Light in the Darkness

Chapter 82

Adelaide almost cried as she saw Perseus and Narcissa enter the courtroom to take a seat. He looked angry and Narcissa looked terrified. He hated the plan of having her beaten and then thrown back into the world in hopes of having her transgressions forgiven. It seemed like a suicide mission, he was furious that the Dark Lord would think it could ever work. Adelaide was very skilled at manipulation, but only if she was allowed her privacy to be subtle about it. Throwing her into the spotlight under a microscope was no conditions for a cunning coup. Narcissa felt like she was back at Lucius' trial, it was a quick trial, there wasn't much to argue, he was caught red handed in the Department of Mysteries and quickly taken to Azkaban.

"Criminal Trial on the first of March into the criminal offenses of Adelaide Hera Burke resident of the Burke Manor in Wiltshire England. Interrogators Rufus Orion Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic. I believe you have a witness to the defense?"

Her lawyer flashed a pretty smile, causing most of the Wizengamot men to smile, completely smitten, "Portia Cordelia Selwyn" she gazed up at the first row of Wizengamots, winking at one of them which he giggled at.

"Charges against the accused are as follows."

He listed off her crimes and became increasingly more nervous as the Wizengamot looked around nervously at each other. Once he finished listing them off he leaned in towards Adelaide, "Do you deny that you performed these crimes?"

Her lawyer tilted her head slightly, smiling in her sweet voice, "Of course she does Minister. Why would she comply with every order the Ministry has given her since her arduous escape from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's ranks? Why would she have gone through all this struggle? You interrogated her in her hospital bed with Veritaserum did you not Minister?"

The Minister sat back in his chair in shock, the Wizengamot beginning to whisper amongst each other. It was heavily frowned upon to extract information from someone using Veritaserum for the purpose of extracting a confession of a crime. Portia looked over her shoulder to the Auror that was at the hospital when she was given the "veritaserum" and winked, puckering her lips subtly. The Auror's tense body language relaxed tremendously and his face turned to pure adoration. She must've snogged him for information because he had a subtle pink gloss on his lips that matched Portia's lip color.

"W-Well, yes, but it was for the safety of the Wizarding World! Adelaide Burke was..- is one of the most notorious Death Eaters to have ever existed next to Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback."

Perseus glared venomously at the Minister, clenching his jaw tightly.

Portia narrowed her eyes towards the Minister, "Well, don't be shy Minister. Do share with the rest of the Wizengamot what you discovered after dosing my client, illegally might I add, with Veritaserum."

He swallowed troublingly, "She said she was forced into becoming a Death Eater, that the Dark Lord had used the Imperius Curse on her to perform her tasks, and the Dark Lord used Polyjuice Potion on his Death Eaters to appear as Adelaide during their raids against the Muggles."

The Wizengamot roared with chatter.

Portia waited patiently for the chatter to die down and her sultry voice melted across the room like honey, "Well, there you have ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot. My client, Adelaide Burke, was forced to become a Death Eater no doubt by her parents from a young age, was coerced to kill, bewitch, and torture others under the influence of the Imperius Curse and had her identity stolen from the real monsters that you, Minister, have failed to find. My client fought against all odds, risked her life, was beaten and starved to the point of almost death, and returned to Hogwarts of all places to escape the Dark Lord. Does that sound like someone who willingly and enthusiastically committed the crimes you listed before?"