Lost and Found
Chapter Fifteen: Trying Days Part Two
Authors note: So yeah. I'll just go ahead and finish the trial here since it was getting really, really long. I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, why the heck would I be writing fan fiction when I could be swimming naked in fine wine?
To all my lovely reviewers thank you. Your encouragement has kept me going.
And it was quite the tale Severus had to tell...
The press and members of the Wizengamot all turned their eyes to him. The witnesses and minister were listening intently. Dumbledore and Delores were both giving him dirty looks. Snape felt the pressure building up inside his chest as so many eyes were on him. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and begins.
"The first time he put me in danger was at the end of my first year at Hogwarts. My father was a violent man. He drank to excess and because of his habit, clothes, food, and even the electric and gas bill, were second priority to whiskey. I told him I didn't want to go back and how terrible a man my father was. He said that, 'Surely you must be exaggerating Severus. You need to go home like every other student. Now pack your trunk my boy! Off you go!' That summer I received a spiral fracture curtesy of the man and internal injuries. He was sure it was an accident, though it clearly was not, but said he would look into it. He never did. There was also a group of students who bullied me and several of their pranks resulted in trips to the hospital wing. One of which I can't speak of even under Vertiserum because he forced an unbreakable vow on me. It had never been properly delt with. Through my 6th and into my seventh year I became involved with a boy who had been physically stronger than me and had been very manipulative of me emotionally. I know for a fact that several students both in my own house and his went to the headmaster with their concerns. This boy fathered my son, and I had no idea that I could have become pregnant. The head master berated me and insulted my intelligence for becoming pregnant so young before adopting the grandfatherly persona he so often uses. He insisted on being there when my son was born. It made me extremely uncomfortable to have him watching that. Despite his acting, I could tell he was unhappy about me having a baby, no matter how happy I was to have my son." He explained.
As Lucius informed the jury that there were records of Severus' complaints to the headmaster and documentation of his injuries from the hospital wing, Sirius felt awful for his part in it. Severus sent Sirius a reassuring look. One that clearly conveyed the message, 'your forgiven.' In spite of his relief from the comforting look, he felt uneasy when several members of the Wizengamot gasped when going over the evidence folder with the medical records and complaints. Even Umbridge looked a bit pale reading it. Wether it was the content or because she finally knew she lost the case, he couldn't figure out, but it was extremely obvious that the content of that folder had shocked the members of the Wizengamot and Minister Fudge. He made that painfully clear when he said, "I would like to add a charge of willingly and knowingly placing a minor in a dangerous and hostile environment. All those in favor please raise your hand." Sirius couldn't help but wonder what exactly had them so shaken up. Adding a charge in the middle of a trial was practically unheard of. He became increasingly worried when the motion passed unanimously.
"Would the defense like a chance to cross examine the witness before we move on to his testimony of the events of the sting in April?" The minister asks, turning to Delores, who still looked flustered. She nods and stands before Severus, looking unsure of how to ask what she needed to. "When you returned injured from the summer after your first year, was the headmaster made aware of just how you received the fracture and internal injuries?" She asks. Severus only responded with a, "Yes ma'am." She nods thoughtfully and asks, "What action did he take to keep it from happening again?" Severus shook his head. "He took none. He cast a memory charm on me that was later broken when I learned legilimency through accidental magic one summer. When I used it on myself I managed to find the block and recover the memory." He explains. She raises a brow. "You mean to tell me you learned an illegal art with accidental magic? Natural Legilimests are quite rare." She says in a tone someone might use when talking to a naughty child who had been caught in a lie. Snape nodded his head, never the less. "Yes. I had been wishing I could know what my father was thinking the summer after my second year so I would be able to know what he was planning to do to me. Eventually I learned to enter his mind willfully instead of by accident. I had no idea it was illegal at the time." He explains. She just nods her head. "No further questions." She says, turning back to her seat.
The minister turns to Lucius. "You may continue to question your witness about the events earlier this month." He says. The blonde nods and turns to Severus. "Please retell exactly what happened to the jury." He instructs. Severus takes a deep breath and started at the beginning. "The beginning of the sting went as planned. Vincent Crabble apparated in, according to his plea bargain. This forced Dumbledore to remain where he was while I ordered the students to evacuate. The distraction was supposed to allow for time so the aurors could make their way in. Unfortunately before they arrived, Dumbledore drew his wand and pointed it at one of the students, whom was the only nephew of Crabble from his deceased sister. When I saw what he was planning I cast the shield form of my Patronus in front of all the students. I didn't think a normal shield would work against a man with as much magic as Dumbledore has, so I chose the strongest defensive spell I knew. When Dumbledore realized that it had been a set up, he grabbed me by the hair and around the neck to use as a bargaining chip. At this point, the students hadn't yet finished evacuating. My son was among the ones who hadn't made it through the door. When he saw that I had been taken hostage he drew his wand on the headmaster. They both pointed their wands at each other, but Canan managed to hex the headmaster to vomit slugs before he could get a spell off. That was when Sirius Black, in his animagus form, burst through the door and bit Dumbledore's wand hand. The shock caused him to let me go, so I ran to protect my baby. I didn't notice much else after that because I was too upset. Seeing someone point their wand at my son with malicious intent was terrifying."
"Does the defense wish to cross examine the witness again?" Asks the minister. "Yes. Of course. How exactly do you know that the headmaster had malicious intent professor Snape? That seems like a very foregone conclusion." She says, looking smug, but less convicted in her notion. The change among the entirety of the legal party was obvious. Severus picked up on this and had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He didn't want anyone's pity. "His intent was rather obvious, Miss. Umbridge." He says. "His wand hand was drawn back behind his head with his wand pointed at my son. The positioning makes it obvious which curse he was about to use. I can withdraw a memory for a pensieve if you don't believe Vertiserum to be sufficient." She shakes her head. "That's fine. No further questions." She says, returning to her seat.
"The witness can return to his seat. Mr. Malfoy please call forth your next witness." Says the minister. Severus stands and returns to his seat and places a kiss on the top of Canan's head as Sirius squeezes his knee. After a moment Lucius calls Canan to the stand and begins his questioning, but he didn't get far before an abomination cut in. "Objection. I would like to put forth a motion for Vertiserum." Says Delores. "He may have been coached on what to say." She says. "Objection your honor!" Lucius argues. "Canan is a child. That's far too strong a potion for him." He reasoned. Delores shoots back with, "He'll feel the need to validate what Severus said. If anything he says contradicts what the other says, he'll think one of them will get in trouble in some manner. We shouldn't be left in question of whether what the child is saying is the truth or he's just trying to make Professor Snape's testimony sound more authentic." Lucius rolls his eyes and rebuttals. "Professor Snape already took the potion. That should validate what he said enough. I'm inclined to believe that your just trying to uncover their dirt because the concerns you posed during a custodial welfare visit were invalidated and your fishing for a reason to prove you were correct."
Minister Fudge had an irritated scowl on his face as though he put up with the same shit every day. To say such really wouldn't be a stretch. None the less he had to deal with it and slammed his gavel down. It was probably harder than necessary. "Both of you to your seats. I feel like sending the both of you to the corner. Both your concerns are extremely paranoid. With all the conspiracy theories I've heard from the both of you today I should think both the prosecution and defense were using The Quibbler as a fact source. Unfortunately I have to sustain the original objection and overrule the following, since however paranoid it was to begin with, the thought has been put in the child's head. Delores, if any of your cross examining seems like it has nothing to do with the case at hand I'll stop you and we'll recess until tomorrow. This includes trying to make the previous witness look bad to discredit him. The fact that he was under Vertiserum makes his testimony creditable no mater how you feel about his character. Facts are what matters here and not feelings. You won't shame this court by putting them in the way of uncovering the truth. Bring forth the Vertiserum."
Severus begins to panic at this point. "Your honor, I know I'm only here as a witness, but as a potions master I should point out to you that a full three drop dose would cause him serious harm or even death because he's so much smaller than an adult." He says, not caring if he was thrown out. At least then they would have to look into the matter and find the proper dose. Minister Fudge sighs. "Thank you professor. We'll find the recommended dose from another potions master or mediwizard. Make no mistake though. If you interrupt again I'll have you thrown out in contempt. The only reason you got away with it now is because he's your son and your still under the influence of Vertiserum. We'll take a 10 minuet recess until we can get ahold of another potions master." With that he bangs the gavel and everyone files out of the court room, toward the bathrooms.
When their done Sirius puts a hand on his shoulder. "...Sev, what happened that summer?" He asks softly in his ear, worry gnawing on his insides and painted on his face. "Sirius, I know what your thinking. Your evaluation is correct. I've dealt with it. If I need to talk to someone or you want to talk about it we can do that later. Now isn't the time and this isn't the place." He whispers back. "We need to support Canan for now and then get your testimony over with. Then maybe we'll find out what exactly Dumbledore was up to. And I for one want to know why my family suffered." Sirius nodded in agreement. "And why I was locked up though he knew I was innocent."
At that moment Canan returned from the washrooms and looked between his dad and Sirius. "Um, let's get this over with." He says, sensing the somber mood between the two of them. With that he turned on his heels and led them back to the court room.
After the recess, Severus wasn't sure Wether he should be pleased or displeased at the presence of his former teacher and head of house, Horus Slughorn, being called in to speak on behalf of his son about the use of Vertiserum on a child. Lucius was the first one, as usual, to question him. "Sir, please state your name and occupation to the Wizengamot." He instructs. "My name is Horus Slughorn. I'm a retired professor of potions and Head of House at Hogwarts." He says, glancing at Severus. He still was shocked that his brightest pupil had a child right under his nose, even so many years after the fact. His attention was called away though, when Lucius continued his questioning. "So you would be an expert in the field then?" Horus nods his head. "Well I would have to be in order to teach. It's a dangerous subject." He says. "And in your expert opinion, would it be okay to use Vertiserum on a child?" He asks.
"Absolutely not. It hasn't been tested. Three drops works on an adult of most any size. There was an incident though, with a women of short stature, no more than 3 feet tall, who was a witness in the United States, who nearly passed away under the influence of the potion. We don't know wether it was her size, an allergy, her medical condition or the presence of other potions in her system at the time. But there are too many variables to say that it's safe, so it's best to air on the side of caution and say that it's not." He says. Lucius nods his head at this. "What then, do you suggest, as an alternative?" Horus responds with, "Since its invention, Vertiserum has been the go to potion in the courtroom. However, prior to its invention, truth serum was used. This potion has a dosage based on weight. It's safe for all ages. That would be my recommendation."
Minister Fudge nods his head. "Does the defense wish to cross examine?" He asks. "No thank you your honor. The facts are rather strait forward." Says Delores. "Very well. You are dismissed. The defense would like to call Canan Drazin Snape to the stand." He says, prompting Horus to take his seat and Canan to take his place at the stand. The proper potion was brought by a courtroom clerk and administered in the proper dose.
"Canan can you tell me about what happened in the great hall the day Dumbledore was arrested?" Lucius asks. The child shyly nodded his head and says, "I was headed toward the door when I saw a shield charm cover all the students. I was curious so I looked back and the headmaster was grabbing my Daddy." Lucius nods his head. "Can you tell me what you did?" Canan smiles and nods his head. "I told him to get his hands off my dad and hexed him with a spell I heard about from Sirius Black. It sounded useful so I asked Professor Flitwick about it and he taught me the spell. He started puking slugs before he could use any magic." He explained. "That was brave." Lucius praises, then proceed to ask, "Do you know what kind of magic the head master was going to use?" Canan shakes his head. "No but I can show you the position he was holding his wand in. It was like this." He says, drawing his elbow back and holding his arm fist level with his temple, though about 5 inches away. It was proper position for the killing curse. This caused more than a few gasps. Lucius continues his questioning though. "Can you tell me what happened after you hexed him?" Canan continues to elaborate on the situation, explaining, "After I hexed him, Sirius Black came in as a dog and bit Dumbledore's wand hand. It made him drop the wand and let go of my Dad. When he was free my Dad got in front of me, blocking my view. But the aurors came maybe two minuets later and arrested Dumbledore. Sirius stayed in front of us until he was gone. It scared my Dad a lot so Sirius and Remus had to take us out of the hall to calm my Dad down." Knowing Canan knew no more he says, "No further questions your honor."
"Would the defense like to cross examine the witness?" Asks Cornelius, to which Umbridge nods. "Canan did you know about the set up?" She asks, "Not exactly. I knew something would be happening, but I didn't know what." She nods condescendingly. "I see. And yet in the chaos you manage to remember the details so clearly. Why is that?" She asks. "I'm not sure. I have to remember a lot of details in my school work though from demonstrations so I'm probably used to it."
Lucius rolls his eyes. "Objection. She's leading the witness in an attempt to discredit him since her bid for truth serum is working against her." He says, disgust in the deepest pit of his stomach. Manipulating a child made him sick. Minister Fudge nods his head. "Sustained. Canan you can go back to your seat. Bring forth your next witness Lucius." He says,
Canan goes back and sits down, leaning his head against Severus and closes his eyes, and Severus puts an arm around him as Sirius was called to testify. He takes his seat at the stand and says, "Before pinkie makes a motion, give me the Vertiserum." It causes chuckles to echo throughout the court room. Delores of course, was turning an unbecoming shade of red. After the clerk brought out the potion and it was administered, Fudge turned to Lucius. "You may begin Lucius."
Lucius takes his place in front of the court room. "Perhaps we should start off early. How long have you been an animagus?" He asks. "Since I was 13 years old." He answers. "Then why is it that your animagus form wasn't registered until the 15th of April this year?" He asks. "Because I was advised not to register it." He answers. "And by whom were you given this advice?" The blonde continues. "I can't say. There's a spell preventing me from doing so." He responds. "Can you point?" He asks. "Yes sir." He says and points at Albus. "I see. Was this man there when you were arrested for betraying the Potters?" He asks. "Yes he was. He was with the aurors." He answers. "And did the defendant know you weren't the secret keeper?" He asks.
His answer was another bomb shell. "Yes. He knew that better than anyone." Most of the court room was shocked. Save for Severus, Lucius and Canan, of course. "And how is it he knew?" Asks Lucius. "He was the one who preformed the Fidelus Charm and made Peter Petigrew the secret keeper instead of me." Lucius waits for that to sink in. "So his actions that day let the true Judas of that day escape?" Sirius nods to this. "I had almost caught Peter when the aurors showed up. Peter had set off the blasting hex that killed those poor muggles and then cut off his finger to make it look like he was caught in the blast." He says. "And the defendant did nothing?" Sirius nods his head. "That is correct."
Lucius nods his head and says, "He spent 7 years wrongfully imprisoned without a trial. Earlier this year you, ladies and gentlemen, gave him that fair trial. Now that we've established the defendants role in the miscarriage of justice it's time we move on to the events of April 15th. What were you doing at the school that day in detail if you please?" Sirius nods his head and begins. "On the day of April the 15th, I was leading a team of aurors onto the grounds of Hogwarts to arrest Albus Dumbledore, who was serving as the headmaster at the time. The team had to get in undetected. So with the assistance of the deputy headmistress, the wards were lowered and a captured death eater, Vincent Crabble Senior, who's day job is a ward breaker, provided a distraction in exchange for a plead bargain. While Crabble was providing a distraction, the plan was two teams of aurors would storm the great hall and arrest Albus. One team would approach from the secret passage from Honeydukes to the one eyed witch statue, while my team would approach through the shrieking shack passageway and emerge from the whomping willow, make our way in from the green houses, and slip into the great hall. Things didn't go according to plan though."
"What went wrong?" Asks Lucius, raising an eyebrow. "Well I wasn't in the great hall at the time, but when my team was making its way through the halls, the children were still evacuating the great hall. They should have already have been removed. That's when I heard Canan yelling for someone to unhand his father, and Severus asking for him to have mercy on him. I assumed it must have been Albus and transformed into my animagus form because a dog can run faster than a person. When I entered the great hall I was proven correct and I saw Canan use a hex on the headmaster that I had told him about when he visited Harry and I on April 9th. This prevented the headmaster from speaking, in light of how quickly he was vomiting slugs, which saved his life, since the defendant had his wand in proper position to preform the worst of the three unforgivable curses. At that point I acted on instinct. During this whole interaction, Albus was holding Severus by the neck, and I had to save them both. So the first thing that came to mind was to hurt him enough to let go of Severus and prevent him from using his wand. The most reasonable thing to do proved to be biting his wand hand. It was effective. He dropped his wand and let go of Severus, who ran to Canan to protect him. His back was to me and the head master and Canan's face was against Severus' shoulder. I saw this while shaking the defendant's hand and arm when he tried to pull away. Then a minuet or two later the rest of the aurors arrived and took him into custody. I stood between him and the Snapes as he was led by. That's pretty much the sum of it." He says.
"Thank you. Can you tell me why you went into hiding with Harry?" He asks. "Absolutely." Sirius responds. "When I was released I already had my doubts about Albus. How could I not? He let me go to Azkaban with the full knowledge of my innocence. Then when I was released, I find out that he put my son in the custody of the Dursleys, which was the family of Lilly Potter's sister. Their the kind of muggles that would have burnt witches several centuries ago, and they always called her a freak. Young Harry had it much worse than his mother though, and was living in a cupboard when I found him. I don't know Dumbledore's purpose for leaving the child with them, but I didn't want the headmaster coming any where near my Godson. I was terrified for his and for my safety. That's why I decided to take him into hiding under the Fidelius charm."
"Okay. Thank you very much Sirius. That will be all." He says, nodding at Cornelius. Cornelius nods back and turns to Delores. "Does the defense wish to cross examine the witness?" He asks. She nods her head smugly. "Of course your honor." She says, standing up and standing in front of him. "You say you became an animagus at 13 years old, Mr. Black. Why is that?" She demands and Sirius bit his tongue.
"An answer please, Mr. Black." He resists for another moment and says, "Because my best friend is a werewolf. It was to help him through his transformations." He admits, not wanting to reveal Remus' secrets in the slightest. "I see. So you knew exactly what you were doing, knew it was illegal, for the sake of an evil creature, did it any way, and are trying to pin the blame on my client?" She asks, getting in his face.
Lucius stands up. "Objection on two grounds. The witness was a 13 year old child. He would have listened to the adults in authority at that age. It's what children do. Also I would like to object to the discrimination this line of questioning is leading to. Racism has no place in the courtroom." He says. "Sustained. Do you have any further questions Delores?" He asks. "No further questions your honor." He says, returning to her seat.
Other witnesses were called, like Moody, Minerva, the Weasleys, Crabble. Severus didn't really pay attention, and Canan fell asleep. Sirius on the other hand distracted himself with a hand held muggle game under an notice me not charm. Something Severus found amusing. In the end, the trial took hours, but finally the closing arguments were made, and the verdict came back. Cornelius opens the sealed parchment and starts reading aloud to the court.
"The charges brought forth on this 15th day of April were conspiracy to commit murder, successfully on 5 counts, unsuccessfully on 14 counts, of these charges the defendant has been found guilty on all counts. For the charges of bribery on two counts, we find the defendant guilt. For conspiracy against the ministry, the defendant has been found guilty. For attempted assault of a minor on 2 counts, we find the defendant guilty. On the charge of the creation of a horcrux, and the coinciding charge of murder the Wizengamot finds the defendant guilty. For the use of illegal dark magic on one count, bearing false witness on one count, and the taking of a hostage on one count, the defendant has been found guilty. For knowingly and willingly placing a child in danger, the defendant is guilty. On this 15th day of April we, the Wizengamot, sentence the defendant to ingest Vertiserum and explain his motivation, then to receive the Dementor's Kiss as soon as we purge the Phoenix of its horcrux. Bring forth the Vertiserum." He says. As soon as the clerk administers the dose the questioning begins.
"Who did you kill to make your horcrux?" Asks Lucius. "I killed my sister. I made it seem like an accident after Gelert and I had our falling out." Next it was Minister Fudge's turn. "For what reason did you commit these crimes?" He demands, prompting Albus to sigh and look off into the distance with a fond smile. If he wasn't so evil it would have made you think he was reminiscing on a lover. So it came as a shock when that turned out to be exactly what he was doing. "Gelert was wonderful. His ideas were grand. But the way he approached things was so direct. It would have worked well if he had remained under my control. He was beautiful and spirited after all. We could have been masters over death together and ruled over the muggles as their kings. He became difficult to control though. A loose canon. It wouldn't do to kill him though. I love him after all. I just put him in storage so to speak, and spent my time looking for the perfect scapegoat to guide and shape into the dark lord the world would fear while slowly taking over the ministry. My nephew, Tom was perfect for the role. A few subtle pushes and hints in the right direction and presto. Dark Lord Voldemort was born. Next was the issue of making me the hero, but Sybil had to go and ruin everything by making a prophecy about Harry Potter, and Tom was getting to be difficult to control. So I devised a scheme to get rid of them both that same night. I had Peter let the location of the Potter's slip. I had made sure he was nudged in the right direction too you see. So when he let the location slip, I was planning on both him and Harry dying that night, and leaving no witnesses. I, of course, would have claimed the role of true hero, saying I killed Tom after finding the Potters dead, which would have had me named minister of magic. Of course I had no idea that Tom went behind my back to make Horcruxes, or that Harry would survive. I would have killed him but Sirius had already shown up. So I just planned on biding my time and doing the same thing later in the future after finding and destroying the Horcruxes. I planed on using the philosopher's stone to stay alive to remain the minister of magic, and slowly restricting the democracy in the ministry and taking over enough wizzarding nations through contracts, trade and war to have control of what could become a small army. Of course after I had sufficient power I and I alone would have ruled over the Wizards and the muggles alike. Snape having a kid though, ruined everything. Snape was supposed to be one of my pawns in Tom's ranks. I thought maybe getting rid of it would drive him to that point. Of course I couldn't get rid of that kid any beg yet than Harry. Who would have known babies are so hard to kill? Any way, I didn't plan on my own order betraying me either. They should have been loyal to me and not the cause." The last part was said with a sigh.
"That's enough." Says Fudge. "Your insane. There's nothing else you could be. Have him taken to the highest security cell available with bus hands completely immobilized." When that was said, Lucius stands and says, "A word, if I may, your honor." Cornelius nods to him and says, "Go ahead."
"I would like to thank Canan for all that he's done in this case. It was him who discovered Sirius' innocence and set everything in motion. This child saved everything. And he also saved his father with a very cunning hex. So thank you Canan, for everything you did." Severus was grateful for those words. He had been awake when Dumbledore said he ruined everything. Albus may be insane, but Canan was a very sensitive child. So what Lucius said helped prevent him having another fit of melancholy. The applause from the Wizengamot, witnesses and press probably helped as well, even if he bashfully hid behind Severus.
Moshi Moshi Squirrel desu: so that was probably the most challenging thing I've ever written in my life. I'm sorry for how long it took. Writing a trial though, was more difficult than I anticipated. I'm sorry if it's terrible and for how long it took. Hopefully the length will make up for that. I believe this is the longest thing I've written yet. Also if you like Snack, (Snape/Black) check out acatnamedeaster. Kat had some of the best fan art of the two of them I've ever seen. Shout out to you!
