A/N: This is Chapter Eight. This is for all my wonderful readers who have
reviewed and stuck with the story. It makes me so happy! Maybe one day
I'll be a know fanfiction.net writer! (I can only hope) Just to let you all
know, bad things are going to happen, so don't think it's going to be all
fluff.
Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter and any thing related to it. I just own the plot and any new characters.
Chapter Eight: Alive in Ink
"Harry, wake up!" Harry pulled the covers over his head.
"No..." Ron pushed him harder.
"Fine we're going to leave without you." Harry sat upright, his eyes sliding in and out of focus as he saw the sunlight streaming into his room.
"What? Where are we going?"
"Bloody hell Harry, you didn't forget did you?" Suddenly something clicked in Harry's mind.
"Oh no! I've got to get ready!" Today was the day. The day they were going to see Cornelius Fudge. Harry pulled on his robes as Ron left the room chuckling. Harry desperately tried to make his hair lay flat, but as usual it seemed to stick up more than ever. When he went downstairs, Hermione was already loading dishes into the sink and Lily was rubbing James shoulders while he was sitting in his chair, looking off into space. Lily kissed his cheek as he sat down to his plate of breakfast.
"Sorry we didn't wake you up honey."
"That's ok. Lets just hurry up and get there." Harry slathered a piece of toast with jam and stuffed it into his mouth. "Where's Sirius?" Suddenly something grabbed his shoulders and he jumped. He heard laughing behind him and he whirled around. Sirius's head was floating near him, a smile across his face.
"Couldn't resist Harry." Sirius slapped him on the shoulders as Harry shook his head.
"What are you doing in my invisibility coat?"
"Well, I just can't go waltzing into the Ministry. So I gotta wear this."
"Make sense."
"You were always the smart one Harry," Ron commented. Harry threw a piece of toast at him, but it landed in the sink, spraying Hermione with suds.
"Watch it!"
"Sorry!" Ron backed away as she walked dangerously close to the two of them. But it was too late. Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered something. Soapy water blasted onto the both of them. They all laughed.
"Thanks Hermione," Ron said sarcastically.
"No problem." The adults smiled at their childish antics. The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed.
"Come on, we've got to get going."
"How are we going to get there? By car again?"
"Nah, by floo powder. Mr.Weasley will be waiting for us." James passed a tiny gold flowerpot to Harry. "You get to go first." Harry stepped into the large fireplace and threw down the green glitter.
"Wait, where's Remus?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you Lily, he had to go see Snape. You know the full moon's coming up." Lily nodded. She turned to Harry you had already begun to scream his destination.
"Ministry of Magic!" With a flash he was gone and landed with a thud in a room where Mr. Weasley was waiting. One by one the others landed, Sirius coming in last, the invisibility coat falling to the floor.
"Put that back on!" Lily hissed. Sirius just chuckled and threw it back over him. They all walked quietly down the hall, Mr. Weasley greeting a few of the officials as they walked by. James gasped as they walked by the Auror's Division. Sirius's face still consumed the room, the glittering red pinpoint shining on the map. James growled softly.
"Just keep walking darling," Lily said as she pushed him gently forward. They finally stopped in front of a desk, a solemn looking witch sitting behind it.
"Hello Mayella," Mr. Weasley said.
"Good morning. Do you have an appointment to see Mr. Fudge?"
"Yes, we do." She began to flip through a large stack of cream-colored papers. She ran her finger down the list.
"Here we are, Potter and company..."she looked up at Harry and her face lit up. "How very nice to see you Mr. Potter. Go right in. She opened the door and Sirius had to dodge quickly to avoid getting hit in the face. Fudge didn't look up as the door clicked behind Lily.
"Let's make this quick. I've got important business to attend to."
"Oh, it may take a little more time than that." Fudge sputtered as James walked forward.
"Who in blazes are you?"
"My name is James Potter." Fudge looked at him and suddenly began to scream.
"SECURITY! SECURITY!" Lily rushed up to him and looked sadly at him.
"Please just here us out. Please." Fudge suspiciously sat down, his wand clutched in his hand.
"Fine." James cleared his throat.
"Do you remember years ago when one veil was first found?"
"The veil in the Department of Mysteries?"
"Yes. The second veil was never found." Fudge narrowed his eyes and waited. "Well, in the Realm of the Dead, we found it. When we passed through it, we were alive." Fudge just shook his head and turned to Mr. Weasley.
"Arthur, how could you do something so stupid? This is crazy." Harry could feel Sirius twitch in anger behind him. James seemed to be feeling the same way.
"I'm serious Fudge. We are Lily and James Potter. Harry can vouch for us." James took Harry's hand and thrust him forward.
"It's true Mr. Fudge. They really are my parents. I think I should know."
"Harry, Harry, Harry. You too have become confused. I'm afraid that I must take action." Harry saw Fudge move his hand toward a button on his desk.
"Wait!" Harry's mind worked furiously. "I can prove it."
"And how can you do that?"
"Well, for one they don't have the Dark Mark." Lily pushed up her robes to revel her arm. Fudge moved his hand away from the button. "And I'm sure they wouldn't object to taking Veritserum."
"Fine." Fudge walked over to a tall cabinet and opened it. Row upon rows of tiny glass bottles filled it, all in different colors. He pulled out a bottle that seemed virtuously empty, the liquid inside it so clear. He passed over to James who frowned and took a swig of it. Lily did the same and their eyes immediately glazed over. Fudge asked them every question imaginable, but they answered everyone correctly. The minutes ticked by, Fudge finally giving up. He handed them the antidote and they drank it.
"Yeesh, did it have to take so long?"
"Hush James," Lily quieted him. "Now, Minister, do you believe us?"
"I guess I have no choice."
"There is one more matter we'd like to discuss."
"And what is that?"
"Sirius Black."
"Well, I am sorry to say we haven't caught the traitor yet, but rest assured we will find him. The trail has gone unexpectedly cold." James jumped up and walked furiously towards Fudge.
"Don't you call him that!"
"James!" Mr. Weasley had interfered.
"Sorry..." Lily looked back to Fudge.
"The fact is Minister, it wasn't Sirius who betrayed us."
"What?"
"Do you know of the charm we performed before our deaths?"
"Yes, I was informed of it."
"Well, we did something that we didn't tell anyone."
"Go on..."
"We switched Secret-Keepers." It was Fudge's turn to jump.
"WHAT?" He wiped his brow. "Who?"
"To Peter Pettigrew. We tried to trick Voldemort." Fudge cringed, and quickly brushed off the name.
"Are you saying that I've had the whole entire Ministry searching for the wrong person for all this time?"
"Yeah, that's about it."
"I must once again express my disbelief."
"Minister, Sirius would never betray us. We were family." Fudge took a few moments to think, finally nodding his head.
"We'll send out word for his innocence." Harry smiled. He knew Fudge was getting sick of this and didn't want to question them anymore.
"That won't be necessary." Sirius pulled off the cloak and Fudge let out a squeak. He looked as if he was about to change his mind. Sirius sighed and like Lily he pulled up his sleeve.
"Look. No mark." Fudge paused then called out the door.
"MAYELLA!" She came bursting into the room.
"What?"
"Get me someone from the Daily Prophet. It's urgent." She looked around the room at the many occupants and gasped, her eyes wide. "Mayella, please hurry."
"Y-yes Minister." She scuttled out of the room, and within minutes a witch with long blonde hair apparated into the room. It took time to calm her down, after seeing Sirius Black standing in front of her. But she finally took out her paper and quill and began to write the whole tale. Harry grew restless as the long story was retold, and he resorted to talking with Ron and Hermione about Quidditch.
"When can we get this out?" Fudge asked.
"I can get it out by this afternoon. But I would like to get your talk to the Ministry."
"Fine." Harry looked at Fudge curiously as he pointed his wand to his throat and muttered something. He spoke again, but Harry could hear his voice echoing down every hallway.
"All Ministry personnel, report to the lobby at once." Suddenly Harry and the others were herded into another fireplace and they appeared near the rebuild Fountain of Magical Brethren. The entire Ministry was looking curiously at the Minister as he stepped forward. Harry noticed the Aurors pull out their wands as they saw Sirius, but surprisingly they stood still.
"My fellow witches and wizards, many years ago, as I'm sure many of you remember, there was a mystery that overtook us..." He began tell of the veil and what had happened. He finally got to the point, "And so may I welcome back to wizarding world, James and Lily Potter!" The room erupted in cheering that filled the room to the ceiling. "Also, after hearing their testimonies, it has been found Sirius Black is indeed innocent. I order all searching for him to decease and he is now officially cleared of all charges." All wands had been put away as they all rejoiced. The entire Ministry rushed up and greeted them all. There were tears of joy and every wizard shook Sirius's hand and apologized. Later Harry found, that the entire Auror's room had been cleared of Sirius. The reporter.
"This will take only an hour to get out. We could do an entire issue on this!" She popped away. They left the Ministry in high spirits. Sirius ran out the door and jumped up and down.
"I'M FREE!" He did a little dance and twirled around in the streets.
"What do you want to do now, Mr. Free Man?" Lily laughed.
"I want to go to Diagon Alley." When they walked into the cobbled streets, Harry knew the issue of the Daily Prophet was already out. He picked up a copy from a wizard who had rushed up to shake their hands. He read the headline.
Potters alive, Sirius Black officially cleared of murder
The rest of the article was just a repeat of the now familiar story. The shopkeepers who had sold them their school items were now telling everyone that they had been among the first to see Lily and James Potter. Harry had never seen his godfather so happy. So happy in fact, he treated them all to huge ice-cream sundaes at the ice-cream parlor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. So now Sirius is cleared, and the Potter's are now officially alive. What's next? The Return to Hogwarts. And not everyone is happy about Sirius, James, and Lily.
Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter and any thing related to it. I just own the plot and any new characters.
Chapter Eight: Alive in Ink
"Harry, wake up!" Harry pulled the covers over his head.
"No..." Ron pushed him harder.
"Fine we're going to leave without you." Harry sat upright, his eyes sliding in and out of focus as he saw the sunlight streaming into his room.
"What? Where are we going?"
"Bloody hell Harry, you didn't forget did you?" Suddenly something clicked in Harry's mind.
"Oh no! I've got to get ready!" Today was the day. The day they were going to see Cornelius Fudge. Harry pulled on his robes as Ron left the room chuckling. Harry desperately tried to make his hair lay flat, but as usual it seemed to stick up more than ever. When he went downstairs, Hermione was already loading dishes into the sink and Lily was rubbing James shoulders while he was sitting in his chair, looking off into space. Lily kissed his cheek as he sat down to his plate of breakfast.
"Sorry we didn't wake you up honey."
"That's ok. Lets just hurry up and get there." Harry slathered a piece of toast with jam and stuffed it into his mouth. "Where's Sirius?" Suddenly something grabbed his shoulders and he jumped. He heard laughing behind him and he whirled around. Sirius's head was floating near him, a smile across his face.
"Couldn't resist Harry." Sirius slapped him on the shoulders as Harry shook his head.
"What are you doing in my invisibility coat?"
"Well, I just can't go waltzing into the Ministry. So I gotta wear this."
"Make sense."
"You were always the smart one Harry," Ron commented. Harry threw a piece of toast at him, but it landed in the sink, spraying Hermione with suds.
"Watch it!"
"Sorry!" Ron backed away as she walked dangerously close to the two of them. But it was too late. Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered something. Soapy water blasted onto the both of them. They all laughed.
"Thanks Hermione," Ron said sarcastically.
"No problem." The adults smiled at their childish antics. The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed.
"Come on, we've got to get going."
"How are we going to get there? By car again?"
"Nah, by floo powder. Mr.Weasley will be waiting for us." James passed a tiny gold flowerpot to Harry. "You get to go first." Harry stepped into the large fireplace and threw down the green glitter.
"Wait, where's Remus?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you Lily, he had to go see Snape. You know the full moon's coming up." Lily nodded. She turned to Harry you had already begun to scream his destination.
"Ministry of Magic!" With a flash he was gone and landed with a thud in a room where Mr. Weasley was waiting. One by one the others landed, Sirius coming in last, the invisibility coat falling to the floor.
"Put that back on!" Lily hissed. Sirius just chuckled and threw it back over him. They all walked quietly down the hall, Mr. Weasley greeting a few of the officials as they walked by. James gasped as they walked by the Auror's Division. Sirius's face still consumed the room, the glittering red pinpoint shining on the map. James growled softly.
"Just keep walking darling," Lily said as she pushed him gently forward. They finally stopped in front of a desk, a solemn looking witch sitting behind it.
"Hello Mayella," Mr. Weasley said.
"Good morning. Do you have an appointment to see Mr. Fudge?"
"Yes, we do." She began to flip through a large stack of cream-colored papers. She ran her finger down the list.
"Here we are, Potter and company..."she looked up at Harry and her face lit up. "How very nice to see you Mr. Potter. Go right in. She opened the door and Sirius had to dodge quickly to avoid getting hit in the face. Fudge didn't look up as the door clicked behind Lily.
"Let's make this quick. I've got important business to attend to."
"Oh, it may take a little more time than that." Fudge sputtered as James walked forward.
"Who in blazes are you?"
"My name is James Potter." Fudge looked at him and suddenly began to scream.
"SECURITY! SECURITY!" Lily rushed up to him and looked sadly at him.
"Please just here us out. Please." Fudge suspiciously sat down, his wand clutched in his hand.
"Fine." James cleared his throat.
"Do you remember years ago when one veil was first found?"
"The veil in the Department of Mysteries?"
"Yes. The second veil was never found." Fudge narrowed his eyes and waited. "Well, in the Realm of the Dead, we found it. When we passed through it, we were alive." Fudge just shook his head and turned to Mr. Weasley.
"Arthur, how could you do something so stupid? This is crazy." Harry could feel Sirius twitch in anger behind him. James seemed to be feeling the same way.
"I'm serious Fudge. We are Lily and James Potter. Harry can vouch for us." James took Harry's hand and thrust him forward.
"It's true Mr. Fudge. They really are my parents. I think I should know."
"Harry, Harry, Harry. You too have become confused. I'm afraid that I must take action." Harry saw Fudge move his hand toward a button on his desk.
"Wait!" Harry's mind worked furiously. "I can prove it."
"And how can you do that?"
"Well, for one they don't have the Dark Mark." Lily pushed up her robes to revel her arm. Fudge moved his hand away from the button. "And I'm sure they wouldn't object to taking Veritserum."
"Fine." Fudge walked over to a tall cabinet and opened it. Row upon rows of tiny glass bottles filled it, all in different colors. He pulled out a bottle that seemed virtuously empty, the liquid inside it so clear. He passed over to James who frowned and took a swig of it. Lily did the same and their eyes immediately glazed over. Fudge asked them every question imaginable, but they answered everyone correctly. The minutes ticked by, Fudge finally giving up. He handed them the antidote and they drank it.
"Yeesh, did it have to take so long?"
"Hush James," Lily quieted him. "Now, Minister, do you believe us?"
"I guess I have no choice."
"There is one more matter we'd like to discuss."
"And what is that?"
"Sirius Black."
"Well, I am sorry to say we haven't caught the traitor yet, but rest assured we will find him. The trail has gone unexpectedly cold." James jumped up and walked furiously towards Fudge.
"Don't you call him that!"
"James!" Mr. Weasley had interfered.
"Sorry..." Lily looked back to Fudge.
"The fact is Minister, it wasn't Sirius who betrayed us."
"What?"
"Do you know of the charm we performed before our deaths?"
"Yes, I was informed of it."
"Well, we did something that we didn't tell anyone."
"Go on..."
"We switched Secret-Keepers." It was Fudge's turn to jump.
"WHAT?" He wiped his brow. "Who?"
"To Peter Pettigrew. We tried to trick Voldemort." Fudge cringed, and quickly brushed off the name.
"Are you saying that I've had the whole entire Ministry searching for the wrong person for all this time?"
"Yeah, that's about it."
"I must once again express my disbelief."
"Minister, Sirius would never betray us. We were family." Fudge took a few moments to think, finally nodding his head.
"We'll send out word for his innocence." Harry smiled. He knew Fudge was getting sick of this and didn't want to question them anymore.
"That won't be necessary." Sirius pulled off the cloak and Fudge let out a squeak. He looked as if he was about to change his mind. Sirius sighed and like Lily he pulled up his sleeve.
"Look. No mark." Fudge paused then called out the door.
"MAYELLA!" She came bursting into the room.
"What?"
"Get me someone from the Daily Prophet. It's urgent." She looked around the room at the many occupants and gasped, her eyes wide. "Mayella, please hurry."
"Y-yes Minister." She scuttled out of the room, and within minutes a witch with long blonde hair apparated into the room. It took time to calm her down, after seeing Sirius Black standing in front of her. But she finally took out her paper and quill and began to write the whole tale. Harry grew restless as the long story was retold, and he resorted to talking with Ron and Hermione about Quidditch.
"When can we get this out?" Fudge asked.
"I can get it out by this afternoon. But I would like to get your talk to the Ministry."
"Fine." Harry looked at Fudge curiously as he pointed his wand to his throat and muttered something. He spoke again, but Harry could hear his voice echoing down every hallway.
"All Ministry personnel, report to the lobby at once." Suddenly Harry and the others were herded into another fireplace and they appeared near the rebuild Fountain of Magical Brethren. The entire Ministry was looking curiously at the Minister as he stepped forward. Harry noticed the Aurors pull out their wands as they saw Sirius, but surprisingly they stood still.
"My fellow witches and wizards, many years ago, as I'm sure many of you remember, there was a mystery that overtook us..." He began tell of the veil and what had happened. He finally got to the point, "And so may I welcome back to wizarding world, James and Lily Potter!" The room erupted in cheering that filled the room to the ceiling. "Also, after hearing their testimonies, it has been found Sirius Black is indeed innocent. I order all searching for him to decease and he is now officially cleared of all charges." All wands had been put away as they all rejoiced. The entire Ministry rushed up and greeted them all. There were tears of joy and every wizard shook Sirius's hand and apologized. Later Harry found, that the entire Auror's room had been cleared of Sirius. The reporter.
"This will take only an hour to get out. We could do an entire issue on this!" She popped away. They left the Ministry in high spirits. Sirius ran out the door and jumped up and down.
"I'M FREE!" He did a little dance and twirled around in the streets.
"What do you want to do now, Mr. Free Man?" Lily laughed.
"I want to go to Diagon Alley." When they walked into the cobbled streets, Harry knew the issue of the Daily Prophet was already out. He picked up a copy from a wizard who had rushed up to shake their hands. He read the headline.
Potters alive, Sirius Black officially cleared of murder
The rest of the article was just a repeat of the now familiar story. The shopkeepers who had sold them their school items were now telling everyone that they had been among the first to see Lily and James Potter. Harry had never seen his godfather so happy. So happy in fact, he treated them all to huge ice-cream sundaes at the ice-cream parlor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. So now Sirius is cleared, and the Potter's are now officially alive. What's next? The Return to Hogwarts. And not everyone is happy about Sirius, James, and Lily.