This story is based on characters and developed from some situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 3.
The Return
6th July. Day 9 continued.
Severus was contemplating what he had read in the evening edition of the Prophet the night before, while he had eaten a solitary dinner before going to bed. He had been thinking about the implications of the lead story since then and was again considering the after effects of the capture of Pettigrew it reported, while eating his breakfast. Both of his Masters, Voldemort and Albus, would have some response to it, he considered both, shaking his head ruefully. He knew that a lot of the commentary was deliberately spun to make the buffoon Fudge look good, but unlike many in society, he was more than capable of sifting through that to discover the facts beneath. The rat had been trapped by his own arrogance. Drinking in the open in a Muggle pub in the town, as he had most frequently since he had arrived, had been risky enough. To have done so in a pub in their own world invited capture, and the Animagus was now dead as a result. At least he knew what had become of the snivelling idiot, it was one less thing for him to worry about. He was pleased that he had, had the foresight to report to the Dark Lord the evening before, it had removed any reason to apply responsibility for the stupidity of the Rat on him.
The Potions Master wouldn't have wanted to have to go to Malfoy Manor yesterday evening, not after that news, worse if he had been required to bring the news to the Dark Lord. It was oddly reassuring that his response to this news, would be quite predictable, violent, and unpleasant. Severus was not so certain of how Dumbledore would react to it, beyond the predictable emotions. Although he knew that the Headmaster would be annoyed the events had occurred in his absence, it was not so certain how he would react to those events themselves. He supposed that would depend on if, or how they had disturbed his path to the glorious greater good as dictated by the great Albus Dumbledore. While Albus may not show his anger in so obvious a manner as Voldemort did, there was one thing that would be common to them both. Within a few days, both would have a plan in place to try to ensure they got whatever they wanted, and those around them would be needed to carry it out unquestioningly. He knew that he, a man caught between them both, like no other that he knew of. As Potions Master to them both, would have no longer than a few days before one or other, or even both at the same time, called on him. When they did, his summer would be over as far as his own researches were concerned. He knew neither would allow him the peace to continue his work, regardless of the stage he had reached, or how useful they would prove to be to the wider society. Both of them would want him to act solely for their immediate benefit, brewing potions or finding information, his time taken from important work. Severus longed for the opportunity to work exclusively researching, with no interruptions from Dark Lords, meddlesome headmasters, or insufferable students.
While Severus was eating his breakfast and pondering the theory of what the consequences of the news would be, the family who owned Malfoy Manor were hoping to remain out of sight of their house guest. They had little escape, they could not leave their home, and were experiencing the all too real anger of the Dark Lord. The interior of the Manor was in almost complete disarray, following the arrival of the evening Prophet the eventide before. They knew it must have contained disastrous news, they had no idea what that news might be, they had not read it before all copies in the house had burst into flames. Even though they paid for several copies, they had not even touched one before they were destroyed, soon after their arrival and one being handed to the Dark Lord.
It had not taken long for him to react to the main story, he screamed his rage long and loud. Sending those of his followers present in the room at the time, fleeing from the room, the house, and the grounds. Each one of them, fearing for their life, each one of them frightened that whatever it had been in the paper that caused the rage, they might be blamed for it. Angrily shouting about the Ministry denying Nagini her dinner, the room the Dark Lord was in, was soon destroyed before he left it for the rest of the house. The Family had fled his presence, and spent the night cowering in one room, furthest from the rooms Voldemort used, waiting for the devastation of their home to end. Powerless to stop it, they dare not make a move against their guest, fearing for their lives, but unable to leave their home, each of them wondering what had triggered such a display of destruction and rage. They had yet to see a copy of the paper, to see what the cause might be. Voldemort ceased his path of destruction hours later, he had been restoring things as he went, only to vent his anger on them once more. He retired to his rooms, but still the family dare not leave their hiding place, fearing it might trigger the anger once more.
It had been just as dawn broke outside, when they had dared to emerge into the mayhem their luxurious house had suffered. The house Elves had already mended their bedrooms, but the three could not sleep for fear that the Dark Lord would rise, his anger had unabated. They dreaded his mood when he awoke in any case, they could not escape without abandoning their home, they could not ask him to leave, that would be suicidal, so they were stuck. They watched as the Elves restored their home, one room at a time, though not the ones that Voldemort himself occupied, they dare not enter those, not wanting to risk disturbing him. Eventually the three family members sat at the dining table, nervously, to eat breakfast, dreading the moment when they were called to attend their house guest. For two of the Malfoys, Voldemort was certainly not a welcome guest, they had not invited him, nor wanted him in their home. Thankfully they both had the natural mental defences of the Black family to defend them, thanks to their bloodline. The third was not!
It had been he who had invited the Dark Lord to their family home, he alone of them bore the mark of the man on his fore arm. He had believed that to provide refuge to the monster, was a great honour, unsurpassed by any other. Even as they were eating, he was making excuses for the damage caused overnight by his Master. He was so engrossed in his justifications, he did not notice the looks exchanged by the other two, disgusted that the man should be so submissive to another as to try to justify appallingly bad behaviour from another. The two of them knew it was beyond hope to save the other, they knew they needed a way out before their home, family, and wealth were destroyed. They hoped an opportunity would become evident soon, they were ready to take it when it finally came.
Dumbledore arrived at the ministry via the public Floo, almost at the end of the morning break for the staff at the Ministry. He had just returned directly from the closing ceremony of the international confederation conference which he had chaired. It had been a conference which had been fraught at times, but as no major decisions had been made during it, he considered the event a great success. In three months time, when the next conference was due, the process would repeat itself on some of the same and a few new issues. I between time the civil servants of the International Confederation would have resolved many of the questions and the parties involved reached agreement without the politicians. The conferences were mainly for show, and a get together for the world's leading politicians, the real work was of no interest, and completed behind the scenes.
Although his arrival in what he expected to be a quite full Atrium at the Ministry, rather than travelling directly to his office on such occasions, was seen by others as an altruistic act of a great man. That was in fact what Albus intended it to be seen as, hoped it was recognised as, so it added to what he wanted others to believe of him generally. It was a ploy of course, a show of making himself available, but also a way of gaining knowledge about the Ministry, from the staff. He had timed his arrival carefully, just as most employees would have begun to return to their desks from the Cafeteria, but would still be milling around the security desk and wider Atrium. If asked he would naturally have said it was so that he was available to anyone who wished to speak with him, regardless of their position. In reality, it was a show of power, a chance to appear as he wished to be seen, the way the three families had once been looked on.
He stepped from the fireplace confidently as usual, unaware that his plan to control the freshly freed Sirius Black was unravelling faster than Fluffy, Hagrids' three-headed dog, could wolf down his dinner. A fact, which would have shocked him, had he known. As he stepped into the atrium, he had no reason, not to be quite confident that the man, who so far as he was aware was still a fugitive, was still mostly under his control. At least sufficiently to not act completely against the greater good. Sirius was not completely controlled, just mostly, he had only agreed the use of part of the house and had refused to resume his old position in the Order. If only he had been able to dismantle Sirius stubborn streak and have him rejoin, then he would have been in a better place, where Dumbledore would have been able to control him enough to simply take the whole house. It seemed that Black had gained a strong rebellious streak whilst in Azkaban, though it had to be admitted he had never been one to completely conform to any role. Except for two, the old Wizard had to concede, neither of which exactly fitted with Dumbledores plans.
One of these inconvenient commitments that Black had taken very much to heart, had been that of Godfather to Harry, which he took very seriously indeed. The man had already offered to take the boy in once, thankfully matters had taken their own course against that at the time, but that may be different now. Black had even argued with Hagrid over his orders to bring the then infant Harry to him that night when the child's parents had died. Tried to take the boy himself instead, but thankfully Hagrid had been determined. Black had loaned him his flying motorbike, but had been smart enough to put a tracking charm on it. Dumbledore had only detected that later, once both Hagrid and the Bike had arrived at Hogwarts having left the child at Privet Drive. Once again fortune favoured the Headmaster, when Sirius had been caught at the scene of a mass murder and taken to Azkaban, he need not act over the tracking charm, to prevent any rescue attempt. Black had condemned himself, tried to interfere in Albus plan, which was partly why Albus had allowed him to be imprisoned for so long without the inconvenience or benefit of a trial.
Albus needed the Potter boy coming to him, relying on him, not a rebellious Godfather who almost certainly would put the boy ahead of the greater good. So he had deliberately sidelined him to the prison, never expecting him to escape or be released. It had been too late for the man to influence young Harry to any real extent, by the time the boy had rescued him from the Dementors. Besides as a fugitive, he had little chance to even see the boy, let alone build a relationship with him as Dumbledore had. Reluctantly, Albus had seen the need to allow the boy to rescue the man, encourage his saving people thing, as some described it. It would ensure the boy was grateful to him for his assistance in the events, but he could not allow Black's name to be cleared at that time or since. That would have been a step to far, destroyed too much of the plan, but now, left with no choice, it was manageable, so long as Black could be convinced it was Albus doing and no others.
Although the boy had been overjoyed at another connection with his parents, he still looked up to Dumbledore, that influence enforced especially by Sirius need to be in hiding. Until now Black was unable to enforce his legal guardianship of the boy, a position taken by Dumbledore, even if unofficially. It was a position that no one questioned, one he would persuade Black not to change, and it suited Albus not to correct anyone over it, having assumed it from the man. It was not all that the Headmaster had done to Black, which he did not want him to gain the ability or freedom to discover, not without the situation being manipulated to Albus advantage, otherwise the ramifications for the plan would be disastrous. He still had to ensure that the man was loyal enough not to question too much of what had been put in place, he needed to control matters carefully. He would not know how carefully, until he had learnt what had been happening in the Ministry whilst he had been occupied elsewhere. That was evident when simply comparing the official Wizangamot report, with the one in yesterday's Evening Prophet. He knew that the Wizangamot had now cleared Black, but the article made him certain that the man was yet to be told. Even if he had been, he could not have left the house until it was made public, this gave Albus an opportunity to ensure this event was managed the way he wanted, once he had decided what that would be.
Albus barely noticed the rush from people clamouring to get to the news-stand to collect a copy of the Daily Prophet, which had just arrived at last. Ignoring the crush of people clamouring to get the paper they would normally have read over breakfast, he had walked the length of the lobby as he considered his possible next moves. Despite the distraction, there was still a long queue of Ministry staff and public, waiting beyond the fountain, to pass through the check point to the lifts. He bypassed the line of people with no interruption, nodded briefly to the security guard, he swept through the barrier without stopping as others had to. Entering the first lift to arrive, he made his way to the chief Warlocks' office to prepare for a day overseeing the Wizangamot which would meet after lunch as scheduled.
It was only once he was in the lift and the only other person in it greeted him, that he realised that this had been the first person to acknowledge him since he had arrived. The realisation shook him a little, it was the first time he could remember ever crossing the Atrium without being greeted or stopped to be spoken to, he wondered why that might be. Few working in the Ministry these days had attended Hogwarts before he had started teaching there, so most knew him and would speak with him, even if only through the politeness of acknowledging their old teacher. He was not used to being ignored, it was disconcerting that he had been, today of all days.
Having not been present for the trial of Peter Pettigrew, which he might have been able to influence to his own advantage, he only had a vague idea of the outcome, essentially only what had been reported in the media. With the stories the Minister had promulgated, he wondered if they had influenced the thoughts of the members of that body. Even if not, he now had to try to regain control here, being ignored as he arrived was not a good sign to him, perhaps notice that his star was falling a little. That was something he could not allow, not when he felt he was so close to finally achieving his aims, after all this time, all this effort, he only needed two or three more years on the path.
He had naturally received a copy of the evening Prophet, and read about the trial of Pettigrew, so was aware of the basic findings, and sentence, which was one thing he would have changed had he been there. Azkaban would have given the man a chance to see the error of his ways, to repent and return to the light. It was too late to influence that now though, he did not have the authority to overturn it, and he suspected he was already to late in any case. No, to champion forgiveness for Pettigrew so all he could do was ensure Black was not given any opportunity to put his life back together without him controlling it and dictating the path he took. He would offer a seamless way through the red tape, using his influence, saving Black so much trouble in the process. Of course in doing so, he could ensure certain aspects were omitted, or relinquished completely, ensuring that Albus influence was not compromised.
On arrival at the outer office of the Wizangamot, his secretary informed him that the Minister would be visiting him within an hour regarding the events of yesterday, and the repercussions they expected. Nodding he entered his actual office confident he still had things under control, he was pleased on this occasion that the Ministers' office had withheld reporting on the acquittal of Black from the papers. Soon Sirius would be so grateful to the Chief Warlock for ensuring he was free, against supposed ministry opposition. Once Albus had him convinced of that, the man would agree to anything in gratitude.
At least that is how Dumbledore decided that he would spin it. Sirius had not been easy to manipulate, even before his time in Azkaban, but Albus did not see that as a difficulty this time. He had managed to break through the man's defences before, to ensure he forgot things that were not convenient for him to remember. Despite Blacks' natural defences, he had been the easiest of the family to manipulate, albeit within limits, all for the greater good of course.
Dumbledore smirked to himself as he recalled ensuring that the rift between Sirius and his family was increased once he was sorted into Gryffindor, just as he had planned. That had helped the divide, although his cousins had remained close to him, much to the headmasters' frustration. When the Heir Black had followed the common place Pure blood tradition of marrying one of them, not an eyebrow had been raised. The surprise was that it was a love match, not one simply arranged for the couple. The problem with that as far as Albus was concerned was that it did not fit in with his plan for the greater good, he needed the Black family divided, not united as this union said they were.
Dumbledore remembered, with satisfaction, how he had managed to separate Sirius from his wife and change their memories. He had ensured they thought that they hated each other, each believing the other was an enemy. She had been resistant to the Headmaster, seeing through him to easily and guided her husband to be cautious of him, well more cautious of him than he already was after Potters' influence. She had to go before he lost control of Black. The force he had to use to impose his memory charms had caused her to lose her sanity. She went from promising Auror, like Sirius, to inner circle of Death eaters. At least that was the story which he had caused to be believed by society, a version of events, still completely accepted to this day. Publicly it appeared that she had even married a death eater, at least she had seemed to have used his name. Though anyone who looked carefully, would find no proof of an actual wedding between them, there had not been one, so there could be no record. Albus was, even now, quite proud of how he had convinced society how evil the woman was, and had isolated Black so effectively. It became a family was torn apart, he saw siblings fall out and argue, parents disown their children, it appeared to be just the result he had wanted. The divided Black family could be no threat, they were impotent against him. The Ashmoles were gone, the Potters as well, and the Blacks destroyed by infighting, the alliance was destroyed. Although, as a result of his manipulations many had suffered, he justified it as for the greater good, her reputation engendered fear, isolating her from society.
The truth was, of course, that contrary to popular belief, she was not in Azkaban, she was currently in a secure ward at St. Mungo's, where she had been since her capture at the same time her supposed Husband and the woman who had impersonated her had been caught. The woman in Azkaban was the real wife of the man everyone thought she was married to, and the real culprit of the crimes she was blamed for. Albus knew all of this, he had after all ensured it all happened from the start. Even providing the Polyjuice Potion that had enabled it to the Death Eater and the woman who was already his Wife, who had willing committed the atrocities attributed to her. Even so, not of the three knew that they had acted exactly as he had planned them to. At that time of their capture, he had needed to work quickly, to ensure the two women were held separately and those who held them believed their identity was the same. So the Healers at St Mungos believed the woman in their care had been sent from the court, and the human Azkaban guards believed the one they imprisoned was her. He ensured that there was no reason for that to be questioned, so no one ever did. No one was interested in those held at Azkaban for life, and the Healers' oath ensured those at the hospital never identified their patients to others. Albus had even tied that to the charm that had driven her insane in the first place, strengthening it against detection. He also knew he could cure the insanity of the real Lady Black easily, simply by lifting the memory charm, but that would also reveal the entire story, which did not suit his purpose.
He had to keep the Alliance divided, the three families powerless, they could not be allowed to rise from the ashes he had put them in, where they should stay until he had complete control of the two heirs. While he was certain the Girl was ignorant of the potions and spells that were keeping her in check, the risk was the independence of Black, Albus must control that man. Dumbledore was the only one who could ensure Harry was properly moulded for his destined task, he could not allow the boy to be close to any other, he had to ensure the idiot boy trusted him and him alone.
The Chief Warlocks reverie was interrupted, by a knock on the door. Expecting that it would be his secretary, he settled into his genial old man mode before calling. "Come in!"
The door opened, and Minister Fudge walked in, trying not to look embarrassed about what he had been saying publicly about Dumbledore in the last few weeks. "Ah good, Dumbledore, glad you are here, I heard you had arrived, so I thought it would be for the best to come as soon as I could to see you, in the hope you would be in your office." The Minister fawned as he took a seat.
"Indeed Cornelius, it is good to see you. An eventful day whilst I was away, I understand. I do question the necessity of recalling the Wizangamot for a trial of such magnitude, especially whilst both you and I were attending the international confederation." Accused Dumbledore disappointedly.
Fudge squirmed! He, too, was frustrated by that turn of events, but as it had been pointed out to him, it was a requirement that in such a case the Wizangamot was called as it had been. He was left with little choice as a result, it was now his duty to defend that decision. As a result he now had to defend events, which while lawful, he was angered by the speed that they had occurred. He now wanted to ensure that proceedings took a more usual course, yet also deflect any blame away from himself or his office." Amelia believed it was required Chief Warlock, it was well within the law to do. It seems that to delay, even for a day, would have placed the Ministry in a very tricky position if it had been challenged later. It seems that because Pettigrew, under Veritaserum, revealed the truth of a crime he committed that another was imprisoned for, it was our duty as a ministry to call the Wizangamot immediately, or the next working day at the latest. That is also true of someone confessing to murder committed over five years before, so not only was it needed to ensure an innocent man was released, but Pettigrew had avoided justice for so long. Once she had all possible information from him, it was quite correct for her to act and call the Wizangamot, as she did. They, in turn, had to act to correct the injustice, it was even discovered that Black was in Azkaban without a trial, imagine if that came out. They also saw the need to act quickly in the case of Pettigrew, before anyone could do anything to Pettigrew, like rescue him or give him a chance at escape, that kind of thing you know. He was an unregistered Animagus, Albus, it was how he was caught, three Aurors saw him transform in the Hanging Muggle."
Dumbledore nodded reluctantly and sighed "Very well Minister, perhaps it was wise, I can see the law was followed and the risks of delay. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Ah, yes, well. Amongst other things Pettigrew confessed the truth of events the night the Potters died and revealed everything about what was going on during the Triwizard and in the last event, where young Diggory died. As a result, there are a number of matters we need to attend to."
Dumbledore began to worry, he was concerned these matters would affect his plans. He sculpted his face to remain neutral, as the Minister continued.
"First there is the matter of Sirius Black, as I mentioned, it seems he was imprisoned without trial, with the emergence of Pettigrew and his confession, Black has been released, and compensated."
"How when he escaped and has eluded capture? Surely we have no way of informing him?" Dumbledore asked, knowing this could lead to his own role in Blacks imprisonment being discovered.
"Yes that would be a problem and will need to be handled carefully. Thankfully the press release was delayed as was publication of this morning's Prophet, which I understand is to carry the story. The kiss on sight order has of course, been rescinded. I understand Amelia is taking what action she can to publicise the Wizangamots order, it is hoped that will bring him to light. In the meantime I need you to fulfil the formality of signing the order made by the Lords of the Wizangamot in your absence, completing the paper work necessary." He produced a parchment and slid it across the desk. "It is of course already active as signed by the presiding representative, two other members and the clerk, but it is tradition that the Chief Warlock also signs."
Dumbledore was reluctant, he knew the potential it had for damaging his life's work, but he picked up the parchment and read it, through. He would need to study it more carefully, but even on an initial scan, the order was worse than he had feared. Not only did it free Sirius and restore his inheritance completely, but the Wizangamot had also ordered a sizeable compensation package in payment for his wrongful imprisonment and lack of a trial. He was also given immunity from prosecution for escaping, as he had been unlawfully imprisoned in the first place.
This was disastrous, Dumbledore himself had seen to it that the Black wealth had been confiscated, once Sirius mother had died, though he could not remove any property, they had been without Gold. He had been unable to do the same with the Ashmole Gold, or the Potter Gold as that would have instigated an investigation into any potential Heirs, he could not risk that. It had only been because Sirius had been in prison and widely assumed to have committed one of the worst crimes in decades, that the order had been able to be placed, to prevent any access to the vaults. The reality was of course, that the Gold of all three families remained at Gringotts in the care of the Goblins, it was not transferred to anyone else it remained in the Vaults it had already been in. Albus had only had access to Potter Vault, thanks to the Goblin who was account manager and being seen as the guardian of the Heir. That and his other positions had gained him influence over the Goblin, who he paid well from the vault for overlooking the amounts he took.
The final blow to what he had planned that morning, to keep Black compliant, came in the penultimate paragraph. As it was widely known that Black was Harry Potter's godfather, the Wizangamot had ordered that the Potter Will be unsealed and immediately implemented. He knew it would instantly remove himself as the boy's magical Guardian, and close his dubious access the Potter's vault, if the real last Will and Testimony of Lily and James Potter was uncovered. He knew there was a possibility that the Goblins had a copy of the real one, he had destroyed any copies he could find, Albus had lodged another version, with the Ministry, but not with the bank he realised. That had been a mistake, he realised now, but at the time Ministry copies were usually seen as the valid copy, and not questioned. That was no longer true, if challenged any legal document must be verified via a method long used, and widely accepted, in Gringotts, to challenge its findings was to challenge the honesty of the Goblin Nation, tantamount to declaring war. It was not like him to overlook such a seemingly obvious detail, it was too late to do anything about it now, his only hope would be if that one was read and any original remained undiscovered. If the real one was found, and Harry discovered that the Will reading was taking place, he would discover the truth of his family's status and heritage. He could not be allowed to attend any such reading, Albus had to prevent that. The headmaster would need the boy to give him authority to attend the reading on his behalf, so he could maintain his control, for that he needed him where he could keep an eye on him. While Hogwarts Castle was his first thought, he realised it would create difficulties. Giving Potter to many opportunities to explore areas of the castle Albus did not want him to discover. Far better he was kept in a smaller place, where a closer eye could be kept on the boy. His hard work was unravelling, it had been his orders that had prevented the will reading on the death of the Potters and placed guardianship over the boy in his own hands. Why could the Wizangamot not leave well alone, why did they have to interfere? He would have to work hard once again to ensure his plan returned to the path he had dictated.
Reluctantly, knowing the problems it would cause to him, Albus signed the document. He knew that he had no real choice, it would simply reflect badly on him if he refused, but have no effect on what had been ordered or how it was implemented. The Wizangamot had decided on these matters, it would make no difference if he refused to sign. His signature had nothing to do with enacting the provisions laid out in the document. Its terms were already being enacted, it was merely a formality for him to sign, a courtesy that he sign it, he may as well appear to accept it with good grace, even if it didn't suit him. At least he was forewarned, now he needed the chance to de-tangle all these threads of his plan that had been pushed out of place and broken by these events. He would need to work out the consequence of all of them that had been effected, and weave them back to the way they should be. He had to put everything back on course again, for the greater good.
Passing the parchment back, he replaced his peacock tail feather quill thoughtfully. Then looked up at Fudge "Now there is of course the matter of Voldemorts' resurrection and the necessary actions we need to take to prevent his rise again, Minister." He said wanting to divert attention away from matters he had not had time to consider yet.
Cornelius flinched, instinctively, at the mention of the name. Truthfully, with everything else going on and despite the information in the reports of the interviews with Pettigrew, he had yet to consider that matter. Given his very public criticism of Dumbledore, he was not about to admit it. He wasn't stupid enough to commit political, or personal suicide for his reputation like that. Instead, he did what was best for him, invent a story on the spot, that would hopefully put his opponent on the back foot, a talent that had served him well in his career, up to now. "Indeed there is Chief Warlock, however thanks to Pettigrew's confession a number of his supporters, who escaped last time, are currently being rounded up, to be sent to Azkaban. Some have already been captured, as they came in to work here in the Ministry, earlier this morning."
If Dumbledore was surprised at this news, he didn't have chance to show it, but there was no doubt that he was shocked at the message that came, the next moment. Before he could respond to the minister, following another, urgent, knock at the door, Percy Weasley entered. Seeing the Minister his eyes widened. "Oh I am sorry to interrupt, I hadn't realised you would be here Minister, a messenger has been sent to your office as well. I believe you both may be interested to know that Lord Black has been seen, he is in Amelia Bones office." He said, then got out of the way as the two men swore loudly, then left the office faster than he thought was possible for either of them to move.
Sirius, Amelia, Tonks and Kingsley were just leaving her office, having just completed briefing Lord Black on what had happened, and making a number of appointments for him. They were just setting off to the first, crossing the open area of the Aurors office, when they stopped at the extraordinary sight that met them. Both the Minister of magic, and the Chief Warlock were running full tilt across the department floor towards them, robes flying, and, in the case of Dumbledore, hair and beard streaming behind him. The quartet stood in amusement as a very red, out of breath Fudge lead Dumbledore, who displayed similar characteristics to the Minister, running as fast as they could towards them. They wondered if the pair had run from the office of the Minister, or the closer office for the Chief Warlock.
"Lord… Lord Black!" Gasped Fudge who then collapsed onto a desk gasping for breath, spreading the files that had been stacked neatly, across it.
Dumbledore took his opportunity, his desperation, and anger momentarily ruling his head. "Sirius, what are you doing here? I ordered that you remain out of sight, in your house for your own safety, this is foolhardy in the extreme." He said sharply, as if berating a naughty child.
Amelia jumped in. "Oh yes Dumbledore, you did, did you? You mean to say that, you knew where a fugitive was hiding Chief Warlock, why didn't you report it? Don't tell me it was for this mythical greater good of yours, the one that only you are aware of. Auror Scrimgeour I think it is time Dumbledore answered a few questions, arrange it please." She saw the senior Auror grin, nod and take position next to an incredulous Headmaster.
Amelia turned to Fudge, "I take it that, that is the official parchment?" She pointed to the document still in the Ministers hand.
Fudge nodded, still gasping for air, and handed it to the head of the DMLE who waved her wand over it and made several copies. She handed one of the copies to Tonks, who, with a flick of her wand, immediately filed it in the department records. Another copy was attached to an owl to Gringotts and sent along with a pre-prepared letter, the original went back to the Wizangamot office to be archived. She handed a copy to Sirius, and she still had other copies in her hand, ready for the departments they were about to visit.
Turning to a still breathless Minister and Headmaster she smiled mischievously. "Right we are going to put Sirius life back together, a task only necessary because of the inaction of certain people." She eyed Dumbledore meaningfully. "I shall be back in the office once I am certain there will be no more obstacles to that."
Sirius grinned "See you later Albus."
Dumbledore moved to follow them. "Sirius if I could have a word?" He asked, trying not to show his desperation.
Scrimgeour stopped him. "This way please Chief Warlock, we need to have that little chat about you not fulfilling your responsibilities, remember." He led the headmaster to an interview room.
Dumbledore managed to talk his way out of any charges a few hours later, after rigorous questioning, far more intense than he liked. Rufus was not a Wizard who was intimidated by him, and had asked some very awkward questions, pressing for answers when the Auror detected evasion, which frustratingly he did each time Albus tried it. For quite a while it looked like the Auror was going to level some serious charges against him, which could have cost him dearly, as if this day was not bad enough already. Eventually though, he had been released with just a warning, though the details of the accusations and the warning given would be on his Ministry record. The episode had reawakened his caution, he realised that it had been his carelessness in what he had said, which had almost cost him dearly. He was not pleased to have been delayed for so long, from what he needed to do for the benefit of all as he saw it. He would have to work fast to keep control, and knew he had to get every detail that he could, right. Due to what he considered the unnecessary questioning, he had, had no time to consider what to do next, and had lost a lot of time.
Albus entered the office of the Chief Warlock for the second time that day. He quickly began to try to find out what Sirius had been up to while he had been answering questions in the interview room next to the Auror department. He had little success, everyone in all the departments was being tight-lipped. After an hour of gleaning no useful information, frustrated, he considered the only option he could think of, it was a risk, but he believed one he could manage with the help he knew he could count on there. He headed back out of his office, he was heading to visit Arthur Weasley in his office, a place he had rarely visited.
He hoped that Arthur would help to retrieve Harry, ensuring the boy felt indebted to the headmaster once again, for rescuing him from his relatives. With Sirius having no need to hide any more, he had no hold over him to ensure he helped keep Harry on the path which Albus dictated. In fact, he was almost certain that Lord Black would encourage the boy to think for himself, he shuddered at the thought. That would never do, he really did not need the boy analysing everything Dumbledore told him, far better for him to be in awe of him and obedient. If Sirius did not act for the greater good and tried to disrupt the status quo that Albus had carefully nurtured, then he would have to be removed. Black was not essential to the plan, the Potter boy was. Albus had decided that he would order the boy be brought to Headquarters, where Molly could keep an eye on him.
Bringing the boy to Grimmauld Place, where Sirius also was, was a big risk, but he had to have the boy where he could watch him. He was sure his friendships with Ron and Hermione would ensure he stayed loyal. Ron would be instrumental in that, the Girl would do it unwittingly, thanks to her blind loyalty to authority figures. Albus would need to be careful that Harry did not feel it was a choice between him and Sirius, or he could not use the boy to bring Sirius to heel as well. Whatever he did to remove Black from the picture, could not be too blatant, that would raise too many complications, and he doubted that to do so, so soon would be counter-productive. However, if subtler means failed then he might have to seriously consider more permanent solutions, but that would be the act of last resort, only used if there was no other choice.
While Dumbledore had been trying to avoid answering awkward questions, Tonks and Kingsley escorted Amelia and Sirius round the Ministry, while they visited the various departments that were necessary to put Lord Blacks' life back together. The first task was to retrieve his wand from the evidence archives, then they arranged for any belongings held at Azkaban to be returned to him by the end of the day. After that, they went over to Gringotts, where they officially arranged the transfer of the Black vaults to him, gave him his family ring, and retrieved a copy of the relevant parts of the Potter Will held by the Goblins. A full reading would be held at later date, when the chief beneficiary could hear its content. Reading the portions relevant to the order and to him, they discovered that Sirius was named as Harry's guardian, as expected. Returning to the Ministry, they visited the records' office, to enforce the guardianship legally.
He received a replacement Apparition licence, after a required brief refresher lesson and test, as well as his Auror badge, though he doubted he would return to active service, for a while at least. A decision that Amelia completely understood, but it also disappointed her at the same time. Not only would she have liked Sirius back on the strength in particular, but she needed as many Aurors as possible now and had already been planning ways to achieve that. She had no doubt that having Sirius back in the department, would encourage others to join, and improve morale amongst the other Aurors, he had also been a very effective officer. That said she understood that he needed to recover and re-establish his life first, not to mention that he had to sort out his relationship with Harry Potter.
She smiled, knowing what it was like to be guardian to someone else's child, she had not regretted a single day of raising her niece, but knew the challenges. Susan had told her about what she had seen of Harry. By all accounts she had heard from her, he was a brave, polite young man, but he had not taken up his inheritance or proper role in society. There were also things about him that worried and caused concern with both members of the Bones family. Amelia hoped that this new start for Sirius, would help Harry as well, she had already told Sirius she would be at the other end of the Floo should he need her in this regard.
The Wizangamot had reinstated him as Lord Black, so they called at the public office, to deal with the formalities and for him to register, to claim his place on that body. He would be unable to attend the afternoon session, but his claim would be registered, ready for him to take his seat when he could next attend. They swore him in on the spot, which would normally take place in the session, but it was not unprecedented for it to be done this way, so no one could object that it had been improper.
They then visited the Department of Magical Transportation, and arranged for the reconnection of selected fire places in his London house to a secure Floo line in his own name. Ignoring an order placed by Dumbledore that only connections he had authorised should be established at the address, they all agreed that only the homeowner could legally impose such a restriction. Tempted as he was, Sirius did not impose that the other way, preventing the Order from having a Floo connection, even though he could have. After that they continued their tour, dealing with the multitude other small tasks required to restart his life. Sirius could not remember visiting so many parts of the Ministry, in so short a time, as they did before lunch that morning. It was quite a whirl wind round of places he had once been familiar with when he had been an Auror. It was interesting how little had changed in the Ministry, he might never have been away, but by the time they were done he was ready for lunch and was glad when they arrived at the canteen.
They had attracted some attention and fuelled the civil servants grape vine with further speculation, while they sat amongst them enjoying their food. Sirius was quite surprised that even the available menu there had not changed, it was actually the one thing he found reassuring about the apparently static Ministry arrangements. A copy of the Daily Prophet had been left on a table next to them, Amelia picked it up. "Ah this must have come out while we were busy, it should have a report on your acquittal Sirius."
Her face fell by degrees with each page turned with no article evident, when she finally found it, they read it. It was a disappointingly poor article, confusingly it mentioned his innocence, but mostly regurgitated the story of why he had been sent to Azkaban in the first place, leaving a mixed message for any reader. Together with the story of his release being relegated to a single column on one of the last pages of news, The head of the DMLE was less than pleased with it, and they spoke about what to do to. Action agreed, Amelia sent a Patronus to all the media outlets, calling them to a departmental press conference later that afternoon. It would be too late for it to appear this evening's Prophet, but not for a number of the other outlets, who could report on it straight away, because the paper had already printed this article. She was determined that Sirius acquittal would be broadcast far and wide as quickly as possible for his own well-being. He stood no chance of rebuilding his life, if most of the population still believed him a fugitive or at best were not sure if he was or not.
Sirius and Tonks left via the secure Floo in the Aurors office, so he could have a medical check at St. Mungo's. They would also drop off copies of all appropriate paper work that the hospital needed about him, including his medical records retrieved from the archives at the Ministry. Kingsley and Amelia returned to their offices to catch up with their other work and run interference on anything the Headmaster tried to do after his release from questioning. Each of the departments, that they had visited, had been reminded of the confidentiality they were expected to give all their clients. They hoped each of them would remember that, when Dumbledore contacted them, as they were positive that he would. All four of them had realised that the man couldn't help interfering and manipulating others, what they did not know yet was quite how much he had already. As the day progressed, they had discovered that the so-called leader of the lights manipulations, were much more extensive than any of them could have imagined. They each expected that the revelations of what he had done were probably not over, they were just not sure when they would emerge.
At St Mungos things had gone well, so far. They had arrived in a private reception room, where usually any injured Aurors would be assessed. The parchments they had brought were examined, copies of some were made, the originals of those handed back, then those retained were filled appropriately. They were then ushered to an examination room where after a shortish wait a Healer arrived to carry out the examination. She used a number of different scans, the results being automatically recorded on parchment. She told Sirius what she was doing before she did it, and he tried to charm her while she worked. The healer soon had him weighed up though. "I was warned by my supervisor that she remembered you as a charmer, Lord Black, seems her memory was good, despite rumours to the contrary. Which reminds me I must test you for any deterioration in that area." She grinned, and was soon joking along with him.
Sirius had to admit that he was quite relieved that she was not in the least frightened of him, she was the first person he did not know previously, who had treated him so normally since he had escaped. Tonks was also sharing the humour with her cousin and the healer, while the scans were taking place. Then quite suddenly, the scans were over.
The Healer was still chuckling, but said. "I really am sorry to end this for the moment, but I really need to study these for a minute or two, to look at what is wrong and work out any treatments we can offer you."
Sirius and Tonks nodded and he said. "Not to worry, I know we are here for a reason, carry on, Doc."
She rolled her eyes, and with a grin she turned to the parchments, making notes as she went. After several minutes, she turned to Sirius and took a breath.
"So, what's the bad news, then?" He grinned.
"Well Lord Black you are actually remarkably healthy, for a man who has been where you have for so long." The healer told him drawing a deep breath, before continuing. "However there are of course some consequences of your time there and on the run, I'm afraid. Of those some we can do something about, others, well, even we have limits. Having got to know you a little I know you will appreciate my being direct with you. So, bad news first. I am sorry, but you can no longer father children, that's a side effect of the Dementors which sadly we can do nothing to reverse. You are malnourished, so will naturally need a short course of Nutrient potions, which I shall tailor to your particular requirements. Your lungs have been affected, but I can sort that out with another potion, same with the anaemia you have and other effects of incarceration. You do seem to have had a cell with a window, I guess you laid in the sunlight from it whenever you could. You do not seem to have the sensitivity to sunlight on your skin, that is reported in many other long term past inmates of that place. Finally, there is a bit of a puzzle, there is a long term memory charm on you, I wonder, was that deliberate? Normally they would be entered on your medical file, if applied to forget a trauma of some kind, especially if applied when you were a child. This one isn't noted, it was applied sometime before your time in Azkaban, and it seems to be linked to another one on someone else, though there is no way of telling who without removing this one."
Sirius glanced up. "I don't know anything about it, so can't tell you a thing about it. Can it be removed safely, if need be? If so, how would it affect the other person if we did?"
"That would depend on which particular charm was used, as it is active I should be able to identify it with a good degree of accuracy, as well as whoever cast it. It is actually one of my specialities, memory charms and dealing with any problems if they are incorrectly applied or removed. Would you let me check it to see if it can be removed, the signature on the magic and what issues removal might cause?. Of course, I can't foresee any damage that remembering the memory might or might not cause."
Sirius nodded. "Go ahead, I hate mysteries, especially when it comes to me. If you don't, then I will always wonder what it is that is hidden, it would drive me mad."
She raised her wand and scanned the charm, a moment later they had their answer. "Ah, well it can be removed safely, with no predictable after effects, by someone with the skills to do it properly of course. Which luckily, Lord Black, I have. It seems it was applied by Albus Dumbledore though, perhaps it would be as well to leave it in that case."
"No!" Sirius barked, seeing the healer jump he quickly apologized to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that today, I have discovered more than a few things about the headmaster and his dealings with me. Such as he had it in his power to give me a trial before I was sent to Azkaban, but didn't for some reason best known to himself. I am getting sick of his interfering in my life, this is just one more thing he has done."
"He could have what?" The healer responded shocked, then a determined look came on her face. "In that case, I suspect you would like the block removed, and it would be my pleasure to do it for you. I have seen inside that place, it was my turn to do the healer rounds a few months ago. It's a bloody horrible place, how anyone could have the power to stop someone being sent there, and not do so is unforgivable. He might be a powerful Wizard, and I have to admit breaking one of his spells would be great for my ego, but letting anyone he knows to be innocent, spend even an hour in that place is beyond words. It shows his word cannot be trusted, he cannot be of the light, let alone leader of it, if he allows that kind of thing to happen."
"You will get no argument from us." Tonks agreed.
Sirius nodded. " None at all, so, shall we get on with it, see if we learn any more about the flamboyant fraud?"
"It will be my pleasure, but I believe removing it from you will result in the spell also breaking in who ever is the one it's linked too." She informed him "You will both get your memories back whatever they are, good or bad, we could reapply your block if necessary, but not theirs until we found them. Oh, and after an hour or so, if anyone has had any memories of the events revealed to you blocked, then that will lift as well, it will be kind of like a domino effect, if you understand my meaning."
Sirius nodded. "I don't think we shall know who the other person is whilst the block remains in place, maybe they shall come and find us, maybe we shall be able to find them. Perhaps they shall want to rip Dumbledore a new one, perhaps they will want to rip me one, though I hope not. I mean if he has done this to me, Merlin alone knows what he might have done to them after putting the charm on them. Just do it please!" He almost pleaded.
"Very well, Lord Black, I just wanted you to have all the information. When I remove the block you will experience some disorientation while the memories return, it is a quick process though, not more than a few seconds, so that won't last long. Close your eyes please, until the memories return." She instructed.
He did so and heard the witch mutter a spell, as she had warned he felt quite dizzy, while his memories flooded back.
In the secure ward at the far side of the hospital, a woman suddenly sat up in her bed looked round and for the first time in years spoke a coherent sentence. "That flouncing bearded old fraud, he will pay for keeping me from my husband and what he has done to us."
One of the subjects of her statement, specifically the bearded one, had just taken a seat across from Arthur Weasley in the red haired man's office. He was about to set in motion an attempt to get a step ahead of Black and retain control over events as much as he could.
"Thank you for making time to see me Arthur, today is an eventful day for many and busy as a result. I was wondering how your family were settling in to headquarters?" Dumbledore asked genially.
Arthur was a little surprised that the headmaster would take time in a working day to make his way into his office. A place he knew Albus had not visited often, and then just to simply to ask such an unimportant question which he could have asked whenever he visited Headquarters. He was, of course, happy to answer though. "Fine, Albus, just fine, though I think that the kids miss the open air of the Burrow paddock. Molly is, of course, in her element with all the cleaning, keeping the boys, Ginny and Hermione busy. Of course Molly is trying to run the whole house, not just the areas that are for Order use. She is unhappy that we can't open bedrooms on the upper floors, so we could accommodate people more comfortably, but then it's not her house."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, sadly Sirius has only allowed us partial use of his home, even I am not permitted to penetrate the upper floors, unless invited by him of course. It really is a shame that he doesn't feel able to allow us to have the whole house, or that he has so far refused to even rejoin the Order. Perhaps we need a way to persuade him that it's in his best interests, to allow us complete access."
Arthur looked at him sceptically. "I'm not so sure, it is his house after all, he is entitled to his own space and to use his own property as he wishes, especially now he is free. He has been generous, giving up the rooms that he has really."
"Ah! The Prophet has announced Sirius acquittal has it, well that was inevitable." Dumbledore looked at the head of the most loyal family in the order, assessing how far he should pursue this line. "Perhaps you are right, but it would show his commitment to our cause to allow us free rein of the house."
Arthur raised his eyebrows, Sirius had agreed that the order of the Phoenix could have use of part of his home, was that not commitment enough? He passed the newspaper to Albus and showed him the insignificant article that had made the announcement, and was surprised to see relief cross the Headmasters' face. Before he could voice his thoughts, though, Dumbledore changed the subject. "In any case, we shall have to wait to see if progress on that front is possible. In the meantime do you think Molly would mind another mouth to feed in the house?"
"I doubt she would object Albus, you know how she likes to mother everyone, including you. Did you have anyone in particular in mind? I shall need to let her know, so she can get things ready for them." Arthur replied, not quite as distracted as he might be by Dumbledores diversionary tactic.
"I think the time has come to retrieve young Harry from his relations care and bring him safely into ours once more." Dumbledore was surprised to see Arthur's face darken, he thought this odd, he had believed Arthur liked the boy, but in light of that reaction, he hastened to add. "Of course it is vital to our cause that Harry feels cared for by us. If it's going to cause a problem, though?"
"No, that's no problem at all, Harry is more than welcome in my family anytime." Arthur stated then his tone hardened. "No, it's just that I wanted the next time I had to deal with his obnoxious family to be with them at the other end of my wand ideally. I would love to teach them a lesson, for the way they treat him. I really can not understand how they can treat him so badly, and no one in the Muggle world do anything to prevent it, Harry deserves better. He is such a good kid, I can't help, but think we have let him down. Sorry Albus, but that's just how I feel about it, I'm afraid."
Dumbledore sighed inwardly, another complication even though it was a small one, they just seemed to be mounting up. He had been going to send Arthur to collect the boy, but in the light of the strength of this reaction, perhaps he would ask Moody, Kingsley, Tonks and Remus to go for him instead. He knew they were reliable, even though the two Aurors had been there helping Sirius, he knew that was simply their job. Besides, once they had retrieved Harry, he would be able to quiz them about what Sirius had found out and done. As they were members of the Order, he was certain that would not be a problem, and he could live with the short delay, so long as he got the information he needed. Having made up his mind he returned his attention to Arthur. "Well I think we shall fetch him to headquarters tomorrow, deliver him into Molly's care, so to speak. I think it might be best to send Alastor, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley to actually collect him though, they are probably the best to get him to us safely. However, I was going to ask if you could produce a Muggle letter for us to send, telling the Dursley's they have won a competition of some kind. As long as it is necessary for them to travel, perhaps to London, to get the prize to give us time to collect Harry. Make it look like a Muggle special delivery or whatever is necessary to get them away from the house?"
Arthur nodded. "Of course Albus, that shall be no problem. I'll let Molly know that he is coming, so she can get things ready, not that, that will take much doing, knowing her. I shall get the notice for the Dursleys produced and sent, it will be delivered as soon as I can arrange for it, that will more than likely be in the morning at the earliest."
"Thank you, Arthur, that will be perfect, don't forget the compulsion charm to ensure they leave. I think it best that we refrain from telling any others of this until he is collected, even your children and Miss. Granger, the fewer who know the more secure the journey will be for Harry, let Molly know that would you." Dumbledore smiled, satisfied he had taken every step he could to ensure Harry would remain loyal to him, even against his God father.
In an out patients room at St Mungo's, Sirius opened his eyes and looked at Tonks, wide-eyed. "Great saggy buttocks of Merlin, Nymphy, I'm married to Bella."
Authors Notes:
Again many thanks to all who have read favourited, followed and reviewed this story so far, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and look forward to reading any reviews you leave for it. Next chapter will be posted soon.
Best Wishes.
Tgfoy