A/N: Don't kill me, please! Alright, i am back. And yes, i have been vry bad for not updating in so long. But can you imagine, i am relocating again. God! Anyway, i won't let that come between you and me. He he. On with the story.
Warning: This chapter is not funny. Quite serious, i would say. Plus my writing has rusted with such a big gap. So, please tolerate.
"Is everything ready?" James asked Remus.
"I've all the papers ready in my briefcase," Remus answered, patting the small briefcase in his hand.
"Where's Hermione?" James asked.
"Sirius took her to get ready," Remus answered again, this time shrinking another bag.
"What's that for?"
"That's Hermione stuff - milk, food, spare dresses and diapers."
"Great, Moony!" James rewarded Remus with a thump on his back. "You are becoming good at this."
"Took some advice from Molly," Remus threw James a dirty look. "Someone has to be the responsible one, especially when we are going for a hearing on adoption."
James looked ashamed for a second before he grinned again. "What do we have Mommy for?"
"Here we are," Sirius announced.
Two heads turned towards the voice and were shocked into silence.
There standing on the top of the stairs were Sirius and Hermione.
In their formal attires.
Cream shirt, red tie, black trousers, black shoes and black robes.
Both of them.
"What?" Sirius asked his two friends, when no reaction came forth. He glanced back and forth between himself and Hermione to look for a faux pas. He looked back at his friends when he found none.
"You are not serious, are you?" Remus finally managed.
"Of course I am," Sirius humphed.
"Sirius," James started. "Why have you dressed Hermione as yourself? She is a baby, for Merlin's sake."
"We're supposed to be dressed formally, someone told me." Here Sirius looked pointedly at Remus. "And since Hermione and I always dress the same way, well…"
"There's no point arguing about all this," Remus said. "If we don't want to be late, we better get going."
Sirius took the girl in his arms, James took the briefcase and Remus took the baby bag. Together, they apparated to the Ministry, hoping for the best.
"Case no. Twenty three. Magical adoption of Hermione Jane Granger by James Harold Potter."
The reaction to the announcement was immediate.
Sirius shot up from his chair, where he had dozed off. James straightened his robes and Remus was startled, so much so that he woke Hermione up, who launched herself into a crying fit.
"Give her to me," James said, taking crying Hermione from Remus. How much so ever she was comfortable with Sirius and Remus, it was only James who could comfort her when she cried.
James entered the chamber with a crying girl on his shoulder, Remus a step behind with the briefcase and Sirius bringing the rear with baby stuff, yawning.
"Please take seats, gentlemen," a wizard with a hoarse voice said. "The applicant shall take the seat on the left."
The chamber was large and square in shape. At the farthest point were seated two wizards and three witches along a horizontal table. They were seated on a raised platform. To their left and right were smaller raised platforms with chairs. Some fifteen twenty steps further were two rows of seats. Remus and Sirius took their seats there, Hermione on Remus' lap whereas James went to the aforementioned seat.
"Proceedings to the case no. twenty three start now. The information shared here shall remain within the four walls of this room and shall not be discussed outside. All present will take a vow to this effect."
This was announced by a magical voice and was followed by the vow mentioned. This provided Remus some relief since he knew few of the topics which would surely be raised.
"Mr. James Potter," a wizard to the extreme left started, "You have shown an interest in adopting a muggle girl. Is that right?"
"They don't waste time, do they?" Sirius whispered to Remus, while James nodded in affirmation.
"May I ask why?" a plump witch seated in middle asked.
"She lost her family the night I lost mine," James answered honestly. "I have been taking care of her since then and have become attached to her. She has no one around to take care of her. I would prefer her to be taken care of by three people who love her rather than be given to some orphanage."
"But she is a muggle, Mr. Potter."
"That hardly matters, Miss," James answered. "It might have been possible that my son turned out to be squib. That wouldn't have changed the fact that I love him. Same goes for Hermione. Her magical ability, or rather lack of it, is in now way a concern for me."
"But it is for us, Mr. Potter," a hoarse voice said. "It would be a direct violation of Secrecy we all swear to."
"I don't understand how," James said, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"You are forgetting, Mr. Potter, but Hermione is a muggle and in no way tied to the Secrecy. When she will grow up, she is bound to ask you questions about your magical abilities and her lack of it. If she chooses, she can disclose it to the world."
"I'll make her swear, if that's what you want," James answered.
"You didn't hear me properly, Mr. Potter. Being a muggle, she isn't bound to the Secrecy."
"What about parents of muggle-borns?" James asked fiercely.
"They are bound to the Secrecy through their children, Mr. Potter. Hermione wouldn't be bound to it in any possible way."
"Through me?"
As the discussion went on, Remus knew the direction it was taking. It was turning to be more serious than they had thought.
"What are they expecting him to say?" Sirius whisper-asked Remus. "That he renounce magic?"
Remus was silent for a moment before he answered. "Something along the lines of that."
"What are you suggesting, Mister?" James retorted to something someone had said.
"That, Mr. Potter, you will have to renounce magic, if you want to adopt Hermione. You will have to take a vow to that effect and leave the wizarding world. We can't risk exposure because of this case."
"Why can't he take a vow to not tell Hermione about magic and leave it at that?" Sirus had gotten up from his seat angrily.
"Then he would be lying to the girl whole of his life! What kind of relationship would that be?" one of the witches screamed.
"Aren't you contradicting yourself?" Sirius demanded.
"Mr. Black, you will either take your seat or leave this chamber."
Fuming, Sirius took his seat.
"What do you think, Mr. Potter?" the hoarse voice asked.
James was quite for a moment. Sirius was glaring at the panel of wizards and witches while Remus looking at James nervously. He could almost guess what was coming next.
"I will renounce magic," James announced, at last, shocking everyone to silence.
"Are you sure of that, Mr. Potter?" one of the witches stuttered.
"Absolutely," James said with fierce determination.
"James, are you mad?" Sirius was once again standing, shouting at his best friend. "There has to be a way around. We will find it, mate. You don't have to renounce magic."
"It's okay, Sirius," James smiled at Sirius, or at least made an attempt.
Remus was slightly angry at Dumbledore; he must know that the case can take this turn. Why didn't he tell them about this? They would have been better prepared. James hardly knew anything of the muggle world. How will he survive without magic?
"It's not okay, James," Sirius roared. Turning to the panel, he started, "The man just lost his family. Forgetting all that, he is trying to give an orphan girl a home, a family and love. And all you are bothered about is Secrecy? Does human life even matter to you or not?"
Remus tried his level best to make Sirius calm down, but in vain.
"I am not going to stop, Remus. I am watching this circus for quite some time now. What do you all want? That Hermione should not be told about magic. We will not tell her. But you cannot ask us to renounce our magic. We cannot give up magic. It's a part of us. You are the one forcing us to lie to the girl. Don't give me that bullshit about muggles not bound to vows. We all know there are such vows available."
There was an audible gasp from all the five members of the panel. James looked confused and Remus hung his head down. This was getting worse.
"Spoken like a true Black," one of the wizards sneered. "We could have expected nothing less from you."
"I am a Black, thank you very much," Sirius sneered right back.
"So, you don't mind using DARK MAGIC on a little girl?" one of the witches asked.
"Just like you don't mind a wizard renouncing his magic," Sirius answered coolly.
"He is doing that on his own wish," someone shouted.
"She will do the same, once she is of age for a vow."
"That means waiting till she is ten!"
"Yes," Sirius answered. "Till then she won't be allowed interaction with any muggle. We'll move to Hogsmeade – a wizarding village. We will have wards against muggles. If you want, you can put them up. We will live in solitude if you want us to. But James will not renounce his magic."
"What's the big deal, Sirius?" James shouted at his friend. He had no idea why Sirius was behaving this way.
There was no doubt James was intelligent and sharp when it came to studies, but he was a dunderhead when it came to pureblood rites and rituals.
Sirius, on the other hand, had these things hammered into his head. Whether he liked it or not, he had all the knowledge of rites, rituals and vows of purebloods and dark magic.
Sirius closed his eyes in exasperation. "Once you renounce your magic, it's gone. From you, from your future generations. You can never get it back, even if, by some miracle, Hermione turns out to be magic. Since you belong to a pureblood family, it might put your life into danger. Who knows you will be able to survive without it or not! It will endanger your very being, Mr. Potter."
This time, James' eyes did widen. He must have assumed renunciation of magic as simple choice of living without magic.
"Sirius is right, James," Remus said softly. Thank Merlin, Hermione had fallen asleep and he had put a silencing charm around her.
"We will come back to this point later, Mr. Potter, while Miss Jones analyses the options given by Mr. Black," the hoarse voice interrupted. "What do you have to say about the guardians you have chosen for Hermione? To me, it looks like you don't want her for long."
James glared at the speaker before gritting out with great effort, "What do you mean?"
"A werewolf as a guardian? A Black as a godfather? We saw just a moment back how volatile he can get."
"Maybe you ignored the fact that Sirius was fighting for her only," James answered coldly. "We have been living with Remus for nine years now. I have never seen him harm even a spider, let alone a human. You can ask Dumbledore about him."
That definitely shut the inquisitor for a moment. "And, Black?"
"I really don't have anything to say about that," James answered. "He is my best friend for the last nine years. I am pretty sure I know him better than you all do."
"You knew Peter Pettigrew quite well also, Mr. Potter," a witch sneered.
"You are crossing your limits, Miss," Sirius growled.
"And I have borne the responsibility of my actions," James answered quietly, cutting-in Sirius' tirade. "I am responsible for what happened that night. Those were dark times and I guess I can understand why Peter did what he did. There isn't much of a choice when Voldemort is after you. I might have handed my friends on a platter over to Voldemort, had my family been threatened."
Remus' eyes moistened. This was definitely getting ugly. Though he was angry at Dumbledore, he wanted him to be here. He would definitely know what to do in this situation.
As if the heavens answered his wish, the doors to the chamber opened with a bang and Dumbledore came striding in. Remus rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn't a dream.
Dumbledore was in his usual flamboyant but formal attire, smile on face and twinkling eyes. Behind him was a scowling … Severus Snape?
Definitely not a dream.
Everyone was staring at the interruption. Hoarse voice cleared his throat.
"What are you doing here, Albus?"
"I apologise I am late," Albus answered cheerfully.
"Late?" a witch asked. "What he meant was why you are here, Albus."
"I am applicant's counsellor, Ms Wainwright," Albus said. "That's why I am here. It's all in the papers."
There was a shuffling of papers as Severus and Albus settled down.
The flow of the interrogation had been disturbed and it took some time for the panel members to get back to the hearing.
"Mr. Potter, you must be clear by now that the panel is obviously not happy with your choice of guardians for the muggle girl,"
"Why, may I ask?" Dumbledore interrupted politely.
The panel members were clearly irritated by the interruption. "Well, a werewolf and a dark wizard clearly don't make the right combination for a happy family."
"I would like to correct you, Mr. Nothan," Dumbledore said. "Remus Lupin had been a Hogwarts student for seven years and never ever had he put any living soul in danger. You would rather hear stories about his helping nature, should you decide to investigate."
A moment's pause.
"Sirius Black, on the other hand, has proved himself on many occasions, starting with the sorting ceremony itself. He has always been open about his differences with his family and their beliefs. I hope everyone remembers that he was disowned by his family three years back, quite publicly."
There was a complete silence as everyone heard Dumbledore speak.
"However, the discussion here is quite irrelevant. It is a personal matter of the family. Law can only decide whether the applicants are sound enough for the adoption. Their relatives and friends are not a concern for the law."
Dumbledore quietly took his place. Sirius looked smug, James relieved and Remus had a small smile on his face.
The hearing took place for another fifteen minutes before the dreaded topic came back.
Ms. Wainwright looked pointedly at Dumbledore before mentioning her question to James. "Mr. Potter, I don't think we can follow Mr. Black's suggestion as far as muggle-magic difference is concerned."
"Why not?"
"We can't allow dark magic on a little girl. It might have long lasting consequences."
"There is another way around it," a silky voice drawled.
Nine pair of eyes turned to the source. Severus Snape was seated in the last line and looked bored. There was nothing on his face that showed that he had spoken.
"Will you be clearer, Mr…"
"Snape," Snape offered.
"Mr. Snape."
"Yes, why not," Severus said.
Everyone waited for an explanation but none came forth. Remus had to suppress a smile.
"Mr. Snape?" Hoarse voice was clearly irritated.
"Yes?"
"I asked you to be clearer."
"No. you asked whether or not would I be clearer."
Even Sirius stifled laughter.
"Please provide us an explanation, Mr. Snape," Wainwright gritted out.
Severus took his time standing up and facing the panel. "If Hermione is bound to James through a small dark ritual, then she can be bound to Secrecy, much the same way as squibs and magical kids are."
"But there will be dark magic involved!" a witch cried.
"On an adult," Severus answered. "On consent. With prior permission from Ministry."
"What is he talking about?" Sirius whisper-asked Remus.
Remus shrugged. He had no idea what was going on.
"Let me make the case a bit clear," Dumbledore had risen from his seat. "Severus Snape is a Potions Master. Few days back he submitted a potion, which along with a ritual, refines our magical adoption procedure. It binds non-magical children to our magical world the way normal wizard children are, an important point lacking in the system till now."
"I haven't heard of any such procedure?"
"The ritual requires blood of the parties involved and a dark spell on the adult to bring the relationship to an effect," Dumbledore continued, silencing the panel. "That's the only reason it has been categorised as dark magic. You have not heard of the procedure till now because it was being reviewed by the Research Committee. It was passed just today; in fact, thirty minutes back to be precise."
Silence followed this information.
"When was it submitted?" Wainwright was fuming now.
"Two days back," Severus drawled.
Sirius and Remus looked at each other. That was the same day they decided to adopt Hermione. They glanced at James who had done the same calculation and was looking at Severus in an odd way.
The interrogation didn't continue for long. The panel asked them to leave so that they could give their decision in half an hour, but they almost knew the decision. Why, Dumbledore had even gotten the permission for the adoption ritual as well!
"That was great," Sirius said cheerfully once they were all out of the chamber. "The look on Wainwright's face was just … awesome! Priceless!"
"Severus did a great job," Dumbledore mentioned unnecessarily.
"Where did he go?" James asked. Severus was nowhere to be seen.
"You didn't hope that he will stay behind for your acknowledgement, did you?" Remus asked quietly.
"Well," James said uncertainly. "I hoped he will let me thank him."
"I m just shocked he did something to help us," Sirius muttered. "How did you manage it?" the question was, of course, directed to Dumbledore.
"He was already working on this project. I just had to request him to speed up the process. I think his reasoning was to clear the life debt James has on him."
"I don't have any life debt on him!" James immediately protested. "I mean, I never had any intention to call him on it."
"He doesn't forget easily, James," Dumbledore said kindly. "Especially things concerned with you all."
Remus wasn't sure whether that statement was meant to be reassuring or a rebuke but they all knew that the Marauders owed to Severus Snape – their arch-rival.
Of course, you have to tell me how the chapter was. Dont be shy my honey, go ahead.
