A/N: This is a transitional chapter, not much happening besides being a segue to the next.
D N Walker: I'm liking the dynamic as well! I have a vision, but seeing the interactions as my imagination brings them up is fun. Your opinion is noted.
RonaldM40196867: If I were to write my own HP book, it definitely would be magic in the States, but probably not set in Ilvermorny, or maybe it would be. I don't really know, lol.
Yeetfam79: Your opinion is noted.
Kriger Techpriest: 1. I had originally thought of making her a bit submissive to Naruto instead, kind-of like seeking approval, y'know? But, I couldn't do my favorite girl like that. Hermione can definitely wear the pants most of the time.
2. I don't know about polls on the app. As I said, it's an informal poll. You can just PM or review your thoughts about Fleur. I've got a pros and cons list going, just seeing if anyone has any other opinions about the relationship.
thor94: Thanks again for the review! I like the "bossy" side of Hermione, so I had her off screen reading into relationships and wizarding history and opening her mind a bit. She did it for more control in her life.
Sage-Of-Pure-Rage: I know you won't see this, but I'll reply anyway. 1) I never said that it was my views on relationships. I said it was a 16 year old's rationalization of his own thoughts. Deep down, it's a selfish mindset that drives Naruto's views. 2) You left 2 reviews to bash on my story, Ch9 & 10. You read all the way through what I have published and declared it was bad. Know what I do when I don't like what's written? I stop and just leave. I don't have to cry about it publicly. Hope you have the life you deserve.
danielkeaunumadegani: Hey! Here's another one for you!
Elchabon: We might be sitting on a close wavelength. Because that's where my mind has wandered to with some of my thoughts on adding Fleur as well. But I know I can do just as you suggested without her… But I also have drama planned out if I do and I just love some juicy drama. Like I said, still on the fence. I've got some chapters yet before I have to make any hard choices.
BoltSamIAm: Those are all very good questions and all will be answered in time. I can answer one thing now, but with a question: Other than Pettigrew, which other follower of Voldemort would be willing to make that "bone of the servant" sacrifice to bring him back? Who is cowardly enough to do that?
Its-Mitch-O: … I… I honestly didn't realize I did that… OMFG. I totally did a very baseline Six Eyes. The international student aspect of Fleur is already on my pros and cons list.
Chapter 11: A Miraculous Resurrection! But Not a Pardon?
"Naruto, what do we do?" Hermione asked. They were now in the common room, having decided that they couldn't stay outside of the tower, or risk being caught by the faculty. Hermione's first instinct was to go to the faculty, but Naruto realized that this was a very delicate situation and that would be a bad idea. This was something that he had been trained for, back when he was going to be a member of the Sekiseigumi.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her, as he held her shoulders in his hands.
"What? Of course," she replied.
"Okay. I swear to you that I can handle this situation. And we will involve the faculty. But we have to pretend that we didn't see what we just saw," he saw her moving to protest, "I promise this will be resolved after breakfast. I have a plan."
Hermione looked unsure. "Can you tell me what it is, so I don't accidentally ruin it?"
Naruto lowered his voice and cast a silencing charm around them to ensure their privacy, "I think Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew, or rather he's an unregistered Animagus."
Hermione's eyes widened, and then thought back to what Ron had said about Scabbers being his pet since he was a little boy. Rats did not live that long, even magical ones. That theory held weight. And if what she knew about Ron and his rat, he had Scabbers sleeping next to his pillow every night. "That… That theory holds merit. But how are you going to prove it?"
After explaining his plan to Hermione, she could see why he had originally been trained to be a member of a special investigative task force. She felt confident in Naruto's plan that she agreed to let him handle it without anymore fuss. She gave him a quick parting kiss for luck as well as wished him goodnight before they separated to their own dorms, step 1 for Hermione was to go to bed and wait until morning. That was Naruto's step 3.
Upon entering the dorm, which he did as silently as possible, using a sound muffling charm on the door hinges, handle, and even his own feet, though he was trained to move silently as well. Once in the room, he visually confirmed that Ron and Scabbers were in the bed, both sleeping. He wandlessly cast a spell that was a branch of the normal Revelio Charm, one that highlighted all the humanoid people in a thirty-foot radius. A small pulse of minute magic swept across the room and highlighted all the people in a glowing outline that did not blend in with their auras.
Just as he had thought, Scabbers was limned in a halo. And what Naruto thought was just Ron's fiery red aura color was also the color of Scabbers' – Peter Pettigrew's – aura. Animals, even magical animals didn't have an aura. A quick glance over to Neville's toad Trevor revealed that Neville was highlighted, but Trevor was not, confirming what he knew to be true. Pettigrew had by pure happenstance found one of the few people who had the exact same aura as him and it worked as camouflage to his eyes. That was terrifying, and a lesson learned. Naruto then proceeded to his step 3 and went to bed.
The morning saw no changes in anything during the morning routines of the boys. Naruto met Hermione like normal to escort her down to breakfast. He noticed that her movements were a bit stiff, but it didn't look like anyone else did. He could sense her anxiety as they just ate and chatted, eventually joined by Harry and Ron, despite Ron still not wanting to talk with her. It was time to put on his performance.
"Ron," he called out, catching his redheaded friend's attention. "Listen, I think it's time you forgave Hermione for Crookshanks' actions. He's a cat, dude. They chase rats."
Ron frowned, "All she has to do is get rid of that mangy thing. Scabbers was here first!"
"Hey, hey," he mediated. "I get it, I do. But I think I have a solution for this problem. I had been feeling bad the last couple of weeks, so I wrote to my godfather. He knows this Magizoologist. Brilliant guy. Wrote that book, uh, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
"Newt Scamander?!" Hermione asked in genuine shock.
"Yeah! Him," Naruto replied. "Anyway, Newt loves all creatures. Even kept several of them as his personal pets. He had this ritual that he had to perform on the animals that would suppress both their instincts. Predator and prey behaviors. He was said to have Mooncalves living with Graphorns. I've been studying this ritual for the last couple weeks after my godfather gave me a copy of it. I want to perform it on both Crookshanks and Scabbers so they can get along," here he held up several folded papers with diagrams and a lot of words, "I promise you that they'll be best friends, just like you and Hermione are, despite your tiff."
Ron glanced around at everyone, Harry looked surprised, but happy. Whatever could be done to make his friends be friends again. Hermione looked with hope at the redhead. He turned to Naruto, "And it won't hurt him?"
"It's 100% safe," Naruto said.
"Alright, well let's do it after breakfast," Ron said as he started digging into breakfast.
"We'll need to go speak with Professor Dumbledore to get his permission first. The ritual tends to excite other animals, so we'll need to get his permission or a room that's charmed for ritual work," Naruto would win an award with the convincing performance that he put on.
After breakfast Naruto convinced Ron it would be more efficient if they grabbed both Scabbers and Crookshanks before going to see Dumbledore, that way they could go straight to wherever Dumbledore said they could do the ritual without backtracking all the way to the common room. With Scabbers in Ron's pocket and Crookshanks in his carrier, they went to the gargoyle statue that hid the staircase. Speaking the password, "Jelly Belly" the quartet ascended to the headmaster's office. When they entered, Dumbledore looked up from some papers on his desk.
"Oh, good morning. What can I do to help you four?" he asked in surprise.
Naruto then explained what he had with Ron. He even handed the sheets over to Dumbledore. What Ron didn't know was that Naruto had charmed the paper to rearrange the text as soon as he handed it to the headmaster so that way the real message would get across. With practice from his over a century of life, he didn't react to the news that Scabbers was truly Peter Pettigrew and Naruto was going to force him out of his transformation.
"I know this ritual. I helped Newt develop it," he said in that grandfatherly tone. "I always enjoyed watching him perform it. You may do it up here, if you like. Fawkes," he gestured to the phoenix perched off to his left, "won't startle, and I daresay we're far enough from the common rooms that the pets of the students shouldn't be effected."
"Thank you, Professor," Naruto said, keeping up his act. He removed 2 pieces of chalk and magicked them to start drawing two identical circles with what appeared to be ancient runes in it. It was a good thing Ron didn't take Runes or he would have been suspicious as they were just gibberish and had no connotations or relations to any of the known magics.
"Okay," he said. "First thing we must do, is stun them so they stay perfectly still. I promise Scabbers won't feel a thing," he cast a Stunner on Crookshanks first, before doing the same with the rat in Ron's hand. Seemed Pettigrew was too arrogant and thought he wouldn't be found out. "Good, now could I have you both please put them in the centers of the circles?" Having done that Ron and Hermione stepped back. "Sorry, Ron," Naruto said for what he was about to see.
The confusion in the redhead's eye turned to horror as the form of Scabbers started to bulge and bubble a bit before it grew almost exponentially and changed from a rat into a human. Ron was too stunned to say anything.
"Incarcerous," Naruto intoned, binding his ankles, knees, hands at his sides, and around his elbows across his chest. The man was wearing a grimy suit. His hair was thinning at the back and was unwashed. His nails were long and yellow. And his face was an oval shape with chubby cheeks and jowl. Naruto then summoned an ink pot and brush and used a skill that his godfather had taught him: Sealing. It was a form of Japanese rune magic. And the most basic one was the one that Naruto was applying – a suppression seal. As soon as the last mark was made, Naruto pressed the tip of his wand into it and it was in effect, he was cut off from his magic until he was released.
While Naruto did that, the rest of the people in the room had different reactions. Harry was stunned speechless. Ron was making sounds, attempting to form a coherent thought. Hermione was taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. And Dumbledore?
"My word, Peter Pettigrew, in the flesh. He was supposed to have died fifteen years ago," he commented, coming around from the back of his desk.
Naruto summoned an armchair from across the room, then manhandled Pettigrew into the chair. Yet more ropes jumped out of thin air and bound Pettigrew to the back of the chair.
"I cut him off from his magic, so I can counter the stunner whenever you want, professor," Naruto said. He motioned to Naruto to give him a minute. He then cast his Patronus and sent it down the stairs to summon other faculty members. He also turned to the fireplace and made a floo call. In the next few minutes, the office became more crowded.
From the faculty, McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape all answered the summons. From the floo came Amelia Bones and shortly thereafter, Cornelius Fudge. The reactions of each of the adults were wide and varied. McGonagall was shocked. Snape confused and then revulsion. Lupin looked like he had seen a ghost, and then was horrified. Amelia Bones was stunned speechless. Fudge had a constipated look on his face for some reason.
"What's the meaning of this, Albus?" Fudge asked, not recognizing the wizard bound in the chair.
"We're party to a resurrection, Cornelius," he stated. "This is Peter Pettigrew, the wizard that was alleged to have been murdered by Sirius Black."
"Truly?" he asked in surprised.
"I would never forget that face," Snape intoned, vaguely disguised disgust in his voice.
"I was friends with him in school," Lupin stated. "We were in Gryffindor together."
"Does that mean you went to school with Sirius Black and my parents then?" Harry asked Lupin, shocked and hurt.
"Yes, Harry. James was one of my friends as well," Lupin said, sadly. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Harry was stunned at the revelation. He was brought into a side hug by Hermione.
Ron finally found his voice, "You're telling me that man was Scabbers this whole time?" at Naruto's nod, his face contorted in disgust. "He's slept in my bed for thirteen years!" The dismay in his voice was palpable.
Naruto chose this moment to speak up. "So, this means that Sirius Black is innocent. Can't have murdered someone sitting right in front of us."
"Not quite," Amelia spoke up. "There were also twelve muggles murdered that night, as well as the fact that he was the Potters' secret keeper for the Fidelius Charm. He still betrayed them."
The blonde shook his head, "That doesn't add up. Something's missing," he said.
"Son," Fudge said trying to take control over the situation, "this is now going to be in the hands of the ministry. You can release your stunner and we'll take over handling."
The dismissive tone in Fudge's voice infuriated Naruto. It was the same superiority complex that these British wizards have. He dove into the recesses of his mind, recalling all the history he had studied up on before coming to the U. K. It hit him like a ton of bricks. "The Dark Mark. I'd bet 500 galleons he has it."
"I highly doubt you have the money to back that up," Fudge said.
"I do," Harry said. He was kind-of following along with where Naruto was going. "Check for the mark, if it's not there, I'll foot the bill"
Albus then looked at Snape, "Severus, if you could settle this for us?"
Snape stepped up to Pettigrew and rolled his left sleeve up before wrenching his forearm from being pressed against his side, to facing upwards. He then pulled out his wand and pressed the tip to the skin there. From the pale skin emerged a skull with a snake coming out like a tongue and looping around in a figure 8 before the head ended almost at his wrist.
Shocked gasps flooded the office. None louder than Lupin's. "I can't believe it. He was never on anyone's radar. He was the mole in Voldemort's circle. But wait. Then that could mean Sirius didn't-"
"He was already convicted of it," Fudge barked out, not liking where this line of thinking was heading. "There were no mistakes made in his trial!"
"What trial?" all eyes turned to the tall blonde standing next to Pettigrew, his piercing, glowing gaze staring down Fudge who started to turn a peculiar shade of red.
"What are you insinuating, young man?" he gritted out.
"I'm not insinuating anything. I'm stating a fact. There was no trial for Sirius Black," his defiance of authority was again raising its head. Most would be cowed by the mere title of Minister for Magic and the power that came along with it in the wizarding world.
Fudge's face was scarlet now and a vein throbbed on his forehead, a complete 180 compared to what he was when Harry had met him back at the end of summer break. "Listen here, I don't know who you think you are, boy, but I will not stand here and have you bad-mouthing the Ministry or me!"
Naruto squared his shoulders and stared down at the shorter man. "You can deny all you want, but I have proof you're lying," he said as he summoned from seemingly nowhere, a folder. A name was scrawled across the front: SIRIUS BLACK. "You see, when Black broke into Hogwarts, I reached out to my godfather. He's an intelligence gatherer and a chair for the ICW. I figured that there should be some info about Sirius Black that I could use to prepare to fight him if the need arose. This folder contains all the information on Sirius Black that your Ministry has on record. Nowhere in here are the transcripts of his trial nor a judgment. The events are that on the first of November, Sirius murdered Pettigrew and twelve no-maj, and on the second, he was in Azkaban for life. So, I ask again, what trial?"
Fudge was fuming, but silent, knowing he was caught in a web of the Ministry's own making. He refused to acknowledge the actions of his past Minister or his friend Barty Crouch, Snr, the one responsible for railroading Sirius into Azkaban without trial.
"Is that true?" Lupin growled out, eyes locking on the Minister. His anger spiked as his question was ignored.
"I have an idea," Naruto said. "How about you all speak with the dead man, and I'll bring Sirius here."
"You know where that madman is?! Are you hiding him?!" Fudge roared out. "Arrest this boy for aiding and abetting, Bones!"
Amelia looked torn as to what to do. Ultimately, however, she wasn't able to take any action as Naruto wandlessly cast Enervate on Pettigrew, causing him to jerk back to wakefulness. When all eyes shifted to focus on Pettigrew, Naruto used that time to sprint out of the office, looking almost as a blur with how fast he was going. He was already down the stairs before anyone was able to process it.
He had first thought that he would go get the Marauder's Map out of Harry's trunk, but he suspected that if anyone was sent after him, that's where they'd go first. No, if he wanted to find Sirius, he would go to where he knew he had been. It'd been almost eleven hours since he had been there, but without any weather, he might be able to track Sirius from his footprints in the snow. He instead made it to the area outside of the castle, close to where the Gryffindor common room was, and where he had seen Sirius' name pacing on the map the night before.
Upon arriving, he was confused to see no footprints, but paw prints from a canine. They had circled the area and crisscrossed the area a couple dozen times. But he was ultimately able to find a set of tracks leading away from the area that were entombed in the snow. It struck him then that Sirius was also an unregistered Animagus like Pettigrew. If what Lupin said was true and he was friends with Pettigrew back in school, he would have known about the man being an Animagus. It made even more sense when he considered Lupin is a werewolf. Having friends that could help with keeping his transformation from going out of control would have been their motivation for performing the arduous ritual.
While tracking the tracks, Naruto pulled out a compact mirror. This was an enchanted mirror that could communicate with any other mirror it was connected to. It had been developed in the U. S. just last year, and Jiraiya had given it to him as a means for him to keep in touch whenever he needed.
"Jiraiya," he spoke into the mirror, the screen rippling like water that had a rock dropped into it, but didn't calm. After what seemed like forever, but was only a minute, the mirror showed the image of his godfather looking at him, a tad annoyed.
"What do you need, brat? I'm a little busy right now," he said, his concentration moving away to gaze into a telescope that he had.
Naruto noted one thing that was nice, and that was that it was daytime wherever he was, so he wasn't across the ocean. Thank Merlin for small miracles. "I know you're just peeping on someone. Where are you at? Are you still in Europe?"
Jiraiya turned back to the mirror in heavier annoyance at being called out. He was indeed peeping. "I'm in France right now, kid. And for your information, there's this very pretty witch that I think is part Veela, she is my current inspiration for my next novel."
"Forget her for a moment. How soon can you get to Hogsmeade?"
The fact that Naruto didn't even ask to see what she looked like spoke volumes to Jiraiya. If he didn't want to even look, he knew it was important. "About three hours. I need to get the permit for the international portkey first and then-"
"Good. I'll see you in three hours then. And I need you ready to act in your full capacity as an ICW chair," Naruto said.
"Kid," Jiraiya's voice was grave, "what stupid thing have you done now?"
"Going up to bat for a convicted mass murderer."
The facepalm that Jiraiya performed was one for the ages. "God damn it, kid… Sirius Black?"
"Yep."
"Where's he at?"
"On his trail now."
"Son of a… Your mom is going to blow her lid when she hears about this. You know that, right?"
"I'll make sure to take the blame off of you," Naruto promised.
"When has that ever worked?!" Jiraiya demanded.
"There's a first time for everything."
The string of curses and expletives that left Jiraiya's mouth just served to add to Naruto's vocabulary at this point. "I'm on my way." And with that the mirror became just that, slipping it back into his pocket.
Naruto spent the better part of an hour tracking the footprints in the snow. He had been led into the Forbidden Forest. Once he had gotten far enough in, the intertwined canopy had stopped the snow from reaching the ground, and the light had been stolen, replaced with the dark. He had been following the paw prints through use of the normal Revelio. Ultimately, he found himself staring at the mouth of a cave. Looking into it, he could see an aura that was curled up in a ball. His eyes showed that he hadn't been followed either, so he raised the volume of his voice with Sonorous.
"Sirius Black," he called out, watching the balled-up aura shoot up alert, it was the shape of a large dog. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I'm a student at Hogwarts. I'm unarmed and not looking to fight. I just want to talk. I also know why you had broken into Hogwarts and attempted to gain entry to the Gryffindor common room on Halloween. I have captured Peter Pettigrew. When I left the castle, he was bound by my Incarcerous spell and was in Dumbledore's office with him, Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, and my friends Harry, Ron, and Hermione."
Seeing that the dog-shaped aura wasn't moving, he continued. "I know that you were never given a fair trial. That Bartemius Crouch, Snr had railroaded you into Azkaban. I also know that Lupin is a werewolf, and I know that you're an Animagus. I'd be willing to bet that you, Pettigrew, and James Potter all became Animagi to help Lupin with his transformations every full moon because you were all friends. And after seeing the dark mark branded upon Pettigrew's left arm, he was the one that betrayed your best friend."
Naruto knew that with any stand-off negotiation, he didn't want to overwhelm the other party. He gave time for Sirius to process what he had said so far. He was about to continue reasoning with the man on the run, but he saw the dog-shaped aura start to move closer to the entrance to the cave. He stood with his arms extended out to his sides, palms facing forward so Sirius could see that he was indeed unarmed as he came out. It took a few minutes, but eventually Sirius in his dog form made his way out of the cave. He could see the hesitation on his face, even as a dog.
"Look, I promise I am no threat. I know that doesn't mean a lot to you since you don't know me, but my words are my bond. I have two wands in holsters on my forearms. I will not reach for them at any time, but I can't allow you to take them," he stated, calmly, but firmly. He then watched as Sirius fully emerged from the cave before his form shifted seamlessly to his human form. He was a man of average height, his hair was long, black, and unkempt due to the bare minimum of care he was given during his imprisonment. He was gaunt, the fat and a fair bit of muscle had withered, leaving him mostly skin and bones. He was dressed in muggle clothing, obviously having shed his Azkaban outfit. The long trench coat hung off his frame giving it a size with nothing to back it up.
"Didn't think it would be an American that would speak up for me," his voice was hoarse, but soft. Women would call it charming; he would suppose.
"Let's just say that I have an opposition to authority, and an even bigger one to bullshit politics," he grinned at the man, still not lowering his arms.
"I've always had a soft spot for the stories about you yanks. Really wish I had the chance to visit before we started fighting Voldemort," he said. It was then that he noticed Naruto was still standing, essentially T-posing on him. "You can lower your arms, lad. I can tell you're being honest."
Naruto let his arms flop to his sides. "I gotta say, your picture in the Prophet is a little outdated."
"I heard about this new fad diet all the witches my age were trying, and I let it get out of hand," he quipped back.
Naruto stepped forward; his hand extended for a shake. Sirius reciprocated. "It's nice to formally meet you, Mr. Black. As I said, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."
"Sirius," he replied. "All my friends call me that."
"Very well, Sirius," he said as they released their hands. "So, I don't trust the British Ministry, especially after reading this file of information they had on you," he said producing the same file. "I contacted my godfather, who is an ICW wizard. He's going to be in Hogsmeade in a couple hours, which I think we can make if we head on out now. I'm going to have him put you under his custody so that Fudge and Bones can't do anything against you."
Sirius looked at him with a strange look, "You've thought this out, haven't you?"
Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "Blame my parents. When you start getting groomed to be essentially a secret agent from the age of four, you realize the games that they devised to have you play were more than just games."
"They sound better than my parents. My mother disowned me when I was sorted into Gryffindor and made friends with half bloods and muggle born," he smiled wryly at the blonde. "Well, best not to linger here longer than necessary. Let's get to Hogsmeade."
The trip back out of the Forbidden Forest was thankfully uneventful. Naruto had half-expected getting ambushed by Dementors if his penchant for getting into trouble was any indication. He took the time to learn a bit more about Sirius and the circumstances of his imprisonment along the way, as well as about Sirius as a person. Sirius changed back into his dog before they exited the woods to preserve his secret identity. They lingered outside of a building, staying out of the harsh winter wind until Jiraiya had contacted Naruto through his mirror informing him that he had rented a private room at the Three Broomsticks.
Upon entry to the room, Naruto was accosted by his godfather sending a barrage of stunning spells at him. It was wandless and silent, of course. Naruto replied in kind by deflecting them away and right back while launching his own at the older man. From Sirius' perspective, it looked like a duel of life and death, with Naruto and Jiraiya yelling at each other in Japanese. It ended as Jiraiya mimed yanking something back, and Naruto's right foot slid forward causing him to lose balance. In the next moment, Naruto was in a headlock and Jiraiya was grinding his knuckle into the crown of his head.
"Alright! Alright!" Naruto shouted in English, finally saying something that Sirius was able to understand. "I give up, can't you be serious for once?!"
"You are the one that called me for help," his English was proper, but had a very thick Japanese accent. "This dog is Sirius Black?" he asked, turning his attention to Jiraiya.
Sirius then transformed back into his human form. If he felt small next to Naruto who had him beat by half a head, Jiraiya may as well have been a giant. He stood even taller than Naruto, but it was enhanced by the old-fashioned wooden sandals that he wore, they easily gave him an extra three inches of height. His silver-gray hair cascaded down his back in the bushiest ponytail that Sirius had ever seen. He also had tattooed on his face, red lines that looked like tear tracks. He was cloaked in a thick traveling cloak, but with his arms separating the center opening, he could see he wore traditional Japanese clothing.
Sirius stepped forward, hand extended, "Sirius Black."
"Jiraiya. No family name." the much taller man shook the extended hand. He then turned to his godson. "You have a plan, I take it?"
Naruto nodded, and then explained his plan to return to Hogwarts and the Headmaster's office to confront Pettigrew with Sirius and to force the Ministry to act, instead of using their typical strategy of sweeping things under the rug. He even thought about Jiraiya using his power of being in the ICW to potentially bring up sanctions against the Ministry if need be. Jiraiya had agreed to throw his weight around if need be. He liked stirring up trouble as much as his godson. In the end, Sirius was reassured that he would not be returning to Azkaban or having the Dementor's kiss being enacted on him if he was with Jiraiya. They then left the pub, Sirius having been given a travelling cloak, but being allowed to walk freely to Hogwarts without having to revert to his dog form.
Naruto led the two men through the castle to the headmaster's office, once again speaking the password before ascending the stairs. Before they were halfway to the top, the sounds of shouting could be heard. Tempers seemed to be flaring, it had been close to four hours since he had left on his search for Sirius. When they crested the stairs, Naruto knocked on the door rather forcefully, interrupting the shouting. Dumbledore's wizened voice beckoned them inside.
Naruto strode in, followed by Jiraiya and Sirius. The addition of two more people was the first change that Naruto noticed, one a tall, muscular black man in bark blue and purple robes. The other was a rather short woman with bright purple hair that was dressed in regular street clothes and a long mauve coat. The room had become divided, Lupin and McGonagall were on one side with his two friends and girlfriend, the younger of the three were seated on a couch flanked by the older two. Pettigrew was still on the chair, and it looked like he had been crying while trying to escape the bonds if the raw skin around his wrists was any indication. Amelia and the two new arrivals stood close to Pettigrew, while Fudge tried to throw his weight and authority around, that had been what the yelling was about. Snape had placed himself off in his own corner, his scowl directed at everyone.
"That's Black! Aurors, arrest him and his student accomplice!" Fudge shouted upon seeing him.
However, none moved, but the youngest of the Aurors looked to her superiors to make sure that she wasn't supposed to make a move.
"That will not be necessary," the tallest in the room stated his thick accent very noticeable. Removing his traveling cloak had Fudge's complexion paling considerably upon seeing the badge that was affixed to the outside of his traditional kimono. It had ICW in gold with a circle below showing the crest of the ICW and below the circle was a white box with a 2 in it. "This man, Sirius Black, is in my custody. And until such time that he is released, you will not lay a hand upon him."
"Jiraiya! I haven't seen you at the last few meetings. How have you been, my friend?" Dumbledore asked, striding across the room to greet him with a handshake.
"I have been well, Albus. However, I have been less than impressed by your Ministry's actions regarding Sirius here," he then turned his gaze back to Fudge who looked to have broken out into a nervous sweat. "In fact, just obtaining the information on him for my godson," he gestured at Naruto, "has made me want to put a committee together to investigate all of your trials and convictions over the last twenty years."
"You… you have no right," Fudge tried and failed to bluster.
"I'm afraid," Dumbledore stated, "he does. When Magical Britain entered the ICW with the other eighty countries, we were bound by oaths. One being that any country can call as part of the council an investigation into another's so long as they have a majority vote and a specific scope of investigation that is not too broad."
"That's preposterous!" Fudge claimed, the sense of dread filling his stomach increasing by the minute.
"Before I decide on further action," Jiraiya stated, "I wish to know what has happened since my godson seemingly resurrected a dead man."
From there, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sirius were all advised as to what happened. Apparently, Snape had tried to track Naruto down at Dumbledore's request but hadn't managed to do so. Pettigrew had sung like a songbird to save himself. He claimed that he had been under the Imperius Curse. Then he claimed that he was tortured by the Death Eaters and they forced the Dark Mark on him. He even tried to say that he hid out as a rat for the last sixteen years because he was afraid for his life, and had chosen a safe family with the Weasleys as none of the Death Eaters would have thought to look for him there.
Lupin had questioned Pettigrew to try to get the truth out as he could tell that he was lying, having spent seven years with him in school, he knew him the best. Fudge had Amelia bring in the two other Aurors as help to transport the detained Pettigrew back to the Ministry of Magic to be held until the Wizengamot could be held so he could be tried. When questioned about calling off the hunt for Sirius, Fudge had stated that he was still a murderer with twelve muggles to his name, and that the kiss-on-sight order would remain in effect. McGonagall had kept the three students in line.
Fudge had attempted to transport Pettigrew back to the Ministry before Naruto's return. Likely to start on a cover-up. When he didn't get his way, he started threatening everyone for various things. It was something to watch a grown man throw a tantrum like a toddler for nearly two hours before finally calming down for a bit, only to start back up again just before Naruto and Jiraiya's return. Dumbledore had faith that the blonde young man, after not having been found, was going to return with the very man that now stood amongst them.
"Well then," Jiraiya's accented voice broke the silence, "it seems like I'm indeed going to have to start an investigation into the Ministry's civil rights violations in regard to the trials of any suspected Death Eaters that may have been sentenced or may have been freed."
Fudge's face paled considerably. While it wasn't his Ministry that had handled those trials, there are members of his current Ministry that did. It was an open secret that a lot of dark witches and wizards had paid to be freed, or have charges dropped. And while Fudge wasn't the Minister at the time, he was high up in the Ministry when it went on and was privy to the verdicts. This will call into question his integrity. Which would put him under scrutiny, and his dirty laundry would be aired, potentially his prejudice of non-purebloods.
"As for Mr. Black," Jiraiya began, "he will remain in my custody until his trial is ready. And I elect Albus to be his steward. He shall be housed here at Hogwarts in a private dwelling under heavy warding to monitor him and any visitors that will come and go. My godson can handle making the wards. He is familiar with the ones I would use. This is agreeable?" he turned to Sirius.
"It beats going back to Azkaban or being in the Ministry's holding cells," Sirius smirked. "I do have one request though," he said his eyes turning to Harry, softening immensely. "I would like for my godson, Harry, to have unrestricted access to see me."
End Chapter 11
A/N: A little slow-paced this chapter, but necessary. I have taken some liberties about the ICW, made them have more of a United Nations-type presence. Next chapter will be Harry-focused. I'm hitting the hay, I'll be back with the next one soon.