AN: I can't say much about my lack of updates except that RL does take priority - My apologies. I have got this chapter up as well as 2 others completed so they will be uploaded once per week and hopefully I can keep it going. Hope there are still some of you out there with some faith left in me :)
Early Monday Morning - Hospital:
It was like something out of a dream, the first one in years that didn't include ridicule and hateful words shouted at him from twisted versions of his best friend and his wife. He refused to close his eyes for longer than a blink for fear that everything would disappear again and he would be back in his dank cell, the sounds of screaming echoing of the walls. He still had some flashes of his life before the darkness, just a small handful of memories that he fiercely protected, that he had hidden deep within himself to keep them safe from the Dementors. He couldn't even bring himself to wonder about little Harry, not yet, just in case this was all some trick, a terrible, twisted new punishment for the crimes they thought he had committed.
He shook his matted black hair and tried to clear his thoughts. He gazed out the charmed window again. He vaguely remembered St. Mungo's. It hadn't changed much. Still smelt of sterilizing potions and bad food - not to mention the constant up and down between hope and sorrow that plagued the building. The smack of shoes on the polished floors caught his attention and he turned towards the door to see a Healer enter, followed by a tall women with a monocle and no nonsense look about her, Lucius Malfoy and his cousin, Narcissa. The healer nodded to the monocle woman and said something too softly for him to hear before leaving the room. He looked at the others who had moved towards his bed, the tall blond woman looked so familiar to him...
"Cissa?" He stared in shock. She looked so much older, still beautiful to be sure and there was a regal air about her, as was with every member of the Black family, but she was older that the last time he had seen her. How long had he been in that hell?!
"Mr Black," started the women with the monocle, "you may not remember me but I am..."
"Amelia Bones, sister of Edgar Bones. He was a good man. I'm sorry I couldn't help get him and his family to safety faster. I wish I could have done more for him." Sirius stated, turning to look at her fully, staring directly into her eyes, unflinchingly. He did his best to keep his voice as strong and calm as possible, even though he was terrified on the inside. Was she here to blame him for their murders to? Was he to be charged with further crimes? He flinched when she cleared her throat but kept his eyes steady.
"Yes, he was. However, I am not here to discuss my brother. I am here in an official capacity which would be as the Head of the DMLE. Your cousin, Lady Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black and her husband, Lord Lucius Malfoy, have been campaigning for months to have you removed from Azkaban. Their request was almost denied until they were able to prove that you had not been given a trial in the first place by searching through the Ministry Archives. Since there is no record of you ever having a trial, and we have had no confirmation from the previous Minister that she preceded over a trial for you, it stands to reason that you were imprisoned unfairly - despite the so call confession you gave when you were arrested." Amelia removed her monocle and cleaned it carefully with a small tissue.
"No matter, whether you are guilty or innocent, such disregard of protocol not acceptable. You shall be staying here in St. Mungo's under a full guard and monitoring wards until your trial on Friday at the end of this week. This time allowance is to give the Healers enough time to determine your current mental state and capacity in order to see if you are even fit to stand trial at this point in time. I'm sure this is a lot for you to take in at the moment but I do have one more question for you before I take my leave: The Malfoys have suggested that Veritaserum be given to you at your trial so that you can defend yourself without the threat of anyone saying you are lying. Do you have any objections to this course of action?"
Silence filled the room and Amelia adjusted her monocle, a little out of habit, a little out of the tension that was hanging in the air.
Grey eyes met grey and the two cousins saw each other for the first time without the clouds of prejudice, School houses or family problems - just their cousin, their family who needed them.
Narcissa walked around the Department head and moved quickly to the bed, sitting down and grasping the hand of the last living male of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black.
"Siri, please, tell her that you will agree to the serum! We know you didn't kill the Potters! We know you were never a follower of the Dark Lord and we know you would never betray the Potters, no matter what the cost to your own safety!"
Her eyes were wide and expectant as she waited for his answer, but Sirius was still staring at her blankly, like he was unable to process that he was actually being given a chance to tell his story - that he might have a shot at freedom. Narcissa looked at her husband pleadingly until he walked forward, and whispered quietly to Madame Bones, requesting a few minutes of privacy for his wife and her cousin. Amelia narrowed her eyes, but gave her permission grudgingly, along with a warning of "5 minutes only" over her shoulder before stepping outside the room and closing the door behind her. As soon as the door closed Narcissa tightened her grip on Sirius's hands and pulled him closer towards her.
"Sirius, listen me closely okay, listen to your cousin." She held his head in her hands now, keeping eye contact and making sure he was paying attention to what she was saying. When she saw that he was focused on her, she took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Siri, the Healers say that your years in Azkaban, while horrible, did bring about something good. When they did a health scan on you last week, they discovered something that you need to know. In your initial scans, they found a large amount of magical residue, mostly from compulsion charms, still lingering within your mind as well as attached to your magical core. From what they can tell, the residue is from powerful charms that are meant to alter behavior and counteract personality traits. In basic terms it means that someone forced you to change the way you though, forced you to change your personality and behavior without any thought to the long term effects it would have on your mind or magic. The tampering made you forget your life and loved ones, it made you forget everything good about your family and turned you against everything you once held dear." She took a breath and then made sure he was still listening. Sirius was holding her hands on his cheeks, his eyes wide and confused, "What else Cissa? What else did they find? I can see you have more to say. Tell me!"
She nodded quickly, and then glanced at Lucius before continuing, "The healers also found some very old traces of magic that is consistent with Oblivate. They say that the areas affected and the level of precision would require that the wizard or witch who did this to you was not only very powerful, but also someone who knew you well enough for you to trust them. The Memory Charm residue is covering a lot of areas of your Mindscape, some of the memories have be altered so carefully that they barely look tampered with, others are completely gone and then there are some that are buried incredibly deep in your subconscious. They are extremely surprised that they were even able to notice the traces of compulsions and charms, but luckily for you the Healer who did your first scan is a Prodigy in his field. He says that your time in Azkaban has weakened the charms hold on you and it should be possible for you to break away from any outside influences. Sirius, You MUST think back to our childhood! Think back to our shopping trip to Diagon Alley when you got your letter! Think back to your first year and what happened at your sorting; think back to what you told me when I found you at the owlery that night too afraid to send your parents that letter! And how hard you, your family, all of us, fought to get you resorted! Think about what the Sorting Hat said to you! You told me about it in the owlery!" Narcissa's eyes were wet with tears as she struggled to maintain her composure. She looked up at her husband, unknowing what more to say. Lucius stepped closer to the bed and put his hand on who might as well be his brother-in-law, "Black, do you remember anything, even a small detail of that time at all? Can you recall any of the memories that Narcissa has just told you about? It is vital that you try to remember them!" Lucius's voice was calm, but urgent, constantly aware of the small amount of time he had left to convince the seemingly broken man to take the truth serum.
"I….I remember small bits of that year...I think I remember when I got my letter, but I don't remember going shopping with you. I remember some of my first year, mostly meeting James and Remus, I remember the sorting hat being put on my head but then it gets blurry again. I remember having an argument with someone...but I can't remember if it was James or Bella I was fighting with. I know I sent a letter to Father because I got disowned the next day but I don't remember you being at the owlery at all! Though the memories get clearer towards the end of the year, when Dumbledore convinced me to stop fighting the sorting and to be happy in Gryffindor…" he trailed off, his eyes widening, "The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, not Gryffindor! It said it couldn't though, and it didn't know why!" His eyes were wide and frantic; his breathing was becoming erratic as memory after memory started returning one after the other. Each new memory stirred a though that in turn branched off and broke through other hidden seals and magical blocks until he was able to see everything that had been taken from him. Most of the locked memories were open to him again and now he knew who had taken them.
"Dumbledore" He said through gritted teeth. "I will kill him!"
"Shush cousin!" whispered Narcissa fiercely, her hand covering his mouth, "You cannot speak like that with Madame Bones just outside! We have more to tell you and less time than we wanted to talk privately! Please, agree to the use of veritaserum so that the trial can go ahead! We will be able to visit you this week before the trail to talk more. Sirius, think of Harry, he is such a good boy, and that old fool is already plotting and scheming and changing his fate like a pawn on a chess board! Severus and Lucius are working on a way as we speak to get him resorted but so far it is not going well. We need you free Sirius, and with the Ministry in your debt, you could force the resorting and same Harry from going through the same fate as you! The hat said the same to Harry as it did to you! He was put in Gryffindor against his will!" Her voice was pleading and glancing at the door as she heard footsteps approaching. She turned back to Sirius, "Please cousin, please do this for me as the fate of our families, that of your Godson and possibly the magical world as we know it rests on getting your name cleared and getting Harry away from Dumbledore's clutches!"
The room door opened and Amelia stepped in. She raised an eyebrow at the tears in Lady Malfoys eyes but said nothing; she just stared questioningly at the patient in the bed. The question in her eyes clear. Sirius took a deep breath and turned slightly to face her.
"Madame Bones, I, Sirius Black, agree to take Veritaserum of my own free will for the duration of my trial under the condition that any and all questions are approved by, and asked by one Severus Snape. Not only is he a Potions Master, but he and I have a…bad…history from our school days. No one who knows witnesses our relationship would ever accuse him of favoring me or aiding me secretly in anyway. Are these terms acceptable to you Madame?"
The department head cocked her head to the side slightly, and then nodded. "Very well. I will ensure that Professor Snape is sent a summons for your trial and informed of his duties. Now then, the healers are here to begin your in depth testing to clarify the initial reports. As Mrs, Malfoy is your cousin, she, as well as her husband and your Lawyer will be the only ones allowed to visit you, although I believe Professor Snape will stop on Wednesday to write up the questions you will be asked. He will then bring them to me for approval. Should there be any questions that I need him to ask you, he will have that list for your approval as well.
If all goes well, you should be cleared by the healers by Thursday evening. I will be here once a day to hear their findings and to check in on you as well as answer any questions you have, within reason. Now I must ask that you both leave now, Lady Malfoy, Lord Malfoy - so that Mr Black can begin is treatments. He has a lot of work ahead of him."
With that, she nodded once in his direction, and left the room, making way for two healers, a young man and woman in mint green robes to enter quickly after her departure. Each of their robes held a small name tag and a small blue pin which identified them as junior healers. Lucius, always alert quickly took quick notice of the rooms new occupants and immediately recalled what information he knew of them: Junior Healer Amanda Kent (Ravenclaw) was a young woman with dark auburn hair, bright blue eyes and 23 years of age. Currently in her final year of residency before becoming a fully qualified healer. The male name is Junior Healer Andrew Duncan, a tall, lithe youth of 18 years. Lucius knew less about him as he was so young though he did note that Andrew eyes and hair were both almost unnaturally dark and they reminded Lucius eerily of Severus. He looked back over to his wife and her cousin to check their time and then swept his eyes over the junior healers again. He knows that they had been specifically selected, along with their Supervisor, due to their specific talents and recommendations. Amanda Kent was top of her class, both at Hogwarts and at the Academy of Healing Arts - Surpassing many school records and developing an incredible ability to sense and heal old and forgotten injuries that are unknown or do not show up on the regular scans. She also was well known for being able to gain any patients confidence, regardless of any anger or refusal to communicate with other healers, which made her invaluable in delicate cases that the patients refused to talk or couldn't express themselves adequately. She was well sort after by Aurors who handled scared or hurt children or abused witches or wizards.
On the other hand, Healer Andrew Duncan, from what he could glean, was equally as impressive, if not more so due to his age, although in quite a unique way. Though only a year out of Hogwarts, also a Ravenclaw if he was not mistaken, Duncan had shown an impressive aptitude for the Mind Arts and surpassed all his peers at the Academy, as well as most of those in years above him when it came to the mind arts. The 18 year old was easily about to enter the minds of patients, sometimes without their knowledge if it was needed, and help them heal from metal attacks, misfired or used memory curses or even help them regain memories thought lost from childhood. The Chief Healer said that he was ambitious - maybe too ambitious, as when he had been told of his new assignment, he had told his Superiors that if he helped Sirius Black, then afterwards, regardless of the trial's outcome, he was to be given access to work with the long term care patients who had lost their minds to the Cruciatus Curse. Apparently the young mind healer had his mind set on trying to navigate the minds of lost souls and guide them back to reality. Again, Lucius was struck at how similar the boy looked to the Potions Master as well as how they seemed to have the same personality traits.
The Lord of Malfoy Manor straightened his back slightly and moved a strand of ice blond hair out of his face, smiling to himself as he wondered if in order to excel so naturally at the mind arts as Severus and Junior Healer Duncan did, was it a requirement to have dark hair, darker eyes and an even darker disposition? What was it about Natural Occulmens and Legilimens that they always seemed so cold to everyone else? Nevertheless, young as these to are, even as junior healers were the best at what they do and Malfoys always get the best they can for themselves - and for their family. Lucius looked at his pocket watch and then moved forward and gently tapped his wife on the shoulder.
The two healers looked up from their papers when he man moved towards the bed to get his wife's attention. They said not a word and kept silent as their new high priority patient said goodbye to his cousin and her husband. They both knew there was a lot riding on this case, what it was and what it would do for them and their futures - regardless of if the man was innocent or guilty, their job was the same - make sure he is in the best health he possibly can be, both mentally and physically in 5 days so that he can stand trial. Lost in their own head for a moment as the contemplated how they would accomplish their goals, Narcissa leaned towards Sirius and hugged him, her hands getting tangled in his hair briefly.
"Rest well now cousin," whispered Narcissa, "I will be back tomorrow with some clean clothes and supplies for you, and I will wash and cut you hair properly, help give you a shave. I will also bring newspapers and such so you can catch up on what's been happening in the world. Stay strong Siri, and try and remember more about the past. Here, this is for you. It's a journal for you to write in. Try first to write down everything as you remember it normally, wanting to be in Gryffindor, the Potters, Dumbledore, your classes, everything. Then, I want you to dig deeper and try sort the lies from the truth. You don't have much time before the trial, but at least the healers here will document every compulsion scar, spell residue and block, altered or deleted memory in your mind. The healers we got you are the best we could find, even if they are younger. Please listen to them and let them help you. Rest well Siri." She handed him a medium sized book - bound in black leather with the Black family crest embossed on the front. He slowly traced the pattern, a foggy memory of his father writing in a similar book whenever he was in his office entered his mind briefly.
"Narcissa, we must go." Lucius's voice cut through the memory, bringing Sirius back into reality.
"Thank you Cissa, and you Lord Malfoy, Lucius for everything - you have given me that which I have not had in many years - Hope for a future and the possibility of seeing my Godson again."
The usually reserved Lady Malfoy threw her arms around her cousin and hugged him tightly one more time before standing and smoothing down her dress and taking her husband's arm, "We will see you tomorrow Siri. Listen to the Healers."
And with a last nod from Lucius, they were gone. Sirius turned his head towards the two young adults in the corner and gave them a crooked yet weary grin as they came towards him, "Guess I'm all yours for now then huh? Be gentle with me yeah?"