"My dad called you Uncle Richard, were you related to him?" Harry asked.
"I'm a pureblood, so yes we are distantly related,'' Richard said with a shrug. "However, Jamie was my godson. Fle and I were very close and I was honored when he asked me to be his son's godfather."
"I can't wait until I get my extended family tree from Gringotts. Maybe I will be able to find some relatives that are willing to get to know me." The child said with heartbreaking hope in his voice. Farley didn't mean to eavesdrop but she didn't know if she could trust Lord Ballentine with her client..
"We may not be closely related but I consider you family. If I could have gotten to know you sooner I would have. I wish Jamie had talked to me about what was going on". He said with a grimace.
"When Lily got pregnant and they went into hiding, I thought they had given up fighting to focus on their family. If I had known that monster was after them I would have gathered you all up and dragged you out of the country. At the very least force them to stay at a better location. Yes, people knew where Potter Manor was but it also has thousands of years of defense built in. They could have even stayed at my family home. I don't know why they chose Godric's Hollow but if I had known I would have talked them out of it." He said, giving McGonagall a sharp look.
"But how didn't you not know? I thought everyone knew he was after them?"
"Harry, I am one of the British delegates for the ICW, I spend most of my time out of the country. It was even worse back then because I was petitioning the ICW to get involved and help us suppress the Death Eaters. I guess my contacts didn't want me to worry or lose focus so they didn't tell me what was going on. Dumbledore has been made quite aware of how unimpressed I am of his handling of the situation." He explained with a bite in his voice.
"What do you mean by Dumbledore's handling?"
"Albus Dumbledore was the leader of a vigilante group that your parents joined called the Order of the Phoenix. From my understanding it included many recent graduates and Hogwarts staff members. None of which are trained in combat or strategy.
He should have been recruiting from the vast pool of established wizards who have had time to hone their craft and earn masteries. Those are the types of people you send out in a fight to protect their country. That's what we did when we went against Grindelwald. Instead, he went after newly graduated teenagers who spent the last 7 years hanging on to their teachers' every word. The kind of people that wouldn't question being sent out on a suicide mission because their teacher told them to, or to hide their family in a small cottage and defend it with a single secret.
He also took charge of your guardianship after your parents passed. By the time I made it back, he and the Minister had already decided on the best guardians for you. They wouldn't hear of anyone else taking you but your muggle relatives. They wouldn't even allow anyone from the magical world to have contact with you.
Trust me Harry, I would have taken you in if I could. I most definitely would have been a part of your life much sooner if I had been allowed. I hope you will give me the chance to get to know you now."
"I... Yes, I would like to get to know you as well. You seemed close to my father and it would be nice to hear some stories about him when he was a kid." A small smile broke across the child's face for the first time that day.
"I have a million and one stories about Jamie and I would be more than happy to share them with you. If you have time in the next few weeks I would love to invite you over and share some memories with you."
"Yes, I would like that sir."
"No need to call me sir, Richard will be just fine."
"Excuse me Richard," McGonagall said, coming up behind them. "I hate to interrupt but I need your help."
"I'm sure Dumbledore will be back soon enough to help you with anything you might need." He sneered.
"No Richard, that is what I need help with. Mr. Potter and I are... Harry and I, unfortunately, are not as close as I would have liked. Which I sincerely apologize for." She said, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. Looking back at Richard she continued "looking back at our last conversation, I don't know why it went the way it did. I agreed with you, at least I did when I sent you that letter. However, by the time we spoke, my feelings on the matter seemed to have changed without my consent." She said with a raised eyebrow.
"I see". He turned back to Harry and crouched down so they were eye to eye. "It has been a pleasure to meet you Harry and I hope we can spend time together before you go back to school. Please know that if you ever need anything you can reach out to me and I will do all that I can to help. I also have an abundance of parchment and ink so I would be happy to reply to any correspondence you send me." He gave Harry a little pat on the shoulder before heading out the door.
"I hope you won't mind if I reach out to you on matters not pertaining to school?" McGonagall asked with a hesitancy that Farley had never heard from her before.
"Yes, that would be okay professor."
She gave a quick little nod before chasing after Richard.
HP-HP-HP
"Finally, to my friend Peter Pettigrew. If by some miracle you survived the attack, know that I forgive you. And I leave 100,000g and my shares of Zonkos. I know you held on to the secret as long as you could Wormtail.
However, it's more likely that you are up here with me. In which case, I would like to use that $100,000 to start a Peter Pettigrew scholarship for any Hogwarts student that needs an extra helping hand. The criteria for and selection of the students are to be made by Lily Potter and Minerva McGonagall."
Amelia watched as the image of James Potter was sucked back into the orb.
"I have to agree with you, he does seem to imply that Pettigrew was the secret keeper. This could explain why Black went after him but it doesn't excuse the fact that he killed the man and 13 innocent muggles."
"What if he didn't do it?" Howards asked
"What do you mean, didn't do it?" Tonks asked leaning in.
"The reason I invited you to join us after the reading Madame Bones is because I noticed an anomaly as I was mailing out the reading invitations. There were a few names grayed out but there was one that should have been gray and wasn't. Howards reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it out in front of the aurors.
Peter Pettigrew's name was still black on the list of recipients.
HP-HP-HP
The next to arrive was Augusta Longbottom and her grandson Neville, who was named in Lily Potter's will. After an introduction from Howards, the two made a beeline for Mr. Potter and Tonks. Rebecca was relieved that the two seemed friendly. Hopefully they would be able to distract Mr. Potter a little before the next reading.
Seeing her opportunity, Farley walked over to Howards to ask him about his meeting with Madam Bones. "What happened? Does Madam Bones also think Pettigrew was the secret keeper?"
"She is open to the possibility. Between Potter senior's statement and another matter I brought to her attention, she is considering reopening the case. She and Shacklebolt are going over a few more details before he joins us for the second reading."
Farley entered the conference room for the second time that day. In front of her this time were Tonks, Mr. Potter, Neville Longbottom, Madame longbottom, and Lupin.
Howards walked to the front and settled in to start the reading of Lily Potter.
The image of a beautiful young witch with fiery red hair that flowed down her back in waves and piercing emerald eyes appeared.
"I, Lily Marie Potter née Evens, of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, being of sound mind and body, declare this to be my last will and testament. I revoke all wills and codicils previously made by me.
I appoint Sirius Orion Black as my personal representative to administer this will. If he is unable to serve, I then appoint the office of Mills, Lowback, and Nott to serve as my personal representative.
I direct my personal representative to pay out of my estate all of my personal and legal expenses. I have elected to give my bequests through reviewer. "
Howards pulled out another key and activated the reviewer then moved to the open chair in the second row.
"I doubt you're sitting out there watching this James, but if you are, you had better not be feeling guilty. Whatever happened I'm sure you did all you could to protect me.
To my husband, Lord James Richard Potter, I leave the custody of my heir Harry James Potter and all of my possessions not mentioned in the following.
In the likelihood that he is unavailable, I leave custody of my heir to Lady Alice Longbottom. If she is unable to fulfill this duty his custody is to go to Sirius Black. If he is unable or unwilling to fulfill this duty please consult the list of guardians in the attached document.
To Sirius Black, I leave wisdom. It was not your fault and we were not your responsibility. Forgive yourself and live your life to the best of your ability. The only thing I will hold you accountable for is looking after Harry in whatever way you can. Make sure that he knows he is loved. Also, don't get him into too much trouble. I will be watching!" Farley could see where Harry got his scariness from. Until that point Lily was as light and friendly as any 20-year-old but the warning in her voice should definitely have been taken seriously.
"To my birthing buddy, Lady Alice Longbottom, I leave the three most obscure books I could find on defensive magic in the Potter library. I hope they help you on your quest to be the scariest female auror in history" she said with a little giggle reverting back to the light 20-year-old. "These books are to be returned to the Potter family upon her passing." Farley saw the younger Longbottom give a little shudder at that.
"To my friend Remus Lupin, I know James already left you more than you probably feel comfortable with, so I will help you with the research side of things. When this war is finally over Moony settle down and write that amazing defense book. To help, I have left you a trunk full of books for your research. Goldfeather will be able to retrieve it from our vault. The list of books have been noted and are to be returned to the Potter family upon his passing.
To my godson Neville Longbottom, I leave an open invitation to visit the Aberdeen greenhouse. I told my friend Felicia about Neville's fascination with plants and she was ecstatic to help nurture it.
I also gift you a lifetime membership to Britain's national greenhouse. Alice, I would wait a few years before I brought Harry along. We wouldn't want a repeat of the garden incident. However, it will be a great story to share with the boys someday. Harry forcing Neville into his first bout of accidental magic by threatening to eat one of his precious flowers should bring a few laughs and embarrass the boys a little." She said with a little smirk. Madame Longbottom seemed startled and was looking her grandson up and down.
The Aberdeen's ran the biggest greenhouse in the UK and were the suppliers for many apothecaries. If Neville was still interested in herbology, this would be a great opportunity for him. Maybe he had outgrown his interest and Madame Longbottom was trying to assess if he would be willing to take it up again.
To my heir, my son, my reason for being, I leave a box of memories to be given out on the noted days. Goldfeather will be in charge of their distribution."
Taking a final breath, she ended with "I will be watching over you all and I hope you remember me fondly. Look after each other, and no matter how long this war takes, don't forget to find moments of happiness when you can." With that the image returned to the orb.
In the silence Farley heard the sniffling of the two young boys in front of her.
Farley noted the two boys talking as she helped Madame Longbottom sign her grandson' document of receipt. With that taken care of she made her way over to them.
"Rebecca, please make copies of the relevant documents for Gringotts while I see the Longbottoms off." Howards asked, as he made his way to the talking group.
The boys gave each other an awkward handshake and then the Longbottoms were off to the floo.
Seeing Harry free, Lupin wandered over to him and Farley inched a little closer to keep an eye on things. "It was nice seeing you again Harry, despite the circumstances. I have been asked to be this year's Defense professor. Please feel free to stop by my office with any question you have about school or your parents, and I will try to answer to the best of my ability." with that he left. What a strange man. For someone so personable, James Potter kept very awkward company.
"How are you Mr. Potter?" The child looked even paler than he did when he fell in that morning.
"Honestly, I've been better but it was kind of nice to see and hear my parents. I have a few pictures of them but I don't remember their voices." He said, his voice breaking towards the end. "Do you know what happened to their house in Godric's Hollow?"
"Not legally. I know it has been turned into a memorial site but I'm not sure if it was legally declared that or if it was just happenstance since people wanted to give their respects to your family. I will look into it for you.
If you would like, I can also make you a copy of the reviewers. Considering the wills should have been enacted years ago, I'm sure Goldfeather will have a few more waiting for you after I give him their requests."
"You're right! Thanks for reminding me Miss Farley." He said, a little excitement breaking through the gloom.
"Now how about we order lunch and then we can reevaluate if you are up to giving that interview." she said, leading him out into the mail office to join Howards and Tonks as Shacklebolt trailed after them.
HP-HP-HP
"Please tell me you came with an answer to the Potter guardianship,'' Fudge said, leaning back into his chair and rubbing his forehead.
"Unfortunately, they are still deciding on that." Amelia answered, looking just as stressed as the Minister." No, I have found more mismanagement and scandal for us to deal with."
"What has happened now? Did something happen at the reading?" Jupiter asked.
"Apparently Howards invited me to the reading not to disclose a new guardian but to inform me of some concerning new evidence in the Black case."
Fudge snorted "Case, what case? Apparently there wasn't a case for Sirius Black. My contacts just informed me that Black was never given a trial. He was arrested, put into a holding cell, and within a few hours sent off to Azkaban." Looking a little guilty he continued "The Minister wanted to seem as if she were doing something so decided to declare Black guilty without a trial. She thought this would calm the public and give the ministry a quick win against the dark. Dumbledore and Crouch signed off on it and only a few people were made aware of the lack of trial."
Jupiter sucked in a breath preparing to go on a tirade when Amelia cut in with her news.
"That aligns with my new information. It would seem that Peter Pettigrew was the Potter's secret keeper and that he is still alive."
"What!" Exclaimed the two men in the room.
"This is why Howards invited me to the reading. He realized something strange was going on when Pettigrew was still invited to the reading. Peter Pettigrew was still listed as an active recipient on James Potter's will. He also named Pettigrew as his secret keeper during the reading."
"You're telling us Black didn't kill Pettigrew and may have been innocent all along?" Fudge asked.
"He may not have killed Pettigrew but there are still 13 muggles dead." Amelia growled out. "Having a reason to go after Pettigrew does not excuse their deaths."
"You're right Amelia, I hate to say this but I think we're going to have to open up an investigation into the Sirius Black case from the beginning." Fudge moaned into his hands.
"I think the quickest way to get this done is to openly state that we are investigating the case and ask Black to come in." Amelia continued.
"I doubt Black will turn himself over to the ministry but he may be willing to talk to you if a third party is involved. We might be able to ask the goblins to be a neutral third party for us." Jupiter suggested.
The three of them continued to discuss the pros and cons of involving Gringotts and what steps needed to be taken to reopen the case.
Notes:
Thank you for all of the reviews and follows!
The next chapter will have Harry's reaction to all of this and Dumbledore should be making an appearance.
Story Recommendation: Never Grow A Wishbone by ShanaStoryteller - Harry/Draco
Draco returns to Hogwarts.
He has a duty to his blood and his name and his house, and he will fulfill it.