Marauders Revisited

DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you’ve seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$

A/N: And, Part two of the trial…

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: MARAUDER’S REVISTED

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6 th 1993

Mr. Bole rose. “I would like to begin by pointing out that I have been afforded absolutely no opportunity to consult with my client for the purposes of preparing his defense,” Mr. Bole said.

“Madam Bones?” Dumbledore asked almost in an accusing manner.

“Mr. Roscoe Bole of Bole, Bole & Goode has met with the accused on numerous occasions, Chief Warlock. I believe his time with the accused is in excess of forty hours. I can produce the visitation logs. I cannot be held responsible for the internal assignments of the accused counsel’s law practice.”

“He met with him of course,” Mr. Bole said. “But I have not!”

“Be that as it may,” Madam Bones began, “our law allows an accused to obtain counsel for his defense and to consult with such counsel and for such counsel to present his defense, but does not require it. But it does not follow that the accused who has obtained such counsel can then delay this body by changing counsel at the last minute. Mr. Bole is of Bole, Bole & Goode and Bole, Bole & Goode has met with the accused and one can assume made some effort to prepare a defense and then sent this young man in here obviously in an effort to delay this proceeding.”

“I object to that insinuation!”

“My apologies,” Amelia said. “But unless Roscoe is ill, your appearance here and raising that argument is… unusual.”

Dumbledore sighed. “The law recognizes certain situation where defense should be granted a delay of proceedings…”

“See!” Bole said.

“… but last second changes in counsel is not one of them and I doubt any here would grant such an exception where representation remains with the same firm. Besides, requests for extension must be made before the first witnessed is examined…”

“Seeing as I have yet to question the accused…”

“As cross-examination is not a requirement, Mr. Bole, once Madam Bones began her questioning the door closed on extensions. Do you have questions for the accused?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Mr. Bole said. “Mr. Pettigrew, you said earlier you were a Death Eater.”

“I am. Still am.”

“I see. Can you prove it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who knew you were one?”

“Um… The Dark Lord, of course. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Tiberius Carrow, Apollo Burke, Charity Pucey, I suppose. There may have been others but I don’t know their names.”

“All of whom are conveniently either dead or in prison.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Can you show us your dark mark?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You mean aside from the fact I’m a little tied up right now?”

Bole nodded.

“It’s invisible,” Pettigrew answered.

“Invisible?”

“Well, I can see it of course. Other Death Eaters may be able to. But otherwise it’s invisible.”

“Why is it invisible?”

“Because the Dark Lord wished it to be. I guess it may be because I was in the Order, but he never told me why.”

“Looking through the old records… you said you were involved with the McKinnon murders.”

“Involved? I killed a couple of them. Did that Marlene bitch myself.”

“Did you really? Funny.”

“Yes I did and what’s funny.”

“Argus Travers testified before this Wizengamot that he killed the lot of them back in 1980.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Well, there’s obviously a false statement somewhere. Was Travers even there?”

“Yes. He led the team. It was Travers, Avery and the two older Carrows and me.”

“You do know that aside from you that lot’s all in prison or dead.”

“No. Not surprised.”

“You also would know who was in on that attack if you read the papers.”

“I was there!”

“And the ones who talked before they died or were sent away never mentioned you at all.”

“I wasn’t known to them.”

“You were with them!”

“The Dark Lord sent me at the last minute. They were not told who I was and the Dark Lord forbade them from asking.”

“I see. Moving along to Camden Towne. You said you were going to your flat but ran into Sirius Black before you could get there…”

“I didn’t say it like that, but yeah.”

“And you blew up the street killing all those muggles?”

“Yeah. Had to.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause Black cornered me! He was a Hit Wizard, you know, and he was not known for taking prisoners.”

“So you blew up the street and killed all those Muggles ‘cause Black was not known for taking prisoners?”

“He was going to kill me!”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No, but everyone knew he cursed first and questioned the corpse later!”

“I see. So you feared for your life?”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you take Black on?”

“He was better than me! I had to get away!”

“I see. Who told you that Black was such a vicious Hit Wizard?”

“Um… I don’t know. It was common knowledge. He worked with Moody, after all and that was another cold blooded killer. We all knew he was bad news. His own Cousin put a price on his head.”

“That was Bellatrix Lestrange?”

“Yeah. She really hated Black.”

“‘Cause he was a killer?”

“Well… no. In part, maybe. He was a traitor to his kind and a killer. He killed proper Pure-bloods without regret and without hesitation!”

“You knew him in school, yes?”

“In my misguided youth I thought he was a friend.”

“How many proper Pure-bloods did he kill at school?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you actually see him kill anyone while you were at school?”

“No.”

“Did any proper Pure-bloods, as you say, die at that school while you were there?”

“At school?”

“Yes, inside the castle.”

“No. No one inside the castle.”

“What about on the grounds?”

“There was Flint. They found his body at the base of the Astronomy tower my Fifth Year.”

“Who killed him?”

“I don’t know. They said it was a suicide.”

“Did Black kill him?”

“No. I know he didn’t.”

“Before that day in Camden Towne, did Black ever threaten to kill you?”

“Me? No.”

“Did he threaten to kill anyone else?”

“He threatened to kill a boy named Snape all the time. Never actually killed him. He once said if he had his way all Death Eaters and their supporters should be put down like the diseased animals that they are.”

“When did he say that?”

“After an Order meeting where Dumbledore had decided not to do something because people might be harmed. We were in a pub.”

“Was he drinking?”

“Drunk. James had to carry him out of there.”

“I see. So you killed all those Muggle ‘cause you were convinced if you did nothing Black would kill you?”

“He would’ve. I could see it in his eyes.”

“I see. Did he say anything to you?”

“He called my name. He snuck up on me from behind.”

“I see. So he didn’t shoot first and call your name later?”

“Everyone knew how cruel he could be. I wasn’t about to let him torment me!”

“I see. You said earlier you were coerced into becoming a Death Eater.”

“I did not!” Pettigrew protested. “I said I could see that happening, maybe. But there was no coercion in my case.”

“But yet you once opposed what they believed it.”

“I was a fool. I was young and impressionable and fell in with the wrong sort. Should’ve known better. After all, Black betrayed his own House, Potter was a Mudblood lover and Lupin was a werewolf.”

There was a gasp from many in the Wizengamot.

“Lupin? Who was he?”

“One of the three of them. Was in our year at Hogwarts…”

“A werewolf was allowed to attend Hogwarts?”

“Obviously, since he was one and he was there as a student.”

“And he slept in the dorms?”

“Well, he did,” there were more gasps. “But not on nights with a full moon. The staff took him out before that happened and brought him back when it was over. It was why we became animagus.”

“Oh?”

“It was one of the other’s ideas. Werewolves don’t attack animals, you see. One of them thought we could keep the creature company if we were animals.”

“As amusing as werewolf students may seem, we’re off topic. So, you say you fell in with the wrong sort then. By your own statement you joined the Order of the Phoenix right after finishing school. Was that before or after you started working for Cuffe & Doyle?”

“Before. I attended my first meeting a week after finishing. Potter married the Mudblood bint a month later and I got my job a few weeks after that.”

“Where you met some coworkers who showed you the error of your beliefs.”

“And then some, yes.”

“Did they know you were in the Order?”

“I don’t think it really came up. We weren’t really mates or anything. They talked. I listened. What they said began making sense.”

“Did you begin misspelling certain words before or after you became a Death Eater?”

“It was before. Some months, I should think, but I can’t say exactly when. I wasn’t really thinking of becoming one. I mean, I now believed what they believed and knew they were going to win so I was doing my part. But eventually it seemed to me a smarter idea to get in all the way. Didn’t want them to think I was reluctant or anything. Having the mark would mean power and position in the new order. It would mean more than who your family was. I’d be higher than Potter or Black.”

“I see. Your friends applied to become Aurors. Did you?”

“Yeah. Back when I was still deluded.”

“Were you accepted?”

“My marks weren’t there. Besides, they were only taking Hit Wizards at the time and that didn’t sound like such a good deal.”

“You went through the initial examinations, did you not?”

“They had us see some healers and some bloke who just sat there and asked a bunch of stupid questions.”

“And you were rejected.”

“I was. Got magic going back hundreds of years and I was rejected! I wasn’t marrying a mudblood or betraying my House and I was rejected! They took on the bloody werewolf and rejected me! They said I could still be a Hit Wizard, but everyone knew that was no job. You’re a spell catcher! Even if you survive, what can you do? Catch spells! I’m better than that!”

“I see. So you joined the Death Eaters because you’re better than that?”

“Damn straight.”

“You’re better than your former friends?”

“I always was and always will be!”

“Better than the heirs to two Ancient and Noble Houses and two students who stood at the top their year?”

“What they do to get that, eh? Two of them just got born! The other two cheated, obviously!”

“You finished in the bottom third of your class, didn’t you?”

“It was fixed! Everyone knows that Dumbledore rigs it for his types. Obviously he thought they were and I wasn’t and fixed it so they had the chances and I never would!”

“I see. No further questions.”

Interesting, Sirius thought when Bole sat down. He had wondered how anyone could put a less damning spin on the testimony Amelia had elicited and yet this guy had somehow. It was a bad case to defend, yet the guy scored some points, Sirius felt. When Amelia had sat down one would think Peter was a hard core Death Eater, possible inner circle material. Now that was questionable. A sympathetic member of the Wizengamot could see Peter as a delusional paranoid. This probably would not help him avoid Azkaban. But just about all his acts prior to that Halloween night could be painted as a figment of his imagination. Naturally, this assumed Madam Bones did not connect any dots.

“Any re-examination Madam Bones?” Dumbledore asked.

“No Chief Warlock.”

“Very well. The accused is released to Auror custody.”

As the Aurors came to take Pettigrew away, Dumbledore continued. “Given the late hour… You do have additional witnesses, do you not Madam Bones.”

“I do. A few Aurors who participated in the relevant investigation back then. I have one expert who will be named later. We have previously submitted for inclusion the entirety of the testimony obtained during the trial of Sirius Black…”

“I would object to that,” Bole said. “I know for a fact no one in the defense of my client participated in that trial nor had the opportunity to examine any of the witnesses.”

“The purpose of the submission, Madam Bones?”

“As per prior ruling of the Petit Panel, the relevance of Lord Black’s trial is limited to the events involving the betrayal of the Potters and thereafter. As you may recall, neither Lord Black nor any other witness offered evidence regarding the accused’s associations and misdeeds outside of that context.”

“I would add,” Malcolm Davis spoke up, “that some two third of our members were present at that trial and the subsequent review proceeding. I move specifically that we adopt that trial record for the limited relevance regarding the events leading to the assault on the Potters and the subsequent incident in Camden Towne.”

“Seconded!” a voice called.

“So noted,” Dumbledore sighed. “Any opposed?” Dumbledore did not oppose the objection for some reason. Neither, apparently, did anyone else. “The record is admitted per Madam Bones’s limitations. Given the late hour, perhaps it would be prudent if we recess until tomorrow morning.”

“Seconded!” a voice called. The motion carried and the trial stood in recess.

“Well?” Connie asked. She and Sirius were seated together along James and Lily Potter and his cousin Dora, her parents and Remus who were there as guests. It was a simple dinner in their new place. Anna was not with them as this was a weeknight and she spent such nights at Hogwarts.

“Technically, I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Sirius said.

“Technically?”

“Well it’s not really a rule or anything. And I know for a fact many of the others do.”

“How do you know that?”

“Not personally. But during my trial it was the topic of conversation throughout the Estates. True, the panel kept quiet about it. But the Wizengamot was quite talkative even though they knew that the matter would certainly come before them as soon as the Manor Court was done.”

“Well,” Dora said, “as I am not on the Wizengamot and therefore sitting in judgment and I was not part of the Pettigrew investigation, I can talk about it.”

“You were there?” Sirius asked.

“We were given time off from training to see ‘the trial of a real mutt’ as our instructor told us. You made quite the entrance.”

Sirius chuckled. “I was in the loo. And compared to Gringotts, it was not one of my more memorable ones.”

“Still. Shows up late with three Aurors all over him his first appearance in Chambers. Must be some kind of first.”

“Really?” James asked.

“The idiot in charge thought I was barred for some reason,” Sirius replied. “Don’t know what Amelia’s like as a boss. Moody would probably send him off for Holiday guard detail at Azkaban for being stupid.”

“Well, I don’t know ‘bout that,” Dora said. “Just a trainee, you know. If I did something stupid like that it’d be exhaustion drills 'til I dropped if Daniels had any say 'bout it. Then again, he’s done that just 'cause the sun rose in the morning. But he was right about the Veritiserum. I always thought you were kind of out of it under that potion. Pettigrew was real chatty.”

“That was out of character for him” Sirius said. “The potion does make you want to talk.”

“Anyway,” Dora pressed on, “when Madam Bones was done I would’ve thought he was just this side of Aunt Bellatrix; one right sadistic bastard as bad as any of them. But then his defense guy had a go at him and I don’t know. He just seems pathetic, now. Almost seems as if most of what he says he did he just thought up or something.”

“You can’t just make stuff up under Veritiserum,” Lily offered.

“No,” Sirius agreed, “but if you’re delusional and believe in your fantasy world, Veritiserum won’t stop you from living in that world. I can see how someone could reach that conclusion. Pettigrew claimed he killed Marlene McKinnon, for one.”

“I thought Travers copped to that,” James said.

“He did. Named his crew as well, most of whom were already dead. Never named Pettigrew.”

“Pettigrew says it’s ‘cause You-Know-Who told that lot not to ask about their extra member,” Dora said. “His guy kept asking for proof of what he said earlier and he always and an excuse as to why there wasn’t any.”

“Which could be the truth, or that of a delusional mind,” Sirius said. “I don’t think he’s delusional not that it matters really. Still, it puts a lot of what he might’ve done before betraying us into question. But I’m sure Amelia will tie it together. They got him dead to rights on the Camden Towne killings and his advocate didn’t really push that one.”

“Well, he did get Pettigrew to make it seem like you were a cold blooded killer,” Dora said.

“Back then and on the job, that was not far off the mark,” Sirius said. “I killed quite a few of the Mutts and seldom took prisoners. Then again, most of them didn’t want to go quietly and I wanted to go home so it was either them or us.”

“Thought it was an open and shut case,” Ted Tonks said.

“Pretty much is on the Godrics Hollow and Camden Towne stuff,” Sirius said. “Knew nothing ‘bout the rest of his… activities. That wasn’t the Peter Pettigrew I knew, assuming I knew him at all. But his lawyer did make it sound as if a lot of it was true in his delusional mind only.”

“Who’s the lawyer?”

“Some young kid named Bole,” Sirius said.

“The kid? Really?”

Sirius nodded. “Know him?”

“Not socially. He works almost entirely on the Muggle side for his father’s firm. Get the impression he thinks wizarding law is a major step down from real law. He’s pretty good on that side. Has a fair few Muggle clients.”

“A wizard?” Lily asked. “I didn’t know wizards practiced on that side.”

“Most don’t,” Ted said. “I do, but only for wizarding clients. You need a degree to take on Muggles as clients so most firms with business on both sides usually use Squibs for that. He’s an exception. Somehow managed to get into Cambridge. I’m surprised he took the case.”

“Seems to me his father did then dumped it on him,” Sirius said. “It seemed as if he walked into the office this morning and was handed the case and told to try it.”

“Doubt it,” Ted said. “The kid’s too valuable on the Muggle side to take a magical defense case for a guy with no money to speak of. He took it for some reason. You say that old Roscoe had it?”

“That’s what was said.”

“The kid took it from him for some reason. Roscoe doesn’t dump cases off on others.”

“He outted you, you know,” Dora said quietly.

“Outted who?” Andi asked.

Dora looked at Remus with a sad face.

“Me?” he asked. “What do you mean.”

“I forgot that bit,” Sirius said.

“He was on a rant, I guess, about how unfair life had been. Said nasty things about all his friends.”

“Made Snivilus seem civil and conciliatory,” Sirius said. “Polite even. I won’t say any more hygienic.”

“Then” Dora continued, “he said one was a werewolf. Got asked some questions about that. It seemed the lawyer didn’t believe him, didn’t believe there was a werewolf at Hogwarts but he wouldn’t budge so the lawyer moved on. But your name came out.”

“Just the last one,” Sirius said.

“Still,” Remus said. “It’s not a common name.” He sighed. “I wasn’t expecting this as a career, but I’ve enjoyed teaching a lot. They haven’t managed to keep someone in my post for more than three terms in ages and, well I knew this would happen sooner or later. I had hoped to make it to the end of the year at least.”

“What makes you think you won’t?” Lily asked.

“Please. We know the reality of things. Once the word gets out, the Howlers will fly and Dumbledore will have to let me go.”

“Harry and the others won’t like that,” Lily said. “They’re all on about how good you are. I swear, if some of them weren’t in Gryffindor they might rank you as the best professor at the school, but…”

“It’s hard to top Minerva,” Remus said with a smile.

“Minerva, is it?” Sirius quipped.

“I am on staff… for now,” he finished sadly.

“Rubbish,” Sirius said. “Bunch of narrow minded idiots are not going to run our friend off unless he wants to run off. Do you?”

“No. As I said, can’t say I want to spend my life at it and I have had some better paying jobs, but I do like what I’m doing now. But I don’t see how it can be avoided in the end.”

“True, I dare say the Board of Governors will have no choice but to listen to the concerns of the parents,” Sirius began.

“Perhaps I should resign?”

“Unless, of course, there’s something more persuasive than mere parents,” Sirius finished with a grin.

“You only get the look when you’re about to prank!” Lily scolded.

“Call it what you will, but hear me out and tell me it’s not a good idea.”

“It’s not a good idea. Whatever it is, it’s your idea. Ipso facto it can’t be good!”

“Was it like this when they were younger?” Dora asked.

“Pretty much,” Remus said. “So what’s your idea then? I doubt it will work.”

“You always say that,” Sirius protested.

“And without my input, I was usually right.”

“Fine!” he said with a false pout. “Right then,” he continued. “what is the Board of Governor’s top priority?”

“Maintaining the school’s reputation,” Lily said.

Andi snorted. “Then they’re sleeping on the job, Lily. Hogwarts has been the second ranked of British Magical Schools for the last seven years. We’ve been behind in Defense for ages what with the revolving door on that job and, more recently, Potions. True, our NEWT level Potion students are probably a lot better overall than when we were there, but there are far, far fewer. We turn out the fewest of any school in Britain. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a very good school. But the OWL and NEWT scores are down in those two areas as well as Muggle Studies and Divination.”

“I can’t believe Dumbledore would let things slip,” Lily began. “I’m still getting used to this,” she admitted. “He shouldn’t be letting things slip.”

“Might not be entirely his fault,” Sirius said. “After all, he is not the final say on a lot of things. He can be overruled by the Board and has been, I’ve heard. They sacked him last term for a bit, remember? Harry and the others told us that.

“No. Dumbledore’s not the key to this little problem. I won’t say he’s absolutely unimportant in the scheme of things, but he’s not the key. The key is the Board and the Board can overrule Dumbledore and ignore Howlers if it suits them. Hogwarts is like any other economic thing. That being said, what is more important than quality to an economic entity?”

“What could be more important to a school?” Lily asked.

“Money,” Sirius replied.

There was a pause before James laughed. “Oh that’s absolutely brilliant!”

“Bribing the Board of Governors is brilliant?” Lily mocked.

“He never said bribes, he said money. You did mean what I think you meant, didn’t you? An endowment of some kind?”

“I did. For shame, Lils, thinking I’d stoop to mere bribery! That’s so unimaginative; so pedestrian. An endowment is harder to hide or deny and it’s far more legal.”

“Okay, I don’t see how that helps.”

“I offer the school an obscene amount of money in a conditioned endowment. They can use it for scholarships, salaries, patching the roof, whatever, but they must abide by the conditions or they lose it all. Those conditions would be that Mooney here remains on staff without regard to any external influences and any parent who objects has one option: pull out their kid and find them another school. The endowment would have to be large; large enough to offset potential losses in tuition. I could make it more palatable by saying that his term of employment is for this academic year with rights of first refusal for next year and each year after that meaning they can’t hire anyone for that job unless he steps down of his own volition. Probably add something about his retaining his staff privileges as a permanent tutor. If they take a knut of the offer, they can’t get rid of him ‘til he says so. I could also add a bit where I have final say in any future hires for that position should Mooney step down at least for the foreseeable future.”

“And that would work?”

“Well, they can always refuse and we’re no worse off than we are now, are we? But if they accept, they bind themselves.”

“Doesn’t violate the School Charter,” James added. “They can’t be forced to violate that, not for all the gold in Gringotts.”

“And how do you know?” Lily asked.

“Granddad was on the Board. Told me a bit about that as Potters tend to be on the Board. It’s a magical charter. He said the price of violating it by those bound by it - and the Board is - can be nasty. But for those who don’t believe in that stuff, there’s a more tangible penalty: total lockdown of the school vaults. And we can assume the Charter is silent on the issue of Werewolves.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause Mooney here is one. He was admitted as a student and that did not violate the Charter and was hired on staff and that did not violate the Charter. There might be something about a Werewolf Headmaster, but it doesn’t sound like Mooney’s aiming for that job.”

“Merlin forbid!” Remus said. “Dumbledore has a nicer office, but I don’t want that work. Still, if word gets out - and it will eventually - I don’t think money will change attitudes.”

“Probably won’t,” Sirius agreed. “But they will look the other way if the price is right. True, there may be a few families who’ll walk away, but most won’t. Some can’t give up the scholarships. Many won’t want their children held back a year, which is what would happen or worse face placement examinations. Many won’t want their kids to lose the historic prestige associated with attending Hogwarts. It’ll make them squirm like worms, but they’ll grudgingly shut their gobs. Ten million should do it.”

“TEN MILLION! ARE YOU CRAZY?” Lily exclaimed.

“My husband is and can be many things,” Connie chuckled. “But he is not and cannot be crazy. At his level of wealth, it’s called eccentric.”

“Well,” Sirius said, “it might not need to be that much. But I’m sure by using the words ‘million Galleons’ I can get that lot to overlook anything that doesn’t clearly violate the Charter.”

“It could work,” Ted said. “Would work if you move fast enough.”

“Think you could set it up tomorrow while I’m stuck in my hard, cold seat in Courtroom 10?”

“Aside from your signature and final approval.”

“Then we’ll do it.”

“I think Remus should have a say, don’t you?” Lily asked.

“Thanks Padfoot,” was all Remus could say.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9 th 1993

For two days it seemed that Madam Bones had paraded a veritable “Who’s Who” of the Ministry’s Auror Corps into the witness box. All had been Auror’s or at least Hit Wizards back during the war and all had been involved in the various arrests and investigations of the incidents Pettigrew had spoken of when he was questioned. She included a pair who had been investigating the Daily Prophet. They said it had led nowhere, really. While they were certain the Death Eaters had someone inside, they had no idea if that was deliberate or merely a fortuitous circumstance of employment and had no idea that the paper was being used as a method of communicating orders for attacks and other nefarious activities. It seemed one of the glaring omissions in the investigation years ago was not learning how that organization communicated. Allistor Moody himself testified about that omission. They investigated such things when they could, but things being as they were they usually had to drop such inquiries to deal with more pressing cases of mass murder and such. Once the War was over, DMLE felt there was no immediate need so the resources were not allocated for what would have been an archival investigation as in something that would never be used outside of archival information.

Aside from the Camden Towne incident, Pettigrew had never been a “person of interest” to DMLE. But that was not to say his story could be nothing more than the figment of his deluded imagination. Far more often than not, DMLE was certain that while it had bagged or killed many of the Death Eaters involved in the attacks, it had not caught all of them nor did it know who the others were.

“They were very compartmentalized,” Moody had said. “While there were those in the upper echelon who knew what was going to happen, the low level types often found out about other activities the way the rest of the Wizarding World did when it appeared in the papers. Low level Death Eaters seldom knew anyone outside of their operational cell and maybe a few of the high level, inner circle types; those who were already known to us anyway. And those inner circle types might know the cell leaders, but not many and certainly not all of his subordinates. When we caught a mutt, he could give us something but few could give us a lot and no mutt could give us everything.”

“So it is possible that other Death Eaters would not know Pettigrew was one of them?” Madam Bones asked.

“If he was low level, I’d say probable outside of the other mutts in his little group and a handful of superiors who had a need to know.”

“Is it possible he could’ve been assigned to another group for a job and they would not know who he was?”

“That was often done,” Moody replied. “If an extra wand was needed or allowed, the extra’s real identity was not revealed. Likewise that extra mutt did not have to know who he was doing the job with either. That way if one was caught, he could give up only his own cell and not the other.”

“They sound like a paranoid bunch.”

“That’s one word,” Moody said. “Security conscious are two more and vigilant is another. It certainly made our job a lot harder.”

“Pettigrew claims his mark is invisible…”

“Not much of a claim. In most cases they were to the unaided eye,” Moody said as he pointed to his real eye. “They had mutts in important positions that would’ve done them little good if all we had to do to find them was ask them to roll up their sleeves. You needed to use a rather complex detection charm to reveal a mark its wearer or You-Know-Who did not wish revealed; a spell that was beyond a fair few of our honest citizens.”

“Could Aurors do such a spell?”

“We could. But rules were we needed to have reasonable grounds to suspect a person of being a Death Eater before doing so. From a security standpoint, I admit it would’ve been expedient to just do it whenever and to require it for anyone entering the Ministry at any time, even the Minister for Magic himself. But that was both impractical from a manpower standpoint and it would’ve conceded something to the mutts which was the same as conceding a defeat so we did not make such checks. Had we nipped Pettigrew at a crime scene, we’d’ve found his tat. But short of that or some other mutt fingering him to cut a deal, we’d’ve probably never known he was one of them.”

Over two days, Amelia’s witnesses explained away most of Pettigrew’s explanations. What they did not do probably because they could not was put him unequivocally at the scene of many of the crimes he claimed to have committed. He certainly could have been there and there was testimony to the effect that in more than a few cases he seemed to know things that could only be known to someone who had been there at the time, or at least had been there as part of the ensuing investigation. Those details were not in any public documents. But as Mr. Bole was able to point out, it was plausible that he had been there as the rat, a witness rather than a participant. That was a disturbing thought, but it was not a crime to watch a crime being committed. Sirius wondered how it would turn out in the end for those crimes.

The attack on the Potters and the events a few days later in London that left a dozen Muggles in pieces and scores injured were not subject to such questions. True, there were no witnesses to corroborate Pettigrew’s version of the events of October 31st, 1981. James and Lily were not going to be revealed to the rest of the world for that and they had not seen Peter at all. Sirius’s testimony at his trial went unchallenged, thus there was another witness to the change in Secret Keeper and Professor Flitwick’s testimony was of record as well as to what that meant: that only Peter could have brought Voldemort to the Potter’s safe house. He did not need to be in the room to be a part of the murder scheme (even if in reality it was only an attempt.) Likewise, there was little question as to the principal events in Camden Towne. All Mr. Bole could do was point out the obvious that there were two sides to the story: Sirius’s and Pettigrew’s.

One of her last witnesses was a younger Auror, one who was clearly too young to have been one back during the War. Her name was Hestia Jones and she had been tasked to follow up on something that Pettigrew had said a few days before. She had gone to Godric’s Hollow and found a large, lone oak tree about a quarter of a mile west of town on a rise alongside the road. She detected something magical at its base and realized something was buried there. She dug and found and old metal box. She said it was Muggle in origin and had been used for sweets of some kind, but that style of container was decades out of fashion. Inside, there was a much newer style plastic bag, one that could be sealed to keep moisture and water either in or out. In this case it would seem it was to keep it out. Inside the bag was a wand. She could not identify the wand as belonging to anyone in particular, but it had a distinctive, carved bone handle which was probably a later add-on. As soon as she was done, Mr. Ollivander was called.

“As a wandmaker, you are familiar with your own creations?” Madam Bones asked.

“Indeed, and not just mine. I can identify any and every wand I’ve ever sold even if it had been made by my great-great grandfather. I am, of course, familiar with the works of past masters and many of my contemporaries.”

“You’ve sold wands that old? Made by your great-great grandfather?”

“Older, indeed. It is as you know the wand that chooses its wielder and not the other way around. It is true that wands can be made custom, made for a particular user. It is an interesting process, but time consuming and expensive for the potential customer. Certainly, it would be inadvisable to custom make a wand for everyone. Most witches and wizards purchase their first wand from my shop, as you are probably aware and since I cannot foresee who they will be and what their specific magic requires, I make many wands even if but a few are sold in any given year.”

“If I handed you a wand, would you be able to tell me if you made it?”

“Most certainly. And even if not, if I sold it I could tell you that as well and I could tell to whom it was sold.”

“Just out of curiosity, how long have you been making and selling wands.”

“I completed my basic apprenticeship under my grandfather in 1906. My father lacked the aptitude it seems as did my son. The talent seems to skip generations as often as not. I’ve had the business as sole proprietor since 1933. I can speak to any wand sold from Ollivander’s from 1933 to the present. As to before that date, I can tell you if my family made it for certain.”

“Have you had an apprentice? Someone working at the shop who sold a wand in your place?”

“Alas, no. My son had no children and my daughter’s children sought their fortunes elsewhere as it were. I always have an eye out for talent, but no. While I dare say I do not fear passing for me is imminent, increasingly it seems that Ollivander’s may pass from this world with me. Most regrettable.”

“I am going to show you a wand that is of interest to this inquiry and would like for you to identify it if you can.” Amelia then handed Ollivander the wand that had been found outside Godric’s Hollow. He gasped and almost dropped it. “Do you recognize this wand?” Amelia asked.

“Indeed. I’ve come to regret ever having made it. I have not seen it in over fifty years, mind you, and have not wished to see it in the last twenty for certain. The bone handle is not my work. Most disrespectful. Then again, its wielder respected nothing and no one so why should I expect him to respect my work? Yew and Phoenix feather, yes. The feather came from a particularly prideful or reticent bird. I could not tell you which. Most excellent quality core. But alas, though I see him from time to time, he has given me but one other plume in the last fifty years. This was one of my creations, much to my regret and the regrets of many others.”

“When did you sell it?”

“I cannot give you a specific date without referring to my records, but I’m pretty certain it was the summer of 1936, just a few weeks before the boy who it chose began Hogwarts.”

“Do you recall the name?”

“I do indeed. I recall each and every customer I’ve had. But even if I did not, he managed to stand out in my mind and many others I should add. His name was Tom Riddle.”

“Riddle? I’m not familiar with that name.”

“And why should you be? While it was the name he was born with, it is not the name for which he is remembered. As Tom Riddle, he stood out somewhat at Hogwarts: Slytherin Prefect, Head Boy, exceeded as a scholar at that tender age only by our Chief Warlock. But perhaps he was not content with that. He adopted a nom de guerre which most do recall but few ever speak aloud: Lord Voldemort.”

There were gasps as one might expect when anyone uttered that name to another. But the commotion was short lived as the members of the Wizengamot more or less expected that identification after Pettigrew had said he had buried the wand as his insurance policy. With that answer, Madam Bones rested her case. Mr. Bole had no questions for the wandmaker and announced he would call but two witnesses which seemed to be appreciated by everyone.

“I call Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt,” he began. The man had testified at Sirius’s trial mainly about the so called confession. Sirius knew him from that time, although they had never been assigned to the same team. He was soon seated in the witness chair and Bole established that he was there pursuant to a subpoena and not of his own volition.

“Auror Shacklebolt,” Bole began, “for expedience sake and because the Petit Panel has so ruled, I would like to take your testimony from the Manor Court Proceeding of Sirius Black as read and I asked you here to expand upon it and clarify it in some cases.”

“That’s a question?” Kingsley replied.

“An introductory statement so that we’re both on the same parchment as it were. Now as I understand your testimony, you were at the scene of the incident in Camden Towne, London on November 2nd 1981, but in the follow up teams, correct?”

“The Auror side of the clean-up detail, yes.”

“Describe it to us please?”

“When I arrived?”

“A general overview should suffice, yes. Was Black there?”

“He had already been taken away as had the Muggle injured. The Muggle police was there in force although most were assigned to keep the gawkers away. They had a team that was going over the scene practically with tooth picks looking for evidence and identifying those bits that were human remains.”

“As opposed to what?”

“Apparently there was a meat pie vendor at the point of detonation and his wares were all over the place as well. I suppose the Muggles were not inclined to bag up splattered meat pie and try to pass it off as the remains of one of the vics to their bereaved relations.”

“Point of detonation? I seem to recall something about a blasting curse, not a bomb.”

“It’s a term we use for the effect. A blasting curse is a concentrated burst of magical energy that… well blasts what it hits. But if it should strike something that can resist the blast, such as the pavement of the sidewalk, it will reflect back and in all directions not unlike a bomb. If it is powerful enough and the reflection occurs close enough to the point of casting, the effects are almost indistinguishable from a bomb.”

“Quite a mess, I should imagine.”

“It was. It happened around lunchtime on a busy street. There were a lot of people who were too close. Not including Pettigrew who was believed to be dead, eleven Muggles dead at the scene and another died a little later at the hospital and over fifty injured or at least injured enough to seek their Healer’s attention. Four lost limbs but survived.”

“Changing topics, I recall from your testimony that the interrogation of Black was not… um… strictly in accordance with procedure, correct?”

“The man was unresponsive and borderline hysterical. He was unable to respond to questioning so it was hardly an interrogation.”

“Or a confession?”

“Or a confession.”

“Did that bother you at the time?”

“I regret not as much as it should have. I was not one of the arresting Aurors so I did not see or think I saw what happened and I can’t say I was privy to all open investigations. I had recently been promoted to Investigator and was young for that so I assumed the Head of DMLE knew things I did not. I assumed they had something on Black such that an interrogation or true confession was unnecessary. With all that was going on, I soon let the matter slip.”

“Did your impressions of those events begin to change at any time prior to the Manor Court?”

“I had pretty much forgotten about it until Black escaped back in July. I was put on that case so had occasion to look at his complete files and… it really made no sense at all.”

“Oh?”

“The common understanding was that all that was left of Pettigrew was a finger. I could see that statement although I would have believed it to have meant all that was left that was recognizable was his finger. The blasting curse, even if it reflects as that one did, does not truly obliterate a body nor does it banish the bits. There should’ve been bits and pieces of Pettigrew all over the scene. The Muggles have their ways of telling which bits belong to which person and which do not and we have ours. We can detect the residual magic of the victim in the bits of bone and tissue even if there’s no other way to say for certain that those bits were once a human. Our investigative team found absolutely no such traces anywhere. Unless Pettigrew was a Squib, there should have been magical traces of him in the blast debris and yet there was not. That meant there were no other bits of Pettigrew aside from that finger which made no sense. It was impossible unless…”

“Unless?”

“I spoke to Madam Bones about this and without more there really was nothing we could do, but she agreed with me. I read somewhere and expression. When you eliminate the impossible, what’s left however improbable must be the truth. It was impossible for there to be no sign or trace of Pettigrew - aside from the finger - in the blast debris unless there really was no bits of him in the debris; unless he was not there at all! That meant somehow he must have survived and gotten clean away and no one was the wiser except, as we now know, Lord Black but he was not in a clear state of mind at the time.”

“And what did you do with that information?”

“Without more? Without additional proof there was little we could do except look for more.”

“Did this affect the Black investigation?”

“Well, given other irregularities noted at his trial, it certainly raised questions in our mind. But without Pettigrew or Black, that’s all they were. Just because Pettigrew may have survived the attack, it does not follow that he was the mass murderer although it is suspicious especially as he had not been seen or heard from since. For my part, that information was not as damning as was the lack of any trial or any prior or ongoing investigation into Black’s supposedly well known Death Eater and dark activities. Before that day in London, no one suspected him or was investigating him about anything. In other words, it meant that all the then head of DMLE had on him was that interview and that interview was useless. We didn’t know what to think or do with it given the climate and our orders from the Minister for Magic. Then we got the Manor Court subpoena which was another odd thing.”

“Odd?”

“There hasn’t been a convened Manor Court in close to two hundred years and that was a property dispute between two tenants. Moreover, it was House Potter that issued the subpoena, signed by Madam Longbottom the House Proxy and issued through Gringotts, but it was under the seal of House Potter which could not be the case unless there was a legitimate Lord Potter. The only contender was a boy at Hogwarts.”

“So the thing was invalid?”

“On the contrary. It issued through Gringotts which adjudicates inheritances as a neutral arbiter. If Gringotts said there was a Lord Potter then there was one and as Head of an Ancient and Noble House he could direct his proxy to call a Manor Court.”

“Am I correct in stating that the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter is a minor?”

“Emancipated minor, but yes.”

“Emancipated as to many things, but still a minor as far as his Wizengamot privileges are concerned.”

“True.”

“So, his Proxy could have refused to call the Court.”

“True. But obviously that did not happen and as the forms were all in order, we had to comply with the requests. Still, we were curious. House Potter wanted copies of anything the Ministry had on Sirius Black. That too was odd.”

“A lot of people were curious about the alleged escaped mass murderer,” Bole noted.

“But no one convened a Manor Court and initiated a full on inquiry. We looked into what might be the reason why and found it, or we thought we had.”

“What did you find.”

“The current Lord Potter was next in line after Sirius Black for Head of House Black. The first thing we learned going through the records was that contrary to popular belief, Black was never disowned. We then learned that unless Black has a legitimate child out there somewhere, the current Lord Potter stood to inherit the Black estates. I thought House Potter was just trying to figure out where it stood.”

“In other words House Potter wanted to know whether it would get it’s hands on the goodies.”

“Objection!” Madam Bones began.

“I was not privy to what House Potter was doing and refused to speculate on their motives,” Kingsley said.

“I have no more questions,” Bole said.

“You received memoranda from me during the course of all of this, didn’t you?” Amelia asked.

“Certainly,” Kingsley said.

“And you have reviewed them?”

“I have. The first was around July 23rd assigning me as Lead Auror in the manhunt for Sirius Black and giving me quite liberal manpower support for the assignment. You stressed the need to find him as soon as possible but more important the need to prevent him from… well, from doing anything untoward. There were follow up memos clarifying that point and I suppose prodding me to ask for more than I had.”

“That changed, didn’t it?”

“August 12th, your memo to be restricted me to two Aurors for the investigation. All other DMLE personnel were to return to their regular duties. This was before we had the Manor Court subpeopna and when I asked you told me you had a very good idea where Black was and that he was both not about to go anywhere and was not an immediate threat. That was after the incident at Gringotts, which you reminded me was outside our jurisdiction entirely. When I enquired, you told me Black was already in custody, but in another jurisdiction; one that would not honour any request for extradition under our current political climate.”

“What was that climate?”

“The orders from the Minister of Magic was that Black was to be killed on sight. Rewards posted for his capture were clear that he was to be delivered to the Ministry devoid of life if they wished to collect.”

“Did I tell you where Black was?”

“Not geographically, it turns out,” Kingsley chuckled. “You said he was in the custody and under the formal protection of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. That meant as long as he honoured the sanctuary and stayed on Potter property, we could not touch him but were he to leave he was fair game. You also pointed out what I already knew: that Black had never stood trial for so much as spitting in an inappropriate place. House Potter’s position was clear, you said. Unless the Ministry rescinded its orders and the Wizengamot guaranteed a trial, even one under veritiserum, Black would never set foot in our world again and legal steps would be taken both here and in the ICW.”

“Did I tell you why House Potter had taken such an interest in Black?”

“It was because a dead Sirius Black meant that House Potter would inherit House Black and you said that the current Head would not consider taking another wife unless there were no other acceptable alternative. House Potter believed Black was innocent - they were right - and an exonerated Lord Black could get properly married and have an heir or at least a future Regent saving House Potter the aggravation of having to beget heirs for that line as well as its own and House Abbott.” By this point, Harry’s marriages to Hermione, Luna, Daphne and Hannah were old news. “While I was not yet aware of just how complicated things were on that front for House Potter,” there were laughs at this, “I could well imagine the lad’s reticence. I have but one wife. I do love her dearly. But one is more than enough, thank you.”

“No more questions.”

Bole called only one other witness. As soon as the man said what he did for a living, Sirius pretty much tuned him out. The man was a Squib, which probably caused a fair few of the others to stop listening. Sirius was not so narrow-minded and was becoming even less so. But the man was a criminal psychologist with Scotland Yard and Sirius knew his job was to try and excuse Pettigrew and perhaps blame society or some rot for what the bastard had done. He didn’t listen to the details at all; merely reread the letter from Barkin, the current Chairman of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. It was an effusive acceptance of the endowment with a comment that it was about time someone did something about the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ted had told them the letter sealed the deal. Ted opined that it remained possible that the statement about Mooney the student might not be remembered and even if it was it was possible the connection between Mooney the student werewolf and Mooney the Professor werewolf might still be avoided for some time. But the endowment now meant that job was under the control of House Black and if House Black wanted a werewolf, then no one could override him save possibly the Wizengamot. Then again, House Black was now part of the largest voting block with the other Estate Houses. It was not a majority, but it was large enough to keep the bigots in this room from mucking it up.

Sirius had no idea how long the Scotland Yard chap was on the stand. It didn’t seem long at all and when he was done, so was Bole and so was the show. When Bole was allowed his chance to sum up the case, it was entertaining if unpersuasive. He tried to paint Pettigrew as one who was merely hedging his bets at a time of “great uncertainty about the course and shape of our future.” He further suggested that Pettigrew was somehow unstable and that most if not all his testimony was that of a delusional mind and the Ministry had not provided any evidence that Pettigrew real did what he said he did, nor that he was even there to do it. He also suggested somehow this was all some kind of nefarious plot about inheritances. When he was done aside from the Wizengamot, everyone left the chamber.

“The case is submitted,” Dumbledore said. “We shall now vote count by count. An Aye shall be recorded as a vote that the accused is guilty of the crime specified in such count, a Nay not guilty and an Abstain for not proven.

“Count ONE: That the accused Peter Alan Pettigrew did on or about 29 August 1979 in Ipswich committed rape in that he had sexual congress with Darlene Doyle, Muggle age fifteen, without her legal consent and through the use of force and facilitated such rape by means of the Imerius Curse in violation of law, how do you find?”

“Well?” James asked when Sirius entered the room. They were waiting for him at Potter Manor.

“Life without parole,” Sirius replied.

“So he was convicted then? Good.” Harry said.

“Not quite that simple, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Not that simple?” Ginny asked.

“He was charged with a hundred and forty-three separate counts, most of which can get you life in that pit. He was convicted on eighty-seven of those counts, acquitted on twenty-two and the case was found to be not proven on the rest.”

“Not proven?” Harry asked.

“Our law allows for three outcomes,” Sirius said. “Guilty, meaning the evidence says the mutt did it. Not guilty, which means the Wizengamot did not believe the mutt did it. And not proven, which meant there was evidence suggestive of guilt but not enough to convince the Wizengamot of guilt. For example, it was not proven that Pettigrew was attempting Line Theft when he went after your parents with Voldemort that night nor that he was attempting it when he tried to kill me to get away. He was convicted of trying to kill us, but not that added bit where he or someone else stood to gain from our demises.”

“So that’s over then?” Connie asked.

Sirius nodded. “Dumbledore lost some points with some members.”

“Oh?” some voices asked.

“Once we finished voting on the counts, he made an impassioned plea for clemency. Made it sound like he hoped we’d give the rat a proper scolding and send him on his way. Talked about giving misguided souls a chance to redeem themselves and some such rot. Said something about the Veil being permanent, irreversible.”

“The veil?” the young people asked.

“There’s this thing in the Department of Mysteries called the Veil,” Sirius said. “We still have the death penalty on the books, although I don’t think anyone alive was around the last time it was used. For all I know, the thing doesn’t work. But it’s said if you pass through it you pass on. No one' passed through who has lived to tell the tale as far as anyone knows. Maybe that’s what Dumbledore was on about ‘cause it was clear Fudge was all for it in this case. Dumbledore wasted his breath and our time. Once it was clear Fudge wanted Pettigrew to snuff it, the Wizengamot stuck it to him. Peter got life and Fudge lost the authority to have anything to do with dementors and life and death decisions. He was rather put out about that. He was all on about how never before has the Wizengamot stripped a Minister of his any of his executive authority. Don’t know who it was who replied that never before had we Cornelius Fudge as Minister. Thought it was funny, myself. Then again, that incompetent fool had ordered my summary execution and I’m pretty sure that exceeded his authority.”

“So it’s done then,” Hannah said.

“For now,” Harry replied.