Awakening Chapter 15: The Chair, a harry potter fanfic

Awakening

Chapter Fifteen: The Chair

By Stardust

A/N: I hope everyone is ready for a good chapter. I haven't written it yet (as I write this author's note) but I'm in amazing good spirits (because I'm listening to Aerosmith). I have a feeling this chapter is going to go infinitely better than the last one did. This chapter will be longer and it will be funnier and lighter and more things will be explained and I just know I'm going to love it so I think you're going to love it as well! But before I get to this chapter I need to re-cap the last chapter because who knows how long it has been since you read the last chapter.

SUMMARY: Last chapter started with all of them (and there are a lot of them) arguing and discussing recent events. They eventually get Snape and Draco to help them get to Voldemort's fortress where they have decided Angie is located. So, Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Kirsten—equipped with both wands and rings—set off for the fortress. They are immediately met with Voldemort is serpent form. Sirius takes off into the castle to find Angie. The kids battle with Voldemort for a while. Harry and Voldemort get into a strange duel for the ring of Slytherin (the whole battle thing was very strange in my opinion) and then, Zirconia, in ghost-like form appears. Meanwhile Sirius is rescuing Angie when Peter Pettigrew shows up and complicates the situation. He's not a problem for long. Sirius knocks him out and out the three of them go. Zirconia and Voldemort have a little disagreement which results in Voldemort's demise. (It was rather anti-climatic, to put it in Ron's words.) Voldemort dies and the castle starts to crumble. Angie and Sirius (and Pettigrew) barely make it out. Zirconia does something to Kirsten and she collapses. And then, Sirius collapses and is bleeding from the head. After all of this, Harry decides to take Pettigrew and go get help. In the desperation of the moment he ends up pulling Hermione into a passionate, dramatic, cliché embrace. And that's where I left you: with Hermione to watch over a collapsed Kirsten and Sirius, and Ron and Angie who are suffering mentally.

I promise you, this chapter will not be so much action/drama. The beginning will start that way but it will get better as things progress. (You know, I'm rather close to the end of this story! Cheers!)

Just as another little note, the Trial part of this chapter was originally written over a year ago because it was going to be a flashback, from Angie's point of view, to start out the third book in this series (Zirconia). However, I changed the ending to this story and so the trial fits nicely in here. That is why you'll see a little title in the middle of this chapter. I left it there because I thought it was funny.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!:

Hazelmist: I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much because I really hated writing that chapter. It was just a difficult one to get out. This one I'm trying to love, it's difficult too, but it's a fun chapter...sort of...Anyway, thanks for the review, it was awesome!

Lily Skylo: YES!! That atom joke rocks! I love it too! I first heard it and thought 'yeah, OK, it's kind of funny' and then I told it to my Mom, and she just lost it. She was laughing so hard, and so then, I started laughing and ever since then I've just loved it.

harrylissa=luv

bboo

sum1strange: Well, I think this chapter will have more answers...possibly...? I don't think it will confuse you...except, of course, the ending. But other than that, I think you'll enjoy this chapter. It's nothing like last chapter, so I tried my best to do more explaining. Grins Thanks for the : Yeah, obviously this is not you're penname but whatever...Last chapter was weird, I didn't send you an e-mail because my friend was the one who took the file and posted it for me and did last minute edits and stuff because I left for a really long time and I was finishing the chapter at the last minute and I just ran out of time for posting. So yeah, she didn't have the e-mail list and so the chapter was posted without an update reminder. Sorry about that but you're still on the list, I promise. You're still one of my list people!! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

ltnikki: Thanks for analysis. I totally agree with you. That's the sort of thing I mean when I say I hate last chapter. It just wasn't written right. Everything was there but it wasn't quite right. Peter was out of character, the whole Voldemort/Zirconia thing was wrong too but oh well. I was so sick of the chapter I just wanted to post it and be done!! Thanks for loving it anyway! And, yeah, my writing gets much better with the years (as it should) but I also have a lot of help from my friends. Particulary Harmony Slytherin, she loves this story and often inserts herself into the chapters. If you looked you could probably tell that she has written some of the random scenes because our styles are different. But anyway, thanks again.

James And Lily 4eva; I love your review. It's short and sweet and absolutely perfect. You say exactly what you need to with just the right amount of emotion expressed with the all CAPS. Love it!

Albus Dumbledore was not what one would call a "spring-chicken". And there is only so much stress an old body can handle. At the moment, Albus Dumbledore was under a considerable amount of stress and he fancied that he came deathly close to having a stroke when Sierra Havairhafpvermin—without warning-- screamed and nearly flew to the window. Half a second later Remus Lupin literally burst into his office shouting and waving a piece of parchment in his hand. Quite suddenly a firecracker exploded from Dumbledore's wand and the room fell deathly silent.

In a quiet and controlled motion Remus placed the piece of parchment—which happened to be the Marauder's Map—in front of Dumbledore and calmly pointed out a swift moving Harry Potter closely followed by none other than the infamous Peter Pettigrew heading toward the castle. Sierra urgently pointed to the window Harry could be seen sprinting across the grounds. Without a word Dumbledore was suddenly the first person out the door, Sierra and Remus literally on his heels.

The three came to a sliding halt in front of the entrance hall doors as they burst open and a battered-looking Harry Potter appeared, breathing hard. The three professors had learned from the recent experience not to burst open with questions all at once since it was counter-productive. Instead they waited impatiently for Harry to explain between breaths the situation.

"Pettigrew here—" Were his first words as he thrust the rat toward Remus. "Must get the others...Sirius and Kirsten—need medical—attention." Sierra felt her eyes expanding with fear at these words.

"Remus, I shall properly secure Pettigrew," Dumbledore broke in with authority, turning and taking the rat. "Go with Harry now. Sierra, fetch Madame Pomfrey and all the Professors who are able. I'll have the Minister here when you return."

Forcing back tears and cries of confusion, Hermione pulled out her wand and started casting the most complex protection wards known to wizardkind. She fancied her anger made them stronger.

When she was finished she bit her lip, wrung her hands, and then decided to see about Kirsten and Ron first. Kirsten was deathly cool to touch and her breathing was shallow and sporadic. Hermione was having a difficult time locating a pulse. She performed a few basic charms which she was sure had absolutely no effect and then turned to Ron who was absently stroking Kirsten's arm.

"This shouldn't have happened..." He said softly, his eyes distant. Hermione wanted to shake him and scream 'she's not dead yet!' But instead, she remained silent to regain control of herself.

"She's going to be OK, Ron," Hermione finally managed to say convincingly. She rather doubted that herself but it seemed like the right thing to say. Watching him be so pathetic made her feel suddenly very guilty. She had spent the past ten minutes puzzling over Harry and that fantastic kiss and here Ron was, suffering insupportable heartbreak.

Sirius was not in any better condition. Angie had calmed herself enough to try and stop the bleeding and cushion his head. But his deathly pallor and shallow pulse scared Hermione much more than she would dare to admit. She concluded he was hit in the head with a falling boulder and shuddered to think what sort of condition his skull was in at the present.

Before she could collect herself enough to form a plan she became aware of a distant noise. It wasn't the continuing rumbling from the nearby castle. This was different. It reminded her of an animal in pain. The sound--which was growing louder by the minute-- rather reminded her of a dying cat.

Her eyes shone with fear as she scanned the land around them. Not far off she spotted a rapidly approaching figure dressed in all black moving at an incredible rate of speed—right toward them. Fear gripped her heart, all her muscles constricted, as she watched in horror. The black figure was flailing and screaming.

It was human, it was running, and it was in pain.

It was moving faster and coming closer and closer. The man was only twenty feet away now. Feeling like she was about to be sick Hermione raised her wand and opened her mouth but was delayed as the man slipped on a rock, and still screaming and flailing fell to the ground and writhed around in a grotesque manner.

Breathing shallowly and rapidly Hermione's eyes swept the landscape and realized others just like the first were coming. Several...at least twenty... Not all were running and screaming. Some seemed quite in control of themselves. And one in particular was holding a wand and approaching rather quickly.

Suddenly Hermione remembered her fourth year when she had seen Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup and realized these people looked the same as she remembered the Death Eaters. With a painful lurch of her stomach she realized she was about to have a show-down with the Death Eater holding the wand.

One hand was gripping the opposite arm's forearm like death, but other than that, he didn't seem to be suffering as the others were. The background noise of screams made Hermione's head spin. She gripped her wand and tried to block out the noise. She had to protect Ron and Kirsten and Sirius and Professor Star. She couldn't be reminded of horror movies from her childhood or the day her parent's were murdered in Diagon Alley. She had to focus all her efforts on protecting those four from the Death Eater that was nearly upon them. All her energy had to be channeled on stopping him...

Arnold Peasegood, fifteen year employee of the Ministry of Magic, Master Obliviator and member of the Alliance, stumbled into Nicolette Noire's Paris apartment in quite a rush. George, in a state of shock, leapt to his feet.

"There's a big fucking deal at Hogwarts!" Peasegood shouted, pointing this way and that like a madman. "Dumbledore said something about Harry Potter and Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew! Ministry's going ballistic!"

"We're going to Hogwart's!" Nikki declared, grabbing George by his collar and hauling him out the door and down the stairs, Peasegood leading the way. Nikki had had enough of the inadequate letters bringing inadequate news every half hour. She wanted action. She had never been one to stand for sitting and waiting. The gnawing fear was far too much for her to handle.

On the way out Peasegood managed to snatch a bottle of vodka and kicked back generously on their trip. He always claimed he worked better half-drunk. George could never quite understand this and was actually quite unsettled by it. Arnold Peasegood's job was to obliviate people's minds, mostly muggles who've stumbled upon something they shouldn't have. Occasionally he has to deal with meddlesome wizards who discover something they ought not to have. At any rate, George would not feel safe knowing that Arnie Peasegood had had a shot of vodka if Arnie were about to tamper with his mind.

On the trip to Hogwarts Arnie and George exchanged information and tried to piece together the puzzle. Events of the past day were absolutely amazing. Less than twenty-four hours after the Ministry was baffled by Sirius' disappearing body he was found alive, but seriously injured and Peter Pettigrew—who had long been dead—was found alive. Arnie was contagiously excited. Huge, history-changing events were taking place on this day and he couldn't stand the suspense. Everyone, it seemed, wanted in on the piece of the action. (Except for Hermione, who at that moment was wishing she were anywhere but where she was—that is, facing off with a half-crazed Death Eater.)

Hogwarts was hysterical. Frantic people were dashing around the hallways. No one was quite sure exactly what was happening at the moment. They knew only that it required fast movement and a rapid pulse.

Sierra was currently racing down the steps to the dungeon's shouting "SEVERUS!" At the top of her lungs and praying she didn't fall and break a bone. She found him in his office, white as a ghost, his back pressed firmly against the wall. A rush of words flowed from Sierra's mouth in a tangled mess but she cut herself off when she realized Severus Snape was in a considerable amount of pain and doing all he could not to shout out.

She rushed to him and he showed her the source of his great pain. He held out his arm and he pulled back the sleeve, and screamed. His forearm was glowing. The dark mark was literally red-hot and his entire arm looked red and sun-burned. "I...I can't..." Snape managed to sputter in obvious pain. Sierra's eyes snapped back to his arm and she watched in horror as crimson blood started to leak from the dark mark down his arm and onto the floor. Her mouth dropping open she looked up in time to see his eyes roll back and catch him as he slumped over in a dead faint.

With a yelp of shock Sierra hauled him to his desk and took off at a run shouting for anyone who might be able to help him. She was running up the stairs and shouting so much that she was even paying attention to what was in front of her and crashed headlong into George Weasley.

In a rather frantic and garbled way Sierra managed to explain what was happening to Snape and brought Nikki, George and Arnie down to the dungeons. Leaving George and Nikki to tend to Snape, Sierra and Arnie set off in opposite directions in desperate search for Dumbledore. Most of the others had set off to Voldemort's fortress to help Sirius and Kirsten.

Arnie started randomly opening doors and shouting as he went. As this point he was drunker than he'd admit and his mind was starting to go a little fuzzy. He came upon one door that was locked and he somehow got it into his head that he had to open the door. With considerable effort he broke into McGonagall's office...

Hermione's right hand was starting to ache from clenching her wand so tightly. She was literally grinding her heels into the ground to prepare herself for the duel ahead. This would be the single most important fight of her life. She had never in her life felt more unprepared. Why had she spent so much time memorizing Hogwarts, a History instead of Dueling Techniques for the Modern Witch?

The Death Eater was even closer. He was disabling her protection wards as if they were performed by a clumsy first year. Hermione, who rarely suffered from false modesty concerning her intelligence and her ability to cast powerful spells, found her resolve failing. If he was that powerful, she probably didn't stand a chance...

The last of her wards was down. Malevolent eyes surveyed the scene. Sneering lips curled at the pathetic sight behind Hermione. The Death Eater quickly realized that Hermione was not a Death Eater herself, therefore an enemy he could release some anger against. He raised his wand. She raised hers.

With a muffled cry, the Death Eater suddenly crumpled to the ground. Hermione's disbelieving eyes looked where he had been only moments before. Remus Lupin and Harry Potter were standing there. Lupin's anxious face was taking in the surroundings. Harry's countenance was pasty white. Hermione had never seen anything so beautiful. So she did what any damsel in distress would do when the heroes were almost too late.

She fainted.

Remus would never remember how he managed to get a hysterical Ron and Angie, deadweights Hermione, Sirius, and Kirsten along with a near-hysterical Harry Potter away from all the Death Eaters and the ruinous remains of Voldemort's fortress. He supposed it was nothing short of miraculous. It must have helped that all the Death Eaters were writhing in agony and therefore not putting up much of a fight.

However, he could remember the look on Sierra's face when they made it back to Hogwarts with painful clarity. Harry was carrying Hermione. Remus could tell by the look on poor Sierra's face that she thought her daughter was...but Hermione was perfectly fine and awake only a few moments later. They were carrying Kirsten and Sirius by magic. Remus spent a moment he didn't have to spare wondering why Harry had insisted on carrying Hermione himself.

Several Ministry officials, four doctors, and the promise that Dumbledore would join them shortly took Sirius away almost immediately. The Headmaster first subdued Angie, who was literally in hysterics, then lead the somber procession to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey only glanced at Kirsten before informing them in one curt phrase that she would have to go to Saint Mungo's. She wouldn't answer any questions after that concerning Kirsten. She was also terribly insistent that Angie be examined at the hospital as well.

Just as things were beginning to calm down and two nurses arrived to help transport Kirsten to the hospital, Harry collapsed. At first the nurses insisted that Harry come with them to St. Mungo's (they were both young, pretty witches and immediately recognized Harry, Remus thought cynically), but Madame Pomfrey insisted that she could handle a collapse due to exhaustion perfectly well on her own. So the nurses left rather disappointed, with Kirsten, Angie, and Ron, who was perfectly fine except for cuts and bruises but who refused to be parted from Kirsten.

Madame Pomfrey put Harry to bed, and ordered the same for Hermione. Before Remus had really started to process everything that had happened in the last hour, he found himself being shooed out of the Hospital Wing. He stood outside in the corridor, blinked at the doorway, then turned to Sierra. After all the excitement of the afternoon (had it only been one day!?) it was odd to be in a silent hall.

"She made it. She's alive," Sierra finally managed to whisper, and Remus didn't have to ask who she was talking about.

"And the others will make it to," Remus said with a conviction he didn't feel. Sierra nodded shakily. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled her into an embrace and was not surprised to feel hot tears on his shoulder as Sierra finally let the relief and all the new fears sink in.

There he was, at least seven foot tall, mysteriously cloaked in all black. His muscles were huge and his voice was gruff and evil-sounding. His black eyes gleamed challengingly into Harry's green ones.

Harry suddenly felt rather short, skinny, weak, and all together insecure about himself, faced with this 'modern marvel'. "So, Apollo, we meet at last," Harry finally managed to squeak in a much higher voice than his opponent. A low rumbling emanated from that dark face and Harry took this as a laugh. Apollo flexed his hands as if he were ready for a confrontation.

Hermione, who was off to the side a little ways, let out a startled breath. She was wearing a daring little black dress with shocking leather boots and her hair was pulled back into a playful ponytail.

It was the dead of night and the three were in a dimly lit alleyway. A chill wind blew about them and the pavement beneath them was slick with recent precipitation. Harry was ready for a show-down.

Harry unleashed his wand in one swift movement. "No Harry! Don't!" Hermione cried, her voice pleading.

"It's something I have to do Hermione," Harry explained bravely and turned to face his formidable opponent.

"No Harry! Harry! Harry..."

Harry was suddenly aware of the cushy warmness around his body and he blinked groggily. Very carefully he sat up and found himself gazing at Hermione who was looking very different from the vision he had just had in his bizarre dream.

"You were dreaming," She said, an amused half-smile on her face. Harry instantly felt his face grow red and wondered if he had said anything in his sleep. "You're muscles were all tensed." Harry managed to shrug as if he didn't remember dreaming.

"How long have I been sleeping?" He asked sleepily.

"About sixteen hours," Hermione replied.

"Sixteen!?" Harry cried, now fully awake. "Why didn't somebody wake me!?"

"After being awake for nearly forty-eight hours you deserved the rest. And besides, no one really needed your assistance."

"But still...I mean...what did I miss?"

"Not much..." Hermione sighed disappointedly. "Kirsten hasn't awakened—"

"—Do they know for sure that she's going to be OK though?" Harry cut in.

Hermione shook her head. "They still haven't decided. Her condition is listed as unsteady until she wakes up. Her vitals are steady though. Ron is ever at her side.

"Ginny is recovering nicely though. Sirius is still in the prison ward of St. Mungo's being treated for a fractured skull. They've decided that he has no brain damage. He's under strict lock-down still. Absolutely no visitors.

"I expect Dumbledore at any moment now. He's going to release us to go to the hospital and make the rounds."

With that rather depressing and unpromising news Harry slid out of bed, fully clothed, and assessed the damage done to his hair in the mirror. Hermione's eyes were set on the back of his head but her mind was far away.

She remembered collapsing from sheer relief. From then on everything had been a whirl. Professors and ministry officials had surrounded her, practically suffocated her. They peppered her with questions, they examined her for injuries and on and on until she had finally been allowed some blissful sleep.

Everything happened so quickly she had nearly forgotten about that moment of passion she had shared with Harry. Her mind certainly hadn't had much time to dwell on that event. And she was destined not to dwell on it just then. Dumbledore arrived with a few grave words and warnings. He released them with Bill and Sierra and to St. Mungo's they went.

They made a somber processional and forced out conversation. "Twenty-seven more arrests were made while you were sleeping Harry," Bill announced as they were entering the massive hospital. "Seven were ministry officials. Seven! And one..." He hesitated with a mixture of emotion before speaking. "One was Lucius Malfoy."

Harry fought to keep his countenance under control and to not show any emotion. Hermione let out a gasp of surprise though. On second thought, she couldn't really understand why this news surprised her.

The ministry had been able to make a huge amount of arrests based on the fact that Death Eaters across the world were collapsing in insufferable pain since the demise of Lord Voldemort. Once their Dark Marks were found and identified probable cause was obtained to search into their personal lives and evidence of dark activity was being dug up everywhere. There were an awful lot of seemingly regular people who were now sitting in a prison cell.

One person was not in a prison cell—per se—Peter Pettigrew was in a much more safe place deep inside of Hogwarts under strict care of Albus Dumbledore and two very severe ministry officials.

"Has anything more been decided about Sirius?" Hermione asked her mother.

"Sadly no," Sierra replied. "Dumbledore's been fighting hard but the ministry is still trying to process and deal with information right now. They're still in a frenzy over all the Death Eaters and everyone's buzzing about Sirius and Pettigrew. Word is Fudge has barricaded himself in his office for the past twenty hours and he won't respond to any of Dumbledore's urgent owls."

"The rumor is," Bill added, "Dumbledore has cleaned out the school owlrey. He's got owls out all over the bloody world. And so does everyone else. There've been muggle reports of strange owl sightings, just like the first time You-Know-Who did a disappearing act."

"He's gone for good this time," Harry replied harshly with such authority in his voice that they all fell silent for the rest of their trip.

They first went past Sirius's cell/hospital room. They couldn't get in or see him but they decided to try anyway. Harry paused outside the doorway, a horrible construction of shiny metal. After that they dropped in to see Ginny. She was awake and rather annoyed about being in a hospital bed, despite the fact that she looked extremely frail and pathetic.

Then they went up to Kirsten's room. It was very quiet here. Angie and Ron had been keeping constant vigil. They all found themselves whispering softly to each other, trying to sound normal and ignore the fact that nobody knew what was happening with Kirsten.

Angie looked like death. One could only imagine what she was experiencing. She couldn't see Sirius. In fact, it was all she could do to get any news of his condition from anyone and Kirsten was totally comatose. Angie was having a rough week.

"Oh Harry," Angie whispered tearfully when she saw him. "You remind me so much of James..." She continued, pulling him into a hug. Harry felt his cheeks redden as he awkwardly patted his Professor on the back. Absently he wondered what he should say to a remark like that. Nothing sounded right and all of it ran along the lines of 'Well, he was my father.' So he remained silent until she chose to break the embrace.

"Have you heard any news about Sirius?" She asked, looking from Harry to Hermione to Sierra to Bill.

"Just that he's being treated for a fractured skull and broken hand," Bill told her.

"Broken hand?" Hermione questioned and Bill nodded.

"Oh dear," Angie said. "He knocked Pettigrew out with one punch. It must have hurt like the devil but he never said a thing."

"And that was after he'd already punched Josh," Hermione added, shaking her head slightly.

"Josh?" Angie asked sharply. Hermione patiently explained how Kirsten had accused him and how Sirius and come to her rescue at the last minute. "Jesus," Angie replied when Hermione had finished. "So now he knows the truth about Kirsten..." She said, distantly casting her eyes on her unmoving daughter.

"Not exactly..." Bill interrupted softly. All eyes in the room snapped suddenly in his direction. He coughed nervously as he realized everyone was now waiting for an explanation. "Well, you see...Arnold Peasegood, Obliviator, Alliance member, came in from Paris yesterday with Nikki and George and, well, George said he had been drinking quite a lot of vodka. (Always his drink of choice. Nasty stuff in my opinion, burns the whole way down.) When Sierra and I found him yesterday he had forced his way into McGonagall's office and he was shouting about Josh and Sirius. It turns out ol' Arnie got the whole story out of Josh and Arnie obliviated him."

Angie gasped. "Completely?"

"Oh no," Bill assured her. "At first it seemed in his drunken state Arnie may have caused some damage to the poor fellow but we brought him 'round and managed to fix everything. Being an Alliance member and a good friend of Sirius' I couldn't let Josh go until I'd made certain he'd forgotten about the little incident in the Transfiguration classroom and was absolutely certain Kirsten Star was his daughter."

"So he doesn't know?" Hermione asked, just for clarification and Bill shook his head.

"God bless you for that," Angie replied with feeling. "Too bad you couldn't have made him forget he's suing me."

Bill shrugged and spread his palms, a sheepish sort of grin on his face. "If I had known I would have helped you out."

"What about you Angie?" Sierra cut in, she had had enough talk about Sirius and Josh. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yes," Angie said, her eyes flashing self-consciously. She knew Sierra's question had been prompted only by concern but she couldn't help wondering if Sierra knew she was pregnant. "I'm fine. I didn't sustain any injuries..." Sierra wanted to say more but couldn't really come up with a response to Angie's remark.

"Well...I should continue making the rounds," Sierra admitted. "I'll send word immediately if Dumbledore is able to get a hold of Fudge. Kirsten is going to be OK, Angie. She will," Sierra added, hugging her friend.

"Thank you," Angie said, barely audible and Sierra and Bill retreated.

Five days after the ordeal Kirsten woke up. She was severely weak and slept most of the time, but she was definitely on the road to recovery. There was still no news on Sirius. Dumbledore left Hogwarts and went directly to London and hadn't been seen or heard from for four days. All of Hogwarts would remain in a constant state of stress until the moment they heard any word at all.

After two weeks Dumbledore finally made the announcement that he'd twisted enough arms. Fudge had reluctantly agreed to hold a 'trial' of sorts. Something that would go on the record and give Sirius a proper chance to tell the whole story. Dumbledore insisted that it be held at Hogwarts as soon as possible and that only very select members of the public be allowed to attend the 'trial' live. Of course, those select members contained all the prefects from Hogwarts, the Head Boy and Girl, and Harry and Kirsten because of their personal involvement in the affair.

Sirius had fully recovered from his injuries and St. Mungo's announced they would no longer keep him. All the press was much too much for the hospital to handle. Dumbledore twisted hundreds more arms and got people to agree to allow Sirius two very brief visits. Since Dumbledore was orchestrating the 'trial' he was allowed to speak with Sirius for fifteen precious minutes. One other person was to be allowed the chance to see Sirius and then he was to be transported under strict secrecy and extreme security to the depths of the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic.

Ginny Weasley recovered perfectly and insisted upon making a formal apology to Professor Star. Angie was overcome with tears and hugged the unsuspecting Ginny, sobbing about understanding the situation and complete forgiveness. So, it was the middle of the week, the middle of the afternoon and Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Angela Star, and a weak but awake Kirsten Star were gathered in Kirsten's hospital room having a quiet conversation when Albus Dumbledore entered with the news.

"Sirius is being relocated to the Department of Mysteries in half an hour," Dumbledore announced, speaking quickly and avoiding direct eye contact. "I am to be allowed fifteen minutes of monitored conversation with him before he leaves. And you, Angela, are allowed no more than five minutes of conversation with Sirius to be recorded and monitored by an IAA official and a Department of Mysteries Agent. In exactly twenty-five minutes you will be escorted into his hospital room so I suggest you think about what you need to say beforehand."

At some point during the conversation Angie had risen to her feet, her eyes wide, her heart racing. She was so shocked by the announcement she couldn't even utter any words but was quickly swept away by Dumbledore.

It was strange how open the five of them were. They readily discussed the battle and all the events surrounding the whole ordeal. The four older students seemed ready to regale Ginny with their tale.

"One thing I don't understand," Ginny interrupted them after over an hour of discussion. "Why couldn't Harry put on the ring?"

Harry hesitated, knowing that he didn't have an answer to that question. Hermione, however, came to the rescue. "You know," She said thoughtfully. "I'd been wondering the same thing. The only conclusion I could reach was that one of them, Harry or You-Know-Who, had to be dead. There were apparently two heirs of Slytherin alive. Until one of them was dead, the other couldn't wear the ring and wield the power. I can't really say why the rings transformed after the battle. Perhaps Zirconia disabled them in her final attack."

"She's not gone you know," Kirsten said, softly but with feeling and authority.

"What do you mean?" Hermione said, hesitantly. She knew this conversation could lead to controversy and was trying to be careful.

"She definitely drained my power and took a shot at me, but she didn't destroy herself in the process. She's still out there somewhere and that wasn't the last time we're going to see her," Kirsten explained.

Hermione's eyes slid slowly to Ron who was wearing a far off gaze and then to Harry who, in stark contrast, made direct eye contact with her. Slowly, she became aware of a chill creeping down her neck and goosebumps rising on her arms. She suddenly felt the need to look behind her.

Kirsten's words rang true, no matter what any of them wanted to believe. They couldn't argue with her and they didn't doubt that she was right. The tension in the room seemed to bother Ginny the most and she desperately sought to keep the conversation going.

"But you all still have the rings..." She said, in a small voice.

"Sure," Hermione said, sort of in passing. "But they're worthless now. They've turned into ordinary metal. They have no power any longer...so far as we can tell."

"I don't understand," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"Don't worry Ginny," Ron told his sister. "You're not the only one."

Angie's head was swimming, and understandably so. Five minutes. That was all she would get. Five precious minutes. There were a thousand, thousand things she needed to say, wanted to say.

She had immediately decided not to tell him about the baby. She would only have five minutes and then she wouldn't see him for God only knew how long. The last thing she wanted was for him to sit all alone in a cell somewhere and puzzle over a thousand questions about a baby. She wanted to tell him when the time was right. When they had time to talk about it.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. Dumbledore's time was up...he'd be coming out any second... and here he is...and there he goes. Before she could really think about what was happening someone had a rough grip on her arm and they were shuffling her down a narrow hallway. She had already been thoroughly searched and so she would be going directly to Sirius.

A door opened and she was suddenly inside and there he was. She couldn't move. She just stood there, knowing perfectly well that the clock was ticking, knowing perfectly well there were several things she needed to say. He just started at her too. It had been over two weeks. And before that, she had thought he was dead...

Of course, her last vision of him before they took him away he had been pale and bleeding and didn't look very much alive... But here he was. He was looking perfectly healthy and normal, just like any living human being.

"Angie..." He whispered and she felt chills rush through her body.

"The doctors say Kirsten will be OK," She said, suddenly remembering some of the things she had planned to tell him.

"Thank God," He replied faintly, his eyes still in a far-off gaze. "And the others?"

"All fine. What about you?"

He waved her away. "Angie, there's going to be a trial. Swear to me that you will go to Josh's lawyers and sign an agreement to settle no matter what the amount of money. Swear to me you'll settle with Josh immediately."

Angie's face contorted into a deep frown. She could not understand what the hell this had to do with anything. She hadn't seen the man in over two weeks and the last time she had seen him he had been near death and the only thing he had to say was 'settle with Josh'??

"I promise," She managed to stammer, her head still swirling with confusion.

"Do it today. No matter how much money he wants."

"...OK..."

"Thirty seconds," One of the surly looking guards announced. A thousand thoughts burst into Angie's mind at once and she opened her mouth to speak but Sirius beat her to it. He was grinning, his eyes sparkling.

"Hey Angie," He said, that mischievous twinkle mesmerizing her. "Tell Harry, the Cannon Fan, that I bet him a thousand Galleons the Arrows will not only win the Quidditch League next season but crush the Cannons."

The guards were binding him, leading him away. He was disappearing quickly and she was staring open-mouthed. Is he talking to me about QUIDDITCH!?!? In a matter of seconds he had disappeared and she wouldn't be able to talk to him for another two weeks.

She turned to the empty cell with it's dismal stark walls and screamed a cry of utter frustration.

She didn't settle with Josh that day. It was three days later that she, Joshua Thompson, and his anorexic succubus of a lawyer gathered in an empty classroom at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had offered to accompany her and ensure fair play, but Angie assured him that she would be fine. The Headmaster had a hundred more important things to deal with even before the downfall of Voldemort.

The lawyer smiled, revealing two rows of small, perfectly white and pointed teeth as she pushed the thick sheaf of parchment toward Angie. Angie glanced over it and felt her temper rise. The sum of money made her eyes bulge and the rest of the document outlined a payment plan and reasons she was paying in the first place. She imagined what the price would be if Josh remembered the truth about Kirsten...

She forced her hand to be steady as she lifted the quill and slowly filled it with ink. She felt as if she were signing away her soul. Who did Sirius think he was, forcing her to do this?

There it was, her name, Angela Star, on the thick black line at the bottom. The lawyer retrieved it quickly and Angie could only watch helplessly as Josh signed it ruthlessly. She had never realized a quill could be such a devastating weapon. He looked at her, triumph written on his every feature. In that moment she hated him more than ever before.

Classes were terribly disrupted over then next few weeks. Potions wasn't taught at all for a solid week as Snape recovered, and his temper was at its worst when he returned. Other teachers, mostly Professor Star, seemed to disappear for a few classes at a time.

Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were forced back into school a mere eight days after their ordeal. Ron spent every single moment thinking about Kirsten, who was still at St. Mungo's and alone while Ron and Angie were at school. Eventually their visits harassed the nurses so much that Kirsten was transferred into Madame Pomfrey's confident (and competent) hands.

Draco and Ginny shared a private reunion. Unfortunately Ron noticed immediately that Ginny was not in the common room and Hermione was forced to disclose her whereabouts. It took Hermione and Harry the better part of an hour and several reminders of Draco's help in getting to the castle to convince him not to run all over the castle searching for them so he could disembowel Draco.

In other words, other than Kirsten's absence, things had returned to normal.

Shortly after they returned to school Dumbledore made the announcement concerning Sirius's trial. The entire student body started whispering, and the buzzing sound reached a fever pitch as the Headmaster continued to explain that the prefects, the Head Boy and Girl, and Harry Potter and Kirsten Star would be allowed to attend the trial. Never had non-prefects been so jealous.

The school was practically saturated with anticipation as the date of the trial drew nearer. Even the professors started to pay less attention in class. The days passed slowly until finally, FINALLY, that day dawned when they were free from class and forced to eat breakfast in their common rooms because the Great Hall was being prepared for the arrival of the Minister of Magic, the Head of the IAA, half the Ministry and other boring adults, but most importantly...Sirius Black.

Leprechauns, Goblins, Hippogriffs, Even Mahogany Chairs!...anything but husbands

By: Angela Star (not Thompson)[insert Sirius: BLACK!!]

Angie was breaking her New Year's resolution. She had made several—stop drinking, stop smoking, stop popping sleeping pills—all of which had remained intact solely because she was pregnant. In this case, it was her fingernails. Her beautiful, long fingernails had, in the last fifteen minutes, been reduced to torn, ragged nothingness.

Through all the weeks that she waited for this day she had managed to find something else to occupy her hands, but as she waited for Fudge to begin the trial, her eyes glued to Sirius's pathetic form magically bound to the chair in front of her, all her resolve evaporated. Of course, when she had made that resolution, even SHE hadn't expected what the rest of the year would bring.

Sirius was innocent, of course, but that just made it all the more nerve-racking. Was innocent until proven guilty law in Britain, or had she spent too many years in America? As she sat with all the other professors in the front row behind the ragged chair where Sirius sat, she searched for another fingernail to chew.

He looked terrible! Naturally she hadn't been expecting the suave, handsome heartthrob she remembered from her days at school, but nothing prepared her for the now shoulder length tangled hair and too-thin wrists tied tightly with magical rope to the arms of a beaten old wooden chair.

In front of Sirius's ragged chair sat Dumbledore and Fudge (in very nice chairs). Along both walls sat high-ranking Ministry officials and aurors (in medium chairs). She saw Elizabeth Hoffenmeijer and managed to pry her fingertips from her teeth long enough to wave. Elizabeth didn't wave back; she was staring at Sirius.

The Minister stood and the entire Great Hall went silent, which was a pretty impressive feat, considering all the students present. Angie cast a worried glance behind her where Kirsten, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were sitting. Unsurprisingly, her eyes stayed longest on her daughter's pale face. She had barely enough strength to convince Madame Pomfrey she was ready for the trial, even after nearly a month of bed rest. She had changed as much as Sirius in the month since their duel with the Dark Lord. She had allowed her hair to be charmed back to blonde for a few weeks, but insisted that for the trial it remained its natural black. Luckily, Kirsten's habit of dying her hair kept people from asking any awkward questions...

"The trial of Sirius Black is now in session," Fudge said in a voice that told Angie 'let's get this over with so we can kill the guy'. Angie scowled. She had wondered how Dumbledore convinced Fudge to let Sirius have a trial...and she still didn't know. She suspected Fudge owed him a favor, but if Dumbledore didn't want to tell her, then she would probably never know.

Dumbledore had been allowed a few more depressingly short meetings with Sirius where they discussed things like who they should have testify and their "trial strategy". Really, she didn't see how it would be possible for Sirius to be proclaimed guilty in front of dozens of the highest ranking officials in the world once they had heard Peter Pettigrew incriminate himself. But still, she was jittery.

"Bring in the first witness," Fudge commanded. Angie spun around as she heard the doors open and stared.

"State your name for the record, please," Instructed Josh Thompson...JOSH THOMPSON?! Angie stared in shock at her ex-husband. Since when was he making the inquiries? He hadn't mentioned it when she had met with him and his lawyer and agreed to give him an obscene amount of money... She groaned inwardly, she was going to have to testify about that night...she forced herself to focus on the witness, which wasn't very difficult.

"Griphook," The goblin finally answered. Angie blinked...she had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of Josh that she had failed to notice the witness was not at all human. Angie looked from Griphook to Josh to Sirius and back again.

Goblins?

"Do you know Mr. Black?" Josh asked.

"Yes," Griphook replied, rolling his eyes. "Obviously." Angie began chewing her nails again. She realized just how little she knew Sirius and his recent going-ons. A goblin? What good would a goblin do?

"How did he make your acquaintance?" Josh asked, annoyed, but determined to properly question the witness.

"He has a bank account," Growled Griphook. Angie knew from personal experience that goblins from Gringotts did NOT like being asked about the personal accounts of their...clients.

"How much is in that account, Mr. Griphook?" Josh asked. That put the poor goblin over the top.

Griphook stood and lunged at Josh, screaming curse words in gobbledegook. Angie started laughing as she saw the goblin attacking her ex husband. She was exceedingly glad that Kirsten found gobbledegook dull and therefore couldn't understand what the creature was saying...even if it was hilarious. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise her if Hermione could understand... There were only two other people in the room who understood the goblin tongue. Dumbledore was chuckling and Fudge did not look amused.

"Take a seat, Mr. Griphook," Dumbledore said, his voice serious, but looking very amused indeed. Still muttering, the goblin obliged.

"You are under oath, Mr. Griphook, you must answer the question," Dumbledore continued. "I'm rather curious myself," He added thoughtfully. Angie was glad Dumbledore had insisted the goblin answer, though she didn't see how this was relevant to Sirius's innocence. She had heard from some sister Sirius had that he had...an enviable sum of money. She had always been curious about the exact amount. She glanced at Sirius, who was shaking his head. She listened curiously as Griphook muttered in gobbledegook.

Angie fell out of her seat in shock as the goblin muttered the sum. She turned her head to Sirius, who didn't realize what Griphook had said. "Damn, Black!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide. She quickly realized what she had said and glanced worriedly at Fudge. However, Fudge understood gobbledegook, and was too busy staring at Sirius in shock to listen to Angie. Dumbledore raised one eyebrow.

"What? What?" Josh demanded, annoyed that he didn't understand.

"I think, Mr. Griphook, that you should explain the language that the Ministry officials understand," Dumbledore suggested. He looked like he was having fun. The goblin muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Josh asked, happy that he was going to get the answer to his question.

The goblin muttered again, but not loudly enough.

"Excuse me?" Josh pressed delightfully.

"EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO GALLEONS, FOURTEEN SICKLES AND THREE KNUTS!" The aggravated goblin screamed. Goblins were not creatures known for their patience (or any other virtues).

The reaction in the Hall was...interesting. Meanwhile, Griphook returned to muttering in gobbledegook... something about nosy humans. (That was 837,564,982 galleons, for the mathematically challenged out there).

Sirius, whose head was drooping, looked up suddenly. "Did the interest rates go up or something?" He asked.

Griphook considered this for a moment. "Oh yes, they went up half a point last October. I think you were somewhere south of here so you may not have heard the news, though it was in the paper," He said.

"NEXT!" Fudge exclaimed over Sirius and Griphook, massaging his temples. The Hall's laughter began to die down as two guards carried Griphook, who was still muttering in gobbledegook, out of the room. So far, the trial wasn't progressing very well. At least, not from a legal standpoint. It was a legal joke, really, but Sirius, and oddly, Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Who put him on the witness list? And how drunk were they? Angie thought casting a suspicious glance towards Sirius.

Dumbledore lifted his wand and summoned a text book and guided it to the witness stand, which wasn't really a stand at all, but a handsome oak chair. It was quickly becoming The Chair in Angie's mind. Angie gave Dumbledore a very confused look, until the next 'witness' came in.

"Top o' the mornin' to ye!" The leprechaun exclaimed, lifting his green hat and bowing to Fudge, who could only stare. He skipped over to the chair and climbed on top of the book. Even with Hogwarts, A History the little creature was a number of feet shorter than Josh.

"Name?" Josh sighed, wearing an expression that clearly stated 'I feel like I'm at the circus.'

"Brandon Fishwick," The leprechaun replied happily. Angie couldn't help it, his ridiculously thick Irish accent was hilarious, and he was more than happy to testify. She let out a giggle and Fudge frowned at her. She quickly stifled it and spent the remainder of the interview trying to control herself.

Brandon Fishwick didn't give any more information than Griphook, (although he and Sirius got into an irrelevant argument about the opening line of a speech made by Patrick McLecture, another leprechaun, nearly giving Fudge a heart-attack) so Fudge dismissed him. Both the Minister and Josh were getting rather annoyed, much to Angie's delight. (Sirius and Dumbledore seemed to have concocted quite a show and were loving every minute of it.)

Fudge called for the next witness.

"Professor Star?" Dumbledore said. Angie felt her stomach tighten, was it her turn already? Quite suddenly this trial was becoming a reality and not a 'show'.

"Yes Headmaster?" She asked nervously.

"Would you be willing to translate for our next witness? He doesn't speak English very well." Angie let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Oh my God," Fudge muttered and Angie grinned.

"Of course, headmaster," She said standing. Her relief quickly turned into stomach tightening nervousness as she realized she was going to have to pass Josh.

"Hello Angela," He muttered coldly.

"Hello, Joshua," She replied in a flat voice.

"Well?" Fudge asked looking around for the next witness, rather irritated. He was met with a loud squawk, which Angie mentally translated as Well what? She started laughing but Fudge was too distracted to glare.

Hagrid was leading a hippogriff into the 'courtroom'.

"Name?" Josh said, resigning himself to the absurd witnesses of the trial as the chaos in the room began to settle down.

"What's your name?" Angie asked the hippogriff politely, in the squawking and clucks they used among themselves. She imagined she looked rather ridiculous to most of the people in the room. (She wondered what the court recorder was doing at this point...)

"Buckbeak is my name, and I must say how pleased I am to hear someone who can speak properly," He replied, exceedingly polite for a hippogriff.

"Well, thank you," She replied smiling.

"Tell me, are you Mrs. Angela Thompson?" The hippogriff continued.

"Yes, actually, before I was divorced," She answered, surprised that he knew her name...er, what used to be her name. She knew hippogriffs were extremely intelligent but she didn't realize they were psychic too. Maybe Sirius had mentioned her...

"Sirius speaks of you often," he explained, just adding to her suspicions that he was psychic.

"Does he now? You know him?" Angie thought this was all very amusing.

"Yes, of course. I've been on the run with him for four years," He replied rather smugly. If that was possible for a hippogriff.

"Really?" Angie replied, trying to picture Sirius being inconspicuous with a hippogriff...

"PROFESSOR STAR!!!!" Fudge screamed over the squawking. Angie turned guiltily.

"Yes, Minister?" She asked. She noticed Dumbledore's mouth was twitching.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Angie stared at Fudge for a moment, before realizing it wasn't him who had spoken. She and Fudge both turned to Sirius, who looked back at them innocently.

"Hold it," The Minister demanded through gritted teeth, turning back to Angie. "Now, what is its name?"

"Oh, right!" Angie said blushing. "His name is Buckbeak." Angie was amazed at the chaos this brought to the hall. MacNair lunged at the poor creature; Draco Malfoy went rigid; Harry, Ron, and Hermione collapsed with laughter; all the representatives from the Care of Magical Creatures Department started yelling; Fudge looked outraged; and Josh went red with anger at not understanding.

"What kind of trial is this?" Fudge roared, voicing what Angie had been thinking for a long time.

"Not very popular around here, are you?" She asked Buckbeak, grinning at the chaos Sirius had brought back to the castle.

"They tried to execute me. Sirius and I both have several people who would like us dead, you see," He explained proudly. "And you can tell the Minister that this is Sirius Black's trial, and he should have expected chaos."

"You understand them?" She asked incredulously.

"Oh yes, Sirius talks to me all the time, I don't answer him of course."

"You can speak English?" She was shocked; she had never known a hippogriff to speak English, not that she had talked to a great number of hippogriffs.

"Not very well, my genetic make-up doesn't allow me to learn the language of Man," Buckbeak replied winking. Angie started laughing so hard that she couldn't stop. Before she knew it, she was holding her sides which were aching with laughter.

"Dumbledore, do something with your Professor!" Fudge commanded. Dumbledore

helped Angie up and took her shoulder trying to calm her as he led her back to her seat.

"Hmm, I didn't realized I was so amusing," Said Buckbeak thoughtfully, "Maybe I should start a stand up act."

Angie burst into hysterical laughter...again. She didn't even notice that the entire Hall was giving her an identical "Look" except for Kirsten, who was looking away with an expression of mortification.

She realized she wasn't doing the best job of controlling her emotions but who could blame her. The stress upon her was considerable and she wasn't handling it well...

"Get it out of here," Fudge said, gesturing to Buckbeak, who allowed himself to be escorted out by Hagrid (who was crying with happiness at Buckbeak's return) "And get her out of here, too!"

Two guards approached Angie, who was still laughing madly. She struggled, forcing herself to calm down.

"No!" She gasped. "No, I have to testify!"

"SHE'S going to testify?!" Fudge and Josh exclaimed in unison, Fudge in horror and Josh in shock.

"Yes, of course. You'll have to wait for her testimony, however, we have several witnesses to go," Dumbledore answered, unfazed.

"Very well, leave her alone," Fudge sighed, against his better judgment. The two guards released their grip on Angie, who harrumphed. "So, Albus," Fudge continued, "Who's your next...victim?"

"Myrtle Mason," Dumbledore replied, looking down at his watch. "She should be here any moment now."

"About bloody time," Fudge muttered. "A human witness!"

"Well..." Dumbledore looked around the room rather guiltily. "Not exactly..."

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Fudge growled in a dangerously low voice. Dumbledore opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by a loud howl.

"Ah," Dumbledore said happily. "That's her now." Angie turned in her seat to see this Myrtle Mason. For a moment she just stared, unable to believe that anything could be wilder than a hippogriff, a goblin, and a leprechaun. She had just been proven wrong as Moaning Myrtle flew up to The Chair, wailing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked in a concerned voice.

"Nothing," Myrtle replied sulkily. She was given a few moments to compose herself, a result of mere shock rather than courtesy.

"What is your name?" Josh finally choked.

"Myrtle Marissa Melinda Miranda Mary Martha Maribelle Miria Mercedes Missy Monica May Misty Melonie Mandy Marianna Maxine Meagan Melody Mya Michelle Melissa Margaret Micky Myrna Morgan Marina Mariah Madeline Madison Maureen Minerva Maisy Maude Margo Marietta Monique Mable Marian Mia Moe Molly Mason." The ghost girl replied, seeming quite proud of herself.

A moment of silence.

"That's it!" A frustrated voice finally cried, and they all turned to court recorder, standing up and red faced. "I give up!"

Everyone broke out into babble. From behind, Angie heard Harry comment in delight, "Who knew Myrtle had more names than I do! And they all begin with 'M'!"

"Wow, aren't we feeling smart today," Ron remarked sarcastically.

"I wonder if one of those is my middle name..." Kirsten said thoughtfully, trying to recall them all. Meanwhile, Fudge was really beginning to lose it.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" He cried. "First a goblin, then a leprechaun, then a bloody HIPPOGRIFF for Merlin's beard! And now I get a girl with forty freaking middle names!"

"Forty-one," Myrtle corrected sullenly. Fudge's face turned purple with rage.

"I REFUSE to have a dead person in this courtroom!" He cried at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream silenced all the noise in the hall. The scream was reduced to very loud wailing and sobbing from Myrtle.

"G...go ahead," She sobbed. "M...make fun of p...poor ol...old Myrtle j...just be...because sh...she's...she's...DEAD!" The ghost girl cried. Fudge looked torn between anger and guilt, but relief took over both of them when Myrtle flew out of the room. He sighed and turned back to Dumbledore.

"What good could that have POSSIBLY done for your case, Albus?" He asked, looking as if he were developing a rather bad headache.

"It would've been fine if you hadn't insulted her," Dumbledore replied in a rather accusing tone. Fudge opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and shook his head.

"Who's next?"

"Harry Potter."

"YES!" Fudge cried, nearly leaping out of his seat in excitement. "A PERSON!"

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore replied, looking rather hurt. Fudge looked as though he were seriously going to hurt the Headmaster. Harry quickly jogged up to the chair. Josh started immediately in excitement.

"Harry Potter! I'm so happy to meet you again, I haven't seen you since you were a wee little lad, and—"

"MR. THOMPSON!" Fudge exclaimed at the top of his lungs as Harry went rather red. "Just question the boy!"

"Over what?" Josh replied, rather sullenly. "We already know everything about his life."

"Why don't you start with his name?" Sirius piped up, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Why?" Josh replied, sounding rather...okay, blatantly stupid.

"JUST DO IT!" Fudge cried.

"No, no, it's quite unnecessary," Harry said quickly.

"Let the record show his name is "Nonoits Quiteunnecessary." Sirius said in a commanding voice.

"No!" Harry cried.

"Yes, 'No' is his nickname."

"What is your name, Harry Potter?" Josh asked loftily—and sounding rather stupid--cutting in the middle of Sirius's rant. Harry took a deep breath.

"Harry James Sirius Remus Peter Mitchell Xavier Fox Tommy Isaac Kurt Anthony

Clayton Bartholomew Ezekiel Oliver Gilbert William Lloyd Nicholas Quentin

Ulysses Potter." He rattled as quickly as he could hoping if he went fast enough most people would somehow miss it.

"You forgot Dudley," Angie said matter-of-factly while Sirius howled with laughter and the rest of the hall blinked as they tried to collect their wits.

"I like to pretend it's not there," Harry James Sirius...you know the drill said in a rather dejected tone.

"Wait...where does Dudley go?" The recorder asked, looking at Angie expectantly.

"Between Oliver and Gilbert," She replied, happy to help.

"So that makes it Harry James Sirius Remus Peter Mitchell Xavier Fox Tommy

Isaac Kurt Anthony Clayton Bartholomew Ezekiel Oliver Dudley Gilbert William

Lloyd Nicholas Quentin Ulysses Potter?"

"Right on girl!" Angie exclaimed.

"If you please!" Fudge cried.

"If I please what?" Angie fired back.

"Mr. Thompson..." Fudge growled.

"No, actually, Mr. Thompson doesn't please me at all," Angie answered snottily.

"PROFESSOR!" Fudge roared.

"Okay, okay," Angie chuckled. "Go ahead, Mr. Thompson."

Josh stared for a few seconds probably still catching up from the absurd conversation that was unfolding so quickly. Then, very slowly and deliberately he turned and said. "Mr. Potter, please explain to the court your relationship with Mr. Black."

"Sirius Black is my godfather," Harry explained, a slight murmur could be heard mostly among the students of Hogwarts who were unaware of the close connection between the two. "He was the best man at my parents' wedding."

"And this is why you think Black could not have possibly been the one responsible for their death?"

"No, the reason I know Sirius could not have possibly been the one responsible for my parents' death is because I met the man who is."

"And who is this man?"

"Peter Pettigrew," Harry replied, his voice hard and his eyes unblinking.

"Come now, Mr. Potter," Josh said, managing a slight smile. "Peter Pettigrew is deceased. He was murdered by your godfather."

"That was not a question," Harry pointed out. "Rather, it was an untrue statement, Mr. Thompson. Peter Pettigrew is still alive and framed Sirius Black."

"All right Mr. Potter," Josh replied, a half-grin of disbelief on his face. "Why don't you tell us how you know all this."

"Four years ago, you might remember, was the time Sirius made his escape from Azkaban..." Harry began, and continued through most of the story of the night Buckbeak and Sirius made their escape. He was intentionally vague when it came down to how Sirius and Buckbeak escaped. Dumbledore had already explained to him that he need not take any more risks than needed. Peter Pettigrew's testimony would be enough to secure Sirius' innocence, the last thing they wanted was Harry to be arrested for aiding a fugitive.

"Fascinating story Mr. Potter," Josh said, when Harry had finished. His voice conveyed what most of the Hall was thinking—it was a nice story, almost crazy enough to believe, but not really true. "However, with only two of your closest friends, and Remus Lupin, a friend of Sirius's, to corroborate your story, I'm afraid it is difficult to believe."

"I would appreciate it, Mr. Thompson, if you kept your comments to yourself. Ultimately it is going to save you loads of embarrassment," Harry replied, as coolly as he could. No one was worried, with Pettigrew, there was no way Fudge could send Sirius to the dementors.

"Thank you for your input, Mr. Potter," Fudge said in a rather sleepy tone. He had not been enamored with Harry's testimony. "Dare I ask who the next witness is?"

"Professor Severus Snape," Dumbledore replied nonchalantly. For once, Fudge reacted nicely to this declaration; others did not.

"WHAT?" Angie heard Ron hiss from behind her. She forced herself to concentrate on Josh and Snape, and not on the amusing conversation of protest behind her.

"Please state your name," Josh instructed, relieved to see a human...an ALIVE human figure testifying. (Not that Harry wasn't a perfectly normal live human, he was different though. He was Harry Potter.)

"Severus Sparticus Snape," He replied instantly much to the amusement of most of the people in the hall. Sparticus Angie thought, trying to control herself.

"What were his parents smoking?" Angie heard Harry mutter behind her much to the amusement of his friends. (Because, of course, Harry had absolutely no room to talk.) Angie smiled, but Sirius obviously heard this, and started laughing so hard he nearly fell out of the unbelievably pathetic excuse for a piece of furniture.

"Quiet," Fudge said in an irritated voice. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Severus, do you have anything of importance to say?" Josh looked rather annoyed that Fudge was doing his job. (But, he hadn't been handling the situation very well up until that point anyway.)

"I'd like to think so," Snape replied coldly. A few Slytherin's and Mad-Eye Moody were the only ones who dared to chuckle.

"Ooooo," Angie heard Kirsten mutter. "Dissed."

"Well," Ron replied reasonably. "Who would listen to a guy named Severus Sparticus, anyway?" Angie quickly turned her attention back to Fudge, who proved to be nearly as amusing.

"Well, spit it out before I burst an artery over here!!" Fudge exclaimed.

"Where'd you leave your blood pressure medicine?" Angie asked herself. "What a grouch."

"Excuse me, Minister," Josh interrupted importantly. "I would like to ask the Professor to speak about his part in the events that took place on the night Mr. Potter just described."

Snape rather disliked all memories concerning that night and his lips tightened into an ominous line. "I refuse to comment on that night," He replied, in a barely audible voice.

Josh swallowed and knew he had over stepped his boundaries. "Very well, please continue."

"As you all know, I was a Death Eater once," Severus Sparticus began. For some strange reason this amused Angie. It was just the clear and precise way he said it. It sounded as if he were at an AA meeting, only in denial. I was an alcoholic once... If Snape hadn't continued so seriously she may have broken down into laughter again. "I a Death Eater at the same time Black was supposedly You- Know-Who's right hand man. And I never saw or knew anything about that slimy Gryffindor being involved with us," He continued, shrugging. "At that time, Black, along with the Potters, was one of the largest enemies of the Dark Lord."

"Slimy?" Sirius muttered. "Look who's talking!"

"That's it?" Josh asked before Fudge could say anything.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay then, you can leave," Josh snapped. Rolling his eyes, Snape complied, mumbling something along the lines of 'nosy, stuck-up Ministry officials'. "Who's next?"

"I shall ask Nicolette Noire to please come forward," Dumbledore announced to the Hall. "And I will ask Angela to please translate if that becomes a necessity," Dumbledore instructed, giving Angie a slight nod. She nodded in return and focused her attention on the beguiling form of Nicolette Noire who had now settled herself in The Chair.

She was dressed nicely enough however, an outfit on Nikki and an outfit on Angie would wear completely differently, and by the time she had made her walk up to The Chair she had sufficiently captured the attention of everyone in the Hall.

Nikki adjusted her skirts and looked expectantly at Josh. When he didn't acknowledge her she cleared her throat.

"Any time before I'm retired Mr. Thompson," Fudge said agitatedly.

"Madamoiselle Noire," Josh said softly, almost mumbling. He was careful to not make eye contact and to walk around. "You live in Paris?"

"Oui, I do Monsieur," She replied. "And I must say, it is good to see you again, Monsieur." Josh's head snapped up suddenly his eyes wide. Angie was suddenly on the edge of her seat.

"Uh..." Josh said stupidly, his face reddening.

"Don't you remember me?" Nikki asked, her eyes dancing maliciously. Josh started to answer knowing that she was going to 'remind him'. Nikki expected this and cut him off. "You came to the night club in Paris and we did some business together..." Nikki glanced at Sirius and gave him a wink.

"Tell us, please, how you know Mr. Black." Josh said quickly trying to glaze over her statement. Nikki snickered and glanced at Sirius when Josh said this. Apparently she didn't think 'Mr. Black' was an appropriate name for Sirius.

"Monsieur, I'm hurt that you do not remember me—" She pressed, determined now to embarrass him.

"Oh I remember you!" Josh interrupted. His intent was to silence her and get on with the questioning. But the emphasis with which he said it implied a quite different meaning and several people began snickering in the Hall.

Sirius looked as if he was just dying to guffaw loudly but was determined not to.

"Oh I'm so glad," Nikki said, sitting back in her seat, looking genuinely pleased with this statement. "I hope to have the chance to service you again sometime..."

Sirius—and several others in the Hall—lost it at this point and really started laughing hard. This was an extremely embarrassing moment for Josh. No one had had any idea Josh had been to Paris in such a questionable establishment as Nikki's.

"Next witness," Josh said through gritted teeth, his face purple with suppressed anger and extreme embarrassment. Fudge was perfectly content to keep things moving...

"We call Remus Lupin to the stand," Dumbledore said. Remus blinked and forced himself to stand and walk stiffly to The Chair.

"Name," Josh said, sounding tired.

"Remus John Lupin," Remus replied.

"How do you know Mr. Black?"

"Well, really Thompson, we were all in the same year at Hogwarts," he replied, rolling his eyes, "Sirius and I were friends."

"Uh-huh," Josh replied, as if he didn't quite believe it. "So what, exactly, are you supposed to contribute to this hullabaloo?"

"Unless I'm quite mistaken, I'm supposed to tell you how Sirius escaped Azkaban."

"AHA!" Josh cried, turning suddenly and pointing an accusing finger at Remus, "You helped him, did you?"

"No," Remus replied in a flat voice that was particularly anti-climactic after Josh's passionate accusation. "You remember, I'm sure, Harry's testimony."

"It was only a few moments ago," Josh reminded him haughtily.

"Well, Harry neglected to explain that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew are both unregistered animagi."

The hall started buzzing. Sirius was glaring at Remus. Apparently he thought the world could have done without that knowledge.

"Moony," he remarked, sounding annoyed, "You're being quite honest and direct and boring. Can't you lighten up for even a minute?"

"I apologize, Padfoot, for trying to save your skin," Remus snapped, quite seriously.

"These nicknames...it's a code! They're passing on illicit information right before our eyes!" Josh cried, a gleam in his eyes.

"Actually, Padfoot refers to Sirius's animal form. He's a giant black dog," Remus explained.

"You say that like it's an insult," Sirius sulked.

"So what does Moony mean?" Josh pressed. "Are you also an unregistered animagus, Mr. Lupin?"

"Me?" Remus replied innocently. "As nearly everyone in this room can tell you, Thompson, I don't need to be an animagus. I'm a werewolf."

"WHAT?!" Angie cried, leaping to her feet before anyone else could react. "You're a werewolf? You...I...That explains so much...Why didn't you tell me? We were dating for months and months and you never said anything!"

"Well, Angie, in school—" Remus began.

"I'm not talking about school!" she screeched. "I'm talking about just this year, when I came back to teach."

"WHAT?!" Sierra cried, leaping to her feet as well, staring not at Angie but at Remus, "We were dating at the same time."

"Excuse me?" Holly Mischel said, rising slowly to her feet and staring daggers at Remus, Sierra and Angie all at once, "Remus, I know our relationship has been on again, off again for the last several years, but please tell me you broke it off with the two of them before we became engaged!"

"ENGAGED?!" Sierra and Angie cried.

"I don't see how this is relevant," Remus said desperately.

"It isn't," Fudge replied, massaging his temples angrily. "Mr. Lupin, can you please deal with your two-timing ways outside of this courtroom?"

"Three-timing," Sierra muttered darkly as she and Angie sat down.

"I don't see what your problem is," Remus retorted, "You were pretty cozy with Bill Weasley, and last I heard you were practically engaged yourself!"

"What?!" Ron cried, turning with injured eyes to Sierra, "I thought we were buds, Miss H. How could you not tell me you were dating my brother?!"

"OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM!" Fudge cried. "Get off the chair, Lupin. I don't want to hear anything from you or YOU," he said, directing his second glare at Sierra. "Next!"

"But Sierra's our next witness," Dumbledore explained.

"You're kidding," Fudge replied in a distant voice.

"I never joke," Dumbledore replied in a serious voice.

"Fine, but there is to be no mention of Remus Lupin," Fudge said in a threatening tone.

"I promise, Minister, I'll be a good girl," Sierra replied, rolling her eyes. As if she didn't have anything better to talk about than Remus Three-Timing Lupin.

"What is your name?" Josh asked.

"Sierra Sparticus Havairhafpvermin," She replied with an evil grin at Snape, who merely glowered in return. The hall howled with laughter...not lowering Fudge's blood pressure any, and also succeeding in annoying Josh in the extreme. The court's recorder, who was already having trouble with the Myrtle, gobbledegook and hippogriffian, stared at Sierra in contempt.

"How do you spell that?" She demanded.

"Let the record show that her middle name is Marie," Josh snapped at no one in particular, ignoring the poor girl. However, Sierra did not, and enjoyed driving Josh nuts, by carefully spelling out her last name, and then turning to address Josh about her middle name.

"How did you know that?" She asked.

"I just remembered it from school," Josh shrugged.

"Who told you?" She demanded.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because it does!"

"NO IT DOES NOT!!!!!!!!" Fudge cried, leaping from his chair. "Mr. Thompson, PLEASE continue with the interrogation."

"Er...right," Josh said. "So, Miss...H," He said casting a wary glance at the recorder. "Where were you on the night in question?"

"Um...there's a night a question?" Sierra looked confused.

"You know what I mean!" He snapped. Sierra looked sulky.

Angie thought about this for a while. It was obvious that Josh had done his homework. Ministry officials had certainly been questioning a lot of people and gathering a lot of information lately. Dumbledore had forbid any of them to talk to the children or to her however. Nevertheless, Josh knew what sort of questions to ask and he knew who knew what. Sierra did play a part on the night Lily and James were murdered but her information hardly seemed relevant and for Angie, it would be rather awkward and embarrassing.

"Okay, okay...I was talking to Dumbledore, in his office," She replied cautiously, carefully choosing her words under Angie's gaze. She knew that Angie did not want Sierra to tell everyone that she and Sirius were married but Sierra knew she might not have a choice about the matter. The entire reason Sierra was put on the stand was to testify that Sirius was with her and could not have been out with the Dark Lord.

"When did you get there?"

"Around ten o'clock at night."

"And how long were you there?"

"Um...until midnight, I'd say."

"Just talking?" Josh seemed to be getting into his role. "You can't tell me you were just talking for...what was it? Two hours?" Wow, Josh! Angie thought sarcastically. You can do math! From ten until midnight is two whole hours!

"Just because YOU can't keep up an intelligent conversation for two hours—" Sierra began.

"But did you?" Josh interrupted. "Did you talk for the entire time?" Sierra looked uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, and glanced at Angie who was giving her a very testy Look.

"No."

"And what else were you doing there?" Josh asked, in a satisfied tone.

"I was there with...a few friends, and..."

"Who?"

"Well, Angie was there...um..."

"And what were you DOING?" Josh pressed.

"Um....well..."

"OBJECTION!" Angie cried, leaping to her feet, her cheeks scarlet. Everyone turned to stare at her, except for Sirius, who started cracking up.

"Objection?" Fudge repeated. "This is the closest to a real interrogation we've had so far. What are you objecting to do?"

"My activities that night have NOTHING to do with this trial!" She cried. At this, Sirius continued laughing, so hard he couldn't breathe.

"Yeah, right," He gasped, somehow making his sarcasm evident through the laughter. Angie shot him a withering Look.

"Well, then, why are you on the witness list?" Fudge demanded.

"Um..." Angie looked around wildly. "Okay, maybe I'm a LITTLE bit involved...but that's none of HER business, now is it?" She asked desperately.

"All right, Professor Star," Fudge said, looking at Angie. He motioned Sierra to sit down, and with a shrug she complied. Angie nearly hit herself over the head for being so stupid as she realized she had to testify now.

She felt Josh's eyes on her as she sat in The Chair. She studied it for a moment; hand carved oak, very nice. She looked at Sirius (his chair was the cheapest she'd ever seen, not even real wood), and he winked at her. The bastard.

This did not make her feel any better. She frowned at him. He shrugged in return.

"Would you mind translating for us?" Dumbledore asked Angie innocently.

"Huh?" She asked, looking up. He nodded to Sirius, and she blushed. "Ah...no thanks, Professor, it's completely irrelevant." She shot Sirius her best Death Glare, which only made him grin wider.

"Then please, GET ON WITH IT!" Fudge exclaimed. Angie jumped slightly at Fudge's outburst and then turned her attention to Josh.

"Name?" Josh asked, and Angie struggled not to flinch. He was amazingly cold with her considering the un-godly amount of money she had agreed to give him for absolutely no good reason.

"Angela Star," She replied

"You mean Angela Thompson," He countered.

"No, I mean Angela Star, seeing as that is my name," She snapped.

"Did you not change your name when we got married?" He demanded, irritated.

"I'm divorced, and my name is Star!"

"Thompson!"

"Star!"

"Thompson!" Josh screamed. Just when Fudge was REALLY about to burst an artery...

"BLACK!" Sirius shouted, trying to stand, but then realizing he was tied to the chair, and came tumbling down, much to Ron's amusement. He recovered, and stuck a tongue out at the red head, who merely kept on laughing.

"Black?" Fudge and Josh said at the same time as the rest of the Hall began to whisper. Angie put her face in her hands.

Kirsten turned to Ron and raised her eyebrows. "What's he trying to pull?" She whispered and Ron could only shrug.

"What does he mean, 'Black'?" Josh demanded, spinning around to glare at Angie.

"It will all be explained," Dumbledore interrupted airily, much to Angie's relief. "Continue with the interrogation, Mr. Thompson."

"All right, Ms....whatever your name is, where were you on the night in question?"

"What night in question?" She asked innocently.

"October 31, 1980, the night before we were supposed to have left for America."

"So, until midnight? Or does that include the morning of November first?" Angie asked, because she really didn't want to talk about the next morning.

"Whatever you feel is relevant, Ms. Star...or...yeah."

"What day of the week?"

"Who's asking the questions here!?" Josh asked, frustrated.

"Me, obviously," Angie answered. She snickered as Josh turned red. Then, she caught the frown Dumbledore was giving her, and sighed. "It all started in a cave on the side of the mountain by Hogsmeade..."

"What?" Josh asked taken by surprise, even with Sierra's fair warning. "You were in bed, asleep, in our house!"

"Obviously not," Sirius smirked.

"Shut up, Black!" Josh snapped. "Why, exactly were you there?" He asked angrily.

"Because that's where I had agreed to meet Sirius," Angie responded.

"Wait, wait, wait. You met Sirius Black the night before we were supposed to leave for America? In a CAVE?" Josh was just realizing what that meant and he was not taking it well. Angie grinned at him.

"Yes, it was quite fun," Sirius said, enjoying the rise out of Josh.

"What happened?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Sirius proposed," She replied, shrugging, as if it were nothing. Josh was in shock.

"You proposed marriage to my girlfriend?" Josh spat at Sirius, who was looking as smug as he could in that poor excuse for a chair.

"Would you like to see the ring?" Sirius asked, suddenly remembering that it was hanging around his neck.

"You said 'yes' to him?" Josh asked in horror, turning back to Angie.

"Well, you could say that..."

"Well, you did kiss me," Sirius said. Angie just glared.

"You KISSED him?" Josh asked in equal horror. Angie rolled here eyes. The man wasn't too bright. Obviously, if Sirius proposed marriage and she said yes there would be, at least, some kissing involved.

"Twice," Sirius said, smirking.

"Yes I did," Angie replied, eager to continue.

"Is this a trial or not?!" Fudge roared, losing his patience.

"Calm thyself, Cornelius," Said a frighteningly calm and rather omniscient Dumbledore.

"Excuse me," Fudge interrupted through gritted teeth. "While this is a very amusing soap opera, if this is all you have to say, we must move on to the next witness."

"I think I speak for the majority of this courtroom when I say that I want to hear this," Remus Lupin said, standing up. Angie started, she hadn't even remembered Remus was there.

"I second that!" Holly said, rising from her seat next to Remus. Angie glared at her. Holly would find all the testimony that Angie was soon to give extremely amusing.

"Well, I don't think-" Fudge began.

"I third that motion," Harry said, also standing.

"I fourth it!" Ron and Kirsten said in unison, bumping heads in their race to stand up.

"I fifth it... er sixth it," Hermione said, looking at Ron and Kirsten as if they were nuts, which they probably were, she reminded herself.

"I SEVENTH IT!!" Sierra exclaimed.

"You were THERE!" Angie yelled at Sierra, who shrugged.

"This is ridiculous!" Fudge said desperately, as the entire hall started standing and shouting numbers.

"It's like Bingo," Sirius commented to himself.

"Actually, I'm rather interested to hear their side of the story." Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"FINE!" Fudge exclaimed, "Let's hear it from the beginning. Ms. Star, with no interruptions."

"Thompson," Josh muttered under his breath.

"Black," Sirius muttered. They glared at each other.

"Okay then," Angie said, leaning back in the witness chair. She didn't realize that oak was so comfortable before then. She looked upward.

"You know, Dumbledore, that is a very interesting ceiling. Who's your decorator and how can I get a hold of him?"

"You assume it's a he, Professor?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you know, some guys are like that..."

"STAR!!" Fudge screamed.

"THOMPSON!!"

"BLACK!!"

"All right, all right, but it's still interesting!" She insisted. "Well, I suppose it all really began at our one year graduation reunion-"

"Ah, yes, I remember that night," Sirius said, ignoring the rules as usual.

"Shut up, Idiot! Anyway, I made the mistake of taking a sip of Lily Potter's punch while she and James...that's Potter again...well, except that Lily was still Evans then. I think. Well anyway, they were having a fight. Of course, I knew that Sirius had spiked the punch in general, but little did I know that James had slipped some 12 hour love potion into Lily's drink."

"He did what? WHY?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, they were having a fight, like I said. Lily wanted kids and James didn't. A few weeks later, Lily pulled a prank and told James she was pregnant. Then, of course, she really got pregnant and man was THAT a fiasco!" She rambled, ignoring the look on Harry's face. Quite amusing, in everyone else's opinion.

"Anyway, I wound up being under the influence of James's little... prank. And I wound up falling in love with Sirius the Idiot over there for twelve hours."

"Twelve hours? Potion? That's your excuse," Sirius muttered. Angie glared.

"I always knew he'd haunt me until the day I died...James Potter that is. Sirius too, I suppose. Anyway, being the annoying little Marauder he was, he decided it would be more amusing if he didn't tell the aforementioned Idiot and me and the result from that prank is right here." She gestured towards Kirsten. "See what you're doing to me?" Angie asked looking towards the ceiling. "Let this be a lesson to you James Potter! All those times YOU had to babysit!"

"Thanks Mom. Love you too," Kirsten said sarcastically.

"Wait...WAIT!" Josh cried, interrupting the narrative with a look of abject horror on his face. "Wait...Kirsten...the result...But Kirsten is my daughter!"

"No, Josh, I'm afraid she's not," Angie replied, relishing in the look of horror and the paleness of his face. A few months ago she would have felt guilty, but not anymore. "She's Sirius's child."

"No, that's not possible," Josh muttered, "That's just not possible..." His eyes swiveled wildly to Sirius, who was looking particularly smug, and then to Kirsten. "Kirsti..." he said.

"First of all, I've asked you not to call me that several times. Sirius, my REAL father, has never been so condescending," Kirsten snapped, standing up.

"Your hair," he muttered, as if he hadn't heard the speech, "Why did you dye it black? Now you look just like...like...HIM."

"I'd rather look like him than you," she replied rudely.

"CAN WE CONTINUE PLEASE!?" Fudge interrupted furiously. Josh opened his mouth to argue, caught the Minister's glare, and looked back to Angie expectantly.

"Yes, well, everyone thought it was Josh's baby and I did too... until she was born. God, you must all be blind," She rolled her eyes. "I mean, Kirsten's eyes ARE Sirius's eyes, honestly. Josh and I have BLUE eyes, Kirsten has BROWN eyes, get the picture?

"Yeah, and um...let the record show her hair isn't naturally blonde," Angie continued. Kirsten gasped dramatically, looking heart-broken. She was, naturally putting on a show. Her mother grinned. "I know you all think she dyed it black, but actually that's the natural color. Just like Sirius.

"Anyway, Loser here," She said pointing to Josh, "played Daddy while Sirius was just left in the dark... just like I wanted him to be. Then, Loser asked me to come to America with him, so I said I would. I mean, my relationship with Sirius was pretty much dead in the water anyway.

"Then, the Idiot asked me to meet him in the cave Halloween night. And he proposed. And then...um...we...er...well..."

"WELL WHAT?!" Fudge screamed.

"There's more?" Josh asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, well, see...We kinda decided, you know, that we hadn't seen Dumbledore in a while, and he was probably missing us like crazy..."

"You flatter yourself," Dumbledore replied, grinning. He seemed to find this all very amusing.

"Well, we thought, you know, while we're here, in the neighborhood of Hogwarts, that is, that we should stop by. And you know, Sierra was there, so we decided that...er..."

"Oh, THIS is when you got married!" Harry exclaimed, smacking his forehead. "NOW I get it!"

Josh, who had been holding a much-needed glass of water, dropped it, spilling liquid into a puddle on the floor as the glass shattered.

"OBJECTION!" Angie cried desperately.

"So you didn't get married?" Josh said hopefully.

"Well, um...see that's irrelevant. The jury should disregard—"

"Ms....Angela, I am the judge and the jury and I shall judge what the jury disregards and what it doesn't." Fudge said.

"I thought Dumbledore was on the jury to," Angie pointed out meekly.

"Professor, I think you should answer Mr. Potter's question," Dumbledore suggested, his eyes dancing. She shot both the Headmaster and her godson Looks.

"Yeah, Harry, this is where we got married," Angie finally replied, half relieved he had said it instead of her. Kirsten was staring from Harry to her mother, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"I should SO ground you," Sirius said, spinning around to look at Harry. "But the look on Thompson's face was worth it. Remind me to give you a high-5 when I get out of this confounded chair."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kirsten cried, standing up. "You were MARRIED to him?"

"Um, well, you could say that, yeah," Angie said uneasily.

"But then how did you marry HIM?" Kirsten screamed, pointing at a very confused Josh in frustration.

"Well, um, in all technicality, I didn't," She answered, blushing.

"But...but...that marriage couldn't have been legal!" Josh cried. "I mean, there were no witnesses, and—"

"Sierra, my dog, get back on the stand!" Sirius exclaimed grinning.

"Ah, so this is where Miss Sierra comes into play. The plot thickens," Dumbledore said gleefully, though he knew exactly what was going on.

"Sirius, you're the dog," Sierra replied, rolling her eyes.

"Which means her name is Black!" Sirius cried triumphantly, confusing nearly everyone in the Hall, momentarily.

"But...but...but..." Josh spluttered in vain. Suddenly, something seemed to occur to him. He turned to Angie, shocked. "You were married to him the whole time WE were married?" He demanded.

"Uh...something like that, yeah," She said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Adultery!" Josh cried. (He was having one hell of a night...)

"I know, damned to all hell, yada yada yada," She said, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"You cheated on me?" He asked. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"No, technically we were never married," Angie pointed out. "So I was cheating on Sirius...sorry about that, honey." She said, winking at Sirius.

"No problem, sweetheart," He replied, much to Josh's mortification. He smiled at his...er...wife, I suppose. He then turned triumphantly to Josh. "You see, Mr. Thompson, I always get the last laugh." He threw back his head, and let out a few dramatic 'ha has', and suddenly (but not unexpectedly) his chair broke around him, and he was suddenly on the floor. He surveyed the mess around him and decided to make the best of it.

"Minister," He said, "I'd like to say that this would be the perfect time to let me go to the bathroom. I mean, I'm sure all these poor people have to go too..."

"YES!" The poor recorder girl cried.

"HOLD IT!" Fudge screamed. He was already annoyed before Angie's testimony. Partially through her testimony he added extreme confusion to his list of problems.

"Can someone get him a chair," Dumbledore asked after a moment. They (I'm not sure who 'they' are) brought out a new (and, I must say MUCH better...though that's hardly difficult to accomplish) chair, and had him strapped to it.

"Hey, this is nice," Sirius said, getting comfortable in the cushioned chair. "You've have been holding out on me!" He started to wiggle a bit (testing the bindings...or maybe he still had to go to the bathroom) and found to his delight that it was, indeed, a swivel chair. "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He cried, spinning around.

"Yep," Ron said to Harry. "He really did lose it in Azkaban."

"You married...that?" Josh asked, referring to...um...swivel happy fellow over there.

"He's a child at heart," Angie explained, wishing she could sink into the floor.

"Uh huh," Josh replied. Sirius stopped swiveling long enough to make yet another comment.

"Which means, Joshie-Poo, that the record should show her name as being Mrs. Angela Black!" He declared, and then returned to trying to cross his legs, and after much trial and error finally deciding that the bindings wouldn't allow him the simple pleasures of life.

"I'm changing my name!" Kirsten said, standing up, mostly just to annoy Josh.

"To Black?" Angie asked, mortified.

"Well, yeah! Duh," Kirsten replied. Ron looked as if he were about to be sick.

"If you do that, I'll...I'll...tell everyone your middle name!" Angie cried.

"Morticia?" Sirius replied. "That was all my idea you know," Kirsten gasped and then glared at him.

"I take back the changing my name thing," She snapped. "Where did you come up with a name like Morticia?"

"As I said to Josh all those years ago: You may have stolen my girlfriend, but I got to name your kid. Except that it was really my kid. That would be you. Er...yeah, I'm confused."

"But...but... You're married to Black and Kirsten was...is...his..." Josh stuttered.

"This is better than Judge Judy!" Dean Thomas shouted happily.

"Oh good God!" Fudge cried. "If she-whoever that is—is going to testify I'll eat my hat!" Fudge declared. He was in such a state of confusion he feared Judge Judy might come to testify—and with Sirius, no one really knew better.

"To the point please," Dumbledore said. "Minister Fudge is going to be needing an ambulance in a few moments."

"Yeah, well, so, Sirius was with me when Lily and James were murdered, he couldn't have possibly have done it," She concluded uneasily. A murmur broke out in the Hall...finally!

"May I say something?" Kirsten asked, standing up.

"Why not?" Fudge muttered, checking his watch. "I've already missed dinner. And it certainly isn't the first time someone has made an illegal comment in the middle of this procedure."

"Right, well, I'd like to say that Sirius has been a better father in the last few months while on the run than you have ever been," She said, speaking, obviously, to Joshua Thompson.

"Thank you, Kirsten," Josh replied sarcastically.

"Yes, thank you for that report, Captain Stating-the-Obvious," Sirius said teasingly.

"While this is all very touching it does NOT prove that Sirius Black is innocent," Fudge declared standing triumphantly. "Therefore I declare that on this day, the seventh of May in the year of-"

"Cornelius," Dumbledore interrupted. "We still have one witness,"

"WHO ELSE IS THERE? A HOUSE ELF?" Fudge exclaimed, dreading the answer. He shouldn't be giving these people ideas.

"No, a rat," Dumbledore replied nonchalantly. "Pinocchio's fixing a dinner to make up for the one you missed." Fudge gaped.

"Oh, for God sakes, Dumbledore, give it up!" Fudge exclaimed.

"The dinner?" Sirius asked, obviously confused.

"No, I'll take the dinner, give up the trial!" Fudge snapped.

"It's a little late for that," Josh muttered. Fudge looked around at Dumbledore and Sirius

"Well?"

"Oh right," Sirius said, reaching under his chair for a ratty brown box, which was, if possible, in worse condition than his old chair. However, it took him nearly five full minutes to get the box, as his chair kept swiveling wildly.

He carefully laid it out in front of him. "Stupid swivel chairs," He muttered under his breath."

"Actually, I rather like it," Fudge said, looking at his own chair fondly. "Hand carved mahogany, very nice."

"But it doesn't swivel," Sirius pointed out.

"Who said anything about swiveling?" Fudge asked, confused.

"Never mind," Sirius muttered. Fudge turned his attention from his beautiful chair to Sirius. When he saw the box at his feet, his eyes widened.

"Is that-" He hissed.

"Yes, proceed," Dumbledore interrupted. Angie wondered what in the world could be within the box. Why was Fudge so amazed? She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Hermione immediately recognized the box as the original container created by the Founders to contain the Carbonated Crystal. She scooted right to the edge of her seat and her hand gripped Harry's arm with excitement. She was excited about that piece of antiquity and excited about the final witness. This was the big moment.

She watched as Dumbledore stood and approached Sirius and his mysterious box. Very carefully, he opened it, and the contents admitted a very loud squeak.

"A real rat, Albus?" Fudge asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course, Cornelius," He replied, as the rat continued to squeak. "What is it saying, Professor Star...er Black?"

"He's saying 'Goddamn you Sirius Black!" Angie replied. "Naturally."

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied. He pointed his wand at the box and muttered a few words. A burst of light shot from it. (A/N 'it' being the wand, not the box.)

Before Angie could blink, Peter Pettigrew was standing there, his feet still in the box. Whispers spread around the Hall like wildfire. Everyone was absolutely stunned.

"It was him!" Pettigrew shrieked, pointing at Sirius. It was all he managed to squeak before Snape administered the veritaserum.

"What is your name?" Josh asked. Amazingly he had recovered enough from the recent revelations to question Pettigrew.

"Peter Patrick Pettigrew," He said in a monotonous voice. While everyone else was shocked, Angie just sighed; she had heard all this before.

She leaned her head back and studied the ceiling, watching the clouds loll by. She had always found this ceiling particularly interesting. She watched the cloud shapes and Peter's monotonous voice put her to sleep...

It was amazing really, that, after all that had happened, after all the stress of the trial, when the star witness, the one everyone is really interested in, takes the stand, Angie manages to slip in and out of consciousness.

Toward the end she decided to pay a little more attention. Josh was now questioning Sirius and it seemed his tone had changed. It was slightly more awed and a lot less accusatory. The whole hall was silent and somber. The world was realizing what gross injustice had occurred.

Sirius Black was an innocent man.

In Sirius' heartfelt testimony he clearly and concisely explained all the events discussed in the trial. He thanked every person who supported him and asked that they not be punished for aiding him. He apologized to Kirsten and brought her to tears, saying that he was sorry he hadn't been there for most of her life. He apologized to Harry in much the same fashion and when he was done he had said his bit, made his peace with the world, the government and Lily and James.

Silence.

Very slowly Fudge reached for his gavel and cleared his throat. When he started to speak he was rather hoarse. "Mr. Black, it appears the world has done you wrong..." he started to explain. His voice was soft and sincere but the Hall was so quiet he was easily heard.

The moment had come for Fudge, with the executive and judicial powers vested in him to declare Sirius Black innocent and free of charge.

And then, quite shockingly, Elizabeth Hoffenmeijer, head of the IAA, leapt to her feet. With a crazed gleam to her eye, she whipped out her wand and screamed "NO!!!! AVADA KEDAVRA!!!"

A flash of green light blinded the Angie and she felt her blood freeze.

"SIRIUS!!"