Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Harry Potter, or it's characters.
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Last Chapter:
For dramatic purposes I raised my head from its floor set gaze and looked into the periwinkle blue eyes of my betrayer and said those two words that should have saved me a fate in Azkaban, "Not guilty."
Unfortunately the effect was lost because the 'Not' before the guilty, came out strangled and incomprehensible and the 'guilty' was strong and clear.
One would think they would spare a glass of water.
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Chapter 5: Chaos, again
The court quickly became chaos. I could do little to correct the plead, as I fell in a hacking fit of coughs. The cause may have been from suppressing my amusement, Dumbledore's face was set in a hilarious mixture of shock and disappointment, or I might have actually been sick. I couldn't keep my thoughts focused enough to tell which, however.
Dumbledore, however, quickly recovered his wits and started calling for order. He was a very effective silencer. Although, I still can't get over the fact that these wizards didn't us a gavel. It wouldn't have mattered in my position, but without the presence of one I could hardly even imagine banging one of them into the bench yelling, 'Order, Order in the court!' I was sure it had to have been one of my life goals at one point.
The old wizard was speaking to me again, so I decided to actually listen this time. Despite my drifting thoughts, I really didn't want to go back to Azkaban. "Do you fully understand the consequences of admitting you're guilty?" He looked down that crooked nose from those half-moon glasses with pity and disappointment. I really hated Albus Dumbledore. Oh, no doubt about it. He was probably already convincing himself the 'evidence' they had gathered proving his innocence was a plan to free a 'dark supporter' from prison, and that I, in admitting I was guilty, had learned the error of my ways in prison.
Bastard.
I gathered my strength to speak out. That damn question was rhetorical anyway, so obviously, I answered it. "Not guilty." I coughed again for appearance sake, although I'd have to say, it was a rather convincing cough. "Due to your 'Noble' Auror force, my capability to defend myself has been," Another cough. "Severely diminished. Can I just take Veritserum now? Prove my innocence. Use it to prove what you failed to give me the chance to three years ago."
I wanted to laugh at the reaction my words received. My words received, shocked, angry, and irritated looks from the ministry officials. The press was scrambling to write down my words, and the public was a mixture of all three. It was chaos, again. I felt a large sense of pride at that thought. Actually I felt an immense feeling a pride at my words, who knew I could sound that intelligent! Or sane!
I knew I was sane, but sounding it was another matter.
The Wizengromt heads conferred after they recovered from my 'shocking statement' as I am sure they would later call it, and motioned for the Veritserum to be administered. It was another Auror that approached me, with familiar hatred in his eyes, but he restrained his 'noble acts' better than most of his colleagues and administrated the three drops on my tongue without further harm to me.
Naturally, I panicked when I no longer had control of my limbs. Who wouldn't panic when they just regained that very same control barely hours beforehand? The panic did little to hinder the effects of the truth potion, however.
The first question was spoken as if it was far away, I barely heard it; "Did you kill Dedalus Diggle?" I didn't even have time to comprehend the question before I felt myself answering 'No'. I could vaguely hear shocked gasps and angry yells erupting around me, but it seemed so separate from my position that I couldn't even find the urge to laugh. They didn't matter. "Did you rape Anita Diggle?" I said 'No' again to this answer. In the back in my mind I felt a brief wave of disgust flow through me. An image of a fat, thirty-ish woman with short, fake blond hair had me thinking 'Who the hell would?'
"What were you doing when the crime occurred?"
"I was preparing to leave the Wizarding world." I felt an immense feeling of 'oops' at that statement, but I am sure I would have laughed out of the irony of it all if I had the ability to do so.
Sometimes it's just too much.
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Edited 5-16-06
Original notes: -most cut because of length- I'll summarize again; some appoligies (mostly about the incredibly short chapter), expressed doubt in continuing at all, frustration with discovered plotholes and many thank yous to reviewers.
#Diggle, Dedalus : A member of the Order of the Phoenix in both the first and second wars against Voldemort (OP), this wizard was in the Leaky Cauldron when Hagrid brought Harry in on July 31, 1991. Diggle once bowed to Harry in a shop (PS5), much to Aunt Petunia's horror. He lives in Kent and, according to McGonagall, has never had any sense (PS1).
(courtesy of HP Lexicon, and yes, I 'borrowed' it)