A/N- I've actually had this chapter written for about two weeks, but I'm
finally posting it! I've come up with a much better method of writing,
doing it in Study Hall. So expect the chapters too come out sooner (I'm
like, two paragraphs from being done with the next one). I hope you guys
like this one. I'm calling this one "the Trial" for reasons that will soon
be obvious. In this chapter, Sirius Black once again joins the picture!
Enjoy, and once you're done reading, review!!!! Oh, yeah, Starlight, thanks
for reading everything by me!!!
Disclaimer- I don't own anything. It all belongs to the great Harry Potter people. I'm not getting paid, so don't sue me!
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
"Sirius is going to trial!" Harry told us.
Meg and I looked up from our chess game (which I was losing awfully).
"That's great!" Meg said.
"Didn't he all ready go to trial?" I asked, watching, sadly, as Meg stole my knight.
"No, they sent him to Azkaban, the wizard prision, without trial. Which wasn't good. Azkaban is a really bad place," Harry explained.
I nodded, and turned back to the game.
"Queen to E5," I said, and killed her pawn.
Meg smirked, "Knight to E5."
My smashed Queen was removed.
"I hate it when you do that! You could at lest warn me! Bishop to C3," I cried, moving my next piece.
Five seconds later, Meg declared, "Checkmate."
* * * Hogwarts Grounds As told by Anya Jones
"His appeal went through?" I repeated.
"Yep. He'll go to trial and win," Remus told me, grinning.
Remus was at Hogwarts for a meeting with Dumbledore. He was busy at the moment, so Remus was joining me on my patrol of the grounds.
"You think he'll win?" I asked.
Remus nodded, "'Course he'll win. He's innocent, isn't he? What proof could they have against him?"
We were silent for a minute. I broke the silence by suddenly laughing at a sudden thought.
"What?" Remus asked.
I grinned, "I was just remembering how Lily dubbed him the 'Purple Elephant' when we were younger."
Remus started laughing. Moments later, there was more silence.
"Remus, do you ever wonder what would've happened if they . . ." I started.
Remus finished for me, "If they hadn't used Peter?"
"Yeah, the Rat. I think about it a lot. We'd still have our best friends, Harry and Erika would still have their parents . . ." I said.
"But lots more people would be dead. Who knows, maybe he would have found a way to kill them even with the charm. It's selfish to wish they hadn't died. They were almost like a . . .a . . . sacrfice," Remus interuppted.
"I hate that word, I've heard it so much," I said.
Remus nodded, then we walked around in silence for a little bit longer.
"Well, I have to go. I'll see you later," Remus said.
I waved as he ran back up to the school.
So Sirius was being released, after all these years.
* * * A few days later As told by Erika Potter
Harry was in high spirits, ever since he had heard about Sirius's appeal.
The days went by. Harry was happy, because people were starting to catch on to the Patronus Charm he was teaching in defense classes. The one Slytherin had dropped out of the class. Peer pressure, we reckoned.
Snape was still as withdrawn as ever, but he started acting more normal around Meg (mean).
Harry started holding more Quidditch practices, since they had a game coming. The morning of the match, there were dark rain clouds on the horizon. After breakfast, the whole school went out to the Quidditch Pitch.
Unfortunately, we sat down, and seconds later, Avery and her gang sat down in front of us. Meg and I exchanged glances.
"So, Erika, does Harry think we're going to win?" Avery aked.
I shrugged.
Avery turned back to her friends, to continue a conversation with them.
"Did you hear they're giving SIRIUS BLACK an appeal? Stupid, huh? It's bad enough they've let a murderer walk amongst us for years! Now they're going to give him another chance!" Avery said.
I leaned forward and asked, "How do you know he's guilty?"
They laughed.
"Erika, he's Sirius Black! SIRIUS BLACK! Of course he's guilty. Dumbledore's silly to think otherwise," Avery told me, as if stating the obvious.
"Actually, Erika's quite right. There is no proof in his case."
We all looked to see Anya Jones standing there with Remus Lupin. It was Remus who had spoken.
"You're only saying that because you were friends with him. My parents told me all about it," Jewel said, "You both were his friends."
They game started. Remus and Anya went to sit with the other professors, while we watched the teams come out. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
It was a long game. After about an hour, Harry caught the snitch, and Gryffindor won, by a large margin.
Everyone in Hogwarts was surprised at the news of Sirius Black's appeal, and who was spearheading it. Half of them thought Dumbledore had finally lost it.
(A/N- I'm skipping forward to April now, sorry about the large time margin, but nothing happened).
* * *
APRIL As told by Anya Jones
The day of Sirius's trial was a Friday. Dumbledore agreed to take me with him, along with Remus. After all, we had to testify.
I taught my morning classes (no afternoon classes on Friday), which included Harry's class.
Once the bell rang, Harry came up to my desk to see me.
"Er . . . are you going to the trial?" he asked.
"Yes, so is Remus. We have to testify," I answered.
"Oh," was all he said in response.
"We'll make sure to send you an owl back as soon as we know the verdict," I told him.
"Thanks," he replied, and left.
A few seconds later, Remus walked in.
"Ready, Anya?" he asked, "Dumbledore's waiting for us."
I nodded, "Yeah, give me a minute."
I went into my office and grabbed my light cloak. Remus was still waiting in my classroom.
"Harry was here," I told him, "Wanted to know if we were going."
Remus nodded, "I wish he could have come. Sirius is, after all, his godfather."
"Too dangerous. Dumbledore didn't want to risk it, I guess. I mean, all of us in one spot? Too tempting," I said.
"Okay, we'd better go," Remus told me.
Dumbledore was waiting for us in his office. They were holding the trial at the Ministry. We used Floo Powder to get there, walking through a room full of ministry wizards to make sure no one got in that wasn't supposed to be there.
Then we went into the room where the trial itself was to take place. Sirius had let himself be apprehended a few days before, the only way he could actually be at the trial. It was also part of the agreement for the appeal.
We sat down opposite the jury. Fudge was there, as well.
"Dumbledore, Miss Jones, Mr. Lupin," he said, quite cooly.
"Minister," we greeted in return.
We quickly took our seats on the front bench.
More people filed in, greeting us. There were a few others Dumbledore had asked to give a testimony. They joined us on the front bench.
Finally, the doors shut.
A side door opened, and Sirius was brought in. His robes were shoddy, and his hair very unkept.
Mr. Cross, the head of the Department that handled these sort of things, stood.
"Sirius Black, you have been accused of passing information to the Dark Lord. How do you plead to this accusation?" he asked.
Everyone looked at Sirius. His face was impassive.
"Not guilty," He said.
"You have been further accused of killing Mr. Peter Pettigrew as well as 13 muggles on the streets, and causing a disturbance among nearby muggles. How do you plead?" Mr. Cross asked.
"Not guilty."
"Lastly, you are accused of betraying the Potter family to the Dark Lord, causing their deaths. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
So the trial began. Sirius was seated facing towards us. Remus and I both gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back.
I remembered, before that Halloween that changed our lives, I had got in a fight with Sirius, not our first. We'd claimed to hate each other, and hadn't gotten along sonce then, until now.
How could our lives had changed so much? Here I was, four of my best friends dead, one of them with the Dark Lord, and yet another on tiral for countless cases of murder, and betrayal. It didn't help that I used to be in love with him.
Dumbledore turned to Remus. It was time for his testimony. And after him, it would be my turn.
"Remus Lupin, how long have you known Sirius Black?" asked Dumbledore, after Remus had taken his spot.
"Since I started Hogwarts."
"Did you trust him?"
"Of course. I'd trust him with my life."
"Did your friendship and trust ever falter."
"Yes, sixteen years ago."
"Why?"
"I thought he'd betrayed two of my best friends, Lily and James Potter, to the Dark Lord. I also thought he'd killed another best friend, Peter Pettigrew."
"Do you still believe that?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Remus launched into a story he had told me lots of times, when he had taught at Hogwarts, found Peter and Sirius, and discovered the truth.
"Sirius Black was not the Potter's secret keeper. Peter Pettigrew was. Further, he did not kill Peter. Peter killed the muggles, and escaped," Remus said.
"How could Peter have escaped?"
"He was an animagus, and could transform into a rat. He broke into the sewer, and joined other rats."
"But he isn't regisitered."
"None of them are. When we were in school, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew all became illegal animangi to join me during my transformations."
"Transformations into what?"
"A werewolf."
There was a collective gasp. Everyone moved about in their seats at the news. Dumbledore had to pause.
"Where has Mr. Pettigrew been hiding all this time?"
"He has been posed as a rat, as a pet to Ronald Weasley, a 7th year at Hogwarts. Until he was discovered, he then returned to the Dark Lord."
Harry had written a testimony, since he couldn't come. It as basically about seeing Peter with Voldemort when he rose again.
Remus was done. He came and sat back down.
"Anya, it's going to mostly count on you. All the other witnesses are really minor, and I doubt anyone will trust the testimony of a werewolf," he whispered.
Great. No pressure. Yeah, right.
I stood up, and took the seat where Remus had once sat, facing the jury. Sirius watched me. I turned to smile at him, and sat down.
"Explain to us your relationship with Sirius Black."
So it began.
"We were friends in our early years of Hogwarts, and loved to pick on each other. When we got older, we started to date. At one point in time, I was in love with him."
"Now how do you feel about him?"
"He's one of my best friends."
"Do you believe he did the things he was accused of?"
"No, not at all."
"Why not?"
"It's not in him. He's not that kind of person. He would never, EVER, betray a friend, especially James Potter."
"Why especially James Potter?"
"They were really close, like brothers. They would trust each other with their lives, and the lives of those they love."
"Did you think the Potters would use Sirius Black as their Secret Keeper?"
"At first, yes."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Lily and James were smarter than that. So is Sirius. They thought Sirius would be the obvious choice. They wanted to outsmart the Dark Lord. So, they told everyone they were going to use Sirius, even me. But they used Peter instead.
"No one would suspect Peter. He wasn't the brightest, nor the bravest. He also wasn't nearly as close to Lily and James as Sirius was. Sirius was the obvious choice. So they used Peter, without knowing he was a traitor, in the league with the Dark Lord. And Peter betrayed them."
"How many people did you lose to the Dark Lord?"
"My entire family, except my sister, Anra. Plus four of my best friends, Andrea McKinnon, Netta Prewett, Lily Potter, and James Potter."
"So, naturally, you hate the Dark Lord and all of his followers?"
"Of course. I'd do anything to stop them. Anything at all, even give my life."
"Thank you, Miss Jones."
My testimony was complete. I sighed in relief, and went back to sit with Remus.
More witnesses were called up. They would speak their part, and sit back down.
Remus had been right. My testimony had been key.
I looked over at the jury who would decide Sirius's fate.
The trial ended. The jury went off to decide, and Sirius was led away, to wait. We were free to "mingle." But, really, I was too worried.
"Anya, it'll be okay. How can they not see he's innocent? There's no better proof then the truth, and we told the truth," Remus told me.
I nodded, "I know, I know. I'm just really worried, that's all."
"It'll all be over soon," Remus pointed out.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, the jury walked in. Sirius was then led in.
The spokesperson of the jury stood up.
"We have reached a decision in the case of Sirius Black.
"In the accusation of the murder of Peter Pettigrew and 13 muggles, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
I let out a sigh of relief. One battle won. Two more to go.
"In the accusation of the betrayal of the Potter family, resulting in their deaths, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
Remus and I exchanged glances.
"Finally, in the accusation of passing information to the Dark Lord, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
Relief. It was all I felt at first.
"Sirius Black is hereby announced innocent of all charges, and freed."
Everyone started clapping.
"We won!" I cried.
I turned to look at Sirius. He was grinning. His whole face lit up.
We had won. Finally. Sirius was free.
* * * The next morning As told by Erika Potter
Meg and I went down to the breakfast with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry was nervous. The day before had been the trial, and he still didn't know the outcome.
We sat down, and started to eat.
A few seconds later, Anya and Remus came in. Instead of going up to the Head Table, they came over to us.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Erika, Megan!" Anya called.
We all looked up.
"Sirius has been released! We won!" Remus told us.
Harry broke out grinning, "Really?"
"They're releasing him this morning, and he's coming straight here. He wants to see you all again, and he wants to meet Erika and Megan," Anya explained.
I knew Harry was happy. We all were.
That evening, when we all went down to dinner, we dind't make it to the Great Hall.
Standing in front of the doors, were Anya and Remus, with another man He had longish black hair, and was talking and laughing with them.
"It's Sirius!" Hermione whispered.
Remus ahd seen us, and pointed.
"Hello," we said when we got over there.
"Harry," Sirius said, "Ron, Hermione."
"Hey, Sirius. Are you okay?" Harry asked.
Sirius nodded, "Just fine."
Harry grined, and said, "Sirius, this is Erika, my sister."
Sirius looked down at me, grinning.
I spoke first, "Pleased to meet you."
"Me, too, Erika Potter."
A/N- that's the end of this chap. Sorry about the huge time skip, but I had to get to April. Besides, it's only like a month or so. Look for the next chapter real soon, because, as previously stated, it's almost done. I also made a new songfic, to Avril Lavigne's "Things I'll Never Say". So, look for that too. It's L/J, obviously. Well, until next chapter, I have only these words to say to you: REVIEW and DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY! *breaks into song*. JK, everyone.
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer- I don't own anything. It all belongs to the great Harry Potter people. I'm not getting paid, so don't sue me!
Erika - The Legacy of Lily and James
"Sirius is going to trial!" Harry told us.
Meg and I looked up from our chess game (which I was losing awfully).
"That's great!" Meg said.
"Didn't he all ready go to trial?" I asked, watching, sadly, as Meg stole my knight.
"No, they sent him to Azkaban, the wizard prision, without trial. Which wasn't good. Azkaban is a really bad place," Harry explained.
I nodded, and turned back to the game.
"Queen to E5," I said, and killed her pawn.
Meg smirked, "Knight to E5."
My smashed Queen was removed.
"I hate it when you do that! You could at lest warn me! Bishop to C3," I cried, moving my next piece.
Five seconds later, Meg declared, "Checkmate."
* * * Hogwarts Grounds As told by Anya Jones
"His appeal went through?" I repeated.
"Yep. He'll go to trial and win," Remus told me, grinning.
Remus was at Hogwarts for a meeting with Dumbledore. He was busy at the moment, so Remus was joining me on my patrol of the grounds.
"You think he'll win?" I asked.
Remus nodded, "'Course he'll win. He's innocent, isn't he? What proof could they have against him?"
We were silent for a minute. I broke the silence by suddenly laughing at a sudden thought.
"What?" Remus asked.
I grinned, "I was just remembering how Lily dubbed him the 'Purple Elephant' when we were younger."
Remus started laughing. Moments later, there was more silence.
"Remus, do you ever wonder what would've happened if they . . ." I started.
Remus finished for me, "If they hadn't used Peter?"
"Yeah, the Rat. I think about it a lot. We'd still have our best friends, Harry and Erika would still have their parents . . ." I said.
"But lots more people would be dead. Who knows, maybe he would have found a way to kill them even with the charm. It's selfish to wish they hadn't died. They were almost like a . . .a . . . sacrfice," Remus interuppted.
"I hate that word, I've heard it so much," I said.
Remus nodded, then we walked around in silence for a little bit longer.
"Well, I have to go. I'll see you later," Remus said.
I waved as he ran back up to the school.
So Sirius was being released, after all these years.
* * * A few days later As told by Erika Potter
Harry was in high spirits, ever since he had heard about Sirius's appeal.
The days went by. Harry was happy, because people were starting to catch on to the Patronus Charm he was teaching in defense classes. The one Slytherin had dropped out of the class. Peer pressure, we reckoned.
Snape was still as withdrawn as ever, but he started acting more normal around Meg (mean).
Harry started holding more Quidditch practices, since they had a game coming. The morning of the match, there were dark rain clouds on the horizon. After breakfast, the whole school went out to the Quidditch Pitch.
Unfortunately, we sat down, and seconds later, Avery and her gang sat down in front of us. Meg and I exchanged glances.
"So, Erika, does Harry think we're going to win?" Avery aked.
I shrugged.
Avery turned back to her friends, to continue a conversation with them.
"Did you hear they're giving SIRIUS BLACK an appeal? Stupid, huh? It's bad enough they've let a murderer walk amongst us for years! Now they're going to give him another chance!" Avery said.
I leaned forward and asked, "How do you know he's guilty?"
They laughed.
"Erika, he's Sirius Black! SIRIUS BLACK! Of course he's guilty. Dumbledore's silly to think otherwise," Avery told me, as if stating the obvious.
"Actually, Erika's quite right. There is no proof in his case."
We all looked to see Anya Jones standing there with Remus Lupin. It was Remus who had spoken.
"You're only saying that because you were friends with him. My parents told me all about it," Jewel said, "You both were his friends."
They game started. Remus and Anya went to sit with the other professors, while we watched the teams come out. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
It was a long game. After about an hour, Harry caught the snitch, and Gryffindor won, by a large margin.
Everyone in Hogwarts was surprised at the news of Sirius Black's appeal, and who was spearheading it. Half of them thought Dumbledore had finally lost it.
(A/N- I'm skipping forward to April now, sorry about the large time margin, but nothing happened).
* * *
APRIL As told by Anya Jones
The day of Sirius's trial was a Friday. Dumbledore agreed to take me with him, along with Remus. After all, we had to testify.
I taught my morning classes (no afternoon classes on Friday), which included Harry's class.
Once the bell rang, Harry came up to my desk to see me.
"Er . . . are you going to the trial?" he asked.
"Yes, so is Remus. We have to testify," I answered.
"Oh," was all he said in response.
"We'll make sure to send you an owl back as soon as we know the verdict," I told him.
"Thanks," he replied, and left.
A few seconds later, Remus walked in.
"Ready, Anya?" he asked, "Dumbledore's waiting for us."
I nodded, "Yeah, give me a minute."
I went into my office and grabbed my light cloak. Remus was still waiting in my classroom.
"Harry was here," I told him, "Wanted to know if we were going."
Remus nodded, "I wish he could have come. Sirius is, after all, his godfather."
"Too dangerous. Dumbledore didn't want to risk it, I guess. I mean, all of us in one spot? Too tempting," I said.
"Okay, we'd better go," Remus told me.
Dumbledore was waiting for us in his office. They were holding the trial at the Ministry. We used Floo Powder to get there, walking through a room full of ministry wizards to make sure no one got in that wasn't supposed to be there.
Then we went into the room where the trial itself was to take place. Sirius had let himself be apprehended a few days before, the only way he could actually be at the trial. It was also part of the agreement for the appeal.
We sat down opposite the jury. Fudge was there, as well.
"Dumbledore, Miss Jones, Mr. Lupin," he said, quite cooly.
"Minister," we greeted in return.
We quickly took our seats on the front bench.
More people filed in, greeting us. There were a few others Dumbledore had asked to give a testimony. They joined us on the front bench.
Finally, the doors shut.
A side door opened, and Sirius was brought in. His robes were shoddy, and his hair very unkept.
Mr. Cross, the head of the Department that handled these sort of things, stood.
"Sirius Black, you have been accused of passing information to the Dark Lord. How do you plead to this accusation?" he asked.
Everyone looked at Sirius. His face was impassive.
"Not guilty," He said.
"You have been further accused of killing Mr. Peter Pettigrew as well as 13 muggles on the streets, and causing a disturbance among nearby muggles. How do you plead?" Mr. Cross asked.
"Not guilty."
"Lastly, you are accused of betraying the Potter family to the Dark Lord, causing their deaths. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
So the trial began. Sirius was seated facing towards us. Remus and I both gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back.
I remembered, before that Halloween that changed our lives, I had got in a fight with Sirius, not our first. We'd claimed to hate each other, and hadn't gotten along sonce then, until now.
How could our lives had changed so much? Here I was, four of my best friends dead, one of them with the Dark Lord, and yet another on tiral for countless cases of murder, and betrayal. It didn't help that I used to be in love with him.
Dumbledore turned to Remus. It was time for his testimony. And after him, it would be my turn.
"Remus Lupin, how long have you known Sirius Black?" asked Dumbledore, after Remus had taken his spot.
"Since I started Hogwarts."
"Did you trust him?"
"Of course. I'd trust him with my life."
"Did your friendship and trust ever falter."
"Yes, sixteen years ago."
"Why?"
"I thought he'd betrayed two of my best friends, Lily and James Potter, to the Dark Lord. I also thought he'd killed another best friend, Peter Pettigrew."
"Do you still believe that?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Remus launched into a story he had told me lots of times, when he had taught at Hogwarts, found Peter and Sirius, and discovered the truth.
"Sirius Black was not the Potter's secret keeper. Peter Pettigrew was. Further, he did not kill Peter. Peter killed the muggles, and escaped," Remus said.
"How could Peter have escaped?"
"He was an animagus, and could transform into a rat. He broke into the sewer, and joined other rats."
"But he isn't regisitered."
"None of them are. When we were in school, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew all became illegal animangi to join me during my transformations."
"Transformations into what?"
"A werewolf."
There was a collective gasp. Everyone moved about in their seats at the news. Dumbledore had to pause.
"Where has Mr. Pettigrew been hiding all this time?"
"He has been posed as a rat, as a pet to Ronald Weasley, a 7th year at Hogwarts. Until he was discovered, he then returned to the Dark Lord."
Harry had written a testimony, since he couldn't come. It as basically about seeing Peter with Voldemort when he rose again.
Remus was done. He came and sat back down.
"Anya, it's going to mostly count on you. All the other witnesses are really minor, and I doubt anyone will trust the testimony of a werewolf," he whispered.
Great. No pressure. Yeah, right.
I stood up, and took the seat where Remus had once sat, facing the jury. Sirius watched me. I turned to smile at him, and sat down.
"Explain to us your relationship with Sirius Black."
So it began.
"We were friends in our early years of Hogwarts, and loved to pick on each other. When we got older, we started to date. At one point in time, I was in love with him."
"Now how do you feel about him?"
"He's one of my best friends."
"Do you believe he did the things he was accused of?"
"No, not at all."
"Why not?"
"It's not in him. He's not that kind of person. He would never, EVER, betray a friend, especially James Potter."
"Why especially James Potter?"
"They were really close, like brothers. They would trust each other with their lives, and the lives of those they love."
"Did you think the Potters would use Sirius Black as their Secret Keeper?"
"At first, yes."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Lily and James were smarter than that. So is Sirius. They thought Sirius would be the obvious choice. They wanted to outsmart the Dark Lord. So, they told everyone they were going to use Sirius, even me. But they used Peter instead.
"No one would suspect Peter. He wasn't the brightest, nor the bravest. He also wasn't nearly as close to Lily and James as Sirius was. Sirius was the obvious choice. So they used Peter, without knowing he was a traitor, in the league with the Dark Lord. And Peter betrayed them."
"How many people did you lose to the Dark Lord?"
"My entire family, except my sister, Anra. Plus four of my best friends, Andrea McKinnon, Netta Prewett, Lily Potter, and James Potter."
"So, naturally, you hate the Dark Lord and all of his followers?"
"Of course. I'd do anything to stop them. Anything at all, even give my life."
"Thank you, Miss Jones."
My testimony was complete. I sighed in relief, and went back to sit with Remus.
More witnesses were called up. They would speak their part, and sit back down.
Remus had been right. My testimony had been key.
I looked over at the jury who would decide Sirius's fate.
The trial ended. The jury went off to decide, and Sirius was led away, to wait. We were free to "mingle." But, really, I was too worried.
"Anya, it'll be okay. How can they not see he's innocent? There's no better proof then the truth, and we told the truth," Remus told me.
I nodded, "I know, I know. I'm just really worried, that's all."
"It'll all be over soon," Remus pointed out.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, the jury walked in. Sirius was then led in.
The spokesperson of the jury stood up.
"We have reached a decision in the case of Sirius Black.
"In the accusation of the murder of Peter Pettigrew and 13 muggles, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
I let out a sigh of relief. One battle won. Two more to go.
"In the accusation of the betrayal of the Potter family, resulting in their deaths, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
Remus and I exchanged glances.
"Finally, in the accusation of passing information to the Dark Lord, the jury finds Sirius Black not guilty."
Relief. It was all I felt at first.
"Sirius Black is hereby announced innocent of all charges, and freed."
Everyone started clapping.
"We won!" I cried.
I turned to look at Sirius. He was grinning. His whole face lit up.
We had won. Finally. Sirius was free.
* * * The next morning As told by Erika Potter
Meg and I went down to the breakfast with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry was nervous. The day before had been the trial, and he still didn't know the outcome.
We sat down, and started to eat.
A few seconds later, Anya and Remus came in. Instead of going up to the Head Table, they came over to us.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Erika, Megan!" Anya called.
We all looked up.
"Sirius has been released! We won!" Remus told us.
Harry broke out grinning, "Really?"
"They're releasing him this morning, and he's coming straight here. He wants to see you all again, and he wants to meet Erika and Megan," Anya explained.
I knew Harry was happy. We all were.
That evening, when we all went down to dinner, we dind't make it to the Great Hall.
Standing in front of the doors, were Anya and Remus, with another man He had longish black hair, and was talking and laughing with them.
"It's Sirius!" Hermione whispered.
Remus ahd seen us, and pointed.
"Hello," we said when we got over there.
"Harry," Sirius said, "Ron, Hermione."
"Hey, Sirius. Are you okay?" Harry asked.
Sirius nodded, "Just fine."
Harry grined, and said, "Sirius, this is Erika, my sister."
Sirius looked down at me, grinning.
I spoke first, "Pleased to meet you."
"Me, too, Erika Potter."
A/N- that's the end of this chap. Sorry about the huge time skip, but I had to get to April. Besides, it's only like a month or so. Look for the next chapter real soon, because, as previously stated, it's almost done. I also made a new songfic, to Avril Lavigne's "Things I'll Never Say". So, look for that too. It's L/J, obviously. Well, until next chapter, I have only these words to say to you: REVIEW and DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY! *breaks into song*. JK, everyone.
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!