Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

'Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. Harry wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them...’

Emerald eyes meet haunted grey ones and memories Harry didn't know he possessed rush through him.

He stumbles, and hands catch him.

"Breathe..."

The voice is hoarse, cracked, and yet familiar. 

Opening his eyes, Harry blinks.

"S... Siri?"

The man raises an eyebrow before his eyes widen as Harry is roughly pulled away from him.

Memories of Vernon grabbing him exactly like this flash through Harry's mind and he instinctively curls up into a ball, his hands raised to protect his face.

"NO!"

~~~

A shield forms around Harry, and the two other teenagers in the room let out sounds of annoyance.

"That bloody shield..."

Hermione scoffs, glaring at it.

"Honestly. Why won't it let us through? We wouldn't hurt Harry."

Sirius walks forward and places his hand on the shield. After a moment, it flashes slightly, and Sirius smoothly kneels in front of Harry.

"Harry... pup, take some deep breaths. Breathe."

Unconsciously, Harry starts to copy the deep breaths Sirius is taking, and after a moment, he looks up.

"S... Siri?"

Muffled footsteps sound below, and Hermione lets out a shriek.

"WE'RE UP HERE- SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"

The door of the room bursts open in a shower of red sparks and Professor Lupin comes hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready.

He scans the room, taking in what must be an extremely confusing sight.

The convict, the man thought to have betrayed Lily and James, stands protectively over the youngest Potter, who is looking up at him with pure trust in his eyes, while a boy holds a shrieking rat on a bed and a girl stands frozen in the corner.

"Professor... Professor, quick! Black has him trapped under some sort of enchantment. Harry's in danger..."

Lupin lets out a disbelieving laugh.

"Harry? In danger from Sirius? Harry's in more danger from a garden snake."

Hermione frowns, but Lupin ignores her.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Not moving from his protective stance over Harry, Sirius jerks his head toward Ron. 

Before anyone can do anything, Lupin flicks his wand, and Scabbers zooms into his outstretched hand.

"HEY!"

Lupin raises Scabbers to eye-level and lets out an angry growl.

"I should've known..."

Scabbers starts to squirm violently, and Lupin absently stuns him.

The door opens again, and Sirius immediately fires a Stunner at the air. Something crumples to the ground, and Lupin pulls the invisibility cloak off a person revealed to be Snape.

Lupin's eyes widen, and he curses.

"My potion!"

Sirius raises an eyebrow.

"Potion?"

Lupin nods.

"My wolfsbane-"

He is cut off as Sirius mutters a curse under his breath.

"We'll talk about your willingness to take a potion from someone who obviously dislikes you later. Think about the name, Moony."

Lupin is silent for a second, and Sirius sighs.

"Wolfsbane. Wolf's bane. It doesn't control the wolf. It slowly kills him and you. Surely you noticed yourself feeling weaker?"

A troubled expression appears on Lupin's face, and he nods slowly.

"But... the moon..."

Sirius frowns.

"Rem, call Mcgonagall."

Lupin frowned, tilting his head slightly.

"Why?"

Sirius lets out another deep sigh.

"Because the moon comes up in an hour, and given that Harry has Potter and Black blood flowing through his veins, something is bound to go wrong. I want a witness that can't be discredited. Harry hasn't claimed the Potter or Black Heirships, the girl is a muggle minor, the boy is the Seventh Son of a Disgraced Family, and even if we ignore your furry little problem, there's still the fact that we were friends at school."

Lupin frowns slightly but nods, shooting off a silvery shape that looks vaguely like a dog. 

Sirius watches it vanish and smiles softly.

"Padfoot?"

"Yeah."

Lupin clears his throat.

"Why... Sirius, this is your chance."

The man sighs.

"For what? I was never going to kill the rotten bastard."

Harry frowns, tugging on Sirius's sleeve.

"What is it, pup?"

Harry gestures at the rat, and Sirius nods.

"Yeah. I'm sure. I've seen him transform thousands of times. Even if I hadn't, though, his smell is the same."

"Prove it."

Sirius raises an eyebrow at Ron, and the boy flushes a bright shade of red.

"You said Scabbers is really a human. Prove it."

Hermione scoffs.

"Oh, please. Black wouldn't be able to perform more than a basic spell given that he's spent 12 years in Azkaban."

Ignoring that jibe, Sirius takes a breath.

"Remus? If you would perform the spell? I can do it, but" he glances at Hermione's haughty expression. "I don't need any hindrances, and I'm sure if I did the spell, that's what we would get."

Lupin waves his wand, and a bright blue flash fills the room before it vanishes, leaving a small, pudgy man where Scabbers used to be.

"Pettigrew?!"

Everyone except Sirius flinches at the new voice as McGonagall's eyes take in the scene.

Her gaze lands on Pettigrew, and the sniveling man crawls toward her.

"Professor... Professor, you have to he-"

She points her wand at him, and he freezes.

"You... I should've known."

He opens his mouth, and McGonagall petrifies him. Lupin blinks at her, shocked, but she ignores him and walks to Sirius. She puts a hand on his cheek and smiles softly.

"Hello, Sirius."

The man lets out a small grin.

"Hi, Professor."

She sighs.

"Always getting into trouble, aren't you?"

He runs a hand down his face and then holds his hands out.

"Professor, I need you to take me into custody."

McGongall raises an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that.

"Sirius... I can't, in good conscience, take an innocent man into custody."

He shrugs.

"Innocent I may be, but that didn't stop Fudge from throwing me into Azkaban without a trial or conviction. Willingly turning myself over to your custody will protect me from dealing with that again."

The professor frowns deeply at hearing that and then nods.

"Very well. I, Minerva McGongagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and Lady of the Ancient and Sage House of McGonagall, take you, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, into my custody."

A red line stemming from McGonagall's wand shimmers around Sirius's wrists for a moment, and Harry tilts his head curiously.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Sirius smiles softly.

"Just a small protection spell, pup. It keeps me from being hauled away."

Harry nods, and then Lupin twitches.

McGonagall's eyes flicker to him. 

"Remus..."

She glances at the petrified form of Pettigrew and sighs.

"Remus, I..."

The werewolf shakes his head.

"It's quite alright, Minerva. My wolf has always been calm around Sirius, and he's elated knowing of his innocence. Moony will not hurt me. Not tonight."

She pauses for a moment but then nods.

"Okay."

Sirius hugs Remus tightly and presses his forehead against his. 

"I'll see you in the morning, Moony."

Stepping back, Sirius transforms into Padfoot, and McGonagall lets out a soft smile.

"I assume you're not letting Mr. Potter out of your sight, so both of you walk ahead of us, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger after you two, and I'll bring up the rear with Pettigrew and Severus."

Chapter Text

At the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey takes one look at the group and gasps as Padfoot turns back into a man.

“Minerva…”

The Deputy Headmistress nods, setting Pettigrew and Snape on beds.

“Yes, Poppy.”

The mediwitch runs a hand down her face and then nods briskly.

“Very well. I assume you’ll want me in my office for plausible deniability?”

Before McGonagall can say anything, a loud bang fills the room as the Hospital Wing doors fly open.

The Minister strides in, wand pointed threateningly at Sirius.

“Arrest him! Shacklebolt! Bones!”

The woman with him raises an eyebrow, and he falters slightly.

“You would do well to remember, Cornelius, that though you are the Minister for Magic, I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and supersede even you in matters of the law.”

The Minister blinks owlishly, and Sirius lets out a bark-like laugh.

“The man I stand accused of murdering is lying in a bed just feet from you, Minister. Additionally, as the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black and Regent for the Most Ancient and Honorable House of Potter, I hold at least 4 seats in the Wizengamot which means I can and will put forth a motion to have you dismissed for willful ignorance in matters of the law, along with gross misconduct for allowing the Lord of one of the Sacred 28 Families to be imprisoned without a trial.” 

The Minister falls silent, and the woman who spoke earlier raises her eyebrow even higher.

“You never received a trial?”

Sirius shakes his head. 

“No, Madam Bones. Now, as I would like to get this on with as quickly as possible, I am willing to take Veritaserum on the caveat that Pettigrew does as well. I have no faith in his willingness to tell the truth, as he let me languish in Azkaban for more than a decade.”

Madam Bones nods and puts 3 drops of it on his tongue after Kingsley hands her a vial from his robes.

His eyes go glassy, and Harry jerks up in concern.

McGonagall places a hand on his arm and smiles reassuringly at the boy.

“This is a natural side effect of Veritaserum, along with the voice going monotone. He is in no danger.”

Harry relaxes slightly as Madam Bones begins the questioning.

“Is your name Sirius Orion Black?”

“Yes.”

“Did you kill Peter Pettigrew or anyone else on the night of All Hallow’s Eve in 1981?”

“No.”

“But people were killed on that night?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who killed them?”

“Peter Pettigrew.”

Madam Bones runs her hand down her face.

“Were you ever the Secret Keeper for the Potters?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It was a diversion. We knew everyone would suspect me to be the Secret Keeper, so we let everyone think that and made Peter the Secret Keeper instead so he could go into hiding, keeping them safe while Riddle’s followers chased after me.”

Harry blinks, stunned at the amount of danger Sirius had willingly put himself in to protect him and his parents.

“Did you plan to kill Peter Pettigrew when you caught him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Death would have been too merciful. I wanted him to suffer for what he had done. I planned to drag him in front of the Wizengamot, to get him to confess and be sent to Azkaban. I…” The man bites his lip, pain clear in his eyes despite their glassy state. “I was ruled by grief. I didn’t expect Pettigrew to use the Blasting Curse and cut off his finger to escape after hitting me with an overpowered Cheering Charm.”

“Why did you only escape Azkaban now?”

“I had seen Pettigrew in his animagus form in The Daily Prophet and knew Hadrian was in danger. Pettigrew was the pet of his best friend. I needed to escape to keep him safe.”

Madam Bones sighs. 

“Give him the antidote.”

As the glassy look fades from his eyes, he turns to McGonagall.

She raises an eyebrow at him.

“What did you do with Harry?”

The man sighs.

“I had originally planned to bring him to Black Manor to be brought up with the help of my grandparents, but Hagrid showed up. When I resisted, Hagrid could have hurt him. I couldn’t take that risk, so I made Hagrid swear to take him straight to his other godparents, Frank and Alice Longbottom.”

McGonagall runs her hand down her face, and Sirius blinks in confusion.

“Was Hadrian not living with Frank and Alice?”

McGonagall sighs.

“Sirius… the Longbottoms were cursed into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange mere hours after James and Lily died.”

The man stiffens further.

“He didn’t go to you and Remus?”

The Deputy Headmistress shakes her head, confused.

“Why would he have gone to us?”

Sirius frowns.

“In James and Lily’s wills, they put you and Remus as guardians after Frank and Alice. And even if their wills weren’t read, I had set up a Will to activate upon my death or incarceration that stated the same thing. If he didn’t go to you…”

The man pales.

“No…”

Harry frowns.

“You… you didn’t want me to go to Aunt P-“

Before Harry can even finish the sentence, oil lamps and cupboard doors break apart as Sirius’s eyes flash dangerously.

“Petunia?!”

His voice is barely above a whisper, but everyone can hear the pure rage in it.

“He sent you to Petunia?!”

The man straightens in his seat, and turns to Madam Bones.

“Lady Bones?”

The formal address shocks her slightly, but she recovers quickly.

“Yes, Lord Black?”

“I am officially bringing charges of child endangerment and kidnapping against Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore for knowingly and willfully leaving my godson in an abusive household.” He pauses for a moment. “I also level the charge of attempted Line Theft two times over by means of ignoring the Wills of two Sacred 28 families and keeping the Heir of said families ignorant.”

Everyone present gasps, and Sirius turns to Harry.

“I will not put my godson through more struggles tonight. If you need me to testify further, you may reach me by owl. However, I am not leaving his side, nor will I allow him to suffer through the interrogation of his parents' killer.”

Madam Bones, Kingsley, and the Minister leave the room with the bound Pettigrew, and Sirius turns to Madam Pomfrey.

“I need you to look at Hadrian.”

She looks at him sadly. 

“Sirius… I can’t. I-“

Nothing else comes out of her mouth, and Sirius’ eyes harden.

“As the magical and legal guardian of Hadrian James Potter-Black, I abolish any previous decisions made on his behalf and allow Madam Penelope McGonagall neé Pomfrey the unrestricted ability to speak of and treat any present or past wounds he may have contracted in any way.”

A slight shimmer surrounds the mediwitch, and then she instantly summons a lengthy parchment. Sirius takes it from her, and his eyes darken to near-black as he reads it.

”Heal him.”

She instantly starts summoning a ton of things, and Sirius looks at all of them before nodding. 

He walks over to Harry’s side and sits by his bed.

“I will not ask you to speak of it here, but we will have a discussion soon. For now, just let Madam Pomfrey give you a Dreamless Sleep so healing you won’t hurt.”

Trusting him, Harry nods and takes the potion.

As he is falling asleep, he feels Sirius squeeze his hand.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, pup. Not again.”