Before anyone else - including the Chief Warlock - could arc up again, he began to explain. "The second last person in magical Britain awarded the Order of Merlin, even if it was a Third Class, was Peter Pettigrew. I understand it has since been stripped from him when it was discovered it should have been awarded to the person who he set up to take the fall for his crimes - Sirius Black. And that it has now correctly been awarded to Lord Sirius Black.
"However, there was a second person awarded an Order of Merlin, Third Class, surrounding those events - Cornelius Fudge. Cornelius Fudge was awarded the Order for supposedly capturing and taking into custody Voldemort's supposed right-hand wizard - Sirius Black. You now know Sirius Black was not the supposed right-hand wizard of Voldemort... and never was... and yet you've done nothing to rectify Cornelius Fudge being awarded the Order of Merlin, Third Class; an awarding... you all now damned well know... was for false purposes. And you knew that years ago." He gave that a moment to be mentally absorbed by the members before he started on his next one.
"Next is the awarding of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, to Gilderoy Lockhart. I have it on very good authority, together with a memory strand of a situation where he blatantly admitted to two boys that he did not accomplish any of those feats of bravery defeating supposedly dark creatures he wrote about in his books. The two boys in question, whom he admitted this to, were Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter right before Harry Potter entered the Chamber of Secrets in June of 1993 to rescue an eleven year old girl.
"According to Gilderoy Lockhart himself, he wandered the world in search of others who had accomplished such acts and had them tell him all about what happened. Then he obliviated them of doing it, taking their feat unto himself and writing his books as if he was the one who performed them.
"He now, if I recall correctly, resides in the Janus Thickey Ward of Saint Mungo's, where he ended up because he tried to obliviate both Misters Weasley and Potter with a broken wand just before Mister Potter went on ahead into the Chamber of Secrets. The wand caused the obliviation curse to backfire, hitting him with his own curse and also bringing down the roof of the underground cave which lead to the Chamber.
"Then there's Mister Potter's heroic act of going into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue that then eleven year old girl. He knew it was very likely a basilisk he'd be facing and, apparently, he was right. Mister Potter fought a sixty plus foot long basilisk one-on-one with nothing but a sword... and came out victorious. I remind you that, at the time, Mister Potter was only twelve years old. "Now, for any wizard to face such a fearsome beast should earn him a suitable award for bravery. That he did it when twelve years old... that he did it while only wielding a sword... that he did it to save a young witch... should see that award being an Order of Merlin, Second Class, at a minimum. That he did it to also save the entirety of the then population of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... full of all your heirs... should see that award upgraded to an Order of Merlin, First Class."
Out of the blue, one of the Members called out in a scoffing, disrespectful voice, "You expect us to believe Harry Potter, at only twelve years of age, killed a basilisk with a sword?"
Harry turned a flat stare on the man for long enough that the man slowly went white in fear, before he answered, "Yes. Actually, you can also ask old Alby, here," gesturing to Dumbledore, "If what I told you was the truth. Directly after Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Ginevra Weasley... the young girl they went down to rescue... returned from the Chamber of Secrets and before they were even taken to the infirmary, they were escorted by Minerva McGonagall to her office where Alby; his pet Death Eater, Severus Snape; and the Weasley parents, Arthur and Molly; awaited them.
"At the time, Ronald Weasley had a broken leg, Ginevra Weasley had just been freed of a partial forced possession and Harry Potter had just been bitten by that basilisk and only saved from dying from the bite by the Phoenix, Fawkes, crying tears into the wound.
"Even when this was explained to old Alby and in the presence of Minerva McGonagall, Death Eater Snape and Arthur and Molly Weasley - medical aid was still not called. The Weasley parents took their children to the infirmary, where Ronald Weasley's leg had him in a bed and dosed with Skele-Gro for the night, but young Miss Weasley was taken directly home by her parents. After more than ten months of a forced partial possession, young Miss Weasley received no medical treatment, not even being attended at least once by a certified mind healer."
"That's criminal!" exclaimed Master Healer Stanwyck, who'd most recently given an expert medical opinion as to the cause of death and identity of Riddle's body.
The man strode forward from where he'd taken up station off to the side and was making a bee-line for Dumbledore. "Dumbledore, you bloody fool!" he barked. "Are you naffing insane?"
Dumbledore spluttered for a few moments before he imperiously glared back and declared, "I assure you, all the children were fine."
"Again with the naffing unqualified assurances, you old twit?" barked Stanwyck. "Need I remind you, yet again, you are not a Master Healer... let alone a Mind Healer...
let alone even a bloody medi-wizard?"
As Stanwyck continued to glare at Dumbledore after snarling at him, Harry took the narrative back up. "Old Alby here, who has no medical qualifications whatsoever, decided she needed nosuch medical intervention and declared her fit enough to return home; and the Weasley parents took his word for it... because he is, after all, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and his word is... good enough."
"No, it's bloody not!" barked Stanwyck.
"As for Harry Potter," Harry continued, "After interrogating the poor boy for an hour... and even when the poor boy showed Albus, McGonagall and Snape where the basilisk bit him... Albus continued to interrogate the boy until he, the mighty Albus Dumbledore, had wrung every skerrick of information out of him that he could. "Then... get this... he did not then order the boy to go to the infirmary. No, old Albus here ordered the boy to return directly to the Gryffindor tower... and even had McGonagall directly escort him there, just in case young Harry decided for himselfhe needed to go to the infirmary, after all."
"Also criminal!" barked Stanwyck.
Harry then turned to stare at Dumbledore himself and said, "Now... Alby, my boy... have... I... lied?"
As soon as Harry had turned his attention to him, Dumbledore looked down and away, scowling. However, he never said a word.
Harry gave him a good ten seconds before he turned his attention back to the Chief Warlock. "You can take it from his silence that Albus does not refute my claims. He really can't because he knows that Arthur, Molly, Ronald and Ginevra Weasley, Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey... at least... can back up what I've said here concerning that issue.
"I'll further point out that Old Alby, here, as claimed magical guardian of Mister Harry Potter, it was his responsibility to ensure Mister Potter's medical needs were met. That he knewthe boy to have been bitten by a thousand year old basilisk... and did not ensure the boy was immediately treated by competent medical professionals... means Old Alby here is guilty of child neglect... and he, the Weasleys, McGonagall and Pomfrey know it."
"Albus Dumbledore!" barked a clearly incensed Ogden. "Is what Lord Peverell and Healer Stanwyck just informed us true?... You will answer in full and correctly my question... or, I will demand a motion to have you dosed with Veritaserum right here and right now!"
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