Turns out, inside the Ministry, they have holding cells for prisoners that they haven't given trials yet. I waited two months in there. At least the Ministry officials were kind enough to at least give me the date, and a bit more food, as well as cleaner water. Yet it was still boring and anxious-making, the wait for my trial. Nobody could visit, from what I understood, though I doubted that anyone would really want to.
The walls felt like they were closing in on me after three months. It wasn't as small as the cells in Malfoy Manor, but any amount of space where you haven't been let out for twenty-four/seven for ninety days, approximately.
I thought there were laws on how long they could hold me without a freaking lawyer coming in. I thought treason was a serious charge.
The thing was, if I wanted, I could've escaped. The only reason I played the game that night was for one that my equal was present, and could subdue me, but also because I knew that if the Spark was to go anywhere, I had to get the Ministry to believe me.
And that means getting them to trust me, which means rusting away in here. I paced the plain room.
"Hello, this is Alice Potter, right?" A woman in her thirties with blond hair in a braid and scars on half of her face said.
I nodded, and stood. "That would be me, ma'am."
"I'm Vera Tallow, your lawyer," she said, shaking my hand. "Shall we sit down and discuss your case?"
I nodded, and sat on the built-in bench that functioned as a bed as well as a place to sit.
"We're arguing for you that what you're saying about You-Know-Who is true, and that you are trying to help the Ministry, not defying it, right?" She said.
"That's right," I confirmed.
"It's just that we need evidence of what happened," Ms. Tallow said. "Can you think of any witnesses who might help you?"
"There's a witness, but he won't help me," I said.
"Who? I might be able to convince him," she said.
"Ky Emrys, but it's no use. He's been leading the faction of Jr. Death Eaters at our school for the past few months," I explained.
"Interesting," Vera noted. "Would you consent to use of Veritaserum?"
I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my chest. "If it reassures the Ministry that much, then sure."
I didn't like the idea of people getting inside my head, and forcing me to speak the truth, but if it could help further my cause, then why the hell not? The only reason I was still there was to win favor, which, let me tell you, despite being in Slytherin, I don't have.
"What about donating memories?" She asked.
I nodded a bit more quickly. "That I'm more open to."
"Then that's worth considering," she said curtly. We talked about it a little bit more.
"Your brother's looking out for you, you know," Tallow said as she came in for the third time that week. I frowned.
"What do you mean? He doesn't really give a damn, last I checked," I said.
"He went to the Lovegoods, and got your story published," she said, and she handed me a newspaper.
"Harry Potter shares Alice's Side of the Story," I read aloud. A faint smile spread across my face. "That's the first time he's done anything for me."
"And there's more," Tallow said, smiling a little more. "There's tons of letters coming in, and the Ministry had to pre-screen them, but they said that they believe you. You don't sound so insane. And Mr. Lovegood would like to interview you, if it weren't for some laws."
I smiled. Maybe, if others are listening...
"On other somewhat good news, the Ministry has decided even if you're convicted, they won't punish your friends since they would have been 'listening to the advice of a madwoman and are not accountable for their actions,'" she said.
I smiled a little more, in relief. "Good, I don't want them to pay for the Ministry's actions against me," I said.
"You shouldn't say things like that," Tallow advised me, before we started talking about my case again.
"Look, I think she's asleep," I heard a guard say.
"Good, it was getting creepy, watching her stare at a wall. You know what they say about her, that she's mad," the other guard said.
"Well, what do you expect her to do? She's a teenager sitting in a cell all day. If she wasn't crazy to begin with, I'm sure she is now," the first one replied.
"With the rumors that I've heard from the Unspeakables, she's playing with us like a cat, and she could get out at any time. I think it's best if they just kill her now, while she's waiting to pounce, and make it look like a tragic accident."
My blood ran cold. The Ministry is never going to listen, because they're afraid of the truth, and they're afraid of me.
"Now now," the first guard chided. "She is just a child. But I understand, someone with hormones raging shouldn't have access to that kind of magic. For the poor kid's skate, so she doesn't have to suffer much longer, she should be humanely executed."
Don't they even see the human being anymore? I wondered. I twisted the promise ring glimmering in the light in front of me. You always saw the human being inside, Wes. I'm sorry that I'm not going to be coming back. I hope you find someone else.