Thirteen

Six weeks. Six weeks. That's how long it took for Sirius to be declared innocent and given compensation for his unjust imprisonment. He shook his head, the rain causing long, dark strands of hair to stick to his face. Ick. The first thing, he decided, was to make himself presentable. It wouldn't do for him to walk around looking like an escaped con, especially since he wasn't one. He smiled at that thought. Never did he think he'd walk the streets a free man again, but thanks to the Minister, he was doing exactly that.

That was something of a wonder in itself. The Minister of Magic himself had come to secure Sirius' release from Azkaban, and as far as he could tell, he'd done everything in his power to assure that the once-incarcerated man receive a fair and speedy trial. The Minister had leaned on the Wizengamot to consider all evidence presented for Sirius' defense, and had himself signed the warrant for the arrest of one Peter Pettigrew. Of course, one the traitor had been discovered living at the Weasley residence, the Prophet had had a field day. There had been all kinds of headlines proclaiming the Weasleys to have knowingly harbored a wanted man and suspected mass murderer. Arthur had taken it all in stride, and after he and his family had submitted to rigorous questioning under Veritaserum, the Minister had cleared the family of all charges and awarded them several thousand Galleons for turning the rat in.

It had taken several weeks for the Wizengamot to look over all of the evidence presented, as well as question Sirius, the Weasleys, Barty Crouch Sr., Albus Dumbledore, some mysterious source who refused to be named, and (once they had him) Peter Pettigrew, but once they had, Sirius' innocence could not be denied. Pettigrew was sent to Azkaban for life and Barty Crouch Sr. was let go from his position as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Neither of those occurrences surprised Sirius in the least bit. What was surprising was Dumbledore's removal from the Wizengamot after it was discovered that he had known of Sirius' innocence and kept mum about it. Sirius had been angry when he'd found out, but he'd reconciled that anger with the knowledge that the headmaster had most likely been distraught over the deaths of the Potters and had only wanted to see someone punished for their murder. After all, that was why Moony hadn't visited him, wasn't it?

Speaking of visits, Sirius thought to himself, I'm supposed to bestow one upon my dear cousin this afternoon. That had perhaps been the most surprising – that Lucius and Narcissa had invited him to stay with at Malfoy Manor until he could get his parent's old house habitable again. The letter he'd received at the Leaky Cauldron late last night had implied that Narcissa wished to reconcile with her remaining family members. The reason for the sudden change of heart hadn't been clear, but Sirius had still sent them a letter back agreeing to give it a go. After all, if it didn't work out he could just go back to rooming at the Cauldron.

Somehow though, Sirius doubted that would be necessary.

Xxx

Lucius Malfoy stood in the Manor's foyer alongside Narcissa and Draco awaiting the arrival of their guest. At precisely four o'clock the wards announced a visitor on the premises, and Lucius swept out of the ornate French doors and across the plush, green lawn to meet him.

"Sirius," he greeted, shaking the man's hand and clapping him warmly on the shoulder, "welcome to our home. We're glad you could make it. No, don't worry about your luggage; I'll have a house elf bring it up. Dobby! See to Master Black's luggage, and mind you don't jostle it about. Come Sirius, Narcissa is nearly beside herself in anxiety."

"Is she really?"

"Oh yes, quite. She's changed her clothes and Draco's a half dozen times since your letter came this morning, and Merlin's balls don't get me started on the linens."

Sirius laughed. "Is it really that bad?"

Lucius rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "You've no idea. They're garish. Be sure to compliment them, will you? "

Once inside, Narcissa introduced their son and they all adjourned to the sitting room for tea.

"I told you they were horrible, didn't I?" Lucius whispered to Sirius as Narcissa admonished Draco for leaving his training broom lying about.

Sirius snorted into his tea. "Narcissa," he said, "I love what you've done with the place."

Lucius hid his smirk behind a steaming cup of tea. Perhaps reconciling with his estranged cousin wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Xxx

Albus Dumbledore was in pickle. The decision to remove him from the Wizengamot had come as a shock to him, and now he wasn't as revered as he had been. It was an inconvenience, yes, but it wasn't anything to write home about. It's not like he couldn't run again next year, after all.

Shaking his head at the small setback, he turned his attention to the students seated before him. Some, like Charlie Weasley, showed great promise. That boy would be quite the Quidditch hero at the rate he was going. Others, like Dorothea Nott, were nothing but trouble. As a matter of fact, all the Slytherins were trouble. It was like they were bred to be the very bane of his existence. After all, it had been the combined plotting of Cornelius and Lucius that had gotten him removed from the Wizengamot. And for all his slinking about in the shadows, Severus was hardly any better. Albus received more missives from angry parents about Snape's biased behavior and classroom ethics (or lack thereof) than he received for all the other professors combined. The only person more loathed than Severus was Argus Filch, and that was only because he oversaw detention.

Albus turned his eyes to the instructor in question, who was currently engrossed in a conversation with Professor Sprout about some new hybrid plant or another. For all his postulation as omniscient, Albus still hadn't been able to figure the slick Potions Master out. The man was an enigma, and if there was anything that the Headmaster hated more that Slytherins, it was mysterious Slytherins. They were always plotting, and keeping secrets, and attempting to take over society, and people like Albus were always expected to stop them. Despite what the general populace (and Wizengamot) believed, he was sick and tired of saving the world. It seemed like every time he knocked out one Dark lord, another one popped up out of the woodwork to take his place. It was infuriating, to say the very least. Was it really too much to ask that parents keep a better handle on their children? Yes, Albus did head the most prestigious school for magical education in the United Kingdom, but with two hundred some-odd students to oversee, he couldn't (and shouldn't) be expected to play the role of parent for every student every second of every day. It was simply impossible!

Sighing forlornly, the once- esteemed educator pondered the growing mess that seemed to be the present, all the while pretending to listen to Minerva's ramblings and discreetly attempting to vanish every green vegetable on his plate without Poppy noticing.

Merlin, but how he hated peas.