Chapter 24
SIRIUS BLACK
The week at St. Mungo's had passed by in a blur as the healers tried to heal years upon years of malnutrition and other damages. He had not realized the state his body was in until it had all begun, and only now, a week later, did he realise that he had been pushing himself through sheer will.
Andromeda had been coming to visit him daily, joined a few times in her visits by Ted, who was still dealing with the legal ramifications of his release as he tried to make the Ministry pay him Galleons for his wrongful imprisonment.
Others had tried to reach him as well. From the Minister of Magic to reporters from the Daily Prophet, everyone wanted to meet him. Still, they were rebuffed easily by his cousin, who had no qualms about leaning on the tragic but historical Black family name.
"Well, you are finally looking a little normal," she began a week later as she cast some diagnostic spells on him. Loathed as he was to admit it, he could feel the difference as well.
The weariness and the various aches and pains that once ailed his entire body were now gone or dulled, and his body, which was just skin and bones, now had some semblance of meat to it.
"Thank you," he said, and she nodded.
"Is he coming today?" he asked, for a week had passed, and Albus had promised him that Harry would get to visit him today, and she nodded.
"Yes, he will be here soon," and he could not wait to see him. In his darkest times, Harry had been his only hope and purpose, edging him forward in those times of great despair as he pushed himself to do right by James and Lily's son.
They had been conversing with each other for the week over letters, and he had thought that such a day would come, but now it was here. He could finally meet the boy. Meet James's son.
"Now, before you meet Harry. I promised someone else that I would arrange a meeting between you and them," she cut in, and he raised a brow.
"And what makes you think I will entertain such a request?" he asked, with a bit of a tease, as Andy raised a brow.
"Because you would not be free without her," she answered, and the words made him chuckle even though he already had an inkling about whom she spoke of.
"So, it's a her? Well, then, there is but one question to ask then?" he pushed himself up as he looked into her eyes.
"Are they hot?" and Andy raised a brow.
"Merlin! I should have let you kill yourself," she said as she walked out of his room, leaving him alone for some time, until the door swung open once more as a tall woman walked in.
Her heels clacked on the floor, and she was tall, and even the Auror robe did little to hide her beauty as she walked up to his bed, holding a bouquet in her hands.
"So, I was right," he began as he easily recognized those dirty blonde hair and squarish glasses.
"It really was you pulling the strings behind my cousin," for it would not be easy for Andy to deny and defy the Minister and his lackeys, and yet she did so with no care.
One behaved with such prudence only if they were too rich and powerful or friends with someone equal in power to the Minister.
"Well, I must say the years have done little to diminish your beauty, Amelia," he began. She had been his senior at school, and he had tried to ask her out a few times, yet she had never accepted it at all.
"Andy was right about you," she began with a smile as she put down the bouquet.
"We should have let you starve," and they both smiled as she adjusted her glasses and looked into his eyes.
"How have you been, Sirius?" she asked as he gave her a small nod.
"Doing much better now that I am out of Azkaban," he answered as her mood soured at his words.
"I must apologize for that as well, I just never suspected...." she began a bit hesitantly, but he cut her off.
"You weren't the one who put me in there, and I share some of the blame myself," for if he had not lashed out at Pettigrew as he had and tried to kill him, then rather than being locked up in the Azkaban for more than a decade he could have spent that time with Harry, and yet it was gone now.
And according to Andy it would not help him to think of those times, and so he tried not to dwell much on the past.
"Forget about it. I am happy to see you, but I do not think that this is a conjugal visit, is it?" for though they may have been friends, it was still rather unusual for the head of the DMLE to visit him.
"Well, it is not." There had to be a reason why she had kept him away from their Minister all this time, and if the Prophet was anything to go by, he had an idea that this was all about politics.
Her demeanor shifted, and gone was the sweet Hufflepuff senior, and so appeared the feared Head of the DMLE.
"Since I do not wish to waste time, I will be blunt," she began sharply.
"I want you to help me oust our current Minster from his position," and it was as he had expected. The Prophet had been reporting for some days about a potential feud between her and Cornelius, and given that she was the Head of the DMLE, she was entitled to call a Wizengamont session.
"You want to become the Minister?" he asked, and she nodded.
"I do. For far too long, we as a society have chosen to ignore how many of the Death Eaters, people who killed our comrades and families, walk free, suffering no consequences for their actions, and I believe it is time for us to change that," she argued, and she was not wrong.
He had seen for himself how Lucius and his friends and even Snivellus had managed to stay out of Azkaban, as he rotted in there.
"Cornelius wishes to maintain this status quo, for he benefits the most from it, taking bribes from the likes of Malfoy, Zabini, and Nott, but Malfoy is gone, and with your case, the society is once more beginning to wonder just how many more Death Eaters like Peter Pettigrew still walk among us," and the name of the traitor made his blood boil.
"This is it. If I can oust Cornelius, then I can change things. I can make them better and make sure that they all face punishment for their crimes," and it was a noble cause, one which both he and James had pursued as well before the war. It was why they had become Aurors, to put the likes of Malfoy and his in Azkaban.
"It is a noble calling," he agreed with her, and what she asked of him was simple, for his family had a seat in the Wizengamont, as did the Potters.
Yet both of these seats had been empty for years due to the lack of a proper heir.
But now, with all of his family gone and Andy and her child disinherited, the seat and the heirship fell to him, or at least that was what people thought.
"And as much as I wish to help you, I cannot," and he saw her eyes widen at his reply.
"Why?" she asked after a second of silence.
"Because though I may be Sirius Black, I am not the Black heir," and it was amongst the first things he had Ted investigate, and though it required some legal trickery and leg work, in the end, they were able to find out the truth, and confirm his suspicion about the person orchestrating this all.
"Because, though I may be Sirius Black, I am not the heir to the Black family." The surprise was evident on her face as she frowned.
"Are you lying?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"I have no reason to," and he continued before she could say any more.
"And no, I will not tell you who the heir is, nor will I try to challenge their claim," which was something he could do, but he had little care for his family, their name, and everything associated with it.
"Is that so?" she sighed as he nodded.
"I am afraid so," and she shook her head, clearly frustrated by this piece of information.
"Well, then it seems I might be in quite some trouble," and he could understand her worries. The Wizengamont was more divided than ever, and if a vote were to be called, he knew that without breaking some votes from the Conservatives, or as they were openly called, the Dark families, she would not stand a chance against Cornelius.
Though she may be able to secure the vote of the so-called Light families, the Grey faction, small as it was, would not vote for her, for doing so would disturb the status quo, and no one had any desire for that.
"Though there is some silver lining here," he added, seeing her dejected expression.
"I may not be able to help you with the Black family vote, but the Potter family vote. That is an entirely different thing," he added, and her eyes widened.
"Harry Potter, but he is still underage," she argued.
"He can always name a proxy to vote in his stead," and she nodded.
"I see. Then I will be waiting to hear from you again," she said, standing up. Just as she was about to walk away, she stopped.
"Oh, I nearly forgot," and suddenly, she reached into her pocket took out a badge of sorts and put it beside the flowers.
"Your Auror badge," and the words surprised him.
"Before your imprisonment, you were an Auror, and well now that you are free, know that the Auror office will always have a place for you," he reached for it and realized that it was the same badge from years ago, and he could see the cracks and the rust on it, and yet it was a reminder of the good times.
"Thank you," he whispered as he felt his hands shake. With a small nod, she left the room, and Andy came back in a few minutes later.
"You are not the Black heir?" she asked, with a hint of surprise, and he shook his head.
"I am not," he answered.
"Then who is it?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"I do not know, and I have no intention of trying to know," he added, for he did not wish to trouble this stranger.
"Though, there is someone else I wish to write to," and the topic of the Black heir reminded him of it.
"Who?" she asked, and he hesitated before he finally opened his mouth. The change in her expression was instantaneous as her face flushed and her lips thinned at his answer.
"Why in Merlin's name would you want to write to her...."
0000
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
The week had passed at last, and today, Harry would finally meet Sirius. He had visited him a few times at Sto. Mungo's, and each time he would be riddled with guilt and pain as he saw his thin and frail condition.
Thankfully, the damage, while exhaustive was not permanent, and according to the Healers, Sirius was set to make a full recovery physically.
And while he recovered in the hospital, the wizarding world reeled from his surprise exoneration, as tensions within certain communities and people began to rise, with old wounds reopening and forgotten crimes getting pushed back to the forefront of people's minds.
The Ministry itself remained helpless as Cornelius found himself tied down by a power struggle initiated by none other than Amelia Bones who wished to replace him, as the Minister, and while he was not much happy or impressed by their current Minister, it was obvious to all that Amelia Bones would not tread lightly when it came to dealing with the Death Eaters.
Many began to whisper his name as a potential successor, despite his continuous refusal to take up the mantle, and this entire debacle had solidified his thinking once more, for he did not trust himself with all this power at this point in his life.
No, he only wished to be a teacher, an educator, for that was the only way to bring forth lasting change, and he would continue to try and do so.
And one of the examples of his philosophy now sat infront of him.
"It is rare of you to call for me," began the youngest Potions Master in Great Britain, and his mood remained as dour as always as Severus Snape sat infront him, sitting there impassively, as Dumbledore smiled.
"I do not have much time to waste, so do tell me, why have you called for me?" the man asked, always busy and in a hurry as Albus nodded.
"I know, and I would not have disturbed you if it was not necessary, but I wanted to ask you about some of your students," and Severus raised a brow.
"If this is about Potter, then I can assure others that they could tell you much more about the boy than I ever could." While that was a lie, he still shook his head.
"I am afraid I have not called you here for Mr. Potter. I met him myself some time ago, as Remus left with him for St.Mungo's," and the boy was a mix of nervousness and excitement at the prospect of having some family of his own, and he had thought to visit Sirius alongside him, but Remus had asked to go, and he did not wish to come in between the two old friends.
"Then who?" and Severus was intrigued by that.
"The Malfoys," and the surprise in his eyes vanished in an instant.
"What about them do you wish to know?" Severus asked, protective of his students as always, as a teacher should be.
"I believe you have known them for years, but I am intrigued. What can you tell me about the twins," unlike the other twins at school, the Malfoy twins were too different from one another, unlike the Weasley couple, who were like copies of one another.
"Each of them is different. Draco takes after his father much, both in looks and behavior, as for his brother Cassius, I cannot really say," and that was intriguing, and he leaned forward, raising a brow.
"Why?" he asked, for he was the one he wished to know more of.
"The boy has caused many headaches for Lucius over the years. Unlike Draco, he is headstrong, resilient, and entirely disenfranchised by the ideologies of his own family. Still, he is also prudent and has a mind as sharp as I have seen in my life," and that was high praise coming from Severus, who thought most wizards and witches were nothing but buffoons.
"But why this sudden interest in them?" he asked with narrowed eyes, and he could tell him the truth. The equally relieving and troubling truth was that the person who had discovered Peter Pettigrew's secret was none other than the younger Malfoy twin.
"You called him prudent?" he asked, noticing his choice of words.
"Why?" he asked, and Severus was not happy at having his question dismissed,
"Because he was smart enough to see through the lies of the pure blood ideology as a child, while also realizing that he had little to no power to change them," and that was truly smart.
"He worked hard, showed them his worth and skill as a wizard, and then now he leverages that, pushing their boundaries slowly and slowly," but that all was over this year.
"Now, tell me why this sudden interest in the Malfoys?" he asked again, as Dumbledore.
"I am just worried about them," and he was. He was worried for both of them, for even Draco, who he knew was having difficulty adjusting after the news about Lucius came out.
"There are more than a hundred students in this school, and yet you are worried about two specific students. There has to be a better reason than that?" Severus argued, not relenting, for he was not just their teacher, was he?
Severus was also Draco's godfather, being a sort of an uncle to him.
"I know that Lucius has asked you to look into the matter regarding Peter's capture." Severus was actively looking for the person who had ousted Peter, though what he intended to do with this information was still a mystery.
"Yes, he has asked me to look into it, and truth be told, he is not the only one," and he knew that as well.
For just as Amelia was beginning to target the Death Eaters who had escaped justice through various means, Tom's followers had begun to gather once more in an effort to join hands and retaliate against her and this stranger who had just dealt them a massive blow by incriminating Lucius, Crabbe Snr. And Goyle Snr.
"Whoever they are, they need to be warned about possible retaliation. I have narrowed it down to the fact that this was not the work of a teacher but of a student..." and suddenly, Severus stopped, as his eyes widened in realization.
"It's him, isn't it?" he asked, Albus's lips thinning, and he nodded.
"I am not yet certain, but I suspect so, " Severus nodded.
"I should have expected that only he could come up with such an elaborate plan. And then his behavior after Lucius's arrest, it makes sense now," he whispered.
"Keep an eye on him for me, but do not confront him about this yet," he asked of Severus.
"He has done us a great favor, and I do not wish to put his life in any more danger than it is in already..."
.
.
.
.
Back in the Malfoy manor, Narcissa Malfoy found herself staring at a letter she had just received, as her eyes dulled with every word.
"What have you done, Cassius?"
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