Chapter Eleven

The Aftermath of the Arrest

Minerva was sitting in her room and relaxing after a long day. She was thinking of her conversation with the sorting hat when there was loud banging on her quarters door. She knew right away it was Hagrid. "Hagrid, if you keep knocking so hard you'll break my door down," Minerva threatened as she put down her tea cup and went to answer it. She yanked the door open and found not only Hagrid standing there waiting for her, but most of the staff as well. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"They arrested the Headmaster," Professor Trelawney cried.

"It is true. Aurors are in his office right now ripping it apart," Hagrid said.

Severus snorted. "I think you've been listening to muggleborns again and their muggle terms."

"Okay, everyone, I will get to the bottom of this. Please go back to your rooms," Minerva said heading towards the headmaster's office. Of course the others weren't obeying, they followed along right behind her. Ignoring the crowed behind her, Minerva approached the Headmaster's office to find two men standing guard. "What is going on here?"

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall but we can't tell you," one young man said.

"You can't or won't?" Minerva demanded remembering both young men from her transfiguration class not long ago. One was a Hufflepuff and the other was a Ravenclaw. She wasn't about ready to back down from either one of them. "I want to talk to the person in charge."

"That's Kingsley, he is upstairs," said the one on Minerva's right. She had remembered the young man's name was Ryan. She believed his last name was Brown. He was Lavender Brown's cousin if she remembered correctly.

Minerva started to go forward but his partner, Minerva recalled that the man's name was Samuel Mathews, stopped her. "I can't let you," he said.

"Get your hands off me. I'm going up and you are not stopping me," she said and she went up stairs leaving the two stunned Aurors behind. Minerva has a small smile on her face as she walked. They were still scared of her even after they left Hogwarts so long ago.

The Aurors might be afraid of Minerva but they weren't afraid of the others. They forced the other Professors to stay down stairs. Severus would have pushed his way past like Minerva had, but he was laying low. He didn't like what was going on and knew it wasn't wise to draw attention to himself.

Minerva walked into Professor Dumbledore's office and found Kingsley talking to Mad Eye. "Moody, what is going on here?" Minerva asked as she approached the men.

"Minerva, it is good to see you again. We are sorry about the mess we are causing but it is necessary. It seems Albus is being accused of treason and the murder of James and Lily Potter," Mad Eye said.

"Impossible, he would go that far," Minerva said shaking in fear.

"We are afraid he did," Kingsley said.

Minerva was about to say something but a young woman walked over holding a bag full of lemon drops. "Kingsley, I think you should see this," Melissa Wood said.

"What is it?" Kingsley said looking at the lemon drops.

"These lemon drops are laced with potions. Several are harmless like calming potions but these…," Melissa said handing over another group of lemon drops. "…are laced with power boosting potions. They are highly addictive and change a person's personality after long period of time. They also start causing the opposite effect. A person has to keep taking the potion just to keep a normal magical level. Brewing the potions was declared illegal in the 1700's."

Kingsley looked at Minerva. "Who else besides the headmaster takes these lemon drops?"

"No one, he has offered them to anyone that comes into his office but I don't think anyone ever takes them," Minerva said shocked to learn of the potions that were inside the lemon drops.

While Minerva was taking in Albus potion abuse, Kingsley was asking, "How difficult is it to make this potion?"

"Very, it would need a potion master to do it," Melissa said.

Mad Eye smiled. "Snape," he said grinning.

This caught Minerva's attention. "You don't think?" she started to ask but stopped. She realized he could, but not for reasons they would think. Minerva knew that Severus was trapped at Hogwarts. He might be one be one of the brightest potion masters out there but he was trapped at Hogwarts because no one was willing to hire an ex-Death Eater.

Mad Eye couldn't wait to question Severus but Kingsley soon burst his bubble. "Minerva, would you tell Severus that Madam Bones will talk to him as soon as she arrives? If he leaves or tries to hide anything, he will be arrested and thrown in Azkaban with Dumbledore."

"I will. Is it possible that you will talk to the rest of us?" Minerva asked.

"It might be," Kingsley said.

"Well, I will inform everyone and if you need me, I will be nearby," Minerva said and she went to talk to the others. It wasn't going to be easy as there were several staff members who weren't going to accept this. Albus was their hero. He was prefect to them. He had been perfect to her but sadly over the past few years that perfection faded. She just didn't realize how far he had fallen.

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After the Wizengamot meeting, Lucius, Augusta and several others met in a smaller room. They were the Hogwarts Board of Governors Members. They knew they would have to address the issue of Dumbledore's arrest as it related to the school. Everyone was talking at once but Augusta quickly took control of the room. "Quiet everyone! We have a lot to talk about. Madam Bones did not say it at the meeting but she has discovered that not only has Albus taken money from the Potter and Black Estates, but he has been stealing funds from Hogwarts too. At this moment in time, we don't have enough money to keep the school open for a full year."

"What?" one member shouted.

"How could he?" another snapped.

"He could because every one of you saw him as a saint!" Lucius growled. "I warned you he was up no good."

"Enough, Lucius, we don't need this right now. I think there is a way of working around everything. I went over the deal with the Tri-Wizard Tournament. We can't have the contest at the school. It would drain us even more, but we can ask one of the other schools to host it. This way the children can go school abroad and we can cut costs by eliminating several staff members temporarily," Augusta said.

"Where would they stay?" Lucius asked.

"There are five magical carriages large enough to hold all the students. Four will be used for each of the houses. The last one will hold the extra supplies needed and act as an infirmary for the students. The carriages are able to transform from living quarters to teaching space with little problem." Augusta explained.

"Who would go?" an old witch asked.

"I say the heads of house, nurse and maybe the game keeper," Lucius said smugly.

"I agree. The Thestrals could transport them. I believe it is about time those beasts do something other than transporting the students to and from the train station," Nott said.

"I agree," Lucius replied.

Over the next hour, they fought over which school should be selected. The dark followers wanted Durmstrang and the others wanted Beauxbaton. A vote was taken and finally Beauxbaton won. The only thing the school board had to do was get the other Ministries to agree and contact Minerva. It was decided that until Dumbledore's trial was over she would be acting Headmistress. They would talk about who would replace Dumbledore later after they were sure he was going to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban.

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The Grangers, Tonks and Scarlett walked into Harry and Neville's hotel room later that evening. The kids were sitting around talking and playing a game of Exploding Snap. The kids all looked up when adults walked. "Uh, oh, we are in trouble," Neville said.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Because they have that look in their eye, the look they give you before you get a lecture," Neville said.

Ted smiled and said, "Normally, you would be right Neville but not this time. We just came to talk." Ted and Andi sat down on one of the empty beds in the room. The others found places to sit as well as Ted started to speak. "We figured you should hear it from us before reading in the paper tomorrow. Albus Dumbledore, Minister Fudge and Barty Crouch were arrested this afternoon. Harry, we are sorry but it seems Albus might have been the one that murdered your parents."

Harry looked at the couple in shock. "But my memories?" Harry said trying to understand all of this.

"Son, you were a baby. It is possible that Albus placed that memory inside you. He wanted you to trust him," Andi said placing a loving hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry looked up at her with tears starting to show. "Why?"

"We don't know yet. Amelia is digging for the truth right now. We believe that one of the reasons is to control Hogwarts," Ted said.

"Why Hogwarts? It is just a school," Harry said.

"No, it isn't," Hermione said pulling out her History of Hogwarts book. "It says here that Hogwarts is the only magical building in existence that thinks for itself." Hermione was going to go and read more but the look on Harry's face stopped her.

Harry pulled his legs close to chest and leaned his chin on his knees. "He killed them for a building," Harry said tears flowing down his cheeks.

Andi moved beside Harry and pulled the boy towards her. "It is okay to cry," she said. Harry at first fought it, but slowly he gave in allowing himself to cry for the first time since he was a baby.

Mrs. Granger motioned to the other children. They got hint and everyone left the room except Andi. She didn't say anything. She just sat their holding him. Harry cried himself out finally and leaned against her trying to order his thoughts. "You feel better?" she asked.

"I don't feel anything," Harry said.

"That's normal after a good cry," she said gently lifting Harry's head up to hers. "You do know that everyone cries now and then."

"Not according to Uncle Vernon, he always says that freaks aren't worth tears," Harry said.

"I would like to find out if your Uncle Vernon is crying now," Andi said with a sly smile on her face. Harry looked at her puzzled and she explained. "He's in prison Harry for child abuse. Trust me when I say people who are put in prison for hurting a child are treated differently by the other prisoners."

Harry didn't understand her comment and really didn't want to. He was doing his best not think about his Uncle or any of the Dursley's at this moment. "I still don't understand why Dumbledore did all of this?"

"That Harry is a question everyone is asking themselves. Albus Dumbledore was a hero to all of us. It is very difficult to understand. I promise you this. The truth will come out and when it does you'll find out with the rest of us," Andi promised.

Harry sighed at this and leaned close to Andi. He didn't want to move away at this moment. It was nice to be held. He didn't remember what he felt like behind held by someone that actually cared about him.

The door bust open right then and a large black dog ran into the room. Padfoot leaped on Harry and Andi knocking them both over. Padfoot licked Harry in the face as Andi got to her feet. "Sirius Black, are you out of your mind?" Andi yelled.

Sirius changed back into human form and sat next to Harry laughing along side his godson. "Hello, cousin!" Sirius said.

"Hi, Sirius," Harry said brushing away the tears. This time these tears were because he was laughing so hard.

"Oh…" Andi growled. She didn't know if she wanted to hug him or curse him. She decided to give her cousin a hug and said, "Isn't it dangerous for you to be here?"

"Nope, Amelia felt it was safer for me to be out of England for awhile. She arranged for Remus and I to have a hotel room next to yours," Sirius said.

"Yes, but you should be in dog form. The muggles are to think you are my Seeing Eye dog. It doesn't work when you run off and leave me," Remus growled.

"Oops," Sirius said grinning. "I forgot."

"Of course," Remus said as he close the door behind him. "Hi, Harry."

"Hi, Professor," Harry said.

"Just Remus Harry. I'm not a professor any more," Remus said as he sat down on the bed. "You tell him?"

"Yes, I did," Andi replied.

"Um, he is the room," Harry said.

Sirius laughed and said, "Forgive, Moony, Harry. He is upset with me for leaving him with that Texan down stairs."

"You did that on purpose!" Remus yelled.

"Of course, that old bat wanted to bread me!" Sirius yelled.

"Okay, boys, behave," Andi said shaking her head. "The two of you really need to grow up."

Harry just sat there smile. He was enjoying watching Sirius and Remus bicker. There was a knock on the door and Ted walked in. "I thought I heard yelling in here. Hello, Sirius. Remus."

"Hi, Ted. Are you ready to defend me?" Sirius asked.

"Of course, so how much money do you want to take from the Ministry for false imprisonment?" Ted asked as he sat down next to his wife.

"Nothing, I want to be Head Warlock," Sirius said grinning.

"You? What? Why?" Remus asked.

"Because it would tick Lucius off that is why," Sirius said.

"Hold it! Lucius Malfoy was named acting Head Warlock?" Andi said.

"I'm afraid so," Sirius said.

"Great, I'm really going to hear it from Cissa the next time we run into each other," Andi growled. Andi wouldn't change her life with her husband for nothing in the world, but the only time she hated it is when she had to deal with her sister. Narcissa loved rubbing it in on how great Lucius was doing and all the nice things he bought her. It was just sickening.

"Well, don't worry about your sister. If she steps out of line, I'll just throw her out of the family. Oh, by the way. Welcome back to the Blacks," Sirius said smiling.

Ted and Andi looked at him. "Are you ser…joking?" Andi said.

"No, I'm not joking. I talked to the Goblins before coming here. The moment my name is cleared. You and Dora are officially back in the family. I'm transferring a lot of money to your name and before you argue with me, I want you to hear me out. Your mother and mine will roll over in their graves having you back in the family. I want you to think of it as revenge. Besides, I have a good reason for wanting to spend a lot of money. You just have to trust me." Sirius said.

"I don't want your money, Sirius," Andi said.

"I know but you are going to get it and that is an order from your LORD!" Sirius said.

"Lord?" Harry said confused.

Remus smiled and explained. "Sirius here is Lord Black or Barron Black depending on the title he uses. Once he gets his freedom, he can take his seat in the Wizengamot. The Blacks and several other pure blood families have the only permanent seats. There are others that people get voted into but mostly the pure bloods controls everything that goes on there."

"But you should know this, you're a Lord as well. In fact, Harry you are really Duke Harold James Potter."

"Duke?" Harry said shocked.

"Let me guess, the old goat didn't tell you did he?" Sirius said.

"No, in fact, I don't know much about my family," Harry said.

"Well, the first thing I'm doing when I'm free is take you to the Potter Estate. I think it is time you meet your family," Sirius said.

"Meet them? Are their any alive?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry. Sirius is talking about meeting their paintings. Pure bloods leave their images of themselves behind in paintings," Andi explained. She was going to talk to Sirius about his order later but figured she would let the matter drop until she was alone with him. She knew her cousin well enough to know he is hiding something and from the look on his face. He was hiding something big!

"Is there one of Mum and Dad?" Harry asked.

"There should be. I know James did the spell that set them up before Lily and he went into hiding," Sirius said.

"You mean, I would get a chance to talk to them?" Harry said sitting up at this.

"Yes, but remember they will not be your parents. It would just be imprints of them," Remus pointed out.

"Yes, but I would know what they thought and felt. I would actually get to know what they were like before they died," Harry said.

"Yes, you would but right now I think we should find the others. It is close to supper time," Andi said.

"Okay," Harry said getting up. "Remus and Sirius can join us right?"

Sirius smiled and said, "Padfoot can." He changed back into dog form. Remus took advantage of it and put the harness on Sirius.

"Now, you can't get away form me," Remus said. Padfoot growled and gave Remus a dirty look. "I know. You'll get even with me later but for now you will wear it." Padfoot snorted at this and everyone laughed even Harry.

Harry went to the desk right then and pulled out his magical camera. He took a quick shock of Sirius and Remus together. "I can't wait to put this with my other pictures."

Padfoot bent down at this and placed a paw over his face. Remus laughed even harder and said, "Oh, this is something I'm never going to forget for a long time."