"Sooner or later he's going to tire himself out enough you're going to be able to get the information out of him we need."
The auror gave a pained look and replied, "Yes, Ma'am."
Amelia just grinned back and asked, "Who's next?"
"Flitwick," Scrimgeour immediately replied. "Actually, he's been the easiest of all, so far."
"Oh?" she asked.
"He was quite happy - almost relieved - to give us the information we asked for," he replied as another of the Master Aurors placed a completed interview recording scroll on her desk.
Quickly scanning through it she asked, "So, his only excuse was because he was asked to?... Ah! He feared for his job if he didn't do it."
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "He was also offered the job of Professor of DADA twice and turned it down both times. Though Dumbledore keeps brushing it off when someone raises it, he knows... according to him... that the DADA post has a curse on it; and he didn't want to be the next victim."
"The only person willing to offer him a job when he retired from the International Duelling Circuit, because he's considered a half-breed, was Dumbledore," said Amelia, still scanning through the document. "He feared for his livelihood and only chance of earning an income."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Right," she sighed. "Inform him he's being charged with accessory to commit child endangerment and neglect, give him the usual 'don't go anywhere' spiel, that he may yet be facing further charges and will likely be standing trial in the not too distant future. Then release him.
"He's also permitted to return to Hogwarts but is stood down as Head of House for Ravenclaw until this matter is resolved; and, even then, it's highly unlikely he'll be able to head the House again. And, at all times while at Hogwarts, he will be monitored by the aurors I've had cause to be stationed at the school."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Next?" she asked.
"With Flitwick released I'll have room to move Pomona Sprout into an Interrogation Room. Then one of us will be interviewing her," he replied. "The last one is the 'iffy' one - Poppy Pomfrey."
"I hope you had a DMLE-certified healer in with her while speaking with her," she warned.
"Yes, Ma'am; Master Healer Pockridge," he replied. "Because those memories of Lord Potter showed she was the subject of at least one obliviation - and very likely quite a few more - we began with treating her with kid gloves.
"However, it is the healer's opinion we had to stop as it appears she's also been placed under some sort of compulsion regarding Lord Potter. Either that, or she's found some way around her healer's oath."
Amelia frowned and asked, "How do you figure that?"
"When she gave Lord Potter his first physical, once he reached Hogwarts in 1991, she found evidence of long-term mistreatment. Instead of immediately reporting it to us, as her Medi-witch's Oath demanded, she only reported it to Dumbledore. And she does not seem to understand that she's broken the law in doing so.
"Apparently Dumbledore informed her and convinced her that, as he was Chief Warlock, she had done her duty of reporting it to the authorities. He's also given her a direct order that any more such information regarding Lord Potter was only to be reported to him. Something about how he was 'protecting the reputation of the wizarding world's young hero'. Personally, I think it was more a... 'covering his own arse' situation."
She gave a snort of annoyance at that. "That he told her she would be reporting to him in his capacity of Chief Warlock, means I can add charges against him for abuse of authority of that position."
Recognising her silence was permission to continue, Scrimgeour went on. "According to our healer, he believes Poppy Pomfrey is so tied up in compulsions and obliviations she should be immediately in-patiented into Saint Mungo's, so they can then help her get through those compulsions without it also meaning the loss of her magic due to the breach of her Oath."
Amelia sat back, allowed her monocle to fall from her eye and brought her off hand up to massage the bridge of her nose.
A few moments later she sat back up, re-affixed her monocle and said, "Right. Have her taken to the DMLE secure ward at Saint Mungo's and have our healer see to her being treated. If it turns out she truly was not acting contrary to the law off her own volition then we won't be charging her. However, once she's well enough to supply it, I want her full co-operation in bringing charges against Dumbledore and the rest of the staff."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Scrimgeour, making a note on his clipboard.
"Alright," she said. "Continue with the interrogations, as discussed. In the meantime... which of our aurors has the best short-term memory?"
"Errr... I think that would be young Auror Second Class Tonks," he replied.
Nodding back in agreement, she asked, "She on duty?"
"No, Ma'am," he replied. "However, she came in not too long ago because she thought she could help."
"Where is she now?"
"In with the Dursley woman stopping her from doing something stupid," he replied. "She's also monitoring a Dicta-quill that's writing down everything the woman has said."
"Replace her with another female auror and send her to me," she ordered. "Anything you think I've missed?"
"Sirius Black," he replied. Then immediately stepped forward and handed her a long roll of parchment. "Your written authority to remove the 'Kiss on Sight' and 'Dead or Alive' orders. It's amended to only approach him if safe to do so and to inform him he's to immediately hand himself over to await proper trial if an auror comes across him."
"Ah, yes," she said, unrolling the parchment.
As soon as she read it, she gave her senior-most auror a smile and immediately affixed both her signature and stamp of office to it, before then re-rolling it and handing it back. "Execute it, immediately," she ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.
"Anything else?" she asked.
When no one else said anything she said, "Then, you have your orders. You'd best be about it.
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