** Thanks to : Evil spappy pie, Meredith, dRaGoNfLy-PuNkPrInCeSs, Moonywolf Marauder and NotSure
All characters are property of J.K. Rowling (except Mr. Wattling) and I'm getting really sick of typing this up every time.
Also, if anyone nicks any of my work, I have witnesses to the fact that I wrote this, and will some chasing after you with a really really big bloody axe. Well, now that that's cleared up…
The Trial of Sirius Black - Chapter 6
Harry held his breath as the Dementors marched Sirius up the gap between the benches. There were hisses and mutterings from the crowd on either side of them.
Only those closest to the Dementors were silent and wary, watching the tall man walking between them, not meeting anyone's eyes.
They stopped when they reached the raised platform where the judge sat, and only then did Sirius look up. Harry didn't know if he imagined it or not, but he could have sworn he had seen the man behind the raised desk shrink back a little from the look in those deadened eyes.
At another miniscule nod from the Judge, the Dementors led Sirius to his own small flight of stairs, his own raised platform, and his own chair.
This chair was unlike the chair that Harry had seen in Dumbledore's pensive the year before. There were no magical chains to bind Sirius to the arms of it – the Dementors did that themselves. Sirius sat through it in silence, gazing blankly into his lap.
**No sick jokes please, this is a SIRIUS moment. All right, that was a rubbish attempt at being funny; it's not my strong point. On! **
As soon as the Dementors drew away and exited though yet another door, that this time seemed to have appeared into thin air, a remarkable change came over Harry's Godfather. He smiled. He relaxed into his bonds. He looked for the entire world as if he was precisely where he wanted to be.
Harry let out his breath in one quick whoosh. It was just the Dementors. Harry could understand that at least, he himself had been madly fighting with his instincts to stop himself either fainting, or casting a Patronus so big the room would have exploded.
The Judge, meanwhile, was looking rather confused at Sirius' strange behaviour. His hands shook almost as badly as the young Ministry Wizard's had as he tapped his wand loudly on his desk. The room, which was now cursing in Sirius' direction, fell silent.
"Mr. Sirius Black," said the Judge, in a voice as shaky as his hands. He's afraid of him, Harry realised.
"Do you swear to tell me, Lukas Wattling, this courtroom, and the whole world, all the truth you possess?" Well, it's original, thought Harry.
"Yes," said Sirius simply.
"On what do you swear?" snapped Wattling.
Sirius thought for a moment. We get to choose? wondered Harry. It all sounded a bit unorganised to him.
"I swear on my honour, and the honour of my friend and teacher, Albus Dumbledore."
"Nice going," whispered Ron. Several others were whispering frantically too, causing Wattling to bang his wand on the desk again.
"Very well," said Wattling. His voice was no longer shaky. He appeared to have regained his wits enough to realise that Sirius was tied to his seat, and didn't have a wand.
"You are charged with the murder of," he then read out a list of the Muggles most people believed Sirius had killed. The list ended in 'Peter Pettigrew'.
"You are also charged for siding with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his powers, and betraying two members of the magical community, James and Lily Potter, to the Dark Lord's mercy."
There were screams and yells of outrage from the crowd – most people hadn't known about that. Well, they did now.
This time, Wattling's wand burned a hole in the desk when he tried to silence the crowd. Most people shut up when they saw that the edge of the Judge's pure white sleeve was singed.
"How do you plead?" asked Wattling.
Sirius shrugged. "Innocent," he said. "I wouldn't be here if I wanted to prove otherwise would I?"
Ron sniggered. So, to Harry's surprise, did Lupin. He smiled when Harry looked at him.
"Just like the old days," he said.
Others did not share Professor Lupin's view, but this time the mutterings only lasted for a few seconds, no one wanted to see Mr. Wattling burst into flames before he announced Sirius' verdict.
**I know, I know, it's a rubbish place to finish, but I'm trying to make the chapters all the same length. No, I don't know why. Please please please please please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **
