Chapter 8: The Exoneration
Amelia Bones marched through the Ministry with a look of fierce determination on her face. She was headed to the Minister of Magic's office and nothing was getting in her way. She walked right past the secretary who tried to say something but was silenced in and instance with a fierce glare. She opened the door to find Minister Fudge sitting at his desk, the two seats across from him were filled by Lucius Malfoy and the pink toad of a woman, Delores Umbridge, "Amelia what the devil?" Fudge croaked.
"I have a highly sensitive matter to discuss with you Cornelius…" she looked at the other two, "Everyone else…out." She said firmly.
"Surely that's not necessary." Umbridge said is her sickeningly sweet tone, "What ever you have to say to Cornelius surely cannot be so important it must be kept from his Senior Undersecretary and his most generous benefactor."
Cornelius looked to Amelia with a hopeful expression. Her face however became even more stern, "I said out!" she repeated herself even more resolute than before, "Should you refuse me again I will charge both of you with obstructing the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Now leave."
Lucius immediately rose, "Very well." He said as he picked up the cane that concealed his wand, "Cornelius I'll see you at the World Cup." The blonde immediately made his way out.
Delores on the other had continued to sit there scowling at Amelia. "If I have to tell you again Delores I will have you in a Detention cell for the next seventy-two hours. Leave!"
"Cornelius are you really going to sit there and let her order me around in your office." Umbridge looked to the Minister.
Cornelius had a fearful expression on his face however not even a hint of defiance, "Delores dear please do as she says." Umbridge gaped at him then stood up in a huff making her way out of the room glaring at Amelia as she passed.
As soon as she left Amelia pointed her wand to the door closing and locking it, she then cast multiple charms to detect eavesdropping spells and once she disabled them she added protections against them. Once that was done she whipped around to Fudge her stern expression now completely focused on him, "Call back the dementors immediately." She ordered.
"I bed your pardon? What are you talking about?" Fudge looked absolutely livid now, "The dementors are hunting for Black, he has to be caught."
"Cornelius shut up and listen to me." She slammed her hands on his desk hard making him jump, "Black is innocent and I have the proof."
His eyes widened, "What proof could you possibly have that would exonerate him?"
"The Last Will and Testament of the late Lord and Lady Potter." She said smugly.
"WHAT?!" Cornelius exclaimed, "Impossible, Dumbledore said their wasn't one that why he is Harry Potter's Guardian."
"Albus lied Cornelius." Amelia said, as she pulled the copies she had received from Gringotts from her robes, "Two nights ago I received a owl from Harry Potter himself requesting my presence at Gringotts. I arrived to find Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape waiting for him as well. We were joined by Potter and his friend Hermione Granger and went to the Head Account Manager's office. Coincidently this account manager was also the Potter Family's account manager and he was not happy."
"And why is that?" Fudge asked.
"Because Harry Potter was supposed to have come seen him on his eleventh birthday to receive his Heir title and read his parents Wills, however when the day arrived Harry never showed." She went on, "Harry Potter assures he was there on his eleventh birthday escorted by Rubeus Hagrid. The goblin is opening his own investigation as to why Harry was not directed to him that day and he has insured a swift punishment to those responsible. But that has nothing to do with us, this however," she hold up the Wills and Guardianship registration, "This does." She passed them to the Minister.
Fudge unrolled the parchments and read them one by one. For the first two he didn't find anything that proved Sirius' innocence, but when he got to the last page his face grew paler and paler and his eyes widened, "G…go…Godfather Ritual…then…" he looks up to Amelia who was grinning.
"Exactly, Black couldn't have ever betrayed the Potters." She said flatly, "Not without dying on the spot."
"But what about Pettigrew…Black killed him!" Fudge claimed.
"Did he?" she asked as she pulled out a file and slapped it onto Fudge's desk, "The report from Black's arrest, I combed this over thoroughly and I'm appalled by the lack of information. It seemed the only thing the Aurors during that debacle were interested in was wiping the muggle's memory. None of them actually checked Black's wand to see its most recent spells. It states Pettigrew was killed by a blasting curse yet the only thing found was a finger…no additional remains…no blood, bone…tell me Minister have you seen a blasting curse in action on a human…it's extremely messy and yet there wasn't a single drop of blood at the scene."
Fudges face blanched, "Merlin's beard…" he mumbled.
"That's not all Cornelius..." she said. Fudge looks at her nervously. "Are you aware that Sirius Black was, at the time of his arrest, Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black?"
"I heard rumors…" he then looked to Amelia, "Its true?"
"Indeed and since the last Head of House Black died in 1991, Sirius Black is the Lord of House Black…" She said, "And finally what do you think the Pureblood fanatic families would do if they discovered that a Lord of an Ancient and Most Noble family was chucked into Azkaban without ever being given a trial."
Fudge was white as a ghost, "He never went to trial?"
"No…it appears former Minister Bagnold, Albus Dumbledore, and Bartimus Crouch Sr. opted to simply throw him in a cell with no trial." She place her hands on the desk and looked at the Minister sternly, "So I tell you once again…call back the dementors and set up a trial as soon as possible."
"Yes…you're right the dementors should be called back." Fudge began thinking hard, "But how will we get Black to come to the trial? He's on the run."
"I'll send word through Harry Potter I'm sure Black is keeping an eye on him." She said holding back a smirk.
"Very well then, but how do we deal with Dumbledore?" Fudge asked, "He put Black away without trial for a reason. He is the Chief Warlock."
"Well ask him to recuse himself since he seems to have a connection to this case." Amelia said, "And with him stepped down you will be acting Chief Warlock during the trial."
Fudge's color had returned to his face, "Your right and when Black is acquitted it will make it look as if I'm correcting the mistakes of my predecessor."
Amelia smirked, 'Hook, Line, and Sinker.' She thought, 'The fool will do what ever it takes to ensure his reelection." She nodded at his assessment, "Very true Minister. Now until the trial is set I expect you to keep this matter between us." She looked at him sternly, "If I catch wind of you passing this information to anyone including your benefactor or Madam Undersecretary I will file charges of conspiracy against you. Am I clear?"
Fudge's face paled a bit and he nodded, "Crystal."
"Excellent. Now lets hammer out the details." She sat down and pulled out her Dicto-quill.
~ ~ ~
A week later Harry Potter was sitting in Courtroom Eight. He smirked as he watched Dumbledore be recused from his position. It didn't take longer than an hour thanks to Edward 'Ted' Tonks, the law wizard who plowed thought the evidence presented to him in a few short hours. He and his wife had been livid when they learn Sirius was never given a trial, and when the Guardianship document was read Andromeda Tonks ' Nee Black, sobbed when she learned of the ritual Sirius had done. Ted assured them that alone would be sufficient evidence to prove his innocence. Since if the Potters truly made Pettigrew their secret keeper killing him would have been a betrayal of them as well which would have resulted in Sirius death.
Once the Tonks' agreed to help Sirius revealed himself, having been in his animagus form the entire time. Andromeda hugged Sirius hard before fretting over how he looked. Within minutes she was making him chug Nourishment Potions, giving him a hair cut, and feeding him a proper hot meal. By the time the Mediwitch was done Sirius looked ten years younger and a few pounds fatter. When they received Amelia's letter about the trial Ted immediately got to work preparing their case. When the day finally arrived Harry sat himself in a seat close to Sirius.
Dumbledore had been surprised when he was called in for a session, then when he saw Sirius in the defendant's seat the twinkle he usually had in his eye suddenly vanished. Dumbledore was not pleased when he was recused for this case and Fudge took his place since now he could only watch as his plan was unraveled. Dumbledore's shock did not end there however, the first piece of evidence Ted pulled was the Last Will and Testament of the late Potters. Albus looked as if someone had smacked him as the Wills were read and he was listed as a witness. All eyes were on him, many of which were glares or sneers.
Shortly after that Sirius willingly gave a testimony while under Veritaserum and explained in detail what happen the morning of November 1st, 1981. He told them after he found the Potters and let Hagrid take Harry, then he went after Pettigrew, the Potter's true secret keeper. He told them how Peter caught him off guard and blasted the street before cutting off his finger and transforming into a rat. The questions move to his escape Sirius told them how Fudge had been visiting and gave him a paper it was there he saw the rat who was sitting on the shoulder of Ronald Weasley. He knew the Weasley boy was at Hogwarts and so was Harry. So he broke out because he had to protect his Godson.
When the interrogation ended no one could refute a thing, and to put the cherry on top Ted called Harry to the stand. Harry smiled and stood. Albus gawked a bit he hadn't even notice Harry until his name was called. Harry took the stand and offered the memory of the night he first met Sirius Black, from his previous life. A projector pensive was brought in and the entire Wizengamot watched all the way up to the point Harry lost consciousness at the pond. They all gasped when they watch the rat transform into Pettigrew. When the memory ended Amelia Bones stood up, "Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot I believe we've all seen enough now shall we vote?" there were murmured nods throughout the hall, "All in favor of conviction?" Only a few wands went up most of them were the Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban including Lucius Malfoy and Delores Umbridge who was scowling a bit as she looked around the room, "All in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" Amelia said as she raised her own wand. Every wand that didn't go up before was now in the air.
Fudge banged his gavel, "Cleared of all charges." He said. Those who voted for began applauding, "Sirius Black shall be awarded 12,000 galleons as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment by the previous administration. His wand will be returned, and should he chose to he may return to his post as Senior Auror in the Auror Department."
"Excuse me Minister…" Ted Tonks called out, "There is another matter we would like to bring before you today." He called out loudly for the entire Wizengamot to hear. The room immediately went quiet.
"Proceed." Fudge told him.
"The matter we like to bring before you all is the custody of one Harry James Potter." Ted said. There were many gasps but Ted continued, "As stated in the his parents will Sirius was the first choice as their son's guardian. We would like to petition for his rights as Harry's guardian to go into effect immediately."
"Objection!" Albus stood, "Sirius has been in Azkaban for twelve years. I'm sure he isn't mentally prepared to take over guardianship of Harry at this time."
Ted turned to Dumbledore and smirked, "First of all Albus, I believe you recused yourself from this trial, you have no right to object to anything, but I will allow that objection to go through and I will ask you…Who is Harry's current guardian?"
Albus' eyes narrowed, "I am…" he said quietly.
"Hmmm funny, I don't believe you were named as a guardian in his parents Wills." Ted said looking as if he were thinking, "So I assume Harry lives with you?" Albus didn't reply. Ted turned to Harry who was still sitting on the stand, "Harry do you live with Albus Dumbledore?"
"No sir I live with my muggle aunt and uncle." Harry said flatly.
The entire hall gasped and an uproar began, "Lords and Ladies I believe we all just heard what Heir Potter just said," Ted called out, "and I'm sure you remember the Wills that were previously read, the guardianship section explicitly stated Harry was to NEVER be place with his mother's sister and her husband." He turned back to Harry, "Harry do you have a happy life living with your aunt and uncle?"
"I'm treated like a slave Mr. Tonks." Harry said, "From the time I was old enough to stand I was made to cook them breakfast. If I burnt a single piece of bacon I was beaten. If I had any displays of accidental magic I was locked in a cupboard under the stairs for a week and not allowed to eat. That same cupboard was my bed room up until the time I got my first Hogwarts letter. The only reason they moved me was they were afraid someone was watching. If it would please the court I'll provide a few memories." He said calmly.
The court room demanded to see this and Harry offered three memories; the first was when he was four years old. Young Harry was standing at the stove on a stool cooking while wearing cloths that were clearly too big for him. His uncle Vernon walked up and started yelling saying he wasn't cooking the eggs right. His uncle grabbed the pan and smacked Harry in the head with it sending the boy to the ground sobbing. The next memory showed his aunt holding a fistful of his hair as she sloppily cut his unruly hair then locked him in the cupboard, the next morning young Harry's hair had grown back he was immediately beaten then dragged to the cupboard and locked in. The last memory was of ten year old Harry running from his cousin and the fat boy's friends. When they finally caught him the boys proceeded to kick and punch skinny little Harry.
"I believe we've seen enough!" Albus called out.
"I agree." Ted said turning to Albus, "Not only did you illegally take custody of Harry, you placed him in a home where he was subjected to abuse far worse than any house elf had ever received clearly the one not fit to be a guardian is you Albus Dumbledore. How you're allowed to be Headmaster to a school full of children baffles me." Ted said flatly before turning back to Cornelius, "Once again I move to allow Sirius Black to take up his role as Harry's guardian by the rite of the Godfather ritual."
"All in favor of granting Sirius Black guardianship of Heir Potter?" Cornelius asked. Almost every wand was in the air, "All opposed?" he asked. Lucius Malfoy and Delores Umbridge along with three others wands were in the air. "Motion granted!" Cornelius banged his gavel, "Harry Potter's guardianship is hence forth transferred to Sirius Orion Black."
Harry had the largest grin on his face as he hopped down and ran to Sirius hugging him tightly. Sirius hugged him back "Lets go home Prongslet." Sirius said as he held the boy close.
"Alright…but we seriously have to remodel Grimmauld Place that place is a disaster zone." Harry whispered.
"I know, I know come on lets go." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around Harry's neck and guided him out of the hall neither of them paying attention to the death glares they were receiving from Dumbledore.
Up Next: While Dumbledore frets over his plans falling apart, Harry and sirius get settled into Grimauld place. Sirius decides to follow Harry's advice and has a heart to heart with Severus.