Battle of the Heirs

"Now, if the rest of you will kindly start to take your seats, I need to speak with the Interrogators alone for a second." Mrs. Longbottom waited for the rest of the room to file out and take their seats in the judges' balcony before she continued. "As you all know, I have handpicked you because I know that you will ask the right questions in order to ensure a vote of no-confidence. I would like to caution you, however, against taking a line of questioning regarding his character; nothing can change the fact that he was celebrated as Head of the Auror Department." She looked at each of them in turn.

"The solicitor representing us is widely acknowledged as being one of the best in the field, and I am confident that we are sure to win this." With that, she stood and walked out of the room, leaving the three of them to follow

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"Will the solicitors please state their names for the court?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"Alberic Shingleton for the prosecution, Your Honors."

"Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary of Magic, for the defense, Your Honors."

"Very well; let us begin. Hearing of Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister for Magic; motion of no-confidence.

"Interrogators: Augusta R. Longbottom, Chief Witch of the Wizengamot; Tiberius Ogden, chair of the Wizengamot committee of Civil Court; Minerva McGonagall, chair of the Wizengamot Committee of Ministry Affairs; and Harry J. Potter, chair of the Wizengamot Committee of the Judiciary. Court Scribe, Percy I. Weasley.

"Mr. Shingleton, please state your case."

"Thank you, Your Honor. On the first of July, Madam Hestia Jones filed a motion of no-confidence with the court. As is the policy of both the Wizengamot and the Ministry, an inspection was conducted. Aurors Shacklebolt and Savage investigated the claims and have since presented the court with their findings, which demonstrated that Minister Scrimgeour has taken insufficient precautions regarding the protection of the Wizarding Community of Britain from the threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Thank you, Mr. Shingleton. Madam Umbridge, you have the floor."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Minister Fudge has done everything in his power to ensure that the current uprising of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will soon come to a halt. It is with great pleasure that I present this Court with a motion of confidence-"

"Objection, Your Honor! The Undersecretary knows that the court would need to address a motion of confidence before a motion of no-confidence. She is only trying to delay a ruling."

"Sustained. I agree. Madam Umbridge, you are well aware of the rules of this court; you needed to address your motion before the start of the trial, not during it."

Harry watched the color drain from his former Defense teacher's face.

"Mr. Shingleton, please continue. You may call your first witness."

"Thank you, your Honor. The prosecution calls Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Auror in charge of the investigation."

Kingsley walked to the chair in the middle of the courtroom and sat down. He swore a Wizard's Oath before looking up towards the balcony.

"Mr. Shacklebolt, will you please tell the court about the information discovered during the course of you investigation?" Mrs. Longbottom said patiently.

"Your Honor, we discovered that no trials were conducted prior to the imprisonment of the only three alleged Death Eaters apprehended during Minister Scrimgeour's time in office. Instead, the Minister himself conducted the interviews. In addition, in his press conferences he made the point that those arrested were 'known Death Eaters'; but nothing uncovered in my investigation was in agreement with this claim."

"Auror Shacklebolt, what can you tell us of your findings regarding the events of the night of the third of July?" Mr. Ogden asked.

"From what we could tell, the Ministry had no warning of the attack in advance," Kingsley stated.

"Mr. Shacklebolt, what can you tell us about the manpower employed in guarding and protecting Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"There were twenty-five Aurors stationed at Azkaban on the night in question."

"Excuse my lack of information on this subject, Auror Shacklebolt - but under the previous Ministers, how many Aurors were stationed at the prison?" Harry asked.

"A standard guard used to be made up of around fifty Aurors, plus the Dementors, who were still guarding the prison at the time. During the first war with You-Know-Who, however, there were easily a hundred Aurors stationed there at any given time," Kingsley responded.

"And Mr. Shacklebolt, in your professional opinion, as an Auror, is it true that more guards were required at Azkaban on the night in question?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes, ma'am, it is. Twenty-five Aurors is barely enough to control the prisoners themselves, to prevent a riot; under attack from outside forces, it is woefully inadequate.

"Auror Shacklebolt, did you interrogate the three suspected Death Eaters yourself?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"No, Ma'am; the Minister did that."

"Are there any other questions for Auror Shacklebolt?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. The rest of the Interrogators sat in silence. "Well then, Mr. Shingleton, please continue with your next witness.

Mr. Shingleton called a number of Ministry employees, each one of whom was questioned by the Interrogators as Kingsley had been, but Harry couldn't help but think that all of the other witnesses presented circumstantial evidence, at best; there was no hard evidence that would lead to the Impeachment of the Minister.

"Your Honors, I rest my case," Mr. Shingleton said an hour later.

"Very good. Madam Umbridge the floor is yours once again," Mrs. Longbottom said. Harry had been watching Umbridge for the duration of the trial; she had paled dramatically during Kingsley's testimony, but had since returned to her normal appearance.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I wish to call only one witness to the stand today; the Minister for Magic himself, who I am sure you will agree is the best man to speak in his own defense." She resumed her seat, smiling her falsely sweet smile - back to her usual cocky self, Harry noted grimly as he rubbed the scars on the back of his hand and returned the expression.

Scrimgeour walked to the chair in the middle of the room, performed the Wizard's Oath and studied the members of the court as he waited to be questioned; Harry could only surmise that he was trying to decide how the votes were likely to fall. Unwilling to wait any longer for the others to begin, Harry asked the first question.

"Minister, we have heard evidence today that you personally interrogated the three suspected Death Eaters the Ministry is currently holding. Would you mind telling this court why charges have not yet been brought upon them?"

"There is not currently enough evidence; we would not sentence them until we were certain of their crimes."

"In that case, sir, why they have not been released?"

"They are suspected of being highly placed in the inner circle of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Is that so? So tell us, if you please - if they are so highly suspected of being in the inner circle, why have the interrogations of these three not led to the apprehension of other Death Eaters? One would think that those in the 'inner circle' would have been able to give you other names?"

"They have been very uncooperative in that matter."

"Sir am I mistaken, or is Stan Shunpike one of these suspected Death Eaters?"

"He is, Your Honor."

"And would you explain to the court why you are so convinced that he is a Death Eater?"

"He confessed as much in the Hogs Head Pub in Hogsmeade, and was overheard by an undercover Auror."

"Mr. Scrimgeour, what would you say if I told you that I had overheard the same man telling a young witch at the Quidditch world cup a few years ago that he was the youngest Minister for Magic in history?"

"I would say that the young man had quite an imagination."

"Hear, hear!" one of the spectators yelled. Harry was sure it was one of the twins, but he couldn't be sure, as they were hidden by the crowds.

"Silence in Court," Mrs. Longbottom said, unruffled.

"I am sure you would, Mr. Scrimgeour," Harry continued, ignoring the interruption. "Now tell me, Mr. Scrimgeour, why you are holding someone who is known to have such an 'imagination', as you said, without a trial, and with very little evidence against him.

"We already know from speaking to the other witnesses that the Aurors had nothing to do with the investigation; that you conducted the interviews yourself. Is there a possibility that you interrogated the suspects yourself so that you could be sure that they would be found guilty?" He looked at the Minister, who had turned very pale. "After all, you need to show the public that you are doing something towards stopping Lord Voldemort..." The audience gasped at the sound of the name - good, thought Harry. They need to know that I'm unafraid of him. That's what will gain me support.

"As I have stated previously, it was a matter of national security."

"National security, sir? I would say that it was more a matter of job security." Finished with his questioning, he waited to see if any of the others had anything to say. In front of them, the Minister was spluttering angrily, and had gone from a ghostly pallor to being red in the face.

None of the other Interrogators seemed inclined to interrogate the man, but Hermione tapped him on his shoulder and passed him a note: Ask him about Azkaban.

"Minister, what happened at Azkaban on the third of July?" Harry asked slyly.

"I believe you have already heard evidence on that, Mr. Potter." Harry noticed that his voice had soured.

"Yes, I believe we have, Minister. But I am asking you to tell us."

"The Death Eaters attacked Azkaban."

"And all of the known Death Eaters were released, correct?"

"Yes."

"And were any of your three suspected Death Eaters released along with the known ones Death Eaters?"

"No," he muttered.

"I see." He paused. "Perhaps you could enlighten me, Minister, as to why there were only twenty-five Aurors stationed at the prison that night?"

"Because the rest were stationed at different locations."

"Where, sir?"

"The Ministry, St. Mungo's, the Minister's Mansion, the Muggle Prime Minister's office."

"Excuse me-" it seemed that Professor McGonagall had caught it too; "Did you say, 'the Minister's Mansion'?"

"Yes Ma'am, I did."

"And why were they stationed at your mansion that night?" McGonagall asked.

"I was having a little get-together."

"... So you are telling us that you used a highly trained group of Aurors as your bodyguards for the night?" Harry could tell that her anger was beginning to get the best of her.

"I saw it as a matter of national security," the Minister said again, though he sounded less confident this time.

"And Azkaban, which was holding several dangerous Death Eaters, was not?" She pursed her lips.

"I deemed there to be a sufficient number of Aurors to guard the prison."

"Do you still stand by that?" she asked.

"I do!" he yelled. Harry tried to keep himself from grinning at the Minister.

"Mrs. Longbottom," Harry interjected, "I think we have heard enough evidence on this matter. I, for one, am ready to render my decision."

"Very well. Any other questions for the Minister?" No one moved. "Alright then. This court is here to decide whether the motion of no-confidence brought against the Minister has been substantiated. All those in favor of the motion to remove the Minister from office, please raise your hand. Harry's hand shot up, and as he looked around, he saw that others were following his lead. He did a quick hand count; it was going to be close.

"And those who are opposed?" Once again, Harry quickly counted the hands. "The Court has ruled. The motion for no-confidence carries. As Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, I hereby strip Rufus Scrimgeour from his office. The Wizengamot will now retire to the chambers to discuss possible candidates for replacement; when our decisions have been made, they will be presented to the Ministry Departmental Heads, who will make the final decision. Until a vote can take place, Madam Umbridge, as undersecretary, will be the temporary Minister for Magic. This court is dismissed."

The members of the Wizengamot stood and returned to the chambers.

"Everyone, please take your seats; we still have a lot of work to complete today. Does anyone wish to nominate a candidate to run for Minister?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"I do," Harry said meekly. "Arthur Weasley. He is currently head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects; he's a good man. We need to stop acting defensively in this war, and I think that he would be more than capable of taking an offensive stance."

"I second that nomination," Professor Marchbanks said softly. "I think my final vote should be one of my conscience."

"Very well. Any others?"

"I want to nominate Amos Diggory," a middle-aged witch said flatly; the nomination was quickly seconded.

"Any other nominations before we adjourn for the night?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"I have one," Mr. Ogden said. "I want to put forward Mafalda Hopkirk." She was seconded a few seconds later. Mrs. Longbottom looked around, but no one else spoke up.

"Alright then, if that's everyone, myself and the three committee heads will go and inform the Ministry members of our choices." Harry, Professor McGonagall, and Mr. Ogden all stood to follow her into the courtroom again. Apart from Luna, Neville, the Weasleys, Lupin, Tonks, and Professor Thorne and Connor, all of the members of the public had already left. From the judges' balcony, she summoned a long table, which she brought to rest in front of the witness stand. The eighteen Ministry members - the Head Officials from each Ministry Division - sat at the table, facing the balcony.

"The three nominees are Arthur Weasley, Mafalda Hopkirk and Amos Diggory. You will be dismissed for the night in four hours; if no replacement Minister has been chosen at that point, you will reconvene at 10am to continue the debate. If you need to contact a member of the Wizengamot, speak to the guard at the door."

She returned to the chambers, followed by Harry and the others, finding the room empty save for Hermione and Madam Marchbanks, who were involved in a discussion about Arithmancy. The enormous table from the meeting had been moved away, and instead the room was full of comfortable-looking armchairs, and there was a large fire roaring in the grate despite the warm weather - presumably, Harry thought, the rest of the Wizengamot must have Flooed home.

"How long do you think they'll be?" Ron asked.

"It's impossible to say: Scrimgeour was chosen in less than an hour; with Fudge it took two days. It really depends on the nominees - was actually chosen in less than twenty minutes; I believe that only took one vote. It was a major accomplishment, considering that there were five other candidates that year," Madam Marchbanks offered, handing cups of tea to everyone.

The teens, plus Charlie, Bill and Fleur, moved towards the other side of the room, Connor following them after a moment's hesitation.

Hermione turned to him to introduce them all. He listened as she reeled their names off, and then replied, "Hey, I'm Connor."

"Yeah, we know..." she grinned at him.

"I'm not used to having to move to a new place!" he said. "All these new people... Mom never moved around once she moved to the States. Hell, she never even told me she was from Britain; I thought for years that I had been born over there. Never thought we'd move here."

"Why did she decide to move back? McGonagall only wrote to her yesterday, and here you are today, ready to move into the castle..."

"She hasn't really said. I overheard her talking to Mrs. Diamond, the Principal of Salem. Mom told her that she was needed here more - that was all that was said. I found it a little strange, since it's really unlike her to just pack up and leave like this. When I asked her about it, all she would say was that she was needed back home. I must admit it was a shock to learn that America wasn't home - she always seemed so happy there."

"How much do you know about your Dad?" Ginny asked.

"Not much. Mom just said, when we were packing yesterday, that he died in the line of duty. She said she would tell me more about him, and why we were moving here when we got to... Hogwarts?" He looked questioningly at Harry.

"Yeah, that's right," Harry said reassuringly.

"It's one of the top schools in Europe; I know it's right up there in the world's best schools, too. That's hard to judge, though, since the standards are so different in different parts of the world."

"Tell us all about America," Ron said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of stories about the foreign country.

Harry looked over to where the adults were sitting, involved in a rather intense discussion. Professor McGonagall glanced up and motioned him over. Harry got up and walked over to where they were sitting.

"Finvarra and I have been discussing class schedules for the term. I have decided that I will personally teach you Animagus Transfiguration - I am sure that Hermione Ron will both wish to join in as well. Finvarra here has agreed to give you special skills to ensure that the skills you will require to be an Auror are up to par. Once you include your normal classes, plus ones for the areas that Remus and Nymphadora wish you to train in, you will have a very busy schedule." She glanced at her watch. "Harry, we have to get going soon if we are to meet the others tonight." He stood, and everyone else followed suit.