Chapter 69: The Hearing
They never did establish who had administered the Compulsion Potion to the boy. But as a goodwill gesture of sorts, I paid for his treatment at St Mungo's, and everything that had been removed was duly reattached. He refused to return to Hogwarts, however, choosing instead to go straight into the job he had mentioned. As a sixth-year, he was perfectly entitled to leave.
I was now sitting in the Great Hall, waiting.
The doors opened, and Amelia Bones walked in, accompanied by several Aurors.
"Amelia, what brings you to us?"
Dumbledore looked at the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with a courteous smile.
"It's quite straightforward, Albus. I've come to escort Mr Lockhart to court."
"To court?"
"Yes. A complaint has been filed against him, specifically that he exploited his position as a Hogwarts professor to drive up sales of his own books by listing them as required course materials. The entire complete set was required for every student in every year."
"Miss Bones, I believe there has been some misunderstanding here."
Lockhart threw a venomous look in the direction of my table, clearly aimed at me.
"I have documentation confirming that my books qualify as educational materials, and..."
"That is not relevant at this stage."
Amelia cut him off.
"Present whatever evidence you have in court."
"And will I be able to file a countersuit for defamation?"
He had clearly consulted a solicitor. Bones winced slightly, but nodded.
"You will."
"Splendid."
He rose, walked around the staff table, and positioned himself between the Aurors who flanked him. I stood as well and made my way to Amelia.
"Miss Bones, would you have any objection to my accompanying you as the party who filed the complaint?"
"I was just about to ask you."
She smiled, and I understood at once that this woman was firmly on my side. Whispers rose from the tables. We made our way out of Hogwarts, and once we had cleared the protective wards, we all took hold of the Portkey that Amelia produced from her robes.
"Portus."
A brief, lurching pull, and we materialized on a landing somewhere inside the Ministry of Magic. I was glad Amelia had warned me this would happen today. Otherwise I would have had to run back to my room for the evidence.
"This way."
"Get ready, you little brat. I'm going to destroy you."
Lockhart murmured this as he passed me, heading in a slightly different direction.
"Mr Black, I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do."
I smiled at her.
"Please don't worry."
"I should warn you..."
She glanced at me briefly.
"...your opponent has obtained a document from the Ministry, and..."
"Oh, don't trouble yourself about that."
I shook my head.
"I came fully prepared, and a great many people are about to receive some rather interesting news. Not all of it pleasant."
"Hmm. Good. Because it would be a shame if you lost. My Susie is very fond of your lessons."
"Your niece works hard. In Charms, she isn't naturally gifted, and everything she achieves comes through sheer determination."
Bones frowned slightly.
"But talent is only five percent of success. Determined people can reach the very top without it. That said..."
I paused.
"If I were in your position, I would encourage her to consider Healing."
"I beg your pardon?"
Amelia stared at me.
"I have a reasonably sensitive feel for magic, and what I sense from your niece is something I also sense from my mother, Narcissa. She is a Healer. And I believe your niece may have a talent in that field."
"That is... unexpected news. I had rather assumed she would follow in my footsteps."
"As I said, she is determined enough that with sufficient effort she could, in time, become a Master of Charms, and I am quite certain she could become a fine Auror and eventually Head of the Department. But if there is a chance to put her determination behind a natural gift... is it not worth exploring?"
"Yes. I think it is."
"If you'd like, I'll ask my mother for some introductory reading materials for beginners. I think that by the New Year we would know whether what I sensed was correct."
"I... would be in your debt."
"Not at all."
I shook my head.
"I would have raised it with you regardless. As her teacher, it is my responsibility to help her discover her potential. This simply happened sooner than it might have otherwise, perhaps toward the end of the school year."
We reached the courtroom and I held the door for Amelia, then followed her in. The chamber was still largely empty, but that would not last.
"This hearing in the matter of Gilderoy Lockhart is now called to order."
Amelia's voice rang out about twenty minutes later.
"Bring in the accused."
Gilderoy was escorted in and settled into the chair with the air of a man who had already won.
"The principal charge against Mr. Lockhart is that he submitted his books, works of popular fiction, as mandatory course materials for students from first to seventh year. Draco Black, does that accurately reflect your complaint?"
"It does, Madam Chair."
"Very well. Accused, do you wish to speak in your defense?"
"Indeed I do, Madam Chair."
Gilderoy flashed a dazzling smile.
"My books have been entered into the approved register of educational materials. Here is the documentation."
He produced a rolled parchment from his inside pocket.
"Please pass the document through the clerk."
The young clerk retrieved the parchment from Gilderoy and carried it swiftly to Amelia, who unrolled it and read.
"The document is certified by Undersecretary to the Minister Dolores Umbridge."
"As you can see, Madam Chair, my paperwork is entirely in order. With that established, I would like to proceed immediately to filing my defamation suit."
Lockhart beamed.
"The matter is not yet closed. When it is, you may file whatever you wish."
"Of course, of course! Please, do carry on!"
"Draco Black, do you have anything to say?"
"I do."
I nodded.
"I am genuinely delighted for Mr. Lockhart for having obtained a properly stamped piece of parchment. However, I obtained my own documentation somewhat earlier. This..."
I produced a document.
"...is certified by the Head of the Department of Education, confirming that as of the second of September of this year, Gilderoy Lockhart's books had not been included on any approved list of educational materials. Which means that regardless of whatever paper Mr. Lockhart now holds, at the time his books were added to Hogwarts students' required reading lists, he had no authority to do so."
"Hem, hem."
"...to do so."
I chose to disregard Umbridge, who evidently wished to contribute.
"Furthermore, pursuant to..."
"Hem, hem."
"...Madam, if you are unwell, would it not be better to visit St. Mungo's?"
"Young man, your remarks are no doubt fascinating, but we are examining the present state of affairs, not the second of September. And at present, Mr. Lockhart's books, authored by a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, are fully documented."
"Madam Undersecretary, if you had not interrupted me, you would have heard that I was about to address precisely that point. Do you have any objection to my continuing?"
"Oh, please, please do. I am most eager to hear what you have to say."
She smiled coyly, and I made a considerable effort not to wince.
"Thank you. Madam Chair, might you tell me whether there are any signatures on that document other than Madam Umbridge's?"
"There are not."
Amelia shook her head.
"I see. Then I'm afraid I must disappoint Mr Lockhart, because in Britain, the designation of required educational materials is the sole prerogative of the Department of Education, unless a given text has been endorsed by the relevant professional Guild. Madam Umbridge is unquestionably a person of considerable authority. However, under the law, her signature alone means these books can only be treated as optional supplementary reading, not as mandatory purchases. And here..."
I drew a stack of envelopes from my bag.
"These are letters received by students from first to seventh year, across all houses, which clearly show that these books were listed as compulsory."
Lockhart had gone pale.
"I should add that I originally attempted to resolve the matter amicably with Mr Lockhart. I offered to purchase a properly certified textbook for the students at my own expense, a rather fine one I use myself: Defence Against the Dark Arts: Questions and Answers, by Dmitry Kozhevnikov. He preferred to let the matter go to court."
I gave a regretful shrug. Umbridge's eye began twitching nervously.
"Furthermore, as set out in the laws of our beloved country, no single subject may have more than two required textbooks per year group. And if you look at the booklist..."
I paused.
"Though I am sure most of you have seen it, it states that every student, from first year to seventh, is required to purchase the complete collection of Mr Lockhart's works. I imagine he has made a considerable sum."
"The booklist is Hogwarts' responsibility! It is the school that allowed this situation to occur!"
Umbridge practically shouted this from her seat.
"Undoubtedly a share of the responsibility rests with Hogwarts. That said, I had a candid conversation with Professor McGonagall, who told me that she wrote to Mr Lockhart on multiple occasions asking him to specify which books were intended for which year groups, and informing him that no subject could have more than two required texts. Each time, she received the same reply: all books were to be purchased. The Headmaster was occupied at the time with an extensive series of legislative amendments being processed at the Ministry, and so Professor McGonagall had no recourse but to include all the books on the list, as the deadline for submitting it had already all but passed."
I shook my head with an expression of deep sorrow.
"I also took the liberty of consulting a specialist: Igor Ratobiorovich, a world-renowned Master of Combat Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, who undertook a full assessment of the materials students were compelled to purchase."
"I must protest this defamatory language! My books are masterworks of literature from which Defence Against the Dark Arts can absolutely be taught!"
Lockhart had reached his limit.
"Indeed? The world-renowned Master's written assessment describes your work as, and I quote, 'scribblings not worth the paper they were written on, or the ink used to write them.' In his words, and again I quote: 'No competent student could learn even how to hold a wand correctly from this lunatic's ramblings, let alone anything more advanced, though one might, admittedly, learn to smile, as the protagonist does on virtually every page.' And lastly, I quote: 'Only a person of truly extraordinary incompetence could so thoroughly distort the meaning of rituals and spells, including something as elementary as Lumos.'"
I looked around the courtroom, then handed all the documentation to the clerk: the letters and the legal extracts certified by the Ministry's own legal departments.
Umbridge had broken out in red blotches.
"I make absolutely no accusations against anyone other than Lockhart himself. His reputation speaks for itself, and a cursory examination of his purported achievements does confirm that the events described in his books did in fact occur. Monsters did attack settlements, and those monsters were subsequently defeated."
Amelia, by contrast, was doing her best to conceal a smile that threatened to break loose at any moment.
"Unfortunately for Mr. Lockhart, once I realized this matter was heading to court, I chose to look a little more closely. My home education had already made it clear to me that his books contained far too many inconsistencies to be explained away as creative liberties taken for the safety of inexperienced readers."
I drew several more stacks of documents from my bag.
"A specialist in my employ verified every location where the events described by Mr. Lockhart allegedly took place. What emerged was rather..."
Lockhart snatched his wand and leveled it at me.
"Avada Ke..."
One of the Aurors present flicked his wand, and Lockhart went flying backward into his chair. I was already rolling sideways in the same instant, wand in hand. As it happened, I had no cause to use it. Several of the Lords present in the chamber, every Auror, and Amelia Bones herself all had their wands drawn as well.
"Commendable reflexes, Mr. Black."
Amelia swallowed before she said it. It was clear that the attempted Killing Curse had come as a genuine shock to all of them, just as it had to me.
"Thank you. In any case, the documents before you establish that not one of the deeds described in his books was performed by Lockhart. Moreover, my agent was able to locate two individuals who, based on descriptions given by local residents, match the descriptions of those who actually performed these acts. And here is what is rather interesting: these individuals are now, to all intents and purposes, like children. Every memory they possessed has been erased. Completely and entirely."
I shook my head slowly.
"We will review all of this in full. But I believe that one attempt to cast the Killing Curse on a twelve-year-old child alone is sufficient grounds to send Mr. Lockhart to Azkaban. His assets will be confiscated and distributed among the Hogwarts students as compensation for his unlawful enrichment."
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