Chapter 44 – Case Closed

Note: Chapter Title from Little Mix's song 'Case Closed'

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…

Last time,

"Would you do the honours?"

George climbs the ladder to the top of the box, grabbing a slip from the largest pile, handing it to Moody who grabs and takes it back to the stage. He looks at it, nodding sagely. Inimicus nods for him to make the announcement.

"Guilty."

Now,

Scrimgeour clears his throat, "The only reasonable punishment for all of this –" He says, holding up the Prophet list of crimes, "– is death." Sirius looks to Remus expectantly, noticing the reapers looking to each other in what Sirius has to assume is concern, masks or no masks.

Inimicus hesitates a moment, looking around. He looks back to Draco who nods at him. He sighs, "There's been enough death, Minister," He declares, already regretting it, "We've just tried a man with little regard for preserving life. Let's not make the same mistake ourselves. There are other ways."

"What would you suggest?" Mad-Eye asks him.

"Bind his magic, exile him to the Muggle world. Let him live out his life in a place and situation where he cannot cause more of this harm," Inimicus suggests.

"I thought your goal was to kill him," Scrimgeour admits.

"I wanted him dealt with." Which isn't a lie exactly.

Scrimgeour looks to Moody who nods. He turns back to Dumbledore who stands, and hands over his wand without prompting.

"You had a good run, Albus. And you did do good," Scrimgeour tells him.

Albus smiles, "The life of a Muggle is not so bad, Rufus. I will be fine."

"I, with the power the Ministry and the wizards of Great Britain have bestowed upon me, declare you unfit to live in our world. I hereby bind your magic," Scrimgeour announces, pressing his wand to Albus' chest, "And banish you from the wizarding world. Should you attempt to enter it again, or to have your magic unbinded, you will be obliviated and returned to the Muggle world that is now your home."

"Tonks," Moody calls, nodding to Dumbledore. Tonks nods, walking forward and guiding him by the elbow off the stage. Kingsley meets her at the base of it. They take an elbow each, apparating him away.

Inimicus takes a deep breath. He's done it. They're free.

"So we're just going to ignore that all of this happened right under the noses of the Ministry?" Someone calls, several shouts sound, agreeing with the first. It starts getting truly rowdy in mere moments and suddenly Harry is concerned about a riot. He steps forth, holding a hand up to silence them.

"They're right," Scrimgeour says before Inimicus has a chance to speak. "Change must occur."

"Not by the same people who put us in this position to begin with!" Someone yells.

"Resign!" Someone else yells.

"Well, this I was not expecting," Inimicus states. He'd been expecting turmoil, not an immediate revolt.

Scrimgeour pinches the bridge of his nose. He stands, facing the crowd. "If there is no Minister, how do you expect to make these changes?" He asks them.

"Without you!"

Inimicus looks to Mad-Eye who smirks. "You set them off, you solve it."

Inimicus huffs at him before he turns back to the crowd. He gestures for silence again. "This world is fractured. It has been for a long time. The Ministry, Dumbledore's followers, and Voldemort's. I say we bring a representative from each to a table. Have them draw up a system that meets everyone's needs as best it can," Inimicus suggests.

"You want to give Death Eater's a voice?!" Someone screams in shock.

"If it means we live in a world where people are heard, and everyone's got enough of what they want that we don't end up in another war? Yes, yes I do want to."

"It would have to be held in a neutral location," Scrimgeour points out.

"How are we supposed to trust their decisions are really fair and one or more aren't pressured with threats of death?!"

"We'll have Aurors watch over proceedings," Scrimgeour suggests.

"No!" A woman shouts, standing on…something, a table maybe? Inimicus can't see because of how thick the crowd is. Though magic is a thing so maybe she's got someone levitating her. "The only person who has cared about hearing everyone equally is him," She says, pointing to Inimicus. "I say we accept no treaty between us if it isn't overseen by him!"

There's shouts of agreement and support throughout the whole town.

"Was not expecting that either," Inimicus says. He looks to the Minister who nods. He nods back, "Very well, I will do so."

"So much for not being needed after this," Scrimgeour tells him with a smirk.

"Erm, if I may?" McGonagall's voice sounds from beside the stage. Scrimgeour and Inimicus look over. "The kids will need to be sent home for a week while we sort everything out at the school now that…well, some changes in staff will be required. You could use Hogwarts as a neutral location. Without Albus there, the castle has no specific loyalty. The sooner this all gets done, the better."

"The kids have stated before that within Hogwarts, they all decided long ago to leave outside allegiances at platform 9 ¾," Someone says. Inimicus looks over, surprised to see Wanda Parkinson there.

"Then, these separate parties shall choose a representative, and meet at the castle tomorrow morning."

"Wait! Who are you?" Someone asks of Inimicus.

"As long as I am supposed to be acting as an overseer and neutral party, I think that is best kept secret," Inimicus replies. Everyone accepts that, for now.

Inimicus leaves the stage, going over to his witnesses. "Thank you, all of you, for your help." He looks to Jamie, nodding to her.

Jamie shrugs, "A girl can change her mind. It helped to know you didn't kill my sister's best friend," She tells him, nodding to Dannie who smiles sheepishly, shifting on her feet. "Does Benni know she's alive?"

"Yes, she does," Inimicus tells her.

"You did good," Jamie tells him, "Keep doing good, and we'll have your back all the way."

"I don't intend to stick around for long. I'll keep this up –" He tells them, gesturing to his outfit, "– long enough to ensure everything is stable and I haven't broken anything. Then I have to step back. Else I risk becoming just like the man I worked so hard to dethrone."

"He wasn't all bad," Del comments, remembering how the man helped integrate her into the school after her coma. "We just need someone better at the helm." Everyone around agrees with that sentiment.

Eventually they all break off, students returning home on the train that night.


The moment Harry gets back to Potter Mansion, he goes to grab Delphini, holding her as tight as he can.

After Tom was saved, he wondered if he should be the one raising her. But when it comes down to it, Tom was never her Father, that was Voldemort. Bellatrix trusted Harry to raise Delphini, so that's what he's going to do.

"This world will be better, just as I promised," He tells her. He boops her nose, she giggles at him.

Harry hears the floo activate and pulls out his wand, but it's only Sirius.

"Hey! Thought I might find you here," Sirius greets warmly, walking over to hug his son and grand-daughter.

"I missed her so much," Harry tells him truthfully.

"I realised something today," Sirius reveals. Harry looks at him questioningly. "Once this treaty has been signed, Delphi can meet the family."

Harry smiles, nodding, "Yeah, she can." Harry looks at Delphi, then back to Sirius. "So, if Father's going to be Grandpa, I was thinking, you could be Grandpads."

Sirius laughs at that, "Grandpads, oh, I love it. Remus'll get a kick out of that." The laughter leaves his face instantly.

"Something wrong with you and Uncle…did you ever pick a new nickname?" Harry asks.

"No I didn't, at the moment I'm calling him arsehole."

"Asssss-hoooole," Delphini says. Harry and Sirius look to the kid, and then to each other.

"You know what, Remus is probably going to say 50 different swear words within five minutes of meeting her, at that point we can blame him for it," Harry suggests, Sirius nods his agreement. "What's going on with you two?"

"Turns out he was siding with Inimicus since before he was even known by most people," Sirius sighs, "I blindly trusted him twenty years ago when he said he wasn't the spy. And I can't help thinking now that I shouldn't have. What if I was wrong to do so, what if I put you at risk?"

"He did what he thought was best," Harry points out.

"So did Dumbledore," Sirius retorts.

Harry snickers, "Maybe don't make that comparison around him." Sirius laughs his agreement with that. "He hid Rema, Peter, and Bridget from you, you were fine with that."

"He was protecting an innocent kid," Sirius reminds him.

"Ever think maybe he was trying to protect someone this time as well? I don't know if you've noticed but a lot of people in Hogwarts mean a lot to him. Seems unlikely that none of them were involved."

Sirius smiles at him, "When did you get wise? I seem to remember a temperamental teenager."

Harry smiles back, "Well, you know, fatherhood," Harry comments, looking to Delphini. Then he sighs, "Also…I mean…well it helps. To have all of you around, and stuff."

"We love you too, Harry. All of us," Sirius tells him, wrapping he and Delphi into a hug. Harry relaxes into the hold, glad that Sirius can understand him even when he can't…say it. "I'd better get back, they're picking who's going to represent us."

"Good luck with that," Harry tells him, "Oh but uh," Harry winces, "Could you ask Draco to come around here at some point?"

Sirius nods with an amused smile and heads back to the Fortress.

"Hey, Harry okay?" Del asks him.

Sirius nods, "Doesn't want to come back until the treaty has been signed and everything is truly dealt with. But he's okay." Sirius turns to Draco. "Actually, Harry was wondering if you'd care to stop by at –" Draco all but runs out of the room and through the floo. "– some point." Sirius nods, the kids snickering.

"Right, kids, upstairs," Molly directs. They huff and whinge but leave pretty quickly with Sirius calls a win.

"No one who was involved today should be the one to go," Tonks tells the others, getting agreement.

"What about Severus?" Mary suggests, "He's good with this shit."

"This shit being writing up how our world is run?" Severus asks.

"Yeah, that."

Severus sighs, cringing before shaking his head, "So, I've sort of been working for Inimicus for a few months."

Sirius glares at Remus who notices and clears his throat, "Me too."

"And me," George admits.

Everyone stares at them. "Yeah so none of them are going," Bill declares.

"I believe it should be someone who fought in both wars," Fleur suggests, met with agreement.

"Which leaves, Mum, Dad, Sirius, Mary, Elphias, Sturgis, and Hagrid," George tells them, looking around the room. "Well, that's working on the assumption that McGonagall is busy. Oh, and Kinglsey, he fought last time too, didn't he?"

"Yes, but he's overseeing everything with Dumbledore," Moody informs them.

"I don't believe I've been around long enough either time to actually represent us," Mary decides.

"I wouldn't know what'a do," Hagrid admits regretfully.

"I work for the Ministry, it's best it's not me," Arthur points out, others nodding to that.

Sturgis looks over everyone in contemplation, "I think Sirius should do it."

"What? Why me?" Sirius asks, voice filled with confusion.

"Tender-heart," Sturgis replies, "You care. That's important. And you know enough about how things work to make this happen right."

"He's right," Molly agrees, nodding and smiling encouragingly.

Peter snickers, "Spent your whole life disobeying the rules and now you get to help write them."

"Oh, if my younger self could see me now," Sirius jokes, sort of unable to believe he's doing so with Peter.

"I think he'd be more offended by the suit than anything," Mary tells them,

Sirius chuckles and nods. Then he sighs, "All right, I'll do it." Everyone nods their agreement.

Molly goes to the bottom of the stairs, "You can come back now!" She calls up them.

"So, why would your younger self have been offended by a suit?" Fleur asks Sirius as the kids descend.

"Oh, little Sirius was far too punk for that," Mary tells her.

"Yes, I never did get to finish questioning Tom about that?" Ginny asks, suddenly at Sirius' side.

Sirius looks at her in confusion. "How did you do that?" Sirius asks.

"Words like that, she's already there," Remus tells him though he doesn't look over. "Excuse me," he says, getting up and leaving the room.

"…Soooo, how long are you going to be angry at him for?" Peter asks.

Sirius sighs, rubbing at his forehead, "I haven't decided yet."

"Y-You guys aren't splitting up, are you?" Hermione asks in a small voice. Sirius looks over to see a fearful look on her face.

He walks over, hugging her. "Hermione, no matter what happens between Remus and I, it's never going to change how much we care about you," He tells her. He pulls back to look her in the eye. "You are my daughter and I love you, and no amount of Remus being a stupid asshat is going to change that in any way." Hermione nods, wiping at her eyes a bit. "But no, I don't think we're splitting up."

"You gonna tell him that?" Mary asks, "Coz he might be doing well lately but he's still Remy, and nobody gets angrier at him than he does at himself."

"I know, I just can't right now," Sirius tells her, "Not tonight."

Severus' phone lets out a 'bleup' noise. He opens it to read a text message. "Yeah, I'm gonna go sit with him. Peter, I'm nicking your Fiancée," Severus announces. Bridget immediately getting up from her seat, sitting Rema in Benni's lap earning a blinding smile from the girl, and following after Severus.

"Well then, I guess tomorrow, the Wizarding World starts being remade," Tom comments, everyone looking around nervously.


Sirius arrives at Hogwarts the next morning, quite nervous about what is to come. By the entrance, he finds Percy Weasley from the Ministry, and Wanda Parkinson from the Death Eaters.

Minerva meets the three at the door, nodding to each.

"He's already inside," Minerva tells them, "The staff are in the staffroom while we sort things out so we've set up the Great Hall for you."

"Have they made you Headmistress yet?" Sirius asks her.

McGonagall scowls at him, but then nods, a proud look in her eye. "Right then, if you'll follow me." Minerva leads them into the Great Hall where they find Inimicus sat at a round table in the centre of the room, the usual tables and benches pushed up against the wall. Inimicus looks at all the attendants, now more than a little concerned that he'll accidentally give himself away with Sirius or Percy, though he is very glad to see the latter again. It's been a long time.

"Well then, shall we get started?" Inimicus asks.

They all take their seats, McGonagall returning to her staff.

They start with the obvious stuff, yes Muggle-borns can attend Hogwarts. Stuff gets heated until Sirius puts forth the suggestion Hermione had given earlier in the year. Severus had mentioned it when the Order went over things they definitely want included.

It takes a while, but eventually Wanda agrees to that, and so it is written.

It's Percy that mentions Dark Creatures. Wanda immediately wanting the same rights for them as for humans which shocks Sirius until he remembers that, while he doesn't think they've ever been friends, she is in the group of people who have been close with Remus for a very long time even knowing about his condition. Sirius seconds the suggestions. Percy is nervous about it, not because he dislikes the people but because there is obviously a danger.

"Didn't you hear the kid yesterday?" Sirius asks him, "There's a way to make the wolf safe!"

"Dumbledore himself said he'd never seen it succeed," Percy points out.

"Yes, he was also banished and stripped of his magic yesterday, Mr Weasley," Wanda reminds him, "There is no middle ground here. I understand your trepidation but at the end of the day there are two options, either they have equal rights or they don't."

"Not to be a dick, but there's also the consideration that just because there is a way to merge the wolf and the human, doesn't mean all werewolves will put in the effort to make it happen when locking themselves away on the full might seem easier," Sirius points out unhappily as it occurs to him.

Percy rubs at his forehead, "What if we made it law that they do so."

"That's toeing a thin line, wouldn't you say?" Wanda tells them.

Percy turns to Inimicus. "I know you are here as an observer, but you don't happen to have any ideas, do you?"

"Benni Lupin," Inimicus replies simply. Which is confusing until Sirius' eyes widen.

"Benni has detailed plans about a sanctuary for Werewolves. A place where they can go during the full moon if their wolf isn't managed. But it would also have space for their children to stay overnight if necessary, medical help for them, and people who can educate them and their families on how to merge the wolf safely," Sirius remembers, nodding enthusiastically.

"We don't have people trained for that sort of thing," Percy points out.

Wanda shakes her head, "We do, actually. A lot of healers have the training for the medical side of things. That book, the one the kid showed yesterday, it had to be written by someone. And given that Remus Lupin was the one helping the child, I would wager there's a few people who know more about it all than we think," She says looking at Sirius.

"Obviously we'd need to train others, but there's enough to start this," Sirius tells Percy, "But only if we all agree."

Percy thinks about this for a moment before nodding slowly. "I want to see the plans for it, but if it works as you have described, I agree."

Sirius sends a patronus to Remus, asking him to bring Benni in and to get her to bring her plans for the sanctuary.

"We should move on while we wait," Wanda tells the others, they agree.

"I want to talk about the wars, about why they happened," Sirius says.

Percy nods, "With You-Know-Who and Dumbledore gone, we shouldn't have problems anymore, right?"

"Generals don't make a war, their followers do. The whole reason we're here representing three factions in our world is because the possibility for more war is still there," Sirius says, "I don't think 'pureblood elitist families', or 'Muggle-loving hippies' are the problem." Percy and Wanda look at him in confusion, even Inimicus isn't sure where he's going with it. "I think it starts here, when we teach kids that difference cannot work together," He explains, gesturing to the house banners hanging up. "I've been speaking to a lot of the children while working here. Some Slytherins feel like they're living up to familial expectations when they're sorted, but a lot immediately feel victimised because everyone is looking at them like they're future Dark Lords. More points get taken from Gryffindor than any other house when points are taken, yeah Gryffindors are reckless but they don't all act on it. We're telling our kids not to make snap judgements of people while telling them exactly what the others are like based on their sortings. I mean, it should just be a school competition encouraging good behaviour, but it changes how people deal with you long after you graduate as well."

"You want to get rid of the houses?" Wanda asks him.

Sirius nods, "I do, yes."

"The castle is set up to have students housed in four different places. Even if we did agree to this, how would you separate them without creating that divide still?"

"That I don't know," Sirius admits.

"Headmistress McGonagall should be present for this bit," Percy suggests. The others agree, so he sends a Patronus to her asking her to come down when she has a moment.

Mary walks in with Benni, much to Sirius' surprise. Mary grins, "Minnie had Remus come in, said she needed help, and then informed him that he's the DADA teacher again and shoved him into his seat in the staff room."

"Oh, good, I'm free," Sirius mutters earning a glare from Benni. "Not that I haven't loved being your teacher –"

"Take her for ice-cream later, Black, we're busy," Wanda directs, earning a glare from Sirius and an amused huff from Inimicus.

"Right, Miss Lupin, we're trying to work out how to safely integrate werewolves into society properly, and we want to hear about your sanctuary," Percy informs Benni who smiles and walks over to the table, laying out the parchment and notebook that she brought.

"Okay, so, it starts with a book…"

Benni walks them through the whole idea, which had grown since Sirius had last been updated, and the others had never heard it before. Sufficed to say, all are impressed.

"This is amazing work," Wanda tells her.

Benni blushes slightly, "I've been working on it for five years, so."

"How would you feel about it being implemented?" Percy asks, "You can watch over it, obviously, make sure it's being done right, so long as it does not interfere with your studies."

Benni nods, "That would be amazing."

"You mentioned that there were people knowledgeable enough to get this started," Wanda reminds Sirius who nods.

"Mary, how would you like a job?" Sirius asks, Mary nods. "Great, ask Pete too. Oh and, can you get in touch with the Polkas, see if they'd be interested in moving back to England for this. Maybe see if Tonks' parents would be interested in the childcare side of things given that it would only be for a day a month, possible a few days depending on how the wolf in question is feeling after the moon."

"Shall do!" Mary replies happily.

"I know some healers that have worked with werewolves," Wanda says, "I'll get in touch, see if any of them would be interested."

"What about Professor Randona?" Benni suggests.

"I'll get in touch with him as well, good one Little Benni," Mary says, ruffling the kid's hair. "Right, we'll go get on this," She announces, "Good luck with it all."

"Thank you very much for coming in," Percy tells them both.

The two leave, passing McGonagall at the door to the Hall. There's pleasantries exchanged there before they move on.

"What can I help you with?" Minerva asks the group as she walks over.

"We're discussing how Hogwarts is set up in terms of house groups and the effect they have on society," Percy explains, "We thought you should be present for it."

"I appreciate that," Minerva tells them, taking a seat.

"Right, so, I've been half thinking about this since you mentioned it," Percy tells the others, "If we were to agree that house groups have a detrimental and lasting effect on the students and dissolve them, we still have four separate housing spots. So, in the event we decide that's for the best, what if they were housed in age groups. So, first and second year in one, third and fourth in another, fifth and sixth in a third, and give seventh years their own area entirely and they can actually get some work done around exam time," Percy suggests.

"We'd still need to agree that house groups are detrimental and I don't," Wanda states.

"Following first term, students this year pushed aside the idea of house groups and tried to learn to get past all that. For one, it should not be so difficult to interact with your peers, but another thing, is that the teachers all noted a distinct decrease in volatile disagreement," McGonagall informs them.

Wanda frowns at this, thinking through carefully, then she nods, "All right, yes. Let's do it."

"We have to do everything we can for a cohesive community in Britain," Percy agrees, nodding, "It has to start with the children."

They look to Inimicus who inclines his head in agreement, so they write it up. In truth, Inimicus isn't sure how he feels about it, but he's not here to dictate the future of the Wizarding World, only to ensure all parties here are getting a say and are properly in agreement. They thought it through, discussed it, got the information, and made their decision.


They are in day three of these talks, finally signing off on the new procedure for Ministry elections after two gruelling hours of debate.

"Okay, so we agree on that, but I think we can also agree that Scrimgeour's got to go," Wanda states, the other two nodding though Percy seems uncomfortable with the fact that he agrees.

"We can't give this over to the Wizarding World without a leader, that's too much chaos at once," Percy points out.

Sirius sighs, "And if we go with these plans for an election, it'll be a while before there's a Minister and things will have already fallen apart."

"So, we pick one to start things off and then put the plan in place," Wanda suggests, "Someone who will look at things clearly, not be blinded by any side."

There's a full minute of silence.

"Anyone got anything?" Sirius asks, the other two shake their heads.

"Inimicus, any ideas?" Wanda questions, seeing as he seems to have a solution to everything.

Inimicus debates this for a moment, kind of sad about Scrimgeour. He'd liked him. Then he answers, "Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"…He might have sided with Dumbledore but, if we give him this plan he'll implement it to the letter," Sirius agrees.

"That's brilliant," Percy comments, having worked with the man within the Ministry on several occasions.

Wanda thinks for a moment, then nods, "Very well, offer him the job, bring him in tomorrow."

They break for the day. Sirius enters the Fortress, glad to find Kingsley at the table, keeping count of points in a chess tournament that seems to include everyone who currently resides here. Sirius plonks himself down in front of him.

"Sirius," Kingsley greets, voice already full of suspicion.

"King!" Sirius replies cheerily. Everyone looks over in suspicion at that tone of voice. "How would you like to be the new Minister for Magic?" Kingsley stares at him in shock, Sirius nods encouragingly. "Yep, we all agreed on it. Inimicus' suggestion actually. He hasn't actively given a suggestion on much but we asked what he thought and two seconds later he just dropped your name. So, want the job?"

Kingsley hesitates a moment more than nods, "I, yes, absolutely."

A round of congratulations comes from all.

"Great, you have to come with me tomorrow. Good luck," Sirius says, patting him on the back and leaving the room.


They spend another two days hammering out the details of this, agreeing that the basics of the world are pretty okay except for a few things they've changed, and finally all believe they've covered everything they need to. Though there was a memorable argument about the set-up of Azkaban that none shall soon forget, but they also agree never to speak about it again once they'd re-jigged that as well.

On the final day, they send a letter to the Ministry, and to the Prophet, that they intend to bring it in the following morning so they can all be witnessed signing it.

"Do we really have to involve the Prophet?" Percy asks Inimicus.

"Do you have something to hide, Mr Weasley?"

"Wha-…no, of course not."

Inimicus shrugs, "Then what's the problem?"


The next day, the head into the Ministry, unsurprised to find many members of the public in the Atrium. They stand at the front, Barnabus and his Photographer once more given a place right in front of them.

They read out the new policies, it takes a while, but it's important. Then they all sign it, Kingsley, Scrimgeour, and Inimicus included. Though the latter simply writes his name. Scrimgeour willingly hands the position of Minister over to Kinglsey though announces his intention to run for it in the next Election. Kingsley shakes his hand proudly.

Finally, the official part is over, everyone instantly looks to Inimicus.

"Not getting out of it this time," Kingsley tells him.

Inimicus chuckles, nodding. "Once you know, you can't un-know."

"Just take off your mask!" Someone calls, sounding amused.

Inimicus hesitates one more time. He sees his Reapers, out of costume, in the crowd. They nod at him. He takes off the mask.

Dead silence fills the Atrium.

"…I just spent five days in a room with my own bloody son and didn't know it," Sirius comments.

"Yeah this explains a lot," Scrimgeour adds.

Harry shrugs, "Someone had to do something."

Someone in the crowd starts clapping, and then everyone does. Harry smiles.

And in that moment, Harry realises he was wrong. Because it might be rare, but every now and then, the world is kind.


NOTE:

OMG one chapter left!