A Scoundrel's Staycation Ch. 56 (Harry Potter AU) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Confrontation at the Wizengamot!

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In the end, Harry knows that the choice before him is no choice at all. He’s not about to let Augusta fucking Longbottom of all people see him judged in absentia, that’s for sure. In fact, he’s not about to let her get away with this at all. If this is how she’s going to abuse her power, then Harry will make sure to take it away from her… one way or another.

And so the day of the Wizengamot Meeting arrives and Harry attends with Alice at his side. However, unlike the last time, there is no one waiting around outside of the Wizengamot Chambers when they finally show up. Harry has his suspicions why that is, but he doesn’t hesitate, simply striding forward and pushing into the chambers themselves.

As he’d anticipated, the Wizengamot is already in session. The handful of witches in the mostly empty chamber all turn to face him and Alice as they walk in, with Augusta Longbottom in the center of the chamber, presiding as Chief Warlock.

Rage flashes in her eyes for a moment before the old witch rallies herself. When she speaks, her tone is cold yet even.

“You are late, Lord Hallows.”

Smiling coldly right back, Harry’s own eyes flash, even as he continues forward, not breaking his stride for even a moment.

“It would seem that I received the incorrect time in the correspondence sent to my home. A simple clerical error, I’m sure.”

Augusta scoffs at that, though doesn’t try to make a big deal of his supposed tardiness further. They both know it was no simple clerical error… no, it was a power move and one done by the Chief Warlock herself in order to make him look bad. It was so blatantly obvious that Harry doubted there was a single person in the chamber who didn’t understand what had happened.

No, where their general confusion and lack of understanding came from was likely why their resident Wizard Lord and Chief Warlock were suddenly at odds in the first place. It was obvious something had happened between them, but from what Harry could see of the other Ladies’ faces, none seemed to know exactly what.

As he moves towards his seat, however, Augusta raises a hand.

“You have been called to account for your actions, Lord Hallows… and for this body to decide whether you will remain a member of it. You must take the defendant’s stand, here.”

She points to the center of the chamber; a place Harry is actually passingly familiar with. A long time ago, in his original universe, it was where he’d stood after Dolores Umbridge sicced Dementors on him and his cousin and he nearly had his wand snapped for underage magic.

The corners of Augusta’s mouth quirk up slightly into a satisfied smirk as she then points to Alice.

“As for your companion… she must remove herself from these chambers, as she is not a member of the Wizengamot.”

Alice bristles angrily at that, but Harry lifts a hand to forestall her objections so he can give his own.

“In accordance with the charter, if I am to be put on trial for my supposed actions, I am entitled to witnesses. Alice Longbottom is all the witness I need to your madness, Chief Warlock.”

A ripple goes through the room, making it clear that most of the other witches in the chamber had not recognized Alice by her face alone. Eyes widen as women look between Augusta and Alice, trying to figure out how this all fits together and what had come to pass to bring the latter back from the insanity she’d been driven into.

Augusta though, is not about to give this issue up without a fight.

“You are only entitled to the witnesses that you have declared to the Wizengamot ahead of time, Lord Hallows.”

Harry… smirks and nods, causing Augusta to falter.

“And indeed I did, just yesterday. Feel free to check, Chief Warlock.”

There is a moment where Augusta does exactly that, looking down at her podium and checking magically to confirm his words. When her face falls, Harry knows that Padma has come through for him. It’s also how he knows the timing of the meeting was all Augusta’s doing, because the Patil witch would have certainly warned him otherwise if she’d known.

“… Very well. The defendant and his… witness may take the stand.”

Augusta looks like she’s bitten into something sour as Harry and Alice approach, but she also doesn’t look remotely defeated. Instead, her eyes blaze as she gazes down at them both, but mostly Harry, from atop her dais.

“You stand accused of multiple crimes; Lord Hallows…”

Before she can continue, Harry cuts in.

“I stand accused by you personally, do I not? And yet, you also deign to preside over these proceedings. That seems like quite the conflict of interest, Chief Warlock.”

Augusta just scoffs.

“You will be judged by your peers. Let the witches of the Wizengamot decide the veracity of your crimes.”

Huffing out a laugh, Harry shrugs.

“Very well. Then tell me what crimes I am to be accused of so that I might defend myself properly.”

For a moment, he wonders if she might refuse to do so. To keep the crimes nebulous would be a grave miscarriage of justice, but then everything about this was a grave miscarriage of justice… so Harry wouldn’t put it past her. But no, in the end, Augusta imperiously lists out his perceived slights against her.

“You know what you’ve done, Lord Hallows. But for the assembled Ladies of the Wizengamot, know that this man invaded my home, shattering my connection to the ancestral wards of my forefathers, broke into my family’s safe, and stole from me.”

That prompts a low murmur among the dozens of witches that the Wizengamot has been reduced to. Whispers are exchanged, eyes continuing to dart between Augusta and Harry. The Chief Warlock has laid serious crimes at his feet… but she is not just a respected member of their august body, she is their leader. None wish to call her a liar.

Harry will have to do it for them and convincingly enough for them to believe it. But first…

“What exactly am I supposed to be accused of stealing then?”

He has his suspicions of course, but he still wants to hear it from her mouth. And indeed, Augusta wastes no time.

“You pilfered what you liked from my family safe, taking numerous ancient artifacts that have been with House Longbottom for generations. But most importantly of all to me personally, you made off with my son’s wand, one of the last remaining keepsakes I have of him.”

That proves to be the final straw for Alice Longbottom and this time Harry doesn’t hold the woman back.

“You utter hag! Lord Hallows took none of those things! The only things we took were mine and Frank’s wands and I’m the one who retrieved them both. He was my husband!”

Admittedly, Alice probably could have worded that better, given she just admitted to at least one of the crimes Augusta was attempting to lay at their feet. Still, there’s enough confusion over Alice’s very presence that the other members of the Wizengamot simply don’t know what to think yet. This gives Harry the room he needs to interject.

“These accusations are spurious and largely manufactured. You mix in lies with truth and try to shove it down this august body’s throat simply because you cannot come to terms with your own failures, Augusta.”

Augusta Longbottom’s eyes widen in outrage at his words, her nostrils flaring as she snarls. But Harry isn’t done, he simply continues speaking, amplifying his voice with magic so she can’t speak over him.

“I did indeed go to Longbottom Manor… on your invitation. I did not invade your home; I was invited inside. You sat me down for tea and we spoke for a short time before you brought me to the woman at my side and asked me to do the unthinkable.”

Augusta tries to shut him up utilizing the power of the Chief Warlock, pressing her palm down into her podium in another gross misuse of power. But Harry isn’t having it. Much like back at her home, he has no issue resisting the magical pressure being brought down upon him by the enraged Longbottom Matriarch.

Perhaps that was why Augusta had done all of this even after the strength he’d shown in her ancestral home. Perhaps she thought that here she would have the advantage over him. Politically, she might be right. But magically? She’s completely wrong.

“You did not ask me to come to your home to help Alice Longbottom recover her mind. You did not ask me to come to your home for anything so benign as that. No, you asked me to come to your home for one thing and one thing only… so that I could impregnate the witch beside me without her consent while she lay in a magical stasis of your doing.”

Silence falls then. His accusation evokes not even a whisper from the assembled witches of the Wizengamot. Eyes are wide and as the meaning of his words permeates through the chamber, disgust fills several faces. However… as Harry looks around, he does not quite see the reaction he’s hoping for.

Certainly, several witches are outright disgusted by the idea of taking away Alice’s agency and using her as no more than an incubator. But several of the older witches look thoughtful, having clearly reached the same point of desperation as Augusta had. If they’d had the option to have Harry impregnate a younger womb for them, they might have done it too, regardless of if that womb could say yes to such a thing.

Finally, a hand raises and a pulse of power rings out, signaling that a member of the Wizengamot wishes to step in and comment on the proceedings. All eyes, including Harry’s, turn towards the cowled form of Lady Slytherin. As Augusta recognizes her request to speak, Lady Slytherin rises from her chair.

Harry’s eyes narrow as he regards her. There’s something… off about the disguised witch this time around. Something he can’t quite place. When she speaks she sounds as she did the last time, and yet he can’t help but feel like he’s missing something. In the end he can’t dwell on it… especially given what she’s saying.

“This entire situation is a stain on the honor of this glorious institution. Chief Warlock Longbottom declares herself a victim of a home invasion. Lord Hallows claims that he was invited in. But his own witness admits to having stolen from the Chief Warlock’s safe.”

Harry’s jaw clenches, even as Alice bristles at his side. Lady Slytherin continues on unabated, however.

“In these past several years, Lady Augusta Longbottom has comported herself well as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. I would not say she is above reproach… but her good name and her honor are being impugned by an outsider and a woman who has spent decades out of her mind. It is my belief that Lord Hallows has led Alice Longbottom astray while assaulting our esteemed Chief Warlock in her family home. Therefore, I support the Chief Warlock’s motion to have him removed from the Wizengamot while the Aurors investigate this case more closely.”

He wishes he could say he’s surprised… but he’s not. The truth is that he had already suspected Lady Slytherin of being his enemy… and now she’d confirmed it. The problem, of course, is that her support all but guarantees he will be expelled from the Wizengamot if the motion is allowed to proceed. His own support is minimal this time around, especially when the likes of Narcissa cannot even openly side with him lest she give away her change in allegiance.

This was what he was afraid of, admittedly. But in the end he’d come anyways because he’d resigned himself to this eventuality. As a look of vicious satisfaction spreads across Augusta’s face, Harry knows what he must do. Before she can speak, he calls out, cutting her off.

“I invoke the Right to Challenge.”

That causes a true stir among the Wizengamot, eyes widening and witches shifting in their seats. Augusta in particular looks outraged.

“You cannot do that! Your membership is in question!”

But despite her protests, the magic is already swirling to life around them. Harry’s invocation has true power behind it, unlike her words.

“I can and I have. Chief Warlock Augusta Longbottom, I declare you unfit for the position you hold! I challenge you for the seat of Chief Warlock before this body!”

See, here was the thing about the role of Chief Warlock. It wasn’t democratically elected or anything like that… except for how it kind of was. Rather than voting for who would hold the position of Chief Warlock, it instead went to the one who proved most powerful… with one major caveat. The rest of the Wizengamot got a say in things… by way of their own magic.

The chamber thrums with power as two daises rise up in the space between Harry’s stand and Augusta’s podium. He moves out and steps onto the Challenger’s Dais, while Augusta slowly, reluctantly makes her way down to the Chief Warlock’s Dais.

They would face each other, not in combat... but in a pure test of magical strength. However, everyone else in the chamber, save for Alice Longbottom, would get to participate as well. The daises they now stood upon were connected to the seats of every sitting Wizengamot Member.

This was what kept powerful tyrants from simply claiming the position of Chief Warlock and ruling with an iron fist. Even the likes of Albus Dumbledore could have been usurped if he did not have his own faction within the Wizengamot supporting his claim. As powerful as he was, his opponents could have easily overwhelmed him with their own combined magic if he had ever stood entirely alone… as Harry was now.

The key difference, of course, was that the Wizengamot is greatly diminished from what it once was. Mere dozens of witches sit where hundreds once did. And Harry… Harry is no Albus Dumbledore.

No… he’s much more powerful than that. All that was left was to see just how much of his power he was going to be forced to reveal here.

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A/N: Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

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Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qJ2tKVbBsfei-tKq6w93dROaZNvEl1zysZCXaa0IOfs/edit?tab=t.0