Chapter 8: Will Justice Prevail?

Harry was having a blast. He thought the sit-in at Hogwarts was something to be proud of, but here he was fighting for the future. Hermione and those like her would need this to progress further in their chosen careers. He felt he was doing the right thing. "Equal Rights for the Future!" he yelled as the ministry workers were leaving for the day.

Others behind him took up his chant. They too were pleased that Harry Potter was there with them. It drew the crowds in and got their message out to more people. It also made some of the bosses listen to them more. If a boy hero like the Boy-Who-Lived was listening to them, why shouldn't they? The Wizengamot might call a meeting within a week instead of two. Things were looking up.

Still, there were those that were looking at him queerly. Like they didn't understand why their boy hero was standing up for the muggleborn, when he was a half-blood. He would never need to fight for a position at the ministry. He was high enough on the food chain that he could be minister if he wanted. So, why was he protesting?

It got quite a few to thinking. Was he right? Should they be protesting the treatment of the muggleborn too? Was it their responsibility to stand up for the underdog? Did they have a voice in this matter? Those were the questions on many minds as they stopped and watched the Boy-Who-Lived protest the treatment of the muggleborn.

Rita, sensing a story, came into the atrium and went straight to Harry. Thomas seeing her make that beeline, made sure to be there before her. He would make sure she treated him proper.

"Harry, can I call you Harry?" Rita purred as she sidled up to the preteen. "Can you tell me why you are protesting? You are not a muggleborn," she pointed out, making those around her stop to hear the answer. She had out her acid green quill. It was poised and ready to write the most ridiculous things. She used it when she didn't think the person, she was interviewing, wasn't going to give her juicy enough gossip. And right now, Harry Potter was just a preteen. He didn't know enough to give her anything interesting.

Thomas said, "Put that quill away, Ms. Skeeter. Harry won't answer any questions unless he is quoted accurately." He glared at the woman. Sure, she was on their side, now. But she was a sensationalist. She would turn on a knut to get a story that was interesting enough. "Don't ever give an interview with someone who uses that quill," he told Harry. "It will misquote you every time," he added, giving Rita the stink-eye.

"Of course," she simpered, and tucked the Quick Quote Quill away and grabbed a regular Dicta Quill. "Now, Harry, why are you protesting?" she asked again, the quill poised to take down the answer.

"I am protesting because it is the right thing to do," Harry said, his voice rising so everyone could hear. "Everyone should be treated the same in the eyes of the law. In the muggle world it is this way. Everyone has the same rights, and everyone can work whatever job they want, or are educated to work," he said as empathically as he could. "It is against the law to discriminate against race, age, religion, sex, or anything really. If you do, you can go to jail or have to pay a fine. I know that some people have been sued over it and lost their entire business because they can't keep their prejudice to themselves." He was getting heated, so Thomas put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Do you believe we should do what the muggles do?" Rita asked in a tone that Harry didn't like. It was like she was waiting for him to say the wrong thing.

"I think we should do what every human should do. Which is treat all humans the same," he said, his voice broke a bit and he cleared his throat. "Didn't you say that in your last article?" he asked, pointing out that they were her words.

"Well, yes I did," she said, giving him a sickly-sweet smile. Like she didn't like her words thrown back in her face. But there were people around and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Do you still think that?" Harry asked, a bit aggressively.

"Of course," Rita said, feeling cornered, not a place she was put in often. "I feel that all humans should be treated the same," she said, looking at all the faces around her. They all relaxed, but for the diehard bigots, who were hoping for her to start trouble. They sneered at her, and she wondered if she should watch her back for the next few days.

"Then you can understand where I'm coming from," Harry said, a smug look on his face. "I like you, Ms. Skeeter. I hope we can talk again some time," he said, then picked up his sign and started chanting again. He moved back to the picket line and started marching.

"Yes, it's been something," she said, then started talking to the crowd about how they felt with the Boy-Who-Lived taking up the cause. The reactions were mixed, but the majority were all for it. Of course, there were those that were against a child taking up any cause, but mostly it was positive reactions. Then there were others that thought the whole thing was just a huge waste of time and that the workers should get back to work so that the ministry could get some work done again. These were mostly bosses that couldn't find a hole in the ground with a map.

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It was late, and Amelia was not even halfway done with her paperwork, however, she needed to get to Hogwarts to talk to Albus. First, she needed to check on Harry. So, she took herself to the atrium and saw Skeeter talking to the crowd. She hoped that woman kept her vile quill pleasant. Her last article was helpful, if she kept it that way, then Amelia had no issue with her.

"Harry, come here a moment," she said, waving him over. Harry came trotting over and Thomas joined them. "I have to go to Hogwarts. Are you okay here, or do you want to go with?" she asked, knowing the answer, but wanting him to voice it.

"Can I say here? Mr. Shacklebolt and Mr. Starchers will keep an eye on me," Harry said, holding his sign up high like he was still in the picket line. "I think I'm doing a lot of good here," he added, hoping to appeal to her fair play.

"I will make sure he's as safe as can be," Thomas said, and Kingsley nodded from his place not far away. "If you run late, I'll tuck him in an office down here. There's a security office right over there, that the night security officers use," he said, pointing to the small office to the side of the building. It even said 'Security' on the door.

"That's fine. Tuck him in there if I'm not back by ten. I should be, but with Albus you never know. Harry, if you ever want to leave here before then, just go to my office," she said to the boy as she nodded to the two men, giving them pointed looks that promised painful consequences if something happened to Harry.

"Yes, ma'am," all three of them said together. Harry thought it was funny and broke out in giggles, but the other two knew how serious she was.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she promised, turning, and going to the floo. She'd floo directly to the Hospital Wing. It was one of the few school's floos that had incoming capabilities. She called through first, "Poppy!"

"Amelia?" the matron asked as she came into view a few moments later. She looked relieved to see her. Like she was bored and wanted someone to talk to.

"Is he awake?" Bones asked, all business. She would love to sit and gossip, but she just had too much work to do. Hopefully, her workload would be greatly reduced in the coming weeks. But for now, she was overwhelmed.

"I can wake him," Poppy said, though she was loath to do it. The man was not doing well, he was aging right before her eyes. She had already called in a healer from St. Mungo's, and they concurred. Albus was dying. Something had sapped the magic out of him, and he was not regenerating it fast enough. He would not tell her what did it, and she was getting frustrated with him.

"I'm coming through then," Amelia said and then she stepped through the floo and into the ward. She looked at the bed where she had tied the headmaster. Albus looked his 111 years, and that was strange for a wizard. It was like he was a muggle. "You look horrible," she said without preamble.

"I don't feel all that well either," Albus said, still laying on his pillows. His voice was feeble, and his skin was thin and dry. He looked like a good wind would blow him away. She had never seen the powerful man look so weak.

"What is wrong with you? Most wizards don't age like you are," she directed her question to Poppy as much as Albus.

"I can't divulge much without his permission, but he is not doing well," the mediwitch said, fussing over the covers of the bed. She and the healers had been doing their best to get his reserves back up to a wizarding normal, if not his normal. They were hoping to stave off death as long as possible.

"You have my permission to give a timeline," Dumbledore stated, feeling very old indeed. Just talking was taking more of an effort than it should. He was feeling much better since the healer was here, but she said he'd feel weak for the rest of the week. The potions they gave him would take that long to work. He'd be able to run the school for the next year, but he'd have to give up his other jobs.

"I give him a year if he goes on like he has. Two if he takes good care of himself," Pomfrey said, giving the man another potion. "He'll have to give up his other positions, but he can still be headmaster."

"Why? What happened?" Amelia asked, feeling a bit bad that she was about to lay the law down on the man. However, he brought it on himself. If he had called her department at anytime during the last year, she'd not be taking him to task now. Or if he hadn't set things up the way he had. If he had brought his suspicions to her, she would have devised a way to find out if he was right without endangering the children.

"That is something I think I will keep to myself," the old man said, his voice quivering a bit. There was no way he was telling anyone about the Elder Wand. That was a secret he was taking to his grave. If Xeno was smart, he'd do the same.

"Albus, you are in a heap of trouble. You do realize this, right?" Amelia said, taking a chair next to the bed. "Let's start with last year's fiasco and go from there," she said, taking out her notebook and going over what Harry told her about the three headed dog to the Dark Lord being on the back of Quirrell's head, and the boy's fight with the entity over the Philosopher's Stone. Then she worked her way to the basilisk being here and the diary that she had taken from the Weasley girl. "Do you understand what kind of trouble you are in?" she asked when she was finished.

She was glad she had taken that diary to the Department of Mysteries. They went crazy over it, and they were doing experiments on it before she even left. She had no idea what it was, but she was hopeful that they had it well in hand. She didn't even want to know what it was. She had enough on her plate.

"I did nothing wrong," the old man said, trying to sit up unattended. Poppy helped him sit against the headboard. It was hard on him, losing that wand. He had no idea it had taken such a toll on his health relying on it the way he had. He wondered if he should warn Xeno, or should he let the man figure it out for himself? Oh well, maybe his early demise will be warning enough. The less he talked about it the better.

"You endangered the entire school," Amelia said, her voice pitched high. "What do you mean you did nothing wrong? You enticed a Dark Lord into a school full of children. On purpose," she said, standing so fast her chair flew out behind her. "If you had come to me, we would have found a better way."

"All they had to do was stay away from the corridor, like I told them to," he denied, his tone final. As if he was in the right, and she was being silly.

"Albus, you have been headmaster long enough to know that if you tell children not to do something it is the first thing they do," Poppy said, she had been the one to fix the issues that arose from his mistakes. "I had to give out many calming draughts that first week from the scare that Fluffy gave the children who didn't obey your suggestion," she said, shaking her head at his naivety. He really should know better. "Let's not get into the wounds I had to heal from those that got past the dog."

"Why did you not say anything?" the headmaster demanded. He raised from the headboard and then fell back from the effort. He was getting tired of feeling so weak.

"I did, you didn't listen, as usual," she snapped, slamming her hand on the handrail of the bed. "I tell you things like this all the time, but the Great Albus Dumbledore knows better. Just like you didn't listen to me about Mr. Potter," she said, her hands on her hips.

"What about Mr. Potter?" Amelia asked, already knowing the answer.

"He's been abused," the matron said, then glared at the headmaster. "I tried to tell Albus, but he swore the boy was in a loving home," she added, her tone like ice.

"Harry needs to be where he is. It is imperative that he stays there," the old man said in a tired voice, like he had repeated the same thing many, many times. "You know the rules. If you believe someone is abused, it is your responsibility to report it," he said, as if he wasn't the one to deny her that right.

"You forbade me, Albus I can't be wrong Dumbledore. So, don't you even try to pin this on me," she snarled. Then got up and left him to his fate. She knew she was in trouble already with the review board. If this got out, she could lose her license. Or at least lose her position here at the school.

"She's right you know," Amelia said, flipping through her notebook. "You do the same at the Wizengamot. We can't tell you anything without you saying you know better." she then closed the notebook and got her chair and righted it.

"I do what I feel is best for the wizarding world," Albus said, lifting a weak hand and then letting it drop back onto the bed.

"Anyway, I've arrested Harry Potter's relatives for child abuse," Amelia said, glaring at the old man as if daring him to contradict her. "They will be going to prison. There is nothing to be done about it. He will be staying with me until the school opens in a few days. After that, we'll have to see who gets custody. Speaking of which, why was Sirius Black sent to prison without a trial?" she asked, once again taking out her notebook. She flipped it to a blank page and was set to take down his answer.

"He needed to be put aside," Albus sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get away with this one. His name was on the transfer slip, which she obviously had. Besides, he was dying anyway. It didn't matter now.

"Why?" she asked again.

"For me, it was to keep him from raising Harry Potter," he said as he put his hand over his eyes. "I don't know Bagnold's or Crouch's reasons." He hadn't cared at the time, only that they meshed with his.

"That was not your call to make. His parents named the man the boy's godfather. That was what they wanted. How dare you contradict that," she hissed, finding his excuse very lacking. "I would hate to be in your shoes when Black hears what you just said," she said, putting her notebook away again. She then walked away and left him tied to the bed. "You're still under house arrest. I hope your phoenix knows better than to help you escape," she said to the air like Fawkes might be listening.

She did hear a trill and nodded that the bird was nearby. What she didn't notice was the bug that was riding on her robes. It was tucked into the cuff of her hem and had heard everything that had been said.

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Harry was getting tired, it was going on ten in the evening and he was sitting on the fountain. It was an ugly thing in his eyes. It showed wizards as these great beings, while the other magical beings were… he didn't know the word, submissive? Maybe. Either way, it just struck him as wrong. It had taken some damage when they had had that standoff with the purebloods, but only nicks and dings. He hoped that Madam Bones got here soon, he didn't relish sleeping in the security office. It was tiny and reminded him of his cupboard.

The floo flared and he turned to it hoping that it was her, when men and women dressed in black robes with bone white masks came pouring out. There were about twelve of them. He didn't like the looks of them, so he dove in the fountain and swam to the other end. He pulled himself out and hid on the other side.

"Death Eaters," someone shouted.

Spells started flying right away. They came from the masked people, and they were deadly. Five of the protesters dropped like their strings were cut. The Aurors started firing back and the rest of the protesters took cover and started doing the same. Three of the Death Eaters were the next to fall, as one of the Aurors ran to the second floor where you could still see the atrium. He pulled the pin on one of his grenades and threw it down into the crowd. It went off with a bang and everyone, including Harry was stunned.

This was the scene Amelia came on to. "What the hell happened?" she demanded, pulling her wand, and reviving her Aurors. She tied up the men and women in the robes and masks. The one who threw the grenade came down.

"They just came in and started throwing spells," he said, his hands shaking a bit. "I did what you told me to," he stated, pointing to the second-floor balcony. "Then you came in."

"Where is Mr. Potter?" she asked, not seeing the boy, but seeing the two men who were supposed to be watching him.

"I don't know," the man said, looking around and spying nothing.

"Revive your coworkers and I'll go look for him," she said, hoping the boy was okay. The last thing she expected was for Death Eaters to enter the ministry this time of night, let alone at all. She made sure to tie each one up that she came to. She used rope that only she could untie with her director signature. She made her way to the other side of the fountain and saw Harry laying beside it. She ran over and revived him.

"Are you okay?" she asked when he awoke. She checked him over and didn't see a scratch on him. Thank Merlin.

"Yeah, I dropped into the fountain, swam across and hid as soon as I saw them," he answered, peering over the fountain like the fight was still going on. "What happened?" he asked, seeing everyone on the ground, but the Aurors who were going around and waking the protesters up.

"A stun grenade," she answered, a bit smugly. "It knocks everyone out within fifty feet."

"Wow," he said, impressed.

"I need to get these men and women processed. You go to my office with Shacklebolt and stay there. There's a cot in the back. Sleep," she said, giving him a hand up and walking to the other side of the fountain, drying him off with a spell as they walked.

"Madam Bones," someone called her and waved her over in a tone of voice that said she was not going to like what he had to show her.

"Go to Shack," she said, pushing him towards the man in question. "Take him to my office," she told the man, who nodded and started to the lifts with the boy. She then went to the Auror who was waving her down. She took one look at the unmasked man and said, "Fuck." How did he get out? When she found out heads were going to roll.

It was Malfoy. He was uninjured, but he was stunned and in Death Eater regalia. That alone was worth lockup time. Terrorist were not tolerated. He had no way of talking himself out of this one. There was no Dark Lord to put him under the Imperius. Fudge was going to have all sorts of fits though. Oh well, he'd learn that no one was above the law, just like Dumbledore was learning. Malfoy would have to bribe the whole Wizengamot to get out of this one, because she wasn't letting him free.

"What do we do?" the rookie asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Book him. Book all of them, I don't care who they are. Do everything by the book. I'll check the wands. I want to make sure every spell is recorded, and no one can accuse me of bias. There are five dead, and someone killed them, and they are from this group. There will be no Imperius plea this time," she said, picking up the wand and putting it in a bag that she retrieved from her robe. "Do the same for everyone here, and get the wands to me," she said, then went to the protesters.

"What do you need from us?" Thomas asked, standing firm. He wasn't leaving just because some Death Eater scum came to kill him. There were some that were, and he didn't blame them. They had family, but he didn't, and he was staying. Even if he did, he'd stay. This was just that important for the future.

"I need everyone's wands," she said, waving those that were there over to her. "One at a time. If you didn't throw any spells, tell me and I'll record the last spell that was used on your wand. There are three injured Death Eaters, I need to know who hurt them," she said, in a very weary voice. This was not going to look good tomorrow.

"Five of us died, and three of them were hurt. I think we come out the worst of it," Thomas said, heat in his tone.

"I agree, it's the law that will make it shady," she said, taking his wand and seeing only a shield spell used. On and on it went, not one of the protesters used offensive spells. That meant that it was her Aurors that dealt the injuring blows. That will make things much easier. "You're all free to go," she said, and a third of the group went to the floos.

"I'm staying," Thomas said, standing firmly and holding his sign even though no one was there.

"Jackie?" she asked her secretary, who had been injured in the skirmish. There were healers here now, looking over the injured and taking care of the dead.

"I'm old, Amelia, I still believe in the cause. I'm staying," she said, going over and standing next to Thomas. There were many that did. Others looked like they were still debating.

"I will let you know what happens to these people tomorrow," Bones said with a sigh. She hoped that justice prevailed.