My apologies for not uploading yesterday, here is the chapter as promised! ❤️
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"I didn't put that there."
Gilderoy's voice was slightly desperate, his eyes wide as the Auror snapped the cuffs around his wrists. The cold metal bit into his skin, and he tugged instinctively, feeling as if his magic was being blocked. "I've never seen it before. Someone must have planted it during the fight. We were defending students. You saw the chaos—"
"Save it for the interrogation," the Auror cut him off, his voice flat and disinterested. He gave Gilderoy's shoulder a shove, steering him away from the wreckage of the street.
Gilderoy's eyes found Amelia's.
She was staring at him, her face white as snow, her hands trembling at her sides. She picked up her wand from the ground and raised it, as if she was about to fight the Aurors. Pandora was frozen beside her, her face pale, her eyes wide with shock. Xenophilius stood behind them, his usual dreamy expression replaced by something hollow.
"He was with us the whole time!" Amelia's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and desperate. "He didn't have THAT! We were fighting together—I saw him the entire time!"
Pandora found her voice next, her tone shaky but fierce. "You're making a mistake! He just saved those students! He was protecting them!"
The Aurors ignored them both, not even glancing back at the girls. They simply grabbed Gilderoy's arms and disapparated.
The last thing he saw was Amelia's face, her mouth open in a scream that never reached him.
Students stared from a distance as their faces remained pale and their mouths hung open in shock. Gilderoy Lockhart, the student who had just fought off a group of masked attackers and shielded them with his own body, was being arrested and taken away like a common criminal.
The street was still smoking while broken glass glittered on the cobblestones.
And then, with a series of sharp cracks, they appeared.
Dumbledore materialised first as his tall figure cut through the chaos like a blade. Flitwick apparated beside him while his face remained drawn and worried. McGonagall followed as her expression stayed grim. Slughorn and Snape appeared at the edges and both scanned the scene with sharp eyes.
McGonagall did not hesitate because she rushed toward the injured students with her wand already out and her voice sharp and commanding. "Severus, Horace, there are students here who need immediate attention."
Snape was already moving as his wand swept over a Hufflepuff girl while Slughorn knelt beside the groaning Ravenclaw boy with his face creased with concern. Flitwick moved toward the shop fronts with his wand raised so that he could scan for any remaining threats before he joined in patching up the students.
Dumbledore turned to Amelia and Pandora while his expression remained calm but his eyes carried something else entirely, a cold and silent fury that seemed to radiate from him like heat from a fire.
"Professor," Pandora said as her voice cracked and she stepped forward with her hands shaking and her face streaked with something that might have been tears or might have been sweat. "We were attacked by masked wizards. They came out of nowhere and cast spells at students. We fought them off, but then—"
"It's Gilderoy," Amelia cut in as her voice broke and she stepped toward Dumbledore. "The Aurors arrested him. They said he was carrying a Dark artifact and they removed it from his pocket. But he did not have anything because he was with us the whole time while we were protecting the students."
"Professor, please," Pandora said as her voice remained raw and desperate. "He did not have it before, someone must have planted it on him during the fight when we were all distracted."
"Please, you have to believe us," Amelia said as her eyes turned teary. "He would never—"
Dumbledore raised his hand with a calm and patient gesture that silenced them both while his eyes moved between their faces and studied them as he read the truth in their desperate expressions.
"Slow down," he said as his voice remained gentle but firm. "Tell me everything from the beginning."
Amelia took a shuddering breath while Pandora steadied herself and gripped Amelia's arm like a lifeline.
"The masked wizards came out of nowhere and attacked the students," Amelia began. "We fought them off, all four of us. Gilderoy was with me as he cast spells against the attackers to subdue them and he was trying to help. Then the Aurors came because they said they had a tip about someone casting dark magic. They searched him and they found something in his robes, a package wrapped in newspaper. He did not know how it got there because I was watching him the whole fight and he never had anything in his robes."
Pandora nodded as her voice steadied. "He was protecting us and protecting the students. Now they are taking him away like he is the one who started all of this."
Dumbledore listened without interrupting while his gaze remained steady. When they finished, he was silent for a moment as his eyes moved between their faces.
"Mr. Lockhart is a student of Hogwarts," Dumbledore said at last. "From what you tell me, he was defending his fellow students against an unprovoked attack and he did not have anything on his person while he duelled. I have known the Ministry to make errors before, especially in times of unrest."
"He did not do anything," Amelia said as her voice remained determined and fierce. "I swear it."
Dumbledore's expression softened just slightly. "If Mr. Lockhart is innocent and I have no reason to believe he is not, then the Ministry is doing a great injustice. I will go to the Ministry myself."
"Professor," Amelia started.
"I will speak with the Aurors and I will speak with anyone necessary. I will ensure that this matter is investigated thoroughly." He paused as his eyes met hers. "In the meantime, I need you to trust that I will do everything in my power to bring him back."
He did not wait for a response because he turned on the spot and vanished with a soft crack.
Amelia stared at the empty space where he had stood while her hands continued trembling and her chest remained tight.
"I need to go," she said suddenly. "I need to do something because I cannot just—"
"Amelia." McGonagall appeared at her elbow as her voice remained firm. "Professor Dumbledore will take care of it. I need you to stay here and help with the students."
"There is nothing I can do here," Amelia said as her voice rose. "Gilderoy is—"
"Professor Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in Britain," McGonagall said as her tone brooked no argument. "If anyone can resolve this, it is him. You need to trust him."
Amelia looked at her with her jaw tight before she turned to Pandora.
Pandora was still shaking while her face remained wet with tears. Xenophilius had his arm around her as his hand steadied her shoulder. She looked at Amelia with her eyes raw and desperate.
"Amelia," she said as her voice barely rose above a whisper. "Please. You have to do something because they are going to jail him. He did not do anything."
Amelia gripped her hand and squeezed tightly. "I will because I promise. I am going to get him back."
Pandora nodded with a single and jerky movement while her chest heaved as she held back a tear.
"Xenophilius," Amelia said as she looked at him. "Take care of her."
Xenophilius nodded with his face pale but steady.
Amelia stepped back with her wand in her hand and met Pandora's eyes one last time.
Then she Disapparated and vanished from the street with a sharp crack.
She reappeared with a loud crack at the castle gates because one could not Apparate into the castle grounds. Amelia did not stop as she ran through the courtyard and through the corridors while her feet pounded against the stone floors. Students stared as she passed, but she did not care because she needed help. She needed someone who could act, someone who had power, someone who would believe her.
Amelia burst into McGonagall's office with her chest heaving and took Floo powder so that she could contact Moody, but when she stuck her head into the fireplace, she saw that Moody was not in his office. She threw powder again and connected to her home, but no one answered when she stuck her head through the flames. She turned from the fireplace and moved toward the desk while her hands fumbled for parchment.
Amelia grabbed a quill as its tip scratched against the parchment while she wrote frantically:
Instructor Moody,
This is Amelia Bones. Gilderoy Lockhart has been arrested by the Ministry because he was defending students from an attack in Hogsmeade. Someone planted a Dark artifact on him and he is innocent. I swear it. Please, you have to help.
She folded the letter and sealed it with a quick charm before she grabbed another piece of parchment.
Edgar,
It is Amelia. Gilderoy has been arrested and framed for carrying a Dark artifact because he was defending students in Hogsmeade. I do not know who to trust. Please, if you know anyone who can help—
She folded that one too and grabbed a third piece.
Bellatrix and Narcissa,
Gilderoy has been arrested because the Ministry took him. He has been framed for something he did not do because he was protecting students. I know he is important to you. Please, if you have any influence or if you know anyone who can help—
She sealed the final letter while her hands shook. Amelia realised that owls would be too slow to deliver, and she began to panic until she recalled her family elf, Tilly.
"Tilly," she called out loudly.
Tilly appeared with a loud crack. "What can I do for you, young miss?"
"Please take these letters to Instructor Moody, Edgar, and Narcissa Black."
"I will do as you command, miss," she said as she Disapparated with a loud crack.
Amelia leaned against the stone wall while her eyes fixed on the dark sky outside the window.
Gil. Hold on. I will get you out.
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