Harry and Merope to the Rescue - Chapter 22

Disclaimer:

I don't own the HP universe, unfortunately.

Week of December 13, 1981 - December 19, 1981:

Harry:

After having spent the weekend with the family, helping Moony recover from the full moon, and getting started on building the treehouses, Harry spent the rest of the week preparing for Sirius' trial. He also took a quick trip to Azkaban in order to covertly make the changes to the Dark Marks that he had mentioned to Kruglast when they spoke at Gringotts the previous week. He also collected the remaining food from Sirius' old cell and removed the wards that he had previously placed there to hide the food.

He warded an area at the far end of the island so that Moony could have the confrontation he wanted with Wormtail, who was shocked to see someone who looked just like James and tried to beg and plead for mercy. Harry allowed Moony to yell at Wormtail for a little while, but having to continually keep reminding him that they needed Wormtail alive for Sirius' trial, he had to return Wormtail back into his rat form and back in his cage before Moony took it too far and actually killed him.

Harry spoke with Merope about starting up his own freelance investigations service, and she agreed that it would be a good idea for him to do in order to pass the time while they were in this timeline. She herself was content to stay home with Little Harry while he was young, and possibly start up a part-time muggle job once Little Harry started muggle school, wherever they decided to permanently settle down.

Harry informed Mad-Eye that he had decided to start the investigation services that he had spoken of, which Mad-Eye had previously gotten the approval from Crouch for, and was informed in return that the DMLE would draw up a contract for Harry to review and approve or return with amendments for the DMLE to review, ect., until they were able to reach a satisfactory agreement. Harry agreed to that and indicated that he would not be ready to look over a contract until after Sirius' trial was concluded.

Harry had also heard back from Kruglast regarding the Will, and his suspicions were confirmed that Dumbledore was the one responsible. Harry knew that he could get Sirius released without a trial, now that he had a copy of the Will as proof, but both Sirius and he believed it would make more of an impact if they were able to discredit Dumbledore more publicly than a simple announcement in the paper about Sirius' innocence.

Not knowing for sure who had been appointed to prosecute the case, but that Mad-Eye was aware of Harry's attempt to procure a copy of the Potters' Will, Harry informed him as a courtesy and confirmed that the culprit was who they had suspected it to be. Dumbledore would be hard-pressed to stay up on top of the pedestal he had built for himself after everything came out.

Dumbledore:

By now Dumbledore had found the prank attached to his office chair, but that was the only prank he was able to find and remove. He was starting to believe it was one of the other teachers that had been pranking him, but they all behaved normally. He was getting so paranoid that he finally decided to eat his meals in his office and found that he could actually taste it. Sweet Merlin! It was wonderful to be able to taste again.

Dumbledore spent the week spoiling his taste buds that had been deprived of flavors for so many days that he was actually getting tired of eating his lemon drops and had started eating less of them. He was so distracted by the fact that he could finally taste that he never gave it another thought that Cornelius Fudge never returned his owl. It wasn't until after he received the notice from the Wizengomot setting the trial for Sirius Black on Monday, December 21, 1981, at 9:00 a.m., that he realized that he made no plans and took no precautions.

Monday, December 21, 1981 - Ministry of Magic, Courtroom 10:

Harry surveyed the courtroom from where he was seated and waiting, it looked exactly as it had when Harry viewed it in Dumbledore's pensieve in his fifth year at Hogwarts, although there appeared to be even more people present for this trial than there had been for the Lestranges and Crouch, Jr. There was a hum of anticipation in the air, everyone whispering to their neighbor in excitement, they were sure this would be the trial of the century to be sure.

All of the visitors had arrived early, as they wanted to make sure they had good seats for what promised to be an interesting trial, even all of the members of the Wizengamot had arrived early in anticipation of the trial. They were now only waiting on Dumbledore to arrive so that they could start proceedings.

Harry had walked around the room earlier and examined the chair where the defendant usually sits for the duration of their trial. He had examined the wards while appearing to be only be studying the room itself and discovered that the chair was designed so that the chains would only activate if the one who sat in the chair was truly guilty. It was a marvelous bit of magic that had to have been designed so long ago that he doubted anyone else in Wizengamot even knew the significance of it.

Harry checked his watch and saw that it was just about the top of the hour and time for the proceedings when Dumbledore finally made his grand entrance, and everyone stood up. He smiled genially to the witches and wizards who caught his twinkling eyes, while he made his way up to the podium where his seat was. It wasn't until he laid eyes on Harry standing where the defense counsel usually sits that his steps noticeably faltered, unable to put his mask back up in time, making it very obvious even to the least observant observer that he was disturbed by something. Harry just gave him a polite smile and nodded his head, no reason to make him feel trapped just yet.

After a moment, Dumbledore pulled himself together and made his way to the seat of the Chief Warlock. Finally, he took his seat and cleared his throat and said in a clear voice, "Thank you. You may now be seated." Everyone except Harry and the prosecutor of the case did so.

Dumbledore was baffled as to why the Potter menace was here and how he came to be the defense counsel for Black. He thought one of his contacts would have owled him regarding this development, but apparently they didn't deem such news to be important enough to be passed on. Forcing himself to focus on the proceedings, he started the normal procedures for the trial.

"We are present to witness the trial for Sirius Orion Black," Dumbledore said. "Aurors, please bring in the prisoner."

Harry cleared his throat and said, "Chief Warlock, I believe the correct terminology would be defendant, rather than prisoner at this time."

Dumbledore, appearing properly chastised, said, "Yes, excuse me. Aurors, please bring in the defendant.

Aurors Shacklebolt and Jones complied with the order, retrieving Sirius from his holding cell, and returning promptly back to the courtroom. Everyone, including Dumbledore, were shocked to see a composed, clean, and coherent Sirius Black entering the courtroom and being led to the defendant's chair. The gallery gasped in shock when the chains did not immediately reach out to tie him down, which caused the viewers to whisper among themselves.

"Quiet in the courtroom," Dumbledore announced. Turning to the aurors, he asked, "Is there a malfunction with chains? Why have they not chained the defendant as they are designed to?"

Looking back and forth at each other and then the prosecutor in confusion, Shacklebolt said, "We don't know, we have never seen the chains behave in this manner."

"If I may, Chief Warlock?" Harry asked. Not having much choice, Dumbledore inclined his head in allowance and Harry said, "In preparation for the trial, I also read information regarding the trial courtrooms and how the wards were supposed to function and so forth. It stated that the chains would only react and chain down the defendant if the defendant were, in fact, guilty of the crimes for which he stands accused.

"It's a complicated bit of magic created many hundreds of years ago. Obviously, by seeing everyone's shock and surprise, no one has bothered to educate themselves on the history of these chambers in a very long time. Seeing as how the chains have not chosen to restrain my client, we can deduce that he is innocent of his charges and should be found not guilty and set free."

Dumbledore's cheeks reddened in embarrassment and anger, but he held his tongue and said, "Well, unfortunately, we cannot rely only on the validity of your statement that the chains are charmed to behave in that manner. We need to proceed with the trial as scheduled."

Turning to the court scribe, Dumbledore ordered, "Scribe, please read the charges of the accused."

The court scribe cleared their throat and read the charging document in front of them, "Sirius Orion Black is accused of colluding with the domestic terrorists known as the Death Eaters; being a Death Eater himself, the highest in the ranks of You-Know-Who; being the secret keeper for James and Lily Potter and then betraying them, leading to their murders at the hands of You-Know-Who when he gave the secret of their location to You-Know-Who himself; and lastly, the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, when he hit the main gasline with a blasting curse." Then the scribe set the charging document back down and was quiet.

Turning to where the prosecutor stood, Dumbledore asked, "Are you ready for opening statements, Mr. Crouch?"

Mr. Crouch cleared his throat and said, "Yes, Chief Warlock."

Turning to the gallery, Mr. Crouch began his argument, although it was obvious to anyone with any amount of sense that he was making his presentment half heartedly. He already believed that Sirius Black was innocent of the charges, and there was no point in putting up a big fight.

"Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, during the course of this trial, you will hear how it was widely spread that Sirius Black was the secret keeper for the Potters, having been closer than brothers with James Potter, only to betray the secret to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You will hear from witnesses who heard Peter Pettigrew announce before his murder, 'Sirius, how could you? James and Lily,' after which, Sirius Black blew up the street, killing twelve muggles along with Peter Pettigrew. All that was left of poor Peter Pettigrew was a finger." Crouch walked back and forth with his hands behind his back as he spoke to the Wizengamot.

"You will hear from witnesses who arrived in the aftermath to clean up, hear Sirius Black crying, 'It's my fault. It's all my fault', before being led away in magic suppressing shackles, denying nothing of what he'd done.

"After hearing all the evidence, I'm confident that you good witches and wizards will make the right decision and find Sirius Orion Black guilty of all charges. Thank you." Then Crouch returned back to his place as prosecutor.

"Opening statement from the defense?" asked Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock," Harry said. Turning to the gallery, he began his arguments. "Witches and Wizards of this esteemed body, my name is Hadrian Potter," smirking slightly, "my friends call me Harry." There were a few whispers at that, and Harry waited until they settled back down again. "Yes, I am related to the late James Potter. Sadly, the last time I met him I was still a toddler." That acknowledgment was met with silence.

"I'm sure many of you are confused and wonder why I would defend the man accused of killing my family. Well, I'm sure you will understand the answer to that by the time we've reached the conclusion of the trial.

"I cannot deny all of the accusations presented by the prosecutor, because there is definitely unrefuted evidence that Sirius Black claimed boldly and loudly to have been the secret keeper for the Potters. It's true that witnesses heard him blaming himself. There is unrefuted evidence that witnesses heard Peter Pettigrew accuse Sirius Black of betraying the Potters right before the street blew up.

"But what the prosecution didn't tell you was that Sirius Black was acting as a decoy to protect the real secret keeper. He was heard blaming himself because he was the one that suggested the ruse, thinking himself too obvious a choice for secret keeper. And it should be pointed out that the blasting curse did not render the twelve muggles unrecognizable, they were closest to the blasting curse and their bodies were intact, if a little damaged; yet Pettigrew, who was the furthest away from the blast left behind only a finger. Not even his wand was left behind."

Harry noticed that the people in the gallery were probably thinking a lot more than they ever had, and Dumbledore was fighting for his composure. Harry resumed, as if he never noticed how captivated an audience he had, "It's interesting, is it not, that Sirius Black's wand was never checked for the last spells used? A simple priori incantatem would have been able to tell the investigators right away if he had been the one that cast the blasting curse or not."

Rather than pacing while he spoke, he stood still and alternated the direction of his gaze as he spoke to the Wizengamot. "If the investigators had done their job, they would have noticed a distinct lack of a Dark Mark on the left arm of Sirius Black. Contrary to what you may have been told by those trying to pull the wool over your eyes, Voldemort -" he paused while everyone gasped at the name, "Voldemort only marked his trusted followers; therefore, it's clear that Sirius Black was never a follower of Voldemort, much less his right hand man." Again everyone flitched at the sound of Voldemort's name.

"You cannot convict him of colluding with Death Eaters, because you would have to convict yourselves, as some of them were members of this very body. Everyone in this room would have had to interact with a member of the Death Eaters, whether they knew they were the ones behind the mask or not." This caused everyone to start murmuring again, so Harry waited until they were silent once more.

"And finally, after seeing the evidence I'm prepared to present, I'm positive that you will do the only correct thing you could, and that would be to find Sirius Orion Black not guilty on all charges. Thank you." Then Harry bowed and returned to the place designated for the defense counsel.

By now Dumbledore realized that the majority of the Wizengamot had already been swayed by the opening statements. It was a pity that in his role as Chief Warlock, he had to remain impartial and not give any appearance that he was on one side over the other. Clearing his throat he said, "Very well. At this time, the prosecutor may present the witnesses and the members of the Wizengamot may question them." He paused and noticed Harry's raised eyebrow and quickly added, "And, of course, the defense will be able to cross-examine." To which Harry nodded.

"The prosecution calls to the witness stand, Junior Minister Fudge of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Junior Minister Fudge was present during the aftermath of the night of Sirius Black's capture."

After Fudge came forward to take a seat on the witness stand, as Crouch opened his mouth to begin questioning, Harry said, "Chief Warlock, I believe it is customary to have the witness acknowledge that he swears to tell the truth before questions are asked of him."

Fudge gave Harry a withering look and started to bluster, "Now, see here, sir, I am a devoted Ministry employee and you dare to question my integrity and insinuate that I would lie?"

Harry just looked back at Fudge calmly and said, "It's a simple procedure that is done in courtrooms all over the world, both magical and muggle, it's required of ALL witnesses, even aurors when they are called to testify. Could your reluctance to comply with this very simple and normal procedure mean that you were prepared to come up here and spin a falsehood?

"Most certainly not!" exclaimed Fudge.

"Well, then you should have nothing to worry about by swearing to tell the truth, do you?" Harry asked innocently.

Finally, Dumbledore decided to interject and said, "Obviously, you don't understand the way things are done in Britain, Mr. Potter. We trust our citizens to tell the truth without requiring that they swear to it."

Harry said in response, "I understand that the British Ministry of Magic ignores its own laws when it's convenient for them to do so." Dumbledore opened his mouth to refute that, but Harry resumed his argument. "It's is written in the Rules and Procedures of the Wizengamot that 'All witnesses are to be sworn in to tell the truth, in order for the trier of fact,' meaning the collective body of the Wizengamot, 'to properly ensure that only the truth is being spoken and the integrity of the testimony cannot be questioned.'

"Now, it's my understanding that this rule of procedure seems to have been completely ignored for the past 200 years or so, and most assuredly it's been ignored because certain members and factions of the Wizengamot began accepting bribes to make it an ignored law, but a law it still is." Harry noticed he was receiving glares from some members of the Wizengamot and some looks of shock from others. The people in the gallery watching were mesmerized.

"So, yes, I demand that this august body actually follow its own laws and give my client a fair trial, otherwise, how can the citizens of Wizarding Britain have complete confidence in their leaders to be trustworthy and make the right decisions?"

Dumbledore, seeing no other recourse that would allow him to keep his dignity, said, "Very well. The witnesses will be sworn in according to the rules and procedures."

"Thank you," Harry said.

Dumbledore said, "Junior Minister Fudge, please raise your wand hand." Fudge petulantly did as instructed and Dumbledore administered the oath, "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

Through clenched teeth, Fudge responded, "I do."

"Thank you," said Crouch. "Now, on the night in question, how did you come to be at the scene?"

"Well, the alarms were going off in our department that indicated there was an issue in a muggle location and that our services were needed," answered Fudge.

"What did you observe when you arrived?" asked Crouch.

"Bodies were everywhere. The muggles were running around in a panic. Sirius Black was sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his legs, rocking back and forth crying, 'It's my fault. It's all my fault.'" answered Fudge.

"What did you do after that?" asked Crouch.

"I was there before the aurors, and since Black appeared to be in his own world and not a serious danger at the time, I began interviewing the muggles and then obliviating them," answered Fudge.

Then Crouch asked Fudge a few more questions before allowing the members of the Wizengamot the opportunity to ask questions. None of them had any questions.

Dumbledore looked at Harry and asked, "Does the defense wish to cross-examine the witness?"

"Mr. Fudge," Harry started to say, then saw how Fudge seemed to bristle at the lack of a title and inwardly sighed. "My apologies. Junior Minister Fudge, why would you begin interviewing the muggle witnesses and obliviating them before the aurors were able to arrive. After all, isn't the gathering of evidence, including witness testimony, part of the job of the aurors?"

Fudge squirmed uncomfortably in his seat for a moment and Harry noticed many of the members of the Wizengamot frown, as if wondering why they hadn't thought of that. Finally Fudge answered, "Well, I felt it best to go ahead and gather the evidence from the witnesses and obliviate them before they began to leave the scene."

Harry nodded and said, "I see. So even though you have not been trained to investigate in the way that an auror would have been, you thought you knew the best way to gather evidence despite that fact. And then you proceeded to erase all knowledge from the witnesses' memories, so that the aurors, the trained investigators, would have to take your word for it that you asked the witnesses all the relevant and necessary questions; is that correct?"

Fudge swallowed audibly and shifted nervously in his chair. "It wasn't like that at all. I was just making sure that none of the muggles were able to leave before being able to be interviewed and obliviated."

"Did you ever consider the fact that you could have just set up muggle repelling charms around the perimeter, keeping other muggles out and thereby keeping all of the muggle witnesses present and unable to to slip away until the aurors were able to arrive and conduct interviews?"

Fudge cleared his throat and said, "No, actually. The thought of doing so never even crossed my mind."

From the looks of everyone else in the gallery, including the members of the Wizengamot, no one else had even considered that was an option either. Harry nodded and said, "No further questions of this witness."

Astonished at the intelligent questions that Harry was asking, Dumbledore became visibly worried, then he cleared his throat and returned his face back to a neutral expression and said, "Very well. Junior Minister Fudge, you may step down." Fudge nervously inclined his head and returned to his seat.

"Mr. Crouch, do you have any further witnesses to present?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, Chief Warlock," Mr. Crouch responded, "We were unable to locate any other witness. We rest our case."

Dumbledore sighed inwardly and said, "Very well. Defense may present its case."

"Thank you, Chief Warlock." Harry said. "First, I would like to present as evidence the Last Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter."