There you are!" Amelia raised her eyebrow at Kingsley's exclamation.
"Here I am," she muttered, feeling utterly wrung out.
"Are you alright, Ma'am?" he frowned in concern at Amelia's slumped posture.
Amelia swallowed, "No. No, I don't think I am." she murmured. "I…did you need something? I have to go and speak to the Department of Magical Families."
Kingsley blinked, "Is this about the new Black Heir?"
She sighed, slumping further down into her seat, "Yes. This can go no further, Kingsley." she warned, waiting for his nod. "We…the Department of Mysteries were playing with things they had no business playing with. Three impossible babies were born, all of them from two male parents."
"I don't think I understand," he replied slowly,
"They used transfiguration," she sighed, rubbing a hand tiredly over her face. "Two of the children are with their paternal donor. The third was adopted by muggles. Muggles who are…Merlin. They hate her magic. I thought Saul was overreacting but they resent that she's not like them and they are working her into a damn hospital bed. I…I couldn't get her father to see sense. He berated her for falling asleep yesterday but gods, Kings. She works from five until eleven, and she looks exhausted. She was on the verge of hysteria when I turned up because she was losing time, I imagine. And I had to leave her there because he refused to allow me to have her health checked. And I…if I take her, he stated in front of her that they won't allow her back. What if she hates me for it? What if she comes to hate her own magic because our world interfered? They're the only parents she's ever known."
"Well fuck." Kingsley muttered, sitting down on the seat in front of her desk. "How seriously is she at risk?"
"Her schedule is unattainable. She is going to burn herself out and you know how dangerous that will be if it gets to the stage of it impacting her magic."
He nodded, "And she's definitely the Black Heir?" he checked.
"Yes."
"Then perhaps you should know that Sirius Black turned himself in this morning and as of ten minutes ago, Peter Pettigrew is in our holding cells about to be charged with the murder of twelve muggles and as an accessory to the murders of James and Lily Potter."
She froze, "What?"
"He could take her," Kingsley shrugged, ignoring her gaping, "After some mind healing, to be honest. Twelve years in Azkaban hasn't done the man any favours. Is she his daughter?"
"Niece," Amelia murmured. "I…thank you. When is he going to St Mungo's?"
"He's there. They're going to let us know for definite after an assessment, but the witch thought they might get away with outpatient treatment, on the understanding that if he misses any they'll admit him. They want to keep him for at least a week to get his physical health under control first though. They don't exactly feed them much in Azkaban."
She shuddered, "Wonderful…thank you. Keep me updated. Is he allowed visitors?"
"I have no idea Ma'am but given who you are?" Kingsley grinned at her pointedly, "Probably."
She huffed out a laugh, "Very well. I'm going to go and try my luck, I think. Locate Saul Croaker for me? Get him to come and see me in say….two hours?"
Kingsley nodded but wisely didn't comment about her strange request. Settling herself, Amelia headed for the floo, hoping she'd be allowed to see Sirius and that he wasn't too far gone from Azkaban.
"Director Bones, this is most unusual." the Healer protested, "Lord Black only arrived two hours ago and really needs treatment and rest."
"I understand that," Amelia sighed, "and if this could wait, I wouldn't be here. Please, Healer McCallum, it's…the health of a child is at risk."
The healer froze, "Lord Black's child, Amelia?"
Amelia sighed, "This cannot go further, Moira." she warned.
Moira scoffed, "How many years have you known me, Amy?"
"Too many," Amelia replied wryly.
"Exactly," Moira replied pointedly.
Amelia sighed, "His niece. It's…complicated but I need to know if he's willing to give her a home if we have to remove her from where she is."
"You think you'll have to?" Moira frowned, knowing she was missing something huge. There had never been any talk of a Black Heir, and that wasn't something that would usually be kept quiet. "The old families don't take kindly to interference."
"She's with muggles," Amelia replied softly. "It's…they resent her magic."
"Oh." Moira frowned, wondering how in the name of Circe the Black Heir had ended up in the care of muggles. "I see. Merlin help me, go in. But I warn you he's in a right state. Why is it they don't feed prisoners Amelia? They're already locked up with everyone's worst nightmare, we surely don't need to starve them too."
"I don't know, I'll look into it." she sighed, knocking on the door lightly and entering the room. She almost gasped at how skeletal Sirius was. His eyes narrowed.
"Amelia?" he rasped in a voice that sounded out of practice.
"Hello, Sirius."
"Why are you here?"
She sat down carefully on a seat next to his bed. "That's…a rather difficult question to answer," she said finally. "I..need a favour of sorts."
He scoffed, "Twelve years in that hell hole not enough?"
"I didn't put you there, Sirius," she reminded him gently.
"I know," he sighed, running a hand over his face. "What do you need?"
"A home for a child possibly."
"I'm sorry, what?" Sirius gaped at her, sure he had misheard.
"You…have a niece," Amelia began hesitantly, "She is…we might need to remove her from her home. I'm going to speak to the Department of Magical Families when I go back but…"
"Why would she need to be removed, Amy?" Sirius asked, his voice dangerous.
"Because the muggles she lives with are not overly enamoured with her magic," Amelia admitted, watching him closely. "They don't…I don't think they've ever laid a hand on her but I cannot rule out other forms of abuse."
He flinched, "Fucking wonderful. When the fuck did my little brother manage to produce a child?"
"She's thirteen. It was…an experiment within the department of mysteries that your father volunteered him for."
"What?" Sirius frowned.
"It's complicated but transfiguration was used. Technically Regulus was her mother."
Sirius snorted, not convinced this wasn't some sort of mad hallucination. It wouldbt be the first. "Seriously?"
"Deadly, unfortunately. Your father had the contract written in such a way that any resulting child was automatically a Black first, regardless of the genetic role Regulus took. But by the time she was born, Regulus had already died and your mother…well we all know stable was never her strong suit. She refused to take her claiming she was an abomination."
"Merlin," Sirius sighed, "And her…father?"
"Was…is an unspeakable. They have a standard anonymity clause on any identifying material donated for experiments with a ten-year limitation. He knows now."
"And he doesn't want her?" Sirius frowned again, clearly offended on his niece's behalf.
"I don't honestly know," Amelia admitted, realising belatedly that perhaps she should have spoken to Saul before coming here. Although if she was honest, she couldn't quite picture him with a child. "He is…concerned for her. And I think he might offer to take her but whether he truly wants to or he'd be better in a less direct role remains to be seen. He is…older and has never expected children."
"I don't understand." Sirius stared back at her, clearly lost.
"He's gay Sirius," Amelia stated bluntly. "I have no idea whether he's never wanted children or he'd accepted the fact it wasn't going to happen for him. He is already in his sixties and…married to the job."
"Do I get a name?" Sirius sighed.
"You won't recognise it," Amelia warned. "Saul Croaker. He's the director of the Department of Mysteries."
"The Director?" Sirius repeated faintly.
"Yes. The Director" Amelia confirmed.
"Wonderful." he muttered sarcastically, "I…of course, I'll take her. I won't leave her in a situation where she's at risk."
"Thank you," Amelia sighed. "I'll let you know. You do understand that to actually be considered though you're going to have to do as you're told?"
He quirked his lips into a smile. "I'd intended to. I want my godson back. Any idea where he is?"
Amelia frowned before it dawned on her, "Harry Potter?"
"That's him," Sirius agreed in a deceptively pleasant tone.
"He and Hermione, your niece, are friends," Amelia sidestepped.
"Are they?" Sirius looked surprised before he shrugged. "Makes it easier I suppose. No one will tell me anything."
She sighed, "Get better, I'll come back in a week. We'll talk then."
He pouted, "Amelia! What is it you're not telling me?"
"Get better," she commanded, "If you expect to be looking after children Sirius Black you need to actually function as a human being."
He sighed as she left the room, too exhausted to chase after her and demand answers like he wanted to.
"Saul!" Amelia jumped when she reached her office to find him waiting.
"Well?" he demanded, "I was led to believe you wanted to see me?"
"I was hoping for a moment to regroup," she muttered.
"Tough. What happened at the meeting with my daughter?"
Amelia sighed, "It didn't go well," she replied eventually. "I… spoke to Sirius Black today. He's willing to care for her, alongside Harry Potter. He's his godson. However, I realised I should have spoken to you first. I never even asked if you wanted the girl to live with you."
Saul froze, contemplating that. His job didn't truly allow for him to care for a child full-time. It was…the best solution really, assuming the man was well enough. And he could visit. He intended to visit. He found himself curious about this girl of his but it was best for her to learn the workings of House Black from its current head.
"I see, and he is able to do that?"
"After treatment, I believe so." Amelia nodded, watching him warily.
"Fine. Assuming he is healthy, that is probably best. What is it you're not saying?"
"Her father refused me permission to get her checked at St Mungo's. I'm going to visit Lucia for her opinion," Amelia admitted, sounding exhausted.
Saul nodded slowly, "Let's go then," he commanded, ignoring Amelia's surprised look as he swept out of her office, leaving her to follow.
"I'm here to see Lucia," Amelia announced to the receptionist, attempting to control her thoughts. She wasn't sure she had expected Saul to accompany her. Perhaps she should have, he had been adamant about helping Hermione since he'd met her. If she was honest with herself, she was surprised by how concerned he was. Paternal wasn't a word she associated with the ever-busy Croaker. Intelligent, definitely, excitable, innovative. A genius without a shadow of a doubt. She paused, considering his relationship with his staff. They all seemed to adore him. Perhaps she was doing him a disservice.
"Is she expecting you Director Bones?"
"No. But it's urgent."
"Very well," the woman murmured, scurrying off in the direction of the offices.
Twenty minutes later Lucia Shannon bustled out of her office. "Amelia! Professor! What brings you by?"
"Can we discuss this in your office?" Amelia asked quickly, "With the enhanced privacy wards?"
Lucia's eyebrows rose, "Very well," she murmured, "This way."
She led them into a bright office, waiting until they settled into seats in front of her desk before she cast the wards.
"Thank you," Amelia murmured.
Lucia nodded, taking her seat behind the desk "Well? I must admit I don't know whether to be concerned or intrigued."
Amelia sighed, "I need advice. I have a pureblood child adopted by muggles. Her Head of House has…suddenly become available." Lucia frowned but nodded, "He's not her parent, he's her uncle. Her…mother is dead and her father will be consulted. Her muggle parents are…struggling with her magic. They are working her half to death trying to keep up with the muggle curriculum in an unreasonable time frame and berating her when she doesn't manage it. She was nearly hysterical earlier when I visited because I'd pulled her away from her studies. Saul spoke to her yesterday, she allowed herself a half-hour break to talk to him and was desperate not to go past it. She didn't allow herself the same today because apparently, she fell asleep yesterday and if her father's comments are to be believed, she was soundly berated for it. It's…gods it's hard to explain without seeing her, but she looks manic and quite frankly unwell. Her father refused to allow us to get her health checked, despite me voicing my concerns. He said that if she left with me then she couldn't come back. They...he is so dismissive of her magic, apparently, the only reason they allowed her to go to Hogwarts was in order to keep them all safe. He intends to remove her after OWLs. It's…according to Minerva she's incredibly intelligent and she'd be a loss clearly but….more than that, she's not being given any choices. They're determined to mould her into what they expect her to be. They keep telling her she's not normal. They confessed if they'd known about her magic they'd never have adopted her. Merlin, it's such an uncomfortable environment."
Lucia paused, looking at her slightly stunned before she sighed. "Right. I….who's her biological father?"
Saul winced, "Me." he admitted.
"That's…that's surprising," Lucia stuttered.
"It gets better," Amelia muttered. "She's the sodding Black Heir. Regulus Black was her mother."
"Her…I'm sorry Amelia, I must have misheard…." Lucia trailed off.
"No," Amelia sighed, "It's…Unspeakable experiments to try and combat squibs."
"Right. That's...Sweet Circe," Lucia breathed, her jaw dropping slightly as she stared at them.
Amelia snorted, "Welcome to our world. Nothing makes sense and the unbelievable is suddenly something you're confronted with on a regular basis."
Lucia gave a wan smile before straightening her spine and turning to Saul, "So…you don't want her?" she began bluntly.
Saul flinched, "As the Black Heir, assuming Sirius Black is indeed stable, I think she'd be better there," he admitted, "There'll be things she'll need to learn from him. I intend to see her. Regularly. I want to be involved. But I…my role. It's more than full-time. It wouldn't be fair. I can't reduce it without stepping down. And Merlin, I have no idea how to be a parent! I never expected to be one!"
Lucia looked stunned, "Sirius Black….the mass murderer…Sirius Black?"
"Was cleared this morning. It wasn't him." Amelia cut in before she could go any further.
"Holy mother of Morganna." Lucia breathed, her composure slipping again. "I….what the fuck is currently happening?"
"No idea." Amelia sighed, "It's not normally quite this complicated."
"Right," Lucia muttered forcibly pulling herself back together, "Right. So. Sirius Black has…agreed to take her?"
"Yes, pending treatment," Amelia confirmed, "He's in St Mungos for the next week at least."
"And if he can't?" Lucia checked.
"Then I will take her. I don't want to leave her there," Saul sighed.
"Right. Well then. Let's…that's somewhere to start, isn't it? I'm going to need to see her of course. I'll need Auror escort."
"Kingsley Shacklebolt," Amelia volunteered. "I should have taken him as I had planned to originally anyway. He knows what's going on. We cant….Luc, this can't get out. Not yet."
Lucia nodded. "Yes I can see how that would be problematic," she murmured. "Right, I'll arrange a visit. Tomorrow? Can you take her temporarily if needed?" Saul nodded. "Good right then, is there anyone else we need to contact?"
"For?" Amelia frowned.
"I need to speak to anyone likely to be involved, just in case they have more information or they shouldn't be around children."
"Minerva McGonagall?" Saul suggested. "She's her Head of House at school and has some experience of her parents."
Lucia hummed, "Right."
"What about Remus?" Amelia asked suddenly.
"Who?" Saul frowned.
"Remus," she repeated, "If she's going to be with Sirius, what about Remus? I have no idea what their relationship will be but they were….involved at one point."
"Right then," Lucia nodded, making a note of his name on her parchment, "I'll need to speak to this…Remus?"
"Oh, Remus Lupin. It's….I have no idea where he is. I'll ah…owl him. He won't know Sirius has been cleared."
"Send one of ours," Saul suggested, "They're ah…we'll go with enhanced."
"Enhanced how?" Amelia checked, immediately suspicious.
"Oh just…ah quicker," Saul shifted in his seat, not looking at her.
Amelia frowned "Right."
"Just give it to me and I'll sort it," Saul murmured. Silently, Lucia handed her parchment and quill for her to scribble something down. "Right I'll…let me know what's happening," he asked, looking slightly lost as he stumbled out of the office with her note.
"What's your gut?" Lucia asked into the silence.
"It's not healthy and I'm concerned," Amelia admitted, "There was….just a complete disregard for her obvious distress. He kept telling her that she had agreed to this and Gods, Luc, she looked fucking exhausted. It's not…none of it healthy. He berated her for falling asleep. Made her feel so small because she'd been petrified, not that he knew that's what it was but he did know she'd been in the hospital wing unable to complete her work. It was….he was angry that she'd managed to complete the second-year tests but didn't complete any of the work they sent her. It was….she was fucking petrified! And she only took those tests because she was hysterical at the thought of not doing them! The end-of-year tests were cancelled because of the circumstances. "
"Merlin," Lucia muttered, "You know this is going to be…challenging?"
"What, why?" Amelia looked startled.
"Because Sirius Black is not her parent. He's only very recently exonerated and public perception is…well it'll be difficult."
"Difficult as in there's going to be nothing we can do?" she frowned.
"No. We'll…figure something out. If they voluntarily give up their rights…" Lucia grimaced, "Well as horrific as it will undoubtedly be for her, it's probably the best thing that could happen for our case."
"Wonderful," Amelia sneered, "What the fuck is happening that best case scenario is her parents voluntarily giving her up? What…what is that going to do to her Luc?"
"Nothing good," Lucia murmured, "Sirius Black was after my time, tell me about him? Is he going to be able to cope?"
"I don't know," Amelia admitted, "He…understands what a shit childhood looks like. I think he'll do whatever he can to help. If Remus is around…he might be a good fit, to be honest. He's…bookish and calm. He…might be exactly what she needs."
"Tell me about him then?" Lucia sighed.
Amelia hesitated, "He went to school with us. He was friends with James Potter, inseparable really. It's…fuck."
What? Luciua asked sharply.
Amelia sighed, "You'll be able to check anyway. He's a registered werewolf."
Lucia looked at her in horror, "Pardon?"
"He went to school with us without incident. He was a werewolf then too."
"Bloody fuck." Lucia cursed, visibly attempting to figure out what to say next "I…Right. Well, I'll need to know the safety precautions they're willing to take then."
Amelia nodded, "He is…he is lovely and kind and…the last person who would ever want to hurt someone. Greyback bit him as punishment for his father at four. Its….Merlin, I'll supply his wolfsbane if it comes to it. He…he really doesn't deserve the life he's had."
Lucia nodded slowly, "You're emotionally invested. Be careful," she cautioned finally with a sigh.
"You didn't see her," Amelia mumbled. "It was…she knows Susan. Gods, the differences were stark. Add in that apparently she's helped Harry Potter get out of a few situations and Susan only has good things to say about her? It's hard."
Lucia sighed, "You still need to be careful. Until I've met them I have no idea what can be done."
"Saul has rights." Amelia reminded her, not willing to admit that she was more invested than normal.
"Rights he doesn't currently want to use, Amelia!" Luciua replied exasperatedly.
"I know." Amelia groaned, "I don't think it's hit him really. I…he cares but he's…lost. Children likely weren't part of his plan."
"He needs to be unlost pretty quickly, Amy. It's…precarious. All of it. Fudge won't be wanting to be seen as a supremacist and he risks that by removing a child from muggles to give to a pureblood. And while he might…he'll need to be careful how he handles it."
"I know," Amelia murmured, "I'll…talk to him."
Lucia nodded, "Let's hope he listens.