Harry Potter and the Hall of Justice

Chapter 18 Malfoy’s Manor


Chief Justice Webster, Professor Dumbledore and Hermione quickly returned to the Hall of Justice and made their way to the residence. The old professor walked straightaway to a large tea service sitting on one of the tables in the living area. Before he said a word, he emptied two tall glasses of the cold iced tea. He then reclined, as comfortably as he could, in a large chair.

“I hope we don’t have to put up with that everyday,” Webster said, obviously still greatly shaken up over the failed assassination attempt. “It would make a guy want to stay home.”

“I agree. You see what I meant about the power of the ring, Your Lordship?” Dumbledore asked the man.

The large man collapsed in a chair next to the old wizard and began refilling his glass for the third time. “I didn’t know what the hell was happening, Albus. It all took place so fast. The first thing I knew, there I was inside this swirling green tornado thing. I saw you drop out of my vision at my left but, all of a sudden, Hermione jumps out from my right side holding this stick thing in her hand and bam! - - - she cuts loose with this unbelievable stream of intense, blue light or whatever. It was surreal! Unbelievable! Then this big, blond guy out in front of us - - - he was pretty far away, too - - - anyway, he just instantly exploded in a cloud of blood and guts. Shit! Remind me never to piss you off, Hermione. Damn!” Webster excitedly related.

“Actually, it wasn’t without warning,” Hermione replied, looking over at Professor Dumbledore. The old wizard knew instantly what she was thinking. “You see, I felt my amulet heat up suddenly. I quickly looked over at Professor Dumbledore and saw him making for his wand. I did likewise. If Malfoy wouldn’t have made such a big thing of stepping out from the crowd, I might have turned around with the professor. Malfoy’s movement, though, caught my eye. I then saw him raise his wand and shout his incantation. Instantly I knew what he wanted to do, Your Lordship. His incantation was an attempt to eviscerate you, a most horrible way to die. I had no choice but to strike out. I don’t know how to explain it or how it happened, but the power of my incantation was focused through my amulet. That’s where the immense power came from. Without it, I might have only knocked Malfoy to the ground, if that much.”

Professor Dumbledore jumped up quickly from his chair, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Your Lordship, with your permission, I must hurry back to Hogwarts and would like Hermione to accompany me. You see, it has just occurred to me, Malfoy’s been gathering his henchmen together at his manor for many years. With the Ministry in a shambles, as it presently is, there’s no one available to search the residence for evidence before it’s removed or destroyed,” Dumbledore impatiently informed the justice.

Webster also instantly came to his feet. “Yes, Albus, by all means. I understand exactly what you mean. Hurry along. Hermione, please give him a hand,” Webster commanded.

Professor Dumbledore and Hermione wasted no time making their way back to Falcon’s Lair where they found Professor McGonagall speaking excitedly to Professor Priest and Minister Grime. She was just informing them of the news she had heard about the assassination attempt at the Ministry.

“Albus! What on earth happened?” Professor McGonagall shouted out when she saw them appear.

“It seems Lucius Malfoy made a serious blunder this morning, Minerva. It cost him his life,” the old professor said.

“Damn! I wished I’d gone to the ministry like I’d planned, Albus!” Minister Grime exclaimed, bringing a fist down hard into his palm.

“Hermione and I will recount the event to everyone later. Without any further delay, we must be off to Malfoy’s Manor. I will explain more as you outfit Hermione and me with our brooms and invisibility cloaks,” Dumbledore directed.

The old professor pointed Hermione over to the table where the unassigned brooms were laid out. Soon they were both outfitted and ready to travel. The old wizard then ordered everyone to go with him, excepting Professors’ Priest and McGonagall.

“We must travel under our invisibility cloaks. As I know the way to the manor, I am going to stream this small red ribbon from my broom. Everyone will do likewise. Affix your ribbons now and follow me closely. Do you all understand?” he asked.

They put on their hoods and followed the small red streamer Dumbledore had extended from his broom, walking behind him to the ventilation shaft. The old professor instantly kicked off and took to the air. He hoped all were following close behind.

As he broke into clear air above the mountain, he stopped and hovered. Unknown to those gathering around him, the old wizard was plainly able to see each underneath their invisibility garments. For many years he’d put little faith in the special fabric until he realized the amulet and years spent living under the charm at the Hall of Justice had given him that ability. He had always kept the capability completely secret. As he watched the young wizards and their masters congregating before him, he knew it soon would be a secret no longer.

For everyone else’s benefit, a number of ribbons quickly became visible, hovering around his red one. After satisfying himself all were with him, he called out his orders and thus began the trip to Malfoy’s Manor.

Within thirty minutes, the team arrived at an extremely large estate. Dumbledore eased down and made several passes around the main residence before he was satisfied no one was about.

The old wizard then called his troop together above a dense tree line south of the manor. There he conveyed his initial instructions.

The old headmaster said he only wanted Sirius, Harry, and Hermione to accompany himself inside at the outset. He then told the group to take out their wands. Within seconds, the team was aware of the exact presence of one another. He then instructed all those not going inside to position themselves around the manor and to stupefy anyone coming or going until he returned.

The team members watched the red ribbon streaming from Professor Dumbledore’s broom slowly descend to one of the entrances at the rear of the main residence. Sirius, Harry and Hermione followed close behind.

After the old man touched down and watched his entry team do the same, he had them lay their brooms down next to his against the outer wall. As he let go of his broomstick, he could faintly make out the slit for his hand so he reached down and pushed the ribbon inside the broom to conceal it. The others did the same to theirs.

“Follow me!” he whispered out. Walking up to the large door, he tested it and found it to be locked. His wand moved slightly and they heard the mechanism of the lock open. The old wizard then opened the door and they quickly entered.

As they made their way toward the center of the house, Sirius spoke up. “Professor! There! It might be the entrance to his dungeon.”

“Yes. I see it. We will try it first then,” replied the professor.

Sirius had been right. As the large door was pulled open, they each felt an exchange of cool air on their faces from the large cavern below them. Sirius, followed by Harry, slowly descended the marble stairway. From below they heard the sound of mumbling and grunting and soon found it was coming from a goblin.

Sirius walked up quietly behind the creature and knocked him unconscious with a particularly strong incantation. Dumbledore then told them to scatter about and look for ledgers or anything that seemed out of the ordinary or of interest.

Harry looked up and saw another door behind them. He quickly made his way up the stairway and found, what they would later determine to be, a large inner sanctuary. Harry just started to turn around and leave when he heard moaning coming from somewhere farther inside. He searched out the sound and found a young girl chained to something that looked to be a large wooden bed. She looked horrible.

He ran back out to the steps and called down to Hermione to come help him. Soon all four of them were standing about the girl.

“Can you hear me?” Hermione asked, kneeling down before the girl and pulling bloody hair away from her face.

“Help me,” she begged in a whisper. “Please don’t leave me.”

“What has happened to her?” Sirius asked.

Hermione and Harry pulled the naked girl up to lie upon the bare wood frame.

“This is a very old torture rack. But it looks to have been modified for other purposes,” said Dumbledore, who had removed his hood. The old professor waved his wand and the shackles fell from the girl’s wrist. “Harry, help Hermione take the girl up into the residence. Find a covering for her and treat her wounds.”

“Yes, sir,” Hermione replied. They carefully positioned the girl and headed for the door, levitating her limp form.

“Let’s look around and see what else Lucius has been secreting away,” Dumbledore said, noticing Sirius also had removed his hood.

They went about searching the area, and Dumbledore found a door that had been sealed with a charm. He went to work on it and within a few minutes had removed the magical seal. The door led into another room, which was obviously a hidden library. Many texts and journals were found in which Malfoy had described his dealings with various dark lords in Europe and around the world.

“Look at this, Professor,” said Sirius, holding out a large black ledger. “It looks to be a membership directory. It even shows pledge amounts. Malfoy has been collecting quite a fortune.”

Dumbledore reached out and took the book from him. He was astonished at how detailed Malfoy’s records were. The ledger was a goldmine of information. The old professor hefted the large book and pushed it down into an inner fold of his robe.

“We need Grime to see this. Go find him for me, and bring him here as quickly as you can, Sirius,” Dumbledore ordered.

“Yes, sir! Right away!” he replied and left the old professor to continue his search.

“Malfoy, you were even more corrupt than I had realized all these years,” the old professor said under his breath. “Now what other things have you secreted away?” Dumbledore looked around and saw a brown leather portfolio sitting on the edge of his large desk. He opened it and reached inside, pulling a large number of loose pages out of it, from which he began reading. “An autobiography, Malfoy?” The old wizard soon saw it contained many incriminating narratives and plainly answered some of the unexpected deaths and disappearances that had puzzled many at the Ministry over the years. After reading for some minutes, he finally replaced the pages and closed the portfolio. Having no more room inside his robe, the old wizard kept it in his hand.

Just as he was starting to turn around, there was a loud explosion at the door. The old wizard jumped and removed his wand. Sirius and Grime quickly came into view and were studying something outside the door. Dumbledore walked to the doorway and looked down at what was left of the goblin.

“He was holding a sword, Professor. It looked like he was ready to charge you just as Minister Grime and I walked in,” Sirius said.

“Thank you, Sirius. I must be more careful. I was so absorbed in my reading I never heard the creature. Good thing you two came along when you did,” the old wizard said, wiping at his forehead.

“Sirius said you needed me, Albus?” Grime asked.

“Yes, indeed. If you will look around, Bartholomew, you will see many things of interest. Both to you and the Ministry, I assure you,” Dumbledore said. He went on to tell him of the ledger Sirius had found and showed him the portfolio he held with many self-incriminating statements in Malfoy’s own handwriting.

“Before we finish here today, Albus, we should set up a portkey between here and the conference room. All of these records and ledgers should be removed before anyone can destroy them,” Grime rightfully concluded.

“Yes, Bartholomew, you are absolutely right. If you and Sirius can continue the search here, I will be off and get that very thing accomplished,” Dumbledore instructed the men.

The old wizard made his way to where Harry and Hermione were tending to the girl. She was a physical, mental and emotional wreck, according to Hermione. Dumbledore did not doubt it.

“She will need quick medical attention, Professor, if she is to survive. We should bring Madam Pomfrey here immediately,” Hermione told the old wizard.

“Right you are, Hermione. I’m on my way back to Hogwarts this very minute. I’m going to establish a portkey to link one of the rooms we found to the conference room. The first thing I’ll do is bring Madam Pomfrey back here,” the old wizard said.

Professor Dumbledore hurriedly left, and Hermione went off to find a covering for the girl.

“Be careful, Hermione. There might be others lurking about. I’m sure Malfoy had any number of house-elves and maybe more goblins living here at the manor,” he warned.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

Harry continued cleaning the blood and torn tissue away from the girl’s open wounds. She had been bitten and beaten badly. Never had Harry seen such a miserable sight. There was a horrible rotten smell about the girl, too.

Hermione quickly returned with a sheet, and Harry suggested they only lightly cover her with it until Madam Pomfrey arrived. She nodded in agreement.

“Who would do such a thing, Harry?” she cried out.

“I’m afraid there are many who take great pleasure in such evil. But I’ve never seen anything this bad before,” he said, helping Hermione cover the young girl.

“She has been bitten deeply and look here,” Hermione said, pointing down at her face. “I believe her jaw is broken, too. Maybe even some ribs.”

They continued to tend to the girl but didn’t know the first thing about treating her wounds. Ron Weasley and Remus Lupin soon found them.

“Professor Dumbledore wanted us to begin searching the rest of the house. We’re going to clear the bottom floor before going upstairs,” Remus told them.

“Yell out if you need us,” Harry said.

“What happened to her, Harry?” Ron asked, looking down at the injured girl.

“She’s in really bad shape, Ron. We found her shackled downstairs in a room off of the dungeon. She isn’t really conscious, so I can’t say what happened,” Harry said.

“Damn Malfoy!” Ron shouted out. “What a bastard he is!”

“Was…” replied Hermione.

“Was?” asked Harry.

“Yes, was…I killed the evil son of a bitch myself this morning at the Ministry. He tried to disembowel the Chief Justice while another wizard made an attempt on Professor Dumbledore’s life,” she told them flatly.

“You what?” Harry screamed out. “You killed Malfoy?”

Hermione quickly told the three what had happened at the Ministry. They were flabbergasted at her account of the incident.

“No wonder Professor McGonagall was so excited when she came down to Falcon’s Lair this morning. She arrived just a minute or two before you and Dumbledore. I could tell Priest and Grime were totally shocked by what she was telling them. I now see why. Damn, Hermione!” Ron exclaimed, patting her on the shoulder.

“I assure you, Ron Weasley, no one is more shocked that I am!” she admitted.

Ron and Lupin ran off and began their search. Professor Dumbledore returned shortly with Madam Pomfrey. The old nurse went to work quickly on the girl and soon stabilized her vital signs. Pomfrey told Dumbledore she would have to move the girl back to Hogwarts to insure her complete recovery. The old wizard agreed and called Fred and George Weasley to assist her with the girl.

Professor Dumbledore and Minister Grime supervised the transfer of all documents, ledgers and journals from Malfoy’s Manor to the conference room at Hogwarts. From there, Professors’ McGonagall and Priest moved them to an office in Falcon’s Lair with Hagrid’s help. The two old witches then began sifting through them, separating documents containing the most incriminating writings and information.

Ron and Lupin returned from their foray through the manor and informed the old professor they had found nothing, at first sight, which appeared of use to their mission. Curiously, they had not found any house-elves about, either. Dumbledore put them to work helping him and Grime complete the search of the inner rooms.

Lupin walked up to a full-length mirror set in a heavy frame against the far wall of the inner office, which appeared to be firmly attached to the wall between two large shelves of books. He noticed, along the right side of the large mirror, a number of scratches or worn marks where the finish had been damaged. Reaching up, he moved two fingers in and along the frame and pulled. The mirror swung to him, as if it were a door. When it was almost perpendicular to the wall, it locked in place. Once inside, Lupin noticed a number of large chests and storage cabinets.

“Professor! Minister Grime! You might find this interesting!” Lupin yelled out, sticking his head out of the hidden room.

Dumbledore, Grime and Ron followed Lupin back into the small room. The old professor removed his wand and whispered an incantation. The room became flooded with light. Lupin reached down and lifted the lid on one of the chests, and it was full of galleons upon galleons of gold coins. Ron went about opening the cabinets and found huge amounts of muggle paper money.

“Good work, Remus! It looks like you’ve found one of Voldemort’s treasure troves! A real find this is!” exclaimed Minister Grime.

“It appears to be the depository for the pledges and plunders of their evil ventures,” added Dumbledore.

“Albus, I say we confiscate the lot to finance our campaign against Voldemort. Turn his damn resources against him. What do you say?” Grime asked, laughing out at the thought.

“Bartholomew, if we were not beginning what might be a very lengthy campaign against the evil man, I’d have to say no. But in our present situation, I agree fully with you,” Dumbledore replied, noticing large smiles all around.

It took some time to empty out the vault of its valuables. In the meantime, Dumbledore and Grime went about carefully examining the rest of the Malfoy’s hideaway. At long last, the old wizards agreed their work was done and gathered Athena together to return to Hogwarts by way of the portkey.

Sirius gathered up the brooms lying outside the rear of the large residence and returned to the vault where Dumbledore awaited him. The old professor and Grime had decided to leave the portkey, a small, dilapidated wooden crate, inside the vault on one of the shelves. It would be useful, they reasoned, to keep the pathway open to see if the dungeon continued to be used as a meeting place.

Dumbledore and Sirius Black returned to Falcon’s Lair and found Professor Priest and Bruja Calderon making a full accounting of the confiscated valuables from the manor.

“I’m amazed at the wealth Malfoy had amassed, Professor,” the old witch said, looking up at Professor Dumbledore. “What are we to do with all of this? It’s an incredible fortune.”

“We’ll use it to cover our expenses, Drucila. Already we’ve spent a fairly good amount on our brooms, invisibility cloaks and the like. Also, Bartholomew,” the old professor said, looking at the minister, “I believe you now have the resources available to purchase any non-magical weaponry you would like. Don’t you agree?”

“No doubt, Albus. You could outfit a huge army with just the muggle money Malfoy had secreted away. It makes me wonder how many other resources Voldemort might have at his disposal, though. But this truly is incredible. I never would have expected to find such a vast fortune - - - and largely unprotected, as it were,” the minister added.

The old headmaster stood silent for a few moments. There was much to think about, even much more to rethink. “It would be best, at present, if you and Drucila are put in charge of the trove. Certainly it should be safeguarded with one of your powerful charms, Drucila?” Dumbledore asked, arching his eyebrows awaiting the reply.

“Yes, Albus, of course. We will take charge of it and lock it away nice and safe,” she said with a smile.

Harry and Hermione were anxiously awaiting the return of Fred and George from Hogwart’s medical ward. As soon as they returned, they updated the two on the girl’s current state.

“Madam Pomfrey has her in dreamland and is hard at work attending to her wounds. It’ll take some days, she said, before we can question her,” George informed them.

“Yeah! She’s really in bad shape!” Fred added, shaking his head and displaying anger over the whole affair.

Dumbledore called Athena around him. “We must, of course, keep our little mission top secret. No one is to know, outside of this room, what we did today. Is that clear to everyone?” Professor Dumbledore asked, looking around into each face.

“Professor, we should send at least two of our team to the manor every night to monitor it for any activity, don’t you agree?” Sirius asked.

“Yes, absolutely. Though at first, I would imagine, Malfoy’s associates will be fearful of returning. On the other hand, once they feel it’s safe, it might well be they will begin using it again. Also, Sirius and I placed an indicator on the inside of the mirrored door to let us know if and when the vault is opened. Always, and I stress, always replace the indicator each time you return. If you should find any evil sorts lurking around, return to Falcon’s Lair immediately and inform Sirius. Do not take any actions yourselves. He will decide how you will deal with those found. Are we all clear on that?” Dumbledore asked.

The Athena members nodded heads all around. Dumbledore, Priest, Black, Calderon and Grime then had a meeting between themselves to discuss what further actions would be taken and who would be tasked with dissecting the information that had been gathered.

“At some point, Bartholomew, we will need to present what we have found to the Ministry. However, we should eliminate the members in the black ledger before we do. And it goes without saying, we must act swiftly before they have a chance to disappear on us. Also, why don’t we go pay a little visit to Chief Justice Webster, and ask him to give us his recommendations on the weapons we should purchase? Don’t you agree?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes, by all means,” Grime very contentedly replied.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


After Dumbledore and Hermione left Chief Justice Webster for their trip to Falcon’s Lair, his lustful cravings returned. He tried to keep his mind busy with other thoughts but the strong yearnings returned to haunt him repeatedly. He finally called out for Captain Stran, as visions of the beautiful witch kept entering his mind.

“Yes, Your Lordship?” the witch called out, as she opened the door to the residence.

“Are you busy at the moment?” he coyly asked, eyeing her enchanting form and undressing her in his mind as she walked towards him.

“No, Your Lordship,” she replied, seeing the large man’s eyes upon her.

Webster stood and motioned for her to follow him. He went straight to his bedroom and pushed the latch home on the door after she entered. He noticed a knowing smile immediately develop on the security officer’s face, and he returned one in kind.

“I couldn’t keep my mind off you. Are you willing to spend a little time with me?” he asked, but knowing before hand what the answer would be.

The Captain of the Guard smiled seductively. “Yes, I would love to, Your Lordship. I’ve been thinking of little else myself. I am unprotected, if that is all right with you?” she asked.

“Unprotected?” he asked back.

“I do not wish to use protection. Will that be a problem?” she asked, taking off her dark blue cape.

“You are not afraid of becoming pregnant?” he asked, somewhat shocked by her blatant statement.

“No, Your Lordship. It’s one of my greatest desires,” she said, “to have a child.”

“I’m sorry, Deborah. I never thought of that. Are you sure? You are very young, no?” he asked.

“I’m twenty-five, Your Lordship. I would like nothing more,” she said, removing her blouse.

Webster was dumfounded at the assertion. Nevertheless, in his present state, he couldn’t begin to care less about continuing such a dialogue. Watching her remove her boots and push down her pants, his mind became overwhelming filled with carnal cravings. Her heavy breasts were tantalizingly moving about in her bra as she removed her panties. She then reached up and unhooked the bra and wiggled out of it. Webster was sweating, as she stood before him completely naked and smiling at the strong sexual desire she beheld in his eyes.

As he began removing his shirt, she came to him and reached down to unhook his belt and unzip his pants. Soon Webster was standing naked in front of the beautiful young woman. She moved into him, to kiss him. They stood running their hands over each other’s bodies for some time. Finally, she reached down and took hold of what she so desperately craved.

Webster was beside himself at the sensations her manipulations were causing. Her skin was warm and so soft. He placed his hands on either side of her head to allow him to firmly kiss and suck at her lips. Their breaths became quick and shallow.

He moved her to the bed and quickly mounted her. They went at each other like two sex-crazed animals. No sooner than he got into a good rhythm, she rolled him over and took charge, gasping for air and tightly closing her eyelids against the marvelous electricity flowing through her body. Soon they both convulsed repeatedly and parted, sucking at the cool air of the room and totally spent.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


When Professor Dumbledore, Minister Grime and Hermione returned to the Hall of Justice, they went in search of the Chief Justice. The security officer standing at the courtroom’s large doors informed them he was on the third floor. They found Chief Justice Webster seated at one of the tables within the third floor residence speaking with Captain Stran.

“Albus!” Webster called out. “Were you able to find any incriminating evidence at the manor?”

Professor Dumbledore told Webster, in detail, what had been found. He was flabbergasted at the old professor’s account of the cache of treasure and the ledgers.

“Is there a need for me to amend my decree, Albus? I believe it’s clear, from what you have just related, that those named in the black ledger fall under my first decree, the order of termination,” Webster coldly and emphatically stated.

“No, Your Lordship. I believe your decree is more than adequate to proceed without amendment,” Dumbledore said, his eyes returning the Chief Justice’s intense stare. “I have brought Minister Grime back with me to lay out a splendid idea he has. Bartholomew?” the old professor said, turning and looking at the Minister.

“Your Lordship, for some years I’ve been fascinated with some of the weapons used by our non-magical brethren. I’ve had the occasion to fire a number of the automatic weapons that are manufactured. Considering our current situation, I told Professor Dumbledore it might be of great benefit to train and outfit Athena with some of them. They would give our team, in my opinion, greater flexibility, and I don’t believe the dark lords are prepared to deal with them,” Minister Grime explained.

The Chief Justice nodded his head in agreement. “Excellent idea, Bartholomew. And what specific weapons are you suggesting?”

Minister Grime went on to explain what he had been thinking about, and then asked the Chief Justice what recommendations he would make. Webster, without hesitation, gave them his opinion of what he considered to be best: an automatic handgun chambered for the .40 caliber Smith & Wesson and 12 gauge pump shotguns with combat modifications. He then told Grime his specific weapons of choice for those rounds. Minister Grime listened intently to what was suggested. Webster went on to justify why those choices would be best. Grime had never considered much of what the justice brought up but had no choice but to agree. The man had, after all, years of experience using such weapons. Minister Grime soon left the Hall of Justice to contact his sources and attempt to secure the weaponry.

Shortly after Minister Grime left, a security officer entered the residence and brought a sealed, official transmittal to Professor Dumbledore. He opened it and quickly read its contents.

“Your Lordship, it seems our Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has gone missing. From initial reports, it appears he returned to his residence, at some point, and packed up some personal belongings and fled to parts unknown. The Ministry is in a real tizzy and has called for an immediate assemblage to elect an interim minister,” the old wizard related. “I’ve been summoned to attend the meeting. I must make for the Ministry with great speed. If you agree, I could take Hermione along with me so she can be your eyes and ears?”

“Yes! Of course! Hermione, are you feeling up to it? You’ve done a lot of traveling today and considering the other things you have been through?” Webster asked, looking over at the young witch, giving her an opportunity to decline.

“I am fine, Your Lordship. It would be best if I attend. I will hurry back as soon as Professor Dumbledore releases me, to fill you in,” she said.

“Very well then. Captain Stran, do you have anyone available who can accompany Hermione?” Webster asked the blond Master of Arms.

“With your permission, Your Lordship. I would be honored to do it,” Stran said.

“Very well then. Please hurry along and let me know what the Ministry decides as soon as you are able,” Webster replied.

Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and Captain Stran quickly left the Hall of Justice by way of the portkey and were soon standing in the anteroom of the Minister of Magic.