It was dark, not a single ray of light could be seen. The only light that appeared fleetingly was of the thunderstorm that striked the ground viciously, along with the rain that came down so fast that felt like he was being shot and the cold winds that howled so loud that one couldn't even hear his own thoughts, and waves that mercilessly lashed at every inch of the island, as if nature itself was trying to get rid of it. Evil had taken residence on that place, molded it beyond recognition, and in it, IT was waiting for him. Calling for him, as one does to a dear friend. To family.

IT's voice was cold, dead, stagnant and worst of all caring. ''Come'' IT said. But he wasn´t listening, he was terrified. Glued to the spot in which he was standing, looking at IT's face. Or at least, where he thought that IT's face was. IT was covered in a formless darkness, but he knew that IT was looking at him. He could feel it. He could sense it. IT raised it's hand towards him, inviting him to move closer. ''Come, come ho-''

Ezekiel awoke drenched in cold sweat, every muscle on his body tensed and his teeth clenched so tight that they were about to break. His heart pounding so hard that he could swear that it was about to pop out of his chest. His fingers nailed against his palms so hard that blood was coming out of them, but he didn't felt it. He felt the tears coming out his eyes and the room started to spin as his lungs were caught on fire. As he slowly started to descend into darkness he finally remembered that he hadn't take a single breath. He opened his mouth but he couldn't get himself to breath in.

Breathe, he thought . You need to breathe. You're going to DIE, for fuck's sake breathe!

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With a loud gasp he slowly started breathing again. At first it was slow, in short breaths. As if he was trying to steal the very oxygen without whatever powers that be knowing, fearing for the retribution that his survival may entitle. Calming a bit, he started taking longer breaths, until he felt that he was back to his old self. He got up and saw the pool of sweat that had left on his bed. At least he hadn't peed the bed this time. It was something. He took his wand and casted a vanishing spell to remove it. The thought of going back to sleep never once crossed his mind. He saw the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that he still had six more hours before the big day. Shit.

Tonks arrived at the Ministry right in time, a rather unusual event as she was a rather heavy sleeper. She made her way towards the chamber where the trial was supposed to take place as she saw her cousin preparing to enter. Something wasn't right, she thought, she couldn't see his face as he was looking at the sculptures on the hallway but she knew something was wrong. She made a beeline towards him and placed her hand one his shoulder, startling him. Yes, something was wrong. It was rare that something could surprise her cousin, but the fact that he showed it was the most worrying. Taking a good look at him she didn't liked what she saw, not a bit. He was paler than usual, so much so that even a vampire would recommend him some sun. He looked as if he was made of cracked glass, as if it would only take a small breeze to bring him down. He had bags under his eyes, and his eyes, Merlin, those things used to look like they would send shivers down to your very soul, now those blue-fire orbs looked like a half put-down ember.

''Hey, are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost''

''Eh?, er... Yes, I'm fine, thanks. I guess the excitement for the trial didn't let me sleep much last night.'' he said while checked the statues without much enthusiasm.

''Right, do you want to try that one again? Just this time look at me in the eyes when you do.''

''...Look, I had a nightmare, nothing serious. I'll be fine for the trial'''

''Not what I was asking about, but good to know. Seriously, you OK? You told me that those dreams were in the past.''

''Yeah, it must be my mind playing tricks on me again. Don't worry, just make sure that you're there to make the arrest. How do I look?''

''Like dead warmed over''

''Oh... good. I can use it to sell it to the court. Let's go, it's starting'' he said, shaking a bit. God, she thought, he should be in bed, but this bastard could't be allowed to roam free another moment. She hated this, she couldn't even give him a drink, any medication or even a hug, at least not without bringing up some questions, as far as everybody her family and his were no longer on speaking terms . It didn't matter, once this was over she was bringing him to her parent's house. Even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming, which if the look that he had was something to go by he didn't even had the energy to do. It had been years since she saw him that vulnerable, broken. He never spoke of what he saw on those dreams, they started the very same night that he had taken over as Lord Black, and they hadn't stopped ever since. He had said that he found a way to stop hem, but she feared what that could be.

The trial itself wasn't very discussed, mostly because the members of the Wizengamot didn't care much that either could have died. What they did care was who would take over the House of Black if he died, and given that Lucius Malfoy's son was next on the line the Light had to reluctantly address the attack. In any other case this would've been a open and shut case, Ezekiel was on duty as an Auror, which meant that the claim of the attack against the Head of a House was null. That would be until someone looked at her cousin, Tonks thought.

MacNair's Law-Wizard, a man named Adrian Nettle began '' Ladies and Gentleman of the Wizengamot, we're here today because my client, Walden Macnair has been accused of attacking the Head of another House without provocation. I've come here to prove that this is a fabricated lie to disguise the fact that that man,'' He pointed at Ezekiel'' Ezekiel Black trespassed in the MacNair State under false pretenses. This so called ''attack'' was staged in order to slander the good name of my client, who has been nothing but a respectable member of the magic community and of this very Ministry for well over a decade.'' Ezekiel would've been insulted if it weren't for the fact that the man was able to speak of MacNair in a completely serious and professional manner. He was by far the most despised member of the Ministry given his family, but MacNair had managed to earn the second place all on his own. If he hadn't Ted as his representative he might be tempted to hire this guy.

''My client was at his home, when Lord Black suddenly appeared on the grounds and started casting spells on him without provocation and then has the audacity to paint himself as the victim. My client knew that he couldn't defeat him and yet, fearing for the lives of his servants, he chose to stay and fight. He even provided them with his own carriage so they could flee to safety, knowing that he would only be able to buy them seconds at most. My client is a courageous man who fought against an enemy that he knew he couldn't defeat, yet he stands as the accused. Tell me ladies and gentlemen, are those the actions of an evil man? Are those the actions of a man who'd start a fight without provocation? The answer is No.

This is a lie in order to discredit the name of a decent, law abiding citizen by one of the darkest families in recent history. The accuser has been performing arrests for the past three years without anybody knowing. Several small houses and a few of the greatest and most noble families have been affected by this. In secrecy he's been removing the heads of several of the minor houses under the pretense of the law, abusing loopholes in order to incarcerate those who'd oppose him. Many of you may have already noticed that this very body, who used to have fifty members, has now been reduced to a little over thirty."

The man had done his homework. Many unbelievable looks were pointed at his direction. It was true that the number of arrests that he had performed had affected several houses, but they were all accredited to either his cousin Tonks or another Auror who wouldn't complain about the credit (they'd done it to some of the Aurors that needed to be removed later down the line, as those arrests were bound to piss off some of the major houses. It had worked as a penalty of sorts for those that couldn't be punished because of some reason or another) As a result, the members of the Wizengamot had been reduced to, at the moment, thirty five and some of the replacements had yet to be found. How could a Law-Wizard know of this?

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, this is our chance to stop this. If he's allowed to continue, this man Ezekiel Black will continue to chip away the members of this chamber that oppose him and by the time we'll realize this he'll be able to run unopposed, having filled the chamber with those who follow him, no doubt following the steps of those before him. We have a chance here, members of the Wizengamot. We've survived the rise of one Dark Lord, let us prevent the rise of another one. Let us do what we should have done when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named first started and cut this evil before it takes root in our society. Let's send Ezekiel Black to Azkaban."

Wow, the guy hated him. It was quite clear now to Ezekiel, this man wasn't the kind that represented the likes of MacNair. This was personal, rehearsed. The info that he shouldn't have, the speech. This was deliberated. He wondered if MacNair had asked for his legal council or if he had offered himself.

Ezekiel took a good look at the Law-Wizard in front of him. He was a bit old to have fought on the last war. He had brown chestnut hair, with white on the sides, his brown eyes behind black rimmed glasses. His face, eyes and nose were rounded and large and his mouth just a bit too short compared to the rest of his face. He wasn't too tall or too short, just average. He had a grandfather-ish look, to be honest, but his expression betrayed the rest of his image. His eyes looked hardened, his posture was relaxed. He looked like he was on a mission.

Fuck, he had been a grandfather, hadn't he? He'd seen that expression before, it was rather unbelievable that he hadn't noticed it sooner. Only one person could make that. Bellatrix Lestrange. She had an ungodly gift when it came to torture people. She didn't torture just them, she tortured the entire family. Sometimes by making them look, sometimes by torturing them as well. Sometimes just by not killing them and have their families deal with whatever was left. She was creative like that. After the war her death count fell short only to the Dark Lord himself, but if you compared victims, she had effectively altered the country more than he ever did.

And now one of her victims was here to make sure that he'll be sent to jail.

Lovely.