Chapter 231

The judge took a note, "Very well then. The Prosecution shall be opening with a statement, followed by Defence."

Dumbledore walked off to stand by the side, giving the floor to Mulciber, who cleared his throat before beginning.

"Our world has just witnessed one of the most devastating events in the past decade. A Basilisk, armed with its deadly gaze, was veiled in the shroud of a powerful secrecy charm and cast loose upon Hogwarts, killing nine people and petrifying four others. In the last few days, our minds have been full of questions. Who did it? Who is the Heir of Slytherin? Who was the one that set the Basilisk free? Who took and killed Dean Thomas? Who took Lisa Turpin into the Chamber? Well, your Honor the answer has been hiding behind a mask of innocence all this time. It is none other than Lisa Turpin herself. She was not taken down the chamber. She walked in there willingly. SHE is the heir! And today, with the evidence we have found against her and our expert witnesses, we will put her to justice."

Mulciber bowed before he headed to the side and yielded the floor to Dumbledore.

"In light of recent events," he started, "it is more than understandable that our people are feeling anger. They want the culprit punished, and they want it fast which is also understandable. However, what is not understandable is the Prosecution's attempts at directing that anger at Miss Turpin. No doubt there has been a lot of pressure on the Ministry to find and convict the culprit, but to desperately pin the blame on someone innocent is not something that we stand for."

The mutterings started up again, this time accompanied with quite a few nodding heads.

Dumbledore continued, "And that desperation shows in his words. Lord Mulciber just mentioned a powerful secrecy charm that managed to shroud the Basilisk from all eyes, including my own. Does he mean to say that a 12-year-old cast that charm? The flaws in his arguments are already showing. Do not let this fool you."

It was working. A considerable amount of the whispers that reached Harry's ears were positive. Dumbledore had made a solid point about her age, and that had resonated well.

"Very well then," the Judge's cool voice sounded, "Prosecution. Who is your first witness?"

"I would like to ask for Auror Dawlish to take the stand," Mulciber said as he eyed Dumbledore warily.

The judge agreed, and Auror Dawlish rose from his seat and took the witness stand.

"We know that Miss Turpin was either taken or went into the Chamber and Mr. Dean Thomas followed her in. Sometime later, Harry Potter found the way into the Chamber with the help of his phoenix companion, found Mr. Thomas dead and Miss Turpin unconscious, and got them out of there," Mulciber stated before asking, "What happened in that time?"

Dawlish's voice was monotonous and rehearsed when he answered the question, "We've worked out that Miss Turpin was immersed in a cauldron that contained a Potion that has yet to be identified. That we know by the burns all over her body when she was found. And Dean Thomas pushed the cauldron over and made her spill out, disrupting the brewing process and causing some sort of backlash that might have been the reason behind the death of Dean Thomas and the destruction that was found in the Chamber itself."

"Is there any indication whatsoever of anyone else ever being in there?"

"No. None at all."

"Tell us about this gramophone device you found. The one that was said to have been continuously playing harsh hissing sounds when it was found." The Prosecutor asked, his tone sounding saccharinely pleasant with a noticeable undertone of eagerness.

"That was a gramophone enchanted to switch between two sounds. One was a song, and the other was a Parseltongue recording in Miss Turpin's voice saying something along the veins of 'kill them all'," Dawlish replied in that same rehearsed tone.

"A parseltongue recording saying that? How did you reach to that conclusion?"

"We used an experiment with a few snakes that one of our Junior Aurors suggested we try."

"An experiment, your Honour," Mulciber said as he turned around with a flap of his robes, sounding like a stage actor about to say his best line, "that we have set up to show the court right now. May I?"

"Go ahead."

Mulciber gave a wave of his wand and the door that Harry had entered from opened. A wizard levitated a table into the room, which he placed in the center, in clear view of everyone.

On the table, much to Harry's shock was the same gramophone that Harry had seen in the Chamber, and a large transparent glass cage containing what appeared to be dozens upon dozens of snakes, writhing around simultaneously in an entangled mass in the box.

Mulciber turned the gramophone on with a flick of his wand, and a scathing harsh hissing sound filled the Courtroom, echoing again and again from the giant walls. A wave of discomfiture traveled through the room. Someone in the back row squeaked with horror.

A window popped up in the corner of his vision.

Parseltongue Skill Active!

And the hissing slowly softened and flowed together into comprehensible words.

"Kill them all. Kill them all. Kill them all…"

Harry knew what was going to happen before it happened. Blood spurted against the walls of the glass cage as the snakes in the glass cage stabbed their fangs into each other, obeying the single command that was being given to them in Parseltongue as they tore each other apart into pieces.

Multiple screams rang out in the room, as some averted their eyes from the cage and others watched with horrified fascination.

"ORDER!" Judge Barnes loudly ordered over the screams as he slammed his gavel down, "That is enough! Your point has been made."

The sound stopped, and the wizard promptly levitated the table back out of the courtroom. Mulciber stepped forth with a victorious expression on his face.

"It is fairly clear what the recording said, which means we now know the reason why the Basilisk attacked the Great Hall that day. An instruction, in Lisa Turpin's voice, telling it to go kill them. The connection is obvious. She was the one who had the Basilisk kill everyone. SHE is the culprit we are looking for."

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