Champions

Coming together

Draco Malfoy's exodus from Hogwarts was all anyone could talk about for the week. The berk had been lording it over everyone in the castle for four years running, and now he was suddenly gone. And even better, it was all down to his own stupidity.

Who else would have had the immense arrogance required to make a lethal run at someone right there in the Great Hall in front of everyone?

And then, adding fuel to the fire, there was Albus Dumbledore's abortive attempt to keep the matter out of the legal arena. It was one thing to excuse a minor schoolyard fracas, but a literal attempted murder? The students were suddenly seeing the Headmaster in a very different light.

Between Snape and Malfoy, they were left wondering if their esteemed Headmaster had ever given even the slightest damn about the well being of the innocent children he was responsible for.

It was likely that their sentiments were winging their way back to their parents attached to a veritable parliament of owls, and as far as Fleur was concerned, that could only help. Many of the students had family who were on the Wizengamot. Some even had parents who were involved. Every little hit to Dumbledore's reputation among the members strengthened their ability to deal with him when the time came.

And then Malfoy's surprisingly rapid conviction was reported, and that took over as the topic of choice for the week following.

Unlike his father, Draco did not get life in Azkaban – but he did receive a ten year sentence. The difference was down to his age, and the fact that he did not successfully cast an Unforgivable. Of course, from what Fleur knew of Azkaban, he would be very lucky to survive it, let alone with his sanity intact.

The British Wizengamot, like Madam Bones, apparently did not want that sort of person running loose in society. Who knew?

And once more Albus Dumbledore managed to shoot himself in the foot, as the Muggles would say. Specifically, he chose to act as defense barrister for the younger Malfoy, and failed miserably. Draco Malfoy was convicted on his own words; a lifetime of arrogance learned at his father's knee led him to believe that his money would get him out of anything — money that he didn't seem to realize he no longer had, at that — and thus he saw no issue with admitting his intentions, fully and openly.

Dumbledore's defense was sunk before it could even get started, and he was left with nothing more than egg on his face.

The Daily Prophet took great delight in rubbing his nose in it over the course of the week. This was, again, all to the good: if the public thought that Dumbledore was losing it, then anyone continuing to support him would be seen in the same light. They weren't there yet — Dumbledore had a lot of nearly fanatical supporters that they would have to convince — but every little bit helped.

The old man took to glaring at the Potters at every available opportunity, but as before they simply ignored him.

But while all this was going on amongst the Hogwarts contingent, Harry was getting more and more unsettled by the lack of news regarding a trial for his godfather. Fleur could understand this; the man was completely innocent of the crimes he was accused of, and they had handed the Minister an easy way to save face when he corrected it. They were both starting to wonder if the Minister's apparent sincerity had been too good to be true.

Fortunately for all concerned, their fears were put to rest with the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. Fleur sensed her father's hand in the announcement too, as it took yet another not-so-veiled swipe at Dumbledore:

Sirius Black: Guilty — or Innocent?

by Cordelia Chase

In a surprising move late yesterday evening, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge announced that a trial will soon be held for Sirius Orion Black III on the matter of the betrayal of the Potter family to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on that infamous Halloween night in 1981. This has raised a great many questions, not least of which is, "why bother with a new trial for a convicted Death Eater?"