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the-al-chemist · 2 years ago

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Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 5: Unforgivable

A/N: Artemis gives evidence against Patricia Rakepick as the trial continues, and receives an unexpected gift. Warnings: references to violence, murder and death, spoilers for year six of HPHM, discussion of child neglect.

The doors of the courtroom swung closed behind Jacob Hexley and his two Dementor guards, and the sound of it seemed to ring in Artemis’ ears. It sounded extremely loud and strangely distant, both at once.

There was a soft hum in her ear, and it took a moment for her to realise that it was Kingsley murmuring to her:

“Breathe, Tiny.”

For once, Artemis did as she was told. She drew a deep breath, and turned to Kingsley, ignoring the noise from the rest of the courtroom.

“You said he didn’t commit any crimes,” she said. “You said that he was innocent.”

“I believed that he was,” Kingsley frowned. “I have been suspicious that Duncan Ashe’s death was orchestrated by the Cabal for some time, but I had no reason to think that Jacob was involved in it. He said that it was his fault when Moody and I interviewed him in May, but-”

“After he handed himself in at the lakeshore?”

“Yes. But I truly believed that it was his conscience speaking, not a true admission of guilt.”

“That night, he told me to trust him. No matter what happened,” Artemis blinked back tears. “Why would he say that and then…”

Her voice tailed off, and her eyes drifted towards the doors through which Jacob had been escorted away. She could feel Ben and Merula watching her from the seats beside her, and she avoided looking at either of them.

Across the room, the Wizengamot had begun to settle, other than Madam Bones, who remained on her feet.

“May I suggest that we end this adjournment promptly?” she asked, and the courtroom quietened. “Guards, bring in the next defendant.”

Artemis steeled herself as the doors opened once more. This time, the person who entered was flanked by four Dementors, and she wore not just handcuffs but steel gloves, which prevented her hands from moving at all. It took a moment for Artemis to recognise the witch; her red hair had grown lank, and her face sallow and bony. But when she raised her head, the sharp look in her eyes remained unchanged. It really was her.

“Are you Patricia Rakepick?” said Madam Bones.

In spite of her current predicament, Rakepick smirked. “It would be quite the administrative error if I weren’t.”

“Madam Rakepick, you stand accused of multiple accounts of criminal and morally reprehensible behaviour and several acts of Dark Magic committed both in the name of the criminal organisation R and on your own accord. More specifically, you are accused of the use of Unforgiveable Curses on no less than five accounts, of the attempted murder of Miss Artemis Hexley, and of the murder of Miss Rowan Khanna,” Madam Bones paused, and Artemis felt her hear skip a beat. “We shall hear witness testimonies before voting on our judgement. If found guilty, you will be sentenced to Azkaban prison for life. Professor Dumbledore?”

“Yes, Madam Interrogator?”

“Do you wish to continue to serve as witness for the defence?”

“If no one else is willing, I feel morally bound to do so,” Professor Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled behind his spectacles. “After all, even those who are guilty of terrible things are entitled to a defence.”

From the seat in the middle of the courtroom came a harsh laugh, and Madam Rakepick cocked an eyebrow at Dumbledore.

“Ever the moralist, Dumbledore,” she said drily. “No, Albus. I shall defend myself.”

Professor Dumbledore bowed his head and returned to his seat in the witness benches, and Rakepick watched him do so with a passive facial expression. As Artemis heard him walk behind her, Rakepick’s eyes settled on her for a moment, and her former mentor’s eyebrows raised in recognition, almost as if she were greeting her from across a street. The casual nature of the gesture made Artemis’ chest tighten, but she refused to be intimidated. She held Rakepick’s gaze and glared back fiercely until Rakepick looked away, her lips twitching ever so slightly as she did so.

Kingsley was the first to testify. He told the court about his investigation into the Cabal, how he and the other Aurors had tracked Rakepick down the previous year, and how she had escaped Ministry custody using wandless magic. He described the evidence found in the Forbidden Forest after the night Rowan was killed, and how Rakepick had appeared when interviewed by the Aurors after her second capture. Mr Borgin went next, telling the court about the cursed artefacts he had procured for Madam Rakepick over the years, and how she had used the Cruciatus Curse on him two years before.

Merula had also suffered the Cruciatus Curse at Rakepick’s hands, and she said as much when she was asked to testify, along with speaking about how Rakepick had asked her to pass on information from around Hogwarts, presumably to pass onto the other members of R. Both she and Ben in turn went over the night of Rowan’s death, and Artemis had listened with her palms balled up in her lap, her fingernails digging into the heels of her hands.

It was her turn last of all. When Ben finished giving his testimony and returned to sit at Artemis’ side, Madam Bones called out:

“Miss Hexley, please.”

At the sound of her name, Artemis unclenched her fists and smoothed out her robes, ready to stand up. She looked across to the other side of the courtroom, and caught Madam Rosmerta’s eye. The landlady gave her a reassuring smile, which might almost have helped to ease her nerves, if it weren’t for another person rising to their feet at the same time.

Sara Hexley was whispering to the other witches and wizards sitting on the same bench as her, and one by one, they shifted positions to allow her to pass them as she made her way along the spectators’ stands towards the doors of the courtroom. Artemis froze.

She was leaving.

Her mother reached the doors of the courtroom and slipped out through them before they had even fully opened. The door did not slam behind her, but made a quiet clicking sound.

“Miss Hexley?”

“Artemis, they’re calling for you,” Ben whispered, and Artemis barely heard him, just as she had barely heard Madam Bones repeating her name.

“Miss Artemis Hexley, will you stand?”

Kingsley’s hand touched Artemis’ arm, and he shook her gently, drawing her attention away from the doors and towards him.

“It’s time for you to speak, Tiny.”

Artemis’ legs felt weak beneath her, but she managed to stand, and walked to the centre of the room, avoiding meeting Rakepick’s eye. She looked up at the rows and rows of magenta-robes witches and wizards looking down on her, and jutted her chin forward.

“Please state your name,” said Madam Bones, in her booming, authoritative voice.

“Artemis,” said Artemis.

“Your full name?”

“Artemis Sheba Hexley.”

“And your profession, Miss Hexley?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Your home address, then.”

“I… I don’t really have one of those either,” Artemis swallowed. “I’m staying at the Three Broomsticks for the school holidays, and then I’ll go back to Hogwarts.”

“For the benefit of the court scribe, Miss Hexley’s profession should be listed as ‘student’,” Madam Bones said, and Madam Umbridge tutted loudly as if Artemis were deliberately wasting everyone’s time. “Miss Hexley, please could you tell the court about how you came to make Madam Rakepick’s acquaintance?”

“She came to Hogwarts at the start of my fourth year,” Artemis told the interrogator. “She was there as a Curse-Breaker, because of the Cursed Vaults, you see. She asked me, Merula, and my friend Bill to be her apprentices.”

“And what did that entail?”

“Meeting on Sunday mornings to learn about curses and runes and duelling. And sometimes finding clues about the Cursed Vaults.”

“Such as?”

“A broken arrow that belonged to a centaur in the Forbidden Forest that my friend Charlie knows, and a key with gillyweed on that I found in Filch’s office one time.”

“I see,” Madam Bones nodded her head encouragingly. “So, Madam Rakepick had you venturing into forbidden areas of the school grounds and breaking into private offices on her orders?”

“Um…”

“You are not in trouble, Miss Hexley.”

“Yes, she did. Sort of. She tricked me into going to find the key for her,” Artemis explained. “She said to go looking for a missing part of the arrow, but when I got there she came in and got the key, and said that she was using me breaking into the office as an excuse to go in herself to stop me.”

“And were there any other occasions on which Patricia Rakepick tricked you?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be able to tell us about them?” asked Madam Bones, ignoring the whispers from the benches behind her.

“She said that she was being threatened by R, and then I started being threatened by them, too. They sent messengers to me, which turned out to be people under the Imperius Curse. My friend Ben, over there, then Rowan.”

“Rowan?” Madam Bones tilted her head. “Do you mean Rowan Khanna, who the defendant is accused of-”

“Yeah, that Rowan. My friend. My best friend,” Artemis swallowed again. “Rakepick said that we were on the same side, the side against R, and that I should trust her, because together we were going to stop R from getting to the Cursed Vaults, and she would help get Jacob free from the Vaults, but that was all lies. She was the one who had been casting the Imperius Curse on my friends all along, to get me to think that we were on the same side. She was using me to get to the Cursed Vault and then betrayed me and all my friends.”

“I presume that you are referring to the events of June 1989, which Miss Snyde and Mr Copper have already detailed.”

“When we went to the portrait vault? Yeah. She told us all about it and then she attacked us. She used the Cruciatus Curse on Merula, and she tried to kill me with a knife.”

“A knife?” Madam Bones’ eyebrows furrowed. “Not the Killing Curse?”

“No. Just a knife. She wanted me to be the one to use it on myself. That’s why she used the Cruciatus Curse on Merula, she was threatening to hurt my friends if I didn’t do it.”

There were murmurs of shocked confusion from all corners of the court. Madam Bones remained unflustered as they died back down. Her posture was still incredibly upright, but her eyes had softened slightly.

“This wasn’t the first time you witnessed Madam Rakepick use the Cruciatus Curse, was it?”

Artemis shook her head. “She used it on Mr Borgin, too. She was trying to work out whether or not I was a Legilimens by making him hurt so much that it hurt me, too.”

Madam Bones said nothing in response; she merely nodded her head. When she did speak, she changed the topic completely.

“Miss Hexley, please tell the court about Rowan Khanna.”

Artemis had to take a deep breath before doing so.

“Rowan was my best friend, like I said before. I met her before I even started Hogwarts, and we were in the same dormitory when we got there. She was really clever, she loved reading and history, and she wanted to be a professor when she grew up. Her favourite animal was a cat, and she was tall and wore glasses, and-”

“Hem hem. I think you might have misunderstood the interrogator, Miss Hexley,” Madam Umbridge interrupted her. “Please tell the court about the events surrounding the death of Rowan Khanna.”

“Oh,” Artemis felt a wave of grief hit her. She waited for it to subside before nodding her head. “Right. Yeah, fine. Sorry.” She looked up and across at Madam Rosmerta, who stopped scowling at the court scribe to mouth words of encouragement at her. “Well, it was right at the end of November last year. Rakepick had escaped from the Ministry like Kingsley said. They had Dementors watching the school because a few days earlier I’d seen Rakepick down at the shore of the lake. She had tried to attack me, but Jacob came and stopped her before she hurt me.

“After that, I really wanted to talk to Jacob, to make sure he was okay, and I found out about the Vanishing Cabinet Mr Borgin talked about earlier. He left me message there, saying it was too risky to send letters because they might be intercepted, so we should meet in person instead. That was the plan, and Merula and Ben came along for it to be safer. The problem was that Madam Rakepick must’ve already intercepted the letters, because she was there when we got to the Forbidden Forest. She arrived, saw off a Dementor that was trying to attack us, and then started to attack us herself.”

“Why would Madam Rakepick stop a Dementor from harming you if she wanted to cause you harm?” asked Madam Umbridge.

“Well, I don’t know, do I?” Artemis retorted. A look of contempt passed over Umbridge’s toad-like face and a whisper echoed through the seats behind her.

“Madam Umbridge, may I remind you - once again - that you are here in the capacity of scribe, not interrogator?” Madam Bones said tersely.

“My apologies, Madam Interrogator. I was merely curious,” Madam Umbridge gave an insincere smile and picked up her quill.

“Apology accepted. Do continue, Miss Hexley. Please describe the attack.”

“Merula got hit first. She was unconscious and I checked on her whilst Ben fought Madam Rakepick. Then she - Rakepick, I mean, not Merula - used the Killing Curse. She aimed it at Ben, and I wanted to stop him from getting hit so I ran towards him, but I was quite far away. Probably too far away to get there in time, I don’t know.” Artemis’ hands were trembling, so she stuffed them into her pockets. “But before I could get there at all, someone jumped out from the trees and pushed him out of the way. It was Rowan. She must have followed us without us realising, and she saw what happened and tried to stop it, to save Ben, and she did save him, but… but she got hit. With the… the Killing Curse. She fell down and I tried to wake her up but I couldn’t. She was gone. Rakepick was gone, too. Not gone gone, but she must have left while we were trying to help Rowan.”

“Rakepick left without hurting you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Madam Bones inclined her head. “I understand, Miss Hexley. What I mean is, she left without causing you physical harm.”

“I guess so, yeah.”

“Interesting.” Madam Bones frowned deeply for a moment, before she almost smiled at Artemis and told her, “No further questions, Miss Hexley.”

Artemis gnawed on her lower lip as she walked back to the seats. Kingsley stood up to let her pass him, whispering as she did so:

“Well done, Tiny.”

She nodded and sat down, though the balls of her feet stayed planted on the ground, her legs bouncing up and down without her consent.

“Madam Rakepick,” said Madam Bones, and Rakepick merely cocked her eyebrow by way of response. “We have heard the evidence against you. Do you have any words to help your defence before we pass judgement?”

Coolly, Rakepick stared back at the interrogator and let out a short, sharp laugh.

“I think that judgement has already been passed,” she said. “After all, the case against me is a strong one. Witness accounts of my usage of all three Unforgivable Curses, and a child’s blood on my hands. I cannot imagine that there is anything that I could say now to change the minds of the court. My fate is sealed.”

She turned and looked at the witness stands, directly at Artemis. Artemis couldn’t read the look in her eyes, but the calm expression on Rakepick’s face made her blood run cold. Even worse was the way that the corners of Rakepick’s mouth twitched before she turned back and continued:

“I’m not an expert in matters of fate or destiny. I am neither a Seer nor an Oracler, but I do know that some things are unavoidable. Some things are greater than any of us, more powerful, and more important. Some things require - and justify - actions that otherwise would be morally reprehensible and unforgivable.”

There were shocked whispers throughout the court. Artemis frowned. Surely, Rakepick couldn’t truly believe that-

“The murder of a child might justified in order to pursue an important cause?” Madam Bones looked taken aback. “It’s an interesting concept, Madam Rakepick, but not one that I think-”

“Of course, this is a court of magical law. Here, I am either guilty or innocent, because in law, everything is right or wrong, black or white. But outside of this courtroom, the world is not like that. There are some wrongs that are greater than others,” said Rakepick. “Miss Khanna’s death was regrettable, but it was a death of her own choosing. She gave her life to protect the lives of others.”

“Of one other.”

“One other that she was aware of. But potentially countless more that she will never know about.”

The court had fallen silent. Artemis barely breathed. The quiet atmosphere was broken by the the voice of Madam Bones the interrogator.

“Your meaning is not clear, Madam Rakepick. Please explain yourself so that the court may understand.”

Rakepick laughed again. “It does not matter if or how I explain. The court will not understand.”

“Humour us.”

“The Cursed Vaults are an enigma that very few can understand. Those of us who do know that within the Vaults there lies a great power, one so great that it might save us all. But nothing of the sort can come without a price. Rowan Khanna paid that price. She made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Artemis felt sick. Around her the room was spinning, and it was warm. Too warm. She desperately wanted to get out, but her path to the doors was blocked by Dementors and Rakepick. The thought of facing either made her feel even more nauseated.

“You can condemn my actions, but I stand by them.” Rakepick paused and looked at the witness stands. Her eyes settled on Artemis momentarily, and she added, “What I did was necessary.” She raised her gaze higher. She was looking behind Artemis now, at Dumbledore in the back row. “It was for the greater good.”

“What does that mean?” Ben whispered to Artemis, his voice trembling.

“It means that she is a crazy bitch,” muttered Merula. “We should have left her trapped in that Vault.” She regarded Rakepick with a look of disgust as she continued, “I hope she rots in Azkaban. I hope the Dementors give her hell.”

Artemis had heard enough. The rising heat in the courtroom was making it hard for her to breathe, and the windowless walls seemed to be closing in on her. She needed to get outside. Wordlessly, she pushed past Kingsley and walked out across the courtroom, straight in front of Madam Rakepick and the entire Wizengamot, and towards the double doors that led out to the corridor outside. She heard someone call after her, but she didn’t stop; if anything, she began to walk faster, letting her legs carry her out of the courtroom, the doors slamming closed behind her.

The corridor outside was dark, quiet, and cool. Artemis found herself able to breathe a little easier, but the atmosphere was still oppressive. Longing for fresh air, she decided to walk the two flights of stairs back up to the atrium, from where she could at least find her way back up to the London street above. Rosmerta and Kingsley would be able to guess where she had gone.

She ascended the steps to Level Nine, but did not go any further. Instead, she paused by the black door at the top of the staircase, the one that formed the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. Why had she stopped there? She could not say for certain, but there was something about that door that made her feel the need to pause, something about it that made her feel… Something. She just could not tell what that something was.

“Artemis.”

The sound of her name being spoken drew her attention away from the door, and she turned to see a woman walking down the corridor towards her. As she recognised who it was, Artemis tensed.

“I thought you weren’t coming back,” she said.

“So did I,” replied Sara Hexley. Even now, she did not look at Artemis; her eyes were fixed on the door, the expression in them both void and full of emotion.

Artemis frowned. As always, she was unable to tell what her mother was feeling or thinking, but if anything, she would have said that Sara looked sad. She supposed that made sense. Leander Hexley had both worked and died in the Department of Mysteries. Artemis might not have been old enough to remember much about her father or the time around his death, but her mother certainly would have a lot of memories, not all of them happy.

“Why did you come back?”

“Jacob was on trial.”

Her mother’s answer was enough to quell the rush of pity Artemis had started to feel for her, leaving her only with the anger and resentment she had held onto since their last meeting.

“Really?” she said, almost laughing in spite of the fact that she felt like crying. “You came all this way here because Jacob was on trial and you didn’t think that you should maybe stay for my sake when I was being a witness? Or maybe you didn’t realise that was why I was there, seeing as you weren’t around when my best friend got murdered, or after, when I might have needed my mum to be with me.” Artemis exhaled angrily, before letting more words tumble out of her mouth, “But no, you had already left, just like you had already left before it was my turn to speak today. But then, why start paying me any attention now when you’ve never bothered to before? I guess-”

“Stop,” her mother interrupted her, and the tone of her voice made Artemis do as she was told. “Just stop.” Sara blinked and kept her eyes on the door as she continued, “I don’t need you to tell me all the ways in which I have failed you. I know that I failed you. I’ve failed at everything. I’m forty-five years old, and what do I have to show for it? A dead husband, a son in prison, a daughter who despises me…”

“Do you blame me for despising you?”

“No,” Sara said simply. She peeled her eyes away from the door to the Department of Mysteries, and just for a moment, looked directly at her daughter. “I don’t blame you, Artemis.”

Artemis swallowed, and her mother closed her eyes and shook her head, slowly and sadly.

“It’s my fault,” she continued. “I know it’s my own fault. I was never able to give you what you needed, and… I came here because I thought you might want to know why.”

A part of Artemis did want to know why, but she ignored that part of herself.

“No,” she told her mother, jutting her chin forward. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“Not excuses. An explanation.”

“Explanation? How can you…” Artemis’ question died before she finished asking it. She rolled her eyes. “Forget it. I don’t want to know.”

She half-expected - and maybe half-hoped - that her mother would argue with her, but she did not. Instead, Sara Hexley inclined her head, a look of resignation on her face.

“Okay,” she said, very quietly. “But in case you ever change your mind-”

“I won’t.”

“- you should have this.”

Sara reached into the pocket of her long coat and pulled out a tiny package, slightly bigger than one of Penny’s lipsticks, wrapped in brown paper and tied with gold thread. She held the item out to Artemis, who did not reach out to accept it.

“I don’t want anything of yours.”

“Actually, it’s yours. Half-yours, anyway,” said Sara. “Take it.”

Artemis hesitated before reaching out to take the little parcel from her mother, their fingers brushing against each other as the item exchanged between their hands. Sara had soft hands, Artemis thought, and a small part of her longed to take hold of one, the way she hadn’t done since a time she could no longer remember.

Before she could act on that sudden and strange impulse, her mother’s hand had been removed from her own, and the only thing she held was the parcel she had been given.

“I’m sorry, Artemis,” her mother told her. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I am sorry. For everything. I wish… I love you.” Artemis’ eyes grew wide, and her mother’s closed tightly. “Good bye.”

Sara took one more look at the black door. Artemis watched her closely. It was not just sadness in her expression. There was anger in it too, and regret, and fear, and something resembling longing. Artemis tilted her head, curious. She had never been able to read her mother this well before.

Her ability to do so was short-lasted. Artemis felt the connection between her and her mother close down, as if she were being pushed out of Sara’s head and away from her thoughts. Her mother looked down to the ground and turned from her, walking down the corridor and out of sight.

“Good bye, Ma,” Artemis whispered.

She listened to her mother’s footsteps fade away, and as she did, she heard more echoing up the stairs, along with a familiar voice. Hastily, she shoved the parcel Sara had given her into her pocket and rubbed the tears away from her cheeks, just as Madam Rosmerta reached the top of the staircase and approached her.

“There you are, love. I thought you might have gone outside,” said Rosmerta. She looked from Artemis to the black door and back again, frowning deeply. “What are you doing at the Department of Mysteries?”

Artemis shrugged in response, and Rosmerta sighed.

“Come here,” she said, pulling Artemis into a tight hug. “It’s okay, love. The Wizengamot found Rakepick guilty. She’s going to Azkaban, and she’s going to stay there. She’s not ever going to hurt you or anyone else again, you hear me?”

Ros released her hold on Artemis to look straight at her, holding her gaze with nothing but sincerity in her eyes. Artemis sniffed and nodded her head.

“Yeah. Sorry for leaving, I just-”

“You don’t need to be sorry for anything, Artemis.”

With her arm still around Artemis’ shoulders, Rosmerta led her away from the black door, the same way Sara had only just left by. Artemis looked for her mother as they reached the atrium, but there was no sign of her. Sara Hexley really had gone.

“Wait,” said Artemis, as she and Ros walked past the fountain. “I want to put a coin in.”

She made her way over to the fountain, her hand reaching into her pocket. She held her mother’s parcel in her hand as she looked into the coin-filled water, gnawing at her lower lip. She was curious as to what was inside, but her curiosity was nothing compared to her self-righteous anger. If Rosmerta could act like a parent, why couldn’t her own mother? What possible explanation could she have for that? If Sara’s explanation was going to be anything like Rakepick’s, she would rather not have it anyway.

She pulled the parcel from her pocket and dropped it into the fountain, hitting the surface with a satisfying plop. Artemis watched it sink to the bottom to rest among the coins, before returning to Madam Rosmerta’s side and leaving the Ministry of Magic for good.

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #the hexley saga #patricia rakepick #madam rosmerta #kingsley shacklebolt #dolores umbridge #merula snyde #ben copper

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