66

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX:

Harry wondered when the trial had ended up being run solely by him and Kingsley. Amelia and Madam Longbottom, both higher-ranking than the two men, where too far in a state of shock to do much – which Harry could understand, since they both had charges at the school. He and Kingsley had just finished questioning Dumbledore about the recent events at Hogwarts, and (as Harry had already known), Dumbledore admitted to knowing about everything happening in and around Hogwarts, including a condemning statement concerning the events he didn't stop:

"I did it to train Harry Potter. He needed to be well-honed and ready to do anything necessary to take out Voldemort."

Knowing that Dumbledore had wanted him to die in the attempt, Harry smoothly asked, "In what ways did you ensure that I would die by the end of the war?" The audience couldn't get any more shocked than they already were, otherwise that question would have gotten some reaction from them.

"I knew that Voldemort couldn't die until Harry was dead and intended to tell Harry just before the defeat of Voldemort was attainable. Harry, under the self-sacrificing spell I invented for him, would have given his life without hesitation. He would have died a hero."

"What would you have done with the Potter name and properties after my death?" If anyone was unnerved at hearing him talk so easily about his own death, they didn't show it.

"By then he would have been married to Ginny Weasley, and upon Harry's death the Potter vaults and properties would have gone to his magical guardian, which happens to be me. The newly widowed girl would have received half while I kept the rest."

"So you intended for me to die before my 17th Birthday," stated Harry, no question in his tone.

"Yes. Miss Weasley would still have become Lady Potter upon her 17th Birthday."

"Poor Ginny. She didn't and would never know about the love potion, am I right?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied dully. "I had no intention of informing anyone."

"Lovely."

"Have you used love potions on anyone else?" Kingsley interjected, turning the topic back to more general questions.

"Yes," came the answer Harry had expecting, knowing that Severus, at least, had been dosed with a love serum.

"List the people you dosed and who the potions were keyed to," the Head of the DMLE ordered, hiding his distaste for the old man before him.

"Maurizio Zabini and Jillian Thomas," the man began, and Harry's jaw dropped. Wasn't that Dean Thomas's mother?

"Lily Evans, keyed to James Potter," Harry's jaw snapped shut with an audible click, sudden tenseness radiating from his frame.

"Severus Snape, keyed to Lily Evans; Michael Boor and Guinevere Veritas; Jennifer Joplin, keyed to Frank Rudolfs," Dumbledore went on to list several other pairings that Harry had never heard of.

"What was the purpose of these love potions?" Kingsley asked when the former headmaster had finished the long list of victims.

"The initial pairing between Zabini and Thomas was to see whether a magically powerful child would come from the union of a Pureblood and a Muggle," Dumbledore began dully, and the audience stirred in response. The old man however continued obliviously, "When that union produced Dean Thomas, a half-blood with more magical potential than the pure-blood children, but not as much as other half-bloods, I dosed several other couples and await the results. Lily Evans was given a love potion because the children of two such powerful people could only have positive results, and because James needed to be kept happy. Severus was dosed so that he would keep loyal to the Light even once his love was dead."

Silence fell. Eventually Kingsley said, "There's so much wrong with that that I don't even know where to start."

"Then don't," Harry said, his voice brittle. "Tell me, Dumbledore – you wanted both the Potters and the Longbottoms dead, didn't you."

"Yes," was the incriminating answer.

"Why," the last remaining Potter asked, already suspecting what the answer was.

"They could not be left to raise the child of prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Madam Longbottom asked, seeming to snap out of her shock now that her grandson was involved.

"A prophecy was made to me by Sybill Trelawney, speaking of a child born 'as the seventh month ends' that would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. As a child born to 'those who have thrice defied' Voldemort, only the Potters and Longbottoms could be the parents."

"You knew that Peter Pettigrew was the spy in the Order, didn't you?" Harry asked, his voice almost trembling under the effort of remaining calm. He had known, of course, that once his parents were betrayed Dumbledore had known who did it, but the knowledge that Dumbledore had set his parents up to die…

"Yes."

Harry sat down abruptly, knowing that if he didn't put some space between himself and the bastard he would end up killing him. Folding his arms, he nearly hugged himself as he tried to bring back up his Occlumency and restore calm to his mind. Meanwhile, Kingsley continued the questioning.

"So you framed the Potters and the Longbottoms?"

"I merely helped things along to their eventual conclusion," came the maddeningly careless reply. Harry tried to tell himself that it was the Veritaserum that gave Dumbledore's voice that careless note, but it wasn't helping his anger any.

It was Kingsley's next question that enabled him to pull together his Occlumency and restore a false calm over his actions. "Why did you let an innocent man be placed in Azkaban while the true traitor went free?"

Harry stood up just as Dumbledore replied dully, "It was my hope that Peter would find a way to aid Voldemort in finding a new body. While it took longer than I had expected it to, the boy did eventually manage it."

"Why did you place me in a place with no wards as protection while growing up?" Harry asked, his voice once again controlled and level. Kingsley gave him a surprised look at that news; everyone in the Order knew about the blood wards protecting Harry Potter.

"It is not my fault that the blood wards failed," Dumbledore replied, and Harry tilted his head slightly.

"No, I'm sure it's not your fault at all that I was placed with a family that hated me. I wonder how you thought blood wards could exist in a place where blood was the only thing linking me and my relatives."

"Blood is thicker than water," the old manipulator countered, and Harry snorted.

"'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'," Harry corrected. "It means that relationships formed by choice are stronger than those formed by birth." Quoted almost verbatim from the time Hermione had corrected Ron about that same saying. It would have surprised Harry that Dumbledore, with all his age and experience, would have the quote wrong – if not for the suspicion that he used the quote wrong on purpose.

"As long as Harry called Privet Drive home, the blood wards would have remained."

"But Harry and I never considered Privet Drive home," Harry replied drily.

"That is no failing of mine," Dumbledore replied evenly, and Harry's face twitched.

Turning to the man on his right, he said, "That seems like a good place to segue to the personal accusations. Is there anything else you'd like to ask before that?" he asked Kingsley.

The man considered the question for a minute, regarding the man he used to respect with a pensive gaze. "Nothing comes to mind," he said eventually. "What accusations do you want to level against him?"

"I was just going to start asking him questions; my accusations will soon become obvious, I think," Harry replied with a snort. "Is that alright?"

"Go ahead," Kingsley invited, turning his level gaze on Harry. "I am interested in seeing what other crimes this man may have committed."

With a grimace Harry turned to Dumbledore and asked questions he'd heard the answers to before. The hall simply watched on in silence as Harry exposed that Dumbledore had placed an infant Harry with magic-hating Muggles. Dumbledore admitted to knowing about the Dursleys' abusive and neglectful behavior towards Harry, revealing that he had an Order member watching over him: Mrs. Figg was of course dosed regularly with fealty potion and reported everything back to Dumbledore but never went to the proper authorities because he convinced her not to. When Dumbledore mentioned obliviating Minerva of the knowledge that Harry's Hogwarts letter was addressed to "The Cupboard under the Stairs" Harry turned to face their mute audience.

"I lived in that cupboard until I received that letter, but I would prefer if that knowledge did not become public. In fact, I would prefer if news that I grew up abused did not leave this room – I couldn't care less who knows, but my younger self doesn't need that kind of complication to his life. He will not be going back to the Dursleys, and it's a part of our life we would prefer to simply ignore. The wizarding public has never given us any privacy and we've come to expect that, but on this topic I ask you to leave us our privacy. I don't want any newspaper articles painting us as unloved children that need to be shown affection, nor whispers about the terrible Muggles we grew up with, or any attempts to give the Dursleys what they deserve. Harry and I will decide together whether to report them to the appropriate Muggle authorities, and we would prefer no interference from the wizarding world. Please just ignore the Dursleys and focus on the fact that Dumbledore placed us somewhere with only a letter and a drugged squib to keep an eye on us."

That said, Harry let silence fall until he had seen on most faces that they would honor his request. Smiling crookedly, he added, "Thank you."

He turned back to Dumbledore, but before he could ask his next question Kingsley interrupted him. "Why did Dumbledore say earlier that you would have to die before Voldemort," there was a slight hesitation before he said the name, but Harry knew that calling him 'Snake Face' would hardly be appropriate, "could die? Does that mean that he isn't actually dead?"

"Oh, he is," Harry assured him before anyone could get worried. "Dumbledore thought I would have to die before Voldemort could because the night I became the Boy-Who-Lived, a sliver of Voldemort's soul actually got stuck to me." Kingsley looked nauseous at the thought, and Harry shrugged with a blank expression. "The goblins have a ritual to remove and destroy soul shards from objects – or people – so I underwent that. I assure you that Voldemort is quite dead." Harry suddenly remembered that he still had both Voldemort and Nagini's dead bodies in the pocket of one of his robes and made a mental note to destroy that. How careless of me, he thought with a mental chuckle. How could I forget about that?

"I'm pretty sure he would have found a way for me to die anyway, though," he added. "No need to have another so-called 'Light Lord' around when the wizarding world already has him, right?" At Kingsley's incredulous look he chuckled, finding his mental equilibrium restored. "Not that I consider myself a Light Lord – I just want to finish up here and go on a very, very long vacation. I'd like to think that I work well with power and responsibility, but I'd really rather not be Minister of Magic or anything like that. Amelia's much better for the position, and I hope that wizarding Britain won't put so much of their faith in a single figure again after this. None of us are infallible, but the Minister of Magic at least is voted into office and can be voted out again. Power to the people!"

Realizing that he had gone rather off topic, Harry cleared his throat. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, right," he turned back to Dumbledore, ignoring the bemused looks he was getting. Though Kingsley seemed more appreciative than bemused.

"One thing I definitely want to accuse Dumbledore of is hoarding important information," he said. "The biggest piece of information he really should have revealed decades ago is Voldemort's true identity – had his followers only known who Voldemort truly was, there might never have been a war at all." Seeing that nobody had any idea what he was talking about, he addressed Dumbledore. "Tell us about Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Tom was a half-blood orphan, the son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Senior," Dumbledore began obediently, "His mother was the pure-blood daughter of Marvolo and Lucille Gaunt, and a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin. Tom Riddle Senior was a Muggle, the son of the local squire. I believe that Merope, whose love for Tom was not returned, used a love potion to ensnare the handsome young man. When she became pregnant with his child she stopped giving him the potion, hoping that he would stay with her, but he abandoned her and she died giving birth to his son. Her last words were to a woman at Wool's Orphanage, telling her the boy's name and saying that she hoped he would look like his father before dying. Tom Riddle Junior grew up in the orphanage, and discovered magic at a young age. When I brought him his Hogwarts letter he told me that he'd always known he was special, and that he could hurt people with his power. It didn't occur to me at the time, but now I believe that he was a murderer even before going to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore continued on in the same monotone, no emotion showing through the Veritaserum. "At Hogwarts he hid his darker side well, for he was a charismatic boy. He was hard-working and gifted, and knew how to get on the professors' good sides. He rapidly gained a following in the school, and eventually framed Rubeus Hagrid for the death of Myrtle Kubridge, leading to the half-giant's expulsion. By the end of his time at Hogwarts Tom had chosen a new name for himself, an anagram of his full name." Harry helpfully cast the same spell Voldemort had cast in the Chamber of Secrets, writing the name in fiery letters and rearranging them to read 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

"That's enough, thank you," he interrupted Dumbledore's further words. "So you see," he turned to Augusta, who was watching the proceedings intently, "Voldemort was actually a half-blood orphan – not quite a bastard, since his parents were married, though I'm not sure a love potion should count – and he promoted pure-blood supremacy, claiming that Muggles were lesser humans and Muggleborns not worthy of living. I wonder how many Purebloods would have joined his cause had they known that the man branding them like cattle was someone they considered a lesser being by blood? Voldemort himself proved that the idea of pure blood being magically stronger is wrong, though – in fact, all the strongest wizards of this time seem to be half-bloods. Tom Riddle was a half-blood, as is Albus Dumbledore," he gestured at the blank man, "and I myself am I so-called 'half-blood'. At Hogwarts, too, many of the magically strongest professors are half-bloods: Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape are all of mixed blood. But let's not get into that discussion right now." Gesturing at Dumbledore once more, whose appearance looked even more ragged since he had been forced to take a second dose of truth serum, he said, "I trust you see my point about keeping vital information secret. Perhaps knowing Voldemort's true identity wouldn't have removed the problem, but it would quite possibly have prevented the full-out war it escalated into."

Madam Longbottom sighed, giving the man to her left a hard look. "Yes, I quite see what you mean, and I believe we all agree that this man is guilty of a great many crimes." She paused, turning her head to look at Harry. "Did you have anything to add to the many surprises you have already revealed?"

Harry hummed in thought. "I suppose that's about it. I do wonder, though – what has he been up to these past few days? Apparently he's been dictating a large amount of notes alone in the Hospital Wing, but nobody knows what he's planning. It would probably be best to make sure that he isn't planning an unpleasant surprise for us."

"A very good point, Lord Potter-Black," Augusta acknowledged, looking at Dumbledore shrewdly. "Mister Shacklebolt, if you would? It is officially still your questioning, after all."

"Thank you, Chief Warlock. Albus Dumbledore, summarize for us what you've been writing, and what your plans are."

Harry's gaze sharpened on the dying man as he saw him resist the truth serum for the first time. "I have been putting my affairs in order," came the glib answer.

"What affairs?" Harry and Kingsley asked simultaneously, both having recognized the evasion.

"My will and letters to friends," was the answer.

"That was far too smooth an answer," Harry said to Kingsley without taking his narrowed eyes off Dumbledore. "Do you think the Veritaserum has worn off?"

"Possible," Kingsley said, keeping his eyes on the accused as he cast a quick Tempus. "Yes; it's been just over an hour. That was a very smooth transition," he sounded almost appreciative.

"It doesn't matter whether he was still dosed while telling us about Voldemort's background," Harry thought out loud, "since I can confirm that everything he said was true. I'd say that the Veritaserum ran off just after that. Do we go another dose? We could just look at his notes, after all, and make sure that he's secure somewhere where he can't harm anyone. He definitely shouldn't stay at Hogwarts."

"Agreed," Kingsley said immediately. "A secure, guarded location seems for the best. Perhaps we should go another three drops just to ensure that his plans aren't dangerous; it would be unwise to place him somewhere only for trouble to come calling."

Harry nodded. "I agree. Three more drops, then?" Neither he nor Kingsley had taken their eyes off the old man before them, and thus neither of them where caught unawares when the man brought up his hand and wandlessly cast magic.

"Protego!" called voices from around the room – most audience members only now noticing the Aurors surrounding the courtroom. Harry meanwhile cast several stunners in the aging wizard's direction, each aimed for a slightly different spot. It was one thing he had learned in the future – always cast more than one spell in case the first one doesn't hit, and never aim for the same spot twice. Kingsley and Amelia's shields neatly covered him as well, keeping him from being hit by Dumbledore's spell.

The old man managed to raise both hands and cast several spells in Harry's direction, all of them stopped by the two Aurors flanking him.

"Go cover Madam Longbottom," Harry hissed to Amelia before jumping over the table and dashing in the opposite direction, circling around to Dumbledore's right side. He narrowly dodged an orange spell and shielded against a turquoise one, sending back a steady stream of stunners that Dumbledore had no choice but to shield against. Then, just after Dumbledore sent a sickly yellow spell his way, the old man sagged against the pillows – for Amelia had hit him in the back with a stunner.

"Thanks, Amelia," Harry said, promptly binding Dumbledore to the bed. "I didn't think he'd be strong enough to cast wandlessly – he must have dropped all the spells he was still maintaining in order to cast at all."

"I think it would be for the best if I placed him in secure holding with a competent guard," the older woman said, straightening her robes with a tug. "A team of Aurors will collect his notes to determine whether his plans are of any danger to us."

"I'll take care of it, Minister," Kingsley said, and she turned to him with a nonplussed expression.

"Right," she said, obviously just remembering that she wasn't the Head of the DMLE anymore. "Thank you, Shacklebolt." The man saluted her, then strode out of the room to organize everything.

Amelia walked back to Madam Longbottom and spoke to her in low tones. "As I understand it, Dumbledore should only have approximately two weeks left to live, so sentencing him to the Veil seems more a mercy than a punishment. The Dementor's Kiss I think should be considered, to be administered either just before his death or as soon as possible, depending on whether his plans are dangerous or not. Azkaban sounds good because there he'll be uncomfortable and away from guards he could bespell, but he would also be rather inaccessible there. I would suggest secure imprisonment with Auror guards until he has been questioned as thoroughly as possible – Lord Potter-Black mentioned the other day that in the future he came from, the reporter Rita Skeeter wrote a book titled 'The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore'. I think it may be a good idea to have her write another such book, exposing the true life of Albus Dumbledore as told under Veritaserum." Her opinion stated, Amelia inclined her head and went back to her seat, unaware that a certain beetle had attached itself to her robes and heard everything the Minister had just said. If Rita Skeeter had anything to say about it such a book would be available to the public before Albus Dumbledore was due for a Kiss.