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Unfortunately there was also the small problem that Black's wand which Amelia had retrieved from evidence storage showed only a stunner, some disillusionment and stealth spells (which made sense if he was hiding from Aurors), and an infant healing charm (which she assumed he had used on the Potter child). According to his wand, Black hadn't blown anything up.
Nothing added up but especially that healing spell. The assumption in the statements was that Black had betrayed the Potters leading Voldemort to them only for Rubeus Hagrid to thwart Black's attempt to finish off the baby. Everyone assumed Black had panicked and given up the baby to Hagrid to make his escape (although contrarily he had also given up his best mode of transportation at the same time). But if Black had healed the baby…if his intent hadn't been to harm the child…
A knock on the door had her placing the parchment back into the file and calling for her first witness to enter.
Alastor Moody limped into her office. His scarred face creased happily as he grinned at her while his magical eye examined the room for hidden dangers. "Amelia."
"Alastor. How are you? Enjoying retirement?" Amelia shook hands with her old mentor and waved him into a seat.
"Albus has asked me to teach next year." Alastor snorted, sitting down with a thump. He pointed at her badly hidden wince. "I did the same thing. Who wants to teach a school full of kids?"
"Although I'm sure you'd be good for them, Alastor." Amelia said with sincerity. Moody had been their best Auror instructor.
"Told Albus he was an idiot." Alastor said brusquely.
"Speaking of Albus, Alastor," Amelia said bluntly, "the rest of this conversation is subject to your Auror oath. He's not to be told about any of it and if I find that he knows something and he picked it out of your head, I'll have your head on a pike."
"Understood." Alastor said, his good eye gleaming with curiosity. "You're reinvestigating Black?" He pointed at the file.
She blew out a breath and nodded. "He didn't receive a trial, Alastor. Officially, I'm building the case for when we recapture him."
Alastor's eyebrows rose. "Well that explains why you rescinded the Kiss on sight." He shifted position slightly. "And unofficially?"
"Unofficially, it's beginning to look as though a giant cock-up was made." Amelia said simply. "Most of the evidence of his guilt seems to consist of 'because we know he did it' hearsay."
He took a moment and sighed. "So I assume you want my take as Lead Auror at his capture?"
"Please." Amelia set up a diction quill and waved her wand to initiate it.
"On October thirty-first, nineteen-eighty-one, the Auror's office received a communication from Albus Dumbledore that James and Lily Potter had died in a confrontation with Voldemort. Their baby, Harry Potter, had somehow survived and Voldemort himself was dead. Black had arrived at the scene afterwards but found Rubeus Hagrid had already taken custody of the baby on Albus's orders. Hagrid left Black there, Black loaning him the use of his motorbike. At the time of Albus's communication, the baby was at Hogwarts receiving medical treatment while Albus sorted out a safe place for him – he'd sent Minerva McGonagall to do a reccy of some muggle house."
Alastor recounted the events briskly. "I knew the Potters had gone under a Fidelius charm and believed as Albus did that Black was the Secret Keeper for the Potters and must have betrayed them. Albus confirmed the Fidelius was down so I took a team to Godric's Hollow and established that the bare facts as had been reported to us seemed to be in order. I left men securing the bodies and house from scavengers and gawkers while another team of us including a team of Hit Wizards from Black's own department picked up Black's apparition trail."
Amelia nodded. "And then?"
"The trail was a funny one." Alastor said. "Black was muddying his own trail enough to delay us but not to throw us off course. The techniques he was using are typical in Hit Wizard undercover work where it has to appear the undercover is covering up his trail but in truth they're leaving enough for us to follow. And he wasn't making for the Continent which would have been the obvious exit route for him." He sighed. "When we finally caught up with Black, Pettigrew was a finger, the street was filled with dead muggles and Black was on his knees, laughing hysterically. We arrested him, took his wand and put him in a cell – he was too out of it for questioning. Crouch refused to send for a healer."
"You noted Black was suffering from shock?" Amelia queried.
"And concussion, bruising and a variety of cuts and scrapes. He had a lump the size of a grapefruit on his head. I healed what I could but he was hysterical, laughing one minute, weeping the next." Alastor stated tersely. "I went home, came back the next morning and found he'd been transported to Azkaban overnight on Crouch's order. I wrote up my report and Crouch had me back out hunting Death Eaters again before the end of the day. You remember those days, Amelia, the department was chaos. I admit I forgot about Black and I just assumed he'd had his day in court at some point, been found guilty and thrown back to Azkaban."
"I think that was everyone's assumption." Amelia tapped her fingers impatiently on the file. "In hindsight, Alastor, what are your thoughts?"
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