Alastor Moody hemmed and hawed for a moment, then saidwith a snarl, "None."
"So, you are basing your accusation, that Mr. Blackwas the Potter's secret keeper, on the reality of their long-standingfriendship?"
"Yes." Moody snarled.
"Did you see the accused actually throw the spellthat hit the gas main and killed and injured the muggles?"
"No, but he said it was all his fault. And he's aBlack!"
"Is it possible he wasn't taking responsibility, butinstead was blaming himself?"
"Objection, calls for speculation from thewitness."
"Sustained."
"Let me put it another way, did he say at any point"I killed them?""
"No, he did not say "I killed them.""
"Did you do PrioriIncantato on the wand Mr. Black was carrying?"
"No. John Dawlish took charge of Black's wand."
"No further questions for this witness."
"Redirect?"
"No, Chief Warlock"
"Next witness."
Bartiemus frowned slightly but said, "My nextwitness is John Dawlish." he waited till John Dawlish was sworn in."Auror Dawlish, you went through auror training with Mr. Black how wouldyou characterize him?"
"Arrogant, full of himself."
"Who did he associate with?"
"Only James Potter. They were almost like twins,they could finish each other's sentences."
"When things went wrong, did Mr. Black blame himselfor did he look for scapegoats?"
"Objection. Relevance."
"Sustained. Mr. Crouch, keep your questions to thetopic."
"Mr. Dawlish, does your memory match Auror Moody'sfor that night? Perhaps you could describe what happened before and after thescene Auror Moody showed us."
"Alright it was pretty busy. Aurors had been goingout and coming back a bunch, with all the celebrations things were prettycrazy. The obliviators were working overtime trying to keep the worst of thecelebrations quiet. Then the alarms in the ministry went off showing a darkspell that coincided with summoning of muggle emergency services. Myself,Mad-Eye, and Kyle Brown apparated to the location. Black was laughing like ahyena. Mad-Eye stunned him and Kyle sent for backup obliviators. I logged theevidence and then the interviews that Kyle and the obliviators collected onsite. We were there probably twelve hours before we were done."
Bartemius Crouch said, "At this time I'd like toenter into evidence all the interviews that were done at the scene."
"Copies of the interviews were given to the defenseprior to the trial?"
"Yes, Chief Warlock."
"Any objections by the defense?"
"No Chief Warlock, but I would like to stipulate forthe Wizengamot members that these accounts were given by muggles who may or maynot have understood what they saw, and due to secrecy laws were obliviatedtherefore, they cannot be cross-examined and should not be regarded as the solesource of judgement."
"So noted. I will remind the membership duringdeliberations."
Mr. Crouch frowned but said to Dawlish, "Whathappened after that?'
"Not much, I'd been up twenty eight hours at thatpoint. I came back, filed and logged the evidence as required, and went home.The next week you interviewed me about it all during the tribunals and that wasit."
"No further questions."
Jamieson stood up, "Auror Dawlish, just a couple ofquestions for clarity. Were you the only one who collected evidence at thescene?"
"Yes."
"You were the only person other than Mr. Black tohandle his wand?'
"That's correct."
"What spells were done that evening? If you canremember."
"I reviewed my case notes two days ago to preparefor today. On scene we had residue from one disarming hex, a dark explosivehex, Moody's stunner, and multiple apparitions most of which was aurors andobliviators."
"Did you do prioriincantato to verify what spells were done with Black's wand?"
"No sir."
"Auror Dawlish, you know that one of the rights thatmakes us British is the right to a trial, yes?"
"Objection. Relevance."
"A bit of leeway if you please, Chief Warlock. Therelevance will become clear soon."
"Overruled. Get to the point soon Mr. Fawcett."
"Auror Dawlish, did you never wonder why you werenot called in for a trial before this?"
"I just assumed Black had pled guilty; since he'dbeen saying, "It's all my fault." when we arrested him."
"Thank you." Fawcett was pleased to see frownson the faces of many Wizengamot members, and a scowl on Bartiemus Crouch'sface. "No further questions."
"Redirect?" Crouch gave a negative head shake."Mr. Crouch, your next witness?"
"I have no more witnesses."
"Very well, I'm calling a ninety minute recess for lunch and for members of the Wizengamot to read the depositions of the eyewitnesses. Court will resume and the defense will present their case at that time."
Sirius was surprised when his cousin, Andromeda approached them. "I brought lunch."
"Andi. I-I- It's good to see you."
"So you didn't get a trial before?"
Sirius shook his head no.
"So, you think this trial will clear you?"
"I hope so-it should, cause I didn't kill anyone. Andi, do you know what happened to Harry?"
"No, other than he got put with his muggle aunt. Other than that, I don't know anything."
"Petunia! But that's not right. After me, he was supposed to go to Alice, and if neither of us could do it he was supposed to go to Minerva McGonagall. She's still alive, right?"
"Alice and Frank were tortured by Death Eaters the night of the first. They've been in St. Mungo's ever since. McGonagall is still teaching at Hogwarts."
Sirius was looking very worried. Jamieson Fawcett noticed Stephen Corner approaching.
Stephen spoke softly, "Mr. Crouch looks as though he's starting to feel a breeze."
Jamieson smiled back, "It's going to get worse."
Sirius eyed the newcomer. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Relax, Mr. Black, this is Stephen Corner. He's the one who hired me to investigate your case." Jamieson wasn't going to mention that Stephen worked for Lord Potter. He had noticed that Azkaban had left Sirius prone to emotional outbursts and he needed him calm when he put him in the witness chair.
"Thank you." Sirius half growled. He was suspicious, but he obviously owed this man something for getting him the chance to clear his name. "If you don't mind my asking why?"
"A client had questions. The only way to get answers was for this trial to take place."
"A client huh? Does that mean you're a barrister."
"Solicitor, actually. I wish you well, Mr. Black. Enjoy your lunch." Stephen moved away. Like Jamieson he could tell that Sirius Black wasn't well balanced, but a decade spent in the constant presence of dementors could do that. He was surprised when he noticed Cassandra Yaxley sitting in the observers gallery eating a sandwich. He went over. "Cassandra what are you doing here?"
"Keeping an eye on things for Harry. He's more than a little off, isn't he?" she gestured at Black.
"A little."
"Harry kinda figured he might be, but he also recognizes that it isn't necessarily Black's fault. He's concerned that if Black gets freed, he may try for custody."
"How does he feel about that?"
"He doesn't want a crazy guardian. He's tentatively made arrangements with Paige O'Shaunnessy. She works with aurors and prisoners released from Azkaban, helps them deal with the damage from dementor exposure. She did a health check on Black this morning. These are her recommendations. Get them to the Chief Warlock. They'll give you a leg to stand on, if Black is cleared and tries for custody of Harry. Harry likes things the way they are."
"Understood. It's strange, here I thought I was the guardian and Harry was the ward."
"What can I say? Petunia taught him to think twenty moves ahead. Harry is just trying to cover his hoops."
....
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