27/9/23
SNOW AT THE MINISTRY!
SIRIUS BLACK ACTUALLY FOUND TO BE INNOCENT OF CRIMES!
BARTY CROUCH BEING QUESTIONED FOR SENDING BLACK HEIR TO PRISON WITHOUT A TRIAL!
These were the main headlines over all newspapers, magazines, and gossiping witches for the next few days.
Each one surprising the audience just as much as the next one, but the second one, got the gossipers gossiping more than a teenage gossiper who swallowed a whole bottle of Blabber Serum because... If Sirius Black was innocent, then who really was the one who betrayed Potters all those years ago?
Reading the story everyone was shocked at finding out it was the 'Honourable Hero' Peter Pettigrew that was the real culprit and all hate turned to him instead for (as the smart ones worked out) if he was the real betrayer, and Black didn't kill him, then he had to still be alive somewhere.
As such, search parties were formed to hunt down this man, but since he hasn't been seen for 12 years, no one really knew where to start looking.
o0o
As it was the weekend at Hogwarts Jack was trying to spend it with Elisa in the grounds, but their quiet time together kept getting interrupted as students from every year (mainly younger ones) kept hunting Jack down and asking him to repeat the story of what happened since he was there to witness it all.
"I swear, if another group of kids comes asking me to tell them what happened, I am turning everyone of them into mini snowman." Jack said as he lay down on the grass under one of the trees as the latest group left them be.
"What about a teacher, then?" Elisa asked seeing Professor Lupin looking around, supposedly, for Jack.
"Was wondering when he'd come find me," Jack said seeing which teacher it was.
"Well? Are you going to go talk to him?" Elisa asked seeing Jack still laying there.
"Meh... I have Defence tomorrow, I'll tell him then." Jack said rolling over to try and get some sleep.
"Jack, I doubt he'd have come out here to look for you, if what he wanted to say could wait until tomorrow." Elisa said waving the man over.
"There are days I hate being seen," Jack mumbled but sat up agreeing with himself the sooner this is done, the sooner it's done.
"There you are Jack, Elisa, nice to see you both," Lupin said trying to be cheerful.
"Hello Professor," Elisa said putting her book down once again.
"Hi sir," Jack said giving a small wave. "Is there a reason why..."
"Is what happened at the Ministry real?" Lupin said almost panicky "Was he really under Veritaserum? Did he confirm Peter was actually the Secret Keeper?"
"Well I haven't read what the stories say yet, but yes, it snowed, yes Sirius was under truth potion when questioned, yes he said it was Pettigrew who was the real spy and betrayer." Jack said calmly.
"He was innocent... all this time... oh god..." Lupin said not sure how to feel about all of this.
"If you're wondering where he is at the moment, if the papers haven't said," Jack said getting the teacher's attention "Lady Longbottom has him staying in one of the recovery wards at St Mungo's for a few weeks or until they say he can leave. Yeah 12 years being surrounded by Dementors and other crazy's can't be good for ya."
"Speaking of them," Elisa said looking towards the gates where 2 cloaked figures were still standing. "Why are they still here?"
"Well Sirius might be innocent, but there is still one loony backstabbing minor serial killer out there," Jack said scanning the line of the forest wondering if Gaia knew where the rat was.
"Well with this story being everywhere, surely he'd come out and try moving to a new place to hide, right?" Elisa asked also scanning the tree line.
"Being where he was last seen, and known to be, I don't think he knows what's going on at this moment." Jack said "Plus he's hiding while being in-hiding. He's blocking any new news from getting to him until he comes back out."
"Are... are two talking about Peter?" Lupin asked trying to follow the conversation.
The teenagers looked up at their teacher unsure on what to say.
Jack thought to go with the truth.
"Yes," he said pulling out the newspaper clipping from last summer about the Weasley's "We know where he has been the last 12 years, but we don't know where he is at the moment, but my gut is saying he's still here at Hogwarts."
With shaky hands Lupin took the clipping, read the story, and then looked at the picture, his eyes going straight to the rat on the youngest boy's shoulder.
"So... so he's been in the same dorm as you and Harry for the last few years?" Lupin asked looking to Jack.
"And me sir," Jack reminded. "But, yeah, disturbing isn't it." Jack said a small smile on his face
(What's more disturbing is that once Jack heard from the twins how often Ginny kept finding 'Scabbers' in her room and her stuff.)
"Have... Have you told anyone about this yet?" Lupin asked trying to change the subject.
"I think Moody was told while everyone went to see about the snow," Jack said thinking back as to how Moody was one of the ones who was left behind. "But I myself haven't told anyone. Never know who could be listening, or who to trust really. Plus we don't want him to learn we know that he's not really a rat do we?"
"Also as we've said sir, we don't technically know where he is." Elisa said in a hinting / encouraging way for the teacher to understand what needed to happen.
After some thinking Lupin told them to follow him, leading them to his office where he pulled out the blank Marauder's Map.
Telling Elisa to lock the door, he cleared his desk and opened the map out.
"You said you managed to get them to talk to you Jack?" Lupin asked looking to the boy who nodded.
"Well this little trick is something only they could do." Lupin said pulling out his wand and taking a breath said: "I, Moony, ("Kew it!" Jack said smiling glad he was right.) would like to see where Peter Pettigrew is in these grounds at this moment."
Ink came out of his wand, like it normally would if someone else had opened the map, but quickly there was a shimmer of blue and white and an orb formed rising out of the paper to show a live picture of a rat hiding among the crockery of what seemed to be Hagrid's hut.
"Why is he still here?" Elisa asked confused. "Why doesn't he go off and look for Voldemort or –"
"Because he never did anything for anyone else unless he got something back in return." Lupin said growling, punching his desk a little as he watched his former friend sleeping – looking sick but sleeping – inside one of the clay milk jugs in Hagrid's home. "Sort of like the Grimm stories of Rumpelstiltskin."
"Well now we know where he is," Jack said making an ice sword and cage "Shall we go and retrieve him?"
"I think we should call the aurors first," Elisa said stopping Jack from running into things. "Beside with him being as lazy as Ron kept complaining he was, until he hears the news about Sirius – like we said – I doubt he'll go anywhere."
"Exactly. The longer we wait the more chance he has of hearing the stories and getting away from us." Jack said trying to make them see. "We need to act now. Before it's too late."
While Jack Elisa and Lupin were discussing this, Harry was reading (for the lost-count-ed time) the stories from the papers.
If Sirius Black was innocent, then why wasn't he there for him when he was a baby and the Dursley's were being mean to him growing up?
Why did he go after Pettigrew?
Where was he now?
Why wasn't he trying to find Harry?
Why –
"Mr Potter?" a voice asked making him look up to see Professor McGonagall.
"Um yes Professor?" he asked trying to hide the newspaper with a plate of crumpets, smiling innocently.
"Please come and see me in my office once you're done with breakfast." she said calmly before leaving him alone there (Ron had slept in and Hermione was studying).
Taking a breath to try and calm down, Harry gave one more look at the papers and got up, not feeling hungry enough at the moment for food.
At a reasonable pace, he made it to the Deputy Headmistress' office waiting outside for a bit while he remembered how 'bad' things were when he was in there at the end of last year.
"You gonna knock then kid?" Bunny's voice asked making Harry look over to the side to see him there.
"I was about to." he said turning back to the door and raising his fist but stopped as he was a few inches from hitting it.
"Something wrong?" Bunny asked coming over so they didn't need to speak so loud. "Because if it's anything to do with Jack, I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
"It's not Jack." Harry said giving a quick answer, but still not knocking on the door.
"Kid, I've never been good at 20 questions. So please just tell me what's the matter? That's one of the reasons I'm here right?" Bunny asked handing Harry a mini chocolate egg.
"It's... It's the stories in the paper about the snow at the ministry." Harry began slowly. "And... And about how Sirius Black is innocent."
"You're wondering where he has been for you these last 12 years, or..." Bunny began feeling the emotions flowing off Harry like he was a mini waterfall "You're feeling guilty for wanting to get back at him for what he supposedly did to your parents. Right?"
Keeping quiet, Harry just nodded his head, holding tightly onto the egg.
"Well there's one way we can make both feelings go away," Bunny said calmly as he reached towards the door and knocked on it himself.
After a few seconds there was a 'Come in' and the Guardian and the boy walked into the office where they saw Professor McGonagall behind the desk, and before it was Sirius Black, Lady Longbottom, and a woman dressed up as a nurse who had almost the same facial features as Sirius.
Slowly Harry and Bunny walk in closing the door, coming to the middle of the room where Bunny backed off a bit.
Sirius moved to stand up, but the nurse placed an arm on his keeping him seated.
"Harry, this is Lady Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother," Professor McGonagall said starting with the more important of the three guests. "Sirius Black, and Andromeda Tonks a nurse from St Mungo's here to watch him while he's still recovering from his um, time in Azkaban."
"I'm sorry Professor:" Sirius said – his voice sounding as if it hasn't been used in a long time, and his eye-bags and skin looking worse than a healthy person's would – "But as the older cousin, I think I can handle me and my health by myself."
"Sirius..." Andromeda said in a minor stern way "You're meant to setting a good example and manners to show Harry you're not what the papers have been saying you are."
"Why? If he comes with me he'll get to know me and my true self pretty quickly, right?" Sirius asked rhetorically, almost sounding proud of it.
Frowning Harry stepped backwards into Bunny who placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Besides which young man," Augusta said gripping onto her red handbag looking down her nose at him "While you are the older cousin, Andromeda has more knowledge on Healing and there for knows better. And if you don't start behaving, we will be heading back to St Mungo's right now. Understand?"
This got Sirius to settle down, crossing his arms and 'huffing' as if he was a child, but he stopped fighting.
"Let's try this again shall we?" Bunny asked calmly getting everyone's attention.
"Harry, this is Sirius, your godfather," he said gently turning Harry towards the man "Sirius this is Harry, your godson."
Slowly Bunny let Harry go and backed off again, encouraging Harry to move forward.
"Um... Hello," Harry said nervously giving a small bow, remembering that that was something one should do to important wizards.
"No need for that, Bambi," Sirius said smiling "We're family. You only need to do that to important people and rich stiffs."
This got a glare from each of the women but they kept quiet.
"Bambi?" Harry asked wondering why Sirius just called him the name of the deer from that old Disney movie.
"Hasn't anyone told you about your dad yet?" Sirius asked a mix of surprised and hurt.
"Not really." Harry said wondering what he had to do with it.
"Well, if I we are allowed to go somewhere by ourselves, I can tell you all the things you want." Sirius said smiling "True stories, embarrassing stories, stories of when he tried to get your mum to love him, whatever you want."
Everyone looked to Professor McGonagall as if waiting for her to give an answer.
"I suppose it will be alright," she said slowly "Under the condition that either Andromeda or Bunnymund joins you in case something bad healer-wise happens."
Agreeing to that, Sirius, Harry and Bunny head for the Room of Requirement for a private afternoon of storytelling and questions being answered.
AN: Sorry it's a bit long and once again going off from the story, but either way I hop you all like it.
If you have any ideas on how this should go (in hopes I get the next one out sooner) please say so in a review ;P