Chapter Text
Supreme Court of the Magical Congress of the United States of America
Annalise Dautry sat in the front row of the American Wizengot, she had been placed there by the Aurors, only being moved when she sat on the witness stand. She had served as the key witness for the prosecution against Andrew Salisbury, a former high ranking Auror. Next to her sat her younger sister and they were flanked between Aurors and sprinkled throughout the crowded courtroom were even more. The trial had made international news and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of both the defendant and the key witness. As the Details poured forth from Annalise's mouth it drew even more people, they crowded the courtroom and when it was filled to the brim they tried to crowd the halls till the bailiffs ushered them out of the building and yet still more details of the secret crimelord came forth. After being questioned for three days by the prosecution she was in turn badgered and forced to go back over all of the details by the defense. After five days on the witness stand, she was finally allowed to sit back down in the stands. Staring stoically ahead she could hear people murmuring around her as the jury was called to pass judgment.
'Can you believe her?'
'If what she says is true...'
'...slut...'
'...fifteen minutes...'
'Those poor girls, so alone.'
Before announcing the sentence the judge asked if the defendant had anything to say. Salisbury stood in the middle of the room, hands bond in front of him by magical bands and turned to glance back at Annalise before looking back up at the judges, "Friends, I did not commit the crimes I stand here accused of. They are the musings of a child who did not receive enough attention. She came to me and tried to seduce me and when I turned her down she accuses me of the most heinous crimes her little mind could come up with. Andrew and Celeste were some of my closest friends and even before I can begin to mourn their deaths I find myself accused of their murders by the people I want to help the most. All I ask of you is that you review the facts and not listen to the ramblings of a child."
The Speaker of the Court stood to announce the verdict and sentence. "Bring forth the Defendant Andrew Salisbury. We the Wizengot, find the defendant, last name Salsbury, the first name Andrew, former Auror Magical Congress of the United States of America, for the charge of conspiracy to murder the Auror George Dautry, we find you guilty. For the Charge of the murder of Celeste Dautry, we find you guilty. For the crime of..."The list went on, there were twenty-five additional charges, " based on the irrefutable evidence and the testimony by the witnesses we feel you are a danger to yourself and society and as such we sentence you to life in prison.
As the gavel hit the podium Andrew Salsbury lunged out of the hold of his guards and towards Annalise. Before he was wrenched away from the young woman he whispered something into her ear. After that, he was dragged out of the room and the crowd dispersed till all that was left was the siblings, about twenty Aurors, and the judges. "Ms. Dautry we would like to thank you for your bravery in testifying ain this case. We realize that it was a trying experience for you and your sister." The judge paused and leaned forward to rub his eyes, "We have discussed the situation as you no longer have any family to take care of you, as well as the potential danger for a regular civilian to take responsibility and we have come to a consensus. Annalise as you are still an underage witch you are unable to provide a stable environment for your sister to grow up in, as such you both will be placed in protective custody. Because you also stand accused of crimes we will place a brand upon you that will track your movements and report them back to us. If you refuse to testify in future trials against Salisbury you will be remanded to prison. Please hold out your non-wand arm." He waved his wand and Annalise felt a burning sensation as a black feather appeared on the inside of her wrist. "Thank you again.." but before he could finish his speech about how sorry he was to impose these restrictions on her she whirled around and pushed past the doors followed closely by her sister and their protective detail.
As they stepped through the front doors of Woolworth building they were swarmed by reporters from across the nation all shouting questions about the trial and such. She shoved her way through them ignoring the questions and the flashes as her picture was taken repeatedly, not caring what they thought about her anymore. Numerous people tried to grab her, trying to make her face them, trying to get her attention. She had barely stepped onto the sidewalk when a car pulled up in front of her halting her progress. Cleevly, one of the Aurors, took her elbow and escorted her into the car.
At the Hotel Suite:
Annalise had just finished tucking in Jules into bed and was curled up on the couch with her pet when she heard a soft knocking on the door. Looking out the peephole she saw it was Cleevly accompanied by much younger man. She signaled for the animal to stay by the couch before opening the door. Cleevly stepped inside, pushing past her before she even opened her mouth to say hello. "Anna, this is Samuel Rookesbury, an Auror stationed in Great Britain. Our two countries have talked about it and we've formed a plan. I'll have Rookesbury explain it all. In the meantime, I'm going to make myself a cup of coffee." He made his way to the kitchen.
Anna sighed, "Can't this wait for tomorrow? it's been a long day and Jules just fell asleep." she said in a hushed voice moving to follow the Auror. Though not quite a whisper it was nowhere as loud as she had been speaking in the courtroom earlier that day.
"No, unfortunately, it cannot. Go talk to Rooksbury. You'll have plenty to discuss tonight." He motioned behind him towards the front door where the other man was standing, "I'll wait in here for you two to finish."
Hearing a growl behind her she glanced down at the dog that had come up next to her, "Hush Thorn, it'll be ok." she scratched him behind his ears as she focused on trying to calm down before turning to the man she had left standing in the entryway.
Sam watched the interchange between his colleague and the young woman. He had heard rumors about her and seen her picture splashed across newspapers. She looked so much younger up close and personal. She had removed her makeup and braided her hair in a loose braid. None of the pictures had caught the uncertainness that seemed to swirl around her. While he waited for her to regain control he compared her now to what he had seen earlier. While she was talking to Cleevly she had used her hands to gesture while in the courtroom she had kept them folded loosely in front of her. During the trial, she had kept her hair in a bun at the base of her neck, nary a hair out of place and scraped back from her face. Now her mahogany-colored hair was in a loose braid and a couple of tendrils had worked themselves free to frame her face. Earlier she had been wearing a white turtle neck knit with elbow-length sleeves and a gray vest and pants. she was currently garbed in a loose sweater that had several holes and was threadbare in places. A pair of shorts peeked out under the bottom hem. He had not sat close enough to her to note the color of her eyes and all the pictures had been in black and white but they had still been captivating enough to cause him to volunteer for the upcoming assignment. He was surprised to find them a light brown, almost a copper color. He watched as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Unashamed to have been caught staring he shrugged, "You're not wearing glasses."
"No, I was trying to convince the judges that I was old enough to take care of my sister. As it failed I got rid of them. They were only for appearance sake anyway. So what's the plan? Are you moving me and my sister into a convent somewhere in the wilds of Scottland? Or perhaps just me. Someplace for me to repent endlessly for my sins."
"No, has that been suggested before?"
She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since he had entered the room. Samuel Rooksbury had just come into the room far enough to close the door behind him. He was tall, at least tall enough that she would only come up to his shoulder, but he didn't try to hide it as some were to do buy stooping his shoulders. Instead, he stood straight but relaxed, his hands in his jacket pockets. He wore a tan leather jacket that looked like it was worn often enough that it had started to mold itself to his body, and a pair of dark blue jeans. A grey t-shirt peeked out above the zipper pull. His dark blonde hair was streaked by the sun and was long enough to brush the top of his shirt collar.
"Yeah, once or twice. If we are going to be talking for a while you may as well sit down," she said motioning toward the seating area. She sat down on the couch, the large dog laid down on the ground next to her, keeping an eye on Sam as he sat in an armchair across a coffee table from them.
As Sam gathered his thoughts on how to explain the plan he looked at the pictures of two young girls being held by their parents. A much younger Annalise beamed up at him holding the hand of a younger girl, with raven black hair, who was looking not at the camera but instead gazed worshipfully at the Annalise in the picture. In another picture, both girls had flower crowns woven through their hair.
"So what is the plan? If I'm not going to be forced into a convent, what is the plan?" Annalise finally said, breaking the silence. " Might as well tell me it all?
"We are to pretend to be engaged. We are to then all move into a MInistry safe house in London till they think it is safe."
"Well, that will be never." Sam glanced up at her catching her eye. Sighing she responded to the unspoken question, "If your Ministry is anything like the MACUSA, they will never think it's safe enough till they've wrung all the information out of me. And as that information is the only thing keeping what's left of my family safe, I'll never tell it all." Bitterness flowed through her words. Barely contained fury and fury at the situation caused her lips to raise in a sneer. But after a moment she gave herself a mental shake and smoothed her features. Looking him in the eye She gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, touchy subject. Please continue."
"Well, until our governments feel satisfied, I'll be responsible for both you and your sister. Do you have any questions or concerns so far?"
"Lots," she took a deep breath before rattling some off," Does it have to be a government safe house? Jules is tired of constantly moving and I want to be able to make a home for her when she comes home from school. How big are the plots of land in London? Thorn needs at least a couple acres to roam every day. Oh and speaking of school, Jules was just accepted into Illermory here in America, is there a Wizarding school near where we will be staying? I had planned to move Massachusets to be near her. I'll have to get her registered quickly if I don't want her to fall behind. Are we going to have change our names? I want to make sure to put the correct name on the registration form."
"Hogwarts is the best, we can register her there. I know the Headmistress and if we explain the situation there will be no reason for another name change."
"Is Hogwarts located in London? It must have a lot of wards to keep the no-majs, from seeing it."
"Well it does have a lot of wards to keep the muggles away but it's actually in Scottland."
"Ok, can you tell me a little bit about it?"
"Hogwarts is located in a massive castle that any kid would love to explore. Professor McGonagall is the headmistress. She used to teach transfiguration and as a teacher, she was tough but fair. There are four houses and students are sorted by a Sorting Hat. There are ghosts in the ramparts and mermaids in the lake. Starting in third-year students are allowed to visit the nearby town of Hogsmead."
"What are the houses called?"
"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I was in Gryffindor. Each house emphasizes something different. Bravery, Loyalty, Intelligence, and ambition respectively. Going here she'll be able to make friends and have fun. She'll be able to have a normal life. As for the size of the yards in London...there is no way any safe house in the middle of London is going to have two-acre yards. We may just have to take your... dog? for a couple of walks a day."
"I don't know what Thorn is, I found him in the forest behind my house as a puppy. I think he’s mostly Irish Wolfhound. All that matters to me is that he wants to stay with me."
"You haven't asked me for anything for yourself. You asked questions about the school for your sister. And you asked for a house with a yard for Thorn, but what is it you want?"
"I gave up the right to want anything when I caught the eye of the equivalent of a wizarding mob boss. I watched him kill people. I slept with him. And in several situations, I lied to cover for him. The reasons I did this do not matter in the end, and I offer no excuses. It was only when my family was affected that I decided to testify against him. I managed to survive so far, which is a near miracle so all I want is for my sister to be safe and happy. It doesn’t seem like much to ask.” Anna looked at the clock. “I’m sorry but I have to wake up early in the morning to talk to my sister. We can talk more about this in the morning. Feel free to stay, the couch pulls out into a bed. Creevly already apparated home, so it’s all yours.”
“Did he, I didn't hear him go.”
“Goodnight Mr. Roosbury.”
“Sam, you should call me Sam.”
“Just one more question, what do you prefer to be called?”
“Anna, you can call me Anna.”