"Did you betray Lily and James Potter to the man named Voldemort!?"
My voice thundered through the chamber, the acoustics of the ancient room amplifying the demand until it struck the very bones of those present. The Lords and Ladies of magical Britain leaned forward as one, held in thrall by the gravity of the question.
The trial had barely begun, and already Dumbledore's signature twinkle had fled. His aged face was drawn tight, caught in a rictus of shame and depression. No doubt he was sifting through his memories, mulling over the weight of his past missteps. But he would never have my sympathy. Not when he sealed the will of two of his most loyal dead and left Sirius to rot.
Pettigrew flinched. His watery eyes widened, then, disturbingly, his lips twisted into a wicked grin.
"Yes. Yes, I did," he said, voice trembling with something like reverence. "You should have seen it… it was… a-amazing…"
He sounded almost sorrowful, not for the crime, but for the fact that he couldn't relive the moment. I had prepared for many things, but not his joy at betrayal. Rage burned behind my eyes, but my will, one of my earliest purchases from the system, held strong.
"I see," I said flatly. "Then perhaps you can confirm that it was you who killed those Muggles while fleeing from Sirius Black?"
His smile only widened.
"I liked the way they burnt. They smelled so crispy… Yes. I did."
Gasps and revolted expressions rippled through the chamber like a tsunami. Once-apathetic nobles now leaned back as if physically struck. But I didn't pause.
"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters' Fidelius Charm?"
The silence before his answer was suffocating. A few of the 'light-aligned' Lords clenched their fists or scowled with barely restrained fury.
"Yes!" he spat gleefully. "They thought I was one of them! I convinced the whole world that Sirius was the traitor! HA-"
A nearby Auror raised a wand and cast a silencing charm mid-laugh. The laughter died in Pettigrew's throat, but the damage was done.
"Have you cast any spells on anyone since you went into hiding in Animagus form?"
Amelia leaned forward, her hands clenched beneath her chin. She also wished to know the answer to this... To use this as a sword against her truest enemies, the Death Eaters.
He paused, then grinned again.
"Imperio on Ronald Weasley. Confundus on his whore of a mother. Cruciatus… on that little bitch 'Ginny.'"
He spat onto the stone floor just as Harry's magic erupted, shaking the stands with raw fury. But it was Artoria who burned brighter, her magenta eyes glowing with apocalyptic wrath. Her entire presence screamed power, a reckoning in mortal flesh.
'So that's how she was broken. Tortured before the diary ever touched her mind…'
"I have only two questions left," I said evenly.
Dumbledore inclined his head in horror. Amelia gave a solemn nod.
"Was Sirius Black ever a Death Eater?"
Pettigrew didn't hesitate.
"NO. Never him."
A long, ragged breath escaped Sirius's lips, as if a lifetime of suffering had just been shattered. The hope that flickered in his eyes wasn't faint or cautious, it was blinding. His chains creaked as he leaned forward, unable to tear his gaze from mine.
"One last question."
The chamber knew what was coming. They felt it like a storm on the horizon. The dark faction reeled, their instincts telling them this was no ordinary question, it was a blade meant to sever their power. Their emotions were too easy for me to detect...
"Do you claim guilt for everything Sirius Black was charged with?"
A hush fell. Breath caught. Even Lucius paled.
"Yes…~" Pettigrew hissed. Mad eyes gleaming with vindication. "YES, I DO."
The uproar was immediate. Nobles leapt to their feet, shouting, roaring for blood or justice, depending on where they stood. But I was already turning, already walking toward the man they had caged.
Sirius watched me approach, still twitching slightly from every motion, his soul raw from years of torment. Even proximity made him flinch, but he didn't look away.
"W-who are you?" he asked, voice trembling but not weak.
And there it was, gumption. Will. Beneath the ruin Azkaban had made of him, Sirius Black was still very much there.
"My name is Freya," I said softly. "You could say I'm distant family of Harry's. And I'm here to help him stand tall against the monsters that have taken too much from his life."
His gaze flicked over my shoulder. There, Harry, sitting in the stands beside Artoria, her deep blue dress shimmering like midnight armour. The boy looked back at his godfather, a thousand thoughts in his eyes.
For the first time in years, Sirius Black smiled. My own smile wasn't far behind as Dumbledore stood and banged his gavel, the old man looking many years older at this current point in time.
"Does the defence have any other witnesses they wish to call forwards?"
"Yes, we do." I stated loudly as I marched back out to the middle of the floor, everyone watching me with a mix of respect and concern, some more worried than others.
"I'd like to call Remus Lupin forwards..."
I exhaled as I watched the man afflicted with the curse of a werewolf stand uncertainly, his eyes lingering upon Harry and Sirius before he was escorted down from the stands by the aurors. 'Today is going to be a long day...'
...
Two Hours Later...
After the tenth witness left the podium all of the assembled Wizengamot members were furious. The patriarchs and matriarchs of the Sacred 28 families were incensed. The illusions they had built their narratives on were crumbling, one damning truth at a time. No trial had officially been held for Sirius. His charges had been conjured from thin air and all evidence suggested that the night where Sirius chased down Pettigrew, the former had never cast any spell that could cause that form of explosion; or anything even close to it.
The head of the Department of Mysteries spoke on the evidence and agreed that the so-called evidence was circumstantial at best and would easily be thrown out of court had he even made it that far. The Dark faction flinched after every single confession, every little piece of evidence and this was mostly only noted by me and Dumbledore, the remainder of the chamber too focussed upon their own discussions and deliberations.
"Is that all for the defence...?" Dumbledore's voice rumbled through the chamber with all the delicacy of an approaching thunderstorm.
Looking at Sirius before turning, I nodded, my smile wickedly cordial... The silence hung itself upon my whim and shifted when i willed it to... My voice neither gaining the triumph I felt inside myself nor the anger that still lingered from Pettigrew's horrid betrayal as I finally brought the silence to a swift death. "That is all. Let us see if they have the stupidity to verse me in the open..." I whispered the last part before strutting over beside Sirius's cage and staring at the prosecution.
What remained of the opposition was nothing more than hollow theatre. Raised voices and exaggerated flourishes, tools of fools grasping at dignity, were all they had left. Their entire argument for Sirius's guilt rested on the brittle foundation of sentiment: that he had left his ancestral home to live among the Potters in youth. A pathetic attempt at moral character assassination, one so weak that Dumbledore himself was forced to chastise them, his voice sharp, his patience thinning, for straying from the actual charges and failing to address the damning evidence laid bare before them.
Gazing over towards the Dark faction's stands my eyes widened in the realisation that Lucius Malfoy had already fled the proceedings. Scoffing in disdain I stepped forwards as the floundering bigots that were currently arguing for Sirius's death sputtered about a 'mud-blood' challenging them or something... Useless words for recently defeated pawns upon a chessboard in which I was queen. I wouldn't suffer the delusions of the defeated any longer.
"This case has already ended... High Warlock, Director... Can we end this farce before it sullies our own lives further?" I paused for a moment as everyone awaited my words, the snakes of the court room sneering at my usage of language. "If many of you do not believe it then please tell me why Lucius Malfoy has seemingly disappeared. Perhaps he was so embarrassed by his colleagues attempt to keep an innocent man behind bars that he fled in disgrace?"
Incredulous gasps and exclamations abounded as Sirius began laughing under his breath. Harry grinned whilst watching the entire court room explode into chaos. Artoria was giving me a look that promised some action tonight, I couldn't help but feel expectant at the promise within her eyes.
"I agree." Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical law Enforcement spoke out, her voice containing an edge that could only be found in the most honed of blades. With this rawness she glanced to Dumbledore, the man taking a deep breath and exhale before slamming his gavel down.
"The Wizengamot will now vote! All for Sirius Black being expunged on all supposed charges, light your wands now..." 90 percent of the room lit up their wands as Albus closed his eyes briefly and spoke out once more.
"All those in opposition... Light yours now." 2 percent lit their wands as many in the Dark faction abstained from voting. The logic was clear. Why openly proclaim your side when you can choose to be morally grey instead and have people live with the doubt.
I, Artoria, Harry and Sirius watched as the entirety of the Wizengamot and the wizarding elite sided with the once estranged heir of House Black. It was akin to watching a firework display upon a dark cloudless sky. Hope was renewed for the scion of Black and his Godson finally got the chance to spend time with one of his father's closest friends and now, his family.
Sirius of course handled this in the most mature way possible... "Fuck yeah! Suck it you bunch of snake-dick fucks!" Dumbledore had his twinkle back immediately whilst Amelia held her head in frustration, groaning from the immature nature of the man who was currently being freed from his cage. Laughter echoed from many of the Light faction's lords and ladies as Harry all but charged down the stands and jumped towards Sirius as he took his first free steps in over a decade.
Artoria grinned contently before stepping up next to me and kissing me, my arm slipping behind her back and resting on her hip as we watched God-parent and son meet for the first time.
'If I can make a difference, like this, by making games and spreading them then I will.' Artoria placed her hand in mine as Dumbledore announced the ruling and officially declared the case finished.
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