As Antonio's statement echoed in the hall, there was stunned silence. Antonio had just challenged the Dark Lord, Voldemort, to attack Albus Dumbledore, and no one knew what to make of it.
This move from Antonio was very unusual and not anything like they had ever seen. If he himself had challenged Voldemort, it might have shocked them but they would have still been able to accept it. But they could not make any logic of dragging Albus Dumbledore into this.
And had Albus Dumbledore been aware of what Antonio was about to do? The image that Dumbledore himself had approached Antonio before the session was still fresh in their mind.
But one thing Antonio's words had certainly done was plant a seed of doubt in the minds of everyone present. Whatever points he had raised, every single one of them was true and correct. The two myths about the death eaters that he had spoken had surely resonated with them.
And especially the last point. Almost everyone wondered if the Dark Lord would really dare to show his face now after what Antonio had spoken.
Would he truly challenge Albus Dumbledore? No one knew, but what they did know was that interesting times lay ahead and dangerous ones.
Antonio was done as he nodded politely and sat down in his seat. His closure of the speech should have been greeted with thunderous applause, but the occupants of the room were too stunned to speak. And given the sensitive points Antonio had touched upon, the spectators did not know how to react.
Harold Minchum, the Minister of Magic, smiled awkwardly as even he did not know what to say.
"I think," he began, completely avoiding the just concluded speech, "we should now move ahead with the business of the council."
The lords of the Wizengamot gave subtle nods, relieved to shift forward. They wanted to have no reaction about the death eaters and the dark lord. The minister turned and gave a nod to Albus Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock.
Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat, pushing aside the thoughts lingering in his mind, and struck his gavel against the wooden table. It marked the official beginning of the trial.
"The case pertains to the attack on the Bones Manor," Dumbledore announced, "in which Edmund Bones and Amelia Bones killed eight Death Eaters."
"And as I can see," Dumbledore continued, "the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has made no formal charges against Lord Bones and Miss Bones."
"Even so, I would request one of the two of you to come to the well and argue your side," he said. "And from the DMLE, we have Barty Crouch Sr. to present the case."
Barty stood up from his seat and entered the well, and Edmund Bones followed a moment later.
"Minister," Barty said, looking toward Harold. "I would like to begin my arguments by presenting the facts of the case before this council."
"Proceed," Harold nodded in response.
Barty nodded back as he turned and let his eyes roam across the entire council.
"The entire incident began a couple of hours before midnight," Barty began, "when eight Death Eaters struck the wards of the Bones Manor, alerting Lord Bones to the upcoming attack on his home. At the time, Lord Bones was having dinner with his daughter, Miss Amelia Bones, who is an Auror in the ministry."
Barty then went on to narrate the story based on the statements that had been provided to him by Edmund Bones and Amelia Bones. Edmund had fabricated the facts to suit the narration of him and Amelia killing all the death eaters by themselves.
The Wizengamot listened in complete silence and with no small amount of thrill as he recounted the tale of the fight that had taken place in the Bones Manor. The tale was quite intense and engaging and had been made to sound completely believable.
Still, a few people had their brows furrowed as they listened. There were elements that raised doubts in the minds of the more experienced members, people like Albus Dumbledore, Arcturus Black, Charlus Potter, and Abraxas Malfoy among the notables.
"Lord Crouch," one of the lords finally asked, "can you please specify what evidence you have used to construct this narration of the event?"
"When the entire event happened, only ten people," he answered with a stiff smile, "the eight Death Eaters and Lord Bones and Miss Bones were inside the manor. And only two of those ten are still alive."
"So the narration is based on the statements we have taken from Lord Bones and Miss Bones, and whatever we could extract from the dead bodies."
"And may I ask," another lord interrupted, "if Lord Bones and Miss Bones were willing to provide a copy of the memory of this event?"
"No," Barty shook his head, while Edmund Bones remained standing expressionless in the well. "They were not willing."
"No?" the lord repeated. "Then how can we believe that the story you just narrated is true? A memory copy would have made things obvious."
"Would it not, Lord Bones?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Edmund Bones.
"Yes, it would have," Edmund said with no hesitation in his voice. "But I will provide no copy of my memory."
"Firstly, because memories are not truly admissible evidence in front of the council, and no law forces one to offer their memories," he said.
"And secondly, and the more important reason, the event included secrets of my family magic, something meant to be used only as a last resort. And I would not be willing to share those secrets."
"Oh," the lord said, eyebrows squinting, but he said no more.
"While a copy of memories would have made things more obvious," Edmund continued, "there are things which are already obvious and which I believe you all can see."
"The first obvious thing is that eight Death Eaters, who included respected and influential members of our society, intruded into my house. Surely they had not come to enjoy dinner with me. They had arrived to kill me."
"And what method I used to kill them has no significance. What I did, I did in self-defence. As simple as that."
Most of the council nodded. No one could refute the truth.
Albus Dumbledore looked toward Barty.
"Considering that whatever Lord Bones did, he did in his self-defence, the DMLE has decided not to place any charges on him," Barty said.
"I believe the argument from the ministry's side is now concluded," Dumbledore said. "Does anyone else wish to add anything more?"
Ideally, a few might have chosen to speak, but after the little shock Antonio had given them earlier, especially since this too involved Death Eaters and their organisation, no one was willing to add anything.
"We have no one wishing to speak," Dumbledore announced.
"Esteemed members," Dumbledore's voice echoed across the council hall, "those who believe Lord Bones' actions were justified, that whatever he did was a necessity and in self-defence, and that no charges should be pressed against him, please cast your vote."
The members raised their wands, and almost every wand in the room glowed white. They agreed with Dumbledore's statement.
Only a rare few abstained. And not a single wand glowed red. No one objected to Dumbledore's declaration.
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