"Let Sirius know that I wish to speak with him?" Orion requested of his father again.
Arcturus gave him a searching look. "I will leave the message." He finally said before taking his leave. He needed to stop by Gringotts one last time before calling the Wizengamot together. He needed to get ahead of this. His lawyers were already on the case to keep Sirius safe, the Potter child's lawyers were doing everything they could to keep the child's name from being plastered all over the papers, and the goblins were ensuring everything was in order with the boy's estate and inheritance.
He would handle everything in the political arena.
Sirius stretched when he woke up, smiling slightly at the baby noises coming from Harry before his smile turned into a frown as he remembered where they were and why.
James and Lily were... they were gone.
He shoved his hand through his hair roughly with a sigh, mind racing with everything he needed to do now, not letting himself dwell on the 'why' for the moment. All the paperwork was already taken care of, Harry was legally his and the announcements had already gone out for the Will Reading. He just had to get the arrangements for the funeral now... he had to owl Remus, too. He should probably owl the Longbottom's, they should probably stay on their guard for a while longer to let things calm down.
Harry might like seeing Neville, too. It had been a while since the two boys had been able to play together, not that he was sure the boys even remembered it much.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Harry started fussing, tears in his eyes while he glared at Sirius almost accusingly. Startled, he glanced at the time, and realized he was probably hungry, Lily usually had him fed by now. Picking him up, he looked around. He hadn't brought any of Harry's things or anything with him when he fled the house in Godric's Hollow, so he didn't have any food for him. He didn't even have a change of clothes.
For either himself or for Harry.
Frowning, he searched near the door, trying to remember where the rune Narg had shown him was, the one that would summon a runner. He'd been asked not to wander around without an escort, and he didn't feel like getting lost in the maze of Gringotts. At any other time that would be an adventure, but not with a hungry fifteen month old.
He briefly wondered why Harry wasn't kicking up a fuss about his mother not being there, but supposed that the boy had woken up enough times with her not there (stupid Dumbledore for forcing that babysitting rotation on the two mothers instead of just letting them step back from the war!) that he hadn't realized anything was wrong yet. He was not looking forward to the coming weeks, not once Harry started demanding his parents. He was a very quiet child, very happy. His parents were the only thing he would really make a fuss over if he felt that he had gone long enough without seeing them.
"Ah ha!" He exclaimed, finding and pressing on the rune, pushing some of his magic into it. "Not long now, kiddo. We'll get you some food." He promised, and then made a face before looking around for something he could wrap Harry up in until some fresh clothes and diaper could be arranged. He'd just laid Harry down to get him out of the dirty things when the runner arrived.
"Yes?" He asked the human, watching him curiously as he wrestled with the squirming, fussy child. He of course knew what happened, all of Gringotts knew by now.
"I was hoping we could get some food and clean clothes?" Sirius asked, looking up at the Goblin in question.
"Ah, a bag of supplies was retrieved last night from the house, let me go get it and alert Sharpaxe you are awake." The Goblin nodded once and vanished, barely hearing the humans' shouted 'thank you' as he disappeared down the hall.
Sirius barely let himself wonder when the Goblins had been by the house, and why, instead letting himself focus on keeping Harry entertained. It was not an easy task, the boy was hungry. He didn't want to play with his uncle, he wanted to eat!
"I hear somebody is hungry. We have food coming for both of you." Sharpaxe said, entering the room, Grinder behind him. He handed over the bag and watched as Sirius rooted through it, triumphantly bringing out a diaper, which he quickly put on the boy before following it up with a pair of shorts and a shirt. He grinned in triumph when he unearthed some snack items Lily kept there for when they were away from the house and Harry got hungry. It should be fine to let him have a bit while they waited for breakfast.
"The Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for you, for treason and kidnapping." Grinder informed the wizard once the young heir was sufficiently distracted with the food items.
"What?" He demanded, blinking.
"We've already had to send them off several times as they attempted to freeze your accounts or put an alert on your vaults." Sharpaxe sighed. "Without a conviction notice, I might add, or trial transcripts."
"I and your grandfather have already set your lawyers on them." Grinder grinned ferally while Sirius couldn't decide if he should feel sorry for the Ministry or not. Nah, they were trying to tear him away from his godson.
"While I have set the Potter lawyers on the media, trying to keep this contained. They are already calling him the Boy-Who-Lived, trying to create some legend out of him." Sharpaxe shook his head at the stupidity of it. He was a fifteen month old baby, not some super-wizard or the next coming of Merlin, and yet...
"Well that's just stupid." Sirius muttered darkly, only perking up when his and Harry's breakfast arrived. "Thank you." He took the plates, and started ensuring Harry's was bite-sized enough that he could eat it without problem, and then watched him carefully to make sure more of it went in his mouth then on the floor, but Harry was usually a pretty good eater.
"Quite." Sharpaxe and Grinder agreed with him. "A ward evaluation on the house in Godric's Hollow is being done, the Curse-Breakers and Ward-Masters were sent out this morning after we kicked the Ministry officials off the property last night and placed the home in stasis."
"Why..." He could understand the Aurors being there, the house was now a crime scene, but officials?
"I don't know. I intend to find out, however." Sharpaxe promised. He would tell him later about the plans to turn the home into a monument. He wanted to find out whose bright idea that was first. The wizards truly weren't wasting any time in planning the young heir's life, right down to stealing one of his properties from him. "Now, we never got to speak last night, but James made arrangements for an event such as this. He authorized for the purchase of a home in America for yourself and young Harry until you feel it's safe to come back, or you can stay here and fight against what Albus Dumbledore is attempting."
"And just what is he attempting?" Sirius asked slowly, not sure if he wanted to know.
"He's tried to cancel the Will Reading, first by declaring the Will's false, then by trying to seal them through Ministerial decree. He's tried to overturn your guardianship of young Harry, the lawyers are already working on the charges and arrest warrant. He's tried several times to give himself the Executor position over the Potter Vaults, and tried to declare himself proxy over the seats. Your grandfather is handling that one in your stead. And he's already spoken to the media, telling them exactly what happened last night, down to every last detail."
"How would he know details? The only one who could tell us what happened in that house is Harry. He's a year old." Sirius said, confused. "He can barely string two words together."
"Exactly." Grinder muttered. Wizards, honestly!
"The Potter family lawyers are handling that." Sharpaxe assured him.
"In other news." Grinder cut in. "Your grandfather was here last night to see you, you were asleep however, so he merely looked in. Two Aurors will be here in..." He consulted a nearby clock. "Two hours to get your statement under Veritaserum, just to ensure nobody can find fault. Your grandfather has also asked me to inform you to forget anything your mother ever told you about you being disowned. She has been banished to Grimmauld Place, where she cannot leave and her correspondence is being monitored. He will be by to speak with you shortly, and your father may or may not be with him." He informed the Black Heir of some more that happened while he'd been asleep.
Sirius licked his lips, but nodded. He hadn't spoken with either his grandfather or father since he'd run away to the Potter's, but his mother's Howler a few days later had been more then clear that he'd been disowned. When he'd tried to access his vault for school that fall, he'd found it reabsorbed into the main family vaults. Thankfully the Potter's had been more then willing to pay for everything that year. If he wasn't really disowned, then why... ah. The Head of House had control of the family vaults, but the parents had control over their own children's trust or personal vaults.
It was then that he noticed the set of robes hanging in the doorway of the small bathroom. They were black with silver trim, and had the Black crest on the left, with the Potter crest in gold right below it, smaller then that of his birth house to signify his Regent status. He should probably get dressed soon if the Aurors were going to be here in a couple of hours.
"Master is awake. I is sorry for not being here's sooner." Mattie popped in and bowed slightly before producing a stuffed bear for Harry. "I is searching for a toy for the young Master." It had been surprisingly difficult to find the right toy for the child, at least... right by Mattie's rather high standards. But then, he'd been helping raise Black's all his life.
Sirius smiled slightly. "Thank you, Mattie." He said quietly. Harry squealed and started playing with the bear happily. Sirius snorted and ruffled the kids hair, getting an innocent blink for his troubles before he went back to his bear.
The Goblins couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight.
In the end, it doesn't matter what species you are from. Even the toughest of warriors could not resist an adorable child.
"Come in!" Sirius called nervously, glancing at the clock. It was eleven, that should be Yaxley with the Aurors now...
He'd already sent out his letter to the Longbottom's, via Augusta of course, since Frank and Alice were in hiding. As far as he knew, she was the only one who knew where they were.
"Heir Black."
"Yaxley." He greeted tersely. The lawyer didn't let it bother him, he'd dealt with worse attitudes for far more innocent reasons from a member of the Black family, having been their main solicitor of record for over thirty years now.
"Now. Both Albus Dumbledore and Peter Pettigrew have come forward claiming you as the secret keeper for the Potter family. None of the Aurors have even bothered to investigate in order to validate their claims. In order to ensure they believe you, I have stipulated that Veritaserum be used and Manager Grindaxe and myself be present the entire time." Sirius was heartened by the trust that he was truly innocent, otherwise his lawyer wouldn't have demanded Veritaserum.
Most lawyers avoided that on principle, especially defense attorneys, and especially if they thought their client might say something to hurt his case.
In Sirius' case, though, he'd honestly done nothing wrong here except trust the wrong person with the safety of his best friend's family. Yes, he probably should have stuck around to wait for the Auror's to arrive instead of taking his godson and running, but considering the attitudes of the Auror's and the Ministry in general right now, it was a good thing he hadn't done that.
"I have nothing to hide here. I haven't done anything wrong." Sirius said, shoving his anger at Pettigrew down into a deep, dark mental hole.
"I know. I heard enough from your mother about your 'anti-Dark Lord' stance and your relationship with the Potters to know that you would never have sold them out." Yaxley said dryly. "For now, though, let's focus on clearing you of the treason charges. Then I will handle the kidnapping charges. In accordance with the Wills of James and Lily Potter, as well as your status as the child's godfather, you are the legal guardian of Harry James Potter, you had every right to remove the child from that house and bring him to safety." He assured Sirius. The paperwork he'd filled out the night before only made things official for the Ministry bureaucracy.
He didn't know or care how things were done in the Muggle system, but in the wizarding world, matters of guardianship were automatic. It didn't matter if the Will's had been officially read yet or not. The child went to the first person listed in the parents' wills who was still available. If none of them were, then they went to the closest living blood relation. If there were none of them, then they were sent to a Muggle orphanage and were assigned a Magical Guardian to ensure their well-being and handle their affairs. They didn't have child services or any of that. It didn't matter how many other people thought they had a claim on the child in question, the parents' wills were the law in cases of their children's guardianship.
Some of their most important laws in the Wizengamot were about matters just like this, and had come about after a rash of children being taken in and then used for their political or financial influence, while the children themselves were neglected at best. Those laws were one of the few positive Muggleborn influences in their society.
There was nothing more important then the children's safety and well-being, and the best way to ensure that was to make sure they went to somebody the parents trusted with their care. Needless to say, they didn't have too many custody disputes.
"Kidnapping? What's that... Dumbledore." Sirius started to ask before he realized. The goblins had told him what the charges were, but it must have slipped his mind while he focused on Harry. "The goblins said that he was in here not ten minutes after their death certificates landed on Sharpaxe's desk to claim custody of Harry and the estates."
"Indeed. He's claimed himself as the child's guardian and nobody is bothering to dispute it. You just let me handle that." He gave a shark-like grin and glanced at the time. He'd requested five minutes to speak with his client before the Auror's came barging in, and his time was almost up. "Are you ready for this?" He asked Sirius.
"Let's get it over with. I still have to make arrangements for them... I assume they were taken to the Ministry to be prepared?" He asked suddenly. He needed to speak with Sharpaxe still about opening up the family crypt and preparing James and Lily per Potter family customs. He doubted the Ministry would know the first thing about that, no matter how respectful they might be, or how careful they were with two war-heroes.
"Yes. Your grandfather and Bones are ensuring that nothing untoward happens to them." Yaxley assured him that James and Lily's bodies were being well taken care of. "Your grandfather also said something about Potter family burials?" He questioned, not really sure about that.
"Yeah. I suppose Aunt Dorea would have mentioned something to him about that." Sirius muttered. He was a little surprised that his grandfather was involving himself in that, but chose not to think on it right now.
Yaxley just raised an eyebrow and let the Auror's, Healer, and Grinder into the room. The junior Auror of the pair went to say something, but stopped with a look towards Yaxley.
"Johnson." Sirius greeted. "Selwyn."
"Black." Johnson said disdainfully. "Let's get this over with, I want this man in custody, and this child needs to be returned to his guardian." He sneered at Yaxley.
"The child is with his guardian. I believe I will be filing those charges, after all." Yaxley shook his head.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with." Selwyn sighed.
"I see that my fighting side-by-side with you two for the last two years has meant nothing." Sirius said casually, eyeing the two of them like he'd never seen them before. Sure, he'd gotten grief from the other Auror's in the beginning for his last name, but everybody knew he might as well be disowned for all that the Black family seemed to care about him, so the attitude stopped fairly quickly, especially once they witnessed his skill with a wand first-hand.
"We don't appreciate traitors." Johnson sneered again.
"I am many things, Johnson. A traitor is not one of them." Sirius informed him coldly before he was momentarily distracted by Harry. The child wasn't sure about the new people in the room, and had moved to grip his pant-leg. He was usually happy to meet new people, but right now he was in a new place and these people weren't being very nice to his Uncle. And he hadn't seen his parents for hours, although he wasn't too concerned about that yet. It wouldn't be the first time he went to sleep with them there, and woke up spending the day with Padfoot.
"We'll just see about that."
"Ok. Why don't we get started?" Selwyn broke it up again. Maybe bringing Johnson was a mistake. He shot his partner a look and got set up.
"Mattie." He called. "Can you watch Harry for a bit?" He asked the elf when he came.
"Yes, sirs." Mattie nodded and carefully detached Harry from Sirius' leg before leading him back to his toys in the corner. He didn't have much with him, Lily didn't keep that many in his bag, despite the fact wizards had extension charms.
"Now, let's keep this professional, gentlemen. Hmm?" Yaxley looked at Johnson pointedly. He scowled, but sat back and didn't say a word, letting his partner ask the questions.
An hour later, he wouldn't look Sirius in the eye. "We'll get a warrant out for Pettigrew immediately." He said. "And drop the charges against you. I'll... I'll even backdate the registration paperwork for you and James Potter so that you don't get in trouble for being an unregistered animagus." He said uncomfortably. Not like James was in a position to get in trouble anymore, but... it wouldn't be a mark against him or his memory.
Sirius eyed him carefully. "Thanks. I appreciate it." He understood the attitude, they'd thought him a traitor. He himself took a very dim view on Auror's who turned out to be Death Eaters. That didn't mean he appreciated it being wrongly directed at him.
"Are you going to be returning to work?" Selwyn asked. "You have Harry now." They'd finally realized about halfway through the interview that Sirius was Harry's appointed guardian, and all the paperwork had indeed been filled out. They would have to check why none of it was filed at the Ministry when they went back. They honestly had checked the records to see if Yaxley was correct in that Sirius was the child's legal and magical guardian, but they hadn't found any of the paperwork.
Sirius was silent for a few moments while he watched Harry play with Mattie. "Probably at least part-time for a while." He didn't need to work, he was the Heir to the Black family, after all. But it was something he enjoyed doing. "At least until Harry is old enough. For now, I'm going to take some time off to get Harry settled and... help get everything with the Potter estate settled."
"We'll tell the boss." Johnson said, standing to leave.
"I'll get the leave paperwork in soon." Sirius said, standing to see them out. They nodded in acknowledgement, but nothing else was said. Sirius sighed and collapsed back into his seat, vaguely aware of Grinder and Yaxley talking quietly.
"Pa'foo'?" He looked down at the tug on his pant-leg. When did Harry move? "Sad?"
He smiled sadly. "Yeah, kiddo." He said softly, and lifted the boy up onto his lap. Harry snuggled in happily, glad to be with one of his favorite people. He offered up his bear, thinking that would make Padfoot not-sad anymore, and was pleased when Padfoot smiled back when he took it.
Sirius stuffed his nose in the little boy's hair, not daring to think of what he would be doing, or what he might have done, if he hadn't had Harry to worry about. For starters, he would probably be halfway to drinking some pub somewhere dry, if not already thrown in prison because he'd murdered that rat.
"Heir Black?" He looked up to see Yaxley looking at him in concern. "Your grandfather would like to speak with you soon, and so would your father." He informed the man.
Sirius swallowed at the thought of facing his father again, but nodded. "I'll stop by the Castle in a few days. Right now I just need to take care of Harry." He said.
"Understandable." Yaxley agreed. "I will let them know. Now, I must return to the Ministry to make sure those charges are actually dropped and see why the paperwork for your guardianship was not filed correctly." He nodded to Grinder and joined the goblin waiting for him at the door to escort him out.
Healer Narg came in after he left. "Alright, let's see you two." He ordered, and bustled around his 'patients'. "Hmm... young Harry is alright. No more curse residue, and that cut has healed nicely. It won't even scar, not with the residue and soul-piece gone." He promised Sirius.
"That's good." Sirius murmured, smiling at Harry who was curious about the hand being waved over him by the Goblin healer. That hand deftly transferred to him a moment later.
"Good. You're not shocky, anymore. I would still recommend not being alone for a few days, however. You need time to grieve, and you cannot get that time while taking care of a child." As a father himself, he knew how demanding young ones were on your time. So staying with somebody who could help take care of Harry while he himself focused on his grief would be best.
"I've written the Longbottom's, warned them not to come out of hiding just yet and asked if I could bring Harry and stay there for a few days." Sirius informed the Healer, who nodded in satisfaction. "Harry and Neville are godbrothers, Alice is his godmother. He's familiar with them."
"Good. That's good. Too much upset in his life, too many strangers, would make it harder for him to adjust." Narg warned, making sure the human understood that.
"I understand." Sirius nodded.
