Chapter Nine - A Rat, a Dog, and the OWLS
Another chaotic morning had passed as Harry struggled to make it to the Court on time. Gasping for breath as they ran into the courtroom, he found that seats had been saved for himself, Remus, Hermione, and the Weasley's. As if they were waiting for him to arrive, Professor Dumbledore immediately called the day's session into order and called for Peter Pettigrew to be brought in.
Harry was shocked to see that the tiny Animagus that marched into the courtroom was more unkempt and bedraggled than he would have thought possible. His silvery hand was encased in a glowing golden orb, and Harry looked questioningly at Remus.
"It's a magic nullifier," the werewolf explained. "Dumbledore wasn't sure what powers Voldemort may have endowed on the rat's paw, so he encased it in that to prevent any surprises. It won't destroy the hand, as several people suggested that we do, but it prevents any spells or magic from coming out if it."
Nodding his head thoughtfully, Harry watched as Pettigrew was magically secured to the chair in the center of the room. Dumbledore looked down at the man who had betrayed Harry's parents. Harry could see several emotions flit across the headmaster's face, contempt, pity, sorrow, and, oddly, Harry thought, remorse. Harry wasn't sure what the headmaster felt remorse about, but he knew that emotion was present in the ancient wizard's mind.
The crowd grew silent as Madam Bones stood and called for her first witness. Fully expecting to be called, Harry started to get up when he felt Remus grab his hand.
"I think she'll be calling me, first," he said softly. "You may want to leave, this will not be pleasant. You'll hear things you might not want to know."
"What do you mean," Harry whispered. "What don't I want to know?"
"The reason why I wasn't chosen to be Secret Keeper. I'm sure Peter will discuss that, to damage my credibility, and to hurt me. And to hurt you."
"I'm not leaving Remus. Nothing that disgusting rat will say can hurt me. I won't believe his lies, and the truth can't hurt me."
As Madam Bones called Remus to testify, he sighed and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "I doubt that, Harry. But all I will say is that you have been warned."
Walking down to the courtroom floor, Remus willingly took a sip of Veritaserum and proceeded to answer the questions from Madam Bones.
She grilled him for half an hour, asking questions about the night Harry's parents were killed by Voldemort, why Remus wasn't the Secret Keeper. Remus truthfully answered that he thought it was because James wasn't entirely sure he could trust a werewolf. Harry's heart sank at the look on Remus' face, who seemed to agree with that assessment. He was outraged at the nods of agreement from several of the witches and wizards in the audience and on the court. He realized he couldn't do anything to change their attitude immediately, but he vowed to himself that he would erase that prejudice some day.
Remus continued talking about the night that he, Sirius, Peter, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the Shrieking Shack. How Peter had confessed to being Voldemort's spy, and how he had framed Sirius for his own murder of almost a dozen muggles.
Madam Bones concluded her questioning and turned to Pettigrew.
"Your witness," she said with disdain.
"Remus," he said, with dread. "Good to see you."
"I wish you were dead," Remus spat with anger. "I wish you were stuck in your rat form and let free in a room full of hungry cats."
"I guess that's true, since the serum is still working. But, let's see. Ah, yes, let's find out what you have to say for yourself. Did Sirius ever tell you why was I really made the Secret Keeper?"
Harry loathed this pathetic little wizard. His oily voice grated on Harry's nerves. The shifty eyes that darted nervously about the room made Harry want to poke them out with his wand. And the silver hand. Harry shuddered at the memory of the accursed man cutting of his own hand to bring Voldemort back to a body. Harry's anger was a glowing red ember, burning deep in his soul.
"Sirius convinced James that Voldemort would ignore you and focus on him. Lily wasn't convinced, she wanted it to be me, but James decided on you."
"And do you know why?" Pettigrew was enjoying this! Harry saw the grin emerge on the little man's face.
"James thought I was the spy. He knew it wasn't Sirius and he thought you were too weak to be a spy. So it had to be me."
"There had to be another reason that he didn't trust you though, what was it?"
"I'm a werewolf. Despite everything we'd been through, James couldn't get over that. He couldn't trust me with his wife and son. He couldn't trust me with their lives."
Tears formed in Remus' eyes. His face was contorted in agony, his breath coming in gasps.
"Why Remus? Why was the poor little werewolf so untrustworthy? Did something happen?"
"You know it did, rat."
"I want to hear it, it's part of my defense."
"Peter," interrupted Dumbledore wearily. "This won't help you. It's not relevant."
"No, Albus, I'll answer. The truth must out." Remus sighed and gave an apologetic look to Harry. "Just before James cast the Fidelius charm, there was a full moon. Back then, before the Wolfsbane potion was perfected, crooked potion makers would sell various brews that they claimed worked. Even though it was a sham, I had to try. I bought a potion from a man who claimed to have been successful. The first time it worked, or so I thought. It was glorious. I slept the whole night through and didn't destroy a thing. The second time I bought it, it failed. I went on a rampage, and destroyed my home. I had relied on the potion, so didn't reinforce the wards to keep me in. I was running through the town, had cornered a small boy, and was about to destroy him, when James appeared, in his stag form.
"Normally the stag would have been a welcome companion to the wolf, we would have played together, romped through the woods all night long. But something was different. Something was wrong. The potion didn't help, it made the wolf stronger, angrier. It was a set-up.
"I tried to attack the stag, to kill it. Rend it limb from limb. But James was too strong. The stag's anger outmatched even the anger of the wolf. He chased me away from the boy, away from the town. He pursued me through the nearby forest all night long. Finally, when morning came, and I transformed back into myself, James transformed too.
"His anger was terrible. He screamed at me for what seemed like hours. He accused me of terrible, dark things. He refused to listen to my excuse. He doubted me when I tried to tell him about the potion. He said I couldn't be trusted anymore. That was the last time I talked with him, the last time I saw him. Voldemort killed him not long thereafter."
The compulsion to tell the truth ended, as Remus had fully answered the rat's question. He gasped for breath, tears flowing down his cheeks. Dumbledore looked down at Remus with pity and excused him quietly. Nodding his head, Remus turned to reclaim his seat, but stopped. Refusing to look up at Harry, Remus started walking towards another exit, intent on leaving the room as quickly as possible.
Stunned by Remus' testimony, Harry was too slow to stop Remus from leaving. Jumping from his seat, he ran after his father's friend, his friend. He reached the corridor, only to find it empty. Running down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Remus pushing his way through a crowd, trying to get out of the Ministry.
"Remus!" shouted Harry. "Wait! Wait, please, we need to talk."
Ignoring the young wizard's pleas, Remus reached the fireplaces, grabbed a handful of Floo powder and disappeared into the fireplace. Harry was too far away to hear what the older wizard had said, and when he reached the fireplace, he slumped against the wall.
Gulping for air, he looked around and tried to figure out how to find where Remus had gone.
"Here boy," said Moody. "I think I know where he may have gone."
Whirling around, Harry saw the ex-Auror staring kindly at him. It was weird to see a sympathetic smile on the gruff man's face, but Harry appreciated the attempt at kindness.
"Where?" Harry asked desperately.
"It's a safe house. We've protected it from being broken into, and only a few people know the code name for it. If they say the real name, they get bounced back. Throw the powder in and say 'Moony's Shack.' I think you might have been there before."
Harry figured out where Moody was sending him, and weakly grinned his thanks at the old man. Throwing his powder in the fire, he stepped into the green flames and shouted his destination.
***
Coughing and spluttering, Harry bounced down onto the floor. He had arrived in the Shrieking Shack at Hogsmeade. Looking over to one side of the house, he saw the area where he had saved Pettigrew's life. Deep remorse flooded over Harry. If he hadn't spared Pettigrew, Voldemort might not have returned to a body. Sirius might still be alive. And Remus would not be in such agony right now. Nor would Harry.
His anger flared, and Harry clenched his jaw in a determined glare. Stomping through the house he called for Remus to come out. There was no reply. Fear started to creep at the edges of Harry's awareness. Remus had looked particularly distraught, and Harry wasn't sure what Remus was thinking.
Harry thought he heard a muffled sound coming from the back of the house, so he walked through the small, disheveled kitchen. The back door was open, swaying slowly in the slight summer breeze. Harry walked through the door, and almost wished he hadn't.
Remus was weeping uncontrollably, his breath coming in wracking sobs, his fists flailing at the ground. Harry was stunned to see this normally coolly controlled wizard failing to have any grip on himself. It was unnerving, and distressing.
"Remus," said Harry quietly. "Stop, please."
But Remus couldn't hear Harry. The guilt he had borne for fifteen years had burst through all the layers that Remus had built up to block it from his conscious mind. The agony of James and Lily's death sprouted anew in his mind. The deep, terrible loathing of himself as he lived his life a free man while Sirius was locked away in that despicable jail, a traitor, a turncoat. Remus should have done something to save James and Lily, save Peter, save Sirius. But he couldn't. He was so terrified of the wolf, so worried about losing control, he never took any risks. It wasn't safe. And he purposefully avoided getting close to anyone. They weren't safe.
It was easier when he was young. James, Sirius, even Peter were so carefree and mischievous that the danger didn't seem real. They would laugh about close calls. Once when they were running through the woods and Hogwarts grounds they came upon a fellow student and the wolf almost got too close. The next day Sirius and James made a big deal of how funny it was, but Remus remembered his own encounter with the wolf that bit him. And the danger hit home.
Once they graduated, Remus was more careful, he spent every knut he earned adding security improvements to his tiny home. He spent countless hours learning complex charms and spells to secure the wolf. But when the potion he bought seemed to work, he got careless, greedy for freedom. He didn't perform all of the spells, they were complex and draining. So Remus cut some corners.
And he almost killed a child as a result of his carelessness. And he lost his best friends due to his mistake as well. James and Lily, dead at Voldemort's hand, Peter ostensibly killed by Sirius, and Sirius in prison. Every day Remus lived with that guilt. Every night he was tormented by nightmares.
When Dumbledore had asked him to teach during Harry's third year, Remus jumped at the chance to get to know James' child. But even as he watched Harry go through the trauma of that year, he avoided getting too close. It wasn't safe to love a werewolf.
No, you couldn't love a werewolf, not at all. It just wasn't safe.
"Harry, get out!" Remus growled. "Go back to the Ministry, leave me alone."
"NO!" Harry shouted. "This is absurd. You did nothing wrong, Remus. It's not your fault. Don't let that cursed rat confuse you or play on your emotions. It wasn't your fault."
"What do you know about it? I betrayed James' trust. I attacked him. He couldn't trust me. If he had, maybe he'd have made me Secret Keeper and Voldemort wouldn't have found them."
"Stop it!" Harry said, anger shaking his voice. "Don't do this to yourself. You made a mistake, my father made a mistake, Sirius made a mistake. No one is blameless, but none of you is at fault. Peter was the traitor, Voldemort the murderer. They're to blame, they're at fault. You can't do this to yourself."
"I can, and I will. You don't understand. You are too young."
"Oh sod off you stupid arse. I don't understand? I'm too young? I understood when you told me Sirius' death wasn't my fault. I was old enough to listen when you absolved me of my guilt. Is that it, only YOU can feel pain, guilt, sorrow? Only you are old enough to grieve? That's crazy."
"Harry," said Remus pleadingly. "I just want to be alone."
"Bugger that. I wanted to be alone this summer and you pestered me into accepting your company. Now it's your turn. You'll never be alone Remus. I'll always be there for you. My father is dead. My mother is dead. My godfather is dead. You are all I have left. You are my only connection to my parents and I'll be damned if you think you can distance yourself. You once said that you'd always be there for me, well it works both ways. You can't pick and choose when it is convenient to be part of my life. I need you now more than ever. I just heard the man who helped kill my parents accuse my father's best friend of being the cause of his death. That should send me around the bend a bit, don't you think? I should talk this out with someone.
"Hmm, Ron? No, he'd clam up. Hermione? No, she'd give me a book and tell me to write my feelings down. Mrs. Weasley? She'd make me something to eat, hug me, and cry over my head. Dumbledore? He'd tell me something wise and noble and utterly incomprehensible. I'd feel bad about feeling bad afterwards. None of them would exactly be helpful.
"I need you Remus. I need you to help me understand why this all happens to ME. I need you to tell me it isn't as bad as it seems. I need you to show me that, despite the odds, we'll survive, we'll win. Who else besides a werewolf can do that? You could have easily turned evil. Most do. But you fought for control. Every day you fight for control. I do the same thing."
Remus was quietly listening, staring in bewilderment at Harry's insight. The agony, the pain, the guilt, seemed to lighten as Harry talked. The burden Remus carried for all those years diminished as Remus realized Harry was right. The irony of the situation was not lost on Remus. He had told these same sentiments to Harry just a short while ago. If they were true for Harry, weren't they true for Remus as well?
"I could have become evil. Living with the Dursley's was bad enough, and then I find out I have power. I could easily use my magic to hurt people, I could even enjoy it. This happens enough with Muggle families, a repetitive cycle of violence from generation to generation. Why am I different? Because I chose to be different. I knew right from wrong, and I made the choice.
"Make a choice. Choose to be different. Help me with my struggle and I'll help you with yours. It's a battle every day, but some days are better than others. Some days are easier than others. And eventually we will win, this will be over. And the struggle will cease."
Remus was speechless. He had no idea what to say. He struggled to his feet and looked at this remarkable young man. Harry was completely open to Remus, his emotions on his sleeve. Remus saw trust, he saw determination, and he saw love. In some ways Remus was scared. He didn't want to be too close to Harry, didn't want to hurt him like he had hurt James. But he knew that it was too late. He had to be there for Harry, to repay James, to repay Sirius.
Wiping away the tears on his sleeve, he offered a small smile to Harry and without words grabbed him in a tremendous hug. They both started shaking, their emotions rubbed raw, and their bodies drained of energy.
"Thanks Harry," whispered Remus. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay. But next time, I'm just rolling up a newspaper and whacking you on the nose. It may not work on you, but the wolf should respond."
For some reason Remus found this to be the funniest thing he'd heard in a long time and collapsed to the floor in laughter. Of course since he was still hugging Harry, he pulled him down as well and the two of them rolled around the floor gasping for breath as they laughed away their pain and anxiety.
***
After they recovered from their bouts of laughter, Harry and Remus talked for a long time, absolving each other of their misplaced feelings of guilt, and promising that they would talk with each other if either started feeling the weight of the world resting on their shoulders. Finally realizing they were missing the rat's trial, they returned to the fireplace and made their way back to the Ministry. When they rushed back to the courtroom, they saw that the audience was leaving. Dumbledore had obviously called a break for lunch.
"Harry! Professor Lupin!" Hermione's distinctive voice rang out from the crowd. She ran to greet them and gave both of them quick hugs. "Are you two alright? Where did you go? That was truly wretched of him to do that to you Professor, but he got his. You missed the whole thing! Dumbledore was stunning. Peter didn't offer much of a defense and Madam Bones was finished in no time. The Court agreed and he's been sentenced. It's just amazing."
"Well, don't just stand there," demanded Harry. "What happened? What was the verdict?"
"Oh Harry, it was obviously guilty. Guilty of the murder of those poor Muggles. Guilty of the murder of Bertha and Cedric. Guilty of the use of the Unforgivable Curses. And so much more."
"And his punishment?" asked Remus, his eyes blazing in anticipation. "What is the rat's punishment."
"Funny you should put it that way," said Ginny, approaching them with Ron in tow. "Dumbledore turned him into his Animagus form, and put him inside another anti-magic globe."
"It's bloody brilliant, Harry!" added Ron. "Dumbledore said it is unbreakable, so he can't break out, it provides food every day, and will clean itself once a week. Dumbledore said he got the idea from his smartest student, as if we don't know that's Hermione here, after what she did to Rita."
Hermione blushed at the compliment and the affectionate look that Ron gave her. Soon they were lost in each other's eyes, ignoring Harry, Remus, and Ginny.
"Anyway," said Ginny, rolling her eyes at the two of them and joining in Harry's grin. "Dumbledore said he'd stay in there until his natural death. It's a terrible sentence, but fitting. And Dumbledore praised you Harry for showing that there was power in mercy. The courtroom applauded you again. Well, except Fudge. He was pouting the whole time. Seems he's realized that with Peter convicted of the crime Sirius was accused of, it will be difficult to block Dumbledore from clearing his name."
Harry and Remus looked at each other and broke into huge grins.
"So, he's going to be a rat, forever?" asked Remus. "Perfect! I'll have to buy Dumbledore a box of lemon drops as my thanks."
"Why don't we pick some up from Fred and George?" asked Harry, mischief in his eyes. "I'm sure they've done something wicked to them, and Dumbledore might not suspect you right now."
Ginny and Remus laughed at the proposed prank, and nodded their heads in agreement. Mrs. Weasley had finally made it through the crowd and approached them.
"Are you boys alright now?" she asked, looking at Harry and Remus, her eyes boring onto their heads. Accepting the meek nods, she smiled. "Excellent, we can't let the two of you try to accept responsibility for the whole world. Now, let's go to lunch and get back here for Sirius' trial. Arthur thinks it should be very short. Apparently rumor has it that the members of the Court don't want to sit through another long trial, and it's mostly academic since they just convicted Peter. It should be simple to clear Sirius once and for all."
Mrs. Weasley marched everyone up to the fireplaces and they headed to the Burrow for lunch.
***
Lunch was a quick affair, everyone was anxious to get back to the courtroom for Sirius' trial and no one really wanted to intrude on the thoughts of Harry and Remus as they mentally prepared for what they thought would be a difficult afternoon. Fortunately everyone was wrong.
Making their way back to the court, Harry was surprised by the buzz of energy from the gathered crowd. As they made their way into the courtroom, Mr. Weasley crossed the room and grabbed both Harry and Remus by the arm. Bending his head low, he started whispering to the two of them.
"It seems Fudge has realized how much trouble he is in," started Mr. Weasley. "He's realized the Ministry's error, so he says, and issued a full and complete pardon for Sirius. He's going to announce it as soon as the trial starts."
"What has he got up his sleeve?" asked Harry. "Is he trying to keep Dumbledore from getting the credit? What does this do for him?"
"It makes him look like he's in charge," replied Remus. "He gets to make the magnanimous gesture. He gets to clear Sirius and apologize on behalf of the wizarding world. He thinks that he'll look like the winner."
Dumbledore appeared and the crowd hushed, finding their seats. Calling the courtroom to order, he opened the case.
"The Ministry versus Sirius Black. Mr. Black is charged with murder of thirteen Muggles and aiding and abetting Lord Voldemort. Mr. Black is unfortunately deceased, so this trial is called to determine his guilt, or innocence of the charges against him, charges for which he served twelve years in Azkaban prison. Without a trial, I might add.
"I recognize the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge."
"Thank you, Albus," he said with great dignity and tremendous pomposity. "Thank you. We are here to discuss a terrible matter. An unfortunate matter. But a matter we can set right.
"Fourteen years ago, in dark and terrible times, errors happened, mistakes were made. But we have learned from those mistakes. In a haste to resolve terrible crimes, decisions were made that this body must surely regret."
"Since he's the one who made the mistakes," grumbled Remus, "shouldn't he be the one who regrets these decisions?"
"Hush," said Harry. "Or I'll find an extra copy of the Daily Prophet."
Harry grinned at the disgusted look Remus gave him and returned his attention to the Minister.
"Fortunately I have the ability to rectify those mistakes, though undoubtedly too late in the circumstances. I am pleased to announce that I have just signed a full and complete pardon for Sirius Black of all charges, and issued a decree stating that he was never in league with, erm, Him. Mr. Pettigrew's conviction and the various testimonies of others under Veritaserum have proven conclusively that Mr. Black was not guilty of any of the crimes he was unfairly accused of. I just wish this information had been brought to my attention earlier, but we should not blame anyone but Mr. Pettigrew for this situation. But, despite the tragic circumstances, I think we can all agree that Mr. Black will rest more comfortably knowing that the wizarding world recognizes his innocence."
Incredibly pleased with himself, Fudge sat down to swelling applause. Gradually the few remaining allies of the Minister stood and encouraged those around them to applaud the Minister's actions. Slowly the room stood to applaud, though without the power or conviction of previous displays.
Only Harry, the Weasley's, Hermione, Remus, and Dumbledore remained in their chairs. Each of them sat, staring coldly at the Minister, and he could not help but flicker his eyes at each of them. His expression grew cold and frosty, insulted at this lack of respect.
As the applause died down, Dumbledore stood and gathered the attention of the entire room.
"Excellent Minister, I see that we need not proceed any further with this trial." His eyes were twinkling vividly, and Harry swore he saw a smirk appear on the face of the normally stoic wizard. "You have cleared Sirius of all charges, which I concur is a wise decision. Your pardon is truly a good deed.
"But we seem to have forgotten something. Sirius Black was imprisoned on Azkaban for twelve years. Twelve years of anguish and torture by the Dementors. Twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, largely because he was not given a fair trial. How do we make this right? A simple declaration of his innocence cannot be enough to repay a man for such a terrible fate. We must demonstrate our regret, prove our sorrow. Words often ring hollow, actions matter.
"So how do we demonstrate our regret? How do we show our remorse? We must compensate Sirius, or I should say his estate. We must pay for our error, pay for the damage we caused.
"What would be an appropriate amount? I don't think you can put a price tag on a man's freedom, on his sanity, on his name. But we can try. Let's see, twelve years of incarceration, the besmirching of his good name, deprivation of his ability to see his friends and godson, the attacks of the Dementors. Hmm, let's just come up with a round figure, would 12 million galleons be fair? I think so, I think so." Smiling at the crowd who was almost unanimously nodding their heads in agreement, Dumbledore finally looked down at the Minister of Magic.
Fudge realized he was trapped. He couldn't think of a way out of Dumbledore's maneuvering, so weakly nodded his head.
"Excellent, let us proceed then. The Ministry has pardoned the excellent Mr. Sirius Black and this Court affirms that. Mr. Sirius Black is cleared of all charges and declared an innocent man. The Ministry will compensate the estate of Sirius Black in the amount of 12 million galleons. This court stands adjourned."
***
Harry walked out of the Ministry in something of a daze. Something that he had hoped for over the past two years seemed somehow anticlimactic. He was thrilled that Sirius was cleared, and declared innocent, but it only made him miss Sirius that much more. It wasn't fair that this had only happened after Sirius was dead. It wasn't fair that Fudge only relented under considerable duress. If it weren't for Fudge's stupidity, Sirius would have been declared innocent years ago and maybe, just maybe Sirius wouldn't be dead now.
"Stop it," Harry muttered to himself. "That's not going to help." Shrugging his shoulders at himself, he followed the Weasley's who were nervously piling into Fred and George's car.
"We're taking everyone out to eat!" Fred exclaimed. "We have a lot to celebrate today and no one should have to cook.
"It's our treat," George chimed in. "We found this excellent restaurant in Wales that we want to try, so just sit back, relax, and don't pay attention to how fast we're going."
Having experienced their driving abilities before, Harry swallowed in anticipation and sunk low into his seat. Of course the back seat was magically enhanced so Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Remus were able to fit in with room to spare. Fred and George were laughing at some joke in the front, but the back seat was noticeably quiet.
Even Mr. Weasley looked a bit green around the edges, the Muggle mode of transportation obviously making him uncomfortable. It almost made Harry laugh except for the worry that if he didn't concentrate on controlling his stomach he might have an unfortunate incident.
Three quarters of an hour later they arrived at the restaurant. Thoroughly pleased to have arrived in one piece, the car quickly emptied and everyone entered the restaurant. To Harry's surprise it was a seemingly elegant establishment, without any of the usual characteristics that should have attracted Fred and George to the place. Harry wasn't the only one that was confused.
"I don't understand," said Ron. "This looks like a normal place. Nothing is glowing green or about to explode. What gives?"
Casting furtive glances at each other, Fred and George protested that they liked the food here and that was it.
The hostess showed them to a private room, magically summoning their menus and crystal goblets of water, and quickly walked through the specials and left them to decide what they wanted.
"Umm, Fred, there's no prices on this menu, how do we know what it costs?" asked Ron.
"Ron," said Ginny, rolling her eyes, "if you have to ask what the price is you can't afford it."
"Ginny, be nice," protested Hermione. "How would he have known?"
His face flaming red, Ron pulled up the menu to his face and tried to avoid looking at anyone. Harry sympathized with Ron because he hadn't known that either.
"Oh," he said. "I didn't know that either. It's not like the Dursley's would take me to a nice place. But I didn't bring any gold with me."
"It's our treat," insisted Fred. "We owe something special to our family, and we want to celebrate all the things that have happened. Malfoy convicted."
"Pettigrew convicted," added George. "And Sirius cleared! What a day!"
Wordlessly Remus lifted his glass and held it out in front of him, soon everyone followed suit. "To friends and family, here, apart, and departed. Let us enjoy our meal, our company, and our night!"
Clinking their glasses together everyone joined in the celebratory mood, chattering amongst themselves. After several minutes, a waitress walked in and Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, and Remus stopped talking to stare at her. Oddly neither Ron nor Harry even cast a second look her way.
She was absolutely stunning. A gorgeous woman with velvet black hair, creamy chocolate skin, deep violet eyes, and a grace that most women would kill to obtain. She walked with a languid ease, almost floating through the room. A smile played across her face, one that held the promise of joyous laughter and the warmth of a spring day.
The room quieted as she started to speak.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And boys," she added, looking at Fred and George with a soft twinkle in her eyes. "Welcome to the Sahara. I am Amounique, your waitress. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I'll take your orders now."
Fred quickly nudged George in the ribs, prodding him to speak. "Erm, Amounique, have you given any thought to our offer? I mean, that is, our job offer?"
A small grin played at the corner of her lips. "Yes, boys, I have. I'm still considering it, though I'd have expected Mr. Jordan would be here as well. Is he detained?"
Grinning devilishly, George winked at Fred. "No, I'm sorry, this is a family celebration. Lee is minding the shop tonight while we celebrate. But I'll let him know you inquired about him, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," she said, winking back at him. "But make sure he understands I'm distressed that he didn't show up for himself. In fact, tell him I'm quite hurt."
Letting slip a short laugh, she proceeded to take their orders and quietly left the room.
"Now that's a lot of woman!" exclaimed Fred to the nodding agreements of Remus, Mr. Weasley, and George.
"Why does she call you two 'boys?' She's no older than you two." Ginny asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
"Well, she was caught up in a prank gone somewhat awry," said Fred.
"Amounique was in our shop right after we accidentally tested a new product on Lee. We call it 'Love Sticks' and it sticks two people together in a relatively, erm, comfortable position for a couple of hours," added George with a wicked grin.
"We didn't mean to give it to him, but he swallowed it before we could stop him. Then she approached him about a product, and well, the 'Love Sticks' work."
"They spent the entire afternoon stuck together, and Lee, well, Lee was smitten," said Fred.
"She thought it was pretty funny, but refuses to take us seriously. But we're trying to get her to work for us, well, work with Lee at the Diagon Alley shop, so that we can open a store in Hogsmeade."
"Really?" asked Hermione. "You have enough business to open a store in Hogsmeade as well? That's amazing."
"Business is really good," George said enthusiastically. "We have taken on a dozen employees to make everything once we come up with the original idea and they can't move fast enough. We hope to hire another dozen at the beginning of the school year, after recent graduates are done relaxing."
"Yeah," added Fred. "Plus, we want to be close to you all next year. We figure you'll need some guidance in constructive rule breaking that we couldn't complete since we had to leave Hogwarts so unexpectedly."
"Excellent!" said Harry and Ron simultaneously.
Amounique returned at that point, trays of food floating behind her as she brought in the first course. Salads and soups floated to their proper places, and the room became quiet as everyone quickly dove in to the food in front of them.
As they were eating, Mr. Weasley looked over at Harry, obviously trying to figure out how to begin a conversation that he had been thinking about all day.
"Harry, I need to ask you about something," he said, tentatively. "But I don't want you to feel like you have to answer the question."
"Sure Mr. Weasley, you know I'll do my best to answer anything you ask me."
"Well, I was wondering. It was a little odd that Dumbledore insisted that the Ministry make a payment to Sirius' estate for his unjust imprisonment. Don't get me wrong, I think it is deserved, but since Sirius is gone, and Dumbledore knows you don't need the money, why did he insist, and why such a large sum?"
The table had quieted as Harry and Mr. Weasley were talking. Obviously this was a question of great interest to all those gathered.
"Well, there's a few reasons," Harry started. "First, it's an embarrassment to Fudge. It's not like the Ministry has unlimited resources, this will have a big impact on his budget for the next year or so. Second, it's a reminder to the Ministry that there are certain rules that must be abided by, even for the Ministry. Sirius was sentenced without a trial, and presumed guilty when he was innocent. It's not enough to just pardon Sirius. Third, it's a visible message. It would be easy for Fudge to just pardon Sirius, it wouldn't impact anyone really. But I guarantee that one of tomorrow's headlines will be 'Ministry pays to repair name of Sirius Black' or something along those lines. It reinforces the message that Sirius was innocent."
"I see," Mr. Weasley said. "I guess that makes sense. But I sense that there's more."
"I won't lie, sir," responded Harry. "But I can't tell you everything, yet. You'll understand soon enough. I promise."
Arthur gave Harry a long speculative look. He could sense that Harry was hiding something significant from him. Arthur shrugged and decided it would be less difficult to wait until Harry was ready to tell him more. Though he would feel free to speculate to his heart's content. The speculative look he often saw Harry giving him disquieted him for some reason, he couldn't quite pinpoint, but somehow Arthur knew that Harry's grand plan was going to impact his life to a large extent.
Deciding there was nothing he could do about it, he heartily dug into his meal, only occasionally looking up to see his wife giving him and Harry the same speculative look that he had been giving Harry. Chuckling to himself, he realized that nothing would ever slip past the watchful eyes of Molly Weasley.
As desert was being finished, a flash of light flared at the corner of the room. Fawkes had appeared, with a note tied to his leg. Strutting over to Mrs. Weasley, she quickly untied the note, a small ripple of tension flitting through the room.
"Oh, excellent!" she cried. "We must hurry back to Headquarters. Dumbledore wrote to tell you he has your O.W.L. results. He'd been saving them for after today's events were concluded and just arrived at Headquarters himself. We must get going."
Ron groaned with dread. He did not relish the thought of opening his results in front of an audience and certainly didn't want to share them with anyone until he knew what they were.
"Couldn't Dumbledore have waited until after Harry's trial?" he moaned. Hermione poked him roughly in the ribs, trying to shush him.
"Honestly Ron, we need to know our results so we can start planning our courses for next term, as well as start reading for our lessons and getting prepared for term."
"Hermione, it's summer, why do we have to study? Don't we deserve a bit of a break? Last year was horrid, it's not too much to ask for two months off."
"It's not like you study all that hard during the year, Ron," Ginny added, grinning. "Why would it be so bad to maybe open up a book sometime in the next four weeks?"
"Thank you Ginny!" said Hermione, brightly. "Now, we'll be taking different courses, but some of them should certainly be the same, don't you think? We can start there. Of course, we need to find our results and go to Diagon Alley for our supplies."
"Okay Herms, okay," interrupted Harry. "But first, let's get back to Headquarters and find out our results. Not that I'm really anxious for that since I'm not really thrilled with the idea of driving with those two maniacs."
Fred and George were busy paying the bill and trying to get Amounique to laugh. She had put on a determined face, and was resisting their outrageous behavior, but Harry saw she was struggling with the need to laugh. Hearing his comment, she looked over and quickly walked towards him.
"Well, Mr. Potter, we can give you access to our fireplace if you want to Floo home. Is it connected to the Floo Network?"
"Erm, actually it is blocked, but I can have my house elf open it up for us for tonight. That should be safe, shouldn't it?" he asked Remus.
"Certainly Harry. I'll apparate there and tell Dobby and Dumbledore what you're doing. See you in a few minutes."
With a crack he disappeared. They followed Amounique to the restaurant's fireplace which employees obviously used to arrive and leave. Tossing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace Harry put his head in the flames and checked to see if it was clear.
"Mr. Harry Potter sir, Dobby has freed up the fireplace, you and your friends can come in now." The loyal house elf was pleased to help Harry, as always.
"Thanks Dobby. Could you and Winky do me another favor? Could you set up the large room with comfortable chairs and as much butterbeer as we've got? We're getting our exam results and I think we'll need to celebrate one way or the other."
"Of course Mr. Harry Potter sir. Of course. Dobby and Winky will see to it right away."
Pulling his head out of the flames, Harry explained that the Floo was unblocked, and he threw a handful of powder into the flames and promptly disappeared. Gradually everyone followed him leaving Fred and George alone with Amounique.
"We'll be taking the car, so I think we're done here. Please consider our offer. And Lee would really like you to think about it, he'd enjoy working with you." Fred said this with a straight face, and George was impressed. While they were usually irrepressible in their mirth and pranks, when it came to helping friends or family, no one could be more dedicated than Fred and George. Of course they usually made up for it by playing even more outrageous pranks, but the twins decided that was part of their charm.
***
Arriving back at number 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry quickly brushed himself off and went into the large sitting room. Dobby and Winky had quickly worked to get the room ready, and Harry was pleased with their efforts. There were plenty of chairs for everyone and several buckets of ice with cold butterbeer sitting in them. Sighing in nervous anticipation he started pacing back and forth, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
Ron and Hermione walked into the room, absentmindedly brushing soot off each other's robes. Hermione was grinning with anticipation, eager to learn the results of her exams. Ron was nervous with dread. Worried about his scores, and not eager to see his mother's reaction to what he expected were perfectly abysmal results.
Professor Dumbledore entered in from the kitchen at the same time as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked in with Ginny. Grinning at his anxious students, he nodded to them, his bright blue eyes twinkling.
"Good evening. I hope you had a pleasant meal, Fawkes tells me that the young Misters Weasley took you to a very fine establishment. I do hope that you don't mind that I delayed the distribution of your O.W.L. results until this evening. I was preoccupied with those trials and wanted to be able to deliver your results personally. The other students will be getting their scores this evening as well, though by post owl."
"Oh, well, thank you Professor," said Hermione. "I'll admit I was starting to get anxious since we were supposed to receive our results at the end of July, but since you have them, well, that's okay.
"Erm, can we have them," she asked nervously. "I mean, if that's all right with you, that is."
Smiling, Dumbledore handed an envelope to Ron, Harry, and Hermione, but cautioned them not to open them yet.
"Before you open them, I want you to understand two things. First, I am completely confident that these scores are entirely accurate. No influence was placed on these scores by my replacement, and no influence was placed by myself once I received the results. Every score you received is accurate and reflects the effort you put into the tests. Second, while I will admit that I would have liked to see some of these scores a bit higher, I am very pleased with your results. Now, please, open them."
No one moved. Hermione looked fearful, especially after listening to Dumbledore's speech. She was terrified that her scores were too low, and he seemed to indicate that this was a possibility. Frozen with fear, she just looked down at her envelope, playing with it in her hands.
Ron was similarly lost in terror. He knew he should have studied harder, knew he should have paid more attention to Hermione's schedule. This was going to be terrible. He thought longingly about his hopes to become an Auror, which he was certain would be dashed by these test scores. Maybe he could work with his Dad at the Ministry. Working with Muggles seemed kind of fun, laid back for the most part, and it would be a respectable job, he guessed. Twiddling his fingers around the edge of the envelope he couldn't stand the thought of opening his envelope.
Harry was watching his friends, and realized that he had to make the first move. Squaring his shoulders against the inevitable, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment.
Harry James Potter
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Mr. Potter:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Astronomy - Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Outstanding
Charms - Practical - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Divination - Poor
Herbology - Acceptable
History of Magic - Dreadful
Potions - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Potions - Practical - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Congratulations, you have received a total of 9 O.W.L.'s.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
After Harry read his scores nervously out loud, Hermione tore in to her envelope.
Hermione Granger
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Ms. Granger:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Arithmancy - Outstanding
Astronomy - Outstanding
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Outstanding
Charms - Practical - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Herbology - Outstanding
History of Magic - Outstanding
Muggle Studies - Outstanding
Potions - Theory - Outstanding
Potions - Practical - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Theory - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Practical - Outstanding
Congratulations, you have received a total of 14 O.W.L.'s. This is
the highest score ever achieved by a witch or wizard.
Congratulations.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Grimacing with pain, Ron weakly opened his envelope, closing one eye to spare him from the complete pain of his results.
Ronald Weasley
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Mr. Weasley:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Astronomy - Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Charms - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Divination - Poor
Herbology - Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic - Acceptable
Potions - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Potions - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Congratulations, you have received a total of 10 O.W.L.'s.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Ron fell to the ground in shock. He couldn't believe it. This was a prank, a cruel joke. Looking up at the shocked faces on his family he cast his eyes about for Fred and George.
"Very funny, hilarious. Now where are my real results?" he demanded angrily. "I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, I don't know how the twins switched envelopes on you. Do you think you could owl the Ministry for my real results?"
"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, that those are your results. As are Mr. Potter's and Ms. Granger's. I don't think any of us are surprised by Ms. Granger's results though. Superb. Excellent job, all three of you. I honestly could not be more pleased. Of course, I do wish you two had done better in History of Magic, but even I can admit that Professor Binns makes me nod off at times as well."
"Oh Ronniekins, I knew it, I knew you had it in you!" Mrs. Weasley grabbed him in a massive hug and started dancing around the room with him. Mr. Weasley joined in and hugged his son adding his congratulations. Worming his way out, he grabbed Harry by the shoulder.
"Good job, mate. Looks like Hermione rubbed off on both of us."
"Careful Ron, that's how rumors get started," said Ginny with a perfectly straight face.
Harry stared at her, not sure if she realized the implications of what she was saying, intrigued at the thought that she probably did. Ron paused and blushed, looking angrily at his sister. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, picked up a bottle of butterbeer and sat down on a couch.
Hermione was still staring at her parchment, shocked to the core at her perfect results. Harry and Ron reached out to her and drew her into a hug.
"Congratulations! We did it, we made it!" they said.
"Hermione, a perfect score. No one has ever got such a high score. Not even Dumbledore," said Ron.
When Dumbledore cleared his throat, the trio turned to look at his joyous face. He was obviously thrilled for the results of his students.
"But wait a minute, Hermione," Harry said. "When did you have time to take the Muggle Studies O.W.L.? You didn't take the course, how did you have time?"
"Well," she said blushing. "I did a lot of reading of the required texts and thought it would be worth taking the exam. This way my options aren't limited. I mean, my parents are muggles, I was raised a muggle until starting at Hogwarts, so I know all about muggles. It wasn't that hard to prepare for that exam."
"Oh right," said Ron sarcastically. "Just another endless exam trying to cram in everything you know onto as many pieces of parchment as you can get your hands on. Honestly, you never cease to amaze me. Only you could take an exam on a subject you aren't in and get a higher score than students in the class for four years got. You are amazing!"
"You're not so bad yourself, Ronald. Ten O.W.L.'s is nothing to sneeze at, though you certainly could have done better on your History exam. Only an 'Acceptable,' I can't believe it. You know how important that is."
"Hey," Ron interrupted. "I did better than Harry, he got a 'Dreadful!'"
"Yeah," muttered Harry. "But of course I was busy receiving a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius at the time, so you'd think that would be an acceptable excuse."
"Oh, right, sorry."
"Forget it, it's not like I would have done much better anyway. You know we just make up names of the trolls and the examiners would have probably figured that out."
"Well," said Professor Dumbledore. "My work here is done. Congratulations you three. I am very proud of you. Enjoy your celebration. I will see you tomorrow for our final trial. I will be pleased when this that is over."
"Professor, I promise it will be a trial no one will ever forget," said Harry.
"I know that Harry. I know. We will long remember the trial of the Ministry vs. Harry Potter."
Another chaotic morning had passed as Harry struggled to make it to the Court on time. Gasping for breath as they ran into the courtroom, he found that seats had been saved for himself, Remus, Hermione, and the Weasley's. As if they were waiting for him to arrive, Professor Dumbledore immediately called the day's session into order and called for Peter Pettigrew to be brought in.
Harry was shocked to see that the tiny Animagus that marched into the courtroom was more unkempt and bedraggled than he would have thought possible. His silvery hand was encased in a glowing golden orb, and Harry looked questioningly at Remus.
"It's a magic nullifier," the werewolf explained. "Dumbledore wasn't sure what powers Voldemort may have endowed on the rat's paw, so he encased it in that to prevent any surprises. It won't destroy the hand, as several people suggested that we do, but it prevents any spells or magic from coming out if it."
Nodding his head thoughtfully, Harry watched as Pettigrew was magically secured to the chair in the center of the room. Dumbledore looked down at the man who had betrayed Harry's parents. Harry could see several emotions flit across the headmaster's face, contempt, pity, sorrow, and, oddly, Harry thought, remorse. Harry wasn't sure what the headmaster felt remorse about, but he knew that emotion was present in the ancient wizard's mind.
The crowd grew silent as Madam Bones stood and called for her first witness. Fully expecting to be called, Harry started to get up when he felt Remus grab his hand.
"I think she'll be calling me, first," he said softly. "You may want to leave, this will not be pleasant. You'll hear things you might not want to know."
"What do you mean," Harry whispered. "What don't I want to know?"
"The reason why I wasn't chosen to be Secret Keeper. I'm sure Peter will discuss that, to damage my credibility, and to hurt me. And to hurt you."
"I'm not leaving Remus. Nothing that disgusting rat will say can hurt me. I won't believe his lies, and the truth can't hurt me."
As Madam Bones called Remus to testify, he sighed and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "I doubt that, Harry. But all I will say is that you have been warned."
Walking down to the courtroom floor, Remus willingly took a sip of Veritaserum and proceeded to answer the questions from Madam Bones.
She grilled him for half an hour, asking questions about the night Harry's parents were killed by Voldemort, why Remus wasn't the Secret Keeper. Remus truthfully answered that he thought it was because James wasn't entirely sure he could trust a werewolf. Harry's heart sank at the look on Remus' face, who seemed to agree with that assessment. He was outraged at the nods of agreement from several of the witches and wizards in the audience and on the court. He realized he couldn't do anything to change their attitude immediately, but he vowed to himself that he would erase that prejudice some day.
Remus continued talking about the night that he, Sirius, Peter, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the Shrieking Shack. How Peter had confessed to being Voldemort's spy, and how he had framed Sirius for his own murder of almost a dozen muggles.
Madam Bones concluded her questioning and turned to Pettigrew.
"Your witness," she said with disdain.
"Remus," he said, with dread. "Good to see you."
"I wish you were dead," Remus spat with anger. "I wish you were stuck in your rat form and let free in a room full of hungry cats."
"I guess that's true, since the serum is still working. But, let's see. Ah, yes, let's find out what you have to say for yourself. Did Sirius ever tell you why was I really made the Secret Keeper?"
Harry loathed this pathetic little wizard. His oily voice grated on Harry's nerves. The shifty eyes that darted nervously about the room made Harry want to poke them out with his wand. And the silver hand. Harry shuddered at the memory of the accursed man cutting of his own hand to bring Voldemort back to a body. Harry's anger was a glowing red ember, burning deep in his soul.
"Sirius convinced James that Voldemort would ignore you and focus on him. Lily wasn't convinced, she wanted it to be me, but James decided on you."
"And do you know why?" Pettigrew was enjoying this! Harry saw the grin emerge on the little man's face.
"James thought I was the spy. He knew it wasn't Sirius and he thought you were too weak to be a spy. So it had to be me."
"There had to be another reason that he didn't trust you though, what was it?"
"I'm a werewolf. Despite everything we'd been through, James couldn't get over that. He couldn't trust me with his wife and son. He couldn't trust me with their lives."
Tears formed in Remus' eyes. His face was contorted in agony, his breath coming in gasps.
"Why Remus? Why was the poor little werewolf so untrustworthy? Did something happen?"
"You know it did, rat."
"I want to hear it, it's part of my defense."
"Peter," interrupted Dumbledore wearily. "This won't help you. It's not relevant."
"No, Albus, I'll answer. The truth must out." Remus sighed and gave an apologetic look to Harry. "Just before James cast the Fidelius charm, there was a full moon. Back then, before the Wolfsbane potion was perfected, crooked potion makers would sell various brews that they claimed worked. Even though it was a sham, I had to try. I bought a potion from a man who claimed to have been successful. The first time it worked, or so I thought. It was glorious. I slept the whole night through and didn't destroy a thing. The second time I bought it, it failed. I went on a rampage, and destroyed my home. I had relied on the potion, so didn't reinforce the wards to keep me in. I was running through the town, had cornered a small boy, and was about to destroy him, when James appeared, in his stag form.
"Normally the stag would have been a welcome companion to the wolf, we would have played together, romped through the woods all night long. But something was different. Something was wrong. The potion didn't help, it made the wolf stronger, angrier. It was a set-up.
"I tried to attack the stag, to kill it. Rend it limb from limb. But James was too strong. The stag's anger outmatched even the anger of the wolf. He chased me away from the boy, away from the town. He pursued me through the nearby forest all night long. Finally, when morning came, and I transformed back into myself, James transformed too.
"His anger was terrible. He screamed at me for what seemed like hours. He accused me of terrible, dark things. He refused to listen to my excuse. He doubted me when I tried to tell him about the potion. He said I couldn't be trusted anymore. That was the last time I talked with him, the last time I saw him. Voldemort killed him not long thereafter."
The compulsion to tell the truth ended, as Remus had fully answered the rat's question. He gasped for breath, tears flowing down his cheeks. Dumbledore looked down at Remus with pity and excused him quietly. Nodding his head, Remus turned to reclaim his seat, but stopped. Refusing to look up at Harry, Remus started walking towards another exit, intent on leaving the room as quickly as possible.
Stunned by Remus' testimony, Harry was too slow to stop Remus from leaving. Jumping from his seat, he ran after his father's friend, his friend. He reached the corridor, only to find it empty. Running down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Remus pushing his way through a crowd, trying to get out of the Ministry.
"Remus!" shouted Harry. "Wait! Wait, please, we need to talk."
Ignoring the young wizard's pleas, Remus reached the fireplaces, grabbed a handful of Floo powder and disappeared into the fireplace. Harry was too far away to hear what the older wizard had said, and when he reached the fireplace, he slumped against the wall.
Gulping for air, he looked around and tried to figure out how to find where Remus had gone.
"Here boy," said Moody. "I think I know where he may have gone."
Whirling around, Harry saw the ex-Auror staring kindly at him. It was weird to see a sympathetic smile on the gruff man's face, but Harry appreciated the attempt at kindness.
"Where?" Harry asked desperately.
"It's a safe house. We've protected it from being broken into, and only a few people know the code name for it. If they say the real name, they get bounced back. Throw the powder in and say 'Moony's Shack.' I think you might have been there before."
Harry figured out where Moody was sending him, and weakly grinned his thanks at the old man. Throwing his powder in the fire, he stepped into the green flames and shouted his destination.
***
Coughing and spluttering, Harry bounced down onto the floor. He had arrived in the Shrieking Shack at Hogsmeade. Looking over to one side of the house, he saw the area where he had saved Pettigrew's life. Deep remorse flooded over Harry. If he hadn't spared Pettigrew, Voldemort might not have returned to a body. Sirius might still be alive. And Remus would not be in such agony right now. Nor would Harry.
His anger flared, and Harry clenched his jaw in a determined glare. Stomping through the house he called for Remus to come out. There was no reply. Fear started to creep at the edges of Harry's awareness. Remus had looked particularly distraught, and Harry wasn't sure what Remus was thinking.
Harry thought he heard a muffled sound coming from the back of the house, so he walked through the small, disheveled kitchen. The back door was open, swaying slowly in the slight summer breeze. Harry walked through the door, and almost wished he hadn't.
Remus was weeping uncontrollably, his breath coming in wracking sobs, his fists flailing at the ground. Harry was stunned to see this normally coolly controlled wizard failing to have any grip on himself. It was unnerving, and distressing.
"Remus," said Harry quietly. "Stop, please."
But Remus couldn't hear Harry. The guilt he had borne for fifteen years had burst through all the layers that Remus had built up to block it from his conscious mind. The agony of James and Lily's death sprouted anew in his mind. The deep, terrible loathing of himself as he lived his life a free man while Sirius was locked away in that despicable jail, a traitor, a turncoat. Remus should have done something to save James and Lily, save Peter, save Sirius. But he couldn't. He was so terrified of the wolf, so worried about losing control, he never took any risks. It wasn't safe. And he purposefully avoided getting close to anyone. They weren't safe.
It was easier when he was young. James, Sirius, even Peter were so carefree and mischievous that the danger didn't seem real. They would laugh about close calls. Once when they were running through the woods and Hogwarts grounds they came upon a fellow student and the wolf almost got too close. The next day Sirius and James made a big deal of how funny it was, but Remus remembered his own encounter with the wolf that bit him. And the danger hit home.
Once they graduated, Remus was more careful, he spent every knut he earned adding security improvements to his tiny home. He spent countless hours learning complex charms and spells to secure the wolf. But when the potion he bought seemed to work, he got careless, greedy for freedom. He didn't perform all of the spells, they were complex and draining. So Remus cut some corners.
And he almost killed a child as a result of his carelessness. And he lost his best friends due to his mistake as well. James and Lily, dead at Voldemort's hand, Peter ostensibly killed by Sirius, and Sirius in prison. Every day Remus lived with that guilt. Every night he was tormented by nightmares.
When Dumbledore had asked him to teach during Harry's third year, Remus jumped at the chance to get to know James' child. But even as he watched Harry go through the trauma of that year, he avoided getting too close. It wasn't safe to love a werewolf.
No, you couldn't love a werewolf, not at all. It just wasn't safe.
"Harry, get out!" Remus growled. "Go back to the Ministry, leave me alone."
"NO!" Harry shouted. "This is absurd. You did nothing wrong, Remus. It's not your fault. Don't let that cursed rat confuse you or play on your emotions. It wasn't your fault."
"What do you know about it? I betrayed James' trust. I attacked him. He couldn't trust me. If he had, maybe he'd have made me Secret Keeper and Voldemort wouldn't have found them."
"Stop it!" Harry said, anger shaking his voice. "Don't do this to yourself. You made a mistake, my father made a mistake, Sirius made a mistake. No one is blameless, but none of you is at fault. Peter was the traitor, Voldemort the murderer. They're to blame, they're at fault. You can't do this to yourself."
"I can, and I will. You don't understand. You are too young."
"Oh sod off you stupid arse. I don't understand? I'm too young? I understood when you told me Sirius' death wasn't my fault. I was old enough to listen when you absolved me of my guilt. Is that it, only YOU can feel pain, guilt, sorrow? Only you are old enough to grieve? That's crazy."
"Harry," said Remus pleadingly. "I just want to be alone."
"Bugger that. I wanted to be alone this summer and you pestered me into accepting your company. Now it's your turn. You'll never be alone Remus. I'll always be there for you. My father is dead. My mother is dead. My godfather is dead. You are all I have left. You are my only connection to my parents and I'll be damned if you think you can distance yourself. You once said that you'd always be there for me, well it works both ways. You can't pick and choose when it is convenient to be part of my life. I need you now more than ever. I just heard the man who helped kill my parents accuse my father's best friend of being the cause of his death. That should send me around the bend a bit, don't you think? I should talk this out with someone.
"Hmm, Ron? No, he'd clam up. Hermione? No, she'd give me a book and tell me to write my feelings down. Mrs. Weasley? She'd make me something to eat, hug me, and cry over my head. Dumbledore? He'd tell me something wise and noble and utterly incomprehensible. I'd feel bad about feeling bad afterwards. None of them would exactly be helpful.
"I need you Remus. I need you to help me understand why this all happens to ME. I need you to tell me it isn't as bad as it seems. I need you to show me that, despite the odds, we'll survive, we'll win. Who else besides a werewolf can do that? You could have easily turned evil. Most do. But you fought for control. Every day you fight for control. I do the same thing."
Remus was quietly listening, staring in bewilderment at Harry's insight. The agony, the pain, the guilt, seemed to lighten as Harry talked. The burden Remus carried for all those years diminished as Remus realized Harry was right. The irony of the situation was not lost on Remus. He had told these same sentiments to Harry just a short while ago. If they were true for Harry, weren't they true for Remus as well?
"I could have become evil. Living with the Dursley's was bad enough, and then I find out I have power. I could easily use my magic to hurt people, I could even enjoy it. This happens enough with Muggle families, a repetitive cycle of violence from generation to generation. Why am I different? Because I chose to be different. I knew right from wrong, and I made the choice.
"Make a choice. Choose to be different. Help me with my struggle and I'll help you with yours. It's a battle every day, but some days are better than others. Some days are easier than others. And eventually we will win, this will be over. And the struggle will cease."
Remus was speechless. He had no idea what to say. He struggled to his feet and looked at this remarkable young man. Harry was completely open to Remus, his emotions on his sleeve. Remus saw trust, he saw determination, and he saw love. In some ways Remus was scared. He didn't want to be too close to Harry, didn't want to hurt him like he had hurt James. But he knew that it was too late. He had to be there for Harry, to repay James, to repay Sirius.
Wiping away the tears on his sleeve, he offered a small smile to Harry and without words grabbed him in a tremendous hug. They both started shaking, their emotions rubbed raw, and their bodies drained of energy.
"Thanks Harry," whispered Remus. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay. But next time, I'm just rolling up a newspaper and whacking you on the nose. It may not work on you, but the wolf should respond."
For some reason Remus found this to be the funniest thing he'd heard in a long time and collapsed to the floor in laughter. Of course since he was still hugging Harry, he pulled him down as well and the two of them rolled around the floor gasping for breath as they laughed away their pain and anxiety.
***
After they recovered from their bouts of laughter, Harry and Remus talked for a long time, absolving each other of their misplaced feelings of guilt, and promising that they would talk with each other if either started feeling the weight of the world resting on their shoulders. Finally realizing they were missing the rat's trial, they returned to the fireplace and made their way back to the Ministry. When they rushed back to the courtroom, they saw that the audience was leaving. Dumbledore had obviously called a break for lunch.
"Harry! Professor Lupin!" Hermione's distinctive voice rang out from the crowd. She ran to greet them and gave both of them quick hugs. "Are you two alright? Where did you go? That was truly wretched of him to do that to you Professor, but he got his. You missed the whole thing! Dumbledore was stunning. Peter didn't offer much of a defense and Madam Bones was finished in no time. The Court agreed and he's been sentenced. It's just amazing."
"Well, don't just stand there," demanded Harry. "What happened? What was the verdict?"
"Oh Harry, it was obviously guilty. Guilty of the murder of those poor Muggles. Guilty of the murder of Bertha and Cedric. Guilty of the use of the Unforgivable Curses. And so much more."
"And his punishment?" asked Remus, his eyes blazing in anticipation. "What is the rat's punishment."
"Funny you should put it that way," said Ginny, approaching them with Ron in tow. "Dumbledore turned him into his Animagus form, and put him inside another anti-magic globe."
"It's bloody brilliant, Harry!" added Ron. "Dumbledore said it is unbreakable, so he can't break out, it provides food every day, and will clean itself once a week. Dumbledore said he got the idea from his smartest student, as if we don't know that's Hermione here, after what she did to Rita."
Hermione blushed at the compliment and the affectionate look that Ron gave her. Soon they were lost in each other's eyes, ignoring Harry, Remus, and Ginny.
"Anyway," said Ginny, rolling her eyes at the two of them and joining in Harry's grin. "Dumbledore said he'd stay in there until his natural death. It's a terrible sentence, but fitting. And Dumbledore praised you Harry for showing that there was power in mercy. The courtroom applauded you again. Well, except Fudge. He was pouting the whole time. Seems he's realized that with Peter convicted of the crime Sirius was accused of, it will be difficult to block Dumbledore from clearing his name."
Harry and Remus looked at each other and broke into huge grins.
"So, he's going to be a rat, forever?" asked Remus. "Perfect! I'll have to buy Dumbledore a box of lemon drops as my thanks."
"Why don't we pick some up from Fred and George?" asked Harry, mischief in his eyes. "I'm sure they've done something wicked to them, and Dumbledore might not suspect you right now."
Ginny and Remus laughed at the proposed prank, and nodded their heads in agreement. Mrs. Weasley had finally made it through the crowd and approached them.
"Are you boys alright now?" she asked, looking at Harry and Remus, her eyes boring onto their heads. Accepting the meek nods, she smiled. "Excellent, we can't let the two of you try to accept responsibility for the whole world. Now, let's go to lunch and get back here for Sirius' trial. Arthur thinks it should be very short. Apparently rumor has it that the members of the Court don't want to sit through another long trial, and it's mostly academic since they just convicted Peter. It should be simple to clear Sirius once and for all."
Mrs. Weasley marched everyone up to the fireplaces and they headed to the Burrow for lunch.
***
Lunch was a quick affair, everyone was anxious to get back to the courtroom for Sirius' trial and no one really wanted to intrude on the thoughts of Harry and Remus as they mentally prepared for what they thought would be a difficult afternoon. Fortunately everyone was wrong.
Making their way back to the court, Harry was surprised by the buzz of energy from the gathered crowd. As they made their way into the courtroom, Mr. Weasley crossed the room and grabbed both Harry and Remus by the arm. Bending his head low, he started whispering to the two of them.
"It seems Fudge has realized how much trouble he is in," started Mr. Weasley. "He's realized the Ministry's error, so he says, and issued a full and complete pardon for Sirius. He's going to announce it as soon as the trial starts."
"What has he got up his sleeve?" asked Harry. "Is he trying to keep Dumbledore from getting the credit? What does this do for him?"
"It makes him look like he's in charge," replied Remus. "He gets to make the magnanimous gesture. He gets to clear Sirius and apologize on behalf of the wizarding world. He thinks that he'll look like the winner."
Dumbledore appeared and the crowd hushed, finding their seats. Calling the courtroom to order, he opened the case.
"The Ministry versus Sirius Black. Mr. Black is charged with murder of thirteen Muggles and aiding and abetting Lord Voldemort. Mr. Black is unfortunately deceased, so this trial is called to determine his guilt, or innocence of the charges against him, charges for which he served twelve years in Azkaban prison. Without a trial, I might add.
"I recognize the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge."
"Thank you, Albus," he said with great dignity and tremendous pomposity. "Thank you. We are here to discuss a terrible matter. An unfortunate matter. But a matter we can set right.
"Fourteen years ago, in dark and terrible times, errors happened, mistakes were made. But we have learned from those mistakes. In a haste to resolve terrible crimes, decisions were made that this body must surely regret."
"Since he's the one who made the mistakes," grumbled Remus, "shouldn't he be the one who regrets these decisions?"
"Hush," said Harry. "Or I'll find an extra copy of the Daily Prophet."
Harry grinned at the disgusted look Remus gave him and returned his attention to the Minister.
"Fortunately I have the ability to rectify those mistakes, though undoubtedly too late in the circumstances. I am pleased to announce that I have just signed a full and complete pardon for Sirius Black of all charges, and issued a decree stating that he was never in league with, erm, Him. Mr. Pettigrew's conviction and the various testimonies of others under Veritaserum have proven conclusively that Mr. Black was not guilty of any of the crimes he was unfairly accused of. I just wish this information had been brought to my attention earlier, but we should not blame anyone but Mr. Pettigrew for this situation. But, despite the tragic circumstances, I think we can all agree that Mr. Black will rest more comfortably knowing that the wizarding world recognizes his innocence."
Incredibly pleased with himself, Fudge sat down to swelling applause. Gradually the few remaining allies of the Minister stood and encouraged those around them to applaud the Minister's actions. Slowly the room stood to applaud, though without the power or conviction of previous displays.
Only Harry, the Weasley's, Hermione, Remus, and Dumbledore remained in their chairs. Each of them sat, staring coldly at the Minister, and he could not help but flicker his eyes at each of them. His expression grew cold and frosty, insulted at this lack of respect.
As the applause died down, Dumbledore stood and gathered the attention of the entire room.
"Excellent Minister, I see that we need not proceed any further with this trial." His eyes were twinkling vividly, and Harry swore he saw a smirk appear on the face of the normally stoic wizard. "You have cleared Sirius of all charges, which I concur is a wise decision. Your pardon is truly a good deed.
"But we seem to have forgotten something. Sirius Black was imprisoned on Azkaban for twelve years. Twelve years of anguish and torture by the Dementors. Twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, largely because he was not given a fair trial. How do we make this right? A simple declaration of his innocence cannot be enough to repay a man for such a terrible fate. We must demonstrate our regret, prove our sorrow. Words often ring hollow, actions matter.
"So how do we demonstrate our regret? How do we show our remorse? We must compensate Sirius, or I should say his estate. We must pay for our error, pay for the damage we caused.
"What would be an appropriate amount? I don't think you can put a price tag on a man's freedom, on his sanity, on his name. But we can try. Let's see, twelve years of incarceration, the besmirching of his good name, deprivation of his ability to see his friends and godson, the attacks of the Dementors. Hmm, let's just come up with a round figure, would 12 million galleons be fair? I think so, I think so." Smiling at the crowd who was almost unanimously nodding their heads in agreement, Dumbledore finally looked down at the Minister of Magic.
Fudge realized he was trapped. He couldn't think of a way out of Dumbledore's maneuvering, so weakly nodded his head.
"Excellent, let us proceed then. The Ministry has pardoned the excellent Mr. Sirius Black and this Court affirms that. Mr. Sirius Black is cleared of all charges and declared an innocent man. The Ministry will compensate the estate of Sirius Black in the amount of 12 million galleons. This court stands adjourned."
***
Harry walked out of the Ministry in something of a daze. Something that he had hoped for over the past two years seemed somehow anticlimactic. He was thrilled that Sirius was cleared, and declared innocent, but it only made him miss Sirius that much more. It wasn't fair that this had only happened after Sirius was dead. It wasn't fair that Fudge only relented under considerable duress. If it weren't for Fudge's stupidity, Sirius would have been declared innocent years ago and maybe, just maybe Sirius wouldn't be dead now.
"Stop it," Harry muttered to himself. "That's not going to help." Shrugging his shoulders at himself, he followed the Weasley's who were nervously piling into Fred and George's car.
"We're taking everyone out to eat!" Fred exclaimed. "We have a lot to celebrate today and no one should have to cook.
"It's our treat," George chimed in. "We found this excellent restaurant in Wales that we want to try, so just sit back, relax, and don't pay attention to how fast we're going."
Having experienced their driving abilities before, Harry swallowed in anticipation and sunk low into his seat. Of course the back seat was magically enhanced so Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Remus were able to fit in with room to spare. Fred and George were laughing at some joke in the front, but the back seat was noticeably quiet.
Even Mr. Weasley looked a bit green around the edges, the Muggle mode of transportation obviously making him uncomfortable. It almost made Harry laugh except for the worry that if he didn't concentrate on controlling his stomach he might have an unfortunate incident.
Three quarters of an hour later they arrived at the restaurant. Thoroughly pleased to have arrived in one piece, the car quickly emptied and everyone entered the restaurant. To Harry's surprise it was a seemingly elegant establishment, without any of the usual characteristics that should have attracted Fred and George to the place. Harry wasn't the only one that was confused.
"I don't understand," said Ron. "This looks like a normal place. Nothing is glowing green or about to explode. What gives?"
Casting furtive glances at each other, Fred and George protested that they liked the food here and that was it.
The hostess showed them to a private room, magically summoning their menus and crystal goblets of water, and quickly walked through the specials and left them to decide what they wanted.
"Umm, Fred, there's no prices on this menu, how do we know what it costs?" asked Ron.
"Ron," said Ginny, rolling her eyes, "if you have to ask what the price is you can't afford it."
"Ginny, be nice," protested Hermione. "How would he have known?"
His face flaming red, Ron pulled up the menu to his face and tried to avoid looking at anyone. Harry sympathized with Ron because he hadn't known that either.
"Oh," he said. "I didn't know that either. It's not like the Dursley's would take me to a nice place. But I didn't bring any gold with me."
"It's our treat," insisted Fred. "We owe something special to our family, and we want to celebrate all the things that have happened. Malfoy convicted."
"Pettigrew convicted," added George. "And Sirius cleared! What a day!"
Wordlessly Remus lifted his glass and held it out in front of him, soon everyone followed suit. "To friends and family, here, apart, and departed. Let us enjoy our meal, our company, and our night!"
Clinking their glasses together everyone joined in the celebratory mood, chattering amongst themselves. After several minutes, a waitress walked in and Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, and Remus stopped talking to stare at her. Oddly neither Ron nor Harry even cast a second look her way.
She was absolutely stunning. A gorgeous woman with velvet black hair, creamy chocolate skin, deep violet eyes, and a grace that most women would kill to obtain. She walked with a languid ease, almost floating through the room. A smile played across her face, one that held the promise of joyous laughter and the warmth of a spring day.
The room quieted as she started to speak.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And boys," she added, looking at Fred and George with a soft twinkle in her eyes. "Welcome to the Sahara. I am Amounique, your waitress. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I'll take your orders now."
Fred quickly nudged George in the ribs, prodding him to speak. "Erm, Amounique, have you given any thought to our offer? I mean, that is, our job offer?"
A small grin played at the corner of her lips. "Yes, boys, I have. I'm still considering it, though I'd have expected Mr. Jordan would be here as well. Is he detained?"
Grinning devilishly, George winked at Fred. "No, I'm sorry, this is a family celebration. Lee is minding the shop tonight while we celebrate. But I'll let him know you inquired about him, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," she said, winking back at him. "But make sure he understands I'm distressed that he didn't show up for himself. In fact, tell him I'm quite hurt."
Letting slip a short laugh, she proceeded to take their orders and quietly left the room.
"Now that's a lot of woman!" exclaimed Fred to the nodding agreements of Remus, Mr. Weasley, and George.
"Why does she call you two 'boys?' She's no older than you two." Ginny asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
"Well, she was caught up in a prank gone somewhat awry," said Fred.
"Amounique was in our shop right after we accidentally tested a new product on Lee. We call it 'Love Sticks' and it sticks two people together in a relatively, erm, comfortable position for a couple of hours," added George with a wicked grin.
"We didn't mean to give it to him, but he swallowed it before we could stop him. Then she approached him about a product, and well, the 'Love Sticks' work."
"They spent the entire afternoon stuck together, and Lee, well, Lee was smitten," said Fred.
"She thought it was pretty funny, but refuses to take us seriously. But we're trying to get her to work for us, well, work with Lee at the Diagon Alley shop, so that we can open a store in Hogsmeade."
"Really?" asked Hermione. "You have enough business to open a store in Hogsmeade as well? That's amazing."
"Business is really good," George said enthusiastically. "We have taken on a dozen employees to make everything once we come up with the original idea and they can't move fast enough. We hope to hire another dozen at the beginning of the school year, after recent graduates are done relaxing."
"Yeah," added Fred. "Plus, we want to be close to you all next year. We figure you'll need some guidance in constructive rule breaking that we couldn't complete since we had to leave Hogwarts so unexpectedly."
"Excellent!" said Harry and Ron simultaneously.
Amounique returned at that point, trays of food floating behind her as she brought in the first course. Salads and soups floated to their proper places, and the room became quiet as everyone quickly dove in to the food in front of them.
As they were eating, Mr. Weasley looked over at Harry, obviously trying to figure out how to begin a conversation that he had been thinking about all day.
"Harry, I need to ask you about something," he said, tentatively. "But I don't want you to feel like you have to answer the question."
"Sure Mr. Weasley, you know I'll do my best to answer anything you ask me."
"Well, I was wondering. It was a little odd that Dumbledore insisted that the Ministry make a payment to Sirius' estate for his unjust imprisonment. Don't get me wrong, I think it is deserved, but since Sirius is gone, and Dumbledore knows you don't need the money, why did he insist, and why such a large sum?"
The table had quieted as Harry and Mr. Weasley were talking. Obviously this was a question of great interest to all those gathered.
"Well, there's a few reasons," Harry started. "First, it's an embarrassment to Fudge. It's not like the Ministry has unlimited resources, this will have a big impact on his budget for the next year or so. Second, it's a reminder to the Ministry that there are certain rules that must be abided by, even for the Ministry. Sirius was sentenced without a trial, and presumed guilty when he was innocent. It's not enough to just pardon Sirius. Third, it's a visible message. It would be easy for Fudge to just pardon Sirius, it wouldn't impact anyone really. But I guarantee that one of tomorrow's headlines will be 'Ministry pays to repair name of Sirius Black' or something along those lines. It reinforces the message that Sirius was innocent."
"I see," Mr. Weasley said. "I guess that makes sense. But I sense that there's more."
"I won't lie, sir," responded Harry. "But I can't tell you everything, yet. You'll understand soon enough. I promise."
Arthur gave Harry a long speculative look. He could sense that Harry was hiding something significant from him. Arthur shrugged and decided it would be less difficult to wait until Harry was ready to tell him more. Though he would feel free to speculate to his heart's content. The speculative look he often saw Harry giving him disquieted him for some reason, he couldn't quite pinpoint, but somehow Arthur knew that Harry's grand plan was going to impact his life to a large extent.
Deciding there was nothing he could do about it, he heartily dug into his meal, only occasionally looking up to see his wife giving him and Harry the same speculative look that he had been giving Harry. Chuckling to himself, he realized that nothing would ever slip past the watchful eyes of Molly Weasley.
As desert was being finished, a flash of light flared at the corner of the room. Fawkes had appeared, with a note tied to his leg. Strutting over to Mrs. Weasley, she quickly untied the note, a small ripple of tension flitting through the room.
"Oh, excellent!" she cried. "We must hurry back to Headquarters. Dumbledore wrote to tell you he has your O.W.L. results. He'd been saving them for after today's events were concluded and just arrived at Headquarters himself. We must get going."
Ron groaned with dread. He did not relish the thought of opening his results in front of an audience and certainly didn't want to share them with anyone until he knew what they were.
"Couldn't Dumbledore have waited until after Harry's trial?" he moaned. Hermione poked him roughly in the ribs, trying to shush him.
"Honestly Ron, we need to know our results so we can start planning our courses for next term, as well as start reading for our lessons and getting prepared for term."
"Hermione, it's summer, why do we have to study? Don't we deserve a bit of a break? Last year was horrid, it's not too much to ask for two months off."
"It's not like you study all that hard during the year, Ron," Ginny added, grinning. "Why would it be so bad to maybe open up a book sometime in the next four weeks?"
"Thank you Ginny!" said Hermione, brightly. "Now, we'll be taking different courses, but some of them should certainly be the same, don't you think? We can start there. Of course, we need to find our results and go to Diagon Alley for our supplies."
"Okay Herms, okay," interrupted Harry. "But first, let's get back to Headquarters and find out our results. Not that I'm really anxious for that since I'm not really thrilled with the idea of driving with those two maniacs."
Fred and George were busy paying the bill and trying to get Amounique to laugh. She had put on a determined face, and was resisting their outrageous behavior, but Harry saw she was struggling with the need to laugh. Hearing his comment, she looked over and quickly walked towards him.
"Well, Mr. Potter, we can give you access to our fireplace if you want to Floo home. Is it connected to the Floo Network?"
"Erm, actually it is blocked, but I can have my house elf open it up for us for tonight. That should be safe, shouldn't it?" he asked Remus.
"Certainly Harry. I'll apparate there and tell Dobby and Dumbledore what you're doing. See you in a few minutes."
With a crack he disappeared. They followed Amounique to the restaurant's fireplace which employees obviously used to arrive and leave. Tossing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace Harry put his head in the flames and checked to see if it was clear.
"Mr. Harry Potter sir, Dobby has freed up the fireplace, you and your friends can come in now." The loyal house elf was pleased to help Harry, as always.
"Thanks Dobby. Could you and Winky do me another favor? Could you set up the large room with comfortable chairs and as much butterbeer as we've got? We're getting our exam results and I think we'll need to celebrate one way or the other."
"Of course Mr. Harry Potter sir. Of course. Dobby and Winky will see to it right away."
Pulling his head out of the flames, Harry explained that the Floo was unblocked, and he threw a handful of powder into the flames and promptly disappeared. Gradually everyone followed him leaving Fred and George alone with Amounique.
"We'll be taking the car, so I think we're done here. Please consider our offer. And Lee would really like you to think about it, he'd enjoy working with you." Fred said this with a straight face, and George was impressed. While they were usually irrepressible in their mirth and pranks, when it came to helping friends or family, no one could be more dedicated than Fred and George. Of course they usually made up for it by playing even more outrageous pranks, but the twins decided that was part of their charm.
***
Arriving back at number 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry quickly brushed himself off and went into the large sitting room. Dobby and Winky had quickly worked to get the room ready, and Harry was pleased with their efforts. There were plenty of chairs for everyone and several buckets of ice with cold butterbeer sitting in them. Sighing in nervous anticipation he started pacing back and forth, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
Ron and Hermione walked into the room, absentmindedly brushing soot off each other's robes. Hermione was grinning with anticipation, eager to learn the results of her exams. Ron was nervous with dread. Worried about his scores, and not eager to see his mother's reaction to what he expected were perfectly abysmal results.
Professor Dumbledore entered in from the kitchen at the same time as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked in with Ginny. Grinning at his anxious students, he nodded to them, his bright blue eyes twinkling.
"Good evening. I hope you had a pleasant meal, Fawkes tells me that the young Misters Weasley took you to a very fine establishment. I do hope that you don't mind that I delayed the distribution of your O.W.L. results until this evening. I was preoccupied with those trials and wanted to be able to deliver your results personally. The other students will be getting their scores this evening as well, though by post owl."
"Oh, well, thank you Professor," said Hermione. "I'll admit I was starting to get anxious since we were supposed to receive our results at the end of July, but since you have them, well, that's okay.
"Erm, can we have them," she asked nervously. "I mean, if that's all right with you, that is."
Smiling, Dumbledore handed an envelope to Ron, Harry, and Hermione, but cautioned them not to open them yet.
"Before you open them, I want you to understand two things. First, I am completely confident that these scores are entirely accurate. No influence was placed on these scores by my replacement, and no influence was placed by myself once I received the results. Every score you received is accurate and reflects the effort you put into the tests. Second, while I will admit that I would have liked to see some of these scores a bit higher, I am very pleased with your results. Now, please, open them."
No one moved. Hermione looked fearful, especially after listening to Dumbledore's speech. She was terrified that her scores were too low, and he seemed to indicate that this was a possibility. Frozen with fear, she just looked down at her envelope, playing with it in her hands.
Ron was similarly lost in terror. He knew he should have studied harder, knew he should have paid more attention to Hermione's schedule. This was going to be terrible. He thought longingly about his hopes to become an Auror, which he was certain would be dashed by these test scores. Maybe he could work with his Dad at the Ministry. Working with Muggles seemed kind of fun, laid back for the most part, and it would be a respectable job, he guessed. Twiddling his fingers around the edge of the envelope he couldn't stand the thought of opening his envelope.
Harry was watching his friends, and realized that he had to make the first move. Squaring his shoulders against the inevitable, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment.
Harry James Potter
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Mr. Potter:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Astronomy - Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Outstanding
Charms - Practical - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Divination - Poor
Herbology - Acceptable
History of Magic - Dreadful
Potions - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Potions - Practical - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Congratulations, you have received a total of 9 O.W.L.'s.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
After Harry read his scores nervously out loud, Hermione tore in to her envelope.
Hermione Granger
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Ms. Granger:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Arithmancy - Outstanding
Astronomy - Outstanding
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Outstanding
Charms - Practical - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Herbology - Outstanding
History of Magic - Outstanding
Muggle Studies - Outstanding
Potions - Theory - Outstanding
Potions - Practical - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Theory - Outstanding
Transfiguration - Practical - Outstanding
Congratulations, you have received a total of 14 O.W.L.'s. This is
the highest score ever achieved by a witch or wizard.
Congratulations.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Grimacing with pain, Ron weakly opened his envelope, closing one eye to spare him from the complete pain of his results.
Ronald Weasley
Care of Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
Mr. Weasley:
Congratulations. You have completed your Ordinary Wizarding Level
exams. Your results are as follows:
Astronomy - Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding
Charms - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Charms - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory - Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Practical - Outstanding
Divination - Poor
Herbology - Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic - Acceptable
Potions - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Potions - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Theory - Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration - Practical - Exceeds Expectations
Congratulations, you have received a total of 10 O.W.L.'s.
Sincerely,
Griselda Marchbanks
Ron fell to the ground in shock. He couldn't believe it. This was a prank, a cruel joke. Looking up at the shocked faces on his family he cast his eyes about for Fred and George.
"Very funny, hilarious. Now where are my real results?" he demanded angrily. "I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, I don't know how the twins switched envelopes on you. Do you think you could owl the Ministry for my real results?"
"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, that those are your results. As are Mr. Potter's and Ms. Granger's. I don't think any of us are surprised by Ms. Granger's results though. Superb. Excellent job, all three of you. I honestly could not be more pleased. Of course, I do wish you two had done better in History of Magic, but even I can admit that Professor Binns makes me nod off at times as well."
"Oh Ronniekins, I knew it, I knew you had it in you!" Mrs. Weasley grabbed him in a massive hug and started dancing around the room with him. Mr. Weasley joined in and hugged his son adding his congratulations. Worming his way out, he grabbed Harry by the shoulder.
"Good job, mate. Looks like Hermione rubbed off on both of us."
"Careful Ron, that's how rumors get started," said Ginny with a perfectly straight face.
Harry stared at her, not sure if she realized the implications of what she was saying, intrigued at the thought that she probably did. Ron paused and blushed, looking angrily at his sister. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, picked up a bottle of butterbeer and sat down on a couch.
Hermione was still staring at her parchment, shocked to the core at her perfect results. Harry and Ron reached out to her and drew her into a hug.
"Congratulations! We did it, we made it!" they said.
"Hermione, a perfect score. No one has ever got such a high score. Not even Dumbledore," said Ron.
When Dumbledore cleared his throat, the trio turned to look at his joyous face. He was obviously thrilled for the results of his students.
"But wait a minute, Hermione," Harry said. "When did you have time to take the Muggle Studies O.W.L.? You didn't take the course, how did you have time?"
"Well," she said blushing. "I did a lot of reading of the required texts and thought it would be worth taking the exam. This way my options aren't limited. I mean, my parents are muggles, I was raised a muggle until starting at Hogwarts, so I know all about muggles. It wasn't that hard to prepare for that exam."
"Oh right," said Ron sarcastically. "Just another endless exam trying to cram in everything you know onto as many pieces of parchment as you can get your hands on. Honestly, you never cease to amaze me. Only you could take an exam on a subject you aren't in and get a higher score than students in the class for four years got. You are amazing!"
"You're not so bad yourself, Ronald. Ten O.W.L.'s is nothing to sneeze at, though you certainly could have done better on your History exam. Only an 'Acceptable,' I can't believe it. You know how important that is."
"Hey," Ron interrupted. "I did better than Harry, he got a 'Dreadful!'"
"Yeah," muttered Harry. "But of course I was busy receiving a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius at the time, so you'd think that would be an acceptable excuse."
"Oh, right, sorry."
"Forget it, it's not like I would have done much better anyway. You know we just make up names of the trolls and the examiners would have probably figured that out."
"Well," said Professor Dumbledore. "My work here is done. Congratulations you three. I am very proud of you. Enjoy your celebration. I will see you tomorrow for our final trial. I will be pleased when this that is over."
"Professor, I promise it will be a trial no one will ever forget," said Harry.
"I know that Harry. I know. We will long remember the trial of the Ministry vs. Harry Potter."