Here's an explanation of my version of the Wizengmot as there's not much detail or really anything.
Wizengmot: There was very little detail thanks to the author. Order of the Phoenix, says about 50 members (could be more or less). To me, there's 70 members, many of them ancient houses (sacred 28 is also included in this), few elected seats for the general public and non-hereditary seats to the order of merlin first class. Obviously, due to many of the ancient houses being unclaimed or straight up gone, that number is quite different. Also, the court may or not be corrupted due to very obvious reasons.
Chapter 30: The Trial of Elladora Lestrange
Waves crashed against the tall, narrow building in the middle of the ocean. Rain splattered against the ground, the bars, creating a small tapping noise as moisture hit metal. Occasionally, lightning would crack across the sky, creating a brief amount of light just to be encased in darkness once more. The sound of thunder wasn't heard too much due to the crashing of waves. Of course, none of this mattered to the prisoners of Azkaban.
They huddled in their cells, shivering uncontrollably. Their lips still parted from screaming as the dementors came to feed on them. Their eyes grew increasingly hollow as Azkaban took effect on the prisoners' faces.
And in a few hours, they would come again.
It was like clockwork.
And it never failed.
Elladora Lestrange laid on the dirt-coated floor, curled up in a ball. Her blonde curly hair matted with dirt, tangles and other things covered her face. Choking sounds escaped her throat as she cried, tired of this endless torment that seemed to follow her. She could hear her make-shift family trying to calm her down through pained voices- hoarse from the endless amount of screaming.
But it wouldn't help.
She was just a child, condemned for a lifetime in Azkaban. Shunned because she killed muggles for trying to cleanse her.
Ella thought she heard footsteps approaching, but it could have been her imagination. No aurors would really come through this section, preferring to stay to the lower levels and there wasn't any screaming that followed. Through her clouded vision, she saw her mama and her make-shift family lean against the bars, wondering if there was another prisoner silenced for their actions, but there was nothing.
She briefly hoped that maybe it was Harry and he finally brought back the Dark Lord, but her parents would have known. For all she knew, Harry could have failed in his mission and they wouldn't know. But Harry would rather die than give up his promise.
"Are we sure they want her?" She heard an unfamiliar voice say in a low voice, "I seriously don't see why they want her."
"She's such a freak, surrounded by her no-good family," Another voice said aloud.
"We should let her rot," voice 1 said.
"Sadly, that would be going against the minister of magic wishes and the wizengamot," voice two pointed out.
"Still."
Ella laid curled up on the floor, barely budging when she heard the cell door open. She didn't budge when a couple pairs of footsteps stopped right in front of her. She barely saw them through her hair, and felt arms tug around her, grabbing her by her arms, holstering her up so that she was walking.
"Mama," She murmured, looking for her shoulder as the aurors dragged her by her parents' cell. "Papa."
What was going to happen to her? She wasn't being moved to another cell was she? Thoughts started to swarm through her head, filled with the unknown. She didn't want to leave her parents or her family. How is her family going to live on through the bleak days?
What if this led to freedom? A small part of her brain said. She wanted to believe it, but there was no hope for that happening. Still, maybe, there was a small part of that hope. She knew her parents would love it if there was a chance that she could get her freedom.
"Be strong, dear," she heard her mama say before she heard the lock of the cell door click behind them and she dragged her feet as the aurors dragged her down, down the path, down to the wooden boat docked, tied with a raggedy rope.
This was her first taste of freedom.
It wasn't beautiful like she was expecting.
It felt very bleak.
Just like her future.
…
The ministry of magic was rather exquisite looking, with a peacock blue-ceiling inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that were continually moving and changing like some enormous heavenly notice board. The walls on each side were paneled in shiny dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds a witch or wizard would emerge from one of the left-hand fireplaces with a soft whoosh; on the right-hand side, short queues of wizards were forming before each fireplace, waiting to depart.
Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears, so that the tinkling hiss of falling water was added to the pops and cracks of Apparators and the clatter of footsteps as hundreds of witches and wizards, most of whom were wearing glum, early-morning looks, strode toward a set of golden gates at the far end of the hall.
It was such a shame that such a place was run by fools and the light.
He knew in months' time, the Dark was going to run the ministry of magic, for the better.
It was the reason why he had Lucius in place as the minister for magic.
Harrison didn't dwell on something that was imminent as right now, he had one thing on his mind:
The trial for Ella.
He was still pleasantly surprised that the mudblood did something right. Finally, after several months of her pestering him, being the rather annoying mudblood she was, she accomplished something. At least, he can finally disregard her, once Ella was free and cleared of her charges.
That was the only reason he was here.
Harrison would have considered not attending the Wizagnmont court session, if it wasn't because of Ella. He knew he had to be here. Of course, what he knew was going to be harder was the fact that he had no idea where the Wizagmont was split- how many of them were actually in Dumbledore's pocket, or how many of them were on their side.
He hoped that Lucius had successfully bribed several people, just in case. The Malfoys were an old influential family that knew the right people and had a history of bribes. Back when he was in Azkaban, the Death Eaters told them how Lucius avoided being thrown into Azkaban once the Dark Lord fell. He simply bribed people and put himself in good graces within the ministry. It was a clever way, really. He just hoped that the Malfoys still bribed people.
Sirius was behind him as they navigated their way through the crows surrounding the entrance of the Ministry of Magic. Several Ministry workers were waiting right next to the floo, and the lifts, waiting to head down to the areas they needed to be at. He ignored the looks that he got as he got through the ministry of magic. He knew what most of them were thinking, even without using legilimens on them. Harrison knew that most of the wizards and witches still clung to the fact that he belonged in Azkaban, and never should have been released.
His past still followed him around, and that was exactly the way he wanted it.
Sirius and Harrison stood in line in one of the lifts with the golden grilles, waiting for several minutes before a lift finally descended in front of them, with the sound of jangling and clattering coming from the lift. The golden grille slid back and an outpour of witches and wizards moved into the lift. Harrison found himself tucked in the back, with witches and wizards staying away from the ex-prisoner, as they cramped right next to each other, nearly touching shoulder-to-shoulder, refusing to go absolutely near him. The sounds of chains rattling were heard in the lift as the lift descended slowly to level nine.
"Department of Mysteries," said the cool female voice, and left it at that.
Harrison briefly wondered what the Department of Mysteries was about, but thought nothing of it. Besides, it wasn't like he could gain access to it, or be able to sneak into it.
"What's in the department of mysteries?" Harrison asked in a low voice.
"Don't know," Sirius shrugged, "The unspeakables work in there and they work in secret."
The corridor was quite different from those above. The walls were bare; there were no windows and no doors apart from a plain black one set at the very end of the corridor. Courtroom Ten was very hidden as they had to go through an opening that led down to a flight of stairs. The corridor felt very similar to the dungeons with the rough stone walls, torches in brackets, and heavy wooden doors with iron bolts and keyholes.
It was very clear that they were very deep in the ministry and didn't look like it was used much. Dust lingered on some surfaces, especially the stone floors. Their footsteps echoed on the stone floor, and opened the heavy door.
The door closed behind them, and headed up the stairs. The Wizengmont court stood in small groups, talking to one another. Many of the Wizengamot members stopped their conversations and looked at the ex-prisoner, some of them with disdain on their faces like Lord Potter, Lady Longbottom, Lord Shacklebolt. Many of them that carried disdainful faces were light, and followed Dumbledore. They resume their conversation once they pass, and he can hear every word.
Luckily, Black and Lucius had helped Harrison with the court procedures and what to expect. Harrison only had three seats that he controlled (Peverell), while the Black family had one more. Most of the Wizengmot only had either two or one seat depending on how they won their seat, or how influential they were.
It didn't take long until Albus Dumbledore showed up, wearing bright robes as he entered the room. Harrison quickly noted the way some witches and wizards shifted on the stone benches, their eyes practically lighting up with awe, and recognition.
"Madam Bones, is it really necessary to hold a trial for a known murderer?" He heard Dumbledore say to a witch that he seemed to be Madam Bones.
"Yes," Madam Bones answered in a clip tone, "Considering the fact that it wouldn't be fair as she never received a trial in the first place."
"Very well," Dumbledore said in a neutral voice.
Dumbledore took a seat. Harrison thought he saw a flash of anger in Dumbledore's eyes when he saw Harrison sitting there on the bench, his back perfectly straight, his pale hands in his lap, next to other affiliated dark heads of houses.
"Shall we begin?" Dumbledore suggested.
"Bring the defendant forward," Dumbledore continued.
The doors opened to reveal two dementors. Harrison had to stop himself from letting out a flinch as he caught sight of the dementors that glided into the courtroom. No, they weren't for him, He chided himself mentally. Even months of being away from the presence of the dementors, he still dealt with the nightmares that plagued him in the night.
He saw Ella in the middle of the two dementors. Their black claws clutching her pale, skinny arms. Her mouth tightly shut as the dementors dropped her to the chair in the middle of the room. The chains sprang up and bounded around Ella's torse, arms and legs- preventing her from moving. Harrison could still see that Ella looked exactly like the last time he saw her, still tiny with her gaunt look, her curly, dirty-blonde hair framed her face.
"Trial for Elladora Cynthia Lestrange on the twenty-fourth of April," Dumbledore stated. Harrison heard the slight scratching of a quill hitting parchment as a scribe began writing on parchment, recording the trial. "Into the charges of the homicide of seven muggles and injuring two muggles in the process. Interrogators: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock; Amelia Susuan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, minister of magic…"
…
Ella mainly stared at the marble podium. She didn't want to look at the people who had her fate in their hands. She barely even wanted to be here, but this was one of her only chances of freedom. She hoped Harry had been the one to orchestrate this. It didn't seem like something he would do, but why would she want to complain?
This was her one of her only chances of freedom.
"If convicted, Elladora Cynthia Lestrange would be sent back to Azkaban, where she would be sentenced with a life's sentence. If she isn't convicted, she would lose all charges on her, reparations for her time in Azkaban and…" Dumbledore stated.
"And be sent to her living relatives, the Malfoys," interjected a person with long blonde hair. This must have been Lucius Malfoy, with his black robes.
She heard stories about her mama, about her Aunt Cissy and and Uncle Lucius or Uncle Lucy as she liked to call him. She had fleeting memories of spending time with them. She barely remembered them, mainly their appearance but that was it. Granted, she was only a little girl when that happened and than her parents and Barty Crouch Jr. got captured by aurors, and thrown into Azkaban.
She could still, however, remember unfamiliar wizards who claimed they were going to take her to a better place.
They lied.
They brought her to the orphanage, and left her there until she killed all those muggles with her magic.
"You are Elladora Lestrange, correct?" She heard a female voice say.
"Yes," She said quietly.
"Do you remember the night you killed those muggles and injured them?" The female voice- Madam Bones asked.
"Yes."
"Can you tell us what happened?"
"The caretaker of the orphanage along with several others drugged me when they realized that I simply didn't want to cleanse. They brought me to the priest, and they started to cleanse me to get the demon they thought resided in me. Something happened where the priest and the rest of them started screaming, and blades started cutting through the skin. I was trapped there until strange wizards cleaned up the scene…" Ella explained to them.
She felt like she was relieving the day of her first murder. She hated seeing her own condemnation, and it felt funny as it came spilling out her mouth.
She never told anyone this.
Besides Harry.
But this was her chance at gaining her freedom, and she didn't want to blow her chance.
She heard whispers break out of the otherwise silent courtroom. She wanted to know what they were talking about, but she didn't want to push it. Ella didn't really want to know too much.
"Did you purposely slaughter the muggles?" Dumbledore pressed on. "Or even feel remorse for the matter?"
"Chief Warlock, you seriously can not be suggesting that she is a psychopath who feels no remorse for her actions?" The Minister of Magic interrupted. "It seems strange for the leader of the light to be suggesting such things, considering that she is a child."
From her peripheral vision, she saw some wizards and witches nodding their heads in agreement. She really had no idea what was happening, but she kinda felt like this should not have been happening in any case.
"Minister, we don't want to have a repeat of what happened with the last case. I merely want to take precautions," Dumbledore explained.
"Miss Lestrange, can you please answer the question. Was your outburst of magic on purpose or was it accidental due to the situation you were put in?" Madam Bones asked.
"Accidental.. I didn't mean to kill them," She said in a quiet voice. Her voice threatened to crack, but she tried to keep it steady. "It just happened."
It seemed like they were done with their questioning as there was a prolong of silence, until Madam Bones spoke up.
"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?"
Ella looked up, and looked around her. It was hard to tell how many were here, but that didn't matter. It took a few seconds, but many of them raised their hands in the air. She thought she saw a familiar pair of green eyes watching her from her crowd, but she couldn't really tell.
"And those in favor of conviction?"
Ella held her breath, as quite a bit of witches and wizards raised their hand, including Dumbledore raised his hand also. She really wasn't surprised by that one too much.
Madam Bones continued, "Elladora Cynthia Lestrange is cleared of all charges. She will receive reparations from the ministry for the time spent in Azkaban, and will be residing with the Malfoys."
Cleared of all charges! She thought to herself. She couldn't believe it. Those years she spent being condemned for the murder of the mugggles and being treated like a monster and freak she was. It felt so different. She felt the chains unravel around her, and dropped to the floor with a clang.
Ella got up from the chair. She felt tiny compared to everyone else around her. She looked around her, staring upwards and she saw the smirk on Harry's face, as he headed down the stairs.
He was here.
She couldn't believe it.
Ella wanted to approach him, and tell him things but before she had the chance, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Lucius looking very pleased with himself and talked to some Wizengmot members and other people who congratulated her on her new found freedom, and talked about several things.
Her new found freedom.
She still couldn't believe it.
…
"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" Madam Bones asked.
Harrison saw the hesitance in many of the witches and wizards before they raised their hands. He and Sirius also raised his hands. It looked like the dark families and most of the neutral families raised their families.
"And those in favor of conviction?"
The light witches and wizards and Dumbledore raised their hands. There was no doubt that they wanted to continue to live like they were superior to others, and wanted to be in power, even if it meant condemning others for silence.
Madam Bones continued, "Elladora Cynthia Lestrange is cleared of all charges. She will receive reparations from the ministry for the time spent in Azkaban, and will be residing with the Malfoys."
There was chatter in the air, as witches and wizards got up from their seats, and began talking to one another, to talking about other wizengamot matters, and simply expressed their opinion about the verdict that just took place.
He wasn't really worried.
Harrison wasn't going to go to talk to Ella, at least not right at the moment when witches and wizards were gathering around the minister. He was going to wait when there weren't many eyes and ears around, but first he wanted to let Ella know that he was here, with her.
He smirked as he headed down the stairs, Sirius behind him.
He saw the way Ella's eyes looked at him, a smile on her features as she took him in, but also, her new found freedom.
Now, he had to focus on bringing the Dark Lord to full power and then he could work on getting them out.
I finally got to this chapter, and I am so happy. I have like 12 or so ish chapters planned, and things are going to start picking me up soon.