The first two weeks of August were very eventful for everyone. Some of the thing that happened were good and some were bad but eventful none the less. It started off with a big birthday celebration on the 31st of July for Harry and Neville. The two boys met a few weeks before and since than they were fast friends. They were the only two boys in a group of girls after all. The party was held in the backyard of the Granger's house which at this point became the unofficial hangout spot for the group, and there were a lot of people from the magical world there. In many ways it was a coming out party for Harry and it was treated as such. A lot of the adult that showed up at the party were there to cement old alinecnes. The Potter's were a very old and powerful family and even though Harry was the last Potter left he was the Head of his house and many old pureblood houses wanted to make sure they were still friends of the house of Potter. But it was also the last day before Harry's owl from Hogwarts came.
His letter showed up the next day and Harry spent a good part of the morning looking at the letter. He was of two minds about going to the school. On the one hand he knew the old man was going to try everything he could think of to influence Him and try to brainwash him. That side of his mind was telling him not to attend the school. The other side was telling him he wanted to try being a wizard out. He wanted to see if he could fit in with children his own age and try to have a normal school year with his friends. In the end he knew he was going to attend because Hermione wanted to attend. She wanted access to the books in the library. His reply letter to the old man was sent through Minerva. The letter was short, to the point had the bare minimum. It just said he accepted his spot in the school.
The grangers spent the the beginning of August savoring every second they could get with the kids knowing they were headed off to the school in just four short weeks. Hermione rolled her eyes whenever her mom held her a few seconds longer than necessary but Harry took it all in and held the memories in a special place in his mind. Dan for his part tried very hard to impart wisdom to the kids. Little facts and things he thought would be helpful. He read a bunch of book about wizard culture and the school and he kept coming to the kids with little fun facts. Of course the kids had already read those books, but they didn't have the heart to tell him he was telling them things they already knew, not that he would know.
The kids had their own secrets after all, like the fact that they figured out what the time turner was and they were using it to get two days out of every day since the start of the summer. They would get up really early in the morning, take the two dogs and walk into the woods behind the house where they set up a magic shed. Although the shed was a relatively new thing, before the shed they just spent time in a grove in the back of the property surrounded by big trees. They would go out there and spend the day reading books, sparing, practicing spells, and playing with their dogs. When they got hungry Harry would make them meals high in protein and lean fats, and they would eat at the conjured table he set up for them. They would take a two hour nap in the big safari tent Harry made at the end of the day.
At the end of the sixteen hour day when the sun would start to go down they would turn the time turner back sixteen hours and head back to the house. They would always wear their gray unspeakables robes and keep the hoods up to stay invisible until they walked into the back door their earlier selves left open. The dogs even had cloaks thanks Harry, but they would still get very confused by this whole thing in the beginning. After all they could smell themselves in the woods as the two sets of kids and dogs passed each other headed to the grove. Harry had words with the dogs and after that they understood everything and they never barked at themselves in the woods.
Now they had a small shed just passed the tree line off the path. It was something of Harry's design and like the lightsabers, and his dirt bike and everything else he made that was magical. It just worked. What was a small ten foot squared green shed on the outside was a huge three room house on the inside. It had a small kitchen with a table and chairs, a good sized study with a big desk, two comfortable desk chairs and a comfortable leather couch. And a big training room with a soft floor for fighting, a running track, and a weight bench. It even had a potion's lab off to the side. Every room in the shed had a nice comfortable feel to it with a lot of soft colors and well worn furniture.
The shed came from the things Harry learned when he was making their school trunks, he saw how Axton's trunk worked. It was two-ish times bigger on the inside than the outside so he made a copy of the trunk for Hermione. It was newer and nicer and it was made of shiny black leather with her horse embossed on the top of the trunk. When he opened it the inside was even bigger than Axton's, he measured it out with a ruler and figured it was about four times bigger on the inside than the outside. This gave him an idea. He thought about it and concentrated on everything he wanted and with a wave of his hand and a flash of light Harry had a black trunk that looked almost exactly like Hermione's trunk, but there were two crossed lightsabers on the top. When he opened it there was a big fifty foot squared room inside the trunk and on a tray attached to the trunk lid was a standard trunk he could put his things in. Now they had a quiet space to work in and live in when they were in Hogwarts. They could also keep up their double study time. As it was they were burning through every book Amelia and Minerva gave them so far that were working on advanced theories of magic and potions as well as runes and arithmancy.
The next day Harry and Hermione filled the trunk with furniture, like a couch, and arm chair next to a pot belly stove that would make the place feel nice and warm. A desk with a office chair next to a fake window that would project an image of the Granger's house. A sparing mat off to the side in the corner. They even had a kitchen table with chairs. It was after this process of picking out furniture that Harry drew up plans for the shed.
By the end of July they had a set routine and they followed it like a swiss train schedule. The results were interesting. They had one day of intense training and heavy study. These days added up to them knowing everything that was important about wizarding culture, how the government worked, Harry's rights as a head of house. The laws regarding an emancipated adult. The school and it's history. Not to mention advanced Magical study. They also spent time getting faster with their lightsabers. By now they could spar for an hour without stopping. Harry could win every time if he wanted to but he was more interested in bringing her up to his level and making her better, and she was getting there. They were very closely matched by the end of the summer. They also grew closer as friends. If they were close before they were one mind now. They didn't need things like words, they just knew what the other was feeling and they would give it to them. If they were uncomfortable the other one would give them a pillow, if one was hot the other would turn up the air conditioning. Even the dogs started adapting to them, the big dogs for the most part stayed close by their masters and they to stayed mostly silent. If they wanted belly scratches they would sit close to their master's hand and roll over. Soon they would be getting belly scratches. The same with food, playtime, going outside to do their business. All of it was instinctual.
On their up days however they were totally different. Everyday their ever growing group of friends would show up at the house and they would have fun. By now they had Susan, Hannah, and Neville. They also started getting visits from Dora Tonks who loved Star Wars and jumped at the chance to learn how to use a lightsaber. It also helped that the wards on the Granger's property went a few hundred feet up to cover the whole property meaning they could set up some rings and play three on three quidditch. So the kids spent their days sparing and practice wandless magic with their friends, playing with the dogs, and fly on the brooms Harry made.
Soon enough they had to cut back the tree line a bit to build a real quidditch pitch with a cushioning charmed floor and regulation sized rings. Emma took one look at how high the rings were and made Harry lower them by half to just twenty-five foot off the ground, and even after that she questioned the safety of the cushioning charms. Harry flew up to thirty feet, jumped off his broom, fell thirty feet, and landed awkwardly on his left side. Emma screamed the whole time he fell and rushed up to him as he stood up on unsteady feet.
"I'm fine, see the charms worked." Harry said trying to wave her off but his arm wouldn't work. As he tried to lift it a pain shot through him and he groaned as he looked down at his arm hanging limp at his side.
"Harry your arm is broken!" She said looking frantic.
"It's fine, that's why I have a healing potion on me at all times." Harry said pulling the potion out of his pocket. He drank half of it and his arm popped back into it's socket with a sickening crunch making everyone cringe. But he was fine.
"See, totally good as new. Although I must say you were right. We need more cushioning on the ground before we play for real. Good call." He said waving at the ground. He summoned his broom and before anyone could stop him he did it again. This time he popped back up to his feet and he was totally fine. "See, totally fine, now would you like to try flying on a broom?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Broom?" Emma asked not being able to catch up with the conversation. She just saw the boy she considered a son fall to his death twice. She didn't know if she wanted to scream, cry, hug him, or beat him senseless.
"Yeah, would you like to try flying a broom? It's fun and as you can see, it's safe. I can make a broom for you or you can use this one, Dora brought her new Nimbus 2000 and I think I can replicate it." Harry said handing her his new copy of Axton's broom. He put Axton's back in the trunk. Emma was still lost in a loop but soon her brain kicked in and she just smiled and shook her head.
"Who does this work?" She asked taking the broom.
"You sit on it and kick off, it will hover as long as you keep the broom level. If you pull back it goes up, push down and it goes down. To turn just direct the broom left or right and lean into to the turn to make it sharper." Harry said handing her the broom. Soon enough she was flying with the kids and when Dan came home from work an hour later he too got a broom and short lesson. After that they started playing four on four quidditch.
They also let their friends ride their horses and even went back to the farm and bought a third horse. This one was almost as cheap as Geoff, he was a black work horse, with leathery skin and thin hair. He was a bit under fed but he had a good strong back and a happy personality. Harry didn't care about all that, once he heard the horse was named Bob he was happy to pay the five thousand pound price tag. A week of feeding the horse carrots and apples made by Harry and the horse looked bigger, stronger, and more healthy. Soon he was running faster than Hermione's horse Lady, who was a descendant of racehorses and trained to run races. Bob was a favorite among the kids and even with the other horses, he was a happy guy that fit in well with Lady's holtly attitude and Geoff's easy demeanor.
Amelia was not having as good of a time however. Aurora Sinistra didn't want anything to do with Amelia. In fact she didn't want to even meet with Amelia. On top of all of that she was at an impasse with the old man as to who they would have as interim Minister. When Sinistra turned her down Amelia had to come up with a list. She had three names. Andy Tonks, Emma Vance, and Mary Abbott. They met one week after they both threatened each other.
Amelia walked into Wizengamot meeting room B and found the old man already sitting at the conference table. As she walked into the room she could feel the privacy charms wash over her. She took a seat at the table. They both stared each other down for half a second before he spoke.
"Look, I have things to do today. Do you have your list or not?" He asked.
"I have a list." She said nodding.
"Okay than we'll go one at a time and see if we can agree on a name. I'll start with a name you don't want to hear. Arthur Weasley." He said.
"Not in this lifetime. What about Emmeline Vance?" She said.
"So you want your lacky, I don't thinks so. How about Amos Diggory?" He asked.
"A man everyone but you hates. Good call but lets try someone that wont cause an uproar. What about Mary Abbott? She's from on old pureblood family." Amelia said.
"An old pureblood family no one but you likes. What about Elphias Doge?" He asked.
"Your boyfriend? You think i'm stupid? I have Minerva in my camp you old fruitcake. Andy Tonks is the last one on my list if you can't accept her then we're fucked." She said standing up and getting ready to leave, it was plain to see this was a stalling tactic to buy him a week, for what she was not sure of but whatever it was it would not be good for them.
"No I don't think I will put Harry Potter's law witch in charge of the ministry. Why don't we try this again next week?" He asked.
"Right, I don't know what you're playing at but know this if you fuck me I will turn the boy against you and this whole ministry. We won't have to worry about who will be minister. The boy will take the job. At the age of fourteen he can take his OWLs in America. I'll move the boy to the America and you will never see him for the next four years. Than after he is an adult wizard i'll bring him back here to campaign for the job. Do you think anyone would run against him?" She said coldly. The old man laughed.
"Amelia, these little chats are always fun. Here is what's going to happen, nothing. Today's paper is going to run a story about how I put Harry with his muggle aunt and uncle to keep him safe, it's also going to say that to keep him safe and away from the dark lord's followers I didn't check up on the boy for fear of one of them finding out where he lived. It has accounts of how they abused him without my knowing it was going on and it will state that the boy is fine now thanks to your efforts, and the efforts of the DMLE for finding his relatives and putting them in prison." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he took a candy out of his pocket and eat it.
"Really, and what happens when I go to the paper with the truth?" She asked trying very hard not to look shocked and panicked. Of which she very much was.
"Well, you can, but the truth will only bring up questions that no one wants to answer. Questions like why are Harry's aunt and uncle not in jail? If Harry's mail was tampered with then how did he get his inheritance and his Hogwarts letter? If I did anything to these muggles than where is the proof? And if you do present the proof then Harry is also going to have to answer for the spells he cast on his relatives. An emancipated wizard has to follow the code of conduct after all and what he did is just as illegal as anything you can prove I did. Than there's the question of if you're willing to burn your new reputation in the press one day after you get it? You are, after all the savior of the boy-who-lived. You saved him from his barbaric aunt and uncle. The people I foolishly trusted to look after the boy. It is truly sad that one can not trust family nowadays." He said in a sad tone as he popped another candy.
Amelia stood there looking both shocked and gutted. Her whole life she was told to not break the rules, to protect the innocent. To trust authority. As she stood there she thought about two things. One was that she knew that she was in the presence of true evil. A dark lord on par if not worse than Voldemort. And two, she wanted, with everything in her being to kill this old fuck. She wanted it so bad she was honestly weighing the options in her head to see if it was worth her death to kill this man.
"Murder is a dirty business Amelia, one I rarely if ever take part in. I've found over the years that you don't have to murder someone to put them in their place. One only has to find the right button to push for them to remember their place and accept it for themselves. I've held this country in my hands for longer than you've been alive. Never threaten someone with more power than you my dear girl, it will only lead to your own downfall. Now be gone." He said waving her out of the room for the second time.
Amelia walked out of the room and made it back to her office before her grip on her rage and magic failed her. She turned her office into a mess as her power flared and threw things. Emmaline walked into her wrecked office with a newspaper in her hand. She took one look around the room before a sad smile played across her eyes. She pulled out her wand and with a few waves and muttered spells the office was back to normal. She took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Amelia's desk and waited for Amelia to calm down enough to sit down and have a normal conversation with her. It took a minute of deep calming breaths before Amelia finally sat in her chair. She turned to her friend and political tactician.
"THAT FUCKING OLD QUEEN!..." She yelled loud enough to make Emma finch. She took a few more deep breaths before she tried to talk again. "I'm going to fucking kill that old fuck!" She yelled in a more sedated tone before sighing and dropping her head to her desk.
"Are you calm enough to talk now?" Emma asked.
"Yes, I think I am. I need a fucking drink." Amelia said pulling the mostly empty bottle from her desk. She took one look at the bottle and sighed again. "That old prick has turned me into an alcoholic." She said as she unscrewed the cap, tossed it absentmindedly behind her, and took a drink straight from the bottle.
"I can see that boss. I can also say with some certainty that he bent you over in the press. There is no way you can spin this to get him back without looking like a fool. Even the truth will just look like lies now. He got out in front of the story and the sheep only like to hear a story like this once. He also has you over the barrel for the murder of Ogden's boy back in the day. Now with the way the Wizengamot is today you would get life in Azkaban for that 'crime'" She said adding air quotes around the word crime with a sad shake of her head. "But, if you're restructuring of the wizengamot goes through then that memory is worth shit. We just need a viable candidate for the job. I still think it's possible to get Aurora Sinistra. She's a good candidate that's bullet proof. We just need the right incentive to get her to turn on the old man, and I think I found it." Emma said with a smirk.
"Well don't fuck around with foreplay." Amelia said finishing the last of the bottle in one big swig.
"I don't think Sirius Black is guilty." She said.
"Are you fucking nuts!?" Amelia asked.
"No, and hear me out before you tell me to fuck off. He was never a Death Eater, or even dark. He was a proud member of the Order, and helped us on more than a few raids. He was also the Potter's best friend. He was an obvious choice for the secret keeper right?" Emma said pulling a file out of her bag and setting it on her bosses desk.
"My question to you is, was he so obvious that they tried to go for a decoy?" Emma said opening the file to show her pictures of a crime scene. It was a blown up street with a dozen dead bodies laying about and a close up shot of a severed finger.
"These are two shots taken of the crime scene where Peter Pettegrew met his end at the hands of Black's bombarda curse right? Look at the ground where his finger is, notice something missing? Take a good hard look." Emma said.
"What am I looking for?" Amelia asked pulling the file closer. She looked at the wide shot with all the dead bodies and then looked at the close up. She knew she was seeing something but she wasn't sure what. "Something's off." She said.
"Well yes there is something off. Where's the blood? Where's the rest of the body? Even if Black turned Pettegrew into little tiny bits of gore where the fuck is it? Even if it landed on the ground and got charred by the fire where the fuck is the burnt bits? And a finger? Just a finger? A left hand ring finger? If I gave you the option of life in Azkaban or cutting off your left ring would you take that deal? Of course you would you'd even do it with a butter knife if it meant getting out of Azkaban right?" Emma said smiling.
"So if Black didn't rat on the Potter's to the dark Lord, and he didn't kill his other friend, then why the fuck is he in Azkaban?" Amelia asked looking confused.
"Well, you're right. It's a good question. One that should have come out in an interrogation, or even his trial right? Three drops of truth potion would have cleared all this up and a prominent pureblood head of house wouldn't have been sent to prison for the rest of his life. Think about that headline. Pureblood scion sent to Azkaban by courtroom oversight. Remind me again, who's the head of the wizengamot?" Emma asked with a smile.
"You're telling me that the old man sent Sirius Black, a member of his own group to Azkaban without a trial? Tell me you're fucking joking. It's not my birthday yet. I can't have this good fortune just fall into my lap can I?" Amelia said looking hopeful and yet shocked.
"It's no joke. But in order to do this right we need to orchestrate this all in one go. We can't just move on this today, we need to set the old man up for a fall before we do this. We need the press there at the trial before we can even bring this up, we need to oust the minister so Aurora can call this case to the floor, we need to get rid of the Pureblood assholes in the dark voting block so we can set the old man up without blowback, and we need the old man flat footed. We have to play both sides of this until the right moment when we strike. We need Harry to set it all in motion. We need to talk to him and Minerva, and the rest of the group. We need his backing." Emma said.
"Yes, I'll set it up for later today. We all need to play ball with the old man for the next few days until we strike." Amelia said sitting back in her seat with a very evil grin on her face.
The next morning Aurora was coming back to the castle from the Hog's Head pub. She had fallen asleep at the bar again and Aberforth let her sleep at the pub. She got all the way to the main road to the castle gates when Minerva flagged her down headed back to the town.
"Good I found you, you have to come quickly there's been an emergency!" Minerva said rushing up to her and grabbing her arm.
"WHat happened!?" SHe asked still a bit groggy.
It was too late, she felt the portkey activate and seconds later she found herself in a big yard behind a nice sized house. She was about to start yelling when she was pinned by two glowing green eyes. The boy that stood before her looked directly into her soul and found her wanting. The boy extended his hand to her and pulled her up to her feet like she was light as a feather.
"Walk with me." He said in a soft tone, but she followed him as they headed down a path headed to a stable.
"You're Harry Potter." She said eloquently.
"I am, and you are the ex-feouncy of my godfather Sirius Black." Harry said and he could see her eyes flash with hatred.
"Why are you asking?" She asked coldly.
"Because I wanted to see if you really hate the man. I know I do, I was supposed to grow up with him, and I'm guessing you. There was a chance you would have been my surrogate mother. That sure as hell would have been nicer than the hell I grew up in. But instead of taking care me like a grown up he went after that trator Pettigrew and got himself arrested. You really did almost marry a foolish immature man you know? What kind of man goes after a traitor instead of taking care of his godson?" Harry said looking disappointed as they approached the stables.
"Yeah… wait, what?" SHe said looking confused.
"Here, this will make this conversation easier." Harry said waving at her.
Instantly she felt different. She felt clear headed, sober, and fresh. It was an odd feeling for her. One she had been avoiding for a while now. As her brain cleared up, the words Harry spoke to her started to sink in. He went after the traitor and left me, he had responsibilities. Than the other thought hit home. She was almost the mother of the boy who lived. She looked to Harry with confusion on her face.
"Don't worry about it right now, I think we need to start from the beginning. It's going to be a good long conversation and I think it would be better if we did it on horseback. This is Bob. Bob this is Aurora, you're going to take her around the path at a nice slow pace." Harry said as he put a saddle on the black horse.
He than helped her get on the horse. As soon as her ass hit the saddle her years of horseback riding lessons kicked in and she straightened her back and sat up. She grabbed the reins and held them in the web of her thumb. When she looked back at Harry he was mounting a funny looking half clydesdale. When he was up he lead them down a path into the woods at a nice easy pace.
"Now to start from the beginning we have to start with why you're here this morning…" Harry talked for the next hour as they made a slow loop of the property. By the time they made it to the stables Aurora was crying silent tears and looking madder than a cat in a bathtub. Harry hopped off his horse and took the saddle off before putting Geoff back in the stable. Next he helped her off Bob and put him away he said a few words to each horse before taking her shaking hand and walking her to the house. When they walked into the back door everyone was there waiting for them. Andy took one look at her face and rushed up to her and hugged her.
"He's been in Azkaban for nine years." Aurora said softly.
"I know, we just found out yesterday." Andy said.
"Nine years." Aurora said sobbing.
"We will get him out but to do that we have to be a unified front, no cracks." Amelia said.
"I'll do whatever it takes." Aurora said.
"Well, first thing we need you to do is quit your job at Hogwarts." Harry said smiling.
"Done." She said matching his smile. In the one hour they shared together she took a very strong liking to the boy that was supposed to be her son, and like Emma Granger before her, and Amelia to a lesser extent she attached herself to the boy and became very protective of him.
The next day she tendered her resignation to the headmaster. Albus was very confused for a few seconds until he smirked, and let her out of his office. The day after that he got a call from Amelia and he knew what it was about before he even started talking. He was painted into a corner and he had to admit he admired the play they made. Aurora was a drunken puppet for Amelia and her group but he couldn't very well say that without taking heat for it. He, after all, let her teach children in his school. He agreed to the new minister and they set a date for next monday to pull the rug out from under Fudge.
Monday morning came and Albus met Amelia and Aurora in the hallway outside of the Wizengamot chambers. He smiled at the two of them. Aurora actually looked sober which was shocking to him but in a good way, he never liked watching her drink herself into a young grave but it wasn't his place to judge her or tell her what to do.
"You two look ready to go." He commented.
"Yes, well once we oust Fudge we can start making some changes." Aurora said.
"That was funny. Your words coming out of her mouth." He said with a smirk. Aurora looked like she wanted to kill the old man but Amelia just smiled.
"Just prove to me that you can at least keep your word on this subject." Amelia said.
"I'll keep my end of the bargain. It's time for a change anyway." He said the room filled up with Wizengamot members and reporters.
What started as a normal monday morning session turned into something of a madhouse in a matter of minutes. The session was called open. Dumbledore called out for any business to be brought to the floor. Amelia stood up with a huge file. She brought the case against Minister Fudge to the floor. Fudge tried to denounce the fact that she could even do such a thing. Dumbledore slapped him down with a string of procedural legal babble and within an hour the minister was headed for Azkaban. His Undersecretary, Malfoy, Crabtree, Nott, Ogden, Greengrass, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were taken into custody in the ministry holding cells. Each of them were charged with numerous counts of bribery and everything from underhanded banking transactions and tax dodging to murder. All of this information came out when Fudge was given truth potion and questioned. After all you can't confess to taking a bribe from someone without stating who it was from and what they were buying. They would each be given a trial in the coming weeks. Until then they were going to be guests of the ministry. It was both funny and sad that the two weeks Malfoy would be in a cell waiting for his trial were the longest he was ever in a cell and he was charged with numerous counts of murder.
They took a break for lunch and of the remaining forty members of the Wizengamot three fourths hand grins on their faces. In one hour they had cleaned up most, if not all of the bad seeds in the group. Even if the only charges they could get to stick were the bribery charges than Malfoy, Nott, Ogden, Greengrass, and Parkinson would be spending at least two years in Azkaban. Two years was a long time for such soft men. Half of them wouldn't make it. Than there was the asset forfeitures, seizures, back taxes, fines and fees. The ministry would be flush with cash and most of it was going right to her department. New aurors, upgraded equipment, overtime pay for her top guys so they could stay on the hunt for more dirt. She would bring it all down. The old man approached her with a smile on his face.
"Nice work in there, you got rid of ten votes. Very well played. I must say for what you lack in political skills you make up in courtroom speak. That bit about listing the crimes he took bribes for was very well worded. This is why I didn't want to destroy you Amelia, you're good at your job and aside from one mistake a long time ago you have lead a clean life. Maybe in a few years when this has all blown over we can work something out and you can take the minister's job." He said with a big smile as he popped a candy in his mouth.
"Yes perhaps, but for now we have a minister to elect. You're not going to fight this are you? We still have a deal right? Because after I get her elected we need to take care of some business today. It's important to burn these arsehole today to keep this momentum going. If the dark lord is still out there I plan on clearing the board fully in the next few weeks. Maybe we can keep him from coming back until Harry's much older and more powerful. Until he's had time to train." She said tossing in his buzzword with a smile.
"Yes, I think that will workout very nicely." He said with a shine to his eyes.
After the break was over Dumbledore nominated Aurora Siniestra. Amelia seconded the motion and it was put to a vote, between the voting block she had and the block he controlled the motion passed 39-0 because Siniestra abstained from the vote. Aurora took her place in the minister's box next to Amelia and the old man.
"I just wanted to say that I took this job for two reasons, one reason was because it's a job that needed to be done and done right. We all saw what close to ten years of an incompetent man in this seat can do tho the country and it's my hope to try and fix most of the wrongs committed by Fudge and his cronies. The other reason I took this job is, I must admit a selfish one. Almost ten years ago the man I loved was thrown in Azkaban for committing some very terrible crimes. I am of course talking about Sirius Black. The thing is, Sirius Black was never given a trial." She said causing a hushed whisper to pass over the crowd.
"He was arrested and tossed directly into a cell without so much as a questioning under truth potion! He's been rotting away in a cell for ten years! Ten Year!" She shouted causing a hush to fall over the room.
"A pureblood Head of House!" She said making half the Wizengamot flinch. It never really dawned on them that Sirius was the head of the Black family and the thought that he wasn't given a trial really freaked them out now.
"SO now that I have the power to call for it, I demand a trial for the Head of house Black. Sirius Orion Black!" SHe said in a deep and commanding tone.
The doors to the courtroom opened up and Sirius was lead in buy two Aurors in chains. Although lead in was kind of a miss nomer, carried weekend at Bernie's style would be more apt. The sight of his withered and dirty body being shackled to the prisoner chair brought home the severity of the Wizengamot's oversight ten years ago. Heads would roll for this if it turned out he was innocent, which Amelia and Aurora already knew thanks to a dose of truth potion and a visit to the prison two days ago. In fact Sirius wasn't as dead as he looked. For the last two days he had been sitting in a cell under the ministry under a glamor and taking a potion Harry made special for him. It healed every part of him and slowly over time it would fix the damage his ten years in hell did to him. Harry should know, he had been taking the potion for the last six weeks. So far he put on three inches of height, and thirty pounds of muscle. Amelia administered three drops of veritaserum, and took her plack next to Sirius.
"State your name for the record." She said in a clear tone of voice so the recording quil could take down a clear record of this trial.
"Sirius Orion Black." He said in a voice cracking with disuse.
"Are you a Death Eater?" She asked.
"No." He stated clearly.
"Have you ever been a supporter of the dark?" She asked. She had to cover all of the bases just in case this was contested later.
"No." He said.
"Did you betray the Potters on Halloween night 1981?" She asked.
"No." he said causing a huge gasp to shoot through the crowd and the old man to close his eyes and hold his face. He knew where the blame for this was going to land.
"DId you kill Peter Pettigrew?" She asked.
"No." He said. Putting the final nail in the coffin of the old man.
"What happened to Pettigrew?" She asked.
"He cut off his finger, blew up the gas main, and turned into a rat." he said causing confusion.
"A rat?" She asked.
"He is an unregistered animagus. A common, fat, brown, rat." Sirius said putting emphasis on his words as he spoke as the hate of ten long years came rolling out of him.
"I think, in light of the evidence as it stands, and pending an investigation into the whereabouts of Peter Pettigrew, we should drop all charges against the last scion of the house of Black, and reinstate him to his Seat as Head of house." Amelia said as she administered the antidote to the truth potion.
"I agree and I would also like to be the first person to apologise for this grave miscarriage of justice." Dumbledore said in a wise grandfatherly tone.
"FUck you old man!" Sirius yelled standing up as the Aurors took of the shackles. "I was a member of your Order! We fought and died for you and what did we get for it? Ten years in Azkaban! So fuck you and your words old man! You put me in that cell to keep me from taking care of Harry. You wanted the boy to grow up a muggle! I read the paper! You put me in jail without a trial so you could get your fucking hands on my godson your sick old fuck! You manipulative old Queen!" He shouted causing everyone in the room to look shocked. Every reporter in the room was writing furiously.
Albus stood there looking shocked. It was blindingly obvious what happened to him now, but than again hindsight was 20/20. Amelia set him up to take a fall in front of the press and the whole Wizengamot. What was worse was the fact that with the way the Wizengamot was set up now he couldn't use his dirt on her, and it was the only dirt he had. Worse yet he couldn't take down anyone in their camp. Aurora was a drunk but he couldn't use that fact. Andy was an upstanding Law Wizard with impeachable honesty. Harry was an abused kid and the boy who lived. Sirius was a wrongfully imprisoned head of a pureblood house. He was, to use one of Amelia's favoret words, Fucked. And there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to bend over and take it.
"Sirius, there are no words…" He tried to save face but he was cut off by Aurora.
"Save it old man. We will be looking into these allegations. If I find out that the man I loved was sent to jail so you could put The Boy Who Lived in a muggle hell I will personally see that you are stripped of your titles and end up in the same cell he spent his last ten years." Aurora said in a cold tone that sent an icy chill through the chamber.
"I see this is not the time to plead my case. Instead I will call this session of the Wizengamot closed." He said banging the gavel and beating a hasty retreat as reporters shouted questions at him. He was off balance and weak which made him ripe pickings for the vultures that called themselves reporters.
"Come on, let's get you home." Aurora said leading Sirius out of the room with Amelia and and her group of supporters following close behind to keep the press and people back away from Sirius and the new minister.
They took a portkey from Amelia's office to the Granger's house. They landed in the back yard and Found Harry sparing with Hermione, Susan fighting Hannah, and Neville battling Dora. The adults were off to the side sitting at a table drinking lemonade and watching the show. Sirius stood there shocked. Aurora smiled at him and took his hand. She lead him over to the table and sat him down next to Andy. she took a seat next to him and took a glass from the table.
"Are those lightsabers?" He asked.
"They are. This is Emma Granger. This is her house. We're going to be staying here until you can get your house cleared out. This is Harry's home away from home." Aurora said.
"In that case it nice to make your acquaintance. I'm terribly sorry for my appearance but I just got out of prison." He said with a charming smile.
"I get it. Speaking of, you'll be in the master suit at the top of the stairs. Harry made a few sets of comfortable clothes for you that should fit, and the room has an ensuite bathroom." She said.
"The master suite? I hope we're not putting you out?" He asked looking shocked by the kindness.
"Oh, you're not. Harry turned the closet on the second floor into a huge bedroom and bathroom with an attached sitting room. We moved out a week ago. Aurora has been staying in the old master bedroom. We were talking about where she would stay now that she quit her job. We offered her a guest room but Harry said he had an idea. He walked away from the table and a few minutes later we saw a huge flash from upstairs and found Harry leaning against the wall by the linen closet at the end of the hall. He got up on unsteady feet and opened the door to show off the room to us. The room is ridiculous. It adds a thousand square feet to the house. The bed is the softest most comfortable thing I've ever laid on it has his and hers walk in closets/dressing rooms and the bathroom has a huge bath tub and a big walk in shower. All of the plumbing works and we have no idea how. As far as Dan can tell it's not hooked up to anything. All I know is the water comes out steaming hot and the tube is big enough for two." Emma said with a smile.
"Harry made it?" He asked looking at the boy leading his friends through combat drills.
"Yes, Harry is a Maker. He's been magicking up things for years. Half the things in the house and most of our meals come from him. I'm going to miss his 'cooking' when they leave for that school. He makes very tasty meals that are somehow making us healthier. We haven't had a cold in this house in months and both Dan and I feel ten years younger." Emma said looking like a proud parent.
Sirius took this all in and he was extremely proud of his young pup, but the look in her eyes as she talked about Harry gutted him deep. He should have had that look in his eyes. He should have raised Harry. He was supposed to be the proud parent. He was a fool. He let his anger and pain lead him into a trap that cost him more than he ever thought. Yes he lost ten years of freedom, but he also lost ten years of life. He looked at Aurora and saw the gaunt look in her eyes, the sickly color of her skin, and the slight tremors in her hands. He was in hell for ten years but so was she. He heard about the drinking and he also heard about the treatments she was taking. Harry was supplying her with the same potion he was taking. That was something else he would have to thank him for. Not only did his godson help to get him out of jail, but he got the woman he loved out of a dark place and he was healing them on top of that. Looking at his godson leading a weapon mastery class hit home for him that this was a boy that didn't need him. He had become a man in his absence. As these thought flashed through his mind a tear rolled down his cheek. Aurora saw it and she smiled a sad smile at him.
"Come on, I'll show you to our room so you can get changed. You need a good hot shower." She said helping him out of his seat.
"But I wanted to meet Harry." He said looking at his godson who still hadden't even looked his way yet.
"You will but first you need a bath. Come on." She said dragging him into the house.
"But…"
"Listen, you stink. It's that simple. Now come on. It's been close to ten years. Let's get you out of those clothes and make sure everything is still working." She said with a smile.
"As fun as that sounds I think I need to start acting like adult. I ran after that rat and I ruined so many lives. Yours, his, mine…" He started saying as he pulled back from her but he stopped when a calm and strong voice came from the back door.
"And pushing away the woman you love to spend a few minutes with me in not the mature thing to do." Harry said walking into the house and up to Sirius.
"Harry i'm so…" He tried but Harry put his hand up to stop him.
"I don't need to hear it and you don't need to say it. You made one wrong move ten years ago, and you've been paying for it for all this time. Now stop acting like a fool and go be with the woman you were supposed to marry. Also shower, shave, and cut your hair. You look like a homeless caveman and you smell like one too. The clothing in the closet should fit you big. Aurora can fix it for you. When you come down we'll have dinner in the back yard and than we'll go for a ride around the grounds." Harry said with an easy smile.
"I can do that." Sirius said accepting his task.
"Good, Aurora, dinner will be served in three hours. Make sure he's decent by than. We're having filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, and carrots. Now if you'll excuse me I have a class I have to get back to." Harry said with a smirk as he ran through the back door and attacked Hermione with a two handed overhead strike.
"He's 11 right?" Sirius asked looking shocked.
"He's been studying eastern religions and deep meditation for three years. He is the calmest most centered and focused man I've ever met. He's also kind of a stick in the mud. He needs to learn how to get along with kids his own age. He's getting better at it but he's still learning. The same can be said for his girlfriend. Old souls." She said leading him up the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall. Once inside the room she lead him into the ensuite bathroom and started to take off her robes.
"He's had a hard life, Amelia told me abo…" He stopped talking when she dropped her robe leaving her in her very revealing underwear.
"What?" She asked with a smile. "The man I loved with my whole being was thrown in prison and I became an alcoholic. I'm not going to say I've spent the last ten years celibate but I can tell you this much. I sure as hell didn't enjoy myself. Too much hate. Now my man is back and I plan on having some good old fashioned make up sex. Than you're going to marry me, and we're going to have a few kids while I still can. We lost ten years, now let's start taking those years back." she said walking up to him with a predatory look in her eyes.
They just made it down to dinner in time. The rest of the adults and kids were already sitting at the long outdoor table waiting for them. Sirius had a goofy smile on his face and Aurora looked truly happy for the first time since they met her. Sirius looked less like a hungry caveman and more like a hungry weekend accountant. His hair was trimmed to a reasonable length. His beard was trimmed and shaped into a clean looking full beard. He was wearing khakis, a white polo shirt and a pair of brown loafers. They took their seats at the table as the adults shared knowing looks. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes as Dora stifled a giggle.
"Are we all set?" Harry asked standing up and looking at the group.
"Yes I think we are." Emma said standing up to get the wine from inside the house.
"Good, let's eat." Harry said waving his hands at the empty big serving platter and four serving bowls. Soon the table was full of food. It was hot, and it tasted amazing. Emma came out the back door with three bottles of wine and sat them on the table.
"This is perfect." Sirius said enjoying the juicy medium rare piece of steak in his mouth.
"This is how we eat everyday. No one beats Harry's magical cooking." Emma said reaching out and hugging Harry to her side and making him blush.
"I just use my cooking experience for the taste and then think of making the best most nutritious meal I can make and this comes out." Harry said shrugging off the attention.
"It's why he doesn't make the wine. He has no taste for it, yet. I plan on doing a full wine tasting course with him when he gets a little bit older. We'll find a wine he likes." Emma said smiling at him.
"Mom you're embarrassing Harry." Hermione said smirking.
"I know dear, but it's my job." She said with a smile.
"Before I forget I wanted to thank you both for letting us stay here until we can get back on our feet. I'm heading to the bank tomorrow to reclaim my title and hopefully I can have my house cleaned out. Than we'll get out of your hair." Sirius said with a grateful smile.
"Think nothing of it. You just got out of jail, stay as long as you need to. In two weeks we're going to have an empty house and I'm sure we'll be begging for company." Dan said smiling.
"I wouldn't worry about that guys, we're working on something that might solve that issue. We'll know more by the time we head off to school." Harry said.
"Oh? What have you two been up to now?" Emma asked looking at her daughter and the boy that became her son.
"We're still working on the math but the arithmancy and runes textbooks Professor Mcgonagall gave us a week ago have really helped fill in the gaps. Hopefully we can all have dinners like this every night. I've grown accustomed to these meals. I like feeding you guys. That's all I'll say for now." Harry said.
"You two aren't doing anything dangerous are you?" Emma asked looking worried.
"Not really, although anytime you play with magic there is a chance for danger, but what we're working on isn't anymore dangerous than anything we've worked on in the past. We just don't want to get people's hopes up and then not deliver. It's like aunt Andy said before, undersell and over deliver." Harry said as Hermione nodded.
"Good boy, always play it that way." Andy said from the other end of the table where she was sitting with her husband and daughter.
"Well as long as it's safe." Emma said smiling.
As dinner progressed and everyone talked the sun went down. When it got too dark Harry waved a at the candles on the table and the tiki torches around the yard and they all light up bathing the yard and table in a warm glow. When they were all stuffed they started packing up and leaving. Harry cleared away the extras into four big bowls and set them out for the dogs. Harry turned around and found Neville standing behind him with a look on his face like he really wanted to ask him something.
"Neville, remember what we talked about? You have to be more confident my friend. You're going to be head of your house in a few years and you're going to have to learn to stand up for yourself." Harry said slinging his arm around the slightly taller boy.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think you can heal my parents? Maybe give them some of that healing potion you made to fix yourself." He asked looking hopeful.
"I hate to say this but I'm not sure it would work. I have a very good understanding of the human body and how it works thanks to my martial arts training. I also have a very good understanding of healing tonics from the book Axton had. So when I make a healing potion like the one I'm taking now I know what goes into it. I know what it's doing to my system. I know how it works. On the other hand I have only a rudimentary understanding of mind magics, and healing tonics made for that sort of thing." Harry said in a calm and even tone of voice. As he spoke he could see Neville's whole body collapse in on himself.
"Oh, right." Neville said looking close to tears.
"Hey! Chin up. Just because I don't know those things now doesn't mean I can't start learning them. And just because I can't fix their minds right now doesn't mean we can't try! It's your parents Neville. Don't you think Hermione and I have been looking into it since we first heard about your parents? It's us you're talking about. We're just hoping to get our hands on the Hogwarts library and do some research before we talked about it with you. Undersell and over deliver. If you give us some time I think we can get it. For now take them out of the hospital and bring them home. We'll put them on a steady diet of my healing tonic and nutrient rich IV bags. We'll heal their bodies as we work on their heads. It's the first thing we're going to tackle when we get to the school." Harry said with a smile which fell off his face as Neville dropped to one knee infront of him.
"Whatever you want, whatever you need the house of Longbottom is forever in your debt. The house of Longbottom pledges their loyalty to you and I will be your faithful servant." He said in a formal tone or as formal as he could muster through his tears.
"Neville, get up before I hit you. This is what I'm talking about. I'm your friend. I'm doing you a favor. You don't just pledge your undying loyalty to me. You say thank you. Now get up." Harry said pulling the boy to his feet. He was promptly hugged until his ribs felt like they were going to give out.
"Thank you Harry! Thank you so much! I know what you said about this being no big deal but it is. I am forever in your debt. You can always count on me." He said.
"That's what the word friendship means. Now go tell your gran, in fact the last time I saw her she looked pale and she had a cough. Give her this and it should clear up and I expect to see her at a few dinners. It's important to keep the group together. The more we can get along now the better we'll be when we have to get along later." Harry said waving a vial of red glowed potion out of the air.
"Thank's, she has been under the weather a bit." Neville said looking like he was going to cry again.
"Then you should have told me earlier. Now go get your folks out of the hospital and I'll have a case of healing tonics for them when you stop by tomorrow." Harry said patting him on the back as he headed to the portkey area.
"Did he ask about his parents?" Hermione asked as she walked over.
"He did, I told him what we talked about. We'll look into it at the school. Tomorrow we have to work on the doors and I have to make the tonics for them. We're also going to have to take a long rest, it's been three days." Harry said patting his dog Blaze on the head as he finished his dinner, and came to stand with him.
"I'll write it down, I also wanted to look into the potion we talked about three days ago. I want to offer it to my mom as well as Aurora. I know she says she's happy with the two of us but I know for a fact they wanted more kids when I was younger." She said pulling out a small black notebook and started taking notes.
"I agree but I don't want to just make it I want to try brewing it first. Things always come out better once I've brewed it. The copies are always more powerful once I understand what the components are." Harry said in a calm aloof tone as he was deep in thought about the work they needed to accomplish before they left on the train.
"If we brew it then that's going to cut into one of our days we only have so many left." She said frowning.
"It has to be done, it takes three months for the potion to really kick in. We'll just have to push our combat training for the next ten days and work straight through. Either that or we do doubles again like we did when we first started." Harry said looking to his partner.
"Doubles are a real killer but your right. We'll just be more drained on our up days. Our friends will suspect." She said.
"I was thinking about telling them. I think Amelia would let us continue our work if we spun it the right way." He said watching the adults break up and Sirius start coming his way.
"Yes if we tell her we're doing it to get out from under the old man's thumb then she'll let it slide." She said nodding.
"We'll discuss it more in detail tomorrow during turn one. We'll use the trunk." Harry said finishing his sentence as his godfather walked up to him.
"Right, I'll set it up." She said walking away.
"Thanks" he said to her retreating back. He turned back to Sirius and he had that same pained and nervous look in his eyes that all adults had when they wanted to talk to him. Again he was going to have to start and lead the apology/getting to know you conversation for yet another adult. It was at times like this Harry was glad he had given up on being a child three years ago. Things like this went easier.
"Hey pup. Wow, this is awkward." Sirius said with a half smile. Harry almost rolled his eyes but held it back. He found it better to act like a child in most situations, but with these situations he tended to act the way he really was. It put the adult at ease.
"Yes, but I've had this conversation with a few other people and I'd be happy to help you. It's a bit dark for a horseback ride, or even a fly but I hear you like bikes. I have enough fuel in the tank to make one for you. We can head into town, there's an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream shop where we can talk if you would like." Harry said.
"You can just… Maker, right. Sure let's do that." Sirius said.
"I'll go grab my leather jacket, I made one for you in your closet. You should get your's too." Harry said leading them into the house.
A quick word with Emma and they were standing by the side drive in matching black leather motorcycle jackets, jeans, and boots. Harry expanded his black 1969 Royal Enfield 350. With a wave of his hand there was a copy of his bike sitting next to it in dark blue. Harry pulled a black classic motorcycle helmet with goggles and an 8 ball on the side out of his saddle bag. He pulled a second set out this one in white and handed them to him. Harry hopped on his bike and turned the key. He kick started it and it fired right up. He waited for his godfather to follow and soon the two of them were on the road headed to town. Sirius followed his godson at a good pace and was shocked at how well the bike under him drove. For something his godson made out of thin air it was better than any bike he ever rode before. The balance was spot on, the throttle was smooth, and the brakes had just the right amount of bite to stop the bike but not make you feel like you were going to be flung out of your seat. They drove through town and rolled up to an old fashioned soda fountain place. The parked and walked in. It was obvious from the way the man behind the counter greeted Harry that he was a regular.
"Hey Harry! No Hermione tonight?" The older man in an apron and a bowtie asked with a smile.
"Not tonight Lyonel. This is my godfather. I took him for a ride to town and I couldn't pass up the chance to get one of your root beer floats. We'll take two." Harry said slapping a fiver on the counter.
"Coming right up!" The man called out with a smile as he grabbed two glasses out of a cooler.
"This place is the best. Lyonel makes his own Ice cream, and he bottles his own root beer from a secret recipe." Harry said smiling as Lyonel made the two floats.
"Sounds good." Sirius said trying to relax.
It was odd, this was not how he pictured this conversation going. He thought he would face a lot of yelling and crying. Accusations of leaving him alone to chase his revenge. Instead he was handed a large glass with ice cream and root beer and shuffled off to the back booth. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Well Harry ate, sirius sat there contemplating what he would say.
"Not a fan of the float?" Harry asked wiping ice cream off his upper lip with a napkin.
"No, um it's good. I … well…" He tried but faltered. Harry laughed and patted him on the arm.
"Relax. Look, I grew up beaten and starved. Made to work like a slave. I had to grow up fast. When I was seven I figured out my power and I changed my life for the better. For the next two years I dedicated myself to becoming a jedi. Training, learning, meditating, and anything else I could think of to push myself. Then I met Hermione and I found a kindred spirit. She too was mature for her age. An old soul. We trained and worked and learned new skills. Then last year we found a trunk at an estate sale. We found out Jedi's aren't real. That they were made up. We learned about magic and the wizarding world and we didn't like what we read about. We made a promise to ourselves, we were going to continue our ways. Just because Jedi are not real doesn't make the things we learned any less real. We are warrior mages. And as jedi we have a responsibility to help those in need. And right now the old man and the corrupt members of the government have the wizarding world under their boot. We tried to fix this and in the process of fixing it we found out you were innocent. That was just a week ago. I spent eleven years without you and I turned out fine. Now we can either try to force this godfather godson bond, or we can hang out like two guys and get to know each other like friends. Because I don't need someone to take care of me, I can take care of myself. But I can use a friend that can offer up advice I might need. Now what do you say? You want to try to be my friend or do you want to try to act like you need to protect me and treat me like a little kid?" Harry asked.
"I think I'm totally unprepared for this conversation. I think I feel beyond guilty. But most of all I think I'm just shocked. You don't need me anymore and I feel hurt by that." He said.
"Well I didn't say I don't need you, I said I don't need you to treat me like a little kid. You're a fountain of information about my mum and dad. I would love to hear about them. I'm also going to find girls very interesting at some point in the future if what Dan says is true and since the only girl in my life that's on my level is his daughter I think having a man I can talk to about girl issues will be invaluable. What I need is a friend that's older than me but still cool enough to want to hang out and teach me things. You were my father's wing man. I have Neville for that but as you could probably tell by his nervous demeanor and shy personality he's not going to be much help in the 'let's break the rules and have some fun vien'. So how do you feel about all that? Do you want to help corrupt a new generation of kids?" Harry asked with a laugh.
"Now that I can do!" Sirius said looking excited and relaxed at the same time.
"I thought you might be able to help me with that, Minerva has told me a few stories." Harry said going back to his float.
"I'll bet, back then when we were in school the war was raging and inside the school battle lines were drawn. Pranks were the main weapon of combat. Your father was very much like you Harry. Smart, confident, and protective of his friends. He was a natural leader. Something I saw when you were working with your friends today. In a way I was your dad's Hermione. I was his second in command…" Sirius spent the next hour talking about the Marauders. When they were done with their floats Harry walked up to the counter.
"Hey Loynel, can I get two pints and…" Harry started saying but stopped when the old man handed him a bag with two cartons of ice cream and a wood crate with twelve swing top bottles. "You're too good at this Lyonel. Too good." Harry said putting a twenty pound note on the counter and taking the crate. "Grab the bag Sirius." He said leading his godfather out to the bikes. Harry checked to make sure no one was watching before he shrank the bag and the crate and stuck them in his jacket pocket.
"You really are very controlled with your spell work. It's shocking." Sirius said shaking his head.
"I spend a lot of time in deep meditation bonding with my core. I call him Bob. Now let's get back. Emma will be worried and Hermione will be waiting for the ice cream and sodas." Harry said pulling on his helmet and kick starting his bike with a happy smile.
"Lead the way buddy." Sirius said waving him on after he got his bike going.
