Chapter 3: M is for Me?
'So, I got a letter from my brother. He has some new ideas about removing the curse from your arm.' Ron passed Hermione a folded scroll.
The three were having a picnic near the Black Lake.
Almost two months passed since the Lucius Malfoy trial.
She was still unwelcome at the Burrow, probably even more now than she was two months ago… but in light of her other troubles Hermione just couldn't find enough energy to care.
The boys kept in touch and came to visit her at Hogwarts almost every weekend… Though it often felt like a wellness check rather than a social visit.
'You still want to remove it, right?' Harry looked at Hermione's uncovered unglamored forearm.
Where before mudblood was bleeding almost constantly, now only half the letters stayed angry and raw, mudblood.
'Of course I do, Harry!' Hermione glared at her friend. 'What type of question is that?!'
The dark haired wizard rubbed his forehead nervously.
'It's just you are not yourself lately, you know'
Her eyes narrowed and filled with anger.
'Now now Mione, before you take Harry's head off, look at it from our brooms'
'This is about the trial, isn't it?'
'That too' both looked uncomfortable. 'But it is more than that…'
'More?'
'Since the Manor you are not yourself.'
'You won't be either, Ronald, if you were tortured!'
'That's the thing Mione, she tortured you at Malfoy's Manor, and you-'
'Do you even remember what happened?'
'I was there, Harry! Of course I remember!'
She pushed her glasses up angrily. She detested her new accessory!
[Two Weeks Prior]
Draco and Hermione looked at each other in confusion. The two found themselves alone in Headmistress' office at 7 am on a weekend. Both spotted barely fixed bedheads, and barely awake facial expressions. The elves fetched them pretty much right out of their respective beds.
'What did you do?' Hermione glared at the blond wizard.
She was not in the mood for any trouble. It was bad enough she now had to wear glasses and walk with a cane courtesy of the consecutive Crucios from Draco's late aunt. St. Mungo's potion regimen was proving useless, and the healers were taking a wait and see approach to understand the extent of the nerve damage. The Muggle doctors she went to, just in case, were even less optimistic and suspected a number of horrid genetic and auto-immune diseases to explain her condition.
If Draco Malfoy decided to create some issues for her all on his own… He would regret it!
'Nothing!' Draco frowned in response, and parroted back, 'What did you do?'
'Nothing!' Hermione glared and pushed the glasses up.
They sat frowning half-heartedly at each other.
The Headmistress appeared soon after.
'I have some troubling news, my dear,' Mcgonagall stated, mostly looking at Hermione, and placed the Daily Prophet on the desk in front of the two students.
..BLACK SISTERS DEMAND RETRIAL
..BELLATRIX LESTRANGE IS ALIVE
Hermione and Draco stared at the moving pictures of the blond and raven-haired sisters.
'You genuinely didn't know, did you, Mr. Malfoy?'
'No… no I did not!' Hermione looked at the wizard. Draco looked as stunned as she felt.
'The Ministry would want to interview you, Mr. Malfoy. Most likely under veritaserum.' Draco paled. 'I suspect they will be here sometime today. I can help you to get in touch with whoever you need to to secure legal representation, or as you are still a student here, if you wish I could-'
'Yes, please, Prof- uh Headmistress!' Draco kept glaring at the Prophet. 'I'd rather you be there, ma'am. I had nothing to do with this. I haven't seen my parents, either one of them, for almost a month. I stay in Hogwarts, and I communicate only with the people in this room! Whatever this is, I had nothing to do with it…'
[Ten Days Prior]
The retrial was granted.
The Ministry had no choice but to grant it after such public reveal.
The solicitor on behalf of Bellatrix Black requested to have actual trial for evaluate her involvement in The Second Wizarding War. They claimed she took no part in it. They also requested review and retrial of her charges from The First Wizarding War. They claimed she should be persecuted no further and let go with time served. They additionally demanded review of DMLE conduct towards Bellatrix Black and claimed unfair treatment.
The situation was so shocking, the story so unbelievable, the demands so bold, many in wizarding Britain wanted to witness the hearings. Only very few were actually admitted to the court chambers.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were among those few allowed in the stands due to their elevated status in the wizarding community.
With strange fascination Hermione attended every hearing. She didn't really know what she wanted to accomplish. The dark witch showed barely any emotion unlike during her first trial.
Ron tagged along often enough, but Harry stayed away for the majority of it.
[First Day of Trial - The Ministry]
'...and who oversaw the burial of Bellatrix Lestrange, Minister Shacklebolt?'
'I did,' The Minister frowned with his lips as much as with his eyebrows. He suspected where the inquiry was going, and he didn't like it.
'And can we inspect the site? To verify for all concerned that my client didn't miraculously rise from the grave?' The lawyer asked, looking very pleased and very dangerous.
'There was no burial. The body was burnt and the ashes spread over the Black Lake.'
The hushed gasps echoed through the room. Not many in Wizengamot, let alone among general public, were privy to the final insult to the pureblood witch and her relatives. The Ministry's refusal to release the body, or at least just the ashes, to Narcissa to lay to rest in Black Family Crypt.
'So to summarize, you are testifying that the witch seen fighting at Voldemort's side during the Battle of Hogwarts was killed during the battle. And additionally you are stating that the body was disposed beyond recovery and resurrection by you personally?'
The Minister grunted and firmed his lips.
'We do need a verbal testimony, Minister' The solicitor was enjoying the exchange a great deal and wasn't even hiding it.
'Yes, that is my testimony,' the most influential wizard in Britain stated reluctantly...
The Prophet loved it!
..THE MINISTER ADMITS THE BLACK ON TRIAL IS NOT THE YOU-KNOW-WHO's BLACK
..DID THE MINISTER DESTROY THE EVIDENCE ON PURPOSE?
..WIZENGAMOT TO REVIEW PUREBLOODS' TREATMENT UNDER NEW ADMINISTRATION
[Second Day of Trial - The Family]
'...Madness runs in the family… I am sure it is not news for anyone… Bellatrix left Azkaban madder than when she went in… She told me she was afraid she'd hurt me and my family, that she wanted to. The sister I knew before would have never contemplated such thing. She asked me to accompany her to the Isle of Tranquils the very next day. When I got back to the Manor, the other Bellatrix was there. You understand, one did not question the Dark Lord. I do not know how that imposter came about. I left my sister on the Isle, and she stayed there until I retrieved her earlier this month.'
'Mrs. Malfoy, if you knew that your real sister was alive, why did you request the body of her doppelganger be returned to you?'
'As I said, I know not how the dead witch came to be. I was not willing to leave the body that looked like my sister to be defiled by the victors!' Narcissa's voice rang with anger. 'Alas I wasn't able to prevent that!'
'And why did you retrieve her? Why bring her back to London? Surely you understood the fall out would be tremendous.'
'The Isle keeps only those who are lost to their madness. The caretaker can explain better than I… Once the Dark Lord fell I assume the Dark Mark relinquished its hold on my sister… and she was no longer as mad perhaps… Be as it may, I was requested to collect her mid-May… as you are aware I was only granted the freedom to leave the Manor on June 23rd. She waited for almost a month exiled from the Isle yet unable to leave the shore.'
'And in your opinion, Mrs. Malfoy, which version is the real Bellatrix?'
'As I said, I know not how the dead witch came to be. The Bella I took to the Isle and retrieved from it is the Bella that was not at the Dark Lord side during the Second Wizarding War! And that is the Bella you are trying so hard to convict now!'
The Prophet loved it even more!
..AZKABAN DRIVES PEOPLE MAD: Is the Ministry to Blame for Escapees' Crimes?
..WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ISLE OF TRANQUIL
..BELLATRIX BLACK IS INNOSCENT, claims the sister
Later, Mcgonagall explained to Hermione about the Isle. The place where mad witches and wizards were placed to live out their days. The peculiar combination of natural phenomena, the caretakers' magic and ancient wards made the conventional magic impossible. It was rumored the caretakers fed off the madness in its charges, and didn't tolerate any presence of madness-free mind.
No one mad could make the trip off the Isle once placed there.
No one sane could make the trip to the Isle alone, without a mad companion.
[Third Day of Trial - The Caretakers]
'...the Black witch was cast out… no longer pure… madness tainted by logic... by restraint…'
For the first time the chain-clad witch showed emotion, sneering at the no longer pure description.
'Can you point to the witch that was kept on your Isle?'
Clouded eyes turned to stare unseen at the accused, pale bony hand pointed.
'...tainted once more… by logic… by restraint…by reason…' pale lips curved in derision.
The dark witch sneered right back.
[Last Day of Trial (Three Days Ago) - The Chambers]
On the day of deliberations, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were called into the closed chambers and asked for their input.
Ron was as eloquent as ever with walks like a duck, looks like a duck, is a duck, lock her up and lose the key!
Harry missed most hearings, but was distrustful. He spoke at length about Sirius death, and about their time in Malfoy's cellar.
Hermione was lost for words, her own screams kept running on repeat in her mind, and her arm was aching, her feet were numb almost permanently lately.
Her vision darkened and she thought she is going to faint. So she hurried to say her part.
'Her 14 years in Azkaban robbed her of her sanity. So completely that Mad Isle accepted her. She paid with her mind for the minds she had taken. 14 years is longer than the current sentences for murder you doled out. Unless you are saying all of Ministry verified evidence is false, all veritaserum testimonies faked... what are you going to lock her up for? I understand if I could say she is the witch who tortured me, that I somehow recognized her, it would make everyone's life easier... I cannot do that.'
She left before anyone tried to stop her.
And she avoided her friends until she felt strong enough to face them. The truth was she didn't have logical reason not to, but she didn't believe the story anymore than Harry did.
The Prophet wasn't allowed into the hearing the previous day but made up for it on the final day!
..BELLATRIX BLACK IS FREED, GOLDEN TRIO CONSULTED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
..SHACKLEBOLT POSITION IS SHAKY; WHO IS NEXT
..BLACK IS TO SUE THE MINISTRY
'Do you really believe that hogwash about her being isolated on that mental island while her double was sowing death and mayhem all over Muggle and Magical Britain?'
'We've seen the same evidence. All of it was certified as genuine by the Ministry… I don't see how she could have tricked all the people involved, faked so many documents, all the while doing Voldemort's bidding all over the place…'
The three friends changed the topic and chatted about everything but that trial for awhile. Eventually all the snacks were gone and Ron started hinting at finding proper dinner options at the kitchens or at Hogsmeade.
Hermione suggested walking to Hogsmeade, she wanted to celebrate.
Both Muggle and wizarding health tests returned clear of any maladies and deceases a few days ago. She stopped using the cane just a day ago, and was enjoying her walking freedom. She fumbled with her glassed, pulled them down to clean them again and suddenly realized she could see just fine.
Make me safe or bother not,
Wait and see the magic's work.
Loose your eyes, and arms, and legs,
Soulless me could care less...
End of Chapter 3