A/N: Fast Frank, a guest reviewer, commented: "If I wanted to nit pick (who am I kidding, of course I do) those "Advanced" should be "Introductory"."

My response: Well, I originally started off this series with the intent that everything that happened in the books could still happen, so I planned out that you could enter electives on an "advanced" track in the first year, or you could enter in your third year (like Harry did in the books)non the regular track. Because during the third year there'd be two different sections of those classes, and one would need to be deemed "advanced" for clarity's sake. Therefore, starting an elective course in your first year, you are joining an advanced track, and therefore an "advanced" class, even though the content is introductory. I have a full course catalog for all seven years, so I'm keeping everything straight.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I'd buy a yacht. Alas, I don't and J.K. Rowling does.

Chapter Five: The Trial of Sirius Black

Waking up in a luxurious bed is hard. You never want to leave. Swaddled up in acromantula silk sheets of the finest quality, I felt warm and soft and fuzzy in the Excalibur hotel. I awoke naturally, and when I voluntarily opened my eyes for the first time I was staring at a long green nose and big eyes gazing at me from a few feet away from my bed. I screamed. What was I supposed to do in unfamiliar surroundings? It took me a second to get my bearings, remembering everything that happened the day before.

"Would Master Harry like Pobby to make him breakfast? Pobby brought food from Mr. Lupin's cottage last night in order to fix breakfast. Mr. Lupin is not having much sir, but Pobby can make biscuits or pancakes," The little elf in front of me stated nicely and a bit too loudly.

"Pobby, it's early. Indoor voice, please. Biscuits would be lovely. Butter too, please. If you need to go grocery shopping, use some of the money from the pouch on top of my trunk."

The night before I had taken my trunk out of my bookbag and placed my Gringotts bag of coins on top of it. I had let Hedwig out to fly last night, keeping a window cracked in the other room to allow her to come back in as she pleased. She was perched on the back left post of the four poster bed I was sleeping in. Pobby popped away, likely to the kitchen of this suite. That exchange between Pobby and I was apparently Remus's cue to come in.

"Big day today, kid. Andromeda is coming over at noon and we'll all go over to the ministry. You'll need to get ready soon because that's just an hour away. You slept for a long time. Did you not set the sleeping enchantment?" He asked, peeking his head through the door.

"What?" I questioned, not understanding.

"In the Wizarding World, beds are designed to speed up your sleep cycles so you can get a lot of quality sleep in a short period of time. Adult witches and wizards can sleep for four hours and be well rested. As a kid, you should probably get six if sleeping in an enchanted bed." He said. "The enchantments only work if you use your wand to tap them on. If you look at the bedpost you'll see the runes to control it. I can teach you soon. It's not complicated and once you set it, it stays set." He said, walking into the room a few steps at a time.

"Wow," I replied. "Do they have this for the beds at Hogwarts? I can get a lot of studying done if I don't have to sleep too much."

"Of course," Remus replied. "You'll also be happy to know I sent in my application this morning before you woke up. I've also sent off letters to the Moon and Rivers families so we should get a response from them sometime soon." He didn't stay past his welcome and left the room soon after that, giving me space to shower and dress.

Walking into the bathroom, the mirror said, "Hair's looking a little unruly. Might want to fix that." I jumped at the sound of another voice. I forgot magical mirrors did this. Looking in the mirror, I still looked like the perfect Harry persona. A few extra inches of height, a slim face, nice tan skin. My hair needed a little help from the bed head I achieved the night before, I admit. I had shifted back into this form after we left St. Mungo's yesterday, and this was how I wanted the Wizarding World to view me.

"Done," I informed the mirror, changing my hair to look groomed.

"I don't know what kind of magic you got, but everyone needs some of it!" The mirror shouted back.

I got ready by taking a bath which had very nice scented bubbles the size of my head. Then, I changed into the clothes Madam Malkin had supplied me with yesterday and entered the main area of the suite to eat Pobby's biscuit breakfast with Remus.

The biscuits were done by the time I walked into the room and Pobby had spread a few out on a plate for me and set it down at the dining table. The windows in this room overlooked the alley, which was a bit busy at the moment. I guess the alley was always busy since it was the premier place to shop in all of Britain. I had never seen it calm.

Andromeda knocked on the door after I finished breakfast, and then we were on our way. We headed to the downstairs floor of the Excalibur hotel and used their large fireplace to head to the Ministry of Magic.

Andromeda went first, quickly scooping floo powder and calling out, "Ministry of Magic".

Then it was my turn, and I attempted to figure out how to land correctly. "Any tips on getting out and not falling over, Remus?"

"Walk in place," he replied. "Hope that helps. Sometimes it just takes experience, kid."

We had to leave Pobby because he wanted to clean up breakfast and the Wizengamot didn't necessarily encourage bringing house elves to view trials. I grabbed some powder, threw it down, and called out "Ministry of Magic" after I stepped into the fireplace. This time was a bit easier because I knew what to expect. The grates of fireplaces flew by and whizzed past my face while I attempted to move my legs to walk in place. When I finally shot out of the floo, I landed on one foot and was able to wobble into standing still.

I entered into a long hall with a few witches and wizards moving about. There were many fireplaces all around, allowing for mass entrance and exit of the workplace. The floor was a polished dark wood, and a fountain of golden statues with a witch, wizard, centaur, house elf, and goblin spouted water into a surrounding pool. Towards the end of the hall, there was a set of golden gates with a security guard. Andromeda was standing a few fireplaces down and then Remus appeared in the one next to me. We started all walking towards the guard at the gates.

"How many wizards work at the ministry?" I asked Remus and Andromeda as we walked towards the gates.

"I'm not sure. Andromeda, do you know?" Remus asked her.

"A few thousand. It's definitely the biggest employer in Britain." Andromeda replied.

Then we made it to the guard. He scanned us over with a long golden thin rod in front and behind our bodies.

"Wands please." He asked. We handed them over and he weighed them on a weird scale which spat out a piece of paper with their wood type, core, and length. We also received stickers that said our names and 'Visitor for Trial' on them. Then Andromeda took us to the lifts. We were headed down to the tenth floor, where the courtrooms were located. On the lift, little paper airplanes flew above our heads, moving levels to find their recipients.

As we made it down, Andromeda told us, "We're not going to be able to see him before the trial. He's under very strict security right now, under watch by four Aurors at a minimum."

We were headed down to the tenth floor. "All the courtrooms are on the tenth floor." Andromeda explained. "There are different kinds of wizarding courts. Most minor trials can be handled by an individual Wizengamot member. More major trials could require three or seven members. Then, there are full trials, in which every member of the Wizengamot is requested to be present. Those full trials are usually only used for lawmaking but can be used for high profile and important cases, as well as cases of appeal. Today, we'll be dealing with a trial overseen by the full Wizengamot, but because it is an emergency meeting, most likely not every member will be there."

"Who makes up the Wizengamot?" I asked.

"Well, it is varied. A couple dozen very old houses are entitled to a family seat. The Blacks included actually. Arcturus would be here today, in fact, if he wasn't on his deathbed. He's pretty sick right now, coming to the end because he contracted Dragon Pox. All of the ministry departments are also entitled to a seat, and usually, the head of the department sits in the seat. Every seat holder is entitled to send whoever they want to represent them in the case they cannot attend. Arcturus may have sent someone in his stead. The minister has a seat as well as the senior undersecretary to the minister. All first class Order of Merlin members have a seat for life. Those are all of the non-elected members. For every two non-elected members, there is also one elected member. The elected members mainly take the duties of the lower courts, but it's a very convoluted and messed up system when it comes to law-making and high profile cases because the rich and old families of the Wizarding World have a grasp of control. The Order of Merlin First Class can be bestowed by the current holders once every year. Those are almost always very noble appointments for very distinguished people. The issue is that the Minister of Magic can appoint one person every seven years. Arcturus actually has two votes because of that which will hopefully help us in this case if he sent someone to vote for him. However, I don't expect us needing any help because I've requested the use of Veritaserum, a truth potion. Combined with the will of Lily and James, we should be completely fine," She explained as we walked through the halls to a large courtroom. The room was circular, with seats all around a central wooden floor. Directly parallel to the doors we entered through were another set of doors, which Andromeda informed me was connected to where the prisoners were held, if someone was on trial. There were double staircases on the sides of each door that led to the upper seating sections. It seemed like there was a visitors section on both sides of the near doors, and then voting members had assigned seats throughout the rest of the courtroom which they were settling into. Above the other door was a grand chair which Albus Dumbledore was currently sitting in. On the floor, there was a singular shackled chair sitting by itself. The visitors' seats were only benches with a light blue padding, as opposed to the high backed chairs the voting members held that had dark blue cushions. We settled into our seats, and then once everyone was seated, they locked the doors.

"Criminal trial on the twenty-fifth of July into offenses of assisted murder and murder by Sirius Black as well as a major breach of the Statute of Secrecy, having been imprisoned without trial for almost ten years. Interrogators: Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore, Chief Wizard, Amelia Susan Bones, Head of The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Defense Attorney: Andromeda Black Tonks. Please bring in the accused." That's when the doors across from us opened, and I could see Sirius for the first time. He looked ghastly, thin, and grey-skinned.

"Finally giving me a trial? Eh? Wonder who died to make this happen." Sirius said as Aurors led him to the chair in the center and shackled him in. People gasped and muttered to each other over his appearance and remark.

"We have on record that your Defense Attorney wishes for you to be interrogated under veritaserum. Do you consent to interrogation under Veritaserum?"

"Well, of course! About damn time." Sirius said, and some more people gasped. Guilty people almost never consented to the use of Veritaserum. One of the Aurors brought forth a vial of a clear potion and dropped three drops onto Sirius's tongue. Amelia Bones came forward.

"What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"How old are you?"

"31 years old."

Amelia then pulled out a slip of paper which was a copy of the will I had provided Andromeda with. "This document was formally submitted to the court by your attorney. This is a copy of the will of James and Lily Potter found by Harry Potter in the Potter family vault at Gringotts." The courtroom burst into whispers, and Albus Dumbledore looked right at me, so I looked away quickly. Wow, I might need to learn Occlumency. Amelia continued after the murmur subsided, "This will has been certified authentic by the Goblin's will on record." Everyone in the court was waiting in anticipation for what was about to occur. "It states here that you are Harry Potter's godfather. Is that true?"

"Yes. I am his legal and magical godfather." There was a hum in the audience.

"Does that mean you underwent The Godfather ritual, which is an oath to protect your godchild?"

"Yes." Many people gasped, knowing the implications.

"This will also states that you were not, in contrary to popular belief, James and Lily Potter's secret keeper. This will states that it was Peter Pettigrew who was their secret keeper. Is this true?"

"Yes. I was not the secret keeper, I suggested to Lily and James to choose Peter because I would have been the obvious choice. I regret that decision to this day."

"So Peter was the secret keeper?"

"Yes."

"You were not?"

"Well duh, Amelia." He joked. No one laughed, though. "No. I wasn't."

"Did you knowingly betray the Potters to You-Know-Who?"

"No. I didn't betray them at all. Peter did, that scumbag son of a bitch."

"You believe that Peter betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who?"

"Well, he had to, because he was the secret keeper. No one else could. That's why I went after him once I discovered they died. I went to the house in Godric's Hollow and found Hagrid leaving with baby Harry. I gave him my motorbike and then chased down Peter, the traitorous bastard."

"Did you kill twelve muggles by using an unknown spell?"

"No. Peter did."

"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"No. He cut off his finger and transfigured into his rat animagus form in order to escape me. He was never much of a duelist. By that point, the Aurors had arrived and put me in cuffs before I was able to explain anything. I've been in Azkaban ever since."

"So you had nothing to do with the death of Lily and James Potter?"

"No. Besides telling them that Pettigrew should be the keeper."

"And you were not aware Peter meant to tell the Dark Lord of their whereabouts?"

"I was not."

"You in no way harmed or killed twelve muggles?"

"No. I did not."

"And you did not kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"Correct. Wish I had." He said.

"And you were not given a trial?"

"Correct."

"You are not and were never a Death Eater?"

"No. I am not and never was a Death Eater."

"And how did you know Peter Pettigrew was an animagus?"

"Because he became one while we were at Hogwarts."

"Does he have any distinguishing marks in that form?'

"I'm not really sure. He'll be missing a finger, though."

"I think that about sums up everything we need here to establish innocence. I know we must take a vote, though." Amelia Bones declared to the room.

"A hand vote for innocent of all charges." Albus Dumbledore declared. Every single member of the Wizengamot raised their hands, even if hands like Lucius Malfoy's took a moment longer. No one wanted to be on the bad side of history. "The accused, Sirius Black, is declared innocent of all charges by a full meeting of the Wizengamot."

"Now, we must discuss proper compensation for false imprisonment." Amelia Bones said. "Sirius Black's lawyer, Andromeda Tonks, has requested that we grant him unearned salary and four times that salary in punitive damages for the almost ten years he was imprisoned. That total amount would total to be 80,000 galleons."

"A hand vote for full requested compensation." Albus Dumbledore said, voice ringing through halls. Only a slight majority raised their wands, but it was still a majority. Some members definitely seemed reticent to be giving up that money from Ministry coffers.

"Sirius Black has been granted 80,000 galleons in compensation for lost wages and punitive damages due to false imprisonment by a full meeting of the Wizengamot. With that, we are officially adjourned on the trial of Sirius Black." Albus Dumbledore said. Then everyone got up and made their way around to ensure they weren't hurt in the political scramble and upheaval of the surrounding mess of Sirius Black's false imprisonment. Bartemius Crouch was likely going to be out of a job since he was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time.

Remus, Andromeda, and I quickly made our way down to the chair in the center where Sirius was being given an antidote to Veritaserum by an Auror. Then, Amelia Bones walked up to us.

"We can release him to one of you two, but he needs to be sent to St. Mungo's immediately. He'll need malnutrition potions and likely some other forms of treatment, but he's in surprisingly good mental health. I've never seen someone come out of Azkaban for that long as good as he did. I guess innocence really does help in there." Amelia Bones said to us. "I'll also be conducting a full review of prisoners to make sure no one else was processed without a trial."

"Thanks, Amelia. Thank you, as well, Andromeda" Sirius said. Then he spotted me. "Is that you, Harry? They said you found James and Lily's will. Thank you, for doing what you did, not knowing me."

"Of course, Sirius, what are godchildren for?" I asked. He chuckled.

Then, the Aurors unshackled him and he grabbed me up in a hug. It was slightly weird, but I just went with it. He broke away shortly and then grabbed Remus and hugged him. He whispered into his ear, "We have to get that bastard."

On that note, Amelia pretended like she didn't hear him but then said, "We'll need to have you come in for questioning in regards to Peter Pettigrew because we'll be opening an investigation into him. We'll contact you when. I'm glad you're out and innocent, Sirius. If I had known…" she trailed off.

"It's okay, Amelia." Sirius said. They obviously knew each other somehow.

"How about we get some burgers?" Sirius said to all of us.

"Um, we're getting you to St. Mungo's, alright?" Remus said.

Amelia and Andromeda were then talking to each other and I overheard, "We'll get those galleons to you likely within two weeks. He'll have enough to handle things for right now?" Amelia enquired.

"Yes, he'll likely be the Head of House Black within a couple of weeks due to Arcturus having dragon pox. As the current heir, he should have plenty of funds." Andromeda responded. Then, Remus grabbed Sirius's arm, and Amelia sent us with an Auror escort to a private floo. She explained that Sirius should avoid being seen for a few days so his innocence could be well published in the Daily Prophet.

As I looked back into the main floor, Dumbledore then looked as if he was making his way across the floor to approach us. "Kingsley Shacklebolt." the Auror introduced himself, as he took us through the back door and through a winding hallway full of locked doors to a small fireplace. Dumbledore wouldn't be following us through all of that. "We'll be flooing to the private office of Healer Conway, who handles ministry affairs. The floo gate is "Conway's St. Mungo's Office." I'll be going first, followed by Sirius. Once Sirius comes through, the rest of you can follow."

By this time, flooing was much easier for me. I didn't even trip off balance during my landing. When we arrived, the healers quickly took Sirius away to a private room and told us we could visit later, but they'd be keeping him overnight for observation. Remus suggested that we go back to our hotel suite for the evening. We flooed from the office to the Excalibur hotel, and then I asked Remus if I could borrow a quill and parchment to write a letter. He obliged without asking why. Remus didn't hover, which was nice.

I decided that since Hagrid didn't come to get me like he did with Harry in the books, he might not have a reason to come to the alley before Quirrell attempts to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I decided I'd invite him to have lunch and help me go shopping for a pet in two days, so that way he'd have an opportunity to get the stone from Gringotts. There wasn't much else I could do, so I wrote my letter hoping it would achieve what I needed. Voldemort couldn't get the stone. Attempting to write a letter with a quill for the first time is tricky. The writing started off almost illegible but definitely improved towards the end.

Dear Hagrid,

I hope this letter finds you well. I discovered today that you were the one who picked me up from my house when I was a baby and delivered me to the Dursleys. I won't hold that against you. I'd like if we could meet for lunch in two days time. Please write me back if you'd like to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at noon. I'd also like to go shopping for a pet in addition to my owl, if you'd like to help me pick something out.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

While I was writing, I decided to go ahead and send both Marcus and Hermione identical messages.

Dear Marcus/Hermione,

I wanted to write you to let you know that Sirius, my godfather, was released and declared innocent. Right now he's at St. Mungo's but might be released tomorrow. Remus told me we might be able to start our lessons in about four or five days. He's already written the Moon and Rivers Families. Hermione, feel free to have Hedwig wait to send a letter back with her.

Hope I see you soon,

Harry Potter

The Next Day, July 26th, 1991

St. Mungo's

"Well pup, I don't think I can thank you enough," Sirius said to me, after having just been released under the condition that he take all physical and magical activity lightly. The healers said that most people coming out of Azkaban needed days if not weeks or months (if ever) to adapt back to the real world, but that he was very surprisingly mentally healthy enough that they couldn't keep him at St. Mungo's.

"How did you do it?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer.

"How did I do what?" Sirius replied, cheekily.

"How did you stay mentally all-there…?" I responded.

"Well, pup, that's a secret for me to know and you to find out." He said cheekily.

"Oh, so it wasn't because you were also an animagus, like Pettigrew?" I responded.

"How'd did you figure that one out, Pup?" Sirius replied crookedly.

"That's a secret for me to know and you to never find out," I replied, just as cheekily. He laughed.

"Well, Remus. 12 Grimmauld Place is mine until my grandfather dies, when I'll inherit Black Manor. I know you guys are in a hotel for now and need a permanent place to stay, so why don't we floo over to my old place and try and clear it out and renovate it?" Sirius asked.

"Sounds great to me. Pobby!" I yelled. He popped into existence next to us. "We're about to go to Sirius's house and we'll need your help to clean it."

"Of course." Pobby replied, hiding his excitement.

"When was the last time someone was there?" I asked Sirius.

"Um, six years? The healers told me my mother died in 85, I say good riddance to that hag. It might be infested with magical creatures." Sirius said.

"Might? It's a magical home. Definitely. I'm glad we're accompanying Pobby because he won't be able to deal with boggarts if any are there." Remus scolded Sirius.

"Speaking of elves, I sure hope Kreacher isn't there." Sirius said.

Then, we decided to floo over. Calling "12 Grimmauld Place," I was the last to floo, with Sirius and Remus wanting to take care of any immediate threats upon arrival if there were any.

Stepping out of the fireplace Remus said, "Don't move. Whisper. It's quite bad. There were doxies everywhere when we first came in. We've decided to check this floor for Boggarts and then close it off to the others while Pobby cleans. We'll do the floors one by one."

Then another elf appeared in front of us and started shouting, "Who is in the House of Black?! Sirius! You been in prison you no good blood traitor, Mistress says."

"Kreacher, shut up." Sirius spat at him.

"BLOOD TRAITORS, HALF-BLOODS, WEREWOLVES, in my esteemed HOUSE!" a painting started shrieking. That woke more doxies from the drapes that came awake and rushed us. They looked like little furry dragonflies with humanoid faces and nasty teeth. Remus used the knockback jinx while Sirius relied on the "incendio" fire spell to dispose of them. The smell of searing flesh was awful, and Remus's method was much more humane and efficient. When Sirius got a chance, he sent a silencing hex towards the painting that muffled, but not quite silenced, the loud shrieking.

"God, my mother is awful."Sirius said, slouching down to sit on the floor in a huff. All around him were dead or twitching doxy bodies.

"Sirius, you really shouldn't be using magic like that. I can take care of some doxies myself." Remus explained to him with a hint of frustration.

Looking around for the first time, the place really looked run down. It seemed regal in its bones, like it once had greatness, but all it had now was dust and pests. We were in a formal living room, and the furniture (underneath all the dust) looked like it was from the 1950s. Kreacher was standing in silence, looking as mad as hell. Sirius was slumped on the floor, magically (and probably physically) exhausted from not exerting himself for a decade until now. Remus seemed fine, and Pobby seemed eager to clean the filth of this place. Well, it seemed like we had a plan. Time to get to work.