Ted ambled into the office of DMLE Director Amelia Bones. "Wotcher, Amy," he told his fellow Hufflepuff.

She glared at him. "I'm a busy woman, Ted. What's so important that I needed to carve time out of my day to see you?"

"I have a question for you that nobody seems to be able to answer," Ted said. "It's a simple question, too, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Who is Harry Potter's magical guardian?"

"Albus Dumbledore," Amelia said. "Everyone knows that."

"So you'd sign a magical oath to that effect?" Ted asked innocently.

"Well, no, because I don't know firsthand," she replied. "But the Magical Records office can. Haven't you tried there?"

"That's the funny thing," Ted said. "They said they couldn't swear the oath, either. They said there was no paperwork on it."

"What." Amelia's tone could have cut glass.

"I was surprised, too," Ted said.

"No, you weren't," Amelia replied. "What do you know, Ted?"

"Nothing I can tell you without violating the Standard Oath," Ted said. "I can just ask the question."

"If there's no paperwork," Amelia said, "that means it's never been changed either by operation of magic or operation of law. That means the designation in the Potter Will still controls. So why couldn't Magical Records pull that up?"

Ted shrugged. "They said it's been sealed."

"Fuck their seals," Amelia said. "I have an open missing person case on that child and this is evidence that should have been brought to our attention."

"Thank you," Ted said. "I think this will help a lot."

Amelia glared at him. "What do you know?"

"Way too much, Amy." Ted sighed and rubbed his temples. "Way, way too much."

"Get the hell out of my office, Ted," Amelia said. "And if I find out you were involved in harming that boy…"

Ted spun around to face her. "I would break that vow and fucking die before I was involved in harming a child and you know that."

"I don't know anything anymore. Not after what Sirius did to James…" she trailed off. "Wait, you got a look on your face."

"I'm sure I've no idea what you're talking about," Ted said.

She sighed. "Vow?"

Ted nodded. "Vow."

"Just get out," Amelia said. "I've got enough of a headache already."

"Alright." Ted started to walk out, then stopped. "I'm upgrading the wards on my house to the very best I can afford and preparing escape plans. I'm…just saying, that's all."

Amelia stared at him. "But…the war's over."

He shrugged. "Goodbye, Amy. Let me know what you find."

Amelia continued staring at the door where she'd seen him last for several minutes after he left.

A memo to the Magical Records Office confirmed what Ted had told her, so she filed the paperwork to unseal the Potters' will. As she expected, that brought another player onto the board…and into her office.

Amelia pushed a bowl across her desk. "Would you like a sherbet lemon, Albus?"

"That's very hospitable of you, thank you." The aged, powerful wizard popped a candy in his mouth and sucked on it. "So you knew I'd be coming, I take it?"

"You could say that," she said.

"Amelia, I must beg you to reconsider opening that will," he said. "Some of the bequests are to people who might be in danger if their connection to the Potters was revealed, and there's an item mentioned that I don't wish to draw attention to."

"I don't care," Amelia said. "I've got a missing boy and I need to know who his magical guardian is."

"Why, me, of course," Albus said. "I told you years ago that I took over after Sirius Black's conviction."

"You did," she said, "and yet the Magical Records Office has no record of the guardian changing."

For the first time in her life, she saw genuine confusion on Dumbledore's face. "But…that's not possible! He would have been ineligible for that position by both law and magic after his conviction! It would have changed instantly."

"But it didn't," Amelia said. "Listen, I don't need to open this will if you're certain it was originally Sirius Black."

"I'm positive," Dumbledore said. "Amelia, how is this possible?"

"Leaving aside unknown Dark Magic that was able to undermine the Ministry, I can only think of one way," Amelia said. "Was Sirius ever convicted?"

"I…Barty assured me justice had been done," Dumbledore said.

"And you trusted him?" Amelia asked. "Merlin, Albus, don't tell me there was a man in Azkaban for six years without a trial!"

"But…I was there! I cast the Fidelius myself!"

"I don't doubt that, but could Lily have recast it? She was as much a prodigy in Charms as she was in Potions."

The old man sank into his chair. "Oh, dear Merlin. What have we done?"

"We did fuck all, Albus, and that's changing now." She leaned forward. "I want your help in the Wizengamot to fix this."

"Anything." He looked lost and crushed under the weight of so many decades and wars.

Amelia smiled. "Excellent. Because I have a plan."

"Good afternoon, Madam Bones," Augusta Longbottom said. "What can I do for you?"

"A loophole in the DMLE oversight law?" Tiberius Ogden asked. "What do you mean?"

A look of horror overcame Griselda Marchbanks' face as she realised the implications of that. "Do you mean to tell me that you could imprison anyone indefinitely in Azkaban without a trial?"

"That's a good solution." Rupert Selwyn skimmed it once more and nodded. "I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Madam Bones."

Cyrus Greengrass pointed at a line on the parchment with his quill. "I'm generally in favour of this bill, of course, but do you think it's necessary to add this piece about house arrest for anyone found to be unjustly imprisoned there prior to their trial?"

"Consider it a way to keep my successors and me honest," Amelia said. "This way, if someone does 'accidentally' end up in Azkaban, the DMLE will be forced to relinquish its hold on them and ensure they have unfettered access to a solicitor or anything else they need. And the magical tracking requirement ensures we can force them to vow to accept surveillance, so we won't have to worry about losing them."

"I like it," the Greengrass patriarch said.

"So does anyone have any questions about this bill to improve oversight of the DMLE?" Amelia asked the Midsummer Assembly of the Wizengamot.

"Just one from me." Lord Parkinson ponderously rose to his feet and withdrew a piece of parchment from his robe.

Amelia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Could these fools even wipe their own arses without Lucius telling them how to do it?

"Does this legislation apply to any current or known former prisoners of Azkaban?" Parkinson asked her.

"The DMLE has conducted a thorough investigation of all persons still alive and sentenced to Azkaban in the last two decades and found no irregularities," Amelia said. "At this time, we have no reason to believe anyone in Azkaban was denied a trial."

"Good," Lord Parkinson said. "No further questions from me."

Amelia fought back the urge to grin. Malfoy might have caught her obfuscation there, but his tools were nowhere near as sharp.

A few minutes later, Albus announced the unanimous vote in her favour with a twinkle in his eyes.

The next week, after the Wizengamot adjourned, Ted Tonks ambled back into Amelia's office.

"It's about damn time," Amelia said. "I've been waiting for you to show up again ever since the Wizengamot passed that law."

"I didn't want to give them the opportunity to reconsider." He passed her a parchment. "This is my client's formal petition for consideration under the new law."

"I'll review this and get back to you." Amelia pulled a folder out of her top desk drawer. "Oh, how convenient. I have Sirius Black's case file right here, and, sure enough, he never received a trial. I suppose I have no choice but to accept this petition."

She signed it and placed it facedown on her desk. "I'll file this myself later tonight. That should keep it sufficiently quiet for now." She pulled a bracelet out of her desk. "Now, where is that bastard?"

Ted blinked. "You're ready now?"

"Of course! I've been dying of curiosity for weeks."

"Alright." Ted straightened his shoulders. "Let's go. We'll start by floo'ing to my house."

"Let me grab a partner." She poked her head out of her door and shouted, "Robards! Get your arse in here! We have a situation."

A huge man with a handlebar moustache hurried into the office. "What is it, boss?" he asked.

"We're going to handle a petition under the new law," she said.

He raised his eyebrows. "It actually applies to someone? But who could possibly…" A look of horror stole over his face. "You can't mean—"

"Sirius Black," Amelia said.

"Are you fucking insane, Boss? Just because he didn't have a trial…"

"I'm absolutely sure this is going to be safe," Bones said. "Trust me."

"Can I bring more Aurors with us?" Robards asked. "Like all of them?"

"Just come along," Amelia said. "I want to know what's going on here."

He shrugged. "Fine. I got the expensive life insurance option, so if I die, it's the Ministry's problem."

A short floo trip deposited each of them in the Tonks' sitting room. "Nymphadora!" Ted called out. "We have visitors."

"All the more reason not to use that name!" a girl shouted back, and a few minutes later a teenage girl with her bubblegum pink hair in a mohawk, ripped black jeans, and a Rolling Stones t-shirt stomped into the room. "What's…" she trailed off at the sight of their visitors.

"Merlin!" she said. "It's Amelia Bones!"

"Indeed," Amelia said. "And you are?"

"Nymphadora Tonks, ma'am!" The girl stood up straighter and her hair turned light brown…and somehow shifted into a bob cut. "It's so cool to meet the Baddest Badger in person! Can I have your autograph?"

"Wait, what?"Amelia asked. "Why would you want my autograph?"

"Because the whole House agrees you're the Baddest Badger to pass through the Hutch in decades, ma'am! Everyone will be super-jealous if I get your autograph."

Amelia ignored a smirking Robards next to her. "If you must."

Ted was not bothering to hide his smile. "I need to clear something with my employers. I'll be back in a moment."

"Wait, employers plural?" Amelia asked.

He smirked and disapparated.

"I'm going to get my Defence textbook!" the girl said. "I'll be right back."

Amelia had just finished signing the book while carefully ignoring looking Robards in the eyes when Ted returned with a crack into the foyer.

"They approved," Ted said, and then put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Nymphadora, I've been unable to tell you about something until today. Remember how you used to play with your cousins Sirius and Harry?"

"Have they found Harry yet?" she asked. "I've been worried about him. I hope they don't find Sirius, though." She looked defiantly around the room. "He's innocent and I hope he stays free until he can prove it. I don't care what anyone says."

"I don't approve of your attitude in general, dear, but you were right this time. Sirius is innocent and we're going to see him so he can prove it."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? Can I come?"

Robards glowered. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Mr. Tonks?"

"I could not be more sure." Ted took a deep breath. "I can only side-along one person at a time. Do you—"

"I cannot allow you to side-along the boss," Robards said. "Take me, and I'll come back for her if it's safe."

"That's fine by me," Ted said. "Nymphadora, I'll be back for you in just a moment."

Ted took Robards to a nice, but nondescript suburban house on the far side of London from his own, then they both returned to his to pick up Nymphadora and Amelia. Ted and Robards were both breathing heavily by the time they finished the last apparition, but at least they'd have a break.

"Right this way," Ted said, and led them up to the door before opening it himself. "They're expecting us," he explained.

The house seemed like a perfectly normal muggle house, at least in Amelia's limited experience with such things. She and Robards followed Ted through a foyer and into a sitting room where a boy and a girl were both hugging a tall, long-haired man.

Amelia and Robards froze, trying to process what they were seeing. Nymphadora didn't hesitate for an instant, though.

"Cousin Sirius!" She darted forward and glomped onto the wanted man and both children. "I missed you! And is that my Harry Bear?"

"What?" the boy asked. He looked familiar…

Sirius laughed. "I haven't heard that name for him in years!"

"You used to be such a snuggle bug when you were little that I used you as a teddy bear," the older girl said.

"That's adorable!" the younger girl said.

"I'm not adorable!" said Harry Bloody Potter, because Amelia's life wasn't complicated enough.

"He's definitely adorable," Nymphadora said. "Wotcher, kiddo. You can call me 'Tonks.'"

"My name is Hermione Granger," the other girl said.

"And these," Ted said, "are my two clients. Hermione is a muggle-born witch."

"I'm just along for the ride," Sirius said. "How's life, Amelia?"

"Much more complicated now," Amelia said. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

"It's a long story," Hermione said. "Should I put the kettle on? We weren't expecting you to come so soon, so my parents aren't home."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Amelia said.

While Hermione made them some tea, Sirius sat down on the chesterfield. Nymphadora and Harry then engaged in a short scuffle, the end result of which was the girl curled up next to Sirius and holding Harry captive on her lap. Hermione didn't seem pleased by that turn of events, but she kept her thoughts to herself on the matter.

About halfway through the aforementioned long story, Hermione's parents returned home. They seemed wary of the newcomers, but were welcoming all the same.

When the explanation finished, Amelia took a deep breath. "That story is equally amazing and horrifying. Thank you all for taking care of Harry. Sirius, I don't see any reason you couldn't stay here during your house arrest, and of course, since you haven't been convicted, we have no reason to revoke your custody of your godson."

"Yay!" Harry said.

"Thank you," Sirius said. "I'm quite content with that. I mean, it's not like I was going anywhere, anyway."

"Excellent," Amelia said. "You'll need to take a Vow not to remove this bracelet, but it's just for tracking purposes."

Sirius nodded and took the Vow and bracelet.

"I'll try to have that off of you during the Mabon Session, but don't tell anyone," Amelia said. "I want to catch Malfoy by surprise so he can't set up a response with his tools in the chamber."

Lucius was waiting in his usual spot by the doors of the Wizengamot Chamber when they finally adjourned for the first day of the Mabon Session. Parkinson, Yaxley, and Selwyn dashed out of the chamber almost as soon as the doors opened, all of them white as a sheet.

The newly-exonerated Sirius turned to Amelia. "Wait for it…"

"What?" Lucius's scream was audible all the way to the heart of the Wizengamot Chamber.

Sirius grinned. "I'll give that arsehole this: he's got a great falsetto."

"What a loss for Flitwick's choir." Amelia wiped a fake tear from her eye.