Red

Summer of 88'

No one was notified of your arrest and conviction. Dumbledore found out when he attended the hearing of Igor Karkaroff, where Moody made a mention of it. Severus found out when Dumbledore told him. No one on the Wizengamot council would discuss it with anyone, even Dumbledore. There was no information leak at least for your case.

Dumbledore knew you were innocent, even Severus did. It did end up being the way that Severus found out the extent of your relationship with Fabian. Something that hadn't been discussed or even attempted to touch. Morality in any sense hadn't been something either of you relied on as boundaries for actions. Though none of what you did ever amounted to an actual crime by Ministry standards. The issue was getting Crouch or even Bagnold to hold another hearing at all. Apparently it came down to optics as releasing a former employee convicted of being a death eater wouldn't go down well with other trials. They weren't even reconsidering any other Death Eater cases unless it provided more names but even then, they still would not hear you out.

It took nearly 7 years of requesting to get a new hearing.

Azkaban was just as terrible as the rumors surrounding it. The lack of reality you felt during the war was amplified here. No one, nothing, seemed real. You were thankfully placed into solitary which shielded you from other inmates but not from yourself. Even your own thoughts were up for debate. Obsessing over who framed you and how to get out was the only thing you could hold onto for sanity. If that's what you would consider sanity.

It took a push by Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy to finally get a hearing. Severus had finally gone to Lucius, as he had significant pull with the Minister. He also was only one of a few people that knew of the previous relationship so he also had collateral on Lucius. Not that it was of any consequence but it helped nonetheless. When you were notified that you were being moved to the ministry for a hearing, you nearly cried.

The hearing was an overwhelming reality check. People you had worked so closely with for years were now your keepers. The war had aged everyone significantly, you included, and no one seemed happy to be having the hearing. Chains restricted you in a way you came to expect, being in front of others made it feel disgusting. The only person you even remotely still trusted in the room was Dumbledore and you weren't even sure how helpful he would be.

"F/N Jeanne Viridian. This hearing has been called on your behalf on grounds of new evidence regarding your conviction. If you are able to produce any evidence of consequence, the council will reconsider your life sentence. Until then you will remain, in the eyes of the council, a convicted death eater. Do you agree to these terms?" Crouch was obviously upset by your presence.

Your voice was a lot rougher from lack of use, you almost didn't recognize it as yourself. "I do."

"Present your evidence to the council now." It was full of disdain and he had to force himself to say it.

"During the war, in addition to being your assistant, I was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I asked Dumbledore to hide my identity from the Order and the ministry because I was concerned for my safety. Everything I did was on the orders of Dumbledore." You took a deep breath in preparation for a topic you hadn't broached verbally in a long time. "There was no way that I could have set up Fabian and Gideon Prewett for an ambush by Death Eaters. I was completely unaware of their whereabouts for a week prior and never had access to Dumbledore's orders regarding them."