Today we are in another place and experiencing a trial. Oh and just some infos: I've made a Pinterest side. You will find there character pictures and more. If you wanna have a teaser or some Infos about the FF, visit my tiktok channel.

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Trial

The next few days flew by. And the week was almost over. On Friday morning Maxym was terribly nervous. She had rolled from one side to the other during the night and couldn't get any rest. The alarm clock rang far too early and only with Katelyn's help was she able to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

»It's going to be all right. If you ask, I'm sure one of the professors can accompany you. Or should I come with you?« Katelyn looked at her anxiously.

Maxym shook her head and packed the rest of her things into her backpack. »No, no. I'll be fine. Don't worry.« But Maxym was worried. Not about her birth grandparents' trial. No. She thought more about the fact, that she would have to come to another trial with a magic cloak that would hopefully disguise her so that the Rebels would get more information. But she preferred to keep that from her friend. Katelyn would only get unnecessarily upset and beg her not to put herself in danger. But that was not an option for the redhead.

In the following lessons, first in Ancient Runes and later in Charms, she couldn't concentrate and Katelyn, unusually for both of them, did all the teamwork in the project. Maxym was so preoccupied with her upcoming assignment that she didn't even notice that class was over and most everyone was already on their way to the Great Hall. Her best friend woke she up and they both went to lunch now that Maxym had also packed her things.

On the way there she tried to distract Katelyn with one of her stories. «I think so, they broke up because he's on the Quidditch team now and barely has time.«

Maxym had no idea just who she was talking about, but it was good to get a glimpse into someone else's life and get some distance from his.

»And what have they officially said?« asked Maxym as they both sat down.

»Oh, they don't fit together and have grown apart. 'Spent time apart? Can you believe that? I mean, how long were they together? Five months tops.«

»Who's it about this time?« asked Al as he and Scorp joined them.

Maxym appeared perplexed. »Like I'm telling you the whole story and you don't even know who it's about?« Katelyn was shocked. Albus, Scorp and Maxym laughed and after a few seconds Katelyn joined in the laughter.

Just before that, Professor Flanagon joined them. »Hello Maxym. I don't want to disturb you for long. You'll be excused from classes this afternoon. When you're ready, you can go to the Headmaster's office and use the flea network there.« With that, the good mood was forgotten.

»Thank you Professor,« Maxym thanked him and the professor walked out of the great hall.

»Are you going to be okay?« her friend asked. Maxym just nodded. They all continued to eat their food in silence. Afterwards, the other three went to their classrooms and Maxym made her way to the office.

She was about to turn the last corner when she was pulled into an empty classroom. Before she could protest, she realised that James was standing in front of her.

»I wanted to see you again before you left. How are you? You looked absent minded in magic earlier.« James looked at her worriedly. »If you're in the Ministry, please be careful. We don't know who we can trust.«

»So you're worried about me?« Maxym only now realised how close they were standing.

»Here. Rose has written down everything you need to know about the Ministry. This might help you find your way around there.« James came even closer to her and handed her a thick parchment. Maxym conscientiously put it in her pocket. »And of course the most important thing for your mission.« He handed her the cloak. And she put this into her pocket as well.

»And why doesn't Albus give me the cloak? After all, it's his.« Maxym took another step towards him and they were both now standing so close together that no leaf could fit between them.

»Well, my brother wouldn't do this here,« he said, delivering the last few inches and kissing her. Maxym enjoyed the kiss and snuggled even closer.

But after far too short a time, they had to part and after Maxym assured James once again that she was not taking any unnecessary risks, they said goodbye to each other.

In the headmaster's office, Professor Longbottom greeted them. »Hello Maxym, how are you? Do you need anything else or have any questions? Have you changed your mind and would you like someone to accompany you?«

»No, thank you professor. Hopefully it won't take long.«

»That's what I'm assuming. But just in case, I'd like you to have this.« He handed her a small white bead. »It's a kind of amulet, so if you're in trouble and you need help, squeeze it tight. It will break and send me a signal. Then I will come to your aid.«

Maxym gave it a gentle squeeze as a test and noticed that although the amulet looked like a pearl, it was much softer and more mobile. »Thank you. That makes me feel better and reassured.« She nodded her thanks and he acknowledged it with a smile.

»Well, let's not take much more time. Over here is the flea network.« He walked with her to a fireplace. »You'll come into the atrium by a direct route. From there you'll get to the lifts. The courtrooms are on the second floor. The atrium is on the eighth.« The professor handed her some flea powder. »Good luck!«

»Thank you Professor.« With that, Maxym stood in the fireplace, threw the powder and called out clearly, Ministry, then she was gone.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a fireplace that was strange to her. In front of her was a long corridor tiled up to the ceiling. Many busy wizards and witches walked past her. She joined the crowd and in front of her the corridor opened up and ended in a huge atrium.

In the centre stood a large fountain adorned with a statue. To the left and right stood young men selling leaflets and the Daily Prophet. The ceiling was metres high and there were glass panes on the walls that gave a glimpse into offices.

It was huge and Maxym had never seen anything like it. Where did she have to go? Could she ask anyone here? She looked around, but there were strangers everywhere, not stopping and staring straight ahead. Some were engrossed in conversation.

Helplessly, she remembered Rose's note and searched for it in her bag. She quickly found it and unfolded it. There were small directions from the atrium to the lifts that Professor Longbottom had mentioned. She followed the directions and quickly found her way thanks to Rose's help.

At the lifts, she got into the next one that stopped on her floor and went up to the second floor. There she got out and looked for the board Rose had mentioned. She wanted, just as she had been told, to look for her birth grandparents' trial, and thereby find Ted's trial directly. As she did so, she reached her hand into her pocket and felt the cloak, as if checking to see if it was still there.

But before she could find the tablet after either of them had finished negotiating, a young woman in high heels came strutting up to her. »Are you Ms Malfoy?« Maxym nodded and looked at her expectantly. »Follow me.« She turned and ran down the long dark corridor.

Immediately, Maxym went after her, having to walk fast to keep up. Maxym wanted to ask the young woman some questions, but when she saw the annoyed and above all stressed expression on her face, she preferred to remain silent.

She stopped in front of a large brown door. »This is where the proceedings are taking place. Wait here and don't wander away. Someone will call you in.« And before Maxym could say anything else, she disappeared on her high heels behind another large brown door.

Maxym was now standing all alone in the corridor and had time to look around. The corridor was tiled like the atrium, but here there were only black tiles and stone slabs. This made everything seem even darker and more mysterious. To the left and right were large, brown wooden doors at wide intervals, which probably led to the individual courtrooms. On the left of each door was a small plaque giving information about the room number and the current proceedings.

Before Maxym could decide to look for Ted's trial, a small man came out of the door and looked at her. »Ms Malfoy? Please follow me.« With that he walked back into the room and Maxym followed him.

The room was very different from what she knew of the Muggle world. The room was round, rows of seats went up like grandstands. Only a few members of the Wizengamot sat there. In the middle of the circle was a chair, pointed to by a small man. That must have been their seat. Opposite the chair sat a member of the Wizengamot. She knew him from the Daily Prophet, as he had been on the front page of several articles, but could not remember the name.

Her grandparents were in cages at the edge of the circle. A barbaric behaviour that even they did not deserve. They waved at her and smiled, an unfamiliar image for Maxym, knowing only hatred and suspicion against them.

»Ms Malfoy, thank you for appearing here. Please, take a seat.« The Chairman pointed to the chair but did not look up from the papers in front of him. Maxym sat down in the chair, placing her bag protectively on her lap as she did so. She didn't want to let the cloak out of her hand for a second.

»Ms Malfoy, your full name is Maxym Malfoy, daughter of Draco Malfoy and granddaughter of Lucious and Narzissa Malfoy?« Still looking from at the sheets on the table.

»Yes, that's all true,« she spoke in a firm voice.

»The defendants here present, Lucious and Narzissa Malfoy, are her biological grandparents. Do you see it that way? Are they her grandparents?« He asked his first question very vaguely and cryptically.

»We are related and they are the parents of my biological father, Draco Malfoy. So yes, they are my grandparents.« Maxym had to hold back, but she was thinking of Scorp and that what she said here wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full answer either. But from the way Greg was looking at her with disinterest and barely paying attention, she didn't think what she was saying would make any difference to the outcome.

»Were your grandparents the reason your father gave you to a Muggle family, because otherwise they would have ruined the family?« The first provocative question Maxym had been waiting for.

»My father gave me to my adoptive parents to give me my best chance to grow up without the burdensome past of my birth family.« Her answers were deliberately short and to the point. She had once read that clear, short answers left little room for speculation and that was exactly what she wanted.

»While you were living with your adopted family and later when your father, Draco Malfoy, decided to send you to Hogwarts, were you threatened by your grandparents?«

Maxym took her time answering. Her grandparents disrespected her, said bad and offensive things in her presence, but threatened, they never did. »No, they never threatened me.«

»And if your grandparents were acquitted, would you feel threatened?«

What a strange question, Maxym thought, however she answered truthfully. »No, I would not feel threatened. Furthermore, they have,« Maxym looked longer at her grandparents and saw the desperation and distress in their eyes and continued. »Furthermore, they have another grandson, my brother, Scorpius Malfoy. I'm sure he would be thrilled if his grandparents were cleared of the charges and allowed to come home.«

»Have you been informed that your grandparents are followers of Voldemort?«

Now Maxym smiled, this really was ridiculous. One could accuse her grandparents of many things, but this was old news. »Yes, I know about that. But I hope the Wizengamot also knows that my grandparents,« she pointed to the two sitting in the cage, »had turned their backs on Voldemort while the great battle was still going on and were absolved of what they had done.«

The Chairman now looked at her for the first time. »Thank you very much, Ms Malfoy. You may now leave.« He then looked down again.

Maxym slowly stood up and looked once more at Lucious and Narcissa. Lucious had put on his disgusting smile. A smile he often wore when he spoke to her in front of Scorp. He never said anything bad or hurtful then and just smiled at her. A fake smile.

But Narcissa had put on a grateful smile. She rarely saw her smile. But Narcissa had never spoken disparagingly of her, at least not when Maxym was present. And now she was even smiling at her. Perhaps she needed to change her thoughts about Narzissa again. It was probably only her husband who was the monster.

She nodded again to Narzissa and indicated, »Much strength,« with her mouth. Narzissa returned the nod. Then Maxym went back to the door and a few seconds later she was standing in the corridor. The young woman from earlier came stumbling towards her again. »Ah, there you are at last.«

She really couldn't use that now, she had to get rid of this goat. So she said the first best thing that came to her mind. »Where are the toilets around here.«

The woman looked at her annoyed and Maxym wondered if she had another expression on her face. »There are ladies toilets back there on the right. Can they find their way back to the lifts on their own? I have to do my work and can't babysit. We have five negotiations at the same time,« she complained.

»Of course, it's just a long corridor, I can't get lost here.« And before Maxym had finished speaking, the woman left her and Maxym was alone. That was exactly what she wanted.

Quickly Maxym ran to the toilets, went into a cubicle and locked herself in. She took the cloak out of her bag and carefully put it on. Then she stowed her bag under the cloak, checked again that everything was hidden under the cloak and then left the toilet.

First she went back to the lifts and looked for the blackboard there. Without the pressure and her rude minder, she found the board to the left of the lifts. Quickly she searched the entries and found Ted's trial, she found in room 5. Quickly she walked back down the corridor, ran past the large brown door behind which was her grandparents and kept running. A glance at her watch told her that Ted must already be sitting in the courtroom as it was already five minutes past half past three.

Further along the corridor on the left she read on a sign, Courtroom 5 Theodore Lupin - against magical prosecution. Finally she was there. But how was she going to get in now? She waited outside the door for a few minutes. Maybe someone would come out or want to get in and she could slip through the crack in the door. But nothing happened. She could not let any more precious time pass. Maxym had to take a chance.

She opened the door carefully, but only so far that she could fit through. Maybe it looked to the others as if a breeze had pushed the door open. Once inside, she quickly surveyed the room. It looked exactly like the one she had been in just before. Greg Broin was presiding over the trial.

»Can someone please lock this door? The wind has already opened it again.« Immediately one of the footmen sitting next to him rushed past Maxym and carefully locked the door. Maxym was relieved that she had made it. She quickly sat down on one of the empty seats in the lower tiers.

Again, only a few of the Wizengamot were present. The chairman, Greg Broin, was the Grand Master of the Wizengamot. That he was presiding over Ted's trial was reassuring. Then she caught sight of Ted. He was sitting in the middle on a chair. Just like she had been a few minutes before. But unlike Maxym, Ted's hands were chained to the floor. She really had to tell the other this detail. Another thing struck her. The promised defender that Jaime's father was going to send was not there. Maxym saw only the members of the Wizengamot in their robes and Ted in the room. What was being played here?

»Mr Lupin, is it true that you have been working against the Ministry?« Before Ted could speak, Greg continued. »Is it correct that you knowingly spread misinformation in the Auror headquarters and passed on confidential classified information?«

Teddy shook his head vehemently. Broin continued. »Is it true that you have hidden wanted persons and collaborated with the enemies of the Ministry?«

»No!« shouted Ted loudly. This brought the Grand Master out of his tirade. »I have never worked against the Ministry. I swore an oath at my examination to become an Auror and I have never broken that oath. I have never spread false information. I,« he emphasised the word, »tell only the truth. And if the Wizengamot finds me guilty for speaking the truth, then I have done nothing wrong, you have.«

There was a long silence and Maxym had to force himself to sit still. You could literally feel tension. Greg cleared his throat, bringing his colleagues back. »Is it true that you are the son of a werewolf? And that your father, as well as your mother, was currently a follower of Lord Voldemort's second rise in a secret society that openly worked against the Ministry?«

»Everyone knows that my father was a werewolf. However, this has no meaning for me. This is also stated in our laws. The child of a werewolf must not be disadvantaged,« Ted returned. And from the way he grinned, Maxym knew Ted had finally made a point.

»Mr Lupin, you don't have to lecture us on the law. But your mother knowingly broke several laws.«

Now Ted was getting loud. He couldn't take the verbal assault on his mother lying down. Ted tried to get up, pulled on his chains with force and was pulled back into the seat with force. »My mother, like all good wizards and witches, fought Voldemort. She gave her life for a free world,« the prisoner shouted.

Greg had found his sore spot. Maxym shook her head under the cloak. Now it was lost. However much Tell had controlled himself, all was lost with this outburst of rage. Everyone present car flinched when Ted tried to stand up. They were all afraid of him. What lies had Broin spread about him?

»Where are the Marauders?« At his question, Greg had risen to his feet and was leaning menacingly over his desk. »Where are James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?«

Aware of his fate, Ted slumped. »I don't know.« He reared back one last time and raised da head. »I want a lawyer.«

The Grand Master sat back down, sorted through the papers, ignoring Ted's request. »I sentence the defendant here, Theodore Lupin, to thirty-five years in Azkaban. He is guilty on all charges and has been unable to present any evidence of his innocence to the Wizengamot.«

Before Ted or anyone else could say anything, the floor opened up beneath Ted and the chair and Tech descended. As he disappeared into the depths, the floor closed again.

Greg and the others got up and left the room one by one. Maxym remained seated. She had to process what she had just seen and could not yet understand what had just happened. How could she explain it to the Rebels?

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