Fifteen minutes before the hearing was set to begin the main doors to Great Hall of the Wizengamot were closed and the spectators were told to take their seats. As the minutes passed the anticipation in the crowd became palpable. Conversations died off as the time drew near and the room was nearly quiet when a series of bells rang indicating the start of the session. A old wizard in elaborate robes walked to the center of the room and began speaking in a very loud voice so that all could hear him.
"This meeting of the Wizengamot is now in session!"
As soon as he had said that the members of the Wizengamot walked into the room from two doors at the back. They were arranged so that the most senior members were closer to the front. In the middle and in front of all of them was an ornate desk where Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore sat in order to control the meeting.
"The Wizengamot thanks all of you for your attendance." Dumbledore began. "First on the itinerary is-"
"I demand to be heard!" a loud voice called. The audience turned to look at Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge who was standing up towards the front of the audience flanked by his supporters.
"Minister Fudge we will hear from you momentarily, but we do have other business to attend to before that." Dumbledore assured him.
"It is my right as Minister of Magic to be heard and I demand you give me that opportunity." Fudge said, hoping to show that he was in control of the proceedings.
"Very well." Dumbledore sighed. "The Wizengamot recognized Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge." Fudge grinned triumphantly as made his way down to the raised podium at the center of the room. Once there he laid out a few notes and then turned to face the audience instead of Wizengamot. Such a move was highly irregular and everyone recognized it as another of Fudge's power plays.
"Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot and of Great Britain as whole, I stand before you a man innocent of all accusations that have been leveled against me by that foul tabloid the Daily Prophet." Fudge began. "My political enemies have spread rumors and lies about me for their own gain. But you, the good people of this great land, know that I am an honest wizard who has worked to create a brighter future for all of us. There is still work to be done, that we all know, and I am the man to do it.
"Now, as am sure you are by now aware there are some amongst us who have begun spreading rumors that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned. LIES! You-Know-Who is dead and can never return. The reason for these ridiculous accusations is that certain people, who sit in this very room but I shall not name, believe that their chances of assuming my position as Minister of Magic will improve if they can fool the public into believing the Dark Lord has returned. Do not be fooled by their lies!
I was surprised as all of you when it was discovered that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, but do not assume that this means Sirius Black is innocent! For all we know they both could have conspired to hand the Potters over to You-Know-Who. Furthermore, the accusations that I hid evidence to keep Black in jail are groundless. That fact will made clear here today. All I ask is that you question what the Wizengamot tells you. Do not forget they have their own agendas! Thank you."
With that Minister Fudge retook his seat while those that supported him applauded as loudly as they could. At best his supporters made up a quarter of the audience and it was clear that he was going to have a difficult time convincing them. Dumbledore allowed their applause to go on for a few moments before banging his gavel on the desk to quiet them.
"The first item on our agenda is one that I regret to say is not on your schedules because it was added just this morning." Dumbledore said as the crowd began to whisper wondering what it could be. "Aurors, if you would be so kind as to bring in the accused we shall begin."
A door on the side of the room opened and group of ten Aurors walked in surrounding a man in prison clothes and chains in his hands and feet. The audience gasped in shock as they realized who it was that had been brought in.
"Peter Pettigrew, you are accused of being a Death Eater and two counts of murder. How do you plead?" Dumbledore asked from the center of the room.
"Chief Warlock!" a member of the Wizengamot interrupted. She was a short, fat woman who looked rather like a toad.
"Yes, Madam Umbridge?" Dumbledore responded.
"This is highly irregular!" Umbridge protested. "I move that the trial of Peter Pettigrew be pushed back to a later date so that he has time to prepare his defense. He was, after all, only captured last night."
"I second that motion!" another member of the Wizengamot shouted.
"Very well." Dumbledore said. "The motion has been forwarded and seconded. Members of the Wizengamot, all those in favor of postponing the trial of Peter Pettigrew please raise your hands." Quite a few people raised their hands, but it was less than a third of them. "All opposed to postponing said trial?" The rest of the Wizengamot, a clear majority, raised their hands to this. "The opposed have it. The trial of Peter Pettigrew will continue as planned. Now, Mr Pettigrew… How do you plead to the charges?"
"Innocent!" Wormtail yelled at once. "I was placed under the Imperius curse and was not responsible for my actions."
"We shall see." Dumbledore responded skeptically. "Aurors, administer Veritaserum to the accused." At this Wormtail began to panic, knowing that he would have no chance of being found innocent if he were questioned under the powerful truth serum. He struggled against the Aurors, an action that only made him look more guilty, but in the end was unable to stop them from dosing him with Veritaserum. The potion had a calming effect on him and he slumped back in his chair awaiting questions from the Wizengamot.
"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.
"Peter Pettigrew. But some call me Wormtail." the Death Eater answered.
"Was Sirius Black the Potter's secret keeper in October of 1981?"
"No, I was." Wormtail responded. His admission created quite a commotion in the audience and Dumbledore was forced to use his gavel to quiet them once again.
"Has Sirius Black ever been a Death Eater?"
"No, he was always loyal to James."
"Did you reveal the location of the Potter's residence to Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked. As one the audience seemed to lean forward in anticipation of the response.
"Yes."
"Are you a Death Eater?"
"Yes."
"Is Voldemort alive?"
"Yes."
Not even Dumbledore could easily contain the chaos that followed. Members of the Wizengamot and audience all began shouting at each other, some in fright from what they heard, some in disbelief, and some secretly in anger because their master's return had been announced before he was ready for it to be. Aurors were forced to remove some members of the audience that could not control themselves and in the end it took more than ten minutes for calm to return to the room so that the questioning could continue.
"How did Voldemort return?" Dumbledore asked. The audience, and most members of the Wizengamot, shuddered at the mention of the Dark Lord's name even more than they had minutes before when they believed him dead.
"Last night I performed a dark ritual to restore him to his body. That is why we kidnapped Harry Potter." Wormtail explained.
"We've heard enough!" a member of the Wizengamot said loudly. He was from one of the darker families believed to have connections to Voldemort during the first war and some watching were smart enough to see he had likely had other reasons for wanting to end the questioning. "Let us decide his guilt or innocence now. I vote guilty."
"I agree. Guilty." another member of the Wizengamot replied. He was from a light family but was outraged from what he had heard so far. Between the groups that wanted to shut Pettigrew up and those that would like nothing more than to have him receive the Dementor's kiss right that moment they had a majority and were able to call for a verdict to be decided at once.
"All those in favor of finding the defendant guilty?" Dumbledore asked, to which every hand in the Wizengamot was raised. Even those that supported Voldemort knew it was foolish to fight this. "All in favor of finding the defendant innocent?" No hands were raised this time. "Peter Pettigrew, you have been found guilty. You will be taken to Azkaban where you will await sentencing. Your crimes require a life sentence and this court will reconvene in one week to decide whether or not you will face the Dementor's kiss. Aurors, take him away."
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