Chapter 39

Kingsley had James, Lily, and Sirius reapply their disguises while their group walked down to the atrium. He didn't want random workers seeing James, Lily and Sirius walking around. Fudge may have admitted that Sirius was innocent after he'd died, but that didn't mean he'd announced it to the world. As far as the public was concerned Sirius Black was guilty and still running loose.

They all walked down to the atrium together and Sirius walked to a seat in the front row. Several reporters had arrived early to get good spots but the room was filling up fast. Harry, James, Lily, and Kingsley were standing behind the stage that was set up for the press release waiting for it to be exactly three o'clock.

Harry glanced out and saw all the Weasley's sitting in the back with Hermione. He took a deep breath and watched as Kingsley took the stage and walked to the podium.

"Welcome members of the press and fellow Wizards. I have an announcement to make regarding Harry Potter. Several days ago, Mr. Potter received a letter from Albus Dumbledore."

Many people in the crowd started mumbling. Several reporters raised their hands or started writing furiously.

"It was dated seventeen years ago. It said that on his eighteenth birthday if he'd vanquished Voldemort he'd receive this letter with instructions to be able to get back something he always wanted; his parents."

The crowd was in an uproar. People were shouting questions and talking with each other loudly. Kingsley raised his hands in the air to ask for silence and the crowd quieted.

"The letter asked harry to travel to the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts and speak to Albus' portrait if he had any questions. I accompanied him along with several friends and we learned the truth about Halloween 1981."

Harry listened to Kingsley and thought to himself that Kingsley was thoroughly enjoying all the gasps and shocked silences, perhaps a little too much. This was the part that Harry had to listen to so he'd be able to answer any questions accordingly if he had to.

"Albus Dumbledore was informed of an attack that was to happen on Halloween on the Potters home in Godric's Hallow. He traveled there with notes on an experimental spell that would place someone in a magical coma and by doing so would place a protective spell on a specific person stated during the ritual. The reason he didn't bring forth this spell while he was alive was because this was a blood ritual and he wasn't sure that it was a good idea to use it except for in an emergency.

"I can't go into many details about the ritual itself, except to say that the Potters put immense faith in Albus Dumbledore that night when he placed them under the spell. It connected James and Lily to Harrys' life force. If he died they would too. But their sacrifice of being placed in these comas gave Harry Potter a protection that kept him alive, even while Voldemort sent not one but two killing curses his way."

Harry was momentarily shocked that Kingsley found a way to lie to the public about the Killing Curse in the Forbidden Forest. They had just been telling people it was a surprise to them all since they didn't want to discuss Horcruxes with the open public.

"The nature of this spell, or ritual if you will, defines that a person or persons must sacrifice something that would mean something, like for instance seventeen years of their life, for the protection of another. Generally they have to be blood related and completely willing to make the sacrifice. A third party must donate their willingness to be a part of another form of protection, in this case it was Lily Potter's Muggle sister. She agreed to take part and she became the prime caregiver for Harry. Once the ritual is completed, the person making the sacrifice slips into a coma until the specified time.

"Dumbledore arranged for James and Lily to be cared for by a secret Healer for all these years, and two days ago Harry Potter woke James and Lily Potter from their comas." As soon as Kingsley stopped talking he stepped to the side and gestured to the three of them to enter the stage area. First, Harry turned and removed the disguises, and then they turned and walked onto the stage. Many people applauded, several people snapped pictures, and others were shouting questions.

Harry had a happy smile on his face, but was still skeptical about any type of press. James was grinning nervously, while Lily just looked nervous. Kingsley raised his hands again and the room grew silent once more.

"I will take several questions from the audience and we will answer them as best as we can. But please remember that we don't even have all the answers yet, so please be patient. Yes, you sir," he said as he pointed at a man in the front row.

"Did James and Lily know what Dumbledore was doing or did it come as a surprise to wake up seventeen years later?" he asked loudly.

"Yes, James and Lily were given the choice of this plan. As I said the person making the sacrifice had to be completely willing to do so. They were given the choice to go through with the ritual or not to. This choice gave them the opportunity to come back and be a family with Harry in safer times. You in the pink," he said to a woman in the second row.

"Was anything Albus Dumbledore did illegal?" Harry raised his eyebrow at the woman. So much of that night was illegal, but how they'd lie about that was questionable. Harry watched Kingsley trying not to grin at the uncomfortable look on the older man's face.

"Probably. We currently don't possess the book Dumbledore used that contains the specifics of the spell, so it's difficult to determine the illegality of the nature of the ritual. Even if it was illegal, Albus Dumbledore is dead, so there wouldn't be any real repercussions towards him anyways. You in the green." Harry silently chuckled. Kingsley had answered very quickly, and very quickly switched to the next questioner.

"My question is for James and Lily Potter. How are you adjusting to your son being the Wizarding world's hero?" asked the man. James and Lily shared a glance and she stepped forward.

"We are very proud of our son, but we've only been back for a couple days. Most of which has been spent getting our bearings and getting used to our toddler being grown up. We haven't actually heard about the last few years, I believe last we left off was about his second year. Minerva McGonagall has kindly lent us her Pensive so we can view some of our son's memories of growing up. He's had a remarkable life, and we all are still adjusting to the new times. We're taking it a bit slowly, seventeen years is a lot to take in." Lily stepped back and Kingsley stepped forward and pointed at a woman in the front row a few seats from Sirius. Her question surprised them all.

"My question is also for James and Lily. A few years ago, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. My family and I have debated this for a while now. Was Sirius Black your Secret Keeper?" Harry looked at Kingsley only so he wouldn't look at the man sitting four seats away from the woman smirking and looking very much like Sirius Black through his disguise. James stepped forward after a nod from the Minister.

"No, he wasn't. Peter Pettigrew was the one who sold our names to Voldemort." The crowd went wild and shouts rang out. Harry shared a look with Kingsley and stepped forward next to his father. The crowd, seeing that Harry wanted to speak, quieted.

"When Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban in 1993, he knew that Pettigrew was alive. He knew he was the one who was innocent. I was telling the truth when I told Former Minister Fudge what happened at the end of my third year.

"Peter Pettigrew, along with Sirius Black, and my dad became Animagi in school. They kept it a secret from everyone. Peter Pettigrew's Animagus form was a rat. He found a Wizarding family to live with to hear any type of news regarding Voldemort. He ended up living with the Weasley family as their pet rat Scabbers. When I started school, my best friend became Ron Weasley. He had a pet rat, which turned out to be an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius saw a picture of the Weasley's in Egypt on the front page of the Prophet and Ron's pet rat was on his shoulder. He read that Ron was starting the same year as me and he knew that Peter would be near me at Hogwarts, so he broke out by turning into his animal form and slipping out of his cell and swimming to shore.

"At the end of my third year of school, Sirius finally got a hold of Peter in his rat form, and he and Remus Lupin changed him back into a human form in front of me and my two best friends. We knew the truth but every time we told it to someone, they disregarded us as being Confounded, or just kids.

"Now that my parents can testify, maybe Sirius will come forward and he can be pardoned for the crimes he didn't commit."

James and Lily were smiling, as was Kingsley. Harry could see all the Weasley's smiling also.

Sirius sat in his seat for a moment looking around before he stood up and moved to the stage. People started whispering and mumbling. Harry heard one person say, "Surely he's not been here this whole time." This made him grin.

Sirius stood up in front of James and winked before removing his disguise and turning around. Several people screamed and a few others gasped. The Weasley's all chuckled.

Kingsley stepped forward and raised his hands again to quiet the audience. It took a few extra minutes to gather the attention of everyone, but finally they all were quiet again.

"As Minister, I was told about what Harry and his friends said. I was placed on the duty of finding Black and bringing him to justice. I could never find him, but when I learned of James and Lily being alive, I asked them myself that same question. Was Black their Secret Keeper? They told me the story of what happened and I've decided to give a full pardon to Sirius Black for wrongful imprisonment, and being sentenced without a trial. I asked Harry here to inform Sirius of this and tell him to come out of hiding and be here today so he can be pardoned in front of the press and let the Wizarding world know of his innocence," he finished. He waved his wand and a fancy piece of parchment showed up in midair. He snatched it out of the air and set it down on the podium. He pulled a quill and signed his name elaborately.

"This certificate states that Sirius Orion Black is hereby pardoned by the Minister of Magic of Great Britain. Sirius, I hope you can accept the Ministries acknowledgement of its mistake and accept this and a monetary sum as our apology," he said. Sirius took a deep breath as Kingsley handed him the certificate. He read the words and stared at it for several long minutes.

"I can accept this on one condition," he said softly.

"What is that?" asked Kingsley, genuinely wondering what his old friend had up his sleeve.

"I only ask that anyone who is accused of a crime gets a trial no matter how big or small the crime was, or how guilty he may seem. As wrong as some may think it is, Veritaserum would have freed me in a matter of minutes.

"What happened to me should never happen to anyone. I was trapped with Dementors for twelve years. Twelve years of my life is gone. I could have been taking care of my Godson all this time; I could have been there for my dear friend who in one night thought he had lost all his friends. I could have started a family and had children of my own. I have lost a large portion of my life because one man couldn't stop and give me a chance to talk for myself. Five minutes with Veritaserum would have stopped me from going to Azkaban and a guilty man walking free for twelve years.

"That is my request. Always give people a fair trial," he finished. He had tears in his eyes as he handed the certificate to Harry and hugged him tightly. Once he let go of Harry he turned and hugged James then Lily.

The crowd clapped and the Weasley's cheered. Kingsley quieted the crowd with a gesture.

"I think that's a very reasonable request Sirius. I'm sure it will be honored. I'll take a few more questions from the audience…You in the blue?" he said. The man stood up.

"I understand that the Potters testimony would be irrefutable but you at least heard their story in depth before just agreeing to pardon a man who escaped from Azkaban, right? You're not just abusing your powers as Interim Minster correct?" asked the man snootily.

"I may be Interim Minster, but I would not abuse my power. I may remind you I was Head Auror for a while. I dedicated my life to Justice and doing what's right. Sirius Black was wrongfully imprisoned for over a decade. He didn't deserve that.

"However, I did anticipate your question, and yes, I took testimony from the Potters about their life before that fateful day. What they said lines up with what Sirius himself has said all along, and also with what Albus Dumbledore has said, and Harry Potter and his two best friends. Harry Potter has even offered up a memory testimony of being there with Pettigrew the day he died in Malfoy Manor roughly a month before the end of the war. I feel that is enough evidence to Pardon someone."

Harry stood there and listened to all the questions go on for several long minutes before Kingsley called a stop to the conference. The five of them headed back up to the Ministers office to talk for a few minutes before the Potters and Sirius went back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

a/n: AHH!!! OMG i can't believe how long it's been! I'm going to post a longer a/n on my profile telling of my adventurous November so far! So go check that out, a quick overview though would be... Little sister got married and i was the Photographer for the wedding, I turned 23 years old, moved my sister out of the house, and my stuff should be in the process of moving soon as well, i switched computers with my brother and lost half of my files in the pile of junk left on the new desktop, (don't worry, fan fiction was safe, just buried in extensive files of 15 GB of photos and junk) and school is coming to a close soon.

But now that i have a long weekend, i hope to write more during it! I hope my fellow Americans had a good Thanksgiving and i hope everyone has a great Black Friday, don't get hurt trying to get those very cheap presents! I don't want to hear about anyone getting trampled for a Wii or a PS3...or was that last year? Meh, i almost died trying to get a Tickle Me Elmo a few years ago...so i don't go early in the morning...

Anywho, please review! Thank you everyone! I stayed up extra late after a day of relatives and turkey and pie, so be happy! REVIEW!