Chapter 4- Meet the lawyer, visit Azkaban, meet the Minister.
Sunday, April 2nd 1989.
Argyll McDonald, a Muggleborn.. Harriet was surprised that Lucius had suggested him. Apparently all Pureblood's employed Argyll whenever they needed legal help.
He was savage in court. His success rate was second to none. He was expensive as hell, but according to Lucius, was well worth the money.
She was meeting him today to see if it would be wise to hire him. She hoped it would be, as she knew nothing about trails. She knew the law, but not the loopholes, and that would be disastrous for Sirius.
My Lady, the lawyer is here.
Send him in.
A few moments later, a hulk of a man appeared. He was one of the tallest men she had ever seen. He was big as well, most of it being pure muscle. His hair was close shaven, but his facial features were ruggedly handsome. Then she looked at his eyes and was quite mesmerised. One eye was piercingly grey, and the other eye was jade green. Fascinating
"Cheers, hen," Argyll gave a grin.
Harriet could feel the heat rising on her face, "I did not mean to speak aloud."
"Naw, it's fine, darlin', normally folk get a bit startled at my eyes. It makes a nice change when someone finds it fascinating."
Huh, wasn't warned that he was Scottish..
"I bet you use people's reactions to your full advantage, though," Harriet smirked.
"Too fucking right I do, hen," Argyll laughed. "So what is it that you need me for?"
"You know of Sirius Black?"
"Aye, he's the guy that killed those Muggles, one of them was my cousin," Argyll's eyes hardened. "I'll never forgive that fucking bastard."
"He was innocent," Harriet spoke sharply. "He was set up by Peter Pettigrew. I need your help in proving it."
Argyll laughed harshly, "Is that what he told you, aye? They all sing the same fucking verse. 'I never did it.' 'I'm innocent.' How do you know he isn't lying to you?"
"I haven't spoken to him. I found his innocence by other means, means that wouldn't hold up in court. Before I speak to you about anything else, take this Galleon," Harriet slid one over the table.
Once he took it, she continued on, "My cousin, James, had wrote a letter detailing what had went on. I can send you a copy of the letter. Also, in Gringotts he is still listed as Lord of House Black. You, more than anyone know that the Goblin's wouldn't have kept him listed if he was guilty."
"How did you find out about him still being a Lord?"
"Being Hadrian Potter's guardian has its merits," Harriet replied dryly. "Come now, you must have known that Hadrian is now my charge, and also that Sirius Black was his Godfather."
"So he's still listed as Hadrian's godfather, aye?"
"Indeed. That is what made me believe that he was innocent," Harriet replied. "Please take this case. I will pay you whatever you want."
Argyll went thoughtful, "I'll do this for half the pay. If what yer saying is true, and I hope it is, then my cousin's real killer is still out there. I want to see him pay, so I'll charge you a hundred Galleons an hour for our meetings and the trial."
"Okay. Thank you for agreeing to take his case. I promise you that he is innocent. I wouldn't have asked you to take this case if he was guilty, considering that your cousin was killed."
Argyll gave her an assessing look, "You aren't like most Pureblood's, hen. They would have just flung the money at my face and had me taking the job."
"I believe that the guilty should do the jail time," Harriet shrugged. "My parent's made sure that I grew up with a sense of right and wrong. It was Lucius Malfoy that recommended you, which surprised me a great deal considering you're a Muggleborn."
Argyll smiled bitterly. "Aye, I've done a few jobs for that cunt. No proud of it, but I needed the money."
"So," Harriet changed the subject. "What do we need to do before we take this to trial?"
"What I need to do first, is look at all the trials that happened eight year ago, and see how Black's trial was. Then, I go to the Goblins and get copies of his name appearing as Lord and as Godfather of young Potter. What you can do is send me a copy of that letter as soon as you can. After that, we'll meet up again and see the best way to handle this. Have to warn you though, there's going to be a lot of media attention surrounding this."
"I'm not a stranger to media attention, Mr. McDonald. I bet that most of that attention will focus more on me and Hadrian, more than the trial itself. Vultures the lot of them."
Argyll let out a booming laugh, "Aye, right you are, hen. And please, call me Argyll. I think me and you are going to get along a great deal."
"Then call me, Harriet," she smiled. "Next time we meet, Hadrian will be here. I need you to keep it quiet that I was the one who got in contact with you. The law states that only the Heir, or Lord of each House can request a trial for whoever has been arrested. I am in no way connected to the House of Black. Hadrian is. So if anyone wonders who asked you for this trial, it was Hadrian."
"I'm no stupid, Harriet," Argyll smirked. "It could ruin the trial before it even got started if it was found out that you requested it."
"Just keeping things clear."
"Right then, that's all for the day. I'll send a letter in the next couple of weeks when I've got news," Argyll stood up.
"Let me show you out."
Wednesday, April 12th 1989.
"Right, I've got a ton of news for you," Argyll spoke as soon as he entered the room.
"Hadrian, meet Mr. McDonald," Harriet said amused.
Argyll looked up from his notes, "Oh, sorry wee man. Forgot you would be here."
"It's fine, Mr McDonald," Hadrian replied.
"Please, take a seat, Argyll," Harriet gestured towards the chair. "What is it you have?"
"A load of shite," Argyll winced when he looked at Hadrian. "Sorry, my language is terrible."
Hadrian snickered when Harriet gave Argyll a glare. "Please try and watch your language in front of him."
"Right," Argyll shifted uncomfortably. "Well, as I said, it was a pile of rubbish that I found. Somebody did some major covering up when it came to Black. He didn't get a trial, he wasn't searched, there was no investigation. Fudge is gonna have a hard time with this when it all comes out."
Harriet's eyes flashed angrily, "What can we do?"
"You're gonna need to go public with this, hen. Get the public behind you, get the Wizengamot behind you anaw. Tell them everything you've found out. It will create enough of an outrage that the Ministry will have no choice but to re-trial Black."
"It can't be me that does the talking. It has to be you, Hadrian," Harriet turned to him. "Will you be okay with that?"
"I'll be with you, wee man. Since I'm yer lawyer, I will tell you what questions you answer and what questions you don't answer," Argyll smiled at him.
"I'll do it," Hadrian replied.
"Good. Now, I need to gather all the evidence, and we need to go see Black. I'm taking Veritaserum with me so that he answers honestly to all my questions. After we see Black, we schedule a meeting with the Minister and tell him everythin', if that doesn't work then we go public. The Minister won't allow this trial to happen without a fight. When we go public," Argyll added. "You need to make sure that you have enough powerful people to back you up."
"It's weird how different this is to the Muggle world," Hadrian said.
"Aye, it is. Everything is more about who you know and how much money you have, rather than if yer innocent or guilty."
"Isn't the Prophet owned by the Ministry?" Harriet asked.
"The Ministry do own it, aye, but I know a couple of reporters who like to annoy the Ministry. They would love to have this story."
"When can we go see Sirius?" Hadrian asked him.
"Whenever suits you both."
"We can go now, if it suits you Argyll?" Harriet replied.
"Aye, fine with me, hen."
Harriet hated Azkaban. It was cold, dirty, and wasn't fit for human occupation. Nobody deserved to be in this hell hole. She'd certainly rather die. She could see Hadrian flinching beside her, and moved her Patronus over to him so that he wouldn't feel much of the Dementors.
"What are those things?" Hadrian asked.
"Dementors," Harriet replied quietly. "They live off of your happiness, and leave you sad and depressed. The silvery substance that's beside you is called a Patronus. It is the only thing that can guard you from them."
Maybe not the only thing, Harriet thought. Being Death's Master certainly had it's advantages. They didn't bother her anymore, which she was very thankful for. She had a lot of bad memories that the Dementors would have a field day with.
"I hate them," Hadrian shivered.
"We all do," Argyll spoke lowly. "They're vile creatures."
"Then why are they here?"
"Would you rather them be out in the world?" Harriet asked. "No, you wouldn't. Everyone sleeps better at night knowing they're locked up here. Far away from civilisation. Some people also believe that the prisoners here deserve to be stuck with them.
"Nobody deserves to be stuck with them," Argyll said.
"I agree," Harriet replied.
"Right wee man, you need to speak with the guard. Tell him you want to see Sirius Black, don't tell him what yer here to speak about. Just say that yer the Heir of House Black and that you have the right to speak to him whenever you choose to."
"Okay," Hadrian replied.
Harriet watched proudly as Hadrian squared his shoulders, and walked up to the guard as if he owned the place. It was amazing how fast he was learning things, and, it was amazing seeing what her reactions could have been if someone had decided to take her under their wing.
"He's doin' well, Harriet," Argyll murmured beside her. "I'm surprised by how mature he is for his age."
"A lot of people would think the same," Harriet faintly smiled.
Before Argyll could ask another question, Hadrian was gesturing for them to follow him and the guard. Harriet could feel her nervousness threatening to take over her as they stepped into a meeting room, if it could even be called that, and she ruthlessly shoved her nervousness deep into the back of her mind.
Hadrian sat down first, Harriet and Argyll followed, sitting on either side of him. She slipped her hand into Hadrian's, and he shot her a grateful look.
A few moments later, the guard appeared with Sirius by his side. Harriet had to suck in her breathe to prevent herself from gasping. He was a mess. His prison robes were dirty, filled with holes, and even had some parts ripped away. It was easy to see that he didn't eat much, if at all. He was skinnier than Harriet ever used to be. His hair was greasy and tangled. His face shrunken.
Her heart broke for him.
When the guard left, they all just sat staring at one another for a moment. Nobody knew what to say. Even though everyone knew that the prisoners weren't treated like human beings, it was different actually seeing it.
"What do you want?" Sirius's voice croaked.
"Preferably? I want to be anywhere other than here," Argyll replied dryly. "Unfortunately, or fortunately in your case, there's new evidence that yer in fact innocent of what ye've been accused of."
"Who are you?" Sirius asked.
"My name's Argyll McDonald, I'm a lawyer. Beside me is young Hadrian Potter, and beside him is his guardian, Lady Harriet Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell-Avery. They want you outta here, but first, you need to take some Veritaserum and answer young Potter's questions."
Sirius let out a harsh laugh, "Why do you suddenly believe me now? I've been saying that I was innocent for years. Why didn't you come sooner?"
"I couldn't," Harriet replied. "I was in France, and had to finish up business before I could come here to take Hadrian."
"And I was stuck with my Muggle relatives. I didn't know anything about magic until Harriet came to free me from them a month ago," Hadrian looked at Sirius. "If I'd known sooner, then you would have been out of here."
Sirius looked conflicted, Harriet noticed. She couldn't blame him. He had indeed been stating his innocence for years, but nobody had listened to him. She could understand why he didn't want to hope.
"I promise that we believe you," Harriet leaned forward. "Just answer Hadrian's questions and we can get started on getting you a new trial."
Sirius gave a wary nod, then Argyll gave him the correct dosage of Veritaserum. After the routine questions had been answered, Hadrian took out the notes that Argyll wrote and began the questioning.
"Were you, or are you, a Death Eater?"
"No," Sirius's voice was robotic. Emotionless.
"Were you the Potter's Secret Keeper?"
"No."
"Did you ever think of betraying the Potter's?"
"No."
"Did the Potter's consider you to be their Secret Keeper?"
"Yes."
"Did you plan to change the Secret Keeper?"
"Yes."
"Was Dumbledore involved in this planning?"
"Yes."
"Did you all change the Secret Keeper to Peter Pettigrew?"
"Yes."
"Did you go after Peter Pettigrew when the Potter's were killed?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
"Did you kill those thirteen Muggles?"
"No."
"Did Dumbledore do the Fidelius Charm?"
"Yes."
As Hadrian continued on with the questions, Harriet felt pride well up in her. He wasn't allowing his nervousness to get the better of him, and his voice was clear and strong. A glance to Argyll showed that he was feeling slightly proud of Hadrian as well.
Once the last question was answered, Argyll gave Sirius the antidote.
"Right, now that we have this, we can go to the Minister," Argyll said cheerfully. "I'm glad yer innocent, Black. I will do everything I can to get you outta here."
"What will happen if I do get out of here?" Sirius's voice was slightly detached, an after effect of the potion.
"You'll be living with us, if you'd like," Harriet replied. "We'll get you started on potions to combat the effects of this place, both for your mind as well as your body."
"Why do you care?" Sirius asked curiously.
"James spoke of you a lot in our letters, and when we saw one another. Plus," Harriet added, "you're Hadrian's Godfather. You deserve a place in his life, as he does yours."
"Thank you," Sirius replied gratefully, but there was a ting of suspicion in his eyes. "May I speak with Harry alone?"
Harriet looked questioningly at Hadrian to see if that would be all right with him, and he nodded back to her. She quietly murmured in his ear that she would be right outside if he needed her, then gave him a quick forehead kiss and walked out with Argyll.
"He's gonna be a good lad when he gets older," Argyll commented.
"I know."
Friday, April 14th 1989.
"When we meet the Minister, let me do the talking," Argyll told them when they returned to the Ministry.
Both of them had agreed willingly. Hadrian didn't like talking and Harriet couldn't be bothered with politics. Both were happy that Argyll wanted to speak.
The first thing that Harriet thought when she stepped foot into the Ministers office, was that Fudge looked different. He was trim, and looked surprisingly in good shape. He also had a lot more hair than he did in the future, and he didn't have glasses.
"Very good to meet you, Minister," Harriet gracefully curtsied.
"You as well, Lady Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell-Avery," Fudge bowed. "What is the urgency you requested this meeting for?"
"Well, Minister," Argyll took over. "It's to do with a prisoner."
"Which one?"
"Sirius Black."
If Harriet wasn't staring intently at Fudge, she would never have noticed that his eyes sharpened at that. "Do explain."
"Well," Argyll drew out the word. "We've found that his capture was a complete disaster. Yer Auror's broke a few very important laws. Yer DMLE department also broke a few laws, which if the public got wind of it, would create a scandal."
"Get on with it, McDonald," Cornelius let out sharply.
Argyll grinned. "Aw, but it's so much fun dragging it out, Minister."
"I do not have time for this, either speak or leave."
"Fine, fine," Argyll grew serious. "Yer Auror's didn't tell Black of his rights. yer DMLE department didn't even give him a trial. Even if he did get one, he would have been free because of yer Auror's gross incompetence. Anyway, he was imprisoned by hearsay, not facts. That cannot be allowed to happen, Cornelius."
Fudge sat back warily. "I feel it's important to remind you that I wasn't Minister when this happened."
"You have a choice, Cornelius. You can either fight this, or make it run more smoothly."
"I will make it run as smoothly as I can," Fudge replied, which took Harriet by surprise. "But, I need to let certain people believe that I have fought this."
"We've been friends for quite a while, Cornelius. You'll manage," Argyll smirked.
Huh, Fudge isn't the blubbering fool he was in my time. Harriet thought.
"That's all I can ask for," Argyll replied agreeably.
"Why do you need to pretend to fight this?" Hadrian suddenly spoke.
"Because," Fudge looked at him. "I have a character to play, Mr. Potter. Certain people have to see what I let them see."
Hadrian quite clearly didn't understand, but Harriet did. 'Certain people' could only mean one person. Dumbledore. He wouldn't have allowed Fudge to be Minister if he didn't believe that he had control over him.
"What I'm more curious about, is why you haven't asked any questions about Sirius," Harriet murmured.
Fudge sighed. "I've been friend's with Argyll for years. I knew that his cousin was murdered that day. He wouldn't be defending Black if he didn't believe he was innocent. And," Fudge hesitated. "I've always had a nagging feeling that Black was indeed innocent. Him and Potter were the best of friends. I don't think Black would have ever betrayed him."
Harriet didn't let her surprise show at his answer. It was hard to believe that this Fudge could think for himself.
"Well, I have to warn you, my friend. We'll have to go public if yer gonna pretend to fight this," Argyll said.
"Yes, I know," Fudge sighed. "I'll just place blame on the last Minister. Act outraged and all that."
"Will this hurt your position?"
"Probably," Fudge admitted. "My own fault, of course. I should have looked over Millicent's records of Azkaban's prisoners. But even though I had that feeling of Black being innocent, there was no evidence. It probably wouldn't have made a difference."
"Before I forget, watch out for Dumbledore, Cornelius. He knew that Black was innocent," Argyll warned.
"Of course he did," Fudge grumbled. "Is there any way you can use that in the trial?"
"Nope. It's Black's word against his."
"Damn it all. It would have been great to smudge that too good reputation he has. Even if it's just a little bit."
Argyll laughed, "Aye, that it would be. Right, we're off then. Gotta get planning for his trial."
Fudge stood up, "Do put on angry faces, please. We may have an audience to perform for."
"We'll probably not get to talk all that much once this starts, so I want to thank you in advance for all the help you can give us."
"Not a problem. Just get Black out."
"Will do."
Friday, May 5th 1989.
TODAY BEGINS SIRIUS BLACK TRIAL!
By. Julian Rodriguez.
Yes, dear readers! It is finally the day that we begin the most controversial trial in the Wizarding World!
After weeks of back and forth press conferences between the Minister of Magic and highly sought after Defence lawyer, Argyll McDonald, we will finally see if Sirius Black is in fact innocent of all charges.
We have all speculated, haven't we?
Some believe Black is indeed innocent. When Black first went to Hogwarts, he and James Potter hit it off straight away. They were as close as brothers during Hogwarts and even after, with Black being named Hadrian Potter's Godfather.
Some believe that Black was guilty. The Black's are notorious for being Dark. Black was the Potter's closest confidant, and was the most speculated Secret Keeper for them.
Sadly, not enough is known even now about the Potter's time in hiding.
What is known, however, is that Sirius Black did not get a trial. No matter if he is guilty, or indeed innocent, Black deserved a trial. The fact the Minister completely forgot about him makes me wonder who else has been imprisoned without a trial? Who else could be innocent of their charges? Hopefully our Minister will sort this out.
I also hope that all of our questions get answered today. From the Potter's disappearance, to who was the Secret Keeper, who betrayed them, and most importantly, if Sirius Black is innocent or guilty.
I will be in the courtroom recording everything as it goes for my faithful readers.
For more information on Sirius Black, turn to page 19.
For more information on the Potter's, turn to page 20.
For more information about the trial, turn to page 21.
Harriet stood quietly outside of the courtroom, with Hadrian and Thanatos by her side. She was nervous. The past few weeks, Argyll was giving interviews left, right and centre. Saying that the Ministry had ignored a major problem concerning Azkaban, which had got the public so riled up, that old Pureblood families, and rich Halfblood/Muggleborn families, were paying as many people as they could so they could get a retrial for their families.
She swallowed the urge to laugh. A lot had c hanged with her jumping back in time, but the Ministry would remain as corrupt as ever.
Fudge, though. Damn, that man could act. In his interviews, the man blamed everything on the previous Minister. Ignored uncomfortable questions, and promised that the matter would be fixed quickly. He also threw in some jabs at Dumbledore, saying that he should have known before Fudge had even entered the office that Sirius didn't get a trial, considering he is and was the Supreme Mugwump.
Now though, it was time to see if Sirius would get out of here. She was very confident that he would, but being the pessimist she was, the doubt continued to linger.
"Are you ready to go in, Harriet?" Thanatos said quietly.
"Yes," she nodded back. "Keep your held tilted high, and your shoulders back, Hadrian."
With that, the three walked in together, and sat on the seats closest to where Sirius was chained up.
Argyll's plan for today, was to the evidence of Sirius's innocence. From the Goblin's, he managed to acquire a copy of Sirius still being Hadrian's Godfather. He also managed to get one of the Goblin's who preformed the ceremony to come in as a witness. Then he was going to show them his memory of when they had questioned Sirius.
After that, he was going to point out everything that went wrong with Sirius's capture, and lack of trial. Argyll had assured her that even if the evidence didn't convince anyone, Sirius would still get out on that alone.
Then, Madame Bones was going to question Sirius herself to see if it matched Argyll's memory.
She spotted the Malfoy's out of the corner of her eye, and she gave them a quick nod when they caught sight of her. Beside them were the Nott family, who also gave her a nod, followed by Lord Lestrange, Lady Zabini and Lord Yaxley.
She turned her attention to the Supreme Mugwump' bench as Dumbledore sat down. He was overseeing this instead of Fudge. At least the trial will be fair. Dumbledore does have an image to protect.
"Settle down, settle down!" Came Dumbledore's enhanced voice.
"Now, we're here today for prisoner Black's trial. First, may Mr. McDonald please state his evidence."
Argyll murmured something into Sirius's ear, then made his way towards Dumbledore. With a cheery voice, he launched into the fact Sirius was still listed as Hadrian's Godfather.
"Can Mr. Goodwin please check to see if these documents are real."
A young man walked towards Argyll with his hand stretched out. When he got the documents, he ran several spells over them. "They're real, Supreme Mugwump."
Harriet saw the brief tightening of Dumbledore's face before it was smoothed over by his grandfatherly façade. "Continue on with your evidence, Mr. McDonald."
"I'd like to call senior Goblin, Razel, to the stand."
Razel was quickly ushered in by one of the Auror's, he didn't look happy to be here. "Thank you for joining us today, Razel. Now, I've asked Razel here today as the Potter's requested a certain ritual to be used when they named Sirius Black as their heir's Godfather. Can you explain the ritual for us, please?"
"The ritual was an old one, Mr. McDonald." Razel began. "The vows used in this ritual were bind with blood. Black vowed to go everything within his power to protect Hadrian Potter, to be his confidant, and to love him with all his heart. If Black had broken his vows, his fate would be worse than death."
"How many people were present in this ritual?"
"Five of us."
"Can you name those present?"
"Myself, Bogrard, Silvertooth, Razor, and Headmaster Dumbledore."
The silence after the last name was deafening. Everyone looked towards Dumbledore, who no longer had that damnable twinkle in his eye.
"Please excuse my interruption, but you cannot be serious? If Dumbledore was there, he would have spoke up for Black when he was first imprisoned," Amelia spoke out.
"I am serious, Madame Bones," Razel replied. "Headmaster Dumbledore was overseeing the ritual, at the insistence of the Potter's. He knew that Black could not have betrayed Hadrian Potter, therefore could not have betrayed both Lily and James Potter."
"We shall investigate this more later. This trial is for Sirius Black, not for Dumbledore," Amelia said. "Move on from this Mr. McDonald, and state the rest of your evidence."
"Right then. I was going to show a memory of my conversation with Mr. Black, but I think it would be more useful if I do a repeat of it in front of you all. Can someone pass some Veritaserum down?" The boy who scanned the documents gave him the potion.
"Cheers," Argyll walked over to Sirius and administrated the dosage. "Now, yer names Sirius Orion Black, aye?"
"Yes."
"Yer 29, aye?"
"Yes."
"As you all can see, the potion works correctly," Argyll turned to Dumbledore. "Permission to continue questioning the accused?"
"Granted."
"Now, in my first questioning with Mr. Black, I kept it to one word answers. Today, I will have him explain everything that happened, and lead up to that awful day. Now, Mr. Black, were you, or are you, a Death Eater?"
"No."
"Have you thought about becoming a Death Eater?"
"Never."
"If you could, Mr. Black, tell us about the Fidelius Charm, and who presented that idea."
"James and Lily thought it would be the safest option for them and Harry, so they spoke to me, Remus, Peter and Albus," Sirius's voice was hollow when he spoke. "We all agreed that it was a perfect solution. I volunteered as Keeper, as I didn't trust Remus. Albus said that I was too obvious a choice, and that as soon as Death Eaters knew the Potter's were in hiding, they would come after me. He said that Peter would be the perfect choice as nobody would think twice of it being him."
"The Peter you speak of is Peter Pettigrew, aye? Was he chosen as Keeper?"
"Yes to both. James and Lily thought the idea perfect. I thought it was as well."
"Why didn't you trust Remus, Sirius?" Argyll asked softly.
"Somehow, Voldemort and his minions were finding out everything to do with James and Lily. We knew a traitor was in our circle. I thought that traitor was Remus." Some emotion was bleeding through the effects of the potion as he spoke of Remus. "I was wrong. Remus would never have betrayed them."
"Who did the Fidelius Charm?"
"Albus did."
"So he knew you weren't the Keeper?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever visit the Potters when they went into hiding?"
"Only a few times, wasn't safe."
"The night the Potter's died, you went after Peter Pettigrew. Can you tell us everything that happened?"
"I knew it was Peter who betrayed them, he was the only one who could. I went to the Potter's house to take Harry, but Hagrid was there already. I asked him to give Harry to me, but he said he was taking him to Dumbledore. I told him that Lily and James had already written their Will, and I was named guardian if anything happened to them, but Hagrid just said he was following Dumbledore's orders. I gave him my motorbike, telling him I wouldn't be needing it anymore, then went off to find Peter. I was angry, and I wanted to kill him for what he had done. I eventually managed to corner Peter in a Muggle town. Peter then started screaming that it was all my fault, that I had killed Lily and James. I agreed with him. Then he sent the spell that killed those thirteen Muggles. Cut off his finger, then changed into his rat Animagus form and went down the sewers."
The questioning continued with Sirius saying the same story over and over again. Why is Mr. McDonald doing this questioning? I thought he was leaving that to Madame Bones?
Not entirely sure, Than. I think it's because it would give Madame Bones more power. Would be better for Sirius if Argyll took control of it.
"Thank you, Mr. Black," Argyll spoke softly to Sirius. "Madame Bones, do you have any questions for my client?"
"A few, yes," she replied. "When the Auror's caught you, why were you laughing and shouting that it was all your fault? That you killed Lily and James Potter?"
"Because it was, and I did," Sirius raised expressionless eyes to her. "If I had been Keeper, Lily and James might still be alive today."
Madame Bones eyes softened slightly at that. "One more question, how do you know that Peter Pettigrew is an Animagus? He isn't registered."
Oh, shit. Harriet thought. Sirius was an unregistered Animagus. Even if he got cleared of all these charges, he would be right back into Azkaban if he admitted his Animagus form.
She looked closely at Sirius, and could see that he was applying a tad of Occlumency. "Peter didn't register. He did it himself."
"How did you know of him being an Animagus?"
"He told me."
Before Madame Bones could ask if he was an unregistered Animagus, Argyll gave him the antidote. "As you can see, Mr. Black is innocent of all charges against him. I can continue on with the incompetence of the Ministry regarding Mr. Black's arrest, if you still have lingering doubts."
"No, that will be fine, Mr. McDonald," Dumbledore replied to him. "Let us vote on it. All those in favour of the accused guilty of all charges."
About half of the courtroom raised their hands. It baffled Harriet how they could still find him guilty with all of the evidence stating otherwise.
"All those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?"
The other half of the courtroom raised their hands.
"It seems we are at an impasse," Dumbledore spoke. "Mr. Black will have to return to Azkaban until we decide what to do with him." Dumbledore mentioned the Auror guards forwards.
"I don't think so, Supreme Mugwump," Argyll smirked at him. "Time for me to let out my get-out-of-jail free card."
Argyll stood in front of Sirius as the Auror's continued to advance. "You see, my client will not be returning to Azkaban. Not now, and hopefully, not ever. I told you that I had evidence of the gross incompetency of your Auror's. When they arrested Mr. Black, they did not read him his Rights. They did not have any evidence against him either, apart from hearsay. Which, as you know Supreme Mugwump, is against the law."
Harriet took great pleasure is watching Dumbledore's eyes flash with anger.
"Laws can be changed-" Fudge started.
"Not soon enough, I'm afraid," Argyll let out a shark grin. "Mr. Black also did not get a trial. Which is bad enough on it's down, but when you add in the fact that Mr. Black was Lord of House Black? Well that makes it even worse."
Argyll then walked along the Pureblood section of the courtroom. "How many of you have family still stuck in Azkaban? Aren't you now wondering if they didn't get a trial? If they had fallen through the cracks like Mr. Black did?"
Some of the Pureblood's had uneasy looks on their faces.
"Aye, I can see it in your eyes that yer wondering," Argyll wore a smug expression when he returned to face Dumbledore. "Now, I didn't need to let this trial go on, but I did it out of curiosity. Because of your Auror's, and all the mistakes leading to Sirius Black ending up in Azkaban, he is now free to walk outta here, right now. Shoulda investigated properly."
Argyll waved his wand, and the chains holding Sirius to the chair vanished. "You have zero grounds to hold him here, and I will be advising my client to file charges against the Ministry, which I assure you, he will win."
"What was the point of this trial, if he didn't need to do it anyway?" Hadrian whispered to Harriet.
"Because," Harriet watched as Argyll continued to speak to the room. "If he didn't do this trial, Sirius would have been in danger when he walked out of here. Everyone still thinks he is a murderer. That he betrayed you and your parent's. The people needed to know Sirius's side of the story."
"But he said he was doing it out of curiosity?"
"Because they don't need to know his real reasons. You will understand when you get older." Harriet laughed at Hadrian's huff.
"Now, I'm taking my client out of here. Thanks for the entertainment, lads and lassies. I will see you all again when Mr. Black takes you to trial," Argyll cheerily waved to the Wizengamot then pulled Sirius up.
Harriet, Thanatos and Hadrian got out of their seats to follow.
He's good.
I know.
A.N. I'm not happy with how this chapter ended but it's honestly the best I could come up with.. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better, I would gladly hear about them! Thank you to all of the kind reviewers, it makes me very happy to know you're all enjoying this!
