Beyond the Darkness - Chapter Nine
By Rainsong
A/N: Well, I'm leaving to go on vacation tomorrow, and like I've said before, I'll be gone until Sunday. Sorry for the lack of new chapters during that time period! Anyway, thanks for the reviews Luna Rose, Nicky, prongsjr, GothicFox,
Lady Foxfire (I have something in store for the glass, I just need to work it into
the plot. btw, I loved your story 'A Broken Child.') and Mayleesa. Thanks again!
~~~~
Sirius, Harry, and Remus stayed up late into the night, discussing the trial and preparing a defense. At around 2 o'clock AM, they concluded that sleep might be the best thing for all of them, and retired. Now it was morning again, and they were preparing to leave for the Ministry of Magic once again.
"Ten o'clock, right? We have an hour still..." Remus said to no one in particular. Sirius, who was pacing in the kitchen, looked up at the clock. For the first time, he noticed that the wizard clock on Remus's wall had all of his friends' names written on the hands. The hand with Sirius's name on it pointed to 'Home', as did Harry's. Peter Pettigrew's hand was broken and scratched, though it still pointed to 'Incarcerated.' Remus had obviously tried to get rid of it with no luck. Then he saw the last two clock hands, bearing the names of James and Lily. They seemed to be stuck on the words 'Mortal Peril', and looked dusty, as though they hadn't moved in years.
Sirius walked up to the clock and examined it closely. Gently, he moved the Lily and James hands to rest on the word 'Sleeping.'
"Sirius, come on! You can't be late!" Remus called from the living room.
Sirius took one last look at the clock, and said softly to himself, "I'll never be late again."
Grabbing his cloak, he followed Remus and Harry out the door, and back to the beat-up old car.
The ride to the Ministry was a totally silent one. Sirius had rolled the window down, and was gazing out at the countryside, and then at the city when they began to near London. He had allowed Remus to drive, which was probably much safer - Sirius was too lost in his own head to navigate the city streets.
In what seemed like only seconds, they had reached the Ministry of Magic building.
They climbed out of the car and up the brilliant marble staircase, taking one last
look at the outside before stepping over the threshold.
When they entered, they saw the plump old witch who had pressed the purple
button the other day waiting by the door.
"I've been expecting you!" she squeaked. "The Minister and the jurors will be
meeting you in the courtroom. Just take the carts, dears. Mention the courtroom
and up you'll go. Good luck!" she said, and returned to her desk work.
Once again, the trio found themselves in the slim open-shaft elevators, climbing
floor after floor. After about a minute, the elevator cart jerked to a halt, and they
stepped out, finding themselves in what must have been the courtroom. There were torches on the wall, and it seemed strangely dark compared to the
rest of the building. The two solitary windows in the room were barred, and the
stone floor was as cold as ice.
There was a tall, intricately carved chair at the front of the room; probably the
area where the Minister sat. Next to it was a small area for the person in question.
Beyond that, there were rows and rows of wooden benches, the front ones
reserved for jurors, the farther ones for those wishing to observe a case. Fudge
was already sitting on the massive chair, and stood up when he saw the three
enter.
"Ah, here a bit early, I see? Well, I'll leave you to strategize." Fudge said briskly,
and he started for the elevator. But suddenly, another cart appeared, carrying a
short, skinny man in oversized glasses.
"Minister Fudge, sir, the jurors have arrived. Shall I escort them up here?" he
asked timidly.
"Yes, of course Rudolph. All of them are here?"
Rudolph nodded vigorously.
"Alright then. Send them up, along with anyone who has signed up to observe
the trial. But only those on the list, mind you!" Fudge said. Rudolph nodded
again, and leapt back into the elevator cart, disappearing shortly after.
"Only ten minutes now. Mr. Black, you may take your seat in the front. Mr. Lupin
and Harry, the observation rows please." Fudge said, polishing his golden pocket watch with his sleeve.
Sirius sat down in the front row, and Harry followed Remus into one of the 'observation rows'. Settling down, they watched as people filed in.
Most of the jurors were people Sirius had never seen before. However, he did
see Mr. Ollivander, the finest wandmaker in the country. Soon it looked as though
all of the jurors had arrived. The observers then began to file in; Albus
Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Madam Rosemerta, and Hagrid among them.
When everyone was seated, and the courtroom began to quiet down, Fudge
stepped out to the front.
"I believe everyone is here? Good! We may now start the-"
Fudge was suddenly cut off by a rumble from the elevator shaft. Slowly, the cart
came into view.
"Forgive me for being late, Minister. I had some transportation difficulties."
Out of the cart walked the last person Sirius wanted to see at the moment.
"Ah! Our last juror! Take your seat in the jury booth please, Professor Snape."
Fudge watched as Severus Snape took his seat. Snape smiled maliciously in
Sirius's direction, as though he was imagining the Dementors dragging Sirius
back into Azkaban already. He broke off his glare, however, when Fudge began
to speak.
"Now that we are all settled, I think we may begin. Please, bring the accused!"
Fudge called. Two Aurors that seemed to be guarding one of the doors up until
then walked into an adjoining room, and walked back in only moments later with
Peter Pettigrew, who looked worse than ever.
They sat him down in the booth next to Fudge's throne-like chair. His watery
eyes continued to dart around the room. He stifled a scream when he noticed
Sirius sitting directly in front of him, and sank back in his chair even more.
Sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room was another man, who must
have been assigned to defend Pettigrew. He had black hair speckled with grey,
and a thin mustache that curled slightly on the ends. He was surveying everyone
in the room suspiciously, and cast a particularly nasty glare towards Sirius. When
he saw Snape, he nodded and waved. 'Great..they're friends' Sirius thought
bitterly, turning back to Pettigrew.
Fudge was now standing in front of Pettigrew, doing something along the lines
of swearing him in. Whatever Fudge had just said, Pettigrew agreed to, because
he nodded his head and was allowed to sit back down next to his lawyer, who
stood up.
"Minister, do I have permission to call my first witness?" he asked in an oily
voice.
"Surely, Mr. Gervis. Proceed." Fudge said from his chair.
"Very well. I call Sirius Black to the witness stand."
Sirius stood up, and walked nervously to the stand. Even though he knew it was
coming, he suddenly felt unprepared for an interrogation, and longed to be far
from the courtroom, even if that meant far from freedom.
"Mr. Black, where were you on Hallowe'en of 1981?" the man now known as Gervis
asked.
"I was at my home, by myself." Sirius stated simply, trying not to show any fear.
"Where were you during the day?"
"I had lunch with the Potters at the Cheesecake Cauldron. Later we went to the
park in Godric's Hollow." Sirius replied.
"What did you discuss with them during that time period, Mr. Black?" Gervis
asked briskly.
"Everything. Our friends, family, Quidditch, the Ministry, Voldemort." Sirius saw
many people cringe at the mention of Lord Voldemort's name. "The usual conversation." Sirius finished, not breaking eye contact with Gervis.
"Did Peter Pettigrew come up at all during your conversation?" "Yes, he did. As he probably confessed under the influence of Veritaserum, he was made the Potters Secret-Keeper." Sirius replied.
"I thought you were their Secret-Keeper, Mr. Black? That was one of the prime pieces of evidence against you when you were first captured." Gervis questioned.
"Only about a week before that day, I had persuaded James and Lily to switch to
Pettigrew." Sirius replied simply.
Gervis raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical. Sirius continued.
"Everyone knew I was their best friend; I would be the obvious choice. But Pettigrew-" Sirius said, casting a disgusted glare in Pettigrew's direction - "he
was lazy, talentless. Sure to break under pressure. I thought it would be the
perfect ploy." Sirius said, his voice full of hatred directed at himself.
"I see. So, what was the last thing you said to the Potters that day?"
Sirius looked down for the first time, his eyes welling up. It was a moment Sirius
had remembered well; he could still clearly see Lily's fiery hair blowing in the wind,
and James laughing as he said goodbye. Looking up to face Gervis once more, Sirius replied in a shaky voice.
"I told them to be careful."
Sirius rested his face in his hands, trying to get a hold of himself. But the
memories were so vivid, they seemed to burn. He distinctly heard Professor
McGonagall blow her nose, and Hagrid let out a great sniffle.
Softly, Gervis replied "No further questioning at this time." and watched with a
smirk as Sirius took his seat once more.
~~~~
Nice long one, eh? Thanks for reading, please review! I hope to write Chapter 10
tomorrow morning before I leave for Spring Break at the beach. If I can't, my
deepest apologizes, I'll continue on Sunday! Happy Easter, Passover,
Ostara, etc.! -Rainsong
By Rainsong
A/N: Well, I'm leaving to go on vacation tomorrow, and like I've said before, I'll be gone until Sunday. Sorry for the lack of new chapters during that time period! Anyway, thanks for the reviews Luna Rose, Nicky, prongsjr, GothicFox,
Lady Foxfire (I have something in store for the glass, I just need to work it into
the plot. btw, I loved your story 'A Broken Child.') and Mayleesa. Thanks again!
~~~~
Sirius, Harry, and Remus stayed up late into the night, discussing the trial and preparing a defense. At around 2 o'clock AM, they concluded that sleep might be the best thing for all of them, and retired. Now it was morning again, and they were preparing to leave for the Ministry of Magic once again.
"Ten o'clock, right? We have an hour still..." Remus said to no one in particular. Sirius, who was pacing in the kitchen, looked up at the clock. For the first time, he noticed that the wizard clock on Remus's wall had all of his friends' names written on the hands. The hand with Sirius's name on it pointed to 'Home', as did Harry's. Peter Pettigrew's hand was broken and scratched, though it still pointed to 'Incarcerated.' Remus had obviously tried to get rid of it with no luck. Then he saw the last two clock hands, bearing the names of James and Lily. They seemed to be stuck on the words 'Mortal Peril', and looked dusty, as though they hadn't moved in years.
Sirius walked up to the clock and examined it closely. Gently, he moved the Lily and James hands to rest on the word 'Sleeping.'
"Sirius, come on! You can't be late!" Remus called from the living room.
Sirius took one last look at the clock, and said softly to himself, "I'll never be late again."
Grabbing his cloak, he followed Remus and Harry out the door, and back to the beat-up old car.
The ride to the Ministry was a totally silent one. Sirius had rolled the window down, and was gazing out at the countryside, and then at the city when they began to near London. He had allowed Remus to drive, which was probably much safer - Sirius was too lost in his own head to navigate the city streets.
In what seemed like only seconds, they had reached the Ministry of Magic building.
They climbed out of the car and up the brilliant marble staircase, taking one last
look at the outside before stepping over the threshold.
When they entered, they saw the plump old witch who had pressed the purple
button the other day waiting by the door.
"I've been expecting you!" she squeaked. "The Minister and the jurors will be
meeting you in the courtroom. Just take the carts, dears. Mention the courtroom
and up you'll go. Good luck!" she said, and returned to her desk work.
Once again, the trio found themselves in the slim open-shaft elevators, climbing
floor after floor. After about a minute, the elevator cart jerked to a halt, and they
stepped out, finding themselves in what must have been the courtroom. There were torches on the wall, and it seemed strangely dark compared to the
rest of the building. The two solitary windows in the room were barred, and the
stone floor was as cold as ice.
There was a tall, intricately carved chair at the front of the room; probably the
area where the Minister sat. Next to it was a small area for the person in question.
Beyond that, there were rows and rows of wooden benches, the front ones
reserved for jurors, the farther ones for those wishing to observe a case. Fudge
was already sitting on the massive chair, and stood up when he saw the three
enter.
"Ah, here a bit early, I see? Well, I'll leave you to strategize." Fudge said briskly,
and he started for the elevator. But suddenly, another cart appeared, carrying a
short, skinny man in oversized glasses.
"Minister Fudge, sir, the jurors have arrived. Shall I escort them up here?" he
asked timidly.
"Yes, of course Rudolph. All of them are here?"
Rudolph nodded vigorously.
"Alright then. Send them up, along with anyone who has signed up to observe
the trial. But only those on the list, mind you!" Fudge said. Rudolph nodded
again, and leapt back into the elevator cart, disappearing shortly after.
"Only ten minutes now. Mr. Black, you may take your seat in the front. Mr. Lupin
and Harry, the observation rows please." Fudge said, polishing his golden pocket watch with his sleeve.
Sirius sat down in the front row, and Harry followed Remus into one of the 'observation rows'. Settling down, they watched as people filed in.
Most of the jurors were people Sirius had never seen before. However, he did
see Mr. Ollivander, the finest wandmaker in the country. Soon it looked as though
all of the jurors had arrived. The observers then began to file in; Albus
Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Madam Rosemerta, and Hagrid among them.
When everyone was seated, and the courtroom began to quiet down, Fudge
stepped out to the front.
"I believe everyone is here? Good! We may now start the-"
Fudge was suddenly cut off by a rumble from the elevator shaft. Slowly, the cart
came into view.
"Forgive me for being late, Minister. I had some transportation difficulties."
Out of the cart walked the last person Sirius wanted to see at the moment.
"Ah! Our last juror! Take your seat in the jury booth please, Professor Snape."
Fudge watched as Severus Snape took his seat. Snape smiled maliciously in
Sirius's direction, as though he was imagining the Dementors dragging Sirius
back into Azkaban already. He broke off his glare, however, when Fudge began
to speak.
"Now that we are all settled, I think we may begin. Please, bring the accused!"
Fudge called. Two Aurors that seemed to be guarding one of the doors up until
then walked into an adjoining room, and walked back in only moments later with
Peter Pettigrew, who looked worse than ever.
They sat him down in the booth next to Fudge's throne-like chair. His watery
eyes continued to dart around the room. He stifled a scream when he noticed
Sirius sitting directly in front of him, and sank back in his chair even more.
Sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room was another man, who must
have been assigned to defend Pettigrew. He had black hair speckled with grey,
and a thin mustache that curled slightly on the ends. He was surveying everyone
in the room suspiciously, and cast a particularly nasty glare towards Sirius. When
he saw Snape, he nodded and waved. 'Great..they're friends' Sirius thought
bitterly, turning back to Pettigrew.
Fudge was now standing in front of Pettigrew, doing something along the lines
of swearing him in. Whatever Fudge had just said, Pettigrew agreed to, because
he nodded his head and was allowed to sit back down next to his lawyer, who
stood up.
"Minister, do I have permission to call my first witness?" he asked in an oily
voice.
"Surely, Mr. Gervis. Proceed." Fudge said from his chair.
"Very well. I call Sirius Black to the witness stand."
Sirius stood up, and walked nervously to the stand. Even though he knew it was
coming, he suddenly felt unprepared for an interrogation, and longed to be far
from the courtroom, even if that meant far from freedom.
"Mr. Black, where were you on Hallowe'en of 1981?" the man now known as Gervis
asked.
"I was at my home, by myself." Sirius stated simply, trying not to show any fear.
"Where were you during the day?"
"I had lunch with the Potters at the Cheesecake Cauldron. Later we went to the
park in Godric's Hollow." Sirius replied.
"What did you discuss with them during that time period, Mr. Black?" Gervis
asked briskly.
"Everything. Our friends, family, Quidditch, the Ministry, Voldemort." Sirius saw
many people cringe at the mention of Lord Voldemort's name. "The usual conversation." Sirius finished, not breaking eye contact with Gervis.
"Did Peter Pettigrew come up at all during your conversation?" "Yes, he did. As he probably confessed under the influence of Veritaserum, he was made the Potters Secret-Keeper." Sirius replied.
"I thought you were their Secret-Keeper, Mr. Black? That was one of the prime pieces of evidence against you when you were first captured." Gervis questioned.
"Only about a week before that day, I had persuaded James and Lily to switch to
Pettigrew." Sirius replied simply.
Gervis raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical. Sirius continued.
"Everyone knew I was their best friend; I would be the obvious choice. But Pettigrew-" Sirius said, casting a disgusted glare in Pettigrew's direction - "he
was lazy, talentless. Sure to break under pressure. I thought it would be the
perfect ploy." Sirius said, his voice full of hatred directed at himself.
"I see. So, what was the last thing you said to the Potters that day?"
Sirius looked down for the first time, his eyes welling up. It was a moment Sirius
had remembered well; he could still clearly see Lily's fiery hair blowing in the wind,
and James laughing as he said goodbye. Looking up to face Gervis once more, Sirius replied in a shaky voice.
"I told them to be careful."
Sirius rested his face in his hands, trying to get a hold of himself. But the
memories were so vivid, they seemed to burn. He distinctly heard Professor
McGonagall blow her nose, and Hagrid let out a great sniffle.
Softly, Gervis replied "No further questioning at this time." and watched with a
smirk as Sirius took his seat once more.
~~~~
Nice long one, eh? Thanks for reading, please review! I hope to write Chapter 10
tomorrow morning before I leave for Spring Break at the beach. If I can't, my
deepest apologizes, I'll continue on Sunday! Happy Easter, Passover,
Ostara, etc.! -Rainsong