As the strands of silver light faded, Marietta Edgecombe's eyes turned blank. She looked at Jon in confusion and murmured, "Where am I?"
"Come along, Miss Edgecombe… The Minister and Professor Umbridge are waiting for you," Jon said casually.
They passed through the moving stone staircase and stopped in front of the brightly lit doors of the Headmaster's Office. A griffin-shaped knocker hung on the door, but Jon didn't knock. Instead, he guided Marietta Edgecombe forward and walked straight in.
The office had never been this crowded… there were enough people to fill two poker tables.
Albus Dumbledore sat calmly in his chair as if nothing unusual was happening. Professor Minerva McGonagall stood beside him, furious—Jon had never seen her lips so pale or pressed so tightly together.
On the walls, the portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses weren't even pretending to sleep. Alert and solemn, they watched every movement in the room… As Jon and Marietta entered, several portraits eyed them closely, then darted into neighboring frames, whispering urgently to one another.
Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge stood by the fireplace, rocking excitedly on his feet—clearly delighted with how things were going. Three fully armed wizards were beside him, one dark-skinned and unmistakably Kingsley Shacklebolt… and behind them, Professor Umbridge held Harry Potter tightly by the arm.
There was also Percy Weasley, freckled and wearing glasses, pacing along the wall with a quill and a thick parchment roll in hand, ready to record everything at a moment's notice.
"Outrageous… forming an illegal organization inside the school…" on overheard fragments of Fudge's rambling, though his tone carried no real anger—only excitement.
"Oh, Christopher…" Umbridge noticed him and greeted him sweetly. "I'm honored you've brought our witness, Miss Edgecombe… Now let's see how Headmaster Dumbledore can wriggle out of this now, shall we?"
Jon gently nudged Marietta Edgecombe forward. She walked timidly to Umbridge's side.
"Minister, Miss Edgecombe's mother," Umbridge added with a glance toward Fudge, "is Madam Edgecombe from the Floo Network Office, Department of Magical Transportation…"
"Excellent! Like mother, like daughter!" Fudge said warmly.
"Well then, dear, tell us what happened at the meeting?"
Marietta gave a faint shake of her head.
"Then tell us… what was the purpose of the meeting?" Fudge coaxed patiently, like speaking to a small child.
Marietta shook her head again, her empty gaze unmoving.
"Damn it!" Fudge grumbled. "Then surely you know how many meetings there have been?"
"There were no meetings before…" Marietta spoke slowly, her mind clearly muddled. "Today was the first meeting. Last October, Granger and Potter invited us to form the group, and tonight was our very first gathering…"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Umbridge snapped. "Didn't you tell Patrick there were one or two meetings every week?"
Jon nodded earnestly. "Professor Umbridge, that's what she told me."
"I lied to him…" Marietta rasped.
Umbridge looked as though she might faint from sheer rage.
Percy was the first to reacty. "But there was at least one meeting, wasn't there, Minister? Last October in the Hog's Head—Willy Widdershin can testify. He was drinking downstairs and heard Potter shouting above."
"Oh, so that's why he was exempted from prosecution for causing that toilet backflow incident!" Professor McGonagall lifted an eyebrow. "Our justice system is truly astonishing."
"Shameless corruption!" roared Headmaster Dexter Fortescue from his portrait. "If that old scoundrel Gamp knew the Ministry of Magic had sunk low enough to collaborate with criminals—"
(Ulick Gamp was the founder and first Minister for Magic, and had been a friend of Dexter Fortescue in life.)
Fudge and Umbridge pretended not to hear his furious complaints.
"I'd like to know how you plan to explain this," Fudge said, turning to Dumbledore with a heavy, self-important tone.
"Cornelius, if I recall correctly, the Ministry's decree disbanding all student societies didn't take effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade outing. That means he violated no rules that day at the Hog's Head…" Dumbledore replied gently.
From Fudge's expression, he seemed very close to passing out from anger.
...
Jon decided this was the right moment. He slipped a parchment from his pocket and handed it to Umbridge.
Quietly, he whispered, "By the way, Professor Umbridge, I found this in the Room of Requirement… It's 'Dumbledore's Army'!"
"Yes—Dumbledore's Army… Well done, Christopher!" Umbridge straightened sharply, instantly alert. "Dumbledore, how do you explain this? Why name it 'Dumbledore's Army'?"
"No explanation needed," Dumbledore said calmly. "It is Dumbledore's Army, not Potter's Army… Tonight was supposed to be their first meeting. Unfortunately, it didn't go very well."
"Dumbledore, you admit it?" Fudge's face twisted in triumph as he shouted, "You organized this?"
"I organized it."
"Then you truly are plotting against me!"
"Correct."
"Excellent… I came here tonight intending to expel Potter, but I never expected—"
"A pleasant surprise, is it?" Dumbledore asked mildly.
"Weasley!" Fudge bellowed, shaking with excitement. "Weasley, did you get all that down?"
...
Kingsley Shacklebolt and the two other Aurors stepped forward, surrounding Dumbledore from multiple angles.
"I hereby declare that Albus Dumbledore is to be taken into custody and transported to the Ministry of Magic. After formal charges are laid, he will be sent to Azkaban to await trial…" Fudge announced triumphantly.
"But I foresee a slight complication," Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile.
"A little complication? Are you planning to resist us?" Fudge asked, face unafraid. "There are six of us here!"
Jon did a quick count… apparently the Minister hadn't included himself.