Chapter 18: Trials and Tribulations
The group exchanged nervous and panicked glances; they would never make it to the school before the Dementors caught them, but at the same time they had no way to defend themselves; not against so many.
In an unspoken agreement they decided to get to the Professors and Aurors who were preparing for the inevitable attack, whilst shooting furtive glances around them checking for any casualties. One or two noticed the group of teenagers running towards them and frantically gestured for them to get a move on. The dementors weren't far away.
Remus noticed that Harry was one of the students heading towards the group and though concerned he wasn't all that surprised; Harry seemed to attract danger to him. "Harry, why are you still here?"
"Hermione, Ali and Ginny were in the clothes shops down there" he pointed out the street to Remus and the others surrounding them, his voice rising defensively "some Death Eaters went after them – no-one else noticed so we had to go after them!"
Remus looked concernedly at the girls, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, but…" Hermione looked round at her friends, blinking back confused tears that were only augmented by the overwhelming depression laid on the area by the dementors. "When we were in the shop we met Luna, and well, the Death Eater took her when they apparated away!"
Remus nodded distractedly, his eyes flashing with concern, but only half taking in the information; the Dementors were closing in. The teachers and aurors protectively formed a circle around the teenagers, and raised their wands.
"Now" began Trisana, her voice oddly calm for such a horrendous situation, there was also a dangerous edge to it that demanded attention, and respect, "We're going to head for the Three Broomsticks while keeping the Dementors at bay with the Patronus – which I need everyone to help with – from there we can floo back to the castle, everyone clear?"
A general murmuring of agreement could be heard, "NOW!" barked Trisana; if the dementors got any closer everyone would be in considerable danger. On her command almost all of the adults united with a shout of "Expecto Patronum!" Harry - wanting to be of some use - joined in.
As the huge assortment of beautiful silvery animals emerged from their wands and charged down the looming force, wrestling them back, the group began to move towards the Three Broomsticks. All the while ministry aurors were apparating into the surrounding area to help defend the village.
One auror was unspeakably unlucky; she apparated right into the middle of the mass of Dementors. She tried to summon a Patronus but it was too late; she was completely surrounded and the dementors were closing in for the kiss.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean and Ali halted, watching in shock and horror, unable to look away as the dementors descended upon the auror. Harry felt a jerk and a hand on his shoulders, and found himself hauled into the Three Broomsticks before he could witness the kiss; for which he was infinitely thankful; the prelude had been horrific enough. He was thrown into the glowing fireplace with barely the opportunity to breathe, much less tell it where to go, but somehow he managed it, and when he opened his eyes – which he had instinctively shut to keep out soot, etc – he was comforted by the site of the Entrance Hall, Hermione, Ginny and Ron. It was only then that he realised not all of his friends were there, and quickly moved out of the way of the fireplace so they could get through.
After all of the teenagers were back they waited for a few moments on their escorts, only to realise that -of course- they weren't coming; they had to stay behind to try and help the villagers fend off the dementors.
No-one spoke for several minutes; after what they had just been through there were no words. There was nothing to say; and if there had been, it was doubtful any of them would have managed to. Panic and fear had made their mouths dry; while dampening the rest of their bodies with sweat. They were reliving the last hour or so in their minds; each of them feeling guilty, uneasy and worried about Luna; who knows what the Death Eaters would do with her.
As the minutes passed the silence became more tense and awkward, they wanted to break it, but no-one could think of a suitable way. Eventually Ginny, never one to pay much heed to the traditions of tact or timing, blurted, "What the hell are we all standing around here for?"
Everyone looked over at her, a little surprised, stifling a nervous laugh Hermione replied, "I have no idea"
The group exchanged glances again 'What now?' they silently asked each other,
"Where d'you reckon everyone is?" muttered Ron, peering through the doorway to the Great Hall only to find it empty
"Common rooms most likely" said Harry, after a few moments thought,
"Should we head there then?" asked Ron, desperately seeking some sort of action; anything other than the oppressive silence stifling them just now,
"We may as well" added Ali, "it's not like there's anything going on here"
"Yes," agreed Hermione, who turned towards the stairs, "will there be a teacher there do you think?"
"Won't they all be in the village?" objected Ginny,
"Maybe not" Dean countered, "I mean, they couldn't just leave the first and second years defenceless could they?"
"That's what I was thinking" said Hermione, pausing as she reached the top of the stair, "but, I can't think of any teachers that I didn't see in Hogsmede"
"There was no sign of Snape" interjected Harry remembering that he had noticed and wondered if it was because Snape was one of the robed attackers.
"He was probably one of the bloody Death Eaters" spat Dean, reminding the others of just how much he didn't know.
"Mmm" mused Harry, before the group returned to silence; this time however it was much more comfortable.
They got to the common room quickly with no-on else around; though it was eerie to see the usually noisy, busy corridors so devoid of activity.
They hesitated slightly before entering the common room. Who knew what awaited them. They could walk in to find that only a few people had survived the attack; they could be about to discover that hundreds of their friends and classmates were dead, or they could find all the others sitting around the common room as though nothing had happened. Maybe they escaped before the worst of it. The only way they could find out was to go through the portrait hole; but all of them felt the same nervous apprehension; they didn't want their worst fears to be realised.
Harry glanced over his shoulder at his friends who all nodded supportively at him. He had no idea how he ended up leading the group through the door, but in a morbid way it was almost 'right'. He, the one who had by far the most experience dealing with tragedy, was about to introduce his friends. 'No' he thought to himself 'No tragedy, we're going to walk in, and it will be just the same as always, roaring fire, chatting, laughing students' He wasn't really convinced, but those thoughts were much more appealing than the last lot.
They walked in as a group, each dreading the worst; however they were welcomed by the sound of soft chatter. Not fearful whispering, just quiet, friendly chat. It was strange after all the drama of the afternoon, and oddly calming. They all let out breath that none of them realised they had been holding, and walked into the common room.
The greeting they received however was not as expected; they were met by several wand tips that were thrust into their faces.
"Harry! Thank god! You're okay!" exclaimed the owner of the wand obscuring his face delightedly, whilst pulling Harry into his arms,
Harry was completely baffled, until he saw who it was, his godfather. "Sirius" he replied, pleased to see him, "wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to remain hidden?"
Sirius stifled a chuckle at Harry's concern; 'he thinks way too seriously for his age.' Thought Sirius, 'Well, I'll just have to fix that!' "Well, yeah, I was, but they needed all the teachers they could get, so I volunteered to help look after the kids!"
Harry felt a lopsided grin pull itself into shape, "but how did they know you were innocent?"
"Well I thought you would've been here to vouch for me" Sirius began indignantly, whilst muttering, "which we need to speak about," then returning to normal volume, and gesturing towards some of the younger children huddled in a corner, "as you can see not all of them really believe it, though Neville here was a great help, after he got over the shock of seeing me alive he told them all that you had told him I was innocent, and that was enough to convince most of the older students thankfully." At this he shot Neville another grateful smile; Neville turned a little red a shrugged off the compliment.
"Now" continued Sirius, speaking lower and darker, and pulling Harry off to one side, "I need to talk to you"
Harry looked a little confused but nodded agreeing and walked away from his friends,
"Where the hell were you?" demanded Sirius, the occasional smile he had been sprouting vanishing.
"What?!" exclaimed Harry,
"You heard me" replied Sirius, "I was worried sick, loads of others kids got back from the village a half hour ago, why weren't you with them?"
Harry looked at Sirius disbelievingly, 'Sirius Black, prankster and marauder extraordinaire, was telling him off?' "I wasn't with them for two reasons, one, two death eaters went after three of my best friends and seeing as there was no one else around we had to go and help them! And two, because once those Death Eaters kidnapped Luna, dementors were closing in on the town, so forgive me if I didn't charge through them!" Harry snapped at him
Sirius looked a little shocked at the new information, 'the others must have escaped before the worst of it. Dementors?' The attack had been worse than he had let himself believe. Sirius faced Harry, a little sheepishly, "sorry, Harry, it's just…I couldn't be there to help you…and trapped here all I could do was worry about what was going on…I didn't mean to over-react"
Harry shot him an appraising glare, as though deciding whether or not to forgive him. Of course there really was no choice. Harry was still getting used to having someone care so much they worried and lectured, and though the novelty of it all was beginning to wear off, Harry had no desire to ruin things between them. He smiled after a few seconds, and watched as relief spread across Sirius face. "It's okay, I guess" he replied, "just don't lecture me, okay?"
Sirius nodded dumbly, "I can't promise too much though…I know more than I'd like to about Voldemort, and I know what he's capable of, what you're up against, I can't help but feel a few lectures will be inevitable" he said, his old grin reappearing on his face. Harry was always pleased to see Sirius smile that way; it was completely genuine, and though it was more commonplace now, it had been a fleeting rarity only last year.
"Just try and keep them short and sweet then?" replied Harry desperately; he felt no need to make up for the lack of 'parental lectures' that he had missed out on growing up, no, he was more than happy for them not to be a part of his life.
Sirius simply grinned in reply and Harry wandered back over to his friends.
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Harry didn't sleep much that night, no-one did. Even though they had been given plenty chocolate the effects of the Dementors hung around in the air. Hogwarts was almost completely without happy thoughts; students were worried and scared. Yesterday had been a close call; far too close for most people's liking.
Luckily there had been no fatalities, only a few injured students; and of course Luna who had gone missing. Harry couldn't help but feel awful about that, and to make it worse no-one even seemed to notice she was gone. Nor did they care; after all, it was only 'Loony' Lovegood.
Harry didn't particularly like the girl, she was rather odd, but it just seemed wrong that so few people cared. He felt sorry for her as he thought of all his friends and 'family'; all the people that would fight desperately to find him if he went missing. Of course her parents were probably searching for her, or doing something, but Harry was yet again reminded of how lucky he was to have so many great friends around to support him.
Thinking of his friends and how they were there for him, made him suddenly remember that today he would have to do the same for Sirius. Today was the trial. The more Harry thought of it, the more nervous he became. If things went wrong at this trial Sirius could end up back in Azkaban. The thought made Harry feel sick with anxiety; and if he was feeling like this, what on earth would Sirius be thinking just now?
It was still very early and it didn't look like anyone else was awake, but there was no way Harry could get any more sleep so he decided to go into the common room. He took a few of his Defence Against the Dark Arts books with him. At least by reading up on it he felt a little safer; though not really safe enough. The Defence Club Professor Danson was running was good; and Harry did think he could learn a lot from it, but it simply wasn't enough.
He knew that the only reason they survived yesterday was that they were lucky. Lucky that they only had to face one or two Death Eaters at a time; lucky that they had gotten their curses in first; and lucky that there had been enough teachers around to protect them from the dementors. Harry hated feeling that; it was like he was helpless. He needed other people to defend him; and when you're top of Voldemort's most wanted list, having to rely on others is the biggest fault a person could be hampered with.
It was then that Harry decided he would have to put a lot more effort into training. He couldn't possibly expect to escape Voldemort again, the same way as he had done in the past; by either luck or coincidence. He had to be able to fight for himself; he had to be ready to kill. And that scared the hell out of him.
As he was thinking he had managed to move from his bed in the dormitory to the couch by the warm fire in the common room. He was surprised to note that Hermione was also sitting there, looking to be similarly in thought. She glanced up at him and smiled weakly.
"Couldn't sleep either huh?" Harry asked quietly,
"no…I just…I felt so helpless in that shop when the death eaters were there; I mean all the books and things I've read…it's just not the same as being under attack…when I was safe here, in the last week or two, I was so pleased with myself, thinking I'd learned all these great spells and I would be able to defend myself easily…but…" she broke off, looking desperately towards Harry with desperation, "I couldn't even help fight off two death eaters that we outnumbered"
The fear was clearly visible in her eyes, but there was something else there that Harry hadn't really expected to see, shame. Alongside a silent determination, and anger. Anger towards those people that had made her feel inadequate, towards those that had made her scared. Because Hermione was a true Griffindor, her greatest fear was being afraid. And yesterday she had faced that fear, and she had failed to suppress it, and that was what hurt her most.
Harry found it easy to pick up on how she was feeling, mostly because he felt the same way. His hatred of the death eaters intensified tenfold then, because it was one thing for them to terrify him, but for them to reduce Hermione, one of his best friends, to the way she was feeling now he would never, could never, forgive them for that.
Hermione was always the strong one, the cool, level-headed one, the one who always knew what to do. But things had changed yesterday; their worst fears were slowly coming true, and every single one of them realised they had a long way to go before they were ready to face them.
"Hermione…I…" Harry trailed off, he had no idea what to say to her, he couldn't think of a single thing that would help, "I know how you feel" he finished, staring at the ground; he couldn't look at Hermione just then. He had admitted being scared to one of the people relying on him to defeat Voldemort. 'Way to make her feel better.' He thought to himself, 'tell her that her only hope is terrified, that's just great' But even as he was thinking that another part of his mind was disagreeing, 'but why the hell shouldn't I be scared? I have to face the most evil wizard of all time. That doesn't make me a superhero incapable of fear, just an ordinary kid way out of my depth. Who the hell do they think they are, making me feel like I can't be scared?'
Hermione looked over at Harry, her expression changed to one of relief; Harry looked back at her confused, "What?" he demanded,
"It just…that makes me feel so much better," she replied, "knowing that I'm not the only one"
Harry smiled at her and attempted to lighten the increasingly sombre mood, "glad I could do something to help"
She returned his smile warmly and they both fell into silence. "Sirius' trial is today" Harry said, after a few moments,
"Oh! So it is! I completely forgot!" Hermione exclaimed distressed, "you are going, right?"
"Yeah, at least I think so" Harry replied,
"Do you think I could go too?" she asked timidly,
"You want to go?" asked Harry, surprised,
"Of course!" Hermione replied, "so does Ron, we both want to see Sirius free…and of course we want to be there for you"
"For me?" Harry blurted.
"Yes for you" Hermione continued patiently, "don't even try and pretend that you're not worried about this, or that you won't be nervous throughout the whole thing…you never know, it might be a little easier if me and Ron were there to ease your concerns…"
Harry looked at his friend thankfully, "You're right, of course, it would be great if you guys could come along…I was just going to see Sirius about what's happening later anyway…I'll find out if you can come"
Hermione smiled gratefully, and picked up the book she had been reading earlier, "I'll see you later then"
"Yeah" called Harry, as he headed off towards the dormitory to change out of his pyjamas. He finished that quickly and eagerly set off to Sirius' determined to keep a positive attitude, to make this day as easy for his godfather as possible.
He reached the portrait which had – oddly enough- changed into a court scene, and let himself in. He hadn't been sure if he would find Sirius awake; but he was. He was pacing the room, muttering something under his breath; he hadn't even noticed Harry come in.
Harry walked over to the couch and fell onto it; the soft thump caused Sirius to whirl around suspiciously. "Oh, it's only you" he said relieved,
"It's good to know you're glad to see me" said Harry, feigning agitation
Sirius shot him a sympathetic look, "sorry"
"Its okay" Harry replied with a grin, "I take it you're panicking over the trial?"
"Just a bit" said Sirius light-heartedly, but Harry didn't miss the concern flash across his face,
"Sirius you'll be fine" he said seriously, "after all, Dumbledore's the chief warlock of the Wizengamot, his say is final, and he knows you're innocent"
"Not necessarily" Sirius muttered darkly,
"What?" asked Harry baffled, "of course Dumbledore knows you're innocent"
"Yes, I know, I meant his say isn't necessarily final"
"It isn't? What?" Harry was shocked and concerned by this new development
"If every other wizard on the jury disagrees with him, then he can be over-ruled"
Harry's jaw dropped, he hadn't known that. "Really?"
"Yes" said Sirius, his eyes darkening, the way they always did when he thought of Azkaban,
"So what?" declared Harry, determined to keep Sirius' spirits up, "You're innocent, at the very least one other person there is going to recognise that"
Sirius looked up, hope showing in his face, "you're right of course…why is it that you always seem like the rational adult and me the stupid kid?"
"Probably because you never grew up" remarked Harry with a smirk, which was promptly removed by the cushion that flew into his face.
"He does have a point Sirius" said another voice from the doorway; Remus. Moments later another cushion was in flight; this time heading straight for Remus, who fluently drew his wand, and reversed the direction of the cushion, which swiftly knocked Sirius off the arm of the couch where he had been perched. Harry chuckled as Sirius climbed up dusting himself down, attempting a frown, which eventually spread into a grin as he joined in the laughter.
"Are you two ready to go?" asked Remus, after they had recovered from laughing,
"It's this early?" asked Harry surprised,
"Yes" replied Remus, "Now are you ready to go?"
"Umm, yeah" replied Harry, "but umm…Ron and Hermione were wondering if they could go too?"
Sirius looked remotely surprised, but Remus simply nodded understandingly, "I think that should be fine"
Harry smiled, relieved. "I'll go and get them then…should I bring them back here?"
"No, go to Dumbledore's office…we're flooing from there"
"Okay, I'll see you soon"
"See you" replied Sirius, who was beginning to look slightly nauseous again.
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The party arrived at the ministry about half an hour later, most of them looking at least slightly nervous, except of course for Dumbledore, Harry doubted that Dumbledore had ever felt nervous in his life.
Dumbledore smiled round at the group, his eyes twinkling as usual, "Well good luck Sirius, though you shan't need it. I have to go and join the Wizengamot now," and with that he was gone. Leaving Sirius to be lead off by a ministry official, who was looking at him most suspiciously. Sirius smiled half-heartedly at Harry as he disappeared round the corner, Harry smiled back encouragingly.
Hermione's eyes were sparkling with excitement and curiosity; she had always been interested in the wizarding legal system and was about to see it in action. She was trying not to let her enthusiasm show too much though; after all, this day could be a disaster for Sirius, not that she thought it would be. There was just too much proof that he was innocent. They couldn't just ignore it could they?
Ron was fidgeting nervously; he didn't really know what he should do. Of course he had wanted to be here for Harry, and Sirius, who he was getting to know better, but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel awkward. He was extremely relieved when Remus told them it was time to go into the courtroom. Though he was becoming more concerned about Harry; he had gotten awfully pale, and looked a bit ill. It was understandable though, this trial could result in Sirius being Harry's legal guardian…he might get to leave the Dursley's…have a decent home. Ron couldn't even begin to imagine how Harry must feel at the moment.
Harry found the actual trial surprisingly boring. Evidence was presented, then countered, then more evidence was produced, which was also countered, and so it continued. It went on for a few hours, and Harry was quite surprised to see how much the opposition-which Fudge was leading- had against Sirius. Granted most of it was assumption or circumstantial, but so was a lot of their main offence.
The members of the Wizengamot kept their faces completely impassive, and Harry couldn't tell which side they were supporting, which only made the increasing nerves worse. The whole story had come out; about Sirius, James and Peter being illegal animagi, how Sirius was never the secret keeper, how Sirius went after the real traitor, and how Peter escaped. Then what had happened in Harry's third year; and what Peter had done in Harry's fourth.
What worried Harry was that Fudge seemed to have known the whole story in advance; he had a defence prepared for every revelation. There was no way he could know everything that had happened was there?
After several hours the Wizengamot adjourned to discuss the case and come to their decision. Harry was irritated to find that he wouldn't be allowed to see Sirius, who was being treated like a prisoner, in this time and demanded of the guard forbidding him access "What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?"
Harry was almost positive he heard Sirius chuckle from within the locked room before the guard sadistically replied, "You-know-who", with a twisted grin on his face, "We can't take any chances now can we?"
Harry fumed for several minutes before accepting that he couldn't think of anything to say to that and stormed off to find Remus, Ron and Hermione. He found them sitting in the hallway outside the courtroom.
"They wouldn't let me see him" he muttered furiously upon reaching them, and he proceeded to pace the corridor. Remus watched him intently and stifled a chuckle, "You know, you're father used to do exactly the same thing when he was nervous, him and Sirius both."
Harry smiled wistfully, he wished, as he always did when he heard about his parents, that he didn't have to be told that, that he could have known them well enough himself.
Just then the door to the courtroom opened, "The Wizengamot have reached their decision"
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Remus hurried into the room and took their seats. Harry gave Sirius, who looked almost transparent, an encouraging smile. Sirius tried to smile back, but it came out as more of a grimace. It was then that Dumbledore stood up and addressed the room,
"After careful consideration, and much deliberation, we have reached a decision. Sirius Black was charged with the murder of thirteen people, twelve muggles and one wizard. Of this charge we find him…..
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Voila! There you have it, chapter 18!
He he he…that was a rather evil cliffie wasn't it? Well honestly! Don't tell me you thought I would tell you, and then end the chapter?
Sorry it took so long…it just wouldn't write itself like all my best chapters do. Anyway I hope you all like it, and I look forward to hearing from you in your reviews (please!).
Enjoy! With love and hugs from Believe xxx
Review Replies:-
Jaximillion – Sorry I didn't reply last chapter, I got your review just as I posted it! And it doesn't sound as though you have no life…at least I hope not, I do exactly the same thing! Anyway, as always thanks!
Tsaui – Ali, a Mary-Sue? Yeah, I know, it is going that way isn't it? Damn, I didn't want that to happen. I will try and fix it, bring out some of her more human qualities, and show off her faults(yes she does have them – they just haven't really showed up yet!) Anyway thanks a lot for the review and I hope you keep reading!
Manga-lunatic – Glad to see you're liking the story – hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Anna L. Black – As always thank you so much for your positive comments- I hope you liked the latest instalment!
Jbfritz – your wish is my command! Okay, so this isn't exactly soon – but it's a lot quicker than some great – but incredibly annoying authors! Hope it was worth the slight wait!
