Chapter 090

He had the opportunity to change while he was in custody, but was only offered 'prison garb'. And feared his robes would be taken away and 'lost' before his trial. It was something he would not put past Bones doing, as him wearing prison garb at his own trial would put the image in the minds of the masses that prison garb is what he should be wearing. It's what he'd have done in her place.

Thankfully, each day there was at least one auror who was willing to cast cleaning charms on his robes. But cleaning charms could only do so much. Clothing needed a proper wash to actually be properly clean again.

As for bathing he was restricted to washing using the sink in the cell he was 'assigned'. But at least the aurors provided him a small cake of soap and a towel once a day to accomplish that. However, again, 'hand' washing was insufficient compared to a proper bath or shower.

Today he would be taking a cleansing shower followed by a good long soak. A quick Tempus charm showed he had at least an hour before dinner, but wanted to assemble his staff before heading down to the Great Hall. The only member of staff he knew he'd lost was Severus Snape and that was only because one of the junior aurors snarked at him about it. That junior auror was immediately berated and sent from the holding cell area, never to return.

After a ten minute shower and thirty minute soak, he quickly dried and dressed before returning to his office.

The portraits had all tried to ask or demand answers from him as to where he'd been for the past week as he passed through on the way up to his apartment and he ignored them, as he often did. However, his return had them all arc up again.

"Be silent or I will silence the lot of you!" he barked. "I have urgent work to do and I will not be interrupted in that." He hadn't even bothered to look up to the portraits when he said that.

He quickly wrote out short 'requests' to each senior staff member, Head of House, and called a house elf to immediately deliver them.

The elf popped away with all three notes - none for Slytherin - but returned shortly with one of them.

When Dumbledore frowned at the elf and accepted the note off him, the elf said, "Perfessor MacKitty no longer a perfessor, Perfessor Long Whiskers."

Dumbledore frowned even more and curtly dismissed the elf before he burned the short note and vanished the ashes. He wanted no evidence that could come to light at a later date that he'd sent a note to McGonagall

Five minutes later Sprout and Flitwick walked in together. Both did not appear happy to see him.

"Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore," both said.

"I find myself surprised to see you back," Flitwick quietly added. Of the two he looked the least impressed, even a little angry.

"My... trial..." Dumbledore growled, "Ended only a little over an hour ago. I needed the intervening time to recover my property from the DMLE and come back here before taking a much needed bath and don a fresh change of clothes.

"How is it you managed to escape a prison sentence?" asked Sprout. The direct question wasn't even couched in polite phrasing.

"There was no evidence of me committing a crime which would warrant such," he said, starting to calm down. "The whole exercise was a complete waste of time."

"No, it wasn't," she disagreed. "A great deal of information came to light that needed to come to light."

Ignoring their remarks and tones he got to what he felt were the important facts. "I know Severus was unfairly sent to Azkaban. And I know Minerva appears to have quit. Who else have we lost?"

Both stared at him in disbelief for a long few moments before Flitwick gave a grunt of either annoyance or amusement - it was always difficult to tell with goblins - and replied, "You really have been out of the loop, haven't you?"

Annoyed, Dumbledore snapped, "That does not answer my question."

"No, it doesn't, because your two points clarifying your belief of what you thought the position was, rendered your question moot," replied Flitwick. "To quickly bring you up to speed, then.

"Severus Snape was not unfairly sent to Azkaban, as you put it. At the least, the man willingly admitted to multiple uses of the Unforgivables against victims. And don't argue he had to do so, because three of those times that came to light were when he was not accompanied by another Death Eater.

"He also admitted to being a willing Death Eater and declared he had no interest in being redeemed. The way he worded it, it sounded like he was amused you were trying to do so. It was clear he had no faith in you because you failed to uphold your end of 'the bargain', as he put it, by not saving Lily Potter.

"And Minerva did not quit. Minerva begged the Wizengamot to allow her to quietly retire to her clan lands in the highlands of Scotland instead of being sent to Azkaban, herself. However, they didn't allow her to retire, they fired her and then permanently banned her from ever returning to the castle, or holding any other teaching position. They did not even allow her the opportunity to return to the castle to say goodbye, or collect her personal effects. She had to send us a messenger Patronus and, later, a letter.

"It is because of that we two are very surprised you were not locked up, let alone were able to return to the castle."

Dumbledore gave a grunt of annoyance and otherwise ignored the jab.

"So, until I can get Minerva reinstated I've lost two of my Heads of House with one of them being my deputy..."

"Wrong, again, Headmaster Dumbledore. You're still making false assumptions," Flitwick cut in. "You've lost three of your Heads of House. Part of my own punishment was the Wizengamot ordering me stripped of my position as Head of House Ravenclaw. It, like Minerva's, is a permanent ban. I am now only the Professor of Charms."

"I'm the only one to hold on to my Head of House position, Headmaster Dumbledore," Sprout quietly said. "And they're not the only positions currently vacant due to court-ordered terminations."

"Oh?" Dumbledore quietly asked. Both 'subordinates' could see the man was close to losing his temper, but didn't care.

"Rubeus Hagrid has lost his position as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, but was allowed to retain his position as Groundskeeper," replied Sprout with that same flat voice. "However, even then, he too has been permanently banned from ever holding a teaching position again, or being in authority over children. That means he cannot even be responsible for children serving detentions, nor can he lead the first years from the Express to the castle. You'll need to find someone else to do that job from now on.

"And you most certainly can never again send him to pick up the muggle-raised from their abusive relatives and take them to Diagon Alley to pick up their supplies.

"Poppy Pomfrey was not charged, as she was found to have been under the effects of loyalty potions and the victim of multiple obliviations that you know about that, apparently, reacted badly with her oath as a medi-witch once she was finally freed of them. She has to spend time in Saint Mungo's during her long road to recovery, but she has already made these couple of decisions.

"One: she will never return to serving at Hogwarts, ever again. Two: If she ever returns to Hogwarts she has filed patient orders that she is to be immediately stunned and taken to Saint Mungo's, where she is to undergo an immediate scan for mind altering potions and obliviations. Three: Without any doubt, whatsoever, she wants you dead. I doubt, very much, she is the only one.

"When I visited her she was very creative with describing the ways in which she could kill you off without any blame being directed her way. And, even if it was, she has the perfect alibi. Someone messed with her mind; therefore, she cannot be held responsible for her actions."

Dumbledore had been about to berate her for her language until he realised both Professors before him had entered with their wands drawn and had yet to put them away. And, secondly, neither had addressed him as 'Albus'; both were addressing him as 'Headmaster Dumbledore' and only 'Headmaster Dumbledore'....