Announcements
At the Hogwarts Express, Ginny, the twins and the Golden Trio are talking. "Harry, do you think Angelina Johnson become the new captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?" Ron asks.
"Probably." Harry answers. "I hope Sirius is cleared on time for the Christmas holidays."
"Amelia Bones, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, is Susan Bones' aunt." Hermione comments. "Maybe we could ask Susan what to expect."
"Dad says Amelia Bones is a fair person." Ron says. "She'll get Sirius a fair trial."
"If she doesn't get the charges…" Gred starts.
"…to be dropped." Forge finished.
At this moment, Draco Malfoy and his cronies appear. "Will you be on it or not?" He asks.
"If it doesn't keep us from finding out what's going to happen with Wormtail and Barty Junior." Harry replies.
"Oh, yeah." Draco replies with a sneer. "Father told me about the rumor that Mad-Eye claims to have caught two dead wizards at his home. If you're naïve enough to believe it you'll have no chance against the tournament. Bye." He and the cronies leave.
"Which tournament was Malfoy talking about, Harry?" Ginny asks.
"I have no idea, Ginny." Harry explains. "I just said that so Malfoy would leave us alone."
"Harry, why did you refer…" Gred asks.
"…to Peter Pettigrew as 'Wormtail'?" Forge finishes. Both twins are angry at Harry for calling a traitor by a Marauder name.
"Didn't Ron tell you?" A scared Harry asks. "Peter Pettigrew is Wormtail; Professor Lupin is Moony; Sirius Black is Padfoot; and my Dad was Prongs."
"No, our 'Ickle Ronnykins' never told us." The twins reply together while glaring at their youngest brother.
"That was my revenge for you NOT giving me the map." Ron meekly replies.
"Tell me more about the Map, Harry." Ginny asks, hoping to stop a possible fight.
"My Dad, his two best friends and Pettigrew made a map that shows the locations of everyone at Hogwarts." Harry explains. "They used it until Filch confiscated it and kept locked until Fred and George found it during one of their detentions with Filch. At my third year, they gave it to me so I could go to Hogsmeade despite the dementors and the fact I didn't have a signed permission." Harry isn't aware that Hermione is glaring at the twins for this. "When Snape and Professor Lupin caught me, Professor Lupin covered for me but confiscated the map. Back then he admitted to me he knew it's a map but not that he's a Marauder. At the famous confrontation at the Shrieking Shack, Ron, Hermione and I learned the identities of the Marauders and that Professor Lupin read Pettigrew's name at the map."
At Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore makes announcements. "Students, I'd like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor but unfortunately Professor Moody is busy with the wizards caught invading his home last night. The Auror Department and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have confirmed the identities of the wizards as Peter Pettigrew and Bartemius Crouch Junior. Yes, I know both wizards are believed to be dead. However, it seems both of them are still alive and somehow have just tricked the Wizarding World into believing them to be dead. The Ministry is still investigating"
Suddenly an owl appears and gives Harry a message. It's from the Ministry of Magic.
Mr. H. Potter
With the discovery that Peter Pettigrew is alive, the charges against your godfather, Sirius Black, for murdering him have been dropped. He's still officially wanted for the other charges but they're being reviewed as Mr. Pettigrew, who has being pointed by Mr. Black as the real culprit, is being questioned. Because we can't contact him and, as his godchild, you're the only relative who claims to know of his innocence (his cousin Andromeda Tonks née Black doesn't count despite also believing his innocence because she doesn't 'know' it) we contacted you instead. If possible, please pass him the message.
Cordially,
Amelia Bones
Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic
Wanting the school to know the truth about Sirius Black (and also wanting to make Snape furious), Harry approaches the professors' table and hands Dumbledore the letter, asking him to announce it. "Students, fellow professors, it recently became of my knowledge that with Peter Pettigrew found alive, Sirius Black is no longer wanted for murdering him and Mr. Pettigrew is being questioned as a suspect for the other crimes Mr. Black had been sent to Azkaban for."
If looks could kill, Severus Snape would have killed the whole student body. Then he's approached by an owl. It has a message from the Ministry of Magic, summoning him to answer to charges of passing false information to the Ministry regarding Peter Pettigrew. Dumbledore also announces that, instead of the inter-house Quidditich championship, Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament this year. The students applaud this.
The next day, the fourth-year Gryffindors and the Slytherins are going to have their first class together: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately, for the Gryffindors, Snape was the one ready to teach. "Take your seats before I…" He angrily starts ordering until Alastor Moody appears. "Professor Moody, I didn't expect you today." Snape says, trying with effort to hide fear.
"I had to leave the interrogation sooner when I heard Professor Dumbledore would allow Death Eater scum to teach my class." Moody explains, shocking all Gryffindors at class (the Slytherins had already learned about Snape's past from their parents).
"Is Snape a Death Eater?" A scared Ron Weasley asks.
"Yes." Moody replies. "He allegedly turned on him and became a spy for our side even before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's downfall and Dumbledore vouched for him, causing Snape to avoid Azkaban. If you ask me, the Ministry should have just used Veritaserum to force his secrets of him and then send him to Azkaban with the rest of the scum."
"Agreed." Ron replies.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher." Snape proclaims.
"Thirty points to Gryffindor for standing up to a Death Eater." Moody replies. "Snape, shouldn't you be preparing himself to that hearing with the Ministry?"
After Snape leaves, Moody starts teaching and mentions the Unforgivable Curses.
This afternoon, the students are reading the Daily Prophet. Their main focus is at the lines regarding Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Barty Crouch (both Senior and Junior) and Voldemort.
PETER PETTIGREW IS THE REAL BETRAYER OF THE POTTER'S SECRET HIDING PLACE
BARTEMIUS CROUCH SENIOR USED POLYJUICE POTION TO BREAK HIS SON OUT OF AZKABAN AND HAVE MRS. CROUCH COVER FOR HIM
YOU-KNOW-WHO CAPTURED BY AURORS
CROUCH SENIOR SENTENCED TO AZKABAN FOR LIFE FOR BREAKING HIS SON OUT OF AZKABAN AND KEEPING HIM UNDER THE IMPERIOUS CURSE
CONSPIRACY TO CAPTURE HARRY POTTER DURING TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT UNCOVERED
YOU-KNOW-WHO, CROUCH JUNIOR AND PETER PETTIGREW SENTENCED TO THE DEMENTOR'S KISS
FORMER DEATH EATER SUMMONED FOR INTERROGATION FOR COVERING PETTIGREW
SIRIUS BLACK CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES
"I hope they send Snape to join Crouch at Azkaban." Ron says.
"Me too." Harry replies. "Because of him I had to spend another summer with the Dursleys."
"Harry, Professor Snape really didn't see Peter Pettigrew there." Hermione says.
"Whose side are you on, Hermione?" Ron asks. "Snape is a Death Eater and Dumbledore was crazy for having hired him as a professor."
For practically the whole lunch time this seemed to be all the students were talking about. The only one wanting to start a different point is Draco Malfoy claiming that when his father hears about what happened at his first Defense class, he'll have Moody fired for introducing the Unforgivables to fourth-years.
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