Beyond the Darkness - Chapter Ten
by Rainsong
A/N: Hey everyone! I just noticed that I'm at 30 reviews! Thanks so much, especially to the latest commentators, Kit Cloudkicker (sorry if the first few chapters bored you, and I apologize for typos. I usually proofread my own work so I can post new chapters in a timely manner, but that day I was obviously in a hurry. Also, there is no guarantee that Sirius is out of Azkaban for good. You'd be surprised how corrupt the justice system can be), GothicFox, Lady FoxFire (No, Veritaserum will not be used) Kay, Nicky, Luna Rose, ChocolateAcorn (Thanks so much, I'm happy you and your friend are enjoying the story!)
~~~
"With your permission, I'd like to call another witness, Minister." Gervis said, still smirking at Sirius. "Yes, yes, on with it." Fudge said, waving his hand.
"I call Alastor Moody to the stand."
Moody climbed out of his seat slowly, hobbling up to the witness stand. The hall took on an eerie silence as the clunking sound of his wooden leg became louder. When he had settled himself at the witness stand, he turned his normal eye towards Gervis, but kept the magical one on Sirius, who still looked rather shook up.
"Mr. Moody, you were with the team that took Sirius Black into custody. Could you describe what happened?" Gervis asked as he paced in front of the stand.
"Certainly. I remember it quite well. I was out to lunch with a few co-workers when it happened. I remember looking out the window, and seeing Pettigrew there, holding his wand and turning those beady little eyes of his up at Black, who was a few feet away. Pettigrew shouted something at Black, who was getting his wand out. The next thing I was the bodies - twelve I believe - and nothing left of Pettigrew 'cept the pool of blood surrounding that finger of his. And there was Black, looking pretty damn thunderstruck in my opinion. They might of taken a bit of time to ask him what happened if he hadn't started laughing like he did. It sealed his fate." Moody growled, his magical eye still on Sirius.
"Did Black say anything after you took him in?"
"Not a word. If I were him, I would've been screaming for my life. But he just chuckled quietly, not protesting. It was the easiest job I ever had to do, bringing him into custody." Moody replied.
"So is there really any proof that Pettigrew committed these crimes?" Gervis asked slowly.
"Only what he told us under Veritaserum, which explains everything. I can't stop you from trying to save a guilty man, Gervis, but more testimonies will. We got the wrong man when we took in Sirius Black, whether the Ministry will admit it or not. You're wasting your time." Moody said, turning both of his eyes towards Gervis in a menacing glare.
"Very well, Mr. Moody. Take your seat." Fudge interjected, preventing Gervis from replying to what Moody had just said.
"Now I believe it is time to begin the examination of evidence against Mr. Pettigrew. I ask that Mr. Trenthorn come forth to begin." Fudge said, turning his gaze towards the back of the room.
A tall man with copper hair and thin, square spectacles stood up in one of the last rows. Walking forward, he dropped his briefcase off in one of the first rows.
Straightening up, he walked towards the center. He cleared his throat and announced, "As my first witness, I call Mr. Rubeus Hagrid."
Hagrid jumped slightly in his seat, obviously not expecting to be called up on for anything. However, he stood up and walked towards the witness stand, and sat down quickly, looking from Trenthorn to Fudge and then back to the crowd again. Sirius looked at the giant of a man nervously, hoping that Hagrid's testimony would count in his favor.
"Mr. Hagrid, you were second to arrive at the scene of Voldemort's last murder
in Godric's Hollow. Who was there first?" Trenthorn began.
"Sirius Black, sir. Got there a few minutes before me." Hagrid said shakily.
"What was he doing there?" Trenthorn continued.
Hagrid seemed to tell this part of the story with a very heavy heart.
"He was sittin' there, lookin' over the house. It'd been destroyed, yeh know.
He was shakin, an' looked mighty pale. Lily an' James were a few feet away. He
jus' kept on lookin' at the two of them. Like the world had ended." Hagrid said,
pulling out his handkerchief.
"Did you speak with him?"
"Yeah, 'course I did. I told 'im it would be okay, an' that I was real sorry. An' I
told him Harry was alive. He wanted to take Harry an' look after him, but I had
orders from Professor Dumbledore. I didn' want Harry goin to his aunt an' uncle's,
but I thought Professor Dumbledore knew best. So I let Sirius hold him one las'
time. Then he gave me his motorbike. The flyin' one he used to have." Hagrid said
heavily.
"That was the last time you spoke to him?"
Hagrid nodded, looking down at his shoes.
"Mr. Hagrid, do you think Sirius Black is innocent?" Trenthorn asked.
Hagrid seemed to ponder this for a moment, but then answered clearly, "Yes. All that evidence against him in the beginnin' means nothin' now. I believed
everything they said about him up until now. But after hearin' 'bout Pettigrew
being alive, I changed my mind. Yeh have my word that Sirius would never betray
Lily an' James." Hagrid said, taking a breath to blow his nose.
Trenthorn thanked Hagrid, and told him to go back to his seat.
Sirius let out a deep breath too. Hagrid had said nothing that could damage the
defense. As much as he liked and trusted Hagrid, he wasn't sure how much
credible information he had.
"For my next witness, I would like to call Albus Dumbledore." Trenthorn said, continuing the questioning.
Dumbledore stood up and walked swiftly over to the witness stand. He took his
seat, and turned his sparkling eyes towards Trenthorn.
"Professor, you knew Mr. Pettigrew when he was a boy at Hogwarts. What was
he like?" Trenthorn began.
"He was a caring boy who was lucky to have friends in high places. While his
school work was less than outstanding, he kept up for the most part. He seemed
to be quite happy." Dumbledore said.
"And who were his 'friends in high places' that you speak of?"
"James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin by name. All three were well-liked
if not well-known. Never have I seen such creative pranks at Hogwarts. I could
even go as far as saying that they were popular." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"But Pettigrew was never on their level, was he?"
"I suppose not. But it wasn't as though they disliked the boy; a friend is a friend,
regardless of ability or status." Dumbledore replied.
"Did you maintain connections with any of the students you just mentioned?"
Trenthorn continued.
"Oh, yes. I was in regular contact with all of them." Dumbledore said.
"Did any of them ever show any sign of an alliance with the Dark Lord?"
"No, not once. But we knew that someone was passing information along." Dumbledore said, looking more serious.
"What did you think of the decision that Sirius Black was to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" Trenthorn asked.
"I was quite comfortable with it, actually. I did not suspect Mr. Black at all." Dumbledore said shortly.
"According to Mr. Black, the Potters switched Secret-Keepers. They used Pettigrew instead. Do you believe this to be true?"
"Yes, though I was surprised that they didn't inform me. Then again, there were
spies everywhere. They may have thought it safer to keep it between themselves." Dumbledore replied.
"In conclusion, do you believe Mr. Pettigrew to be guilty of all charges?" Trenthorn
asked.
"Absolutely." Dumbledore replied. Slowly, he bowed, and left the witness stand.
~~~~
Please review! Thanks!
by Rainsong
A/N: Hey everyone! I just noticed that I'm at 30 reviews! Thanks so much, especially to the latest commentators, Kit Cloudkicker (sorry if the first few chapters bored you, and I apologize for typos. I usually proofread my own work so I can post new chapters in a timely manner, but that day I was obviously in a hurry. Also, there is no guarantee that Sirius is out of Azkaban for good. You'd be surprised how corrupt the justice system can be), GothicFox, Lady FoxFire (No, Veritaserum will not be used) Kay, Nicky, Luna Rose, ChocolateAcorn (Thanks so much, I'm happy you and your friend are enjoying the story!)
~~~
"With your permission, I'd like to call another witness, Minister." Gervis said, still smirking at Sirius. "Yes, yes, on with it." Fudge said, waving his hand.
"I call Alastor Moody to the stand."
Moody climbed out of his seat slowly, hobbling up to the witness stand. The hall took on an eerie silence as the clunking sound of his wooden leg became louder. When he had settled himself at the witness stand, he turned his normal eye towards Gervis, but kept the magical one on Sirius, who still looked rather shook up.
"Mr. Moody, you were with the team that took Sirius Black into custody. Could you describe what happened?" Gervis asked as he paced in front of the stand.
"Certainly. I remember it quite well. I was out to lunch with a few co-workers when it happened. I remember looking out the window, and seeing Pettigrew there, holding his wand and turning those beady little eyes of his up at Black, who was a few feet away. Pettigrew shouted something at Black, who was getting his wand out. The next thing I was the bodies - twelve I believe - and nothing left of Pettigrew 'cept the pool of blood surrounding that finger of his. And there was Black, looking pretty damn thunderstruck in my opinion. They might of taken a bit of time to ask him what happened if he hadn't started laughing like he did. It sealed his fate." Moody growled, his magical eye still on Sirius.
"Did Black say anything after you took him in?"
"Not a word. If I were him, I would've been screaming for my life. But he just chuckled quietly, not protesting. It was the easiest job I ever had to do, bringing him into custody." Moody replied.
"So is there really any proof that Pettigrew committed these crimes?" Gervis asked slowly.
"Only what he told us under Veritaserum, which explains everything. I can't stop you from trying to save a guilty man, Gervis, but more testimonies will. We got the wrong man when we took in Sirius Black, whether the Ministry will admit it or not. You're wasting your time." Moody said, turning both of his eyes towards Gervis in a menacing glare.
"Very well, Mr. Moody. Take your seat." Fudge interjected, preventing Gervis from replying to what Moody had just said.
"Now I believe it is time to begin the examination of evidence against Mr. Pettigrew. I ask that Mr. Trenthorn come forth to begin." Fudge said, turning his gaze towards the back of the room.
A tall man with copper hair and thin, square spectacles stood up in one of the last rows. Walking forward, he dropped his briefcase off in one of the first rows.
Straightening up, he walked towards the center. He cleared his throat and announced, "As my first witness, I call Mr. Rubeus Hagrid."
Hagrid jumped slightly in his seat, obviously not expecting to be called up on for anything. However, he stood up and walked towards the witness stand, and sat down quickly, looking from Trenthorn to Fudge and then back to the crowd again. Sirius looked at the giant of a man nervously, hoping that Hagrid's testimony would count in his favor.
"Mr. Hagrid, you were second to arrive at the scene of Voldemort's last murder
in Godric's Hollow. Who was there first?" Trenthorn began.
"Sirius Black, sir. Got there a few minutes before me." Hagrid said shakily.
"What was he doing there?" Trenthorn continued.
Hagrid seemed to tell this part of the story with a very heavy heart.
"He was sittin' there, lookin' over the house. It'd been destroyed, yeh know.
He was shakin, an' looked mighty pale. Lily an' James were a few feet away. He
jus' kept on lookin' at the two of them. Like the world had ended." Hagrid said,
pulling out his handkerchief.
"Did you speak with him?"
"Yeah, 'course I did. I told 'im it would be okay, an' that I was real sorry. An' I
told him Harry was alive. He wanted to take Harry an' look after him, but I had
orders from Professor Dumbledore. I didn' want Harry goin to his aunt an' uncle's,
but I thought Professor Dumbledore knew best. So I let Sirius hold him one las'
time. Then he gave me his motorbike. The flyin' one he used to have." Hagrid said
heavily.
"That was the last time you spoke to him?"
Hagrid nodded, looking down at his shoes.
"Mr. Hagrid, do you think Sirius Black is innocent?" Trenthorn asked.
Hagrid seemed to ponder this for a moment, but then answered clearly, "Yes. All that evidence against him in the beginnin' means nothin' now. I believed
everything they said about him up until now. But after hearin' 'bout Pettigrew
being alive, I changed my mind. Yeh have my word that Sirius would never betray
Lily an' James." Hagrid said, taking a breath to blow his nose.
Trenthorn thanked Hagrid, and told him to go back to his seat.
Sirius let out a deep breath too. Hagrid had said nothing that could damage the
defense. As much as he liked and trusted Hagrid, he wasn't sure how much
credible information he had.
"For my next witness, I would like to call Albus Dumbledore." Trenthorn said, continuing the questioning.
Dumbledore stood up and walked swiftly over to the witness stand. He took his
seat, and turned his sparkling eyes towards Trenthorn.
"Professor, you knew Mr. Pettigrew when he was a boy at Hogwarts. What was
he like?" Trenthorn began.
"He was a caring boy who was lucky to have friends in high places. While his
school work was less than outstanding, he kept up for the most part. He seemed
to be quite happy." Dumbledore said.
"And who were his 'friends in high places' that you speak of?"
"James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin by name. All three were well-liked
if not well-known. Never have I seen such creative pranks at Hogwarts. I could
even go as far as saying that they were popular." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"But Pettigrew was never on their level, was he?"
"I suppose not. But it wasn't as though they disliked the boy; a friend is a friend,
regardless of ability or status." Dumbledore replied.
"Did you maintain connections with any of the students you just mentioned?"
Trenthorn continued.
"Oh, yes. I was in regular contact with all of them." Dumbledore said.
"Did any of them ever show any sign of an alliance with the Dark Lord?"
"No, not once. But we knew that someone was passing information along." Dumbledore said, looking more serious.
"What did you think of the decision that Sirius Black was to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" Trenthorn asked.
"I was quite comfortable with it, actually. I did not suspect Mr. Black at all." Dumbledore said shortly.
"According to Mr. Black, the Potters switched Secret-Keepers. They used Pettigrew instead. Do you believe this to be true?"
"Yes, though I was surprised that they didn't inform me. Then again, there were
spies everywhere. They may have thought it safer to keep it between themselves." Dumbledore replied.
"In conclusion, do you believe Mr. Pettigrew to be guilty of all charges?" Trenthorn
asked.
"Absolutely." Dumbledore replied. Slowly, he bowed, and left the witness stand.
~~~~
Please review! Thanks!