James Kensit sat next to Amelia Bones, one of the most powerful political figures in Britain. Auror Doudna had been a trustworthy and loyal subordinate for the last few months, or so she believed. Kensit had been tempted to run off and find Harry Potter when he was kidnapped, but after some basic investigation it became clear that Albus Dumbledore was the one behind it. Despite his surprising ruthlessness, the man wouldn’t allow Harry to be permanently injured when the boy was in his control.
It would be a good learning experience for young Harry. The method of snatching the boy had been so basic it was almost insulting how effective it had been. There were several ways to protect yourself from confundus charms, most notably occlumency. Harry would do well to learn it when he recovered from his ordeal at his Aunt and Uncle’s place.
But now, the man himself took the stage and the mutters of the crowd died down in the gallery. Arrayed in a semicircle in front of the stage for the accused sat the rest of the wizengamot wizards council and Minister Fudge. As one of the members of the ruling council, Dumbledore had to be tried in the presence of the full session to observe the proceedings to ensure they were not discriminatory against him.
Kensit stared at the calm face of Albus Dumbledore. He was standing in the center of an inactive truth circle and was about to begin his questioning. How would he possibly maintain his image in the face of the accusations against him? Harry’s kidnapping a month ago was simply another large weight in a large pile of accusations and misconduct. Kensit was generally not one for politics, and he honestly could not see how the man could possibly wriggle out of this without being severely diminished at least. Yet the man appeared calm and collected as he stood there waiting patiently, his arms clasped behind his back.
For a brief moment their gazes met and Kensit smiled as Dumbledore quickly kept his gaze moving, only lingering on Auror Doudna for a second longer than the others. Kensit had visited the man and outright told him that he wouldn’t interfere with the man’s trial. He truly wanted to see the man outwit his peers, and with a schemer like Dumbledore, the man might not properly prepare for the rest if he single mindedly focused on countering any of the myriad of moves Kensit could make to sabotage the man. Despite not being a political animal, Kensit had managed to pick up some tips over his long life. After all, ruining a reputation or sabotaging the proceedings of a trial was much easier than the complex web of relationships most politicians had to deal with on a daily basis.
Kensit sighed as he remembered how terribly he had managed his Syrian empire as king. How did others make it so easy when their attention was pulled in so many different directions?
The sound of a banging gavel on the podium resounded through the room as the puffed up minister of this backward country called the trial into session and cut off the whispers that had continued as the wizemgott took their seats. Amazing that these people thought that having such a political figure as a judge would ever end well.
“Order in the court! We will now begin the Trial of Albus Percival Bryan Dumbledore regarding the performance of a memory charm on a student. Lawyers, make your opening statements.”
Kensit leaned forward in interest as the truth circle flared up in blue flames around Dumbledore as the lawyers for the defense and prosecution on either side began making their arguments.
— — —
“...In conclusion, all the state has is all based on the accusations from a single boy,” Albus’ lawyer finished, “The boy who lived that has been through much over the last two years and there are many reasons why we can not trust his testimony. It is still unclear if there were side effects from his long coma, and he must be examined thoroughly before any of these accusations carries any weight at all,” Albus’ lawyers concluded, “Thank you, honored council for your time,” the man sat down.
“We will now begin questioning from the council,” Fudge said, “Let the accused speak. How do you respond to these accusations?”
Albus kept a steady state of mind with his accusations and mentally qualified his statements as he spoke them. One could not lie within a truth circle without being detected, but one could be incredibly misleading, “I believe that I always was acting in the interests of Harry Potter in all actions that I took regarding him. I have absolutely no desire to see him harmed nor did I ever desire for him to be hurt,” Albus said. The truth circle remained unchanged and the room muttered lightly, impressed by his words. One could not often make such sweeping statements, but it was all true. Everything Albus did was for Harry’s own good, even the recent kidnapping to ensure the blood wards were refreshed again for this year. The boy would have never gone back there willingly.
“Did you cast the memory charm on Harry Potter last year?” Fudge continued.
“No, I did not do so,” Albus said, the gallery muttering at this especially when the truth circle remained unchanged. Albus had altered his memory in some unknown way before the trial to prepare himself. But he knew for certain that he had forced Severus to cast the charm at the time just to counter this possibility.
Fudge paused and seemed surprised at Albus’ answer.
“Say that again?” Fudge said in surprise, “You say you did not perform the charm?”
“That is correct,” Ablus replied calmly.
“Did you ever hurt Harry Potter in any way?” Fudge said after collecting himself for a moment.
“Yes,” Dumbledore said, “I forced him to stay at Hogwarts for his own safety over the duration of the winter holidays of his first year. He was disappointed he could not spend time with the families of his new friends.”
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Fudge quickly moved onwards, “What did you find in your checks on the boy while he was staying with his Aunt and Uncle?”
“When I saw the family I found the boy in good health. His Aunt and Uncle were a bit cold with the boy, but otherwise everything appeared to be well.” All true, except he had been invisible at the time and never talked directly with the family. And Harry’s cousin Dudley was left out intentionally.
“How many checks did you perform? With what regularity?” Fudge asked.
“On average about once a year, perhaps a little less frequent in some cases.” Some cases translating to all cases. He had checked on the boy ten times invisibly, but he was a busy man so was only able to visit for fifteen minutes to observe before moving on to more important business. six of his visits had been in that last year as the boy was ten as he grew closer to manifesting his magic. An average of roughly a visit once a year for the time the boy was there. He had spies in the muggle neighborhood that gave him enough information on the goings on there that he didn't need to visit himself so often.
“And in these checks you found nothing wrong with the boy?”
“No, he was in good health,” Albus answered.
“Were you made aware of a list that was sent to the ministry written by Harry Potter himself regarding his living conditions?”
“Yes, I was made aware. Arthur Weasley approached me and questioned me on the accusations. I denied them, I never witnessed anything like what was on that list while I performed my checks. I believe the boy is simply confused after waking from his coma and perhaps someone instructed him to write those things.” Filius Flitwick had indeed instructed Harry to write those things even if he likely hadn’t done much to influence what the boy actually wrote down.
Dumbledore had never seen anything like what had happened on that list. He still didn’t truly believe that they really happened. From what Dumbledore had seen, the Dursleys were cold to Harry but not cruel. They were far too invested in the boy cleaning and cooking for them to punish him in such excessive ways and deprive themselves of their comforts.
They were certainly not loving guardians, but that was good for Albus. It only made Harry latch onto the wizarding worlds and his friends even tighter once he arrived. Harry had no dual loyalties to his muggle family. A shame that Dumbledore hadn’t been able to gain his loyalty in that initial period of vulnerability… he would just have to make due with influencing Harry’s friends when he became free to act after this trial. He was already halfway there with the talented Hermione. He was sure he could get her to become completely loyal to him given enough time for him to work on her.
“The boy was quite thorough in his accusations,” Fudge said, “With his powerful mind he even listed the time of day of some of the incidents all the way through his childhood. I have the list right here, and I would like for you to read it for the court.”
Albus’ lawyer stood up, “Your honor, this is clearly unjust. We still have no verification on that document besides the fact that Harry Potter wrote it. For all we know he may have written it under duress. And in addition, I do not believe it is wise to release such a sensitive document to the public given what is contained within.”
Fudge looked annoyed, but waved to the prosecution that made their own argument. After ten minutes or so of back and forth, Fudge put the parchment down with a defeated look. It was clear that despite his wishes that the rest of the council seemed more amenable to Albus’ lawyers arguments. It came to a vote of the council to allow the evidence and Fudge was overruled. The accusations would not be read. Most of the council looked on Albus favorably and he had been assured by many of the members that they believed in his innocence in all of this.
“Very well,” Fudge said with some annoyance, “Then let us continue.”
— — —
James Kensit watched the farce of a trial with genuine shock. No wonder Albus Dumbledore felt so confident! Who was letting that buffoon of a Minister keep asking questions? Was it intentional sabotage or was the man simply that much of an idiot? Why was he not letting the lawyers or professionals handle the questions if he could not handle them himself? The only reason Kensit could come up with was that the man had a massive ego and wanted to be the one to personally put the great Dumbledore away. But all he was doing was making himself look weak as he bumbled and spluttered whenever things went even slightly wrong.
Dumbledore had answered the first sets of obvious questions flawlessly, using a silver tongue to squeeze around the restrictions of the truth circle. But whenever a question failed to nail Dumbledore on the spot the Minister simply moved to the next item without asking anything more. Kensit wasn’t sure if the man even realized it, but each time he moved onwards he was ceding the point to Dumbledore at least partially.
Everything was out of order as well. You should always interview the less important witnesses first to build context before questioning the critical witnesses. McGonagall and Snape should have been interviewed first. Instead the first order of business was to interrogate Dumbledore who the minister must have known would not be an easy person to outwit.
Kensit sat back feeling vaguely dissatisfied. This is what he had been waiting for all this time? No wonder Dumbledore was like a king in this country. No wonder he wasn’t worried about things. All he had to do to win was not be utterly useless.
— — —
“...this session is adjourned,” Fudge said, “We will continue tomorrow with the interview of Severus Snape.”
Everyone went to leave, and Kensit followed behind Amelia Bones. Should he go back to his experiments? This was shaping up to be supremely disappointing so far. But anything could happen, James Kensit would stick things out for now.
“Madame!” A young man in blue auror robes rushed up to Amelia Bones and she turned to him,
“Harry Potter has been found!” the Auror continued excitedly, “We are bringing him to the ministry right now via floo powder.”
Amelia Bones straightened up and glanced around the busy hallway. But it was far too late for secrecy as several people who had overheard the news had straightened and run off, ready to spread the news no doubt. The young Auror had not been quiet in his statement.
“Excellent,” Amelia Bones said, “Make sure he’s properly guarded, even while he’s in the Ministry. I’ll talk to him as soon as he’s done with the healers.”
She quickened her pace to rush back to her office to prepare and Auror Doudna followed her diligently.
What a happy turn of events, Kensit thought, Harry managed to escape on his own just in time to add some spice in this boring trial. He would make sure that Dumbledore had to sweat a little in working for his freedom at least. Kensit regretted promising not to interfere now. He really wanted to give Harry some advice on how to tear Dumbledore to shreds for the accusations.
But Kensit had made the promise for a reason, and no matter his impatience it was more engaging if he didn’t interfere and make everything about him. Seeing Dumbledore in his natural environment meant the conclusion, whatever it may be, was just that more satisfying without Dumbledore being able to accuse Kensit of being the cause of his failure or success.