Chapter 22 – Justice must be served

Since there was no stand, Hermione stood in her seat as Lady Justice awaited for her testimony to begin, as requested.

Severus saw Hermione's flushed face and knew she was really scared. He noticed how she avoided to look at the other side of the table, a remarkable feat considering how close they were.

Still, Severus saw Hermione draw a deep breath and begin, 'I was at the Void fulfilling the specifications of my office, when I saw the man who I thought was my lover. I was surprised.'

'Why was that?', asked the judge.

'It was unusual,' she said. 'We respect each other's offices and we don't visit when we are performing our duties.'

'So you questioned him?'

'He said he wanted to try new things. He suggested we make love right there.'

'Making love in various places was a habit of you? Or public ones?'

'Not at all. We were actually a sort of clandestine couple, due to Satan's harassment towards me.'

'Really? The accused had harassed you?'

'Rumor has it he actually had my husband murdered just to get me.'

Satan shot up to his feet, yelling, 'Objection, Your Honor! It's hearsay, character damaging and irrelevant to the case!'

The judge conceded, 'I agree that it may be hearsay, but the relevance is yet to be determined. Ms. Plaintiff, you will refrain from the murder accusation. Just tell me the facts of this harassment. And you better sit down, Mr. Defendant!'

Satan huffed but obeyed.

'Yes, Your Honor,' said Hermione. 'I can say the accused has been harassing me since I took the office. He came to me once, in the Void, to terrorize me over how my job would include sexual favors from every male incarnation, including himself. He tried to turn me against my sisters aspects and offered me an alleged safe haven in his dominions in exchange of my resignation from the office as Clotho.'

'I assume you turned down the offer. Did the situation continue?'

'Exactly, Your Honor. The only incarnation the accused might respect is Chronos. So we devised a strategy to keep him away from me, and that was to say Chronos was my lover when in fact he was Lachesis's lover. It kept the accused at bay for a while, but soon he became suspicious of the deception.'

'I still don't understand the situation. Where does Thanatos come into this?'

Hermione blushed a bit and said, 'Chronos realized that he actually loved Lachesis, but if their relationship became known, I would be vulnerable to the accused. He felt like he was entitled to me, and ignored all my protests.'

'I see,' said Justitia. 'And Thanatos?'

'He was interested in me,' she said, 'but never said anything, being such a good friend of Chronos. Fortunately, we ended up finding each other.'

'But the relationship between you both had to be kept secret, right?'

'That is correct.'

'And yet, despite the usual secrecy, you felt Thanatos was out of character?'

'Not at first, because he said he was trying for new things. But soon I felt his behavior was really off.'

'And what did you do then? Did you confront him?'

Severus saw Hermione getting tenser and tenser. 'I could not. He fled at the first opportunity and I went into shock when I realized what had happened.'

'And what happened after that?'

'I don't quite recall. I remember feeling utterly alone because my sister aspects were dormant. Then Mother Nature appeared and said I was doomed.'

'Did you know why you were doomed?'

'Actually, I didn't. I just felt a great sense of dread.'

'So you didn't know about the restrictions towards the Fountain of Life?'

'I did not. All I knew is that not all incarnations can go into the Void.'

'Didn't you suspect anything?'

'I suspected we could be incurring in a misdemeanor such as indecent exposure or something like that, but never a mortal sin.'

'Is that your defense? You didn't know?'

'No. My defense is that I was lured and tricked into a sin of which I had no knowledge. It is different than saying I didn't know.'

The audience was clearly divided about it and there was some noise from the galleries. Lady Justice banged her gavel, and ordered, 'Silence!'

The noise ceased, and the judge turned back to Hermione, 'You claim to have been lured. Does that mean you don't consider yourself having been forced into doing anything you didn't want to do?'

'No, Ma'am.'

Another commotion surged from the galleries, this time in tandem with the smiles and smirks from the seven demons at the other side of the table. Justitia banged the gavel harder and it ended immediately.

Then she turned to Hermione again and frowned, 'You are fairly new at this, aren't you? Being an Incarnation, I mean?'

'That is right, Your Honor.'

'And you didn't know that sullying the Source of Life is a mortal sin?'

'No.'

'How come no one told you?'

'I really can't answer that. My own sister aspects don't know anything about that, since they are not allowed into the Void. They could have never warned me.

'Do you know who was supposed to give you that information?'

'No, Your Honor.'

'So I will go against my instincts and ask a hypothetical question. Had you known it was a sin, would you have denied your lover his wishes?'

Severus could feel the tension rising. Hermione was trembling as she shook her head, 'He would never have -'

Gently but firmly, the judge interrupted her, 'Just answer the question, please. A simple yes or no will suffice.'

Severus saw Hermione's voice falter as she answered, 'I believe I would have done it.'

A shout came from a demon of lust, Asmodeus: 'Oh yeah! I am so good, yo!'

The demons laughed out loud and shouted, as they clapped his back and yelled various hacks.

'That's the one! Asmodeus is da man!'

'The little lady is brown bread! She is toast, bro!'

'Fry her sorry ass! Fry it now!'

Severus wondered, not for the first time, why denizens of Hell liked so much to talk in gangsta rap. But Lady Justice was having none of it. She banged the gavel harder and shouted, 'This will be my last warning! If the accused and his party can't keep quiet, they will be removed from the premises!'

The ruckus subsided and the judge resumed the hearing, asking, 'Ms. Plaintiff, if I am not mistaken, part of your job is to collect the raw material if life itself and spin the thread that becomes the lifeline of a mortal soul. Tell me, were the resulting threads that you spun after your tryst defective in any way?'

The younger aspect of Fate looked confused and repeated, 'Defective? In what fashion?'

'Any fashion: defective children, physical disabilities or faulty morality, perhaps?'

'Nothing out of the ordinary, Ma'am.'

'Where was the distaff with the material in question?'

'I put it in a safe place.'

'So it was not corrupted?'

'No, Your Honor.'

'All right. Thank you for your cooperation. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Gaia, please.' The Incarnation of Nature leaned forward to have eye contact with the judge. 'You immediately came to the place, if I recall correctly.' She nodded and the judge asked, 'Why did you do that?'

'It is part of my job,' Gaia explained. 'Whenever and wherever there is a threat to natural resources, I am drawn to it.'

'Please describe what did you find.'

Gaia's beautiful eyes were sad, 'When I arrived there, Clotho was confused and disoriented. I could feel the corruption in the air. But she couldn't say a coherent word, so I took her home.'

'And then what happened?'

'She talked to her sisters and, when she realized what had come to pass and the consequences, she became utterly desperate. She didn't know it was a mortal sin.'

'Why do you think she didn't know?'

'I have my theories. But I am almost sure she was withheld the information on purpose, with the intent to fall in the trap.'

'By whom?'

'I don't know who. And I don't wish to talk without proof.'

'Tell me what are your suspicions.'

'If you insist, Your Honor, I can only say this: I have no idea who did this, but I strongly suspect it was on the Foul One's behalf.'

'Objection!' frothed Satan. 'Speculation! And slander!'

Justitia turned to him and calmly said, 'The witness only said that at my insistence, Mr. Defendant, so I will overrule your objection.'

This time Satan huffed and puffed, but he didn't complain. The judge turned to the Incarnation of Nature and went on, 'After Ms. Plaintiff realized her situation, then what happened?'

'We had a small gathering to discuss the situation.'

'When you say we, who do you mean?'

'Clotho, Thanatos, Chronos and myself. Mars also came by.'

'I see.' Lady Justice seemed to ponder on that for a fraction of a second. 'What were your conclusions?'

'Although we were divided in pertaining to the next step, we all agreed it was Satan's doing.'

'What were your personal conclusions?'

Gaia pressed her lips tightly before answering, 'Once again, Your Honor, I'd rather not answering this question.'

'Would you care to tell me why is that?'

'First of all, Clotho is a dear child of mine and a sweet girl. But mostly because I don't think my opinion is that relevant to the case.'

'Duly noted. I will respect your wishes,' Lady Justice nodded and turned to the other side of the table. 'Now I wish to have a word with the accused. Do you mind if I call you sir?'

Satan put on his best smug smile and said, 'Not at all, milady.'

'So, sir,' said Lady Justice pointedly, 'do you admit to having tricked the plaintiff into a mortal sin?'

'But of course,' he said proudly. 'It was a superb job, if I may say so myself.'

'Then why do you say you are the victim here?'

'Your honor, I was just doing my job. It is the duty of my office to conquer souls, by any means necessary. Trickery and deception are my specialties. And I did just that. As I said, just my job. There is no need for this hearing.'

'Would you care to elaborate on that by any means necessary part?'

The pleasant face gave way to an irate demeanor. 'What are you insinuating? I didn't force anyone into doing anything! Her soul was won fair and square!'

Severus felt a surge of red anger rising inside of him. Hermione realized that, and, although the demon's words rattled her, she put her hand on his arm to calm him down. The Incarnation of Death immediately could feel the boiling emotions cooling down.

Unaware of the exchange, the judge asked Satan, 'Did you premeditate the actions that led to the conspurcation of the Source of Life?'

The smile returned. 'I sure as hell did.'

'Did you expect that outcome?'

The smile became predatory. 'Not at first. She is a smart girl, and I expected her to see through me right away. But she is a naughty girl, too.' He cast a sly look at Hermione. 'I bet she secretly enjoyed it, too.'

At the slur, Severus rose to his feet, leaning towards the demon, hands balled into fists, literally snarling at the creature. Satan retreated, crying, 'Aggression! Aggression!'. The other demons heckled at the Incarnation of Death. All hell broke loose.

Lady Justice banged the gavel, 'Order!'

Hermione pulled Severus back to his seat, as Satan continued to scream abuse at him. The judge was totally pissed.

'If the members of the audience can't control themselves, I will empty the premises! I mean it! I have been more than tolerant!'

Silence reigned supreme, her voice echoing in the hall. Lady Justice warned Satan, 'The accused will refrain from speculation towards the plaintiff. Is that clear?'

Unrepentantly, Satan nodded, 'Crystal clear, Your Honor.'

'So, let's get this done, shall we?' she asked. 'Did you force yourself on the plaintiff?'

'Absolutely not!' Satan looked affronted. 'That is not the way I operate!'

'How can you prove that?'

'I asked her if she wanted me to stop. And I was willing to comply if she didn't want to do it. You can ask her.'

The judge frowned and turned to Hermione, 'Is it true? He asked you that?'

'That is not true,' said Hermione. 'He never asked me that.'

Severus was surprised, but he carefully hid it. It was clear Hermione must have some plan. Whatever it was, Severus hoped it included getting advantage from Satan's anger.

The Evil One went absolutely ballistic. 'LIAR! You sneaky little treacherous jezebel! That is a big, fat lie! She is trying to trick you, Your Honor!'

Hermione calmly maintained, 'That is not a lie.'

'I agree,' said the judge. 'There are safeguards against lies in this room. It is impossible to lie. Yet you insist Satan is lying.'

'He is not telling the truth,' said Hermione. 'It is what he does for an office, isn't it? That is why we are here. He lies and deceits to damn souls to hell.'

Satan was literally fuming, and the foul stench was spreading as he vented, 'I am not lying, you undying whore!'

Although Hermione remained impassive, Severus cried, 'Shut up! Shut your filthy mouth!'

Satan smirked, 'The poor boyfriend still sticks up for his two-timing girlfriend! You really enjoy second servings, don't you?'

The demons around Satan raised a second ruckus, and the audience went even wilder than the first time. It was enough to rile up the judge. She screamed, 'This is it! You have all been warned! Bailiff, clear the galleries!'

The uproar was deafening, but the room of the hearing was preserved from the evacuation. Suddenly there was no noise around them, and the galleries vanished from view. As much as the ruckus was deafening, so was the silence.

'Well,' said the judge, 'perhaps now we can hear the plaintiff's answer. Tell us how has the accused been able to lie to this court.'

Severus saw Hermione barely able to contain a smug of satisfaction as she answered, 'He said that he asked me for consent, and that is not the exact truth. What happened was that: I asked him if doing sex so near the source of life was wrong. He told me the Incarnation of Death wouldn't know about it. I hesitated. Then he said that we could cancel everything if I was offended by his suggestion. Only then I did agree to it.'

The Incarnation of Justice raised an eyebrow and observed, 'That was cleverly phrased.'

Satan grinned, 'Why, thank you, Your Honor.'

Her features clouded immediately. 'I was not talking to you. But now that I am, tell me why you believe this soul was won, as you said, fair and square.'

Satan said, 'A damnation is defined by the commission of a sin by free will, without coercion or intimidation of any kind. This harlot knew it was kinky and she chose to do it anyway. That is why this whole tribunal of souls is a waste of time. Her soul is mine!'

Over my dead body, growled Severus to himself, but he kept quiet. Much to his surprise, though, Justitia turned to him and asked, 'Thanatos, your image and your name were used during this incident. Is there anything you want to say?'

'Plenty, Your Honor.'

Now, he thought, it's about time we turn this game around.