"Talking"
"Thought"
"Spell"
"Writing"
TenorSax93: Good suggestions and I am looking up things more as I write but sometimes I may change things around to fit the story.
Tropp: Harry will be a decent person, he might be a jerk to people who annoy him but he won't be heartless.
Sony Boy: Consider this first year as a sort of recon year, Harry's testing the waters at Hogwarts before he starts things in the whole Wizarding World. The Jacobs will come back around once that gets going.
Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter
Albus Dumbledore was a man who was used to things going his way, plans fell into place and people did as he asked. Harry Potter seemed to be the exception to this, he could not have planned everything but the little things he did, seemed not to work. While others would grow frustrated by this, Dumbledore was feeling oddly giddy this school year, it had been years since he felt like a game of chess was actually being played back.
He was currently on his way to solve another hiccup, Flitwick had come to him asking about the invisibility cloak he had sent Harry and wondered why he didn't remove the charms. It was easy for him to say he found it amusing and did not want to interfere in the late Potters wishes, of course Flitwick believed him and had no idea that Albus put them on the cloak. Since Harry was not going to be wondering the halls, as it would be difficult and suspicious if he placed the charms back on, Albus knew he had to change his plan.
Walking into the final chamber of his maze he waved his wand and the mirror floating behind him moved to the center of the room. The original plan was for Harry to discover the mirror and learn about its magic so he could solve the clue to get the stone. Now however he was going to have to figure it out inside the chamber but Albus had faith in Harry. As he set the mirror down he pulled a stone, which was an orangish-red, and muttered a long enchantment that would pull the stone inside the mirror and protect it.
With that done Dumbledore turned and started making his way back to his office, he had to prepare for Sirius Blacks trial. He may not be happy about the past being brought back up but he was curious as to when the man fell back to his family ways, now it would seem he could get his answers.
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Harry checked the map one last time as he walked down the hall towards the third floor, tonight he would get through the traps and figure out what Dumbledore was hiding. He had a shrunken broom in his pocket along with a bag full of shrunken fish to help him get past the troll, the smell would mask him and draw its attention hopefully, and a harp to play for the Cerberus. He just hoped whatever the other challenges were he could do them alone, he was sure Dumbledore was already suspicious after his last trip and didn't want the man adding extra security. Seeing the way was clear Harry quickly made his way to the third floor and opened the door, pulling out the harp and charming it to start playing. The Cerberus had jumped to attention when the door opened but the soft melody calmed it and it slowly sank back to the ground.
Harry placed the harp on the ground and pulled out the broom, enlarging it, and walking over to the trap door. "Lumos." Harry cast the spell and like last time hopped down the shaft, though he went faster since he knew what to expect. The Devils Snare gave off an odd shriek as the light hit it and it began to shrivel up on itself. Harry ignored it and continued on to the next room, this would be the time he wished he had the twins as two could catch the key faster than one. Walking into the room Harry immediately got on the broom and flew up into the ceiling to begin looking for the key, which didn't take him long. Despite not having practiced much Harry found that he was a natural on a broom, he had entertained the thought of joining the Quidditch team but that would ruin his gambling ring so he would just enjoy flying on his own.
Tipping the broom Harry flew down towards the key, which tried to fly off but Harry snatched it. Flying to the ground Harry walked towards the door and unlocked it, he almost put his broom against the door but stopped. "I might need it for later challenges." Harry thought as he shrunk it and put it back in his pocket. Moving on Harry pulled his wand out in preparation for the next challenge. "Bombarda." The spell flew from his wand and struck down the opposing king like before, moving through them Harry stood at the next door.
He took a deep breath and made sure the invisibility cloak was secure around him before reaching into his pocket and getting the small pouch that held the fish. He carefully poured out some of the fish and then moved away from them before changing them back to their original size. He opened the door and quickly used the levitation charm to send the fish off into the opposite side of the chamber while he hugged the walls.
"Uggggh." Harry heard the troll moan which was followed by footsteps, luckily they were moving away from Harry. With a sigh of relief Harry quickened his pace to the exit and did his best to stay silent as he shut the door. He jumped when the door was suddenly covered in purple flames, turning Harry saw the only other door in the room was covered in black flames. In the middle of the room was a table with seven bottles, all different shapes and with different colored liquids in them. Harry pulled out his wand and slowly made his way to the table, looking around for any surprises. When he reached the table he saw a piece of parchment on the side, picking it up Harry saw it was a riddle.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle-wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side
Second, different are those who stand at either end
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third as you see clearly, all are different size
Neither dwarf nor giant hold death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
"Bloody Snape." Harry muttered as he looked at the potions, of course it could have been anyone but it was an educated assumption. Sighing Harry put his wand away. "Alright I'll dissect this one line at a time." He paused. "Need a way to mark them…hmm." Looking around he saw the only thing in here was the parchment so he carefully tore pieces off of it and placed them in front of each bottle. His plan was simple, using the color change charm he learned Harry would mark the potions as he read through the riddle. It took a few minutes but that was mostly because Harry did not want to pick the wrong potions.
Harry looked at the bottle he had chosen and sighed. "Well here goes nothing." Harry said as he grabbed the bottle and moved to the door. The bottle had enough for two swallows. "Entering and leaving." Harry muttered as he took a gulp of the liquid, he shivered as it felt like he swallowed ice but pushed forward and through the flaming door. The color blinded him for a second but Harry found himself in a large open room with a mirror in the middle of it, Harry cocked an eyebrow and made his way towards it.
The mirror was large, he couldn't tell if it was made of brass or dulled gold but he guessed that didn't matter. Harry looked around and found nothing but torches on the wall. "So what is the challenge?" He muttered. "Or is this the prize?" He wondered and moved to the mirror and began inspecting it, he noticed along the edge were strange words.
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi
"Hmmm." Harry said and looked down, gasping as he did because he was not looking at his reflection. Harry took a few steps back to fully take in what was in the mirror, he was there but older, maybe around mid-twenties. He was wearing very rich looking clothes and had a powerful presence, looking to the side Harry gasped when he saw two people standing there. He was surprised because he knew they were his parents, they were older versions of the picture Flitwick had pointed out to him and the man closely resembled Harry. They looked happy and were smiling at Harry, the boy's eyes lingered on them for a moment before he inspected the reflection. The only thing remaining was a severed head by his feet, looking closer Harry noticed it was Voldemort's head, recognizing the man from his memories. "What is this?" Harry finally asked out loud, at first he thought it was a glimpse into the future but that wouldn't explain his parents. Naturally he then thought it showed your family and possibly the man was a relative who looked like him. "But the head." Harry muttered and looked down at it, he wanted Voldemort's head yes, but the man was dead. "What are you?" Harry asked aloud as he looked at the mirror.
Knowing he wasn't going to find anything out Harry pondered what to do, he looked back at the door and held his wand out. "Accio Parchment." A second later the parchment flew towards him, unfortunately it was on fire. "Shit." Harry said and moved out of the way so as not to get hit, after all he wasn't sure if the potion was still working. The parchment hit the ground where Harry had been and he sighed as it burned up. "Damn." With no other way to copy the words Harry was going to have to research the mirror with just the little facts. Turning Harry pulled out the vial and walked to the door.
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Albus hummed as he looked at the chamber, it was an odd puzzle and he was trying to figure out what happened. First, it was obvious someone made it here as Snape's potion was drunk, as was the returning potion. Second, the tactics up to that point were the same as before so he could safely assume it was the same person. What puzzled him though was that the stone was still there and the parchment from the puzzle room was missing, though the pile of ash near the mirror was most likely it. Of course that only made the entire thing more curious, along with how the person got past the troll. Sighing Dumbledore vanished the ash pile and made a note to contact Severus to write a new one, he didn't remember how it went and it would not turn out well to guess. "Now what will you do?" Dumbledore asked aloud before turning and walking off, though there was a small spring in his step and a small smile on his lips.
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The large chamber was packed tight as every single member of the Wizengamot were present for the trial. Likewise Bones had almost every Auror present, only leaving the rest in the Ministry to handle any problems that pop up. Fudge was just glad this day had come, after the article in the paper he was swamped with letters and meetings of people angry with him. Several members of the Wizengamot wanted him to not go through with the trial but his hands were tied and he had to have it now, of course Bones would never have let him brush it under the rug anyway. Adjusting his tie as he turned to Amelia, unlike the normal setup of the chamber for the trial he, Bones and Dumbledore were seated at the same level and next to each other. "Are we ready?" He asked quietly, Amelia nodded to him. "Alright." Fudge stood and banged his gavel. "Quiet everyone, quiet!" He yelled and the chamber slowly quieted down. "We are here today to for the trial of Sirius Orion Black." He turned to Amelia. "Amelia if you would bring in the prisoner."
Amelia nodded and pulled her wand to send a patronus, since it could not be duplicated Moody would know she was calling him in. A silvery Rottweiler leapt forward and ran down the side of the chamber, an Auror at the door opened it and the construct turned to run to its destination. Minutes passed but finally the door opened and Moody hobbled into the room, looking around for a second before turning back and jerking his head towards the wall. Sirius was the next person to walk in, he looked healthier then when he was first picked up but he was still a bit pale and thin in the face. Though even with the handcuffs and raggedy clothes, the man was smiling that cocky smile everyone remembered.
"Ha, told you Moody not an empty seat in the house." Sirius barked with mirth. "Hell they even added a few." The Ministry had added a setting area for reporters to sit and watch the trial. People began muttering between one another as Shacklebolt and Moody guided Sirius to the single chair facing the judges. As he sat down chains appeared and secured Sirius to it, he didn't even flinch and grinned at the trio. "Amelia you kinky minx."
"Sirius Black." Amelia said ignoring the comment. "You are accused of serving the Dark Lord Voldemort." Almost everyone shivered at the name. "And collusion in the murder of James and Lily Potter. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty." Sirius replied, his face had gone serious when Amelia started listing the crimes. Though his statement caused many in the room to start yelling, it took a minute of Fudge banging the gavel and shouting to quiet everyone.
"Very well." Amelia said with a nod. "You will be given Veritaserum." It was a statement not a question. As soon as she mentioned the potion Snape stood from his seat in the front row and walked to Sirius.
Sirius narrowed his eyes when he saw Snape. "Snivellus." Sirius almost growled at the man. Snape ignored him and pulled out the Veritaserum vial from his robe along with an eyedropper.
"Open up Black." Snape spoke down to the man like he was a child, Sirius stuck his tongue out and Snape administered three drops and then walked away. The room was silent as they waited for the serum to take full effect.
"What is your full name?" Amelia asked after a minute.
"Sirius Orion Black." Sirius replied automatically.
"When were you born?"
"October 3rd 1959."
Amelia looked to Dumbledore, his mastery of Legilimency made him able to tell if Sirius was faking. The elderly Wizards shook his head, Amelia nodded and turned back to Sirius.
"Why did you betray the Potters?"
"I didn't."
Chaos, that was the only way to describe the Wizengamot chamber as Wizards and Witches started screaming. The Auror's were attempting to gain control of everyone but failing, Moody and Shacklebolt had moved to Sirius's chair just in case someone tried anything.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore's voice overpowered everyone and he held his wand to his throat. Harry sat up in his seat and found himself studying the man, gone was his grandfather like appearance, instead his voice and stature screamed power. "YOU WILL ALL BE SILENT OR I WILL HAVE YOU REMOVED!" He slowly looked over the room as everyone sat down, though they changed to whispering to each other. Moving his wand he looked to Amelia. "Please continue Amelia."
Amelia nodded but thought about what to say, wording was important to this. "Were you the Potters secret keeper?" She figured work from the front and see why he didn't think he betrayed them.
"No." Sirius replied, earning gasps from the room.
"Who was?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Peter Pettigrew."
"How did this happen?" Dumbledore suddenly asked, Amelia turned to say something to him but noticed he looked worried.
"Everyone knew I was the obvious choice to become the secret keeper." Sirius said. "None but the best Death Eaters had a chance to catch me, let alone find me. So I suggested we change the secret keeper, no one would ever think it was Peter. Even if they did he was harder to keep up with then me."
"Why did you not tell me?" Dumbledore asked, the room was silent as they listened to the man.
"If Voldemort knew you thought I was the secret keeper then he would never look for someone else." Sirius replied.
"Why did you attack those muggles when confronting Pettigrew?" Amelia asked.
"I didn't, Peter must have had his wand behind his back." Sirius said, again the room was filled with whispers.
"Why did you say it was your fault the Potter were dead then?" Moody suddenly asked from his side.
"I suggested the change in keepers, therefore it's my fault." Sirius said, while the Veritaserum effected his attitude a tear fell down his face.
Amelia was perplexed, she had no idea where to go from here since by all accounts Sirius was innocent. She turned to Fudge but the man was pale and staring forward in shock, sighing she turned to Dumbledore. "Albus?" Dumbledore looked up, seeing Amelia shrug he nodded and stood up.
"Sirius did you serve Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
"No." Sirius replied heatedly.
"Members of the Wizengamot." Dumbledore called out. "As you can see Sirius Black has been falsely accused, we therefore find him innocent of all charges and free to go." He took Fudges gavel and banged, snapping the Minister out of his trance. Dumbledore then quickly moved down to Sirius as the chains fell off and the press tried to run to him. Loud chatter had filled the hall, since no one thought Sirius would be innocent of the crimes. "Alastor, Kingsley bring Sirius this way."
The Aruror's grabbed hold of Sirius and walked him towards the side of the hall, where a secret door was for moments like this. Dumbledore let them pass and followed behind, making sure no one was going to try anything.
Harry stood from his seat and made his way towards the stairs, he suppressed a smile. Now Sirius was free, but that was only a small part of this plan, he ignored the Lords and Ladies trying to talk to him as he walked. It may have been rude but he would apologize later claiming he was so lost in thought he didn't realize they were talking. Making his way down the stairs he wasn't surprised to see Rita there waiting for him.
"Lord Potter-Black what do you think of this new revelation?" She asked loudly, wanting everyone around them to hear what he had to say.
"I find it interesting." Harry replied, that made Rita cock an eyebrow. She didn't know what he was going to say just that she was to draw attention to them.
"Interesting? How so?" Rita asked.
"Well everyone assumed he was a Death Eater." Harry explained. "And now that we know he's not I wonder why all of the Lords and Ladies that were found to be under the Imperius never mentioned they never saw him?" Whispers started up around Rita and her grin grew as she scribbled down his response.
"How true." Rita said. "How do you feel about the man, who was your parent's best friend, suffering all that time in Azkaban?"
"I'm sure the Ministry will spare no expense to help him heal." Harry answered. "Doing this trial shows they do care about their citizens." He figured it wouldn't hurt to butter up Fudge. "If you'll excuse me Ms. Skeeter." Rita nodded and turned to find another victim for questioning.
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Not many people knew that Albus had an office in the Ministry, well it was the Chief Warlock's but still, and that was helpful in this instant. Albus led the trio down the halls and into his office. "Moody I believe you can remove the cuffs." The old Auror grunted and removed them. "I can handle things here I'm sure Amelia could use your help." Both men nodded and left the office, Sirius and Dumbledore stood silently for several minutes. "Sirius I am so sorry." Albus finally said.
"You didn't do anything wrong sir." Sirius replied, Dumbledore realized that he was still under the veritaserum and walked over to his cabinet. He kept various potions and antidotes incase of emergency, luckily he still had the veritaserum antidote. He took the bottle and gave it to Sirius, who immediately took a small sip.
"Thank Merlin." Sirius said with a sigh. "I was worried some of those Witches were going to get a hold of me and ask who the best shag was." He grinned at Dumbledore.
Despite the situation Albus chuckled. "I am glad you haven't lost you humor."
"How's Harry?" Sirius could care less about catching up or apologize right now.
"Well." Dumbledore said and gestured for him to take a seat. "Were you allowed any papers while in recovery?"
"No, only thing I know is he's Lord Potter and Black." Sirius said as he took the seat opposite him. "Who raised him? What house is he in, Gryffindor right? How did he become a Lord so fast?" Dumbledore held his hand up to stop the questions.
"How about I tell you everything I know and we can go from there?" Sirius nodded. "Well then let's start with his childhood."
For the next half hour Dumbledore told Sirius everything he could about Harry, Sirius wasn't happy when he heard the Dursley's raised Harry but hearing how he turned out he let it go. Sirius wasn't happy Harry was in Ravenclaw but said it was better than Slytherin, plus he knew Lily would be happy with that. Sirius couldn't hold back his grin when he learned Harry helped get Snape fired, well he didn't think Snape should have been teaching anyway.
"So when can I see him?" Sirius asked.
"I will talk to Harry when I get back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore promised. "I would bring you, but Harry is probably processing everything he learned today."
Sirius nodded in agreement, as much as he wanted to see Harry he would admit learning the man who supposedly helped kill your parents actually didn't would take more than a minute to get over. "I understand, but know I'm only going to wait so long before I storm the doors." He said with a grin and Dumbledore chuckled, though he didn't doubt Sirius was…well serious.
"Of course." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I will help you find somewhere to stay for the time being."
"Nah I can just go to…." Sirius said then frowned. "Why don't I remember where my family home is?"
"Filius informed me Harry had the home placed under a Fidelius Charm." Albus replied.
"Oh…" Sirius said. "Well then I would gladly appreciate the help." Albus smiled and nodded.
"Of course." The elder man replied and tried to think of the best place to put him.