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The thing that impressed me the most in this piece was the bleakness. Following the proud tradition of the medieval ballad, the characters makes themselves known by words and actions, not descriptions, and the case is just ... recorded. Even the yelling feels like a report quoting. the sheer realism chilled me to the bones. Feelgood piece? I don't think so. The altered futures for all involved felt real and credible with the exception of Sirius. He would still have known his innocence, and he would still have wanted revenge. Possibly, he would have extended the need for vengeance to the Dursleys and Dumbledore, but Sirius is hard to predict and all of us who operate in the Fanverse have different views of him. All in all, kowtow to your superior skill!

Vanir

Thank you. I am both touched and humbled by your review. (Does Snoopy dance! There...all better!) As a former police officer,

I have had the unpleasant duty of responding to cases like this and am intimately familiar with the aftermath. I wrote it like a police report, because in many ways, it was.

Sirius was exceptionally hard to write. I thought long and hard about having him escape, to wreak havoc upon Dumbledore, as the Dursley's case would have been well publicized. but he'd be fighting a no-win battle. He'd be facing the same kind of nationwide manhunt, but as Dumbledore no longer needed him, 'Mister Twinkles' would surely ensure he was kissed first thing, so as to protect himself from political damage, and Fudge would have been more than happy to comply for the same reasons. In addition; his devastation over losing both James and Lily, and learning that his 'friend' betrayed them all, sent him into a deep depression (canon PoA) until he began to use his Grim alter-ego to shield himself from the Dementors. It was only in 'Prisoner' that he learned the object of his hatred still lived. Here, with the added blow of Harry's death, I can easily see him deciding nothing was worth the pain of continued survival.

I thank you for both your exceptionally kind review and for your genuflection.
Alorkin