Recap from last ch.
"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 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.
"Peter Pettigrew was still listed as an active recipient on James Potter's will. He also named Pettigrew as his secret keeper. This is why Howards invited me to the reading. He realized something strange was going on when Pettigrew was still invited to the reading."
"You're telling us Black didn't kill Pettigrew and may have been innocent all along?" Fudge whispered.
"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.
"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." she responded.
"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.
With everything hashed out and the meeting about to end, Amelia decided to give them one good bit of news.
"Glenda has worked with the board and they have agreed to finance mine healers coming to the school to see the students most affected. They will also make themselves available to the student body." she said.
"Well, that's a bit of good news." Fudge easing back into his chair.
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Harry sat in his room at the Cauldron thinking about the day's events as Hedwig groomed his hair. Ron thought it was weird but Harry always found it soothing when she did it, and he could use a bit of comfort right now.
Sure he had always missed his parents but it was hard to miss someone you didn't know. Now that he had heard their voices, seen them interacting with people, and then reassured of their love, the pain was sharper. He had assumed they loved him if they were willing to die for him but to have them declare it was a confusing jumble of comfort and pain.
It would take a while for his emotions to settle and dull again. To take his mind off of those complicated feelings he switched gears to Richard.
He was hopeful about him. His father seemed very fond of Richard and Harry felt like he was being sincere when they spoke after the meeting. He really wanted to hear stories about his father growing up and what his grandparents had been like. He would test the waters and write a short letter to Richard in the morning.
After that he would have to write a letter to Goldfeather about the Potter accounts. Farley had asked him to have an audit run starting a year before his parents died. She wanted to make sure there had not been any unauthorized charges and wanted to see if Mills, Lowback, and Nott had been on retainer all these years.
She also wanted Goldfeather to check into any active contracts the Potters have and any that expired after his father's passing.
He had also received the good news that they had found his mail. Apparently he had multiple mailboxes at the Ministry of Magic containing thousands of letters and packages for him. He had no idea how he was going to deal with that.
To top everything off he was nervous about the interview that would come out tomorrow. He had pulled himself together to get it done after lunch but he didn't know how he felt about it. Farley had sent him the questions to prepare but his head wasn't really in it. However, everyone had assured him afterwards that he did a good job. They had been straight with him so far so he was going to trust them.
Harry spent the rest of the evening trying to settle his emotions and trying to figure out what his next steps should be.
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Cornelius looked over at the sound of the flu being activated." Please don't let this be anything connected to Potter again." He muttered walking over.
That was the best he could ask for because anybody trying to contact him this late would have nothing good to say.
"I guess I should have been more specific,'' he said reading the Mugwump office of the ICW. "I should have included Dumbledore in that request."
Taking a deep breath he prepared himself to deal with whatever unpleasantness Albus had to offer at this hour." Albus!" He greeted with fake enthusiasm. "What can I do for you this fine evening?"
The man in question greeted him with his fake disappointed grandfatherly act and jumped right to the point.
"Cornelius my boy, I am very concerned about this article I received from the Daily Prophet. I'm sure you've seen the article about the happenings from last semester. You must have your hands full trying to set the record straight and explain why certain steps were necessary. I just wanted to give you a bit of advice."
"Oh yes Albus, I've been so busy over here dealing with the fallout. If only the ICW didn't have to call you away. I've been hoping to get some time with you and ask your advice. What do you think I should do?" Cornelius answered with his usual bit of simpering that was usually enough to stroke the old snake's ego and get answers out of him.
"Of course my boy I'm always here when you need me. I think you should reach out to the editor and advise him to keep an eye on this reporter. I would also make a few statements about how none of the students had any lasting damage and that the beast was caught and killed.
But the more important matter is how they stumbled upon the story in the first place. It wasn't just some student or parent reaching out to the paper. There was a lot of background information from the past and way too many details about what happened during the semester. I think you should have the editor question the reporter on her sources." he said, losing his facade.
"Oh I'm already ahead of you on that Albus. Apparently Amelia Bones heard about what happened from her niece and started looking into the situation. She made enough waves to attract a reporter and here we are." Cornelius answered hoping that would stop any more digging.
"I see," Dumbledore said, dropping the grandfatherly act for a second time.. Regrouping he continued, "then I advise you to keep a better watch on Bones. If she keeps digging into things like this she could be a problem in the future. It seems to me as if she is trying to stir up trouble for you. She isn't usually very political but she seems to be setting herself up to be a contender in the next election. I would be wary of her, my boy.".
"I think" he continued, "you should start looking into her before she truly strikes against you. It's always good to know who your competition may be."
"Oh yes Albus, I hadn't thought of that. I'll start looking into her right away. I thought she was just concerned for her niece but now that you pointed it out, obviously she is trying to sully my name." Cornelius responded, trying to sound contrite.
Dumbledore peered at him over his glasses as if to check for his sincerity, gave a quick nod and then smiled. "Then I'll leave it in your capable hands my boy. Now, have there been any updates on the Black case?"
"No, unfortunately we have not caught Black or had any real updates on his location." Cornelius answered honestly.
"And Mr. Potter? Has anything else come up with him?"
Shifting around to make himself look guilty as he would have had Amelia not talked some sense into him. Cornelius answered, "No."
Giving it a second to settle he continued "I have not heard of any problems arising from The Cauldron or Potter. Should I be keeping a closer watch on him? I guess I could send some aurors down there to babysit him." Cornelius continued as if he had just come up with a brilliant idea.
"Oh no need for that Cornelius. I'm sure Mr Potter is doing just fine." Dumbledore assured him, looking satisfied that Cornelius had not taken any particular interest into the boy.
"Now you must excuse me, I should be getting back to ICW business. "Don't hesitate to contact me if you find out anything concerning Bones or her investigation into last year."
"Of course Albus! Thank you again for the advice. I'll have someone looking into Bones right away." and with that the flu connection shut down.
I enjoyed reading all of the reviews from the last chapter, thank you!
Story Recommendation: Son of a Black DayDreamer315
Who hasn't thought of all the ways Harry's life could change if someone had just done the right things, Harry decided if none of the adults were smart enough to act like adults he would go back and talk with those that weren't complete dunderheads.