"I am not done speaking," interrupted Mrs. Parkinson in a frosty tone.
Fudge, catching the mood of the Board, cleared his throat. "You may finish, Madam. But I caution you to speak only to what you personally know."
Harry almost would have expected Lucius Malfoy to glare at that. Or at least to stiffen. But the blond man just sat calmly back in his chair. Almost as though he knew what was coming already, as if he had no cause whatsoever to worry...
"Here is what I know," said Mrs. Parkinson, dabbing again at her eyes. "Someone here at the school killed my daughter. I personally believe the guilty party to be Draco Malfoy, though of course I can't prove it. But what we do know is that he attacked my daughter quite grievously earlier this year, and swore at that time that he would kill her. And nothing was done about that. Nothing substantive. He should have been expelled then, at the very least. Instead he was allowed to remain in residence and continue his education." She took a step forward, her gaze sweeping the Board from one side to the other. "This Board sent the student body of Hogwarts a clear message on that day. That violence is tolerated, that there is no real consequence for poor behaviour, that the Board itself is weak and ineffectual. And here we see the result. Somebody, possibly Draco Malfoy, possibly someone else, felt at liberty to commit murder. And why, I ask you? Because this Board has no teeth. Mark my words, each and every one of you. If you take no action regarding this murder, you shall without a doubt see another."
A rush of sound swept across the Board as members began to murmur to one another. Has a point, she does... was a time when Hogwarts was safe... Malfoy's record marks him as a troublemaker anyway; what's one less troublemaker... He probably did it, you know. Aurors' report looks a bit biased to my eyes... Can we risk letting him stay on if it was him?
"There is no reason for a good-faith belief that Draco Malfoy committed the murder," Snape said, standing silently that time. "The Board cannot possibly--"
"Professor Snape," interrupted the wizard in the pointed hat. "The Board will thank you not to dictate what it can and cannot do. Your recent brave and honourable services to the Ministry do not, in my view, entitle you to such presumption."
Snape nodded, his long hair falling in front of his eyes until he brushed it aside.
"Mrs. Parkinson, have you finished your statement?"
"Yes, Minister Fudge." She looked at the Board in clear challenge, then stepped back.
"Very well. In that case, the room will be cleared so that the Board may deliberate--"
"Ehem. I believe that Mr. Malfoy has a right to make a statement, Minister."
Fudge sighed as though that were quite the unreasonable request. "Oh very well, very well. Stand up, Mr. Malfoy. There is such a thing as common courtesy--"
Draco was already halfway to his feet by then, which Harry thought more or less proved that Fudge was the one without a shred of courtesy. "Honourable members," he said, nodding politely at each--
The magic doorbell began ringing inside Harry's head.
Harry was so startled that he almost shouted damn. He tried to ignore the din inside his ears, but the doorbell just kept on, loud and insistent. Harry could barely hear Draco over it.
"...while it is true that Nymphadora Tonks is my cousin--"
Almost snarling, Harry rushed out of his bedroom and checked the door parchment. Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.
Great. Just what he needed. And it wasn't like he could ignore them, either. He didn't even want to imagine the scene that would ensue if his friends burst back into the expulsion hearing claiming Harry Potter had gone missing.
Yanking out his wand, Harry spelled the door open.
Hermione was first to rush over the threshold. "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry," she gasped out, panting. She and Ron looked like they'd run all the way down. "I had to come tell you before your father did! It's awful, it's just awful, and it's all my fault--"
"Quiet," Harry ordered, grabbing her wrist, his gaze warning Ron as well. "You don't have to explain, I know the letter came up and things don't look good. Just swear you'll be quiet, swear. Both of you."
"How do you know--"
"Just say you'll be quiet," Harry said, shaking her wrist a little.
"Uh, all right, I'll be quiet, but what--"
"Me too, mate," chimed in Ron.
"All right, but no talking," Harry warned in a low voice. "No noise at all. I mean it."
Letting her go, he stalked back to the bedroom.
Despite all the warnings, Hermione still gasped when she followed him in and caught sight of the wall. Harry gave her a look that would freeze embers, and she abruptly went silent, one of her own hands flying up to clamp across her mouth.
Ron actually handled it better, though Harry saw him mouth Bloody hell, his eyes wide with shock as he followed her in and saw the wall.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Fudge was saying, though his tone was rather sneering. "Now, the Board will deliberate."
I missed Draco's statement, Harry thought with irritation. He was about to turn another rather fearsome look on the friends who had made him miss it, but the scene on the wall was changing aspect, shifting to follow Draco as he made his way out of the room, Snape at his side, Dumbledore close behind.
No, Harry thought. He wanted to stay with Draco, as it were, but it was more important to hear what the Board might have to say. He might hear something of use... but Draco was almost at the doors by then, and his desire to see the Board deliberate didn't seem to be changing the focus of the image.
Maybe it had to follow Draco from the room because of that initial Show me Draco command he had used.
Stepping to the wall, Harry positioned his wand once more and speaking in the lowest voice he could muster, hissed, "Show me Lucius Malfoy!"
The scene on the wall shifted, images rushing past in a dizzying circle as the vista swung back around to centre on Lucius Malfoy.
"What was that?" Fudge asked, glancing about, his mouth half-open with alarm. "Did you hear that hissing noise?"
"Minister." It was Lucius Malfoy who addressed him, his smooth tones respectful yet somehow still woven through with a sneer. Harry wasn't sure how he managed it. "The Board cannot deliberate, as you well know, until the room is cleared of everyone." He raised his eyebrows then, and simply waited.
Fudge didn't appear to catch on for a moment. Then a dull red hue rose to stain his face. "Of course, of course," he murmured, stepping away from his podium and down two risers. He nodded politely at the Board before turning his back and striding from the room.
"These deliberations are intended to remain confidential," said Lucius as the heavy double doors closed after Fudge stepped through them. "And as certain individuals hovering outside may well not respect that..."
He left the accusation hanging in the air. Harry was slow to understand it as a suggestion, but the witches and wizards on the Board caught on at once. Wands drawn, they began casting spells that showered the stone walls with bluish sparks.
Wards, Harry thought. Silencing wards, but they won't do you much good, will they? I'll still hear whatever you have to say of Draco's fate...
But he didn't, for as the spells grew in power, the enchanted wall before him began to grow solid, the images receding as a stone wall re-emerged into his bedroom. But there was no picture frame hanging upon it.