A/N: So, I've noticed that I personally am not receiving new chapter notifications to my email despite me having turned it on and renewed it again. So if people miss this update, or even the last, I understand. Hope y'all see it though! It's a pleasure to have you along on this journey with me. Like last chapter, this changed from what I envisioned it as. I had the startling realization that I do not know how to do a well-formed court procedural sequence. At least any that would make sense to anyone else besides myself. So, it was shortened and I was left with this! I'm happy with it, but I feel I could be happier with it, but not sure how to make it so. Oh well!

RonaldM40196867: Spells I hate? Hmmm… Imperius Curse for sure. I'm all about free will, and anything that takes it away is a problem. Cruciatus Curse specifically due to Bellatrix torturing Hermione with it in book 7. Surprisingly, don't hate Avada Kedavra.

Guest932: Great questions! I'll give you a peek behind the curtain so-to-speak: Naruto doesn't actually know why Minato is acting the way he is. He just thinks he does. Kushina does know. I'll just say that neither Minato nor Kushina are able to actually tell Naruto why. Trust me, when I resolve that plot point, it'll come full circle.

Happy fan: Glad I was able to answer your question before! As far as Naruto being related to Tamamo no Mae, I had tossed that idea around myself and I haven't decided on that. It can still be a possibility, but I don't know just yet. Let's both see how it unfolds in the future!

WindyCitySlayer1: Haha! Thanks! Wasn't necessarily going for Gator, but I can see it! Maybe this chapter addresses something you mentioned as well.

thor94: Yep! Trial was moved to this chapter. And further shortened, unfortunately. But! Still satisfying in its own right.

Elchabon: Thank you! This "book" marks Ino's first appearance, I have 3 total planned appearances throughout. This chapter will give you a glimpse of how she is an agent of chaos in this story, and you might be able to infer further plot points from it.

Krieger Techpriest: That was pretty much the reaction that I was going for throughout! Glad I succeeded with at least one of y'all!

Its-Mitch-O: There's going to be some major, major changes due to Naruto's involvement. Plots from canon that must be changed to continue to be valid. GoF is still going to have Voldemort's resurrection, who's going to do that now that Pettigrew is captured? We'll have to see!

BoltSamIam: Hope this starts to satisfy your desires to see some Ministry teardown.

NewRadcarl504: Thank you for your sentiment!

Chapter 13: Words as Weapons

Naruto and Ino hadn't had any time to reacquaint themselves with each other before the Wizengamot convened to have what was sure to be a spectacle. Upon entering and getting seated, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, called the session to order. After explaining what the hearing was about for the record, the hearing was convened. And as soon as it was convened, the Ministry had been on the attack.

Their side had started off swinging, calling for Sirius' execution, painting the whole thing as a farce. They contended that Sirius was crazy, using the mugshot that he had taken of him a decade and a half prior as proof. They laid out their argument plainly, even using the procedure to assassinate the character of Sirius, Harry, and Naruto himself. As the Ministry hounded against them, none of the men had any reaction to it. Naruto found himself gazing about the chambers at the members of the Wizengamot that were present, searching to see if any of the members were known to him. He saw a man that could only be Draco's father, the resemblance was uncanny. He also spotted Artemis as well, shocked that the man he just met was also in this chamber as well, observing the goings-on in his capacity of a Lord, preparing to cast his vote upon completion of the trial.

Naruto had to give it to the solicitor that was trying Sirius, he put on some impressive courtroom theater. Jiraiya's rebuttal by comparison was not nearly as entertaining. That was okay, though. Not everything had to be a spectacle. But he was sure that there was a reason Jiraiya brought Ino in on the trial. And if he knew his childhood friend half as well as he thought he did, that would be a spectacle in and of itself.

As the trial shifted, it seemed that the play by the Ministry was going to concede and vacate the conviction of murder of Peter Pettigrew, but they still contended the twelve muggles' death on him as well as the Potters'. Naruto was impressed by Sirius' stony-faced reactions to the accusations leveled at him, keeping cool under pressure was paramount in this kind of situation. The years in Azkaban had to have made for good practice.

During the opening arguments, Naruto could feel Ino's eyes on him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her eyeing him up and down. The years had done them both well, she was much more developed than she had been 4 years ago. Seemed she was taking notice of him as well. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she started teasing him again. He watched as she smirked and then her lone visible eye snapped to his looking at her. The quiet groan of despair was the only indication Naruto made knowing that Ino was in his mind unabated. Seemed she was even more subtle with her probes. He hadn't even noticed her presence in his mind.

'That's right, Naruto-kun,' his eyes widened in surprise at her voice now echoing in his mind. Telepathy?! 'Right again,' the mental giggle that echoed alongside his inner voice was embarrassing to him. To think that his innermost thoughts were so public to her still despite his training was disheartening.

'You should have realized when we were kids, you'd always be naked before me. I know all your dirty little secrets. You'll have to introduce me to Hermione, she seems like such a sweetheart, and so strong-willed as well. Think she'll let me take you for a tussle in the sheets?' The thoughts and imagery that his mind conjured were in no way influenced by Ino. And had it been any other time, the faint blush on his face wouldn't have appeared. However… 'You sure are a naughty boy. Thinking about your friend you haven't seen in all these years that way… Maybe we can put that imagination to the test? Perhaps bring your pretty, little girlfriend in on it too? Been a while since I shared a man with another woman. Could be fun.'

Naruto groaned again. She still seemed to enjoy teasing him just as if they were kids, but she became more explicit and unabashed if the sexy smirk on her face as she looked at him was any indication. An involuntary shiver ran up his spine as he felt Ino's presence become apparent and caress him in the most intimate way he could ever be touched as she pulled away. It almost felt like Ino had also planted a kiss as well upon her exit. He turned to look at her fully and watched as the smirk changed to a self-satisfied smile as she winked at him – how he could tell that when she had her other eye covered, he wasn't sure. He watched as she reached over and patted his thigh a couple of times before retracting her hand, returning it to her lap to be folded demurely.

If Naruto hadn't practiced hiding his emotions, a constipated look would have been the expression that he wore. Small miracles.

Turning back to the trial, it seemed they were debating the alleged investigation that had happened. Seems they weren't yet at the part where they'd be trying to assassinate his character yet. Still wasn't looking forward to that. He had an inkling as to the line of questioning that he was going to go through that was going to call into question the validity of his testimony. Hopefully Jiraiya was prepared for that.

It wasn't much longer that the first to testify was brought up. Naruto was surprised by the person. It was the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch, Sr. The playbook of dodge, deflect, and deny was in full swing with the testimony as well as the cross-examination of the former DMLE Head. Naruto did become impressed at Jiraiya's ability to weave a web as he caught Barty in a lie a couple of times, much to the man's consternation. However, it seemed that Barty's testimony had little effect on the gathered Wizengamot. Or they all were just that skilled at hiding their emotions.

When Crouch was released from the stand, Naruto was the next to be called. As he walked up to take the stand, he glanced at Jiraiya's notepad that was pushed to the edge of the table and a word was underlined 3 times: Veritaserum. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what Jiraiya was getting at, but he would keep the word in mind, knowing what he was referencing. He took the stand and after being sworn in, the solicitor started in on him.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Is it safe to say that without your so-called 'investigation'," the man whose name he refused to learn put in air quotes, "we wouldn't even be here today?"

"I suppose," Naruto answered.

"And why exactly do you feel the need to drag Mr. Crouch's name and reputation through the mud?"

"I don't, it's-"

"You don't? Weren't you the one who told your godfather," he pointed at Jiraiya here who looked nonplussed, "to dig into Sirius Black?"

"I did. I want-"

"Is it because you heard that such an infamous dark wizard had escaped and you wanted to meet up with him because you're a dark wizard yourself?" Naruto just stared at the man like he was an idiot but said nothing as murmuring seemed to breakout amongst the Wizengamot and gallery. "Answer the question Mr. Uzumaki," he commanded.

"Can I? You've interrupted my last two answers," Naruto stated.

"Yes, you can answer."

"I'm not a dark wizard."

"Your home country seems to think otherwise."

"Do they now?"

"Oh yes," the solicitor started. "In fact you were expelled from May Hoe Toe Caro for that exact reason."

"Mahoutokoro."

"What?"

"If you're going to say the name, say it right, gaijin," Naruto scoffed. He saw Ino cover her mouth to hide her smile and quiet giggle. Jiraiya rolled his eyes in exasperation.

The solicitor narrowed his eyes at him, "Do you not deny they expelled you for being a dark wizard?"

"Oh, no, I do deny that."

"Then why is it written here in your official student file?"

"Japan is very traditional, more so than Britain in some ways."

"We don't need a history lesson, Mr. Uzumaki."

"Then you'll never understand what's really behind that expulsion."

"We know all we need to. You were expelled for practicing dark magic. And you saw that Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban and you wanted to learn more dark magic from him. So you fabricated your whole claim about him not having a trial to hope to free him so you can learn from him and take advantage of his restored position as Lord Black."

"Pretty story. Did Fudge or Skeeter come up with it?"

"So you deny this too?"

"Obviously."

"And what proof do you have to offer to counter?"

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction in realization. "I'll take Veritaserum."

The solicitor grinned viciously, having hoped to fish that exact response out of Naruto, "Oh you will? Even when it has been documented that Veritaserum isn't as effective when taken willingly or consciously? And is even less effective when taken by someone versed in Occlumency, like you yourself are? We would never be able to trust a single word out of your mouth!" the solicitor then calmly walked to his table and sat down. A glance at Fudge, who was in the room, showed that he also supported a satisfied smirk on his face, pleased with the outcome.

Jiraiya stood up next, also smiling happily. He strode over to stand before Naruto before speaking. "You asserted that you would take Veritaserum as you are not lying and have such conviction in your truth that you would submit to such a potent potion. So, I must ask, would you submit yourself to a spell recently created that would go two steps further and would broadcast your memories to the entire Wizengamot and gallery to prove its veracity?"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya in shock, then glanced at Ino sitting in the gallery, seeing her wave at him knowingly. Before he could answer, the solicitor jumped to his feet, a look of panic on his face.

"Objection! Even if there was such a spell, we still could not trust it as he's an Occlumency master! He could manipulate the memory to suit his narrative," he claimed. It was a solid argument.

"This is a technique that was developed two years ago by the heiress of the Yamanaka clan of Japan. It has been used since across the globe and has led to the apprehension and incarceration of 131 dark witches and wizards," Jiraiya explained. "Even proving the claims that several had made about being forced to commit dark acts while under the Imperius Curse."

There were some subtle rumblings throughout the Wizengamot. It was an open secret that many serving on it had claimed the same and with a… donation… they were not convicted in their own trials.

"Overruled," Amelia had responded. "I am familiar with this technique and have read the reports on it as well as the trials in which it has been used. It is accepted after rigorous testing that this technique gives an irrefutable look into the memories of the person the spell is cast upon," she turned to Jiraiya. "I assume you have a member of the Yamanaka clan here to perform this technique?"

"Better," Jiraiya said as he turned and gestured to Ino who stood up. "I have brought the inventor of this spell."

A flurry of chatter broke out in the room as Ino stepped forward at Jiraiya's gesture.

"This is Ino Yamanaka, and she is the inventor of the spell I have described."

"Miss Yamanaka, maybe you can shed some insight to your spell?"

"I, ah, am not so good in English," she spoke and her accent was even thicker than Jiraiya's. "May I do different spell first?" Amelia nodded and gestured for her to do so. Ino instead walked over to stand next to Naruto, sat upon the chair at the center of the stage. She reached out, cupping both of Naruto's cheeks before pulling him into a searing kiss.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock at her actions. Didn't think he'd be having a snog in a courtroom today. Wouldn't have even been in the top fifty things he thought could have happened today. His surprise was interrupted by a surge and wave of magic that started in his brain, traveled down to his throat and then out of his mouth and into Ino's. A few seconds later, Ino pulled away and smirked at him.

"I apologize for the public display of affection," Ino said, voice completely devoid of accent. Well, to Naruto's ears. To the Brits, she sounded just like Naruto when he spoke, like a yank. "This is another technique that I had developed, but only recently. I used magic to copy Naruto's way of speech with English and implant it into my brain."

"Remarkable!" Amelia stated with wide eyes. "Does it have to be performed with a kiss?"

"No, but that's the fastest way to get it to work," she smiled at her. "Now, where was I? Oh yes, the memory display technique I created," she then reached into a satchel that Naruto hadn't noticed prior. She pulled out a long metal stand, that folded out into a tripod with another tripod on the other end as well pointing at the ceiling. "This technique will take the memories from the subject, and cast them," here she waved her hand at the stand and Naruto saw the magic flow from her hand to it. She then pulled out a large waterskin that was promptly uncorked and with a gesture of her hand again, the water flowed out and coalesced in an orb about four feet across, "in this orb for everyone to be able to view."

Another wave of murmurs made its way through the room, clearly intrigued by the process.

"Now, what I like to do to prove the veracity of this technique is to have the subject think of a memory, usually with one that can be backed up by someone else that was with them in attendance. Since Naruto and I have history, I can vouch for pretty much any memory up until he was expelled from Mahoutokoro. So, Naruto, think back to your twelfth birthday party," she smiled viciously at the blonde man.

"You promised you wouldn't tease me about that anymore!" Naruto's face was cherry red in embarrassment.

"You're right. But what I want you to do is protect that memory with all your Occlumency skills so I can demonstrate that I will be able to get past any mental defense with this technique, even when it's one that you desperately want to keep to yourself."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and shot a furious look at Jiraiya and Sirius who were seated next to each other, Jiraiya having yielded the floor to Ino, "You both are going to owe me for life." He then raised his fingers to his temples as a focus for his mental defenses.

"Is there anyone that knows Legilimency that would like to attest to Naruto's mental defenses?"

"I will," Naruto recognized the voice as belonging to Artemis, who approached and started to try to probe his barriers. Naruto easily rebuffed his attempts even as they increased in intensity every time. "My word. Those defenses are exceptional, I do believe you'll be in for a run for your money, Ms. Yamanaka."

The involuntary snort from Naruto caused her to smile. "Now everyone, watch the orb."

The entire Wizengamot and gallery were privy to watching Naruto's memory from his perspective. They watched as Naruto had exited the shower attached to his room at his house in Japan, towel wrapped around his waist. He was cursing up a storm, but the words were translated to English via the technique. Naruto was cursing all his friends for not remembering his birthday. He then made his way through the halls of his house, his thoughts revealing that he wanted a drink. Going to his fridge he pulled out a carton of milk before unscrewing the cap and tilting it back to drink straight from the container. He called for his mom and dad, but only got silence. He decided to investigate and walked to the living room looking for them, taking another drink of milk while he went. As he stepped into the darkened room, the light flashed on, causing him to flinch and watch in horror as all his family and friends – including Ino, notably – yelled out surprise just as his towel came undone, leaving him, appropriately, in his birthday suit in front of them all. It was only a couple seconds later that the memory stopped projecting for all to see.

Naruto's face was ablaze in anger and embarrassment. He hated remembering that memory. He was just thankful that Ino stopped projecting before the laughter started.

"As you can see, even the most embarrassing memories are not safe from me or my technique," Ino said proudly. "Now, to settle the attempted assassination of Naruto's character, I'll now have Naruto think back to his expulsion and the events that led up to it."

Again, they saw a 12-year-old Naruto – clothed this time – performing his fifth-year promotion test at Mahoutokoro and then being tricked by the Djinn that then cursed him, as well as his subsequent expulsion.

Jiraiya stood then, "As you can all see, Mr. Uzumaki is decidedly not a dark wizard. Just a victim of a Djinn's curse for behaving as any child would when he was offered a blessing from what was believed to be an Ayakashi. Mr. Uzumaki is a victim of a system that failed him, and he only wants this system that failed Mr. Black to acknowledge their misdeeds," he then turned to the solicitor. "I will now be calling Mr. Black to testify on his behalf. And we will all see exactly what happened regarding the Potters, the twelve muggles, and the alleged trial that he was given."

And that was exactly what happened. Over the next hour, Sirius memories about swapping the Fidelius Charm's Secret Keeper to Pettigrew as he was the least obvious choice, and therefore safer. Sirius' arrival on his flying motorcycle and finding James and Lily dead and Harry crying with the still bleeding scar. Then they saw him handing Harry over to Hagrid before leaving in a flurry of regret, confusion, anger, and sadness to go hunt down Pettigrew. It then showed his hunt and confrontation of Pettigrew, they watched as Pettigrew was the one who cut off his own finger and caused the magical explosion that killed the 12 innocent muggles. The memory then showed Sirius being apprehended by Aurors before showing the biggest damning piece of the story. Outside of any of the Wizengamot chambers, outside of an official trial, Crouch played judge and jury against Sirius and sentenced him to life in Azkaban. The memories concluded showing Sirius being hauled into Azkaban.

The silence that followed was deafening. Jiraiya stood up, and despite quietly clearing his throat, it was louder than a Bombardment Spell. "Defense rests."

Ino quickly dismantled her set up and funneled the water back into the waterskin, she then shuffled off to rejoin Naruto in the gallery, grabbing his hand for comfort as she had seen more than what was just projected by her technique over the last hour.

It was several minutes later that Amelia turned to the solicitor for the Ministry, anger painted on her face. "Do you have anything else for Mr. Black?" the vitriol in her voice was blatant. She had never seen such a heinous and blatant disregard for the justice system they prided themselves on.

The solicitor stood and opened his mouth as if to say something. He then did an impression of a fish, opening and closing his mouth, looking to Fudge for instruction on how to proceed. The Minister, just like everyone else, was stunned into silence. When he was unable to get further direction, he sat back down. "No, ma'am. Prosecution rests as well."

Amelia nodded and turned to face Sirius, "Mr. Black. There is nothing that I can say to give you back the last fifteen years of your life that was wrongfully taken from you. I urge you to file your own grievance as soon as possible for restitution. I am vacating your conviction and expunging it from your record. You are free, Lord Black. Dismissed," a loud bang echoed in the chamber, jolting everyone from their stupefaction. Naruto and Ino stood and made their way over to Jiraiya as well as Sirius. They watched Jiraiya walk over to Cornelius Fudge, grabbing the Minister's attention. They couldn't help but eavesdrop as the Japanese wizard reached into his robes, producing a notice.

"Please note that the ICW has determined that an investigation into Magical Britain's handling of the trials of alleged Death Eaters has been called for. A commission has been formed, headed by me. We will be looking into all cases that deal with trials of alleged Death Eaters both convicted and not. My commission will be starting its investigation tomorrow," he said, as the Minister reluctantly took the notice.

As the three others watched on, they were approached, "Naruto."

The three spun to see Artemis standing behind them, "Artemis," Naruto greeted, grasping the man's extended hand.

"I just wanted to congratulate you, Ms. Yamanaka, and Sirius on your win today. I had my doubts about the conviction all those years ago, as I had not been called to be privy to it, but I had no evidence to call it into question. I apologize, Sirius," he bowed his head in apology.

"It's okay. At least justice has prevailed this day and I'm now a free man again," he smirked back in his roguish way.

"I'll send an owl in the next few days. Allow me to help you gain restitution from your false imprisonment," the blonde man offered.

"Thank you, I would appreciate it."

Artemis then turned to Naruto and sized him up again. "I may have been wrong about you before," he started referring to their conversation a couple hours prior. "Give me some time, and I will see about doing something regarding that matter we discussed prior."

Naruto smiled, "Thank you, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear she's able to make her own way."

"Just," he started, grasping Naruto's hand, "keep it between us for now. And for the record, if she does choose you, I'll be more than happy to call you son."

That remark caused both Sirius and Ino to look at Naruto intrigued.

"She'll definitely appreciate hearing it from you more than me," Naruto grinned his goofy grin back as they released the handshake.

As the older blonde man walked away, Ino leaned into Naruto's side and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "What's that all about? Hmmm?"

"Just a discussion between men, nothing to be concerned about."

"You know I can just as easily get that info from your head, right?" Ino smirked at him.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?"

"True!" Ino laughed as Jiraiya joined back up with them.

All four took the floo back to Hogwarts, Ino wanting to see the famous school, as well as meet Naruto's friends and girlfriend. Naruto led his bubbly blonde friend off while Jiraiya, Sirius, and Dumbledore went to Sirius' quarters so the man could start packing his meager belongings and prep for his return to his ancestral home.

"What is next in your plans now that you're a free man, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked.

"First, I'm going to reclaim my family home, since I'm reinstated as Lord Black. Since it's been largely uninhabited since my mother passed, I suspect I'll need to do some major cleaning. Might even be some pests to eradicate, so I'll reach out to Remus and invite him to come stay with me. It'll be great to hang around with him again. Gotta make sure that the house is ready for Harry after all!" he remarked cheerfully.

"Ready for Harry?" Dumbledore queried.

"Of course! I'm his godfather! He's going to come live with me after the school year. I promised him that he won't have to return to his Aunt and Uncle if he didn't want to. He was so happy to hear it! Ah, this will be so fun! I'll teach him all I know, we'll go see some sights, maybe cozy up with some pretty witches… Lily would hex me to hell and back for suggesting that, but that's my role as a godfather! Have to corrupt him!" he laughed, a large smile splitting his face.

"Perhaps you're rushing into this, Sirius. I mean, you just became a free man. Wouldn't you like to get out and stretch your legs on your own a bit? I believe an excursion to the Bahamas would be appropriate for you, just relax on the beach and enjoy your newly found freedom for a bit," the wizened wizard suggested.

"Oh! The Bahamas! Harry would love it there! That'll be a great trip for us this summer! Thanks for the suggestion, Albus!" Sirius gushed, still on cloud nine, not picking up Dumbledore's tone.

"I implore you, Sirius. Won't you reconsider?" as soon as the words left his mouth, the room was bathed in a flashing red light that flashed three times.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and pointed at the door, his eyes hardened and focused on Dumbledore. The two other men in the room turned to see what Jiraiya was pointing at. Their reactions were different. Dumbledore stiffened slightly, and Sirius took several steps away from the ancient wizard, eyes full of distrust aimed at him.

On the door, in magical lettering read 'Albus Dumbledore's Suggestion Charm was stopped by the ward.'

End Chapter 13

A/N: And this chapter starts to allude to that theory I mentioned some chapters ago about the theory that Dumbledore isn't as good as he makes himself out to be. There is going to be tension and strain now with all interpersonal relationships with Dumbledore. I will give a small spoiler for OotP: There will not be a Dumbledore's Army. The entity will exist, but the name will forever be changed due to Dumbledore's actions. That's all I have to say for now! See you next time! (And hopefully you get the notification that I updated!)