Author's note: Voldemort and Helena are a little OOC for this chapter.
The audience chamber was empty except from three individuals. One of them was perched on a chair like a throne, his hair light blonde and his face covered with wrinkles. He would be retiring this job soon, but not of his Death Eater status. Your Death Eater status was for life. Beside him was a woman in her early twenties, possibly younger, holding a notepad and a jet black quill. The other in attendance, was a man who goes by the name of Lucius Malfoy. He was perched on the seat happily, clutching his cane even as he was sat down. He felt proud to be here, as it wasn't everyday the Dark Lord promoted his followers. Everyone thought that he was dead, after he 'betrayed' the Dark Lord in a Task in the Triwizard Tournament. But this was a set up, as the Hogwarts Champion was sure to fail. Above the trio, was some Dementors circling above just in case the interrogating got out of hand. It hardly ever did, though.
In came the next captive. She had really dark brown hair - it was almost black - that was greasy. Her blue eyes looked tired but a sparkle escaped from them, as though she was going to enjoy this a lot. A faint smile was upon her lips as satisfaction grew. She was placed in the chair that automatically chained her into place.
"What is your name?" The man in the throne-like-chair asked. His name was Yaxley.
"My full name?" she asked hoarsely.
"Yes, what else would it be?" he replied, irritated.
"I don't know, perhaps I could've just given my first name and you wouldn't have had a clue."
"Yes, yes - hurry up, I don't have all day."
Instead, she avoided the question and her eyes averted to the woman to his right.
"Margot Letzel, my my, it has been a long time. Tell me, please, how is Death Eater life?"
"None of your concern, traitor," Margot spat. "And we'll be asking the questions, if you don't mind."
"Why do you need to be asking questions if you have already determined me to be a traitor? You do not know my name."
Margot sniffed.
"I know a traitor when I see one," she stated coolly.
"Hurry up," Yaxley said. "Or we'll just cart you off to Azkaban."
"I don't think the Dark Lord will be very happy if you carted me off to Azkaban. One, it's easy to escape. Two, you do not know my name."
"If you're so significant, then why are you here?" Yaxley replied.
"Apparently I am a traitor, however, I do not entirely agree. I never betrayed anyone."
"Ok, fine. Last try, ok? What is your name?"
"My name," she licked her lips. "Is Helena Prince."
Silence. A feather could've fallen and you would've been able to hear it.
"Helena Prince?" he repeated, looking confused. How did she end up here?
x
11 hours previously.
She apparated to the first place that she thought of, which was a stupid idea. She ended up in Diagon Alley.
Great, she thought. This is the safest street in the entire world to be right now! Oh my -
Her sarcastic thoughts ended there. Just then three Death Eaters apparated behind her and struck her with a stunning curse.
"We're taking you to the Ministry," one of them said.
When she woke up she was in a cell. She felt the coldness of a dementor that was lingering outside her cell. She figured that they couldn't identify her, otherwise she would've been tortured by now. They just knew she was on the run from them. For a reason.
Terrible memories began to fill her mind. Valentine's day, her parent's dying, Katie dying, isolation...
Every two hours they would come in and attempt to question her. They were all the same.
Who are you? Who are you working for? Why were you running away? What are you running from? Why aren't you in school?
They were endless.
Lana Birch, she told them. No one, I'm not with anyone. I wasn't running away. I'm not in school because I'm ill and I was trying to get to St Mungo's.
They weren't convinced.
They didn't give her food or water the time she was in that cell. She was sad at the loneliness and the claustrophobic feeling to it. It was extremely small.
She wouldn't be able to cope alone for a long time in there. Or anywhere.
x
Present
"You said your name was Lana Birch," he said finally.
She raised her eyebrow.
"You expect everyone to tell the truth?" she answered.
"When you give them veritaserum, yes."
"You didn't give me veritaserum. I would've known."
"I gave you a glass of water before you entered this courtroom, yes?"
"It did not have veritaserum in it."
"How could you know? They taste exactly the same!"
"I -"
She was cut off by Margot.
"Yaxley, wouldn't it be prudent to call the Dark Lord? He's been looking for her."
"Yes... Very well. If you will."
She unrolled a sleeve and pressed her arm with her finger. It immediately turned jet black.
Helena's heart dropped. Oh, she was in trouble... She was chained to this fucking chair, unable to do magic... Her wand was God-knows-where...
Then, she felt the atmosphere change. A small breeze of apparation came behind her, as silent as ever.
He was here.
Her heart stopped and her body tensed up against the chair.
"Margot. I had no idea that she would be here. You did the right thing calling me."
He began to pace around where she was bound, paying no attention to the bows above. She struggled against the chains, but it was no use. They only dug in further.
"Yaxley," He called. "Lucius and Margot. Please excuse us. This will not be a pleasant chat."
They left as quickly as they could. Helena could feel her heart rate speeding up.
He stopped so that he was facing her and she looked at him dead in the eye. He smirked.
"You're truly foolish Helena. You thought that I couldn't track your apparation? Even so, apparating into Diagon Alley was stupid, especially by your standard. And I have to admit, the Death Eaters that found you weren't exactly the brightest. Still, they managed to bring you before me... Though it was a very long way round. So, do you have a reason for escaping Hogwarts besides from Katie being killed?"
Helena was silent. She looked away from his direction in an attempt to make it harder for Him to read her mind.
"Think you can hide your mind from me, Helena? In fact I'm reading it right now, you're just not aware of it. It would be highly unpleasant if you were aware of it. But where's the fun in that? You don't know which memories I'm accessing. I could be altering all of them to my manipulation if I so wished, and you wouldn't feel a thing. But then again, where's the fun in destroying your mind if you don't feel any pain?"
Helena's mouth dropped in surprise. She wasn't entirely expecting that.
"So. Here we are," He continued. "I think it would be more prudent to try you in a full court rather than an empty one. After all, I have to keep my laws, don't I? Otherwise the entire system will just crumble and my years of gaining trust will be useless. I'll see you on the morrow, Helena. By then, we'll both be even more rested than we are now. I think it'd be more fairer than me just torturing you. You shall be proved guilty of defiance, leaving education unannounced, and, of course, being the-so-called 'Public Enemy Number One.' You should be proud of that title, no one has been called that since - oh I don't know - Harry Potter was still alive. Yet, I wasn't the one who gave you the title. In fact, you were only missing for a total of 48 hours without the little disturbances. But it seemed that my Death Eaters over-estimate you. After all, if you were such a threat to have an entire search party on your tail, quite frankly I would've chosen a better place to apparate than Diagon Alley, but that is my own preference. I'm not here to lecture you on your own life."
"Well you obviously didn't have a very powerful Dark Lord trying to do you in, did you?" she replied for the first time in his presence. This comment made Voldemort, somewhat, chuckle.
"No, I did not. But when I did, I killed him."
"Referring to Grindelwald, are you? I'm not entirely sure he could've been classed as a 'Dark Lord'."
"I'm not surprised, you're too young. After all, I did kill him before you were alive," He commented coolly. "Also, he didn't really terrorise this country."
"Not like how you're doing it, anyway," Helena murmured.
Voldemort pretended to not hear her.
"Tomorrow, on the morrow, you will be tried in court. So, please do try to get some rest. Also, I think you would appreciate it more if you slept here rather than one of those cells. Oh, but do watch out for the dementors. They might just... escape. Good day."
And then He left her chained to the chair.
x
The next morning, Helena awoke, still chained to the chair. She could see red marks forming on her wrists where she was bound. This made her become aware of just how tight the chains were. However, the dementors were still trapped in the ceiling above.
The audience chamber was still empty, however just at that moment the 'audience' came piling. Aurors, hooded figures with black cloaks, members of the Wizengamot - you name it. She figured that Voldemort wasn't kidding when he said a full court. She felt strangely small by the towering figures.
"Helena Lydia Prince," a voice said from above. She did not recognise the Chief Warlock. "Do you have proof of your Blood-Status present at Court today?"
"I, apparently, do not," she paused. She looked around and her lips curled. "You are, however, welcome to ask Severus Snape. I believe he shall know."
Every head turned to who she was looking at.
"There is no need -" the voice began coldly. But Severus interrupted it.
"That's quite all right, Parkinson. She is, and has been for the past 17 years, been related to me through my Pure-Blood mother's brother."
"Very well," Chief Warlock Parkinson replied. "You stand by your word?"
"I do," Severus replied.
"Well, Helena Lydia Prince, you are apparently a Half-Blood. Though the fact remains that you have defied the Dark Lord numerous of times."
She raised her eyebrow.
"Surely you do not have proof of these instances?" asked Helena.
"I'm sure the Dark Lord's word is proof enough," said a high-pitched voice from behind her, and Voldemort appeared from the dark. "Wouldn't you agree?" He hissed softly.
"Mhm. Not at all, my Lord, because - no offence - but wouldn't that be a little biased - seeing as this entire court is in your favour?"
The court went silent.
"I suppose you are right," He replied slowly. Many turned to his direction as to dare say 'Have you lost it?' But He only smiled ever so slightly. "However, I deny that I have any part in court rulings. The decision is entirely theirs."
Oh how I doubt that, my Lord, she thought bitterly, but she kept her mouth shut.
"But, I can provide evidence as a prosecutor. Do you have a defence?"
"Obviously not," she said coolly. "Perhaps if I was given a set date rather than being ransomed, I might have managed to pull something together. Is this another case of bias, my Lord?"
"You were cautioned," interrupted Parkinson.
Helena's lip curled smugly.
"Yes. I suppose I was. But surely, being locked up in a cell for 24 hours and then being chained to a chair isn't exactly a caution - nor enough time to prepare a balanced court meeting. After all, it is much easier when a cause is more supported than the other, which is, of course, an example of bias. But who am I to complain? I would be sentenced the same way even if it was a balanced court. So, why don't we all stop pretending that you all actually give a damn that I'm 'on trial' for one inevitable ending? It would just be easier to sentence me right here and now, but if you wish to waste your time, please, do go ahead. Apparently, I have all the time in the world now that I'm - what's the phrase? - out of school."
"So you do admit to being a traitor?"
"Did you physically hear me say that? No. So why must you make assumptions?"
"You said that you're out of school, which proves that you left of your own accord," Parkinson accused.
"I'm out of school because I'm being prosecuted right now, am I not? Not entirely my fault, I'm afraid."
"But you left the school grounds by yourself, not mentioning that was the same night that Bellatrix Lestrange disappeared."
"So. You can't prove that I made her disappear, or whatever. How can you assume that I left the grounds by myself, if the Dark Lord saw me after visiting my friend in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts school, when I was going back to the Slytherin Dormitory, which students will say I returned and did not leave but they noticed that I was missing in the morning. They would automatically assume I was in Great Hall early to have breakfast, but when they discovered that I wasn't there, what do they do? I would suggest that they told a member of staff, Severus Snape, and that he decided to an investigation. When he did not find me in the grounds, however, he decided to contact the Dark Lord." Helena then paused, wondering why she was telling them all of this. She then realised that it hardly made any sense, and she wasn't really thinking about what she was saying. It just sort of came out.
A Death Eater leaned over to Severus.
"What potion is that?" they murmured to him.
"Veritaserum and Talkative Solution," Snape replied quietly with small satisfaction. "Taken separately, of course. However, the Talkative Solution causes the speaker to spurt random things that they themselves might not exactly know, so the Veritaserum balances it out with them speaking only the truth. I tried it on the Beauxbatons Champion, with humorous results. The Dark Lord permitted me to use it today on Miss Prince."
Apparently satisfied, the Death Eater leaned back to their previous position.
Helena apparently noticed this.
"Damn," she muttered under her breath. How did she not notice? But then she realised that she did not consume it - it was injected.
"Did you kill Bellatrix Lestrange or not?" the Chief Warlock asked sharply.
"Yes," she said automatically. "She attempted to stop me from leaving the castle. So I killed her with a simple Killing Curse and vanished her body, so it would look like a disappearance."
Muttering broke out, as she was expecting. Voldemort glared at her intently, as though he was trying to burn through her. But he couldn't do anything. Yet. Oh, but that time will soon come... He couldn't wait to rip her piece from piece...
"So the charges are as follows: defying the Dark Lord directly, killing a Death Eater, and poor attendance at Hogwarts school in your past six years. Miss Prince, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Yes," she said. "How come I get sentenced for killing a Death Eater, but Death Eaters do not get sentenced for killing mass amounts of people? I definitely think that there's a certain amount of hypocrisy there."
"It's all about privilege. Looks like you don't have the right to it. The Dark Lord may determine your punishment, if He so desires."
"Yes, thank you, Parkinson," His high voice returned to the courtroom. "I shall punish Miss Prince myself, as I am determined to 'set her straight.'"
"If my Lord commands it, then He shall."
"Very well. Release her."
The chains came off of her wrists, neck - everywhere. Voldemort grabbed her wrist, and she winced slightly.
"Good day to you all," He announced. And then He departed with her in His grasp.
She shuddered to think what was coming her way.