CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE VERDICT

~~~

As the shocked and confused Rachel Revueltas was led away by the two Aurors, the equally shocked and confused Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall wondered what in the world Noah McCarthy was talking about. "What's going on, Mr. McCarthy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Before I answer that, Professor Dumbledore, I must ask that you accept my most sincere apologies," McCarthy said.

"For what?" Dumbledore asked.

McCarthy nodded his head in the direction of the exit, through which the Aurors had taken Rachel, and said, "For suspecting you when it was really Revueltas who was behind it all."

"Behind what?" Minerva inquired.

"The murders," McCarthy answered.

Dumbledore and Minerva looked at each other, then looked back at McCarthy, and said in unison, "What?!?"

"Quinn Grindelwald is dead," McCarthy said. "His body was found this morning by Jennifer Hensley. Professor Hensley had to speak to Professor Grindelwald, and as she was getting ready to go up to his office, she saw Revueltas coming down. Hensley found the body when she got there. An autopsy found a lethal amount of acclobane in his system, and it was determined that the cause of death was poisoning. I bet you anything that the vial we just found in her pocket contained acclobane."

Acclobane was a deadly poison, very difficult to obtain. Once could make it, though, if one was skilled enough, and as Rachel used to teach Potions... it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. "You said 'murders'," Minerva said. "That means more than one. Who else did she kill?"

"Armando Dippet, of course."

Minerva felt her knees go weak, and she had to hold on to Dumbledore for support. "What?"

McCarthy nodded. "Yes. Tragic, isn't it? We've been searching the entire school all day, and when we used a detransfiguration spell in her chambers, a lamp changed into a dagger encrusted with human blood. The weapon that killed Dippet was never found, and now we know why: Revueltas changed it into a lamp."

Dumbledore couldn't believe his ears. Grindewald, dead? Rachel, a murderer? Neither one of those things seemed possible. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"The evidence is overwhelming, Professor. The murder weapons were found in her custody, she was the last person to see Quinn Grindelwald alive, and she had a motive."

"What was the motive?" Minerva asked.

"Head of Hogwarts, of course," McCarthy answered. "Grindelwald was deputy head, and when Dippet was killed, he suceeded to headmaster and Revueltas became deputy head. With Dippet out of the way, Revueltas only had to get rid of one more person before the positon was hers." He paused, and then added, "And if I'm not mistaken, I believe the baton has now been passed to you, Professor Dumbledore."

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore had secretly always wanted the position, but he would never kill anyone to get it, and he wasn't sure he even wanted it under these circumstances. "I don't know if I'm up to it," he confessed.

"Who's next in line?" Minerva asked.

"Natalie Cypher," Dumbledore said.

"Cypher?" McCarthy repeated. "How old is she?"

"Twenty-nine," Dumbledore answered. "The order of succession is determined by the heads of houses that have held that position for the greatest amount of time. Rachel was head of Ravenclaw for ten years. I have been the head of Gryffindor for the last eight. Natalie has only been head of Hufflepuff house since the start of the term, but she still outranks Geoffrey Poe, head of Slytherin, who has been in that position since Quinn became headmaster."

"Whatever you say," McCarthy said dismissively. "Anyway, find Cypher and inform her that she is now the deptuty head, or headmistress if you elect not to take the position. I've got to escort the prisoner back to London."

"How long will the Aurors be here?" Minerva asked.

"They should all be out by this evening," he said. "I'll send you a letter to let you know when the trial is." He bade them farewell and then departed.

When McCarthy was gone, Minerva turned to Dumbledore and said, "I can't believe it! Rachel, a murderer!"

"Somehow, I don't believe it, either," Dumbledore said. "The evidence is overwhelming, but Rachel just doesn't seem like the type that would..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.

Minerva wiped at the tears forming in her eyes and said, "I'll go find Natalie."

She didn't have to - Natalie found them. "Albus! Minerva!" the new deputy headmistress said, running up to them. "You're back! Isn't this horrible? Who would have guessed? Rachel!"

"I have a feeling that there's more to this situation than meets the eye," Dumbledore said. "Do you know if it would be possible for me to examine the body?"

Natalie shook her head. "They've already taken it away. He's dead, Albus. He's very dead. The amount of acclobane they found in his system would have killed an elephant."

"I believe that, but I don't believe Rachel was the murderer," he replied.

"How do you know?" Natalie asked.

"I can't explain. Somehow, I just know it wasn't her. It could be sleep deprivation, though."

Natalie noticed that the two of them were so weary they could barely stand. "You'd both better get some sleep," she said. "You look like you'll be conscious for another five minutes at best."

~~~

A week later, Dumbledore received the letter they had all been waiting for: the date of Rachel's trial. It was to take place in London at the Ministry of Magic's courthouse on February fourth at one o'clock in the afternoon. In the letter, McCarthy hinted that the trial would probably be short and the verdict guilty, as there was so much evidence against Rachel that a trial was almost unnecessary. The faculty agreed that Dumbledore, as headmaster, would be the one to attend the trial. The others would stay at the school and keep things running as smoothly as possible.

February fourth came faster than any of them expected, and Dumbledore found himself walking up the steps of the Ministry courthouse about fifteen minutes before Rachel's trial was scheduled to begin. A familiar voice caught his ear as he reached the entrance, and he turned around to see from where it was coming. Noah McCarthy was about halfway up the steps. "You're here," McCarthy said.

"Of course I'm here," Dumbledore replied. "What reason would I have not to be here?"

McCarthy shrugged. "I know, I know, rhetorical question. Are you planning to testify?"

He shook his head. "I was out of the country at the time the crime was committed, and everyone knows my opinions of Rachel and her credibility. Testifying would be redundant."

"You still think she's innocent?" McCarthy asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm sure of it."

"The evidence against her is overwhelming, Professor Dumbledore. How the murders could have been committed by anyone else is beyond my comprehension."

That didn't surprise him. McCarthy had been considerably nicer toward him now that it was known he wasn't the murderer, but the man was still somewhat ignorant. However, Dumbledore had to admit that this time, things were in McCarthy's favor. Unless they could find the real killer in the next half hour, Rachel was most likely going to be spending the rest of her life in Azkaban.

~~~

"Your Honor, members of the jury, we stand before you today because terrible crimes have been committed against the entire wizarding world," said David Malachi, the prosecuting attorney, as he presented his opening arguments to the court. "Until two weeks ago, all who knew Rachel Revueltas thought her to be kind, friendly, unassuming, and harmless. However, this was all proven to be a lie when her true cunning, manipulative, ruthless nature was revealed. Revueltas is a bloodthirsty murderer, guilty of all crimes she here stands accused of."

"Objection," piped up Jonathon Carson, the defense attorney.

"Sustained," said the judge, Mina Bakater by name. "The jury shall decide the fate of the defendant, Mr. Malachi."

"Of course, Your Honor," Malachi said nonchalantly. He looked toward the jury. "I will now take the time to present the evidence against Professor Revueltas," he told them. "She is being accused of murdering two of the greatest wizards in the world, Armando Dippet and Quinn Grindelwald. What was her motive, you might ask? Power. She was seeking power. With Dippet out of the way, Grindelwald would suceed to the position of headmaster, and if anything happened to him, she was next in line. I will concentrate on Armando Dippet first. Things were going pretty good for Professor Dippet. He was a well-respected figure in the wizarding world even before becoming headmaster of Hogwarts because of his skill as a potion-maker. He increased Hogwarts's academic reputation to a level even greater than before and brought together the world's foremost experts in their subject areas to teach the wizards and witches of tomorrow. He was even seeing someone, a powerful young witch as well as his fellow instructor, Minerva McGonagall."

Dumbledore looked to Carson to see if he would make an objection. Carson was silent, and Dumbledore was almost certain he saw a smirk on his face. He felt nauseated. Carson was supposed to be defending Rachel, and he clearly thought she was guilty.

Malachi continued. "Could Professor Dippet's life have gotten any better? We'll never know - it was snatched away from him before he had the chance! Professor Revueltas saw her opportunity and took it. She saw it again two weeks ago, when she poisoned Quinn Grindelwald. However, she was not going to get away with the second murder. Another faculty member, Professor Jennifer Hensley, saw Revueltas leaving Grindelwald's office, and then went up to ask the headmaster a question. When she arrived there, she found the body."

"Objection," Carson said.

About time, Dumbledore thought to himself.

"It cannot be proven from this that it was my client who murdered Professor Grindelwald," Carson said. "Based on what Mr. Malachi has presented here, how do we know it was not Jennifer Hensley who killed Grindelwald?"

"A vial containing acclobane was found in the possession of Professor Revueltas, as was a blood-covered dagger that matched Professor Dippet's when tested," Malachi said. "I was about to state that when I was interrupted."

"Objection overruled," Bakater said. "Continue, Mr. Malachi."

Dumbledore was starting to get angry. This trial was unfair. All of them thought she was guilty!

Malachi did as he was told. "Professor Hensley alerted the Ministry of Magic, and Noah McCarthy took two dozen of his best Aurors to Hogwarts to search the premises. Revueltas gave them permission to search her chambers, and it was there that they found the dagger. They searched her next, and found the acclobane."

"Evidence could have been planted on the person," Carson pointed out, but not with a lot of feeling.

"Perhaps," Malachi said, "but I don't think this was staged." He then reached into his pocket and pulled something out: a letter. "Professor Grindelwald composed this letter to Tobias Hawkins just hours before his death." He handed the letter to Bakater. "Permission to read this to the court, Your Honor?"

"Permission granted," Bakater said, and handed the letter back to him.

Malachi cleared his throat. "Minister Hawkins, I do not know how much time I have left, so I will be brief. Since the Ministry has been ineffective at finding Armando's killer, I have been searching for the last few months on my own. I was shocked to discover where my search took me: to the last person I ever suspected, someone very dear to my heart - Rachel Revueltas. I don't have enough evidence to make her treacherous acts public yet, but I'm close. I think Rachel suspects that I know, so I will have to hurry to protect the lives of not only myself, but every single student and teacher at Hogwarts. If something should happen to me, let it be known that she is not the woman we thought she was. She is a murderer and a traitor."

He folded the letter up and put it back in his pocket. "I'm finished, Your Honor," he said, and took his seat.

"Indeed," Bakater said. "Well, Mr. Carson, you may present the case for the defense, but I don't know what good it will do."

~~~

By the time the jury had reached a verdict, Dumbledore was tempted to stun every single person in the room and free Rachel by force. The entire trial had been set up against her. There was no need for the jury to meet and decide her fate. It had been decided beforehand. In their eyes, she was guilty before she even set foot inside the courtroom.

"Have you reached a verdict?" Bakater asked as the jurors filed back into the courtroom after ten minutes of discussion.

One jury member nodded. "We have, Your Honor."

"You may publish your findings."

The juror cleared his throat. "On all charges and specifications, we the jury find the defendant, Rachel Revueltas, guilty."

Bakater nodded. "Very well. Professor Revueltas, sentencing will consist of incarceration at the prison of Azkaban for a period of time no shorter than the remainder of your natural life. This court is dismissed."

"No!" Dumbledore shouted as Rachel was led out of the courtroom. They made eye contact, and the desperate, terrified look on her face nearly made his heart break. "I know you're innocent, Rachel!" he called to her. "Somehow, I'll prove it!"

Somehow...