Harry Potter and The Black's Family Legacy

Murmurs moved around the room as groups of people chattered as to why they had been called to a full Wizengamot meeting on a Saturday. Cyrus Greengrass, Duke of Cumberland, turned around to look at those behind him; the members of the Ancient houses, and beyond them were the members or their Proxies of the Noble houses. Though not all the seats from Houses were filled, he noted some who should be there who were not, such as the Weasley lord. Twenty seats beyond them were occupied by the Order of Merlin members, although more than a few remained vacant. Finally, on the highest row were the Heads of the Ministry Departments.

            “Why did I get out of bed this early on a Saturday?” Lady Augusta, Regent Longbottom grumbled, interrupting Greengrass’s thoughts. He looked across the House of Black chair at the elderly woman.

            “It must be important to have the whole Wizengamot out,” he drawled. Beyond Lady Longbottom, Marquess Theodore Selwyn gave him a wry grin. The older man rolled his eyes at Augusta’s complaining. Of the three remaining nobles of the Ancient and Noble Houses, Greengrass was the youngest yet held the highest title. A noise drew him to the other set of stands where the public gallery and reporters’ seats were. Several reporters had filtered in, though the public gallery was sparsely populated.

 

            The murmuring got louder as the Minister of Magic entered, followed by Tiberius Ogden as the temporary Chief Warlock. Next, Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, entered, followed by Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE. The court scribe came next as the large wooden door closed behind them. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, took the central seat almost directly in front of Greengrass. While Ogden and Umbridge sat on either side of him. Madam Bones stood in the centre of the chamber, looking at the empty chair of the Accused. Fudge banged his gavel down, silencing the room.

            “Good morning, ladies and Gentlemen, Lords and Ladies, we are here today, the Twelfth day of August Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Five, to determine the guilt of Harry James Potter for using underage magic and breaking the Statute of Secrecy.” Fudge announced, causing many to gasp. Greengrass looked on in interest; his morning had just gotten considerably more exciting.

            “Hem hem.” Greengrass looked at the fat toad-like woman in annoyance.

“Yes, Delores.” Fudge said patiently.

“It seems the criminal has absconded without even coming to his hearing,” a few murmurs ran through the crowd at the use of ‘the criminal.’

“Ah, then we shall continue and lay the charges in the boy’s absence.” Fudge sounded almost gleeful. The noble remembered the Daily Prophet slandering the youth and wondered why they were deliberately going after a mere child, “You may lay down the charges, Madam Bones.”

“Harry James Potter is accused of using magic in front of one Dudley Dursley, a Muggle, on 10th July nineteen-ninety-five. As Mr Potter was only fourteen then, he is underage and has also broken the Statute of Secrecy.” Bones concluded.

“As the…eh hem…accused is not here, we shall vote in his absence for the use of magic in front of a Mug-”

“Surely, Minister, I have a right to defend myself before you ask for a judgement,” a voice spoke up. Greengrass observed a teen entering beside a fair-haired, big-bellied man in a suit. The teen emanated power: he stood tall and wore a cloak of authority. His black hair was stylishly mussed, and his green eyes sparkled with life, but his face was impassive, giving away nothing.

“Mr Potter?” a clearly confused Fudge asked. Greengrass sat up; now, the party was starting.

“My client was directed elsewhere for his hearing. It is luck that we were here two hours early,” the blond man spoke, “Surely the Minister knows that it is illegal to not inform the accused of a change of venue without twenty-four hours’ notice.”

“I believe a notice was sent out,” Fudge blustered.

“Then it must have been the incompetence of your staff,” the man looked pointedly at Dolores Umbridge.

“Perhaps,” the Minister mumbled.

“Can you give us your name? Please, for the scribe.” Amelia Bones tried to get the trial back on track.

“Edward Tonks, Attorney of Law for Tonks & Black.” Ted replied cheerfully, “I shall be representing my client in his defence of these false charges.”

“Hem, hem.” Umbridge tried to interrupt proceedings again.

“Please save any comments until later, Senior Undersecretary.” Bones snapped, then turned back to the teen and his attorney. Just as the door behind them opened, Albus Dumbledore entered in robes of a deep purple with stars and moons on them.

“Witness for the defence Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Greengrass noticed the glare the teen gave toward the elderly Headmaster. He also saw the Headmaster was exaggerating being out of breath, like he had timed his entrance precisely.

“Ah, Professor Dumbledore, my client and I do not require your assistance, but thank you for coming,” the man looked shocked before he managed to compose himself, looking between the teen and the lawyer.

“In that case, Professor Dumbledore, you may take a seat in the public gallery so we may begin with proceedings.” Madam Bones interrupted the Headmaster before he could comment. Dumbledore was forced to enter the public gallery, something he did not like.

“Now, we can begin again. Are you Harry James Potter?”

“No,” the teen replied. Confusion reigned through the court chambers as they stared at the teen.

“If you are not Harry Potter, then who are you?” Fudge cried angrily.

“My name is Lord Harry Antares Black, 12^th Marquess of Rendlesham, son of Sirius Black, 15^th Duke of Anglia and the Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.” Silence filled the chamber as the gravity of that sentence filled the room. Only three of the six Ancient and Noble houses sat at the Wizengamot; Black, until recently, had been one of the oldest Houses and most influential.

“This is the first rebuttal of many that this trial is a farce. First, you are falsely accusing him of breaking the Statute of secrecy, then you cannot get my client’s name correct,” Ted Tonks added to Madam Bones. Greengrass tried not to let his grin become wider as he looked at the sickly look on the face of Dumbledore, Fudge and Umbridge. His plan was coming to fruition in ways he had not expected.

“I, erm, your current residence is 4 Privet Drive?” Bones was now out of sorts after the boy’s revelation.

“No, I currently live in Hárasteorra Hall, Suffolk. The Seat of the House of Black.” Harry returned with a slight smirk. His eyes darted up to look at Lucius Malfoy. The aristocrat was staring at his wife, who sat in the public gallery, wondering if she knew about the boy. Draco was expected to become the next Duke.

“I object!” Sir Lucius Malfoy now stood up. Fudge looked almost relieved.

“What is your objection?” Madam Bones knew she could not ignore one of the noble houses, even a lower one.

“This child is lying; firstly, the last Duke of Anglia, His Grace Arcturus III, died and did not leave an heir and secondly, Sirius Black, a criminal, has never fathered a child,” the man answered smoothly.

“Afraid you won’t get your grubby little hands on the Black gold, Lucy.” Harry taunted the man. Ted leaned over and whispered something in his ear, causing the boy to nod and look down.

“Why, you little brat.” Lucius snarled.

“Can you prove who you say you are?” Madam Bones asked.

“I can give you an authenticated copy of Lord Rendlesham’s birth certificate.” Ted handed over a sheet of parchment, “And part of the Last Will and Testament of His Grace Arcturus Black III that names Sirius Black X as the next Duke of Anglia.”

“Sirius Black is a criminal that has killed twelve people and a respected member of this community.” Fudge’s face went bright red. Harry noticed he glanced sideward and knew he was looking for Malfoy. Dumbledore watched the Minister shrewdly; he thought he might be watching the downfall of Cornelius Fudge. Unfortunately, the man had underestimated Harry, who appeared to be a very different boy from the one that had left Hogwarts four weeks ago. Perhaps he would have to change some of his plans.

“I told you the truth last year, Minister Fudge, but you would let a dangerous criminal go free rather than admit the Ministry made a mistake before your time,” Harry told the Minister, even giving him a lifeline. But Fudge’s head was too far up Malfoys……, Harry thought as the man growled.

“You are a lying, attention-seeking child,” he snarled. The Wizengamot was silent, entranced by the back and forth between the Boy Who Lived and the Minister of Magic. Harry simply ignored the Minister turning to Madam Bones.

“My father was not given a trial when he was arrested. However, I have evidence that Peter Pettigrew is, in fact, alive and well. He was also the Secret Keeper for my parent’s Fidelius Charm,” Harry explained, but added with a slight glance at Dumbledore, “Though why they left the safety of James Potter’s home is anyone’s guess.”

            “This will stop now. I shall not have you bringing up old cases.” Fudge demanded.

            “Madam Bones, we are trying to establish a pattern that my client is not a liar but has been slandered and tried unfairly in a case that should not have come this far,” Ted explained to the Head of the DMLE. The stern woman looked him over and nodded.

“Chief Warlock, to refute any of these claims, I shall need some time to look into Mr Black’s trial.”

“In that case, I shall call a two-hour recess,” Tiberius Ogden stated, “In the meantime, we shall contact Gringotts to verify the birth certificate and the Will of Arcturus Black III.”

 

He banged the gavel, allowing the noise to return to the court. Madam Bones began to speak to a couple of Aurors as Ted Tonks approached her.

“Madam Bones, I believe it’ll be a feeding frenzy out there. Have you got anywhere young Lord Rendlesham and I could stay?”

“Of course, you can use my court office,” she led them through a door below the central stands into a corridor. She soon opened a door, ushering them inside, “I shall have two of my Aurors outside for your safety,”

“Thank you.” Ted gave the woman a warm smile as she left, closing the door behind her. Ted waved his wand around, uttering an incantation, putting up a privacy ward, “Well done, Harry, you were a lot more restrained than I thought you would,”

“Fudge is an idiot. I can’t believe I blindly followed Dumbledore to not openly disagree with the man.”

“You did have a lot of compulsion charm’s on you,” Ted pointed out.

“Do you think we’ll free Sirius….erm, Dad?” Ted chuckled at the boy.

“It’s only been a few weeks since you discovered the truth, Sirius still hasn’t got his memories back yet, so I think he’ll forgive you for not calling him Dad straight away,”

“When’s the potion finished?” implored Harry.

“Andromeda told me about eight more days until the potion matures, then hopefully, we’ll be able to restore your father’s memories. You have to remember it may not work; he was stuck in Azkaban for a long time,”

“Were you watching Duke Cumberland?” Harry changed the subject abruptly.

“He certainly found the proceedings fascinating,” Ted answered.

“I wonder what prompted him to contact Sirius,” Harry mused, “Do you think he knew about the Contract?”

“I’m not sure. Sirius only discovered it when he took the Head of House ring and opened the Black vaults. You have to remember the contract is hundreds of years old,”

 

Nearly an hour had passed when a knock sounded on the door. Ted looked at Harry before dropping the privacy Ward. The older man opened the door to find Minister Fudge, Tiberius Ogden and Madam Bones waiting.

“May we speak to you?” the Minister sounded almost reluctant as Ted allowed them to enter the office.

“What can we do for you, fine folks?” Ted asked.

“We have found no evidence of a trial for Sirius Black in 1981, only the transfer document to Azkaban signed by Minister Bagnold, Bartimus Crouch and Albus Dumbledore.” Madam Bones explained. Harry tried not to smirk as the woman continued, “However, this does not prove Black is innocent.”

“I am willing to rescind the Kiss on Sight order,” Fudge offered them.

“What about this trial?” Ted looked between the three of them.

“He performed underage magic in front of a Muggle,” the Minister argued.

“To defend his cousin against Dementors,” Ted replied, “We can offer you memories, and Lord Rendlesham is willing to be tried under Veritaserum,”

“No!” Fudge cried, causing the others to look at him, surprised, “That will not be necessary. If you provide the memories to Madam Bones, you shall be declared innocent of all charges.”

“What about my father?” Harry asked petulantly.

“We still need to discover his guilt or innocence. You said you were sure of his innocence?” Madam Bones asked. Harry looked to Ted, who nodded, so the boy launched into the tale of the night in the Third Year he discovered Sirius Black was innocent.

“So, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Remus Lupin also witnessed Peter Pettigrew alive and well confessing to betraying my mother and James Potter,” Harry finished as Fudge shared a look with Madam Bones, “What?”

“Unfortunately, we cannot rely on Remus Lupin’s testimony. As a Werewolf, he has no legal standing,” Bones explained, causing Harry to utter several expletives.

“Severus Snape claimed the children were all confounded,” Fudge added.

“But you could check them for charms such as those,” Ted replied.

“It would have worn off after a year,” Madam Bones said sadly.

“If we could have my father come here, offering up his memories and going under Veritaserum, would you be able to promise his safety?” Harry asked.

“I would have to make sure my Aurors were here, but I promise on my honour, Sirius Black would be safe,” Madam Bones told him firmly, looking at the Chief Warlock and the Minister, who nodded. Fudge knew his career rested on this boy, Lucius Malfoy and his money be damned.

“What is the Floo name of the office?” Harry asked.

“DMLE Court office,” the trio looked at the boy expectantly as he pulled out his wand. He thought of when Sirius told him he could live with him permanently.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM,” He shouted, and with a smirk, a giant raven erupted, glowing bright blue, from the end of his wand, “Go to Sirius Black and tell him ‘If you can get to a Floo, come to the DMLE Court Office, you will be safe, I have the word of Madam Bones’”

“I had reports your Patronus was a Stag,” Ogden settled on the edge of the desk, his old bones weary.

“It has recently changed, I had some restrictions on my magic for my safety as a child, but they were released, and I took up my legacy, so my Patronus changed,” Harry answered, strengthening his somewhat weak Occlumency shields. He did not know if any of the three were skilled Legilimens, but he didn’t want to find out. Madam Bones stuck her head out the door ordering a Pensieve, then the presence of two Aurors. Minutes later, a tall, dark-skinned man entered carrying a wide stone bowl with strange symbols and runes. Behind him was another Auror with a heart-shaped face and bright purple hair. She winked at Harry before composing her face to appear impassive.

“Can I have your memories of that night?” Madam Bones asked so Ted took his wand as Harry concentrated on the memory drawing out a blob of silvery liquid. He placed it in the Pensieve for the three to observe. The Aurors watched over the senior Wizengamot members as they entered the memory.

 

Ogden, Bones and Minister Fudge emerged from the memory as flames lit up the fireplace, going from red to a deep green. Then a tall man stepped out of the fireplace. This was not the Sirius Black they had seen in the Pensieve; here was a man with neat black hair tidied into a ponytail. His face was fuller, but his eyes still looked haunted. He wore robes of the most expensive Acromantula silk in black with the House of Black crest on his left breast.

“Madam Bones, Minister Fudge, Tiberius,” he nodded to each of the three senior figures.

“Harry Pott…erm, Black has offered evidence that you are innocent of killing twelve Muggles, one wizard and betraying James and Lily Potter.” Black winced at Lily’s name, “However, even this is not enough evidence to find you completely innocent. We would like your memories of the night James and Lily Potter were killed and the night of your apprehension.”

“I would also like to hear why you changed Secret Keepers,” Tiberius added.

“James and I were best friends.” Black began leaning against the fireplace, the Aurors watching him wearily, “I was his best man at his wedding, but for some reason, they decided to leave Potter House after being heavily influenced by Albus Dumbledore. So they first approached me to be their Secret Keeper. However, after many talks, I convinced them I was not the best choice as I was too well known.

“You see, our other friend, Remus Lupin, was off in Europe talking to Werewolves. We thought he might have been a spy, so we turned to Peter Pettigrew, who was so unassuming, frightened of his own shadow that no one would think he was the Secret Keeper.” Then, Black continued, “Albus Dumbledore performed the Fidelius Charm that allowed Peter to be the Secret Keeper.”

“Albus knew Peter was the Secret Keeper?” Bones looked astonished.

“He performed the charm. The night of their death, I knew something was not right,” Black shuddered with the pain of the events that followed. Ted performed the same duty and extracted the memories for the Pensieve. Harry became bored as the three entered the Pensieve to see the memories. Sirius gave the boy a smile, not seeing the looks he was getting from his cousin Nymphadora Tonks.

 

“Well, that certainly puts the kneazle amongst the bowtruckles.” Madam Bones uttered as they emerged from the Pensieve.

“This will ruin the ministry,” Fudge muttered, “allowing an innocent, an Ancient and Noble House member to go to Azkaban. I’ll be run out of office,”

“Minister, I would be willing to do a press conference with you, explaining that the previous administration was to blame and that you are righting a terrible wrong,” Sirius said carefully. Amelia Bones, an old friend of Sirius’s, looked at him shrewdly, wondering what kind of prank he was playing.

“I see,” Fudge’s eyes lit up; the two Blacks could see the calculating look in them.

“I would even allow any compensation from the government to stay in your coffers, perhaps as a donation toward the DMLE,” Black spoke again.

“We do need some more Aurors,” Fudge suggested, getting a shocked look from Madam Bones.

“However, there is a caveat,” Black looked at the Minister as the room seemed to darken, “The Ministry will have to stop going after my son,”

“I was not a party to these slanderous comments,” Fudge replied, licking his lips nervously, “I will put a stop to them.”

“See that you do. Now I must return home and get ready for the press conference. Shall we say 1pm?” Black told him, then disappeared into the Floo network.

“Right, perhaps we could announce this all then,” Ogden spoke up.

“Go to the courtroom before us. We shall come out of a different way.” Bones recommended. Harry nodded at the three and followed Ted back into the corridor before emerging into the courtroom. The two stands opposite the Wizengamot stand were full; reporters took up half, but some wizards and witches had heard about the trial. Harry held his head high as he took the seat of the Accused once again with Ted by his side. He noticed Dolores Umbridge observing him, a calculating look on her face. He did not dare turn his head to look at Dumbledore. The court’s noise stopped when Madam Bones, Chief Warlock Ogden and Minister Fudge entered, the latter two taking their seats in the stands.

“In light of some new evidence, the Chief Warlock, the Minister and I have made some decisions.” Madam Bones announced, to the surprise of many of the Wizengamot.

“This trial should not have gone this far. Lord Harry Antares Black used the Patronus charm to defend his cousin, who was well aware of magic, thus countering the Statute of Secrecy,” Chief Ogden declared, “His defence is allowed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, so Lord Rendlesham has been found innocent of all crimes,” 

“Recently, the escaped convict Sirius Black has been hunted down to atone for his crimes, it has been discovered the previous administration made many mistakes, and Duke Black was innocent of the charges laid against him.” Minister Fudge continued from the Chief Warlock, causing uproar in the courtroom. Madam Bones had to use her wand to cause a loud bang to get order again, “His Grace, The Duke of Anglia, submitted himself to the DMLE an hour ago and was pardoned of all crimes. In addition, he has graciously donated any compensation to the DMLE.”

“Thank you for your attendance. Court dismissed,” Chief Warlock Ogden finished the court session, leaving quickly, ignoring all the questions thrown at the three. Cyrus Greengrass settled back in his chair, observing Harry. Somehow, he had managed to get the trial thrown out and declare his father innocent. The Blacks were genuinely formidable. Ted began leading the boy out of the courtroom, only for Albus Dumbledore to scramble after them almost undignifiedly.

“Harry, Harry, my boy,” Harry stopped before turning to look at the elderly Headmaster, who either missed or ignored the stern look on the Fifteen-year-old’s face.

“I am not your boy!” Harry snapped back, “You call everyone else by their surnames, yet you are overly familiar with me; from now on, you may address me as Lord Rendlesham.”

 

Dumbledore stared at the retreating back of the young teen, wondering what had happened to him in just four weeks. As he left himself, he began to wonder if any of his spells had been discovered but shook his head. They were too well hidden. But how did Harry discover his true parentage when Albus Dumbledore had gone to great lengths to hide it from him.

~

“That damn boy is going to be the ruin of me,” Fudge raged, staring into the fireplace, “How could your Dementor plan not work?”

“It should have worked,” Umbridge simpered, “But it seems Black somehow got to the boy. His Grandfather was a bastard too, neither light nor dark but ruled with an iron fist,”

“I will lose my career and all the donations I earned. So why did the Prophet articles not work?” the Minister asked, almost to himself.

“What happened?” Umbridge asked, sure sending Dementors to Little Whinging would have got Potter ridiculed and expelled, if not outright killed.

“I was pinned into a corner. Tiberius Ogden and Amelia Bones were there as well as two Aurors; after viewing the memories, I could not continue the court case or risk more lies spewing from his mouth.” Minister Fudge replied, “Malfoy assured me He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not back. Dumbledore must be making a play for this office,”

“Dumbledore is an old fool. His muggle-loving ways would not secure him the Ministry.” But Umbridge sneered, “What you need is someone close to Dumbledore to find out what he plans next.”

“Dolores, you are a genius!” Fudge lit up, and the toad-like woman smiled, unsure of the sudden praise, “Dumbledore cannot find another Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“You need someone to be the Defence teacher,” Umbridge caught on quickly.

“Exactly. If we can tear out his power base, Dumbledore will be nothing,” Fudge replied with glee, “You are my most trusted ally. I will send you in to ruffle some feathers,”

“Me?” Umbridge squeaked. She did not want to teach disgusting Mudbloods or half-bloods. Children, in general, disgusted her.

“Yes, I want Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore destroyed by any means possible.” Fudge looked almost maniacal, but Umbridge, if she had a heart, might just have been in love with the man then.