The bastard Pettigrew was brought forward, and the second he was ungagged he began pleading for mercy, only to be silenced and have the serum tipped down his throat, causing his face to relax and eyes to glaze over.
"What is your name?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
"Were you the secret keeper for the Potter's Fidelus charm?"
"I was, yes. They thought no one would suspect me. All three of them."
"Three? Which three?"
"James and Lily, and the caster, Albus Dumbledore." Amelia immediately had a broad smile as she turned to face the headmaster who was tense-faced and glaring at her with darkened eyes.
"So, Dumbledore knew that you were the secret keeper?"
"It was his idea."
"Did you betray them to Voldemort?"
"Yes, I was coerced into becoming a spy for Voldemort several months beforehand. I didn't want to, but I didn't want to die either."
"You worked for Voldemort?"
"I did."
"It's clear you did, but for the record, when Sirius Black came to kill you, did you kill the muggles?"
"Yes, I cast a blasting curse as a distraction, then removed my finger and fled as a rat."
"Thank you." Peter was brought back and placed under enchanted restraints, preventing him from shifting into an animagus form again. He hadn't since his arrest, but then again he'd been petrified or surrounded the entire time. "Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, it is clear that the defendant is innocent of all his accused crimes, which could have been proven in a trial 10 years ago, had he been given one.
Stilinski took over, "As my client has been proven innocent, the Black family has requested reparations for the wrongful imprisonment, as well as the ministry's involvement in defaming and forcing an innocent man of the Black family to ten years under the horrors of dementors in Azkaban." Fudge took a short recess to consider it, probably conferring with others on how to remain publicly fair, just, and most importantly, not responsible.
"In the case of Sirius Black, of House Black, the Wizengamot finds you innocent of all charges, and as reparations for the 10 years you spent wrongfully under the administrations of Mr Crouch, we gift you 5 million galleons. Additionally, for the actions of Mr Crouch in not providing you with your legal right to trial, which led to the defamation and imprisonment of a member of the House of Black, we gift another 5 million galleons to the House of Black. We will investigate the reason behind Crouch and Dumbledore's actions shortly. The court is dismissed."
Sirius looked stumped, never having imagined that he'd ever be freed, and watching Pettigrew get arrested brought some level of satisfaction, knowing what Azkaban was like himself. "Sirius."
The tired and bony man turned to the voice, "Arcturus." His voice was even, not knowing quite how to communicate with the man his mother and father disliked rather strongly. "Did you finally find the evidence, Stilinski wouldn't tell me."
"That would be me actually." Rigel had seen the family discussion and sprung over, both anxious and excited about meeting his father. Knowing his father was wrongfully imprisoned for his whole life had made his hatred for the man vanish, the 11 years of memories being just as much a part of him as his past life. Therefore, Rigel was experiencing the emotions of a son meeting his father for the first time, not just meeting a favourite character. "You're welcome…dad."
"Dad? But I… Rebecca. You're Rebecca's kid, is she okay?" Rigel's eyes turned a little glassy as he looked to the side.
"…She died when I was five, but yes, I am Rigel Sirius Black, though, until the inheritance test, it was simply Rigel Corvus." Sirius became even more depressed but grabbed Rigel in a hug, both of them crying softly.
"Your mother was the first true relationship I ever had. I was with her for over a year and a half until I was imprisoned. Only James, Lily and Remus knew I was dating her…because she was a muggle-born." His last words were to Arcturus who snorted but said nothing else. "A fiery Italian witch that scared me more than most death eaters, though she was kind to those she accepted.
"I see you took up the heir position. Good. I don't want it, and by the time he passes, you should be old enough to take the lordship."
Arcturus butted in, a small hint of a smile on his face, "He's a better heir anyway, from what I remember you were a mischievous little runt. You will, of course, need to spend some time at Mungos, until you are cleared for a full bill of health.
"You can say sane, I'm not going to freak." Sirius was still holding Rigel, examining his face and burning his image into his brain. "How old are you?"
"Eleven, I just had my first week at Hogwarts. And I'm in Gryffindor." Sirius began to laugh until Arcturus held Rigel's shoulder with a look of pride.
"He's a true snake, hidden among the lions. By the way, you will be staying home again today while we discuss your first week and wait for the Daily Prophet to release their news." At Sirius's questioning look, he explained that someone had leaked his crimes, and spread the rumour about Sirius betraying the Potters through the school.
"Those fuckers! One week and it got leaked."
"I'm not worried, it took less than 24 hours to prove your innocence, and I'll win social immunity from rumours as a result. Plus I know who leaked it, and both Snape and Albus will pay." Rigel's father was initially slumped, but his face darkened.
"He knew, and even in the trial tried to prevent the information from being revealed."
Rigel thought back to a Reddit post he remembered that described Albus's actions perfectly. "The only way he, who knew your relationship with Jasmine's parents, didn't support you in getting a trial, which as the head of the Wizengamot he could easily… is if he was 100% sure you were innocent, or 100% guilty. He knew who the secret keeper was, so he knew you were innocent, yet wanted you in Azkaban anyway."
Arcturus clasped Rigel's shoulder, "Perhaps we should be careful about what is said, even in these private rooms. It wouldn't be the first time they've been monitored. After collecting their wands, the three went back home, Arcturus prompting Rigel to continue now he wouldn't be overheard.
"Oh, I was wondering what reason Dumbledore had for keeping Dad in prison, because apart from weakening our family, it seems like a risky move for no benefit. Pissing off an ancient house, and failing to act as the head of the Wizengamot would risk a lot. Especially when everyone was so focused on the end of the war and Jasmine." Arcturus had provided a deep explanation of the first wizarding war during their time before Hogwarts and knew his heir was onto something.
"Jasmine. Sirius weren't you named-
"Godfather, yeah. How'd you know?"
Scoffing, Arcturus folded his arms and replied, "How'd I find out my grandson was legally made the caretaker of the hero of Britain?"
"Caretaker. Grandfather, that's it. With Sirius in Azkaban, Jasmine was left without a carer."
"No, her godmother, Alice Longbottom would have taken her…I guess she didn't."
Arcturus looked genuinely saddened, "No, that sweet girl and her husband were held under the Cruciatus for too long, their minds unable to heal."
"Then who raised Jasmine?"
"Her maternal aunt. A muggle family that treats her like shit," Rigel said, remembering the conversation on the Hogwarts Express.
"Petunia? Lily always said Petunia should NEVER be given Lily's kids."
Arcturus's eyes gleamed with understanding, "Albus became her magical guardian, in control of the Potter vaults until she took the heir position."
"She hasn't taken it. She wasn't even aware of it. Dumbledore sent Hagrid the half-giant to introduce her to the magical world, probably so people believe it to be Hagrid's fault as a 'dumb giant.'"
Sirius was trembling with rage, but managed to calm himself, fetching a letter and writing to Gringotts and Jasmine individually, as her legal godfather.
"Oh Albus, that sneaky goat. I'm a little impressed actually. He took full advantage of the chaos and became the guardian of the underage hero, distancing her from magic so that she would think of Hogwarts as her home…Genius. Though his plan was just ruined in less than 24 hours by an eleven-year-old."
"A damn smart eleven-year-old. Though, you might have to deal with some animosity from the Malfoys."
"What did you do?"
"Beat him in a duel…badly…..And I might have stabbed a fork through his hand yesterday when he told Jasmine about Sirius causing her to cry and scream at me."
The old man groaned as he listened, "One week. In one week you piss off the Malfoys and ruin Dumbledore's initial plan. Have you at least been doing well in classes?"
"Top of the class in everything besides Herbology and Potions, but Snape takes Potions, and I'm still making them right."
"What about friends?" Sirius asked from the desk beside them, "Friends are just as important as grades."
"Well before yesterday, I was friends with Jasmine, Lavender, Parvati, Neville, and passable with a few other Gryffindors, and friendly with Susan and Hannah from Hufflepuff. Susan Bones, Amelia's niece."
"Only one male friend…out of six names," Arcturus groaned. "My heir is just like his father."
"Hey, I was never THAT bad, he's on a whole other level." He gave a soft smile, "James would have made a joke about pups having pups too early," the man was still hurt by his friend's death, the effect of Azkaban searing the dead bodies of James and Lily into the backs of his eyes.
"Good thing he can marry as many women as he wants so long as he has a title to give them."
"I can what?"
"Oh yeah, as long as you date pure-bloods that would inherit their family name, you could marry as much as you want. I remember one fellow had four wives about 15-20 years ago. Though he wasn't a member of an ancient house, and his wives were from smaller noble houses. Remus told James and me about it after I joked about never settling for one. Though we both ended up doing exactly that." The three talked for a bit before Sirius decided to go check in to the hospital, swapping stories of their youth.
As Sirius left for Mungos he scrambled up to his old room, finding a small piece of mirror, explaining that he could talk to Rigel through it, if his son wanted it. Rigel nearly tackled the fragile man in a hug, thanking him, more glad that his father wanted to talk to him than about receiving the magic present. "Of course, I do…dad."
After he left Arcturus let out a low laugh, "he dated somebody for a year and a half…that's hilarious. She must have been an absolutely indomitable woman to have put a collar on that boy. Shame I never met her."
"You aren't annoyed that she was a muggle-born?"
"Most pure-blood families bring in muggle-born or half-blooded witches to keep the family from becoming too corrupted by incest, seeing as all of the families can be linked to each other somehow. They are never listed as family, but no, I was always less interested in pretending our family was 100% blood pure. My son, unfortunately, took after my father. Both he and his wife were extremists in their views. As long as you become powerful enough, no one will question the choices you make anyway."
Rigel ate and slept like a king, Kreacher's cooking far surpassing the buffet-style food of Hogwarts. But on Sunday morning he was sent back to Hogwarts, arriving just as breakfast started. He snuck to his room and cast a quick cleaning charm over everything he'd left in the room, in case the Weasley twins had decided to play a 'prank,' that would leave him in the infirmary. Dropping a set of books on Occlumency into his storage chest, he walked steadily down the halls through to the great hall. There was a loud chattering on the other door which meant the owls had dropped off the emergency release newspaper.
As Rigel strode into the hall, shoving the doors open, the heads of the entire room pivoted like owls. Approaching the Gryffindor table he calls out, "Finished believing unproven rumours yet?"
Neville was the first to apologise, his humility making him far more used to apologising when wrong. "Sorry, Rigel. I should have listened to you."
Lavender, Parvati and Seamus were next, each giving their apologies and the girls adding a hug, asking about Sirius.
Hermione and Jasmine, however, were silent. 'Hermione has probably never apologised in her life, and Jasmine looks too embarrassed and sorry to apologise.' So instead of dealing with them maturely, as he should, being a few years older, he forces them to initiate their apologies, ignoring them both as he talked to the girls and Neville, Seamus having hopped back over to Ron and Dean, who both mouthed a sorry and nodded. 'Which is about what I expected from guys anyway. We tend to suck at the whole apologising thing, especially when we mean it.' It wasn't until just before dinner that Jasmine pulled him aside.
"I need to apologise. For believing Malfoy, for not listening to you, for blaming you for what I thought your dad did. But you have to understand, I thought he played a part in the murder of my parents, and I couldn't believe his son was my friend. I felt like I'd betrayed them somehow."
"Wow…You made yourself the victim and still haven't actually apologised. I think that's worse than Hermione who said nothing." Rigel walked around her, catching up with Lavender and even Susan who reached the hall at the same time, chatting to them both with a smile.
Jasmine, who'd been left stunned, was now fuming at the boy. She had tried to apologise and he didn't accept it. 'What does he want me to do, beg for forgiveness?' she thought. 'He'll move on in a few days, even Vernon and Petunia moved past their anger after a day or two. But he didn't. She watched as Rigel went to classes, performing excellently, being friendly with girls from every house, the only boy he really talked to being Neville, who had always been more friendly with him, especially since Ron started hanging out with Dean and Seamus. It had been weeks and he still wouldn't initiate a conversation with her, merely responding to her. Hermione had been her main support during this time as Lavender and Parvati told her to apologise properly or stop whining.
Rigel on the other hand, had been loving the past few weeks. Recognised as the most powerful, he had relative popularity that when added to his cuteness made befriending and getting close to others rather easy. Additionally, he loved everything about Hogwarts. The lessons were easy, but the idea of studying magic still excited him, so he pushed to get quicker with each spell that could be used in combat, and more precise with utility spells. He'd even sent Arcturus a letter to buy a dragon pox cure elixir, preventing the canon death of the old man before he became old enough to inherit the Lordship. Ron had somewhat distanced himself as Rigel became more famous and more popular, but that didn't bother the heir at all.
~~~
October 31st, 1991
Rigel woke to the smells of pumpkin pasties, which was unfortunate as he bloody hated pumpkin, not understanding the magical community's obsession with the damn vegetable. Two months he'd been at Hogwarts, and three since he died, the scene of lightning still inhabiting his dreams some nights. In charms Flitwick finally moved on to the levitation charm, Hermione and Jasmine seated next to Ron and Seamus, while Neville and Lavender sat with me, the Patil twins just behind us on the amphitheatre-style seating. Reciting the vocals, then the wand movement, the class moved on to practise, the feathers brought out to be their targets.
"Wingardium LeviOsa." Rigel's feather lifted into the air in one swift and controlled movement.
"Excellent control Mr Black, it's good to see even these more advanced charms are well within your grasp. 5 points to Gryffindor." For most of the class, this was normal, expected even, as Rigel learned spells quickly and had excellent control over his magic, McGonagall even using his work as an example to demonstrate what a first-year could accomplish. She believed it would boost morale, wrongfully. For Hermione though, it was torture. All the studying she did, the hours she put in the library didn't seem to help her with the practicals, and yet she wasn't above him in the theory of any subjects except History of Magic and Potions, but everyone knew Snape had a special hatred for him almost as bad as Jasmine. Within the next ten minutes, both Hermione and Padma had performed the charm and spent their time helping others, like Rigel or refining their technique, also like Rigel who was multi-tasking.
Hermione was helping Jasmine with the wand movement before she got bumped by Ron on her left. "Stop, Stop, Stop. You're going to take somebody's eye out. Besides you're saying it wrong. It's LeviOsa, not LevioSAR." Rigel muttered under his breath at the scene, "Wow, she's so goddamn annoying in the first book."
"First book?" Lavender asked, having heard me.
"Year, first-year."
"Oh, yeah, she can definitely be annoying. She tries but she just can't help herself."
Hermione continued pestering Ron in that annoying high-pitched whine of a voice for a bit before returning to Jasmine, who achieved it soon after. 'How the hell does it take her so long to learn a simple spell? Obviously, she's spending too much time in the library rather than actually manipulating magic,' Rigel considered.
As the class ended, Ron was whinging about Hermione to Seamus and Dean. "Did you hear her, it's LeviOOOsa, not LevioSAAR. She's a nightmare honestly. She's so boring that if it wasn't for Jasmine, she wouldn't have any friends." Hermione, who was behind him, bashed the boy with her shoulder as she ran off inside the castle crying.
"He really is the biggest git in Gryffindor. Maybe even Hogwarts," Rigel said shaking his head after experiencing the utter stupidity of Ron again.
"What about Draco?" Parvati questioned.
The heir shook his head, "Draco is trying to be a git, Ron's just a bloody idiot. No strength, intelligence, social skills or family to rely on. If he wasn't a ginger, I don't think I'd notice him." Lavender and Parvati looked at the sooking Weasley on the grass and laughed.
"Not to mention he STILL hadn't figured out the spell in class. He was the last except Neville." That sparked a memory in Rigel's brain.
"Nev! Buddy!" The somewhat awkward boy came over, and Rigel asked first to test the waters. "Did you get your wand from Ollivander's?"
"Hmm, oh, no. It was my dad's." He looked miserable at the mention of his parents and I couldn't blame him.
"Have you considered going and getting a wand that might suit you better? They say some wands can be fiercely loyal to their owners and refuse another." Neville was astonished, having heard something similar but never considered that it might relate to his own situation.
"I'll go visit in the Christmas holidays, thanks, Rigel." Neville left almost skipping back to Dean, Seamus and Ron, excited and hopeful for the holidays.
~~~
Sorry it's a little late, I've been fighting off a cold