The Miraculous Effects of Darkness

Chapter Seventeen

Anika sat in the hearing room beside Albus Dumbledore in her best clothes and her heart beating as fast as it ever had. The day of the trial had finally come, the day that would dictate the rest of her life.

It seemed that in the months leading up to the trial, the debate about her rights and her status as a witch had been called into question so much, that her place at Hogwarts and her wand ownership would now be dictated by the proceedings of the day. However the first order of business was the custody trial.

The Minister of Magic was overseeing the proceedings and some kind of invisible signal called the entire room to silence, and moments later he began speaking.

"I call to order this meeting of the Wizargamot to resolve two matters relating to Anika Smith. Firstly the matter of her custody, currently under the guardianship of Albus Wolfric Percival Brian Dumbledore, Miss Smith was raised by Mr Caractcus Burke and Mr Alaric Borgin but was born to- rather, created by Mr Nikolas Flamel and Mrs Perenelle Flamel. The two parties have bought this matter before us to resolve who will have sole custody of Miss Smith going forwards."

"Secondly," the Minister continued, "The matter of the status of witch that Miss Smith holds is in question due to the nature of her birth, or rather, her creation. Further information will be given on this section of the case once the first matter is resolved."

"Does anyone have any statements to make before the first party is called to the stand to present their case?" The Minister turned to look at the grim-faced members of the Wizagamot who were staring at him blankly. No one spoke. "Well in that case, I call to the stand Mr Burke and Mr Borgin to offer their statements. I would like to remind Mr Burke and Mr Borgin that once they leave the stand they will have no further opportunity to present their case bar direct responses to the Flamel's statements."

There was a shuffling around the courtroom as Mr Burke made his way to the centre of the room to begin his statement.

Mr Burke's stance was very clear and very concise. He and Mr Borgin had taken Anika in out of the goodness of their hearts, they had clothed her, fed her and educated her in the best possible way. Mr Burke cited her academic reports and grades from school to highlight that they had done a good job of the matter of raising her and stated that he resented the Flamels believing that they could steal the girl from under him.

Anika was very uncomfortable listening to this. Mr Burke spoke of her like she was one of the objects in his shop, not a human being (she supposed this very fact was up for debate today however, so in some respects, his stance may resonate with those who would be passing judgement). It was listening to him speak in this way that Anika finally realised something she should have known all along - Mr Burke did see her in this way, he saw her as an investment, as a dark magical object that he had collected and wouldn't willingly part with.

Mr Burke ended his statement around 45 minutes later by reminding the jury that had it not been for the Flamel's carelessness in letting Anika be stolen originally then this debate would never have happened and Mr Burke would never have needed to invest as much money as he had into her, but as it stood, he had and she belonged with him.

The court took a brief break after Mr Burke's statement for the Wizagamot Jury to take notes on what had been presented to them and discuss it where needed, then everyone returned back to the court for the Flamel's statement.

Nikolas Flamel took the stand and stated that he spoke for both himself and his wife when he spoke. He then launched into the story of the lengthy process he and Perenell went through in order to create Anika and highlighted how strong of a force love was in this process.

"My wife and I are immortal," he stated, "but we are very old and have always wanted a child of our own."

He then described the joy they felt when the process finally worked and the years of heartbreak after she was stolen from them. Nikolas stated his suspicions that a young He Who Must Not Be Named had stolen her in his hunt for immortality and then disguised her when he discovered there to be nothing useful about the baby.

"She is for all intense and purposes, human," stated Nikolas, "the Elixir of Life is what created her, and this is why her blood is golden, just as mine is." Nikolas drew his wand and sliced a thin line along the back of his hand, causing him to bleed golden blood, just like the blood of her own that Anika had seen in the phial Dumbledore had shown her.

"But I will go into further detail on this later in the second half of the trail," Nikolas stated. "I only have this left to say. My wife and I are grateful to Mr Borgin and Mr Burke for looking after our Amelie when we could not, we never pushed for this trail, however here we are. We would like to be Anika's parents in every way we can be going forwards, and we love her dearly. Please help an old man's family become full."

Anika smiled slightly as the old man made his way back across the room and grasped his wife's hands tightly. The pair looked over at her and saw her smiling, both of them smiled back.

"Mr Burke, Mr Borgin, is there anything further you wish to say in response to the statement made by the Flamels?" The Minister asked.

That is when the trial turned ugly. Unfortunately Mr Burke was instant that he have the last word, every point he raised, Nikolas Flamel had a rebuke ready for it. Anika felt like she was watching a game of Quidditch with two exceptional teams of Chasers, stealing the Quaffle off of each other, scoring and then the other team immediately grasping it and scoring, the score always remaining even. It went on for hours.

Despite the second section of the case not yet being in question, Mr Burke insisted on calling the Healers who had been called to witness that section of the case to the stand and questioning them thoroughly.

"It's all relevant!" Insisted Mr Burke, "we must understand every angle to dictate the custody, is it a matter of parentage or ownership?"

Eventually, even Mr Burke ran out of things to say and the courtroom fell silent.

"Well," said the now exhausted Minister for Magic, "If that is all of the statements, lets allow our Wizagamot Jury to discuss and return with a verdict, we will alert everyone when a verdict is reached, please remain within the walls of the Ministry for Magic until this time. I would like to remind both parties, that no interaction with each other or Miss Smith will be allowed until a judgement is reached."