Chapter 12: Ancient Allies and Sirius Black
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter and am in no way associated with J K Rowling or Warner Brothers.
Birds took to the sky in surprise as five dragons in human form apparated inside the Forbidden Forest. Minerva was shocked that they had chosen to come here.
"Why did you choose to bring us here Amber?" Minerva asked.
"It's away from prying eyes." Amber said, "Why? Is there a problem?"
Minerva simply pointed behind the group who turned to find that there were at least twenty centaurs behind them with arrows fitted to bows ready to be fired at a moment's notice. Amber and Erfolg were not worried about this at all but the other three were still unnerved by this show of force. An elderly centaur stepped forwards and spoke directly to the group.
"Why have you trespassed on our sacred land, humans?" The centaur asked in a steely voice.
"If you tell us your name we shall tell you ours." Erfolg said.
"I am Ronan, chief of the centaurs of this forest." the now identified Ronan announced proudly.
"Our names are Erfolg, Amber, Daphne, Tracey, and Minerva." Erfolg said motioning his hand at each of their group when he spoke their names, "Our intentions are to train Daphne, Tracey, and Minerva in our ways."
"You are but younglings our race is far older than yours and has more of a claim on this forest than you do." Ronan said gruffly, "Leave now!"
"We will do no such thing." Amber said, "Your species is but an infant compared to ours."
"Our species has been on this world far longer than mere hum..." Ronan began.
"We are not humans." Erfolg interrupted, "Our kind goes back hundreds of eons. What you see before you are the last of those who consider your kind allies and if I recall my parent's history lessons well you regarded us as allies and friends over the past millennia. Both our races fought against the demons together if I recall correctly."
"You're dragons?" Ronan asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Amber said, "Daphne, Tracey, and Minerva were human but 5 hours ago. However of their own will they decided to help us and themselves by becoming dragons. Before they did we explained the history of this planet and our roles as guardians of this world. They understood the risks when they became dragons."
"If they are dragons then let them prove it!" an angry centaur butted in.
In a blinding flash of light, five pillars of flame encompassed the five dragons now standing in their true forms before the centaurs.
"Come with us then." Ronan said, "We should catch each other up on what has been going on in the world. There is word that another invasion is starting and one of the demonic races is already here in disguise."
"What?" Erfolg and Amber started, "When did this happen?"
"We heard about this shortly before the most recent wizarding war." Ronan said, "We suspect that the goblins are demons that were left abandoned by the majority of their force when they fled during the last invasion."
"Wait a second." Minerva said, "Are you saying that the goblins are demons?"
"Demons in disguise." Ronan explained, "We suspect that they are imps or something similar. Their determination to enslave dragons lends credence to the idea that they serve alongside the other demons."
"Well if that is the case we will need to figure out a way to free Sirius Black as he was a major ally of the dragons in the last wizarding war." Erfolg said.
"Wait a moment." Minerva said suddenly with a look of extreme concern on her face, "You said that the goblins had entered an alliance with Voldemort correct? What if it was the other way around? What if Voldemort is helping the goblins?"
"The newborn's logic is sound." Ronan said.
"I've felt the presence of Voldemort here but I can't pinpoint where he is. It's almost like he is only half here." Erfolg said.
"This is troubling news indeed." Ronan said, "How the hell did he manage to survive the encounter with your parents?"
"Horcruxes." Erfolg snarled.
"The bastard!" Ronan whispered.
"We will need to assault the bank of Gringotts soon." Erfolg said. If we can free Sirius then he would be a powerful ally to us against any that serve under Voldemort. I think we need to consider, at least for the time being, that Voldemort is in charge of a demonic cult working for the goblins."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"How are we going to free Sirius?" Daphne asked.
"We should hit the books in the library." Tracey said, "If there is a way to free him then surely they would be there."
"You're correct Tracey." Minerva said, "The library does indeed contain books on law as that was a subject that was once taught at Hogwarts."
"Alright then." Amber said, "Ronan can we count on you for support in the assault?"
"We will be there alongside you as we have done so in the past." Ronan said proudly, "We will begin working on a suitable assault plan on the bank, just be careful. I get the feeling that their are more spies there than just Voldemort."
"We will, and thank you for all your help Ronan." Amber said as the five dragons bowed to the chieftain.
They transformed back to human form, turned, and started walking straight for the entrance to the forbidden forest and ultimately the library.
When they reached the border between trees and grounds they were a decent way from a hut with an extremely tall person just outside the building.
"We should hurry before he notices us." Erfolg said, putting up a mobile privacy field around the five of them.
"He is a half giant and almost completely trustworthy, but he has a hard time keeping secrets. He does find dragons fascinating though, so would probably be a rather good ally if he can overcome his inability to keep secrets." Minerva said as they jogged up to the castle.
"We could ask him if we can have a talk with later after we have worked out a way to free Sirius." Daphne interrupted.
"Daphne's right." Tracey agreed, "We have priorities right now. We have to find out what is going on in that bank and train up to get inside there with minimal risk to everyone."
At this point they had arrived at the library. It was almost empty as most students had no reason to use the library yet. There was only a single occupant of the entire area. A stern looking woman who they assumed was the librarian.
"This way." Minerva said leading the group over to a section marked law.
Erfolg instantly noticed how the books in this section had a faint glow surrounding each book. Looking at everyone else he could tell that everyone else had noticed this as well.
"We should get out of here." Amber said urgently.
"Agreed." Daphne said.
As a group they quickly got themselves out of the library failing to notice a rather angry looking Dumbledore hiding in the shadows. They quickly headed back to the forbidden forest where they hurried to a secluded area that was surrounded by tall trees.
"Well I think our next best option is to head to London and go to Flourish and Blots." Erfolg suggested.
Everyone else agreed with that so in a pillar of fire they were off to London. Within minutes of finding the law section Erfolg found the perfect solution.
"Here!" Erfolg exclaimed, "If the accused is accused of a crime where an oath would have rendered the individual incapable of doing said crime then the accused is immediately innocent on those charges."
"That's good and all Erfolg." Amber started, "But we don't have a way to prove that Pettigrew was guilty."
"What if we projected a memory from Sirius that proved that he wasn't guilty? We can slow it down or even pause it if necessary." Daphne asked.
"According to this book there is a law stating that that method is admissible as court evidence." Tracey said.
"Well we can go and see the Head of the DMLE today about this." Minerva said, "She would have no excuse not to look into this matter as there is a lack of a trial that even proven killers like the Lestranges got, and that is against the law. To be sentenced to Azkaban you have to have a trial."
"Alright." Erfolg said, "Let's go there now, but keep your guard up, there is no telling how many death eaters are working in the ministry, the Head of the DMLE could even be one. We won't know for sure if we can trust her before we meet her. Amber and I will be able to sense her intentions as soon as we get inside due."
Everyone grimaced at this thought.
"For this reason, Daphne and Tracey..." Erfolg started.
"You're not leaving us behind are you?" Daphne asked worriedly, she didn't want to miss out on something as important as this and could tell her friend Tracey didn't either. She was also sure that Minerva wouldn't want to be left behind either.
"No, we aren't." Amber replied gently, "We are simply suggesting that you learn how to use your fire in human form before we go to the ministry, both in offence and defence. There is a very real threat that we will face death eaters today. But, to do that we will need to go back to the forest."
Once they were back an eager Tracey couldn't hold back from finding out any longer.
"So how do we do it?" a very eager Tracey asked.
"You can will your fire to protect you and those around you by forming it into a dome around you. This will stop both spells and physical objects, passing through to us. However, this doesn't stop us from using our fire and throwing physical objects back at enemies. It is a one way shield." Erfolg explained, "Simply will your fire to surround our group and it will do so."
With that three layers of translucent fiery domes surrounded the five dragons.
"Very good." Erfolg said, each of these shields would stand up to several killing curses.
"Using your fire as an offensive weapon works in much the same way. You will it to come out of your hands in either balls of fire or streams of fire." Amber started.
"That sounds easy enough." Daphne said.
"It is, but you must be careful." Amber stressed, "You need to keep an eye on your surroundings for innocent people in the area and hazards that could be drastically affected by your fire."
The new dragons now realized that though they had enormous power they would have to be very careful when using fire to attack back as innocent people could get hurt. With that they apparated into the ministry of magic's atrium.
They walked over to the guest desk where a man who looked bored out of his mind was sitting reading a newspaper entitled The Daily Prophet.
"Can I help you?" the man asked.
"We need to speak to the Head of the DMLE." Erfolg said.
"And why do you need to speak to the Head of the DMLE?" the man asked waving his wand at some cards, "It isn't often someone wanted to see the Head of the DMLE. She is known for being very hard on people that waste her time."
"That is something that we will not be speaking about here." Erfolg said.
"Alright, alright." the man said, "Can't blame a guy for being curious when all he has to do is sit at this desk all day doing almost nothing."
"No, I guess we can't, but you still won't get that information." Amber said.
"Alright, keep these with you while you are here as a means of letting people know why you are here." the man said handing a card to each of the group, "Take the lift to level two, it will be the first door on your right. I will let her know that you are coming. You will need to give her those cards on your way there."
"Thank you." Minerva said.
With that the group headed for the elevator and ascended to level two and entered the first door on the right to see a serious looking woman sitting behind a desk. For a human she was pretty formidable. She had blonde hair but this did nothing to detract from her serious appearance. At the front of her desk was a plaque stating Madame Amelia Bones Head of the DMLE. They each handed her their card that they had received at the guest desk.
"I trust you have a good reason for being here." she said, looking hard at each of them in turn.
"We have evidence of a miscarriage of justice." Erfolg stated.
"I see and who is it, may I ask?" she asked.
"Sirius Black." Amber said.
Erfolg couldn't help but notice that she looked very hopeful at those words.
"And what evidence do you have that could prove him innocent?" she asked.
"He was never given a trial and could never have betrayed my parents or me." Erfolg said, " It would have resulted in the breaking of a sacred oath which would have meant his death."
"Oath, what oath?" she asked.
"Madame Bones, are you aware that he was a godfather?" Erfolg asked.
"No, he never said anything about that, and why would the godfather oath kill him?" she said, "And if you have a way to free him the least you could do is call me Amelia as this will go a lot smoother. I have been searching for a way to free him for years now but come up with no leads. I never believed he was guilty of the crimes named under his profile."
"Alright Amelia, here is the situation. He was not just any old godfather. He was a draconic godfather, to me." Erfolg said.
"But that would mean..." Amelia started.
"Yes we are all dragons." Erfolg stated, "My name is Erfolg, and the others are Amber, Daphne, Tracey, and I assume you already know Minerva."
Amelia nodded while thinking.
"Alright that may prove he wasn't responsible for your parents death but we still have to prove that he didn't kill Pettigrew." Amelia said.
"The answer to that is so simple it is unlikely that people will think of a way to stop us from using it. The answer is that we view his memories and use truth potion." Daphne said.
"That is simple and there is no reason not to use it." Amelia said. "I will personally go and bring him here now to stand trial."
"We are going with you Amelia." Amber said. "It's as much for your protection as it is for Sirius'. There are likely still people in this very department that would want nothing more than to silence him forever."
Amelia's complexion paled considerably at this point. This of course was not missed by Erfolg and Amber.
"You loved him didn't you." Amber said softly.
Amelia nodded as tears started to fall from her eyes. "We were going out secretly at the time so that nobody could use this to harm either of us, or our families."
"Well then, let's go and bring him home." Erfolg said.
"We will have to take a portkey over there. I possess the only portkeys in existence that will take us straight there." Amelia said tapping a piece of parchment with her wand and generating a release form.
"It will be best for us to travel back without using a portkey." Erfolg said, "There are numerous things that could go wrong, and multiple traps that could be laid if we took a portkey back."
Everyone nodded and held onto the portkey and vanished.
They arrived at a dark and cold beach held in perpetual midnight beset by thin fog. An island was just visible about a mile away. In front of the was a large boat. Climbing on board Amelia tapped the boat with her wand and they were off to the island of Azkaban. As they drew closer to the island they could see horrific creatures flying about. Amber and Erfolg shared a glance. They both knew where these creatures allegiances truly lay.
"Amelia don't say anything about us being dragons." Amber whispered.
Amelia looked at Amber in surprise.
"We will explain when we get back just trust us please." Amber whispered.
Amelia nodded.
As soon as the boat arrived they were surrounded by human guards.
"Identify yourselves!" one of them barked in a commanding tone.
"My name is Amelia Bones Head of the DMLE, and these are Erfolg, Amber, Minerva, Daphne, and Tracey." Amelia said, "We are here to pick up a prisoner."
"I will need the authorization papers first." the guard said.
Amelia handed them over to the guard.
"Everything appears to be in order, you may go and collect him." the guard said returning the papers to Amelia.
The group headed off at a brisk pace following Amelia through the maze of passageways towards the cell where Sirius lay. When they finally arrived at his cell he was sleeping. Amelia opened the door and stepped inside waking Sirius up by pushing him gently on the shoulder.
Sirius' eyes opened slowly as he looked around at his surroundings and noticed he wasn't alone. Panicking he stood up and raised his fists to defend himself from any threat.
"Sirius, it's me, Amelia." Amelia said gently.
This had the effect of bringing Sirius back to his senses.
"Amelia?" he croaked.
"Yes Sirius, you have a trial to attend." Erfolg said.
"Sirius we need to get out of here." Amelia said, "It's not safe to talk right now. I don't like this any more than you, but to keep up appearances I have to put handcuffs on you."
Sirius nodded and followed them back to the boat in handcuffs.
When they reached the shore they followed Erfolg into a cave and apparated them all straight into Amelia's office.
"Okay now will you tell me what's going on?" Sirius asked.
"You will have your trial now." Amelia said, "This is to leave any who want to cause harm to you with as little breathing room as possible. The longer you are in this building the quicker you will be noticed. There is a Wizengamot meeting in a few minutes. A miscarriage of justice is more than sufficient grounds to bring it before them. They will have no choice but to allow you to have a fair trial, even if it is unscheduled.
"We can discuss our warning later, but I suspect that us being dragons will have a significant impact on the trial." Erfolg said.
"Alright let's head down there then." Amelia said.
Together the seven of them headed down to the subterranean dungeons. They could hear a meeting getting underway so walked in to the middle of the floor to catch the court off balance.
There was total silence as the seven walked calmly into the center of a round room with people sitting on a raised podium going round almost the entire circumference of the room. The silence was broken by a pompous looking man sitting directly in the center of the panel.
"Just what in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing barging in here? State your business and be gone!" The man looked extremely angry.
"I am doing my job Minister!" Amelia said in a calm, yet authoritative voice, "I am bringing forth a case of serious miscarriage of justice."
"And who was affected?" he asked.
"Sirius Black." Amelia stated, "He never had a trial. He was simply sent to prison."
There were gasps at the fact that the law would be ignored so blatantly.
"Let us see to this quickly then." the minister said." The accused will take the chair. As Sirius sat down chains wrapped themselves around his arms.
"Sirius Black you are charged with leading the dark lord to the Potter's house leading to their murders. You are also charged with the murder of hundreds of muggles and Peter Pettigrew. How do you plead?" the minister asked.
Before Sirius could answer Erfolg stepped forward to speak.
"The first charge is not possible as he is still alive. Had he even tried to do this he would have been killed." Erfolg stated to the court, "He is my draconic godfather, meaning that the ritual he took part in required him to give his oath to my mother and father. Were he to break that oath he would have died."
"Very well the charge is dropped." the minister said, "How do you plead to the other charge?"
"Not guilty." Sirius replied.
"Well we have over 300 bodies from the scene and only a finger from Pettigrew." the minister said.
"We have proof that will decide what the outcome of this will be." Amelia said, "We can view his memory using the pensive."
"Very well, let us view the memory." the minister said.
Amelia handed Sirius a limited wand that was only capable of creating exact replicas of memories. As the memory came out of his head Amelia produced a pensive and the memory was lowered in. After some tweaking with the controls the memory was played all around them at half speed so that nothing would be missed.
As the memory started playing everyone could see that Sirius was walking down the street. He was suddenly attacked by death eaters. The battle quickly started as Sirius hastened to defend himself. The death eaters were at best amateurs but the advantage of numbers pressed Sirius back when one of the death eaters in the front had his hood pulled off by a spell. Sirius gasped in shock, as did most of the court, standing before him in death eater robes was none other than Peter Pettigrew. Other death eaters were using portkeys to get away from the scene. As Pettigrew attempted to activate his Sirius sent a well cast reducto at the portkey, shattering it in the process. Pettigrew then, seeing that he was the only one left, let loose a spell that badly injured Sirius and destroyed everything around him. Before the memory ended everyone in the court witnessed Pettigrew cutting off his finger, turn into a rat, and dive through a drain just before the entrance collapsed on itself. The memory turned to blackness as the sound of a stunner hitting Sirius was heard. The next thing everyone saw was Sirius in Azkaban prison. With that the memory ended.
"Is there any doubt that Sirius Black is innocent of all charges?" Amelia asked.
"Sirius Black you are free to go and you will be receiving compensation for this injustice that has been done to you." the minister said.
As Sirius got up from the chair, unchained and free, Erfolg came rushing forward.
"Sirius, we need to get you out of here it's not safe." Erfolg whispered before dragging him out quickly followed by Amber, Daphne, Tracey, Minerva, and Amelia.
They managed to reach Amelia's office without incident and Erfolg apparated them all to a location only Erfolg and Amber had seen.
A/N: Well another chapter done. Almost 4,000 words in this one. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am curious as to where you think they are headed in next chapter.