Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
The Ministry seemed to be unusually busy to Harry today, or it may have just felt that way. Harry just didn’t like being the center of attention and a group of Riders walking down the middle of the Ministry in formation was definitely the center of attention. Harry just took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, straitened his spine, raised his head and looked every single person that dared to stare at them right in the eye. Daring them to approach. Thankfully, none did.
They made it to courtroom eight without much trouble and went in and sat down. It was one of the larger courtrooms although not the largest by far. The riders decided to sit down in their standard formation. Luna, Harry, Neville and Pavarti took the front row. Cedric, Fred and George took the second row. Christian, Padma, Susan, and Draco took the third row.
The courtroom seemed to be just like the one that they had had for Bad Whiskers, but only bigger. At least he thought so. In the center of the room were two desks one for each, the prosecution and the defense, and behind each there were a section of bleachers that were sectioned off with little aisle. The section behind the Procession was over half full, and included all of Molly’s own children. The section behind Molly had only one individual within it and she was an older woman of some influence Harry guessed due to her appearance. Harry overheard William tell ginny that Aunt Muriel didn’t think it was proper for any Weasley to end up going to Azkaban and she was here to see that Molly wasn’t going to be the first one to do so. Therefore, he assumed the individual in question was this Aunt Muriel person they were speaking of.
Molly sat at the Defendant desk all by herself, so apparently she had never been able to get a Barrister. Harry wondered what she was going to do about cross examination herself. Hell cross examination period, she didn’t know anything about being a Barrister.
Across from the two desks was the Judges podium and a witness seat that faced out toward the rest of the courtroom.
There were stadium like seats over to the right side that held guests and reporters and such, Although there were only a few individuals in the seats yet, Harry was sure by the time it time for the court to start the seats would be full. People’s curiosity just can’t let something like a court case that has the words ‘attempted murder’ in the title of the case go unnoticed.
Arthur sat at the Prosecutions desk with Ted Tonks by his side, George Weasley was in the stands right behind them ready to take the stand when it was his turn. So was Fred, Harry and Neville if need be, although Ted didn’t think this court would go that far.
The Judge for the trial was going to be Griselda Marchbanks, Amos Diggory who would normally sit the seat had too much ire for the Riders to judge the trial fairly it was discovered and therefore he was excused from the process.
Ted Tonks had Amelia Bones, a Dr. Marie Haskinhof a Psychiatrist, and Madam Pomphrey as expert witnesses for his side. But Molly didn’t have anyone listed for her side, in fact the only witness she had listed for her side was one Muriel Weasley.
Then it was time for court so they closed the doors and posted guards at the doors.
“All rise, the Court of Ministry of Magic of Great Britain is now in session, the honorable Griselda Marchbanks presiding.” The Bailiff’s voice called out.
“For the Prosecution there is George Fabian Weasley and Arthur Billious Weasley, as the aggrieved parties, represented by Barrister Ted Tonks.” The Bailiff stated.
Harry never knew that Mr. Weasley was going to list himself as a party on this as well, but he guessed that made sense in a way. Although he wondered why this was the first time he was hearing about it. He looked over to George and he had a befuddled look on his face as well, but then again so did Fred. In fact the whole Weasley clan that was sitting close by was looking a bit confused right about now. Well except for William, he actually seemed to know what was going on and put a hand on his father’s shoulder in a show of support. Arthur reached up and placed his hand on William’s hand and nodded his head in thanks.
“For the Defense there is Molly Weasley nee Pruitt representing herself.” The Bailiff’s voiced echoed throughout the courtroom.
“For court Scribe there is Gunthry Weatherby.” A young man with red hair trimmed back short and neat, dressed impeccably came over to a large stack of books at a small table and sat down he picked the first one off the top of the stack and opened it up flipping through the pages then found the page he wanted he began to write quickly something down after he finished he turned and set up a dict-a-quill on the book so that it could write down every thing that was said in the court room. Once it was set up Weatherby nodded toward the Bailiff.
“This court is called into session, you may all be seated. Please seal the doors at this time.” The Bailiff stated and he walked to the front of the room where the witness stand was located, to wait his next official duty.
It was Madam Marchbanks that spoke first. “This case we are reviewing today has appeared to spike several auxiliary cases and we hope to get through those cases as well, so that we do not have to assign secondary dates for those cases to be review and assigned alternative court dates as well. Do bare in mind that if the plaintiff is found guilty of Attempted Murder, the penalty for such a case is life in Azkaban prison and may make the auxiliary cases a mote point due to that fact. Bailiff please read the charges associated with this case and this case alone please.”
Harry didn’t realize there were that many charges filed against Mrs. Weasley. It was listed as child abuse in the first degree since she used magic against her own son. It was listed as aggravated assault in the first degree because it was against her own family member. And it was listed as attempted murder in the first degree for the same reason, it was against a family member. Harry reached behind himself and placed his hand on Fred and George’s clasped hands, letting them know he was here for them. They both gave him a little sad smile and tried to focus on what was being said in the courtroom.
Harry looked over to Molly and she sat there with her chin raised as if she was daring anyone to say any of that was true about her. Aunt Muriel was sitting the same way, with her nose in the air and her chin raised just daring someone to speak ill of the Weasley family.
The rest of the Weasley family seemed to be holding their own. Little Ginny Weasley was holding tight to William or Bill as he preferred to be called, she appeared to be crying. Harry guessed she had the strongest relationship with her mother than any of them. So this was hurting her more than it was hurting any of the rest of them. At least she had Bill there comforting her. She adored her big brother and he adored his baby sister; you could see that by the way he had his spare arm wrapped around her.
“How does the Defendant plea?” The Bailiff’s voice rang out.
Molly’s responded, “Not guilty on all charges.” She informed the court.
“So entered,” The Bailiff replied, “Let the records show that Molly Weasley nee Pruitt has entered a plea of not guilty on all charges as of this date, and the Prosecution is now free to present its case.”
Ted Tonks stood up and walked over to the witness stand and turned to face the court and began, “I call Molly Weasley to the stand.”
“I object!” Molly stood and announced to the courtroom.
“Why are you objecting Mrs. Weasley?” Madam Marchbanks asked, curious about Molly’s reason for this.
“I would have no way to cross examine the witness, how am I suppose to cross examine myself? Therefore I am not taking the witness stand and you are just going to have to call this whole foolish thing off.”
“First, in order to cross examine yourself you merely need to write down each question as they come to you. And after the Prosecution has finished we will take a break and you can write up how you want the questions asked. Then after the break you will retake the stand and the Bailiff can read the questions out to you and you will answer them accordingly. Second, your objection is overruled and the witness will take the stand.” Madam Marchbanks stated and pounded her gavel once.
Harry rolled his eyes, Molly thought she had this all worked out, that could just waltz right out the door and all this nasty business would be forgotten. George was all better now, so the less said about what happened the better. Harry couldn’t believe the gall of that woman.
Harry looked over his shoulder at George, who was just sitting there with his eyes closed shaking his head. As he couldn’t believe she would sink so low as to try and sweep this all under the rug like that. If it hadn’t have been for Fulgura, George could very well could have died. Doesn’t she realize how seriously she hurt her own son?
Molly hesitated then looked over to Muriel who nodded and she got up and headed over to the witness stand and sat down, still staring at Aunt Muriel like she would give her some special signals on what to say or something.
The Bailiff came over to her and placed a thick Book of Laws on the witness stand then stated, “Raise your right hand and place your left hand on our Book of Laws. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”
Molly glanced over to Muriel who nodded.
Molly did as instructed and stated, “I do.” Was all she said.
“Please state your full name and place of residency for the records.” The Bailiff stated
“Molly Weasley nee Pruitt, Weasley Manor at this precise moment, but normally I live in the Burrows.” Molly stated.
The Bailiff nodded and removed the book and went over to his spot and put the Book of Laws back on it’s podium where he had retrieved it from.
“Very well, Mr. Tonks the floor is yours.”
“Thank you Madam Marchbanks,” Ted stated as he rose from his chair and headed up to the witness stand, looking every bit the professional that he was, his walk was sure, his stance was that of a man that of honor and wisdom. Ted Tonks could be a very intimidating individual when he wanted to be, but today he had an almost daunting air about himself.
“Mrs. Weasley, you are currently married to Arthur Billious Weasley is that correct?” Ted asked.
“That’s correct.” Molly couldn’t help but wonder why he said ‘currently’ though.
“And you have several children together is that not correct as well?” Ted asked.
“Yes we have seven children, six boys and a girl, Ginerva, Molly Weasley.” Molly nodded.
“Is George Fabian Weasley one of your children?” Ted asked.
“He is our fifth son. Yes.”
“On August thirteenth of this year you son was involved in an incident, could you tell us about it.” Ted encouraged.
“He was running in the hallway of our house and fell down the stairs and got hurt.” Molly tried.
“Do you remember the oath you swore to just a few moments ago Mrs. Weasley?” Ted looked curious.
“Of course I do.” Molly stated.
“And you do understand basic English, is that also correct?” Ted asked just to make sure.
“Yes, yes of course.” Molly rolled her eyes but answered still the same.
“Then the statement ’Truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth.’ Should be easy for you to understand should it not?” Ted asked.
“I understood it.” Molly put her nose in the air.
“Then why did you just lie on the stand? George Weasley was not just running down the hallway at your house was he, he was being chased by you. Was he not?” Ted asked.
“Yes” She answered.
“And he he did not just fall down the stairs did he? You hit him in his right hip with an severely over powered stinging hex. One that was strong enough to leave a one half inch deep and three inches in length wound on his hip isn’t that correct Mrs. Weasley?” Ted appeared to be breaking down what she had said into little bit pieces and ripping it to pieces.
“Yes.” Molly answered.
“When he was hit with with this stinging hex he was at the top of the stairs and he fell to his knees in pain, causing him to miss the first step and fall all the way down the two stories of stairs in your house, is that not correct?” Ted continued.
“Yes” What could she say but yes to that, she didn’t want to answer but it was the truth.
“And you stated he got hurt, hurt Madam is a bruised knee. George Fabian Weasley, your fifteen year old son, received a broken right arm, a broken left leg, a broken left hip, a broken right leg and a fractured skull isn’t that right Mrs. Weasley?” People in the courtroom gasped a the list of injuries George had received. Even Aunt Muriel seemed taken aback by he list, which meant that Molly hadn’t told her the whole truth either. However, she was beginning to realize it.
“Yes.” Molly said looking down at her hands.
“George Weasley, your son, could have died if it hadn’t been for the quick response of Mr. Harry Black and calling his elf to get George over to Hogwarts to be healed, is that not correct?” Ted questioned.
“You don’t know that. No one does.” Molly’s head jerked up quickly at his words.
“That head wound alone was loosing enough blood he would have died in mere minutes if Mr. Potter Black had stalled or not been prepared to act. If not for the healing and medical care George received at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that day only minutes after he was injured, George Weasley would have died. Is that not a fact?” Ted tried saying it differently.
“I don’t know,” Molly finally answered.
“Alright then let’s get down to why were you chasing your son and firing over powered stinging hexes at him at the top of the landing. Would you mind telling the court in your own words why you were doing so?” Ted asked.
“Yes I would mind, that is something personal between my sons and myself and I do not wish to discuss it further.” Molly put the nose in the air and just sat there as if that was the end of the discussion.
“Mrs. Weasley, we fall back once again on the oath you took a short while ago, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You being uncomfortable, or embarrassed about a subject is not a reason for the court to decide that well I guess she doesn’t have to answer that question at this time. You may either answer the question willingly or I shall request the use of veritaserum be used for the remainder of your questioning. Which shall it be?”
“I object!” Molly shrieked, slamming her hand down on the frame of the witness stand, probably just to make a point.
“What is it that you are objecting to Mrs. Weasley?” Madam Marchbanks asked curiously.
“He is threatening me with the use of veritaserum! I will not be threatened! This is a court of law, you should put him in jail for that!” Molly shrieked.
“Actually he didn’t threaten you Mrs. Weasley, he merely gave you your options, tell the whole truth of what happened on the day in question or the court shall be forced to resort to the use of veritaserum. So which will you choose?” Madam Marchbanks asked.
“I will not be forced to the use of veritaserum, and I will not discuss this further. I am a pureblood. You can’t force me to take veritaserum. It’s against the law!” Molly shrieked.
“Under normal circumstances that would be correct, but this is a case which includes both child abuse and murder, or like you have here attempted murder, the defendants option to deny the use of veritaserum is taken off the table.” Madam Marchbanks clarified.
“Well I am not taking it, and you can’t force me to talk about something I refuse to talk about.” Molly shrieked.
“Molly Weasley, I find you in contempt of court, and fine you one hundred gallons.” Madam Marchbanks declared evenly,
“You can’t do that! How am I suppose to pay that! If I had that much money don’t you think I would have had it to get a Barrister for myself today?” Molly was practically shouting by now.
“That will be another fifty galleon Mrs. Weasley. And I will not be told what I can and cannot do in my own court room. How you pay is none of my concern but you have ten days to figure it out. Now I will give you until the end of this court case to decide if you want to testify, if after the other witnesses have been called you still refuse to testify, that will be a charge of contempt of court against you and a stay of six months in Azkaban as well.”
Molly gasped and reached up and grasped her throat, but stepped down from the witness stand when ordered to do so. She then went back over to the Defense table and sat down in front of a very disgruntled looking Aunt Muriel.
“Is the Prosecution ready to call their next witness Mr. Tonks?” Griselda asked.
“It is your honor, the Prosecution calls George Fabian Weasley to the stand please.” Ted announced. George gets one final squeeze of his hand from his twin and Harry, then he stands up and walked over to the witness stand and sat down.
“I object!” Molly shouted rising to her feet quickly.
“And what is the reason for your objection, Mrs. Weasley?” Madam Marchbanks asked.
“George is just a little boy, he is far to young to be up there testifying without a parent’s permission, and I am his parent, and I do not give him permission to testify. So he needs to step down and go right back over there and sit down.” Molly said quite firmly and put her nose in the air once again. Again she though she had it all figured out, he can’t testify against her if she doesn’t give him permission to testify since he is still a minor and she’s his mother… so all she had to do was say she doesn’t give her permission and this whole thing was done and over with, right?
Madam Marchbanks shook her head and sighed. “You really should have consulted a Barrister, if not actually retained one Mrs. Weasley. To the first point George Weasley’s age, as long as he is above the age of eleven and attending a magical school he is considered old enough to sit in the witness stand. As to the second point, George comes from a Patriarchal household, which means that Arthur Weasley is in charge of that household and not you. His word is the only one that we need to get in order to have George be able to take the stand, not yours. Also there is the point that George Fabian Weasley is a Rider, and by being a Rider and over the age of fifteen years of age he can be considered an emancipated minor as dictated by law seven-zero-seven point twenty-eight, ‘A’ ,subsection three. He does not need your permission to take the stand, nor does he require your permission to do anything for that matter. Now your objection is overruled. Please take the stand young man, and the Prosecution make begin anytime Mr. Tonks.”
“Thank you Madam Marchbanks.” George was sworn in and Ted began. “George, since your mother seemed reluctant to tell us the events leading up to the incident in question, can you?”
“Yes Sir. Fred and I were in our room working on some things for the Riders and organizing our trunks when our mother came into the room. She immediately told us to stop what we were doing and to finish up our homework. We explained several times that our homework was completed but she refused to believe us, so we brought out all our homework and handed it too her. She threw it down on Fred’s bed and asked what it all was. We began picking up scroll after scroll and reading it out to her, telling her what each scroll was. She then told us to redo each one and make it readable ’none of that chicken scratch that we normally do’, as she put it, we turned around one of the scrolls we had in hand to prove to her that the scrolls had already been written well and were quite readable by anyone. That seemed to frustrate her for some reason. She then told us she wanted us to be working on our school work and not the ‘foolish Rider stuff’ as she put it. We explained again that we had finished out school work, and that we had contacted Headmistress McGonagall and had changed our classes. We had dropped out of Muggle Studies and wanted to take Runes and Arithmancy instead.
At that point she became irate and began screaming at us, stating that we would go down immediately and change our electives back and tell the Headmistress we had made a mistake. But we hadn’t made a mistake. We don’t want to take Muggle Studies. That is what she wanted us to take so we could get a job at the Ministry after we graduate and work with our father. We don’t want to do that, we are Riders now. We want to be Riders first and open up a joke and prank shop second. Invent jokes and pranks on the side and sell that and games and puzzles and stuff in our shop. When we told her this she blew up and started screaming at us. Demanding that we give back all the Rider stuff as she called it, and our Darcorns and that we stop all this foolishness now. When we refused she began to get even more infuriated.
“It was at that point that Fred went downstairs and made a floo call. She thought he was calling the Headmistress to change our schedule changed back so she let him go, but he was calling Harry Black. Harry Black and Neville Longbottom came through the floo. They followed Fred upstairs where they found Molly screaming her lungs out at me and me just letting her do it. When Harry got up there he asked what was going on and we explained what all was happening. And he said “So let me get this strait, your upset because the twins are taking their studies seriously, wanting to take better courses in school that fit there goals better, and have grown up without your say so is that correct?” Oh she blew up on him. She basically said that she didn’t give us permission to grow up and that she demanded we go back the way we were before. We began to pick up all our school things and the books and stuff and put them in our bags, then shrink our trunks and put them in our bags as well.
“While we were doing this Harry was mentioning the law passed by the Wizengamot stating we were considered emancipated minors and that the Riders were loco familia if we wanted them to act in that position. By that time Fred and I had everything we needed from our room packed and put into our bags and ready to leave. Fred said we were ready to leave when ever Harry was. This was when Molly realized that we were actually thinking about leaving with Harry and not just give him back the bag and trunk and things.
“Molly stood in front of the doorway to the room, trying to block our exit but I moved left and Fred went right, she made a grab for me but missed and then tried to grab for Fred as he raced around her and I managed to get around her on the other side. Fred ran down the hallway to the stairs and I was hot on his heels. She was right behind us and Harry and Neville were behind her. Molly started shooting stinging hexes as soon as we left the room. Some of them hit their mark, me, they were strong and getting stronger with each hit. By the time we were getting close to the stairs Harry was screaming at her to stop as was Neville, but she didn’t listen. She just kept shooting stronger and stronger stinging hexes at me. Finally when I was inches away from the top step she hit me with a way overpowered stinging hex. It felt like someone had just stabbed me or something. I could feel it break skin and myself beginning to bleed almost immediately.
“The next thing I know I am falling, I remember hitting my right leg on a step and hearing it break and then shooting stars going in front of my eyes moments before my left side crashed into the wall and I heard a sickening crunch and a snap and my eyesight was turning grey, then my head hit a step and everything went black. The next thing I remember was waking up in Hogwarts Medi-Ward with Madam Pomfrey, Fred, Harry, Neville and Dad standing over me.” George took a deep breath and sighed, that was a lot to say in one sitting, no matter which way you look at it.
Ted who had been taking notes here and there nodded. “I have nothing further for this witness.” Ted said clearly.
“Well I have plenty.” Molly puffed up her chest and strutted over to the witness stand and glared at George, “What did you think you were doing, running away from me? You should have just stopped when I told you to stop. Why didn’t you stop? If you would have stopped none of this foolishness would be happening right now. Now I want you and your brother to hand back those Rider things and give up that foolishness. Do you understand me young man!”
“Objection! This is a court of Law not Mrs. Weasley’s living room. She is not allowed to lecture the witness nor badger the witness.
“Objection sustained. Mrs. Weasley either cross examine the witness or allow the Prosecution to move on to his next witness.” Madam Marchbanks stated becoming frustrated with Mrs. Weasley.
“Well I never…Hmmfft.” With that she went over and sat down at the Defense table again. Quiet for now.
“Very well then you may leave the stand young man. Call your next witness please.” Madam Marchbanks stated with a sigh.
“I call Harry James Potter Black to the stand,” Ted Tonks called out as he moved over to the witness stand again.
Harry got up and went over to sit in the witness stand. After he was sworn in Ted Tonks turned to Harry to begin. “Mr. Black or is it Potter Black?”
“Just Black is fine.” Harry stated “But I will answer to either.”
“Very good, Mr Black, When you got to the Weasley residence would you say the situations was precarious, tense, what, how would you best describe it?” Ted asked.
“Yes those and about a dozen other words too. Mrs. Weasley nee Pruitt was shouting so loud I could hear her the moment I stepped into the house from the floo. By the time we made it to Fred and George’s bedroom Mrs. Weasley was practically screaming at George. George had stated that they would not be following her instructions, he stated ‘I stated we will not be giving our Darcorns back, we will not be changing out classes, we will not be giving up on having a joke shop, we will not be going to work for dad at the Muggle Artifacts Department. Take your pick, we will not be doing any of it.’ This seemed to infuriate her even more. After a few minutes of trying to explain the situation to her she still didn’t understand, I asked Fred and George what they wanted to do, they went about picking up their things, shrinking their trunk and putting everything into their bags and then they said ‘ready when you are’ then they tried to leave. Mrs. Weasley tried to stop them an then started chasing them down the hallway shooting stinging hexes at them, Myself and Neville were shouting at her to stop but it was to no avail. She just kept shooting hexes stronger and stronger with each hex. Then she finally hit George with a stinging hex so strong that it brought him to knees. Unfortunately, George was on the first step of the stairs when she hit him with that hex and he missed the step. He started falling and we were too far behind him to do anything but watch in horror as he fell. I could hear his bones breaking as he doubled down the stairs. She just stood there staring at him, not attempting to do anything as he fell. Nothing. Neville and I raced around her and found George in a pile of twisted limbs and blood, I immediately did a scan, and found the broken bones and sent for my elf. I instructed Jeeves, my elf to take George to Madam Pomfrey immediately which he did. Then told Fred to use the floo to head over to Sirius’ (my dad’s) place and head to the Medi-Ward from there. That we would meet him from there, and he did. Right after he left, I told Neville to do the same thing. Then I called for Amelia Bones and told her what happened. She said she would be right there. Then I called Arthur Weasley and told him what happened and he flooed over as well.”
“What was Mrs. Weasley’s response at that time?” Ted asked.
“She was still standing at the top of the stairs looking down.” Harry stated.
“Did at anytime she show any remorse for what she had done?” Ted asked.
“Not while I was there, she just stood there. She never once tried to come down the stairs and see how George was or go to Hogwarts to see how he was. Nothing.” Harry answered.
“Okay I think that is all I have for this witness.” Ted stated.
Molly stood up and went over to Harry and stated. “How can you take my sons away from me? After all I have done for you. All the years I’ve known you and you turn around and stab me in the back like that. I bet your parents are ashamed of you young man.”
“Objection! She is badgering the witness again! This courtroom is not her personal soapbox.
“Objection sustained. Mrs Weasley, you have been warned once before, one more time I will charge you fifty galleons and you will be spending some time behind bars for my troubles, is that understood?” Madam Marchbanks frowned at Mrs. Weasley asked.
“Yes, Madam Marchbanks.” She said then she turned to Harry and asked “That loco familia foolishness, how does a thirteen year old boy expect to take care of two fifteen year old boys better than I can.?”
“Well I have the funds to make sure that any dream they have they can at least have the opportunity to try for and if they fail then oh well, at least they had the chance to try for that dream. I have some wonderful, supportive people behind me that love me unconditionally, and guide me without trying to control me. I have ability to get them any additional trainer or tutors they want for anything they want more training in or interest they want to explore. I have the funds to pay for their education and make sure that they have their supplies and clothes they need for school without an issue. I try and encourage them in all things in order for them to be the best individual that they can possibly be. I want them to grow up to be independent young men not slaves to my ideals and desires. I try and make sure I am there to listen and guide them, not control them. I set boundaries and rules that are for their safety and well being, not for my convenience. And I let them know that if they ever need me that I am always there for them.”
“Ah ha! So it’s all about your money is it! It is all about how much money you have compared to how poor we are?” Molly got right up against the witness stand and was waving her finger in Harry’s face.
“If you think raising a child has anything to do with money then you have a lot to learn about raising kids. It’s about love, listening, understanding, and the time you spend with them. Guiding them not controlling them. Tending to their health, physical, social, psychologic, educational, and spiritual needs. Its about being there, keeping them safe and knowing when to say no. Its about knowing when and how to discipline. Its about letting them make their own mistakes and being there to pick up the pieces if they fall. Its about being there to hold them when they cry and being there to watch them when they soar. Its about letting them know they will never be alone and that you will always be there for them no matter what. It is about teaching them that your love for them is unconditional and boundless. It is telling them that you are proud of them and truly meaning it. Its about knowing in your heart that one day they will be all grown up and on their own, and dreading and looking forward to that day at the same time. Its about sharing in their fears and ambitions. Its about being someone they can be proud of and someone they can look up to. Its about being there for their first kiss, their first romance and their first love; supporting them through it all no matter the race, gender, family name, or blood of their chosen partner. Being a parent is about all of those things, but it is not about how much money I have or how big my vault is compared to yours.
“But you said you had the funds to do all those things, knowing full well that I did not. Trying to make me out to be a bad parent.” Molly shrieked at him.
“That isn’t what makes your parenting skills lacking to some degree. First of all, I listens to them, which you never have. Second, I care about what they have to say, which you don’t. Third, I haven’t shot at them with overpowered stinging hexes which you have. Fourth, I allow them to be Riders, which you are demanding they give up. Fifth, I allow them to choose the classes they want to take, not the classes I deems are best for them to take. Sixth, I am allowing them to make choices about their future, even if it is a mistake to make it, it is their dream, and you wouldn’t listen to them about it at all. Seventh, I encourage them to be as inventive and creative as they want to be, which you have always discouraged them… telling them to stop that foolishness. Eighth, I am allowing them to decide if they want to continue on the quidditch team or not, which you demanded they stay on. Ninth, I believe in them, which you never have. And tenth, I don’t try and control them to the point of making them want to run away from home which you have. Now does that make it a little clearer?” Harry asked.
“See…foolishness, nothing but foolishness. Make their own choices, their fifteen years old little boys, they are not old enough to know what is good for themselves. They need someone else there to make those choices for them. They need an adult there to tell them what is best for them and to make those choices for them, certainly not a thirteen year old.” Molly chided Harry.
“Objection! She is badgering and harassing the witness again! I will not stand for her to use this courtroom for her to get the opportunity to harass my witness. She already has a temporary restraining order in place for her spouse and children, do I also need one for Mr. Potter Black as well.
“Objection sustained. I warned you last time not to badger the witness, that will be another fifty galleons, and two nights in lock up. Do it again and it will be one hundred galleons and a week. I will not have my instructions ignored in this courtroom.” Madam Marchbanks was getting frustrated with Molly and you could tell she was almost at her limits with her right now.
Molly turned and put her hands on her hips and glared at Griselda Marchbanks as if she were some unruly child or something that needed a good spanking. Madam Marchbanks glared right back at her then said. “Do I need to have the Bailiff escort you to a cell right now and continue this Trial in Absentia?”
This seemed to snap Molly out of it. She quit staring at Madam Marchbanks and she stomped over to the defense table and sat down again. Indicating she had no further questions for this witness apparently.
“Would the Prosecution like to call its next witness please Mr. Tonks.” Madame Marchbanks stated with a sigh. This court case was beginning to become one of the most trying of not the most irritating ones she had ever proceeded over.
“I call Madam Poppy Pomfrey to the stand please.” Ted announced and Madam Pomfrey walked up to the witness stand and was sworn in by the Bailiff then waited for the questions to begin.
“Madam Pomfrey, how long have you been working at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?” Ted asked
“Twenty-three years,” She replied.
“And how long have you been certified as a Medi-Witch?” He asked.
“Thirty-five years, I spent my first twelve years at St. Mungo’s Hospital, after I came out of formal training.” Madam Pomfrey stated.
“That is quite impressive Madam, were all your years working in pediatrics?”
“Yes, that’s all I ever wanted, was to work with children. Now I have over four hundred that rely on me on a daily basis. Anything from homesickness to quidditch accidents and everything in between. Each year brings something new, new faces, new problems, new young friends, old friends graduating. It is all so exciting.” Poppy stated with a smile.
“Do you remember the events of August thirteenth of this year around two-twenty in the afternoon?” Ted asked.
“That is not something you very easily forget. A house elf popped George Weasley into my Medi-Ward setting off several alarms since it was off school time and elves normally don’t pop individuals into my medical ward it usually is something pretty dramatic if they do. George was in a mangled heap of his own limbs and bleeding profusely from his head. Apparently, there had been some form of terrible accident and he had been horribly hurt. Before I could do much more than take a few scans and check George’s vitals, Fred Weasley comes rushing into the room and begins to explain how George got hurt. Together we get George up on a bed. And I begin to see what I could do about the head wound, it was the most life threatening.
“After a few minutes Neville Longbottom comes racing into the room carrying a Darcorn foal that was just a few weeks old into the room. Followed by what I assume were the mother and father of the little thing. Mr Longbottom placed the foal on the ground and it immediately tried to get in bed with George, apparently that was his Darcorn. The mother of the little foal came over and looked at George and shook her head. She lowered her horn down till it touched his head and a golden glow wrapped around his head for a couple of minutes and then the bleeding stopped. Then she went to each broken limb and fixed them, then the hip. That one must have taken more out of her than she expected because she staggered when she lifted her horn away from George and the stallion pressed his horn against hers and she began to glow all over a golden color. A few moments later she was prancing and pawing the floor, fully herself again.
“Then Harry Black rushed into the room and announced that apparently Neville had already done what he had just thought of doing. As he had just ran from the stables looking for the three guests we had in the Medi-ward. Shortly after Harry appeared in the Medi-Ward, so did Arthur Weasley. They weren’t there for more than five minutes when George started waking up. When I asked how he felt he stated he was sore all over, that he had a headache and that his right hip hurt. This confused me since it was his left hip that was broken. I looked down and notice that there was a blood stain on the sheets where his right hip was located, I asked the gentlemen to help me gently roll George onto his side and I found a missed wound. I scanned it and it stated it had residual wand signature to Molly Weasley nee Pruitt. And that the wound was created from a severely overcharged stinging hex. It must have been one horrible hex. Since the red burn mark from the curse was almost seven inches in length, the cut itself was almost three inches in length and half an inch deep. I have seen that type of effect from a whipping curse but never a stinging hex. But Mr. Potter verified that that was indeed shooting stinging hexes at George at the time of his fall. It took me a few minutes but I sealed the would then put some scar remover on it.
“The Darcorn stomped a few times and shook her head about and stepped up next to me then touched his hip where the curse had hit, within moments all the redness and scarring was gone, you couldn’t even tell that he had ever been hit by the horrible thing. Then she stepped back nodding her head and whinnying. As if she now approved of how it looked. I turned to her and thanked her. Mr. Black handed me a chunk of raw meat and told me to open up my hand flat and hand it to her. I did and she ate it out of my hand. Then nodded her head and nuzzled my arm for a while. Then she went over and stood by her foal and watched over him. Mayhem, I believe his name is.” Madam Pomfrey finished.
“Did at anytime, you get a request for information about George from Molly Weasley?” Ted asked.
“Days later I did, after news of his ‘accident’ was in the Daily Prophet, but not before. And I told her exactly what Arthur Weasley told me to say, to have her Barrister to contact his Barrister any questions about the children that she might have in the future. This infuriated her, she reminded me multiple times that she was George’s mother and I reminded her that I had no control over who the Head of House wished information on their children being issued too. She threatened to have me fired, and I told her to try and that was the last I heard of it.” Pomfrey replied.
“How has George healed, in your professional opinion?” Ted asked.
“With the healing from that Darcorn, brilliantly. If George hadn’t had that Darcorn to heal him he would have suffered through weeks of painful healing and therapy that followed it. But thankfully all that was unnecessary, once the Darcorn healed Mr. Weasley there was no need for further healings or any therapy at all. A few moments of golden energy and it was like there was never an injury at all.” Madam Pomfrey stated.
“Without the Darcorn’s healing ability what do you think Mr. Weasley’s condition would be at this time?” Ted questioned.
“I would have to say that he would undoubtedly be left with a permanent limp, due to the injury to his left hip and left leg. He would probably been restricted from quidditch or flying a broom for the rest of his life. He would never have been able to hold a regular job or even have that joke shop that he has always dreamed of due to the limitations on his mobility and endurance. In fact it would be questionable if he would be able to finish his education at Hogwarts. Sitting in one position for too long, walking to classes, standing in some of the classes that require you to be on your feet for the duration, would all be difficult for him to endure at that point… if it wasn’t for the Darcorn’s healing that is.” Madam Pomfrey answered.
“No further questions for this witness.” Ted stated and he went over and sat down at the Prosecutions table.
Everyone looked over to Molly to see what she was going to do now, “No questions.” Was all she said. That was weird, that she didn’t want to cross examine someone.
Madam Pomfrey gave a sigh a relief when Molly said ’No questions’ and the judge had told her she could step down from the witness stand and resume her seat.
“Your next witness please Mr. Tonks.” Madam Marchbanks called out.
“I call forth Senior Auror Amelia Susan Bones please.” Ted stood as did Amelia and together they walked up to the witness stand. Amelia was sworn in and Ted began.
“Madam Bones do you remember being called to the Weasley residence on August thirteen of this year?” Ted started.
“I do, it was a little hard to forget.” Amelia answered.
“Why would you say that?” Ted probed.
“Well we get child abuse calls every now and then, but rarely are they serious enough that a charge of attempted murder can be added to the list of charges filed against the individual.” Amelia explained.
“Who made the call to you, if you don’t mind?” Ted asked.
“That would be Harry Black, he gave a brief overview of what had happened and we came through the floo immediately.” Amelia stated.
“Can you explain what happened after you arrived please.” Ted asked.
“When we got to the location, I took a look around and notice a large blood pool at the base of the stairs and Molly Weasley still standing at the top of the stairs looking down at the blood pool. I had Auror Shackelbolt go up the stairs and retrieve Mrs. Weasley and bring her and her wand downstairs. While he was doing that I got a complete overview of what had happened from Harry Potter Black. He also gave me his memory of the events from the time he arrived at the residence until he contacted me.
“I then asked Mrs. Weasley what happened and she said that George tripped and fell. Stating nothing about the stinging hex at all. When confronted with the stinging hex she finally admitted to the fact that yes she had used the stinging hex on him. When we tested her wand we verified Mr. Black’s observation that it had been progressively stronger and stronger stinging hexes, until the last one and it would undoubtedly would have broken skin if it would have made contact.
“I asked Mrs. Weasley if she hit George with an extremely overpowered stinging hex, and she stated that she may have been a little upset at the time and made it a little too strong. When I explained to her that what she had done was considered child abuse and aggravated assault in the first degree at the very least attempted murder in the first degree at the worst. She just kept saying it was only a stinging hex. She wanted to get up and wash away the blood but we wouldn’t let her. Then she wanted to call the Headmistress and change the twins class choices back to what they had been and not their new choices. But again we wouldn’t let her.” Amelia paused for a moment.
“Did she at anytime attempt to go see about George or call about him?” Ted asked.
“Not while she was in my presence.” Amelia answered.
“Did she perhaps ask about him, his well being, maybe ask if he was even still alive?” Ted asked.
“No, not that I know of.” Amelia had a very contemplative look on her face, as if this was something she just realized herself.
“I see, please continue.” Ted stated.
“We decided to take her down to headquarters for booking and she began to fight, stating that this was her home and we had no right to remove her from her home. Demanding to speak to her husband. And threatening to sue the Department of Magical Law Enforcement within an inch of its life, if we didn’t release her. She kept saying it was only a stinging hex, over and over again and demanding to speak to her husband. She started kicking my Auror and picked up a charge of Resisting Arrest and Assaulting an Auror for her troubles.
“When we finally got her down to headquarters and booking she was still screaming about Auror abuse and how it was only a stinging hex. We put her in an interrogation room cuffed to a table for a few hours to let her cool down. But it only seemed to infuriate her more.
“Myself and Auror Kingsley Shackelbolt had gone to Hogwarts and spoken to both Fred and George Weasley who thankfully was doing fine by this time. We retrieved the memories from each twin all the way back to when she first entered their room. And had reviewed the memories. By the time we went into the interrogation room we knew exactly what had happened from multiple view points. Harry Potter Back, Neville Franklin Longbottom, Fred Gideon Weasley, Madam Poppy Pomfrey, Arthur Billious Weasley, and especially George Weasley had all given us their memories of the incident and events following the incident. Namely the Darcorn healing George Weasley.
“We played for her the horror of George’s memories, specifically of getting hit by the hex and then falling down the stairs. And all she would say was that it was only a stinging hex. No more, no I’m so sorry, no Dear Merlin. No please turn it off, nothing. Just it was only a stinging hex. We explained that if it hadn’t been for that Darcorn healing her son that he probably wouldn’t be alive, she demanded that the Darcorns to stay away from her son and for George to give his Darcorn back. Even after she had been shown how the Darcorn saved her son’s life she demanded that they stay away from her son and that George give up all this ‘Rider nonsense’ as she put it. This ‘Rider nonsense’ saved her son’s life and kept her from being charge with murder in the first degree but she didn’t care. It was only a stinging hex. She just kept repeating that over and over again throughout the entire interview.
“Finally, she contacted Muriel Angelina Weasley who bailed her out. We informed Molly Weasley that Arthur Weasley had placed a temporary Restraining Order on her against any of the Wesley’s children and had forbidden her from entering the Burrows or any property associated with it. She became irate and started screaming again, demanding we arrest him since the Burrows was half hers. We had to explain to her it was a Patriarchal house hold and he was the Head of the House, it was his right to do both things and we informed her she could fight it in court if she wanted to, when the hearing to make the temporary Restraining Order is reviewed and possibly made permanent. At that point Molly Weasley left with Muriel Weasley and that was the last I had seen from either until today.” Amelia wanted to say thankfully but she was trying to keep this professional.
“Would you say at anytime did Molly Weasley seem remorseful for her actions, even if it was only a stinging hex it was a extremely overpowered stinging hex, as we have seen. And according to Madam Poppy Pomfrey it created a burn that was seven inches in length with a laceration that was three inches long and half an inch deep. Did she show any remorse for hurting her son with such a powerful hex even if she didn’t accept the responsibility for causing him to miss the step and fall down the stairs?”
“None at all. It was as if this was just an everyday thing to her. So she was angry when she cast the hex, maybe it was a little overpowered, but it was still just a stinging hex. So stop making such a big deal about it and let her go on about her way. That was basically what she was saying. At no time did she show remorse, even for the stinging hex. Nothing, it was as if she was blind to the fact she had just harmed her own son to an extreme degree.” Amelia stated.
“Very well, thank you that is all I have for this witness.” Ted stated.
Molly got up, looking rather proud of herself, as if she had all the answers now. “Did you have my or my husband’s permission to be in our house on August thirteenth?”
“No, it wasn’t necessary.” Amelia answered.
“Not necessary, of course it is necessary. You can’t just barge into someone’s home at the drop of a hat, when ever you want to. There are laws against that you know. Its called trespassing, you and your Auror were trespassing into my home, since I didn’t give you permission to be there. So any evidence you got from my home and my arrest were illegal and I am going to be suing the Ministry for your actions. I will own the Ministry by the time that I am finished with you.” Molly smiled real big at Amelia and looked down her nose at her as if she actually believed what she was saying.
Amelia just shook her head. “We were called to your place of residence following the commission of a crime. At that point we were lawfully entering your residence. Since we were there to investigate the commission of a crime, we had the right to gather evidence and question witnesses, or perpetrators of said crime; which we did. We spoke to a direct witness of the crime in question, gathered memories, and then we proceeded to detain you. We used Priori Incantatem to review the spells that were last used on your wand and found the stinging hex was indeed the last spell that was used, in fact a series of increasingly stronger hexes had been used. It was evident that the final hex used was so massively overcharged that if it had made contact with an individual it would have done severe physical damage.
“We had the right to be at your place of residence, because we were notified of a crime having been committed there. We had the right to investigate said crime because a witness to the crime described the crime in question and gave us his memories of such. We had the right to detain you due to the fact that all the evidence that we obtain verified the witnesses accusation and description of the events as explained to us. We had the right to remove you from the location and move you to a secure location while further investigation proceeded due to the flight risk you proved to be. We had the right to further our investigation by going to Hogwarts and speaking with all the other witness, and victim of the crime itself and getting their memories of said event and the events that followed. We had the right to charge you with the crimes you are currently facing based on the evidence that we found and presented to the court. Before you go quoting what your rights are perhaps you should speak to a Barrister and find out what rights you actually have.” Amelia stated
The smile fell from Molly’s face and she was left glaring at Amelia.
“If you don’t have any further questions for this witness then let’s move on shall we.” Madam Marchbanks stated.
Molly shoulders slumped as she walked back over to the Defense desk and sat down. Molly looked as if she thought she had used her last option to get out of this situation. And now things were hopeless. She sat slumped in her chair instead of sitting proudly with her nose stuck in the air. At least she did until Aunt Muriel struck the back of her chair with her cane, and she straightened up and sat in the chair correctly, with her head once again proudly held high and her nose again stuck in the air.
Harry just shook his head at the sight of Molly, trying to look like the proud pureblood that she was. When in truth she was just a normal witch who happened to have pure blood parents.
Ted stood up and went over to the witness stand and called out “I would like to call Dr. Marie Haskinhof to the stand please.” And with that the sharply dressed middle aged woman that had been sitting next to Amelia got up and went to take a seat in the witness stand. After she was sworn in Ted began.
“Dr. Marie Haskinhof could you please tell the court a little about yourself before we start.”
“Well my name is Marie Danielle Haskinhof, I am a Muggleborn and was raised in the Muggle world until I reached eleven years old when I met Professor, pardon me Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. I became a proud Gryffindor and graduated Head Girl in my year. I graduated with ten NEWTs and five with Honors, three with Distinctions. I left Hogwarts and went back to the muggle side of things and got a Masters in Psychology. Then I returned to the Wizarding World and began a residency with St. Mungo’s working with a Mind Healer to work on my Mastery as a Mind Healer on this side. I have received my Mastery in Mind Healing twelve years ago and have been practicing with St. Mungo’s since then.” Marie stated.
“Thank you, Dr. Haskinhof. Have you had the opportunity to speak with Molly Weasley?” Ted asked
“Yes, I have.” Marie answered
“And what is your professional conclusion to her mental health please?” Ted asked.
Dr. Haskinhof took a deep breath then began, “That is a complex thing to explain, first thing that was apparent was that she had little to no empathy for other people and that included her own children. Second, she had no respect for other people. By that I mean there is absolutely no one she respects for any reason, she doesn’t respects anyone’s privacy, she doesn’t respect anyone’s personal space, she doesn’t respect anyone’s right to make their own choices, she doesn’t respect anyones hard work it took to do something, and she doesn’t respect someone’s right to be different. She gives out an order and expects it to be followed without question or hesitation. This would make a great Sergeant in the Military, this does not make for a great mother. Children always want to know why? How? When? Who? Where? What? They always have questions, its part of how they learn and part of what allows them to grow up as adults. By denying them that you are denying them one of the most fundamental means of how they mature and grow up and become successful adults.”
“Then would you consider Molly Weasley a good parent?” Ted asked.
“I object!” Molly shouted,
“And what are you objecting to Mrs. Weasley?” Madam Marchbanks asked.
“She had no way of knowing if I would be a good mother or not just talking to me for a couple hours, and I resent everything she has said up to this point. She has no way of knowing any of that just by asking a few questions.” Molly said in a huff.
“Objection overruled. I may surprise you to know but it is her job to know these things about you with only a few carefully worded questions. Please answer the question.” Madam Marchbanks smiled at the Doctor and nodded.
“Dr. Haskinhof if you would please?” Ted asked.
“It’s alright people tend to not want to hear the negative things about themselves. As to your question no I would not consider Molly Weasley a good parent. Without the ability to empathize to other peoples pain or feelings, or have respect in any form for that person how can you show that individual love. And a child needs unconditional love. Molly Weasley’s love has so many conditions attached to it that it is impossible to achieve or obtain. Her whole goal is for them to make her happy, not the other way around. A child must know rules, her rules are ever changing. Take this incident with the Darcorns for instance, at first she was so proud of the twins for being chosen to be Riders but when it became inconvenient to her… she wanted them to give it all back including the Darcorns. And that is what she still wants, even though a Darcorn saved her son’s life. Due to the fact that they make George and Fred independent, and allow them to make their own choices she still demands that they give them up. She is so shallow that she is more concerned with her own wants and needs instead of what is best for her own children. She is inconvenienced by the fact that being a Rider allows the twins to be emancipated adults at the age of fifteen, this infuriates her and therefore they have to give everything back and refuse to be a Rider no matter the cost to themselves or their future.”
“Thank you, no further questions.” Ted stated.
Molly got up and tugged on her dress down sharply then marched over to the witness stand. “What gives you the right to say I am not a good mother? Do you have any children of your own?”
“Eight actually, yes. I have Steven who is eighteen years old. Scott who is sixteen years old, Jesse and Jordan who are fourteen year old twins, then there is Rachel who is twelve, Kathrine who is ten, Elizabeth who is eight, and Darrel who is four.” Marie smiled back at Molly. She knew that Molly was just going to say she had no right to say anything because she had no experience being a mother, but in truth she had more experience than her.
“Oh well, um…I see. But you still only spoke to me for a matter of a few hours how dare you tell all these people that I am not a fit mother, I am a wonderful mother.” Molly shrieked
“Your oldest moved to Egypt as soon as he left Hogwarts, your next child moved to Romania, and your twins moved out when they were fifteen all in order to get away from you. Does that sound like a wonderful mother to you?” She asked.
“They didn’t move away to get away from me! How dare you make such accusations! I want her fined or something for lying under oath.” She turned to Madam Marchbanks and demanded.
“Your request is denied. Did you have a question for the witness? If not, dismiss her and we shall move on.” Griselda stated.
“How dare you say that my children moved away to get away from me?” Molly glared at Marie.
“Simple, I asked them and listened. You forget that not only did I speak to you but I have spoken to all of your children and your husband as well. It is my job to be informed. And as part of my job I spoke to your two eldest, Bill and Charlie and they both stated that they took jobs as far away from you as possible. That they miss their family dearly but they couldn’t handle being around you any longer. The twins are the same way. They had the opportunity to get out from your iron thumb and they took it. They all adore their family, they love their father dearly and adore their brothers and little sister, but they cannot tolerate the way you try and control them and their lives any longer. Your definition of love it control, period. If you can’t control them then they aren’t worthy of your love.” Marie finished.
“That is not true, I love my children, but they need guidance and that is what a good mother gives, maybe you don’t understand that, but I do.” Molly stated then turned and headed back to the Defense table and sat down.
Madam Marchbanks shook her head and looked over the Prosecutions table and stated “Your next witness please.”
With that Dr. Haskinhof stepped down from the witness stand and headed back over to the seat where she was sitting previously.
“I rest my case at this time, Madam.”
“Very well, then the Defense may call its first witness.”
“I call Muriel Agustance Weasley to the stand as a character witness.” Molly looked over to Muriel who nodded and rose from her seat as if she were royalty or something and headed for the witness stand.
Muriel went up to the stand and was sworn in and Molly smiling brightly asked “Madam Weasley can you tell the court in your personal opinion what type of person I am.”
“You are a loving, giving, hard working, strong natured, woman that has worked hard most of her life, has loved and raised seven children on a paupers budget, but with proper management you managed to make it work. How I will never know.” Muriel stated.
“Would you say I am a good mother?” She asked.
“You care very deeply for all of your children, that much is very evident. You are quite proud of your three eldest and how well they are doing for themselves and you practically dote on your daughter, Ginerva, she’s the apple of your eye.” Muriel stated with her nose in the air.
“Thank you, no further questions.” Molly looked over to where the doctor was sitting with a smile on her face as if to say ’see there I am a great mother, you don’t know anything’ and she went back over and sat down at the defense table.
Ted got up and walked over to the witness stand and began, “Madam Weasley, you stated that Mrs. Weasley cared very deeply for her children, but you didn’t state that she loved her children, why is that?” Ted asked.
“It’s the same thing. I just chose my wording poorly.” Muriel clarified.
“Well actually it isn’t. You can care about your boss at work without loving them, you can care about your teacher at school without loving them, you can care about your neighbor without loving them. So you see they aren’t the same things at all. So which is it, does she love her children or just care about them?” Ted asked.
“I would have to assume that she loves them, any proper mother would love their children.” Muriel replied.
“Would any proper mother chase her child through the house firing overpowered stinging hexes at them. Hexes to the point that one landed and left a seven inch long burn, and a three inch long laceration that was one half inch deep, does that sound like a proper mother to you?” Ted asked
“Well no, but things happen. And sometimes we get carried away, sometimes we make mistakes.” Muriel attempted.
“Mistakes that almost cost our own child their very life? No more questions.” Ted turned and walked back over to the Prosecutions table and sat down.
“Call your next witness please Mrs. Weasley.” Madam Marchbanks instructed.
Muriel got up and headed back over to where she had been seated and sat down again, not looking quite the proud pureblood that she had only moments ago.
“I don’t have another witness.” Mrs. Weasley stated somewhat sadly.
“Very well, then at this time do you wish to finish you testimony or do you wish to be given veritaserum?” Madam Marchbanks asked
“Neither.” She stated firmly, expecting the court just to bend to her will.
“Very well, I call an close to this case. I shall make my determination on the guilt or innocence of each charge based on the information I have been presented to me at this time. Oh and Molly Weasley you are in contempt of court, again, and that will be one hundred galleons and six months in Azkaban no matter the judgement that I return with.” With that she rose from her seat and headed out a side door which the Bailiff opened for her. And he shut the door and stood in front of as if guarding it.
Molly looked at the door in disbelief with her mouth agape and eyes shiny with tears. No matter what she was spending at least six months in Azkaban. This can’t be happening to her.
Muriel stood up and shook her head at Molly, “You just had to be stubborn about that didn’t you. Why counts’t you just have answered their questions? What could you possibly have said that hasn’t possibly already been said? Now a Weasley will be going to Azkaban. I can’t believe you. And you can just find a different place to get the galleons from, because I certainly won’t be shelling out the galleons to cover your stubbornness nor your stupidity during this trial.” Muriel put her hands on her hips and glared at Molly as if daring her to say something.
At the Prosecution table things were a little more cheerful, Arthur asked Ted what he thought, “I think that her guilt of innocence is not in question, only the amount of time she should spend in Azkaban is in question. I am betting somewhere between twenty years and life. She has already irritated the judge enough for six months so I am betting it is going to be a heavy time frame. At least that twenty years is the absolute lowest she will get. Technically speaking she could get as little as five years if they pass on the attempted murder and stick with the aggravated assault in the first degree. That one has a term of five to ninety-nine years by it self, depending on the severity of the assault and injury. Basically I am expecting for the judge to call innocent on the attempted murder and call at least twenty years on the assault with a possibly of a review of the case after ten years or so.” Ted stated
“Twenty years, you think it will be that long? I be all grown you, married and having children of my own by the time before she is let out.” Ginny said crying.
“At least you will get to date and marry who ever you want and you won’t have her telling you who she wants you to marry. Or having her setting up dates for you to meet boys that would make you a good match like she did with me and Charlie. She kept trying to set us up with girls that she though would make good wives as soon as we turned sixteen, even after Charlie told her he preferred boys, she kept picking out girls for him to meet. It was so awkward it was pathetic. You can marry right out of Hogwarts, wait a few years, or hell if never want to marry that’s fine with us, as long as your happy that’s fine with us, as long as your happy that’s the only thing that matters with us.” Bill stated.
“Yeah but any bloke you decide you marry we get to check out first,” Charlie stated.
Ginny giggled and leaned on Bill her tears slowing down.
Arthur couldn’t help but smile at his boy’s, he knew that Molly’s matchmaking had caused been awkward for the boys, but he didn’t know it had left such scars in their life. Especially poor Charlie, he knew Charlie preferred boys to girls, and he remembered the awkward times that Molly had set Charlie up with girls up to meet young women. He had begged her to quit but she kept doing it, and that was shortly before he accepted the position of dragon tamer in Romania. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was one of the reasons that Charlie had moved so far away from them.
It was almost two hours before Madam Marchbanks came back into the room and they called the court back into session.
“You may be seated. Molly Weasley nee Pruitt please stand.” Madam Marchbanks stated.
Molly stood and waited impatiently for Griselda’s next words.
“Molly Weasley on the Charge of Attempted Murder in the first degree, I find you innocent. On the charge of Aggravated Assaulted in the first degree, I find you guilty and sentence you to twenty years in Azkaban. On the charge of Child Abuse in the first degree, I find you guilty and sentence you to twenty years in Azkaban. On the charge of Assaulting an Auror, I find you guilty and sentence you to five years in Azkaban. On the charge of Resisting Arresting, I find you guilty and sentence you to five years in Azkaban. These sentences will be served in the maximum security section of Azkaban and will be served concurrent, to begin immediately following the end of these proceedings. I also will allow the possibility of review on these charges after ten years.” Madam Marchbanks stated. She raised her gavel and pounded it three times signally the end of the trial.
Molly looked at Madam Marchbanks with wide eyes, then after a moment she fainted.
The next thing Molly knew was waking up in a small cell in prison garb laying on a hard, thin cot. She looked around the cell at its small room with a toilet in one corner and a single cot in the other and nothing else. There was a small barred window for light to come in the room but that was it. Her wand was gone, all of her belonging were gone, she was helpless and trapped in this room. Suddenly the terror of what was going on hit her, and she screamed.
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“I demand that you stop these attacks!” Cornelius shouted.
“I would love to Minister, unfortunately I don’t know when the attacks are going to happen nor where. It is hard to stop something from happening when you don’t know when or where its going to happen.” Amelia gave the Minister her best board look.
“You knew there was going to be an attack on St. Mungo’s, you told me so. Therefore you knew it was going to happen. I want this to stop! You said that there was a possibility that there will be an attack on Azkaban, I want you to stop that! I want you and your people to make sure that doesn’t happen do you understand me! I am getting too much mail associated with these attacks and I refuse to let this continue.
“We were given a warning that an attack might happen and a vague idea of when it might happen. The window for when he might attack was several months long. It was just the prisoners suggestion that if it was he, he would strike sometime close to Christmas to cause the most terror and fear in the people as possible. But it was a guess of a prisoner in custody, And how much we could trust what he was saying was questionable at best. Now I will be placing more guards at Azkaban and doing everything I can to make sure that a break-in at Azkaban will be as useless as possible for Voldemort, but beyond that I can’t do anything at this point.
“Well do more! I demand that you do more! The last thing we need is a bunch of criminals, that are probably insane by now, back out on the streets. I give you the authority to do what ever is necessary to make sure that that prison break does not succeed!” Fudge blustered, puffing out his chest and trying to look more important that he really was.
“Alright, just remember you said that though.” And Amelia turned and walked out of the Minister’s office and headed back to her own. In her office Moody, Shackelbolt and Dawlish were waiting not so patiently for her return.
As soon as she stepped into the room they began firing questions at her…”Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me walk into the office before being bombarded with questions first. Geez.” And she went over to her desk and set down, then nodded.
Moody started. “So what did the bloody fool want?”
“He want us to prevent the attack on Azkaban that might be scheduled to happened sometime before school lets out for the summer.” Amelia stated in a dull monotone voice.
“And exactly how are we suppose to do that? We don’t have a bloody clue when its suppose to happen.” Alastor asked.
“That is what I pointed out but he didn’t want to here it, he just demanded that it be done. Then he stated that he gives me the authority to do whatever is necessary to make sure that the prison break does not succeed.” Amelia sat there at her desk thinking, she was in such deep though she didn’t hear Alastor attempting to get her attention until he flashed red sparks at her from his wand.
“Oh so you decided to pay attention did you? Well, what is on that little bitty mind of yours, I could practically hear the rusty gears grinding from out here?” Alastor asked snidely.
“He stated he wants us to make sure it doesn’t succeed, not that it doesn’t happen at all. So I think if we put our recent additions, and out most famous pick of the litter to sleep, put them in an undisclosed location and do the full nutrient potions, and water, wand evacuations of waste, then I think we could just make this work. We pull all his old crowd out like Rodolphus, Rabastan and Bellatrix LeStrange, and Lucius Malfoy. Then we pull all the new people that have been put in there in the past three years, like Severus Snape, and Alecto and Amycus Carrow and all the mercs that he has been hiring lately. We put them all asleep and move them, set them up in the new location and begin monitoring them round the clock. We can post one person to monitor them so that would be three people we would need for that post. Then we would need a team to do the feeding and waste removal that we could trust, the Riders volunteered to help in that area. If we could get a team together to do it four days a week and then have them do it three days a week, that wouldn’t be too much a burden on them.” She decided.
“We have thirty, thirty and fourteen in just the last three attacks alone, let alone the ones in the Azkaban that are already there. That is a lot of people to maintain, do you think we can handle it?” Shackelbolt asked.
“The Riders are eleven people, and if they did it only three times a week they could do it. If we set it up with eight to ten people that did it four times a week, it would take a couple of hours and that is all. I think we could make this work. We would need a large team, but the larger the team the faster they get in there and get out. Working Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for three hours isn’t that bad. The Riders would have Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays again for about three hours. It might take them a little longer until they got into the rhythm of things and used to how to carry out the whole process quickly and efficiently.” Amelia explained.
“Shackelbolt, I want you to pick the people for the team personally. Since it is every other day and only a matter of three to four hours we will only need one team of eight to ten people. We want people that we can trust and we may need to have them take a Wizards Oath on their mission and the location of the prisoners. If they are unwilling to take a Wizards Oath, pass them over and move on to the next candidate. You are in charge of this project, I trust your judgement on this, so its your baby.” Amelia gave Shackelbolt a serious look and he nodded in response.
“I already have a few in mind, I will let you know when I have a full selection and who they all are.” Shackelbolt stated firmly, this was a huge responsibility and he was taking it very seriously. This was the kind of responsibility that could see him with a promotion if it turned out successful, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that it did.
With that Moody and Amelia sat down with the list of current prisoners of Azkaban and began to choose who all they were going to move to the designated location, and the plan for the transfers began.