"Are you sure about this Mum?"
"I have no other choice boys. I have to go."
Morning had come sooner than they'd anticipated and it was time for Victoria to get ready for her meeting with Minister of Magic.
Victoria stared at herself in the full-length mirror, she hadn't looked like this in a very long time. After Fabian had died, she'd hidden all her expensive robes in the corner of her closet and only worn black duelling robes for missions, black dress pants and a shirt for everyday outing or pyjamas, as she'd rarely left the manor after becoming a widow. Now though, she was wearing a beautiful set of navy-blue robes with a sweetheart neckline. They were fitted at the top and spread-out at the waist, with a small slit in the side for easier movement. She wore white ankle boots with a heel that made her at least three cm taller beneath the robes. She had her hair up in a twisted and curled low chignon, with a few small diamonds throughout. For the first time in almost five years, she was wearing her bonding ring, the Lady ring for the house of Prewett, the ring with the Potter family crest that her parents and brother had gotten her on her seventeenth birthday, and the necklace Fabian had given her for her first courting gift. It was a simple gold chain with a locket attached to it, the locket itself had a stag sitting with an owl perched on one of its antlers, the symbols of the Houses of Potter and Prewett respectively, inside the locket, however, was a picture of her and Fabian with a twin each, taken on their first birthday. The picture had originally been one of the two of them that they had taken in their fourth year, where she was ignoring all propriety and had jumped on his back when Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch house cup and the last match of the year. Gideon had taken the picture without them noticing and had given it to his brother the next day in secret. It was one of her favourite memories to this day, as the happiness on both of their faces was always clear. The picture was now enlarged and sitting on the mantle above the fireplace at the moment.
"You look beautiful Mum." Both her boys said in unison, smiling at their mother in awe. Percy nodded in agreement at the words, looking at his aunt with a smile full of admiration at the elegance that she showed. His mother had never once thought about dressing up for events or acting like a pureblood lady, and his father had never really cared about Pureblood Politics, unlike him, so to see his aunt embrace her position and show her political power made him feel a lot better about his choice to go into politics, as he dreamed of becoming a solicitor, and while his father hadn't really cared about what he did with his life as long as he was happy, his mother had invalidated his dreams every chance she got, so it was nice to finally live with someone who seemed to believe in the same things he did.
Victoria smiled at their comment and blew them a playful kiss that had them silently chuckling before she turned back towards the mirror. She couldn't help but agree to their statement though, she looked like a true Pureblood Lady, reminding herself of how her mother looked when she went to charity galas and events with her father.
She then turned towards the bed, where the three sat and watched her get ready. She sat between the three of them and put her arms around them.
"Alright boys. I'll be leaving you three here on your own, so I hope you don't destroy anything and maybe explore the place a little, set up your rooms and work stations, get some homework done. I'll be back as soon as I can." She told them jokingly, trying to lighten the mood as she could see that they weren't comfortable with her leaving just yet.
The twins tightened their arms around her and hid their faces in her shoulders, trying to hide the fact that they were worried that history would repeat itself. Before she had been hit with the spell that had left her in a coma for ten years, she had told them that she was just going to get their uncle James and was going to be back in about three hours before leaving them with James's wife and son, unfortunately those three hours had turned into ten years without her knowledge. She hadn't thought they'd remember, but apparently her boys had better memories than she'd thought. She didn't know what to do to make them understand that that wouldn't happen again if she had anything to say about it. She shared a look with Percy above Fred's shoulder, who shrugged, lost on what to do to comfort them, then a thought struck her, and she smiled to herself, getting a confused look from her nephew. She pulled her arms from around them, which caused the two to raise their heads and look at her in curiosity. She took off her necklace and put it around George's neck before securing it there.
"This was the first gift your dad gave me when he first started courting me, so it's really important to me." They looked at the necklace in awe as George held the locket carefully in his hand as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She took the locket and his hands into hers and opened the locket to show the picture inside and smiled at the memory. "That's you two, your dad and I on your first birthday. I'd never taken it off until now, but I want you two to have it today. Keep it safe until I come back later and take it, alright? I wouldn't go anywhere without it, right?"
The two nodded their heads in agreement before they shared a look of determination and said in unison "We'll protect it."
"And that's all I ask. And I promise I'll come back." She said, kissing all three of them on the head before she got up and straightened her robes from any imaginary wrinkles. "Well come on then." The three stood up at her prompting and followed her to the floo.
"I'll take care of them while you're gone." Percy whispered to his aunt as he came to walk next to her.
"While I appreciate the sentiment Perce, it's not your responsibility to take care of them, it's mine to take care of all three of you. I would however appreciate you making sure they don't blow up the manor while I'm gone." The two shared a laugh at her words, and unbeknownst to Victoria, her words cemented to Percy that his aunt was completely different from his mother, as Molly would have jumped at the opportunity of throwing his siblings' and cousins' responsibility onto him to go have a girl's day with her friends. He immediately snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his aunt's voice and noticed that they had reached the main foyer's fireplace.
"Alright boys. The house elves will be here if you need anything. Call Kandy or Biskey if you need anything or if you get lost in the manor. Lunch will be served by 1pm, but hopefully I'll be here by then, if I'm not then you lot eat without me."
"Got it, and I'll try to keep these two from any trouble." Percy said with a mischievous smirk. The twins squawked indignantly at what was implied by the statement. Victoria laughed silently at the trio's bickering before she hugged them goodbye and took a handful of green powder. Throwing it into the fire, she waved to the boys one last time before she stepped into the floo and called out her destination.
As she stepped out of the fireplace, she saw her two friends sitting across from each other and engaging in a conversation, sipping tea of all things.
"I'm going to assume you were waiting for me and not just having a nice chat." She said in a deadpan voice, looking at the two sitting casually at the desk, still sipping their tea. They kept staring at each other for a minute before they burst out laughing. Frank and Amelia stood up, and once the three had stopped laughing, they headed towards the door.
"Ready to face the music Frankie? They are your ex-colleagues." Victoria asked her best friend, smiling at him teasingly as he groaned.
"I completely forgot this is the Auror department as well, not just the DMLE." Frank said, sighing in resignation before he straightened his shoulders and raised his head slightly in confidence.
The three looked at each other, nodded in determination and opened the door.
They went unnoticed for a second, before someone turned towards the door and saw a sight that elicited a shocked gasp out of the man.
"Blimey! Is that you Longbottom?" The Auror said, walking over towards Frank in surprise and attracting the attention of the rest of the office, who turned at the exclamation and gaped at the sight of the man everyone thought they'd never see walking around again.
"Hello to you too Robards." Frank replied to the Auror, Robards apparently, who greeted him back with a pat on the shoulder.
When it looked like everyone was going to come to greet the man that was tortured to insanity and was believed to be impossible to heal him, Amelia whistled to attract her aurors' attention. "Alright everyone, while I know you want to come and greet Auror Longbottom, we do have a meeting to get to. So, I'll get him here another day to talk to you all. Now, get back to work!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Was collectively shouted, and all the aurors went back to their offices.
As the three walked outside the department and made their way towards the minister's office, gaining a lot of stares from people who knew who they were and what had happened to them, Frank finally voiced a thought he'd been struck with during his interaction with the aurors. "They really respect you, huh."
"What do you mean?" Amelia asked, turning her head towards the man.
"Well, if Crouch had said what you did, there would have been grumbling and a few who'd rebel and stay anyway. But they just followed your words with acceptance, which only happens from the aurors when the order is from someone they respect."
"I've never thought of it like that." Amelia replied to that, mulling over his words as they continued walking.
As they were having that conversation, they didn't notice that Victoria had found someone staring at them and had sent the hooded person a hand signal that sent them running towards a certain department.
A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the minister's secretary's desk, who was staring at them in shock, trying and failing to get a single coherent word out through her stuttering. She then shut her mouth, sighed quietly and gestured towards the door.
The three raised their eyebrows at the weird interaction before they let themselves into the Minister's office.
"Ah Amelia. You came just in…" The minister said distractedly before he trailed off as he looked up and came face-to-face with two people he hadn't expected to ever come in contact with.
He stood up suddenly and bowed, a little lower than was required but they weren't going to comment. "Lord Longbottom, Lady Prewett. What an honour it is to meet you. I apologize for not coming to greet you myself, but I was under the impression that you were…incapacitated."
"Thank you, Minister. And we were unavailable until yesterday actually, we thought we'd come and inform you of our returned health and subsequent return to society before it was publicized in the Daily Prophet." Frank said, gesturing for him to sit as though it were his own office, and took a seat in the chair in front of the man's desk. Victoria took the other seat while Amelia conjured a chair for herself next to her friend's.
"Oh yes, thank you for informing me first Lord Longbottom, your sentiment is greatly appreciated." Minister Fudge said, smiling smugly at being one of the first to know of this news.
"Of course, minister. I also had a request to ask of you." Victoria said, getting into the real reason of why they were there in the first place. While she did know that formalities were needed at times, she, like her brother, had never been one to beat around the bush, so to speak.
"Yes of course, anything you need Lady Prewett. I'll be happy to help." The minister said eagerly, always one to suck up to the lords and ladies of the Wizengamot.
"Well, they are two requests actually. First of all, I heard that my nephew, Heir Potter, was in the custody of a woman named Petunia Dursley, who is a muggle. As his aunt and closest living magical relative, I'd like to get custody of him to be able to help improve his knowledge of our world as much as I can before he is required to go to Hogwarts for his education. I think it's been enough time of him being isolated from our world, don't you think."
"Ah…well. While I agree with your reasoning, what you request is quite difficult. You see…Dumbledore sent…Heir Potter to his muggle relatives to keep him safe from those that sided with You-know-who in the last war." Fudge said, stuttering at the unimpressed look she gave him for an answer.
"Are you insinuating that I cannot protect my nephew from a few cowards? And might I add that I can't seem to remember ever being related to Mr. Dumbledore in any way, so what right does he have in saying where my nephew resides or not?" Victoria said calmly, giving the minister a cold look that could freeze the room with him in it if she so wished it to, as the room's temperature lowered by a degree with every word she said. The man shivered at the display of powerful magic, and the cold stare he was being given by the woman that even You-Know-Who had begrudgingly respected for the power she possessed.
"I…I'll get the custody t-t-transfer papers immediately." He stuttered, not wanting to anger her anymore. "What was the other request, Lady Prewett?"
"Ah yes. I heard that Heir Sirius Black was imprisoned for betraying my brother as his secret keeper, when I remember that it was Peter Pettigrew who was his family's secret keeper. I have a memory of the change with me as I was a witness when the event occurred." Victoria said, pulling out a vile of very light blue -bordering on clear- liquid. She gave it to Amelia, who nodded her head and said "It hasn't been tampered with. If I may also add, I searched for Sirius Black's case file and trial transcript, but couldn't find any. Which would mean that either the files were stolen, which is highly unlikely, or he never got a trial in the first place."
"That…That can't be possible." Fudge said, his face starting to turn an ugly purple from anger. If what was being said was true, then this might cause a scandal of the highest order.
"Of course, this is a large problem, as that would mean that the Heir-Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was illegally incarcerated without a trial, but the fault falls greatly on the previous administration. The previous minister, Bagnold and the previous head of the DMLE, Bartemius Crouch Senior, are the most at fault in this heinous crime. You, of course, trusted their judgement and that they gave the man a trial before throwing him in Azkaban, as anyone would in your position. I suggest someone go talk to Sirius, and if he says something that differs from the known story, then we bring him in front of the Wizengamot for a trial." Frank said diplomatically, understanding the man from this one sitting and using his words as a means to get the man to do what they wanted, which is basically doing his job.
"I was already planning on visiting him, so I can go see him in Azkaban tomorrow. I'll ask him for the story and if I find that he may not be guilty, I'll show you all the memory and we'll call for a trial immediately. Since both the minister and the head of the DMLE would call for the trial, there shouldn't be much opposition to the decision. I'll also inform Lord Black of the proceedings so that he may provide his heir a defence solicitor." Victoria offered, already having a plan to use for this situation.
"I agree with this, if he is guilty, we'll just leave him in Azkaban, if there is a possibility he may be innocent, then we'll inform Lord Black and call for a trial. We'll also ensure people understand that the blame was solely on the previous administration for not doing their jobs correctly." Fudge said, already thinking of what he would say to the press to take the blame off of him.
"Either way, the man deserves a trial, but yes we should do that." Frank said before thinking of something. "I believe we should keep this between the four of us for now, we don't want a scandal to occur without being ready to counter it."
"Of course. Nothing will come from me." Fudge said, knowing that the man was, unfortunately, right.
The three stood up to leave then. The minister bid them a hearty farewell, which the three replied to with less enthusiasm, before leaving the office.
As soon as they were past the secretary's desk, they came face-to-face with a man they hadn't expected to be there.
"Victoria?" He asked, looking shocked at the sight of his old friend, who he had thought was still in St. Mungo's in a coma.
"Hello Lucius." Victoria said, smiling at the man, Lord Lucius Malfoy. "We need to talk."
"I realise that. I'm afraid I'm quite busy today, but how about tomorrow, say at three in the afternoon?" Lucius offered, knowing that they had a lot to talk about.
"I should be free by then. Would you mind me bringing my sons and nephews though?" Victoria asked, hoping that she'd have her nephew with her by then, as she was planning on going immediately to get him. She knew that it wouldn't be good for her to leave the twins and Percy on their own for more than she needed to, and she would need to leave them in the morning to go see Sirius. Besides, it could give Harry the opportunity to get to know a magical child his own age, as she remembered that Lucius's son was the same age as her nephew.
"Not at all, they can keep Draco company while we discuss things, and the house elves can keep watch just in case."
"That sounds wonderful. I'll see you then." Victoria said, going over to hug her friend. "It's good to see you, Ares." She whispered in his ear, feeling him smirk more than seeing it happen.
"Good to have you back, Athena. Oh, Hades and Achlys (AN: Greek goddess of Poisons) say hello." Lucius whispered back, making her shoulders slump slightly in relief at his words.
They pulled away, Lucius nodding to the other two -who had been talking quietly to give them some privacy- before he headed towards the minister's office.
"You alright?" Frank asked Vickie with a slight furrow in his brows as the three continued walking.
"Yeah. I'm okay." She said absentmindedly, giving her friend a small smile in reassurance as they entered Amelia's office.
"Now, here are the custody transfer papers you'll need. You just have to get both Dursleys to sign here." Amelia said, pulling out the papers from a drawer in her desk and pointing at the place where the previous guardians would need to sign.
"Alright. I still have about an hour and a half before I promised I'd get back home. That should be enough time to get Harry and have the papers signed." Victoria said, glancing at the clock to see that only about two hours had passed since she had left the twins and Percy at the manor to their own devices.
They said their goodbyes before Victoria apparated to her destination, while Amelia and Frank took the floo to go pick up Susan and head over to Longbottom Manor.