"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"Parseltongue"
Writing/Reading
"YELLING"
Daily Prophet, Barnabas Cuffe's Office
Barnabas Cuffe sat in his reclining chair in his office, relaxing as he looked around his office. Since becoming the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet, he had enjoyed many successful journalistic articles that were published in the newspaper. However, he did have to swallow a hard pill in the form of one Rita Skeeter; Barnabas hated that woman, as he believed that Skeeter was the kind of reporter (if she could truly be called that), that gave journalists a bad name. The truth of it was, where Cuffe was a legitimate and objective journalist and reporter in his articles, Skeeter was nothing more but a gossipmonger, with her ridiculous article, Me, myself, and I. Another reason that Cuffe hated the woman, was because many of her so-called "interviews" were either mishandled, or more specifically exaggerated with the use of a Quick-Quotes Quill instead of a proper Dicta-Quill, to make her articles more enjoyable to read (at least according to her), and then she would go and completely tarnish the reputations of many respectable witches and wizards with her articles, making a lot of people upset at the Daily Prophet. There were many times when Cuffe wanted to sack the woman and remove her gossip article from the Daily Prophet, as well as Witch Weekly, which was a subsidiary of the Daily Prophet, to appease the people who were humiliated by Skeeter.
Unfortunately for Cuffe, Skeeter had found some considerable allies in the Ministry, particularly the Minister and his Senior Undersecretary, as well as a few wealthy individuals in the Magical community, especially one Lucius Malfoy. Cuffe often suspected that Skeeter may have at some point, worked up some sort of business arrangement with the Minister, and the others. Specifically, one where as long as they kept her safe and working in the Daily Prophet, she would write articles about anyone they wanted to humiliate and would refrain from writing bad articles about them. Although he couldn't prove it, Cuffe had no choice but to keep her on, unless someone else came along and gave him the power to override the Minister's assistance that Skeeter remains at the Prophet, and finally get rid of the woman.
Cuffe was taken out of his thoughts, as he heard a knock on his door, before granting entrance to the knocker. The door then opened, before the head of his secretary Barbara came out from around it.
"Excuse the interruption, Mister Cuffe, but an owl from Lord Cyrus Greengrass just arrived requesting an immediate meeting with you, right now!" Barbara stated, holding up a letter to validate her words.
Cuffe's eyebrows rose in interest, as he mentally wondered what Cyrus Greengrass wanted with him. In the back of his mind, he hoped that it had nothing to do with Rita Skeeter, though as far as he knew, Skeeter had not written any recent articles about the Greengrasses. In the end, his curiosity won out and decided to see what it was about. After all, the Greengrass family was one of the Daily Prophet's four major investors, and thus were permitted a meeting, regardless if it was short notice.
"Very well, Barbara, I'll let Lord Greengrass in via my office Floo, thank you," Cuffe responded, eliciting a nod from the girl. "Alright, I'd best get ready to receive Lord Greengrass, so you're dismissed, Barbara."
After Barbara closed the door, Cuffe got up and walked to his fireplace, before opening it up, and throwing some Floo powder into it, bringing forth the green flames, and shouted the Floo of Greengrass manor. After sticking his head through the flames, and notifying one of Lord Greengrass' House-Elves that the Floo was available for Lord Greengrass to come through, Cuffe removed his head, and brushed off the soot, making himself look presentable to a respected member of the Magical society of Magical Britain. To his surprise, however, Lord Greengrass didn't come alone, in fact, he arrived through the flames in the company of his wife, his eldest daughter, and surprisingly Harry Potter. This was a surprise to Cuffe because not only was the Potter family another one of the four major investors of the Daily Prophet (if not its number one investor), but as far as he was aware, the Potter and Greengrass families showed no indications of knowing one another, though there were always indications of a huge alliance that had existed between the two, as well as the Longbottom family.
"Greetings Lord Greengrass, this is indeed an unexpected pleasure, but not an unwelcome one, I assure you," Barnabas said, shaking Lord Greengrass' hand while also kissing the back of Lady Greengrass' hand. "Though I must confess that I find myself curious as to why you asked for this meeting, much less came accompanied by young Mister Harry Potter himself."
Barnabas looked on in intrigue, as he watched Lord Greengrass look toward Harry, with a proud smile on his face. He was intrigued by Lord Greengrass' behavior, as though it was almost fatherly towards the young soon-to-be fourteen-year-old Boy-Who-Lived. Thinking that it would be a good story to write for the Daily Prophet, Barnabas decided to let the group of four explain what they were here for. Finally, Lord Greengrass turned back to look at Barnabas, intent on going through with the plan that, unknown to Barnabas Cuffe, he had discussed at great length with his family and friends.
"Might we be able to sit down and talk, Editor-In-Chief Cuffe?" Cyrus asked, gesturing his hand towards the available chairs that Barnabas had in his office for any guests that he may have. "I believe that this is a conversation best to have while seated."
Barnabas nodded to Lord Greengrass' request and waved his hand towards the sofa in a corner of his office. Since before he took over as chief editor of the Daily Prophet, and was a simple journalist, Barnabas believed in being as formal, yet informal, with those that he interviewed in his office. Thus, he had made his office as professional as possible, with his desk, cabinets, and awards, while also making sure that a small corner was set up in a way to make any interviewees as comfortable as possible, with a sofa, and a couple of comfy chairs for his guests.
"So Lord Greengrass, what exactly is this all about?" Barnabas asked as he pulled out a Muggle notebook and Dicta-Quill.
Unlike Rita Skeeter, who liked to use a Quick-Quotes Quill to change the words of whoever she was interviewing, Barnabas and all the other proper journalists always used a Dicta-Quill for their interviews. It was the duty of a journalist to make sure that the interviewee's words were written and translated properly and clearly, not mangled and scrambled just to make a sensational story. This was one of many reasons why Barnabas and all the other journalists and reporters at the Daily Prophet heavily disliked Rita, as she gave them all a bad name.
Barnabas watched, as Lord Greengrass looked at Harry Potter, and nodded his head. The Boy-Who-Lived took a deep breath and looked at Barnabas.
"Tell me, Mr. Cuffe, what do you know, about what happened with Sirius Black, nearly thirteen years ago, come November 1st?" Harry asked, starting slow.
Barnabas looked at the young Potter heir inquisitively, as he wondered what was going to be talked about. Surely the boy had heard about and knew what Black had done, especially since he had been momentarily captured by the fugitive the previous school year at Hogwarts. Minutely shrugging his shoulders, Cuffe decided to oblige him.
"Sirius Black was captured on a destroyed Muggle street," He started, his voice taking a genuine sad tone. "After using a very powerful Bomarda curse to destroy a gas pipe that killed twelve Muggles, and effectively destroyed his former friend Peter Pettigrew's body, leaving behind nothing but a single finger.
"Not to mention that he was the man responsible for You-Know-Who finding your parents as he was their Secret Keeper," He continued, coming to an end in his tale. "Therefore he was able to tell He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named where to find you and your parents, allowing Him to kill your parents, and then tried to kill you. After all of that, he was sent away and convicted to Azkaban. Where he stayed for nearly twelve years, until he somehow managed to break out last year, and tried to kill you, when he captured you in the Shrieking Shack, only to be captured and locked in a Hogwarts room to await the Dementor's Kiss, just to later escape from under Minister Fudge's nose, and has been on the run since."
Harry nodded his head in understanding, as though he was agreeing with Mr. Cuffe. Then to Mr. Cuffe's surprise, he shook his head, disagreeing with him.
"I'm sorry Mr. Cuffe, but you're wrong," Harry said, surprising Barnabas. "About pretty much, just about everything you think you know about Sirius. The truth is, a bit more complicated, and essentially hidden by the Ministry, or more specifically the Minister, who doesn't want the actual truth to be revealed to the public
"However, Lord Greengrass and I believe, that the public should know the truth," Harry continued, striking Barnabas' curiosity deeper and deeper. "Then with any hope, Lord Greengrass can generate enough votes in the Wizengamot, to give an innocent man the trial he was never given, twelve years ago."
At this juncture, Barnabas was effectively salivating in wanting to know the full story, seeing it as a perfect opportunity to pull the proverbial rug from under the Minister of Magic. He indicated for Harry to continue, and as such, he was treated to an incredible tale of the actual details of the events of that fateful night, and its following events involving Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. A tale of how Sirius Black, a man who was so close to the Potters, easily understood how obvious he would be as a choice o the Dark Lord, and thus convinced his friends to let him be a decoy, while the true Secret Keeper was switched to Peter Pettigrew, a man that no one would ever believe to be the one protecting them, only to have Pettigrew turn out to be a spy for the very man they were hiding from, and give the Potter's location to the Dark Lord. Of how Black realized that they were betrayed by a man who they thought to be their friend, and went after Pettigrew to properly bring him to justice, only to be tricked and overpowered by the very same man.
Harry explained that Pettigrew managed to frame Sirius by shouting that it had been Black who betrayed his family, and then cast an extremely powerful Bombarda curse, to blow up the gas line pipe that killed the twelve Muggles, and then changed into a rat (as he was apparently an illegal animagus, as was Black and James Potter) after cutting off his finger, effectively faking his death. Cuffe was so amazed by the story, that he almost missed out on the next few details. Details such as that the then Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemus Crouch Senior, after Learning that Black had been captured and was shown the details of what happened, decided that giving Sirius Black was a waste of time. Crouch, with the permission and endorsement of the then Minister Milicent Bagnold, had Black thrown into Azkaban without so much as a proper trial, and then sealed the Potter Will, in the potential case it held any information that would've contradicted what the Ministry was claiming. All of which led up to Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, after seeing the Daily Prophet article about the Weasley family in Egypt, and seeing the rat-form of Pettigrew sitting on Ronald Weasley's shoulder, and trying to kill the very man who framed him all those years ago.
"Incredible, simply incredible," Barnabas muttered, his head swimming with the facts he just learned. "I assume then, Mr. Potter, that Sirius Black told you all of this when he confronted you last year before he had to escape from Hogwarts?"
Harry nodded his head, and went on in further detail, explaining how he and his two friends, the aforementioned Ron Weasley and another friend named Hermione Granger, ended up in the Shrieking Shack. Where Black and Remus Lupin, the then Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, forced Pettigrew to reveal himself, and then tried to turn him over to Dumbledore, only for Pettigrew to manage to escape as the full moon began to rise, and Lupin's transformation into a werewolf allowed him a distraction to change into a rat, and escape. Harry then went into detail, about how he and his friends tried to explain to the Minister of Magic, that Sirius Black was in fact innocent, that Peter Pettigrew was the one responsible and was still alive after he had managed to escape. Harry then revealed how Fudge laughed at them and practically didn't believe a single word they had said.
After Harry finished his story, Barnabas was amazed by everything that he had learned. Admittedly, he could understand why Fudge didn't listen to the words of two simple teenagers who were students of Hogwarts. But the fact that there were three students, who were giving the same story, and one of them happened to be Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, should've been enough to raise some red flags. Bloody hell, the fact the Boy-Who-Lived was trying to tell the Minister of what actually happened, should've been enough to convince Fudge to listen, but then he just turned around, and IGNORED the bloody Boy-Who-Lived?! That could easily make Fudge look like a fool once Barnabas published the story.
"Well, Heir Potter, I am definitely pleased by what you have told me." Barnabas said as he was about to stop the Dicta-Quill before Harry stopped him.
"Please Mr. Cuffe, there's more." He said, a Slytherin-worthy grin forming on the young Gryffindor's face.
Barnabas, who was still intrigued, pulled his hand away, as Lady Greengrass then took over, explaining how she took Harry to Gringotts, to have the Last and Final Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter read. Of how the Will had stated very clearly, that Sirius Black was Harry Potter's sworn Godfather, just as she was the boy's sworn Godmother, therefore revealing that Sirius Black couldn't be allowed to bring harm to Harry Potter, lest he lost his Magic or his life. Furthermore, the Will clearly stated that Pettigrew was indeed the true Secret Keeper and that Black was simply nothing more but a decoy, but since the WIll was sealed by Crouch and Bagnold, that information was never allowed to be made public. Barnabas' head was swimming in the information that was being given to him, and he couldn't wait to publish it. Any news that could potentially humiliate Minister Cornelius Fudge, or anyone involved in the storied that he received, would be a good one; plus he did want to help exonerate an innocent man, and if he could help set the groundwork for Lord Greengrass to get the trial that Black deserved, then he would do it.
"Well, I must say that you have all given me a lot of information," Cuffe said, as he rose from his chair, his guests doing the same. "And I give you all my personal guarantee, that I will get the article written up, and published as soon as possible. I do indeed hope that it will be enough to help clear Mr. Black's name."
"Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Cuffe," Lord Greengrass said, as the two men shook hands. "I hope that your article will get the good people who dwell within Magic Britain riled up enough, that they, along with any members of the Wizengamot that care about justice, will force Fudge's hand into allowing Sirius Black the trial, he so rightfully deserves."
Barnabas nodded his head, before kissing Lady Greengrasses hand, as well as Heiress Greengrass, and finished by shaking hands with Harry Potter. After seeing the group of four out through his Floo, he immediately ran to his door and peeked his head out to look at his assistant. He needed to make sure he wasn't disturbed while he was writing his story.
"Barbara, cancel all meetings I have scheduled to appear in today, and tell anyone who tries to see me that I am not to be disturbed," He instructed her, as she quickly made sure to write down his instructions. "And that especially includes Rita Skeeter! That woman has a habit of thinking that she's better than anyone, including me, and I must absolute peace and quiet, while I am working."
"Yes sir, Mr. Cuffe," Barbara said as she nodded her head in understanding. "I'll make sure that your instructions are followed!"
After shutting his door, Barnabas placed several charms on it and the windows to make sure he was left alone: locking charms, anti-eavesdropping and spying charms, and especially an anti-animagus charm, to make particularly sure that a certain illegal beetle animagus couldn't find out what he was doing. He then returned to his desk and set to write the story out entirely, using only the facts that he had been given by Harry Potter, and the Greengrasses. Finally, by about five o'clock, the story was finished, after only an hour and a half, and Barnabus Cuffe, pleased with what he had written, immediately left for the printing press to personally deliver the story. He knew that he could not trust anyone to handle the story, fearing that someone on the Ministry payroll would see it, and try to destroy it before it could see the light of day, so he would deliver it, and have it printed and sent out.
Later that evening, as many witches and wizards were setting down to eat their dinner with their families, the evening Daily Prophet arrived in their homes. Curious as to what could be in the newspaper, no one in Magical Britain would expect the blaring headlines that were looking up at them, from the front page of the Daily Prophet.
Sirius Black, A Guilty Man, or An Innocent Victim of A Crime He never Committed? Minister of Magic Covering Up The Truth and Refusing to Listen to the Boy-Who-Lived When The True Culprit Was Discovered!
Author's Note: Two chapters for one story in nearly one day, a first for me. Well, that will certainly make trouble for the Ministry, and who knows, will Sirius finally get his day in court, or will Fudge do whatever it takes to keep the truth about Sirius and Wormtail hidden? Find out next time, in the next chapter of Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass: The Love Contract. Next story to receive a new chapter: Star Wars: A New Beginning. Hopefully, I can post that chapter on May Fourth.
