"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Parseltongue"

Writing/Reading

"YELLING"

Cyrus looked over the Will of James and Lily Potter with a fine-tooth comb, as he examined the contents. To say that he was amazed by what was being revealed, was an understatement. The beneficiaries list aside, there was no doubt in Cyrus' mind that the Will could've been used to exonerate Sirius, much less revealed that Harry wasn't supposed to go to his mother's sister in the first place. The Will had even stated that it was indeed Peter, who was the Secret Keeper, and not Sirius like everyone had been led to believe. Then there was the fact that Dumbledore, in accompanying with the Ministry, had the Will sealed, unless Harry requested for it to be opened.

It only served to reinforce Cyrus' belief that Dumbledore was up to something, and with each new piece of evidence to support this belief, the more that Cyrus was convinced, that Dumbledore was up to no good. It also reinforced his decision to keep the Greengrass Family neutral, and categorized in the Grey Faction, of the Wizengamot. Nevertheless, he was determined to ensure that it was known that the Greengrasses had no involvement with the likes of Lucius Malfoy, and he wanted to do the right thing by his friend Sirius, who had yet to arrive.

Looking up, Cyrus saw his wife pacing the room, while his other friend Remus, simply sat on the couch, a sheepish look on his face. Remus had arrived at the Manor about thirty minutes before Elizabeth had returned from Gringotts with Daphne and Harry. While the reunion between the werewolf and Harry was touching, both men could tell that Elizabeth wanted to talk, so Cyrus recommended that Harry and Remus get together later, while the three adults conferred in his office. Upon walking into the office, Elizabeth pulled a rolled-up parchment scroll out of her bag, and shoved it into Cyrus' chest, before she started pacing.

So for nearly the past half hour, Cyrus went over the Will, sharing the details of the beneficiaries to Remus, who seemed surprised by what he was inheriting from James and Lily. Upon hearing what James and Lily had decided to leave him, Remus tried to claim that he would go to Gringotts to give what he was inheriting back, that he wouldn't deserve it, but Elizabeth had surprisingly slapped him on the back of his head. Elizabeth then chastised the werewolf, telling him that the money had been given to him by James and Lily and that if he tried to give it back, it would be as if he was insulting their memory, which caused Remus to become upset with himself. Elizabeth then specified that the Will had mentioned that it had stated that it was non-arguable anyway.

"So, with the Will in our hands now," Elizabeth started, looking at her husband, who still has the aforementioned document in his hands. "What are we going to do?"

Cyrus looked at the Will in his hands, as he tried to think of a way to use it to their advantage. But thus far, a solution was eluding him.

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure my dear," He said, placing the Will down on his desk, and rubbing his temples. "If I announce to the Wizengamot, that I have acquired the Will of James and Lily Potter, Lucius Malfoy will take advantage of it, and put doubt in the minds of others. He'll make others wonder how and why I have their Will, how long I had it, and why I'm just now bringing it out into the open."

Cyrus' words cause a somber tone in the study, as each of them realized the truth in his words. Nevertheless, Elizabeth wasn't going to let things go, as she refused to allow a friend to live on the run.

"But what if you requested the Wizengamot to give Sirius a proper trial?" She asked, her arms flying up in the air as she said this. "You, Adam, and Belladonna know the truth from Harry, surely the three of you could try to push for it, and reveal that Sirius was never given a proper trial!"

Cyrus looked up at his wife. He understood where she was coming from, but he knew that several factors went against that strategy.

"If we did that Elizabeth, then several individuals of the Wizengamot, including Fudge," Cyrus started. "Would either refuse to listen or try to keep the vote from going through. Especially Fudge, as he will want to prevent being made to look bad in the eyes of the people."

Remus snorted at Cyrus' words, causing the Greengrass patriarch and matriarch to look at the werewolf.

"That's an understatement in of itself, Cyrus," Remus remarked, a frown gracing his face. "Fudge wanted to keep anyone from learning that Sirius slipped through his fingers when he was at Hogwarts. He practically refused to listen to Harry, Ron, and Hermione when they tried to tell him what happened, saying that they were reacting to a traumatic moment with confused minds."

Cyrus looked at Remus in interest, his Slytherin mind working overtime with the new information that Remus gave him. While Remus had meant what he said as a simple remark, he had intentionally provided Cyrus with possible ammunition to help make Sirius a free man. As his mind worked to put the pieces of his plan together, his eyes drifted back to James and Lily's Will, and a specific individual in the beneficiaries list, that could help them even further, grinning as though James and Lily, even from the grave, were helping them even further.

'Thank you, James and Lily.' Cyrus thought to himself, as his plan was now coming together.

"Remus, you just gave me the perfect plan to help get Sirius free," Cyrus said, a mischievous grin growing on his face that Remus remembered from their youth, as students at Hogwarts. "As well as snub Fudge in the face, and screw around with Dumbledore at the same time."

Remus and Elizabeth looked at one another in interest, as they wondered what Cyrus had planned. They were both caught in Cyrus' speech as his iconic Marauder grin began to take place, a grin that Cyrus had perfected, alongside Sirius, and James. Remus himself had often had that grin on his face on a few occasions, so he had a good idea that whatever Cyrus had planned, it was going to be good.

"What do you have planned for Fudge and Dumbledore, Cyrus?" Remus asked, his Marauder mind getting impatient for Cyrus to explain his plan.

Cyrus looked at his friend and thought his plan over. He knew that it would be tricky, but he was confident that it would work. Especially when it resulted in Sirius' exoneration.

"First, we'll deal with Fudge, who I think we can all agree that Fudge will be the easier of the two to deal with," Cyrus said, resulting in nods from both Remus and Elizabeth. "Well, what if we were to force him into a corner, so that he will authorize the trial, by using the Daily Prophet?"

Elizabeth and Remus looked at one another in confusion, as they didn't understand where Cyrus was trying to lead. However, they couldn't continue with this line of thought, as they heard the sound of clapping. Turning towards the door, the three occupants of the study saw Sirius Black standing in the doorway, clapping his hands.

"Well done Cyrus, and this is definitely why you were Sorted into Slytherin, back when we were school kids." Sirius joked as he walked into the study.

Cyrus smirked, as he stood up to embrace his old friend, with Elizabeth and Remus joining him. Cyrus walked up to his wayward fellow Marauder, and wrapped his arms around the man, cringing at the feeling of how truly skinny his former friend was. Elizabeth was also unsettled by how Sirius looked like a walking skeleton with skin on it and was resolved to make sure that the house-elves would fix that. As for Remus, he was ecstatic that his friend was now safe. Finally, Cyrus pulled away from Sirius.

"I thought that it was because I was convenient enough to sneak your pranks into Slytherin House?" Cyrus joked back, eliciting a barking laugh from Sirius and a chuckle from Elizabeth and Remus.

"There was certainly that too, old friend." Sirius quipped back, happy to be among friends again. "Now where's Harry? I want to see my godson."

Cyrus grinned at his friend, happy to see the loyal quality of Sirius still being a strong factor in his personality.

"Of course my friend, this way. I can explain the rest of my plan later." Cyrus responded as the group of four walked out.

As they arrived in the main entrance hall, they came to a welcoming sight: Harry hugging Sirius tightly, and vice versa, while Daphne and Astoria bore some large grins on their faces. Cyrus and Remus couldn't help but smile at the sight, as the hope of clearing their friend's name was at the constant forefront of their minds. Elizabeth however, as much as she wanted to be happy for her godson, also wanted to be safe. She walked up to the two, and gently pulled Harry away from Sirius, before pulling out her wand and placing it under Sirius' chin. Her actions caused a considerable amount of concern among her friends and family, but the latter was more important to her, especially when it came to her godson. She looked into the gray eyes of her old friend, seeing that there was still a trace of the hollowness that was put in there by his unjust time at Azkaban, but she hoped that in time, that hollowness would be gone, and Sirius could eventually return to the man he had once been, so many years ago.

"What was the first thing you said to James and Lily," She started, wanting to make sure that the man before her, was indeed Sirius Black. "When they asked us to be Harry's godparents?"

Sirius looked into the eyes of his fellow godparent over the boy that meant so much to him, as he realized what she was doing. In many ways, he couldn't blame her for what she was doing; she was protecting her family, and Harry was family, not just for her, but for him as well. Thus he understood why she was doing this and applauded her for it.

"I told them that I was unworthy of that honor," Sirius answered, looking from Elizabeth, to Cyrus, before finally settling on Harry. "That if there was anyone more deserving of being Harry's godfather, it should've been Cyrus or Remus. Of course, knowing James and Lily, they refused to listen, and still made me Harry's godfather, while you made to be Harry's godmother."

Sirius knew that she was satisfied with his answer, as her wand was slightly lowered, but not all the way, as it was still pointing at his chest. Sirius had a feeling that he had an idea as to what the next question was going to be, but he was prepared for it since he knew that it was going to be coming from either Elizabeth or Cyrus Greengrass. The two were former Slytherins after all, and he knew that they would want to gain as much information for the best advantage possible.

"Alright Sirius, now tell me, in your own words," She started, her eyes hardening as they bored into Sirius' eyes as if she was trying to peer into his mind (despite not being a Legilimens). "Were you a secret Death Eater, and did you betray James and Lily to You-Know-Who?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw that Harry was about to come to his defense, but Cyrus and Remus both grabbed his shoulders, stopping him. Sirius also saw Cyrus staring hard at him, equally as interested to hear his answer, while Remus had his hand subtly under his robes, clearly having his hand on his wand, ready to come to Sirius' defense, in case his friend needed it. Even if it would be against other friends of theirs, though it would hopefully not come to that. Regardless, Sirius looked back into the ocean blue eyes of Elizabeth Greengrass nee Warren and conveyed as much truth and honesty as he could through his eyes.

"No Elizabeth, I was not a Death Eater, and I would never join them," He answered, standing tall and as proud as he could. "And I would rather die myself before I ever betrayed James and Lily. James was my brother in every way that counted except blood, and Lily, was like a sister to me; I loved her the same way you and Remus did. I would give my life to protect them, and Harry, before I would ever think of myself."

Elizabeth smiled at Sirius' answer and finally put her wand away, before wrapping her arms around Sirius, hugging him tightly. Sirius returned that hug, happy to be among his friends again, even if he was still a fugitive. After Elizabeth released him from her hug, Sirius looked up to see Cyrus in front of him, before the man clapped him on the shoulder.

"Honestly Padfoot, did you have to go and get yourself arrested?" The Slytherin Alumni asked, clear humor in his voice, while also chiding his old friend.

"You know me, Constrictor, I never go half ways," Sirius replied, equal humor in his voice, albeit with a touch of sadness in it as well. "Even though it did cost me just about everything. Including my freedom."

Everyone in the room hung their heads, as they understood what Sirius was talking about, but Cyrus held his head high. He was certain that his idea would work, he just needed to make sure that he would coordinate the entire thing with Amelia Bones, knowing that she wouldn't abide for an act of injustice to continue. At the very least, it would open the door for Sirius to gain his freedom.

"Don't worry my friend, I have a plan to get you your freedom back." He said, prompting Sirius to look up at him.

"How?" Sirius asked curiously.

Cyrus grinned mischievously while looking at Harry.

"Through a little Marauder manipulation and Harry," Cyrus replied while ignoring the incredulous expression on Elizabeth's face. "I intend to get the Daily Prophet to open the door for us."

Author's Note: Here is where we shall stop, and wait for the next chapter. Wonder what it is that Cyrus has planned exactly for the Daily Prophet, and how he plans to get Sirius his trial. We'll just have to wait and see. Enjoy, and remember: Help will always be given at Hogwarts, to those, who remember to ask for it.