Chapter 72: Bidding time

Dumbledore stared into his own hands with a certain numbness as the early morning events repeatedly played out in his mind. He had known Umbridge would end up crossing a line that would spell nothing but chaos in Hogwarts. His fears had come true with Hogwarts students across House boundaries were now demanding the expulsion and even the incarceration of Dolores Umbridge. As a matter of fact, Hufflepuff students had even given a formal letter demanding the removal of Umbridge from her post to Professor Sprout. Filius and Severus also reported similar grumblings from Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Luckily, he had arrived at Hogwarts before something much more horrible happened. A student could have been maimed when the fight between the aurors and Harry broke out.

Luckily for everyone involved, nothing of that sort happened, and no one was maimed.

Except for the less-than-healthy conditions of the aurors Harry put into the hospital wing, there were no injuries to speak of. Dawlish and Emerson would be in Madam Pomfrey's care for a while. Thankfully, the aurors were not seriously injured. Both aurors had taken a significant dose of damage from Harry's lightning spell. If he was worried, it was about Dawlish, as the auror had taken a far more severe beating from Harry's spell than Emerson.

Usually, lightning spells were not that damaging to wizards because of the nature of lightning itself. It was a form of energy that a wizard's body could regulate given enough time. But Harry must have gone beyond the extreme in his use of the spell because both aurors had yet to gain consciousness. He had asked Filius to draw out the excess energy circulating in the body of the aurors to ensure their quick recovery. Removing the burns they suffered was easy, but drawing out the excess energy within their body was far more complex. It was one of the reasons why he didn't immediately transfer Emerson and Dawlish to St Mungo's hospital. He wanted their excess energy bled away, and there was also the matter of the troubles that shall befall everyone should word get out about what happened. He had gone even a step further by cancelling all classes and confining students to their respective dorms.

Letting out a sigh, Dumbledore tiredly leaned against his chair. His eyes inevitably fell on his wand.

'No. Not my wand anymore.' he thought, staring thoughtfully at the Elder Wand.

Dumbledore couldn't help but think he was misreading the prophecy on some level. His eyes strayed to the Sword of Gryffindor as well. Both the sword and the wand were seeped in ancient magic. The wand was imbued with the magic and skill of countless wizards, starting from Antioch Peverell. The Sword of Gryffindor, on the other hand, was seeped in the magic of Hogwarts and one of Hogwarts' illustrious founders Godric Gryffindor, a mage of unparalleled skill, power, and charisma.

"Could it be the 'power the Dark Lord knows not' was referring to the Elder Wand and the Sword of Gryffindor?" Dumbledore muttered to himself.

Both were ancient magical weapons of mysterious origins unknown to most wizards. The sword was said to be Goblin forged, but wizards had not seen it for thousands of years until Harry pulled it out of the sorting hat. The Elder Wand had disappeared into legend, and very few knew its existence. Both were powerful magical foci capable of fitting the mould of the prophecy, granting an advantage to Harry over Voldemort.

He had briefly thought of letting Harry keep the wand but dismissed that idea almost immediately.

It was not time, he reasoned.

The bloody history of the wand made him afraid to leave it in the hands of Harry.

'Perhaps, I could give it to Harry when he reaches his majority.' he thought.

Dumbledore shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The will of magic and prophecies were tricky and quite challenging to discern. But he could not help but think Harry was shaping up to be a phenomenal wizard of unparalleled skill and strength. Perhaps most significant of all was Harry's adamant refusal to bow down in the face of tyranny and political power for justice. There was no doubt Harry's methods of fighting injustice were deplorable, but he could admire the boy's steadfast response rooted in protecting those who can't defend themselves. Harry had shown that sense of concern and morality many times in Hogwarts. But this time, Harry had passed on that sense of morale fibre to his fellow housemates, which was no easy feat for a teenage boy.

Truly, Dumbledore was proud as the headmaster of Hogwarts to see such loyalty and conviction among students to stand for one of their own.

He was more than aware that Harry was also stepping into a new arena. The sense of right and wrong shifts so quickly in public opinion. Harry, as well as his friends, were so young not to see the pitfalls that were along the way in their pursuit of justice. A sense of right and wrong was a desirable quality in a growing young wizard. Still, the world would not see morality in Harry's movement but rather a rebellion against the established order of things. After all, that was why Umbridge turned against Harry.

Dumbledore sat up straight as he felt the wards alert him of guests climbing the stairs to his office. His office doors were pushed open with force making way for a livid-looking Cornelius Fudge to barge in accompanied by a number of aurors and even Amelia Bones.

"What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore? Why have you insisted on this meeting?" Fudge growled and huffed as he plopped down on a chair on the other side of the table.

"Because your undersecretary thought it wise to bring two aurors into Hogwarts and attempted to arrest Harry Potter, which ended up in a fight in the middle of the Great Hall."

"What!" Fudge screamed, staring at Dumbledore with his eyes bulging.

"I warned you, Cornelius. Madam Umbridge and her ways will not be welcome in Hogwarts. Yet you did not listen." Dumbledore said slowly so that the Minister could come to terms with the situation before he divulged more details.

"Wha..? But… She… She promised me. She gave me her word that she'd never again harm the children." Fudge spluttered, shock written all over his face.

"More than anyone, you should know the worth of a politician's word, Cornelius." Dumbledore said, looking at the flushed face of the Minister, who refused to meet his eyes.

"What happened to Mr Potter? Is he all right?" Amelia Bones asked, a visible frown on her face.

"Harry is quite fine. Your aurors, on the other hand…" Dumbledore trailed off, looking pointedly at the brown eyes of Amelia Bones.

It saddened him to see someone like Amelia Bones not show an ounce of emotion as she maintained her iron grip on her composure. The woman had entrenched herself in the cesspool of corruption within the Ministry after he denied her the opportunity to go after the Death Eaters after the fall of Voldemort. Madam Bones wanted the former Death Eaters hunted down and killed off. She wanted their families torn asunder and their wealth seized. He knew why she wanted to do all those things. She wanted revenge for the murder of her entire family. And he had stopped her from doing so as he knew it'd one day make her the monster she despised.

He supposed it was one of the many reasons Madam Bones became an apathetic figure holding one of the highest offices in the Ministry. Also, it was one of the reasons why she managed to hold on to her post as the head of the DMLE for all these years. All the factions in the Ministry knew Amelia Bones could be counted on to keep the bureaucratic wheel spinning unimpeded.

Therefore, he was not surprised to see the complete apathy and disinterest shown by the head of the DMLE in the fate of two aurors under her command.

"What happened to the aurors?" Fudge asked, his face going white as if he was about to faint.

"They are in the hospital wing recuperating from their injuries sustained from engaging in a magical duel with Mr Potter."

"Come now, Dumbledore. You are pulling our legs...aren't you?" Fudge asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid I'm not the one pulling anything. Madam Umbridge was the one who went ahead and played with the lion's tail." said Dumbledore steepling his fingers while looking at everyone in his office calmly as he allowed the silence that followed to continue.

"What happened here?" Fudge eventually asked, taking off his hat and wiping the sweat off his face. "What would make Delores take aurors without my knowledge to arrest Harry Potter of all people?"

"To learn that, you must know what was happening in this school for the last few weeks." said Dumbledore, bringing out his pensive, looking intently at the Minister.

"All right, Dumbledore. We'll do it your way." Fudge impatiently said, knowing he would not get a simple verbal answer.

Dumbledore was too happy to show them all the memories he had collected from the staff to show what was happening. He hoped, when they saw the damage Umbridge had down to the peaceful atmosphere of Hogwarts, the Ministry would stop their needless interference in Hogwarts affairs as it was distracting him from some of his other work to tackle Tom.

XXXXXX

"So, what else is Harry hiding? Is he going to come up with Ravenclaw's tiara the next time and force Dumbledore out of the headmaster's office?" asked Tracey.

"Tracey!" Daphne hissed at her friend, noting that many curious ears of her housemates were trained on their conversation.

"What?" Tracey raised an eyebrow challengingly. "It's a reasonable assumption."

"I agree." Astoria joined them on the couch, plopping herself against Daphne's side. "He has the gift of Parseltongue, a trait only seen with those who have Slytherin blood. He can also summon the Sword of Gryffindor, a supposedly lost artefact, and he knocked around those aurors like they were first-year Hogwarts students throwing around colour-changing charms."

"Very funny. Now, go bother someone else." Daphne huffed, pushing away her younger sister, who suddenly became clingy.

"Tell me, how did you do it?" Astoria asked lowly.

"Do what?" Daphne asked, frowning at her little sister.

"Seduce Harry Potter. What was it that made him fall for you?"

"Shut up. Go bother someone else." Daphne pushed her sister away.

Astoria complained loudly but finally left Daphne alone to gossip with her friends.

"You know, I almost thought Potter was going to cut off Umbridge's head with his sword." Barbara Collins commented, joining Daphne on the couch where Astoria used to sit.

Daphne eyed the Head Girl out of the corner of her eyes. "He is not an idiot to do something like that."

"Hmm. Tell me, has he said anything about his plans going forward?" asked Barbara.

Daphne eyed the raven-haired girl curiously.

"Why are you interested in what Harry might or might not do?" she asked, her eyes not straying from the pitch-black eyes of the older Slytherin girl.

"Because Potter is not the only one interested in seeing Umbridge kicked off the school. That woman's presence brings greater scrutiny to the school, which might affect our…activities." Barbara whispered.

Daphne's eyes gained a glint of understanding. She had forgotten about Barbara's interest in Harry because of his gift of Parseltongue and his ability to pull Old Magic in more significant quantities for the ritual of Red Dawn.

"Has Professor Babbling said anything about conducting the ritual this year?" Daphne whispered back, her eyes straying to some of her housemates, keeping an eye on their conversation.

"She wasn't till now because of Umbridge. But she thinks there is a good chance for Umbridge to get thrown out of Hogwarts if the houses come together as one in this issue."

"You know how difficult that will be." Daphne shook her head.

"You might be surprised how many Slytherins like Potter." said Barbara, looking over her head to stare at Daphne's year mates. "I'll reach out to the rest of our house to support Potter. Will you come with me?"

"Why do you want me?" Daphne asked, staring curiously at the older witch.

"If rumours are true, House Greengrass might be tied up closely with House Potter in the future. There is no doubt that Potter will grow more powerful in the future, and powerful wizards write histories with their might. It'd be a shame if the opportunity to become part of something greater would be lost because of something silly as house rivalry."

Daphne refused to react to the claim Barbara was insinuating. It was true that her father had certain intentions regarding Harry, but she was not going to make a verbal opinion on something that had yet to be agreed upon by both parties. That doesn't mean she would ignore an opportunity to help Harry. After all, she was the one to advise Harry to mobilise his housemates against Umbridge by bidding his time.

'Not that I expected Harry to be so successful in such a short time.' Daphne thought.

The more she thought about it, the more she was sure of herself to lend support to Harry. She had never openly taken a stand on anything related to Harry in her house, even when Harry had threatened everyone to stay out of her way last year. She supposed this would be the chance to clear that debt.

"All right, Barbara. Let's do this."

XXXXXX

"Dolores. Dolores. Open your eyes, Dolores."

She heard her name being called by a familiar voice.

'Is that Cornelius?' Dolores wondered.

Her name was called again and again. Eventually, she managed to conjure up enough concentration to follow the voice and slowly open her eyes. Bright light streamed into her eyes, making it difficult for her to see, but she held on to the feeling of waking up until she finally managed to pull through. When her vision cleared, she found Minister Fudge staring down at her.

"M…Minister? Where am I?" Dolores asked, trying to blink away the black spots in her eyes.

"You are in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Tell me, Dolores, what happened?"

"Wha…?" she was stunned for a moment, and then she remembered. "Cornelius! The Potter boy! He must be stopped."

Her sound climbed to a higher notch as fear and hate bled into her words.

"He is a dark wizard. Cornelius. Potter is starting a rebellion against the Ministry, and Potter attacked me because I found what he was doing and tried to put a stop to it. You have to arrest Potter and his fellow rebels Minister."

"I see." Minister Fudge said lowly. "Why didn't you inform me of any of this? Why did you ban the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Why did you take Dawlish and Emerson without informing me or Amelia?"

"It doesn't matter, Cornelius. I've caught Potter in the act. You now have proof that Potter is practising Dark Magic. You must expel and sentence him to Azkaban for a few years." Dolores shouted, kicking up her arms and legs in a violent fashion.

"I see. Calm down, Dolores. You take your rest now. Leave everything to me."

On that assurance, she calmed down. She even accepted the potion Madam Pomfrey poured down her throat. Once again, she saw black spots clouding her vision. She had no choice but to succumb to the lull of sleep, dissolving herself into nothingness.

XXXXXXX

"What do we do, Amelia? The Ministry cannot be embroiled in another scandal." Fudge murmured in frustration as he walked the length of a classroom back and forth, twisting and turning his bowl hat in his hand.

"It was by the skin of my teeth that I managed to force the Board of Governors and the vultures in the Ministry not to pounce on Dolores when she tortured that poor boy."

"I warned you, Madam Umbridge, would only make matters worse. She's a vindictive person and therefore not flexible when it comes to handling children." Amelia said neutrally.

"Yes, you did, Amelia. I should've listened to you then. But I made her swear to me to focus on Dumbledore instead of going after Hogwarts students." Fudge growled and stomped his foot. "She promised nothing of that sort would come from her side again. Instead of focusing on Dumbledore, she jumped right back into antagonising Potter."

"And then she has the audacity to put all the blame on Potter! She lied straight to my face even after everything she did."

Amelia barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes at Fudge's huffing and puffing. She eyed the Minister of Magic, fussing over what was to happen, fearing one teenage boy. She could not help but enjoy watching the Ministry and its bureaucratic wheel bowing down like a puppy before Potter. In all these years in her capacity as the head of the DMLE, she had only seen the likes of Lucius Malfoy and his band of sycophants getting away with subverting the law that was supposed to deliver restitution and justice to the victims of the war. So, it was quite refreshing to see that same law get subverted by a teenager in pursuit of justice for an aggrieved housemate. It was a nice sentiment.

'But such sentiments could not be allowed to take root.' Amelia thought.

There was a plan afoot, and she had a duty to see the plan through to the end.

"Cornelius, you have withstood greater odds and accusations in your long tenure as Minister. If you submit wholeheartedly here, you'll signal to all your enemies that you are weak. What you need, Cornelius is time."

"Time! Yes, I need time, and these problems will go away." Fudge muttered anxiously.

"You know how to delay any significant action against Dolores until you gain something to oust Dumbledore from his post. Declare a detailed investigation to satisfy the children and the Hogwarts staff. We'll ensure a long and thorough investigation that'll take enough time to investigate every facet of Madam Umbridge's actions in Hogwarts."

"But that won't be enough, Amelia. Several students from all four houses have given written requests to have Dolores removed from Hogwarts."

"We can remove all powers from Madam Umbridge's post. After all, she doesn't need much power to keep watch over Dumbledore's actions." Amelia suggested.

She could see a glint of understanding in the Minister's eyes as the man caught on to what she suggested.

"Of course! Thank you, Amelia."

Amelia could only grin internally as she later watched Fudge jump through hoops to appease every stakeholder in the final settlement between the Ministry and the Board of Governors, Hogwarts staff, and Hogwarts students. She enjoyed watching the man bow, scrape, and lick the feet of everyone to buy time at the expense of promising some punitive action against Umbridge. All the while, her eyes focused on the burning fire she could see in Potter's green eyes.

'I've seen far greater fire than yours, boy. You hold no candle to that fire. At least, not yet.' she thought, eyeing the son of her old acquaintance, Lily Potter.