"What did you just say?" Albus asked sharply as he stepped forward so that he was standing directly in front of Sirius's cell.
"I never betrayed James and Lily... It was that rat." Sirius began slowly, before descending to a borderline growl. One that made Harry cock a brow, as it was similar to the growl he had heard from Aela so many times in the past when she was frustrated. So either Sirius was a werewolf, which Harry seriously doubted, or he was something else.
But that wasn't what Albus was focused on.
"Tell me everthing Sirius."
And so Sirius did.
From what Harry had learned from Albus before, his parents went into hiding with him as a baby under what was called the Fidelius Charm. And the way the Fidelius Charm worked was that it was cast upon a place or item to hide it, and the secret would be concealed within a chosen individual's soul, the Secret Keeper.
When Harry's parents went into hiding the person designated to become their Secret Keeper was obviously Sirius, who then betrayed them to Voldemort due to him being his right-hand man. Afterwards, Peter Pettigrew, who was grieving the death of his friends, tracked Sirius down to confront him, and was subsequently killed when Sirius blew apart the entire street. Killing twelve muggles in the process.
From what Sirius told them though, he insisted that he was too obvious at the last minute, and convinced them to switch to Peter instead. The idea apparently was that Sirius, being the obvious choice, would become bait while Peter flew under Voldemort's radar.
But then, that fateful Halloween night, Sirius had gone to check on Peter only to find his safe house empty, and no signs of a struggle. Fearing the worst, Sirius had gone to Godric's Hollow to find the house partially destroyed, James and Lily dead, and baby Harry with Rubeus Hagrid.
Sirius tried get Hagrid to give him Harry, as Harry's godfather and chosen guardian by his parents, but Hagrid explained that arrangements had been made with Lily's sister, Petunia. Relenting, Sirius even gave Hagrid his flying motorcycle as he decided to go after Peter on foot.
When he confronted Peter though, the rat made this huge declaration about Sirius betraying James and Lily, before the street suddenly blew.
Everything that happened aftrwards was a blur to Sirius, but in the end he was the one accused of betraying James and Lily, and was promptly thrown into Azkaban without even a trial. Not that Sirius could blame them, considering that in the eye of the world, he was completely guilty, and he blamed himself as well. After all, he had been the one to insist on them using Peter instead.
"Fascinating..." Albus uttered when Sirius finished telling them his story.
"Nonsense. You don't actually believe him, do you?" Fudge stated in his calm tone, as he was still under the influence of Harry's Pacify spell.
"I am incluned to, yes. And I believe Harry does as well." Albus stated while looking at Harry pointedly.
-I do.
Harry wrote on the parchment, showing it to Sirius as well to make the man sigh in relief. Harry had seen too many killers, been betrayed several times, and met hundreds of liars during his time on Nirn. Sirius didn't seem like ANY of them. So either he was a multi-world class actor, or he was telling the truth. Harry was inclined to believe the latter.
Plus Harry himself had personally experienced being placed on the literal chopping block due to mispracticed justice.
"This is insane." Fudge continued, his voice calm and level. "Are you both telling me that you believe that the Ministry has been letting an innocent man rot in Azkaban for the last decade?"
"Stranger things have happened Cornelius." Albus remarked.
-No comment.
Harry wrote on the parchment.
"Sorry to say Minister." Moody growled irritably as he limped forward. "Enough people heard Black's story, a damn REPORTER heard it. If you try to keep him here, then people will hear about how you tried to keep a potentially innocent man in prison. On the other hand, IF Black is innocent, then you can be the Minister who ensures he receives the justice he deserves."
Fudge was silent as he contemplated what Moody told him.
"I guess you're right Moody." He said eventually.
"So shall we take him with us to put in the Ministry's hands then? After all, we don't know when, or if, the Dementors will be back. And with Harry here, I doubt there's anything to worry about if Sirius tries anything." Albus suggested jovially.
"You. Go get the keys and chains." Moody barked at one of the other Aurors, who hurried off to do just that. The grizzled Auror then approached Harry specifically, and growled to him under his breath, "The Minister is almost never so accomodating. Is that your spell's doing as well?"
-The Calm spells, like Pacify, put those under it into an exceptionally Calm state. He's still in control of himself, his mind is just in an exceptional state of Calm.
"Hmmm..." Moody growled lightly.
"Just be careful with those kinds of spells. Even if they aren't, others might try to claim that they're similar to the Imperius curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses. The use of ANY of the three Unforgivables is enough to earn a man a life sentence here."
-Thanks for the heads up.
Harry replied, but the part he left un'said' was that he doubted any of them would be able to stop him if they tried.
...
Soon enough they had Sirius Black out from behind bars, but cuffed and chained as they led him down to the boat they came in on. It was time to go back to the mainland.
"How are you feeling now, Harry?" Albus asked as he approached the Boy-Who-Lived, who was standing silently at the front of the boat.
"Fine." Harry said in a low voice, and the slight rumble in the sky that happened at the same time didn't escape Albus's notice. They both ignored Fudge's comment about the weather afterwards.
"That was quite the display of power back there."
"Humph." Harry snorted, prompting Albus to cock a brow even before Harry turned to look at him directly. "That was just Restoration magic. Spells designed to heal and protect. The ones I used were the few Restoration spells specifically designed for combat, against undead and similar dark creatures."
"And if used on people?"
"Nothing. They might actually heal you if you're injured." Harry replied quietly.
"Amazing..." Albus responded as he looked away in what might have been thought. "But what was that you did with your voice? The language you spoke?"
At this, the edge of Harry's mouth curled upwards.
"That, was the Thu'um, also known as a Shout. It is the language of the dragons, Dovahzul, each word of which can manipulate the world and beings around them, depending on how it is used. Humans can learn the words easy enough, but to truly use the Thu'um they need to dedicate their life to meditating on and truly understanding each word. A single word can take years, and a full Shout could take over a decade."
"And you learned this power?"
"Surprised?"
"Truthfully, yes. Given what you told me before..." Albus said slowly.
Harry smirked.
"That is because I am no regular mortal." He told Albus, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The dragons of Nirn are more akin to demigods than the simple winged lizards they seem to be here. They once sought to enslave humanity, believing it to be their birthright. To give mankind equal footing, the Dragonborn was created. A mortal who possesses the soul of a dragon."
"And, YOU are this Dragonborn?"
"Yes. I am believed to be the last one." Harry replied.
"As the Dragonborn, I am as capable of learning Dovahzul as a dragon. My brain automatically knows what every written word means, and I can learn to use it with minimal effort compared to others. But, it helps when I can also absorb the souls of dragons I've killed, taking their own power and knowledge within me."
"Fascinating.... And disturbing."
"I didn't kill them indiscriminately, if that's what you're worried about." Harry retorted.
"I only actively hunted down the dragons that were slaughtering humans and burning entire communities to the ground. A few of them were actually quite willing to negotiate since me killing them meant they would stay dead, plus they had grown tired of their previous leader and his warmongering."
"I see... I would so dearly like to learn more about this world you lived in. It sounds horrendously fascinating."
"I have a few books on it back in my workshop. Hermione has been burning her way through them like reading is going out style." Harry said with a slight smile.
"I envy miss Granger." Albus said with a smile, before Moody punctuated his words by limping towards them.
"We'll be approaching land soon. Best prepare for the reception we're gonna get when they see us coming back with Black." He growled.
"Thank you for the warning Alastor." Albus voiced gratitude for the warning as the two of them prepared to land.
"And a word of warning Harry, watch for miss Skeeter. She tends to be wondrously vicious with the articles she writes." Albus added, while glancing at the reporter in question.
"Thanks for the heads up. You mind keeping the others occupied while I talk to her? Maybe set some things straight before she goes wild?" Harry asked.
"I would love to. Oh Cornelius~!"
As Albus went to distract them, Harry walked to Rita Skeeter, who was busy scribbling down everything that had happened since they originally departed.
"I believe these belong to you miss Skeeter, I apologize for monopolize them until now." Harry said, returning her original quill and parchment, minus the segment he had been using to write with.
"Oh Harry~! There's no need to apologize! I understand that you needed them due to some issues with your voice. But if you truly wish to make it up to me, then how about a few words regarding everything that happened? What was that marvelous magic you used to kill the Dementors? Why exactly were you unable to speak for a while? How do you feel about everything Sirius Black told us?" She said in a disgustingly sweet tone, before rapid firing questions. Harry couldn't help but wonder who was worse about that, Skeeter or Hermione.
"I actually wanted to discuss something else, if that is alright?" Harry suggested, leaning against the side of the boat casually.
"Oh please~! Anything you want deary~!" Skeeter said in the same disgustingly sweet tone.
"I want to know exactly what you plan to say about me." Harry stated bluntly, dropping all pretenses as he stared at the reporter.
"Why Harry~ I only plan to tell my beloved audience what it is they would want to hear~!"
"Is that so?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at the wide smile she was giving him.
"How about a deal then?" He offered her.
"Oh~? What kind of deal do you have in mind?"
"Its simple really." Harry said, before his expression darkened. "You will allow me to...review your works about me before publishing them, and I won't be forced to take your life."
"..."
"Harry dear..." Skeeter said with an exasperated voice, shaking her head as if she were dealing with a troublesome child. "Don't you think that is a little dark for the Boy-Who-Lived?"
What happened next was too fast for Rita to fully understand what happened, as Harry moved while a spectral dagger appeared in his hand, which he held to her throat with an ease and casualty that surprised her.
"You know nothing about 'dark' Skeeter." Harry said slowly, his voice low while Albus continued distracting the others.
"I have spent the last fifty years fighting creatures and beings that would keep you up at night. I have looked the darkest and vilest beings you could even conceive in the eye, and they blinked first. I have even journeyed to the realm of the dead, and rallied the greatest heroes to ever exist to my side as we band together to kill a god. Do you think for even a second, that you are anything more than the slightest inconvenience to me?"
"..."
For a moment Rita Skeeter was genuinely speechless as she looked into Harry's eyes, and saw he was completely serious as he threatened her life.
A smarter person would play ball. They would relent to the demands of the one who literally held a knife to their throat, even if that person looked like a regular eleven year-old boy. But Rita was a reporter first and foremost. And she smelled quite the story about the seemingly young Harry Potter.
"How about this?" She started, keeping her hands up where Harry could see them. "Let's be civil, and come to an agreement that benefits both of us. I am quite amendable, especially when my life is at stake."
"I'm listening." Harry said, lowering the knife slightly, but not completely.
"First tell me what it is you are actually after. After all, I need to know why you want to limit what people read about you." Rita said in a voice akin to pleading.
"Hmmm..." Harry hummed lightly as he regarded her for a moment, before he then said in a low tone, "I intend to kill Voldemort."
"..."
Rita paled at the mention of the dark lord's name, her voice coming out as barely more than a squeak.
"But he's dead. You-Know-Who has been gone for the last ten years. YOU of all people should know that!"
"If he is dead, then say his name." Harry goaded her, yet Rita could not.
"I don't know where he is, but I do know for a fact that Voldemort is not completely gone. And when he finally does come out of whatever hole he slithered into, I would rather he not have all of my secrets handed to him on a silver platter." Harry said in a low voice.
"So what do you want from me? I'm just a reporter, I HAVE to tell my readers something." She stated with equal parts fear and defiance.
"Of course, I never said you couldn't post anything about me." Harry said, lowering the knife even more.
"How about this Rita... You can write about me, and SOME of my abilities, but I get to screen what you write before it goes to post. In exchange, when I'm ready, I'll give you exclusive rights to my story. I'll even let you write my biography."
"!!!"
Rita blinked as she looked at Harry from his offer, before they narrowed again.
"Before I agree, what kind of story are we talking here?" She asked suspiciously.
"Traveling to another world, saving it a few times, powers, races and creatures unlike anything anyone in wizarding Britain has ever heard of. I have fifty YEARS of stories that would make for a good book. I even have an entire library of books back at Hogwarts that can be used as reference materials." Harry dangled in front of her, and he practically had Rita foaming at the mouth in anticipation.
"Deal!" She stated excitedly, seemingly forgetting completely that she'd had a knife to her throat moments earlier.
"Good." Harry said, lowering the knife completely as it faded into Oblivion. Then, another idea occured to him.
"Also, I can use some intel regarding Voldemort and those who supported him. Get me anything you can, and I'll have some gold for you."
"How much are we talking?"
"Let's just say that I treat those who work for me VERY well." Harry said cryptically, making Rita's smile widen even further.
"You have a deal, Lord Potter."