AN: Hello again my lovelies! Lots of new followers last chapter and reviews, which I love, love, love! I would like to apologize for taking so very long with this chapter. My issues with life and family have really gotten in the way of getting it done. On that note, I would like to see this fic finished sometime around the new year. *crosses fingers*
Edit Nov 6:
It's still the new year and even though I never posted this chapter I still went through and did an edit. Thanks again to everyone for your support, I really appreciate the love!
-HP- -SS-
"If those in the Gallery would please settle down, the trials of Hermione Jean Granger and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore are about to begin." The voice echoed loudly in the room, the spectators shifted excitedly in their seats.
It wasn't very often that trials happened where the accused were firm supporters or leaders of the Light. This would be the trial of the millennia and Rita was looking forward to all the dirt that would be dug up when they questioned Dumbledore under Veritaserum, she chuckled quietly to herself while making sure that both her Quick Quotes Quill and her Dictation Quill were working flawlessly.
She smiled slyly as she saw one of her wandering quills and accompanying parchment scribbling away fiercely as it tried to keep up with the murmuring crowd. Today would make her career and she had Harry Potter to thank no less!
-HP- -SS-
Percy Weasley prided himself for his intelligence, hard work, and bravery; no matter what his younger brothers thought of him. He had never agreed with his family following so closely to Dumbledore and with his quick rise through the ranks of the Ministry he was able to distance himself from what he saw as their bad judgment.
After seeing the first set of articles in the newspaper detailing the attack on Iris Potter-Snape and calling into question the legality of her and the Professors past relationship, Percy saw the earmarks of the Headmasters manipulations. Hearing from his parents only a few days later and being invited around for family dinner had caused him a bit of smug satisfaction, not that he was happy that Iris was hurt. It wasn't her fault that the Headmaster had fixated on the idea of a child savior.
He jolted where he stood at hearing the sound of the gavel hitting wood. He stood behind Tonks and Auror Dawlish waiting to enter the courtroom. He felt his excitement grow with every passing tick of the clock. Soon he would see the threat of Dumbledore nullified and then just the Dark Lord would have to be taken care of.
-HP- -SS-
The murmur of the crowd died suddenly as the doors to Courtroom 11 banged open. A collective gasp ran through those in the gallery as in walked Severus Snape and his wife, Iris Sagitta Potter Black Snape, formerly Harry Potter. Many in the crowd had never even seen the The-Boy-Who-Lived in the flesh and were quite shocked to see the heavily pregnant had thought the stories of Harry Potter being changed into a woman were just a stunt to get attention but the girl looked like Harry Potter, just a bit softer around the edges.
The couple made their way to the front row of seats just to the side of the Wisengamot's gallery seats. Iris cut a small curtsy to those gathered and took her seat between Severus and the already seated Sirius. She gratefully took the offered hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling when Sirius childishly held his hand to his chest delicately.
"The courtroom will come to attention! Minister Rufus Scrimgeour will be presiding with questioning being overseen by Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Gawain Robards."
The Minister and the Head of the Auror department walked into the room and took their seats. Gawain handed a stack of parchments over to the Minister before performing localized Sonarus charms on a curved bar between him and the Minister. "This Judicial body will come to order! Court Scribe Percey Weasley and overseeing the court transcription of this trial are Aurors Tonks and Dawlish."
Robards stood from his seat, picking up a long piece of parchment from his stack. "The Wizengamot comes this day, the Eleventh of December 1996; to stand in judgment of the Accused, minor Hermione Jean Granger on the following charges: Collusion to commit Child Abuse, Attempted Murder (Two Counts), Collusion to enslave a Magical Minor, Conspiracy to commit Murder, and Slander."
Robards took his seat and carefully laid out a few parchments before him while the minister called the trial to order. "Please bring in the Accused." The crowd watched in excitement as the bushy-haired witch was lead into the room. Her face drawn and tight looking but she walked steadily and calmly with her head held high. She was lead to a chair draped in chains; she did not blink as she was pushed down into the chair and the chains came to life, strapping her to the wooden surface.
"Let us begin!" Rufus's gruff voice called out into the hushed room. "Auror Tonks, please administer the Veritaserum to the accused."
Tonks moved to do as asked, hoping that the bushy-haired witch would cooperate with her. She breathed a quiet sigh as the girl dutifully swallowed the potion. "For the record, are you the accused, Hermione Jane Granger?"
Sweat broke out over the young witches face, a sure sign that she was trying to fight the potions pull. "Y...y...yes", the word fell from trembling lips.
"Miss Granger, The Court has in its possession a Diary taken from one, Ronald Bilius Weasley," Robards stated, holding up the Diary in question. "Is this Diary yours as he has claimed?"
Hermione vigorously shook her head, even as the words fell from her lips, "It is."
Robards continued, "Were you at any time coerced into writing the words within its pages?"
"No." Her head fell in defeat.
"So, Miss Granger, you are in fact guilty of casting an abortion hex at Mrs. Snape with the intention of killing the child and permanently impairing her, helping Albus Dumbledore control her while she was still male through both the use of spells, potions, and cursed objects, and also sending false correspondence to reporters here in the United Kingdom and abroad defaming the former 'Boy-Who-Lived'?"
She didn't even try to fight the effects of the truth potion. Her answer was so swift and loud that it left a ringing in the ears of those watching the trial. "YES!"
"Very well, Young Lady. The members of the Wizengamot have already read the relevant passages of the Diary entered into evidence and listened to the testimony of events from those affected by your actions. The Court gives you 5 minutes to defend yourself and your actions. We suggest that you take great care in what you say. So, Miss Granger why did you do as the Headmaster asked? What was your motivation in performing such morally objectionable actions?" The Minister looked down at her, holding her gaze with his steely glare.
Hermione clenched her hands tightly in her lap and squeezed her eyes shut. Softly, slowly she started to speak, "I had no friends while I was in Primary School, I was more intelligent than the other children my age and I was ostracized and made fun of for that. When I received my Hogwarts letter, it was supposed to be a new beginning for me, no one knew me. no one knew how smart I was, it was supposed to be 'Tabula Rasa'." She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping even more.
"My parents because they wanted more information before accepting my invitation and because there was no way for them to research a school like Hogwarts on their own, Headmaster Dumbledore came to visit with them." She chose her next words carefully, there was no Headmaster to get her out of this situation.
"He told us all about 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' and how he was going to be in the same year as I. He spoke of how he just knew The Boy would be a Gryffindor, just like his parents; brave and magically adept. I just knew he would be the perfect friend, someone I could be myself around."
She blushed suddenly and violently, "I convinced the Sorting Hat to put me in Gryffindor, even though it said I needed to be in Ravenclaw. Dumbledore promised me that Harry Potter would be my friend, that he would make sure Harry would hang on my every word and follow my lead in everything."
"The incident with the Troll that first Halloween was all part of Dumbledore's plan, a test to see if Harry could be molded into what the Professor wanted him to be." She took a deep breath, her eyes still glassy from the effects of the Veritaserum. "I wanted friends so badly and after that incident, I found myself with two of them. The Professor promised me I would have friends if I did as he asked me. He did what he said, so I did as he told me."
The members of the Wizengamot exchanged pointed looks as the girl paused. While they had agreed, some reluctantly, that the girl had willingly committed the crimes for the former Headmaster, none had really believed she could be that clinical about her actions. They listened as the girl went on, listing event after event that the Headmaster had planned for Harry Potter and how she had helped steer the Hero on the path created for him.
Few in the Courtroom noticed as the five-minute allotment passed, then doubled and tripled, each manipulation worded carefully but delivered in such an emotionless tone that all could hear the detestation Hermione Granger had formed for Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley as the years' went on. She ended with the events in the Hall of Prophecies at the end of their Fifth year, "...I tried to steer them clear of going to the Ministry, knowing that the visions he was seeing were planted but Harry was so sure that the vision Voldemort had shown him was true and stupid Snape had to go and be his normal, charming self and refuse to help Harry. So I had no choice but to follow them and try to keep them out of trouble until the Headmaster could get there but Harry went and got himself captured and turned into a girl."
The hall was silent for many long moments before the Minister cleared his throat. "Mr. Snape, Lord Black, do either of you have any questions you would like to ask the accused after her very thorough... statement?"
Severus and Sirius shared a quick glance before they both shook their heads. Neither had any words for the actions committed against Iris and were greatly disturbed that the man they had faithfully followed could behave in such a manner towards the children in his care.
"Do any member of the Wizengamot have any further questions for the accused?" The room remained quiet, the sound of a quill scratching away at parchment the only sound heard in the room. "Then this court is adjourned until the Wizengamot has made a decision in the case of Hermione Granger. All relevant parties will be summoned to the courtroom at such a time."
With the fall of the heavy hammer, the room broke out into a commotion. Those seated in the auditorium quickly rose from their seats and rushed for the doors, all wanting to spread the news of the hearing of Hermione Granger.
-HP- -SS-
To say that they were speechless was an understatement. Tonks could not believe the level of manipulation the Headmaster went to. The looks of shock that took over the faces of the Wizengamot as they processed all the horrible deeds their leader had initiated all in the name of controlling a Child of Prophesy.
She noted the some of the smug looks on the Dark members of the Wizengamot; this, of course, was music to their ears. To them, this was the fall of the light and soon their darkness would fill all the empty spaces.
She looked to Scrimgeour as he cleared his throat, she knew this man didn't like Dumbledore from the very beginning but she'd never understood why. Of course, many of her fellow Order members had never understood why so many in the Ministry hadn't liked Dumbledore but she now could see their hesitancy in working with the man.
She found her mind racing with questions; How had she not seen the Headmasters manipulations? Why had no one called out the man on his dubious actions? How many other children's' lives had he messed with? The biggest question she had though, Would this revelation give the Dark Lord the footing he needed to take over Magical Britain?
-HP- -SS-
Scrimgeour sat stiffly in his chair, his mane like hair framing a face far more serious than it had been at the start of the trial. Many took note of the clearly disturbed man as they took seats and quieted without any prompting. "The trial of Hermione Jean Granger is back in session. Bring forward the accused", Robards stated clearly.
The Wizengamot watched every step the young woman took, each member's eyes boring into the girl. "Hermione Jean Granger, after a closer examination of the evidence against you and taking into account your verbal confession to each of the crimes you were charged with, you have been found guilty by a four-fifths majority of the Wizengamot."
The courtroom was silent for only a moment before the guilty witch's shouts of denial range throughout the room. On the heels of her shouts, excited chatter began to overwhelm her shouts. "Silence! This court will be silent or you will be forcefully evicted from the courtroom!"
Silence settled slowly over the room, a nervous energy quickly building within the gathered crowd. Scrimgeour glared at those assembled before continuing, "It is the belief of this Judicial body that the accused, while guilty, was manipulated and coerced into her actions by Albus Dumbledore. Having said, this court sentences Hermione Jane Granger to five years in the medium security ward of Azkaban Prison. After the completion of her term in said prison, Miss Granger will be remanded to the Janice Thickley ward of Saint Mungo's for the term of 2 years, where she will receive counseling and rehabilitation. After the term of 2 years, if the Healers in charge of her care find she has been reformed, Miss Granger will have her Magical Core permanently bound and be released into the community of her choice, baring the United Kingdom. So it has been stated, so shall it be!"
"So Mote it be!" range clearly from each member of the Wizengamot.
"Aurors, please take the Convict away." The gathered crowd broke out into hushed conversations, some believing that the young witch had gotten off easy for such culpability. Others believed that the girls' sentence was too harsh, the loss of one's magic being seen as the ultimate punishment.
A small commotion brought their attention back to the witch and they watched as her struggling form was stunned and levitated away. "The court will adjourn for lunch and return to this courtroom in two hours for the trial of Albus Dumbledore." The bang of the gavel making everyone present jump at the finality of the moment, not a witch or wizard spoke in the ringing silence of the gavel.
-HP- -SS-
Iris sat quietly between her husband and her Godfather, her hands resting on her heavily pregnant belly. She had a multitude of warring emotions going into this trial. She hadn't been given the chance to read much of Hermione's diary but the little she had read hurt. She had also been allowed to read the report that the MoM had filed with their solicitor. Reading the confirmation and brief description of each charge had left her feeling hollow.
Now here she sat listening to someone she had thought was her friend, a member of her chosen family, blithely talk of how she helped the Headmaster lead the "Chosen One" on the path of the Greater Good. To find that the man had even planned the opening of The Chamber had shocked her greatly. She might not have fully trusted the Headmaster but to find that he had endangered so many just to mold The-Boy-Who-Lived made her faith in the Wizarding World slip.
The old her would have placed the blame solely on the Headmaster but with her change, she saw things in a far more enlightened view. She saw the looks on the faces of the members Wizengamot and came to the conclusion that they knew of the man's manipulative nature. Seeing their not wholly shocked expressions lead her to believe that they were aware of the mans darker nature but ignored what he did. These people were much of the underlying problem that permeated the Wizarding world. This too was something she would have to fix if their world and way of life was to survive.
She stared ahead, watching the expressions flit across the faces of the Wizengamot members as Scrimgeour read out Hermione's sentence. She knew that some of these men and women were followers of the Dark Lord; their smug looks standing out clearly and wondered if they had truly Judge the case on facts alone. Did Voldemort really want Hermione in Azkaban? Would she survive her five years long sentence there? What would happen to her if she made it through her punishment?
Iris closed her eyes, feeling her magic move under her skin, flowing between her and the child in her womb, she could even feel it brushing against Sirius and Severus lovingly. She felt a small pang of sympathy for the bushy haired girl, the loss of her Magic would crush her but it was nothing less than what she deserved for all those she had harmed and put in harm's way.
She knew she was young, she was only sixteen and here she was pregnant and married. She would never have chosen for her life to go this way but it had and she was trying to make the best of it like she always had. Sure, she had started life out as a boy but her life hadn't been all that great and sure maybe it wasn't the most ideal now but so many good things had come from her decision to go to the Ministry and she had thought Hermione had understood that.
A hand caressing her face brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled at the worried frowns that met her gaze. "I'm fine Siri. I'm just mourning a friendship I thought I had. Mourning for the woman Hermione could have been if Dumbledore had never gotten to her."
He nodded at her statement sadly, "I know how you feel pup. What would our lives have been like had Dumbledore not manipulated every significant occurrence in our world? What could we have all been if he'd minded his own damn business?
-HP- -SS-
Severus grimaced when Sirius growled at yet another reporter trying to bully their way past the Auror guards and up to their table. He pushed a loose hair out of her face as Iris sighed at the persistent media corpse and started to rub her back soothingly. It had taken them thirty minutes to fight the throngs of people just to get to the Ministries Cafeteria and another thirty waiting in queue for food. They had only been sitting for ten minutes and had to be on their way in twenty to back in the courtroom in time.
He could see that she was tired of being stared at and harassed, and smirked when Iris transfigured her soup bowl into a lidded mug and stood from the table. "Can we head back now? I don't like being stared at while trying to eat."
He and Sirius stood as well, transfiguring containers for their remaining food and banishing their refuse to the bin and headed for the exit; their Guards forming up around them and pushing reporters out of the way when they refused to move aside.
Using his Professorial attitude to clear their way when a particularly bold reporter dived under the Aurors. The poor man stood no chance when faced with the snarky bat of the dungeons and if he remembered correctly, the man was a particular nuance while at Hogwarts, somewhere in the range of Crabbe, Goyle, and Longbottom when it came to Potions class.
They barely made it back to the courtroom in time because of Sirius falling to the floor in peels off bark-like laughter. Iris stood by, shaking her head at her father's behavior. "That man will never grow up will he?", he whispered into Iris' ear.
-HP- -SS-
Albus Dumbledore was a man sure of his knowledge, importance, and righteousness. While he had had some youthful indiscretions, he had more than made up for it by taking out his one-time lover and imprisoning him in the tower prison Gellert himself had built. While Gellert had allowed the Dark Arts to lead him astray, Dumbledore had seen the light after the duel between he, Aberforth, and Gellert. His occasional use of the Dark Arts was only 'fighting fire with fire' - as the muggles would say.
He was sure that this silly little trial was only a minor bump in his current life and that his future would only be bolstered when the people realized that he had only done what he did for the Good of Wizarding Britain and her people. What was the life of a single child to the lives of all Britain's Wizards and Witches...
It wasn't as if he behaved like Tom Riddle, luring people to his cause with false promises and threats of violence. He was a man at the head of light and noble cause. A pioneer of the people of wizarding Britain so surely nothing would come of this farce of a trial. This was his internal mantra even as the Aurors floated a stunned Hermione Granger past him in the holding cells.
-HP- -SS-
A.N.: I will be writing a side story for Ron and Draco, just a one shot to start with. I'd like to know what you guys would like it to contain? There will be smut for sure but everything else is up for suggestions.
Also, this chapter took me forever to write and this is actually the third version I've written. For my followers on AO3 and FFN, I know it's been a very long time coming and I'm so sorry for taking so long to write it. My friend read over what I originally wrote and said it felt flat and like I just wanted it to end. I agreed with her, that's why I had her read it first! Having said that, the next chapter should be finished relatively quickly, maybe a week or two at most. That means it will be two more chapters followed by the above-mentioned one-shot and maybe an epilogue.
Review Responses:
Sierra & Ricky - I'm updating now! See!
Your Fan - I'm glad you liked the sex scenes. I had fun writing them!
angelallie15 - Thanks!
Blitzstrahl - It's formatting, that I've tried to fix numerous times and it just pops back in! I am quite partial to the Dark Side and you can cookies and orgasms!
Valentina Alexandrea Sparrow - Can I use your name in my other fic? I love it! I'm thinking a vampire, specifically a daywalker
Mashkai30 - I'm glad you liked it! I worked really hard on that chapter and re-wrote a lot of it.
lilyflower101 - Just so you know, I wasn't going to write any of the trials but you made me change my mind!
melann - *hugs* You wanna be my new best friend? Your last review helped me finish that last chapter, so thank you very much!
rmiser1994 - Thanks! I'm glad that you like it. I also find a Dom Snape yummy…
mscarm- I'm glad you like it. I've not read many Draco/Ron pairings but I love the idea of the two together, they're almost a volatile as Draco and Harry.
Hatake - Liked it so much you read it again? *hugs* I'm trying to keep myself centered so I don't go overboard with that old man.
To those on AO3, ALiveTodaytoWrite, Psp2d, wmt_2, Heavenlycosmos, Phoenix Black, Melika, Kt39021, Jynifer996, LtSaraDHarkness, and Pinkpants; thanks for the reviews and I've replied to everyone directly there.