"Emergency Wizamont Session is now in order. Bring in the accused Sirius Black." Minister Cornelius Fudge brought the court to order and watched the aurors bring in Sirius Black.
He looked rugged, dirty, but surprisingly sane considering he was in the heavy secured section of Azkaban. Fudge just hoped that this was a formality of his guilt; otherwise he didn't want to think about the outcry of the public. He may not have been the Minister of Magic at the time of Sirius Black being sent to Azkaban, but he was the Minister now, and people would still blame him. Fudge was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of chains securing Sirius to the chair. With a fortifying breath, Fudge got the trail going.
"We are here to try Sirius Orion Black on the charges as follows:
One count murder of one Peter Pettigrew
Thirteen counts of murder against muggles
One count of betrayal of Secret Keeper to the Noble and Ancient House of Potter
Are there any questions of charges before defendant enters his plea?"
The globe in front of Lucius Malfoy lit up in front of him. He may not have thought that Sirius was guilty, but if he was innocent, than the possibility of Draco being the next Lord Black was very low. Little did he know that the title of Lord Black already had a claimed heir. Lucius rose from his seat once he was recognized by the minister.
"Wasn't his guilt already confirmed at his last trial?" Many murmurs of agreement could be heard around the court room. Many were wondering why they were called here to rehear a case already closed in their minds. That was dashed when Madam Amelia Bones spoke.
"No it was not, Lord Malfoy. It seemed that Dumbledore and Crouch threw Sirius Black into Azkaban without a trial."
Madam Bones had to stop at the outcry not only from the Lords and Ladies of the Wizamont, but also from the audience section in the gallery. She could see reporters scribbling in their notepads and photographers flashing their cameras to catch the reaction of the crowd. Amelia already knew that every newspaper and magazine was going to be plastered with this story over the next couple of days. With a loud bang from her wand, she regained control of the courtroom.
"Because of this, Albus Dumbledore's titles as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump has been stripped from him. Both Dumbledore and Crouch will be facing charges after the outcome of this trial. Is there any more questions before we start this trail?" Everyone sat in stunned silence. Not only would Albus Dumbledore be stripped of his titles, but also going to trail. Before everyone could completely recover, Amelia turned everyone's attention back to the trail at hand.
"Since no one has spoken, we will convene with the trail. Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, how do you plead?"
"Not guilty on all charges." Sirius' voice was rusty, but still strong and it carried across the entire chamber. Noise broke out, people disbelieving about what they were about to witness. Another bang from Amelia's wand silenced the room again.
"Any other disturbance and I will have the court emptied. Is that understood?" Silence greeted her and Amelia nodded her head before turning back to the accused before her. "Are you willing to have Veritaserum during the trail?"
"Yes." That one word caused gasps to go around the courtroom.
Many knew that Veritaserum was the strongest truth serum out there. The only way to go around the potion would to have already ingested the antidote to the potion or have such strong Occlumency shields. With Sirius being in Azkaban for so long, any Occlumency shields would be gone by now and there wouldn't be any way he could of gotten the antidote this quickly since it usually took two days to make.
An auror came forward with a vail of clear, water-like liquid in it. Sirius opened his mouth willingly and three drops of the potion went into his system. The auror took a step back, waiting with the antidote when needed. Amelia started with some control questions.
"What is your name?"
"Sirius Orion Black."
"Where did you go to school?"
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"What house where you sorted into?"
"Gryffindor." Amelia nodded at this and motioned for the minister to start the trial questions.
"Sirius Black, were you the secret keeper for the Potter family?"
"No I was not."
"Who was the Secret Keeper?"
"Peter Pettigrew." Fudge started sweeting at this. It was his idea to give the man the Honor of Merlin after his death. He hoped that he'll be able to spin this after the trail.
"Is that why you killed Peter Pettigrew and the thirteen muggles?
"No. I was hunting Peter to bring him to justice. When I finally cornered that rat he blew up the street that killed those muggles. He then transformed into his anigamus form of a rat and escaped into the sewers." Everyone sat in silence for a moment.
Fudge almost fell into his seat before he remembered the other questions Amelia wanted him to ask. This was one of those times that he was glad he didn't listen to his Undersecretary Umbridge when she suggested not going along with them. With a glance at the parchment he had, he continued with the questioning.
"There was testimony that you admitted to killing Lily and James Potter, why?"
"Because it was my idea to pick Peter as the Secret Keeper. I knew everyone would assume that I would be the Secret Keeper, and we used that. That way Peter would be safe while the Death Eaters would be looking for me. Little did we know that Peter was the traitor that we feared about. If I hadn't come up with the plan, then my friends would still be alive." Sirius monotone voice cared across the court.
If he was fully aware, he would have seen people on the edge of their seats, some of them with tears in their eyes. Fudge looked over at Amelia, the only person in the room that seemed to have held onto her composer. She caught his eyes and seemed to understand the silent plea that he was sending her. He was not prepared for this type of thing. Amelia rose from her seat while Fudge took his.
"Are there any more questions that the members of the Wizengamont wish to ask?" Amelia was greeted with silence.
"Administer the antidote." Sirius' eyes cleared up from the glossed over look. He shook his head while the last of the potion left his system.
"Sirius Black, you are officially cleared of any and all charges faced with. For wrongful imprisonment Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch Sr. are sentenced to paying you 10,000 galleons for every year in Azkaban as well as a sentenced to a third of you imprisonment. In total, that is 100,000 galleons and 41 months in Azkaban to be served immediately." With the bang of her gavel, the court was adjourned. Everyone rose and started talked about what just happened.
Amelia and Fudge made their way to Sirius who was still sitting in the chair even though the chains had released him. When they got near him, Amelia got his attention.
"I'm sorry that it took you this long to get a trial, although it seems that you're remarkable sane considering over ten years of imprisonment." Sirius understood the question that she was asking and gave her a little smirk, although it came off a little harsher than he meant it with the state he was in.
"Pettigrew wasn't the only one in the group to become an animagus. Myself, James and Peter became one during our Hogwarts years. We never registered because the war was really heating up at the time and we thought it was a good idea to keep that a secret. Another brilliant plan that backfired." Sirius tried to joke before it died on his lips. There was an uncomfortable silence before Fudge broke it.
"Like Amelia said before, the Ministry is sorry for this miscarriage of justice. We will transport you to St. Mungo's and pay for any medical treatment that you'll need. We'll also make sure that your animagus form is registered without any fees." Sirius nodded his head and Amelia gave Fudge an approving look.
"It seems that one of your old friends would like to talk to you before you go. We'll leave you two alone while we make the arrangements." Sirius turned around and saw someone with light brown hair with hints of gray and in old clothing. It took Sirius a moment to realize who it was.
"Remus?"
"Hey, Padfoot. It's been a long time." Sirius gave a laugh, a mixture of a loud bark and a sob.
"Yeah, a little over ten years from the date of the newspaper they gave me today."
Sirius got up from the chair on shaky legs. The only reason that he was somewhat sane at the moment was because he spent most of his time in his animagus form, meaning that his human legs rarely got used during his decade of imprisonment.
"I'm so sorry that I believed that you were the traitor. I should have trusted you and my instincts instead of Wormtail's whispers." Remus grabbed onto Sirius when it looked like he was about to fall. Sirius grabbed onto his shoulders, which helped to stabilize him.
"It's alright. I should be apologizing to you as well. I thought that you betrayed us, Padfoot, and I never made sure that it was true. I think that the both of us made a lot of mistake during that time. There is so much that I have to tell you, especially about Harry." Sirius' face brightened at the mention of his godson. He remembered the happy, smiling baby that would laugh at everything happening around him and sleep on him when he was transformed into his grim form.
"Harry. How is he? He must be so big at the moment. Who does he take after most? Please tell me that he doesn't have James' hair. I remember both him and his father complaining about the Potter hair."
Sirius almost laughed at the number of rants he had to listen to from both men. It seemed that every man in the Potter line had untamable hair that never went down. The only thing that seemed to help is Sleakeazy Hair Potion that James' father made, and sold before James was born. The only reason that both men didn't use it regularly is that both men rarely stuck with the regiment to take care of their hair. Euphemia Potter would fuss at the both of them, but usually gave up unless they were going to a ball or another special function.
So caught up in his memories, Sirius didn't realize the look on Remus' face. After a while, Sirius finally noticed when Remus didn't start gushing about Harry. With a sigh, Remus guided Sirius over to the witness bench and sat both of them down.
"I've never seen him since the whole ordeal. I was still talking to the people Dumbledore wanted me to. So by the time that I got back, Dumbledore had already placed him with a family. He told me that I wasn't going to be able to visit Harry at all. He wanted Harry to grow up away from the wizarding world without the knowledge of his fame, not to mention that the family wasn't that keen on magic in the first place." Sirius face became confused.
"That doesn't sound right. I remember talking to James about his will. If I was unable to take Harry, he should have gone to the Longbottoms at least. If not them, there were a couple of other families that they were to go to."
"That's the problem. Dumbledore sealed their wills and placed Harry with Lily's sister."
"Petunia! That horse face bent that hated Lily and everything magic. Please tell me that Harry's alright. I remember meeting her sister and Petunia was a vile woman that was borderline abusive towards Lily."
"It seems that Petunia only got worse. It's been in the papers for the last couple of days. What I do know is that Petunia and her husband Vernon are in muggle prison awaiting trial on various charges of child abuse. Dumbledore is also going to be going to trial concerning Harry. I have a feeling that Madam Bones is going to ask about any other crime that he might have committed considering how much he's done already." Sirius sighed at this before asking the question he was starting to dread.
"How bad is he?"
"From what information that's been circulating, Harry's been starved, beaten and forced to stay in a confined space ever since he arrived there. The only reason that we know about this is because of the goblins. Not totally sure how Harry managed to get on their good side on his first day in the wizarding world, but they've been helping him. At the moment Harry is being watched by one of their guards until he goes off to Hogwarts."
"Have you visited him yet?"
"No. I don't know what to say about staying away so long. Especially considering that I was supposed to be James and Lily's friend."
"I'm sorry would be a nice start." Both men's heads snapped to the young voice that spoke. In front of them an exact replica of James was in front of them, but with a difference of Lily's eyes staring at them. Both men gaped at him until the man behind Harry spoke.
"I think you broke them kid, although considering one of them just got out of Azkaban, it's not that surprising."
"Give them a minute. They might just snap out of it, Tombs."
That seemed to have snapped the men out of it. Sirius was the first one to speak of the two stunned men.
"Harry, is that you?" Harry nodded his head, although he didn't get any closer to the men. He may not have any ill will against them, or at least not much, he didn't know how they would react to either of them. Their looks of awe and longing towards him didn't change his thought process.
"You look just like your father."
"But with Lily's eyes. She was the only person I knew that had such intense green eyes." Sirius nodded at that.
Many times the Marauders teased her about how emeralds wished they were the same color of her eyes. During one of Sirius' morbid times, he even compared them to the AK curse. James never liked the comparison, even if everyone else silently agreed with him. Harry's voice brought him out of his memories.
"I know one of you, but not the other." That prompted Remus to speak up again.
"My name is Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your parents and Sirius when we were in school and beyond." Remus seemed to have remembered what Harry said earlier in greeting. "I am sorry about never seeing you. I wasn't in the country when I found out what happened. By the time I got back, Sirius was already in prison and you were taken to your aunt's house. When I was making inquiries, I was told that you were already with a loving family and that any contact with you could have put you in danger. I know that isn't an excuse, but I was depressed by the thought that one of my best friends could of caused the deaths of James and Lily, that I wasn't thinking very clearly. If I was, I would have at least looked into Sirius' conviction as well as if you were truly safe. My depression doesn't excuse the fact that you, your parents and Sirius were like my family, and I abandoned all of you."
"It wasn't completely your fault. We knew that there was a traitor in our mist, but not who. I'm sorry to say that we thought that Remus was the traitor, despite how loyal you've always been. That is why we didn't tell you that we changed the secret keeper to Peter as a layered defense. I thought that I was so smart in suggesting that, but I wasn't smart enough to realize that it was Peter who was the traitor, not you. I am so sorry to the both of you. I have a feeling that my actions caused both of you pain, especially you, Harry.
"I was supposed to take care of you as your godfather, but I was so overcome with grief and rage that I didn't fight hard enough when Hagrid said that he was taking you to Dumbledore for safe keeping." Harry had to snort at that last part.
He could see that both men were sorry, and a part could understand that it was a terrible time, but these two men were supposed to be there for him and if either one of them had done what his parents expected, then he wouldn't have been placed with his relatives.
"I've never met the man, but Dumbledore has never kept me safe." Both men winced at that. Sirius may not know everything that's been going on, but with little that he did know from Remus didn't paint a happy picture. Before the two of them could go further into their guilt Harry spoke again.
"I'm trying not to make the both of you to feel guilty, or blame you, but I would like to know what happened around that time as well as some information about my parents. Aunt Petunia never really told me anything nice about either one of them."
"Of course, pup. We both have so many stories about you parents. And since I'm your godfather, you can come live with me during the holidays." The look of happiness on Sirius' face completely changed him.
It looked like years were stripped away and not even the grunge and scruff on him could take away how attractive he look. Remus had a similar look on his face, just more restrained and tentative, like he knew that Harry might not want anything to do with them. Thankfully, Harry didn't have to tell them about his hesitation. Madam Bones came over to them, catching the last bit of the conversation.
"I am sorry to say that Harry coming to live with you might not be possible at the moment. Sirius, don't look like that. You've just got out of prison. We have to get you healthy as well as getting you cleared mentally by the Mind Healers at St. Mungo's before you'll be able to take on a dependent. Until then, Mr. Potter is going to be staying in the protection of the goblin nation." Everyone, even Harry, gave her a surprised look.
"The moment that Mr. Potter came to them and were treated by the goblins, they petitioned to have guardianship of Mr. Potter until someone suitable was able to come forward and take care of him. For that to happen, the person has to be mentally and physically healthy, financially secure and have the approval of Mr. Potter himself and preferably on his parents' approved list that was included in their will. Until then, the goblins are responsible for his safety."
"How is this possible? I thought that they couldn't get involved with wizards on this level." Remus asked Amelia what everyone was wondering. The little smirk she gave them before schooling her face showed that she was taking some amusement out of this.
"It is an obscure clause in the treaties that we have with them. Most don't take advantage of it for various reasons, the biggest one is that the goblins usually don't see a need for them to get involved."
"And I'm sure not many know that it is even possible. I've worked for the goblins since I came out of Hogwarts and I don't even know that." Amelia nodded her head at Tombs in understanding.
She wasn't really surprised that not many people knew about this. The only ones that would probably know this was lawyers and department heads dealing with goblins on a regular bases.
"Sirius, we've set a fireplace up for you to St. Mungo's. I'm sure that once they're done checking you over for the day you'll be able to get visitors." Sirius' grip on Remus' hand tightened while he nodded at Amelia. With a nod, Amelia moved off to the side to wait for Sirius. Sirius looked back at Harry with a hopeful expression.
"Will I be able to write to you?" The hopeful look he had Harry agreeing without problem. "I'm glad. I hope that we can get to know each other and that I hopefully able to take care of you."
"Just focus on getting better first. Everything else will come in time." Sirius nodded at this but was a little depressed that Harry didn't seem more excited about moving in with him when he was cleared.
"I'm hoping that I will be able to write to you as well? You have no reason to, but I would like the chance to make up for my absence."
"Alright. I'll try to visit you Sirius before I go off to Hogwarts, but no promises. I'm still trying to get my footing here." Remus answered before Sirius.
Remus knew that Sirius wouldn't say the right thing at the moment. Even at his best, Sirius always spoke before completely thinking. Remus and James usually had to explain to him why he got slapped after trying to complement one of the upper year girls during fifth year at Hogwarts. No telling what Sirius would say after getting out of Azkaban and the effects of the Dementors.
"That's no problem. Writing is a good start at the moment. Come on, Sirius. I'm sure that Madam Bones has a lot to do today without waiting for us." Remus helped Sirius up, saying bye to both Harry and Tombs in the process.
Amelia showed them towards the fireplace they'd be using to get to St. Mungo's. Harry and Tombs watched them leave out of a side door, each lost in their own thoughts that they didn't notice a beetle flying into a dark corner before turning into a blonde woman with tight curls. She may not be able to write as freely about Harry as she wanted to, but that didn't mean that she couldn't write about the people around him.
"Come on, kid. We should get back to the hotel. The reporters should be gone by now since they didn't know that you would be here." Harry nodded his head and they both headed to the checkpoint to retrieve their wands.
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Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch Sr. Arrested!
That's right dear readers. Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch were arrested earlier today. I am sure all of you are wondering what for. The answer to that question is the unlawful imprisonment of Lord Sirius Black in Azkaban. That's right, Sirius Black was unlawfully imprisoned. Lord Sirius Black of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is innocent of all claimed crimes against him. It seems that Bartemius Crouch, before he was demoted to the Department of Games, threw Lord Black, then Heir Black, into Azkaban without a trial at the direction of Albus Dumbledore. If that is not all, the real person that betrayed the Potters was allowed to go free by Dumbledore. All of this was revealed in Lord Black's trial, the only trial that he's received by the way dear readers.
It seems that the Potters went under the Fidelius Charm that Albus Dumbledore cast himself to help protect the family. Lord Black stated in his trail that he came up with the idea to pose as the Secret Keeper while the true Secret Keeper was hidden away. Who was the Secret Keeper you ask? Why Peter Pettigrew of course. I'm sure that many of you are gasping in surprise at this. Not only was this the first trial of Lord Sirius Black, but it seems that the wrong man was blamed for the Potters' death. I'm sure many of you are wondering about Bartemius Crouch's assurances that Lord Black admitted his guilt, in which Lord Black had this to say:
"I knew everyone would assume that I would be the Secret Keeper, and we used that. That way Peter would be safe while the Death Eaters would be looking for me. Little did we know that Peter was the traitor that we feared about. If I hadn't come up with the plan, then my friends would still be alive."
That's right readers. Lord Black put his life on the line just to make sure that no one knew who the real Secret Keeper was. And what did he get in return? Betrayal at every turn. First by Peter Pettigrew who gave away the location to the Potters to You-Know-Who and then pinned the blame on Lord Black. Then by Albus Dumbledore, who knew the identity of the Secret Keeper but didn't come forward with the information. Then finally, by Bartemius Crouch who threw Lord Black into Azkaban at the word of Albus Dumbledore.
If this story isn't disgusting you enough, it also came out that Lord Black was supposed to take in Harry Potter as his godfather. That's right readers, the years of abuse Harry Potter suffered could have been avoided if Lord Black was allowed to take in our Savior. Thanks to Albus Dumbledore though, both Harry Potter and Lord Black suffered for over a decade.
Do not worry though, Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch are going to be punished. Dumbledore has been fined for his role in stealing from a Noble and Most Ancient House as well as returning the stolen funds. Dumbledore and Crouch are also forced to pay Lord Black 10,000 galleons for every year Lord Black was in Azkaban and one-third of Lord Black's time. In total, both men owe him 100,000 galleons and sentenced to 41 months in Azkaban and stripped of all titles and responsibilities they have. Not to mention that they will be facing a trial to see if they have committed any more crimes. Do not forget that Albus Dumbledore still hasn't been punished for the crimes against Harry Potter. At least we'll know that our children are safe from his 'greater good'. Let us hope that nothing else is revealed. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that our world can only handle so much.
Even with all of this, I am sure that many of you are wondering why both men did such terrible deeds that would allow them to send a child to an abusive home and an innocent man to the Dementers. All evidence seems to point that Crouch was just doing Dumbledore's bidding. For not only was Dumbledore stealing from the Potter vaults, but also the Black vaults as well. This hasn't been proven yet, but it seems that Dumbledore's master plan was to leave Harry Potter with abusive muggles. When the time for Harry to come back into the wizarding world, Dumbledore could have easily manipulated Harry by 'saving' him from his relatives. Of course this couldn't have happened with Sirius Black still in the picture. So he convinces, or bribes, Crouch into throwing Sirius Black into Azkaban without trial. Then it is easy for Dumbledore to forge some documents, remember he was the Chief Warlock at the time, and get access to the Black and Potter fortune. Either way, the trials of Crouch and Dumbledore are scheduled for September 7th and September 8th respectively. We don't know if Harry Potter or Lord Black will be at the trials, but until then, let's send out well wishes to Lord Black for a speedy recovery in St. Mungo's and to Harry Potter in his ability to form a relationship with the closest thing to true family to him.
Written by Rita Skeeter
Hogwarts Without a Headmaster
With the arrest of Albus Dumbledore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry no longer has a Headmaster. I'm sure many are thinking that the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall is going to be the new Headmistress. That, unfortunately is not going to happen to Deputy Head McGonagall who has been teaching at the school since 1957 as the Transfiguration Professor and eventually given the honor of the Gryffindor Head of House and Deputy Headmistress. The Board of Governors are still doing a review of the school and has decided to elect someone else as temporary Headmaster/mistress. This is explained by Lady Longbottom of the Board of Governors:
"We are still going to review Hogwarts, and in that affect, we don't want to change the lineup of the teachers so late in the game, especially if they are no longer going to be in employment at Hogwarts or in the same position as before. After this year though, we will be appointing a Headmaster/mistress to stay on. Hopefully, it will be one of the professors already here at Hogwarts, but if not, then the temporary Headmaster/mistress will be permanent."
Well, let us hope that the review isn't as shocking with a Headmaster like Dumbledore. I, myself, am glad that the Board of Governors are taking care of our children.
Written by Lisa Humber
History of the Crouch Family's Crimes Page 3
History of the Black House Page 3
Azkaban Prison & Dementers Page 5
Crimes of Albus Dumbledore to Date Page 8
