Prompt: "You are the crown prince of collateral damage."
This drabble is an A/U where Sirius lives, and Peter receives a trial for his crimes. This drabble falls within the same universe as the previous one where Harry and Ginny get together before HBP. Harry decides to speak at Peter's sentencing about the damage the man has caused. This drabble is rated T.
Note: this prompt is not on my bingo card.
"Do any of the victims' friends and family present have any impact statements to make to the court and to the accused before sentencing?" The new Minister of Magic, Madame Bones, called out as her voice carried clear across Courtroom 10.
Harry sat silently in his seat in the viewing gallery. His girlfriend, Ginny, sat on his right, holding his right hand in between both of hers while his godfather, Sirius, sat on his left, stone faced and emotionless. Harry's eyes were focused on the sniveling rat faced man chained to the chair in front of the Wizagamont who was looking around the courtroom frantically.
Peter Pettigrew had finally been captured as he tried to flee from the Ministry after the fight in the Department of Mysteries in June. Fudge had been in utter shock that not only was Voldemort in fact alive and had returned to power, but that the man who the wizard world had thought died a martyr at the hands of a serial killer was in fact the serial killer himself.
With Peter captured, Sirius was declared an innocent man and the charges against him were dismissed. The trial of Peter Pettigrew started a week after Sirius' conviction had been overturned. It had been rather short, taking only three days for the Wizagamont to find the traitor guilty of the first degree murder of twelve muggles and Cedric Diggory, accessory to first degree murder in the deaths of Lily and James Potter, and to the kidnapping and accessory to the attempted murder of Harry Potter.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Harry." Sirius whispered to him.
Harry squared his shoulders, looking straight ahead of him. "I know I don't have to, but I need to."
Ginny kissed his cheek. "Good luck, I know you'll do fine."
Harry nodded his head in acknowledgment before clearing his throat.
"I would like to say something." He said loudly enough for his voice to be heard across the courtroom. Whispers and mutterings broke out as people speculated what The-Boy-Who-Lived might have to say.
"The court acknowledges Harry James Potter and invites him before the court to make an impact statement." Madame Bones addressed to the court and Harry.
He made his way out of the gallery, feeling everyone's eyes on him as he descended the stairs to stand before the full Wizagamont. He turned to look at Peter and watched as the man's eyes tried to look anywhere else but at Harry. He scowled at the man, a rat and a coward through and through even now when showing a little remorse might have helped his pitiful pleas for mercy. Regardless of whether Peter would look at him, he would not give the bastard the satisfaction of looking away from him.
Harry cleared his throat and the court grew silent.
"I didn't know who Peter Pettigrew was for most of my life until I was thirteen. I must have met him when I was a baby, but that doesn't exactly count as that's a time that I can't remember. When I first heard the name, it was as a victim of a gruesome murder at the hands of a supposed friend, a murder so brutal that only a finger of his was found. Except I would later come to learn the truth about Peter and who he really was. He turned out to not be the amazing friend who died because he tried to defend his friend James Potter and his wife. In fact, he turned out to be alive and was the one who really betrayed my parents as he was my family's secret keeper when Sirius Black suggested last second to switch keepers. I don't think Sirius, or my dad, realized the mistake they made in trusting this man and what he was about to do."
"You, Peter, betrayed my father and godfather, the two people who took you under their wing and befriended you. You were one of their best friends, and what did you do? You sold out my parents' location to Voldemort," gasps and mutters erupted at his use of the dark tosser's name, "and framed one of your supposed friends for murder. And the sad part is that you got away with it for over a decade. You caused so much pain and destruction that I can say while you are a coward and a rat, you are an evil person who only cares about saving his own arse and what benefits he can get out of a situation.
"You, Peter," Harry swallowed thickly, "You are the crown prince of collateral damage. Because of you, I grew up an orphan, having to live with my aunt and uncle and not knowing anything about my parents except being told they were drunk layabouts who died in a car crash. Because of you, Sirius Black spent twelve years that he shouldn't have had to in Azkaban where he dealt with the effects of the Dementors every day. Because of you, twelve muggles lost their lives and their relatives will never know the true cause of their death. Because of you, you worked with Barty Crouch Junior to help kidnap me at the end of the Triwizard Tournament and bring Voldemort back to life by taking my blood. Because of you, Cedric Diggory is dead all because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and you decided he needed to die.
"All you've done the last fourteen years is cause pain, death, and destruction. Honestly, I think putting you through the Veil is almost too good for you. You should be made to suffer in Azkaban just as Sirius had to. But even then, that's still too good for you. I have no qualm either way where you end up, whether it be tossed unceremoniously through the veil or locked up for the rest of your days in a dark prison cell. Whichever way the court goes, I hope either way you end up rotting in hell."
The sound of applause broke out around him, but he ignored it. Harry couldn't take being in this room anymore. He had said what he needed to say to make peace within himself and regardless of how the court decided to sentence Peter, Harry would be able to move on with his life and never think about the coward ever again.
He made his way out of the courtroom and fought his way through the sea reporters gathered for the sentencing who were shouting questions at him and pushing cameras in his face. The light from the flash bulbs going off temporarily blinded him, but he pushed his way through until he was finally outside. He ran up the stairs to head back to the main part of the floor not stopping until he reached a bench near the elevators.
He sat down and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes.
Footsteps reached his ears and Harry looked up to see Ginny and Sirius coming up the stairs. Ginny sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He leaned his head against hers, accepting the comfort she was readily giving him.
"They sentenced him to death." Sirius stated cooly. "They're going to send him through the Veil tomorrow night at midnight. Madame Bones invited us to the execution if you want to go."
Harry shook his head. "No, I made my peace with that man. I don't need to watch him die. You can go if you want to, but I'm not going to go. I've already seen more death than I care to see."
Sirius gave him a small smile in understanding.
Harry stood up from the bench and took Ginny's hand in his. She gave his hand a squeeze and captured his lips in a sweet kiss.
Breaking apart, Harry smiled at her before turning back to his godfather.
"Come on, let's go home."