The Letters

(A/N) Originally a one shot on letters Sirius Black wrote to Harry Potter from Azkaban. The goblins were instructed to put the letters into Harry's vault on his 17th birthday. It was received favourably so chapters have been added.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. He and his world belong to J K Rowling.

After the Battle of Hogwarts Harry Potter paid a visit to his vault. He found a key to another vault and a letter from Sirius Black.

"Dear Harry,

As you are reading this I am assuming I am dead. After I was made your godfather, until such time as I had heirs, I made you my sole heir and all that was mine is now yours. The goblins were instructed to place this key and letter in your vault on your seventeenth birthday. Inside the envelope is the magical deed to Twelve Grimmauld Place, this letter, and some pictures.

Harry, I trust you will use my wealth well.

You need to know the truth about me. You have probably been told I betrayed your parents but it was another Marauder, Peter Pettigrew. I know he is believed dead and was awarded a posthumous Order of Merlin. Pettigrew is probably still alive and if so he is a very dangerous Death Eater.

It was he who killed the twelve Muggles, faked his own death and he who betrayed your parents. I went after him thinking you were also dead and then I found Hagrid removing you from the blown out house and taking you away.

I don't know who will be alive when you are seventeen. Mr. Bartemius Crouch I do believe means well but he has sunken to the level of Death Eaters. His Aurors are encouraged to use all three Unforgivable Curses and some have so little integrity they simply use the Killing Curse on anyone they are sent to fetch. I hear rumors that an Auror killed the brother of your Uncle Vernon Dursley and if that is the case your childhood must have been awful.

I have Owled Professor Dumbledore from here at Azkaban, He does not approve of Mr. Crouch's methods. I have proclaimed my innocence and the danger of Peter Pettigrew. Unfortunately Albus Dumbledore is believing what he is told and is not attempting to secure me a trial. He did grant me the request that this letter, key and deed be delivered to your vault on your seventeenth birthday.

Without it my wealth will fall into the hands of the Malfoy family and not only do they not deserve it, they have plenty of their own wealth. Unless they change they will probably die here.

I do not know how long I will live. Prisoners here usually do not last over a year. Harry do what you can to reform this prison. Get the Dementors taken out. They cause most of the prisoners to die within a year and some go insane in only a few weeks. Many of them lose the will to live, stop eating and starve. Dementors take away all your happy memories but I have a memory that I am innocent and they cannot take that.

A little wizarding law: Because I was never tried I am still technically a prisoner awaiting trial and if I die that way I am unconvicted. I've checked the law. If a man dies awaiting trial it is the same as if he dies unarrested and the Ministry must release his assets to his designated heirs. The Ministry may claim that I am a convicted Death Eater but that is not legally correct. The Ministry is not terribly fond of the Malfoys. They'd just as soon you get my fortune as them.

I have been in Azkaban for over three years so as I am writing this you are four and probably living an unhappy childhood. Petunia will be cold to you but my real worry is your Uncle Vernon. He and his sister Marjory are the most unpleasant Muggles I've ever met and for a pureblood I've met a lot of Muggles. Vernon was saying foul things about your mother and I finally told him to say no more in my presence.

I know Petunia is afraid of Vernon and I know she married the scum bag to get back at her parents. They were not cruel to her but they should have given Petunia a little more attention. Petunia's parents were murdered by Death Eaters and that didn't help. Petunia knows what wizards are capable of.

I will close my letter. If I continue to live I will try to send a few more letters for your packet. Goodbye for now, my beloved Godson!

Sirius Black"

There was a second letter.

"Dear Harry,

I have been at Azkaban for over five years. Your magic is beginning to show as accidental magic. This will drive your uncle crazy. He's a biggotted angry man and he is not kind to your Aunt Petunia. I hear he has a son named Dudley.

A Death Eater prisoner told me that he and several others attempted to enter your Little Whinging Home but were held out by some unknown magic. They were arrested by Muggle police and turned over to the Secret Service which turned them over to the Aurors. They were tried and sent here. I think there is some old magic between your aunt and you because your mother gave her life for you and because you and your aunt are blood relatives. Old magic is not well understood but it is powerful.

I've feared for them and you and had nightmares of Death Eater attacks on your home. Now I know this will never happen. Try and keep your cousin out of trouble.

The Death Eaters are after the family you are with. No statement of they didn't want you will deter them. Your Muggle family is marked for death.

Take care of them even though they do not deserve it.

your loving godfather,

Sirius"

There was another letter.

"Dear Harry,

I've been in Azkaban for ten years and you are entering Hogwarts. I do not know what house you will be in but I hope it is Gryffindor. Regardless of the house it is important that you walk on the side of the light. This will be harder if you go to Slytherin but it will not be impossible. There are many Slytherins who choose to walk on the side of the light. They are rather a quiet group but their resolve is firm. They stick together. Particularly if you are in Slytherin go everywhere in groups of two or more with those who choose the side of light.

Some will reject you because you are a half blood but be proud of that heritage. Those who think purebloods are better usually, though not always, stick to the dark side.

Good luck my godson,

Sirius"

There was a note from Dumbledore,

"Dear Harry,

You are eight now and I'm sorry about your suffering. We have warned Vernon and Petunia several times. Today Arthur Weasley caught Petunia whipping you in the back yard. He made her stop and send you in the house and then he spent and hour and a half lecturing her and she promised to be kinder. If the abuse continues, I will threaten your aunt and uncle with Azkaban and if that fails I'll give them a guided tour of Azkaban. If that fails to put the fear of God into them I'll have no choice but to remove you, but I'll see they also lose Dudley in that event.

When your mother died she gave you some magical protection which is continued as long as you and Petunia call the same house home even if it is only three weeks a year. If it were not for that you would not be there.

Though I believe Sirius Black to be guilty I have allowed him to bequeath his fortune to you and not let it fall to the Malfoys who already have plenty.

Please don't think badly of me,

Albus Dumbledore"

Also enclosed was the deed to Twelve Grimmauld Place and some pictures of the Original Order of the Phoenix when they were in Hogwarts.

Harry examined Sirius's vault and found it was loaded with gold galleons.

He took the letters from Sirius to a Muggle photocopier and had some parchment like copies made.

He put the originals and some of the copies in his house at Twelve Grimmauld Place.

He took three copies of each letter to the Ministry of Magic where he was just starting as an Auror. He gave copies off the letters to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic, filed copies at Auror Headquarters and with the International Confederation of Wizards.

Kingsley later visited Harry wiping his eyes.

"I think we should arrest the Dursleys for abusing and neglecting an Underage wizard. I visited the Muggle school you attended. They talked good and plenty and feel guilty themselves. I know the Dursleys are Muggles but I cannot excuse their treatment of you," said Kingsley.

"No," said Harry. "They've just come out of hiding and they are sorry they behaved so badly, at least Dudley and his mother are. If Uncle Vernon isn't sorry, Azkaban won't help. Please leave them be. We've all had a hard war."

"Alright if you're sure, you take care of this," said Kingsley.

He laid a letter from the Muggle Prime Minister on Harry's desk. It gave Kingsley permission to arrest and try the Dursleys and sentence them to up to one year in Azkaban with the condition that Dementors were kept away from them.