A/N: I don't own Harry Potter.
A special thanks to prue-best for being review number 50! Thanks a lot dear readers for your reviews, and keep them coming. I already have 205 followers after three chapters!
CHAPTER 4 – INTERLUDE AND WIZENGAMOT
During the month of August, a few incidents happened before Harry and his friends boarded the Hogwarts Express bound for school for the first time (for the first year students). Harry and Susan had Hannah over at their place (yes, Harry considers Amelia's place his home) for the whole month and they enjoyed each other's company. They were like an inseparable trio and were the very best of friends and were playing with each other in the sense of just normal kids playing (so get your minds out of the gutter for now:) ). Amelia smiled when she saw them hugging often and just playfully kissing each other's cheeks when they got excited.
During one of these days they were speaking about pureblood laws, and families, and Susan decided to speak, "So Hannah, you know how Harry has to have another wife for the Peverell line?"
"Yes?" replied the cute blonde girl while blushing.
"Since you are our very best friend, how would you like to become the future Lady Peverell?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Harry playfully. "Don't I get a say in this?" Hannah was blushing furiously by this time.
"Of-course you do Harry, but we know you love us both," replied Susan.
"Hmm, yes I really do love you both, but do we have to talk about this now?"
Susan knew that Harry still was not comfortable so she gently said, "Well Harry, Hannah is our very best friend and I don't mind sharing in the future. This will also warn the other boys at school that Hannah and I are not available and will keep them away from us, we hope."
Harry saw the intelligence and said, "Ok I agree, but how do we do this?"
"Easy, you just have to raise your wand and say, 'I, Lord Harry James Potter-Peverell hereby proclaim Hannah Abbot as my Lady Peverell and put her under protection of House Peverell.' Then the Peverell ring will appear on Hannah's finger. All this is of-course legal from what we read, that is if Hannah agrees to it. It isn't like marrying yet, but like Ragnok said, after we graduate from school, in like seven years," said Susan.
Hannah squealed and hugged them both, shouting, "YES! I ACCEPT!" She then kissed Harry and Susan on the cheek and clapped her hands in excitement.
"Well, well, we do have an energetic girl here," said Susan laughing.
"As if you were not like that when you found out that you are going to be Lady Potter," retorted Hannah, sticking her tongue out.
"Don't we have to get permission from Hannah's parents first?" asked Harry. "As much as I really like the idea, we need to do the right thing and ask Hannah's parents."
"You're right Harry, but they will agree. They will be happy that you asked them though," said Hannah.
So the trio floo-called Hannah's parents and spoke to them about the arrangement. Harry mentioned that he is still too young to even think about marrying Susan, let alone Hannah as well, but will protect them both with his life and keep the boys away from them, especially from Hannah. There was no doubt that Hannah's parents loved Harry and Susan, so they agreed to the three-way marriage, only to be done after the seven years of school. So Harry received the blessing from Hannah's parents and uttered the phrase that Susan mentioned to him previously, and the Peverell engagement ring appeared on Hannah's finger, which provided all the necessary protection from light hexes to prank alerts to dark curses to just about any harm. Susan also had the Potter engagement ring which protected her from any harm. When Amelia arrived from work, they told her what happened and she was proud for the trio and hugged them all.
Another incident that happened related to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. The Black family was a very powerful, very old and one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Britain. The family was predominantly a dark one and supported the pureblood supremacy propaganda and 'cleansing the wizarding world' campaigns. Most of the Black family supported the Death Eater (Voldemort supporters) movement, except for a few. Lord Orion Black was considered dark, but never supported any Dark Lords or Death Eaters. Regulus Black was once a Death Eater but regretted his decision. Before destroying something that belonged to Voldemort, he was killed. The other thing that made the Black family fearful was that they were all sorted into Slytherin House, with the exception of Sirius Orion Black, who went to Gryffindor, befriended James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, was classed as a traitor, and the four friends were called Marauders and were the biggest pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen.
Sirius Black took over as Lord Black after Orion Black died. The family also had three sisters – Narcissa (now Malfoy, though she never had the Dark Mark of Voldemort and was not a Death Eater), Bellatrix (now LeStrange, who is in Azkaban for torturing many innocent people, among them the Longbottoms) and Andromeda (now Tonks, who married a muggle and was disowned from the Black family). Sirius set out to re-instate Narcissa and Andromeda back into the Black family but never had the chance. It was said that he was the secret keeper of the Potters and betrayed them to Voldemort, though he never had the Dark Mark and never supported any dark lords or dark movements. He was not into the dark arts as deeply as other Black members. It was also known that he confronted Peter Pettigrew for betraying the Potters and killed him along with a number of muggles in a street. However, when Harry read through all of this, something was not right because Sirius was hauled off straight to Azkaban prison.
When Harry was reading about this after dinner one day, he approached Amelia and said, "Auntie, something is not right with what I read regarding Sirius Black."
Amelia was stunned and said, "What makes you say that dear?"
"First of all, I remember him being my godfather. If my parents trusted him and they were best friends, then surely Sirius would not have betrayed them. The question is, did he ever have a trial, and who was my parents' secret keeper? We can't rely on people's word all the time."
Amelia was stunned again and said, "I don't recall that he had a trial."
"So no one confirmed that he was or was not a Death Eater?"
"I don't understand where you are going with this Harry?"
"Auntie, Sirius is my godfather and may be an innocent man. If you read the books about what he did at school and after that, you will see that there's something wrong. Why don't you get a trial for him? After all he is the Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, and due to his status, he should have received a trial under the truth serum," said Harry.
She scanned the information that Harry was reading from and said, "You are correct Harry. I will send some of my Aurors to Azkaban and get him a trial." She was surprised as to how Harry figured that one out and how mature he had become over the years that he was at her home. She was not going to waste any time and said, "I'll be right back Harry, I need to get Sirius out of Azkaban and have him on trial tomorrow. He will be in a holding cell at the Ministry for now."
A while later, Amelia called some Aurors and explained to them the story about Sirius. One of them tried to argue with her and he was fired on the spot, his name was John Dawlish (this is important to take note of). The others were afraid to argue with her and a tall, dark skinned Auror took two others with him and went to Azkaban.
Once they arrived, they called the Dementors away and spotted the cell of Sirius Black. Sirius was still sane, as he was often in his dog (animagus) form, and not taking notice of the Dementors. He enjoyed being in his dog form as this was the only way to stay in his right mind.
The big Auror looked at him and said, "Black! You're coming with us. You will be put in a holding cell at the Ministry and await trial tomorrow under Veratiserm."
"Ah, Kingsley, I'm glad someone came for me. I will gladly answer all questions no matter how much truth serum I take!" he replied.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was shocked at how such a man can be sane while spending ten years in Azkaban, full of Dementors. "Well come on, you will get your wish Black!" With that, they left the island and Sirius was counting his days, no, hours until he is free.
The next day was going to rock the wizarding world. Amelia took Harry, Susan and Hannah to the Ministry where they awaited the trial of Sirius Orion Black. The Ministry was in an uproar when news got out that Black escaped Azkaban the previous night, but little did anyone know that Sirius never received a trial for his so-called crimes.
However, the first thing was the issue of one Albus Dumbledore, who is the Supreme Mugwap and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, who was trying to get Harry Potter back under his control. The aged wizard banged the table when all the members were seated, and was surprised to see some new faces. He started the announcement, "The Wizengamot meeting has now commenced. Anyone wishing to start may do so."
Amelia got up and said, "Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot, firstly we are here to recognise some Houses and arrange proxies."
"Very well Madam Bones, can the new guests please identify yourselves?" asked the old man.
The hall was stunned when Harry Potter stood up and said, "Lords and Ladies, I am Lord Harry James Potter-Peverell-Ravenclaw. I have recently discovered my heritage with the help of some formidable allies and it is confirmed at Gringotts, and should be confirmed at the Ministry." He even uttered a magical oath confirming who he is and this stunned everyone.
"Lord Potter, where is your scar if I may ask?" said Dumbledore.
"It has been taken care of, Chief Warlock," he replied. "I am here now to claim my seats. I know that I should nominate proxies for my seats until I reach majority in age."
"That is correct Lord Potter," said Dumbledore who was paler. "Who do you wish to nominate for your seats?"
"I wish to nominate Lady Augusta Longbottom for the Potter seat, Lord Greengrass for the Peverell seat, and Lord Abbot for the Ravenclaw seat."
"This is an outrage!" yelled a toad-like lady, wearing pink.
"Madam Umbridge, we appreciate if you can control yourself, as Lord Potter is indeed truthful and can nominate whoever he wishes," said Dumbledore calmly and she muttered something vulgar but sat back in her seat.
"What about the other members here?" asked the Chief Warlock.
Neville stood up and proclaimed with a magical oath, "I, Neville Longbottom, swear on my life and magic that I am the heir of Godric Gryffindor, and am entitled to claim the seat of Gryffindor at majority." With that, the hall was stunned as the oath accepted Neville. "I do wish to nominate Lady Amelia Susan Bones as proxy to the Gryffindor seat until I am of age."
Susan then came up, repeated the oath that she is the heiress of Helga Hufflepuff and said, "I wish to nominate Lady Augusta Longbottom as proxy to the Hufflepuff seat until I am of age." By this time, the hall was in an uproar and surprised that there were three heirs to the Founders of Hogwarts. Little did they know that there is a fourth heir or heiress and when that happened, some members even fainted from the excitement of it all.
Daphne Greengrass got up and repeated the oath that she is the heiress to Salazar Slytherin. This had everyone's attention, as she is a female. Nevertheless, the oath accepted Daphne and she said, "I wish to nominate Lord Davis as proxy to the Slytherin seat until I am of age." The pre-teen students did not wish to nominate their immediate family members as proxies for their seats in order to not attract attention with conflict of interest, as they have been taught.
The uproar continued for a while and it took a great deal of effort for Dumbledore to end it. He said, "I will remind you all that while these students have yet to attend Hogwarts, they have made a magical oath which accepted their claims, so nothing can be done about this." The other surprising thing is that the robes of the four students had the crests of the Founders on the respective people. Harry had the Potter, Peverell and Ravenclaw crest on his robe. "Is there anything else?" asked Dumbledore.
Amelia had received a confirmation letter from Gringotts that no money was taken from the Potter family vault or from Harry's vault. However, there was still an issue, so she rose and said, "There is Chief Warlock. It has come to my attention that you have placed Lord Potter with his mother's muggle sister even though I saw the will that he was not to ever go there, and that Lord and Lady Potter had asked me to be his guardian and look after him if something happened to them."
The room was in another uproar and everyone was yelling, "How can you leave him with filthy muggles!" Everyone was wandering what happened to Harry Potter all those years ago when his parents were killed.
Dumbledore banged the table and when the room was quiet. Amelia continued, "I took Lord Potter from his so-called relatives' home and had him checked at St Mungo's. It was discovered that he was physically and emotionally abused, malnourished and locked in a cupboard under the stairs for almost six years!"
The room went in a huge uproar again. Even the pureblood supremacy supporters from dark families reviled Dumbledore for leaving a child like this, and they didn't believe how Harry Potter could end up in such a disgusting house. Even Minister Cornelius Fudge took some pity on what he heard.
After another calm, Amelia continued, "Now Chief Warlock, I know you have been trying to get Lord Potter under your control by even setting up a marriage contract with one Ginevra Molly Weasley! Can you please explain why you decided to do this?"
After another uproar and disgust at Dumbledore, the old man called for silence and replied, "Madam Bones, I only had Lord Potter's best interest at heart. The Weasleys are a family of light and I wanted to guide young Harry in that way. The other thing is that I wanted Harry to have a good ally in the Weasley family, so it was for Harry's greater good." There was a gasp among the crowd but no one said anything.
"But you are not, or never were his magical guardian Chief Warlock, so you had no right to do this to start with, however good your intentions were."
"I apologise for that Madam Bones, but what could I have done?"
"You could have asked who was Lord Potter's guardian and simply sent him to his rightful place, but no, you decided to play guardian and took him away from his heritage. Anyway that contract is void and there is nothing that you can do to take Lord Potter from my care. I would like you to swear a magical oath that you will never again interfere with Lord Potter or his friends, otherwise these students will not go to Hogwarts and I will see to that!"
"Is that really necessary Madam Bones? Don't you trust me that I will not interfere anymore with Lord Potter's life?" asked Dumbledore in his grandfatherly voice.
"I wish it were easy Chief Warlock, but in light of these developments if you will not do this simple thing, then Lord Potter will not go to Hogwarts, and his friends will certainly follow, and it will be your great loss, so please for everyone's sake, please stop this 'greater good' business of yours, and Lord Potter will be willing to drop possible charges against you," said Amelia.
The members all wanted, with one voice, that Dumbledore proclaim his magical oath. He sighed and said, "Very well, I have no choice but to proclaim my oath." Holding up his wand, he said, "I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock and Headmaster at Hogwarts, swear on my life and magic that I will not interfere with Lord Potter or his friends, and their lives. . ." The flash of magic accepted his oath.
"Thank-you for that Chief Warlock, now Lord Potter can comfortably go to Hogwarts and perform at his best, choose his friends and have no one interfering with him. But there is one final thing that is required before anyone else has something to say," declared Amelia.
"Very well Madam Bones, please state your cause," said Dumbledore.
"There is some very disturbing information that I have come across in relation to people, especially Heads of Ancient and Noble Houses, being sent to Azkaban without any trial. I would like to rectify this situation now and have the prisoner sent here."
"Very well Madam Bones, you may bring the prisoner." Dumbledore did not like this as he knew who the prisoner is. He was the one who could get Sirius a trial but chose to swipe it under the carpet and allow an innocent soul to be tormented for ten years for crimes that he did not commit.
"Aurors, bring in the prisoner," stated Amelia. As Sirius came in, the room was in another uproar and after a loud call for silence, she said, "Lords and Ladies, how many of you were at the trial of Lord Sirius Orion Black on the night that the Potters were killed?" Everyone murmured and shook their heads, confirming that they had not heard of a trial. "That is correct, because it has come to my attention that Lord Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, never received a trial for the crimes he was accused of. A normal government would have given Lord Black a fair trial to state his appeal, but the real crime here is that he was never given a change under the truth serum to state his innocence."
"This is preposterous!" yelled Minister Fudge. "Everyone knows he is a supporter of YOU-KNOW-WHO and betrayed the Potters, killing Pettigrew and a number of muggles! How did you get Black here anyway?"
"Is that so Minister? Why don't we ask him under the truth serum then? You are the one who stated after all that everyone should be given a trial," said Amelia. "By the way, I called Aurors to take Lord Black out of Azkaban so that he should be given a trial."
Fudge was red in the face and said, "Very well, give Black a trial, but if he is found guilty, your job is no longer, Amelia."
Amelia smiled and said, "Aurors, administer the truth serum."
After the serum was applied, Sirius grinned, causing gasps within the Wizengamot. Amelia started the question, "State your name."
"Sirius Orion Black."
"When were you born?"
"3rd October 1959" (I made up that date, so please bear with this)
"Do you work for YOU-KNOW-WHO?"
"I do not know anyone by that name, but I never have worked, or never will work for that Dark Tosser called Voldemort!" Everyone gasped at the name and he said, "Come on, it's just a made up name! It's not like he will come and kill someone for mentioning the bloody name!"
"Thank-you for the bravery Lord Black, so you were never a Death Eater?"
"No, never!"
"Why did you betray the Potters?"
"I never did! James was like my brother, and I loved Lily like a friend!"
"Were you not the Potter's secret keeper?"
"No, but I was going to be, however, it was too obvious so Dumbledore requested James and Lily to change the secret keeper."
"Who was the secret keeper then?"
"That bloody rat Peter Pettigrew!"
Everyone gasped again but the questioning continued, "Did you kill Pettigrew?"
"No, but I confronted him and he was bloody pissing himself."
Some people were snickering at that statement. "What happened to Pettigrew?"
"He blew up the muggles and changed himself into his rat animagus and escaped."
Everyone was stunned at the new revelation and they all called for a pardon, with the exception of some of the dark families. They knew that he could not fight off the truth serum and that he was telling the truth. The court evaluated these statements from Sirius and after a moment of silence, Minister Fudge got up and said, "Lord Sirius Orion Black, after hearing these new revelations the Court hereby pardons you of the crimes you are accused of and will compensate 100,000 galleons for ever year spent in Azkaban. You also have my personal pardon and apologies for not giving a fair trial to the Head of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. You may receive a wand and your seat as Lord Black, and we wish you the best."
After the proceedings, Harry ran up to Sirius and hugged him. The man cried and said, "Is that really you pup?"
"Yes Padfoot, it's me." Sirius smiled at the nickname.
"You look so different Harry, how have you been?" Harry told him the story from when he was taken to the Dursleys to when Amelia found him and took him to her home. He was stunned at hearing that Amelia is his godmother and that he has two fiancés. Sirius barked out in laugher and said, "James would be proud of you pup. Amelia is a wonderful lady and I thank her for taking you and teaching you what you need to know." Looking around him, he saw a man with long blonde hair and said, "Hey pup, I know that dickhead there, Lucius Malfoy, he was at school when I was there. I really don't know what cousin Cissy saw in that ponce!"
Harry laughed and said, "Well, let's get you cleaned up and meet my fiancés and friends." He introduced Sirius to Susan, Hannah, Neville and Daphne who were there and they greeted him warmly. He told Sirius about the alliances and the Greengrass, Davis and Abbot parents greeted him and welcomed him among them. Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother also welcomed him as did Amelia.
The Daily Prophet had a field day after the trial, announcing that Sirius Black had never received a trial and that as the heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, should have received his trial. The Prophet went on to further shame the unlawful sentencing without a trial and called on the Minister to give every criminal a fair trial. The next article included the matter of children, who have not yet stepped their foot into Hogwarts, have rightfully claimed that they are the Heirs of the Founders of Hogwarts. This was the talk of the whole of Britain for the next week.
After the trial and when Sirius was invited to Amelia's place, she fried him. "SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"
Sirius cowered before her and croaked out, "Err, hey Amy, long time no see, and thank-you for the trial." He finished with his weak smile.
"Can it Black! I haven't finished with you! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING GOING AFTER PETTIGREW? LILY WOULD HAVE FRIED YOU FOR THAT!"
"S-sorry Amy, it's just that I was so depressed that my best friends were killed, then I lost Moony, so I got really depressed and had no hope at all. I'm sorry I wasn't there for Harry." He was still terrified at an angry Head of DMLE.
"Well Mr Black, Harry needed a father figure around him and you just had to go after Pettigrew," she scolded, still fuming.
"I'm so sorry Amy, and I really apologise to Harry for not being there for him, but from now on I will be there for my godson. Wait a second, you are his godmother!"
"That's correct Sirius, and you better be there for him as you promised. Well I forgive you for making that blasted mistake and not thinking with your brain, but then again we all make mistakes. By the way, it's really good to see you looking well," she replied with a smile.
They hugged and had a tearful reunion and Sirius said, "I missed you so much Amy, maybe we can catch up on good old times?"
"I look forward to it Sirius. By the way, when you have recovered, you can have your Auror job back if you want. Merlin knows we need more Aurors, but it's entirely up to you."
"I'll think about it Amy, but now I need to take time off to adjust to my new surroundings."
They hugged again and she said, "Well, go clean up and make yourself at home. Maybe we can catch up on some very, very good old times," finishing with a saucy grin.
"Oh you naughty woman Amy," said Sirius with a playful grin of his own. Sure they would catch up later and remember the times they had at Hogwarts and shortly after.
Sirius went to Gringotts and claimed the Headship, receiving the family ring, making him Lord Black. The first thing he did was re-instate Andromeda and her daughter Nymphadora Tonks into the Black family. He then disowned Bellatrix from the Black family and had her dowry paid back from her husband's vault into the Black family vault. He knew that Narcissa did not like her situation married to Lucius, but he would have a word with her later and find out exactly where her loyalties lie. He was glad to find out that though he had to marry and have a Lady Black, there was no contract with anyone person and he was still able to produce a heir. He caught up with Andromeda and her family, and had gotten to love them. When he told her that he re-instated her back, she cried with joy, along with her daughter. Nymphadora hated being called by her first name, but loved Sirius and was also grateful for being reinstated. Andromeda was his favourite cousin, and Nymphadora, or Tonks as she likes to be called (she hates being called by her first name or else she will hex whoever does that), was cheerful and had bubblegum pink hair. She was due to start her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. After hearing about Harry Potter, she was glad that she will have the chance to see him again at school. It was about eleven years ago when she held him when he was a baby and she loved the boy. She was also glad to hear that he is with people who love him and care for him, and was stunned at hearing that he has two fiancés.
Sirius caught up with another friend, Remus Lupin and they reunited. Remus never really believed that his friend would betray the Potters and had a bad hunch that it was Pettigrew, known as Wormtail. Remus was known as Moony and Sirius known as Padfoot. Remus also met Harry and was surprised to see him in good health and around people who loved him and cared for him. Sirius visited Harry at Bones Manor and stayed there because he did not want to live at the forsaken house at Grimmauld Place that had brought bad memories for him. He got reacquainted with Amelia Bones and they were seen together enjoying each other's company and went on dates with each other and even made love to each other, but very often shagging each other like rabbits. Harry and Susan were delighted to see Sirius and Amelia together. Sirius also spent a lot of time with Harry and his fiancés and told them all the funny stories and pranks that he and his friends would pull off at school, but it got a bit bitter when Pettigrew's name was mentioned. He also told them about Severus Snape, who was once friends with Lily, and about the pranks they would pull on him. Harry laughed when he heard that Sirius and his friends were calling him Snivellus and telling him to have a shower to wash the slime off his hair. However, Sirius cautioned Harry and advised him to stay away from Snape where possible. Sirius liked Harry's friends and got to spend some time with them. All too soon, the summer break was over and the next day will be the start of a new and exciting adventure for Harry and his fiancés and friends.
A/N: I know I mentioned that this chapter was going to be Hogwarts, but I could not help but include this interlude to free Sirius and announce Harry and friends as Heirs of the Founders. I promise next chapter we will be off to Hogwarts and the sorting.
You might wonder as to how these children know a lot of things. Well, I made them mature and the fact that they read and studied the history quite well makes them mature in understanding things like adults. Please don't flame this.
Just a little remark: Daphne and Tracey will be 'playmates' aka 'friends with benefits' with Harry, Susan and Hannah. They will not marry. I have a surprise for the rest of the group, so you will have to read, follow and review, because this is what keeps me writing. Again, this is MY version so anything that doesn't sound right was created on purpose. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
On a final note, I am SO, SO tempted to bring back Lily and James, or at least Lily. I have read one or two fics when Lily comes back. I would like some ideas as to how I could bring one or both of them back?