Chapter Twelve, The Trials
Today was the day Sirius would finally get a trial proving he was innocent and falsely imprisoned. Pollux, Arcturus with the help of Lucius had brought all the evidence they had gathered, including the will of Lily and James Potter stating who was their secret keeper and who performed such a complex spell, to Amelia Bones the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement asking for a full trial to be held. After looking over the evidence thoroughly and checking the Ministry's files for the trials that had been held during the war, only to find none for Sirius Black.
After discovering such a gross misconduct that had been carried out especially to the Heir of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. She immediately called a full trial with the Wizengamot to fix the last Minister's mistake and Barty Crouch's mistake. She contacted Pollux asking her to bring Sirius to the trial that would be held in two days time. Only to discover he wanted another trial held for the abuse of Harry Potter at the hands of Muggles and Dumbledore as he knew who the Secret Keeper was and how Harry was being treated until he ran away from home at age seven only for Sirius to find him in the middle of the night in the streets.
To say she was absolutely appalled was a severe understatement. She could believe what the Magical Society was coming to and put things in place for Dumbledore's trial to be held straight after Sirius'. She gathered all the information she needed for Dumbledore's trial including memories from Harry, Severus Snape and Andromeda Tonks who were treating him and Sirius when he found Harry in the street. After Harry's memories she was reduced to tears for the first time in her career. She couldn't believe that poor boy, who was the same age as her niece, had gone through. He was severely malnourished to the point he looked four and his skin was tight over his bones.
A few days had passed as she had finished drawing up all the documents she needed for both trials and guardianship of Harry to be rewarded to Sirius as she knew everyone on the Wizengamot will believe his innocence once they were shown. She was already having her just trusted Aurora searching for Peter Pettigrew and would announce to the general public to be in the look out for a rat to suddenly appear in their garden or near their home and to be handed in immediately as he was a wanted criminal whose Animagus form was that of a rat.
Gathering all she needed she made her way down to the courtroom sitting in the judges seat to preside over the trials as she didn't trust Fudge, not one bit. Slowly but surely everyone started filling into the courtroom including Sirius with his family, the Black family hadn't wanted any where near Dumbledore so Amelia had agreed to let him stay home with Remus, Narcissa and Draco, only taking Harry's memories. She didn't blame them for if she was Harry's family she'd want him as far away from this as she could.
Smiling tightly at his old friend Sirius sat in the chair in the middle of the room, his family in the witness stands as whispers spread around the room like wildfire. Amelia held her wand in the air silencing the room immediately.
"Mr Severus Snape if you wound he so kind as to give Mr Sirius Black the Veritumserum." Amelia Bones requested. Snape budded his head pouring the required amount of drops in Sirius' mouth, when he was satisfied it taken affect he nodded to Amelia Bones returning to his seat in the witness stands.
"What is your full name?" Amelia Bones asked.
"Sirius Orion Black." Sirius answered mono-tonelessly.
"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potter's while they were in hiding?" Amelia asked.
"I was at first but then I switched with Peter Pettigrew as I thought I was the obvious choice., and we knew we had a traitor amongst us but didn't know who. I had planned to lead Voldemort into a false trail." Sirius answered.
"Who knew about this switch? And who performed the spell?" Amelia asked.
"Albus Dumbledore performed the spell and he also knew of the switch along with James and Lily." Sirius said, muttering stilling courtroom growing louder when Amelia set off a loud bang with her wand.
"What happened the night of Halloween 1981 in Godrics Hollow?" Amelia asked once the room was quiet again.
"I got the sense that something had was going to happen so I headed to Peter's apartment and but it was deserted I tried to get to Godrics Holliw as fast as I could thinking he'd been captured but when I got there seeing the door hanging off it's hinges and a whole in the roof where Harry's nursery was. I knew he was the traitor and had betrayed us, it was only a week after we'd swapped. I ran into the house finding Janes dead at the bottom of the stairs his wand lying next to him.
Stepping around him carefully I ran up the stairs finding the door in a similar state to the front door, the room half destroyed and Lily lying in front of the cot dead as Harry screamed and cried for her and James only calming slightly when he saw me. As I was leaving the house not letting him see his parents, Hagrid arrived telling me Dumbledore wanted Harry with his aunt and uncle. I argued as Lily and James didn't want him there as they're magic hating Muggles. I eventually gave Harry to Hagrid with the intention of getting him after I found Peter.
I found him in Muggle London running but he stopped to scream I had betrayed Lily and James before he blew up the street, cut off his finger and transformed into a rat scurrying off into the sewers. I was overwhelmed I'd lost three of my four closest friends I just stood there and laughed, that's how the Aurors found me." Sirius explained.
"Thank you Sirius." Amelia said waving Severus back over for the antidote. "All those in favour of Sirius being guilty raise your wands." She instructed. Only Fudge and Umbridge raised their wands.
"All those in favour of Sirius being innocent raise your wands." She instructed as everyone including herself raised her wand.
"Sirius Black you are cleared of all charges and I on behalf of the Ministry apologise for the injustice you have received. You will be compensated for your time in Azkaban with £10,000 Galleons added to your account. They will be given an Ofer of Merlin First Class. Peter Pettigrew will be stripped of everything awarded to him along with his vaults at Gringotts. A hint will immediately be under way after these trials have been held. The public will know to have him by calling my department and he will be given the Dementors Kiss and sentenced to die via the Veil in the Department of Mysteries." Amelia stayed to the room at large as she banged her gavel on the desk in front of her.
Sirius immediately vacated the chair he was sat in joining his family in the witness stand as Dumbledore was brought in by two Aurors and made to sit in the chair Sirius had just vacated. "The next trial is against Albus Dumbledore, the charges are; supplying false evidence leading to the false imprisonments of an Heir to one of The Most Ancient and Nobel House Black, knowing about and aiding the abuse of an Heir to the Most Nobel and Honourable House Potter. Leaving said child in the home of Muggles who hate anything and everything to do with magic." Amelia Bones called out reading of the paper before her. "How do you plead?" She asked Dumbledore looking at him through her spectacle.
"Not guilty. This is absurd Amelia." Dumbledore called out. Amelia have him a firm glare signalling to Severus to supply the Veriturserum. Dumbledore's trial went on for much longer than any thought possible. Not only did they discover the truths of the crimes he's committed that they knew about, there was also a extensively long list of ones they didn't know about. Including turning Tom Riddle into the Dark Lord they knew today for his own personal gain. He was immediately stripped of all of his titles, his Order of Merlins, his vaults and his magic. His vaults would be used to pay compensation to all the families he has caused harm to in his bid to always remain the most power Wizard.
The Goblins were contacted and told of the Horcruxes so they could be found and distrusted stopping the rise of Lord Voldemort once again. He was charged with all charges including the ones they didn't know about and sentenced to death once he was stripped of everything leaving with nothing he was bound and levitated right through the Veil of Death. Emergency papers were released portraying the crimes Dumbledore had committed and demanding the public if they found the rat to immediately place it in a magic proof cage stoping him from escaping and transforming and to bring him straight to Amelia Bones. The papers also stated the false imprisonment of Sirius Black labelling it under one of Albus Dumbledore's many crimes.
Barty Crouch, Cornelius Fudge and Delores Umbridge were also stripped of their titles and sacked from the Ministry banging then from ever getting another job in the Ministry and if they ever set foot into the Ministry again they would spend life in Azkaban for their corruption of the legal system. And for their part in either sending Sirius to Azkaban or not doing their job and demanding one when it was noticed he had not received one, and for accepting bribery. There would be a big upheaval in the Magical Community of Britain as Amelia Bones set out to scope out the corruption in the Ministry making it a fair and lawful place. She would not have the wrongs committed accepted or copied, what happened to Sirius should never of happened in the first place but she would do her all to make sure it never happened again starting with getting all the known Death Eaters tried under Veritumserum to find out the truth.
She would make Britain safe again once more as she was elected as the new Minister of Magic and Kingsley Shacklebolt as the new Head of the DMLE. As the Black family returned to Grimmauld Place satisfied with how the day had gone, they were happy that from now on it seemed the Magical World will be a safer and better place to live in. Their worries for when Harry entered the world slowly lessoning as Amelia Bones' work set into place.