Chapter 075

"And, yes, we knew he was taking our memories. We knew because, while he could take our memories, he had no idea we had recording equipment of our own in place that recorded everything! It's called a video camera! Just like that projector thing of yours could play, it records live image and sound. We recorded everything. Then, when the old man left again and one of us saw a little red light that showed us the video camera was recording, we knew we had been recording something and didn't remember it. Then, we'd simply connect the camera to our telly and watch it all! So much for your memory-stealing magic you use on us! It no longer works!

"Oh, and just so you know and can panic about it, our government is in the process of installing that same video recording technology right across the country in all public areas. That means, if even one of you think you can hide what you've done by stealing our memories, it's not going to work because it will have been recorded on equipment your magic does not work against!

"And they've been installing those cameras in public areas for years. So, there is no possible way our government doesn't have recordings of what you people have been doing to us folk."

"He lies!" screeched one of the witches Harry thought to be from a dark family. That had even more people up in arms.

Harry could see that Ogden appeared both confused and even a little frightened. So he stood and fired his own cannon blast charm.

That had people suddenly shut up and gawk at him. And in the silence he called, "Chief Adjudicator Ogden!"

That snapped the old wizard enough out of his shock he banged his gavel a couple of times getting complete silence.

Still looking to Harry he asked, "Lord Potter?"

Harry held his wand in his hand across his chest and said, "I, Lord Harrison James Potter, swear on my magic and my very life that what my uncle, Vernon Dursley, has told you about the government program of installing video recording equipment in muggle public areas throughout the country... is completely true.

"But, what he has not informed you is that similar video recording equipment has been installed in many private businesses and homes also throughout the country.

"As a matter of fact, this is also occurring throughout the world. The United Kingdom is only in the process of catching up with government and businesses in other parts of the world.

"Further, it is my understanding that within the next twenty years there will not be a public area within any built-up area of the United Kingdom that will not have these cameras installed.

"As I say, so I swear, so let me be judged!"

After he gave the recognisable flash of magic he held his wand out to the side and pointing up before he cast. "Lumos!" His wand tip lit. "Nox!" And the light was extinguished.

"Ask any young muggleborn or -raised in this room and they will tell you the same thing. So that the government cannot be accused of spying on its citizenry, it has been readily admitted by them and they even regularly update the citizenry of their progress.

"Gone are the days you can send the Obliviation Squads out into the muggle world to remove memory evidence of muggles witnessing magic. While that may work in some areas - because those areas do not yet have those cameras and other equipment installed - that is no longer the case in many other areas, if not most areas. And I know, for a fact, one of those areas where the cameras are installed is across muggle London."

Harry didn't notice her stand but Hermione stepped forward, "He's right, Sir," she said to Ogden. "I am Hermione Jean Granger and I am a muggleborn and -raised. My parents never denied me information when I was growing up in a muggle home. And I was even allowed to read the muggle world's newspapers. Plus, in the muggle school I attended from aged six through almost to my twelfth birthday, I had access to all the books in the school and local public library. And I was a very regular visitor to both.

"And, I can tell you and will swear my own oath to its truth if necessary, those cameras are going up everywhere. They're attached to the sides of buildings and aimed down whole streets, they're integrated into traffic lights, they're mounted on walls or on the ceiling within buildings, they're aimed down at intersections, they're even and often hidden in plain sight by making them look like part of what they've been attached to. So, if you spend the time to look about to see if you can spot one aimed towards you, you'll often miss seeing them.

"But, it won't matter if you find them and destroy them, anyway. First, as soon as one is destroyed, the government will know of it immediately and have someone out there to repair or replace it within the day. Secondly, the video image the camera takes is not even in the camera. The recording can be anywhere up to ten, fifteen, or further miles away from the camera. And it moves there at near the speed of light.

"If you're sending out witches and wizards into the muggle world to Obliviate people, all you're doing is often making matters worse for yourselves. I strongly urge you to stop doing it."

"Errrr... thank you, Miss Granger, Lord Potter," said Ogden. "Please return to your seats."

Hermione gave a nod, turned around and walked back to her seat. Harry, however, stayed for the moment and said, "As the person harmed by the Dursleys, which is the sole reason they are here today, I request the right to speak in evidence before their sentencing."

Ogden gave a nod and said, "Then I shall call upon you, once more, before we pass judgement."

"Thank you, Sir," he replied with a short bow before he returned to his own seat.

Ogden gave a big sigh before he turned back to Vernon.

"My... apologies for the interruption, Mister Dursley," he said. "Do you have anything further to add?"

Vernon, who appeared a little confused that Harry had come to his defence was a few moments before he continued. "All we want from you now is for you to leave us alone. Stay away from us! And just make sure the boy... nor anyone else!... can be forced on us again. Especially by that old Fumbledork fellow. We don't want anything to do with you."

He then gave a defeated sigh and said, "You're little more than bullies, you know that? We have no way to defend ourselves from you. And you just... run roughshod over us. That Fumbledork fellow, when we demanded he take the boy away, just stood there and practically laughed at us. He was smirking, damn it! Our opinion, our wants, our needs, meant nothing to him. It was if we meant nothing to him. Please, just leave us alone."

After Vernon was silent for a few moments and only sat there with his head hung down, Ogden asked, "Mister Vernon Dursley, does that conclude your statement?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Since you maintained a decent civil behaviour without the silencing charm in place, I will not have cause for it to be replaced," said Ogden. "However, that is conditional on you remaining civil."

Vernon just nodded without even looking up.

When Ogden turned to face Petunia, Harry also looked more directly at her and could see that she'd been crying.

"The same offer and warning applies to you, Missus Petunia Dursley," said Ogden. "Remove her silencing charm but be ready to reapply it if she becomes abusive."

Based on her husband's behaviour and words, Harry didn't expect her to be abusive and she wasn't. Instead, she quietly agreed with everything her Vernon had said and even said Harry - not the boy or the freak, but Harry - had told the truth about the cameras and the camera they had in their home that proved they knew Dumbledore had been removing their memories. However, she added that she only remembered less than a quarter of the memories that had played in the projector pensieve. And those ones were the latest ones.

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