Harry Potter: F*ck Off

Harry shook his head "Only when the magic I did was highly obvious. Normally they just settled for locking me in the cupboard under the stairs, which is where my bedroom was. If the magic was deemed worse I would get punished. See the scar below the left shoulder blade? That one was because I was being chased by bullied and accidentally apparated onto the roof of the school."

Harry lowered his shirt and picked up his robe to put it back on "I trust you now realise why I don't want to go back to my relatives."

Fudge nodded "Yes, of course. Anyone would want to avoid that. But what made you think that Dumbledore could take your wand and force you to remain there?"

Harry tilted his head to the side, as if considering his response before giving it "Surely you must have noticed, Minister, that the Headmaster gets away with a lot of things that the average witch or wizard would not. And I have good reason to believe that it was Dumbledore who put me with the Dursleys in the first place. When I first met Hagrid, he admitted to pulling me from the ruins of my parents' home and taking me to the Dursleys. It's not that hard to believe that Dumbledore ordered him to do it."

Fudge nodded "Yes, yes that is true. Dumbledore does get away with a lot. And he did tell the Wizengamot at the time that you have been put in the care of family from your mother's side. I remember that it didn't sit too well with some people. Some wanted you in a wizarding family, some thought that they had a claim in being able to raise you, some thought it was wrong to hide you… of course some of that last group turned out to be Death Eater sympathisers."

Madam Bones turned the talk back to the subject at hand "So how much of the events of the night of the Third Task were Dumbledore's manipulations in progress?"

"Honestly?" asked Harry "I have no idea. I think Dumbledore knew the truth about Barty Crouch Jr. impersonation Alastor Moody very early on. Think about it; Dumbledore and Moody are supposed to be old friends, so how could Dumbledore not notice an impostor easily? I believe that there being another convicted Death Eater on the loose was meant to help in destabilising you, Minister. The story of Voldemort's return, however, was entirely fabricated. It was meant to spread a mass panic that would help his cause."

"And who killed Cedric Diggory?" asked Madam Bones.

Harry gave a shrug "Probably something in the maze. I found him near the Tri Wizard Cup and thought that he could be useful."

"That's a very unusual thought to have in that situation, Mr Potter." said Madam Bones "You found someone you knew to be dead, and your first thought was to make use of him in Dumbledore's plan."

"I know," said Harry "I have repeatedly wondered if there was a strong compulsion spell or something similar to make me act that way."

Heaving a sigh, Fudge commented "I honestly wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to do such a thing."

Madam Bones nodded in agreement "Yes, given all that you have said, I can see Dumbledore taking measures to ensure that you went through with the plan. Cedric may well have been killed elsewhere in the maze and moved there in order for you to make a more compelling argument. Though it remains to be seen if he was murdered for that purpose or was killed by something in the maze."

Fudge nodded "Such a shame his father decided not to go through with an autopsy. This whole matter could be over with by now."

"Well, Mr Diggory did come up to the school," said Harry "In fact he was there the day of the Third Task. Who knows what spell-work could have been done on him."

"Yes," said Fudge "We'd better have him checked. Now then, why do you think Dumbledore changed his plan?"

"Simple," said Harry "He found that he did not have as much support as he would have liked. This caused the plan to falter, and my guess is that he was set to lose much more than he had to gain…"

"Yes, he was set to lose his position on the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards," replied Fudge "And we were going to begin a full investigation of the running of Hogwarts."

"Well there you are then," said Harry "He found the risk too much and changed his mind, all the while allowing me to take the fall. My guess would be that he expected you to kick me out of the Wizarding World without me ever finding out that he abandoned both the plan and me. Then should he ever succeed in taking over the Ministry, he could come and bring me back to the Wizarding World, explaining how sorry he was that it had happened and that his hands had been tied by the previous Minister. And I, completely oblivious to his betrayal, would believe every word of it. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, he gets out of trouble and still has me on side should he ever gain power at a later date."

"But if he wanted you expelled," said Fudge "then why go to the effort to get you a hearing when we had already decided to expel you in the first place?"

"Simple," said Harry "I got a note from Arthur Weasley telling me that "Dumbledore was sorting things out." And his doing so means that in the end Dumbledore appears even better in my eyes; he did what he could to get the Ministry to see reason, had some success, but couldn't change how the vote went."