Thank you once again for all the reviews and suggestions! I also fixed the issue with the Anagram from last chapter, thanks to those of you who pointed that out!

Enjoy!

Chapter Five: The Wizengamot

Amelia Bones left the pensieve memory of the previous night's conversation even grimmer than she was before. This couldn't wait, she decided. She'd go to the Ministry before heading to Gringotts with Harry and her niece and inform a team of high-clearance Aurors immediately. What would happen to the knowledge of Voldemort's Horcruxes if something happened to her? No, she couldn't risk such important information to be gone forever. If she had time she would also visit Dumbledore then, and if not, that would have to wait till after Umbridge's trial. Auror Hammer had been working on Umbridge's case all through last night and had declared it fit for court. All the pieces were slowly falling into place.

-OOO-

That night, Harry had slept surprisingly well. No dreams of the door at the end of the dark corridor haunted him, and he felt as if he had taken a dreamless sleep potion. Yet he still woke up at 7:30, which was good as breakfast was at 8, before Amelia would head to the Ministry to get started on her day's work before joining Harry and his friends in Gringotts. After a quick shower, Harry made his way downstairs and into the dining room, where once again Susan and Amelia were waiting for him. Amelia looked like she had barely slept at all; he hoped it wasn't his fault. Meanwhile Susan also looked a little sleep-deprived. Nonetheless, she smiled at him as he came down to breakfast.

After a bit of small talk, Harry remembered something he was curious about. "Amelia, what happened to Draco Malfoy after he got arrested?" he asked.

Smiling, Amelia responded, "His father is powerful, but not even he can save his son after attacking the Director of the DMLE and risking the lives of Hogwarts students with careless casting in front of hundreds of witnesses. Remember that most of the Wizengamot have children or grandchildren in Hogwarts, what if it had been their child who was behind me, and Malfoy's curse had actually hit someone in the neck?" she pointed out sourly. She then continued, "Lord Malfoy managed to delay the trial to next week, until when he will likely try to call in as many favors and bribe as many people as he can. I don't think he'll actually manage though. The whole of the light faction will be gleeful to see his son in Azkaban, even if it is in the no-dementor wing, and they have 16 of the 46 votes in the Wizengamot. 8 votes from the gray faction, and Draco Malfoy will be in Azkaban for a few years. I don't think it will be more because he is a minor."

Harry just nodded, wondering how it would be to go even a whole week at Hogwarts without being taunted by Malfoy.

"Harry, would you allow me to show your memory of the chamber of secrets along with my memory of the conversation we had to a few of my Aurors? It could immensely help with the fight against Voldemort," Amelia said, reasoning that if a 15 year old boy could say his name, she should too.

"Okay Amelia," he replied after a moment of hesitation.

"Thank you Harry, I have a feeling it will really help us in the upcoming war. Now, I'm going to head to the Ministry, I'll meet you guys at the leaky cauldron at 10. Don't be late," she added, giving Susan a hug before she flooed away.

-OOO-

Once she got to headquarters, Amelia immediately called over a group of trusted colleagues who would be most suited to uncover the truth about Voldemort's possible Horcruxes: Amelia's second command and the Head of the Auror Office Rufus Scrimgeour, Investigative Auror Connie Hammer, Auror Nymphadora Tonks and Head Unspeakable Croaker.

"Madam Bones, forgive my impulsiveness, but why are we here?" asked Unspeakable Croaker.

"First of all, is there anyone here who actually believes Harry Potter and Dumbledore are lying about the return of Voldemort?" Amelia questioned.

Aside from the Head Unspeakable, her guests flinched at the use of the anagram, however none of them spoke. Clearly they didn't believe in Fudge's rubbish. Being in the midst of all the goings-on, it would be nearly impossible not to be doubtful of the Ministry rhetoric.

"Good. Some of you may already know, Harry Potter is staying over at my house during Easter break. I had an enlightening conversation yesterday, not about the resurrection of Voldemort, rather about an event during his second year that may reveal the way that he was able to come back to life." Now everyone in the room, especially Unspeakable Croaker, looked fully interested.

"I have a memory of the conversation I'd like us to watch, and then the memory of the actual event," she explained, pulling out a memory and flicking into a pensieve with her wand, before beckoning the rest of them inside.

As soon as the memory of the conversation finished, the memory shifted into the dimly lit cavern of the chamber of secrets, and the occupants watched a 12 year old Harry battle the basilisk in awe before experiencing the destruction of the diary. Upon exiting the memory, Auror Hammer and Head Unspeakable Croaker had wide eyes. "Horcrux!" they both yelled at once. Upon hearing the word, Scrimgeour looked just as shocked while Tonks stared at everyone blankly.

"That's exactly what I thought," confirmed Amelia grimly.

"But aren't those things supposed to be impossible to destroy!" Scrimgeour protested.

"Basilisk venom, together with Fiendfyre and the killing curse are among the few known substances that have the ability to destroy Horcruxes, a basilisk fang would've done the trick," Croaker explained. "You said that this was before the resurrection of Voldemort?" Croaker questioned.

"Yes, that leads me to believe he has either created more or found another way of anchoring himself to the living world," the Head of the DMLE concluded.

"This is unexpected, and not good at all…" Croaker mused, "at least we know what method, or one of the methods he used. I didn't even think it would be possible to create more than one of those things!" he exclaimed.

Auror Hammer still looked wide-eyed, likely a combination of watching a 12 year old slay a 60-foot basilisk and learning about Riddle's Horcruxes.

"Alright, would someone explain to me what a Horcrux is?" Tonks asked.

"A Horcrux, Dora, is a container which is used to anchor one's soul to the living world. To achieve this, the creator must split their soul and place one of its pieces into a soul container through a dark ritual involving cold-blooded murder. Few people know of how to actually create one, I doubt anyone short of Voldemort knows the entire ritual to do so in the whole of Britain," Auror Hammer replied.

Now it was Tonks' turn to look flabbergasted, as Amelia continued her thought process, "That he got resurrected likely means that he has made more than one Horcrux. The Philosopher's stone was reportedly destroyed by Flammel and Dumbledore years ago, and it is the only one known in existence. That likely means the Horcruxes are the only type of magic he could've used to anchor himself to the world. We must find out how many he made and where they are, otherwise we will never get rid of Riddle."

The occupants of the room nodded, now aware of just who "Riddle" was, so she continued, "You all are here because I believe you are the best in the Ministry for the job. Later today I will contact Dumbledore, to ask what he knows of these abominations. Auror Hammer, from now on you will still serve on active duty, however you will not be accepting any more investigative assignments. If anyone asks, you will say you are working on a top secret investigation for me. I want you to work closely with the Unspeakables," she nodded at the Head Unspeakable, "to figure out what these objects might be, and how many he has made. Over the holiday, I will continue asking Harry if he knows anymore information about this. Tonks, you are to be partly stationed at Hogwarts, on rotation with Auror Jones. When you are not at Hogwarts, yet are on duty, you are to report to Auror Hammer or Head Unspeakable Croaker, and work on this case. Rufus, I'd like you to provide any additional Aurors or help that either Connie or Croaker ask for. This case takes priority over everything short of lives being in mortal danger, is that clear?"

"Yes, Madam Bones," Rufus replied.

"Good, what was discussed today is not to leave this room, besides the Department of Mysteries, of course. Excluding that, even if the Minister himself asks you, you are not to divulge any information, is that understood?" receiving nods in return, Amelia dismissed her colleagues, but asked Tonks to stay behind.

"Auror Tonks, I understand you are familiar with Harry from before?" Amelia asked. Tonks, expecting there to be more, decided to wait for her boss to finish.

"This hasn't by any chance have got to do with Dumbledore's secret group does it?" the Head of the DMLE queried. The shock that flashed across the young Auror's face was enough of an answer for Amelia.

"Indeed I know about the group that Dumbledore set up to fight Voldemort. I also suspect there are at least a few more in my department who are also members. Don't worry, Tonks, I will not be punishing you, or asking for you to betray the group's secrets. But let me make myself clear that the goings on in the Auror department cannot be shared with them. Just as you will not tell me what that group discusses, you must not give any of our secrets to them. You never know if you can trust all of them. In the end Sirius Black was part of this order during the last war, and we all know how he turned out."

Tonks mutely nodded, though she looked there was something she wanted to say at the mention of Black, but thought better of it.

"You may go back to your duties," Amelia dismissed her before heading off to deal with paperwork of the day before she'd have to head to Gringotts with Harry, Susan and Neville.

-OOO-

Once Amelia had gone, Susan turned to Harry, "I'm sorry about my reaction that night, it's just horrible what you had to go through and I wasn't expecting that." And it probably isn't even a fraction of everything he's actually gone through. I don't even know about the night Voldemort came back and Cedric died, she thought bitterly.

Harry smiled at her, "Thanks, it's okay."

"Maybe we can go to Diagon a little early and we can meet up with Hannah before we head down to Gringotts if that's fine with you?" Susan asked.

"Sure, I'll just change quickly and be right down."

Harry spent a very enjoyable hour with Susan and Hannah in Diagon Alley, where they mostly discussed the DA, although the girls did put aside some time for 'girl talk' during which he went over to Quidditch supply store to check out some new equipment. Soon however, it was time to go to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with Neville and Amelia.

When they got there, Amelia and Neville were already there conversing amicably. Neville apparently knew Amelia and Susan from even before Hogwarts as Madam Longbottom and Amelia were long-time friends.

"Right, so we'll head over to Gringotts now," Amelia said and leading the way for the three teens.

"Amelia, I invited another person along too, Daphne Greengrass, to come with us. She's going to meet us in Gringotts, as some of her house wouldn't be too happy for her to be seen with me," Harry informed.

Amelia had a calculating look on her face, "That's fine, I know Susan is friendly with her, but do you trust her?"

"She got all of us out of a potentially very difficult situation, and I do trust her," he said, looking over at Neville who was nodding. For a moment he contemplated the shy Gryffindor beside him. Well, he used to be shy that is. Neville was still shy sometimes around new people, but in general the DA seemed to give him newfound confidence, and he stood by him, Ron, and Hermione unwaveringly during confrontations against Malfoy. The 'squib' insults seemed to not phase him anymore, as he was someone who was quickly becoming one of the best fighters in the DA. He was immensely loyal, in fact Harry would've thought him a Hufflepuff if it weren't for the small, yet important moments of courage he possessed. He remembered the time Neville tried to stop them from going to rescue the Philosopher's Stone with a chuckle. Hermione had apologized profusely after that incident.

"Hey, what're you laughing about?" Neville asked, seeing Harry's laughter directed at him.

"Remember first year, when you tried to stop us from leaving the common room after curfew and Hermione cast a Petrificus Totalus on you?" Harry explained.

"Hermione used an offensive spell on a housemate? And I thought she would rather eat every bad-flavored Bertie Bott's Beans than ever break a rule!" Susan exclaimed.

Neville gave a laugh, "Yes, that was the first time I had ever earned house points outside of Herbology class, for standing up to you guys. I never actually knew what you were up to anyway, and then you got all those points during the feast…" Neville sighed in mock-exasperation, continuing "What did you guys do this time?"

"That's a story for another time Neville, we're already at Gringotts."

Entering the bank, Harry spotted Daphne sitting on a bench inside, preoccupied with reading a book.

"Hey Daphne," he said approaching her.

"Hi Harry, Susan, Neville. Madam Bones, it's a pleasure to see you again," she said with a small curtsy and extending her right hand in greeting.

Shaking her hand, the curtsy was returned with another formal greeting, "Heiress Greengrass, the pleasure is all mine. Please, Susan's friends call me Amelia in private."

"Thank you Amelia, just Daphne please," she returned with a smile.

Observing the byplay, Harry thought this must be some of the pureblood etiquette Daphne had mentioned, and considering he was going to be a Lord, he'd probably have to know what all of this meant. This was going to take a lot practice to get used to, he thought while groaning inwardly.

"Let's get right to it then," Amelia said, walking up to one of the desks of the Goblin Tellers. "Heir Harry James Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter wishes to claim his Lordship. Would you please arrange the accommodations for us?"

"Of course Madam Bones, it shall be arranged immediately," he replied, calling to his superior.

"Heir Potter," the goblin greeted, "I am Branch Manager Lagnok, I will be overseeing the process of claiming your Lordship. If there is anyone in your party that you do not wish to be with you, they should leave now. I must say, there is a lot that we will need to discuss."

After Harry nodded his acceptance, the goblin led the party to a private room. The room was configured with a desk, presumably for the goblin, which looked down on a table that looked like one that would host conferences, with four seats on each side. As Harry and his group took their seats, the goblin pulled out a small velvet box, and handed it to Harry.

"This is the Lordship ring," the goblin begun, "To claim your Lordship, you must place the ring on your right ring finger. Once it is placed, if the family magic accepts you as the current Head of House, it will adjust itself to fit perfectly on your finger. From there, you must say the vow to activate your Lordship. Are you familiar with said vow?" the goblin asked.

"No, sir," Harry responded.

The goblin looked expectantly at Amelia, who didn't disappoint. "Harry you will need to say, 'I, Harry James Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, accept the position of Lord Potter and swear that I shall uphold and preserve the House of Potter to the best of my abilities. So mote it be.'"

Nodding, Harry opened the velvet box and slid the ring onto his right ring finger. There was a flash of light and the ring fit comfortably onto his hand. Daphne nodded encouragingly as he began to speak the necessary words.

"I, Harry James Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, accept the position of Lord Potter and swear that I shall uphold and preserve the House of Potter to the best of my abilities. So mote it be!" With that there was another flash, this time a golden one as the coat of arms of House Potter appeared clearly on his ring.

"Congratulations Lord Potter, I look forward to doing business with you in the future," the goblin said as Amelia and the teens echoed with the formal greetings to welcome a new Lord.

"Harry, you'll still have to look at your family finances though. There is much to do," said Daphne, seeing Harry's relieved look as the Lordship ring recognized his magic.

Excitedly, the goblin clapped his hands, "Yes, Heiress Greengrass is indeed correct. Now, I was wondering if you could provide me some insight as to why you have never before accessed the Potter accounts in your capacity as Head of House Potter?"

"I didn't even know I was Head of House until a few days ago!" Harry replied indignantly.

Harry ought to know what it really means to be Lord Potter, Amelia thought. "Lagnok, we can discuss that matter further, but first, what is the current balance of House Potter and the value of its assets?"

"Well, Lord Potter's trust vault contains 10,000 Galleons and is self-filling every time it runs out. There are two Potter vaults. One that comes from the Peverell line, and the other is the main Potter vault. The Peverell vault contains 22 Million Galleons and the main Potter vault contains 36 Million Galleons. The total assets and investments of House Potter are worth 82 million Galleons, 12 Sickles, and 3 Knuts." So began a long conversation into the finances and properties of House Potter.

"You may have noticed that much of the Potter fortune is not in your vaults. This is due partly to the four large properties that you own, but mostly due to investments in the muggle stock market. Your mother, Lord Potter, was quite the genius as I remember. She recognized that due to the limited size of the Wizarding world, the return on investments in the muggle world have a much greater potential. I believe you are familiar with muggles?" Lagnok asked.

Harry nodded, still trying to take all of the information he was learning in.

"Lady Potter was especially interested in muggle technology, and invested heavily in companies in this field. These have been the most profitable of your stocks. The late Lord Potter had also invested in various magical firms, which while not as profitable as your muggle stocks, have also gained considerable value. Overall, since your parents took up the mantle of Lord and Lady Potter, the Potter account has grown by nearly a fourth. Unfortunately, due to your parents passing, no further acquisitions could be made."

"I understand," Harry acknowledged. "How about the properties?"

"Ah yes, well the first is a Castle in the French Alps, near the Italian border and not too far from Nice. You have another mansion on the coast of the English channel, almost directly across Dover. The third property is an estate on the coast of Tuscany, and the final property is Potter Mansion, on the Scottish coast," Lagnok concluded.

"There's no way I can manage all these properties and finances myself. Can I appoint someone to look them over for me or something?" Harry asked after the grueling conversation that lasted nearly an hour. He was still having trouble getting his head around all that was said today, and he could see there was a lot he had to learn.

"Yes, in fact you can Harry. Well, in a way yes, and in a way no. You can select a financial proxy who will have access to all your finances and will be tasked with overlooking them. By appointing this proxy, that person can also hire financial managers to take care of your account, but anything they do will be approved by your proxy. However, as you became Lord Potter, you currently have a seat on the Wizengamot, the Wizarding parliament. Until now, Dumbledore as your magical guardian selected a regent for you who is in that seat, and was going to be until you became Lord Potter. Now that you are Lord Potter, you can appoint a regent for your Wizengamot seat, however you can only do that during an actual Wizengamot session, so you will have to attend the first session." Amelia explained.

After a moment of thought, Harry said, "Can I appoint you as my regent and financial proxy?"

"Yes Harry, you could and I'm very grateful in your show of trust. I do not have the time to however directly manage your financial accounts, I'd have to hire managers, if that would be fine with you?"

"Yes, if you think that is a good idea, then sure," he responded, not really knowing if it was a good idea or not himself.

"Great, now, Lagnok, if there isn't any urgent business, may we take our leave? I assure you that I will be back in due time to discuss the management of the Potter accounts, however there is some important business I have to attend to," she said with a meaningful glance at Harry.

"Of course, it was a pleasure Madam Bones, Lord Potter, Heiresses Bones, Greengrass, and Heir Longbottom," he replied, bowing to each one in turn.

"Right, you all," Amelia began as they sat in a secluded booth in the Leaky Cauldron, "I will have my Aurors file the arrest warrant for Umbridge and go and arrest her in Hogwarts once I leave here. I will then call for an emergency session of the Wizengamot. The time is currently nearing noon, expect the session to be at 4PM this afternoon. Susan, please get Harry ready for what he has to expect, and your friends are more than welcome in Bones Manor, if they have time to help you as well. I believe the Greengrasses and Longbottoms were already in our ward ledger, so no problem there. Is there anything else before I go?" she asked.

"No Amelia," Harry said, which was echoed by the teens. It was decided that they'd all go to Bones Manor together, as Daphne and Neville had time, before they'd all attend Umbridge's trial.

-OOO-

Amelia went straight to her office in the DMLE and called Aurors Tonks and Hammer to her office. This was going to have to be done quickly. Auror Hammer came with the case completed and warrant filed and ready to be activated by signature of the Head of the DMLE. Quickly skimming over the case and the warrant, Amelia was satisfied. Taking the parchment titled "Warrant for the Arrest of Madam Dolores Umbridge for Assault on the Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House,"Amelia and her two Aurors flooed to Hogwarts.

Umbridge was just straightening her pink cardigan and smiling in the mirror, likely getting ready to leave to the great hall. Great! Amelia thought, The quieter we do this, the less time the Minister has to save Umbridge's arse!

"Aurors!" Came the unholy screech once again, "You will refrain from disrupting me! I am a Ministry official with a job to do!" Though this time the Aurors looked different. Not only were they in full battle gear, but they were armed and the three backup Aurors had their wands trained on Umbridge as Amelia calmly stood there with a piece of parchment in her hand.

"Undersecretary Umbridge, you are hereby placed under arrest for the following charges: Assault on the Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House, Abuse of a Minor Entrusted in your Care, Illegally Possessing and Using a Dark Artifact, and Abusing the Authority of your Ministry Position to carry out the aforementioned charges; please extend your arms in front of you," Amelia read out the charges in a steely voice.

Umbridge looked absolutely horrified. She knew exactly how severe it was to assault a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House. Any of the other crimes alone could get her in Azkaban, but such a crime committed against a Lord could be implicated as her trying to force the victim to reveal private House affairs, which was seen as one of the highest possible crimes in pureblood society.

Snapping out of her trance she screeched, "I'll have your job woman! Lies! Lies, I tell you! Cornelius will save me -"

Before she could continue, Amelia gave a nod of her head to one of her Aurors, who stunned the shrieking wreck. Giving the order to put her in a holding cell, she for the first time took a look around her in Umbridge's office. It was probably the most horrifying thing she had seen. Bright pink walls with portraits of hundreds of cats continually meowing surrounding even brighter pink furniture.

Waving Auror Hammer over, the two of them began to search the room for the blood quill. Simply finding the blood quill would likely cost her a few years. Walking over to Umbridge's Desk, Amelia opened the first drawer and found the distinguishing black and red of a blood quill laying there. The tip of the quill still had blood on it. Her face distorted in anger as she realized a blood test would likely reveal the blood to be Harry's. Amelia tried consoling herself by thinking that at least it was more proof of the act that could be stacked up against Umbridge.

While Umbridge was locked up in the DMLE holding cells, Investigative Auror Hammer and Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries confirmed that the blood on the quill was indeed Harry's, which was also added to the case.

-OOO-

Meanwhile at Bones Manor, Harry, Neville, Susan and Daphne sat around a table while Susan and Daphne explained to Harry how the Wizengamot worked and what he should expect for the day's trial, with Neville adding in useful tips in places. They also went over how Harry should go about claiming his Lordship in front of the Wizengamot, how to greet other members using proper pureblood etiquette, and the appropriate language to use in the Wizengamot chambers. Susan, being the niece of the Head of DMLE, then went into how Harry should answer questions about Umbridge's actions during the trial should they arise, with Daphne giving useful information about the judicial system worked.

Before he knew it, Harry was walking across the Ministry atrium, flanked by Susan and Neville. Daphne had separated from them at the Ministry entrance, so as to not attract unwanted attention from any possible Slytherin students who decided to spectate the session. Instead, she found her father and made her way to the visitors section of the Wizengamot, as if she had just came to observe her father, which was something many future pureblood heirs and heiresses did to learn about how they should conduct themselves as future Lords and Ladies.

As they reached the Wizengamot chambers, a guard stopped them. "Kid, only Wizengamot members are allowed through here," a gruff looking Auror proclaimed.

Susan whispered something in his ear, and Harry showed the guard his Lordship ring. Upon seeing the ring, the guard immediately stepped to the side, apologizing profusely for his mistake. Neville and Susan also made their ways to the visitor spots, as Harry found Amelia in her private office where she got prepared for Wizengamot sessions.

Harry would stay behind, and once Amelia announced his admittance as Lord Potter, she would escort him into the chamber. Unfortunately, as some people still believed Fudge's propaganda and because of the Dark faction's open hostility towards Harry, being introduced by the Head of the DMLE would greatly reduce most protests.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Harry watched as the session was called into order by the Chief Warlock, Tiberius Ogden. Although Ogden had resigned from the Wizengamot in protest of the introduction of the High Inquisitor Position, he had been convinced by some of the older members to return, after which he was voted in as the Chief Warlock due to his immense experience and respect that he commanded.

"Order! Order in the Chamber! We are assembled here due to an Emergency Session called by the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones. Madam Bones, you have the floor," Ogden spoke.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock," Amelia said, addressing Ogden respectfully, "Before we get to the main business of the day, we have a new Lord among us, who upon reaching the required age, has claimed his Lordship and accepted by his house magic."

This had everyone curious as to who the new Lord could be, while Daphne, Susan and Neville watched on knowingly from the visitor benches. Dumbledore was also in the visitor stands. There were a couple other Hogwarts students there as well, namely Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, along with Alicia Spinnet from Gryffindor and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff, who upon seeing their fellow DA members, had joined the small group on the benches. When they asked them who they thought the new Lord could be, the three only sent them knowing looks and cryptically said "you'll see."

The chamber watched as Amelia disappeared for a second before walking back into the chamber with none other than Harry Potter, and decreed, "I present to you, Lord Harry James Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter," as Harry lifted his ring for everyone to clearly see, so that no objections could be made; House Potter's magic had accepted him as the new Lord Potter.

A shocked quiet passed through the chamber before Madam Longbottom stood up and started applauding, which led most others to join, not wanting to be seen openly rejecting a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House. Lord Malfoy scowled at Harry, while Dumbledore looked supremely surprised.

Then Minister Fudge yelled out from the Minister's Post, "Potter can't be a Lord, he's a criminal!"

Madam Bones immediately replied, "Minister Fudge, as far as I know Lord Potter has no criminal record. Do you possibly know otherwise?" She challenged. Amelia had really came to loathe Fudge and his stubborn incompetency over the past year.

"He used magic in front of Muggles!"

"That case was closed and Lord Potter acquitted from all charges. Are you challenging the decision of the Wizengamot, Minister Fudge?" she retorted sharply.

Fudge, seemingly realizing arguing further would be futile, resigned to be quiet and watch. The proxy that Dumbledore had appointed stepped down from the Potter seat gracefully, and shook Harry's hand before retreating to the visitor section.

Meanwhile in those same visitor stands, the Hogwarts students had very different reactions. Theodore Nott, who was basically a less important Draco sat there seething in rage, while Parkinson looked simply appalled. Alicia Spinnet just looked at Harry in awe, while Ernie Macmillan turned to Susan with a shocked face, exclaiming 'You knew!' Susan, Neville and Daphne looked relieved that the Wizengamot seemingly accepted Harry amongst them.

As Harry took his seat between Madam Longbottom and the House Bones seat, which was going to be empty for this session as Madam Bones was going to be the prosecutor in Umbridge's trial. Next to the Bones seat was the Greengrass seat, as all the Most Ancient and Noble Houses had seats next to each other. As Harry walked into his seat, Lord Greengrass stood up and shook his hand, welcoming him to the Wizengamot. On the other side of the House Greengrass seat was the empty House Black seat. That would have to be rectified soon, Harry thought to himself.

"Is there any other business to be completed before we get to the main issue of today?" Chief Warlock Ogden called.

Harry stood up, saying "There is Chief Warlock."

"The Chief Warlock recognizes Lord Potter."

"Thank you. I am currently young and am still in attendance of Hogwarts," Harry began, "Therefore I would like to appoint Madam Bones as Regent of the Potter Seat for the sessions I am not able to attend, for whatever that reason might be."

Next to him Madam Longbottom nodded approvingly, and the light as well as most of the grey faction seemed mostly appeased by that choice. Madam Bones was a well respected woman in the Ministry.

"If there is no other business," she called as Harry sat down, pausing a second to see if anyone else would stand up. When nobody else did, she resumed speaking, "Then we shall continue. I called this emergency meeting today to enact a trial for Prolonged Assault and Torture of a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House –" she was cut off as the noise of protest was deafening from the crowd.

"Order! Order in the chamber!" Ogden called, though it took him a near 30 seconds to calm the Wizengamot and its visitors down.

Seemingly undeterred, Amelia continued, "I will be presenting you with the evidence momentarily," she said as she magically copied and gave out pamphlets containing the arrest warrant and the proof to go with it.

"Aurors, bring in the accused!" Amelia ordered as the main doors to the chamber opened and two Aurors dragged a kicking and yowling Umbridge into the trial. She was greeted with shocked silence as the members read the charges and connected them with the toad-like woman now chained into the seat of the accused.

"What is the meaning of this Amelia! I will not allow this to go on! I will have your job!" Minister Fudge bellowed.

"Minister Fudge, this is a matter for the Wizengamot to judge, as such you do not have the authority to interfere. The meaning of this is that I am doing my job Minister, I suggest you do yours and allow the governing body to do theirs."

Fudge was speechless as Amelia took up the position of persecutor and started reading out the charges and interrogating Umbridge. "Madam Dolores Jane Umbridge, you are charged with Assault on the Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House; Abuse of a Minor Entrusted in your Care; Illegally Possessing and Using a Dark Artifact; and Abusing the Authority of your Ministry Position of High Inquisitor of Hogwarts to carry out the aforementioned charges. How do you plead?"

By the time the Head of the DMLE had finished reading the charges, the crowd was once again in an uproar and it took the Chief Warlock several minutes to calm them down. Fudge was seething, but most of the Wizengamot looked positively gleeful at the idea of getting rid of Umbridge.

"NOT GUILTY!" She screamed, "LIES, ALL LIES I TELL YOU!" she attempted before she was muted by a silencing charm applied by Madam Bones.

"You will answer my questions, and you will treat me with respect. Otherwise we can always just directly dose you in Veritaserum," Amelia threatened.

That shut Umbridge up as she just looked on with pursed lips and a deep loathing in her eyes. Amelia simply turned her back on her to say, "The victim, Lord Harry James Potter, willingly submitted to Veritaserum questioning under my and three other Aurors' surveillance and the transcript of that questioning is in your hand. A blood quill has been found in Madam Umbridge's office in Hogwarts, and the blood on it has been confirmed by Unspeakables to be that of Lord Potter. The punishment for misuse of a Dark artifact on a human is a fine of at least 10,000 Galleons per count, and imprisonment if repeated or the offense is conducted over 5 times in one criminal case. If this is the case, the crime carries a 6 month sentence in the low-security wing of Azkaban per count.

We were able to confirm Lord Potter was tortured on EIGHTY SIX," she spat the number, "such counts, as noted by the Hogwarts detention log. That is a sentence of 43 years of Imprisonment in Azkaban. However, the torture of a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House is already a life imprisonment at minimum, if deemed to be enacted to extract private House affairs. As Lord Potter's Veritaserum testimony suggests, he was interrogated multiple times during these 'detentions' and therefor the accused's actions can be classified as such.

I recently became aware of Umbridge's treatment of Lord Potter through my niece. How do we know he was the only student receiving this treatment? If Umbridge dares do this to the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House, who would she not do it to? How was it allowed that a Ministry official, chosen by the Minister himself no less, can go around freely torturing our children in our school? I suggest that we sentence the accused to life imprisonment in Azkaban." Amelia concluded.

She could see her speech had resonated with most of the members, as many sent reproachful looks in the direction of Minister Fudge, and were yowling for Umbridge to be locked up. Fudge, dully aware of all the angered looks he was getting, seemed to want to shrink into his chair, looking horrified.

"Thank you, Madam Bones, I believe we have heard enough, let us put it to a vote," Ogden decreed.

Harry stood up however, and as his friends had told him to, announced, "Chief Warlock, as I am one of the parties involved in the trial, I wish to transfer my vote to House Longbottom, so that she may be an impartial judge of the situation."

"Permission accepted," the Chief Warlock stated, while Madam Longbottom looked startled at first, but following Harry's gaze to Neville with Susan and Daphne in the stands, smiled at him and gave Harry a court nod.

The vote was overwhelmingly passed 32 to 13 with 3 abstinences, with Madam Longbottom, Madam Bones, and Lord Greengrass all voting guilty. The severity of the crimes concluded that Umbridge would be serving life-imprisonment. As Umbridge was carried away by Aurors under another silencing charm, Ogden called for order once more, and asked if there was any more business to conclude, as Amelia came to sit back down beside Harry and gave him a wide smile.

In the visitors section, Ernie Macmillan and Alicia Spinnet had been horrified at the prospect of Harry being tortured. Some pamphlets containing the file had also been floated to the visitors section and seeing the scars on Harry's hand, they were utterly shocked. They all knew Umbridge was vile, but they never knew just how much.

So it delighted them even more when Umbridge was sentenced to life imprisonment as the two Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs celebrated by standing on their feet and celebrating profusely. Daphne was carefully stoic as she sent a small smile Harry's way. The two other Slytherins in attendance were fuming. Upon seeing what Umbridge had done to Harry, they had smiled gleefully, only for that smile to come crashing down as they realized their anti-Potter pureblood superiority crusader just got sentenced for life.

Meanwhile, a look of eureka came across Harry's face. "Gryffindors charge ahead!" he thought, and deciding to be spontaneous, Harry stood up once more. Fudge bleached, for once being correct in something by sensing nothing good would come from this for him.

"The Chief Warlock recognizes Lord Potter."

"Umbridge was undoubtedly a terrible person for any job at a school, her torturing students is proof of that. Not only was she Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but also Ministry-appointed High Inquisitor. As High Inquisitor, she had way too much power, which we saw as she abused that power to hand out detentions to me for so little as breathing to be able to host her torture sessions. To ensure this does not happen again, I propose that this body votes to cancel all the ridiculous educational decrees that Umbridge passed under the powers granted to her by the Minister."

There were loud yells of celebration from the visitors stand, making some of the Lords and Ladies chuckle. Dumbledore looked at Harry with another calculating look, however this time there was also pride in his gaze.

"I second Lord Potter's proposition," added Amelia, having heard all about the ridiculous decrees from her niece, while Madam Longbottom's support followed not a second after.

Before the Chief Warlock could call the session to a vote however, Lord Abbott stood up and called out, "I have an addition to make to Lord Potter's proposition, if he would accept?"

Knowing Lord Abbott must be Hannah's father, Harry decided it couldn't be bad, so nodded his acceptance. "Thank you, Lord Potter. I suggest that the High Inquisitor, if it is deemed necessary that one exist, should be chosen by the Hogwarts school board, rather than the Ministry, as the past choice shows that the Ministry is incapable of putting our children in safe hands."

To this Fudge stood up, but instead of responding to Lord Abbott, he turned directly to Harry, presumably thinking he could bully him into backing down. "How dare you question the Ministry! Madam Umbridge's actions in her reforms were supported by I, the Minister himself! Those educational decrees were approved by me! You cannot change months of my work!"

Seething, Harry turned on Fudge, the last of his patience with the incompetent leader gone. Amelia didn't intervene this time, knowing that this was his chance to prove to the Wizengamot that Harry was not too young to be a Lord and a worthy member of the legislative body.

Taking a page out of Amelia's book, "Minister Fudge!" Harry barked, "I am Harry James Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. You will treat me with the respect that my title commands! And history will dully note that it was you, Minister Fudge, who supported a High Inquisitor that tortured her own students with a Dark artifact banned by this very Ministry you claim to run! So Minister, you claim to know of all her decrees and to approve of all of her actions, maybe you also knew and approved of how she tortured students? As for changing those decrees, this is the legislative body of Magical Britain, and by challenging a Lord's right to suggest legislation, you are undermining this whole institution!"

The Wizengamot chamber looked shocked by Harry's speech, but now nearly everyone was scowling at Minister Fudge. Only Lucius Malfoy's camp seemed to not show open resentment towards Fudge. It seemed now that Umbridge was taken away, the families of the students in Hogwarts who were under her control had turned Fudge into a scapegoat for their anger.

Daphne, Susan and Neville looked at Harry in awe. They had taught Harry quite a lot about pureblood politics and the Wizengamot in the few hours that they had, plus Daphne teaching Harry a little after her first Defense training with him, but Harry had taken to the political scene like a natural. In this one speech, he had asserted his position as a Lord, effectively crumbled Fudge's support completely and united all but the Dark faction of the Wizengamot behind him.

"I agree with Lord Potter, with that childish outburst, you have also undermined my ability and authority as a Lord!" Lord Abbott confronted Fudge. "I demand a formal apology to myself and Lord Potter for your outrageous comments!"

Spluttering an apology, Fudge sat down again looking utterly defeated and completely pale.

"Now, we shall put the proposition to a vote," Ogden said. "All who support Lord Potter's proposition?"

A clear majority of the Wizengamot's wands were raised with a green light.

"The proposition passes!" the Chief Warlock decreed. "I now declare this session to a close!"

Some of the Wizengamot were still glaring daggers at Fudge, who left the chamber as quickly as he could, while a lot of the Lords and Ladies looked like they wanted to call a vote of no-confidence right there.

As the chamber slowly dispersed, many of the members of the Wizengamot came up to Harry to congratulate him in his Lordship and his first successful proposition that passed. The first was Madam Longbottom, "It's nice to see you again, Harry. Though I didn't expect it would be under these circumstances, I'm pleased nonetheless. I'm really sorry to hear about what that crazy woman did to you, but I must say I am equally glad to have gotten rid of her. You did very well today young man," she praised with a smile.

"Thank you Madam Longbottom, and thank you for your support."

"Of course Harry, and please call me Augusta, now that we are colleagues and you are Neville's good friend, after all."

Similar praise came from Lord Greengrass, who shaking his hand exclaimed, "That was very well done! It seems like you're a natural at this, I look forward to working with you in the future Lord Potter."

He eventually left the chamber exhausted, but very happy with what he had accomplished. It was Tuesday and he still had 10 days left before he had to go back to school, and he wasn't at his relatives! With the convenience of floo-powder, he could spend time with his friends and fully enjoy a holiday.

Unfortunately, I am a student and final exams are coming up for me soon. I will definitely keep updating, however I wanted to let you guys know that the next update may not come as quick as the previous ones. I might have to reduce to once every two weeks or so until school ends in about a month.

My second story, Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Revolt, will be updated within the next few days as well.

Once more, all your reviews are extremely appreciated, I am stunned by the positive response I got so far, and it has definitely helped to keep me writing!