Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter and I never will.
A/N: I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews. I'm glad to read anything and everything you all have to say.
Chapter 21: The Trial II…
"Present your evidence." Minerva nodded.
"Thank you, Cornelius," she said. She turned around to see Gregario continue his way to where she was while Poppy and Severus sat down. In a few moments, the penseive was set on a column in front of Minerva and Gregario was sitting to the side on a bench, unsure of what to do with himself. It wasn't every day he kidnapped a child and tried to pin it on someone else.He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking down at his feet and suddenly feeling very awkward there under the scrutiny of the wizarding world's prestige. He glanced once over to Roberta, who was standing next to Albus. When she met his gaze, fury and resentment shone through her eyes. But he didn't care. He was over and done with her.
"I shall now present all the evidence I have to not only prove once and for all that not only is Albus Dumbledore innocent on all counts brought against him by one Roberta Kingston, but also that said accuser is the one responsible for it all." Those present in the courtroom all gasped audibly and Rita Skeeter's Quick Quote's Quill was writing faster than ever. The look in her eyes was one of pure happiness; it was as though she were a child staring at a huge mountain of presents. Little did she know that there was still more to come.
"And what evidence are you prepared to present to this room?" Cornelius asked.
"If you would be so kind as to accompany with me upon a few memories, dear Minister, I would be willing to show you all you know," Minerva replied. Cornelius was reluctant to do so, but nevertheless he stood up and walked around the table of and stood beside her. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as ever, I suppose," he sighed. He took hold of her hand and stuck they both stuck their faces in the liquid filled basin. Within a matter of seconds, they were both immersed in a memory.
/Minerva's Memory/
Cornelius looked around to find that he was in Minerva's private chambers. It was nearing dusk and there was a fire in the fireplace. Minerva was standing beside him and surveying the room as well.
"Now what?" he asked. Minerva looked at him before looking and the sofa and motioning for him to look as well. He did and saw memory-Minerva sitting there, writing in a red journal. She was donned in her tartan pajamas and tartan bathrobe. He was about to ask what this was all about when there was a loud bang.
All three looked towards the window and saw that something had been splattered all over her window. Memory Minerva stood quickly and went to the window. She looked out and gasped.
"What is happening?" asked Cornelius. Minerva led him to the window and he looked out, gasping as he did so. There, outside and on the lawn, several witches and wizards were beginning to fight. This was it! This was the beginning of the final war. Every one of Voldemort's supporters was there, as were several of the teachers. Memory Minerva rushed to the fireplace and quickly flooed number 12 Grimmauld Place. It was Molly who had answered.
"Molly, gather everyone! It's time! Voldemort is here and he's fighting!" Both Cornelius and the Minerva he was with could both hear Molly gasp and murmur her assent. With that, Minerva transfigured her nightwear for her usual teaching robes and rushed out of her rooms. Cornelius went to follow but Minerva grabbed his elbow and shook her head.
"This is just where we start fighting," she said. "What I need you to see next doesn't happen until toward the end of the war." With that, they swirled from that memory and into another.
Ooooooooooo
Albus waited rather anxiously while Minerva and Cornelius were in the penseive. He was extremely nervous about what they were seeing and he didn't know if it was enough to convince Cornelius of his innocence. He quickly cast a glance in Roberta's direction. At first, she refused to look at him. He felt his anger rising with each passing second.
"How could you do it, Roberta?" he asked. "After all that I have done for you, how could you do this to me? To Minerva? To Lenora?" Roberta still refused to look at him. When she spoke, she sounded angry as well.
"What about me?"
"What?" frowned Albus. She finally looked up at him, tears of anger in her eyes.
"I said what about me?" she repeated. "I have suffered so much, and you look to send me to Azkaban? I had a child out of wedlock, I shamed my family, and you refused to marry me!"
"Whose fault is that, Roberta?" he snarled. "Those were all your decisions. And I refused to marry you because of your under-handedness."
"Desperate times had called for desperate measures, Albus!" she shouted back. She softened, but only a little. "We could have been great together, Albus. We could have been the best couple and on the cover of every wizard magazine in the world. Sure, Lenora was not yours. But that does not matter. We could have had other children. We could have climbed the social ladder, together, as it should be."
"No, we wouldn't have been!" growled Albus. "I don't care about climbing the social ladder. I don't want my entire life publicized to the entire world. I want someone to love and who loves me in return. You never would have loved me. You love my fame and fortune. And yes, I do want children, but not with you. When I have children, it will be with the only woman I've loved, and the only woman who holds my heart in the palm of her hand." Roberta let out a short bark of laugh.
"Please don't tell me you're talking of that old bint, Minerva, are you?" she snorted. Albus remained silent as he pierced her with an icy glare. "Oh, Albus wake up, will you? Minerva is nothing compared to anyone halfway decent. She is an old hag who delights in teaching children only because they are the only ones whom she can control." Albus snapped at her.
"Sod it, Roberta!" he all but shouted. This caused several of the audience members to jump. "You're just angry because I could never love you as I love Minerva. She is a hundred times the witch you will ever be and you can't handle it. All your life, you've been pampered and told that you are so much better than everyone else. But you know what? You're not! You are no better than those witches you look down upon. I love Minerva and she loves me and there is nothing you or anyone else can say to change that!" By now, Rita Skeeter's Quick Quote's Quill was racing faster than ever and everyone else was muttering about Albus' sudden outburst, but he didn't care. He was glad that everyone knew how much he loved Minerva and didn't want to spend another moment hiding like a coward.
"Silence!" commanded Rufus Scrimgeour. He made sure to wait until the noise had died down before looking at Albus and Roberta. "You two shall remain quiet until the minister is back with Professor McGonagall. Understood?" They both nodded, but continued to look at each other. Roberta was angry at Albus and wanted revenge. Albus prayed that Minerva and Cornelius would hurry. He wanted to be done with this as quickly as possible.
Ooooooooooo
The next thing Cornelius knew, he was standing in the middle of a massive battlefield. Spells were flying everywhere, one coming within an inch of his own nose. If he hadn't known he was in a penseive, he would have been frightened for his life. As it was, he was too busy trying to discern what was happening.
"Cornelius," called Minerva. She was a few feet to his left. "This way." She beckoned to him with her finger and he followed. They had only gone a few feet when she stopped him and pointed to memory Minerva fighting with death eaters. The real Minerva pulled Cornelius to the side.
"What now?" Cornelius called over the ruckus of the battle.
"Watch Gildroy and that Death Eater!" Minerva responded loudly in his ear. She was pointing to a death eater who was not really fighting so much as it was staring at Minerva, as though waiting for the precise moment to attack. A few moments passed before the final events which led to Minerva's memory loss played out before them. Gildroy Lockhart pulled back his wand and yelled the one and only spell he knew.
"Obliviate!" he shouted. The death eater, whom Minerva had indicated earlier, successfully ricocheted the spell, and just before the spell hit memory Minerva, the real Minerva pointed to the death eater's face, which had lost its mask somewhere in the fight.
"See?" she shouted. The face there was not a man, but a woman. Cornelius felt his jaw drop as he saw the face of Roberta Kingston. The instant memory Minerva flew back and hit her head, Cornelius felt himself being pulled out of the memory, and soon found himself back in the ministry.
Ooooooooooo
The moment the two emerged from the penseive, loud chatter could be heard, and Albus felt his stomach launch into a million tiny little knots. It was quite a long while before Cornelius resumed his seat and he was able to gather his thoughts enough to quiet the room.
"After going through two memories in the memory of one Minerva McGonagall, I have enough to convict Roberta Kingston of not only being a death eater for Voldemort, but for causing Professor McGonagall to lose her memory." There was loud chatter as Roberta's eyes popped out of her head and she opened and closed her mouth, making her look like a goldfish. The room soon quieted down again. "However, I have seen no evidence thus far as to convict her of the kidnapping of her own daughter in an attempt to convict Albus Dumbledore."
"I am getting to that, Minister," said Minerva. "I might wish to ask Lenora Marie Kingston herself to bear witness against her mother. The child has consented to undergo questioning using Veritaserum in an attempt to show that her answers have not been altered or provoked in any way."
"No!" shouted Roberta. "As the child's mother, I refuse to let her undergo an inquiry under Veritaserum."
"If you were innocent, Roberta, you would have no worries whatsoever in allowing Lenora to do so. In fact, she may even help you." Minerva smiled at her, and Roberta felt steam escape through her ears.
"As it is, I do not see any harm in allowing the child to do as is requested," said Cornelius. Albus felt relieved. For once in his life, Cornelius Fudge was being reasonable. He smiled even broader as he saw Lenora walk up to where Minerva was and sat down on a chair which the latter had conjured up. Lenora sat down and one of the ministry officials who had arrested Albus walked up to the little girl and handed her a vile of liquid, which the girl readily consumed. Cornelius then walked around so that he could question the girl.
"What is your name?" he asked, making sure to start off slowly. He wanted to ask a few easy questions before he was sure that the Veritaserum had kicked in.
"Lenora Marie Kingston," Lenora replied.
"And how old are you, Lenora?"
"I'm seven, but I'll be eight in three months." She beamed from ear to ear as she said her age, which was sure to dazzle the adults. She was grown up, after all, in her eyes and doing a good thing.
"Is she your mother?" he asked, pointing to Roberta, who glared icily at her daughter. Lenora shrunk back, almost as though she had been struck by an invisible hand.
"Yes, she is," she said meekly. Cornelius nodded.
"And do you love your mum?" The girl nodded slowly. "Are you scare of your mum?" Another nod. "Why?"
"Because she hits me," the girl answered sadly. Tears filled her eyes. "And she yells at me when I'm a bad girl."
"Are you a bad girl all the time?" asked Cornelius. Lenora nodded again and answered in the affirmative. "What do you do that makes you a bad girl?"
"Everything," the girl said, wiping her eyes. A few tears had begun to fall. "I forget things; I say things I'm not supposed to. I think mommy will hit me when you find out!" She covered her mouth as though she let something slip that she wasn't supposed to let slip.
"When we find out what, Lenora?" Cornelius asked. The girl cried loudly and shook her head.
"I don't want to say because she'll hurt me again," she said.
"She won't hurt you Lenora, I promise," said Minerva quietly. She knelt down and rubbed the girl's hand gently, handing her a handkerchief. "Just tell the truth and she won't hurt you. I promise." The little girl nodded. She looked back at Cornelius.
"She had that man-," pointing to Gregario, "-take me away from Hogwarts while I was visiting Uncle Albus and Professor McGonagall and take me back home. Then, she hid me in our basement and only fed me twice. Then, she would get mad at me if I asked for more food or water, or when I made a noise when I was supposed to be quiet." The girl dabbed at her eyes furiously as she told her tale. Cornelius straightened and motioned for Gregario to approach him. The Nepalese painter did as he was told and stopped right in front of him.
"Is this true?" Cornelius asked. Gregario nodded.
"Yes, it is," he said. The courtroom was full of chatter, and by now Rita Skeeter was using not only the Quick Quote's Quill, but writing furiously with a regular pen as well. This was juicy stuff for her paper. She smelled a pay raise.
"This is not true!" shouted Roberta. "She's lying! That wasn't Veritaserum!"
"Silence!" Cornelius commanded. He pulled out a wand, placed a silencing spell on her, and conjured a pair of shackles and clapped them around Gregario's hand. The man didn't struggle. Instead, he walked silently with the other prisoners, making sure to steer clear of Roberta. Cornelius sighed as he looked back at Lenora.
"Now, I must ask you one more question Lenora," he said. "Did he have anything to do with your kidnapping?" He pointed over to Albus, who was looking at the child with tears in his eyes as well.
"Oh, no," said Lenora. "Uncle Albus would never do anything to harm me."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Because he loves me," Lenora replied. "He's always buying me toys, candies, and as many desserts as I want!" Minerva chuckled slightly at this. Lenora did love her desserts. Cornelius smiled pat the girl on her head.
"I'm sure he does," he replied. "Very well, you may go now." Lenora slid off and went to Albus, making double sure to avoid her mother. He bent down and hugged her.
"Did I do right?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.
"You were perfect," he said. He stood up and looked at Minerva and mouthed, "Thank you" to her. Her only response was to mouth "I love you" back to him.
"After viewing all the evidence," said Cornelius, who was now at his seat, "I have no choice but to claim Roberta Kingston of child abuse, kidnapping your daughter, and false accusation. Let it also be noted that she was a death eater for Voldemort during his reign and was the sole reason for Professor Minerva McGonagall to lose her memory." Roberta wanted desperately to cry out, but the silencing charm was still placed upon her and she couldn't make a sound. Cornelius continued. "I am also here to convict one Gregario Jensu for his part in the kidnapping, but to a lesser degree of accomplice. He is sentenced to Azkaban until further notice. As for Roberta Kingston, I declare the Dementor's Kiss. Please remove the two from the court."
There was an uproar of applause as the two were taken from the courtroom; Gregario walked out like a civil being whereas Roberta had to be bound and levitated from the courtroom, though she was still attempting to kick and scream her way out. Minerva looked hopefully at the minister.
"Cornelius, what of Albus?" she asked. Cornelius looked at her and then at Albus. He smiled. This was an actual smile instead of a sneer.
"Yes, Albus," he said. "In view of the evidence, it is my duty and pleasure to remove the charges. You are free to go!" Anything else he might have said was shut out by the loudest roar of applause Albus had ever heard. He fell to his knees, raised his head to the sky above, and thanked the Heavens above. The fates had come through for him, and he knew it was time for him to keep up his end of the bargain. He looked to Minerva, who was crying from joy. But before he could go to her, he was surrounded by everyone in the courtroom.
"I knew you'd get off," said one wizard, shaking his hand vigorously. He smiled at him, and tried to tear himself away, but wizard after wizard and witch after witch continued their congratulations. They were moving closer and closer to the door, leaving Minerva as the only, solitary person behind in the court. He watched desperately as she was left behind. Just then, Rita grabbed him, and placed her arm around him, leading him closer to the door.
"So, now that you've been cleared of all charges, how do you tend on celebrating?"
Minerva stood back and stared at the retreating form of the one she loved. Although she was thrilled at the fact that he was free, she couldn't help the feeling of being left out. She was alone once again, and there was no one there for her. The loneliness which was her life began to consume her, and she couldn't help a few tears of sadness fall from her eyes. She pulled out a handkerchief, turned slowly away from the direction everyone had taken off in, and wiped her eyes. She mustn't show weakness now. She had come this far, she would not fail now.
But she had been so sure he had loved her… She gasped when she felt a hand on the small of her back.
"You didn't think that just because I've got my life back I'd leave my soul behind, did you?" She looked around and smiled broadly at Albus. She fell against him as she hugged him tight and he held her close to him.
"Oh, Albus," she breathed. "I thought I'd lost you forever. First, I almost lost you because of my stupid memory. Then, you were arrested, just when I had found you. And then…" She choked on a sob.
"Ssshh," he whispered, stroking her hair. He kissed her temple. "You could never lose me, my dear. I'm yours, for now and for always. And I promise you, you will never lose me. It is I who has to worry about losing you." Minerva laughed as she pulled back and looked into his eyes.
"Don't talk like that," she said. "We will be together forever, just like you promised." She leaned up to kiss him when they heard someone clear their throat. They looked down to see Lenora, who was smiling brightly…
ALMOST DONE….. BUT NOT YET!
A/N2: I would just like to say thank you to all of you who have supported me thus far and that I am almost done… But not yet! Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful