I'm A Slave For You-Chp86

I'M A SLAVE FOR YOU

As the public court hearing drew close, everyone was on their toes on the situation. More and more sensational news were published and broadcasted throughout the wizarding world and everyone was debating about them. It was as if the Ministry scandal was the new pick-up line for "How's the weather?" for everyone nowadays. As before, sides were taken and there have been more than once where their debate led to tongue-lashing and fist-fights even within the families and the entire wizarding world's atmosphere was rather tense.

The Order was, of course, the main target of all this hype. In fact, ever since they have made their secret group public, they have been subjected to various mishaps and mysterious occurrence. Albus suffered the worst of the blows because he, Lil and Beck (who were bunking in at his place for the moment until the public court hearing) were the ones with the crucial evidence to take down the Ministry. More than once, they found themselves being ransacked as things were thrown around, cabinets were opened and messed about, files strewn around, and heck, even clothes were torn apart as the Ministry have probably sent secret parties to help them find the crucial evidence in vain. Only Albus was the one who knew where he kept them and he did not even tell Lil or Beck for fear of them being targeted to reveal the whereabouts, and knowing the Ministry, the last thing they wanted was bad publicity and suspicion of sending people to interrogate an old man. But just for precaution, Minerva had advised that they should be shadowed by Hagrid to get extra security, since Hagrid, due to his tremendous—and perhaps terrifying—size, is least likely to be harmed by the Ministry's advances.

Sirius, now that he was no longer out of the Ministry's radar, has been constantly receiving harassing visits from them to make him confess and tell where he had hidden Draco and his family. He was forced to remove all his portraits for fear of them ratting him out and also send away his hired help back to their homes until the thing blows over so that they would not accidentally make a slip up if the Ministry pushed any further. The only person who refused to leave was Paprika, and probably something good came out of all this harassment because somehow it had forced Sirius to confront his true feelings for this little Spanish slave girl and finally confessed it during another one of their heavy bedding.

Fleur and the Delacour family were also harassed occasionally by the Ministry for betraying the Ministry's trust and going against them secretly when they should be working for them to be on the lookout for Voldemort's whereabouts, but was hailed by their fellow Frenchmen for their bravery of going against them, although the minority who took the Ministry's side gave them quite a bit of trouble along with those who thought ill of them working for the Ministry in the first place, allowing the Ministry to relocate Harry's French relative and have them killed. Both her and Bill who worked in Gringotts Bank lost their jobs because Gringotts couldn't afford to lose customers due to their presence and their involvement in the Order and were forced to be laid off, but at least they have discovered love for each other and planned to be wed once this whole thing blew over.

Aberforth was equally worse off from the hype as he was losing income from the lack of customers coming into Hog's Head. Costs were too highly spent on damages when fights break out in the bar debating about the Ministry scandal that he could no longer hold his job as bartender. He had to temporarily quit his job and he was definitely making his estranged brother Albus remember that it was his fault this happened. Mundungus was branded a snitch and a sneaky spy by his fellow outlaws and beat him into a pulp, and was barely alive when Aberforth found him at the side of the road. Of course, Albus was more than willing to take him in as the hired help and the prideful Dung accepted it, claiming that he was just accepting this temporarily just until he could get back on his feet to establish his ground hold as an outlaw again.

The rest of the Weasley family was also affected by the hype as they were immediately branded as blood-traitors by those who took the Ministry's side. It was a no-brainer that Arthur lost his job in the Ministry, but he did not mind. His wife Molly was worried that if he had continued his employment there, he would be harmed even further anyway. The Weasley twins' business was affected as well from the hype, and it gotten to the point where they had to close shop because the Ministry supporters were vandalizing it in more ways than one, even scrawling death threats on their walls and windows. Ron was getting mixed looks from everyone, both the Ministry's supporters and non-supporters, but Hermione was with him every step of the way. The Grangers did offer them to take refuge for the moment at their place, but they did not want to be a hassle, and they had to be there just in case something went wrong with the upcoming public court hearing.

The only Weasley family member that was gaining from this hype would probably be Charlie because not only dragon trainers live a secluded life, meaning news did not travel fast to them as regular wizarding citizens do, thus the lack of being harassed, but also because the Ministry scandal spoke levels to the Japanese magical creatures who took refuge and worked there, especially Hiroshi the demon fox, and was heralded by them for fighting against the corrupt Ministry. Arabella Figg was perhaps the least of all that was affected by the Ministry since she was a Squib and spent most of her time with her cats in the Muggle world, but she did occasionally get some owl infestation of sorts because of threatening letters sent to her by both the Ministry supporters and those who hated her for working for the Ministry on the Voldemort lookout, and also the mixed looks she got whenever she paid a visit to the wizarding world to get her supplies.

The DA members were not exempted from the effects of the hype as well. Coupled with the fact that they were under constant scrutiny and occasionally interrogated by the Ministry on information about the Ministry scandal and about the crucial evidence (which, of course, they honestly have no idea of because it was under the possession of Albus and the old man hadn't told anyone about its whereabouts), the school itself was giving them a hard time trying to cope before the public court hearing. They were mostly getting it from the Slytherins because most of them had families working under the Ministry or were pureblood elitist, but no matter how they tried to prove it, it either backfired on them or was just plain useless.

Hannah Abbott almost got herself expelled because someone accused her of potion abuse or ingesting something illegal to allow her to pass her exams, though it was partially true that she secretly took some Calming Draught that was snuck to her by Harry. Katie Bell almost got herself killed when someone slipped some sleeping potion into her drink that took effect when she was going down the stairs, and she would've been paralyzed, or worse, have her neck broken, if someone had not quickly cast a Levitation spell to break the fall. She broke a few ribs and maybe her wrist, but at least she was safe and sound…and alive.

Terry Boot sustained bruises and lesions from books that mysteriously fell off the shelves once or twice, and was once thrown into the lake by some unseen force and had to be rescued by the professors before the mermaids drag him under. Lavender Brown had an argument with someone who was insulting Ron of being a blood-traitor and their fight got so out of hand that her hair was caught on fire with the Inferno Curse. Needless to say, she had to get a haircut that probably rivaled any tomboy haircut you have ever seen because of the damage it did to her. Surprisingly, just like Fleur and Bill, they somehow discovered love for each other and how many common things they shared while they were comparing their injuries and their requited love over Hermione and Ron respectively that fateful day in the Hospital Wing, and much to the relief of the Old Married Couple, they were no longer bothered by their pursuits again.

Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory were not spared by the harassments either. Someone had somehow managed to kidnap Cho and dragged her into the maze that was used during the Triwizard Tournament and hid her wand somewhere within the school so that she would not signal anyone to rescue her. Then they sent a threatening note to Cedric to make him go into the maze, but had somehow managed to charm the maze so that it would behave worse than it was when he was taking the Triwizard Tournament. It took the DA members and Hagrid, with his tracking skills, almost 3 days before they finally found either of them, tired and dehydrated—mostly Cho, due to the shock—and another 3 days to help locate Cho's wand with the help of the school ghosts.

The couples Michael Corner and Ginny Weasley were also nowhere safe from their wrath, especially Ginny as she was branded a blood-traitor along with her family. Ginny would have threatening letters and hate mail stuffed in her bags or in her wardrobe, and even had her pet cat flayed to death and dumped onto her bed, while Michael would end up seeing 'BLOOD-TRAITOR LOVER' scrawled on the walls of his dormitory and his books torn to shreds with those words written in bold and with charcoal all over it until he was forced to buy new books before the cycle repeated itself again. If it weren't for Ginny's famous move of the Bat-Bogey Hex, they would've given her more trouble.

Justin Finch-Fletchley, being that he's Muggle-born, was constantly given dirty looks by them, and more than once, he would find himself at the butt end of a bad joke or pranks that were cast on him, adding him being a Mudblood as insult to injury. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were also equally harassed, one of them almost being raped if it weren't for Argus Filch, who thought they were making out due to his failing eyesight, coming in and interrupting them. They both had begged each other to go home where they would be safe, but neither would back down, mainly because they didn't want to worry their families any more than they already did, especially their Muggle side of the family, and that they would not allow either of them to face the harassments alone.

Anthony Goldstein also almost suffered the same fate of being expelled for cheating in exams, which of course was not true since Harry had no part in his exams and that he only helped him with his studies, as were the same case for Ernie Macmillan. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet seemed to have suffered their harassments via Quidditch, sustaining more injuries than even a pro-Quidditch player would get and yet those responsible of hurting them not being penalized or Lovegood had had her share of being bullied even before the hype, but after the hype, the bullying seemed to have gotten worse, to the point where it actually forced the normally nonchalant Luna into actual tears when they took her mother's wand she had kept as memento and flushed it down the toilet. Thankfully Moaning Myrtle was there to help her retrieve it for her or she would've cried her eyes out for the first time in years.

The twins Padma and Parvati Patil also had their share of being harassed, the worst being that the handmade gifts that were given by Harry being destroyed. They were almost tempted to leave school but Hermione managed to persuade them to hang on and be strong for Harry's sake. Zacharias Smith almost got himself expelled as well when the bullying drove him to a huge fist-fight that escalated to the point where he threatened to push the person off the Astrology Tower, and would've almost done it if it weren't for Ron badgering him to let the person go or whatever Harry had done to make him a better person would've been in vain. Of course, that didn't stop him from almost blowing the person's teeth off and he was given 3-month's detention.

Susan Bones and Marietta Edgecombe was probably the most worst off of all the DA members that have been harassed with, along with Lee Jordan. Because Susan's aunt and Marietta's mother was in the Ministry, they were branded traitors of the family. They were dragged out of their dormitory in the middle of the night by their heels and were tied onto the branches of the Whomping Willows before being left there to suffer its wrath. Hagrid found them the next day, still in their binds but on the grass below probably because of the force of being tossed that broke the ropes they were hanging from, totally bruised and battered and probably fractured in different places but at least still alive. No one could be named or convicted because they were attacked in the dark and without warning and they could not make out their faces, but it was a no-brainer that it had to be someone from the Slytherins, though no one fessed up about it.

Lee Jordan, now that the Ministry scandal went public, did not require using any secret channels or secret headphones to hear his broadcast and went a little too trigger-happy on the broadcasting until he got careless in being tracked. He was lucky to be able to get away before the Ministry managed to locate and arrest him, but he was found later on with devices that led to him owning a pirate radio channel and was immediately ratted out by a Slytherin, so while they cannot convict him with being the person who made the broadcasting without evidence (since he had used a voice-altering potion), he was convicted with owning and manhandling pirate radio machinery, making him an accomplice and was forced to be expelled from school.

So far, the only people safe from harm more or less was the prophesied people themselves. Tonks, Moody and Kingsley may have lost their positions as Aurors in the Ministry because of the scandal and their involvement of boycott along with the Order, but that did not deter them from doing the best they can to prevent the Ministry from getting their hands on them. Draco and his family were still in the clear as so far no one suspected Tonks keeping them in her house, and Harry and Severus were still good as the St. Mungo staff continued to delay his release, adding his potion-poisoning to the list of excuses to keep him detained, though the Aurors were starting to get a little restless and suspicious but unable to act without the Ministry's orders.

The situation was troubling, but everyone knew they had to hold on.

For the sake of the wizarding world's future.

--:--

Everyone was gathered in the Wizengamot court as the public court hearing drew near within the hour. Those who were not authorized to be in the court, especially the general public, were urged to wait outside and listen to the hearing via megaphones that were installed outside the court. A few selected people from the press, including Rita Skeeter, were allowed into the court while the rest had to stay outside along with the others and listen to the hearing just like everyone else.

Just like during the trial of Severus against his crimes over impregnating Harry and every other trial, the atmosphere was tense and grim, with the haunting settings and the works. But this time, there were no plum-coloured robes worn on everyone because the ones being on trial were the Ministry members versus Albus and the Order, backed up by ministers of the branch ministries. The chair with the chains were not needed, and in its place were two pedestals, one for Cornelius who represented the Ministry and one for Albus who represented the Order and the people. Percy was still in charge of taking notes of the trial, and to avoid any bias, someone from the branch ministries was the one to read out the customary preliminary notes and announced the interrogators in charge of the case, which were the handful of people of the Ministry that were not corrupted by the Ministry's system.

"Now we shall read the charges," the announcer concluded the preliminary notes and moved on to another parchment. "The charges are as follows: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Minister of the Ministry of Magic, versus Cornelius Fudge, Head Minister of the Ministry of Magic, on the charges of conspiracy, which includes mass genocide via hired assassination, harassment and attempted murder of the child of Harry James Potter and Severus Snape and the child of Draco Malfoy and Remus John Lupin, and massive cover-up prior to a prophecy of grave importance. What do the parties plea?"

"I plead them guilty of all charges," Albus said, earning a few murmurs of mixed emotions from everyone.

"And I plead not guilty of all charges," Cornelius retaliated, backed up by agreements by people of the Ministry.

For the next one hour and a half, both parties went into hot debate, measuring and counter-measuring the evidences displayed before the court, and of course, earning loud protests and denials from the Ministry's side. There were a few times where they had to be kept in line or there would've been fist-fights and wand-waving followed. It got to the point where there were indeed wand-waving and they had to be confiscated before they ended up hurting anyone in the courtroom.

"This is outrageous!" Cornelius shouted. "This is a big stupid carnival act! He has no proof that we have hired this monster Voldemort to commit such atrocious acts and all the evidence he had shown so far are circumstantial. Who knows whether or not those are either fabricated or tampered evidence just so he could take over my spot!"

"You know as well as I do that my age will no longer permit me to have any validity of seat on your spot," Albus replied. "You are just as paranoid as you are the day you were given your position. And I will not go as low as fabricate or tamper evidence, unlike you who will stop at nothing, even kill my future great-grandchild just to ensure you can maintain your elitist ideology."

"This is clearly contempt of the court! He should be removed from this courtroom and waive this as a mistrial."

"Pipe down, both of you," one of the interrogators warned them before turning to Albus. "Mr. Dumbledore, is there any other conclusive evidence you would like to present?"

"Yes," Albus said. "This is the most crucial of evidence that I…"

Before he could finish what he said, a sudden loud crash sounded at the entrance as the doors were blasted open into smithereens. The crowd who were waiting outside listening to the hearing had either been killed, severely wounded or fled the scene, screaming in horror as they went. Everyone started to cower as well when the assailant looked up, his snake-like eyes and billowing white hair illuminating his evil presence.

"Hello, Ministry. Your prodigal son has returned."