Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling
Chapter 4
If anyone was to walk into the chamber right after Antares' declaration, they would have thought that they were in a room full of statues. The occupants of the room were once again stunned, none more so than the Bones' and the Potters. Their expressions were just as similar as the ones worn by the majority of those in the room, but the thoughts that ran through their head were another story altogether. They were coming and going as if there was no tomorrow, giving all sorts of wild information and thoughts.
Rachel Sophia Bones. Mother of one Antares Sirius Black. A woman who had died during the height of the first war. All their thoughts were on these three sentences.
Amelia didn't know what to think as she sat there in the minister's seat. Herself and Rachel had been very close when they were younger, due to there being only a two year age gap between the sisters. However, as they grew older, they slowly drifted apart. Especially during their time at Hogwarts. It was only after both of them had graduated Hogwarts that they slowly mended the distance between them. However, due to the war, most of their meetings were short and very distant in-between, most of them happening in the Ministry.
Susan's eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at the man who was in the centre of it all. A man, who she first considered one of the most mysterious strangers alive, was now in fact a relative of hers, and quite a close one at that. He was her cousin, from her other aunt. She then saw her aunt move her eyes away from her newly discovered nephew, and then locked them onto the face of his father. Sirius's expression was a blank as a new canvas, apart from his eyes, which seemed to shy away from hers when their eyes met.
The Potters too were shell-shocked. None more so than Lily, who had been one of Rachel's closest friends. The death of Rachel had hurted her deeply but now knowing that she also had a child was even more surprising. Rachel had never told her that she was pregnant nevermind even looking like she was. If Lily was honest with herself, she didn't know how many more of these unwelcoming surprises she could handle. Herself and James, and the rest of her family had been preparing to say goodbye today to the person who they had once thought of as their own son. But now, it had been more than an hour, and these revelations were only stacking up onto each other.
James, once hearing and digesting this new piece of information, turned his head around sharply, and gave Sirius a look that he had never given him before. It was a look filled with anger, betrayal, and sadness. Sirius had non idea what to say or make of it.
Thankfully, it was James who then turned away and spoke, "I really don't know what to say, Sirius. Honestly, I'm speechless. So many secrets, so, so many secrets. And I have a feeling that there is much more to come. We've been brothers for years, and now it's like I'm seeing a new side of you. A side that you've kept hidden and a side that makes me think that I don't even know you anymore."
Sirius opened his mouth to reply but was immediately cut off by James in a somewhat harsh voice, "Don't. I don't want to hear it. Once everything is up in the air, we will talk."
All that Sirius could do was just nod.
Much to Fleur's annoyance, the trial was once again paused due to the commotion generated by the audience. At the present moment, she couldn't care less about the family problems that were arising due to the information that was being released. She was here to win the case and to propel her career as a lawyer forward, as well as putting one of the most dangerous wizards that served Voldemort down.
"Antares was definitely full of secrets," Fleur observed as her eyes continuously lingered on him, trying to find anything that she could use. Much to her continuous frustration, she hadn't found a single thing she could exploit since he had entered the chambers. Even during the shocking announcement of who he really was, and who his birth parents were, neither his expressions or bodily actions had been projecting anything since.
Having enough of this, she got up from where she sat and spoke before anyone else had the chance to, "I suggest that we get along with the trial. The recent revelations, while important, are not only prolonging the trial, but also confuse and distract us." She took a breath before ending with, "These problems of familiar nature can be dealt with at a later date."
She had gotten everyone's attention within seconds, and when she ended, Amelia, who wasn't completely on board with the idea, wasted no time in responding, "Yes, let's do that. You will all quiet down and act like people of a governing body instead of a bunch of grown up gossipers!"
It didn't take that long for the Minister, who had pushed down the shock whilst gaining back her decorum, to enforce her power and put the trial back on track, despite her desire to delve more into the history of her apparent nephew and sister. Alas, they weren't here today to do such a thing.
Upon receiving a nod from the Minister, Fleur immediately stood up and stationed herself to start the questioning. Initially, she would have used veritaserum (which she was granted to use), but due to the oath that Antares had taken, administering him veritaserum would have little to no effect. The biggest effect would be the glassy eyes he would have had and the monotone voice he would have spoken with.
Clearing her throat, she fired off her first question, "Lord Black…" She would have preferred to call him by his name, but she needed the members of the wizengamot on her side, hence referring to him by his title, "... were you one of Voldemort's Death Eaters?"
"Yes," Antares replied back in a calm voice.
"How long have you been in his service?"
"A few weeks after I graduated from Hogwarts."
"And when was that exactly?" she prompted with raised eyebrows.
"On the 20th July 1995, a few days before I was due to become 18, and a few days after the return of the Dark Lord."
Lily felt as if ice cold water had been poured down her back. He had sold his life to a man who had manipulated and tortured all of those who followed him as well as feared him. She also started to wonder how he had managed to get inducted into the organisation, as no one at the time knew Voldemort's exact location apart from his most loyal followers.
"For reference would you be able to show us the dark mark that you bare on your left arm?"
"Nope," Antares replied back flatly.
His response threw her off for a second but she didn't let her expressions show that. "Why ever not? You are a Death Eater, and all Death Eaters have that mark."
"While that is true, I am no longer branded with it."
Antares then rolled up his left sleeve, showing everyone that he indeed did not have the mark. Once everyone had gotten a good look at the proof he had just presented, he rolled his sleeve back down, as speculation started to arise as to why his arm was empty.
Knowing what the next question would be, he didn't waste any time in responding to it, "The Dark Mark doesn't use any dark magic per se. It is the product of various spells that can only be spoken by a Parselmouth." Pushing through the murmurs that had started to arise, "Which means yes, I am a Parselmouth. The first Black in centuries to have been given this gift."
"Parselmouth you may be, but it is widely known that Lord Voldemort created it and only he knew how to cast it. So then, how come you have managed to reverse such dark magic?" countered Fleur, her clear voice reaching everyone's ears.
Daphne was having none of this. "Objection! This line of questioning has become irrelevant with the case. He is not here to discuss the workings of the dark mark but instead if he bared it!"
Much to her annoyance however, the Minister let the line of questioning carry on by raising her hand and motioning Fleur to continue.
Fleur with a triumphant smirk on her face, then said, "Well Lord Black? Answer-"
"Firstly, being a parselmouth isn't considered illegal here, or anywhere else in the world. If you were to travel to the other side of the world, it is actually considered a gift by the south asians. Following this, using parselmagic is also not considered illegal therefore calling it Dark Magic isn't the best way to describe it," smirked Antares. Fleur looked visibly annoyed at not only being cut off but also at what she was hearing. "As for how I was able to remove the mark, it was hardly that difficult. It was just a matter of reversing what the Dark Lord had cast when he marked me."
Fleur was clearly miffed at his response. She could no longer accuse him of wearing the dark mark as she was planning to do. Doing so would have added to his list of crimes as wearing such a mark had become illegal and carried a two-year sentence in Azkaban. Her rival, Daphne, clearly knew what she was trying to do as she was smirking at her which only made her even more annoyed.
Not letting that stop her, Fleur went onto her next approach, "You have killed many many people since you fell under Voldemort's service. Some would even argue that those killings may have started during your time at Hogwarts too…"
"Objection!" forcefully said Daphne.
"On what grounds?" asked the Minister.
"False allegations and misinformation!"
"Sustained."
Fleur didn't seem to mind much because she had done what she sought to do. By providing that false information and doubt to the wizengamot, it would definitely lower the criminals chances of betterment.
"Regardless, it is proven that you are the murderer of one of the greatest wizards to ever live, Albus Dumbledore, and one of the best aurors to grace Magical Britain, Alastor Moody. Many witnesses have seen to that. However, how do you plead?"
"Guilty," Antares replied without a second thought.
"And how do you plead against all the others you have killed until this very moment?"
This brought everyone to the very edge of their seats. Everyone was curious about this matter. Having been in his service for a good few years, apart from being known for murdering the two aforementioned wizards, Antares name hadn't been linked to any other deaths. This made everyone very suspicious of him as it was too quiet for someone of his position in the Dark Lord's ranks. The four Potters looked on curiously and intently. The youngest of the group, Rose Potter, also looked on with hope. Brother or not, she still loved him as one.
Antares's mood had dulled considerably upon admitting to killing his two mentors and further did so upon saying this, "Apart from a few raids and attacks that I was assigned on, I haven't killed anyone intentionally."
"I find that highly unlikely Mr. Black, after all you were Voldemort's Right Hand man. Do you think any of us stupid?" mocked Fleur. She was trying to rile him up, however, his face remained as passive as ever, though his shoulders stiffened slightly.
"Objection!" Daphne stated at once. "My client has already given a Lord's Oath, clearly stating that he will tell the truth to all questions that are thrown at him."
"Sustained," Minister Bones agreed. "Miss Delacour, please keep that in mind."
Huffing in irritation, Fleur conceded and spoke to the general audience, "From what the accused has just said, we can safely assume that Dumbledore and Moody weren't the only victims to fall under his wand. Numerous raids and attacks have happened since Voldemort's return, so the number that have actually fallen could be anywhere from two to who knows! He is a killer, and that alone speaks volumes!"
Silence was the response to the prosecutor's statement. The members of wizengamot spoke in hushed voices with each other and continued to do so for quite some time.
It didn't take much to realise that what Fleur had just said was a very persuasive statement against him. Daphne even had to grudgingly admit that that was a good move on Fleur's part.
However, Fleur was not done quite yet as she still had one more card to play. "I would now like to call my first witness forward, Indigo McBell."
Sirius and Daphne both breathed a sigh of relief. They were aware of the fact that Fleur would most probably call someone in for questioning and that someone would have Death Eater relations. However, how close that person would be towards the Death Eaters was their main worry. Thankfully, the person who she had just called, Indigo McBell, was just a recent recruit. Having been recruited days before Voldemort's fall, she wasn't given the dark mark sentence or any other sentence for that matter, one of the reasons being that she didn't carry the mark in the first place. However, the small reputation she had with family and friends were tarnished, so when she was given the opportunity to fix it, she jumped at it.
Antares, however, had a different reaction. Upon hearing her name, one of his eyebrows rose as if he was surprised. His reaction went unnoticed by everyone present apart from Daphne, who also raised her eyebrow curiously. His lawyer's eyes then remained trained on McBell like a hawk as she was brought up to the stand to undergo questioning.
"For reference, please state your name and age." Fleur asked kindly, smiling at the nervous young woman.
Clearing her throat, she answered, "My name is Indigo Miley McBell and I am 22 years old."
"And what house were you in Hogwarts?"
"I was in Ravenclaw."
"Miss McBell, during your short tenure as a Death Eater, how often did you interact with Mr Black and, to the best of your knowledge, what were his tasks?"
Before replying back to Fleur, Indigo sent a nervous look towards Antares however he paid her no heed. "I only had a handful of interactions with him and those happened during my recruitment and training." Sending another nervous look towards her previous employer, she continued, "As for his tasks, apart from those in the inner circle, no one knew. It was rumoured however that he would carry out some of the personal tasks of the Dark Lords, alongside one of his close friends. What those tasks were, I don't know."
"You say that he trained you. Could you please expand on that." It wasn't a question.
"Like many others after being recruited, we all received training of sorts depending on where our expertise lay. The area of magic that I excelled was healing magic, however, it was required by all members to undergo combat training. And those training sessions were conducted by him," Indigo ended with a nod of her head towards her former trainer. All signs of nervousness had disappeared from her dark skinned face.
"So Mr Black trained you. How was he as a teacher and what type of spells did he teach you?" Fleur questioned further.
"He was a tough trainer, and was very harsh. But he had the respect of everyone around him. His spellwork was second to none and so was his vast knowledge. Rumours had it that one of the reasons he managed to climb so high that quickly was because of these skills that he possessed and because he apparently managed to take down most of the inner circle within minutes."
"This is becoming a common thing," Antares mused as once again loud mutterings broke out throughout the chambers.
This was a big revelation for everyone present as it truly showed how powerful the man seated in front of them was. The inner circle were Voldemort's most resourceful and strongest followers. They were the ones who helped fund his regime in hopes to see the dreams of their own and forefathers come into fruition (Wizardry Domination over the entirety of the muggle world).
They were also no slouches. Having taken numerous lives throughout the first and second Wizarding Wars, the reputation they had would make even the best aurors doubt themselves. It was considered that going against them was a death wish as not many had managed to stay alive after duelling them. So hearing that Antares Sirius Black could take on and beat most if not all of them was big news. The revelation of this information made many of those around him, Wizengamot members and aurors alike, look at him with not only disbelief, but awe and respect too. However, just as many people also looked towards them with fear and weariness in their eyes.
"Mr Black surely had other responsibilities as well, especially considering his position within the ranks," probed Fleur.
Indigo clearly looked uncomfortable after being asked that question. Her hazel eyes once again darted towards the person she was questioning against, and then towards his lawyer who rose an eyebrow in response.
Taking in a deep calming breath, she answered, "I'm not aware of what his other responsibilities were, after all, I was a newbie. Though, I had heard from others that when he wasn't out fulfilling some of the Dark Lord's orders, he was either in the duelling pit training, in the library or rumoured to be spending time with others around his age. Especially around…"
"Around whom?" demanded Fleur upon seeing the apprehension on McBell's face. "Whom did he spend most of his time with?"
Gulping, she finished, "Estrella Lestrange."
Exclamations of shock rang throughout most of the audience apart from a few aurors, the Minister and head of the DMLE, who all winced at hearing her name. Not that many people knew of her existence as she had attended Durmstang before returning back to Britain during the beginning of the war. She was in fact currently in Azkaban where she had been sentenced for 20 years. However, the fact that there was another Lestrange that no one had heard of was unwelcoming news.
Upon hearing that name, Antares's head immediately snapped up and his eyes focused on Indigo. The look of sadness and guilt flashed through his eyes before returning back to expressing nothingness. Not many saw the look but considering that Daphne was staring at him when he did that, she caught it.
"Just who was this Estrella Lestrange," she thought deeply and a bit possessively, "and just what was her relationship with my, no not mine, with Antares."
Her first question was answered almost immediately when Fleur demanded, "Who is Estrella Lestrange? And while you are at it, who were others that Antares Black spent his time with?" This new information could be very vital for the outcome of the trial, so she needed to know all of it.
Stuttering, Indigo replied, "Estrella Lestrange is the only and eldest child of Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange. Not much was known about her apart from the rumours that she went to Durmstrang under a different name in order to not attract any sort of unwanted attention." Taking a short breath, she continued, "As for the others he spent his time with, they were mainly Rachel Zabini, Arianna Yaxley, Evan Rookwood, and Rigel Malfoy, to name a few."
"Only Rookwood had the Dark Mark," thought the Minister. "That means the rest must have been healers or something similar."
A few more questions later, Fleur had extracted as much information as she could from Indigo McBell. It had become clear that Indigo had revealed as much information as she could, and in hindsight, Fleur wished she had chosen better for it, someone who wasn't a newbie in the regime. However, just before Miss McBell was dismissed, Daphne chose to go forward and ask something of her own.
Everyone saw the wicked gleam that lay in her eyes as she walked forward, none more so than Indigo herself, who felt she was under the eyes of her predator.
"Miss McBell, most of the information that you have given heavily relies on rumours. Rumours are fickle things that most of the time, if not always, end up being words filled with nothing more than dragon dung."
Despite the seriousness of the hearing and questioning, what Daphne just said made a lot of the audience snort in humour and silently agreeing that she did have a point there.
"We all know how far rumours can be twisted from the actual truth as Hogwarts has shown us multiple times. Is it possible that such rumours could be wrong?"
Not liking the look Indigo was receiving and wanting to leave the chamber as soon as she could she hurriedly stuttered, "Yes, but-"
"So most if not everything that you've said could in fact not be the truth?"
"Yes, but I-"
"So you admit that you have just wasted all of our time by spreading false information from your rumours?"
"Yes!" her eyes widened in shock at what she just said. "I mean no! I have not been spreading false information! No!"
There was no point in attempting to fix her mistakes. The damage was done, and it was irreversible. Daphne had just taken a big win and knowing so she walked back to her original place with a victorious grin plastered on her beautiful face, leaving everyone flabbergasted and Fleur furious. As for Indigo with tears rolling down her cheeks, she was escorted out of the chamber all the while claiming and screaming that she muddled her words up.
Antares stared wide-eyed at Daphne, never witnessing what she was like as a lawyer. He was very impressed at her skill, to say the least. The same could be said for everyone else in the chamber, who had forgotten just how good Daphne was at her job. It was a big reality check for most of them there.
"I would now like to call Antares Black forward," Daphne spoke confidently.
Her violent blue eyes did not leave Antares for a single moment as he was taken to the stand where Indigo was only there prior.
His stormy grey eyes locking onto hers, Daphne strolled forward and asked, "Tell me what happened on September 6th, 1991."
Glancing wearily towards Daphne, he answered "It was the-" He cleared his throat.
"It was the day that changed everything."
Author's Note
So here is the fourth chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! Many more changes have of course taken place but the real changes will take place starting from the following chapter. I won't reveal much about them of course ;)
And yes I am aware that it has been almost three months since I last posted anything. Life has just been really busy so finding the time to write was difficult. However, here we are now, with a new chapter posted. I have also started this Haphne one shot but when I finish that and release it is up to debate. My priority is to finish this story first.
I would also like to say a big thank you towards Idefix and Wish_ for beta reading this. The input they provide as well as the little things that they notice is always appreciated.
I have also been reading the reviews that many of you have left on this story, so I have decided that I will reply to the reviews/comments on the previous chapter before this, which in this case is the third. (Feel free to leave as many reviews/comments as you want. I'll be happy to answer all questions and criticisms that you readers may have.)
drew1998: Thank you, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it! :)
Thiago-Gamer12: That was an error on my part.
Ak (Guest): I can't reveal too much so you'll just have to wait and see. And I yes, I understand your point of view as I agree with various points that you have made. My aim for this rewrite is for it to not be confusing at all and be not as unrealistic as it was in the original. So I hope you stick around till the end to see.
Hyperion07e: Cliffhangers are a way for us to have some fun with the readers haha :)
Aries no Kurama: Thank you! I hope I didn't keep you hanging for too long… XD
TurtlesTale: Thanks!
Red Renera: I'm happy that this has caught your attention. My plan is to keep the trial all in one fic and then possibly have the post trial in the next part, assuming that there will be one.
Ikolo93: Thanks and no, I have no plans on leaving it :)
FanficReader007 (Guest): Thank you for your kind words! The OC is in fact the sister of Amelia Bones and another aunt of Susans. You most probably know by now since it is written in this chapter haha.
Furthermore, if you wish to interact with me, or anyone else, who loves the Harry/Daphne ship or just in general, feel free to join the Haphne Discord Server. There is chaos, mayhem, murder, game nights, author and general discussions and much much more! You can also meet some of your favourite authors and bully them into writing more chapters! If that has gotten your attention, just join anyways! :)
Discord Server Link: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU (just remember to replace 'dot' with '.')
You can also join my server as well!
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Until next time, have a good one!
Hydra
