"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"Parseltongue"
Writing/Reading
"YELLING"
Wizengamot Chamber Ten
Many prominent wizards and witches packed into the Wizengamot chamber, eager to learn the truth and find clarity in what was going on in regards to the allegations of Sirius Black. Whether or not it was possible if he was innocent or not, and that the Ministry of Magic had truly sent an innocent man to Azkaban without a trial, needed to be made clear, and they all wanted to know the truth. Harry looked around the chamber, taking in all of the faces of the lords and ladies that he would, according to his uncle Cyrus, one day work alongside to discuss important legislation once he took his Potter Seat on the Wizengamot. He remembered how his uncle explained that there were three groups in the Wizengamot: there was the Light Faction which was at one point led by Harry's family but was now led by Dumbledore via (possibly illegal) proxy, then the Dark Faction led by Lucius Malfoy, and finally the Neutral Faction led by Cyrus himself. He saw the faces of Belladonna Zabini, Adam Davis, Lucius Malfoy, Minister Fudge who walked in with a toad-faced woman, and Amelia Bones, the last three taking their seats.
As he observed the room, he felt each of his hands being held by Daphne and Astoria, while Elizabeth gently gripped his shoulder, before he noticed Ron and Hermione walking towards them with Arthur Weasley. Harry smiled as he got up to greet his best friends, walking towards them and wrapping his arms around them, pulling them into an exciting embrace. While surprised as Harry had never enacted physical contact before, Ron and Hermione accepted the hug and returned it with great vigor. Pulling out of the embrace, Harry and Mr. Weasley greeted each other with a smile and a handshake, before returning to where Harry had been seated with Daphne and aunt Elizabeth.
"Aunt Elizabeth, these are my best friends from Hogwarts, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione," Harry said, pointing to each of his friends. "The latter of which is like a sister to me."
Ron and Hermione, the former a bit stiffer than the latter, nodded their heads in respect before shaking hands with Harry's godmother, while the aforementioned latter also blushed a little red as Harry called her his sister. Elizabeth simply smiled at each of them, before accepting the handshakes. Elizabeth looked back towards the entrance of the chamber, where it was expected for Sirius Black to come through once his trial started.
"Harry, how have you been?" Hermione asked, concerned and excited for her best friend.
"Yeah mate, I imagine you'll be looking forward to coming back to the Burrow and not have to worry about any Snakes, huh?" Asked Ron, his tactfulness on point as ever.
Harry couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment, while Daphne glared at the young Weasley boy and Mr. Weasley facepalmed himself, as he too shook his head. Hermione on the other hand simply slapped Ron on the backside of his head.
"Oww, Hermione, what was that for?!" Ron asked, glaring at his friend for slapping him.
"You know very well what it was for Ron," Hermione stated, keeping her voice down so as not to disturb anyone else in the chamber. "Harry has every right to associate himself with anyone he wants to, regardless of what House they're in, just as long as it isn't Malfoy and his bunch."
Hermione's words ended up eliciting a chuckle from a few of the people around her, though Ron's face had taken on a tint of red.
"But Hermione, Greengrass is a Slytherin like Malfoy, she's no better than him!" Ron argued until he felt another slap on the back of his head, this time from his father; something that was extremely rare.
"That's enough Ron, because in case you have forgotten, Lady Greengrass is Harry's godmother," Mr. Weasley started, his face scrunching in anger as he spoke to his youngest son. "Furthermore, Daphne is his betrothed, so he is expected to get to know her, to make their eventual marriage easier for both of them.
"Lastly, not all Slytherins are nasty and rude like the Malfoys Ron," Mr. Weasely continued, glaring in the direction of Lucius Malfoy, who was glaring in their direction. "There are decent and good Slytherins that are sadly outnumbered by those who follow the Pureblood supremacy nonsense. Besides, once you graduate from Hogwarts what House you were in becomes irrelevant."
Mr. Weasley looked at Elizabeth, who was patting him on the back. He took note of how she had a large smile on her face, as did Daphne.
"Well said Arthur, very well said indeed." She said, her smile causing Mr. Weasley to blush in embarrassment.
"Please Elizabeth, I was just speaking the truth as I was trying to make my son understand that he can't judge others based on their House alone." Mr. Weasley stammered as he did his best to recompose himself.
Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction between his godmother and Ron's father, before he remembered something else. Turning to Hermione, he had to ask her a question that's been on his mind since he read his parent's Will, and tell her something that he knew would rock her world.
"Hermione, I was wondering, how's your relationship with your parents?" He asked tentatively, not wanting to insult his female best friend. "I mean, did they ever try to figure out how it was that you ended up born with magic?"
Hermione looked at Harry with some shock at the level of his questioning, before she finally bent her head down. What Harry, and Ron, noticed was that Hermione's face turned red in shame, as though she had been hiding something from them. Concerned for their friend, but still willing to support her, the two boys rubbed their hands up and down her back, letting her know that they were there for her. Hermione finally looked back up at them in relieving thanks, as she took a deep breath.
"I never really thought it was important to tell you guys this," She said, looking down again. "After Professor McGonagall came to my house to tell me and my parents that I had magic and would attend Hogwarts, my parents sat me down and told me that my ability to use magic explained a lot of things to them, and why I was so different from them.
"They explained to me that my mum was diagnosed as barren, and therefore unable to bear children," Hermione continued, oblivious to Harry and Ron looking at each other in surprise, while the adults and Daphne sympathized with Hermione as she explained her story. "So when they couldn't have a child of their own, they decided to adopt. They found me in a local orphanage as a baby, immediately fell in love with me and adopted me then and there, and never regretted it since. When I started to show signs of accidental magic, even if they didn't know then that it was magic, they went back to the orphanage to find out more information about how I came to the orphanage. The orphanage director explained that a disheveled-looking man dressed in black robes and a skull-shaped mask tied to his belt came one night with me in his arms, told her my first and middle name, my birthday which as you know was September 19, 1979, and left me with her there. She assumed the man was my father, but she never had the chance to find out because when she looked back up, the man was gone, and she only looked at me for a second before she tried to get more information about me."
As Hermione explained how she came to be in an orphanage, Elizabeth and Arthur looked at each other in shock, as they knew based on the description of the robes and the mask, the man that dropped Hermione at the orphanage had to have been a Death Eater, one of You-Know-Who's followers. But based on what Elizabeth knew of Hermione's true heritage, why would one of You-Know-Who's followers take a Pureblood heiress to a Muggle orphanage? It didn't make any sense, even though it explained why Hermione's body wasn't found in McKinnon Manor, where Hermione's birth mother Marlene was found dead along with the rest of her family. Marlene's death and Hermione's alleged death broke Sirius, so much that Elizabeth felt sad and depressed for her friend, and was honestly pleased to find that Sirius' daughter was alive.
She took immense pleasure in telling Sirius that Hermione Granger was his lost daughter, and she especially took joy and pleasure when Sirius looked at her in shock before he broke down tears of joy, while she, Cyrus, and Remus comforted him. He would now have a chance to be with his daughter once his trial was over, and he was eager to know how she would react to the truth, and if she would want to have a bond with him. Now, learning that a Death Eater had saved her, and brought her to potentially the last place where You-Know-Who could find the child of one of his enemies, Elizabeth had to admit that it was a confusing piece of the puzzle in Hermione's disappearance when she was an infant.
"I admit that since I learned I was adopted, I often wondered why my father would give me up like that," Hermione continued, breaking Elizabeth out of her thoughts. "Did he not love me enough? Did he no longer want me after I was born? And what happened to my mother, did she too not want me anymore? I never told either of you that I was adopted because I was still confused, and honestly didn't think that it was important enough to tell you about it."
Harry immediately wrapped an arm around Hermione, giving her a brotherly hug and squeeze to help his friend/sister, while Ron gently squeezed her shoulder after placing a hand on it. Unknown to the three, they were joined by Tracey and her mother, as well as Blaise Zabini, who gave the trio their privacy by talking with Daphne, though they did hear what Hermione was saying, and like the adults, sympathized with Hermione. Of course, Harry couldn't help but form a mischievous grin on his face, as he looked at Hermione.
"Don't worry Hermione, I'm sure that once your birth father is cleared of his charges," Harry began, being joined in his grinning by Daphne, Astoria, and Elizabeth, as he turned back to look towards Amelia Bones, who looked ready to start the trial. "He will be able to answer your questions, and will want to get to know you, that is if you want to of course."
For a brief moment, it seemed as though Hermione didn't register what Harry had said until her eyes began to widen as she thought over his words. Finally, her mouth opened into an o, giving her an almost fish-like appearance before she looked at Harry. Harry chuckled at her face, before feeling a slap on his shoulder.
"What did you just say, Harry?" She asked, still registering his words. "What do you mean, "When my father is cleared"?"
"Yeah Harry, the only person being cleared of charges is... Sirius," Ron said, agreeing with Hermione until he finally caught on to what Harry was saying. "Bloody hell, Harry, do you mean that Sirius Black is Hermione's birth father?"
Harry looked at Ron, completely blown away that he was the one who figured it out first before Hermione, but he was at the very least glad that his first real best friend was at least paying attention to what was going on. Regardless, Hermione's head looked at Ron and back at Harry in such a fast manner, that it was a surprise that she wasn't getting whiplash from doing so. Finally, she just couldn't help but ask the question on her mind.
"What?!"
Before Harry could explain more, the sound of a gavel sounded through the chamber. Looking towards the podium where Amelia Bones was sitting, Harry realized that the trial was starting. He figured he would let Hermione stew over his words, as it would allow her to eventually realize that she had unknowingly met her father the previous schoolyear, and helped him escape so that he could be here now, and hopefully get to know him once it was all over.
"Attention everyone, welcome to this quickly put together trial, as ordered by the Wizengamot at the request of the citizens of Magical Britain," She started, looking around the chamber, seeing a large number of witches and wizards, both those who were on the Wizengamot and those who were just visiting to see the results of the extraordinary trial. "As you all know, thanks to the article from the Daily Prophet, the revelation of a severe miscarriage of justice, and the resulting high number of demands for answers from the public has allowed the Wizengamot to meet in an emergency session and decided to right the wrong.
"To make it as simple as possible, we are here to preside over the trial of one Sirius Orion Black," She continued, looking towards the more troublesome witches and wizards, such as Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge, who would no doubt want to keep Black from being cleared of all charges. "And to determine once and for all, that he is indeed guilty of his crimes, or is in fact, innocent and was wrongfully sent to Azkaban."
Once again, she looked around the chamber, focusing only on the Wizengamot members, to see which ones would be more troublesome than the others. She knew for sure Lucius Malfoy would not want this trial to take place, as he hoped he could have his son inherit the Lord Black title through his wife Narcissa, who was originally from the Ancient and Noble House of Black. There was no doubt in her mind that Dolores Umbridge would object to the trial on principle if their brief confrontation in the Minister's office was anything to go by. Umbridge made it clear that she didn't believe that there was any chance of Black being innocent, and would likely raise it again here.
"Hem hem!"
True enough, Umbridge fake-cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Forgive me, Madam Bones, but to be quite frank and honest, I do believe that this "trial", is a waste of time and valuable Ministry resources," She stated, causing many within the Dark faction, and a few in the Neutral faction that leaned towards the Dark to murmur in agreement. "After all, the evidence against Sirius Black was ironclad and sound. Even if it is true that Black wasn't given a trial and was sent straight to Azkaban without one, the need for one would've been pointless as it would've proven what was already believed. Besides, it was and still is, a well-known fact about how close Black was to the late James Potter, therefore proving that there was no one that James Potter would've chosen, to be his family's Secret Keeper, and what does Sirius Black do? He proved his true loyalties, and told He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named where to find the Potters, allowing the Dark Lord to kill them, and then proceeded to kill his other friend Peter Pettigrew, leaving nothing but a finger, and twelve other Muggles."
It wasn't lost on Amelia that Umbridge gave a small sneer as she said the word "Muggle", as though the additional deaths of twelve Muggles weren't as important as some of the other charges against Sirius Black, which got an agreement from many of the Pureblood fanatics. Regardless, Amelia, and unknowingly Cyrus Greengrass, grinned as Umbridge was unintentionally helping the case against Sirius Black's guilt. Before she had a chance to say so, Cyrus decided to take the opportunity provided by Umbridge.
"Thank you Madam Umbridge, for pointing out certain factors that will only help in the case to prove Sirius Black's innocence," Cyrus stated, as he stood up, causing Umbridge to look at him as though he had two heads. "Because the complete truth is, that all of the so-called evidence against Sirius Black is... what's the word that the Muggles use? Ah, circumstantial, the evidence against Sirius Black is circumstantial."
Cyrus' words caused many in the Wizengamot within all three factions to look at him in confusion, while Umbridge looked at Cyrus in absolute fury. There was no doubt in Cyrus' mind that she was feeling outraged at the way that Cyrus had taken her words, and was twisting them around to his advantage. Truth be told, he didn't care, as he was going to do whatever he could, to help his friend prove his innocence. Deciding to get underway, Cyrus pulled out a slip of parchment from his inner coat pocket, starting the trial before Umbridge could retort back at him.
"I have here in my hand, a notarized copy of the Final Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter, provided by the Potter Family Accountant of Gringotts," He started, handing the copy to an Auror who approached him, and took the copy of the Potter Will to Amelia to look over. "As you will no doubt observe Madam Bones, there is a line in the Will where James and Lily clearly stated that Sirius Black was NOT in fact, the true Secret-Keeper, but rather a decoy. The Will further reveals that the true Secret-Keeper, the person truly responsible for betraying the Potters to You-Know-Who, was none other than Peter Pettigrew, whose actual crimes were very plainly explained in the Daily Prophet, so I won't go into too much detail about them again."
Cyrus gave Amelia some time to look over the Will, reading over the part that he pointed out. He had, of course, asked the Goblins to omit the name of the witness to the Will, as he wanted to use that piece of information against Dumbledore, in case the old goat tried to do anything funny, like trying to deny any future contact between Harry and the Greengrass family. After all, Cyrus was a Slytherin alumnus, and Slytherins used any information they came across, to their advantage for future usage.
"The Will of James and Lily Potter is accepted and admitted into evidence," Amelia said before a shout of objection was heard from Bartemius Crouch Senior. "Bartemius Crouch Senior has the floor."
"Thank you, Madam Bones," Crouch Sr. said, though with a slight sneer directed at the woman who took his post within the DMLE. "As the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time of Sirius Black's capture, why was the Will of James and Lily Potter not brought before the attention of the Ministry before? Why are we just now receiving notice of the existence of the Will? I say that the existence of the Will is irrelevant, and move that it be removed from evidence."
Crouch's words seemed to have struck a chord for many with the Wizengamot, though with different reactions. On one hand, many within the Dark Faction and Neutral/Dark of the Neutral Faction agreed with Crouch, and voiced for the removal of the Potter Will from evidence, while many in the Light Faction and Neutral/Light of the Neutral Faction supported keeping the Will as evidence. Fortunately, the latter was more numerous than the former, allowing the Potter Will to be kept in evidence, though Cyrus wasn't slow to not jump at the chance to put Crouch in his place.
"I'm curious Mr. Crouch, are you saying that as a former head of the DMLE, or as the man partially responsible for the Potter Will never seeing the light of day until now?" He asked, causing Crouch to look at him in concealed shock.
"What are you talking about, Lord Greengrass?" He asked, sounding as though he was scandalized.
Everyone looked back at Cyrus, curious to know what he meant. Cyrus mentally smirked, as he delivered the next piece of evidence to support the case of Sirius' innocence.
"I'm talking about how when my wife and eldest daughter accompanied Heir Potter to have the Will of his parents read, it was sealed shut by the Seal of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister's Office," Cyrus revealed, causing many in the chamber to gasp in shock, while Amelia looked at Crouch in complete awe due to the implications of Cyrus' words. "And considering that you were, as you said a moment ago, the Head of the DMLE at the time with Milicent Bagnold as the Minister of Magic of the time, I can only imagine if your words were simply to ensure that your part in the sealing of the Potter Will, so that it couldn't be used to exonerate Sirius Black, wouldn't be revealed."
Crouch sat back in anger/shock/horror, as many within the Wizengamot chamber yelled and shouted at him, either for answers/confirmation to the accusations by Cyrus Greengrass, or cries for his head and blood, for trying to cover up a crucial piece of evidence. Meanwhile, Fudge watched in rapt attention, as perhaps there was a slim chance he could get out of the situation of being blamed for Black's incarceration thanks to Cyrus Greengrass explaining clearly that it was Bagold's fault for Black's possible illegal imprisonment. At least that is, until he remembered that he had refused to listen to the words of Harry Potter, which could've allowed Fudge to be the one to help prove Black's innocence (if he even was innocent), and not Greengrass, causing the Minister to slump back in his seat. To be honest, Fudge knew that one way or another, this would potentially not end well for him, as more and more evidence to support the possibility of Sirius Black being innocent of his crimes was mounting.
Deciding that the number of outcries was getting out of hand, Amelia banged the gavel several times, regaining the attention of the various witches and wizards. Once she was satisfied that everyone was paying attention again, she continued.
"The objection and request for the removal of the Potter Will is overruled," She stated, much to the joy of many in the chamber, before she banged her gavel again. "If there are no other pieces of evidence to be presented?"
She looked toward Cyrus Greengrass, to see if he would submit any more evidence, which he shook his head, indicating that there wasn't.
"Then we shall continue..." She said before she was annoyingly interrupted.
"Hem hem," Umbridge sounded out, wanting to somehow get back at Cyrus, with a small smile on her toadyish face. "Forgive me, Lord Greengrass, but I am trying to understand, why your wife and eldest daughter would go to Gringotts with Heir Potter, just to have his parent's Will read."
Cyrus, understanding that Umbridge was trying to find some way to discredit him, only grinned back at her in response. He was pleased to see that the result was Umbridge becoming unsettled by his body language.
"Why because my wife is Harry Potter's godmother, as stated in the Potter Will," Cyrus replied, causing many to look at Amelia, as she read the Will, and nodded in response, proving Cyrus' words; and all with a mischievous grin on his face as though the answer was obvious. "And my eldest daughter Daphne is betrothed to Harry Potter. So why wouldn't they go with him?"
Cyrus' words caused many in the Wizengamot to laugh, as Umbridge slumped back into her seat in humiliation. She had hoped to make the Greengrass patriarch look bad, and get back at him for twisting her words at the start of the trial, only to end up being humiliated in return. Could this get any worse for her, and Fudge who had been glaring at her for opening her big mouth at the start of the trial, and for the entire duration of Cyrus' opening argument.
Once again deciding to get control of the chamber again, while also shaking in amusement at Umbridge's humiliation at the hands of Cyrus Greengrass, Amelia banged the gavel again.
"Now then, as I said before since there is no other evidence to be presented at this time," She looked around again, this time to see if she would be interrupted again, she continued. "We shall move on with the trial. Will Auror Shacklebolt and Auror-in-training Tonks, please escort Mister Black in?"
In response to her request, the doors leading into the chamber opened, and two Aurors in neatly pressed crimson robes, one a tall, bald, and broad-shouldered dark-skinned wizard with a single gold hooped earring in his left ear, and the other a young witch with a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short and spiky bubblegum-pink hair, and between them was none other than Sirius Black. Sirius was dressed in wizard/Muggle hybrid clothes/robes and looked far better than he was when he arrived at Greengrass Manor, thanks to the magic of the House-Elves, since his hair, beard and mustache were better trimmed, and he was no longer quite as skin and bones, nor was his face quite as gaunt, though there were still some hints of his incarceration in the dreaded prison. Harry grinned as Sirus walked into the chamber, large as you please and with a confidant stride, without any cuffs or restraints, as he was escorted to a single chair that materialized in the center of the chamber. As soon as Sirius sat down, he turned his head towards Harry and gave him a wink, while also giving a rueful smile at Hermione, conveying that he was sorry for not being a major part of her life, even if he had no control over how they came to be separated, before turning back to look at Amelia and Cyrus, who was now standing in front of the podium.
"Amelia, it's good to see you again after all these years, and still as pretty as ever," Sirius said in a flirting manner which caused the DMLE Head to roll her eyes, while also having a small smile and minor redness in her cheeks. "And Cyrus my old friend, glad to see that it's you serving as my defense, and not some incompetent oaf that the Ministry might try to pander off to me in the hopes of sabotaging my trial, no offense to any of the good and incorruptible Ministry workers, like you Amelia, or you Shacklebolt and Tonks."
Sirius' words caused several members of the Wizengamot to chuckle at Sirius' humorous words, while others, like Fudge or Umbridge, paled in fear or glared in outrage respectively. Even Shacklebolt grinned at Siris as he gently squeezed his shoulder in support, while Tonks just chuckled. The two Aurors then stood at attention, acting as protective guards, to make sure that no harm came to Sirius during his trial. Sirius, for his part, then dropped the humor act and became... well serious, for the duration of his trial. While it would be relatively unknown to everyone in the chamber except those exclusively in the know (such as Sirius, Harry, Remus, and the Greengrass family), Sirius and Cyrus had rehearsed what Sirius would say when he entered the chamber, so that no one would suspect or accuse the Greengrass family of helping and harboring a wanted fugitive.
"Sirius Black, you are brought before this Wizengamot council, to stand trial for the alleged crimes that you are accused of, for the events of the night of October thirty-first, nineteen-eighty-one, and November first, nineteen-eighty-one," Amelia began, getting down to business. "You are accused of the following: serving as a secret Death Eater in service to the Dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort (ignoring the various flinches and gasps heard within the chamber), otherwise known as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, acting as a spy reporting to You-Know-Who, giving up the secret location of the Potters entrusted to you as their Secret-Keeper, attempting to flee justice for the deaths of James and Lily Potter and the attempted murder of your godson Harrison James Potter, the murder of Peter Pettigrew who attempted to stop and apprehend you, performing magic in the presence of Muggles, and the subsequent deaths of twelve Muggles who witnessed the confrontation between you and Pettigrew and your use of magic.
"How do you plead?" She asked, waiting to hear the response she was sure to hear, as she was in support of Cyrus Greengrass' attempt to clear Sirius Black's name.
"Not Guilty." Answered Sirius, his voice possessing a strong and determined tone.
Amelia nodded her head, as the scribe by her side recorded everything that was being said for the record. She then leaned forward, as though she was trying to get closer to Sirius and look into his eyes.
"As your testimony of being not guilty is entered into the record, I then ask," Amelia continued, wanting to make sure everything in the trial was considered legal and by the book. "Are you willing to submit yourself to questioning under the effects of Veritaserum?"
Unknown to many within the Wizengamot, Amelia and Cyrus had met before the trial, to discuss how they could prove Sirius' innocence without a shred of doubt. The both of them had agreed upon the use of Veritaserum, as it would ensure that everything Sirius said, would be accepted as truth. After all, it was known and accepted that those under the effect of Veritaserum, couldn't lie no matter how hard they tried.
"I am willing to accept Veritaserum, and testify under its effect." Sirius answered, nodding his head to submit to the request.
Nodding her head, Amelia turned her head towards Shacklebolt, who produced a vial of clear water-like liquid from his robes. Using his wand, Shacklbolt confirmed that the vial was from a controlled room where vials of Veritaserum were stored for use in trials and that it wasn't tampered with in any way. Once Amelia accepted the verification, she gave one small nod, giving consent to administer the potion. As Shacklebolt approached Sirius, the seated wizard simply tilted his head back, and willingly opened his mouth, so that Shacklebolt could put in three drops of the truth serum. Harry and Hermione watched in concerned anticipation, as Sirius' body relaxed and his eyes took on a glassy appearance. Once Shacklebolt confirmed that Sirius was under the effects, Amelia began with a series of questions to test that the Veritaserum was working.
"What is your full name?" She began, starting small.
"Sirius Orion Black" Sirius answered, his voice dull and almost sounding lifeless.
"What is your date of birth?"
"November third, nineteen-fifty-nine."
What school did you attend to learn to control your magic, and what was the House you were Sorted into?"
"Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and my House was Gryffindor."
"Who were your closest friends during your time at Hogwarts?"
"James Charlus Potter, my best mate, and brother in all but blood, Remus John Lupin, Cyrus Aldrich Greengrass, Peter Brutus Pettigrew," Many within the audience watching took note that James' name was said with a tone of affection, Remus and Cyrus' were with respect, but Peter's was said with a snarl, and also saw Sirius's face, despite being under Veritaserum, contorted in anger before returning to a relaxed state. "And Lily Marie Potter neƩ Evans after she and James started getting closer."
"What Houses were your friends all Sorted into while at Hogwarts?"
"James, Remus, Peter, and Lily were in Gryffindor with me, while Cyrus was Sorted into Slytherin. Though to be honest, neither James, Remus, and I cared, while Peter mostly just kept quiet around him."
"Is it true that you are an illegal Animagus, and if so, what is your form?"
"Yes, I am an Animagus, as was James, Peter, and Cyrus though the latter did register his form. I am a large black dog, James was a stag, Peter is a common garden rat, and Cyrus is a green anaconda."
Cyrus nodded his head in agreement, which gave Amelia all the confirmation she needed to know that the Veritaserum was working. With the preliminary questions out of the way, she now started getting to the heart of why the trial was taking place in the first place.
"Sirius Black, were you a loyal Death Eater, and spy for You-Know-Who?"
"No, I was never a Death Eater, I'd rather cut off my left arm than join their ranks or serve Voldemort." Sirius replied, again Amelia and Cyrus ignoring the flinches at the use of Voldemort's name.
"Were you at any point, sympathetic to the cause of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters?"
"Bloody hell no, I hated their pathetic "Purebloods are better" bullshit that they spouted, ever since I grew up as a child!" Sirius answered, causing many within the Dark Faction, and the few in the Light and Neutral Faction that did believe in Pureblood supremacy to glare at Sirius. "Furthermore, those that do follow that dumb belief are nothing more but shortsighted idiots!"
Once again, many witches and wizards that believed in Pureblood supremacy glared at Sirius, while others vehemently jeered or shouted at Sirius in anger. Harry and Hermione looked in fear, as they thought perhaps Sirius had gone too far and was going to be cursed, had Elizabeth not gently squeezed their shoulders. The two teens looked at her in relieving thanks, while the Greengrass matriarch smiled at them.
"Don't worry, the use of spells in a Wizengamot session is forbidden," She explained, causing Harry and Hermione to sigh in relief. "Besides, if anyone did try to throw spells or curses at Sirius, the chair that Sirius is sitting in would enact a protective barrier to stop the spells, and the Aurors would be on top of the castor in minutes."
Feeling relief that no harm would come to Sirius, Harry and Hermione refocused on the trial.
"ORDER, WE SHALL HAVE ORDER IN THIS COURTROOM," Amelia shouted as she banged the gavel loudly in order to be heard over the shouts and jeers in the chamber, before continuing as it finally quieted down. "Were you chosen as the Secret-Keeper for the Potters?"
"Initially I was going to be, but then I realized that I would've been an obvious choice for Voldemort to go after if he wanted to find out where James and Lily were hiding with Harry," Sirius said, continuing with his story. "So I convinced them to use someone else."
"Who did you recommend the Potters use as their Secret-Keeper instead?"
"I suggested they trust Peter, he was always the weaker one of us, when it came to using magic," He answered, regret and sadness seeping into his voice. "I thought that he would be the last person Voldemort would ever suspect to be the Secret-Keeper. After all, after me, the next obvious choices would've been either Remus Lupin, Cyrus Greengrass, or even Elizabeth Greengrass, as she and Lily were close."
"What happened on the night of October thirty-first, nineteen-eighty-one, and the following day of November first, nineteen-eighty-one?"
"James and Lily wanted to have a small Halloween get-together, so I went to Peter's flat to pick him up, but he wasn't home and there was no sign of a break-in or a struggle," Sirius began, his voice droning as he told the story. "I thought perhaps he went to see his mother, and so I went there to see if he was, but when his mum said he wasn't, I began to get concerned, and went to the cottage that the Potters were hiding in, only to find it in ruins. My fears went into overdrive, as I went to see if anyone was still alive, only to instead find my brother James lying on the floor, dead. I fell in despair and sadness, as I held his body, crying as I realized that my best mate, my brother, was gone for good, before I remembered about Lily and Harry, and went upstairs, hoping beyond all hope that they were alright."
Sirius took a deep breath, as his glassy eyes began to mist.
"When I got to Harry's nursery, I found Lily's body on the ground, just as dead as James, while the bastard Voldemort's body also laid on the ground next to hers," Sirius continued, his teeth snarling as he described the position of Voldemort's body. " So I kicked it out of the hole that was in the wall, taking satisfaction when I heard the body hit the ground, believing that the bastard had no right to lay dead next to Lily, as though he had the right to be there after he killed her."
Sirius' words sparked several cries of outrage from the Wizengamot members who were accused of being Death Eaters but were then clear of those charges. Amelia, while banging the gavel to quiet them, took note of who cried out, intending to look into them more closely. She didn't care if they were technically declared innocent, as she didn't accept the fact that so many had used the "I was placed under the Imperious curse against my will" excuse that they all pulled. She was especially focussed on Lucius Malfoy, who shouted "How dare you disrespect the Dark Lord like that?" at Sirius.
Sirius, continuing under the effect of Veritaserum, was oblivious to the cries of outrage.
"I held Lily's body the same as I did James before I heard the cries of Harry, and moved to pick him up from the crib he was in and held him in my arms, and I knew I had to get him out of there," Sirius continued, the tears in his eyes finally beginning to fall. "Just as I was out the door, Rubeus Hagrid saw and walked up to me, comforting me in regards to James and Lily's death before he asked me to hand Harry over to him so that he could take him to Dumbledore. I initially refused, explaining that as Harry's godfather, I had the right to take Harry with me, but Hagrid explained that Dumbledore had a safe place set up for Harry and that he had to take him.
"I knew that there was no other choice, if Dumbledore had a safe place set up for Harry, then I knew that Harry would be safe, so I gave Harry to Hagrid, and offered my motorcycle to Hagrid, as I had bewitched it to fly, and watched Hagrid take Harry to safety." Everyone watched as the tears continued to tread down Sirius' face, as he told his story, and many could feel the sadness coming off of him through the magic that permeated through the chamber, causing even the stone-hearted individual to feel regret for the young man; except for Umbridge of course, as she felt no pity for Sirius, as she still refused to believe his innocence. "With no other choice, I knew that Peter was responsible for what happened to James and Lily, so I decided to go after him; I wanted justice for what happened, and I won't deny that I may have also wanted revenge for Peter's betrayal against us all, but especially James and Lily, so I began to track him down.
"I managed to corner Peter in the Muggle town, but while I wanted to confront him quietly, Peter began to shout, "Why Sirius, how could you betray James and Lily?" loud enough for the surrounding Muggles to hear, then Peter used an overpowered Bombarda hex to hit a Muggle gas pipe and blew up the entire street, throwing me off my feet, and killing those twelve Muggles," Sirius elaborated, as he was coming up to what everyone was expecting to hear. "When I managed to regain consciousness, I was able to see Peter use a dagger to cut off one of his fingers, and transformed into his rat form, before he escaped through the hole that he created, and got away through the sewer."
Before Sirius could continue, he was interrupted by Fudge, who cleared his throat less annoyingly than Umbridge. When he was permitted to speak, Fudge focused on Sirius.
"Forgive me Mr. Black, but I wonder if you could elaborate on something for me," Fudge asked, hoping to gain some clearance on something that came to his mind. "I was one of the first people on the scene to where you were captured, after your confrontation with Peter Pettigrew, and you were laughing and muttering "I killed them, I did it, it's my fault.", could you please explain why you were saying those things if you weren't truly responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter?"
"It was as the Aurors were arriving, that I realized that Peter had planned it all, he planned to frame me for his crimes so that he could escape not only from me but also from the other Death Eaters that would've wanted to kill him themselves," Sirius elaborated, answering Fudge's question in a roundabout manner. "As it was his information that sent their beloved Dark Lord to his death, and laughed at the massive joke that Peter pulled on me. I also laughed at the fact that, in a manner of speaking Minister, I did kill James and Lily, by deciding to not continue being the Secret-Keeper, Like James and Lily wanted me to be. It was because I decided to switch Secret-Keepers, to Peter, that allowed Voldemort to find and kill James and Lily.
"After that, I was taken to the Ministry holding cells where I stayed for maybe ten minutes until Crouch and Bagnold arrived with a team of Aurors," Sirius finally began to finish, as he took a deep breath to compose himself, even under the Veritaserum. "Crouch had a malicious grin on his face and a look of sadness and regret was on Bagnold's, as I was told that I was being sent straight to Azkaban since all the evidence against me was tight and ironclad without the need for a trial."
Wiping her eyes clear of the tears that began to fall from them, Amelia decided that they had heard enough, and ordered for the Verataserum antidote to be administered, which it was by a misty-eyed Shacklebolt. As she cleared her throat, Cyrus took the reins.
"If it will please Madam Bones," He started, looking around the chamber. "I believe that we have heard enough to make a verdict of innocence, or guilty now. To the point that any further testimony from Heir Harrison Potter, Mister Ronald Weasley, Miss Hermione Granger, and Remus Lupin will not be necessary."
"Quite right, Lord Greengrass," Amelia said, now that she sufficiently recovered. "All those in favor of clearing the accused, and dropping the charges, raise your wands and emit a blue orb of light."
As soon as she said that, nearly every wand in the room belonging to a Wizengamot member, was raised and emitted a blue orb, including Amelia and Cyrus'. Harry and Hermione looked in fascination as the room was alight in a blue hue. Even if there were going to be a few that would try to convict Sirius, the number of blue orbs signified what the outcome may be.
"All those opposed and in favor of conviction," Amelia announced as she put out the orb of blue light on her wand. "Raise your wands, and emit orbs of red light."
All around the room, there were barely any red orbs except for a few scattered here and there. Harry was not surprised that Lucius Malfoy was among those who lit a red orb, though he also noted that the toad-faced woman, Umbridge, also lit a red orb. He was, however, intrigued that Fudge never lit either blue or red orbs, and just sat down doing nothing.
'The coward probably didn't want to draw attention to himself.' Harry thought to himself, as his right eyebrow arched up, before sharing a look with Daphne who also noticed the same thing.
Amelia noted the very fewer red orbs when compared to the huge mass of blue orbs that were in the room earlier. Knowing what it meant, she shared a smile with Cyrus, who returned it. Turning back to the room, she looked at Sirius, while simultaneously addressing the witches and wizards, awaiting the decision.
"Sirius Orion Black, it is with great pleasure to say," She began, looking at Sirius. "That you are cleared of all charges, and are free to go. In addition, your rightful title of Lord Black shall be returned and bestowed upon you, as is your birthright as the eldest son of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. This court session is officially closed!"
As soon as Amelia said that and banged her gavel, many witches and wizards cried out and cheered at the declaration, as Sirius rose from the chair, shaking hands with Shacklebolt and hugging Tonks. Harry and Hermione were especially cheering as loudly as they could, and hugging each other tightly, as they could now enjoy a life with Sirius as an innocent man. Releasing themselves from the embrace, they noticed that Sirius was looking at them, with a big smile on his face, a smile that both teens returned with enthusiasm.
Author's Note: This is where we will come to an end. Wow, this took a while, and may potentially be the longest chapter for this one story. I was considering splitting it into two separate chapters but decided to push through, and I am sure glad I did. However, I will have to somewhat sacrifice Hermione and Sirius having their Father/Daughter reunion until the next chapter, but don't worry, that will come, though it may end up being a sort of filler chapter. Hopefully, I can get back to my story schedule now.
