Beyond the Darkness - Chapter 11
by Rainsong
A/N: Back from vacation! I'm proud to say that I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the 8th time, but this time it was on Spectravision (TM) at the hotel. The only negative thing I can say about that is that it wasn't widescreen. Very obviously formatted..oh well! Thanks to everyone who reviewed while I was gone!
~~~~
After the questioning, Fudge cleared his throat. "I now believe it is time to play
back Mr. Pettigrew's confession under Veritaserum."
Fudge reached under his chair and pulled out a small, clear bottle. Inside it was
a swirling green smoke. Fudge grabbed the cork and pulled hard. When he did,
a wisp of smoke came out, and as if on cue, the whole room became silent. Only
moments later, an amplified voice filled the room.
"Who are you?" it asked. Sirius assumed that it was the Auror questioning Pettigrew.
"My name is Peter Pettigrew." came Pettigrew's voice.
"Peter Pettigrew is dead."
"No. I staged my own death, and have been living in an Animagus form for the past 13 years."
"Explain yourself."
The voice that was unmistakeably Pettigrew's went on to tell the story of becoming
a Death Eater, betraying the Potters, and caring for Voldemort. It ended with Voldemort's resurrection.
After all of the smoke had left the bottle, the sound faded, and the confession
was finished. The crowd was left in shock. The silence that had come over them in the first minutes of the recording did not fade until Fudge spoke again.
"Mr. Pettigrew, please come up to the witness stand."
Pettigrew. who looked to be on the verge of tears, walked up and took a seat next to Fudge. He was wearing silver handcuffs that seemed to glow. Sirius had worn them
before, and knew their purpose; besides restricting the use of a prisoner's hands, they prevented Disapparation and shape-shifting.
"Mr. Pettigrew, do you have anything to say about the testimony we just heard?" Fudge asked, staring at Pettigrew with mounting dislike.
Pettigrew only whimpered. Fudge sighed, and said, "Very well. I now invite anyone
else in the courtroom with a question for the accused to come forth now."
Almost subconsciously, Sirius got to his feet and stood before Fudge. "Go ahead Sirius." Fudge said softly, and watched as Sirius stood before Pettigrew. This was the confrontation Sirius had waited for.
Peter let out a very ratlike squeak as he watched Sirius with fear. But Sirius made
no move to kill him. He simply asked, in little more than a whisper, "Why?"
This question seemed to be a fate worse than death for Pettigrew. He shifted uncomfortably, and his lip began to tremble.
"Why'd you ruin my life, Peter? Was it worth it?" Sirius asked. Peter than began to speak.
"I didn't mean to put you in Azkaban, Sirius." he said softly, still quivering.
Sirius's eyes opened wide suddenly.
"You think this is what this is about? Azkaban? No, Peter. It was never about Azkaban. I'd live in Azkaban for the rest of eternity if I knew that James and Lily were safe at home with their son. But I'll never have that ever again. You didn't just kill my best friends, Peter. You killed part of my soul."
Peter let out another great whimper, expecting to be killed any moment.
"I-I never m-meant to-"
"Don't say that. You knew what you were doing." Sirius growled, moving closer
towards Peter.
"S-Sirius, I'm sorry.." Peter whimpered, now aware of the mounting number of Aurors beginning to fill the room.
"Sorry doesn't cut it Peter. You should have thought of the consequences before
you let them burn the Dark Mark into your skin. You knew that if you ever laid a hand on anyone I loved, that you'd pay dearly. You've known that since we were young at Hogwarts. What made your forget?"
But Peter just shook his head hopelessly and looked back at Sirius.
"Against my better judgement, I'm going to let the Ministry deal with you Peter. While I'm sure all of my ideas for a punishment are much better suited to your case, I think they could come up with some interesting alternatives." Pettigrew opened his mouth in horror. Sirius looked straight into Pettigrew's eyes, and said softly, "Lily and James, Peter. How could you?"
Sirius's allusion to Pettigrew's words from 14 years ago proved to be too much.
Pettigrew let out a moan, and began sobbing loudly, looking more pathetic than anyone thought possible.
Sirius sat down again. It felt as though years of torture had just been lifted. He had said what he needed to say to Pettigrew. And now he had a chance at freedom.
It all seemed surreal.
Aurors had rushed forward and were dragging Pettigrew into another room. The doors slammed, and Fudge began to speak. "I call a short recess so that I may converse with the jurors." With that, the room broke into quiet conversation. Remus walked over to Sirius and sat down.
"Maybe now he understands." Remus said shortly.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.
"Pettigrew. Now maybe he understands what he's done, and will accept his sentence more willingly."
Sirius scoffed. "That coward? He's going to cry all the way to the Dementors. But it did feel good to say those things to him. I've thought about saying that since..forever, I guess." Sirius said, looking more relaxed.
"Well, it should only be a matter of time now before this recess is over." Remus said.
"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked, looking around the courtroom.
"Talking with Hagrid. I only caught snippets of the conversation, including 'slimy Slytherins' and 'Blast-Ended Skrewts'. Good synonyms, but otherwise I have no idea what they're discussing." Remus said, sitting down on the bench next to Sirius.
"Random inspiration to eavesdrop, Moony? I hope this case isn't boring you; I've been on the edge of my seat." Sirius said, looking nervously over towards Fudge and the jurors.
"Trust me Sirius, I'm just as nervous as you are. But I think the case is pretty much won. Pettigrew's confession stands against him." Remus said.
"But its still up to the jury, right?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, why?"
Then Remus noticed what Sirius was looking at. Snape glaring at them from the other side of the courtroom. He looked exceedingly angry.
"Well, maybe he just found out that there's no chance of Pettigrew winning." Remus said encouragingly.
"Or that could be his everyday expression. We'll have to ask Harry." Sirius said, turning back to look at the front of the courtroom.
"Uh oh."
"What?"
"He's coming over."
And sure enough, Snape was making his way across the room towards the two of them. Remus and Sirius stopped talking immediately and stood up. Snape stopped and stood in front of them. Remus made an attempt at friendly conversation.
"Ah, Severus! Nice seeing you here."
"Give it up, Lupin. No use pretending we don't despise each other." Snape said, jerking his head towards Sirius.
"And here's our infamous prisoner. Who would have thought that there was even a chance for you to be released? I certainly didn't. Anyway, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Herman Gervis is an excellent lawyer." Snape said in an amused voice. Neither Sirius or Remus responded, so Snape continued.
"I always knew this would happen. I remember your little gang back at Hogwarts. Breaking rules, making life miserable for the rest of us. It seems like destiny that you'd all recieve fates like this. Black in Azkaban, Lupin alone and unemployed, Pettigrew a Death Eater, and..well, at least one of you got what was coming."
In one swift motion, Remus punched Snape square in the jaw, knocking him over onto the floor. The noise level in the room rose as people hurried over to see what had happened.
Sirius stared at Remus in disbelief. "Where'd that come from?" he asked, looking down at Snape. "You moved more quickly than I did; I was going to punch him too."
"Well, Padfoot, I guess you would call it 'random inspiration'." Remus replied with a grin.
Sirius laughed. The two of them swung a high-five, and looked back down at Snape.
He still looked dazed, but was getting back up, and looked murderous.
"Everyone, everyone! Back to your seats, the jury had come to a decision!" Fudge called. Sirius moved back to his seat, forgetting about Snape and returning his attention to the case. Fudge cleared his throat again.
"It has been decided that Mr. Peter Pettigrew is found guilty of the following charges: The murder of 12 people including Muggles, conspiring against the Ministry, betrayal of the oath of a Secret-Keeper, and assissting in innumerable deaths in the past months. You are sentenced to The Dementor's Kiss."
Pettigrew let out a loud wail. There was a shocked wave of conversation going through the courtroom. Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom where flung open. Four men, dressed all in black, had entered, with their wands drawn. One of them shouted "Clean it out!"
Suddenly, realization dawned on Sirius. He knew who the four men were.
iDeath Eaters/i
~~ A/N: Sorry about the cliff! To be continued...
by Rainsong
A/N: Back from vacation! I'm proud to say that I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the 8th time, but this time it was on Spectravision (TM) at the hotel. The only negative thing I can say about that is that it wasn't widescreen. Very obviously formatted..oh well! Thanks to everyone who reviewed while I was gone!
~~~~
After the questioning, Fudge cleared his throat. "I now believe it is time to play
back Mr. Pettigrew's confession under Veritaserum."
Fudge reached under his chair and pulled out a small, clear bottle. Inside it was
a swirling green smoke. Fudge grabbed the cork and pulled hard. When he did,
a wisp of smoke came out, and as if on cue, the whole room became silent. Only
moments later, an amplified voice filled the room.
"Who are you?" it asked. Sirius assumed that it was the Auror questioning Pettigrew.
"My name is Peter Pettigrew." came Pettigrew's voice.
"Peter Pettigrew is dead."
"No. I staged my own death, and have been living in an Animagus form for the past 13 years."
"Explain yourself."
The voice that was unmistakeably Pettigrew's went on to tell the story of becoming
a Death Eater, betraying the Potters, and caring for Voldemort. It ended with Voldemort's resurrection.
After all of the smoke had left the bottle, the sound faded, and the confession
was finished. The crowd was left in shock. The silence that had come over them in the first minutes of the recording did not fade until Fudge spoke again.
"Mr. Pettigrew, please come up to the witness stand."
Pettigrew. who looked to be on the verge of tears, walked up and took a seat next to Fudge. He was wearing silver handcuffs that seemed to glow. Sirius had worn them
before, and knew their purpose; besides restricting the use of a prisoner's hands, they prevented Disapparation and shape-shifting.
"Mr. Pettigrew, do you have anything to say about the testimony we just heard?" Fudge asked, staring at Pettigrew with mounting dislike.
Pettigrew only whimpered. Fudge sighed, and said, "Very well. I now invite anyone
else in the courtroom with a question for the accused to come forth now."
Almost subconsciously, Sirius got to his feet and stood before Fudge. "Go ahead Sirius." Fudge said softly, and watched as Sirius stood before Pettigrew. This was the confrontation Sirius had waited for.
Peter let out a very ratlike squeak as he watched Sirius with fear. But Sirius made
no move to kill him. He simply asked, in little more than a whisper, "Why?"
This question seemed to be a fate worse than death for Pettigrew. He shifted uncomfortably, and his lip began to tremble.
"Why'd you ruin my life, Peter? Was it worth it?" Sirius asked. Peter than began to speak.
"I didn't mean to put you in Azkaban, Sirius." he said softly, still quivering.
Sirius's eyes opened wide suddenly.
"You think this is what this is about? Azkaban? No, Peter. It was never about Azkaban. I'd live in Azkaban for the rest of eternity if I knew that James and Lily were safe at home with their son. But I'll never have that ever again. You didn't just kill my best friends, Peter. You killed part of my soul."
Peter let out another great whimper, expecting to be killed any moment.
"I-I never m-meant to-"
"Don't say that. You knew what you were doing." Sirius growled, moving closer
towards Peter.
"S-Sirius, I'm sorry.." Peter whimpered, now aware of the mounting number of Aurors beginning to fill the room.
"Sorry doesn't cut it Peter. You should have thought of the consequences before
you let them burn the Dark Mark into your skin. You knew that if you ever laid a hand on anyone I loved, that you'd pay dearly. You've known that since we were young at Hogwarts. What made your forget?"
But Peter just shook his head hopelessly and looked back at Sirius.
"Against my better judgement, I'm going to let the Ministry deal with you Peter. While I'm sure all of my ideas for a punishment are much better suited to your case, I think they could come up with some interesting alternatives." Pettigrew opened his mouth in horror. Sirius looked straight into Pettigrew's eyes, and said softly, "Lily and James, Peter. How could you?"
Sirius's allusion to Pettigrew's words from 14 years ago proved to be too much.
Pettigrew let out a moan, and began sobbing loudly, looking more pathetic than anyone thought possible.
Sirius sat down again. It felt as though years of torture had just been lifted. He had said what he needed to say to Pettigrew. And now he had a chance at freedom.
It all seemed surreal.
Aurors had rushed forward and were dragging Pettigrew into another room. The doors slammed, and Fudge began to speak. "I call a short recess so that I may converse with the jurors." With that, the room broke into quiet conversation. Remus walked over to Sirius and sat down.
"Maybe now he understands." Remus said shortly.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.
"Pettigrew. Now maybe he understands what he's done, and will accept his sentence more willingly."
Sirius scoffed. "That coward? He's going to cry all the way to the Dementors. But it did feel good to say those things to him. I've thought about saying that since..forever, I guess." Sirius said, looking more relaxed.
"Well, it should only be a matter of time now before this recess is over." Remus said.
"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked, looking around the courtroom.
"Talking with Hagrid. I only caught snippets of the conversation, including 'slimy Slytherins' and 'Blast-Ended Skrewts'. Good synonyms, but otherwise I have no idea what they're discussing." Remus said, sitting down on the bench next to Sirius.
"Random inspiration to eavesdrop, Moony? I hope this case isn't boring you; I've been on the edge of my seat." Sirius said, looking nervously over towards Fudge and the jurors.
"Trust me Sirius, I'm just as nervous as you are. But I think the case is pretty much won. Pettigrew's confession stands against him." Remus said.
"But its still up to the jury, right?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, why?"
Then Remus noticed what Sirius was looking at. Snape glaring at them from the other side of the courtroom. He looked exceedingly angry.
"Well, maybe he just found out that there's no chance of Pettigrew winning." Remus said encouragingly.
"Or that could be his everyday expression. We'll have to ask Harry." Sirius said, turning back to look at the front of the courtroom.
"Uh oh."
"What?"
"He's coming over."
And sure enough, Snape was making his way across the room towards the two of them. Remus and Sirius stopped talking immediately and stood up. Snape stopped and stood in front of them. Remus made an attempt at friendly conversation.
"Ah, Severus! Nice seeing you here."
"Give it up, Lupin. No use pretending we don't despise each other." Snape said, jerking his head towards Sirius.
"And here's our infamous prisoner. Who would have thought that there was even a chance for you to be released? I certainly didn't. Anyway, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Herman Gervis is an excellent lawyer." Snape said in an amused voice. Neither Sirius or Remus responded, so Snape continued.
"I always knew this would happen. I remember your little gang back at Hogwarts. Breaking rules, making life miserable for the rest of us. It seems like destiny that you'd all recieve fates like this. Black in Azkaban, Lupin alone and unemployed, Pettigrew a Death Eater, and..well, at least one of you got what was coming."
In one swift motion, Remus punched Snape square in the jaw, knocking him over onto the floor. The noise level in the room rose as people hurried over to see what had happened.
Sirius stared at Remus in disbelief. "Where'd that come from?" he asked, looking down at Snape. "You moved more quickly than I did; I was going to punch him too."
"Well, Padfoot, I guess you would call it 'random inspiration'." Remus replied with a grin.
Sirius laughed. The two of them swung a high-five, and looked back down at Snape.
He still looked dazed, but was getting back up, and looked murderous.
"Everyone, everyone! Back to your seats, the jury had come to a decision!" Fudge called. Sirius moved back to his seat, forgetting about Snape and returning his attention to the case. Fudge cleared his throat again.
"It has been decided that Mr. Peter Pettigrew is found guilty of the following charges: The murder of 12 people including Muggles, conspiring against the Ministry, betrayal of the oath of a Secret-Keeper, and assissting in innumerable deaths in the past months. You are sentenced to The Dementor's Kiss."
Pettigrew let out a loud wail. There was a shocked wave of conversation going through the courtroom. Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom where flung open. Four men, dressed all in black, had entered, with their wands drawn. One of them shouted "Clean it out!"
Suddenly, realization dawned on Sirius. He knew who the four men were.
iDeath Eaters/i
~~ A/N: Sorry about the cliff! To be continued...