MoM vs. James Roland

It had come. The trial of James Roland. The charge was treason. To be specific, Khaat believed that technically, Roland might well have been guilty of high treason, but the charge of treason was reason enough to try him. And he was the first of Grindelwald's gang to be tried. She wondered if he would also be the last.

And if so, that was a sad commentary. Roland had a fine legacy behind him. Or at least he had up to this point. He had been one of the most respected men in the Ministry. A believable and anchoring source. Or at least that was what the public believed. And he had somehow chosen to toss it aside. What she didn't understand was why. The lies and propaganda he had published was evidence in itself against the man. And she wasn't seeing Gellert Grindelwald coming out from under his rock to rescue Roland. Nor had he apparently thought of sending Forbes into get his golden boy. He had chosen to toss the famed wizarding public relations genius under the proverbial doubledecker bus.

She had allowed Roland to preserve what dignity he had left. She had allowed him, if he chose, to not appear in court in the traditional black and white striped rags but rather she had allowed him to choose what he wore so long as it passed security standards. Traditional robes or a business suit, if he chose. She had allowed him to make himself as presentable as he wanted, albeit by muggle means. But that much could not be helped.

Her father had opted to not attend the opening of the trial but had insisted that there be adequate security in the courtroom. There would be aurors, of course. And that included her friend Angus Donohue and her husband, Brian Quinn and several other aurors. Standard procedure here now.

She finished adjusting her Chief Warlock Robes and picked up her files of paperwork and gathered herself in the courtroom. Her secretary had put fresh pitchers of water and waterglasses in their usual places. Khaat took note of the aurors already in their places and silently opened the case file and began reviewing it for what felt like the one millionth time before this all began.

Jess walked into the courtroom and sighed, he was pleased to be back, but not under these circumstances. It appeared that the Ministry had finally caught up with the ex-Minister, locking him up and charging it for treason.

It was horse crap. All of it.

He had very rarely found himself more irked at the Lupin family for their brazen disregard of the law in favour of their own betterment. Where was Thaorson Elldir? Had he not took place in the very same conspiracy that had resulted in the imprisonment of a man who, admittedly deserved to be there, was not amongst his equals. Emof, the leader of the Death Eaters, the man who also helped Gellert in his rise to power was nowhere to be seen. Jess had been back a few short days, but he'd yet to hear anything about the wanted status of that particular felon.

Jess knew that Roland was guilt of treason, it was there in black and white. But what he did not believe was that it was fair for Roland to sit there and be sentenced for crimes that the executive family had pardoned for their friends.

He didn't know where the trial would go, but he had a deep-set feeling that the ramifications of what was decided here would have deeper impacts than anyone else knew.

Khaat glanced up and saw the hardset look in Jess's face. He didn't speak. And it did not appear he wanted to. She had seen that look a lot on the streets over the past year. It was that same accusatory, condemning look that she had seen from everyone else that had swallowed Grindelwald's lies. Could Jess possibly have been that stupid that he believed that nonsense? She had always thought of Jess as a friend. But perhaps his views had become so contaminated that he was going to be, after all was said and done just another Lupin hater like the rest who had bought Roland's bill of goods. She said nothng. She refused to let Jess or anyone else see that she was tempted to feel hurt by his change of heart. She didn't know what he expected but he wasn't apparently getting it. But she was seeing perhaps a diferent direction for her family now than she had expected. If her father had seen this coming, he hadn't suggested it to her.

"Good morning," she said quietly, choosing a rather hard, professional demeanor today. If she had to stand alone in this, then she would.

The day has came, it was a day Sophia was looking forward to ever since the day they told her they caught him. Sophia was glad, for she was tired and fed up with all the lies Grindelwald's lies he told them when he was minister. Now that everything was back to normal, maybe they could go back to being in peace for awhile maybe. Although, Sophia knew that the death eaters always had something up their sleeves that always led to a fight with them. Sophia walked into the court room in professional matter, it was almost like you wouldn't know it was Sophia unless you seen her.

With her eyes stern and her facial expression serious she seen Khaat and Jess and nodded at them. "Good morning Khaat and Jess."said Sophia. Usually she would give them a soft warm smile when she seen them and greeted them but now wasn't the time for it. Taking her seat Sophia's eyes stern eyes scanned the room for any more people but as of right now, it was just her, Khaat and Jess. Sophia was always early for things, no matter what they were and if she wasn't she hated being late. But she would never be late if she could help it.

Although Sophia didn't know why they didn't have Emof or the others charged as well, weren't they in the proganda also? Sophia didn't know, but she heard that Ne'Os Emof was also helping Grindelwald rise into power. Sophia straigthened her black skirt out and crossed her legs waiting for the rest of the Wizengamot, members to come. Sophia wondered how this case was going to go, she knew alot of people were now against Roland now cause of what he did. Sophia knew he was a very powerful man and was well now at the ministry but why throw it away, was it for more power?

Kingsley entered the courtroom looking quite sickly. He had not been seen in a while by anyone, but had somehow received the message summoning him for court, and he wasn't going to miss this for anything. Sure, Kingsley was eager to see Roland be punished for his crimes, but he was more keen on knowing the reasons behind the man's motivations. Roland and Kingsley had been friends once. Roland was the first ministry member he had went to after returning, and he had proved for many years to be a reliable ally, even if he was something of a coward. Kingsley knew that Roland was neither a loyal nor a noble man, but so were most people. Most people were ambitious too, just like Roland And so, if they were to avoid another catastrophe, Kingsley recognized the importance of dealing with people like Roland in the future.

Kingsley walked slowly to his seat at the Wizengamot. It was his first time in the ministry for a while, and he had drawn many stares as he had passed. The last few years had not been kind to Kingsley, and he looked at least twenty years older. Gaunt and hallowed.. and the sickness wasn't helping. Many had not even noticed him, so different was he from the strong, rigid person he had been during his term as Minister of Magic.

He saw Jess, Khaat and Sophia in the hall already. His eyes passed over them with a frown, and he was to deep in thought to say anything.

Khaat saw Sophia enter and was about to return her greeting when she saw Kingsley enter. He looked like hell. It hadn't been that long since she had seen him, had it? She still found herself feeling that same loyalty to him that she had when she'd first met him years ago. And to see him so obviously sick made her ache for him. She wished he had sought her out for help. She was careful not to change her emotionless face, though. If she had a chance, she would perhaps be able to catch him later and offer to help him. Not that she expected him to accept her help.

"Good morning, Sophia. Good morning, Kingsley. Thank you both for coming," Khaat said. She passed copies of the case file to her secretary who handed one to each of the members. "As soon as the rest of the court arrives and the defendant, we can begin. I believe you will find the court case file to be at least an adequate starting point." The secretary then distributed paper and quills to each Wizengamot member in case they preferred to take notes. The standard supplies had now been provided.

It was as though one of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes’ infamous stink bombs had been set to detonate at the moment the Ministry's superior figures were to arrive, and had done so promptly. It would not have been difficult to jump to such conclusions, due to the solemn expressions that had taken over the facial features of the men and women who began to fill their places before the trial began. But the air seemed to be of its usual quality, save the thin layer of dust that cloaked many of the surfaces within the room, which had little more effect on Nemo than to momentarily lead him to believe that he may have ventured into a library, rather than his intended destination.

With his boot-clad feet resting, anles crossed, atop the back of the bench before his own, Nemo impatiently awaited his dismissal. He had never been particularly involved in the ever-swaying opinions of those with whom he worked, and that sense of detachment most certainly hadn’t evolved into anything more with the arrival of the day of James Roland’s conviction. For it was Nemo's beleif that aurors were usual for nothing other than to carry out the orders of those in charge; orders which, more often than not, consisted of bringing criminals to justice at the end of a wand. As such, he was simply doing his job by remaining indifferent.

He whistled to himself a tune of sins and alcohol, smiling as though he'd recalled a humorous memory. It was quite amusing, after all: the fit that those in power were pitching because of one man’s decisions. It reminded him a great deal of a child's reaction to being told "no"; straight down to the pouting and all.

Khaat had been so self determined to be insulated today. Emotionless. Self protected. And then came Omara. His irreverence had shot that all to hell. And when he'd added the whistling of some little tune that vaguely reminded her of some old pirate chanty, a very slight laugh and a little smile escaped her before she could regroup. Well, so much for image.

"Good morning, Mr. Omara," Khaat said. "I trust you know the others here on the court?" Actually, she was fairly sure he did not. And she was also fairly sure that he did not actually deeply care if he knew their names or not. Still, if they were to work together on this trial, a part of him might find it at least a mere curiosity to know who he was to be working with in this matter.

For a day, Roland had been held in a small room in the ministry. He didn't sleep overnight after being captured, but walked around his room, imagining how the trial would go, rehearsing his speech. He hoped they would give him that at least, a chance to speak. It would all depend on Khaat's generosity really, because no matter how rude they treated him, no one would care, and no one would witness it. He doubted there were any neutral people in the wizengamot now, and if that were the case, then the trial would only go one way. Nevertheless, Roland had to try. He hated those people, but he had to admit that they did have some sense of justice in them.

To be honest, Roland knew he was guilty, and a consequence of justice would be a cell in Azkaban. He was a criminal, he did not deny that. Yet, so was everyone else who had fought in the recent war. They were all criminals and yet they were free, so why should he be locked up? So in truth, he didn't seek justice but just some fairness. No doubt, his ministry years were over, but he wasn't going to spend his remaining years in a cell in Azkaban.

Roland must of dozed off in his chair as the night went on because when he woke up the clock was pointing to 8 and there was a loud knocking on his door. Opening it, he was informed that he was to get ready within an hour and proceed down to the Wizengamot trial rooms by 9am.

He sighed slightly with relief, Roland had expected to be dragged down there by a few auroras, but clearly not. At least then, he would be allowed to go to his justice proudly. Getting ready, he pulled on his dark black robes last and stood in front of the mirror. He looked tired, his hair almost gone and he had lost a lot of weight. Still, all in all James Roland still struck an impressive figure.

He arrived at the courtroom five minutes early. Glancing around, he let out a laugh, even though he didn't feel like laughing at all. "Four order members, what more did I expect?" he said loudly to no one in particular, though his words were aimed at Jess and Khaat mainly. "You people have learnt nothing." He was then told to shut up by his escort, and was seated on the chair in the middle of the room. Silent now, he looked around again, getting another look at the members of the court. He knew Khaat, Jess and Kingsley personally, and could guess what their verdict would be. The other two… One was an order member, but he knew nothing else about her. The man was unknown to Roland, though he supposed that was a good thing. Everyone he knew was now either an enemy or a criminal.

Khaat watched the aurors bring in Roland. She didn't hate the man. She hated whatever it was that had happened to him that had caused him to end up here today in this sort of a mess. She was determined to make sure that the court would treat him with as much fairness and dignity as she could command. He did not look as physically well as he had when she had seen him last. Perhaps this whole business had not been kind to him. But then, how could it have been?

"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen," she said clearly. "We are gathered for the purpose of hearing the matter before this court concerning James Roland, age 50. The charge is treason. Mr. Roland, first, am I to understand that you wish to mount your own defense? Or is there someone you would ask to be here with you to assist you in this matter? And, secondly, how do you plead to the charge before you?"