Illicit | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 37

They passed a few Ministry workers, who Dumbledore greeted politely. Eventually, they stopped before a black door to their right with a golden six painted on it.

Dumbledore folded his hands together in front of him. "Now we wait," he said with a smile.

Peter definitely started to get nervous now. Dumbledore had specifically told him not to say anything about Remus. Remus was never supposed to be part of this story. For all the people knew inside, Remus didn't exist.

He was reciting the things he was supposed to say in his head. Over and over again, the exact same sentences, the exact same words.

Dumbledore noticed Peter had closed his eyes and his lips were moving slightly. "Don't worry Peter, you'll be fine," he reassured the young boy.

Peter looked up at him and nodded weakly. He had known the entire time he would be fine, but still, at this point, he couldn't help but be as nervous as he had been for his first exams.

His heart started to beat fast when the door opened up and a tall witch told them to come inside. She was wearing a black gown and a funny-looking black hat to match it.

But when Peter stepped inside, he noticed everyone there was wearing the same attire. And there were a lot of people, all talking amongst themselves or getting their paperwork in order.

He found himself in a circular room with wooden benches along the walls, going up a set of stairs so it could fit at least fifty people. One part of the benches was higher up and it could only seat one person: the Minister for Magic, Alistair Appleton.

In the middle of the room were two chairs, one bigger than the other. Dumbledore told him to sit down on the big chair, so he did. He anxiously gripped the armrests.

Dumbledore sat down next to him as the Minister beat his hammer on the desk three times.

"Silence!" he ordered.

Everyone immediately obliged. Peter felt sick to his stomach as all eyes turned on him, looking at him as if he had just committed a murder.

"The accused is present, the defendant is present - let us begin," Appleton's voice rang through the courtroom. A person sitting on a bench just beneath him nodded, ready with a quill.

"Trial of the twentieth of January," the person started to write, "into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery by Peter Pettigrew, resident at number two, Under Minnow Road, Pilton."

"Interrogators: Alistair Reginald Appleton, Minister for Magic; Merritt Earl Moon, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Earnestine Cailean Kyles, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Derrick Alasdair Sharrow; Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, defendant."

Peter thought that must've at least already taken one side of parchment to write down. He knew this was an official trial, but he didn't think it would be that big of a deal.

Appleton continued. "The charges against the accused are as follows: that he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions perform the Stunning Spell outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on the eighteenth of January at twenty-two minutes past midnight, which constitutes an offense under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875."

"You are Peter Pettigrew, of number two, Under Minnow Road, Pilton?" Appleton said, looking straightly at the teenage boy.

"Yes," Peter answered.

"So you performed a spell outside of the Hogwarts boundaries knowingly?"

"Yes, well I forgot at the time-"