The silence in the hallway was deafening after Hermione told them that she had seen Harry’s death in her latest vision. After a few moments, Ron gathered up Hermione and they all went to the Room of Requirement. Ginny configured the room with three love seats arranged in a triangle.

When everyone had sat down, Ron put his arm around Hermione and patted her shoulder. “Just tell us, slowly, from the beginning.”

Hermione sniffed and said almost robotically, “It was very short, like the others. Ginny is tied up to a tree, probably in the Forbidden Forest. Harry walks up and as he approaches her, I notice Voldemort and a witch are standing near Ginny. The witch points her wand at Ginny and Ginny screams for a few moments. I’m guessing that she was keeping Harry away from her with a threat of torturing her more. Voldemort says something to Harry, but I can never hear any voices in my visions. Harry then throws his wand toward Voldemort. and kneels before him. Next, Ginny screams in pain again for a few seconds. After she is done screaming, Harry stares at her for a moment, and looks back at Voldemort. Harry kneels before Voldemort, Voldemort raises his wand and a green light travels toward Harry, hitting him in the chest and he collapses on the ground, dead. I could see him lying there, his eyes glazed over, staring off into space. Then, the vision ended.” Hermione buried her face in Ron’s chest one more time as she began sobbing again. Ginny did the same against Harry’s chest.

After a few moments, Harry asked, “Hermione, do you have any idea when this vision is going to take place?”

Hermione shook her head. “I couldn’t tell, Harry. But most of my other visions occurred pretty soon after I had them,” she answered shakily.

“Well,” said Harry, with a confidence that he didn’t really feel, “I survived the Killing Curse once; I guess I’ll need to find a way to survive it again.”

The next few days were filled with researching a totally different subject and all six students immersed themselves in the task of finding a solution to this problem. Hermione was evicted from the library at closing time every night, and was even found there twice by Filch in the middle of the night, asleep with her head on an opened book from the Restricted Section. On orders from Dumbledore, he just woke her up and sent her back to her dorm. The others worked almost as tirelessly, but no answer was found. Harry stayed with Ginny as much as possible, hoping to prevent them from being separated which would allow the events of Hermione’s vision to transpire, although Harry privately felt that there was probably little they could do to stop the vision from occurring.

**********

June 16, 1998

Dear Aaron,

The school year is winding down. I have survived the end of year exams, but I am nearly exhausted from all the revising (that’s what they call studying here) and then the exams themselves. For each class we are taking we had a written exam that lasted the entire morning and in the afternoon we had to take an oral portion. Boy, am I glad that they’re over. I’m also glad I’m not taking as many classes as my friend Hermione. I’m still not sure how she handled it all. I think I did okay. Some of the written portions were hard as they covered material from previous years, but I received some excellent feedback on a few of the oral exams. We should be receiving our results about a week after school is over.

After the exams, we had a day set aside for our research project presentations. Each of the seventh-year students was given ten minutes to summarize what they had learned from their project. Some were fascinating, others not so much. Afterwards, there was a special banquet for the seventh-year students and the faculty, and the cooks really outdid themselves. It was definitely the best meal I have had here at school.

After the dinner my friends and I were sitting in the common room of our dorm talking about our futures, which are going to be incredibly diverse. Dean is going to be attending art school in France. Seamus is going back home to Ireland to help his mother run the family pub. Neville is going to be studying botany. Ron is going to give professional soccer a try. (Professional Quidditch actually, but Harry didn’t think he could explain how a supposedly intramural sport could lead to a professional sports career.) Hermione is going to university, but she isn’t sure what she is going to study yet. (It was a still a ‘mystery’ what the Department of Mysteries was going to have Hermione research, and it could possibly stay a mystery.) Lavender and Parvati are hoping to open a small boutique selling make-up and accessories, focusing on the teen and young adult market. Of course, you already know my plans.

As I look back on my year here, it’s ironic to recall how nervous I was when the school year started, as I have made such good friends. The sad truth is that, as close as we are, there is a good chance that we may not see each other ever again. We’ve all said that we’ll keep in touch, but I know that probably won’t happen. I guess you’re probably going through the same emotions as you are attending all of those graduation parties.

Or maybe you think I’ve become a girl with all this sappy stuff. Enough of that. Hope the rest of your senior year went well. I hope the baseball playoffs went well, too. Write back soon.

Your friend,

Brook

**********

At dinner the next day, the doors to the Great Hall suddenly flew open, revealing several Aurors framed by the massive pillars that decorated the doorway. The lead Auror stopped, took several steps into the Great Hall and pulled out a scroll. He pointed his wand at his throat, said “Sonorus,” and read from the parchment. “The Ministry of Magic hereby demands that Harry James Potter be taken into custody immediately so that he can face trial tomorrow morning for violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Where can I find Mr Potter?”

Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna all jumped up quickly, pulling out their wands and forming a protective arc around Harry. Harry stood up and asked them to relax. Dumbledore came down from the Head Table, talked to the Aurors, and then came over to the students.

“Unfortunately, Harry,” he said sombrely, “the papers are in order. I recommend you go with them peaceably and we will sort this out in the morning.”

Harry thought, This might be it. This is how he separates us. He hugged Ginny, kissed her on the cheek, and then whispered to Ron, “Don’t let Voldemort get her while I am gone.”

He then went with the Aurors. He had to give them his wand and submit himself to being placed in chains that prevented Apparation. He was transported via Portkey to the Ministry and placed in a holding cell overnight.

While lying on the uncomfortable camp bed and staring at the ceiling, he wracked his brain, trying to come up with any time that he might have inadvertently revealed magic to a Muggle. I have been very careful in my letters to Aaron not to reveal anything and I rarely leave Hogwarts. When could I have violated the Statute? He tossed and turned, and the longer lay there without sleeping the more anxiety he felt.

As his worry peaked, he suddenly felt a wave of peace and encouragement come over him. Thank you, Ginny! he thought. He wished he could communicate with her in some way, but, no matter how hard they had tried, they had been unable to reproduce sending thoughts through their Bond. They guessed that Harry was only able to talk with Ginny mentally because of the desperation he felt in the cemetery. He sent back as much love as he could muster to let her know he had received her gift. He then rolled over and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**********

In the morning, he was led down several flights of stairs to a dark room dimly lit with torches. He was led to the centre of a large room. His eyes travelled around the room, seeing empty benches arranged around the room in ever higher rows. To his right there were several people holding quills and parchment, recognizable as the press. At the centre of the conically shaped room was a wooden chair with chains on its arms. and on the floor in front of it. Harry was led to the chair roughly and the Auror pointed at the chair, making it obvious that he should sit. As soon as he sat, the chains instantly glowed gold and trapped his wrists. A door high above him opened and in walked dozens of older wizards and witches in plum-coloured robes, all emblazoned with a ‘W’ on the front, led by Professor Dumbledore. They sat in chairs arranged in rows opposite the side holding the press. Dumbledore sat down in front of a desk centred in the first row. Through a door on his level walked in a witch who sat at a table to his left.

Professor Dumbledore lifted a gavel and banged it on the desk. “I call to order this judicial session of the Wizengamot this thirtieth day of June 1998 to hear the case of the Ministry versus Mr Harry James Potter on charges of violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. For the record, please identify yourselves.” He pointed first to the witch at the table to his left.

The witch, a short, squat woman with a face that Harry thought resembled a toad’s, stood. She wore black robes, and atop her mousy brown hair was perched a small pink hat with a black bow, which struck Harry as something he had seen in old movies based in the fifties. “Delores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, representing the Ministry, sir.” Her voice was high-pitched, sickly sweet, and it grated on Harry for some reason.

Dumbledore pointed to Harry and Harry answered, “Harry James Potter, sir.”

“Madam Secretary, you may present your case,” said Dumbledore.

“Hem, hem. Chief Warlock, sir, I have a motion to place before the Wizengamot.” She pulled out a parchment and used her wand to send it up to Dumbledore. As he opened it and perused it, she started again, “As you can read, the motion is requesting that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore be recused from this hearing because of his relationship with the accused.”

“Madam Secretary, this is a highly unusual request. I would say that I have a relationship with almost all wizards and witches in Britain due to my being Headmaster at Hogwarts.”

“Yes, sir, but I am sure you would agree that your relationship with the accused is closer than most. After all, you did search for him for years until you found him this past summer. And you arranged for special tutoring over the summer and during the school year just so he could attend Hogwarts. And you arranged for his identity to be hidden until this past December when it was only revealed when a member of the press learned of your deception. All of this was revealed in a published interview with the accused this past December, which I can present to you as evidence, if necessary. I would ask that these actions show a bias towards the accused and that, thus, you should be removed from hearing this case.”

Dumbledore looked around to his fellow members of the Wizengamot and saw that they were discussing the points made by Umbridge, and he made a decision. “Instead of putting this to a vote of the whole body, I will recuse myself.” A wicked smile appeared on Umbridge’s face. “But I will still participate in this hearing by acting as an advocate for Mr Potter, as he has never seen a Wizarding trial before, and he will probably benefit from some advice.” He then stood, walked down the stairs to the floor and sat behind Harry.

Meanwhile, a woman took Dumbledore’s seat behind the desk and struck the gavel. “You may proceed, Madam Secretary.”

“Thank you, Madam Bones,” the witch said as she bowed to the new magistrate in charge of the trial. She then strode in front of the table and addressed the assembled gathering. “Esteemed members of the Wizengamot, we plan to show that Mr Potter, with wanton disregard to the laws of our world, did use magic in front of a Muggle, showed off in front of said Muggle in order to seduce her, and did not report his use of magic to the appropriate authorities so that she could be Obliviated. I would like to call my first witness, Madam Davinia Miller.” A door to Harry’s right opened and a middle-aged woman walked in, climbed the steps to the witness stand, and sat down.

Just as Umbridge was rising to start her questioning, a door in the back flew open and a wizard ran in. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but I have an urgent message for Headmaster Dumbledore!”

Madam Bones replied, “This is a very important hearing; you will have to wait until it is over to deliver your message. Please leave.”

“But, but, I have to let him know …”

“Aurors, please have him removed so that we can proceed.” One of the Aurors pointed his wand at the man, silencing him, and then two Aurors grabbed him under the arms and escorted him out of the chamber. “Please continue, Madam Secretary.”

“Thank you, Madam Bones.” Umbridge turned toward the witness, “Madam Miller, can you tell us what you saw on the night of 8 April 1998?”

“Well, I was just closing up my shop. You see, I run an apothecary for both Muggles and magical folk in a small town near Brighton. It was a stormy night and the wind was picking up. I heard a loud crack and looked up and saw a woman scream as the wind uprooted a tree and sent it flying at her. But before it could land on her, she flew about ten metres through the air, landing in the arms of Mr Potter there.”

Umbridge smiled. “Did you know this woman?”

“Yes, I could see that it was Aubrey Phillips. She is one of my Muggle customers.”

“I see,” Umbridge said as she nodded. “What happened next?”

“When she arrived at Mr Potter he hugged her for quite a while. He eventually let go of her and they were talking. I was still too far away to hear anything they said. But then Mr Potter picked up a few stones, obviously trying to impress her, and he magically juggled them without touching them. It worked, as she stood with her mouth gaping open and then she kissed him. She tried to leave and he called after her, probably trying to go home with her, but she turned him down and she went up to her flat.”

“Thank you, Madam Miller,” said Umbridge with an obvious smugness. “You are dismissed.”

Madam Miller began to stand up when Dumbledore held up his hand. “If I may, Madam Bones? Madam Miller could I ask you a few questions before you leave?” She sat back down and nodded. “I just want to clarify a few things. You said that you could not hear anything was said between Miss Phillips and Mr Potter, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“So, you don’t know for a fact that he was trying to, as you put it, ‘impress her’, with his magic. All you saw was this man saving this woman’s life and then doing some magical juggling.”

“Yes, that is all I saw. I don’t know what was said.”

“Did you at any time see Mr Potter use his wand?”

“No, I did not see his wand.”

“And were there any other witnesses to this?”

“There was a girl with Mr Potter, but I don’t know who she was.”

Dumbledore waved his wand and an image of Ginny floated in front of Mrs Miller. “Is this the woman you saw?”

The witness looked at the image for a moment. “Yes, that is her. I recognize her red hair; it is hard to miss.”

Dumbledore turned to the members of the Wizengamot. “Madam Bones, this is an image of Ginevra Weasley, Mr Potter’s fiancée. Thank you, Madam Miller. That will be all.”

Madam Bones then asked, “What other testimony do you have, Madam Secretary?”

Umbridge stood up with that smug look on her face again. “That is all. But certainly that is enough to see that Mr Potter used magic in front of a Muggle for his own sexual conquest and didn’t take steps to make sure she would not remember the events. I suggest for this blatant misuse that he have his wand snapped and he be sent to Azkaban.”

Dumbledore stood and said, “Certainly, Mr Potter is entitled to a defence, is he not, Madam Bones?”

“Yes, you may present your case now, Headmaster.”

“First, I would ask why the Muggle in question, Miss Phillips, I believe her name is, is not testifying herself as to what happened that day? Or has she already been Obliviated?”

Umbridge stood up again and said, “We have been unable to find her; she seems to have disappeared. We fear the worst as a man matching the description of escaped prisoner Sirius Black has been spotted in that village recently; we believe that he may have killed her for some reason.”

Dumbledore nodded. “I see. Then, can I call Ginevra Weasley, who was a witness to the events as well?”

Umbridge quickly said, “I object. As Mr Potter’s fiancée, she obviously cannot be trusted to give unbiased testimony.”

The Wizengamot members mumbled to themselves for a moment and then Madam Bones upheld Umbridge’s objection. Dumbledore then said, “I guess, then, my only choice is to have Mr Potter to testify on his own behalf.” He walked over to Harry and asked, “Mr Potter could you explain what happened that evening?”

Harry said, “Ginny, Miss Weasley, and I had just finished buying some groceries and were walking back to the cottage we were staying at, when we heard a crack and a scream, just like Madam Miller said. I saw Miss Phillips about to be crushed under the falling tree and acted instinctively. I reached out my hands and thought Accio woman and she rushed towards me. She did put her head on my chest because she was crying from the fright and I did comfort her, but I did not try to seduce her. When she settled down, she asked how I did what I did. I knew I couldn’t reveal to her that I was a wizard, so I tried to think of an explanation that she would believe. Then I thought of ESP. It stands for extrasensory perception. Basically, ESP entails a number of abilities involving the brain, like reading another’s thoughts, making prophecies, and moving objects with your mind, for instance. As I was raised with Muggles, I knew that she would be more likely to believe in ESP than magic. As a matter of fact, when Professor Dumbledore first revealed the Wizarding world to me, I thought that he was suggesting I had ESP and that was the reason I could do the things that I now know is accidental magic. While most Muggles don’t believe it exists, some do, so I told Miss Phillips that I had a type of ESP called telekinesis. To prove it to her, I did magically juggle the stones, but to show her that I really could do it, not to ‘impress her’ or ‘seduce her’ as I have been accused. After all, I was right next to my fiancée. I asked her to keep it a secret and she promised to do so. As she left, I asked her if we could help her get home, but she said she could make it herself. That’s what really happened. I convinced her that I had abilities that were not magic, so I didn’t report it to the authorities.”

Umbridge stood up again. “Mr Potter, are you trying to make us believe that you, a wizard who has been trained for less than a year can do nonverbal and wandless magic? Obviously, you are lying about that so none of your testimony can be believed.”

A mischievous grin grew on Harry’s face and he looked at Dumbledore, asking for permission to show his abilities. Dumbledore gave his head a slight nod that no one else noticed. Harry waved his hand inside the chains and Umbridge’s pink hat with the bow came off her head and flew into his grasp. The look on her face was priceless.

Dumbledore said, “He seems to be not lying about his magic, Madam Secretary. Perhaps he is not lying about the rest either. Without a witness that can corroborate that he did indeed try to seduce this Muggle by showing off his magic, I don’t see how he can be convicted of these charges. The Statute does allow for the use of magic in cases of emergency, such as a life-threatening situation. I would move that all charges be dropped and Mr Potter be released immediately.”

The members of the Wizengamot discussed among themselves for a few minutes and then Madam Bones rapped the gavel on the desk. “Mr Potter, all charges have been dropped and you are free to go.”

The chains binding Harry to his chair suddenly opened, allowing him to rise, and he walked over to Dumbledore, shaking his hand. “Thank you for your help, sir. Let’s get back to Hogwarts; we have a Leaving Feast to attend this evening,” he said with a smile. As he said this, Harry noticed a very perturbed Umbridge gathering her parchments and stomping out of the room.

Madam Bones approached them before they could leave the room. “Mr Potter, I apologize for bringing you here for this trial. It seems that Minister Fudge’s toady was a bit overzealous in trying you.” Her disdain was obvious in her tone. Harry suppressed the urge to laugh at the double meaning of the insult against Umbridge. “Had she brought this case to me, I probably would have avoided a trial altogether.”

At Harry’s noticeable confusion, Dumbledore explained. “Madam Bones is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She usually reviews the evidence in criminal cases and decides whether to proceed with a trial or not.”

“However, in your case, Umbridge bypassed me and went directly to Fudge,” said Madam Bones. “I don’t know why, but I suspect that either she or the Minister has something against you.”

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. “I would not be surprised if the Minister is upset about your role in Voldemort’s return. The news was released without his knowledge and without him being able to put his spin on it before it appeared in The Prophet. His office has also received much criticism about their management of the Death Eaters in the last few months. I am sure he feels powerless against them and blames you for all of it.”

“He wouldn’t have to feel so powerless if he wasn’t handcuffing my department at every turn,” said Madam Bones with frustration in her voice. “I have requested more funding, more training for my Aurors, approval to question people with past ties to Death Eaters, approval to use Veritaserum during questioning, and he has blocked my every suggestion.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “But that is a fight for another day.” She held out Harry’s wand, saying, “Here is your wand that was confiscated yesterday, Mr Potter. I hope the rest of your day is more pleasant.” After giving Harry his wand, she turned and quickly left.

Harry pocketed his wand and he and Professor Dumbledore followed Madam Bones out of the courtroom. As soon as they opened the door, the wizard who tried to deliver the message earlier grabbed Dumbledore’s arm and said, “Headmaster, Hogwarts is under attack! You must get back there immediately!”

A/N: When I was looking for a title for this chapter, I learned that “toad in the hole” is a traditional British dish consisting of sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter (Source: Wikipedia). I thought the title fit, combining Umbridge’s appearance and the layout of the Ministry courtroom with rows and rows of benches high above the floor where the defendant was seated.