Justice and Truth – and Surprises
Extremely disgusting situations! You have been warned!
"Sirius Orion Black, get your furry arse here right this moment!" Amelia was getting more and more harried with each passing moment. It was the 10th of November, the day of Sirius' trial – and by extension Pettigrew's too. Sirius, holed up in Marauders' Place, would not move at all from the house. Amelia could understand his reticence. He had not got a trial at all, so he was naturally afraid of facing the Wizengamot. It was where they were going to make an even more powerful statement as Sirius would ready for the March Equinox to take Oath as Lord Black, and Harry's legal guardian in the mug- mundane world also.
Things were not going well at all for Amelia, barring Sirius, of course. The destruction of The Leaky Cauldron, the Dark Mark and the Auror murders had made the general magical public beyond jittery. It was an immediate antithesis of the time in the O.T. when people refused to believe that Voldemort was back. People were already panicking, but Sirius' suggestion of a running list of Death Eaters caught and executed daily in the media made people have hopes that something was being done. There was fear, but it was tempered by caution, something Mad-Eye would appreciate.
Even in that situation, Harry and Sirius had found ways to curry favour from several newblood families. They were all sent contracts to accept deposits of 15% less than their houses' cost and they would have their homes ward-layered to the best non-wartime schemes. The idea was that they would all be living in houses owned by purebloods, and therefore would be allowed to have wards. The Gringotts representatives personally visited these houses and with a memory hold which carried a memory of Harry telling them about the law, and how the contract would work. By paying the deposit and for the ward scheme, the house would by records be the house of the family which signed the contract, allowing setting up of wards. The deposit would then be returned and the families would only have to pay up the remaining part which went for wards to the purchaser without interest or with nominal interest. Upon full payment, the House and wards would be reverted to the name of the original owner. The memory ended with telling the parents that magic came through to descendents of squibs, so they were technically just as magic as anyone else. The heredity tests would be included in the unpaid 15%.
As it turned out, two Gryffindors – Sally-Anne Perks and Katie Bell, turned out to be Potter cousins. They were quickly inducted into the House of Potter, and now proudly wore the House crest and the names Sally-Anne Perks-Potter and Katie Bell-Potter (Sally did anyway; Katie was not happy to be Harry's cousin or any relation whatsoever. It didn't fit her plans). Amelia had had a hearty laugh with Ragnok and Sirius over the whole idea. The ward-schemes were being done at a discounted price (bulk orders worked in magical businesses too, but the newblood families did not need to know that, nor did they need to know that the entire business only cost the Houses 10 of the 15%. It was just... good business) gaining much needed respect for The Nation. Also, the Bones-Longbottom-Potter alliance gained lot of backing from the magical community. It worked to have Lord Slytherin on their side.
The trial was, for all intents and purposes, going to be a mere formality. Pettigrew had an interesting compulsion to turn up at Hogwarts in a carefully managed coup three days before. His memories had been carefully modified by Garnarukran magic which the Wizengamot did not recognise. It was essentially his trial which would be held first. His capture had been declared in the Daily Prophet the previous day, to bring up the ruse that Sirius was not known to either Harry or Amelia. He had somehow been found (of course using the Marauders' Map) and turned over to Remus. The werewolf was doing his utmost to avoid hexing the rat, and had called Amelia over and the map was turned over to the Headmistress.
Amelia also stripped Peter of all personal effects. They were sure that Voldemort would have tried to make a Horcrux on the Halloween night of 1981. She found Peter's wand, Voldemort's yew wand, an ancient wand that had a wood-carved feather handle and four extra wands. Under questioning, Wormtail revealed that he had a small disc (which Gringotts recognised as Gryffindor's expandable shield from the picture drawn as per the description), and a shrunken staff which resembled an upright snake (obviously another of Salazar's effects; the picture made Harry wonder if Salazar was the sort of person who in the modern era would have chosen to be Goth, or a metal-head or something like that. The ophidian obsession went a bit too far) as well. Circumventing procedure, she gave everything apart from Peter's wand and the four extras to Harry. None of them knew which of those things was to be made a Horcrux. Sirius had instructed Dobby to buy several crystal cases lined with Acromantula silk. All the effects went into those cases and were kept in a special room Sirius had had constructed that was inaccessible to anyone but him and Harry.
Moony had decided he would carry out a Marauders' favour, and completely obliterated any sign of the four new Marauders and their primary group of friends. He had also disabled several features. The map no longer could be used to track individuals. It also, thankfully, no longer had the rude answering feature. Minerva had realised all of this, but she let it be as it was. Every student deserved a little mischief, and Minerva had grown to love the Mischief-Makers who almost always originated from her house. She had suffered pranks from Charlus, then James and recently Harry. It was typical of things. Potters were pranksters. It was something that she had told Amelia. It wasn't that things were hunky-dory for the interim Headmistress either. The upheaval that several students from Slytherin and Ravenclaw and even a few Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors underwent due to a massive crackdown by the DMLE, led to the lessons having to be suspended for a week after the attack. The Quidditch season was also postponed till after the Christmas break, with two matches to be conducted every other weekend.
Amelia had to meet Harry at exactly quarter past nine, when a disillusioned, transformed Padfoot would be waiting by the Wizengamot doors, ready to announce himself after being 'shocked' by the news. Harry hoped that Sirius was a better actor than he let on, primarily, because they were going to shock the Wizengamot out of their wits with the interaction between them. It would not do for him to let his surprise slip till Harry greeted him as Lord Black.
Amelia sincerely wished that Sirius would hurry. She wanted him free, and she wanted him free fast. It had been something she had missed – Sirius' seriously carefree presence (though it was lately missing ever since Harry's duel against Snape). The man could make light of any situation, and that was enough to keep people around him happy. It was one of those things that she found endearing – though his natural charm was undeniable.
Amelia shook her head. Her thoughts were all over the place. She needed to keep her head straight, but Sirius' childish behaviour after his 'special care' the night before was driving her slightly off her rocker. It was the sort that she was sure would have Susan and Harry running for the hills if they knew.
Pettigrew was brought in roughly by the Aurors at the stroke of 10. He looked terrible – he looked more like shit than the treacherous shit he was. He was extremely groggy, and only barely seemed to know where he was. A large granite shield was erected all around him, along with several other protections which would not cause material harm to the granite shields themselves. Then transparency charms were cast on the granite, along with communication and compulsion spells to ensure that he spoke the truth.
Elizabeth and Thaddeus were once again prosecuting the case. Well, 'prosecuting' was not the correct verb for Thaddeus. He was assisting Public Prosecutrix Elizabeth Crompton. It was more a public interrogation than a prosecution, and Peter was, of course, to be made an example of.
It was very difficult for Harry to digest what was being spoken. Snape and Pettigrew were two dastardly bastards. The former lusted after Lily Evans and so had the latter, and Snape just as equivocally hated the Marauders. It had been a game of blackmail between the two. Both threatened the other that they would reveal their disgusting infatuation for Lily ('lowly mudblood should have felt honoured to service upstanding members of pureblood families') to their respective friends. Peter had let slip about Moony, giving Snape more blackmail material. That had resulted in Peter being recruited. It just kept escalating from there. Eventually Peter had become so infatuated with the DEs, that he no longer needed Snape blackmailing him into anything anymore. This was particularly driven by the marriage of the Potters. Both were driven by their jealousy. Harry wondered whether Ron was not the same. He had a natural inclination towards being jealous, after all.
Peter's story made everyone around turn green. Under the veritaserum, he just went on listing his crimes in gruesome detail. And it was obvious that he felt no remorse whatsoever. Even without his betrayal, it was enough to put the living waste of biological matter and a poor excuse for a human being, a psychopath matching Voldemort's own insanity, out of the misery that his existence heaped on himself and others. Betrayal was not something Peter was new to. He had teamed up with Fenrir Greyback and routinely roamed with the monster's pack as a rat. That was the height of betrayal – helping the one who turned Moony. The packs would snag whole families, or would just feast on muggles. There would be a few that they would turn. It was just plain dirty. Peter Pettigrew was not just a traitor but also a bully, murderous, vile man. He was never sane, probably. It was the last crime however that had the Wizengamot by storm. And this was a storm even larger than the storm that his being alive had raised.
"Then that bastard James Potter sullied his bloodline by marrying that mudblood whore. He could have left her for me, but he 'loved' her! My Master had told me, there is no such thing as 'love'. James got her. He had everything, money, looks, power and girls flocked to him. But he took the one bitch I wanted all along. He took the mudblood Evans.
"I would not let that go, could I? Master had told me. There is only power. I was too weak to go against James Potter. I was too weak against him, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They were my friends," he said, fairly spitting out the word in disgust. "I wanted to be noticed. But I was stupid little Peter. The butt of jokes; the lookout; the one who would tag those we wanted to prank. I slipped under the radar.
"And then, then there was the time when the Longbottoms and the Potters – two old families that my master so desperately wanted, coveted – needed to go undercover. I was of course never told why. James made Black the secret-keeper first. And then those fools decided that they would prank my Lord." He went into a long, insane cackle of laughter. "They changed secret-keepers. I had sowed all sorts of distrust against Lupin (Peter, too, found that he could not talk about Moony; nor could he talk about Padfoot for that matter). So it was little Peter, who nobody cared for except Fenrir and my Lord, that became the Secret-Keeper."
"WHAT?" The noise in the Hall dropped as unanimously as the question itself.
"The Potter fool made me the Secret-Keeper, because Sirius, who was the little Potter brat's godfather, would have been the obvious choice. They replaced him without anyone knowing about it." He laughed again. "The stupid Potter and his whore did not even take a magical oath from me to make sure that I would not betray them. I was their 'friend' after all. Why would they suspect little old Wormtail betraying them? Severus knew I was a Death Eater. We both wanted Potter and Black dead anyway. So I agreed. And then Caradoc Dearborn became the Longbottoms' Secret-Keeper. My Lord wanted all three dead. I killed Caradoc with a simple spell. Then the packs and I ate him. He was tasty. I nibbled on his bones too. Toasty and like chicken; I never thought Caradoc would taste like that. I even ate his raw flesh as a rat. I could almost feel as if I had eaten his power too."
Everywhere around people wanted to retch. Lord Dearborn was crying silently for his son. There were several like the Prewett twins and Benjy Fenwick, who had been killed and dismembered or eviscerated. But nobody else they knew actually was eaten. Augusta, who was sat that day between Harry and Reginald, was keeping a firm grip on each of their shoulders.
"What happened to Sirius Black?"
"That fool wanted to keep his 'family' as he called the Potters safe at all costs. It surprised me. I did not expect him to come after me. He was an Auror after all. I thought he would keep his calm and stay for the brat first, before telling the authorities about me and embarking on a man- or rat-hunt. He made my job easier. I wanted to kill him, but then I decided that killing his reputation would be tastier. I killed twelve muggles behind me, shouted out for all to hear that he was the traitor and then transformed and ran away. Bagnold and Crouch did not like him anyway. You people locked him away," he said the last part in a singsong voice.
Amelia had one last question. "When and why did you come to Hogwarts?"
"I was living in the Forbidden forest among the other rats. When the Potter brat came, I wanted to be the one to kill him. He caused my Master to disappear. I would kill him and be my Master's best servant once more! But then Black escaped. I do not know why he did so now, or how he did it. But he would be coming to protect Potter. I had to kill him before Black caught up with either of us. I was hoping that I could find them together. Black would first try to protect his godson. Two birds with one stone." He laughed insanely again.
The story was something that Harry had himself concocted to protect the Weasleys. So it did not surprise him. But the rest of the story gave him shivers. Hell, it would have given Mad-Eye shivers and goose pimples. Harry had had enough. It was terrible. He wanted blood. Or in this case, he wanted Peter's soul. When the call for the 'Dementor's Kiss' was made, he ensured that it would be administered immediately. When the call for the Dementors was made, a black dog scampered in. Harry froze, he almost forgot about Sirius.
"Padfoot!" he yelled. "What are you doing here?" He started the pre-decided little drama.
"Lord Potter," started Amelia after telling her Aurors to stand down and not kill the dog (she had told Mad-Eye of all this, and he and Gawain Robards were the Aurors in court that day). "Why did you bring this animal to court? You clearly know him."
"My apologies, Director Bones, but I did not bring Padfoot to court. He was at home, and is my pet. He was a stray that I adopted. I do not know how he could even come here. He was being cared for by my elf in my absence."
Harry went down to the dog and was about to 'herd him out' when Sirius transformed. "PETER!" he roared. "I HAVE COME TO KILL YOU NOW! YOU WILL DIE! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY! I WILL KILL YOU!" It was then that Mad-Eye stunned Sirius. A minute later, Sirius was sitting in a similar setting as Peter. This time the shields were for his protection only.
"WHY AM I CHAINED? I WILL KILL THIS SHIT! HE KILLED JAMES AND LILY! I WILL KILL HIM!" Harry thought that Sirius was laying it all a bit too thick.
Sirius was silenced and petrified by Amelia with a glare (one that all three knew was playful). He was checked for any compulsions and the Dark Mark and was declared as a person who wasn't a marked Death Eater.
Elizabeth Crompton was once again cast into the role of the interrogator. Apart from the story regarding his escape (which was as close as possible to what actually happened before), everything Sirius said was true – if a little implied. He had had his memories modified temporarily to combat any effects of Veritaserum.
Ideally there would have been a trial, but since there had never been one, and there was proof of Sirius' innocence in Peter's presence itself, the interrogation would have to double up as one. Sirius, ever the showman, gave an impassioned defence of himself after the effect of Veritaserum died.
"All I cared about was getting my son away from the rat. I did not know where he was, but I knew my little Harry (Sirius went about with pink hair and clothes for that over the duration of a month for that; the poor blighter never knew, for everything seemed normal to him. Additionally, people couldn't tell him about it till the effect was gone, and that was enough to give him a reputation) was going to be in trouble. And I would not let Peter do that. I was determined to kill him even if I was put back in Azkaban or Kissed, if it meant my son being safe," he remarked in summation. There were quite a few bright-eyed people at that proclamation.
As it turned out, the whole 'get the DEs out of the Wizengamot' exercise proved perfect. Sirius was exonerated in a near unanimous manner.
It was cathartic for so many people – not least Harry, Sirius, Amelia, Augusta and Reginald – to see Peter kissed. As soon as Sirius was freed from the shackles, Harry bounded over to him, showing his 'son' side. Making sure that the Court Photographer was capturing the moment, with Sirius' Lord's Ring of the House of Black displayed prominently, he hugged Sirius and loudly proclaimed, "I am happy for you, my Lord Black – thank you for your actions... father?" he ended in a question.
That silenced the courtroom again, before the claps started. They realised how The Black Lord had masterfully played them. And while they did not know for sure, his custodian Heir – also the Lord Slytherin – had probably played his part to perfection. What were the chances of Pettigrew being found after all these years after all? And what were the chances that Black would know about the trial? Arcturus Black had been one cunning son of the devil. He had not anointed his grandson as his Heir, bypassing Orion, his son, for nothing. He must have had the foresight for several things, including his Heir's Heir too, after all. The photograph was an important point to note. It was obvious that this would all be printed in the Prophet, The Magic of Facts and other publications along with the pictures, in the current scenario regarding Voldemort and the DEs it would only be a snowflake in hell that would not believe Sirius' innocence. Several people had realised that perhaps the young Lord Black and Lord Slytherin were indeed worthy of those names.
Sirius' case against the Ministry, a civil suit would start the following week in a civil hearing. Wizengamot sessions with a quorum were enough for that. Sirius had the list of charges, and had added a few of his own. It was an excellent opportunity to wring a lot out of the Ministry, and manipulate the fools in one go.
Once they were firmly ensconced in Amelia's private parlour in her office, waiting for the news about Sirius and Peter, Harry restored Sirius' memories, before proceeding to tear into his Godfather.
"You sodding fool!" he shouted in dulcet tones. "I had told you to act as if you were slightly demented, Sirius! What business did you have giving speeches, damn it!"
Sirius cowered at that a bit. Amelia shook her head. "Harry, calm down, now," she said, the final word spoken with quiet authority. "Why do you have a problem with that?"
"Amelia, Sirius was not speaking like a person who was locked up for twelve years! It was obvious that he had some help. There will be investigations! Nobody will bother about me, as I am unofficially the Golden Boy by design, but people could point fingers at you! You are his betrothed, Amelia! We need you firmly entrenched here!"
"That is the point is it not?" Sirius countered. "I have let people assume that I did it through Gringotts. I just ran away with what you said when you claimed Heir-ship Pup! Goblins are neutral territory!"
"They are not, when I am in the picture, Padfoot! Nobody will assume otherwise! No Garnarukro is in the habit of giving birthday or Christmas gifts!"
"But do not you see? Even with any inferences they draw, people will see all this as a calculated plan that nobody can oppose! People will recognise your power!"
"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" scolded Amelia. Sirius and Harry backed down a bit. "You are both right, and you are both wrong. For one, Sirius, you did go a bit overboard. Admit it. You were revelling in pulling a prank on them and them not being able to do anything about that, were you not?" Sirius nodded sheepishly. "And you don't have to worry about me, Harry. Sirius, or rather you, chose the week of Fudge's visit. I am seen as a threat to him. We can always blame..." She could see the disappointment that painted Harry's face. She hurried on. "Look, the fact remains that whichever way Sirius got free, it is of no importance whatsoever. People will now have to maintain the protocol of behaviour with a peer. For all that it matters he could say he checked out of a poor hotel and leave it at that. Don't bother your pretty head over that."
"Pretty head, am I?" Harry asked with a mock-growl. "But you are right Amelia. I am just worried. Things... they are changing and they have changed. As you said, you are a threat to Fudge. His toady may be gone now, but he has now become a wounded animal, backed into a corner. He is dangerous. I am worried for you, right now."
"True," agreed Sirius. Then he smiled evilly. "Amelia is not the only threat to Fudge, is she, Harry?"
"Huh?"
"Honestly, Pup! Who else is a threat to Fudge, apart from Amelia? That is the person we can incriminate. And amazingly enough, this person did his dirty trick while he was in power."
"Crouch!" Amelia and Harry said in unison. "We have to get Neville's revenge up and running soon! But he can't get out of Hogwarts till Christmas, Sirius."
"We need time, Pup."
"Does Amelia have it?"
"Push for time, will you, Amy? I will take up my seat on a special session. The winter solstice doesn't work for me. The Spring Equinox is too far off. Once I take my seat, I will reclaim the Malfoy seats, establishing the House anew as Fairheart. It will have to be exempted from forfeiture by you, Pup."
"Wait just a mo', Sirius. Take the Oath on the Winter Solstice Day. Be a Marauder. Break the Tradition." Sirius grinned mischievously, acquiescing.
"So you want one more woman, Sirius?" Amelia asked dangerously, her mind occupied elsewhere.
"It is not joking matter, Amy. Look at it this way. Pup releases the House to me, and I can use the time to find a newblood adequately descended through both the Malfoy and Black Squib lines to inherit it. One new House, and the traditionalists can't do squat about it."
Amelia thought about it. "That is actually a great idea!" she agreed.
"Thank you," Sirius preened. "Anyway, we need to find proof regarding Marlene's death and/or a new Lady Black anyway, Amelia. So I will have the 'another woman'."
"And you are going to sleep on the couch at Marauders' Place."
"NO!"
"Oh yes you are!"
Harry left them to it as he closed his eyes tiredly. It was nice to see the two squabbling over such inane things. Well, inane compared to false charges and resulting incarcerations, dark lords who would not stay dead, said dark lord's amazingly idiotic bunch of sycophants and the like. It was even better to realise that Sirius could do the squabbling with his betrothed girlfriend as a free man.
"Is Sirius why you have got grey hair early, Amelia?" he asked out of the blue.
The two lovers stopped their childish spat ("Am not!" Sirius protested to which Amelia replied, "Are too!" with equal fervour) to look at the kid lounging on a chair opposite the loveseat they were occupying.
"I do not have grey hair!" protested Amelia, scandalised, just as Sirius said, "I don't cause grey hair!"
"You do!"
"I don't!"
Amelia and Sirius simply jumped from one childish bickering spat to another.
That night – after an intense, private and rather messy 'celebration' – the two lay in bed. They pondered over all the sudden changes that had occurred in barely six months. For Sirius, he was now free of Azkaban, Peter was dead, he was back with Amy, but most importantly, he had his Pup back. It did not really matter that all the events occurred in the reverse order. He knew that he would have to lie low for some time, giving people time to recalibrate to the changed scenario. But now he would not be looked at or thought of as a traitor or a DE.
Now he was interested in ensuring that whatever happened in the other timeline for the Pup, would not happen again. True, several DEs were dead; they knew where five of the bits and pieces were; Harry was the Golden Boy and the one to be appeased by design. But every purge had to be followed up by a reconstruction, a repopulation of sorts. That was not something he would have his Pup face. He would let his Pup be a teenager at least, for he would never be a kid again.
Amelia too, had had severe upheavals in her career. It was unbelievable. She had never thought that one seemingly idyllic year would have Sirius being free, several Death Eaters dead, the Ministry in disarray, evidence of Voldemort's resurgence – and Sirius being free. She knew that every bit of chaos had been started by one person who was determined to bulldoze through their society with the same nonchalance that Voldemort possessed as he fired off killing curses. It had caught her by shock and surprise too.
"Sirius?" she called.
"Hmm?" answered Sirius.
"Where did that kid that we'd both held as a babe go? I remember him helping you grow that ridiculous moustache you used to have with his sprinkler system, and then he disappears for ten years and then after another two he forces his way right into the Wizengamot. What is going on?" Sirius froze. He had expected this question, but he hadn't expected it so soon. Unfortunately, Amelia caught him. "You know something." It was a statement, not a question.
"I do."
"You don't want to tell me."
"No! I mean yes! Oh Merlin!" he bumbled.
Amelia got off the bed. "What is it that you are hiding, Sirius? What is it about Harry that you know?"
Sirius clutched at his hair for a moment. "I know, and I can tell you Amelia. Please hold on till Christmas please. Pup and I will need to ease you into it. It is big. It is supernaturally big. Just don't ask me again till then."
"Harry is forbidding you from telling me?" she asked.
"No. If at all, I'm sure you will be the one person Harry simply must want to tell. No. It is more about the fact that Harry may have to give magical oaths to convince you that is holding me back."
Amelia eyed him speculatively. "You talk as if he has come back in time from some dystopian future," she said in jest. Unfortunately, she was right on the money. Sirius paled as if he had had all the blood sucked out of him. "You aren't serious, right? You are joking?"
"I am Sirius, and I am serious and no I'm not joking. Please leave it aside for the time being Amy. It is big. Just let us say that it is a second chance and we shouldn't look the gift Abraxan in the mouth. Please," he pled, his voice taking on a very piteous tone.
Amelia nodded. Sirius was a prankster at the best of times. She was unsure whether this was one of them. "Let us just say that what you say is true. What proof do you have?"
"Amelia, please. Don't do this. All I am asking you is to hold your patience for a month and half. Please trust me this once Amy. We have already used the knowledge he had. Nothing bad has happened yet, apart from Kingsley's death and the Leaky Cauldron being destroyed. I know for a fact that things were worse than the worst you could imagine. Just- just keep this secret for the moment. We will tell you everything that you need to know. Just think of this as a trailer. I am not dead. You are not dead. Susan is alive too. Things were terrible."
Sirius' whole demeanour had changed. Amelia could see that frisson of fear when Sirius alluded to the future as he claimed. She decided to give him the benefit of doubt for the moment. "Are you convinced of what Harry claims?"
"He gave me a magical oath and irrefutable proof. And I have no reason to distrust him whatsoever. I trust him completely. I am absolutely convinced."
"Alright," she said, sighing in concession. "You will have to prove everything to me though."
"You lot have The Triwizard Tournament in the offing, don't you?" Sirius asked. "You have Beuxbatons and Durmstrang joining up with Hogwarts hosting?"
"How do you know?"
"Voldemort was resurrected at the end of it for Harry."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. I will not tell you everything. That is a story Harry has to tell. I have sworn to support him come what may. Please trust us."
"Was it bad?"
"Doesn't the fact that I, a wizard, am calling something supernatural and the fact that somehow such a big leap in the time stream was performed, and was necessary answer your question? I told you Voldemort was resurrected. How can anything remain good?" Sirius countered irritably.
"Yes. It is just... I can't imagine it at all." Amelia sighed as she snuggled closer into Sirius.
"It is just as well that you can't. I swear I wanted to wrap the Pup in cotton-wool and go away to the Black island on the equator forever. But he knows and accepts the fact that we can't do that, just as I do. We are now in a position of control in just six months. That will go a long way towards never having all of those things happening."
"Hmm," agreed Amelia distractedly. There had been lots of funny things going around, but now she had some sort of explanation.
Hogwarts woke up to several deafening fireworks being burst in the Great Hall at breakfast. Punk-Graffiti like "Padfoot Rulzzzz", "The Doggy's got style," being splotched on the walls by the wet fireworks, and a completely age-inappropriate, lewd rendition of every song Moony ever knew about dogs by the candles in the hall, were the order of the day. Minerva was doing her best to stop that magic along with Filius, but it was charmed to be impervious to the magic of anyone but Hermione, and she did not know.
The media prints were delivered shortly after, and they showed the picture and the report that went along with it told everyone just how Sirius had remained sane after escape. The picture with the public acknowledgement of the adoption, along with Sirius alluding to his friendship with Moony, Prongs and Pettigrew as well as the Longbottom couple, meant that there was a calculating curiosity regarding the people involved.
The Prophet showed its usual flair for dramatics without substance. The news was just a poor, jumbled conglomeration of facts thrown in haphazardly. Though, to be objectively blunt, it was the Prophet that had skewed public opinion against Sirius back in 1981, and also after his escape. As usual, the about turn included none-too-subtle mentions of the paper having got something right.
Twelve year old case finally closed!
Peter Pettigrew found out to be Potters' Traitor!
Sirius Black Innocent!
In a dramatic turn of events, the Wizengamot Session of the 10th of November resolved a twelve year long case. A few days ago this paper had been the first to report that Peter Pettigrew, who had allegedly been killed by Sirius Black, had been found at Hogwarts.
At a public interrogation and trial at the Wizengamot Session, Peter Pettigrew was found to have the Dark Mark. Death Eater Pettigrew further gave a complete litany of his crimes, chief among them being the murders and cannibalisation of several muggles and muggle-born. He also confessed to have betrayed the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Pettigrew had shown up at Hogwarts to complete his master's job, after Lord-elect Black's escape from Azkaban. It is now widely known that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not dead but only banished. One can only imagine what would have happened if Pettigrew had succeeded.
Pettigrew was immediately kissed after the trial, and Sirius Black was also exonerated – he had turned up to the trial in his animagus form. He was given the trial that he had been denied twelve years ago! Mr. Black had been adopted in the form of a lovable stray by the young Lord Potter, which suited Mr. Black's need to protect his godson and adopted son. It may be noted by readers that as the ritually sworn godfather and then father of Hadrian 'Harry' Potter, Sirius Black was incapable of betraying the Potters.
In an endearing twist, Lord Potter, who had taken his Heirs' Ring for the House of Black, now has found family again. He acknowledged as much at the end of the meeting.
For a detailed report refer Pg 2; Pg 7
Sirius Black – Auror extraordinaire Pg 4
The Godparent ritual – Pg 5
Why was no trial accorded to Sirius Black? – Pg 6
Sirius Black: The man behind the innocent inmate and determined parent – Pg 7 and 8
"Harry?" called Hermione.
"Hmm?" responded Harry, not looking up from his newspaper.
"Why is my distant cousin staring at you?"
"Why are you staring at me Neville?"
Neville gave an exaggerated sigh. "You are looking so pretty today. I am sorry. You are looking beautiful, positively glowing!" Neville fake gushed.
Harry looked up at his friend at that with an open mouth. Hermione, Sally-Anne and Katie (who were all sitting together and closest to the two in the very large group of Gryffindors that had turned from more than just house-mates and acquaintances to friends) gave suitably violent reactions. Katie clamped her mouth shut with both hands as she fought giggles. Sally was not restraining herself, and instead was banging her fist on the table as she laughed. Hermione was the worst off though. She sprayed Harry with pumpkin juice. It was a fairly comical sight. It was slightly disturbing, but nothing compared to the image Luna produced when she said, "I don't think he will look as beautiful though in a white dress." That had Harry banging his head on the table while the others nearly collapsed off their seats.
"You do know that you are sometimes very disgusting, don't you?" he asked his godbrother and godsister.
"Yes!" they replied in smug unison.
Once the laughter had died down, Hermione said mirthfully, "You two are complete prats!" Then turning serious, she said, "No; my Greengrass cousin. Daphne has been staring across from the Slytherin table for quite some time."
Harry stared at her dumbfounded and blinked. "Neville, I need your help here mate. I thanked Mr. Greengrass yesterday, and made sure that he was properly mentioned, and basically did everything Gran told me was required of me. Am I missing something?"
"Eh? No. If you did everything that Gran said you should, then it is improbable that have done anything wrong. Best you can do is acknowledging her. It will mean that she will be called out, or she will speak what she wants to say. If you acknowledge her, you lose the element of surprise you might have if she doesn't know that you know."
Harry turned the advice in his head twice or thrice before he could make any sense of it. Then he shrugged and turned in his seat to face the Slytherin table. He caught Daphne's eye and gave her the trademark 'Potter grin' and a jaunty wave. If he was going to acknowledge her, then he would just as well prove himself to be James Potter's son and Sirius' godson. He then turned to the others and with a wide, smug grin said, "She must be crushing on me! I am a handsome marauder, am I not?"
"No. You're a big prat," muttered a seething Hermione.
Daphne had been observing Potter for quite some time. Her Uncle, the Lord Greengrass and her father, had both written to her and Story about the shenanigans of Potter in the Wizengamot. Her father especially had told her a lot about the way the DE faction had been decimated. She knew that Malfoy wanted her betrothed to his son, and now the entire line was dead. It had been a right relief. And it was particularly true in the light of the recent behaviour of the git. He had started making unwelcome advances towards her.
The sudden changes in Potter, especially the way he made people bow to him made her notice him for the first time. True, like all magically raised children, she had known the legend. She had been totally disappointed when he had not turned out to be anything like the stories. He had been sorted into Gryffindor, and she in Slytherin, and therefore, any contact between the two was going to be rare. Then along came The Slytherin Weasley and the Gryffindor Malfoy (as she thought of Malfoy and Weasley respectively), and they drove a complete wedge between the two houses, ending any chance of interaction and relegating her to an observer's position as she surveyed the Gryffindor Golden Boy.
He was physically underwhelming and seemingly stupid, letting the Weasley boy decide most things and letting the Granger girl – Hermione – do the brain-work and hard-work. He was always dressed in rags, had no confidence, slouched as if under an unbearable burden, and had a little fear whenever faced with the idea of interacting with people outside his comfort group.
The first sign of change was at the end of the previous school year when he had claimed a life-debt off everyone, and put down Dumbledore too. The changes thereafter were radical. Her father and uncle had told her all that they now knew. Four Houses, three of them legendary were under his Lordship. And she now knew how he was an heir to a fifth. Like a true Slytherin, she (wrongly) surmised, he had hidden away in plain sight before making his moves. The loud redhead was an excellent foil while Potter worked away towards actually planning for power. The fights with Draco had been exactly what had been expected of a foolish Gryffindor – so that was what everyone had seen. All that had been accomplished did not happen just off the hook. It took careful planning. And their world had been turned on its head. The way several concessions had been wrangled from the lawmaking body, she decided that this had been long in the offing.
The summer had been very beneficial to him indeed. He was no longer a scrawny little thing, but instead was among the tallest of their year group. He walked with a grace that she knew few pureblood heirs would ever have. He had the air that said he had the power and that he owned the ground he walked on. The look in his eyes was no longer fear. It was now determination, mischief, ambition, mischief, protectiveness, an understated wisdom, mischief cleverness, and more mischief. And, she had to admit to herself, his eyes were enamouring and dreamy. The sudden changes in the company he kept and the changes in the behaviour and demeanour of said company did not go under the radar. The open attempts to make friendships instead of alliances intrigued her.
But the real turn on moment when her curiosity in the subject of her interest investigation peaked was the duel against Snape. It had long been known that the man was heinous, crooked, untrustworthy, cruel and morally demented person. To have confirmation that he was a Death Eater and therefore surely a rapist and a murderer was an unwanted rotten, mouldy cherry on a cake of dragon dung. The duel itself had been engrossing, interesting and dare she say it, slightly frightening, given the way both duellers were shooting to kill. It had been more...intelligence gathering, till the dementors had decided to crash the party. The dementors had scared her witless. Sitting with Granger and Lovegood – cousin Hermione and Luna – and Astoria, Tracy and Lyra, she had been taken unawares as was Story, and they had been nearly kissed. That was until they were faced by a being far powerful – in fact the being was an embodiment of power. She still remembered the gory scene as the dementors and Snape had all been immolated in the fires of the Elder Dragon. It had been the one consuming memory of the day. She still couldn't get over the easy way in which Potter wielded his power, and then just as simply go over to the DADA Professor (who she noted was known far better than a teacher to Potter) rejoicing about being able to fly. And, if she cared to admit it, the reverse transformation from the Dragon showed that he was certainly easy on the eyes.
When she was caught staring therefore, Daphne froze and then blushed. She realised that she had been called on. She gave a slight nod to the group and gestured to the door of the Great Hall. If the cat was out of the bag, she would at least have some benefit out of it. Potter acknowledged with a nod and a grin, and then turned back to his pride (for that was the best way to describe the group).
Fifteen minutes later, Potter (now clean of the food residue that the burst of laughter had caused), Longbottom, Perks, Granger and Weasley (the later three shifting uneasily in the background) joined her by the doors of the Great Hall.
"Miss Greengrass," Hadrian said smoothly, in his best pureblood manner. He dropped a fleeting kiss to the back of her right knuckle. "It is an honour to see you fine morning. I hope I find you well?"
Daphne curtseyed very slightly, and replied in kind. "The honour is mine, my Lord. I am as fine as possible and I hope that it is the same with you?"
"Indeed." Then he reverted to Harry. "What may I help you with, Ms. Greengrass?"
"Straight to the point, I see. This has been something that I wanted to request of you for several days now, but especially since the incident last month. I want to – no, I need to learn to cast the Patronus Charm. And I have seen that you and Heir Longbottom can cast it very well. I request this boon that you teach me."
"Not that I won't, but Professor Flitwick has been showing a Pensieve memory of Neville and me talking about casting the charm..."
"That is true. But I was unable to cast it."
"Very well; would you mind terribly if a few others joined you?"
"Not at all – I wanted Astoria and my friends to be taught too. I just wished to find whether you were amenable to teach before asking permission to bring others."
"I will be honoured. I shall ask Professor Lupin to join us and supervise, if you don't mind."
"That will be acceptable. Thank you." It was formal and not exactly the best cover she had ever had. But it would do for the time being.
Neville corralled Moony after lunch and explained the request Daphne had made to Harry. They decided that twice a week after the last classes would be fine. Moony agreed to sponsor the whole arrangement as a kind of DADA study club, on the lines of the DA.
The Marietta Edgecombe incident had made all three in the know cautious. So Hermione had worked up a very complicated contract of sorts. All that was required of all members was very much along the lines of the oath Amelia had taken from all Ministry Office Bearers, only toned down to student levels. Also, there was no need to be bothered about a different DADA teacher, as the curse had been overpowered and eliminated already. Neville and Harry had discussed the charm with Moony, who had tried it by the alternative method. He managed the corporeal form (Moony, of course), instead of the immense silver mist that always erupted from his wand. He immediately gave the go-ahead. It was actually Tonks who was the inspiration of the method. She had, even in her sorrow, summoned her Patronus.
It was an assortment of students that signed up for the Patronus classes. Several NEWT students from all Houses who couldn't perform the charm joined the group comprised of third years and their siblings and friends.
Neville started the proceedings each in the Defence classroom, which had been modified with undetectable space expansion charms and the arrangement was made similar to the Wizengamot. He conjured Honeypaws. He sent the bear ambling through the crowd in all directions, making them relax. Harry followed suit. Neville started the interactions too.
"What do you feel when you interact with the Patroni?"
The answers were varied. "Happy", "peaceful", "contented" were some of the most common answers. The ones more on the mark but fewer in number were "protected" and "love". Moony was jotting these answers on the board behind him.
"That is the basis-"started Neville again.
"-to all magic!" completed Harry.
"Emotion and intent-"
"Ferocious desire-"
"-are the bases of powerful magic!"
"What we want you to do-"
"Before you cast the spell at all-"
"-Is try and fill yourself with all those emotions."
Oliver interrupted. "Our NEWT book talks about memories, though."
"That is true,"
"But it isn't correct."
"Could one of you explain? I get enough of that twin-talk from Fred and George anyway!"
This had the desired effect of putting everybody at ease.
"Sorry Ollie. Think of it this way. What do the dementors do? They feed on your happy memories. While conjuring the Patroni, if you power your emotions by your memories, you are unlikely to sustain that for long. Why are memories powerful? Think of the times when you'd bouts of accidental magic. Did you have those incidents because of the causal event, or because you felt a reaction in your mind to the event? Anything that happens magically due to our actions is a translation of our emotions through our magical energy. The memories have an undercurrent of emotion which is your subconscious reaction to any event," Neville explained.
"But what is it about choosing a sufficiently powerful memory?" asked Oliver.
"That is a myth. Exactly as Neville said, emotions power the memories, not the other way round. For example, there are several ways to be happy. Somebody could be happy to get an O on a test. Someone may feel exceptionally happy by winning a Quidditch game. Everyone has some basal form of happiness. Is it the same as extreme happiness?" asked Harry.
"The Patronus is a guardian, a protector. Just simple 'happy' can't make the cut. I can give an example, personal though it may be. I love my parents and grandmum. I want to protect them at any cost. It will make me beyond happy to see them healthy. It is not a memory for me, but rather an idea of happiness."
"So as he is trying to tell you, focus on your love or protective feeling for something else or someone else and let it fill you altogether. Alternatively, feel the protectiveness and love that you may have felt from someone or something. Those two emotions are all that matter. You only remember 'happy, loving' memories as such because they are based on those emotions. So forego memories altogether and just visualise filling yourself up with love for or from someone. Fill yourself up till you can feel nothing else."
"Close your eyes, and concentrate. Once you are done – or rather, you feel that you are done – the incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'. If you have problem focussing, think of someone you love or want to protect. It may be your parents, siblings, or friends; anybody. You want your magic to help protect them. When you are ready, come down here and perform with everyone watching. There are two reasons. First, this is brute force way to do away any fear of failure. There is no right or wrong or success or failure. You need to protect. That's all that matters. The other thing is that whatever mistakes you make will help others when the Professor corrects them. Remember, each person will only be allotted three tries. The spell is very draining."
As one, the people closed their eyes and then concentrated on the emotions. It was not easy. People never easily got generally accustomed to changing their beliefs altogether, or letting themselves free on order. Well unless people were like Luna. She was simply too different to conform to normal rules. Several people tried and quite a few got lots and lots of protective mist, but Luna was the one who had something close to a corporeal Patronus. She had told him that she had never been to the Magical Museum, so hadn't known about the Snorkack fossil before. Now though, she knew and that was her Patronus. She received fulsome praise. The lesson ended with tired but satisfied students trudging off, with everyone having managed at least the protective mist.
Over the next three sessions, several people managed quasi-corporeal forms. Ron's Jack Russell Terrier had returned. Hermione had, to the surprise of everyone managed two – 'Mione the Lioness and Firewing (Ron had to be silenced to prevent anyone knowing that Firewing was another of Harry's forms). Hermione spent the next two days blushing and avoiding Neville and Moony and even Ron. Fred and George's baboons were frolicking around, attempting to pull the tails of other Patroni. Oliver's eagle was to his satisfaction; Percy's donkey (hard-working and obedient) gave tremendous opportunity for jokes which his younger brothers and friends took every now and then; Penelope had a doe. Daphne had only privately shown the corporeal form to Moony and Neville. It was a scaled version of Nightflame. They could understand why. Nightflame had been the being that had actually saved her from the dementor's kiss, and it was no laughing or teasing matter as it was for Hermione. The Patronus was still the same size as Prongs. Even Blaise had a corporeal rock lizard. Flitwick had cornered the three instructors before one such session. He was quite happy with the progress the NEWT students were making, and had therefore decided to observe the instruction from under the Invisibility Cloak. He was very impressed. The sessions laid the basis for a response team for the future were it to be ever required.