Chapter 18
Sirius Black entered the Ministry and made his way to Cornelius Fudge's office. He had Fudge's secretary announce him and a moment later he was being ushered into the Minister's Office.
"Ahh Sirius, so good to see you, what can I do for you?" said Fudge.
"Hello Minister, you're looking well, better than I expected, after all - I heard about your Under secretary. Quite unfortunate that."
"Yes, that was quite a surprise. I would never have expected it of Dolores."
"Yes, most surprising indeed. Does anyone know what happened?"
"No, not really. They tell me the stress of her position must have gotten to her and made her snap. I guess not everyone can handle the pressures of a job in the Ministry" said Fudge pompously, implying by his tone that he could more than handle anything that the Ministry threw at him.
"Is it true that she...?"
"Went insane and used a blood quill to scrawl obscenities all over the walls of her office until she died from blood loss. Unfortunately, yes."
"That has to be one of the strangest ways to commit suicide that I have ever heard off. What was she doing with a blood quill anyway? I wouldn't imagine that there would be much use for something like that at the Ministry."
"Who knows? The quill was part of a set that belonged to her. Why she had it is unfortunately something only she could have answered" said Fudge.
"Still at least with all the attention that this situation with Dumbledore is getting, no one is asking too many questions about her. Otherwise it could have been quite the scandal."
"Yes, Dumbledore, that's another thing that we could have done without. Honestly, what was that man thinking?" grumbled Fudge.
"That was the other matter that I hoped to discuss with you."
"Oh come now, Sirius. Don't start with that. I've had more people than I can count in here telling me I have to do something to protect that man. I'll tell you what I've told them - I cannot and will not push this under the rug. Amelia has made that impossible. I cannot throw out the case against him unless I am willing to fire Amelia and I cannot do that with all the support she has in the Ministry. Surely you can see that? But don't worry, I'm sure he'll provide an adequate defence at his hearing and I'm sure he'll be found innocent so there is no need for you to worry at all."
"I really wasn't about to suggest that you dismiss the case."
"No?"
"No, matters have progressed too far for it to be quietly swept under the rug. We have to have a public hearing. Have you seen the headlines this matter has been getting all week? Rita Skeeter has been braying for his blood and the public isn't far behind. Child endangerment is an issue that everyone has extremely strong feelings for. Every parent in the country is going to be judging us. No - we have to be seen to investigate this matter most thoroughly" said Sirius.
"Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying all along" said Fudge.
"The only problem is that no matter what we do there will still be people who will criticise us. In her latest column Rita Skeeter has said that she doubts the Ministry will ever move against Dumbledore. We must fight this perception Cornelius. We cannot be seen as people willing to let things slide just because of the stature of the accused" said Sirius.
"No – No, of course not. I totally agree, but how do we handle this. After all I'm sure Dumbledore will be found innocent. The man is far too cunning to let something like this bring him down."
"Yes, the problem is whether we find him guilty or innocent there will be people who say that we only ruled that way because of who he is. Find him guilty and they will say his political enemies have orchestrated this. Find him innocent and they will say that of course we are too much in Dumbledore's pocket to ever go against him."
"So we're damned either way?" asked Fudge in a mournful tone. "Perhaps we should have a little chat with the Prophet's managers. It shouldn't be too difficult to get them to report the news the way we want."
"No Cornelius, muzzling the press is at best a short term solution and it's too late for that now anyway - People are already thinking along those lines, not to mention the fact that the international papers have started to pick up the story as well. We can't muzzle all of them. I do have a solution though. I propose that at the hearing you ask each member of the Wizengamot to take a wizard's oath on their magic that they will try this case purely on its merits without any consideration of the accused's history or stature. Ask each of them to swear to strictly abide by the laws of the land in this case."
"The Wizengamot is not likely to agree to that Sirius."
"If they are asked to swear publicly by you Cornelius, then they will have no choice. What will their options be? If they don't agree to swear then they're publicly admitting that they do not intend to be unbiased in this case. The press will drag them over the coals in that case."
"Hmmm, your idea does have merit. After all if we all take this oath then the press cannot criticise us at all, no matter what the outcome of this case."
"Precisely" said Sirius, outwardly calm but inside he was ecstatic. Fudge had bought it hook line and sinker. Take that Dumbledore. "I've taken the liberty to write out a suitable oath that I believe should suffice to ward off any accusations of bias or favouritism" said Sirius as he handed over a piece of parchment to Fudge.
oo00oo
A supremely confident Dumbledore strode serenely into the courtroom that was absolutely packed with spectators and reporters. He was wearing long midnight-blue robes and a perfectly calm expression. He had spent his week away from Hogwarts extremely productively, calling in all the favours and political capital he possessed. More than half the Wizengamot was firmly in his pocket and he was absolutely certain that the case would be dismissed. He paused to give Amelia Bones a glare. There she sat like she owned the place. Well, he would soon disabuse her of that notion. For now though he put on his most genial smile and beamed at all the sitting members.
Harry sat on his bed with the curtains drawn around him, once again watching events on one of his communication mirrors. He wished that he could have been in the courtroom but Sirius had refused to allow it. This was the next best thing he guessed, this mirror had been set up by Sirius and Dobby to give him a perfect bird's eye view of the entire court. Luckily the hearing was happening on a Saturday otherwise he'd have had to come up with an excuse for missing class. As it was he had been forced to pretend to have a headache and tell his friends that he wanted to go have a lie down. Luckily for him they had not dragged him off to the Hospital Wing although Hermione had looked like she was pretty close to doing just that. He looked at the members of the Wizengamot, there were about fifty of them all wearing plum coloured robes with an elaborately worked silver W on the left-hand side of the chest. In the very middle of the front row sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. He saw Amelia Bones sitting on Fudge's left looking very forbidding in her monocle and short grey hair. On Fudge's right sat Sirius looking every inch the powerful pureblood that ordinarily he would never act like.
"Good Morning Ladies and Gentleman of the Wizengamot" greeted Dumbledore taking out his wand and giving a little flick at the normal chair for the accused, the arms of which were covered in chains, changing it into a squashy chintz armchair. The members of the Wizengamot were muttering. All eyes were now on Dumbledore. Some looked annoyed, others slightly frightened; two elderly witches in the back row, however, raised their hands and waved in welcome. Dumbledore sat down; put the tips of his long fingers together and surveyed Fudge over them with an expression of polite interest. The Wizengamot was still muttering and fidgeting restlessly; only when Fudge spoke again did they settle down.
"Very well," said Fudge. "The accused being present — let us begin. Criminal Hearing of the twenty-sixth of October 1991" said Fudge in a ringing voice, "Into the charges of child endangerment by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, resident at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland."
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Court Scribe, Kingsley Shacklebolt -"
"Acting as counsel for himself, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore" announced Dumbledore.
"Yes," said Fudge again, shuffling his notes. "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."
He extricated a piece of parchment from the pile before him, took a deep breath, and read out, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of his actions did endanger the lives of the children entrusted into his care as Headmaster of Hogwarts by keeping several dangerous animals and artifacts within the confines of said Institute without taking adequate safety precautions which constitutes an offence under Paragaraph F, Section 37 of the Child Protection Act of 1885. How does the accused plead?"
"Not guilty" announced Dumbledore.
The muttering in the crowd rose to a roar and Fudge had to resort to a sonorous charm to order them to be quiet before the crowd settled down.
"Yes, Well then" he started in a slightly nervous tone before his voice gained strength again. "Due to the highly emotional nature of the charges and the status of the accused I am going to have to order all members of the Wizengamot to take a magically binding oath to try this case without any bias" announced Fudge.
Dumbledore was shocked out of his complacency. A magically binding oath like that might negate all the work he had done to sway the members of the Wizengamot to his side. He had to stop this so he stood up and declared - "Come now Cornelius, I hardly think that such a measure is required. I have full faith in all of the members sitting here today and have no doubt in my mind that they will be scrupulously fair and unbiased in this matter."
"I will remind you Albus that I am in charge of this court, not you. I happen to think that this is a very necessary measure to counter any charges of bias that are bound to be levelled at this court."
"I second the Minister's motion and fully agree that such a measure is called for" announced Amelia Bones in a booming voice cutting off the protests that some of the Wizengamot members were making.
"Very well then, I shall be the first to take the oath" announced Fudge in a pompous tone as he took out his wand and raised it in his right hand. "I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, do solemnly swear upon my magic that I shall be absolutely fair and unbiased during this hearing against Albus Dumbledore, I shall try and sentence this case purely upon its merits and evidence presented to the court. I shall strictly follow the laws of the land without letting the status and history of the accused have any bearing whatsoever upon the outcome of the case. So mote it be."
The court was in an uproar and Dumbledore was absolutely shocked. He had not expected this at all. Fudge was closely followed by Amelia Bones and then one by one the rest of the Wizengamot followed them in taking the oath. Some of them looked extremely reluctant but they all seemed to realise that they had been backed into a corner by Fudge and all took the oath.
"Good, now that's that done, let us continue with this case. The court calls upon Frank Longbottom, Head Auror of the DMLE to present the evidence gathered at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
The next few hours went by slowly as the evidence against Dumbledore was presented. Harry was highly amused at the looks of shock and outrage when pictures of the Cerberus were displayed. The magical photographs clearly showed the ferocity of the creature as it lunged against the bars of a cage, all three heads snapping and biting in unison. This was soon followed by pictures of Devil's Snare, the flying keys, the chessboard and the troll. Snape's potions didn't get much of a response, being relatively tame, although a few members did say that they thought that leaving bottles of poison lying around was a clear case of child endangerment just on its own. Surprisingly enough one of the members seemed to be incredibly outraged when the Mirror of Erised was brought up; he seemed even more incensed than he had been upon seeing the photographs of the Cerberus.
"Am I hearing this correctly Albus?" snapped Tiberius Ogden. "You had the mirror in an UNLOCKED room without any protections upon it whatsoever?"
"It was only there temporarily, I had planned on moving it very soon as it was to be used as the last line of defence for the stone" defended Dumbledore.
"That is no excuse Albus, at least the other objects were behind a locked door, inadequate protection as that might have been, but to have the mirror just kept in an unused room. What would you have done if a child had stumbled across it Albus? Men - grown men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. For you to just keep it out in the open where any child could come across it is SHOCKING."
"Come now Tiberius, it is hardly more shocking than the Headmaster of the school announcing to the entire school on the very first day that there is something dangerous on the third floor" said Sirius. "After all, I remember what my friends and I were like in back in our school days. Such an announcement would have drawn us like moths to a flame. I doubt we would have even bothered to unpack before heading there to find exactly what was making the corridor so dangerous."
"Not everyone is as reckless or impulsive as you Black" snapped Dumbledore. "My students know better than to disregard my orders."
"Really?" drawled Sirius, "I draw your attention to the transcripts of the student interviews taken at your school. Let me see now, where was it? Aaah here it is, Members of the Wizengamot - kindly look at page seventy-five of the file entered with evidence no 25. During the interviews of the sixth year Gryffindor boys they admitted that a group of them had already checked out the third floor corridor and seen the Cerberus. It seems they were planning on holding a little contest. The only reason they hadn't already held it was that they were still debating whether the winner would be the one who got closest to the Cerberus or the one who managed to spend the longest amount of time within the room. What do you have to say to that Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore opened and closed his mouth like a fish several times before finally saying - "I - I admit that I may have underestimated some aspects of my students' characters but as you can see none of them got hurt so what they may or may not have planned to do is immaterial."
After a few more hours of this, Fudge finally announced an end to the prosecution's case. "Members of the Wizengamot, you have heard the evidence against the accused. At this time I will ask the accused if he has any evidence to present on his behalf."
"Members of the Wizengamot," started Dumbledore as he majestically rose to his feet, "to begin I would like to remind you that historically the Ministry has no rights to interfere with the running of Hogwarts and I was well within my rights as Headmaster of Hogwarts to act in the manner which I did. All that I did was for the Greater Good - The Greater Good, ladies and gentlemen. It was for the Greater Good that the Philosopher's Stone had to be kept safe. It was imperative that certain unsavoury elements of the wizarding world not get their hands upon such an item of incalculable power. As such it was well within my right to utilise the walls and wards of Hogwarts to keep this item safe. I took the danger upon myself to keep all of you safe. I have served the Wizarding World my entire life and I would do anything for the safety of the wizarding world - as I have proved time and time again in the past. I assure you that the students of Hogwart's were perfectly safe at all times and the presence of the Stone and its protections did not endanger them in anyway whatsoever. I respectfully submit myself to the will of the court. All I can do now is to await your verdict." Dumbledore put his fingertips together again and said no more.
Harry was surprised; he had half expected Dumbledore to announce that he was protecting the stone against Voldemort. But then he guessed that Dumbledore knew that the Wizengamot would not be very likely to believe that Voldemort had returned. The entire Wizengamot had fallen into urgent, whispered conversations. Then the whispering stopped.
"Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?" said Madam Bone's booming voice.
There were no hands in the air, not a one. Dumbledore stared in shock but before he could say anything Madam Bones had said - "And those in favour of conviction?"
Fudge raised his hand followed closely by Amelia Bones and Sirius. Slowly, one by one, every single member of the Wizengamot raised his hand. Fudge glanced around then lowered his hand. He took two deep breaths and then said in a nervous voice "Very well, very well ... convicted on all charges. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore you have hereby been found guilty of the charge of child endangerment. As such as per the Child Protection Act of 1885 you are hereby sentenced to..."
"Excuse me Minister" interjected Sirius quickly. "I am sorry to interrupt but since we have all taken an oath to strictly uphold the law in this case I just wanted to check with you if you were aware of the current laws pertaining to the sentencing of the accused."
"Of course Mr. Black" said Fudge in a confused, slightly indignant tone. "This case falls under the Child Protection Act of 1885 which states that in cases of Child Endangerment where a child is put in danger but no injuries occur - in such a case the accused is sentenced to one month in Azkaban."
"Aaah, then I'm glad I interrupted or you, and all of us, might have been in danger of losing our magic."
"How so?" asked Tiberius Ogden in a worried tone.
"Well sir, while it is true that the case does fall under the Child Protection Act, the sentencing for the same also falls under the Mandatory Sentencing Act of 1986. As you might remember it was I, along with Madam Bones and others of the DMLE, who co-authored that law and as such I am a bit of an expert when it comes to that Act which lays out the mandatory punishments that are required for various offences against the law."
"And what does it say?" snapped Dumbledore.
"The Mandatory Sentencing act of 1986 does in fact impose a sentence of one month in Azkaban. However this is for one SINGLE count of Child Endangerment. According to Paragraph J, Section 259 of the said Act - when multiple children are endangered then each child shall constitute as a separate count of Child Endangerment and the guilty party will be subject to a month of imprisonment for each such count. A child is defined as anyone under the age of majority, that is - anyone under the age of seventeen" announced Sirius to a court that was shocked silent as the people in it slowly understood the ramifications.
"And we found Dumbledore guilty of endangering all the children in Hogwarts. How many children are currently attending?" asked Fudge in shock.
"Currently there are four hundred and fifty four students under the age of seventeen residing at Hogwarts" said Frank Longbottom.*
"That - that means ..." said Fudge.
"That means that Albus Dumbledore must be sentenced to four hundred and fifty-four counts of Child Endangerment which carries a sentence of four hundred and fifty-four months in Azkaban. I believe that works out to ..." Sirius scribbled out a quick calculation upon a piece of parchment, Merlin but he hated long division - "Thirty-seven years and ten months" said Sirius.
"But-but surely that's excessive" whimpered Fudge.
"Unfortunately Minister, our oaths leave us no choice but to follow the law, or risk losing our magic and the law states that Albus Dumbledore has to be sentenced to Thirty-seven Years and Ten Months in Azkaban. That is of course assuming that we decide to treat all the separate dangers, such as the Cerberus, Troll, Mirror etcetera as one count, instead of applying multiple charges for each" said Sirius.
Fudge looked around the court, absolutely shocked and terrified at what he was about to do, he visibly steeled himself before saying - "Very well, then I hereby sentence Albus Dumbledore to Thirty-seven years and ..."
"And I think that's quite enough Cornelius. Well — it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to — what is the phrase? — come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing" said Dumbledore getting to his feet. A flash of gold suddenly blinded the people in the courtroom as Fawkes flamed into existence next to Dumbledore. Dumbledore reached swiftly to grasp the phoenix's long golden tail, but had to draw his hand back quickly, hissing in pain. Bars of fire had suddenly sprung around Fawkes imprisoning the phoenix in a fiery cage. Dumbledores hand was covered in burns and blisters where it had come too close to the bars. Fawkes squawked indignantly from within his cage.
"I'm sorry Albus, but did you think we were all incompetents? Did you assume we would not think to ward against your phoenix?" asked Madam Bones as the chair that Dumbledore had changed reverted back to its original form. The chains covering its arms sprang to life and wrapped around Dumbledore pulling him back down into the chair, binding him and his magic.
Fudge was purple with anger, he jumped to his feet and screamed at Dumbledore "How-how dare you show such disrespect to the Ministry and Wizengamot? I will not stand for this Dumbledore."
"Members of the Wizengamot, I feel that I must move that Albus Dumbledore be held in contempt of court and also charge him with attempting to escape from his lawful sentence. As you know - any escape attempt imposes the penalty of a further ten years in Azkaban and the forfeiture of all rights to appeal, pardon or parole" boomed Madam Bones in a voice of iron. "All in favour raise your hands now."
Every single member of the Wizengamot was absolutely incensed at Dumbledore's blatant escape attempt and once again the vote was unanimous against the soon to be former Chief Warlock.
"Aurors, you will take Mr. Dumbledore to Azkaban immediately. As he has proven himself to be an extremely high security risk he is to be incarcerated in the maximum security wing at Azkaban" ordered Madam Bones. "His Phoenix will not be released until such time as the wards of Azkaban are upgraded to keep it out."
Harry collapsed on his bed, the stress and tension that had pervaded his body ever since he entered Hogwarts finally leaving him. Thank god the anti-phoenix wards had worked, he had not wanted to do anything to hurt Fawkes and he was immensely grateful that Quirrell had known of an obscure ward that would prevent Phoenix travel without doing any permanent damage to the magnificent creature. He trusted Amelia and Sirius to make sure that Dumbledore would reach a cell in Azkaban without incident. He relaxed and let out a deep sigh - finally he felt a measure of peace and safety. The plan against Dumbledore had gone off flawlessly. He sighed again before getting up, he had to talk to his parents and let them know that they no longer had to worry about Dumbledore. He smiled at the thought of their reactions before pulling out the mirror that was the twin of the one that his parents had. One of these days he would figure out a way to combine mirrors. As things stood, if anyone ever saw all the different mirrors that he currently possessed - they would think he was the vainest boy in the entire country.
oo00oo
*I believe that Rowling once said that about a 1000 students attend Hogwarts. This number may not have been immediately obvious in the books and movies which showed far fewer pupils, but I think we can assume that since the books were largely written from Harry's POV then only those students with which he actually came in contact with would ever be mentioned. If we go strictly by the students mentioned in the books then most readers would come to a figure of about 40 students a year. This seems very low and while JKR did say that there are about a thousand students some of these students would have been over the age of seventeen, so I'm just going to make a wild guess at the number of underage students at Hogwarts.
This chapter contained some edited excerpts from Order of the Phoenix. Description of the Mirror of Erised was taken from the Philosopher's Stone. As to what happened to Dolores Umbridge, while I'm sure most of you will guess correctly, an explanation will be given or alluded to in one of the following chapters.
Chapter 19
After all the excitement and controversy caused by Dumbledore's trial and conviction, the trial of Severus Snape was quite the anticlimax. It was a quiet subdued affair with hardly any spectators and just a single junior reporter from the Prophet. After all the trial was widely rumoured to be a foregone conclusion, the man was obviously guilty and no-one was expecting any surprises from the event. Due to Snape's personality he had no friends to come and give him support. Sirius was surprised that more people had not turned up to see the most hated professor in Hogwart's history get his just deserts though. It seemed that most people could not be bothered with the potion masters fate. Even from the Hogwart's staff only Minerva McGonagall had bothered to show up and she was probably there just to ascertain whether she would need to arrange for another potions professor.
Snape had been kept on a strict regime of flushing potions for the greater part of two weeks just on the off-chance that he might have developed a counter for veritaserum. Unfortunately for him this had resulted in him not being prescribed anydess potions to deal with his injuries and his time in the DMLE's holding cells had been quite painful.
Currently the members were annoyed at the lack of progress in the trial. They had been hoping for a quick confession and conviction but even when under the influence of veritaserum Snape had not confessed to any involvement with the attack on Hogwarts.
"It's obvious that the confundus charm the accused was hit with during the battle has scrambled his memory so severely that it has worked almost like an obliviate. That can happen sometime when the target is weak-willed or if the spell was cast with a lot of power" announced Frank Longbottom.
"That is indeed unfortunate, without a confession I am not sure what we can find him guilty of. As things stand I believe the only crime we can charge him with is attempted robbery" said Tiberius Ogden.
"He was with a group of Death Eaters and apprehended during an attack on the school. I think we can do better than attempted robbery, don't you think?" asked Madam Bones.
"Unfortunately his wand was shattered when he was disarmed and so we have no evidence that he was attacking the school" said Tiberius Ogden. Tiberius had always been a great believer in the law and was extremely reluctant to convict anyone without ironclad evidence of their guilt.
"A charge of attempted robbery seems quite inadequate though" said Fudge. Ever since Dumbledore's conviction he had been lauded in the press as a great proponent for law and order. He had been basking in the praise and did not want to ruin his new image by letting someone like Snape off with a light sentence.
"He has been named a Death Eater before" said Sirius, "It was only Dumbledore's testimony that kept him out of Azkaban last time."
"Once again, that is not enough to warrant a stay in Azkaban. Due to various reasons simply being a Death Eater was never considered a crime. It is only the crimes that they actually commit that we can sentence them for" intoned Ogden.
"May I have the court's indulgence for a moment, due to Dumbledore the accused was never questioned about his activities in the last war and I would like to ask him a few questions pertaining to that period" said Sirius.
"I don't have any problems with that" said Fudge.
"Thank you Minister" said Sirius before turning to Snape who was still under the influence of veritaserum, "Severus Snape did you have any involvement whatsoever in the deaths of James and Lily Potter?"
"Yes," said Snape causing an immediate uproar in the Wizengamot. He did not elaborate further as veritaserum only compelled a person to answer truthfully to any questions posed. It did not give them the compulsion to elaborate on their answers.
"What exactly did you have to do with their deaths?" asked Sirius.
"I was the one who gave the Dark Lord the prophecy that caused him to target the Potters" said Snape.
"What is this prophecy he is talking about?" asked Fudge.
"That does not really matter at this time Minister, now if you don't mind I have only one more question to ask the accused."
"Very well, go on" said Fudge.
'This was it' thought Sirius. He and Harry had decided that this was the question that would seal Snape's fate. If he answered Yes, Sirius had promised to do what he could to minimise Snape's sentence. Any other answer and Sirius would do his best to throw him in the deepest pits of Azkaban.
"Severus Snape, do you regret the death of James Potter?" asked Sirius.
"No, I do not" answered Snape. If he been able to elaborate he might have explained how he hated the man, how he could not be expected to regret the death of a man he so reviled. He could have explained how much he deeply regretted causing Voldemort to target Lily - his childhood friend. Unfortunately for him he could not, and for that matter Sirius was well aware that Snape would have regretted Lily's death but was only interested to know if he had any regret for the murder of James and thus his fate was sealed.
"There you have it Ladies and Gentleman of the Wizengamot. Severus Snape gave an insane Dark Lord the information that caused him to target James Potter. He is directly responsible for the death of a Pureblood Wizard from an ancient Pureblood house and what is more he does not even have the decency to show the slightest bit of remorse for his actions. I move that we charge him with one count of conspiracy to commit murder and in addition two counts of accessory to murder for the deaths of James and Lily Potter" said Sirius.
"I agree" said Cornelius Fudge, followed quickly by the agreement of Tiberius Ogden and the rest of the Wizengamot. Snape was quickly sentenced to 20 years in Azkaban.
oo00oo
Back at Hogwarts Harry and Neville were called into Professor McGonagall's office for a quick chat.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom thank you for coming so promptly" said the stern tranfiguration professor. "I wanted to ask you how your potions classes are going."
"Very well Professor, Miss Curie is a really good teacher" said Harry.
"That is good to know. The thing is, it does not look like Professor Snape will be returning to Hogwarts anytime soon, so I have to find someone to take over from him. Miss Curie came to mind so if you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions about her classes."
"What would you like to know Professor?" said Neville.
"Well, she's been teaching you for almost two months now correct?"
"Yes."
"How many potions has she had you brew during that time?"
"Not a one Professor. Miss Curie says we are not allowed to touch a cauldron until we have memorised the properties of all of the most common potion ingredients. According to her unless we know exactly how all the various ingredients interact with each other it is too dangerous to brew potions."
"I see. That is a very different approach from Professor Snape."
"Yes, she doesn't think much of Professor Snape's methods to be honest, according to her not only was he criminally negligent to have first years brew a potion that had volatile ingredients in their very first class but she also thinks that his methods of instructions result in students that don't know anything but how to brew potions from recipes that someone else has come up with" said Harry.
"I see, may I ask what else she has been teaching you during this time."
"Ingredient preparation mostly. She says unless we can do a perfect mise en place we are never going to be any good at potions."
"Mise en place? I do not believe I have heard that term before. What does it mean?"
"Oh that's just when you prepare and keep all the ingredients ready before you start brewing. You know cutting, dicing, grinding whatever. She has very high standards and we're still learning all the different methods" said Neville.
"I see, well she certainly sounds competent. Thank you very much boys, I think I shall be having a talk with Miss Curie soon. Hopefully she will be willing to take up a full time position here."
oo00oo
Soon after Harry found himself in a meeting with yet another Hogwarts Professor. Quirrell had called him to his quarters to discuss recent events.
"Hello Professor, you wanted to see me?" asked Harry.
"Yes Mr. Potter, I had some things I wanted to discuss with you."
"Okay, Do you want me to get Sirius on the mirror as well?"
"You may if you prefer, however I don't need to speak to him today, only you."
"Okay, what did you want to discuss?"
"Oh, this and that. The first would be that I thought you should know that I have retrieved my remaining horcruxes and reclaimed all my soul fragments. I no longer have a single horcrux."
Harry was surprised, somehow he had expected Tom to keep the remaining horcruxes as insurance against being killed. He briefly contemplated asking to see the Gaunt ring, but then he decided he did not want to know if it was truly the resurrection stone or not. It was best to leave that issue alone. "How did you get into the Lestrange vault?"
"When I gave it to Bellatrix and asked her to keep it safe in her vault I also asked her for a key and a letter granting the bearer authorisation to access the vault. Just in case something happened to her or her husband."
"I see. May I ask how you feel now that your soul is once again complete?"
"Hmmm, it seems to have added some clarity to my thinking. Increased my mental acuity back to what it was before I ever made a Horcrux."
"Really, you mean you're smarter now? From my observations of you since school started I did not think that was possible. You've been absolutely brilliant as a DADA Professor and in all our other dealings and if you were not operating at a hundred percent then... I think the rest of the school year should be very interesting" said Harry.
"Yes, well I've been rethinking some of our interactions and I've come to the conclusion that I seem to have a nasty habit of underestimating you."
"How so?"
"You and Black as well to be honest. I was quite surprised to hear during the trial that the law that saw Dumbledore sentenced to nearly thirty-eight years in prison was in fact penned by Mr. Black. Not only that but he did it five years before it would be used. That suggests a remarkable propensity for long term planning that I did not think him capable off. Not only that but in all our planning sessions he never once let slip that he had written the law that we were planning on using. Tell me, did he write it just so that he could use it against Dumbledore someday?"
"Yes, yes he did. He hates politics to tell you the truth, he only entered the Wizengamot so that he could see Dumbledore get what was coming to him."
"Remarkable. One would almost think he had a bit of Seer in him. How did he know that Dumbledore would ever do anything to put the school in danger?"
Harry really did not want to go into details about his other set of memories, or the fact that it was his mother that had asked Sirius to write up such a law. "Dumbledore has always been remarkably unconcerned with the students safety. Did you know that when Sirius and my parents were in school there was a werewolf attending along with them?"
"Really?"
"Yes, and it seems that the only precaution that Dumbledore took was to provide a place for the transformations. He did not have a professor monitor the transformations or guard the place provided for the same. It seems to have been left totally up to the student himself to make sure that he was secure for the transformations. Not that I have anything against werewolves you understand. Most of the time they're just people with an unfortunate condition that manifests once a month. However to leave one to transform unmonitored near a school full of children... It boggles the mind really."
"Remarkable, and to think this man was the headmaster."
"Yes," said Harry, "In fact, did you know he didn't even do anything when Snape was almost killed by the student when he followed him during a full moon."
"Such a pity he wasn't. If anyone deserved to die in such a manner it was Snape."
"You know you seem to hold a lot of animosity towards Snape. Much more than you displayed towards the other Death Eaters. Why is that?"
"Isn't it obvious Potter. I was a Slytherin and I was proud to be one. That man has done more to harm Slytherin house than anyone. Slytherin is supposed to be the house of the cunning and ambitious. Under Snape it has degenerated to a house of mindless thugs. Not only did he turn the rest of the school against Slytherin with his unfair point deductions and behaviour but he set the worst kind of example for the students of his house. Look at the way he made his dislike of you so blatantly obvious. You are the Boy Who Lived, an icon for the rest of the wizarding world, your influence will only grow from here on and he set out to insult and humiliate you. Why? A true Slytherin would never have given you the slightest inkling that he disliked you, he would have made sure to make the best possible impression upon you and turned you into his biggest supporter. Now his predecessor - that was a true Slytherin."
"Slughorn?"
"Yes, did you know that from his position here at Hogwarts, Slughorn amassed the kind of network that most can only dream of. He knew absolutely everyone worth knowing. I dare say that he could arrange for anything that he wanted to. If you were interested in playing Professional Quidditch - with one owl he could arrange a meeting with any team coach that you desired. Need to see a healer, Slughorn would be able to put you in touch with the Head of St. Mungos. Whats more he did all this with minimal effort on his part. All he did was throw those Slug Club parties, parties that were hardly a chore as he himself enjoyed them immensely. And Dumbledore replaced him with Snape - Snape a man who seemed to derive pleasure from antagonising as many people as he could."
"Dumbledore has much to answer for" said Harry.
"Yes, but to get back on topic, I was saying how I had underestimated you - You know I was quite surprised by that quill you had me put the compulsion charm on. That showed a certain...ruthlessness that I did not expect you to possess."
"Yes, that reminds me, I did want to thank you for your help. Your charm worked perfectly and the aurors who investigated the incident did not suspect a thing."
"Hmmm, yes. Someday you must tell me why that was necessary. Well anyway, once I became aware that I had been seriously underestimating you I went over all our interactions and I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"When exactly do you plan on killing me?"
Harry stared at Quirrell. It was a supremely dangerous moment. He imagined he could almost feel ice cracking beneath his feet about to plunge him into an icy death. He decided to go mostly with the truth.
"Professor, I have absolutely no plans to do you any harm whatsoever. For that matter haven't you forgotten our unbreakable vows to each other?"
"Yes - our vows, they did lull me into quite the false sense of security. But then I remembered - your vow is valid only as long as neither me nor any of my followers attack you."
"So?"
"So - You had that altercation with Snape in your first potions class. That could be construed as an attack on you by Snape. For that matter when we lured my former followers here to the school, their actions could have been taken as an attack on the school and by extension the students which of course includes you. Right now I doubt whether you are bound by any vow whatsoever. So I ask again - When are you planning on killing me. I do not want to wait around wondering when my end will come. You have your wand I trust. I am right here and I am still bound by my vow. That means that you are free to take the first shot at me. My wand is not in my hand and I am sitting barely three feet from you, there is no way you will miss. Go ahead and take your shot."
Harry wondered if part of Tom had a death wish, after all he knew from observing Harry and Sirius practise, that Harry could easily cast a blasting curse. At this distance, if he hit Tom's head or even his chest it was bound to be fatal. Was Tom still trying to atone for his previous actions? Did he not have anything to live for now that he had disposed of his Death Eaters? Or was he simply tying to goad Harry into freeing him from his vow?
"You're right, I may not be bound by the vow any more, but I have absolutely no intention of testing it out by attacking you. Why exactly do you think I want to kill you?" asked Harry, carefully not moving a single muscle towards his wand.
"I doubt that you have forgotten that I was the one who killed your parents Potter. For that matter now that my Death Eaters and Dumbledore have been taken care of - you have no further use of me. Now I am no more than a liability to you and Black. Why would you not take your revenge?"
"For one, it was the Dark Lord Voldemort who killed my parents. You are no longer that man. Secondly, I think you are underestimating me again Professor. My plans did not end with the removal of a handful of people. No, they are much larger in scope and you - I still consider you an incredible asset. I would hardly discard someone so valuable to me" said Harry.
"And what are these plans?"
"In the short term not much, a few loose ends need to be tied up. The DMLE will soon receive an anonymous tip about a fugitive living with Barty Crouch. We will need to decide if we want to bother doing anything about Karkaroff at some point. Long term - look at the world around us Professor. The conditions that saw the rise of a Dark Lord are still largely unchanged. Purebloods still cling stubbornly to their little fiefdoms. Muggleborns and half-bloods are still discriminated against. Other magical creatures are still treated as subhumans. I plan to be an agent of change Professor. I plan to drag the wizarding world out of its stagnation. Will you join me?" asked Harry.
"What do your plans have to do with me?" asked Quirrell, barely indicating what he thought about Harry's rather grandiose announcement.
"The original plan was for you to enter politics. Quirinus Quirrell is a pureblood wizard with an impeccable background and is currently famous as the Defender of Hogwarts. The man who saved a school full of children should not have much difficulty in getting elected. You're a bit young now but within ten years you could easily be the next Minister of Magic. It also doesn't hurt that the corporation that Sirius and I own - The Flower Foundation - has already taken a majority ownership of the Daily Prophet which will now be only too pleased to loudly proclaim your suitability for the post. Once you were in the Ministry you could help getting things changed the way we want. Sirius can only do so much on his own in the Wizengamot after all."
"The Flower Foundation?"
"Yes, we created it shortly before school started. We can use to do things we don't want directly linked to us. Things like buying the Prophet, investing in the Wizarding Wireless or the Quibbler and Witch Weekly. In fact, you might consider accessing the Lestrange vault again and investing its contents with us. it doesn't hurt to have as much money as we can behind us after all."
"You said that was your original plan. What is your current plan?" asked Quirrell.
"Well, Fudge is proving to be quite malleable and so far is very willing to listen to any suggestions that Sirius makes so for now we have no pressing need to replace him. Also your DADA classes have been quite the revelation. I had not expected you to be half as good a teacher as you are. In my humble opinion you are currently the best Professor in this school and I am extremely reluctant to have the school lose your services. I have to ask you Professor - How do you like being an educator? What would you prefer - going into politics or helping to shape the minds of the next generation of wizards and witches?"
"Politics might not be the best choice for me, after all the last time I had a taste for power...we both know how that turned out. I think that I would far prefer staying at Hogwarts. I find teaching here to be very...satisfying."
"Good to know. I think that it's time I told you about our plans for Hogwarts. Truly lasting change must start with education after all. There are quite a few things that we will be looking at changing. To start with..."
Chapter 20
The entire Hogwarts Staff had been called into a meeting with Amelia Bones and others from the Ministry. It had been a time of great uncertainty for most of them. They had been horrified at the repercussions to the Death Eater attack and the DMLE's reaction to discovering the Philosopher's Stone and it's protections. McGonagall, Sprout, Hagrid and Flitwick were on tenterhooks. If someone like Dumbledore could be sentenced to Azkaban, what would their fate be? After all they had all contributed to the defences around the stone. Had the ministry finally come around to levelling charges at the rest of them? Would they be charged with Child Endangerment as well? Four Hundred and Fifty Four Months in Azkaban. Was that the fate awaiting all of them?
"All right, everyone come in and take a seat" announced Amelia Bones in a strict no-nonsense tone. "I have a few announcements to make."
The staff members wandered into the room and took their seats around the table. They saw that Sirius Black and Frank Longbottom were also accompanying Amelia.
"The first item on the agenda is to inform you that due to their inability to keep Dumbledore in check the entire Board of Governors has been sacked by special decree of the Ministry of Magic." Having Lucius Malfoy as one of their members also hadn't helped the previous board. "The Ministry has set up a new provisional board consisting of I, Sirius Black and Frank Longbottom" said Amelia.
"Secondly, we are very disappointed with the conduct of the Hogwarts Staff. With the exception of Professor Quirrell none of you seem to have found anything wrong with Dumbledore's plan for the stone that put the entire school in danger. None of you'll saw fit to inform the DMLE or the Ministry that the Headmaster was overstepping his bounds and endangering the students. For now the Ministry has decided that you will not be held responsible as you'll were following Dumbledore's orders. You may consider yourselves very lucky that we are not pressing charges against the whole lot of you. We cannot and will not allow such a situation to occur again. Therefore there is a new condition for your continued employment here at Hogwarts. Each of you is required to sign a magical contract. This contract will not allow you to do anything to endanger the students. It will force you to put the safety of the students first and foremost before any other considerations. There are also a few other conditions such as a requirement to teach in a fair unbiased manner. Staff are not allowed to let any prejudices you'll may have to interfere in any way with the student's education or grades. You will always be required to be absolutely fair and unbiased in your dealing with the students. Please look over the contracts, they are in the folders in front of you. If any of you feel that you are unable to sign such a contract then you may submit your resignations at once" said Amelia.
McGonagall and the others spent a few moments going over the contract. It was an extraordinarily well crafted document. The writer had not left a single loophole and the consequences for breaking it were not too severe. Breaking the contract immediately caused the signer to be magically evicted from Hogwarts. They could live with that. The writer had also put in a warning of sorts. If the signer carried out any actions to break the contact they would immediately feel pain. They would then be given five minutes to reverse their actions before they were magically evicted from the Hogwart's grounds. So if someone broke a condition by mistake they would know and could rectify it. One by one each member of the staff signed their contracts.
"The final item on the agenda is the announcement of the new Headmaster. We have decided to give the job to someone who has proven that he puts the safety of the children above all other considerations. Therefore it is my pleasure to announce that professor Quirrell will be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts" said Amelia.
"But-but he's too young and inexperienced" sputtered McGonagall.
"Unfortunately Minerva the sad fact is that all your years and years of experience didn't help in keeping the children safe. Did it Minerva? I'm sorry Minerva, I know you were next in line for the job but you were much too close to Dumbledore and you did nothing to stop him from putting the students at risk. Out of all the experienced professors here only Professor Quirrell tried to inform the DMLE about Dumbledore's actions. We also questioned the students about his classes and the response we got was overwhelmingly positive. Therefore we feel that he is without a doubt the best man for the job" said Amelia. "I will now turn the meeting over to you Professor Quirrell."
"Thank you Madam Bones, your faith in me is very gratifying and much appreciated. Professor McGonagall I do hope that I can continue to count on you in your role as Deputy Headmistress?" said Quirrell.
"Yes-Yes of course" said a dismayed McGonagall. She had always expected to become Headmistress once Dumbledore retired and now someone much younger than her was being made Headmaster. She knew that meant she would never become Headmistress and it was a bitter disappointment to her.
"Well, then I believe the first matter that needs to be addressed is a few changes to our staff. I believe Professor McGonagall was already looking into a replacement for Professor Snape. How is that going Professor?" asked Quirrell.
"I've set up an interview with a Miss Curie. She's been tutoring Potter and Longbottom in Potions and I believe she will make an excellent replacement for Professor Snape."
"Excellent. We will still require a new Head for Slytherin House. Who do you think would be most suitable for that?" said Quirrell.
"Perhaps Professor Vector would be willing to take on the added responsibility?" said McGonagall.
"Professor Vector?" asked Quirrell.
"Yes, of course I would be happy to" answered Vector.
"Excellent, so that's settled - Professor Vector shall be the new head of Slytherin House. Now there is one other change that I feel is urgently required. I think Professor Binns needs to be replaced as our History Professor as soon as possible. From what I have seen and heard, most of the students seem to view that class as a scheduled nap-time. We must get a Professor in here who can teach the children more than just the goblin rebellions. Someone who can make the subject inspiring."
"But... what do we do about Binns? He's a part of Hogwart's history" asked McGonagall.
"Yes, in some ways Binns is quite inspiring. He embodies a truly wonderful work ethic. The Professor who would not even let death stop him from doing his job. That aspect of him is truly a wonderful example for the children. Don't you think?" said Quirrell.
"So what do you plan on doing?" asked Flitwick.
"What I propose is that we move Binns to another role. I think it would be a more effective use of his talents if we..." and Professor Quirrell explained his plan to a group of surprised teachers, who were wondering why no one had ever thought of that before.
oo00oo
"There is one more thing left to discuss" said Professor Quirrell, "and that is - Hagrid. As you know due to the recent unpleasantness, all of you were investigated and during the investigation it came to light that Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts and is not currently authorised to carry a wand."
"You can't get rid of Hagrid. You just can't..." shouted McGonagall.
"Calm down Professor, no one is suggesting we get rid of Hagrid. What I wanted to ask Hagrid is why, in all these years, he never appealed his expulsion. After all records show that there was barely any evidence linking him to the death of the student" said Quirrell.
"Eh, I asked Professor Dumbledore many times whether he could do something and he always said that dere was no use in appealin'. That dere was no evidence" answered Hagrid.
"I see, well I hesitate to speak ill of Professor Dumbledore - there has been more than enough of that going on. However, just the fact that it was Tom Riddle that turned you in to Headmaster Dippet was more than enough to overturn your expulsion."
"What does Tom Riddle have to do with this?" asked a puzzled McGonagall.
"Hmm, and here I thought you were privy to all of Dumbledore's secrets. It's really quite astonishing the number of things he kept close to his chest - Tom Riddle was the birth-name of Lord Voldemort" said Amelia Bones.
"What?" exclaimed Hagrid, "It was You Know Who what turned me in?"
"Yes. Anyway once that came to light we decided to do something about it" said Frank Longbottom.
"W-Why?"
"Hagrid, the ministry is currently full of people who remember you most fondly from their years at Hogwarts. How many times did you chase Sirius and his friends out of the Forbidden Forest? How many other students have you had over to your house for tea and those unforgettable rock cakes of yours? You could have come to us anytime and we would have done our best to help you. I'm only sorry that I never thought of it before" said Frank Longbottom.
"B-But Professor Dumbledore h-he ... he said..." said Hagrid.
"Yes, well thankfully Dumbledore is no longer in charge" said Amelia as she handed over a piece of official looking parchment to Hagrid, "and as a representative of the Ministry it is my great pleasure to give you this official notice that your previous expulsion has been overturned and you are now authorised to carry a wand."
"T-Thank Yeh" said a teary, overwhelmed Hagrid.
"Right, now as Headmaster I would like to talk about moving you to another position. I believe Professor Kettleburn is looking to retire in a few years. With that in mind I'd like you to work with him over the remaining school year. Everyone knows that you know everything there is to know about the care of Magical Creatures. I'd like you to consider taking your OWL's and NEWT's for COMC. I'm sure that you can pass the practical portions of the exams right now if you so wish. Professor Kettleburn will help you with the theory part of the exam. Once you have the necessary qualifications we can transition you to the post of Assistant Professor with the idea that you will eventually become a full professor. I think that the NEWT level students will benefit greatly from working with you" said Quirrell.
"I could do that" said Hagrid.
"There is one small caveat though Hagrid. We all know of your...hmmm...inclination to underestimate the danger posed by certain Magical Creatures. Therefore for now I would like you to work only with the NEWT students. Also I'd like you to get Professor Kettleburn's approval for all the creatures you wish to introduce your students too" said Quirrell.
"Of course Headmaster" said Hagrid.
"We should also get Filch to start taking over your duties as Groundskeeper. Ideally I would like to limit his interaction with the students as much as possible. The man seems to think that the only way to enforce discipline is by threatening the children with all sorts of tortures" said Quirrell.
"Finally, recently the ministry obtained something that presents us with a priceless educational opportunity." Quirrell retrieved a wooden case from the side of the room and presented it to Hagrid. "Go on and take the lid off" said Quirrell.
Hagrid carefully pried off the lid of the case. Inside it nestled in straw was an huge black egg.
"Blimey, is-is that a...?"
"Yes Hagrid, that is a Dragon egg. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick could you kindly help Hagrid create a flame proof enclosure. Something large enough to accommodate the dragons nest as well as our NEWT students. The ministry has authorised us to keep the Dragon egg until it hatches and for a little while after that. We can keep it until it's a month old, after which the Dragon will have to be transferred to a Dragon Reserve."
"I've always wanted a Dragon" whispered Hagrid, staring at the egg in absolute bliss.
Quirrell fought hard to keep his face pleasant. Why on earth had the boy insisted that Hagrid be given a Dragon? A Dragon of all things. Why was he allied with him again? How on earth had the boy known he had the necessary contacts to obtain such an item in the first place? He glumly wondered how many safety charms and wards he would have to layer over the dragon's temporary home before his oath to keep the students safe would be satisfied. Especially as the person who was supposed to be taking care of it was even now looking at it as if it was the cutest, fluffiest kitten on the face of the planet. Oh well, it was only for a month or so anyway, and the students would appreciate getting to see a baby dragon. Hardly any people outside the Dragon Reserves could make that claim after all. Not to mention that he did owe Hagrid as well. Giving him a dragon might not repay the debt but surely it reduced it a by a bit. He would probably have to organise some tours for the younger children as well or he'd have to place a twenty-four hour guard on the enclosure to keep the curious away.
"Try not to get too attached to it Hagrid. Remember we only have it for a short time" warned Quirrell.
oo00oo
It was the Christmas break and Harry was back with his family. Dudley was back from Smeltings as well and the two boys had been trying to cram as much fun into their break as they could. When Sirius Black showed up that morning he found the house a pleasant mix of Christmas cheer topped off with a sprinkling of the chaos that Dudley and Harry specialised in. Petunia opened the door to find an uncharacteristically pale and vaguely shell shocked looking Sirius.
"Sirius, this is a pleasant surprise, what brings you by so early and why are you looking so...so..." said Petunia.
"Hi Petunia, eh ... just had a bit of news I had to tell you all. Could you let Harry know I'm here" said Sirius.
"Sure Sirius, why don't you take a seat. I'll put some tea on, shall I?" asked Petunia.
"Tea would be lovely, thank you" said Sirius as he sat down in their living room.
Harry came running to meet Sirius as soon as he heard that he was there.
"Hey Sirius, Mum said you had some news" exclaimed Harry.
"Yes...news...yes. Perhaps we should wait for your Mum to come back, I could really do with some tea" said Sirius nervously.
"Okay, now you've got me worried. What's happened?" asked Harry.
"Oh...it's nothing to worry about really..." said Sirius.
Petunia came in with the tea at that moment and Harry was jumping out of his skin with impatience as she served tea to Sirius.
"Come on now, you've got your tea. Now tell me what happened" said Harry.
"Uh ... it's all your mother's fault" said Sirius.
"Me? What did I do?" exclaimed a surprised Petunia.
"Sorry Petunia, not you, I was talking about Lily" said Sirius.
"Huh. What did Lily do?" asked Petunia.
"You know what happened ten years ago right?" asked Sirius.
"You mean... When she?" asked Petunia.
"Yes, exactly. Well she had a plan and part of the plan required me to become friends with Amelia Bones. We needed her support for some laws we needed to get passed in the Wizengamot and we knew that we would need her help when it came to dealing with Dumbledore..." said Sirius.
"So?" asked Harry. "All that went perfectly according to plan. What changed?"
"The problem is that she warned me not to get too friendly with her. If you know what I mean? She was worried that I might muck things up if that happened..." Sirius trailed off once again.
"Yes, and..." prompted an impatient Harry.
"So for the last ten years I've been restraining myself around the woman. Suppressing that old Black charm - don't snort Petunia, it doesn't help my ego at all" said Sirius.
"Sorry Sirius" giggled Petunia.
"Anyway, like I was saying for ten years I've been very careful around Amelia. Didn't flirt at all like I normally do. Then we managed to get Dumbledore put away ... and I thought - Hey, I don't need to do that anymore" said Sirius.
"What exactly did you do Sirius?" asked Harry.
"I may have gone a little overboard..." moaned Sirius.
"By how much exactly?" asked Harry.
"Uhh... the thing is ... Uhh... congratulate me ... I'm engaged" said Sirius to a stunned Harry.
Petunia let out a loud squeal. "Oh Sirius, that's wonderful news. I've been telling you for ages that you need to find someone and settle down."
Harry was extremely surprised. He had not seen this coming at all.
"Uh... Isn't she a bit older than you?" asked Harry.
"Just by a couple of years, they really don't make a difference" said Sirius.
"And she wears a monocle" added Harry.
"That's just for work" said Sirius defensively. "It's got some enchantments on it to help spot disillusioned people and invisibility cloaks."
"Okay, then I'm not really seeing a problem here Sirius" said Harry.
"The problem is ... I'm too young to get married" wailed Sirius.
"Nonsense Sirius, you're in your thirties, it's high time you settled down" interjected Petunia. "I'm sure you'll make her an excellent husband."
"You'd better. We still need her support for those anti-discrimination laws we need to get passed eventually" said Harry.
"Oh, that won't be a problem at all" said Sirius. "Sounded her out on those ages ago and she's totally on board."
"Great. So I guess congratulations are in order" said Harry.
"Yes, in fact we have to have a party" added Petunia. "When are you introducing her to us Sirius?"
"Yes-Yes you're absolutely right. I should probably throw a little get together. Introduce her to the family" said Sirius. "Oh and before I forget, I'm going to need you to be my best man Harry."
"Me?" asked a surprised Harry. "I would have expected you to ask Remus."
"Ugh" grimaced Sirius. "He's not really talking to me at the moment. Turns out he's a little angry at my part in Dumbledore's trial. Make that a lot angry actually."
"Still idolises him huh?" asked Harry.
"He did let him attend Hogwarts even though he was a werewolf" explained Sirius.
"Hmmm..." Harry wondered whether this meant that Remus would never meet and marry Tonks. Without the Order of the Phoenix pushing them together it wasn't likely that they would get together but as long as Sirius and Remus remained friends there had always been the chance that they would at least meet. Now though... Oh well, come to think of it Tonks could do a lot better than Remus. True - he had been a really nice man, but he was also the man who had wanted to run away after learning he had gotten her pregnant. Harry remembered how indignant and outraged the other Harry had been at his behaviour. Perhaps things had worked out for the best after all.