Chapter 19
The Hearing: Part II
Remus went for the handle but, as if it were on a timer, the handle turned and the double doors swung open.
Lily's eyes widened and she gulped down a lump in her throat that didn't seem to want to go away. The huge dungeon was dimly lit by old torches and the walls were made of dark stone that had water drizzling in between the cracks. Benches surrounded her on every side, to her left, in front of her, above her and to her right. The room smelled of a combination of mildew, rotten fish, and dirty socks, not the most appealing set of scents.
Most of the benches were empty but directly in front of her sat about fifty dark shadows that she guessed were people, all of them were mumbling under their breath.
On the floor there were chairs set out for each of them, on the left side of the room there were six chairs which already had been filled and then there were six more on the right side of the room. The thing that made her most nervous about this room was that each of the chairs had chains dangling off to the side and she could swear that on the back of one of the seats was dried blood. Lily passed it off as dirt that had been somehow smudged onto the chair, but she knew it wasn't.
As the heavy doors came to a loud close the mumbling and muttering stopped and everyone turned towards them.
Fudge's sharp voice filled the room as he came into view.
" Right on time, a minute more and you would be considered late." he looked at them expectantly and then went on, motioning to the empty chairs, " take a seat."
Remus looked back behind him nervously and began to walk forward, their steps echoed loudly across the uneven floor. Remus took the far left seat, Amanda sat down next to him and squeezed his and comfortingly. James sat down next and then Lily, he smiled at her in a reassuring way and turned his attention to Fudge. Next came Mallory, and last Sirius, they looked at each other nervously and stared at the front of the room like the others.
Lily looked towards the other side of the room and, just as she expected, Lucius and his father sat together, heads held high. Along side of them were Snape, Narcissa, and Bellatrix, all of which were sitting tall and confidently as well, perhaps a little too confidently.
A chill went down her spine as Lucius unexpectedly snapped his head in her direction and glared while putting his hands around his neck in a choking motion and then pointing towards James. She glared back and looked up at Fudge who seemed to have seen none of it, Lily could feel Lucius' eyes on her but she ignored him and proceeded to look straight ahead.
" Are you ready?" he asked.
Remus nodded, " Yes, Sir."
Fudge turned towards Lucius' father and asked the same question. He nodded and smirked evilly at him, " Yes, Sir, indeed."
James looked at the people surrounding the Minister and noticed each and every one of them had on plum colored robes with a elaborately stitched W on the left hand side of their chest. "They must be those Wizengamot people Dad's always talking about" James thought to himself.
Cornelius looked down the row in which he was sitting and smiled back at a young witch with curly dark brown hair and small glasses, she had a quill ready in her right hand and parchment in the other.
" Are you ready Ms. Baggens?"
She nodded eagerly and smiled back at him, " Yes."
Fudge fidgeted anxiously in his seat and smiled slightly, " Very well then, let us begin."
" Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of June," Fudge began in an important voice, the woman who must've been his secretary began to scribble onto the parchment quickly, " into offenses committed under the Decree for the Illegal use of the Unforgivable Curse, Cruciatus by Lucius Malfoy, Resident of 7107 Ridgedale Avenue, Malfoy Manor, Arredila, Surrey. Those present are as follows: James Harold Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Rose Potter, Mallory Elain O'Neal, Amanda Lyn Hemmings, Marcellus Malfoy and Lucius Marcellus Malfoy."
He shuffled some papers around, cleared his throat and then continued, " Interrogators are as follows: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic: Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Head of the Ministry of Magic Treasury, and Florence M. Baggens, Court Scribe."
Fudge began to look through the pile of parchment again, " The charges against the accused, Lucius Malfoy, are as follows: That he knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions having been taught of them in previous courses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry committed one of the three Unforgivable Curses against a fellow student on June the third at two minutes previous to seven, which constitutes an offense in paragraph B of the Decree for the Illegal use of the Unforgivable Curses, 1807, and also under section four of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy."
" You are Lucius Marcellus Malfoy of seven-one-zero-seven, Ridgedale Avenue, Malfoy Manor, Arredila, Surrey, are you not?" Asked the Minister looking down curiously at Lucius.
" Yes, sir." he replied in almost a hissing voice.
Fudge put down the parchment and looked down at him again, " And have you not been taught of the illegality of the use of the Unforgivable Curses?"
Lucius nodded, " Yes,"
" But, regardless of this knowledge you still casted the Cruciatus Curse at James Potter, correct?"
Lucius smirked evilly, " Yes, Sir, but I believe you have over looked the fact that Mister James Potter, cast a defensive spell against Severus Snape without any solid reason."
Fudge glared down at him, " Lucius I suggest you answer my questions directly and not fall out of line, I will interrogate James Potter and the rest of you later."
Still holding his head high he proceeded to smirk at the Minister, who was, by this time, getting slightly agitated.
Fudge turned to James and smiled down at him, " Now, Mister Potter, is it true that this curse was cast at you by Lucius Malfoy?"
James nodded solemnly, " Yes, Sir, three times."
" And in defense against him you used a variety of curses did you not?"
" Yes,"
Fudge sighed heavily, " What was your reasoning as to beginning this duel?"
James saw Lily lower her head shamefully out of the corner of his eye, he smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand.
" The six of us were out shopping on that day and happened to run across Lucius and his gang, the second he saw us he began to harass Lily Potter by saying things such as filthy mudblood. At the time I was over come with anger and hostility towards him and I unwisely cast the first spell." James said honestly, waiting for Fudge's response.
He shuffled through the stack of papers again and brought up a new one while a female witch off to the left side of him came into view.
" Why did you feel it was necessary to defend her so, could she not do it herself?"
James shook his head, " Well, to begin with we were and are still dating, and naturally it didn't go over well with me, but as far as her defending herself, no, she is still unfortunately under aged and was without a wand at the time."
The woman nodded and looked toward Lucius, " And what was your reasoning for saying such things against Miss Evans?"
Lucius glared over at Lily and then looked back up at him, " I was only stating the truth, she was and remains a mudblood. It is not an opinion, it is a fact, her parent's are both muggles and she is a witch, this, makes her a mudblood."
Fudge cleared his throat, " I will not stand for such discrimination in my courtroom, one more mentioning of that towards someone in this room and you will be found guilty without a trial." he turned his attention towards Lucius's father who was smirking almost with pride. " Marcellus do you approve of such things in your household?"
Lucius's father held his head high, and Lily couldn't help but think, I now understand the phrase, Like father Like son.
" I am not entirely sure of what you are questioning me- Sir" he added with attitude.
" Do you encourage discriminating phrases and the use of the Unforgivable curses in your household, Mister Malfoy?" Fudge clarified with a warning look on his face.
" Ah," Marcellus said, smirking once again. Speaking slowly and quietly he proceeded to answer, " I believe it is perfectly reasonable to express yourself in unique ways, and I do not think using the phrase, " Filthy Mudblood" is discriminating in any possible way, my son was merely stating a fact, as he has said."
" Is that a yes, Marcellus?" Fudge growled at him very impatiently.
He nodded, as if the answer was quite obvious, " Yes."
Fudge smiled, " Then, I believe we are finished here."
The Minister stood, leaning over the ledge and glowering down at Mister Malfoy who had a look of utter shock and confusion on his face. Lily gasped and grabbed James arm in anticipation of the verdict.
" All in agreement of clearing all charges from Mister Potter, Lupin, Black, Miss Evans, Hemmings and O'Neal, please raise your hands."
Looking around the courtroom Lily noticed that everyone but a few people had raised their hands, she sighed heavily and turned to James who's eyes were the size of dinner plates. James looked at Lily and laughed quietly, he kissed her forehead out of pure happiness as she wrapped her arms around him.
Fudge continued to speak as they did this, " All in agreement of charging Mister Lucius Malfoy for the illegal use of the Unforgivable Curse, Cruciatus please raise your hands," The result was the same and James could've sworn he saw a grin sneak onto Fudge's aged face.
The Minister continued once more, glaring down at Mr. Malfoy Sr., " All in agreement of charging Mister Marcellus Malfoy with the endangerment of youths and the encouraging of the usage of such curses please raise your hands,"
An uncomfortable silence swept through the room as everyone raised their hands, Fudge simply beamed at this, but only for a brief moment. Marcellus was sending death glares to every person in the room and Narcissa and Bellatrix were glaring at Fudge, Lily was sure no one would be surprised if lasers shot out of their eyes and burned a hole in the Minister's head.
" Very, well then, Marcellus Malfoy you are hereby sentenced to thirty five years in Azkaban for admittingly encouraging a youth to use the Unforgivable Curses and for the endangerment of other youths. As for you Lucius, your wand will be suspended from your use of it for five years and you are expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you shall, for whatever reason, cast any form of magic between now and the next five years, you will be placed in Azkaban, regardless of your age. For all of the people who accompanied Mr. Malfoy in this attack you are hereby on probation. There will be no charges against the opposing side. Have a good day."
The Wizengamot and Fudge began to file out of the courtroom when Narcissa stood and began to shout at Fudge.
" You can't do that! You don't have the power to expel a student! And this wasn't even Mr. Malfoy's trial, you can't send him to Azkaban!"
Angry voices began to fill the room, James rolled his eyes and shook his head. Suddenly out of nowhere a booming voice echoed through the courtroom.
" Silence!"
It was Dumbledore, who had been sitting behind them in the top part of the bleachers the entire time.
Everyone obey immediately, even the Wizengamot. Dumbledore turned his attention towards the fuming Narcissa.
" Dumbledore tell Fudge he can't do this, dammit! He can't do this to him!" Bellatrix shouted angrily, joining her sister.
Dumbledore frowned at them disapprovingly and spoke in a quiet but powerful voice, " Watch your language Miss Black, and I'm afraid all of the charges Mister Fudge has given out are fully legal, charges have been held against Mister Malfoy Sr. previously for such things and it's about time he's been sentenced to Azkaban. As for Lucius, well, I myself have approved his removal from my school."
At this Lucius stood up and turned to face the Headmaster, he glared up at him and smirked, " Yes, I'm sure you've been waiting for this moment for a long time now haven't you, Dumbledore?" he hissed, pushing his chair out of the way as he started up towards Dumbledore.
Lily looked at James with concern but was met by a smile, " Ah, don't worry Lils, he can't hurt Dumbledore."
By now everyone except Fudge, Dumbledore and the people that had been involved in the case had left and Lucius was still fuming. Fudge stood back standing near the doors with an amused expression waiting to take Lucius and his father into custody.
" You never did like me, it's always been about precious Potter, and precious Evans, hasn't it? Well good riddance! The Dark Lord will praise me for my actions, and you will only be digging yourself your own grave you filthy mudblood-hugger," With that he spat on Dumbledore's shoe and strutted out of the courtroom, shoving Fudge out of the way in the process.
Dumbledore merely shook his head at this and flicked his wand at his shoe, he smiled down at the six of them that had been freed and then disappeared on the spot.
Fudge had ran after Lucius with his wand out and naturally Bella, Narcissa and Snape had followed behind.
XxxxX
Thirty minutes after arriving back at the mansion things had gone back to normal. Sirius was annoying Mallory, Amanda was yelling at Remus over a move that he supposedly had made while she wasn't looking during their game of Wizards chess and Lily and James were sitting on a couch nearby taking in everything. The positive results from the trial put everyone in good spirits again.
Lily looked over at James who was holding onto his side doubled over on the floor laughing, she smiled and prodded him in the back.
Glancing up at her, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and hopped back onto the couch, wiping away tears of laughter as he asked, " Yeah?"
Smiling she said, " So, do you think they're up for a dinner at that new muggle restaurant in the square?"
He shrugged, " Let's ask."
" Hey guys!" James shouted, making everyone jump. Lily laughed quietly and slapped her forehead.
Sirius gave him a dirty look, " Bloody hell, must we yell? ... Hey, I just rhymed! Ha!"
James rolled his eyes, ignoring his friend's stupid comment, " Whatever, sorry, Lily and I were wondering if you guys wanted to run down to that new restaurant in the square."
Amanda looking at Remus and shook her head slowly, " Nah, I think I'll stay here and finish this game."
Mallory smiled as she punched Sirius in the shoulder, " Same for me, I'm not done bugging this moron yet. Hey Mandy, whereare those scissors?" she asked just loud enough for Sirius to hear.
Without a seconds warning he sprinted out of the room squealing, the two of them doubled over, laughing loudly.
James just grinned, " Are you guys sure? I mean we can wait for you to finish your... er... tasks, or what ever they are."
Mallory waved him off, " No, no, you guys should probably have a few minutes alone anyway, you haven't had much time to yourselves lately, go ahead! We'll be waiting for you when you get back!"
" You're positive, Mal? I mean we really don't have to go." Lily asked, hesitantly.
Mallory put her hands on her hips and gave her an annoyed look, " Will you just go already and quit playing miss-goodie-two-shoes,... get out!"
Lily smirked at her and bowed, " Yes, ma'am. Come on James, let's get out of here before she gives herself a hernia."
James chuckled and took her hand, " Bye guys," with that they apparated to a secluded part of the square where no muggles would be able to spot them.
With a loud "pop!", they appeared in an old run down alleyway next to a trash can that was over flowing with crumpled newspapers and rotting banana peels. A gray cat was perched on a cardboard box with it's back arched and it's ears plastered back, it hissed loudly and darted behind a dumpster.
" What beautiful scenery," Lily mumbled, her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
James let go of her hand and started to walk to the end of the alley, she followed close behind.
" So what's this place called again?" he asked as they stepped onto the side walk.
Lily looked around the square and then pointed at a small diner, it had a red and white awning above the doorway and there was a set of iron tables and chairs on each side.
" Dannie's Delectable Delicacies."
Laughing they started across the square, " Try saying that ten times fast," he mumbled.
Lily smiled and thanked James as he ran up to hold the door open for her and an elderly couple who scooted on through the doorway at a record speed of .7901 mph.
The inside of the cafe was just as quaint as the outside, Lily assumed that the theme colors were red and white considering... what a shocker... everything was red and white. The walls were a deep crimson and the floor was covered in Old English white tiles with small red diamonds in the center of each one. The iron tables were covered with white table cloths and the napkins, which were placed ever-so-neatly next to each plate, were, once again, red.
Looking around for a waitress or waiter, Lily grinned, " This is a cute little restaurant, isn't it?"
James looked around apprehensively and then smiled slightly at her, " Yeah, cute."
She laughed and shook her head. It was somewhat of a girly restaurant and he seemed to have noticed that.
All of the sudden a tall blonde man popped up in front of them, smiling broadly, in that waiter-like way. Since he had appeared there so suddenly the two of them nearly had heart attacks.
" Hello! Welcome to Dannie's Delectable Delicacies! My name is Brad, and I will be your waiter today! Would you like a seat in non-smoking or smoking?" Brad asked excitedly.
Lily had never seen someone so enthusiastic about their job before and after a long list of reasons why he was so... happy-go-lucky, she picked that he had to have sniffed something.
She nodded while smiling in a half-scared way, " Um, non-smoking will be fine, thanks."
Brad beamed again, " Alrighty then! Off we go, just follow me!"
James looked at Lily and raised a brow while they struggled to keep up with their bubbly waiter.
After dogging through the mess of tables and booths, he set down their two menus on a table for two in the back corner of the room, it was mostly empty back there, and Lily was thankful for that. Brad's giddy-ness had given her a headache, seriously, what the hell was wrong with this guy!
As they sat down Brad started up again, " So, what can I get you two to drink tonight! And we do serve martinis, vodka, whiskey -"
" Water will be fine," James interrupted, he figured that if he didn't stop him from continuing right then he would keep going for hours.
The waiter stopped talking abruptly and nodded, " Okay, well, I guess water it is then. Would you like lemon slices, lime, maybe even so-"
James put up his hand, " Please, no! Just. Water. Thank you." he said on the verge of strangling him.
Looking at him oddly Brad shrugged, " If you're sure, we do have tea. Are you sure y-"
Grabbing the edge of the table and smiling up angrily at him James snarled, " I am absolutely positive we only want water. Thank you for your courtesy, but water is what I ordered, and that is what I want."
Lily bit her lip and struggled to restrain from laughing, it was hard though because James was sitting there with his teeth clenched and both hands made into fists, while Brad was standing there completely oblivious to his aggravation.
Shrugging, Brad smiled and scribbled down some words onto a green notepad before shoving them in his pocket and promising he would be back as soon as humanly possible.
As soon as he was out of sight Lily started to laugh hysterically.
James pointed in the direction of their nut case of a waiter, and widened his eyes, " That is not funny, that is the perfect example of why we should not take drugs."
She bit her lip again and tried to stop, but she couldn't, she just burst out laughing again.
He tried to be serious, but the way Lily was laughing was making him want to laugh. James hadn't seen her laugh like that for three days, and up until that point he hadn't realized how much he missed it. And within a few seconds he had joined her and was chuckling along with him.
" Wow," Lily started, wiping the corner of her eye with her finger. " I haven't seen something so entertaining since... well since that one time when I went to the beach with Mallory and she got a crab stuck on her nose."
James sighed and recovered from his laughing fit, " I wish I would've had the chance of seeing that."
Smiling, she nodded, " Yeah, that was pretty good. But this ... Brad bloke... oh he's so much funnier."
" I just want to know why he's so excessively happy." James mumbled, rolling his eyes and looking around for him.
Lily sighed, " Speak of the devil."
" Great." James groaned, only making Lily laugh more.
This was going to be one long dinner.
A/N: Okay, I have a few things I need to say. First off, I know that many of you may be wondering why I only gave certain people middle names in the trial section of the chapter, and that would be because I either didn't know their real middle name or couldn't find their real middle name.
Second of all, I did plan on this being much longer, but I figured some of you may be wanting to figure out what happens at the trial. The next chapter should be longer, and better written, this one was kind of dull.
And last, I want to thank everyone who has ever reviewed for this story, with good or bad responses. I owe it all to you people, without your input I would be getting no where. Thank you very much for your comments, and all I can ask of you now is to continue reviewing so go ahead...
press the button
type in a comment...
and yes you have to,
go on...
and be nice!
Unless you have a reason to be mean...
Okay, now hit the submit button...
Good Job! How hard was that?
:D
You know you love me guys!
Thanks so much!
The one and only...
Lissa