A Change of Heart // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 52

Sebastian met Gerard in the lobby of the Wizengamot with a firm handshake and a hug with a manly smack on the back.

"How are you going? I'm sorry about all these circumstances we keep meeting under." Gerard asked him.

"I was doing great until I got that letter yesterday." Sebastian said. He wanted to sound like he was joking but he was dead serious.

"I'm sorry about that. They expected the trial to be over pretty quickly but they're putting up a fight so we've had to bring you in." Gerard explained.

"I understand." Sebastian said, nodding softly.

Gerard led Sebastian down a hall to a door labelled 'trial room'. They waited outside until court was called in for the day. He was led up to a raised seat, it looked almost stadium like. There were chairs in the middle surrounded by high, tiered seats. He sat in the first row from the front, looking down at the chairs in the middle.

As he scanned the room, absorbing the grandeur and expansiveness of the room, he caught Imelda's eye as she was brought in by prison guards. He couldn't be sure if her offences were Azkaban worthy, but she didn't look well wherever she was being held. Her eyes were sunken and tired, she looked pale and weak. More than usual. She probably looked as well as Sebastian did during his two week stint at the Ministry under torture.

"As explained to you yesterday, Ms. Reyes, the witness to the crimes has been called in to take the stand today to testify against you." the judge told her.

Imelda didn't budge, instead staring straight at the judge.

"Right, well. We call Mr. Sebastian Sallow to the stand." The judge called.

A ministry official approached Sebastian, guiding him down the stairs to a seat in the middle. He looked around, avoiding Imelda's eye but seeing everyone else's staring at him intently. He felt nauseous. He had to fight every urge in his body, every voice in his head telling him to get up and run away and never return. But he didn't.

"Please state your name." the judge directed.

"Sebastian Sallow."

"And your date of birth."

"September 18th, 1874."

"Alright, Mr. Sallow, what was your relationship with Ms. Reyes at the time you were checked into the hospital?" the ministry official said, taking over the questioning.

"There was no relationship."

"At all?"

"No. I hadn't seen her for many years."

"Right. And can you tell me your version of events leading up to your discharge from the hospital?"

"I... uh, I had been injured in the ambush during the work task I was assigned in the North. I had been stabbed in the abdomen by a muggle. Gerard Whitton had patched the wound enough to move me and got me to the hospital Imel... Ms. Reyes was working at. I was admitted and put into a ward where she was working as a Healer."

"I see. And when in the hospital, did she give you anything?"

"Well, she gave me many things. I didn't question them, I had assumed they were all related to my injury considering she's a medical professional."

"Do you recall Obliviate being used on you?"

Sebastian found these questions confusing. How could he have remembered Obliviate being used on him? He tried not to allow his face to show his feelings.

"No."

"How long did you allegedly lose of your memory?"

"Two years."

"Do you remember those years now?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I... uh..." he stuttered, he had been used to Florence jumping in and explaining this part to people to save him the heartache of saying it out loud but she wasn't here now. He gulped hard and focused, knowing he needed to get the words out. "I underwent rigorous torture to restore the memories."

"Torture?"

"Yes."

"Elaborate."

"T... ten days of torture with the... uh... the cruciatus curse."

"So this worked?"

"Yes." Sebastian felt like he was repeating himself again and again.

"At this point in time, I feel we have asked enough questions. Mr. Sallow will sit on the stand again after lunch." The judge interjected, sensing Sebastian's uneasiness.

The lunch break didn't do anything for Sebastian's nerves, in fact, it made him feel worse. He knew he'd be taking the stand again and answering even more uncomfortable questions. He didn't eat and sat alone, his thumbs twiddling around each other until he was called back inside the room.

He took the familiar seat, ready for another onslaught.

"Welcome back everyone, settle down." The judge said. "Alright, you may proceed."

"Alright. Mr. Sallow, who was there the evening you were liberated from the care of Ms. Reyes?"

Care? Liberated?

"Gerard Whitton, Leyton Phillips and Florence Sallow."

"Gerard, the Obliviator, Leyton the Auror and Florence is...?"

"Uh, my wife, sir."

"I see. Does your wife have any connections to the Ministry of Magic?"

"Yes sir. She is an employee in the Muggle Liaison Office."

"So, Mrs. Sallow had no reason to be there the night they moved you away?"

Sebastian furrowed his brows, unsure where this questioning was going. Was this Imelda's lawyer? Was he being set up? Was Florence being set up?

"I, uh, I don't see why she shouldn't have been there."

The questioning went on all afternoon. They didn't make sense, a lot were unrelated. He felt like they were waiting for him to slip up.

"Do you recall any incidences of assault by Ms. Reyes?"

"No, as I said before, I had been given Amortentia and had my memory wiped." He was becoming agitated.

"So no assault occurred?"

"That's... not what I said. How could I recall them when I was clearly intoxicated?"

"I am doing the questioning, if you don't mind, Mr. Sallow."

Internally, he wanted to scream. He wanted to take the chair he was sitting on and throw it at the ministry official before cracking it over Imelda's head for throwing him into this mess with her psychotic fantasy. He wanted to burn down the court room.

He managed to keep his emotions in check and was finally relieved from the court room at 6pm. With no further questioning, he wasn't required to return to the court room. For now. He breathed a sigh of relief before seeing the panicked face of Ominis standing right outside the courtroom.

"Ominis?" Sebastian said, approaching him quietly.

"Oh, thank Merlin! Come with me, now!" he demanded, grabbing Sebastian's arm and dragging him away quickly. "I've been waiting all day for you to be excused!"

"What's wrong? What's the hurry?" he said, dragging behind Ominis, surprised his wand was guiding him at such a fast pace.

"Florence." Ominis said.