"What can we do to set Sirius free, or let him have his belated trial, at least?" Harry asked.
Hermione gave it some thought and then sighed. "I'm not sure. Had it been a muggle case, just informing the Police that a person was put in prison without trial would have been enough. They would have checked the information first, of course, but he would have gotten free within a few weeks, I believe. Yet Dumbledore's involvement and his influence will make such an action useless. He'd stop the complaint as soon as he knew of it and prevent any investigation. We should act differently, so that when he hears of this, it will be too late for him to intervene."
Harry wasn't pleased. "Alright, but how can we help him?"
Hermione thought even longer. She then sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think we should make it the interest of some higher-up person, someone close enough to the top to prevent or slow Dumbledore's interventions. I'm not sure who, though."
Harry smiled lightly. "We may consult with our closest ally, I suppose. Neville may know whom we should contact. He certainly knows much more about the magical world than both of us."
Hermione smiled and nodded.
–..–
Neville knew, as expected. "Madam Amelia Bones, Susan's aunt, is the head of the DMLE. She's known for her integrity and efficiency. Still, just telling her what you know or believe may not work well. We're still children, and our opinions are not considered much, if at all. It would work better if you make her curious and she starts investigating, I believe, although I'm not quite sure how you can do it."
Hermione smiled. "Oh, I think I have an idea. Harry may ask her to send him a copy of the documents from Sirius's trial, wanting to know more about what had happened. He may also state that he heard Sirius was his sworn godfather, so he couldn't possibly betray the Potters and live. Do you think we may find something relevant in old newspapers?"
Neville needed only a short contemplation. "Yes. When a sworn godparent takes his or her position, it's customary to announce it in the Prophet. You may find something in the first two months after our births."
Harry had something to ask. "Will you check my letter to make sure it's properly worded, as expected of a scion of a most ancient and noble house?"
Neville smiled. "Of course! Isn't that one of the ways to help my ally?"
–..–
Hermione still spent some time researching all the old papers in the library. She found the announcement about Sirius taking the vow and also about him blood-adopting Harry. That was a bit of a surprise, but it only made their case tighter.
The two Potters then spent two evenings on phrasing the letter, making it enticing enough while refraining from telling an adult what to do. Neville checked it over and found only two minor errors, ones usually ignored by most people.
Harry then rewrote the letter on a clean parchment, signing it as 'Harry Potter, apparent heir to house Potter', as instructed. Hedwig arrived and was waiting for the letter as soon as he signed it.
Hermione knew she wasn't a very patient person, yet Harry was even more impatient than she was. Waiting for a reply from the DMLE was nerve-wracking for both. Luckily, schoolwork and their daily secret sessions distracted them well enough. They also had some private lessons with Remus to better master the Patronus charm.
–..–
It took more than a week for a reply to arrive.
"Dear Mr Potter,
Thank you for attracting my attention to facts that had been completely overlooked until now. I feel sure that this new information may help reach justice quicker.
As for your immediate request, I'm sorry to say that I have nothing to send. When checking for Mr. Black's trial documents, I found none. Not even its date. Further investigation made it clear that the man had not been put on trial. He was sent to prison and kept there illegally. I'll now need to persuade the Minister to remove the 'kiss on sight' order to prevent a possibly innocent man from being murdered.
I also have a question for you. Can you access another copy of your parents' will? The one deposited at the Ministry had been sealed by the chief warlock, Albus Dumbledore, and we have no way to access it. If you find a way, please tell my niece, Susan, who is in your year. Don't try to send it to me as it might get intercepted.
Best regards,
Amelia bones,
Head of the DMLE"
Harry considered it a very good reply. As for the will, he thought he could ask Sharpclaw to send a copy of it directly to Madam Bones, thus bypassing Hogwarts and Dumbledore.
When he told Susan about it, after taking her solemn promise to keep it all secret, she also thought it was a good idea. "I think my family also has an alliance with Potter, but I'm not sure. Dad said something about it when I mentioned you while telling him about life at school. Do you want me to ask him?"
Harry waved her question as irrelevant. "I'm not yet old enough to deal with such alliances. It may become relevant only after graduation. We're all just students until then."
Hermione knew it could become relevant much earlier, especially due to their emancipation, but it was wiser not to attract any attention to that.
Harry then returned to the main subject. "So, will you tell your aunt to expect a letter from Gringotts with the information she'd asked for?"
Susan nodded. "I'll send her a letter soon after dinner. She'll get it in the morning, latest."
He smiled at her. "Thank you, Susan. You're a good friend."
Hermione noticed Susan blushing a bit and frowned internally. Then she looked more attentively and noticed that Susan's eyes were following Neville, who came along. Her internal frown disappeared.
–..–
Madam Bones visited her niece the next weekend. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were also at Susan's side 'by chance' and she could tell Harry some more, but only after she found an empty room and cast a multitude of spells to disable any kind of spying on them.
"I don't think it would surprise you that Dumbledore was involved in everything concerning you and Sirius. He sealed your parents' will even before their funeral. He said nothing in favour of Sirius when Mr. Black was arrested, and signed the order to send him to Azkaban without trial, along with the minister at the time and my predecessor as the head of the DMLE. That was an illegal order, one Dumbledore, as the chief warlock, should have prevented, but it probably fitted some agenda of his, one that nobody was ever told about."
She took a deep breath before saying some more. "We couldn't interrogate Mr. Black, of course, but our investigators found enough evidence to point at Dumbledore as the one who cast the Fidelius charm on your parents' house. That means that he knew precisely who the secret keeper was. As you probably know, he was also a witness to your parents' will. It probably didn't fit his personal agenda, so he sealed it, as was his right as the Chief Warlock at times of war."
She took another breath. "I still don't know where he hid you and with whom, but I doubt it was for your benefit, seeing you as you currently are. You're way too thin and too short for your age, which probably means that you were not eating adequately for many years. Has anybody asked you about this?"
Harry shook his head, not trusting his voice to answer.
"I suggest you come with me and I'll have you properly checked, since the school has neglected to do its duty to you. I'll tell Dumbledore I need your testimony in some matter."
Harry could barely blurt, "Thank you, Madam Bones."
She smiled. "Don't thank me. I doubt you'd like the treatment after they check you. Then, a few days later, I plan to have Madam Pomfrey checked for spells and potions. I suspect she's not allowed to act as she would without external influence."
Hermione gasped at hearing that. Was Dumbledore a monster in disguise? The more she found out about him, the worse her opinion got.
Madam Bones noticed, but misinterpreted it. "I'm sorry, dear, but you can't come along, although I know you want to. We must act very cautiously to not attract the old man's attention prematurely."
Hermione nodded understandingly. She didn't know how long that treatment would take, but she was sure they would miss at least one session of shags. Probably many more.
–..–
Madam Bones went to talk to Dumbledore alone, not wanting the children to distract her. She returned a bit later, barely keeping her temper under control. "That man… He should have retired long ago…" was all she said. She then asked Harry to come with her, leaving the others at school. They walked out of the school's gate, and then she took Harry on a side-along apparition.
–..–
It took two days, with Hermione barely able to pay attention to the lessons, before Harry returned. He didn't look very different but seemed quite a bit healthier. Only on a second look, Hermione noticed that his scar was barely there.
"What happened to your scar?" she asked Harry, curiosity and worry mixed in her voice.
"The healers found something odd about it and called some experts from the DOM, whatever that is. They checked it some more and then took me to a ritual room, gave me a potion that also put me to sleep, and conducted a ritual, or maybe several. When I woke up, my scar was healing. They said that with some luck, not even a faint sign will remain there."
"And that's all? It didn't take that long, I'm sure."
Harry smiled. "No. The healers then gave me a long treatment, correcting and healing any problems they found. It took the rest of the time, although I stayed asleep for most of it. Unfortunately, they said it was too early to try to correct my eyesight. I should also expect a massive growth spurt."
"So, have you rested enough?" she queried.
"Oh, yes. I'm sure."
She smiled teasingly. "Good. We have some missed shags to catch up on. Come!"
Harry smirked and followed her willingly.
–..–
Dumbledore saw him only a few days later and noticed the missing scar. "What happened to your scar?" he asked. Hermione thought he sounded more frightened than concerned for Harry.
Harry had a 'sanitised' answer ready. "When I was at the DMLE, an unspeakable passed there and noticed the scar. He checked it and then took me to a ritual room where it was healed."
Dumbledore frowned. "Do you know what they did?"
Harry shrugged. "I took a potion and fell asleep as soon as I took my place inside the ritual room. All I know is that they removed whatever prevented the scar from healing, and then the healers did the rest."
Hermione was sure that the old man didn't like it. Harry's scar probably played a role in his plans. Without the scar… She wasn't sure what to think, but Dumbledore seemed like he thought he needed to plan everything again and differently.
Dumbledore sighed. "I see…" He then smiled. Hermione thought it was a forced smile. "Now, without the scar, you look much more like your father, only with your mother's eyes. Girls will be attracted to you now."
Harry frowned. "Why should that interest me? I'm with Hermione. The others are of no interest to me."
Dumbledore only smiled and walked away.
–..–
Harry's growth spurt started to be noticeable about two weeks later. His trousers didn't reach his shoes, and his sleeves also became too short. His shirts also seemed to become too tight over his chest. Hermione felt like he was catching up with all that he should have grown earlier.
Luckily, they could easily visit Diagon Alley to update Harry's wardrobe, and even a few Muggle shops for clothing. Hermione was adamant to not let Harry look less than his best in his new clothes, although they didn't buy much, knowing these clothes would also need replacing in a few weeks at most.
–..–
The young couple wasn't aware of what Madam Bones was doing. They had their lessons, their friends and their shags to occupy them. Yet, as they found out later, Madam Bones was acting very quickly but stealthily.
With the copy of the Potter will and the information gathered from the newspapers, Sirius couldn't be the traitor and couldn't even be a Death Eater. Her team, made of three Aurors whom she had personally selected and who vowed to keep it all secret until released from the vow, prepared all the relevant documents but released none.
They also rechecked the evidence gathered from the fight between Sirius and Peter and quickly concluded that it couldn't be Sirius who caused the death of twelve Muggles near it. Although the Aurors who had arrested Sirius had snapped his wand, illegally at that, the DOM had a way to check even a snapped wand for previously cast spells. They only found stunners, shields, and disarming charms on it, nothing that could cause an explosion. While this wasn't conclusive evidence, it was important circumstantial evidence.
Then, even if Sirius had cast a spell that could initiate the explosion, he'd been an Auror who was fighting a suspected criminal. Almost any spell used would have been legal, under these circumstances. There was simply no case against Sirius Black.