Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Harry Potter or Oh My Goddess
Author's note: this chapter has been reposted, because somebody pointed out that I had made a major blunder regarding the canonical events surrounding the confrontation between Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew that resulted in Black going to prison for twelve years. Thanks to Shinvitya for pointing out my gaffe.
For the household of the newly formed Odinsdotter-Morisato-Potter family in Hinckley, the day began fairly normally. Though considering that said family was by that stage experiencing its fifth morning since the arrival of its latest member, normality was something that was still being explored.
It is amazing just how much we have achieved since we picked up Harry on Friday. Urd thought to herself as she walked to the dining room. Then again, when you have three goddesses working with the full support of the Ultimate Force, it isn't that surprising. Empires have been toppled with less than that.
There was still a lot left to do. Mundane items on the "to do" list included such trivialities like getting an architect in to remodel the old church into something more useful than a big over-decorated hall. Sitting next to minor details like that were things like Urd starting down the road towards establishing her own potions shop in the magical world. And, of course, the next big ticket item in the overall plan to keep Harry safe from any people who might seek to exploit and control him.
Belldandy needs to go to Diagon Alley today and visit Gringotts. We have to get control over the Potter accounts, and Belldandy is now Harry's official guardian. The goblins won't talk to anyone else. Urd thought. She's also the best person to send as she is the least likely to get annoyed with the little bastards and start handing out attitude adjustments.
Urd did not get on well with goblins. Skuld had no experience with the race, but Urd had no doubt that her youngest sister's patience would be exhausted within 5 minutes of stepping into Gringotts. Belldandy, on the other hand, was a master diplomat and had the patience and the skills of persuasion to get what they wanted without any trouble.
It looks like Skuld will be looking after Harry again today. Though he could do with some recreation, the poor kid needs to learn what it is like to be a child. I know he never got the chance to do that with the Dursleys.
There was one other small detail to be completed today. The mysterious arrival of another package in her room overnight laid the framework for the next task.
Though I must say I was surprised to see what they sent. I have a feeling that father had a hand in this.
The Ministry of Magic is not usually a very efficient place.
This is due to the usual maladies that all bureaucracies are vulnerable to. Of course, the fact that the society of magical Britain has not really cottoned on to the idea of audits just makes things worse.
Promotions are rarely made on the basis of merit, nepotism and cronyism being the principal drivers. The decision making process had two guiding influences depending on the seniority of the person making the decision - managers always had their own promotion path and job security at the forefront, while junior workers tended to follow the rulebook religiously in order to avoid becoming a scapegoat for the myriad of errors, mistakes and complete cock-ups that were the norm for the day to day operations of the Ministry.
As the root causes of those blunders (management) were rarely punished for making them, the system was never corrected and the whole process became mired in incompetence, cowardice and blatant corruption.
Of course, any inefficient system could be made to work. It just took a powerful person who had enough authority to threaten entire careers to start issuing orders. When that happened, lots of things could be achieved in a very short time period. Rich wizards like Lucius Malfoy did it all the time, using a carrot (bribery) and stick ("the Minister won't like this") approach. It was this tendency for the bureaucratic sheep to follow orders that had allowed Amelia Bones to go from knowing nothing about Sirius Black's case to holding a trial for him in a little less than 48 hours.
I've only had to sack one useless incompetent so far. Everybody else has been remarkably cooperative since then, as well as hard working. Amelia thought to herself with a wry smile. Fortunately she was only dealing with her own personal fiefdom, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In the DMLE, her word was law, and when she said jump people touched the ceiling.
Well, she also had to deal with the Wizengamot. But as she was a member of that august body of the wisest wizards and witches of Britain (she could actually think that through without cracking a smile, such was her self-control) this did not present any great difficulties.
Now she was taking her usual seat in the main Wizengamot meeting hall. This was not the usual place for trials to occur, which was a deliberate misdirection on her part. Using a court-room would have been more convenient, but the main hall would keep the true nature of this emergency session obscure.
She even had the prisoner's chair from Courtroom 10 waiting to be brought in for the event. She had carefully stage-managed the entire process with Scrimgeour, and was confident that the appearance of Sirius Black would be a surprise to whoever had conspired to keep him silent.
Now to get things moving. Dumbledore had settled behind the Chief Warlock's desk, and the roll call had been complete. Today had seen a full turn-out of the Wizengamot; all 50 members were seated, as well as Minister Bagnold, Amelia herself and Dumbledore. Apart from the Court Scribe who would take the official record, nobody else would be allowed in.
Until the trial starts, that is... Amelia thought darkly. Dumbledore gave the traditional three blows of the Chief Warlock's "staff" (a purely symbolic item, as it was no more magical than the average rock) and started the usual ceremony that Wizengamot meetings required. Amelia tuned it out as she mentally reviewed her notes.
Once we're in session, the game will begin. We'll just see how many people in here are left standing once we're finished.
Breakfast was over, Keiichi had left for work (muttering about bike clubs) and the process of cleaning up after the meal had been concluded. Harry had retreated to the bathroom to complete his morning ablutions, giving the Norns a few minutes to discuss the day's plans in private.
"There's a few things we need to talk about," Urd stated, "the first of which is that you're going to be looking after Harry this morning, Skuld."
"Why me?" Skuld asked curiously. She didn't mind, but she was going to be quite busy.
"I have more business at the Ministry today, and Belldandy has to visit Gringotts to get control of the Potter family accounts. We should be back by lunch time." Urd replied.
Skuld nodded. "OK, I was going to dismantle that old shed today and get started on building my new lab. Admin says that they won't deliver the simulation gear until I have some place adequate to store it, so I have to get the lab built ASAP."
Belldandy spoke up. "Do take some time to do something more relaxing, dear. Harry needs to learn how to have fun."
"I was going to suggest that myself," Urd put in, "try some board games and maybe some video games. Go easy on him, you've had a lot more practice at these things than he has."
"Can do!" Skuld chirped happily.
"We'll discuss the soul fragment after lunch. I've got some ideas about the wider implications that I want you two to think about, but it can wait. In the meantime, there's a crucial bit of work we need for our cover stories." Urd said.
"What is it, Urd dear?" Belldandy asked calmly.
Urd picked up a bag she had brought to the dinner table and showed its contents to her sisters. "Everybody in the magical world here uses a wand. We need wands to fit in, and it would look suspicious if three witches our age were purchasing their first wands here. So we'll have to make our own. I sent a requisition for instructions and appropriate construction materials - they arrived over night. Grab the package with your name on it - it contains wood for the wand plus the instructions."
Skuld looked puzzled. "Wands need a core, right? Did they send those as well?"
Urd looked around, and heard the tell-tale sound of water moving through pipes that indicated that Harry was still in the bathroom. "I've already gone through the instructions they sent. This is what they suggested for wand cores."
With that, Urd called forth her angel, World of Elegance. Urd turned to face her angel, who daintily held out two feathers - one from each wing. Urd gently caressed her angel's cheek for a moment, before she accepted the feathers. World of Elegance withdrew back into Urd as she turned to face her sisters again.
"The experts are all in agreement - the best match we can get for wand cores is to use feathers from our own angels. They suggest two feathers, one from each wing. They've sent ash wood for the main body." Urd explained.
"Ash? Is it from-" Skuld started to ask before she was cut off by Urd.
"No. I think this comes from some of the trees in father's private garden. Be careful with it, and keep all of the scraps left over. We'll send it back once we've finished - that stuff is too powerful, magically, to keep around here where some hack wand-maker might find it."
Belldandy and Skuld both nodded in agreement.
"OK, I think we all know what to do. Any questions?" Urd said.
"Just one. Why are you giving us orders?" Skuld asked.
"I'm giving orders because Belldandy has asked me to coordinate our insertion into the world of magical Britain while she concentrates on looking after Harry." Urd said bluntly. "You just don't have the practical field experience to be able to handle this type of work yet. You will one day, but right now this job is too important for us to take the time to teach you as we go. Sorry, kid, but that's the way the cookie crumbles this time around."
Skuld looked annoyed, but softened when Belldandy put a hand on her shoulder.
"Urd is correct, dear sister. She has the experience and knowledge to be able to handle all the details required to establish our identities here. I would do it, but Harry needs most of my attention right now. You need more training and experience before you can tackle a task of this complexity."
Skuld's expression was unreadable. "OK. More incentive to get that simulator gear set up, I suppose."
"That's the spirit!" Urd said in what was an encouraging tone for her. "Now let's get to it."
The Chief Warlock had finished the traditional rites that were involved in opening a session of the Wizengamot. As this session had been called as an emergency session the process had been somewhat shorter than normal.
Wow, a mere 10 minutes of boredom rather than 20, Amelia thought cynically, Merlin help us if we ever have to call an emergency session when there's an actual emergency.
"We have been called here for an emergency session of the Wizengamot," Dumbledore said, "called by the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Amelia Bones. Madam Bones, could you please inform the Wizengamot of the reason behind this emergency sitting?"
The Director stood up and addressed the room. "My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have called this session in order to address a significant issue of concern that threatens the very bedrock of our legal system."
There was a stir amongst the assembled Wizengamot members, and Amelia took a moment to marshal her thoughts.
"On Monday of this week, a concerned citizen requested to view the trial records for one Sirius Black the Third, who has been in Azkaban prison since 1981 for the crime of murdering one Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles. This sort of request is not common but is hardly unheard of, and as such we in the Department were inclined to let them view the records. Unfortunately, there was a major obstacle."
Amelia paused, leaning forwards and placed her hands on the lectern in front of her.
"There are no records for the trial of Sirius Black. They do not exist in the Wizengamot archives or the Department archives. I even checked the Principis Carta thoroughly. It does not contain any mention of Sirius Black appearing before this body at any point after the 31st of October 1981.
"I directed the Auror Office to find the record of Sirius Black being charged with the crimes he is infamous for. I was shocked to discover that no such record exists. There is only one conclusion that explains this discrepancy."
Madam Bones straightened up. "Sirius Black the Third has spent the past eight years in Azkaban prison without having been charged or tried. As much as we might despise him for his despicable acts, this represents the most flagrant violation of our judicial code in living memory."
The reaction from the Wizengamot was roughly what Amelia had expected - pieces of parchment were thrown in the air while people shouted and gesticulated. The Director of the DMLE turned to the Chief Warlock, who nodded and struck the ground with the Chief Warlock's staff. The magically amplified sound brought the session back to order.
"This is a serious matter that you have brought before us, Madam Bones. Can you please explain to this body why it merited an emergency session?" Dumbledore asked. Amelia could tell that the Chief Warlock had already figured out why the issue was so important.
"Certainly, Chief Warlock." She turned back to face the assemblage. "Allowing Sirius Black to be imprisoned without trial sets a dangerous precedent. It would leave open the opportunity for the abuse of power, for people to dispose of their opponents under the cloak of our justice system. There is not a wizard or witch here today who is safe from this sort of activity. We must ensure that it not happen again, and we must grant Sirius Black a trial today in order to uphold our code of justice."
There was visible fear on the faces of some of the assembled members. Amelia wondered if it was a fear of what Black might reveal on the stand or of being sent to Azkaban by a political rival.
"I have already directed the Auror Office to conduct a complete audit of all prisoners currently held at Azkaban with a view to proving that they are all there legally. Today, however, we must address the problem we have already identified. To that end," Amelia turned to Dumbledore again, "I call on the Chief Warlock to yield control of this session to myself in my position as Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
Dumbledore's reply came without hesitation. "Granted."
"Thank you, Chief Warlock." Amelia turned back to the main body. "I now call Sirius Black the Third to stand trial for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles on the third of November, 1981. Bring the accused before the court."
The main doors to the hall opened, and a pair of Aurors escorted a hunched over figure in. They were followed by another pair of Aurors who were carrying the prisoner's chair from Courtroom 10.
"Presiding over this trial will be myself, in my role as Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Madam Bones stated, "appearing for the prosecution is Mr Albert Haddock from the legal firm Haddock, Haddock, Haddock and Haddock."
The named individual entered behind the Aurors. He was not a member of the Wizengamot, and had been chosen for his legal acumen. Repeated attempts to establish a Ministry Prosecutor's Office under the DMLE had been quashed for decades.
"Appearing for the defence is Mr Ernest Wise, who has been the legal counsel for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black for over 20 years."
The named person came in last, and hurried over to the small table that had been set up for him. He did not look particularly happy, no doubt wondering just how representing somebody who had volunteered to take Veritaserum before even seeing a barrister would work out.
The prisoner's chair was placed in the centre of the room, and Sirius Black was chained into it. Clerks started to circulate through the chamber, handing out documents to the members. As this occurred, Minister Bagnold hurriedly motioned to Dumbledore and Bones. They both moved closer to the Minister.
"Is this really necessary? Black is a Death Eater and a murderer, must we really waste everybody's time proving it?" The Minister asked testily.
"Minister, one of the few rights our society sees fit to grant is that a person must be convicted in a court of law before they are punished," Dumbledore intoned severely before Amelia could jump in with some choice remarks, "failure to do so represents a grave injustice and sets a dangerous precedent. I do hope that you are not going to try and halt this trial from taking place, because if you did..."
"...we would be compelled to move a motion of no confidence in you." The Director of the DMLE finished. "We are servants of the law, Minister, and we must obey them."
The Minister glowered, but moved back to her chair. Amelia turned back to the main room, which had settled down again. She cleared her throat and picked up the gavel that was the symbol of her office as the judge.
She struck the table with her gavel once, and glanced around all assembled. "I hereby call this court to order. Today we have before us the case of Regina versus Sirius Black III. The accused is charged with the murder of a wizard and twelve muggles. How does the defendant plead?"
"Not guilty." It was Sirius Black's first contribution to the proceedings, and it caused a stir. Amelia struck the table with her gavel again.
"Silence in court. I am given to understand that the defendant has agreed to testify under the effects of Veritaserum. Is this correct?"
Mr Wise looked up hopefully. This was the only chance he had to get his client out of being questioned under the influence of the famous truth potion, as Sirius had not signed any agreement before entering the court. Sadly for him, his client's tongue was faster than his own.
"That is correct, Madam." Sirius replied with a confident smile.
"Very well. I call for an experienced Healer to administer the potion, and to verify that the potion is working."
Another Healer who was unfamiliar with the case moved forward and administered the required three drops of potion. After a few quick charms, the Healer turned to Madam Bones.
"May it please the court, I confirm that the subject is under the influence of Veritaserum. There is no indication whatsoever that he is resisting or that he is capable of resisting its effects."
Bones smiled slightly. Now for the first move in the end-game. Time to implicate some Death Eaters. "Let the record show that the defendant is now under the influence of Veritaserum, and is incapable of telling a lie. Would the prosecution like to question the defendant?"
"Yes, thank you, Madam." Albert Haddock stated, rising to his feet and doing his best to project an image of a powerful and competent lawyer. He moved to an area just to one side of Sirius Black.
"What is your name?"
"Sirius Black the Third."
"What is your address?"
Belldandy entered the main foyer of Gringotts Bank with all the grace and self-assuredness that she would have had when entering her own kitchen. She was a Goddess first class, second category, unlimited license and was not in the least bit intimidated by the show of strength the goblins had on display.
Of course, the idea of a confrontation requiring force had not even crossed her mind. Belldandy walked calmly through the bank's lobby completely certain that she would get what she needed just by asking. It helped that she had all the relevant paperwork to back her case.
She walked up to a bank teller who at that moment had no customer. The goblin did not look up as he growled out his customary greeting.
"Yes? What do you want, human?"
Belldandy just smiled, being careful to keep her teeth hidden. "I wish to have a private meeting with the goblin in charge of major accounts. My business today requires discretion."
"Name?" The goblin barked.
"Belldandy Odinsdotter."
"Wait here." The goblin marched off with a disgruntled look on his face. Belldandy waited patiently, taking the time to admire the architecture of the building. The teller returned shortly, accompanied by a better dressed goblin who looked even more disgruntled than the teller.
"What business do you have with Gringotts, human?" The new goblin asked testily.
"My business requires some discretion, and should not be discussed in the lobby. Can we perhaps retire to a private room?" Belldandy asked sweetly.
The new goblin growled under his breath for a moment, before he turned sharply. "Come." He said briefly, and strode off. Belldandy followed behind, matching his pace without ever looking hurried.
Eventually the goblin opened a door that could not be seen from the main lobby, and went inside. Belldandy followed, and saw that the area behind the door was arranged as a small conference room. The goblin sat down without ceremony, and turned a baleful glare on the Norn of the Present.
"I am Account Manager Gornuk, one of three goblins here at Gringotts responsible for major accounts. What business do you have with me, human?"
Belldandy seated herself with far more grace than that displayed by Gornuk. "I am Belldandy Odinsdotter, and as of Friday the 23rd of June of this year, I am the principal guardian of Harry James Potter in both the magical and non-magical worlds. I am here to request that you hand over all keys for vaults held for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." She produced several pieces of parchment and handed them over. "These are certified copies of the certificates that verify that I am the guardian for Harry James Potter."
Gornuk snatched up the paperwork with a snarl, and subjected it to vigorous scrutiny. Eventually he picked up a small bell and rang it, resulting in a goblin opening the door and sticking his head in.
"Bring me a clerk to verify the validity of these Ministry documents." Gornuk half shouted in gobbledegook. Belldandy knew the language fluently, but did not give any indication that she had understood the order.
The door slammed shut, and silence reigned for 10 minutes. Eventually, a new goblin arrived. Gornuk gestured to the paperwork without speaking, and the new goblin examined the documents carefully. Eventually he threw them on the table.
"They are all true, certified copies, sir. There is no fakery here."
Gornuk nodded and gestured irritably. The clerk withdrew from the room as rapidly as he had entered. Gornuk glared at Belldandy with a gimlet eye.
"It will take us time to retrieve the existing keys from the previous guardian. You can wait for them or we can create new keys for a small fee."
Belldandy's smile did not waver. "According to your own regulations, changes of key required due to a change of legal guardianship for an underage wizard or witch shall be made without a fee. Please provide me with all new keys before midday. There will be no charge for this."
Gornuk scoffed. "Show me the regulation, human. There will be a fee of 10 galleons per key changed."
Belldandy reached into her bag and withdrew a large book. She quickly flipped through to a bookmarked page, which she held out for Gornuk's perusal.
"Here is the regulation. This is a copy of your own regulations, in the original gobbledegook. There will be no charge, and you will have the keys ready by midday."
Gornuk stared at the book with a degree of disbelief. This human could read gobbledegook? He shifted his gaze back to Belldandy to try to extort some penalties, when he noticed her eyes.
Belldandy was smiling warmly and was exuding an air of gentleness, but deep in her eyes was something that hinted of a will harder than diamond. Gornuk assessed his options and decided that discretion was the better part of valour.
"Very well. I will have the keys ready by 11 o'clock. If you would care to wait here..."
"That will be acceptable." Belldandy said, reaching into her bag and withdrawing some knitting. "Have a profitable day, Account Manager Gornuk."
As he left the room, Gornuk made a mental note to write a report on this human and submit it to his superiors. She could be trouble in the future.
Urd exited the Ministry of Magic with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she had all of the accreditation required to legally operate as a Potions Master in magical Britain. On the other hand, the process had taken so long and had been so inefficient that her mood had been thoroughly soured.
Not even Mother could come up with something that atrocious, Urd thought to herself as she walked in the general direction of Diagon Alley.
Now that she had the requisite licence, she had the joyful task of finding an appropriate shop to work from. She wasn't looking forward to this at all, something told her that the magical world probably didn't have anything useful like a real estate agent.
A bit more than an hour later found Urd surprised, as she discovered that there was a magical real estate agency operating in Diagon Alley. The problem was trying to convince the agent that a foreigner was actually allowed to purchase land in Britain.
"No, I don't want a leasehold. I want to purchase the freehold of a shop in Diagon Alley and own it. I will need to make extensive renovations to bring it up to my standards, and I don't want to have to mess around with lease terms to do it." Urd explained for what felt like the 20th time that day.
"But Miss Odinsdotter, that is by far and away the most expensive option! I have a number of people with empty shops to lease who would be more than accepting of any changes you might want to make..." The agent said in what he thought was a persuasive tone.
"Not accepting enough. Show me something I can buy outright or I'm leaving." Urd said abruptly.
There was a small pause, before the agent reached into a drawer and pulled out a dusty piece of parchment.
"I do have one available, part of an estate sale. It hasn't been touched due to the price, and the executor of the estate is not permitted to lease the property. Would you like to look at it?"
"Sounds good," Urd said, "let's get to it."
The Norn of the Past hoped to be finished by lunch time, as she wanted to get her wand finished before dinner. She was already behind on her schedule, but she should be able to get everything done...provided nobody had a heart attack when she bought a prime piece of Diagon Alley real estate with cash.
Albert Haddock knew his job. The first thing he had done was establish for the record that the person he was prosecuting was actually the right man and not a patsy using polyjuice. Such an event had happened in the past, so it paid to check.
Now that it had been proven that the person chained to a chair in the middle of the Wizengamot's main chamber was actually Sirius Black III, he could get to the heart of the matter.
"Mr Black, did you kill Peter Pettigrew on the 3rd of November, 1981?" Veritaserum was lovely stuff, not only did it force somebody to tell the truth but the rules regarding its use also did away with those pesky "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I might convict myself" regulations as well. He could convict Sirius Black by forcing a confession. He noticed Black's counsel looking defeated, and suppressed a smirk. Sorry, Ernie, but you were always going to be working uphill on this one...
"No, I did not." Black replied. Utter stillness gripped the Wizengamot. Haddock lost his composure briefly, but rallied. Time to broaden the question and remove the damn date, he might have tricked his mind into thinking the date of the murder was different.
"Mr Black, did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"
"No, I did not."
Suddenly the chamber was filled with the sounds of murmured conversation. Evidently the Wizengamot had not expected this type of answer.
Haddock rallied again. "Mr Black, did you in any way cause Peter Pettigrew to die?"
"No, I did not."
Haddock was flabbergasted. This was not what he was after. Amelia Bones had made it very clear what the objective was - get Black convicted properly, then direct questioning to have him reveal any information that might be used to convict other Death Eaters. Black denying his own crimes under Veritaserum was not part of the plan. It was time for plan B, which was a problem because there was no plan B.
"Healer, can you please re-verify that Black is under the influence of Veritaserum." In the circumstances, Haddock had no option but to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Veritaserum.
The Healer dutifully walked over and cast a series of charms. After a moment, he stepped back.
"May it please the court, I hereby re-verify that Sirius Black is fully under the influence of Veritaserum. I can only conclude that all of his answers to this point have been truthful."
With that report, Haddock's case disintegrated before his eyes. I can't get him for Pettigrew, but there were twelve muggles there too.
"Mr Black, did you kill twelve muggles on the third of November, 1981?"
"No, I did not."
Haddock turned to Bones with a questioning look. "Your honour?"
Bones hesitated, before the sound of somebody clearing his throat beside her caused her to turn around. Dumbledore gave her a brief smile.
"May I ask the defendant a few questions, Madam Bones? I think I might be able to speed things up a bit."
Amelia Bones turned to the prosecutor. "Mr Haddock? Do you yield to the Chief Warlock?"
Haddock hesitated, before he nodded. "On the proviso that I may be allowed to resume my questioning later."
"So ruled." Amelia struck the table with her gavel. "Chief Warlock, you may question the prisoner."
Dumbledore turned to the defendant. "Mr Black, is Peter Pettigrew dead?"
"I think so." Needless to say, the answer was confusing. Dumbledore pressed on.
"You think so, Mr Black?"
"Yes."
"But you don't know for certain?"
"No. I thought I saw him kill himself, but I never saw his body."
"Did you confront Peter Pettigrew on the 3rd of November, 1981?"
"Yes, I did."
"Who killed the twelve muggles at that meeting?"
"Peter Pettigrew did."
"Why was Peter Pettigrew's finger found at the scene?"
"I don't know. I thought it was left behind after the explosion."
"Wouldn't there be more of his body left behind if he had been killed by the explosion?"
"I don't know."
"Mr Black," the Chief Warlock began, before he paused. His next question might lead into awkward territory, but he felt it necessary. "Why did you pursue and confront Peter Pettigrew?"
"He betrayed James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who. He was a traitor."
There was an explosion of conversation with a few shouts thrown in for the measure. Amelia Bones hammered at the table with her gavel until order was restored.
Dumbledore turned to the Aurors who were notionally meant to be guarding the prisoner. "Could you please roll up the defendant's sleeves so that we may inspect his forearms?"
The Aurors moved forward and carried out the request. There was a distinct lack of any Dark Mark on either arm.
"Mr Black, are you now or have you ever been a Death Eater?" Albus asked.
"No, I have never been a Death Eater."
"Did you ever swear allegiance to Voldemort?" Dumbledore pressed, causing a chorus of gasps from the assembled.
"No, I never did."
"Did you ever obey any orders given to you by Voldemort or his followers?"
"No, I did not."
Dumbledore leaned back and turned to Amelia Bones. "I think that is pretty conclusive. What do you think?"
Amelia frowned. "We need to find out exactly what happened here. Mr Haddock," she called out. The prosecutor looked up.
Amelia continued, "Re-direct your questioning to find the truth of what happened on the 3rd of November, 1981 when Sirius Black confronted Peter Pettigrew. I believe we have all been labouring under a number of misconceptions."
Haddock nodded. This might take a while.
"OK, do you understand the rules now?" Skuld asked intently.
Harry paused. It seemed simple enough on the face of it, but he'd thought that about Monopoly as well. "I think so."
"Good!" Skuld said happily. "Let's play Mouse Trap!"
Harry looked at the multi-coloured pieces of plastic that seemed to be a big part of the game. It looked like the type of game Skuld would enjoy.
Urd walked out of her new shop with a satisfied air. After hours of dealing with the paperwork, she now owned her own shop. Well, the building at least, she would have to completely remodel the interior before she could use it properly. That would require a wand for the sake of fitting in.
She was only slightly surprised when Belldandy's voice appeared from across the road. "Ah, hello Urd. Have you finished with your business today?"
Urd turned to face her sister and nodded, walking over to join the Norn of the Present. "Yep. We just finished finalising the transaction. The shop is now mine." Though I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for it.
"Good! When will you open for business?" Belldandy asked curiously.
"Probably Monday next week. There's still some stuff to sort out before I can begin trading." Urd said thoughtfully.
"Wonderful! I myself have finished at Gringotts, I have everything we required from there. Shall we return home for lunch?"
Urd checked her mental clock and decided that it was probably about time to head back to Hinckley. "Sure. This afternoon we can take it in turns to watch our young cousin while we each finish that job I mentioned this morning. We can also figure out which architect we want to engage for the renovations. Is that OK with you?"
Belldandy nodded. "Certainly, Urd dear. Let us be away."
The Wizengamot had just recessed for lunch, but for some members it just meant more work.
Amelia Bones was busy giving orders. "Get descriptions of Peter Pettigrew to every Auror, and start working on posters and a press release. We'll almost certainly acquit Black this afternoon, the main sticking point now will be the compensation he is owed. Ernest Wise is like a pit-bull when it comes to that kind of thing, so I expect it will be tedious. Scrimgeour, can you handle getting a man-hunt for Pettigrew started?"
Rufus Scrimgeour nodded, but felt the need to clarify some things first. "Black said he thought Pettigrew was dead, do we really want to launch a man-hunt now?"
Amelia scowled. "I find it hard to believe that an explosion powerful enough to leave no remains other than a single finger would have only killed twelve other people and left Black relatively unharmed. Assume that Pettigrew is alive until we have firm evidence to suggest otherwise."
Scrimgeour nodded again. He was a very happy man at that moment, and the prospect of working through lunch didn't bother him. "I'll also instruct all Aurors to brush up on their animagus detection charms."
"Do it. In the mean time, somebody feed Black and get the residual Veritaserum flushed out of his system. He'll need to give more evidence this afternoon, and we'll want him freshly dosed for it. Shacklebolt, wasn't it? See to it."
"Yes ma'am." The nervous Auror said. He was one of the more junior members of Scrimgeour's hastily constructed squad, and was not used to working with staff this senior.
"Right, I need to get back in there and make sure the Wizengamot is happy. Don't disappoint me, any of you." With that, Madam Bones marched back into the Wizengamot chamber.
Scrimgeour smiled broadly as he went to start a search for one Peter Pettigrew, recently revealed to be a secret Death Eater, the betrayer of James and Lily Potter, and an unregistered animagus. Rufus' immediate superior just happened to be the Chief Auror, and that unfortunate soul had been a leading member of the team that had arrested Sirius Black in 1981.
By this time next month, that office will be mine. Complete with the hidden private bar.
At Hinckley, Harry was busy telling Belldandy about his morning. Urd had noticed that the old shed had been dismantled neatly and efficiently, a happy fact that she attributed to Banpei more than Skuld. Lunch was almost over, and Urd caught Skuld's eye. When Skuld raised an eyebrow questioningly, Urd moved her head gently towards the old church. Skuld nodded in understanding, as Urd turned to Belldandy.
"Bell, Skuld and I need to deal with something in the church. Can I impose on you and Harry to take care of cleaning up?"
Belldandy nodded. "OK, Urd. Will you be long?"
Urd shrugged. "Not sure, we'll know once we get there."
Once at the church, Skuld turned to Urd. "OK, what is it that we're keeping secret from Harry this time?"
"Wand making, beginner's course." Urd said simply. "Have you got the materials I gave you this morning?"
"Er, no. I left them in my room. Should I go get them?" Skuld said with a small blush.
"Yes, and hurry. The instructions give us a fast magical process that will make our wands for us without the need for pesky wood-working, so we should be able to get this out of the way quickly. I'll be waiting here."
A few minutes later, Skuld returned with the bag she had received that morning. Urd already had her piece of rowan wood out and on the floor, with her two angel feathers sitting on either side.
"Right, now watch this closely. You're still a beginner with magic, but this spell is crafted to work with your intrinsic power to shape the wand into a perfect match for you. Just pay attention to what I do, then I'll walk you through it before you try it for real. OK?"
Skuld nodded. "OK."
"Fine. Here we go..."
Belldandy and Harry had finished cleaning up after lunch, and had retired to the living room which had a TV arrangement in one corner.
"You said that you and Skuld played a few board games this morning?" Belldandy asked.
"Yes, it was cool." Harry replied.
"OK, let's try something a little different." With that, Belldandy turned on the TV before she reached for black box that was attached to the TV with some cables.
"This is a Sega Master System. We can play video games on it. Would you like to try?"
"Sure!" Harry said. Dudley had been given an Atari a year or two before, but Harry had never been allowed to touch it.
"This game is single player only," Belldandy explained, "so we'll take it in turns. I'll go first to show you how to play, then you can have a turn. OK?"
"OK." Harry agreed. He watched as the screen lit up with a title screen that had a car at the bottom of the screen. He glanced at the cartridge in the machine, which seemed to have "Out run" on it.
Urd finished her incantation, and opened her eyes to see her wand waiting for her. The wood had taken on a reddish tinge, while the wand itself looked like it contained some hidden power.
"Right, now to test it..." Urd muttered. She picked up the wand, and felt a small jolt as her innate magic formed a link with the angel feathers in the core. She gave an experimental wave, and was pleased to see sparks.
"This is a basic spell a lot of wizards and witches know around here, Skuld. Lumos!"
The tip of the wand lit up brilliantly. Urd quickly ended the spell with a "Nox" and set the wand down. She carefully gathered up the waste wood and placed it back in the bag it had come from.
"Ready to do it, Skuld?"
Skuld hesitated for a moment, before she nodded and began her own preparations. "No time like the present, I suppose."
"That's the spirit!"
Harry was finding that for all that she was a very warm, friendly and encouraging person, Belldandy was fiercely competitive when it came to this video game. She tackled every course as if the outcome was vitally important, and played with a look of absolute concentration. It was a marked difference from when Harry had a turn, as Belldandy was encouragement incarnate then.
"Well done, Harry! That was a good three seconds faster that time!" Belldandy said as Harry finished the latest stage.
It beats me why Dudley always got angry at his games, this is fun! Harry thought to himself.
Skuld finished her spell, and wiped the sweat off her brow. Her first attempt had been aborted early by Urd, who had spotted a major mistake that Skuld had made just a few seconds in. Fortunately no damage had been done, so she could start again almost immediately.
Now it was all over, and she had a complete wand in front of her. This time the wood had a slight tinge of blue to it. She glanced at her sister.
"Try it out, Skuld. If it didn't work we can always get more wood, and Noble Scarlet has more feathers if needed." Urd said in what was an encouraging tone of voice for her.
Skuld almost reluctantly picked up the wand, and felt a small rush as her magic connected to it. She waved it experimentally, and was rewarded with a small shower of sparks.
"Good! No need to cast any spells yet, those sparks are all the proof we need. Go and take over from Belldandy so she can come here and make her own wand."
"Are you going to stay?" Skuld asked.
"Yes. It is better to have an observer for this kind of thing, to help catch mistakes early. As you found out. Even Belldandy and I prefer to have somebody around to keep an eye on things."
Skuld paused. "What about me? Watching you?"
Urd sighed. "Yeah, you aren't quite qualified for that kind of supervisory role. Needs must, though - you needed to watch me do it to learn, and Belldandy needed to keep Harry occupied. It was a small risk that was hard to avoid."
Skuld swallowed down the small wave of irritation she felt. Right then she wasn't sure if it was at Urd or herself. She looked down at the wand in her hand, and wondered what she would do with it.
Urd caught the glance. "We'll make our own wand holsters for them. A favourite is one that secures it to the forearm with a quick release, allowing for fast access. You should be able to make something that will do the job in your sleep, so think it over."
Skuld nodded and walked off to find Belldandy. Plans for holsters were already circulating in her head.
Amelia Bones was very grateful that she had taken a mild anti-headache potion at lunch, as she was sure that without it she would have a major migraine by now. This whole damn mess lurches from one disaster to another.
"In light of all of the testimony and evidence presented to this court, I hereby move to dismiss all charges against the defendant. All in favour?"
There was a unanimous raising of arms. The court scribe dutifully recorded the result.
"All against?" There was no response this time.
"Has the honoured body decided upon the recompense owed to Sirius Black for his unjust treatment?"
A spokesman stood up. A small committee had been formed just after lunch to sort out the compensation that would be paid to Black for the 8 years that he had been unjustly imprisoned.
"We have, your honour. We recommend that a sum of 500,000 galleons be paid to Sirius Black in compensation."
Amelia suppressed a wince. She had a good idea which budget that money would come from. "All in favour?"
The vote was unanimous again. "All opposed?" Again, there was nobody willing to be identified as being an opponent to this.
"Very well. Sirius Black the Third shall be paid a sum of 500,000 galleons in compensation for his unjust imprisonment. His status as an unregistered animagus has been noted, however in light of his previous treatment he will be let off with no punishment listed on his record."
Madam Bones looked around the chamber and saw that nobody seemed inclined to argue the point.
"All matters now addressed, I hereby declare this court to be adjourned." She struck the table with her gavel, and turned to Dumbledore. "Chief Warlock, I cede control of this session to you."
"Noted." Albus said. He had a lot to think about, especially how Sirius might play a part in his plans to gain control of Harry. "Is there any further business to be discussed?"
Peneus Greengrass stood up, much to Dumbledore's surprise. "Chief Warlock, in light of the testimony we have heard today, I move that this body strip Peter Pettigrew of his Order of Merlin."
There was a brief pause, before the Chief Warlock gathered his wits. "We have a motion before us. Does the motion have a second?"
"I second the motion," Elphias Doge stated.
"Motion has been seconded, all in favour?"
There was another unanimous vote.
"All opposed?"
Nobody moved.
"The motion having been passed with no opposition, I hereby declare that Peter Pettigrew is hereby stripped of his Order of Merlin. Is there any other business?"
There was a pause. Nobody seemed inclined to keep this session going on any longer.
"Then I call this emergency session of the Wizengamot to be closed." With that, the Chief Warlock gave the traditional three blows of the Chief Warlock's staff.
That evening, Keiichi got back home in high spirits.
"I found a local motorcycle club that has a good junior riders program. Somebody at work has his son there, and recommended it. It is at the Mallory Park Motocross Track, which is not far from here."
"That's wonderful, dear," Belldandy said, "once Harry is confident on his bicycle we can get him started at that club."
"In the mean time, we can work on building him a suitable minibike." Keiichi enthused. He loved construction jobs like that.
Harry just blinked. He had received his first ever bicycle just the other day, and now they were talking about motorbikes already?
Keiichi was engaged in a life or death game of Mouse Trap with Harry while Urd dragged her sisters back to the church for a private discussion.
Urd stated the discussion. "We need to talk about that soul fragment. And what it implies."
"Yeah. How did a fragment of Voldemort's soul end up in Harry's scar?" Skuld asked.
Belldandy looked worried. "I think I know what is involved. Eir's notes suggest that Voldemort's soul was already badly damaged at the time that curse rebounded and struck him."
Urd nodded. "Yeah. Which gives us only one likely answer."
Skuld looked puzzled. "What's that?"
Urd looked uncharacteristically grim. "Horcruxes. A ghastly process which involves murdering somebody in cold blood to enable you to split your soul, storing a piece in an inanimate object. The idea was that it would prevent your soul from moving on if your body died."
Skuld was horrified. She looked over and saw that Belldandy appeared to be ill. "Splitting your own soul? What kind of monster does that?"
Urd shook her head gently. "Apparently, the type that would attempt to kill an 18 month child because of some undefined threat. The type who would relish in torture and murder."
Belldandy appeared to have brought her nausea under control. "It is the only thing we can think of that would have left Voldemort's soul in a position where it might fragment when he was struck with his own curse. The problem is that for his soul to be that...fragile...he must have made several horcruxes already."
"And that's the problem." Urd said firmly. "Harry won't be able to finish off Voldemort - and fulfil the prophecy - until all those soul fragments are gone. We don't know how many he made, what the horcruxes are or where they are stored."
There was a brief moment of silence, which was broken by Belldandy. "We do have one option. We can use the law of similarity to try and divine the location of Voldemort's soul fragments."
"Law of similarity?" Skuld asked.
"It is a basic law of magic," Urd explained, "it is the driving principle behind things like old curses that required you to obtain a sample of somebody's hair. By having a part of something, you could cast a spell that would work on all of that thing. In this case, we could divine the locations of all the parts of a soul by using the fragment we have."
"Unfortunately, it won't be very accurate," Belldandy said, "and I would need to perform the ritual several times, as the information would be temporary."
Skuld looked thoughtful. "Hold on, this is a form of divination, right?"
"That's right. Why?" Urd asked.
"Instead of Belldandy performing multiple divination rituals, why don't I adapt some of my prophecy code to do it for us? It should be a lot simpler overall, which would make it fast and easy to implement."
Urd and Belldandy glanced at each other. "That's a brilliant idea, Skuld! Well done!" Belldandy said enthusiastically.
Skuld glowed, but Urd was quick to pour cold water on the proceedings. "There are problems with that idea, kid. Your new code would be simpler, but divination is always code intensive. Running it on a remote terminal wouldn't work properly."
Skuld considered this. "You're right. What if I built a stand-alone local Yggdrasil computational unit that would run the code here? We wouldn't need Yggdrasil then, as the hardware would be right here."
"Could work," Urd allowed, "but what about the power requirements? Your tin can blew every fuse in the temple the first time you fired it up, remember? A local Yggdrasil unit would use a lot more power than that."
Skuld blushed heavily as she remembered Banpei's difficult birth, back before she had made his system efficient enough to run off a fuel cell of her own design.
"I was going to install a local generator anyway to run my simulation gear. I'll just make it big enough to handle both. And hey, if I'm making it that big I might as well run the house off it as well. We could save on our power bills."
Urd and Belldandy exchanged glances again. "Fine, go for it. Just run your code past Belldandy before you hook that soul fragment up to it, OK?"
Skuld nodded enthusiastically. "You can count on me!"
That's what worries me. Urd thought to herself.
Amelia Bones was having a late meeting with the Minister and Dumbledore. She glared at them both.
"OK, just who the hell fucked this one up? You were both running this place back when Black was incarcerated, what the hell were you thinking?"
Dumbledore jumped in ahead of the Minister. "Truthfully, Madam Bones, I had no idea that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. The Potters and their friends kept the details of their plan to remain hidden a closely guarded secret for fear of spies. I believed, like so many others, that Sirius was the traitor."
"That doesn't explain why he never got a trial." Amelia ground out.
"In the rush of events at the time, it never occurred to me to check up on it," Dumbledore admitted, "I assumed that the Aurors were doing their jobs properly. I was mostly working on individual tasks as they came to hand, I did not have the time to look at the bigger picture until well after Black was in Azkaban."
"How about you, Minister?" Madam Bones snapped, fixing Bagnold with a glare.
"I was like Dumbledore in that regard, overworked. I thought that Crouch was handling everything." Bagnold explained.
"Fine. I'll question Crouch about this tomorrow. In the mean time, you'll need to inform the Prime Minister about this mess, as we'll need muggle help to find Pettigrew."
"Is that really necessary? We don't actually know that Pettigrew is alive." Minister Bagnold asked plaintively.
"Yes," was the curt answer, "I find it hard to believe that an explosion powerful enough to leave nothing but a single finger behind would have left Sirius Black without so much as a scratch on him. We have to assume that the traitor is alive, and cut off his own finger to frame Black. Pettigrew could easily hide amongst the muggle population, so we need the muggle authorities to be on the look-out as well."
Bagnold winced. The Prime Minister would not be happy when the Minister of Magic dumped an 8 year old murder case on the muggles, with no excuse other than "we got the wrong guy and never tried him until this week".
I do hope the Prime Minister is in a good mood when I bring this to her attention, Bagnold thought to herself.
Urd was writing notes to herself before she went to bed. Most of the initial part of the plan had been achieved already, there was just a few more issues to go. Belldandy's wand had come out perfectly (not that Urd had expected anything else), with a definite trace of white colour in the wood.
Later on, Urd and Belldandy had performed a quick divination on a copy of Thomson Local. A quick pass with Belldandy's necklace had identified the likely best candidate for a good architect. Belldandy would pay them a visit the next day.
Belldandy had taken the opportunity to inform Urd of a new house rule.
"Urd, I know you use alcohol as your alternative energy source," Belldandy said seriously, "but I must insist that you only drink in your room. I do not want to see you drinking in front of Harry. Nor do I want Harry to see you when you are drunk. Understood?"
Urd had quickly agreed, realising that Belldandy was being deathly serious about the issue.
It makes sense anyway. In Japan everybody in the temple was over the drinking age apart from Skuld, who didn't count, so I could get away with it. Now I need to be aware of an impressionable young mind.
A more pressing need was sorting out Harry's future education. Urd figured that she and Belldandy had most of the magical and non-magical stuff in hand, but self-defence would be an issue.
Bell and I both tend to go airborne and use our native elemental powers for combat. She isn't happy fighting even when she knows it is necessary, and my style just won't suit Harry. The same is true for the Valkyries, all of them prefer hand-to-hand and airborne attacks. We need somebody else to teach Harry, but who?
Urd continued to mull over the issue while she prepared for bed. She had just ensconced herself in her King sized bed and was about to turn off the lights when a name entered her mind.
Oh. He'd be perfect. Well, his style is perfect. I just need to persuade him to help. And then I need to persuade my sisters to let him help.
Once he arrives...well, the only thing we might lose is our sanity.
More author's notes: Many thanks to everybody at Caer Azkaban who have helped me with Britpicks and general proof-reading.
Points to anybody who knows who Sirius' barrister is. Bonus points for whoever correctly figures out who the prosecutor was.
Oh, and the wands of the Norns. Classically, Yggdrasil was the tree on which all nine worlds rested. It was an ash tree, also known as rowan. So the Norns now have rowan wood wands (not made out of Yggdrasil wood, mind) with cores made from feathers from their own angels. Ollivander can eat his heart out.