AUTHOR NOTE:
First of all, thank you guys for waiting on me :D I had some serious plans to write this chapter over spring break, but only got about half-way through it and lost my inspiration. Luckily, its finished now and I have several people to thank for that! I must thank JK first and foremost for creating such a wonderful piece of literature, which I take no credit for or ownership of. I must also thank my Betas:
Storyteller042
malumingenium
Style Marshlovski
Skylar Tsukiyo
If it weren't for these four, this chapter would be seriously lacking! Once again, thank you guys for waiting. Now read and tell me what you think!
Also, be sure to check out 'the story so far' at the end of the chapter!
DISCLAIMER:
I write works of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. All characters used in the stories were created and owned by J.K. Rowling, I do not claim them as my own or claim the world they are represented in as my own. The stories I write are invented by me, and are not portrayed or believed to be part of J.K. Rowling's story. These stories are simply for entertainment purposes. I would like to thank J.K. Rowling for creating the magical world of Harry Potter, and introducing me to a story which continues to make an impact on my life today.
PREVIOUS CHAPTER:
Ginny and Harry have arrived back in time as Lily and James. They speak with Dumbledore and retrieve baby Harry.
Harry Raises Harry: Chapter Four
Harry had been getting surplus attention for being famous since he was eleven years old. He never really liked being famous but it was something he had to get used to since his name was branded world-wide. He had always thought the press was too concerned with what he was doing or who he was dating, but that was just another price to pay for his unwarranted popularity. He thought he had it pretty rough with the media as they always seemed to be hanging around; however, Harry could honestly say he'd never seen so many journalists and photographers in once place until he stepped out of the fireplace at the Ministry.
To his own personal enjoyment, he wasn't the center of their attention for once. Several meters to his left were at least fifty people either holding a quill and parchment or snapping photos of the Head Auror. Harry promptly ducked his head and turned his back to them. Other than the press, the Ministry was relatively empty, which was a truly unusual sight. For the few moments he had to wait on Ginny and his miniature self, he listened to what the media was so excited about.
"IS IT TRUE SIRIUS BLACK IS A MURDERER?"
"DID HARRY POTTER REALLY SURVIVE THE KILLING CURSE?"
"WHAT WILL YOU REPORT TO THE MUGGLE NEWS?"
"CAN YOU CONFIRM YOU-KNOW-WHO IS DEAD?"
"IS THERE ANY NEWS ON THE POTTERS?"
"WILL BLACK BE RECEIVING THE KISS?"
Harry sucked in his breath sharply. No, he thought, No, Sirius will not be receiving the kiss.
He knew, of course, Sirius survived Azkaban for thirteen years without a mention of a Dementor's kiss by the Ministry in the past timeline; but that didn't stop him from feeling a fiery ball of anxiety drop to the pit of his stomach. The consideration Sirius was in the presence of hungry dementors made him queasy.
Just then, Ginny stumbled out of the fireplace clutching the baby tightly, and Harry let out a sigh of relief. The sooner they could get to Sirius, the sooner Harry would feel a break in his apprehension. He only hoped the media wouldn't recognize them, as they would surely slow him down. He also wasn't prepared to answer their questions. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led them quickly in the opposite direction of the press.
"Keep your head low," Harry urged, "I don't want to draw attention to us."
She snorted, "As if walking around in your plaid PJs and my overly plush -and now much too short- bottoms isn't drawing attention."
He examined himself and then her, realizing how silly they looked. He proceeded to dig around for a wand to transform their sleep-wear to robes, forgetting he didn't have one on him.
After realizing his wandless state, he shrugged without argument and replied, "You have a point."
They turned a corner and were standing in front of the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the atrium. Ginny stole a glance at her surroundings and sighed.
"You know," she said, "the last time I saw this room so empty was when we broke into the Department of Mysteries."
Harry swallowed hard, remembering the events of that dreadful night.
"This time we are going to make the world know Sirius is an innocent man. He won't die like that again," he said determined.
She reached up to rub his arm soothingly, and the two of them continued to the lifts in silence. In the previous timeline, guests of the Ministry of Magic had to register their wands with the security desk. However, it appeared there was no security desk at the Ministry in their present time. Harry assumed that regulation had simply not been instilled yet. Harry decided it was just as well, considering neither he nor Ginny had a wand with them.
The two of them continued through the golden gates and down the lift in silence. They arrived on the floor of the Ministry courtrooms and instantly began checking each door. Each unused courtroom was left unlocked, so when they came upon courtroom number four, the only locked door, they knew Sirius was behind it. With no wand, Harry couldn't unlock the door, so he began frantically banging on it. After a few moments, someone on the inside flicked their wand and the door creaked open.
Harry looked over at Ginny and said, "Be prepared."
She nodded in response and stepped ahead of him. She pushed the door open and stepped into the courtroom. Harry heard a collective gasp as he followed her in. Harry noticed a few familiar faces, though only a handful of people were in the courtroom. Fudge, who Harry believed was the undersecretary to the Minister, stood with his mouth gaping like a fish, unsure what to make of it. Barty Crouch jumped to his feet, his face turning purple. Harry believed he was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement.
"Preposterous!" Barty shouted, "It is a guise! You did this, Black! You thought you could fool us? Well you are wrong!"
Harry held up his hand, trying to calm the man and requesting a chance to speak.
"Well?" Barty demanded.
Harry stole a glance at Sirius, who he had yet to look at. Sirius was staring at Lily and James with tears of relief rolling down his cheeks. Harry felt himself smile at the sight of his old friend. He turned back to Barty.
"Mr. Crouch, I assure you we are who we appear to be," the lie didn't feel like a lie as it rolled off his tongue. "We were attacked by Voldemort."
There was another collective gasp at the name. Harry forced himself not to roll his eyes as he continued, "He sent curses at Lily and I; he tried to kill Harry but something happened. I believe the curse somehow rebounded. Voldemort disappeared, and after a few hours the curses he'd put on us were lifted. While we were down, I suppose we appeared dead. Harry was missing when we woke. We instantly set out to find him. He was with Dumbledore. He now has a strange scar on his forehead."
Ginny stepped forward and pulled back the baby's hair to show his scar.
Harry could see an argument forming in Barty's mind, so he spoke again, "Dumbledore didn't believe it was us at first either. He knows now though, and if you don't believe us, I'm sure he'd vouch for us."
Barty thought for a moment and said, "How did you convince him?"
Harry could see clear suspicion written all across Barty's features. He thought quickly and carefully over his next words.
Harry cleared his throat before he replied, "Dumbledore ran a diagnostic test on us, to make sure our souls matched our bodies."
There was a murmur throughout the crowd. Barty said disbelievingly, "A diagnostic charm such as that is very powerful magic. Only the greatest of medi-witches and wizards can perform them."
Harry replied coldly, "Does it surprise you a great wizard such as Dumbledore can perform one?"
Barty began to turn purple in the face again. Harry watched as Fudge placed a hand on his arm and whispered something to Barty. Barty almost looked triumphant.
"Regardless, Sirius Black will be sent to Azkaban for life for indirect attempted murder on the Potters, the murder of Peter Pettigrew, and the murder of twelve Muggles."
"What!" Sirius shouted, speaking for the first time.
At the same time, Harry growled, "Without a trial?"
Ginny huffed and thrust the baby into Harry's arms. She stepped forward, "You incredibly daft man! We wouldn't be here if Sirius weren't innocent! Pettigrew was our secret keeper. HE is the one who betrayed us. HE is the one who turned dark. Sirius is innocent!"
"How do you explain the twelve Muggles and the death of Pettigrew?"
She turned back to Sirius, "Tell them what happened!"
Sirius chuckled at her demanding tone, "Yes Ma'am," he joked, "When I found out James and Lily had been betrayed, I went straight to Peter. I didn't know he was their secret keeper, I thought surely it was Remus Lupin. I went to Peter so we could mourn our friends together. When I found him, we were on a busy street. He began shouting at me, saying it was me who'd betrayed our friends. He shot a curse at the ground and the street began to crumble to pieces. We were surrounded by flames when he took out a knife and cut off his own finger. The he transformed into a rat and disappeared, leaving me there to take the blame." He added on as a afterthought, "I didn't even know he was an animagus."
Before anyone else could speak, Ginny threw her arms in the air, "You see! You can't send an innocent man to prison while we have reason to believe the true culprit is still out there!"
Suddenly, a very young Amelia Bones stood, "Barty, we have no evidence to charge him with and two people vouching for his story. We can only send him home."
Barty crouch glared at her, "Fine! Sirius Black, you are released. The Ministry thanks you for your cooperation. I better not see you in here again." He added the last sentence quietly, so only Sirius could hear.
Harry glared at him before handing the baby back to Ginny and going to help Sirius from his chair. As soon as Sirius was on his feet, he pulled his best friend into a tight hug.
"James," he said, "I can't believe you survived Voldemort. You'll be famous, you know."
Harry nodded, knowing very well how famous they would be. He was feeling quite tired, so he simply nodded and replied, "It's been a very long night."
Sirius patted James on the shoulder and turned to Crouch. "I expect a full investigation on Pettigrew. He will be brought to justice."
Crouch simply glared and nodded his head in response.
The group made their way back up the lifts. Harry was sure Sirius would have a lot to ask them, but he must have sensed their extreme exhaustion, because he remained silent. When they reached the atrium, the reporters had thankfully cleared out. They approached the fireplace and Harry cleared his throat to speak.
"We still need to run by Gringotts," he said with a yawn.
Sirius seemed to have expected as much because he replied, "I figured the Ministry would have sent all your belongings when they thought you were… erm… you know," he paused for a second, as if he were going to say something else, but finally addressed Lily instead. "I've been staying at the Three Broomsticks if you and the little one want to tag along while he gets your things. From what I understand the Godric's Hollow house was blasted to pieces."
Ginny nodded in relief, as she was practically swaying on her feet with the baby.
The two of them took off to the Three Broomsticks while Harry went to Diagon Alley. Harry stumbled out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and found the room to be overly packed with celebrating witches and wizards. Lucky for him, most of them were too drunk to notice him, so he kept his head down low. On his way to the back alley, he saw a cloak draped across the back of a chair, and decided it wouldn't hurt to temporarily borrow it. He pulled it over his clothes and the hood over his eyes.
When he reached the back alley, he found that it was empty. He tapped the brick wall and it soon revealed Diagon Alley to him. For a second, he wondered if he had accidentally come out of the wrong fireplace. The Diagon Alley before him was the most unfamiliar place he had ever seen. Every building on the street was blasted to pieces. As he made his way down the street, he observed places that existed in his own time. Flourish and Blotts had a caved-in roof, and there were books scattered out into the street. Ollivander's was similar. Other buildings were nothing more than large heaps of wood and brick. Even in the second war Diagon Alley was still a heavy shopping district, although somewhat desolate in times of fear. This Diagon Alley looked as if it hadn't been occupied in months. The only thing that remained constant was the large building at the end: Gringotts.
He made his way into the bank and approached the goblin at the back desk whose name plate read Ragnok. The goblin stopped scribbling on his paper and glanced down his nose at the man before him.
Ragnok observed him for a moment, then said, "While I would normally say you are a foolish imposter, I can see your aura. It is… interesting."
Harry nodded. He didn't know as much about goblins as Hermione would have, but he knew they always seemed to have the ability to read others. Harry had a feeling the goblins in the room knew he wasn't James, but wanted to establish a good relationship with them because he knew it would be impossible to pull off his ruse without their assistance.
Harry replied, "I think a rather rare event has occurred. I'd be happy to share this exclusive information, with your cooperation."
The goblin considered him for a moment and replied, "Very well."
Ragnok snapped his fingers and a small gold key flew forward. He handed it to Harry and the two of them made their way to the carts.
As they made their way down to the vaults, Ragnok said, "That is the key to your inheritance vault, Harry."
Harry, not surprised to hear his name used, said, "Yes, I recognize it from my time."
Ragnok considered this, then inquired, "Your time?"
Harry sighed and then went into explaining how he came to be where he was. He began by telling the goblin next to him about the prophecy that was made which initially led to Voldemort's curse backfiring. He then told him how he was sent to live with his muggle family members and only learned about his abilities when it was time to go to Hogwarts. His story progressed into the return of Voldemort and his gaining the upper hand, until Harry had no choice but to attempt to travel back in time and stop the second war before it ever began.
By the time he finished his story, the cart had come to a stop. He hadn't realized where they were going, only that the vault before him was not his own.
Harry began to ask, but before he could make inquiries Ragnok said, "This is the high security Potter family vault. Inside you will find heirlooms, gold, and other possessions such as those recovered from Godric's Hollow."
Ragnok ran his nail down the crack in the door and it slowly began to open. He stepped aside. "I'll allow you privacy in your vault."
Harry stepped inside, his eyes bulging. It looked like the Lestrange vault he had broken into, minus all the dark objects. Gold was piled high to the ceiling in one corner, much higher than what was in his inheritance vault. In another corner, he found old goblets, jewelry, and other items which must have held some value to his family.
On a stand in the back of the room, he found three things of interest. Two of them were wands. The third was merely a piece of paper with the words Deed Record written across the top. He read on to find the words Potter Estate, Wiltshire, England. There were more technical terms listed below, but Harry didn't bother to read them. All that mattered to him was he had a home. A place his family once lived. He gathered the two wands, the deed, and a trunk full of clothes. He shrank the trunk down and stuck it in his pocket before leaving.
On their way back up to the main floor, Ragnok turned to Harry and said, "I understand you need your rest for now, but perhaps in exchange for our discretion and secrecy you will come back and teach us more about how you travelled so far back in time."
Harry nodded in response, deciding it was a fair trade.
When he finally made it back to the Leaky Cauldron, he put the cloak back where he had found it. Just as he stepped into a fireplace, he heard someone shout, "Is that James Potter?"
Harry sighed just as his feet left the ground. He knew it would inevitably become public news.
AUTHOR'S FINAL COMMENTS:
I hope you enjoyed another chapter! This one is short, but it was necessary!
THE STORY SO FAR:
Chapter One:
(1997)Harry and Ginny escape battle with Voldemort. Ginny suggests time-travel.
Chapter Two:
(1997)The Order relocates. Hermione fixes the time turner.
Chapter Three:
(Halloween 1981)Ginny and Harry have arrived back in time as Lily and James. They speak with Dumbledore and retrieve baby Harry.
Chapter Four:
(Halloween 1981) Harry and Ginny help Sirius at the Ministry. Harry goes to Gringotts.