Chapter Text
The hall was silent as Sirius sat down beside Jeramiah and Jonah, reporters were quiet and even the scratching of quills couldn’t be heard. The suit they had tailored according to Sirius's twenty one year old body still hung off him and his hair was still unkempt. His skin was sallow and gaunt and he looked like he would blow over in a stiff breeze. It hurt Harry's heart to see his godfather like this but he knew that with time and healing he would look better. “Sirius Orion Black III, do you consent to the use of veritiserum for today’s trial?” Sirius nodded a little as he took the chair in between the McKinley brothers and someone came and dropped three drops on his tongue. Madame Bones stood then and smiled “We need to verify its working, for the record please state your date of birth.” Sirius coughed a little as his eyes glazed over
S: “3rd November 1959.”
B: Who was your birth mother?
S: Walburga Astoria Black
Amelia asked for some water for Sirius and deemed the serum working. Opening the manila folder in front of her she turned her attention once more to Sirius.
B: Were you at any point during the period of July 31st 1980 and October 31st 1981 a secret keeper for the fidelius charm for James and Lily Potter?
S: No, we were going to use me but James said it would be too obvious
B: did you know tell the dark lord at any point of any of the locations of the Potter’s houses or estates?
S: No, I would rather die than give him that information
B: Do you know who was the secret keeper for Lily and James Potter?
S: Yes, it was Peter Pettigrew
B: In your own words please explain the night of October 31st 1981
S: I was finishing my rounds as an Auror when I received a patronus distress call from James. We had promised not to use then unless it was a dire situation as his was far too recognised and mine was the same as my animagus. I flew over to Godric's Hollow on my bike but when I arrived...it was too late. I rushed to try and find anyone and when I found Harry alive I sobbed. I heard someone arriving downstairs so grabbed Harry in a blanket and was ready to fight but it was just Hagrid. He told me he’d seen Peter not far from the house and I could still catch him if I hurried. I gave Harry to Hagrid and went after Peter. I eventually found him in a muggle District but he began shouting about how I had killed Lily and James and then hit a telephone box which caused an explosion...he cut his own finger off and escaped in his animagus form whilst I was left speechless.
B: when you were arrested you were reported to have been saying “Its all my fault, I did it” can you explain this?
S: I had, I had condemned them to death. Lils and I had our suspicions about Peter but we still allowed him to be the secret keeper and it was them who paid the price.
B: Have you ever been a Death Eater marked or unmarked?
S: Hell No! I would rather eat off my own hand
B: Have you ever given information to the dark lord in any way shape or form?
S: No, I would never
Amelia then gave the signal for the antidote to be given and she tapped the manila folder so it copied and landed on each members desk. “Before you is all the evidence gathered for this case" Many started flicking through as Jonah and Sirius spoke in hushed tones. Harry held his breath as Lucius briefly looked up at him and then back down at the folder.
Pretty quickly Jonah was given the floor to explain the evidence and watching Dumbledore squirm whilst explaining his actions will forever be the memory that fuels Harry’s patronus. Throughout it all Remus is quiet but he holds onto Harry as if he’s going to disappear at any moment, scared that all this is some fever dream his mind has concocted to cope. “Its okay Moony, we are winning...he will be coming home" Remus gulps but nods as he hasn’t taken his eyes off of Sirius. “We the Wizamagot will take a break to come to a decision, no one is to leave until we have made our choice.” Madame Bones declares as she stands and with the Wizamagot leaves through a side door. Harry slumps a little as he watches the tension leave the room, all except Dumbledore who tries to approach Sirius but is stopped by the McKinley brothers who mutter something to him and glare. Jonah points to him and Remus in the stands and soon the slate grey eyes of Sirius connect with his and he sees life drain back into Sirius as he finds the faces of his pup and mate. “I think he’s missed you Moony" Harry whispers quietly and a pained chuckle that almost sounds like a sob erupts from Remus as his eyes bleed into an amber colour.
An hour and a half later and the Wizamagot finally entered the hall again and Amelia stood as she used the Sonorous charm to make sure she was heard “Ladies and gentlemen, we the Wizamagot have come to a decision by majority ruling. Sirius Orion Black III...you are hereby cleared of all charges and are given reparations of one million galleons. We know that no apology will ever suffice for ten years of wrongful imprisonment but we give one anyway. We are truly sorry for what happened and once you have a clean bill of health we are happy to discuss further ways in which we can help.” Sirius seemed to slump in relief at the verdict and from the sniffle beside him Remus was happy he was free. Jonah and Sirius shook hands as Harry and Remus descended to the ground level. Sirius saw Remus first and ran straight into his arms with apologies and a tight grip on his mate. Harry watched as Remus soothed Sirius and being a head taller than him had its advantages clearly. “Pads...pup is here...” Remus almost whispered as he pulled away slightly to show Harry. Sirius took in the small boy before him and smiled as he pulled Harry into a bone crushing hug “my gods you look just like Lily...except the hair...that’s a Black trait.” Remus laughed and pulled them both into a three way hug.
“Mr Black, it was my pleasure to represent you. Lord Potter-Black here hired me when he re-entered our world and I’m glad of our success.” Jeramiah smiled as he shook Sirius' hand and a few flashes around the room signified that cameras were taking pictures of the big day. “Come on Siri...we need to go get you healed.” Remus gently put a fresh robe over Sirius as he began leading him out and towards the floo network. Once back in the Leaky Cauldron the trio took the quickest route to the bank and with a quick nod from Harry they entered and went straight to Onyxfire’s office. “Enter Harrison" the goblin called and Harry laughed as he opened the door to see the dour goblin sat in his usual spot with his wife and healer Irontooth stood beside him. “May your gold continue to grow Onyxfire, we were successful and won the case...the dominoes have begun to collapse.” Onyxfire smiled widely and nodded “Brilliant, you’ll have to provide me a pensive memory so I may view at my pleasure the old goats fumbling.” Harry nodded and gestured to Sirius “We need a full healing my gracious healer, ten years of dementor exposure...” Irontooth tutted “Will you bring every wizard or witch in Britain to me young Lord?” Harry chuckled “Only those who deserve the best my fair lady.” Irontooth chortle at this and let out a full bellied laugh as she walked over to examine Sirius “They have feasted from you haven’t they...it will not be a once and done fix as I will require at least three rounds...” Harry nodded and looked at Onyxfire “Take it from the Peverell vaults.” Nodding he sent a note and soon Sirius was being led away with Remus behind him.
Harry slumped into the chair as he undid his top button and tie and smiled wearily “Well that could have been worse I suppose.” Onyxfire only nodded, shuffling some papers and making notes as he went. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable as the scratching of quill on parchment was the only thing to break the silence, Harry rather enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. Onyxfire pushed some papers towards him and muttered “If these were your accounts, how would you invest to make sure the most gold was reaped?” Harry looked at the papers in confusion, what was Onyxfire talking about? “To be a Lord amongst the wixen you need to show you have business smarts and are able to keep your Vaults full. Lesson number one is choosing the right investments...so look at the page and tell me which you feel are the best companies to invest in.” Harry chuckled a little, a lesson from a goblin, now that was one for the history books. Searching down the page Harry begun explaining his arguments to Onyxfire who enjoyed the lively debate and sometimes the disagreement that came with the young Lord's challenges. “You will make a fine young Lord Harrison. You are able to survive in a cut throat world, don’t ever lose that.” Onyxfire lamented as they finished and Harry felt an odd sensation well up inside of him...pride is what others would say it was. “Thank you Onyxfire, I’m honoured to receive your lesson in investment and look forward to applying it to my own galleons soon.”
Irontooth appeared shortly after to tell Harry that Remus and Sirius would be staying the night due to the blocks and compulsions taking a toll on Sirius and his body. Harry nodded and stood to leave, not wishing to burden his account manager any further when Irontooth cut him short “We are happy to have you as a guest in the family wing of our home The Jaded Caverns.” Harry turned awed, the foretold home of the goblins deep underground was an unknown to wixen kind, said to be sacred and untouched by witches or wizards. “I would be deeply honoured, thank you for the most generous offer.” Onyxfire nodded and stood to begin showing the young Lord the way to their ancestral home. Harry looked around astonished as they moved towards an lift and when giving Onyxfire a quizzical look he explained “Gringotts is our surface level, but The Jaded Caverns are way below the bank...in our natural caverns and away from the gold and wixen.” Harry nodded a bit dumbly as Onyxfire started the lift and the decent into the underbelly of Diagon Alley began.
The walls around them were sturdy rock and the floor wasn’t polished marble like the bank but stone and dirt which didn’t make it any less spectacular. Looking around whilst his eyes adjusted he saw humongous cave paintings depicting battles with different creatures and little gems embedded in the walls lit up tapestries of goblin warriors. “This has been my family’s home way before wixen came to the English soil. Our battles have been many but there is very few we’ve lost.” Harry nodded as Onyxfire pointed out a few notable paintings all the whilst Irontooth chuckled at her husbands enthusiasm and like of the child. As they walked through a tunnel an opening in the wall revealed a forge of some sorts with the dragon he freed in his last life stoking the flames. A twinge of guilt hit him as Onyxfire muttered “Our Hearth, as you may know from your last life our dragon Cyra. All our weapons are forged here as well as our armour.” Watching the dragon breathe fire into the blackened pit was mesmerising but he couldn’t dawdle in case he lost his host.
At least ten minutes later saw Harry in a guest room at what was known as The Ruined Palace, the history had not yet been explained but it didn’t look ruined. The air felt different down here and Harry felt his magic respond very strangely, as if more wild and free. Reflecting on the day, Harry beamed at his accomplishment and he knew he’d ruffled Dumbledore’s feathers but it was like a balancing act in a circus...to push him too far meant he could accidentally cause the man to snap. Harry thought on this and cursed his overactive brain, he was in Gringotts! The Lestrange vault had a horcrux and with it Harry could begin to destroy them and Voldemort. Drifting off into an uneasy sleep, Harry tried to make a mental list of his plans for the rest of summer.