A big chapter. And this is only part 1.
HARRY XV
He had never come to the Ministry of Magic before. The dark wood of which both floor and walls consisted, the blue ceiling, the golden symbols all around, the fireplaces from which wizards emerged every second, the shining Fountain of Magical Brethren, all of this was new for Harry. It wasn't an old and ancient place like Hogwarts. Truth be told, Harry liked Hogwarts much more than this place. A feeling of opulence almost emanated from everywhere in the Ministry of Magic, while Hogwarts rather made people feel like they were welcomed, at home. This wasn't the case here at the Ministry of Magic, especially considering the reasons that brought Harry here today. It was August 14, 1993, and today was the first day of Peter Pettigrew's trial.
"This way, Harry," his mother told him. Harry followed her to a desk where an employee of the Ministry was reading the Daily Prophet. A sign read Security over it. The bald man put down his journal as Harry and his mother approached. He seemed surprised to see them.
"Mrs Evans," he said.
"Hi. I must register my son," she said.
The man looked at Harry with round eyes. He supposed this employee had already guessed who he was, given who his mother was, and even more important, due to the fact that Harry wore a silver badge on his robe that read Harry Potter, Trial Attendee. Harry was used to people having such reactions in his presence, but they still made him uncomfortable. He looked at his mother, who gave him a stare that said I warned you.
"Hmm... Approach. Here."
Harry did as the man ordered. The wizard used a long golden rod to wander up and down on Harry, on the front, back and sides. He then asked for Harry's wand and placed it on a strange instrument which shook.
"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use for two years." He looked to Harry again. "Is that correct, my boy?"
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Good. Here. Take it back," he said as he handed over Harry's wand. "Good luck."
Harry didn't know if the wizard was addressing him, his mother or both of them.
"Expect more of that," Lily warned him.
Indeed, as they walked towards lifts, a few people turned the head to look at them. Harry noticed on the front page of all Daily Prophets that titles were all about today's trial. A few people said hello to his mother on their way, until she and Harry managed to get into one of the lifts.
The lift moved down with clattering sounds. Harry then realized that he and his mother were alone in the lift.
"You didn't have to come," she told him. "They're going to... unearth lots of things. Things that are best left in the past." Her voice was quivering.
"I want to be there. For Dad," Harry declared.
They already had this discussion, more than once in the previous days. When his mother announced him that Peter Pettigrew was finally apprehended, she told Harry the whole truth about what happened twelve years ago. Harry already knew who Peter Pettigrew was. He had seen photos of his father with Sirius, Remus and this man back in the days they were at Hogwarts, and also before. His mother, Sirius and Remus always told him that Peter was a traitor who turned out to be Voldemort's spy in the Order of the Phoenix, and that he disappeared during the night of his fall, but nothing more. When she brought him the news of his capture, Harry's mother told him the whole truth though.
Peter Pettigrew was the man responsible for his father's death. At the end of the war, Harry's parents had gone into hiding, having received information that Voldemort was after them. But Peter Pettigrew revealed the place where they hid to Voldemort, and that's how he found them, killed Harry's father, almost killed his mother, and tried to kill Harry as well. Pettigrew killed twelve people that night when he disappeared, after Voldemort had disappeared as well, and tried to make everyone believe it was Harry's godfather, Sirius, who had betrayed his family. Sirius spent an entire month at Azkaban until the Ministry of Magic finally accepted to listen to Harry's mother who kept telling them that his godfather was innocent. Ever since, Pettigrew had been tracked down and searched for by the Ministry's best people. And finally, on August 1, they caught him, in Egypt.
For Harry, it was a complete shock to learn that the man who caused his father's death had been that close to him all this time, hiding under the guise of Scabbers, Ron's pet rat. Ron had written to him multiple times to apologize about it. Hermione had also called when she heard the news. Ron's family even cancelled the rest of their trip in Egypt. He had come to visit Harry to apologize in person, although Harry repeated that there was nothing to apologize about. As for him, the Weasleys were victims as much as Harry and his mother were in this whole story. Pettigrew tricked them all. Mrs Weasley was especially present in the last few days. Ron's and Harry's mothers spent a lot of time together.
But the hardest part had been when Harry told his mother he wanted to attend the trial. The Daily Prophet said that the families of Pettigrew's victims would be allowed to be at the trial in person. His mother first didn't want him to come, but after a lot of arguing and heated discussions, she relented when she saw Harry's determination. Harry could still tell that she wasn't happy about his presence. But he felt that he had to be there. He wanted to face the man who caused all the suffering his family endured. He wouldn't hide behind anyone or anything.
The doors of the lift opened with huge sounds.
"Department of Mysteries," a female voice said.
"Let's go," another female voice, that of Harry's mother this time, said, taking her son by the shoulder and almost dragging him with her.
Unlike the atrium, this place was dark, with only one corridor with naked walls, safe for a black door ahead of them, but his mother instead brought him left down long stairs. As they walked down, they heard the rumor of lots of people talking, their voices slowly increasing. Before they reached the end of the stairs though, they fell upon a couple of people who were waiting for them. One of them was Albus Dumbledore, and there were also Sirius and Remus with him.
"Ah, Lily. You're here," Hogwarts' Headmaster said. "Hi, Harry," he also told him, a reassuring look upon his face.
"I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to be here, Harry," Remus said.
"He's got the right to be there, Remus," Harry's godfather said.
"He's here, that's what matters. Let's escort you somewhere safe before journalists fall upon you," Dumbledore said.
"Come on, Harry," another, more gruffy voice said. Harry realized that Hagrid was there as well. How couldn't he notice the giant frame of Hogwarts' gamekeeper?
They were escorted by the group of about twelve people, most of which Harry didn't recognize. He did recognize Dedalus Diggle though, who he met two years ago at the Leaky Cauldron, when he and his mother went to Diagon Alley for the first time. The man greeted him with a big gesture of the hand, though his excitement was a little lower than before, probably given the circumstances.
They went through a crowd of people discussing among each other in a long corridor along which dark doors were lined up. Harry and his mother were surrounded by the people they met in the stairs, including Dumbledore and Hagrid, and people let them pass.
Slowly, silence fell upon the corridor, but Harry could still hear whispers all around on their path, and a few flashes from cameras, accompanied by puffs of smoke. They were led into one of the rooms behind a dark door. Dumbledore opened it.
"Wait in here. We'll come to bring you in when the trial begins," Dumbledore said.
"Thank you," Harry's mother told him.
They walked into the room. It was a large circular room, with benches organized in stands around a circular empty space at the center. The whole place was of made of dark stone, with torches hanging on the walls. There were already a few people in the center of the room. Most of them turned to look at Harry and his mother the moment they walked in. Harry thought he had somewhat gotten used to this kind of reactions around him, but he had to admit now that it wasn't the case.
"Come here. Do as if they were not looking at you," his mother told him. She took him aside by the shoulder, almost hiding him from stares with her cape. "That's among the reasons why I didn't want you to come," she continued on hushed tone.
"How long do you think the trial will last?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure, my dear. This isn't like in the world of Muggles. Among wizards, trials tend to be short and straight. But I'm afraid Fudge will try to make this one linger."
"Why would he do that? Everyone knows that Pettigrew is guilty."
"Yes, but if the trial lasts a few days, it will mean more coverage from the Daily Prophet, and more popular support for Fudge. The longer it is in the news that he arrested Peter, the more witnesses and evidence he can present of his crimes, the better it will be for the Minister."
Harry didn't like this way of proceeding. Why not just declare Pettigrew guilty, send him to Azkaban and be done with it? Instead, many people, including his mother, would have to testify about his role in the death of Harry's father. The Daily Prophet also hinted about other witnesses who would testify about other crimes perpetrated by Pettigrew.
"Hey, Mom. He's not getting away. He can't?"
She looked at him very seriously. "No, he can't. Not this time." She sighed. "Look, it will be over soon. You don't have to worry. The evidence against him is overwhelming. He cannot escape conviction. He will be sent to Azkaban."
Still, Harry could feel a subtle shaking in his mother's voice. He took her hand to tell her it would be okay. She smiled a little and ruffled his hair, like she always did. It elicited inaudible laughs from both of them. They stood there, away from everyone, not really able to do small talk like they usually could, until a wizard wearing beige robes walked in.
"It's time," he declared. "Please follow us." Harry and his mother made the door, but the man stopped them. "Please, Mrs Evans, wait here with your son. The Minister of Magic wishes to speak with you first."
The other people inside the room all left. Most of them wore black, just like Harry and his mother did. This was like a wave of dark robes with blond, black, brown and red hair atop of them. When finally Harry, his mother and the man were alone in the room, another man, corpulent, with rare grey hair, walked in. He bore an expression of seriousness but smiled to Harry nonetheless when he saw him, then he turned towards his mother.
"Mrs Evans," he said.
"Minister Fudge," she replied as a greeting. Harry had recognized him after a few seconds. He usually had a lime green bowler hat with him on his photos, but he seemed to have discarded it this time. He turned his attention to Harry once again, trying to smile reassuringly.
"Hi, Harry. I'm Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic."
He offered his hand, and Harry shook it awkwardly. Fudge then returned his attention to his mother, but he seemed to be addressing Harry as well when he talked.
"I just wanted to assure you, before the trial begins, that Peter Pettigrew is not going to escape punishment for the crimes he committed. The Ministry of Magic will not let him spend a single more minute in freedom."
"I hope so," Harry's mother retorted. "You needed twelve years to find him."
"And he will be spending the next twelve years and more in prison for what he did to you and to many others. Now, if you allow, I'll escort you to the courtroom."
Harry and his mother followed the Minister. Harry noticed that his mother looked irritated. Soon, Harry was too as they walked out and cameras took photos of him and his mother non-stop. Colin was already hard to suffer at Hogwarts, so a horde of photographers was far worse. Why didn't they focus on the man who murdered his father instead of Harry? This was Pettigrew's trial, after all.
The way to the courtroom looked far too long for Harry's taste. At least, some people along the corridor were not trying to take a photo of him, but instead removing their hats in sign of respect and compassion. They finally entered another room. The door was similar to the one they just went through, and the room it gave on was also identical to the one they just left. The main difference was that seats were filled to the brim, and everyone in them was looking at Harry and his mother. The Minister of Magic went to take his place, while Harry's mother led him somewhere on the side, where Sirius, Remus, and even the Professor Dumbledore were waiting for them.
"I'm sorry, Lily. And sorry for you too, Harry," the Headmaster said, seeming sincerely regretful, as he stood up to let them sit. "I couldn't stop Cornelius from turning a part of the trial into a show."
"This is a show, anyway," his mother said. "There's no way Wormtail is getting out of this."
"And if he tries, we're ready," Sirius said. "Hey, how are you, Harry?"
"Fine, I guess," he answered.
"I'm warning you, you'll find some parts of this whole process quite boring. The only advantage with that is that Peter could die of boredom, but considering how he spent the last twelve years, I highly doubt it will happen."
Harry looked more carefully around him. Dozens of people, men and women of various ages, all wearing the same reddish-purple robes with an elaborated W on them, sat together in the central benches. Cornelius Fudge had taken his seat at their head. On his right sat a small witch, heavily made up, with large eyes, and a very small neck. On his left, another wizard with perfectly combed greying hair and a moustache sat straight, staring straight ahead of him.
There were also many other people on the benches all around. Some of them had notebooks and cameras. Harry supposed they were journalists. Loud bangs were heard across the room. The sounds reverberated against the walls. Harry noticed that it was Fudge who just hit his desk with a small hammer. In the circle space at the center of the courtroom, a simple chair was to be found, covered with chains.
"The Wizengamot is assembled. Bring the accused in," the Minister of Magic declared.
A door Harry didn't notice before opened, and from it came five men, four with their wands in hand, framing the fifth who was bound in chains. Two of them were holding the man in chains by the arms. Flashes and puffs of smoke filled the courtroom immediately. Journalists wrote with hurry in their notebooks. But all eyes were set on the accused, including Harry's.
He had seen his picture in the newspaper. Peter Pettigrew was a very small man. He didn't look taller than Harry. He was also fat, with a head that was slowly losing its hair. Harry thought he saw some of Scabbers' face in his nose and eyes. He looked as if he wanted to curl up on himself. Harry would have had pity for this man if he didn't know who he was. Looking at him, Harry thought he understood why his parents and Sirius never thought that Voldemort would think they had chosen such a person to keep their secret location. At the same time, he wondered how he could have kept a secret more than a few seconds, as frail as he was.
The four men who escorted Pettigrew forcefully pushed him into the chair, and the chains wrapped around his arms, legs and torso, over the chains that already bound him. The four men who had brought Pettigrew inside stepped away, but kept their wands raised in his direction.
"The accused is present, we can begin," Fudge declared. He cast a glance at a small woman not far away, who started writing on a parchment with her quill.
"Trial of the fourteenth of August, in the year 1993," Fudge went on, "of Peter Pettigrew under charges of high treason, murder, complicity to murder, and complicity in attempted murder. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister; Bartemius Joseph Crouch the First, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation. Court Scribe, Mafalda Jane Hopkirk."
Harry looked at Pettigrew the whole time Fudge spent listing who was attending the trial. Looking at him, still cowering, Harry wondered for a moment if it was really this man who handed over his family to Voldemort. He thought that the man who did this would look... different. This one was totally unlike Voldemort, and not at all similar to any Death Eater Harry had ever met like Snape or Lucius Malfoy.
"Are you Peter Pettigrew, born on December 13, 1959?"
The small man in the chains was terribly shaking. He didn't answer.
"Answer. Are you Peter Pettigrew, born on December 13, 1959?"
"Ye... Yes," Pettigrew said on an acute, trembling, weak voice.
"Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot," the Minister of Magic began after he cleared his throat. "I have been Minister of Magic for three years now, and in all these years, never I had to preside a trial about crimes as despicable, outrageous, and horrible as these we are judging today. I expect the utmost severity from the Wizengamot if the accused is declared guilty. Peter Pettigrew is accused under the following charges: twelve counts of murder, committed during the night between October 31 and November 1st, 1981. Complicity in the murder of the following people: James Fleamont Potter..."
Harry felt several pairs of eyes looking down on him. He looked at his mother, who stared straight at Pettigrew in a way Harry seldom saw. The last time he saw that look of pure hatred on her face was when she confronted Voldemort in Hogwarts, over a year ago.
"Edgar Brian Bones," Fudge continued. And the heads turned towards another section of the courtroom. "Syvilia Euphemia Longcast Bones, Regis Edgar Bones, Ignatius Edgar Bones, Amelia Syvilia Bones, William Edgar Bones, Brian Wulfric Bones, Evelyna Ernestia Abbott Bones..."
As Harry listened to the names and realized they all had the same family name, he realized the heads had turned to the other side of the courtroom. That's when he noticed for the first time that Susan was sitting, her eyes looking down on the floor, between a woman Harry recognized as her mother and a man who had to be her father. What were they doing here? And why...? Harry then recalled something his mother told him a long time ago. She had mentioned that a member of the Order of the Phoenix was killed not long before Harry's father was, a certain Edgar Bones, along with his whole family. Of course, he was related to Susan. However... Harry hadn't thought that Pettigrew was involved in his murder as well. As names continued to be listed, Harry felt his anger towards Pettigrew grow. How many people did he help to kill?
"The accused is also facing charges of conspiracy in the attempted murders of Lily Jane Evans Potter and Harry James Potter." Heads turned towards Harry again. "He is also accused of high treason and collaboration with..." Cornelius coughed at this moment. "Lord Voldemort..." The whole courtroom shivered at the mention of the name. Harry was one of the few to not react so violently at its mention. "... who will thereafter be referenced as You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or the Dark Lord. Accused, do you understand the charges you are facing?"
It took a moment for Harry to understand that the Minister was addressing Pettigrew. Pettigrew didn't seem to understand it as fast as Harry did, for he just kept trembling and shaking the whole time.
"Accused, do you understand the charges that are brought against you today?" Cornelius Fudge said in an irritated, perhaps even angry voice.
"I... I'm not sure, sir," Pettigrew finally stammered. "I'm... I'm innocent."
"We're going to see. This is your trial. You'll have a chance to present your defence, something no Death Eater had a chance for before this day. If you are convicted, just know that we will be without pity."
This seemed to terrorize Pettigrew even more. Harry wondered if he should feel disgusted or compassionate.
"Very well," Fudge resumed. "Before we begin to interrogate the witnesses, we are going to enter some evidence. Mafalda."
The small witch who took notes ever since the trial began seized a pile of parchments on her small desk, waved her wand, and pointed it in the air above Pettigrew. Just like with a projector, the papers appeared in enlarged form. They were showing various images of arms, and on each of them a pale red tattoo appeared, displaying a skull with a snake getting out of its mouth.
"These," Fudge declared, "are photos taken of the arms of prisoners at Azkaban, who all happened to be Death Eaters, followers of the Dark Lord. The Wizengamot will be reminded that such tattoos were only given to the Dark Lord's closest collaborators, and they all bore it on their left arm." Fudge turned to one of the four wizards who kept a close eye on Pettigrew and their wands pointed at him. "Dawlish, pull up his sleeve."
Dawlish approached Pettigrew and unceremoniously uncovered his left arm. He then pointed his wand at it, and another projection, this time of Pettigrew's arm, appeared next to the others. He bore the same tattoo.
"How do you explain this, Pettigrew?" Fudge asked.
"That's... That's just a tattoo," the man stammered.
"Just a tattoo?" The man on Fudge's left spoke up, unflinching. Harry supposed this was Bartemius Crouch. "You have exactly the same as all other known Death Eaters, both in and out of Azkaban. And this tattoo has never been seen on anyone who wasn't a follower of the Dark Lord. How do you explain that you have it?"
"I... I... It must be a mistake..."
"There is no mistake. You are bearing the Dark Mark on your arm. Who would bear it if he wasn't a follower of the Dark Lord?"
Pettigrew was speechless, as murmurs settled across the courtroom. Fudge pounded his hammer to bring everyone back to calm.
"I wonder how we could miss it," Remus said not far away.
"I know. I guess we never thought it could be Peter because we believed he would sully his pants only by looking at Voldemort, so going to see him?" Sirius added.
The courtroom fell back into silence.
"Unless the accused has anything to say for his defence on this mark, we will move with our first witness," Fudge declared. "The court calls forward Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
Harry was somewhat taken aback to see Hogwarts' Headmaster standing up, stepping in the circle, waving his wand to make an armchair appear, and sitting in the said armchair, facing the members of the Wizengamot.
"Are you Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Order of Merlin, First Class?"
"Yes, I am," Dumbledore replied shortly.
"You recused yourself from this trial though?"
"Yes. Since I am a witness in this case, I cannot morally sit as judge too."
"We appreciate that. As a witness, can you tell us if you know the accused, and if you recognize him?"
Dumbledore looked on his right at Pettigrew. "I do know him. His name is Peter Pettigrew. He was a student at Hogwarts from 1971 to 1978. Afterwards, he became a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"For those who don't know, can you explain what is the Order of the Phoenix?"
"A secret organization that I created during the height of the last war, that soon wasn't secret anymore, to fight Voldemort and his supporters. The Order brought together some of the most powerful wizards and witches of the time who had the will to fight to protect both the wizarding and the Muggle worlds."
"Apart from Mr Pettigrew here, can you tell us who were the other members of the Order?"
"Some of them are still alive, and others whose families still live would rather keep their activities in the Order a secret. But I am willing to give you names of those who accepted to have their membership into the Order revealed."
"Very well. I'm sure that the Wizengamot will see no problem with that. Go on."
"Among the other people who were part of the Order, there were many friends of Pettigrew from the time when he was at Hogwarts. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Lily Evans, only to name a few." Harry felt a few gazes in his direction, though people were probably looking at his mother and godfather this time. "There were also some Aurors from the time, including Alastor Moody, Frank and Alice Longbottom. There were also a few people who were part of Hogwarts staff, such as Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid. Other members included Gideon ad Fabian Prewett, Marlene McKinnon, Edgar Bones, Dorcas Meadowes, Caradoc Dearborn, and Benjy Fenwick, all of them died in the last years of the war."
"Professor Dumbledore, did you notice that members of the Order were killed more easily during those years?"
"I did. We all did. Voldemort was getting more powerful every day. But we soon realized that he and his supporters managed to find and kill members of the Order more easily than ever. They found their hiding places in such a way that the only plausible explanation was that there was a spy in our ranks, someone who was feeding information to Voldemort and his followers, and helping them to kill members of the Order one by one."
"Did you have any idea, back at the time, of who might have been that spy?"
"No. But the Order had its own spies, including a source that was very close to Voldemort himself. That source informed me that Voldemort's next target was James Potter, Lily Evans and their son. In light of how many of us had gotten killed recently, I advised James and Lily to go into hiding, and to use a Fidelius Charm to make sure that Voldemort couldn't find them."
"Can you explain what is a Fidelius Charm?"
"Of course. I will not go into too many details, since this is a very complex spell. Let's just say that the final result of the spell is to hide a secret inside a single person. This person is the Secret Keeper, and it is impossible to find this secret, unless the Secret Keeper reveals it. I offered James and Lily to be their Secret Keeper back then, but they insisted on choosing someone else."
"Who?"
"They told me that Sirius Black would be their Secret Keeper."
"You see!" Harry jumped at Pettigrew's scream. "Sirius was their Secret Keeper! He's the one who sold them to You-Know-Who! He's the real traitor!"
Harry heard some movement behind. He turned to see his godfather almost jumping from his seat on Pettigrew, but Remus held him back. Fudge used his hammer to bring back the silence.
"The accused will speak when he is called upon. You will have your chance to question the witness, Pettigrew. In the meantime, you stay silent!"
This made Pettigrew cower in his chair once more. Dumbledore continued.
"James and Lily told me that Sirius would be their Secret Keeper. The charm was performed, and... About a week later, Voldemort showed up at the house of the Potters, killed James, and tried to kill Lily and Harry. I'm glad to say that he failed."
The rest of the courtroom seemed to agree, but Dumbledore did not stop his testimony there.
"Lily Evans and her son were both brought to Hogwarts by Rubeus Hagrid who found them in the rubbles of their house. They were hidden and taken care of in the hospital wing of the castle for many days. In the meantime, Peter Pettigrew had vanished, and Sirius was accused of selling the Potters to Voldemort, and of the murder of twelve Muggles, in addition to the murder of Peter Pettigrew. It is quite obvious that for Pettigrew's murder, the Minister of Magic was wrong at the time."
Everyone seemed to agree again, seeing Pettigrew right in front of them. This time, however, it was Bartemius Crouch who continued the questioning.
"Professor Dumbledore. Sirius Black was imprisoned in Azkaban for an entire month for these alleged crimes. Can you explain us why he was freed?"
"Because of Lily Evans. She told us not long after she recovered from her injuries, and after we told her that Sirius was imprisoned, that Sirius Black wasn't their Secret Keeper after all. It was Peter Pettigrew. I have to admit that it was quite brilliant as an idea. James and Lily had told everybody that Sirius was their Secret Keeper, and everyone believed them since James and Sirius had been very close friends, almost like brothers since their first day at Hogwarts. But at the last moment, they decided to make Peter Pettigrew their Secret Keeper. Only Peter, Sirius, James and Lily were aware of that. The rest of us were persuaded that Sirius was the Secret Keeper. This way, Sirius could be the target of any attempt from Voldemort to get the secret out of him, even if Sirius somewhat gave in under torture, he couldn't tell him where the Potters were hiding."
"So, Mr Black cannot have revealed to Voldemort the place where the Potters were hiding?"
"No. And when we learned of this, the Ministry of Magic conducted a more thorough investigation, and discovered that Peter Pettigrew had not been killed by Sirius, that he was still alive and on the run. Sirius was released, and the chase for Pettigrew began."
"So, Albus Dumbledore, as the Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew is the only person who could have told the Dark Lord where the Potters were hiding, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"And he couldn't have found them in any other way?"
"No."
Mr Crouch looked at Fudge and nodded slightly. Fudge then spoke. "Very well. No more questions for the witness. If the accused wishes to question the witness, he is free to."
Everyone looked at Pettigrew, who still seemed as if he wanted to disappear into the floor. But after a few seconds, he managed to mutter a few words.
"Professor Dumbledore... James told you that Sirius was his Secret Kepper, isn't it true?"
"Yes, he did," the Headmaster replied calmly.
"And he never told you otherwise?"
"No, he didn't. But Lily did."
"But... James said that it was Sirius who was his Secret Keeper," the small man almost cried.
"The witness doesn't have to answer that," Mr Crouch firmly interrupted. "He already replied. If the accused has no other questions to ask..."
"I wasn't their Secret Keeper! It was Sirius! It's Sirius who killed James. It's Sirius who tried to kill me that night!"
The pounding of the hammer resonated through the courtroom once again. "Silence! I can see that the accused has no more questions," Fudge thundered. "And if the accused cannot control himself, he will not be allowed to intervene further. The witness is excused."
Albus Dumbledore stood up and went back to sit not far away from Harry. He sent Harry a reassuring look as they made eye contact.
"The court calls forward Sirius Orion Black," the Minister said.
Harry's godfather stood up with some kind of an assassin look for his former friend. He didn't lift his eyes from Pettigrew a single moment as he took place in the armchair far from him.
"Are you Sirius Orion Black?" the Minister asked.
"Yes, I am," he replied, his gaze still not leaving Pettigrew who looked more afraid than ever.
"Please look at the Wizengamot when you answer." Harry saw that Sirius reluctantly removed his eyes from Pettigrew. "Mr Black, you were a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and a friend of both James Potter and Lily Evans Potter, and also of the accused?"
"Yes," Sirius grumbled.
"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters' hiding place?"
"No."
"And yet, everyone was told that you were?"
"Because we didn't want people to know who the actual Secret Keeper was."
"And who was the Secret Keeper?"
Sirius turned his head and pointed his finger at Pettigrew. "It was him. Peter Pettigrew."
"We've already heard the testimony of Albus Dumbledore, but we would like you to give your own account of how the accused ended up being the Secret Keeper."
Sirius roughly explained everything. "James came to see me one day. He told me that Dumbledore had found out his family was being targeted by Voldemort, and that Dumbledore planned to use a Fidelius Charm to protect him, Lily, and Harry. James asked me to be their Secret Keeper. He said that he trusted no one more than me."
"Did you accept?" Crouch asked, quite an edge in his voice. When Sirius turned his head towards him and answered, it was almost in a spat.
"Yes, of course, I accepted. I wasn't going to let my best friend, his wife and my godson die."
"So you were supposed to be their Secret Keeper."
"Yes, I was. But we knew there had to be someone in the Order who was providing information to Voldemort. Too many of us were being killed lately, and in such ways that only someone very well informed about the movements and the missions of the Order's members could have helped Voldemort and his followers kill them. I wasn't ready to trust anybody else with that secret."
"And yet, you did."
For once, Sirius did look down. "Yes, I did. It the worst mistake I made in my life."
"So, how did it go from you being the Secret Keeper to choosing someone else."
"Well, James wanted me to be their Secret Keeper at all costs. But not everyone else agreed with it. Dumbledore came to see me, and asked that he be the Secret Keeper instead. And... Lily was also not totally sure. She was afraid that I might become a target. The word had gone through the Order that I would be the Secret Keeper, and she was afraid that I might be targeted by Voldemort's followers. And... Well, I realized that even though I would never want to reveal the truth... We knew what Voldemort was capable of. He had many ways to find out the truth, and certainly the spy inside the Order would tell him that I was the Secret Keeper." Sirius sighed. "I didn't want to take the risk that I might reveal the secret under torture, or that Voldemort could see it in my mind, or force it out of me with potions. So, at the last minute, I suggested that they take Peter as the Secret Keeper instead."
"Why choose Peter Pettigrew? Why not choose Dumbledore, like he suggested himself?"
"It seemed like the right choice to me, back then. Peter had been our friend, for James and for me, since our first year at Hogwarts. He worshipped James. I never thought he would betray him." Sirius looked with pure hatred at Pettigrew at this moment. "I never thought he could be the spy. I didn't think that Voldemort would ever suspect him of being our Secret Keeper. Peter was too... craven for anyone to suspect him. And it worked. No one ever suspected Peter of being the Secret Keeper before Lily told the truth."
"Can you tell us what happened in the night between October 31 and November 1st, in 1981?"
"That night, I went to see Peter, in the place where he was hiding. After we made him the Secret Keeper, we took measures to make sure he wouldn't be discovered. But when I arrived at his hiding place, he wasn't there. The place was empty. I feared the worst, so I went to James and Lily's house. I found Hagrid there. He had already gotten Lily and Harry out of the ruins. I understood then that Peter must have given away the secret of their location. So I tracked him down and found him in an alley, where I cornered him. He wasn't injured or harmed in any way. That's when I understood for real that Peter had betrayed James and Lily. So... I tried to kill him. But Peter just shouted that I betrayed James and Lily, he pointed his wand behind him, and unleashed an explosive spell so powerful that it killed twelve innocent people. Then he turned into a rat and disappeared in the sewers. When the people of the Ministry of Magic showed up, they all believed it was me who had killed all those people."
"For information," Mr Crouch said, "it was later established by the experts of the Ministry that Mr Black's wand is not the one that cast the explosive spell that night. It was also established that apart from Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew was the only wizard within a ten miles radius when these events took place. But now, Mr Black, you're saying that Peter Pettigrew transformed himself into a rat. Everything seems to indicate that he spent the last twelve years hiding under this form. Do you have any knowledge as to how the accused managed to do this?"
"At this point," Fudge interrupted, "I'm going to ask everyone who is not a member of the Wizengamot, aside from the witness, the accused and the Aurors to leave the courtroom. The content of this testimony from now on will be sealed, and everything that will be said until the assistance is brought back in will be under a special order of nondisclosure for all those who will hear it."
There was some grumbling in the courtroom. Harry, on his side, didn't really understand why they were ordered to leave the place. As people stood up to leave, his mother whispered in his ear.
"Dumbledore arranged it. He didn't want the world to learn that your father and Sirius were unregistered Animagus."
Now Harry understood. He was thankful to Dumbledore. His mother had told him the whole story, that Peter Pettigrew, along with his father and Sirius, had learned to become Animagus while they were at Hogwarts, after she broke him the news that Pettigrew was arrested. This was illegal to learn being an Animagus without registering yourself to the Ministry of Magic, and Sirius almost had very serious trouble when he had to reveal, not long after his father's death, that he could turn into a dog at any moment.
The chaos in which people left the courtroom allowed Harry and his mother to escape almost without being noticed. Journalists were far too interested in wondering what it was that the Minister wanted to hide, conjecturing too much to give enough attention to Harry. They went back to the empty courtroom where they previously waited. It was completely empty now, and Harry, his mother and Remus were the only ones to wait there. Dumbledore had ordered Hagrid to guard the door and to let no one walk in.
"Is everything fine?" Remus asked, probably to both Harry and his mother.
"Yes. It's alright," his mother said. Harry nodded to say it was fine too.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this. You know you didn't have to come, Harry? Your mother is a witness, but you're not. You could have stayed home..."
"To do what? To wait for the Daily Prophet to tell me the next morning how the trial went? To wait to know whether my father's assassin was condemned? To wonder if he would be condemned?" Harry blurted.
"He will be condemned, Harry," his father's friend told him. "The proofs are far too solid. Sirius, your mother and I can confirm he can change into a rat, we can confirm he was the Secret Keeper. There are other witnesses and proofs that will confirm Peter was also involved into other assassinations. He even has the Dark Mark on his left arm." On this last note, Remus sighed. "I still can't understand how I didn't notice it before."
"Because we trusted him, Remus," Harry's mother said in a very low voice. "We trusted him, all of us. No one ever thought that it could be him. You remember how he used to follow you, James and Sirius everywhere? How he looked up to James? I never suspected him, not even one second. I didn't even think about that possibility when Sirius suggested that we choose him as our Secret Keeper. I..." Her voice broke. "We gave away our secret to a traitor, to someone we all considered to be a friend."
His mother could well say that everything was fine, Harry knew she wasn't. It was hard for her only to stand in front of her husband's grave, so Harry didn't dare to imagine how hard it had to be, sitting in front of the man who gave her husband away and reliving everything that happened that night through those testimonies.
He and his mother sat on empty benches, side by side, the moment they had entered this empty place, while Remus remained standing. One of her mother's hands was gripping the bench under her. Harry placed a hand over hers, and she clenched it. She needed someone, something to grip herself to right now.
The door opened and the Professor Dumbledore walked in. "Remus, it's going to be your turn very soon. You will only testify in front of the Wizengamot, just like Sirius," he said.
"Thank you, Dumbledore." Remus turned to look at Harry and his mother. "I got to go. We'll see each other soon."
Remus left with Dumbledore. Harry was alone with his mother again. Harry supposed that Remus was to confirm that story of Pettigrew being an Animagus, with the whole background of Sirius and Harry's father being Animagus as well.
"Why isn't Remus an Animagus?" Harry asked, all of a sudden. "If Dad and Sirius are, and even Pettigrew is one, why did he never learn to be one?"
His mother straightened herself a little. "Remus... Your father and Sirius were rule breakers. Remus... not as much. He even became Prefect in his fifth year. He's the one who somewhat kept your father out of the worst troubles he could have gotten in. I believe that for him, becoming an unregistered Animagus was just too much, and useless."
Harry nodded, unsure. It was true that Remus was often the voice of reason whenever he saw him. Still, Harry somewhat found it strange that Remus looked at his three best friends becoming Animagus and refused to be one with them.
"I'm sorry you have to listen to all this, Harry," his mother continued, rubbing the outline of her eyes with her fingers. "I... It's not something I wanted you to live with."
Harry looked at her. "I want to know what happened. I want to know why my father died, and how, and who took part in killing him. I don't want these things to be hidden from me."
His mother had a sorry look in her eyes as she stared at him. She looked down then. "You're growing up too quickly."
Harry felt guilty all of a sudden. He didn't mind growing up. He was thirteen now. Did his mother want him to stay a child forever? Well, she was crying when he left for Hogwarts the first time. Truth be told, despite his excitement as he went to the school, Harry had to admit he had felt regrets when leaving his mother. He also regretted that she was so invested in her Auror training program, which left him few time with her during his holidays. This was quite a contrast with their former life. And after Harry faced Voldemort and Quirrell a year ago, then his journey into the Chamber of Secrets where he, Ron and Ginny almost died, and now this, he sometimes regretted their former, simpler life. When was the last time they went skating, or at the movies, or even at the restaurant? But he didn't want to complain about that. Harry had always been happy with the simple life they led together, and he wasn't about to complain about the fact that magic was back into their life, not when he himself was always excited to use and learn it.
"You're not growing up quickly enough," he told her, a smile on his face.
She looked at him, confused. Then she laughed as she understood his reference to the usual joke about her being old. She ruffled his hair instead of pinching him this time. It was good to see her laughing instead of holding back tears. "What would I do without you?"
Strangely enough, Harry asked himself the same question. What would he do without his mother? What would all of them be doing? What if she had died that fateful night of Halloween, twelve years ago? Would Harry have been raised by his Muggle uncle and aunt, like he once dreamed? Would Sirius have taken care of him?
They heard the door open. Were they going back to the courtroom? But when Hagrid showed up, this wasn't what he told them.
"Lily, excuse me, but it seems that Rufus Scrimgeour would like to see you. Something urgent, he said."
Lily sighed. "Okay. I'll go and see him. Harry, stay here. I'll come back as soon as I've dealt with Scrimgeour."
And his mother left like that, while Hagrid returned to stand guard outside, in front of the door. Harry was now alone.
He wondered how long it would take for Remus to testify. Aside from the story with Animagus, there wasn't much that Remus could tell the Wizengamot. Harry sighed as he looked around the empty benches. He wondered what Ron and Hermione were doing right now. Ron's family shortened their journey in Egypt because of the recent events, but Hermione was still in France with the parents, the last time they spoke, and they still planned only to return just before the term would begin at Hogwarts. Harry envied Hermione right now, who was just having normal vacations with her parents. He wished he could have had the same with his mother. Instead, there was the trial and his mother's constant overload of work to become an Auror.
Harry heard the door opening. His mother didn't need much time with the Head of the Auror Office.
"What did Scrimgeour want from you?" he asked her before she had come out of the passage giving on the door. He stood up and scratched the back of his head.
"Harry."
The voice that spoke to him wasn't that of his mother. In fact, the person who just walked in was far smaller than Harry's mother. The only things in common they might have were that they were both girls and had red hair.
"Susan?"
Susan Bones was indeed standing in the empty circle in the middle of the empty courtroom. "Excuse me. Hagrid told me I could come and speak to you if you wanted."
"Oh, no worries." In fact, since his mother was no longer there, it would be good to have someone to speak to, even though Susan was not the most talkative person. "How are you?"
"Fine, I guess. Considering... Well, considering everything we're hearing today."
Yes, of course. He guessed it had to be hard for her as well. "I... I didn't know... I didn't know that your uncle... I didn't know Pettigrew had something to do with his death," he said awkwardly. Harry wasn't used to talking to someone who had suffered, even indirectly, at Voldemort's hands, aside from his own mother.
"Me neither," she replied, looking away. "My parents didn't know about it either. My aunt just told us a few days after he was arrested."
She said nothing else, and truth be told there was nothing else Harry could find to say. What were you supposed to say in such circumstances? How did you talk with someone about their loved ones who were deceased?
"What about you, Harry? How do you feel?" she asked in a weak voice.
"Fine enough," he simply replied.
Again, there wasn't much else to say. Before the discomfort grew too much, Hagrid walked in. "Hey, you two. The trial is resuming. Get back inside."
They both left and said goodbye before joining back their families. A minute later, Harry was back into the courtroom, with Pettigrew still in the center of it, chained, and the members of the Wizengamot looking down on him, judging him.
The following witnesses included the Aurors who arrested Pettigrew, and who confirmed he was indeed an Animagus as they saw him change forms. There was even a representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Magic who confirmed their saying. Even Ron's father came quickly to confirm that he had found Pettigrew, under his rat form, inside his gardens twelve years ago, not long after the war was over, and that he kept his appearance of a rat for the whole twelve years that followed. Mr Weasley stopped by where Harry and his family were as he was leaving.
"I'm sorry," he told them in a low voice. His apologies seemed directed a lot at Harry and his mother.
"It's not your fault, Arthur. You're all forgiven," Harry's mother whispered in reply, and then he left.
Harry shared his mother's opinion. How could Mr Weasley or Ron have guessed that a simple rat was the most researched wizard in Great Britain? Pettigrew seemed to somehow try to get some points by asking Mr Weasley if he ever hurt him or anyone in his family while he was their rat. Ron's father replied by the negative, but it was obvious that he despised this man just as much as everyone else, and he made clear that had he know who Scabbers was, he never would have let him anywhere near his family.
Several written testimonies, given by Muggles who witnessed the explosion caused by Pettigrew and who were later obliviated by Ministry's employees, confirmed that Pettigrew was present when the explosion killed twelve people that night in 1981. Pettigrew tried to use them to show that it was Sirius who cast the spells, but when asked why Sirius' wand showed no such spell, Pettigrew was at a loss of words, and just stammered that he must have used another wand, or concealed the spell by using dark magic. Most members of the Wizengamot seemed about to laugh about his stupid theories.
Then came the testimony of Harry's mother. When she stood up, a great silence fell upon the room. Only the scratching sounds of feathers against parchment and the clicks of cameras disturbed it as she slowly walked to take place in the armchair for witnesses. Sirius came to sit down next to him.
"Everything will be alright," he told Harry. "This will end soon."
"Are you Lily Jane Evans Potter, Order of Merlin, First Class, residing at Apartment 23, Abandoned Tower, London?" Fudge asked.
"Yes, I am," she stated.
"Mrs Evans, we've heard the versions of Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black about how He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came to find out where you and your family were hiding. Could you give your own version of how it happened?"
"Yes." His mother cleared her throat and began to explain what had happened. "It was at the end of the war. It must have been around the middle of October 1981, when Dumbledore informed us that Voldemort was targeting my family. He came up with the idea of using a Fidelius Charm to protect us. That meant we would have to go into full hiding. James and I started to think about who our Secret Keeper would be. Dumbledore had offered to be the Secret Keeper himself, but we were not sure if this was such a good idea. We trusted Dumbledore, of course, but... I have to admit that we were afraid even Dumbledore could not protect us. There were so many people inside the Order who had died already, and the war seemed almost lost. We weren't sure of anything anymore. So James suggested that we choose someone we thought we could always rely on. We chose Sirius since he was James' best friend. I wasn't entirely sure that it was the best choice either, but I for myself didn't know anybody who I would trust with anything. So we chose Sirius. The word then spread through the Order that Sirius would be our Secret Keeper. I talked about it with Sirius, and asked him if he was really certain that he could withstand anything without giving up the secret. That's when he suggested that Peter becomes our Secret Keeper. We discussed it with him, he accepted, then we performed the spell. And a week later..."
She didn't say anything else. Cornelius Fudge leaned forward, looking a little embarrassed. "Mrs Evans, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but we need you to tell us what happened during the night of October 31, 1981. Pete Pettigrew is accused of complicity in your husband's murder, and complicity in the attempted murder of you and your son. You are the only eye witness of this night's events."
She had warned Harry that it would happen. She told him that she would have to tell what happened that night. Harry was quite worried, even outraged, when he learned that she was told to talk about it in front of dozens of people. His mother struggled to tell him, to him and only to him, what happened that night. She never went into details about what happened when he was only one-year-old. She even struggled to stand in front of his father's grave. How would she manage to relate these events to a whole assembly?
In fact, it was one of the reasons why he came here. He didn't want to leave her alone in such a situation. Also, he had to admit it, he was curious. Curious about what exactly happened when Voldemort tried to kill him. But right now, his curiosity could go to hell. If he didn't refrain himself, he would yell at Fudge and tell him to leave his mother alone. It seemed to take a very long time before Harry's mother began to talk. She crossed her fingers in front of her as words began to pour out.
Luckily, she seemed to not provide too many details. It was done pretty quickly, to Harry's own relief. His mother just told them what was necessary, that Voldemort burst into their home while she was bringing Harry to his bedroom, that her husband died trying to hold him back while she tried to run away. She then locked herself with Harry in his bedroom, but Voldemort got in very easily. He then pushed her around the bedroom, severely injuring her, then he tried to kill Harry. His mother only remembered being pushed away by a strong force at this moment, right before she lost consciousness. She then woke up in Hogwarts' hospital wing a few days later, when she was told that Voldemort was destroyed.
Her account was very succinct. Still, it seemed to be over before it had begun. Harry held his breath, but no one asked further details from her. Harry, though, had learned more about what happened on that night, only with what his mother just said. He already knew that his father died protecting him, and he knew he was killed before Voldemort injured his mother, but he didn't how it happened. Now he had a better idea. His parents had been defenseless, both without their wand when this happened. If they had been able to defend themselves, maybe things would have been different.
It was now Pettigrew's turn to ask questions to Harry's mother. Harry hoped he wouldn't ask any question. The man looked so cowardly that it was hard to tell when he would speak or not. But he did speak this time.
"Lily..." he began, his voice quivering. "I... I never wanted any of this."
She scoffed. Harry never saw her scoff before. "Yes, I'm sure you never wanted to be caught."
"The accused must ask questions, or else he will not be permitted to talk," Bartemius Crouch warned.
Pettigrew stammered. "Lily... I swear... I never..."
"Enough!" It was Mr Crouch who intervened. "If the accused has no question to ask, then I suggest we move on with the next witness."
Pettigrew said nothing afterwards. So Harry's mother was excused and she took back her place next to him. Harry noticed that she was clenching her left fist, which was shaking. The next witness was Hagrid. Harry wondered why he was being called. Dumbledore had to conjure a much larger chair so that Hagrid could sit in. The gamekeeper was then interrogated about the night of October 31. Hagrid went on to explain how he found Harry and his mother among the debris, then how he brought them to Hogwarts using Sirius' motorbike. He described in details the sorry state in which Harry's mother was when he found them. Harry hadn't realized the level of his mother's injuries. They didn't ask him any question on Pettigrew. Harry supposed they only wanted him to bring further proof of what Voldemort did that night, though he highly doubted that it could make Pettigrew look more guilty than he currently looked to be. The man who sold his family to Voldemort still managed to ask Hagrid whether he saw him on this night, anywhere their house. Hagrid angrily retorted that no, he didn't see Pettigrew anywhere nearby, because he was hiding like the coward he was, busy to blame someone else for his crimes, like the traitor he was. Pettigrew didn't dare to ask another question.
The trial was adjourned after that. It was decided that testimonies would resume tomorrow. They brought Pettigrew out, still escorted by the four same Aurors who kept an eye on him during the whole trial, then they told everyone else to leave the place.
"We've gone through the worst of it," Remus told Harry and his mother as they walked out of the place. He, Sirius, Dumbledore, Hagrid and a few other people did their best to protect them from cameras and journalists again. "You're not forced to come tomorrow," he said, addressing Harry's mother.
"I have to," she replied. "I want to see this trial too. If Peter had other people in the Order murdered, I want to hear it. James is not the only one who died because of him."
As they made their way through the crowd, Harry thought about what his mother just said. When he thought about Pettigrew, he mostly thought about how he sold his family to Voldemort. He never thought much about the other families he might have sold to his master, the other lives he might have destroyed by providing information. Today, it had been all about his family, but from what he heard of the discussions the others were having, tomorrow the Ministry would obtain testimonies and provide evidence that would prove Pettigrew's involvement into other murders. Harry had not listened to the full list of people who Pettigrew was accused of killing, since he was distracted when he heard some of the names. He wondered how many people Pettigrew got killed. That was something he would discover tomorrow.
Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban without trial back when Voldemort was active, but since Peter Pettigrew is arrested long after the war was over, I thought it would be normal that a trial would take place. And it would also be Fudge's style to use such a trial to increase his own popularity.
We know that many people within the Order of the Phoenix were assassinated in the months preceding Voldemort's demise when he tried to kill Harry. I think we can assume that at least a part of these murders were committed with the help of information that was provided by Peter Pettigrew. Hence, this trial is also about several other murders.
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Next chapter: Lily (Part 2 of the trial)