Chapter 18-The War Resumed!

Chapter 18

After a tumultuous day, Britain's Wizarding World waited with bated breath for the daily issue of the Daily Prophet to chew on the latest piece of news and gossip about the scandal surrounding one Sirius Black.

Reporters, lawyers, and others had surrounded the Ministry's building for the entire day and night, hoping to get a glimmer of news for their respective papers, yet the Ministry remained tight-lipped about the issue.

And yet, early in the morning, the DMLE arranged a press conference, where the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones, came to address the reporters themselves.

She took the podium under the scrutinizing lights and thundering questions as she began her briefing—one that would shake the entire wizarding world.

"Today, I have gathered you all here to inform you about threr very important and crucial pieces of information..." she began as the reporters were made to quiet down by the Aurors.

"First of all, after a thorough investigation into the claims made by one Sirius Black, the Ministry has come to a realization that the accused was indeed denied a trial, and the accusations against him were never thoroughly investigated. This was a mistake on part of the previous administration, one which the current Minister is eager to correct. A trial date has been set, and Sirius Black has agreed to hand himself over to the authorities, placing his trust in the system," and there were murmurs and whispers at that, as many reporters gathered in the Hall voiced out their questions.

"All questions will be answered at the end," the blonde witch added sharply as the Hall became quiet once more.

"The second matter concerns the Wizard named Peter Pettigrew, who was alive and had faked his death. The wizard in question was apprehended at Hogwarts by the Headmaster with the help of an anonymous source and was taken into custody for questioning immediately," and at that, the witch halted, her anger and frustration evident as she turned the page and continued.

"Unfortunately, shortly after signing a confession about his crimes, and providing the Ministry with evidence against conspirators and supporters of the Dark Lord who still roam free, the wizard in question was found dead in his cell," and the Hall became quiet at those words, and the uproar was instantaneous as dozens upon dozens of questions.

"His death came as a result of an attack by two stray dementors, and Peter Pettigrew is now dead, and the Ministry is launching a full investigation into the matter itself," and at that she closed the page, and faced the reporters once more.

"And in accordance with the details given by the said wizard, the DMLE conducted a raid today on....:"

0000

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

It was not rare for Dumbledore to stay awake through the night. It had been quite the norm for him throughout his life for various reasons.

But it was rare for him to spend a night troubled by guilt and worry. The arrival of Ted Tonks had a great shift in the matter, and the Ministry could no longer act against Sirius with impunity, so after much negotiations, a date was set for trial, before which Sirius would need to submit himself to the Ministry.

Cornelius was reluctant to make the decision, but the man had no choice as Sirius's letter, combined with Peter Pettigrew's confession, were too damning to ignore and simply push under the rug.

And despite him being Minister, this whole matter fell under the purview of Amelina Bones, as the Head of the DMLE, and she was one formidable witch who had shared time with Sirius and the rest of the Marauders at the school.

"So, it is true?" Minerva asked, and much like him, it seemed that the witch in question had not slept much herself, given her fidgety disposition, and for good reason.

"It is," he answered, and he did not know what to think of the matter himself as the witch gasped.

"Then Sirius," and it was indeed damning to think of how the young boy had been wronged. To be imprisoned at Azkaban for more than a decade was a grave injustice. All the while, the real culprit remained hidden infront of their eyes, staying and stuttering in these very Halls as they all remained oblivious to his treachery.

"The trial is set to happen in a week," he told Minerva, and the news would come out soon enough in the morning paper.

"Ted Tonks will be representing Sirius in the trial, before which Sirius will surrender himself to me," and he was ashamed of himself, of how he had wronged one of his own like this.

"Ted Tonks," Minerva frowned, recognizing the name instantly.

"Isn't he the boy Andromeda married?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, the boy is a lawyer, working for Ogden and Tonks. Criminal defense is not his usual domain, but the evidence here in this case is simply too much, and he is Sirius's choice," even though the man himself had seemed rather surprised by it all.

He had talked to Tonks, and the man had told him how he had simply received a letter in the morning with all the details of the case, along with a cheque for one thousand galleons for his fee. He had not truly met Sirius.

And Dumbledore suspected that Sirius did not really write the letter and the money, but by the anonymous friend who had brought them Pettigrew.

"And what of the Weasleys?" and that was another headache for him.

"They have been cleared by the DMLE and are back. Many in the department thought them to be complicit in the matter, but I intervened and assured Amelia to the contrary. Arthur and Molly were livid with themselves and felt nothing odd with their rat," and she shook her head.

"Poor souls, I cannot imagine what they must be feeling," she added, and he could, for he felt similar guilt.

"I would take it a bit easy on the children for a few days. All of them are quite shaken as well," he offered as Minerva nodded.

"I will," she assured him as she shook her head.

"He was right here, Albus. For years," she lamented.

"Hiding infront of our eyes, after betraying Lily and James. And yet, none of us suspected a thing. None of us," she finished as Albus sighed.

"I am equally guilty of that crime," he assured her, much to his shame. But this was just another one of those lessons, for who would suspect that an illegal Animagus was roaming through the School?

"Even I did not, and I am supposed to be a Master of Transfiguration," she chastised herself as Dumbledore put down his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"We had no reason to," and she nodded solemnly.

"But someone did," she pointed out, and Albus wore his glasses once more.

"Yes, and whoever they are, they have done us a great favor," he added, but she was quick to intervene.

"But are you not interested in knowing who it was?" she asked heatedly, but he simply raised a brow.

"I think we will all know in due time," he assured her, not mentioning her suspicion.

"But Albus we must try and fin..."

"Whomever it is, they have done us a great favor," he cut in sharply as he looked into her eyes.

"They have dealt Voldemort and his followers a big blow while giving Harry a chance to experience some familial love," and while no person could ever fulfill a parent's place, he had no doubt that Sirius's presence would be good for Harry, better than those horrid muggles he was forced to put up with, even though he would not be rid of them just yet.

"This person has helped us, at great peril to himself because if any of Voldemort's followers learn of his or her true identity, they would..."

"..come after them in retaliation," she finished his sentence, and there would probably be a few more reasons for this secrecy, but this should be enough to warn off Minerva from looking into the matter.

"So, I think it would be best if we let them remain anonymous, just for their safety if not for anything else," he said, giving the same reason to Amelia, who agreed to it after much deliberation and arguing.

"I did not think of it in that manner," she added, and Dumbledore nodded.

"Oh God! Will you look at the time?" Minerva sprang to her feet suddenly as she glanced at the clock.

"I must go and prepare for my lectures," she said, and Albus smiled.

"Of course," and with a few words, she rushed out of his office, leaving him to his own thoughts and contemplations.

Though he had discouraged her from looking into the identity of their anonymous helper, he was himself rather curious. So, he stood up and slowly walked towards a corner of the room to confirm his suspicion. For a mind as inquisitive and curious as his own, sleep would not come unless he had an idea about just who it was that had helped them all.

As he walked to a corner, he took out his wand and waved as the wall began to shift, moving to show a platform on which lay his pensieve.

Dumbledore walked up to it before he placed his wand at his temple and plucked out a rather recent memory from a day earlier, and as he pulled the thread from his temple, he put in the glimmering liquid of the pensieve, before lowering his head into it.

And as he did, he found himself standing behind his own body in the Great Hall, scanning the students who ate away their breakfast infront of him. This was the scene from a day earlier, and soon enough, a storm of Owls descended on the Hall and began to drop the special issue of the prophet on the tables, and as they did, he saw students hurriedly reach for the paper.

Their reaction was immediate, as few gasped in surprise, others pulled in their friends to show them the Headlines. Sooner or later, each and every one of them had their faces taken aback by surprise, except one singular face.

A rather familiar remained uninterested and unsurprised, even as pandemonium broke out all around him, and while the rest of them gazed at the newspaper, the gaze of Cassius Malfoy lingered on the doors once more, as if waiting....

.

.

.

And with his suspicion confirmed, Albus slid out of the Pensieve and stared at the face of the boy in the water as he questioned.

"Could it really be?" he whispered before suddenly the air above him erupted in a firestorm as he looked up and saw Fawkes appear.

"What happened?" he asked, as the majestic creature flew through the air before dropping what seemed to be the day's issue for the Prophet on him, and as he opened it his eyes widened as he saw the headlines.

"I need to go the Ministry..."

0000

HARRY POTTER

With the news about Sirius making rounds at the school, Harry had not gotten a second of sleep all night. Ron and the rest of his brothers were called in by Professor McGonagall, and all of them only returned later in the night, shaken up quite a bit.

Harry had been worried about his friend and had been surprised when Ron had told him how all of his family were nearly put into Azkaban until Dumbledore had intervened to stay the hand of the Ministry and the DMLE.

And it was all because of that rat. And neither of them could believe it still, that the Scabbers was more than just a rat, that it was in truth Peter Pettigrew, a wizard long thought dead.

But Harry worried about another thing as well. Godfather. Sirius Black was his godfather, and the man was supposedly a friend of his fathers and yet he knew nothing of him.

He was his family, yet Harry knew nothing of him. What kind of person was he? What was his relationship with his father, and so much more?

A part of him wanted to be hopeful that his godfather would rescue him from the awful Dursley' while another part feared that the man would be even worse than them.

He wanted to know more about the man who had spent more than a decade in Azkaban because of a crime he had not done. He wanted to know more about this new family he had just discovered, and he did not know who to ask.

Well, he knew, but he just did not know how to.

The Great Hall was still full of whispers, murmurs, and subtle stares, even after an entire day. And he did not need to guess what everyone else was talking about as he tried to distract himself with breakfast.

But even that did not help him, as his gaze continued to move towards a boy seated on the table beside him. The very boy who had been the first person to speak of Sirius's innocence.

He was the only person here who could answer some of his questions. He had hoped to ask him about it but had chickened out at the last moment. His curiosity did not settle even after the entire night, and he could think of no other person to assuage this.

"The food is not going to go anywhere," Hermione's voice cut through the air as her friend shifted to the side to get away from the crums, spilling away from Ron as he ate with renewed vigor.

"Will you please mind how you eat?" she asked. The ice between them had melted slightly as Ron and his brothers nearly found themselves in Azkaban because of the rat.

Though, as he saw Ron ignoring her words, he wondered just how long this truce would last.

"Spare me, ok? This could very well be my last meal before Azkaban," and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"They are not going to put you into Azkaban. So, please do not eat as if it is your last meal," she chided, though her tone did soften at the mention of Azkaban, and Harry turned towards her as he began.

"Hermion..."

"Harry," but before he could speak, they were interrupted by the familiar voice of their new DADA professor. He looked back and saw Professor Lupin standing there behind him, looking much better than yesterday as the man gave him a bitter smile.

"Professor Lupin, you are back," Harry greeted the man who nodded at him, and he could see several students glancing at them as the Professor looked him in the eye.

"Yes, I am back, and I was hoping that you would see me in my office today," Harry felt his throat dry. The Professor read his mind and cut in.

"I assure you, you are not in any trouble, Harry," the man assured him as he squeezed his shoulder.

"Just come to my office after breakfast, and we will talk then," and Harry nodded.

"Can I bring Ron and Hermione with me?" he asked, but the man shook his head.

"I am afraid it would be best if you came alone," and Harry nodded, as suddenly the owls flew into the Hall and began to deliver the day's mail.

And everyone almost held their breaths, as the copy of the Daily Prophet were delivered to every table, and Hedwig flew down and delivered a copy to the three of them as well.

"I will see you later, then," and with that, the Professor walked away as Hedwig flew towards his plate and picked up a piece of sausage with its beak.

Hermione had picked up the paper, and had unfurled it, and much like yesterday the Hall was filled with whispers and murmurs, again as Harry slid to the side to see the Headlines.

"BLACK GIVEN A TRIAL!" "PETTIGREW DEAD!"

 ~Bethany Crawford

"What!" Harry gasped as he read the headlines, and Hermione's face paled.

"Someone killed Pettigrew during the night," she added, her eyes quickly skimmed over the article.

"But thankfully, he had already made his confession before then. Sirius is going to be free," she said as she turned towards him, as Harry sat there stilled by the news when suddenly, missing as Professor Snape walked into the Hall behind them all.

"Draco, Cassius, with me now," and Harry glanced back and saw the Potions Master standing between the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw table, as the two Malfoy twins stood up and followed after him. It took him a second to notice, but the number of eyes following them was nearly equal to the one's that often stared at him. And he could see students whispering and pointing at them, and he was not the only one.

"What happened to them?" Ron questioned, and Harry saw that he had never seen Draco so pale and fidgety as he walked towards the potions master. His brother Cassius Malfoy seemed a bit disturbed as well, as he held a scrunched-up copy of the Prophet in his hand.

"Merlin!" they heard Hermione gasp as their heads snapped towards their friend, whose face had grown pale as well, as she whispered.

"Look at this," she said, and they both saw the second page of the Prophet, and there on the front page was the picture of one Lucius Malfoy with a damning headline underneath.

~DMLE RAIDS MALFOY MANOR! LORD MALFOY FLEES BRITAIN! ACCUSED OF TIES TO THE DARK LORD!~

 by Micheal Che

~PETTIGREW'S STATEMENT INCRIMINATES LORD LUCIUS MALFOY! TWO OTHER ARRESTED~

 by Colin Jost

0000

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