Arthur nodded. There was nothing more to say. The truth was as clear as crystal. Dumbledore knew about the estrangement between Molly and her mother. He had been the witness to the writing of Ginevra Prewett's last will and testament, and had therefore known that it contained a substantial sum of money for the Weasley children's tuition. Dumbledore had then gone to Molly and Arthur, pretending to offer them a way to send all of their children to Hogwarts for free. Once Molly and Arthur signed the forms, Dumbledore had either changed the writing on the forms or transferred the signatures to another document which gave him the right to act on the Weasley's behalf during the reading of Ginevra Prewett's will.
From then on it appeared to the Weasley's that Dumbledore was simply a generous man who had helped their family out while in fact the children's tuition was already paid for.
"Why?" asked Molly, speaking for the first time. "Why would he do that?"
"The answer to that, Molly, is rather simple," replied Madam Bones. "While there can be no doubt that having the loyalty of Clan Weasley was certainly a bonus for Dumbledore, his main goal was to get the Ancient House of Prewett on his side. We know that both of your brothers, Gideon and Fabian, were once members of The Order of the Phoenix, well before you and your husband were.
"We know that Dumbledore had the trust of your mother at the very least – his selection to bear witness to her last will and testament proves that much. Moreover, Wizengamot records show that the Ancient House of Prewett, over a course of thirty five years, frequently sided with Dumbledore in various matters. In short, the Ancient House of Prewett was usually one that Dumbledore could count upon to do things his way.
"However, Alfrid Prewett passed away, Gideon and Fabian were killed fighting Death Eaters without having children of their own, and Ginevra was on her death bed. Dumbledore could not count on the Prewett vote for much longer, which is why he approached you and your husband, Molly."
Molly looked confused, as though she had not followed Amelia's logic in the slightest.
Arthur, on the other hand, had understood every word. "With Gideon and Fabian gone, the title of Head of House Prewett could be claimed by any of my sons."
"That is correct, for the most part," replied Madam Bones. "The only obvious exception is William, as he would be expected to claim headship of Clan Weasley when the time came."
At this point, Fudge interjected. "Well, Madam Bones, you have certainly given the Wizengamot plenty of insight into how Dumbledore has been operating. But if that is all, these people have, by your own words, done nothing to break the law."
Amelia gave a nod of her head and the Minister promptly declared Arthur and Molly free to go.
As the two Weasley parents joined Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, Harry could not help but feel sorry for them. On the one hand he could have argued that, as Mr and Mrs Weasley were not guilty of committing any crimes as a part of The Order of the Phoenix, all that had been revealed in the courtroom should really have been revealed in a private setting.
On the other hand, this evidence was essential to building an airtight case against Dumbledore. Harry did not particularly want the fact that he had spent ten years of his life living in a cupboard thanks to the abusive Dursley family, it was Dumbledore who had put him there and if revealing that truth would mean that Dumbledore would get the punishment that he deserved, the Harry thought that revealing the truth of the matter would be a small price to pay.
Next to be called forward was Arthur and Molly's oldest son, Bill Weasley.
His reasons for joining The Order were pretty much the same as his parents; he believed that Dumbledore had allowed him to attend Hogwarts for free. However, there was something more.
Again, it fell to the Goblin, Sledgerock, to explain.
"I have here the application form submitted by Mr William Weasley when he applied to Gringotts Bank for an apprenticeship as a curse breaker. Included are a list of his Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Level examination results, and a personal letter of recommendation from one Albus Dumbledore. The examination results indicate that Mr Weasley received an Outstanding with merit grade for both his Study of Ancient Runes examination and his Arithmancy examination. The results are signed by Dumbledore and by Griselda Marchbanks, the Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority."
"Interesting," said Madam Bones. "I wonder if Madam Marchbanks would validate these results."
"No, I would not." replied a voice from amongst the Wizengamot members.
Madam Marchbanks got to her feet as all eyes turned to her. She brandished a piece of parchment as she announced "These are the N.E.W.T level examination results of Mr William Weasley, taken from the archives of the Wizarding Examinations Authority just this morning."
Holding the parchment up, she read aloud;
"Study of Ancient Runes: Exceeds Expectations.
Arithmancy: Acceptable."
She lowered the piece of parchment and said to the room as a whole "Clearly the results submitted to Gringotts were tampered with. These marks are well below the Gringotts requirements for entry into an apprenticeship in the field of curse breaking."
"Were you aware of this?" Madam Bones asked Bill.
He nodded before replying "I didn't do as well in by N.E.W.T's as I should have. I wrote to Dumbledore, asking if I could retake the exams that I was required to score Outstanding in so as to become a curse breaker."
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