Chapter Text
Ancient scrolls and tomes were scattered across the worn oaken desk. Amelia rubbed her eyes tiredly before letting her head drop on her desk. Not even a week has gone by and her team has already come to a dead end. None of their records have yielded anything that could locate the missing child, neither dead nor alive. Countless rituals have been performed and each one came up blank as if Harriet Potter never existed. Amelia was at her wit’s end and was prepared to ask the Unspeakables for help. But the Unspeakables were tricky to work with. They were trained in a way to see magic. Their eyes open to the delicate lines of magic that ran through everything witches and wizards did. However, such profound knowledge came with costs, and often than not many Unspeakables came out changed. She met one who would often speak in riddles and give open-ended answers. But most of all they would become obsessively focused on anything strange, oftentimes forgetting their original purpose and she had already wasted enough time.
She could already feel the consequence of her vow taking effect. The unsettling tug in her magic and the growing urge to find Harriet. The countless sleepless nights were starting to show, the frizzed hair and dark bags under her eyes. She needed a lead. Maybe she’ll take up Dumbledore’s offer for help, he might have more obscure books that could lend a hand. Making her mind up she lifted her head and proceeded to pen a letter to him. Amid writing the letter, a knock sounded at her door. Giving a curt 'come in' the door opened to reveal a face that had been hidden away from the public eye for a long time.
Arcturus Black, the current Lord of the House of Black, strode in followed by a large ragged black dog that had an eerie similarity to a grim. Amelia put her quill down, eyes slightly widening at his appearance. The man hadn’t been seen in ages, so for him to come here meant something big had happened.
“Please excuse the mess Lord Black, have a seat.” Amelia waved her wand moving a pile of books off a chair, “what can I help you with?”
Arcturus slowly lowered himself on the chair, eyes looking curiously around the room taking note of all the scrolls and books she had. Some were on the border of being dark and illegal. The large dog shuffled close to a pile that had books depicting rituals to locate someone. She could feel the intense gaze of the dog, as she fixed a pleasant smile on her face.
“Have you gotten a lead on the search for Harriet? She is, of course, a member of the House of Black.”
Amelia froze at that, cursing herself for her lack of foresight. Due to the need to find Harriet she had neglected on looking into her files for any discrepancies, forgetting about her relation to the Blacks. Of course, Arcturus would come in to inquire about her progress. Thank Merlin she made the vow who knows what the Lord of Black wanted with the young girl.
“I’m afraid that’s confidential information, Lord Black. Now if that was all I need to get back to work.”
She moved to continue penning the letter when he replied, “Ah No, Madam Bones, I came with another matter of utter urgency,” he paused, glancing at the dog before gravely looking at her, “is your office warded for privacy? Will anything that we discussed be revealed to others?”
“My office is warded but I cannot agree with keeping whatever you have to say secret. It is my duty to report any crime,” she said pinning him with a determined look.
The dog gave a low wine, pawing at Arcturus leg, “Would you at least hear what I have to say before you do anything rash?”
This all sounded suspicion to her, was Lord Black going to confess to a crime? “Very well.”
“As you must know Sirius Black was incarcerated for betraying the Potters and the murder of Peter Pettigrew and some muggles in 1981. However, due to recent events, I suspect Sirius Black is innocent,” he held up a hand at seeing her protesting expression, “I have investigated his trial and found nothing. No trial notes. No evidence. Nothing. I have not come forward with this due to the recent unrest but now I believe it is time to rectify this.”
Amelia narrowed her eyes at him. The trial did not reveal any information regarding Sirius Black. So where was he getting this new info? She glanced down at the odd dog. Arcturus has never been seen with an animal and she doubts he would be seen with a dog such as the one he was with, skinny frame and dull black fur.
“Where did you get this new information?”
“A source of mine. He has agreed to undergo the use of Veritaserum to prove his claims are true,” he gave her a calculating glance before motioning to the dog, “I guess you should reveal yourself, I believe she has it mostly figured out.”
Her eyes widen as everything made sense. The dog was an Animagus. The air shifted as the dog became Sirius Black. Amelia tensed, her hand tightly gripping her wand. But he held his hands up in surrender. She didn’t remove her gaze from him as Arcturus continue to speak.
“My grandson escaped Azkaban and three days ago came to me for help on finding his goddaughter. We are on the same side, Madam Bones, help me clear his name with a proper trial and we will help with the search of Miss Potter-Black. The Black Library has more books that can help.”
Sirius had remained still throughout the exchange, eyes begging for her to believe him. She searched his face for any sign of the insanity that gripped him that night but only found his sincerity. She let out a long sigh, even if he didn’t escape, she would have eventually found out about his case and pushed for a proper trial. At least now she would have access to a much bigger resource.
Letting herself relax she turn back to Arcturus, “Fine I’ll help him get a proper trial,” Sirius let out a happy yell, “but only a trial. I will not be going against the law to help clear him.”
“Thank you, that is all we ask. Would it be possible to have his trial soon?” Arcturus asked.
She thought of what the court had going on in the following weeks, but she couldn’t estimate how long it would take, “I cannot say. It could be in a couple of weeks or months. But I can fill up some paperwork which will allow him to stay with you but under the pretense of house arrest.”
“That would be wonderful! I can start looking into obscure rituals and you can swing by anytime to help!” Sirius excitedly exclaimed.
A small laugh escaped from Amelia, even after so many years in Azkaban Sirius was still able to become excited.
It wasn’t a lead, but it was a start and with the Blacks, she was able to benefit without giving up too much unlike with Dumbledore. Discarding the letter, she had been working on she pulled up the necessary paperwork and began to fill it out, as they continue to discuss their new and tentative partnership.
Swift light footsteps echoed on the stone walls, the occasional swish of a cloak following. Severus reached the stone gargoyle and whispered the new password. Climbing up the stairs he let his thoughts drift to the events from the past few weeks. Lord Black had called for the trial records of Sirius Black’s trial, but nothing came up, leading to Black being on house arrest until a proper trial was scheduled. This threw the Purebloods into a frenzy as many questioned the trials of 1981. How many wizards and witches were thrown to Azkaban on suspicion only? Severus snorted, fools, the whole lot of them.
His steps slowed as he reached the Headmistress’s door. After weeks of delegation, the Board of Governors had kept Minerva as Headmistress. She, in turn, asked him to be her Deputy Headmaster. They had all the teaching positions filled except for Transfiguration. Posting the position so close to the start of the term did nothing to bring in any prospective teachers. Only Dumbledore had responded to it, but they have been avoiding him since the trial. He had been persistent in trying to meet with them, often saying that the trial was exaggerated in the papers. But he didn’t know that they were there. They saw everything that had happened to Harriet in that vile home.
Today they would meet with him. The start of the term was almost upon them and they had run out of options, they couldn’t keep pushing this back. Severus didn’t want him to become a professor, but Minerva had convinced him, saying that it would be easier to keep an eye on him, otherwise who knew what the man could get up to.
Giving a firm knocked he quickly entered the room. Minerva was sitting in front of the large oak desk, the desk being the cleanest for the first time since he’s been here. Minerva had put many of Dumbledore’s things in boxes except for a select few which seemed to be on the slightly illegal side. She had those set aside for blackmail. Severus had teased her about that for a good while, claiming it to be too Slytherin of her. She simply had smiled at him.
Minerva gave him a tight smile before he went to stand behind her, both waiting for Dumbledore’s arrival. No more than a few minutes a soft knock sounded on the door.
“Come in.” Minerva curtly said.
Dumbledore carefully shuffled in. He was wearing one of his flashy robes a deep yellow with moving bees. He looked older now than before. The slander of the papers must have been taking a toll on him. His eyes roamed over what used to be his office, a small grimaced briefly appeared on his face before smoothing out.
“Albus, I’m glad you could make it. Please take a seat.” Minerva motioned him to a seat in front of the desk.
“Ah, Minerva and Severus! It’s been a long while since we last saw each other. Pray tell, why have you been avoiding me? I have been courteous to allow you both to contact me with any questions regarding the trial but you both been silent. I expected something from you, Severus, since Harriet is Lily’s daughter but also because of the vow you made.”
Severus flinched. How could he. Dumbledore knew how much Severus cared, why did he act like he didn’t give a damn?
“Albus!” Minerva said in a warning tone.
Severus placed a hand on her shoulder giving it a small squeeze, “You know very well that I cared for Harriet, but you barred me from seeing her every single time. Your interference in the vow has made it void. She’s dead now. You can no longer hold that against me.”
A small smile appeared on Dumbledore’s face, “but my boy”
Minerva quickly stood up hands slamming on the table in anger, “Enough Albus. This is an interview. Not for you to harass my Deputy or for personal matters.”
The smile slipped from his face, his eyes losing their twinkle. “Forgive me. I seemed to have lost myself.”
Severus' eyes flitted between the two. Minerva was still tense as she settled back in her seat and started the interview. With each question, Dumbledore’s eyes dimmed with the lack of familiarity they were asked in. By the end of the interview, the man before them was not the Great Albus Dumbledore or their friend.
Minerva turned to him, “Severus, what do you think?”
Disregarding recent events, Dumbledore was a good choice for the position. He had a long history of teaching. Most years were of him teaching Transfiguration with a handful of them teaching Defense against the Dark arts.
“He has many years of experience and he will be able to quickly jump back into the role of teaching, right Mr. Dumbledore?” Severus drawled out.
“Of course, Severus.”
Severus looked down at Minerva. They had already talked about the benefits of having Dumbledore teach, what with his experience but also, they would be able to keep a closer eye on him. Severus didn’t know what he would get up to if he wasn’t occupied. With all that had happened recently, he still hadn’t approached him about the darkening mark, and it left a foul taste in his mouth. It was a sign of Voldemort growing stronger.
“Very well. Congratulations Mr. Dumbledore, welcome to the Hogwarts team. You may start preparing for this year’s term, books have already been chosen for this year and I have a draft of lessons,” Minerva handed over a few rolls of parchment to him, “any questions you may have, feel free to come to me.”
With that the meeting ended. They watched Albus turn to them with a questioning glance before closing the door behind him. Minerva let out a long-suffering sigh letting her head fall onto her arms.
Severus watched in silence. He knew how close they were, Dumbledore was her mentor for Merlin sakes! For her, this was so much harder. The person she had looked up to be the wisest and righteous wizard had turned out to be just an ordinary wizard, like any other, whose mistakes could have been avoided if she had tried harder. Severus knew she still hadn’t forgiven herself just like he hadn’t with himself. It wasn’t something you could forget overnight.
“If that is all Minerva, I need to get back.” He only got a wave of her hand as a response. “Don’t beat yourself too much about this Miner-“
She cut him off, “I know Severus. It's just...I don’t know if I can do this to him. He was my mentor. I looked up to him… and now… I…” she struggled to find words to say, but Severus already knew what she wanted to say.
He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, “We’re doing it for Harriet. We can’t forgive him so soon. He needs to prove to us he deserves our forgiveness.” But only our forgiveness and not our loyalty, no longer will they be infatuated with him as before. They will never again turn a blind eye to a child.
Bold letters slashed across the papers strewn on the table. The Scandal of the Decade! was written across the paper, an image of Sirius Black being led inside of the ministry below. Sirius Black Innocent! another had with Sirius being led out with Arcturus by his side, Who Else is Innocent? had an image of those convicted in 1981, and Did Dumbledore have a hand on this? another asked.
The Daily Prophet had gone crazy with the news of Sirius Black. Constantly printing out something relating to him or about Dumbledore. The paper was constantly criticizing Dumbledore, as more time passed and no sign of Harriet came, from petty things such as his choice of fashion to his decision of pursuing to teach children in Hogwarts. Many witches and wizards no longer held the hope of her survival thinking she was dead.
The fireplace flared green as a tall figure emerged. Sirius had enough of the public badgering him with their endless questions. Each time he left the manor for his appointment with a mind healer, women would be throwing themselves at him claiming to know that he was innocent while others tried to curse him. He hated it. Why couldn’t they leave him alone for once? It’s been months already! They should move on! He shrugged off his robe, laying it across the chair before making his way to the library.
The library had become a second home for the residents of the Manor these past months. Someone was always there looking for some clue about what could have happened to Harriet. Amelia was seen so often at the manor that Sirius had offered her a room to stay in. They had moved on from all the tracking and locating spells and rituals to finding some clue on what could have happened. He glanced at the old antique clock; she should be arriving just in time for dinner.
Entering the library, he made his way towards the pile they had picked the night before. Picking a few up he moved towards where his Grandfather was. Arcturus was jotting down notes on a piece parchment while muttering under his breath about the validity of a certain event in the papers from a century ago. Sirius only caught a few words, but Arcturus thought it sounded outlandish, but it did have similar details as Harriet’s case.
Many of the books and scrolls they had taken out where about first-person accounts of bizarre things happening to wizards and witches. The idea came from Amelia who had suggested investigating cases similar to Harriet’s. Any remotely similar case was to be checked for validity and then they would go from there. So far, they had found only a few accounts that had little similarities. Opening a book, he dove right in.
Susan liked coming to the Black Manor. It was larger than her aunt’s house with so many different rooms and a large library where her aunt spent most of the time in. Sometimes there would big a great big dog, Padfoot, who would come to her for cuddles and everyone was nice too! Even the man who everyone said was evil, even after he was proven to be innocent. She couldn’t understand why people still thought that the facts don’t lie after all. He was nice and would sneak her some sweets after dinner.
They came so often here, that Mr. Black and Lord Black were kind enough to give them rooms. Susan liked having two rooms, but she loved her small room at her aunt’s house it was cozy. Humming a happy tune, she finished packing her bag for the weekend.
Taking her bag, she moved to the outside of her room and called down to her aunt, “I’m ready Aunty Amelia!”
“Do you have everything?”
“Yes!” Susan skipped down to met her. Slipping her small hand into Amelia’s she tugged her forward, excited to see Padfoot and everyone else.
Amelia laughed, “Excited, aren’t you?”
“Yup! I know you go to find Harriet with them but they’re nice and I like them.” Susan stopped, nibbling her lip as she concentrated on her next words, “when you find where Harriet is, can I talk to her?”
Amelia stopped walking to look at her niece, “I don’t know Suzy, she might not want to.”
Susan looked up at Amelia, eyes bright with determination, “I know, but I can try! And I only want to ask her if she’s happy now.”
Amelia hummed softly, “of course.” She brought them to the end of the property before apparating away.
Hours later a house elf came in to tell them Amelia had arrived, and dinner would be served in few minutes. Arcturus waved him off and headed to the dining room. Quickly shifting into his Animagus form he bounded off to where Amelia and her niece Susan were waiting, tail wagging furiously. Sirius couldn’t thank her enough. She had pulled some strings in the ministry which led to a much earlier trial for him. Not only that but after asking his Grandfather about the vow she made he had a deeper respect for her. She was sacrificing so much for his Bambi, a girl she never had met but was still trying to do everything in her power to protect. He couldn’t help but think she was an angel.
He bounded forward to where Susan was. She let out a cry of laughter, running forward to pet him. Amelia took one glance at him and shook her head fondly, “Sirius stop playing around,” a smile tugging on her lips, “we have work to do.”
“Aunty it's Padfoot!” Sirius gave a loud bark in response. Amelia shook her head.
Shifting back Sirius, lifted a squealing Susan hosting her on his hip and gave Amelia a big grin, “You wound me! I’ve been working all day! I deserve a small break after all.” He swung an arm on her pulling her towards the dining room.
“Well, I have been working all day and I’m not complaining when I’m going to get back to it.” This was something he liked about her. He didn’t have the patient for researching but she had made him see it differently, equally as important as charging into battle. She also made it more interesting.
Both Amelia and Susan had brightened up his life a lot. Susan and her cheerful outlook and curious questions had made his heart clench each time as he tried to imagine Bambi with them too. It made him even more determined to find her. To dig deeper into archives of newspapers and to get better for her.
Arriving, Amelia and Susan greeted Arcturus before he led them to their seats. Once they were all seated food appeared on the table. A few minutes of comfortable silence past before Amelia broke it by asking what they were able to find so far. Sirius went first giving a rough summary of what he was able to find and what he didn’t want to know.
It was when Arcturus was giving his review that Amelia stopped him. “What you’re saying sounds a lot like what happened. Did it have any more details?” Hope gripped Sirius’ heart. Maybe this was the lead that they were looking for.
“No, the article was short and vague, but it did mention the name of the wizard, Rainstone.”
“Rainstone,” he muttered. The name had a vague ring to it, Sirius knew he heard that name somewhere.
“Have you heard of it before?” Amelia asked.
“I… I think so… but I don’t remember where.” Sirius struggled with recalling when and where he heard it but kept coming up blank.
Amelia must have seen some distress in his face because she laid a hand on his in a sign of comfort. “Don’t stress yourself. We have a name that can point us in the right direction,” he gave her a stiff nod in response, “I’ll ask around for any records on Rainstone in the Ministry.”
“That would be appreciated, Amelia.”
Sirius blankly looked on. Confusion was written on his face as he struggled with the fact that the Dementors might have started to take his memories from him. Would he be able to get them back? What else did he lose? His hands formed into fists as anger bubbled inside of him. “Damn it!” he slammed his fists on the table startling both his grandfather and Amelia from their quiet conversation and Susan from her dinner.
Arcturus became grave as he took in Sirius stiff stance, rage radiating from him. Amelia quickly move to him, placing both hands on him trying to push him back down.
“What’s wrong?” her soft soothing voice broke through the rage Sirius was flooded in.
“The Bloody Dementors that’s what’s wrong!” he gritted out, letting her push him down.
She let out a slow breath, “Explain.”
Arcturus placed a teacup in front of him, soft steam floating out. Taking a sip, he felt the soothing effect of the calming draught. Feeling the anger drain out of him, he slowly organized his thoughts. “They took my memories. I know they did! What else did those monsters do to me?” Muted panic replaced the dull anger in him as vague ideas started to form in his mind. What did they take? And how much did they take? How much of his memories was he missing?
“Stop right there Sirius. We don’t know how much damage they did to you in Azkaban, that’s why you’re seeing a mind healer so they can help you heal.” Amelia hesitated before softly saying, “we don’t know if you’ll ever recover all of your memories.”
Sirius turned away from the concerned looks. He didn’t want to be pitied. He was so busy guarding his last memories of James, Lily, and little Harriet that he didn’t even realize he was missing something.
“I…I need some time to myself.” He wouldn’t be able to keep himself together any longer if he stayed. The burning in his eyes made him rush towards his room. Closing the door, he let the darkness settle on him like an old friend. Sliding down to the floor he let out a choked sob. Nothing was going to make this better. He desperately tried to hold the sobs in. Hands covering his face, mouth biting on the soft flesh of his fist, anything to keep them back. What happened to the proud Gryffindor he was? To the determination, courage, and bravery? To the hope of a better tomorrow? He can’t lose hope not after so much. Clinging to the small shard of light he let his heart cry out.