Wizengamot

The session was adjourned soon after Sirius Black was declared innocent and Peter Pettigrew had been carried away in chains. Two healers appeared and took Sirius away before Harry could reach him. He turned to Moony to ask for an explanation, who just shrugged, "Lord Black wanted him to be back in the hospital as soon as the trial was over. Besides he is not medically fit to meet you right now. His sanity was the most affected and the Healers feel that too much emotional stress may prove dangerous to him therefore we cannot meet him today. The healers are administering him some potions which are helping him. He was not even told that you would be present at the session today. Also, Lord Black did not want the wizarding world to see you break down in front of them and reveal how emotional you are".

Harry rolled his eyes, "He really thinks in detail about everything, doesn't he? Ok, for this once I will abide by his rules, Moony".

Before he could say anything further, the Minister of Magic was walking briskly toward him. He extended a hand to Harry and said warmly, "Mr. Potter-Black, it is a pleasure to meet you. May I call you Harry?"

Harry loathed this pompous creature before him with every fibre of his being from his pinstriped cloak to the lime green bowler hat on his head. If he had listened to Lord Black all those years ago, Sirius would have been free to raise Harry as his own. "Minister, I would like to say that it was a pleasure to meet you but seeing how you have acted towards my guardian in the past and how you denied justice to my god-father, I cannot say so".

Fudge's smile fell a little but the consummate politician that he was, he rallied valiantly, "I had nothing to do with this debacle, Mr. Potter-Black".

"On that we can agree. An over-grown monkey like you lack the brains to orchestrate something like this", growled Arcturus who had just come up behind him. "Now be gone before my patience runs out with you".

Fudge spluttered and left while Lucius approached them. He bowed deep to Arcturus, "Lord Black, we are honored to have you back. I would like to invite you to enjoy the hospitality of Malfoy Manor this evening".

Arcturus growled, "Be gone with you too, fool and if you have made any sort of alliance in the name of House Black or touched so much as a single knut from the Black fortune, you will rue it to the last day of your life. As to your invitation to break bread under your roof, I would rather die than step in a Malfoy household. The only concession I give you is not banishing Narcissa from the family tree".

As Lucius was gone, Arcturus turned to Harry, "you will meet Sirius tomorrow, lad. Today, Remus has something planned for you. I will expect you both to return by dinner today".

With that he was gone. Remus and Harry travelled to the atrium after Remus disguised him with some glamour charms so no one would recognize him.

They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron from the Atrium. The inn was bursting with people as it was the peak hour of the day. Remus hailed the barman, Tom an old man with just a couple of teeth left in his head, bald and stooping, replied with equal enthusiasm. When Harry arched an eye-brow in a questioning look, Remus told him that the marauders had spent many a time in the inn getting drunk, chasing witches and causing mayhem.

Remus asked for a private parlor from Tom who directed them to one on the first floor. When they were in the safety of the room with lunch spread before them, Harry asked him, "Where are we going, Moony?"

Remus said simply and sombrely, "I don't know if you will like this, Harry, but I feel that it is long past time that you go. We could not take you there before because of security concerns and we still have to be careful. I had a whole discussion with Lord Black about it and he grumbled a lot, but finally agreed. Today, Harry, we are going to Godric's Hollow".

Harry did not know how to react to the news. Over the years, he had been told that his parents were laid to rest in Godric's Hollow but had never been there. He had once asked Lord Black to take him there but the man had refused. At Harry's protests, he had told him of his reasons. "Lad, there is nothing pleasant for me at that place. Your father was my nephew and I cannot in all honesty see his grave and keep myself together. In all these years, I have not been there because I do not have the power in my old bones to see it. As it is, I have seen so many of my family die and had to bury them that I think I am done with it. Another reason is that I am supposed to be living in solitude away from Wizarding Britain. Sightings of me in the village with a child of your age would only spread rumours and make Dumbledore suspicious. We have a long time yet to stay out of sight before we are ready for you to return to Wizarding Britain. I cannot afford to blow our cover but I promise that when we return to Wizarding Britain I will ask Moony to take you there".

Remus nudged his shoulder bringing him into the present. "Harry, if you do not want, we can cancel and go directly to the Townhouse".

"No, no Moony. I want to go. I want to see their graves and may be feel some kind of connection with them. It is just that it is very sudden.". He looked at Moony who was suddenly looking like he had aged years in the last few moments. He had never realized why Moony had not visited Godric's Hollow either alone or with Harry all these years but in that moment, he understood. Remus could not face them either. The werewolf had lived a life of trouble devoid of friends before he arrived at Hogwarts. His family had to live a troubled life changing residences often, covering up his transformations and everything. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he had friends for the first time in his life. The Marauders adopted him as one of their own, disregarded his lycanthropy as 'his furry little problem' and made him feel wanted. They were his family and their deaths had broken him. Harry also remembered a little tidbit of information that Lord Black had given him that Lyall Lupin was still alive and Remus had never spoken to him after graduating from Hogwarts thinking he might be a liability for his father and disturb his peaceful existence. The last time he had met his father was when his mother had died. Perhaps he could do something about that but it would have to wait. It was not proper for a son to live away from his father.

Godric's Hollow

After they were done with their lunch, they flooed to 'the Lost Centaur' which was an inn situated in Godric's hollow and only served wizards. The inn was like the Leaky Cauldron but more spacious, had more tables and more people were in the inn. The barman was a young man who had blond hair, brown eyes and was of average height. He hailed Remus when he saw him and Remus exited with Harry after sending a greeting to him in reply.

The village was beautiful with its wide roads and the houses which looked like they were made in the Victorian era. Not far from where they had exited the inn, was a church. Across from the church was the graveyard where Remus was leading him.

As they arrived at the graveyard, Remus tapped the gates with his wand which was half concealed in his sleeve and the gate opened soundlessly. When Harry arched his eye-brow questioningly at him, he explained, "This graveyard is visible to everyone from outside and most of the muggles see it is a muggle graveyard however wizards have been buried here since time immemorial. Except for the old families which have their own crypts or family mausoleum now, wizards are still buried this way".

He led him by the arm to a grave situated at the far end of the graveyard where the graves looked more recent. His parent's grave was in the last row. The gravestone was white marble and Harry thought that it would have shone in the dark. They had a single headstone for both of them which made Harry think that perhaps they had been buried together. In a small way, it made sense that they were not apart even in death. The inscription on the gravestone read:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER

Born- 27th March 1959 Born- 30th January 1959

DATE OF DEATH- 31st October 1981.

There was a message engraved at the base of the gravestone, "The last enemy that shall be defeated is death".

Harry thought that the message was perhaps somebody's sick idea of a joke. Who had ruined their graves? When he asked Remus, he told Harry, "No Harry. This is the Potter family motto. They inherited it from the Peverells. No one who is a death eater or has hostile intentions of befouling any of these graves can enter this place due to an enchantment placed and regularly updated by the Ministry of Magic".

Harry sat near the grave looking at the gravestone and thinking of his parents. He had never met them in his life and did not remember anything about them. He loved them without a doubt but there was nothing to remember them by. He started rumbling, "Hey Mom and Dad, I know I am late coming here after all these years but I had my reasons. Lord Black did not want me to come for my own safety. Sirius was in Azkaban all these years so he could not bring me either. Moony had to look after me and raise me as per your wishes in secret. I want to tell you that I love you both. I wish that I had some memories of my own about you both to remember you by. Moony did a great job in bringing me up in strict discipline, never over-indulging me but loving me as much as you would have loved me..."

By that time, Harry's voice had started to choke up and he could say no more. Remus hugged him tight comforting him. It was when Harry felt his own shoulder getting drenched that he realized that Remus must be weeping too. The werewolf was trying to control his emotions as Harry guessed from the sobs which he heard now and then. They kept consoling each other for sometime before Remus managed to extricate himself from Harry's embrace.

After sometime passed, Remus conjured Lilies for Harry to lay on the graves. After they were done, Harry whispered, "I promise I will live my life to the fullest, take care of Padfoot and Moony and if Voldemort returns to life, I will kill him. I will come back soon with Padfoot who has been exonerated today".

With that they started walking out of the graveyard and Harry noticed many of the gravestones had names he recognized from Hogwarts- Abbott, Stevenson, Booth, Parkes. He spotted a very old grave that had been weathered down during the ages. The stone looked very old and the name was starting to fade and Harry could barely make it out- Ignotus Peverell. He remembered that the Peverells were one of the ancient families of Wizarding Britain and Ignotus was the last lord before Lolanthe Peverell had married Hardwin Potter thus making him his ancestor. There was also a symbol drawn on the gravestone which shocked him. As far as Harry knew from reading about magical history, the symbol had belonged to Grindelwald. What it was doing here on a grave in Godric's Hollow, he could not understand.

A few graves over from Ignotus were two more graves which looked at least a century old. It was the names on the Gravestones which attracted his attention. The gravestones read- Kendra Dumbledore and Arianna Dumbledore. He did not know that Dumbledore's family had lived in Godric's Hollow. He asked Moony about it. "Yes, we found out about it when James and Lily came here to hide all those years ago. I believe he still has a small cottage in the village where he comes to stay when he is not at Hogwarts".

After they exited the graveyard, Remus asked him, "Harry do you want to go see the cottage? I confess that I don't really want to return there but I will come if you want me to".

Harry was conflicted. On one hand, he did not want another pang of pain but on the other hand, he wanted to see the place. At last, he decided that they might as well get it over with. Sometime, he would have come here anyway.

They started their walk to the cottage which was on the other side of the village. They had to cross the village square. In the middle of the square was an obelisk engraved with names. When Remus saw it, he frowned, "That was not here when James and Lily were living here".

Remus asked around and he was told that the monument was a war memorial commemorating those who had died for Britain in the First World War. As they were passing the square, the memorial changed and the obelisk morphed into statues of a man in round glasses, with a mop of hair on his head. There was a woman beside him with kind eyes, a smile on her face and flowing hair. In her lap was a baby without a scar on his forehead. There was a description attached which read- "This memorial has been erected here in the memory of the Potters- James and Lily and as a tribute to Harry Potter- the only wizard to have survived the killing curse and vanquished the dark wizard known as Voldemort".

Harry looked at the statue with longing, his eyes instantly watering again thinking of how happy he looked engraved in stone. Remus softly pulled him away by his shoulders and guided him to a house at the end of a lane. The roof of the house was gone as if blown away and Harry understood that it was where the Killing Curse had struck the roof and blasted it apart. There was a hedge lining the property with a small gate in the middle. Harry noticed that the muggles who were passing did not spare a glance at the ruins and he thought that it was invisible to muggles. The hedge had grown in the past decade with the grass being waist high. Ivy had started to creep up the walls and the doors of the cottage. Harry stood on the threshold for sometime before he touched the gate and a golden sign sprung upwards which read:

"On this spot on 31st October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the killing curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family".

There were messages of gratitude from witches and wizards who had paid homage to this site and Harry was comforted with the signs of support that people had left over the years.

"Moony, I do not know why I never thought about it earlier but what happened to their things? I mean the house would have been full of stuff".

"Yes Harry and most of the things which were in the cottage were taken by Goblins and deposited in your family vault to keep them safe for when you would come to claim your inheritance".

They stood for a long time at the gate taking in everything until they heard someone clearing their throat behind them.

Harry turned to find an elderly witch in an evening gown standing there and looking intently at Harry. She was ancient even by Dumbledore's standards, was stooping a bit and looked very frail. Remus respectfully bowed to her, "Madam Bagshot, it is an honour to meet you again".

She smiled kindly, "Well met, Mr. Lupin. I believe it is almost a decade since we last met here".

Remus introduced Harry to her, "Harry this is Bathilda Bagshot, the writer of 'A History of Magic' which is the mandatory text on the History of Magic at Hogwarts".

Harry respectfully bowed before her. She gave him a kind smile, "Mr. Potter, I have not seen you since you were a wee little lad. Would you both come for tea, perhaps?"

Harry wanted to refuse initially but then realized that perhaps she could tell him more about his time with his parents and accepted the invitation.

She lived in a little cottage a few houses over. The cottage was two stories high and looked homely. On the mantel of the fireplace, were a lot of pictures and he recognized one of them distinctly. He was a little shocked to see that picture here in this house but kept his peace. He was not there to ask questions but on invitation.

She asked her elf to bring tea for three and when it arrived, she mixed Fire Whiskey into Remus's tea. When he raised an eye-brow, she shrugged, "I would guess that it was not easy for you to see everything today and hold it together. Fire whiskey, while it is not recommended, I find it helps me cope with memories".

"Mr. Potter" Bathilda started to say.

Harry cut her off, "Madam Bagshot, please call me Harry".

She smiled, "Harry it is then. Please call me Bathilda. I may be more than a century old but I still have not come to love formalities. As I was saying, when your parents were living here, I used to visit them. Both of them were young, kind and in love with each other. He would often test her patience but she never caused a fuss over it. They both loved you absolutely and you would be friendly to anyone who offered you a candy. You were very attached to Sirius Black. When even Lily could not calm you down, he had the knack of making you calm down. James was well James. He was different from most others of his age and often the cottage was full of his friends who would come over. Almost everyone who was something in Albus's order came around. Amelia Bones, Alastor Moody, Dumbledore, were some of the regulars. That night when you-know-who killed them, I was in bed after dinner. It was when Aurors started to arrive in large numbers and some of them woke me up that I realized what had happened. Lily had become like a daughter to me, often inviting me to the household, cooking for both of us. In a way we had bonded with each other. After their deaths, you were taken away. I was not in any position to take care of you because I was elderly even then and I was no relation to you".

"What was my childhood like?"

She smiled, "Oh you were the most naughty child that there could be and your accidental magic was powerful. By the time that you were barely a month old, you were able to make things move around the room. James and Lily had to bewitch everything in the house with Feather light charms so you would not hurt yourself and on top of that, they had enchanted almost everything with anti-summoning charms. When Sirius Black bought you a toy broomstick on your first birthday, you started to zoom around the house on it, hurting yourself, scaring your parents and a couple of times you almost killed your cat".

"We had a cat?"

Remus gave a wistful smile, "I had forgotten about him after all these years. Lily had bought a kneazle from Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley shortly before her marriage. She absolutely loved it. I guess nobody tried to find it after that night".

Bathilda suddenly remembered something, "Oh, before I forget there is something that I have for you".

Harry's demeanor perked up, "You have something for me?"

She was already out of the chair and going inside the cottage. She returned after a few moments, clutching a chest in her hands and handed it to Harry, "After the Goblins took everything to the family vault, there were a few things which they thought were not important and left here. Albus gave them to me for safe keeping".

With shaking fingers, Harry opened the chest. On the top of the chest were two wands. He presumed that they belonged to his parents. There was also a little handheld mirror and a bunch of letters along with some kid's clothes.

Harry profusely thanked her for it. He remembered a question he had, "Bathilda, can you tell me what made my parents go into hiding? I mean they were rich and powerful and had a manor to live in with centuries of wards. Why would they need to hide here under the strongest protections available? Did my mother ever discuss the topic with you?"

"I do not know Harry. I once had asked Lily about it but she told me that it was a secret worth more than her life. Seeing her reluctance, I dropped the topic".

Remus asked her, "Who constructed the memorial in the village square?"

She smiled, "Lord Arcturus Black had this memorial constructed a year after that Halloween. Came into the village with wand blazing and a team of goblins and commissioned that monument saying his nephew's sacrifice deserved to be commemorated. The ministry was initially against the idea until he proposed to pay for it".

Harry was a little astonished. He thought that he had figured Lord Black out in the decade that he spent with him but the old wizard certainly was more Slytherin than most Harry knew at Hogwarts. He sure could work in the shadows to achieve what he desired.

Department of Mysteries

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones had brought Pettigrew shackled in magic-restraining cuffs to the bowels of the ministry following the Minister of Magic, the Chief Warlock and the head of DMLE. Pettigrew had stopped trying to escape hours ago. He had laid quietly in his cell in the Ministry waiting for his inevitable death. He knew that all the people that he had betrayed would be waiting to have their reckoning with him in the after-life.

The chief unspeakable Croaker met them at the entrance to the department and nodded to the Minister and the Chief Warlock. Fudge asked him, "Croaker, I trust everything is ready?"

"Yes Minister".

They carried Pettigrew in and Amelia could not resist but ask, "Mr. Croaker, what is behind the veil?"

Croaker gave her a look of incredulity, "No one really knows Madam Bones. Some say it is the doorway to the other astral plane, others say it is related to another world altogether and some even say that it is a hellmouth. What we know for certain is that no one has ever come back from the veil".

In the death chamber, Pettigrew was petrified by Amelia who did it gleefully taking pleasure in extracting some semblance of justice for her brother and sister-in-law. After he was petrified, she cast the hovering charm on his clothes making him hover in the air and then banished him through the veil.

Pettigrew who had been silent till then started trying to thrash his arms like an animal being butchered but none of those present heeded his pleas. Finally Pettigrew passed through the veil. Pettigrew was forever beyond this world.

Black Townhouse

Harry and Remus returned home sometime before dinner. There was a copy of a special edition of the evening newspaper waiting for them. There was a big bold headline with a picture of Sirius from his days as an Auror. There was another smaller photograph of Peter Pettigrew in chains tied to the chair.

"SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT

-Almeidus Bartley

When the Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot gathered for a full body trial this morning, no one knew that this day would reveal so many blatant acts of violation of rights, usurpation of powers, betrayal and conspiracy.

In this emergency session of the full Wizengamot for a full body trial (the first since the last war) convened at the behest of Madam Bones, she made a startling revelation that Sirius Black had never been tried for his supposed crimes but was sent to Azkaban in violation of his rights as an upstanding member of this society. Not to mention, he was heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black at the time, so it was also usurping the rights of a member of one of the oldest Houses. As the facts came to light, the Houses were up in arms against the ministry for the wrong committed against one of their own. Here I would like to remind our dear readers that Sirius Black had been accused of betraying the Potters to you-know-who and killing Peter Pettigrew plus 12 muggles. (To know more about Sirius Black, turn to Page 4)

Minister Fudge was adamant that this trial was a farce and tried to prevent it from happening until the boy-who-lived himself rose up to make an impassioned plea and moved the members with his words. The boy wonder had tears in his eyes, voice cracking and his demeanor was that of a kitten before a pack of lions. His impassioned plea moved the elite of the Wizarding World. They granted his petition.

It also came to light during this proceeding that Lucius Malfoy was not the rightfully appointed Regent of House Black but had been arbitrarily placed there by Minister Fudge who had no authority to do so. Lord Black, who made his first public appearance in Wizarding Britain in decades vowed revenge on Minister Fudge for usurping his rights. (For more on House Black, see p. 10).

Lord Macmillan invoked the Privilege of Houses to compel the Wizengamot to hear the evidence. What followed was the most startling revelation of the day. (To know more about the Privilege, see P. 8). Peter Pettigrew who had been hailed as a hero after his supposed death and awarded The Order of Merlin Third Class, was alive. Madam Bones had him brought in the Court Room and had him questioned under Veritaserum. He confessed to being the mole in the secret organization known as The Order of the Phoenix. He passed information to you-know-who which led to the deaths of a number of notable witches and wizards including Edgar and Ellie Bones, the Prewett Twins, Dorcas Meadows and the McKinnons.

After she completed her interrogation of Pettigrew, Madam Bones brought in Sirius Black to testify. She also examined him under the effect of Veritaserum. He confirmed that they had made Peter Pettigrew the secret keeper to fool others. He also confessed that he, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew had secretly become animagi in their fifth year at Hogwarts.

A select committee appointed by the Wizengamot sentenced Pettigrew to execution by passing through the veil scheduled for this evening at 5:00. This brings us to the question, dear readers, what else is the ministry hiding? What if there are more wizards like Sirius Black who have been sent to Azkaban without due process? With the fact of the Minister usurping the rights of an Ancient and Most Noble House coming to light, can we expect a power shift in the Wizengamot in the coming days?

We at the Daily Prophet tender our unconditional apologies to Sirius Black for all the libel he had to endure over the years and wish him the best of luck".

There was also a little paragraph which stated every word that Harry had said before the Wizengamot today.

After Remus had read the article, he said, "They are laying it on thick. They themselves were defaming Sirius all those years ago".

Lord Black noticed Harry was very quiet. "What happened lad? Why are you so quiet?"

"Grand-uncle, why did you not tell me that you had the memorial erected?"

"Because it was not something to brag about, lad. Now tell us how the rest of your classes have been".

Harry told them everything that had happened in the classes since Pettigrew's capture including being selected for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. When he told about Snape's behaviour in class, Arcturus was furious but quietened when Harry assured him that Dumbledore had promised to take action about it. By the time he was done, Arcturus was beaming with pride, "I feel like I did the right thing by you all those years ago. You have made me so proud today".

Remus was equally jubilant, "Prongs will be turning in his grave with jealousy that his son outclassed him. And he was considered one of the finest players".

Harry remembered something, "Oh that reminds me, Remus. Have you brought my broom from the Black Castle?"

"No, but that can be arranged and I will have it sent to you in a couple of days". He of course was not going to tell Harry yet but he was planning to buy a Nimbus 2000 and send it to Harry. He also was not going to share his plans with Arcturus because then the older wizard would beat him to it and send one to Harry. By the looks that he was sending their way, Remus knew the older wizard was perhaps planning something like that. He would have to ask him to let him have this little pleasure.

After dinner, Lord Black sent him to bed saying they had to go early to St. Mungo's to meet Sirius.

Hogwarts

Minerva McGonagall was reading the paper and dabbing at the corner of her eyes with her tartan handkerchief. James Potter was her godson and she loved him like a son and Lily had been one of her favorite students. She had not been able to have peaceful sleep for days after they had been killed. She had hated Sirius for betraying his friends for a decade but that day when Peter Pettigrew turned out to be alive, a lot of her perceptions had been shattered. She was still not able to forgive herself for even harbouring the thought in the first place that Sirius could have betrayed James and Lily. He would have died in their place to save their lives. It also surprised her that three students had become Animagi right under her nose and she never suspected a thing. James and Sirius were exceptionally bright but to think that their capabilities had extended far beyond what she could hope for was intriguing.

Also intriguing was Hadrian Potter-Black who had showed till now that he was a mixed bag of the best qualities of his father and mother. True he had not yet indulged in mischief making but it was just the first week. It was too early to tell if he was an innocent or the next generation prankster. He also had prodigious abilities as a flier like his father. Wood had briefed her that he was like a bird on a broom and with a Nimbus under him, he definitely would outfly anyone. She was going to do just that- buy a Nimbus for him.

That reminded her that she was yet to inform Remus about his selection as a seeker for the Quidditch team. Remus had sent her a letter that he was in the employ of Lord Black and Regent for House Potter therefore, she could contact him about anything related to Harry. Remus had also given a floo address to contact if there was any emergency and anything related to Quidditch was an emergency to her. She threw a pinch of floo powder in the fireplace and said, "Prongslet Den" (inwardly she thought it was a silly address). A few moments later, when the floo stopped moving, Remus Lupin was sitting in a chair in front of the fire with Arcturus Orion Black.

Remus saw her head sitting in the flames and bent at the grate grinning, "Good Evening, Minnie".

She scowled, "I. Am. Not. Minnie."

Remus just smirked, "Of course you are. Or did you forget that?"

When she glared at him he raised his hands in surrender, "I apologize. What brings you here? Is everything alright?"

"Do you know that your nephew has become the youngest seeker in a century after being selected as Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team? And that he achieved this feat when he caught a Remembrall after a fifty foot dive? I swear I have never seen anyone do that and not plow into the ground".

Remus smiled, "Yes, he does remind me of James on a broom, only he is more dangerous. He performed a Wronski Feint at the age of 8".

Minerva's eyes widened in surprise, "That is unbelievable. However I have flooed you to inform you that he will need a racing broom".

"I know and I am planning to buy a Nimbus..." his words were cut short by McGonagall, "No, absolutely not. I have decided that I am buying this for him".

He eyed her suspiciously, "And why would you do that? Is that not favoritism?"

"Because he is James's son and as his great God-mother, I can buy him gifts if I want to. And it is not favoritism because I am not doing this as Head of Gryffindor but as Minerva McGonagall".

Remus knew any protests of his would fall on deaf ears. Minerva McGonagall was a hard to convince witch. "Ok, you win Minnie", he said cheekily and ended their connection before she could retort.

St. Mungo's

Harry woke up early in the morning and went to find Moony grumbling that the Townhouse had nowhere for him to run or do his exercises. Remus mollified him telling him that it was just a matter of a day before he would be back at Hogwarts. Also, he cautioned Harry that he might want to save his energy for the tiring day ahead.

After being fussed over by Moony, Harry hastened to the bathroom. He came down 30 minutes later to find Lord Black and Moony eating breakfast. The morning prophet was on the table, open to the story at the front page.

Peter Pettigrew executed

As it was reported yesterday, Peter Pettigrew was found alive. He was convicted of betraying the Potters as well as many prominent members of The Order of the Phoenix and the murder of 12 muggles. The manner of his escape framed Sirius Black in the process. For his crimes, he was sentenced to death, by passing through the veil at 5:00 PM last evening.

According to a press note released by the Ministry, at 5:00 p.m. Peter Pettigrew was carried down to the bowels of the Ministry to the Veil Chamber situated in the Department of Mysteries under the watchful eyes of the Minister of Magic, The Chief Warlock and the head of DMLE.

At 5:00 PM., he was banished through the veil at the hands of the head of the DMLE. The ministry assures its citizens that it will look into the convictions of the prisoners at Azkaban to see that there wasn't any other miscarriage of justice.

Harry put the paper down and eyed the two men who were looking nonchalant as if they had not a care in the world. Kreacher served him eggs and toast for breakfast with pumpkin juice which he finished quickly.

After breakfast, Lord Black started addressing him, "Harry, I know that you are eager to meet Sirius but I want to give you a word of caution before we go to St. Mungo's. Sirius's mental state is fragile and he can get excited easily, so, please do not talk to him about something which would excite him".

Harry nodded that he understood. As they came out of the house, Remus caught hold of Harry's hand and disappeared with Lord Black following suit.

When they appeared in a deserted alley, Harry whined, "Never again. I will never get used to side-along apparition".

Moony guffawed, "It is either this or portkey to places where you cannot floo except by permission".

Harry looked around, "Where is the hospital exactly, Moony?"

"Not far from here lad. Come along now", said Lord Black who had materialized beside them at that moment.

Harry started following the two men. He could not resist asking Moony however, "Why did they build the hospital here, Moony? Won't the Muggles notice us?"

"When we needed to have a wizarding hospital in London, the ministry looked for a suitable location but there was none available. They were either too remote or there was not enough space even with expansion charms at work. We could not put a hospital underground because fresh air and sunlight help with recovery. We could not make it look like a muggle hospital. That would have lead to complications we didn't need. In the end, the decision was to hide it in plain sight. Since the location is in the middle of London, there are no designated apparition points. Most prefer to apparate somewhere in the vicinity and then travel on foot to the hospital".

When they turned the corner onto the main street, Harry looked up at the front of a building that must have been at least eight stories tall. There was a big sign hanging from the third floor that proclaimed, "Under renovation. Opening soon!" By the looks of the accumulation of city grime and the fashions on the mannequins in the one window that was not boarded up, "soon" had been over 20 years ago.

Lord Black leaned toward the mannequin at the center of the window and said, "We are here to see Sirius Black".

Harry thought that he had lost his marbles until the dummy blinked and he disappeared. Remus shut his open mouth and pushed him forward until he found himself in what he thought was the lobby of a hospital. The lobby was bustling with activity with wizards and witches present and waiting for their turn. A few of them were in line at the reception desk. There were posters on the walls around them with slogans like 'a clean cauldron can keep you safe from being poisoned'.

Remus steered him past the reception desk to a private room on the second floor. The room was as big as his room in the Black Townhouse and in the middle of the room was a bed on which laid Sirius Black being tended to by his healer.

Harry had the time to look at him properly for the first time. He had heard from Remus how Sirius was considered one of the most handsome men and he had seen the photos too but he wanted to see for himself. At the moment, the said Sirius Black was sleeping while the healer was working some spells on him.

"Have we come at the wrong time, Healer Meredith?" asked Lord Black.

"No no, you have come at the right time. I was just going to administer the wiggenweld potion to him. As it is, he has been sleeping since we brought him back from the ministry. Now that you are here, I want to see how it goes so that we can decide about further treatment for him".

The healer gave seats to them and then administered the potion to Sirius. It took a few minutes before Sirius was fully awake. He whimpered when he saw Lord Black, "Grandfather. Are you still alive?"

Arcturus growled, "What? Were you hoping I was dead?"

Sirius hastily said, "No, I was surprised that is all. You did not interfere when I had to run away".

"No, I did not. We can talk about that when you are stronger", Arcturus said in a decisive tone meaning the topic was closed for now.

Sirius's eye then wandered to Moony who sat in front of Harry, hiding him. He jumped down from his bed and bear hugged him, "Moony, you are looking so young. I am so glad to see you here. I never thought that I would see you again".

Moony's voice was cracking, "I am delighted to see you again, Padfoot".

It was then Sirius noticed the little boy sitting in the chair behind Remus and his breath hitched in his throat. He did not need to look into his emerald green eyes to know that it was his godson- the toddler whose first word was 'Pa' Foo'' rather than mother or father. The toddler he had loved like his own son. The son of his brother- Harry Potter.

He sat on his knees to come at eye level with Harry, "Hello Harry, do you know who I am?"

Harry gave him a grin, "you are Pa' Foo'".

The word had barely tumbled out of his mouth before Sirius was hugging him and crying in his shoulder. Harry tried to comfort him but the older wizard refused to calm down. Several minutes passed before Sirius let him go.

In that moment, it was like everything else had ceased to exist. Sirius was only looking at Harry, trying to take in everything about his appearance and affix it in his mind, tears streaking down his face. Many minutes passed and every one sat in comfortable silence until Sirius broke it. "Harry, I am sorry that I was the reason for James and Lily's death. They wanted me to be the secret keeper but I had suggested Peter to be the one. He was a talentless thing so obviously no one else would have thought that he would be given such a responsibility. He sold us all out. If only I had become their secret keeper, your parents would have been alive to this day or I could have convinced James to let Dumbledore become the secret keeper but the rat filled us with doubts about each other".

Harry said kindly, "Sirius, it was not your fault. Pettigrew had even fooled Dumbledore and played spy for Voldemort. He had even made you suspect Remus who was loyal to you and my father. My parents knew what they were fighting for and they died doing what was their duty. I would accept that I miss them sometimes but I am proud of them to have stood for what they believed in. I know they would be angry with you for blaming yourself for their deaths. They died because they placed their trust in the wrong person. You would have died for them but Pettigrew was a coward. I forbid you from ever saying this again".

"Was? Why are you referring to him in the past tense?"

"Because while you were lost in sleep, my idiot grandson, the traitor was sent through the veil by Amelia Bones who by her own admission was very happy to have done it", Arcturus growled.

Sirius turned to Harry, "I have a lot to talk to you about, Harry. First tell me who raised you? Did Alice raise you? Second tell me if you have turned out to be the always serious (no pun) no fun bloke or a prankster carrying forward the legacy of your father and god-father? This would be your first year at school. What are the classes like?"

Arcturus murmured, "Looks like you will be here for a long time, Harry. I will go now and wait for you at the Townhouse for dinner".

Arcturus left and Sirius grinned at Harry, "I am still waiting for answers, godson. Are you going to make me beg?"

Remus laughed, "At least you retained your sense of humor".

"That I did, Moony. I also want to apologize to you for believing that you could have gone over to Voldemort. Will you forgive me?"

"Padfoot, that is past now. In fact even I was hoodwinked by that traitor into believing that you had become a spy for Voldemort under pressure from your family. I hope you will forgive me for thinking that you could have betrayed James and Lily".

After the two old friends had reconciled, Sirius turned to Harry, "You know Godson, I am still waiting for your answers".

"As you well know, Hagrid took me away from the ruins of the cottage. Dumbledore did not know anyone else on my father's side of the family who was alive to take me in. Even with Voldemort gone, most of his death eaters were still free. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Giving me to a wizarding family to raise would have exposed me and them to the possibility of death eaters finding and killing all of us. Or, he could give me to my only living blood relative, who hates everything about magic, but the blood wards would protect us. He made some protections from the sacrifice of my mother based on blood magic and erected wards around their home which prevented any magical with a dark mark or having hostile intentions towards me from entering the place. The muggles as you probably know were a nasty piece of work. They kept me in awful conditions".

Sirius looked ready to brawl, "Do you mean he left you with Petunia and her monstrous slug of a husband? They are the meanest muggles alive".

Remus patted his arm, "He is not yet finished telling, Padfoot. Now calm down or Healer Meredith will throw us out and douse you with a sleep potion again".

Healer Meredith, who was sitting nearby, glared at Sirius to show that she might just do as Remus suggested. "You know Mr. Black, one of the healers here has sung your praises saying how helpful you were to ladies before your incarceration. That you never created a fuss with them but ever since you have come into my care, all you have done is cause trouble for me. If you say one more word before Mr. Potter- Black is done telling his part of the story, I will have you doused with sleep potion and forget to enervate you".

Sirius looked towards Harry, "you heard the healer, Prongslet. Go on with your story. I will not say another word now".

Harry continued, "There are things that I should not speak about in public, so we will talk about them when you are home or maybe Remus will be able to fill you in on it later. I will answer as many of your questions as I can here. Alice Longbottom who was my godmother did not raise me because a few days after my parents were killed, she and Frank Longbottom were tortured into insanity by the Cruciatus curse at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange, Rabbastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. They are alive to this day but they are not conscious of the world around them. Since their incapacitation, they have been residents of the Permanent Spell Damage Ward here at St. Mungo's. After I was rescued from the muggles, I was raised by Lord Black and Moony. No I am not a studious bloke but a fun loving prankster. I started at Hogwarts this year and the classes have been fun mostly except for Severus Snape".

"Snape! Who let that death eater be a teacher?" Sirius bellowed.

Remus glared at him, "Padfoot, we will talk about that later. When you get well and are at home, we will have a long talk about it".

Sirius turned to Harry, "Sorry, I could not control my feelings. So what else do you like to do?"

Harry grinned, "Oh, I am a flier. I love flying and Lord Black had me attend flying lessons on a Hippogriff, Abraxan Horses and I own my own broom. There is also a sort of surprise which I do not want to spoil for you but you will have to see it for yourself when they let you out of here".

Harry was recounting his school experiences and bits about his life-time to Sirius for some time when Healer Meredith interrupted them, "Mr. Potter-Black and Mr. Lupin, it is past visiting hours now. If you want you can visit him later".

Sirius kissed his forehead telling him to take care and that he would see him soon.

Hogwarts, the next day

Harry returned to Hogwarts half way through breakfast time, flooing into Professor McGonagall's office.

"Morning Mr. Potter- Black', she said from her chair, "Make sure that you are not spreading ash all over the carpet".

"Morning Professor", he replied while he banished the soot from his robes with a scourgify charm.

When he came to the Great Hall, the lions were sitting in a huddled group. As they saw him, they all started hailing him and made a point of it to show off to the Slytherins that he was back.

He asked one of the twins, "Mate, what is this all about? I know I am famous but such a reception?"

The twins grinned, "Oh, Malfoy has been spouting all over the place that you were expelled and how his father has taken care of you. We just sent a message to him that he can go soak his head".

"Don't worry. He has to pay for the stunt he did on Thursday. Are you both up to some pranking?"

The twins grinned, "What do you have in mind?"

With their heads close together, Harry explained his plan to them.

As they were talking, owl post started coming in and a big Tawny Owl landed in front of Ron, extending its leg to him. Ron took the letter and the bird did not instantly fly away. He supposed it was waiting for an answer and opened the letter.

"Dear Mr. Weasley

My name is Arcturus Orion Black, Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. I know that we have had no occasion to talk before this, nor was there a reason to do so.

I understand that recently, you lost your pet and I feel partly responsible. This created a debt between us which cannot be left unpaid so, I have bought this owl, Merion as a gift to you to replace the pet you lost. I apologize if you feel that an owl cannot compensate for a rat. I have an aversion to rats. In my opinion, they make poor pets anyway.

Sincerely,

Arcturus Orion Black

Order of Merlin First class,

Lord of Ancient and Most Noble House of Black".

Ron turned to Harry, "What is the meaning of this, Harry?"

Harry just shrugged, "Lord Black does not like to owe debts to anyone. He never forgets to repay any good deed or bad deed done to him. However you are at liberty to either accept the gift or leave it".

Ron caught hold of the owl and caressed its back lovingly, "I like him. I'll take him".

Classes were easy for Harry as they had been the previous week. First class was charms where Professor Flitwick had them repeat the incendio for this lesson. While most were done with incendio, he wanted every student to be perfect in it. Harry also submitted his homework scroll to the tiny teacher and it was a little more than the two foot parchment that he required however after concisely articulating all the information he wanted to convey, it was not easy to contain it within 2 feet. He had not put any special effort into the essay but had made sure to write everything in it that was asked of him. Ron had submitted a scroll which was barely 2 feet and his handwriting was such that if Harry were to write only that much in his parchment, it would be six inches short of the required length. Neville's was an even 2 feet but his words were small and cursive. Hermione had submitted 3 feet of parchment and Harry wondered what she had included in it to exceed the required length by a full foot. This class he sat with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. Susan, he found was fun to be around and liked pranks while Hannah was equally funny however always looked towards Susan to lead her.

As they were talking, Harry asked her in an undertone, "Susan, how do you feel about a prank?"

"It sounds like fun to me".

"Good, because I will need your help for one. I am planning to announce my pranking debut at school".

She asked him, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh? Madam Bones has not told you yet that my father and his friends were the best pranksters in this school?"

She gave him a smirk, "Yeah, she mentioned it once but I thought you would take a different route and be the studious type".

He scrunched up his forehead, "Where is the fun in that? I plan to make our 7 years full of joy and laughter. So, are you in?"

"Of course I am. I hope it will be worth it".

In Herbology, Professor Sprout introduced them to Spiky Bush, which was a bush with large piercing spikes growing out of it.

She began to speak, "This is the spiky bush which is used in a couple of potions as a stabilizing agent. It has no other use. The plant has a defense mechanism which activates when one tries to harm it. The plant shoots spikes at anyone in the vicinity. If a spiky bush is attacking you, you have to use the incendio charm on them. I advise you to stand well back when you use the incendio charm on them so you do not get hit by the flying spikes".

For Herbology, he sat with Ron and Neville, "Hello you two. How were two days without me?"

Neville answered, "Very wearing. I had to answer a hundred questions about you and why you were at the ministry. I heard nothing, saw nothing and said nothing".

"Well then Neville, you are in for a treat. The plans for our debut are in place. Trust me when I say that we will have such a spectacular opening that if anyone knew about it, we would be expelled post-haste".

Neville grinned and then set about destroying the plant. They took turns at trying to destroy the bush from a distance. Neville outperformed the others because he could take a shot at them from much closer than others. He had worked with the plant for years.

He sought the claws during lunch knowing they would not otherwise talk to him in class. As he had been assured of help by Lisa and Michael, he sat with them.

"Lisa, I distinctly remember that you had promised help to me for a prank. You had also complained that things were boring in the Eagle's nest. How do you feel about shaking up the order of things?"

Michael answered, "I believe I speak for both of us when I say that we are positively delighted with the idea. What is the plan?"

"I will let you know in due course however, be warned that this will not be as easy as it may sound to you. One mistake and you will jeopardize a lot of us".

"Challenge accepted, Harry".

In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall collected the homework assigned to them in the last class before she started, "In the last class, some of you accomplished the transfiguration. There are still many of you who could not. This lesson, we will revise what we studied in the last lesson".

That lesson was spent with Professor McGonagall singling him out and again upending a stack of match-sticks in front of him. Grumbling about the unfairness to Mandy and Su Li, he spent the lesson transforming the match sticks into needles.

That evening, Harry had planned for his revenge on Malfoy for the stunt he had pulled during the flying lesson. He had Neville smuggle out a vine of the Prickly bush during the class which was hidden inside his robes wrapped in his scarf.

They had tailed Malfoy to the library where they spent an hour on a table in the back watching him. Malfoy got tired of the library soon and as he was leaving, Harry took a few short-cuts and arrived before Malfoy on the way to the Dungeons. Neville uncovered the vine and they placed it in the middle of the corridor while making sure that there was no one around to see them. There was not even a portrait visible to them and after they had set the plant in place, he and Neville stood under the Invisibility Cloak directly in front of the vine, their wands out and ready. Soon enough Malfoy came their way flanked by his ever present goons, Crabb and Goyle. As he was nearing the spot, they each sent a stunner from under his cloak in the direction of Malfoy, shouting "Stupefy!" at the top of their voice. The stunners were not meant for Malfoy but Crabbe and Goyle who were just behind him. As they hit the ground with a thud, Malfoy whipped his wand out and sent a bludgeoning hex in their direction. Harry and Neville however had moved out of the spot seconds ago and the hex hit the vine instead.

Just as Professor Sprout had described, the plant's defense mechanism activated and fired a huge volley of spikes at Malfoy, peppering him with them. By the time that he realized what had happened and started to scream, he looked like a hedgehog with the spines on the wrong side.

Harry and Neville scurried away under the invisibility cloak as fast as they could because they knew that Malfoy's wailing would attract attention and cloak or not, this place was soon going to be too hot for them.

Mere seconds after they had vacated the corridor, Snape came running that way with cloak billowing behind him, his wand raised. When he understood the situation, he destroyed the vine by fire. He enervated, then interrogated Crabbe and Goyle. When they failed to provide any coherent answer, Snape sent them to their dorm. After they were on their way, he conjured a stretcher and levitated his godson into it, carrying him to the Hospital Wing. He vowed revenge on whoever had done this to Draco but he had no idea that things were just getting started.

Hospital Wing

Madam Pomfrey was about to go to bed when Severus entered the Hospital Wing levitating a stretcher and a student was in it, covered with what looked like spikes from a spike bush. As far as she knew, Herbology classes did not take place in the evenings nor did Severus Snape teach them. She had to wonder how this came to be.

"Severus, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

"I was in the potions dungeon inventorying the ingredients when I heard cries and found him in the corridor covered with spikes and a vine of spiky bush attacking him. There were two more students there who were stunned and unconscious but otherwise unharmed. I sent them to their dormitory. I will complain to Dumbledore that someone attacked my students".

She chided him, "Really Severus? Is that what you think? I have treated worse than this from the hands of your students. You never spoke up then. These are just spikes which I will get out of him in a trice and give him a dreamless sleep potion with something for pain. He should be fine by morning. I do not think you need to trouble Dumbledore about it but by all means, do as you see fit".

Headmaster's Office

Severus had disregarded Poppy's advice and went to complain to Dumbledore anyway. The Headmaster was sitting behind his desk lost in contemplation when Severus entered, bellowing, "Headmaster, someone attacked my students. I want the perpetrators to be punished".

"Calm down, Severus. Tell me what has happened?"

Severus recounted everything that had happened. Dumbledore sat thinking over things for a few moments before he started to speak, "Do you know the identity of the one who attacked Mr. Malfoy? Was there any portrait or ghost in that corridor who can help you in anyway?"

"No, Headmaster but I know the attacker used a stunner to render my students unconscious".

Dumbledore eyed him sceptically, "And you want the teachers to check everyone's wand to find out if they used a stunner recently? Really?"

Now that Dumbledore asked him, Snape realized that this was a silly thing to do. Hogwarts had hundreds of students and a stunner was a really common and easy spell. The chances of finding a wand that had fired a stunner recently was near absolute certainty and that would be a lot of work to prove nothing.

He was about to leave, when Dumbledore stopped him, "Severus, before you go, I have been informed that you had some disagreement with Mr. Potter- Black. You deducted points from his house, despite him giving you all the correct answers. Also that you ordered the students to start brewing without first teaching them any of the basics. Severus, do I have to tell you every year that I cannot save you all the time. You have every year provoked the students who complained against your conduct and I saved you but not this time. If it were any other student, I may have been able to do something but Harry has Lord Black behind him who hates you and will stop at nothing to get back at you. Now Sirius is also free and how do you think he will react if he finds that you are mistreating his godson? Besides, it is essential to the standards of this school that students receive proper instruction. Even for many new students from wizarding families, your class is the first time they have ever tried to brew a potion. You must teach them the basics if you expect any of them to learn something from your class. If you cannot mend your ways, I will have to restrict you to NEWT students and hire another teacher to teach students from first year to fifth years. Another thing I do not understand is what is your problem with Mr. Potter-Black? I have seen the memory of your interaction with him and I am disappointed. Why do you refuse to understand that he is not his father or his mother? He is much more than either of them. If I have to predict then within a year, he will have the students following him just because he is an interesting person. I am letting you go with a warning this time but I do not want another complaint. Do I make myself clear?"

Snape sneered, "Yes Headmaster. Also, if you will remember that I did not want this job but you asked me to do it. If I had my way, I would have been gone all those years ago".

Dumbledore said sternly, "You know as well as I do that there is no place on Earth that Voldemort will not find you when he returns. You are here as much for your protection as for teaching any students. Also remember you had made a promise to me and to yourself. If you have forgot it, then pull a memory and watch it again. As talented a potioneer as you are, you will change your attitude towards the students. No one deserves your hate because they have done you no harm".

A/N- Hello guys. First of all, let me apologise. When I updated chapter 4, I deleted the 100 words long introduction which had nothing to do with the story. Due to that most of my regular readers could not read that one or they did not realize that another chapter had been uploaded. If you have not yet read that chapter, I would encourage you to go back and read it and if you have read that but could not post your review, I would love a combined review of the previous chapter and the present one.

Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter and gave such awesome comments. I am gratified.