Chapter Twenty-Four: To Geneva and Beyoond

Pre-Chapter A/N: Please do check out the first chapter of the novel I'm working on up on Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga)- it's completely free to access. 

What can I say except you're welcome? Here we go with the seventh chapter of 2025. Lovely to have you all here, and I hope you enjoy this one. If you do, feel free to head over to Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga) and read the next two chapters- I update there on a daily basis so there's always something for you to read. 

He walked with his trunk floating behind him, trying not to attract too much attention to himself even if he knew it was fruitless. He'd been here yesterday, and clearly word had gone around. One reporter had even taken the risk of assuming that he'd show up today as well, and had reaped the payoff of that gamble. It must have been a slow news week if he was able to get time off for something like this. 

"What do you think about how the Ministry has handled the Hogwarts Massacre?" The man asked, but Harry kept walking, trying to make it obvious that he was not interested. 

"Is your presence in the Ministry a sign that you stand behind Minister Fudge?" He asked again. I handed my wand over to the security guard at the checkpoint. It was the same man from yesterday, so he nodded and waived me over. He didn't even ask where I was going. That was all well and good, though. I'd visited already to buy the tickets. I walked to the elevator, with the reporter still trailing me like some sort of lost puppy. 

"Do you agree with Mr. Malfoy's assertion that Britain must go to war against Magical Asia to avenge the Massacre?" What? That hadn't been in any of the papers he'd read. War? An International war, at that? Sure, people had been making noise about it in the Op-ed sections, but that was far different from it being mentioned by a member of the Wizengamot of all people. 

The reporter could clearly tell that he'd surprised me or hit some sort of shock-point because he pursued that line like a dog with a ball. 

"Dame Augusta Longbottom believes that the Japanese Ministry owes Hogwarts and Magical Britain at large reparations for the attack. Do you agree with this?" He dug in. 

"What do you have to say to the people of Wizarding Britain in this trying time?" 

"You were at the Yule Ball, did you see the attack coming?" 

"Reports say that you were one of the first to escape the attack. Neither you nor Minister Fudge or even Professor Dumbledore were harmed in the attack. Some say that this could be a sign that the Ministry was forewarned about the attack and is using it as a tool to drum up support for a war that Britain can scarcely afford." 

"I didn't hear a question there" I said cheekily, but immediately regretted it as he took it as encouragement to keep going. 

"What do you have to say about that?" 

"No comment" I tried, beginning to feel a bit sorry for the man who clearly hadn't been long out of Hogwarts and probably needed something like this to break out his career. 

We left the elevator and began walking into the Department of transportation. 

"Do you believe—" 

He cut himself off as I turned to him. 

"What's your name?" I asked. 

"Galahad Stillwater" He replied. 

"Stillwater. You're muggleborn, yes?" I asked. He instantly became defensive and reared as if to dispute some insult I was sure to levy. 

"I am," he said in a tone that showed that he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

"Good. That means you have some common sense to you. That also means that you're desperate. You've come here in the hopes that I will give you the scoop of the decade— the means to make something of yourself. Maybe I will. But definitely not for free." 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," He said. 

"Really? Then I'll just be on my way then" I replied and turned around. One. Two. Three— 

"Wait, wait. Please." He called after me. 

I turned around to face him again. 

"I haven't any gold" I put on my most insulted expression at that. 

"Why would I ever need your gold?" 

"What do you want then?" 

"You will owe me three favors I will cash in at three moments of my choosing and in return, I will answer three questions of yours" 

"But—" he began, and stopped himself once I made as if to turn around. 

"No negotiation, please. I will not haggle on this" I pressed. 

"Yes sir" He said with a gulp. He'd come here expecting a boy, and he was quickly beginning to realise that I was far more than he bargained for. If he had a lick of sense, he'd walk away now, but he wouldn't. He'd become my tool and sell his soul, all for a glimpse of the success he feels has been denied to him only by an accident of birth. He'd made the mistake of meeting my eyes, and I could flip through his intentions like pages of a book. That had been why I'd confirmed his muggleborn nature. Muggleborn meant next to no chance of having good occlumency, if any. 

"Now ask your questions." I said, and now that he was limited to three, the man who had been so prolific early on suddenly found his tongue in the possession of a cat. 

"I haven't the entire day" I said, intentionally emulating his earlier phrasing. 

"Okay. Um. So…what. No, um. How…" he was flipping through his notes so quickly that I was impressed that he could even read anything from that? 

"Tick tock" 

"Do you think Britain should go to War in Magical Asia?" 

"I think that Britain has been insulted. I think that our people have been killed. I think that Japan must pay for that, however, I am not certain that war is the solution. I was born at the end of a war, and never got to consciously experience one, but I did lose my parents to war. The people in charge, Minister Fudge, Headmaster Dumbledore, and the Wizengamot must weigh the situation carefully and come to a careful decision as they know more about the facts than I do. All I'd ask is that we not be sent into an unnecessary war and that all alternatives be considered." I said, choosing my words as carefully as I could. I knew that people would read into that what they would, which was well enough. Expressing myself in one way or the other would alienate me from the other crowd for no good reason. 

"Do you agree that Headmaster Dumbledore deserves some of the blame for the attack at the Yule Ball?" Ooh, he could ask hard-hitting questions, for sure. 

"A few weeks ago, I fought a death eater who had been using polyjuice to disguise himself as a legendary auror. This fact was widely reported, even if the story broke later than it happened. Everyone knew this had happened. Yet, Hogwart's Headmaster did nothing to alter the wards to make it impossible for the same thing to happen again. I won't join the bandwagon that seems intent on blaming Headmaster Dumbledore for everything under the sun. However, I do think that if I had been in his place and a flaw in my security like that one had been pointed out, I would have taken steps to address it. I do not believe that the blame is entirely his. The Ministry allowed dozens of wizards to make their way into the Nation with no barriers in place to stop them, but some of the blame is Dumbledore's for sure." He was practically salivating as he took note of every word I said. 

"Now your last question?" I asked when he seemed to be too indecisive. 

"What do you have to say to the people of Magical Britain now?" 

"If I had to say only one thing, I would ask for us all to come together. Together, Magical Britain cannot be beaten by any threat. We should support the lawful authorities at this point, rather than tearing them down. We should avoid panic. There is nothing to be panicked about. This is the greatest nation in the world. We produced Merlin. We beat Grindelwald. Voldemort was not enough to break us. Remain strong, fear not, and trust. Those are my words for the people of Britain." I said with a smile. He was smiling as well. 

"Thank you, Mr. Potter" He stretched out a hand for a handshake. I took it. 

"It's a pleasure, Galahad. Just do not forget your obligations. And well, if I find that you have altered my words in any way or otherwise taken them out of context…" I let the implication hang as I squeezed briefly and tightly. 

"Ahh" he groaned, and I let go. There was a massive bruise there. I tried not to let my shock show, turning around and heading straight to the Portkey room. The ritual was beginning to take effect, I noticed. 

No magic could cause instantaneous change without serious mojo behind it, so the ritual was designed to take effect over seven days, and it seemed one of the effects, enhanced strength, was already beginning to show. I'd have to be careful with that. 

— 

The portkey terminal reminded me so much of an airport that one of them surely had to have guided the design of the other. Considering portkey terminals were much, much older, then my money was on some enterprising muggle born thinking it would be funny to make them similar. Well, either that or there were only so many ways one could design a transport terminal. I walked in and was instantly directed to the check in station. The place wasn't crowded. 

Like I noted earlier, portkey tickets were prohibitively expensive. It didn't make sense in the beginning, since I felt all you needed was a piece of junk and a charm. But that was for the local portkeys. The Portkey terminals worked very differently. I checked in, having my ticket verified before I was directed to a waiting lounge. There a house elf was waiting with free pastries and drinks available. I rejected both. Ij this world, there was no limit to the things that could be added to food, and I wasn't going to risk it. 

My portkey was scheduled for five minutes later, and those five minutes passed easily as I spent my time going over my arguments for Sirius' case. I had multiple avenues to follow. Some of them were riskier than the others, but my initial plan of suing the ministry was the one with the most appeal. At the very least, the fact that he hadn't even been given a trial meant I could at the very least get the international warrant on his head removed. With that, he just had to move to an ICW member-nation that didn't have extremely friendly relations with Britain. The Black's happened to have property in both France and Germany, but I was far more partial to the former than the latter, for obvious reasons. 

The bell rang, I walked to the Dias along with three others. The portkey terminal used a special kind of portkey. We stood atop a disk that was about 2 metres in diameter— figure out the circumference from there. The disc was white. We didn't have to touch anything because the disc itself was the portkey. It would take us straight to a fixed location— the terminal in Geneva. There was no chance of it being hijacked or whatever because the spells on the disks would only allow them to move to fixed locations. The downside here was that if I wanted to go to somewhere more exotic, I would have to use this terminal to go to another terminal that had a disc fixed for that location. Rather similar to airports as well. 

The conductor, a burly man, stepped on to the disk last. 

"Now, we will be making the trip to Geneva. If there is no cause for delay from any of you, we will be off in three, two, one" He counted down with his fingers, and then we began to spin. Rather, the disc began to spin as we were held in place atop it. We didn't even have to hold on to our luggage. 

In about half a minute, the disc slid to a slow stop. From the crisp French being exchanged all around me, I figured that we were now in Geneva. The terminal here was far more active. People were appearing every other minute. We were ushered off our spot, and another group of travelers appeared. 

The person who had welcomed us, a woman, scanned our tickets against some sort of ledger and then nodded before waving us away. I nodded and walked, searching for someone to ask for directions. 

__ 

"Sirius! Run they've caught us" I screamed at the top of my voice. I took more pleasure than I could ever convey from the way the sleeping man jumped off the bed, trying to grab a hold of the wand on the dresser, and then spilling it on to the floor. He fell, joining it there before he was on his feet with the wand pointed at my direction. His wide eyes just made me burst into laughter. 

"That's not funny, Harry" 

"You should have seen your face" I said, still wheezing. 

"I'll have my revenge, Potter" he said. 

"Later. Now get up, we have to get going. Session begins at 9, and we need to be seated in the Supplicant's row before then" I said, as I walked out of his room and back to mine. 

We'd gotten rooms in a muggle hotel. Even if Geneva didn't have an express extradition agreement with magical Britain, it was best to not incite a panic or for some Englishman to get ideas far beyond their station. At the ICW complex, it would be much more fine to have him out and about. Using offensive magic within those halls was strictly forbidden, so no one would be arresting him. 

I entered my room and smiled at it. This was the kind of luxury I was used to. The magical world had its charms and curiosities, but it lost out when it came to comfort. I ordered room service, even as I used my standard series of spells to ensure I looked and felt fresh and ready for the day. A knock at my door twenty minutes later signaled the arrival of my full English breakfast. I had the meal just in time for Sirius to walk in. His robes fit him perfectly, and he looked presentable. Dare I say it, he looked handsome in fact. 

His beard was neatly trimmed, his hair was combed and presentable, and he was clean. It was a wonder how those three things had turned the man from a raggedy rogue to a semi-handsome fellow. Sure, he was still on the gaunt side, but that was nothing that wouldn't be fixed in time. He didn't look like an insane mass murderer, and that was enough for me. I waved my wand over him, using a glamour to take on the appearances that we had last night when we booked the rooms. Another wave of my wand shrunk my box— something I could only do now that there wasn't a living magical within the enhanced space— and pocketed it. 

— 

We made our way into the building. Sirius walked behind me, almost like it was natural for him to do so. I knew he saw me more as James than he saw me as Harry, and if I was being honest, I much preferred it that way. This way, he thought of me as a friend and not a Godson. The former was much better than the latter. There was a scanner at the entrance. We were to put our wands and magical objects into the bin. 

I flinched as I dropped my wand, aware of how naked I became with it, and aware that this would be the perfect place to have Round 2 of what happened sat the Yule Ball. I took off my watch. The time turner was safely ensconced in my box. The box was the next thing I put down, and then I walked through the scanner. The guard there seemed to be alert, watching everything like a hawk. I guess I wasn't the only one aware of what could happen at this gathering. 

"Name and Business?" He asked while registering my wand. 

"Harry Potter. Here to petition the International Confederation of Warlocks with one Sirius Black" I said. Sirius, bless his soul, was busy making faces at a woman who had clearly recognised him and frozen in fear. The Wizard at the desk noticed none of this, so focused he was on the scar upon my forehead. 

I coughed, and he flushed. 

"I'm sorry, Potter. You're a bit of a legend even here in Geneva" I nodded and accepted my wand, before taking Sirius' and passing him his. Hopefully, after today, we could go ahead and get him one made by a proper Wand-maker and fitted to him. 

"I understand. Now can we proceed"? 

"Mr. Black can. His letter was received and he is expected. You, however, are not on the list." He said. Dumbledore, I thought to myself with a growl. 

"It matters little. Mr. Black is allowed legal representation to petition the Confederation as per the terms of the Paris Agreement" I said. He nodded, and waved me aside. I doubt he cared that much. Besides, the law was sound on my end. 

We had about ten minutes till session was supposed to start and filed in. The meeting hall was a massive room. Each member-nation was permitted to have two representatives here. Then there were the observers. They filled the gallery, members of the press, government officials, and just generally curious individuals. The ICW as an organisation prided itself on its transparency. These sessions were public, and fully open to the public. The front row was set aside for petitioners, and we walked straight in, taking our seats on the first two seats. We went virtually ignored by most of the room. Why would they care, after all? It wasn't like we had our names floating above our heads. 

The next few minutes passed easily, the only thing drawing me from my thoughts being a group of obviously Asian wizards taking the seats next to us. I felt at my wand then, even as I gripped Sirius' hand to warn him. The rest of the room had an entirely different reaction than what they had to Sirius and I's entrance. They went silent. Oh, lovely. 

A/N: And so we head towards Sirius' freedom (or death). As always, the next two chapters are up on Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga). If you just want to read complete chapters and not my work in real-time, then feel free to purchase this story as a collection on my Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga) page so you get to read each chapter after I finish it and not necessarily the daily updates available with a regular Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/oghenevwogaga) membership- nice way to support this story and me while you're at it. Enjoy!