The girls had talked long into the night, Hermione and Ginny overflowing with questions. Questions which, much to their annoyance, Penny was only able to answer in part. She couldn't risk them being cross examined by Dumbledore and put in an awkward position, Penny had claimed. Hermione had pouted about it but not argued, acknowledging her tendency to obey the Headmaster. Ginny had not been so understanding.
"I'm supposed to be your best friend, and besides you know how good I am at keeping secrets." Ginny had huffed, Penny sniggering.
"I am not denying that Gin." Penny said gently. "But some things are beyond the trivial matters of teenage girls." She said teasingly, getting a disgruntled kick from Ginny.
"Can you not at least tell me what part of the country you have been in?" Ginny pressed. Penny paused, her mouth feeling its way around words, noting when her voice box tensed in warning.
"North." She said eventually, the vague answer slipping through comfortably.
What felt like no time later at all, Penny felt herself being gently shaken by Mrs Weasley, who stood over her in a purple quilted dressing gown. Penny grumbled, rolling away from the Weasley matriarch.
"Come eat some breakfast, Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you." Mrs Weasley whispered, Penny's eyes opening abruptly to stare at the wall. Grunting slightly, Penny sat up, rubbing her eyes reluctantly. Mrs Weasley left the room as Penny dressed silently, her brain still sluggish. Glancing in the mirror she dragged a brush through her chaotic hair, trying to tame it a little. Reaching under her covers she scooped up a languid Juno, who hissed aggressively. A barely visible bat-like ear told her Kreacher had once again, fallen asleep under her bed.
"Hush" Penny cooed, lifting the snake over her shoulders. Her scales were so dry and brittle, Penny noted with concern. She could do with another soaking, Penny decided, rubbing a long finger along her pet. Taking careful steps, Penny made her way down to the kitchen, her shoulders aching under the strain. Sat at the table, Dumbledore looked over his half moon glasses at her, his fingertips resting casually against one another. Though he looked calm, Penny was sure the lines around his eyes seemed deeper than usual. Sirius sat further along the table, twirling his wand distractedly between his fingers. His eyes were staring into the distance, thinking of Harry, Penny suspected.
"Good morning Persephone." The Headmaster said softly, his eyes following Juno as Penny lowered her cautiously onto the table. The snake making no effort to move, but rather hung in an apathic way off the side of the table. "Is Juno unwell?" Dumbledore inquired. Penny's eyes flickered slightly, wondering briefly how the Headmaster knew her pet's name.
"She is due to shed." Penny answered shortly, thanking Mrs Weasley as a couple of slices of toast were placed in front of her.
"I think it is best if she remain here. The Ministry are rather biased both towards snakes and Parselmouths." Dumbledore advised.
"As opposed to the Ministry's otherwise sparkling opinion of me." Penny said dryly, Sirius snorting loudly from the other end of the room.
"Remember to stick to the facts. Try not to be facetious." Dumbledore warned her as she bit coyly into a slice of toast. "As for Harry… It will be unrealistic to expect you to avoid him now you'll be living under the same roof. I would have preferred to move you back to Moonstone Crescent, but unfortunately it cannot be given the same level of protection as here, given the Ministry's position right now." Dumbledore said, Penny noticing his jaw clenching slightly as he said it. "However, I would still exercise caution when it comes to any…intimacy… between the two of you." Penny choked slightly on her drink at these words, an indignant blush flaring all over her face. Sirius had roared with laughter, even more so when Penny launched her now empty cup at his head.
A few minutes later she popped back upstairs with Juno, digging round her cloak for the travel tube.
"Mistress are you going to leave me here?" Juno hissed unhappily, looking round uselessly through her blue eye covers.
"Of course not. Will have to put you in here for now though, otherwise Professor Dumb will know I have you." Penny said gently, lowering a feeble Juno into the tube. She ran the brush through her hair once more, putting a small amount of make up on the way Ursula had shown her and examined her reflection with a faint smile. She jutted her chin out proudly, giving herself a haughty stare worthy of Narcissa before prodding her tongue out, her snake piercing wriggling with a hiss. Popping her tongue back in she smirked at herself before making her way down to the hallway where Dumbledore stood waiting. She felt his eyes glance over her, the quietest of sighs escaping him. They made their way out past the steps before she reluctantly took his arm to Side Apparate. She blinked a couple of times as they appeared in the Auditorium. Penny pouted slightly as she recalled her previous visit. Without waiting for Dumbledore to say anything she strolled over to the security desk and drew her wand, plonking it noisily on the desk.
"Morning Eric." She said with false brightness, the large man looking startled that she recalled his name.
"Professor Dumbledore." He spluttered as the Headmaster placed his own wand on the desk beside Penny's, his own a very dark black. She stared at it for a few seconds, a look of puzzlement on her face. Penny was certain this was not the wand he had attacked her with only weeks before. A moment later, the security guard scooped up both wands and placed her own on the scales. A whirl later he read her strip out.
"11 inches, yew with a dragon heartstring core, been in use three years?" He said, Penny nodding. He added the paper to a spiked pile before adding Dumbledore's to the scales.
"13 inches, ebony with a dragon heartstring core, been in use one hundred and two years?" Eric said as Penny stared at Dumbledore, her jaw slightly slack. Both of them stood with their arms out, Eric running his long golden rod over them before returning their wands to them.
"Are you really a hundred and thirteen years old?" Penny asked disbelievingly, the pair of them striding down the hallways.
"No." He said cheerily as they climbed into the elevator. "It is not my birthday until the end of the month." He added, chuckling as Penny gawked at him. Penny had known the Professor was a great deal older than her, but the news he was one year short of a century her senior had temporarily stalled her brain. She barely registered stepping off the elevator behind the Headmaster until a familiar view came into sight. "We shall wait in the Wizengamot Administration Services waiting area. In that manner we can keep track if they attempt any underhand tricks." Dumbledore explained, his teeth gritting together as they went past a long corridor of cubicles.
Instead of heading down to where Arthur Weasley's office was, they turned down a different corridor, past yet more cubicles.
"Professor…" Penny began politely. "Do you own more than one wand?" She asked coyly, the Headmaster giving her a searching look over his glasses as they walked further down this row of cubicles.
However, before he could respond, the sound of thundering footsteps made them turn around.
Back down the corridor, at the crossroad of cubicles, Penny caught a glimpse of red hair and a scrawny black haired boy flash past, running haphazardly.
"Harry…" Penny whispered.
"Blast them!" Dumbledore roared, making Penny jump. He stormed back the way they came. Drawing a light-coloured wand, he flicked it at the elevator controls, a squeal emitting from it before it began descending. Dumbledore's light eyes glared at the dial as it moved slowly to Level 9.
"Department of Mysteries." The cool voice announced as Dumbledore strode out the lift, Penny hot on his heels. He descended some stairs briskly and entered a corridor that resembled a dungeon. Penny remembered this corridor from the previous year, surely they would not be in the same courtroom? She thought. Without a word Dumbledore headed down another stretch before a panting Mr Weasley came into view.
"Dumbledore!" He gasped. "They changed…why…Harry's…" He panted as Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.
"Arthur. Arabella Figg should be arriving shortly in the Atrium. If you could escort her down here immediately." He ordered, the red headed man running off towards the stairs again, the sound of his pounding steps fading away. "Please wait here Persephone, until you are summoned." He instructed firmly. He turned towards the door, took a slow and deep breath as if composing himself before entering the door labelled Courtroom Ten. Same courtroom as last year, Penny thought absently as the door closed behind him. Waiting until the door clicked shut, she drew the travel tube out of her pocket and gently sliding Juno out of it. The serpent made a lethargic grumbling noise as Penny caressed her dry scales.
"Good morning Penny." A familiar drawling voice said, making Penny start. Her hand immediately plunged into her wand pocket as Lucius Malfoy approached, his steps large but gradual. Penny's eyes darted around her, acutely aware of a lack of witnesses present. "Relax child, I am not here to abduct you or harm you in any way."
"You are assuming you could, even if you tried." Penny sneered, an irritated flicker across her uncle's face.
"You are assuming that were I in fact trying to capture you, I would do so in such an overt manner." He shot back sullenly as Penny scowled. "In any case, your father does not wish you to be forced to his side, he deems it meaningless unless you are there by choice." Lucius drawled on. Penny scrutinised him closely as he continued. "I am merely here to relay his regards and give you Narcissa's love. She misses you greatly, as does Draco." Penny looked away, gently rubbing Juno's scales. She sensed his grey eyes drop to the serpent. "It's hard to believe it was just a year ago we gifted her to you. She has grown stupendously, not that it is a great surprise. We did select her from an exemplary breeder." He continued, Penny looking up at him as he raised his eyes to peer at the large courtroom door, the voices within muffled. A sneer formed on his lips before he looked down at Penny.
"Funny." He said dryly. "Once again they appear to favour Muggles over magical kind. Always ready to protect them, I wonder, just what will it take for them to protect you?" He finished, the two of them staring each other out until the Courtroom door swung open, revealing Dumbledore stood there.
"Lucius." He said in a very cold tone.
"Dumbledore." Lucius replied, his voice mutually icy. "I hope to see you again soon, Penny." The tall wizard said addressing the young witch with a polite inclination of his head and turning on his heel.
"What did he say to you?" Dumbledore demanded as Mr Weasley and Mrs Figg appeared down the corridor. Even at this distance Penny saw the look of distain Mr Weasley and Lucius exchanged.
"Nothing." Penny muttered sulkily, standing up and scooping up Juno and draping her over her shoulders once more. Dumbledore's eyes were ablaze, his eyes lingering on Juno. Penny looked at him with an air of nervous deviance, letting out a heavy breath when he didn't comment but gestured for her to follow him.
Crossing the threshold of the large room, Penny paused only a moment as her eyes took in the scene before her. Unlike her trial the previous year, this time it looked as though the whole of the court was present, filling up the rows at the far end of the court room. Where they had been talking quietly, a strange hush fell upon them she entered the room, her steps echoing through the chamber.
Straightening her back and shoulders to her full height with difficulty, Penny marched forward, aware of the loud buzzing whispers from the benches as many of them gawped at her, a mixture of fear and hatred on many of their faces. Lowering her eyes to look straight ahead, she spotted Harry peering round the edge of his seat, his the only friendly face, looking relieved to see her although even he looked a tad wary of her.
"Penny…" He breathed; his face full of questions.
"Later." Penny whispered out the corner of her lips. She had a feeling Dumbledore saw the movement but doubted the sound carried to the benches. Dumbledore waved his wand, a comfortable chair appearing on the other side of his own, where he perched himself between them. She circled the old wizard, her eyes circling the occupants of the bench with a haughty glare.
"I did ask you not to bring her." Dumbledore reminded her as she placed Juno to rest on the back of the chair.
"Juno stays with me." Penny retorted firmly, ignoring the ill contained whispers on the benches.
"That thing should not be allowed in this Courtroom." Cornelius Fudge's voice boomed down at her. Penny turned to face him, drawing herself up to her full height once more.
"Juno. Stays. With. Me." She repeated in an eerily quiet tone, noticing the Minister shrinking a little from her intense glare. A slight clearing of Dumbledore's throat and Penny lowered herself gracefully onto the chair, sitting proudly upon it, as if sat on a throne. Her eyes drifted around the courtroom, before coming to rest on Amelia Bones, who peered at her through her monocle.
"Persephone Black." The older witch acknowledged. "Have you recovered from your bout of Spattergroit?"
"Madam Bones." Penny replied politely. "Indeed, I was fortunate only to have a very mild case of it, and only isolated as a precaution." She lied with ease.
Cornelius Fudge was glaring furiously at her, Penny could sense her less than savoury comments the last time they met were still fresh in his mind. On his other side, Penny could make out a large round face of a witch, with what looked like a bow on top of her head. The rest of her remained shrouded in shadow.
"Full name?" Fudge boomed, in an attempt at an indifferent tone, though Penny could see how stiff his shoulders had become. She snorted in derision at the question.
"There is not a person in this room who doesn't know my name." She replied arrogantly. Fudge shifted irritably, bristling. "And unless you yourself happen to be deaf, your colleague just announced it."
"The court still requires you to follow procedure Miss Black." Madam Bone reminded her sternly, Penny rolling her eyes.
"I am Persephone Black, of Moonstone Crescent, Hereford. Fourth year student at Hogwarts, daughter of Lord Voldemort -" A collective shudder ran round the courtroom at the name. "- and Bellatrix Lestrange, cousin of Nymphadora Tonks and Draco Malfoy, Parselmouth and Heir of Slytherin." Penny finished with a distinct note of pride. "Did I miss anything?" She asked tartly, leaning back into her chair to gaze at the court haughtily. The buzz of muttering intensified as Penny crossed her legs casually, a long finger caressing the serpent draped over the chair lazily. She must look rather striking, Penny thought with a smug smile. She knew Harry kept stealing glances at her past where Dumbledore sat, although his eyes often averting away to between the court and the floor.
"And you were present to witness this supposed Dementor attack?" Madam Bones asked. Penny hesitated slightly, feeling Dumbledore's gaze on her.
"Yes." She answered simply.
"So!" Boomed Fudge unexpectantly, looking triumphant. "How is it we can possibly determine which of you were the caster? Both, after all have criminal records, and it is well known that Mr Potter would go to great lengths to cover up his girlfriend's indiscretions. How do we know that Miss Black was not in fact the caster?" Fudge asked pointedly looking around at the rows. Glancing very slightly to the side, Penny could see Harry was avoiding looking at her, his face a dark beetroot. Shifting a little, she felt a slight flush run down her neck but she didn't turn her face to catch his eye, instead staring straight at Fudge.
"First off, all the previous stuff has already been dealt with so has nothing to do with this trial. Second, ex-girlfriend, not that it matters either despite the Minster's odd fixation on the dating life of teenagers" Penny sneered coldly. "Third, I could not have cast the Patronus as I …" Penny cut off, clenching her jaw as if tasting something foul.
"As what?" Fudge snapped looking down at Penny with great dislike. Penny chewed her tongue slightly, Dumbledore's voice cutting through.
"What Persephone is reluctant to admit, is she has of yet, been unable to successfully produce a Patronus." He said calmly, as Penny made a sound much like a hiss.
"You expect us to believe that Mr Potter, a young boy of no exceptional talent is able to produce a corporeal Patronus but a witch of Black's … abilities" Fudge admitted with a forced air "Is unable to? Poppy cock!" Fudge said, shaking his head furtively.
"I don't know Cornelius" Madam Bones replied. "If I recall correctly, Madam Lestrange despite all of her talents, was also known to be incapable of producing a Patronus." She said, Penny's head snapping round at this titbit of information so fast it nearly cricked her neck.
"Hmm, mother like daughter, I suppose." Fudge said with a slightly cruel smile, a girlish giggle coming from the witch to Fudge's right. Penny dropped her gaze to stare at the floor, a dark flush across her whole face now. Her hands gripped the edge of her chair tightly, the blood pounding in her ears. "In any case, if the best witness you can produce to this supposed Dementor attack is a daughter of two mass murderers with a criminal record and personal ties to the defendant, then unsurprisingly the court remains unconvinced." Fudge stated conclusively, swelling proudly in victory.
"We do have another witness, one independent from both Harry and Persephone." Dumbledore said calmly. Fudge looked deflated again.
"I am not here to listen to more tall tales! I want this dealt with!"
"I would have assumed the Wizengamot would be willing to speak to as many witnesses as the defence produced, to ensure justice had truly been served." Dumbledore said calmly. "Particularly given, Minister, your own misgivings about the true caster of the Patronus." He pointed out. Fudge's face looked ready to explode at any given moment at this comment.
"Fine." He snapped. "Weasley. You go fetch whoever this next witness might be." He huffed, Percy Weasley trotted past the three of them, avoiding all their gazes. A few seconds later Mrs Figg shuffled into the court in her slippers, Dumbledore conjuring a fourth seat. Mrs Figg recounted her story but Penny barely heard it, her thoughts still lingering on her mother, who had also sat alongside three others, in this very room. The news she too, was unable to produce a Patronus echoed through her mind, a swirling cascade of emotions, mild disgust she shared this flaw with a murderess but also a strange longing simmering in her gut.
"The Muggle boy had fallen and both Harry and Persephone alternately tried to produce Patronuses twice but only produced silver vapour." Penny snapped back into the room as Mrs Figg spoke. "When Persephone collapsed Harry tried for a third time and succeeded in producing a Patronus." Figg went on. When she had finished and shuffled out of the room Fudge and Dumbledore had begun arguing, Penny's along with many occupants of the room looking between them rapidly, reminding Penny of tennis matches she had seen on TV.
"We are familiar with Clause Seven, thank you very much!" Fudge snarled. Penny let out an ironic cackle that made a few members of the court jump.
"And yet you seem to forget it whenever it's inconvenient." Penny snarled back. "Focussing on the use of magic in front of a Muggle, ignoring the fact said Muggle has been living with a wizard his whole life! Even Dursley isn't thick enough to not have noticed the wizarding world exists!" Penny went on, ignoring Dumbledore's blazing eyes. "But of course, protecting a Muggle from knowledge he already has, naturally more important than keeping members of your own kind alive." Penny sneered the members of the Wizengamot moving uncomfortably at her words.
"Persephone that's enough." Dumbledore warned in stern voice.
"As much as you may desire to control the Ministry Miss Black, your view on how it should be run is irrelevant!" Fudge said aggressively as Penny snorted.
"Not enough gold to put in your pocket I guess." Penny sneered as Fudge went a deep shade of red. "I have no intention of a future in the nonsense of politics." She said wrinkling her nose.
"The only future you have is one in Azkaban with your mother!" Fudge spat. A spark emitted from Penny's fist as stood. She could vaguely hear Dumbledore berating her but ignored him, opening her mouth slightly so her tongue piercing activated. The crowd making a noise of horror as it hissed and wriggled angrily.
"Penny…" A soft sound of desperation caught her attention. Turning her eyes met emerald green, who looked at her pleadingly. A stark reminder of the reason they were all there. Withdrawing her piercing, she clenched her jaw and looked away from him, making a noise of irritation as she plonked herself back on her seat, leaning back on her seat lazily. She waved her hand dismissively as Dumbledore glared at her before he addressed the court again. Penny ran a loving hand along Juno who had been quiet this whole time. She heard Dumbledore continue his comments, arousing the attention of the woman to Fudge's right who finally leant forward. Penny would have paid her no attention had the fluttery juvenile voice had not matched her appearance so badly. She gave a laugh that made Juno make the first noise since their arrival, hissing unhappily.
"It's voice sounds like venom." Juno hissed. Penny looked up at the witch, who did not look her way but rather stared at Dumbledore as he and the Minister continued to argue. As Dumbledore pushed the Wizengamot into a decision she saw Harry keep looking at Dumbledore who ignored him. He did look past the Professor, at Penny who met his eyes briefly. She saw him flinch slightly, his hand jumping to his scar before she looked away. The witch on Fudge's right was looking at Harry now, a little too intensely for Penny's liking, who frowned slightly.
Suddenly the court stopped whispering and Madam Bones spoke. A few voted against Harry but most voted in favour.
"Cleared of all charges." Fudge said through teeth so gritted Penny was surprised they didn't crack. Penny pulled Juno onto her lap as Dumbledore stood briskly.
"Excellent." He said, drawing and swishing his wand, the three chairs he had conjured vanishing, including the one Penny was sitting on. She landed with a loud thump with Juno on top of her, an indignant and pained noise escaping Penny's mouth. She looked up at Dumbledore crossly, too winded to make any comment. "Well I must be getting along. Good day to you all." He said, giving Penny a piercing stare that said a thousand things before strolling out the dungeon, leaving a startled Harry staring after him wordlessly.
Cursing under her breath Penny pulled her legs out from under Juno and stood, dusting herself off. Almost in a trance Harry wondered over to her and reached down to help lift Juno.
"Do you want me to carry her?" He asked breathlessly as Penny sagged slightly under the weight. Penny noticed a few Wizengamot members flinch at the sound of Parseltongue.
"I wouldn't if I were you, she is not in a very friendly mood." Penny muttered back. Sensing eyes on her, she looked round to see the round witch watching both her and Harry intensely. Something about the stare made the hairs on Penny's neck stand up. She looked away as Juno wriggled slightly, almost unbalancing her.
"Neither are you three days a month." Juno mumbled in response to Penny's comment, a slight smile spreading on Harry's face, breaking into a snigger as Penny raised an eyebrow. High on victory, she guessed.
Penny turned away and lead them out of the courtroom, hiding the small smile forming on her face.
….
Sorry this chapter took so long, spent ages on it pulling my hair out and hitting my head on the keyboard.
Hope it was worth the wait!