With three powerful families involved, the Wizengamot convened quickly to address and pay attention to the matter at hand. Naturally, since Wanda was handling the affairs of the Potter family, she had to take the seat belonging to that houseone that had remained empty until now.
The Wizengamot seats assigned to each family are not physical chairs but represent a place within the assembly where the witch or wizard must declare the name of their house. That's why Wanda sat next to Selene, with her seat marked "Potter," while Selene occupied the seat for the Greengrass familypartly to assist her husband in matters he considered unimportant. Aside from business, he didn't pay much attention to other "nonsense." But Wanda sitting with the Potter family seal was significant because it indicated she was now part of the neutral faction.
Previously, the Potter family had been seen as supporters of the so-called "white side," whose leader was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Seeing Wanda in that seat immediately put Dumbledore on alert.
Essentially, the white side had lost a seat. When a seat remains unoccupied, its vote is cast according to the majority of the group it belongs to. Therefore, it was one more vote they could normally count on.
Meanwhile, the dark families smiled at the development. But the arrival of Narcissa, who also went to sit beside Wanda on the neutral side, made many frownespecially Alex Carrow, the current leader of the dark faction.
Normally, the three factions were balanced in terms of political and economic power. But now, with the Malfoy family allied with the neutral sector and knowing the Potter family held considerable financial power, the three groups were thrown off balance. That's why they would need to proceed cautiously. Luckily, as neutrals, they usually stayed out of most matters... but better safe than sorry. And this wasn't just the dark side's thinkingit applied to the white side as well.
"Let's settle this once and for all," said Millicent Bagnold, the current Minister for Magic. "Let's vote on whether we want a trial for Sirius Black, to determine whether he is guilty or innocent."
"Minister, I believe we should first discuss why a trial is necessary in the first place," said Dumbledore seriously.
"Because it is everyone's right to have a trial. Even I believe that, at the time, everything was rushed. Although the circumstances called for it, now we can properly review all the details," Millicent replied, cutting him off without concern. After all, she would soon retire and move to another country to rest. But first, it was best to clean up what Voldemort's reign had left behind. "All in favor?" she asked without further delay.
Everyone in the neutral section raised their hands, supporting the Greengrass family, including Wanda and Narcissa. The most interesting part was that several pure-blood families from the dark side also raised their hands. Of course, Sirius Black was still a noble Blacka pure-blood lineage tied to many of them. Even if they disliked him as a person or for being an enemy, he was still pure-blood.
Meanwhile, not a single person from the white side raised their hand. Not one, not even Dumbledore.
"I see. Seems like the vote was close. But with one more vote in favor, the trial of Sirius Orion Black III will take place in one week, in the Ministry's courtroom. I will preside as judge, and the jury will be the Wizengamot. You may all leave," Millicent declared before standing and exiting the room.
Dumbledore frowned slightly before leaving with his group of followers.
"Good. Now all we need is evidence. Shame so much time has passed," said Selene with a smile, glancing at Wanda.
"I'll handle that. Just get me a detective or officer... an Auror to gather what's needed," said Wanda as she quickly left. After all, she wanted to return to Harry. She had spent the entire week handling formalities, barely spending time with her little boy, who was being cared for by Liz and Gris.
…
Wanda appeared through the fireplace of her home and found a complete mess in the living room: cushions overturned and some kind of fort made of sheets over the sofas.
Just then, Harry peeked his little head out from one of the holes and spotted Wanda.
"Mom! You're back!" he said before disappearing and then emerging through a door made of mattresses to hug her.
She quickly returned the hug, as if recharging her energy through him.
"Yes. Sorry for not being home much. Just one more day, maybe a little more, and I'll be done. Then I'll throw the work at someone else," said Wanda warmly as she gently stroked Harry's head.
"Okay!" said Harry happily, then took Wanda's hand to show her the fort. "Gris and Liz helped me build it. It's awesome, right?" Harry said with a bright smile.
"Of course," Wanda replied as Harry led her inside. From the inside, it was much bigger than it appeared on the outside, showing just how powerful magic could beable to create a vast little world between a few cushions and some sheets.
…
After a week, the trial finally took place. The accused had finally appeared, and Wanda was able to see the face of Harry's godfather for the first time.
He was a haggard man, with long hair and an unkempt beard. He showed signs of psychological damage and looked like he hadn't eaten properly in years. His gaze was filled with hopelessness and sorrow, as though he had never recovered from a loss... likely the death of his friend.
"Mr. Black, would you describe what happened that day?" Millicent asked, watching him closely. "Mr. Black," she repeated when Sirius didn't respond, lost in his thoughts.
Sirius looked up before speaking, barely in a whisper.
"It was my fault... my fault... I trusted the wrong person. It was my fault," he said with deep sorrow, repeating incoherent words.
"Are you referring to the Dark Lord? Did you betray the Potters and then kill Peter Pettigrew?" asked Millicent seriously.
"Peter! That filthy rat had to die! Hahaha... I killed him. Damn rat! I hope he's in hell!" Sirius replied, his voice tinged with madness.
"This trial seems to have been a waste of time," someone from the white faction muttered with disdain.
Before anyone else could speak, Wanda spoke up, seated between Narcissa and Selene.
"Harry Potter. You're his godfather. Did you kill his parents?" she asked coldly, a scarlet aura surrounding her body. In that instant, she was both judge and executioner in the courtroom.
All eyes turned toward her, and a chill ran down the spines of everyone present. No one dared to interrupt her.
"Harry...? You know Harry? How is he?" asked Sirius, regaining a bit of lucidity.
"Harry is my son now. He suffered greatly after his parents' death and was sent to a disgusting place where he was mistreated. So answer: did you or did you not kill his parents?" said Wanda firmly. At that moment, she completely controlled the room.
"No! Of course not! I would never kill James and Lily! I would never betray them! I'd rather die, be dragged or tortured for eternity before hurting them. They were my friends, they were everything to me! They gave me what I never had as a child..." Sirius said, now crying uncontrollably.
Dumbledore frowned and began to stand up, but Wanda quickly looked at him and said:
"Sit down."
His legs immediately gave out, and his body crashed to the floor with a loud thud. His mouth shut tight, incapable of uttering a word.
Everyone was left speechless. Now they truly feared this woman who had made the so-called most powerful wizard sit down like a misbehaving child.
"What happened that day?" Wanda asked, turning her gaze to Sirius.
"It was Peter. When we were about to cast the Fidelius Charm, everyone thought I'd be the obvious target. There was a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix, but we didn't know who. We even suspected Lupin, so we chose Peter. He was an idiot, a coward... no one would suspect he knew where they were. But it was always him. Always! I chose him as Secret Keeper... and when he got the chance, he ran straight to betray Lily and James," Sirius explained, his voice trembling, shifting from pain to fury.
"The Order of the Phoenix is... what?" asked Wanda, unfamiliar with the term. While everyone else knew about its existence, it was no secret that Dumbledore had founded it to fight the Death Eaters. But, of course, Wanda had no idea.
"It's the group that fought against Voldemort and his followers. We protected the wizarding world and fought the evil ones," said Sirius with a hint of pride. Some in the room frowned but remained silent. "James, Lily, Peter, Lupin and I were all members. When Dumbledore told them to go into hiding, we quickly set up a safe house. But then Dumbledore said there was a spy in the Order, though we didn't know who it was."
"Dumbledore, a wizard skilled in mind-reading, couldn't detect the spy?" asked Wanda suddenly, plunging the already silent room into complete tension. Even Sirius looked confused.
"What's the name of the magic used to block mind reading?" Wanda asked Selene, one of the few people she allowed to speak.
"Occlumency," Selene replied.
"Were all the members of the Order experts in Occlumency, including you, to the point Dumbledore couldn't read their minds and find the traitor?" Wanda asked again, leaving Sirius completely frozen.
"No… I mean… we had some practice, but no... no one could compare to Dumbledore," Sirius stammered before stopping, his mind beginning to clear. "Why didn't he know who the spy was? Peter wasn't good at anything... not even Occlumency. He was an idiot. Dumbledore should've known," he murmured, staring at the floor, as if battling a truth he didn't want to accept.
"That's all," said Wanda.
Instantly, everyone felt they could move again and turned their gazes to Dumbledore, confused.
"Ahem... if I may explain. You must understand that while I do possess Legilimency at a high level, I'm not the kind of person who reads minds as soon as I meet someone. I wouldn't mistrust my people, who risked their lives for the wizarding world," said Dumbledore in a calm voice.
"The first day we met, you did it to me," Wanda replied.
"That was a mistake... sometimes..." Dumbledore tried to justify, but Sirius interrupted him.
"You knew! You knew Peter was the spy! And you left him among us! You left him in the Order!" Sirius shouted.
Dumbledore paused before responding:
"I knew. But I didn't expect you to change the Secret Keeper at the last minute to Peter. You can't blame me for your decisions," he said seriously. To him, clearing his name was more important than recovering broken trust.
"You... you bastard! We trusted you! You were the one who said James should hide in his house. We could have taken them to the Black Manor! Or joined them with the Longbottoms, who were also being hunted! But you said it was better to keep them apart. And that day there were no guards! Only Hagrid showed up… before I did. Where were the others? Who was protecting their house?" Sirius shouted, eyes wide.
Even members of his own faction began looking at Dumbledore with suspicion, especially an elderly woman who frowned deeply at him.
BANG BANG BANG
Millicent struck hard to regain order. The trial had to stay on track.
"Mr. Black, is there any evidence that Peter Pettigrew was the real culprit?" Millicent asked seriously.
But Sirius remained silent. It was obvious that bastard had blown up a street, killing innocents to fake his death.
"About that… we have proof that Peter Pettigrew is alive and well, Madam Minister," said a voice approaching, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the sound of a cane.
"Alastor. I thought you'd retired from the field and were now just training kids," Millicent said upon seeing the Auror.
"Well, someone asked me to lend a hand to help an old colleague," said Moody, looking at Sirius.
"And what's the proof?" the Minister asked, intrigued.
"Of course, Peter Pettigrew himself," said Alastor, as several Aurors entered behind him, bringing in a plump man with large teeth in chains, struggling to break free.
"What madness," commented Selene, enjoying the show. All she was missing was the popcorn.