THE TIME ANOMALY CHAPTER 7: The Trial
Disclaimer: I own none of it, just the order the words are in.
Warning: This probably will not resemble a trial at all, as I know nothing about them except what I've read from other fics on FFN. Sorry about that.
A few days after the meeting with Dumbledore, Amelia Bones sent a letter saying that the Minister had finally caves and the trial was scheduled for the tenth of November.
James told Sirius to expect a summons for trial. Sirius said that might be a Patronus-worthy memory.
"Nah," James countered. "That'll be meeting Harry and knowing he's all right."
"Of course. I need at least one memory of Harry."
"Not calling him Prongslet anymore?" James teased.
"Well he's old enough to pick his own name now."
"That's right."
On the tenth, Remus was called to testify to what he knew at the trial. James went under a Disillusionment Charm, not wanting to be seen and knowing he didn't have his Cloak with him any more. He suspected Dumbledore had it, but wasn't certain.
Sirius sat in the chair where the 'criminal' on trial would sit. Sometimes, Sirius knew, the chains on the chair would bind the occupant in place. If they didn't, it was a sign that the person in the chair was probably innocent. Of course, that was only for trials for big offenses. The Wizengamot never judged based on what the chains did, however. Therefore, there were many raised eyebrows when Sirius sat in the chair and the chains actually retracted into the chair. Such was a rare occurrence, as it only happened when the supposed criminal was actually in direct opposition to said crime being performed, and worked to keep it from happening. That actually halfway convinced many on the Wizengamot.
Sirius smirked at the looks of astonishment and thoughtfulness on the faces of many. He knew that his and Remus' testimony would clear him by a large margin, and perhaps he'd even get a formal Ministry Apology, in which case he'd be given a large amoung of Galleons to compensate him for his time spent in Azkaban. Of course, that was only to placate him, as it couldn't ever make up for the time lost.
"Criminal hearing of the tenth of November," said Minister Fudge in a loud voice, and a little man off to the side bgan taking notes at once, "Charges are as follows: That the accused, being the Secret Keeper of Lily and James Potter, of Godric's Hollow, under the Fidelius Charm, revealed said location to You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters; and that the accused cornered Peter Pettigrew in a Muggle street, and blew up Pettigrew and the street, killing Pettigrew and twelve Muggles. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Sirius said at once.
"Very well," said Fudge. "The Interrogators are Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Who is the witness for the defense?"
"Sirios Orion Black." Sirius responded promptly. "Also, can we do this with me on Veritaserum?"
Fudge looked gobsmacked. "V-veritaserum?"
"Yes, Minister. I know very well you won't believe me unless I take the potion," Sirius said testily.
"Very well," Fudge grumbled. "Aurors, administer the Veritaserum."
An Auror in a uniform came forward and put three drops of the serum on Sirius' tongue. When the glazed-over look in his eyes showed it had taken effect, Fudge started questioning him.
"Were you the Potter's Secret Keeper?"
"No." Sirius responded in a dull voice.
"Do you know who was?"
"Yes. It was Peter Pettigrew."
Almost everyone on the Wizengamot gasped - but he was under Veritaserum, so he had to be believed.
"Everyone was told that you were the Secret Keeper. Why was that changed?"
"I was the obvious choice. We switched to Peter, and I would be a decoy. The only people who knew were me, James, Lily, and Peter."
"Did you track down Pettigrew and blow him up, and the street as well, killing Pettigre and twelve Muggles?"
"I tracked down Peter and was about to Stun him, when he cut off his finger and held his wand behind his back. The street blew up. He transformed into his Animagus form and disappeared down the sewers with the other rats."
"Pettigrew was an Animgaus? What was his form, and distinguishing features?"
"He was an Animagus. He was a rat. He looked like a common garden rat, but now he would be missing a paw on his front left forleg."
"Do you know whether he registered?"
"He did not. He accomplished the transformation in our fifth year, with me and James helping him."
"You and James Potter? Why?"
"Me, James, and Peter all be came unregistered Animagi to help our friend, who was a werewolf, with his painful transformations every month. We were in no danger of being bitten, as the bite does not work on animals the way it does humans."
"Why would you associate with a werewolf?"
"He was our friend, and I don't care if he was a werewolf or not. It was just a furry little problem he had, he was a normal human being every day except once a month. Why shun him when he can't help it?"
"You know," said Augusta Longbottom, "he has a good point."
"Silence!" Umbridge snapped. "Half-breeds are not worthy of anything but exile!"
"Why didn't you register yourselves as Animagi?" Fudge continued.
"We thought it would be great fun, not to mention nobody would know it was us. We were all in fifth year when we completed the transformation, we were young and foolish and thought it would be an excellent prank. We were careful to not let anyone know."
"Does anyone have any more questions?" Fudge asked.
"Yes," said Amelia Bones, leaning forward. "Why did you switch to Pettigrew, and not your werewolf friend?"
"The magic wouldn't work on werewolves. Plus, he had been working on infiltrating the rest of the werewolves to help us against Voldemort, and some of us were afraid he might slip up and reveal the information to someone." The Veritaserum was starting to wear off, and Sirius tried to make that last bit of information as easy on Remus as possible.
"I have no more questions." Madam Bones said.
"I do," said Dolores Umbridge. "What was the name of your werewolf friend? He should be tried for aiding you and your friends become Animagi."
"He did not know of it until we told him one night that he should let us help him. He let us. From that point on we helped him every month until the end of Hogwarts."
"Why was a werewolf let to attend Hogwarts anyway?" Umbridge snarled. "The children of the Wizarding World should not be subjected to a werewolf in their classes."
"I do not know," Sirius said at the same time as Dumbledore said,
"I do not harbor anything but sympathy and pity for werewolves, at least until I come to know them. They do not deserve to not have a magical education. Would you have wizards among us have no education? Would you have them go to the Muggle world to avoid the wizards, because they shun the werewolves? According to you, all wizards are above Muggles, and despise them for not having magic. We have a gift more than the Muggles do, and so do werewolves. They have the gift to become a wolf one night a month, without any Animagus training whatsoever. If anything, according to your logic, werewolves should be even higher than wizards."
Several of the less pro-pureblood members of the Wizengamot were nodding along the Dumbledore's explanation.
"I have no more questions," Umbridge snarled.
The rest of the Interrogators declared they had not more questions.
"If you are not a member of the Wizengamot, please leave, so that the Wizengamot can decide upon a verdict." Fudge announced. James, Remus, and Sirius left the courtroom, Sirius with an Auror guard.
"That's odd," Sirius remarked. "They didn't call on you to testify,"
"Maybe they forgot?" Remus said in a strained voice.
"Perhaps. Remus, I'm sorry I doubted you back then."
"It's alright. War does that." Remus replied offhandedly. "I knew it wasn't harbored any longer, once I knew you were innocent."
After a while, the Wizengamot called everyone in.
"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" Madam Bones asked, her voice magnified.
Three-fourths of the Wizengamot raised their hands.
"Those in favor of conviction?"
Fudge and ten others raised their hands, including Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy.
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.
"The accused is cleared of all charges, and will be issued a Ministry Apology for his time spent in Azkaban, with a small fine for being an unregistered Animagus and the requirement to register within twenty-four hours," Madam Bones finished, after counting the number of hands in the air.
Author's Note:
Yes, yes, I had to leave Umbridge there. Don't worry, nothing'll happen to Remus, and Sirius will be right as rain and fit to see Harry soon!