Adele Black: The End

No Body, No Crime

Adele Black: The End

No Body, No Crime

The day was August first, and I was currently standing in the elevator in the Ministry of Magic with Draco next to me. Today was the first day of the trial, and I felt surprisingly calm. Maybe that was because I felt that we had a good chance of winning.

Once the elevator got us to the floor where we would go to Courtroom 10, both Draco and I stepped out and took deep breaths.

I flattened down my pink suit jacket— I was wearing the exact same outfit that I wore back in March— and confidently strode through the halls. My hair was in a messy yet respectable bun, and some loose hairs framed the side of my face in a surprisingly sophisticated manner. Draco was wearing a black suit and a green tie.

"Ready?" I asked him.

"Ready," he nodded.

Together, the two of us found our way into Courtroom 10. The entire Wizengamot was already seated. I caught sight of Mr. Bulstrode— who surprisingly managed to win his re-election— and gave him a sickly sweet smile. He grimaced back.

The court room looked surprisingly similar to a Muggle courtroom. There was a desk on one side of the room, where I saw the lawyers representing the Daily Prophet. The two of them were both old men who looked like they haven't been out in the mortal world for a good five decades. Their desk was a mess, with files everywhere, and I selfishly found myself hoping that their argument was as messy as they seemed to be.

Draco and I made our way to our desk on the other side of the room. We neatly placed our files and notepads on our desk. We both sat down and murmured pep talks to one another.

It felt like forever, but within five minutes, everybody in the room stood up as the Minister of Magic came in. Kingsley would be residing over the trial. He wouldn't be voting, but he was there to keep decorum and ensure that everything happened smoothly. One thing I was happy about was that unlike in the presentation I had given in March, Wizengamot were unable to ask questions. They were there to listen and then vote, much like a jury.

"You may be seated," Kingsley's voice echoed through the chamber. "We will now be hearing opening arguments in the case Adele Black v. The Daily Prophet. The defense's lawyers are Dr. Bartholomew Winchester and Dr. Oswald Ferguson. The plaintiff, Miss Adele Black, is being represented by herself and Mr. Draco Malfoy. We will first hear from the plaintiff. Mr. Malfoy, you may begin."

Draco stood up and went to the podium at the front. He took a deep breath and looked at me. I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Good morning. I will begin with outlining our argument, and the steps that Miss Black and I will be taking during this trial. First, we will establish how the Daily Prophet has spread false narratives about Sirius Black. We will show, with plenty of evidence, that Sirius Black was an innocent man. Following that, we will show how the Daily Prophet's continuous lies about Sirius Black has negatively impacted Adele Black's reputation. The Prophet has implied that insanity and madness follows the members of the Black family, and has insinuated that as Adele Black is the daughter of Sirius Black, she gets her insanity from him. The false narratives shared by the newspaper about Sirius Black has caused significant damage to Miss Black's reputation. One example of such damage is that because of her relationship to Sirius Black, and through the spread of false narratives by the Daily Prophet, is that she is no longer able to apply to the Wizarding School of Law. We look forward to arguing our case, and are truly excited for the opportunity to not only show how the newspaper has significantly damaged her reputation, but also to show that Sirius Black was an innocent man. Thank you."