I obviously don't own Harry Potter. If I did I would be rich, famous, and Sirius Black would never have been murdered.
Chapter 8
The next morning Harry awoke and went into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place to find the three wizards and three witches engaged in a mild discussion about the trial that was to be held right after breakfast. Remus and Ted were all for taking Harry to the trial saying that it would do him some good to see how the wizarding legal system worked before he had to appear before them for the trial of his relatives, while Andromeda and Sirius were worried that it might cause unneeded stress to him if things went bad for Sirius. While Sirius was innocent of the crimes he had spent twelve years in Azkaban for, he had still broken out of the prison two years ago.
Not sure if he was allowed to say anything and still afraid of what the others, especially the four adults that he did not know that well, would do, Harry calmly walked over to the stove and started breakfast. But Harry's calm was only a mask that belied the hidden turmoil within - in truth Harry was a bundle of nerves and it was all he could do not to scream, cry, laugh, and shake at the same time.
The dream he had last night had seemed so real, yet he knew now that it had only been a dream. In the dream the two men that looked like Sirius and Remus were going to hurt him; but Harry knew that they would never hurt him in reality. Last night when first Sirius and then Remus had run in to comfort him Harry had been reluctant to let them touch him. Yet, this morning, it was all he wanted. He wanted Sirius to give him his lopsided smile and tell him every thing was all right, that nothing had changed. He wanted Remus to give him that smile that made his hazel almost gold eyes lose their intelligent glint and gain one of humour. Yet, like every morning before Sirius had come to rescue Harry, what Harry wanted he was sure he would not get.
Then there were the other four adults in the room, two of which he knew a little, but the other two were complete unknowns. Had Sirius and Remus grown tired of him and planning on sending him away? Harry had tried to make them happy; but must have failed in some way. Was there still time to fix the damage he had caused last night or had they all ready decided what to do with him?
Harry was so quiet when he entered the room that none of the adults noticed him until Emmaline noticed the sweet aroma of chocolate chip pancakes coming from the stove. The smell reminded Emmaline of all the times she and Lily would make the same thing for Harry, Sirius and James - it had always been a favourite of the males. Emmaline, not really having an opinion one way or another, rose from the bench to go and help Harry. She was sure that Nymphadora could take care of any minor disputes that went beyond vocal comments, after all the Auror was more then capable of taking care of herself out on the field.
The metamorphmagus noticed the other witch get up from her spot next to Sirius, and followed her with her eyes where she finally noticed Harry by the stove. She was unsure how much the young wizard had heard; but knew that hearing the adults fighting was upsetting him. The metamorphmagus looked around the room as her hair changed from bubble-gum pink to a fiery red. "Stop this, all of you," Nymphadora muttered commandingly. "You're all being selfish. You all have your own reasons why Harry should not go. However, not one of you has mentioned what the Potters would want."
In all honesty the young witch had little idea what the Potters' would have wanted if faced with such a situation; but she knew in her heart - from stories she had heard - that their friends fighting would not have been it. So she had done the only thing she could think of, she asked the question her parents always asked her when she was faced with a problem, what would the other person do. The name never really mattered as it changed for each situation; this time it was the Lily and James. And to be honest with herself Nymphadora now with red hair and green eyes very much wanted to know what they would have done.
It was true that Harry was a teenager and that he was Sirius' godson; but he was aso so much more, and, above all else he was Sirius' friend. From what she had heard from her parents and from the others in the room that had known Lily and James well she was sure that they would not have left a friend alone at a time like this. Someone that would willingly lay down their life for another would not send a friend to face the courts alone.
Remus was the first to regain his thoughts, he had been thrown for a minute by the metamorphmagus' appearance - so much like Lily's. The werewolf looked into those startling emerald green eyes and saw the determination in them, the undying loyalty. Those were Lily's eyes and so much much more, they were also James eyes for they also held humour and strength. How the metamorphmagus pulled this all off Remus did not know; but he saw two of the best friends he ever had in those eyes and he knew what they both would do. They would have taken Harry to the Ministry and sat there with him. Explaining everything to him. They would have rocked their little boy if this went bad and found a way for everything to be all right. Lily and James never went into a situation without knowledge. They had had a simple belief; that armed with knowledge anything was possible - true they used the knowledge for different ends - but it was used. So that was what they would have to do.
"They would have wanted Harry to go," Remus commented. "James would have never let you do it alone and he would expect nothing less from his son, Lily would have wanted him to go so he would be armed with the knowledge the experience would give him. They would have wanted Harry to go, each for their own reason." The remaining adults all nodded their heads - Remus was right- Lily and James would have wanted them to take Harry. Knowledge was power, Harry's parents both had a thirst for knowledge and would do anything to get it.
Wizards and witches scurried along the halls of the Ministry building as Harry and the adults flooed in, Nymphadora having a firm hold of Sirius. The night before it had been agreed that Sirius would pretend that he had turned himself in to his younger cousin to turn attention a way from the Tonks family as a whole. It was actually a wonderful plan, one that would explain why the whole family was there.
The plan was that Sirius had contacted the Tonks house asking Andromeda for help with his case that morning and Nymphadora was there when he arrived so had taken him into custody. Ted was there to offer support to both his wife and daughter as this was a family matter. There was just enough truth in the plan to make it passable; yet not enough to give anything a way.
Remus was there to give his support to Harry, as Sirius was Harry's godfather - and the accused traitor that caused his parents death. The werewolf silently stood between his last remaining best friend and the boy who had the hopes of the wizarding world on his small shoulders. As hard as Remus had tried, he had no idea what this was like for the others. He was the outsider, the one that was not family - yet he was family. Remus felt as if he was intruding on a family affair, but Harry's plea had cemented his decision to go. Harry had begged and pleaded with Remus explaining that out of everyone gathered at Grimmauld Place, other then Sirius, it was Remus who made him feel the safest. That simple statement assured Remus more then anything had that morning. If Harry still felt safe with he and Sirius- then the boy was not lost, he could come back to them.
The group made their way to the lifts and rode them down to the lowest level where they split up, Andromeda, Sirius and Nymphadora to the ministry holding cells and the rest to Court Room 10. The group that went to the court room took their seats with Remus on one side of Harry and Emmaline on the other side, while Ted would sit behind Harry ready to provide support if need be. Harry, unknown to himself, had actually given Ted the perfect opportunity to observe how this family of sorts would work. True half the family was missing, but with the war starting up - and no end in sight - it was going to be very uncommon to ever see this strange menagerie of people together and Ted thought it would be just as important to see how the adults acted towards Harry both separately and together.
After Sirius's trial, if things went the way they were hoped to go, Pettigrew would be tried and hopefully convicted. The group planned to stay for this trial as it was agreed that Harry as well as the remaining Marauders needed to see this trial. It was also at that time that Sirius planned to ask the Wizengamot for custody of Harry. It might only be two years; but Sirius vowed he would do what ever he could to make the next two years the best years of Harry's life.
As more people entered the Court Room Harry became more and more uncomfortable, to Harry it felt as if the room was closing in around him. All the people made Harry feel very uncomfortable and he started to break out in a cold sweat.
Remus cast a glance at his cub out of the corner of his eye and noticed Harry's tension. "Harry, are you sure you want to stay? We can leave and wait for the trial to finish; if they need us Emmaline or Ted can come and get us."
"No," Harry stated shaking his head visioiusly. "I have to stay. I'll be all right. Besides Sirius needs you to be here for him. I just wish..."
"What do you wish?" Emmaline questioned brushing a strand of brownish-blond hair out of her eye.
"That there were not so many people here," Harry finished. "I didn't think that there would be this many people here. Will the..." Harry stopped himself, he couldn't ask that, he was suppose to be the saviour, he was suppose to defeat Voldemort, yet he was afraid of a simple Court Room full of people, most of whom wouldn't even be in his corner.
"Will what?" Emmaline prodded again. The worry almost guilt was rolling off of Harry in a tidal wave, Emmaline was sure she was not the only one to feel it, although no one else seemed to be questioning it. But then why would they, this was a Court Room and people came here expecting to feel the guilt of the accused. "You can tell us, none of us will think any less of you."
Harry took a breath and summoned up what little Gryffindor courage he could find. "Will there be as many people here when..." Harry again stopped as his courage left him.
"When your relatives stand trial?" Ted finished for Harry, finally joining the conversation. At Harry's nod he continued, "We will be in a private closed Court Room, the only people there will be Andromeda, a few Aurors, your relatives, me, you and anyone else you want there. The press will not be allowed in to the room, nor will anyone that is not on the list that Andy will give to the guards. If at anytime you get uncomfortable, you can ask for a break. I want you to ask to get up and leave at anytime today that you feel uncomfortable. If you do not want to bother Remus to take you out then I would be happy to as I am sure Emmaline would also."
At Emmaline's nod Harry smiled, he wasn't sure why, but he felt more comfortable around Emmaline right now then he did around Remus or Ted. Harry wondered if there might be something wrong with him to be thinking like that.
Emmaline was not like Mrs. Weasley who was always showering Harry with hugs and pampering him, much the same way she did her kids. Emmaline let Harry direct the relationship and how far he wanted it to go, never pushing the invisible boundary. Harry was the one to set the boundary and was free to adjust it as he saw fit. The two of them had come to this agreement while they were putting the finishing touches on breakfast that morning, Harry just hoped that Emmaline would stand by this agreement. So far she had done nothing to indicate that she would not follow the agreement either before or after the agreement was made. True Harry had not had much contact with either Emmaline or Nymphadora; but what little he had seemed to support the terms of the agreement Harry and Emmaline had entered earlier.
As Harry sat and pondered these things, he did not notice how quiet the court room had gotten until Remus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and told him to stand. At the sudden contact Harry jumped a little but stood none the less while the 21 members of the Wizengamot entered the room and sat in their chairs on a raised platform. After everyone in the audience sat down the wizard in the middle, who must have been the leader or most senior, spoke up, "Sirius Orion Black, you are here before the Wizengamot of England on charges of being a Death Eater, Escaping From Azkaban, treason to England Wizarding Law Enforcement, and being an illegal animagus - how do you plead."
Sirius, who had been outwardly calmly been sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with chains around his arms looked toward the Wizengamot and stated, "Not guilty on all but two accounts with an explanation forth coming for both." Sirius and Andromeda had expected them to bring up the animagus charge and had spent several hours preparing for such a thing.
After poring through several books in the black library - why there were law books there was a mystery in and of itself- they found what they needed. A little known law, one that they hoped they could use, stated that if a wizard became an animagus they had five years in which to report their form: unless there were extenuating circumstances. The law had also gone on to explain the circumstances that it encompassed.
The Court Room gasped at Sirius' plea, no one had ever made such a plea when faced with the Dementors kiss. They were either guilty or not guilty, there was never an explanation to justify a crime. The Wizengamot for their part just looked at each other as if having a private conversation. Dumbeldore had warned them about this one, never to expect a simple yes or no, to always expect the unexpected. However, if you were guilty of something there was never an explanation - you were guilty - it had always been that simple.
"Fine," the senior wizard stated waving his hand. "Young Mr. Weasley will read the charges individually and you will answer for them one by one. Know that after the reading we will be using Veritaserum for any answers we feel we need clarified."
"Your Honors," Andromeda broke in from the chair she had conjured next to the one Sirius was chained to. "I would like to ask the court on my client's behalf to administer the Veritaserum before the charges are read individually. I believe the simple nature of this case warrants, demands even, that some exceptions be made. As a former Auror Mr. Black is able to take repeated doses of Veritaserum without any severe side effects. If, after the reading of the individual charges you are still not satisfied, my client has agreed to also have Legilimency used should the court feel it is necessary."
The court as a whole was stunned - the Black's being one of the oldest pure blood families had the right to make such a request - but this had not happened in a court hearing since the time of Grindelwald and even then only once.
Usually the court read the charges after they received the plea, in the cases where there were multiple charges the charges, they were read individually and a plea was entered. After that, if the Wizengamot wished; Veritaserum was administered and the accused would be questioned and evidence would be offered.
However, this case was turning everything around. It seemed that there would be only one reading of the individual charges, and an explanation for some would be offered. This case promised to be the most interesting case that they had heard in a long time.
"Very well, Mrs. Tonks, an Auror will come and administer the Veritaserum," the Head Wizard replied. "Is there anyone that you wish to verify the validity of the serum before it is administered?"
"No, we trust the Court's judgment in this," Andromeda responded as she noticed her daughter bring the serum to them. It seemed the court was going out of their way to accommodate them today.
Sirius looked towards the metamorphmagus and held out his tongue for the traditional three drops of Veritaserum. Slowly his eyes glazed over and took on a far away look - the potion was now working. Percy Weasley, who was sitting to the side of the 21 member panel of the Wizengamot, looked down at his list and started the questioning, "Please state your name for the court."
"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius murmured with a far of look and a monotone voice. Harry immediately became concerned, that was not his godfathers voice, there was no humour in it. Why had Sirius left him, why didn't he like him anymore? Harry began to shake in fear that Sirius would try to get rid of him.
Remus noticed Harry tense beside him and looked towards the teen and whispered to him soothingly, "Sirius will be fine. When this is all done we will all live together as your parents wanted. Just relax; it's just the potion that's making him act like this." When Harry nodded Remus turned back to the hearing.
Percy was still reading off the list of charges, "On the charge of escaping from Azkaban how do you plead?"
"Guilty with explanation," Sirius responded in his monotone voice.
"What possible explanation could you have?" a blonde haired witch asked from the panel.
"I had to protect my godson from the traitor," Sirius replied. "The traitor was at Hogwarts and I was worried that he would get to Harry."
"Very well," the witch said. "Mr. Weasley, you may continue reading the charges."
"Thank you, Madam Bones," Percy responded. "On the charge of treason, how do you plead?"
"Not guilty. There was never any treason."
"Being an illegal animagus how do you plea?"
"Guilty because of extenuating circumstances."
The court gasped - here was someone that had spent twelve years in Azkaban for something it appeared he did not do - not only was this man an escaped convict he was also an illegal animagus. What was more he claimed to have an explanation to the fact that he was an illegal animagus - this was so typical of the Blacks - the family seemed to believe they could get a way with anything. Being an animagus was simple, you either were or you weren't, it was not something that could be done in halves.
"Explain these circumstances," a rather toadish faced woman demanded.
By know the Veritaserum had started to wear off and Sirius was starting to regain some of the humour in his eyes. Normally a person in this situation would not find it at all humourous, but Sirius was not a normal person - he tried to find humour in everything - and nor was this a normal situation. Sirius cast a weak smile to Andromeda then turned to the members of the Wizengamot, "It is true that I am an animagus, a black grim like dog to be exact. However, I do have a total of five years to report my form after I have perfected it. If you perfect your form while at school, as I did, then you have five years after you graduate."
"Hem, hem," the toad-faced woman interrupted. "Are you saying, Mr. Black, that you became an animagus while still in school?"
"Fifth year, in fact," Sirius answered. "As did James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. We thought it would be a brilliant idea. A way to sneak out late at night."
"You have been out of school for seventeen years," a red haired elderly wizard pointed out. "That is a lot more then the allotted five years." The members of the Wizengamot had just sent an underling to go find this obscure law - if it did indeed exist.
"True," Andromeda cut in before her cousin could answer. "However, the law also states that if an animagus is incarcerated for whatever reason, the time that they are incarcerated does not count. Also, in the event of a war, if the animagus is fighting in said war this time also does not count. As a member of the Auror squad and an active member of The Order of the Phoenix my client qualifies for both of these also. So Mr. Black actually still has three years to register his form with the appropriate office."
"Can you tell us what law you are referring to?" the red haired wizard asked.
"It is the Law for the Regulation and Control of Animagus and Magical Creatures," Andromeda continued picking up a book and opening it before floating it up to the members of the Wizengamot. "We in fact have it marked here to help save you some time and energy. In light of all the testimony my client has provided to you and his willingness to go under Veritaserum I ask that you find him not guilty on all charges."
"But he admitted to escaping from Azkaban," the toad faced women stated emphatically.
"This is true, Madam Umbridge," Andromeda stated. "However, Mr. Black was in fact serving time for a crime he did not commit. If no crime was committed, my client should not have been incarcerated. If there had been a trial at that time I have faith that we would not be here today and that the true guilty party would have been found long ago."
"Thank you Councillour Tonks, we will take this all in consideration," the senior Wizengamot member said. "We will take a short recess as we consider this case. After which we will give you our decision." Everyone rose as the members of the Wizengamot filed out the way they had come and into an adjoining room. Nymphadora and Kingsley Shacklebolt went to Sirius and took him into a holding cell where he would wait for the verdict to be read.
Andromeda then went over to Ted and the others with a slight smile, things seemed to be looking up for them now. If only the Wizengamot found Sirius innocent everything could go to the way it should be.
As Andromeda neared the group she noticed that Harry was again nervous and biting his lip. "Harry, what's wrong?" she asked in a quiet voice, as the mother in her wanted to take the boy in her arms and reassure him that things would all work out, that he would be with Sirius now. But there was the promise to consider - Emmaline had related the conversation and arrangement that her and Harry had made - and that had to be honoured.
"What will happen if they send him back?" Harry wondered. "I can't go back there. Where will I go? Sirius was the only one that wanted me."
Andromeda smiled at the troubled teen, she had so much respect for the young man that sat in front of her husband. "You will come and stay with Ted and I," Andromeda responded. "We and Remus discussed all of this last night. But Sirius should get off, you must have faith."
Harry gave Andromeda a weak smile as he drew further into his chair as if protecting himself from some unknown assailant - one that only he could see. Andromeda watched the teen and cast a quick glance toward her husband; it hurt so much to see any child suffer the way Harry was. "What do you want to happen, Harry?" Ted asked from his chair. "Do you want to come and stay with us or do you want to go somewhere else?"
"I want to stay with Sirius; but he doesn't want me anymore," Harry mumbled. The only thing that had registered with Harry was that he was going to stay with the Tonks' and that it had already been decided. Sirius and Remus didn't want him, the only links he had to his parents, the only father figures he had left didn't want him - why would they he was weak.
"Sirius wants you to stay with him," Remus said comfortingly. Something was wrong with his cub; his cub thought that they didn't want him. "We all want you to stay with us. When Sirius gets off we will all stay together. Nothing you do can make us not want you, nothing you say will make us think any less of you."
Harry gave Remus a weak smile before straightening when there was a commotion on the floor of the Court Room, the Aurors were coming back and apparently the ever graceful Nymphadora had tripped on her robes. Andromeda gave her husband and friends one last smile before she left for her chair shaking her head. Nymph really was a klutz at times and Andromeda often wondered how her daughter ever made it into the Auror squad.
The witches and wizards in the Court Room rose as the members of the Wizengamot entered the court room and took their seats once more. "The members of this court find one Sirius Orion Blackā¦"
