:9:

The entire team reunited inside the dojo, waiting in seiza for the Sensei's assessment. The man had been speaking with the back-up team for about an hour, until General Smith had arrived. Only then did he glance at the students currently kneeling near the door with stone faces.

"Michel, I'm highly disappointed with your performance so far; but seeing as this was not your test, you shall not be demoted" the boy grimaced but remained unmoving; Sensei Black could be harsh, but he was fair.

"Thank you Sensei"

"Robert, your response time was too slow; improve it."

"Yes, Sensei"

"Harry, you and Liz were supposed to be leading the group; why didn't you do the job yourselves?"

"With all due respect, Sensei; Robert and Michel are better than us at stealth, as they've had more practice in the area. I thought that if we were to succeed then we would have to play up to everyone's strengths." Sensei nodded.

"Do you wish to add anything else, Elizabeth?" the girl frowned but knew better than to argue about her name at the present time.

"I only wish to note that without Robert and Michel, the whole operation would have not been possible. I also believe that both Harry and I will need more practice in the shooting range" she risked a glance at the boy beside her, and found him smirking.

"Good." He turned about and ordered another student to 'bring it'; the boy came back holding a paper-wrapped package.

Black knelt before his student and unwrapped the package, revealing two yellow belts "Harry James Potter, I present this yellow belt to you in recognition of your accomplishments and disciplined efforts; Honor it." Harry made a reverence touching the floor with his forehead before accepting his belt "Elizabeth Firefang, I present this yellow belt to you for your accomplishments, and your kind truthful spirit; Honor it." Liz repeated the reverence and accepted her belt. "May my teachings not go unnoticed. You're dismissed." The entire group repeated the reverence before standing up and leaving.

Once outside, the group relaxed.

"Congratulations to you two" said Robert clapping both kids' backs "you did well, right Mitch?"

"Sure" his French accent still present "I appreciate your vouching in my favor, Potter" he granted a small smile

"Any time Mitch, what are friends for? Besides, I should be the one thanking you" the French boy's smile broadened

"We both should" claimed Liz also smiling "Thank you, we wouldn't have made it this far without your help."

"Don't mention it" answered Mitch blushing slightly at the girl's praise.

"Who else thinks that this calls for celebration?" smirked Rob.

"Yay! Party!" shouted Liz embracing Harry

"Last one to the castle will be cleaning!" said the boy-who-lived sprinting forward

--

Professor Dumbledore sat on his favorite chair inside his office at Hogwarts; a letter lay on the desk, tore open hastily; his hands trembled as he read the contents. He had received it that very morning with a request to meet the man who had addressed the letter to him.

The old man was nervous; it wasn't that he feared this man, but the news he bore were intriguing and unnerving.

'How does he know all this?' he asked himself or the hundredth time since receiving the letter. 'The Order went to great perils to get just a fraction of this information… and he even knows the prophecy!' In the letter the man had mentioned more than a few secrets that only the inner circle of the late Order of the Phoenix knew, like why Potter had to live with the Dursleys and even about some of Dumbledore's secret plans for the infant.

A soft knock was heard on the door "Come in" called the preoccupied headmaster

"Albus" McGonagall called from the doorway "There's a man here to see you. He says he has an appointment"

Dumbledore nodded gravely "Let him in. Oh, and Minerva, please make sure no one disturbs us" she nodded and went away. Moments later the Count of Drakengard entered the room with a small smile crossing his lips.

"Good evening Headmaster" the nobleman smiled making nodding to the elder man

"Good evening to you too, your Excellency" Dumbledore stood up and walked to greet the man and shake his hand "How may I help you in this fine night? I must say your letter was quite intriguing." The man smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I am here in hopes that you can help me solve a little problem I've come by" the headmaster frowned looking at the other man intently "As you know I have been appointed as Harry Potter's tutor from now and until he is of age" the older looking man nodded, he had received a letter to that matter more than six months ago. He had tried to take a hold of the man who had adopted one of his most appreciated children but the man had apparently disappeared "he is in good health and receiving appropriate instruction, but I'd like to discuss his future with you"

"His future?" Albus moved back to his seat, inviting the Count to Seat in front of his desk

"Yes, I'm considering several options for his education, one of which is Hogwarts" Dumbledore nodded "Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are also being considered, but I have yet to speak with their headmasters."

"I see"

"However, It is in Harry's best interest that if he is to attend Hogwarts, there are some special circumstances that have to be met."

"Which are?" Dumbledore asked, growing serious.

"First of all is the promise that you or your bird-watching club members will not try to influence him in any way we do not approve, this includes the figure of Severus Snape, of course."

"Of course" nodded Dumbledore wide eyed, how had he known that Severus was in the order? Hell, how had he known about the Order!

"Secondly that you refrain yourself from hiring any less than competent teacher for Defense Against the Dark Acts subject; namely Gilderoy Lockhart, which I know must be in the list of resumes that the Board of Governors has received and L. S. Quirrel," Dumbledore frowned, those two had been on the list for almost a year. "Along with any Ministry-imposed teacher"

"May I ask the reason for this?" Drake smiled.

"At his time I shall only say that both requests are in the best interest of Harry" Dumbledore frowned further and was about to protest when the Count resumed talking "Also, I would like ask a favor from you."

Albus swallowed his protest and asked "Being…?"

"I would like to use your influence to call for a trial for Sirius Orion Black, who currently resides in Azkaban"

"A trial for Sirius Black?" was this man mad? Even if Dumbledore had his doubts about Black being the culprit of the killing the muggles and he knew that he hadn't betrayed James and Lily, nothing could be done without proof… and all the proof had been destroyed.

"Precisely… I have come in possession of quite the proof about his innocence. It has to do with his former friend Peter Pettigrew." The old headmaster was shocked, was this man reading his thoughts? The old headmaster strengthened his occlumency shields just in case.

"If I may, how were you able to acquire that proof you speak of?" Drake smiled, knowing very well where the old crook was taking the conversation.

"I have my means, Headmaster. Now you'll have to excuse me, I still have other errands to attend to" Drake turned around with his smile fading. "I shall be expecting your answer concerning Black's trial. Good evening professor." The man closed the door behind him, leaving one of the greatest wizards in his time wide-eyed and confused.

--

Harry lay comfortably on the couch beneath the fire in the waiting room of his own room, Rob and Mitch had already retired for the night, and Liz was being true to her word, taking advantage of his Japanese bath.

Irene had come later that day to spend the evening with them, and was currently sitting beside Harry, and holding his head on her lap. She had been caressing his calves for the past fifteen minutes and he was nearly falling asleep.

"This is nice" she said waking the nearly-sleeping boy

"Mmm-hmmm" he answered wordlessly, not really wanting to break the spell of peacefulness he had laid on.

"Wouldn't it be nice to live like this? With everyone caring for each other and all?" 'For a five year old girl, she is quite mindful' Harry mused.

"Yes" he finally spoke frowning "But in my experience, it never lasts."

"Geeez!" she protested puffing her cheeks "You're so pessimistic!" Harry merely chuckled.

There came a knock on the door followed by Drake's gentle voice "May I come in?" Irene jumped to her feet, sending a young Harry flying to the floor, where he bumped his head against the carpeted floor; he was almost tempted to say 'I told you' before the little girl had shouted "Coming!" as she ran for the door to let her 'grandpa' inside.

The man smiled to the little girl at the door "Hello there beauty, what are you doing here?" she threw her tiny arms to him and he picked her up to his shoulder, where she embraced the top of his head.

"We were having a party!" the Count smiled looking at Harry as he picked himself from the floor

"Good to hear you're having fun with the others" Harry smiled at the man's words "I heard about your exam from Sensei black, we're both quite taken by your results; you seem to have the right character for leadership Harry, it's not a common trait in one so young"

"Thank you sir. But I must say that it was quite easy to work with the others. It was very little effort to set them up as a team."

"Still, I am positive that you will do well in the near future son. Just don't be a slacker and you'll be fine." Harry's smile broadened and he blushed. He still had some trouble accepting praise from others after his past-life experiences; but it was a nice change "Alas, I'm not here for a social gathering; rather, I came to give you a citation"

"Situation?" asked the little girl on the man's shoulders; she hadn't before heard that word.

"Citation darling, an invitation to a formal meeting" the Count explained, and she answered with a sweet 'oh' "Here, read this" The man took a piece of parchment from his jacket's pocket and gave it to Harry before taking a seat on the couch and placing Irene on his lap.

Harry took the piece of paper and opened it. He was surprised that it was a ministry letter addressed to him, dated almost a week before:

"Dear Mr. Potter, we hope you are in good health as we address this letter to you.

The purpose of this missive is to invite you to attend a matter that we consider being of great importance to your person.

We have recently received intelligence about a certain proof that is in your mentor's possession on the matter concerning Sirius Black's innocence, and we pray you would be kind enough to address this matter in the following trial for Sirius Orion Black on the twenty first of November of 1987"

Yours truly

Amelia Bones

Head of Justice

He let the parchment drop as he stared blankly into space, as his mind was on overdrive. 'A trial for Sirius? What in the…'

"Wait a minute, you did this?" Harry looked up, still unbelievingly; Drake smiled "but this is dated days ago… how could you..?" how could he have known their mission would be to get Wormtail? Their exam hadn't been planned by any of the teachers, but by him; part of the exam was setting up an environment in which most, if not all of their abilities would be put to the test.

Drake smile widened

"Let's just say that I understand much more than what I let on; and that includes you. Apart from that, I have unfathomable confidence in your abilities Harry, and that of your brothers." He stood up and turned to leave, as Harry's eyes swelled with tears of joy. "Rest well Harry, tomorrow we'll be going back to Britain"

--

Harry fidgeted on his seat; this was the first time he had visited England in since the start of his training, not to mention the Ministry of Magic. He knew everyone's eyes were going to be on him, but he never expected the reaction he got from almost everyone. That day he was accompanied by Drake and Liz, and a dozen bodyguards from his organization, dressed in black uniforms –who hadn't been enough, in Drake's words–, when a couple girls broke through and kissed the small boy, leaving almost all of their lipstick on Harry's cheeks before the bodyguards could pry them off. After that display of events, Liz had been most upset.

Now, as the three of them sat together in the room where the trial would take place, he couldn't help but wonder how his godfather would take the news.

Just in front of them, but on the other side of the room, sat Dumbledore and Remus with serious faces.

"Order!" called the Head of Justice, Amanda Bones. "Order in the courtroom."

All whispers and chatting died down.

As the room got silent Harry heard a door fly open, and a couple of guards approached the stand carrying Sirius with chains keeping both his hands and feet bound. The man glanced around until his eyes met a significant lightning-bolt shaped scar, and the boy who wielded it. His eyes went wide as he recognized the boy he had last seen almost six years ago. From then his eyes never left the boy, but to watch in awe at the 'proof' and the man who presented it.

"The court would like to call his highness the Count of Drakengard to stand" Sirius looked wide-eyed at the man who climbed down the stairs to the center of the room; Drake smiled at him and winked.

"Good morning to all of you" he waved smiling making all of the females in the room sigh adoringly while the men returned the greeting. "As you have probably heard, I am now in the possession of the undeniable proof that this man here," he pointed to Sirius "Mr. Sirius Black was indeed falsely accused and incarcerated six years ago… for the cold blooded murder of Peter Pettigrew and a group of muggles." His voice filled the room with so much strength that even Dumbledore found himself being swayed by it… then he noticed that everyone in the room was nodding and smiling.

'What magic is this?' the headmaster asked himself as the nobleman continued his speech.

"I was most impressed to hear the Mr. Black here, hadn't received a fair trial, or a trial at all in his time." All eyes pierced Fudge's figure, which paled, but managed to keep a straight face.

"Anyhow, know that I am not pointing the finger at anyone within this room. You all had gone through quite some tense times, and few mistakes were made; it is only natural. Now without further a-do, I would like to present to you the proof I spoke of." Two vicious-looking guards from his own armada entered the room, carrying a man-sized cage with nothing but a sleeping rat inside; "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Peter Pettigrew" Everyone looked confused… all but Sirius who was livid, and Remus who was having a hard time hiding his amazement.

"Is this a joke?" Fudge asked, but was promptly hushed by Madam Bones.

"Please do clarify your statement, your highness." Drake nodded

"As you all well know, animagus registration is quite a difficult process, and is normally banned for anyone under age, as it implies very dangerous magic, potion brewing and other rituals; but none the less, It's difficult to know who is, or is not an animagus, until they reveal this fact themselves"

"Are you saying that Peter Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus" asked a woman

"Yes." Was his only response "To prove this I would like to call the participation of one of your Aurors, Madam Bones." Most of the court frowned "Or any certificated wizard that knows the spell to uncover the true form of an animagus." Drake smiled looking at Dumbledore who raised his brown in response.

"If I may?" the Headmaster rose from his seat "I know of this spell." Amelia nodded.

"Very well. Proceed, Headmaster Dumbledore." The old man nodded taking out his wand and shouted in his clear hard-toned voice "Instar aperio!"

The room stilled as the ray of white energy shot from the tip of the wand and into the sleeping animal.

An instant later the room had inspired a collective gasp, when the sleeping form of Peter Pettigrew appeared in the center of the cage. Even Dumbledore looked mildly surprised.

"I rest my case" remarked Drake smiling "Your witness." He walked back to his seat as the courtroom mumbles died down at the judge's insistent jells.

"SILENCE!" Bellowed Madam Boones after a self-cast 'sonorous' charm. She canceled in once the murmuring died down. "Bring me a certified veritaserum potion this very instant." She told her assistant.

An hour and three droplets of veritaserum later, the court was adjourned and Sirius black was given his freedom back, along with the Ministry's apologies and an economical compensation of 100,000 Galleons for the time spent in prison.

All the details of the trial would be published on the Daily Prophet the next day, along with the ministry's apologies to Sirius.

After the trial, the shackles and chains were taken off and the first thing the Black heir did was run and take Drake in a tight hug, constantly repeating his thanks to him. It was then that Remus and Dumbledore approached them.

Harry was feeling a little bit jealous about his godfather hugging his adoptive father first, but understood that he couldn't claim being the source of the information about Pettigrew without compromising the truth about how he acquired that information in the first place.

Sirius embraced Remus too, and both cried of happiness.

"Sirius" Drake interrupted "Let me introduce you to Harry Potter, your godson." Harry looked up at the man in front of him. He looked just as he remembered; only that he looked half as crazy as before, but just as pale. Suddenly the boy started feeling a bit embarrassed

"Oh! Harry" Sirius sniffed, hugging his godson "Thank you god!" the man exclaimed to the heavens, kneeling on the floor and crying of the boy's shoulder "Thank god!" he said to his ear "I thought I'd never get to see you again"

Drake asked the bodyguards to escort them both to their transport, a white landrover that would take them to London's airport and from there to Faroe Islands.

"As you shall see" Drake continued as soon as Sirius and Harry were out of ear-shot "Harry is as fine as one could expect, better now that he has one more family member to rely on." Dumbledore smiled and his eyes regained his usual twinkling.

"He sure seems so I must let you know that your requests have been passed by the board of governors."

"It was nice doing business with you, Headmaster." Drake nodded to the man, and before leaving he glanced at Remus who was starting to look nervous. "Remus, would you please accompany us to the exit?" the werewolf nodded and happily led them to the door, just as Dumbledore walked back to the courtroom to speak with Amelia Bones.

"I haven't heard from you in a long time Remus, how are things?" the Count asked in good mood.

"Well… I somehow survive, but seeing Sirius free makes it all better." the bedraggled-looking man grinned widely, while Drake shook his head.

"I might have a proposal for you" he claimed looking at the man who had been his student. "Make sure to floo to my place tomorrow morning, at 9. With your knowledge of magic, you shouldn't be 'surviving', but making good profits and actually living." He chastised before handing the werewolf a piece of paper with an address. "Don't be late" were the last words Remus heard before the older man was surrounded by his bodyguards and led out the ministry.

"What was all that about Dad?" asked Liz running to keep up with her father.

"How do you feel about learning some serious magic before school?" he asked her, and found her grinning

"Superb."

"Exactly my thoughts."