Dodging Prison and Stealing Witches

Chapter 30: Securing the Area...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Hogwarts castle holds many secrets. Some secrets are open to all who care to listen, told to first year students the moment they walk through the doors. Other secrets are hidden by layer upon layer of enchantment, illusion, and age old runes, buried so deep in the very stone work that none but the most learned or lucky ever find them. But by far the largest number of secrets are protected only by the will of the minds that hold them — secrets of forbidden trysts in broom cupboards, of broken promises and unspoken favour swapping — a web of lies and deceit expertly woven in the playpen of future magical leaders, cunning, byzantine, and always totally innocent of all charges, no really, it wasn't me professor, it was him.

Compared to the actual leaders of the magical world though...

Albus Dumbledore crept through a row of books, soundless and invisible. His target sat alone and soon he would have what he needed. Framing someone for a crime they didn't commit wasn't easy, unless, of course, you controlled the defence — then it was no more difficult than a hair, a polyjuice, and a well placed illegal dark curse.

Harry Potter was reading in a library chair, taking about as much notice of the world around him as a nail in a block of wood.

Dumbledore raised his wand and thought, 'accio loose hairs.' Nothing happened. No loose hairs zoomed towards him. He frowned.

Harry Potter carelessly scratched his nose and shifted so his legs hung over the chair's armrest, the book now held high over his face.

Dumbledore turned and headed back the way he came. Well, okay then, maybe not quite as easy as that.

— DP & SW: TFoP —

"Dumbles just tried to sweep me for hairs." Harry climbed into his trunk and shut the lid behind him.

Daphne and Hermione looked up from their own books on their couch and frowned.

"He didn't get any did he?" Daphne asked.

"No, of course not."

"Good." Hermione carefully put a bookmark in where she'd been reading and placed the book on the table in front of her. "I hate to think what he'd try if he had."

Harry landed in the armchair opposite the girls. "I have thought about it."

"And?" Daphne asked, copying Hermione and giving Harry her full attention.

"Could be for a love potion, possibly on one of the non-noble Dark witches keyed to me — you know — try the same trick that he thinks worked with you, Daph, to make sure the Dark also distance themselves from me like he thinks the Gray have."

Daphne nodded.

"Could also be a straight up frame attempt with polyjuice."

Daphne frowned. "But framing someone with polyjuice is almost impossible. That's what the polyjuice defence is for."

"Yes, but it's easy if you control the defence."

"I'm sorry." Hermione raised her hand. "What is the polyjuice defence?"

"Oh." Harry turned to her. "It's a legal defence. Because polyjuice isn't illegal and is readily accessible for the right price, it's impossible to convict someone of a crime with eye-witness testimony alone, unless you can catch the person red handed and then hold them under surveillance for an hour to make sure they're not under polyjuice."

"Because otherwise the person who committed the crime could just have been pretending to be the defendant using polyjuice." Hermione nodded in understanding.