The Trial
The gallery was filled with wizards and witches.
The wizengamot would hold court today for a young boy who had committed an unforgivable crime.
The boy was brought in, wandless and with guards flanking his sides. He refused to sit in the chair, even with the chains taken off. It was not because of fear. It was because he was ready to face this trial and he wanted to face it on his feet.
Hermione looked on, torn between crying and trying to understand why he would take the law into his own hands. Neville had never been one to put up a fight, not until much later in school. Here he was, standing alone in the middle of the court, waiting for his trial to begin. She had never seen him so brave and with a shock she realized that she didn't recognize him anymore.
On either side of her Harry and Ron held their breath. They hadn't seen Neville since his parents' funeral and the boy they saw now could hardly be called a boy. He looked like a man, a man willing to accept the responsibility of his actions.
Cornelius Fudge was presiding over the case, aiming not to lose control of his precious ministry duties. Dumbledore had begged to be head officiator for this case, but Fudge knew where that would lead. It would become impossible to serve justice if he didn't come down hard on this case. He began abruptly.
"You have been accused of the crime of using an unforgivable curse. How do you plead?"
"Guilty," the boy answered calmly.
The noise swelled as the onlookers turned to one another to whisper a comment. It continued until the room was filled with mumbles, one added upon the one next to it until the volume was like the roar of the sea up close.
"Silence," Cornelius commanded while bringing his gavel down upon the table.
The room quieted quickly as an uncomfortable conversation is like to do. It was abrupt and left many squirming in their seats.
"And you used this curse against the known criminal, Bellatrix Lestrange?"
"Yes."
"It was self defense," Hermione said loudly.
Cornelius shot her a stifling look, but didn't feel the need to bring down the gavel again. He turned his attention back to Neville.
"You sought her out with the intention of using this curse?"
Neville took a long moment to answer. He wasn't certain he'd been seeking her out. He had prepared for that moment, but he hadn't spurred it on. "No sir," he replied.
"But you intended to kill her?"
Again, Neville made the court wait for his reply. He had wanted to, but he hadn't intended to until the moment before he did it. He had debated this issue for months, maybe years and he couldn't recall a time when he hadn't tossed the idea around in his head. He had wanted to from the time he learned to hate her name, at a very early age. "No."
"Isn't it correct that Mrs. Lestrange killed your parents?"
"Yes sir."
"Isn't it also correct that she had tortured them into insanity when you were still a very little child?"
"Yes."
"Wouldn't it be correct to assume that you wanted to avenge your parents?"
"Of course," he answered in the same calm, thoughtful demeanor he'd been using all day. Even with Fudge's goading Neville was not losing his calm. This was the biggest difference that Hermione noticed. He really had grown up and she'd missed it.
"But if you hadn't intended to seek out and kill Mrs. Lestrange then how could you avenge your parents?"
"That's a loaded question," mumbled Hermione irritably.
Ron shushed her and Harry patted her hand in an effort to calm her.
"I wanted to avenge them," he answered slowly, "but I didn't intend to kill her in order to do so. It just… happened."
"It just happened?"
"I mean to say that as we were there dueling it occurred to me that one of us was going to die that night. It just happened to be her night and not mine." Neville kept his eyes focused on Fudge. He did not look up to his supporters or the people who had already judged him. He was only looking towards the justice that Fudge would surely deal him.
"You believe that she would've killed you had you not killed her?"
"Given the opportunity she would've killed me first, yes."
"You didn't give her the opportunity?"
"No sir," Neville answered.
"You preemptively struck out at her in the belief that she would kill you?"
"No. She struck me first. We dueled for awhile before I used the unforgivable curse on her."
"But you thought she would kill you?" Fudge asked, trying to get under Neville's cool exterior.
"Of course."
"You didn't think to contact the authorities?"
"There was no time."
"And you didn't think to simply stun her?"
"Stunning spells don't seem to stick to Bellatrix Lestrange," the young man replied, looking back to that night in the ministry during his fifth year. Several stunners had hit Bellatrix during that battle and she took them in stride.
"So you decided that killing her would resolve the issue?"
"At the time it was the thing to do."
"At the time?"
"Everything has its time and place sir."
"And that night was the time and place for Bellatrix Lestrange's death?"
Neville didn't answer. He didn't feel that Cornelius' comment was a question.
"You killed her and waited for the authorities to arrive?" Fudge continued after the brief pause.
"Yes. That's correct."
"What made you decide to wait?"
"It felt like the right thing to do."
"So after killing Mrs. Lestrange you though it was the right thing to confess to the crime of doing so?"
"Yes," he answered plainly. Fudge's questions were growing repetitive and tiring, but Neville saw through his ruse. By asking similar questions over and over he hoped to find a contradiction within to trap the young man who stood accused.
"Have you anything to say for yourself?"
Neville took another long moment to gather his thoughts. He had many things to say for himself but nothing really leapt out at him. He shook his head from side to side.
"The jury will retire to deliberate your case," Fudge intoned.
The guards removed Neville from the room as the jury left and the members of the gallery started a vicious commentary on the trial so far.
Hermione breathed heavily. There were no words to express the terrible feeling she had welling in her chest. Ron held her hand lightly; Harry patted her every now and again on the shoulder.
The chatter died down as the jury returned. It didn't take them very long. Neville was brought back in and allowed to stand in the center as he had been before he was escorted out.
"Neville Longbottom you have hereby been found guilty for the crime of using an unforgivable curse and the death of Bellatrix Lestrange. You have been sentenced to seven years…"
Cornelius could not finish for the uproar of the crowd. Angry shouts resounded all around and no amount of gavel banging would stop it. Neville stood quietly at the center of everything, understanding fully his fate. He did not acknowledge the angry yells in his behalf; he didn't seem to register that there even was a gallery screaming at the injustice of the thing.
He continued to look at Cornelius placidly. He nodded a few times and at that tiny gesture the crowd went silent.
The silence lingered well beyond the average comfortable range. Finally Cornelius spoke. "You will be taken to Azkaban immediately to begin your sentence. Do you have anything you'd like to say?"
Neville took his eyes off of Fudge for the first time that morning. He looked around at his friends and smiled to them with a gentle nod. He saw the people who had raised their fists in outrage at his sentence only moments before. He appeared to them grateful for a moment and at the same time relieved.
He turned back to Cornelius and said softly: "thank you."
His tiny voice carried through the entire hall, washing over every witch or wizard who had ever been touched by the clumsy, forgetful boy that Neville once was. His words meant a different thing to each and every one of them, but they all understood.
Neville didn't know if he would make it out of this alive or better off, but he knew that it was the right thing and he was going to see it through as far as he could.
