A/N: Hello and welcome back to another chapter in this story.
As allways, HowInMadeHowie helped me with the finer details in this chapter.
sorry for the delay, but next to the challenge that this chapter posed, with its complete break from canon, me and HowInMadeHowie had some RL things we needed to take care off. But i hope that this chapter makes up for it.
Now, off with you and have fun reading this chapter. Until next timeA/N: Hello and welcome back to another chapter in this story.
Harry and his friends were sitting in the Gryffindor common room after he had trained outside on the obstacle courses and freshly showered, talking with Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and Neville about what they could do for the rest of the day. As it was still snowy outside, they did not really want to go outside in the cold, even if Harry had just come back from it and had fun on the course.
They soon heard the portrait open and Ron came in with his brother Percy. Harry turned in his seat and looked over towards Ron. Harry had to play the unknowing boy, as Callie had told him already what had happened in Dumbledore's office.
Ron was stomping over to them, confusion obvious on his face. Sitting next to Lavender, he asked the others if they knew who Peter Pettigrew was. Hermione picked up, being the one who had read every Daily Prophet that was lying in the common room that was left behind by an older student. "Yes I know who that is Ron. He is the one who Sirius Black had killed on November 2nd, 1981. After that, Pettigrew was awarded the Order of Merlin. Why do you ask?" Hermione said looking up at Ron from her book.
Ron's eyes were as big as saucers, looking at Percy for conformation. After he saw his brother nod, Ron turned back to Hermione. "Well, for a dead guy he was pretty much alive in Dumbledore's office. He had hidden himself as my rat, Scabbers. He is an animagus." That caused the others around him to gasp, and Lavender even leant in closer with Parvati, surely discussing the ramification that this could entail.
Ron was still thinking hard, anyone could almost see the smoke coming from his ears. "But still, I wonder why he was hiding, even after Black was put into Azkaban. Wait, what does that mean for Black? As he did not kill Pettigrew, he should not have been arrested for that right?"
Harry just shrugged his shoulders as he gave his two knuts to this discussion. "Whatever it means, I am sure that we will soon be able to read everything about it, as the Daily Prophet will be investigating this story for every bit of Information they can get their hands on. So how about we do not think about the man anymore and just study for our homework in Transfiguration?" Harry wanted to hint at Ron that they had heard about animagus before, but he was sure that Ron had forgotten that already.
Ron just shook his head, now looking over to Ginny smiling and talking with a classmate of hers, oblivious to what they were talking about. "You do not understand Harry. This man was in our house for at least 10 years, and Percy had found him multiple times in our sister's room in his rat form. What if he had done something that we do not know about? Percy, can we write our parents that if they questioned him that they could ask if he did something unspeakable?"
Percy nodded, explaining that he had already thought the same thing and would write to their parents immediately.
Percy stormed up to his room to write a letter that he would give to his owl, Hermes, in the owlery. Fred and George came over to them after watching Percy running up to his dorm and asked their younger brother what was going on. After Ron had explained it to them, Harry could see the anger in their faces. "So you're telling me, that we had a grown man in the same room as our sister and we did not know about it until now? I really hope that he will be punished for everything he did."
In space on board the Infinity, Captain Lasky was reading the report from Cortana about what had transpired in Dumbledore's office. Reading between the lines, Lasky thought about sending some camouflaged soldiers down to make sure that no one would be coming even close to see Black and Pettigrew before the trial took place. "Roland, inform the detachment in the British Ministry of Magic that they can expect some operatives to support them in the protection of some prisoners until further notice. It is time that we take a more active role against the terrorists on this planet. I'm heading over to the research department to see how far they are with GUNGNIR." With the last statement Lasky stood up to leave his office.
Roland projected his avatar on the holographic display embedded in the captain's desk and nodded. "Understood captain, it will be done. If I could suggest an operative for this assignment, Michael-B312 is almost the perfect candidate for it. As a former Headhunter for ONI Section 3, he has the skills necessary to perform on his own accord if he needs to. But if you think that even a Hyper-Lethal Spartan needs support on the field, how about we reinstate an old friend of his? Last I heard, Spartan Jun-A266 finally recovered from his PTSD and is now itching to fight again. I can transmit the file to your tablet if you want to read it, sir."
Lasky paused and looked down at his tablet and read through the different reports that Roland had uploaded onto it. "Ask Michael for his opinion. The last thing we need is another man wanting to die because he can hide his trauma well enough, so the doctors do not see it. If Michael agrees with you, you can ask Jun if he wants to see his friend and maybe use his skills for something good on an Earth that is so like our home."
Lasky saw Roland blink out from his projector and looked at the display which showed the image of Earth from a cloaked spy satellite in Lunar orbit. Smiling at the peaceful picture, he soon left his office and took the lift towards the research department.
On his way there, Roland informed Lasky that Michael would like to talk with Jun again, but the Spartan also agreed that it would be unwise to send Jun on a mission before Aunti Dot or Roland had not examined Jun thoroughly. Afterall, an AI could not be deceived as easily as a human. Lasky agreed with Roland, telling him to send the invitation to Jun to visit him on the Infinity to see the new recruits perform here under the guidance of Michael and Jerome.
Lasky saw the engineers working on a set of armor very similar to the MJOLNIR Power armor, but with a key difference. When he got closer, he saw all the runes embedded in the metal that would have a place in History back on their home planet. "Dr. Selinsky, how far are we with this prototype?"
Dr. Selinsky turned away from his tablet and looked at Captain Lasky, his glasses just a bit askew on his nose. "Ah Captain, nice of you to come here personally. Well, thanks to Dr. Halsey and her AI's, we are almost finished with the tests, and they are promising to say the least. If everything works out fine, he could even rival a seasoned Spartan II in this. All it needs now is its owner, as I know that this is not a prototype, but a one-of-a-kind armor."
Lasky grinned, not at least a bit surprised at the brilliance of the man before him. Back home, Dr. Selinsky would only be rivaled by Dr. Halsey or her AIs and as such it was only obvious that he would piece together for who this armor really was for. "Well, we just have to wait until June to see the fruits of your work. But before he even can climb in that thing, he needs the augmentations to be successful. How far is the preparation for the procedure?"
Dr. Selinsky placed the tablet down on the table and nodded, telling Lasky everything that was prepared to make the augmentation process the first one to be a 100 percent guarantee to succeed without any drawbacks.
Back on Earth, Amelia just stepped out the fireplace in the atrium of the ministry. She was first against it to use the public Floo, so to speak, but Sirius and Dumbledore had convinced her that it would be the best if Sirius was seen in shackles together with Pettigrew in tow, so there would be witnesses that both had entered the Ministry in company of the Aurors.
Dragged behind Amelia in shackles, Sirius looked around the atrium of the Ministry for which he once had fought hard to keep it safe. But now, after everything he was informed about, he was no longer sure if he should do that or just sit back in his home and just let things play out in the future. As he was pulled along with Peter beside him, Sirius noticed that some people were now gathering, in the corner of his vision, he saw some looking sternly at him and the rest of the crowd who was now bombarding Amelia with questions.
Sirius could hear some snippets out of the storm of questions, most prominent was the question: how she had captured him. Still watching the people outside the crowd, he wondered what they wanted to do, as they did not look like the normal witch or wizard around them. Somehow, they reminded him of Wulf from Dumbledore's office, but Sirius could imagine such things, after all this time in Azkaban it would not be strange for him.
Amelia was almost screaming to the crowd to let them through, as she still had to process the prisoners she had in her custody. While Shacklebolt and Tonks tried to push the crowd aside, Amelia pulled both chains so Sirius would walk behind her, while Pettigrew was floating, still unconscious, just about their heads. Just as the crowd began to part ways, Amelia and Shacklebolt saw Fudge and Scrimgeour running towards them, anger on the face of the Minister obvious. Sirius glanced back to the stern looking people, now talking with some others similarly clothed as they were. Now Sirius was curious who these people were.
Fudge stormed towards Amelia, breathing hard as he stopped right in front of her. "Madam Bones, you explain to me this instant why Sirius Black is in the Ministry, and not in the custody of the Dementors."
Amelia sighted, but also raised her voice to answer the minister's question. "Minister, I hope you will be patient enough until I report to your office, but if you want it to do this in the open, be my guest. During my investigation into Black, I asked you multiple times for the records about his trial 12 years ago, but you always told me that you were still looking for it. Should I stop here, and we talk further in your office, or do you really want the truth being told here?" Amelia knew that this was political suicide, as now every reporter in the crowd knew that something was kept secret even from other Ministry officials.
Fudge paled, having completely forgotten that Amelia had really told him more than once that something was wrong with the trial of Black and the missing documents. He never really had looked for it, thinking that Lucius was right, and she would drop the subject as soon as Black was kissed by a Dementor. But here she was, with two prisoners behind her from one was floating unconscious above their heads. Looking at the man, something stirred in his mind. "Who is that?"Fudge stared at the floating man trying to place his face.
Amelia smirked, it seemed that the Minister just chose to spill the truth right here and now. "That is Peter Pettigrew, a supposedly dead man. But as you can see, he is very much alive and well. I had interrogated him where we had found him, as the question arose why he faked his death as well why he hid himself for all those years, and some new things came to light. Most prominently, who, of these two men, really was a follower You-Know-Who." Amelia hated using that name but she did not want to create a bigger scene that Fudge already had made.
Seeing Fudge's shocked look at the implications of her words she pressed on knowing she wasn't done embarrassing the fool of a man. "As for the reason why I did not turn Black over to the Dementors, without the records of a trial, that means to never had one, it would be highly illegal to give him the Dementors kiss, as it would have been the end of the most Ancient and most Noble line of the house Black."
At the noble part, Sirius snorted but otherwise kept silent.
Amelia ignored him and continued. "So, if we had brought Black to the Dementors, we would have been convicted of killing this bloodline. I imagine you would not want that?"
Fudge was now as white as a sheet, finally registering what Amelia was trying to say. But in the same way, as soon as that trial would commence, he could say goodbye to his job because he was sure that Black would tell everyone that he never was even questioned when he was brought in. OF course, Fudge could still blame Crouch for it, as back then it was his order which put Black into Azkaban.
Getting his bearings back, Fudge stood as tall as he could and just nodded towards Amelia. "Very well, we must call an emergency Wizengamot meeting as soon as your investigation is finished. See to it." Fudge turned around and walked away, determined to write to Lucius on what just happened and telling him that they needed to talk. He was sure that Lucius would like to hear this information.
Mrs. Smith was sitting at her desk in front of the minister's office, looking over the order that she had gotten from Captain Lasky. She was glad that she had a few operatives in the Ministry already to take on the security detail of Black and Pettigrew in the holding cells of the Ministry, but having a Spartan down there would make their lives easier in that regard.
Looking over the video feed of the surveillance camera in the atrium in her glasses, she had to fight a grin when she saw a pale looking Fudge being reprimanded in front off all those people. Zooming in on Black's face, she noticed him grinning mischievously even though he was in shackles as if he knew that he soon would be free to do what he wants, but she saw in his eyes that he was an empty shell without any joy left in them. 'Well, he looks as handsome as the old pictures of him had shown, but he will need many sessions with a psychiatrist, maybe we can put one in with the mind healers in St. Mungos to help him come over his trauma being in Azkaban for over 12 years.'
She soon looked back up from some papers she was working on as she heard Fudge coming out the elevator and storming into his office. "Ms. Smith, I do not want to be disturbed until further notice. Also, please cancel any appointments I have for today." He then slammed the door behind him shut, a sure sign that he would soon talk with Malfoy through the Floo.
Mrs. Smith ordered the small observation runtime to record everything inside the office for the next hour at least and got back to her work.
After having brought Black and Pettigrew to their respective holding cells the day before, Amelia had entered her office and prepared everything she could need in the upcoming Wizengamot session. She was sure that Sirius would be a free man after this, but just to make sure that she had a counter for everything that either Malfoy or Fudge could throw at her, she read both testimonies from Black and Pettigrew again, memorizing them. As she was using the whole night for this, she now could recite everything written in it, before she made copies and sent one copy to Ted Tonks, as she was sure that he would be the lawyer present for Sirius part of the trial.
Just as she had sent the copy away, she heard a knock on her door. She sat back down in her chair and looked towards the door. "Come in." As the door opened, Tonks stood to the side of the door to let Arthur Weasley into her office, before she closed the door again.
Arthur looked furious, and Amelia could think of a good reason for it. "Hello Arthur. Nice of you to come, I just wanted to send word to you that I wanted to speak with you. I guess you already heard about who we have found?" Raising one eyebrow, she saw Arthur nod.
"Yes, my son, Percy, had sent his owl to me, with the message that the rat that he had found all those years ago was in truth an Animagus. Please understand that we did not know that he was an animagus, we just assumed that the rat, even without showing any magic to prove it, had to be a magical one. How else could you explain this long lifespan? Now thinking about it, it should have been obvious. But that is not the point, I am here to ask you if you could tell me what he already has confessed? You see, Percy had found this rat multiple times in my daughter's bedroom. Back then, we did not think much of it, but now me and Molly are both afraid that he may have done something to Ginny."
Amelia was sympathetic towards Arthur. If she would be in the same spot as the man before her, she would demand answers. "I am sorry Arthur, but until the trial I cannot tell you about the investigation. But to calm your mind, I will ask Pettrigrew about the time he hid with your family. If he really had done something unspeakable to your daughter, I will see to it that he will rot in Azkaban forever. You have my word."
Arthur nodded his thanks and then left the office, determined that he would take the time to be present for Pettigrew's trial, even if he hated politics.
Just as Harry and Hermione had predicted, the Daily Prophet reported extensively about Black, and how he was captured together with Pettigrew. The articles also were telling the story about what had supposedly happened 12 years ago, with the most asked question being: Why Pettigrew hid for such a long time.
Hermione put the newest issue of the Daily Prophet down on the table during breakfast, having put a subscription so she would not have to ask the upper years if she could read the news when they would be finished. Hermione looked over to her friend as she folded the newspaper. "Hey Harry, what do you think about the Prophet and what it writes about your godfather? I mean, it seems that it basically repeated what it had printed last summer, only from another point of view."
Harry was eating some scrambled eggs and looked up to Hermione but swallowed before answering her. "To be honest Hermione, I do not know how I should feel. Until he broke out of Azkaban, I did not even think that he was innocent. "
Ron, still eating as if his life depended on it, wanted to give his opinion on the Sirius Black issue. "Yeah, imagine what you have now, the Black family is one of the richest wizarding families in Britain. But now, I am sure that Sirius will have his work cut out for him to bring all the businesses back on track. But he sure will give you many gifts for all those years that he has missed."
Harry could hear a bit of jealousy in Ron's voice. Harry was beginning to suspect that Ron was only his friend because of the name and fame that he had earned without even working for it. Harry decided he would watch out for more signs that this was the case.
Fred came over to Harry, grabbing his shoulders. "Harry, we need to go to the quidditch pitch. Oliver wants us to practice before our next match, so we would be up to speed again after the break."
Harry nodded when he thought about the flight training, when he remembered that he still had some reading to do about another means to fly. Still wondering why he should read it, what he had read until now only made him curious what it would feel like to pilot such a machine.
In the Ministry, Sirius was still sitting in a holding cell and waited for his trial, which was scheduled the next day. He gladly waited the week, so his lawyer could prepare himself for any kind of tactic someone could pull to keep Sirius in prison. While he waited, Amelia visited him once with a lawyer which he knew well. Just as he thought about it, Ted Tonks came back to his cell for another meeting to discuss the case.
Ted grinned as he sat across from Sirius after bringing him to the part where they could speak with each other freely enough to make sure that Sirius would walk out the Ministry a free man. Not that it needed much work at all, with the investigation Ted had done beforehand.
So Sirius used this time to do some small talk and asked Ted about what had happened over the last decade.
Ted smiled ruefully and chuckled at the memory of his wife's anger. Seeing Sirius's curious look he explained. "Oh, Andromeda still wants to burn the ministry down for not having a trial for you, even if her deranged sister got one just a few days later. Speaking of which, do you know if she is still alive in Azkaban?"
Sirius leaned back on his chair, thinking about if he should talk about this. Deciding that it would not hurt Ted to know about these things. "Well, we had a visitor now and then. I do not know who he was, but it was nice to talk with someone who did not judge you just because you were sitting in a prison cell. While he was away, I began to talk with Bellatrix, who was in the cell next to mine. What I tell you now needs to be kept secret though, so I hold you up to your lawyer code Ted."
Seeing Ted nod, Sirius continued. "It seems that my cousin never wanted to do the things she did, but she was compelled to follow her husband. She tried to fight against whatever was compelling her, but sometimes she felt as she was just a passenger inside her body. When I listened to her story, I remembered that your wife was supposed to marry Lucius Malfoy, but after she ran away with you, the contract was switched to Narcissa. I noticed by a family visit just before the last war really took off, that Narcissa´s behavior had changed almost completely. Maybe my uncle and Lucius´s father had done something."
Ted nodded again, now having another task to find out who this mysterious visitor is. Maybe Amelia could help him in that regard, as she should be able to find out who was visiting Azkaban so frequently.
The Wizengamot came together the next day started with the trial of Peter Pettigrew. When that was done, the second trial was the one for Sirius Black, finally after 12 years it will be resolved. Dumbledore sat on his Chief Warlock's seat above everyone else in the chamber. To his right sat Minister Fudge, getting nervous for what was about to happen. Dumbledore noticed how pale he looked; Dumble was sure that the discussion with him had shown Fudge that he could not blame someone else for the misdeeds that the Ministry had caused.
Dumbledore raised his voice, so everyone in the chamber could hear him. "Honored members of the Wizengamot, I hereby open this emergency session, where we will hold trials for two people. The first trial we will hold is for Peter Pettigrew, a man we all thought was dead. His emergence caused us to question many things, mostly the incarceration of Sirius Black, whom we will have the second trial for afterwards. Aurors, bring in the accused Pettigrew."
The doors opened and two Aurors brought in a nervous looking Pettigrew, who's eyes darted around the chamber. He soon found Dumbledore, when he tugged on his chains that were placed on him when the Aurors set him down on the chair in the middle of the chamber. Many murmurs could be heard in the chamber, and Dummbledore had to call in order before he proceeded.
After everyone had calmed down, Dumbledore spoke to Pettigrew, as his duty as Chief Warlock. "Peter Pettigrew, you are accused of faking your death and being an unregistered animagus, hiding as a pet for the past 12 years. These, I'm sure, are not your only crimes. but they are the immediate ones relevant. How do you plead?"
Pettigrew looked around fearfully looking for a way out of his predicament but knew he could not ignore Dumbledore's question. "N-not guilty! I-I was imperiused!"
Dumbledore sighed and nodded. Turning to the court scribe he addressed him. "So be it, scribe take the given plea and we shall begin. Though I warn you Mr. Pettigrew if you are found guilty your fate will be much worse." Dumbledore looked towards Amelia to tell her that she could now begin the interrogation. Amelia stood up and walked down to Pettigrew, where she addressed the rest of the chamber. "Honored Members of the Wizengamot. I hereby ask you to allow me to use Veritaserum on Peter Pettigrew, so he will answer our questions truthfully."
Amelia braced herself for the cacophony of voices around her, as many old pureblood families were outraged by this notion. Dumbledore had to call in back order with another cannon blast from his wand, when an older witch stood up and wanted to be acknowledged by the Wizengamot.
Dumbledore noticed this and bowed towards her, telling Madam Longbottom that she could speak her mind. Taking in a deep breath, the old witch began to speak. "Thank you Chief Warlock, and thank you all honored members of the Wizengamot. I heard you all almost scream how illegal this method is to get answers, but please let me remind you that this man was officially dead for 12 years, so getting the answers should be our main priority. Also, thanks to this we may be able to rectify a mistake made by the previous minister."
Madam Longbottom sat back down while the rest of the chamber calmed down. After a small count more than half was accepting Amelia's motion to use Veritaserum to get the answers from Pettigrew. She then called in one of her Aurors who was carrying a small case with vials in it. Picking one out and administering the necessary dosage, she placed the vial back into its case while watching Pettigrew to see if the potion takes effect.
A short time later, she turned towards the other Wizengamot members in the chamber. "The potion is working, we will now commence the questioning of Peter Pettigrew. Scribe, please watch the dicta-quill to correctly write everything down. For protocol, state your name and date of birth." The last sentence was directed at Peter, after she saw the young secretary from the minister nod.
Pettigrew answered in the same monotone voice that everyone had when under the influence of the Veritaserum. "Peter Pettigrew, born on September 9, 1959."
Amelia looked back towards the scribe, who nodded that the dicta-quill had written everything down. Turning back to Pettigrew, she continued her questioning. "What happened on November 2rd, 1981, when you were confronted by Sirius Black?"
Pettigrew spoke in a monotonous voice, "I knew Sirius would be looking for me so when he confronted me on the street I then started by accused him of betraying Lily and James and in the confusion I casted a blasting hex towards a gas tank that was situated close to the street. After the explosion, which created a hole in the ground, I used my wand to cut off one of my fingers and dropped it to the ground and turned into my animagus form, and escaped into the sewer." Amelia asked him where did he go after he escaped into the sewer.
"I was hiding and looking for news about the Death Eaters, and there was no better place than with the Weasley family. While I posed as a rat, I listened to every conversation, hoping to hear something useful."
Arthur was listening intently to these words, hoping that his fears were not true.
Amelia pushed further. "Why were you looking for information about Death Eaters? Were you one of them?"
"Yes." was the answer from Pettigrew, causing some witches and wizards to gasp in shock.
Amelia wanted to clear Sirius's name here and sought to capitulate on this moment. "You said you were hiding from the Death Eaters, Why?"
Pettigrew's face held a mixture of fear and pride. "I led the Dark Lord to the Potters. I was afraid the other Death Eaters would want revenge for leading him to his downfall."
The chamber was stunned silent. No one but a select few knew that Pettigrew was the Potter secret-keeper. Amelia wanted to make sure she got those exact words out. "Were you the Potters secret Keeper?"
"Yes." Pettigrew did not realize this but admitting he was the Potters Secret keeper had ruined his Imperius defense.
But Amelia had one last question, one she had promised to ask just to make sure that it would be revealed if he did something to the young Weasley witch. "While you were hiding inside the home of the Weasley family, did you do something to a member of the family?"
"No."
Amelia could almost hear Arthur in the stands breathing out in relief. She also was glad that the young witch was not molested by this man. Closing her questioning, the Auror gave Pettigrew the antidote to the Veritaserum, so his eyes cleared and showed the pure fear of sitting in this chair.
Amelia addressed the Wizengamot. "Honored members, you all heard what he just has confessed. In light of this revelation, I would recommend to judge Peter Pettigrew as guilty and send him to Azkaban for the rest of his life."
Dumbledore nodded and looked around the chamber. "I agree with Madam Bones, so I will put this recommendation to a vote. Everyone in favor?"
The wizards and witches in the chamber lifted their wands to lighten them up in favor. Almost everyone's wand was up, but Dumbledore needed to ask if any was against it, and only a handful of wands were lit against it.
After the votes were all counted, Dumbledore turned to face the man in the chair in the center of the chamber Dumbledore gave the Wizengamot's conclusion. "Peter Pettigrew, as per the vote of the Wizengamot, you are found guilty for breech of statue of secrecy, deceiving the Ministry by faking your death, as well for being a Death Eater and the crimes you committed during the time, including treason as you have spied on us for Voldemort, accessory to the death of Lily and James Potter and causing death of twelve muggles" At this name, almost everyone except Amelia flinched. Dumbledore ignored this and continued.. "You are hereby sentenced to life in Azkaban. Aurors, take him away."
After the Aurors had brought Pettigrew away, Dumbeldore called again for order before he told the other Aurors to bring Sirius into the chamber.
The doors opened again soon afterwards, with Sirius walking into the chamber, clean shaven and in a nice two piece suit. Next to him, Ted Tonks carried his suitcase and conjured a second chair with a small desk for himself next to the chair where Sirius was sitting down.