Title: Angelus Fortuna
Author: Crimson Rosary
Summary: After watching the near-death experience of his godfather, Harry finally decides that Dumbledore doesn't really have the power he claims to have. In order to protect himself, his family and his friends, Harry chooses to side with Voldemort. But what does the Dark Lord have to say to that?
Pairing: LVHP
Rating: M
Author's Note: This is my first ever LVHP story! Please don't hate! Enjoy! If you don't like Male x Male, please press the back button or the red box on the corner. Manipulative!Dumbledore, Ron/Hermione/Ginny/Certain Weasley Bashing! Alive!Sirius, Good!Voldemort, Characters will be a bit OOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Harry Potter; all those belong to J.K. Rowling.
'Thoughts'
{Parseltongue}
[Telepathy]
Chapter 9
Comes in Three's and Four's
The fireplace burst into green flames as a small chime alerted Dumbledore of a waiting guest.
"Albus? Albus, are you there?"
Molly's warbled voice came flitting into the room and the Headmaster walked out of his personal quarters.
"Molly? What is it?"
"Might I come through?"
"Of course!"
The redhead's head disappeared from the green flames and a few seconds later, she emerged from the fireplace.
"Is there something wrong, Molly?" He frowned when the Weasley matriarch made him wait, choosing to dust the ashes off her decrepit apron and fraying dress. But when she looked up, only a twinkled-eye smile greeted her. Seeing his kindness put a smile on her own face, but it quickly fell with the news she had to tell.
"I have not been able to get to Sirius for the past few weeks and whenever I've tried talking to Arthur, he's always away or is in the middle of something." The plump redhead huffed in annoyance. Surely Sirius was over the silly article? The news had disappeared a week after it had been produced! "Honestly, when will the boy listen to his betters? Always getting himself into detention with James; always slacking in his studies and picking up girls and using them as if they were tissues." She tutted loudly with disapproval.
"Have you tried sending Sirius an owl?" Dumbledore asked, moving the conversation along. He didn't have time for all her foolishness. He had to find that boy!
Molly looked affronted, "But of course! I've tried to floo to Grimmauld Place and have even tried floo calling! I've even sent him seven owls for the past week and a half! Seven! And all of them have been returned unopened! Merlin knows he cannot take care of himself!" She frowned, "As if Kreacher, that blasted house elf of his, would actually live up to a mother's care and loving hands."
Dumbledore breathed in through his nose and slowly let out his breath. Merlin, it was like dealing with a sixteen-year-old Molly again. How in the world did he ever think that she would become more adult-like when she had gotten married and had gotten pregnant with William?
With a benevolent smile, Albus addressed half of her problem. "Molly, Arthur is just busy with the Ministry. I have no doubt that he is working hard and have many projects lined up, courtesy of Fudge himself. As for the other news, I have learned that Harry had been invited to the Minister's Ball, and with a plus one as well. I don't know who the guest is, but I will find out soon enough." Then blue eyes turned gravely surly, "I've also heard that the boy has been in the company of the Malfoys during this event."
"Malfoys," Molly snapped, pursing her lips with displeasure. "Awful, the lot of them. And hanging around Harry, you say? Why, that's preposterous! We've always vocally denounced their beliefs and traditions. No – it's not possible. There must be some mistake. Harry could not have been at the Minister's ball! Certainly not with the Malfoys!"
With his steepled fingers under his bearded chin, Dumbledore was glad that the redheaded witch made no note of why Dumbledore had not been at the event. His blue eyes turned to the gadgets still twirling around on his shelves; the blood wards were still up, so perhaps Molly was correct?
He'd have to recheck his contacts himself. Just to be sure.
"Well-spoken, Molly." The redhead preened from his praise. "Perhaps it was not Harry. The boy had been too well-kept to be him." Now that he thought about it, the description that his old friend, Doge, had given to him did not resemble the scrawny Gryffindor he knew. However, the Minister did personally walk up and thank him for joining the event…
How peculiar indeed.
"If Harry's not with the Malfoys, then where is he?! Oh, don't tell me now, Albus. Did you send Mundungus to look after him?" Molly barely looked at the headmaster for a second before she came to her own conclusion, "You did, didn't you?" She asked, accusingly. "Mundungus isn't the sort of person we need in the Order!"
The wizened old man narrowed his eyes, but the redheaded matriarch was on a tirade. She sighed dramatically, "If only Fabian and Gideon were still alive! And James and Lily as well." Her eyes grew wet with tears, and she quickly dabbed them away. "Well, we need all the help we can get. Harry cannot defeat You-Know-Who without us."
Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and looked at Molly. Harry had to be malleable and in order for that to happen, the boy's first step was to apologize for his misdeeds, his little temper tantrum and his stupid little contract and remove it. Then, when Harry realized that what he was doing was for the greater good, the boy can return into his bosom, thankful that the Great and Well-loved, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, had forgiven him for straying.
Smiling benevolently at the redhead, he spoke up. "And as for Sirius, let him be. He's regressed to his teenager years," Dumbledore adopted a sad and pitying expression, "Such is the effect of having been around Dementors for twelve years. It's a shame that his temper has reverted as well."
Molly 'tutted' once more, her disapproval of Sirius's childish tantrum evident. Honestly, how could she have taken care of Harry without the additional funds? Surely Sirius understood. Molly shook her head; the boy had always been childish since his days at Hogwarts – and she had thought he had matured, joining the Auror Academy; but sadly it was not meant to be. A man at his age and still haven't settled down yet. He had much to learn before he was truly an adult. After all, he had been sent to Azkaban, and no man in his right mind would have been sent to that hellhole if he weren't rational and mature.
"Yes, yes. You're right, Albus. We just need to help the boy. Sirius needs lots of care after what he's been through." Molly nodded sagely, as if she had come up with the idea all by herself.
"Very good," Albus praised. "Now, what of your sons, William, Charlie and Percy? And of Arthur? I rarely hear from him."
Molly huffed in irritation, "William refuses to talk to me about the goblins – in fact, he said he would not speak of his career in Egypt or of his association with Gringotts should he return to Great Britain! Of course, Charlie's in Romania with the dragons, but it would be difficult to get the other dragon handlers on our side – none of them wish harm upon their precious babies." The Weasley matriarch shook her head, red curls swaying side to side. "Babies, he calls them! As if they were actual beings that needed to be taken care of! The boy wouldn't know how dangerous they were until they bit the head right off of him! I told him to stay at home where he belonged, but no – he had to go traipsing out of the country!"
Albus stayed silent, knowing the real reason for her two eldest sons' leave of the country, but did not vocalize his thoughts. After all, it was common knowledge to everyone why William and Charlie left; that is, it was common knowledge to all but their mother herself.
The woman was absolutely, positively overbearing! To the point that if you had had to breathe, she would be the one to provide the oxygen for you! Dumbledore understood why they had left; he certainly would have had Molly been his mother.
Thankfully, she was not.
"Now Percy, my baby Percival." Her eyes shone proudly at her third son. Named aptly after Dumbledore with high hopes that her baby boy would be just as accomplished as her dearly beloved Headmaster, Molly was quite euphoric when her third son became Prefect, had O's in all 12 of his O.W.L.s, obtained the status of Head Boy, graduated with Outstanding's in all of his N.E.W.T.s, and was now working in the Ministry, and underneath Fudge, no less! "He's been the Golden Child! Oh! If only the others were just as perfect as my little Percival."
The Headmaster chose to swallow his words. Molly had chosen to ignore all statements pertaining to how arrogant her Percy had become. Blind-sighted by Percy's achievements, Molly didn't even blink an eye when Percy had joined the Ministry. Though, her heart did break when she personally found out that Percy would never follow Dumbledore and had walked out on his family. But other than that miniscule flaw, her baby boy was perfect.
"I have no doubt that Percy is doing a wonderful job. It would be hard for his younger siblings to live up to his reputation." Dumbledore said instead, seeing Molly's vibrant, but shy blush at the Albus Dumbledore's compliments towards her children.
Then, Molly returned her glance to her esteemed leader, brown eyes wide with anticipation. "And what of –" Molly's voice disappeared, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She frowned, cursing the stipulations placed upon the Gringotts letter she'd received.
Dumbledore seemed to understand what she was trying to say though, "Once –" His mouth, too, ended up imitating a fish out of water.
'That dratted brat!' Dumbledore's face was pulled into a scowl. 'How dare he make light of Albus Dumbledore!' The wizened wizard swore he would make the boy pay and return him under his thumb.
Only five minutes later did the two run out of the Headmaster's office, butt stinging from several unknown spells that had occurred out of nowhere, and had aimed straight for their arses.
…..
Remus blinked and then he blinked once more. Were his eyes deceiving him? Why was he here? At his door? Awaiting his arrival?
"Can I have a word with you? In private?"
Remus blinked again, "Of course." Opening the door to his bedroom, he motioned his guest in. "Sorry, but I don't have tea ready." He replied a little sarcastically.
Sirius winced, "That's okay. I figured it was time for me to get my head out of my arse and have the balls to talk to you first. It was my fault that we had gotten into that fight anyway."
Remus crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot against the carpeted floor. "Oh really? What gave that away?"
Sirius flinched. He knew that look. He and James had been at the receiving end of it – well James even more so considering he had Lily to deal with as well. Peter was. . . well, the rat was incompetent anyway.
"Well. . . I heard that you had gone on a date with Fenrir a few days after we had that little tiff."
"It wasn't a tiff. You nearly killed my mate."
"Mate. . ." Sirius rubbed his sweaty hands along his robes, "Right." Sirius nodded his head curtly. "About that, I'm really sorry Remus. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the two of you were actually mates."
Remus rolled his eyes, lips twitching with annoyance. "Oh? You couldn't wrap your heard around it? What about me? I was the one actually going through this situation! Put yourself in my shoes, Sirius. You've just found out that the person you trusted the most was actually a deceiving bastard. Then within a span of two hours, you find out that the person you've hated your entire life – had actually infected you because you would've died! Of an incurable disease if not for that man's rescue! Then to find that the deceiving bastard you put your trust into has warped the truth about your savior. And that your savior was actually your mate. Think about that, Sirius! Think about that!"
Sirius peeked up from behind his bangs before looking down at his hands, "I couldn't stand the fact that he was your mate. I still can't to tell you the truth." He continued on, and Remus let him, quietly sitting there as the werewolf watched the animagus pace a hole in his rug.
"He was the reason why your parents feared for your life, your future. They knew all about the laws and restrictions on werewolves! And now that their son was one, they didn't know what to think!" Sirius said.
Remus pursed his lips, unfazed. "I know. They've told me."
The animagus sighed and looked at his old friend pleadingly, "James and I, you were always so sickly looking. So pale, so fragile. Every month you would disappear and every time you came back, you looked as if you were about to fall to pieces. It wasn't until we found out that we could find an alternative to calm Moony. Remus, you have to understand. Our anger was placed onto Fenrir because he was the reason why you were in pain every month – the reason why you couldn't hold a job. And now – out of nowhere, to say that he is your mate – !"
"You don't think it's hard for me to swallow, Sirius?" Remus asked rhetorically. "It is my life. He is my mate. Honestly, I think it is within my right to hit you right now until I'm satisfied." He threw Sirius a scathing look, "But I won't. Come here, Sirius."
The werewolf patted the space beside him and the animagus obediently did as he was told.
"I understand that you and James cared a lot for me. And honestly, I do as well. Nonetheless, I've been through the transitions even before I entered Hogwarts and even while you and James were gone. Moony –" Remus laughed softly, "Moony is finally relaxed and calm. Fenrir grounds us. He makes us feel safe. Plus, the fact that Moony now has the rest of his pack with him, and his cub by his side, is really helping me through this. I really want to try this, Sirius. Do you understand?"
"I do." Sirius nodded halfheartedly.
"And I'm doing this even if it means I won't get your support." Remus stated in a final tone.
There was a moment of silence as Sirius looked to the floor and scuffed his shoes against the carpet. "I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I can't tell you that I understand because I don't. It's just – ugh! I can't even say this without making it sound like I'm blaming you. And I'm not! I'm just trying to understand, but I let my own pigheadedness get in the way of our friendship."
"And your anger."
"And my anger." Sirius agreed.
"And your idiocy."
"And my idiocy," Sirius conceded.
"And your –"
"Can we please move on from listing my flaws?" Sirius asked.
Remus pursed his lips, "You do have a lot of it."
"Gee thanks."
Remus hmph'ed and looked at Sirius. "Are you apologizing because you're sorry? Or just because you think this will make me forgive you?"
Sirius looked up at his best friend and sighed.
"Well? Remus asked, after a moment of silence fell through.
"I'm really, really, truly sorry for putting the blame on you and Fenrir. For being so obstinate and for taking out my anger about Dumbledore on the two of you. I guess I just needed –"
"Someone to release your anger on?" Remus pursed his lips with narrowed eyes. Sirius had the gall to look sheepishly at him, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"Yeah. . . release my anger. . . "
"Well, I'd thank you not to do it again. I may not be so forgiving next time." Remus sniffed.
"So we're okay?" Sirius asked tentatively.
"I will forgive you, but I won't forget. After all, it's hard to forget when you are one of the three last remaining Marauders alive."
"Two," Sirius interjected.
"Two?" Remus asked.
Sirius shrugged his shoulders, "Wormtail will be dead soon. If not the Dementors, then just living in Azkaban surrounded by the feeling of despair and lost hope."
". . . Right." Remus said, wincing at having caused his friend to remember such awful things. "I'll forget about this if you forget about what I just said about you. You still have to remember what I told you about Fenrir though."
Sirius barked in laughter, "Very well!" And the two clapped hands before tugging each other into a brotherly hug.
But both of them knew. It was hard to forget such horrid things.
…..
During the days that Remus had awaited his first date with Fenrir, Hermione was holed up in her designated room, only to leave during meal time or when she required more books from Tom's library.
Of course, the books she had read were all about the pureblood history – before the entry of muggleborns into their society. Then she understood how the society had quote-unquote "fallen from grace". As it were, the muggleborns brought in their own traditions, customs, ideals, wants, needs, complaints – anything that they believed that the pureblood "lorded" over them unfairly was subsequently taken down from within either the Ministry or the school (i.e. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).
Then she turned to the politics side of the Wizarding Community. The purebloods had strived to maintain a modicum of decorum when it came to allowing muggleborns the transition from their muggle world into the pureblood's wizarding world. It wasn't that they entirely hated the muggleborns. But once it was realized that their livelihood was being threatened, the purebloods had tried to take action. And while they had succeeded in the past, once Dumbledore's sworn-in ceremony as Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and his receiving of the award of an Order of Merlin, first class, things had slowed down. And especially after Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald did the purebloods truly have a hard time trying to salvage their traditions.
Hermione had tried so very hard to find evidence that may disprove the tomes' claims of such an occurrence, but to no avail. Even the newspaper clippings and articles from back then had confirmed what she had learned. Dumbledore truly did nothing for the Wizarding World. He had all this power and he refused to use it to help everyone.
Knowing not to throw the books, even in her bouts of anger, Hermione stiffly placed the tome to the side and pinched the bridge of her nose, calmly taking in deep breaths as she counted down from 10. It helped soothe her in some way, but in others, she still felt that anger simmering underneath her skin.
Calmly thinking the information through, Hermione reviewed her memories of the Headmaster. How was it that she didn't see the clues there? The hints that were blatantly obvious?
In first year, how would Vold – 'Tom – his name is Tom' she reminded herself – even get through the strongest wards at Hogwarts if the Headmaster were in charge of them? She had heard, or had she? Hermione thought, of the times where Dumbledore insisted that Hogwarts was strongly protected under heavy wards – wards that Tom would have difficulty breaking in order to get through to the school. After all, hadn't she reminded Harry in first year that if he were to stay in the school, Tom would not be able to hurt him? And because the wards were so powerful, it would prevent Tom from entering?
But no. Tom did enter the school – even if it was through the possession of Quirrell's body. And really, how did a stupid troll get inside the school? It would have had to pass through the impenetrable wards that the school provided to its residents. Plus, what had been going through the Headmaster's mind when he decided to guard the Philosopher's Stone within the school? And in a school filled with children!
Hermione clicked her tongue and frowned.
Then second year happened – and it occurred through the use of a dark piece of magic and the basilisk. Then again. . . wasn't it such an odd occurrence that every student that had been petrified had been petrified? How was it that it was such a coincidence that the petrified students had been at a place that allowed them to see the reflection of the basilisk's eyes and not the eyes itself? How was it that they had items or were near objects, and Sir Nicholas for Justin, that allowed them to miss death by such a small chance?
Things were not adding up. And it should have been plain to see if Hermione had actually thought about it. But she had been young! And afraid! While it was just relieving to hear that no one actually died, it didn't help that those who had been petrified had had to wait until the mandrakes had matured before brewing the needed potion. Then again. . . why hadn't the Headmaster just ordered the Mandrake Restorative Draughts from the apothecaries? Oh wait. . . if he did that, then it would have drawn attention to the fact that the Headmaster allowed another disaster to occur – one that had already happened about fifty years ago, resulting in the death of the well-known Moaning Myrtle.
Third year was all right, Hermione supposed. If you counted out Sirius, a supposedly mass murderer escaping from Azkaban to go after the true murderer and Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew, who happened to be the pet rat of one Ronald Weasley. The same Weasley that Harry, and now Hermione, the rest of the Order, and the world – well that's a stretch, Wizarding Community it is – had found out to have been robbing Harry blind. He and along with his overbearing mother Molly Weasley, slut of a sister Ginny Weasley (and Hermione hated used slurs – oh wait. It was different if she talked about someone she hated) and Dumbledore, the supposedly esteemed Headmaster that Hermione now realized she had blindly trusted just because he happened to be the most powerful wizard of all time. She too had been, under the pretenses of being handed scholarship money, but now that she knew, Hermione would do everything she could to return it.
Fourth year was the Triwizard Tournament – something Dumbledore could have stopped as the Supreme Mugwump and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. After all, as part of the International Confederation of Wizards, Dumbledore had the authority to have a say in removing Harry Potter, a fourteen-year-old minor from an adult tournament that killed its participants. After all, a thousand galleons was a thousand reasons to actually join the tournament – what was fame and glory anyway if you died? Or survived – according to Professor McGonagall – based on sheer dumb luck?
Huh. . . Hermione paused but shrugged and proceeded to continue thinking. Forget about being the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Dumbledore's position as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot could have surely override Bagman's authority of the entire thing. He may be the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, but really, was his position higher than Dumbledore's? Why the bloody hell was the tournament even activated again?!
Hermione silently berated herself for cussing once more. Forget about the fourth year, it was the fifth year that had been the worst! Dumbledore had allowed Umbridge to gain entry into Hogwarts! And according to Hogwarts: A History, the Ministry had no power, no rule, no authority to even assign one of their own into the staff at Hogwarts. And then what with Dumbledore disappearing and never to be seen through the year, he had practically given Umbridge free reign. Wait. Not practically. He did give Umbridge free reign! He might as well have handed her the keys to the school!
Hermione coughed to herself, smiling as she made a sort of muggle reference in her thoughts. Then she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. Dumbledore only arrived in time to save Trelawney, which in Hermione's point of view, was sorely a mistake, but she did agree that kicking the woman out of the school with no place to go was a little bit inhumane.
Waving aside that concern, Hermione moved onto the next point. Dumbledore had not prevented Harry from being Crucio'ed. He did not prevent Harry from almost being doused by Veritaserum. He did not save Harry nor did he save the school and its students from the blood quills, from the Inquisitorial Squad or from Umbridge's reign of terror. Everything had to be done by the kids. This war was basically centered around the idea that only Harry, a fifteen-year-old teenager, would be able to defeat Tom, a Dark Lord who was practically three times Harry's age and with three times more experience and knowledge than Harry did!
Looking at the notepad she had just remembered having on her lap, Hermione was surprised. Her t-chart on deciding the pros and cons of siding with Tom was quite thoroughly filled. There were all the pros that spanned at least five full, whole pages. Yet there were only a handful of cons that Hermione had written down – and they didn't even sound convincing enough to be considered a con.
Rereading it, Hermione frowned. "Con: 1) Will be seen as a traitor to the Light, 2) Will have to deal with Dumbledore and his followers, 3) Might take years to repay Harry. . ."
Sighing, Hermione crossed the cons out and looked over her t-chart. The first few cons could be done – after all, she was already saving up money to repay Harry, so that shouldn't even be considered a con.
Hermione tapped the tip of the quill on her notepad. Everything was basically pointing to Tom – not pointing to, SCREAMING AT HER to join Tom, Hermione quickly amended in her head.
After all, what was she losing? She had everything to gain as Tom's ally. And she had everything to lose as Tom's enemy. Very well. She picked up her notepad and quill and sent the tomes splayed out in the library around her, back to its rightful shelves with a flick of her wand.
'Oh, got to put that down as a pro too. 'Able to use magic in the vicinity of a magical adult'.'
With a strong determined look in her eyes, Hermione set out to find some people.
…..
"Hermione! Finally, I thought I would have had to send a house elf to retrieve you. You've nearly missed lunch," Harry said, once the bushy-haired Gryffindor arrived at the dining room.
"Sorry," Hermione smiled. "I was in the library reading some books."
She gave Harry a once over and nodded her head approvingly. Harry was filling out quite nicely – under the potions that Professor Snape was brewing for him. He also had that heavenly glow around him – that was probably because of his ever-progressing relationship with Tom. Harry looked better than he had been. It was such a nice change compared to the bolts and shackles he seemed to lug around even during the school year.
"Oh? What were you reading up on?"
"Just Wizarding history, traditions, laws – stuff like that."
"Oh," Harry wrinkled his nose. "That sounds boring. Whatever do you need to read those for?"
"You should learn as well," Tom interjected. "It is good to learn about your roots and how the Wizarding community was founded – and on what basis it was founded on."
Harry grumbled but nevertheless nodded his head.
Hermione smiled – Tom was such a good influence on him! She could have never gotten Harry to do some free reading on his own. The boy was forever attached to Weasley – always being dragged off to play games, lounge around or even to go flying. Never studying – no, it seems as if the youngest Weasley male had some sort of allergic reaction towards the idea of study.
"Oh, speaking of learning," Hermione said. "Sirius, Remus, might I have a word with the two of you after our meal?"
The aforementioned wizards shared a look and nodded their heads. "Of course."
Hermione smiled and bent her head to eat her meal. Her eyes noticed the change in seating at the table. Harry was sitting on Tom's left hand side while Lucius Malfoy sat on Tom's right side. Besides Harry was her, followed by Sirius, Remus and Fenrir – who was actively engaging Remus in some conversation.
'Must be some conversation if Professor Lupin is blushing like that. . .' Hermione giggled to herself.
She turned her attention to the person besides Lucius. Hermione would have never seen it unless she had came upon them, but Severus was actually Lucius's lover! Narcissa wasn't at the table – she was with Draco at their home in Malfoy Manor, but the fact of the matter was – is that her Potions professor was subtly trying to fend off Lucius's flirtatious manners!
Hermione would have gawked if she hadn't had a mind to control her reaction, but deciding not to head in that territory, she turned to Sirius.
"How are things with you and Remus?"
"They're fine." Sirius smiled, munching on a piece of Chicken. "We've mended our fight. We've forgiven, but we won't forget. Then again, no one ever forgets if someone's wronged them."
A shadow seemed to be cast over Sirius's eyes at that comment.
"Sirius?" Hermione asked, concerned.
The shadow seemed to retreat, but Hermione could see a lingering darkness in Sirius's eyes. "Let's eat, shall we? There's nothing really important to mention." After a few bites, Sirius started the conversation once more.
"Oh, what was it that you needed Remus and I for?"
"Yes, is it important?" Remus had left his conversation with Fenrir, looking around Sirius's body to stare at Hermione.
"Just some things I've figured out." Hermione said vaguely. "We'll talk about it later."
With that, the conversation ended and Remus returned to Fenrir's little chat.
…..
"The Wizengamot is now in session for the Trial of Sirius Orion Black. Interrogator: Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Court Scribe: Percy Ignatius Weasley." Cornelius spoke up, knocking the gavel three times before sitting down. Rather than having a small private meeting, all the members were present in the courtroom. Even the media were sitting amongst the audience, their cameras feverishly snapping pictures of the entire scene as Sirius was led towards the center of the room – the detaining shackles a prominent feature.
"Will the court administer the Veritaserum to the defendant?" Cornelius inquired.
Sirius waved a hand to stop the Black solicitor from arguing, yet it was Amelia Bones who prevented the administration.
"Minister Fudge, there is no need to administer the Truth Serum for Lord Black. All the evidence required for the settlement of the case and trial is written in the files I've handed to you."
"If Lord Black has nothing to hide, then the distribution of the Truth Serum should not frighten him so." Cornelius spoke up.
Sirius smiled confidently, seeing how the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot had paled.
"There is no need for Veritaserum, Cornelius." Dumbledore said with a grandfatherly smile. "I can vouch for Lord Black myself. Lord Black has nothing to hide and his sentence to Azkaban was clearly mistaken. The Ministry during those times were falling on hard times and could not be faulted for being fallacious."
Lucius smirked; Lord Malfoy leaned back in his seat and folded his hands. "My, my. What unwavering confidence you have, Chief Wizengamot. Where was this steadfast conviction when Lord Black needed it during his first trial?"
Albus pursed his lips, preventing a scowl from forming on his face. Now that all of attention was focused on him, the old wizard needed to watch what his next words would be.
"It was remiss of me to believe that the late Lord Potter had chosen Lord Black as the Potter's secret keeper." Dumbledore solemnly admitted. "However, it was of popular knowledge that Lord Black was the late Lord Potter's best friend. This cannot be doubted."
"And so it was of popular belief that you allowed such a transgression to pass off as a farce of a trial." Lord Potter spoke up. Harry's vibrant green eyes pinned Dumbledore's slacking form, sneering when the Headmaster attempted Legilimens. "Might I remind you Chief Warlock, even your position cannot save you from any sort of lapse in fictitious discernment – even if it is done, based on your personal ethics."
Dumbledore realized what Harry was saying and the probe immediately stopped. That was his first and final warning, the old Headmaster assumed, quickly turning his attention towards the rest of the courtroom.
"So, Lord Black? Will you ask for the Veritaserum?" Cornelius inquired.
"Of course." Sirius smiled, handsomely. "I have done nothing wrong. I have nothing to hide – I did not give the Potters away and I know of my innocence even if others have portrayed me as the antagonist." The animagus enjoyed the flinch it caused in the Minister.
"Administer the Veritaserum." Cornelius said imperiously, even as his body trembled with the implications that would befall him should Lord Black be found as innocent.
Sirius gave the Minister and his audience, one last smirk before sticking his tongue out to receive the required dosage. His eyes then glazed and Cornelius allowed Madam Bones to question him. But it was already known what the Head of the DMLE would ask of him – after all, she had asked the same questions to Peter Pettigrew as well.
Harry and Lucius shared a small smug look as the questions came dwindling down to the trial's most important component.
"Who was the one to cast the Fidelius Charm?" Amelia asked, her eyes slyly looking to her right where the Chief Warlock sat.
"A-"
"Don't you think we have all the evidence we need, my dear?" Dumbledore asked. He lifted the file containing the reports, evidence and information on Peter's interrogation, Sirius's trial, sentence and imprisonment. "This has all the data we need to make sure Lord Black will be compensated for his stay in Azkaban."
"Please let Lord Black answer the question, Chief Warlock." Amelia stressed. Cornelius knocked the gavel thrice, before giving Dumbledore a warning look.
The old man could only deflate in his seat, looking defeated.
"Who was the one to cast the Fidelius Charm, Lord Black?" Amelia repeated.
"The person who cast the Fidelius Charm was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Sirius answered, continuing on even though murmurs broke out across the courtroom. "It was Albus's advice that we have the secret keeper switched from me to Peter Pettigrew. I told James that it was because I was such an obvious choice that everyone would believe I was the secret keeper – but because I was an obvious choice, no one would really believe that I was the actual secret keeper. It was too predictable and so the Death Eaters would turn to others. And it worked after all – no one really knew who the secret keeper was. I was hardly attacked and being attacked by Death Eaters during my Auror days were not any different. But once Albus suggested Peter Pettigrew, James just changed his mind out of nowhere. I should have known something was going on, but I was too blindsided by Albus and his words to even think of anything else."
Cornelius gawked, squawking indignantly at Dumbledore's direction.
"I believe we have all the evidence that we need?" Amelia smirked.
"Arrest that man!" Cornelius barked and the Aurors rushed over to detain the Chief Warlock. The Wizengamot members shoved each other over in order to stay away from Dumbledore – as if he had suddenly caught an incurable disease and would be contagious if they stayed near his vicinity.
The old man was struggling in his seat, his wrists shackled on the chair's armrests. His face was red with anger at having been found out, yet his eyes were pinned on Sirius's form as the animagus was bereft of the effects of the Truth Serum.
The Aurors moved Dumbledore to the chair in the center of the room, binding down the old wizard, with the chains provided on the chair.
"Administer the Veritaserum." Cornelius cried shrilly, his eyes twinkling victoriously. Beside him, who was grinning with the same quality, as the Minister was Undersecretary Dolores Jane Umbridge.
"Minister – might I remind you that this is a trial concerning Lord Black's unjustified verdict to life imprisonment in Azkaban." One of Dumbledore's supporters prompted. "This is not something to drag into – interrupting our current trial case as it is."
Cornelius puffed up in anger, narrowing his eyes at the defendant who was now sitting as calmly as ever. Then, he leaned over to hear what his Undersecretary had to say before nodding his head.
"Very well, Lord Doge. I concede to you. However, we shall leave the defendant where he is, and address this information until after we have closed Lord Black's case." Turning to Amelia and the rest of the Wizengamot members, the Minister erected the privacy ward and silence charms, enclosing the members' area from all sides.
The media continued to snap pictures of Sirius as he made his way to the side, standing out of the way, but the opposite side of the all the insistent flashes and privacy invading reporters and journalists.
After awhile, the wards came down, revealing the composed faces of all the Wizengamot members.
"We, the members of the Wizengamot, find the defendant, Lord Sirius Orion Black, innocent of all charges. As compensation for his twelve years in Azkaban, the Ministry will grant the defendant 60,000 galleons for each year the defendant has spent in Azkaban – for a total of 720,000 galleons. We will further offer Lord Black, a free two years' session with St. Mungo's most prominent healer who specializes in the mind arts – and should Lord Black require any more sessions after the two-year period, we offer him 20,000 galleons for further use."
Cornelius slammed his gavel down, signing the documents required before sending them off to be filed. Afterwards, the trial concerning Dumbledore's negligence regarding the Potter's murder had begun, with Sirius taking a seat as part of the Wizengamot.
It was so hilarious to see Dumbledore sweating underneath the glares of the Wizengamot members, though the ones that weren't glaring were quite nervous for their leader of the Light. It was those members that Lucius and Harry had kept a careful eye on.
The interrogation was mostly centered towards Dumbledore's involvement with choosing Peter as the Potters' secret keeper and for what reason it was that he wished to switch the secret keeper. His answers either began with, "It is my firm belief that . . ." or ended with, ". . . for the greater good."
There was nothing in his words the spoke of anything else – as if he was capable of resisting the Veritaserum with all his long pauses before answering and gritting of his teeth whenever he had to spit up what he chewed. But whenever Cornelius questioned Dumbledore's goals of stealing Cornelius's position as Minister, one of Dumbledore's supporters had abruptly interrupted Dumbledore's answer.
However, just before the trial was about to end, Cornelius was able to hear Dumbledore's answer.
"I have no need to be Minister because I am already the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To be the Minister would be a waste, but I have supporters here who carry on my wishes."
"AHAH!" Cornelius cried triumphantly, his pointer finger pointing accusingly at the age-old wizard.
"Minister Fudge! THIS is a trial concerning the defendant's involvement of the Potters' Fidelius Charm!" Amelia cried out, over the sea of outbursts. "No matter how much you wish to secure the knowledge that Mr. Dumbledore may be plotting to overthrow your position – this is not the way to do so!"
"Madam Bones, surely you can understand if the Minister wished to protect the Ministry and the rest of the Wizarding World by learning this fact. And what better source than from the source itself?" Madam Umbridge tittered girlishly.
Amelia's eyes cut through her like a hot knife in butter, instantly causing the Madam Undersecretary short of breath. "There will always be ambitious people in the world, Madam Undersecretary." Amelia said frostily. "But there is no need to be dubious of every person that may seem to grow more popular than thyself."
Both Cornelius and Dolores flushed red with embarrassment, being calling the court trial adjourned. Dumbledore had had to pay retribution for Lord Black's unwarranted imprisonment. As the person to cast the Fidelius Charm, suggest the change of secret keeper and knowingly keep the information of whom the real secret keeper was to himself, he had to remunerate Lord Black with a total of 72,000 galleons. And since this trial had had Dumbledore's participation revealed for the Wizarding Community to see, it called his choices and decisions into action – thereby, calling into question his deserving of the titles, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and Headmaster of Hogwarts – all of which would be closely investigated, starting at the conclusion of the current trial.
The courtroom dispersed. The media rushed out. The audience murmured to themselves, looking back at a disgruntled old wizard. Said old wizard glared at everyone in the room, mostly directing his glare at Sirius, Lucius and Harry. And the latter three smirked at him before departing from the Ministry of Magic.
…..
"Happy birthday, Harry."
"Thank you, Tom." Harry smiled, wakening with a smile on his face.
"Are you ready for tonight?" The Dark Lord asked.
"Are you?" Harry retorted.
"Of course. It's finally the day Severus finished. Tonight's the full moon – so it'll be more powerful."
"It sucks that Remus cannot be with us." Harry murmured, cuddling up next to his lover.
"I'm sorry," Tom said, running his hands through Harry's locks. "But Fenrir will be with him. We'll have an early birthday party. Then when the full moon rises, the two will head to Merlin's Castle. Fenrir has already told his mate of the side effects of taking the Wolfsbane Potion."
Harry snorted, "Of course there are side effects. It's no wonder Dumbledore wanted Severus to brew it for Remus."
"It causes the wolf to become weaker – but because the wolf is a part of the wizard itself, it weakens the wizard too. And while the human mind dominates the animalistic side during the full moon – it angers the wolf, because the wolf cannot be contained by any means. There needs to be a balance between the two and only when the wizard or witch, embraces that part of him or her, will they finally be at peace with their wolf. This serenity allows for an easier transformation during the full moon, and allows the baser instincts of being a werewolf to become amplified. You can imagine how helpful the extra strong senses and abilities are when it comes it handy." Tom said, getting up from bed.
The silky red blanket slid off his pale skin and pooled around his waist. No, the two had yet to "jump in the sack" or "do the do", but they did move onto lesser barriers between the two.
"Best get up. I doubt your godfathers would approve of us half naked, even if we are in a relationship."
"Scared of the dark scary grim and the big bad wolf?" Harry grinned cheekily.
"Oh yes," Tom deadpanned. "I'm the little Red Riding Hood, of course."
Harry guffawed, "I can't imagine you with a red cloak." He got up and got dressed, leaving their shared bedroom together to walk to breakfast.
"Happy birthday, Harry!"
"Thank you guys," The Gryffindor smiled, returning the bone-crushing hug from Hermione, with a little extra oomph now that he had the strength and the durability for it.
Tom watched with amusement as his little lover darted around the table to hug his godfather and honorary godfather. Remus looked a little ill, but that is to be expected. He had been on the Wolfsbane Potion for a number of years. Tonight would be his first to be devoid of that horrid concoction.
As soon as everyone's plates were full, the owls flew in with copies of the Daily Profit, its sister magazines and The Quibbler.
Sirius Black Acquitted of All Crimes!
Dumbledore the Mastermind!
The articles spoke of how Sirius was innocent. How the trial was a reappraisal of his sentence – trying to write Cornelius Fudge into a better light as the Minister being the one to actually find out the truth. But it didn't matter for them – Amelia would continue working behind the scenes and when Cornelius was finally yanked out from underneath, Harry and Tom had a plan to push her into the Minister position – as long as she was loyal to their cause of course – but so far, the results were positive.
While the front page had a brief paragraph written about the results of Sirius's trial, the actual trial was given a full page within the newsletter. The thing that took up the most space was Dumbledore's sudden subsequent trial. Even if there was a paragraph denoting the hearing, a majority of the space was a large reoccurring picture of a struggling Dumbledore, which made him look like a deranged madman – definitely not a pretty picture. The rest of his trial was written on the page after Sirius's trial, under the title, "Power Hungry Megalomaniac."
"What a birthday present, hmmm?" Sirius asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Harry laughed, "Is this your present to me?"
"It can be," Sirius smiled, enjoying the sound of his godson's carefree laughter. It had been years since he's heard of that heartwarming sound. "But it's not. Your gift is up in my room. I'll hand it over to you during the party."
Harry nodded his head and continued to read the article, absentmindedly eating his breakfast with his free hand as he turned the page with the other.
"Hey! I did not cry tears of joy at having found that the godfather whom had supposedly murdered my parents was actually innocent!" Harry hissed. He stabbed at the picture of Sirius and himself, hugging in the hallway outside of the courtroom. "Does this look like I was crying?!"
"The Daily Prophet writes whatever gossip they find in order to sell papers. While the truth may be written amongst the exaggerated details, the point of the matter is that Sirius is innocent and Dumbledore is now looked at with scrutiny." Tom said soothingly, watching his little lover calm down.
"Fine," Harry grumbled, chewing on his pancake. "But nothing will ruin today! Everything will be perfect."
…..
"Happy birthday!"
"Luna! Neville!" Harry gasped, turning his head. "Fred! George! What are you four doing here? I thought we were going to meet soon."
"Your lover spirited us away from our homes." The Ravenclaw giggled. "What perfect time to meet with you other than your birthday?"
"Happy belated birthday Neville," Harry smiled, patting his fellow Gryffindor on the back. "Did you enjoy my present?"
"I did." The normally shy, now confident Gryffindor nodded. "I went straight to my greenhouses to see whether or not I've acquired the seeds to a Junovenipula. Seems like I have to. . ." And Neville was then a sputtering mess when he tried to show the actions rather than to speak of, joining two plants together.
"Well Harry. . ." An arm looped around his shoulder.
". . . Happy birthday!"
"Thank you!" And the Gryffindor was soon enveloped in a hug with the four. When George stiffened, he slowly pulled away to see Hermione standing at the doorway.
"What do you want, Granger?" The redhead asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah," said his counterpart. "Haven't had enough gold and now you've taken to following Harry around? Even in his lover's home?"
"What is she doing here?" Luna asked coolly.
"I – I was invited here, by Harry." Hermione answered. She had taken a step back at their frostbitten glares. "I swear I didn't know the money was Harry's. I promised I would pay back every Knut."
"Guys, it's okay. Hermione even swore an oath." Harry said, as if that fixed up everything.
With a last suspicious look towards the bushy-haired Gryffindor, the four turned their attention back to Harry, easily taking him away from Hermione's presence.
Hermione could only look at them with a longing gaze, wondering if her reverence for adult figures had done her any good at all.
…..
"Padfoot! Moony! Guess who's here!" Harry chirped, skipping over to his godfathers. The two enveloped Harry in a loose, but warm, embrace, enjoying the happiness flowing from their godson's eyes.
"Padfoot?"
"Moony?"
Said marauders looked up at their nicknames, "Yes?"
Fred and George quickly dived onto the floor before them, exaggeratedly bowing all the way down to the floor with their foreheads touching the rug and repeating the motions. "All hail the Hogwarts' Marauders!"
"You are our inspirations! Our heroes!"
"Your pranks are legendary!"
Sirius barked out in laughter, "Prongslet, so these are the twins that try to curry favor with you?"
"They do not! They're the best!" Harry protested, "I trust them with my life!"
"Prongslet?" The twins asked in mid-bow.
"Yeah, my father James was Prongs."
Their bow immediately switched to encompass all three of them as they looked upon the three marauders like the Holy Grail itself.
"Oh, I'm glad you like my present to you." Tom spoke as he walked into the scene. He noticed how the four students had stiffened, but he waited patiently for his little lover to dart out of his godfathers' arms and into his awaiting ones. "So? Are you happy with it?"
"Of course!" Harry smiled lovingly at him. "Spending my birthday with the people who care about me, of course I'm happy!"
"Good," Tom nuzzled his face against Harry's and ghosted a kiss against his forehead. "I'll be back before the party. We're getting ready for it."
"Okay. I'll see you soon." Harry said, watching Tom walk out of the room. Only a loud wolf-whistle pulled him from his dreamy daze.
"You weren't kidding when you wrote about being in a relationship with the Dark Lord." Fred and George grinned. Neville seemed a little pale, but he was quite supportive – it was even shown in his stance. Luna was just giggling away at Harry's embarrassed blush.
"I'm sorry, Neville." Harry apologized.
"It's okay," The Gryffindor said stiffly. "As long as I don't. . . you know."
"Yeah." Harry nodded his head. As long as Neville doesn't see the Lestranges or Bella, he would be all right – or as okay as he hoped they would be. "Don't worry. Tom set her straight, and you might not want to hear this –"
"Little lord!"
All heads turned to see the Lestrange brothers walk in. Seeing their guests, they stopped and when their eyes landed on the Longbottom heir, they paled. Neville quickly had his wand whipped out and pointed at them.
"Neville!" Three people had to restrain him, and Harry had jumped in front of the Lestrange brothers.
"They're innocent. They followed Bellatrix, but they weren't the ones to torture your parents." Harry explained desperately. His defense for the brothers absolutely did not have anything to do with the fact that he enjoyed their company whenever Tom, Lucius, Severus, Hermione, Sirius or Remus was busy or away.
"They've even taken Veritaserum – you can even ask Tom! It wasn't on his agenda to attack you or your parents!" Harry said. His green eyes locked on hazel ones, but he didn't see any anger towards them – just understanding and defeat.
The twins and Luna slowly moved away and Neville dropped his arm, stowing his wand away into his wrist holster. "All right. I'll forgive you guys, but I won't forget. You may not have anything to do with my parents' residence in St. Mungo's, but you were accomplices and did not even try to stop Bellatrix." Neville chuckled wryly to himself. "Not that you would – she might have killed you for it, even if you were her husband and brother-in-law."
"Not anymore," Rabastan grinned.
Rodolphus nodded his head, "We got rid of the bitch. And it's all thanks to our lord and the little lord here."
"I dissolved their marriage – considering Bellatrix had wanted nothing to do with the Lestranges. Their marriage was solely based on her parents' want to fuse the two bloodlines together – plus, it was a way in for Bellatrix to be placed firmly in the dark side."
Neville's hand trembled, but Harry didn't know from what.
"I'm stepping out for a bit. Want to come with Harry?"
Harry turned to look at his friends and they urged him to go along with the other Gryffindor. Through the manor they walked until they reached the gardens. For a particularly hot summer day, the manor had kept its grounds extremely cool – enabling the duo to walk through the sunny rays.
"I apologize. I didn't – I wouldn't have –"
"I think Tom knew and was testing me." Neville interrupted, something that was unfamiliar to Harry. Neville was always a polite guy; it was strange for him to cut in like that, but nothing that Harry didn't approve of. In fact, he was quite encouraging, allowing Neville to continue his train of thought.
"His invitation was quite informative, even if it lacked the necessary details to it." Neville said, scuffing his heel on the finely trimmed grass. "I have an inkling though – if I were to come, the Lestranges would be here. After all, where else would they be when they're hiding away from the Ministry?"
Harry stayed silent but it was a companionable silence he kept up.
"Then I realized that Tom was making me choose, between your happiness at seeing your friends for your birthday or dealing with the anger, the rage that would consume me when I confront the people who sent my parents to St. Mungo's."
"You shouldn't have Neville – I would have understood."
Neville stopped and grabbed Harry's shoulders. "That's the point. I do believe that my parents are important, but I get to see them whenever I want. You on the other hand, only have us and your godfathers to rely on. Your parents, please excuse my crude way of saying this, are dead Harry. If you can't rely on us, who will you rely on? And I think, Tom was trying to show me this as well. My parents may be in St. Mungo's now, but we have yet to expend all our resources to find a way. And I've heard from Hermione that the muggles have a way to find out how to help their recovery? Something about examining the brain of someone's pet?"
Harry actually chuckled, "It's a brain PET scan – the muggles use it to capture a picture of the brain. And, I think I agree with her. I may not be that informative, but this should tell the healers which part of their brain is not functioning properly."
"Then what I've said is true! We have yet to fully exhaust our resources. If we're too afraid to look towards other fields or even, other worlds, to fully help my parents heal – how can we say that we've tried our best? Plus, I'm not the only one to know this, but wizard's magic is nothing compared to the magicks of other magical creatures – so I'll convince my Gran about that as well. We cannot say that we've trying tried if we have yet to look towards other places."
Silence enveloped the two, yet Harry slowly broke it. "Still, Tom shouldn't have made you choose between me and your parents."
"I think this is his way of getting me to move on – like fully move on. My parents have always played a large role in my life – even when they're not around me. To actually take an active step in choosing between living in their shadows or living my own life, I think this was the perfect first step to do so."
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, biting his lower lip.
"I'm positive."
…..
"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE!"
All ears perked up when they heard that shout echoing through even Tom's strongest silencing charms and privacy wards. Lucius and Severus were surprised because their lord actually looked quite nervous, awaiting his impending doom.
Fenrir laughed, "When your lover shouts your full name like that, it means –"
"I know what it means," Tom hissed, his ruby red eyes darting to the door that was currently closed shut.
At once, it swung open, and the quartet could hear the Lestrange brothers trying to warn off Harry from bothering their meeting. But by the loud stomping echoing from the hallway, it didn't seem like their lord's little lover was listening.
"What did you think you were doing? Inviting my friends like that?"
Tom silently let out a sigh of relief, sitting back in his seat and steepling his fingers together. "Did you not like it? I thought you would want your friends with you on your birthday."
"I do!" Harry said, groaning. "And don't change the subject! Did you or did you not deliberately invite Neville just to make him choose between his parents and me?"
"I don't know what you're saying." Tom said.
Harry stomped up to his desk and slammed both hands onto the tabletop. "Did you or did you not deliberately invite Neville to test him in seeing whether or not he would be able to handle the Lestranges?"
"I may have done something like that." Tom admitted.
"Why?"
"I needed to make sure they were loyal to you. That they would be levelheaded when it came to dealing with people. It was easier to deal with the twin Weasleys and the Lovegood girl, but the Longbottom heir had a reason not to join us."
"You –"
"Harry, this is more for your protection than mine. I did not want you to raise your hopes up just for them to be ripped out from under you. You can hate me – but I doubt that you can hate your friends."
Harry was speechless, leaving large blinking emerald eyes to stare straight at ruby eyes. Without another word, the Gryffindor spun on his heel and exited the room, quickly trailed after by his bodyguards, the Lestrange brothers.
"Shall we resume the meeting?" Tom inquired into the silent room.
…..
A/N: Hey all! Didn't really like this chapter, but yeah. It's all written out now. If there's any flames or disapproval, oh wells! Thanks for reading.
In other news, Angelus Fortuna has received over 1,000 follows! –Claps heartily– I didn't even think my writing is good (and still don't think it is). I thank you all for those that followed or favorite'd or even reviewed my story! I write on the fly and so, it is understandable that I'd be surprised when I get this many followers. Thank you once again!
