Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter or Wheel of Time.

Chapter 8: The Breaking Storm

August 30th, Gringotts

The portal opened into Ragnok's office, taking the goblin by surprise when Harry and Sirius stepped through. Ragnok paled at the sight of Harry Potter, there was nothing he could do though, Potter had enough evidence against Gringotts to bury the goblins. After clasping his hands together to hide the shaking, Ragnok said "Mr. Potter, what can I do for you today? I was under the understanding that you had closed all of your accounts with us Mr. Potter. Do you wish to reopen your accounts?"

"No, I do not wish to reopen my accounts. I do however intend to offer you the opportunity to redeem yourselves for the crimes you have committed against myself and Sirius." Harry said in a bored tone as he watched Sirius conjure two chairs for them to sit in.

Ragnok's ears perked up at this. "What is this opportunity you speak of?"

Harry removed the list of Death Eaters that had gone free during Fudge's time as Minister along with the dates of the trials from his pocket. After placing it on the desk he explained "That is a list of known Death Eaters from Voldemort's first rise. I want a record of any transfer of funds from those families to Fudge prior to their release."

"But, Mr. Potter any records of those transactions would be confidential. We would be violating the trust of our clients." Once he realized what he had said, Ragnok's shoulders slumped and his ears drooped, knowing that he had already violated the trust of the Potters.

"It is either this or I publish your contract with Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet. How will you clients feel about the trustworthiness of goblins then? This way you can claim you are doing it to aid in the war against Voldemort." He said reasonably.

"It will take some time to gather these records. We should have them for you by the end of the week." Ragnok said in attempt to stall for time. If he was able to delay them, he may be able to come up with a way out of this mess without alienating the Pure Blood families.

Harry remained calm and relaxed while he countered "If you don't have the records for me by the time Sirius and I have returned from his vaults, the story will be run in tomorrow's Prophet."

Sirius was struggling not to laugh at the defeated expression on Ragnok's face. It had been like watching a tennis match; but, there was no question in his mind who was the professional and who was the amateur. Back and forth they went with counters offers but Ragnok had no leverage over Harry and everything to lose. In the end, Ragnok agreed to have any documentation ready for Harry in an hour's time.

Before they left the office to go to Sirius' vault, Harry added one more item to the list "Ragnok, please include any transactions that occurred between Dumbledore and Fudge." Seeing Ragnok's nod of acquiescence, the two asked Griphook to take them to the Black vaults.

After a 15 minute cart ride, Sirius and Harry arrived at the Black vaults. Sirius placed his hand on the family crest and the vault doors swung inward revealing a massive vault filled with gold and jewels along with a sprinkling of other odds and ends. Surprised at the lack of items in the vaults Harry asked "Sirius, I thought family vaults were usually filled with books, weapons, and what not in addition to gold?"

"Many of the vaults do contain that kind of thing, but the Blacks have never fully trusted the goblins." Both men heard an insulted huff from Griphook who clearly heard Sirius' statement. "Apparently, that mistrust was well placed. Anyway, the Blacks have always wanted their history available so it is stashed away in different properties scattered throughout Europe."

"Oh, that actually makes sense. Do the Blacks have any other properties in London that we could use? I have already checked and the Potters don't."

"Why, what's wrong with Grimmauld Place?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. I intend to keep using it as our main headquarters. We need a spot we can use for deliveries. Hunter is ready to begin purchasing different types of body armor and weapons so we need a spot that we can use for deliveries without compromising the Fidelius on Grimmauld Place."

"That's a relief. I thought you wanted to move out. I know you are older than me now, but I am not ready to let you go just yet." Harry clapped a hand onto Sirius' should and gave it a squeeze in acknowledgement. "There should be a ledger book showing all the properties owned by the Blacks somewhere in here."

"You know Sirius with Dumbledore arrested we need someone to redo the wards on Grimmauld Place. Plus, not all of the Order joined my little rebellion so we will need to keep them out too."

"We should be able to get the Goblins to do that. Of course it will cost, but if we are leaving after all this is done, then I won't need the money anyway."

"No you won't. You do realize though, we could be going into the middle of another war. I would certainly understand if you didn't want to do that." Not that he would openly admit it even to himself, but Harry needed Sirius. Even though he had found family and had gotten to know James and Lily, he would always have a connection to Sirius.

"I have missed out on enough of your life. I am going there is no talking me out of it. Besides, this is my second war I am not sure what I would do in peacetime." Sirius said only half-joking.

Harry nodded with a smile and the two men began looking for the ledger Sirius had mentioned. Finally, after 10 minutes of searching through collapsed mounds of galleons and old trunks, Sirius found the ledger and began to leaf through it. "Harry, do we need a lot of space or will we just be using the address as a mail stop?"

"I suppose we could use it as a secondary HQ, but given the number of properties we have between the two of us, it would probably best be used as just a mail stop. Why?"

"Apparently, I the proud own of a 2 bedroom flat near Hyde Park. Would that work?"

"I don't see why not. If you don't need anything else, let's head back up and see what Ragnok has found." Turning, both men left the vault and rode in the cart with Griphook back to the lobby. Minutes later, Griphook took them into Ragnok's office.

Ragnok looked up to see Harry Potter and Sirius Black walk into his office for the second time that day. This time however, he had something to offer the two men that would hopefully ease the debt he had incurred with his actions against them. He shuffled and then tapped the documentation he was reviewing on his desk before beginning. "I have good news for you. Each of the names you provided me made substantial transfers in the sum of 25,000 galleons or more to Minister Fudge's account two days prior to their release from Azkaban."

This news earned predatory grins from both Harry and Sirius. Sirius spoke up though "What about Dumbledore, did he make any transfers to Fudge?"

Responding with a feral grin himself Ragnok replied "Yes he did though the sum was smaller. Also, he appeared to make regular monthly payments to Fudge in the same amount until the time of your escape from Azkaban."

Sirius chuckled softly even as his eyes darkened in anger and said S"I never new Fudge had it in him to blackmail Dumbledore. Ragnok, we need a secure messenger to take these documents to Madame Bones at the DMLE."

"Of course, we can courier it over now if you would like. I have prepared duplicates for both of you in either case." It was obvious that Ragnok was hoping that Harry viewed their cooperation in a favorable light.

"Ragnok, I am pleasantly surprised by your actions today. I will not say all is forgiven or forgotten, but you do have a reprieve. We may come back in the future for another 'favor' but we will not ask the goblins to openly fight against Voldemort." Harry finished in a businesslike tone.

Shoulders straighter as if some of the weight had been lifted from them, Ragnok said sincerely "Thank you Mr. Potter. Let us know if we can be of service in the future."

"Now that you mention it, there is another service we will require."

Somewhat nervously, not wanting to lose what little trust he had regained, Ragnok asked "What do you ask of us?"

"We would like the Goblins to break the wards of my home at #12 Grimmauld Place and re-ward it with everything you can think of." Sirius answered for Harry.

Ragnok was about to protest because that would be a significant amount of work when Harry added "Of course, we are willing to pay your normal rates for this job."

"In that case, simply send us an owl with the date when you would like the work done and we will have a team ready." Ragnok replied with relief.

Their business complete, both men pocketed the documents and left Gringotts for Knockturn Alley. Harry needed to make some purchases from an armor shop in Knockturn Alley and Sirius did not want him to go alone. They walked down the alley, avoiding the less than reputable inhabitants wherever possible though most if not all of them stared at Harry wondering what the "Savior" of the Wizarding world would be doing in such a disreputable place. Word had already leaked from the hearing about Harry's new appearance.

"With these documents, we should have more than enough for both trials tomorrow against Fudge and Dumbledore." Sirius said to Harry.

Harry looked thoughtful and added "If necessary, I can testify as well, but it will definitely be fun to sit in the courtroom and watch both men get what's coming to them."

Sirius just laughed and the two continued to walk further into Knockturn Alley.

Near the end of the second block, they came to the store in question Coldcastle's Armor Supply. Inside the store, Harry and Sirius saw that the walls were covered with different sets of armor both medieval and modern. One wall seemed devoted to the different styles of dragon and basilisk armor that was available for those with deep enough pockets. Other walls were devoted to the traditional chainmail or plate armor made popular by the knights of old. Behind the counter stood a burly man who appeared to be in his mid 50's with thinning hair and a well trimmed beard. He was eyeing Sirius and Harry with a suspicious eye as they looked over the different types of dragon and basilisk armor that was available.

Coldcastle asked "Is there anything I can help you find?"

They walked up to the counter and Sirius began describing their needs. Hunter had identified a number of different armor types that seemed to offer the greatest protection. Specifically, they needed to get sets of armor from the Antipodean Opaleye, Chinese Fireball, and the Peruvian Vipertooth dragons.

Coldcastle explained that of the three types of armor it was the Opaleye that provided the greatest flexibility and range of mobility. The armor itself was an iridescent white and according to Coldcastle would withstand many hexes and charms but would not provide much protection versus spells that caused impact damage such as the Reducto and Percussio hexes. Because it was lighter than other dragon armor it allowed greater range of motion.

The Chinese Fireball armor was a deep scarlet. It was clearly heavier then the Opaleye and was backed by a thick layer of padding. Coldcastle went on to explain that it afforded greater protection from spells than the Opaleye would and in combination with the padding provided some protection from impact spells and physical blows. However the greater protection came at the cost of increased stiffness and less mobility. Some of that could be offset by proper fittings but it would never have the same flexibility as the Opaleye.

The last set that Sirius asked to see was the Peruvian Vipertooth. Of the three, the copper colored Vipertooth armor was the heaviest of the three armors. It had two layers of scales separated by a layer of padding. It was best used by someone who didn't require much mobility or agility but it provided the strong protection from all spells but the Unforgivables. Coldcastle suggested that the armor is best used for sentries or guards that would be casting from set locations.

Before Harry and Sirius left the store, they asked for three sets of each type of armor to be sent to Sirius' flat. Coldcastle said it would take a couple of weeks to get all nine sets and he would need the money upfront. Grunting in amusement, Sirius handed over the 5,000 galleons. Coldcastle's eyes lit up at the money on the counter and got to work immediately on the armor as Harry and Sirius left.

Sirius pulled Harry into another shop before they had made it half a block back towards Diagon Alley. It was the Tribal Tattoo shop. "Sirius what are we doing here, we need to meet with my solicitor shortly?" Sirius didn't answer so Harry looked around the shop.

The shop was small. The main room couldn't be more than 15x15. The walls were covered with tattoo sketches and drawings. A tall man wearing dirty blue pants and an old ripped t-shirt entered from the back room. His arms and neck were covered with different tattoos and his both ears were pierced multiple times. He had a thin silver necklace with a crucifix hanging outside his shirt. "What can I do for you gents?"

Sirius answered with a grin "I want a tribal tattoo."

"It is going to take an hour or so." The owner answered.

Harry asked "Why will it take so long? I thought tattoos were just spelled on in a matter of minutes?"

"That's true, but in order to get a tribal tattoo you have to drink a potion that creates the tattoo for you based on your personality."

Despite himself, Harry was intrigued by the idea so he asked "Does it work for muggles too? We have a couple of friends that would love something like that."

"Yeah it works but the tattoo won't be animated the way it is for a wizard or witch because there is no magic for it to feed on."

"Can we take the potion with us? We have another appointment to get to." Harry asked.

"Yeah, it will cost a little extra. How many do you want?"

Sirius answered "We will take 5 doses. That should be enough. If anyone else wants one, they can come on their own."

Sirius passed him the money and they left that the shop with five doses of the potion. Soon they were out of Knockturn Alley and at the apparition point. Sirius apparated and took them to offices of the Potter family solicitor.

Acheron stepped out of the shadows after Sirius and Harry had apparated away. Unbeknownst to Harry and Sirius, he had been following them since he caught sight of their exit from Gringotts. Acheron had been waiting in a flat near Gringotts for days in the hopes of catching sight of Harry ever since he had sensed Saidin begin channeled in massive amounts. Today he had finally gotten a break and saw Harry and Sirius leave the bank. Following from a safe distance, he only heard snatches of conversation but he connected the dots and realized that Harry would be at the trial of Albus Dumbledore tomorrow that he had heard people discussing.

Flashback

Acheron was disoriented, he had just exited Tel'aran'rhiod in muggle London and was trying to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was his attack striking the portal stone and the image of a lightning bolt, the scar on Telamon's head, being burned into his mind. Somehow, he must have channeled the energy of the attack into the portal stone using the lightning bolt as the destination point.

Based on the technology, they were obviously in the past. He spent the next day wandering around the city, getting a feel for the people and potential threats. He had not felt a single person channel, so it appeared that the history books were correct and man had not always had the ability to channel.

It was during the second morning that Acheron felt someone channeling a great amount of Saidin. Running into an alley, he opened a portal that took him to the sight of the disturbance. He stepped through the portal to see Gringotts Bank experiencing an earthquake.

Acheron decided to wait and see who exited the bank. He could only assume that Telamon, Seraph or Hunter had survived and was responsible for the display. Approximately an hour later, his patience was rewarded. Growling he watched as Telamon, Seraph, Hunter and two other men leave Gringotts and proceed down Diagon Alley only to disappear. He was not sure what method they were using, but he knew it was not Traveling.

With what he had seen that day in Diagon Alley, Acheron knew he was going to need an ally if he wanted to kill Telamon and return to his time. He resolved to stay near Gringotts figuring that Telamon would be back and he would keep his ear to the ground for potential allies.

End Flashback

Law Offices of Andrew Nistor

"You never told me how you found out about this guy."

Harry thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and answering. "The name of the law firm was mentioned in some of the documents from the family vault." He wished he could tell Sirius the real reason but no one could learn about James and Lily.

Flashback

It was the third night since Harry had arrived in the 20th century. He decided it was time to visit Tel'ara'rhiod once again to see if his parents reached a decision. Relaxed and comfortable on his bed, Harry slipped into the necessary trance and entered the world of dreams.

Looking around at muggle London for a few moments he again marveled at the complete emptiness of the city. Even in the future, Dreamers were uncommon but still everyone would occasionally touch Tel'aran'rhiod during their sleep. It did not appear to be the case here.

Harry yelled loudly "James! Lily! It's Harry, I have come back to speak with you. Walking further down the street, Harry called out again. After a few more tries, James and Lily stepped out of the shadows near Harry causing Harry to jump in surprise. "Don't do that to me! You don't want to meet me here on a permanent basis yet do you?"

James was laughing and Lily had a wide grin on her face. James answered "Maybe if you weren't shouting loud enough to wake the dead you would have heard us."

Chuckling, Harry replied wryly "Well seeing as you two are dead, I felt it necessary."

Lily stepped forward and gave Harry a tight hug before stepping back so that James could do the same. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders as if she was preparing for a battle Lily said "Harry, I know you probably want our answer regarding the Occlumency lessons. We have talked it over and we just don't think it is a good idea at this time. Too many people would know of our existence and that would be dangerous for everyone tied to the pattern."

Harry had just opened his mouth to protest when James took over at this point "Now that you are in the 20th century, there are many people you could go to get the training you want for your friends. I would suggest going to Andrew Nistor, he is the Potter Family solicitor. All solicitors are required to learn Occlumency to help protect their clients' confidentiality. If he can't train your friends, he can give you some names of trustworthy teachers."

Listening to James, Harry got a sheepish expression on his face. "I never thought of that. I guess I was stuck with the idea that only you guys could teach it. You're right it is better this way, I was not entirely comfortable letting more people know about you."

James' face tightened a little at that comment "Don't you trust your friends? Not everyone will turn on you the way Martin and Durram did."

"I do trust them and I am not worried about them turning of their own choice or I wouldn't want them trained. I just happen to agree with you that your existence is a very dangerous piece of knowledge and should only be told if absolutely necessary."

End Flashback

Sirius didn't quite believe Harry's answer. There was something about it that just seemed to be off, but he figured it didn't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. They entered Andrew's office and gave their names to the secretary. A few minutes later, Andrew entered the main lobby and introduced himself.

Andrew Nistor was 67 years old, thin grey hair and cold blue eyes. If Harry didn't know better, he would swear he was a muggle because he was dressed in a perfectly tailored navy blue pinstripe Armani suit with black leather loafers and a starched white shirt. Completing the outfit was a solid iridescent red tie. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, I am Andrew Nistor. Please come into my office where we can speak privately."

Andrew led them into his office and motioned them to take two chairs that were seated in front of his desk. "Mr. Potter this meeting came as quite a surprise. I was not expecting to meet with you for another 2 years when you would have come of age."

"Mr. Nistor…" Andrew cut Harry off and said "Please call me Andrew."

"Andrew, how is that you know who I am when I don't appear to be a 15 year old boy?"

"Ahhh, you see when I heard about the trial of Sirius Black, I went to watch. I was in the courtroom for your defense. It was masterfully done by the way. I always love to see Minister Fudge put in his place."

Chuckling, Harry went on to explain the reason for the visit. "Andrew, I need someone to teach Occlumency to Sirius and 3 other associates of mine. I was told that all solicitors are trained and that if you could not do it yourself, you could probably recommend someone."

Andrew tented his fingers as he thought the matter over. Finally he peered at Harry over his hands and replied "I should be able to provide the training myself. If you necessary, I can train you in Legilimency in order to help your associates perfect their shields."

Harry turned to Sirius and asked "Sirius, please cast some privacy wards around this room." Turning back to Andrew he said "Andrew I apologize for this, but I need a wizard's oath that anything I am about to tell you remains secret. This goes beyond even attorney-client privilege. I will say, it is nothing criminal."

Surprise flickered briefly across Andrew's face before he responded "I admit that I am intrigued." Pausing to consider the matter, Andrew went ahead and gave Harry his oath.

Once the flare of magic had dissipated, Harry explained why he could not learn Legilimency and provided a brief overview of his background. "Andrew, I am not asking you to fight, but your help could be invaluable in our dealings with the Ministry."

"I do not find the prospect of fighting to be appealing. However, as you say I could be of assistance with the Ministry and I think I would enjoy helping with some of the research. I owe much to the Potter family and this may be my opportunity to pay it back. When would you like the lessons to begin?"

"Tomorrow night would be best. My friends would be extremely dangerous if they were to fall under the control of the Imperius. Either Sirius or I will be by to pick you up at 7pm."

"I look forward to it."

Standing, the three men shook hands. Sirius and Harry then left the office and apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Grimmauld Place

Sirius and Harry popped into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place with a loud crack. Sirius grinned for a moment at Harry before stating "I don't know about you, but I could go for a drink."

"You know they say that acceptance is the first step to recovery."

"Ha…Bloody Ha. Just have a drink with me in the library. Remus and Hunter are probably there anyway. Besides, the tribal tattoo is supposed to be moderately painful so this will help deaden the pain somewhat."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day." Harry replied with a grin and ran off to the library but not before channeling a little water and thoroughly soaking Sirius.

Sirius chased after him, casting jinx after jinx which Harry somehow managed to dodge. Then an idea came to him and just as Harry was about to reach the stairs, he conjured a block of wood right in front of his foot tripping him up. Seizing the opportunity, Sirius changed into Padfoot jumped onto his chest and covered Harry's laughing face with slobber.

After a couple of minutes, Harry was able to shove Padfoot off his and wipe his face. "Padfoot you really crossed the line with that one. Do you know how bad dog breath stinks?"

Changing back, Sirius defended himself "Hey, my breath doesn't stink." Grumbling some more to himself he grunted out "Come on, let's get that drink now."

Harry shrugged and walked upstairs to the 2nd floor and into the library. Not surprisingly, they found both Hunter and Remus reading quietly. Before either man could say anything, Sirius announced "I'm a free man again."

"Padfoot, that's brilliant." Exclaimed Remus before he gave Sirius a strong hug. Hunter echoed the sentiment before returning to his book. Remus poured Sirius a drink without bothering to ask and said "Tell us everything. I want to hear all the details."

Sirius described the hearing and the testimony of the different Aurors and his own questioning by Fudge. Harry added his own spin to the events and soon Remus was laughing hysterically at the way Fudge hung himself with Sirius' testimony.

After finishing his second drink of brandy, Harry asked "Where is Seraph?"

Hunter replied "He is downstairs working out. Said he doesn't want to get rusty because of the lack of competition."

"Let him work out all he wants, it just makes him easier to beat when he is overconfident and tired." Harry said smugly. Unfortunately for him, Seraph was standing in the doorway at time and was currently glaring at him.

"I will remember that the next time we spar. No more going easy on Mr. I-Not-A-Blademaster." Seraph said with a feral grin.

Harry groaned and tried to recover by saying "Hey, we got a celebratory present for you."

"That's nice. It isn't going to save you though. But what is this present?"

Sirius went into the events of the rest of the day. He described their meeting with Ragnok and the evidence they had showing the bribes that Fudge had received from the Death Eaters that had gone free. Remus actually shattered the snifter he was holding when he heard that Dumbledore had been paying Fudge regularly to keep Sirius in Azkaban. Eventually though Sirius got to the tribal tattoos.

Predictably, Hunter and Remus were more intrigued by the way the potion worked then in actually getting a tattoo. Seraph, Harry and Sirius were all eager to take the potion though. After Sirius had passed a vial to Seraph and Harry, he gave a quick toast and they swallowed the potion as one.

It wasn't painful per se. It felt more like something was crawling over their skin and wouldn't go away. As the hour progressed, the feeling intensified and changed. Now, it was like the body was pushing the tattoo up from underneath the skin. In the end, for Seraph and Harry, the feeling simply faded away as the potion finished its work. Sirius yelped as he felt his tattoo move, tickling him in the process.

Hunter's eyes were dancing as he asked to see the tattoos. Harry had a long golden serpentine dragon running the length of his left arm from the shoulder to his wrist.

Seraph had to remove his shirt in order to see his tattoo. In the middle of his upper back was a large angel with glistening white wings spread wide and a flaming sword in his hand.

Hunter just snickered at his friends. "That is so predictable. Harry gets a dragon to go along with his father and Seraph gets an angel, like his name."

"Hey, you would probably get a book if you were brave enough to take the potion." Seraph retorted.

Remus cut the argument short by saying "Come on Sirius, let's see it."

Sirius had to remove his shirt as well. His tattoo had moved to his upper chest from his back, it was a black puppy that looked remarkably like a baby Grim playing with a bright red ball. Sirius blushed furiously when he saw the tattoo in a mirror. Remus just burst out laughing "Padfoot we always knew you were just a big softy. Do you want a saucer of milk for your little puppy?" Harry, Seraph, and Hunter joined Remus and laughed at the expression on Sirius' face and his tattoo.

After everyone had calmed down, Harry described their last appointment of the day. For the benefit of Seraph and Hunter he described Occlumency and the reasons for learning it. "Do you think this can work as a defense against Compulsion?" Hunter asked.

"It could, but dad and I never tested it. I suppose we should have, but I could never bring myself to use Compulsion on him." Harry replied.

"It certainly sounds like it would. I doubt the flows would be able to penetrate the shields as long as they were strong enough. The Dark One's influence may even be thrown off, but we won't know until we get back."

"Andrew will be coming by tomorrow night to begin your training. He may also be helping out Hunter's research team."

"Remus, I know you haven't decided yet if you are going to be coming with us to the future, but I would like you to take the training as well, just in case. I also want you and Sirius to learn Legilimancy so that we can train other Aes Sedai once we get back."

"OK, I have to admit, it is something I have always wanted to learn." Remus answered after a moment's thought.

August 31 10:00 AM, Ministry of Magic Courtroom #10

The courtroom was packed with press and witnesses. Apparently during his time as Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had managed to alienate a great number of people but always managed to win just enough votes to stay in office. Amelia smiled as she surveyed the crowd while walking towards the judge's seat, she didn't think that Fudge would have too many supporters left once the trial was over. She noticed Harry was sitting in the back of the courtroom and doing everything he could to avoid attention.

After she had taken her seat, she rapped the gavel to get everyone's attention. "We are here today for the trial of Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." She paused for a moment as the press began taking photo after photo practically blinding her and the members of the Wizengamot behind her in the process.

"Cornelius Fudge you have been charged with the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black and corruption. How do you plead?"

Fudge rose from his chair and stared at the members of the Wizengamot proudly "I plead not guilty. These charges have been brought by people out to slander my good name."

Though she did not expect anything different, she had hoped that Cornelius would do the smart thing and plead guilty. Sighing in disappointment she asked the prosecutor to begin his case.

"Madam Bones, I call Auror Jameson to the witness stand." The prosecutor, Matthew Robertson, waited while Jameson sat down and was sworn in before he started his questioning. "Auror Jameson, were you one of those responsible for the arrest of Sirius Black?"

"Yes I was."

"Were you also part of the team that questioned Mr. Black?"

"Sir, Sirius Black was never questioned."

"Why was he not questioned? Is it not standard practice to question a suspect?"

"Sir we were told not to bother and to bring him directly to Azkaban."

"Are you aware that it is illegal for someone to be sent to Azkaban without a trial?"

"Yes."

"And yet you did it anyway, why is that?"

"We were ordered to by Minister Fudge."

"The same Minister Fudge that is standing trial today?"

"Yes."

"I have no more questions for this witness."

"Defense, do you have any questions for this witness?" Amelia asked.

"None at this time Madame Bones." Devon Pasdow, Cornelius' solicitor answered. Cornelius was looking somewhat nervous but he was still confident that he would be acquitted in the end. He had too many friends in the Wizengamot.

Matthew called each Auror involved in Sirius' arrest and asked each man the same questions. They all told the same story and confirmed that they had been ordered to throw Sirius Black into Azkaban without a trial or even questioning by Cornelius Fudge.

Each time Devon stayed silent. There was nothing he could to refute the Aurors' testimony. All this testimony had been printed in the Daily Prophet this morning after the hearing for Sirius the day before. It would make Cornelius look worse to fight it now.

"We call Cornelius Fudge to the stand." Matthew said in a loud voice.

Standing once again, Cornelius walked with his head held high and should squared up to the witness stand. "Minister Fudge are you friends with any Death Eaters?"

"Of course not, I would not lower myself to associate with such filth!" Cornelius said hotly.

"Indeed, then are you friends with Samuel Crabbe, Lucius Malfoy, Walden Macnair, James Goyle, William Avery, or Maxwell Nott?"

"Yes, though I would not call them friends, more like associates." Fudge responded, not sure where Matthew was going with this.

"I thought you said that you did not associate with Death Eaters and yet each of these men carries the Dark Mark."

Devon shot to his feet before Cornelius could respond "Madame Bones, I object. Each of these men were released after admitting they had been placed under the Imperius curse."

"Move along, Mr. Pasdow is correct, these men were found to be innocent." Amelia said. Inside she was jumping for joy. Devon Pasdow had just opened a new line of questioning to tie Cornelius to the trials of these Death Eaters.

"Minister Fudge, who served as the judge for the cases of the six Death Eaters?"

Puffing his chest, Cornelius answered "I was the judge. Luckily we were able to avoid sending more innocent men to Azkaban."

"Was the decision to acquit made by the Wizengamot or yourself?"

"It was my decision, the evidence clearly pointed to the Imperius curse." Answered Fudge pompously.

Again Devon objected claiming that everyone knew the story of the trials. Matthew explained that he wanted to make sure the facts were clear. Amelia asked him to get to the point.

Matthew removed a stack of papers from a folder on his table. "We present exhibit A to the court." He gave a copy to Amelia and one to Devon and handed the final copy to Cornelius himself. "Minister Fudge is this a record your Gringotts' account?"

Tiny beads of sweat started to pop out on Cornelius' forehead and his face became extremely pale "Yes it is, but how did you get this. Records with Gringotts' are confidential?"

Matthew ignored that question and pressed on "Can you describe the transaction that occurred on November 20th, 1980?"

"There was a deposit of 25,000 galleons into my account." Fudge's face had changed from pale white to a slight green.

"Can you remember the source of such a large deposit?"

"That was such a long time ago…I am sure it was a campaign contribution of some sort." Fudge tried to make it sound reasonable that someone would donate such a large sum of money.

"And the transactions on November 21st, 25th, 27th, 30th, and December 3rd, were those also campaign donations?"

"…" Fudge could not think of anything to say. He couldn't believe the goblins had given out these records.

"Minister Fudge are you aware that the only transactions on these dates for these amounts came from the 6 Death Eaters I mentioned earlier and that the transaction each take place 2 days before their trial in front of you?"

Devon stared at Fudge for a moment, his mind racing trying to find a way to salvage the situation. It wasn't open and shut, but it sure looked like Cornelius had taken bribes. "This does not prove anything. Those deposits could have been made for any reason." Even to his own ears, his argument sounded pathetic.

A predatory smile spreading across his face, Matthew asked "Were the same families making more campaign donations when they were accused of being Death Eaters by Harry Potter and the Ministry never pursued the case earlier this summer?"

Hate contorted Cornelius' face and he inadvertently crushed the account statements when he clenched his hands. He retorted hotly "Potter is just an arrogant, attention seeking boy. He would say anything to keep the limelight on him."

"Of course he is, shall we move on the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black?" Matthew asked reasonably.

Face red and spittle flying Fudge lost his temper and shouted "He was not wrongfully imprisoned, I was told by Albus Dumbledore himself that he was guilty."

"Did Albus Dumbledore suggest you simply send him to Azkaban without a trial as well?"

"Yes he did, he said it wasn't necessary!" Fudge knew he was screwed on the corruption charge but as much as he hated Dumbledore, he felt his name would get him cleared of this charge.

"So you saw no problem with throwing a man into Azkaban with no trial, questioning or concrete evidence of his guilt as long as Dumbledore said so?" Matthew asked curiously.

Devon just stared at his client with his mouth hanging open. It was like a train wreck, you want to turn away but something keeps drawing you back. He couldn't believe he was openly admitting to breaking the law and there was nothing he could object to.

"I have complete faith in Dumbledore. If he said Black was guilty than he was."

"If that was the case then why did Dumbledore feel it necessary to make monthly payments of 5,000 galleons to your account? And why did those payments stop the month that Black escaped?"

"…" Fudge had no answer to that. He looked at Devon and mouthed 'Do Something!'

Matthew felt confident he had made his case and said simply "Your witness."

At this point Devon wanted to see Cornelius in Azkaban as much as anyone else and said quietly "No questions."

With the completion of Cornelius' testimony, Matthew rested his case. Amelia turned to Devon to begin. Unfortunately for Cornelius, the witnesses for his side were conspicuously absent. It would not do any good to put the Aurors or Dumbledore on the stand as they could only confirm the violations. When he saw that he had no witnesses to call forward Devon said simply "The defense rests as we are unable to find any of our witnesses."

Amelia smirked, the rats were clearly fleeing the sinking ship. "The Wizengamot will begin deliberations then." She raised a privacy shield and separated herself and the Wizengamot from the courtroom.

The spectators and press were buzzing when the shield fell a scant five minutes later. Many were visibly excited at the prospect of seeing Cornelius fall from power. Amelia again rapped the gavel and announced "Cornelius Fudge please stand. The Wizengamot had found you guilty on both charges. You are sentenced to a term of 10 years in Azkaban and your Gringotts' account is to be confiscated and used for the war effort."

Fudge was furious, he had spent thousands of galleons bribing different members of the Wizengamot and he was still found guilty. Yelling "You can't do this to me. I am the Minister of Magic, I order you to release me." At the direction of Amelia, two Aurors were dragging a struggling Cornelius back to a holding cell.

Amelia rapped the gavel one final time and announced that the trial of Albus Dumbledore would begin at 2pm. With that she started to walk out of the courtroom only to be mobbed by members of the press.

They wanted to know who would be the Minister now that Fudge was going to Azkaban. She explained that the Wizengamot would hold a special election to elect an interim Minister for the remainder of Fudge's current term.

Other questions focused on the evidence provided by Gringotts and Dumbledore's role in the imprisonment of Sirius Black. She brushed by the involvement of the goblins. She did not want to expose their involvement with Dumbledore until his trial.

Harry quietly slipped out and returned to Grimmauld Place to give everyone a recap of the morning.

August 31 2:00 PM, Ministry of Magic Courtroom #10

Harry entered the courtroom shortly before 2pm with Seraph in tow. He wanted to see the reaction of the press and public if Dumbledore was found guilty. It would provide some insight into the general feeling of people and their willingness to fight back against Voldemort.

Harry and Seraph were completely unaware of the fact that Acheron was hiding in the back corner of the courtroom. He had entered approximately 20 minutes earlier as was currently hiding under an illusion making it appear as if the corner was unoccupied. Luckily, he had tied the flows off so he did not need to continue channeling otherwise he would have been detected by either Seraph or Harry.

Flashback

After yesterday's discovery of Telamon, Acheron began making plans to get into the courtroom for the trial of Albus Dumbledore. With no way of finding the Ministry of Magic on his own, he began searching for an Auror that he could use.

After some searching, he was able to spot an Auror at the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Confident that Telamon was gone, he channeled briefly and used Compulsion on the Auror. While the Auror had been trained to resist the Imperius curse, Compulsion was much more difficult to resist.

Acheron told the Auror to meet his at the same spot tomorrow at 1:15pm. He would have the Auror take him to the Ministry of Magic and get him into the courtroom. Satisfied, that the Compulsion would hold, he tied it off and sent the Auror on his way.

End Flashback

Harry and Seraph were forced to separate because they could not find enough space to sit together. Harry squeezed into a spot near the front since he would be called on to provide testimony. Seraph was sitting towards the back left of the room, the opposite side from Acheron. After he had taken his seat, Harry noticed that Dumbledore was already present, sitting in the defendant's chair with a grandfatherly expression on his face as he looked over the crowd.

Precisely at 2pm, Amelia walked into the courtroom with the members of the Wizengamot following her. Once everyone was seated, Amelia began the trial. "We are here today for the trial of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Albus Dumbledore you have been charged with the violation of the Potter's will, conspiracy to wrongfully imprison Sirius Black, and conspiracy to hide a family's inheritance. How do you plead?"

"I plead guilty." Dumbledore said humbly and with a sad expression on his face.

Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom and the press was frantically writing out this latest surprise. Amelia was shocked. She couldn't believe that Dumbledore wasn't going to be fighting the charges. Surely, he had something up his sleeve. Despite her wishes to simply accept his plea, she had to question him now on his crimes. "As you know, before we can accept your guilty plea, we must question you on the crimes."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling and he had his grandfather act going strong as he responded "Of course, I will answer any questions you have."

"Why did you not heed the Potter's will? They listed quite clearly who was to serve as Harry Potter's guardians in the event of their death." Amelia asked.

"I felt that it was better for Harry Potter to grow up away from the attention he would have no doubt received had he been raised in the wizarding world." Albus replied reasonably. "I was just trying to look out for the best interests of Harry."

"Is that why you conspired with the goblins to hide the will? If you were so confident of your decision, then why did you conceal it?"

"Harry's safety was more important that anything that his parents had arranged for him." Dumbledore answered, some of the grandfatherly tone lost from his voice. Why couldn't they all see that it was for the greater good? Sacrifices sometimes have to be made.

"Harry's safety was important enough to knowingly and purposefully send Sirius Black, an innocent man to Azkaban for life?"

Dumbledore frowned at this question, not wanting to give away too much information. "Sirius Black comes from a Dark family. He would not have been a good influence on Harry. It was critical that he be kept away from him." Harry seethed at this remark. Sirius was a good man and he would have made a great father.

"What influence did his family have? He had already been disowned so there was little to no contact or influence."

"The risk was too great. I could not take the chance that Harry Potter would grow up in an environment that did not wholly support the Light." Dumbledore said heatedly.

Amelia pressed on "Why was that so important? Is there something about Harry that your aren't sharing with us?"

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at that question and he replied in a low tone "It would not be advisable to answer that question in public."

"So if you won't answer that, then I will sum it all up. You felt that it was not a crime to violate the Potter's will and to work with the goblins to conceal that face or to wrongfully incarcerate Sirius Black. All of this was because you thought it was best for Harry Potter?"

"It was all for the greater good. Sacrifices had to be made and those in power would not have been willing to do so." Dumbledore said simply.

"That is exactly why we have elected officials Dumbledore. Private citizens are not empowered to break the law whenever they feel like it. You are just as much a danger to our society as Voldemort. You took the law into your own hands and blatantly violated the rights of James and Lily Potter, Harry Potter and Sirius Black in the process. That is exactly what Voldemort does. Your way is simply less violent." Amelia concluded nearly shouting at the end.

Losing his temper, Dumbledore roared "Now you see here, I defeated Grindelwald, I think I am the best one to decide what is best for this society and what actions to take."

"That is exactly what makes you so dangerous to our society. Regardless, I think we have heard enough, the Wizengamot will begin their deliberations now." She finished and raised the privacy shield once more separating the Wizengamot from the rest of the courtroom.

Dumbledore sat in his chair, not happy with this turn of events. He was confident none the less that his history and reputation would pull him through.

Everyone in the courtroom was buzzing as with Fudge's trial, the Wizegamot had returned after deliberating for an extremely short amount on time, only 15 minutes. Amelia rapped a gavel on the bench to call the court room back to order. She asked Dumbledore to rise.

"After deliberation, we have decided to accept your plea. We find Albus Dumbledore to be guilty of on all counts." Amelia said formally while looking at Dumbledore.

At hearing the verdict, Harry glanced at Dumbledore and watched as his smug confident expression was wiped off his face by the verdict. Dumbledore's shoulders sagged.

A sense of elation filled Harry, despite all the evidence and his plea, he was worried that Dumbledore's reputation would sway the Wizengamot. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry relaxed back in the chair.

"Albus Dumbledore you have been found guilty on all counts. Normally these crimes would require a minimum sentence of 20 years in Azkaban but in light …" Amelia was cut off at that point by an explosion blasting open the doors to the courtroom.

12 Death Eaters burst into the room stepping over the remains of the door. They immediately began firing spells in all directions while the lead two Death Eaters seemed focused on Dumbledore and Amelia. Avada Kedavra both yelled aiming at the neon green spells Dumbledore and Amelia.

The other Death Eaters attacked the Aurors in the room, attempting to take out the greatest threats. Several of the Aurors fell to the Avada Kedavra but two Aurors were able to dodge the spell and began attacking the Death Eaters. Harris Pullman, one of the remaining Aurors transfigured a nearby chair into a wall to use as cover and shouted out Stupefy hitting one of the Death Eaters. Unfortunately, another simply cast Enervate and went back to methodically destroying his cover. Harris was forced to remain behind cover and focus on transfiguring the items around him into shields to block the incoming spells. He didn't have time to do anything else with the number of spells being thrown his way.

Dumbledore was too stunned to react and he was struck in the chest, collapsing to the floor quite dead. Amelia was saved by a deep blue shield that appeared directly in front of her and absorbed the spell before shattering back into nothingness.

Once the shock wore off, the wizards and witches that had come to the Ministry today to witness the historic trials began screaming and panicking. Some tried to run for the door while others huddled down on the floor hoping to avoid being hit.

Harry recovered from the surprise quickly and opened himself to Saidin and spun a shield in front of Amelia. Once he saw Amelia was safe, he focused on the two lead Death Eaters. Harry formed a block of solid shimmering air and slammed into the Death Eaters slamming them against the wall hard enough to shatter the concrete and crush the Death Eaters. Before he could attack again, he sensed someone else channeling.

Turning he saw Seraph wading into the main group of Death Eaters with his sword drawn, and then he saw Acheron fade into view. He was standing in the corner of the court room staring at him. Harry reacted as soon as he felt Acheron attack, diving to his right towards the center aisle hitting the floor and rolling to a crouching position to see a bar of Balefire tear through 3 people racing for the door and shoot into the chair where he had been sitting. Immediately, 3 people ceased to exist, fading into nothingness.

Meanwhile, Seraph drew his sword and started advancing on the Death Eaters. Slipping into the forms he had trained in for years, he attacked the first Death Eater. Swallow takes flight resulted in one man losing his arm before swinging again and lopping off his head. Moving on to another target, Parting the Silk eviscerated another Death Eater. Diving forward into a roll to avoid an Avada Kedavra and slashing upward as he stopped in front of yet another attacker he opened a deep gash from the man's waist to his neck. As the third Death Eater collapsed from Seraph's sword he moved on to the next.

Dean Hornsby the only other remaining Auror saw Seraph attacking the Death Eaters with his sword distracting them. Not one to waste an opportunity, he silently cast Reducto at a Death Eater near him. The spell caught him in the chest, shattering his sternum and forcing the bone into his heart. He dropped to the floor dead.

Acheron called out "Telamon, you can't beat me. Give up now!" He channeled again sending another bar of brilliant while Balefire blasting towards Harry, this time catching Hornsby, one of two Aurors still standing and a Death Eater.

Harry rolled forward this time and could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise as the Balefire shot over his head again. Coming out of his roll, he channeled earth and thrust both of his hands into the floor. The floor rippled and turned to liquid underneath Acheron throwing him to the floor and pulling him down trapping him as it solidified again.

Two of the remaining Death Eaters turned to face Seraph while he was dispatching another of their comrades. One cast Reducto and the other cast Crucio. Harry, saw them attack and wove flows of air and water into a brilliant blue-white lightning bolt that arced from his hand to each of the Death Eaters. Smoke began to roil out from their robes as they were electrocuted by the force of Harry's attack.

Seraph turned just in time to be blasted off his feet by the Reducto which had the benefit of blowing him away from the Crucio but broke his left leg in the process. Pushing the pain away, he wove a shield around himself and shot a sheet of fire across the courtroom into one of the three remaining Death Eaters.

Another explosion rocked the courtroom, fire and debris flew in all directions slicing into the huddled witnesses as Acheron blasted his way out of the floor. He grabbed the Death Eater nearest to him and opened a portal to the flat he was using and escaped.

Harry grabbed the remaining Death Eater in a flow of air, incapacitating him. He channeled a bit of fire and destroyed the man's wand and severely burnt his hand at the same time. Seeing that there were no more Death Eaters, he sank to the floor once more to catch his breath before he went over to Seraph to check on him.

Voldemort's Hideout, Wales

Rodolphus Lestrange was the only Death Eater to survive the assault on the Ministry. His black cloak was ripped and blood could be seen on his clothes underneath. The white face mask had long since been lost in the battle. He had a long deep cut running from just underneath his right eye to his jaw line. While it had been a successful raid in that Albus Dumbledore was dead, they had lost a number of the inner circle including his brother Rabastan and Avery McNair.

Rodolphus turned to Acheron to once again examine this stranger. There was a palpable feeling of hate and disdain that seemed to radiate off the man. His clothes were clearly well made but in a style that he was totally unfamiliar with. And his magic, he had never seen such a display even from the Dark Lord. "Please wait here a moment before I present you to the Dark Lord."

Flashback

As soon as Acheron had stepped through the portal, he let it slam closed. The last thing he needed was for Telamon to follow him through. Now that they were safe, he took a moment to look over the captured Death Eater. He couldn't help but sneer at what he saw. It was evident based on the battle in the courtroom that the attackers were nothing more than thugs not used to any sort of resistance. Acheron only hoped their leader was more intelligent, but he didn't have very high expectations based on what he saw.

"What were you doing in that courtroom today?" Acheron asked.

Rodolphus looked around nervously and saw no way to escape. This man had been using magic that he had never seen before and he was not afraid to kill. He decided his best course of action would be to let the Dark Lord deal with him. His course decided, he answered "We were there to kill Albus Dumbledore, Amelia Bones, and Harry Potter."

Anger and hatred flared in Acheron's eyes at hearing the name of his mortal enemy. "Who, who ordered you to kill Telamon …or as you call him Potter?" Acheron hissed when he saw the man's confusion at the name Telamon.

Rodolphus had only seen such intense hatred in the Dark Lord. "It was ordered by the Dark Lord Voldemort." Rodolphus was taken aback when he realized that the stranger had no idea who Voldemort was. How was that possible, his name was feared throughout the wizarding world?

Acheron had already realized he would not get any valuable information from this lackey. So he asked "Can you take me to this Voldemort? Perhaps we can help each other complete our mutual goal."

Resigned to a choice between punishment at the hands of his Dark Lord or death at the hands of this stranger. He nodded and grabbed the stranger by the arm and portkeyed back to Voldemort's hideout.

End Flashback

Acheron sneered at the title. That someone would claim a title so close to the Dark One was galling. "Don't take too long. I am not used to be kept waiting." Rodolphus gulped nervously and hurried into the meeting room to report to the Dark Lord.

After Rodolphus had entered the meeting room, Acheron continued to look around the outer room, never removing his hand from the pommel of his sword. These people are amateurs, they wouldn't last 5 minutes against the rest of the Chosen or even that fool Telamon and his father. Whatever power they had was a pale imitation of the One Power.

Inside the meeting room, Rodolphus found Voldemort sitting on his throne awaiting news of the attack on the Ministry. Struggling a little due to the various wounds he had suffered in the battle, Rodolphus slowly sank to his knee in front of his Dark Lord. He grunted as he leaned forward to bow his head further.

Voldemort was pleased at the display and the obvious pain that was caused by the move and said in a sibilant voice "What was the outcome of the attack Rodolphus? Did you kill Dumbledore, Bones, and Potter?"

"My lord we were able to kill Dumbledore but Potter and Bones escaped." Rodolphus waited nervously for Voldemort's response, tensing his body in preparation for the Crucio he was sure was coming.

"Where are the others? Did not Rabastan and Avery not go with you and 9 of my followers?" Anger was evident in his voice and his eyes were glowing a bright red.

Sweat started to break out across Rodolphus' forehead as he tried to formulate an answer that may allow him to avoid punishment. In the end, he was forced to go with the simple truth "They are dead my lord. Potter and his friend were wielding magic I have never seen before. The two of them killed the others and were able to save many of those in the courtroom."

Red eyes flashing, Voldemort's robes began to ripple as he briefly lost control of his magic when his rage at Rodolphus' report flared. Crucio he yelled aiming the spell at the kneeling form of Rodolphus. Rodolphus felt the spell hit and he collapsed to the floor writhing and screaming in pain as every nerve in his body began firing.

Voldemort finally released the spell before Rodolphus was permanently damaged and asked in a cold voice "And how is that you managed to survive where everyone else did not?"

"I am the reason he survived." Acheron's voice called out from the now open door drawing Voldemort's glare. "Your men could barely manage to kill one old man before they got slaughtered by Telamon and Seraph." While Acheron appeared to be perfectly calm, he was filled with Saidin and prepared to channel in an instant. He had seen some of the attacks these people had and even though they were primitive they were still effective.

"Who are you and I thought it was Potter that killed my Death Eaters?" Voldemort said while fingering his wand preparing to cast a spell should this stranger do anything remotely threatening.

"Potter is Telamon you idiot." Voldemort hissed at the insult and immediately stood and shouted Crucio. The spell splashed harmlessly against a hastily erected shield of air and fire. Voldemort started throwing more spells as he advanced on Acheron. Percussio was followed by a blasting hex. Both spells had little effect on the shield. Despite the attack, Acheron was leaning casually against the door frame buffing his fingernails on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Are you about finished?" Acheron asked. "I didn't come here to fight you. My only goal is to kill Telamon and return to my time. I could care less what you do after that."

Voldemort was thinking fast. He had never seen a shield that could withstand an Unforgivable and it absorbed two different blasting hexes and never even wavered. Perhaps he could use this fool to kill Potter and steal his power in the process. "Very well, I am willing to accept you as one of my followers and am willing to make you a member of my inner circle."

Acheron rolled his eyes and laughed a bitter laugh. "You misunderstand me. I am not offering to serve you. We will be allies. That is all. Once Telamon is dead, we will go separate ways and you can do whatever you want with these primitives."

Voldemort returned to his throne and sat down. He studied the man before him and he came to the conclusion that if Potter was wielding similar magic to this man, he would indeed need him as an ally. After he slid his wand back into his sleeve, Voldemort agreed to the alliance. "What is your name?"

"You may call me Acheron."

"Very nice, the River of Woe if I am not mistaken. Allies then, until Potter is dead and washed away in his own river of woe." Voldemort said.

Acheron simply smiled. Plans were forming in his mind to trap and finally kill Telamon so that he could return to serve the Great Lord of the Dark.

A/N: Those are the last trial scenes you will see in this story (Thank God!). This chapter would have been out sooner but I had problems writing them.

As always, thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. Ideas, comments, criticism are always welcome.