The Trial,

A story by stealacandy

Table of Contents:

Prologue: The Lord knows you are not unintelligent

Chapter 1: 1st Trial: Can't you say something intelligent for a change?

Chapter 2: 2nd Trial: Miscarriage? Isn't that what witches have after Malfoy beats them?

Chapter 3: 3rd Trial: Et tu?

Chapter 4: 4th Trial: And Justice for All

Epilogue: Yet More Trials: Aftermath - I was under the Imperius when I wrote this!

The Trial, epilogue

By stealacandy

Disclaimer: No, still don't own anything.

I don't own it in the evening,

I don't own it in the morn,

It all belongs to JK Rowling,

So keep away your scorn.

Man, my poems, how they suck!

Epilogue: Yet More Trials: Aftermath - I was under the Imperius when I wrote this!

As Harry made his way out of the wizengamot courtroom, a free man, he was hounded by reporters and other assorted members of the media. That is how he now found himself speaking his opinion to the press.

"...The important thing is the Wizengamot set a precedence saying that all the Death eaters who claim they were under the Imperius curse when they committed their crimes are uninteligent beings and so using Unforgivable curses against them, isn't a crime."

"This is why I am now launching a public campaign to press the Wizengamot into passing a decree ordering all of them to be captured and locked in St. Mingus for life - for their own protection, as much as for the protection of the general public - there to be taken off their Dark Lord master's Imperius and put under a new one by the healers that would keep them on their best behaviour and allow and even encourage them to spend their money on donations to good causes instead of on bribes, for a change.

"I feel, however, that the esteemed members of the Wizengamot might not agree with that tack. Locking away Death Eaters, that is, and especially the part about having them donate money to good causes and become contributing members of society. Therefore, I will be looking into finding someone to teach me the killing curse. After all, it, too, is an Unforgivable, and, therefore, completely legal to use against the Death Eaters under Imperius.

"The Wizengamot also decreed that a Death Eater being mad does not make him uninteligent, that he can still choose between good and ill, and therefore the Death Eaters cannot claim insanity - temporary or permanent - as protection either, should they ever decide the claim they are under the Imperius isn't serving them so well any longer..."

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Some time later, after Harry finally defeated Fudge. Oops, I meant to write Voldemort. Hard to keep track of all those Dark Lords, you know.

"Lucius Malfoy, you are to be held in seclusion in the new St. Mungo's ward for the Irrevocably Criminally Stupid where you would be placed under protective Imperius curse for the rest of your natural life." The judge brought the hammer down on the dais.

"But, but..." Malfoy stammered.

"There is no ward for the Irrevocably Criminally Stupid in St. Mungo's", Malfoy's solicitor pointed out.

"Oh, yes," pondered the judge. "Thank you for reminding me." Turning around, he cast, pointing his wand as the stricken Malfoy: "Imperio. Lucius Malfoy, you are to donate ten million galleons to St. Mungo's for the creation of the 'Lucius Malfoy ward for the Irrevocably Criminally Stupid'. You are to donate a further forty million galleons to pay for its upkeep. The rest of your money and possessions, you are to give to the - hmm, it's got to have a name... How about we name it after your wife? That would be a nice gesture, wouldn't you say? Imperio. The rest of your fortune, money, possessions, properties, shares, holds, estates, you are to give over to the Narcissa Malfoy Foundation for compensating the victims of Death Eater crimes, with the understanding they would go first to pay for victims of your own crimes, then those of your family's, and only then those of your colleagues. Would that be all, barrister?"

"You can't do that!" yelled the barrister.

"That is the law," said the judge. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're right, I really can't do it! I am completely sorry, barrister, please accept my apology." He turned back to Malfoy. "Imperio. You are first to pay your solicitor whatever amount you have agreed upon for his expenses."

"But I was working pro-bono!" said the man.

"Oh, that wouldn't do," said the judge. He once more pointed his wand at Malfoy. "Imperio." he cast. "You are to give thirty pieces of silver to your solicitor in payment for his hard work, Mr. Malfoy. Let it not be said this court is not generous. Your barrister has earned his fee and deserves compensation for his efforts, even while he offered to work for free. I hope you don't mind?" Hearing no reply from Lucius, the judge nodded his head in satisfaction, and brought the hammer down again.

Malfoy's solicitor, being a Pure-blood-born wizard, didn't catch the reference, but he was a lawyer, and a shrewd one, he knew an insult when he heard one. Thirty pieces of silver, that's about two galleons, that's not much, in fact, it was rather insulting. He may have worked for free for Lucius, but if he were to be paid, two galleons was far too little a sum to be meaningful. Nevertheless, he was now two galleons richer than he was before... or will be, once Lucius got around to pay him. Getting Malfoy to pay you when you could work for free wasn't something to be taken lightly. And it's not as if there was much he could have done, anyway. Or do still. The wizarding world did not have a system of appeals.

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Walden MacNair was sitting in the accused seat and listening to the blood-traitors and muggle loving fools drone on. Not that he had anything against blood traitors or muggle loving fools, only they were alive, and he could solve that. In fact, he was grateful they existed, otherwise, he would have had to kill pure-bloods instead. And yet they droned, and droned, and he was longing for his axe, or his wand. He would have made short work with them

"... guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, stoning, burning, drowning, chopping, beheading, and if we ever get them back under control, dementor kiss." the mudblood-loving traitor brought the dais down on the hammer. Well, something like that, at least, Walden wasn't too clear on details right then.

"Your honour, I must protest, my client is obviously insane through and through, he's been hacking people, hippogriffs, and kneazle kittens for years, it's obvious he's not in his right mind!" MacNair's defence attorney protested.

"I am sorry, Mr. Schister, the precedent is clear, from the case of the Ministry of Magic vs. Potter, Harry James, 28th June, 1996, it was decreed insanity did not hamper Death Eaters in their crimes nor aided them in their defence .Your client may, or may not be, in fact, insane, that is beside the point. The point is, he is accountable."

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"... he was spying-"

"Oh, not him, too. I guess you have evidence that proves he spied on You-Know-Who?" asked a frustrated judge.

"Spied on Lord Voldemort?" Harry said, as the judges cringed. "Not at all, he was spying FOR Lord Voldemort!" The judges cringed again.

"Well, that's a welcome change," said the judge.

And so Draco Malfoy's trial continued.

It went on, and on, one could say it even dragged. Draco tried to play on the fact he didn't kill Dumbledore and claim he was forced by his Death Eater father to do Lord Voldemort's bidding. The judges pointed out he may have failed to kill Dumbledore, but he did let a cabal of Death Eaters and deranged werewolves into the school, a raid that nevertheless ended up with the murder of Albus Dumbledore.

"Mr. Malfoy, You claim you weren't willing to kill Albus Dumbledore, but you certainly haven't hesitated to try it before, sending him cursed artefacts and poisoned drinks, which ended up in other people's hands, nearly killing them save for the quick actions of several upstanding citizens that have served to save their lives. You claim you bulked at sending a killing curse at him, but we heard testimony you sent several Harry Potter's way. And that you were holding Madam Rosmerta of the Hogsmeade's Three Broomsticks establishment under the Imperius curse for the better part of a year, and that, too, is an Unforgivable curse, and an unforgivable act. You claim you did all these under duress, forced to it by your father, and yet, some of that time, you weren't even in contact with him. You claim you were coerced by the Dark Lord, but he never needed coercion. We've heard testimony from dozens of Death Eaters that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named just used the Imperius curse on them to make them succumb to his will. That is including your unfortunate father, the irrevocably criminally Stupid Lucius Malfoy - with a capital ass. Why would he resort to coercing you when he could simply curse you into obedience instead? You claim you were coerced to kill Dumbledore, but you bulked at it - how, then, didn't you bulk at attempting to kill others? And, if you didn't balk at them, how come you bulked at killing Dumbledore?

"It seems to this court you willingly did your master's bidding, one of the few for whom the Imperius curse wasn't necessary even. We do not make that accusation lightly, Mr. Malfoy. We heard testimony that you've been practically singing the Dark Lord's praise since 1992, and been issuing death threats - to Harry Potter, none the least - since you met him on the Hogwarts Express back in 1991. That doesn't sound as if you were coerced into following him, Mr. Malfoy. It sounds as if you've volunteered. We also heard that you've been assisting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in his schemes as early as `91, too, when he smuggled a dragon into the school. That was months - close to half a year - before your father learned his master was still around, based on the timeline we've established, so how could he have coerced you into taking orders from someone he thought, at the time, dead?

"We believe you wittingly and willingly, even gleefully, cooperated with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Mr. Malfoy. We do not make this accusation, Mr. Malfoy, nor do we take it likely. If we find you guilty, we would take a severe hand in your punishment. Your only saving grace, keeping your neck away from the block as it is, is your own incompetence and stupidity - stupidity, it seems, being one thing you inherited from your I.C.S. father - which resulted in few casualties among your victims and intended victims.

"So, your defence being that you are not guilty due to being under duress is found to be false, Mr. Malfoy. Do you wish, perchance, to change your plea?"

Draco considered it, and conferred with his attorney-at-law.

"Yes, your honours," said the lawyer. "My client wishes to enter a plea of not-guilty due to being under the influence, not under duress."

"You mean to say," said one of the judges in astonishment, "That Mr. Malfoy here attempted murder because he was drunk?"

"Huh?" asked the solicitor.

"Huh?" repeated the other judges.

"Huh?" said the judge who first spoke.

"What do you mean drunk, I said he was Imperiused!" said Malfoy's lawyer.

"Oh, dear." sighed the judge. "You said he was under the influence, not under thrall, that means he was drunk. Or drugged! Do you want to go with that, or do you want to change your plea again?"

Draco and his lawyer consorted together again. They considered it, but really, there was nothing they could do to prove it, and these days, to the lawyer's utmost disgust, the Wizengamot was actually requiring proof to the claims people brought up at court. 'What next,' he thought 'requiring the Daily Prophet to print only things they can actually prove?'

That is not to say they could prove Draco was under the Imperius. All the Death Eaters who claimed it didn't show any signs that they were. But it couldn't be proven they weren't, what with them sticking to the story, and with the Dark Lord dead and everything, so the wizengamot simply accepted those claims at face value and sentenced them unanimously. Draco and the lawyer, knowing very well that he was never under the Imperius, settled on that defence. It never crossed their mind that Malfoy has shown, throughout his sixth year at Hogwarts at least, signs of pressure that could be taken as sign of being under the Imperius curse and resisting it - well, that would be a generous interpretation, I'll grant you that, but they might have tired to go for it to raise enough doubt, and might even have succeeded. But in this case, all the Death Eaters claiming they were under the Imperius actually worked against him.

"My client would like to change his plea to not guilty due to being under thrall by the Imperius curse, your honour," said the solicitor.

"Very well. Your plea will so be registered," said the head judge. Next to him, sighing, the other judge said: "And here I thought he might put up a new defence. I swear, they are regressing!" The head judge conferred with his colleagues, who all nodded in reply. He continued: "Draco Malfoy, you have been cleared of all charges due to being held in thrall under the Imperius curse." Draco took a deep breath in relief. He got off. Except- "You are to be committed to the Malfoy ward at St. Mungo's and held under Imperius for your own protection and the-"

"But I was under the Imperius!" Draco protested, his relieved sigh cut off in the middle.

"We know", agreed the judges, nodding their heads.

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"I was a spy! I spied against the Dark Lord for Dumbledore!" cried Snape.

"Mr. Snape, Dumbledore is a barkeep, why would he want you to spy for him on anyone, let alone He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Not that Dumbledore, you diabolik dunderhead!" yelled Snape, in frustration. "The other one, Albus Dumbledore, you fool."

"Can Albus Dumbledore attest to that?" asked one of the judges.

"No, of course not, he's dead."

"You killed him, you mean." interjected another judge.

"Well, yes, I did, but he ordered me to, you see, I spied on the Dark Lord, yet as he was becoming suspicious of me, Albus suggested if I were to kill him, it would raise my standing in the Dark Lord's eyes and remove any sliver of suspicion or doubt I was his man through and through."

"You are right in one," said the judge again. "It certainly works to remove any doubt you really were You-Know-Who's man through and through."

"That's not what I meant!" cried Snape in anguish. "I was only pretending, I spied on the Dark Lo-"

"Enough!" cried the head judge. "I believe we've heard enough, Mr. Snape. Over the last weeks we've heard over a dozen Death Eaters claim they spied on your master, yet none of them were able to provide any substantial proof to give credence to their claims. You claim the same, and have the gall to claim that the former head of this court - which you killed in cold blood while he begged you for his life, as we've heard from Harry Potter's testimony - as your witness, which of course cannot be proved, or disproved, since he is dead; You took care of that. Unless you can show us proof positive that you, indeed, spied on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we have no choice but to find you gui-"

"WAIT!" cried Snape in despair. "Back in `81, when Potter defeated the Dark Lord, I was accused of being a Death Eater, and Albus told the Wizengamot I was a spy!"

"Indeed, Mr. Snape. However, it has been demonstrated to us that you were the cause your Dark Lord, on the 31st of October that year, went to kill the Potters, and that he promised you Lily in return for your suggestion. What exactly were you spying on if you didn't even pass on the warning on what was to happen if it was your plan to begin with? What were you spying on? What information did you pass? Can anyone attest to any helpful information you've provided on and against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Against his Death Eaters?"

"No-, I-... Albus kept his own counsel, he didn't share any information with anyone." said Snape.

"Meaning you didn't do anything helpful, then," said the judge, "and all the while continued to commit crimes against society and perversions against nature in your Dark Lord's name, and in the course of these events, murdered the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

"Severus Snape, the charges against you stand as thus: Seventeen counts of murder, thirty seven counts of conspiracy to commit murder, seven counts of rapine, six of them against minors, three counts of theft, two counts of perjury, one count of battery, seventy nine counts of brewing illegal and contraband potions, three hundred and eighteen counts of providing ministry-restricted potions to unlicensed users, and twenty-three counts of casting Unforgivable curses on Intelligent beings, this court finds you guilty as hell. Sorry, hem hem, I meant to say: guilty as charged. Of the seven thousand, three hundred and twenty-eight counts of abusing your authority as a member of the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry to take malicious, perverted pleasure in the torment of those powerless to struggle against you that were assembled and brought before us, this court finds it is not the right body to deal with this misbehaviour, and so we shall pass them on to the board of education, with a recommendation to take a severe hand with you and have a closer look at the way the Hogwarts Board of Governors runs the school. All, except sixty seven counts of illegal usage of Legilimency in a maliciously brutal way against a minor and a student, namely Harry James Potter, for which you were found by this court to be guilty as charged."

"But Dumbledore ordered me to do it!" Snape cried again. "You heard Potter, this time you actually heard him say Dumbledore ordered it!"

"What we heard, Mr. Snape, was that he ordered you to teach Mr. Potter how to master Occlumency. I failed to have noticed a single attempt you made to teach him at all. No, Mr. Snape, this court finds you guilty as charged on all the aforementioned counts. You are a despicable person, Severus Snape, and you will be held accountable for your crimes. Since your crimes carry sentences of many lifetimes of imprisonment plus several hundred years, some accumulative, some not, numerous fines and a few death sentences, this court shall leave the final decision on your punishment to the DMLE's new office, COB-WARM. They have a new young employee, I hear she does wonder in organizing thing, only has a thing for strange acronyms. She will put order in the details and tidy you up to face your sentence. Case closed. What's on the menu for lunch, Mathilda?"

The Aurors escorted Snape to the DMLE, going through most of the department - was that the young Weasley Dunderhead smirking at him from the door to his father's office of contraband muggle artefacts or what's it called? Snape never bothered to find out - to an out-of-the-way, unassuming simple door at the far end of the department. The sign said:

Cleaning and Organizing the Bureaucracy of the Wizarding Authorities' Retarded Management

H. J, Granger.

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Draco Malfoy was escorted by the aurors to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, there to the Lucius Malfoy ward for the Irrevocably Criminally Stupid, which was located deep below the Earth in a cushioned basement the formerly Malfoy house-elves hurriedly dug. There he was greeted by... Standing at the doorway, in a white Healer's robe, was Luna Lovegood, the new healer trainee of the ward. She thanked the aurors, and pointed her wand at Draco. "Imperio!" she said, and all was well with the world.

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Post-epilogue, Nineteen years later

Draco Malfoy always complained about wanting to go potty. Eventually the healers treated him for his indigestion. It didn't even leave a scar.

... and all was well.

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A/N:

I always wondered how come, if Fudge was kicked out of office by a unanimous vote for being stupid, he is immediately taken up as an advisor to the new minister. How stupid is that? By the same measure, Lucius should be able to testify again against Harry, even though he was just decreed to be unreliable, untrustworthy, and a liar.

However, since I am not J.K. Rowling, as I try so hard to convey in the disclaimers I put at the top of each chapter I post, MY story actually does make sense, hence Lucius is out. To paraphrase the Great Dictator, "Lucius Schtonk, Fudger Schtonk! Rowling is objectionable".

All es kaputt.

The bit with Snape's trial wasn't originally planned, it grew up as I wrote this chapter, as an homage to nonjon, who had all the Death Eaters claim they were spies after the Wizengamot refused to fall for the Imperius claim a second time in one of the worlds AK visits in "Dimension Hopping for Beginners". (Look it up on this website.)

I thought of Luna having Draco dance and sing "I'm a little tea-pot" and later sharing the memory with Harry (tea-pot, Potter, get it?) but decided that was too lame. And anyway, whatever humiliating things I can have Draco do, I gathered they are nothing compared to what horrors you can conjure up in your own imagination, and decided to leave it at that.