Trial of Ceallach o Raghallaigh [GUILTY]

[JadieLou]

This is the trial of Miss Ceallach Raichael o Raghallaigh.

Age: Seventeen Years

Crimes

• Murder
  
• High Treason
  
• Torture
  
• Conspiracy
  
• Sedition
  
• and more
  

Head Judge: Juliette Henderson (Minister for Magic)

Jurors: Sara Templeton (Headmistress of Hogwarts)

[JadieLou]

Juliette walked into the courtroom and sighed, her head bowed. Why did people do things like this? She sat at her place, putting her files in front of her, adjusting her robes. This was going to be a long day. One, she was not going to enjoy.
Looking down at the file, she clicked her tongue, shaking her head. Someone so young, up for all this. Is it all really necessary? She sighed. Surely this was a mistake. All these charges couldn't be true!

[Sara Templeton]

Sara walked into the courtroom, and stopped in the doorway. She felt a shiver down her spine, and past events, 22 years before, shot past her vision. She was sitting right up the back of the stands, looking down to a very good looking dark haired man, sitting on that exact chair. She let out a sigh as she remembered the horror, watching her once lover being carted off to Azkaban, while she was supposedly on the run.
She recovered herself. Watching Rabastan being taken away would never leave her. Never. But, she didn't expect it to affect her like that. Seeing Juliette, she walked up to the seat beside the Minister.
"Minister," she greeted, sitting beside her in the seat allocated for her.

[JadieLou]

Juliette looked up as someone said her name. When she recognised Sara, she smiled. "Headmistress," she responded. "What a horrid day," she commented. The room began to fill up with the Wizengamot and spectators, all here to see the trials. Juliette sighed. She was just about to say something else to Sara, when the guards announced the entry of the one on trial.
"Miss. Ceallach Raicheal o Raghallaigh. Charged with Death Eater sympathies, Murder, High Treason, Torture, Conspiracy, and Sedition."

[Ceallach o Raghallaigh]

Ceallach's name was called and she stood up from the bench she'd been sitting on, gracefully, standing tall, straight, confident and arrogant. The only thing that was degrading about this was what they were making her wear! How disgusting. Teh black Mark on her arm blazed proudly for all to see. She wasn't ashamed of what she had done, like they wanted her to be. She'd done what she thought was right. Fought for her cause, just as their side had.
Walking out into the courtroom, she heard it hush, then they all began chattering in whispers, giving her odd looks. She chuckled, making one of the guards look at her. She smiled at him, he turned away, her smile widened. They chained her to the chair, and she moved her arms a little to get comfortable. Her legs weren't chained, which surprised her, so she crossed them elegantly, showing them all she wasn't about to feel guilty - and she could stand up for herself.

[Zach Fischer]

Zach waited for his turn to be called to testify. He was there to tell what he'd witnessed during the battle. And yet he couldn't forget that afternoon he'd first met Ceallach, that amazing liaison between her and the twins. But he'd chosen his side when he joined the Order, and affirmed the choice when he fought side by side with other Order members. Including Nathalie.

He smiled at the dark-haired girl, sitting silently near him. If he was having a rough time, Nathalie must be having it worse, because her parents had done their best to persuade her not to testify. No-one could claim they'd been involved with the Death Eaters - not this time, anyway! But they certainly didn't seem overly anxious to see any Death Eaters brought to justice.

Poor kid. She'd been through a lot this year.

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krys took a seat behind Zach and placed her hand softly on his shoulder.
"Hey." she murmured, not taking her eyes of Ceal as she walked confidently into the room escorted by the guards. A slight smile touched her lips despite herself. That girl was something else.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him, her voice inaudible to anyone but him. She could feel his nervousness, but it seemed apt to ask him anyway. She knew he had to testify and how daunting that must be, especially when it involved Ceallach. She was oozing confidence and obstinance from every pore.

[Zach Fischer]

Zach jumped slightly when someone put a hand on his shoulder, but smiled when he saw it was Krysta. He shrugged when she asked how he was feeling. "It doesn't seem real," he said quietly. "I mean, being here at a trial, testifying against someone who I..." he stopped suddenly. No-one else knew about that amazing afternoon he and Aidan had with Ceallach.

To change the subject, he glanced at Nathalie, sitting a few seats away. Lowering his voice even more, he said to Krysta, "It's Nat I'm worried about. You know her parents have been pressuring her not to testify?"

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krys nodded slowly, though Zach couldn't see it.
"Yeah. I know exactly what you mean." she replied quietly, thinking about Danika. She hadn't known that Zach had slept with Ceal, though it didn't surprise her in the slightest. "Try not to think about her as Ceallach. I know it's easier said than done. Just focus on the things she did. Focus on what's right. You'll be fine." she suggested softly. "You're very brave Zach." she added.

She looked down the bench to where Natalie sat in silence, her head bowed as though she hoped it would make her invisible. Krys's lips pressed together into a thin line as Zach talked about Natalie. Krys didn't really know much about her. They'd never really hung out together at school. She remembered that Caeleb had taken her to the Ball, but that was it really.
"It takes a lot of courage to defy your parents." she agreed. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Krys should be testifying herself, she knew it was true. But she just couldn't bring herself to offer herself up as a witness. Ceal was guilty as hell and any jury would agree. She was going down for a long time. She'd fooled herself that her testimony would make no difference to that. But the truth was she just couldn't do it.
She looked back towards her former friend with a hard expression in her eyes.

[Zach Fischer]

Zach sighed, shrugging. "Not really brave - all they really want is for me to confirm that she's an unregistered animagus. Nat's the one who saw her AK someone."

He looked up at the judge, wishing that the trial would start.

Close by, he heard Nathalie sigh, and he reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he gave her a comforting smile. "It'll be over soon," he told her.

[Nathalie Desjardins]

Nathalie looked up as Zach spoke, and managed to return his smile. She didn't think she'd have made it to this point without his support. He'd kept in touch during the holidays - several times an owl from him had arrived when she'd been on the point of giving in to her parents' pressure, and it had helped her remember why she was doing this.

She'd never had anything against Ceallach at school. But what she'd seen during the battle was burned into her memory. She needed to testify, not only to make sure that the truth was known, but also because she felt it might help with the nightmares and flashbacks she'd been suffering.

After that - well, now she had made up her mind. She was determined to train as an auror. What her parents would say to that, she wasn't going to think about just yet.

[JadieLou]

Juliette watched the young woman walk into the hall, the arrogance oozing from her. This one was simple. A few questions - the formalities - then she was locked up for good. Still watching as the girl got settled, she shook her head. The way she held herself DEFINATELY showed her pride. Juliette knew about this one, her family, her position in this war.
"Miss o Raghallaigh, can you tell us why you think you are here?" she asked.

[Ceallach o Raghallaigh]

Ceallach looked up at the woman as she spoke, a sly smile on her face.
"Because I did EXACTLY what your aurors did. Fought for what I believe in. I'm not going to spin lies to get away from this. But - I did nothing that your side didn't so. You all just don't want to face that fact," she answered confidently, following it with a raise of one eyebrow and a cock of her head. Arrogance and a belief she was right - not a good mix.

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krysta lifted her head from behind Zach's shoulder to watch as Ceal was questioned. She smiled darkly as Ceal showed no sign of fear and absolutely no intention of denying her guilt. She made no excuses at all, just spoke the truth...the complete truth. It grated on Krysta to hear the horrible facts. Ceall was right. Both sides had killed in this battle. The Order had tried not to, but some deaths had been inescapable. Kildara was out for blood and when it's kill or be killed, instinct takes over. The fact was no matter how she tried she couldn't be angry with Ceal. Her parents had been murdered in cold blood: something Krysta still didn't understand. Serena wasn't in the habit of ordering murders, so why had they done it? She couldn't help wondering what her own reaction would have been in Ceal's place.
Ceal had been a good friend. An unbelievable friend in fact. She was a good person with integrity and she had been reduced to this? That was what made Krysta angry. She leaned back in her seat with a cold smile on her lips, partly hoping that Ceallach would give the Prosecution the hardest time possible during this trial.

[JadieLou]

Juliette sighed. Beside her, she heard Sara muffle a laugh and try to hide a smile. So she thought the girl was funny. "You murdered your own brother!" she exclaimed.
"He was in my way. He tried to kill me! Now what does that say about your values. He was all for your side. Don't tell me that if your brother, if you have one, was a Death Eater, that you wouldn't have done what I did. Have you had to go through your parents being murdered and then your brother saying they deserved it? It is NOT the nicest thing to go through." Ceallach's voice was still dripping in honey, but now acid was coursing through it.
"No, Miss o Raghallaigh, I haven't. But, that does not excuse you from your other crimes." She nodded at one of the guards. "Would Mr Fischer please step up to the stand for his testimony."