Chapter 26.2- Doom Days

“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, 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.