Sir Wilfrid was roused from the spellbinding tale to shout "Objection! Your honours, the witness is speculating in his testimony."
Sir Rufus stood for the prosecution and waved a stack of papers in front of Sir Wilfrid.
"My learned colleague must remember that the police are legally required to keep case notes, which are available as evidence when asked for. Superintendent Hallowhill and his colleague kept extensive notes as to the investigation which occurred." Sir Rufus replied.
Lord Damyon and Lady Hyde spoke as to Sir Wilfrid's objection. "Your objection is noted, Sir Wilfrid but overruled, Sir Rufus is correct in his understanding of the legal precedent. He may proceed."
Smirking delightedly as he watched Sir Wilfrid slump into his chair, Sir Rufus announced the following information to the court.
"The prosecution has but one more witness left for its case, Your honours. The Crown calls Percival Brumbál to the witness box. Neville watched in silent understanding what was going to happen next as Dumbledore stood up from the bench and made his way slowly to the witness box. Dumbledore was going to do whatever it took to make sure Sirius stayed locked away forever, as long as he could maintain his hold over Harry, that's all that mattered to the old man.
"Mr. Brumbál, would you kindly explain your connection to the events of 1 November 1981?" Sir Rufus asked in a silky tone.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and almost seemed to burn with intensity as they swept over the court room before landing squarely on Sirius and Harry.
"I was the elderly gentleman who helped out the kindly Superintendent Hallowhill during the events related to the gas explosion that rocked the palace and the surrounding area. I know for a fact who caused the explosion which rocked the area. I know that it was the accused who did the crime."
"How do you know this for such certainty?" asked Sir Rufus eagerly.
"The accused ran past me in the aftermath of the explosion, he was carrying matches on his person." Brumbál announced to gasps rocking through the courtroom.
With that declaration, Sir Rufus smirked triumphantly around the courtroom before sitting pompously in his chair, the tails of his suitcoat flapping as he sat down self-importantly.
"Your witness, Sir Wilfrid… The Crown has finished its case." Rumpole announced.
"Mister Brumbál, it is quite good to make your acquaintance after so many years which you have spent not bringing this matter to justice. To make an appearance when my client is seeking to prove his innocence is rather convenient, don't you think?"
Sir Rufus began to rise from his chair at the ready to defend his witness with an objection about Sir Wilfrid's badgering nature, but he was forestalled when Brumbál answered anyway.
"My actions are always to serve the greater good, in whatever capacity it might be. That is what I am doing here today." Brumbál replied.
"That's very good then" Sir Wilfrid replied, before shuffling some papers on his table and finding the right place to start.
"Mister Brumbál, my first question to you is as follows. How is it that you have come so clearly to the conclusion that my client, and ONLY my client could be the man responsible for the events in question? Let me explain plainer, what proof do you have that my client was the man responsible for the crime in question? You testified earlier that there was a man who ran past you after the events in question and that that individual was carrying matches."
Here Sir Wilfrid took a breath before continuing.
"Surely sir, you know that carrying matches is not a crime, according to national statistics recently published, thirty-five percent of men, and a full thirty-three percent of women are smokers in this country. They would need to carry matches to light their smokeable items. It could have easily been anyone who you saw running past, surely! Especially given there was also an explosion nearby as well!"
Dumbledore's mouth opened and closed a few times before his 'grandfatherly muggle' mask of the helpful citizen was able to reassert itself. The resulting gap of a few moments let the jury see him gaping like a codfish, with his mental wheels spinning and trying to gain traction against the onslaught brought by Sir Wilfrid the Fox.
Neville looked on from the gallery with a large smile forming on his face as he saw his esteemed Headmaster getting put in his place. He looked over to see Harry nodding along with a similar look of unrestrained glee on his face.
"The Defence has no more use for this witness." Sir Wilfrid announced to the judges, who nodded and allowed Brumbál to step down silently, all the while Brumbál stared with watchful, hating eyes.
Sir Wilfrid looked around the gathered courtroom, having successfully pulled one over on Dumbledore, or Brumbál as he called himself in the muggle court. Hobart Hutchinson also looked on and handed Sir Wilfrid a note: The jury seems to be eating out of your hand now, Fox, go win this! The note read. Sir Wilfrid laughed to himself at his colleague's joke. Only his long-times friends still called him Fox after all.
The jury sitting in their box were getting restless, many were looking on in agitation at their pocket watches or through the windows of the great building to find a clock to check the time. They were in desperate need of an opportunity for a recess. The reality was that there was a great bout of influenza which had been sweeping through London during the weeks leading up to the trial and jury selection and unfortunately for many of the jurors, urges were what they were and it left the men of the jury shifting uncomfortably in their chairs as they sat in the jury box.
Before Sir Wilfrid was allowed to begin his opening statement for the defence. A note was handed from the jury foreman to the bailiffs who handed it up to Judges Hyde and Damyon.
The two judges turned in consultation with each other before announcing. "If the Crown and the Defence do not object to a brief adjournment, it has been made aware to us that many in the jury box are in a great sense of distress due to the current influenza which has gripped the City. They are requesting a short recess of thirty minutes and we are inclined to grant it. After some deliberation, we have decided to allow for consultations to occur between the accused and his counsel as well as the Crown. Court will reconvene in thirty minutes precisely." Lady Hyde announced primly as she banged her gavel making the decision final.
The two warders took Sirius by the arms and lead him quickly down to the holding cells located within the Old Bailey. Outside the grim, high-walled building loomed against the leaden sky. It was beginning to rain heavily again, and it made the walk down the hallways of the Old Bailey all the more dank, damp, and dreary. The clanking and shuffling of Sirius' chains echoed against the stone walls. The warders lead Sirius between a row of cells. A small, grey room with a single desk and three chairs has been appointed for this meeting. Sir Wilfrid was joined quickly by his colleague Hobart Hutchinson and the three men sat in the relative quiet of the room only disturbed by the rattle and clank of the cell door being shut by a guard.
"Sir Wilfrid, Mr. Hutchinson, I'm so very grateful for the job you have been doing so far in the trial. I know that soon you will call me, Harry, and whatever other witnesses you might have at hand. What's the plan now that we've embarrassed the old fool and the Crown as well." Sirius said with a mix of tiredness and excitement warring in his eyes.
"We completely understand, my lad." Sir Wilfrid said as Hutchinson looked through his briefcase for some files before speaking. "Let me explain what the next steps of the trial are, now that the Crown has rested their case. You are correct in suggesting that we will call you to sit in the dock when the time comes. We cannot be seen to be "coaching" or preparing your testimony in any way, but we will be asking about your alibi for that night, which we have documentary evidence of. The Crown will try and deflect from your unshakeable alibi and cast you in a negative light. Your job is to remain absolutely calm whatever the situation is in the end. We must NOT have any show of temper. Do you understand, lad?" Sir Wilfrid asked staring imperiously at Sirius until the other man nodded with eyes confident.
"As for young Lord Potter, he will be called to give evidence related to the actions of third year, related to Peter Pettigrew's confession on that date to the crimes from 1981, which will provide reasonable doubt in the minds of the members of the jury. We also have another muggle witness who can tell what she saw of the events of 1981 which will exonerate you in the end, we hope." Sir Wilfrid finished.
The sound of the gaoler's knock upon the door knocked Sirius, Sir Wilfrid, and Hubert Hutchinson out of their collected reveries. The men quickly gathered their belongings and bid Sirius back into the 'care' of his warders. The trial would be resuming in a few minutes and the counsel for the defence had to get back to their table.
"Gentlemen of the jury" Sir Wilfrid said after everyone had returned, standing up and peering at them through his monocle. "The Crown's case rests on the notion that two men were seen arguing around the time of a most regrettable gas explosion that occurred near Buckingham Palace which cost the lives of thirteen people and that that explosion was induced by the use of lit matches which were allegedly carried by my client on that date. The Crown further has alleged that witnesses including the esteemed Mister Brumbál who just testified saw my client commit these acts. The Defence does not dispute that the events which occurred are a great tragedy, however, now it is the turn of the defence."
"We propose that the accused, Lord Sirius Orion Black III, did not in fact commit the crimes in question, rather that there was a third party involved in the matter who was the party truly at fault. We aim to present, on behalf of the prisoner, witnesses to his character, his record as a member of the community both as a professional man but also as a man of charity to many causes, the lack of criminal or evil association in his past. To begin our case, only one witness can shed new light on this tragic riddle. The prisoner himself."
"Gentlemen of the jury, the Defence calls Lord Sirius Orion Black III, to the witness box."
The entire courtroom is intently watching Sirius as he raises his head, gets up slowly, leaves the Dock under the guard of his gaolers, the chains on his legs rattling and clanking along with the ones holding his hands together. The courtroom usher holds up a book to Sirius as well as an oath card.
Sirius spoke the following oath lowly to himself "I swear by Almighty Myrddin that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth for if I shall speak false may my magick be stricken from my body."
The sound level in the courtroom dropped as an in-rush of wind occurred, the spirit of magick taking hold of Sirius' oath and sealing it. The muggles in the courtroom heard nothing but a standard swearing-in of a witness to their God, but for those magical in the room, they heard what Sirius swore instead.
Sir Wilfrid began the questioning then in earnest. "My Lord Black, forgive these questions even though you are a known personage, we still must establish your identity for the court record."
"Your name is Sirius Orion Black, the third to hold that name?" Sir Wilfrid asked.
"It is," Sirius replied.
"Where do you live currently?" Sir Wilfrid asked next.
"Currently, I live in Black Cottage, located in the village of Shelley in the West Riding of Yorkshire." Sirius replied, his magic thrumming lightly under his fingertips, not reacting negatively because Sirius had answered the question directly asked truthfully.
"Sirius Orion Black III, did you or did you not on the night of the 1st of November in the year 1981 cause the deaths of thirteen individuals in an act of murderous rampaging via inducing an explosion near Buckingham Palace's main guard house?"
Sirius looked at Sir Wilfrid with a look of steely determination in his eyes.
"I most certainly did not cause those deaths." Sirius answered.
Sir Wilfrid sits, with a gesture to Sir Rufus that Sirius is all his for the questioning. Sir Rufus is shocked still for a moment, because surely the defence would begin their case with a more formidable offering of evidence in chief. There is an excited murmur in the courtroom and the usher cries for silence.
Lady Hyde and Lord Damyon looked down their noses from the bench at Sir Wilfrid before asking the man. "Have you, in fact, concluded your examination of the prisoner, Sir Wilfrid?" They asked.
"My lady, my lord, the prisoner has endured many of the most profound forms of mental agony and shock during this trial. The Defence feels that his faculties should be spared for the cross-examination by my learned friend for the Prosecution. This is not a plea for any indulgence, rather I am confident that no matter how searching the forthcoming cross-examination may be, the prisoner will withstand it." Sir Wilfrid replied.
Sir Rufus rose aggressively, asking Sirius directly. "Mr. Black, at the time that the explosion occurred. What exactly were you doing near Buckingham Palace?"
Sirius smiled seriously, a grim line edging his face into a self-assured piece of armour that would not crack no matter how much Sir Rufus baited, rattled, or tried to shake him.
"Sir Rufus, I believe you are operating under a great misapprehension of facts. I was nowhere near Buckingham Palace that night." Sirius stated evenly.
The resounding shockwave of disbelief that swept through the courtroom that moment was so complete that the windows of the building rattled from the din. Gallery members in the press box as well as in the public common area were shouting for Sirius' head on a silver salver.
Lady Hyde banged her gavel shouting "There will be order in this courtroom, or the room shall be cleared." Lord Damyon shouted at the ushers to restore order and the men snapped to shouting at the tops of their lungs.
"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!"
The shouting ushers made Neville laugh to himself quietly and smile broadly when he saw Harry doubled over likely laughing at the same memory of Quirrell in the Great Hall all those years ago.
Once order had been restored in the courtroom, Sir Rufus continued his interrogation of his witness.
"Mr. Black, what exactly do you mean you were not at Buckingham Palace on the night of the explosion, do you deny the witness statements and testimony that we have brought before this august body?"
Sir Wilfrid rose then, his cheeks flush from the exertion of the last few minutes and wheeled on his left foot to glare ominously at Sir Rufus, peering through his monocle for a full beat before turning to the judges.
"Lady Hyde, I must strenuously comment upon the treatment of my client by Sir Rufus. Lord Black is a titled peer of the realm and due all rights, protections, and honours due him by his station." Sir Wilfrid spat venomously.
Lady Hyde straightened herself to her full height and turned her ire down onto Sir Rufus. Her soft, wrinkled face and gentle speaking voice gave one the impression of a genial grandmotherly individual. However, the fire with which she tore into Sir Rufus dispensed with that notion rapidly.
"Sir Rumpole, NEVER in all of my years in this, or any other court of law in service to Her Majesty, the Queen have I ever heard a Crown Prosecutor denigrate a sitting witness so! You will address Lord Black by his proper title and station and refusal to do so will result in the possibility of sanction before this court. Is that clear?"
Sir Rufus nodded meekly; his moustachioed face turned downward, even the points on his moustaches drooped in response. "Yes, your Ladyship"
"Lord Black then" Sir Rumpole amended "Pray tell the court what you meant by your last comment."
"As I stated previously, I was not where you claim me to be. In fact, I can provide visual evidence confirming where I was. As a result of my hereditary status, I had been invited by a cousin to the 1981 Royal Variety Performance in front of Her Majesty the Queen. It was held at the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane. Sir Wilfrid has in his possession copies of videographic evidence from the British Broadcasting Corporation which proves that I was there and additionally you will find that we have copies of event programmes, commemorative opera glasses, and I also have a signed playbill from the cast who orchestrated the event. So, as you can see, Sir Rufus… I was miles away at the time and could not have done the crime." Sirius said smiling winningly at the man.
At Sirius' words, Harry, Neville, and the rest of the courtroom save for the judges and Sir Wilfrid let out an audible gasp. Sir Rufus slumped into his chair in shock asking feebly to see this so-called evidence, which was hastily brought forward from Sir Wilfrid's files of material kept in his briefcase.
The video tapes were shown before both judges and allowed into evidence after being verified. The tapes showed Sirius clear as day to the jury entering the VIP entrance of the Theatre Royal. Cameras from inside the performances also showed the boxes where Sirius and other famous personages were sitting. It was unequivocally him.
Sir Rufus Rumpole took the news like a man gunshot, slumped over in his seat and gasping in shock. His entire case and just sunk before him like the HMS Ark Royal in a matter of moments and he had little recourse he could think of to be able to rescue it. Nodding weakly to Sir Wilfrid, the defence continued its case.
Sir Wilfrid rose for the defence, for what he hoped would be the final time.
"Lady Hyde, Lord Damyon, the defence has just proved its case and won the field. We rest our case." He said triumphantly.
Both judges turned to the jury and addressed them thusly, "Gentlemen, You have just listened to the testimony and you've had the law read to you and interpreted as it applies to this cage. It now becomes your duty to try and separate the facts from the fancy. In this case, on one side we have the lives of thirteen individuals who have unfortunately met their end. On the other side, the life of another man is at stake. We urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully. If there is a reasonable doubt - then you must bring us a verdict of 'not guilty' If, however there is no reasonable doubt, then you must, in good conscience, find the accused guilty. However, you decide, your verdict must be unanimous. In the event you find the accused guilty the bench will not entertain a recommendation for mercy. The death sentence is mandatory in this case. We don't envy you your job. You are faced with a grave responsibility. Thank you, gentlemen."
With that pronouncement, the men of the jury were lead from their box and into a locked chamber to debate Sirius Black's fate.