Happy Monday!
"Remember tonight... for it is the beginning of always." - Dante
Chapter Fifty-Five - Trials and Tribulations
Fred had been able to guess quite easily where Ankaa would have gone after her spat with Sirius. After being berated by his own mother, Fred had left his room to the sound of the main door slamming shut, leaving behind a forlorn-looking Sirius. Molly exited the room after him and stopped short at the sight of Sirius' expression.
In an effort to ease the tension, Fred had looked to Sirius and asked, "Not going to lecture me about being a good boyfriend?"
Sirius' empty eyes had turned to him before he turned and stepped into the fireplace with a handful of floo powder. "Not in my job description, apparently," he had murmured before throwing the powder at his feet with a quiet command of, "Grimmauld Place."
Molly had left soon after, content with whatever discussion she and Fred had had in his room. She gave him a little pat on his shoulder for good measure before smiling and making her way back as well, although, she decided to venture through the shop and took great effort in frowning at several of the new inventions and trying to talk George out of displaying the Love Potions near the front.
"Oh, and Fred! Don't forget! I want to see you and Ankaa at dinner next week!"
George and Zara turned to Fred with an inquisitive look, which the boy only answered with a shake of his head.
"She wants to make sure we're being safe."
Zara at least had the nous to show a sympathetic expression whereas George guffawed so loudly, he scared one of the kids browsing for the Skiving Snackboxes.
"Ankaa won't like that at all."
"Exactly why I won't tell her," Fred shrugged. "I'll just tell Mum I keep forgetting to tell her—what's she gonna do, drag us there? We're all going to be there after Sirius' trial anyway."
Soon after, they closed up their shop and George offered to take Zara to the Burrow, seeing as she didn't want to return to Grimmauld and face Sirius after his row with Ankaa. A moment after his brother had left with Zara, Fred took the books he had bought from Flourish and Blotts and disapparated as well.
When his vision cleared, he stood on the same gravel pathway that led up to the iron gates of Rhyther Manor. Inside, one of the lights upstairs was on. With a smile, Fred strode forward and into the house. From the first moment he had stepped foot into Rhyther Manor, he had been struck by the sheer difference in the way he and Ankaa had been brought up. Rhyther Manor was pristine, almost clinical, in the way it was set up. In contrast, the Burrow had been packed to the brim with little knickknacks, little blankets strewn everywhere, a cozy mess.
"Why did I know I'd find you here?" Fred asked as he waltzed into the library on the ground floor. Ankaa was sitting on the floor, pouring over one of her mother's journals.
"Why are you here?"
Fred shrugged and deposited himself beside her, stretching out his long legs as he pressed his back to the wall. "Just thought you'd need some company."
"Oh?" Ankaa gave him a teasing look. "Mrs. Weasley's okay with you being alone with me?"
"Let's not bring that up," he replied with a shudder, laughing when he saw Ankaa chuckle at his expense. "Well, since you asked… Mum's actually alright about the whole thing."
"Is that so?" Ankaa hummed nonchalantly.
"It is so," Fred poked her in the side, trying to distract her so she wouldn't continue frowning into her book. He knew she tried her best to hide it, but he could see her eyes take on the same expression they did when she was hurt very deeply by something. "Mum never minded us dating, Ankaa. She's just worried that we might end up going too quickly and get engaged or something. Besides, I don't think she'd mind you as a daughter-in-law—"
Ankaa choked on her own spit.
"—if we pulled a Bill and Fleur, that is," Fred continued, unbothered. He gently clapped her on the back a few times to help her coughing fit, but did not bring any attention to what he had said. "But never mind that," Fred turned to her intently. "What's this I hear about your row with Sirius?"
Ankaa filled him in on what she had argued with Sirius about, avoiding his eyes as much as possible and resolutely turning her face towards her mother's journals, even though she did not register a single word on the pages since Fred had arrived at Rhyther Manor. Silence reigned between the duo once Ankaa finished recounting the argument until finally, Fred exhaled deeply.
"I'm proud of you," he said, giving her an easy smile. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you to put up with Sirius favouring Harry over you. It's good that you told him as much."
Ankaa raised a suspicious brow. "You don't think I went too far?"
"Do you think that?"
"No," she replied immediately. "I wanted him to know how he makes me feel when he can't figure out what he wants to do."
"Then that's it," Fred said, taking her hand in his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Since we're on the topic, I think you should know how proud we—George, Ginny, and I, especially—are of you. Everything you've been through, it can't have been easy for you. You can't forgive everyone that's hurt you, and that's okay. You just have to keep moving forward."
Ankaa blinked up at him, momentarily stunned by his perceptive take on her situation before she gave him a warm smile and tightened his hand in her own.
"Surprisingly insightful, Mr. Weasley," she teased. "You keep surprising me with how you're wise you're becoming."
"Why thank you, future Mrs. Weasley."
With a groan, Ankaa released his hand and gave him a rough shove in the shoulders. "Don't joke about that!" Ankaa admonished. "That's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. It's not funny, Fred!"
Fred did not seem to care for her admonishing for he continued laughing hysterically from where he had flopped over on the ground, wiping the tears of pure mirth from his eyes. He shot up after Ankaa when she gathered her things and made her way out of the library, heading towards the main living room. He caught her halfway out the door and wasted no time in wrapping his arm around her shoulder, bringing the other up to muse her hair all the while ignoring her half-hearted attempts to get away from him.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing you about…" He cast a conspiratorial look around him, "becoming Mrs. Weasley."
Ankaa stomped on his foot and ignored his cries of pain as she settled into the living room couch. It was odd being back at Rhyther Manor, especially while it was entirely deserted. She was used to hearing the house-elves, or Ceph or Henry shuffling about, or her mother's humming in some distant corner.
"This place is really nice," Fred muttered as he settled into the couch opposite to her. He immediately sunk into the dark couch and propped his legs up on the coffee table. His eyes roved over the pristine furnishings, lips quirking in appreciation.
Back at his flat, all he and George had cared to do was get a simple couch and table. They never spent too much time there with the shop anyway, so it didn't make sense to waste all that money. Fred was sure he would have never spent as much as he did had Ankaa not accompanied him to shop for things. It made sense to him now. She came from luxury and wealth, something he had only dreamed of seeing in his lifetime. Even now, sitting across from him comfortably with a white blanket over her feet and her mother's journals propped in her lap, she seemed at peace, more so than he had ever seen her at Grimmauld.
"Why don't you stay here over the summer? I thought the Order gave this place all the protection it needed."
Ankaa glanced up at him momentarily before turning back to the journal and flipping a page. "Sirius insisted," she said blankly. "He would rather stay at the childhood home that had tormented him than be somewhere Henry had been, I suppose."
Fred glanced towards the shelves that were built into the walls right next to the fireplace. They were lined with more books and props, ranging from awards the kids had won, as well as some pictures of the family. Fred found himself wandering over and examining the photographs. The last time he had been here, he had been most preoccupied with making sure Ankaa was safe and helping her understand what had happened in her father's library. But now he took his time, looking at each and every picture on the shelves.
Rhyther Manor had given him a sense of distance when he had first set his eyes upon it; a towering reminder of the seemingly insurmountable difference between his world and Ankaa's. His home had been messy, crowded, warm, and cozy, while hers stood regal, tall, proud, and elegant. But looking at small details like this, Fred could not deny that her home was just as warm as his; of course, her parents had selected expensive furnishings and details in the manor, but they had spared no expense to litter it with memories of their family life.
There was one picture set at the centre of a shelf, surrounded by old cards Ceph and Ankaa must have made while they were younger for Mothers and Fathers Day, that caught his eye. Fred reached for it and gently used his sleeve to wipe some of the dust away to reveal a happy, laughing family. Ankaa must have been no older than six, and Ceph no older than nine, when they stood between their parents in the middle of the snowy mountains, all smiling and waving at the camera without a care in the world.
"That's from Switzerland," Ankaa's soft voice informed him. Her voice did not startle him, he had felt her warmth at his side the moment she stepped up. "Malfoy and my family went together, I remember. Ceph and I spent most of the time throwing snowballs at Draco, or trying to shove ice down his shirt."
The photograph felt like it weighed nearly a thousand tonnes in his hand, but Fred held onto the precious memory most securely. Unconsciously, his finger trailed over the younger Ankaa's face, taking in the way she smiled and laughed without a care in the world. He had not seen her smile like that in so long… He wanted to make sure she would be able to again.
"Come stay with me," Fred turned his head to her, his eyes the kind of serious he was only for a few selected topics. Before Ankaa could argue, Fred huffed, "Just hear me out. I doubt you want to go back to Grimmauld with Sirius right now and you can't stay with Holloway in Muggle London. You can take my room, I'll bunk with George… Just so you have somewhere to go until we've sorted everything out."
It took her a moment before she answered with a small nod.
A short while later, Ankaa had packed up her things and met Fred outside of the gates at Rhyther Manor. Wordlessly, Fred offered her his hand. The two cast one look at Rhyther Manor before Dissapperating and appearing in Diagon Alley, a short while away from Fred and George's shop.
True to his word, Fred took some of his things and moved them into George's room, ignoring his brother's cheeky expression. The two of them cast some extension charms in George's room, who seemed only too excited to have his brother bunk with him, and got ready for the night.
"Don't worry, Ankaa," George reassured her. This was now the seventieth time she had pursed her lips and glanced into George's room to make sure the brothers were all set. "We were going to be up late working on the new translation potion anyway, it's all good timing!"
Ankaa was hesitant, but she nodded. "If you're sure."
"I am," George gave her a brotherly pat on the back. "Though, best not to tell Mum that you're here at all. I didn't hear it, but Fred tells me she gave him quite a lecture about being… safe and responsible." George wagged his eyebrows up and down as he offered her one last cheeky smile before patting her head and departing for his room with a sing-song, "goodnight!"
Fred had offered her a simple kiss on the temple as a goodnight before he gave her a smile and joined his brother in their room. Ankaa waited a moment before padding over to Fred's room. As she settled herself under the covers and turned on her side, getting ready to let the warmth lull her to sleep, she spotted a familiar frame on the bedside corner. Unbeknownst to her, Fred had brought the family photograph from Rhyther Manor and displayed it on his side table, along with a simple note.
They're proud of you, too.
The next few days had been largely uneventful. Ankaa had been glad to spend the days at Fred and George's shop, as there was always something to do and keep busy. She had taken to spending her time at the shop with Verity, helping stock shelves and bagging items until her Slytherin streak had won over and Ankaa had spent most of the time using the Headless Hats to scare the loitering second years into a sobbing mess. Fred and George had been entirely too amused at the situation, but Zara not so much.
Regardless, the shop kept Fred, George, and Verity entirely too busy. Ankaa had taken to exploring Flourish and Blotts to try and find more information on Occamy Eggs, but it seemed Fred had already been surprisingly thorough. At night, Ankaa would often balance the silver egg in her hand, running her fingertips over the pristine surface and trying to coax it to hatch.
Even if it does hatch right now, she realized, I can't really follow the Occamy to wherever it'll lead me.
Still, hoping for it was enough. The hope that her father might be wherever the Colony of Occamy were was enough to keep her hoping. However, there was no movement from the egg nor any additional information that might help speed the process along.
What made matters worse was that the Ministry had begun preparing for Sirius' trial.
MINISTRY OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES
WITNESS LIST FOR SIRIUS BLACK TRIAL
In an announcement to the press early on Tuesday morning, Ministry Official Samantha Gibson announced that the Wizengamot has accepted the witness list for the upcoming trial of Sirius Black. Witnesses listed for the defence were two Hogwarts students and family of Sirius Black. Harry Potter and Ankaa Rhyther have been accepted as witnesses for Sirius Black's trial and are expected to be at the trial on Wednesday to provide testimony before deliberation on the matter of Sirius Black's innocence will begin at the hands of the Wizengamot.
"We understand it's a topic of great import to quite a lot of people," said Samantha Gibson in her initial release to the press. "But we ask that all those who do not have official business at the Ministry refrain from trying to linger around the premises in order to catch a glimpse of the trial."
Gibson neglected to comment on the negligence of the Ministry or the repartitions conditions set in place should Sirius Black be found innocent, citing only "that the truth will prevail, and the Ministry has always stood by that."
And so the day of the trial had dawned, and Ankaa had gotten ready to leave for the Ministry bright and early. Dumbledore had written to her a few days prior, telling her to expect him at the Atrium at half past noon, from where he would escort her to the trial himself.
Mr. and Mr. Weasley are welcome to accompany you to the Ministry, but they cannot go any further than the main atrium, Dumbledore had written. Though she could not hear him, Ankaa had the sneaking suspicion that he had tried to be rather cheeky, somehow knowing of her row with Sirius and her change in residence, even if it was only temporary.
Regardless, Fred, George, and Zara had insisted on accompanying her to the Ministry. In an effort to ease some of their nerves, for Ankaa was simply sitting idly by and waiting for the time to leave, they had turned the whole day into an event. Zara had spent the night at the twins' apartment with Ankaa, citing the fact that she didn't want Ankaa to be alone before such a monumental event.
"It's not monumental," Ankaa had told her as they settled into bed.
But now, as the group of four strode through the Ministry Atrium, five minutes before they were to meet Dumbledore, Ankaa realized the importance of Sirius' trial, especially to the public. While Ankaa had been to the Ministry several times before, with her father and brother while they worked here, the Ministry Atrium had always been crowded, bodies moving one way and the other as traffic flowed to and from. But today, on the day of the trial, traffic stood at a standstill. Ministry officials and members of the public simply stood by, waiting for the trial and deliberations to begin, waiting for an official announcement.
The only people moving through the frozen crowd were the group of four. From the moment Ankaa stepped through the Floo Network, the crowd parted for her as if they had instantly been repelled by the sight of her. In a matter of seconds, a hush had fallen over the people as they opened a path towards the end of the atrium, where Dumbledore stood already waiting with a polite smile.
"Ankaa!" It was Mrs. Weasley, of all people, who reached her first and wrapped her up in a warm hug. The woman's hands found each of her cheeks, and she pressed on her face lightly before giving her a comforting smile. "You'll be alright, dear! Harry and Sirius have already gone through, but we thought to wait for you here with Dumbledore."
The man in question stepped forward and gave Ankaa a polite nod of his head, his twinkling eyes finding those of her companions who were already by her side. Dumbledore ignored Mrs. Weasley's pestering about Fred and George's apartment, questioning how Zara and Ankaa had arrived with them, before clearing his throat.
"You are all welcome to wait here or in Arthur's office, Molly. I am sure the news of the trial will find you, regardless of where you are." Dumbledore turned to Ankaa and offered her his arm. Ankaa gently gripped his elbow and allowed him to steer her away from the prying eyes of the people around them.
As they exited the Atrium and boarded the lift, the crowd was silently watching the duo with rapt attention. Ankaa had never more felt like an animal in a zoo, trapped behind an iron cage for all to goggle and stare at for their amusement. Reflexively her eyes found her friends, who were all giving her encouraging smiles and waves before the elevator sprang to life and moved backwards. Dumbledore's other hand came up and placed itself over Ankaa's own, giving her a comforting tap before returning to his side.
"Though I am sure you remember, Miss. Rhyther, I would like to remind you once more that your capacity as a witness in this trial is merely to provide a character reference for Sirius." Dumbledore's voice was so quiet Ankaa had to strain to hear it. "I do not doubt that if the Ministry—or rather, the Minster—is made aware of your gifts as a Seer, he would like to involve you in matters more directly."
"More directly, sir?"
The doors to the elevator slid open and the duo stepped cautiously out into the black tiled hallway. Ankaa could see Sirius and Potter at the other end, standing on opposite sides of the hall and deep in conversation with one another. Dumbledore made no move to hurry towards them, so Ankaa stayed by his side and matched his strides.
"You see, Miss Rhyther, the Ministry has lost something very valuable—public opinion. Should Scrimgeour be made aware of your gifts, I do not doubt that he would ask you and Harry to lobby with the Ministry in an attempt to pacify the public and restore their faith in the Ministry." Dumbledore slowed to a stop and turned to her. "I am no doubt you are aware of the situation we are in. We, as a society, are on the precipice of great change. You and Harry are, in my opinion, two very important pieces in the puzzle and whoever you chose to align with will be given a great advantage in this war."
"You don't want us to align with the Ministry?"
"It does not matter what I want, Miss Rhyther. I believe you and young Harry know very well what to do, but the question is: does the Ministry align with what you want? To what is important to you?"
Obviously not, Ankaa thought as they came upon the two others. The Ministry did not care about anything other than saving face. It's why they had made so much trouble about Sirius' trial and tried their best to keep witnesses out of it. Having other people point out the flaws in their system was bad enough, but having those two people be such high-profile students was even worse.
But what do you want?
Ankaa supposed what she wanted most was to find her father and to make sure he was safe, if he was even alive that is. If what Dumbledore said was true and the Ministry would want to publicly align themselves with her, she doubted they would care to find her father for her. For them, keeping up public appearances was far more important. They needed to show the people that there was nothing to be afraid of with Voldemort's return, despite the fact that he and his Death Eaters had been murdering innocent people for nearly a year now, and would no doubt continue to do so.
The thought of the Death Eaters brought another unwelcome feeling.
As Ankaa stepped up to the main door all the while pointedly ignoring Sirius, who was, quite honestly, doing the exact same thing to her in a show of defiance or pettiness, she could not be sure, she thought of Lucius Malfoy. Had he been in the same hallway a few weeks ago, when he had been hauled from the prison to hear his fate? Had he thought the same, that perhaps his friends within the ranks would swoop in at the last minute and save him?
What about Draco? Had he been allowed as a character witness, whatever that meant?
No, Ankaa reminded herself. The trial for the Death Eaters was hardly that. They had been caught red-handed and had been dealt their punishments accordingly.
But it was so much harder to come to terms with these when the people on the other side were the ones you had grown up with, the ones who had welcomed you into their homes for holidays and Christmas, handed you your presents. Lucius Malfoy had never been warm, but he had been, and still was, her best friend's father.
The door to the chamber opened by itself, slowly and quietly. Sirius stepped inside first and sauntered ever so confidently to settle himself into the chair at the very centre of the room, facing the Wizengamot. Dumbledore gestured for Harry and Ankaa to step in next before taking up the rear and casually settling himself in the empty benches behind the chair.
Scrimgeour, a serious-looking man, sat on the elevated seat at very centre of the Wizengamot and looked down at the scene with a small frown. He brought the gavel down thrice and announced, "The re-trial for Sirius Orion Black has commenced on the fourteenth day of July." There was a bit of shuffling of papers before Scrimgeour turned his beady eyes to Sirius and asked, "You are repealing the Ministry's decision to sentence you to life in Azkaban nearly fourteen years ago, is that correct?"
"Fifteen, but yes," Sirius answered ever so nonchalantly.
Beside Ankaa, Potter shuffled in his seat uncertainly. He was no doubt remembering his last time in the same chamber, facing down the likes of Umbridge (who seemed blissfully absent), in a matter of a simple disciplinary hearing.
Scrimgeour's expression tightened. He did not seem to like the lip Sirius was readily offering and narrowed his eyes at the man. "Fifteen, yes," he amended something in his documents. "And you are contesting the Ministry's decision on account of you being innocent of the murder of Peter Pettigrew and the muggles, yes?"
"Obviously."
"And what proof have you of your innocence?"
"With respect, Minister," Dumbledore stood regally from his seat. "If we may, the defence would like to call Harry Potter to the stand as a witness."
Scrimgeour's eyes flickered from Ankaa to Potter before he offered a small nod. With a wave of his hand, a small witness box appeared to the side of Sirius' chair. Potter stood unsteadily before glancing at Dumbledore and Ankaa, who merely offered him a stiff nod before ventured out of the row and into the witness box.
"Harry James Potter," Scrimgeour began, "you are called to the stand as a witness of Sirius Black's innocence. What proof have you that Sirius Black is innocent of his previously convicted charges?"
"Nearly three years ago, when Sirius first escaped from Azkaban, he came to Hogwarts to try and find Peter Pettigrew. He's an Animagus and he disguised himself as my friend, Ron's, pet rat. Anyway…" Potter glanced uneasily to Sirius, who gave him an encouraging nod, before continuing. "Anyway, Worm—Pettigrew admitted to the whole thing in front of me and my friends at the Shrieking Shack. He had only cut off his finger and left it at the scene to make everyone think Sirius had done it."
"And where is this Pettigrew now, Mr. Potter?"
"He got away, Minister," said Potter tightly, his hands gripping the wood of the witness box. "There was a bit of a commotion as we tried to bring him in but he got away."
"You spoke of other witnesses…" one of the other members of the Wizengamot trailed off, her eyes flickering between Sirius and Potter. "Who are they?"
"My friends, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Ankaa Rhyther. Her brother, Cepheus, was also there." Potter briefly recounted the tale of how Ceph and Ankaa had burst into the room, confronting Sirius for being their father, before helping escort Pettigrew out into the night.
All attention shifted to Ankaa then, and her shoulders tensed reflexively, waiting for her turn to be called to the witness stand but no one said anything.
"Mr. Potter, I hope you understand we cannot accept your testimony—"
"What!" Potter was, understandably, outraged. "I'm telling you he's innocent! Minister, you cannot seriously be thinking of chucking an innocent man in prison again—"
"Silence!"
"—if Sirius really was the one who murdered innocent people, Dumbledore wouldn't have trusted him to be a part of the Order or to fight in the Battle at the Ministry."
The gavel came down and pounded harshly and the sound amplified in the air and ringing so loud that Potter's hands shot up to his head to shield his ears. Scrimgeour stared down at the boy before lowering the gavel and speaking. "I understand and commend your resilience in protecting your grandfather, but you must understand the word of a few teenagers means very little to the law. Unless you can provide us concrete proof of this conversation or of Sirius Black's innocence, the Wizengamot can do very little."
"But Sirius was fighting to keep Voldemort away—"
"Allegiances can change—"
"Like hell!" Sirius roared, shooting up from his chair to glare up at the Minister. "This isn't a matter of allegiances and you know it! I'm an innocent man who was chucked into prison, if I wanted to change allegiances, I would've done it the moment I got out of prison—and you best believe, Minister, that my allegiance would have no longer been with the same Ministry that robbed me of the chance of being with my family and raising my children."
A flurry of flashes overtook the chamber. There was a tense silence, broken every so often by the sounds of a quill scratching on parchment, and Ankaa glanced to the side to see several members of the press were lined up over the higher railings, intently peering down at the scene and furiously scribbling their notes. They were murmuring amongst themselves, intently swapping notes and peering over their photographs of the scene before Scrimgeour called for silence once more.
"I understand your predicament, Mr. Black," Scrimgeour said. "But you have not provided the court with sufficient evidence of your innocence."
"What's your evidence that he's guilty?" The words were out of Ankaa's mouth before she could stop them. "The fact that you found Pettigrew's finger at the scene? Anyone could chop off their finger and leave it for the Ministry to find. If you think Sirius guilty, where's the rest of Pettigrew to prove Sirius was, in fact, the murderer?"
"Exactly why we ask you to prove evidence to the contrary. Guilty until proven innocent, Ms. Rhyther. Given that your father already was convicted of the crime once, and his history—"
"What history?" Sirius interjected hotly. "Most of my life was either in school or Azkaban. You haven't given me the chance to create any history!"
Dumbledore stood again, his expression ever so serene, as he cleared his throat. "The defence would like to call Ankaa Rhyther to the stand."
All heads swivelled towards him before turning to Ankaa. The Slytherin girl stood and made her way down to the witness box Potter vacated, ignoring Sirius' steady gaze as she trained her eyes on the Minister.
"Ankaa Carina Rhyther, you are called to stand witness of Sirius Black's innocence. What evidence do you have of this?"
"Like Potter said—"
"Ms. Rhyther, if you would like to convince the Wizengamot of your father's innocence you must provide us with concrete evidence."
Ankaa gave an irate sigh, her hand clenching at her side in an effort to stop it from slapping her forehead in a graceless gesture. "Minister, I don't understand what you hope to get from this trial," she said. "You're asking for evidence that dates back more than a decade. If that's the case, why don't you present evidence to the public about why Sirius should be kept in Azkaban?"
Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes at the girl, but Ankaa noticed there was some indecipherable expression brewing in them. "Ms. Rhyther, how did you and your brother know of your true parentage?"
"Sorry?"
"How did you and Cepheus Rhyther know Sirius to be your true father? Had your mother told you the news? From what Mr. Potter tells us, you two confronted him in the Shrieking Shack. At that time, you had no idea of his innocence, is that right?"
"Well, yes."
"You were just confronting the man that you had learned to be your father. So, did your mother tell you?"
No. She hadn't. Not exactly.
"Your father, Henry Rhyther, then?" Scrimgeour continued despite her silence.
"No."
"So how did you know?"
"Is this really important?" Sirius bit in with a furious expression. "She's a smart girl, she put two and two together."
"A smart girl indeed," Scrimgeour's eyes did not waver from Ankaa's face. "Which is why I must ask: What proof did you have that Sirius Black was your father if you did not hear it from your parents?" Scrimgeour shuffled a few papers here and there and pulled out a piece of parchment to hold out to the Wizengamot. "I have documents here that show Ms. Rhyther, along with another student at Hogwarts, were granted the use of a Time-Turner during their third year. Coincidentally, this happens to be the same year that Sirius Black escaped Azkaban."
"What are you insinuating, Minister?" Sirius was standing from his chair again, hands clenched tightly at his side as he glared up at the Minister, unyielding even in the face of the rapid flashes of the cameras from the sides as the reporters soaked up every minute of this.
Scrimgeour merely waved his hand in dismissal. "Nothing of that sort, Mr. Black. I am merely pointing out, as you've said, Ms. Rhyther is an incredibly intelligent young woman. Impeccable grades, high standing, respected and revered amongst her peers… And yet, how is it possible that someone like her has believed your innocence without credible proof."
One of the other members of the Wizengamot nodded along with the Minister. "Yes, and after all, both Harry Potter and Ankaa Rhyther have a vested interest in your freedom, Mr. Black. You are, after all, family." The man turned to the woman beside him, telling her and the rest of the Wizengamot, "This is why we contested to having these two as witnesses. Who's to say they have not fabricated this entire story in an effort to keep Black out of Azkaban."
"If we had done that, we wouldn't have risked a trial," Potter pointed out smartly. "You just didn't want to hear that you had put an innocent man in prison."
"That's absolutely preposterous!" The member of the Wizengamot spluttered.
There was some back and forth, but Ankaa was not paying attention. Belatedly, she was aware of the crescendo of voices as Sirius and Potter argued passionately about the man's innocence, and Wizengamot members argued about their innocence in sending the man to Azkaban, but Ankaa was becoming acutely aware of why she had been allowed as a witness into the trial. In all this time, Scrimgeour had been staring intently at her, as if waiting for her to come to the realization before finally, Ankaa understood what he wanted from her.
"What kind of credible proof do you require, Minister?"
Her words brought about another shocked silence from the chamber. Scrimgeour lips quirked slightly, barely perceptible if you had not been staring directly at him for so long as Ankaa had before he nodded.
"Letters…Photographs… Eye-witness testimony of the event. Things of that nature."
"You want eye-witness testimony of the event but not of Pettigrew's admission of guilt?" Sirius bit back, but Scrimgeour was not even looking his way. "How is that fair? How is anyone here going to have eye-witness testimony of the event!"
Potter and Sirius were up in arms again, vehemently arguing over the Minister's call for silence.
Ankaa turned her head to see Dumbledore, who was sitting calmly beside a seething Harry Potter and watching the scene.
Does the Ministry align with what you want? To what is important to you?
It doesn't, and it never will. Ankaa understood that now, seeing Scrimgeour stare down at her while waiting for her to finally admit what he had suspected all along. Whether or not Sirius was on her good side did not matter much right now, Ankaa had to keep him out of Azkaban. For her mother's sake. For Potter's.
Dumbledore must have known Scrimgeour would try something like this to force her hand. It's why he had insisted on having Potter take the stand first, to see if the Wizengamot would allow the trial to continue solely on the basis of his testimony of the admission of guilt. But if the Wizengamot was unwilling to accept that, even if Harry had provided them with the memory, it meant they were after something very specific.
The Headmaster was staring at her, his blue eyes fixed on her face over his half-moon spectacles, as if taking in her expression entirely. He raised a brow, and when Ankaa answered with a subtle nod, Dumbledore stood and ambled over to the stand gracefully.
"As it stands, Minister, we do have eye-witness testimony of the event in question."
A member of the Wizengamot had been tasked to step forward and retrieve the memory from Ankaa. The girl ignored the flashing of the cameras as she closed her eyes and thought back to the vision she had of Pettigrew and Black, back before she knew who they were, and felt the tip of the wand press into her forehead before the wispy, silver memory floated out and was deposited into the glass phial and handed over to the Minister.
By the door to the chamber, one of the members of the Wizengamot stepped forward and waved her wand. "The Wizengamot will examine the evidence and deliberate on the matter of Sirius Orion Black's innocence," she said.
Sirius, Dumbledore, and the two students were ushered out of the chamber without further delay. Before she left, Ankaa turned her head one last time to spot the Minister still staring at her, now clutching the evidence of Ankaa's gifts as a seer, before she stepped through the doorway and it slammed shut behind her.
"Well, that was certainly dramatic." Dumbledore smiled contently. "Though, I suppose having a trial for Sirius would be far less inconspicuous than simply trying to pin hearsay as proof of Ms. Rhyther's gifts."
Ankaa was the first to step into the elevator and wasted no time in pressing her back against the cool metal as the three men stood in front of her. Dumbledore closed the door behind them and glanced at the other two.
"What do you mean? Why is this trial less inconspicuous? It's all people have been talking about for weeks."
"I'm surprised you didn't notice, Harry," Dumbledore blinked at the boy, and his equally confused godfather. "This trial was never about Sirius in the first place. Scrimgeour, from what I have gathered from our far and few in-between meetings, is an incredibly fair man—"
Sirius gave a derisive snort.
"—and he was, for the most part, already convinced of Sirius' innocence when talk of his trial had come up. I had, of course, suggested a trial as a formality, but I began to suspect something else might be the case when the Wizengamot had elected to dispute a simple matter of character witnesses. I had thought they would waste no time in showing the world that Harry Potter was on good terms with the Ministry, especially after Sirius was exonerated of his crimes.
"However, when the Minister continued to neglect Harry's testimony in favour of something more concrete, I began to suspect that he might have gathered some news about Ankaa's gifts as a Seer. It was no surprise then that he had conducted such thorough research on her time at school, insisting that someone as clever as her would never be swayed by simple emotion or peer pressure and thus, must have had some concrete proof to show for her father's innocence.
"It was not until the Minister started questioning Ankaa on how she knew of her true lineage that I understood exactly what Scrimgeour had wanted from her all along. As I told Ms. Rhyther earlier today, the Ministry has lost its position in the court that matters most. Public opinion will be more easily swayed if both Harry Potter and Ankaa Rhyther, now verified Seer, are shown to be with the Ministry."
"But just because he's got proof of Ankaa being a Seer doesn't mean she's with the Ministry," Sirius pointed out. "Why would he go through all the trouble?"
"Alignment is on a spectrum," Ankaa answered quietly. "Ideally, the Ministry would want Potter or me to be completely committed, doing things like making public appearances to show that we support them after all this backlash. But showing the people that there's no bad blood between us and the Ministry works in their favour."
The group stepped out into another hallway, and Dumbledore led the way to a door on the far end. Ankaa could hear the commotion from inside before the Headmaster swung the door open, immediately recognizing Fred and George's voices as they wasted no time in making fun of Ronald, much to Ginny and Zara's amusement. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sat in the chair by the main table, with Mrs. Weasley looking slightly miffed at the sight of Fleur Delacour.
"You're done!" Hermione shot up and wrapped Potter in a comforting hug. She turned to Ankaa out of reflex before the girl's subtle glare had Hermione pausing and lowering her arms to her side. She offered Ankaa a warm smile instead. "How did it go?"
"About as awful as you'd expect," Sirius groaned as he settled himself into one of the extra chairs in Mr. Weasley's office. He quickly filled them in on what had happened, especially recounting Scrimgeour's insistence on the testimony of the event.
"So they know you're a Seer, then?" Fred turned to her with wide eyes. "What's going to happen now? All that will be made public information, won't it?"
"Yeah, the press will eat that up!" George frowned, recalling a sour memory. "As if Harry being popular enough wasn't bad enough, we're now going to have to put up with Ankaa getting fan mail too."
Fred didn't seem too fond of the idea and sat himself down on the arm of Ankaa's chair with a small frown. His fingers toyed with the sleeve of Ankaa's shirt absentmindedly as they all talked about the trial.
Ankaa tried to pay attention, but her mind kept wandering to Scrimgeour in the main chamber. By now, they must have already reached a decision. They had always intended to exonerate Sirius, but with all this proof and evidence of Ankaa's abilities as a hero on top, it should not be taking so long. Just as the nerves caught up to her, and Ankaa's leg began bouncing in anticipation, there was a soft knock on the door and in peeked a familiar face.
"Sorry," Florence Lacomb gave a sheepish smile upon spotting all the people inside. "I was just wondering if I might borrow Ankaa for a moment."
Ankaa was up and out of her seat before anyone could protest, launching herself out of the door and slamming it shut behind her so they could not overhear. The last time Ankaa had seen Florence had been a few days after Ceph's death when she had handed her brother's girlfriend his journal as a last momento.
Florence, to her credit, looked almost the same. She had the same warmth to her being, the same genuine smile and kind eyes that she had worn whenever she had seen Ankaa in the halls. Even now, when Florence reached for Ankaa's hands and wrapped them securely in her own, Ankaa did not feel the need to pull away.
"How are you?" Florence asked, giving her a once-over. Her eyes were filled with great concern. "I know we haven't kept in touch since Ceph… well… I heard the news about your mother. And with Sirius' trial, I thought it would be best if I came to see you in person."
"Thanks," Ankaa smiled. "I appreciate it."
"Sure… but you haven't answered. How are you?"
"Fine, I suppose." It was an automatic response at this point. Florence didn't believe it, but Ankaa continued on regardless. "What about you? What brings you to the Ministry?"
"Oh, I actually worked here, in the Department of Mysteries. At least, up until… you know." Florence shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "I'm moving away though," she admitted with a deep sigh, letting her exhaustion become apparent. "I don't think it's safe for me here anymore. And since the Department of Mysteries is all but a wreck at the moment, I thought it would be a good time to make my final move."
"Final move?"
Florence nodded. "I've been in-between London and Albania for a while now."
"Albania? What're you doing there?"
"Same thing I do here, solve some old curses and relocate objects. Nothing out of the ordinary with me." Florence gave her a small smile. "But, I wanted to see if I could catch you before I left for good. I'm really sorry that we weren't able to stay in touch after Ceph but I want you to know that I'll always be here for you, whatever you need."
In a gesture she might have picked up from Ceph, Florence Lacomb gave her hands three gentle and meaningful squeezes, much in the same way Ceph would often reassure her.
One day I'll be gone, and you'll be on your own.
But she didn't feel alone, strangely enough. Even when Florence released her hands and wrapped her up in a warm hug, as comforting and caring as when Ceph hug her, Ankaa could feel the chill of loneliness leave her. Again, before she left, Florence clasped her on the shoulder much like Ceph used to do, and gave her three small squeezes of reassurance before she disappeared down the hall.
From the same place Florence had turned to exit, an inter-departmental memo came soaring through the air and deposited itself in Ankaa's hands. Gingerly, she unfurled the piece of parchment and read the contents with a small, satisfied smile.
The Wizengamot has reached a verdict: In the matter of Sirius Orion Black vs. The People, the Wizengamot finds Sirius Orion Black not guilty and cleared of all charges.
Mrs. Weasley would not hear of Sirius returning to Grimmauld Place that night.
"You've had enough of that place, I am sure of it!" she insisted. "You are to come to the Burrow with us so we can celebrate the end of this horrid trial."
Sirius had not refused. Instead, he had clasped his arms around Fred and George's shoulders and pulled them into a headlock. "You're absolutely right, Molly," he whooped loudly. "I was rather thinking of dropping by to check in on my prodigies and their progress at the shop."
"You're taking all the credit, mate," George pulled himself free of Sirius and frowned lightly. "Let's not forget the last time you tried to help us, you almost lit the bloody shop on fire."
"Not to mention you almost tarnished the brand new batch of pure silver for the Silver-Tongue potion."
Sirius waved Fred and George's concerns away. "My knowledge is better in the practical sense, I'd say."
But by the end of the night, Sirius was not at all concerned with helping Fred and George out. Instead, he had (along with the rest of the legal and of-age members of the gathering) been so inebriated, he had stood on the Weasley's Dining table and carolled for everyone for about twenty minutes straight. Fred, George, and Ginny had egged him on all night, calling for encores and asking him to dive off the 'stage' and into the crowd.
"He's really happy," Potter smiled from his spot on the wall next to Ankaa. The two of them had elected to move aside so that the rowdy crowd of Fred, George, Ginny, and Sirius could continue line-dancing in peace and without any casualties, and were leaning against the far wall watching the scene while nursing their glasses of butterbeer.
"Seems so."
Out of the corner of her eyes, Ankaa could see Potter pursing his lips, deep in thought about something. With a deep sigh, Ankaa lifted the butterbeer to her lips and told him to just spit it out.
"Sirius told me about your row," Potter began uncertainly, doing the most so he did not have to look her in the eye. "Is it true? Do you feel like he chooses me over you?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think so." Ankaa glared harshly at him over the rim of her glass. "Besides, I don't want to talk about that right now. It's not your place to bring it up either. If Sirius has something to say to me about what I insinuated, he can bring it up himself. He's a grown man."
Potter seemed like he wanted to protest, but he simply sighed and nodded. The grown man in question was currently being held up by Fred, George, and Bill Weasley, who had finally arrived from work and been caught up in the drinking and celebrations in no time, hoisting Sirius up and launching him high up into the air with cheers of 'Hip-hip-hooray!'.
"Alright, alright, settle down everyone!" Sirius held up his goblet of Firewhiskey after the Weasley boys had finally placed him on solid ground once more. "A toast!"
Immediately, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley replenished everyone's glasses with their drinks before turning intently to Sirius, who held out his goblet. Ankaa pressed herself further into the wall as everyone got up and surrounded the man of the hour with their own glasses held out high. Despite Potter's insistent look, Ankaa simply held the goblet at her side and watched the scene blankly.
"To my family—the ones that are here and the ones that couldn't be—without you all, I wouldn't be here today." He cast a meaningful look towards Ankaa and Harry, who stood together in the back corner of the room. "To my daughter and godson, for facing everything that life throws at them with much more courage and conviction than I ever could."
There was a pause before everyone brought their glasses up to toast and things were back to the way they were before. Sirius had now been swept away into conversation with Bill and Fleur, looking slightly less intoxicated than he had been an hour before. Potter left Ankaa's side to join Hermione and Ronald, who had been bickering about something or the other before Hermione had huffed and stomped away from the redhead and to Ginny's side, whispering something in her ear that made her roll her eyes to high heaven.
"You know, drinking before someone's finished their toast is bad luck," a familiar voice came from her side. Ankaa turned her head to find Fred leaning on the wall next to her, cheeks alight from the flush of his Firewhiskey.
"Spying on people when you should've been listening to the toast is worse, in my opinion."
Fred gave an easy shrug before shuffling closer to her side, being mindful to keep at least some distance as Mrs. Weasley was throwing him some indecipherable looks, but still close enough that he could press his side to Ankaa's shoulder and feel her warmth.
"So… George and I have managed to sneak some Firewhiskey away."
"A horrible idea. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will find it by the end of the night."
Fred gave her a playful shove. "You have no faith in your boyfriend's abilities. Besides, even if she confiscates this one, Mum can't exactly stop us from having Firewhiskey in the apartment, can she? George and I are grown men."
"Sure," Ankaa conceded. "And I'd think that were true if you hadn't almost shit yourself at the sight of Mrs. Weasley standing in your living room nearly two weeks ago."
"That's different! It's because she caught us in a compromising situation. Mind you, I'll never hear the end of that."
Ankaa turned her head towards him, tilting it with slight curiosity. "What did you two talk about?"
"Oh, other than you becoming a future Mrs. Weasley?"
"Please don't joke about that," Ankaa groaned. "I don't want anyone overhearing. It's already embarrassing enough that we got caught like that."
"Well," Fred shuffled uncertainly on his feet, his face taking on that familiar red tinge as he flushed. This time Ankaa could tell it was not the alcohol, as he refused to meet her eyes. "Speaking of getting caught… George's going to be spending the night at Lee's place tonight—something about helping him set up his new apartment—I don't know… Anyway, I was thinking—and if you want, you can say no—we could just hang out at the apartment?"
Ankaa stared at him silently, blankly.
"It doesn't have to be anything!" Fred quickly added, turning more and more red by the second. "I'll still sleep in George's room, but I just thought it would be nice to have some time to ourselves for a little bit since I'm busy with the shop and you'll be busy with school again—"
"Yeah," Ankaa interrupted his rambling with a small laugh. She placed a placating hand on his arm before giving him a teasing smirk. "Never thought you'd be so scared at being in my presence."
"Says the one who almost passed out at being invited to stay in my room. Don't think I've forgotten the way you balked at me when I first offered that you could take up my room."
"That's different," Ankaa gave an easy shrug. "I don't have the experience you do, so it's fine. But you, Mr. Oh-So-Suave, have had quite a few experiences before me. I don't see why you're so nervous."
Fred frowned, looking at her intently. All traces of mirth had vanished from his face as he pinned her with a serious stare. "Those were different," he told her quietly, his hand coming up to brush a strand of curls out of her eyes. "It's different with you."
Ankaa had not known what to say after that. From what she had gathered, there was a real duality to Fred's character, as is the case with most people. He had his moments of being annoying and rambunctious and obnoxious… well, more than often that was his eternal state of being. But there were times, like these, where he would surprise her with a rare show of emotion that she could not pinpoint, but simply observe and catalogue for the future.
Nonetheless, any hopes Fred and Ankaa had of spending the night together were dashed by a smiling Mrs. Weasley. The woman came upon the duo a few hours later, when things had settled down and the music was no longer blaring through the speakers and ushered the two of them upstairs.
"Mum, George and I are gonna head back—"
"Is that so?" Mrs. Weasley gave him a suspicious look before turning to Ankaa. "Alright, dear, you can take the room upstairs with Hermione and Ginny! They'll be so glad to have you—"
"What do you mean? Ankaa's going back with Sirius…" Fred trailed off, spotting the man in question as he was slumped over on the couch with a blanket draped over his shoulders, snoring away.
"Exactly why Ankaa will stay here, dear," Mrs. Weasley gave Fred a smile. "Go on, then! George and you should be heading back. You've got an early morning at the shop, haven't you?"
Fred and Ankaa exchanged quick glances before Ankaa cleared her throat politely. "Um, Mrs. Weasley, I was actually going to spend the night at my friend, Zara's—"
"Oh, that sweet girl!" Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly. "We met while you were headed to Sirius' trial, did you know? She's such a gem, she told me she was headed to Kent to visit some of her family until the weekend."
Mrs. Weasley must have known, as all mothers did, that the two teenagers were trying to lie out of their ass. Mrs. Weasley's built-in nonsense-detector was better than most others, and she gave the two teenagers a knowing look before turning and ushering the others upstairs.
"I've already set your bed up, dear! Go on and wish your goodnights!"
With that, she disappeared upstairs, following a half-asleep Hermione and barely conscious Ginny who did not seem to catch the conversation at all.
"I think she's getting a lot of joy out of this," Fred muttered, glancing from the stairs where his mother had vanished and back to the pale-faced Ankaa. He gave her a little nudge with his elbow, "Are you alright?"
Ankaa shuddered. "It's like she was looking into my soul," she whispered. "So much for your great plan."
"Ah, it's fine. There's no rush. Besides, we'll be around each other a lot more. You're basically sleeping in my house."
"Why don't you stay here, too?"
"And hear Ginny complain about dear old Fleur in the morning? No thanks, as if I hadn't heard enough in the last four hours already." Fred gave her a small peck before wrapping her up in his arms. "Besides, you'll need more patience than me. You're going to have to put up with Ronald and his mooning over Fleur with no one to cut the tension."
Ankaa laughed lightly and reciprocated his gesture. "Thank you for leaving me in this mess."
"You're ever so welcome, my love. Come to the shop tomorrow—we can have lunch together! It'll be a nice break for you if you haven't lost all your brain cells by then."
He gave her one more kiss before hauling George up by the arm, ignoring his pleas to let him also say goodnight, and dragged him out of the Burrow. With one last look over his shoulder, Fred gave her the same old mischievous smile, before turning and Disapparating with his brother. Ankaa closed and locked the door behind them, casting one look at a soundly sleeping Sirius before she ventured up the stairs and to the attic t get ready for bed.
She sunk into her bed a short while later, her bones heavy with exhaustion that had caught up to her in the last ten minutes, and lay down, ready for a peaceful sleep.
It was unfortunate, then, that the dreams and visions that followed were the ones to fill her with dread and snatch any semblance of peaceful sleep.
Notes:
So... Florence, huh? We haven't seen her in a while, I wonder what she's been up to... Hmmmmm...
What are our thoughts on Sirius' trial and the Ministry wanting so badly to expose Dear Ankaa? What about that sneaky Mrs. Weasly, eh? I bet she's enjoying all the teasing and blocking lol
GUESTTTT: I knowwww it's been too long! But now that I've fleshed out the finer details and gotten over my lost documents, I finally feel like getting back to writing. Thank you for your review!
19irene96: Thank you! I think from now on we're going to see a lot more Sirius and Ankaa moments because every excuse that they had earlier to avoid confrontation with one another (i.e, Maya, and Ceph, who were more accepting and constantly kept the peace), and they're being forced into facing this relationship and all the messy bits that come with its unconventionality.
CrackHeadBlonde: Thank you for your review! I'm sorry you're also having a tough time in the middle of the pandemic, but I hope things are all going okay. And looool I headcanon that Fred and George are surprisingly good at research if the subject pertains to them and they find it interesting. Just a little thing I wanted to put in there to show that Fred's out here pulling all the moves lol
NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo-XD: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter too!
As always, to those of you who have favourited and added this story to your alert list, thankk you very much! Thank you to sana123, Florfleur, HellToTheNo123, nyannyanboomm, Unni17, RopedMeASparrow, and ilovedurmstrang for adding this to your lists!
See you all next Monday!
- E