/
Chapter twelve
Delayed satisfaction
/
Four, silvery glowing bodies raced through the dark forest, pushing through the thick undergrowth. One of them lagged behind others a little – injured, leaving silver-blue blood spots on the layer of needles. The small heard was fleeing quickly, but their pursuers were not far behind their speed and endurance. They were relentless on their heels and there were a lot of them.
Knowing they could not hold on much longer, the biggest unicorn in their lead kept sending out telepathic desperate calls…
/
Angela apparated so hastily that she almost ended up pierced by the tree branch. Stumbling after the jump to the ground, she looked around. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated and aimed the direction of calling for help. Knowing it was quite risky, but having no other choice to catch up, she apparated again and appeared right between the prey and the pursuers. Nevertheless, the young witch was ready for it and she hastily created a portable anti-vampire shield in front of her, relieved that her practicing paid off.
The unicorns noticed her and stopped, and she extended the shield around them with a wide wave of her wand. The vampires reached the blue wall and most of them roared so furiously that Angela's hair literally stood on their ends in terror.
Monarchaz turned to her. You were almost late, he scolded her mildly.
I'm sorry, but I'm here on time, am I not? Angela responded grumpier than she originally intended. Is this your family? she pointed to a noble mare and two foals.
Yes.
The vampires formed a tight circle around her shield and their number seemed to be even higher than before. One of them suddenly stepped forward, and Angela gasped in surprise. She thought she had definitely burnt this one down back on the Grimmauld Place!
The vampire's features smoothed out and in the bluish glow, she recognized the quite handsome face of the dark haired vampire, whom she met after Harry´s birthday party.
"You again," snapped the vampire icily. "You shouldn't have come here. You will not escape us this time.''
"It was my duty," Angela retorted, trying to suppress the trembling, which took over her knees.
The vampire stared at her for a moment without saying a word, and then – with a short, simple gesture – he summoned two others, whose faces also lost the expression of a hunting beast. One of them looked younger than the speaker did, but otherwise resembled him very closely. The other seemed to be a slightly older vampire, with bronde hair and sharp features.
Angela also noticed that behind the first circle of upset bloodsuckers, the second one began to form. She had to admit it to herself; this time there were too many of them. She would have either to sacrifice Monarchaz and his family or die along with them.
The foals clung uneasily to their mother, but their father watched the countless enemies with an exceedingly calm gaze.
"I can see in your eyes that you already know your options," the good-looking vampire stated coldly, a cruel smile forming on his lips.
Angela glared at him. "If I'm going to die here, you can bet that I will take as much of you as possible with me."
"But why should you do that? Why don't you simply run away and leave the unicorns behind? Save your young, pretty neck," hissed the vampire mischievously.
"Why do you have such a strong urge to kill them?" she asked ignoring his taunting, not without curiosity.
The circle around her shield growled uneasily.
"That's our business," snapped the vampire.
"Just like whether I stay here or not is mine," Angela snapped, frantically thinking about how to get out of this mess.
"There´s no way out for you," said the bronde one, standing on the handsome vampire's right side, as if reading her mind. "If you don't want to abandon them, you won't get out of here."
Angela grimaced and mobilized her Occlumency.
"Excellent, you're not bad at this," the first vampire complimented her ironically. "But we're better, so don't make us force our way into your mind."
In addition, her hands started to shiver now as well. Damn. She clenched them into fists.
"Why don't you at least introduce yourself, since you're already talking with me like this?" Angela snapped, trying to divert their attention to something else than reading her thoughts.
"We can easily do that, since you've already shown interest," the dark-haired vampire concluded, folding his slender arms. "I'm Lynx," he introduced proudly, and then nodded at his younger copy. "This is my younger brother Lupus and…"
"And Serpens," the bronde one interrupted him coldly.
"But those are Latin names for various animals!" Angela blurted out without thinking. "You still follow such an old tradition?"
The vampires looked at each other.
"Yes, they are," Lupus spoke for the first time, confirming her words.
"Looks like you've got some knowledge in that pretty naive head of yours," Lynx added thoughtfully.
Serpens hissed at them both in a language she could not understand.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment, but so be it," she shrugged. "I'm Angela Rosier, so you can finally stop calling me Elessandra's daughter."
Not a single muscle in the vampires´ faces moved. Monarchaz approached her from behind.
What will we do? he asked her mentally.
Honestly? I have no idea, Angela replied pessimistically.
The unicorn´s cries for help woke her up in the middle of the night. She was tired and desperate from being unable to find a way out of this situation.
She eyed all three vampires who were staring at her in a way, which was starting to depress her. Then she looked around the snarling faces twisted in bloodlust all around and focused again on the vampires in front of her.
"So, what have you come to, Angela Rosier?" Lynx asked with a wicked smirk.
She took a breath: "Well… Either I apparate out of here and leave the unicorns at your mercy, which is against my conscience. Or, I stay here until the sun comes up, you disappear in the forest, and I save myself and them, if only for a moment," Angela summarized her gloomy thoughts.
"But you're mistaken, girl," snapped Serpens, giving a brief gesture behind.
One vampire from the first circle rushed against the shield without thinking. Angela flinched as his body slammed into it and began to hiss disgustingly. Then two more ran against it and soon, she started to pant heavily, even though they already stepped back groaning.
"We know very well that this annoying shield drains your energy. You definitely won't last until the morning, we won´t let you," Serpens concluded the demonstration.
Feeling helpless, Angela gave out to her soft knees and sat down to the ground. That vampire was right. Eventually, she would run out of strength and the only protection she was able to maintain for a while would disappear. Then not even the silver dragon around her neck would be able to help her, not against so many of them.
Bloody hell, what can I do? I must either apparate now or die a bit later. I have no other choice, she thought sulkily.
"But yes," said Lupus suddenly, reading her thoughts. "There is one more option left for you, after all."
Angela looked up to him in surprise: "What?"
Lynx seemed to remember something as well: "You're right, my bright little brother…"
However, Serpens did not look very excited: "That's a very bad idea," he gritted between his teeth.
"We all know very well what the High Noble Ones said," Lynx opposed him. "That it would be much more convenient for us all."
Serpens continued to frown but did not argue with him.
"Being Elessandra's successor will make things worse for her, but what wouldn't she do for her beloved unicorns," stated Lupus.
"And for her friends and family as well," Lynx added in a dangerous tone.
Slowly and with a bad hunch, Angela stood up. "What are you talking about here all the time?" she asked bristling.
Two vampire brothers turned to Serpens, as if for an approval. Then, even he nodded, though not very willingly.
Lynx looked her in the eye: "We have one more choice for you, Angela Rosier. Hear it out, before you choose."
/
Half of August was already approaching. It had not rained since the storm that raged at the beginning of the month, and the holidays have been once again dominated by heat and humidity.
Harry knew from Remus that the meeting of the Order with representatives of the Ministry would take place that evening and he was not exactly looking forward to it.
It was already late in the afternoon, he was sitting with Ron and Hermione in the salon, where it was at least a little cool and they were discussing everything, when grumpy Kreacher appeared in the doorway.
"Potter is requested to come to the kitchen. My lady wishes to speak with him," he hummed and disappeared again.
Harry stood up in surprise. Angela? Now and in the kitchen?
Lately, she hardly ever showed up at the Black family house and he missed her... At least he had Ron and Hermione here, who were excellent companions when they were not hiding somewhere alone. The two of them looked equally confused.
Angela was already impatiently waiting for him. Well, to be more precise, her head was.
"Hello Harry," she greeted him from the fireplace where the green flames were blazing.
"Hi. What´s going on?" Harry knelt down so she did not have to look up so much.
"Well… Do you still want to help me?"
Harry furrowed his brows: "It depends on with what…" he started but then noticed her strangely tense expression. "If it has anything to do with who I think…"
"Yes, it does," she confirmed. "I know where his lair is. He lives there alone, but I don't want to go into this without any support. He may be a coward, but he's still a trained Death Eater. I need you to cover my back. If you´re still up to it…"
"Gladly!" Harry blurted out. "You know I'll do anything to make that bastard get what he deserves."
"Okay. Wait ten minutes and then come through the fireplace, I must alter the protective charm to let you in. Thirty-three Golden Street. And better take your awesome Cloak with you."
"Definitely," he nodded.
Angela's head disappeared.
First, Harry ran up the stairs to get his Cloak of Invisibility. Fortunately, he was already an adult as came to the wizarding world, so nobody could not keep him on the headquarters all the time and with the Trace charm finally broken, he could use magic anywhere. He checked his precious wand safely placed in his back pocket and then he went back into the salon.
"So, what's going on, Harry?" wondered Hermione.
"I'm going with Angela to avenge my godfather," he briefly explained the situation to them.
"What?" Ron jumped out of his chair.
"She found Pettigrew. We're going to get him," Harry smiled rather frighteningly.
"But that's dangerous! Shouldn't we go with you at least?" protested Hermione. "What if something happens to you?"
"No," he shook his head uncompromisingly. "The two of us have to handle this. I owe it to Sirius. Don't worry, Hermione. You both know me, don't you?"
"Well, we do," both his friends sighed unhappily.
"Tell Remus when he returns. I won't be gone for more than… probably a few hours," Harry assumed and headed for the door.
"A few hours?" Ron yelled. "And how are we going to explain your absence at the meeting?"
"I´m sure you'll think of something," Harry grinned at him.
"Take care!" Hermione called after him.
"Sure!" they heard Harry replying chillingly cheerfully in response already from the corridor.
Worried Hermione turned to Ron: "Think about how we're going to tell Lupin about this without him growling at us…"
/
The journey through the Floo network was not exactly pleasant. Coughing hard, Harry stumbled out of the fireplace into the vast living room. Angela was waiting for him sitting in an armchair with her legs crossed, wearing black clothes.
"Welcome to the Rosiers´ house, Mr. Potter," she greeted him with a small smirk.
Harry looked around curiously. "Your mother…?"
"She's not home again," she assured him and swiftly stood up. "So… I assume it's going to take us a while to get past the security precautions Pettigrew has there. We'll be gone for about two hours if I'm optimistic."
"Never mind," Harry nodded.
Angela eyed him in a little strange manner: "To whom did you tell that you were going away?"
"Hermione and Ron. They will let Remus know."
"All right. Come on then, we must go outside, so that we can… You haven't been to the Apparition exams yet, have you?" she turned to him already in the hall.
"No, but neither did you," Harry sneered.
Angela returned him the same expression: "You know that magical age restrictions do not exactly limit what I can do. Although sometimes I would do without these benefits," she sighed shortly. "I will take you into a tow."
They went out of the house into the garden.
"Are you sure he'll be there?" Harry asked as she led him to the corner of the back yard.
Angela nodded: "Yes. I was there to check it half an hour ago."
"Hmmm, how did you even find him?" Harry observed her curiously.
She pressed her lips together, which – as he already knew – indicated she did not want to reply that question.
"Believe me – you don´t want to know," she said quietly in the end.
Just as he expected… Harry grabbed her elbow and made his former girlfriend look into his eyes.
"Is something wrong, Angie?" he asked thoughtfully. He saw a strange shadow in her eyes that had not been there before, but he could not describe it.
"No, what is supposed to be wrong?" she answered calmly, but Harry had known her for a while and knew she was lying. For the time being though, he decided to let her get away with it and released his grip around her.
"Besides being involuntarily betrothed, that is," Angela added with a sour smirk as they started moving again. She glanced sideways at Harry, but he remained silent.
After a few steps, she could not take it anymore. "Don't you even mind?"
"Of course I do," Harry turned to her, knowing well about what she was asking him. "But I believe what you said. That you did not want to be engaged to him."
She was looking at him with her eyes shining, apparent relief all over her face. Then, as if she caught herself doing something wrong, she quickly looked away.
"Thank you…" she muttered and stopped. "Here is enough. Take my hand…"
Harry was more than happy to do that.
"Now just hold on tight."
/
Angela jumped over the stream that crossed their path and Harry followed her. They climbed a short slope and a view opened to them. They found themselves quite far away in the quiet countryside, nearby a fenced inconspicuous house with a black roof, which stood somewhat apart from the other buildings.
They had to get here stealthily, so Angela apparated a little further away. By the time they got here, the sun had already set and there was light in one of the windows of the house.
"He's in there alone?" asked Harry.
Angela shrugged: "I can't guarantee that, but we have to risk it. So, first the protective zones. We have to get through them without him noticing."
Harry nodded. Subtly breaching the shields, that should not be difficult... Hopefully.
/
Angela trotted to the agreed spot by the back door and Harry covered her with his cloak. Darkness was quickly falling on their surroundings.
"So, that´s it," Harry whispered.
"Yeah. I peeked inside on the way," she informed him in the same hushed voice. "It looks like he's really alone. The house is protected against Apparition, you must have recognized that as well.''
"So, the only way he can get away from us is, if he turns into a rat," he stated quietly.
Angela nodded. "That's why I have this."
She flicked her wand and a small cage appeared in her hand with a clink.
"We just have to get him inside," she sneered unhappily.
"Let's go then," Harry hissed, still holding the cloak over them.
Angela's hand with the cage dropped and she quietly unlocked the back door with her wand. She smiled. He used the exact spell she had been expecting. They slipped into the house unseen.
/
Wormtail relished the aroma wafting from the ancient furnace, thanking for the spells existence in his mind. Without them, he would probably burn even the water for tea. His wand was on the table in front of him.
He slowly put the glove on his right hand, got up from the chair and headed to the pantry. As he opened it, he overheard the soft click of the kitchen door.
He ran his eyes over the dusty bottles and finally decided on the tried and tested Firewhiskey. He slammed the pantry door and opened the sideboard. He pulled out one of the many worn out glasses and headed back to the table.
His gaze fell on its surface and he did not register the wand. He stood still in shock. At that moment, two figures suddenly appeared in a dark corner of the kitchen, and Wormtail knew that he was screwed. One of them also had his wand in their hands…
/
"Gave us a hard time, bastard," Harry snapped, spitting on the messy floor.
The kitchen looked like it had been bombed.
"He's just lucky we need him alive," Angela stated, holding a cage with an incredibly loud squealing rat. "Otherwise, he would have been dying for a long time," she added in a dangerous tone so that the rat fell silent for a moment.
/
There was a pleasant, cool temperature in the underground room at the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. The armchairs by the wall facing the three long tables belonged to the Dumbledore brothers. Almost all the members of the Order were sitting at their spots, excitedly talking to each other. Ron, Hermione and Neville, as new members, sat on the opposite side of the Dumbledore brothers, on the very edge of the table.
Hermione was almost squealing from worry. Harry and Angela still had not returned. They had informed Headmaster Dumbledore that Harry would be coming later and surprisingly, he did not ask much, although he clearly did not like Harry leaving the house without any escort. The only other person missing was Snape.
For that evening, one small table was added in the room, where the most important representatives of the Ministry of Magic, including Rufus Scrimgeour, sat. That day, it was finally decided under what conditions the Order and the Ministry would cooperate. The minister was discussing something important with Albus and Aberforth Dumbledores, when the door suddenly flew open.
Angela hurried into the room with messy hair, tightly clutching her wand in one hand and a small cage in the other. Harry followed behind her with a long gash on his face. As they made their way to the main seats, the conversation gradually quieted, until it died out altogether.
Young Rosier conjured a tall pedestal in front of the Ministry people's table and swung the cage at it. Something writhed inside with an incredibly nasty squeaking. Harry stood next to it with a disgusted expression and with his wand ready.
At first, they all stared at them in amazement before focusing on the cage. The rat inside looked like it was going through an epileptic seizure. So far, only Remus Lupin seemed to realize what this was about, as his face acquired an unusual, devilishly satisfied expression.
Angela brushed the unruly strands of hair from her face and casually began dusting her pants. Harry just stared at the cage. Albus Dumbledore glanced from one to another and then calmly sat down. His brother Aberforth headed toward them instead.
"Mr Potter? Miss Rosier? What's this supposed to mean?" he jabbed his finger at the cage.
Angela stood tall as she replied: "This is Peter Pettigrew. The wizard who is commonly believed to be dead."
"Otherwise, he calls himself Wormtail and he's the murderer of several Muggles," Harry added.
"And the follower of the Dark Lord," Angela finished gloomily.
Rufus Scrimgeour approached them with a surprised expression: "But that's not possible!" he blurted out.
The whole room was beginning to buzz excitedly.
"You'll believe it when you make him to give up his Animagus form," Angela replied seriously, before turning to the cage again. "Shut up or I´ll fetch some hungry cat!" she barked.
The rat fell blissfully silent.
"For all the crimes of which the Ministry had ever accused my godfather Sirius Black and based on that unjustly imprisoned him in Azkaban, is responsible this vile rat," growled Harry.
"As irrefutable proof, we are handing over the culprit directly to you. You can get the Veritaserum ready right away," Angela added, looking at the Minister of Magic.
"How did you accomplish this, Miss?" Aberforth asked. "To find him and bring him here with Mr. Potter?"
The young with returned the wizard´s inquiring look: "Does it matter, sir? The important thing is that he's been captured, isn´t it?"
"I agree," Albus Dumbledore stated calmly. "And I´m more than glad that our younger generation already proves itself as a valuable gain to the Order…" the old headmaster winked at both Hogwarts students, who looked at each other sheepishly.
"So, Minister," Dumbledore turned to Scrimgeour. "You have a great opportunity to clear the name of an innocent person. Kindly act accordingly, please."
"Y-yes, of course," Scrimgeour blushed slightly. "We will immediately take him to the Ministry for questioning."
He gestured to a wizard behind him, who stood up and took the cage with a loathing expression.
"I hope the trial will be as soon as possible, sir," Harry remarked coldly.
"Sure," nodded the minister. "Of course, we will call you in as a witness, Potter."
"It would be my pleasure," he replied.
"Take extra care of him. He's dangerous," Angela warned, glaring at the chubby rat.
"Of course," reacted the wizard holding the cage haughtily. "I know how to do my job, Miss."
"I'm glad to hear that, so if he escapes, I'll find you and personally slam this cage over your head," Angela informed him flatly, irritated by his tone.
Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and the wizard turned away pouting. The representatives of the Ministry, led by Scrimgeour, hurriedly left the meeting room of the Order of the Phoenix. Almost all eyes followed the cage in the hands of one of them the whole way to the door.
Soon, Albus Dumbledore dismissed everyone else, even though the Order members left reluctantly, with many unanswered questions in their heads and disgruntled chatter, and he remained alone with his brother, Harry, Angela, Ron, Hermione and Remus.
"I assume you tracked him down, Angela," Dumbledore addressed her smugly, his old amused expression once again on his face.
"A reliable source advised me," the brown-haired witch nodded slowly. "And then… I asked Harry for help."
"I insisted to do this with her," Harry corrected her.
A fleeting smile crossed Angela´s lips.
"I suspect that almost all of you want to attend Pettigrew´s trial as witnesses," the Hogwarts headmaster glanced over them.
"The four of us for sure," Lupin replied, turning to his former students.
Hermione seriously nodded, Harry looked just as stubborn as before and Ron declared: "Sure thing!"
Only Angela lowered her head, looking somewhat depressed suddenly.
"However, as for you, Angela," the headmaster addressed her. "You shouldn't be coming there at all."
She straightened up sharply: "But I will go there, Professor. I don't want to give myself away, and I´ll be careful, but I'll definitely be sitting there when that bastard is convicted."
Albus Dumbledore sighed: "How could I have hoped for anything else? But it's at your own risk, Angela."
/
Angela peeked cautiously out of the toilet door into the corridor – it seemed to be clear. She walked quietly to the stairs and ran down into the empty hall. She looked around once more and quickly made her way to the door. She relied on Harry still being preoccupied with questions from his friends.
She was already reaching for the doorknob, when a voice spoke behind her: "You´re running away again?"
Angela froze, but did not turn around.
"What are you so afraid of? That I'm going to blame you?" Harry continued quietly, leaning against the frame of the door leading to the salon.
She remained silent, unable to move. Like that, Harry could not see her tense and tired expression.
"You decided to torture me like this forever?" he raised his voice a little.
Angela slightly shook her head. No… That was not what she intended at all.
She just could not help but use any opportunity to see him, but then fear and guilt made her eager to be gone as soon as possible. It was foolish, yet she was not able to find a way to fight it.
She took a shaky breath and finally turned, but still did not know what to say, facing Harry´s bright gaze.
"You keep appearing and disappearing as you please. Do you even realize how it affects me?" he scolded her.
"Harry, I…" she anxiously ran a hand through her long hair. "I don't want to hurt you…"
"Yet that's exactly what you're doing," he replied seriously.
She lowered her eyes to the floor. Harry sighed and approached her slowly.
"It can't go on like this," he whispered, took her by the chin and gently made her raise her head.
"…I know," she replied hoarsely, sinking in his eyes.
"Then why don't we give us another chance?" he suggested upright.
"Harry, but you… Do you really want to?" she asked with her throat tight. "Will you be able to trust me again?"
"I already do," Harry stated seriously. "Otherwise, I would not be standing here."
Angela´s eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"Angela, I feel like headless without you," he continued. "You are settled in my mind and you stole my heart. I simply need you."
Harry´s words made her heart pounding hard with joy, but there was more of what she was afraid. She raised her shaking hands and softly placed them on Harry´s chest.
"But do you remember what it would mean? You want to experience our secret relationship all over again? Hiding, secret meetings, pretending all the time... And what if it comes out? We already talked about this and..."
He interrupted her a bit harshly, grabbing her shoulder: "Yes, we did! But what's the point of talking and thinking about things that don't even have to happen? I don't care what it may or may not be! For all we know, Voldemort may go crazy and burn all of London down straight away, just to find out where I'm hiding. But if I'm with you, I can do it! With you, I can handle anything that snake bastard comes up with…"
Angela looked into his emerald eyes and those words that Daria had recently told her came to her mind.
So many things can happen to separate you forever and then you'll regret not taking advantage of the time you two had…
"Angie, just tell me, do you feel the same?" Harry asked much more quietly, his hand trembling on her cheek.
"You are incredible," she breathed out shakily, unable and not even wanting to stop her next words anymore. "And I love you for that, Harry. It's unbearable when I'm not with you..."
With a bitter chuckle, Harry cupped her face: "There you are, my fool," he addressed her gently. "It's about time we stopped acting like little children, isn't it?"
Not protesting anymore, Angela simply hugged him tight, indescribably grateful that he did not let her run away this time and buried her face between his neck and shoulder. Harry held her close, his chest raising against hers. He was not going to let her go so easily, not again. Both of them had already gone through too much trouble for each other.
However, Angela pulled away from him after a while. "I must go home, Harry, I'm sorry," she said regretfully. "I don't know when my mother will come back and she might start looking for me," she explained, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
Harry eyed her disappointed: "But that's a shame..."
"I will come again soon. And I'll see you in court before then."
"Do you promise?"
"Promise," Angela nodded with a small smile.
"All right then… But before I let you go…" Harry leaned down to her lips and after what now felt like an eternity, he kissed her with all the love he felt for her.
Angela sighed and lovingly wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss no less eagerly. It felt so good to have Harry so close again, to feel his warmth, his hands around her waist, his tongue playing with hers… Merlin, how she missed this feeling.
Harry went through the equally blissful moment of happiness, after all those lonely days and restless nights finally knowing this beautiful girl was his again. It felt so damn good to have her in his arms that he did not want their kiss to ever end.
After a sweet minute, they somehow managed to say goodbye and Angela walked out the door with a dreamy smile on her lips. Harry leant over the closed door with a sigh. Her lips tasted much better than he remembered…
Then a voice from the stairs to the kitchen tore Harry out from his daydreaming about carrying Angela upstairs to his bed.
"So, you guys got back together?"
Harry jerked around and registered Remus' smile. For Merlin´s sake, he was absolutely ignorant to their surroundings.
"Well, sort of…" he admitted sheepishly. "But you must keep quiet about this, promise!"
"Sure," Remus held up two fingers. "I swear I will be silent like a grave!" he declared, his face bright. "When will be the wedding?"
Harry blushed: "Don't make fun of it, okay?"
"But I'm not. I'm dead serious!"
Harry grinned at him and Remus laughed.
"At least you'll stop looking like a dour goblin," he remarked calmly. "From your expression, I guess you missed her a lot, didn't you?"
"An awful lot," agreed Harry with a sigh.
/
"The present accused, Death Eater Peter Pettigrew, has been charged based on the witness statements of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and Remus Lupin, as well as on his own confession under the influence of Veritaserum and convicted by a unanimous vote of the Wizengamot of the following… Affiliating with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Revealing the hiding place of the Potters and thus complicity in their deaths. Murdering twelve Muggles during Massacre in London, while trying to escape his pursuer Sirius Black. Deliberately deceiving the public when he faked his own death. Helping with the return of You-Know-Who. From yet another assassination of Death Eater Igor Karkaroff at the behest of his Master. And beyond all this that also from not checking in the Animagus Registry. He is hereby unconditionally sentenced to life imprisonment in the new prison fortress of Albaran. At the same time with this decision, formerly wanted Sirius Black, who passed away last year, is posthumously cleared of all charges, and the Wizengamot, along with the Ministry of Magic, publicly and personally apologizes to his survivors for his unjustified twelve-year imprisonment in Azkaban."
Rufus Scrimgeour paused for a moment to catch his breath.
"Take the convicted away," he snapped coldly, slamming the golden hammer irreversibly on the table in front of him.
At the same time, with a rattle, the chains still binding rather paled Wormtail to the uncomfortable chair loosened, and two shouldered sharp-eyed men in plum-blue robes immediately took charge of him. The small prisoner´s figure was completely lost among them.
The court hall was packed to bursting. After much consideration, it was publicly accessible, and thanks to that, many looks followed the dark wizard to the door. And among them, there were three full of satisfaction.
Wormtail suddenly straightened up and defied his captors with such sudden and unexpected force that they remained involuntarily standing still. The condemned Death Eater flashed a malevolent look over the full pews above him.
"You poor little rats! You'll be kicking your buckets in no time! All who dare to defy my Lord!" screamed Wormtail.
Two more Aurors approached from the door to help their colleagues.
"You're nothing but a bunch of wretches! You think anyone can protect you from Him? Fools!"
Aurors dragged him away relentlessly, but the man continued to spray poison around him.
"Not even this embarrassing Minister of Magic! Not even senile Dumbledore! Not even your holy Potter will protect you from my Lord's power! Be afraid! Fear him! You have a reason!" at the end of the last sentence, Wormtail began to giggle hysterically, and his laughter continued to ring in all of their ears, even though the door had already closed firmly behind him, and the Aurors were leading him further and further away.
A suffocating silence settled in the courtroom, broken only by the diligent scratching of Quick-Quotes Quill of Rita Skeeter, who was the only reporter with special permission to be present at the court. After a while, however, they all spoke at once, as they wanted to share their impressions. First, they had to let the members of the Wizengamot and the witnesses leave. Only then did the others slowly approach the door.
The green-robed woman rushed into the Daily Prophet office past Harry so fast that one of the heels on her high shoes broke off. He smirked as she quickly charmed it back and continued to look for a beloved face.
A good number of passers-by looked at him inquisitively, but he paid no attention. Hermione and Ron had already gone to the fireplaces with Tonks, only Remus was waiting in the corner.
Then he finally saw her.
Angela walked among the last with her head down and her face covered by the hood of her jacket. Harry reached out and grabbed her arm. She let herself be drawn to him. He looked into her eyes and saw an expression in them that accurately described his feelings. They waited until the last stragglers passed them and walked hand in hand to Lupin.
Earlier in the morning, before the trial even started, Harry had revealed to Angela that Remus had seen them, so they did not have to hide from him. They stopped by him, looked at each other and were silent. The last steps on the staircase slowly died down.
"While it won't bring one of my best friends back to life, I feel a lot better now," Remus finally broke the silence. "When the right one will finally pay."
"I agree with you," Harry nodded.
"Too bad my father didn't live to see this," Angela commented quietly.
"What do you say on his speech at the end?" Remus asked with a smirk.
"Crap of a desperate coward," snapped Harry with disgust.
"I heard the new secret prison is pretty rough, even if there aren't monsters like Dementors," Angela noted.
"We'd better get going," Lupin decided. "Before they start looking for us."
They slowly walked down the hall with Remus leading the way.
"Going home for a while?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. "To our house?" he added with a smile.
"No, Harry. I'd rather go to my mother. This trial dragged on and I don't want her to have any suspicions," Angela replied.
Harry´s face turned quite sad.
"Another time, okay?" she looked at him encouragingly. "And stop scowling like that. It doesn't suit you."
"Yeah," Harry huffed, but brightened up a bit when Angela placed a sweet kiss on his cheek.