"The Tribunal will now hear the testimony of Hermione Jean Granger."
Hermione stepped forward, poker-faced., and walked to the stand. She raised her hand and stood while the Magistrate cast the oath-spell, speaking only to give her agreement to the binding. Then she waited patiently for the interrogation to start.
The Accuser had finished sorting through his notes, and now approached her. "You are Hermione Jean Granger, correct?"
"Yes."
"Are you female?"
"Yes."
"Are you a witch?"
"Yes."
"Does the sun rise in the west?"
"Yes." A loud sound was emitted, signalling her lie. Satisfied with the test questions, the Accuser proceeded to the matter at hand.
"Explain to us the situation you found yourself in upon entry to the tower of the wizard known as Wyrn."
Hermione took a deep breath.
The room was empty.
It took them five minutes to search it, and there was not a soul anywhere. They found a medium-sized dining area, replete with an enchanted kitchen; a few barrack rooms and a guard-commander's office, but nothing living.
That wasn't to say there was nothing of interest. Harry noticed it first. The tower was designed according to a "core-shell" structure: an outer shell built around an inner core. The core was impressive, as they found when trying to break through it: granite sheets encasing an iron wall lined with protective runes and magically strengthened so as to be impregnable in a very literal sense. Harry surmised that the iron was in turn encased around another wall, but he couldn't figure out what lay behind it. There was a door the structure, though it was only differentiated from the rest of the wall by an outline. There were no visible hinges or lock, and it seemed just as unyielding to physical assault.
Naruto had suggested that they proceed. The three of them ran up the stairs to a new floor. Again, it was empty. The pattern repeated itself twice more.
They still noticed things about the tower. The first thing was that the staircases switched location on every floor, but the door to the core structure didn't. Each floor was slightly smaller than the last, by a matter of metres, showing evidence of a tiered structure, which was odd as from the outside it seemed perfectly straight. Harry thought that there might be some sort of secret passage system hidden in the gap between the outside wall and the inner wall on each level, with the inner core functioning like a security staircase allowing quick and easy escape and entry in case of intruders or fire. Hermione was amused at the prospect of a wizard as patently crazy as Wyrn designing his tower according to Muggle health and safety standards. Naruto had remarked that that was probably proof of his insanity, as if any more were needed.
When they reached the last level, the first thing they noticed was the blood pooling through the corridor. The second thing they noticed was the screaming and clashing of weapons against weapons. The third thing they noticed was a group of archers running towards them with the ferocity of those who have seen hell.
Though the group was outnumbered three to one, they were able to make short work of them, and cautiously proceeded to the next room, leaving behind the nine dead archers. What they saw was horrific. A large room, almost like a courtyard, filled Golems and Nagas attacking a horde of demons that were pouring through an open portal. The demons were outnumbered, but reinforcements kept coming through, while the dead on the other side were not replaced. The tide was slowly turning in favour of the demons, who seemed to be led by a disturbingly human-looking creature, albeit with red skin and talons.
Harry spotted the body of the wizard, and dashed to help him. Wyrn was dying, but he was able to speak a little. Apparently, during the breakout from the prison, he had lost control of the demon he had summoned, which proceeded to convert the pentagram into a portal to summon more of his kind. Wyrn had managed to order all of his guards to return to the tower and eliminate the demons, but then was brutally attacked and tossed to the side to watch while his plans came crashing down around him. If the demons were able to reach the portal and flood into the human world, a disaster of apocalyptic proportions would ensue.
Wyrn may have been low on strength, but the information he gave was crucial. Passing Harry a key, he explained that inside the core was an emergency staircase that could take them straight down to the basement. In there was an emergency portal, one-way only, that would take them to the exit portal they arrived through. Also there were several high-grade and high-powered explosives that they should use to destroy the portal. They were set with ten second timers. Wyrn begged Harry to destroy the portal at this end, and therefore trap the demons inside a dimensional fold; only once Harry agreed did he give up his strength and pass on.
The trio made their way carefully to the core structure, and Harry took out the key. The door swung open, and the trio swiftly passed through. A demon attempted to follow them but was incinerated by a black flame; Naruto guessed it must have come from the enchantments on the wall. They proceeded just as they had been instructed and found the materials waiting for them. Taking the explosives, they went through the portal, appearing at their original entry point. They armed the explosives and jumped through, meeting Rock Lee on the other side. A few seconds later…
"… the portal on this end blew up. And before you ask, no, we had absolutely no idea that would happen. Of course, it makes sense now, but we didn't realise that two ends of a portal are linked to the extent that if one is destroyed so is the other."
The Accuser made a note of her comment. "Finally, do you regret your actions?"
Hermione considered the question for a moment, then gave her reply. "No. While I am deeply sorry for the injuries and inconvenience, and will mourn the loss of those two men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time for the rest of my life, I still feel that had we left the portal intact and demons used it to enter our world, all our fates would be far, far worse."
There was a low buzzing through the court as the assembled witches and wizards processed this; the Trial Committee itself seemed engrossed in the debate. Eventually, after a signal from the new Minister for Magic, the Convenor of the Tribunal brought matters to order.
"Miss Granger, you may leave the stand."
She rose, nodding her acknowledgement, and gave a slight curtsey to the Accuser, who grunted sourly as she passed. She took her seat next to Ron, who gave her a covert thumbs-up and a wink.
"How was I?"
Ron grinned. "Fabulous" he whispered. "I hope it wasn't too hard for you!"
Hermione nearly giggled. "Mad-Eye seemed ready to bend over backwards to make it easier on me. How did you swing him for the Accuser?"
Ron shrugged. "It was my idea to have the Tribunal. Kingsley chose the people. After a consultation session. Besides, it's open and shut. After Luna leaked the dossier in The Quibbler there was no way you or Harry could be sentenced."
He looked back at the stand. "Speak of the devil…"
Harry smiled his thanks at the Magistrate, then faced Moody, utterly relaxed.
Moody looked at him sternly. "Are you Harry James Potter?"
"Yes."
"Are you a wizard?"
"Are you male?"
"Yes."
"Does the sun rise in the west?"
"Yes."
Once again, the sound was emitted, signalling the lie.
Satisfied, Moody continued. "Please give us your story of what occurred upon your entry to the tower of the wizard known as Wyrn."
Harry smiled.
The room was empty.
It took them ten minutes to search it, and there was not a soul anywhere. They found a medium-sized dining area, replete with an enchanted kitchen; a few barrack rooms and a guard-commander's office, but nothing living.
That wasn't to say there was nothing of interest. Hermione noticed it first. The tower was designed according to a "core-shell" structure: an outer shell built around an inner core. The core was impressive, as they found when trying to break through it: granite sheets encasing an iron wall lined with protective runes and magically strengthened so as to be impregnable in a very literal sense. Hermione surmised that the iron was in turn encased around another wall, but he couldn't figure out what lay behind it. There was a door the structure, though it was only differentiated from the rest of the wall by an outline. There were no visible hinges or lock, and it seemed just as unyielding to physical assault.
Harry had suggested that they proceed. The three of them ran up the stairs to a new floor. Again, it was empty. The pattern repeated itself twice more.
They still noticed things about the tower. The first thing was that the door to the core structure switched location on every floor, but the staircases didn't. Each floor was the same size as the last, showing evidence of a cylindrical structure, which was odd as from the outside it appeared to be a tiered structure. Hermione thought that there might be a sort of emergency escape system using the tiered portions of the outside walls, with the inner core functioning like a security staircase allowing quick and easy escape and entry in case of intruders or fire. Naruto was amused at the prospect of a wizard as patently crazy as Wyrn designing his tower according to normal health and safety standards. Harry had remarked that that was probably proof of his insanity, as if any more were needed.
When they reached the last level, the first thing they noticed was the blood pooling through the corridor. The second thing they noticed was the screaming and clashing of weapons against weapons. The third thing they noticed was a group of warriors running towards them with the ferocity of those who have seen hell.
Though the group was outnumbered two to one, they were able to make short work of them, and swiftly proceeded to the next room, leaving behind the six dead warriors. What they saw was horrific. A large room, almost like a courtyard, filled with Vampires and Fair Folk attacking a horde of demons that were pouring through an open portal. The demons were outnumbered, but reinforcements kept coming through, while the dead on the other side were not replaced. The tide was slowly turning in favour of the demons, who seemed to be led by a viscious monstrosity, nine feet tall with black skin and huge horns, covered partially with green slime and with a single wing protruding from its shoulder-blades.
Hermione spotted the body of the wizard, and dashed to help him. Wyrn was dying, but he was able to speak a little. Apparently, during the breakout from the prison, he had lost control of the demon he had summoned, which proceeded to convert the pentagram into a portal to summon more of his kind. Wyrn had managed to order all of his guards to return to the tower and eliminate the demons, but then was brutally attacked and tossed to the side to watch while his plans came crashing down around him. If the demons were able to reach the portal and flood into the human world, a disaster of apocalyptic proportions would ensue.
Wyrn may have been low on strength, but the information he gave was crucial. Passing Hermione a key, he explained that inside the core was an emergency staircase that could take them straight down to the basement. In there was an emergency portal, one-way only, that would take them to the exit portal they arrived through. Also there were several high-grade and high-powered explosives that they should use to destroy the portal. They were set with fifteen-second timers. Wyrn begged Hermione to destroy the portal at this end, and therefore trap the demons inside a dimensional fold; only once Hermione agreed did he give up his strength and pass on.
The trio made their way quickly to the core structure, Naruto and Harry beating down any attempts by either the demons or the guards to interfere, and Hermione took out the key. The door swung open, and the trio swiftly passed through. A demon attempted to follow them but was incinerated by a black flame; Harry guessed it must have come from the enchantments on the wall. They proceeded just as they had been instructed and found the materials waiting for them. Taking the explosives, they went through the portal, appearing at their original entry point. They armed the explosives and jumped through, meeting Rock Lee on the other side. A few seconds later…
"… Well, you know as well as I do what happened. The portal exploded. We were almost outside when it happened. Then I woke up in St Mungo's. I only found out about the two men a week later, and I still regret it."
Moody seemed satisfied. Hermione wasn't. She looked at Ron, aghast. "What the hell?"
Ron smirked. "Don't worry."
The whole room was in uproar. Everyone debated the differences between the stories, wondering what on earth it might mean. Both were telling the truth, that was obvious, but how could there be so many discrepancies with their stories?
The Convenor signalled for order. A few minutes passed before he got it. Ron looked at Hermione. "Here it comes."
Hermione was confused until she saw the next witness make her pledge. She gasped. "Ron, you magnificent bastard! That's brilliant!"
Ron gave no answer, but simply smiled.
Moody was speaking. "… Madam Pomfrey, formerly of Hogwarts, now head of the Emergency Ward at St Mungo's. Thank you for taking the time to come here, and thank you for your pledge, which was not required."
Madam Pomfrey inclined her head graciously.
Moody continued. "Could you please testify as to the health of the two individuals whose testimony we have just heard?"
Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat. "On my oath as a healer, and by the pledge of honesty I have just made, I testify that the two individuals, Harry James Potter and Hermione Jean Granger, are fit and healthy, showing few long-term physical effects from their recent injuries; however, I must inform the court that due to the high-intensity fifth-order magic and dimensional travel they underwent, not to mention the magical radiation backlash from the destruction of the portal, they suffered some minor trauma to their memories, specifically their ability to remember exactly what happened on the other side of the portal. This is because, as is well-known from Abd-al-Hazred's Third Postulate, the human brain is incapable of correctly perceiving and remembering events that happen in a different dimension owing to the divisibility of…"
Hermione stopped listening. She looked at Ron. "That's not true."
Ron shrugged. "No one knows. Abd-al-Hazred was completely insane before he wrote his Postulates, so really they could mean anything we need them to mean. In any case, it's sewn up. You'll be off the hook, with all inconsistencies explained away thanks to Poppy. Harry is a hero again, having saved the world from demons, Kingsley is in power, Moody is out of my hair and the Albardic case is long forgotten. Once the Emergency Powers Act is voted through, we'll have the freedom to help our allies win this war."
Hermione nodded. Ron seemed to be right, though how long it would last would be a different matter. "So that's it then? Case closed?"
Ron frowned. "Not quite. There are still a couple of loose ends."
Hermione's heart started pounding. He didn't, did he? No, that's impossible…
He looked at her. "Where did the bodies of the two men go?"
She sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"
A/N - Almost done. the rest should be up before the end of the week.
sorry for the delays, was without internet for almost a year, then my computer died, losing me my stories! still, i have a shiny new one now, so it's all good.
P.S. I have the last chapter, but I won't be putting it up until I get a little more feedback. Partly because I am that mean, and partly because I like to keep people in suspense, but mostly because I'm unsure whether or not to have a scene with Voldemort for the epilogue, and I want to put them up together. Sorry...
