It was seven o'clock in the morning, and Aurora, exhausted from her rambling dreams, lay in bed listening to the heavy rain outside. The room was so dark and gloomy that she didn't have to open the curtains to know what it was like outside.
The transparent rain blanket, deep green thick old forest. She huddled in the thick mountain fog and rain, hugging herself tightly. The thin gray light poked out from behind the gap in the curtain, and she was like a fragile baby back in its mother's arms.
After a while, Lymes knocked lightly on the door, reminding them that it was time to go, and that the trial would soon begin.
Aurora responded, got up, and quickly finished washing up in the bathroom. Perhaps it was because she had not been able to rest well for several days in a row. When she saw herself in the mirror, her face was sickly pale, and there were faint bruises under her eyes, the whole person is like those fairy tales from the rainy night out of the thin ghost, not a bit lively look.
Perhaps the ministry would be more than happy to see itself like this, as the daughter of a deceased client should be.
She combed her long hair as smoothly as she could, and then, without tying it up with a headband, let it hang loosely over her back. Inside the room, Avrora picked up the satchel and looked inside. Still no sign of the journal.
"Mr. Slytherin?" She called out hopefully, not expecting any reaction.
Well, he's not ready to talk.
Once again, she regretted saying the wrong thing yesterday, even though she never knew when she was going to step on António de Oliveira Salazar's box. It was a miracle that she was still alive and well.
But António de Oliveira Salazar is right that, from an outsider's perspective, there seems to be something wrong with the object of his concern. But when did you start to think out of the way? It seems that while still in school, she somehow began to selectively ignore things like the veracity of the charges against Severus Snape.
It's not a thought-out decision, it's more like a subconscious instinct. It was as if she knew the man so well that she would not suspect him even if she did not remember him at all, as she did today.
Aurora shivered and turned on the tap, filling it with cold, clear water. She buried her head in the water and tried to drown out the weird thoughts that were swirling around in her head.
When she finally reached the point of shock, Aurora looked up from the sink. Her face was smeared with water, and she was coughing from the water in her nose.
Don't think too much. She consoled herself with the words of Remus and António de Oliveira Salazar, that her decision had no real meaning, that there was no need to... . ... worried.
"Aurora?" Remus called her name suspiciously from outside the door.
She wiped her face and replied, "I'm fine. I'll be right there."
After a brief breakfast, Remus led Aurora through the fireplace to the Ministry of Magic. It was a vertiginous Fujian Blue Hall, with golden letters on the ceiling of the peacock-blue dome, as beautiful as the aurora-dimmed starry night. There were as many people coming and going as there were in Diagon Alley at its busiest time. You Don't have to walk by yourself, the crowd will push you forward in the middle.
Aurora stayed close to Remus, peering through the gaps in the crowd. Delicate and rigorous, busy and regular, that was her first impression of the ministry. At the moment the most striking thing is the sculpture of the pure gold fountain built in the middle of the hall. The water softens the aggressive glint of gold and makes it look more gentle and serious.
After passing a Security Check, Avrora was led to one of the elevators. As soon as the door opened, a plume of black smoke shot from inside. Remus pulled Aurora aside deftly, only to discover that the flames were coming from a chest in the arms of one of the Wizards in the elevator.
The shaman, who was carrying the box, patted his singed beard and said, "Sorry, he has a little weightlessness allergy, so he's sick. Come on in."
Aurora went in first, her eyes catching the sight of the magical animal whose head had just popped out of the box. She smiled at the bright turquoise eyes. "Hi."
He craned his neck thoroughly, pecked the girl on the cheek affectionately and curiously, gave a clear cry, and was pressed back by the wizard: "Can't you be quiet?"
"Maybe you're holding it the wrong way. It's uncomfortable," Aurora warned. The Wizard looked at her in astonishment, and carefully changed his position to embrace it. As expected, the enchanted creature no longer breathed fire restlessly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Ding-dong! The elevator door opened. Remus reminded her gently, "Aurora, we're here.""Okay." She nodded and followed Remus out.
The light on this floor was much darker and more oppressive than the hall just now. The dark ground was cut into regular squares by vertical sharp edges and lines, and the walls were bone-white in a frightening way, there will be a direction sign every corner or two.
There was a window at the far right end of the corridor, from which too much light was surging in, pressing down on the ground with a heavy whiteness, and with the grey opacity of a rainy day.
Aurora turned to face Severus Snape across the aisle, her dark eyes staring unawares into space. Her heart skipped a beat, and then it was quiet, so quiet that even the sound of the rain outside was as loud as a party.
He stood in the dark, from head to toe in the shadows. His pale face was cold and indifferent, and his eyes were as deep as the corridor here. He could not capture any expression other than the initial shock. For a moment, Avrora acted as if he didn't know who he was.
Dumbledore, dressed in a Navy Wizard's costume, stepped out of the shadows and spoke softly to Severus Snape. Then he turned and looked at Aurora, smiling silently into his blue eyes.
The door opened and a stern-faced sorceress emerged, wearing a black uniform and bearing on her chest a ministry symbol that Aurora remembered from the letter. "Aurora John Field, isn't she?" She asked, looking at the girl in front of her
"Yes."
The witch looked at Remus again. "Are you her guardian?" Remus smiled gently and nodded. "I will go in with her."
Aurora took Remus' hand, looked at the skeptical witch, and said firmly, "He is my guardian." Avrora wondered if she was mistaken, there was a rather sharp look from behind stab over, let her some such as AWN in the back.
"Well, follow me, Please."
The courtroom was as stately and somber as the outside, and Avrora sat in her chair, clutching her satchel tightly to her chest, and she was comforted to feel the familiar diary shape, the soft cover, the sharp edges.
Remus stood beside her, "Remember not to look at Dumbledore and the others later," he said in a voice so faint that only the two of them could hear him. "You are Hufflepuff's student and do not know the dean of Slytherin at all, except in class."
Aurora blinked and looked at the vacant bench. "Of course," she said. "It's impossible, isn't it?"
Remus patted her on the shoulder and said no more.
Severus Snape walked in, seated a full court distance away from Aurora. Amelia Nathan Burns took her seat, and the trial began.
As Remus explained, the Ministry of Magic first provided a very detailed statement, and then explained why, as required by law, it had invited Emond John Field's daughter, finally, please Amelia according to the wishes of the victims' families to carry out a fair verdict.
Amelia turned her head, "We know that you grew up in Muggle Society," he said to Avrora in a calm and solemn voice, "So there are many things about witches that are not clear, especially the law. As our staff has just explained, do you understand why you are sitting here today?"
"Yes, Madam Judge, I do." Aurora nodded, her eyes fixed on Amelia, trying not to look away.
"So, you go to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I just finished second grade."
"And your college is?"
Hufflepuff
"Do you know the man in front of you?"
Aurora did not take her eyes off the judge. Her voice was steady and clear. "He's my potion professor," she said in her usual gentle voice
"Did you know him personally?"
"Not really, your honor."
"Would you please sum it up in more precise terms?"
"Okay," Aurora said, rephrasing her words. "If detention for schoolwork doesn't count, I don't know Professor Severus Snape personally."
"And Mr. Severus Snape?"
"She gets detention a lot in my class with a few other students, but other than that, no," Severus Snape replied dryly.
"Do you have any objection to the statement the ministry has just made?""Yes," Severus Snape replied unhurriedly. "I wasn't where he said I was."
"Where were you?"
"Hogwarts, prepare for the final exam."
"Your witness..."
"It's me," Dumbledore said gently. "I was one of his invigilators."
Amelia waved the jury down and then asked, "What about the other invigilator professor?"
Dumbledore, too, did not look at Aurora, but only at those around him, "She is the dean of Gryffindor College, Professor of Minerva McGonagall, and is available to testify outside the courtroom if necessary," he said calmly and clearly
"Not yet," Amelia said, turning to Aurora, "Since you understand the rules and regulations we've just explained, I think you understand what you're trying to do. Are you willing to authorize the Ministry of Magic to Exercise Your power on your behalf?"
"I want to do this on my own," she said, gripping the edge of António de Oliveira Salazar's journal with her fingers. She kept her eyes on the judge in the high chair
As soon as he said this, the jury began to stir around him.
"Of course, it's your basic right," Amelia said, barking sternly into the surrounding jury box. "Silence, Please!"
"So, do you agree with the ministry's proposal that the Severus Snape be temporarily suspended and sent to Azkaban for investigation?"
Silence, as if a century so long.
Aurora sat in her chair, feeling everyone's eyes on her, pressing down on her.
The rain outside must be getting heavier, as it poured on the top of the Ministry of Magic. It wanted to crush the steel and clay into a vast ocean. A dense rain curtain hangs outside the glass windows, blocking out all the colors and contours of the objects outside.
It is as cold and rigid as an isolated prison, where sitting for too long loses all ability to feel pleasure and laughter.
Aurora stared at the badge on Amelia's chest without blinking. Then she heard herself say clearly:
"No, I don't agree."
There was an uproar. As Severus Snape entered the arena, his gaze fell on Aurora for the first time, and he did not look surprised or surprised.
Amelia was a little surprised, too, but did not reveal much.
At this time, sitting in the first row of a witch suddenly opened his mouth, the voice shrill old, the accent was uncomfortably strong: "She's a 13-year-old girl. It's ridiculous for her to make such a decision."
"I am her guardian, and I have no objection to her opinion," Remus said, standing next to Aurora.
The witch, Blanche T. S. Eliot, looked deeply offended, her cheeks flushed with anger. "But she is still too young to know what her decision means. Such a trial is irresponsible. There is also a provision in our law concerning underage wizards, which the Ministry of Magic has the power to deal with until such time as they can not be held accountable for their decisions."
"But that was without a guardian," Dumbledore warned. "Obviously, Miss John Field has her own guardian."
Severus Snape drooped his eyelids and guessed that Dumbledore had arranged it. I just don't know what he told this girl to make her make such a decision without the ministry noticing. He really admired the headmaster.
"Perhaps we should evaluate this gentleman's ability to care for a minor wizard," Branch retorted tartly.
Dumbledore answered calmly, "From what I have observed at school, he is well qualified."
"Now, be quiet, Miss John Field has something to say," Amelia said, gesturing to Aurora to agree to her request.
Aurora asked softly, "I just have a few questions. Does everyone here know my father?"
The jury looked at each other, wondering why the girl had suddenly asked such a question. Amelia patiently answered her question, "Not exactly, but I know him quite well."
"Does anyone know what his favorite songs are, what he likes to eat, what his favorite books are?" Aurora continued.
"Well..." Amelia said, hesitating. "We can only discuss matters relating to this case, Miss John Field."
"It Matters, your honor," Aurora said, raising her head to look at the group of strangers, "He liked to listen to Claude Debussy, to eat my mother's baked cod with lemon sauce, to watch Charles Dickens," Marianne told her, true to Emond.
Amelia raised her hand and interrupted Branch, letting Aurora continue.
"I don't think anyone here knows about this, do they? Because I'm his daughter and you just know him."
"The laws of the Ministry of Magic State that its power comes from the will of every wizard, right? If there is no one here who knows my father, why would anyone think they could make that decision for him?"
"I was seven years old... ... No, it was earlier. I hadn't seen him since I was six years old Until the Remus Lupin and his friends brought back the news of my father's death, and the letters he had written and written but never dared to send to me."
Aurora's voice, muffled by the rain, echoed through the courtroom, tenuous and steady.
"He was a great and sacrificial man to you. To me, he's just my father. He told me that when he was at his most insufferable, the only support he had was me and my mother. He died for us, and it is because of my father's death, and the sacrifices and efforts of others, that you are all safe and sound here today."
"But I still blame him because he never shows up when I need him. When my mother died of pneumonia on my birthday, he never showed up. But it wasn't his fault because he couldn't come back."
"So, in this case, if there is someone who can really be proven to have killed my father, why should I take sides?" Avrora said, "I've misunderstood too many people, and the one that hurt me the most was my father. So I don't want to misunderstand anyone else before the full truth is revealed."
"I am my father's daughter, the last relative he gave up his life for. I am the only person in the world who is qualified to make decisions for him."
Aurora looked at Amelia. "That's all I have to say, your honor."
There was no sound in the Stormy Ministry of Magic Courtroom. It was cold and dark as the dark bottom of the sea. Unimaginable pressure piled up in this eerie silence, forcing you to hide and be crushed into pieces.
"It is the law," Dumbledore said softly. "It is the will of every wizard."
In the end, Amelia delivered the verdict-the ministry respected Aurora's opinion, withdrew the seizure order, and the trial was over.
The gate opened and the Wizards filed out. Some people looked at Severus Snape as if they had just seen a ghost, and said in a twisted voice, "That's good, that's good."
Severus Snape turned to the girl at the far end of the court, who was leaning against the railing, listening obediently to what Remus said. Then, they turned around at the same time and gave themselves a slight nod, and soon disappeared into the doorway as if they were strangers.
"You told him to go to John Field, didn't you?" Severus Snape looked at Dumbledore, relieved that the trial was over. "I'm curious what you told her to make that decision."
"Nothing, Severus. The boy surprised me." Dumbledore walked slowly out with him, soon came to the still-empty row of fireplaces, "I only asked Remus to tell her why the ministry is looking for her and explain our laws to her. No one interfered with her decision."
"Really?" Severus Snape replied dryly.
"Well," said Dumbledore ruefully, and then looked at Severus Snape. "Do you think Remus would say something very nice for you?"
"No," Severus Snape replied in disgust.
The old principal crossed his arms and pointed cheerfully. "So this was Aurora's decision all by herself. No one asked or taught her what to do."
Severus Snape said nothing, and soon he saw the familiar golden-haired boy waiting with Remus in front of the fireplace, preparing to use Floo Powder to leave the Ministry.
Aurora looked back at Dumbledore and Severus Snape with her lips moving, but she did not speak. Dumbledore suddenly suggested, "Why not use the fireplace as well?"
When Aurora looked back, she saw that the space behind her had changed from an empty space to a friendly, smiling Dumbledore and an expressionless Severus Snape.
She caught his eye just in time.
The Ministry of Magic gradually more people up, the fireplace here is the most lively, coming and going. Remus told Aurora where he was going and went ahead to wait for her. The moment the pitter-patter of green flames burst into flame, she said softly to the black figure behind her, "People from the daily prophet came to ask about you yesterday and wrote a lot of nonsense. Is It Serious?"
With Remus gone, Avrora pulled up her skirt, grabbed a handful of floo powder, and stood in the fireplace, facing Severus Snape.
He looked at Aurora and said, "No."
"Diagon Alley."
The Floo Powder Fell Like Smoke, and a cold, green flame flamed, enveloping the girl, pulling her away from Severus Snape as if she had never been there.
It's still raining.