Chapter 5: Ministry Mishaps
Despite how unfortunate the freezing incident from the other day was, it did give me a brilliant idea for a Quidditch move. Gonna practice it on James and Sirius tomorrow. James's face will be hilarious.
The rest of the day passed by in a bit of a haze for Leo, whose thoughts were absorbed by the idea that he'd have to learn Dark magic. Despite what he had said to his father, the idea was unnerving to him and he couldn't help but think of Remus's words that half of the wizarding community thought he would become the next Voldemort. Was this where his path started? Was learning to use Fiendfyre a step on the road to darkness? He felt positively queasy at the thought.
Seeming to notice his worry, Harry and Draco dragged him outside to practice catching the Snitch. As per usual, Leo's worries were left on the ground as he soared high in the sky, racing his adopted brothers as they chased the Snitch. After some careful persuading, they managed to get the adults to join in on the fun and played a three-on-three match of Quidditch.
The game consisted of the Blacks – Cas played Seeker, Sirius played Beater, and Leo played Chaser – against Harry – who played Seeker after much argument with Draco – Remus – who played Beater – and Draco – who played Chaser. Remus conjured a large, golden ring on either side of the field for them to put the Quaffle in before the game began. Draco proved to be quite the nimble Chaser and scored quite a significant amount of points.
Leo was almost worried that they'd lose when his father swooped out of the sky, streaking by him as he chased after the Snitch, Harry catching up quickly on his Firebolt. Harry managed to pass him by, which was when Cas did the coolest thing Leo had ever seen. He stood up on his broom, surfing on it as he approached Harry, lowering it somewhat. He gave a great leap, jumping over Harry and swiping the Snitch before he could grab it. He grabbed onto his broom – which had continued to fly forward – with one hand and swung himself onto it.
Harry stared at him, dumbfounded as Sirius and Remus laughed and Cas grinned broadly before looking at the Snitch with intrigue. Everyone flew toward the two.
"Cas did the same thing to Lynch – he had the same expression on his face, Harry," Sirius continued to chuckle.
"Nice to see years chasing your tail hasn't dampened your skills at all, Fen," Remus mused.
"Yes, well," Cas replied airily, still staring at the Snitch. "While fifteen years may have passed, feels like just a few months ago that I won the Cup for England... Lynch isn't still sore about that, is he?"
"No, but I reckon he wasn't too pleased to have someone who wasn't even out of school get the Snitch before him," Leo snorted.
"Lynch has nothing to complain about – Ireland won in the end," Draco rolled his eyes.
Harry remained silent as everyone discussed the last Quidditch World Cup, still gawking at Cas in disbelief. After some time, he managed to find his voice.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" he finally said.
Cas chuckled.
"'Fraid not, Harry," he grinned. "Firebolt's too fast – you'd overshoot and miss your broom after you caught the Snitch."
Harry pouted but brightened up immensely when Cas checked his watch and said there were only a few hours left until it was time to prepare their potions. He shooed them all away to clean up and prepare themselves before hurrying off to get the ingredients they would need. Leo hurried to the ground excitedly, wondering what their forms would be. Cas had informed the group that, while they would ordinarily have to wait for a lightning storm to drink their potions, he may have found a way around it by casting the Metelojinx – which would cause a small, localized thunderstorm. If everything went according to plan, their potions would turn blood red and they'd be able to drink it that night. If not... well, they'd have to wait a bit before trying again.
At eight o'clock that night, the three walked outside while Remus and Sirius stayed in the basement until their transformations were complete. Outside were three tables, each one with a phial, a teaspoon with some liquid, and a chrysalis. Moonlight bathed them as they lined up to each table and, with a nod from Cas, spit their leaves into their phials. They then each plucked a hair from their heads and put them in their phials, after which Cas stepped forward and poured the contents of the teaspoons inside each of the phials before adding the chrysalises.
He then pointed his wand to the sky and uttered a few words. At once, clouds began to converge over them, looking dark and full and booming ominously. The three stared at their potions with looks of anticipation. Suddenly, lightning flashed through the sky and, to their amazement, their potions turned blood red. With another nod from Cas, they each picked up their potions and drew their wands, pointing them at their hearts.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
They all swung back their potions and drank. Leo immediately dropped his empty phial as he finished it, doubling over slightly and coughing, faintly hearing the others do so as well. A fiery pain swept through his body and he could swear he heard two heartbeats. It felt as though both hearts melded together as he fell on all fours, an image flashing in his mind of a four-legged creature.
The pain vanished a moment later and he tried to rise to his feet, finding it difficult to stand on two legs and choosing instead to sit back down and raise a hand to his throbbing head. However, instead of a hand, a giant paw was there instead and he jumped back in response, falling onto his back in surprise. He looked around for Harry and Draco and panicked a bit when he didn't see them.
"Leo," spoke a calm voice near him. "Relax. Harry and Draco are fine, they've completed their transformations – so have you. Would you like to see yourself?"
He looked up to see his father, somewhat shorter than he remembered him being, and nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak. Cas raised his wand, speaking a few words as he waved it in a large, oval shape. The air in front of Leo shimmered for a bit before it solidified, showing him his new form.
A large lion stood where he was, covered up mostly by a large, silky, golden mane. His eyes retained their blue-grey color, and the scar he had gotten from Moony almost two years ago showed pink beneath his right eye. On his left side, he saw circular marks reminiscent of Nagini's fangs, he assumed that his hippogriff scars were there as well, but didn't want to look to find them. Instead, he lifted up a paw, examining it carefully before unsheathing and re-sheathing his claws.
He turned his head at the sound of hooves running toward him, blinking at the red stag that cantered toward him. It was obviously Harry, given the green eyes and white patch of fur on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. He glanced around, looking for Draco when a shape swooped down from the sky and landed on one of Harry's antlers. It was a white hawk with black wings and striking grey eyes. The hawk stared at him beadily before giving a small screech.
"Well, everything seems to be in order," Cas clapped his hands in delight as he smiled. "Think it's time we called the others" He pointed his wand. "Expecto patronum."
A large silvery wolf stood in front of them all before approaching Cas and tilting his head to the side.
"Hello, old friend," the man whispered, kneeling slightly. "I need you to get a message to Moony and Padfoot down in the basement. Tell them we're ready."
The wolf nodded before speeding away toward the open door of the house. A few minutes later, the black shape of Padfoot came running out, a large brown and grey-flecked wolf with a tufted tail chasing after him. Cas fell forward, and a large black wolf stood in his place as Moony and Padfoot approached. The two walked around the new Animagi, wagging their tales and barking as they sniffed them over.
Fen gave a low bark before lifting his head to the sky and howling. Padfoot and Moony joined him at once with Leo, Harry, and Draco exchanging nervous looks. Fen turned back to them before barking and leading the way across the grounds and toward the forest. He reached the gate, changing back to Cas briefly to unlock the gate before turning back into Fen and waving his tail for them to follow.
The three teens watched Moony and Padfoot follow Fen into the forest, exchanging nervous glances again. Leo then puffed out his chest before leading the way into the forest. He had only taken a few steps inside when two shapes bowled him over: Moony and Padfoot. They were both wagging their tails while Padfoot's tongue lolled out and Fen watched on in amusement. Leo gave a low growl in response and they all barked before taking off in different directions. So, it's a game of hide-and-seek, is it? He mused, glancing at his friends as Harry strode in with Draco still perched atop his antlers.
With a look of intense concentration, Leo focused on turning back to himself, blinking around in disorientation as he found himself standing on his two feet. He shook himself before turning to Harry and Draco.
"Right then, the name of the game is to catch the Marauders, got it?" he said in a business-like voice, receiving nods. "Harry and I will stay on the ground chasing after them. Draco, you take to the skies and search for them. Come find me or Harry – whichever one of us is closer – and lead us to where they are, all right?"
The two nodded and, imagining his lion self, Leo turned back into his animal form and took off. He heard a flap of wings behind him followed by the sound of hooves racing away. It took some time before he heard a loud screech above him, and glanced up to see Draco flying above him before he turned sharply. Leo turned, following after him and racing between the trees before he stumbled upon Fen, who was lounging on a rock, his tail flipping in boredom.
At his appearance, Fen rose to his paws and gave a small bark before taking off, Leo running after him. He chased Fen for a while, panting heavily as he struggled to keep up with the wolf. To his relief, Fen began to slow down and was soon within leaping distance. Leo sprang forward, paws outstretched to grab him when, for the second time that night, two shapes rammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He glared up at Moony and Padfoot, who appeared to be laughing in their own canine way while Fen did the same in the background.
A clattering of hooves approached the group rapidly as Harry appeared, antlers lowered and sending all the canines scarpering once more. Leo rose to his paws, nodding with gratitude at his cousin before they resumed the chase. They managed to find the Marauders several times that night but were never quite able to catch them. They either outran the teens or led them into several well-placed ambushes. As the sun began to rise in the sky, Leo and Harry traipsed tiredly out of the forest and onto the grounds, panting before collapsing on the lawn. Draco joined them a moment later, seeming equally as tired after flying around.
Harry and Draco turned back into themselves, covered in sweat but smiling widely. Leo stayed in his lion form, not quite ready to turn back yet. He twitched his ears as he heard laughter and looked up to see the Marauders exiting the forest, all smiling broadly as they approached the group.
"Well, boys, I think that went well, don't you?" Cas grinned at them all.
Leo huffed as Harry and Draco nodded tiredly.
"I think they kept up pretty well," Sirius admitted, as they got closer. "Granted, having a friend who can turn into a hawk is kind of cheating."
"Still, it'll come in handy, I'm sure," Remus stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Harry's form was a bit of a surprise – thought for sure he'd turn into some sort of bird with his love of flying and all."
"Ah, well, can't win 'em all, Remy," Cas chuckled before turning to the teens. "Well, I think there's only one proper way to close out the night. Leo, how about you give us a nice, big ol' roar?"
Everyone stared at him eagerly and so, not wanting to disappoint, he rose to his paws, shook out his mane, and let loose the loudest roar he could muster. Cheers and applause followed this and he puffed out his chest, quite pleased with himself.
Everyone slept through much of that day, exhausted after running through the forest the previous night. They awoke later in the evening to find cups of coffee waiting for them, courtesy of Castor. Harry, Remus, and Sirius immediately dove toward Leo and tried to snatch his mug from him before he could drink it while Cas and Draco looked on with a mixture of confusion and amusement. They were all interrupted by a tapping at the window, glancing over to see it was a tawny owl with a letter in its beak.
Remus waved his wand, opening the window and allowing the owl to fly in. It swooped in, dropping an official-looking letter in front of Castor before flying out the window. Everyone watched as he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, scanning its contents. A small smirk appeared on his face and his eyes glinted before he put the letter back in the envelope and put it inside his jacket.
"So... what was that all about?" Leo finally asked, climbing into his chair.
"Nose out, Aslan," Cas replied, drinking his coffee and grimacing in distaste. "Nope, still don't like coffee."
"Who the bloody hell is Aslan?" Leo wrinkled his nose.
"Would it kill you to read a book that doesn't have pictures in it?" Cas sighed in exasperation.
"Well, Riddle's diary almost killed me so... yeah, probably," Leo grinned.
"Aslan is the name of a fictional lion in a series of Muggle books," Remus informed him before busying himself making tea for Leo and Cas. "Very mighty and heroic. It's a compliment."
"Hmm... I like it then," Leo decided before turning to Harry and Draco. "You two need names for your Animagus forms."
"I swear if you call me Prongslet..."
"Actually, I was thinking of Bambi," Leo smirked as everyone except Draco and Harry laughed.
"Who's Bambi?" Draco frowned.
"A very effeminate deer that was in a Muggle movie – a movie is something that plays on a screen, there're moving pictures and sounds and stuff," Cas explained at Draco's confused expression.
"So, we're sticking with Bambi then?" Leo finally asked.
"Call me that again and see what happens, kitten," Harry growled, taking out his wand.
"All right, all right, keep your antlers on," Leo rolled his eyes before looking thoughtful. "How about Blitzen, after the reindeer? Could call you 'Blitz' for short."
Harry considered it before nodding.
"Suppose it's not the worst name in the world, As," Harry grinned as Leo beamed before turning to Draco. "Now you just need one."
"Ooh! Ooh! I got it!" Leo bounced up and down while Draco stared at him apprehensively. "Jetwing! Because he has jet-black wings! We can call him 'Jet' for short."
"Well, I suppose it could be worse," Draco sighed in agreement.
"So, Blitzen, Aslan, and Jetwing," Sirius grinned broadly. "What've you lot got planned for today?"
"Probably run around a bit in our Animagus forms before flying again," Leo shrugged as the other two nodded. "You lot?"
"I think I'll probably head back to bed – last night took a lot out of me," Remus replied, pouring their tea.
"Think I'll look through the Black family library, see if I can find some way to track these Horcruxes," Sirius said before glancing at his brother. "Cas?"
"Well, I have to pick up Leo and Harry's dress robes for the hearing tomorrow and pick up some things at Grimmauld – thank you, Remus," he added as he accepted his tea. "Mind popping me back with you, Siri?"
"Sure, no problem."
Just as it had the previous day, the eleventh passed by in a blur of fun and excitement before they all had to – very reluctantly – head up to bed. Cas awoke Leo at the ungodly hour of six in the morning, receiving an angry glare in response. Cas, however, refused to leave until Leo had climbed out of bed and began getting ready in his dress robes – which looked remarkably similar to the ones he had worn for the Yule Ball last Christmas. For a moment, he wondered how Luna was doing. They hadn't talked since she had sent a response to his letter about the dementor attack and his upcoming hearing with Harry.
Deciding he'd write to her when they got back, he traipsed down the stairs to find Harry sitting at the table, wearing his black dress robes and looking extremely nervous as he nibbled on a bit of toast and sipped his tea. Cas was sitting on the edge of the table with a book bag in his lap, looking through the various folders and books in there before nodding and closing it as Leo sat down.
"We'll be heading there as soon as you two are done," Cas stated. "I want to get there early – I wouldn't put it past Fudge to change the time in an attempt to trip us up."
"What would happen if we were late?" Leo questioned, munching on some toast.
"Fudge would most likely say we were avoiding the hearing and automatically brand you two as guilty. Your wands would be snapped and you would be expelled," Cas shrugged nonchalantly. "Which is why we need to get there as quickly as possible."
The two quickly finished their breakfast at that pronouncement and stood up, ready to go. Cas grabbed an empty bag of sugar, turned it into a Portkey, and the three whirled away. Leo wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that he was starting to get used to this. They landed in an alley behind an overflowing dumpster. Leo frowned in confusion as Cas tossed the sugar bag into the dumpster and led them out of the alley.
"Here we are," said Cas brightly, pointing at an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffitied wall. "After you two."
He opened the telephone box door.
The teens exchanged bewildered looks before walking in, Cas coming in with them and closing the door behind him. It was rather closer than Leo wanted to be with his family, and he couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on. Cas reached past them for the telephone receiver.
"Let's see... six..." he dialed the number, "two... four... and another four... and another two..."
As the dial whirred smoothly back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box, not from the receiver in Cas's hand, but as loudly and plainly as though an invisible woman were standing right beside them.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
"Castor Black, here to escort Harry Potter and Leo Black to their unnecessary disciplinary hearing," Cas replied in a bored voice.
Leo suppressed a snicker.
"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."
There were a few clicks and rattles, and Leo saw three square silver badges with his, Harry's, and Cas's names on them followed by the words: Disciplinary Hearing. They pinned their badges to the front of their robes as the female voice spoke again.
"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."
The floor of the telephone box shuddered. They were sinking slowly into the ground. Leo watched with intrigue as the pavement rose up past the glass windows of the telephone box until darkness closed over their heads. Then he could see nothing at all; he could only hear a dull grinding noise as the telephone box made its way down through the earth. After about a minute, though it felt much longer to Leo, a chink of golden light illuminated his feet and, widening, rose up his body, until it hit him in the face and he had to blink to stop his eyes from watering.
"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Cas rolled his eyes, hefting his book bag on his shoulder.
The door of the telephone box sprang open and they stepped out of it, the cousins gaping around them before Cas grabbed them by their arms and ushered them forward past the golden fountain and into the throng of people slowly filling the Atrium.
"Over here, you two," said Cas, and they stepped out of the stream of Ministry employees heading for the golden gates, toward a desk on the left, over which hung a sign saying SECURITY. A badly shaven wizard in peacock-blue robes looked up as they approached and put down his Daily Prophet.
"Back again, eh, Castor?" the guard chuckled.
"You know me, just can't seem to stay away," Cas smiled in response. "How'd you and Nadia enjoy your trip to that game in France?"
"Oh, it was an absolute delight! Nadia's always wanted to go to Paris and I've always wanted to see a professional Quidditch game. Thanks for the tickets, mate, really appreciate it," the guard said sincerely before glancing at the teens. "Who're these two?"
"My boys: Leo Black and Harry Potter. They need their wands examined before we can head down to their hearing," Cas replied before leaning forward and whispering. "You haven't heard any word on that have you, Eric?"
Eric shuffled uncomfortably.
"Well, probably shouldn't be telling you this, but since you got me the tickets and all..." he mumbled. "They changed the time to eight – it's down in old Courtroom Ten -"
"That figures," Cas sighed, shaking his head. "Well, can we speed this up a bit before we're late? We've only got about fifteen minutes to get there."
Eric nodded and asked them each to produce their wands. Leo handed his over somewhat reluctantly, watching as Eric dropped it onto a strange brass instrument, which looked something like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore this off and read the writing upon it.
"Eleven and a half inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use four years. That correct?"
"Yep," Leo replied, not taking his eyes off his wand.
"I keep this," said Eric, impaling the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. "You get this back," he added, thrusting the wand at Leo.
Leo retracted his wand and Cas led them away with a nod of thanks. He steered them away from the desk and back into the stream of wizards and witches walking through the golden gates.
Jostled slightly by the crowd, they followed Cas through the gates into the smaller hall beyond, where at least twenty lifts stood behind wrought golden grilles. They joined the crowd around one of them. A big, bearded wizard holding a large cardboard box stood nearby. The box was emitting rasping noises. Leo stared at it with intrigue before Cas gave a subtle shake of his head and he pouted.
With a great jangling and clattering a lift descended in front of them; the golden grille slid back and Leo, Harry, and Cas moved inside it with the rest of the crowd. Cas pressed the number nine button and moved back to stand with Harry and Leo, clutching his bag tightly. The lift began to descend.
"Department of Mysteries," said the cool female voice, and left it at that.
"C'mon," Cas said, as the lift doors rattled open, and they sped up a rather depressing corridor.
The walls were bare; there were no windows and no doors apart from a plain black one set at the very end of the corridor. Leo expected them to go through it, but instead his father seized him and Harry by their arms and dragged them to the left, where there was an opening leading to a flight of steps.
They reached the bottom of the steps and ran along yet another corridor, which bore a great resemblance to that which led to Snape's dungeon at Hogwarts, with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed here were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.
"Courtroom... ten... I think... we're nearly... yes."
They stopped in front of a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock. He paused to look at the two.
"Let me do most of the talking, keep the sarcasm to a minimum, and under no circumstances are you to even mention Voldemort or Sirius, got it?" Cas demanded, receiving nods in response. "Right, let's not keep them waiting then, eh?"
He turned the heavy iron door handle and led them inside the courtroom. The walls were made of dark stone, dimly lit by torches. Empty benches rose on either side of him, but ahead, in the highest benches of all, were many shadowy figures. They had been talking in low voices, but as the heavy door swung closed behind them an ominous silence fell.
A cold male voice rang across the courtroom.
"You're barely on time."
"But we're on time, and that's all that matters," Cas replied in a smooth tone.
"Take your seats," the voice said, an audible scowl in his tone.
There were three chairs in the center of the room, each draped with chains. Leo had seen a chair like that when he had visited Azkaban before his second year. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked across the stone floor. When Leo sat gingerly on the edge of his chair the chains clinked rather threateningly but did not bind him. He looked up coolly at the people seated on the bench above them.
There were about fifty of them, all, as far as he could see, wearing plum-colored robes with an elaborately worked silver W on the left-hand side of the chest and all staring down their noses at them, some with very austere expressions, others looks of frank curiosity. Leo gave those people a polite wave and a bright smile.
In the very middle of the front row sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Fudge was a portly man who often sported a lime-green bowler hat, though today he had dispensed with it. A broad, square-jawed witch with very short gray hair sat on Fudge's left; she wore a monocle and looked forbidding. On Fudge's right was another witch, but she was sitting so far back on the bench that her face was in shadow.
"Very well," said Fudge. "The accused being present, let us begin. Are you ready?" he called down the row.
"Yes, sir," said an eager voice Leo knew. Ron's brother Percy was sitting at the very end of the front bench. Percy's eyes, behind his horn-rimmed glasses, were fixed on his parchment, a quill poised in his hand.
"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," said Fudge in a ringing voice, and Percy began taking notes at once, "into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey and Leo Castor Black, resident at number two, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley. Guardian for the defense: Castor Perseus Black."
There was some muttering at this, Leo noticed, but his father seemed unfazed. If anything, he had an unconcerned, almost bored expression on his face. It was odd, considering he'd never seen his father look so disinterested in anything. Probably just a way to get under their skin. Leo assumed, shrugging and turning back to their 'interrogators'.
Fudge extricated a piece of parchment from the pile before him, took a deep breath, and read, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That they did knowingly, deliberately, and in full awareness of the illegality of their actions – Harry James Potter having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge - produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on August the first at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offense under paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under section thirteen of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy.
"You are Harry James Potter and Leo Castor Black of Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge said, glaring at them over the top of his parchment.
"Yes," Harry said.
"That's what they tell me," Leo replied tonelessly, receiving a warning look from his father and shrugging in response.
"Mr. Potter, you received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?"
"Yes, but —" Harry began.
"And yet you and Mr. Black conjured Patronuses on the night of the second of August?" said Fudge.
"Yes," said Harry, "but —"
"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?"
"Objection," Cas interjected in a bored tone. "Minister Fudge is not allowing the defense to properly respond to his questions."
"Sustained, Mr. Black," said the witch with the monocle, turning to Fudge. "Please allow the defense to respond to your questions before asking the next one, Minister." She then peered down at the teens. "You two produced fully-fledged Patronuses?"
"Yes," Leo grinned widely. "Mine's a wolf – Harry's is a stag. Always have been."
"Always?" boomed Madam Bones. "You have produced a Patronus before now?"
"Yeah, we learned near the end of our third year – saved our lives when the dementors Minister Fudge let roam the grounds tried to suck out our souls," Leo responded in a nonchalant tone, hiding his smile.
Mutterings began at once at this and Fudge flushed red, both from anger and embarrassment. Cas gave Leo a subtle wink and a tiny nod and the boy had to suppress the urge to puff out his chest with pride. Madam Bones seemed more impressed with their feat than concerned with Fudge's actions.
"Impressive," said Madam Bones, staring down at them, "a true Patronus at that age... very impressive indeed."
"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Fudge in a testy voice. "In fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boys did it in plain view of a Muggle!"
"The Muggle in question was their cousin, Dudley, who, as someone who shared a home with Leo and Harry for fourteen years was well aware of their status as wizards," Cas stated, crossing his legs at the knees. "Therefore, given there was no other Muggle witness, there was no true breach of the International Statute of Secrecy and the only matter of concern is them using magic outside of school. A matter, I believe, that does not require them to be interrogated in front of half the Wizengamont."
"That is not your decision to make, Mr. Black," Fudge growled. "They broke the law, and must face the consequences -"
"Well, it was either break the law or let dementors suck out our soul. Really tough call it was," Leo rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"Dementors?" said Madam Bones after a moment, raising her thick eyebrows so that her monocle looked in danger of falling out. "What do you mean, boy?"
"There were two dementors swooping after me, Harry, and our whale-sized cousin."
"Ah," said Fudge again, smirking unpleasantly as he looked around at the Wizengamot, as though inviting them to share the joke. "Yes. Yes, I thought we'd be hearing something like this."
"Dementors in Little Whinging?" Madam Bones said in tones of great surprise. "I don't understand —"
"Don't you, Amelia?" said Fudge, still smirking. "Let me explain. They've been thinking it through and decided dementors would make a very nice little cover story, very nice indeed. Muggles can't see dementors, can they, boys? Highly convenient, highly convenient... so it's just your word and no witnesses..."
"We're not lying!" said Harry loudly over another outbreak of muttering from the court. "There were two of them, coming from opposite ends of the alley, everything went dark and cold and our cousin felt them and ran for it —"
"Enough, enough!" said Fudge with a very supercilious look on his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story —"
Cas cleared his throat. The Wizengamot fell silent again.
"As it so happens, there is a way to verify their statements," Cas stated in an even tone. "Have them place their memories in a Pensieve and view it for yourselves."
"And how do we know those memories haven't been modified?" Fudge demanded, narrowing his eyes.
"They're fifteen, they wouldn't know how to do that. Besides, you can always tell if a memory has been modified," he tilted his head to the side. "An alternative is to ask the dementors in question – I believe you have ways of communicating with them?"
"That will not be necessary, Mr. Black," Madam Bones stated, looking intrigued. "If you would give us a moment to procure a Pensieve -"
"Not to worry, Madam Bones, I've come prepared," Cas gave her a charming smile as he reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a small bowl.
He tapped it with his wand and it enlarged, revealing a much larger, empty bowl with runes scribbled around its rim. He stood from his seat, walking over to Harry and asking him to focus on the memory of August first. Harry's brow furrowed with concentration and Cas tapped the side of his head with his wand, pulling out a shimmering string of light that he put in the Pensieve.
He swirled it with the tip of his wand before giving it an errant flick upward. The silver string shot up before bursting, encasing the whole room in its light as that night in Little Whinging showed in front of everyone. Altogether, it only took about ten minutes to go through, after which many of the witches and wizards looked convinced. Fudge, however, did not.
"Yes, yes, this may seem very convincing, Black, but the idea of dementors wandering into a Muggle suburb and just happening to come across two wizards?" snorted Fudge. "The odds on that must be very, very long, even Bagman wouldn't have bet —"
"Oh, I don't think any of us believe the dementors were there by coincidence," said Cas lightly.
The witch sitting to the right of Fudge with her face in shadow moved slightly, but everyone else was quite still and silent. Leo's eyes narrowed in thought.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Fudge icily.
"It means that I think they were ordered there," said Cas, examining his nails.
"I think we might have a record of it if someone had ordered a pair of dementors to go strolling through Little Whinging!" barked Fudge.
"Unless someone did it off record," Cas countered. "You've turned my boys into very unpopular people in the papers, Minister. I reckon there are quite a number of people who'd like a go at them."
"There is another alternative," Leo added, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "The dementors decided to go on holiday. Wanted some place slightly more tropical than Azkaban, I reckon."
There were a few chuckles from the members of the Wizengamont. The witch to the right of Fudge leaned forward so that Leo saw her for the first time. He suppressed a growl. It was Umbridge, the woman who had investigated their house in Privet Drive. Two days before the dementor attack... He realized, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Leo was never one to believe in coincidences, so she had to be involved somehow.
"The Chair recognizes Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," said Fudge.
The witch spoke in a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice that made Leo – with his now more sensitive hearing – want to clap his hands over his ears.
"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Mr. Black," she said with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. "So silly of me. But it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on these boys!"
She gave a silvery laugh that made the hairs on the back of Leo's neck stand up. A few other members of the Wizengamot laughed with her. It could not have been plainer that not one of them was really amused.
"If it is true that the dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two dementors attacked Harry, Leo, and their cousin a week and a half ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks," said Cas, digging dirt out from under his nails before stopping and glancing up at them. "Unless, of course, you've lost control of your dementors."
"There are no dementors outside Ministry control!" snapped Fudge, who had turned brick red.
"Then undoubtedly the Ministry will be making a full inquiry into why two dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization," Cas replied calmly.
"It is not for you to decide what the Ministry of Magic does or does not do, Black!" snapped Fudge, now a shade of magenta.
"I'm well aware," the man replied dryly. "I was merely stating that it would be quite stupid of you not to investigate the matter further. If the dementors are going astray... well, it's only a matter of time before they abandon their posts altogether and people start breaking out. I, for one, would much prefer it if all of Azkaban's prisoners remained behind bars."
"Even your brother?" Fudge leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
"Sirius Black has no relevance to the topic at hand, Minister," Cas replied airily. "If we could return to the current matter, Madam Bones -?"
He glanced at Madam Bones, who readjusted her monocle and stared back at him, frowning slightly.
"I would remind everybody that the behavior of these dementors, if indeed they are not figments of these boys' imaginations, is not the subject of this hearing!" said Fudge. "We are here to examine Leo Black and Harry Potter's offenses under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery!"
"Of course we are," said Cas, "but the presence of dementors in that alleyway is highly relevant. Clause seven of the Decree states that magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances, and as those exceptional circumstances include situations that threaten the life of the wizard or witch himself, or witches, wizards, or Muggles present at the time of the —"
"We are familiar with clause seven, thank you very much!" snarled Fudge.
"Could've fooled me," Cas replied bluntly. "We are in agreement that Leo and Harry's use of the Patronus Charm in these circumstances falls precisely into the category of exceptional circumstances it describes?"
"If there were dementors, which I doubt —"
"You saw the memory – you saw that was unaltered," Cas interrupted him, seeming to grow irritated. "To ignore conclusive evidence of what happened either makes you biased or unbelievably stupid. I'm inclined to believe the former."
"Wouldn't discount the latter," Leo snorted.
"You have all the evidence you need to make a decision. I think it's time you do so," Cas cut off Fudge's heated response. "I believe we all have something else to do once this matter is resolved, eh, Madam Bones?"
She nodded curtly, and Leo couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.
"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" said Madam Bones's booming voice.
There were hands in the air, many of them... more than half! Leo tried to count, but before he could finish Madam Bones had said, "And those in favor of conviction?"
Fudge raised his hand; so did half a dozen others, including the witch on his right and the heavily mustached wizard and the frizzy-haired witch in the second row.
Fudge glanced around at them all, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, then lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and then said, in a voice distorted by suppressed rage, "Very well, very well... cleared of all charges."
"Excellent," Cas grinned. "Now, I believe this court has another matter to settle next."
He dug into his pocket and pulled out the letter he received the previous day.
"The trial of Sirius Orion Black."
A/N: TBH, not entirely satisfied with the Animagus names. Nothing else would come to mind though... unless you lot have any other suggestions? I'd love to hear them!
I deliberated a lot on all of their Animagus forms. I wanted Leo to be a husky but, after tons of research, the lion seemed to fit him better. Harry was a little trickier. In the end, since he was most like Lily, I chose a deer. As for Draco, I always figured he'd be a bird and a black-winged hawk seemed to suit him best.