If Harry still had it within him to give a shit about the fantastical magical world, he would've paid more attention to the Ministry of Magic during his first trip here. As it was, even the gleaming line of floo fireplaces and majestic black marble entrance hall just pissed him off a bit. Any interest he might've had was gone from him now that he knew what kind of people actually inhabited the supposedly chaotic, fluttering halls.
He'd walked the halls of Hogwarts during class changes and in a lot of ways this was no different, except the halls were full of adults a lot taller than him, forcing him to walk close to Mr. Malfoy's side as he lead them with a sort of assurance to the right location. He didn't even bother to pay attention to where it was they were going, as it seemed like a waste of brainpower and it was Mr. Malfoy's job to escort him anyway.
What he did take note of, was the room the trial was to take place as they entered and found their seats. When hearing talk about 'seats' and whatnot he imagined there being, like, literal chairs belonging to family representatives but was proven wrong when it seemed to be more like stadium seating, with long benches made of the same black wood the rest the raised seating was. The room was tall, black bricks stark and coming to a point with a stained glass skylight above them depicting something he couldn't make out, and the central area to the round room lowered a bit and lined in a tile mosaic. The same black wood made up half walls preventing the onlookers from going down onto the main 'court' itself, as well as a large outcropping where, presumably, some sort of judge would sit to preside over this trial.
The center of the tiled court had a large, utilitarian looking chair that would likely hold the man of the hour himself shortly. It was facing the judge's platform and to Harry's slight disappointment that meant where they were sitting would be directly to Sirius' left, so unless he was looking around there was a chance he wouldn't see him. Not that he was mentally ready to actually meet his absent godfather all of a sudden, he'd kind of assumed they'd officially meet afterwards once he was declared free—to actually see each other in this situation where he probably shouldn't be distracting him honestly, Harry had no idea what kind of face he should make.
Should he smile? That seemed in poor taste somehow.
He also wasn't sure he could make a smile look believable at this point, so the attempt might just make things worse.
He put it from his mind to focus on the people filing into the room and taking their seats. Many were in plain day robes but there was a line of people in red robes that took the lowest bench closest to the court, that Harry wondered about. He wasn't going to ask though, he was sure he'd figure it out once things started.
What really caught his attention, was the small talk happening around him as men and woman filled in around them and were all chatting animatedly about the only topic that clearly mattered right now: the trial of the decade that was about to happen.
"Reeds? What is Fudge thinking?" The man who found his seat in front of him and Mr. Malfoy was complaining to his friend beside him, both adjusting their robes to settle in.
"I thought McAdams was going to be the prosecution? What the hell happened?"
"I would've taken McAdams, rumor is Fudge had Janssen looking into this when it first kicked off." The woman on the other side of the second man chimed in and both men made noises of distress.
"Merlin, but he's a quack! I guess Reeds is better than that, but still. Where are people like Brown, or Mills even!"
"I heard they declined the job. Apparently there might've been a couple others too but they all backed out when they learned the details of the case."
"That's…" The second man shook his head, but seemed visibly uneasy. "But he's a madman, there's no way he could actually be innocent!"
"But didn't you hear? Barty Crouch announced his retirement this morning." She countered smoothly, nose in the air to flaunt her foreknowledge.
It wasn't just the two men then, three more groups on either side and in front of them that clearly knew each other despite not being on small-talk terms apparently overheard that and gave various noises of indignation and shock.
"W-what?" A man a row below them turned fully in his seat to give her a wide look. "Where did you hear that?"
"But Black's not yet been deemed innocent! That's practically an admission he fucked up all those years ago, isn't it!?" Someone else cried.
"No way, even if he was right he'd have to retire after what happened with his son. Just his name being anywhere near this mess after all that happened was probably the nail in the coffin, even if he was shunned to a different department."
"Such a shame, he had such promise. I remember a time when people were saying he'd be the next Minister of Magic." An older woman several people down Harry's own row drawled out imperiously.
"I sort of wish we'd gotten him over Fudge," Someone scoffed.
"Oh don't say that, you know what he was like. He'd have spent our entire budget on aurors to track down non-existent death eaters, even after the fighting was done." The first man scolded them all at large. "You don't need a hunt master when there's no hunt, and Barty Crouch is a man best suited for war. He was never going to be Minister in a time of peace. He was also never going to be the presiding judiciary over a trial that he himself bungled eleven years ago, and no matter how this trial goes his name is going to be dragged through the mud for weeks yet for Black never getting a trial in the first place—innocent or guilty, it doesn't matter. The man's already lost enough, I'm not shocked he's retreating before it kicks off—I wouldn't want to be involved in this either."
"And in the small chance Black is found innocent, his career is over then and there."
"His career was likely over when he sent his own son to Azkaban," Someone to Harry's right he didn't see half muttered, though it was a poor attempt at being 'under the breath' given nearly everyone heard it. A few huffed and shifted in their seats but didn't directly respond to it.
Harry couldn't help but sit there with wide eyes as he absorbed all of this… who the hell was this guy? He sent his own son to Azkaban!?
He was suddenly very glad it sounded like this Barty Crouch would not be here today at all.
"Nevertheless, there is something fishy going on. The rotation of solicitors for the prosecution and the rumor someone like Brown declined is quite telling."
"He could just not want his name tied to this mess,"
"Since when has Brown cared about anything like that? The man doesn't even say hello if you pass him in the hall," huff
Must be that Ravenclaw lawyer I wondered about, Harry mused.
To the light side their greatest lawyers were most likely the bookworms who liked the law side of it, and for sure probably had a strong sense of justice, but were good because of their academic skill and quick thinking. That someone who probably had a strong reputation of knowing every single law and how to apply them in a court setting had looked at this trial and declined to try and argue against Sirius probably did make a lot of light sided folk start to feel uneasy.
They'd come into this trial expecting to see a re-run of the old death eater trials that had once happened, something that was a done deal and had just been missed eleven years ago. Going by the atmosphere and the chatter he was overhearing, very few thought, much less even doubted that Sirius Black was guilty.
Pre-conceived notions and all that. Changing them would be hard—a Slytherin would take the hint that a reputable light lawyer had declined to be involved in the prosecution as a big hint that things were not the way they seemed, yet most people around him were doing their best to explain it away as irrelevant since it didn't fit in with what they already believed.
Harry tried to subtly look around the room at the various faces to see if he recognized anyone, but perhaps it was because he was sitting next to Mr. Malfoy that people were almost pointedly not looking his way. From what he was gathering though, this wasn't just about presenting the facts and getting a judge to agree Sirius was innocent, which from his understanding was a foregone conclusion, but it was probably more importantly about getting the people in the room to agree to it too.
Things seemed to be calming down and the stream of people now merely a trickle of stragglers as the room was now all but full, and his attention was caught by a very hassled looking, portly man entering late but clambering over the now crowded benches to sit in front of the trio before Harry—who immediately were prodding him with questions.
"Who is it!?"
"Did you find out?"
"It's Bennett." The man dotted sweat off his brow as he informed them over his shoulder tersely. Again, whispers broke out immediately as a new ripple of shock was introduced to the equation.
"What? Why?"
"He's barely out of Hogwarts, isn't he?"
"Who?"
"The man's been out of school ten years Erich, he's not a child exactly but… ah, yes, he's a bit young for something like this." The first man cleared his throat, looked doubtful even as he defended whoever this was. "Not to mention most of his experience is with broom violations at best, so a death eater trial is certainly something new."
"Above his paygrade, you mean." The woman snapped bluntly.
Mr. Malfoy also apparently heard this and actually cared for once, giving a small hum beside Harry. "How interesting."
"Who is this guy?" Harry felt the need to ask if it was important enough the otherwise unconcerned ex-death eater beside him actually found it worth noting.
"Apparently he will be the judge for today."
"Do you mean interesting as in good or bad?"
"That will remain to be seen." He sniffed blankly. Unhelpful bastard. "If memory serves, he was actually at Hogwarts with Black for a time, so the most interesting thing will be to know how biased that will make him. Who knows what verdict he could make; I certainly do not. And given most trials are forgone conclusions, suddenly my interest has been caught."
Wait, isn't there a vote!? Isn't that why I'm here!? What about the seats Mr. Greengrass was talking about!?
"Is that judge the one who decides everything?" He couldn't help but ask lowly, trying not to have this conversation overheard like all the other conversations around them, and give away that he was a stranger to Wizengamont dealings. It was already a small miracle no one had outed him as 'Harry Potter' just yet, but he figured his red hair was doing some things to divert expectations since he was supposed to look like his father's clone to the old folks here who once knew James Potter.
Lucius just shook his head. "No, the innocent or guilty verdict is done by a vote of the Wizengamont present. It is done at the time of judgement at the end of the trial, but the judge determines the exact punishment or restitution for the outcome."
"Do I need to vote? The Potters had a seat once, right?" It was a risky thing to ask as it probably gave away that he knew more than he was pretending to, but he needed to know what to do so as not to upset anything Mr. Greengrass had planned. Not to mention he suspected Mr. Malfoy was purposefully withholding some information.
He was given a look that gave nothing away, but knew Mr. Malfoy had caught onto him. Thankfully he didn't call him on it though.
"You do not need to do anything. The vote is taken by intention, meaning whatever you believe at the time the vote is called will be recorded before the judge so he may see the tally." He explained.
At once, Harry realized that was probably why Mrs. Malfoy asked what he believed this morning. Maybe that was another reason she let Remus take him for the weekend too—so that the werewolf could 'convince' him of something she thought he was learning about for the first time, and be sure the Potter vote went towards Sirius innocence.
It wasn't a terrible plan… part of him realized that, in another world where he wasn't the one behind this entire trial happening at all and he was coming into this knowing nothing but that the papers were claiming Sirius had betrayed his parents, if he did 'vote' against him and the Potter family seat ended up condemning Sirius Black because of his god forsaken Gryffindor temper…
…well, he could practically feel his father rolling over in his grave.
The darkly ironic tragedy that would be was kind of breathtaking.
This wasn't just who voted for what, you needed to believe what you were voting for…which was kind of interesting, as you couldn't just vote one way or another as benefitted you even if you didn't believe it. It probably made some death eater trials hard for them since half the snake side of the Wizengamont didn't just believe, but knew some of their fellows were guilty.
He felt his hands go cold in his lap as it also clicked that this meant Dumbledore not voting for werewolf reforms wasn't just because he was selfish or uncaring or conniving, but because he genuinely didn't believe in them.…it also meant that if he were to change those laws one day, he needed more than half this room to actually believe in supporting them too.
The fuck.
Nope, that was later problem. One thing at a time, and time was not in his favor as the chattering going on around them started to quiet, and he saw several people checking their watches anxiously. Must be about time then.
He glanced to his other side but a tall, dark-haired woman with a large hook nose sat beside him and was pointedly ignoring his very being. She looked all the part of a stereotypical Slytherin and figured it was only par for the course if the Malfoys had arranged (ahem, bribed) someone to sit beside them and mind their own business in an attempt to hide Harry's presence here some. He really wondered why no one had called out there was a child here today, much less recognize him if he was so famous, but he wasn't going to question it since it worked in his favor for now.
How very Gryffindor of me.
He nearly jumped when there was a sharp sound of knocking on wood and the room fell into sharp silence instantly—the door opposite the entrance everyone else had entered through opening and several people coming out. A blond man in spectacles, a brunette man with kind of floppy hair, a tall man with hollowed cheeks like he was sucking on something stupidly sour, a woman with long straight black hair and sun-kissed skin, and a pack of who Harry instantly clocked as aurors.
He barely managed to keep the snarl off his face and remain blank, focusing on the task at hand.
"Judge presiding, Caelus Bennett." The man with spectacles sat at a small desk below the tall pulpit with a stack of paper and a quill already out and writing, the man with flopping hair taking place at the high desk which meant that had to be Bennett himself.
The man was younger than Harry thought he'd be, but blank and handling the pressure of what was happening around him apparently well. Then again Mr. Malfoy had said he was at Hogwarts with Sirius 'for a time', he didn't say he was a classmate or that he was older. Going by pure looks Harry wondered if he wasn't maybe a third year or younger when the Marauders had been graduating.
Mid-twenties seemed old to him but given even Harry was kind of expecting another old man like Dumbledore he was sure a lot of people thought he was way, way too young for something like this. Going by the whispers suddenly going around, the room clearly thought he was biting off more than he could chew at a chance to develop his career, while also looking right down their noses at him. There was this slight hint of distain or dislike to the whispers, but Harry didn't know enough to know why.
Even whoever Crouch was, when people were talking about him sending his own son to Azkaban they'd had a warmer tone, like it was a shame he'd 'fallen from grace' or whatever had happened. This guy didn't seem to have anything outwardly bad about him that people were saying outright, but there was a coldness to their faces as they saw him enter the chamber and take a seat at the wooden pulpit overlooking the lowered area.
"In the proceeding of the Ministry vs. Black v.12, judicial presiding of Bennett on behalf of the Counsel of Magical Law on Monday the—"
Bennett took no time in proving he wasn't just a young politician to Harry at least, as he had barely taken his seat before he was spouting off jargon that Harry blinked and missed, the blond man below scribbling a quill over a parchment rapid fire at his words. Even as clever as people called him sometimes, that was a lot of legalese he barely caught, before focusing in when there were finally names he recognized—sort of.
"On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, a Mr. Donald Reeds, and representing a Mr. Sirius Orion Black, a Ms. Edith Valencia. Will counsel and defendants take the floor." Bennett spoke rather fast, yet clear and in a business-like tone, as if he'd done this a thousand times and this morning's was no different. Like he had ten cases to get to today and this was just the first in his lineup that needed to get underway quickly so that it could wrap up just as fast.
The lawyers in question identified themselves with small nods when their names were read. Reeds was tall, middle-aged, wearing plain black robes which seemed to be a default in the somber chamber.
Valencia however, was eerie as shit.
She was in a wizard-colored muggle pantsuit, which threw him completely for a loop, pretty in a heavy-browed kind of way, and her long straight hair probably unnatural given he could see the ends of it starting to curl out. She only came up to Reeds' shoulder at best even in her lethal looking heels, but the slender lines of the suit made her seem tall anyway. The most concerning part was that while Bennett had this business-like casualness and Reeds' lips were screwed up in a sour-puss press, she was smiling like she was displaying something flashy on TV. Like she was the pretty lady on a game show whose only job was to walk around showing the grand prize to the live studio audience around the room—but instead of any applause the near deafening silence that met her greeting smile had Harry stiffen slightly in his seat.
At least she's on our side I guess…
So distracting was she that for a second Harry missed what she was apparently displaying for them all, and that two men in matching clothes to her were escorting someone to the chair in the center of the room.
He hadn't seen a single picture of him yet, as there weren't any in the album Hagrid had given him last year and the Daily Prophet article only had scary pictures of Azkaban—an ominous dark castle in the middle of the sea apparently. He had no idea what preconceived notions he might've had of his godfather, but...
But he suddenly remembered someone standing over his shoulder as he looked into a mirror in an empty, dimly lit classroom in a draft castle. A young man with long black hair and the eeriest pair of blue-silver eyes leaning on James Potter's shoulder casually, eyes alight with life and laughter and crinkled in delight.
That was the man who took a seat of his own free will on the large dark chair. Much older now, much thinner with deep circles beneath the same eyes Harry knew from the mirror. Not nearly as playful or relaxed given the circumstances, but just as handsome despite the years and… well, his free-spirited countenance had once been care-free and flippant. Somehow it was still there, this defiance in the way he stared daggers up at the judge and the people in red robes around him.
He'd once been a wild creature who'd never known a leash, but was now intimately familiar with the inside of a cage. He hadn't been broken though, hadn't ever accepted the situation or let it go. He was still that wild person who was just… a lot more jaded now, maybe.
Harry had no idea what he felt about this situation, honestly.
True to his suspicion though, Sirius didn't see him since his eyes were piercing the panel in front of him—all of which besides Bennett were doing a great job not meeting his gaze.
"The matter of concern today is the arrest of Sirius Orion Black, who was arrested just after the early morning of November 1st, 1981." Bennett announced, moving the papers on the desk in front of him around calmly and precisely, laying one at the top pointedly, and with that it seemed the trial officially began. "The arrest notice I have here states the reason of arrest to be the murder of Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve muggles. There was no arrest warrant, it was done as judgement of the aurors responding to a call sent out by Mr. Black himself."
Harry blinked, not having known that information. Sirius called the Ministry himself? He was an auror at the time after all, but if he'd really been intending to kill Peter he wouldn't have called the cops on himself as he did it.
If it were true though then someone in the DMLE had really fucked up.
"The case today is the cause of arrest. Mr. Reeds," he prompted unceremoniously, and while Harry didn't know what the apparently obvious question was, clearly those on the floor knew precisely what their roles were as the thin man straightened up and folded his hands behind his back calmly.
"The prosecution agrees with the arrest notice and would like to add to the charges laid against Mr. Black today, the deaths of James and Lily Potter as well as crimes committed a known death eater." He announced.
It wasn't like that was unexpected, but Harry still hated the tense moment of silence that followed that. It's what everyone had believed for over a decade anyway, but to have the crimes actually put aloud that way felt horrible. The only one who moved was actually Sirius himself, as he leaned forward as if he couldn't help himself, face flickering in unholy anger.
Harry noticed Valencia had a hand on her client's shoulder though—and was white-knuckling a death grip into him that he didn't seem to react to at all, too focused on his own outrage.
But, he didn't say anything.
"Ms. Valencia." Bennett prompted curtly.
"The defense pleads not guilty to all crimes posed, and would like to counter for damages caused by imprisonment without trial beyond the legal timeframe." The woman smiled politely, her words short and somehow honey sweet despite looking like they'd come from a mouth of barbed wire.
Judge Bennett seemed notably unsurprised, having seen this coming a mile away. Most did, given that if Sirius were innocent then obviously they'd exceeded the length of time you were able to be detained before sentencing—exceeded it by about eleven years in fact. From what little Harry had learned from the Prophet article announcing this trial, it was that the legal amount of time you could be imprisoned before sentencing was measured in days—weeks perhaps, during wartime as it had once been. Years, much less over a decade was an insane fuck up, and to counter-sue the Ministry or maybe just the DMLE itself… well, Harry didn't know who'd take the fall or if it'd even be talked about here today, but whoever it was, they would be done for if this actually worked.
He was focused, so he only half heard the whispering that broke out, since while no one was strictly surprised, it was a little exciting to the crowd to hear the official terms laid out like this. The official counter being not guilty of any of the accused crimes meant this was going to be a direct clash, and just as exciting as the papers promised it'd be, even if half the room thought Valencia and Black were arguing in vain.
"The court accepts the charge and counter. Prosecution will have a chance to lay their charges and we will follow up with the defense. It will be brought to a vote and I will give sentencing based on the outcome and the evidence provided here today. Are there any questions from counsel or the defendant." Bennett looked across the three on the floor but no one spoke up—Valencia shooting Sirius a rather cheerful smile.
Harry almost laughed when the guy rolled his eyes as if he could not be more annoyed by her, but pointedly sealed his lips anyway.
Okay that was kind of funny.
"Very well, Mr. Reeds you have the floor to start."
"Thank you, sir," The man was at least polite, and his voice was actually surprisingly deep and pleasant, but it didn't matter as Harry already hated him on principle. "To begin, I think the charges laid against Mr. Black speak for themselves. Despite the years that have passed, how could anyone forget the carnage of that night, a night many others spent celebrating the end of a horrific war—a war we have all lost loved ones to. Aurors arrived on the scene to witness Mr. Black exploding the street he was standing on, resulting in the death of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles who were innocent bystanders to the massacre. To let such a horrendous act go without punishment would be a disrespect to the families who lost loved ones that night, but more than that, to families who lost anyone to the war itself! Mr. Black's angry actions that day, despite the war finally being over, prove he was not on the side celebrating victory then, but a man outraged to have lost. A good man does not kill those he once considered friends, and a sane man does not rage in the face of a time of peace. I am here today, before you all, to simply ensure the closing of a chapter we all thought well and done with for years now, so that the families of the deceased may not be bothered by this any longer."
It was a nice speech and all, it perfectly reflected the public sentiment for sure.
By the way Valencia was fixing her hair since it was about to be her turn to speak, clearly she didn't care that much about the flowery words though. Even Sirius, who looked pissed at every word that dripped from his mouth, seemed to have expected nothing less and was looking at his lawyer as if to say hurry the fuck up before I say something instead. "Mr. Valencia, your response." Bennett waved his hand.
"I'm keep my rebuttal short, Mr. Reeds, since the evidence 'speaks for itself', as you say. First question: which aurors witnessed Mr. Black's alleged crime?" She posed politely.
"Their names have been submitted into evidence, as you very well know Ms. Valencia." Reeds, to his credit, didn't look frazzled but the deflection was a bit obvious in Harry's opinion.
"I do, but given one of them passed of a heart attack six years ago—my condolences to the family—and the two other names listed have, in fact, not submitted written testimonies that I have seen at least, are they here to give verbal testimonies on the record today?" Valencia didn't miss a beat, and by the way Reeds' jaw flexed clearly she already knew the answer to her question.
"They have declined to comment."
"Very well. Now, I see you have submitted the investigation report on Mr. Pettigrew's death to the record today. Mr. Reeds can you state, for the court record, what spell was used to kill Mr. Pettigrew and those muggles? Or perhaps their varying cause of deaths if they were not killed by the same force."
Reeds squinted his eyes a bit but didn't flinch.
"As everyone knows, only Peter Pettigrew's finger was found at the scene of the crime. There was no way to determine the official cause of death without more of a body than that."
"So he was merely presumed dead? Who made the pronouncement?" She slipped in quickly.
"He is presumed dead, as one would be if you were missing the entirety of one's body." He shot back, at attempt of humor not quite hiding his streak of annoyance at her questions. "The muggles were all killed due to rubble from the explosion caused by the spell shot at the street."
"And what spell caused the explosion?"
Reeds brow flickered, like that was a question he wasn't actually prepared for, but was still unconcerned with it.
"As it was a muggle street, the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts declared that something called a 'gas line' was disrupted and caused the full explosion. It does not matter what the spell was, as any disturbance to this object is apparently volatile as there are no wards to protect it since it is of muggle creation." He dismissed.
Valencia just tilted her head.
"I'm very aware of what a gas line is, and I can tell you now those things are known to be volatile, even by their muggle creators. They are buried at least 45cm underground and encased in pure metal to protect them, and they only explode as they did in this instance if they are fully cut and then ignited. If you doubt me then the head of the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts is willing to testify to the point."
"That will not be necessary, I accept the statement." Reeds frowned, like he wasn't sure where she was going with this.
She smiled like she'd finally snatched the canary from the air.
"Then I'd like to bring to the court's attention evidence 1a: Mr. Black's wand." She announced, and still it didn't seem like Reeds knew what she was up to, even as a woman in grey robes stood from the first row of the audience and came down to set a wand box on the table beneath where Bennett was sitting, watching this display with narrowed eyes. "Madam Bones, is that Mr. Black's wand?"
Harry startled, suddenly realizing why she looked so familiar. She was a dead ringer for Susan, but he's almost completely disregarded her round face and sunny blue eyes since the expression she had on was even scarier than anything McGonagall or even Pomfrey could pray to pull off. That was Madam Bones!? She'd sounded actually pretty nice over their letters but even he, who had back-talked to Voldemort himself, found his mouth going dry at the thought of going up to her and asking if she enjoyed the chocolates he'd sent.
"It is." Amelia confirmed and yeah, her flat tone was just as scary as her expression.
"And can you vow that no one has touched it since Mr. Black was arrested, eleven years ago?"
Madam Bones drew her wand and lifted it into the air with a flicker of vaguely heat-wave-like ripples drifting lazily around it, a motion that caused whispers to break out in the crowd around Harry, sounds of surprise and disbelief echoing around him that he didn't have enough time to wonder at before he realized why.
"On my magic, I swear that the evidence submitted to the DMLE on November 1st, 1981 and provided here today has been untouched since. This box retains the protective ward placed on it that is dated to that night, I have verified this myself." She declared blankly.
Harry blinked, a small flicker of sweat forming on the back of his neck as he realized Susan's aunt and the head of all magical law enforcement had just sworn on her magic to prove a point. That was kind of badass, and by how pale Reeds had gotten, Harry knew that gesture was extremely grave indeed.
Valencia smiled.
"Thank you, Madam Bones. If you could open the box and inform the court today, the last twenty spells the wand in question performed."
Wait, that's possible!?
Harry was distracted enough by his internal panic that someone could get his wand and know what spell he'd last cast (a couple textbooks on darker Transfiguration particularly on his mind just then) that he almost missed Madam Bones opening the wand box and revealing an ordinary seeming wand. She placed it end-to-end with her own and spoke low and clear—just not clear enough for him to hear what the spell was.
He also had no idea what the red smoke that came out of it meant, only that Reeds made a face for a split second before schooling himself, brushing down his robes front like this didn't bother him.
"Madam Bones, if you could interpret for the court what it is you are revealing here," Valencia prompted, and Amelia didn't flinch.
"In backwards order from most recent spells cast, it revealed fourteen stupefys, one lumos, one alohamora, and three accio to stop at twenty." She announced. The crowd got louder then, less whispering but there was a lot more concern in their voices now.
And Harry could figure it out, even before Valencia turned to give the room a TV worthy smile once more.
"I argue that a stupefy is not capable to going through at least 45 cm of concrete and a metal pipe to the point that an explosion would occur, meaning Mr. Black cannot be responsible for the death of the muggles whose cause of death was determined to be that explosion. I also argue that the very excessive use of the stunning spell indicated that Mr. Black had never intended to kill anyone in that situation, but was merely trying to subdue them. Unless we are condemning every stupefy cast, half of Hogwarts would need to be tried as criminals then since it's a student's favorite dueling spell, isn't it?"
She had an odd charisma to her as she spoke to the room at large, not just the judge or opposing counsel, and while Harry saw several cold expressions that were not quite swayed, he definitely saw several who were starting to look very, very worried. The evidence being stacked in front of them like this was quickly causing those with half a braincell to realize something wasn't adding up. And the trial had only just started.
"You get ahead of yourself, Miss," Reeds cut in before he could lose too much ground with her argument. "Mr. Black could've very well used another wand, such as Peter Pettigrew's or even a throwaway wand just as easily as any other death eater could. They all had them, let me remind you!" He countered vehemently.
But Valencia just blinked far too innocently at him.
"But Mr. Pettigrew's wand was never recovered, so you cannot charge a man with something you do not have evidence to prove he ever held. Clearly Mr. Black was not holding the wand while casting the spell that allegedly killed Mr. Pettigrew, or the wand would not have been allegedly disintegrated with him in the blast, correct? It would have been discarded somewhere and I would hope the thorough investigation the DMLE performed on the crime scene would've turned it up had that been the case." Valencia shrugged as if there were nothing to be done about it, and while it looked like Reeds wanted to say something, she smirked. "Are you implying that there might have been a third wand at the scene of the crime that was never found? Perhaps it walked away with someone other than Mr. Black himself?"
Reed snapped his jaw shut loud enough the entire room heard it.
"Ms. Valencia is quite keen on putting words in my mouth, it seems." He got out through his teeth.
"Only if you'll have them." She winked and he just barely didn't glare at her, merely adjusting his robes and facing the front of the court once more.
"The case still remains that the explosion did not occur spontaneously, and the explosion itself did not kill Peter Pettigrew. There was evidence of magic on his remaining figure which meant a wizard was the one who killed him, and Mr. Black was the only one present at the time of his death." He insisted.
"Him and three aurors who are conveniently not around to comment." Valencia snipped back casually and Harry heard several people gasp.
Remembering Susan's words about how even mere accusations got you in some serious trouble, he now understood that her using Reeds' words to implicate other aurors meant they'd likely be dragged in here to give their testimonies—to defend their own innocence this time though. And there was a reason they'd declined to comment in the first place: probably because in hindsight there wasn't a lot of actual evidence to arrest Sirius that night. And yeah sure, wrongful arrest and all that, given the situation that probably could've overlooked as a mistake given at first glance it didn't look good, but the lack of a trial or anything after that mistake had made semi-reasonable error into something blatantly unforgivable.
If those two aurors had declined to comment, it was likely they were still with the DMLE and were trying to save their jobs instead of getting pinned for this disaster if it turned out that old arrest really had been wrongful.
"How dare you implicate the aurors just trying to do their job in protecting the public!" Reeds shot at his opponent, cheeks going splotchy red in indignation that she would dare.
Harry almost laughed out loud—not because it was funny but because obviously, aurors were just paid bullies so him trying to act like they were 'noble' was kind a joke of the darkest, bitterest kind.
Valencia just shrugged. "How dare I say something factual? If they were there to see the explosion, then they were there to witness Mr. Pettigrew's death, I'm not sure what you're accusing me of?" She feigned ignorance and his jaw flexed. "And on that note, the magic found on Mr. Pettigrew's finger was determined to be the severing charm, which we just established Mr. Black did not cast anywhere close to the time of his death. What evidence are you presenting that actually ties Mr. Black to Mr. Pettigrew's death?"
"How dare you—!"
"Order!" Bennett snapped, voice cutting through things like a whip, and the stressed chattering around the courtroom that had been getting steadily louder, as well as the counsels' bickering, cut off just like that. He sorted through the papers in front of him once more before folding his hands over them calmly. "Ms. Valencia, get to the point." He ordered.
"Mr. Reeds, your opening statement had no presented evidence. You claimed aurors 'saw' Mr. Black commit crimes of various natures but could not provide any witness testimonies, so for the purpose of the court record today then no one actually did see Mr. Black do anything wrong. Even so, I have presented counter evidence that Mr. Black could not have committed the crimes you oh-so casually pinned on him, but you're still going to stand there and insist he is guilty? Of what exactly, and what evidence can you provide to support it?" She asked of him deceptively sweetly, and that time he did shoot her a genuine glare.
Harry was starting to see why Mr. Malfoy had called this guy 'mediocre at best'. Seems he wasn't joking, this was kind of laughably stupid.
Then again, wizards were laughably stupid in general and clearly cared very little for hard evidence or actual fact in the face of drama or what seemed right to their gut feelings. Bennett had even said that Reeds had the floor before the defense got a chance to speak which someone way more fact-based would've used to lay out some facts instead of making a flowery speech about past war losses. He hadn't though, and this woman coming in with hard evidence and counter arguments for every little thing seemed to be a brand new concept to a lot of people here, which absolutely crushed what little credit Harry still gave the wizarding world. They were all backwards idiots, weren't they?
After all, he could clearly still see many people glaring at Valencia as if she was the enemy here when all she'd done was point out some very obvious things. Talk about being a biased jury.
"Mr. Reeds, at this time I have not seen anything to connect Mr. Black with Mr. Pettigrew's death, nor the death of the twelve muggles. Do you have anything further to add?" Bennett prompted a tad impatiently and Reeds straightened up, apparently not giving up in the slightest despite how thoroughly fucked he looked from Harry's vantage.
"The prosecution request to interrogate the defendant directly." He opened, and Valencia had already moved back to Sirius' side to put a hand on his shoulder—as if it were a show of being comforting, but going by his pissed off expression and how white her knuckles where as her fingers dug into him, it was absolutely more of a restraint.
"My client declines to comment without Veritaserum." She got back before Reeds could even get the words out fully, and that got the courtroom in an uproar.
Harry wasn't sure why though, so the sudden burst of sound kind of startled him. A lot of people in Gryffindor tower, after hearing there'd be a trial at all, had talked about the truth potion as the most obvious thing in the world to get the truth out cleanly. Just some Veritaserum and the whole thing would be over by the time it wore off, right?
Apparently the adult world was a little more conflicted about it, though Harry guessed there had to have been a reason every death eater wasn't just given it to make things easier. It was probably an old Slytherin machination, making it so it wasn't always standard use just in case they needed to wiggle out of something later, but that also made supposedly simple things like this really annoying.
Because it wasn't just the death eaters hiding behind the excuses this time.
A voice cut through the talking at a shout now, to a man with a purple face sitting beside the scribe who had paused moving his quill while he waited for the proceedings to continue.
"The use of Veritaserum is highly debated as unethical, may I remind you Ms. Valencia," The man got out in a scolding way, the color of his cheeks belying his indignation and stress over the topic. For some reason a lot of the crowd quieted as he spoke as if to be sure not to miss his dramatic declarations. "To press for it's use when it is not a requirement of this court is a polarizing topic not suited for this courtroom!"
"With all due respect Minister, the courtroom is the he perfectplace to discuss matters like this." Valencia countered smoothly, the sharpness in her tone silencing the rest of the chatter just like that as they tuned in to hear this.
Harry barely cared though, eyes locking into the pudgy man across the room from him. That was Minister Fudge?
He took his time memorizing his face, to be sure he'd never forget it.
Not until the man was dead at least.
"It's polarizing in polite conversation, but legal topics are meant to be discussed in in legal scenarios such as the one we find ourselves in at this very moment." Valencia continued, speaking to all the room now, not just the Minister. "I am not petitioning anyone to make a judgement on the morality of Veritaserum, and would not dare to make a clear statement about if it should or should not be used as a standard approach. I am stating that my client has specifically requested Veritaserum for the duration of his testimony and as his counsel I must argue for his request."
"But if he is not of sound mind then his request is of little merit!" Fudge cried, slamming his fits into the banister in front of him to make the point.
The silence that followed had everyone sitting up straighter in tension.
Even Reeds looked at his opponent warily, wondering why she was just… standing there. He was even more confused when she just stared back at him as if patiently waiting.
"…Ms. Valencia?" Bennett finally raised a brow when it was clear there would be no response from her.
She made a show of pretending to startle, putting a hand over her cheek abashedly.
"Oh, my apologies Judge Bennett, I was just giving opposing counsel the opportunity to repeat Minister Fudge's argument so that it may be on the official record. As the Minister is not a solicitor nor part of the reviewing panel, his statements are not accepted into the official record," She waved her hand very pointedly to the scribe who also blinked at being called out, but true to word his quill was only moving when she spoke. She then oh so generously beckoned to her opponent, who went red from rage—but also perhaps embarrassment finally. "But I do assume Mr. Reeds would like to make that argument himself, yes? If not then I am happy to move on as if nothing was said."
Fudge spluttered as if he could not believe her audacity, and people were whispering to themselves again. Reeds at least kept his composure though he frowned deeply.
"…Mr. Black's request for Veritaserum cannot be recognized until he is deemed of sound mind." He got out through press lips, then cleared his throat hastily.
And because she'd very clearly been waiting for it, Valencia straightened up and clapped her hands once as she got back down to business.
"In that case, I then motion the court to accept the testimonies of the mind healers who tended to him this weekend. Evidence 17a through 17j are the written testimonies themselves, as well as the paperwork for their approval to speak here today."
"Objection! Use of Veritaserum has not been approved by the appropriate committee. The court cannot administer a potion that has not been brewed and verified in advance, it could've been tampered with to be ineffective. Additionally, use of it has always been debated as unethical as it could force a perjury." Reeds wasn't giving up.
"Madam Bones?" Valencia just gestured to where Amelia was still standing at attention off to the side beneath the judge's pulpit, clearly knowing she was eventually going to be called on again.
She inclined her head. "Ms. Valentina submitted an affidavit from three different mind healers directly into my hands yesterday confirming Sirius Black to be of sound mind. What's more than that, I spoke with him myself and would be willing to testify that he's no more mad than any of us here today." She announced, and the room couldn't container the explosion of indignation and talking in response to that.
But Madam Bones wasn't finished, she looked up to Judge Bennett with a raised brow. "What's more is that I submitted those affidavits as evidence last night, and you should have them before you now."
Bennett shuffled his papers for a long several minutes before frowning deeply.
"I do not have them here with me today. Ms. Valencia—"
"Never fear sir, I have copies. As well as the approval notice from the required committee." She unearthed a stack of paper to walk forward and offer him. They seemingly came from nowhere to Harry, but he wondered if the pockets of that pantsuit weren't more impressive than just well-tailored.
"Objection, new evidence cannot be submitted during a trial without proper discovery," Reeds was grabbing at straws now but as Valencia handed the papers over and Bennett started reading, clearly he felt he was losing control over the situation.
As if he ever had it?
"These testimonies have been recorded in my own submitted evidence for over twenty-four hours now and have been public record for the required eight. Prosecution has had the opportunity to review this evidence for the required amount of time, whether it has been properly read and reviewed or not is not a matter for this court to be concerned by." Valencia shrugged, completely unworried by Reeds' argument and Bennett didn't even look up as he kept reading the stack of papers he'd been given, as if the rest of the room didn't exist.