Chapter 18
Getting Sirius into the infirmary was greatly helped by the fact that McGonagall had joined Remus in his sitting room. She actually embraced Sirius, (he was glad that Remus had insisted on a bath), and then chivied him in front of her like he was once more one of her lions who had gotten into a spot of trouble. Between her and Remus, Sirius found himself in front of Madam Pomfrey almost before he knew what was happening. He actually had flashbacks to his school days when Pomfrey bore down on him with a tray of potions and a stern look on her face. Well, that wasn't all that unusual. He'd been having flashbacks for years, thanks to the dementors. He took the potions with no complaints beyond a screwed up face and a shudder. He'd been in Pomfrey's care often enough as a kid to know when to pick his battles. Then the potions hit, and in the process knocked him out.
Sirius didn't know how long he'd been out when he finally woke up, but he knew he was laying down on a hospital cot and there was a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes a bare crack and looked at the hand. It was Moony's. He'd know those scars anywhere. Before he could let Remus know that he was awake, he heard, "It's got to be Professor Snape. He's the one they know you've been talking to and having him get things done. So of course he'd be the one taking the seat."
At that point Sirius realized the voice was that of a young boy. "Ok," said a different boy. "But if he's got that, then Professor Sprout needs to have Hufflepuff."
"Right, and what about Griffindor? It's the only seat left, what with Lady Evens taking Ravenclaw." Yet another boy. They were all close by. Were they playing some kind of game that needed the four houses?
"Well, we could go for a full complement from the school," one of the boys sniggered. "How about Professor McGonagall?"
"No, she's got her hands full with the school. Besides, I've got a better idea, one that will send those idiots at the Wiz a message." Sirius heard a rustling sound and then...
"OH NO, no way boys!" Remus protested, and Sirius could just see the memory of three other boys grinning at Remus over a prank plan. "You're not..."
"But it's a great idea, Uncle Moony!" said one of the boys, and Sirius froze in shock. "They still don't want to believe that werewolves and the rest are going to be a regular part of wizarding society now that Dumbledoof is gone. You're perfect to shove it in their faces without saying a word!"
"Harry's right, you know," one of the other two boys said. "It is perfect, and you were one of James Potter's best friends. In fact, you are the only one of his friends that's free and clear of any charges whatsoever, which means that it makes sense that his son would appoint you to the highest of his seats. Lord Black will have to chair his own seat, and that means that he can't take the Griffindor one since they ruled that every seat has to have the person who holds the seat or a proxy. Or at least he will after he's acquitted of any wrong doing in the first trial."
"We still need to pick someone for the Potter seat," the third boy said.
Sirius turned his head and opened his eyes fully. There were three boys sitting on the cot next to him. One of the boys was Harry. The pup was the spitting image of his father, with his mother Lily's eyes. The second boy was Harry's cousin, Dudley, if he remembered right. He wasn't sure about the third boy, but he thought he might be Neville Longbottom. The boy had the look of Alice about him. "If you're looking to have the Wizengamot throw polite fits, then might I suggest my cousin Andromeda Tonks? She got disowned for marrying a muggle-born, Theodore Tonks. He's a lawyer and she's a healer, the last I knew."
"Uncle Sirius, you're awake!" Harry shot off of the cot and was over to Sirius' side in a second. "How are you feeling?"
Sirius snorted. "Like a hippogryph sat on me honestly, but I'm so glad that you're alright."
"Now that Dumbledore is gone, stupid Merlin wannabe that he is, I'm doing great!," Harry said with a grin. "Now, you're going to be staying here for a little bit until it's time for your questioning in front of the Wizengamot. Since you never had a trial in the first place, that's going to happen first. Then once you prove you're innocent under that truth potion, you'll take the Black seat and there'll be a trial for the healer who broke his oaths and hurt Neville's parents. I really want the book thrown at him because he did what he did because they're war heroes and he wanted Moldyshorts to win, or some such shite."
"And after that, you need to start dealing with the Death munchers," Dudley pointed out. "You can't just kill them the way Professor Snape wants you to."
"I know!" Harry huffed in frustration and threw up his hands. "But I can't just let them go either. I have no power to put them in jail because they already had a trial. All I can do is use my authority as Lord Slytherin, but I haven't got a clue as to what to do with them!"
"Lord Slytherin?" Sirius asked bewildered, turning his head so he could catch Moony's eyes.
"Right of Conquest," everyone chorused, then the boys broke up laughing.
"There is something that you could do," Remus said in a drawl that had Sirius popping up to sit against the wall his cot was against, grinning his head off. What ever Moony had planned, this would be good. That was his 'this would make a good prank' voice. He glanced at Sirius and Sirius nodded. Whatever was needed to help their pup was fine with him. "The Black family hasn't been the nicest family over the centuries and that was before they began to go insane. Sirius told me about a ritual they had that they used whenever they thought that one of their own had betrayed them. It subjected the accused to a trial by Lady Magic herself. Once started the accused could not bribe, intimidate, or in anyway talk themselves out of trouble. She alone would judge them."
"So, dress it up like a dark trial, have a jury box of witnesses of some sort, with everyone hidden under heavy cloaks with you sitting on a throne, also hidden," Sirius added with a grin. He was so glad that Remus hadn't added anything about why he'd told the other Marauders about this particular rite. "You said that Snape was acting for you among the Death munchers?" he asked. He loved the name. He didn't notice accept in a rather abstract way that the loathing he normally felt for the man wasn't there anymore.
Harry nodded. "They don't know who Lord Slytherin is, few people do actually, outside of the family; just the professors here at Hogwarts."
"Excellent," Sirius crowed. "Now, you have him grab each one, and do each ritual separately. Maybe space it out so that the dread really creeps up on the rest of them."
"A particularly good suggestion, Lord Slytherin," Snape said as he approached the group. "If someone is judged by Lady Magic to have been unworthy of her gifts, she takes those gifts from them, sometimes if the affront is bad enough they lose their lives as well."
Remus nodded. "Best of all, Harry, is that you won't be judging them. You will be giving them to a higher authority. The highest we have, actually. The downside to it is that their heirs will have to be there to see the ritual, and if she judges that the heir is as bad as the Lord, well. She will do as she wills. You will not be able to stop it once the ritual begins," he warned.
Harry sat thoughtfully for a moment. "But the price they pay won't be something that I put on them. I'll just be asking her to see that they get a real trial, since they bribed their way out of the last one and I don't know what to do with them."
"Yes, and another thing," Sirius said. "If the accused is actually innocent, she usually blesses the accused. So don't make accusations against them. We'll work the ritual so that she knows that you have had them placed under your command and that you don't know if they are innocent or not. I've seen what happens if an innocent person is dragged up before her and those who initiated the ritual keep insisting that the accused be punished." The shudder he gave wasn't faked. His mother had been punished by having her fertility removed and being cursed to never leave her home again. His father had been instructed to remove Regulus from her care and warned not to try and remove Sirius from the care of the Potters. He'd spent his last three years of Hogwarts finally free of the banshee, knowing that she could never subjugate another child to her madness.
Harry nodded with a calculating expression on his face. "Let's do that then."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Harry is fine," Doctor Cooper said as he entered the waiting room. "The procedure had no issues, but we have a small problem. We can't seem to dispose of the scar itself. It won't burn, and we tried pouring acid on it but that didn't work either. Quite frankly we're not sure what to do about it although we're continuing to try. No one wants to have an object with residue from the Killing Curse hanging around."
"But Harry's alright?" Petunia asked, her first thoughts of her nephew. The others in the waiting room were still tensed, but all of them waited for Petunia to ask her questions first. She was Harry's guardian after all.
"Yes, the scar was actually very easy to remove and the wound left behind is fully healed. We're just waiting for him to wake up. That should be in an hour or so once the sedative has worn off. We'll keep him overnight for observation as we've already discussed, but honestly I don't see any problems cropping up with Harry himself. The scar tissue on the other hand, well I need your permission to bring in Goblin curse-breakers. They are the best at disposing of such vile things."
Everyone sighed in relief at this news, Sirius and Remus sagging into each other as Petunia gave her permission. No one had wanted to leave such a thing in Harry's head in the first place, but having laying around wasn't any better. No one objected to bringing the Goblins in. Dudley and Ron began a discussion into just why the damned thing wouldn't just burn, (Dudley had to explain to Ron that burning was the standard disposal for medical waste). while Hermione wanted to know what the differences were between wix curse-breakers and Goblin ones. Neville just sat back and opened Harry's Death Muncher notebook, (the official title having been voted on by all of them) and going over the plan for the trials. It wouldn't be long now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Draco Malfoy stood at the entrance to the Hogwarts grounds in his most formal robes and shivered. What Harry had chosen to do in the matter of his father and his father's so called friends was diabolical. He'd never known that the other boy could be so vicious. On the other hand, with so many people being so muddled up with other people's magics, it really was the only way that justice could be served. Not that Harry was treating it like a justice trial. No, Harry was treating this like a Dark trial, one where there would be no mercy - for his father - or for himself.
He glanced up at the man at his side. Sirius Black, (completely covered in a black cloak to disguise who he was), was now the official head of the Black family, confirmed by Gringotts. As such he was Draco's mother's lord, and Draco seriously hoped that Lord Black would take her back into the family once the trial was over. "Steady lad, your mother knows the ritual. She's seen it performed before, so she knows what to do."
"Are you sure she won't be hurt?" Draco asked. He was more than willing to do his part in this, but if his mother would be in jeopardy over this. That would be the last thing he wanted. His father could rot for all he cared, but his mother was another matter.
"No, she won't be hurt. None of the witnesses will be, and as I've said, she's been a witness before." Sirius laid a hand on Draco's shoulder. "You know, if this goes the way we think it will, you'd be welcome in the Black family as Cis's son. I wouldn't take your lordship from you, but there have been times in our history that an heir binds his future family to his mother's."
"A Family Alliance?" Draco perked up.
Sirius nodded. "You've done what no other Malfoy has done, and thus gotten into my good graces. I've seen with my own eyes that you're on your way to killing a Blood Feud with a good family. You did that on your own, with no prompting from anyone. That feud is unreasonable. It was started because the Weasley family turned down a betrothal offer almost a century ago. Merlin, that's taking things way too far. So what if one head of house doesn't want someone marrying their daughter? As I understand it, the girl already had a love match! You don't go swanning in to another family and demand a daughter just because you have money and they don't."
Draco snorted. He could see his grandfather doing just that. Thank Lady Magic that the old idiot was dead. With a crack of sound Professor Snape appeared in front of them, holding onto both of his parents. "Silence, from this moment forward you are to make no sound, Lucius," Snape said, releasing his mother's arm. Sirius moved forward and handed her a cloak identical to the one he wore. "Narcissa, you are to wear the cloak and say nothing. You are here only to witness Lord Slytherin's actions. If you are needed for anything else, it will happen after. Draco, stand with your father, and follow."
They didn't go into the castle. They headed deep into the Forbidden Forest. Draco knew perfectly well that they were following an already agreed upon path, one that his uncle used regularly for harvesting potion ingredients, but the forest was still dangerous. He kept looking around, hoping that they wouldn't run into anything.
The end of their path opened up into a large meadow, one that held a ritual circle at it's center. The stones were old, probable even older than the castle, and standing around it were ten cloaked figures, all features completely hidden. A single figure stood behind the altar. Draco knew when his father realized that there was about to be a trial because his father's steps hitched. Sirius and his mother joined in the circle of figures, closing the gap that had been left open for them. Uncle Severus pushed his father down onto his knees before the altar, and Draco took his place at his father's left, a single pace behind him.
Severus bowed to the figure at the altar, and stepped back to the ring of figures. He took a cloak out of his pocket and threw it around himself. It swooped and curled like it was alive, and Draco promised himself that he was going to get his uncle to teach him how to do that. It was most impressive.
Then Harry began the trial, calling on Lady Magic to rule in judgement over a man who had been placed under his rule. There was no hiding the fact that Harry was far too young, his voice hadn't broken yet, but it was far too late for the for his father to do anything about it. As soon as Harry began the ritual, a pool of moonlight struck the altar and the three around it. The light paralyzed Draco, and he was sure that his father was as well.
"Who calls on me?" a voice sounded out of the wind. It sang with a melody that was at once harsh and sweet.
"I do, Lady Magic as the Lord of Slytherin House. For this man and his works are now mine to command, but I know not if he is worthy of his magic. I have heard many things of this man, and many of them are evil. I know not if he lifted his wand of his own will or that of another's. This must be determined if he is to serve my House, if he is to guard the lives of the magical children of this land, if he is to continue to make the laws of this land and serve as your hand in the matter of justice. So I place him before you, Lady Magic and ask you to judge him, for I am too young and am not yet wise enough to judge him on my own," Harry said, spreading his hands wide and bowing his head.
A silvery laugh sounded out. "You are right to call upon me for this, young one. Would you also call upon me to judge all of those who bare the mark of the coward who flees death?"
Draco's eyes widened. Lady Magic was ASKING to judge the rest of the Death Eaters? Oh Merlin, they'd screwed up.
"If that is your will, Lady Magic, please do so as you will. I only wish to serve you and make the wizarding world a better place than it is now." Harry bowed deeply.
"You may claim that you have no wisdom, young one, but I do believe you are gaining it. So be it! On this night, I judge the followers of the one named Tom Marvolo Riddle, called Lord Voldemort! I sweep away the stain they have placed up on ME!" The moonlight flashed outward from the altar and Draco, who was quite surprised that he wasn't blinded by the light, blanched in horror as his father was literally burned away, each tiny fragment of ash lifting away in the slight breeze, until there was nothing left of him.
He held the contents of his stomach until the circle was dismissed, before he charged to the nearest tree to lose everything he'd ever eaten in his life. He could only wonder how many of his 'old friends' would still be alive to return to Hogwarts in September.