"Harry!" Sirius said. He crossed the room and hugged him. "Seeker on the
Hogwarts team, eh? Playing against Viktor Krum in January?"
Harry nodded. Sirius beamed. Dumbledore chuckled. "As exciting as that
is, Sirius, we are on our way to a trial. We will travel there by Floo
Powder. The address is Room 187, English Ministry of Magic, WWW."
"WWW?" Harry repeated, puzzled. "Whats that mean?"
Dumbledores eyes twinkled. "Ahhh, I forget you don't know these things,
Harry. All Ministry Floo fireplaces have passwords. I suggested this one -
WWW stands for Weazly's Wizard Wheezes."
Harry laughed, and Dumbledore smiled.
"I think that's all the explaining we have time for. Now, Remus and I will
go first. Harry, you and Sirius follow.
As Sirius and Harry entered the room, several people gasped. After all, it wasn't every day you saw the Boy-Who-Lived fraternising with the man believed to be Voldemort's right hand man, Sirius Black. Ministry officials hastily conducted Harry to a witnesses seat and Sirius to the defendants. Once everyone was seated and ready, an important looking official in black and gold began. "You are all here to witness the 'Innocent until Proven Guilty' trial of Mr Sirius Black, called into effect by Mr Harry Potter."
At the mention of Harry's name, the entire room turned to stare. "Mr Potter, do you wish to continue?" Harry nodded firmly, his gaze fixed on Fudge, who was sweating nervously. "We then call on Sirius Black to speak." Sirius rose. His eyes still had the hollow look of Azkaban. "In a way," he began, "I am partly responsible for the deaths of Lily and James." A disbelieving murmur ran around the room.
"I - I was the one who persuaded them to change Secret-Keepers at the last minute. I thought it would be the perfect bluff - Voldemort would be certain they'd use me, and if he caught me and used a Truth Potion, and they'd used Peter, he'd never find them. He'd never dream they'd use a weak, talentless wizard like Peter. James thought it was the perfect bluff also - Lily took more persuading. She'd never really liked Peter. But in the end they switched. On the night they died, I, I went to check Peter. Make sure he was still safe. I got to his hideout and he was gone. I raced to the Hollow. I found Lil and James dead." His voice cracked, and he paused for a moment. "Harry was still in Lily's arms. I was climbing over the rubble, trying to get to them, when Hagrid arrived. I let him take Harry, and went after Peter. Peter blew the street apart and transformed." "Transformed?" the Black-and-Gold man said. Sirius nodded.
"Transformed. He was an illegal animagus. We all were. Me, James, and Peter. We did it so we could accompany Remus during his transformations. You know, his lycanthropy."
"How did you escape?" Black-and-Gold man asked.
"I knew I was innocent. It wasn't a happy thought so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. It kept me sane- allowed me to keep my powers. When everything got too bad, I could transform into my animagus form. Dementors can't sense animal emotions. Then, I saw Peter in the paper. He'd been posing as a pet rat. It said the children were at Hogwarts - I knew Harry'd be there by now. I had to stop Peter from harming Harry, so I crept through the bars and headed for Hogwarts.." His voice trailed off. Remembering Azkaban was obviously none too pleasant.
"Mr Harry Potter, do you have anything to add?" Black-and-Gold man said. Harry stood up. "Well, if you don't find Sirius innocent this time, I'll drag Veritaserum into the appeal.. Then you won't have a choice. I'll make it myself if I have to, or buy it. I'll face every Dementor in Azkaban to get Sirius free. Can you imagin going over your best friends death for 12 years and knowing that you could have prevented it? I'll do anything to keep Sirius out of there. I'll - I'll" Harry was running out of things to do. "I'll find Peter and drag him in here even if it means kidnapping him from under Voldemorts nose!" He finished his tirade with a stamp of his foot. Sheets of paper blew into the air and ink bottles exploded. Harry sat down slowly, shaking a little. He hadn't been expecting to perform accidental magic again.
Most people were staring at him. He looked at the roof crossly. Dumbledore flicked his wand and the mess vanished. Black and Gold man stood up hastily. "Err, would the jury please leave the room to make their decision." The jury rose and filed out. They returned in a matter of minutes, passing a slip of paper to Black-and-Gold man. Harry held is breath. "Ahem. I would like to announce that Sirius Black has been found"...Dead silence.
"Not Guilty!" Harry sat frozen, a smile spreading across his face. Then he leapt at Sirius, sending tables and chairs flying. "We did it, Snuffles!" he yelled. "Ahem," Black-and-Gold man said again. "We would now like to present Mr Black with his personal belongings, his Gringotts key and his wand." He flicked his wand and a box appeared in front of Sirius filled with papers. On top was a large silver key and a wand. Sirius snatched the wand up, stuffing it into his pocket. "His 12 million galleons will be deposited in his account shortly." The official said. Harry sneaked a look at Fudge. He was now green, and shaking. "Finally, we would like to return custody of his godson, Mr Harry Potter, in accordance with the late Mr and Mrs Potters wishes. Now, Mr Black, is there any close family members or friends who are entitle to compensation?"
Sirius nodded. "Remus and Harry both deserve it." The official nodded. "That will be taken care of."
Harry and Sirius made their way over to Remus, who was practically dancing with delight. "Finally, Padfoot! Now I don't have anything to worry about. Well, almost nothing." He glanced at Harry, who scowled, then decided a subject change was in order. "So, Sirius, are we gonna go back to Hogwarts and scare everyone?" Sirius shook his head. "No way! You, me and Remus are going to go and have dinner in the Leaky Cauldron so I can catch up on what you have been doing in your life that I have missed. Now, lets go!"
As Sirius and Harry entered the room, several people gasped. After all, it wasn't every day you saw the Boy-Who-Lived fraternising with the man believed to be Voldemort's right hand man, Sirius Black. Ministry officials hastily conducted Harry to a witnesses seat and Sirius to the defendants. Once everyone was seated and ready, an important looking official in black and gold began. "You are all here to witness the 'Innocent until Proven Guilty' trial of Mr Sirius Black, called into effect by Mr Harry Potter."
At the mention of Harry's name, the entire room turned to stare. "Mr Potter, do you wish to continue?" Harry nodded firmly, his gaze fixed on Fudge, who was sweating nervously. "We then call on Sirius Black to speak." Sirius rose. His eyes still had the hollow look of Azkaban. "In a way," he began, "I am partly responsible for the deaths of Lily and James." A disbelieving murmur ran around the room.
"I - I was the one who persuaded them to change Secret-Keepers at the last minute. I thought it would be the perfect bluff - Voldemort would be certain they'd use me, and if he caught me and used a Truth Potion, and they'd used Peter, he'd never find them. He'd never dream they'd use a weak, talentless wizard like Peter. James thought it was the perfect bluff also - Lily took more persuading. She'd never really liked Peter. But in the end they switched. On the night they died, I, I went to check Peter. Make sure he was still safe. I got to his hideout and he was gone. I raced to the Hollow. I found Lil and James dead." His voice cracked, and he paused for a moment. "Harry was still in Lily's arms. I was climbing over the rubble, trying to get to them, when Hagrid arrived. I let him take Harry, and went after Peter. Peter blew the street apart and transformed." "Transformed?" the Black-and-Gold man said. Sirius nodded.
"Transformed. He was an illegal animagus. We all were. Me, James, and Peter. We did it so we could accompany Remus during his transformations. You know, his lycanthropy."
"How did you escape?" Black-and-Gold man asked.
"I knew I was innocent. It wasn't a happy thought so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. It kept me sane- allowed me to keep my powers. When everything got too bad, I could transform into my animagus form. Dementors can't sense animal emotions. Then, I saw Peter in the paper. He'd been posing as a pet rat. It said the children were at Hogwarts - I knew Harry'd be there by now. I had to stop Peter from harming Harry, so I crept through the bars and headed for Hogwarts.." His voice trailed off. Remembering Azkaban was obviously none too pleasant.
"Mr Harry Potter, do you have anything to add?" Black-and-Gold man said. Harry stood up. "Well, if you don't find Sirius innocent this time, I'll drag Veritaserum into the appeal.. Then you won't have a choice. I'll make it myself if I have to, or buy it. I'll face every Dementor in Azkaban to get Sirius free. Can you imagin going over your best friends death for 12 years and knowing that you could have prevented it? I'll do anything to keep Sirius out of there. I'll - I'll" Harry was running out of things to do. "I'll find Peter and drag him in here even if it means kidnapping him from under Voldemorts nose!" He finished his tirade with a stamp of his foot. Sheets of paper blew into the air and ink bottles exploded. Harry sat down slowly, shaking a little. He hadn't been expecting to perform accidental magic again.
Most people were staring at him. He looked at the roof crossly. Dumbledore flicked his wand and the mess vanished. Black and Gold man stood up hastily. "Err, would the jury please leave the room to make their decision." The jury rose and filed out. They returned in a matter of minutes, passing a slip of paper to Black-and-Gold man. Harry held is breath. "Ahem. I would like to announce that Sirius Black has been found"...Dead silence.
"Not Guilty!" Harry sat frozen, a smile spreading across his face. Then he leapt at Sirius, sending tables and chairs flying. "We did it, Snuffles!" he yelled. "Ahem," Black-and-Gold man said again. "We would now like to present Mr Black with his personal belongings, his Gringotts key and his wand." He flicked his wand and a box appeared in front of Sirius filled with papers. On top was a large silver key and a wand. Sirius snatched the wand up, stuffing it into his pocket. "His 12 million galleons will be deposited in his account shortly." The official said. Harry sneaked a look at Fudge. He was now green, and shaking. "Finally, we would like to return custody of his godson, Mr Harry Potter, in accordance with the late Mr and Mrs Potters wishes. Now, Mr Black, is there any close family members or friends who are entitle to compensation?"
Sirius nodded. "Remus and Harry both deserve it." The official nodded. "That will be taken care of."
Harry and Sirius made their way over to Remus, who was practically dancing with delight. "Finally, Padfoot! Now I don't have anything to worry about. Well, almost nothing." He glanced at Harry, who scowled, then decided a subject change was in order. "So, Sirius, are we gonna go back to Hogwarts and scare everyone?" Sirius shook his head. "No way! You, me and Remus are going to go and have dinner in the Leaky Cauldron so I can catch up on what you have been doing in your life that I have missed. Now, lets go!"