Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the Betrayal of the Phoenix
Summer and 2nd Year Harry Potter and the Betrayal of the //Phoenix/ /
By Red Jacobson
Chapter Three: Summer Break and the Return of Padfoot
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters you recognize belong to me. If they did, I would certainly be making a lot more money than I am right now. So please don't sue me; I'm poor. sigh
DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to Chaz (Old Wolf) Hager and Jason W. Thompson, for extreme story assistance. Thanks guys, this story wouldn't work as well as it does (if it even works, which I'll leave to my gentle readers GRIN) without your help.
AUTHORS NOTE: The title of this story is courtesy of Bad Voodoo X, but the content is strictly my responsibility. This story is un-beta'd, and it quite possibly will not end up in the Library of Congress as one of the Great Works of American Literature, but, so what? I write for fun.
AUTHORS WARNING: I write stories intended for an adult audience, which means that the characters will be taking their clothes off and doing nasty things that our current President and Congress would not approve of. The characters won't be getting naked in this chapter; they are only 11 after all, although I am considering having some nekkid nastiness between two of the adults in the story.
In other words; DANGER: SMUT ALERT!!!! If you feel that your immortal soul would be imperiled if you read graphic descriptions of teenagers having sex, then move along, this story isn't for you! The rest of you, enjoy!
FEEDBACK: Has anybody ever said no? But, please, if you have criticism, please be as specific as you can so I can address the situation in the story if needed.
Kings Cross Station;
Immediately after the last part
As the train pulled into the station, and Hermione gathered her things, Harry stopped her, and said, "Wait a minute, Hermione, I'll go with you, I'd like to meet your parents, and you can come over and say hi to the Weasleys, you'll like them, they're really great people!"
Hermione smiled, "That would be great! I'm sure my parents would love to meet you as well, I've written them enough about you."
Harry turned to Ron and said, "Let your folks know what is going on; we'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"
"Uh, sure mate, no problem" Ron said, but the look on his face made it clear to Harry that they would be having a serious conversation when they got home.
Harry and Ron set their trunks on the ground, and Harry helped Hermione carry hers over to where a nicely dressed couple were waiting. As they were walking over, Harry said, "I'm going to ask your parents if you would be allowed to visit over the summer, I already asked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in a letter, and they think it's a great idea."
"That would be great! I'd love to come and visit, and meet the rest of the Weasleys." She said enthusiastically.
As soon as they set the trunk down, Hermione said; "Dad, Mum, this is my best friend, Harry Potter, he is the one I mentioned in my letters this year. Harry, these are my parents; Dan and Emma Granger."
"It's wonderful to have a face to put with the name Hermione has told us about, Harry!" Her father said enthusiastically, offering his hand to Harry.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, sir;" Harry said, shaking his hand. "I wanted to meet you both, and ask if it would be okay if Hermione came to my house over the summer to visit. I've already checked with the Weasleys and they think it would be a wonderful idea."
"Well, we are taking a family vacation to Spain next week, but we'll be back by the first week of July, and, after that, I don't see that it would be a problem." Her dad said, after briefly conversing with his wife, who kept looking at the two of them and smiling softly.
"That's Great! If you have a few minutes, I'd like to introduce you to my family, I'm sure they would be interested in meeting you as well. I have to let you know, though, Mr. Weasley is fascinated with the non-magical world, and you may get him asking you a whole bunch of questions, I hope you don't mind."
"I'm sure we can handle it, Harry, after all, Dan and I have just as many questions about your world." Hermione's mother said, as they walked over to the gaggle of redheads.
Harry did the introductions, and, as promised, Arthur started peppering the Grangers with questions about different aspects of Muggle life, while Molly stood by him, a long suffering expression on her face.
Harry pulled Hermione slightly to the side, and said; "I just wanted you to know; I've given a lot of thought to Sirius Black, and the fact that he didn't get a trial. It's going to sound crazy, but, I think that he may be innocent, and Peter Pettigrew is still alive. I'm not going to say a whole lot, but, if I'm right, we should be able to free an innocent man before the summer is over."
"Really?" Hermione squealed, drawing a look from her parents, "that would be brilliant! I hope you are going to let me be there if you are right."
"Of course, I couldn't do it without you. Now, I think your dad has about exhausted his knowledge of video games, and we should rescue him."
"I think you're right, Harry;" she chuckled, "He is looking a little worn out."
"Mum, Dad? Can we stop for Chips on the way home? They fed us well, but they wouldn't know how to make a proper Chip if their life depended on it!"
"Of course, dear, that sounds like a great idea. In fact, I'm kind of hungry now, Arthur, Molly, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and we'll be in touch about later in the summer."
Amid mutual farewells, Dan and Emma walked back to their car, carrying Hermione's trunk between them. Harry could barely make out her father saying "Thank you Hermione, I couldn't think of a way to end the conversation gracefully."
Harry chuckled as he walked back to his family; 'Arthur can sure put on an act when he needs to! Her dad would be stunned if he saw all the working electronics that we have in the basement of the Burrow!'
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The Burrow, later that evening
"Okay Harry, have you gone mental? You really want to have Hermione here for part of the summer? Do you really think you can trust her that much? In case you've forgotten, there are things that we really, really don't want other people to know about us. I have to tell you, I'm getting worried, you are opening yourself up to her, way too much!"
"It's okay, Ron, I know that I can trust Hermione, I've been working on her all year long, since just before we got off the Express. Don't you remember how she started talking at the end of the conversation? The spell that I used caused feelings of trust in her, and it also caused her to adjust her views on things. I mean, really, do you honestly thing an innocent little muggle girl, no matter what the provocation, would accept my plan for Snape's demise and just tell me to be careful? If she hadn't been accepting my changes, she would have been screaming for an adult, or at the least, trying to make me change my mind. No, Hermione is quite trustworthy, although I don't want to expose her to too much at once. In fact, I think I should talk to Dad about getting her instruction in Occulmency before I let her in on any of our secrets."
"Okay, I just don't want to see everything go up in flames because you like this girl."
"Ron, my brother, I told you at the beginning of the year, Hermione has a huge amount of power, and I want her on my side, and, yes, she is a cute girl, and, by the end of the year, I plan on making her my girlfriend, because, as I told you earlier, there will come a time that "The Boy Who Lived" will need to have a public girlfriend, and, being Muggle born, it will be a slap in the face of the Pureblood bigots. Besides, remember what I said about Percy? Right after the winter holidays, I saw he and that Ravenclaw, Penelope something, come out of a broom closet, and he was grinning, and she was wiping her mouth, so they were doing something in there."
"Eeeww! Harry, I didn't need that mental picture! Thanks, now I'm gonna have nightmares!"
_______________
The next couple of weeks were relaxing ones for Harry, he spent a great deal of time at the pond at the edge of the property, swimming either alone or with Ron and Neville. Neville floo'd to the Burrow when news of Snape's death got out, and, pulling Harry aside, said,
"I don't know what you did, but thank you! If you ever need anything from me, no matter how big or how little, if I can do it, I will, I Swear!"
Harry and Neville both jumped a little bit as magic flared around them. Neville chuckled, "So that's what it looks like when you swear a magical oath, I didn't know that. But, I meant what I said; I was ready to get some poison into his food, and I didn't think I could hate anybody besides the LeStrange's that much!"
From that day on, Neville was constantly at Harry's side; in fact, at one point Ron teased his brother, "Now you've got your Crabbe, who's gonna be Goyle?"
"Actually Ron, I thought that was your job." Harry said with a straight face until breaking down laughing.
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The Morning of Harry's Birthday
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" The gathered Weasleys called as Harry stumbled downstairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the gifts on the kitchen table. "Wow! Thanks everybody!"
Molly spoke up, "We figured we do the family birthday now, because there are certain gifts I don't think you want everybody at your party to see."
"Oh? Now I'm really curious what you've gotten me!" Harry smiled at her.
"Well, open them; it's your birthday, no need to be curious any longer." Arthur said, with a matching grin.
Harry quickly started opening the presents, and quickly understood what Molly meant about gifts that the outsiders shouldn't see. A book of dark rituals, to control groups of people without them being aware of it, a dagger with a reservoir to hold a fast acting poison, and several other items that would definitely be frowned upon if anybody became aware of them.
Harry thanked his family for the gifts, and put the dangerous stuff away where it wouldn't be found by anybody wandering through the house.
Harry was really looking forward to the party, to get a chance to see Remus and Hermione, as well as school friends like Neville and Oliver. Although he was mostly excited about Remus being there, because, if what he expected to happen, happened, it was going to make things real exciting at the Burrow.
But, he owed it to Ron to give him a little warning, so he wouldn't be too upset if he lost his rat.
________________
That Afternoon; before the Party
"Hey Harry, want to work on some Quidditch moves? We've still got a couple of hours of daylight."
"Maybe later, Ron, can you come with me for a couple of minutes? I need to talk to you about something."
Ron looked at him strangely, but decided to humor him, it being his birthday and all.
Setting his broom aside, he followed Harry out of the house.
"Okay, now what are you being so sneaky about?"
"Tell you in a minute, first, where is Scabbers?"
"He's in his cage, sleeping, just like always, the stupid rat!"
"Actually, if I'm right, he isn't just a stupid rat. I have a strong feeling that Scabbers is actually a lot more than he seems, and, if I'm right, you won't have a rat for much longer.
"What? What are you talking about? Not just a rat? He's been a rat for 10 years, and he's always been a rat!"
"That's part of what I'm talking about, a normal rat only lives about two years at the most; and Scabbers is almost 11! I believe that Scabbers is actually an Animagus, who is hiding from everybody. I'll know for certain at the party, but, if he actually is an Animagus, the best he can expect is a long stay in Azkaban. Actually, if I had my way, he'd have his soul sucked out before sunrise tomorrow!" Harry finished with a hiss.
"Whoa! That's kind of extreme Harry, what did Scabbers ever do to you?"
"Ron, Scabbers is quite probably Peter Pettigrew, who was a friend of my parents, and, I believe, betrayed them to Voldemort, and let Sirius Black rot in Azkaban."
"Okay, I can understand that, but, why should you care about Black? So he's in Azkaban, bad things happen all the time, why get involved? If the rat really is Pettigrew, we kill him and dump the body in a deep hole somewhere and forget about it."
"No, Ron, if Sirius is innocent, I want him out of there, simply because he was my fathers' best friend. I don't think you understand just how much it means to me that I don't have any memories of my parents? The first thing I can remember is being 3 years old and getting beaten by my aunt and uncle because I was potty trained before my cousin. That's some family memory, isn't it?" Harry laughed bitterly. "You know, I almost wish that your dad had left them alive, I have lots of ideas of things I'd like to do to them both. But, if he had, I would have gone back there, and I really wouldn't have wanted that."
"Wow! I never knew you felt that way! Is that why you are being so open with Remus? It's because he's a link to your parents?"
"Ron, it may seem that the shields are down, but, trust me, even when I look like I'm breaking down, I only revealed what I wanted him to see. Trust me Ron; I know what I am doing."
"Glad to hear it! Now, let's head back, I think Hermione is here with her parents."
"Good! I want to talk to her before the party starts. I promised her that I'd let her help with freeing Sirius, so I want her to be aware of what's probably going to happen."
_______________
"Harry!" Hermione called, running up to him with a smile, "It's so good to see you again, and I can't wait to tell you about our vacation."
She was cut off by Harry saying; "And I can't wait to hear about it, but there is something I need to tell you first." At her look, he said, "We'll know for certain when I talk to Remus, but, I'm almost certain I've found Peter Pettigrew. Remember when Remus told us about their Animagus forms? Well, Ron's pet rat, Scabbers is 10 years old, and missing a toe from one of his front paws."
After explaining what he was planning to do when Remus arrived, he swore Hermione to secrecy, not wanting to alert the others at the party. She readily agreed.
The party was in full swing, Remus had arrived, bringing a case of chilled Butterbeer, as well as a framed picture of his parents and him on Harry's first birthday. Hermione got him a signed copy of Quidditch through the Ages, autographed by the Seeker for the Spanish National Quidditch Team. Hermione got a hug from Harry for the thoughtfulness of the gift. Harry received several other gifts, including the inevitable Chudley Cannon's jersey from Ron. Harry didn't have the heart to tell Ron that he was much more of a Harpies fan; he liked a team that had a chance to win.
Excusing himself for a moment, Harry went up to Ron's room and walked inside. Sliding his wand from his sleeve, he pointed it at Scabbers and said "Hello Wormtail" The rat jerked as if shocked, and started frantically trying to get out of his cage. "Stupefy!" The red beam struck the rat and he collapsed. Walking downstairs, he looked at Hermione and nodded his head. Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement and she forced herself to stay still. Harry then tapped Remus on the shoulder and asked if he could see him in private. Remus shrugged and followed Harry up the stairs.
About halfway up the stairs, Harry noticed Remus' nose twitching, and his eyes narrowing. "You smell a familiar scent don't you Remus? I think you are going to see somebody you thought was dead when I open the door. So, please keep yourself calm, he is stupefied, and not going anywhere until I release the spell."
Remus took a deep breath and, steadying himself, said; "Alright Harry, I'm calm, but I think you owe me an explanation."
"And I'll be happy to give you one, but, that can wait a bit longer. Go on, open the door, Remus."
Opening the door, Remus forced himself to walk forward. Harry could sympathize, the man was about to be confronted with someone he thought was dead for the last 10 years, and, instead of dying a hero, hid from everybody, and let another sit in prison for his crimes.
Harry came to alertness when he heard Remus groan, "Why Peter, why did you do it? We were brothers, how could you betray us? How could you do that to Sirius?" The stunned rat gave no response. Turning to Harry, Remus said, "Yes Harry that is Peter Pettigrew. So what do we do now?"
"Now, we bring him downstairs, and contact Madame Bones to bring some Aurors with her. We need lots of witnesses that this is Peter Pettigrew, because Sirius has been in prison long enough, he needs to be free!"
Covering Scabbers' cage with a box, Harry and Remus made their way back downstairs. Hermione moved up to him as they watched Remus pull Arthur aside. It only took a few minutes of explanation before Remus got him to make a floo call to the MLE office.
_______________
It was only a few minutes later that Arthur was able to get Amelia Bones and two Aurors to the Burrow, they apparated into the front yard and walked inside. Amelia looked around, surprised at how many people were there, but, when she saw her niece Susan there; she remembered it was Harry's birthday party.
"Well Arthur, I'm sure there was a very good reason why you brought me out here with two Aurors on a Saturday night. I'd like to hear what it is."
"Actually, Madame Bones, he did it at my request, and it's easier to show you than tell you." Harry said as he pulled the cage from it's box, and removed the stunned rat from its cage. "Remus, if you would please?"
Remus pulled his wand and cast a spell at the rat, which immediately began changing shape, until a pudgy, balding man, in tattered robes appeared before them. Harry raised his wand again and stunned the man, who was starting to stir.
Kingsley was the first to speak; "Is that who I think it is? He's been believed dead for 10 years, and he's been hiding as a rat all this time? That -!" he was cut off by Madame Bones glaring at him. "Auror Shacklebolt! There are children present!"
The dark skinned Auror looked at her sheepishly, before raising his wand, saying "We aren't going to find out what happened to him while he's asleep, so..."
Harry said "No! Don't!"
He looked at Harry questioningly; but lowered his wand. "He's an Animagus, do you want him changing and getting free?"
Amelia Bones spoke up then; "Mister Potter is correct; we have facilities to deal with shape changers at the Ministry; we can wake him up there. Mr. Lupin, would you care to accompany us? Because we will be going directly to Azkaban to free Sirius Black if we learn what I expect to learn."
Remus had a stunned look on his face, like he can't believe this is actually happening, but he shakes his head and agrees to accompany them. "We need to stop at his house, it's been closed up since it happened. He'll need some clean clothes, and a few other odds and ends."
The last thing that Remus saw before portkeying away was Hermione squealing with excitement and hugging a widely grinning Harry.
____________________
Azkaban Island; Eight Hours Later
Remus stood at the front of the boat, smiling as they docked at the island prison. Once they got back to the Ministry, it was less than an hour before Peter had confessed everything. He was given a trial and sentenced to the Dementors Kiss for mass murder and being a Death Eater. Fudge wanted to keep the whole thing quiet, but there were several reporters from the Daily Prophet and the Wizarding Wireless Network there, and the news was out before he had a chance to stop it. Quickly bowing to the reality of the situation; the Minister issued a Proclamation of Innocence, and ordered that Sirius be released immediately.
Two of the Aurors dragged Peter from the boat first, to be taken to the Dementors, while the rest went with Remus to see the Warden. Presented with the documents, the Warden quickly led them to Sirius' cell.
__________
Sirius Black was sitting on the floor of his cell, staring at the walls, not seeing anything. He looked up when the oppressive cold and sadness moved away, and he relaxed a little bit, knowing that the Dementors had left the area of his cell. He didn't know why it happened, but wanted to enjoy it while he could. He blinked when he heard the keys in his cell door, and his jaw dropped when the door opened and Remus walked in, smiling and holding out his hand.
"Your nightmare is over Sirius, you're a free man! Let's get you out of here!"
"What? How? Am I dreaming? This has got to be a dream!" He mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"No Padfoot, you aren't dreaming. The whole world knows you are innocent, and, as for how, you can thank your godson, Harry James Potter, and his friend Hermione. Harry figured out where Peter was hiding and captured him, he's actually in a cell a few doors down. Of course, he isn't much for conversation or explanations now that he has been kissed. We can answer the rest of the questions when we get home. Now, let's go, there is a hot shower, a razor and clean clothes waiting for you."
Finally believing Remus, Sirius reached out and took his hand. They embraced and Remus led the free man back out of the cell. Sirius leaned into him and said quietly, "A quick shower sounds great, but I'm looking forward to being home and taking a nice hot bath, and having you wash my back."
Remus laughed; "You horn dog; I can't believe you've got sex on your mind already! Tell me, do you just want me, or should we get a couple of girls from Knockturn Alley to join us? Let's get you cleaned up and fed, and then we'll see what we can do, alright?"
"That sounds good, and I'm definitely going to want to see Harry as soon as possible, I owe him and his friend, Hermione is her name, right? I owe them more than I can possibly say."
"Harry will say you don't owe him anything, he did it because you didn't deserve to be there, and, I doubt he would admit it, but he's desperate for some connection to James and Lily. That's how he found me, they were searching for information about James and came up with our names. Oh, by the way, remind me to tell you of a prank he and his friends pulled on Snivilus during the school year. He told me about it, because he signed the Marauders name to it! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs rode again!"
Before Remus could tell the story, they were at the exit processing area, and Sirius was examined by a medic-wizard, who gave him some nutrient potions to drink, and then he went and cleaned up; before coming back out, looking much more like the handsome man Remus had last seen so many years before.
After they were on the boat heading back, Sirius asked about the prank, and Remus launched into the story; and devoted a great deal of time to the letter, and various reactions. By the time Sirius finished laughing, they were nearly halfway to the mainland, and Sirius shook his head, "Oh man, I can't wait to see Snivilus, I am going to give him such a hard time about that!"
Remus said, "Actually, Padfoot, that's not possible, Snape died at the end of this last school term. One of the house elves found him in his quarters, it looks like he had a heart attack. I don't know exactly what happened, but I heard that he was under a lot of stress; there was an accident during the exams and one of the first years, Neville Longbottom, Frank and Alice's son, was burned badly, and Snape didn't want to let Harry and Hermione take him to get help. There was going to be a governor's inquest, based on that and several other complaints, but it didn't happen, obviously."
"Well, we aren't supposed to speak ill of the dead, but, I can't find it inside me to feel sad that the git is dead. He was a bitter slimy little boy as a student, and I doubt aging improved him much!"
"Anyway, tell me about things, what have you been doing? How is Harry doing? Who is he living with? He didn't have any living relatives that I knew of, except the muggles, and I hope they didn't get within miles of him. They were hateful the time I met them."
"He actually was at the muggles for the first few years, but then, something happened, I don't know exactly what, he won't talk about it, but Harry was taken in by Arthur and Molly Weasley, and they raised him since he was 5 years old. He's a fine young man, a lot like James, but with a determined streak a mile wide. He's not somebody you want to cross when he is defending someone or something. He got Malfoy's brat good with this spell called a 'Bat Bogey Hex' says it was thought up by his sister, you hit somebody with it, and bats literally fly out your nose and start dive bombing you!"
"Oh that's classic!" Sirius snorted, before asking more questions, and the remainder of the trip was taken in the two of them catching up.
_____________________
The next day, Harry was sitting on the couch reading the Daily Prophet, smiling at the huge headlines on the front page:
/SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETTIGREW A DEATH EATER ~ BETRAYED THE POTTERS ~ FAKED OWN DEATH!/
/ /
And underneath the headline was a picture of Peter on trial, shaking as he cried during his confession. Then there was a picture of Sirius, smiling broadly as he and Remus got off the boat from Azkaban, and finally, a picture of Minister Fudge smiling as he issued the order freeing Sirius, and awarding him One Million Galleons in compensation for his imprisonment. Fudge also announced that he was going to be launching an investigation into how Sirius was sentenced without a trial.
Harry had received an owl earlier that morning from Remus, saying that Sirius wants to see him, but needs a couple of days to adjust to his new life, and will be in touch as soon as he gets finished with the traumatic event healers at St Mungo's.
Setting aside the paper, he sees Ginny looking at a paper of her own, "What'cha reading Gin?"
She held up the paper and Harry could see it was a new issue of the Quibbler, Luna's dads' paper. Harry usually enjoyed reading it, it was a mixture of truth and fairy tale, and the hard part was keeping track of which was which. This issue had a main headline about Death Eaters walking around free, and there was a picture of Lucius Malfoy scowling at the camera.
"Oh man! There are gonna be some brassed off Purebloods when this story gets around. They're gonna try and ignore it, but too many people read the Quibbler, it's gonna cause them trouble. And you know something; I'm not feeling even a little bit sorry for them!"
Harry said, while making a note to himself about checking the article for any names of Death Eaters he wasn't aware of.
Ginny laughed, and agreed, but added, "I'm glad he was able to keep the paper going, it stopped for a while last year when his wife died. You were at school, so maybe you didn't hear, but Luna saw her mom die when she mis-cast a spell. Poor Luna, she hasn't been the same since."
Hermione came down the stairs a few minutes later, and ran over to look at the headlines, then started scanning the article. She smiled when she saw her and Harry's names in the story, in a quote by Remus Lupin as he left the courtroom.
"That's so nice of Remus to give us the credit; a lot of adults would have ignored us, especially since I'm nothing but a Muggleborn, and you aren't pureblood either."
"I couldn't imagine Remus not giving us the proper credit, he's just so happy to get Sirius back, and I doubt he cares about anything else." Harry decided to ignore the pureblood comment for now, but, inwardly he smiled at her casual anger over the bigotry.
______________
The rest of the summer passed as they always did, although Harry seemed a lot happier because Sirius and Remus had spent a lot of time visiting him, and telling stories of happier days. Sirius said that he wasn't going to go back to work yet, even though he had been offered his old job back. Harry asked him what his job was, and Remus said, "He was an Auror, and a damned good one too! The Death Eaters were almost as scared of him as they are of Mad-Eye Moody, and that's saying something, if you've ever met Moody!"
"Um, I think I'll pass, that troll was scary enough for me, thanks!" Harry laughed, as Hermione nodded emphatically.
"What Troll? Moony you didn't tell me this story!" Sirius said, looking at Remus accusingly.
"I didn't mention it, because it wasn't exactly a fun filled prank this time, and I'm not sure that Harry was ready to talk about it."
"Actually, I had a long talk with Professor Dumbledore, and I don't have any problems with what happened. Even the nightmares have stopped."
With Harry's permission, Remus told Sirius what had happened that Halloween night, including the fact that Harry had to kill someone. Sirius winced and reached over to hug Harry in sympathy, which Harry allowed.
______________
After Remus and Sirius had left for the day, Harry and Ron took off for the swimming hole. As they were nearing the water, Harry paused and called out "We're just going for a swim Sleekskin, no need to be concerned." At least, that's was what Harry heard, Ron heard his brother hissing at a snake who was resting on a log by the edge of the water. He almost wet himself when the snake raised his head and hissed back, before putting his head down and went back to sleep.
"Bloody Hell, Harry! You're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?"
"I first noticed I could talk to snakes a couple of years ago, and didn't really think anything of it, it was just one of those things. I don't see what the big deal is, so I can talk to snakes, so what? They aren't the most exciting conversationalists I've ever met. If it's not eating or sleeping, they really don't have much to talk about."
"But, being a Parselmouth is Slytherin's trademark! Does anybody else know? They will watch you really close, because all the Parselmouths are Dark, and you know we don't want that kind of attention."
"Relax Ron, if anybody finds out, I'll just tell them that I must have gotten it when Voldemort tried to kill me, and gave me my scar. Who could suspect that an innocent baby would be a Parselmouth? It must be something that 'he who must not be named' did to me! Heh! People are such sheep, tell them what they want to hear, and they'll belong to you forever! Anyway, let's go swimming, and you can tell me why Susan Bones has been coming over almost every day since my birthday! Could Ickle Ronniekins have a girlfriend of his own?"
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and splashing, and just having a good time as young boys do.
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Diagon Alley
Harry ran up the alley to meet his family and Hermione, brushing the floo dust off of him. Molly spotted him first and rushed forward, hugging him, "Oh Harry, we were so worried, I heard you sneeze in the floo, and had no idea where you ended up. Are you alright?" she said, in a voice loud enough to be sure to carry, before lowering her voice, and saying, "Seriously, are you okay? Did anything happen down the alley; it can be a brutal place at times."
"I'm fine, Mom, I'm fine!" Harry protested loudly, and then added quietly, "but I need to talk to Dad for a minute, I overheard Lucius Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes, making arrangements to get rid of some Dark Arts Materials, they are meeting tomorrow to make the exchange. Do you think Dad could make something interesting happen with that information?" He grinned wickedly.
"Oh, Harry, you make me so proud! Lucius has been a pain in my ass and your father's ass for years; this should get him sent to Azkaban for a good long time!"
As Harry and the others continued their shopping, Molly pulled Arthur aside and told him what Harry had told her. Arthur grinned, and clapped Harry on the shoulder as he excused himself; he needed to contact his office for a minute.
As they worked their way toward Flourish and Blotts, they saw a huge crowd gathered, not just students, but a lot of the mothers, and even some of the shop girls were pressed against the glass, trying to get a look.
Eventually they made their way in, and Harry found himself on line behind Luna Lovegood and her father. Harry pulled Luna into conversation, and found that she had changed drastically since her mother died. He didn't know what a Snorkack was, and honestly didn't care, but he nodded encouragingly to let Luna know he was listening. Her story of hunting for Nargals under the full moon was interrupted when someone bumped into them from behind.
Looking up, he saw it was Lucius Malfoy, who glared at him before turning to yell at someone behind him to stop being such a clumsy oaf. Luna looked up at him, and said, "Mr. Malfoy, I realize you are busy with your Death Eater business, but politeness is still a virtue!" Then she turned away from the rapidly purpling blonde. Anything that Malfoy was going to say was interrupted by the crowd parting in front of Harry and Luna, who got a glimpse of Gilderoy Lockhart sitting at a table, surrounded by copies of his books, and at least a hundred pictures of himself, all smiling and waving at the camera. Lockhart stopped talking to the person in front of him when he saw Harry.
Standing, he pulled Harry toward him, and started posing for pictures. This annoyed Harry a lot, he didn't mind using his fame for his purposes, but he was damned sure not going to let this fool use him without asking permission!
Harry tuned out Lockhart's voice as a plan occurred to him; he just needed to wait until Lockhart moved his hand... And then it happened! Lockhart dropped his hand off of Harry's shoulder, and if fell behind his back. Harry yelled, "Hey, why are you touching me there! Help! Help! He's touching me in a bad place! Mom! Dad! Help!"
Lockhart went pale as he quickly pulled his hands up and started stammering, "I, I didn't touch him, I swear, I don't know what he is talking about, I didn't touch him anywhere!"
"Liar! He grabbed my bottom, he's a bad man!" Harry yelled, as he pushed his way back towards the Weasleys. He made his way to Molly, who was stalking forward with a murderous expression on her face. She wasn't the only person stalking forward, there were about 15 other parents moving toward Lockhart with murder in their eyes
Harry led his family over to the Ice Cream shop, and watched as Lockhart was tossed through the window and landed in the cobblestones on the street, he was beaten badly and bloody all over. Harry put a stricken look on his face, and said, "I'm sorry he got hurt, but, he shouldn't have touched me there!" The owner of the shop heard him, and quickly brought him some ice cream to calm him down. Harry thanked him politely, and kept a somber look on his face as he watched Molly stalk out of the bookshop and walk over to Lockhart and kick him in the face. "Stay away from my family you perverted monster!" she hissed, and spit on him.
Harry ate his ice cream quietly, but inwardly was laughing hysterically at how well his plan had worked. 'That bastard will think twice about trying to use somebody else for his own glory, that's for sure!'
Harry had finished his treat, and was getting ready to leave when he heard a quiet voice behind him. "You're kind of hard on Defense Teachers, aren't you Mister Potter?"
"I don't know what you mean, Professor, what Defense Teacher?" Harry said, as he checked his shields before turning to face the Headmaster. He put an honestly confused look on his face, although he suspected he knew where the old man was going with it.
"Gilderoy Lockhart was going to be the new Defense against the Dark Arts Instructor, but, obviously, he won't be doing so now. Even if he were going to be out of the hospital in less than 6 months, I don't think any of the parents would allow him to teach their children after that rather public scene."
"I had no idea he was going to be our instructor, I just knew that I didn't want him touching me that way! I was told to call for help, and I did! I'm sorry he got hurt, but it was his own fault, not mine. If he had kept his hands to himself, I would never have said anything."
"Well, what's done is done, and now I have to find a new instructor for DADA." Dumbledore muttered, but was surprised when Arthur spoke up. "Headmaster, I may have an idea about that. As I'm sure you are aware, Sirius Black was declared Innocent, and freed from Azkaban Prison recently. He has been offered his position as an Auror back, but doesn't feel his skills are up to par yet, why not bring him in as DADA Instructor? He could use something to keep him busy, and it would help him hone his skills back to the level they were before he was betrayed."
"An excellent idea, Arthur, I think that we can trust Mister Potter not to harm this instructor, and it will send a message to those that need to hear it, that Hogwarts is ever vigilant against the Dark."
After they floo'd back to the burrow, Ron pulled Harry aside and asked "Did he really grab your arse?"
"Hell no! I just didn't like the git trying to capitalize on my fame, so I put a stop to it. Besides, it was funny as hell to see him stammer like that!"
"Yeah, it was, and I don't think anybody suspected a thing."
"I don't know, the way Dumbledore was looking at me, I think he might suspect something. I'll keep an eye out next year, and try and stay out of his sight."
__________________
Meanwhile; the Malfoy Estate
Lucius stormed into the house, and ordered Draco to his rooms. Looking at his wife, he growled, "Playroom, now!"
Narcissa looked up from the book she was reading, and jumped to obey her husband. She only hoped that he didn't hurt her too badly this time. She couldn't move for days after the last time he came home like this.
When she got to the ironically named 'playroom'; 'torture chamber is more like it,' she mused, Narcissa stripped out of her clothing and knelt in front of the door, as expected.
She didn't wait very long until her husband came in. She could see he was already naked under his robes, and knew that it was going to be bad. 'If only he weren't so tiny, he might not be angry all the time, I can't believe he's only got a 2 inch part, I've seen little boys who were bigger than him! If he was bigger, maybe he wouldn't use the cane that way, but, I'm stuck here, better brace myself!'
The next two hours were agony as Lucius used the cane on every bit of her body below the neck, finally ending when he savagely sodomized her with the snakehead on the handle. He was panting from the exertion and excitement, and was just about to bring himself off when the door to the playroom was kicked open, and he was hit by multiple stunning spells. Narcissa blinked as she saw a dozen figures wearing Auror uniforms rush into the room and pick up her husband's unconscious body. She noticed that several of them noticed her husband's tiny size and snickered. She managed to gather herself enough to ask what was going on.
"We received a tip that your husband had a huge collection of Dark Artifacts here in the house, and we found several of them. Your husband is under arrest, he will be held overnight until his trial tomorrow. At the least, you can expect a large fine, or else, he will be going to spend a lot of time in Azkaban, especially with that nice little tattoo he has on his arm."
"Oh, I see, well, before you take him, can you hand me my robes and a healing potion off the top shelf? I see I'm going to have things to do."
After the Aurors had dragged her husband's naked body out of the house, and she had to forcibly order Draco back to his room, Narcissa drank the healing potion, and sat down to write a letter to her Cousin Sirius, current head of the Black Family.
End Chapter Three
By Red Jacobson
Chapter Three: Summer Break and the Return of Padfoot
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters you recognize belong to me. If they did, I would certainly be making a lot more money than I am right now. So please don't sue me; I'm poor. sigh
DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to Chaz (Old Wolf) Hager and Jason W. Thompson, for extreme story assistance. Thanks guys, this story wouldn't work as well as it does (if it even works, which I'll leave to my gentle readers GRIN) without your help.
AUTHORS NOTE: The title of this story is courtesy of Bad Voodoo X, but the content is strictly my responsibility. This story is un-beta'd, and it quite possibly will not end up in the Library of Congress as one of the Great Works of American Literature, but, so what? I write for fun.
AUTHORS WARNING: I write stories intended for an adult audience, which means that the characters will be taking their clothes off and doing nasty things that our current President and Congress would not approve of. The characters won't be getting naked in this chapter; they are only 11 after all, although I am considering having some nekkid nastiness between two of the adults in the story.
In other words; DANGER: SMUT ALERT!!!! If you feel that your immortal soul would be imperiled if you read graphic descriptions of teenagers having sex, then move along, this story isn't for you! The rest of you, enjoy!
FEEDBACK: Has anybody ever said no? But, please, if you have criticism, please be as specific as you can so I can address the situation in the story if needed.
Kings Cross Station;
Immediately after the last part
As the train pulled into the station, and Hermione gathered her things, Harry stopped her, and said, "Wait a minute, Hermione, I'll go with you, I'd like to meet your parents, and you can come over and say hi to the Weasleys, you'll like them, they're really great people!"
Hermione smiled, "That would be great! I'm sure my parents would love to meet you as well, I've written them enough about you."
Harry turned to Ron and said, "Let your folks know what is going on; we'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"
"Uh, sure mate, no problem" Ron said, but the look on his face made it clear to Harry that they would be having a serious conversation when they got home.
Harry and Ron set their trunks on the ground, and Harry helped Hermione carry hers over to where a nicely dressed couple were waiting. As they were walking over, Harry said, "I'm going to ask your parents if you would be allowed to visit over the summer, I already asked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in a letter, and they think it's a great idea."
"That would be great! I'd love to come and visit, and meet the rest of the Weasleys." She said enthusiastically.
As soon as they set the trunk down, Hermione said; "Dad, Mum, this is my best friend, Harry Potter, he is the one I mentioned in my letters this year. Harry, these are my parents; Dan and Emma Granger."
"It's wonderful to have a face to put with the name Hermione has told us about, Harry!" Her father said enthusiastically, offering his hand to Harry.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, sir;" Harry said, shaking his hand. "I wanted to meet you both, and ask if it would be okay if Hermione came to my house over the summer to visit. I've already checked with the Weasleys and they think it would be a wonderful idea."
"Well, we are taking a family vacation to Spain next week, but we'll be back by the first week of July, and, after that, I don't see that it would be a problem." Her dad said, after briefly conversing with his wife, who kept looking at the two of them and smiling softly.
"That's Great! If you have a few minutes, I'd like to introduce you to my family, I'm sure they would be interested in meeting you as well. I have to let you know, though, Mr. Weasley is fascinated with the non-magical world, and you may get him asking you a whole bunch of questions, I hope you don't mind."
"I'm sure we can handle it, Harry, after all, Dan and I have just as many questions about your world." Hermione's mother said, as they walked over to the gaggle of redheads.
Harry did the introductions, and, as promised, Arthur started peppering the Grangers with questions about different aspects of Muggle life, while Molly stood by him, a long suffering expression on her face.
Harry pulled Hermione slightly to the side, and said; "I just wanted you to know; I've given a lot of thought to Sirius Black, and the fact that he didn't get a trial. It's going to sound crazy, but, I think that he may be innocent, and Peter Pettigrew is still alive. I'm not going to say a whole lot, but, if I'm right, we should be able to free an innocent man before the summer is over."
"Really?" Hermione squealed, drawing a look from her parents, "that would be brilliant! I hope you are going to let me be there if you are right."
"Of course, I couldn't do it without you. Now, I think your dad has about exhausted his knowledge of video games, and we should rescue him."
"I think you're right, Harry;" she chuckled, "He is looking a little worn out."
"Mum, Dad? Can we stop for Chips on the way home? They fed us well, but they wouldn't know how to make a proper Chip if their life depended on it!"
"Of course, dear, that sounds like a great idea. In fact, I'm kind of hungry now, Arthur, Molly, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and we'll be in touch about later in the summer."
Amid mutual farewells, Dan and Emma walked back to their car, carrying Hermione's trunk between them. Harry could barely make out her father saying "Thank you Hermione, I couldn't think of a way to end the conversation gracefully."
Harry chuckled as he walked back to his family; 'Arthur can sure put on an act when he needs to! Her dad would be stunned if he saw all the working electronics that we have in the basement of the Burrow!'
________________
The Burrow, later that evening
"Okay Harry, have you gone mental? You really want to have Hermione here for part of the summer? Do you really think you can trust her that much? In case you've forgotten, there are things that we really, really don't want other people to know about us. I have to tell you, I'm getting worried, you are opening yourself up to her, way too much!"
"It's okay, Ron, I know that I can trust Hermione, I've been working on her all year long, since just before we got off the Express. Don't you remember how she started talking at the end of the conversation? The spell that I used caused feelings of trust in her, and it also caused her to adjust her views on things. I mean, really, do you honestly thing an innocent little muggle girl, no matter what the provocation, would accept my plan for Snape's demise and just tell me to be careful? If she hadn't been accepting my changes, she would have been screaming for an adult, or at the least, trying to make me change my mind. No, Hermione is quite trustworthy, although I don't want to expose her to too much at once. In fact, I think I should talk to Dad about getting her instruction in Occulmency before I let her in on any of our secrets."
"Okay, I just don't want to see everything go up in flames because you like this girl."
"Ron, my brother, I told you at the beginning of the year, Hermione has a huge amount of power, and I want her on my side, and, yes, she is a cute girl, and, by the end of the year, I plan on making her my girlfriend, because, as I told you earlier, there will come a time that "The Boy Who Lived" will need to have a public girlfriend, and, being Muggle born, it will be a slap in the face of the Pureblood bigots. Besides, remember what I said about Percy? Right after the winter holidays, I saw he and that Ravenclaw, Penelope something, come out of a broom closet, and he was grinning, and she was wiping her mouth, so they were doing something in there."
"Eeeww! Harry, I didn't need that mental picture! Thanks, now I'm gonna have nightmares!"
_______________
The next couple of weeks were relaxing ones for Harry, he spent a great deal of time at the pond at the edge of the property, swimming either alone or with Ron and Neville. Neville floo'd to the Burrow when news of Snape's death got out, and, pulling Harry aside, said,
"I don't know what you did, but thank you! If you ever need anything from me, no matter how big or how little, if I can do it, I will, I Swear!"
Harry and Neville both jumped a little bit as magic flared around them. Neville chuckled, "So that's what it looks like when you swear a magical oath, I didn't know that. But, I meant what I said; I was ready to get some poison into his food, and I didn't think I could hate anybody besides the LeStrange's that much!"
From that day on, Neville was constantly at Harry's side; in fact, at one point Ron teased his brother, "Now you've got your Crabbe, who's gonna be Goyle?"
"Actually Ron, I thought that was your job." Harry said with a straight face until breaking down laughing.
_______________
The Morning of Harry's Birthday
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" The gathered Weasleys called as Harry stumbled downstairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the gifts on the kitchen table. "Wow! Thanks everybody!"
Molly spoke up, "We figured we do the family birthday now, because there are certain gifts I don't think you want everybody at your party to see."
"Oh? Now I'm really curious what you've gotten me!" Harry smiled at her.
"Well, open them; it's your birthday, no need to be curious any longer." Arthur said, with a matching grin.
Harry quickly started opening the presents, and quickly understood what Molly meant about gifts that the outsiders shouldn't see. A book of dark rituals, to control groups of people without them being aware of it, a dagger with a reservoir to hold a fast acting poison, and several other items that would definitely be frowned upon if anybody became aware of them.
Harry thanked his family for the gifts, and put the dangerous stuff away where it wouldn't be found by anybody wandering through the house.
Harry was really looking forward to the party, to get a chance to see Remus and Hermione, as well as school friends like Neville and Oliver. Although he was mostly excited about Remus being there, because, if what he expected to happen, happened, it was going to make things real exciting at the Burrow.
But, he owed it to Ron to give him a little warning, so he wouldn't be too upset if he lost his rat.
________________
That Afternoon; before the Party
"Hey Harry, want to work on some Quidditch moves? We've still got a couple of hours of daylight."
"Maybe later, Ron, can you come with me for a couple of minutes? I need to talk to you about something."
Ron looked at him strangely, but decided to humor him, it being his birthday and all.
Setting his broom aside, he followed Harry out of the house.
"Okay, now what are you being so sneaky about?"
"Tell you in a minute, first, where is Scabbers?"
"He's in his cage, sleeping, just like always, the stupid rat!"
"Actually, if I'm right, he isn't just a stupid rat. I have a strong feeling that Scabbers is actually a lot more than he seems, and, if I'm right, you won't have a rat for much longer.
"What? What are you talking about? Not just a rat? He's been a rat for 10 years, and he's always been a rat!"
"That's part of what I'm talking about, a normal rat only lives about two years at the most; and Scabbers is almost 11! I believe that Scabbers is actually an Animagus, who is hiding from everybody. I'll know for certain at the party, but, if he actually is an Animagus, the best he can expect is a long stay in Azkaban. Actually, if I had my way, he'd have his soul sucked out before sunrise tomorrow!" Harry finished with a hiss.
"Whoa! That's kind of extreme Harry, what did Scabbers ever do to you?"
"Ron, Scabbers is quite probably Peter Pettigrew, who was a friend of my parents, and, I believe, betrayed them to Voldemort, and let Sirius Black rot in Azkaban."
"Okay, I can understand that, but, why should you care about Black? So he's in Azkaban, bad things happen all the time, why get involved? If the rat really is Pettigrew, we kill him and dump the body in a deep hole somewhere and forget about it."
"No, Ron, if Sirius is innocent, I want him out of there, simply because he was my fathers' best friend. I don't think you understand just how much it means to me that I don't have any memories of my parents? The first thing I can remember is being 3 years old and getting beaten by my aunt and uncle because I was potty trained before my cousin. That's some family memory, isn't it?" Harry laughed bitterly. "You know, I almost wish that your dad had left them alive, I have lots of ideas of things I'd like to do to them both. But, if he had, I would have gone back there, and I really wouldn't have wanted that."
"Wow! I never knew you felt that way! Is that why you are being so open with Remus? It's because he's a link to your parents?"
"Ron, it may seem that the shields are down, but, trust me, even when I look like I'm breaking down, I only revealed what I wanted him to see. Trust me Ron; I know what I am doing."
"Glad to hear it! Now, let's head back, I think Hermione is here with her parents."
"Good! I want to talk to her before the party starts. I promised her that I'd let her help with freeing Sirius, so I want her to be aware of what's probably going to happen."
_______________
"Harry!" Hermione called, running up to him with a smile, "It's so good to see you again, and I can't wait to tell you about our vacation."
She was cut off by Harry saying; "And I can't wait to hear about it, but there is something I need to tell you first." At her look, he said, "We'll know for certain when I talk to Remus, but, I'm almost certain I've found Peter Pettigrew. Remember when Remus told us about their Animagus forms? Well, Ron's pet rat, Scabbers is 10 years old, and missing a toe from one of his front paws."
After explaining what he was planning to do when Remus arrived, he swore Hermione to secrecy, not wanting to alert the others at the party. She readily agreed.
The party was in full swing, Remus had arrived, bringing a case of chilled Butterbeer, as well as a framed picture of his parents and him on Harry's first birthday. Hermione got him a signed copy of Quidditch through the Ages, autographed by the Seeker for the Spanish National Quidditch Team. Hermione got a hug from Harry for the thoughtfulness of the gift. Harry received several other gifts, including the inevitable Chudley Cannon's jersey from Ron. Harry didn't have the heart to tell Ron that he was much more of a Harpies fan; he liked a team that had a chance to win.
Excusing himself for a moment, Harry went up to Ron's room and walked inside. Sliding his wand from his sleeve, he pointed it at Scabbers and said "Hello Wormtail" The rat jerked as if shocked, and started frantically trying to get out of his cage. "Stupefy!" The red beam struck the rat and he collapsed. Walking downstairs, he looked at Hermione and nodded his head. Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement and she forced herself to stay still. Harry then tapped Remus on the shoulder and asked if he could see him in private. Remus shrugged and followed Harry up the stairs.
About halfway up the stairs, Harry noticed Remus' nose twitching, and his eyes narrowing. "You smell a familiar scent don't you Remus? I think you are going to see somebody you thought was dead when I open the door. So, please keep yourself calm, he is stupefied, and not going anywhere until I release the spell."
Remus took a deep breath and, steadying himself, said; "Alright Harry, I'm calm, but I think you owe me an explanation."
"And I'll be happy to give you one, but, that can wait a bit longer. Go on, open the door, Remus."
Opening the door, Remus forced himself to walk forward. Harry could sympathize, the man was about to be confronted with someone he thought was dead for the last 10 years, and, instead of dying a hero, hid from everybody, and let another sit in prison for his crimes.
Harry came to alertness when he heard Remus groan, "Why Peter, why did you do it? We were brothers, how could you betray us? How could you do that to Sirius?" The stunned rat gave no response. Turning to Harry, Remus said, "Yes Harry that is Peter Pettigrew. So what do we do now?"
"Now, we bring him downstairs, and contact Madame Bones to bring some Aurors with her. We need lots of witnesses that this is Peter Pettigrew, because Sirius has been in prison long enough, he needs to be free!"
Covering Scabbers' cage with a box, Harry and Remus made their way back downstairs. Hermione moved up to him as they watched Remus pull Arthur aside. It only took a few minutes of explanation before Remus got him to make a floo call to the MLE office.
_______________
It was only a few minutes later that Arthur was able to get Amelia Bones and two Aurors to the Burrow, they apparated into the front yard and walked inside. Amelia looked around, surprised at how many people were there, but, when she saw her niece Susan there; she remembered it was Harry's birthday party.
"Well Arthur, I'm sure there was a very good reason why you brought me out here with two Aurors on a Saturday night. I'd like to hear what it is."
"Actually, Madame Bones, he did it at my request, and it's easier to show you than tell you." Harry said as he pulled the cage from it's box, and removed the stunned rat from its cage. "Remus, if you would please?"
Remus pulled his wand and cast a spell at the rat, which immediately began changing shape, until a pudgy, balding man, in tattered robes appeared before them. Harry raised his wand again and stunned the man, who was starting to stir.
Kingsley was the first to speak; "Is that who I think it is? He's been believed dead for 10 years, and he's been hiding as a rat all this time? That -!" he was cut off by Madame Bones glaring at him. "Auror Shacklebolt! There are children present!"
The dark skinned Auror looked at her sheepishly, before raising his wand, saying "We aren't going to find out what happened to him while he's asleep, so..."
Harry said "No! Don't!"
He looked at Harry questioningly; but lowered his wand. "He's an Animagus, do you want him changing and getting free?"
Amelia Bones spoke up then; "Mister Potter is correct; we have facilities to deal with shape changers at the Ministry; we can wake him up there. Mr. Lupin, would you care to accompany us? Because we will be going directly to Azkaban to free Sirius Black if we learn what I expect to learn."
Remus had a stunned look on his face, like he can't believe this is actually happening, but he shakes his head and agrees to accompany them. "We need to stop at his house, it's been closed up since it happened. He'll need some clean clothes, and a few other odds and ends."
The last thing that Remus saw before portkeying away was Hermione squealing with excitement and hugging a widely grinning Harry.
____________________
Azkaban Island; Eight Hours Later
Remus stood at the front of the boat, smiling as they docked at the island prison. Once they got back to the Ministry, it was less than an hour before Peter had confessed everything. He was given a trial and sentenced to the Dementors Kiss for mass murder and being a Death Eater. Fudge wanted to keep the whole thing quiet, but there were several reporters from the Daily Prophet and the Wizarding Wireless Network there, and the news was out before he had a chance to stop it. Quickly bowing to the reality of the situation; the Minister issued a Proclamation of Innocence, and ordered that Sirius be released immediately.
Two of the Aurors dragged Peter from the boat first, to be taken to the Dementors, while the rest went with Remus to see the Warden. Presented with the documents, the Warden quickly led them to Sirius' cell.
__________
Sirius Black was sitting on the floor of his cell, staring at the walls, not seeing anything. He looked up when the oppressive cold and sadness moved away, and he relaxed a little bit, knowing that the Dementors had left the area of his cell. He didn't know why it happened, but wanted to enjoy it while he could. He blinked when he heard the keys in his cell door, and his jaw dropped when the door opened and Remus walked in, smiling and holding out his hand.
"Your nightmare is over Sirius, you're a free man! Let's get you out of here!"
"What? How? Am I dreaming? This has got to be a dream!" He mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"No Padfoot, you aren't dreaming. The whole world knows you are innocent, and, as for how, you can thank your godson, Harry James Potter, and his friend Hermione. Harry figured out where Peter was hiding and captured him, he's actually in a cell a few doors down. Of course, he isn't much for conversation or explanations now that he has been kissed. We can answer the rest of the questions when we get home. Now, let's go, there is a hot shower, a razor and clean clothes waiting for you."
Finally believing Remus, Sirius reached out and took his hand. They embraced and Remus led the free man back out of the cell. Sirius leaned into him and said quietly, "A quick shower sounds great, but I'm looking forward to being home and taking a nice hot bath, and having you wash my back."
Remus laughed; "You horn dog; I can't believe you've got sex on your mind already! Tell me, do you just want me, or should we get a couple of girls from Knockturn Alley to join us? Let's get you cleaned up and fed, and then we'll see what we can do, alright?"
"That sounds good, and I'm definitely going to want to see Harry as soon as possible, I owe him and his friend, Hermione is her name, right? I owe them more than I can possibly say."
"Harry will say you don't owe him anything, he did it because you didn't deserve to be there, and, I doubt he would admit it, but he's desperate for some connection to James and Lily. That's how he found me, they were searching for information about James and came up with our names. Oh, by the way, remind me to tell you of a prank he and his friends pulled on Snivilus during the school year. He told me about it, because he signed the Marauders name to it! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs rode again!"
Before Remus could tell the story, they were at the exit processing area, and Sirius was examined by a medic-wizard, who gave him some nutrient potions to drink, and then he went and cleaned up; before coming back out, looking much more like the handsome man Remus had last seen so many years before.
After they were on the boat heading back, Sirius asked about the prank, and Remus launched into the story; and devoted a great deal of time to the letter, and various reactions. By the time Sirius finished laughing, they were nearly halfway to the mainland, and Sirius shook his head, "Oh man, I can't wait to see Snivilus, I am going to give him such a hard time about that!"
Remus said, "Actually, Padfoot, that's not possible, Snape died at the end of this last school term. One of the house elves found him in his quarters, it looks like he had a heart attack. I don't know exactly what happened, but I heard that he was under a lot of stress; there was an accident during the exams and one of the first years, Neville Longbottom, Frank and Alice's son, was burned badly, and Snape didn't want to let Harry and Hermione take him to get help. There was going to be a governor's inquest, based on that and several other complaints, but it didn't happen, obviously."
"Well, we aren't supposed to speak ill of the dead, but, I can't find it inside me to feel sad that the git is dead. He was a bitter slimy little boy as a student, and I doubt aging improved him much!"
"Anyway, tell me about things, what have you been doing? How is Harry doing? Who is he living with? He didn't have any living relatives that I knew of, except the muggles, and I hope they didn't get within miles of him. They were hateful the time I met them."
"He actually was at the muggles for the first few years, but then, something happened, I don't know exactly what, he won't talk about it, but Harry was taken in by Arthur and Molly Weasley, and they raised him since he was 5 years old. He's a fine young man, a lot like James, but with a determined streak a mile wide. He's not somebody you want to cross when he is defending someone or something. He got Malfoy's brat good with this spell called a 'Bat Bogey Hex' says it was thought up by his sister, you hit somebody with it, and bats literally fly out your nose and start dive bombing you!"
"Oh that's classic!" Sirius snorted, before asking more questions, and the remainder of the trip was taken in the two of them catching up.
_____________________
The next day, Harry was sitting on the couch reading the Daily Prophet, smiling at the huge headlines on the front page:
/SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETTIGREW A DEATH EATER ~ BETRAYED THE POTTERS ~ FAKED OWN DEATH!/
/ /
And underneath the headline was a picture of Peter on trial, shaking as he cried during his confession. Then there was a picture of Sirius, smiling broadly as he and Remus got off the boat from Azkaban, and finally, a picture of Minister Fudge smiling as he issued the order freeing Sirius, and awarding him One Million Galleons in compensation for his imprisonment. Fudge also announced that he was going to be launching an investigation into how Sirius was sentenced without a trial.
Harry had received an owl earlier that morning from Remus, saying that Sirius wants to see him, but needs a couple of days to adjust to his new life, and will be in touch as soon as he gets finished with the traumatic event healers at St Mungo's.
Setting aside the paper, he sees Ginny looking at a paper of her own, "What'cha reading Gin?"
She held up the paper and Harry could see it was a new issue of the Quibbler, Luna's dads' paper. Harry usually enjoyed reading it, it was a mixture of truth and fairy tale, and the hard part was keeping track of which was which. This issue had a main headline about Death Eaters walking around free, and there was a picture of Lucius Malfoy scowling at the camera.
"Oh man! There are gonna be some brassed off Purebloods when this story gets around. They're gonna try and ignore it, but too many people read the Quibbler, it's gonna cause them trouble. And you know something; I'm not feeling even a little bit sorry for them!"
Harry said, while making a note to himself about checking the article for any names of Death Eaters he wasn't aware of.
Ginny laughed, and agreed, but added, "I'm glad he was able to keep the paper going, it stopped for a while last year when his wife died. You were at school, so maybe you didn't hear, but Luna saw her mom die when she mis-cast a spell. Poor Luna, she hasn't been the same since."
Hermione came down the stairs a few minutes later, and ran over to look at the headlines, then started scanning the article. She smiled when she saw her and Harry's names in the story, in a quote by Remus Lupin as he left the courtroom.
"That's so nice of Remus to give us the credit; a lot of adults would have ignored us, especially since I'm nothing but a Muggleborn, and you aren't pureblood either."
"I couldn't imagine Remus not giving us the proper credit, he's just so happy to get Sirius back, and I doubt he cares about anything else." Harry decided to ignore the pureblood comment for now, but, inwardly he smiled at her casual anger over the bigotry.
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The rest of the summer passed as they always did, although Harry seemed a lot happier because Sirius and Remus had spent a lot of time visiting him, and telling stories of happier days. Sirius said that he wasn't going to go back to work yet, even though he had been offered his old job back. Harry asked him what his job was, and Remus said, "He was an Auror, and a damned good one too! The Death Eaters were almost as scared of him as they are of Mad-Eye Moody, and that's saying something, if you've ever met Moody!"
"Um, I think I'll pass, that troll was scary enough for me, thanks!" Harry laughed, as Hermione nodded emphatically.
"What Troll? Moony you didn't tell me this story!" Sirius said, looking at Remus accusingly.
"I didn't mention it, because it wasn't exactly a fun filled prank this time, and I'm not sure that Harry was ready to talk about it."
"Actually, I had a long talk with Professor Dumbledore, and I don't have any problems with what happened. Even the nightmares have stopped."
With Harry's permission, Remus told Sirius what had happened that Halloween night, including the fact that Harry had to kill someone. Sirius winced and reached over to hug Harry in sympathy, which Harry allowed.
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After Remus and Sirius had left for the day, Harry and Ron took off for the swimming hole. As they were nearing the water, Harry paused and called out "We're just going for a swim Sleekskin, no need to be concerned." At least, that's was what Harry heard, Ron heard his brother hissing at a snake who was resting on a log by the edge of the water. He almost wet himself when the snake raised his head and hissed back, before putting his head down and went back to sleep.
"Bloody Hell, Harry! You're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?"
"I first noticed I could talk to snakes a couple of years ago, and didn't really think anything of it, it was just one of those things. I don't see what the big deal is, so I can talk to snakes, so what? They aren't the most exciting conversationalists I've ever met. If it's not eating or sleeping, they really don't have much to talk about."
"But, being a Parselmouth is Slytherin's trademark! Does anybody else know? They will watch you really close, because all the Parselmouths are Dark, and you know we don't want that kind of attention."
"Relax Ron, if anybody finds out, I'll just tell them that I must have gotten it when Voldemort tried to kill me, and gave me my scar. Who could suspect that an innocent baby would be a Parselmouth? It must be something that 'he who must not be named' did to me! Heh! People are such sheep, tell them what they want to hear, and they'll belong to you forever! Anyway, let's go swimming, and you can tell me why Susan Bones has been coming over almost every day since my birthday! Could Ickle Ronniekins have a girlfriend of his own?"
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and splashing, and just having a good time as young boys do.
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Diagon Alley
Harry ran up the alley to meet his family and Hermione, brushing the floo dust off of him. Molly spotted him first and rushed forward, hugging him, "Oh Harry, we were so worried, I heard you sneeze in the floo, and had no idea where you ended up. Are you alright?" she said, in a voice loud enough to be sure to carry, before lowering her voice, and saying, "Seriously, are you okay? Did anything happen down the alley; it can be a brutal place at times."
"I'm fine, Mom, I'm fine!" Harry protested loudly, and then added quietly, "but I need to talk to Dad for a minute, I overheard Lucius Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes, making arrangements to get rid of some Dark Arts Materials, they are meeting tomorrow to make the exchange. Do you think Dad could make something interesting happen with that information?" He grinned wickedly.
"Oh, Harry, you make me so proud! Lucius has been a pain in my ass and your father's ass for years; this should get him sent to Azkaban for a good long time!"
As Harry and the others continued their shopping, Molly pulled Arthur aside and told him what Harry had told her. Arthur grinned, and clapped Harry on the shoulder as he excused himself; he needed to contact his office for a minute.
As they worked their way toward Flourish and Blotts, they saw a huge crowd gathered, not just students, but a lot of the mothers, and even some of the shop girls were pressed against the glass, trying to get a look.
Eventually they made their way in, and Harry found himself on line behind Luna Lovegood and her father. Harry pulled Luna into conversation, and found that she had changed drastically since her mother died. He didn't know what a Snorkack was, and honestly didn't care, but he nodded encouragingly to let Luna know he was listening. Her story of hunting for Nargals under the full moon was interrupted when someone bumped into them from behind.
Looking up, he saw it was Lucius Malfoy, who glared at him before turning to yell at someone behind him to stop being such a clumsy oaf. Luna looked up at him, and said, "Mr. Malfoy, I realize you are busy with your Death Eater business, but politeness is still a virtue!" Then she turned away from the rapidly purpling blonde. Anything that Malfoy was going to say was interrupted by the crowd parting in front of Harry and Luna, who got a glimpse of Gilderoy Lockhart sitting at a table, surrounded by copies of his books, and at least a hundred pictures of himself, all smiling and waving at the camera. Lockhart stopped talking to the person in front of him when he saw Harry.
Standing, he pulled Harry toward him, and started posing for pictures. This annoyed Harry a lot, he didn't mind using his fame for his purposes, but he was damned sure not going to let this fool use him without asking permission!
Harry tuned out Lockhart's voice as a plan occurred to him; he just needed to wait until Lockhart moved his hand... And then it happened! Lockhart dropped his hand off of Harry's shoulder, and if fell behind his back. Harry yelled, "Hey, why are you touching me there! Help! Help! He's touching me in a bad place! Mom! Dad! Help!"
Lockhart went pale as he quickly pulled his hands up and started stammering, "I, I didn't touch him, I swear, I don't know what he is talking about, I didn't touch him anywhere!"
"Liar! He grabbed my bottom, he's a bad man!" Harry yelled, as he pushed his way back towards the Weasleys. He made his way to Molly, who was stalking forward with a murderous expression on her face. She wasn't the only person stalking forward, there were about 15 other parents moving toward Lockhart with murder in their eyes
Harry led his family over to the Ice Cream shop, and watched as Lockhart was tossed through the window and landed in the cobblestones on the street, he was beaten badly and bloody all over. Harry put a stricken look on his face, and said, "I'm sorry he got hurt, but, he shouldn't have touched me there!" The owner of the shop heard him, and quickly brought him some ice cream to calm him down. Harry thanked him politely, and kept a somber look on his face as he watched Molly stalk out of the bookshop and walk over to Lockhart and kick him in the face. "Stay away from my family you perverted monster!" she hissed, and spit on him.
Harry ate his ice cream quietly, but inwardly was laughing hysterically at how well his plan had worked. 'That bastard will think twice about trying to use somebody else for his own glory, that's for sure!'
Harry had finished his treat, and was getting ready to leave when he heard a quiet voice behind him. "You're kind of hard on Defense Teachers, aren't you Mister Potter?"
"I don't know what you mean, Professor, what Defense Teacher?" Harry said, as he checked his shields before turning to face the Headmaster. He put an honestly confused look on his face, although he suspected he knew where the old man was going with it.
"Gilderoy Lockhart was going to be the new Defense against the Dark Arts Instructor, but, obviously, he won't be doing so now. Even if he were going to be out of the hospital in less than 6 months, I don't think any of the parents would allow him to teach their children after that rather public scene."
"I had no idea he was going to be our instructor, I just knew that I didn't want him touching me that way! I was told to call for help, and I did! I'm sorry he got hurt, but it was his own fault, not mine. If he had kept his hands to himself, I would never have said anything."
"Well, what's done is done, and now I have to find a new instructor for DADA." Dumbledore muttered, but was surprised when Arthur spoke up. "Headmaster, I may have an idea about that. As I'm sure you are aware, Sirius Black was declared Innocent, and freed from Azkaban Prison recently. He has been offered his position as an Auror back, but doesn't feel his skills are up to par yet, why not bring him in as DADA Instructor? He could use something to keep him busy, and it would help him hone his skills back to the level they were before he was betrayed."
"An excellent idea, Arthur, I think that we can trust Mister Potter not to harm this instructor, and it will send a message to those that need to hear it, that Hogwarts is ever vigilant against the Dark."
After they floo'd back to the burrow, Ron pulled Harry aside and asked "Did he really grab your arse?"
"Hell no! I just didn't like the git trying to capitalize on my fame, so I put a stop to it. Besides, it was funny as hell to see him stammer like that!"
"Yeah, it was, and I don't think anybody suspected a thing."
"I don't know, the way Dumbledore was looking at me, I think he might suspect something. I'll keep an eye out next year, and try and stay out of his sight."
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Meanwhile; the Malfoy Estate
Lucius stormed into the house, and ordered Draco to his rooms. Looking at his wife, he growled, "Playroom, now!"
Narcissa looked up from the book she was reading, and jumped to obey her husband. She only hoped that he didn't hurt her too badly this time. She couldn't move for days after the last time he came home like this.
When she got to the ironically named 'playroom'; 'torture chamber is more like it,' she mused, Narcissa stripped out of her clothing and knelt in front of the door, as expected.
She didn't wait very long until her husband came in. She could see he was already naked under his robes, and knew that it was going to be bad. 'If only he weren't so tiny, he might not be angry all the time, I can't believe he's only got a 2 inch part, I've seen little boys who were bigger than him! If he was bigger, maybe he wouldn't use the cane that way, but, I'm stuck here, better brace myself!'
The next two hours were agony as Lucius used the cane on every bit of her body below the neck, finally ending when he savagely sodomized her with the snakehead on the handle. He was panting from the exertion and excitement, and was just about to bring himself off when the door to the playroom was kicked open, and he was hit by multiple stunning spells. Narcissa blinked as she saw a dozen figures wearing Auror uniforms rush into the room and pick up her husband's unconscious body. She noticed that several of them noticed her husband's tiny size and snickered. She managed to gather herself enough to ask what was going on.
"We received a tip that your husband had a huge collection of Dark Artifacts here in the house, and we found several of them. Your husband is under arrest, he will be held overnight until his trial tomorrow. At the least, you can expect a large fine, or else, he will be going to spend a lot of time in Azkaban, especially with that nice little tattoo he has on his arm."
"Oh, I see, well, before you take him, can you hand me my robes and a healing potion off the top shelf? I see I'm going to have things to do."
After the Aurors had dragged her husband's naked body out of the house, and she had to forcibly order Draco back to his room, Narcissa drank the healing potion, and sat down to write a letter to her Cousin Sirius, current head of the Black Family.
End Chapter Three
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