AN- Here it is, Folks. The start of the long awaited trial. Forgive me for the shortness of the chapter, but work is horrendous. More will follow as quickly as I can write it! Disclaimer in previous chapters.
And, as always, reviews are always welcome, and have certainly been brightening up my days recently.
Remus Lupin felt like an old man. His reflection in the mirror certainly supported the feeling; his once brown hair was greying fast, wrinkles seemed to appear daily. His eyes spoke of a life lived. A knowledge learned. A past to regret. The monthly torture of turning into a wolf had taken its toll. His muscles hurt, his joints ached. At times he didn't want to get out of bed of a morning. Sometimes he couldn't make himself go to bed in the first place.
And he felt too old to sit in the stands of the Wizengamot, and watch Harry Potter once again become a victim of the Ministry of Magic. He looked around him, letting the noise of hundreds of people filter through him, the sounds of excited conversation filling the air. The stands where Remus Lupin sat were filled to bursting, people had queued overnight to get a seat. The press area was so full reporters were standing flanking the walls to bear witness to arguably the most sensational trial of all times.
Remus doubted even having Voldemort on trail would have garnered the same interest. It was ironic, Remus thought bitterly, that the death of the one who had been the catalyst for all this meant he could never stand trial himself, and yet his death was the very reason for the trial now.
It had been a long ten weeks since that "final battle", and yet to Remus it sometimes felt like that had just been the beginning. The very reason for the war lay dead and cremated, and yet it was still destroying people's lives and livelihoods. Remus sought out Casper Williams, the Minister for Magic sitting plum in the centre of the judgement table, and felt only anger and loathing for the man. Instead of revelling in peace and trying to rebuild the fractured Wizarding community, he continued to exploit the past as a reason to continue living in fear. His laws had touched directly on Remus in more ways than just having the nightmare of Harry languishing in Azkaban. His Control of Non Humans law meant Remus had to register all his movements with the ministry, and have them personally approved by the Head of Non Human Control.
Remus forced himself to look away from the pompous Minister, currently holding court, laughing jovially with the other members of the Wizengamot, and look around for other familiar faces in the crowds. The Weasley family were easy to spot, all red haired and pale, drawn faces. As Harry's self-appointed "family" they might not have been allowed in Azkaban, but it hadn't stopped them supporting Harry. Next to Ron, at the end of the row of Weasleys sat Hermione Granger. Feeling eyes on her, perhaps, she looked round directly at him, forcing a smile onto her lips in greeting. Remus returned the greeting with a nod and a half smile of his own. Hermione, he knew, had suffered directly under the new minister. She was a muggle born witch, and although the Ministry had never stooped so low as to condemn all muggle borns, a few well placed articles in the Prophet in recent times had increased the suspicion of anyone that wasn't born into a Wizarding family. She was unable to get a job in the Wizarding world. Even the Ministry, to which Hermione had applied in desperation, had claimed to have no jobs. (Being well known as one of Harry Potter's best friends probably didn't help matters.) Even now, it was easy to spot the unease with which people were viewing Hermione, especially sat as she was next to one of the most prominent pure blood Wizarding families left. Hermione, he knew, was ignoring the lot of them, but Ron, sat next to her and holding her hand in a, what looked like, a death grip was obviously finding it harder.
The Weasleys were a contradiction to the rule, though. While the Wizarding world struggled, the once poor family could now be considered, well, rich in comparison. Even as out spoken supporters of Harry Potter, Casper Williams had been unable to oust Arthur and Percy from the ministry. In fact, with the Ministry in such disarray after the war, both had done rather well in their current positions. It helped that both had played key, and rather public, roles in Voldemort's down fall. And while people might have turned on Harry quicker than milk left out on a summers day, they were still glad that Voldemort was gone. Bill had gone back to Egypt to work, and Charlie, still in Romania had never really been touched by the problems back in England. It didn't stop them both being here now, however, showing their full support.
The twins, Fred and George, might have been forced out of the shop when Diagon Ally was closed down, but it hadn't been the end of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It was, by all accounts, a fully thriving mail order company, and both Ron and Ginny were fully employed along with several others. Harry had been right, all those years ago, when he thought that people would still need a laugh during the times of war.
Molly Weasley sat in the centre of the Weasley's. Her hair looked to have greyed in the past few months, a few more worry lines joining those on her face. The look on her face was fierce. One of her own was in trouble, and Molly was in full protection mode. Remus didn't have to sit any closer to see the tell tale signs that the tears hadn't long stopped falling.
Remus's attention was caught in his wonderings, along with every single other person's in the courtroom, when a whiring began, the sound of a prisoner being brought up through the floor in the centre of the room. Remus felt the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding leave in a gasp as he caught his first glance of the prisoner Harry Potter.