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Chapter 5: Book 3 - Complete

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Someone, for there was definitely someone out there, knocked on the Menagerie gates again, leaving another package and disappearing before I could spot them.

I felt like this was some kind of reward, gaining the skills of an expert Hunter from the Menagerie after tracking down Pettigrew and capturing him.

After scaring the crap out of Pettigrew with my Wraith, I took his wands (for he was carrying Voldemort's wand as well, likely taken from Godric's Hollow twelve years ago) and had the Wraith carry him through the halls, using the borrowed map to avoid scaring any students. We made our way to Dumbledore's office, where the man was doing some paperwork, and I dropped Pettigrew in a chair in front of his desk bound by my cloak. That thing is surprisingly useful. Even outside its ability to fly.

If Dumbledore looked shocked upon recognising who I had just brought him, it was only matched by his visible disappointment when I slammed the two wands on his desk, in a way reminiscent of when I brought him Ravenclaw's diadem.

Then Dumbledore got angry, something I found interesting to see. Between the fact that Pettigrew was alive, and so something clearly wasn't right with the events surrounding Sirius Black, and he'd been in the school for years, found out when I told him about Pettigrew being a rat animagus, the old headmaster decided to skip waiting for Snape's stash of veritaserum and simply read his mind.

"An absolute disaster," Dumbledore lamented after he was done, and Pettigrew was trying to clutch at his head in pain. "Sirius Black did none of what he was accused of, nearly twelve years ago. He was no secret keeper for the Potters' home, nor did he kill anyone the night he found Pettigrew here." The man leaned back in his chair and looked over to Fawkes, who was perched on my shoulder and started singing. "An innocent man was sent to Azkaban for life… and I was party to it."

"What happened back then?" I wondered. "Black was imprisoned after the war had officially ended, right?"

For the first time since I met him, Albus Dumbledore looked his age. "Oh, I wish I could say yes, but things are never so simple on a governmental level." His eyes grew distant, looking upon old memories. "Voldemort had been killed, yes, but I don't think day had yet broken after the Potter's were killed that Sirius was arrested. I remember when Hagrid brought me young Harry, so I could place him with his muggle relatives. He had borrowed a flying motorcycle from Sirius to reach Surrey so quickly. I didn't think much of it then, and needed to set up the protection magics around Harry.

"I was still trying to reign in celebrations when Sirius was arrested, and I'm ashamed to say that I fell into trap of painting the Black family with the same brush," he explained. "I ask you to understand; I've never been able to say that Sirius Black was a well-adjusted individual. While he openly hated his family, bar perhaps one or two members, he could still be cruel and vindictive in his own ways. One of his more memorable moments had him leave hints for another student that would cause them to come across Remus Lupin during the night of a full moon, despite the safety measures I put in place during the boy's schooling. The student would have died if not for the timely interruption of James Potter, who had figured out what was going on."

"So going mad and laughing that he killed the Potters…" I lead, making him nod.

The Menagerie gates opened, letting in another menagerie of creatures. First came a purple sheep with black wool, two horns sparking arcs of electricity between themselves. Then came a cat, a piglett, a bunny, a snake, a crab-like thing, a weasel, and a ball of fluff.

"It wasn't too much of a stretch. Not when two of his cousins and his own younger brother had joined Voldemort, if not personally, then indirectly, such as with Narcissa Malfoy née Black." Dumbledore sighed again, eyeing the man who was beginning to regain his wits in the chair. With a wave of his wand, a bright, spectral phoenix came into existence and flew down the staircase to the office. "I've sent for Remus. He was close friends with James, Sirius, and Pettigrew during their school years. He deserves to know the truth before I call for law enforcement."

I nodded idly, only somewhat paying attention. The Menagerie had just dumped on me not one, but eight different creatures at once, something that had never come close to happening before. As the Menagerie allows me to summon only ten creatures at a time, and I already had the cloak, my slugs, Cora, and Echo summoned, I called on the cat, snake, bunny, piglett, and fluffball (technically called a 'snugget', but I didn't care. I'd even make Fluffball its name, if anyone dared argue).

Suddenly I was buried under a menagerie of animals, enjoying the comfort of them all being so close, and not even Dumbledore clearing his throat could bring me out of it.

"Now, I believe I've been forgiving concerning the various creatures you seem to have following you around," he started. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care more than simple curiosity unless the students here were at risk, but now that you used them to capture Pettigrew, I must ask for more information about what they are and where they came from."

I shrugged, glancing at Pettigrew, who was more recovered than he was trying to act. Dumbledore seemed to understand my reluctance and stunned the rat in human form, letting me speak freely.

"It's not like I was trying to hide it," I started, leaning back in my chair and pulling the fluffball close while my Cloak of Levitation released the unconscious Pettigrew and floated over to me, acting as a blanket. "It's the more explained reason I didn't want to be around muggles for a while. Creatures just appear around me, and most of them aren't normal. I think the most normal ones I can call on are these-" I gestured to my new cat, sat on my lap, the snake curled around my arm, the piglett circling my legs, and the bunny that is now wrapped up at the bottom of my cloak. "-, and a weasel and fruit bat. Everything else has something that makes them different."

Dumbledore sat there for a few moments, thinking. "I've never heard of anything like it," he finally admitted, smiling happily. "You say you can summon them, yes? Do you know where they come from, or where they stay when not summoned?"

"Yes, yes for some of them, and no," I said simply. After all, I have no idea what a Djinn is, and why a Kite is one. Nor do I recognise the Electric Fluffalo, an electric sheep-like creature with sparking horns.

It didn't matter. I had little intention of bringing multiversal concepts to the world of Harry Potter, even if it were only Albus Dumbledore. Their first thought upon finding an arch to nowhere that nothing ever comes back through is to build the centre of their government around it, poke the thing, and call it a doorway to death. Whether they're right or not isn't a factor in my decision, though it is a curiosity that I'd like to investigate at some point.

Dumbledore nodded, seeming to accept my reluctance. "One last question then," he announced, his eyes gaining a wary, if steely component to them. "Are my students in any danger from your creatures?"

That made me chuckle. Oh, fanfic writers, most of you have the wrong idea about this man, I'm certain. "They're part of my Menagerie," I stated, smiling as Dumbledore seemed to understand the weight and subtext behind those last two words. "Anything inherently dangerous, I'll make sure not to call on a whim."

He nodded, and we sat in his office, quietly listening to Fawkes sing as we waited for Remus to arrive. We didn't have to wait for long.

Now, for all that people back home had accused Remus of being self-defeating, cowardly, and a bit too loyal or trusting of Dumbledore at times, I don't think he's ever been considered unintelligent. In fact, he's often presented as the smartest of the marauders, and whether that were true or not, I got to watch his mind put things together rather quickly after entering the room.

He entered rather calmly, clearly not aware of why he was called. Then he saw Pettigrew's face, stunned in the chair near Dumbledore's desk, and I saw the curiosity that passed through him, followed by the realisation of who he was looking at, even twelve years after having last seen his friend. There was confusion and happiness in his expression then, only for Remus to freeze, look between myself and Dumbledore, note the two wands on the desk as well as the gun shaped blaster I was still holding, and sudden realisation emerged from him again.

Then there was confused anger, and a 'WHAM' sound, followed by a crash as Pettigrew was punched straight off of the chair he was on.

After waiting to see if anything else would happen and getting nothing even as the gates to the Menagerie shook, I spoke up. "So, Sirius is innocent, Wormtail has been found and caught, and we were about to call law enforcement." I looked at Dumbledore, seeing a somewhat amused expression on his face. "Anything else?"

"Wormtail is… Then it's true?" Remus asked for confirmation, looking like despite his own deductions, he wanted to be wrong.

"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore nodded. "I performed legilimency on him and acquired the truth of the events from his mind. Sirius proposed that they change secret keepers, intending to make himself bait for anyone looking for Lily, James, and Harry."

"And after Wormtail betrayed them, Sirius went after him," Remus finished, clearly understanding his friend, taking a seat on a newly conjured chair. "It's been twelve years. How did you find him?" Dumbledore looked towards me, and I held up a familiar map. Remus huffed, his lips twitching upwards. "Where on earth did you find that?"

"I borrowed it," I admitted. "Speaking of, I need to go give it back, so I'll see you both later." I stood, the piglet, cat, and bunny vanishing while I carried my fluffball out of the room, followed by Echo. "If you need anything else, feel free to ask. I'll be hunting down Black tomorrow after my fifth year class is done."

[-]

The fifth year class was actually a bit of revision of crups, a form of magical dogs that I wasn't sure if I could interact with safely or not. Crups, you see, are hostile to muggles and squibs, even as they are very happy to be around wizards and witches, and my connection to the Celestial Menagerie doesn't really count as magic, despite it allowing me to resist muggle repelling magic like the kind which surrounds Hogwarts.

Then, to my delight, I found that the magic granted to me to use The Libra card is magic enough for them, even if it isn't the same kind.

The second part of the lesson was me giving a lecture on demiguises, with Echo acting as a demonstrator. It was even turned into a game of hide and seek, followed by a game of tag against his precognition. Echo won both games and seemed happy with his performance.

After all of that was done, and I'd helped Hagrid round up the crups that were used for the lesson, I started on my hunt for Sirius Black.

As things are, Black should be close by. Like, really close. There was something in the news about him being spotted in a nearby muggle village, heading this way. That was three days ago, and the village isn't far for an obsessed dog on a mission to travel from.

Thankfully, I actually had a plan… well, an idea… well, a thing. It's like an idea, but with more uncertainty. I saw it used once in fanfiction and I'm really curious to see if it works for real.

Magically raised owls are a little special, in that the ones trained in postal delivery can find anyone you address a letter to, regardless of if you know where that person is or not. So if one were to send Sirius Black a letter, the owl should be able to find him, and I can follow it. At least as long as Black didn't cast anything to hide himself from owls, but I don't think he has a wand right now.

So, after writing a small note to Sirius Black, telling 'Padfoot' that I have information about 'Wormtail', and that if for some reason I haven't been able to follow the owl, then to send a letter back with a time to meet at the shrieking shack. I also included a pen (because quills are irritating) and some parchment for him to write with.

Then I went up to the Owlery and sent an owl on its way, before climbing a ladder to the open air roof of the building. Waiting for me, newly summoned, was a Nevermore, an avian creature of Grimm. The beast, like all Grimm on Remnant, were black creatures with white bones forming armoured plates or masks. This one had one such mask, red markings forming lines down it, surrounding four red eyes and granting the giant bird a kind of dorsal fin near the top of its head.

And truly, it was giant. It was undoubtedly the largest creature summoned from the Menagerie so far; big enough that I could stand upon its head rather safely, hugging the dorsal fin during flight, though admittedly not as big as the one that team RWBY fought during their initiation to Beacon Academy.

The Nevermore took off, following my commands of "Follow that owl," and carrying me onwards to Black.

It was a little strange to fly on the back of a creature, having a few months just casually floating around, carried by my Cloak of Levitation whenever I needed the mobility. It was enjoyable though, and I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Cora, whose poké ball I kept on me practically all the time now, was sitting on the Nevermore's back with me, enjoying being high in the sky, away from the negative emotions that they dredge up from the souls of those around them. For a Ralts, a highly empathic species of Pokémon, dementors are disgusting things that infect everything around them, rather than just being disgusting things that everyone else sees them as. Being so high (and trusting the Nevermore to be able to keep track of the owl) is a good escape from the non-beings, and I hoped to spend more time training, playing with, relaxing with, experimenting with, and otherwise simply being with Cora once they're gone.

But that was not likely to happen until both Pettigrew and Black were thrust in front of the Ministry of Magic's faces, so I turned my attention again to my Nevermore, who's head seemed to be looking down at a specific point.

I looked down as well, following its gaze, finding a small hole in the side of a hill that could very easily expand out into a decently sized cave to rest in. The gates inside my mind shuddered as I told the Nevermore to descend just outside the cave entrance, holding on tight to it and Cora so that we didn't fall off.

Once we had landed, I stood at the entrance and looked inside, seeing the lingering embers of a campfire hastily put out.

"Black?" I called inside, mentally summoning my Wraith just out of sight of the cave in case I needed abducting. "Padfoot?" Still no response, bar a hooting sound from the owl that I sent ahead. "Oh, look. My owl arrived. Did you read it?"

"…Yes." The responding voice was rough, scratchy, like he had been alternating between not using it at all and using it too much. "You know about Peter."

I huffed air through my nose. "Yeah, a bit. You remember making a map of the school as a student?" I wondered. This early after Azkaban, I had no idea what kind of mental condition he was in. "I got my hands on it, spotted his name, went to go grab him. Last I saw him was last night. He was in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore stunned him, and Remus socked him in the face."

The response to that was something that could be considered a laugh, but sounded too… inhuman. It was very much a noise that he wasn't used to anymore.

"Look, it's dark in here," I complained, more confident and therefore more upbeat now that it didn't look like he'd be causing issues. "Care to step into the sun? Or has Azkaban made you a vampire as well as a mutt?"

More chuckling, accompanied by footsteps that told me he was taking my advice. I left first, gesturing with my hand to shoo away the Wraith so she wasn't seen. I didn't want Black to freak at the sight of the monster.

Though, given the state of him, I might have been a little more concerned with the Wraith freaking out at the sight of Black. All of his hair was long, matted, and dirty. His beard was a mess, seemingly grown unevenly. His clothes were covered in muck of all kinds, as well as worn down and torn in places. He was wearing a no doubt stolen coat over everything, but had lost shoes along the way (or never chose to steal some in the first place).

Then Black saw the Nevermore, and jumped back towards the cave. "What in Merlin's name is that thing!?" he shouted, agitated but drawing no wand. He probably didn't have one.

The Nevermore squawked, making me laugh. "That, Black, is our ride back to the castle. Dumbledore said he'd call the Ministry to pick up Pettigrew last night, so he should already be in a holding cell, at least. You, quite frankly, stink. You need a good cleaning, proper clothes, and a shave before going anywhere near Harry."

The dull look in his eye I saw when he stepped into the light gained some kind of spark at the mention of his godson's name. "Harry… Does he know about… anything?"

I shrugged, stepping up the Nevermore's wing, extended so I could climb on easier. "Not unless someone's told him while I was out looking for you." I paused mid step and looked down at where he stood. "Just so that you're aware, me hunting Pettigrew and coming to bring you back… It wasn't done for you. I heard that you gave Harry to Hagrid and left to chase after Pettigrew instead of looking after the boy, which will probably remain something of an issue between us for a while."

There was guilt, a lot of it, on his face when I said that. "Why did you do it then? I hear Peter's called a war hero these days for delaying me long enough to get arrested. Order of Merlin and everything."

Tori's face flickered in my mind. "I owed Remus a favour."

[-]

Black was shaking like a leaf when we finally touched down near the castle's front gates. I was wearing the same smug expression I had throughout the entire ride back. Mainly because Cora and I were the only ones to 'ride' back at all, while Black was carried back in the talons of my Nevermore.

"I'm never letting you drive again," Black muttered, shaking his head to try and stop the shivers. "I'm never going anywhere with you ever again!"

"Oh, quit your whining!" I moved to smack him on the head, but thought better of it. "I told you; you stink. I'm not letting you sit next to me on the way back when you stink. Now shift. Padfoot stinks less, and attracts less attention at that."

The man grumbled, but did as I said, letting me lead him up to Dumbledore's office. I had him shift into his dog form on the way, since we passed a group of first years and the man's face had been plastered over the front page of the Daily Prophet at least once a week since he escaped.

I pointedly ignored the pair of concerned blue eyes that I saw in that little group, and walked faster. Padfoot had to jog a bit to keep up with my avoiding of Astoria Greengrass, and Cora made a comforting noise from her spot on my shoulder.

The rest of the trip to Dumbledore's office was fine though, and the two of us entered to find Dumbledore and two others. The first, I could easily guess the identity of. He was a little man with grey hair wearing a pinstripe suit with a bowler hat hanging off the arm of the chair he occupied. Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. The second person was a little less obvious, but still easy enough. A serious looking woman with a monocle hanging from her robe's breast pocket. Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones.

The Menagerie gates burst open, lightning bolt after lightning bolt striking down in the wake of a large, powerful black steed.

I tried to hide the sudden pain of the burning sensation all over my body as magic circuits, capable of summoning even a somewhat unknown Servant like Bucephalus made themselves known to me. I know I didn't succeed fully when I caught Dumbledore's gaze, but I gestured towards Padfoot and pushed on.

"I've got him," I said, before hiding a pained groan behind a forced cough. "He hasn't drawn a wand since I met with him, so I don't think he has one."

Dumbledore nodded. "Well then, Amelia, Cornelius? I'd like you to meet Jade Best, the assistant I've hired for the Care of Magical Creatures class. Jade, this is Cornelius Fudge, our Minister for Magic, and Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." I nodded to them both, getting one from Fudge in return as well as a verbal greeting. Bones, I noted, was observing the dog animagus at my side instead.

"Sirius Black, I'm going to ignore the fact that you appear to be an illegal animagus for the time being," Bones stated with a frown. "Transform back, and if you do have a wand, drop it." The woman was still sat, but I noticed that she had her own wand in hand.

Sirius's dog form stood on its hind legs before expanding into his human form, both hands up in the air, no wand present in them. There was something of a smile on his face as he did so.

"No wand here, like she said," he said. "So what's happening now?"

Bones stood, rummaging in her pocket for something, pulling out a strip of material. She approached, pulling Blacks wrists together and the strip formed a kind of handcuffs. "Now, since you are still wanted for somehow breaking out of Azkaban, I'll be officially taking you in for questioning and a retrial, based on the new evidence that's come to light over the last few days."

"Retrial, huh?" Black mused. "I don't remember attending a trial in the first place."

"That problem would rest on the shoulders of the former Minister, Mister Black," Fudge said, a seemingly sad expression on his face as he stood as well. "Former Minister Bagnold rushed through the trials of those strongly suspected to be death eaters after You-Know-Who's death. Most were done in absentia, your own included, with only a few individuals which circumstances required their presence." I blinked, almost surprised at the way Fudge was intending to run this story. "You can rest assured, with such blatant evidence of your innocence, I will be pushing for your name to be immediately cleared of all past crimes."

I raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore as the fireplace in the headmaster's office lit up in green flames. The three left, leaving us alone.

"I was under the impression that Fudge wasn't nearly competent enough to twist a story like that. Especially after insisting that dementors are stationed around the castle."

Dumbledore chuckled a bit, followed by a slight sigh. "Yes, Cornelius can be rather cunning when it comes to keeping his public image as Minister. I contacted him last night about recent events, and I suspect he's had some allies of his cook up the story for him. With Pettigrew already in custody, and Sirius unarmed and willingly bound by Amelia, there was no reason for him to be concerned."

I nodded. That made more sense. "What about the dementors?" I wondered, making the man sigh again. Fawkes sang, uplifting our spirits a bit.

"I fear we may still need to deal with them until the trial has finished," Dumbledore admitted. "Amelia and I were trying to get through to Cornelius before you arrived, but at that point, we did not have confirmation that you had found Sirius, and he was willing to come in. Cornelius called it a precaution, but I will be writing to him now that Sirius is not at large."

I nodded again, mentally tallying up the events of the last few days and ticking off the events of book three. "I think that's everything, then," I mused.

"Yes, I believe so." Dumbledore smiled, before continuing with a joking tone. "You've made for quite the eventful weekend, Jade." Not quite right, since it's now Monday and I only started working on this yesterday after the whole boggart thing with Remus. "Dare I ask how you intend to top it? And should I contact someone to prepare for damages?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not that bad," I denied. "I'm just going to spend some time learning horseback riding." I carefully did not mention that I'd be riding a heroic spirit in the form of a horse, nor that this particular horse was known for being a violent man-eater… apparently. I didn't actually know Bucephalus' legend, but TYPE-moon wiki said that was the case.

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Rolls

Hunter - Power - 100

Electric Fluffalo - Starbound - 100

As the first roll in the Starbound category, all ship pets were granted.

Bunny- Starbound - 0

Cat- Starbound - 0

Crasberry- Starbound - 0

Piglett- Starbound - 0

Snake- Starbound - 0

Snugget- Starbound - 0

Weasel - Starbound - 0

Bucephalus - TYPE-moon - 300

Remaining points: 200