.

I'll take you straight back so you can tell the others the good news, Mr. Weasley pushed Harry forward as Percy's heels disappeared up the ninth flight of stairs. I'm going to check out Bisnel Green's bathroom and take you back along the way. Come on...

So, what are you going to do with this bathroom? Harry asked, laughing. Everything seems five times more fun than usual now, because people are learning he's innocent and he's going back to Hogwarts.

Oh, that's just a simple reverse of the curse, said Mr. Weasley as they made their way upstairs. But repairing the damage is not a complicated matter, what is more important is the attitude behind this act of vandalism, Harry. Bullying Muggles may be a fun thing for some wizards, but this expresses something deeper and dirtier, and I'm for a—

Mr. Weasley was cut off mid-sentence. They had reached the elevator on the ninth floor, and Cornelius Fudge was standing a few feet away from them, whispering to a tall man.

The man had sleek blond hair and a monkey-cheeked pale face. The latter also turned around at the sound of their footsteps. He also stopped talking midway, his cold gray eyes narrowed and fixed on Harry's face.

Very good, very good, very good James Potter, Lucius Malfoy said coldly.

Harry felt out of breath, as if the air around him had frozen. The last time he had seen those cold gray eyes was through a slit in a Death Eater's hood, and the last time he had heard the voice was in a dark tomb, tortured by Voldemort while Malfoy taunted him.

Harry didn't believe Mr. Malfoy dared to look at his face; he didn't believe he was here, at the Ministry of Magic, and he didn't believe that Fudge was talking to him, because Harry had told Fudge only a few weeks before , said that Mr. Malfoy was a Death Eater.

The Minister of Magic was just telling me about your lucky escape, said Mr. Malfoy lazily. It's amazing, you escape from the little hole every time, in fact, like a snake.

Mr. Weasley gripped Harry's shoulders tightly in warning.

Yes, said Harry, yes, I'm good at getting away.

Mr. Malfoy looked up into Mr. Weasley's face. And Arthur Weasley too! What are you doing now, Arthur?

I work here, Mr. Weasley said simply.

You don't work here, I'm sure of that, said Mr. Malfoy, frowning over Mr. Weasley's shoulder, looking at the door. I assume you're working on the second floor above. You're not doing something with prohibited Muggle items and continuing to obsess over them?

No, growled Mr. Weasley. His fingers were pinching Harry's shoulder now.

What are you doing here anyway? Harry asked Mr Malfoy.

I don't think my personal issues with the Minister of Magic are anything to worry you about, Potter, said Mr. Malfoy, smoothing the front of his robes.

Harry distinctly heard a soft jingle coming from his pocket, which was obviously full of gold coins.

Indeed, because you are Dumbledore's favored student, but you don't expect those of us to indulge you in the same way. Shall we go to your office, Your Excellency the Minister of Magic?

Of course, said Fudge, turning his back on Harry and Mr. Weasley, this way, Lucius.

They strode away together, talking quietly as they walked. Mr. Weasley didn't let go of Harry's hand on the shoulder until they disappeared into the lift.

If they have business to discuss, why isn't Malfoy waiting outside Fudge's office? Harry exclaimed angrily. What is he doing down here?

If you ask me, I think he was trying to sneak up on the Inquisition, Mr. Weasley looked extremely disturbed, looking around as if to make sure they were out of hearing. He's trying to find out if you've been expelled. When I send you back, I'll leave a note for Dumbledore that he should be informed that Mr. Malfoy spoke to Fudge again.

What kind of private business are they together for anyway?

I think it's money, said Mr. Weasley angrily. Mr. Malfoy has been generous with bribes of all sorts for years to get them to the right people. Then he can demand benefits to delay laws he doesn't want to pass. Oh, Lucius Malfoy, he has a wide network.

The elevator arrived; there was no one in there except for an internal message hovering over Mr. Weasley's head. Mr. Weasley pressed the button in the atrium, and the elevator doors closed. The elevator quickly carried them away from here.

Mr Weasley, said Harry slowly, if Fudge is meeting with Death Eaters like Mr Malfoy, if he's seeing them alone, then how do we know they didn't cast the Imperius spell on Fudge Woolen cloth?

Don't think that this kind of thing can't happen to us, Harry, said Mr. Weasley calmly, but Dumbledore thinks that Fudge is acting on his own will at this moment-when Dumbledore is talking about this He wasn't very comfortable when it happened. Better stop talking about it at once, Harry.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped into the now almost empty atrium. The Wizard Warden Erik was now buried behind him again.

Before Harry remembered, they had walked directly past the golden fountain.

Wait a minute, Harry called to Mr. Weasley, who took his wallet out of his pocket and turned back to the fountain. Harry looked up at the handsome wizard's face, but looking closer Harry thought he looked weak and stupid. The wizard had a flat smile on his face like a good-looking candidate, and as far as Harry knew elves and other magical creatures, most of them would not like to be stared at and portrayed like this by humans.

Only the nodding and hunching of the house-elf was believable. Harry grinned at the thought of what Hermione would say if she saw the elf statue.

Harry turned the wallet over and emptied it. There were more than ten Galleons in it, but Harry didn't care and threw them all into the sink.

I knew it! Ron yelled, pointing his hand at the air. You always come home with a rewarding experience!

They've got to clear you, said Hermione, who had looked nearly fainted with nervousness when Harry entered the kitchen, and now put a trembling hand over her eyes.

There's nothing against you, not at all.

Oh, of course, it must be so. Harry said happily.

Everyone seems very reassured and I think you all know I'm going to be successful, Harry said with a laugh.

Mrs Weasley is wiping her face with her apron, while Fred, George and Ginny are doing a war dance and singing a hymn: He made it, he made it, he made it

Enough fuss! Be quiet! cried Mr. Weasley, though he was laughing too.

By the way, have Sirius and Fan Lin left? Harry asked, I saw something in the Ministry of Magic, and I think...

They left an hour ago, said Hermione, but they'll get over it soon.

I trust them as much as they trust me, Harry said.

But what's that about? Hermione asked.

About Malfoy and Fudge, Harry said, I saw the two of them chatting together as we were leaving, you know, Malfoy is a Death Eater, I'm not sure about that...

Dumbledore? Does Dumbledore know about this? Hermione asked.

I was going to tell him, but... Harry remembered Dumbledore's eagerness to leave, as if between himself and Dumbledore...