The tawny haired man briefly patted on Draco’s shoulder before he left the bench to place himself between the suspects and the Minister. Some people eyed him with interest, clearly having expected him to read from some kind of notes as others in his position would have done. But he merely put his hands in the pockets of his mustard yellow trousers and started with his speech – almost right away.
“Mr Carlisle, I am fully aware that many people here still know you for your specialisation in gynaecologic and antidote matters, and therefore might not even have knowledge of your many certified professions. You have been asked for bearing this testimony under questionable circumstances, namely that you have known the suspects for many years. Therefore I ask you to swear to this council that your report is professional, impartial and solely academic.”
“I swear by Merlin’s venerable heritage, as true as I am standing here.”, for those words he had taken his hands from his pockets and straightened to an almost saluting posture, but then immediately put them back in.
“Very well. You may proceed.”
“Thank you, Minister. As you already stated, I am here to enlighten some aspects of the suspects personalities, hopefully helping the Gamot with understanding who they have to pass judgement on. I would like to start with a general fact about the names they have been using for the last two decades. To remind you, their right and full names are as follows, Alastor Bernard Donnchadh Moody, Severus Amalius Snape and Igor Grigorij Kareijev. All three of them have, between March fifth, nineteen ninety-eight and February twelfth, twenty fourteen, lived as registered citizens of Ukraine on the peninsula Crimea, forced to flee back to Britain in course of the political situation, having made a life of normal circumstances in the Muggle society on Crimea impossibly bearable, although their skills were high enough they could properly conceal their estate to any means of sight or tracking.”
People listened attentively, wondering where this all would lead. Igor however seemed most unpleased by this revelation. He was reminded with a glance that he had agreed to all of the following.
“I see this as a proof that they are human enough to not be willing to live in the heart of a war again, as they have survived such twice, and barely, I must accent. As I said, they lived fully registered and integrated in the Muggle society under different names, yet those names’ choice bears striking similarity. I have not dared to ask whether it had been planned, but, taken from their close relationship, I can consciously say they agreed at some point. So the names they had taken on were as follows. Bernard Dawson; Dawson would have been Mr Moody’s engaged twin sister’s future name, hadn’t she been killed in battle shortly before the end of the First Wizarding War.”
Alastor was clearly uncomfortable by this being said, but Severus’ hand on his visibly made it easier for him to bear it. Nevertheless he only stared at his outstretched wooden leg.
“As Mr Kareijev already stated, he gave up on his invented name and rather used his real name, that of his dead parents, and as well, his second given name, Grigorij. And as for Mr Snape, he lived also under his second name Amalius, and his mother’s maiden name Prince, which he had already done so during the later years of the First Wizarding War, where he had lived in northern Germany with his mother and there met Mr Kareijev who had been in search for his own parents, and where Mr Snape’s mother had died in one of the heaviest snow storms that part of Europe had ever seen since records had been taken.”
Eventually his words would also affect Severus, but in spite of everything he had gone through, it seemed he of all three had learned to cope with all that best. At least that was what he showed. It was clear to those close to him that he was the one to probably have the biggest troubles living with all the loss he had experienced.
“As you can see, all three decided to identify with close relatives who died untimely. They not only brought death, but the reason for that was that they had suffered from deaths so many times. Upon questioning them, all three had named their loss as their incitement, as the reason they meant to avoid further deaths of innocent people. Their experiences in two wars makes it absolutely understandable for me how they could not trust governmental law to work efficiently and fast enough to save people from ruthless criminals. No, it does of course not justify their vigilantism, but it does absolutely make it comprehensible in my opinion.”
“So to get this straight,”, McGallaham interrupted, “You would say that the murders were indeed acts of revenge?”
“Yes, and no. It depends very much on the point of view.”, continued Francis, now starting to walk around. “Considering their choice of registered names, I would not say so. The only one feeling the need for revenge would have therefore been Mr Moody, since his sister Alondra had evidently been killed by Death Eaters. Whereas Mr Snape’s mother died by accident and Mr Kareijev’s parents, according to his personal investigations, have died from food poisoning due to their poor circumstance, which may be seen as a reason for his very considerate work as a butcher, trying to avoid more such deaths, at least in the villages, towns, city districts he worked in.”
“So he didn’t lie about that?”
“Of course not. He indeed took on that job in Germany already, due to the benefit that the local butcher was searching for an assistant and Mr Snape was quick thinking, trying to get him in and allowing him to start a more quiet life, away from the dangers his position in Durmstrang might have brought him in, if he had returned.”
“Dangers?”
“He left Durmstrang without any notice on his plans. People were cheerful as he had been a far too consequent teacher, not only trying to train the students in Transfiguration, but also Dark Magic he was fascinated by. In addition, despite his secrecy about his practices within the school, I have stumbled upon letters students of British origin wrote to their families back then, stating things like that `Professor Karkaroff´ was deceitful, unpredictable, utterly full of himself and had a tendency to make use of mental and physical violence. Already then he was known for his preference for placing fine cuts with a knife on students who were unwilling to follow his orders, rather than punishing them with things as detention. He had clearly shown that he would prefer taking a sharp object before he used his wand against anyone.”, knowing murmurs went around. “If he hadn’t been seen practising Dark Magic or exceptional transfigurations, people might have guessed he was an extremely dangerous Muggle.”
“Extremely dangerous. There you have it!”, moaned a man to Francis’ left, but Kingsley warned him immediately.
“Mr Gordon, please keep your own personal opinions to yourself and rather state them when you are asked for your decision. Thank you.”
“Now as I said, was an extremely dangerous – ”
“Twist of words!”, Gordon screamed again.
“Silence!”, gnarled Kingsley. “Mr Carlisle,”
“Thank you. Now this might have been the actual danger Mr Snape saw, regarding his knowledge that Mr Kareijev showed an aversion to Muggles ever since his childhood days, which might origin in the fact that he had grown up in a Muggle orphanage, realising that he was differing from everyone around him, not knowing why, until he received notice from Durmstrang, having been the school closest to the orphanage. He did all his desired research and came to the conclusion that also his parents must have been Muggles, unwilling to raise an `abnormal´ child and therefore have abandoned him. This had caused inner troubles for many years, which made him eventually go looking for his parents, following a mere hint. However, his search in Germany had brought him no clarification of that matter, and he could return to Durmstrang, convincing everyone to be at least Half-Blood, like all the years before. It was not until his time on the run from Lord Voldemort in the Second Wizarding War that he coincidentally learned of his parents to have indeed been Muggles, practising as self-proclaimed Shamans in their Udmurt village for years until they had been hunted for having given birth to a child that appeared to be the host of demons.”
“So it was clear to villagers somewhere in the middle of nowhere that Mr Kareijev was surrounded by an ominous aura already as a baby?”, a woman asked.
“No. I rather see this as fear due to him not only having been born with the magical genome, but as a Metamorphmagus.”
The murmurs were back to the courtroom, and so was Igor’s sheepish grin of yellow teeth, relishing in the awestruck groans when he took on the exact appearance of Kingsley, only that his grin and clothes remained. On a dig of Severus’ elbow he transformed back, pouting.
“As everyone familiar with the term might have also heard that Metamorphmagi are already able to change minor physical features such as hair colour or shape of nose and limbs only minutes after their birth,”, Francis spoke on, “It might have indeed scared everyone in that isolated village. This fact is most likely the only reason why they fled and left their child behind in care of strangers, unable to see it dead either. And this awareness may have also made him take on his birth name again. He had come to acknowledge his true origin, seeming to be rather proud that his parents hadn’t killed him for what he was.”, Igor only shrugged indifferently on it. “Now to return to his time in Germany, Mr Snape must have known enough about him already when they met, that he considered himself responsible for Mr Kareijev’s next steps and therefore sought for a way to allow him to live his urge to – ah – well, make use of knives. It was of course only a benefiting side-fact that the local butcher also spoke Swedish, which Mr Kareijev had learned during his time in Durmstrang, and thereby could prevent misunderstandings in the butchery.”
“So you would say,”, McGallaham interrupted again, “That Mr Snape was clever and quick thinking enough to find a given coincidence the best way to save the students of Durmstrang from their brutal teacher?”
“Quite, yes. When having returned between wars, he had been reported to have become much less violent.”
Now Igor seemed rather appalled, obviously never having considered it to have been that way; of various actually; and confronted Severus with an insecure stare. Severus though remained calmly ignorant, his eyes following Francis as he paced on.
“I believe the – ah – involuntary experiment – to understand the actual potential danger Mr Kareijev could mean to others, found its peak when the two of them decided to return to Britain and infiltrate Voldemort’s party on their own. With the initiation rite.”
Curious silence filled the courtroom again, and Igor only studied Severus’ deep breathing, knowing, understanding, that Francis was right in ways, that without him, he might have never had his sick need under control.
“Excuse me,”, a man two rows above Kingsley faintly raised his hand, “But this is the second time this initiation rite has been mentioned. I believe, none of the present has witnessed such. And I may be mistaken, but the subtle hints make me believe it is essential to understand their approach, their procedure in the case we actually are to debate here?”
“Very well,”, Francis sighed, as he had clearly intended analysing that later, but adapted to the circumstances, “I think it would be best if you – ?”, he addressed Severus, who cleared his throat and straightened.
“As Francis already hinted, after my mother’s death, Igor and I spent another half a year together, on Crimea, where we tried to live a quiet life. But we couldn’t miss what was going on in Britain. So at one point we believed to have had enough – or certainly, Igor needed a challenge.”, that one only sighed with a smirk. “So we unceremoniously; as unceremoniously as we could, you must see; decided to go to Britain and start our own secret rebellion.”
“Thinking you were a match.”, blinked the man who had asked.
“Oh they were.”, grinned Alastor sheepishly.
“To cast light on the rite everyone is so desperately longing for to hear,”, Severus continued to the generally more and more curious Gamot members, “Death Eaters weren’t Death Eaters. There were those in the innermost circle, and there were those that, let us say, slithered along. In the circle they were called Worms, and indeed, the serpents on their Dark Marks were actually cleverly disguised blindworms that could only be told apart by the select few.”, now it was Draco to sigh, and nod, faintly. “The rite was designed to separate the desperate nutters that merely sought company or were considered useful in any way for Voldemort and the real psychopaths that were willing to go beyond death for the cause. Those who would obey without hesitation, without question. But of course that was never fully the individual case.”
“As we have seen with people like Lucius Malfoy.”, someone noted, causing almost every last colour from Draco’s face to vanish.
“For example, yes. The rite was held in a secret room we were Apparated to, blindfolded. Lined up around the walls without doors or windows were all that were in the Circle at that point, him in the very front, with two victims already prepared.”
“Victims?”
“You see, I will not go further into the – ah – application process – here, but once noticed, the Dark Lord had of course had his research done. The first selection process that would scrap those completely unworthy. He wanted to see actions, no fooling around. So obviously he had come to acknowledge that we both had already managed to kill at least animals purposely at young age.”
“To those unfamiliar with Mr Snape’s record,”, Francis interrupted, “He had been caught in a broom cabinet when experimenting and testing Dark Magic on a, as I may point out, single mouse he had put the Gemino Curse on.”, confused whispers went around. “Yes, on a living being. An art he had later perfected and apparently passed on to Mr Kareijev, who had perfected it even further, to the point where he could perform it on himself and thereby prevent actually being killed multiple times. But back to the initiation.”, all eyes were eagerly on Severus again.
“Now, knowing of this, he of course expected us to demonstrate our skill.”, Severus continued. “Both of us had expected such, but I had not expected to see so many people I had known previously, and, shocking me the most apart from one, our victims to be two I had been in class with, let alone, that I had always found them admirable. One of them having been Madeline Kendall, who had been one of the few in my year that too had written a Thesis, with all her life ahead of her. The other, Professor William Crowarth, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”
Hermione gasped – something suddenly clicked in her head, something she had no idea was suddenly there, without warning or notice.
“Wait – ”, she muttered. “Didn’t – didn’t you once say, he killed him?”
“You know I admire your brain and how it desperately tries to imitate the unfortunate one I call my own, in times, but,”
“No – ”
“Would you let me continue, Hermione?”
“Of course.”, she swallowed and sank back down in her seat, not having noticed until then that she had sat up at all.
“So there we were,”, Igor continued instead however, “Surrounded by this black mass of eagerly awaiting nutters, having to, quite frankly, flip a coin who would kill whom! But how to admit that I had never even tried to use the Killing Curse before?”
“You hadn’t?”, someone above the witness box chuckled.
“Surprised? Well, what would Voldemort have been if I had had to confess that? What would I have been? Probably dead myself. A wizard that had killed but not by use of the Killing Curse, yet still wanted to join his rows? Nuh-uh.”
“But what did you do to solve this potential problem?”, Kingsley, and all others explicitly looked at Severus again.
“Exploiting a fortunate misfortune.”, he smirked, quite bitterly though. “You might remember a certain bounty on insider information in the late seventies, Kingsley?”
“I – do. And as I recall, someone did speak up, and was rewarded as the information had been valid, yet sadly too many had managed to escape the raid.”
“Exactly. So I happened to have looked around, and who did I see? Emerich Peterson, from the Improper Use of Magic Office. Someone most of you might remember for his infamous ragged linen suits. And what did he wear beneath his black cloak? A sleek robe of finest shimmering silk, with gold buttons, and I can tell you, my first impression had not been wrong, as I saw them up close long enough. They had been of pure gold.”, the natural consequence was immediately understood. “You see, Kingsley, I am a man of principles. I always was, and you know that. And one of the things I simply cannot stand is being a sneak, and most especially, out of pure selfishness and greed. Therefore I did the only thing that seemed appropriate: I proved worthy to be the spy Voldemort had surely sought to have under his command, kept him prancing on the verge by using Legilimency against various of the present, hinting out the one or other secret without mentioning names that weren’t necessary, as everyone knew who I was talking about, lastly revealing Peterson’s secret of sudden wealth.”
“I assume, Voldemort was not happy.”
“Oh he was happy. Upset, yes, but quite glad I had found the traitor without having even been in the room for much more than ten minutes.”
“So you killed him instead?”
“No. I left him to Igor’s mercy.”, everyone faltered for a few moments, trying to see where this was going. “It was, to say, a rather peculiar experience. Troubling, but peculiar.”, Igor himself turned slightly red. “It was his first murder of a human. But his scientific approach made it rather unclear to me if he fully understood what he was actually doing, or if the way he did it, compensated his nervousness.”
“I still don’t know either.”, Igor said quiet, eyes wide open but very calm, almost fascinated by his own thoughts. “But I think, I did scare everyone a little, including myself. Still it was an interesting experience and if it hadn’t been for Severus’ impatience because Peterson refused to confess the obvious and he therefore started to pester him with facts until he finally gave in, I don’t think I would have been able to continue. Yet something inside me told me that it was crucial to continue. Not for surviving this – trial – but – but for myself – I – I needed to know – somehow I needed to know what it was like.”
“And?”, a very pale woman on the left said, her high cheeks fallen in from her tension. “What was it like?”
“How to describe this? It – it was somehow – relieving – I don’t know – to see that all that I had learned about anatomy was quite right – and still see the difference between books and reality. But also, somehow, I knew if the guy hadn’t been a traitor, and as Severus said, regardless of the side he stood on, a traitor out of mere greed, I am not so sure I could have killed him. All the innocent animals I killed – and still I might not be able, not even today, to kill a purely innocent person.”
Even Francis needed a moment of thinking. He used it to study the faces around, and so did those in the witness box. It was obvious that the Wizengamot members were confused how someone could be such a –
“So you say, you may be a psychopath?”, wondered McGallaham out loud, “But – an honest one?”
“I don’t know.”, Igor whispered, eyes still as wide open like an abandoned puppy that was brooding over the world, why it was the way it was.
“I would rather use the term sociopath. But as you hopefully can see, ”, Francis decided to break the tension, “This has not only cast some light on their past, but also on some aspects of their personalities. While Mr Kareijev is, like described in the mentioned letters, for example, unpredictable, very temperamental, his mood possible to change drastically within a split second, Mr Snape is mostly calm and restrained, calculating.”
“We still don’t know what happened to the other two.”, McGallaham threw in.
“I killed Madeline upon her own mental plea to not die by Voldemort’s hands, without anyone really noticing it, in a brief moment during the interrogation.”
“But they must have seen the flash!”
“I made her neck break.”, Severus said grim. “And after having pointed this fact out at the end of it, Voldemort killed Crowarth, deeming him not required for the initiation anymore.”
“Now.”, Francis cleared his throat as to repress another disturbing silence. “As I was saying, he has, as he sometimes claims, inherited a sort of empathy from his father, also a Muggle I find myself obliged to mention, who was known for his propensity to domestic violence, but rather like in the case of Mr Kareijev’s possible behaviour, Tobias Snape’s outbursts solely happened under the influence of alcohol, which he detested from shortly after he had bereft and left his wife and child while he had been drunk. Eileen Snape, closely having survived his latest attack, had thereafter done her best to keep him away. This may have also been one of their sons’ motives to limit and control Mr Kareijev’s spontaneous brutality, as well as – ah – binges. Yet half a year into the Second Wizarding War he met his father again at last, having learned what he had made of his life ever since, of how he still loved his wife and child but too ashamed of himself, had remained in cautious distance on his own. Yet only days after their reunion, Tobias Snape died from – ”
“Did Mr Snape accept his father’s change?”, asked another woman. “Or did he – ”
“If you would let me finish my sentence,”
“I did forgive him.”, Severus himself answered, grimly fighting back tears. “Many years prior to that. I had somehow forgiven him, if you want to know the precise date, on September first, in nineteen seventy-three, when I found him following us in respectable distance in Kings Cross Station. My mother spotted him too, but she had momentarily been too scared to see the remorse in his eyes or the faint smile he gave me when he found me distracted by my friends who had caught up and surrounded me immediately.”, Hermione gasped so loud, several heads turned at her for a moment. “Yes, I have forgiven him.”, Severus said visibly disgusted and upset, with such darkness in his face it was hard to understand how it could remain pale. “So don’t you even dare to continue assuming I might have possibly killed him. It was cancer that shot him into the river.”
“River? So he drowned himself? Why didn’t you mention that?”
“No, Madam Stevens. He didn’t. Unless you would like to hint on what he had done to himself before the alcohol stopped him unintentionally,”
“I take it, this is an idiom,”, asked Kingsley, “Referring to the Tale of the Three Brothers? The story you three took as your inspiration for your fake identities? Where the river equals death, like in ancient Greek myths?”
“Yes.”, Severus said courtly and sighed when Igor tenderly took his right hand, the confusion having stepped aside for sadness.
“Thank you, Minister, for providing me the link to the next chapter.”, meant Francis; Kingsley only nodded once. “Those, as you call them, fake identities, are not nearly as fake as they might appear. They show indeed similarities to our three `Sisters´ as they called themselves, possibly on the one hand meaning to lay a false trail for the Auror Office, as well as on the other their occasional; I have to admit; behaviour like a group of teenage girls.”
At least those were words that could cast an instant smile onto many people’s lips. The three in the middle smirked into different directions, and Severus’ look briefly met Harry’s warm grin.
“I see, I struck a nerve there.”, Francis smirked as well. “So to get back to seriousness, the way the personalities of the Peverell brothers are described like, do somehow reflect in those of the three behind me. Mr Kareijev could probably best be identified with Antioch, a person full of himself, ready to kill at any moment to prove himself, with a liability to drama. Exactly the reason Antioch was killed and knowingly the reason why so many people wanted Igor dead. Now – er – Mr Moody – and Mr Snape would probably be harder to correlate. They both show significant similarities to Cadmus as well as Ignotus, but I would most likely say that in disregard of his descent, Mr Snape would rather be Cadmus, having lost nearly everyone he ever loved in his life, ready to die for both the welfare of the loved ones remaining and for seeing the lost again just once.”
Severus dropped his head, but his sigh was not nearly as clear as Hermione’s, as she at last was close to slightly understand what kind of person he was. The guilt in her eyes was actually touchable.
“So Mr Moody would be Ignotus, trying to avoid death ever since he got aware of his own mortality. And everyone who has spent at least a rather private minute in a room with him, can agree with me that this has lead to a paranoia of enormous scale.”
“I am not paranoid!”, growled Alastor like in the Weasleys’ kitchen.
“Shove it.”, Aberforth chuckled. “Everyone knows how you walk the streets or refuse every tiny bit of food or liquid that’s offered to you by people you haven’t spent at least ten years of legit trust with.”
“He does that too!”, Alastor madly pointed his thumb at Severus, nearly piercing his left eye.
“For good reason!”, said the almost impaled, at once with his son and Francis.
“So do I!”
“I thought, that had been settled ages ago?”, sighed Igor boredly, scratching his head.
“Not nearly, you flea-pad.”
“Hey!”, Igor gnarled. “I don’t have fleas! Those are merely tingling nerves in my scalp!”
“Fleas.”, Alastor puffed and crossed his arms.
“If it pleases you, I’ll have a look at him later.”, Francis moaned to close the discussion before it would escalate – again.
“Thanks.”
“No, thanks. I – ”, Igor hissed, but was shushed by Severus who gave his hand a squeeze, when the woman from earlier cleared her throat.
“Yes?”, Francis noticed it as well.
“I am not fully sure whether I only imagined that, but didn’t you mean to hint on Mr Snape’s descent?”
“That is correct.”, he now crossed his fingers in front of his groin, pressing the tips of his thumbs together. “It seems, your sessions have not nearly been as successful?”
“And I believe, you have no right to even stand down there, having been his friend for ages? Wasn’t it – ah – that you lent him – your appearance on many occasions?”
“That is not in direct connection with the events in question and I will not – ”
“But you won’t deny it either, would you?”
“Madam Stevens,”, said Kingsley, “I advise you to wait for Mr Carlisle to be done. You may submit your report right after, if you are so eager to – ”
“Oh no, I think I have – absolutely – the right to intervene – here.”, she blatantly raised and climbed down to the centre of the courtyard, pushing groaning people aside. “Yes, I may have abandoned my position in the witness box upon hearing that Mr Carlisle would like to take part in the process in my place, feeling that he might be taken more serious than me after this paper named The Quibbler downright mangled my reputation last month,”, she glared at Luna while she straightened, “But in regard of where this might lead, I can just not ignore the law. Justice must be prevailed. And if only to save the Wizengamot from public harassment.”
“Very well.”, Kingsley huffed. “For the protocol, Cassandra Eleanor Stevens, psychologist and originally designated as the independent psychological referee before she decided, as she stated, she would rather step aside for Mr Carlisle. Madam Stevens, you may.”
“Thank you, Minister. Now, Mr Carlisle, what kind of descent are we talking about here and how is this relevant again for the case?”
“I don’t know whether it is relevant for the case, but I would say it is rather relevant to understand how they have come to even consider identifying with the Peverell brothers.”
“Meaning?”, the woman frowned.
“Mr Snape here, is a direct descendant of Ignotus Peverell.”
Silence fell over the courtroom once more. But this time, nobody even dared to breathe. It took most people nearly half a minute to figure all it could mean and as sure as someone would have to raise their voice to break the silence, questions developed among the Wizengamot’s members.
“Forgive me,”, said Braddock.
“No.”, huffed Severus.
“Pardon?”
“No, I won’t forgive you.”
“Yes, yes.”, he was brandished off. “But I – does that mean, those Peverell brothers indeed lived?”
“Yes.”, confirmed Francis. “Antioch was thrown into a mass grave near Timworth. There are records of a monk, precisely naming him as the `worst of sorts among the beasts thrown into this hellish pit´. It appears logical that Timworth was the village Antioch murdered his opponent at and lastly met death himself. Cadmus quite likely is not buried anywhere since he had had committed suicide. His name only appears in Ignotus’ diaries, which also carry the origin for the tale. The tale itself is nothing but an even more ornate version of excerpts from his diaries. Ignotus himself lies in Godric’s Hollow.”, many gasped now.
“But as you say, those are ornate texts, it is yet not clear, whether these so-called Hallows exist, is it?”, there was a visible flicker, a spark of strange sort in not only Braddock’s eyes and Stevens crossed her arms, upset that she had been excluded so quickly again.
“He did never explicitly write that it was them to have created these objects, no. But that does not really matter for the fact that the suspects in this trial identify with the brothers for many reasons.”
“Reasons. You said the word. Isn’t it that this whole trial is designed to clarify their reasons?”, asked Stevens.
“Yes.”, meant Kingsley upon a direct look of her.
“And, has Mr Carlisle, among some here, stated that the suspects have explicit reasons for their thoroughly planned moves? As far as I could – ”
“Indeed.”, Francis said.
“So would it not be – in question whether – whether the suspects fully believed in the rumours?”, Braddock frowned. “That Ignotus did not simply write down fantasies, but that he wanted to get rid of a burden he and his brothers had loaded upon themselves? Indicating that those objects actually exist? That they are the result of exceptional magical craftsmanship, rather than the imagination of a desperate man of the medieval times? Minister, would you allow me to ask this question?”
“Didn’t you already?”, chuckled Alastor; Kingsley nodded, curious himself.
“Well?”
“As for myself, I have never held them in hand. But that does not mean, I don’t believe it. Many people believe in a sort of god. But how many of them have actually seen one and can say for sure that this is what they’d seen?”, Alastor winked with his normal eye, while his magical eye examined every of the witnesses, Aberforth, Hermione, Ginevra and Harry having straightened in their seats.
“Mr K-”
“No, I haven’t touched them either.”, Igor sighed. “Although I would have liked to. But some of us here have very strict principles.”
That eventually made everyone look at Severus, who bore the incredible mix of expressions he faced with perfect lack of emotion directed at Kingsley, his hands on the side rests of his chair like a king, his legs having remained crossed – while only his right hand was still held by Igor. His breath steady, his eyes drilled into the Minister’s, but with no mean for achievement. After long seconds of tense silence and half a calm blinking, his dark eyes met with a pair of green ones. Harry looked at him no different. And although they would not directly communicate, Harry barely raised his voice, yet clearly audible in the quiet, without breaking eye contact with his father.
“I have.”
It took another long while for that revelation to sink in. Hermione was the first to gasp, if only after some seconds, realising what Harry was about to risk. Ginevra lowered her head and Aberforth was momentarily angry. While Luna seemed to have gotten lost in a different world, Minerva was as confused as many. Ivory was among those who pricked up their ears. And Draco was literally becoming misery in person although he evidently tried to lock out anything that was going on around him.
“Harry – ”, Severus aspirated even more quiet.
“It’s about time, don’t you think?”, but his father’s lips only stood ajar. “About time that we set an end to it? The whole hunt?”
“Harry, ye’re no’ goin’ ter – ”
“You are out of this. It is on me, and you know that.”
“Shu’ up righ’ now.”, he was not mad at him, but desperate.
“No.”
“I ’aven’ risked tha’ much fer ye ter – ”
“They exist, and I have held all three in my hands.”, along with more gasps, Severus’ eyes shut and his head sunk deeper than Ginevra’s. “I have made use of all three. Both the Cloak of Invisibility and the Resurrection Stone have been of great help throughout at least the second war, including its final battle. The Elder Wand was what actually killed Voldemort, as a result of his failure to understand that he had made many mistakes on his way to believe he was its master. After the battle I repaired my own cracked wand with it before I made sure it ended up where it belonged in my opinion. And no one will ever get this information out of me. I will take it to my very grave.”
“’Specially since ’is information’s useless,”
“And I also made sure that the Resurrection Stone is lost. It must be great luck to ever stumble upon it again. Even for me, since I can’t remember where exactly I intentionally dropped it. Summoning would be useless since those three objects cannot be summoned by anyone but their rightful owner.”
“And the cloak?”, Braddock asked with excitement.
“With its rightful owner.”, nearly all eyes were on his father again.
“I was by far not its last owner.”, that one sighed.
“I guess whoever seeks it, would have to kill your son then?”, joked another man.
“Impractical. Very impractical. That would, if any, only make you the owner of the Elder Wand and that does not even lie as it was meant to fade with his ultimate death. So does the stone.”, Harry’s brows narrowed and his mouth fell open with indignation. “Should you really wish to use the cloak, I advise you to beg its owner for granting you usage. But if you killed the owner, I can guarantee that you will achieve nothing but the cloak to be passing on. And even if you managed to kill every of Ignotus’ remaining blood relatives before I can make sure to apply Igor’s methods on you with my own hands and make you seek for the Resurrection Stone on your way into Death’s slimy fingers, it would merely destroy the cloak. If no heir is left, the cloak crumples. If no heir is left, the Resurrection stone breaks in two, lastly. If no heir is left, the Elder Wand will burn itself, even if the latest master is not related to the brothers. They made sure of that. Not that this matters though,”
“And how come you think – ”
“I have dedicated to my family’s history ever since I got to hear this tale from my mother. Francis here would have never been able to quote Ignotus’ supposedly lost diaries, if I hadn’t found them. Those diaries are as lost as Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem or the Hallows themselves.”
“We destroyed the diadem,”, Hermione noted. “And it – ”
“A clump of metal in a nest of lonely burning Ashwinder eggs?”, Harry chuckled. “You really thought the fire destroyed that appearance of the room?”
“What?”
“It ruined most of the things stored in there, but even amidst ashes, things can remain recognisable.”, said Severus.
“You meant, the items would be ruined once no heir was left.”, Kingsley pondered. “Does that mean, they had an agreement that would affect each bloodline? Because, as far as I see it when recalling the story, Cadmus killed himself because he could not get back his dead fiancée?”
“It might surprise you that both she and her daughter, much later, have been buried indeed. This is clear once you stumbled upon that grave. A Peverell woman with the birth date of her mother’s death date right under her? To me this appears like she died in childbirth, before they could actually marry, and his daughter might have been buried by Cadmus himself, if one was to analyse the dates and figured that she too seems to have died her mother’s death. A tragedy that appears to have been inherited even down to the Gaunts. Latest to be known was Merope Riddle, in sorts.”
“Merope Riddle?”, Stevens asked.
“Mother of Tom Marvolo Riddle.”, Ginevra answered, shivering obviously from her memories of what a fragment of this person had done to her. “Commonly known as Lord Voldemort, a name he had built himself from the letters of his real name. He had owned the stone, framed in a ring, without even knowing what he had possessed. Turned the ring into a Horcrux.”
“Are you talking about the ring that cursed Albus when he tried to destroy it?”, Kingsley moaned.
“Yes.”, Severus continued. “He destroyed the Horcrux, but caught himself a curse prior to that. Quite likely from not only the ring, though also by meaning to inflict damage to the Resurrection Stone when destroying the ring. And yes, Tom Riddle is dead, but I can say for sure that the stone is as intact as Albus left it.”
“How the heck did you find it?”, Harry grunted.
“That is a question I never asked the finder.”
“The finder?”, understanding better than he should have, his head turned towards –
“I never asked that either,”, Luna said, dreamily as usual. “But it appears that Thestrals do tend to find the lost, does it not?”
“Thestrals. Sure.”, Harry huffed. “Though that does not justify moving the wand too.”, his eyes were back down in the middle.
“I never said, I moved it. What I said is that it does not even lie as it was meant to fade with your ultimate death.”, it was not until then that several people came to become curious and a number of the others understood the reason, yet decided to ignore it. “I haven’t laid my hands on it. Not once in my life.”
“I think, we have drifted a little off the pivotal matter,”, Kingsley realised. “Mr Carlisle?”
“Tz.”, Stevens snorted.
“Ah yes. I think, we parted with their motive to identify with the Peverell brothers? Yes. Yes, we did. Now, I would also not want to miss another detail about their way of thinking, namely by the choice of their names as `Sisters´ and their respective masks, which are in connection to their origin. The name Abelarda, which Mr Kareijev took on, is old Italian and I would associate it with traits such as strength and determinedness. The latter rather, projecting it on Mr Kareijev. The mask is a Venetian Volto mask, which he has formerly bought as a gift for Mr Snape. A private matter, so I have been told, has so much comic background to it, I could not get hold of it. However, it perfectly fits Mr Kareijev’s affection for all sorts of pomp and glamour. Second, Jeanne, Mr Snape’s alias, wore a traditional French Mardi Gras mask, however its limited design rather reflects the tragedies in Mr Snape’s life. After all, the tears of blood are not only shocking to look at in regard of the mask’s gentle smile. I would interpret this as a hint on his general way to deal with his life. To carry on, no matter how hard it is, how much blood there is spilt. Not to lose focus.”
“Or that he didn’t care how much blood would have to be spilled to make the world a happier place in his opinion?”, Stevens considered. “Could it not also be interpreted that way?”
“It could, yes. Now, taken that this whole mask idea was clearly Mr Kareijev’s, since he proudly insisted on having bought all three, I would not dare to try unveiling all the precise meanings he has put into them. Mr Moody’s mask, a Chinese opera mask, another hint on Mr Kareijev’s favours, namely grand drama. He is a drama queen and no one would want to try negating that.”
The subdued snickers were drowned by his words, but everyone got to see the pout return to Igor’s face. However this time, it was a rather embarrassed pout, knowing himself that it was the truth.
“Since all three of them speak Mandarin Chinese fluently, I assume he was so in love with the country the other two had to learn the language too, in order to understand him, should he have one of his, well, dramatic moments. And the name Feng, Mr Moody has been known under, is the original Chinese name for the male Phoenix, meaning nothing but how he died in the flames of a battle, but raised from the ashes – even if Asian Phoenixes differ a lot from the rest of their kind. I see this as a twisted hint on the slight interculturality of the trio, especially considered that the region of western Siberia Mr Kareijev was born in, is known to have witnessed interbreeding of Asian and European Phoenixes. For more on that matter, I’d suggest you have a little chat with Mrs Scamander and her husband, however.”
“So from that I can understand that not only the masks; I take them as an ironical hint that the usually masked Death Eaters would be tracked and killed by masked figures; but also all three names where Mr Kareijev’s idea?”
“What a clever woman you are.”, Igor grinned at Stevens. “At last.”
“Then, would you, Mr Kareijev, please tell us facts, rather than the assumptions Mr Carlisle has conjectured from the apparently limited information he has been able to gather throughout your individual sessions with him to furnish psychological opinions?”
“And you think the information you could suck was more valuable?”
“Mr Kareijev,”, his malevolent sneer upset her.
“I have no idea what Severus told you, but seeing that you didn’t get to know facts about his parents,”
“Mr – ”
“Ah but yes, of course. It was not a therapy, right? Like you unsuccessfully tried it with me? It was an interrogation, am I right?”
“Not nearly.”
“Oh then I guess, your were rather soliloquising, weren’t you?”, he tried to interpret Severus’ expression, but there was nothing to be interpreted there.
“Now if you want it that way, as Mr Carlisle here already tried to describe, should I not rather finally lay the last ounces of your personalities open? That Mr Moody is knowingly paranoid, with the unavoidable constant chance he might attack each and everyone who even blinks in a moment he considers wrong? Or that Mr Kareijev is a loose canon? Even worse than his friend? His mood indeed possible to change so drastically that within a split second a friend can be seen as a foe by him? And that he can not only, as he clearly demonstrated, turn into everyone desired, but also turn everything in his quite wide summoning distance into a sort of weapon, preferably mortal blades?”, Kelton startled, clutching her quill tight now. “And I may point out that neither of the three would need a wand or be able to move at all in order to perform incredibly powerful magic? Or that those mental powers allow Mr Snape Dementor-like behaviour, among so much else?”
“Goodness,”, Francis chuckled, “Everyone knows he looks like a Dementor from behind when he’s wearing a black cloak.”
“I said behaviour, not appearance, Carlisle. Or didn’t you know that he can infest everyone’s mind and fill it with visions of true horror, while he can not only literally but actually suck the warmth from any room?”, there was another of those quiet moments of humming murmur.
“Gone a little too far in your session with him, have you?”, Alastor chuckled when she clearly swallowed down some memory, curling her lips then.
“What I want to say is that they are dangerous, Minister.”, she had composed herself. “Utmost dangerous. It would be impractical to set them free. We won’t know whether they will not attack anyone anymore. It is irresponsible to let such people run around. And if the other two may manage to slither from arguments, there is no denying, as there is an immense load of proof, that Mr Kareijev is an explicit danger to all. One cannot simply ignore his psychotic tendencies to diabolic acts, no matter how he cunningly insisted on a supposed preference in victims.”
“Yes, I have a need.”, Igor confirmed. “Yes, you may call it a psychotic, sadistic addiction. But I don’t need to kill a Death Eater a week – or any other human being, if you fear so now. That was just a spare time fun. I am totally fine with animals.”
“So, as long as you find a job at a butchery, the world is safe?”
“You see, I own a butchery now, if I already have to spark your memory. So don’t worry. As long as Severus does the finances and you don’t provoke me – yieeesss.”
She, and most others, could do nothing but stare at him, and he stared back at her, fierce, nearly impaling her increasing blinking.
“I can control this side of mine I have lastly given the name Abelarda.”, he now spoke quietly and coldly into the silence. “And if I can not, Severus can. But you? Can you control your fear that infests minds likewise? Makes them change their opinion?”, his mouth began to form its almost famous already Cheshire-cat-grin when she took her time to respond.
“So if it was spare time activities, what will you actually – do as such now?”
“Oh I don’t know,”, it wasn’t clear whether he feigned the pondering or not, “Sex? After all I’m married?”
“Married?”, Stevens looked more appalled than ever.
“Yes. But just to make this clear, he may be my husband, but he is in no way gay.”
“Drop it.”, Severus murmured. “None’s gonna ge’ tha’ anyway.”
“Oh, I do!”, beamed Luna.
“But I don’t,”, meant Alastor, “And that’s saying something, as I’ve shared a house with them for nearly two decades. So yeah, I don’t know how, I don’t know why, and I don’t know how even ever, but they strangely love each other enough to yell down the house before it falls all silent, at least once a week. Let alone the classic quarrels.”
“Well,”, Harry threw in very quiet and making his father and that one’s husband turn red and Hermione choke at an instant, “Dad’s once justified it with ``You cannot spell `psychotic´ without `hot´.´´, if I may quote.”
“But seeing as that certain Potter-pair over there – ”, Alastor gave them a faint indicating nod, not seeming to have heard Harry, “’S been living a similar madness, and they share rings, and they’ve had a ceremony with some priest, I’d say, yes, the duo at my right is nothing but an ordinary married couple, may you believe it or not. And what’s two rings anyway, if they’ve already acted according to it for about half a century.”
“Yes. As I was saying,”, Francis meant to change the topic, but was stopped by Stevens’ recovered determinedness.
“We haven’t heard about the third. What about the name Jeanne? Jeanne d’Arc? Joan of Arc? The Muggle martyr? Have you chosen this name for him before he made you lose your aversion for Muggles or after?”
Igor though didn’t answer. His grin vanished instantly, he kept staring up at her with pure loathing. Everyone could see that he hadn’t raised from his seat because Severus had tightened the grip around his hand again.
“Ah, I see, you do not wish to cooperate anymore? Or did you ever? What does the name Jeanne stand for?”, she insisted.
“Jeanne d’Arc.”, Igor murmured grimly, yet in a serious tone nearly no one in the room had ever heard. “As you so cleverly investigated. The name originally was meant as an insult, as he also meant to fight the Dark Lord for the freedom of Muggles. I meant that if he went that way and someone would catch any hint that he wasn’t disgusted by Muggles, he would die as a virgin, before he would turn nineteen even. He proved differently. Not only that he had already lost his virginity before we met, but that he knew very well to conceal nearly everything he wanted. The name became a synonym for how he could be exactly like that woman while being nothing like her. He gave his life for a cause, but rather like her, always honest, genuineness in person, he literally pressed his arse into all their faces and they didn’t even notice it because he knew well how to wash himself. You call me wayward? What do you call him, then?”
“I see. But do you really believe, casting a bad light on him in a trial, would save you? It didn’t last time, if you can recall. It was not his name that set you free. And if you really are married to – ”
“And I see, you got what I am trying to tell you. It does not matter how much you decry him. You will never get him imprisoned. Neither of us now.”
“What makes you think – ”
“Because no matter how much is revealed about us, or whether Francis finally gets to the point where he would plead for good intentions combined with however developed insanity, there is always the fact that this council has too many personal opinions.”, those of Igor’s words made many shrink in their seats. “Too many of whom lost at least one person to any of our, as you call them, victims. This trial may be justified, but its circumstances are illegal. A grand amount of the jury is, I believe the right phrase is, disqualified on the grounds of bias; so are you. And it does not matter how often the members would be changed, I guarantee, there is not a single person in the British Wizarding society who is not biased in any way towards any event concerning a Death Eater.”
Upon that, Francis merely took a deep breath and strode back over to his seat, yet did not sit down. He was stopped by curiosity as Kingsley decided to clearly have his final say.
“I can not think of anything that would refute this assertion. So I would really prefer we could put an end to this madness at last. Of course I do not wish to rush anyone, but I think, all of us here had enough time to, as I guess, Mr Kareijev might name it, feed the mob with a decision. They have waited long enough. I am a man of honesty. Many years ago, I have spoken word I clearly recall and am not willing to break, unless it is the will of this council. Your acts are, superficially seen, untenable. But on the other hand, all of us here have to confess that it would not have been necessary if the Ministry had worked properly. I would like to ask each in the Wizengamot to consider specifically that thoroughly when I request your votes on whether the suspects are freed of all charges against them and, in case, to perform community service by providing all their knowledge to the Ministry whenever needed and possible, voluntarily and for the remaining time of their God-given lives; or, overlapping with their philosophy of `an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth´, and explicitly requested by either suspect in case of conviction, sentenced to torture until death.”
Hermione visibly had been the only one unaware of that accord. The shock in her face had never been a bigger than in those moments the fact imprinted itself on her conscience, all grudge forgotten, while the people in plum coloured robes were quietly discussing above the hate-filled face of Barbara Kelton, that slowly transformed into doubt, and then, an agreement she had never meant to allow. Two heads turned at another that looked back up at Kingsley who had received a gesture from the woman to his right.
“Madam Stevens, would you please step aside for the verdict,”, she went over to the rows opposite to the witnesses, though reluctantly. “Now. Igor Kareijev, Severus Snape and Alastor Moody, I would like you to raise from your seats. A decision has been made by the Wizengamot.”
This required some seconds as they would not stand up individually, but simultaneously. For that, Severus had to help up Alastor, without letting go of Igor’s hand, and he took his as well, ready to face the now unavoidable. Igor slightly started to tremble and Severus held his hand a little tighter to calm him, additionally stroking his thumb with his own.
“There will be one voting. Whether it is on your behalf or not, is not on me. I abstain from it. Are you ready to accept it as given and final, without further arguments?”
He received three nods. Hermione’s hands covered her mouth and nose and nearly her eyes as well, unsure whether she wanted to see any further sort of reaction in the courtroom. Ginevra had taken Harry’s hand that had started to tremble as well. Aberforth’s head lowered and he squeezed the inner corners of his eyes with his fingers as though he was getting a headache. Ivory had crossed her arms in unsure anticipation while Minerva turned pale, her lips disappearing. Draco had never been that ashen and his eyes more and more frequently flicked towards the door. No one seemed to notice that Luna’s face had become blank, staring into nowhere.
“Very well. Those believing the crimes of these three men to be too severe as to be offset by any community service provided and therefore asking for death by torture, may lift their hands in the air for a vote now.”
It took several moments for the hands to raise, but Kingsley looked around to count them. There was quite a number of hands, some clearly stretched up high, others lifted rather feebly, but visible enough to be taken as a vote. Both of Alastor’s eyes drifted left and right over the benches like mad, Igor’s were pressed as shut as his quivering lips that lost their colour. Severus’ lips however, barely parted when he scanned the rows, counting for what seemed to be a dozen times, his heart nearly audibly crashing to the floor. Only then Harry would take his eyes off his father for counting the hands himself right before they sunk when Kingsley meant to initiate the countercheck, the hands rushing up before he could even speak on.
“Now those in fav– nineteen to thirty-one; no other abstention.”, he sighed and picked his gavel to conclude the case once and for all. “Cleared of all charges.”
As soon as the last word had reached his ears, Draco jumped up and left.
“What?”, Cassandra Stevens only aspirated by the wooden barrier that separated benches and dock, while Kingsley raised.
Now everything went fast. He must have lost balance and caught himself on his desk, causing the piles of records to sway and sway more and lastly tilt forward. Harry jumped up and flung himself over the barrier, Ginevra only clapping her hands on her head with a gasp. Since the wooden barrier was also an invisible magical barrier to prevent attacks between the parties, this was the only possible way. Harry sped over, pulled Kelton over his shoulder before she knew what was going on and dropped her on the other side before the hundreds of heavy leather folders could crash down onto where she had just sat a moment ago.
Also his father had reacted, but came to halt halfway towards them, blowing a relieved breath. Though he must have noticed what happened behind him as well. Like in slow motion he spun around, finding Igor to struggle with breathing, his eyes losing focus. Francis, who had meant to follow Draco, stopped in place when he saw it, torn between whom he should help.
“Go!”, Severus panted and ran back. “Go! I can ’andle tha’!”
Like a nervous dog, Francis stepped back and forth, but eventually sped outside when Severus caught Igor, whose knees had given in. Alastor nearly fell over as well when he attempted to assist him. Though Severus had already sat Igor onto the floor, his neck against the sitting surface of the chair behind and unbuttoned his collar, pulling out a brown fur pouch from which he took two vials and syringes. Then he carefully pushed Igor’s robe and shirt upwards, which stayed as he wanted them, at around Igor’s stomach. Careful he opened the leather belt and also pushed down his trousers to his hips, giving the right of Igor’s bared skin a cleaning wave of his hand. Alastor had sat down on the middle chair and did his best to hold Igor’s shaking shoulders.
“Thanks.”, Severus mumbled and filled one of the syringes with the liquid from one of the vials while the other two objects stayed floating between them.
“I hope you know what you do,”
“I’d never though’ we’d reach tha’ poin’, bu’ it’s no’ me faul’ ’e lied ’bou’ tha ton o’ chocolate ’e’d ’ad before I go’ up.”, with enormous caution he injected the substance, healing the puncture in a blink, before he tended to his right sleeve. “Combined wit’ tha fac’ tha’ ’e’s ’ad almos’ nut’in’ fer breakfas’; an’ I go’ a feelin’ tha’ it wasn’ ’is stomach tha tea wen’ in,”
The empty vial turned into a strap, with which he ligatured Igor’s right arm and he injected the second filling into one of his ulnar veins. Meanwhile Harry had let go of the court scribe to join them. He knelt down by his father’s left, a hand on his back, the other adjusted his own glasses. Igor’s breathing calmed and he blinked heavily while he slowly recovered.
“Hot chocolate?”, Harry chuckled quietly, but clearly audible in the centre of the silent Wizengamot, everyone looking down on them like frozen.
“A whisky rather.”, Igor sighed dully when his clothes slipped back down.
“Shut it. Or I’ll feed you with a ton of salt.”, grunted Harry.
“Just you try.”
“Kreacher?”, as though he had only stood behind to hear him, the Elf who could barely walk yet still Apparate, tore the air apart with a loud crack, making numerous people jump.
“Yes?”, he hissed, looking around, curious about where he had just landed.
“Could you please get us a cup of hot chocolate?”
“Five teaspoons of sugar, two and a half spoons of natural dark cocoa, please.”, Severus instructed.
“Of course.”, Kreacher nodded artificially and was gone again.
“You want to poison me with sugar?”
“Shu’ up.”
“I don’t even know why you still put yourself to so much bother.”
“Er – ”
“I thought, we had an agreement?”
“Igor – ”
“That we’d stand up proudly in a triangle and together put an end to – ”
“And when did you mean to tell me of that agreement?”, Harry understood how not only the sentence would have ended.
“When it would’ve been necessary ter tell ye. Dun’ tell me, ye ’aven’ noticed wha’ ’appened, Igor?”
“It is over.”, he huffed, but startled like most did as Kreacher was back with a steaming mug.
“Yes. It is over.”, Severus said softly, stroking back his now grey waves when Igor’s shaking hand reached out for the mug; Kreacher was slightly confused as he had never seen him that weakened. “Ye hones’ly ’aven’ ’eard tha verdic’?””
“I – no.”, he had troubles holding the mug without spilling half of it, but Severus supported his left hand that lifted it to his lips. “Goodness.”, he sighed after a sip. “That is some intense crap,”
“Kreacher is sorry, if the brew is not according to the pooch’s taste,”
“Kreacher,”, Harry warned.
“Kreacher is sorry again. Kreacher tends to forget that the pooch has – ah – feelings.”, louder than before, Kreacher was gone.
“It is all right.”, Igor sighed after a bigger gulp. “It is all my fault. I accidentally almost ate him. But what does any of that matter. Why do you even let me sit here and speak.”
“You really didn’t get it, did you?”, chuckled Alastor. “We won, you oaf!”
“Oh yes, nice try.”, he gasped when Severus took the mug from him and placed it on the floor. “What – ”
“Gorij,”, he said even more softly, taking his face in his hands, their noses almost touching and Igor’s shortening hair became a more fiery red than it naturally was.
“What.”
“Jus’ shu’ up. None o’ us is gunna die again. No’ ye’.”
~~#~~