Betrayal of the Black

chapter sixty-nine

Theo, what if . . .

He completed her question with ease. They find us guilty?

We are guilty. That's the issue. If they send us to Azkaban, it wouldn't be an unjust punishment. Most of the crimes they're accusing us of, we've committed. There are crimes they don't even know about. I just . . . I know it's fair, know we deserve it, but I really would like to go home and sleep.

If he could've sighed, he would've then. There isn't much I can really say to that. You're not wrong. There's a major possibility that our luck has run out but . . . I have faith. I have you. It'll turn out okay.

His reassurances eased her fears, despite the fact that his answer was rife with uncertainties. It was just another gamble. Just another problem she had to worm her way out of. She had done it a million times before, what was one more? One more step, and then she could let her legs collapse beneath her. It was all so close now.

Before she could respond to him, the door to the interrogation room opened again. She told Theo she'd talk to him later, focusing on Orson as he stepped back into the room. Lazily, she lifted her head off the table.

Though the man had clearly calmed down from his earlier rage, she could tell he was still irritated. His shoulders were drawn tight, and the frown on his face seemed as if it would become a permanent fixture if it remained on his lips any longer.

Instead of sitting down opposite her again, he decided to remain standing. In his arms, he held a pile of mismatched papers.

"This is what we know," began Orson. He placed down a familiar copy of the Daily Prophet onto the table. Her WANTED poster stared back at her. "You killed Dumbledore and became a fugitive." Next, another Daily Prophet, but this one about the break-in of the Gringotts Vault written under Voldemort's rule. "You caused mass destruction at Gringotts and threatened Harry Potter." Before she could rebuke that story, he placed down a small stack of pristine papers. "You murdered Voldemort."

The headline atop the final papers he had placed down stated 'WITNESS STATEMENTS'. They must've gotten multiple accounts of Voldemort's final moments from students at some point in the past couple hours. It wasn't unexpected, but it still worked against her. She supposed it was her fault for inserting herself into the final fight with Voldemort and Harry.

"These, alone, are enough to send you to Azkaban to await trial. By the time the trial comes around, I believe more than enough evidence of your other crimes will be uncovered. There is no use in fighting me anymore. We have you red-handed—"

This time, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. So far, she had been watching him impassively, but her eyebrows rose at this interruption. For them to come right to the door, inside of call for Orson over the intercom again, showed a sense of urgency. It also showed how low he was on the Ministry ranking that his interrogation would be interrupted twice in such a quick succession.

Some of Orson's carefully crafted composure cracked as he marched towards the door. He opened the door, but did not step outside.

"What is it?" he demanded. "I am in the middle of an important interrogation here—"

The person said something so low to Orson that she couldn't hear. Whatever they said, though, made his hand tighten so hard on the door that his knuckles went pure white.

"What?"

"Sir, I said that Celestia Black has been cleared of all crimes and is to be released immediately," said the man.

Very rarely did she find herself surprised. To suddenly be cleared of all crimes out of the blue was one of the few moments it happened. Theo would've told her if he'd managed to pull something off like this, and she knew neither Regulus nor Draco held the sway to manage something like this either. She was dumbfounded, just as perplexed as Orson was.