CHAPTER 18:

THE TRIALS OF PETER PETTIGREW AND SIRIUS BLACK

Things were quiet at Hogwarts in one regard: Quirrell had decided to avoid antagonising Snape or Jenova, and, save for DADA classes, was keeping his distance from Harry. But in another regard, the halls were buzzing: the long-awaited trials of Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black were about to begin.

Harry received special dispensation from Dumbledore to attend, and his friends were allowed to come too. Lupin was also present, having come to give Sirius moral support…and Pettigrew the evil eye. Aerith and Jenova also went.

The Wizengamot had many functions. Though primarily a sort of parliament for Magical Britain, it was also a high court. Hence why it was the site for the trials: the Ministry had to be shown as doing something to clean up after its mistakes.

In the public gallery, Lupin (only Harry understood the glare Lupin got as the werewolf was reluctantly allowed entry) pointed out wizards and witches of interest. There were the stern features of Amelia Bones, the formidable head of the DMLE. There was the cool, elegant appearance of Lucius Malfoy. Harry noted that the man carried himself with far more confidence than his son. He knew the man was a former Death Eater, and a canny political manipulator: Aerith had told him some of her conversation with Snape. Then, there was the plump, bowler-hatted figure of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. He seemed paradoxically both nervous and confident.

Then, there was the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Harry heard the venom in Lupin's voice when he pointed her out. Dolores Umbridge, a toad of a woman in a pink dress that seared at the retinas. "She's very disdainful of anyone she considers not human, or not fully human," Remus confided.

"Sounds like she and I would get on like a house on fire," Jenova remarked with her shark-like grin on her face. "With me being the fire, of course."

The good humour didn't last, though. A chill came over the courtroom as a pair of…things entered. Things that were vaguely humanoid, dressed in filthy rags that seemed to be almost as part of the things as the scabrous flesh covering their skeletal arms. Phantoms and revenants made flesh, gliding with a malevolent grace.

"Dementors," Lupin hissed.

Harry was reminded, without bidding, of the time on the Great Glacier, when he had first learned of his infection with Jenova cells, when he had felt perhaps the greatest despair in his life. The cold sensation on his skin, the cold sensation in his heart. He was being paranoid at the time, thinking he was a monster (though given what Jenova had told him before, he was now becoming one, physically, something that he didn't want to think about), but these things made it all come back.

Sirius had told him all about the Dementors, of course, of the horror stories of Azkaban. But to experience their presence was another matter entirely.

Jenova was staring at the creatures with an expression of profound shock and horror. Those creatures… he heard her whisper through their mental link.

As if they had heard her mental whisper, the Dementors' hidden faces suddenly snapped to scrutinise Jenova and Harry. And then, a single word hissed into their minds, intended for Jenova, but Harry heard it too. It was a single word, composed of two syllables, spoken in a pair of voices that sounded like a winter wind, cold and terrible, carrying nothing but death in its wake.

Mother…

And that's when things went wrong.

The last time Harry and Jenova felt their lives flash before their eyes, they had been immersed in the Lifestream. Needless to say, it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, especially as the emphasis of their recollections seemed to be on their worst memories.

This time, it was far worse. With the attention of the Dementors on them, they felt these horrid memories with feelings increased a thousandfold. Jenova, with her experience and innate ability, managed to weather it, but Harry's eyes began to roll up in their sockets.

He heard his parents die (his mother screaming for Voldemort to show his non-existent mercy) once more, and Voldemort sneering at them, before trying to kill him. He remembered the neglect of the Dursleys. The horrific battle against Jenova, and her infecting him. Learning about his infection, and his near-death experience on the Great Glacier. The Snow-Woman's death. Cloud turning on them. Ultima Weapon attacking Mideel, and their nightmarish immersion in the Lifestream. Their fights against Scarlet, Hojo, Diamond Weapon…and Sephiroth.

And then, green, slit-pupilled eyes opening within a swirling green darkness. I told you, Harry, I will never remain a memory…

When Harry came back to his senses, he was outside the Wizengamot chambers once more. He felt his stomach heave. Thankfully, Lupin transfigured a nearby pot plant into a bucket, which Harry emptied his stomach into.

Jenova and Harry's friends had accompanied him outside. All of them looked shaken by the Dementor's presence, and their effect on Harry.

"Where's Aerith?" Harry asked.

"Talking to Dumbledore. Once she was sure you were fine, she went to find him," Lupin said. Harry was bemused to find a piece of chocolate thrust into his hands by Lupin, who also gave pieces to Jenova and the other three children. "I'm a bit of a chocoholic," Lupin confessed, "but it's also an excellent remedy against the Dementor's presence."

Harry was a bit sceptical, but he took a bite anyway. The worst of the effects of the Dementor's presence surprisingly went away rather swiftly.

"So those were Dementors," Jenova remarked, though her composure was rather shaky, despite her attempt at a casual attitude. Once, back on the Planet, she had remarked to Sirius (when he first told her about Dementors and Azkaban) that she considered strongly eating one. The remark was meant in slight jest. But now that she had encountered them…

Her fist clenched involuntarily. She was Jenova, the Calamity from the Skies, a monster that had managed to beat Sephiroth…and yet, more of her children had just managed to affect her deeply. And not just her: Harry too. In fact, she was willing to bet that the Jenova cells in his body made the effect of the Dementors even worse than they should have been.

So, the Dementors called her 'mother'. It seemed that Luna Lovegood and a few other wizards weren't the only legacy of her cells from the Cetra Exodus. These creatures must be misshapen Jenova creatures, perhaps even Jenova hybrids of humans that had fallen prey to corruption and degeneration.

A sudden thrill of horror ran through Jenova when she thought about it: she ate souls, and so too did the Dementors. But why had they attacked her mind and Harry's? She realised that part of the sensation when they attacked her mind was all too familiar: it was the call of Reunion. Only, they were trying to be the focus of the Reunion, when it should have been her. They were trying to draw her to them. And Harry as well. And the worst thing about it was that they were little more than beasts.

It was all she could do not to march right in there and incinerate those abominations. Of course, causing a scene would disrupt the trial. Well, more of a scene already than having their saviour faint from being in the same chamber as a pair of Dementors.

She opened the mental link to Harry. Are you feeling better?

A little. Jenova, those things called you mother. Are they Jenova creatures?

I don't know. They stink of my cells. I think they're either monsters formed from my cells, or else wizards corrupted by my cells. I don't know which. Either way, for what they did to you, I want to destroy them.

"I can see why Azkaban is so horrible," Harry muttered out loud.

"That's not a normal response to Dementors, Harry," Lupin said quietly. "But even so, it's not unheard of. They suck the good feelings out of anyone nearby, the heat from the air, and bring the worst memories to the surface. They also suppress magic usage with prolonged exposure, hence why they're used as guards at Azkaban. A mistake if you ask me."

"You got that right," came a cheerfully sardonic voice. "And yet, I'm probably going to have to pull guard duty at Azkaban as part of my training. Great, huh?"

Harry looked up to find a rather extraordinary pair of people standing nearby. One was a girl in her late teens, probably barely out of Hogwarts, with rather punk-like clothing and spiky pink hair. The other was a scarred, grizzled lump of a man who looked like he had been put back together after a major accident. A magical false eye whirled and spun in his left socket.

"Ah, Mr Moody," Jenova said, giving a polite nod. "And you are?" she asked the teenaged girl.

"Tonks. Just Tonks," the girl replied.

"I've never heard of 'Just' as a first name," Jenova remarked. "Is it short for Justine?"

To Harry's astonishment, Tonks' hair turned red as she scowled. Moody put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't let her rile you, Tonks. She's a dangerous one."

"And don't you forget it," Jenova said with a smile that was both charming and predatorial.

Moody glared at Jenova, before saying, "If I didn't know better, and I do, I'd say you were a Malfoy."

"You wound me, Mr Moody," Jenova said, still smiling. "Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione, this charming gentleman who looks like a dragon's leftovers sewn back together is Alastor Moody, a top Auror."

"Mad-Eye Moody?" Neville all but gasped, his eyes wide. They grew even wider when he realised he may just have committed a major faux pas. After all, it wasn't a particularly flattering nom de guerre that Moody had.

Moody, thankfully, just chuckled. "What am I, a boogyman?"

Tonks smirked. "Well, to little trainees like me, you are. Chucking curses at us when we least expect them…"

"Nymphadora, I need to teach you CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Tonks flinched, before snapping, "Don't call me Nymphadora!"

"Nymphadora, huh?" Jenova mused, still smiling her predatory smile. "Nice name. Doesn't it meant 'gift of the Nymphs'?(1)"

Tonks scowled at Jenova. "How would you like it if you were given a name you didn't like?"

"I was, and I didn't. I just embrace it," Jenova said coolly. After all, Jenova meant 'Calamity from the Skies'. Not that she was going to say that out loud.

While Tonks fumed, Aerith came back. "Dumbledore's making arrangements to watch the proceedings outside the chambers. He and Fudge are up in arms that the Dementors caused such an effect on Harry." She saw Moody. "Oh, hello, Mr Moody. What are you doing here?"

"We were doing escort duty on Black, but Amelia sent us here to check on Harry," Moody said. "Tonks, this is Aerith Gainsborough, Harry's adoptive sister. This is Professor Jen Calamitas."

"And these are Harry's friends," Aerith said. "Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger."

Moody nodded, while Tonks grinned, and said, "Wotcher!"

They soon made their way to a chamber, where they watched the proceedings unfold in a crystal globe(2). Pettigrew, currently under the influence of a spell that prevented him from changing into a rat, was now answering questions while under the influence of Veritaserum.

The Wizengamot, as well as Harry and the group with him, listened as Pettigrew, in a dull tone, listed his crimes, and then admitted to being the Secret Keeper, as well as the Potters' betrayer. Moody pointed out that Lucius Malfoy was listening intently: clearly, he didn't know who the betrayer of the Potters was, and he showed nothing but contempt for Pettigrew. It was probably the only opinion that Harry would share with the man.

"How I'd like to get that man talking with Veritaserum," Moody growled when looking at Lucius Malfoy. "Imperius curse my foot."

"Which one?" Jenova snarked. "The real one or the prosthetic?"

The debate that followed within the Wizengamot, after Pettigrew detailed how Halloween 1981, and his escape from Sirius, was fairly brief. In fact, there were two things concerning the Wizengamot: how did Pettigrew get exposed in the first place, and what sentence to give him?

The former was addressed by Amelia Bones herself, who stated that she was notified by an anonymous tip that turned out to be from Black himself, who knew of Pettigrew's Animagus form. Black was in Britain once more trying to clear his name, and heard of Scabbers through Harry, who had been told about the incidents.

The latter was decided on, though Dumbledore was one of those opposed. He wanted a life sentence in Azkaban, with no possibility of release. Most of the rest of the Wizengamot wanted a summary execution: the Dementor's Kiss. Harry wasn't sure what was worse.

Pettigrew's execution was delayed while Sirius was brought in. The Dementors very nearly went for him, but were halted by Umbridge. She didn't look like she enjoyed preventing the Dementors from attacking Sirius, though.

"They were angry at him escaping Azkaban," Moody noted. "Dementors don't like being thwarted or outwitted."

"In other words, sore losers," Jenova muttered. Just like many of my children, she added mentally to herself.

"Aye, well, if Sirius was really the traitor, Potter would be in trouble," Moody said.

"Gainsborough," Aerith corrected Moody. "My mother adopted him."

Tonks, meanwhile, was scowling at the globe's image. "Merlin, all this time, and he was innocent. Mum's right embarrassed, I tell you. Thought her cousin was like the rest of that damn family."

"Cousin?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. My mum was a Black, Andromeda."

"Sirius mentioned her," Aerith said. "He said that she got kicked out of the family for marrying a Muggleborn."

"And good riddance to them!" Tonks sneered, her hair turning red again. "But all this time, I hated him for turning on the Potters, and it turned out I should've hated that bloody rat!"

"We all made mistakes, Tonks," Moody said. "The question is, especially as you're training to be an Auror, is what you do about them."

Jenova, frowning, asked Tonks, "By the way, your hair…are you a Metamorphagus?"

Tonks was surprised. "Well, yeah."

"A Meta-what?" Ron asked.

"A Metamorphagus is a wizard or witch capable of transforming their body without the use of spells or potions," Hermione said. "Really, Ron…"

"A Metamorphagus would be an ideal asset as an Auror," Moody said, "if she weren't so damned clumsy."

Tonks blushed, embarrassed. Jenova decided to defuse the situation. "Well, I want to ask you something, Tonks." Her skin turned blue, her hair silver, and her eyes orange, with slitted pupils. "Can you match this?"

Tonks' eyes went comically wide, and her hair went straight, standing on end as if she was Einstein, and going green(3). "Bloody hell! You're a Metamorphagus too?"

"Of a sort," Jenova said.

Tonks frowned, before her face shifted and warped to match Jenova's elegant, cruel features, with the skin, hair, and eye colour soon following. "God, I feel like my aunt now," Tonks remarked.

"Narcissa Malfoy would no doubt be pleased," Moody remarked, earning himself a glare from Tonks.

"Wait, she's your aunt?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. Narcissa Malfoy…and Bellatrix Lestrange," Tonks said, distaste and hatred oozing from her syllables as she changed back to her original look. She also didn't miss the look on Neville's face. "Yeah, that's right. They were originally Blacks before they got married. You wonder why the family has such a bad reputation? My mum and Sirius were the white sheep of the Black family."

They settled down and listened to the rest of the trial. Sirius had willingly testified under Veritaserum, and now, the Wizengamot was deciding his fate. He was an unregistered Animagus (this had to be revealed, given Peter revealing his own state), but it was decided to just fine him. And that fine would be a mere dent in a compensation package the Ministry was giving him. Hush money, Moody called it with a sneer.

"Look at Malfoy," Aerith murmured, as the image panned around the Wizengamot. The man looked like he was fuming in anger, albeit trying to keep a dignified air.

"Figures," Moody muttered. "Funnily enough, Sirius was never fully disowned, but his seat on the Wizengamot went to his nearest relative because he was in Azkaban. And the nearest relative who wasn't imprisoned or disowned was Narcissa Malfoy, his cousin. And thus, Malfoy not only controlled the Wizengamot vote that should've been Black's, but his son had a good claim to the Black family fortune. Not that he could object to this much more than he had, but even so, he's got reasons to be angry."

"I hope it hurts," Harry said quietly, but with a dark edge to his tone.

"It would," Moody said, "but wounded animals are the most dangerous, and Lucius Malfoy is a petulant bugger when he thinks he can get away with it."

"Like father, like son," Aerith remarked.

"Only the father has more acumen," Moody said. As Malfoy turned away and strode from the chamber, he said, "Mark my words, Harry may have been a target of Malfoy before, but he's painted a big ol' bullseye on him now. So, remember, constant vigilance."

It wasn't like Harry, Jenova, and Aerith needed the admonishment. They already knew Lucius Malfoy was one to watch. But now, they needed to make sure, more than ever, that he wasn't an issue…

CHAPTER 18 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Pettigrew has been tried and convicted, Sirius has been exonerated, and we meet Tonks!

Now, the thing about Dementors being Jenova creatures of a sort came to me while writing this chapter. It wasn't planned at all. I probably won't write a rationale in-story, so I might as well put it in here. JK Rowling said that Dementors grow, like fungi, in dark, damp, and desolate places. I'm expanding on that further: Jenova cells from infected wizards tend to congregate in those areas, and these creatures are basically Jenova monsters that are part-wizard and part-Jenova creature. Not all Jenova creatures on Earth are as foul as the Dementors, but they are probably the worst. And what's more, they may be a threat to both Jenova and Harry. Time will tell…

1. It does mean 'gift of the nymphs'. While it's a somewhat pretentious name, it's nowhere near as bad as how Tonks makes it out to be, IMO.

2. I made this up on the fly. I think there would be facilities for people otherwise unable to attend a Wizengamot hearing who nonetheless want to witness it (the Dementors causing some people to have an adverse reaction would be a good reason). Television is obviously right out, obviously. I don't think there'd be a facility for a witness to give 'video evidence' from outside the court, so to speak, like there would be in a normal court. And I'm rambling.

3. I based Tonk's hairstyle when she expresses surprise on a scene from The Accidental Animagus by White Squirrel. I dunno whether this actually happens in canon, though (it's been so long since I've read The Order of the Phoenix, and as I hate that particular instalment in the series, I don't intend to re-read it any time soon).

CHAPTER 18 SOUNDTRACK:

The Dementors: The Keller Machine Theme, from Doctor Who: The Mind of Evil, composed by Dudley Simpson and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I like this theme, and given that the Keller Machine (or rather, the creature within it) sucks out people's minds and makes them experience their worst fears, I thought it appropriate for the Dementors.