Hello, again, and it's nearly chapter 20. But it's chapter19 now, so I'll get on with that.
Gonzo is 1 year old today! (1st August) If you don't know what Gonzo is, you must be a slug or something.
Zane Lowe, Aww, those quirky marsupials.
"I met a man, locked away
For things he hadn't done.
Innocence on a ball and chain.
He'll never feel the sun
Again on his face or roses
In his hands but when he smiled
At me I could understand."
Audioslave 'Exploder'Harry stood there, watching the prone form of Daniel lie awkwardly on the sofa. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and she didn't seem to be hurt.
"Don't worry about her lad, she's been doing that all day." Said a voice from above him. A portrait was staring at him, a sympathetic look on her face. "She'll be fine." Nodding gratefully, Harry glanced around the room, and a tremendously shiny object inside a cabinet immediately caught his attention. Walking softly over to it, he saw it was a roughly hewn stone bowl, filled with swirly white liquid, or was it gas? Lifting it out and setting it on a side table, Harry stared down at it, to his surprise; he seemed to have an aerial view of an huge stone room. He put his head closer, and the tip of his nose touched it, and everything around him jumped suddenly. He was sitting in the room he had observed from above. Rows of witches and wizards were sitting staring into the middle of the room, where a huge chair was placed, chains hanging menacingly around the arms. Suddenly, the door opened, and the room went completely silent. Two Dementors entered, a man walking between them. Harry let out a gasp that echoed around the room slightly. It was Snape. He was wearing robes that were obviously new, and was looking around the room with a strangely bored expression on his face. Sitting in the chair, the chains didn't move to bind him, but merely clinked a bit. Mr. Crouch, who was looking very alert and disdainful, although his hair was slightly grey, stood up.
"Severus Snape, you are here to give the Minsitry of Magic inside information about the Dark Lord's supporters, in exchange for your protection from the Death Eaters?" he stated, reading off a piece of parchment.
"Yes." Snape answered curtly, he obviously didn't like Crouch.
"I take it this is information we haven't heard before?" Crouch sneered. Sneering back, Snape nodded. Harry sat in silence as Snape talked for what seemed like hours about rallying points, secret operations, places all over the country where Muggles were taken and tortured, and finally, about the inner circle of the Death Eaters.
The witches and wizards murmured appreciatively, scribbling notes, and listening intently to what Snape was talking about. Even Mr. Crouch looked impressed. When he finished talking, Snape lounged back in the chair, surveying Mr. Crouch with intense satisfaction.
"Well. The vast majority of that information was unknown to us." Muttered Crouch, although the whole room could hear him. "But you, Snape, are a Death Eater. Who has wandered willingly into our midst." Snape looked as though he'd been slapped. "And the penalty for being a Death Eater, especially one who has served the Dark Lord for as long as you, is life imprisonment in Azkaban." He clicked his fingers, and the chains glowed gold and snapped around Snape's arms.
There was movement beside Harry, and he turned and saw that Dumbledore had stood up.
"Mr. Crouch?" he said softly, and the whole room went quiet again. Snape looked at Dumbledore suspiciously.
"Yes Dumbledore?" snapped Crouch.
"Perhaps Mr. Snape would prefer to work for the Minsitry now." Only a strange sort of squeak from Snape broke the silence that followed.
"What do you mean?" asked Crouch, turning around fully to face Dumbledore.
"What I mean, Barty, is that Mr. Snape could work as a spy for the Minsitry, liaising with the Death Eaters and then informing the Minsitry about their goings-on." Crouch turned to face Snape, who was nearly crying with relief. Approving murmurs from the surrounding witches and wizards echoed around the room.
"Unless, of course, you would have any objections to that, Mr. Snape?" Snape shook his head furiously.
"Very well." Said Crouch, obviously irritated. The chains binding Snape loosened and fell away. "When you haves news to report, you will owl me directly. Do you understand?" Crouch snarled. Nodding joyously, Snape stood up, and was dismissed.
The room gave another lurch.
There were two chairs in front of him now. Mr. Crouch's hair was almost completely grey. The door swung open again. Four Dementors entered. Harry gasped again. Two Dementors were leading Sirius towards the chair. The other two were half leading, half carrying the limp form of Daniel, who they placed unceremoniously into the chair, which bound her instantly. Thick chains snaked around her arms and chest, yet her head slumped forward. She seemed barely conscious. Sirius, on the other hand, was looking very alert and aware. The chair had bound him also, but he seemed more concerned about Daniel, who wasn't moving. His hair was short. Almost as short as Harry's own, but was sitting quirkily on his head, bits sticking out everywhere, making him look like a highly dangerous porcupine. A witch stood up and went over to Daniel, Harry saw with a shock that it was Madame Pomfrey, and she lifted Daniel's head, looking carefully at her eyes. When we went back to her seat, she nodded at Crouch, who got to his feet.
"Daniel Snape." He said firmly. Her eyes opened a fraction. "You are accused of tracking down and torturing four respected members of the Wizengamot, eventually killing three of them." He paused. She was laughing a slow, harsh laugh. "The charge amuses you?" he said, his voice rising slightly. Nodding laboriously, she opened her eyes fully, and stared right at Crouch.
"I didn't know Death Eaters were respected by the Minsitry." She drawled croakily, breathing heavily. "He only got away because your Aurors interrupted me." She snarked, gesturing at someone behind Crouch. Harry looked to his right slightly. Lucius Malfoy was sitting beside Narcissa, who was cradling a bundle of blankets.
"Lucius Malfoy is a highly influential member of decent wizarding society, and is not a Death Eater." Crouch hissed.
"So influential you wouldn't even consider him to be a Death Eater?" she barked, and instantly, there was a streak of purple light and a gash appeared across her cheek, spattering her ragged robes with blood. Sirius immediately let loose with a stream of swear words directed at Mr. Crouch, not stopping when Crouch pointed his wand at him. The outburst seemed to have a lot of energy out of Daniel; she slumped against the back of the chair, although her eyes were still fixed on Crouch.
"If they'd done to me what they did to her, I'd have killed them as well." Growled a voiced near Harry. Mad Eye Moody was watching the trial with a keen look on his scarred face.
Harry looked more closely at Daniel. Faded scars criss-crossed her arms, and there was a ghost of a bruise on her forehead. Sirius said something to her, and she smiled again, showing a few broken teeth.
"No talking!" snapped Crouch. Sirius raised both his eyebrows and stuck his tongue out impishly at Crouch.
"Snape!" he shouted. Daniel had lapsed into half-consciousness again.
"You don't have to shout, Crouch. I can hear you if you talk normally." She replied quietly, not opening her eyes.
Flustered, Crouch shuffled his papers.
"Would you like to tell the room why you tortured four members of the Wizengamot and then killed three?" he asked, looking at her closely.
"No." she answered. Crouch went puce.
"If you do not answer, your sentence will be doubled." He said angrily, his eyes narrowing.
"She doesn't have to answer if she doesn't want to!" roared Sirius, almost as angry as Crouch. Several of the witches and wizards around Crouch agreed with Sirius, some with oddly sympathetic looks on their faces.
"Very well." Said Crouch, livid. "Daniel Snape, you are charged with the torture and murder of three Wizengamot members, and the torture and attempted murder of another. How do you plead?"
"Guilty as hell." She answered, grinning wickedly.
"I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment in Azkaban." He was steadily getter redder and redder with anger.
"Whoo hoo!" Daniel exclaimed sarcastically. Crouch turned on Sirius.
"Sirius Black, you are charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew, and the manslaughter of 12 innocent muggles. You are also charged with leaking information to the Dark Lord as to the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter. How do you plead?" Crouch looked fanatical.
"Not guilty." Sirius whispered in response, eyes shimmering. The surrounding witches and wizards looked expectantly at Crouch, waiting for more questions.
"You are sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban." Crouch said triumphantly, and sat down.
"What about the trial?" screamed Sirius, tears streaming down his face.
"There will be no trial." Answered Crouch coldly, and summoned the Dementors. Daniel looked blankly at Crouch, and then at Sirius, who was staring at the floor, still crying. The Dementors pulled them out of their chairs, and the combined shock of Sirius not getting a trial, and having to stand up, caused Daniel to collapse heavily onto the hard stone floor. Sirius broke out of the Dementor's grasp and rushed forwards. Several members of the 'audience' stood up and pointed their wands directly at Sirius. He crouched on the floor beside her, talking softly.
"Take them away!" bellowed Crouch. The Dementors wrenched Sirius away from Daniel, and pulled him, kicking and screaming and swearing, out of the room. The other two lifted Daniel off the floor, and dragged her out. The room dissolved into angry talking. Some were angry with Daniel and Sirius, some were angry at Crouch.
"It'll be alright." Said a kind voice beside him. Dumbledore was looking straight past him, at a man Harry hadn't noticed. He had his head in his hands, longish black hair obscuring his face from view, and his thin chest was heaving with muffled sobs.
"It's work out o.k, Severus. Crouch will see sense."
Bit longer than previous chapters. I suppose I shouldn't be saying this here, but if anyone has anything they'd like to happen between Snape and the Marauders, for documentation in Krieg, you can e-mail or IM me about it. E-mail address is in my bio.
Danke schön.
Xanadan