Last Time:
A far more focused hour passed and finally it was time to go home, but Tom was concerned when the twin potion professors, who finished their honeymoon and were back to work, ended up needing to come pick him up. They took him home and stayed with him, but didn't say what was going. It wasn't until Brian and Julian got home that he learned everything ...
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Dumbledore blinked, "What in Merlin's name happened?" He just sat there on the stone floor of his Azkaban prison cell and tried to understand how he got here. The day started fine, but then the trial ...
Flashback
Dumbledore received a notice stating that the Wizengamot council was gathering. The students all left for an early break so things could be sorted now that the basilisk was removed. Of course, that happened a while ago so he was confident in his belief that this would just be a regular meeting that required his insight. He went to the Ministry and sat in his place at the head of the table, but then he noticed some extra guests sitting with the other members.
"Severus, Brian, Julian, why are you here?" Dumbledore asked. He actually had bitten the inside of his cheek to stop him from saying Harry Potter instead of Julian.
Severus cocked an eyebrow, "This meeting is about the basilisk that was extracted from Hogwarts so of course we're all here. We saw everything or were involved in some way."
Dumbledore blinked in confusion, "but young Julian wasn't there-"
The minister came in and sat down, "I have the final health report from the Extraction Unit so we're all ready to discuss the concerns that many parents have reported." He said as he levitated a copy to every member for them to look at.
One wizengamot member stood tall and looked at Dumbledore almost apologetically, "Several parents have been freaking out about everything."
"Shouldn't this be something the Board of Education should be bringing up with me?" Dumbledore asked as he started to suspect something wasn't right here.
Most of the council members looked too hesitant to bring up the main issue so the minister sighed, "The problem isn't with the sudden sending of their children home or even the giant snake. The problem is you, which is why the Board told us to investigate."
"Me?!" Dumbledore gasped, completely shocked that anyone would find fault with him.
"As hard as it is to believe, yes." Cornelius commented with some subtle sarcasm. "These reports are more about how you did nothing during the fiasco during the extraction. Most specifically how you did nothing to protect or shield the students-"
"And how did you not know that a giant beast was in the school centuries! You've been at Hogwarts for years, both as a professor and headmaster, but never knew?!" Another member snapped before sheepishly sinking in her seat and shuffling the very report that set her off. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Minister Fudge."
"It's quite alright. This is an upsetting subject." Cornelius said kindly.
Dumbledore put on a great grandfatherly face and tried to seem heartbroken by the accusations. "How was I, or anyone, supposed to know about the basilisk? There was never any sign. How did you even find it?" He asked knowing there's only one person besides himself who knew about the basilisk and if he could get them on the dark lord then maybe they'd forget his misdeeds.
Cornelius nodded seemingly in understanding, "Why don't we start there. Would the person who reported the basilisk's existence to me please stand?" Brian stood up. "Brian White, how did you come by any information on the basilisk?" He asked, choosing his words with great care.
"My son, Julian, told me." Brian said calmly while casually keeping an eye on the headmaster. Beads of sweat started to appear on Dumbledore's forehead.
Dumbledore cleared his throat cutting Julian off before he could even speak, "I'd never suggest that anyone one here would lie, but for accuracy's sake shouldn't we use veritaserum?"
"Can't argue with that." The minister said almost too easily. "Get us some Veritaserum." He ordered an Auror standing guard near the door in case of an emergency.
A female member frowned, "Is it really necessary? What could young Mr. White even have to lie about? Also, nothing he reveals will change what we were just talking about." She said pointedly, reminding everyone that this meeting was about Dumbledore.
That very wizard smiled, "Of course." Dumbledore said calmly knowing that Julian will have only one answer and everyone will forget about him the second the subject of the dark lord comes up.
After all, that had to be it, right? Julian was there at Hogwarts when the dark lord was possessing Quirrell. Then the dark lord vanished and the basilisk was extracted right afterwards. The timing was too perfect! Obviously Voldemort told the boy and maybe even made a deal with him. The boy probably did something not knowing exactly who the dark lord really was. The veritaserum would reveal everything he needed to save his skin.
Right on cue the Auror returned with a healer who had the potion that was requested, "Everything is ready, minister."
Cornelius looked at Brian, "Technically you're not a civilian in my territory. Do I have your permission to give Julian the potion?"
Brian nodded, "Yes. There shouldn't be a problem."
The headmaster was beyond excited by what he thought would be his freedom. He was only vaguely aware that Julian winced as if a bright light was flashed in his eyes. Of course, that wasn't important and was probably just the basic fear of nasty potions. That was a fear everyone had, but Julian still tilted his head and let the healer administer three drops of the truth telling serum.
"Who told you about the basilisk?!" Dumbledore blurted out in his eagerness only to chuckle sheepishly when everyone gaped at him. Even Julian, who hasn't completely fallen under the potion's effects because the headmaster reacted so fast, looked stunned before quickly succumbing to the truth potion. Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Who told you of the basilisk's location?"
Julian's glazed eyes blinked robotically, "My familiar-"
"Huh?" Dumbledore was the one who gaped this time. It seems his plan didn't go the way he expected it to.
The female wizengamot member sighed, "What familiar and how did your familiar reveal the whereabouts of the basilisk?" She asked kindly despite her growing annoyance towards Dumbledore.
"My familiar is Tanzanite." The entranced boy said and right on cue the tiny dark blue occamy fluttered out of the blonde locks of hair and grew a little bigger to properly wrap around Julian's neck. That alone startled a few of the members, but the next things stunned everyone. "He told me everything about the basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets. I understand him." The only conclusion most drew from that was actually scary.
"Are you able to speak the devil's tongue?" One member cried out, almost sounding like he was considering putting the child on trial.
"No, just parseltongue." Julian said emotionlessly, not aware of Dumbledore who was staring at him with his jaw hanging open.
Just as chaos was about to erupt Cornelius slammed his hand on the table, effectively getting everyone to settle down, "I know none of you realize this, but guess what. Speaking parseltongue is actually quite common outside of magical Britain." He held up a hand demanding silence from the fools who were about to argue. "It's true, in fact, the entire team that extracted the basilisk could speak it. Now putting this issue of your close minded worldview aside, let's return to the original subject." He said, glancing at Dumbledore, who quickly shut his mouth with an audible snap, before looking back at Julian. "Would Tanzanite be able to take us through the castle? What path would he have taken?"
"Yes, but he's small enough that the pipes are his choice." Julian answered in his daze and no one could argue that. Julian was there right before the basilisk was found, he could speak parseltongue and he had an occamy as a familiar. There was no doubt that Tanzanite explored the pipes and ultimately found the basilisk, which he immediately told Julian about it.
Cornelius nodded, "Yes, I had to contact Gringotts to figure it out since I'm not an occamy who can shrink to travel through pipes. Does anyone have any questions for Julian before we continue?" He asked. No one seemed to have anything further to say either because they were satisfied or still in shock. "Good." He signaled to the healer and Julian was given the antidote for the truth telling serum. "Now let's get back to the main subject. Are you satisfied with the child's role in this, Albus? We should return to the issue of your-"
"I propose we go to Hogwarts to see where everything happened. I'm sure you'll see that I had no choice." Dumbledore exclaimed, still not over his shock. How did Voldemort not come up?
The witch from earlier rolled her eyes, "How is it you could do nothing to shield the students from the acromantulas and basilisk, but Severus was? Getting too old, perhaps?" She asked sarcastically.
The minister sighed, "Ms. Abbot, please keep this civil." He said despite finding the insult amusing. "Something catch your interest, Matt?" The minister asked when he noticed a gray haired member of the council in green robes jump back into the reports of the attacks.
"I ... I think I remember something. This wasn't the first incident involving acromantulas, right? I'm positive I heard something about that. The reports say that the acromantulas were huge
Another member, a stubborn supporter of Dumbledore's, huffed, "it was decades.ago. It was the year that a young student died because that half giant brought an acromantula to school, but there have never been acromantulas in the forest and that spider was taken care of."
Severus cocked an eyebrow, "The acromantulas were massive so they were easily decades old. Is it possible that they are related to it? What student, if I may ask?"
The Dumbledore supporter scowled, "It's a non issue-"
"Perhaps not. Ah ha!" Matt exclaimed as he pointed to a passage. "They did identify the breed of acromantula. It's not even native to the region Hogwarts stands on. Albus, do you remember what breed it was that killed the student?"
Dumbledore shifted nervously, "No, of course not. That was a long time ago and doesn't really have anything to do with this problem now so let's forget it." He said happy to see a few members did agree.
Brian hummed thoughtfully, "If it's all the same why don't we clear this up ... ummm what was this student's name?"
Dumbledore's most stubborn supporter glared, "What right do you have to speak here-"
"They own Hogwarts." Cornelius said bluntly, shocking those who weren't already aware. "I guess Albus never said anything. Julian technically owns Hogwarts through the Potters' complicated family tree. Obviously, Brian is Julian's father and Severus is his godfather so they have control until Julian is of age. Considering we are chatting about things that occurred on Hogwarts' grounds, they have a right to be here, especially Severus since he was there." He said and the grouch of a wizard sat down with a growl.
The witch from before smirked, "Pity. Can't make them leave."
Matt, who was barely listening, nodded absentmindedly, "I propose we bring the records of that incident here and Hagrid too." He shivered slightly as he looked at the measurements recorded in the reports. "You've gotten me fascinated about these creatures since you gave me that book." He casually commented towards the minister."
"You're welcome." Cornelius said happily and raised his hand, "and I agree with this proposal. What does everyone else think? It will take a few minutes." He said before taking note of the number of hands up. "Looks like we get to dig a little more."
Dumbledore's jaw dropped again and he looked around. The minister was right! Most of the council members had their hands up. They never wanted to waste time on this kind of thing before so why now? He understood the bitch witch, whose name he couldn't recall, raising her hand. She never fully liked him, but to have so many others, save for the supporter whose name he also never bothered remembering, with their hands raised was shocking.
"Should we really be doing this now?" Dumbledore asked with a slight plea in his tone before quickly shifting his gaze around the room looking for anything he could use as an excuse. "I'm sure young Julian doesn't want to stay here for this boring stuff." He said but jumped slightly when the occamy hissed towards him.
Julian frowned and raised an eyebrow not unlike how Severus does it, "I want to be here. I may not be of age, but I should still be here to know what's going on."
"Then that's settled!" Cornelius exclaimed before Dumbledore could say anything else. "Could you get me the records of the case we were just chatting about and bring Hagrid here. It should be easy since his new address is on file."
Dumbledore looked shocked, "New address?"
Severus scoffed, "You know Hogwarts is a private home now and a dangerous one at that. Hagrid and Mr. Filch can't stay there-"
"Hogwarts has been safe for a long time! There's no reason to kick people out!' Dumbledore yelped.
Cornelius shrugged, "It was safe until the basilisk left. Now acromantulas can come and go as they please. We need to find a better solution before students return to their classes." The minister said with a firmer tone getting the headmaster to quiet down. "That's a dilemma to figure out after we assess your role and potential punishment."
"I still think it's ridiculous." The pro Dumbledore member huffed. "Albus has never done anything wrong before and he has done so much in his life. We owe him our respect."
"Respect, but not blind obedience." The bitch witch said. "And since our esteemed leader already brought Veritaserum to the table I suggest we give Hagrid the potion as well-" everyone jumped slightly at the sound of a bird being strangled and stared at Dumbledore.
As a quick, but terrible, attempt to hide his shocked squawk he coughed, "Dry throat."
"I'm sure. Care for a drink?" Cornelius asked as he casually reached over towards a tea kettle floating nearby. "Whoops. Almost grabbed the Veritaserum." He commented jokingly as he had a cup of tea float over to the old wizard.
"I'm sorry, Minister Fudge. I don't know why I put it down there." The healer said cheerily as he took the little vial back just when Hagrid was escorted in.
It really shouldn't have set him on edge because he did have mental training and could fight it, but there was something unnerving about this entire meeting. Dumbledore swore he saw a look pass between the healer and the minister right before the healer went to the half giant's side. Was that planned? Is the minister trying to get under his skin? Well he refused to be rattled anymore. After all, they might be able to pin a couple minor things on him, but unless they prove anything more than misconduct as a headmaster they can't remove him from this council. He'll still have a way to pull the strings. Of course, he still didn't drink the tea.
"I'd be happy to help clear anything up!" Hagrid boomed happily as he sat down so the healer could administer the potion. The sweet half giant even smiled at Dumbledore before the three drops hit his tongue. He truly believed that Dumbledore was happy that this was happening ...
Matt saw the half giant's eyes glaze over and began the questions, "What got you expelled from Hogwarts years ago?" He asked just as an Auror delivered a file to the minister's hands.
"I brought an acromantula to school and they thought he killed Myrtle, but he didn't. Aragog was always too nervous in the castle to hurt anyone." The dazed Hagrid said, still sounding hurt for his friend despite the potion's effect.
Cornelius nodded absentmindedly as he read the report, "What happened to the acromantula?" He asked. Dumbledore stiffened knowing this wouldn't go well.
The dazed half giant smiled, "Professor Dumbledore convinced the previous headmaster to let me help as a caretaker and let me keep Aragog. I even got him a mate."
"WHAT?!" The bitch witch exclaimed in pure shock. "You agreed that this spider killed a student and you let it stay near the castle?!"
Minister Fudge hummed as he flipped through the file, "Looks there's no mention of the acromantula being taken even though the previous headmaster apparently noted that Dumbledore will remove it." He said getting a mix of shocked and concerned looks from everyone there.
Matt frowned and looked back at Hagrid, "You said you got the acromantula, Aragog, a mate. Were they breeding? Was it their offspring who attacked Hogwarts?"
"Yes but they didn't mean to." Hagrid said in a slightly hurt tone despite being under the potion's influence.
"I see. Any more questions?" Minister Fudge asked as he slid the file over to Brian. When no one seemed to have anything further to ask the half giant, Cornelius told the healer to administer the potion to reverse the veritaserum. "I'll get in touch-"
"Please don't hurt him!" Hagrid begged, unintentionally scaring a few members simply because his large frame suddenly rose over them.
The minister didn't seem phased by the groundskeeper's size as he sighed, "I have no intention of it. There are more than enough sanctuaries out there willing to house creatures as valuable as acromantulas. They'll be properly cared for and away from students. No argument." Cornelius said firmly when Hagrid looked like he was going to say something dangerous. "I know you love creatures. I do too, but keep in mind your friends, which I witnessed, attacked the school just as much as the basilisk. If you care about the human creatures as much as your acromantulas then they need to be separated. Preferably before the wrong people decide your friends are too dangerous to keep alive."
The half giant sniffled, but nodded, "They'll be ok?" Hagrid asked and looked curiously at Dumbledore before directing his sad eyes down at the minister. Dumbledore internally winced. He knew the half giant was questioning some things he said years ago.
"They'll be spoiled. I'll tell you where they go so you can visit." He said comfortingly.
Soon after the hall giant left the woman Dumbledore dubbed the bitch witch stood up, "I do believe we have plenty to prove that Albus Dumbledore isn't fit to-"
"Dad! That's her! The girl who died in the memory!" Julian exclaimed pointing to the file, which was opened up to reveal a picture.
Brian chuckled sheepishly, "This isn't the time for this." He said as he took the file away.
The Dumbledore supporter scoffed, "Be quiet. This is no place for stupid claims especially when a good man is being accused-"
"Wait!" The witch snapped so sharply that she scared the stubborn old wizard into silence. She took a calming breath before turning to Julian. "Exactly how could you know of this girl? What memory?" Dumbledore was confused by this turn of events, but then he saw it. A subtle smirk flashed across the minister's lips as the suddenly uncharacteristically nervous child shifted.
Julian flushed a little in embarrassment, "I'm sorry for interrupting. It's just Tanzanite told me something the basilisk said. She was very worried about a child who could speak parseltongue like me. I asked Dad if we could find him so they could reunite." Dumbledore gagged slightly at the sentiment where the witch seemed to gush a little. "Unfortunately, he passed away. Gringotts did some research and found the one thing he left behind, which was a ... a very sad memory that was apparently of an incident in this year." The boy said, pointing to the file.
The minister raised an eyebrow, "Can Gringotts confirm this? Are you sure it was this girl?"
Brian sighed and pulled out a Gringotts marked box with a vial clearly seen through the little glass window. "I was going to discuss this with the minister privately since I didn't think it was relevant to this meeting, but perhaps it is. As you can see the Gringotts seal is unbroken so there's no tampering. They let us watch it before putting it in ... no one realized how dark it was until it was too late." He said making it clear he wished his son didn't see it, which actually intrigued the council members.
"Whose memory is it?" One member asked curiously.
Severus frowned, "The vial was dumped on a Gringotts check in counter with blood smeared on it, but the goblins found the blood matched that of the Gaunt family. It was placed in that vault, but no one knows anything beyond that and he was a Hogwarts student named Tom Riddle. I offered to help by searching for any Hogwarts files on him, but until then you all can look at the memory and decide if it's relevant."
Dumbledore wanted to scream the second he heard that name. He knew this was all a plot, but what could do but watch that memory. The urge to scoff was strong when the memory went black at the end after he saw Myrtle drop. He frankly didn't care and was focused on finding any flaw or escape route.
"This memory is too fresh to be from decades ago." Dumbledore commented after the sad memory ended, but a strange silence followed instead of comments on his brilliance. Everyone just stared at him oddly.
Cornelius blinked, "We just saw the memory of a murder from a clearly traumatized student and you're worried about memory quality? A memory that was protected by Gringotts, no less?"
Matt hummed, "Gringotts could've stored it for centuries and it would remain fresh so that's not the problem. Who handled that case because that young girl was not killed by an acromantula?"
The bitch witch nodded, "and those wrinkles in the end bothered me. The killer had an invisibility cloak. We could have that investigated,"
"I'll get that going now." Minister Fudge said as he went back to the case file to skim the contents. "This says you found the body ..." Cornelius said as his eyes landed right on Dumbledore. "Come to think of it didn't I see you with a cloak?"
Flashback Over
"It was too easy!" Dumbledore screamed. He knew they had this whole thing thought out and played out to perfection. They even conveniently had Remus Lupin stop by under the guise of meeting Julian and accidentally identify the cloak the Auror unit found in his office. The second everyone knew it was a Potter cloak it was a simple Gringotts check to find out that the cloak was in Hogwarts, mainly for James Potter's father's school years just like James had it, during Myrtle's death ...
"I refuse to let this end ..." he said and shivered as a dementor flew near his cell. However, the chill suddenly passed and a red glow lit up his cell. "Fawkes." Dumbledore said softly as his eyes locked on the gorgeous Phoenix sitting on the sill. "They'll hunt me if I simply leave ..." Dumbledore murmured as he edged closer to the magical bird. The Phoenix cooed and let the old wizard transfigure him ...
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'Did you hear? Albus Dumbledore was executed by the dementors for horrific crimes!" One person said to a cashier of a potion shop.
The cashier sighed, "You really can't trust anyone. Who'd have thought he'd do such disgusting things. He was tied to over 30 murders!"
The customer shivered, "and of young girls no less. I'm glad he's dead. It's sick."
"Yeah, but the Tri-Wizard cup is starting up for the first time in centuries so that will brighten things up. It'll be interesting to see how this Australian school fairs against Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons." The cashier said and both started laughing no doubt thinking the foreign school will never stand a chance.
As they continued talking they never noticed a cloaked wizard walk passed the shop window with ingredients for a variety of potions including the Poly juice potion ...