Chapter 43
Lucius Malfoy stood at the centre of courtroom number ten, with the Minister and the whole jury seated above him. The expectations had been that the man would plead 'not guilty' and that he would fight tooth and nail to avoid going to prison.
Yet much to the surprise of everyone, Lucius Malfoy had done no such thing, and had pled guilty to all charges brought against himself, and even now as he stood there at the centre of the Hall, he did not have the look of a defeated man.
"All those who find the defendant guilty...." asked Amelia Bones, and many hands went up, few in fear, few in trepidation, and many in rage. The most prominent one, though, was of his son, the second one who sat in the trial as representative of the House of Black.
"All those in favor of showing mercy...." and this time again, many hands went up, many more than one might have expected, and this time the most prominent one belonged to none other than Harry Potter, the very victim of the man's attacks.
Yet despite his benevolence, the Wizengamont had voted.
"By a vote of 28 to 20, the defendant is found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban...."
BANG!
THE HAERTLESS SON—CASSIUS BLACK! THE BOY WHO LIVED CALL FOR MERCY GOES UNANSWERED!
by Jon Stewart
THE GRUDGE OF A SON—A NEW CHAPTER IN THE BLACK MALFOY RIFT!
by Rita Skeeter
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CASSIUS BLACK
The result of the trial had been a bit different than his expectations, but in the end, despite the strong campaign by 'Harry Potter', Lucius Malfoy had been sentenced to life in Azkaban by the Ministry.
Yet, the Wizarding World was rather flawed, and its greatest fallacy was its worship of its heroes. In just a few weeks, they seemed to have forgotten the severity of the attack and its consequences, and were swallowing the mercy and forgiveness being paraded around by their so-called 'Chosen One'.
"Why are you reading this drivel?" asked Daphne, as they sat in their compartment on Hogwarts' Express.
"It just caught my eye," she said, and she pulled the paper out of his hands, scanning the headlines herself. She pushed back her blonde hair and scanned the Prophet, clicking her tongue.
"Those idiots, calling you 'cold' and 'heartless,'" she scoffed, as Cassius' gaze lingered on the scenery shifting outside the window as the Hogwarts Express carried them to their school for a new year.
And it was not really the words that affected him, but the person instigating it all. And though it may all seem natural at first glance, if one were to focus, they could see the hand drumming up this opinion.
"I don't understand Potter in all this," she added as Cassius's head snapped towards his friend, who seemed quite angry on his behalf.
"Hermione was a friend of his, wasn't she, and he was the one who was attacked," and that was why they called him cold and heartless.
For the benevolent Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice, had chosen to forgive his attacker, yet his very own son had decided to vote against his exoneration. A sentiment that was shared by Draco, if the way he had gazed at him was any indication.
"Perhaps, I should confront him myself and give him an earful..." but he was quick to stop her, as he responded on instinct.
"Stay away from him," his words mad her head snap towards him, as Daphne frowned.
"From who?" she asked.
"Harry," he cautioned, and the frown deepened as Daphne put away the Prophet and asked.
"Why? We are not friends per se, but we have become familiar with one another over the years," she said, and she had been a frequent visitor to Grimmauld Place, so her interaction with Potter had only grown. However, the worrying thing for him was whether that person really was 'Potter' or not.
"Just listen to me on this," he said, not knowing what to say for all he had at this point was a hunch, and though his hunches had a history of being right, that was no way for him to confirm it as of yet.
"What aren't you telling me, Cassius?" she asked, her frustration and anger evident in her tone.
"I thought we were done keeping secrets from one another," and he sighed, rubbing his face.
"Harry's changed quite a bit," he added finally after a minute of thought. Daphne frowned.
"Yes, but why does that matter?" she said, not understanding his apprehension. But how could she, when she did not know of the evil that had housed itself in his scar for years, how Harry was so intimately connected with the most evil wizard this world had ever seen.
"Do you not think it unnatural?" and she was smart enough to understand his insinuations as she picked up the paper once more, as her eyes lingered on the picture of Harry.
"Well, he has ditched those glasses," and now either he wears none or uses a more modern, squarish design.
"He has also grown quite confident," evident in the few interviews he had given to the Prophet, as if he had finally realized the power of his fame and had begun to apply it rather effectively.
"But is it not just Sirius's influence?" she questioned, and perhaps she was right that it was just Sirius's influence, even though he did not believe the argument himself.
"Sirius is one person, and I refuse to believe that just one person can completely change someone's personality," he defended his point of view.
"Then what are you insinuating?" she questioned, and he did not answer at first.
"I just don't think that this is the Harry we know," and he kept his theory to himself, for he did not wish to alarm her any more than he already had. But he wanted to caution her as well, so that she might be on guard, for if he was right and it was indeed the Dark Lord masquerading in Harry's skin, they were in a whole lot of trouble.
"Then who is it?" she questioned, and he shook his head.
"I don't know, but just be cautious. Avoid him as much as you can and tell Tracey, Astoria and the rest of your friends to do the same," and if she doubted him, she did not speak up as she nodded.
"I will do as you say," and Cassius sighed as he turned towards the scenery outside once more, and the skies had begun to darken now, indicating that they were getting closer and closer to their destination.
"And thank you," she whispered, making him frown now.
"For trusting me with this," and given his rather secretive nature.
"You were the one who said it, no more secrets," he said, and she smiled.
"Any progress on Astoria's curse," and now that she had full access to perhaps the most private and prominent collection of books in Britain.
"Yes," and he raised a brow, for despite the good news, she seemed rather down.
"I was able to track down the person who may have cast this curse on our family," and that was good news.
"And who is it?" he asked.
"It's an old family that has now gone extinct," she added as her shoulders.
"Which one?"
"Marcellus Gaunt, the Gaunts were a family that claimed themselves to be direct descendants of..."
"Salazar Slytherin," he completed her sentence, much to her surprise.
"Yes, but how do you know that?"
"Tell me more...."
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ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
After all the troubles that their world had suffered during the Summer, it warmed his heart to see those bright, bubbling, and hopeful faces of his students once more. The world outside had its troubles, with politics, wars, and many other things.
Despite his best efforts, there was little that he could do to spare them from the troubles of the outside world. But in here, in these Halls, he had the power to give them hope, peace, and an opportunity to pursue their dreams without judgment and fear.
And as the last student was sorted, his eyes lingered towards the Gryffindor table, towards the peculiar spot where sat perhaps the most popular wizard in all of Britain. And seeing Harry, his mood grew pensive as he saw him with those new square glasses, and that rather elaborate smile.
He sat with his usual group, which had somehow grown a bit larger though it was missing one of its cornerstones, in Miss Hermione Granger, who had, much to his dismay, pulled out of the school. And despite his many pleadings and assurances, the Grangers had been wholly unconvinced, and now Hogwarts had lost a talent often seen only once in decades.
"Albus," Minerva's voice broke him out of his trance as he rose from his chair, and hundreds of eyes turned towards him, the murmuring growing to whispers and then dying out.
"Welcome to all new students and welcome back to all the older students," he began, his voice, and even now years past his prime, still the students in the hall looked up to him as a hero, as an inspiration.
"Now before we all dive into a rather sumptuous meal, I must bore you with a few important announcements," and he pointed towards the side of the table.
"Firstly, I would like to introduce you all to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor," and Sirius rose from his chair as he received a small cheer and applause from the Gryffindor table.
"He is one of our own alumni and has served as an Auror in the past. I introduce to you all, Sirius Black," and this time the applause was genuine and loud, except from the Slytherin table, which, much like during the rest of the evening, was rather subdued.
"Now, as for the second announcement, sadly, this year the Quidditch House Cup will be cancelled," and the applause turned into groans and moans as he raised his hand so that he could continue.
"For this year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard tournament...."
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The students' dejection at the cancellation of the Quidditch tournament soon turned into excitement for the Tri-Wizard tournament, even though not all of them would be allowed to participate in it.
Still, there was a time when the Tri-Wizard Tournament had come into jeopardy, but their new Minister was rather committed to the cause and wanted to use this to build bridges.
Well, that all would come later, for he heard the Gorgyle guarding his office move as he leaned forward, and soon enough the door to his office opened as the Charms Professor walked in. Young Filius seemed a bit troubled that a student of his had been summoned by him.
"I have brought him as you asked, Headmaster," he said, and behind the former duelling champion was his most prised student, one who he had wanted to talk to ever since the day Peter Pettigrew had been caught alive in these very Halls.
"Thank you, Filius," but the Charms professor did not move as he asked in his squeaky voice.
"I must intervene here, is he in any trouble?" he asked, and Albus shook his head.
"No, not at all. I just wish to inquire about his new name and a few other minor things," and there was some truth to that, though his words seemed to do the trick as the Charms' Professor nodded.
"Ahh, yes. I had forgotten about that. Then I will be on my way," he said, looking towards his student, who nodded.
"Thank you, Professor," and with that, Filius left his office, noticing those grey eyes glance around and probe his surroundings.
And as Filius left, those eyes shifted and met his own as Albus indicated towards the chair opposite to him.
"Please sit, I believe we have quite a bit to talk about, don't we, Mr. Black...." and the young boy nodded as he sat down.
"That we do...."
0000
Miles and miles away, in another country, in another school, another student was called into the office of the school's Headmaster.
The young witch stood in front of a giant of a woman, as she asked nervously.
"You called for me, Headmistress...."
"Yes," the woman began, her tone had a particular accent to it even as she spoke English.
"I was told that you were a student at Hogwarts, Miss Granger?"
"Yes, I was..."
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