As Sirius's hand reached for the door, Amalthea felt her stomach do a flip, awaiting that horrid screeching. Her grandmother felt amused enough to share one day at tea that it was in fact a selkie's singing, a fact which seemed rather ironic. But even as skin touched ornate gold, it never came. And with an easy twist, the door opened to reveal the streets outside. Fearing this may be a dream, she hurried down the stairs, practically dragging Sirius with her.

Sirius didn't mind, talking calmly, "Now, the ministry is too far to walk. We'll probably have to take Bucky. He might be a bit testy about me leaving him in the woods behind the graveyard." She was barely paying attention, watching muggles walk by, taking in their strange clothes, "Uh huh..why don't we just apparate?"

"Uhh.. cause.." Sirius was suddenly sheepish, "..I can't?" It wasn't a lie, he simply couldn't. It was a rough time for him in sixth year, leaving home, and then making the biggest fuckup with his friends. He just didn't pay attention in class, so when the time came for him to take the test, he failed.

"Oh..well.." She turned to him, "Neither can I, so who's this Bucky person?"

He was grateful for her for brushing past it, squeezing her hand before leading her down the sidewalk, "He's just down this way, I left him tied to a tree. He had enough rats to survive the night, but he may be a bit nippy about missing breakfast."

She gave him a strange look, but he ignored it, leading her to the muggle graveyard. Instead of going into the gates, he guided them around, heading into the woods behind. They walked for some time, going further into the woods until they couldn't hear the sound of the street. Pushing the veil out of her face, Amalthea hiked up her skirt, looking at the bugs on the ground in disdain, "How much further?"

"Almost there." Sirius replied in a sing-song tone.

There was a squishing sound under her heel, causing her to lift her foot to see feces smeared on the underside, "Ewwww!" She whined, sounding more like her age, "Uncle, I stepped in filth! My clothes are going to get ruined!" He only laughed, heading deeper into the woods, "Suck it up, princess. It's just shit."

"It's also terribly hot, and there's bugs everywhere!" Amalthea huffed, trying to wipe her shoe off on the leaves. Sirius looked over his shoulder, watching the leaves stick to the bottom of the shoe. Amalthea let out a loud groan, stomping her heel, "Come on, get off!"

He snickered at the display, watching her struggle, "Just rub it on the ground." She huffed and glared his way, blowing a curl from her eyes in annoyance. Sirius couldn't resist breaking into laughter at the sight, "Oh merlin, you're just like him!" She was then confused, watching him approach her while still laughing like a fool.

Reaching into his suit pocket, he took out his wand, waving it over her shoe, " Tergeo ." The feces was siphoned off, falling to the ground in a plop. Feeling a bit embarrassed at making a scene, she gave a polite nod, "Thank you." He didn't tease her about it, patting her head before turning back around, heading over to the next set of trees, "Come on love."

When they reached the tree, they saw the rope tied around the trunk, frayed at the ends. Sirius cursed under his breath, "Bucky, come on!" Amalthea looked around the area curiously, not sure what they were looking for. Sirius seemed very displeased, running a tired hand over his face as he groaned, "Okay.. just.. Watch your step."

"Why?" Amalthea inquired, feeling a bit unsure about this plan now.

He looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun, "Merlin, he wouldn't have flown off, would he?"

"Uncle, who is he? "

' SCREEEECH!'

Galloping footsteps followed the sound, coming from right behind her. Whirling around, a quiet gasp left as she came face to face with a large grey beak. Swallowing nervously, she looked up into the bird's eyes, "...Hello there.." The hippogriff let out a huff in her face, hot air ghosting over her cheeks.

Sirius panicked as he saw Buckbeak begin to raise up, stammering out, "Amal- Eyes down! Down!"

But it was too late, the Hippogriff stood on his back hooves, raising in the air. It was as if time had slowed down, and Amalthea could only stand there, awaiting the blow.

Snap!

The black talons were inches from her widened eyes, hovering, Buckbeak was frozen in mid-air. Kreacher unveiled himself, his hands poised in the air, eyes trained on the beast. Sirius let out a shaking breath he didn't know he was holding, grabbing Amalthea's arms and steering her back with him.

"No harm comes to Mistress." Kreacher said in a low and dangerous tone, "Kreacher will cook roast hippogriff tonight for dinner.."

Amalthea broke from Sirius's grip, calling out, "No! Release him, Kreacher!" At her command, he snapped his fingers, releasing the beast. Buckbeak let out a cry, landing on the ground clumsily, hooves kicking at the leaves in fright. She took a few steps towards him, but Sirius grabbed her, "Amalthea, you have to be careful. Hippogriffs are very-"

She broke her arm from his grasp, "Prideful creatures, I know." Facing back towards the beast, she lowered her gaze to the ground, taking slow steps towards him as he bucked around, "It was my fault.. I shouldn't have looked him straight in the eye without introductions.." Sirius watched her in worry, asking quietly, "You know how to do the whole introduction thingy, right?"

"Edwardus Lima's 'The Monster Book of Monsters', chapter four, Hippogriffs." She responded back in a know-it-all tone as she bowed, taking another step towards Buckbeak, who had begun to notice her approach.

Sirius gave a nod, "Right, good. You should be fine then.." He let out a breath of air, allowing the tense moment to be quiet for just a moment before, "Nasty book, that one.. Nearly took my fingers off."

Amalthea placed out her hand as she got closer, allowing Buckbeak to smell her, "That's why you stroke the spine.."

"Ah bollocks, I stroked it!"

"Did you stroke it, or did you-" Amalthea went quiet at the sensation of the beak touching the tips of her fingers. There was a small hesitation before her hand was given a nudge, and she slowly ran it up towards his head, feeling the soft feathers. Hearing the soft huff from Buckbeak, she raised her gaze slowly, meeting his eyes once again. Softly, she said, "Thank you..Bucky."

"Ah, his name's Buckbeak actually." Sirius piped in, "Bucky is just my pet name for him."

"Buckbeak." She corrected herself, "I'm Amalthea, it is a pleasure to meet you." Taking a step back, she lowered herself into another bow, though the corset made it a bit difficult. There was a shift in the air, before Buckbeak kneeled down into a bow before her.

"Huh..he likes you."

It was a struggle to hide Buckbeak, but they managed to wrangle him into a little patch of woods behind a park, Sirius casting a muggle-repelling charm just in case. Amalthea gave Buckbeak's head one last stroke before they parted, "We'll be back Buckbeak, please wait for us." He let out a soft caw, nuzzling his head against her hand.

Sirius checked the rope one last time, making sure it was properly secured before pointing his finger at Buckbeak, "And we mean stay, got it Bucky?" Buckbeak let out a huff in his direction before turning away, the horse tail tauntingly swaying in front of Sirius's face.

Offended by the attitude, Sirius let out a chuckle of disbelief, "Oh is that how it is? You meet your new best friend and now I'm chopped liver?"

"Uncle, come on." Amalthea called him, already ahead of him on the path. "Coming!" Sirius called back before narrowing his eyes at Buckbeak, "This isn't over, Buck."

It was a bit more of a walk, turning down abandoned alleyways until they reached the red telephone booth. Before they stepped inside, Sirius whisked out his wand, muttering some charms as he waved it over his form. His hair was then suddenly brushed back in the neat style, his clothes straightening out the wrinkles, dirt brushing off of his shoes until they sparkled.

When he was finished, he did the same for her. Her veil fell delicately back down, hiding her expression once again. Once he was finished, he took her hand and led her inside the booth, dialing in the numbers '62442' after the door was shut.

Slowly, the booth lowered into the ground, revealing the dark atrium beneath. When they landed, Amalthea stepped out of the booth quickly, reaching into her pocket to take out a letter, "Okay, our meeting is on level 10."

He followed after her, looking around the crowds. None of the passersby seemed to notice an escaped convict was standing amongst them, too busy in their own lives. When they stepped into the lift, others piled in, pushing them both to the back.

"Excuse me."

"Pardon me."

"I'm gonna be bloody late!"

Amalthea pressed herself against the wall, grimacing at the elbows poking into her sides as people pushed in. Kreacher made his presence clear by tugging on the left side of her skirt, and she was sure he was not holding up too well either.

As they climbed the levels, the lift grew more roomy, until finally on the last ride up, it was just them. Sirius pulled at his sleeves nervously, fingering his cufflinks, "You really think this is going to work?" She kept her gaze forward, staring at the iron gating, "It has to."

"But on the off chance that it doesn't?"

She didn't respond. The lift stopped at the final floor, the gates opening slowly to reveal the dark obsidian halls once again. Stepping off, Amalthea's began towards the large spruce doors, but Sirius was quick to grab her.

"Wait, kiddo." He pulled her back to face him, his face screwed in worry, "Promise me you know what you're doing." There was a beat of silence before Amalthea replied, "I don't know what will happen. I'm sorry, but I don't."

He let out a tired sigh, releasing his grip on her, "It's okay, you-"

"But I want to try."

With that, she didn't wait a second more, pushing the doors open to reveal the entire Wizengamot, waiting for them. Stepping inside, Sirius held his head high, following after his niece with great nervousness.

At the top of the stand was the Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore, who announced to them as they entered, "So we begin the revisiting of the trial of Sirius Orion Black lll, called by the Matriarch of the Black Family." There were whispers, but Amalthea ignored them, standing by the dark obsidian chair as Sirius sat down.

"Matriarch, please state your name for the record."

Clearing her throat, Amalthea lifted her veil off and spoke clearly, "My name is Amalthea Violetta Black." The court muttered once more, before they were silenced by Albus, "And what is your relation to the defendant?"

She spared Sirius a glance before responding, "He's my Uncle."

There was a voice from the crowd, "Is Ms. Black aware that the defendant was cast out from the Black Family? Disowned permanently with no claim to the name?" Sirius cursed beneath his breath.

"You are mistaken." Amalthea replied cooly, "My grandmother, Walburga Black, reclaimed the title of heir and burned his photo off of the family tapestry, but he was never sworn off." That surprised not just the court, but Sirius as well.

"Do you have proof of this claim, girl?"

"I do." Amalthea's lips quirked in a slight smirk as she reached into her pocket once more, retrieving some papers that had a gold seal, "I took the liberty of contacting Gringotts earlier this week to be sure."

Stepping towards the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, she submitted the papers, "Upon reading these papers, you will see a vault listed that my grandmother set up for my uncle when he was born. Now, if you look to see the last date the vault was opened, it is exactly two days after the heir title was removed. And in this transaction, she deposited twenty-thousand galleons into the vault with the order that it is to remain open."

The papers were brought around, magical copies flying to each member, a long silence following as they saw that, indeed, Walburga Black had given the command to keep the vault open under Sirius's name.

"You have proven the legitimacy of the defendant. Carry on."

Sirius whispered softly, "Way to go love." There was a small smile upon her lips before she spoke once again, "Chief Warlock, you started this trial by titling it the revisiting, but that is an incorrect statement."

There were gasps, mortified whispers of, 'How dare she?', but they were ignored. Albus Dumbledore raised a curious brow at her, "Did I? How so?" She rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress as she explained, "You called this a revisiting, but there was never a trial to begin with. It was corrupted."

"OBJECTION!" Voices cried out, the crowd beginning to get agitated by her accusations.

"She speaks lies!"

"The nerve!"

" SILENCE." Dumbledore roared, silencing the crowd once more. When he turned to her, he had a warning tone, "Ms. Black, you do realize you are saying that the Wizengamot is corrupted?"

Amalthea shook her head, "No sir, not the Wizengamot. During the war, my Uncle's trial, much like others before, was executed by the Council of Magical Law." There was tenseness in the air, but she continued, "And at the time, it was Bartemius Crouch Sr. who sent my uncle to Azkaban without trial."

"Those were different circumstances, child." There was a female voice in the crowd, and Amalthea caught sight of her, being the only one dressed garishly in pink. The woman looked down at her with this pitying stare, "The evidence was all there, and your uncle was caught at the scene of the crime, with fifty eyewitnesses." Sirius's smile was wiped from his face, hanging his head low in response.

"Yes, but it was-"

"And he was the secret keeper for the Potters!" Another voice chimed in.

"But he wa-"

Albus Dumbledore was the one who spoke next, "That is true, Ms Black. I was the one that gave evidence that Sirius had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper. All of the evidence together was incriminating enough that there was no need for a trial." Amalthea felt like the rug had been pulled from under her feet, how was she supposed to argue that? The Chief Warlock gave his testimony that Sirius did it.

"I-..."

"We will call a break."

The moment it was called, Sirius practically leapt from his seat and raced out. Amalthea followed after him, her heart pounding within her chest. Seeing her Uncle's tight posture, she reached out for him, "Uncle, wait, we can't go too-" He whirled around, grey eyes filled with fury as he hissed, "I'm going to go back to Azkaban because of you, do you understand that!?"

"I-"

"This isn't a game, Amalthea! You aren't playing tea party in there, you're deciding my fate, do you understand that!?" Sirius continued to snap, his hair beginning to frizz.

"Of course I do!" She managed to shout back.

"Do you even have a plan!?" He asked her, his voice cracking with emotion. She pressed her lips together firmly for a moment, replying tightly, "Of course-" But there was a crack in her voice as well, her eyes welling up with tears as she finally snapped back, "Okay fine, no! No I don't! But I'm figuring it out!"

"Amalthea.." Sirius looked disappointed in her as he shook his head, "There is no figuring it out, don't you get it love?! We're Blacks, this is we do, completely and irreversibly fucking up and making a total bugger of things!"

His words stung, and it showed. Her hurt expression caused Sirius to falter, "W-Well.. I mean.." She pushed past him, her heels clicking rapidly as she hurried to the lift.

"Amalthea, wait, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

But she was gone, leaving him to sit outside the courtroom like an absolute git.

As soon as the iron gates shut on the lift, Kreacher disillusioned himself, "M-Mistress, please calm down. You don't want to trigger your-"

"Kreacher, I need you to run a letter for me." Amalthea's voice was low, calculated.

"Yes, Mistress, to whom?"

When it was time for trial, Sirius was back in his chair and Amalthea was still nowhere to be found. It worried him, and he wondered if that was the last conversation they would have before he was shipped back to Azkaban. He really hoped it wasn't.

The doors opened to reveal Amalthea, her pale cheeks flushed pink as she took hurried steps inside. When she reached his side, she didn't glance in his direction as she addressed the court, "I have two witnesses I wish to call today."

"Very well, present their names."

"My first witness that I will be calling..is Albus Dumbledore."

Once again, gasps filled the courtroom, and all eyes went to the Chief Warlock. He seemed slightly curious, so he took off his hat and placed it on the podium, "Very well, Ms. Black. I accept your call."

She straightened her back, looking him deep in the eye as she began her questioning, "Albus Dumbledore, you said that you offered evidence that my uncle was the secret-keeper for the Potters, correct?"

Albus nodded, his eyes twinkling, "Indeed I did."

"Can you remember what was said, verbatim?"

"I offered to be secret-keeper, but James and Lily Potter decided that position would be given to Sirius Black, who they trusted at the time."

There were more mutters, the opinions of the court being made clear, this was not looking good in Sirius's favor.

"Why did they reject you?"

He gave a tired smile, "Their bond was much deeper than with an old headmaster like me."

"What was their bond like? In your own words, as their headmaster."

"Well, like family." He answered simply, "James Potter and Sirius Black were inseparable from the first day on the train."

Amalthea nodded along, motioning to him as she continued, "So it would make sense that they would choose Sirius over you, because they're like family."

"Yes, Ms. Black. Where are you going with this?" Dumbledore questioned, his tone light.

"Well, I just mean, it would make logical sense for them to choose him, of course. And that's what you were going off of, correct?" She raised a dark brow at him, "Just logical sense?"

At that, he was confused, as was the rest of the Wizengamot. Taking a beat, Albus spoke once again, "I knew the Potters chose Sirius Black as their secret keeper."

"Except..you didn't."

"Pardon?"

A male voice called out, "Ms. Black, it will be wise to remember who you're speaking to."

Amalthea ignored the wizard, her voice turning steeled, "Albus Dumbledore, did you witness my uncle being sworn in under the Fidelius charm?"

"Like I said, I knew he had been chosen-"

"That's not what I asked." Amalthea shot a polite smile his way, "Did you personally witness James and Lily Potter swearing in my uncle as secret-keeper?"

It was then he understood where she was going with this, and it was too far to back out. Albus gave her a knowing look before answering with a sigh, "No, I did not."

"So you just gave evidence under an assumption?"

"Yes, I did, Ms. Black."

There was silence, the courtroom catching up on what she just exposed. There was no actual witness to the fidelius charm, which meant Albus's whole statement had to be recanted. It was then, there was an outcry.

"But there were fifty eyewitnesses to him at the scene of the crime!"

"He killed Peter Pettigrew!"

"And twelve muggles!"

Sirius hung his head in shame, feeling all of the memories flooding back once again, how he failed them. How many innocent lives were lost because of him and his anger.

Amalthea didn't seem stirred, shouting above the voices, "I call Remus Lupin as my second witness!"

The doors pushed open to reveal the thin man, wearing a patchy corduroy jacket, his tie slightly lopsided even as he nervously fidgeted with it, approaching the court.

Sirius couldn't believe it, how did she even- Their talk the night before, his childhood, she actually paid attention to it.