Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers

by Felinity

Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is not as simple as he would have liked. Instead of just worrying about his O.W.L.s (and maybe girls) as normal teenagers do, war has begun in the magical community, and a strange, disembodied being haunts Harry's steps...

11. Chapter Eleven: The Trial

Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers 

Disclaimer: Anybody here who doesn't believe that Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling? No? Good. I would hate to send my readers to St. Mungo's…..

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Chapter 11 The Trial

(Dedicated to Jordan, who has written one of the nicest reviews I have ever received, to shdurrani (Alex) who was my 500th reviewer, and last but not least to Old Fawkes, who has so faithfully stayed with me during the whole story and is waiting desperately for an update on Unicorn Child!!! ^_~ You guys rock!!!!!)

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Only seconds after the clock had effectively silenced the whole court room, the doors flew open once more and eighteen wizards and witches stepped through. All of them, except one, were wearing rich, silver robes and cloaks.

The other person, a man who had to be in his mid-forties, was wearing a purely golden robe with a blue cloak. Harry realized that he had to be the judge.

The seventeen silver-robed witches and wizards sat down on the jury's bench, and as soon as they were all seated, a table appeared in front of them.

The judge sat down in the throne-like chair in the front of the room and shuffled the papers on his table. Immediately, writing appeared above his head, saying

"Judge Veritus".

Everyone was watching him in dead-silence.

After thirty tension-filled seconds, the man looked up, displaying smooth, black hair and rather handsome features.

He let his sharp, crystal blue eyes sweep over the court room once and nodded, seemingly to himself.

"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen," he began in a smooth, clear voice, apparently unfazed by the great number of his listeners. "Welcome to the 15682nd case of this court, Sirius Black versus Peter Pettigrew."

He paused shortly, then tapped his wand against his table. A resounding bang echoed through the room, making most of its occupants flinch.

"Bring in the primary accused, Peter Pettigrew!"

The doors opened and in stepped two Aurors. Between them was one very pale looking Peter Pettigrew. They steered him to the left benches and sat down, Pettigrew firmly sandwiched between the Aurors. Behind them, Nethan Nott and ten other people Harry didn't know entered the room, also sitting in the benches on the left side.

"Jury, please read the charges."

A man of the jury stood up, stepped around the table in front of him and stood next to the judge.

"Charges against Peter Pettigrew:

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of being a Deatheater.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of betraying Lily and James Potter, who entrusted their lives to him by making him their Secret Keeper, to V-Voldemort, which led to their deaths on October 31st, 1981.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of murdering twelve muggles on November 2nd, 1981.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of framing an innocent man, namely Sirius Black, for his crimes, which led to Sirius Black's twelve year long imprisonment in the fortress of Azkaban.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of being an unregistered Animagus.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of helping V-Voldemort," (the man stumbled over the feared name for the second time. Harry and Hermione had to stifle laughter as the whole courtroom- save for the people sitting on their own bank and the judge- flinched simultaneously.) "come back to life on June 24th, 1995, and of helping him since.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of the attempted murder of one Harry James Potter on July 27th, 1995.

"Peter Pettigrew is accused of the use of at least one of the Unforgivable Curses on one Harry James Potter on July 27th, 1995.

"That is all."

The wizard stepped back and resumed his seat, while a witch at the other side of the bench rose gracefully and stepped up to the judge.

"Charges against Sirius Orion Black:

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of being a Deatheater.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of betraying Lily and James Potter, who entrusted their lives to him by making him their Secret Keeper, to V-Voldemort, which led to their deaths on October 31st, 1981.

"Sirius Orion Black was accused of murdering Peter Pettigrew. Due to the fact that Mr. Pettigrew is, obviously, alive, we are willing to drop this charge."

The people in the courtroom chuckled nervously.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of murdering twelve muggles on November 2nd, 1981.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of being an unregistered Animagus.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of breaking into Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on February 24th, 1994, with the intention of harming his godson, one Harry James Potter.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of deliberately hurting a minor, more specifically one Ronald Arthur Weasley, on June 6th, 1994.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of stealing a potentially dangerous creature, namely a hippogriff, on June 6th, 1994.

"Sirius Orion Black is accused of helping V-Voldemort  (courtroom: flinch) come back to life on June 24th, 1995,  and of helping him since.

"This is all."

The woman stepped back and reclaimed her seat.

"May this court bring clarity on the issues this trial addresses," the judge said. "Merlin help us so that we can bring justice to the accused. Today is July 30th, 1995. It is exactly seven minutes past nine AM. Witnesses, accused, judge and jury are present. This court is now in session."

Again, he tapped his wand against the table, making the whole courtroom flinch again.

"Mr. Pettigrew, as the primary accused, you shall be questioned first. Mr. Nott, if you would."

Pettigrew was dragged out of the bench by the two Aurors, while Nott stepped up beside him.

"Administer the Veritaserum."

Snape stepped forward from the shadows with a vial of clear liquid in his hand.

The Aurors held Pettigrew's head still while Snape forced his mouth open and poured three drops of Veritaserum down the Animagus' throat. Then, with a nod to the judge, he went back a chair in the back of the room Harry hadn't noticed before.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," the judge said. "Mr. Nott, you may now question your client."

Nott, a balding man in his late thirties, stepped forward.

"Thank you, your honour. Mr. Pettigrew. When you were still at school, were you friends with James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin? Describe your relationship."

The questioning went on like this for a while. Pettigrew described his relationship with the other Marauders as a wonderful, firm friendship, always mentioning his support of the light side. It made Harry feel sick. Nott, Harry had to admit, was doing this very well. In the end of the questioning, there probably wasn't a person in the audience who believed Sirius to be innocent, judging by the glares being sent his way. Grudgingly, Harry also admitted that Pettigrew was answering the questions skilfully, taking full advantage of the open-ended questions Nott was asking. It was the perfect performance. Harry was grateful when Nott finally said,

"Thank you, Mr. Pettigrew. Your honour, no further questions."

Then he turned to address the courtroom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said with a (in Harry's opinion) sickeningly sweet smile, "I think we have all seen how wonderful Mr. Pettigrew's relationship to his friends was. I am sure that you will all agree with me that there is simply no way that Peter would have betrayed his close friends James and Lily Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"We have all seen what a kind, caring person Peter is, how deeply wounded he still is by his friends' demise….. and accusing him of being in any way associated with He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken, is simply ridiculous.

"I believe firmly in my client's innocence and I intent to prove it today, to you, here, in this trial. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen."

A raging applause rang through the courtroom, people were cheering for Nott and Pettigrew. Harry was feeling so sick that he thought he would throw up any minute. Hermione seemed to realise this and put a calming hand on to Harry's arm, even though she looked just as nauseated as Harry himself.

It took three loud bangs from judge Veritus's wand to quiet everyone down.

"May I remind the audience," he said sharply, "That this trial is not over. We have merely heard Mr. Nott's questioning of the primary accused. If the audience does not instantly calm down, I will have no choice but to evict this room!"

Instantly, the people were silent. The judge glared at them once more.

"Thank you. Now, Professor Dumbledore, you may question the accused."

Dumbledore rose and calmly stepped up next to Pettigrew.

"Thank you, your honour," he said smoothly.

"Mr. Pettigrew," the headmaster said, "Are you a Deatheater?"

The man in the chair quivered for a bit. But there was no way for him to avoid answering such a direct questioning, Harry realized with satisfaction.

"Yes," Pettigrew answered.

Gasps rang out throughout the room. The judge quieted them with a glare that reminded Harry a lot of Professor Snape.

"Were you the Potters' Secret Keeper fourteen years ago?"

"Yes."

More gasps.

"Did you betray the Potters to Voldemort?"

"Yes. I did."

"What were your reasons for joining Lord Voldemort?"

Pettigrew's face twitched.

"I hated my friends. I was bitter, angry, jealous….."

And Pettigrew proceeded to tell them about everything he had told Harry two days before.

In the end, the audience was so angry with Pettigrew that some of them tried to launch themselves at the man. They had to be restrained by the ministry's hit wizards. Harry noticed with satisfaction that even the jury was glaring at Pettigrew by now. He and Hermione shared a smile.

"Mr. Pettigrew, are you responsible for the death of the twelve muggles on November 2nd, 1981?"

"Yes," the man in the chair admitted tonelessly.

"Tell us what happened." Dumbledore said calmly.

"I ran away," Pettigrew said in a monotone. "After I realized that my Master was dead, dead at the hands of Harry Potter, I ran. I knew that Sirius would come after me once he realized the truth."                                                                                                                                                              

"The truth?"

"That I had betrayed Lily and James," Pettigrew clarified. "It was no use, however. Black tracked me down. He confronted me in a street full of muggles. He had his wand out. I had my wand behind my back. Black didn't know that. He was about to say something, but I was faster. I yelled for everyone to hear that he had betrayed Lily and James. He was too stunned to answer. I blew up the street with my wand behind my back. I cut off my finger so that everyone would think I had been ripped to pieces. I transformed into a rat. I ran away into the gutter."

"Thank you Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore said. "So you admit to being an unregistered Animagus?"

"Yes," said Pettigrew. "I am. We all were. James was a stag, Sirius is a dog, I am a rat."

This drew some chuckles and sneers from the audience.

"We did it for Remus," Pettigrew explained, "Because he is a werewolf. Werewolfs don't hurt animals. We wanted to be with him during his transformations."

Much to Harry's surprise, no one in the audience seemed to be in the least surprised that Remus was a werewolf. Harry realized that it must have been in the newspaper article that morning.

"And you admit that you framed Sirius, thus making him endure a twelve year long imprisonment in Azkaban?"

"Yes," Pettigrew said tonelessly. "And I enjoyed it."

This time, it took about three minutes to calm the audience down. Harry noticed with amusement that the judge wasn't even threatening to evict the courtroom.

"Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore spoke up again when it was silent. "Did you help Voldemort come back on the evening of June 24th, five weeks ago?"

"Yes," Pettigrew said.

"Tell us what happened," said Dumbledore.

And Pettigrew launched into an explanation of the happenings at the graveyard. He even explained who had turned the goblet into a portkey.

After his statement, all hell broke loose. People were panicking or in hysterics, it took at least ten minutes to calm them down. Harry was glad for the time, it gave him a chance to get his emotions back under control. Hermione kept hugging him, telling him how sorry she was and how brave he was….. In the end, it took Harry's and Minerva's combined efforts to placate the distraught girl.

Dumbledore resumed his questioning shortly after.

"Tell me, Mr. Pettigrew, what happened three days ago after Harry spotted you in my office."

Pettigrew explained everything, about the chase and the escapade afterwards. Harry was delighted when Pettigrew not once mentioned that Harry was an Animagus, too. Harry wondered at that. Pettigrew could have easily got him into trouble by telling everyone. Maybe he would be able to keep that fact secret.

The audience gasped and stared in awe at Harry when Pettigrew described how he had survived the killing curse- again.

Harry was glad when that part of the questioning was over.

"Thank you, Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore said, a strange light glinting in his eyes. "No further questions, Your Honour."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," the judge said with a smile. Harry got the distinct impression that he and Dumbledore were friends. 

"Why didn't Pettigrew tell everyone about the incident in your sixth year? When Sirius sent Snape after you in your werewolf form? That would get Sirius into trouble for sure!" whispered Harry to Remus.

"He doesn't know," Remus replied just as quietly. "Only Dumbledore, Severus, myself, Sirius and James knew. We never told anyone, not even Peter."

"What about third year, though, in the Shrieking Shack?" whispered Harry. "He should have heard it then!"

Remus looked thoughtful for a minute.

"He should have," he agreed. "Maybe he was just too preoccupied with trying to find a way out of his predicament."

Harry nodded and turned his attention back to the proceedings.

"Take the accused back to his seat. Don't administer the antidote yet. The jury might want to question him later. Bring forth the secondary accused, Sirius Black."

The two Aurors led Pettigrew back to his seat as Nott sat down. Sirius stood up and walked to the seat on the right side. Harry noticed that even though he was pale, he looked determined.

"Administer the Veritaserum."

Snape came forward again with another vial full of clear liquid. Sirius eyed it warily for a second, then opened his mouth. Snape poured three drops into it and then stepped back.

"Professor Dumbledore, you may now question the accused."

Professor Dumbledore stepped up next to Sirius' chair.

"Mr. Black, are you a Deatheater?"

"No," Sirius answered in a monotone.

Quiet whispers broke out in the audience, more glares were being sent Pettigrew's way.

"Were you Lily and James Potter's secret keeper?"

"No. I was originally supposed to be, but I thought that it was too obvious. A week before the charm was initiated, I convinced Lily and James to switch secret keepers. Pettigrew was to be their secret keeper, while I would act as the target. We told nobody about the change in our plans. It was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Tell us what happened on the evening of October 31st, 1981, and in the following days."

Sirius shuddered slightly before answering. Hermione's grip on Harry's arm had tightened almost painfully.

"I was at home," Sirius' monotone voice started. "It was exactly one week after the Fidelius Charm had been initiated. I had a bad feeling somewhere. A feeling that something had gone wrong, that I had missed something…..

"I decided to check up on Peter. I thought that maybe the Death Eaters had captured him….. I took my flying motorbike and flew to Peter's flat. It took me about twenty minutes. When I got there, nobody answered the door. I was frantic. I broke down the door by force. Peter was not inside. The flat was empty. I could tell that nobody had lived in there for a while.

"I panicked. At this moment, I realized the truth. Peter had betrayed us. He had never returned home after the Fidelius Charm was performed. He was the Deatheater. He was the spy in the Order of the Phoenix. He was going to sell Lily and James and little Harry to Voldemort."

The courtroom flinched.

"I jumped on to my bike and flew to Godric's Hollow. I had never flown so fast in my life before. It was raining and I almost crashed a few times, but I didn't care. I had to get to my friends, had to make sure that they were alright, had to warn them…..

"But I failed. I failed James, Lily and Harry. When I got to Godric's Hollow, the house was a smouldering ruin. I ran inside. I found James in the entrance hall. He was dead, probably by Avada Kedavra. I went on, almost in a trance. Lily was in the nursery, in front of Harry's bed. She was dead as well.

"I broke down. I didn't move for a while, until I heard a noise from the other side of the room. It was Harry. Harry was alive. He had this huge, bleeding gash on his forehead and he was covered in dust and dirt, but he was alive.

"I wanted to take him with me, but Hagrid hindered me. He said that he was on orders from Dumbledore to take Harry to his relatives, the Dursleys. I pleaded with him to give Harry to me. I wanted to take care of him, he was my godson, I had promised Lily and James…..

"But Hagrid refused. I gave up. I was in no condition to fight. I realized then and there what a big mistake it had been to tell nobody about our switch of secret keepers. I realized that by the next day, everyone would think that I had betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. I realized that I had to flee, unless I wanted to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit.

"I gave Hagrid my bike. I wouldn't need it anymore, it was too conspicuous. I walked until I had passed the apparation wards and apparated away to my house. The place was already swarming with Aurors. I could not get in.

"It was then that the unfairness of the situation hit me. They suspected me when the real traitor was Pettigrew. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been before. I realized that I had to find Peter quickly. I had to track him down and kill him, or maybe give him to the ministry for questioning first.

"I had to avenge Lily and James' deaths. So I left my house and looked for Peter. I used my Animagus form most of the time, in hopes that I would be able to smell him. It was difficult. Aurors were looking for me everywhere, there were more than a few close calls.

"After two days, I finally managed to track Peter down and cornered him in a street full of muggles.  I did it because I thought that he wouldn't do anything there, I was wrong.

"Before I could do anything but point my wand at him, he screamed for the whole street to hear how I had betrayed Lily and James. He must have had his wand behind his back, but in my shock and anger I didn't notice. Pettigrew blew up half the street. He grinned at me, pulled out a knife, cut off his finger and transformed into a rat. I couldn't see him after that.

"I just stood there, with my wand still raised, pointing it at a street full with dead or screaming muggles…..

"And I suddenly realized what this must look like to everyone else. They would think I had killed those muggles. Everyone in the street would be able to confirm that I had betrayed Lily and James. My world was collapsing around me. Lily and James, dead. Little Harry, with his horrible muggle relatives. Peter, a traitor. Remus, thinking that I was the traitor…..

"I didn't know what to do. I realized that I would be thrown into Azkaban. Nobody would believe in my innocence. Little, stupid Peter Pettigrew had out-smarted the whole wizarding world.

"And so I laughed. I laughed because the only other option I had would have been to cry, and I wasn't sure if I could stop once I started. Shortly after that, Fudge and his Aurors arrived. They took me to Azkaban without a trial."

By that time, there were hardly any dry eyes in the courtroom. Harry caught Hermione discreetly wiping her eyes, and even his strict godmother was blowing her nose.

Sirius on the other hand was just sitting on the chair, eyes unfocused under the influence of Veritaserum.

"Mr. Black, how and why did you escape Azkaban?"

Sirius launched into the explanation he had given Harry, Ron and Hermione a year before. Harry noticed that he used almost the same wording. Maybe Sirius had planned his speech in the shrieking shack out beforehand? Maybe he had realized that he wouldn't have much time.

Of course, by the time Sirius was finished, there was nobody in the room who believed in Pettigrew's innocence. Harry noticed Nott shifting nervously and smirked.

"Mr. Black, why did you break into Gryffindor Tower on February 24th, 1994?"

"I was going to catch the rat to protect my godson Harry. I took a knife with me so I would have a way to defend myself. I had the passwords of the whole week. A cat from the castle I knew had stolen them from a Gryffindor boy for me. The portrait, some strange knight called Sir Cadogan, let me through. I entered the common room. Everyone was asleep. I quickly found my way upstairs into the third year boy's dormitory.

"I transformed into Padfoot. I could smell the rat. I de-transformed and walked up to the bed. I knew the rat was sleeping there. Suddenly, all the rage came back and I slashed the bed hangings. Unfortunately, the boy sleeping there- Ron Weasley- woke up and saw me. He stared at me for a second, then he yelled.

"I knew that I had to go. The professors would be there in a short while. I transformed into my Animagus form and ran down the stairs. I opened a secret passage to get out of the common room and out of the castle. I had failed."

"Padfoot is your Animagus form?" Dumbledore questioned to clear things up for the jury.

A smile actually crossed Sirius' face.

"Yes," he said. "I am a dog, Padfoot. Remus is a wolf, Moony. James was a stag, Prongs. And Pettigrew is a rat. Wormtail." Sirius managed to make the name sound like an insult- which it actually was, come to think of it.

"Mr. Black, please tell us what happened on June 6th, 1994."

Sirius told them about the night in the shrieking shack.

He left out nothing, even told that he had accidentally broken Ron's leg. Even though his voice was monotone due to the potion, it was clear to everyone that Sirius was terribly sorry for that. Harry had to hide a grin as he saw most of the witches in the jury smiling sweetly and adoringly at his godfather. Harry had never really thought about it, but realized that Sirius was very handsome.

(A/N: Don't worry! No slash! Sirius is practically Harry's father in this story!)

Harry poked Hermione and pointed discreetly at the jury. Hermione muffled her giggles with the sleeve of her robe.

"…..and suddenly, Harry and Hermione appeared in front of the window riding a flying hippogriff. The managed to get the window open and told me to climb on to the hippogriff's back with them. We flew up to the north tower where Harry and Hermione went back into the castle, and then I flew off."

Harry saw the jury mumbling to each other and throwing calculating looks Harry's way. They were undoubtedly wondering where he and Hermione had got the hippogriff. Harry squirmed in his seat. He was not looking forward to his questioning.

"Mr. Black. Were you in any way involved in Voldemort's resurrection five weeks ago?"

"No."

"Thank you Mr. Black. Your Honour, no further questions."

The judge nodded and turned towards Nott.

"Mr. Nott, you may now question the secondary accused."

Nott stood up and strode towards Sirius' chair. There was a strange gleam in his eyes that told Harry that he had a card up his sleeve.

"Mr. Black," he said mockingly, "It has come to my attention that you attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower before February 24th, 1994, more precisely on Halloween the year before, destroying a valuable portrait in the process. Is this true?"

"Yes," Sirius answered, sounding very slightly reluctant. "The Fat Lady that is guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. I tried to explain everything to her….. that it was an emergency. I had deliberately chosen a time where I knew that no students would be in the tower. They were still at the feast. The Fat Lady wouldn't let me through, and after a while I just lost it and started to slash up the portrait."

Indignant whispers broke out in the audience, people were beginning to doubt Sirius again. Harry bit his lip so hard that it started to bleed.

"That is hardly the behaviour or an innocent man, Mr. Black."

"It is the behaviour of a man who knew that his godson was in immediate danger from the man who had also killed his parents."

"Mr. Pettigrew spent years in Mr. Potter's company. He could have harmed the boy at any time, yet he didn't. What made you think that he would want to at that very moment?"

"Nothing in particular," Sirius admitted. "But I knew that the longer I waited, the more probable it was that Peter would act. There was already heightened dark activity in Europe, even though the ministry was trying to hush it up. People disappearing and reappearing weeks later with no idea where they had been. I knew that Voldemort was slowly returning. I knew that he was finally regaining his strength. If Peter realized that as well, he would not hesitate to hurt Harry so that he could regain his master's trust.

"Peter never did anything without seeing what was in it for himself. He was biding his time, waiting for the right moment, and as soon as there were any reports of dark activity in Britain he would strike- to give Voldemort what he desires most, the last of the Potter line."

Nott was clearly trying to regain his wits.

"N-nonetheless, the fact remains that you damaged a valuable portrait."

Harry smirked again. Nott was grasping at straws.

"Yes," said Sirius simply, "And I am sorry about that. But I was rather desperate. I knew that this would probably be my last chance to enter the castle in a while, and I had to act quickly."

"Yes." Nott said, sounding helpless. "I'm sure. Eh-"

He shuffled the papers in his hand for a while, skimming over them frantically. Harry and Hermione were grinning broadly and Harry saw that the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had magnified. The man's beard was twitching suspiciously.

"Ah, yes," Nott said after a few seconds, sounding relieved. "The hippogriff. We know now that you stole it-"

"Objection," Dumbledore said suddenly, "The circumstances regarding Buckbeak the hippogriff have not yet been cleared. Mr. Nott is insinuating that my client stole the hippogriff, when Mr. Black has said nothing of the sort."

"Sustained," the judge said, regarding Nott coolly. "Mr. Nott, please stick to the facts."

"Forgive me, Your Honour," Nott said through clenched teeth. "Mr. Black, how exactly did the hippogriff come into your possession?"

Sirius almost smiled under the Veritaserum.

"I don't know how exactly," he said in a monotone, "As I said, Harry and Hermione showed up in front of my window with Buckbeak. I had nothing to do with that. I suggest that you ask Harry later."

Nott looked sour and confused. Harry realized that Dumbledore's intervening had brought him out of his concept.

"Very well, Mr. Black," he snapped, "But you do admit that you are an unregistered Animagus."

"Yes," said Sirius.

Nott waited for a few seconds, then said with exaggerated patience, "Would you please explain why, when and how you committed such a serious crime?"

"Certainly," Sirius said. Harry grinned when he realized that this was driving Nott mad. "We did it for Remus. James and I could not help noticing that Remus disappeared regularly once a month. In our first year, we believed his excuses that his mother was sick….. but in second year, we were getting suspicious.

"We followed Remus one night when he was being led onto the grounds by Madam Pomfrey. We slipped into the tunnel of the Whomping Willow after she had left and caught a glimpse of Remus transforming at the end of the corridor.

"Luckily, we were wearing James' invisibility cloak and got away unharmed. We confronted Remus about this the next day. He had been terrified of letting us know the truth because he feared that we might abandon him.

"Of course, we did not. We helped Remus cover for his absences over the years. Then, shortly before Christmas break in second year, Professor McGonagall taught us about Animagi. James thought he remembered reading somewhere that Werewolfs did not harm other animals.

"We did extensive research in the library without telling Remus and found that werewolfs did indeed not harm animals. It was then that we decided to become Animagi. We let Peter in on the plan but did not tell Remus about it. We didn't want him to be disappointed if it didn't work, and he wouldn't have let us break so many rules anyway.

"It was difficult hiding something of that magnitude from one of our best friends, but we managed, Remus didn't suspect a thing. It took us three years to become Animagi, but in our fifth year we finally managed. It was brilliant."

"If you say so," Nott said sourly. he had not missed the witches in the audience gushing about Sirius' loyalty and kind-heartedness.

"Mr. Black. Do you admit to hurting a minor, Ronald Weasley, on June 6th, 1994?"

"Yes," Sirius said. "I already admitted to that. I also stated how very sorry I am about this particular incident. It was an accident."

"Yes," Nott said sourly. "But you still admit that-"

"Objection," Dumbledore intervened coolly, "This issue has already been addressed sufficiently in my questioning of Mr. Black. He has stated clearly that, while this unfortunate accident did indeed occur, he is very sorry about it. Mr. Nott is harassing my client and wasting this fine court's time."

"Sustained," the judge said, giving Nott another of his cold glances. "Mr. Nott, please refrain from repeating and lingering on this particular charge."

"Very well, Your Honour," Nott hissed, teeth gritted and hands balled to fists. "No further questions."

"Very well," the judge said as well, his features stony. Harry could have sworn that his eyes twinkled in amusement for a second.

"Mr. Black, you may return to your seat. Don't administer the antidote yet. The jury might want to question you later."

Sirius nodded and returned to his seat next to Harry. Harry smiled at him, and Sirius smiled back, though it seemed slightly distant to Harry. He was obviously still under the potion's influence.

"Mr. Nott," the judge interrupted Harry's musings, "You may now call your first witness."

One of the people Harry didn't know stepped forward. Apparently, her name was Celestina Thornton, and she had been in his parents' year at school. Celestina did not take any truth potion. Her questioning was much like Pettigrew's, describing the marauders' friendship as a wonderful one, and occasionally badmouthing Sirius. Apparently, Celestina had been in Slytherin and had been subject to many of Sirius' more malicious, yet harmless, pranks.

Harry was again roused from his thoughts when Nott proclaimed that he had no further questions. Dumbledore was then allowed to question the witness- which he did, and masterfully. He managed to trap the woman in her own statements and make her contradict herself several times in confusion so many times that after he was done, nobody believed in her statement anymore.

Nott was fuming.

Harry almost felt pity for him.

Almost.

"Professor Dumbledore," the judge said, "You may now call your first witness."

Dumbledore nodded to Remus with a friendly smile. Remus looked calm and composed, but in his eyes Harry could see the nervousness. He bit his lip when he realized that he would be questioned right after Nott's next witness.

Remus sat down in the chair.

"You may now question the witness, Professor Dumbledore-"

"Objection!" Nott cried.

Gasps were heard all around the court room. Someone interrupting the judge was unheard of.

"Yes, Mr. Nott?" Judge Veritus inquired frostily.

"Mr. Lupin here is a werewolf! A dark creature! We can't trust his statement unless he takes Veritaserum!"

The judge merely raised an eyebrow coolly.

"Mr. Nott," he said slowly, as if talking to a very, very stupid small child. "I am well aware of Mr. Lupin's lycanthropy, as is everyone else in this room, as the issue has been addressed quite a few times in this trial. I am sure that you, Mr. Nott, after seven years of Hogwarts school training, must know that silver, which is an important part of the Veritaserum, is deadly to werewolves?"

Nott squirmed in his seat as the audience howled with laughter.

"Nonetheless," he said quickly, "Unless Mr. Lupin takes some kind of truth serum, we, the defence, won't accept his statement."

Harry was shaking with silent fury. Remus on the other hand, still sitting in the chair, was looking calm and composed.

"Your Honour," Remus said, "Might I suggest a simple truth spell? It is as binding as Veritaserum to dark creatures such as myself-" a small amount of sarcasm entered Remus' voice- "as I am sure Mr. Nott is aware of."

The judge studied Remus for a few seconds, then nodded his head.

"Very well," he said, "Is there anyone in this court room authorised by the ministry of magic to cast truth spells on witnesses in a trial?"

A man on the right hand side of the room stood up.

"I am," he said firmly- though his voice was strangely wheezy-, stepping down from his seat and up to the judge's table. "My name is Elphias Doge and I work for the International Magical Office of Law."

Judge Veritus performed a simple authorisation spell on Doge, whose name Harry recognised as one of the Order Council members he had not yet met.

"Everything seems to be in order, Mr. Doge," the judge said. "Please cast the spell on Mr. Lupin over there so that we can finally start the questioning. I never want to hear this issue addressed again."

Elphias Doge stepped over to Remus, and, giving the man a smile, cast the spell. Immediately, Remus's eyes glazed over. Elphias pocketed his wand and went back to his seat calmly.

"You may now question Mr. Lupin, Professor Dumbledore."

Personally, Harry thought that the judge sounded like he was getting a headache. This suspicion was only strengthened  when Veritus reached for a glass of water on his table and took a long sip.

Meanwhile, the headmaster had stepped forward.

"Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said formally, "All of us here, in this courtroom, know that you are a werewolf. How has this development affected your life? Please tell us everything, including what happened on Halloween, 1981, up to now."

Remus told everybody about how he had been bitten and the complications afterwards. How nobody had been sure if he would live. How his frantic parents had travelled all over the world with him, trying desperately to find a cure. How they had given up when he was eight, realizing that there really was no cure.

How the other children in his village had shunned Remus when they found out about his abnormality. How he and his parents had had to move around almost constantly.

How his parents had payed famous potions masters to look for a cure for lycanthropy, or at least something to ease Remus's transformations.

How they had written to Hogwarts's headmaster Dippet and asked for permission for Remus to attend the school when no Hogwarts letter had arrived for him, and how they had been thwarted. How crushed Remus had been when he had found out that he would never be allowed to learn magic. There was even a law against it.

How his parents had taken this issue to court and fought for their son's rights. How the ministry had refused to give in and grant Remus, and all other werewolfs,  permission to study magic. How Dumbledore had become headmaster of Hogwarts and had finally allowed Remus to come to Hogwarts, even though he was already twelve.

How happy Remus had been when he had finally found friends at Hogwarts- James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. How scared he had been that they would push him away as soon as they discovered his secret. How he had had to lie to them every month, and how he had hated it.

How his friends had become Animagi for him, Remus Lupin, and how happy he had been. How he had felt when he had found out what they had done for him. How they had explored the Hogwarts grounds every full moon, their adventures in the forbidden forest. How they had cast a brotherly bonding spell in their sixth year as a sign of their friendship to one another.

How sad he had been to finish Hogwarts, and how wonderfully everything had worked out for him at the beginning. How he had managed to become an Auror in spite of being a werewolf…..

There wasn't a dry eye in the court room after Remus had finished his tale.  

"I never thought that this friendship, this wonderful bond we had, would ever be broken," Remus concluded his tale sadly. "I thought we would be together forever, me, James and Lily, Sirius, Peter, and of course little Harry. Together, we could face everything. Nothing was too big or dangerous for us, because we were friends. When my parents died, my friends helped me.

"And then, more than a year after Harry had been born, the terrible news hit us that Voldemort was after James, Lily and Harry. We realized that, as terrible as it was, one of the three of us, Peter, Sirius and me, was the traitor.

"Everything went downhill from there. Suspicion destroyed our friendship. We didn't trust each other anymore, not really. Sirius suspected me of being the traitor because I was a werewolf, and everyone knew that Voldemort had extended the hand of friendship to them. Of course, I had declined Voldemort's offer.

"I, on the other hand, am sorry to say that I suspected Sirius. The sole reason for that was that I never thought that poor, snivelling little Peter would ever do something as terrible as joining the dark lord. I thought that it had to be a powerful wizard, and Sirius was a powerful wizard.

"Sirius managed to convince James that I had to be the traitor, and they decided to let Sirius be their secret keeper. I never knew about the change of plans until that night in the Shrieking Shack a year ago.

"Lily, bless her, was the only one who suspected Peter. She owled me mere minutes  before- before they died with a letter for Harry. I still have it, and I am to give it to him on his fifteenth birthday, which happens to be tomorrow. She wrote in her letter to me that she had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to them, something terrible. She wrote that she thought they were going to die, but had a feeling that Harry would survive.

"I panicked after reading her letter and immediately left my house. I ran to the nearest Floo Powder Station- there were Anti-Apparation wards in the area where I lived- and Flooed to Sirius's house. I searched the whole manor, losing precious time in the process, but Sirius was not home. I must have arrived mere minutes after he left.

"Panicking even more, I Flooed over to Peter's flat and searched it frantically. Someone had been there shortly before me, I could tell, but the flat was deserted. I tried to Floo over to Godric's Hollow, but I couldn't. I had forgotten about the wards. I was knocked out for several minutes after that, then I ran to pass the apparation wards around Peter's flat and apparated to Lily and James' house. It's a miracle that I didn't splinch myself, given the state I was in.

"When I arrived, the ruin was swarming with Aurors and Obliviators who were trying to keep the muggles away. Godric's Hollow, my best friends' house, was in shambles. I arrived just in time to see someone cover up Lily and James's bodies and carry them away. It was the last time I ever saw them. I was heartbroken after that and in a daze.

"Professor Dumbledore found me there, staring at the remnants of the place I had loved so much, long after the reporters, Aurors and Obliviators had left. He took me to Hogwarts with him. He told me about Harry, how Harry had survived. I wasn't allowed to take him in because of my lycanthropy. A few days later, I also found out about Peter's and Sirius's fate.

"Professor Dumbledore offered me the post of Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, but I declined. I couldn't face those happy people, couldn't face the students….. was afraid that I might hurt them.

"My life was destroyed. I quit my job as an Auror and left the magical world for a few months. I travelled around the world, using the money my parents had left me and the money I had received as an Auror. It helped me come to terms with what had happened. Two of my closest friends were dead, their son living with hateful muggles. One of my remaining two friends was dead as well, killed by the other, who was now worse than dead in Azkaban.

"After I had returned to the wizarding world, I kept moving around. I sold my house because it reminded me too much of Lily and James. I took jobs here and there, never staying in one place for more than half a year, afraid that someone would figure my secret out. Until last year, of course. Professor Dumbledore offered me the post of Defence against the Dark Arts teacher again, and after a fair amount of persuasion on his part, I took him up on the offer. I enjoyed teaching immensely, though I was terrified of hurting the children. I took precautions; Severus Snape brewed me the Wolfsbane Potion every month, which is a rather new development and allows me to keep my human mind during my transformations.

"My position at Hogwarts also gave me the chance to meet Harry, my best friends' son. I cannot describe what it was like, seeing him after so many years….."

Harry blushed and looked down as most of the people in the audience glanced at him.

"In the end of the year, the truth about me….. my lycanthropy….. er, got out, and I decided to leave Hogwarts. I could not bear the thought that these children I had taught for a whole year would now be disgusted by me….. or even scared."

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said, after it became clear that Remus wasn't saying anything else. "Please tell us about the night when you found out about Sirius's innocence."

Remus nodded slightly.

"I was in my office," he said. "I had just finished marking the last exams. It was the evening of the hippogriff Buckbeak's execution, and I had a feeling that Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger might want to go down to Hagrid's hut to visit their friend and comfort him- even though it was strictly forbidden to leave the castle at that time of the night."

The audience chuckled a bit, and Harry and Hermione blushed.

"It turned out that I was right. I used the Marauder's Map, a perfect map of Hogwarts that even shows everyone who is on the grounds and in the castle- Sirius, James, Peter and I made it when we were still at school."

Remus waited for the whispers to die down.

"The three of them left the castle and went down to Hagrid's hut. They stayed for a few minutes, then I noticed more people moving towards the hut: Macnair, Fudge and Dumbledore. Harry, Hermione and Ron left through the back door. But suddenly, they had another person with them. A person that rightfully should have been dead for twelve years- Peter Pettigrew.

"At first I thought that something was wrong with the map- but then, just as Harry, Ron and Hermione were coming closer to the Whomping Willow, Pettigrew escaped and was soon chased by not only the three children and Hermione's cat Crookshanks, but also by Sirius Black. I saw Ron Weasley catch up with Pettigrew, then both of them were pulled into the secret passage of the Whomping Willow by Black.

"I didn't stay in my office any longer, I ran towards the willow as quickly as I could. When I finally arrived at the Shrieking Shack, I heard Hermione yell for help from upstairs. I found Sirius lying on the floor and bleeding slightly, Harry standing over him with his wand, Ron lying on the bed looking pale and clutching his leg while trying desperately to hold on to his rat Scabbers, and Hermione off to the side panting heavily.

"I realized quickly that unless I disarmed Harry, Sirius would be hurt or dead in a matter of seconds- so I disarmed all of them."

Remus proceeded to tell everything about that night- when he had realized that Sirius had been innocent all along, their explanation to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

And then what had happened after that, how he had transformed, Sirius had had to hold him off, and how Peter had escaped again….. not that Remus, as a werewolf, had payed much attention to the little rat.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said, "Your Honour, no further questions."

The judge nodded.

"Mr. Nott, you may now question the witness."

Nott stepped forward pompously.

"Mr. Lupin," he sneered, "Have you ever hurt or killed anyone as a werewolf?"

Remus raised an eyebrow even under the truth spell.

"I hardly think that this is part of this trial, Mr. Nott," he said coolly, "But no. I haven't."

Harry noticed that Nott looked somewhat disappointed.

"What's he playing at?" Harry whispered to Hermione. "Is he only trying to dig up dirt on all of us?"

Hermione was frowning as well.

"I don't know, Harry," she said, looking as though that confession irked her greatly- which it probably did. "I'm not quite sure why Nott is defending Pettigrew at all. I mean, everyone knew that the truth would come out since Veritaserum would be administered- Nott is only embarrassing himself in front of the whole wizarding world here."

Harry frowned.

"He's a Deatheater, though," he said. "Nott, I mean. D'you think Voldemort told him to defend Pettigrew?"

"Why, though?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Maybe to make sure that Pettigrew didn't say too much? Or maybe Voldemort really wants Nott to dig up dirt on us. Maybe he's trying to destroy our plausibility? So that nobody believes in his return anymore?"

"His return has been officially acknowledged, though," said Hermione. "But yes, maybe he wants to inflict damage on us."

They turned their attention back to the trial.

"You said that you suspected Mr. Black of being the secret keeper," Nott was saying. From the deep frown on his face, Harry could tell that the questioning was not going well for him.

"Why would you have suspected Black if there wasn't any sign that he might have joined the dark side?"

Harry thought that Remus looked a little annoyed, even though he was still under the truth spell.

"I have told you before, Mr. Nott," he said, "I didn't think Peter capable of such a crime, purely because he was- is- such a weak wizard. Snivelling, little, innocent Peter Pettigrew, always looking for friends bigger than him to help him. I never thought he would be….. in the right mindset for joining Voldemort."

"But Mr. Black was?" Nott asked, sounding triumphant.

"No," Remus said quickly. "That's not what I said. Don't twist my words, Mr. Nott. I simply thought that Peter was too- well- dull, to change his mind and his loyalties. Going from one side to the other requires some deep thinking, I imagine. You need to question everything, searching for answers in depth, and when you come up with the answers you are looking for, you can change sides. I never thought Peter had enough brain to make such a big decision on his own- without any help from James, Sirius or myself.

"Sirius, on the other hand, was raised to be a dark wizard by his family and has always been smart- more than smart, really, he was probably one of the most brilliant students to ever visit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I thought that he, on the contrary to Pettigrew, was smart enough to think things through. And maybe he would even come to the conclusion that he wanted to change sides. He would also have been smart enough to hide this from us- something I didn't think little Peter would be able to do. This is the only reason I ever suspected Sirius. That, and the fact that he suspected me in return. Sirius has never given me a reason to doubt his loyalties."

Nott sneered.

"I'm sure there must have been some doubts, Mr. Lupin. One doesn't suspect their best friend so quickly."

"There were no reasons other than the ones I have already told you."

"But surely-"

"Objection," Dumbledore cut in coolly. "Mr. Nott is harassing my witness again. Mr. Lupin has stated the answer to his question clearly, and I see no reason to waste this fine court's time on this issue any longer."

"Sustained," the judge said, and Harry thought that, for just a second, sadistic glee shone in the judge's eyes. "Mr. Nott, please drop this line of questioning."

"Very well," Nott hissed though gritted teeth. "Your Honour, no further questions."

"Very well. You may now question your second witness, Nott."

Harry and Hermione grinned when they realized that the judge had left out the more respectful address 'Mr.'. Nott was really making a fool of himself.

Nott's second witness wasn't any better than his first one. He tried to make the jury believe that he had once seen the dark mark on Sirius's arm in their sixth year- in the end, it turned out that the person he had seen had been Severus Snape who had just then returned from one of his spying missions for Dumbledore.

The witness returned to his seat thoroughly humiliated and Nott received a strong warning from Judge Veritus about bringing untrustworthy witnesses to a trial.

"Professor Dumbledore," the judge said, "You may now question your next witness."

Harry jumped when he realized that the next witness was he himself.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore called, smiling at Harry. "Please come down here."

Harry bit his lip as the witches and wizards in the audience all turned to stare at him, craning their heads to get a good look at Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. Hermione squeezed his arm reassuringly. Harry left his seat and went down to his headmaster, his knees feeling wobbly and shaky. Dumbledore gave Harry a calming smile, but somehow, it didn't help much. Harry gulped as he sat down in the chair.

'Alright', he told himself. 'This won't be so difficult. All I have to do is tell the whole truth. Just the truth. Nothing big there.'

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore began. "Are you aware that Sirius Black is your godfather?"

"Yes," Harry said simply. 'No problems so far. Relax, Harry.'

"And do you believe in your godfather's innocence?"

"Yes," Harry said again, pleased that his voice sounded firm.

"How did you find out about Mr. Black's innocence?"

"That night in the Shrieking Shack," Harry said. He tried to block out all the people around him, focusing solely on Dumbledore. "It was the last day of exams and the day of Buckbeak's execution. We-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the judge said suddenly, "But the issue of the hippogriff Buckbeak's execution has been addressed quite a few times during this trial. Would you mind giving us the full story behind it, Mr. Potter?"

"No, not at all," Harry said quickly, thinking that maybe he could help Buckbeak this way. "I was there. It happened in our first Care of Magical Creatures lesson that year. Hagrid, who was our new teacher, had prepared our lesson on hippogriffs thoroughly, there were about fifteen of them. Before he let us into the paddock where they were held, he explained how we had to act around them. He specifically said not to insult them, and to always remain polite.

"One of our class, however, Draco Malfoy, apparently hadn't been listening. Everything went fine at first, I got along well with Buckbeak and he even let me ride on his back. Then, Malfoy snatched Buckbeak and insulted him- he called him a 'great, ugly brute'. Buckbeak got angry and snapped at Malfoy's arm. It was only a warning, we all could see that, but Malfoy's arm was bleeding quite a bit. Anyway, Malfoy wrote to his father and complained, and in the following trial, Buckbeak was sentenced to death."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," the judge said. "Please continue your questioning, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry.

"Please continue, Harry."

Harry nodded, trying to remember what he had last said.

"Uh, as I said, it was the day of Buckbeak's execution. We knew that we weren't allowed to leave the castle, but we really didn't care at the time. Hagrid is our friend, and we weren't just going to abandon him when he needed us."

Harry heard some of the witches in the audience sigh dreamily. He had to suppress a shudder.

"We went down there in my invisibility cloak and tried to comfort Hagrid as well as we could. He accidentally broke a milk jug, and Hermione went over to the cupboard to look for another….. and in it, she found Ron's rat, Scabbers, who later turned out to be Peter Pettigrew. Scabbers had vanished a few months before, we all thought that he had been eaten by Hermione's cat, but- he wasn't. Scabbers was acting oddly, though- he was struggling and scratching Ron and generally fighting to get away from us.

"Then, we heard the executioner approaching and quickly left through the back door under the invisibility cloak. We went as quickly and quietly as possible, but we were slowed down greatly by Scabbers who was still fighting with all his might. So when we heard the thump of an axe and Hagrid's voice, we all thought that Buckbeak was- that he had been- executed–"

Harry gulped, feeling nauseated at the memory.

"We were so shocked and frozen that Scabbers managed to get away. We all chased after him, and Ron finally got him- but then, Sirius, in his Animagus form, jumped out of the shadows and pulled Ron down into the tunnel below the Whomping willow. Ron's leg caught on a tree root on their way down, this is how he broke it.

"Hermione and I tried to get to Ron and the big dog, but the Whomping willow attacked us. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Crookshanks, that's Hermione's cat, darted forward and placed his paw on to a small knob on one of the willow's tree roots. The tree froze suddenly and we got into the secret passage and eventually managed to find Ron in the Shrieking Shack."

The rest of the story was explained quickly, Harry skipped most of it saying that it had been told before, and the jury seemed to accept that.

"What happened after you left the Whomping Willow, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry frowned in remembrance.

"We had just left the passageway when unfortunately the clouds moved away from the moon and Remus, that is Professor Lupin, started to transform. He hadn't taken his potion that night because he had been looking out for us. Sirius transformed into his Animagus form and wrestled with Professor Lupin. He eventually managed to chase him towards the forest. Unfortunately, Pettigrew used the time he had and managed to knock out Ron and Crookshanks who were in his way. He then transformed into a rat and ran away to the forest. Sirius came back eventually and immediately took off after Pettigrew.

"But then, we suddenly heard screams from the forest- Sirius's screams. And since it was suddenly very cold, we knew that the dementors had arrived and found Sirius. Hermione and I ran as quickly as we could, trying to get to Sirius. There must have been a hundred dementors on that clearing with him."

Harry paused for a few seconds, trying to shove the awful memories away. The audience was listening with bated breath.

"Professor Lupin had taught me how to cast the Patronus Charm that year," Harry continued quietly, ignoring the gasps that followed his statement. "Because the dementors affected me so strongly. I tried to cast the charm on the dementors, but there were so many….. I tried to get Hermione to help me, but she wasn't used to the charm and passed out. As did I, eventually, but before I did, I saw a figure on the other side of the lake cast the Patronus Charm- its Patronus chased away all the dementors, but then I lost consciousness. The figure looked an awful lot like- myself."

Well, no need to tell them everything.

Harry bit his lip, realizing that they were now getting to the part that could earn him and Hermione a lifetime in Azkaban. Involuntarily, he glanced over at his best friend. Hermione gave him a nervous smile, but nodded. Harry drew a deep breath and steeled himself.

"Before I get to the next part of the story, you should all know that Hermione was in possession of a Time-Turner that year. She was allowed to use it because she had taken so many electives that they didn't fit in into a normal student's schedule. She would go to one class, go back in time one hour, and go to another class.

"Alright, when I woke up I was in the hospital wing- as were Hermione and Ron. Ron was still out, though. Fudge came in a few minutes later, and from his- er- conversation with Professor Snape we gathered that Sirius was to be given the dementor's kiss at any time then. We panicked and tried to tell Fudge that Sirius was innocent, but he wasn't listening. Professor Dumbledore here believed us, but he couldn't help Sirius himself."

Harry paused again, deciding to leave out the fact that Dumbledore had told them to go back in time. Something told him that even though he and Hermione might get away with it, Dumbledore might not. The twinkle in the headmaster's eyes told Harry that he had made the right decision.

"Hermione and I broke one of the wizarding world's most important laws that night to save an innocent man. We went back in time three hours."

Gasps rang throughout the court room again, people were muttering to each other. The judge silenced them with a bang of his wand.

"Please continue, Mr. Potter."

"We changed everything. Or rather, we changed nothing, because it had already been changed before….. only we hadn't been aware of it. We went down to Hagrid's hut and freed the hippogriff Buckbeak after the executioner had arrived in Hagrid's hut and got a look at him. That way, nobody would have been able to accuse Hagrid. We took Buckbeak into the outskirts of the forest. Then we waited.

"After our past-selves had left the Whomping Willow, we quickly fled back to Hagrid's hut to avoid Professor Lupin in his werewolf form. Hermione stayed in there with Buckbeak, but I was curious as to who had saved us from the dementors. So I went into the clearing….. the dementors were closing in on our past-selves and I knew that any time our saviour had to appear, right where I was hiding in the bushes…..

"But when nobody did come and my past-self was about to receive the dementor's kiss, I suddenly realized that the figure I had seen who was conjuring up the Patronus had been myself. I jumped out into the clearing and cast the charm, and my Patronus somehow managed to chase away all the dementors, thus saving our past-selves.

"Not much later, Professor Snape arrived and lifted us all on to stretchers, then floated the stretchers up to the school. Hermione and I waited. Then, Macnair, the executioner, came out of the castle- to get the dementors. We knew that we had to free Sirius quickly. So, Hermione and I mounted Buckbeak and flew up to the castle. We knew from Professor Dumbledore that Sirius was being held in Professor Flitwick's office.

"We flew up to the window and opened it with a simple unlocking spell. We told Sirius to climb on and flew to the North Tower. There, Hermione and I jumped off, while Sirius fled on Buckbeak's back. Hermione and I arrived back in the hospital wing just in time."

"So Sirius was in no way responsible for Buckbeak's escape?" Dumbledore asked.

"No," said Harry firmly. "That was Hermione and me."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter." said Dumbledore. "Now, I am sorry to ask you this, as I am well aware of the traumatic events you encountered, but what happened in the night of the third task?"

Harry swallowed. He had known that this question would come up and prepared himself for the answer.

"I – as you probably know, the third task was a maze. A maze with monsters, traps and riddles in it. We were to get to the centre of the maze, where we knew the Triwizard Cup would be waiting as the trophy. The first person to touch it would receive 50 points.

"Cedric and I reached the cup at almost the same time. We argued about who should take it, and in the end came to the decision that we should take it together. So we grasped a handle of the cup, but as soon as we did, we were whisked away in a swirl of colours. The cup had been a portkey, and it took us straight to a graveyard….."

Harry proceeded to tell the court of "that night", as he had dubbed it in his mind. He told of Pettigrew killing Cedric, Voldemort regaining his body and their duel. He told of his parents' and Cedric's echoes coming out of Voldemort's wand, and of his flight from the graveyard. He even told of what had happened after that- Barty Crouch and his tale, and Harry's near demise at the latter's wand.

"Mr. Potter," said the headmaster, "Can you give us the names of the Deatheaters present at Voldemort's rebirth?"

"Um, sure," said Harry. "I don't know the names of all of them, but the ones Voldemort called by their names were Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Macnair, and….. Nethan Nott."

The courtroom was in an uproar again. It took almost ten minutes and several threats from the judge to calm everyone down.

"Mr. Nott," he said frostily, "You will be facing an inquiry by the Ministry of Magic after the trial. As will the other gentlemen Mr. Potter mentioned. Professor Dumbledore, please continue."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Potter, can you tell us what happened three days ago when Mr. Pettigrew was caught?"

"Everything Pettigrew told us was true," said Harry. "I saw a big, fat rat-" this made the audience chuckle again "-with a silver paw in the corner of your office. It ran as soon as it realized that I had seen it, and I followed it as quickly as I could. I chased it through the whole castle and on to the grounds, until we were almost in the Forbidden Forest.

"There, Pettigrew jumped over a crack in the ground, and I followed him, but he transformed on the other side and cursed me. He proceeded to tell me about why he had hated my parents enough to betray them to Voldemort, and why he had turned to the dark side in the first place. The whole time, he pointed his wand at me, so I couldn't move. He cut my throat a little with a knife, but then he told me that killing magically was much more satisfying to him.

"Pettigrew shot the killing curse at me. It felt strange, like everything was slowing down. I couldn't see after a while, couldn't hear, couldn't move,  could just feel the curse. I fought against it, I didn't want to die….. and then it was just gone, everything was back to normal, and the curse was speeding away from me and hit Pettigrew."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "Your Honour, no further questions."

"Very well." The judge nodded to Nott. "You may now question Mr. Potter, Nott."

Nott stepped forward with a sneer.

"Mr. Potter," he spat, "You admit that you and your, er, friend Ms. Granger stole the hippogriff Buckbeak?"

"Yes," said Harry steadily.

"Weren't aware that you were breaking one of the wizarding world's most important laws?"

"We were," said Harry. "I said so before."

"Then how come-"

"Objection!" Dumbledore stepped in. "This is not Mr. Potter's trial. I believe that this line of questioning is reserved for the jury."

"Sustained," said the judge coolly. "Mr. Nott, drop this issue."

"Certainly, Your Honour." said Nott through gritted teeth. "Mr. Potter. After your godfather escaped with your and Ms. Granger's help, were you in contact with each other?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Of course we were. We owled each other as often as possible. Sirius has helped me as much as he could last year."

"He has helped you?" Nott asked triumphantly. "So you admit that you cheated during the Tournament?"

"No," said Harry firmly. "I did not cheat. Sirius not once told me how to pass one of the tasks. Which, by the way, would not have been cheating."

It was the truth, Harry thought gleefully. Sirius had wanted to help him, but they had been interrupted by Ron.

Nott looked miffed.

"But you do admit that you have been in contact with a wanted criminal for over a year, without reporting him to the ministry?"

"Yes," Harry said with a sigh. "Sirius and I have been in contact. And of course I didn't report him. The ministry would have thrown him back into Azkaban, or worse, sentenced him to the dementor's kiss without a second thought!"

"Very well," said Nott sourly, catching the judge's warning glance. "Enough of this. Mr. Potter, your….. tale…… of what- supposedly- happened after the third task, seems rather farfetched to me. Are you sure that you didn't, well, hit your head in the maze?"

"Mr. Nott," said Harry coldly. "I can assure you that I was not, in any way, dazed or mentally deranged when I arrived at that courtyard. I certainly didn't make up Cedric's dead body when I returned with the portkey, did I? And besides, your client, Peter Pettigrew, has already testified under Veritaserum and confirmed my story. I really don't see why you're even asking this."

Nott earned himself another warning glare from the judge and a few indignant hisses from the audience.

"And what, Potter," Nott sneered, "Made you so sure of Black's innocence? How could you be convinced that he, and not Pettigrew, was telling the truth?"

"Aside from the fact that Pettigrew confessed his guilt, even back in the Shrieking Shack, you mean?" Harry asked politely. "Sirius's story made sense. More sense than the one I had heard before. All the pieces fell into place after that. I never doubted Sirius after that night about a year ago."

Nott seemed to cast about for anything to say, but apparently couldn't think of anything. He leafed through his notes for a while, but Harry thought that they were probably full of incriminating evidence against Harry. Now that the judge had forbidden Nott to ask any questions about Harry and dig up dirt on him, Nott was thrown.

After a few more seconds of tense silence, giggles could be heard from the audience. People were starting to realize that Nott was not a good barrister at all.

"Very well," he hissed after a while, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I have no further questions."

The judge raised an eyebrow at the lack of respectful address, but let the matter drop.

"You may return to your seat, Mr. Potter. Nott, your next witness."

The trial continued in this fashion for a few more hours. Nott kept making a fool of himself in front of everyone, more incriminating evidence against Pettigrew was found. Sirius's innocence was proven over and over again, and the audience was slowly becoming impatient.

Hermione's testimony took less than five minutes; for the most part, she just confirmed Harry's statement.

It was a relief to everyone when all the witnesses were finally questioned and the judge stood up.

"Nott, as the primary accused's barrister, I ask you to make a final statement."

Nott stood up and stepped to the front of the room, facing the audience.

"My dear witches and wizards, Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured jury and judge. What we have seen in this trial is that even a kind-hearted, lovable man like Peter Pettigrew can become the victim of a dark and evil wizard like You-Know-Who. We have all heard numerous times about this man's strong bond with his friends, how he was pushed into the darkness by them, and how much he regrets the outcome of his, er, decisions. Maybe Mr. Pettigrew wasn't entirely innocent in the matters this trial addressed, but I am sure you will all agree that no harsh punishment should befall an unfortunate soul like his. Jury, I plead for a mild punishment for my client because of his obvious rue and the unlucky circumstances that made Mr. Pettigrew into the man he is today: A broken, rueful and sincere man grieving the consequences of actions he performed when he was still a young, irresponsible teenager. I ask that my client be let off with a fine or a temporary stay in a wizarding prison. Thank you."

Laughter and mocking comments met Nott's little speech. But Harry had to admit that it was hard to defend a man like Pettigrew who was so obviously guilty of murder and more.

"Thank you, Nott," said the judge, emotionlessly. "Professor Dumbledore, your statement, please."

"Thank you," said the headmaster calmly, stepping up to Nott.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured judge and jury, I stand before you as the barrister of an innocent man. Sirius Black was in no way guilty of the crimes he was thrown into prison for. I trust that today's trial proved that sufficiently. But fourteen years ago, Sirius was not even given a chance to defend himself. He was convicted and punished in one of the worst ways possible without a trial, and spent twelve long years in the wizarding prison of Azkaban as an innocent man. I find that this is punishment enough to make up for the crimes Sirius actually is guilty of; for example, being an unregistered Animagus. Therefore, I ask, no demand, that my client, Sirius Orion Black, be let off with no punishment at all and a healthy compensation as well as an apology from the ministry of magic. I demand that my client's name be cleared immediately, that he be given his job back, should he want it; and that his property, including his wand and manor, be returned to him in excellent condition. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen."

Dumbledore sat back down amidst the cheers of the crowd.

The judge banged his wand impatiently a few times.

"Silence," he called over the noise. "The jury will now meet to discuss the trial, determining if they still have questions for the witnesses. We will be back in session by four o'clock. It is now exactly three minutes past two o'clock in the afternoon. Court adjourned."

The wand banged one final time and the audience started to stream out of the courtroom, discussing what they had just witnessed in lively tones. Nott and his witnesses, as well as Pettigrew and his guards, left through one of the back doors, the judge left through another, massaging his temples. Harry felt sorry for the man.

"Well," Dumbledore said beaming, "That went quite well, wouldn't you agree? I think it is time that we had a little lunch. Please follow me."

They followed the headmaster through the remaining back door of the room into a small chamber with a big table and enough chairs around it to accommodate all of them. Harry gratefully collapsed into one of the chairs, feeling suddenly quite exhausted.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Fine," said Harry. "Really, I'm fine- just tired, I guess. Oh, Hermione, could you pass the potatoes, please?"

Indeed, as soon as they had sat down, food had appeared on the table. Hermione handed the bowl to Harry and helped herself to some carrots.

"Dumbledore's right, though," she said, reaching for the platter of chicken filet. "The trial really did go well. Sirius will definitely be freed. I just hope that- they won't punish us for- stealing Buckbeak and changing time."

Harry nodded, chewing thoughtfully.

"I know what you mean," he said finally. "But personally, Hermione, I wouldn't worry too much. I mean, we saved an innocent man and an innocent beast through that, didn't we?"

Lunch break was over all too soon, and through the closed doors, Harry could hear the people streaming back into the courtroom. No matter what he had told Hermione, he was nervous. Would they be punished for their law-breaking?

When the clock above the doorway stroke once, announcing that it was half past three, they returned to their seats in the courtroom. Sirius had been quiet throughout the meal and had been eating with a glazed look in his eyes. There was no denying that he was still heavily drugged with Veritaserum.

Harry fidgeted with his hands.

"Nervous?" a low voice in front of him asked.

Harry looked up, startled, into the light blue eyes of one Albus Dumbledore.

"A little," he admitted quietly.

The headmaster smiled congenially.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about your and Miss Granger's escapade. No, no, my dear boy, don't worry about that! They wouldn't punish two students for saving an innocent man….. let me assure you, Harry, that it will be just fine."

Harry nodded doubtfully, and Dumbledore moved away with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. Harry just hoped that Dumbledore was right.

Harry jumped as the doors to the courtroom crashed open again. In strode the judge (who had obviously left the chamber in the back of the room at some time) and the seventeen members of the jury.

The audience fell silent immediately, everyone waited with bated breath as they all took their seats again- everyone, that is, except for one jury member who stepped up to the front of the room.

"Has the jury reached a decision?" the judge inquired.

"We have." the man said firmly.

"Is there a particular witness the jury would like to question again?"

"There is," said the old wizard. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, please step forward."

Harry gulped and closed his eyes briefly before he and his friend stepped down from their seats and up to the witness chair.

"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." said the jury member. "This is merely a formal questioning concerning the issue of tampering with time."

The wizard regarded Harry and Hermione sternly. Harry looked at the floor, biting his lip.

"You were aware at the time you committed this crime that it was a serious offence to the wizarding law?"

Harry gulped slightly.

"Yes," he said quietly, "I did know that."

"And you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione merely nodded, looking too terrified to speak.

"You were aware that such an offence could earn you a lifetime in the wizarding prison of Azkaban?"

Harry and Hermione's heads snapped up quickly.

"Apparently not," said the jury member. Harry thought for the briefest of moments that he sounded very, very distantly amused.

"If you were aware that you were breaking an important law of the magical community even though you were not aware of the punishment, may I ask why you committed this crime?"

"To save Sirius," said Harry simply.

"And Buckbeak." added Hermione.

Now Harry was almost positive that the jury member looked amused.

"And if you were given the choice now between seeing someone die and tampering with time and thus earning yourself a lifetime in Azkaban, would you do it again?"

"Yes." said Harry and Hermione in unison.

This time, there was no mistaking the amused twinkle in the old wizard's eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Granger, Mister Potter. You may sit back down."

Harry and Hermione complied gladly.

The wizard questioned several more witnesses on some of their statements, but nothing important was discovered.

"The jury would like time to come to a decision now," the old wizard announced finally.

"Very well," said the judge, who had been quiet during the questioning. "I trust that ten minutes will be enough?"

"More than enough," the old wizard assured, sitting back down on his seat with a bow.

The judge banged his wand on to his table.

"It is now 4:31. Court will be back in session in ten minutes. Court adjourned."

Nobody tried to leave the courtroom that time. People were sitting quietly and staring at the golden bubble- an Imperturbable Charm, Hermione explained quietly- surrounding the jury's bench and table.

The judge had conjured himself up an armchair and was sitting quietly as well, looking up at the ceiling and steepling his fingers. 

Harry himself was biting his lip worriedly, fidgeting in his seat. Hermione was chewing on her fingernails, Minerva was twisting the sleeves of her robes, Remus was running his hand through his hair over and over again- making it stick up in every direction possible until it looked worse than Harry's. Sirius was the only one who was looking completely calm, although Harry suspected that this had something to do with the Veritaserum.

Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes seemed to last for hours….. not a word was uttered in the tension-filled room, feet were shuffling, robes were rustling….. a wand dropped to the floor somewhere in the back of the room. Everybody flinched and a blushing witch picked it up quickly.

Still, nobody spoke.

Soon, people were shifting restlessly and staring transfixed at the bubble, willing the jury to hurry, come to a decision and finally break the horrible tension.

Harry thought he was going to scream with frustration- when suddenly, unexpectedly, finally, the golden bubble disappeared.

Harry sat up straighter as two jury members stood up. Harry recognised them as the witch who had read Sirius's charges in the beginning of the trial and the wizard who had read Pettigrew's. 

The wizard stepped forward.

"Please administer the antidote to Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Black. They must be of sound mind when listening to their verdict."

Snape stepped forward again, giving the potion to first Pettigrew, then to Sirius. He sat back down silently, and the wizard from the jury cleared his throat.

"We, the jury, have come to a decision." he said firmly. "I will address the charges individually.

"Verdict for Peter Pettigrew:

"To the charge of being a Deatheater; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the change of betraying Lily and James Potter, who entrusted their lives to him by making him their secret keeper, to Voldemort; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of murdering twelve muggles on November 2nd, 1981; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of framing an innocent man, namely Sirius Black, for his crimes, which led to Sirius Black's twelve-years-long imprisonment in the fortress of Azkaban; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of being an unregistered Animagus; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of helping Voldemort come back on June 24th, 1995, and of helping him since; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of attempted murder of Harry James Potter on July 27th, 1995; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty.

"To the charge of using at least one of the Unforgivable curses on Harry James Potter on July 27th, 1995; we find Peter Pettigrew: guilty of the use of Avada Kedavra.

"Furthermore, we find Mr. Pettigrew guilty of the murder of one Cedric Diggory on June 24th, 1995.

"Therefore, we, the jury, have sentenced Peter Pettigrew to receive the dementor's kiss. However, as the dementors recently have left our side, Mr. Pettigrew will receive a life sentence in the new wizarding prison. Until then, he will be held in one of the ministry's high security cells. Thank you."

The man stepped back and sat down as the witch took his place.

"Verdict for Sirius Orion Black:

"To the charge of being a Deatheater; we find Sirius Orion Black: not guilty.

"To the charge of betraying James and Lily Potter to Voldemort by breaking his oath as their secret keeper; we find Sirius Orion Black: not guilty, due to the fact that he was never the Potters' secret keeper.

"To the charge of murdering twelve muggles on November 2nd, 1981; we find Sirius Orion Black: not guilty.

"To the charge of being an unregistered Animagus; we find Sirius Orion Black: guilty.

"To the charge of breaking into Gryffindor Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on February 24th, 1994; we find Sirius Orion Black: guilty, though his intention was not harming his godson Harry James Potter, but instead protecting him.

"To the charge of hurting a minor, namely Ronald Arthur Weasley, on June 6th, 1994; we find Sirius Orion Black: guilty, though it was obviously an accident.

"To the charge of stealing a potentially dangerous creature, the hippogriff Buckbeak, on June 6th, 1994; we find Sirius Orion Black: not guilty. Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger will be addressed later.

"To the charge of helping Voldemort come back to life on June 24th, 1995 and of helping him since; he find Sirius Orion Black: not guilty.

"Even though Mr. Black has been found guilty of some of his charges- that is to say, hurting a minor, breaking into Gryffindor Tower and being an unregistered Animagus- we, the jury, have decided not to assign any punishment, as we feel that the twelve years Mr. Black spent in Azkaban are more than enough payment for his crimes.

"Furthermore, Mr. Ronald Arthur Weasley, who was unable to attend this trial, was contacted via floo powder during lunch break and has stated that he does not wish to press charges against Sirius Orion Black.

"We, the jury, declare Sirius Orion Black free of all charges. He is, from now on, a free man, his name is cleared. The ministry owes an apology to Mr. Sirius Black for falsely imprisoning him for twelve years; furthermore, Mr. Black will receive all his property, including his wand and mansion, back tonight. He will also receive a heavy compensation from the ministry of magic. The exact sum hasn't been determined yet; however, it will not be any lower than ten million galleons. Also, should Mr. Black wish to attain custody of his godson Harry Potter, he may do so. No past mistakes or history shall be held against him. That is all. Thank you."

The room interrupted into tumultuous cheers and applause. People were stomping their feet, whistling and screaming their approval. Others just left their seats and went to the front of the room, crowding around the still shocked Sirius and congratulating him. Sirius himself was looking infinitely overwhelmed and relieved, as well as very, very happy.

Hermione was practically jumping up and down in her seat, hugging Harry and anyone else within her reach.

"Harry, that's so brilliant!" squealed Hermione, throwing her arms around his neck yet again. "Sirius is free, I can't believe it….."

"Yeah," said Harry, a wide, slightly dazed grin on his face.

He and Hermione quickly descended from their bench and made their way through the crowd surrounding Sirius. Cameras flashed when they had finally reached him and thrown themselves at Harry's godfather, not caring that there were thousands of people watching, not caring that the next day, the whole wizarding world would see this picture in their edition of the Daily Prophet.

"What do you say, Harry?" Sirius mumbled quietly, so only Harry and Hermione could hear. "Do you want me to take custody of you? Do you want to live with me?"

Harry stared for a second, then grinned even more widely, if that was possible.

"Yes!" he shouted happily, launching himself at Sirius again. "More than anything!"

Hermione squealed again.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" And with that, she threw her arms around both Sirius and Harry, crying tears of joy; all three of them ignoring the bright flashes of lightning raining down upon them.

~*~

Harry had still not stopped smiling three hours later. He could hardly believe how perfect the trial had gone.

Sirius was free, Pettigrew rotting away in a prison cell at the ministry of magic. He and Hermione had got away with a severe warning for their little Time-Turner stunt; after all, the judge had said, they had managed to save two innocent lives that night. Yes, two. Buckbeak the hippogriff had also been cleared of all charges and had happily reunited with Hagrid and his hippogriff friends.

Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle and Lucius Malfoy were facing an inquiry from the ministry of magic; but while Harry did not doubt that Crabbe and Goyle- who were just as stupid as their sons- would be sentenced to prison for being Deatheaters, Lucius Malfoy would find a way around it.

But at the moment, Harry didn't particularly care. They had returned to Hogwarts not long after the trial and celebrated Sirius's freedom for hours. Hermione had been allowed to stay together with her parents, who were altogether amazed by Hogwarts and its magic- especially the moving pictures and ghosts.

At the moment, Harry was strolling happily and quietly around the gardens, coming closer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione and her parents had gone home only ten minutes before and Harry had left the castle for a bit of fresh air.

With a fond smile, Harry remembered one of the conversations he had had with Sirius and Minerva during the celebration…..

*************************FLASHBACK**************************

"Harry," Minerva said seriously, "Sirius told me that you have agreed to live with him."

Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, no, Minerva! I didn't even think- I mean, it's not like I'm choosing him over you, I just….."

But she quieted him with a raised hand and a smile.

"Harry, I was not implying that you have made the wrong choice. In fact, quite the contrary. I was going to thank you."

Harry blinked.

"Now, don't think that I would not love to take you in, Harry; because I would. But it is better if you live with Sirius."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

Minerva shifted a little uncomfortably.

"You see, Harry," she said, "If you lived with me, people might accuse me of favouritism. Every time I gave you a good mark, which I do most of the time, they would question my motives. You would have to be assigned a private tutor instead of taking classes with me and your classmates. No, it is easier this way."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"What about Rhianna, though?" Harry said suddenly. "Rhianna Lupin. Remus is teaching Defence this year, right? Will she have a private tutor?"

"Yes," said Minerva. "Remus has already arranged for someone to tutor her three times a week, during the periods where you will have lessons with him. I believe you know her tutor. It's Arabella Figg from the Order Council."

Harry nodded. Arabella had seemed nice enough.

"Sirius,"  he asked, remembering something. "Why didn't Pettigrew tell the court about my Animagus form?"

Sirius frowned slightly.

"I don't know, Harry," he admitted, "I have asked myself that. I assume that maybe he was paying back a little of his life debt to you by keeping that fact from the court- maybe, Harry, just maybe, there is still some part of Peter left in him- the old Peter who became an unregistered Animagus himself at your age to help one of his best friends and who loved nothing more than to set out on adventures with the rest of the Marauders."

*************************END FLASHBACK*************************

Things were definitely looking up, thought Harry, as he watched two squirrels fighting noisily for the same hazelnut. Sirius's freedom was the best birthday present Harry had ever received- early or not. And besides, Harry thought with a smile, it was only another four hours until he turned fifteen.

His birthday! In the commotion following the trial, Harry had completely forgotten about it. Biting his lip, Harry wondered what would happen on his birthday. The prophecy would be fulfilled at midnight, he would come to his powers, lost in a clearing….. whatever that meant. Anticipation and dread formed in Harry's stomach into a tight knot, making him forget his brilliant mood for a second.

Looking around to see if anybody was watching- nobody was- Harry quickly transformed into his wolf form and just enjoyed the sensation. Animals were so much simpler than humans. They didn't usually have feelings such as dread, and Harry was relieved when the funny knot in his stomach melted away almost instantly.

A loud screech drew Harry-wolf's attention. One of the squirrels had won and was happily devouring the hazelnut, while the other was running away to the forest, chirping angrily to itself. The sight of its bushy, brown tail speeding away from Harry-wolf excited him….. and before Harry-wolf knew it, he had taken off after the small animal into the Forbidden Forest. The animal squeaked indignantly and sped up. Harry-wolf flattened his ears on his head and ran at top speed. He was getting closer now- just another five feet…..

The squirrel suddenly jumped sideways and climbed up a tree. Harry-wolf howled in anger. From his spot on the ground, he could see the squirrel jumping from tree to tree, high above the ground.

Growling lowly, Harry-wolf followed it on the ground, hoping that maybe the squirrel would leap off the tree some time.

Harry-wolf was so focused on his task that he didn't realize how much time was passing, that it was high time for him to return to the castle, that the sun was setting and that he, Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, was somewhere in the middle of the Forbidden Forest chasing after a squirrel. The human part of Harry's mind had almost completely shut down, being overruled by the animal's strong instincts.

It was only when Harry splashed headlong into a river that he came to his senses. He shook his head and transformed back into his human form. How did he get here? He was somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, no doubt, but where? There was no path in sight, he was standing in a small clearing with a stream running through it. It reminded Harry a bit of his room, but it was much darker. In fact, even the sky was dark. With some shock, Harry realized that he must have spent hours chasing after the squirrel.

Harry bit his lip as he contemplated what to do next. He had, in an uncharacteristic display of stupidity and carelessness, left his wand in the castle lying on the head table. He did not dare transform back into his Animagus form, afraid that the wolf might take over again and lead him even further into the wilderness. Retracing his steps in his human form was hopeless….. Harry knew that he hadn't gone in a straight line, quite the contrary.

The squirrel above him had leaped from tree to tree, apparently with no a particular destination in mind. They had been going in zigzags, circles and any other geometric constellation the squirrel had chosen. There was no chance for Harry to find his way back to Hogwarts in his human form, especially in the darkness.

With a deep sigh, Harry collapsed between the roots of a giant oak tree.

For now, he would wait until morning and then attempt to find a way out of the forest.

"That's it," Harry sighed quietly to himself, as he heard an owl hooting loudly in the tree he was leaning against. "I've done it. Harry Potter, the great Boy-Who-Lived, is officially lost."

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A/N: That's it, folks! Blimey, that was a  long chapter. Sorry again for the wait!

IMPORTANT: From now on, I will keep you updated on the progress of my chapters in my bio. So, if you're wondering whether I've just disappeared from the face of Earth, just check my bio!!! I will make sure that it's updated relatively regularly.

ALSO: This will most probably be the last chapter of Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers- before the real book five comes out. As of in exactly 22 days, this story will be considered an Alternate Universe. I hope that all of you will continue to read it, even though we will then (finally) know what really happens to Harry in his fifth year!

And now, please do me the favour and review!!!!!

Thank you all for your patience!!!

Until next time,

Felinity  ^_^