Okay, guys, the final chapter at long last! Yay!
Note that this chapter is short, and there is not a whole lot of action in this chapter; it's mostly dialogue.
As usual, I don't own Harry Potter.
----
Chapter 12 - Justice at Last
Harry gaped at the cage containing the rat that had forced his family to go into hiding for ten years.
"What are you waiting for, then? Show him to McGonnagal!" Harry hissed. Michael quickly shrunk the cage and stuffed it into his pocket before dashing away from his mad brother.
Michael opened the door to the Hospital Wing to see Hermione and Blaise standing nervously.
"We've got to go see McGonnagal," Michael said simply, practically running to the Transfiguration classroom. The two girls looked at each other before sprinting to catch up with him.
The three were panting for air by the time they reached the Transfiguration classroom. Luckily, the class had been let out just as they arrived, so they were alone when they met with her.
"What can I help you with today, Mister Black?" McGonnagal asked tiredly. Michael brought the cage out and enlarged it, to which the old witch cocked her eyebrow. "Why exactly are you showing me a rat?"
"This isn't just a rat, professor," Michael said, still panting. "This is an animagus. We know that there's a spell to reverse the effects, but we need you to cast it." He set the cage on her desk and stepped back. Eyeing the three children suspiciously, McGonnagal unlatched the cage and placed the rat on her desk.
"If this is a joke, Mister Black, it will be detentions for the rest of the term, is that clear?" At Michael's nod, McGonnagal flicked her wand at the rat, which started shifting and growing, eventually turning into a small, round man with a large bald spot and grubby clothes.
McGonnagal gasped in shock as she saw a man lying on her desk that she thought dead for ten years. She quickly shot ropes from her wand to bind him and stunned him for good measure. Clearing her throat, she turned to the three students.
"Excuse me while I make a floo call," she said calmly as she left for her private quarters. A few minutes later she returned with a tall woman in her forties, a monocle on her eye, as well as two aurors. She too gasped when she saw the man lying unconscious on the desk.
"As you can see, Amelia, we have a bit of a problem," McGonnagal said. The other woman was momentarily stunned before she regained her composure.
"Yes, this is a bit of a problem. One that will hopefully be resolved soon. Dawlish, Shacklebolt, take him." The two aurors grabbed hold of the man and portkeyed back to the Ministry of Magic. She turned to Michael, Hermione and Blaise.
"Which one of you captured him?" Michael raised his hand.
"I did," he said simply. "Michael Black, ma'am," he decided to add. Amelia nodded to him.
"May I speak to Mister Potter, wherever he is?" she asked.
"I'm afraid Mister Potter is currently recuperating in the Hospital Wing following an incident a few days ago," McGonnagal replied. Amelia nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to Michael.
"On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I apologize for letting this miscarriage of justice continue for so long, and I assure you we will attempt to rectify it. We will be sending you and Mister Potter a letter containing the date for the trial, as well as a letter for your father by next week." As she walked back to McGonnagal's office, she muttered quietly to herself, "This is going to be a lot of paperwork…." Once she left, McGonnagal turned to her students.
"I feel I must congratulate you for your actions today. I don't know how you did it, but I feel fifty points each to Gryffindor will suffice. Now, hurry along, it is almost time for your next class." The three children looked down at their watches and seeing that they were almost late for their Charms class, made a mad dash out of the classroom. McGonnagal sighed to herself as she went back to grading various essays.
Four days later, Harry was finally released from the Hospital Wing, and was eating lunch in the Great Hall when three owls swooped down and landed in front of him and Michael. The owls dropped their letters in front of the two boys and left without a word. Harry opened the letter addressed to him and read it.
Mister Harry James Potter-Black,
You have been summoned for the trial of Sirius Orion Black on suspicion of various charges. New evidence has come to light to question the validity of some of those charges.
The trial will take place in courtroom seven on 25 of January at 8:30 in the morning.
Accompanying this letter is a similar one for Sirius Black.
We hope to finally see justice being carried out.
Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
After lunch, Harry and Michael ran up to the owlrey and gave the letter to Hedwig to take to Sirius. Now all they could do was wait.
On the day of the twenty-fifth, Harry and Michael were visited by McGonnagal to tell them that they were excused from the day's classes for the trial. McGonnagal escorted them to her office, where they used the floo to travel to the Ministry of Magic atrium. There, two aurors escorted them to courtroom seven, where they sat down at the front of the row, along with Remus and Lizzie, who had grown larger from the pregnancy. When the members of the Wizengamot were seated, Sirius Black was brought in, shackles clinking on the stone floor. He sat down on a chair in the center of the room with chains hanging from its sides, which promptly sprang up and wrapped themselves around him, binding him. Amelia cleared her throat.
"The trial of Sirius Black is now in session," she said with authority. "His original charges were twelve counts of murdering a muggle, one count of murdering Peter Pettigrew and one count of kidnapping Harry Potter. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Sirius said strongly. Amelia nodded in acknowledgment. She turned to a nearby auror holding a small bottle.
"Auror Shacklebolt, you may administer the veritaserum." The auror walked up to Sirius and poured three drops of the potion onto Sirius' tongue. Sirius shuddered for a moment before adopting a blank look.
"What were you doing 31 of October, 1981 between the hours of ten in the night and twelve in the morning?" Amelia asked.
"I was reading the Daily Prophet," Sirius answered, not a trace of emotion in his voice.
"Who can vouch for that?" Amelia asked.
"My wife, Elizabeth and my house elf, Whizzy."
"Were you the secret keeper for the Potters?"
"No." Amelia raised her eyebrows at this.
"Who was then?"
"Peter Pettigrew." Several shocked gasps rang throughout the hall.
"Why?"
"James and I figured it would be the perfect plan. I was the obvious choice for a secret keeper, so we figured that if we made it someone as inconspicuous as Peter, then even if I was captured and tortured, I couldn't reveal their location."
"Are you a Death Eater?"
"No."
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
"Did you kill those twelve muggles?"
"No. Peter did. After the explosion, he cut off his own finger to frame me before running into the sewer as a rat." Several members of the Wizengamot started whispering amongst themselves.
"Why did you run from the aurors?"
"At the time, the head of the DMLE was Barty Crouch. He had earned himself a reputation of sending suspected Death Eaters to Azkaban without a trial. With the evidence against me and my family's history, I feared that I would suffer the same fate." Amelia frowned at this news.
"Describe to the court what happened after you arrived at the Potters' household."
"When I arrived, Rubeus Hagrid had just gotten out of the house with baby Harry. I told Hagrid that he was my godson, and I should have him. Hagrid told me that Harry was to go to the Dursleys', his aunt and uncle's house. I tried to reason with Hagrid, but he simply said that it was Dumbledore's orders. Defeated, I went back home and gave my house elf the day off. The next day, I went to the Dursleys' residence. I took Harry back and detonated a dung bomb in their house. Then I dropped Harry off with my wife before going to Gringotts to legally adopt Harry. Then I found Peter lurking in Knockturn Alley. I chased him, and we Apparated to muggle London. We fought, and Peter killed the muggles and faked his own death. I Apparated home before the aurors showed up. I have remained in my house ever since." Amelia thought hard on her next question.
"So you're saying that the charge of kidnapping Harry Potter is invalid?"
"Yes," Sirius responded. "I helped Lily and James write their will, and I know for a fact that they specifically stated in their will that Harry was not to go to the Dursleys under any circumstances. On top of which, when I adopted Harry, the warrant for my arrest had not been issued, so I was within every legal right to adopt Harry." Amelia digested this information for several moments.
"Auror, administer the antidote." The auror from before dripped a few drops of a different potion onto Sirius' tongue, and he shuddered before looking normal again.
"It seems that ten years ago, we made a serious error in judgement which sentenced an innocent man and his family to house arrest," Amelia said. "This is unacceptable. Any who feels that Sirius Black is innocent, raise your hand." Every hand in the room was raised except one, a short woman who looked more like a toad than a human. "Very well then. Sirius Orion Black, we hereby find you innocent of all charges. Ten thousand galleons will be deposited into your Gringotts account as compensation for lost time. We humbly apologize for taking this long for the truth to come out. Peter Pettigrew will be held in custody until such a time as his trial is scheduled. This trial is adjourned." The chains that bound Sirius immediately went limp, and the shackles on his ankles snapped off with a clank. He stood up and hugged his family, tears in his eyes. He was finally free.
The last few months of Hogwarts were rather boring by comparison. Unable to find a suitable replacement for Quirrel, Dumbledore simply stated that the students were to study their textbooks themselves and would be quizzed at the end of term. The four Marauders got the highest scores in their year.
After playing exploding snap for the entire train ride back to King's Cross station, Hermione pulled Harry into one of her signature bone crushing hugs.
"I'm going to miss you," she said softly. Harry gently patted her on the back.
"I'll miss you too." She pulled away from him.
"Be sure to write me, mister," she said, waving a finger at his face, a serious look on hers.
"Okay, okay, I'll write every week." Smiling, she gave him one last hug before repeating the treatment to Michael. With only a gentle hug and a "see you in a few months" from Blaise, the four Marauders went back to their respective families, marking the end of another year at Hogwarts.
Deep within a distant forest on continental Europe, a swirling mist drifted through the air, seemingly without purpose. As it saw a snake crawling on the ground, it floated into the snake's mouth, and the snake's eyes turned red. You haven't seen the last of me, Potter, Voldemort hissed to himself. I will return, and I will have my revenge….
----
There you have it, the final chapter of Adventures of Harry Black, Year One! I hope you enjoyed it.
Year two is coming soon.
Don't forget to read and review!
-->