Hey everyone,
So, this chapter won't be about the trial just yet – or maybe it will. Either way, the start will prove that some Death Eaters really aren't selected by their master for their level of intelligence and more for their inner desire to kill and destroy. However, if the action scene doesn't take too many pages, I might do a bit of trial action.
However, the trials will take more than just one chapter as I plan to put these trials in the POV's of 7 Death Eaters that will feel betrayed by Tom and will fight both to get out of the trail and to cause havoc as well as the POV's of 7 Death Eaters who will respect both the crown and that their master has their best interest at heart.
Boy, this is going to be a long arc. Which is a good thing as afterwards the whole story will focus on the other balls that still need to take place and after that – the move. I will admit that I will probably summarize this last arc into small parts of various stages and times, but I am also very happy with where this story has been going.
Can I be honest with you people? A New Era, while being a lot of fun to write, was never really one of the stories I put most of my effort in. Heck, before I started this One Update A Month schedule, this story was more often than not the kind where I would check my story files and think: "Oh yeah, that still exists too."
Kind of funny, right,

Venquine1990


Chapter 24
Trial Trouble

Rabastan Lestrange's POV

"This better be some elaborate hoax for our Lord to infiltrate this goody two-shoes dance or that filthy mortal of a Half-blood will find himself on the wrong end of my wand. He's mortal now, that much is obvious by what those Royal idiots caused, but the fact that he changed his looks to such a – youthful appearance – I don't like it."
These thoughts go through my head as I follow my lord into a seated position, yet just looking around at those that sit in the horse-shoe shaped formation and a single look at the woman with the royal crown makes me know enough, which makes me share a furious look with several of my fellow Dark Witches and Wizards.

Most of them are either looking at our traitor of a Lord for guidance – dumb simpletons in my eyes – or glaring at him in hated betrayal and this makes me have to hide a smirk as I use ancient Lestrange Family Magic and mentally whisper at them: "When one of us is spoken off, shout our claim and escape to wreck havoc."
The ones who I send this message to smile at me, yet a few of them actually glare back at me and the one that shocks and infuriates me the most in doing so is my own brother in law, who then uses the connection to hiss back at me: "You swore an oath of fealty to the crown and now you wish to wreck havoc upon his judgment?"
Yet the one thing that Lucius doesn't know is that, while he and Crabbe made a vow of their loyalty that also protected their sons from servitude to this dumb teenage monster near me, that Goyle simply vowed his son's loyalty to the crown and that I added an escape clause to my vow to make sure I could keep to my own agenda.
I let the man know of this by sending him my actual vow, which I swore nearly breathlessly to make sure the voices of the other DE's at the Department would be heard over mine and the glare that the Malfoy lord sends me would have probably send me straight to my grave had it been infused with magic before a voice asks:

"Is there a reason for such darkness to show on one's face?" And when we look up, do I fear for my plans as the faces of the three who I know are in league with the so-called king are all aimed at Lucius and myself, but then I decide to just seize my chance and shoot out of my seat at the same time that I draw my wand and snap:
"At the end of last school year, I swore fealty to the crown, yet I never said which crown. I thus hereby claim that the only crown I will ever serve from this day forth is that of King Mordred and his Heiress, the royal Princess Dolorus Jane Umbridge! DEAHT TO THE KING AND ALL HIS LITTLE MUDBLOOD WHORES!"

Yet while the few that I managed to convince of my mental plans shout, jump out of their own seats and rush for the door, completely rampaging through the two lousy Aurors and leaving them shot with the putrid green curse of Death, do I actually feel myself unable to move and it takes me a second to realize that I am encased in ice.
"Sorry, he startled me." A calm voice then says and while I look at the blonde that we fought, who we managed to weaken to a point where we thought he would just collapse and die, but who know looks as if he never even fought a single struggle and the man holds onto a blue shield with white trimming and blue spikes poking out.
He then turns from me to the two fallen wizards and says: "Those six cannot reach the ballroom." Yet while I want to smirk as he must still be very tired from the recent fight, does he then shock me as he raises his free arm and summons the same kind of crazy ass portal as the one that saved him and brought us all here.

He and his two companions rush through it and it vanishes, making me want to smirk until I suddenly notice that I am still being stared at. Looking around me, do my frozen eyes widen as I see both Lucius and my former master as well as seven others fingering their wands and the old Dark Lord is the first to speak as he says:
"What a pity and here I thought they would take pity on you and deal with you themselves – instead of leaving you to us to deal with." And instantly I realize what the man means, making me frightened beyond words. Because while those that just left would sooner die than use Dark magic, does the same not count for those around me.

Wormtail's POV

First I betray the three people who gave me a youth I could only dream of and who only ribbed me because they were teenagers – something I never really got until after living with the Weasleys for a few years – and then I am the one getting betrayed by the one I abandoned my friends and their son for and get send to a trial?
"NO! I will not accept that! I am the traitor! If I get betrayed, I get even! And if the Dark Lord has turned teenager, then the best revenge is taking out the teenager that turned him into one." Goes through my mind as I rush through the crazy looking manor with five others, not even caring that Rabastan isn't with us.
No, I just feel proud of how it had been me that shot one of the two Killing Curses that made sure we wouldn't be blocked from the manor by two measly little Aurors and the look on Macnair's face as he realized I had helped him slaughter something feels even better than when the Marauders cheered on me for helping with pranks.
The reason is because this was something I wanted to do by myself and not because it was part of another person's plan. Yes, Rabastan wants death to the so-called brat of a king and his little playdates, but he said nothing about possible competition or those who would stand in our way, thus the action was all me.

Then my years as a rat come in handy as I suddenly hear something very soft and in the background, making me stop and turn before I realize that what I'm hearing is music and as I dash for where the sound comes from, do I shout: "THIS WAY! I CAN HEAR A PARTY COMING FROM THIS WAY! FOLLOW ME!"
And yet again I get proven that I belong with the Death Eaters and not the Marauders as none of them question my words or laugh at my supposed imagination. Instead of that do they hurry up after me and do they send me proud smirks that say: "Lead the way, Lord Pettigrew." Making me feel that I am doing my team and family proud.

Yet this sense of pride is short lived as our descend on the party is suddenly halted by the same twilight like portal that actually blocks the last hallway leading to the party, the sound of music and voices now even louder to my sensitive ears and from the portal do the so-called queen and her two runts step out.
The queen is the first to respond to seeing us and summons a key-shaped sword unlike any I have ever seen before, her blue eyes now looking like ice crystals and hard as diamond before she swishes the blade in front and to the back of her and while sending us a two-finger salute, does she say only four words in a soft, frightened voice:

"Time for round two." Making me instantly shoot a Killing Curse at her, only for a book to actually appear in front of her, open up and close, swallowing my deadly spell whole before again vanishing without a trace, shocking me before the singed-haired boy says: "Your turn – is over." While flipping a page of his own little diary.
This angers me and my team starts shooting spells, yet the three of them use magic unlike any I have ever seen that traitor of a Dork Lord even use and this crazy form of enchantments actually shield them from all of our magic, yet the fact that they can do no more than shield against us makes me sure of our victory.
"Just keep cursing, boys. Once they run out of energy, we'll rape that pretty little whore, take the crown and kill that idiot brat who turned our master into a right weakling!" I shout in glee and hear the others happily shout their agreements – before suddenly they turn quiet and I am the only one still casting curses and spells.

This shocks and confuses me, but then a voice that I actually feel like fearing speaks and says: "Peter Pettigrew, I hereby punish you in name of the crown and enact the life debt you have owed me since the 24th of June 1994. Your magic is from this day forth striped and you will never be trusted by any side of life again.
All you will ever say will be considered a lie or threat and any magic you cast will be considered dark, yet it will always fade before reaching any target, whether this target be human, non-human, animated or unanimated. And finally will you be worldwide known as traitor to the crown in both worlds, muggle and magical.
Upon my crown I swear, upon your magic, so mote it be." And while I had wanted to turn around and curse the brat for daring to enact something neither of us ever wanted, do I now understand why Rabastan didn't follow us as the blonde haired bastard froze my entire body, leaving only my neck and head out of the block of ice.

Then the brat that made the Dork Lord convince me to switch sides and betray his bastard father and mudblood mother walks past me along one of his other so-called minions, this one tall and with red hair that is now clean of all the dirt and grime we threw at him in battle and the man walks close to the boy as he holds his weapons.
I then look at my comrades and my whole body starts to tremble within the block of ice that holds me captive as they either have punctures created by sharp spikes sticking out of various parts of their body, have their cloths burned onto their very skin or are simply lying knocked out with large bruises on the sides of their heads.
I then look at tall, strong and ginger and realize that the weapons he holds in his hands are circular pieces of silver, red and black metal with spikes sticking out at four spots, the spikes themselves covered by blood and making me realize that the man silently attacked us from behind, yet feels nothing about his near murder.

"If they die it's on you, you ginger haired monster!" I shout at the redhead, but then the woman says: "Yes, you are correct. You and Rabastan Lestrange will be held responsible for this act of treachery against the crown and the new era that is about to begin. Ienzo, use your illusions and lead them back to court."
And while I hate how the blasted bint of a queen reminds me of that mudblood whore who's life I ended with my betrayal, do I feel magic separating the ice block I am in from the ground, but when I realize the implications of the woman's words, does new glee fill me up as I think: "At least my darkest secret will remain just that."


Hey everyone,
Okay, so I will admit that I was originally planning on a little more action in this scene, yet when I realized how the Death Eaters were considering their Master's surrender to the crown as a form of betrayal, did I suddenly remember what sets one of them apart from all the others and my muse just went from there.
Now, let me make one thing very clear: Pettigrew is outright delusional. The Death Eaters didn't send him looks that commemorated him as Lord Pettigrew, Aqua didn't sound weak, none of that actually happened. I just wanted to turn one of the characters as OC as possible and felt Pettigrew's traitor like behavior fit the bill.
Now next chapter will have these seven trailed by court and I will make this one comment about it; Pettigrew is right about his secret not being revealed or believed when it comes from him – yet he is not the only one who knows about it and Veritaserum is and remains a powerful form of magic, designed to bring out the truth.
Have fun,

Venquine1990
PS. As always, if you find inconsistencies or spelling/grammar errors, let me know.
PPS. If A New Era is your absolute favorite, please vote on it in my new poll. Thanks in advance.