Of Men and Mice

(AN: just to let you the reader know, Dantes and Harry are the same person. Harry just used a time turner to go back and sit the hearing as Dantes as well. It is important that the wizarding world think they are 2 separate people.)

Of Men and Mice

Umbridge's testimony had taken about two hours. It would've gone quicker if the toad hadn't felt the need to choose her words with such care forcing Delacour to repeat or rephrase every question until he got the whole truth out of her. The woman was trying to avoid admitting to any more crimes than she already had. Harry personally considered it a wasted effort, given she probably wasn't going to see the outside of Azkaban while she was still alive. Given that fact what were a few more years added on to her sentence?

The High Council decided to call for a lunch break after Umbridge was escorted from the witness chair. As soon as they did the configuration of the room changed. Along one wall a table with all kinds of different food appeared and as soon as the members of the court headed toward it, to serve themselves, the chairs were replaced by table and chair sets of varying sizes around the room.

Harry chose one of the two seater tables against the far wall as did Dantes, though not the same table.

For the most part Dumbledore left Harry alone during lunch however Dantes was another matter. Having recognized the House badge on Dantes' robes as that of Ravenclaw; Dumbledore felt he needed to speak with him. If he could get the current Head of the House Ravenclaw on his side, Hogwarts would be a lot easier to run. Knowing how difficult it was to find a copy of the charter that had ceded control of Hogwarts to the people of Magical Britain, Dumbledore doubted that new Lord Ravenclaw had read it. It had taken Dumbledore months to locate the copy that was kept at Hogwarts and he had started looking for it when Fudge had tried to take over his school. The Headmaster was determined prevent the Ministry from ever gaining control of Hogwarts again and with Dantes' help as one of the Founder's heirs, the Ministry's influence would be all but eliminated.

"Lord Ravenclaw," Dumbledore stood on the other side of the table and gestured to the empty seat. "May I join you?"

"No." Dantes said not looking up from the document he was reading.

"I would like to discuss a business matter with you." Dumbledore tried again.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?" Dantes asked looking up. "I would like to enjoy my meal in peace, but you are interrupting it, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"I do apologise," Dumbledore told him. "I will leave you in peace then, but I would like to ask if you would care to meet with me sometime in the next few weeks. I do have a very important matter I would like to discuss with you."

"If it will get you to go away, I will think about it!" The brown haired man growled.

Dumbledore nodded graciously and made a mental note to send Dantes an owl in a few days to remind him.

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Ginny had finally been able to convince her mother to put her down and now she was going to go find Harry. She wanted to have lunch with him. With everyone still seated having lunch it was a lot easier to move around without the risk of being kicked or stepped on. She was determined to find Harry. She was going to have lunch with her boyfriend!

Her nose led Ginny to two tables on the far side of the room and both of them had a chair with Harry's scent on it. She stared back and forth between then for several minutes before her nose picked up a familiar scent: Headmaster Dumbledore's! The Headmaster must've been trying to talk Harry into changing her back, as he had done so earlier when her mother had demanded the court to intervene. He would after all have no reason to want to talk to that Dantes person who smelled enough like Harry to fool her for a little while.

Hopping up into Harry's empty chair, Ginny stared at the food on the plate. It looked like rice and meat in some kind of bitter smelling sauce. While the partially eaten meal looked appetising, the sharp bitter smell made Ginny's currently sensitive nose burn. Why would Harry want to eat something that smelled so bad?

Figuring that if Harry liked it and he must given that half of it was gone, Ginny decided to ignore the messages her nose was sending her and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls. She knew that even though Harry was mad at her right now because of what she'd done to that meddling bitch Luna, he wouldn't mind sharing with her. After all he had often shared his treats off the train trolley with her before so this was no different.

Ginny had just taken another mouthful when a pair of unfamiliar hands plucked her off Harry's chair and a voice she recognized as belonging to that Dantes fellow who smelled a lot like Harry, shouted. "What do you think you are doing?"

Ginny's stomach didn't react well to the sudden movement. Just before the contents started coming back up the way they had gone down, she felt like a seeker who had executed a Wronski Feint from too high up. A moment later her body started ripple and heave as she opened her mouth and gave out a couple of hacking doggie coughs followed by a deep long aggggghhh. The next moment the partially digested meal was adorning Dantes robes and sliding down them to the floor in a drippy gooey mass.

The smell of the regurgitated curry was almost enough to make Dantes want to vomit. Hearing a sound like there was going to be more heaving, Dantes quickly held the dog-girl at arms length only to catch sight of a lime green robe hurrying toward the rest room. Dantes quickly buried the feeling of satisfaction he felt at Fudge's reaction to the vomit and vented his anger at the girl's stupidity. "Are you that stupid?! Do you not know there are some foods a dog is not meant to eat? Did it not cross your tiny little mind that Curry just like chocolate is not meant to be eaten by dogs."

"Vernon's sister Marge, if she didn't kill her first, would've had a bitch that stupid fixed, if she'd seen her do something like that." Harry commented as he came over to stand by Dantes. "She definitely wouldn't have allowed a bitch that stupid to breed."

Molly Weasley stormed over and pulled Ginny out of Dantes' hands. Glaring at Potter as though she wished he were dead. "My daughter is not stupid!"

"Well she definitely doesn't use her brains, madam." Dantes couldn't resist commenting. "After all her nose should've told her that curry is not meant for a dog. Not to mention the fact that she shouldn't have been trying to steal other people's food. If she were really a dog I might've expected that kind of behaviour, but given she is a human turned into a dog, she should know that taking something without permission is wrong. Or didn't you teach your children right from wrong?"

He gazed speculatively at her. "I'm beginning to wonder if your Great Aunt Muriel was the only rotten apple in the Prewitt tree."

Molly Weasley's mouth opened and closed several times, before she spat out. "How dare you impugn my family's honour? You will pay for that Dantes. If it is the last thing I do you will pay for your comments."

Dantes simply yawned in her face before turning his back on her.

"I challenge you to a Wizard's Duel?" Molly Weasley ground out from between clenched teeth.

Dantes turned to look at her in disbelief. "A Wizard's Duel? Are you serious?"

The room had gone silent at Molly's challenge.

"Yes," Molly refused to back down. "You have insulted my family and my honour for the last time."

"Very well madam," Dantes agreed lazily. "Lord Potter, will you act as my second?"

"Certainly." Harry agreed.

"Who will be your second, madam?" Dantes asked.

"My husband will be?" Molly told them.

"And when would you like to do this, madam?"

"Now." Molly told him.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Mrs. Weasley." Lord Altren spoke up. "The wards on this chamber once they are raised prevent any kinds of offensive magics from being done."

"We will have this duel a week from the day the hearing ends, at 10 am." Dantes told her "and it will be a paintball duel. I think the best place for it would be at Hogwarts in the Great Hall since my Second will be back there. Will that be acceptable, madam?"

"Paintball?" Molly stared at him in confusion.

"We hit dodge and fire colour splatter hexes at each other." Dantes explained. "The loser is the one covered in the most paint or colour."

"I'm talking about a proper wizard's duel," Molly countered angrily. "That is not a game."

"Are you really that anxious to die, madam?" Dantes countered seriously. "I am a master dueller. I have fought multiple Death Eaters before and come out alive while they wound up dead or in prison. You would not defeat me in a regular wizard's duel. When I fight, I fight to win and you madam would either wind up seriously injured or dead if we fought a normal duel."

Molly stared at him and could tell he was deadly serious.

When she remained silent Dantes asked, "Are my terms now acceptable, or do you really wish to leave your children without a mother? All of my previous duels with the exception of the ones I fought in school have been to the death, and that is how I will approach this one and I won't need Unforgivables either."

Arthur stepped up before Molly could say anything further and told him, "They are."

"Now that the floor show is over, can we get back to the reason we are here?" Lord Perrivor requested. "It is time for the Defender to present her case."

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Fudge ran his fingers nervously along the collar of his lime green robes as he walked slowly toward the witness chair.

Harry had to fight to keep himself from laughing. The fool was giving the appearance of a condemned man walking the last mile in one of those old non-magical movies he'd watched over the summer. "Let's not take all day about this, Fudgie. And stop trying to milk the crowd for sympathy. I think the only one in this room who might give a damn about whether you feel like you are the injured party here is Umbitch and that's only because she sees you as her way out of Azkaban. The rest of us all know how you deliberately endangered us."

Fudge glared at Potter, unwilling to say anything that would put the Councillors more firmly against him. He'd been playing the political game long enough to know when to tread very carefully. He was fairly certain the Councillors would side with one of their own over him even though a couple of them also sat on the Wizengamot a panel he had largely controlled for the last few years.

Once he was seated, Bones got to her feet and asked her first question. "Minister Fudge, did you take monies from known Deatheaters and then appoint them to positions of power within the Ministry of Magic?"

"Of course not!" Fudge declared indignantly. "I never would've taken money from known Deatheaters."

"What about those who were accused but not convicted of being Deatheaters, during the Dark Lord's first Reign of Terror that was ended by Mr Potter in 1980?" Delacour inquired.

Fudge looked slightly worried for a moment before saying, "I only took contributions to some of my favourite charities from those who had been cleared of being Deatheaters."

"And what charities did they contribute the monies to at your request?" Perrivor wanted to know.

"The Improve Wizard and Muggle Relations Trust." Fudge told them. "It was created by a group of concerned witches and wizards after they thought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone for good, to try and help those muggles who were hurt by Deatheaters and those in the magical community who were also harmed by them. I thought it a suitable charity to direct them to, since they had inadvertently done a great deal of harm while under the Imperious curse and this was a way for them to make amends."

"Odd," Lord Altren commented. "I have never heard of this charitable trust before. I gave to a number of the charities that were helping both the magical and muggle worlds rebuild after the Dark Lord's supposed demise. Just who ran the charity?"

"I have no idea." Fudge mumbled. "The contributions and finances were handled by the goblins at Gringotts and you know how they honour their obligations."

Lord Altren looked over at the Defender. "Madame Bones, once this hearing is over, would you please arrange to have someone investigate this trust?"

"Certainly, my Lord," Bones agreed, noting the sudden pallor on Fudge's face. She turned her attention back to the charges. "Minister Fudge, did you appoint these cleared Deatheaters to positions of power or influence in the Ministry?"

"Not directly, I made recommendations to Department Heads that they might be good for this job or that one. And they were." Fudge added in his own defence as he played with the collar of his robe again.

"Do we have any copies of the letters of recommendation that Fudge gave to the relevant Department heads?" Lord Kieran wanted to know.

Delacour's assistant checked the pile of scrolls in front of them and then shook his head.

After a moment's consultation with the other members of the High Council, Lord Kieran announced, "We will let the claim of indirect influence stand, though it would be a given that if the Minister made a recommendation to the Head of a Department and that Department Head wanted to keep their job they would have hired that Deatheater, no matter whether they were competent at their job or not. Though Madame Bones, if any of those former Deatheaters were placed in your Department based on the Minister's recommendation, prior to you taking over, we would like to see a copy of the letter the previous department head was sent."

"Of course my lords," Bones nodded. She would be going through her department with a fine-toothed comb to see if any Deatheater or someone they had recommended had gotten a job in her Department and if so they were going to be put to the question even if they had no Dark Mark. "Minister Fudge, Let us move on for now to the day Rubeus Hagrid was arrested for supposedly opening the Chamber of Secrets, a task we all now know he could not have accomplished since it requires a parselmouth to open it. Why, Minister, did you feel it necessary to go to Hogwarts yourself and arrest Hagrid?"

"I decided that we in the Ministry needed to get a handle on this situation before it got out of control." Fudge told them. "I knew it wouldn't be too much longer before someone remembered that Hagrid had been thought to be the culprit the first time and I thought they might attack him. I simply took him into protective custody."

Fudge sat straighter in the chair trying to look brave and dignified, but Harry personally thought he looked like that arrogant rooster Dudley used to watch in that American cartoon show. What was he called…? Harry thought for a moment, trying to remember the name because at the time, he'd thought the rooster reminded him a lot of Uncle Vernon. Then it came to him…. Foghorn Leghorn. Now that he thought about it that Rooster was a perfect match for Fudge or any other politician on the face of the planet… whether magical or muggle.

"I discussed the issue with one of my top advisors," Fudge continued. "And they agreed it was best to place Hagrid in protective custody, that way if he was guilty we had him where he couldn't do any harm and if he wasn't, then he would be safe from those who might wish to do him harm."

"*cough* Malfoy *cough* *cough*" Harry muttered from his seat in the row behind Delacour's table.

"Lord Potter, please let the man testify on his own without any comments from the gallery." Lord Perrivor requested though Harry thought there was a slight grin on his face.

"Minister Fudge, you do realise just how stupid that sounds don't you?" Delacour pointed out. "You took a man who had little more than a third year magical education and hadn't been convicted of any crime from Hogwarts one of the safest locations in Wizarding Britain and you put him in Azkaban. Even if they weren't in the section of the prison where he was to be confined, how was Hagrid protected from the Dementors, given their effect can be felt throughout the whole prison even the levels where minor prisoners are kept? He could have just as easily have been placed in protective custody in one of the unused towers of Hogwarts or in one of it's dungeon chambers. Or if you didn't want to leave him at Hogwarts, why didn't you place him in a Ministry holding cell? And if you really thought he might be a danger why didn't you take any Aurors with you, in case he tried to make a break for it?"

"I didn't need Aurors," Fudge said pompously. "Dumbledore had accompanied me and given that he took out Grindelwald, I felt he should be able to handle Hagrid if he got out of control. As for why Azkaban, my advisor suggested it so that we could show the public we were doing something about the situation at Hogwarts."

"And who was this foolish advisor that suggested you should imprison an innocent man in hell without a trial?" Lord Longrim wanted to know.

Fudge muttered something too low for them to hear.

"Speak up Fudge." Longrim ordered. "You always manage to talk loud enough when you have nothing to say."

Fudge finally said, "Lucius Malfoy was the one who suggested it. He said it would make people feel safer about their children remaining at Hogwarts."

Dantes gave him a disgusted look. "And you can honestly sit there and say that it didn't cross your tiny little mind that you were about to do something illegal? Nor did it apparently occur to you that you didn't have the authority to arrest and send someone to Azkaban. Not to mention that it was an abuse of the powers of the office of the Minister to place someone there who hadn't been found guilty of any crime."

Fudge looked at Dantes with a dumbfounded look. "Of course I can. I'm the Minister, and if I think someone is guilty of a crime, I can have them arrested or even do it myself."

"But he wasn't guilty was he?" Delacour put in. "You had an innocent man arrested and sent to Azkaban without trial. You may have put a polite face on it by calling it protective custody, but we all know what it really was."

"The Ministry had to be seen to be doing something." Fudge burst out tired of the accusations. "There was a lot of public pressure to get the situation resolved. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement wasn't moving fast enough and so I took steps to get them more time and reassure the public. That is part of my job."

Lord Longrim commented dryly. "I would like to see where in the job description for Minister of Magic it says when the public starts demanding action on a situation the Minister must find a convenient scapegoat, even if they aren't guilty of any crime so the public can feel better about the government."

"It isn't in the job description," Fudge countered stiffly. "It is one of those things you learn on the job. Do whatever it takes to keep the public calm and under control. Whether it is listening to some old pure bloods waffle on about how the muggleborns are ruining our society and how they were kept under better control when they were younger, or listening to the complaints of a Muggleborn about how they aren't treated fairly in wizard society. The situation at Hogwarts was getting out of hand and Dumbledore didn't seem to be able to do something about it, so the Ministry had to give the appearance of having done something."

"By arresting an innocent man." Lord Kieran reminded him yet again. "I have a feeling you wouldn't be quite so cavalier about it if it had been you or a member of your family treated that way by the Minister of Magic."

The High Council conferred for a few moments, and Dantes announced. "It is agreed that Minister Fudge did intentionally or not abuse the power of his office, by exercising authority he did not have to arrest Rubeus Hagrid and confine him to the prison of Azkaban, given he hadn't even been accused of a crime. Compensation will be paid to Mr. Hagrid, from Cornelius Fudge's personal accounts for the harm done to him, said amount to be determined by this court at the end of the hearing. Please move on to the next charge Madame Bones."

Bones wasn't really sure how to phrase a question about this charge that wouldn't make Fudge look guilty. "When you were told by both Mr. Harry Potter and Miss Hermione Granger that you had the wrong man and that Sirius Black wasn't guilty of the crimes he'd been imprisoned for, why didn't you delay ordering the Dementor's Kiss and instead order a new trial?"

Fudge was silent for several minutes not wanting to sound like a fool again. "There was no reason to. Severus Snape, a man Dumbledore trusted, was an eyewitness to the events. Snape's testimony, that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger had been threatened by Black and the way the pair acted once they had regained consciousness, made it quite clear that he had managed to place them under a confundus charm to make them believe he was innocent. The man was guilty. He'd had a trial twelve years ago. Crouch was the one who saw to that. After all he presided over almost all of the prominent Deatheater trials, including his own son's. I saw no need to waste Ministry funds on a new trial when he had done such a thorough job the first time around."

"You were aware were you not that Snape and Black hated each other while in school almost to a level to rival Snape and Potter's hatred of each other. Why would you take his word, since he would've loved to remove the man from his life for good?" Bones wanted to know.

"Given that Dumbledore has spoken so highly of Snape over the years and about what an honourable man he was, I saw no reason to think he would lie, given a man's life was at stake." Fudge told her.

"Did Snape tell you he was unconscious or not present for most of the events that occurred in the Shrieking Shack that night?" Delacour inquired. "For that matter, since you apparently didn't wish to listen to the children who had been present, why didn't you at least delay the Kiss until you could speak to the only other adult who had been present… the Defence teacher Remus Lupin?"

"That werewolf!" Fudge couldn't believe the man. "We have never accepted the testimony of Dark Creatures in a trial involving someone who uses Dark magic. It is well known that they will side with the Dark Magic user."

Delacour looked at the ceiling for a moment. "And some wonder why Magical Britain seems to produce the most Dark Lords. Fudge, prior to his destruction by Lord Potter, how many so called Dark creatures had joined the Deatheaters?"

Thinking he wanted a listing, Fudge told him, "The giants did. So did the Vampires. As well as the werewolves led by Fenir Greyback."

"Did every member of those races you listed join the Dark Lord, or was it only those who were tired of being treated like they were little more than animals in the eyes of wizards and witches?" Delacour wanted to know.

"How should I know?" Fudge didn't understand what he was getting at. "I don't know each individual werewolf or vampire. I would assume so, since it is a well known fact that dark creatures tend to gravitate to those who practise Dark magic."

"Not all werewolves joined Greyback at the Dark Lord's side." Delacour countered. "Lupin never did. He spent his life trying to serve the Light and wizardkind, but you in magical Britain wouldn't let him. Dumbledore also trusted him. You claimed that you accepted Snape's testimony as fact even though he was not conscious through all the events that happened simply because Dumbledore spoke so highly of him. Why wouldn't you extend Lupin the same courtesy? He had done the same many times for Lupin, why didn't you give him the same courtesy and at least delay giving Black the Kiss until you could speak with him, or since there was some question about his guilt, why didn't you interrogate him at Hogwarts. There was a Potions master on staff who was licensed by the Ministry to produce Veritaserum for the Ministry. It would have delayed things maybe thirty minutes, but you would've known for sure you were indeed executing a guilty man."

"And let's not forget, we still do not know how Black escaped." Dantes spoke up. "I would have thought the Ministry even then would've wanted to know how he'd done it. Or weren't you curious enough to delay a man's death long enough to find that out, so that you could prevent it from happening again? Not to mention the fact that Black at least according to reports I have heard, was in fact sane even after over ten years in Azkaban's Maximum Security wing and that is definitely not supposed to be possible. I would've thought you would've been curious about that as well so you could deal with it."

"The decree to have Black kissed was issued by the Wizengamot and there were no extenuating circumstances provided to delay it. He was to be Kissed as soon as a Dementor could be brought to him." Fudge countered. "I was not about to go against a legal decree."

Harry muttered, but not loud enough for anyone but Delacour to hear him. "Why not? You've done it before when it suited your purposes."

There was a longer discussion this time and from the gestures coming from the High Councillors behind the silencing ward, it was also getting quite heated.

Finally Dantes spoke again. "The opinion on this charge is divided. While we all agree that there should've been a delay in carrying out the Wizengamot's decree, some feel that as Minister you could not delay it. A stay should have been ordered by Albus Dumbledore as soon as there was some doubt about Black's guilt, given he is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Or if there had been more members of the Wizengamot present that night than just the two of you a vote could have been taken on whether or not to delay it, long enough to question Black under Veritaserum and learn the truth once and for all. You are declared innocent on that charge, solely because it was a decree from the Wizengamot."

After a moment's pause, Dantes added, "We have also decided that since the Chief Warlock does have the authority to delay the carrying out a sentence if there is a claim of new evidence, even without other members of the Wizengamot being present, he should have exercised that authority. Especially given that Dumbledore stated in his testimony before this High Court that he did believe there was enough reason to delay the Kiss. It is out judegement that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has failed in his duties as Chief Warlock by not ordering the immediate stay of execution for Sirius Orion Black and shall be removed from the Wizengamot permanently since it appears that he can not properly carry out those duties along with his duties as Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump of the IWC."

There was a loud "Yes!" and as everyone looked in the direction of the voice they recognized as Potter's they saw him pumping his first in the air as if in triumph. "One for you Sirius!"

"Lord Potter, a little decorum please." Lord Altren requested, just barely smothering the smile that was trying to make it's way on to his face.

Harry looked over at Dumbledore and the expression on his face made Harry wish he had a camera. Dumbledore looked like he'd been told that Moldyshorts was his love child and that he owed some witch decades of back child support. Or maybe that he'd just been told there were no more lemon drops in the world. A quick glance at Fudge showed that he was pleased by their decision. Probably, Harry reflected, because someone was finally sticking it to Dumbledork and Dumbles wasn't able to do a damn thing to stop it.

"My Lords surely there is no reason to go to this extreme." Dumbledore spoke up a few minutes later. "I have served the Wizarding world faithfully for many years. I will grant you there are a few decisions I could have made differently, but over all, I have done nothing but good for the wizarding world."

"Really," Dantes drawled. "It is the considered opinion of the High Council that you Albus Dumbledore took the easy way out instead of doing the right thing in the matter of Sirius Black. As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the final authority rests with you on whether or not an execution is stayed for any reason. You claim that you didn't do so, because you didn't want to cause a split within the Ministry, but you knew there were questions about Black's guilt and yet you failed to do the right thing. What would've happened if Black hadn't managed to escape? He would no be without his soul because you didn't want to …what is the American expression?" Dantes looked thoughtful for a moment, "Oh yes, you didn't want to make waves. That is not the kind of person who should be Chief Warlock. It should be someone who is capable of making the hard decisions and doing the right thing even if it makes waves."

Lord Perrivor felt compelled to speak up, "And Albus, don't even think of trying to get the members of the Wizengamot to try and overturn this ruling. The High Council's rulings supersede their's If you try and take a seat on the Wizengamot, you will be forcibly ejected from the Ministry by the spells on the chambers where the Wizengamot meet."

"Hey," Ron blurted out suddenly remembering, "Fudge didn't have orders to have Barty Crouch Jr Kissed. I mean no one on the Wizemgamot gave orders for his death given they thought he was dead, so Fudge wasn't acting on their orders then. You surely aren't going to wave the charge on that are you?"

The council members looked startled at being reminded abut Fudge's having had the Deatheater Crouch Kissed and Fudge just glared daggers at the youngest Weasley son. They hadn't added it to the list of charges facing him when Potter had brought it up before and he was hoping they had forgotten about it.

"We will take a brief break while we review the previous testimony." Lord Keiran announced.

Ron couldn't help the smug smile that appeared on his face after all it was he who reminded these high and mighty Lords that Fudge has still had someone Kissed by a Dementor without sanction. Ron got the additional pleasure from knowing that an additional charge regarding using a Dementor to silence someone could be added to the already massive list of charges against the Minister. Ron really didn't care one way or another that Crouch had been kissed he was a Deatheater after all, but he disliked Fudge and had since the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts, when the man had refused to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back.

A quick summoning spell pulled one stack of parchment that the testimony had been written on to the High Councillors table. It took a few minutes to find the relevant section of Harry's testimony.

Lord Kieran glared at Fudge. "Did you really bring a Dementor into Hogwarts without the sanction of the Headmaster of the school?"

"It was my right to bring protection into a dangerous situation." Fudge blustered. "I had just been told a dangerous Deatheater had been captured on the school grounds and so I summoned a Dementor to accompany me and protect me, just in case."

"You didn't trust the Staff of Hogwarts to keep you safe?" Lord Longrim asked the next question. "I mean earlier you testified that you took no Aurors with you to arrest Mr. Hagrid, because you had Dumbledore with you, and you felt then he was protection enough. What changed your mind about Dumbledore being enough protection?"

"Of course not!" Fudge seemed indignant. "They'd just captured a Deatheater within the very walls of the school. I wasn't about to trust my safety to them. As for Dumbledore, the Deatheater had been impersonating a close friend of his for over nine months and he hadn't caught on. It was clear that his abilities to protect the Wizarding world were beginning to be highly overrated."

"Then why didn't you summon a pair of Aurors? That would have been a far more appropriate choice." Lord Altren wanted to know.

"Why would I expect them to be able to defend me from a Deatheater that managed to get past Dumbledore?" Fudge countered scathingly.

"You expected them to be able to defend you later on, once you finally admitted the Dark Lord was back." Perrivor reminded him. "I for one would like to know why you would bring a Dementor as a bodyguard to Hogwarts when you were simply there to judge the last task of the Triwizard Tournament?"

"I didn't," Fudge countered. "I summoned it once I was told about the Deatheater currently being held prisoner in the castle by Snape."

"Even though you knew that Dumbledore would not approve of such a creature setting foot over the threshold of Hogwarts without a valid reason." Lord Altren couldn't believe the stupidity of the man to actually bring a Dementor into a school full of children.

"It was my right to have protection with me when questioning a dangerous prisoner." Fudge gave them the same reasoning he'd given in the Hospital Wing the night of Crouch's death and Voldemort's resurrection.

"And did you order the Dementor to Kiss Barty Crouch Jr before he could be questioned?" Dantes asked.

"No!" Fudge was aghast that they would think so. He had always followed the law, except when it came to Potter.

"What do you mean no?" Potter spoke up from where he was seated.

"I didn't order the Dementor to Kiss Crouch." Fudge protested, not realizing that the person who'd asked the question didn't have a right to expect an answer.

"Lord Potter," Dantes spoke up after a whispered conversation with Lord Perrivor. "You are here as a witness today not a member of the Council. Please do not interrupt the proceedings again or we will have to silence you."

"Now Fudge, you say you didn't order the Dementor to Kiss Barty Crouch that means it was a rogue? Did you bother to report it to the department that is supposed to deal with dangerous magical creatures so it could be destroyed?" Perrivor inquired. "That is the law you know."

Fudge paled when he realised he had forgotten to order the Dementor he had taken into Hogwarts destroyed. "No my lord I did not. In all the confusion afterwards I forgot to do so and simply sent it back to Azkaban."

"Am I to understand that you, the Minister of Magic, failed to report a rogue Dementor and also failed to order its destruction?" Longrim wanted to make sure he had his facts straight. "Thereby endangering the lives of the prison guards and others who routinely visit the facility because they had no way of knowing the Dementor was a rogue."

"Yes sir," Fudge hung his head trying to look pitiful over his failure.

"My Lords," Bones spoke up. "You have to take into account that Minister Fudge hasn't had to face death day in and day out, like an Auror does. He was probably in a state of shock at the Dementor's actions when he failed to report it."

"He got over the shock fairly quickly." Dantes commented dryly. "Given that a short time later he was able to claim the death of the younger Mr. Crouch as 'no great loss' according to the testimony we have here from Lord Potter."

"It is still possible that he was in shock." Bones continued with the only argument she had to get this charge negated before it could be added to the growing list.

"Professor Snape," Dantes spoke to the former Potions professor seated against the wall between a pair of Aurors.

Snape rose to his feet and spoke in a low voice that carried. "Yes my Lord."

"You were with Minister Fudge the whole time from when you told him about Mr Crouch to when he left the Hospital Wing were you not?" Dantes decided to settle this once and for all.

"I was." Snape agreed.

"And while not a fully licensed medi-wizard, you have enough medical knowledge to recognize the symptoms of shock do you not?"

"In about nine out of ten cases, yes," Snape told him. "Sometimes the symptoms can be missed, if the shock is a subtle one."

"And in your opinion would someone seeing a Dementor use its most lethal weapon be considered a subtle or sudden shock?" Dantes inquired.

After a few moments of silence Snape finally answered. "If they had never seen it happen before, then it would be a sudden shock. And if you are going to ask if Fudge exhibited any symptoms of sudden shock, then I must answer unequivocally no he did not."

The silencing ward went up again and there was an even longer conference between the Councillors than there had been over the issue of Sirius Black.

Finally the ward went down and Dantes gave them the decision of the High Council on this charge. "While we will not be adding a charge of murder by Dementor to the list against Cornelius Fudge, we do herby find him guilty of the crime of failing the report the rogue Dementor to the proper authorities so that it could be put down. We also add the charge of endangering the warders of Azkaban Prison, because he failed to report the action to them as well, so they could take steps to isolate the rogue from the rest of the population within the prison walls. We are also adding a charge of deliberately endangering the lives of the children attending Hogwarts."

"I didn't endanger the children at Hogwarts!" Fudge protested.

"Oh really," Lord Kieran countered. "What do you think that Dementor would have done if it hadn't been satisfied with the soul of Barty Crouch? It would have killed you and Snape and then because the Headmaster didn't know it was within the walls so he could ward off the dormitories, it would have had a free run at the pride of the next generation."

"You admitted brining it in… without letting Dumbledore know it was coming." Perrivor reminded him. "If that rogue had killed single child you would have been held accountable; legally, morally, and financially and if you had been Kissed then your heir would have been made accountable for your actions. While that did not happen, thank Merlin, the situation should not have occurred in the first place. That Dementor should not have been brought within the walls of Hogwarts without the Headmaster's knowledge and consent."

Fudge gulped at the thought of the Dementor actually Kissing him as well. It was quite clear to those watching that the thought of that happening had never occurred to the man. Personally, Harry couldn't see why the idiot was so worried about a Dementor Kissing him. He doubted there would be any real change in the man given Fudge had no soul to lose.

Harry shuddered slightly at the thought of Fudge having kids. The image of Fudge as a proud father was only slightly more appealing image than the thought of Umbridge as a mother. Now there was an image that should be the stuff of nightmares. Umbridge as a cooing mother!

"The judgement stands," Dantes told him. "Let's move on to the next charge shall we; the failure of your office Fudge to notify all participants of the change in time for the trial you had ordered for a simple under-aged magic charge. Since you were listed as the lead interrogator that responsibility rested solely with your office Fudge. As well as the secondary charge that goes along with it of abusing the power of your office to have it held before the full Wizengamot, instead of a simple three member panel from the Department of Magical Education, which is the normal procedure in such a case."

(AN: Decided this was good place to end this chapter due to the file size limitations on some of the sites where I post this story. I've found that in that case to make sure things don't get cut off, about 80-90k about the safest size to up load and while this one not that big, if I had cut it off at the point where I realized the chapter was going to exceed that limit, believe me you would've hated me more. There will be a 3rd part to Fudge's trial. Who knew Fudge bashing could take so long or be so much fun. LOL)