Chapter Three: The Days of Salem
The origin of witch trials was presumed to have begun in the old days, back in Salem, where foolish Muggles tried to kill presumed witches by burning them. But truthfully, witches and wizards had been on trial long before that, in courts far more fair than the Muggle ones.
Severus glanced around the courtroom, at those gathered. Some were eagerly awaiting the start of the trial, to send another accused Death Eater to Azkaban for life. The jury looked bored and uncaring, hardly aware that the fates and sanities of many unfortunate wizards lay in their twiddling fingers.
Then again, perhaps these courts were just as unjust as those of past days.
At least, they had been when he had been on the receiving end of judgment.
He folded his arms across his chest, glaring darkly at the chair that sat in the front of the room. He wished that the damned trial would just get started. His black eyes darted to the other occupants, suddenly very sure that they were all looking at him, thinking that he should be the one being dragged out by Dementors and questioned by the formidable Mr. Crouch.
Dumbledore, who sat beside him, leaned over. "Relax, Severus. Everything will go according to plan."
"I don't like being here," he responded edgily.
"It will be over soon enough."
He responded with an unintelligible growl and returned his glare to the front of the room. Waiting through two trials was certainly not soon enough.
But wait and watch he did, as the jury quickly deemed two gaunt, unshaven wizards guilty as being Death Eaters. Then Bartemius Crouch nodded towards the door. It opened and an equally gaunt young woman, flanked by two Death Eaters, entered. She hardly seemed the same person that they had spoken with the night before, and he had to lean forward and blink to be sure it was Ciera.
A buzz of chatter swept over the room. This was the one that they had heard about... the Tenth Death Eater... the unknown woman found at the scene of the fight.
She let herself fall onto the chair and closed her eyes wearily as the chains came up to wrap securely around her. Crouch looked down at her. "You have been found in the company of active Death Eaters, clad in the robes and mask they wear. But before you can be tried according to these accusations, we must determine your identity, yet unknown. You have refused, up till now, to disclose your name. I ask you to identify yourself, or the court will be forced to return you to your quarters in Azkaban until you are ready to do so." Snape sneered at Crouch's back. Yes, intimidation... always a helpful and just tool. "We ask you again, what is your name?"
She opened her eyes and looked for a long time across the gathered crowd, searching the faces, until her eyes found Dumbledore and Snape. Albus nodded, almost imperceptibly. She turned her gaze to Crouch. "Ciera Sinistra," she breathed in a soft voice.
"Louder, please, so that the entire court can hear you."
She cleared her throat and spoke again, more confidently. "I am Ciera Sinistra."
"Very well." Crouch glanced at a young witch who was hurriedly keeping account of the trial, and she nodded up at him to show that she had gotten the name. "And how, Ciera Sinistra, do you plead to the charges brought against you, the charges of associating with and being one of the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
She swallowed, closing her eyes again. "Not guilty."
A loud murmur swept over the crowd once again, growing louder and louder, until Crouch had to bang on the table for silence. But they didn't stop talking until Dumbledore stood up and said in a loud voice, "I can vouch for her innocence."
All eyes turned toward him, and Barty Crouch frowned. "Ah, Headmaster. Surely saving one Death Eater from Azkaban is enough?"
Dumbledore arched a white eyebrow. "One would think so, I suppose. However, I must intervene in this case. The young woman you now have in custody is no Death Eater. She merely chose, shall we say, the wrong man to become engaged to." Severus fought back a sneer.
"How so?"
"Ciera Sinistra is engaged to Severus Snape."
More gasps and whispered comments swirled around the room. Crouch gave a crooked smile to Dumbledore. "Birds of a feather flock together, don't they Albus?" He stepped down onto the floor and approached Ciera. "If it is as you say, then I wouldn't suppose that the young bride-to-be would be sporting the Mark, would she?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
"I intend to." He grasped Ciera's left wrist and tapped a spot on the chair. The chains binding her left arm loosened and recoiled away from her. Then he twisted her arm so that her palm faced upwards and pulled up her sleeve, a triumphant look on his face. The look promptly faded, however, into disbelief when he found no trace of the Dark Mark on her arm. He dropped her wrist, and the chains promptly rewound themselves around her. She smirked up at him in a way that he did not like at all. Whirling towards Dumbledore, he demanded, "Explain yourself!"
"Gladly. You see, Ciera and Severus chose to keep their involvement fairly... secretive, for obvious reasons. As you well know, many among us are not altogether pleased with the accused Death Eaters that 'escaped,' such as Severus. However, someone with a vendetta against Severus found out, and a few weeks ago, on the night before she was discovered at the scene of the fight, Ciera disappeared."
"Are you saying," he began, looking extremely skeptical, "that she was purposely kidnapped and placed at the scene, conveniently dressed in Death Eater garb?"
"Precisely."
"And... why? To steal away an... accused Death Eater's fiancee? Seems a bit extreme to me."
"Not only that. But to involve Ciera with the Death Eaters would also be to involve Severus once again, once the link was discovered. And, with such formidable evidence against him, he would end up in Azkaban once again. Unfortunately, whomever it was did not plan on major pieces of evidence, such as her lack of a Dark Mark."
Crouch's frown had increased with each word Dumbledore spoke. He was about to lose another one, he knew it. And he hated it. He turned to Snape. "Severus Snape, is this woman your fiancee?"
Fighting a grimace of disgust, he nodded. "She is."
"And do you staunchly reaffirm both of your uninvolvement with the Death Eaters?"
"I do."
He gritted his teeth. "Do you also confirm this, Ciera Sinistra?"
"Yes."
"And you, Albus Dumbledore?" He was almost growling the questions now, infuriated at failing to jail yet another Death Eater.
"I most certainly do."
Snape chanced a quick glance at Dumbledore. Sometimes he swore the man could lie better than he himself did. And he wasn't quite sure whether or not that was a good thing.
Crouch had turned back to face the jury, his face calm save for a vein that was throbbing angrily near his temple. "You have heard the testimony of these three here and I ask you to consider and weigh the information revealed at this hearing to the best of your judgment." His beady eyes scanned the rows of judges as they scribbled their vote onto rolls of parchment before handing them to the head juror. "Have all ballots been turned in?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then... please present them to the court." It was barely noticeable, but Snape's sharp eyes saw that Crouch was gripping the table hard enough to turn his knuckles white. The fact caused him to smile sardonically. Good to know that the all-powerful Mr. Bartemius Crouch could still be shaken, despite all his bravado.
The head juror stood and began to unroll the scrolls, one after the other. "Not guilty," he pronounced, much to Crouch's chagrin, then unrolled the next one. "Not guilty... not guilty... not guilty..." It continued on likewise, and as he finally gave the final verdict of "Not guilty," Ciera sagged backwards in the chair as the chains dropped from her body. Snape blinked, still not certain that he had heard correctly. But he managed to smile unfavorably at Crouch as the other man fixed a glare on him.
Ciera, released from her bonds, strode down the middle aisle, her eyes staring straight ahead as she walked. Dumbledore and Snape followed after her, guiding her outside the courtroom. Once outside, her step faltered slightly, and Severus took her by the arm to support her, but she pulled away from him. "Don't touch me," she hissed dangerously. "Just because we're pretending to be in love does not make me any more apt to let you near me."
Snape's cold eyes bore into hers. "I'm glad we have reached that understanding, Sinistra. Unless you were mistaken, I was not that willing to submit to this in the first place. My feelings have not changed, despite our little show. I will be all too glad to never set eyes on you once we reach Hogwarts."
She was about to spit back a reply when Dumbledore intervened. "Forgive my intrusion into such a delightful domestic quarrel, but I feel it necessary to inform you that you will be seeing quite a bit of each other... till death do you part, I might add."
Both whirled towards him and exclaimed, simultaneously, "WHAT?!"
Dumbledore nodded, grinning broadly. "Oh yes. Did you think you could simply call of the engagement after she was released? Oh no, no... you must be married immediately!"
Severus stepped forward. "I certainly did not agree to this, Albus... never once did you mention..." his lips curved up in a disdainful sneer, "Marriage."
"Oh come now, old boy, marriage isn't all that bad."
Ciera snorted contemptuously. "I think I'd rather go back to Azkaban."
Dumbledore now turned quite serious. The sparkle left his eyes and his smile faded. "The door is that way, my dear." She paled at his words and slowly shook her head. He turned to Snape with a frown. "Severus?"
Snape ground his teeth together, his fingernails digging painfully into his palms. "When is the big day?"
Immediately, the smile returned. "So glad you asked, Severus! Come along, I'll explain everything on the way."
With identical glares at each other, Severus and Ciera followed the bustling Headmaster, their arms folded tightly across their chests, and neither looked at the other. Picture-perfect love?
Well... not quite.
END CHAPTER THREE
The origin of witch trials was presumed to have begun in the old days, back in Salem, where foolish Muggles tried to kill presumed witches by burning them. But truthfully, witches and wizards had been on trial long before that, in courts far more fair than the Muggle ones.
Severus glanced around the courtroom, at those gathered. Some were eagerly awaiting the start of the trial, to send another accused Death Eater to Azkaban for life. The jury looked bored and uncaring, hardly aware that the fates and sanities of many unfortunate wizards lay in their twiddling fingers.
Then again, perhaps these courts were just as unjust as those of past days.
At least, they had been when he had been on the receiving end of judgment.
He folded his arms across his chest, glaring darkly at the chair that sat in the front of the room. He wished that the damned trial would just get started. His black eyes darted to the other occupants, suddenly very sure that they were all looking at him, thinking that he should be the one being dragged out by Dementors and questioned by the formidable Mr. Crouch.
Dumbledore, who sat beside him, leaned over. "Relax, Severus. Everything will go according to plan."
"I don't like being here," he responded edgily.
"It will be over soon enough."
He responded with an unintelligible growl and returned his glare to the front of the room. Waiting through two trials was certainly not soon enough.
But wait and watch he did, as the jury quickly deemed two gaunt, unshaven wizards guilty as being Death Eaters. Then Bartemius Crouch nodded towards the door. It opened and an equally gaunt young woman, flanked by two Death Eaters, entered. She hardly seemed the same person that they had spoken with the night before, and he had to lean forward and blink to be sure it was Ciera.
A buzz of chatter swept over the room. This was the one that they had heard about... the Tenth Death Eater... the unknown woman found at the scene of the fight.
She let herself fall onto the chair and closed her eyes wearily as the chains came up to wrap securely around her. Crouch looked down at her. "You have been found in the company of active Death Eaters, clad in the robes and mask they wear. But before you can be tried according to these accusations, we must determine your identity, yet unknown. You have refused, up till now, to disclose your name. I ask you to identify yourself, or the court will be forced to return you to your quarters in Azkaban until you are ready to do so." Snape sneered at Crouch's back. Yes, intimidation... always a helpful and just tool. "We ask you again, what is your name?"
She opened her eyes and looked for a long time across the gathered crowd, searching the faces, until her eyes found Dumbledore and Snape. Albus nodded, almost imperceptibly. She turned her gaze to Crouch. "Ciera Sinistra," she breathed in a soft voice.
"Louder, please, so that the entire court can hear you."
She cleared her throat and spoke again, more confidently. "I am Ciera Sinistra."
"Very well." Crouch glanced at a young witch who was hurriedly keeping account of the trial, and she nodded up at him to show that she had gotten the name. "And how, Ciera Sinistra, do you plead to the charges brought against you, the charges of associating with and being one of the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
She swallowed, closing her eyes again. "Not guilty."
A loud murmur swept over the crowd once again, growing louder and louder, until Crouch had to bang on the table for silence. But they didn't stop talking until Dumbledore stood up and said in a loud voice, "I can vouch for her innocence."
All eyes turned toward him, and Barty Crouch frowned. "Ah, Headmaster. Surely saving one Death Eater from Azkaban is enough?"
Dumbledore arched a white eyebrow. "One would think so, I suppose. However, I must intervene in this case. The young woman you now have in custody is no Death Eater. She merely chose, shall we say, the wrong man to become engaged to." Severus fought back a sneer.
"How so?"
"Ciera Sinistra is engaged to Severus Snape."
More gasps and whispered comments swirled around the room. Crouch gave a crooked smile to Dumbledore. "Birds of a feather flock together, don't they Albus?" He stepped down onto the floor and approached Ciera. "If it is as you say, then I wouldn't suppose that the young bride-to-be would be sporting the Mark, would she?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
"I intend to." He grasped Ciera's left wrist and tapped a spot on the chair. The chains binding her left arm loosened and recoiled away from her. Then he twisted her arm so that her palm faced upwards and pulled up her sleeve, a triumphant look on his face. The look promptly faded, however, into disbelief when he found no trace of the Dark Mark on her arm. He dropped her wrist, and the chains promptly rewound themselves around her. She smirked up at him in a way that he did not like at all. Whirling towards Dumbledore, he demanded, "Explain yourself!"
"Gladly. You see, Ciera and Severus chose to keep their involvement fairly... secretive, for obvious reasons. As you well know, many among us are not altogether pleased with the accused Death Eaters that 'escaped,' such as Severus. However, someone with a vendetta against Severus found out, and a few weeks ago, on the night before she was discovered at the scene of the fight, Ciera disappeared."
"Are you saying," he began, looking extremely skeptical, "that she was purposely kidnapped and placed at the scene, conveniently dressed in Death Eater garb?"
"Precisely."
"And... why? To steal away an... accused Death Eater's fiancee? Seems a bit extreme to me."
"Not only that. But to involve Ciera with the Death Eaters would also be to involve Severus once again, once the link was discovered. And, with such formidable evidence against him, he would end up in Azkaban once again. Unfortunately, whomever it was did not plan on major pieces of evidence, such as her lack of a Dark Mark."
Crouch's frown had increased with each word Dumbledore spoke. He was about to lose another one, he knew it. And he hated it. He turned to Snape. "Severus Snape, is this woman your fiancee?"
Fighting a grimace of disgust, he nodded. "She is."
"And do you staunchly reaffirm both of your uninvolvement with the Death Eaters?"
"I do."
He gritted his teeth. "Do you also confirm this, Ciera Sinistra?"
"Yes."
"And you, Albus Dumbledore?" He was almost growling the questions now, infuriated at failing to jail yet another Death Eater.
"I most certainly do."
Snape chanced a quick glance at Dumbledore. Sometimes he swore the man could lie better than he himself did. And he wasn't quite sure whether or not that was a good thing.
Crouch had turned back to face the jury, his face calm save for a vein that was throbbing angrily near his temple. "You have heard the testimony of these three here and I ask you to consider and weigh the information revealed at this hearing to the best of your judgment." His beady eyes scanned the rows of judges as they scribbled their vote onto rolls of parchment before handing them to the head juror. "Have all ballots been turned in?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then... please present them to the court." It was barely noticeable, but Snape's sharp eyes saw that Crouch was gripping the table hard enough to turn his knuckles white. The fact caused him to smile sardonically. Good to know that the all-powerful Mr. Bartemius Crouch could still be shaken, despite all his bravado.
The head juror stood and began to unroll the scrolls, one after the other. "Not guilty," he pronounced, much to Crouch's chagrin, then unrolled the next one. "Not guilty... not guilty... not guilty..." It continued on likewise, and as he finally gave the final verdict of "Not guilty," Ciera sagged backwards in the chair as the chains dropped from her body. Snape blinked, still not certain that he had heard correctly. But he managed to smile unfavorably at Crouch as the other man fixed a glare on him.
Ciera, released from her bonds, strode down the middle aisle, her eyes staring straight ahead as she walked. Dumbledore and Snape followed after her, guiding her outside the courtroom. Once outside, her step faltered slightly, and Severus took her by the arm to support her, but she pulled away from him. "Don't touch me," she hissed dangerously. "Just because we're pretending to be in love does not make me any more apt to let you near me."
Snape's cold eyes bore into hers. "I'm glad we have reached that understanding, Sinistra. Unless you were mistaken, I was not that willing to submit to this in the first place. My feelings have not changed, despite our little show. I will be all too glad to never set eyes on you once we reach Hogwarts."
She was about to spit back a reply when Dumbledore intervened. "Forgive my intrusion into such a delightful domestic quarrel, but I feel it necessary to inform you that you will be seeing quite a bit of each other... till death do you part, I might add."
Both whirled towards him and exclaimed, simultaneously, "WHAT?!"
Dumbledore nodded, grinning broadly. "Oh yes. Did you think you could simply call of the engagement after she was released? Oh no, no... you must be married immediately!"
Severus stepped forward. "I certainly did not agree to this, Albus... never once did you mention..." his lips curved up in a disdainful sneer, "Marriage."
"Oh come now, old boy, marriage isn't all that bad."
Ciera snorted contemptuously. "I think I'd rather go back to Azkaban."
Dumbledore now turned quite serious. The sparkle left his eyes and his smile faded. "The door is that way, my dear." She paled at his words and slowly shook her head. He turned to Snape with a frown. "Severus?"
Snape ground his teeth together, his fingernails digging painfully into his palms. "When is the big day?"
Immediately, the smile returned. "So glad you asked, Severus! Come along, I'll explain everything on the way."
With identical glares at each other, Severus and Ciera followed the bustling Headmaster, their arms folded tightly across their chests, and neither looked at the other. Picture-perfect love?
Well... not quite.
END CHAPTER THREE
