Chapter 27: Two Cells at Hogwarts
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After waiting for ten minutes there was a knock on the door. Xander nodded to Spike and went to answer it. There stood the woman they had been waiting for.
"Hello, Amelia. Sorry to interrupt your night, but we have a situation here," he said, giving her a tight smile as he guided her into the room. Joyce had left to oversee the feast, after she had Flooed Amelia. Spike was still standing over Black, like a guard. Sirius was sitting on an armchair. And Pettigrew was tied up on the floor, still unconscious.
"I can see that," she replied, looking at the three new men in the room. "I recognize Black, who are these other two?" she asked, pointing at Spike and Pettigrew. "And why is he tied up on the floor?"
"That there is Spike, an acquaintance. This is Peter Pettigrew," Xander said, pointing to each man in turn. "I caught him hiding as a pet to a younger year. Though, I remember being told he's been in the family for ages. I don't trust him, hence floorage."
The last name made Amelia gasp. She whipped out her wand and verified it was true. "Well, I'll be damned," she said as her arm fell to her side. "Was this who you meant when you were rambling? All we heard you say was 'He's at Hogwarts'," she asked the escaped prisoner.
"Yeah, who did you think I was talking about?" the confused man asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Harry Potter, of course. We thought you were out to kill him," Amelia replied, taking a seat next to Xander. She waved her wand and put Auror strength ropes on Pettigrew. She didn't know the story, but anyone who went into hiding for twelve years was not to be trusted.
"I would never hurt Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping up from his chair, only to have Spike push him back down via a hand on his shoulder. The vampire sneered at the dirt on his hand and wiped it off on the other man's shirt. Not that that was any cleaner.
"Well, that's good to know," Xander said, looking at the very dirty man. Azkaban must be worse than he thought if the prisoners all looked like refugees from a concentration camp. "I'd hate to have to hurt you." He flashed his yellow eyes at the man, showing he was more than he seemed.
"I love Harry. I'm his godfather," the poor man said with great conviction. His eyes darted around taking in all the muggle things, that he had no clue of, looking for the boy in question.
"Harry isn't here, and he won't be until we get to the bottom of this," Xander said menacingly.
"All I want is to protect him. That rat was in the same room with my godson for two years. He's a Death Eater, and he could have killed Harry whenever he got the courage to," Sirius said, looking at said rat with a great deal of contempt.
"Harry's been living with me since Halloween his first year. So, he was only in danger for a few months. Why a Death Eater?" Xander asked, looking to Black. "I mean, why do you think Pettigrew is one?" he vaguely remembered being told they were Voldy's minions.
"He has to be, he's a traitor. He gave Voldemort the Potter's location," Sirius said, growling like the dog he can be, which made Xander growl louder. Sirius stopped and looked at the other man and almost whimpered. "My brother in all but blood and his wife died that night, thanks to that sniveling coward."
"So, Death Eater?" this time the question was directed to Amelia.
"It's possible. We thought Black was You-Know-Who's second in command," she answered, looking at the emaciated man, who was looking quite pitiful. "We were sure that he was at the top of the list."
"I never followed that madman," was the quick denial. "I was an Auror for Merlin's sake, not to mention part of the Order of the Phoenix," he said harshly. "There has to be someone who can vouch for me," he said earnestly, looking around again like Dumbledore would come and stand by his side. When that didn't happen, he slouched a bit in defeat. Only the fact that he was innocent kept him sane. Well, not entirely crazy.
"Was Pettigrew part of that order?" Xander wanted to know, but Amelia was interested in the answer.
"Yes, we all were," Black said, glaring once more at the traitor. "Me, Remus, James and Peter all joined right out of Hogwarts. James and I both joined the Aurors, Remus couldn't, and Peter said he had to take care of his mum. That was all I knew about his activities."
"Then you can't use that as an excuse. Not if you all were there," the yellow-eyed man said, thinking hard on what would confirm if Black was a traitor or not.
"Lift your sleeves," Amelia said, making Xander look at her funny. "All of You-Know-Who's men had tattoos on their arm. Well, the main circle."
Black did so and showed clear arms. There were no marks of any kind under all that dirt. Amelia waved her wand and banished Pettigrew's sleeves. There was the Dark Mark.
"Damn," she said, hitting the man with a stunner.
"See," Sirius said, pulling his filthy sleeves back down. "You have to believe me," he begged.
"Why didn't this come out in your trial," Bones asked, taking a notepad out and taking notes with a biro. When she got funny looks from the men in the room, bar Pettigrew who was still knocked out, she said, "What? They work better."
"I never had a trial," was Sirius' answer, while Xander just looked smug. He knew he was rubbing off on her. Next, she'd get a telephone.
"That's impossible," she said, jotting down what was said in her own version of shorthand. "Everyone gets a trial. Even your crazy cousin got one."
"I don't know what to tell you. One moment I'm having a nervous breakdown after Peter framed me, the next I'm in Azkaban." The man was near hysterics now. Xander hit him with a calming charm.
"I can see that happening. Politicians are corrupt," Xander added his two cents worth. "Especially, if they want to get rid of a rival. Is there anyone who would benefit from keeping Black locked up?"
"I can think of three right off the top of my head," she said with a sigh. "Though, two are dead now."
"I can think of five," Sirius said, rubbing his long dirty beard. Xander was so going to banish that chair when this was over. No amount of scrubbing would get it clean again. Pity, he liked that chair.
"There you go," he said, breaking his thoughts on the chair. "Just follow the money. I can offer him sanctuary until you find out if he had a trial, even a false one. We can hold Pettigrew here as well. Wouldn't want him to 'disappear'," Xander said, complete with rabbit ears.
"How will you keep the kids safe?" was her question.
"First off, no one will know they are here. Not even Dumbledore. Second, Black will be confined to this house, and Pettigrew will be in the dungeon. I'll make sure that there is a magic dampening ward on the cell. If there isn't already one," the yellow-eyed man said thoughtfully.
"I'm not ruddy babysitting," Spike chimed in.
"You won't have to, I'll set the house elves to watch him," the wolfman assured him with a calming motion. "However, if he for some reason escapes, you have the freedom to do what you please. Remember this man has been posing as a rat for thirteen years, in a house with children."
"Will I get a trial now?" Sirius asked, almost pleading.
"I don't know what the law is here, but if you've been in prison for this long without one, you should be a free man," Xander said, looking at Amelia.
She tucked her pad and pen in her pocket. "That is the law here as well. Black should have been tried within thirty days of his arrest. If he is speaking the truth, you're right, he is a free man. Though, I strongly suggest you come in for questioning, so we can tell the press that you are innocent. That is if you're telling the truth now," she said, getting up off the couch and heading to the door. She had a lot of investigating to do.
"Keep us informed," Xander called to her retreating back. Then turned to Sirius. "You will stay here, in this house. If the kids are about, you will go elsewhere in the house. I'll do my best to stress that you are not to be bothered, but until I find out you are innocent, you are stuck in your room… Wait, you know what? Joyce!" he called, getting a better idea.
"Yes," she said as she popped in.
"Can you create an attic apartment?" he asked, thinking he could to the same setup as Spike has only above instead of below.
"Of course, that's a great idea," she said then looked at the ceiling with some concentration. "There, done," she said with a satisfied smile.
"Come on, Black," Xander said, nodding to Spike, who would take care of Pettigrew.
Spike grumbled but grabbed the unconscious man and hoisted him over his shoulder. He hoped the kiddies were still at the feast. Though he knew a few secret passages, so he wouldn't be seen, except maybe by those twin boys. They were everywhere.
Xander took Sirius up the attic stairs. He would spell them later. The apartment was simple, there was a bed, a TV, a dresser, a couch, a chair, a coffee table, lamps, and a bathroom. There was a false window that had a scene of the lake, giving the room natural light. "This should do you," he said to the other man.
"What's that?" the escaped prisoner asked, pointing to the TV.
So Xander showed him what it was, how to use it, and how to turn it off. "Call for Dobby if you want food. I'm sure Joyce magicked up some clothes in those drawers. So, take a shower, get dressed and enjoy some muggle entertainment," he said, heading for the door. "Try and keep it down up here, I don't want the kids to get curious. The door will be magically locked. We can come in, but you can't come out."
"Damn sight better than my last cell, but I understand. You've got children to protect. And you don't know me from Jack," Sirius said, touching the soft bed like it was the best thing he had seen in ages.
"Go ahead and make yourself at home," Xander said, standing by the door. He looked around to see if there was anything missing. There wasn't, so he left. When he closed the door, he went down the stairs, to the other door. He hit the second door with an age-line spell. No one under eighteen would be able to open the door. Or phase, since Harry and Hermione could do that. To be extra careful, he added and illusion so that the door looked like the wall. Only if Black made a lot of noise... He pointed his finger and silenced the ceiling.
There out of sight, out of hearing, out of mind. No nosy kids.
He gave a great sigh and went down to the dungeons to fix Pettigrew's cell.
He too knew the secret passages, thanks to Joyce, so it was only a matter of minutes that he was in the dank dungeons. He walked to where he knew the cells were and found Spike lounging outside the only one with a prisoner.
"I'm going to go smoke," the vampire said, then stormed off. He wasn't a sodding babysitter.
Xander just let him go without comment. He turned to the cell with the unconscious man. "What to do with you," he wondered out loud. He then put his hands on the bars of the cell and envisioned what he wanted. A shimmering forcefield appeared around the inside of the cell. It was a seamless box. Even if the man turned into a rat, he would not escape. However, this forcefield would keep out magic, and keep it in. No one could throw spells at the man, and he couldn't spell anyone outside the cell. In other words, Pettigrew could still do magic, but it wouldn't affect anyone. That and he didn't have a wand.
'Wait, did he?' Xander shuddered at that thought. He moved through the forcefield, which was set up like Sirius' room, anyone can go in, but he couldn't come out, and checked the man's pockets. It was like rolling a drunk, but he persevered. He found two wands on the man and pocketed both. He'd give them to Amelia when he heard from her. Probably tomorrow.
Peter Pettigrew would wake up on his own. Xander left him to it and phased out of the cell. He called a house elf. When the little guy popped in, he said, "See this man? You can feed him, but don't do anything else. He won't be here long. But whatever you do, don't go in the cell. See the shimmering box? That's a forcefield, it will harm you if you go in, okay?" it was a harmless white lie. He didn't want Pettigrew to hurt the elves.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Wolfy, sir, Doc is being pushing trays in the cells," the elf said, pantomiming doing just that near the opening made for such.
"Good call," Xander said, patting the elf on the head, which for some reason they loved. "I'm going to head on out. Can you and the others keep an eye on him?"
"Yes, sir, Mr. Wolfy, sir. We's be keeping a good eye on your's prisoner," the elf said like it was nothing new.
Xander just shook his head and left back to the 'house'. He ran into the Gryffindors, and Luna, going to their dorm, so the feast must have ended. Harry was lagging behind with Neville and Hermione.
"Where did you run off to?" Harry asked Xander as they approached.
"I didn't run off; I was never at the feast. I wanted to make sure you were safe, so I skipped it," his dad said, ruffling his hair.
"Did you see anything?" the teen wanted to know.
"Yes, but I'm not telling you, yet. I will fill you in when I have all the pertinent information," he said, holding up his hand to ward off questions.
"Phooey," Luna said, grabbing Xander's hand and giving him puppy dog eyes.
"Nope, won't work. I have become immune to your eyes, young Padawan," Xander said, though he was close to caving. Her puppy dog eyes were deadly.
"Please," the youngest of the four pleaded, but Xander stood firm.
"Sorry, it's an ongoing investigation."
"So, it does have something to do with Black," she said triumphantly.
"None of your business, young lady," was the final answer and the kids dropped it. "Did you enjoy the feast?" he asked instead.
"Yeah, Joyce made sure we had a good meal before all the candy. Ron was mad about that, but she was insistent. I think she was correct. Too much sugar is bad for you," Hermione stated, knowing her parents would think the same.
"You do know that wizard candy doesn't have sugar, right?" Luna inquired, looking at Hermione with a tilted head.
"How is it so sweet then?" the girl asked, then frowned when Harry, Luna, Neville and Xander all said, "Magic."
"I would have thought you would have figured that out on your own," teased Harry, smiling warmly at her to take the bite out of his words.
"Hush, you," she said, smacking his arm. Inside she was glad he was teasing. Before he had been too shy to partake in the ribbing of friends. Now he was happy and playful, though he was still shy around strangers.
Xander was thinking the same things as Hermione, and he was grateful for the chance to help this boy who had come to mean so much to him. It was for him that he was keeping those two men locked up. Sure, Sirius had a gilded cage, but it was a cage.
Harry wasn't thinking about any of this, all he was worried about was whether or not he had offended Hermione, but her teasing back belied that thought. With a lot of laughing and playful teasing they finally made it to the 'house'.
"Do you guys have homework?" came the nightly question, though practicals were used more, there were some teachers that only gave essays. And the kids knew better than to hide the fact that they did, since their foster/adopted mum was the school and knew the truth. So, they all, bar Hermione, grumbled and got out their homework and started working on it.
"Harry, when you're done, do you want to go and visit your parents' grave?" Xander asked, after pulling the boy aside.
"I think I'd like that," the teen said, with a sad smile. "I can tell them about you," he added as an afterthought.
"I'm sure they already know about me, kiddo," Xander said, putting an arm over the boy's shoulder.
"Yeah, but they don't know how I feel about you," Harry said, thinking that maybe his parents might not approve.
"I'm sure your parents are proud of you, and they will want you happy. Are you happy?" was the soft inquiry.
"Happier than I've ever been in my life," Harry said, excitedly. He wanted Xander to know that he was more than content to be here.
"I am too. I wouldn't change it for the world," Xander replied, giving the boy a hug, and then pushing him gently towards his homework. "Get that done and we'll go."
"Okay, Dad," Harry said, going straight to the kitchen table, where his friends were. He sped through his work and was finished even before Hermione. "I'm done," he said to Xander, handing him the parchments.
Xander looked them over and found them to be acceptable. Not his son's best work, but good enough for a passing grade. He'd have him go over it in the morning. "Okay, go grab a jacket and dress non-magical," he told the boy, gently pushing him towards the stairs. Not that he needed to, Harry was off like a shot.
The two met up near the door of the 'house'. Xander grabbed Harry's hand and winked them to Godric's Hollow. They appeared in the center of town, which had a statue of the Potters when Harry was a baby.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this," Harry confessed to Xander, looking at the likeness of his parents, with his mum holding a baby him.
"It's a good statue. The artist got everything correct," the wolfman said, admiring the work of art.
"Yeah, but…" Harry said trailing off, not knowing how to voice what he was feeling. "They celebrate me, but not them. They fought Voldy, but this is the only claim to fame they have. I just…"
"No, I get it," Xander said, leading him to the house that was now a monument. They only stopped to look at the outside, though there were hours posted on when a tour could be had.
"Isn't this my house?" Harry asked, peering at all the dressing the house had. Like ropes and carpets.
"I'll check it out," his father promised. He will get to the bottom of this too. He then guided Harry to the graveyard. They walked down rows and rows of graves, Harry was creeped out, but Xander was quite used to walking graveyards. Finally, they came to the Potters' graves.
Harry held Xander's hand. "Hello Mum, Dad," he started, and then started talking about his life and how everything was horrible at his aunt's, how he thought it would be different at Hogwarts, and it was, just not better. He lamented on the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing, and then finished with, "… until Xander came. He saved me from a bad life, Mum. Dad, I think you'd like him. He's the best."
"Thank you, Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I will do my best to keep Harry happy and healthy," he promised the dead couple. "It's time to go, Harry."
"Bye, Mum, Dad. I'll come back, if not soon then next year," the teen stated, tears forming in his eyes. He rubbed his nose to make them go away and smiled a watery smile. "I'm ready," he told his dad.
"Come then, Harry, let's get you home," Xander said, taking his hand again.
"Home," was the wistful reply, "I'd like that."