A plan
Sirius Black had been sleeping like a stone for the last 5 hours when an insistent knock woke him up. It took him more than a minute to get his bearings. His first thought was "Those ruddy creatures can glide inside. Why do they need to knock?"
It was then that he noticed the surroundings and recalled that he was in the Hogs head and not in Azkaban. He rubbed his face with his hands, feelings the stubble on his face and the knock came again.
"Coming. Don't break down the damn door", he said getting up from his bed.
Opening the door, he found the barman on the other side, "What is it?"
"Albus sent word that he want to talk to you at Hogwarts", the barkeep informed him.
Sirius nodded, "Alright."
About an hour later, Sirius Black was dressed in some very fine clothes as befitted a person of his stature. Yes, the clothes weren't the finest out there but they were still expensive and their touch to the skin was soft as opposed to the scratchy, hard woven fabric that the prison robe was. His hair which had been matted just until a few days back was sleek, shiny and combed to perfection and cut up to his shoulder length. His mustache was trimmed and curled at the ends and gave him somewhat regal look. If not for the haunted look in his eyes and the prison tattoos which showed out of the collar of his robes, he could have been every inch the lord that he was supposed to be.
He had since decided that he was not going to venture out into the magical world and be seen in public till his trial had been completed. To that end, he had used the floo network and flooed from Hog's head to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
Floo-network is a network of connected fireplaces connecting wizarding homes with each other. It is one of the reasons that the fireplaces in wizarding homes are bigger than normal. This network is generally monitored by the Department for Magical Transportation at the Ministry of Magic and to use it, one has to throw a pinch of emerald coloured glittery powder called Floo powder and call the address where they want to go. In a whoosh of flames, they can reach from a place to another within seconds. This is useful for elderly wizards and for children who cannot yet apparate (disappearing into thin air) but also when you are visiting someone else.
When he arrived in the office of the Headmaster, the old wizard was looking at a book which he put in a drawer as Sirius stepped in the room, "Sirius, my boy! It is very pleasant to see you free from Azkaban. It stills grieves me that you and James changed the plan without telling me. If you had kept me in the know, I would have put all my might to keep you away from Azkaban."
Sirius said absentmindedly, "It is no use crying over spilt milk, Headmaster. You sent for me?"
He nodded, "Yes, I had sent for you. There are things that we need to discuss before the school lets out."
"Let's get to it then, Albus", Sirius said, "I can't wait to have Harry come and live with me."
Dumbledore smiled, "And that will be best thing for you and Harry. However we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let's start with that night."
Sirius looked at him warily, "I have already told everyone what happened that night, headmaster."
"I am not going to ask you about what happened. That night after Voldemort disappeared with his power broken, not to mention failing to kill Harry Potter with the killing curse, people believed he died."
"You mean to say...", Sirius asked him apprehensively.
"We will come back to it later", Dumbledore said, "When Voldemort fell, people were scared even if he was gone. His best followers were still at large and people were still being attacked, the Longbottoms being the example of this..."
"What happened to the Longbottoms?" Sirius could not stop himself from asking.
"A couple of days after Voldemort disappeared, they were apprehended by Bellatrix Lestrange, Rabbastan Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. They were tortured into insanity and are now permanent residents of St. Mungo's", said Dumbledore sombrely, "Now as I was saying, with his followers still at large, I was in a fix. I could give Harry to any wizarding family and they would have loved to raise him as their own but doing so would have put all of them in peril. The best bet for Harry surviving was to be kept at a place where death eaters could not get to him. Using Lilly's sacrifice, I raised some blood wards around Petunia Dursley's home because it was the only place that the death eaters could not get to him or harm him as long as he called that place home. Since you were incarcerated and Remus Lupin being ineligible in the eyes of Ministry, it was the only option available to me."
"And the Ministry was fine with you using blood magic?", Sirius asked amused.
"The thing with those adhering to authority and rules is that nobody would suspect them of foul play", Dumbledore said with a wink.
Sirius snorted, "Alright, What has it got to do with me?"
"Little Harry has never told anyone but his home life isn't very good. The Dursley's though do not beat him but they treat him worse than a house elf. It is not an ideal place for a young child and when he arrived at Hogwarts, I realised that my decision was very wrong. In his first year, he developed very close friendships with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Ms. Hermione Granger and I tried to find if some arrangement could be made for him to stay with them during the summer holidays. But something happened that changed my decision" said Dumbledore, looking as if his age had caught up with him and the burden of the world was on his shoulders.
"What made you change your decision?", Sirius asked him.
"You see, I am afraid that Voldemort is not dead. It was only a theory for me until 2 years ago when he showed up in this castle", Dumbledore said, all traces of joviality gone.
"What? How did this happen? Why no one knows about it?" Sirius asked.
"Please don't ask any questions while I am speaking. You might remember that I am friends with Nicholas and Pernelle Flammel?", He asked the younger man and continued, "One of the biggest accomplishments of Nicholas Flammel was the Sorcerer's stone. When Voldemort's power was broken and he was forced to flee on that night, his body was destroyed. He survived in a wraith form all these years and it took him quite a long time to recover from the effects of the Killing Curse rebounding on him. He came to know of the Sorcerer's Stone somehow and found where the Flammel's lived. He also had knowledge that the stone can bring anyone back from certain death with the Elixir of Life. He coveted the elixir and tried to steal the stone. The Flammels panicked and sent the stone to me for safekeeping. I kept the stone at first in Gringotts and had it removed shortly before Voldemort tracked it down to the Bank and tried to rob it. Left with no option, I kept it here in this school and placed certain defenses on it. Owing to the nature of the castle and the wards, I could not keep very extensive protections around it but the protections I did place were to keep him engaged until I could reach him in event that he found where the stone was. Defying all expectations, little Harry crossed all my protections and reached the stone just when Voldemort, who was possessing a professor at that time, had reached the last defense and could not get through to it. A very clever piece of enchantment which he could not break nor understand and it would have kept him there indefinitely. Little Harry however went past that protection and got the stone. He duelled with Voldemort and was able to defeat him with the protection of his mother that flows in his veins. Voldemort cannot even touch Harry without causing great pain to himself. It was Lilly's sacrifice which gave this power to Harry. Knowing what I had suspected all along, I had no option but to make him return to the Dursleys."
"How did he remain alive?", Sirius asked him.
"I had an idea, mostly guesswork but it was confirmed when young Harry brought some irrefutable proof to me", Dumbledore said.
"What proof?", Sirius asked him.
Dumbledore took out the book which was in the drawer and laid it on the table between them. Sirius could see that it was a diary which looked water stained and burnt. It also had a hole in the middle of it which meant that someone had punched a hole through it with a sharp instrument.
"What is it?", Sirius asked him.
"It is a very dark magic", explained Dumbledore, "which allows someone to someone to tear their soul into pieces and then store those pieces into containers. This way, a person's body can be destroyed but they will remain alive no matter what happens."
"How do you tear your soul?", Sirius asked him in fascination.
"Through the darkest and vilest act. Killing someone in cold blood without any remorse can cause you to tear you soul into pieces", Dumbledore explained, "Voldemort made these horcruxes and it is what kept him alive."
"How did Harry destroy this...this... horcrux?" Sirius asked, flabbergasted.
"In Harry's second year, someone opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed the monster within the chambers on the school. The monster's gaze was enough to kill anyone who looked directly into its eyes. Mercifully we had no deaths this time but many students were petrified. This time too, little Harry with his friends was able to find out the Chamber of Secrets, killed the monster and destroyed this horcrux that Voldemort was trying to use to return to a body by leeching the life force of a child."
"What was the monster?", Sirius asked.
"It was a Basilisk", said Dumbledore simply.
"WHAT! There was a basilisk in the school? How it is that no one could see it?" Sirius shouted, "How long was it? How did he kill it? No one can slay a basilisk."
"Harry had help. Fawkes blinded the great snake before Harry killed it with the sword of Gryffindor", Dumbledore explained, "And the snake was able to bury one of its fangs in his arm but he was healed with Phoenix tears. I am also tempted to say that there is nothing that little Harry cannot do."
"So with this horcrux destroyed, does it mean that he can be killed now?"
"No. I fear he has made more of these. I meant to go and make some inquires and find them last summer but you escaped from Azkaban and I had to stay at the castle lest you tried to harm Harry. This year, I can't go to find them because there are certain events which beg my attention and I have to remain at the school so that no one will suspect anything. This is where you come in."
"How?", Sirius asked, "I will do anything for Harry's safety."
Dumbledore smiled, "I know, my boy. First let me know if you still want to take Harry's custody?"
"Yes. It should have been me who raised him. If I had not gone after Pettigrew, I would have taken him with me and raised him."
He nodded, "The Ministry will be happy to hand over Harry Potter's custody to you after your trial though I beg of you to consider a request of mine."
"What is it, Headmaster?", Sirius asked him.
"Since Voldemort is not dead yet, we may still need the protections that Lilly's sacrifice gave Harry and as such, we will also need the wards to stand around the Dursley's home. The wards are of such a nature that they won't fall if Harry stays there for two weeks a year. I request you to let him stay there for two weeks."
"What! You just told me that they are horrible and you want Harry to stay with them? Alone? Without anyone to defend him? Are you getting senile in your old age?" Sirius asked hotly.
"No, my boy. I was willing to ask if you would like to live with Harry at the Dursleys for two weeks during the summer while you try to find a place to stay or maybe you would like to clean up the home where you grew up in. There is no one alive in your family anymore and if I were to hazard a guess, it is all yours."
"I intend to take my Lordship and a seat on the Wizengamot. They have become complacent without a Black there to stir things up", said Sirius, "I intend to make some waves."
"A fine plan. The school will let out in a month. You can do things that are needed to be done in the meanwhile."
A third letter
Harry got the third letter the day after the match. It was delivered by another owl which probably was a school owl so he had no idea who the sender was. He however had started to recognise the red coloured parchment and he had been anticipating another letter.
"Heir Harry Potter,
It was a great match. I enjoyed seeing you fly but you fly too dangerously. Can't you fly a little carefully?
I still don't know if I am ready to tell you about myself. For now, I am about your height and I share classes with you.
Later"
The girl, whoever she was, was leaving trails very carefully. She left no clues about her identity but Harry was confirmed by now that it was a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. There was no one else who would do something like this. Any Gryffindor girl would have told him directly.
He also noticed that Hermione had disappeared sometime during lunch. He asked Ron, "When did Hermione leave?"
Ron shrugged, "I don't know. I swear she was sitting here just a minute ago. It's like she disappeared in thin air."
"No one can disappear in thin air, Ron", Harry said, "You must know it. Hermione has told us only 50 times by now."
Both boys chuckled before Harry sobered up, "There is something very wrong with Hermione, Ron. I mean I have never seen her behave this way. And then she is always having her book bag full of books of every subject and many of those classes are held at the same time. I know that she had dropped Divination but then it leaves her with DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Astronomy, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies and History of Magic. How does she manage it all?"
"I don't think she can manage it at all. Haven't you seen her looking stressed every time?", Ron asked him.
"We will have to find it", said Harry, "It is important that we do."
Two old friends
Remus Lupin was finishing the course schedule for the next class. This year had been very productive for him. He was able to teach at Hogwarts, something that he had wanted to do since he was a child. In his mind, it was the only career that suited him and that he wanted to take up.
The response of the students to his classes had been outstanding and he sorely wished that Dumbledore will give him an extension though he knew that only the next staff meeting would decide his fate. If all the teachers unanimously decided in his favour then there was no one who could stop him from remaining in this position. This way, he will also be able to teach Harry and keep an eye over him.
Suddenly there was a knock on the window of his office and without looking up, he opened the widow with a flick of his wand. A scoop owl flew inside and landed on his table. The envelope was stamped with the Marauder crest that he and his friends had made. Notably, the rat's emblem from it was missing though.
"Dear Moony,
There are things that I need to clear with you. Be there in Rosemerta's inn this evening and we will see if I can still charm her out of her wits.
Padfoot."
The letter amused him. It was written in typical Sirius style with whatever he wanted to say and nothing more. The man never learned to be prosaic. There were things however that he needed to know that only his former friend could tell him.
A plan
Madam Rosemerta was stocking the bar and so lost in it that she could not hear the new comer come in.
"A stag, a wolf and a dog walked in a bar...", said someone behind her and she dropped the glass that she had been holding which shattered in a million pieces.
She turned around abruptly and saw Sirius Black sitting at the bar and giving one of his roguish smiles, one which had put him as the foremost of troublemakers. Rosemerta knew that he and James Potter used to hit on her even when they were children and visited Hogsmead snucking out of the school and she quite enjoyed their antics. When Sirius was hauled to Azkaban, she had never thought that she would see him alive or see him at all. Yet here he was, standing at the other side of the bar and expecting her to finish his sentence. It was another matter altogether that she didn't know what she was supposed to say in the next line.
She lunged for the younger man, catching him in a fierce hug, "Sirius Black! I am glad to see you alive and well."
Sirius grinned, "If all I had to do was go to Azkaban to get a hug from you Rosie, you should have told me sooner."
She swatted him on the arm, "Don't even dare joke about it, prat. I am just glad to see you free at last."
After she had seen him to her heart's content, she asked him, "Now how can I help you?"
"If it is no trouble to you, Rosie then I'd need a private room upstairs. Moony is coming to meet me in a few minutes and I would rather not be seen in public just yet."
"Of course", she said wiping her cheeks, "Go on up. The second room on right is yours."
Moony arrived about 10 minutes later and he was ever the courteous man. Rosemerta sent him up where Sirius was already.
When Remus entered the room, he was tackled in a hug by his best friend who was brother to him in all but blood. Both marauders spent minutes weeping, consoling each other and telling each other to not to cry.
When it all finally subsided, Remus started speaking, "I will not speak of the ordeal of that night nor ask you about it, Padfoot. What I want to know is why you didn't tell me that you were not the secret keeper?"
"Moony, at that time, the rat even made us believe that you had sided with Voldemort and that you were seen fraternizing with Greyback and his ilk. You may remember that we used to send him to gather information for us because he could get anywhere. He told us that he had seen you mixing with Greyback and his men and that you were working for Voldemort. Since the times were dark and bleak, our brothers-in-arms were dying every day, we could not take chances. And then there were those missions that you told us nothing about. You would disappear for days and we would not know if something had happened to you. What if we told you and the enemy captured you. They could have broken you and found that I was not the secret keeper. James was brash but it was about Harry's safety and he was not ready to take any chances."
Remus nodded, "I had thought that it would be the reason."
"Moony, who is alive in House of Black? Is my hag of a mother still alive?"
"No one is alive in your family, Sirius. Lord Black died in 1991. Your mother died a few years before that. Lucretia Prewett died in 1992."
Sirius grinned, "Well, I won't have to keep up with those distasteful people then."
Remus smirked, "Narcissa and her family are still free, Sirius."
Sirius winced, "I will kick them out then. I will bring Andromeda back."
"Is that all that you want to do now that you are free?" Remus asked him.
"It is just the start, Moony. There is something that I want to do and you will be helping me with it."
"What is it?" Remus asked with apprehension.
"First I need to put my house in order. I need to clean the townhouse in London. Then I need to find a place to live. I will keep the London house but I am not going to live with Harry there. Then I need you to live in the townhouse and act as my steward because I have many things to do" Sirius said.
"Padfoot, I have a job at Hogwarts", Remus said.
"I am asking you to stay with me just for the summer. There is something that I have to do and it will have me leave Britain for most of the summer. And I also need to live with the Dursleys for two weeks", Sirius said.
"Why do you need to live with Harry's relatives?" Remus asked him.
"There are some wards around the place that protect Harry from death eaters and Voldemort. Dumbledore told me today that Voldemort is not yet dead but alive. To keep those wards at full power and to keep Harry safe, it is necessary that Harry spends a part of his holidays at that place. Dumbledore said that I can live with him during those two weeks", Sirius said with a grin.
Remus shuddered imagining what was in the store for the muggles. For all the grief that they had given Harry, they were about to be repaid in full.
"Is that all?" he asked.
"No Moony. I have to go to Africa in search of something that Dumbledore wants done to ensure Harry's safety."
"Is there something you are not telling me, Padfoot?" Remus asked his friend.
Sirius sighed, "There is something that I have heard from Dumbledore and I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it. I will tell you once I can understand it myself."
Remus shrugged. He knew Sirius will tell him in his own time. He just hoped that this time it won't be 12 years before he would tell him.
"Remus, when Hogwarts breaks for the summer, I want you to go find some very good property for me. Somewhere preferably in a rural area which is distant from everywhere. I intend to teach Harry and I don't want him to get in trouble with the Ministry over it. Look for someplace which is near to some woods so that it will be easier for you."
"You mean...You still will...?" Remus could even find the right words.
"I had become Padfoot to help you with your little furry problem, Remus", Sirius said, "Padfoot will always ride with Moony."
After that, they talked about a lot of things that they had missed. They had 12 years worth of gossip to catch up on.
The office of the Head of DMLE, the Ministry of Magic
The Ministry of Magic is situated in the middle of London below the ground. The ministry could not be located in a place like Hogsmead where there was not sufficient place available, not even with expansion charms at work. There was also nowhere in London that they had that kind of land for establishing the ministry. The only way for them was to establish it below ground in the middle of London. The Ministry was located underground and could be accessed by Floo Travel, Apparition, or by telephone booths which showed out of order telephones and acted as sort of portals to commute people hence and forth. The ministry comfortably existed in that place and it had been threatened only once when the London underground was being made and tunnelling for the same was being done. They had to use a lot of spells, obliviations etc. to deal with the fall out which had occurred but since then their security hadn't been threatened anyway.
It was in the Atrium that everyone would appear whether they were flooing, or apparating. Visitors had to get their wands registered by a wizard who sat on a desk and registered everyone's wands by weighing them. In the middle of the atrium was a fountain in the middle of which was a statue which showed a Wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin and a House elf. This fountain was known as the 'The Magical Brethren'. From the atrium, one could take a lift to his destination.
In the ministry, there were offices on different levels of the ministry which could be reached through lifts. There were 10 floors and the office of the Minister of Magic was on the first floor while the office of the Head of DMLE and the Auror offices were situated on the second floor.
It was in her office that Amelia Bones spent most of her time. She had no family to speak of i.e. she had no spouse and her parents had passed away before the first war. She had two brothers of whom, one was killed in the first war along with his family. He, his wife and their children were murdered by the death eaters. Her other brother was Edmund Bones who had a daughter named Susan who was studying in her third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Madam Bones, Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore is here to see you", reported Amelia's secretary.
This was a surprise visit because she had not been expecting him. And then there could be multitude of reasons for Albus Dumbledore to visit her. She had a suspicion that it was in relation to Sirius Black and his escape from Azkaban.
"Send him in, Ellie", said Amelia and waited for him to enter.
Dumbledore entered the office a minute later and sat from across her, "Madam Bones, It is good to see you."
She said curtly, "It will be nice if you can come straight to the point, Headmaster. I know you are not here to make small talk."
Dumbledore smiled, "Still honest to the point of rude, Madam Bones? Alright I have come to know about your progress with Sirius Black's case."
"And what is your interest in this?", she asked him,
"I remember that Peter Pettigrew, when caught, told about Voldemort's wand being hidden in the Weasley family's orchard. Since then, I have come to know that you had retrieved the wand from the orchard. I want to know what do you intend to do with it?"
"As much as I would like to snap it and burn down the pieces, I have to do what Cornelius asked of me. The wand will be put in a display at the Ministry of Magic."
"But the wand can be looted from there by anyone. Doesn't he realise how much of a threat it would pose if we just put it in display on plain sight?"
She sighed, "I understand the risk involved but he has got it in his head to have it put up for display."
"I will then help you put some very strong enchantments around it that no one would be able to break and steal the wand from it", he said, "I would rather that the ministry destroyed the wand at Sirius's trial but I am not willing to get Cornelius on my bad side for now."
The Trial
It had been a few days since the meeting in the Three Broomsticks and the day had arrived for Sirius's trial. Sirius had reported to Amelia Bones at her office in the morning and was currently sitting in her office, "Fudge has decided to call for the whole Wizengamot. He is trying to grand stand the entire thing and is trying to keep as much distance between himself and the entire debacle as he can. We will be meeting in the Old Court Room down on 9th floor."
"What about the dementor attack? Will he take responsibility?" he asked.
"Yes about that", she said shifting uneasily, "That is something that you should avoid mentioning until they clear you. It is not on agenda and Cornelius will fight tooth and nail against your exoneration if he found about it. I have a plan and let me handle it my way."
"But someone will pay for this, right?", he asked agitatedly.
"Yes, someone will pay but you will play no direct role in it", she said.
"What is the plan?", he asked of her.
She started telling him of her plan which went on for about 10 minutes. It was a very simple which would keep Sirius projected in the positive light for long and in close proximity with the minister.
He nodded, "Alright. So when do we go down?"
"I have called Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, two of my Aurors to take Peter down there. You will wait outside the Court room until you are called for", she informed him.
About 10 minutes later, the Court room was full to bursting. Cornelius Fudge was presiding at the trial and on his side sat a pudgy women, whose face was in shadows and everyone seemed to distance themselves from her. No one was even sure what she was doing down there. It was not her place.
After everyone had assumed their positions, Fudge rapped his gavel, "This trial has been commenced here to exonerate Sirius Black, who was previously accused for betraying of Potters and murdering Peter Pettigrew and 12 muggles. Madam Bones, the head of DMLE will lead the prosecution and assist us in finding the truth. Madam Bones, the floor is yours."
Madam Bones stood, "It was the opinion of everyone in the wizarding world that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters and killed Pettigrew with those muggles. In light of facts discovered in wake of Mr. Black's escape from Azkaban..."
"Hem, Hem" fake coughed someone from the upper rows and rudely interrupted her.
"The Chair recognises Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister", intoned Fudge.
The woman, who was sitting in the shadows, leaned forward and she looked like a large ugly toad with a horrible pink bow in her hair. Amelia wanted to viciously snatch that ridiculous looking bow and tear it to pieces but she gritted her teeth and said, "Yes Madam Umbridge."
"Madam Bones", she simpered, "Will the ministry let him go scot free for breaking out of Azkaban?"
Amelia snapped, "He was illegally confined there for 12 years without a trial so it was not an offense at all. Of course, it is something that a quill pusher like you would not know."
Umbridge retreated in the shadows biting back an insult while several in the crowd snickered. Amelia continued, "Some new facts came into light including the fact that Sirius Black had been sent to Azkaban after the war without a proper trial which is due to even the most common of criminals. The head of DMLE, Mr. Crouch signed orders for him to be directly sent to Azkaban and no one heard from him since. I personally interrogated Mr. Crouch about this oversight and he produced a memo signed by the former Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold who told him that she was convinced by irrefutable evidence that Sirius was guilty and she shipped him to Azkaban under her sign. Since Minister Bagnold is not alive anymore, we simply cannot ascertain the veracity of his statement. However, we are digressing from the point here. Recently, Peter Pettigrew was captured at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was interrogated by me under the authority of the Minister who was present at that interrogation. It was determined that Mr. Black is innocent of all his perceived crimes."
Fudge turned to the chamber in general, "Is Mr. Black here?"
Amelia motioned for an Auror who went outside and a few minutes later, Sirius walked inside the court room. After he was given a chair to sit on, Fudge turned to him, "Mr. Black, we apologise to you for the mistakes of the previous administration and your illegal incarceration in Azkaban Prison. While there can be no recompense for the time that you have lost in the prison yet we can try to do what we can. The Ministry in bona fide faith is giving you 1.2 million Galleons for the time that you spent in Azkaban."
"Minister, I recognise this bona fide act of the Ministry and its zeal to do justice to me by correcting the wrongs which were done to me by the previous administration. I am sincerely thankful to you and the entire ministry", Sirius said sincerely while not really meaning it. Dumbledore had coached him that he would need to pose a charade of a sincere citizen who was making a fresh start and one who could strike a rapport with the minister. Fudge was a useful tool and it was time that they owned him.
Fudge rapped his gavel, "Under the seal of the Minister of Magic, Mr. Sirius Orion Black is hereby acquitted for all charges and the ministry shall publish a string of articles presenting him in a good light for a month hereafter."
After Sirius was exonerated, he took a seat in the spectator stands which were vacant.
Fudge continued, "Now that we have acquitted Sirius Black of the crime of betraying the Potters and killing the 13 muggles, it is time that we tried the one who is actually responsible for the crime. Bring the accused in."
The doors opened again and two Aurors named Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks entered, dragging Peter between them who looked like he was ready to pass out. After he was deposited in the accused chair and tied down, Cornelius continued, "Madam Bones, please administer veritaserum to him."
After the potion was administered to him, Amelia began her questions.
"What is your name?"
"Peter Pettigrew".
"Are you a death eater?"
"Yes."
"When did you become a death eater?"
"Shortly after leaving Hogwarts, I joined the vigilante group known as 'The Order of the Phoenix' which was fighting against the Dark lord and his followers. One day, I was scouting for the Order on some known death eaters when I was caught by the Dark Lord. He wanted to kill me but I convinced him that I was useful to him. He spared my life and marked me as his follower."
"What crimes did you commit in his service?"
"I spied on Order members. I passed their information to him. I helped him take down many of the order members. I even dismantled protections on some of the members of this order. I was there when the Death Eaters killed Benjoy Finwick. I had disarmed him before they got to him."
"What happened that night when you-know-who was defeated?"
"The Dark lord had gone to kill the Potters after I gave their secret to him. I was right behind him and heard him kill James and Lilly without any trouble whatsoever. He however could not kill Harry Potter as his curse rebounded and destroyed him. I don't know how or why that happened. I picked up his wand which was there and ran away with it."
At this point, Amelia had the wand brought out and presented it to the Court, "This is the wand which belonged to the dark wizard known as V... Vo... Voldemort."
The chamber shuddered collectively except for Sirius.
Fudge ordered, "This wand shall be put at a display in the atrium of the ministry for everyone after this trial is over."
Amelia continued, "What happened after you ran away from the Potters cottage on that Halloween?"
"When I ran from Godric's Hollow, I tried to run away but I knew that the death eaters and the Order of the Phoenix would be searching for me. I thought Sirius would have told them but I soon realised that Sirius would have wanted to hunt me down by himself. I knew his ways and how he would try to find me and I evaded capture for 2 days before he cornered me on a busy street in Muggle London. I knew I was cornered and there was no way that I could fight him. I had no prowess with a wand when it came to duelling. As Sirius threatened me and kept his wand on me, I started shouting for the benefit of the muggles that he had betrayed James and Lilly. When Sirius was ready to strike me down, I kept my wand behind my back and fired a bombarda which destroyed the asphalt and hit a gas line below the ground. The muggles were too close and were caught in the explosion. I severed one of my fingers, changed form and ran down to the sewers."
"How did you change form?"
"I am an animagus. An illegal unregistered animagus and I take the form of a rat when I change. It was easy for me to run to the sewers in my form and I knew before anybody would get the wiser or would interrogate Sirius, I would be away from them. To my surprise, I was lauded as a hero and Sirius never said a word about me being an animagus. I guess he would have told them if he had been given a trial."
It was an embarrassing subject for the ministry that Sirius Black had not been tried before being sent to Azkaban. It was such an oversight that it would continue to taint the ministry and point fingers towards it in case there were rumours of any wrongdoing again.
Fudge turned to the Court, "All in favour of convicting him of treason for passing information on respectable members of society to you-know-who and getting them killed?"
Everyone raised their wands anonymously. Doing otherwise would not have been wise in the current climate.
He repeated again, "All in favour of convicting him for betraying James and Lilly Potter and of murder of 13 muggles?"
Every one raised their wands again and he and Amelia huddled together discussing his punishment. After an intense discussion which lasted for a few minutes, Amelia retreated with a satisfying smile on her face.
Amelia then signalled for another of her Aurors to administer the anti dose of Veritaserum to Peter. After it was done, Fudge turned to Peter Pettigrew, "Peter Pettigrew the Wizengamot has heard of your crimes in detail and we have arrived at the conclusion that you deserve the harshest of sentences which we can give to someone. You are hereby sentenced to be kissed by a Dementor about a week from now at the Azkaban fortress. Aurors take him away."
Pettigrew began thrashing like a caged animals but the chains held firm. He kept trying to escape them but there was no way that it could happen. When his thrashings did not stop, Fudge growled, "Somebody stun him for Merlin's sake."
The Auror named Kingsley Shacklebolt stunned him and then they dragged him away, his body limp in their arms. Sirius kept watching them taking him away with a vicious smile on his face.
After Peter Pettigrew was dragged away by the two Aurors, Sirius stood and Fudge said, "The Chair recognises Sirius Black, the heir of House Black."
"Minister, when Lord James Potter died he left behind an infant. I was named the god-father to that child and due to my unfortunate incarceration in Azkaban, I have been unable to tend to my duties as a godfather to him. It is my understanding that he has been living with his muggle relatives all these years. I request this body to give his custody to me so that I can do my duties as a godfather to him."
Fudge rapped his gavel, "So ordered. The custody of Harry James Potter is given to Sirius Orion Black from his moment."
With that, Fudge rapped his gavel, "This concludes the proceedings of..."
He was stopped mid-sentence by Edmund Bones, the lord of House Bones, "Not it doesn't."
Fudge looked at him, "Pardon?"
"We still have to deal with the issue of dementors attacking Sirius Black after his name was cleared and for trying to kiss the boy-who-lived, Harry Potter. We demand to know what has been done into the investigation."
Fudge spluttered, "I... it was an oversight, Lord Bones. The orders were dispatched but were not received at the prison in time and we could not identify anyone responsible for it."
Sirius stood trying to look concerned, "Really, that is a non-issue. No permanent harm was done to me or Harry Potter. I am sure that the minister has looked into it."
Edmund sneered at him, "It is not about you Black. It is about the ministry owning up to its mistake. A member of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses is attacked by Dementors and the minister is trying to push it under the rug. I am affronted and I demand that the ministry be held accountable."
Augusta Longbottom stood in her place, "I second this proposal. The minister must brief this chamber about what had been done in this direction."
Sirius tried to speak again but his voice was drowned in protests and every one kept demanding Fudge to be accountable. When he could not take it anymore, he rapped his gavel rather loudly, "I asked Madam Bones to investigate into the matter and she is still investigating into the matter. Since this is a matter of ongoing investigation, therefore, I chose not to say anything about it for that would be in contravention of the laws."
Amelia snorted to herself. Cornelius was trying to throw her beneath the wagon to save himself but contrary to what he hoped, she was ready.
Lord McDougall, an elderly wizard, was speaking, "We demand that Madam Bones be put to the stand and give her report to us."
Amelia stood in her place, "It will be my pleasure, Lord McDougall. I have completed my investigations in the matter and I was about to submit this report to the Minister after this trial."
Cornelius was gaping at her while Elder McDougall said, "We will hear that report now."
She started speaking, "I interviewed the Minister and his office staff and also tried to track all the communications that were received at the prison. To my surprise, no communications from the Office of the Minister of Magic were sent to the Prison from the day that Peter Pettigrew was found and apprehended by us to the day when I made these inquiries. Eventually I found those orders sent by the Minister in the office of his Undersecretary where they were found with the annotation on them, "Cancelled by Dolores Jane Umbridge, Undersecretary to the Minister and to my shock, they were buried under a mountain of paperwork which was labelled to be incinerated."
Dolores Umbridge who was sitting just beside the minister, shrieked, "You are lying!"
Amelia snapped, "Don't interrupt me until you are asked, quill pusher. I should put you under Veritaserum and then you will tell everything that I need to know."
Mr. Ainsworth, one of the ministry appointees stood at his place, "I demand that we put her to trial right now. What she did is an offense which cannot be condoned."
Cornelius stood, "I believe it was an oversight for which we can't put her to trial..."
He was interrupted harshly by Sebastian Greengrass, the lord of House Greengrass, "Stop trying to defend her, minister. Her act led to jeopardising the lives of two members of our society."
Cornelius tried to speak again when he was harshly shut down by Dowager Longbottom, "If you try to interrupt us, Minister then we will have you removed from the office for obstruction of justice."
Sirius stood on his place, "I ask pardon of the members for speaking without my turn but I don't believe that our esteemed minister has had any role to play in this entire incident. I pray that this Honorable body let the matter rest."
Lord Macmillan said, "You are not yet a member of this body, Sirius Black. You get no say in the matter. Sit down and let this matter proceed."
Amelia who was standing near Fudge said wisely to him in whispers, "It would be better if you don't get involved with this, Cornelius. She is not worth being removed from office."
It looked like the majority agreed with her and it was clear that Cornelius was finding himself to be in hot waters. He couldn't kept relying on Umbridge and in fact trying to her save her would be a political suicide. If he stood with them now, many will stand with him when he would need them to.
He gestured to Amelia, "Take the accused in custody, Madam Bones."
Umbridge stood in her place, ready to spit venom, "I have done no wrong. No one can touch me."
Amelia motioned for one of her Aurors, "Aurors, take her into custody."
Nymphadora Tonks whipped out her wand and fired a stunning spell. Umbridge collapsed like a sack of potatoes.