Hello! It took me a lot longer to finish this chapter than intended,but I got preoccupied with work,life and my other fanfictions. However,I finally finished this chapter,and I'm really happy with it,and I hope you guys are too! I have the approximate storyline panning out,with only a few minor changes. Anyways,do PM me if you got any questions,and I'll hopefully see all of you next !

Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters,all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 3

May 4th:

The next day saw Amelia Bones walking with determined steps towards the office of the Minister of Magic. She stopped by the secretary. «Good morning, the Minister in?» she asked. Said secretary looked up from her desk and replied. «Good morning, Director. If you'll please wait here,I shall see if he's busy» she said as she knocked on the door and walked in. She came out a minute later and smiled at Amelia. «The Minister will see you now» she said as she sat back down behind her desk. With a brief word of thanks,Amelia walked into the Minister's office.

Cornelius Fudge was in a good mood. After the last war, the political scene was in an uproar, with no one being able to know who to trust. He was a lowly assistant in the Obliviate-squad at the time of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's dissappearance. Since then,he took his opportunities to elevate his position in the Ministry. He had even gotten considerable help(and Galleons) from his new «friend»,Lucius Malfoy and his supporters,which had inclined him further to listening to what the Malfoy family was busy counting the latest amount he had received from Lucius when Amelia stepped in. He quickly put the coins in a bag and shoved into a drawer before turning to Amelia. «Good morning,Madam Bones,what can I do for you this morning?» he asked. She smiled at him. «Good morning,Minister. The question should rather be what I can do for you this morning. The answer would be to run damage control» she said. At the questioning look from Fudge,she continued. «I had a very enlightening meeting yesterday, with Arthur Weasley,who have recently taken over magical guardianship over Harry Potter. Apparently,young mister Potter had a meeting with Gringotts yesterday,and was revealed both his complete heritage from the houses of Potter and Peverell,along with the last will from his parents» she said as she produced a copy of said will and presented it to the Minister. His eyes widened at a certain point,as Amelia continued: «As you can see, this is evidence that Sirius Black is innocent of his crimes against the Potters. As Minister,if handled incorrectly, this can cost you your position, unless you actually free mister Black and give him a trial. Maybe we can actually catch the culprit, instead of imprisoning innocents» Amelia finished. Cornelius paled at what Amelia implied. «Y-Yes,of course. I shall have an order to send mister Black to a department holding cell immediately!» Fudge said. Amelia smiled. «Excellent. I shall question Black myself under the trial,so we will know that the truth comes out» she said as she left the office. Cornelius leaned back in his chair and dried a few drops of sweat of his forehead. «Dear Merlin!» he said to himself before finding pen and parchment to order the immediate transfer for Sirius Black from Azkaban to a DMLE- holding cell.

Many miles away,Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry:

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office,thinking of his meeting with Amelia Bones the previous evening. Her demand that he step down from his positions in both the ministry and the ICW was a rather bitter pill for him to swallow,but he had to admit that she opened his eyes. His previous thoughts that the coming war can be limited to a few people would never work,not as long as Voldemort and his Death Eaters were the enemy. Amelia wanted him to focus on educating the young,as well as prepare them for what may come. An idea presented itself in his head. «Of course! That should work. Now,to convince Cornelius...» he mumbled to himself as he thought of what he needed the Minister to do. So lost in thought he was,that he actually jumped a little when he heard a knock on the door. «Come in!» he called as he quickly scribbled his idea on a piece of parchment lying on his desk. The door opened,followed by the entrance of professors McGonnagal,Snape,Sprout and Flitwick. «You called for us,Headmaster?» Flitwick asked. Dumbledore smiled. «Yes Filius,I did. I had a rather enlightening meeting with Amelia Bones of the DMLE last night. Apparently, young Harry Potter has found his parent's will at Gringotts yesterday. In it was stated that Sirius Black is Harry Potter's godfather by means of the Patrinus- ritual» he said as he saw the different reactions of his heads of houses. McGonnagal was shocked,as she clutched her chest as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Flitwick and Sprout's reactions were similar. Snape on the other hand, became furious. «WHAT! Black,innocent?! Preposterous! Someone sold out the Potters,and Black was found at the scene after blowing up Pettigrew along with the muggles! If Black was innocent,then the only reasonable suspect is Lupin! I knew he was as Dark as the rest of his breed» he sneered. Albus fixed him with a sharp look. «Do not throw out boundless accusations,Severus! Harry Potter is starting here this September,and I will not have his education foiled by your petty hatred for his father!» he thundered. Snape recoiled. He had never seen the Headmaster so furious. Dumbledore sighed. «A war is coming. Voldemort is trying to recover his power,and eventually I fear,he will succeed. It is our responsibility to teach our students enough to not only pass their exams,but to survive the oncoming battles. As such,I have decided to resign my posts at the ministry and the ICW. I am first and foremost a teacher,and that is the position I shall take up once more. I will arrange an advanced duelling course for fourth-years and up. In addition,Minerva. I know you already have a lot on your plate as Deputy Headmistress,Head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration-professor. However,I must inquire,would you consider teaching some of your upper years to become animagi? Or should I rather have that be a specialized class,separate from any other course?» he asked. McGonnagal looked at Albus curiosly. «I can certainly suggest it to a few upper years,but I will not jeopardize my availability for my other students in favor of it,so I would suggest approaching someone else as Animagus-professor» Minerva said sharply. Dumbledore nodded. «I expected as much,yet I had to inquire» he said with a smile. He then turned to Flitwick. «Filius,will you consider offering extra duelling classes for the younger years? Maybe you'll find your duelling champion to mentor after all» he said with a slight smile. Flitwick grinned. «I shall ask all students from first to third year,Albus,but I will not force any who are not interested» the small professor answered. Albus nodded and turned to Snape. «I will not offer any extra Potion classes! Those are reserved for students going for masteries,and I will not have anyone disturbing them!» Severus sneered. Sprout scoffed. «Oh,come on Severus! Has anyone actually wanted to go for their masteries in Potions since you took up this post a decade ago? Your reputation as a professor have you pictured as a biased,vindictive man who bullies any student not in Slytherin! You may be a decent Potions Master,Severus,but you are clearly lacking as a teacher» Pomona stated with a disapproving frown,joined by Minerva and Filius. She then turned to Albus. «I shall offer extra Herbology lessons,focusing on the more volatile plants used as defense and those used in volatile potions, along with those with more volatile defense mechanisms» she said,with a pointed look at Snape when she mentioned potions. Albus nodded,pleased with Pomona's answer. «Very good. Please notify your houses tomorrow at your earliest convenience,we will move the time-table an hour back. That is all,thank you everyone. Severus,stay a moment» he said with a stern look. As soon as the door closed behind Minerva, Albus glared at Severus. «I am disappointed in you,Severus! It has been twenty years since your quarrels with James Potter and Sirius Black,and you still hold that against them? Have you forgotten that you yourself were no more innocent than they back then? Spy or no,I will not have you actively ruin a student's time while they are here» He thundered. Severus recoiled before regaining his composure. «You of all people know why I have done so,Albus! When the Dark Lord regains his following,I cannot be seen being friendly towards any not in his old house,I must keep up appearances,Albus! Lucius is breathing down my neck to take young Draco as an apprentice,and I will not give that family ammunition against me!» Snape took a deep breath. «I shall try to be more lenient,but I cannot be actively seen complimenting Gryffindors in classes! I am aware I have quite the dismal reputation as a teacher, and I shall do my best to rectify that,but I will not compromise my position by any means. As for Potter and Black...They looked down on Slytherin's since the day we got sorted, they all started with those stupid pranks, which it seems the Weasley twins are trying to copy. Not to mention, the instance where Black tried to kill me,as I'm sure you remember?» Snape sneered. «Even if it proves that Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are innocent in betraying Lily,I will not forget the torment they put me under, as far as I'm concerned, any spells I fired towards them were retaliation for the spells they threw at me» Snape turned to leave the office. «It remains to be seen how I will treat the boy,depending on whether he has more of his mother's brain than his father's» he said as he opened the door and left the office. Albus frowned. He knew that Severus was a valued spy in the Death Eater camp. However,his recent desicion to let Amelia Bones know of the prophecy showed him that the Light may be stronger when focused on the same spot. 'I shall have to think on the meanwhile,I have a new professor-post to advertise' he thought to himself before summoning parchment and a quill and started to write.

Sirius Black was cold. Not only because he was facing the ocean,but because of the blasted demons that inhabited the godforsaken rock he was on. Being constantly surrounded by dementors a straight decade is not a good thing for ones mental health,that was for sure,and Sirius had seen his share of inmates slowly losing their minds. It was never a pretty thing to experience. To his immense surprise, shortly after he had been brought in,they had paraded his insane bitch of a cousin in front of his cell, but he never knew what they managed to bring her in for. He only knew that whatever it was,it was bad. Thankfully he didn't have to listen to her insane ramblings longer than necessary,as they brought her further inside the prison. He was just hoping that Harry was okay and taken care of,wherever he may be.

He was brought out of his musings when a guard stepped in front of his cell. «You have a visitor» he said. Sirius stood up as his past came to stare him in the face. «Amelia Bones» he croaked; his voice had gone raspy from years of misuse. «Sirius Black» she said as she looked him over. The years in Azkaban had not been kind. He was thinner than a grown man should be,his face and beard had grown long and unkempt,but what scared Amelia slightly about this man,was his eyes. His eyes were dimmer than she had ever seen him before Azkaban,like they had lost all hope. «What brings you out here? Don't you work in the Ministry?» he asked. She smiled slightly. «DMLE. I have news for you,Sirius,and I can swear by the Styx that what I am about to say to you is no joke» she said as she turned to the guard and asked him to leave. «I can find my own way out,thank you» she said. She turned back to Sirius. «I am here to bring you over to the holding cells at the Ministry. Evidence of what happened with the Potter's murder has been found. Harry was the one to notify me and showed me the clause with the Patroni charm. The Minister has approved me bringing you to the Ministry's holding cells, after you've gotten a decent meal and a nice,long bath» she said,slightly teasing. Sirius was shellshocked. «They're releasing me? Harry knows about me?» he asked, his voice shaking. Amelia nodded. « opened his parents' will,and started asking his magical guardian questions about each and every one of us. When they approached me and showed me the will,I could scarcely believe I was right all those years ago. You truly were James' brother in all but blood» she said. Sirius smiled slightly. «Well,what are we waiting for? As you said,I can absolutely stand a decent meal and a nice,long bath!» he said. Amelia smiled and called for the guard. «Open his cell,he is coming with me to the Ministry!» she said. The guard was about to protest when she fixed him with a glare. The guard swallowed and unlocked the cell. Sirius took a few tentative steps outside his cell, and stretched his back,which ended with a loud CRACK. «That felt good,been keeping that in for the past 6 months or something» he said with a smile. Amelia smiled at him,put her hand on his shoulder and walked him back to the boat leading back to the apparition point.

When they arrived at the apparition point at the Ministry,Amelia led him to the Magical Law Enforcement holding cells,where a guard was waiting. «Now,just sit tight there, and I'll arrange for a decent warm meal for you,along with that bath» she told Sirius as she asked the guard to open a cell door for him. Sirius smiled as he walked into the cell. «With pleasure! After all,it's not like I'll be here for long,after all!» he said with a short laugh before he looked at Amelia. «Thank you Amelia,I owe you a big one when all this is over» he said sincerely. Amelia smiled back. «Thank your godson when you see him,I'll ask him if he wants to see you before the trial,if you want?» she asked. «That would be great,thanks again Amy» Sirius said as he sat down on the makeshift bed. «Anytime Sirius» she said with a smile before she left for the Minister's office.

With Harry:

Harry,Ron and Dudley were currently playing a boardgame around the living room table when an owl suddenly flew in through the living room window,dropped a letter on the table and flew back out. «What was that all about?» Ron asked as Harry took a look at the envelope. «It's from madam Bones! She must've been able to get my godfather out of prison!» Harry exclaimed as he ripped open the envelope and read the letter. It read:

«Dear mr. Potter. After our meeting,I went directly to the Minister to clear the situation regarding Sirius Black. As expected, he was more than willing to release Mr. Black to DMLE custody in wait of a proper trial. I will send another letter later regarding the details of the trial. As it was you who uncovered mr. Black's innocence, you may have to stand in as a you are interested,I can also arrange a brief meeting between the two of you before his trial. I think it might benefit the both of you.

Sincerely, Amelia Bones

Head of the DMLE»

As Harry finished reading, Petunia came in the door. «I'm home!» she called out. «We're in the living room!» Dudley hollered back. As Petunia came in,she saw that Harry was eagerly reading a letter. «What's the news,Harry?» she asked. He looked up and grinned at her. «I just got a letter from Madam Bones. She was able to get Sirius out of prison for a proper trial. She also wrote that since it was me who found out about his innocence,I may be called in to witness. She also offers to arrange a meeting before the trial» he said. Petunia smiled. «That's fantastic, Harry! I'm sure you are very anxious to meet with him. You can always ask Arthur if he can join you,as I doubt I would be allowed» she said,somewhat sadly. Harry noticed this and went to hug his aunt. «I swear,once I'm old enough,I will find a way to allow you to visit the magical world properly» he said seriously. «You'll have my support,mate!» said Ron. «I mean,there are plenty of muggleborn witches and wizards,it would make sense that they would want to show what they can do in front of their parents. Not to mention that most purebloods are completely clueless regarding the muggle world. Who knows,we might be able to do something about it in the future» he finished. Harry nodded with a smile. Dudley then looked at his watch. «You're home early though,mum. Is something wrong?» he asked with a look at Petunia. She smiled. «On the contrary. Something really,really good happened! Mr. Johnson has decided to retire, and he made me the manager!» she said. «That's great,congrats mum!» Dudley exclaimed as he ran to hug his mother. «Congratulations,aunt Petunia!» Harry said as he hugged his aunt once again. Ron just sat by the table in the living room,smiling at how things has turned for the small family. He then remembered. «Oh yeah,Harry?» he asked. Harry turned to look at him. «Charlie said that we could start learning runes from him from tomorrow on,I think he's even getting Bill to help us. We have to go to the Burrow,though,as mum is still insisting on him having to sit still because of his ankle» Ron said. «That's fine,at least we're learning something before school begins» said Harry. «I'm looking forward to getting the letter though,as that would make it official» Harry said. Ron nodded in understanding. «Yeah,I know what you mean. Makes me happy that my birthday is before yours» he said in a teasing tone to Harry,who deflated and mock glared at him. «Yeah,yeah. Rub it in my face that I'll be one of the youngest in our year,why don't you?» he said sarcastically. Just as Ron was about to open his mouth,Harry said: «I meant that sarcastically,Ron!» followed by all three boys laughing.

It did not take long before Harry heard from madam Bones again,stating that Harry could visit Sirius next Friday,the day before Sirius' trial. Arthur stated that he would accompany Harry to the holding cells of the Ministry,and again for the trial the following day.

Next Friday was upon Harry like a freight train. He was suddenly very nervous about meeting his father's best friend and his godfather.

«Are you ready,Harry?» Arthur asked Harry as he floo'ed into the Evans' home. Harry,who had sat in the living room,stood up as he nodded at Arthur,too nervous to speak properly. Arthur seemed to notice, and crouched so he was eyelevel with Harry and said: «Don't worry,Harry. Sirius is going to be overjoyed to see you again. If anything,I'll be right there with you,okay?» this seemed to calm Harry,as he looked at Arthur and smiled. «Thanks,Mr. Weasley» he said,still somewhat subdued. Arthur stood up and placed a hand on Harrys shoulder. «Anytime,Harry» he said as he led the boy to the fireplace where they floo'ed to the Ministry of magic.

When they stepped out of the fireplace,Arthur quickly cleaned both himself and Harry of soot before leading him into the main hall. «Welcome to the Ministry of magic!» Arthur said as he gestured to the massive stone hall. It showed several rows of offices in floors going up. What caught Harry's attention though,was a massive fountain on the main floor. It had several figures standing around it. Harry easily recognized most of them; there was a wizard,a witch, a centaur and something Harry could identify as a goblin. There was one creature though,that Harry did not recognize. When he asked Arthur about it,he answered: «That is a house-elf. Some magic families has them as servants. They are quite handy and have their own kind of magic that is mostly overlooked by most wizards. Ah,this way!» he said,as he led Harry towards an empty elevator. Once they stepped in, Arthur said: «DMLE holding!» before the elevator moved.

Once,the elevator stopped,Harry was all to happy to get out; the elevator ride resembled the glass elevator from one of his childhood books. It went,left,right and diagonally in addition to up and down. Needless to say,Harry was just a little bit nauseous when he stepped out,followed by Arthur,who quickly grabbed Harry by the shoulder and steered him down a hallway. Eventually they arrived by a door,guarded by one quite stern-looking man. Arthur looked the man in the eyes and said: « Arthur Weasley,escorting Harry James Potter. Here to see Sirius Black». As the guard opened the door,Harry steeled his nerves.

«Here goes nothing» he muttered to himself as Arthur led him into the holding cell area.