Hello everybody, I am back with the next chapter for this story. I have to say it is a bit interesting coordinating four ongoing stories, especially as I have to write the new chapters for this story and Results of a Poker Night. The others still have some pre-written ones that just have to be checked for errors. I love how many reviews you let for me to read. over 200 reviews for 5 chapters is enormous.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just the story idea.
Happy reading.
Trial with surprises
The Wizengamot had assembled to deal with a legal inconveniency. At least that was what most people thought the trial would be. A formality to fulfill their duties under the law. They were convinced that Sirius Black was guilty of his crimes and would be back at Azkaban before nightfall. Dumbledore as Chief Warlock opened the session.
"I hereby open the session of the Wizengamot of the 23rd of November. First point on today's agenda, and only point at that, is the trial of Sirius Orion Black under the law of Magical Britain. Presiding the case are Amelia Susan Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Court Scribe is Jason Ackerley; Lawyer for the Defense Theodore Maximilian Tonks." Dumbledore declared.
Many were wondering why a muggleborn wizard like Ted Tonks was representing Sirius Black, You-Know-Who's right hand man. It was another brilliant tactic by the Conspiracy members. Augusta Longbottom had contacted Andromeda Tonks, who was Sirius' disinherited cousin. She was also a lawyer and had been the first choice for Sirius' legal representative. But she had had a better idea and suggested her husband to present the defense. As a muggleborn the effect would be greater.
"The accused has been brought before the Wizengamot for judgment on the following crimes:
1. Betrayal of James and Lily Potter to the Dark Lord Voldemort by telling the Dark Lord the location of the Potter family, which had been hidden by a Fidelius Charm with Sirius Black being the secret keeper.
2. Murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles in a muggle area by use of a blasting hex.
3. Membership in a terrorist organization, also known as Death Eaters.
How does the accused plead?" Dumbledore asked.
"The accused pleads on not guilty." Ted Tonks announced, getting shouts of outrage from the members of the Wizengamot.
"The plead of the solicitor has been noted. Madam Bones, please start the interrogation." Dumbledore followed the protocol.
"Of course Chief Warlock Dumbledore. As the crimes Sirius Black is accused of committing are severe, I request the interrogation to be held under the influence of veritaserum as stated in Decree 203, subsection 2 of the Magical Criminal Code." Amelia started.
"The Defense agrees with the use of veritaserum but wants to test the potion to be sure no tempering has been done." Ted answered.
Many were whispering. Why was the defense agreeing on veritaserum?
"The request of the defense for testing the potion is granted." Dumbledore said.
It was really standard. In the past many had been subject to poisoning through veritaserum, which was why many suspected Death Eaters had gotten away with refusing the truth potion and managed to get away with the statement of being under imperius.
Ted took out a testing potion he had bought earlier that week. It was standard for lawyers requesting the potion so it was regularly on stock in the apothecary in Diagon Alley. An auror brought the truth potion and handed it to Ted, who did the test by combining three drops of both potions in a vial. The mix turned dark red.
"Thank you, the veritaserum hasn't been tempered with." Ted confirmed.
Sirius, who sat bound in the chair in front of the Wizengamot, opened his mouth to take the potion. Amelia personally put the three drops on his tongue and waited until the potion did its job.
"What is your name?" She started the interrogation.
"Sirius Orion Black."
"When is your birthday?"
"16th December 1959."
"Alright, the potion is working." Amelia declared. "Are you a Death Eater?"
All the assembled were on edge. This was the chance to prove his guilt.
"No, I never was." Sirius said.
The audience erupted in shouts.
"Silence!" Amelia shouted managing to shut them up.
They had been right. Sirius was innocent and now she would reveal all he knew and get him out of prison for good.
"Were you the secret keeper for Lily and James Potter?"
"I was in the beginning, but we switched me for Peter Pettigrew to deceive Voldemort and his Death Eaters after a month."
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew and the muggles to avenge James and Lily Potter?"
"No, I didn't kill them."
"What happened in your fight with Peter Pettigrew after the Potters died?"
"I was taken over by my grief. Harry had been taken away from me by Hagrid on Dumbledore's orders and I had nothing left. I lost my mind for a while and only thought of getting the traitor that ratted out James and Lily. I managed to find the rat two days later in a muggle area in Manchester and wanted to bring him in. But he shouted for all the muggles around to hear that I betrayed Lily and James. Then he fired a blasting hex behind his back. He must have hit a gas line, because he was too weak to manage that kind of power otherwise. It even ripped open the ground to the sewer system. He cut his finger, transformed into his animagus form, a rat, and disappeared into the sewers. I realized that weak Peter Pettigrew had gotten one over me and laughed. That was when the aurors and the members of Magical Catastrophes appeared. I was arrested and chucked into Azkaban without any chance to tell my side of the story."
When there had been shouts before, there was absolute silence now. Nobody, but a few, had thought Sirius Black could have been innocent of the crimes he was accused of. But now he had told them under the strongest truth potion that he didn't do anything of them.
Harry, who was sitting next to Andromeda Tonks in the visitors' gallery, was torn between happiness at his godfather's innocence and anger at the system that had taken him from him for ten years. Ten years, six of them he had been forced to the constant company of the Dursleys which had been nothing but abuse to him. Only the witches that had gotten him out of there for schooling had prevented that it had been the full ten years. He knew he owed them massively for their idea of building a pre-school for Hogwarts.
He owed them his friends. Before he started learning at Longbottom Manor, Dudley had scared all the other children away from him. The Dursleys and their talking about his deficiencies had hurt. And as a child he had been helpless. Now with the neighbors believing he was highly intelligent, which he was, he didn't have to fear them lying about him. He had his own fitting clothes and didn't have to wear Dudley's old clothes anymore, which were much too big for him.
He had been allowed to excel, had even been encouraged to do well. He had learned about his magic and learned how to control it better. There hadn't been any strange occurrences with the Dursleys around because Harry had been able to avoid them. But now, knowing for sure that his godfather had been innocent all the time and could have raised him from the time he was one, created a burning in him that would guarantee problems for anybody who tried to push stones into his path. He had been taught to think for himself and not blindly believe in those in places of authority.
He was used to analyze a situation; weigh the advantages and disadvantages of his decisions and then do what he thought was right. He didn't believe in the infallibility of Albus Dumbledore like most of the wizards and witches in Britain. He believed that the man was a human and made mistakes. He knew Dumbledore wasn't evil. The man meant well, but he was too old to remember how it was being young. He didn't think how a decision that was perhaps good for the community was bad for some individuals.
The wish to keep Harry safe from Voldemort's Death Eaters was nothing to be mad at. Trying to keep him from being confronted with his fame was well meant. But the execution of those honorable goals was abysmal. Had Dumbledore listened to Minerva, who had spent a whole day watching the Dursleys, he could have prevented much pain for Harry. Had he visited them in regular intervals, Harry wouldn't have had to grow up in the cupboard under the stairs. Many little things could have been done to ensure that Harry got at least a semblance of a happy childhood.
Dumbledore knew the wards needed two weeks each year of full out loading to be working properly. From Harry's observations the best way to handle the situation would have been to explain everything to Petunia and Vernon. The bloodwards had worked in protecting him, that much was sure, and during the time the Death Eaters were rounded up, they had probably been what kept him alive. If Dumbledore had told them that they needed to keep Harry constantly for the first six to seven years, he could have gone to a wizarding family after that except for two to three weeks a year to power up the wards again.
It had been no problem to get his aunt and uncle to agree to the change, even if they thought Harry was getting extra strict lessons. He had been away, they didn't need to take care of him, only had to give him a place to sleep at night. Nothing more. He knew the compulsion charms had initiated the permission for him to go, but the Dursleys were happy enough to have next to nothing to do with him anymore.
He hoped he could connect with Sirius when he got out of St. Mungo's. He knew that Amelia planned to send Sirius there to heal from Azkaban. But he finally had hope for a real family of his own. The Longbottoms were great, but they were Neville's family. Neville was his best friend and he would never give him up, but he had the tiny selfish dream of having something like a parent for himself. While Neville's parents were lost to him, Neville at least had his grandmother, who, while strict, loved her grandson.
"Peter Pettigrew isn't registered as an animagus. How could he transform?" Amelia wanted to know.
"We all were animagi. James, Peter and I. We managed the transformation in out fifth year at Hogwarts. James was a stag, Peter a rat and I am a big black dog." Sirius told her.
"You know that each animagus has to be registered." Amelia stated.
"Yes, we initially intended to do so after we graduated, but with the war, we thought it would be an advantage to not inform the enemy of our special abilities."
"I think we have heard enough. Give him the antidote." Amelia ordered.
The auror who had brought the veritaserum gave Sirius the antidote.
"The defense requests under the evidence found under questioning my client under veritaserum provided by the Ministry of Magic that my client Sirius Black is cleared of all charges that were brought up against him." Ted stated.
"The interrogation agrees with the request of the defense but also requests that the accused will be fined for not registering his animagus form and having him register when he is cleared to be healthy by St. Mungo's. The interrogation also requests a mandatory treatment for the accused in St. Mungo's for his physical and mental problems caused by his stay in Azkaban." Amelia said.
"I hereby call the members of the Wizengamot to vote. All for declaring the accused guilty of his crimes?" Dumbledore asked.
Only a few hands went up. Amelia and Ted knew they were supporters of pureblood supremacy. After all, Malfoy had a lot to lose if Sirius got free.
"All for clearing the accused of all charges?" Dumbledore asked and most of the hands went up.
"Sirius Black, you are hereby cleared of all charges. You are fined 5000 galleons for not registering your animagus form and are required to do so as soon as possible. You will be given 15000 galleons for each year of your imprisonment in compensation for your unjust imprisonment in Azkaban. Following Amelia Bones' request you will be sent to St. Mungo's hospital for a thorough medical examination on expense of the Ministry. The Wizengamot wants to express our deepest sorrow for this oversight in following the laws. Session adjourned." Dumbledore declared.
The chains that bound Sirius fell away and the gaunt looking man for the first time since he was brought into the room by aurors smiled. He had finally realized that his greatest wish had come true and his innocence had been proven. He looked around and saw Ted Tonks, his lawyer smiling at him. Ted had come to the Ministry holding cell he had been kept in and told the guards he needed to talk to his client. He had questioned Sirius and after he found out everything he had promised to do everything to get him cleared.
He had kept his word.
"Ted." Rasped Sirius. "I don't know how to thank you. I had nearly given up hope to ever get out of that hellhole."
"It's okay, Sirius. Andromeda had doubts since you were arrested. But everybody just told her there were no doubts of your guilt. She tried to get you a trial but all the evidence that had been given, like Dumbledore's statement you were the secret keeper, painted you in a bad light. I am glad I could help." Ted replied.
"By the way, there is somebody who wants to meet you. He was one of the reasons Amelia and Augusta started digging into your case."
"Who?" Sirius asked.
Ted pointed to the stairs that led the visitors down to the doors of the courtroom where a boy that looked remarkable like James Potter when he was young, walked over to them, accompanied by Ted's wife Andromeda.
"Harry?" Sirius asked unsure.
"Yes." Harry answered.
He looked very happy but at the same time confused, like he didn't know what to say.
"I am glad you are innocent, Sirius." Harry finally said.
"As am I. I am so sorry for not looking after you like I promised James and Lily. But I thought Dumbledore knew what he did and handed you over to Hagrid. I am so sorry." Sirius said.
Harry did something Sirius hadn't expected. He closed the small distance between them and hugged Sirius. Sirius immediately went down on his knees to properly return the hug. He finally could hold his precious godson in his arms again. The hug gave him the relief he needed, knowing that Harry forgave him and wanted to be in his life.
"I promise I will never again put something before you, Harry. I will be there for you if you want me to." Sirius promised.
"Yes, I want to get to know you again." Harry said, happy that Sirius wanted him.
"I don't know how long the medical treatment will take, Harry, but I think I will be healed for Christmas. Would you like to spend the holidays with me?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Of course, that would be great." Harry agreed.
"Mr. Black, I hate to interrupt the reunion with your godson, but you need to go to St. Mungo's to begin your treatment. You will be able to send him owls and I will arrange with Minerva McGonagall, his head of house, that he will be allowed to visit you on the weekends." Amelia said.
Sirius nodded.
"Okay, I will see you soon, Harry. It would be great if you told me what happened during the past years and how your first few months at Hogwarts were." He said to Harry.
"I will. I will write as often as I can. I think the hospital will become boring after some time. I know I hate being forced to stay in bed for long when I get injured."
"Injuries?" Sirius asked.
"Mostly Quidditch. Madam Pomfrey often complains that I am too much like Dad when it comes to flying and Quidditch." Harry admitted.
"I am sure those will be great stories to tell." Sirius said grinning.
"Not as good as the garden gnome prank." Harry said smugly.
"I am really looking forward to your stories now."
Harry said good bye to Sirius and was led to the floo in the atrium of the Ministry by Andromeda. Ted was accompanying Sirius to St. Mungo's to smooth any problems there might come up.
Albus Dumbledore emerged from the floo in his office with a heavy burden on his soul. How could he not have pushed for a trial for Sirius? He had known him since he was eleven and had known how close he and James had been. Inseparable like twins. He should have at least suspected that there might have been more to the story, but he had never even gone to question Sirius why he had done it. Why had he not questioned a member of his Order of the Phoenix? Why had he been so quick in believing the worst of a boy that had voiced his hatred for the dark arts from a young age?
How many more mistakes had he made, thinking he had been right? And then there was the next problem, Severus' suspension. Minerva had been fast to suspend Severus from teaching the first five years. She had only allowed him to continue the sixth and seventh years as those were mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins which generally had lesser problems with him and had all managed to get an O in their O.W.L.s to even get into his N.E.W.T. classes. She had also found a replacement for the time being.
He would never have thought of her, but from the first reviews he heard about the Potions lessons, she was very well-liked by her students. The only ones to give her a hard time were the Slytherins, but she managed to shut them up easy enough. A few questions about the subject and proving her competence were enough to get them to follow her instructions. The first thing she did was making it abundantly clear that she didn't tolerate any foolish messing around in her classes.
Flashback
The fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students were filing into the Potions classroom, surprised at the old woman standing behind the desk in front of the class.
"Welcome, please take your seats, we will start immediately." Arabella greeted her class.
"My name is Arabella Figg, I am the replacement for Professor Snape until his suspension from teaching the classes up to O.W.L. level has been decided by the Board of Governors and the Department of Magical Education at the Ministry. I have gotten all the reports that have been handed in about Professor Snape's teaching methods and just so you know one thing, I won't tolerate any messing around in my classes. Potions is a delicate subject with much potential for accidents.
"If any of you think, you can sabotage other people's potions or make degrading comments, forget it. Things are going to change around here and you better adept soon, or you will be left behind. And just so you know, I have some very interesting potions that will be demonstrated on those that misbehave. I think you have experienced a week of constant transformations in garden gnomes, well, I have taught the ones that did it."
Many Slytherins gulped. They had been massively embarrassed during that week following Halloween. They were smart enough to not enrage the teacher of the pranksters.
"Good, now that we have settled that issue, let's get to today's topic. Precision in ingredient preparation, security measures for brewing and correct brewing techniques. I was told you never got the basic introduction and just started with first year potions. I will remedy that problem. We should be done with it after three lessons. You will hate those lessons, but when we have covered it all, you will notice a significant increase in the quality of your potions. We will start with a standard potion for your O.W.L.s and will use that potion as an example for the things I will teach you. The potion is polyjuice potion, a very tricky one that takes a lot of time to brew correctly."
She started writing a list of ingredients at the board. Some students were looking strangely at her.
"Get over the fact that I am a squib, I can outdo you on any potion. You don't need active magic to brew potions; the magic is in the ingredients and the brewing methods. Now, write down the ingredients I wrote on the black board and look them up in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. For each ingredient I want the properties, problematic reactions with other ingredients and the solution to the problem. The basis of every good potion is preparation. If your ingredients are prepared perfectly and if you follow the recipe, it is just like cooking.
"Brewing a potion is 90 % preparation, 9 % skill, and 1 % outside influence. So nobody can tell me they can't pass an O.W.L. in Potions, because those are just lazy. And under preparation I include learning the critical spots of the brewing process before you even start the fire under your cauldron. If you know what to look out for, not much will go wrong with your potion. Learn the basics and follow a recipe. Even children can do that."
The class began to search for parchment and quills to write down the ingredients. Soon they were looking up each of the plants in the book she had named. The animal ingredients they would have to look up in another book. This looked like a lot of work coming up for them. They were sure that the classes with Mrs. Figg would be very different to the ones Snape had given.
Flashback End
Albus sighed. The Gryffindors were delighted to be rid of Severus, as were the Hufflepuffs. But the Badgers were ecstatic that the new teacher valued hard work so much. The Ravenclaws were impressed by her knowledge in the subject and the methodical way she explained Potions. The Slytherins were sneering and insulting Arabella behind closed doors but never dared to openly insult her. The threat of garden gnomes worked very well. He knew that Harry, Neville and the Weasley twins were praising Arabella's teaching skills and many of the students listened to them. It was clear that Severus would have to go and from the way things looked like at the moment, he would have to hire Arabella.
It knocked at his door. He had drifted away and hadn't noticed somebody coming up the stairs.
"Come in." He called.
Minerva entered, looking like she meant business.
"Hello, Albus." She greeted.
"Hello, Minerva. What did bring you up here?" He asked tiredly.
"Oh, just some propositions for the improvement of the school. And I wanted to know how the trial of Sirius went." She answered.
"Can we postpone the discussion about the propositions for tomorrow? The trial exhausted me. Sirius has been found innocent. I am so ashamed with myself Minerva. How could I let an innocent man rot in Azkaban and that without a trial? I was so sure he had betrayed James and Lily, that it clouded my judgment. How can I ever forgive myself? He was one of the Order. I knew he hated the dark arts. Why did I believe him guilty without giving him the chance to explain his actions?" Dumbledore told her desperately.
Minerva was glad that Albus still wanted the best for people and wanted to do what was right. He had finally realized that he made mistakes and now he needed to get back to doing it.
"You can regret the past as much as you want, but it won't change anything. We can only do what is right now and in the future. Sirius will take time, but he will eventually forgive you. You had good reasons to believe the evidence you knew. You are right, you should have upheld the law and pushed for a trial, but as I said, the past is the past. Go to Poppy; get some calming draught and rest. You have to choose what you want to do in the future Albus. Things are changing and you can either be a part of them, or step aside. My advice is to evaluate all your positions. You are doing too much work. Three high ranking positions are time consuming and not doing you any good.
"You need to set your priorities. In the past you were forced to take those positions because people saw you as the only one to lead them after Grindelwald's fall. You were the one to oppose Voldemort first and most successful. But even you get too old for all that responsibility someday. Let the next generation take over some of your duties. Nobody will resent your decision. You have led the Light for half a century. Now others have to step up and shoulder some of the burden." She gently told him.
"Perhaps you are right. I have noticed I made more mistakes, the more things I tried to do." Albus admitted. "I will follow your advice and rest for now. I have a lot to think about."
"If you want to sound out some ideas, you know where to find me, Albus."
"Yes, I do. Thank you, Minerva." He said and stood up from his chair and walked over to the door, the hospital wing his destination.
That's it. Sirius is free and will start playing a more important role from now on. Contrary to my other stories in this one Dumbledore isn't bad / dark / evil but an old man who made mistakes that he regrets. He still is stubborn though and it will take time for him to realize them all. I said I wouldn't bash characters, well except Snape, I can't help myself there.
Until next time.