The new year brought about a lot of changes in the wizarding world, changes that nobody but a select few saw coming. Ianto had put a lot of thought into how things needed to change in the magical community to be safe for Harry to go to Hogwarts when the time came and had set some plans in motion. The goblins and Torchwood had a longstanding good relationship, one that had only strengthened when Ianto had taken over dealings with them, Jack's boisterous nature was sometimes too much for the goblin leadership to deal with and they preferred Ianto's organised and meticulous nature. Ianto had with the goblins help started to buy up as many parts of the wizarding world as they could, anyones financial struggles were jumped upon and they made them an offer that they wouldn't refuse. Ianto was hoping to have a share in all areas of commerce by the time Harry went to school; the bigger presence he had in business and society it was more likely that he would be able to exert power and influence if he needed to.

Amelia had been in constant communication with Ianto and Severus, the latter who had also been in communication with Lucius. Both Amelia and Lucius had been using the Yule Balls held by their factions to move against Dumbledore, to gain the support that they needed to try and oust him from his positions. For Lucius it was much easier to get support for amongst his faction, there was no love lost for Albus Dumbledore among the dark families. His restrictive ways towards magic had long since turned many in the more conservative party against him. Curtailing the way in which they were allowed to practice their magic and banning the rituals that connected them with mother magic to allow the muggleborn to feel more comfortable in the wizarding world had gained him many enemies over the years.

It was not much work for Lucius to use the situation with the mishandling of Harry Potter as a starting point to oust Dumbledore from his positions. Magical children were precious and the fact that he had been so negligent with a magical child, well his days were numbered. That the child in question was the saviour of the magical world, even his former colleagues in black robes were mourning the child that had brought an end to the madness they had been trapped in. A child being sent to live with muggles, family or not, although it had been shown that there was no actual blood connection, despite the blood wards that Dumbledore had promoted, was intolerable to the darker side of society.

Sending a fully magical child to live with muggles would be like stunting their growth, sending the heir to two magical houses to live with muggles, and allowing him to die in their care was barbaric.

Amelia also used the situation with Harry as a springboard amongst her own faction, but she had to work a lot more carefully. It wouldn't be unexpected for the dark to rise against Dumbledore over this, Amelia however had a much more delicate dance to perform. She was aware of things that the general public were not aware of, particularly the fact that Harry wasn't actually dead, and as such she had to be careful in what she said throughout her campaign. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself in her war on Dumbledore, it would be inadvisable to allow anyone to get suspicious of her. It would be strange if she wasn't galvanised into action as a result of the death of a magical child, the child of one of her former colleagues, but she had never had a connection to Harry before his death. It would be unwise to try and overstep and draw attention that was going to bring unwanted attention to her.

The first Wizengamot meeting after the New Year was a sight to behold, Dumbledore sat in his chair looking down on his dominion, looking as if he had not a single care in the world. If you knew what to look for though it was obvious that he was less than happy at all the things he could hear going on around him. The session hadn't started but the conversations had and it was clear that everyone was talking about his massive lapse in judgement in regards to the Harry Potter Situation as people were calling it. That people hadn't calmed about the situation over the Yule break would be worrying Headmaster Dumbledore.

Amelia looked around the room wondering who would be the first to speak up, she knew from talking to Ianto and Severus that there were many in the darker factions that Lucius had spoken to that were all willing to be the one to start the beginning of the end of Dumbledore's reign. After the opening proceedings and Dumbledore finished his grandstanding he called for any new members to be sworn in as was custom before moving on to the items on the docket for the opening session.

It was a long involved session that Dumbledore appeared to be allowing to ramble on rather than focussing to get through all the business already in front of them so that they could move on to newer things. When they finally got to any other business Amelia could tell that those in the room were almost ready to leave, that they wanted to go home, but there was more to be done. When it looked like no-one was about to speak up and Dumbledore stood to try and close the meeting, Lucius surged to his feet in a motion that should have been unwieldy but he made it look effortless and graceful.

"I put forth before this body the motion to call a vote of no confidence against the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot." Lucius called out, his voice echoing around the chamber as the magic in the room recognised his call,

Amelia rose to her feet, looking around the chambers as she did so, knowing that it had to be someone from the lighter alliance of magic to second the call or the public who were calling for Dumbledore's blood at this point could be used against them. "I second the motion." She then looked around the chambers, looking towards the neutral factions.

"And I call the motion to a vote." Hadrian Greengrass stated as he stood from his seat.

Dumbledore seemed to wilt a bit despite the fact that he was still standing from having stood to try and close out the session. He had obviously been hoping to avoid the vote by drawing everything out as long as he could. It was an obvious ploy and one that would have no doubt worked if it weren't for the fact that the child that had died was such a child that it could in no way be swept under a rug. They all stood not moving an inch as wands were raised into the air, the vast majority of them, even those in what Dumbledore would call his own faction lighting up with red sparks.

It was poetic in a way that Dumbledore had to stand and count the wand votes that were about to oust him from the position he had held for so long. Announcing his own defeat must have been torturous to him, but Amelia had to admit that he did so with grace, not letting any of the anger that he was sure to be feeling display on his features at all. There were many jubilant sounds throughout the chamber, which were all a bit crass in her opinion, while many in the darker faction were finally getting something they had wanted for years it had still come at the expense of the life of a magical child.

Amelia knew that there would be parties throughout the darker factions of society that night, and even in some of the neutral and lighter households. Dumbledore stepped away from his seat, and Lucius as the issuer of the vote of no confidence called the end of the session, informing the chamber that the election of the next chief warlock would have to be considered carefully considering the actions of the previous chief warlock using their powers for ill. The decision should not be a snap one, and therefore they should adjourn and the next meeting they should work through the nominees and select who they felt was the best witch or wizard for the job. It was truly an inspiring closing statement and Amelia would have been proud to have spoken the words herself.

Leaving the first session of the new year felt like the beginning of a new era within the Wizengamot, with changes that would no doubt resonate within the wizarding society of Britain for years. Albus Dumbledore had been ousted from one of his major positions, how he handled the fall out of the dismissal from his position would be used as a basis to remove him from the other positions that he held.

It wouldn't be long before the international confederation of wizards began to question the wisdom of having a Supreme Mugwump who couldn't even hold the position of chief warlock within his own government. After that the position of Headmaster would go, it was the one that Amelia believed that he would hold onto the longest, and the one that she wanted him out of most ardently, after all she didn't want her niece or her godson going to a school where they were completely under his control.

What he had done to the muggle police officers and the sacrifices he had been willing to make to train Harry in the way that he was hoping, were inconceivable to her, to leave a child in an abusive situation as a way to mould them was a barbaric thing to do. She had a feeling though that they hadn't even scratched the surface of all there was to know on Dumbledore and his antics though. Amelia was well aware that Ianto would probably keep some things from her until the time was right to reveal them, not wanting to bring her into a difficult position, but she had a feeling even he wasn't aware of all the dirty secrets in the old wizards past.

Oh she knew that he was being investigated, the idea of using Rita Skeeter to do their dirty work and dig up all she could on the old man was inspired and Amelia couldn't have come up with a better person for the job. The witch had a knack for ferreting out even the most hidden of secrets if she was on the hunt for a juicy story, her main problem was how much she sensationalised the news pieces at times. It was hard to take her writing seriously at times when it seemed to have become much more of a tale than the story actually was.

Amelia was sure however that Ianto would have impressed upon her how much there was a need for the facts and being brutal with the truth would be much more sensationalist than warping the story in whatever way her quills would normally do. She didn't know how she got her scoops, some of the things she knew should have been completely out of her reach but she often had the most outlandish of stories.

The Wizengamot session for instance, it should have been a private session, however the paper that the owl dropped off that evening made her believe that Rita had been there in the room. Normally the opening session of any Wizengamot season was open to the public, however this one had been registered as a closed session by Dumbledore, no doubt in an attempt to shield whatever actions he took to try and railroad the session from the press. He hadn't managed it though, and the news was out for all of Wizarding Britain to see in a special edition of the Daily Prophet.

Rita was on fine form, and seemed to be taking her mandate from Ianto to use the truth as a weapon to heart. She seemed to be using her article as a platform to ask difficult questions of Dumbledore in a public forum, even if it wasn't in person. The questions were out there in the minds of the public, and she was pushing the idea of the Prophet being a beacon of truth in a turbulent time. As long as the witch kept her quick quotes quill to herself Amelia was sure that this could turn out beneficial and she may even grant her the interview that she had requested.

Chief Warlock Dismissed

By Rita Skeeter

In a move that shocked no-one the Wizengamot, prompted by Lord Lucius Malfoy and seconded and thirded by Regent Amelia Bones and Lord Hadrian Greengrass moved to remove Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore from his position at their helm.

Former Chief Warlock Dumbledore has been under much suspicion over the Yule season about his involvement in the death of our young saviour Harry Potter. The Wizengamot, which convened for their first session of the year earlier today, voted with a high majority to oust their Chief Warlock. Many in our world are questioning how one man came to have so much power in our society and has been allowed to run unchecked for so long, the fact that he was sat at the top of our Wizengamot may have been the reason for that.

Now that he has been knocked from his pedestal or dais in our hallowed chambers it is time to start asking him some tough questions about what his actual involvement in the situation with Heir Potter was. It is unfathomable to this reporter that someone who has appeared as omnipotent and omniscient as Albus Dumbledore always has knew nothing about the goings on in the muggle home to where he had left our saviour to reside.

If it is as I fear and the Headmaster was aware of the suffering our poor saviour went through and did nothing I wonder at the wisdom of leaving him in charge of the rest of our young Heirs and Heiresses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Does Headmaster Dumbledore, the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards really have the best interests of our children at heart? Has he merely spread himself too thin in the roles he has taken on and his hubris in believing that he is the all knowing Albus Dumbledore allowed things to slip through the cracks? Is old age and senility the reason behind the loss of one of our oldest houses?

This reported intends to get to the heart of the matter and find the truth hidden in amongst all the platitudes and twinkling eyed looks that are gifted to us like candy from the man in the multicoloured robes. No longer will I allow the mask of a genial old man looking to guide our world to blind me to the issues that are being obfuscated.

Despite our name the Daily Prophet has no seers on staff, what we do have however is a team of reporters that will not rest until the truth has been uncovered and delivered to your homes.

Interview with Lord Malfoy – Why He Called The Vote page 2

Our Wizengamot What Happens Now – How Does A New Chief Warlock Get Sworn In page 3