Felix Barker Trial

Khaat had been up all night. Ever since the secret vote by the wizengamot, she had been unable to put her mind at rest. She did not know who had believed in her capacities as a Chief Warlock or who had not, but clearly, they didn't trust her like she believed they had for the subject of her abilties to handle the proceedings to come up in the first place. Her confidence and trust in them had been shaken just because the vote about her abilities had come up in the first place. She didn't give a jot about what the public thought about what she did or didn't do. She had learned a long time ago to not give a damn about what the rest of the world thought about Lupins or what they did. Lupins did not live and die by the press.

However, her lack of confidence in the rest of the court and what they now clearly thought of her made her feel very alone and very unprotected and vulnerable. It haunted her. Brian had seen right through her, and he had taken her underwing from the moment the meeting was over until moments ago to drill her relentlessly on getting a handle on her fear. Not letting it get the best of her. And certainly never, ever showing it. He had promised her he was putting himself in front of her, standing in the courtroom, in front of the courtroom seats, in front of her seat at the bench, in order to be sure that if Barker were to get to her, he would have to go through Brian first. After what Barker had done to Khaat, Brian was quite sure he would not lose a wink of sleep if he had to fire a kill shot today.

She had requested he leave her alone for a few moments to review the case and gather her thoughts. He stood outside, against her door, with the door ajar. She had closed the case file, unable to absorb anymore. She drew out her leather bag and laid an array of knives, and a potions bottle on her desk along with her two wands. She had chosen to wear slim fitting charcoal colored slacks, a matching tailored blazer, and a red blouse with white pinstipes. She'd worn black stilletto boots under her slacks. Her hair and her makeup was flawless. She'd done her best to use a glamour potion to help herself look not so much like "death warmed over," but as her father so often said, "We do magic, not miracles." It weasn't a great deal of help. Barker had left his mark, and it would take weeks or months to completely erase. She could only do so much even with magic.

She looked at her black robes and the hat awaiting her in their place on the back of her office door. She accio'd them to her and was began looking for places to tuck her weapons. She wanted to be certain that Barker didn't win if he got free from the guards, as had happened so many times before in her courtroom. She merely wanted him to not be able to hurt her again.

She wasn't sure if her father was going to be here today or not, but she presumed he was not going to miss it. Well, if that happened, she might have two that would help to protect her. Brian and her father. Rob might, but She didn't want to presume he would have time to look after her. He did have to control the aurors that were from Azkaban that were in control of Barker. That did take up time and energy both. No, this time, she was not counting on anyone but herself. Not really. She wanted the trial to be fair, by the books, and she didn't want to hurt anyone. She merely wanted to survive it.

The Trial was today. Rob had confidence in Khaat. She’d want to put Felix into his care. It seemed as if everyone was getting a kick out of the prospect. Rob had gone ahead to the Ministry. He didn’t want to wait at home while Elijah and Jen obsessed over the finer details of their clothing. Rob Apparated to Azkaban first though and gave the Dementors orders to make their prisoner feel more at home before shifting him over to the Ministry. That meant they could have some pickings of him for a while. He gave them a time and warned them not to be late. He wasn’t going to play sheepdog today. He’d just banish them from the island if they disappointed him.

So, Rob Apparated to the Ministry. He wasn’t wearing anything special, just some trousers he’d worn to Chris and David’s wedding, a dress shirt and a black tie. He didn’t want to add to the charade of the whole thing. He decided that perhaps going in search of Khaat was the best move. Brian hanging outside her office was enough indication as to her whereabouts. Rob motioned for Brian to get out of the way and opened the office door. He walked inside and let it shut behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at Khaat.

“You know if you throw a knife at him then they could have you put in a psych ward, right?” He told her. “What are you doing?”

"Merely protecting myself," She said, pausing to conjure herself a cup of French Roast. She hated conjured coffee, but it was better than nothing. "You want a cup?" She didn't know of Rob to ever much like French Roast coffee, but she thought she woudl at least offer. " I had picked out that little skinny black dress you liked so much, but I can't hide a bloody thing in that," she sighed. She pushed her own wand into her right boot and Remus's into her left. "I don't want to hurt anybody, and I do not want to make it anybody else's responsibility to keep me in one piece. I need to take that piece of my life back. If I don't, I'm going to be running from little guys like Barker for the rest of my life. And you know what, he's not entitled to that much of me. Not ever again."

She took one of the knives and tucked it into the bottom hem of her wizengamot robes. She had more knives with her than she had places to put them. She put another in the inside pocket of her jacket. "So you know, Rob, there have been a lot of acts of violence in in that courtroom. A lot. And while I was on the bench. I haven't been able to prevent anything. That stops today. One way or another. I will run the trial completely by the books, but I won't let that string of violence in my courtroom continue. It ends--here and now. "

She paused and took a sip of the coffee, staring at the knives. She had only tucked two in place. There were several more to either choose from, or to decide to pack somewhere in her clothes. So far, she wasn't touching the bottle of potion. She hadn't even let Brian know she had it. It was something she had bought from some weird woman in Rob's lab. She had had some odd streak of electric blue in her hair that day to match some odd dress in blue snakeskin material. It had cost her plenty, and the woman had had to take it from Robs personal stores. She had done it because Khaat and Rob were still married, but she hadn't liked doing it.

Rob could do nothing but watch as Khaat began to load herself up with unnecessary weapons. He walked further into the room and spotted a familiar looking bottle on the desk. Rob frowned slightly and looked at Khaat before walking over to stand in front of her desk. “Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?” he asked, picking the vial up and placing it carefully in his coat pocket. “And no I don’t want any bloody coffee.” Rob couldn’t help but snap at Khaat. “Do you have no faith in me? I can keep him away from you. He’s been in hell for a week now. The Dementors are having one last knock before we get him for good and you think for some insane reason that he’s going to get past a cage, past half a dozen Dementors and me?!”

Rob put his hands in his coat pockets and felt the vial. That was his alright. What she was doing with it he didn’t know and he didn’t want to know right now. If it was what he thought it was then she’d reached a new level of insanity. Truly she was selfish. Rob took his hands back out of the pockets and put them down on the desk. “Lose the knives Khaat, prove that you trust me. I’ll get more Dementors if you want. They’re desperate for a field trip. You don’t need to do this on your own. You’re setting yourself up for a fall because you are convinced you can do this by yourself. Narcissa should have voited against you during the pre-trial because you can’t do this! Not if you think you have to do it yourself!”

She looked up at him, being utterly honest with him now, more than she had been in a long time. "I do have faith in you. I have more faith in you than just about anyone else I've ever known. You are the only one who has the direct power right now to keep Barker reasonably under control. Our past wardens were bloody useless, to be completely honest. There isn't anyone I'd want more in that position but you. You want to know the real truth? I know you have a whole bloody army to command, and the dementors are not known to be the most obedient set of bedsheets we ever employed. That, in itself, unless you have enough charisma to keep them delighted in obeying you, is going to be a challenge. The more directions your attention has to be divided, the more difficulties you're going to have.

"I know this isn't going to make one bloody ounce of sense to y0u, and I don't know how to phrase it so that it does make sense. But, Rob, you are the largest part of my heart. You always have been. You always will be. My thoughts were not about whether or not you could protect me or not. I always knew you could and you would--and from darned near anything." She paused before she spoke. "I still love you, Rob. I always will. I don't know why we didn't make it work, but, there it is. I didn't want you to have to have your attentions divided. First of all, I don't ever want anything to happen to you. That means more to me than you could possibly ever know. And I've seen how much damage Felix can do first hand. Second, I want you to utterly shine in this job and to look like the best warden Azkaban has ever had in its over 300 year history. And serving as my bodyguard is, really, not part of your job.

"Third, there are things that I don't think you know about this last time with Felix. Things that perhaps are best left between Eli and me. I don't know if anyone else would understand. And it does make me feel just a wee bit more vulnerable. And, you of all people ought to know how much I detest feeling vulnerable. It isn't about you. Its about me not being who I want to be.

"And if anyone else had asked me, I'd have told them to shut it--at the very least." She managed a smile. "But telling you to shut it would not do one ounce of good. I know you better than that. Alright. You win." She took the knives on her desk and put them back in her bag and took the ones she had already hidden and put them in the bag as well. She didn't care in the slightest that he had taken the potions bottle from her. Actually, there was a part of her that respected him for, not only recognizing it, but caring enough to take it from her.

"You win," she said softly. "I put myself entirely in your hands. Handle the security for this entirely as you see fit." She got up, took her walking stick and went over to him. She took a chance and kissed him softly. She had wanted to do that for ages. She still loved him, and she missed him. She missed the taste of his kiss on her lips. She missed his scent filling her mind. She missed him. She would never make him do anything he didn't want to do, so, instead, she forced the words she wanted to say to take a backseat to a much more reserved response. "Thank you. I..I'm glad you're here. More than you know."

Rob didn’t want to turn and be nice to Khaat now. Well, that was a lie, he did but he couldn’t. She was being ridiculous. He knew she didn’t want to be vulnerable. No one did but that was a fact of life. You were always vulnerable to something whether that was attack or disease or even death. She wasn’t favoured by the God’s. She was a person, just like anyone else and therefore she was vulnerable just like anyone else. She had to learn to forget about that or live with it. She was more vulnerable if she couldn’t accept it. That’s how Rob saw it anyway. Once she accepted it, she could do something about it. She could lean on someone. That was the only way to combat it, to trust yourself, your life, in someone else’s hands. That’s why he and Jen were so close, why he trusted David and Pierre and Christophe with his life – because they were close. They all loved each other and they trusted each other.

They’re not bed sheets, Rob thought, They’re flying cloaks.

“Regardless of how under control I have them or how much faith you supposedly had in me...Khaat you doubt us. Not just me, not just the Dementors and the people I have at my disposal. You doubt us all. Jen’ll be there. She’ll fire the Killing Curse at him before he could take one step. There are armed guards at the doors; Dementors will hover like no tomorrow. Elijah’s going to be there. Christophe, David – you name it they’re there. Brian is here. Your father will no doubt come. You have people behind you and you’re stood here loading yourself up with knives? Don’t flatter me. I don’t want to know. Just think for one second about whether what you’re doing is right, huh? Because from where I’m standing, you’re being stupid.”

Rob sighed and resigned himself to the second bought of the speech. Some of it, Rob didn’t want to hear. He couldn’t hear this now. He was confused enough as it was, angry enough as it was. He didn’t want it quelled just yet. He wanted to leave, still pissed off, so he could shout at Brian. “It’s not just about you,” He said with a sigh, deliberately pushing the rest to the side, “The minute he’s out of control he’s a danger to everyone in that courtroom. The first wand he gets hold of could be the one that gets him out. He’s not getting out of my control, alright? It’s not happening. A monkey could do this job, Khaat, let’s face it. Jobs are jobs, you do them and you go home. Whether you give a lacklustre performance or not is up to you. Me, personally, I just get on with it and shove off back to Knockturn.”

“Okay, there are things I don’t know? There maybe things I don’t know but I have eyes, I have ears. That kid has gotten over this. He’s forgiven that sadistic twat when he shouldn’t have. He’s moved on. He’s set an example. Follow it. I know you’ve been there, done that, and Barker hurt you more but you have the capacity to forgive him. He needs to be punished and forgiven for his crime. You can hate him for it for as long as you want but you have to accept that what is done is done. It’s over, it’s ended and you have to move on. He’s a kid. He’s a kid that had no guidance. He’s finding his feet, alright? I hate him as much as everyone else but I know how it feels to be without any guide. He needs stability, okay? I feel sorry for him. The one thing that was stable in his life is now on a missing person’s list. I am allowed to feel sorry for him, even if he’s going to be in my custody within the next eight hours. There might be things I don’t know but I can fill in the blanks.”

Rob was satisfied when Khaat gave up. He waited until he couldn’t identify there being any more weapons on her body minus the wands and before stepping back. He needed to go back to Azkaban and check whether or not the Dementors had killed Barker. It would be an ‘oops’ moment if they did. He sighed and crossed his arms back over his chest. When Khaat kissed him, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do. She’d said she loved him. He didn’t want to hear that. Now she was kissing him. Way to complicate things. Rob pulled away and looked at the door, knowing exactly who was behind it. “You’re welcome,” he said awkwardly. “Look, I’ve got to go back to Azkaban. It’s my home away from home and I’ve got to check that the Dementors aren’t hurting him too much.”

Rob walked over to the door and opened it up. Brian fell into the room, clearly not expecting the abrupt opening of the door and Rob stepped over him. “In future, do kiss the man you’re with instead of someone else. Fidelity is always important in relationships.” And with that, Rob shut the door and walked down the hall. He needed a cigarette. Today was going to feel like forever.

Fidelity? Rob Dent was lecturing her on fidelity? Really? She frowned. He had left her, as she recalled. He had backed out on their relationship. and on the very night their first child was born, for a much stronger love--prolonging his own childhood, or loving his lack of commitment, or that part of him that hadn't been able to be honest with her from the very start about who and what he was before he even met her. She had utterly and stupidly thrown herself at him trying to find that foundation of fidelity that they had promised each other was there when they married. Well, all they had proven was that love, in itself, was not enough. The fidelity had not been there.

And she was now kicking herself for trying one more time to see if he had grown into himelf. If he had found the ability to love her. Much as she believed he did love her, the fidelity gene was just not in his makeup. Not where she was concerned. It had all been for nought.

It didn't bother her in the least that he had swiped her bottle of potion. He had been true to his own character. For him to have let her have it would have not been himself in any sense. He didn't trust anyone but himself with certain concoctions. And he never trusted her with things she bought from the lab without his knowledge. Not when, if it had been for a purpose her father would have endorsed, she could have gotten from the Lupin potion lab.

She watched Brian regain his footing as Rob left. She went back and sat again at the desk. She would be given word when the other wizengamot members arrived. She clearly had some time. She took a quiet sip on her coffee.

"Can I ask what that was about?" Brian asked her.

"He's bent out of shape. Partly because I kissed him," Khaat shrugged.

"Yeah? And?" Brian frowned. Khaat guessed Brian wasn't overjoyed, but he did understand that she and Rob were still married. Brian was rather long in patience. To him, it obviously was not a big deal. "What's the rest of it?"

"It's over. He's thrown in the towel on us, in a manner of speaking."

"Is that what he said?"

"Its more what he didnt' say," she said softly.

" Well, don't be surprised if I dont' grieve with you about that. He saw you with all my knives, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Khaat, when a man sees the lady he loves taking things into her own hands like that, he can tend to either decide to trust her, or to get flustered because she doesnt' trust him. In his position, it would have been an easy kneejerk thing to do the latter."

"So why didn't you?"

"For one thing, I'm not in his shoes. I'm not in charge of Felix Barker and how much he gets away with. I'm only in charge of keeping you alive and as unharmed as I can make it. Look, its still not too late to step away from this. Its an open and shut case. You have nothing to prove here by doing this."

"He also took a bottle of potion I bought from his Knockturn lab," she told Brian quietly.

"I dont' want to know," he sighed, shaking his head. "I am positive I don't want to know. Clearly, I would not have approved and neither would your father, which is why you went to Rob. Alright, then, Chief Warlock. What are your orders?" He was deliberately shifting her back into her role. He was forcing her to let go of thoughts about whatever had happened between her and Rob and making her think about the hearing again and nothing else. The rest would wait til later--at home.

"Let me read the files again," she said. "I have to make sure I have all my facts as straight as the files have them documented. It has to be clean. Completely clean." She turned her attentions to reading the case files yet another time. She was doing her best to put a thick layer of ice over her heart so that her feelings were as removed from this as possible. She knew people that could be as cold as ice about damned near everything. It was time she took a page from their playbooks.

Thaor hadn't got much sleep when he realized it was time to go to the ministry for Felix Barker's trial. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, not being able to fall asleep, and when he finally had fallen asleep, not being able to stay asleep. This was Thaor's first trial as a member of the Wizengamot, and he was for lack of a better term, excited.

Thaor hoped Khaat wasn't upset with him for calling the meeting last night, nor for calling for the secret vote. He trusted her, but knew it was something that had to be done. If not for fairness, then to keep order in the Wizengamot in years to come.

Thaor accio'd his black Wizengamot robes and hat, and quickly put them on. Once he was ready to go, he put on his deep blue traveling cloak, and apparated to just outside the telephone booth that was the entry point to the ministry. He stepped into the booth, and activated the entry sequence. Once inside the ministry, Thaor got into a lift, and went to the hall just outside the courtrooms and offices. Thaor walked down the hall, and saw Brian outside Khaats office, no doubt she had been there for a while, he could only guess what was going through her mind after last nights meeting.

Thaor stepped into his office, and put his traveling cloak on the coat hanger, next to his favorite emerald green traveling cloak. So that's where you went off to. Thaor said, shaking his head at the realization that he had left his green cloak in his office. He had spent hours searching his house, shop, and office at Hogwarts for the bloody thing.

After deeming himself ready for the trial, Thaor left his office, and walked towards Khaats office, he wanted a quick word with her. Brian. Thaor said with a smile and a nod towards the man as he entered the office.

Thaor's eyes landed on Khaat, he was trying not to stare, but she looked a hundred-fold better than she had last night. Khaat, might I have a word? Privately? You look great by the way. Thaor said with a smile.

"Good morning, Thaor," she said. "You're welcome to a cup of coffee, but I'm afraid it's only the conjured stuff. I much prefer the real thing that is brewed by hand, but, well, I haven't taken the time for it this morning. So, how are you feeling on the opening of your first major scale trial?"

She presumed he might be just a wee bit anxious. It made him human. It made him very normal. She had been not just anxious, but downright frightened the first trial she had been a part of. That had been a long time ago. She had learned, in the years since, to develop a stony facade in the courtroom at least so that hopefully no one saw whatever she was thinking and feeling. Barker had specialized in trying to bore into people's psyches, though, so this was not going to be the normal courtoom trial in any manner.

Barker's agenda had always been simple--hurt her because it would hurt her father. It woud seek to fill his enormous need for revenge against her father for the rightful death of his father. Robert had killed Barker's father in a duel years and years ago. It had been self defense. Seth Barker had drawn on Robert, who had had no choice but to return fire to protect himself. It had not been the first time a Lupin had been pressed to kill in order to merely survive.

She was trying to remember Rob's words. She had not known it was going to be a Dent family reunion. She had not figured they would all gather for her to help protect her. She had expected Rob and Jen to be there. Hell, it was their jobs. But she hadn't expected the rest. Nor had she wanted Eli to be there at all. In every sense of the word that mattered, Eli was her son. She didn't want him to have any part of this. But it was an open courtroom, and the public was welcome.

As far as protectors went, she knew she had several who wouldn't hesitate to draw their wands. She knew who she might count on. The wizard, amongst all of them, who was fastest on the draw was undoubtedly Vincent. He was still the finest auror she knew. And despite their differences, she beleived he would not let her be murdered while he watched. Then there was Jess. Jess had backed her up more than once and no doubt would do so again. It was just who Jess was. Brian was not going to leave her. He would put himself between Barker and her all day today, deliberately. Rob. He had said he had it under control. He had promised Jen would be there. Narcissa? Was she still handy with her wand? Rumor said she was, but Khaat had never seen it. Thaor? Well, he was a wandmaker, but could he spar? Cambiare was a total unknown to her. But seasoned wizards were, generally speaking, the most formidible of all. And then there was her father. She had no doubt he would not hesitate to defend her. Surely one of them was capable of keeping Barker harmless today. She'd been through the list a thousand times in her mind. It didn't help to go through it again.

Her own anxiety was almost entirely today about Barker simply not being able to kill her in the open courtroom. It wasn't as if the Wizengamot courtroom was new to violence. Quite the contrary. In point of fact, the trials were often extremely dangerous and violent in the past because security had been nonexistent, and not merely lax. If he was destined to be the one to end her life, then, she prayed it not happen in front of the eyes of her father, which would surely be the one thing that Barker would desire to orchestrate more than anything else in his life. She was now working, with all she had, to "gear up" for this, and to look composed and utterly emotionless.

Matt grudgily woke up that morning, it was the day of the Barker Trial. He did his normal morning routine, shower, get dressed, brush teeth, grab coffee, kiss Emmy & the twins. All the normal things, but today he would be sending a man to prison. Hell he was sending the man that had nearly killed Soph to prison. This seemed to be the closest he'd gotten to that ever. But he had barely slept that night so he needed to wake up. He was afraid someone would call him out on being half asleep. But Matt was somewhat used to sleepless nights and tiring days so who knows. Sure he may get a few things wrong but what th hell, actually yes the hell. This was a big deal, his coffee and Khaat will cure him.

He shrugged as he made his way towards the lift that led down to the courtrooms. He never actually liked the courtrooms. They were dark and cold, supposedly the perfecy fit for sending a criminal to prison for life. But again, Matt was excited and also a little nervous at the same time. He didn't even know what he was doing there anyway, he needed to talk to Khaat. But when he got to the courtrooms nobody seemed to be there. He figured he was early and decided he'd take a quick power rest until everyone arrived.