The trial ended in something different from what it started with, as in almost all things where I am accused of something. Whether I was under my normal mental faculties in committing these murders was now being debated.
"Even if that's true, that doesn't stop you from doing what you did."
"But weren't there similar cases where it was? I think it was... Mr. Malfoy here. During the time of the dark lord's reign, Mr. Malfoy acted as subordinates to the dark lord under the imperius spell... and now he is part of the Wizengamot that is judging me, I guess he will understand my situation" I stated.
"That's different" said one of the pureblood supporters.
"Why? Wasn't Mr. Malfoy under the imperius spell?"
"No, it's not that, his case is different" They corrected.
"But under similar circumstances, why can't the same treatment be given?" Amelia continues with my speech "Mr. Akaichi may not have the resources that Mr. Malfoy or be someone recognized in the magical world, but he is someone who also acted under the will of others"
Another discussion started, people liked me less at the moment, but if they opposed what I was saying then there would be political instability due to the situation with Lucios and the like.
"Well, assuming that what they propose is true, we would have to have that consideration as with Mr. Malfoy… but first it must be proven" Dumbledore said and they all agreed.
From that moment the witnesses began to pass.
Andromeda, who still hadn't recovered, couldn't say much, besides that after what happened he doesn't want to lose anyone else. She defended my position by commenting on my attitude towards work and family life, giving a good image, but as an ex-Black many purebloods didn't take her seriously.
Then Tonks came up, which was almost withdrawn due to the insults against the ministry and everyone involved. In the end, under Amelia's words, she recomposed herself and began to detail more what happened with my behavior and our history with the poisoning...
At one point the subject of my brutality with my arrests came up, which played against me, since the Aurors were able to confirm it, but to our surprise it was Moody who helped us. He, as a witness, declared that the initial brutality was due to inexperience and that after a few arrests the other criminals arrived almost intact.
Moody was angry too and even though he didn't agree with me and what I did, he preferred to use this opportunity to make amends for what happened to Edward. He also mentioned that it was true that his aurors couldn't find the criminals and that I could, also commenting that I, as a practicing auror, do a superior job to some other veterans under extreme pressure conditions like that mission.
A few other Aurors came up, many of whom talked about how intimidating I was, but my job was one of the most diligent. Our supervisor, who commented on all the paperwork that he could do and all that I was able to move on.
The rookie who saw me leave explained that at one point, when we were at the house where Edward was found, my appearance and personality changed, giving me a very scary presence, different from when I arrived.
Witnesses who saw me in my actions also said that I did not look at all like the person who brutally murdered in the middle of the street, that at that moment I looked giant, terrifying and with a bloody and insane look.
With each witness my position was strengthened, but even so it was not sustainable for so many people against me. At least until I smiled at something my clone had done well.
...
A group of people emerged from one of the ministry's chimneys. In the center of those people was Garrick Rotenrot, who was surrounded by four mages who acted as bodyguards. He had come to participate in the judgment of the one he detested, he had other plans to eliminate him, but this was not a bad start, it could even be better.
He walked ahead without knowing that there was an invisible figure that followed him closely and that only after a few steps away from the fireplace, this individual was already a few centimeters from him.
The figure also held in its hands a small stick with a pointed metal tip, almost like a miniature spear, which was also covered in an invisible liquid. At one point Garrick, who was happily thinking that he would take revenge, felt intense pain.
From under Rotenrot's ribs, that 50-centimeter mini-spear entered smoothly, piercing several of his internal organs, all thanks to its terrifying sharpness and piercing power. The spear, as fast as it went in, came out and disappeared into the hands of the figure who, before Garrick fell to the ground, ended up turning into a pool of blood that vanished, but since he remained completely invisible from start to finish, no one noticed.
Rotenrot fell to the ground, trying to scream, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was spurts of blood from his punctured organs. Seeing him, his bodyguard wanted to help him and asked for help, but they couldn't do much after seeing the hole and the severity of the wound, in addition to realizing that the blood began to turn black due to powerful poisons.
...
In the trial we continued arguing until someone entered the room, they reprimanded him, but after learning that something happened to one of the people who was going to participate was involved, they let him speak. When the attack became known, it was decided to take a break to investigate it and they left me locked in a room alone with Amelia, with whom I discussed our next steps, and some Aurors.
After a few hours we returned and it was revealed that Garrick Rotenrot had died from serious damage to his internal organs and from the effect of different very powerful poisons. Dumbledore didn't stop looking at me throughout his explanation.
This 'sudden' murder gave us more possibility to work under the statement that 'Since they couldn't use me, they sent someone else to kill him. He was the target from the beginning and since we were known to have conflicts, they wanted to use me to cover up the assassination attempts on him.' No one defended Garrick or hid his past faults, they wouldn't bother about someone dead.
Saying that it's impossible for me to be in two places at the same time, I got rid of the suspects, but Dumbledore almost seemed to want to come and slap me for my lies.
Everything went up since then and we gained a lot in favor, at one point I suggested using veritaserum on myself and it was approved. I had tried veritaserum before and realized that it doesn't work on me, not clones at least. I also asked Xenophilus if I could try it on him to see how someone would act under its effects.
After it was set to be used on me, it was all a big deal that surprised everyone except Dumbledore, who didn't stop being suspicious of me knowing I wasn't normal. I exposed things that were clearly lies, but that only Dumbledore knew and that he couldn't say anything, since he was also involved.
In the end we reaffirmed that blaming someone only for his crimes instead of his achievements was not quite right, so I looked at the director with special emphasis, and to prevent this from continuing, he decided to end the trial.
In the Wizengamot there were many who were against me and did not want to let me go, but in the face of all this they did not send me to Azkaban. They revoked my Order of Merlin and broke my wand like a criminal, this was clearly not in keeping with the crimes that I clearly 'didn't' commit, but corruption is a very strong thing.
Amelia wanted to discuss it because it was something very unfair, the order thing was fine, but destroying my future as a magician was too much. Still, I tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for her to accept the sentence, all I need is Tenebrius free for what I'm going to do next.
"You don't need to break my wand" I told them
"He's right" An auror came and took out a box where the parts of my broken wand were.
"Well, this trial is over," Dumbledore finished.
...
In another room I was with Amelia, who was very angry walking from side to side, as was Andromeda, who hugged me crying. She was still emotional, and finding out that her son-in-law was now targeted like a criminal for avenging her husband's death did not go down too well.
Tonks was there too, but she was just still mad, she didn't care about me, since she knew the truth.
Soon after, Dumbledore arrived with a face of few friends. I went with him for a while to talk in a secluded place and with some spells to keep our talk private.
"I guess you got what you wanted," Dumbledore spoke up.
"Don't worry, I'll stop working at the ministry, I just need Tenebrius's name for a few things"
"That's what worries me. You are very capable, but that makes it even worse." He didn't hide his displeasure with me.
"You don't have to worry about anything, you do your thing and I do mine, I won't do anything that is a real problem for you"
"It better, because if it don't, I don't mind losing my reputation for revealing who or what Tenebrius Akaichi really is" he looked at me seriously.
After Dumbledore left I went back to the girls, Amelia wanted to see if there was a way I could get my wand back and my permission to do magic, but I stopped her and told her it wasn't worth it. I ended up convincing her and telling her that now is not the time, there were more important things to worry about.
...
I ended up taking Andromeda and Tonks to her house, there Andromeda went to her room to cry and neither I nor Tonks could do anything to avoid it. Tonks also got a little sentimental and ended up hugging Tenebrius even though she thought it wasn't enough.
"If Garrick hadn't died and appeared in court, I would have attacked him without hesitation" Tonks said as she leaned into my chest.
"I'm glad it wasn't necessary, it would have been more difficult for me to get you out of Azkaban legally if that was the case" I patted her head "What do you want us to do now?"
"I don't want to go back to the ministry anymore, that place is nothing more than a nest of plagues. I don't mind being an Auror anymore, I don't have the slightest desire to be... remember what you said about having a plan B, travel and all that" She looked at me with wet eyes.
"Okay, you don't have to go back. As far as traveling, I can't promise you right now, we both have responsibilities here" I said looking at Andromeda's room.
"Okay, but what did you say about being mercenaries or something...'" She understood what I meant, not only did I not finish my studies, but she also did not want to leave her mother at this time, although she also thought of taking her with us.
"That is why I needed Tenebrius free, I will found my association"
"I want to join in when you do, I want to be able to take care of people like Garrick or those smugglers... The Aurors don't give me what I want, and the Ministry only looks after their interests. I don't want anyone to stop me from seeking justice for political reasons anymore." ... We can do it?"
"If that's what you want, then I'll do it, but now you have to rest. I know you well enough to know that you've winked at us for a long time"
Tonks was reluctant to sleep, mainly because she was afraid of nightmares, but with my help she did.
...
The day after my trial was Edward Tonks's funeral, which Nymphadora asked Tenebrius if he could help her organize. It wasn't as outrageous as Dumbledore's would be, but it was decent.
Several family friends came, as well as old classmates of Tonks who have already graduated, Dumbledore, Amelia, Moody, some fellow Aurors and a red-haired hooded man, among others. It took place and it was pretty depressing.
Neither Andromeda nor Tonks could hold back their tears when the coffin was buried, they both wanted to end this as quickly as possible, but at the same time they didn't want this to happen. Tonks couldn't contain herself for long, and she ended up running to be hugged by the little hooded redhead.
Andromeda, when she saw it, was confused, she did not understand why her daughter went to cry in the arms of a stranger, but she did not have time to ask, since she was trapped in the arms of the person she would wait for who her daughter was going to ask for consolation.
She didn't contain her crying either, and she stopped repressing herself in her son-in-law's arms, crying as much as she could and letting go of all that pain. She ended up ignoring the outside world and fell asleep, to which Tenebrius had to see her guests off with her in his arms and then carry her back to her house.
Tonks appeared a while later, as she had stayed for a while so that her boyfriend's real body would comfort her a little more. The three stayed in the house to try to calm their lives after this event, although Tenebrius took the time to go to the house in the ministry to retrieve their things. He couldn't work there anymore and Tonks didn't want to anymore, so there was no need for them to think about going back.