Harry lay curled in a tight ball on the thin mattress on the floor of the cupboard under the stairs tears dripping down his face. Ever since he had returned to Privet Drive at the start of the summer he had lived in his cupboard except when the Dursley's made him do chores and Uncle Vernon hit him when he didn't finish them fast enough. It must have been past midnight and the pitch blackness comforted Harry slightly, at least a night he knew his uncle couldn't hurt him.
In the week he had been back at Privet Drive the cupboard had quickly become his sanctuary. Despite the fact that there was hardly any space to move as he now shared it with all his things it was the one place Uncle Vernon could not reach him and when the ten heavy duty locks that had been put in place were securely locked he knew that he was safe for a few short hours until he would be pulled out to start again on a seemingly endless list of chores.
Tears slipped down his face as he lay fully clothed on the baby mattress he had slept on since he was a baby. His uncle had been particularly harsh that evening and Harry could feel the throbbing of the new layer of fresh bruises and cuts over the cuts and bruises from each of the previous evenings beatings. To make matters worse he had not been given a single meal since he had returned to the Dursleys, the only thing he was given in the way of sustenance was a single glass of water in the mornings and evenings. Evidently the Dursleys didn't quite want him to die but they seemed to be doing everything they possibly could to him short of actually killing him.
Harry didn't know what had caused the Dursleys to change so drastically in their approach to him but at that moment he didn't care. He didn't care that he was going to be fourteen in a few weeks and fourteen year olds were not supposed to cry, he didn't care that fourteen year olds were not supposed to long for a hug or any sign of affection they could get, he didn't care that he wasn't supposed to want somebody to come and hold him, to make him feel safe, he didn't care that people would say he was behaving like a young child, all he wanted was for somebody to come and take him away and look after him.
Children'sBooks
But that would never happen because it couldn't. The one man who had ever shown him any form of love was on the run and unable to come for him, Sirius could never come for Harry because if he did he would be caught and thrown back into Azkaban and nobody else would come because he was a worthless freak and nobody else cared. And so he cried. Cried for what he so desperately wanted and cried for something he would never have.
Against the background of his own sobs Harry James Potter finally drifted off into sleep. His godfather's letter, the only words of kindness he had, clutched safely in his fist.
"Does anyone else have any issues to bring before the Wizengamot." The voice of Albus Dumbledore rang out through the stone chamber. Amelia Bones raised her hand, this would be the moment she would shake up the entire Wizarding World.
"I bring an item from the DMLE with the backing of the Minister Chief Warlock," Dumbledore surveyed the gathered witches and wizards,
"As all nobody else has another issue to bring before us I give the floor to Madam Bones." Amelia inclined her head respectfully towards Dumbledore then made her way down to the floor where she could address the gathering, she took a deep breath, after she was finished Wizarding Britain would be shocked to its entire core.
"Witches and Wizards, members of this august body I bring before you the case of Sirius Orion Black." She paused, waiting for the explosion and she wasn't disappointed. As her last words seeped it was as if somebody had sneaked into the courtroom set off several crates of Filibuster's fireworks combined with sending up the Dark Mark and releasing several nifflers. It took Dumbledore several minutes and a liberal use of sonorous charms before any single voice was able to be heard. As soon as silence had returned Dumbledore turned to her, "I presume you are able to explain more Madame Bones."
"It was recently brought to my attention the Sirius Black, a pureblood heir to one of our most ancient houses," personally she believed the blood counted for absolutely nothing but she also knew that single statement was guaranteed to attract the attention of some of the more 'conservative' members of the Wizengamot and she knew she had to gain their vote, "Has never received a trial." Again she was forced to wait whilst Dumbledore attempted to regain control of the Wizengamot although this time she could see that there was more than a little anger particularly on the pureblood front that one of their own had not been tried, eventually she was able to continue.
"As such my department conducted an investigation and I will now present the results of said investigation and then I would ask that the Wizengamot vote on the case."
For the next several hours the evidence was shown piece by piece. Priori Incantatem was performed and Amelia Bones was hard pressed to prevent herself from smiling at the utter shock on the faces of the Wizengamot when it was revealed the last spell cast was nothing but an infant healing charm. The murmurs grew more thoughtful as the transcripts of the interviews were read out and as the memories were shown many of the mutterings turned to outright anger as the court realised an innocent man had been locked up in Azkaban for twelve years. Finally the last memory was shown and the court lapsed into silence and even Dumbledore looked slightly shaken.
"Those who believe Sirius Black to be innocent."
Children'sBooks
"Those who believe Sirius Black to be guilty."
Amelia's eyes scanned the assembled witches and wizards counting frantically, she sighed in relief when only eight indicated a guilty verdict. She may not care for the man himself but she cared for justice and if the verdict had not returned as innocent she knew they would have been putting an innocent man back in Azkaban, if they ever caught him of course.
Children'sBooks
Albus Dumbledore was speaking once again, "The Wizengamot hereby find Sirius Black not guilty of all charges. The one year in Azkaban that is the punishment for being an illegal animagus will be subtracted from the time already served. Sirius Black will be given 100,000 Galleons for the remaining number of years he spent unlawfully detained and notice will be given to the Goblins and the Daily Prophet. The papers for the release will be given to the DMLE at the end of this session."
A few last petitions and details occupied the Wizengamot but it was a smiling Amelia Bones who headed back to her office an hour later; justice had been dealt with and an innocent man would finally be free. When she reached her office she regarded its new occupant resignedly. The large eagle owl stretched out it's leg and sighing Amelia removed the piece of parchment. Almost immediately the owl took flight and Amelia glanced at it puzzled, that was not normal behaviour for Ministry owls, normally they would wait and see if there was a reply of some form. Shrugging her shoulders she deftly opened the letter then stared at the words in shock,
Dear Madame Bones,
I am aware I am the last person you would expect to write to the DMLE but I have been made aware of the fact you have reviewed my case and finally come to the conclusion that I am innocent and you present my case to the Wizengamot today and I have just received notice from my account manager that I have been given my freedom. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be able to meet with me at 4pm today to discuss certain matters that have come alongside my freedom, namely the Custody of one Harry James Potter, my Godson. I would also appreciate it if you were able to bring my wand with you when you meet with me as it is no longer required for evidence.
LawEnforcement
If you are willing to meet with me please come to Gringotts at 4pm and ask for my account manager Sharpclaw, some of the matter's I wish to discuss are private and I believe I would cause panic if I entered Ministry premises before the news of my innocence is widely known.
Sincerely
Sirius Black
Amelia Bones blinked hard but the letters on the page remained the same, idly she wondered who had told Black of her investigation, no details had reached the press before the judgement an hour ago and the article was not in print yet, she pondered it for a moment before she discarded the thought, it had probably been the Goblins, particularly as he had specified the meeting place as Gringotts. She glanced over at the clock on her wall and at her diary, mercifully it was empty at 4pm, she was well aware that there was little the Ministry could refuse Black at the moment, after all they had been responsible for locking him away without a trial and she was just thankful he had only requested a meeting and his wand so far, both were easy requests to fulfil and didn't compromise the Ministry in anyway. She glanced over the letter again, the issue of Harry Potter was going to be more difficult but she was also uncomfortably aware that as the boy's godfather and now a free man he had the right for custody over any other person, particularly as the Potter's had no wizarding blood relatives closer than second cousins.
Children'sBooks
Glancing at the clock once again she hurriedly collected the necessary items, the wand and the file relating to Harry Potter. Soon she was striding up the white marble steps into Gringotts. The goblin teller was surprisingly helpful as he led her through the winding corridors of the bank, she noticed that they were heading in the wrong direction for the account mangers offices. As she mentioned this the goblin nodded and turned to her, "The bank has provided meeting chambers for this meeting as Lord Black emphasises his need for a neutral space and party, the Goblin Nation was happy to oblige." Amelia raised her eyebrow at that statement, goblins were known for their almost instinctive dislike of wizards in general yet they obviously acted towards Lord Black with a level of goodwill that was usually reserved for goblins only. Filing that piece of information away to be examined later she followed the teller who ushered her into a small businesslike room.
Discover moreAuthor resourcesBook recommendationsAuthor toolsWriting forum accessApp download campaignsSirius Black nodded at the goblin and conversed softly with him for a few minutes in the goblin tongue. Amelia raised her other eyebrow, perhaps this was the reason he was given such a level of respect by the goblins. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in Black's appearance, although he was definitely too thin he was clean and freshly shaven and his robes were obviously of good quality and adorned with the crest of House Black albeit the fact they were a little old. If it wasn't for the shadows still present in his eyes she would have found it almost impossible to reconcile the image of this man with the image of the convict who had escaped nearly one year ago.
Children'sBooks
The teller bowed and exited the room and as Sirius Black turned towards her she realised her mouth was open and she snapped it shut, the man gave no indication he had seen apart from his lips which twitched, "Greetings Madam Bones," the twitching turned into a wry smile, "I know I do not look the part but I assure you I am indeed Sirius Black." The witch ignored the smile and grasped the proffered hand firmly.
"It is good to meet you Lord Black. I can only apologise on behalf of the Ministry for your unjust imprisonment." Sirius Black merely nodded and Amelia Bones reached into her robes and withdrew the Ebony wand before presenting it to its owner, "I believe it is time the Ministry returns this." Sirius Black smiled and for the first time it reached his eyes as he took the wand from her. She smiled slightly as she saw the man's obvious pleasure as he was reunited with his wand, she knew that after you had used a wand for a long time it almost felt like it was part of your magic and by extension removing it would leave a gap in your sense of your magic. "Out of curiosity why was the last spell you cast an infant healing charm."
Black gestured for her to sit and took the chair opposite, "I was at Godric's Hollow before I went after Peter, I found, well you know what I found," his eyes grew distant, "Anyway, Harry was hurt, a cut on his forehead, so I healed him. I never got a chance to cast a spell at Peter when I caught up with him and the rest you know." Amelia nodded, the theory confirmed,
"I am also curious to the purpose of this meeting, you mentioned Harry Potter in your letter," Black nodded,
Children'sBooks
"Yes he is the main reason I requested this meeting, although there are other perks," he twirled his wand in his fingers but the moment of levity was brief, "As Godfather and as I was named as the person to take custody of Harry in the wills I am aware I legally have custody of Harry and I wished to inform you of my intentions to take Harry into my care. There is nothing the Ministry can do legally but I wished to inform you of it and to reassure you I have nothing but good intentions for the boy and I am working in his best interests."
"But surely taking the boy from a loving home would be the opposite of his best interests." She trailed off as Black stood abruptly and she could suddenly see why people had been capable of believing he was a Death Eater.
"Loving home, caring relatives," he twisted the words mockingly, "I would never press for custody if that was the case. No those relatives of his are anything but. Is it normal for a child to be so thin you can feel their ribs even through school robes and even if you only touched them for an instant? Is it normal for a child to flinch backwards the moment you raise your hand as if expecting a blow? Is it normal for a child to be alone on a street at midnight with all their belongings and nowhere to go? Is it normal for a child to immediately agree to go and live with someone they have only believed is innocent for half an hour and actually be happy to do so?" He turned towards her and she could see the rage and pain in his eyes, "No it isn't, I've been there and I can read the signs clearly and that's what makes me so determined to get him out of there." He sighed and turned back to her, "I will do it either with or without Ministry approval it's your choice but no matter what I am going to get my godson out of there. I will not let him get hurt any further. I made a mistake twelve years ago and Harry paid the price for it, but now I'm free I will do everything in my power to care for him, to protect him, to love him. What are you going to choose?" Black collapsed down onto his chair and waited for a reply.
Amelia sat stunned. The level of passion that had poured out of Black astounded her and she had to concede that he cared greatly for the boy but not only that the accusations that he had made were staggering. Forcing herself to be objective she cast her mind back through the memory Potter had provided, little things were beginning to make sense, the riot of emotions, the way he had immediately agreed with Black, the joy she had felt accompanying that event, and then the other issues that Moody had brought up, she hadn't really thought on it at the time but Moody had picked up something odd when he had spoken to Potter, especially when he asked to be able to keep his memory. She came to a decision, she wasn't completely sure about the potential abuse or neglect but she could remember that Potter had actually agreed to live with Black and there were no legal grounds she could oppose it one. She sucked in a deep breath,
"I'm going out on a limb here and Merlin help me if I get this wrong but as long as you have proof you have suitable accommodation you have the Ministry's backing."
"Would you like the proof now?" Amelia just nodded, hoping her intuition was right, "I'm afraid I can't tell you the address, the property is under the Fidelus and surrounded by so many wards not even Voldemort could get through," She raised an eyebrow, "My uncle was rather paranoid, worse than Moody if you can believe it." Amelia snorted, she could vaguely remember Alphard Black and if Black was living in his old home she was certain the wards would be formidable to say the least. "But luckily there is an easy way to prove it, Nixie!"
With a loud pop a house-elf dressed in an immaculate uniform adorned with the Crest of House Black appeared, "Master called?" Black nodded kindly at the elf,
"Nixie, Madame Bones has some questions for you regarding my home, I request you answer her completely and utterly truthfully." For the next half an hour the little elf waxed lyrical about the house, describing the rooms and fittings in great detail. Amelia also noticed the elf took great delight in mentioning frequently the near disasters which had occurred when Sirius Black had been introduced to a paintbrush and paint and from the crimson tint that was creeping up Black's cheeks she gathered that every incident was the complete and unedited truth. Eventually she put him out of his misery, "I think I've heard enough Nixie," after a nod from her master the elf disappeared and Amelia turned to Sirius Black. "You definitely appear to have satisfactory accommodation," and with a sly grin she couldn't resist adding, "I'm sure your house-elf will taken care of some of the more eventful incidences." Black just shook his head,
"Thank you for your time Madam Bones and thank you for Harry."