{Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by the Omnipotent J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, along with a few other things. But I own no parts of it save for the characters that are parts of my over active imagination.}
Chapter 13{Triskaidekaphobia, anyone?}
Point of No Return
**He just said, "Drink up." He added perfectly factually, "The world's about to end." "This must be Thursday," said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. "I never could get the hang of Thursdays." A conversation between Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent in "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams**
{Author Ramblings: I had wanted to title this chapter "Doom!" but the voices that I argue with wouldn't let me. Damn voices! And yes, I actually do have voices in my head that I talk to. I do believe that I have already explained that I am slightly mentally unstable. If not, now you know. People, for some reason, enjoy reminding me of this at least once a day if not more.}
The convicted trio entered the courtroom solemnly. A masked guard seated them at a bench in the back of the room. Others would be tried before them yet eventually their doom would come. Doom, doom, doom, doom! Oh, boy…
"Severus Snape." A person dressed completely in black appeared before him. "You are free to go."
Snape stood up. It was fine with him to leave. He had no qualms about leaving everyone else to go through hell. That was their problem, not his.
"You owe us one, Snape," the man hissed as he led the Potions Master out a door. "Malfoy and I had to go through about every connection we had to get you out of this mess."
"The others as well?"
"They have no way out. Everyone of them is guilty of the crimes they committed. The Master still has work for you to do." The man turned away down a deserted alley way. Snape was alone. He decided to go back inside the court. He so dearly wanted to see the insufferable Black get thrown into another prison to suffer. He reentered the room by a different door and noticed Dumbledore seated in the audience. Next to him on the left, was the werewolf, on the right the spoiled prat of a Gryffindor, Harry Potter himself. Snape guessed he was there to watch his precious godfather be sacked again. He held Harry's gaze for a moment as the boy saw him. Harry flinched away. Point for him. Even in this degraded state he held fear.
A line of Death Eaters stood of to one side of the courtroom. Snape recognized some of them. Connors, Walden, Jameson, Smith, and a few others he did not know. He watched as each one approached the stand, gave a few names that wouldn't betray anyone too badly and hoped to themselves that Voldemort would have pity on them. Not that is was likely that the Dark Lord felt any pity. The line slowly shrunk to one last person.
"You!" Black roared, vaulting over the wooden barrier that separated him from the audience. He grabbed the Death Eater by the collars of his ragged shirt and threw him to the floor.
"H-hello, S-S-Sirius," the man scratched at hit throat were Black held him. "F-f-fancy m-m-meeting you h-here."
"You're going to die, Wormtail, and I am going to kill you."
Aurors swarmed over to them, pulling the two apart. Andy had rushed out of the box and pulled Sirius away. Wormtail, also known as Peter Pettigrew the traitor, was hauled none too gently up to the bench. Sirius was restrained toward the back.
"Veritaserum, Your Honor?"
"Go ahead." The judge gave the order. Three drops were placed on the Death Eater's tongue.
"Tell me your name."
Pettigrew didn't even try to resist the potion. "Peter Pettigrew."
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"I faked my own death."
"Are you allied with the Dark Lord?"
"Yes."
"What have you done for your Master?" the Auror sneered the name.
"I have always been loyal to my Master. He told me he wanted the Potters. It started then. I handed them over to him. They thought that he would never suspect them to use so one like me, some one weak and untalented, but they did, and I gave them to my Master." Wormtail's eyes were bright and shining with pride. Sirius looked like he was ready to retch. He looked about to go one before the Auror interrupted him.
"How is it that you are not dead, as was believed before?"
"I faked my own death."
"You already stated that. How?"
"Sirius Black had come to confront me. He had asked the Potters to switch to me, since I was less likely to be figured out. I cast the curse that killed the Muggles there. I cut off my own finger," he held up the damaged hand for all to see. "And disappeared down the sewer system as a rat."
"And you blamed everything on Sirius Black."
"Yes, I did. I have been faithful to my Master and he has rewarded me."
The jury was muttering among themselves. The person elected as a speaker stood up. "Your Honor, we need no time to debate over this issue. It has been decided that the person named Peter Pettigrew shall be sentenced to death."
Sirius looked up from where he was being held back. He slumped down over the arms supporting him. This would mean, if Wormtail had taken his crimes and admitted to them, then he was… It couldn't be! It felt as if a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders. He was free!
"I call Sirius Black to the stand."
Sirius felt like he was floating up to the front of the room. All eyes were on him, some with disgust, others with amazement, a few with reassurance. He straightened his slumped shoulders as he approached the bench.
"May we use Veritaserum again, Your Honor."
"Yes, go ahead."
Three drops were placed on Sirius's tongue. Nothing had ever tasted so sweet.
"What is your name?"
"Sirius Black."
"Did you commit the murder of Peter Pettigrew and fourteen other people?"
"No, I did not. The above named murders were committed by Peter Pettigrew, who in turn staged his own demise, blaming the entire ordeal on me."
Gasps and murmurs escaped through the lips of the crowd. They had convicted him all this time, when he had done nothing.
"Why did you go after Pettigrew on the night?"
"He was Lily and James Potter's Secret Keeper. I was originally chosen, but it was decided that the Dark Lord would have expected me to do it, so it was changed to a less obvious, less talented Peter Pettigrew. He betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord." Sirius bit his lower lip. That was a sensitive subject to talk about, even for him.
"How did Pettigrew disappear?"
"He was able to change into a rat. He cut off his own finger, changed form and disappeared down the sewer system with the rest of the rodents."
"And this left you with a wand pulled out, laughing manically with dead bodies around you?"
The scene flashed through Sirius's head. Peter had his back to a streetlamp post, wand concealed behind his back. Sirius had his wand raised pointed at the other man.
"Why did you betray Lily and James?" he hissed dangerously.
Peter swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I had to do it, Sirius. It made my Master extremely pleased with me. Just like how I have to do this. You know too much." Then Peter had raised his wand and over Sirius's shoulder shot out a curse that killed all the innocent bystanders. Sirius watched him as Peter cut off his own finger with a quick spell, changed into a rat, and skittered down the sewer grate never to be seen again until he showed up as a present for a Weasley.
Sirius tilted his head back and laughed. It was too funny. Of course something like this was bound to happen, especially with the people he knew. How many times had Murphy gotten back at them? He had lost count after 50 some odd. If anything could wrong, it would. Yes, that had happened too many times in his life. All the detentions, all the mistakes that they had made were all examples. It was his fault, which was what amused him the most. If he had not told them to change secret keepers, the Potters might still be alive. He had and they had died because no one had guessed that pathetic Pettigrew would become a Death Eater. No one had suspected a thing from the talentless lump of a boy, but he had ruined everything for them. The Animgas transformation had to do something with it. All the careful planning just to help Moony and it turns out that one of them used it for an advantage over the others. He would pay. Oh, yes, he would pay dearly for the mistake.
Men in white coats had dragged him of to Azkaban in a padded Muggle van. He was still laughing quietly, mirthful tears running down his face. "Oh, you'll get what you deserve, you little rat. The sewers are too good for you. You'll pay soon enough. You'll pay. I'll make you pay. I'll get you some day, Wormtail. You betrayed us all." It wasn't a wonder that the guards believed he was mentally unstable. With all that he said, which made no coherent sense to the others in the van, he was decided to be a crazy, a person sent to the loony bin or in his case, Azkaban.
It had been the only thing that had kept him sane in Azkaban, knowing he was innocent and that Wormtail had gone and ruined everything. It was all just a huge joke.
"Yes, it did."
"Thank you, Mr. Black. That should be enough." The Auror looked over to the jury.
The speaker stood up once again. "The jury has decided on proof that no one can lie under Veritaserum that Mr. Black is innocent from all charges placed against him."
Sirius stepped down, shell shocked. He was free at last! And Wormtail was going to pay for his crimes with his life. He grinned lopsidedly. Andy ran to embrace him as he stood there. "I'm free, Andy, I'm free!"
The woman smiled wanly into his shoulder. He had done nothing. He had always been innocent. He was free, yes, but would she ever be?
"I call Andromeda McGee to the stand."
There was only one way to find out. Andy let go of Sirius, giving his hand one last squeeze. "Good luck, Andy," he whispered softly.
She smiled, took a deep breath, and walked forward to her destiny.
{Author's Note: I apologize if anything in this chapter in incoherent. It was written after about five and a half hours of sleep, followed by having to take a Spanish Regents exam and a Chemistry Regents exam (State Tests) back to back, then working on the walk way that my family is redoing in front of our house, which involved carting loads of bricks back and forth. Needless to say, my mind is mush even after sticking it in a freezer for a while.
Carpe Carpem, Nataly Ravenlock}
