Turning back to face his mum, he was just about to ask another question when the doors leading to the Wizengamot chamber closed noisily and a blue energy barrier came from the grand wooden doors, sealing the room as the Chief Warlock stood up from his chair and called the chamber to silence.
...
"Please all be seated, the trial of Lord Malfoy will begin in a few moments," Hogwarts' former headmaster announced in a magically augmented voice, the large chamber falling silent and the last few people taking their seats. The aged wizard scanned the room, clearly making sure that everyone was seated before checking that all the required ministry officials were at their proper posts, as both the defence and prosecutor teams signalled that they were ready to begin the trial, before he turned to the Minister and Madam Bones who also nodded that they were ready to begin.
"The trial of Lord Malfoy shall now begin," Dumbledore declared, banging his gavel to emphasize the point. "Representing and conducting Lord Malfoy's legal defence on his behalf is his wife, Lady Narcissa Malfoy. Lord Malfoy has been declared medically unfit to represent himself due to permanent memory damage suffered from overexposure to a self-inflicted grade 1 memory charm whilst attempting to resist arrest by a team of aurors. It should be noted for the official record that Lady Malfoy is the closest family member capable of representing the accused, due to the fact that the direct male blood heir of the accused is not yet of age." His mother elegantly rose from her seat, the eyes of everyone in the chamber falling upon her.
"Lady Malfoy, do you hereby accept the legal responsibility for your incapacitated husband," he asked in a firm tone, showing no visible emotion.
"Yes, I do, Chief Warlock," his mother replied in a calm and level tone, showing no sign of nerves even as his own stomach did cartwheels, despite the fact that he had no active part to play in the trial. "I would also like to voice, for the record, that my husband's accused deeds were without my knowledge, and hereby voice my own innocence and that of my son's. And furthermore, that when I was questioned by the investigating aurors, that I was cleared of all charges and complicity in any of the charges." The Chief Warlock looked over to Madam Bones who shared a few quiet words before the Chief Warlock nodded in acquiescence.
"It shall be noted for the record that when questioned by the Ministry Aurors, Lady Malfoy, under truth serum, proved that she knew nothing of her husband's accused crimes," the Chief Warlock voiced aloud to the chamber. Madam Bones stood up and also confirmed the statement was correct for the record. "Lady Malfoy, would you please confirm that you have appointed Mr. Eddings and his legal assistant, Mr. Potsworth, as your husband's legal defence team, to represent your husband on your behalf."
"Yes, I do, Chief Warlock, as I do not have the requisite legal knowledge, nor do I have the understanding to properly and competently represent my husband in this legal proceeding. I trust Mr. Eddings and his legal team will represent my husband to the best of their combined abilities," she voiced, as Mr. Eddings and his assistant stood up from behind their wooden desk. He watched as Dumbledore asked the pair of lawyers if they accepted responsibility for his father's legal defence throughout the trial, to which both men agreed. His mother then sat back down, her small part in the trial complete.
Dumbledore then stood up, gently smoothing his robes before addressing the chamber, "Due to the fact that I am one of the unfortunate victims in Lord Malfoy's alleged crimes, and I am also a witness to the events, I am required to give several pieces of evidence during this trial on behalf of the prosecution. I therefore must temporarily stand down from my position as Chief Warlock for the duration of this trial to avoid unfair bias." His hopes soared at this news; his father would be freed now for sure, now that his father's greatest enemy was no longer the head magistrate responsible for deciding court rulings. He happily looked to his mother who just gave him a shake of her head, her expression confusing him.
"By law, I now pass the responsibility of my prestigious office to the highest office in the land, the Minister of Magic." The old wizard then turned to face the Minister.
Cornelius then stood up to symbolically accept the offered seat that the Chief Warlock had just vacated, at the same time accepting the symbolic gavel that was passed to him. "I hereby accept the position and the responsibilities of this ancient position of justice, Chief Warlock," the Minister declared formally to the listening chamber, the court scribes and reporters' quills working quickly to record the change of legal authority. His hopes climbed ever higher at the idea the Minister would secretly aid his father, a smug smile forming on his face, despite his mother's earlier words that the Minister would sell him out to save his own skin. The Chief Warlock then left the box to take a free seat in the stands reserved for high ranking ministry officials.
There was a short pause before the Minister stood up to address the chamber, "Under the law of these lands and in the interest of justice, I also must relieve myself of the duties of this temporary office of justice due to my former close friendship with the accused to avoid the appearance of favouritism and basis," the Minister's words instantly caused his smile to disappear and his hope to come crashing down as he eyed Madam Bones warily. "I hereby remove myself from that authority for the duration of this trial," the Minister voiced, like he was reading from a pre-planned script. "I hereby pass the responsibilities of my temporary position to the next highest authority, the head of the office of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Amelia Bones." The Minister then turned to face Madam Bones, as the chamber started to stir again at the realization that the incorruptible Madam Bones would be heading the trial.
That meant one thing, his father was in trouble, big trouble; Madam Bones had been after his father for years. A pit of anxiety formed in his gut, as the witch took the offered seat from the Minister, but chose not to engage in any type of flowery speech.
"Not good," he stated in a low tone, the Minister taking the seat next to the Chief Warlock, ready to watch from the sidelines.
"It's about to get worse," his mother offered, as Madam Bones stood up to address the chamber, the crowd stirring.
...
'So far so good,' Harry noted to himself, as the minister of magic stepped down from the podium, his trademark bowler hat holstered under his arm as Madam Bones stood up to address the chamber.
The stern no-nonsense witch was dressed in full Auror dress robes today, as he considered the idea that his older cousin could very well be doing the same job as Madam Bones in the years to come. "I also must relieve myself from this temporary office and the responsibility for overseeing justice, as I led the criminal investigation against Lord Malfoy," the head of law enforcement explained to the restless chamber, the Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot muttering amongst themselves, clearly wondering who would be Madam Bones' replacement.
She paused for a moment to allow the chamber to calm down; he noticed Dumbledore frown at this, clearly the old wizard had not expected the head of magical law enforcement to step down. "I must also pass on the responsibility for upholding justice during these proceedings to my second in command, Senior Auror Rufus Scrimgeour." An old stern faced wizard that reminded him of an old lion got up from his seat in the ministerial box and descended to the chamber floor in a fast, but purposeful march, causing the ambient mutterings of the chamber to get a good deal louder.
It was clear from the facial expressions on the Chief Warlock's and the Minister's faces that they hadn't been made aware of Madam Bones' intention to stand down, rather than overseeing the trial herself. The stern faced auror in full dress uniform took the offered seat from his boss, who then stepped down and joined the team of prosecutors on the courtroom floor, once again surprising the chamber.
...
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