24 June 1994
BAGNOLD BLUNDERS - FUDGE FIXES FLUB-UP
BLACK INNOCENT - NEEDED FOR QUESTIONING
PETTIGREW THE BETRAYER- FRAMES HEAD OF HOUSE BLACK
POTTER AND WEASLEY SAVE THE DAY
FUDGE CLEANS UP INJUSTICE OF PREDECESSOR
The headlines were ridiculous the next morning, the articles were even worse. Harry found himself being quoted by people he never met. Most of Pettigrew's confession found its way into the article but the capture was dramatized by the media. Making it seem as though Pettigrew was taken down by two third years who were working alongside Fudge. The fact that Pettigrew stayed hidden at the burrow for the last 12 years was completely left out, as was Eloise's role in discovering the truth. She was left as unnamed friend who helped with research and was not contacted by the minister like Hermione. Harry and Ron both insisted that Hermione told the headmaster and minister the truth about Eloise figuring out there was something wrong with Scabbers and the suspicious circumstances around Sirius Black.
Ron was portrayed as a victim, his beloved familiar turning out to be a cold blooded murderer. Thankfully, there was no mention of Scabbers ever sleeping in his bed with him. At first, Ron was very put out not to be recognized as a hero like Hermione and Harry but after Lavender and Hope both came to comfort him, he found he didn't mind as much. For the last month of school, Lavender and Hope became his sycophant shadows who would constantly coo over him. Parvati tried to attach herself to Harry but he was having none of it and practically threw Hermione at the girl.
It was announced after exams were over that Sirius Black finally turned himself over to the ministry. After being photographed with the minister, shaking his hand. Black would be admitted to St. Mungos to receive first class treatment. It would take at least 2 months to recover physically from the over a decade in Azakaban, but would take much longer for his mental health. The minister let it slip that he would be inviting Black to join him for the quidditch World Cup and would be visiting Harry and the Weasleys to invite them as well. Professor Snape turned a dark puce while reading the paper and let it slip that Professor Lupin was a werewolf in front of the great hall.
Harry only went to visit Remus once outside of class since they captured Pettigrew. The man was morose since finding out one of his childhood best friends was falsely imprisoned and the other not only framed him but was responsible for James and Lily's deaths. Classes were lackluster and mostly review for the rest of the semester. Professor Lupin didn't even seem bothered as left the hall to pack his things to leave. It was the day before the they would leave for the summer when Harry and Hermione went to see the headmaster.
"Enter." Albus's calm voice carried through the door. "Ahh, Harry, hermione, how are you both this evening?"
"You wanted to see us?" Harry asked nervously as he moved to sit down at the at the table with the headmaster.
"Yes, well, I know Hermione wanted to speak to me about something and I had something for you, Harry." Albus beamed as they sat down and Hermione immediately started to fix their tea.
"Uncle Albus if I were to drop muggle studies, would I have to return my necklace? I would continue on with divination and muggle studies in self study so I could take the OWLs." Hermione asked tentatively as she handed Albus his cup of tea.
"That would be a bit unfair, don't you think, dear? The whole point in allowing you to use the time turner was so that you could attend classes, not allow you extra time for studies." Albus said sternly, fighting back a small smile.
"Time turner?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's how I've been able to go to all my lessons." Hermione sighed, pulling a long gold chain from under her robes. An hourglass surrounded by gold rings with runes lay in her hand. She glared at the chuckling headmaster before turning to Harry. "Professor McGonagall made me swear not to tell anyone, she did the same with Percy. It allows you to relive hours at a time."
"So, you have the ability to travel through time and you took extra courses?" Harry exclaimed incredulous, looking at his friend like she was insane.
"The ministry regulates them." Hermione blushed and took the necklace off, putting it on the table in front of the headmaster.
"Well, not this one. This is my personal time turner, my own design." The headmaster hummed as he picked up the necklace and looked at it closely. "I've added a few runes for stability and the I made the sands myself with some assistance from Nicholas."
"You let me use your time turner?" Hermione squeaked.
"Yes, I've exhausted all the testing I could think of over the summer to make sure it was safe for you." The headmaster nodded and put the time turner into a wooden box on his shelf. "Perhaps, one day you may need it again."
"Thank you!" Hermione beamed but Harry still looked confused.
"Why, if there are time turners...couldn't people go back and fix things?" Harry said slowly, at a loss for words.
"I'm sorry, Harry but one can not meddle with time to right the wrongs in someone's life. You must always look forward because meddling with the past can have dire consequences." The headmaster said sternly as he lifted another box. He pulled out a lumpy murky white crystal with a hole drilled into the middle.
"What's that?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"This is what I promised you at the beginning of the year, Harry." Albus beamed as he held the crystal up to the light, the hole was only drilled halfway down to the center of the crystal, the runes carved into it reflected off the candle light. "This is a memory crystal."
"I can see people's memories with it?" Harry asked excitedly, his green eyes shining with joy at the possibilities.
"Yes, before pensieves, we had memory crystals. Tricky to make but do not require any spell work to use." The headmaster pulled a large black case from under the table. When he opened it, three shelves popped up, all of them lined with small glass vials filled with white smoke. "Now memory extraction is not something either of you are prepared to meddle with. If you like, in a few years I will gladly teach you but the mind can be a dangerous place so do not attempt what I'm about to show you. I'm sure Hermione would be very interested in a demonstration as well if that's alright with you Harry."
"I don't mind, professor." Harry nodded eagerly, Hermione flashed him a bright smile in return.
Albus lifted his wand to his temple and closed his eyes. When he pulled his wand away a long white wisp was pulled with it. Directing the smoke with his wand, he placed it into the crystal. The crystal flashed blue, then gold as smoke rose from the hole, it curled up becoming denser and larger until it was about 12in around in a lopsided oval. The smoke became lighter as a picture formed inside, the great hall was packed with chattering students, colors were slightly faded but the murmurs of the students were growing louder.
"Lily flower!" A voice shouted above all the others as the doors opened to show a tall, willowy girl with fiery red hair storm in to the hall, her green eyes blazed with indignation. She was closely followed by a group of four boys, all of them seemed to be around 5th year. They could recognize a young Remus Lupin immediately, Peter Pettigrew right behind him. One of them stopped at the Hufflepuff table to talk to a blonde girl, he winked and flipped his long wavy black over shoulder laughing. His barking laugh made him easily recognized as Sirius Black from old news papers.
"Go away, Potter!" The red head turned on the last boy who towered over her. He looked just like Harry with his windswept black hair, the only difference was his hazel eyes that were glittering with suppressed mirth.
"Alright Lilyflower, you go to Hogsmeade with me and I'll give you the counter for your beloved Snivelly." James Potter smiled jovially.
"No, you toerag!" The younger Lily Evans shrieked as she grabbed some rolls from the Gryffindor table before storming towards the door.
"But, Evans! My heart beats for you! My dreams are filled with your fiery hair! The stars in the night are nothing compared to the shine of your eyes! Your-" James followed close behind shouting loudly, making sure he had the attention of the entire hall. Lily's face burned with embarrassment but there was the slightest twitch in her lips.
"Percue populae!" Lily whipped out her wand and did some complicated movement, a pink light hit James right in the face, cutting off his ravings. 'PRAT' was spelled in pimples on his forehead, Lily smirked before storming from the great hall.
"Tough luck there, Prongs." A young Sirius Black threw his arm casually over James's shoulder with a lecherus grin.
"She loves me." James said wistfully with a goofy smile as they walked towards the Gryffindor table.
"What makes you think that?" Remus asked with a grin.
"She didn't go for my bits, that time." James clapped his hands happily as he practically skipped to his place at the table. The smoke screen started to coil in on itself as it shrank and pulled back into the crystal. Albus tipped the crystal, letting the liquid smoke fall into a glass phial and placed it on the shelf in the black case.
"And as we can see the proof here, Lily did eventually succumb to James's advances." Albus grinned at the shocked students before him.
"Wow." Harry whispered as he sat back in his chair looking dazed. Albus was busy putting the crystal into a smaller padded box and slipping it into the black case. The headmaster slid the black case across the table to Harry with a small smile.
"These are for you, Harry. I've been collecting memories since the beginning of the school year." The head master smiled encouragingly as Harry slowly reached out to take the large case from the table, surprised at how light it was.
"I don't...I can't...thank you." Harry whispered, still awed.
"It is no problem, Harry. I fear I have made a grave mistake by not making more time to check in on you. I only hope this can make up for just a portion of the pain I've caused." The headmaster said regrettably.
"You...I understand that if I was placed normally I would have ended up with the Malfoy's or someone like them?" Harry looked up at the ancient headmaster balefully.
"By the time your parents will was read all of the guardians your parents named were unavailable. I won't lie, I did intend for you to stay with your Aunt and Uncle and was hoping I could convince whoever took guardianship to allow you to stay. Sirius was of course listed first, then your godmother Dorcas Meadows, then Frank and Alice Longbottom, then Peter, and last Remus. Unfortunately, the will was made out when you were 6 months old. The Wizengamot ruled that werewolves could not be considered as caretakers. Afterwards, many families came forward to take you but they were dark times. Many of Voldemort's followers were bribing ministry officials for their freedom. I came forward and spoke to the minister, insisting you were kept away from the magical world for your safety. I really just wanted you to have a normal, happy childhood. I'm so sorry, Harry." Albus said sadly.
"I have a godmother?" Harry smiled slightly.
"Unfortunately, Miss. Meadows was murdered by Voldemort himself in August of 1981." The headmaster frowned as he watched Harry's face crumble.
"Are Frank and Alice, Neville's parents?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Yes, wonderful people. Alice and Lily became fast friends and grew even closer when they found out they were both pregnant. They planned out play dates and even talked about you both one day getting married." Albus chuckled, Harry's face paled. "That was before they knew you were a boy, Harry. Lily swore you were a girl while James was certain you would be a boy."
"Wow, I could have grown up with Neville?" Harry breathed out mournfully.
"Yes, if only...the Longbottoms were betrayed as well. They trusted their boss, Barty Crouch as their secret keeper, rather than an Order member, like your parents. His son got his hands on their address and tried to prove himself to some of Voldemort's most fanatic followers." The headmaster sighed sadly.
"Order?" Hermione asked curiously.
"The Order of the Pheonix. A group I started with my good friend, Alastor. Your uncles were members as well as Harry's parents. With the ministry infiltrated we couldn't depend on the aurors alone so this group worked to destabilize Voldemort's movement." Albus smiled slightly, thinking of the group.
"That's amazing! Were mum and dad members?" Hermione smiled brightly.
"No, with 7 children at home they couldn't help much but they did offer their home whenever needed. Molly would mother the ailing back to health and then box their ears when they were healthy for being careless." Albus chuckled.
"Sounds like mum." Hermione grinned impishly.
"There's one last thing I wanted to give you Harry." Albus pulled a roll of parchment from his desk. "I've already spoken to Sirius, the first thing he wanted to do was come here to see you but I told him he needed to get himself fixed up before he could take care of you. He's petitioning to gain custody of you but he's also agreed that you need to spend time at your aunt and uncles to keep the wards active, just in case." He handed the parchment over and Harry read eagerly, his face lighting up with joy.
"He's signed my Hogmeade slip!" Harry cried happily.