"Well isn't this a party."
"Oh my Amelia, what kind of parties have you been attending?" The woman in question stood from where she'd been sitting at a small summoned table, closing the folder she'd been reading to tuck it lightly beneath her armpit. She held out her arms as much as she could then, as if welcoming the head of the DMLE into the party that this was most certainly not. Her darkly painted lips wore a very charming smile that did not fit the atmosphere at all.
Madam Bones stopped before her, blowing out a breath. "Not very good ones, apparently."
"Next time Kristoff has a gathering, you should attend. I promise you it's better than this." Valencia waved her off. "And you poor dear look like you could use the break."
"Another time maybe."
"Of course. I thank you for taking the time to meet with me here, since as you can see I'm a little… busy." The woman glanced at the small crowd gathered around her with a smile like she found this all very amusing.
Amelia felt like she could cut the tension in the cramped hallway with a butter knife, sweat gathering at the back of her neck, so it was to her credit this woman seemed to be enjoying it all for some reason.
Then again, this wasn't an ordinary woman by any means.
Edith Valencia was a lawyer of incredible renown, only about Amelia's age herself but having made just as big a splash in her career as the woman who'd clawed to the head of law enforcement through sheer talent. She was calm and pleasant, but strict and very keen on 'rule following' as she called it, since the letter of the law always worked in a good lawyer's favor apparently.
The key thing though was that she wasn't scary in the traditional sense, as no one really knew what she was ever after. She didn't belong to any existing faction so far as anyone was aware, she was just… here, sometimes.
She was not native to the UK at all, having been born in Spain and attending a Russian magical school for her education, before marrying her husband who just so happened to be an English wizard and thus decided to come here of all places. Her background meant she was most often working on cases involving international magical law, and only very rarely took cases local to one country or another. She was pretty vocal about it being more 'fun' when there were multiple sets of laws to work through instead of being restricted to one country.
That she had appeared as Sirius Black's barrister for this trial was, frankly, a bit of a relief. Amelia had no idea how she'd gotten involved with this, but if this woman could acquit Dalia Zabini after how-many husbands of hers had ended up dead and somehow all of them being comfortably confirmed as accidents, then surely Sirius was in good hands.
Especially given what an utter clusterfuck this was turning out to be.
They stood in a St. Mungo's hallway, outside what was undoubtedly the room Black was being treated in prior to the trial, made obvious by the fact there was a literal crowd of people hovering out here that all seemed stuck in a very intense standoff.
Amelia noted the five aurors from her own department hovering, aware that she'd only sent two of them as official guards but knowing the other two were likely on Fudge's payroll by how they were looking down the hall and not at her, as if avoiding eye-contact would make her ignore their presence. The most concerning one was John Dawlish, who she knew was still in active contact with Dumbledore despite the headmaster's current situation, though she couldn't prove it.
Joining them was what seemed to be hired guards from half the pureblood families in Magical Britain. She didn't have all their names memorized, nor could she point out who had been hired by who, but she was well aware many purebloods were claiming 'family relations' with Sirius and had installed their own 'security' for him. Which was all bullshit—everyone here had hoped to catch Mr. Black alone for a conversation. What they wanted out of him though varied from party to party, from those here for Dumbledore and Fudge probably trying to get him to sabotage his own trial, to whatever-is-was the Slytherins wanted, to maybe even a couple with genuinely good intentions who really did want to see the trial go off safely.
Valencia, as his lawyer, was the only one permitted to actually speak with him prior to the trial, and her presence here was the only reason the tense stand-off happening around her hadn't toppled. As soon as she walked away, surely someone would try and force their way into where Sirius was supposed to be resting, for who-knows-what means. Hopefully the aurors she assigned here would do their jobs and prevent that, but Fudge was completely draining his back accounts in paying people off to make this trial disappear, so to be blunt Ameila had no idea who she could trust anymore.
She wanted to trust her own force but… these days she knew it was more unsafe than ever to get too complacent. Even if she was sure she had someone who wouldn't take a bribe from Fudge, she knew there was a not-so-small chance they'd still take Dumbledore's word over her's if he got his wrinkled old nose involved—which he very clearly had for this nightmare.
The aurors she assigned here she was fairly confidant would say no to Fudge if he arrived and tried to force his way in, but she had a terrible suspicion they'd both crumble if Dumbledore himself showed up. Which wasn't an impossibility unfortunately, given he'd just been forcibly resigned from Hogwarts and now had a lot of free time on his hands. One of her aurors here was an ex-Gryffindor after all, so there was almost no chance he'd put up a fight if the Headmaster played his kindly-old-man routine and just 'wanted to check in on an old student' or something.
Frankly Amelia had no defense against something like that, since if you weren't a Slytherin then you most likely trusted Dumbledore implicitly. And if you were a Slytherin she didn't want them involved for a whole other plot of reasons. It was just really annoying that Dumbledore and Fudge were firmly on the same side for once: if she thought it annoying when the Minister was being bought off by the Malfoy family, this was so much worse somehow.
But, that was why Valencia swooping in was probably the best turn of events in this mess so far, as she was an excellent buffer—and medium—between a lot of very mischievous parties lurking around. She was in a muggle dress suit with sharp shoulders and a gorgeous deep purple color, long black hair perfectly straight down her back and lethally high heels she didn't look remotely uncomfortable in. Amelia saw the approvals and knew she'd personally escorted Sirius out of Azkaban with the aurors sent to retrieve him, all the way to this room here and likely hadn't moved a centimeter since. Even then, she looked completely unbothered and professional for someone who'd been coordinating the defense for the trial of a century whilst simultaneously being in a stake-out for almost 40 hours now; in fact, she didn't even look tired.
Valencia also came into this mess with her own guards, who were the two actually on either side of the door and looking just as unflappable and unaffected as their boss. At least, Amelia could assume they came as a set given they too were in muggle suits of even darker purples. She'd also heard tell of Valencia's notable legal team, so figured those probably weren't just guards but also legal aides or solicitors themselves that assisted with whatever she needed… their unnaturally pale skin and eerily glowing beauty compared to the rest of the obvious humans in the hallway implied they weren't just normal solicitors either.
Not that she was questioning it—if they were more effective guards than the ones the DMLE was able to provide, all the better. At the very least it was reassuring to see them looking so unconcerned with the dozen other people around them who were just waiting for them to show an opening, some being large and clearly hired for their imposing builds. Intimidation didn't not seem to be a winning tactic with them given their pleasant, but cold expressions.
No one was speaking to Sirius Black without Valencia's approval, which could only be a good thing given the kind of nefarious things Amelia sensed people were plotting around this trial.
"I figured." Madam Bones allowed her graciously, not minding the being forcecd to take a trip if it meant things went smoother. "What is so important then?"
The woman held out a hand and one of her guards placed a packet of papers into it from seemingly nowhere, handing it over to the head auror politely.
"We will be approved for Veritaserum tomorrow." She announced, Amelia tensing as she realized the papers she now held were statements, signed by healers she recognized from St. Mungo's.
That was…
"You're kidding," She inhaled, daring to hope.
"Nope. We have proof in triplicate, from three different mind healers. I have copies too, in case those and the people who signed them mysteriously go missing before tomorrow." She smiled.
"Edith…"
"These things happen, no? Please don't worry yourself about it, I am familiar with these sorts of games." She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear out of habit, eyes filled with mirth.
"I am wondering how you got into things like this," She had to ask, feeling a little off put that the woman seemed to be enjoying this, while everyone else was stressed the fuck out. These high-stake cases were way more common in her neck of the woods with international law, so for her to be enjoying what was essentially a murder trial, really was a little out of character.
"How could I not given the intrigue of it all? I live for the exciting cases and there hasn't been one like this in years. This country is always a little too petty and nit-picking with their big cases, and your murder trials are always too short. This one was a rare gem." She shrugged.
"I see," Amelia glanced down at the papers in her hands again, clutching them tighter as she read them over. This… couldn't be true, could it? "I just… this isn't a joke?"
"He was innocent." Valencia lost her smile some, a more genuine but no less confident glint to her eye. "In his own words, 'it wasn't exactly a happy thought', so the dementors couldn't take it from him. I assure you it's true… he is not a madman."
"…rumor has it they've summoned Pomfrey to give a testimony."
"She's declined. Rather point-blankly, in fact."
Amelia felt a tension she hadn't known she was carrying finally start to unwind in her shoulders.
The Madam was, really, the only person who had a true testimony against Sirius' sanity aside from hearsay and gossip about the Black family that everyone tended to blab about. A solicitor like Valencia would easily be able to cut through the bullshit that was unfounded fact and rumor, but even she would not be able to make anyone hear an argument against Poppy Pomfrey. The Madam's word was worth that of ten St. Mungo's healers on a bad day, and if you were under 40 you'd had her stern presence as a healer during your school days… and if you were over 40 you most likely remembered, quite vividly, where the term Battle Medic had been coined. She was not a woman anyone could really argue against, which is why it was a good thing she remained at Hogwarts and had only ever come to speak at a trial a handful of times in the last twenty years—all of them in defense of abused children, in those rare instances such matters actually made it to the Wizegamont.
Pomfrey no longer surfaced for things not pertaining to children these days, even ex-students of hers like Sirius, so it was an unfounded fear that she would appear now. Amelia couldn't help the worry though, as despite that she'd been so sure that Pomfrey would side with Dumbledore…
Well.
Whatever the reason, the Madam was not coming to speak to Sirius' past insanity, which left… only his current sanity, or what he might have lost during his time in Azkaban to worry about defending.
Amelia had been to Azkaban many, many times to speak with prisoners and escort people there herself as a young auror, and she'd even taken shifts there a couple times for the hazard pay when Hogwarts tuition for Susan had made things a little tight.
It was a horrible place.
Each time she went, afterwards she found herself sinking into a hot bath at home with a bottle of wine down before she knew it to try and settle her shaking hands, relying maybe too-heavily on dreamless sleep potions just to be able to get some rest after full shifts there. She was as vocal as she could be about how inhumane it was, always voting and advocating for different solutions when they came up, but nothing had ever changed and as head of the DMLE she couldn't show weakness or hesitation when she condemned criminals to that place. She had to live with the fact that a lot of people were imprisoned in that hell because of arrests and convictions she herself had given them. She had to live with the fact that just as many of them had inevitably gone insane and died before long, much less how many had taken their own lives in the end.
The people who lived longer than a year or two in Azkaban were the truly evil, the ones who for sure committed their crimes but felt no remorse or doubt about it so the dementors couldn't torture them with it. They were just angrier and even more wrathful than they were outside the prison since they couldn't even enjoy their own hatred. Those that felt any amount of guilt or regret were inevitably driven insane though, or simply wasted away when they couldn't bring themselves to eat.
Sirius Black had been in there for eleven years. He hadn't stopped eating or run himself into his cell wall to inevitably kill himself, he hadn't wasted away within a couple years like the aurors who once knew him thought he would, like they'd all seen countless prisoners do. The fact he was still alive as the years stretched on, inevitably the DMLE started to wonder themselves if he really were one of the ones who had no regret. Most did believe it eventually, although those who knew the man best chose to believe he'd just gone insane before he was even arrested, and his insanity was the thing keeping him alive despite the long, horrific days in a place known as hell on earth.
Amelia had always wondered though.
She remembered that brat, barely eighteen and enlisting in the auror corps. He was ten years her junior but would not shut his mouth, full of sass and attitude and could barely take orders to save his life—quite literally in fact, as his first year as a rookie auror had been full of enough close calls to give her grey hairs at 30. He'd just been so full of life and this indomitable sense of justice, this rage against the same people she also couldn't find it within herself to stomach, it was hard to imagine him ever wasting away. It was way easier to imagine him going insane though, as he was always so ready to fly off the handle or jump into a fight without thinking twice or calling for back up.
(Or back up that wasn't James Potter, she mentally winced.)
She'd seen him shake off a couple cruciatus like they were nothing, after all. You didn't get that kind of resistance without being close to joining Frank Longbottom and his wife one floor up.
So Amelia had wondered, was all. Doubted mostly, but still wondered.
She'd walked by his cell a couple times. When she was in Azkaban, escorting some official or family member visiting a prisoner, when she was taking a shift as a human guard just to be sure the dementors were staying in line. Obviously she knew where his cell was, she knew where everyone's cell was, but she would never forget his… so she walked by it sometimes.
Most of the time she heard nothing, which wasn't unexpected. Most prisoners were lost in their own personal hells and were curled up in a corner trying to continue breathing. It was… difficult to imagine him that way, but the crime he'd committed had her ignoring that discomfort. She was the face of justice in this world after all, she would never waver just because of a personal grief.
Twice though, she'd seen him. He'd clearly come to the bars of the door out of curiosity of who was walking by, and seen her.
He looked horrible, to be blunt, but when he'd seen her, his face had been so drenched in rage it took her breath away. He would always disappear back into the cell and ignore her as she passed, not calling out to her and she didn't say anything either, just walking by in silence and both of them pretending nothing had happened. That they didn't know each other and he was just another prisoner, and she was just the prison's warden.
The thing that had always bothered her was the… the clarity, of his rage. Yeah she knew he was probably mad about being imprisoned, mad at her specifically for being part of the auror corps that he'd once been part of, that had turned on him when they arrested him. She didn't know if he knew she'd become the head of the department since he'd been locked away, but if he did then he'd know she was now the face of the department that had condemned him.
Now… realizing he'd never been given a trial, realizing there was a chance he wasn't guilty at all and they might've arrested an innocent man, she knew he had more than a few reasons to be angry that the so-called face of justice had failed him so spectacularly.
If he were insane you'd think he would've screamed at her as she passed by his cell, like so many inmates did. That he'd always recognized her immediately and then turned away rather than do anything… it had always made her wonder, about how insane he actually was.
Holding these papers in her hands now and being told he'd never been insane was… it was…
Only the truly evil didn't go insane in Azkaban, because they had no regret. That's what they'd always believed, because they committed the crimes but fully believed themselves innocent, so there was nothing to drive them insane with.
But… was it possible a man could believe himself be innocent, and it actually be true? Just how on earth…
No, she had to know.
"I heard you've been turning people away?" She lifted her head, Valencia giving a general wave at the hallway around them—and the fifteen people all eavesdropping on them very blatantly.
"For obvious reasons, I would hope."
"I do understand. That being said, do you mind if I visit?" She risked it, showing now hesitation or doubt in her firm request. Luckily the brunette just smiled in a way that revealed she'd fully expected the question.
"For you Amelia? Anything." She gave a sultry hum and then gestured to the door behind her graciously, leading the way in herself. As she crossed the threshold she did also nod to her guards, likely a reminder to keep everyone else out while her back was turned, and they nodded back their confirmation of the assignment.
"Mr. Black you have a visitor! Do be on your best behavior given she holds your fate tomorrow!" Valencia called in a sing-song tone with a cheer that completely contradicted her ominous words.
"What?" came a rather scratchy voice, but then the door was shut behind her and Amelia got her first good look at the man of the hour resting in his hospital bed, blinking wide, silver eyes at her as recognition hit them both harshly.
"Bones." His voice was rough with disuse, deeper but blank as he realized he knew this visitor a little too well.
"Black." She greeted back, stiffly.
They… stared at each other for a long several seconds.
She couldn't help but notice he looked much better than normal prisoners did, his face ungodly pale but more from lack of sun than being an inch from death, his hair clean and returned to chin-length as it used to be. The St. Mungo's healers really were miracle workers because he looked noticeably ill, but not half dead as she knew he should've.
The most important thing though: his gaze was clear, and looking at her with justifiable wariness and conflict. He was likely unable to feel anything but despair and anger while in Azkaban, but now facing her in a place free of dementors he was probably going through a hundred emotions right now and not sure which one of them should win. The crazy part though… was that she could watch all of that happen on his face, clear as day.
Still a rookie who couldn't hide shit from people he liked then, even after all this time. Not that he ever cared to learn back when he was an auror, and not that he had much practice in the years since, with no one to bother lying to.
Suddenly it seemed like he couldn't take the silence.
"Amelia you have to understand-"
"Ah, ah, ah," Valencia had moved to be at his bedside, leaning down and wagging a finger in his face and making him go cross-eyed immediately. "What was the rule again? Repeat it to me." She scolded him half playfully, but also with a strong threatening tone that meant he would be listening to her or else.
Sirius glared at her in annoyance for a moment before rolling his eyes. Amelia knew that emotion a little too well—she'd almost never had a conversation with him where he hadn't rolled his eyes at some order she was trying to give him.
"Sorry, Amelia, apparently I'm not allowed to talk to anyone or do anything at all," He pouted like the brat he was, even crossing his arms in a sulk.
"That is correct: not until you've been declared innocent. Shut that pretty mouth and just smile for a day, it won't kill you." Valencia purred with a cheerily threatening smile, patting his shoulder as a reward for listening to her.
Amelia just… watched this exchange, and felt something sad but warm bloom in her chest.
She allowed herself a single, very small smile.
"It's alright, you never had anything bright to say in the first place."
"Oi!" Black exploded, looking indignant but his expression wide like he could not believe she was fucking with him right now.
"I was finding it hard to believe your mind evaluations was all, but clearly you're fine." She sniffed, rubbing her nose to hide the smile tugging at her lips with her hand. "I'm just impressed you can string two words together."
"You said pretty much the exact same thing when I passed the auror exam! Is that your way of complimenting people!? Because if it is, it sucks!"
It was like nothing had changed.
He was still that eighteen-year-old brat fresh into the auror corps during a war and shooting off his mouth to his seniors, that little brother she'd never had nor wanted that she never knew what to do with but also couldn't help but pick on. He was much older now but…then again, so was she, and after all this time the life that had once flared in him was the same as it ever was.
Even seeing it firsthand, she almost couldn't believe he wasn't broken.
Well, not entirely. He was still gaunt, with the deep circles beneath his eyes that she really doubted any magical healer would ever be able to truly fix… his time in Azkaban had done a number on him, that was an irrefutable fact.
But hearing him now, she knew he wasn't insane. She wasn't a mind healer, but she knew this man once upon a time and despite all that had happened and all they'd gone through since they'd last seen each other, it was still as if nothing had really changed. The important bits… those things were still there.
And that was worth having hope for.
"I do apologize old friend, when I said you could visit that did not mean you may ask questions. You are still an auror and I'm afraid we will not be speaking to those until after the trial." Valentina informed her politely, but eyes twinkling in mischief. "That's not why you were here though, no?"
"I just wanted to set eyes on him." She admitted, the lawyer clearly already knowing that but Sirius blinking between the two women looking lost. She directed her question at him once again. "You're fine, aren't you brat?"
He made a face. "I'll be better when I'm out of here, but sure, let's go with that."
"You seem awful confident."
He exhaled his air all at once, not a sigh but something far more exasperated and stressed.
"I don't exactly have a choice, do I?" He shot back.
And… she couldn't really fault him for it.
"No. I don't suppose you do." She allowed, inclining her head for a moment.
There'd be time to talk later, she was sure of it now. Maybe she'd even apologize, if she could… but that would have to be over some fire whiskey once he was in better health, and the threat of the dementors and everything else between them wasn't hanging oppressively over their heads like an executioner's axe.
She also couldn't shake the faint ghost of Dumbledore that hung around him—one of the reasons she'd kept him firmly at arm's length back then, and now that McGonagall had confirmed they'd all once worked for the headmaster during the last war she knew she was right to do so. After spending eleven years unjustly in hell, surely he wouldn't still trust the old bastard but…
Later.
They'd have to talk about this later, since there was apparently time to do such things now.
For tonight, she shouldn't have even seen him technically. She was going to be the main voice in the trial tomorrow, so any hint of favoritism or foreknowledge on her part could call the whole thing into question. They weren't allowed to talk about anything important right now anyway, with Valencia's knife-life smile and firm presence over her client's shoulder ensuring nothing was going to happen without her knowledge or approval until this mess was over.
It wasn't right to stay. She needed to head back to the Ministry and prepare for tomorrow the best she could—she'd need her best foot forward since everyone thought the Ministry, from Fudge to her and her entire department, had fucked this up so she needed to make it right.
Because they had fucked up. Some on purpose, some willfully ignorant but still just as guilty.
It didn't matter how much fault she may or may not have actually had in all this, but as head of law enforcement she was going to need to take responsibility for it anyway, and so tomorrow might be the last trial of her career but… she would do it justice, no matter what.
She nodded once.
"…I'll see you around, Black."
"Bones." He accepted her abrupt end to her just as abrupt visit, his farewell a lot less guarded than his greeting.
And she even saw him smile tiredly as she closed the door securely behind her.
000
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Harry jolted awake, heart leaping into his throat. He'd been dead asleep, safe in Mr. Benson's little summer cottage after drifting off somewhere in the story Moony had been reading to him by the fire on the slightly frosty, early spring night. He didn't know at what point in the story he'd fallen asleep, and as he sat up sharply in panic at the loud banging noise ripping apart the silent night, it was farthest thing from his mind.
"REMUS LUPIN!"
Before Harry could even gather his bearings, Moony was there. He was pulled from the bed rather abruptly, but gently, and only as the night air shocked his sleep-warm skin awake even farther did he realize he was not on the couch that he'd definitely fallen asleep on, but for some reason had been in Remus' bed.
BANG
He could only be thankful when he heard the front door of the cottage splinter and then voices and footsteps invading the little bubble of safety he'd thought was so far from the rest of the world was entirely, completely shattered along with it.
"Harry," Moony hissed, quietly but sharply gripping his attention away from the rapidly increasing pace of his breathing. Harry could barely focus but then the werewolf was slipping something over his shoulders—his bag?—and then a large blanket around him before he could blink.
Actually, no—it was his invisibility cloak.
"Moony what-"
Remus gripped his shoulders and offered him a tense, but firm smile.
"Make for the fireplace." He ordered calmly, but with no room for argument.
"What are you—!?"
"Now pup!"
BANG BANG BANG
Moony pulled his hood up over his head not a second too soon as now the bedroom door was rattling off it's hinges and Harry jumped nearly out of his skin. Invisible but still able to be touched, Remus shoved him behind him and faced the door head on. He could only grip Remus' sweater tightly as if the cloak didn't hide him enough already.
"Moony?"
Hands over his wrists behind him squeezed briefly, tight enough to hurt but more reassuring than anything.
"Do as I say: get to the fire and go to the Malfoys!" Remus ordered quietly, and he couldn't see him but glanced behind his shoulder at the seemingly empty room anyway with a tense smile. "It'll be okay, pup. Be brave—stay safe."
"But-!"
C R A C K
The door didn't so much as slam open as it splintered, suffering a similar fate to the front door by the sounds of it. Remus managed to get one arm up to shield himself some the flying shrapnel, but didn't move out of the way since there was still a child behind him who could do nothing but cower behind him at the abrupt, violent entrance.
Harry found his lips sealing in a self-preservation instinct immediately as the doorway revealed a stranger, wand in hand pointing at the decimated door. Everything about the man dripped in coldness and the way he didn't lower the wand now that the door was out of his way, instead pointing it very obviously at Remus with zero attempt to even hide the threat for what it was, Harry knew this was not a friend at all.
Even worse when Remus raised his hands in front of him in surrender immediately, like this wasn't new to him at all.
"I was asleep!" He shot out, clear and forcefully to be heard, but cautiously. "I'm not fighting, Hughes!"
The man scrunched up his nose, but didn't lower the wand.
"It's been a while mutt, hasn't it? Come here." Came the blunt order, jerking his head back towards the living room where Harry heard not just other bodies moving around, but a lot of noise he didn't understand. He didn't understand what was going on at all actually, and there being enemies in a place he thought was safe set him on edge in the worst way. But as Remus cautiously obeyed the order and slowly moved towards the stranger and the doorway without lowering his arms even a little bit, Harry felt panicked to be left alone and followed closely, despite being uneasy about what they were walking into.
Once in the living room, Harry felt his blood boil even despite the cold fear that washed over him.
There were three other men in the room, dressed similarly and all with wands firmly in hand, and as they saw Remus aimed them all at the ground between them and the werewolf in a clear, hostile sort of threat. If they'd been loitering that'd be one thing, but they weren't: they were ransacking the place.
They couldn't have been here a full minute since breaking down the door but already every book on the shelves was now on the floor, the kitchen chairs flipped and broken, one of them walking calmly through the kitchen and with a twisted look on his face let a trailing hand drag over the counter—dropping every single glass jar of tea and spices that had been so neatly lined up fall to the floor and shatter.
He wanted to scream at them, but by the way Remus didn't say anything or even really react despite the disrespect, just keeping his hands raised in surrender and eyes locked on them far more warily than they were of him despite the primed wands they were threatening him with, Harry figured it out.
These were aurors.
"Let's make this quick, I missed Sunday dinner with the family for this." An older man with salt and pepper hair and a square jaw tapped his wand to the fireplace mantle distractedly, shooting Remus a sneer. "You're being awful quiet, eh?"
"I'm not fighting." The werewolf repeated, calmly but firmly. "I'll answer any questions willingly."
"Oh I'm sure you will." The man Remus called Hughes shoved his wand against his temple harshly enough to force Moony to tilt his head, the smirk on his face making Harry bite his tongue hard enough he tasted blood. "We're going on a little adventure. Move it."
Remus let himself be pushed, true to his word not fighting the aggressive treatment. He only made it a little distance though, before he made the mistake of asking a question.
"Am I under arrest?" Was all he said.
SLAM
Remus' body made contact with the wall sharp enough that Harry actually sunk to the ground in shock, fearing the unknown force that could rip his anchor away so sharply. His knees hit the ground automatically and he had his hands half raised over his head before he realized the auror has just lashed his wand and some invisible force had shoved Remus into the wall to his left hard enough to shake the very frame of the simple shed a bit.
Harry would've screamed on instinct if Moony didn't seem to be much tougher than he appeared, not even loosing his footing but putting a hand on the wall to brace himself as he stood up to shake the blow off, shooting the auror's wand still leveled at his head a dark look.
"Hughes… can't say I missed you."
"Likewise," the man snorted, somehow actually finding that funny. He didn't seem to give a shit that he'd just attacked a man, nor did he seem all too concerned Remus was about to attack him back. He was really just looking around the room with only a flicker of care about the entire situation. "Pretty cozy place for a dog. Bit excessive, don't you think?"
Some of the other aurors laughed a bit, and while Remus didn't react Harry felt a flicker of rage as he finally caught up to the situation.
They weren't really here to arrest or interrogate Remus… they were here to fuck with him.
Because they could.
Because if Remus tried to defend himself they'd kill him right here and now and call it self defense, and they would get away with it. Which meant they could do whatever they wanted, and there was nothing anyone could actually do about it.
He was pissed off now, but he would be even angrier later, probably. So, so unbelievably angry, he knew he would be when he had a chance to digest this and it really sunk in just how angry he really was.
But in this moment here, the frustration that should've turned into rage just blossomed into an ice-cold terror, and a horror so thick he felt frozen to the ground where he knelt. Because no matter how angry he got, it didn't change the fact both he and Moony were completely helpless here… and no matter how fast his mind raced, he couldn't think of a way out of this.
He touched the necklace around his neck, thinking of the Malfoys but not knowing what they'd even be able to do in this situation. Moony told him to sneak out through the fireplace to get to them but… but he couldn't leave—he just couldn't!
"This is a muggle property," Remus tried to speak in his defense, and in defense of Mr. Benson's spring cottage when an auror 'searching' the place started pointing his wand at cabinets to 'open' them—and doing visible damage to their hinges.
He was forced to jerk back and stiffen up when Hughes got a wand in his face again, less than an inch from his nose and offering him a dry sneer. Remus at last finally glared back at him, still not threatening but Harry would've thought him cracked if he could actually keep his smile during this.
"You'll have to pay the poor muggle back anyway after stinking up the place, wouldn't you? We're just helping the fumigation process." He teased, like it was funny.
The two glared off for a couple seconds and when Remus didn't take the bait, Hughes looked annoyed but got over it quickly.
"Remus Lupin you're under arrest." He announced, like it was a true pleasure to say.
"For what charge?"
The auror rolled his eyes impatiently. "Don't act dumb, as if we wouldn't find out. But if you want to be difficult about it, honestly it'd make my day," He held his other hand out to the side pointedly, a soft clinking noise and a tell-tale glint catch but Remus and Harry's eyes.
Silver handcuffs.
"As you've probably heard, a cell just opened up that has your name all over it." The man sneered, the soft sound of silver hitting itself now nauseating to the core.
Harry felt his heart stop but going by the dreading, but very noticeably unsurprised reaction from Remus, he already knew where this was going. Hughes offered it like an option, but he was not going to escape those handcuffs and no one here thought otherwise.
"I'm not fighting—I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Remus got out in a calm that felt notably forced. "I just want to know what it is I'm accused of."
Hughes laughed in his face, and came forward. "Hands out," he ordered, and Remus tensed but didn't move.
"Why am I being arrested?" He insisted, back now against the wall behind him and eyes on the handcuffs warily. "I'll go with you, you don't need those!"
"I dunno Hughes, seems like he's not being very cooperative," The auror that had broken the tea jars heckled.
The man in question tisked his tongue. "Resisting arrest, eh Lupin? That's pretty cocky for you isn't it? I said hands out."
Remus tensed but took a full breathe in. "Alight I won't ask, I'll just go willingly. Please Hughes, you don't need the handcuffs…"
"You know, normally I do like when dogs beg, but it's an ugly look on you." Hughes just huffed and then snapped his wand out.
Harry leapt from his skin as Remus was yelling in pain as the handcuffs somehow magically found his wrists and locked on tight. The sound and smell of sizzling flesh ripped through the small room as he collapsed to his knees, hands pushed out like if he could get his wrists far enough away from him he could distance himself from the pain.
Harry couldn't take just being a witness anymore.
He couldn't run, he couldn't intervene, he couldn't do anything—
But the one thing above all that he couldn't do, was nothing.
"STOP!" He bellowed, knowing his hood had fallen back as he scrambled to his feet and lunged towards Moony, whipping around with his wand in hand to stand before the floored werewolf and the aurors—all of which looked shocked as hell for there to suddenly be a kid yelling at them. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'RE HURTING HIM TO ASSHOLES!"
"H-Harry no!" Remus got himself righted just enough to grab onto his now visible cloak, looking horrified. Clearly he'd hoped his charge had actually listened to him and left a long while ago.
"What the hell!?" The aurors were stunned, eyes going wide. Hughes actually finally lifted his wand away since he wasn't interested in threatening a human, much less a child apparently.
"Who are you!?" He demanded.
"Shit, is that Harry Potter?" The one by the front door who hadn't really been doing anything seemed to recognize him immediately, eyes bugging out of his head. "What the bloody hell is he doing here!?"
"Let him go! Or fucking tell him why he's being taken for!" Harry ignored the reactions to hold his own wand up, planting his feet pointedly and going nowhere until this entire fucking situation stopped.
He felt every bit the dripping condescending attitude they had as the four men exchanged glanced between themselves. In the end though Huges gave a very annoyed huff and stared him down with a twist to his lips.
"He's under arrest for suspected interference with an ongoing trial. But this really isn't any of your business kid—"
"The hell it isn't! That's bullshit and you know it! He hasn't left this house, I swear it!" He shot back violently.
"Harry… please," Remus tried to stop him weakly but Harry couldn't only spare him a glance over his shoulder—too wary of these enemies in front of him to really look away. The one look told him Remus was pale as a sheet and breaking out in a sweat from the pain of the silver and Harry couldn't help but enflame again.
"Remus no, this isn't right!"
"I know… Harry, I know. Please pup just… it'll be fine, I promise. Don't fight them." He begged, but Harry refused.
HOW could he ask that of me?
"Like hell! They can't just—just--!?"
"Potter, right?" The old man with salt and pepper hair stepped forward and pushed Hughes back, who deferred now that the situation had clearly changed. He wasn't so confident now that it wasn't a werewolf he could kick for fun, apparently. "You shouldn't be involved. Now calm down and step away from the werewolf." The man beckoned in a tone Harry knew well.
Vernon Dursley talked like that to kids who weren't Dudley. Not Harry himself as his tone was always laden in vitriol for his nephew, but other random kids he didn't know. It was a tone of impatience and 'you will listen to me', not just stern but more 'you're of no use if you don't obey the adults around you, you fucking brats'' sort of thing. Impatient and condescending and so full of distain it makes you wonder if he actually liked his own kids since he did say he'd missed Sunday dinner to be here.
Harry jutted his chin up. "I'm not going anywhere until you answer me. What interference could he have possibly done when I'm telling you he hasn't left this house!" He demanded.
Salt-and-Pepper's face twitched, and Harry just knew he smacked his kids when they talked back to him.
"Move away from the beast." The man took a step forward with an impatient order, and Harry couldn't help but take an automatic step back. Despite his racing heart at the threat the large man he had to bend his neck backwards to see posed, he didn't move away.
"The fuck did you just call him!?"
"Wait a second, how is he here? Hogwarts is still in session?" The auror in the kitchen was still caught up about that and the one by the door shrugged.
"Everyone shut up," The man was now looming quite menacingly over a child and an incapacitated werewolf and Harry realized Hughes was actually probably the safer one here as he had only been after Remus. His hazel expression seemed now infinitely conflicted and his wand was firmly aimed at the floor since Harry had revealed himself. Salt-and-Pepper here… looked ready to backhand the twelve-year-old half his height to get at the wolf behind him, and not lose a single wink of sleep over it either.
"Potter, stand down or I'll stun you." He ordered.
"Fisher he's just a kid," Hughes piped up uncertainly but was immediately drowned out.
"One that should not be here," The one in the kitchen repeated, insistent now, coming forward. "Let's take them both back and Fudge can handle this."
"No!" Remus got up enough despite his restraints to protest—but then Harry felt his heart stop as four wands were immediately pointed at him. Or, more like they were pointed at Remus and Harry refused to get out of the way even if now it was because he was frozen in terror once more.
Four adult aurors… he wasn't sure even Transfiguration could get him out of this honestly.
"STOP MOVING!" The auror by the door bellowed, coming forward cautiously with wand raised in clear threat. "Potter move towards me slowly!"
"Like hell!" Harry snapped himself out of it when he clicked they were scared of Remus. Scared of some 'dark creature' that did not exist.
Maybe it did once a month, but it wasn't here now and they were all cowards. Prejudiced, brain-dead, cowards.
If this is what aurors were, then no wonder this world was fucked.
"Harry please—"
"Stay where you are, mutt!"
"Stop calling him-!
"BOY," Fisher, or whatever his name was, finally lost his patience and took a step forward, and Harry wanted to be the kind of Gryffindor who stood up for his friends and didn't back down or waver even against much stronger enemies. Like his parents had.
But suddenly it was someone else with meaty fists bellowing boy at him and his body betrayed him. He didn't even realize he'd flinched until it was too late, and he was still protectively standing in front of Moony so he kind of tripped over the werewolf as his body tried to get back on pure instinct—and Remus, despite the silver handcuffs, caught him.
Except, the four aurors with wands draw were just waiting for the so-called 'dark creature' they were so afraid of to move a single muscle and prove them caution right. So they didn't see a man catching a frightened child from hitting the ground, Harry wasn't even sure if they saw anything or were just waiting for Remus to move a finger and give them their excuse, but either way—they fired.
As four different colors lit up his world, it finally sunk in that there were not Dumbledore's people. They weren't Death Eaters or anything in between.
They were a whole new world of evil he had not even really grasped existed until now… because they would absolutely kill the 'dark creature' in front of them and use the fact he was 'attacking a child' as an excuse. And it would be their own spells that hurt Harry in the first place, but no one would ever care about that small fact.
It was only that sinking realization that hit him though, not the spells. Because apparently he was the only one who hadn't realized the situation he was in—Remus had known though, which is why he'd told him to get away. And just as the aurors had been waiting for an excuse, Remus had also fully expected it and in the same motion of catching him, whipped around to shield him from the onslaught of spells.
Harry remembered him saying werewolves were magic resistant, so it was unlikely the spells worked as intended—but given Moony's arms were around him he felt the force of this impact. And then Remus tipped to the side, on the floor and seeming dazed in a way him hitting the wall hadn't hurt him, but Harry could only gape in shock—stomach turning as he got a closer look at what the silver was doing to his wrists—and lost his shit.
"STOP!" He screamed, fists gripping Remus' sweater—one Harry had bought him for Christmas himself— and held on for dear life as if more spells were coming at any second. "PLEASE! YOU'RE HURTING HIM—WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?"
"Get out of the way, kid, he's dangerous," Fisher was unmoved by the scene and stormed forward.
As a hand locked around Harry's upper arm, no doubt to rip him away, Harry s c r e a m e d.
"LET GO OF ME!"
Fisher was suddenly wheeling back, batting out his sleeve which had mysteriously caught fire in a panic. The other aurors started yelling too in confusion of what has just happened but Harry could give a shit. He had his wand in hand and red covering his vision making it hard to think but the bastard Vernon-Look-Alike was on fire and Harry wanted him to keep fucking burning.
"YOU PIECE OF—!" He didn't know what he was going to do, but Remus grabbed his wrist before he could it and yanked his wand arm down to the floor to stop him, shaking off whatever the magic had done to him with great effort and trying to shield Harry from the chaos exploding around them.
"Harry, oh god you shouldn't have done that-"
"They can't just take you! What's to say they'll ever give you back!?" Harry knew he was shouting but he couldn't stop the panic taking hold.
"I— pup, I know, but— it's not fair but I… just be safe, and I'll do everything in my power to get back to you, I promise." The werewolf pleaded, but Harry gave up fighting to just wrap his arms tightly around him and knew he would not let go.
"NO!" He gripped so hard he heard Remus grunt in pain, but he still accepted the death hug for what it was. With handcuffed hands he couldn't exactly get the child off him in any case.
"Harry please…" He begged, but could tell his heart was not in it. He didn't want to need to be separated just as much as Harry didn't, but he had to be the adult here.
"Freeze!" The aurors had collected themselves, Hughes now leading the charge once more with Fisher inspecting himself for more flames warily, but now that one of their own had been properly 'attacked' Harry sensed a shift. Even Hughes was leveling a wand at them both with clear intent to attack if they moved again.
"Please Harry, you need to stand up,"
"No Remus--they can't do this!" He was shouting for sure but… by the thickness in his voice he realized he was also crying. He wasn't sure when he'd started, but perhaps it was about when it was finally sinking in there might not be anything he could do about this.
He was helpless.
Again.
"Mr. Potter step away from the werewolf; this is your last warning." The auror by the door had come forward now too, and looked so over this shit that Harry knew he was going to be the one to hex them first. Even with Fisher looking ready to kill and highly annoyed as he confirmed he was no longer on fire.
"Please come peacefully," Hughes hissed, but… the conversation done. There was no 'peaceful' here, it was all just empty words, because by the tone and the wands and the anger now in the air Harry knew the next words out of their mouths would be spells and… it would be over.
He wasn't sure what would happen but he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Not even with Remus hand on his arm squeezing to try and comfort him, he knew he couldn't do this.
He closed his eyes tightly and wished for a world where he'd never opened his eyes in the first place.
"Imperio."
His heart skipped a beat, the word causing a memory to flash before his eyes like ominous lighting, but before he could tense too hard he realized he recognized that voice.
He snapped his head up in shock and had never imagined he would ever be so relieved to see Lucius Malfoy, in night robes yet his long blond hair still somehow pristine, and holding his wand up… at four suddenly very blank-faced aurors doing nothing but standing where they once were, yet unmoving. All their aggression and, well, life behind their eyes had disappeared, though they still stood there looking between those of the room with no visible reaction.
"…I-Imperio…?" Harry repeated, then it clicked.
Ex-death eater… right.
Mr. Malfoy sniffed, though clearly smelled something distasteful as he glanced over the aurors now firmly under his control. "I know you're the self-righteous sort but I do hope you'll look the other way this once, given the circumstances." He drawled, sparring the two on the floor a dry look.
Harry broke out of his shock enough to get up some, immediately doubling back to help Remus upright as he winced from the handcuffs and the shock of it all as he tried to get up himself.
"L-Lucius,"
"Lupin." He greeted only a bit impatiently, but one exchanged look and he raised on silver eyebrow curiously.
Remus gathered himself just enough to steel his determination and plead to the Slytherin above him.
"Lucius, I need you to take Harry and leave, please."
"Moony!" Harry yelped, instantly hating that plan. "NO—absolutely not! Come with us, please, you don't have to go with them! We can go into hiding, I've inherited properties we can go to, or I'll buy an apartment and ward the shit out of it but please—"
Remus took his hands into his own (they were both shaking), silver still audibly burning into him but smiled like it didn't hurt.
"Harry," He held his hands tighter, forcing his panicked eyes to meet his own in a show of calmness Harry would never, ever understand. "I need you to concentrate on getting Sirius' name cleared. If I run now then my own guilt will condemn him too, you and I both know that's how Fudge will spin this." His calm look splintered at the edges, but force a wry smile even as his eyes welled. "I really wish you'd just gotten away, please don't get in trouble for my sake… don't do anything else rash,"
"I'm being rash!?"
"I need you to go with Lucius." He didn't budge.
"I won't!" Harry tried to pull away as if he could avoid Moony's gaze then he could break away from the mere idea of what he was suggesting, but… a part of him knew there was no escaping this. He told that side of him to shut the fuck up because he just needed to think for a second and he could—they could—!?
"We don't have all day, they're competent enough to break free eventually." Mr. Malfoy snipped a bit briskly, wand still raised pointedly, but they could tell he was needing to concentrate to hold control. "If too much time passes they will know they've been imperioused and will only blame you." He shot a pointed look to Remus who seemed grimly aware of this by his nod.
"Will they remember Harry here?"
"I can confound them so hopefully they will not if we make this quick." Lucius allowed as if this were all a chore. Pressing his wand a little more forward to Hughes who blinked as if someone had called his name. "Who sent you? What is the charge?"
"Minister Fudge sent us, under the table. Paid us well too," He scratched his nose, looking… alarmingly normal as he shrugged his answer. "There is no charge, not an official one anyway. We were told to take him in and Fudge would make something stick later."
"Well that's convenient. Then where are you taking him?"
"Azkaban."
"NO." Harry abandoned his attempt to break away and was back to hugging Remus around the middle, eyes wide in horror at the entranced auror who'd actually just admitted that. Moony, for his part, couldn't exactly hug him back properly with the handcuffs but wiggled out of his grip enough to put his bound hands over him in a small hug attempt, giving a rather shaky breath. Clearly he'd already known that by Hughes' hint earlier, but the confirmation had to be… terrifying.
Mr. Malfoy clicked his tongue impatiently.
"Fudge wants this wolf out of the way for the trial, is that it?" He demanded and Hughes nodded. "Why? What is the importance of that?"
"Hogwarts is being investigated for a petrification monster, and Dumbledore was dismissed on grounds of incompetence. A search of his office revealed a letter from this werewolf specifically mentioning Sirius Black. Given the timing it's believed he is involved and important to the defense case. Fudge has ordered he be detained for the duration of the trail so he will be unable to testify."
Harry's hands went cold in horror.
He whipped his head up to look at the man above him, but Remus just closed his eyes in defeat.
"Moony… Moony why?"
He opened and closed his mouth for a moment, as if not sure what to say, before bowing his head.
"I just… I just wanted to speak to Dumbledore, it was just a letter to an old teacher…!" He tried defend himself, but everyone in the room knew it would matter. Even the imperioused aurors blinking blankly at the conversation.
"You've petitioned the court to give Sirius Black a trial. Seventeen times, in fact, or so my wife says." Lucius deadpanned. "Clearly you have a vested interest. There's no way they wouldn't notice that."
"Years ago I did, yes… not in a decade though!"
"Clearly it doesn't matter." The Malfoy had no patience for the misstep, and Remus ducked his head with his jaw flexing, knowing there really wasn't any point in arguing it anymore.
"I know. Lucius, if you could… please m-make sure he gets back to Hogwarts safely."
"Moony-!" Harry tried to protest but was cut off by both of them.
"That is the plan, of course." Mr. Malfoy sniffed, eyes trailing back to the aurors and squinting—clearly they were trained enough that they were trying to break through his hold and required is attention once more.
Harry felt warm hands on his shoulders trying to push him up towards the Slytherin before he snapped out of his daze and latched onto the arms around him in a death grip. His eyes locked onto the golden set above him, looking so indescribably sad, but still as warm as ever back at him—begging him to understand.
But Harry couldn't.
He wouldn't.
"Please don't do this… please don't do this," He gasped quietly, but more desperate than he'd ever been before as the panic Moony could normally ward off started inching in from the darkness around his graveyard and creating black spots in his vision, no matter how desperately he was trying not to look away now.
He knew, for certain… that if he let go, he'd never seen Remus again.
"What if you are important to the case!? If you let them arrest you and you can't speak tomorrow, what happens to Sirius!?" He clawed at any reason he could get but his fingers couldn't find a grip on anything and he was falling.
"I'm not important pup. I know I'm not. Fudge is just looking to someone to blame, and I'm an easy person to pick." Remus smiled, but it was twisted and sad no matter how hard he was trying to appear positive. "There's no chance I can safely make it to the ministry tomorrow without being detained then instead, the aurors would never allow it now that he suspects me. And then I'll have a genuine resisting arrest charge against me." He explained what Harry already knew far more gently than he deserved.
He lost control of his voice again and was instantly shouting. "So what, you want to follow Padfoot in being the second innocent man in Azkaban!? Like that's any consolation!?"
"I want to give you and Sirius the best chance you can to be together." Remus admitted quietly.
Harry froze.
Horror, unlike anything he'd ever imagined gripped him and he just… he didn't know what to do.
"I… I thought we were all going to be together." He confessed, breathless. "Moony please!"
The werewolf just gave him a small smile and hugged him tight once. "It'll be okay," he promised.
"You're lying." Harry choked, clawing at his back like if he didn't let go this wouldn't happen, eyes wide at the ceiling over his shoulder and tears flooding hotly down his cheeks. "No it won't, you know it won't—this NOT okay and it won't ever be! You're lying!" he gasped, panic making the world fuzzy.
But he just… was he about to fight aurors!? Would he!? Would he ruin Sirius trial if he did!? If they ran now would that ruin everything!? They had to run though—!
As if he could read his mind, Remus tightened his hold as if to scold him not to do that.
"Harry, I need you to stay safe." He told him quietly, getting his hands up to put reassuring hands on his head as if that could hold him together. But Harry was just crying now, and it didn't work. "You'll be okay, stray strong."
Harry sobbed and gripped his sweater harder, crying because he had no idea what to do anymore.
"Please take care of him." Remus spoke over his head, but he barely heard it.
"The boy will be fine." Came the cold confirmation.
Harry was hugged one last time and Moony hummed a senseless attempt to sooth him, rocking him gently and murmuring softly beneath his loud cries.
"Say hello to Padfoot for me, pup."
He opened his mouth and knew he was about to scream loud enough to wake the entire living world—when everything went dark with a crisp stupefy from behind him.
000
Narcissa frowned, clicking her tongue when Lucius arrived back in the manner, an unconscious little Gryffindor in his arms. The boy had tear streaks on his cheeks, and she wiped them away gently before moving aside and letting her husband take him to the guest room.
She was still in her nightrobes, having woken when her husband did when they both sensed the unapproved wizards enter the ward they'd given the boy via the necklace still around his neck. It was an extension of the one they kept around the manor, one that told them if aurors were snooping around when they weren't home, and it had come in handy many times. This time too, apparently.
It was a simple lie, after all. Lucius could give and take access to the manor to anyone with a mere thought, there was no need for some special object, but luckily Draco had clearly not told his little friend that yet. In return Harry had dutifully kept the gift on, just in case, which told them immediately when an auror they'd already banned from their home got too close.
They were responsible for him, after all. Even if they'd given the appearance of letting Lupin handle him, they weren't that dumb.
"I take it this was not part of the plan." Lucius mused cautiously, placing the boy down on the bed that was frankly far too large for him, turning to his wife who had arms curled around her middle.
"First explain what happened. We knew there was a risk but…" It didn't take long, as the scenario that had panned out was unfortunately quick, albeit brutal. She pressed her lips into a thin line. "That wolf knew, didn't he."
"I suspect he did. If he sent the letter months ago and then discovered there were aurors at Hogwarts when we were all there Friday, he had to have known it was only a matter of time until Fudge found it and blamed him for this political disaster of his." Lucius agreed blandly.
Narcissa crossed her arms fully, letting her eyes fall close as she centered herself.
Admittedly, she didn't know the entire plan.
Sebastian Greengrass was coordinating the actual trial, he'd come to her months ago saying he had a lead that could prove Sirius' innocence (an insanely desirable thing for someone in business like the Greengrass, to have someone that potentially wealthy owe their freedom to you), which was what inspired her to finally choose her cousin as Harry's potential guardian in the first place. The timing had worked out that she was more interested in getting him free the same time Sebastian had an opportunity to make it happen, so she'd cooperated. As a blood relative it wasn't strange for her to visit him, nor for her to make certain inquiries that would've caused red flags had anyone else asked. She'd passed along all the information he'd asked for and in exchange he'd promised her that getting Sirius acquitted as a man sane enough to resume his godfather responsibilities would be part of the deal.
She'd even told him about Lucius plan to dispose of Dumbledore, and when he'd asked her to get her husband to wait until this Friday to do it, she'd agreed because she knew that would be the key to the trial going off smoothly. Fudge was already causing so much trouble in getting this to actually happen, they needed to wait until Dumbledore was temporarily removed from his position of power to actually go through with it.
It didn't take her long to deduce that the werewolf was the key that Sebastian had been leaning on.
Lupin had attempted to get this trial to happen over a decade ago and had failed because of who he was, but apparently he'd had information no one would bother hearing back then. So when he'd appeared out of nowhere the same moment the trial was announced, obviously she wanted to keep him close too. Keep him just as safe as Harry, if he was truly that important to the case.
He was important to the trial's success, and there were aurors swarming, searching for anything they could to stop this from happening on Fudge's orders. On Sebastian's request she had Lucius get approval to bring the boy to the trial, but bringing him home for the entire weekend had not been part of the plan. It wasn't a bad thing, as having Harry in the castle when things were so close was a little risky, what with the possibility of petrification or any number of voices acting on their parents' orders whispering in his ear to mess things up… there were so many things that could've been troublesome. Lucius had witnessed the chaos happening in the school and how McGonagall was not in a place to protect the boy from the fallout, and made the call then and there.
Lucius actually agreeing to let Lupin come along out of his own free will was a little surprising, but her husband wasn't stupid. While he disliked werewolves, he knew damn well that if Sirius Black was getting a trial, then aurors would be hunting down anyone who'd ever once known him, and the werewolf popping up in a public place after all this time was a terrible omen. He'd made the right call in bringing them both back, to hopefully sit quietly for the weekend where they could keep an eye on the impulsive lions to be sure they didn't do anything stupid in the eleventh hour.
Lucius was just clever that way to know who the key characters of this trial would be, but Narcissa knew Lupin was more important than that.
Or, that is what Sebastian had led her to believe.
It sounded as if Sebastian was staking a lot of this trial over the testimony this werewolf would provide, so the fact he'd been arrested by Fudge's men was… troubling. There was absolutely no way Lupin would be released in time for the trial tomorrow. That is, if he even survived the interrogation tonight, given the names Lucius had given her proved they were all Dormavitch's students.
Those weren't exactly the type of aurors who'd let a werewolf walk away unharmed. In fact, in another world they would've been good death eaters, if they weren't on the 'right' side of the law and all that.
But no, there was no way Sebastian didn't know that this was a possibility. She might've messed up by being too involved, by taking Harry from the castle too early… by accidentally having him witness his werewolf get kicked around a bit. But it was all too common, too likely when there was a werewolf too close to a legal issue happening that the Ministry wanted to bury. Remus Lupin would not be the first werewolf to take the fall for an auror's—or in this case a Minster's—mistake, and he would certainly not be that last.
She dropped her arms, raising her head to get back to business.
That had to be it then: pinning the blame on Lupin must've been the plan the entre time. She'd even fallen for it but in hindsight it was kind of ridiculous to pin a trial this public on the testimony of a werewolf—who would ever believe it? She was a little embarrassed even she'd bought it at first, and annoyed with herself for getting Harry involved when it clearly only upset him. There wasn't much she could do about it right now.
She'd be having words with Sebastian later though.
"It should be fine. I do wish the boy had not witnessed it, but I gave the Minister too much credit it seems." She admitted, Lucius letting it go easily.
"Any more surprises for the night?"
She smiled briefly.
"Not that I'm aware of. I'll have Turel give him a dreamless sleep potion to ensure some peace. Off to bed with you, it'll be a long day tomorrow." Her husband inclined his head before going off, leaving her to dwell in the quiet room as she summoned an elf.
She's been used, no way around that. Sebastian would keep his promise but she'd been too haughty thinking he wasn't using her position for just as much his own benefit as she felt she was using him. It wasn't strictly unprofessional but it was for sure irritating.
She'd also made a mistake by being too involved, but she wasn't about to admit that.
Instead she planned a quiet revenge that even the slippery Sebastian Greengrass would not be able to escape from.
000
Edith glanced over her shoulder as the door opened, on guard for the small chance it was an unwelcome visitor or another healer here for an unscheduled checkup, relaxing only when she saw it was one of her legal assistants poking his head in. He gave her a small nod that she returned before he retreated and closed the door once more.
Turning back, the gravity of the situation sunk in and she sighed.
"Hm. How unfortunately typical." She clicked her tongue to herself, before retuning to her client who had obviously noticed the exchange with curiosity and wariness in his gaze.
Sirius Black was not at all like the man she'd though he'd be, even with Greengrass warning her beforehand that he was in no way similar to the 'Black' name she was familiar with. People of this magical community placed an insane amount of importance on their house alignments from school, even as grown adults, and given the nature of her work she was most familiar with Slytherins and how they operated—their reputations and figurative warning labels. Obviously, as she learned to coast the political tides here she'd also learned all the stereotypes of the Hogwarts houses, but in particular the snake-like ones for her own good.
That people always pigeon-holed each other into one of only four categories was always so incredibly close-minded that it made playing here a bit too easy sometimes. Fascinating, but a tad repetitive as people rarely deviated much.
Mr. Black here was, to put it bluntly, the worst of the Gryffindors she'd ever met by a long shot.
But there was a spark to him that was way more interesting than that, if you were patient and could coax it out of him—which was turning out to be pretty difficult given he was also insanely smart. You'd never know it going by how he talked or dismissed very obvious things sometimes, but she suspected despite how closed off and brash he was being, he actually knew better than anyone what was happening around him right now.
It just seemed like he didn't want to admit that he knew, for some reason.
"What was that?" He demanded, having noted the exchange, and she leaned back in her chair for a bit of a break since they'd been leaning over the ream of papers on his hospital table for hours now. These heels were actually very comfortable but after three days of this her back was sore as hell.
"It's promising news for us. Everything is going to plan." She reassured, stretching arms over her head tiredly.
"How is it unfortunate then? Also, are you a Legilimens? How is it none of them ever say anything but you know what they mean?"
Edith could help but snort in amusement.
"Because all of this has been planned in advance, quite carefully in fact. They would only need to actually tell me anything if something's gone wrong, otherwise I will assume things are going how it should be." She shrugged. "I say it's unfortunate, since despite me being aware of people's blind spots, doesn't mean I find it very enjoyable to exploit them… sometimes it is necessary though."
"What are you on about now," He clearly wanted to sound wary and annoyed at her, but at this point he was just tired and expected nothing less from this conniving woman who'd appeared out of nowhere to whisk him out of hell. The complaint came out more of a grumble instead of the shout it would've been yesterday.
"Fudge has fallen for a trap we set, is all. It's great news because it means he'll be preoccupied tonight chasing down a dead end and won't have time to react to us submitting your clearance to use Veritaserum." She tapped the papers they'd been going over pointedly.
"Well that's good?"
"It is." She let her smile calm some, a sense of… guilt, almost, forcing her to clear her mind. "I just wish he were less… well, I almost wish he hadn't fallen for it. Even if we all knew he would."
Black frowned, eyes that had been getting clearer with every hour under the healers' spells and potions carting over her small moment of weakness. He liked to pretend he wasn't good at reading people, that he didn't see when they hesitated or were lying, but he did.
Edith Valencia prided herself on being a woman that was impossible to read to the people around her. Anything she let show would be ammunition in court, after all.
So it was a little hypocritical for him to ask her if she could read minds, when he was the one she caught staring every single time she had a shameful thought she was sure she hadn't let show on her face.
"Why?" he asked her, just curious on the surface but she could tell she was being read.
And well… he was her client and they'd shared a lot of secrets with each other in the name of this trial, had hours and hours of rather brutally honest conversations so that there'd be no surprises tomorrow, so there was no use in hesitating now. Not when, she knew, if she acted any more evasive he might start closing off to her—and that could not happen now of all times.
She hadn't done anything but tell him the truth since they met, and she would not stop now. Somehow, she sensed he would immediately know.
"To put it bluntly, the Minister has arrested someone else that he thinks will be our key witness tomorrow. They won't be, we never planned on using them, but we made it look like they were the one campaigning for your trial and that they had 'key information' that would prove your innocence. Fudge and the aurors on his payroll will spend the night interrogating them instead of trying to corner you or one of the healers here who have agreed to vouch for your sanity." She explained primly, folding her hands neatly in her lap. "That was the last piece of the puzzle, the last thing he could do to block us here. If the healers are able to make it to the trial tomorrow then essentially we win: you have the proof to your own innocence if we can just get you to take the Veritaserum in court, but Fudge doesn't know that."
Sirius frowned.
"Who got arrested? Are they in on this?"
"A friend." Was all she could say. Any more than that and she was certain neither she nor anyone in the hall would be able to prevent him from leaving. "All I can say is that I'm very sure they have always believed in your innocence, and will be very glad to see you get your freedom tomorrow when the dust settles."
"That wasn't an answer. Are they in on it?"
She could tell he suspected but… he didn't really want to know the truth.
"I haven't spoken to them personally, no." She admitted, placing a hand back on the papers in front of him. "Mr. Black, what's done is done unfortunately. Once you have your freedom you can see things for yourself all you'd like, but until then… you only have one shot at this so please, let's go over the plan one more time before you get some rest. Tomorrow will be a very important day, after all."
Edith could tell he was debating pushing the matter. But he was tired, the healing treatments were quick on the surface but it'd be months until he had his true energy and self back. Sirius Black in his prime probably would've been out of here already, wand in hand and hunting down whoever had been wrongfully arrested on his behalf—something he now felt an intimate amount of rage and guilt for, most likely.
The man before her now was much more tired. He'd had precisely one night of peaceful sleep in the last eleven years, and it had been last night—with the promise of one more in an hour or so once they were done their final prep. She could tell the idea of getting out of the bed for the trial tomorrow was already exhausting to him, much less asking any more questions right now.
But she had one more trick up her sleeve, since this might've all been for the trial of Sirius Black, but one other name kept popping up no matter who she talked to. The one everyone was paying her a lot of money in order to ensure her client not only got free, but was judged a sane man when all was said and done.
"Please keep in mind that this isn't just your freedom on the line here. Through no fault of your own you have been an absent godfather for eleven years now… weren't you the one who said you wanted to change that?" She reminded him quietly, shuffling the papers on the table before them to start at the beginning.
She saw it worked when silver eyes fixed on them as a visual reminder of why he was doing this too. Something like an ice cold determination creeped into his expression, settling there firmly.
Grimly, even.
He made a small face before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into his hospital bed pillows once more.
"Fine. Start the questions from the beginning."