"Albus took the rest."
The snap of every head turning to look at the bearded bastard was audible as a snap of the fingers.
Amelia could feel the Grim growling but not hear him. "Easy. He Runs, he's yours. But I need him to be able to sit on the chair and answer some questions."
Padfoot licked her hand and returned to resting his head in her lap.
"You said that the Dark Lord exploded." Connie Hammer regained command of everyone's attention. "So why are you still afraid of him?"
"Because only his body was destroyed." The twisted man leaned towards the spectacle wearing Auror. "He was in the School, in Ninety One. The Slob bragged for weeks about how he helped Potter smack the Dark Lord down again. Last year, an item of His fell into the hands of an innocent. It released the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets."
The Shocked gasp filled the Chamber, but before anyone could do anything, Peter continued in his high squeaky voice. "The Slob bragged about how he helped Potter kill the Basilisk, Destroy the Object, and save the girl. Like it was His idea!" He bowed his graying balding head, shaking it mournfully. "No, no, the Dark Lord remains. Not Dead. Not Alive but not Dead… and he is Returning."
Connie Hammer lifted his chin. "And do you fear Albus Dumbledore?"
"Because He is the only real Dark Lord. A Dark Lord of the Light. Everything is for the Greater Good. His Greater Good."
"Get this Beast off of me!" Albus stood in the Pulpit of the Chief Warlock… Padfoot gripping the Wand in the Headmaster's hand.
"Release the Wand, Mr. Dumbledore. Runcorn take the man into custody. I was going to give you the benefit of doubt, but drawing your wand during a case…and I had the Beast under control until you made the first aggressive move. Notice that he went for the wand rather than your hand… or throat… like he was trained." Amelia was on her feet, arms crossed.
Albus reluctantly released the wand and watched the Grim prance back to Amelia's side. He glared at the Beast as it laid it in her lap.
'What game is being played here?'
Fudge stood to take the Pulpit, but Bones cleared her throat. "No Fudge. You're involved in this. As DMLE Head I would be next in line, but I too am involved. The two options for this one would be Regent Longbottom and Lord Greengrass. She is the longest serving member of this Body without a direct connection to the case. He has the best legal knowledge and is a Neutral. Make your call."
"And why not Delores?"
"She too is involved." Connie grinned evilly at the Undersecretary.
"Cyrus." Regent Longbottom called from her seat. "My hip is aching. A storm approaches. You take it, Morgana Help us all."
Lord Greengrass kissed his wife's cheek and moved to take the Pulpit. "Let's take it from there. You were saying Dark Lord of the Light?"
"Yes, He was key in the Rise of the last two Dark Lords." The rat of a man sneered. "He refused to join the fight against Grindelwald, not just because he was blood oath bound… but because he was setting up the board. He needed to craft the pieces for His Game." Peter's eyes were glazed. Bones kept her monocled eye on the Wizard. The curse was having fun. "First he needed a Villian. Someone that the sheeple would see as the Wolf. When his 'childhood friend' turned from him… started Moving faster than He thought was Proper… and then he needed an unsung Hero… someone who shied from the spotlight but saw Albus as the Authority. He used his student to stretch out everything until Grindelwald violated the Pact, and he could bring him to Heel."
"As everyone was recovering from that ordeal he released his next Dark Lord in the making on the Public. He found the child, a bully in an orphanage… a muggle orphanage. A Half Breed with a feeling of Entitlement and ambition for Power that rivaled his own." Peter leaned back in the chair. "Now he needed a Martyr-Hero and he found James Potter. A child that came as a blessing to an Ancient Bloodline that had a History of Great Luck. Both Good and Bad. A Bloodline both Blessed and Cursed… One that had retarded his plans during the previous War. He planned to end the Line with his Martyr-Hero… he failed to account for the Potter Luck and blessing / curse of finding their true love about the age of twelve. James was chosen to love Lily Evans. A witch that refused to bow to any Will other than her own."
"When it came time to martyr James, The Prophecy came to Light." The mask turned soft. "Then came Little Harry. We were so happy to welcome him to the World. Black was as proud of the babe as if he was of his Blood. He was named the Tike's Godfather and he took the Blood Oath and by Using the Black variant, Named the babe his Heir."
Half of the Old Bloods gasped.
"It was into this that I was shoved. I was forced into Breaking an Oath of Brotherhood. I name myself Oathbreaker." Many of the Lords hissed. "I didn't choose to betray them… but I had made a Deal and the Price was Paid. I trusted those who claimed to have my greatest good in play. Odds are the greatest good of one little wizard doesn't mean much if you are trying to build an Utopia for Magical Britain."
Connie Hammer nodded. "And that brings us back to the Dark Lord. So… Who or What are the Marked?"
"My name for those you call Death Eaters. They seem to find their Master if only to avoid His… Displeasure… to say nothing of His Wrath." Peter Pettigrew changed yet again, but his eyes remained glassy. "As I told you that you can't be forced to take the Mark… the Dark Mark. You have to want it. Now why you want it differs between Us. Some wanted Power, others wanted Glory." He chortled, "Bella and Junior just want to serve. No one knew what we were trading for the Mark. That by taking the Mark, we were letting Him leech off our Cores. He was just above the norm until he started Marking his Faithful. With each Mark, he receives a tythe* of our Magic. There might be more involved but I never wanted to study those branches of Magic."
"The Order?" Connie was quick to step aside the issue. The Impirused were powerful and deep rooted to move on… besides they were already judged by the Courts.
"Albus Dumbledore's answer to the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. Masters of Rumours and Secrets. He Had a few Battle Wands… Moody…Black, the Prewett twins. Potter, Longbottom and Bones to name a few. If Black doesn't kill me… Albus will have me silenced… one way or another."
"And Black?"
"It was James's Idea to have Sirius be the Secret Keeper. The Secret can't be forced out, and the Godfather Oath would reinforce it. But Sirius thought to complicate it by being the Decoy. It seems that Sirius's plan worked… Everyone thought he was the Secret Keeper. The look on his face when he arrived at the Cottage… it was a dagger in my gut that kept me warm those cold nights before the Boy found me. He cared for me as a loyal pet until he became Prefect and the Mother got him an owl and I was passed down to the Slob." He hugged a sigh. "Black was caught and blamed for the Potter assault and my Death, because I was able to take advantage of his Rage and Loss… and Only this Body can Protect me!"
"NOT COMPLETELY TRUE." A hooded person in faded black to gray robes appeared from shadows that weren't there a minute before. "WE CAN PROTECT YOU. IF YOU RETURN TO THE CAGE, WE WILL TAKE YOU UNDER OUR PROTECTION."
Peter Pettigrew looked at Connie before darting for the cage, and dove inside as he morphed.
The Hood nodded, flicked their hand, and the cage closed, locked and jumped into their other hand. The Hood bowed to the Pulpit and returned to the Shadows.
Connie blinked. "Well that's that case. Marking it … Unspoken." She closed the File and turned to the Scribe. "Note that the File will be filled in the Restricted section of the DMLE Archives."
"Noted." Greengrass gaveled. "Now I know that most thought that this was going to be a short and simple case when we hit the Floo. I am going to need a refresher and something to eat. Fifteen minute recess, but the doors stay closed. No one leaves the Chambers." He slammed the gavel once more.
HPWQ
Harry was watching the Barrier to Muggle London from the window. Seeing three Gingers explode onto the Train Landing, he eased back on the bench. "Weasley Alert."
"Great. Ronald is going to be a pain." Hermione groaned.
"That's if he finds us." Harry said hopefully.
"You really think he's going to let you go that easily?" Hermione looked up from her book.
"Compared to pushing through the entire House of Slytherin…"
"He is going to try." She returned to her book.
"And bad mouth every single one of them every step of the way." Harry grinned. "With Percy caught between his Duties as Headboy and Penny…"
A rap-tap at the Door had Harry on his Feet to answer the door. He was met by two blonde witches.
"Ladies. I was not expecting two of you." He stepped aside. "Please join us."
"You said you had Black Family Business to discuss with us?" The older sister looked around the compartment. The younger girl spotted the black ball of furry fun in Susan's lap where she had Blot sprawled on her back to rub the kitten's belly.
Harry sat opposite of Sue so the two blondes were as far from him as possible. "This Summer, I was collected and reunited with my Godfather. He has claimed his Lordship and confirmed that I am his Heir."
Daphne raised her eyebrow at the only wizard in the room. "And this involves me… how?"
"My Godfather. Lord Sirius Black of House Black." The train began to move.
Daphne collapsed on the bench behind her. "You are the next Lord Black? But Malfoy is…"
"Yes. And we decided that you are going to be the one to tell him. You are a Slytherin Witch. You would know when and how to tell him to get the deepest and most savage cut. To bring him the most pain." Harry smiled at the witch across from him. The Black ring flickered into view on his hand.
"I need to think about this. Saturday afternoon. After Quidditch tryouts. Library. I will find Granger." She stood. "Come Tori, you can see the fuzz ball later." They exited for their own compartment.
Crookshanks dropped from above and demanded his dew from Harry as his Slave was busy.
An hour later… a knock on the door and it was gently opened to allow the Patil twins in.
"We were invited to Red Curry." Padma spoke softly.
Hermione looked up. "Nice code." When everyone looked at her, "Curry doesn't come in red. Yellow and Green are normal, but red is food colouring for the English plebs."
"Never had Curry." Harry admitted. "I was just told to invite these two ladies to Red Curry."
"Who told you?" Pavarti asked.
Harry turned to look at Hermione. "How do I explain this? The same ones who told me about the Zeb-ra told me about the Red Curry."
"Oh yeah. That. Them." Hermione closed her book and sat up to talk.
"Oh Shit." Pavarti sat beside Sue. "Hermione closed her book. This is a big one."
"What do you know about Temporal Magics?"
"Just that you leave them alone." Padma sat between Harry and Hermione. "That only the most Idiotic or the most desperate should even think about that."
"Well Four came back, while a fifth remained behind to anchor the spell." Harry smiled at Pavarti. "That and she was in no condition to travel."
Sue, Hannah and Pav frowned. "Condition?" they chorused.
"Pregnant." Padma and Hermione chorused back.
"Oh."
HPWQ
After the fifteen minutes Cyrus had awarded for the court to refresh and refuel, he was back in the Pulpit. He gave the older members a few minutes more to return to their seats.
As the gavel fell, the room came to Order.
Albus stood centre. "I would like to get this over quickly as I have Duties to tend to before I Welcome the Students back."
"Yeah… No." Connie grinned as she dropped the Hammer. "I don't know if you are going to have a position to return to by the time we are done here. Do you want to go next or later?"
"If the Court allows it, I would like to see you clear my name before I have to get involved." He smiled his best grandfather's smile.
Connie smiled back.
"Shit." Amelia whispered to the grim in her lap. "He should have taken the opportunity to avoid the dragon shit coming his way."
Padfoot thumped his tail.
"Let's get this 'Heir declared Guilty' issue cleared up." Acting Chief Warlock Greengrass peered down from his seat.
"What shall we do first?" Connie grinned evilly at the Lords. "Clear the Accused or Set precedent for what happens when the Ministry over steps. Remember that to Protect you and Serve you, we need a certain level of autonomy, but we also need to be held accountable."
No one spoke up.
"Seeing as Black is not in the Visitors Box or the Cells, how about we move to the Ministry Person who declared him Guilty." Connie called out.
She was awarded a round of applause.
"The Court calls… Bartatumus Crouch… Senior."
Shacklebolt escorted the Former Director of Magical Law Enforcement and current Director of Magical Cooperation. The proud man was slumped and perched lightly on the chair. Shack stood still at the doorway to the Cells.
A murmuring rose and washed across the Assembled Lord's.
"Now on the act of apprehension of Director Crouch, we discovered a crime in progress and the evidence of two more." Connie Hammer frowned at her former co-worker.
"Why? What made you break your vows and oaths to the Law." Connie demanded of the broken man.
"My Wife." He looked up at Connie. "I held my Oaths and Vows to her above all else. She loved Junior almost as much as I loved her. As any Mother should. With her health failing more and more each day she begged me to get Him out of that Hellhole. And so I did. But I knew that he hadn't repented or was going to change his ways, and so I had to Bind him. But he needed to be able to self care as well…"
"Who are you Talking about?" Connie asked.
"Junior. My son. The reason you came to the House…Correct?"
"No." Connie frowned at the Wizard with a touch of pity. "We came to Question your involvement in the Black Case. You sentenced him the evening of the First of November in Eighty One. To Life on the same rock you just confessed to springing your son."
"Black?" The man blinked as his spine stiffened. "What about the Traitorous Murderer?"
"You sent him to Azkaban without a trial before you sat in Judgement over your own blood." Connie leaned on the preverbal knife in his ribs.
"I…I…I have no memory of that…" He frowned. "You know my memory. I don't forget things… can I see what you speak of?"
Connie handed him the paperwork from Black's arrest. He peered over the page.
"I see… this was filled out by eagle quill with type three ink. Common enough in the Auror pit. But I used a muggle fountain pen filled with a mix of type four and seven ink. I had it specially mixed when orders were coming through the Office that I had no knowledge of. Most of the things were requests that I had refused. Requests from Albus." He flipped to the second sheet. "Another forgery." He tilted the sheet to the light source overhead, shined down differently. "Minster Bagnold's is also Forgery. Her ink was a custom blend ink infused with a charmed brass to glint like gold when flashed. She too used a charmed fountain pen. An alabaster and platinum thing that she was given when named Minister." He turned to the third page. "Only thing that is proper on these is Albus's Signature. The rest is something no one who has finished the Auror Training would have missed because they would have to redo it… in triplicate."
"We were wondering how this slipped past you. You are saying that you never saw it?"
"When was this?" Crouch looked at the top of the page. "November First… It was the last Good Night of my Wife's life. We went to Paris for the night." He looked at the three pages. "Where did you get this fiction?"
"DMLE Archives, Restricted Section."
Crouch nodded. "Nice cover up. Best way to hide the trail is to plant a big tree in the middle of it." He handed the pages back to Connie. "I am innocent of these crimes and I don't want to drag out the Clock on the other issue. I would like to ask the DMLE and the Court for Mercy and a Favour. Send me and Junior through the Veil. Don't send us to that Hellhole. I am going down and he was already convicted. I would like to face Death with the Happy Memories of my Beautiful Wife."
"Why should we do as you ask?" Amelia's Question carried out over the Chamber.
"Not saying that you should." Crouch bowed his head. "Just begging for a little mercy."
"What about Black?" Connie asked gently. "It was during your watch…"
"My estate. I need someone to keep Winky alive. Every Asset I bequeath to Sirius Black in the hope that he can forgive me my trespass. Can we just get to the party where you kill me… please."
"This Body has decreed that Black as an escaped convict faced the Kiss." Connie turned to the Lords above her. "For his years of service and record of near perfect service… Does this man deserve Mercy?"
"What is the crime that he is crying Guilty to?" Cyrus asked from his seat.
Connie Hammer turned to the Man on the Chair. "Tell them. So that they know what they are condemning you for."
"By the use of Polyjuice Potion, I helped my Wife trade herself with my Son and removed him from Azkaban." He stood proud, not of the crime but of the Honour he had set aside, now taken up. "I couldn't just let him go… He was not just a follower of the Dark Lord but a Believer. A True Believer. Like the belief that his Magic now came from the Dark Lord." He Squared his shoulders and looked every bit the Director he wanted to be. "I couldn't kill him, that would be a betrayal of my love for my Wife. So… I did the next best thing… I Impirused him. I have held him by mind and will these last ten years and I am grateful that I no longer need to worry about him killing me in my sleep or worse… escaping into the night to bring his Master back."
Again a Hooded … someone appeared from shadows that weren't there earlier. This time from known solid stone. "We will take them. To further our research. Then when we are finished we will give them to the Veil. These two are condemned. Allow their Fate to be Harnessed to the betterment of our understanding of Magic."
"Are there any Objections to this counter offer?" Greengrass asked the Chamber.
Silence.
"Okay. Motion passes. House Crouch passes into Black's possession. Gringots will handle the transaction. Send any claims to the Black Account Manager." The Gavel fell. "Bring the other Prisoner. This Court will see who it is they condemn. We do not just pass judgment on blind faith."
Where Senior was meek, accepting of his fate, Junior was fighting the Aurors that muscled him before the Court.
"Do your Worst!" The venomous vile vitriol vomited from the crazed convict. "The Dark Master is coming. He is coming for his Faithful."
Connie stepped in front of the young man. "That he may be. But he won't be able to come for you."
"Then I will regret not being able to witness his Glory and…" Junior's rant was cut off.
Two more Gray Hoods arrived and took procession of Junior.
Senior followed meekly. "Thank you for your Mercy."
TBC
AN: * I know that I used a Y in tithe. I wanted it to be more than just a transaction. Something Bigger, something Darker, something… Older.