Chapter Four: The Trial From Hell

Sirius hardly slept that night, berating himself for the way he handled Doriel's declaration of love. It was true he had never committed himself to any Witch he had dated prior to his incarceration; perhaps that was the reason he was so quick to deny his own feelings. He didn't know if he loved Doriel or not, but he knew he didn't want their relationship to end, especially not like this. The next day, Sirius called for Doriel repeatedly but she wouldn't materialize.

To his surprise, another angel appeared. This one was wearing armor and a shimmering sword.

"I am Rogziel, one of the Angels of Punishment!" he said in that booming voice, with the blinding Light of Heaven behind him.

He was a truly frightening sight, but Sirius stood his ground. "What do you want?"

"Doriel of the Cherubim with be tried for high crimes against the Angelic Host," Rogziel announced. "You will appear as a witness for the prosecution."

"I will do no such thing!" Sirius replied. "She didn't do anything wrong!"

"You have no choice in the matter," Rogziel told him.

"If I'm to testify against her I demand to see Doriel first," Sirius said. "When is this trial being held?"

Rogziel put a strong hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Now!"

Sirius suddenly found himself in the witness box. He quickly looked around the courtroom and saw the Lupins and the Potters in the public gallery looking as helpless as he felt, surrounded by a hundred angels. Doriel was in the defendant's box stooped over in pain—a metal clip that was attached to her wings was digging into her flesh. The sight of blood on the feathers of her wings filled him with rage.

"Sirius Black," said a burly angel in full armor, "Is it true Doriel of the Cherubim told you that she loved you last night in the presence of four other witnesses?"

"Yes, but—"

"I am through with this witness," Uriel said with an arrogant smirk.

"I haven't finished my answer!" Sirius yelled. He turned to gaze at the judge who had an aura of command about him. Sirius assumed he must be the Archangel Michael. "Please, let me explain."

"Do so at your own peril," said Michael severely.

"I kissed her," Sirius admitted. "She confused it for love. I take full responsibility for this. She's as innocent as a child, I shouldn't have taken advantage her."

Michael smiled triumphantly. "So you admit you purposely seduced her?"

Sirius shook his head. "I did no such thing! I meant no harm!"

"Enough!" Michael waved his hand causing Sirius to disappear from the witness box and reappear in the public gallery next to James.

"Stand Doriel!" Michael commanded. Rogziel and another armored angel came forward and pulled her roughly to her feet. "You are guilty of carnal lust for a mortal. Your wings will be severed and you will be thrown into the Abyss to join your old friend Lucifer in Hell."

"For a few kisses? There was nothing carnal about it!" Sirius said, incredulous, then jumped to his feet. "You're worse than the Ministry of Magic!"

"How dare you compare us to a mortal government!" Michael hissed dangerously. "Have a care Sirius Black or you will find yourself exiled as well."

James looked up at his best friend as if silently asking him if he was sure he knew what he was doing. Sirius returned the look with one of steadfast determination. He might be unsure of his feelings for Doriel, but there was no way he could leave her to face her fate alone.

"Uriel, take her!" Michael ordered.

Uriel motioned for the two Angels of Punishment to drag Doriel from the defendant's box to kneel before the judge. She managed to catch Sirius's eye and forced a smile. A moment later another angel entered wearing a black hood and holding a giant axe.

"You can't do this, it's barbaric!" Sirius tried to rush to her side, but he was easily restrained by Uriel.

The two angels roughly pulled Doriel's wings outward as the other angel raised his axe. With one stroke both her wings were severed from her back. Doriel screamed then fell forward, unconscious.

"NO!" Sirius yelled in horror.

The Wizard finally managed to wrest himself from Uriel's strong grip and ran to Doriel, taking her into his arms. He removed his jacket and wrapped the bleeding stumps on her back with it. "How could you be so cruel?" Sirius asked Michael. "She has the purest heart of anyone I've ever known."

Michael grinned. It was obvious he was enjoying this. "Not for long."

Doriel started to rouse, then cried out in pain.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked.

"Once she is thrown into the Abyss her wings will grow back into bat wings, then her true nature will be revealed." Michael pointed at the two angels. "This has gone on long enough. Wizard, rejoin your friends while you still can. Rogziel, Shoftiel rid us of her presence!"

Doriel touched his cheek. "Sirius, do not forget me." The Angels of Punishment took hold of her arms and dragged her to one corner of the courtroom. The walls moved back of their own accord and a dark, bottomless pit appeared.

Sirius looked from James to Michael, imploring with his eyes for the Archangel to reconsider. Michael looked away, and with a wave of his hand ordered his minions to throw her in the pit.

"No!" Sirius yelled. "I won't let you do this to her!" Sirius ran to her and grabbed her around the waist just as she was pushed over the edge. "At least she won't be alone," Sirius said as he fell with her.

Doriel and Sirius buried their heads in each other's shoulders until their descent began to slow. They risked looking around them and saw a round tunnel with a fiery light at the bottom of it miles below them.

"Sirius, why?" Doriel asked. "Why would you throw away an afterlife in Heaven for me?"

"I couldn't let them do this to you without doing something." He closed his eyes and thought carefully of his words before speaking. "Commitment was never my strong suit, but I don't want to lose you. Please don't give up on me yet."

A blissful expression crossed Doriel's features. She rested her head on his shoulder and embraced him tightly. Sirius kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her, careful to avoid her terrible injuries.

It might have been hours or days before Sirius saw a fiery lake below them. He told Doriel to take a deep breath and hold it, then did the same. They hit the roiling water hard. It was immediately apparent that Doriel didn't know how to swim for she began to sink to the bottom. Sirius grabbed the back of her tunic and pulled her to the surface. "Get on my back and wrap your arms around my neck." Doriel nodded weakly and did as he instructed, then Sirius managed to swim to the lake's bank and pull them out onto the shore.

As Doriel lay on the hot ground she started to cry. "I wish they could have just killed me. Now we're both robbed of God's Light. I can hardly bear it, Sirius."

"We are manifestations of God, aren't we?" Sirius couldn't believe the words were coming out of his mouth. "As long as we're alive there's hope. I didn't have anyone in Azkaban, but now we have each other. We can bear this together."

"I would like to see you try," said a deep, mocking voice.

Sirius looked up and saw a huge, horned demon with great black wings, flanked by two vicious hellhounds.

The demon smiled. "Welcome to Hell."

To be continued…