Here's another chapter for you guys. This was one of the toughest chapters to write for me. Hope i have done justice to the scenes. Don't forget to review if you feel something doesn't feel right. I believe i am thick-skinned enough to accept feedback and work on my mistakes.

Belated Birthday Wishes, J K Rowling, the OG, the person who made my childhood amazing with the original works. This is her world which i am fantasizing about.

Chapter 12

It had been a week since the events at 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius was staying at Black manor and was putting things in order. He had to be ready to relocate once Daniel gave him the go ahead. He had asked a house elf to monitor Daniel's place. True to their word, they had vacated the house and moved someplace else. Sirius didn't know where they had been and he wanted to keep it that way. The address he had given was for a post box in London, which he would only visit once he was sure the coast was clear and nobody was looking for him or the Potters.

Sirius had sealed the Black vaults in Gringotts and had asked them to enforce Arcturus' will. The reading had taken place two days after the demise of Lord Black.

Flashback

The will reading was being conducted in a chamber inside Gringotts. Sirius was sitting at the front along with the Black family attorney. Lucius was sitting on the other side with his son, Draco in his arms. Narcissa was absent as she had not yet been released, though Lucius thought that she was probably dead, as Sirius was alive and none of the party had returned.

A goblin came forward and started reading the will.

"This is the last will and testament of Lord Arcturus Black. As per this, he leaves the entire wealth and property of the Black family to his heir. His grandson, Sirius Black will act as Regent of the Black family in his stead, until he is ready to take over as Head of the family. This concludes the will reading. Thank you all for coming."

Lucius looked incensed and roared- "What the hell is this? Who is this heir? My son is the rightful heir to the Black family."

Sirius just smiled and replied, "You are wrong, Lucius. I am the rightful heir to the Black family. But I wouldn't be taking up the reins. I have instead passed it over to somebody else, who unfortunately isn't your son."

"I will contest this. Let's see how long this will hold in court. Who is this heir anyway?" He asked the goblin.

The goblin spoke up- "As per Arcturus' instructions, the current heir's identity will be kept secret to ensure his safety."

"We will see about that as well." And walked away.

Sirius was deeply satisfied as he had one-upped his arch-enemy. This was only the beginning though.

Flashback End

Sirius had accepted the will whole-heartedly for two reasons- One, he had decided not to marry since the loss of Marlene. He would blood adopt both Harry and Dora once he got the opportunity and it would have been his choice to make Harry the heir. Secondly and more importantly, the family needed a change of direction. Both Sirius and Arcturus knew that their respective generations were too invested in the current family affairs and wouldn't be able to achieve it. It needed a third person perspective to identify the fallacies in the current way, and Harry growing up in a foreign environment would be able to provide that. They had both expected James and Lily to guide him towards that goal. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be. Sirius would have to fit into that role now. Hence, Harry would be the heir and future Lord, and Sirius would be the Regent until Harry is ready to discharge his duties.

Over the past week, many death eaters had been captured in raids. Some had been killed. They were behaving similar to a headless chicken, without any direction and leadership. The Daily Prophet had reported the arrests of Bellatrix, Rabastan, Rodolphus, Crouch Jr., Karkaroff, Travers, Yaxley, Corbyn, the Carrow siblings and many other prominent inner circle members. The ministry was going to conduct a public trial for all of them. Unfortunately, there had been some losses on the opposition's side as well. Some prominent anti-Voldemort families had lost some family members. The Longbottoms had been bed-ridden after being subjected to multiple torture curses. The Vances had lost their head. Some aurors had been killed in action as well. One name missing though had been Severus Snape. His sources said that he was now working with Dumbledore, though he didn't realize how that came around.

What surprised him was the warrant in his name published in yesterday's edition, claiming him to be wanted for investigation with respect to Arcturus' untimely death. It looked like Lucius was at it again. After a lot of thought, he had reached out to his attorney the previous evening. They both had devised a plan through which they would take the Wizengamot by storm. They would break Lucius' power in the chamber and bring the demise of the Dark Lord to light. There were already rumors flying around that the Dark Lord was MIA.

Sirius and his attorney walked into the Ministry of Magic as had been decided by them. They would walk up to the Auror headquarters and surrender to the person in charge at that time. That person turned out to be Barty Crouch Sr. The head of the DMLE went on to call for an emergency hearing of the Wizengamot for the next day, as this case pertained to the death of one of their members and needed to be addressed in front of the entire body. Sirius was led to the holding cells, where he stayed until the next day's trial.

Courtroom One was full of people the next day. The news that the heir of a prominent family was being questioned for the death of the Head of his family had turned a lot of heads. Naturally, people were curious and wanted to know more. Hence, the atrium was filled with press and common folk alike. The surviving Heads of various houses were seated in their designated seats. They had come prepared to mete out justice to one of their own, a person renowned for his political acumen and respected for his life-long achievements.

The Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore was presiding over that day's proceedings and Barty Crouch was supposed to handle the prosecution. Sirius Black had appointed his own attorney who was waiting in the bullpen waiting for his client to arrive.

The doors opened and Sirius Black walked in with the gait of a proper pureblood, as had been taught by his grandfather, with his head held high, a confident stride and proper attire which had been provided by his attorney to make a good first impression, and Sirius had nailed it with his attire and body language.

The proceedings started with Barty Crouch announcing about the untimely demise of the former Black Lord and about the subsequent will reading. He stressed on the fact that the death had been suspicious and that his Auror force had tried to put together a timeline, but hadn't been able to due to many missing facts. They had summoned Sirius as he was involved in this and could answer some questions in front of the Wizengamot to set things straight. Lucius Malfoy was smugly sitting in his seat looking pleased with himself.

Crouch Sr then asked the court permission to present his case. He first called upon Auror John Dawlish, who testified that he had been tipped by an anonymous source to check a townhouse in muggle London, 12 Grimmauld Place. He had entered the house with his partner, Auror Proudfoot to find it in ruins. It looked like a battle had taken place over there. He went on to point out that they had found residue of dark magic in the master bedroom along with some blood, which they had identified as of Arcturus Black. A body hadn't been found. He also explained that a hysteric house elf was sobbing that his master was dead. The elf hadn't answered any other questions. Their suspicion had fallen on Sirius when he had emerged as the sole benefactor in the subsequent will reading.

Cornelius Fudge, an aspirant for the Minister of Magic had stood up and called for the will to be overturned and the wealth be restored to the actual heir, Draco Malfoy and to send Sirius to Azkaban. He had been silenced by the Chief Warlock for not having enough standing.

Auror Proudfoot had come as the next witness and corroborated the same.

Then the prosecutor had provided a copy of the will which claimed that all the Black inheritance was supposed to be given to Draco Malfoy, with Lucius Malfoy handling the estate until he became of age. It had Lucius Malfoy and some other Lords as witnesses.

This had led to many lords supporting Lucius to start shouting to correct this travesty and to imprison Sirius for line theft.

Then the defending attorney had called upon his witnesses. Head Auror Moody had come up and claimed that Sirius Black was at the Hog's Head when the attack was happening and had left on receiving a distress call. He also said that Lucius' wife was currently under arrest for trying to kill Sirius and that she had confessed that they had planned to kill Lord Black. If required, he could get her to give testimony in front of the court at the moment.

Lucius hadn't known that his wife was under arrest. He believed that Sirius had captured her and had her hidden somewhere or probably killed her. He realized that this was going to be an embarrassment for him. He started thinking of ways to escape unscathed from this. The tables had been turned on him.

Next, Sirius' attorney called upon the goblin who had conducted the will reading. It was common practice to call upon goblins in cases of line-theft, as they handled the estates and were keepers of all supporting documents. The goblin in question had said that the will had been handed to him by the Lord Black himself with Sirius and the defending attorney as witnesses. He also testified that Lord Black had been in good health and that no other will had been submitted to replace the one which was enforced. He was asked to examine the will submitted by Lucius Malfoy. The goblin had immediately claimed it as a fake, as the signature was a forgery. Lucius' and Fudge's faces had become redder with every passing statement.

Then the attorney called up Sirius to speak. Sirius knew that he would be acquitted after all of this. But this was his moment to make sure the world knew not to mess with the Black family. Today would be the start of the new era of the reborn Black Family. And this moment merited a monologue

"As you have already heard, I was at the Hogs Head inn when the attack depicted by Auror Dawlish and Proudfoot was happening. But there are many things that happened on that day, which wizarding Britain is unaware of. I myself don't know how all of that happened. But I know the chain of events, and I will share it with everybody today. I request your patience, as the narration will be long and gruesome at times."

He gave a brief pause, and when nobody said anything, continued-

"My cousin Narcissa Malfoy nee Black had contacted my grandfather, Lord Arcturus Black asking for a meeting, as she was in need of sanctuary. I went on behalf of my grandfather, as his health had been failing over the past few weeks and he was bed-ridden. The meeting was supposed to happen at, you guessed it, the Hogs head in Hogsmeade. What I didn't know was that I was walking into a death trap. The Malfoys had planned to have me assassinated under the guise of seeking sanctuary, and would probably have been successful, if not for Auror Moody and his friends. Another thing I wasn't aware of was that it was a two-pronged attack, one on me and one on Lord Black, both happening simultaneously. I left Hogsmeade to return to London only to find the house in a lot of damage. I went upstairs to find my grandfather barely alive. He had survived the attack, just barely. He was bleeding profusely and was in dire need of a healer. Malfoy and his associates had planned for the attack very well, but they hadn't accounted for something."

Sirius had deliberately left out the Potters and the dark Lord until now. Magical Britain was going to be turned upside down in a few moments.

"Head Auror Moody had earlier testified that Narcissa Malfoy had admitted that they were planning to assassinate Lord Black that day. What he didn't reveal though, was that the attacker would be none other than the dark Lord himself."

This statement led to a multitude of reactions from various people.

Dumbledore and Moody looked alarmed and sat up straight in their seats. They had deliberately decided to keep the information about the Dark Lord secret. Sirius had mentioned that Lord Black survived. How did he survive against the dark lord?

Malfoy and his other death eater friends looked even more aghast. Were they finally going to find out what happed to their leader?

The common folk just looked more scared. If the dark Lord could easily gain access to the Lord Black's house, they were nothing more than sitting ducks.

Sirius continued.

"Yes, he himself attacked my house. From what I know, he went in alone, expecting no resistance. What neither him nor Malfoy expected was the presence of another family who was visiting my grandfather at that time. And I proudly state this today, in this courtroom. That family brought about the destruction of the dark Lord."

There was pin drop silence in the courtroom. Not one person moved. Then the murmurs started. Somebody stood up and claimed that Sirius was lying.

"I knew some of you would not believe me. But I have proof. My attorney can produce it at this moment. I am sure Chief Warlock Dumbledore and Head Auror Moody can attest to the truth in my words."

He signaled at his attorney, who withdrew a package from a mokeskin pouch on him and handed it to the Chief Warlock for examination.

"Once you examine the artifacts in your hands, you will agree that what you are holding is the wand of Voldemort and the cloak he was wearing that day."

Dumbledore and a bunch of others, which included the premier wandmaker of Britain Garrick Ollivander, gathered around and started checking the items. People were still discussing in murmurs. Malfoy and his supporters had paled considerably. This was bad for them. Now, it was Sirius' turn to stand smugly on the floor of the courtroom.

After what seemed like an hour of discussion and tests, Dumbledore stood up and said that it was indeed Voldemort's wand and the cloak bore magical residue from the same person. He turned towards Sirius and asked seriously,

"Where is the body?"

"There wasn't one. I didn't find one when I reached the house."

"What happened to the family who brought around his downfall?"

"Unfortunately, Two of the three died in the skirmish. I don't know about the whereabouts of the third one."

"Who were they?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? I am sure you are angry that this war was not brought to a close by you, aren't you?"

"Now is not the time to discuss that. The ministry deserves to know the identities of people who did a great service to the people of Magical Britain."

"Fine. And just so you know, the dark Lord was destroyed by a three-month-old baby, if you can believe it. My grandfather was witness to this and he told me about it when I found him in that rubble."

"That's preposterous. How could a three-month-old destroy the dark Lord when countless Aurors have been unable to defeat him over the years?" came a voice from the aisles.

Sirius was about to answer, but Dumbledore beat him to it.

"Magic works in different ways. You were going to reveal their names, Sirius."

"The two who perished were James Potter and Lily Potter. Their son was the sole survivor. Think about it, a dark lord who preached pure-blood supremacy was killed by a half-blood. Magic sure has a way to rub salt on wounds."

Nobody had any retort to that.

"I will continue. Once I found my grandfather, he told me what had happened. I took the baby to safety and then went back to conduct the final rites to the three most dear people in my life. As per my grandfather's wish, I had his will enacted. Then I saw the ridiculous warrant against me, and surrendered to Mister Crouch here, and that's how we ended up here."

"You didn't provide the baby's name? Where is he now?"

"I am withholding that information, as the Dark Lord's supporters are still around, and I don't want him to come to any harm. That goes for his location as well."

"i can have you pumped with Veritaserum and get the truth out."

"You can try. For that, you would require due cause, which unfortunately you do not have. I am not breaking any law by withholding information about the future Lord of my family."

Dumbledore had been left speechless. He was astounded that the prophecy had come true. But he didn't have any access to the Savior. He would find a way to make it happen. Lucius looked enraged that the son of a mudblood would inherit the Black wealth. He decided to make sure that never happened, by hook or by crook.

Sirius' attorney than questioned if the impromptu trial had reached a conclusion.

Barty Crouch didn't have any other option other than to dismiss the impromptu charges and conclude the session. He then ordered Lucius Malfoy to be arrested for interrogation about his involvement with Voldemort and for falsifying charges. Fudge tried to oppose this move, but neither did he have the authority nor the reach to overturn this. Malfoy was escorted away by the aurors. They would discuss any compensation due to the Black family at his trial.

Sirius and his attorney left the courtroom to only be mobbed by the press. They were pressing him for the baby's identity. Sirius didn't budge and left them with a standard response of "No comments".

Once they reached the atrium, Dumbledore and Moody were waiting for him. He asked him for a quick meeting, which Sirius had anticipated. He walked with the other two into a room designated for the Chief Warlock.

Once seated, Dumbledore immediately pounced onto the topic.

"Sirius, my boy. Could you tell me who the boy is and where he is? I can help in protecting him. "

"Like you protected the Bones? Or the Prewetts? Oh wait, maybe you will protect him like you protected the Longbottoms? The boy has already lost his parents. Doesn't he deserve to live his life in peace?"

"That boy is a symbol of hope for us. Don't the magical people deserve to know who saved them?"

"That's not your call to make. As his magical guardian, I would never allow it."

"You need to understand Sirius. Voldemort isn't actually dead. He will require all the assistance to stand up to Voldemort, once he returns."

"How would you know that? And why would it be his responsibility? It's the ministry's responsibility to be ready, if Voldemort or any other Dark Lord rises again."

"Alas, I cannot explain that at that moment as I don't trust you enough."

"And you expect me to willing give you all the information. I don't trust you as well."

"You will soon realize what a big mistake you are committing. The boy will be famous for something he wouldn't even remember. I can help train him for the future."

"Again, why does he need to be trained? Why can't he be a normal kid like everybody else?"

"I have my suspicions, which I am not at liberty to discuss with you at the moment. If you could join my cause, maybe I can assist you with that."

"Then we are at an impasse. And one more thing, stop pretending that you actually care. You have your own motives behind requesting this information and I will find what it is that you are seeking."

"All I wish for is the Greater Good. I don't have any personal agenda as you believe."

"And I am supposed to believe this. Please, I don't belong to your bird club to blindly believe everything that comes out of your mouth. I guess that concludes this meeting."

"You are making a mistake. If you decide to change your mind, you know where you can find me."

"I hope that time never comes. I would advise you against trying to locate the boy. He deserves a happy childhood and you will only spoil it for him."

Sirius left the room to the nearest floo point and exited the ministry building.

Dumbledore was left behind pondering what his next move should be.

Dumbledore had reached out to some of his muggle-born contacts to find everything about the Potter family. What he found had made him angrier. The Potter parents had been dead for many years. Their eldest son was supposed to be in London, but had packed their bags and vanished into thin air roughly three days ago. Nobody knew where they had gone to. But they had left with two kids, a boy and a girl. Dumbledore was sure the boy was the Potter kid. But now, he didn't know where they were. He would wait with patience. The boy was sure to attend Hogwarts. He would have seven years to get the boy trained to face the dark Lord again. This was just a ceasefire at the time.

Lucius Malfoy was sitting in the holding cells of the ministry. He had been united with some of captured death eaters. He needed to get out of here without damaging his reputation. The past week had been a disaster for him. That's when he got a brilliant idea. He would need to plan it to perfection. And he needed people who could follow up on the same. He gathered a group of people which included Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, Selwyn to name a few. He then explained his plan in detail. They would implement this during their respective trials. He knew he could count on Fudge on the outside.

Sirius had decided to attend Bellatrix's trial. That was his last promise to his grandfather. He would try and get her released into his custody. He would then assist in her recuperation. Maybe she could be the aunt Lily would have wanted her to be.

Harry Potter was doing exactly what he was supposed to. He would cry, he would make others laugh, drink milk, wet his diapers and sleep, a lot. Dora would spend most of her time with him. She absolutely adored him and Harry loved her attention equally. She would ask for her Mama and Papa occasionally. Her uncle and aunt took care of them very well, but she still missed her Mama and Papa.

Daniel Potter had been busy attending interviews looking for a teaching job. It helped that he had a glowing referral from his previous employer. He would eventually end up with a job at an Ivy League College. Mary had decided to take a break from working to care for Harry and Dora. After a lot of thought, they had returned to James' cottage in Boston. They had left a false trail that they were moving to Australia. It made sense to move to US though, Dora and Harry were already citizens and they were conveniently placed at a location where academics had a very high priority. Daniel had a lot of options to obtain employment. Mary had decided to take a break until the kids were a bit bigger before she would look for a job. As it stood, most of her time went in caring for the infant and his sister. She had been given a responsibility and she would complete it. She would make sure that Harry and Dora grew up to be the best people they could be.

The next day's news covered Sirius' revelation in detail, along with speculations about the current whereabouts of their young Saviour. The Black family also was prominently featured in the articles. As they didn't know his name, they gave him a new moniker- "The Boy who Lived".

Chapter End

AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had immense fun while writing the chapter, and have rewritten the entire scene multiple times.

There will be a time skip after this and the story will focus more on Harry going forward. The aftermath of this chapter will also be touched upon.

I don't intend to bash Dumbledore in my story. He just won't be the saint as is portrayed in the books. Here, he is a man who can make mistakes and a person who thinks his experience makes him the best judge. He will play a significant role, but Harry will keep his own counsel, rather than depending on Dumbledore for everything.

Some of you wanted the Malfoys to suffer. They will, though i am still not sure if I should include Draco in it. He is just a babe when it all happened. Lets see.

Happy Reading! Until next time.

And yes, Daphne will be making an appearance soon, maybe in the very next chapter.