Regulus walked into the courtroom, slowly.
He didn't cut the regal figure of his brother, nor the cutting elegance of his father. He was subtle- understated.
And that, was how Regulus liked it.
The blue, star-gilted robes hung off his frame, like all of his clothes. The past few months had not been kind to him, though he'd certainly come out of it better than he'd expected…
I'm alive. Which is more than can be said for so many others.
He remembered, vaguely, the time that had stricken him so deeply- Horcruxes, the Dark Lord hissed sibilantly. Who will hold my soul?- and Regulus had fled. He'd wanted to grab Bella, but she had always been a better dueler, and her devotion to their Lord…
It had been matched by none.
And now, she is on the run, while I address the Wizengamot. How the mighty have fallen, cousin.
The white-beveled shock had traced through him, and the next thing he truly remembered was landing in a Black house in Wiltshire. Then, clawing himself through the fog to send a message to Caelia, the only person he could rely upon in the mess he'd found himself in. His brother would as soon as curse him as listen to him, while everyone else he could rely on was affiliated with the Dark Lord. Finally, telling her, under a sky-crushing rain, hopelessly, the horror and regret at finding the true madness of his Lord.
The rest was all flashes of emotion and color; even now he wasn't sure whether it was a fever dream or the truth.
Relaxing against the podium's seat, Regulus waited for the subtle uproar to subside- subtle because it was the Dark who was shocked, and uproar because he was supposed to be… dead. The Light, he suspected- perhaps unfairly- had not noticed anything other than that he was Sirius' brother.
Ha. And you think blood doesn't matter to you, whose every right is structured around that belief?
Please. At least the Dark is truthful about what they feel. The rest of you are hiding behind a shield of pacifism and rotten morals. That we're fighting you is an affront not just to you, but to us. Give me a sword and I'll run all of you through without a second thought.
Tilting his head to the side, he could catch Sirius' eye without seeming like it. A nasty grin spread over his face when he saw the utter disbelief on his face.
Didn't think sweet little Caelia could do this, did you? Your very shock is an affront to her… Not that she would see it like that, I suppose.
She's always been fine with appearing unassuming.
"What-" Albus Dumbledore, who had abandoned one of his- very few, admittedly- friends, dared to stand up and control the Wizengamot. Caelia didn't speak, didn't even turn around to acknowledge everyone else. Ignoring them as only one born into affluence could, she arched an eyebrow precisely.
How is Severus? She asked silently.
Regulus shrugged his shoulders lightly, the movement subtle enough that it looked like he was simply relaxing. As well as can be, he replied flatly.
And yourself?
No better.
Caelia rocked back, breaking the flow immediately. Regulus averted his eyes, and she began to scribble something down quickly on a piece of parchment.
Through their conversation, the Wizengamot had calmed down, and order had finally been restored.
Finally, Regulus thought as he straightened into a perfect posture.
Let the games begin.
Severus watched faintly as two people managed to destroy the entire, waterproof- or so it had seemed- case.
Caelia was brilliant- he didn't know when she'd read legal books, but it was impressive- and with the slightest hint, Regulus followed a thought to its completion. No words were too much; no hole in the prosecution's argument wasn't explored. Circles were spun around the former witnesses' words, contradicting them without appearing so; only one well-versed in watching every word and every movement could have caught their actions.
It was worthy of the Sistine Chapel, and was being painted on a Wiltshire church. Nobody could appreciate it, here, and he almost mourned that. Then he thought about mourning that, and had to bite back hysterical laughter.
Azkaban, which he hadn't expected to survive, was suddenly so distant his hopelessness seemed impossible. Now, they were fighting over how long he'd be under house arrest.
Strength thrummed through him, even though dementors stood feet away.
It was now time for the prosecutor.
Selwyn was an old, conservative Pureblood- one chosen to give the trial an appearance of decency instead of a farce. However, anyone who knew him well knew that for enough money- or blood- he could be bought; a small bit of manipulation had yielded a precious gem of a knowledge.
Use it, Regulus. Throw him off his game, until he's screaming bloody murder and all he sees is red.
Then finish him.
A man like Selwyn didn't understand subtlety- he was too blunt for it. Threats, bribes, even promises could be kept, but manipulation had to be done behind the scenes. So the best way to deal with him? Use supporting characters. Turn everything he said on its head, until he couldn't say the truth for fear it would ruin him.
There was no smile on Caelia's face when she turned over the case, and nobody in the audience knew her own knowledge. She had made sure of it.
"So, you stated that you joined the Death Eaters, voluntarily?" Selwyn asked as he swept forward.
Regulus stiffened imperceptibly. "When I was sixteen, yes. I did not know what would happen… or what I was getting myself into. All I-"
"Please answer the question with a yes or a no."
"Then yes," Regulus said flatly. They had expected this, though- Caelia hadn't walked in unprepared, and she had made sure he wouldn't either. "But, as has been established, the world is grey- and trying to make it black and white isn't worth all the money in the Black Estate in Norfolk."
The subtle dig would fly over everyone else's heads, but to Selwyn… and Sirius-
-Regulus smiled viciously when the color bleached from both their faces.
First point, to us.
And that is the end of the trial. Shorter than most of you were expecting, I'm sure, and far too little detail. Thing is, I'm a stickler for those tiny little bits of information most people don't catch. As a result, I had to make a choice: either write this chapter and jump over those parts that need to be addressed (if anyone still wants to answer that challenge back in chapter 3 I'll write it as a gift, but I'm not doing it otherwise) or put all those parts in when most people don't recognize what's going on, and confuse most of you.
I also wanted to thank all of my lovely readers and reviewers. All of you are brilliant; you make me smile so much! To answer some of you:
Trueheart10: Yeah, I understand what you're saying. But, the truth is, it was either make it one long chapter or break it up. I needed a place, and the way I did it was one of the better spots (especially seeing as this chapter wasn't completely done yet). Also, try to keep in mind that these chapters haven't been beta-edited yet. It should be smoothed out soon enough, though...
Anonymous: Thank you. I do try to keep my characters realistic; nobody likes a Mary Sue and no character is deserving of becoming one. I actually like Sirius a lot, but I needed an antagonist, and he's one of the more prejudiced ones in canon. I took advantage of the fact, and I'm not about to apologize:) Hope the chapters continue to be interesting. I'll try to update midway next week!
Previouslyjade: I know you said you didn't mind if I didn't respond, but it just feels rude to me not to. So bear with me; you're a brilliant reviewer and I'm so glad you enjoyed Woven Dreams! I've just put up a Percy drabble series, so look at that if you want to see my take on a romance.
Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you soon with chapter 13!
Reviews do inspire me!
-Dialux
