Unseen and Unheard From
Written by Flashfire Freak
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter universe.
Author note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and the season.
Chapter Two – Will You
Completing his response, Remus stuffs the quill into his robes and proceeds to walk into a nearby wooded area. Navigating his way through the woods, Remus comes out in a small clearing that only has a small tent. Packing everything up, Remus finishes up, exits the tent, packs the tent as well, and proceeds to mutter a few words while holding the quill.
A few seconds later, Remus appears in the dining room of 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Hello Remus. It's been a while. Please, take a seat." says Sirius.
Remus takes a seat and asks tersely, "I've heard that all of the Potters have died, all save Harry. Last I heard, James and Lily chose you to be the Secret Keeper."
Grimacing, Sirius pours a shot of Firewhiskey and indicates to the bottle and looks at Remus, who shakes his head. Downing the shot, Sirius shakes his head like a wet dog does, and replies, "At first they did have me as secret keeper, however, I knew that I would be the obvious choice for Secret Keeper, and so I attempted and managed to convince James and Lily to make their secret keeper Pettigrew", with Sirius spitting out the last word with anger.
Narrowing his eyes, Remus asks, "And how can I take what you are saying as truth?"
"I know you're a smart one, Remus, so I asked you to come here and talk with me about this. Tomorrow I plan on going to the Ministry of Magic and talking with the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones. My plan is to offer to take veritaserum and tell her about James and Lily's switching of Secret Keepers from me to Pettigrew, and hope that suspicion of me killing James and Lily will be dead in the water." replies Sirius.
"Do you think that would be enough to clear any suspicion from you?" asks Remus.
Sighing, Sirius leans back in his chair and replies, "I can only hope so. Harry needs a guardian and we both know that Dumbledore would place him with Petunia, and Harry deserves a more loving family than hers."
"Harry does deserve a loving family, and you are correct that Petunia and her family wouldn't be able to, but who else would take care of Harry? You?" says Remus.
"Yes. I have a place to live, some money, and at least a house elf to help me take care of baby Harry. If I'm cleared to take care of Harry, then I'd like your help to raise Harry." states Sirius, leaning back in his chair.
Scrunching his face in a moment of hard thinking, Remus replies, "If you are granted guardianship, then I'll agree to it. But I have my doubts."
Smiling, Sirius says, "Thanks. We'll find out tomorrow then."
*the next day*
Rolling out of bed, both Sirius and Remus hurriedly finish their preparations and use the floo to arrive at the ministry before too many people arrive for work. Reaching an empty lift, Sirius and Remus get in, and immediately the lift moves and takes them to level two, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Upon exiting the lift Sirius comes face to face with a handful of wands and is quickly forced to his knees with his head towards the ground.
"Ho ho ho! Just my lucky day, Sirius Black, the man rumored to have sold the Potters' to Voldemort appears in my presence without having to send a team to find him. Today must be my lucky day." chortles a feminine voice.
"I'm only here to meet with the head of the department, Amelia Bones, about my testimony regarding that despicable event." says Sirius with a tone of steel.
Laughing, the female voice says, "Release him. I will want to speak with Mr. Black and his companion privately in my office."
Getting to his knees, Sirius opens his mouth to speak when the same female voice from before interrupts, "Mr. Black, if you aren't aware, I'm Director Bones. You said that you wanted to meet with me, and now I'd appreciate it if you would hold true to your word."
Grimacing, Sirius followed by Remus, walk the short distance to the door where Director Bones is standing, and promptly walk into the office.
"So, Mr. Black, you stated that you wanted to clear your name regarding the tragedy of Halloween night?" asks Director Bones.
"Yes, Director Bones. I'll answer any questions you have, with Mr. Remus Lupin here as my friend and witness to these proceedings." answers Sirius.
"I'd like to administer veritaserum to help with the accuracy of this session. Do you agree?" asks Director Bones.
Sirius nods his head, and is administered veritaserum.
Director Bones says, "Let's begin then. Most people are under the belief that you were the Secret Keeper for the Potters'. Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters?"
As the veritaserum takes control of Sirius, his eyes get glassy, and he replies, "I originally was, but I convinced James and Lily to switch to Peter as I was an obvious choice."
Writing something down on a nearby piece of parchment, Director Bones then turns to Remus and asks, "Were you aware of this switch?"
"No, I was not aware." Replies Remus timidly.
Continuing her note taking, Director Bones asks Sirius, "Do you know anything about the whereabouts of Mr. Pettigrew?"
"No, I do not. I'd gave the briefest of thoughts of chasing after him, but did not." stated a still glassy eyed Sirius.
"Mr. Lupin, do you know anything about Mr. Pettigrew that may assist us catch this scoundrel?" asks Director Bones.
"I do not know anything of his location, but he is an animagus, and he transforms into a rat." replies Remus.
The scratching sound of Director Bones's quill stops, and she slowly looks up at Remus and asks, "He is an animagus?" and seeing Remus nod his head, Director Bones goes to her office door and has some muttered words before returning to her seat.
"Now, Mr. Black, I'd like to ask you just a few more questions before wrapping things up. Do you know the location of Mr. Harry Potter?" queries Director Bones as an auror bustles in and sets down a book on her desk.
With the veritaserum still coursing through his system, Sirus replies with, "Yes, I do."
"Can you inform me of where he is?" asks Director Bones.
"He is currently under the care of Kreacher, my house elf." replies Sirius, with the last of the veritaserum affecting him.
"I assume that you are the one who has taken him from his former housing situation?" asks Director Bones.
With the veritaserum fully out of his system, Sirius smiles and says, "Yes, I am the one who rescued him, although Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall arrived shortly after I did. They didn't see me, and I didn't allow my presence to be known to them."
"I see. Do you happen to have a copy of the Potters' will that we could use? I'd like to follow protocol regarding the will and where Harry should be placed." asks Director Bones.
Sirius reaches into a pocket on his jacket and pulls out a piece of parchment and hands it to Director Bones. Waving her wand over the piece of parchment, Director Bones smiles and says, "According to the will, you are the person to take over Harry's guardianship, followed by Mr. Lupin here. Thank you Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin. You may be called on to testify before the Wizengamot, but that is another part of your innocence to be solidified. Good day to you two."
Sirius and Remus quickly exit and use an empty floo to arrive back at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Sitting down to lunch prepared by Kreacher, Sirius and Remus enjoy a few minutes of silence before Sirius asks, "Moony, you've heard my side and that I'm innocent. Would you like to move into the home that I've specifically picked out and warded for the raising of Harry?"
Swallowing his soup, Remus pauses to think before replying, "Yes, I think I would. However, I'd like to know about how I'm supposed to help you two."
Smiling, Sirius says, "Well, I'm sure between your book smarts and my good looks, we can teach Harry how to get the girls and ace his classes.
Author note: As compared to Her Will, His Desire, Their Future, I'll be keep these chapters around 1.5k words a piece. This is generally because of my general plan of the series and I don't want to end on a cliffhanger and leave you all there for a few weeks or even a month or two before releasing the next chapter.