Chapter 244: Trial of Dolores Umbridge: Part-2 (1/2)
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The moment Sirius asked for Albus Dumbledore to be called, the courtroom buzzed in murmurs — be it the Wizengamot Jury or the audience members, everyone had something to say, and all ears to listen what others had to say. Dumbledore hadn't been seen in the Ministry ever since last year, and to see the ex-Chief Warlock step into the courtroom was a momentous moment.
The Usher exited through the door, leaving a sliver of a crack open. Not a single person in the courtroom didn't have their eyes anywhere but the door. Half a minute later, the Usher entered back into the courtroom and stood by the door side, holding it open — and then from the outside, entered Albus Dumbledore, walking in with a smile on his face, like he had never left. His twinkling eyes shone in the dim room, taking in everybody that sat in the room.
He silently walked over to the stand, bowed to Owler and the Jury before facing Sirius.
”Please state your name and occupation for the record,” asked Sirius.
”Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, I serve as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.” If it was before, then the list would've extended to Supreme Mugwump of International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of Wizengamot, but today, he was just the headmaster.
”Mr. Dumbledore, can you tell us how did Dolores Umbridge come to be teaching at Hogwarts?”
Dumbledore glanced at Umbridge, seeing the eyes that wished to shoot a green jet of magic that'd put an end to him. ”Dolores took the position at Hogwarts as the Defense Against The Dark Arts because I was unsuccessful in procuring a replacement for Alastor Moody, who vacated the position after the end of the previous term. She was appointed by the Ministry through an Educational Decree issued during the fifties, which stated that if Hogwarts isn't able to fill a teaching position, then the Ministry would provide a suitable replacement.”
”So, is she?” asked Sirius. ”Is Dolores Umbridge a suitable replacement?”
”Objection!” said Spindlewheel, standing up. ”Your Worship, that question doesn't have anything to do with the current matter in hand. The Prosecution is trying to attack and slander my client's character.”
”Overruled,” said Owler, not even looking up from his table as he wrote his notes, ”the charges on the accused are of child endangerment and abuse, which she supposedly performed while in her tenure in Hogwarts. Her ability to guide students is critical in this matter. Headmaster Dumbledore, you may answer that question.”
Spindlewheel sat down, his face ugly scrunched up. He had done some digging with his friends who had children in Hogwarts; not a single of their children had anything positive to say about Umbridge, much less sing praises.
”I truly wish I could say otherwise,” said Dumbledore sounding sympathetic, ”but Dolores isn't fit to hold a teaching position.”
”Would you mind elaborating?”
”She eliminated the practical portion from Defense Against The Dark Arts, which renders the subject moot as its core aim is to teach students to defend themselves, and learning theory without practical lessons is not the way to approach the subject. Even if somehow, students were able to learn the subject, which I repeat isn't possible, Dolores replaced the curriculum with asinine material that is a black spot in the name of education.”
”Objection!” Spindlewheel got up once more and spoke to Owler, ”Your Worship, the decision to change the curriculum and eliminate the practical portion of the subject was a Ministerial decision, and my client was only following the orders of the Ministry. Mr. Dumbledore is trying to put unjust blame on my client, and because of that reason, I suggest that Mr. Dumbledore be disqualified as a witness.”
Spindlewheel was Umbridge's barrister, not the Ministry. His aim for this trial was to get Umbridge out of trouble, or at least make it so that she came out relatively unscathed — if he had to bury the Ministry in the process, he would do it.
Fudge's bloated face went red in his seat; he could feel the stares on him.
It wasn't entirely his decision! Fudge thought. It was Umbridge who had suggested that to him, but he couldn't say any of that as it was his signature that went on the orders. He looked up at Umbridge, but she refused to make eye contact with him.
Owler tapped his digits on his table, thinking about Spindlewheel's appeal. After thinkings for a few moments, he told his decision, ”Albus Dumbledore's statement about the accused's teaching abilities is not going to be included in this trial, but the court isn't going to disqualify him as a witness. The Prosecution may continue with Albus Dumbledore.”
Sirius pinched his lips together for a brief moment. He wanted the responsibility of education degradation in Hogwarts and had thought that Spindlewheel would let it pass, thinking that he might have some contact with Fudge, but it seemed that Spindlewheel was firmly on Umbridge's side.
'No matter,' thought Sirius, it might be a small bump in the short-term, but in the future, they could nail Fudge because of the blame now falling upon him.
”Headmaster Dumbledore, did Dolores Umbridge ever come to talk to you about protesting the change in curriculum?” asked Sirius.
”No, she didn't.”
Sirius glanced at the Jury but didn't expand on it. Sometimes, it was better to let things sit and let people make up things in their minds.
”As the Headmaster, what can you tell us about Dolores Umbridge's influence at Hogwarts in her position as the High Inquisitor?”
Dumbledore paused in thought before answering, ”Dolores, in her position as High Inquisitor, issued more than sixty Educational Decrees over the span of months, and using those, she had created an environment in which it was problematic to defy her. If a student wanted to complain about a Professor, they needed to go to Dolores, meaning that if some had to register a complaint against the Professor of DADA to the High Inquisitor, they wouldn't because they are the same person. Every single Educational Decree ever issued restricted students in one way or another; not one did give students more freedom or benefit from what they had before Dolores stepped into Hogwarts.
I would also like to say that if it wasn't Dolores fault for ruining DADA, then it was one hundred percent her fault that I got multiple requests from my students about dropping Muggle Studies as one of their subjects because Dolores restricted Professor Lily Potter from teaching anything outside of Ministery approved material, and I would like to point out that she accused Professor Potter — a muggleborn — of teaching make-belief things about our muggle counterparts.
She also blatantly disrespected Professor Filius Flitwick — a half-goblin — when she banned books by half-breeds. Professor Filius Flitwick is a master of charms and has published many academic books which enhanced the value of the Hogwarts library — and by introducing that Decree, she made him feel not welcome in what has been his home for decades.”
Dumbledore's voice had turned passionate when he had started to talk about his Professors. Sirius, who listened to Dumbledore speak, smiled — if there had been any damage to Dumbledore's credibility because of his previous statement being thrown out, then he now surely had recovered it.
”Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore,” said Sirius and turned to Spindlewheel. ”Defense can cross-examine the witness.”
Spindlewheel stood up from his chair and spoke with his eyes on some papers laid on his table. ”Mr. Dumbledore, I don't have much to ask you, but I do want to talk to you about a particular incident,” he raised his head to look at Dumbledore, ”would you please tell the Jury about the incident in which you assaulted Ms. Umbridge by transfiguring her into a sock?”
A silence zoned down into the courtroom as everyone looked between Dumbledore and Umbridge. Dumbledore had turned Umbridge into a sock? They didn't know about this, which boggled everyone's mind because it was Umbridge, and the woman would have chewed him to the bone by now. But here they sat, listening to this for the first time.
”What would you like me to tell about it?” asked Dumbledore, his speech unhurried and stance open.
”Why did you turn Ms. Umbridge, along the two Aurors who were accompanying the Minister, into socks?”
Fudge closed his eyes, cursing his past self who thought it would be advantageous to be a part of Wizengamot Jury today. Now he had to sit here under the eyes of his peers, without being able to leave. After today, one thing was for sure: people would look at him, the Minister, differently.
Amelia, on the other hand, was already looking forward to going back to her office and ordering the two Aurors who had been assigned to the Fudge, and asking them why she wasn't informed about this, then further ask them if they would be liked to be booted from the Auror Corps.
”The Minister threatened to have me arrested because I asked him to leave. He ordered his Aurors to arrest me, and I felt threatened because of my wand not being near me,” said Dumbledore with a lack of urgency.
”.. . You didn't have your wand? But you transfigured three people into a sock — two of them were Aurors.”
”Yes, I did, with wandless magic,” said Dumbledore as if natural.
”And despite that, you felt threatened?” Spindlewheel asked, his tone uncertain.
”Why yes. Any wizard would feel vulnerable without their wand. I'm no different. Now that I look at it, I feel that my actions were hasty. If I had talked through it, no magic would've come into use.”
”So you agree that it was your fault?”
”Partially, yes.”
”Rest of the fault lies in the hand of the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, who threatened you.”
”Yes.”
”And Ms. Umbridge, who was a bystander and hadn't threatened you, was a victim of your magic.”
”Yes, that seems to be the case.”
”But in reality, you attacked her because she threatened your position as the Headmaster.”
”No, that wasn't my intention.”
”But, you didn't apologize to her afterward when you realized your fault.”
”No, I didn't.. .”
Spindlewheel turned to the Owler and the Jury, ”The Defense has nothing more to ask of Albus Dumbledore.”
Sirius stared at Spindlewheel, his lips pressed into a white line. He was good, Sirius thought. In one line of questioning, despite Dumbledore's calm external, Spindlewheel had successfully dented Dumbledore's credibility as a character witness. But it was fine, looking at the bigger picture outside of the courtroom, they — The Light Faction — could nail Fudge for implementing the now-in-question Educational Decrees.
Sirius got up from his chair and spoke to Owler, ”Your Worship, the next witness is who we — Prosecution and Defense — have deemed to be the student representative of the twenty-nine affected students.”
Spindlewheel nodded, ”The Defense confirms the Prosecution's statement.”
”I would like to call Quinn West to the stand,” said Sirius.
When the Jury and the audience heard about the student representative, some thought it would be a random student, while others remembered that it'd be Harry Potter from the projected footage, but they didn't expect to hear the name ”West” come out of the barrister's mouth.
The Usher led Dumbledore out, and when he returned, he came back with a teenager dressed in a dark grey three-piece suit. It wasn't anything particular, but no one doubted that this was a West — maybe it was the way he dressed, or how he walked, or perhaps it was just the way he looked around the courtroom like it wasn't a stage too big for him.
Quinn calmly took the stand, bowed to the Jury, then to Owler, and nodded to Sirius and Spindlewheel before matching eyes with Umbridge, to whom he sent a small smile — not one of mockery, but a straightforward one with no reflective intention than smiling.
After Quinn was sworn in and asked to state his name for the record, Owler was the one to address Quinn.
”Mr. Quinn West, on behalf of the court, I'd like to thank you for stepping forward as the representative of the students affected,” said Owler with a comforting smile.
Quinn wordlessly bowed with a smile. If it was putting away Umbridge, he would rise from his grave if needed.
Sirius stood up and began the Prosecutors' side of questioning. ”Mr. West, you're one of the twenty-nine students who were assigned detention with Dolores Umbridge, correct?”
”Yes,” said Quinn, ”to my knowledge, I'm number twenty-nine.”
The projector was fired up again, and the holographic footage showed Quinn sitting across from Umbridge, writing with the blood quill in hand.
”If you'd tell to the Jury what did Dolores Umbridge made you write? What did she make you cut into your hand line after line, for hours at length, and for many days.”
Quinn turned to the Jury and spoke in a clear voice: ”I must obey Professor Umbridge.”
Many members of the Jury gasped. All of them immediately looked at Umbridge, who looked ahead as before, but this time around, her eyes were focused, and chin raised high. It was clear what she thought of the matter.
”Mr. West, please tell the Jury why did Dolores Umbridge assign you the detention under her?”
”I refused to open a locked door for her.”
Sirius turned to the Jury. ”Mr. West is an exemplary student who's always top of his class, a Prefect for his house, respected by his peers and well-liked by his Professors. This makes him a model student, but that's not all — Mr. West here started a club with the aim to help Hogwarts students. He calls it AID — which is the abbreviation of Aid In Distress. He has been helping students through AID since his second year, much before he was awarded the position of the Prefect, which tells us much about Mr. West.
But, this year, AID faced jeopardy when Dolores Umbridge threatened to close the beloved club right at the start of the year — and she did it by threatening Mr. West through an Educational Decree which didn't have the authority to close down AID — she tried to abuse her authority—”
”Objection!” spoke Spindlewheel. ”Your Worship, the Prosecution is speculating Ms. Umbridge's intention and in doing so are slandering her!”
”Sustained,” said Owler, ”Prosecution will refrain from making such comments.”