Chapter 25: Judge, Jury, Executioner
Narcissa sat on the end of Draco's bed with her arm around him and his head on her shoulder. They both started slightly when a soft knock came at the door. Narcissa smoothed down Draco's hair before going to answer it.
Theo and Daphne stood in the hall. They'd changed out of their dinner clothes and looked tired. Both tried to smile, but had about as much luck as Narcissa did toward it.
"Come on in," Narcissa said. "Draco."
He'd already noticed his company, but didn't do much in response to it. He sniffled anew and nodded at them.
"I'll give you three some space." Narcissa hoped it didn't embarrass Draco in front of his friends if she kissed the top of his head. "If I hear anything, I'll come back."
"Okay."
Narcissa closed the bedroom door behind her, catching the tail-end of Theo saying something before she moved too far out of earshot. She found Lucius and Wes in the master, seated in the alcove. The humid room smelled like Lucius' body wash. He had a drink in his hand.
Narcissa ran her fingers through his cool, damp hair with a sigh. "Well? How are you two doing?"
Twin shakes of the head pretty much said it all. They all sat quietly together until Narcissa got the urge to look in on Draco again. Nobody answered his door when she knocked. She let herself in and passed through to the balcony. Two more had arrived. Blaise was a common enough sight around the manor, but Narcissa had to school her reaction against mirroring Luca's stiff demeanour.
"Oh, hello boys," she greeted him and Blaise.
"Hi Mrs Malfoy," they both replied out of time with each other. Were the situation not what it was, Narcissa would've wistfully sighed in reminiscence of teenaged politeness. It reminded her of much better days.
"Mum, you know Luca," Draco said.
"Know of, but haven't properly met yet." Narcissa extended a hand when Luca stood up. Out of interest not to stare, knowing who Luca was and who he was supposed to be, Narcissa mustered up all of her well-learned politesse and smiled like she would at anyone else Draco brought around. "Charmed."
"Same."
He seemed to relax before taking his seat again. That disappeared as his general disposition slid back toward matching everyone else's. Narcissa's went with it. She gravitated toward Draco and smoothed a hand over his hair. The boys too had opened a bottle of something.
"I haven't heard anything," Narcissa said when Draco looked up at her, slightly braced. "Sorry. I just wanted to come see that you were all right."
Draco shrugged.
"We ran into Potter on our way in," Blaise told her. "He said Dagmar's going to Ramstad Manor for the night. They'll figure out what to do later."
"Did he happen to say what that might mean?" Narcissa asked, hesitant.
"Just that she's volunteering to be isolated."
Narcissa nodded, toying with a lock of Draco's hair. "I guess there's nothing really to do until tomorrow, then. If any of you want to spend the night here, feel free. There's a spare suite down on the east end."
They all nodded, but were too wore down for Narcissa to tell if they seriously considered the offer. She would've also mentioned the west suite, where Wes still claimed, but she wasn't sure either she, him, or Lucius were ready to be open yet that he hadn't actually slept in there since his first invitation to the master.
On a night like tonight, Narcissa was very happy for the privilege to crawl into bed between two men. She couldn't think of a safer place to be, and ended up managing a good sleep before slipping out in the morning intent to head for St Mungo's.
She braced for what kind of shape Hildegard would be in today. Part of Narcissa suspected she wouldn't even be awake when she peeked into her room. However, Hildegard sat up in her bed. Her face remained long as she stared out the window. She swallowed, and Narcissa saw her wince.
Hildegard looked over when Narcissa's shoes clacked on the floor.
"Does it still hurt?" Narcissa asked.
"Not really." Hildegard's voice sounded rough and deep, and on the quiet side. She cleared her throat. "It's uncomfortable."
A chair sat by the window. Narcissa pulled it over, grimacing a little when it scraped on the floor. The others in the room were probably still asleep, hidden behind their curtains. She hoped they were spelled to keep noise out.
The chair creaked when Narcissa lowered herself onto it. "Did the Healers say anything new this morning?"
Hildegard shook her head. "Everything's as healed as it's going to be. They'll let me go home later. I'm still a little lightheaded."
Gaze back to the window, Hildegard laid her head against her pillow. She hadn't scarred, so there was that.
"Is Dagmar okay?" Hildegard's voice went rough again, this time because of the tears in her eyes. "Was she awake when it happened? Does she know?"
"She was awake," Narcissa confirmed, to which Hildegard's bottom lip quivered. "She knows you're all right. I didn't see her, but she's sequestered at Ramstad Manor. I'm not really sure what that means, or how it'll affect you going home. You could always stay at our place again if need be."
After Narcissa said that, she hesitated. She wasn't sure if Luca remained at the manor, and the last thing any of them needed right now was an unexpected and loaded meeting on top of their collective stress.
"I guess we'll find out." Hildegard wiped an eye and sniffled. "The only reason I'm even staying at the manor house right now is because Dagmar is stuck there. Maybe I need to start looking for my own place. I don't know where to go, though. Without Erik, I have no reason to even stay in Britain. I've been thinking about Helka's offer to go to Leidfall, but I can't. It's too far from Dagmar. That life isn't one for me anymore, anyway. Maybe I ought to just go back to Norway."
"It's where Dagmar will go once the Dark Lord is gone." Narcissa slipped her hand into Hildegard's. "Do you still have friends in Bergen?"
"Maybe," Hildegard replied. "Janne sent me an owl, but I don't know how I'll ever actually look her in the eye again. I'm not sure I really have friends anywhere, now everyone knows what hand I've had in this war."
"Don't be silly." Still, Narcissa understood Hildegard's fear. She herself—among many others, including Dagmar—had loathed Hildegard at some point for the effect she had over their life. "The people that matter understand. The people that have gone through this with you do. You have friends. You have family. Our kids are going to be married someday. We'll share grandchildren, if that's something Draco and Dagmar decide to do."
Hildegard managed to smile. "Dagmar told me yesterday they're going to."
Narcissa's emotions went a few different directions with that. On a personal level, she had hoped to one day be a grandmother. Narcissa was also too familiar with the concept of wanting children, but there being something keeping it from happening.
"It'll be wonderful when they do," Narcissa said. "For one, it'll mean that all of this nastiness is behind us."
"Ja." Hildegard sighed.
Narcissa pat the back of Hildegard's hand. "Should I go see about what time the Healers expect you could leave?"
"Okay."
Narcissa had noticed last night that St Mungo's' hallways were busier than she ever remembered them being. They were also serpentine in nature. Narcissa found it easy to get lost. Last night, when her mind simultaneously buzzed and numbed, Narcissa had attributed her confusion to a state of shock. With her wits about her today, Narcissa remembered that all the people who'd been kissed at Azkaban that had no family to care for them were here. Nausea compelled her to clear her throat, and she grew slightly warm. She hoped she wouldn't see any familiar faces.
Some Healers wore different uniforms. A couple wearing magenta robes spoke German to each other. Any that wore British green looked harassed, and Narcissa felt bad to bother them. She wondered if part of their low mood came from her involvement in their wards and floors all being overrun with people that couldn't speak nor remember to eat. There really wasn't anywhere better for them all to go?
One of the Healers Narcissa flagged down looked into Hildegard's chart and determined she was due to be released at ten o'clock after one more dose of Blood-Replenishing Potion. Narcissa waited around, then helped Hildegard get dressed in the spare robes she'd brought.
They headed straight to Ramstad Manor with orders for Hildegard to take the day easy. Narcissa helped her upstairs, but stalled outside Dagmar's room. Both doors were open, through which bars were visible.
Narcissa followed Hildegard into the quiet room. She'd never actually been in here. It was quite large, fit with an alcove-like area with a desk to the right. The bars ran along half of the step up to it before turning back to the room at large. Dagmar's bed was pushed up flush to the wall, separated by the bars from a couch against the wall opposite.
Dagmar was curled up in the bed, only her hair visible outside of the comforter wrapped tightly around her. Draco had taken up on the couch, equally quiet in sleep. His face poked out between the pillow and throw, lips agape.
A French Auror named Renée sat in a chair against the wall between the bedroom and closet doors. She looked up from the beauty magazine she read and nodded in greeting.
"Good to see you're back," Renée whispered to Hildegard. "All right?"
"You put bars in my daughter's room?"
"Just a temporary thing while we figure out what to do with Voldemort," she replied. "You missed Madam Bones a few hours ago. I think she was satisfied this might be a sufficient middle ground between Voldemort roaming free and going to Azkaban."
"How long has Draco been here?" Narcissa asked.
Renée hummed. "Since three or four o'clock, maybe? Said he couldn't sleep. Dagmar was tossing and turning until then too."
"Have they talked or anything?"
"Yeah. To be honest, I think that's part of why they've both conked out so hard."
Narcissa had a sudden flashback to when Draco was a toddler, how he'd throw a strop because he was tired while refusing to fix it by going down. His face had that same quality of peace about it that came after a bout of emotional turmoil.
"No more sharing a bed?" Narcissa looked back at Renée.
She shook her head. "Not until Voldemort's gone."
Hildegard's sigh shook slightly. "Is that seeming. . .likely? Ever? Anytime soon?"
"He didn't say anything about it when he came around a bit last night," Renée said. "He just talked to Dagmar. Wanted to know what the situation was. He wouldn't admit as much, but Dagmar thinks he regrets what he did. She doubts he thought far enough ahead that Azkaban might go on the table."
"Has he said why he did it?" Narcissa asked.
"Payback for Nagini, apparently."
Narcissa blinked and looked over at Hildegard. Her expression had gone blank.
"It wasn't anything to do with me?" she eventually replied.
"Seems like a two-for-one sort of thought process," Renée said. "You betrayed him, and all that. Took him for a fool. He didn't appreciate it."
"I never took him as someone to do something like that without thinking it right through," Narcissa spoke. "Why would he risk Azkaban? It's not like hurting Hildegard could bring Nagini back."
"Madam Bones and Kingsley think it might be a good sign that he's acting a little rashly. Risking Azkaban doesn't mean much if he doesn't intend to suffer that particular consequence. He's doing the sorts of things he would like to do before he's out of time. The concern then is Dagmar. If he's going scorched earth, he might try to take her with him."
Narcissa's insides ran cold.
"We're not going to let that happen, obviously." Renée remaining calm helped Narcissa believe that the worst had already come to pass. "We combed through the entire room. He has no access to anything sharp. Meals will come pre-cut if something that needs to be sliced is on the menu. No razors in the bathroom. No alone time in there anyway. If Dagmar needs to go or intends on a shower, whoever's on watch will accompany her. All the male Aurors on these shifts have been replaced with women."
Narcissa sighed, as did Hildegard.
"Madam Bones mentioned something to Kingsley about swapping out the carrot for the stick," Renée said. "Sounds to me like she's ready to actively start making Voldemort uncomfortable where he is. Rather than wallow in being cornered, he's getting settled in. Oh—before I forget. I'm supposed to pass along that if Voldemort comes about, cease all communication and leave. Madam Bones wants him as isolated as possible. Dagmar's going to do the same. If he wants to play power games, he'll stay in control of Dagmar's body to try and make her miserable and lonely in turn. But then that means he'll actually have to suffer being behind bars."
With that, Narcissa and Hildegard kept on to the master. Hildegard took a seat on the edge of the bed while Narcissa went into the closet to find her something to sleep in.
"I'm going to stay with you," Narcissa told her, having decided on a whim. "I'll stay until Voldemort is gone, if I have to. It's too bad Helka went home, because I don't think this is a time you should be alone."
"It's okay—"
"No," Narcissa cut her off. "I'm doing it. We have no way of knowing how things are about to go, and I sincerely doubt you'd ever reach out to me if you needed help."
Hildegard shifting where she sat and dipping her chin was all the confirmation Narcissa needed. She sat down beside Hildegard and placed the clothes she'd found into her hands. Hildegard toyed with them, turning them into a ball on her lap.
"Maybe you and I went through a rough patch for a little while, but we're still friends," Narcissa told her. "We're family in all but name until the kids get married. We're going to share grandchildren someday. I care about you, and I want to see that you're all right. Do you understand?"
Hildegard nodded, but Narcissa didn't feel very convinced of her authenticity.
"I know you feel like you don't deserve it," Narcissa said. "You think the mistakes you've made have disqualified you from anyone taking a moment out of their day to pay you mind. I've never hidden or downplayed that I definitely felt that way for a while. I've forgiven you, though. So has Dagmar. I don't know anyone who matters that hasn't, other than yourself."
"I don't know that I'll be capable of it until Voldemort is gone," Hildegard quietly said. "I don't know that I should. I'm still scared to find out what the rest of the wizarding world thinks of me."
"You've sort of found out, haven't you?" Narcissa rubbed her back. "You said your one friend from Bergen reached out. And what about Erik's brother and sister?"
"I'm scared about the rest of the family." Hildegard sniffled. "Agneta and Håkon said I could come to the monthly dinners they have, but I don't know."
"Go with Dagmar and Draco once they start again. They'll be your buffer."
"Ja, I guess."
"It's been a rough day. Don't let it all get you down, yeah? I know it's easier said than done, but every day—every minute—brings us closer to when he'll be gone."
Hildegard crawled in under the covers, so Narcissa gave her some space to try and drift off. She made a seat for herself in the smaller library with a book.
Draco emerged later from Dagmar's room. He rubbed his eyes one-handedly.
"Hey sleepyhead," Narcissa greeted him.
Draco looked over. "What're you doing here?"
"Hildegard's home."
"Oh yeah."
Narcissa put the book down and met Draco halfway across the landing. She pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his back.
"It'll be all right," she murmured near his ear. "This can't go on forever."
Draco nodded against her shoulder with the same mindlessness that Hildegard had shown.
"Are you hungry?" Narcissa asked.
"Need to find a toilet more than anything. I can't use Dagmar's anymore."
"Let's go downstairs, then."
They ended up staying there until one of the house elves came to inform them Dagmar was up and about. She stood at the bars in a dress robe with her hair up in a towel. The room was slightly humid. Dagmar peered toward her closet, speaking in Norwegian.
She trailed off when she noticed them. "Hi."
Hildegard poked her head out of the closet with some clothes in her arms. She brought them over to Dagmar, who headed back into the bathroom briefly with them.
Out of everyone here, Narcissa figured that Dagmar was in the highest of spirits. She'd accepted her lot, and seemed to be getting comfortable with her new reality. With Azkaban as alternative—the cold sea, loneliness, and the austerity of it—this perhaps wasn't so bad at all.
Draco struggled with it. It perhaps helped that Narcissa and Hildegard sat in there with them. Lydia took over for Renée at their shift change. Lucius poked his head in later. Since he didn't have anywhere to sit, a suggestion toward more seating added a couple new chairs to the mix. Lydia put one of the chairs in with Dagmar, up against the bars beside her bed. The other chair mirrored it, which Draco took. He seemed to cheer up a bit when the two of them could touch again, their fingers hooked together.
They all stayed in there until after dinner. Narcissa, Lucius, and Hildegard left to give the kids some space. A mention from Lucius about Bellatrix's trial the next morning brought on a horrible wash of anxiety. With everything else, Narcissa had completely forgotten about it.
The morning came far too fast from there. Narcissa rose early to get ready, and ended up pacing while Hildegard did the same thing after her. She headed across the landing to see how the kids were doing about it.
Kingsley and Gawain were there. Although Dagmar had dressed to go, she remained behind the bars.
"We're still debating if Voldemort should be allowed to attend," Gawain explained. "Madam Bones wants him there, but that all depends on whether he's going to be disruptive. After Sunday night, it's hard to know."
"Would you bring him out?" Kingsley asked Dagmar.
She nodded, then closed her eyes. When they opened again, scarlet had replaced her blue. Her once-passive expression hardened. The Dark Lord blinked at everyone, then looked down at the fine, green robes he wore.
"Bellatrix's trial starts in a little under an hour," Kingsley told him. "Are you going to behave yourself well enough to attend?"
The Dark Lord sneered. "Don't talk to me as though I'm a child."
"Shouldn't have acted like one then."
"What's the point in me even going? I already know what's going to happen. You're going to sentence Bella to spend life in Azkaban. Again."
"You don't want to be there?" Kingsley asked. "It'll be the last time you get to see her."
The Dark Lord ran his fingers idly over the bar he held onto. "Will we have a chance to speak?"
"Maybe afterward, but we never discussed anything like that possibly happening. It certainly won't happen if you make a spectacle of yourself."
Narcissa gravitated more toward Draco as the Dark Lord considered his options. To her it was clear he wanted to go. He didn't want to play into anyone's hand about it, though.
The Dark Lord eventually gave a terse nod, although seemed to fume. Kingsley turned to Narcissa and Draco. "You two go on ahead. He'll be sitting by himself at the trial."
Narcissa looped a hand around Draco's elbow. "Come on. Your father was going ahead to the Auror office."
Draco nodded, although sighed too. He glanced back one more time before they collected Hildegard and headed off.
The Atrium at the Ministry had clogged back up again. The amount of attention Narcissa, Draco, and Hildegard garnered made it difficult to traverse the length of the room. Thankfully, what had happened on Sunday night seemed to have been kept quiet from the general public. Nobody asked about it, nor paid Hildegard's throat any mind. Narcissa was all the more relieved for her that no scar remained. Nobody had anything to inquire about.
An otherwise empty lift took them down to Level Ten. It was nearly just as crowded as the Atrium. Narcissa looked around at everyone queued to get in, guilt seeping into her stomach. Had Bella really negatively impacted this many people in her life?
"There's Auntie Andie and Tonks," Draco said. "And—oh."
Sirius stood with them. Whatever hesitation Narcissa felt, she figured it mirrored twice as strongly in how he looked back. Andie waved Narcissa over, then glanced at Sirius. His expression smoothed when Andie elbowed him.
That didn't much inspire Narcissa to force her company. She approached anyway with Draco and Hildegard.
"Sirius," Narcissa greeted him. "It would figure that Bella's trial should be the first time us five get together."
Sirius thankfully snorted, relaxing a bit. "It's quite fitting for a family reunion, isn't it? You have to hand it to Bellatrix: she really knows how to bring people together."
"Such a shame she never learned to use her powers for good."
"Oh, I'm sure she knew how," Sirius replied. "Let's not pretend she's here for anything other than her personal choices."
"Her actions are a strong contender, unless you want to count them as one in the same."
Even though Narcissa said that, she felt a jab of guilt. Bella was still her sister, no matter what she'd done. Why couldn't she just be a normal person? Why did it have to be the trial putting her away for good that brought Narcissa here today? This had already happened once for Bella. She'd been sentenced to life before. Why couldn't she just learn her lesson? Of course, believing the Dark Lord would one day return had paid off for her last time. He helped Bella escape as soon as it was feasible. Did Bella understand that that opportunity was past—that it would never happen again? There was no ambiguity about the Dark Lord's fate. He would be gone sooner than later. Knowing him even as little as Narcissa did, she couldn't imagine him putting up with all these restrictions keeping him in place. Surely death didn't seem too terrible an alternative.
"Don't you dare start to feel bad," Andie told Narcissa in a sharp tone. "It would suit you to remember that you were the victim in some of the charges she's facing today."
Narcissa's face felt strangely heavy. "She's our sister, though."
"That didn't stop her from tormenting and imprisoning you for nearly a year."
"I know." But. . .
Narcissa let it go. Maybe it hadn't completely hit her yet, what all she'd been through because of Bella. Her situation had hit home during her own trial, but she still experienced a certain disconnect. How could her own blood really do these things to her? There had to be a reason. It had to be for her own protection, or something. Bella had to believe that what was best for the Dark Lord had to be in Narcissa's best interest too, and vice versa.
Andie put an arm around one of Narcissa's as they neared the front of the queue to Courtroom Ten. The six of them were bottlenecked by the Magical Enforcement officers maintaining order and checking people against today's pass list. Tonks and Draco were quiet ahead of Narcissa, while Hildegard and Sirius made small talk to her rear about adjusting to a world where their names were cleared. It cheered Narcissa up marginally to hear Hildegard laugh, however strained. The atmosphere here really wasn't suited for such a thing, but it didn't seem to stop either her or Sirius from trying to find some little slice of relief.
Narcissa followed Draco to where they would sit, then grew uncertain when she spotted Theo, Daphne, Blaise, and Luca ahead. Luca sat beside an older couple that already looked overwhelmed and exhausted to be here. They hadn't noticed their small party arriving yet, but Narcissa registered a sharp intake of breath behind her.
Hildegard had frozen, her face pale. She stepped more to the side to put Narcissa between them and her.
"We're going up to the back row," Narcissa told her. "Come on."
Draco took all four kids' attention when he and Tonks went that way to say hello. The two of them shook hands with the Parascas in proper greeting, and Narcissa noticed Mr Parasca double-glance first in their direction. Hildegard stared determinedly ahead. Narcissa shared a little in her awkwardness, seeing as it was her sister's fault these two people no longer had a daughter.
She took her seat between Andie and Hildegard. Hildegard trembled a little, but stilled when Narcissa rubbed her forearm the same way she might Draco's if he was upset. Narcissa looked down when Draco waved to get her attention. Through a series of hand gestures, she ascertained that he and Tonks would sit with his friends. Staring at the Parascas without being obvious was more feasible once all of them faced ahead. Andie and Sirius had their own conversation to Narcissa's left.
Hildegard leaned over and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Do they seem nice to you?"
"It's hard to tell from here, but they must be."
As Narcissa said that, Luca put an arm around Mrs Parasca and hugged her sideways. An intake of breath preceded Hildegard stilling again. She might insist every time Luca came up in conversation that she'd made her peace, but the naked longing in her expression right now contested that. No matter how long it had been, Hildegard considered him her son. She wanted to know him, and to have him in her life.
The queue for the courtroom dried up as seats filled. Across from Narcissa, Aurors created a circle around one spot in particular. The click of heels overtook the room's quiet din. Escorted by Lydia and one of the other shadow-Aurors, a young woman from Finland named Ellinor, the Dark Lord entered. Lydia gestured him toward where he would be sitting. Narcissa could feel his satisfaction for a blanket of silence to fall over the room as people gradually realized they occupied the same room as him. The people buffered against him by the Aurors leaned away as the Dark Lord sat with a flourish of his robes.
Any attention on him redirected as the Wizengamot filed in. They had full attendance today, since Kingsley no longer advocated. Madam Bones' face had deeper lines on the sides of her mouth, this side of the weekend.
"Good morning," Madam Bones greeted the silent room. "Court will begin once the accused has arrived and been seated."
Narcissa's heart picked up as her ears strained to hear Bella's footsteps. Her skin flushed with cold sweat when they became audible in the corridor.
Bella entered the courtroom much the same way the Dark Lord had. Her chin was up, her mouth set, and shoulders straight. She stared defiantly ahead at the Wizengamot. Narcissa had wondered how Bella might react when she saw the Dark Lord among the spectators, but her gaze didn't volley at all as far as Narcissa could tell.
As soon as Bella took a seat in the chair, the chains moved to hold her. Her chin dipped briefly as she quietly laughed. She couldn't look less bothered to be here.
"Bellatrix Lestrange," Madam Bones started. "You appear before the Wizengamot today to contest the following charges—"
"I don't contest anything," Bella spoke in a clear voice. "Whatever it is you think I've done, I'm sure it's true. You and I both know this trial is a complete farce."
"It's your due process," Madam Bones replied. "Speak out of turn again, Mrs Lestrange, and you'll be silenced. As I was saying, you appear today to face the following charges. . ."
Bella acquiesced the small change in language as Madam Bones preceded to read them all off. She didn't bother with anything prior to Bella's 1996 escape from Azkaban. If she had, Narcissa had a feeling they'd be sitting here until dinner time before the meat of the trial actually began.
She watched Bella closely for her reaction to the list of murder charges. Bella's brow furrowed about halfway through. She rolled her eyes when the charges against Narcissa were read off. Other than that, Bella remained impassive until Madam Bones finished off with her role in the siege at Hogwarts.
"Do you have any questions?" Madam Bones asked her. "You looked like I lost you at one point."
"Who was. . .?" Bella trailed off. "Eh, I forgot the names already."
"We'll go through them all one by one. You'll have a chance to tell me your side of the story."
Bella sighed, her head lolling slightly. Indeed, this would make for a long day. She'd been active in spurts since the Dark Lord broke her out of Azkaban. The first time anyone actually saw her—the first charge laid—was breaking in to the Department of Mysteries. Bella easily admitted to being there, although couldn't specify which of the kids present along with Harry Potter she'd attempted to hurt or kill. If any of them claimed that, she said, then it was likely true and Bella wouldn't contest it.
She laughed when the charge of attempted murder on Sirius came up. "I wasn't trying to kill him! We were just having a spot of fun. I think I only stunned him before he fell through that veil thing. It's not my fault it took him three years to crawl his way back out. He's fine, isn't he?"
Bella looked around for him, but she couldn't turn her head enough to actually see where he sat on Andie's other side.
"Fair enough," Madam Bones replied, writing something down. "The next charge. . ."
Bella had gone inactive for some time after the Department of Mysteries, showing some impressive restraint. However, she made up for it when the end of May 1997 came around. Magical Enforcement performed that surprise raid on Ramstad Manor, at which Bella, Rod, and the Dark Lord had been present and spotted. Madam Bones read off the list of names again of the team that had disappeared that day.
"Would you offer your version of events as to what happened to them?" she asked.
"Haven't you already heard it from Hildegard?" Bella asked. "She was there too."
"We've heard. I would like to hear what you have to say."
"I killed one," Bella started. "I don't know which. The Dark Lord, Rod, and I took care of the ones that remained alive. We transfigured them into sticks and dropped them in the English Channel next time we returned to France."
"Nobody else was involved?"
Bella shook her head. "The Dark Lord told Hildegard and Erik to leave. He didn't think they were strong enough to do what needed to be done and not crack when the Ministry followed up. Lucius was at the meeting we all had before Rod and I left. He'd vouched for Hildegard and Erik to Scrimgeour—promised to keep an eye on them, and all that. Make sure they didn't leave the country."
That lined up with what Kingsley had explained through Hildegard and Lucius' trials. Bella left out how livid the Dark Lord had been with her for killing the first one, since it ruined the possibility of memory modification. They would never have been able to explain why the raid party was one member short.
Bella herself remained out of the country while the Ministry looked over Ramstad Manor, returning only briefly when Hildegard and Erik were able again to go home. The next time she came back to Britain was the night Erik died. She and Rod were in Paris at the time, and risked apparating across the Channel due to a sense of urgency when summoned via their marks. Bella admitted to killing two of the four Aurors that died that night. The Dark Lord had gotten one, as had Rod.
It's just us, Bella's hollow voice from later that night echoed in Narcissa's mind. Considering that Erik was dead, and Lucius, Hildegard, and Rod were on their way to Azkaban, Narcissa couldn't really believe Bella even thought about her. But of course—snatching and holding Narcissa against her will were the next charges up to be clarified, and Bella had no qualm explaining that Narcissa was a liability to operations. Bella had no idea what sorts of things Lucius might have told her within the confines of their marriage, or if Narcissa might have passively picked something up that she might give the Ministry under pressure. Or, if Narcissa was used as leverage, Lucius could potentially blow the entire thing out of the water. He could have very easily decided that securing Narcissa and Draco's safety was enough when facing life in Azkaban. To hell with the Ramstads, Bjorn, or the Dark Lord.
Madam Bones moved them on from there. Bella had gone quiet again until they located Magnus Norheim in Paris. She admitted to bouts of torture to try and figure out where Magnus had taken Bjorn, and then ultimately tracking Dagmar to Bergen so that she could possibly inspire some of Magnus' hazy memory to return. Then—yes—she had murdered Magnus. She then forcefully occupied Dagmar and Draco's home until everything went sideways on December fourth. The only one there she had killed was Ekaterina Parasca, to stop her from making off with a stunned and unconscious Dark Lord.
Then there was Azkaban. Bella hadn't actively killed anybody, but partook in planning and execution.
Then there was Hogwarts. She'd taken a leading role in infiltrating the castle through some of the secret passages she knew. While cruel to some of the hostages afterward (and briefly considering doing Lucius in when she realized his betrayal), she had no more murders to be accused of.
". . .And that brings us here," Bella finished off. Across the room, Narcissa heard what sounded like a stifled sneeze. She realized with a twinge of annoyance that the Dark Lord had snorted.
"Thank you, Bellatrix," Madam Bones said. "I appreciate your honesty through these proceedings."
"I have nothing to hide," Bella replied, lifting her chin anew. "Nor anything to be ashamed of. I regret absolutely nothing I've done for the Dark Lord. When I took his mark, I meant every word of the vow I gave him. He had my service. He will always have my loyalty. If he asked me to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat."
"You're prepared, at only forty-nine years old, to sit in Azkaban for the rest of your life? It doesn't make a difference to you that his campaign is over?"
"No. I know what could have been—what he was capable of, and what he had the potential to do—and that's good enough for me."
Madam Bones' chin dipped as she looked over the parchment piled on her bench. She sifted through a few of them before looking back up. "Before we proceed, I would like to call the Wizengamot to a vote. On all the charges Mrs Lestrange has been accused of today, I see nothing out of order with the evidence we've already procured. Mrs Lestrange's account is also consistent with the testimonies we heard last week during the trials of Dagmar Ramstad, Narcissa Malfoy, Hildegard Ramstad, Lucius Malfoy, and Wesley Nott. If you believe that we could bypass the third-party testimony section of this trial due to what has been presented being sufficient to make a ruling, please raise your hand."
Narcissa wasn't sure if this sort of vote called for a majority or supermajority, but it didn't matter. All fifty hands rose in the air.
Madam Bones registered that, then spoke again. "Members of the Wizengamot, please raise your hand if you believe, based on the evidence and testimony, that Bellatrix Lestrange is innocent of at least one crime she has been charged with today."
Hands went up, and it was clarified that she wouldn't be charged for attempted murder against Sirius.
"Moving onto sentencing, then," Madam Bones said. "Members of the Wizengamot, please raise your hand if you believe Bellatrix Lestrange is fitting of punishment alternative to time sentenced in Azkaban."
Bella's smile of quiet pride faded. Confusion similarly swept through the courtroom. Whispers broke out. Surely Madam Bones didn't have a mind to release her like she had Lucius and Wes?
Considering all hands of the Wizengamot went up, Narcissa would soon find out where this was going. Her heart rate ramped up as Madam Bones' quill scratched against the bench.
"Very well." Madam Bones set her quill in its hold and entwined her fingers as she leaned forward. "Bellatrix Lestrange, the Wizengamot has deemed you guilty of twelve counts of murder, seven counts of using the Cruciatus Curse, two counts of kidnapping, one count of holding someone against their will for a period exceeding six months, three counts of attempted murder, aiding and abetting the events at Azkaban Prison on the date of January the fourteenth of this year, conspiracy to commit insurrection against the British Ministry of Magic, and conspiracy to commit insurrection against Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Not only do you freely admit to committing these crimes, you show absolutely no remorse. We have further evidence from you having already spent from 1982 to 1996 in Azkaban that any sort of reformation is not possible. At this point in your career as a malefactor, there is little hope that you might accomplish anything more than to rot away within the walls of Europe's most austere correctional institution.
"The Wizengamot today has elected to take an alternative route with your judgement. On a day no sooner than thirty days from now, that being the fifth of May, you shall be put to death."
That word hit Narcissa like a boot to the chest. It stunned her, and she looked around to see whether or not she had heard right. Wide eyes and parted lips continued to stare at Madam Bones, Bella included.
"I'm being Kissed?" Bella asked in a hollow voice.
"No," Madam Bones replied. "This legislative body deemed that punishment inhumane a few years ago. With this sentence following the necessary unanimous vote, I authorize the Department of Magical Enforcement the use of one Killing Curse. I will be in touch with your next-of-kin to make arrangements."
Madam Bones banged her gavel. "This concludes today's session of the Wizengamot. We will reconvene tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."