Harry Potter and the Order of Mercaba
by SeraphimBlue
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the characters of his universe are owned by J.K. Rowling. I hold no claim over anyone here, except for my original characters and the Order of Mercaba, which is my own creation.
Chapter Eleven
Sirius Black sat on the bed and smiled at the young Healer before him. She was pretty, kind, appeared to be near his age and kept reassuring him that everything would be fine as she examined him carefully.
"Well… other than what you believed to be wrong with you… which sadly, you are correct about… there isn't much else to be worried about. The damage to your testicles could have been corrected had you received healing at the time of the injury, but sadly now the damage is permanent and has left you sterile."
Alastor Moody fumed as he shook his head. He'd sent off word to his assistant to gather up those on the list of names Black had given him. All of them would be interrogated and imprisoned for their crimes, with the charge of ending a line added now.
"Sirius… did you mention the injury to the Warden when you were brought in?"
Sirius looked at Moody and nodded.
"Yeah, he saw all the blood and cleaned me up then smirked when he saw what had happened. He knew… but didn't care. Said it was probably a good thing I couldn't make any future Death Eaters."
Moody nodded.
"Just what I needed to hear."
He looked to the Healer and nodded toward Sirius.
"Anything else wrong with him?"
The Healer nodded.
"Overall malnourishment, some parasites, a few injuries… all of which can be cured with some potions and a good cleaning. You're lucky to not have been in there too long, Mister Black."
Sirius smiled at her warmly.
"Please… call me Sirius."
The Healer smiled and shook her head.
"I'll prescribe a series of potions, Mister Black, and you can pick them up before you leave. A good cleaning and some fresh clothes and I'm sure you'll feel like a new man."
Sirius pouted but took it all in stride as he sighed and nodded.
"Yes miss."
A soft giggle escaped her lips as she moved to the door.
"Very cute… Sirius… but I'll be going home to my husband now. You get better soon."
With a nod to Moody, she left the two of them alone. Moody smirked and shook his head.
"I'll get the Warden up on charges as well as the boys on the list. Do you have a place to stay once you're done with the Wizengamot?"
Sirius shrugged.
"There's the family home. I think my mother would kill me on sight, but grandfather might listen. If not, I can move into the Leaky Cauldron until I track down my friend Remus Lupin. We always talked about getting a house and having the grand bachelor life."
Moody nodded.
"Arcturus… I know him. I'll send him an owl while you're getting cleaned up and changed. He should be there for the trial."
Sirius winced but nodded. The door opened and in walked one of the Aurors from earlier... a bundle of clothing under his arm.
"Here you are, Mister Black. I guessed on the sizes, considering you've lost some weight, but hopefully they should fit."
Sirius took them and nodded his thanks.
"I appreciate it, thank you."
The Auror smiled and left. Moody pointed to a door on the far wall and nodded.
"Bath's in there. I'll send off a few owls then be back to wait for you. You aren't scheduled to go before the Wizengamot for another two hours. We're still gathering enough for a trial so you have time to take a shower and shave at least."
Sirius nodded then frowned.
"What do we do about my wand? The Warden took great pleasure in snapping it in front of my face."
Moody sighed and made another mental note.
"Once the Wizengamot releases you we can go to Ollivander and get you a new one. I'll make sure the Ministry pays for everything. Now… get cleaned up."
With that said, he turned and headed out to run his errands, leaving Sirius to shrug and head off to shower.
The Ministry… Courtroom One
Members of the Wizengamot milled about as they took their seats, many anxious about why they were there. A trial for Sirius Black, of all people… who would believe it. Murmurs of dissatisfaction at being there drifted around the room.
Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold entered with Augusta Longbottom and of all people, Arcturus Black. They whispered to each other and took their places at the middle of the podium.
"Attention… attention… this emergency session of the Wizengamot is now underway. You have all been brought here because new information in the case of Sirius Black has come to light. Because of this, the accused is to be given a trial in the matter of whether or not he is an accessory to the murder of James and Lily Potter and to the murder of Peter Pettigrew."
A dull roar filled the room as many of the family heads or proxies became agitated.
"Of course he's guilty. He sold them out to the Dark Lord. Everyone knows this!"
Minister Bagnold began to react to the outburst from Abraxas Malfoy, but Arcturus Black beat her to it.
"I'd watch your tone, Malfoy. My grandson was never given a trial and was permanently injured on top of that. One more word from you and you will deal with me… and we both know I can kill you with my eyes closed."
Abraxas glared right back.
"Is that a threat Black?"
Arcturus grinned.
"Why of course not… it's a promise… now sit down and shut up before I make it so that your wife or son has to be called in to take your place."
Abraxas Malfoy glared and went for his wand… only to fly backward across the room a second later, his head splattering against the far wall as a blast of black light slammed into him from Arcturus's wand.
"Anyone else stupid enough to join him in death? Just pull your wands right now and I'll be happy to send you along after him. Otherwise… all of you… sit the fuck down and shut up."
A wave of fear passed through the remaining members, their eyes moving from the dead body of the Head of the Malfoy family… to the glowing wand of the Head of the Black family. One by one, they took their seat when they realized that the Minister didn't care and wasn't going to chastise Arcturus Black.
"Now… as I said… we are going to give Sirius Black his trial and it will be a fair one. Bring him in."
Two Aurors escorted a clean, shaven and dressed Sirius in and brought him to the middle of the room where a chair was waiting for him. They placed him in the chair and attached the chains, then nodded and moved off to the side.
"Sirius Black… you are being charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and for being an accomplice to the murders of James and Lily Potter. How do you plead."
Sirius looked up at the Minister and his grandfather next to her and swallowed.
"Not guilty… and I'll take Veritaserum to prove it."
Minister Bagnold nodded and an Auror moved forward and opened a sealed case. Inside was a clear glass vial filled with an almost clear liquid. She opened the vial and motioned for Sirius to open his mouth, then gave him three drops once he complied.
"Now then… to begin. We will test a few things. What is your name?"
Sirius's eyes relaxed and he blinked.
"Sirius Orion Black."
Minister Bagnold nodded.
"When were you born?"
Sirius smiled.
"November 3, 1959"
At that moment, Arcturus leaned forward.
"Was it you or Regulus that stole my 100 year old bottle of firewhiskey?"
Sirius blinked.
"It was Reggie.. but he blamed me for it and mother thought he could do no wrong."
A low snicker passed through the crowd and the Minister nodded.
"Sirius Black… did you tell Voldemort the whereabouts of the home of the Potters?"
Sirius shook his head no.
"No… I'd never do that."
She nodded.
"Were you their secret keeper?'
Sirius shook his head again.
"No… Peter was… Peter Pettigrew. He's the one who told."
The members blinked in shock and looked at each other.
"Did you murder Peter Pettigrew and thirteen muggles the night the Potters were murdered?"
Sirius looked angry at the moment.
"I wanted to kill Peter… he got James and Lily killed… I chased after him to kill him… but he got away from me."
Sirius paused then continued.
"He cut off his finger while yelling at me that it was me who told… then he fired a spell at something behind him and everything went white… but I saw him grin at me, turn into a rat and scamper off."
Augusta Longbottom leaned forward.
"Are you saying that Peter Pettigrew is an animagus?"
Sirius nodded.
"We all were… to help our friend Remus in school. Peter is a rat. I'm a dog that looks like a grim. James was a stag and Lily was a fox."
A low roar of disbelief filled the room as Augusta frowned.
"When did you learn?"
Sirius smiled.
"Third year."
Arcturus let out a laugh that had more pride in it than he had ever done before. His grandson was innocent and smarter than he'd thought.
"I think that's good enough for us to drop the charges."
Nods filled the room as a vote was taken with Sirius being cleared of all charges. The antidote was given and Sirius blushed at the things he said. The Aurors removed the chains and he was free to go.
Standing, Sirius was surprised to be face to face with his grandfather.
"Grandfather… it's good to see you, sir."
Arcturus nodded and patted Sirius on the shoulder.
"Welcome home, son. I'm proud of you for not giving in and selling out your friends. You'll be coming home with me. We need to talk about the continuation of our line, now that those bastards sterilized you."
Sirius smiled and nodded.
"Will it go through Cissy's son… Dragon?"
Arcturus laughed and shook his head.
"Draco… no, he won't be the heir… for a few reasons. One of which is there is another with a closer tie."
Sirius looked confused at that.
"Who would that be? As far as I know, Bella hasn't had children and Andi was kicked out of the family, so her Nymphie isn't allowed."
Arcturus listened and nodded.
"Don't worry about that either… there will be many changes soon with your cousins. No… the one I mean is the Potter boy, Harry. He's just a bit closer to the family that people thought. With you as his Godfather as well, his blood is connected to ours though Dorea."
Sirius's eyes widened when he realized what this meant. Harry would be the next Lord Black… stealing it out of the money grubbing hands of the Malfoy's. A smile slowly crossed his lips at the thought.
"We'll have to make sure he is protected then and knows everything he needs to know. He'll need to be safe from death threats from the rest of the family."
Arcturus nodded.
"Don't worry… I plan on cleaning house and removing branches of the family that chose to follow that dark bastard… and bringing back in a few that were removed in error. There will be major changes to the Ancient and Noble House of Black. We will survive this and become better than we once were… oh yes, much better."
Arcturus placed his arm around Sirius and gave him a warm hug.
"Now… let's go home and start kicking some arse… starting with your Mother. Maybe we can make enough progress to drop in on Andromeda and her family by dinner."
Sirius laughed at that and nodded. He could feel that his life was changing for the better.
Gringots Room of Records – Family Division
A soft ding echoed in the room and the goblin on duty looked up at the scroll that popped into existence on his desk. Unrolling it, he read carefully then blinked in shock. Making a copy for records, he placed that aside then rolled the parchment back up and sent it on to the manager of the family involved.
"A new heir of the Black family…"
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he took the copy and placed it in a file marked… Harry James Potter Gorbain Morrigan. As he closed the file… another name was added… Black.
Unknown location
Fawkes smiled at cooed gently while the young child slept. She had been watching the child, secretly and invisibly, for months. She wanted to let the family know she was there… but not just yet. The boy needed more of her influence before she made herself known. No… she would wait a bit longer… just a bit.
"It will be okay… don't worry…" she thought as she watched him sleep, then with a small burst of flame… vanished from the room.