Chapter 28: You're Free, Sirius
HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS
The next morning a very upset Amelia came to Hogwarts. She stormed into the Great Hall with a trio of Aurors. "Dumbledore, you are asked to come in for questioning," she said, standing in front of the Staff Table. "You are not under arrest; however, we need some information only you can provide."
"Amelia, my dear, I will always cooperate with the law," Albus said, giving his students a calm winning smile. "Shall we take this to my office?" he asked, looking at the children's shocked faces.
"No, I've given my request," she answered, tapping her chin in thought. She was thinking on how to tell everyone about Sirius.
"Good morning, Amelia. I see our talk was fruitful," Xander said, a huge smile on his face. He knew that Sirius was innocent.
"Yes, good morning, Mr. Harris. I need the rat," she said to Xander, who just nodded and left, with three Aurors following him. "I want to announce that Sirius Black is no longer wanted by the Ministry. He will be asked to come in for questioning, but as of this morning he is a free man. The Dementors will be sent back to Azkaban." With that announcement, she headed for the doors.
Everyone was so happy the demons would be gone. The students and staff burst into applause and conversation. Some were whispering, others were all but shouting. There was the clapping of hands and the stomping of feet, not to mention the thumping on the tables.
Gossip about Sirius Black was running rapid. It was big news, yet there were no facts. Only that he was a free man. Speculation was going wild, and Harry was sure by the end of the day, Sirius will have won his freedom by besting the entire Wizengamot in a duel. He didn't know how the man was free, but he was sure it had to do with Xander.
Just before Amelia reached the doors, they swung open, and Cornelius Fudge walked in. He was alone, which in and of itself was weird. Then Amelia remembered that Dolores was banned from the school. She was smug about that. She never liked that toad.
"Amelia, what is this I hear that you have pardoned Black?" the little man demanded with all the blustering he could manage. "Only the Minister can pardon anyone."
"I did not pardon him, I set him free. Now, I will not discuss this with you here," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him from the Hall. "Your future voters are in there, you moron," she hissed in his ear.
"Yes, and they will see me standing up for justice," the Minister whinged, pulling at his arm, but her grip was firm. Xander saw this and joined them. He thought it was funny as hell.
"No, they'll see you make a fool of yourself," she said, letting him go right when they exited the castle. "Sirius Black was never tried. An innocent man has sat in our worse prison for twelve years. I had no choice but to let him go. You need to recall the Dementors," she added with a glare. She never wanted those monsters anywhere near the children, especially her niece.
"What's Fudge done now?" the yellow-eyed man wanted to know. Behind him the three Aurors were dragging Pettigrew out of the school.
Amelia turned to answer him and noted the faces in the windows. It seemed like the whole school was watching. She turned back around and continued on.
"He tried to embarrass me in front of the school," she said, hurrying her steps, making Cornelius run to keep up.
"Did he now?" Xander asked, looking at the Minister with a wicked grin. And not the good kind. "Are you going to get rid of the demons, or will I have to kill them all?"
Fudge sputtered an answer that sounded like 'yes'. But he was winded from the walk.
"I've already talked to him about that. You leave Fudge and his toady to me. Go back to your school and talk to you know who," she said, making Fudge look at her strange. "I need him for questioning."
"Why would he want to talk to a dead man?" the idiot asked, looking back and forth between the two, all the while huffing as he tried to keep up.
"I'll get him kitted out, as Spike would say," Xander said, doing an about-face and heading back to the school.
"Why would you dress a dead man? Someone better start talking to me," Cornelius said, and was promptly ignored. Mostly because he was huffing along and had little breath to talk, so they didn't hear him.
"Don't forget you owe me dinner," Amelia called to his back, walking backwards, and got a wave over the shoulder in return. She laughed softly and turned around, still walking at breakneck speeds.
Xander made it back to the school just as breakfast was letting out. 'Dammit', he thought, 'I forgot the wands.' "Dobby!" he called.
The little elf popped in and asked, "What can Dobby be doing for yous, Mr. Wolfy, sir?"
"Can you go stop Madam Bones?"
"Yes, sir," and with at he popped away.
Xander went back outside and decided to jog to the gate instead of Winking there. He was pretty fast on his feet, and he didn't want Fudge to know about his and Harry's ability to Wink. He wasn't even winded when he reached the gates. The Aurors, Pettigrew and Fudge were gone and only Amelia was standing there.
"I didn't mean now," she said, with a teasing grin.
"Wha… oh you mean the date, no, I have Pettigrew's wands," Xander said, coming to a stop and reaching into his pocketspace. He pulled out two wands and handed them to her.
"Two?" she questioned no one a dazed look on her face, like she was trying to solve a puzzle in her head.
"They were both on him last night," Xander answered anyway.
"I do believe one of these is You-Know-Who's," she said, taking them both and putting them in conjured evidence bags.
"You do know his name is Tom, right?" he asked, nodding that he did agree with her assessment.
"Is it really? Do you know the full name?" she asked, her tone full of wonder and curiosity.
"Yes, Tom Marvolo Riddle," he said, a bit smug that he knew something she didn't.
"How did you find this out?" Amelia asked, once again producing her notebook and pen.
"I looked it up after I found his diary," Xander said, with a shrug.
"Where is this diary?" she asked, jotting down a few notes.
Xander reached into his pocketspace again and pulled out the burnt book with a hole in the middle.
"What happened to it?" she inquired, holding out her hand for it, after conjuring a glove. Standard Auror spell.
"A basilisk bit it," was his reply as he put the diary in her gloved hand.
"You know what? I don't want to know," she said, putting the book in an evidence bag. She then pulled out another bag and double bagged it. She hated the feeling she got off the thing.
"So, about that date?" Xander asked, with his most charming smile.
"We can discuss that later," she said, primly, though the light twinkling in her eyes belayed that.
"Fair enough," he answered with a small bow.
"Good day, Mr. Harris," she said, as was proper.
"Good day to you, Madam Bones," he answered in the same manner.
With that they went their separate ways.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Xander went to let Sirius know he was a free man. When he got to the 'house's' attic he heard voices. Seems Spike and Sal found Sirius, and there were just too many s's in that sentence. He hurried up the stairs, there was no telling what those three would do together. They seemed to be arguing.
"I'm bloody telling you that Passions is the greatest thing on the telly," Spike was yelling.
"That's because you can't prove it, being from the future and all," Sal was saying.
"Do you guys have this argument often?" Sirius was asking, looking between the two men, who had come up here to get away from the kids. Not that there were any kids in the 'house'. They were all in class, but still here they were, having a disagreement over the TV shows.
"Yes," they both said, then stared at one another.
"Why are you guys up here?" Xander asked the two quarrelling men.
"Hiding from the kiddies. That bloody bushy haired bint won't quit asking me questions. I'm not a sodding encyclopedia," Spike grumbled, slouching lower in his chair. Hermione was worse than Willow, and that was saying something.
"I followed Spike," Sal said, turning the telly off. There wasn't anything on right now.
"Nevermind, can you guys split? Go down to the basement, the kids don't go there," he suggested, knowing that the boys and Hermione didn't like going down there. Luna did, but Spike liked her.
"There's no TV there," Sal whinged, ignoring the fact that he had just turned one off, and getting up to leave.
"Read a sodding book in your own room then," the vampire said, also making his way to the door.
"But my shows," was what Sal said as they went down the stairs.
"You're such a baby," was Spike's response, and their voices trailed away.
"Sirius, it is my pleasure to tell you that you are a free man. Amelia wants you to come in and answer a few questions, but you can leave anytime you want," Xander said, putting his hand on the man's shoulder.
Sirius fell to his knees and cried, huge sobbing tears. His face in his hands, and his whole body was shaking with years of suppressed emotions breaking loose. His heart was aching with how hard he was crying.
Free, he never thought he'd hear the word.
Xander was standing with his hand on the man's shoulder, just squeezing it hard enough to let him know it was okay. He had seen this before, the many times he had screwed up, like the wedding that wasn't. He had bawled like a baby, out of sight of course. The girls just were so happy that he wasn't marrying a demon, that they just didn't understand how hard it had been to leave his love at the altar.
Heck even Spike had broken down like this a few times after he had gotten his soul. Usually over Buffy, but sometimes over some sin of the past. When Spike had stayed with him at the end of Sunnydale, he had broken down many times. So, Xander knew all he could do was let Sirius know he was there.
"Can I talk to Harry now?" Sirius asked, still emotional. Though the sobs were silent now. Just tears streaking down his face.
"Yes, he will be out of class later today," Xander said, making the other man smile.
"Well then, I have to find Remus," Sirius said once he got control over himself.
"Remus Lupin?" Xander asked, knowing the answer, and giving the man a smug look.
"You know him?" Sirius asked, looking for any sign that that was true.
"He works here," was the answer.
"He does? That's great!" the dogman exclaimed, heading for the door.
"He's working right now," Xander said, stopping him with the hand still on Black's shoulder.
"Oh, right, it's been years since I had to worry about what time it was," Sirius said, heading to the couch.
"Did you want to go to the Ministry today?" Xander asked, knowing that the sooner the better was a truth in this case.
"Might as well," the tired man said. For all he had a nice bed to sleep in, he hadn't slept well the night before. To wound up, being so close to freedom and seeing his godson.
"Come on, I'll go with you," Xander said, jerking his head towards the door.
"Right," the reluctant man said, slowly getting up and moving to the door. He put his hand on the knob and stopped. "People know I'm innocent, right?" a great fear was taking over.
"Yes, Amelia told them at breakfast," the yellow-eyed man said, nodding slowly.
"Good, good," Sirius said, turning the knob. Taking a deep breath, he moved down the stairs.
It took a while but soon they were at the Ministry. It would have been sooner, but Sirius had to stop and smell the roses as a free man, so to speak. He would just marvel in the fact that he could do things and not get arrested or Kissed.
Now that they were there, they moved to Amelia's office. Sirius was getting dirty or pitying looks. It was 50/50 on who believed he was innocent, or if he bribed his way out. Making it to the DMLE offices, Xander knocked on the door and waited.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
It was lunch time, but Harry wasn't hungry. He saw Xander leave a while ago with a man that he was sure was Black. He had been told that Black was out to kill him, then this morning was told he was innocent, but some of his classmates were saying that he just bribed his way out. So, Harry didn't know what to believe. He was now worried about Xander. Sure, the man could take care of himself, but Harry was still going to worry.
"What's it like, Harry?" Ron asked, mouth full of bread.
"Chew first, swallow second, then ask," Hermione chided, delicately cutting her sandwich into smaller pieces.
"What's what like, Ron?" the Boy-Who-Lived inquired, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
"Learning all that magic. I mean you're learning how to fly and all that right?" the boy asked, after he finished his mouth full.
"How did you know about that? It's supposed to be a secret," Hermione whispered in the boy's ear.
"The twins told me that Harry was getting special lessons from a pink-haired bird," Ron said, turning a bit pink in the ears.
"That's not special lessons on how to fly and all that, that's a secret that I'm vowed to keep," Harry said, a small white lie. He did make a vow to keep it a secret, just not a magical vow.
"Come on you can tell me," the redhead pleaded, he wanted to reconnect with Harry again. They had been good friends in the beginning of school. However, Harry had drifted away after he moved out of the dorm. Not that he was stuck up or anything, just distant.
"Sorry, Ron, I don't break my vows. I can say, however, that it is not something you can learn," Harry said, giving the other boy an apologetic smile. He liked Ron well enough, but not as much as he had during the first part of the first year. Ron was a bit of an underachiever. While Hermione was an overachiever. Luna and Neville were right in the middle. He connected with them the best.
Hermione was still his friend, one of his best friends, but she was a tad pushy. She was getting better the longer she knew Xander.
"Do you know how to fly?" Ron asked, bringing the topic back to the start.
"On a broom," was the half-truth.
"I know that, but I remember seeing you fly during your first Quidditch game. Can you still do that?" was the rebuttal.
"I don't fly like that. That was mostly Xander," again with half-truths. He could fly like that but why do it when he could Wink anywhere.
"Bummer, mate, if you knew that you could teach me," Ron said, then shrugged and returned to his sandwich.
"If I can get permission, that is. I was told anything that I was taught outside the Hogwarts curriculum, I needed permission to teach," Harry said, putting his spoon down in his bowl of beef stew.
"How is that fair?" Dean asked, having finished his lunch while the other two were talking.
"It's family magic," Hermione said, bringing the line of questioning and accusations to a halt.
"Oh, why didn't you say so," Ron said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"I shouldn't have to," she snapped back.
"Alright, enough you two. You're worse than Dad and Spike," Harry said with a great deal of frustration. To be fair, Xander and Spike hated each other, and Ron and Hermione probably didn't. Still, no matter where he went there was someone arguing. Joyce usually mediated with the two men, but it was up to him to stop these two. Maybe he should ask Joyce for advice.
"Is there anything you can tell us?" Ron asked, getting up from the table with everyone else, and heading to class.
"There is something I've been working on. I've had to talk to a lot of people and do an enormous amount of studying, but I've almost got it down," Harry said, thinking of all the nights he spent reading, and all the people he'd talk to.
It had been after he learned the Patronus, he had talked to Remus about the Fidelius charm and what it did. He was then referred to Sal, who referred him to Professor Flitwick, and on and on it went. They all gave him something to read. This charm was a work of many sleepless nights. But he was close to finishing it. And when he was done, he wouldn't have to worry about his sister or his friends.
"So, tell already," Ron urged, poking his arm.
"I will when I've got it down. You already know I know the Patronus, right? I can teach that to you," Harry offered, looking at all the third years following him and Ron. "All of you. That'll leave Remus to teach the others."
"I want to learn," Lavender said, giggling a bit, though Harry had no idea why.
"Anyone who wants to learn come to my place after class. I'll talk to Xander about letting you in, but we'll probably have to find an empty classroom," Harry said, not sure if he wanted all these kids to have access to his 'house'. It was a safe haven, even if it did have Hermione, Neville, and Luna.
"Okay," came the combined reply.
Harry just hoped that Xander wouldn't be mad at him. Then he shrugged it off, Xander loved him, even if he got mad, he wouldn't hurt Harry. Of that, he was sure.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Joyce cornered Spike before he went to bed for the day.
"You're up late," she said, handing him some cocoa with little marshmallows. Just like he liked it.
"Was having tea with the Malfoys," the vampire said, sipping his beverage. He always liked Joyce's cocoa.
"Any progress?" she asked, drinking from her own cup.
"Yeah, they think that I'm a bastard Black cousin. Had to come up quick with why I wasn't on the family tree. Said me mum was kicked out," he replied. "Senior was all ready to toss me on my ear, but the missus stopped him. She likes me. After the git stormed off, she told me a few secrets. I think she's on to me and is willing to play along."
"You mean the marriage isn't all sunshine and roses," Joyce stated and questioned at the same time.
"Not in the least," Spike concurred, putting his empty cup down and lifting an eyebrow.
"Aren't you worried that Senior will think you are poaching?" she asked.
"There's one thing I learned about their marriage. She's under a vow of monogamy. She can look but she can't touch. He's not, he can dally, but he can't get caught. I'm on that," the vampire said, tilting his head like she should know this.
"Oh, that's different from my time in Sunnydale. When I was with Merlin, it was stricter for everyone," Joyce said, grabbing both cups and putting them in the sink for the house elves to clean.
"Might be a pureblood thing," he offered as a reason.
"Maybe," she agreed. "Well, keep up the good work. I'll see you when you get up."
"Night, Joyce. Thanks for the cocoa," the tired vampire said as he made his way to the basement.