Disclaimer: None of the HP characters are mine. No money is being made off of this.
Warning: Some harsh language, and mildly disturbing imagery.
Dedication: This is for Judy, for taking me out and being my best friend for all these years.
Author's Note: This is just a neat little story I came up with. It's going to be rather large, but I didn't want to write the whole thing if no one wanted to read
it. :-) Let me know what you think!
And Justice for All...?
It would be the trial of the century. Covered by every major wizarding paper in the world, every wireless station, would be covering it. There wouldn't be a
household in the entire magical community that wouldn't be following it.
The trial of Peter Pettigrew.
Even now, before the trial, the ministry and community alike were abuzz. Pettigrew had turned himself in, much to the surprise of the world-who had
thought him dead. He confessed, and the evidence against him-once presented-left no doubt in anyone's mind that he was guilty of crimes formerly
attributed to Sirius Black.
Peter himself seemed rather resigned to his fate. He had no money for a lawyer, and didn't see what good one would do anyway. He sat in his small room
in Azkaban, realizing that he was looking at the rest of his short existence. He was certainly surprised when, without warning, he had a visitor.
The door of his cell was slid open, and Peter glanced up. He had taken to sitting on his cot and crying. A tall man in dark brown well cut robes slipped into
the room, hands in his pockets. He looked to be in his late forties, with greying brown hair and brown eyes. He had a strong, friendly face, and a twinkle in
his eyes and at his lips.
"Hello, Mr. Pettigrew." He said, placing a large briefcase on the cot next to Peter. "How are you doing? Not to good, not to worry..."
"Who are you?" Peter asked, sniffling. What was this strange man doing in his cell? Couldn't he just leave Peter to wallow in his own self pity?
"Lamonte Brecc." He said, glancing over and giving Peter a slick smile.
"Um...what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What am I doing here?" Lamonte laughed. "Peter, I'm your lawyer!"
***
"Lawyer?" Peter frowned, struggling to collect his thoughts. "I...I can't afford a lawyer..."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I took this case on non gratis." Lamonte said, opening his case. "This is the biggest trial our community has seen in...well, I can't
remember since when. And I'd be an idiot to let the chance to be a part of it go by..."
"Oh." Peter nodded, feeling very tired. He hated it here, but he had little choice. He was a criminal, one facing the maximum penalty of the law.
"Don't look so sad, Pete." Lamonte said, pulling out a handful of documents. "You're going to walk away from this a free man."
"No I'm not, and don't call me Pete." Peter turned his head away from the older man, deciding he didn't like him at all. Lamonte was pompous and condescending.
"I've never lost a case, and I don't intend to start." Lamonte said, snapping his fingers. "Over here, Pete, you've got to focus. Now I can get you off, but I
can't do it myself. You have to help."
"How?" Peter sighed, turning rather vacant green eyes on his lawyer.
"You have to be honest with me. Completely and totally honest with me. I've heard your confession, and Pete my little friend, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions."
"Oh?" He honestly couldn't even remember his confession. Everything was a bit of a blur. He had been confused and disoriented.
"You said you did it...you turned in the Potters. And that you killed all those muggles and faked your own death. That's all. I want to know *why*."
"Why?" Peter folded his arms. Why did Lamonte need to know why had done everything? That was his business, not this smooth talking lawyers.
"Look...I can find any loophole, any technicality in the law. But I need something to work with. I need to know what goes on in that twisted little head of
yours..." Lamonte kneeled down, still grinning like an idiot. "I know you don't want to lose this case, Pete..."
"Peter, and of course I don't." Peter sighed. It was his only chance. And it was a chance! He sighed, and decided that he had better do as he was asked.
"Why did I do it?" Peter gave a bitter little laugh. "I don't know. I don't remember. I guess...I guess I thought it was a good idea at the time. I didn't think
he was going to kill them. And...what was I supposed to do?" He stood up, and began pacing. "He would have killed me."
"So...technically, it was self defense." Lamonte said. "But we need to go back further...why did you join the Death Eaters? What made you go over to the
Dark Lord?"
"I don't know." Peter shrugged, leaning against the wall. "I just...I was in a bad place in my life. And it wasn't really my choice."
"You were coerced?"
"Sort of." Peter closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember. "They threatened me. Bullied me into it. And I didn't start out really doing anything *bad*.
Just little things, stupid things really. Running errands and stuff like that. I hardly ever talked to James anymore...
"Then...Voldemort was really good at getting people to do what he wanted. He could get into your head, and figure out what made you tick. Some people
needed to be rewarded, and some people needed to be punished."
"And you?" Lamonte urged, writing everything down.
"A little bit of both." Peter shrugged. "Mostly punishment."
"So you were beaten?" Lamonte questioned.
"Yeah." Peter nodded, then shut off completely. "And they made me their Secret Keeper, and I turned them in, and they were killed. That's what happened."
"There's more to it then that, I can tell." Lamonte sat down, crossing his arms and regarding Peter closely.
"There isn't." Peter snapped. "Now go away."
"No." Lamonte shook his head. "If you want to save your arse, then you're going to have to give me more then that."
"There isn't any more!" Peter whirled on him, breathing quickly. He wanted this man gone. "Why can't you just leave me alone! I turned myself in! If I
wanted a lawyer that bad, I could've gotten one. Do you see where this is going?"
"You don't want a lawyer. Sorry, but you've got one. And I'm going to defend you. We need to make them feel bad for you. You were lost, confused,
easily led...they tricked you..."
"Not really." Peter said, turning his attention to more interesting things. Like the wall. "I mean...I knew what I was doing."
"But you weren't doing it of your own free will...no, don't say you were. Coercion is not your own will. You were forced. We've got some defense right
there. I can work with this Pete, I really can..."
"Fine. Now go away." Didn't this stupid lawyer realize that Peter had turned himself in for a reason? He had *known* that he wouldn't get off. He wasn't
expecting too, he didn't want to! If he got off, they'd just come for him. At least this way he was going out on his own terms. And Sirius would be
pardoned.
"All right, all right, I can take a hint." Lamonte held up his hands, looking slightly offended. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."
"Good." Peter sighed, watching as Lamonte packed up his things and began leaving the cell.
"But look...this is going to take a lot of work." The lawyer had a serious expression on his face. "You have to help me. You can't *really* want to be found
guilty? Who knows what they'll do to you now...."
Peter didn't say anything, just looked away until Lamonte was gone. He sat back down on his cot, not paying much attention to the screaming that was
going on down the hallway. It would be feeding time in an hour or so...at least by Peter's reckoning. He tried hard to keep track of time. Even now,
Azkaban was still dark and cold.
"He can't get me off." Peter also tended to talk to himself. It helped him stay as sane as he could. "No one can. I confessed. I turned myself in. He thinks
he's so smart..."
But he *had* sounded completely sure of himself. What if the lawyer could get him off? Then what? He'd just be sitting around until Voldemort came and
picked him off. That was all the stupid lawyer was saving him for. A slow, painful death.
"Wonderful. And here I was thinking: I'm in Azkaban, waiting to receive whatever ultimate punishment they can come up with. Things can't get any worse!
Boy was I wrong..."
He lay down on his cot, curling up on himself. They had done something to him so he couldn't transform. "Stupid lawyer. He's wasting his time. At least I
get to be his first lost case..."
That was a rather better thought then most that ran round Peter's head. At least the stupid lawyer was mildly amusing...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC
