A/N I am extremely sorry for the late update, my classes are driving me insane. And this is heavily based on dialogues.
"He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower when the Malfoy boy cornered him," Umbridge said to the Minister.
"That ar-" I started to mumble but Harry nudged me, shaking his head subtly.
"Did he, did he?" said Fudge, "I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Po- who might you be?"
"Me?" I asked, mockingly glancing behind me.
"Yes, you girl," He said, looking at me pointedly.
"(Y/N), (Y/N) (L/N)," I said, puffing my chest.
Fudge glared at me and scanned me up and down. He then turned to Harry.
"Well, now, Potter and (L/N) do you know why you both are here?" Fudge asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, and looked at Harry, who answered, "Yeh — no."
"I beg your pardon?" said Fudge.
"No," said Harry, firmly.
"You don't know why you are here?"
"No, I don't," said Harry.
"So you have no idea," said Fudge, sarcasm heavily coating his words, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"
"School rules?" said Harry. "No."
"Or Ministry decrees?"
"Not that I'm aware of,"
I smirked, my stare fixated at Harry who looked at Fudge nonchalantly.
"So it's news to you, is it," said Fudge, anger oozing through his words, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within
this school?"
"Yes, it is," said Harry.
"I think, Minister," said Umbridge, and I had to resist the utmost urge to groan, "we might make better progress if I fetch our informant."
"Yes, yes, do," said Fudge, nodding, and glanced at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"
Once Umbridge returned with Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's tag-along friend; Fudge acknowledged her background.
I winced slightly as she raised her head, the room fell silent after Fudge leapt back in horror seeing the girl's deformed face, studded with purple-coloured patches that read 'Sneak' in big letters. All thanks to Hermione's jinxing talent, you're a legend.
Umbridge proceeded to tell Fudge about how she found out the "illegal organisation" seeing Marietta was in no shape to explain without causing confusion.
"Haven't we got a counter jinx for this?" Fudge asked Umbridge, "So she can speak freely?"
"I have not yet managed to find one," Umbridge said, her tone near grumbling with frustration, "But it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here..."
She proceeded to reveal about the spy she placed in Hogsmeade when her attention focused on me, "But the (L/N) girl was nowhere to be found on that day,"
I gulped when Fudge turned towards me and glared at me suspiciously.
"What an interesting insight into our justice system!" said Professor McGonagall, distracting the topic from me, "Not prosecuting him for setting up all those regurgitating toilets!"
"Blatant corruption!" a wizard in a portrait from behind Dumbledore yelled, "The Ministry did not cut deals with petty criminals in my day, no sir, they did not!"
"Thank you, Fortescue, that will do," said Dumbledore.
I frowned and nodded.
Umbridge continued her report only to be interrupted by Dumbledore.
"I think you'll find you're wrong there, Dolores," he said.
"Oho!" said Fudge, melodramatically rocked on his heels to do a horrible portrayal of excitement. "Yes, do let's hear the latest cock-and-bull story designed to pull Potter out of trouble! Go on, then, Dumbledore, go on — Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Or was it Potter's identical twin in the
Hog's Head that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming back to life, and a couple of invisible dementors?"
Percy Weasley, who I had no idea was there, let out a laugh, "Oh, very good, Minister, very good!"
"I wanna kick him where the sun doesn't shine, Potter," I said through gritted teeth.
I could see the corner of Harry's lips struggling to maintain an innocent facade and not into a grinning one.
"Cornelius, I do not deny — and nor, I am sure, does Harry — that he was in the Hog's Head that day, nor that he was trying to recruit students to a Defense Against the Dark Arts group. I am merely pointing out that Dolores is quite wrong to suggest that such a group was, at that time, illegal. If you remember, the Ministry decree banning all student societies was not put into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules in the Hog's Head at all." Dumbledore explained.
"That's all very fine, Headmaster," Umbridge said, breaking the forcible silence the room fell into, "But we are now nearly six months on from the introduction of Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. If the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are."
The interrogation continued. I stood stiff as a rock throughout it, watching Umbridge as shook the poor girl for an answer.
"See what they've named themselves?" said Fudge, once the piece of parchment that had the details of the meeting reached his hands, "Dumbledore's Army."
"Well, the game is up," Dumbledore said, taking the parchment in his hands,"Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius — or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?"
"Statement? What — I don't — ?" said Fudge.
"Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius, Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army," said Dumbledore
"But — but —" Fudge looked around, trying to contemplate what's happening and then a look of understanding passed through his face, "You?"
"That's right," said Dumbledore.
"You organized this?"
"I did,"
"You recruited these students for — for your army?"
"Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting, Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe, of course."
"Then you have been plotting against me!" he yelled.
"That's right," said Dumbledore cheerfully.
"NO!" shouted Harry.
"Wow, drama - my favourite," I mumbled under my breath.
"You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trial!" Fudge said, later.
"Ah," said Dumbledore, "yes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag."
"Snag? I see no snag, Dumbledore!"
"Well, I'm afraid I do."
"Oh really?"
"Well — it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to — what is the phrase? 'Come quietly' I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."
I scoffed lightly and shook my head, praying nobody heard it. A rule for him and another for the rest. If he had had this thought 12 years ago, things would have been much much different.
The next few minutes were blurry, all I remember - felt - was somebody roughly pushing me away, the momentum forcing me to fall on my back and in haste, I had grabbed someone's shirt and from the low hiss, I understood it was Harry's.
The room was filled with fog and struggling noises and then silence.
"Are you all right?" said Dumbledore.
"Yes!" said Professor McGonagall, who had protectively gathered the two of us and Marietta.
"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Grimmauld Place?"
"Oh no," said Dumbledore, "I am not leaving to go into hiding. Fudge will soon wish he'd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you. . . ."
"Not to Grimmauld Place, is it?" I said, shaking my head and, perhaps, looking disgusted.
Dumbledore looked at me, his blue eyes shining for a minute and I held his gaze just as strongly, "You're just as wanted as a fugitive, do you know that?"
Harry wound his hand around my bicep pulling me back, while Professor McGonagall shot a warning glare.
After all the chaos ended, the ministry officials woke up and caused another havoc trying to find Dumbledore and as Fudge left, he said, "Well, Minerva I'm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore."
"You think so, do you?" said Professor McGonagall.
I subtly rolled my eyes. As McGonagall escorted us back to our dorms we could hear, Phineas Nigellus say, "You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts. . . but you cannot deny he's got style. . .
I scoffed loudly.