Shortfic: Judgement, PG
Title: Judgement Author: nice_girls_play Rating: PG Word Count: 4 x 100 Challenge: ##306: Five Senses: Smell Characters: Severus Snape, Sirius Black Warning: AU, post-DH Summary: Sequel to Absolution. In which the guilty are sentenced.
He vaguely remembers his first hearing before Barty Crouch Sr. eighteen years ago.
He'd been sitting in the defendant's chair instead of the prisoner's booth; wearing his own shirt and jacket instead of a uniform from Azkaban or the teaching robes he wears now. Back then, Dumbledore had stood at his right, doing most of the speaking for him.
Now he sits alone, ghosted by a small coterie of former colleagues and students, none of them requested by him or the court. There'll be no call for character witnesses because this isn't a trial.
He can hear Minerva's stoic fretting behind him, along with Granger's whispered explanations about what the hearing will entail. Harry Potter makes no sound of course, save for the echo of several journalists' Quick-Quotes quills following his every movement.
He wonders if their seats are as cold as his, or if it's just another spike in his erratic body temperature.
Shacklebolt's cool baritone is more pleasant to the ear than Crouch's nasal, disinterested inflections.
“The Ministry of Magic's statute for 'internal operatives' is as follows: a person or persons assigned by the Ministry to obtain information on enemy combatants, threats to the Wizarding world both internal and external by any means necessary.”
'By any means necessary.' Those last few words hang in the air like smoke. Or that could be from the last member of his uninvited entourage. There's no smoking allowed inside the court room, but somehow Severus doubts the Ministry will ever tell Sirius Black what to do again.
"These guidelines clearly allow for such operatives in a time of war. Though he was eventually relieved of his post as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, this court through its continued, tenable sponsorship of the Order of the Phoenix allowed Albus Dumbledore certain privileges befitting a Ministry member, including--" his speech is interrupted by a soft cough from a tight-lipped court member and further delayed by the metallic clink of Black's lighter.
"--including the allowance to train and instruct operatives as he saw fit."
“It is the conclusion of this court that Severus Tobias Snape, as an internal operative trained and employed by Albus Dumbledore, acted within orders of his Ministry contact and is therefore immune from prosecution. Case dismissed.”
Kingsley shuffles his papers in lieu of a gavel and... suddenly...