Chapter Four: Presumed Guilty
By that afternoon, Marlene had deposited so many newspapers on James’ desk that he had lost all ability to see the wood surface. They were piled high and organized by topic “ the trial, the verdict, the aftermath “ and carefully stacked in chronological order of publish date. Next to the newspapers were several copies of court transcripts taken during the actual trial.
James groaned. He wasn’t going to be leaving the office any time soon.
It appeared he wasn’t the only one about to be disappointed by this.
Sirius came marching into the office, banging the door off the wall and greeting Marlene with a cry of, “McKinnon!” and deftly caught her by the waist and swung her in the air. She proceeded to hit him several times over the head with a roll of parchment, and he set her down and turned to James with a lopsided grin.
“Women. Bloody mental, the lot of them,” he said.
James raised his eyebrows. “Emily turn you down again?” Sirius had spent much of the past two weeks pursuing Emily Edgecombe, but his reputation as a commitment-phobic prankster had worked against him, and she kept coming up with excuses to avoid his attentions.
“Yeah. Like I said, mental. Come on, let’s grab a drink to drown my sorrows,” Sirius said, grabbing James by the arm and attempting to pull him from his seat.
“I can’t,” James said regretfully. “I have to work.” And he looked down at the stacks of newspaper rather regretfully, because a glass of Firewhiskey did sound very good at the moment.
“What is all this?” Sirius demanded, picking up one of the articles and scanning it. “Research?” It apparently did not interest him at all, and dropped it back onto the desk, letting it float aimlessly unto the wrong stack.
Marlene jumped on it, tearing it away from where it had landed and giving Sirius a glare as she placed it back in the appropriate space. “Sirius Black, if you even think of messing this up, I will hex you,” she threatened.
He held up his hands in a sign of mock-surrender, then spun around to face James again. “Come on, James. You’ve got tomorrow to look through old newspapers and court documents. Let’s go get drunk.”
“Unlike you, James and I actually have work to do,” Marlene said with a sniff. She pulled up a chair and settled herself next to James. “Now,” she said to her boss, completely ignoring Sirius, “this should be enough to start with, but I will make a list of questions that come up as you are reading them and then we can look for that information, too.”
“I have work, too,” Sirius protested. “Very important work. I have to get James to come out to a pub with me.”
“Not tonight,” James said apologetically. “Believe me, I would rather be having fun with you then stuck here under all these articles, but I need to read this. I’ve already been threatened once my Lestrange, I’d like to have a better sense of what this is all about the next time he comes after me.”
“He threatened you?” Sirius demanded, all trace of amusement now gone from his expression. He looked grim, and he grabbed a chair and swung it around, sitting backwards on it with his legs out to either side. “What did he say?”
James waved away his concern. “It’s no big deal. He’s just threatening to ruin my life.”
“No big deal?” Sirius echoed, dumbfounded.
Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Sirius and Marlene exchange a brief look, both clearly annoyed by his casual dismissal of Lestrange’s words. And it wasn’t that he was not at all afraid of the other wizard or that he did not take the threat seriously. But there was no reason to dwell on it now, not when it couldn’t be changed.
If anything, it just intrigued James more.
His self-preservation instincts were never very good.
Finally, Sirius snatched back the original newspaper article he had picked up and asked, “Are they all about the Malfoy trial?”
“Yeah,” Marlene answered. “It was a big deal. Lucius Malfoy was a big deal.” Her voice was a bit subdued, no longer the playful insults or complete outrage that she often used with Sirius. She gazed at him for a moment, pity in her eyes.
“What?” Sirius snapped, and even James had to admit he was a little intrigued by her out-of-character expression.
“Nothing,” she said quickly, and dropped her gaze.
Sirius threw a confused look at James, but all James could do was shrug in return. Marlene made no effort to explain anything, and simply picked up her own article and scanned it quickly.
“Alright, well… need help?” Sirius offered.
James’ eyes widened. “You’re offering to help? Like… do actual work?”
Sirius gave a hurt expression, but the mirth sparkled in his eyes. “Why not? Anything to annoy Lestrange.”
TRAGIC DEMISE OF WELL-RESPECTED WIZARD
November 11, 1980, Wiltshire, England. The world was shocked and saddened to learn of the murder of Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy’s body was found in London in the early hours of the morning. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive him. It has been confirmed that he was killed by the Killing Curse, although there are no clues yet as to the culprit. Time of death is believed to have been at approximately midnight.
Lucius was, of course, the only son of the late Abraxas Malfoy . He is survived by his wife Narcissa Malfoy née Black and their one-year-old son, Draco.
MINISTRY MAKES AN ARREST IN CONJUNCTION WITH MALFOY MURDER
November 12, 1980, London, England. At approximately 8:15 this morning, Lily Evans, was arrested for the murder of Lucius Malfoy. Evans, 20, is a Muggleborn, and was Head Girl during her final year at Hogwarts. She is currently a Trainee Healer at St. Mungo’s Hospital.
Evans claims to have been at the home of Frank Longbottom at the time Malfoy was killed. However, several eyewitnesses saw her at the Cavorting Chimaera pub consuming copious amounts of Knotgrass mead. Malfoy was also seen at this pub, although, according to unnamed sources, he left long before she did.
Evans has also been known to argue with Malfoy on several occasions. Two days before Malfoy’s untimely death, Evans was witnessed yelling at him in the halls of St. Mungo’s. She is reported as having threatened to “make him regret it.”
Rodolphus Lestrange, brother-in-law to the deceased, has been appointed the counsel for the prosecution in the trial. Says Lestrange, “Lucius was a powerful wizard and a true benefit to this society, and his death must be avenged. We will not allow Evans to escape justice.”
Miss Evans has offered a plea of not guilty. The trial is set to begin on November 5th, as Lestrange wishes a speedy resolution to this matter. Scheduled to testify against Evans are Augustus Rookwood, an Unspeakable in the Department of Ministry; Selene Spelling, barmaid at the Cavorting Chimaera; and Narcissa Malfoy, wife of the deceased. Scheduled to appear as witnesses for the defense are Frank Longbottom and Remus Lupin.
FIRST DAY OF TRIAL
November 15th, 1980, London, England. The first day of the trial of Lily Evans for the murder of Lucius Malfoy ended on a high note for the prosecution. The first witness, Selene Spelling, testified that Lily Evans had been seen by herself at the Cavorting Chimaera shortly before ten o’clock at night. She was seen arguing with Malfoy, who then left in a huff around ten-thirty at night. Miss Evans stayed at the pub until eleven o’clock, and then she was seen leaving as well.
Miss Spelling’s testimony was followed by testimony from Augustus Rookwood, a prominent Unspeakable at the Ministry. Mr. Rookwood recounted that, on October 29th, Miss Evans, a Trainee Healer, approached himself, and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy in St. Mungo’s. Miss Evans spoke briefly to Mrs. Malfoy, but the conversation was interrupted by Mr. Malfoy, who believed that Miss Evans was upsetting his wife. Mr. Rookwood then led Mrs. Malfoy away to allow her time to compose herself, and it was at this point that Miss Evans was seen slapping Mr. Malfoy and yelling, “I will make you regret it!”
Counsel for the Defense, Charles Blueblade, was unable to poke any holes in the testimony of either witness.
WIFE’S TESTIMONY RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT EVANS’ GUILT
November 16th, 1980, London, England. Today was a definite win for the defense as Mr. Blueblade cross-examined Narcissa Malfoy. Mrs. Malfoy stated in her testimony that Miss Evans had, on more than one occasion, threatened Mr. Malfoy. Indeed, she was able to recount in vivid detail several of these arguments. However, on cross-examination, Mr. Blueblade succeeded in confirming that Mr. Malfoy had often instigated such arguments by seeking out Miss Evans whenever their paths crossed.
Mr. Blueblade then went on to ask Mrs. Malfoy if Miss Evans had ever been threatened by anyone else. Mrs. Malfoy dodged the question several times, but finally admitted that, on the day before the Mr. Malfoy’s murder, Mr. Rodolphus and Mrs. Bellatrix Lestrange had both informed Miss Evans of their intention to bring her “suffering and misery.” This conversation was also overheard by Mr. Remus Lupin, who will testify as a witness for the defense.
Given these new developments, some members of the Wizengamot are no doubt asking themselves if this trial isn’t simply an attempt on the part of the prosecution to make good on their previous warning to Miss Evans.
EVANS ACQUITED! LESTRANGE PROMISES JUSTICE WILL TRIUMPH
November 19th, 1980, Godric’s Hollow, England. After just four days of trial, the Wizengamot ruled in favor of Lily Evans, acquitting her of all charges regarding the murder of Lucius Malfoy. Upon hearing this ruling, Charles Blueblade announced that justice had been done and the innocent had been protected from the malicious intent of others, possibly referring to the alleged accusation that Miss Evans had been framed by Rodolphus Lestrange. However, Mr. Lestrange countered this, stating that he was disappointed by the ruling, and was certain that justice would prevail in the end. Says Mr. Lestrange, “While I highly respect the Wizengamot, I cannot deny that I am saddened by this decision. Those who voted to acquit Miss Evans will have to come to terms with this on their own. I, for one, will be doing my best to ensure the safety of this society from all threats… even if others are not.”
Several members of the Wizengamot reacted strongly against Mr. Lestrange’s statement. However, this reporter was both concerned and disturbed to find rumors of bribery and blackmail among the esteemed members. It appears that Miss Evans may have wanted to ensure that she would be found innocent on all charges, and used her influence to do so. Tampering with the Wizengamot is, of course, a serious crime, and no doubt the Ministry will want to investigate these accusations.
Remus Lupin, however, spoke out briefly in defense of Miss Evans, “Lily is the victim in this mess. These rumors are baseless and vindictive, and were obviously started by Lestrange and his supporters in retaliation for losing the trial.”
Speaking from her Wiltshire home, Mrs. Malfoy has issued the following statement in response, “The Wizengamot made an error in judgment today, but I do not blame them for being unable to stand up to threats and blackmail. Lily Evans is a murderer, and they must have feared for their safety. Mr. Lestrange is right, justice will prevail in the end. And until it does, it is up to the rest of us “ those brave enough to fight back “ to stand up for this society and for those who are unable to protect themselves.”
It was well after midnight by the time the three of them had finished reading all of the articles, and James was exhausted. But he felt giddy, too, because he was finally starting to understand some of what had happened before, why Lestrange hated Lily Evans so much.
“So… let’s go over what we’ve learned,” Marlene said, tapping her quill against a role of parchment thoughtfully. “First of all, Lily Evans and Lucius Malfoy did not get along, and were, in fact, seen arguing on more than one occasion the week before his death.”
“They are both at the Cavorting Chimaera the night that Malfoy dies,” James added, frowning. “They argue, and then Malfoy leaves. But Evans stays at the pub.” He shot Marlene and Sirius a pointed look. “If she was planning on killing him, she would have left as soon as he did, right? Track him down?”
But Sirius shook his head. “Too obvious. She’s smart, right?” He waited for James’ reluctant nod of confirmation, then added, “She’d have known what it looked like if she followed him out. Maybe that’s why she left later?”
“She was found to be not guilty,” James argued heatedly. “Maybe she left later because she didn’t care about Malfoy. Maybe she left later because she didn’t kill him.”
“Do you really think that?” Sirius countered softly, one eyebrow raised.
“Gentlemen, we are getting ahead of ourselves,” Marlene interjected, tapping her quill against the parchment. “We’re not here to discuss Miss Evans’ innocence or guilt, merely to figure out exactly why Lestrange hates her so much.”
James sighed, but nodded in agreement. “Fine. So, let me see…” he looked down again at the parchment, “A few days before this, Evans threatened Malfoy in front of people. She obviously hated him, and he didn’t really seem to like her, either.”
But something about this didn’t make any sense. Lily Evans was a Muggleborn, and that was reason enough for someone like Malfoy to hate her. On the other hand, she was a few years younger than him and had been Sorted into a different House at Hogwarts. Yet they had argued every time they met, both of them even going out of there way to seek out the other instead of just ignoring each other when they happened to be in the same public space. The hatred that existed between the two didn’t seem like the normal Gryffindor-Slytherin dislike. It seemed… personal.
How did they know each other?
“What I find interesting is Narcissa’s testimony that Rodolphus and Bellatrix had threatened to ruin Evans’ life,” Sirius said. “That seemed to slip out, didn’t it? The article makes it seem like she didn’t actually mean to say any of it, but Mr. Blueblade was certainly able to use it to his advantage.”
Marlene chewed her lip and looked uncomfortable, but before James had a chance to ask her what was wrong, she said, “True. And then there was also the issue of the wand.”
“The wand?” James questioned. He hadn’t read that part, although now that he thought about it, he found it strange that there had been no discussion of Evans’ wand. As the alleged murder weapon, surely it would have been submitted as evidence?
“Evans claimed she accidentally broke her wand the day before. No one say her with her wand at the pub, and, in fact, no one say her with her wand at all during the previous few days,” Marlene explained, digging out a newspaper article with the headlines MISSING WAND ADDS MYSTERY TO MALFOY’S MURDER. “She must have had it on November 10th, when she was at St. Mungo’s, because no Trainee Healer would come to work without a wand. But after that… it certainly is possible that she broke it.”
“Wands aren’t that easy to break, and what kind of witch or wizard is so careless with a wand anyway?” Sirius grumbled. “If they’d had the wand, they would have been able to tell that she killed him, so she got rid of it. That seems the most logical.”
“Without the wand, they can’t prove that, though,” Marlene argued. “And, really, you’re getting off track again. We’re not discussing if she was actually guilty…”
“You know,” James interrupted with a puzzled expression, “there was an article about Remus Lupin testifying, right? I remember reading that.” He sorted through the articles for a moment, then pulled out two clippings with headlines EVANS’ FRIEND CONVINCED OF HER INNOCENCE and LUPIN TESTIFIES FOR EVANS IN MURDER TRIAL. He scanned them quickly, then commented with a feeling of bitter irony, “Lupin testified that Evans would never do anything like this, that even though she didn’t like Malfoy, she would not commit murder. She was too good of a person.” He looked up at Marlene, shaking his head. “And now she might have killed him, too.”
“Look,” Marlene said after a pause while they each thought about James’ words, “what we have been able to determine from this is that Lestrange could not make the case against Evans because of Mrs. Malfoy’s testimony, the missing wand, and Evans’ alibi that she was with Frank Longbottom. Right?”
James nodded. Out of all of that, it was the alibi with Longbottom that seemed the most relevant to James. He knew that Evans and Longbottom had been friends “ at least that is what all the articles had said “ but Longbottom was also training to be an Auror and new the penalties for perjury. So surely he wouldn’t lie about something like that.
“What’s your point?” Sirius asked. “Besides the fact that Narcissa should have kept her mouth shut if she really wanted Evans in Azkaban?”
Marlene set the quill down on the desk and stared at Sirius for a long moment. Then she asked in a diffident voice, “This really doesn’t bother you?”
“What?” Sirius demanded.
“This is your family,” Marlene explained, a hesitancy in her tone. “Mrs. Malfoy is your cousin. Her husband was murdered. This doesn’t… isn’t it hard for you to be looking at all of this?”
Sirius let out a bark of laughter. “Is that what you’ve been worried about all night, McKinnon? Don’t get your knickers in a twist over me, doll. They’re not my family, I don’t care about them.” Marlene didn’t look convinced, and he said in a more serious and emphatic voice, “I’ve been disowned, you know that. They haven’t been my family since Hogwarts. I don’t care about them.”
“Mrs. Malfoy lost her husband,” Marlene protested weakly. “He was murdered.”
“I don’t care,” Sirius answered, but James could see the telltale flicker of guilt in his best friend’s eyes. Sirius did care, at least a little, but was trying to convince himself that he didn’t. Marlene’s words had stirred up feelings that had been long buried, and Sirius didn’t want to face them.
James reached over and rested his fingers lightly on Marlene’s arm, then shook his head slightly. She seemed to catch the hint, and she did not press the issue. But her gaze lingered on Sirius for a moment longer before she returned to her work.
James rubbed his eyes wearily. All the various pieces of the last trial were blending together in his mind, he could barely focus on any of them. He let his gaze wander over the paper on the desk, then pulled one of the articles closer so that he could reread it.
EVANS SACKED FROM ST. MUNGO’S TRAINEE PROGRAM
November 23th, 1980, London, England. In a surprise announcement by Senior Healer Scilla Sedgwick of St. Mungo’s Hospital, Lily Evans, recently acquitted for the murder of Lucius Malfoy, was asked to leave the Trainee Healer program. Sources say that Healer Sedgwick was pressured by Narcissa Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy’s widow, to remove Miss Evans from the program. Healer Sedgwick has refused to comment on these rumors.
The official statement released from St. Mungo’s this morning sites Miss Evans’ “irresponsibility and deficient attitude” as the reason for her removal. Says another Healer Trainee, Celine Greengrass, “Lily Evans didn’t care about helping people. She didn’t get along with any of us, she was disrespectful to our superiors, and all of the patients hated her. She had a negative attitude, and it’s been a lot easier without her here.”
Although Miss Evans has lodged an official complaint, citing her dismissal as unwarranted and malicious, sources say it is unlikely she will be…
“What are you looking at?” Sirius asked, interrupting James’ reading.
James stretched his arms above his head, feeling his tense muscles creak. “An article about Evans being sacked from St. Mungo’s,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Marlene nodded thoughtfully. “It wasn’t the only thing that happened after the trial.” She unrolled a parchment that was covered in writing and showed it to the two wizards. “It’s her employment records, or at least what I could find of them. She never held a job for more than six months, the Lestranges saw to that. She’s been hounded by the Ministry, too. Her renewal application for her Apparition license went missing, all her paperwork for renting space in Diagon Alley for a store she wanted to open was accidentally destroyed…” She trailed off with a sigh, then concluded, “Basically, any time paperwork was required, something happened to interfere with her plans.”
“So…” James frowned, looking at the notes Marlene had written, “she is found innocent of all charges, but she’s punished for it anyway?”
“Yeah,” Marlene said with a heavy sigh. “That seems to be the truth of it.”
James leaned back in his seat and felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Evans’ inherent distrust made a lot more sense now, as did her disbelief that he could actually do her any good. She’d been through this once before, and learned the hard way that it didn’t matter what the Wizengamot decided.
James clenched his hand into fists. “I’m going to win,” he said emphatically, furiously. “I don’t care what tricks Lestrange has up his sleeve, I am going to win this.”
“Well, good luck, mate, but it’s going to take more than just your charm and good looks,” Sirius said.
James crumpled up a newspaper article and tossed it at his friend. “Stuff it.”
“I still don’t understand why Lestrange cares about her so much,” Marlene muttered as she rose to her feet, stepping around her chair. “He’s lost cases before.” She proceeded to pull her cloak of the wall and wrap it around her shoulders, indicating her clear intent to leave the rest of the conversation for another time.
“Yeah, but none of them involved the murder of his brother-in-law,” James argued. “Maybe it’s personal for him.”
Marlene tilted her chin up, a challenge in her eyes. “You really think so?” she asked. “You really think he’d waste time like this over Malfoy’s death? They might be family, but still… He didn’t let go of that grudge for seven years. That’s a long time to stay upset.”
“Yeah, but people in my family hold grudges like you wouldn’t believe,” Sirius replied grimly. “It’s practically what they live on. That and the Dark Arts.”
Marlene shrugged. “Maybe. But I still think we’re missing something. Maybe we should sleep on it? We’ll have new ideas in the morning.”
James couldn’t help but agree with her assessment. There were, in fact, several things that he felt were missing. And at the moment, the question that was bugging him the most, revolved around the exact nature of Lily Evans and Lucius Malfoy’s relationship. How did they know each other, and why was their hatred so personal?
The beginning of an idea started to form in his mind, and he gave a faint grin as he looked over at Sirius. “Hey… you, uh, want to help out a bit more, Sirius…?” he asked tentatively.
Sirius shrugged, oblivious to the trepidation in James’ eyes. “Sure. What do you need?”
“I’d like another take on this whole trial,” James answered, tapping the stack of articles with his forefinger. “Maybe someone can shed some light on a few questions I have.”
“So talk to Evans,” Sirius answered logically. “She was there, she should be able to answer your questions.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think she will,” James replied, remembering the glare that had been almost always present in her gaze during their conversation. It was clear that his client had no desire to share any more information than what was absolutely necessary, and no doubt she would refuse to answer his questions about Malfoy.
And besides, it wasn’t her opinion he wanted.
“Well, Malfoy is dead, so you can’t really talk to him,” Sirius said, pushing his chair back and putting his feet up on his desk.
“Yes,” James confirmed quietly, “but his wife isn’t.”
It took a moment, and then James saw the realization in Sirius’ expression and watched as his friend jumped to his feet in denial and disgust.
“No, absolutely not!”
“Sirius…”
“I am not talking to Narcissa. I haven’t spoken to her in forever, and I am not going to go marching into her house, wanting to talk. Besides, it is doubtful she’d even let me in through the door. I turned my back on my family, remember?”
“Yeah, and I am counsel for the woman she is convinced murdered her husband,” James shot back sardonically. “You have more of a chance of getting in that door than I do.”
Sirius glowered for a moment, then said, “You’re a Potter. She might let you in.”
“I’m a blood traitor. She won’t, we both know that,” James countered. “But you’re a Black.” Sirius continued to shake his head vehemently and James groaned and said, “Please? Come on, it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
Sirius grumbled under his breath for a moment, but then gave a slow, reluctant nod.