Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

HARRY POTTER AND THE MUGGLE'S DAUGHTER

Fragile Illusions

Part II

HPHPHP

Barnabas Cuffe, editor of the Daily Prophet settled into the near empty gallery of the high security courtroom within the Ministry of Magic. He'd received a letter early that morning from Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She'd tipped him off to a hastily scheduled trial; suggesting his – not one of his reporters – presence was strongly encouraged. It was very rare indeed that he ever covered a story these days and given that it was the day after Boxing Day, he'd been rather inclined to decline and send Rita Skeeter anyway. But, as she had done many times in their not always rosy relationship, Amelia had set her hook hard; telling him the trial would be the news event of the year.

He'd been mulling that bit for the last few hours, trying to figure just which ministry official was finally being taken down for accepting bribes. Honestly, he almost wondered if she was going to spring a surprise arrest on Fudge himself. When Millicent Bagnold had stepped down as Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, former second in command of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had somehow vaulted over much more senior and qualified candidates to win the election to replace her.

The somehow was plainly evident to Barnabas. Cornelius Fudge was as crooked as the bowler hat set atop his pointy little head. He was bought and paid for by ten to fifteen of the most ardently pure-blood agenda driven families in the UK. Families like the Parkinsons, Notts, Goyles, Crabbes and most notably the Malfoys had funded his campaign and they'd been pulling their puppet's strings hard in the eleven months he'd been in office. Thankfully, their leverage was somewhat blunted, as Fudge had carried only fifty-three percent of the vote to Amelia's forty-seven

The scheduling of this trial, along with her letter, hinted to a power play on Amelia's part. Fully half the ministry personal were on holiday. Fudge himself was in Majorca. There was no important pending legislation scheduled for debate till well into February so nearly all of Fudge's financial backers were out of the country as well. Those that weren't, were at home. Most likely still suffering a post holiday induced coma of excess. Indeed, with the trial due to start in less than five minutes, there were but a handful of the Wizengamot in attendance; every one of the twenty-three firmly loyal to Amelia.

Barnabas sat up a bit straighter as the woman of the moment entered the courtroom. He was certain Fudge and his backers were going to wake up tomorrow to find their position much more precarious than when they'd gone to bed. The feeling was cemented when it became apparent Amelia herself and not her second in command would be leading the prosecution.

She set her stack of files and parchment down, took her seat and without preamble, began. "Bring the prisoner in."

A door opened and two Aurors dragged a short, rotund man clad in standard prison issue clothing in. His beady eyes darted around the courtroom fearfully while his mannerisms seemed odd. Barnabas felt he recognized the movements but couldn't quite place what the jerkiness reminded him of. The obvious clue though was in the chain and cuffs around his ankles. The man was an Animagus. The Aurors forced the man to sit in the interrogation chair and the chains attached to it quickly secured themselves to his wrists. "Administer the Veritaserum," Amelia barked.

"Objection!" the prisoner's council protested. Barnabas recognized the court appointed council. Stephan Stobney was a high level solicitor within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and was firmly in Amelia's pocket. He would attempt to defend the prisoner by the book and nothing more. It would be a railroad job; a perfectly legal one, but one none-the-less.

"Objection overruled," Amelia cut him off before he could even clarify his argument. "Under the special rules of the Anti You-Know-Who Supporter Act established during his reign of terror against the good people of England, and the rest of the United Kingdom any prisoner found to bear the Dark Mark is automatically to be questioned under the affects of Veritaserum."

Barnabas leaned forward even as he fought down a laugh. He'd need an abacus to tally the number of people who had bought and bribed their way out of that bit of legislation. Apparently this man wasn't going to get the chance. And if he really was a former Death Eater, this had the potential to be even bigger than the story of the year. The Auror to the prisoner's left grabbed his arm. The chains holding the prisoner released and the Auror jerked the man's arm into the air where he pushed his sleeve up, baring his left forearm for all to see.

Barnabas blinked, while a number of gasps were heard from the assembled members of the Wizengamot. Getting his wits about him he did a quick recount of the Wizengamot members, confirming the twenty-three present; five more than the minimum eighteen that would be needed to convict the man. He very quickly pulled a second dictation quill from his bag and set it to recording the events. With a third quill he began taking his own notes.

"Administer the Veritaserum," Amelia ordered. The Auror on the prisoner's left forced the man's arm back down and the chains quickly confined him again. He then grabbed the man's head, forcing it back. The Auror on the right squeezed the prisoner's jaw, forcing his mouth open and a third Auror quickly stepped up and began dripping drops of the truth serum in his mouth. "This man has escaped detection for over seven years," Amelia intoned, "we'll not have him avoiding our questions now that we finally have him in our grasp. Make it four drops, Auror." The four drops were quickly administered and the prisoner's mouth was forced closed. His nose was pinched shut as well, forcing him to swallow if he wished to be allowed to breath again. The prisoner fought as long as he could but eventually he swallowed. The Aurors released him, and gasping for air he pitched forward as far as the chains holding him would allow.

"And now we shall get some answers from you, my friend," Amelia said, her voice dangerous and predatory. The man said nothing. He was compelled to answer, but she had not asked a question, clearly he intended to resist as much as he could. "What is your name?" The prisoner ground his teeth together tightly in response. "What is your name!"

"Peter Pettigrew!" the man blurted.

Barnabas broke his quill. A furious rush of whispers swept the members of the Wizengamot. Bloody Hell! Barnabas thought. He grabbed another quill and focused on the drama to unfold.

"Bring in the first witness," Amelia ordered. A door slammed open and a fourth Auror led the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into the courtroom. While she was being led to the witness stand her imperious gaze swept the courtroom. When her eyes fell on the man chained to the defendant's chair she gasped and stopped dead. It was a good ten seconds before the Auror gently but firmly ushered her into place.

"The witness will state their name for the court," Amelia said.

"Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Are you not also the Head of Gryffindor House?"

"I am. It is a position I have held since 1965."

"Excellent. Will you please, to the best of your ability, identify the defendant for the court?"

"His name is Peter Pettigrew."

"You are certain?"

"I am."

"You are aware that Peter Pettigrew is declared deceased? His death certificate lists the cause of death to be murder. The date of death is the night of 31st October 1981. Sirius Black is Peter Pettigrew's suspected killer."

"I am."

"And despite these supposed facts you stand by your identification of the defendant as Peter Pettigrew."

"I do."

Amelia shuffled her papers. "Peter Pettigrew was a student of yours, was he not?"

"He was. He attended Hogwarts from 1971-1979. He was a member of Gryffindor house."

"A house you were Head of correct?"

"Yes."

"We're you quite familiar with Peter as a student?"

"He spent more time than most in detention. I was quite familiar with him, yes."

"So you are quite certain of your identification."

"Positive."

"Am I correct in stating that you are an Animagus, Professor? I believe your form is that of a cat, correct?"

"That information is public record. I first completed my transformation at the age of seventeen. My date of registration June 15, 1942."

"And am I correct in the belief that an Animagus gains many of the heightened senses of the animal that is their form? And that they retain those sense while in human form?"

"You are."

"Could you tell me which of your senses are heightened?"

"My vision, hearing and sense of smell. Though, in human form, perhaps not my vision so much any longer."

"But your sense of smell and hearing?"

"Are as sharp as ever."

"If I'm not mistaken, as much as anything, animals identify things by their sense of smell. Is this true for an Animagus as well?"

"If the question is, does my sense of smell identify the prisoner as well as my eyes do, the answer is yes."

"Objection. The witness is speculating to council's question."

"Sustained. The answer will be struck from the record. We have already established your eyes identify the defendant as Peter Pettigrew, Professor. Does your sense of smell identify the defendant as Peter Pettigrew as well?"

"It does."

"You have zero doubt as to his identity?"

"I do not."

"Your witness," Amelia said.

Stephan Stobney shuffled his papers. It was highly unusual to even have witnesses when veritaserum was in use. The truth serum was considered infallible. And this defendant had been given four drops. Amelia obviously wanted the identity of the prisoner confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt. He really didn't know what he could ask, but, as he was being given a chance to defend the prisoner, he felt he should at least try. "Professor McGonagall, as a former student of yours I have great respect for you, but how long has it been since you last saw Peter Pettigrew?"

"A bit more than seven years."

"Seven years is a long time. Appearance can change. Are you absolutely certain this is Peter Pettigrew?"

"Shall I bring you a picture of his graduation from Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall retorted.

"The witness will refrain from antagonizing council and answer the question," Amelia said.

Professor McGonagall shot her a look. "The defendant is Peter Pettigrew. You can ask all you like, in as many ways as you like, the answer will be the same."

"Professor," Stephan said. "Peter Pettigrew was confirmed dead. Our very own Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge witnessed his murder; committed by Sirius black. His testimony in the case is not unknown. All that was found of Peter Pettigrew was a finger. Are you suggesting Minister Fudge lied?"

"Not lied. Just that he was mistaken."

Barnabas felt he could see the wheels turning in Stephan's head. If it hadn't been before, the man knew his career was really and truly tied to that of Amelia's now. He could even see the moment the man went all in.

"Minister Fudge was wrong?"

"He was."

"No further questions."

"The witness may step down," Amelia said. The Auror stepped up to guide her from the courtroom but she shrugged him off and moved to the gallery instead.

"Let the record show, under the affects of Veritaserum, defendant did identify himself as Peter Pettigrew. Let the record further state, identification was confirmed by the Animagus, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Let the record further show Professor McGonagall served as Head of Gryffindor house while Peter Pettigrew was a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Let the record also show this court accepts that the defendant is indeed Peter Pettigrew. Last, let the record show the death certificate issued in regards to Peter Pettigrew was done so in error and is considered so much dust. She turned her attention back to Peter.

"Peter Pettigrew, you bear the Dark Mark of the wizard known as Lord Voldemort–" Peter along with nearly everyone in the courtroom flinched "–were you a follower of his?"

"I am."

"You are?"

"I am."

"Your answer implies the Dark Lord is not deceased. Is this true?"

"I believe he will return."

"How?"

"I do not know."

"Peter Pettigrew. For seven years the world has believed you were dead. You sit before us know. How is that?"

"I was never dead."

"Sirius Black did not kill you?" Peter struggled not to answer. "Sirius Black did not kill you?"

"No… He would have though!"

"Why?" Again he tried to fight answering. "Why would Sirius Black want to kill you?"

"He hated me!"

Barnabas watched as Amelia frowned. The problem with Veritaserum was that while it compelled a truthful answer, it didn't guarantee the answer would be the one you wanted. Questions that compelled a yes or no answer were needed till such time as the defendant was completely broken.

"Did Sirius Black kill the twelve Muggles who died the night the world thought you did?" Again, Peter struggled mightily but there was nothing he could do against the truth serum.

"NO!" he shouted when he finally broke.

"Sirius Black did not kill anyone that night?"

"No."

"Who did?"

Once more Peter fought answering. But, as before, he eventually gave out and gasped, "I did." He sagged forward and Barnabas knew the man was broken. Having admitted his guilt, there was little to no point in fighting and his answers would come more freely and perhaps with a bit more elaboration to them.

"Did you frame Sirius for your murder?"

"Yes."

"Did you frame him for the murder of the twelve Muggles as well?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it was me."

"Because it was you what?"

"I betrayed James and Lily."

"James and Lily who?"

"James and Lily Potter."

"You betrayed James and Lily Potter?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Peter sighed, seemingly almost with regret he answered, "I was their Secret Keeper."

"I'm sorry, you said you were their Secret Keeper? Do you mean for the Fidelius Charm?"

"Yes."

"James and Lily Potter made you the Secret Keeper for their Fidelius Charm?"

"Yes."

"You, Peter Pettigrew were the person James and Lily Potter entrusted to be their Secret Keeper when they went into hiding from Lord Voldemort?" Again the fear even just the name still brought to the populace was evident in the reaction of those in the courtroom."

"I was."

"And you betrayed them?"

"I did."

"In what way?"

"I told my Lord and Master the secret."

"Why?"

"He wished to kill them."

"You told him where to find James and Lily Potter, as well as their son Harry Potter, knowing full well he would kill them once he did?"

"Yes."

"Tell me Peter, how did you escape the night you faked your death?"

"I changed to my Animagus form and disappeared into the sewers."

"You're an Animagus?"

"I am."

"What is your form?"

"I take the form of a rat."

"A rat?"

"Yes."

"I'm not aware that you are in the Animagus registry. Are you, or do we need to add that to your list of crimes as well?"

"I am not registered."

"You, Peter Pettigrew are an unregistered Animagus and your form is that of a rat?"

"Yes."

"How did you lose your finger?"

"I bit it off."

"Why?"

"To leave as evidence that I had been killed."

"To summarize then, you are an unregistered Animagus who takes the form of a rat?"

"I am."

"You were the Potter's Secret Keeper?"

"Yes."

"Sirius Black was not?"

"No."

"Sirius Black did not tell Lord Voldemort where to find the Potters?"

"No."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"It was you who blew up the gas line that killed twelve Muggles?"

"Yes."

"You then faked your own death by changing into a rat and escaping into the sewers?"

"Yes."

"You left behind your finger, which you bit off, as evidence that you had been killed also?"

"Yes."

"The intention of all this was to frame Sirius Black for the murder of yourself and those twelve Muggles?"

"Yes."

"Is Sirius Black guilty of any of the crimes for which he was arrested?"

"No."

"Who is guilty of those crimes?"

"I am."

"And your name is?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Your defendant, counselor," Amelia said grimly.

"No questions," Stephan said.

"Those who find the defendant guilty?" Amelia asked quietly. Twenty-three hands were raised. "Those who find the defendant not guilty?" Twenty-three hands were lowered. The verdict is unanimous," she said. "Pending transfer to Azkaban to complete a life sentence, return the convict to the holding cells."

Peter began sobbing while the Aurors roughly hauled him to his feet and dragged him from the courtroom. Dead silence held those remaining till Amelia spoke again. "Bring him in," she called. Yet another door opened. A stooped and filthy man, his hair tangled and matted, his prison garb little more than rags clinging to his emaciated body shuffled in under the support of the Aurors on either side of him. A woman in the gallery gasped and broke into sobs at the sight of him.

"Lord Sirius Black," Amelia stated. Again her words brought a rush of whispers through the courtroom.

The man in question jerked his head towards her. "Finally come to kill me have you?" he rasped.

Amelia ignored him. "Lord Black, in review of past cases it came to my attention that you were never given a trial. Further, you were never actually even charged with a crime."

Sirius Black began chuckling softly. "Finally noticed that did you?"

Again she kept on without acknowledging him. "It was a travesty of justice that I intend to see corrected." He cocked his head slightly. "Not five minutes ago this court heard the confession of Peter Pettigrew. He has been convicted of all the crimes for which you were arrested but never actually charged with. If he is guilty of those crimes, then you must, in fact, be not only not guilty, but innocent. The Ministry has no grounds to hold you. So, with this formal apology for the travesty of justice that has been perpetrated against you, you are free to go."

He stared at her disbelievingly. "Free?"

"Yes."

He was impacted an instant later by the woman who had broken into tears on first seeing him. "I knew you couldn't have been the one who betrayed them," she sobbed.

Barnabas felt eyes on him and looked up to see Amelia watching him. She jerked her head towards the newly freed, Lord Sirius Black. The message was clear, get a quote and get the special edition out. He stuffed his quills and parchment in his bag and hurried down to the small group gathering around Lord Black. "Lord Black," he said, "Barnabas Cuffe, Editor of the Daily Prophet. Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Lord Black could do little other than blink owlishly at him. "Lord Black is grateful that justice has finally been served," the woman clinging to him answered. "He expresses his deep admiration and support for Amelia Bones and looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Director."

The man who had been sitting next to the woman in the gallery and was now helping to support Lord Black leaned in to softly speak in his ear. Lord Black nodded slightly. "You can print that and attribute it to me," Lord Black said.

"Thank you, Lord Black," Barnabas said. "Might I request a more in depth conversation with you once you've had some time to recover from your unjust incarceration?"

"You can, the woman answered. Lord Black will be staying with me for the time being. You can send your invitation to Andromeda Tonks."

"Very well," Barnabas said. He stuffed his quill and parchment in his bag.

"You will find Lord Black to be a most grateful subject Mr. Cuffe," Mrs Tonks said, giving him a significant look. The message was clear. The Black name and fortune would help shield the Prophet from those who were going to be displeased with these events and the articles he was being handed.

"And the Prophet very much looks forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Lord Black as well," Barnabas answered. He turned to go and once again found Amelia's eyes on him.

"Hurry," she mouthed. He nodded and quickly left.

HPHPHP

Albus Percival, Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class and Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Defeater of Gellert Grindelwald, etcetera, etcetera, sat at his desk in his office contemplating the copy of the Daily Prophet laid out before him. It was most vexing.

It wasn't completely unexpected, but he had not considered the retribution for his support of Cornelius over Amelia for Minister would come so quickly or with quite such force. As far as he was concerned, Cornelius Fudge was the perfect Minister. He was easily manipulated. And he had far too many masters pulling his strings to keep them all happy.

Counter that with Amelia as Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. (DMLE) Her support was not nearly so fractured as Fudge's. She also had the force of personality and dogged determination to hold her coalition together. Her forty-seven percent had voted for her in a losing cause. They would not be easily swayed from backing her now. She was the perfect person to have in the second most powerful position within the ministry. Rock solid in her principals and support, she would be able to counter and prevent Fudge and his supporters from doing any real damage; especially if he were to put his voice and vote behind hers when needed.

But that had all changed in the blink of an eye. She'd expertly exploited the loopholes in the law and guaranteed Lord Sirius Black would be released from Azkaban with the Ministry bending over and kissing his arse as it begged forgiveness. He very much doubted that forgiveness would be easily forthcoming. No, he would be shocked if the lawsuits were not already being drawn up. Fudge and Bartemius Crouch Sr. were sure to be targeted specifically.

Crouch Sr. had been the director of the DMLE when Fudge had arrested Sirius Black. It was on the testimony of Fudge's arrest report that Bartemius had ordered Sirius to Azkaban without so much as a trial, charge or plea filed. Of course, a few weeks later it came to light that Bartemius' own son and namesake, Bartemius Crouch Jr had been a Death Eater. He along with Bellatrix Lestrange her husband Rodolphus Lestrange and his brother Rabastan had captured and tortured the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity. Bartemius Crouch Senior had been forced to resign in disgrace. He was moved to the Department of International Magical Cooperation (DIMC) by then Minister Millicent Bagnold. His backing of Crouch for Minister had resulted in his recent promotion to Director of the DIMC.

Albus sighed deeply. All his carefully laid plans were being ripped to shreds. Cornelius was going to be terribly hamstrung by this. Bartemius would be lucky to not end up in Azkaban himself. Sirius would undoubtedly throw his considerable influence, power and funds – the Black fortune was thought to at least rival that of the Malfoys – behind Amelia. Worse, with Sirius out of Azkaban, he would regain his place as the executor of the Potter estate. That brought forth a whole slew of complications, not the least of which would be Sirius adding the Potter name, fortune – again rumored to rival that of the Malfoys – and vote to Amelia's list of backers. He seriously doubted it would result in enough defections from Cornelius' support to give her the eighty-five percent needed to force a new election before his term was over, but Cornelius was going to be in a whole heap of trouble.

As if that weren't enough to be getting on with, Sirius was bound to exercise his place as Harry Potter's godfather and claim guardianship of the boy. The biggest problem with that lay in the fact that, just less than eight weeks ago, Harry had run away from his aunt's home. Having been the one to place Harry with his mother's sister, he was going to be in for some difficult questioning if he couldn't produce the boy. Worse would be the level of abuse Harry had suffered, and he by extension had allowed to occur, coming to light. He had placed Harry with his Muggle relatives. Wizarding law made the executor of the estate responsible for ensuring the proper care of a magical child he or she placed with a Muggle family. He could plead innocence regarding Harry's treatment. But that would only work if he could present Harry to Sirius when he asked. That was going to be a bit difficult to do with Harry still missing.

The question of where Harry had run away to was growing quite concerning. The tracking charms he'd placed on the boy had been growing weak just before he disappeared. He'd been about to make his annual pilgrimage to Little Whinging to renew them when they'd died altogether. Almost immediately after, the Blood Wards he'd erected on the home had collapsed. He'd apparated there in a panic only to find the home vacant with a for sale sign in the car park. No sign of Harry or a fight could be found. Inspection of the home itself revealed it to be empty, so the idea that Petunia had decided to move her family seemed supported by the evidence. He'd checked in with Arabella Figg, the Squib he'd arranged to have keep an eye on things for him only to find she'd gone on holiday three weeks prior and wasn't due back for another week yet. Apparently she had become as complacent as he. Eventually he'd tracked the Dursley's to Vernon's sister, Marge Dursley's, place. Only Harry hadn't been with them. They'd claimed he'd run away. A bit of Legilimency had revealed the full truth behind the move and Harry's leaving of his aunt's care.

It was very problematic indeed. He'd hoped the Dursley's would have managed to beat a bit more of James and Lily out of Harry. Instead he'd gotten a picture of a very calculating and subtly defiant child. A child, who showed James' lack of regard for rules and authority, flashes of Lily's intelligence and – dare he say it – Tom Riddle's cunning. It was all very distressing, very distressing indeed. Sighing deeply, he rose from his chair. It was time to report Harry as missing, but first he needed to speak with Remus Lupin again and ascertain his silence about his earlier request for help locating the boy.

HPHPHP

Author's note:

So, we can all see not every thing is perfect for Harry and that there is a long way to go before he will totally trust this new life he has found. I hope I give an accurate depiction of some of the problems he might face.

The other big thing is Sirius is free. This serves two purposes. One, an innocent man is out of jail and the guilty one in. Two, Harry can now be "found" because Sirius is his official guardian and that keeps our hero out of the reach of the manipulative old bastard.

Last, I use the books, Pottermore, the Harry Potter Lexicon and Wikipedia to research just what JKR actually gave us. And, Fudge was actually the first Ministry personal on scene and witnessed Peter framing Sirius. Who knew? Apparently JKR, that's who.