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"Before I begin, Supreme Mugwump, I would like to confirm the Mr. Black's oaths are still binding"
"They are," Dumbledore said with a nod.
"May he be prompted to take the oath again?" He requested.
"That is conditional on Mr. Black's acceptance" He said, looking over to me.
"My client is fine taking the oath again, as long as it is the same oath, if Mr. Forswythe needs him to assuage his doubts" I said=, rising for a second before returning to my seat.
"Then please proceed," Dumbledore said, waving to the aide.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, do solemnly swear on mine own magic to speak the truth as I know it" He made the oath again, and Forswythe nodded before looking at his notes.
He stared at them before sighing and putting them down.
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?" He asked, and I knew that question was not on his list. The way he'd put the list down told me as much,
"No. I did not."
"Did you kill over a dozen muggles?"
"No. I did not".
"Have you been obliviated?" He asked, making me tilt my head to the side.
"No, I have not" Clearly he did not ask the question to get an answer out of Sirius. If he had been obliviated, then how would he know that he was? There was some other game he was playing here. Maybe he intended to allege that Sirius had himself obliviated of the crimes so he could testify. That would be an interesting way to approach things for sure.
"How did you escape Azkaban?" He asked. I was up instantly before Sirius could begin to incriminate himself.
"Objection. The question is irrelevant. Mr. Black's presence in Azkaban is being challenged here, not the manner of his escape" I said.
"The Petitioner's objection is sustained" Dumbledore banged his gavel.
"Apologies, Supreme Mugwump. Mr. Black, how do you expect all of us to believe that a picture of rat is enough proof of your innocence."
"It's Pettigrew."
"What?"
"The rat is Peter Pettigrew" He said.
"And how do you know that? It could just be any random rat."
"I'd recognise that rat anywhere. And it's missing a front finger on its paw, exactly where he had cut his finger before blowing up the muggles" He said.
"So you're saying Pettigrew was an illegal animagus, and you knew of this" He said.
"Yes."
"Were you also an illegal animagus, Mr. Black?"
"Objection— relevance" I stood up.
"Sustained." Dumbledore said.
"That will be all for this witness, Supreme Mugwump" Forswythe said with a flaccid smile on his face.
"Petitioner?" Dumbledore called.
"No re-examination questions for this witness, Supreme Mugwump. The Petitioner moves to dismiss the witness and rest his case" I said.
He nodded, banging his gavel and gesturing for Sirius to leave the stage.
"The defence may now open its case"
"The defence does so by calling the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, to the stand" He said, and the woman with the greying hair, stern gaze, and magnificent tits walked up to the witness seat.
"As the head of a British Ministry Department, the Defense moves for the oaths to be dispensed with, as Amelia Bones has already taken oaths as fitting her position as the Head of a British Ministry Department." Well, that was a choice. Sure, she could give evidence without swearing an oath, but it was basically common practice to take those oaths because evidence given without them was given lesser weight when it came to deliberations. Either way, he pressed on.
"Permitted, Mr. Forswythe. Now move on."
"Please state your full name and position for the record"
"Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" She said.
"For how long have you held that position?"
"Since 1981. Making this my thirteenth year in office."
"That means you were not in office when Mr. Black was incarcerated, but you were when he made his escape?"
"Yes"
"What can you tell us about Mr. Black's escape?" He asked.
"Not a lot. One day, he was in his cell. And the next, he was not. Unfortunately, we have still not been able to fully isolate what factors allowed his escape."
"Could being an animagus have allowed him to escape?" The Ministry lawyer asked, a gleam in his eyes.
"I am uncomfortable discussing the particulars of Azkaban's security in such a public setting"
"That isn't a no."
"It's far from a yes, as well" She retorted.
"Moving on, do you agree that the Death Eater Act makes it lawful for individuals to be held awaiting trial in Azkaban?"
"Yes."
"Was there a time limit to this?"
"No" She said. It was clear for me to see that she did not want to be doing this. But Fudge was her boss, and the Minister seemed to be intent on winning by whatever means possible here. How unfortunate for him because I would never lose.
"Is it a crime to escape custody while being held awaiting trial?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Madame Bones. Supreme Mugwump, that will be all for this witness." He said, taking his seat.
"Cross-examination?" Dumbledore asked and I stood.
There were multiple tactics one could take when questioning an extremely competent witness. I'd learned most of them in my first life to discredit detectives, regular police officers, and medical experts in high stakes trials. I wouldn't even need most of those tactics here because Sirius was innocent, so I could just dive right into this.
"How many suspected death eaters were held awaiting trial in Azkaban when you took office that you were aware of?" I began.
"None."
"How interesting. So you were not aware that Sirius Black never received a trial?"
"I was on sabbatical at the time, taking a much-needed rest to mourn family lost in the war."
"The war that ended because of my parents' sacrifice" I added.
"Objection—"
"Sustained"
"I'll move on. Are you aware of the provisions of the DEATH EATER Act?"
"Loosely." She said.
"I'll refresh your mind then. In the Act's first Appendix, it says, and I quote- 'This Act of the Wizengamot defines a death eater for the purposes of this act to be any person bearing the mark of the dark wizard Voldemort, also known as You-know-who, upon their forearms. This mark, known as the Dark Mark, is represented by a skull with a snake proceeding from its mouth and is traditionally born on the left forearm of those marked.' Does that jog your memory?" I asked.
"Yes" She bristled like she didn't like my tone. That wouldn't be the only thing she'd leave here disliking for sure.
"Good. So that means you agree with me that a person who lacked the dark mark would not be subject to the Act?"
"Yes."
"So if Sirius Black lacks the dark Mark, then he could not have been held awaiting trial in Azkaban"
"Yes."
"Good. Mr. Black if you would" Sirius stood up, revealing both his arms as bare.
"Madame Bones, can the dark mark be hidden with illusion magic or transfiguration?"
"No. The magic of the mark fights any attempt to hide it" She said.
"So that means that Mr. Black's bare arms are proof that he never bore the dark mark?"
"Objection— The Petitioner is trying to tender witness through my witness to prevent cross-examination on the evidence."
"I am doing nothing of the sort. Merely using the delightful Madame Bones to clarify a few things" I said.
"Objection Overruled, but Mr. Forswythe shall be free to cross-examine Mr. Black on his possession of the dark mark at a later time" Dumbledore said. He was being shockingly fair. I guessed that his reputation was not so hallowed in the other nations that he would risk it by appearing anything less than fully objective.
"Now, answer the question Madame Bones"
"Yes"
"Were you aware of a trial being prepared for Mr. Black?"
"No."
"Were you aware of what section of the prison he was kept in?"
"Yes"
"What section is that?"
"The Maximum Security Wing"
"The area reserved solely for convicts presenting the highest level of danger to society, according to the Azkaban Guidelines?"
"Yes."
I smiled. Bones was being cooperative in all the best ways. I didn't even need to do anything more than what I'd already done. Doing mote here would only serve to antagonise her needlessly. Since she was likely to be the one replacing Fudge— the Minister was over, it was only a matter of time. With how he was handling this, my faith in his ability to navigate the mess with the Asians was at an all-time low.
"Was there a trial being prepared for Sirius Black?"
"Not that I am aware of" She said.
"Are trials for suspected criminals not usually under the purview of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"
"They are"
"So that means that if there was a trial being worked on, then you should have been aware of it, does it not?"
"Objection— the question calls for the witness to speculate."
"Speculation is allowed where the matter is something that should be within the Witness' competence. You yourself introduced her as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." I countered hotly on his heels.
"Overruled. The witness should be able to answer the question" Dumbledore ruled.
"Yes." Bones finally said after looking at me for a while.
"Then that will be all for this witness" I said, taking a seat.
"Any re-examination questions?"
"Yes, Supreme Mugwump."
"Madame Bones, is it within the rights for the Minister of Magic to prepare a trial without informing you?"
"Yes. Technically."
"Then that will be all. I move to discharge this witness" He said.
"Granted. Defence, you can call your next witness"
"I move to call the British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge." He said. Just like with Bones, he applied that Fudge, not take the oaths customary for a witness. In this case, while I expected Bones to be generally honest, I knew that Fudge would have little if any reservations around lying through his teeth. I could only hope that he had some dignity around at it at the very least. For his own good, not mine. It wouldn't look good to tear apart my own Minister on the stand.
"Please state your name and position for the record"
"Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic."
"Can you tell us why Sirius Black was placed in Azkaban?"
"I must emphasize that I was not the Minister of Magic at the time, and that his incarceration was an action taken by my predecessor's Millicent Bagnold and Bartemius Crouch. What I can say is that his suspicion as a death eater meant that he could lawfully be detained in the prison until an appropriate trial could be held" He began. Half-truth
"I see. So when did you find out that he hadn't received the trial he ought to have received?"
"I found out in Winter 1991, and immediately began making plans to hold the trial. He was still being held in custody pending trial, which was legal under the Death Eater Act, and so we scheduled a trial for July. I went to his cell that same month while making my annual visit to the Prison and told him about the trial." Lie.
"And then what happened next?"
"He escaped from Azkaban" Truth
"Do you think your informing him about the trial made him escape?"
"Yes" Lie
"Why do you think that is the case?"
"He feared that he would be placed in the Veil if found guilty" Lie
"What do you have to say about Sirius Black's performance today?"
"I would almost have believed it if I wasn't aware of the power of the Blacks, and most especially Sirius Black who was a top-rated Auror while at the same time being you-know-who's right-hand man" Lie
"So you think he found a way to lie under oath?"
"The Blacks have dark magic as black as their name. Maybe he obliviated himself or altered his memories, or did something else, but I have no doubt that Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew, over a dozen muggles, and betrayed the Potters to you-know-who" He was screaming now. Okay, enough.
"Objection" I said rising.
"What are you objecting to, Mr. Potter?"
"The witness should plainly state who he refers to when he says you-know-who. I, in fact, do not know who, and I am certain that most of the distinguished representatives here are in much the same state." I said with a glib smile.
"Mr. Potter clearly knows who you-know-who is. The objection is baseless" Forswythe replied, not looking amused at all.
"I can not infer knowledge on Mr. Potter that he claims to lack, and I can not assume that the distinguished representatives of the ICW all have the cultural context to understand this niche reference. Objection sustained. The witness will tell us who he refers to" I swore I could see a glimmer of vicious satisfaction in Dumbledore's eyes as he said that. We both turned to Fudge, the man looking everywhere but straight in the crowd.
I pitied him, I really did. As far as he was concerned, Voldemort was dead, but somehow, as a testament to just how unsafe magical Britain was, that didn't mean it was okay to say his name. People didn't just flinch at the name out of inherited trauma. Even after his death, those who said his name had still turned up dead for years afterward. Saying it now could be placing a target like that on his back. But the fact that that risk was enough to make him hesitate, was a good enough sign that he had no business being in charge of magical Britain.
"The Dark Lord"
"Objection— does he speak of Gellert Grindelwald, Herpo the Foul, or the thousand other dark lords we have been plagued with."
"Objection sustained. Be more specific, Minister Fudge."
He flushed, going red and staring at me so hard I worried his eyeballs would pop out of his head. Yup, I'd burned that bridge beyond all hopes of repair.
"Vol-vol-vol-demort. I mean Voldemort" He finally said.
"That will be enough for this witness" Forswythe said with a sigh while looking over at me. That was the look of a man who knew he had lost. Fudge was rattled and would be easy pickings.
"How often do you visit Azkaban?"
"Every year"
"How many times did you speak to Sirius Black in your visits"
"Only once. When I informed him of the impending trial".
"Why did you not accelerate the trial? If you found out a man had been kept in Azkaban for eleven years and saw the squalor he lived within, then you must have felt a way when you realised he had never been found guilty by the Wizengamot."
"I did the best I could"
"Your best seems to have been inefficient. Can you tell us why you are lying today?"
"Excuse me?"
"Under oath, Sirius Black said he had no such conversation with you regarding any trial. So how can you both have opposing recollections about the same event."
"Like I said, he's found some way to cheat the oath."
"Are you familiar with Occam's razor?"
"No. What is that?"
"In simple terms, it's the idea that the simpler answer is almost always right for a complex question. The question here is who is lying. Either Sirius Black has found a way to deceive an oath used by this body for centuries, or you who swore no oath are lying. The distinguished representatives here are far too intelligent to believe the former, when the latter remans a possibility."
"How dare you? I am the Minister for Magic. Boy, —"
"I would advise you not continue with that sentence, Cornelius" I hissed, feeling rage suppressed across two lifetimes rear its head.
"Rein yourself in, Mr. Potter" Dumbledore barked, jolting me from staring at the Minister who had been cowering from my gaze. I smelt something burning and flinched away from the small table in front of me. My fingers had left burn marks etched into the wood.
"Apologies, Supreme Mugwump. Distinguished delegates. It just offends me to see obvious lies paraded before an august body like this one" I said. Cornelius Fudge still looked frazzled, and if I were being honest, I wasn't at a 100 percent either. What the hell had that been? The ritual?
"Now, returning to Mr. Fudge here. Please tell us when you found out Mr. Black hadn't had a trial?"
"Objection— asked and answered"
"Sustained".
"Winter 1992, then. Please tell me who brought it to your notice".
"What?"
"Who brought Sirius Black's lack of a trial to your notice?" I asked.
"Wel-well, it was Delores Umbridge, my undersecretary"
"Why did she go to you instead of Madame Bones?"
"I am the Minister for Magic"
"As you seem keen on reminding us all today" Cue the chuckles.
"How did she find out?"
"What?"
"How did she find out that Sirius Black hadn't had a trial"
"I suppose she noticed it in his file"
"And what was she doing there? He was incarcerated over a decade ago at that point. Surely, his file could not have been top of the pile, so why did she go looking for it?"
"She was looking through the files as part of our annual winter audit of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"I assume from the word, annual, that this audit takes place every year?" He nodded.
"A yes or a no, Mr. Fudge. Out loud".
"Yes."
"Good. So why did she not notice any previous year?"
"Well, you'd have to ask her"
"Seems like there's a lot of things only Miss Umbridge can educate us on. A shame that you haven't brought her here to testify, then".
"Was there a question there?"
"No. But there is a question here— Why did you not involve Madame Bones while preparing the trial?"
"It is fully within my powers as—"
"Minister for Magic, we know. But the question was not whether you could exercise the power, but why you did so in the first place. Why did you not inform Madame Bones of the trial for Sirius Black"?
"I had no duty to inform her."
"So you never do things you have no duty to do?" I asked but he remained silent. That was fine.
"Who was in charge of the investigation?" I asked.
"What investigation?" He looked genuinely confused.
"You do know that in order to have a trial that the Prosecution must attempt some sort of investigation to gather evidence and the likes"
"Everyone knows he did it"
"Sadly, not enough for a trial, Mr. Fudge."
"Who was the Prosecutor?"
"We hadn't chosen one yet," He finally said after a minute of staring at the man who had been defending him. He'd forgotten his own lawyer's name, hadn't he?
"No investigation, no lead prosecutor, no department of magical law enforcement involvement. Almost sounds like this trial was a figment of your imagination. Or more likely a made-up excuse to hide the depths of incompetence from your ministry in leaving an innocent man in Prison" I surmised.
He remained silent.
"Do you recognise this newspaper?" I said, offering the newspaper Sirius had testified about.
"No"
"So you tell me that if I use the priori possessio spell on this newspaper, it will not show that you once had custody of it?"
"You can do what you wish" He said, glaring. I smiled and clearly enunciated the spell before stabbing my wand at the newspaper. It caught on fire. The Priori Possessio spell, when used on an object, destroyed the object in its entirety, so it wasn't useful for things that had much value. It also showed the order in which the object traded hands, but if a person handled it multiple times, then it only showed the first time they did so. The fire created smoke, moving to spell out some names, going through quite a few before it got to one we could recognise as relevant— Delores Umbridge, Cornelius Fudge, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Harry J Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore. I couldn't deny it, I gasped. The rest of the hall did the same as well. Bones was near on her feet, staring at the name that stood there defiantly against our attention. Pettigrew had touched the newspaper? When? I couldn't remember it, but it had clearly happened.
"I do believe that is enough for me to rest my case here. That will be all for this witness" I said with a bow.
A/N: And Dazzit! Yup, a bit of luck comes in to drive things home for Potter, but he was already winning tbh. As always, the next two chapters are up on Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga). If you just want to read complete chapters and not my work in real-time, then feel free to purchase this story as a collection on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga) page so you get to read each chapter after I finish it and not necessarily the daily updates available with a regular patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga) membership- nice way to support this story and me while you're at it. Enjoy! There's a cheeky 20% off to celebrate my birthday till the end of the month so take advantage of that while you can.