Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 23: 252 Days Before

"Get up!" snarled the guard. Addie and Fred were curled up together on the floor, huddled together for warmth. The cells were far below ground, and the cement walls did nothing to bring heat to the cool, damp cells. Addie sat up quickly, startled from sleep and disorientated. It took a couple of seconds before she fully recalled last nights events, and by then the guard had lost what little patience he had to begin with.

The cell door swung open, crashing into the opposite wall and rebounding back. The guard raised his wand at the two of them and shouted, "Up!" Addie and Fred quickly got to their feet. "Your trial is in five minutes, let's go." The man stepped back, waving the two on in front of him. Addie glanced back to see his wand still pointed at their backs, and knew they wouldn't have a chance to escape just yet.

He directed them up the stairs back into the courtroom they had passed through the night before. Only now it wasn't empty. Important looking witches and wizards sat in the stands, and in a chair above it all sat Pius Thicknesse, the new Minister for Magic. His long hair was swept back from his expressionless face. His hand came up to stroke his chin beard as he chatted with a witch beside him dressed entirely in pink.

Addie and Fred were led to two wooden chair in the center of the room. A loud clanking was coming from their direction, and as Addie got closer she saw why: metal chains set into the floor beneath the chairs were moving around eagerly, crashing loudly against the cement floor of the courtroom. It was as if they were waiting for Addie to sit down so they could clasp onto her.

Addie froze at the sight. Panic raced through her mind, her breath coming short. It felt as if an iron fist had hold of her lungs, squeezing painfully. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't. There was no way she would take another step towards those rattling chains.

But she didn't have a choice. The man prodded her painfully in between her shoulder blades with his wand tip. "I suggest you keep moving," he growled. Addie was forced to step closer to the chair, her legs wobbling with each step. Fred reached out a hand in support, but the guard quickly shoved it away. Addie looked up at Fred, who tried to offer her support with just his eyes. She took a deep breath, and another step, and then another.

It seemed to take forever to make her way across the courtroom. She could feel all eyes on her as she finally reached the chair, and sat down on it when instructed to. She stifled a scream as the chains leapt up, closing around her ankles and wrists. Addie looked over to Fred to see him chained as well.

Minister Thicknesse cleared his throat. "This trial is now in session. Please state your names for the jury."

Addie and Fred stayed absolutely silent. Addie pressed her lips together tightly, determined not to speak no matter what they threatened her with. She knew there were ways of making her talk, but she was hoping they would be too impatient to go that far.

She was correct. The lady in pink sitting beside the Minister cleared her throat. "If you refuse to speak," she said in a high pitched, squeaky voice. "We will have no choice but to charge you with obstruction of justice."

Addie and Fred still did not speak up.

"You were found within the Department of Mysteries on the night of August twenty-second. You are being charged with unauthorized entry into the Department of Mysteries and intentional theft of private Ministry information. Do you deny these accusations?"

Still, they did not speak.

"You have the chance now to defend yourselves," the lady continued, her beady eyes glaring down at the two of them. "Do you have nothing to say?"

Silence.

"Very well," said the Minister. "The court charges you with the accusations stated by Senior Undersecretary, Delores Umbridge. If found guilty, you will be charged with ten years in Azkaban. Do you have any last defense to state to the jury before they cast their vote?"