Arcturus returned home to find Sirius in the sitting room, pacing.
"Oh good, you're back," Sirius said with a sigh of relief. "Well? How did it go?"
"Yeah, how did the trial go?" Regulus asked, walking into the room, with Melania right behind him.
"Good, and bad," Arcturus answered. "She was found not guilty, but there are other issues as well. Melania, Sirius, could both of you please come into my office with me?"
Both nodded and walked into Arcturus' office. Regulus decided to do his last bit of holiday homework, seeing as they were going back to Hogwarts the next day.
When Sirius, Arcturus, and Melania were in the office, Melania immediately spoke.
"What happened, Arcturus?" she asked worriedly.
Arcturus took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking. "Barty Crouch oversaw the trial, as expected," he began. "He started out seeming like he'd be fair, but of course, that did not last."
Sirius snorted. "Of course not," he muttered. "What did he do?"
"Lady Bones wanted to see the memory of Bellatrix killing Voldemort, so I asked for everyone to swear to secrecy," Arcturus explained. "Mr. Crouch was about to perform the oath when I realized he was not going to take one himself. So I asked him to do so, and he was not pleased, but he did take one anyway, thank Merlin. If he had not, I believe he would have leaked the memory to the press, and I would have been in the Daily Prophet by tomorrow morning. But that was not all. When questioning Bellatrix under Veritaserum, he started asking her questions about getting reinstated into the family, which had NOTHING to do with the case at hand."
"He's always gotten off topic in the original timeline," Sirius stated. "Sorry, I forgot to warn you about that possibility."
"That is quite alright," Arcturus said. "I stopped him before he could go too far with his off-topic questioning. When the Wizengamot ruled that Bellatrix was not guilty, Mr. Crouch announced that she has to pay a one thousand galleon fine."
"Wait, but she was found NOT guilty!" Melania exclaimed in horror.
"Where is she going to get that money from?" Sirius asked. "I mean, she doesn't belong to any family anymore, and she doesn't have a job, so how in Merlin's name is she supposed to pay ONE THOUSAND galleons?!"
"I'm wondering that too," Melania added.
"That is why I wanted to talk to both of you immediately," Arcturus replied. "I think the three of us can agree that it is still too early to reinstate Bellatrix into the family, correct?"
"Correct," Melania said with a nod.
"Yes, too soon," Sirius agreed.
"My thoughts exactly," Arcturus said, but he was rudely interrupted by the only portrait in the room.
"What is this about reinstating someone?" Phineas asked.
"Phineas, why aren't you at Hogwarts?" Melania asked.
Phineas huffed. "That office is so boring when no one's in there for two weeks."
"Well, we do not need your assistance with deciding family matters," Arcturus said, not really wanting to hear Phineas' opinions.
"If it's about Bellatrix, I'd suggest you reinstate her. You were quick to disown her immediately when you found out she had an object with black magic," Phineas stated.
Arcturus sighed. "You know as well as I do that when a Black has an object with black magic, that means that member is immediately disowned," he reminded him.
Phineas scowled. "Fine, whatever you say, Arcturus," he said with clear irritation. "Your father was right. You've always been very different from the rest of us."
"You can go now, Grandfather," Arcturus said, also starting to get irritated.
"Alright, fine, but if you ever need any help, I will be in my portrait at Hogwarts, and I am not coming back over here today," Phineas snapped, turning and leaving his portrait.
"I will not need his help," Arcturus stated after he had left. "I know how to run this family just fine."
Sirius grinned. "So, what were you going to say?"
"Oh yes," Arcturus said, getting back on topic. "As I was saying, we need to come up with a way that we can help Bellatrix. I am not just going to give her one thousand galleons. No, it was not right that she was fined when she was found not guilty, but the fact of the matter is, she was fined, and so she needs to earn that money. She will not be getting money from the House of Black just because."
Melania spoke next. "What if she works for one of the families, to test her, and she can earn money that way?"
"Yeah, we could test her loyalty and all that, and she could also earn the money," Sirius agreed with his grandmother.
Arcturus nodded. "That could work," he said. "I will get in touch with the Potters and see if they would like Bellatrix's assistance with anything, and see if they would agree to this. If not, there are other families I could ask."
"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Excellent idea. I can contact Dorea and ask for her opinion," Melania offered. "She knows the Potters much better than we do."
"If she agrees that the House of Potter could use Bellatrix's assistance, I will contact Lord Potter," Arcturus said. "I know him very well from the Wizengamot, but this will be the first time this is not a Wizengamot matter."
Melania nodded. "Good. It's settled then. I'll write to Dorea immediately."
"If this works out, James will have a lot to say on our way back to Hogwarts," Sirius said with a grin.
"I do not know if we will have anything sorted out by tomorrow, but if or when it is finalized, I am sure James will have plenty to say about it," Arcturus remarked. Their meeting ended there, and they went back into the sitting room, where Regulus had just finished his last homework assignment.
The next day, Sirius and Regulus met with the other Marauders on the Hogwarts Express.
"How was your holiday?" Lily asked as they settled into a compartment.
"Eventful," Severus responded first.
"Yeah Lily, have you heard about what happened?" James asked.
"No, I didn't," Lily said, confused. "Remember, I live in the Muggle World, so I don't know about anything unless someone writes to me."
Sirius, Regulus, Severus, James, Capella, and Lyanna explained to the others that they might not have known what happened the night of the Black Family New Year Ball.
"Bellatrix KILLED him?!" Lily exclaimed excitedly. "That's amazing!"
"I heard something about it, but nothing in detail," Remus spoke up.
"Same here," Alice and Mary said in unison.
"Wait, what were you doing at that ball, James?" Lily asked.
"I'm related to the Blacks, remember?" James asked. Lily blushed.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "Do you always go to their balls?"
"Not always, but sometimes I do," James replied. "Their new Year Ball is much more fun than the Potter one." Everyone laughed.
As they got closer to Hogwarts, they talked about what they hoped they would achieve this term, and more about their holiday break.
Sirius and Regulus planned to speak with Yeoman as soon as they could, to tell him what they had discovered about the white cane during the holiday break. They knew that Arcturus was already talking with his connections and with the rest of the Hogwarts staff, but they decided to tell Yeoman themselves. They hoped that what they found would help him.
Author's note: I know, we've been away from Hogwarts for several chapters now. I know some prefer seeing the Marauders all together at Hogwarts, but I needed to address some Black Family business. So, if you like seeing the Black Family, I hope you enjoyed the past several chapters! If you were hoping to go back to Hogwarts, no worries! They are back at Hogwarts now, and you will see a lot more Marauders now.