Madam Bones thought she first had to tackle the Minister. The way he used to act, it was clear that he would reveal whatever was told to either Malfoy or Dumbledore, probably both. She had to prevent that. Luckily, she had the law on her side.
"Minister, I have some important information concerning a very delicate investigation. I believe you should know it, but if it leaks to anyone, the results may turn disastrous."
"I won't tell anyone," he said. It was evident that he was lying. Nothing told to the minister, unless concerning him, ever stayed a secret.
"I need a magical vow to that effect," she insisted.
"Don't you trust me?" he asked, sounding offended.
"I don't trust those who visit here. Some may use various ways to find what you try to hide, most of them illegal."
He frowned. Lucius was paying him for useful information, at least, but Dumbledore? The old man was known to find information in ways nobody understood. If a vow could protect him…
"It's only for a few more days, probably no more than a week. We can't let the information reach others before we finish our investigation," Amelia said in encouragement.
The Minister was very unhappy about it, but gave the vow, quite reluctantly. Amelia dictated the words, just to ensure it would be as strict as she intended.
"Now that you've got the vow, can you tell me already?" Minister Fudge asked with evident impatience.
Amelia smiled internally. The Minister was acting worse than a little boy, although that wasn't too surprising.
She took a deep breath. "We got new information concerning the Black case."
That seemed to get the minister's attention.
"We found out that the man was sent to prison without a trial, without even an interrogation. He was stunned at the scene and was sent to Azkaban before he was even awake. No initial interrogation, no thorough investigation, and certainly no trial. That's a gross travesty and goes against all we try to do, to make the people feel they can trust the ministry to do justice."
Fudge felt overwhelmed. "That's… Impossible!"
She smiled sadly. "It should be impossible, yet the former minister, the former head of the DMLE and the Chief Warlock thought they could disregard law and tradition and sent the scion of a most ancient and noble house to prison."
The Minister, as usual, didn't mind justice. He only minded the public opinion about him. "What can we do? This shouldn't become known, or people will not trust the Ministry."
Amelia smiled. He was acting exactly as she had anticipated. It made her task easier. Somewhat. "You know this can't be kept secret for long. Nothing stays secret in the Ministry. You should turn it into an act of correcting the misdeeds of the previous administration. That would work to your benefit."
"How can we do it?" he asked. Amelia noticed that whenever there was a problem, it was "we", but any success was associated with "I", not that she was surprised.
"I suggest you give a public declaration that we have found some new information and remove the 'kiss on sight' order. You should also change his status from fugitive to 'requested for investigation'. You may blame the previous administration for the misconduct and injustice. I suggest you do it all in only three days from now. We need that time to finish the investigation without some politics trying to intervene."
The minister frowned. He knew whom she was referring to, but he didn't dare say she was wrong. Both Dumbledore and Malfoy had some interest, maybe even involvement, in the Black case, and they would derail the investigation if they knew of it. He felt safer to "not know" due to his vow. The pressure these two could use was more than he could stand.
Amelia had some more to say. Actually, she was telling the minister what to do, but it was phrased as advice. "I suggest you read these documents first. Mr Black was the sworn godfather of Harry Potter, so he couldn't betray the family even if he wanted to. Then, Black also adopted the baby at one month. That would have also prevented him from betraying the baby. Then, we found a copy of the Potter will. It clearly stated that Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper. You also have a copy here. Once you read them all, you'll understand that Black could not be the traitor, or even join You-Know-Who. His vows would have killed him immediately."
She paused to let the minister comprehend. He could understand things, but needed to get the information in small doses.
"Black's wand was snapped when arrested, which is against all that we teach Aurors to do. That is legally called 'destruction of evidence'. Luckily, the DOM can check even a snapped wand for the last cast spells. They found nothing that could explain the explosion or the cut finger. Black used only stunners and shields. I leave a copy of that report, too."
Fudge looked like he was suffering from information overload. She waited a bit longer before adding, "I suggest you read all these documents and then lock them in the most secure safe you have. After that, I suggest you think about how to phrase your announcement most persuasively. You can't consult with others, due to your vow, but you can consult with me if you like."
–..–
Once she finished dealing with the Minister, she decided to talk to Harry. A follow-up medical check-up could provide a good cover. She'd also invited Madam Pomfrey to give testimony on something as a medical expert. She would then have her tested for potions and charms. She felt quite sure the mediwitch would be under the influence of both kinds.
–..–
"I need you to let Sirius know about our investigation and the expected announcement, due in a few days. While I'm sure you don't know and can't tell where he is, I'm also sure you have ways to communicate with him. I'd like him to come to the ministry a day or two after his status is changed, preferably in the company of some journalists. I suspect Sirius will make quite a show out of it."
Harry smiled. "I'll try to let him know. Not sure how long it may take."
She smiled reassuringly. "He should only refrain from being seen before his status change is announced. Then, he may explain the delay by being far away, if needed."
Harry's smile widened. "I'll try to let him know as soon as possible."
–..–
The announcement came as a total surprise to Dumbledore. The minister gave it late in the afternoon, and none of Dumbledore's lackeys knew ahead of time about it. None was present when it was given. Then Dumbledore found out about it only when scanning the morning newspaper. "Sirius Black is NOT Potter's betrayer. Minister rescinds the 'Kiss on sight' order. Black requested to come and give testimony soon."
Nothing of this fitted his plans. He also wondered how this could happen without any information leaking to him. Hadn't he bribed the right people? Impossible!
And worst of all, he couldn't even play as if he'd been the one who'd done this for Sirius.
Then something else started nagging in his mind. How did the DMLE or the Ministry find out about it? Had they breached the will's sealing? Impossible! He had cast some wards on it that would inform him if anybody even touched it. He had also made it unreadable. Then how? And why had all this happened without him knowing about it? Had he not stationed his loyal followers correctly? The mere idea of him erring was unacceptable to him, so — no. Had he not bribed the correct people, or not enough? That was plausible but unlikely. Yet complete secrecy at the Ministry was even more unlikely. He just didn't know what to think.
–..–
Madam Pomfrey visited the DMLE the next day, wondering what it needed her testimony for. She'd not been involved in anything illegal, not even as a bystander, and her job at school was quite routine.
Amelia welcomed her. "Poppy, I'd like to learn some more about what happened at Hogwarts for the last two years. Can you tell me about anything unusual? My niece tells me that quite a few unusual things happen around Harry Potter."
She would not have said it so blatantly, normally, but she felt quite sure the mediwitch needed at least a small nudge to remember things. It might not even suffice.
Poppy proved her right. "I don't remember anything unusual about Mr. Potter. Oh, he plays Quidditch, so he had his share of injuries, like most players. Nothing special."
Amelia made her questioning more focused. "Then, have you given him a thorough check-up during the first week, as you did with other new students?"
Poppy frowned. "Can't say I remember doing that, but I did check all of them that week, so Potter must have also gotten his check-up."
"Aren't you sure?"
Poppy looked worried. "Now that you ask me, I feel like there's a veil obscuring everything concerning Potter. Can it be caused by some spell or potion? I think I should be checked for both."
Amelia smiled sadly. "I suspected that much. Come, the DMLE healers are among the best. I'll lead you to them."
–..–
An hour later, both were fuming. The healers found much more than expected. Aside from the compulsion potion and the compulsion charm, they also found signs of multiple obliviations and even remnants of 'Imperius' — all bearing the unmistakable magical signature of Albus Dumbledore. Most of the memories were fully removed. Some were only encapsulated, as normal for the 'obliviate' charm. These, at least, could be returned.
This didn't help Poppy much. The returned memories were of her treating Harry in various situations, suffering from injuries that were clearly not Quidditch-related.
Madam Bones was glad to find that Poppy was a pureblood. It didn't matter to her personally, but the law, unfair as it was, would prove beneficial in this case. Dumbledore was known to be a half-blood. Casting these spells on a healer was illegal. Casting them on a pureblood was even worse. The Wizengamot would be forced to send him to Azkaban. The law allowed no excuse in this case.
"I suggest you take a few days to rest and recuperate, far away from Dumbledore. I'll send one of my healers there and he'll have all the students checked for manipulations, especially Potter and his close friends," Amelia suggested.
Poppy nodded. "I don't think it can end well if I meet Dumbledore now, and I don't want to end up in Azkaban either. I'll take a vacation in Southern France, where I have some distant relatives."
–..–
The Potters were surprised to be called to the medical wing for a thorough check-up. Their other dorm mates were also invited, each at a different time. They didn't know it at the time, but this coincided with Dumbledore visiting the Ministry.
Hermione was checked first. The healer looked concerned when reading the results. She then told Hermione, "You are as healthy as expected at your age, although I didn't expect to find signs of so much sexual activity. What's bothering me is something else. You have binds on your mind and your magic. Both are roughly two years old. They allow you to use about half your magic and a third of your intellectual ability. Both were cast by Dumbledore."
"What should I do now?" Hermione asked.
The healer sighed. "I can't remove these binds, not here, in any case. You'll need to go to the DMLE. There's a specific ritual to handle powerful magic releases and you'll need to be treated there. I'll try to have it arranged as soon as possible."
Harry's turn was next. The results didn't surprise him either. "You were subjected to severe binds on your magic, letting you use about a tenth of your powers, and your mind is also under a binding, letting you use about half your potential. Your memory is also affected, allowing you to recall only a small part of your memories, making you achieve much lower grades than you should. Your physical health is good. You're still taking the treatment given you when you visited the DMLE some weeks ago, I hope."
Harry nodded. "Sure! I had to buy new, larger clothes twice since."
She smiled at that and then turned serious. "I wonder why nobody checked you for binds then. The ritual to remove them could have been done after removing your scar, saving you another visit there. I'll handle the arrangements and inform you."
Harry thanked her.
Later that day, they found that only Neville, among their dorm mates, was found to have severe binds on his magic and somewhat milder binds on his mind. He'd also need a treatment at the DMLE.
–..–
Sirius Black wasn't a Marauder for nothing. When he arrived at the Ministry for interrogation, he had a contingent of journalists from all over the world accompany him. He also had Albus Dumbledore at his side, looking quite sour.
Sirius had sent a letter to the Potters about it.
"I told Albus that I intend to go for an interrogation and, as the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix, that I was a member of, I expect him to accompany me as a show of confidence in his people. He tried various ways to excuse himself from this, but I insisted, and he could find no plausible reason not to come along.
Then, at the Ministry, Madam Amelia Bones was waiting for us along with the head Auror. She asked me to go with the head Auror and get an interrogation. I clearly stated that I wanted it to be under Veritaserum. The journalists seemed happy to hear that. Dumbledore grimaced some more. Amelia then invited him to sit with her in her office until my questioning was over.
'I asked my secretary to have some tea and biscuits ready, although I doubt it will be a long questioning,' she told the old man. He seemed to like the idea.
My interrogation was quite straightforward. It proved me not guilty of any of the accusations raised against me and made it very clear that Peter was the culprit. I also gave them some memories to be studied at leisure.
They then gave me a voucher to buy a new wand at Ollivander's and restored my position as an Auror. The whole time since my incarceration until today will be considered on duty and I'll get paid a full salary, including overtime. I suspect a good lawyer could get me more for my illegal incarceration, but I don't quite need that money, and I won't bother.
What's more important is that I'll get treated as an injured Auror at St. Mungos for all my mental and physical problems caused by the time in Azkaban. That's worth much more to me and is much more significant.
When I returned to the lobby, I heard that Dumbledore was arrested for using unforgivables against a pureblood, obliviating a pureblood against her will and various other crimes. I don't know the details, but they'll become known in a few days, I'm sure. All the journalists who came with me heard about his arrest and are sure to publish whatever they can find."