Jumble Fic- Part One
Title: Inquisition Part ONE
Author: Devonwood
Format: Fic
Rating & Warnings: PG-13/T
Prompts: Extendable Ears; Molly/Arthur Weasley, Harry, Umbridge; Ponder; Drama
Word Count: 3,353
Summary: “Case Number J10027, Remus John Lupin, Werewolf.”
Author’s Notes: This took so much longer than I’d anticipated....a little rushed at the end, though. I also have over a dozen fics to catch up with, so…I’m going to be busy for a while. :D
“Wish me luck.” Were the final words he whispered into her ear, before placing a small kiss on her cheek and striding into Courtroom 10 with as much confidence as he could muster, given the circumstances. Tonks followed warily behind him, her hair a shade of brown that really brought out the colour of her eyes.
The thought of her dressing down for the occasion scared Remus a tad, but he refused to show it as he pulled out a seat for her next to him on the Defense table. He sat down gracefully and folded his arms across the table before he finally allowed himself to look up at the council, brushing the fringe from his eyes with one hand, and smoothing down his best robes with the other. It seemed that nearly half of the Wizengamot was present, all elderly, all adjusting their glasses perched atop their noses as they shifted in their chairs. His eyes inadvertently shifted over to the serious criminals’ chair, of which the giant metal bars seemed to be creaking without anything to make the sound. The chair below him shifted under his weight, and the handcuffs jingled menacingly, but he paid them no attention.
Dolores Umbridge, who was unfortunately acting as Councilor, cleared her throat and began speaking in her annoyingly high-pitched voice.
“Case Number J10027, Remus John Lupin, Werewolf.”
She looked down the row to the scribe, making sure he was writing down every hate filled word that flowed from her mouth.
“Dolores Jane Umbridge, Councilor to the Wizengamot.”
”Sebring Tobias Finch, Head of the Dangerous Beasts Division”
Remus couldn’t focus his eyesight, or his hearing, very well by this point, so he stared straight ahead and took a giant swallow. Tonks’s hand found his under the table, and gave his thigh a thoroughly welcomed squeeze. His eyes lit up, though his stoic face never slipped into a smile, and he placed his rough and calloused hand over hers. When the names had finished being transcribed, Umbridge cleared her throat again and a toad-like grin spread across her face.
“State your name for the record.”
“Remus John Lupin. L-u-p-i-n.”
“Ah, someone used to giving an identification.” Umbridge said with a sadistic grin, though Remus could only guess as to what hurtful thing she was implying with her tone.
“You are here today to, let me see,” she shuffled around a few of her papers, “Ah yes. You want to appeal Section Five, Clause B of the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Acts put into effect as of two years ago by yours truly. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Councilor.”
“Oh goody. I’ve been waiting for a dangerous beast like yourself to try and abolish that law.” Her face was contorted into a smile that looked as though it could raise the dead. Remus felt his blood boiling, but Tonks’s small hand on his thigh cooled it immediately.
“Pardon me, Councilor, but I think the term ‘dangerous beast’ is subjective, if not a little on the offensive side.”
Umbridge feigned a look of shock, and the stubby wizard beside her coughed unceremoniously into his hand. She shot him a glare, and turned back towards Remus with that plastered on smile.
“Werewolves are the most dangerous of all the beasts in the Wizarding world, Mr. Lupin.”
“Only on the full moon.” He heard Tonks mumble beside him.
The plump witch placed a pair of large spectacles on the brim of her nose. “And we can’t have the risk of breeding even more of…your kind. Clause B of the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act clearly states that ‘No dangerous beast shall be permitted to join union, in Holy Matrimony, or otherwise’.” She cleared her throat and removed her glasses, leaning forward on her elbows as she talked.
“I don’t really see a loophole here, Mr. Lupin, so I don’t really see the point of y-“
“That’s where you’re wrong, Councilor. ‘No dangerous beast shall be permitted.’ Nowhere in there does it state that a werewolf cannot marry.” Remus sat up straighter in his chair, causing Tonks’s hand to shift towards his knee, which she gave a reassuring squeeze.
“Well, that’s implied.” She replied tersely, tidying up her papers in one giant stack. The rest of the Wizengamot hadn’t made a noise until that point, but they began mumbling among themselves until Umbridge held up her hand for silence.
“I beg your pardon, Councilor, but ‘dangerous beast’ is, as I said before, subjective. Lord Voldemort,” several people shuddered at the mention of his name, at which Tonks could be seen rolling her eyes, “could be considered a beast for the crimes he has committed, and he is most certainly dangerous. If he walked up to a Preacher, he would be married on the spot. So why are our cases different?”
“He-who-must-not-be-named is not a werewolf, Mr. Lupin.” She huffed. “And if he walked up to a Preacher, they would most certainly turn him to the Ministry.”
“I only have the option of killing once a month, and with the help of the Wolfsbane potion, there is no option at all.” He said quietly, staring at each of the Wizengamot as he talked. “There is no potion you can give Lord Voldemort to make him docile.”
Several murmurs of agreement from the council could be heard, and Tonks tightened her grip under the table-she had to be white-knuckling his leg by now, he knew, but his hand was covering hers like a blanket.
Umbridge cleared her throat for order, but no one could make out the difference between that, and the normal throat-clearing she normally did. She rapped her stubby fist on the desk, and everyone fell silent.
“You-Know-Who is not the one in question here, Mr. Lupin. You are. So if you have no evidence, then let us proceed with the v-“
”I have witnesses, Councilor.” Remus interrupted, which caused her eyes to nearly bulge out of her head.
“Witnesses? You have thirty eight years worth of witnesses?”
“That would be silly.” He smiled, running his thumb over Tonks’s tiny fingers. “I have a few witnesses, Councilor, who I believe have a wide variety of things to say about me.
Umbridge sighed and glanced at her timepiece as though this whole affair was holding up something else that was far more important, but she waved her hand to the scribe.
“Bring the first one in. And be snappy, boy!” The scribe rushed as fast as he could, and Remus thought he looked like he was about to wet himself. When he opened the door, in tumbled a shaggy haired young man, who hastily shoved a flesh-colored object in his trainers. He stood up and brushed his raven colored hair out of his eyes, and made his way up the long aisle behind the scribe, who looked as though he wished he could see the scar for himself.
Umbridge stiffened at the sight of him, and her face screwed even tighter as he sat down on the witness chair and turned to face her.
“Good morning, Professor Umbridge. I see you’ve healed nicely.”
“That’s none of your business, Mr. Potter.” She snapped, straightening her papers again. Harry grinned cheekily, but faced forward and gave the slightest of nods to Remus.
For the first time since declaring his name, the short wizard on her right spoke up.
“Given your previous…erm…history….with Mr. Potter, I think it wise that another of us should question him.”
Without even waiting for a response from Umbridge, whose mouth was half open with a reply, he began the questioning.
“State your name for the record.”
“Harry James Potter. P-o-t-t-e-r.”
Sebring Finch cleared his throat, and looked down at a single paper in front of him.
“You attended six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“And in that time, you had Mr. Lupin as a teacher?”
“Professor Lupin, sir, yes. Defense Against the Dark Arts in my third year.”
“Bit off that a werewolf teach something against the Dark Arts, isn’t it?”
Harry bristled, but clenched and unclenched his fists. “Werewolves, as you define them, are dark creatures-not those who practice the Dark Arts. You don’t have to be an ‘animal’ in order to do harmful magic.”
Everyone on the panel turned and briefly stared at his scar, before turning away with varying degrees of blushes.
Finch’s mouth thinned. “So, Mr. Lupin taught you for only one year. Why is that?”
“Professor Lupin was the best Defense teacher we had.” He said while staring directly at Umbridge. “But there was…an accident.”
Harry explained, obviously fishing for the right choice of words. “Professor Lupin was unable to take his Wolfsbane potion, as there were matters of dire importance to attend to on the eve of the full moon.”
“And these matters would be?” Umbridge asked, and Finch glared at her.
“Which would be?” he echoed, looking down the brim of his nose at Harry.
“Searching and finding a convicted mass murderer, Councilor. We would have turned in the culprit, but Professor Lupin tried to save us from harm, and didn’t think about himself-which is why he transformed.”
“Transformed on school grounds?” Finch asked, and Remus gulped a bit. This part of his case would either make or break the panel’s decision.
“Yes, sir. But he ran off into the Forbidden Forest, and stayed there until morning. No students are allowed in the Forest, so we were completely safe.”
“You have gone into the forest many times, Potter.” Umbridge interrupted again, ignoring Finch’s glare.
“My Hogwarts record is not on question here, Councilor. There are many creatures in the Forest; thestrals, unicorns, acromantulae, centaurs.” Umbridge paled a bit. “The law-abiding student wouldn’t encounter any of them.”
Sebring Finch coughed into his hand, and nodded towards Harry. “You are dismissed, Mr. Potter.” He turned towards the scribe again. “Bring in the next witness.”
Continue to PART TWO
Author: Devonwood
Format: Fic
Rating & Warnings: PG-13/T
Prompts: Extendable Ears; Molly/Arthur Weasley, Harry, Umbridge; Ponder; Drama
Word Count: 3,353
Summary: “Case Number J10027, Remus John Lupin, Werewolf.”
Author’s Notes: This took so much longer than I’d anticipated....a little rushed at the end, though. I also have over a dozen fics to catch up with, so…I’m going to be busy for a while. :D
“Wish me luck.” Were the final words he whispered into her ear, before placing a small kiss on her cheek and striding into Courtroom 10 with as much confidence as he could muster, given the circumstances. Tonks followed warily behind him, her hair a shade of brown that really brought out the colour of her eyes.
The thought of her dressing down for the occasion scared Remus a tad, but he refused to show it as he pulled out a seat for her next to him on the Defense table. He sat down gracefully and folded his arms across the table before he finally allowed himself to look up at the council, brushing the fringe from his eyes with one hand, and smoothing down his best robes with the other. It seemed that nearly half of the Wizengamot was present, all elderly, all adjusting their glasses perched atop their noses as they shifted in their chairs. His eyes inadvertently shifted over to the serious criminals’ chair, of which the giant metal bars seemed to be creaking without anything to make the sound. The chair below him shifted under his weight, and the handcuffs jingled menacingly, but he paid them no attention.
Dolores Umbridge, who was unfortunately acting as Councilor, cleared her throat and began speaking in her annoyingly high-pitched voice.
“Case Number J10027, Remus John Lupin, Werewolf.”
She looked down the row to the scribe, making sure he was writing down every hate filled word that flowed from her mouth.
“Dolores Jane Umbridge, Councilor to the Wizengamot.”
”Sebring Tobias Finch, Head of the Dangerous Beasts Division”
Remus couldn’t focus his eyesight, or his hearing, very well by this point, so he stared straight ahead and took a giant swallow. Tonks’s hand found his under the table, and gave his thigh a thoroughly welcomed squeeze. His eyes lit up, though his stoic face never slipped into a smile, and he placed his rough and calloused hand over hers. When the names had finished being transcribed, Umbridge cleared her throat again and a toad-like grin spread across her face.
“State your name for the record.”
“Remus John Lupin. L-u-p-i-n.”
“Ah, someone used to giving an identification.” Umbridge said with a sadistic grin, though Remus could only guess as to what hurtful thing she was implying with her tone.
“You are here today to, let me see,” she shuffled around a few of her papers, “Ah yes. You want to appeal Section Five, Clause B of the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Acts put into effect as of two years ago by yours truly. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Councilor.”
“Oh goody. I’ve been waiting for a dangerous beast like yourself to try and abolish that law.” Her face was contorted into a smile that looked as though it could raise the dead. Remus felt his blood boiling, but Tonks’s small hand on his thigh cooled it immediately.
“Pardon me, Councilor, but I think the term ‘dangerous beast’ is subjective, if not a little on the offensive side.”
Umbridge feigned a look of shock, and the stubby wizard beside her coughed unceremoniously into his hand. She shot him a glare, and turned back towards Remus with that plastered on smile.
“Werewolves are the most dangerous of all the beasts in the Wizarding world, Mr. Lupin.”
“Only on the full moon.” He heard Tonks mumble beside him.
The plump witch placed a pair of large spectacles on the brim of her nose. “And we can’t have the risk of breeding even more of…your kind. Clause B of the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act clearly states that ‘No dangerous beast shall be permitted to join union, in Holy Matrimony, or otherwise’.” She cleared her throat and removed her glasses, leaning forward on her elbows as she talked.
“I don’t really see a loophole here, Mr. Lupin, so I don’t really see the point of y-“
“That’s where you’re wrong, Councilor. ‘No dangerous beast shall be permitted.’ Nowhere in there does it state that a werewolf cannot marry.” Remus sat up straighter in his chair, causing Tonks’s hand to shift towards his knee, which she gave a reassuring squeeze.
“Well, that’s implied.” She replied tersely, tidying up her papers in one giant stack. The rest of the Wizengamot hadn’t made a noise until that point, but they began mumbling among themselves until Umbridge held up her hand for silence.
“I beg your pardon, Councilor, but ‘dangerous beast’ is, as I said before, subjective. Lord Voldemort,” several people shuddered at the mention of his name, at which Tonks could be seen rolling her eyes, “could be considered a beast for the crimes he has committed, and he is most certainly dangerous. If he walked up to a Preacher, he would be married on the spot. So why are our cases different?”
“He-who-must-not-be-named is not a werewolf, Mr. Lupin.” She huffed. “And if he walked up to a Preacher, they would most certainly turn him to the Ministry.”
“I only have the option of killing once a month, and with the help of the Wolfsbane potion, there is no option at all.” He said quietly, staring at each of the Wizengamot as he talked. “There is no potion you can give Lord Voldemort to make him docile.”
Several murmurs of agreement from the council could be heard, and Tonks tightened her grip under the table-she had to be white-knuckling his leg by now, he knew, but his hand was covering hers like a blanket.
Umbridge cleared her throat for order, but no one could make out the difference between that, and the normal throat-clearing she normally did. She rapped her stubby fist on the desk, and everyone fell silent.
“You-Know-Who is not the one in question here, Mr. Lupin. You are. So if you have no evidence, then let us proceed with the v-“
”I have witnesses, Councilor.” Remus interrupted, which caused her eyes to nearly bulge out of her head.
“Witnesses? You have thirty eight years worth of witnesses?”
“That would be silly.” He smiled, running his thumb over Tonks’s tiny fingers. “I have a few witnesses, Councilor, who I believe have a wide variety of things to say about me.
Umbridge sighed and glanced at her timepiece as though this whole affair was holding up something else that was far more important, but she waved her hand to the scribe.
“Bring the first one in. And be snappy, boy!” The scribe rushed as fast as he could, and Remus thought he looked like he was about to wet himself. When he opened the door, in tumbled a shaggy haired young man, who hastily shoved a flesh-colored object in his trainers. He stood up and brushed his raven colored hair out of his eyes, and made his way up the long aisle behind the scribe, who looked as though he wished he could see the scar for himself.
Umbridge stiffened at the sight of him, and her face screwed even tighter as he sat down on the witness chair and turned to face her.
“Good morning, Professor Umbridge. I see you’ve healed nicely.”
“That’s none of your business, Mr. Potter.” She snapped, straightening her papers again. Harry grinned cheekily, but faced forward and gave the slightest of nods to Remus.
For the first time since declaring his name, the short wizard on her right spoke up.
“Given your previous…erm…history….with Mr. Potter, I think it wise that another of us should question him.”
Without even waiting for a response from Umbridge, whose mouth was half open with a reply, he began the questioning.
“State your name for the record.”
“Harry James Potter. P-o-t-t-e-r.”
Sebring Finch cleared his throat, and looked down at a single paper in front of him.
“You attended six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“And in that time, you had Mr. Lupin as a teacher?”
“Professor Lupin, sir, yes. Defense Against the Dark Arts in my third year.”
“Bit off that a werewolf teach something against the Dark Arts, isn’t it?”
Harry bristled, but clenched and unclenched his fists. “Werewolves, as you define them, are dark creatures-not those who practice the Dark Arts. You don’t have to be an ‘animal’ in order to do harmful magic.”
Everyone on the panel turned and briefly stared at his scar, before turning away with varying degrees of blushes.
Finch’s mouth thinned. “So, Mr. Lupin taught you for only one year. Why is that?”
“Professor Lupin was the best Defense teacher we had.” He said while staring directly at Umbridge. “But there was…an accident.”
Harry explained, obviously fishing for the right choice of words. “Professor Lupin was unable to take his Wolfsbane potion, as there were matters of dire importance to attend to on the eve of the full moon.”
“And these matters would be?” Umbridge asked, and Finch glared at her.
“Which would be?” he echoed, looking down the brim of his nose at Harry.
“Searching and finding a convicted mass murderer, Councilor. We would have turned in the culprit, but Professor Lupin tried to save us from harm, and didn’t think about himself-which is why he transformed.”
“Transformed on school grounds?” Finch asked, and Remus gulped a bit. This part of his case would either make or break the panel’s decision.
“Yes, sir. But he ran off into the Forbidden Forest, and stayed there until morning. No students are allowed in the Forest, so we were completely safe.”
“You have gone into the forest many times, Potter.” Umbridge interrupted again, ignoring Finch’s glare.
“My Hogwarts record is not on question here, Councilor. There are many creatures in the Forest; thestrals, unicorns, acromantulae, centaurs.” Umbridge paled a bit. “The law-abiding student wouldn’t encounter any of them.”
Sebring Finch coughed into his hand, and nodded towards Harry. “You are dismissed, Mr. Potter.” He turned towards the scribe again. “Bring in the next witness.”
Continue to PART TWO