The Wizengamot of Wizarding England came together once every quarter year to discuss the laws of the British Wizarding World and to make sure the Ministry was up to par when it came to the wellbeing of the magical citizens of the country. They were known throughout their community as the absolute authority and was made up of the most powerful wizards and witches in Magical England: the receivers of the Order of Merlin Award for exceptional deeds, all three classes of it, the heads of the Departments of the Ministry of Magic, the Lords and Ladies of the Noble and Ancient Houses -the oldest and most powerful families in the British isles- and finally the Minister For Magic, the Chief Warlock, and a scribe for writing the occurrences of the sessions.
Along with deciding on the Laws and happenings of the British Wizarding World, they also presided over the most important trials, the trials that affected the Wizarding World as a whole not just a few people, and that was the reason for their gathering on that very day. To oversee and enact justice for the trial of an unknown person, who they will know the identity of soon enough.
As the members all took their seats, they all chatted quietly among themselves about the identity and crime of the person to be trialled that day, especially to have incited a meeting of the Wizengamot. As soon as everyone had taken their seats and the chatter had calmed down, Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, stood up and walked towards the raised dais that the Chief Warlock usually occupied during meetings, but as this was a trial and not a normal meeting the Chief Warlock would not be overseeing it.
"Welcome Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot. Before we begin, there are two of our peers who will be taking their seats among us. Lady Victoria Potter-Prewett, who will be sitting as Proxy for the Honourable and Most Ancient House of Potter and The Virtuous and Most Ancient House of Prewett, and Lord Frank Longbottom, Lord of The Esteemed and Most Ancient House of Longbottom."
No one was really surprised by the announcement, as they had read the Daily Prophet the day before, but what did leave everyone speechless was Lady Prewett entering the chamber on the arm of Lord Arcturus Black, one of the oldest and politically most powerful lords alive in their time, who hadn't attended a meeting in four years, known to have stepped back from the political arena after the imprisonment of his grandson and the death of his wife and son.
The two newer additions took their vows and took their seats in the chamber, earning shocked looks from the light side as both the Longbottom and Potter seats were on the grey side of the room. The Lord and Lady were greeted by Lord Greengrass, head of the grey alignment, and sat gracefully in their seats. As soon as they'd put their wands in their respective places, the crests of the houses they were representing shone above their heads, Frank's surrounded by a silver glow to indicate his position as rightful Lord while Victoria's were surrounded by a purple hue, to show her place as the chosen proxy to both houses. More stares followed that, as most thought the Potter Proxy was in Dumbledore's hands, even though he had never sat in the seats before. The dark and grey sects all smiled gleefully at that, as it was obvious to them how much of a liar Dumbledore was.
"Now then, let us begin." Madame Bones said, knocking her gravel once to get everyone's attention. "This is the trial of Heir Sirius Orion Black, of the Most Noble and Exceedingly Ancient House of Black." That caused a series of gasps to flow through the chamber. As people stared in shock at Bones for her statement, Dumbledore started standing in opposition of what he knew was about to happen, but the magic of the chamber forced him to his seat and sealed his lips, so that he may not interfere, as the chamber was charmed by Lord Merlin himself to enact justice on all trials that may occur in it.
"It has recently come to the attention of the Minister and myself that he never received a trial when he was captured and sent to Azkaban ten years ago. As such, we have decided to bring him in front of this body and try him for the crimes he was accused of. Please bring in the accused." As soon as she had said that, the double doors of the chamber opened and two aurors came in, holding a gaunt man by an arm each. Even though he was wearing basic robes that dwarfed his body, showing exactly how thin he was, he still walked with confidence and sat on the seat indicated to him with grace like he owned the place, accepting the chains with a dark smile. It seemed as though the roguish playboy had embraced his Black roots and decided that he make those who had sent him to hell pay, if the smirk and dark look in his eyes were anything to go by.
"Heir Sirius Black, you have agreed to undergo trial under veritaserum, correct?" Amelia asked the required question.
"Yes. I have nothing to hide." Sirius said, sending smirks to everyone around him, especially the two people who were squirming in their seats.
Amelia nodded to the two aurors standing beside his seat, and one of them pulled a vial from his pocket and put a drop of the potion into Sirius's awaiting mouth.
"Now then. Minister Fudge and I will be the ones to question the man. We cannot ask two questions at the same time, as the chamber's magic will block both questions from reaching the man. The questions were predetermined so that this may go as smoothly as possible. I'll ask the questions, but if Minister Fudge wants to ask a question he will tell me and I will stop and let him ask." At the nods she received from her explanation, Amelia started the questioning.
"Please state your full name and date of birth."
"Sirius Orion Black The Third. November Third, Nineteen Fifty-nine." The man said with a blank face and an even blanker voice, indicating the potion had worked.
"Who was the Potter family's secret keeper?" Amelia asked, getting right to the point of the trial.
"Peter Pettigrew." The answer caused a wave of shock to go through the audience, as that was not what the publicized answer was.
"Who blew up the muggle street the morning of November First 1981, killing twelve innocents in the process?"
"Peter Pettigrew." It seemed like the shock would not wear off the chamber, as that was another detail that was apparently false.
"How did he blow up the street?"
"He used a blasting curse on a gas pipe in the street, causing an explosion that killed those people and blew me into a wall."
"Did it not kill him as well?"
"No." That caused some people to shout in outrage, as it was a fact that Pettigrew had died that night.
"Then what happened to him?"
"He cut off his finger and transformed into his rat animagus form, escaping through the sewers." It seemed as though the trial was not going to end with anyone's beliefs intact.
"How do you know he is an animagus?"
"James Potter, Pettigrew and I became animagi together in our fifth year at Hogwarts." That caused a wave of awe to wash over everyone, as it was unheard of for fifteen year olds to be able to achieve such a difficult feat.
"Were you a follower of the dark lord, or have you ever supported his views?"
"No." And that was the nail that sealed the proverbial coffin, and as final confirmation to the fact, the auror on Sirius's left took his arm and pulled his sleeve up, showing his unblemished forearm.
"Then can you tell us what exactly happened on the night of July Thirty-first 1981?"
And so Sirius, in his blank voice, told the Wizengamot members and the one reporter that was called in to report the trial exactly what had happened that night, and even though he was still obviously under the effects of the potion, a single tear fell out of his eye when he recounted the time when he saw his brother's lifeless body, showing the large amount of grief and loss he felt. Everything paused however when he mentioned an Aurelia was there.
"Who is this Aurelia you mentioned?" Amelia asked on behalf of everyone there, even though Dumbledore looked like he was going to have a coronary at the mention of the woman.
"Aurelia Malfoy-Potter was James's wife and Henry Potter's mother." Sirius replied, shocking everyone gathered yet again.
"But it was publicized that Lord James Potter was married to Lily Evans."
"If I may Madame Bones." Victoria said, interrupting the line of questions for the time to clarify the information. "That was a false rumour that was spread about my brother after his passing, which I will be addressing later, but the truth is that my brother, Lord James Potter, married Miss Aurelia Malfoy in a lovely private ceremony with only their closest friends and family present. They also had one son together, Heir Henry James Sirius Potter, who I do not appreciate being called Harry as that was a nickname only close family members were privy to call him." Everyone could see the anger in Victoria Potter's eyes and knew that she was not to be fought on this.
"I can confirm that fact, as it was also recorded the day after the bonding ceremony that the House Potter and House Malfoy were allied together." Lord Lucius Malfoy confirmed, shocking everyone once more when both he and Victoria nodded to each other respectfully, as everyone thought that the Potters and Malfoys did not get along.
That ended the debate and confirmed what Sirius had said, so they let him continue his retelling, and as soon as he was done, he was given the antidote and waited for the verdict to be decided.
"Now then, all those that believe Heir Sirius Orion Black to be innocent, light your wands." Amelia said, to which almost all of the chamber lit their wands in agreement. Only those that wanted Sirius back in Azkaban, like Dumbledore and Crouch, or those that had no right to vote, like Lord Black due to their familial relation, did not light their wands.
When a vote was called for those that thought him guilty, only five wands were lit, which ended the trial.
"As acting Chief Witch, and head of the DMLE, I hereby declare Sirius Black innocent of all charges. On behalf of the Ministry, we would like to extend our apology for your unlawful imprisonment and offer one thousand galleons as restitution for each year you spent in Azkaban. You will, however, need to register your animagus form. There will now be an arrest warrant issued on Peter Pettigrew and his Order of Merlin will be revoked."
"I'm okay with that. But if I may make a suggestion, why don't you hold off on announcing my innocence so Pettigrew doesn't get scared, as it was proven that he is very dangerous when he feels he is in danger." Sirius said, showing his most charming smile as he rubbed his wrists to get the stiffness out. Everyone agreed to his suggestion, and Amelia sent an auror to start the investigation in secret and have the reporter present swear his secrecy.
When it looked like Amelia was going to close the trial, Arcturus Black stood in all his glory and made his way towards his grandson. "There is something I'd like to ask this body before we close this meeting. Why didn't my grandson get a trial in the first place? If memory serves me correctly then at the end of the war Bartemius Crouch was the head of the DMLE with Albus Dumbledore as the Chief Warlock. Why did they simply send him to Azkaban without a trial?"
Everyone immediately quietened down and look at the two aforementioned men in disgust at what they had done. Both turned an interesting shade of red. When it was obvious they were about to defend their actions, Amelia decided to not give them the chance and close the meeting at that note.
"We will look into that as you ask a very valid question Lord Black, but for now I'd like to end this trial. Thank you all for attending." With that everyone started leaving, congratulating Sirius on their way out. Thankfully Dumbledore was wise enough to not approach the newly freed man while his very angry grandfather was standing right beside him like a very powerful lion ready to pounce at any perceived danger.
Victoria rushed over to Sirius with Frank right behind her, and as soon as he was close she pulled him into a tight hug, silent tears of relief running down her face. She finally had one of her brothers back.
It wasn't long after the trial had finished that Victoria found herself in Gringotts Bank. She had dropped Sirius off at Black Manor with his grandfather, where they were greeted by a beaming Andromeda Black-Tonks who had taken great pleasure in dragging her cousin to his room to start healing him from the effects of Azkaban. Victoria had left soon after with the promise to bring her sons and nephew over the next day to meet their Uncle and honorary grandfather.
She had then returned home, where she took the four children under her care to Gringotts for the inheritance tests she had been meaning to have them do for a while now.
As soon as she'd entered the bank through the floo, she was greeted by a junior goblin who led her towards the Potter Family Account Manager's office. Upon entering the office, she was greeted by her father's trusted monetary advisor, Bludfist.
"Ah, Lady Prewett, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Bludfist said, smiling with all his teeth showing in lieu of a greeting.
"Bludfist, it's good to see you. I'm here to check on the Potter accounts and get my nephew an inheritance test." Victoria said simply, as she was well versed in how to deal with goblins so she knew that they only respected and helped those that were straightforward and blunt, they did not appreciate pleasantries.
"Why don't we start with the inheritance test?" Bludfist said, gesturing for her and the children to take a seat. The four students looked nervous, but they sat down on the conjured seats and waited for the proceedings to continue.
The goblin pulled out a piece of parchment and a ritual knife from a drawer and gestured for her to do the honours.
"Alright, Hen. I need you to put your hand above the paper like that, I'm going to cut your finger a little bit so that we can do the test and then I'm going to heal it right away, alright?" Even though the boy looked scared, he nodded bravely and extended his hand towards the parchment.
Victoria sped through the steps and healed his hand immediately after she was done. The words started spreading through the parchment a few moments after the blood had touched it. When it was done, Victoria picked it up to read.
*Inheritance Test*
Birth Name: Henry James Sirius Malfoy-Potter
Acknowledged Name: Henry Potter
Birth date: 31 July, 1980
Age: 11
Magical core level: 75
Mother: Aurelia Theodora Malfoy [status: Alive-location unknown]
Father: James Charlus Black-Potter [status: Alive-location unknown]
Other direct relatives: Charlus Henry Potter (paternal grandfather) [status: deceased]
Dorea Ursula Black-Potter (paternal grandmother) [status: deceased]
Victoria Dorea Potter-Prewett (Paternal Aunt) [status: alive]
Fredrick Gideon Potter-Prewett (Paternal Cousin) [status: alive]
Georgian Fabian Potter-Prewett (Paternal Cousin) [status: alive]
Abraxas Nicholas Malfoy (maternal grandfather) [status: deceased]
Adeline Malfoy nee Avery (maternal grandmother) [status: deceased]
Lucius Abraxas Malfoy (maternal uncle) [status: alive]
Draconis Lucius Black-Malfoy (maternal cousin) [status: alive]
Godparents: Sirius Orion Black (Godfather) [status: alive]
Alice Alexandra Bones-Longbottom [status: alive]
God-Siblings: Neville Longbottom [status: alive]
Titles:
● Heir Apparent to Honourable and Most Noble House of Potter
● Heir Apparent to the Exceedingly Ancient and Exceedingly Noble House of Gryffindor
● Heir to the Most Ancient House of Peverell
● Scion to the the Prestigious and Most Noble House of Malfoy
● Scion to the Most Noble and Exceedingly Ancient House of Black
● Scion to the Exceedingly Ancient and Exceedingly Noble House of Ravenclaw
Magical abilities:
● Wandless magic (80% blocked by Albus Dumbledore)
● Wordless magic (80% blocked by Albus Dumbledore)
● Access to the Potter Family Magicks (50% blocked by Albus Dumbledore)
● Natural Occlumency (100% blocked by Albus Dumbledore)
Other blocks/potions/spells:
● Block on natural Affinity to Transfiguration, The Dark Arts and Study of Ancient Runes
● 50% block on magical core.
● Glamour to resemble a member of the Evans family. (100% broken)
● Soul Piece of Tom Riddle (acts as a magical connection and leech)
Victoria was shocked, not by the blocks that were on her nephew -even though the leech did scare her- as those were unfortunately to be expected, but by what the test said the status of her brother and his wife were. Alive it said, mocking her by giving her hope she hadn't had in a while.
"This…you are sure this cannot be a mistake, right?" She said hesitantly, not wanting to get her hopes up but knowing that Gringotts was never mistaken in their knowledge.
"No Lady Prewett, it seems Lord and Lady Potter are indeed alive."