Secrets and Conflicts

Chapter One: The Trouble With Sirius

Harry was sitting on the bed in his room in the Dursley's doing his homework. An owl that he didn't recognize came flying in. It landed on his shoulder and lightly nipped his ear. He saw a note tied to it's foot. Harry untied it and opened the letter.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you we have captured Sirius Black and he will be put on trial for his case to be reviewed one last time. You must come to the Ministry at once to prepare for his trial.

Signed,

Cornielius Fudge

Head of the Ministry of Magic

Harry gasped. "Sirius! They caught him! Oh no!"

Another owl came right after it. It was Earl, and as expected, he hit the glass on Harry's window. Harry ran to the window and peeled the bird off the glass. He quickly unwrapped the letter.

Harry-

Pity to hear about Sirius! Hermione and I are both coming to testify for him. I am coming to pick you up tomarrow at 7am. I hope since it's the weekend your rotten Uncle and Aunt will be asleep still. I will bring a muggle car. Hermione will meet us at the leaky cauldron.

-Ron

Harry sighed and folded up the two letters together and sent the owls off. He quickly packed his things into his trunk. He vowed not to let them kill Sirius. It was already late. Harry set his alarm to go off at 6:30 am so he had enough time to prepare. He jumped into bed and thought about how the trial might come out. If only he could find Peter Pettigrew he could make everything right again.

The next morning Harry awoke before his alarm went off. He turned it off and tried to silently bring his trunk downstairs. He brushed his teeth and tried to make his hair any less messy and packed the rest of the things he needed. He put Hedwig in her cage and brought her downstairs.

Downstairs he made himself a sandwich and ate it quickly. He walked outside with his trunk and soon he saw a car driving up the street.

Ron grinned when he saw Harry. Stuff it in the trunk, mate. The trunk popped open and he put his trunk inside. Harry opened the back door and put Hedwig's cage on the seat next to him and sat down.

"Good to see you again, Harry," George said.

"Yes, good to see you! How about this for a summer present?" Fred frowned.

Harry sighed.

"It's all right, Harry. They can't convict him after they hear what we have to say," Ron assured him.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know."

The trip to the Leaky Cauldron was long and Harry fell asleep a few times but his dreams were not good.

The Leaky Cauldron was very busy. Hermione quickly spotted them. She rushed over.

"Harry! Ron! It is so good to see you both! But not for this reason," she added solemnly. "I asked Fudge if we could visit him and he said we could. When shall we go?"

Harry's eyes lit up a little. "Right now! I haven't seen him in three years!"

Ron and Hermione shrugged and Hermione led him to the fireplace.

"I assume you have used flew powder before, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry gulped. "Unfortunatly." Hermione went first.

"The Ministry of Magic," she said and was engulfed in green flames.

Harry stepped up. He grasped the powder firmly and said calmly and clearly, "The Ministry of Magic." He suddenly found himself in the lobby. Hermione was waiting for him. A minute later Ron was with them.

Hermione walked up to the receptionist. "We are here to see Sirius Black. We are to be let in the cell. Here is a letter signed by Cornielius Fudge," she said.

The lady took the note and examined it for awhile. "Ok. Hand over your wands."

They each handed her their wands.

"Now go through that door."

Harry opened the door and went inside. Ron and Hermione followed quickly. The door slammed shut and they could feel magic pulsing around it. They looked around. At the other end of the room was another door. Harry heard a bolt release and he turned the doorknob of the other door. It opened so he motioned to the other two and they walked in.

"Harry!" Sirius ran to him. He hugged Harry tightly. "Ron and Hermione too! Wow!"

Harry pulled away. "We are going to tell them everything. We can't risk your life."

"Harry, you cannot prove it. You don't have Peter Pettigrew and even if you did, it wouldn't prove he did it!" Sirius said sadly.

"We will see. If it doesn't work, we will find him!" Harry exclaimed.

Sirius pushed back hair from his face. "You will never find him." He started to pace slowly. "What to do?"

"Don't worry, we will find a way," Hermione assured him. "But we have to go, our stay is only 2 minutes. They don't want any chance of plotting an escape. We will see you at the trial. We will sort this out!"

Sirius nodded. "Goodbye, Harry. See you soon," he said.

Harry gave him another hug and they went back through the door.

They returned to the Leaky Cauldron and there were much less people. Ron yawned.

"Harry, we got up really early. Can we take a nap?" Ron asked.

"Sure," he said starting to yawn too.

Hermione bit her lip. "I will go see what I can find out about animagus and trials involving murders at the book store. And don't sleep too late. I will be needing your help."

"Alright then. Bye," Ron said. He watched as she walked away. Harry gave him a funny look.

They tromped upstairs to their room they were sharing. Ron laid down on his bed. Harry sat down and looked at him.

"Ron, erm…do you like Hermione?" Harry murmured.

Ron look uncomfortable. "Yeah, of course. We are friends aren't we? Of course I like her."

"Ron, you know that's not what I am talking about…"