Chapter 2802 - Ch: 16-21

Chapter 16 - All the Trouble For a Rat

Getting the twins alone was proving to be more difficult than I thought. They were just as elusive as I thought they would be, especially if they were using the Map. I also didn't want anyone to know that I needed to speak to them about something so I had to wait until one of our Quidditch matches.

I stayed back a little longer after I got changed for the game and got the chance to speak to them alone. I asked them to meet me after the game, near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as I knew people tended to avoid it. I had to mention that I wanted to see them about a certain "Map" before I got them to accept my invite.

Knowing that I was so close to getting it, I didn't want to prolong the match at all. As the twins and I joined our teammates waiting at the door, I activated the Magic Perception spell. I wanted to go after the Snitch right as the whistle blew. As we flew out to the pitch, I gave them the signal to let them know I won't be involved in any plays for the Quaffle…

"And Gryffindor wins! Unbelievable…Harry Potter caught the Snitch in under a minute! Final Score, Gryffindor 150! Ravenclaw 0!"exclaimed out Lee Jordan.

The Snitch never flew out of my spell's range. As soon as the whistle blew, I knew exactly where to go. The only reason it took me as long as it did was because it tried to fly away by going through the Ravenclaw defense who were quick to send Bludgers my way. It was because I had to waste time dodging them that it took me as long as it did. No matter, now that the game was over and won, we could have the celebration for the win sooner and end it sooner, or so I thought.

It ended up being a lot longer than I had hoped, and being the star of the game made it hard to sneak out without drawing attention. I had apparently made into the record books of Hogwarts, joining in the top 10 of fastest Seekers to finish a game. I didn't care about that; I could probably beat the 1st place record when I mastered my wind magic so it didn't mean much at this point. But it did matter to most of the Gryffindor students. So, I had to stay for 2 more hours than I would have liked. By the time I was able to get away to meet the twins, they were already waiting for me with smug expressions that to be honest I would have had as well, if I was in their position.

"Oh, look brother, the top 10 fastest Seeker of Hogwarts, finally got tired of playing with his fans and decided to grace us with his presence-" Fred said in playful derision.

"-After, asking to meet us here himself, he has US be the ones to wait for him. I think the little firstie needs a reminder of how to respect his peers" George didn't miss a cue to continue with his twin's derision of me.

I felt a bead of sweat drop at the back of my head, I didn't want to get in a prank war with them. If they did something, then I would definitely retaliate, my immature adult pride and just as immature Potter pride would not allow anything else. And if that happened who knows when it would stop, and how many innocents would get caught in the middle. Some of my worry must have shown on my face because they burst out laughing.

"Relax Harry! -" George started,

"-We're only Joking" Fred continued. "Now tell us how do you know about this Map?"

"And how did you know we have it?" George asked right after. Their twins speak was a lot cooler than I thought originally. I thought it would be annoying but it was quite the opposite.

"Don't worry about how I knew you had it, and as for how I know about the Map, let's just say I know the creators of the Map." I answered trying to remain vague.

"And why should-"

"-we believe that" They asked suspiciously.

"Because I know the creators were Messrs. MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT and PRONGS. And if you let me use the map for a little while, I can guarantee you a face to face with one or maybe even two of them" I made sure to say the names in the exact order they were in, on the front of the Map to legitimize my claim. I saw that my proposal of meeting the creators caught their interest.

Deciding to test me one last time, Fred pulled out the Map and handed it to me and they both looked at me expectantly. If I did know the owners, they would have told me how to use the Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" I said without worries.

As the Map began opening, George took it back. I could have stopped him but I figured they wouldn't have tested me if they weren't interested in my proposal.

They took a minute between themselves to think it over before saying,

"Okay, we'll let you use it for the next little while-"

"-But we will be calling in a favour from you-"

"-One each, when we think that-"

"-We need help from you, Deal?" George asked, as Fred raised his hand.

I agreed by shaking Fred's hand with a pleased smile on my face. I knew their favours would involve some type of trouble but compared to what I was going to be dealing with, it was nothing. Maybe I could even ask them for some more help than canon Harry did in the first few years. I would be going through the dangerous stuff alone, but the twins were pretty resourceful. It would be a shame not to take advantage of their talents.

As we concluded our deal, George handed the Map back to me and before they went on their way. As they were walking away, I kept the pleased expression on my face but as soon as they were gone, I confirmed using the map, a fierce and angry expression took over my face. I looked down at the Map and looked for my shared room, for the name that I expected to be there.

"Peter Pettigrew." I said quietly with plenty of vitriol when I saw it.

Now I had proof that he actually an Animagus hiding as a pet rat. I didn't want to start kidnapping rats without making sure canon was guiding me in the right direction. Especially, now that this is a Potter-Marvel universe.

Making sure there was nobody around, I had Albie come get me and take me to the Room of Requirement. As I walked back and forth in front of it, I mentally asked it to provide a method to capture an Animagus and keep them from reverting back. And when I opened the door that eventually appeared, I was greeted with a study room. Specifically, my study from the manor, except all the books I had were gone. Replaced with a single book, that I called to my hand wandless.

The book didn't have a title but had a detailed drawing of a sea bird and the name "Cliodna" under neath. I thought the name was familiar but put it to the back of my mind for now. I skimmed the book until I got to the part about how to counter Animagus'. It mentioned how important it was that all Animagus' learn the myriad of ways they could be captured so, they were prepared for the eventuality. Hopefully, Pettigrew didn't learn that particular lesson.

I spent all night, past curfew studying the spells in the book and practising them on the dummies the Room provided for me. They were very advanced spells that were going to be a lot more useful than simply stopping him from reverting back to a human. So even though my magic reserves had increased, it didn't substitute for the practise I needed to master the spell. It wasn't until one full week had passed that I felt ready to be able to capture Pettigrew.

It was on a Saturday night that I decided to capture him. After everyone was asleep, I snuck out, using help from the elves and the Cloak, and went to the Room of Requirement. I asked it to provide a room that I could hold Pettigrew in and it delivered. There were chains, locks, hand-cuffs… more than what I needed.

I gave Sebas the responsibility of getting Pettigrew, he was the calmest and most serious of all the elves. I had instructed him to blind-fold the rat before bringing it back. As Sebas left, I cast a wandless charm on my throat.

"Luke, I am your father." I spoke out, testing the new deep voice I had thanks to the charm.

I voiced out some more famous quotes from movies I remembered to test the voice out more. I stopped when Sebas came back with a knocked-out Pettigrew, still in rat form. He had been blinded per my instruction, though I made a mental note to reward Sebas for using one of Ron's dirty socks to do it. This is the kind of initiative I love seeing from my elves.

I called on my wand so there wouldn't be any chance of me screwing up the spell I was going to cast. And so, with a determined swipe of my hand, my magic struck out towards Pettigrew. As the book said, the spell reverted him to the state where he looked like Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a man-sized rat.

His blindfold was too small now and I was getting irritated with it's smell so I vanished it and conjured an actual blindfold to replace it, while Pettigrew was still knocked out. I then put the chains, and hand-cuffs on him and then cast an overpowered sticking charm at the soles of his feet so he couldn't move about. Also cast it, at his blindfold so it didn't fall off. I then woke him up with a hard punch to his face.

He started shrieking when he came to, I stopped him by conjuring a mouth gag and shoving it in his mouth. I then cast two spells that mimicked electrocution at him. I had found it in a book from the library in the Manor, a book that definitely would have been in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library. The spells in the book were designed for fierce combat and dueling, too bad most of what I learned from the book will be useless until my later years.

I thought Pettigrew might be more willing to talk to someone, who he thought was on the side of Voldemort, so I pretended to be one his followers. A follower who captured him, to get answers about how Voldemort died, something I'm sure was on the mind of all Death Eaters.

"You're only going to speak when I ask you to, Pettigrew!" I said menacingly. "Did you really think you could betray the Dark Lord and get away with it?" I took out the gag to let him answer.

"Wh..who...who are you?" he stuttered out. Instead of answering him right away, I electrocuted him again then when stopped screaming from the pain I said.

"I'll ask the questions! Tell me, why did you betray our lord?"

"I didn't-" he tried to say but I interrupted him another electrocution spell that brought another painful shriek from him. When he stopped screaming, I started again.

"Don't lie to me. I know you were supposed to be the one to take the Lord to the Potters. So, how is it that you lived, but Lord Voldemort died? Why is it, that I found you protecting the boy?" I demanded.

"The boy...What boy?" he asked confused.

"Potter! You lying shit, I'm talking about Potter. You claim to not betray our Lord but now you are protecting the very boy he wanted kill." I yelled at him.

"No, I'm not protecting him-" I interrupted him again with another electrocution.

"Then why isn't he dead, why did you not take revenge for our Lord" I demanded.

"I…I was keeping an eye on him…for when our Lord returns…Please believe me…" he pleaded in between his screams.

"I don't believe you...So I'll give you one last chance tell me everything you know. And if I think you are lying at any point, I'll separate your head from your body." I threatened him.

My ruse worked out perfectly with Pettigrew being the spineless coward that he was. He proceeded to tell me everything from that night. Most of which I already knew, but wanted to confirm myself so I wasn't caught unaware by any detail from that night. I didn't want to face problems because I didn't stop to ask Pettigrew any relevant questions.

When he was done his account, he tried to beg for his life again but I had heard everything I needed from him. I immediately, knocked him out with a wave of my wand and then reverted him back to his full rat form. Then, I cast the spell required to lock an Animagus in their animal form, I would have to re-cast the spell every 3 days but that won't be an issue with help from the elves. Though I would have Sebas keep him locked in a small rat cage in Potter Manor, only bringing him to Hogwarts to re-cast the spell. I also made sure to tell him to always have one of the elves watching him, he wasn't going to get away like he did in canon.

By the time I was done with Pettigrew's interrogation, it was about 2:00am in the morning. I had Sebas drop me off in my bed before taking Pettigrew back to the Manor.

Chapter 17 - Meticulous Planning

Despite the late night, I still woke up earlier than my roommates the next morning. The lack of sleep wouldn't be an issue, I could make up for it later. After I freshened up, I had Albie drop me off at the Room of Requirements, and told her to take the watch over for Sebas. I would need him later in the day.

I walked into what was my very own virtual replica of the study from the Manor. With all the books, I had personally selected, on the bookshelves this time, it felt like I was back home. It made the atmosphere much more comfortable to work in. Without wasting anymore time, I took out a parchment to write a letter, one that I hoped would only be read by the intended receiver.

To the Respected Madam Bones, 

I am writing to you, to help correct an egregious mistake made by the ministry. I would have brought this matter up with you a lot sooner but I did not have proof at the time. 

I need to inform you that Sirius Black is innocent of the crimes he has been imprisoned of. Something that would have been discovered had he been given a trial at all. His admission should not have excused the need for one, I'm sure as the Head of the D.M.L.E., you would agree that rules and regulations must be followed no matter the case. And so, I will leave investigating the errors of the D.M.L.E department to you, it was before you were made the Head so I can understand if you didn't know of this. But now that you do, I hope you make the necessary steps to correct them. As for Sirius Black, as I alluded to before, I now have evidence that proves his innocence. 

First and foremost, Peter Pettigrew is alive, I captured him after discovering the location he had been hiding in. That should be enough to absolve Black of killing Pettigrew. As for the muggles, you can interrogate Pettigrew yourself and find out which one of the two, actually killed them. Though I don't think an innocent man would have stayed hidden as long as Pettigrew did. 

It was also he, who was made the Secret Keeper to the Potter's location not Sirius Black. The theory of Black being the keeper was spread by the media, it was not confirmed by the investigators. Again, something that would have been revealed had he been given a trial. 

Losing two of his closest friends, would have caused great grief and anguish and his mental state would not have been coherent and so his testimony should have been taken loosely. Since from what I know, his admission was made because he felt guilty for suggesting Peter Pettigrew to be the Secret Keeper. 

I have more details but the points mentioned above should be more than enough to warrant re-opening the Sirius Black case, though I do advise you to be discrete. The previous administration swept this under the rug to improve their political standings. Something that the current administration might do as well, to avoid losing their political standings. 

As for meeting you face to face or handing over Pettigrew to you, that will only happen when you agree to open the case. If you do, you can let me know by placing an ad in the Daily Prophet asking for a master teacher in Animagus' but has to be able to work with wizards who lost their limbs. 

I trust that you will make the right decision, an innocent man is counting on it.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen

Once I was satisfied with my letter, I called Sebas and asked him to deliver it. Though I did make sure, he knew that it was intended for only Madam Bones and nobody else. I wanted him to make sure, she was the only one who read it and if anybody else tried to, he was to vanish the letter right away. I purposefully mentioned the Animagus part in the letter, as I wanted to see how perceptive she was. She should be able to piece everything that happened from all the information I gave her, if not then she wasn't a person to rely on.

It was around the afternoon that Sebas left with the letter. I had hoped she would be home alone at the moment, since it was a Sunday afternoon. When Sebas didn't return for another 15 minutes, I figured she might be out or have company.

Instead of just sitting and waiting, I had the Room change to look like my training room back home and began training with the wand again. It had taken less priority over the last week, so I needed to make up for lost time. I ended up having all 3 meals of the day brought to me by the elves as I trained the entire day while waiting for Sebas to come back.

It wasn't until after I had my dinner that he did. Without needing me to ask Sebas let me that it she had gone out and only returned a few minutes ago when she saw the letter, he had left for her.

He described her to have become increasingly disturbed the further she read. When she had finished the letter, she blew up some of her dinning chairs in frustration. She then took out a small book from a hidden pocket and began writing in it. When she was done, she burned the letter. It seemed like she took down all the relevant details from the letter and then destroyed it, so there is no evidence left on her. Probably, understanding my worries about Fudge. She left immediately after, probably to start her inquiry on everything I mentioned. I didn't expect her to believe me right away, rather do her own due diligence and confirm it for herself.

I knew it would take awhile for her to do her own investigation, especially because she had to keep it a secret. While waiting for her to get caught up, I shifted my attention back to Quirrell. Since finding the Map, I had Nabel start watching over Hagrid and let me know as soon as he starts hatching a dragon egg. I was hoping he would be the weak link that Quirrell exploited in this universe as well. And from everything I had seen so far, there was no reason to believe otherwise.

As a side project, I had also began pondering over whether I should create a massive spy agency of my own but with house elves. Their ability to tail anyone, anywhere without getting noticed would be without competition. And I trusted nobody else with transporting anything of value.

I was sure there were more than a few elves, all around the world, getting kicked out from their homes by resentful wizards all the time. As per the case of Winky and Dobby, even if Lucius was tricked into it in Dobby's case. It still didn't change the fact that he was homeless after.

I did need to figure out a way to get in touch with all those elves but that would be something I left to my own elves, if they were also okay with it. I didn't want to force any of them, or any elves we would welcome, to do anything they didn't want to do. But that idea would only work depending on how much the rest of the world knew about the wizarding world. It would be useless if they already have preventive measures in place and until I could verify this, it would remain as another side project that I continued to finetune but without a timeline of when to execute it.

Anyway, coming back to Quirrell, in preparation for my fight with him I started visiting Fluffy again, but this time with as many cooked chickens I could bring with me, as in have one of the elves bring, along with me.

In the beginning, he would ignore the meat to attack me, but this time I didn't go in the offensive at all, choosing to only dodge all his attacks instead. He had no chance before or now as I made full use of my wand's capabilities. Whenever he came close, I would create gusts of wind that were aimed to push him just to the side of me. Because of his forward momentum and the room's size, I didn't need powerful winds to do so, just enough to move his trajectory. His size worked against him, as he didn't have a lot of room to manoeuvre when he had to resist his own momentum and what my winds added to it and so, would hit the walls of the room but harder than normally would have.

He would eventually get tired and go for the chicken, and I would remain where I was. Depending on how much energy he had that day he would try to attack me once more and our chase would resume until he tired himself out again. At this point I would have the elves bring some water for him and then leave for the night, to come back another time and repeat our dance.

It became almost a nightly thing, eventually he stopped trying to attack me, probably intrigued why I kept showing up with food for him and started letting me come closer to him. I don't remember how long I had to keep showing up with food but eventually he started letting me pet him and then started behaving like any other dog around me. Now, I was greeted with licks of death rather than bites of death, even when I came without food sometimes, I always did have a way with dogs in my old life. Not only was I having fun with Fluffy but I was also preparing for Quirrell.

The day Quirrell came for the stone I would, in advance, deafen Fluffy with earplugs I conjured. I already tested the idea by playing music with them on him and Fluffy had stayed awake through an entire song that put me to sleep for a bit. I had specifically picked that song for the test because of its impact on me, what with my difficulty sleeping.

Now even if Quirrell got past Fluffy before I was made aware then I could always wake Fluffy up and bring him with me. There is a reason why I spent all those years practising and training at Potter Manor. Though I was a first year, pulling off a Shrinking Charm on Fluffy was no big deal. I would make sure to enlarge him before reaching Quirrell in the mirror room, I was already coming up with excuses to explain Fluffy's presence.

Between my preparations for Quirrell and my kidnapping of Pettigrew, I didn't let my classwork suffer. Maintaining my top 10 status in all classes, except Herbology where I squeezed into the top 20. Stupid Plants! Our Quidditch team also continued decimating the other teams, to the point that we could lose our final game but still win the Quidditch Cup, though Oliver was very set on being undefeated for the year. So, we probably won't be losing that one either.

As the end of the year approached, all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. However this time, I was the one controlling the puzzle being formed, as opposed to Voldemort or Dumbledore.

Chapter 18 - Proving my Dog's Innocence

It was about a month and a half later that I came across the ad I knew to be a message from Bones. I saw it while reading the Prophet during Breakfast, in the Great Hall so I couldn't show any expression on my face despite how difficult it was.

"Master Animagus Teacher Wanted, must be able to work with wizard amputees.

-The Black Dog"

The fact that Bones agreed to open the case was great, but what really caught my eye was the signature of the request. It could only mean Bones had gone to Azkaban and talked to Sirius or she already had him taken out of Azkaban, then talked to him. If she had done the latter, then I'd be very impressed as she did it without alerting anybody considering there was no news of it in the Prophet.

The signature also told me that Sirius trusted her, enough to tell her about his Animagus form, Pettigrew's, and potentially of all the Marauders. Though the fact that he had Bones sign the ad with his Animagus form told me that he expected Remus to be the one trying to prove his innocence and get him out of Azkaban. As far Sirius knew, nobody else knew about Pettigrew's Animagus form so it wasn't the wrong conclusion to make. There wasn't any other reason Sirius would purposefully risk exposing his Animagus identity like this. He probably wanted Remus to feel safe talking to Bones, and this was the only way he could communicate that to him. I wonder what his reaction will be when he realises it's not Remus but his godson who sprung him out.

Now though I wasn't Remus, Sirius trusting Bones gave me confidence in arranging a meeting with her. I quickly wrote a note asking her to meet at the Three Broomsticks Inn, this coming Saturday at noon and had Sebas deliver it. Choosing Hogsmeade may raise some flags for her but I needed to pick a place that I was familiar with. I'd never been there but I at least had a general idea of it through canon, also it would be easier getting back to Hogwarts, if I needed to and the elves couldn't take me away for whatever reason.

The day of the meeting I made sure to arrive extra early to the Inn with all the elves coming with me, except Albie who stayed behind at the manor to keep guard of the rat. I didn't go inside the Inn but instead stayed outside under my Cloak and waited for Bones to arrive. I would have Sebas follow her into the Inn and keep an eye on her while she's inside. Nabel would be keeping watch from a far to spot any tails that Bones would try to put on me. Tipsy, would remain with me, ready to take me away at my word.

Bones arrived early as well, but not as much as I did. As she entered the inn, I saw her check the surroundings, probably making sure this wasn't a trap in anyway. It didn't matter since I wasn't going to go inside, rather Sebas would drop off a note, discreetly, on her person. We had agreed on a predetermined time for him to wait before dropping the note.

A minute after he would have dropped it, Bones walked out the inn and made her way to the location I had specified on the note. Despite it being an afternoon, the Inn was still too crowded for my liking. As Bones walked on, I followed behind her, under cover of the Cloak, while I had my Magic Perception spell activated.

Nabel and I had discussed on specific signals to send that could be caught in my spell range, settling on flaring her magic out in a specific pattern. And after 10 seconds of following Bones, I detected that pattern, indicating an accomplice following Bones. I made sure to stay on Bones but now keeping alert for her accomplice as well.

Since I was following behind Bones, she arrived first at my prearranged location, the Shrieking Shack. Thankfully, there was nobody else around at the moment. I stopped a few metres away from her behind a tree, waiting for her accomplice, who arrived about 10-15 seconds later. He tried to remain hidden but I had spotted him easily, hard to hide from someone who is invisible.

When I recognized who it was, I let my nerves calm down a bit. I was getting ready to fight if I had to but considering her accomplice was Kingsley Shacklebolt, I was less wary. In canon, he was a skilled Auror and was essential in providing help to the Order while working undercover in the ministry. I didn't need to be worried about him being a spy for Voldemort.

Though I was still hesitant in being pinned between the two Aurors so I didn't approach Bones, instead just waited, watching the both of them. After about 30 minutes, Shacklebolt moved from his position to approach Bones, and he happened to walk right past me without realizing it.

While under the Cloak of Invisibility, I conjured another longer, and much darker cloak to cover me. I then called my wand to release small gusts of wind to raise me into the air. I couldn't fly too high up but I could at least levitate a bit off the ground. Enough to make me pass as an adult, while covered by my new long cloak, it was long enough to touch the ground even when I was levitating. While I was doing that, I could hear Bones reprimand Shacklebolt for potentially blowing the meetup.

"Relax Boss, it's been 30 minutes and he's a no show. I don't think he showing up at all-" Shacklebolt tried to explain.

"Actually, I was waiting for the two of you to get together. I didn't want to deal with any surprises from you while talking to her." I interrupted him as I made to walk in view of them.

To their credit, they responded quite fast with their wands at the ready, as they turned to face me. I could see them a bit unnerved by my appearance but that was the goal after all. I looked like Zero from the light novel Hero? I Quit, but without the red glowing eyes. I would work on adding that to my appearance as well, I liked how intimidating the eyes made the character look in the story. It was Bones who spoke up, not Shacklebolt.

"You've got some nerve making me wait for 30 minutes. If you didn't have critical evidence needed to free an innocent man, I would have taken you in just on principle." She said sounding irritated.

"By the signature of the ad, I take it you spoke to Black about his version of the events that night and the possibility of Pettigrew being alive?" I inquired; I didn't pay any heed to her irritation of me

"Yes, I did. And his account lined up with your letter. The part of the Pettigrew being the Secret Keeper and how Sirius felt guilty for choosing him to be the Keeper. Which begs the question, how did you come by this information? Your demeanor does not match the "Wolf" person, Black described to us. So, who are you and how did you get all your information?" She asked authoritatively.

"My identity isn't what is important right now Madam Bones, rather the release of Black. I think that should take priority, before trying to figure out who I am." I replied back without pause, with a bit of force in my voice.

Neither of us spoke for a few seconds, and Shacklebolt remained the silent observer he had become. Eventually with a deep sigh Bones relented.

"Fine, we'll deal with Black for now but as soon as that is done, I will need to know who you are. You know too much for me to let you walk away at will, but I assume you knew that when you reached out to me." 

"Yes, I did." I said with a sly smile she couldn't see and continued on. "If you can get Sirius released then I'll be more forthcoming. Speaking of, what is the next move, do you still have to get him out of Azkaban or have you already gotten him out? When are you preparing for a new trial?" I asked hastily. It was getting harder and harder to restrain my excitement from showing. Not only about possibly getting Sirius legally freed but I was waiting for the moment when everyone realized it was me under the proverbial mask. Bones had to bring me out of my musings.

"I did get him out, and at the moment it's been kept completely quiet. I rotated the shift at Azkaban with my most trusted Aurors, apart from Kingsley here. They were able to get him out a few days after I got your letter; they will also stay behind at Azkaban to man the shift so Black's disappearance isn't noted until everything is resolved." She, detailed her current status on the case.

"That's a lot of information to share with me, isn't that against the rules." I asked apprehensive about her willingly sharing all this information.

"Maybe, but we need to build trust between us fast. You said you have more details, and well I want to know everything. That's why I'm telling you everything; so that we, both, are on the same page." Bones stated firmly.

"Alright well…"

Understanding her point, I told her all the details about the night that she probably wasn't aware of. Most of it where the specifics of Pettigrew's whereabout until now and some more details about the night of Voldemort's death; one of them being that Pettigrew was the one who took Voldemort's wand away from where it had fallen, after his death. That detail greatly intrigued her, and Shacklebolt who had to apologize when he couldn't help shouting out in exclamation. Couldn't blame him, news of the D.M.L.E. finding Voldemort's wand would explode all through Britain. Before I could voice my worries, Bones took care of them.

"Do not speak a word of this to anyone else!" She directed Shacklebolt, who responded with a firm nod.

We then discussed the particulars of getting Sirius a new trial. It, would take place the next time a full session of the Wizengamot was held, which was about 2 weeks from now. I wasn't thrilled with the wait but it did give us the time needed to make Sirius presentable for the Wizengamot. All the years in Azkaban had taken a toll on him and he needed a healer for both the mind and body. Two weeks would not be enough to get him to 100% but it should be enough to get him presentable at least. There was a reason why lawyers always had their clients looking pristine the day of trial, the image you portrayed impacted the decision of your case.

Bones said she would take care of getting Sirius ready for trial, and bring him the day of the trial. She begrudgingly let me keep Pettigrew, when I told her that he was the most important evidence we had and it was better to keep D.M.L.E. hands off him until the trial, just to be safe.

Had she known that I was just an 11-year-old child, she probably wouldn't have agreed. She, probably wouldn't have agreed to take the case at all, but as long as the ruse worked, I wasn't going to be the one to pull the plug.

The two weeks ended up passing by relatively fast; as I distracted myself with classes, studying with Hermione and Neville, training with the wand, playing with Fluffy and lots and lots of flying on my broom.

When the day of the trial came, I had Sebas be the one guarding Pettigrew at Potter Manor. He would only be brought to the Wizengamot when he needed to be, not a minute before. I wasn't going to take any chances of anything going wrong today. I had even made sure to keep him reasonably well fed and taken care of so there is no argument of mistreating a prisoner, or obtaining a confession under duress. He was always kept in a dark cage so he probably has yet to realize he was held captive by me this whole time.

As usual, my roommates remained blissfully asleep as I prepared for the eventful day to come. It was a Sunday morning after all. But unlike my roommates, I had significantly more important things to worry about than getting more sleep.

I told Tipsy to fetch my suit that I had tailored to fit me perfectly. The blazer and pants were a deep black, the same as canon Harry wore to Bill and Fleur's wedding. However, instead of the purple shirt and tie, I wore a green silk shirt and tie. The same shade as my eyes, drawing more attention to them. I also chose not cover my scar, I wanted to be recognized and seen today. With the knowledge of this being a Potter-Marvel universe, I needed to build a firm base in the wizarding world and today would be my first step towards it. I would have to risk exposing myself a little bit in the political world and hope Voldemort doesn't make too much of it.

I had Tipsy drop me off just outside the Ministry. When I got inside, I was drawing attention right away. The scar and my enthralling green eyes gaining immediate recognition as I made my way to where the Wizengamot meetings were held, Bones had been kind enough to give me directions. Most of the members were already inside, but a few were waiting outside, talking in hushed tones. Those were probably all the members Bones trusted to notify in advance, of the emergency trial she was going to call. Among the crowd, I also caught sight of a somewhat rough looking man in handcuffs, I couldn't see his face through the crowd though. But then, I didn't need to see his face to know who it was. He was wearing standard black dress robes, probably the only thing Amelia could buy in short notice.

All whispering stopped when they caught sight of me walking up to them. They were all stunned, as nobody expected me to be here. Understanding the magnitude of the moment, they all parted in the middle, creating an opening to the man in handcuffs. It was only when everyone was moving away did Sirius see me. I saw his eyes widen in surprise when he did.

"I thought…I thought I would have to wait till the Hogwarts school year ends before I could see you." He managed to mumble out after getting some semblance of control. And then proceeded to pull me to him for a hug as he knelt to my level, though it was an awkward one because of the cuffs. But it was still a warm heartfelt hug nonetheless.

"It's good to see you, Harry." He whispered in my ear.

"It's good to see you too… Padfoot." I whispered back in his ear.

He immediately pulled out of the hug to look at me in askance. He looked up and around before setting back on to me with more shock on his face. Damn it. I wished I had a camera, the expression on his face was priceless. Considering we were still surrounded by other people; I only gave him a sly wink with a knowing smile to confirm the suspicions I knew to be forming in his head.

It was then that Bones interrupted us apologetically, as it was time to head inside and clear Sirius' name. And we made our way, Sirius had to do his best to stifle his current emotions. I could tell he had so many questions about how I knew everything, especially if Remus wasn't the one to tell me. But all those had to wait for now.

Sirius and I stopped just inside the entrance, waiting for Bones to announce the call for an emergency trial. Even though we were out of view, we could hear everything going on. They were discussing the possibility of increasing the number of spells classified as Dark Magic when Bones interrupted the meeting to call for a raise of an emergency trial.

She had expertly worded it so all the members agreed on the basis of the trial before they knew who it was for. She hadn't named Black, but rather called him a defendant who had to spend years imprisoned without a trial and now had evidence proving his innocence. A lot of members were swayed by the breach of ethics and agreed for the trial. But pandemonium erupted when she announced it was Sirius Black. Among the voices, the one that stood out the most was of Dolores Umbridge.

"How dare you think to release the man responsible for betraying the Potters? How could you possible think to defend a man who betrayed his own godson, the Boy-Who-Lived?" Umbridge shouted out.

"I'm so very touched that you, all, care so much for my parents death, and the loss and betrayal I experienced." I said, having cast a wandless Sonorous charm on myself. It had the intended effect of silencing the entire room. Seeing that I had everyone's attention, I continued on. "And seeing how you are all so concerned for the justice I deserve; I think none of you will mind if we simply confirm that the right person was being punished. Especially since, there is new evidence exonerating my godfather."

"And what new evidence are you referring to Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledor from his position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

It was the first time he had spoken since Amelia had called for the emergency trial. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face right now. I knew him and I would be speaking soon, after this. For now, I put that aside and answered his question.

"To begin with, the fact that Peter Pettigrew is still alive." 

The room was filled with pure silence after my response. And then once again pandemonium hit the Wizengamot with many members shouting out all at once. I ignored them all and kept my attention on Dumbledore who looked pale at the reveal. Was it because he knew all along but never intended it to come out, or was it because he never knew and blamed Sirius, just the same as everyone else?

Chapter 19 - Trials For a Dog and a Rat

In the wizarding world, all members of the Wizengamot had the right to ask questions of the defendant and any witnesses called in support of the case. To keep things in order, one member would be assigned as the lead Defense and one member would be assigned the lead prosecutor. Usually whoever brought the trial to the Wizengamot would take the lead, respective of the position they wanted to argue. As such, Bones was appointed as the lead Defense and Dolores Umbridge the lead Prosecutor role, after she volunteered for it, thinking it to be an easy win.

To begin the trial, Bones worked to eliminate Sirius' previous confession, arguing the confession was made in a distressed mental state after losing two of his closest friends. In addition, arguing that the admission made was not justifiable proof of Sirius' guilt as he never admitted to any of the crimes he was imprisoned of.

"The defendant in his admission said and I quote 'It's my fault, it's all my fault they died.' That was the sole admission given by the defendant. No where did he admit to murdering the 12 muggles, or murdering Peter Pettigrew, or the fact that he sold the Potters out to Voldemort." Bones ardently argued. "And as Mr. Potter stated earlier, Peter Pettigrew was found alive, invalidating one of those accusations already. As for the veracity of the other accusations, I would like to call Sirius Black so he can clear them all up. And to guarantee that he will be speaking the truth, he will be administered Veritaserum."

Umbridge tried to prevent the use of the serum by citing Sirius' potential diminished mental capacity, due to all the years imprisoned in Azkaban. Bones, who was expecting that argument, provided a signed letter from a healer from St. Mungo's. It detailed that Sirius' mental health had recovered sufficiently enough, to be able to handle the serum.

I had been keeping an eye on Dumbledore throughout the trial and when Bones brought up the signed letter, I saw Dumbledore's eyes narrow slightly. He tried to maintain an even expression on his face but since I was looking for reactions from him, I was able to notice it.

Dumbledore wasn't stupid, so Bones providing the letter told him that Sirius was taken out from Azkaban some time ago, and this trial had been in the works for a few weeks and he knew nothing of it. I knew he would be asking either Bones or myself how this was all carried out. Hopefully, he spoke to Bones first, as I was wanted her description of informant she talked to, to cause Dumbledore to rethink talking to me. I wanted to add more mystery to the supposed guardian Dumbledore thought I had so he would be reluctant in approaching me, wary of the shadowy guardian.

As Sirius was brought to the stand, there was a renewed fervor among the members. The whispering carried on as a certified healer brought the serum. It was only when the serum had been administered and the healer had confirmed it's activation that everyone quieted down. Not a single person made any sound, as Bones began questioning Sirius, who currently had a dazed look on his face. The effects of the serum visibly showing on his face.

"Is your full name Sirius Orion Black?" Bones started.

"Yes." Sirius said, dazed.

"Were you born on November 3rd, 1959?"

"Yes."

"Were you named as the godfather to Harry James Potter"

"Yes."

"Were you the one who told the dark Lord of the Potter's location?"

"No."

At that response, many started whispering again but quietened down quickly as Bones made to ask another question.

"Were you the Secret Keeper of the Potter's hidden location?"

"No." Again there was subdued whispering amongst the crowd.

"Was Peter Pettigrew, the one who was made the Secret Keeper?"

"Yes."

Bones had to stop her questioning for a few minutes to give the members time to collect themselves after Sirius' answer. She followed up with asking him if he was the one that murdered the muggles and expectantly, Sirius answered in the negative. At this point, Bones demanded that all charges on Sirius Black be dropped and that he be given suitable compensation for the years of unnecessary torture, he experienced in Azkaban.

Umbridge tried to delay it by arguing that Peter Pettigrew must be tried first to confirm it was actually him who murdered those muggles and betrayed the Potters. Bones had countered that point by explaining that this particular trial was to prove the innocence of Sirius Black and the trial of Peter Pettigrew would be carried out after this one was concluded. As whether or not Pettigrew was the real culprit, it didn't change the fact that Sirius Black was innocent and had been wrongfully imprisoned.

Dumbledore called for the vote after that and Sirius was acquitted with a majority vote. I took notice of which members voted in the negative, eyeing them as potential spies for Voldemort. As the members were voting, I had Sebas secretly bring Pettigrew to me, locked in his rat cage.

As Dumbledore announced the results of the voting, I saw Sirius let out a deep breath. I could see him struggling to maintain the emotions he was feeling. He eventually looked my way and I gave him the biggest smile I could, to show him my support. As he was released from his handcuffs, Dumbledore announced that he would be compensated 50,000 galleons for the years he unjustly spent in Azkaban.

As Sirius was thanking Bones for her help, I made to join the two and discreetly handed the cage to Bones, giving her a wink that only Sirius caught. He had to stifle his laugh when he saw Bones' facial expressions change. It was when I gave her the cage with a wink, did she start to put the pieces together; I was the one she met in Hogsmeade not some mysterious adult wizard. She couldn't ask me any questions to confirm her theory as the trial for Pettigrew needed to start.

When Dumbledore called for the trial to start, this time Bones was appointed lead Prosecutor and Umbridge was begrudgingly appointed to lead Defense, who was not in a good mood, as she had been figuratively shown up by Bones in the last trial.

In beginning, she was confident in Sirius' guilt and felt it was the perfect time to further her political standing in the Wizengamot but as the trial progressed, she lost her confidence and knew that she had figuratively stuck her own foot in her mouth by speaking out. Dumbledore didn't account for that and had asked her to take the lead for Defense since she had taken the lead in the last case. She, desperately, wanted to refuse, it was visible on her face. But rejecting now would only make her look worse, as a result, she was more animated for Pettigrew's trial.

"What is the meaning of this Madame Bones, we are expecting Peter Pettigrew to take the stand, not some stupid rat?" Umbridge screeched out, trying to gain some sort of upper hand when she saw Bones place a small rat cage in view of everyone.

"I am well aware of that Undersecretary Umbridge, you do not need to tell me that," Amelia responded tersely and then proceeded to open the cage and levitate the rat out. Whispers of confusion sprung about, all around the Wizengamot, but stopped when Bones cast the reversal spell on Pettigrew.

It took a moment for Pettigrew to realize where he was but once, he did, fear began creeping on his face. As he began looking around the room, he froze when he spotted Sirius, who was giving him the most fiendish smile he could. And due to his shock, he never realized when he was handcuffed and forced to take the stand, he was still staring at Sirius in disbelief.

"Peter Pettigrew…Peter Pettigrew!" Bones had to yell out to snap him out of his daze. As he shifted his attention to her, Bones proceeded to list out all the charges against him.

"Peter Pettigrew, you stand accused of murdering 12 muggles, the frameup of Sirius Black, espionage for the dark Lord when he was alive and for being an unregistered Animagus. How do you plead?" 

"WHAT NO! IT WASN'T ME! It was Sirius Black who did it…he tried to kill me that night but I was able to escape and-" Pettigrew tried to loudly plead his case.

Bones stopped his account knowing it was all a lie and didn't want to waste the Wizengamot's time. She immediately had him given the Veritaserum, despite how hard Pettigrew tried to resist it. The healer administering the serum ended up casting an Immobulus charm so that he could be given the serum without issue. Once, the healer gave confirmation of the serum taking affect, Bones started her line of questioning.

"Is your full name Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yes"

"Were you born on September 1st, 1959?"

"Yes"

Were you named as the Secret Keeper to the Potter's hidden location?

"Yes," on cue, the whispering amongst the crowd started. 

"Were you the one who brought the dark Lord to that location?"

"Yes.", the whispering of the crowd getting louder.

Were you the one who was responsible for the death of the 12 muggles?

"Yes."

"Did you then frame Sirius Black for it, along with your own murder?"

"Yes."

"And finally, did you spend the following years hiding as a rat?"

"Yes."

Now whereas the members had stayed mostly silent through Sirius' trial, for Pettigrew's trial they could not contain themselves. Since Pettigrew's first response, they had been whispering amongst each other, getting louder and louder following each question and it's subsequent response. By the time Bones asked her last question, quite a few members were already yelling at Pettigrew, some calling for his immediate imprisonment, some even called for him to receive the "Kiss of Death".

Umbridge tried saving a bit of face for herself by arguing that Pettigrew was potentially forced by the dark Lord to do those things. She wanted to have some impact on the trials that would send the entire wizarding world into a frenzy. It was for naught, as Pettigrew was still under the effects of the serum. So, when she tried to ask Pettigrew leading questions that would prove her theory right, he ended up vocalising his jealousy of the other Marauders, and how Voldemort promised him power and position, if he gave up the location of the Potters. In response, Umbridge could only shut up and sit back down in her seat. With no more questions needed to be asked Dumbledore announced the verdict.

Unsurprisingly, he was found guilty on all counts and was thereby sentenced to Azkaban. His status as an Animagus would be registered with the ministry and would be taken into consideration when preparing a cell for him. Dumbledore left the room, immediately, after announcing the verdict. He didn't even come down to congratulate Sirius, like how all the other members of the Wizengamot were doing.

It took almost an hour for Sirius and I to get out of the room where the trial was held. Everyone was trying to curry favour with both, Sirius and I, acting as if they truly cared that Sirius was found innocent.

Eventually, we were led outside the ministry by Bones and some of her Aurors so that we didn't get mobbed as the news had started spreading throughout the ministry. It was the right call as everyone we passed by, stopped to pay attention to us. When we were finally outside, Bones had her Aurors step away a bit and then turned to me with a fierce expression on her face. She was probably, a bit, annoyed by the fact that it was an 11-year-old who put all this in motion.

"There are a million questions I would like to ask you Mr. Potter, but considering everything this ministry has put your godfather and you through, I'll refrain from asking them today. But believe me when I say, you will be answering them soon." She said to me in exasperation.

I only gave her a small smile in response and waved her good bye, as I signaled Sirius to follow me away from the ministry. He looked at me questioningly when I led him to a secluded alley but before he could voice his confusion, I called Tipsy to take us back home. Sirius' eyebrows raised in surprise as Tipsy appeared at my call and snapped her fingers to take us home.

Chapter 20 - Godfather, Godson, Guardian

I didn't realise how stressful it was going to be having Sirius at Potter Manor, until Tipsy brought us back home. I tried not to show it but, on the inside, I was hyperventilating from having another person in side my home, what was my safety bubble. Knowing that it was Sirius helped reduce my anxiety but it was still difficult to get a hold of myself. It got so bad that Sirius saw it on my face and put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me.

"It's going to be okay Harry; we are going to get along great. I have loved you since you were a baby, and now even more so. I mean you already have the makings of a Marauder given that remarkable prank you pulled on Bones. Even she was mystified by you, she said it seemed like you weren't even walking but levitating around."He said with a boisterous laugh that I lightly joined in on, though mostly because he didn't know that was the truth.

"It…It's not that…It's just that you happen to be the first person I've brought home since I started living here." I stuttered out when we both stopped laughing.

"What? What, do you mean the first person? Don't you live with anyone else" He inquired, worry clearly visible on his face.

"I live with the elves if that's what you mean, they've been the ones taking care of me." I tried to pacify his worries.

"The Potter elves are great, I'll give you that Harry, but you can't, solely, rely on them to raise you." He said seriously.

"And why not? From everything I've experienced, adults can be extremely ignorant, immature, hateful and frankly stupid, just as little kids can be; So why would I not choose to raise myself in an environment I know I will be loved and taken care for!" I said raising my voice when I got towards the end

"Harry…how bad was it for you at the Dursleys?" He asked hesitantly, after giving me a couple of seconds to calm myself.

I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm myself down and thankfully Sirius gave me the time I needed. He just waited and with his arm still around my shoulder, patted me slightly to comfort me.

"It was bad, Sirius. Very bad." I said looking at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him.

This was the first time I was actually talking to someone about my time with the Dursleys and it was giving me flashbacks. While my time in the small cupboard was a boon for my magic, there were some very rough days. At times the solitude filled with the silent darkness of the cupboard was haunting. It still gave me nightmares from time to time.

When I was able to clear the thoughts from my head and looked toward Sirius, I saw him looking ashamed and guilty. He was the one avoiding eye contact now.

"Sirius, I don't blame you." I said trying to sooth the guilt he was feeling, I continued on before he could say anything else. "I'm not going to lie, I was a little hurt, in the beginning, when you gave me up to Hagrid but I also understood the magnitude of emotions you were feeling that day. Nobody can blame you for your decision that night." I took pause before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is, I already forgave you a long time ago."

It then that he looked towards me, with tears forming in his eyes but with a small smile forming on his face.

"Thank you, Harry." Sirius said with relief in his voice "I can't say how much that means to me. I really am sorry, Harry, I shouldn't have listened to Hagrid that day. I-"

"It's fine Sirius. Like I said, I already forgave you for it." I interrupted him. "And hopefully, you can forgive me for not getting you out of Azkaban earlier?"

"Wh-What?" Sirius stumbled out confused.

"To be honest, between the elves and I, we probably could have busted you out of Azkaban. But that would have meant living the rest of your life as a fugitive." I responded in a matter-of-fact manner.

Sirius blinked a few times, digesting what I just said. Then, he burst out laughing.

"Harry…though I would have loved to see you pull that off, you could have been implicated as well…so I'm glad you didn't go through with it…and of course I forgive you…" He said between his laughs.

After that, the conversations between us were more wholesome and light-heartened. Soon I was more than comfortable showing him around the manor, pointing out all the little changes I had made while he regaled me with stories of James and Lily living in the manor. I even showed him my training area and study, though I think seeing my training area broke him for a little bit. When I mentioned showing him where I trained, I don't think he expected what he saw.

It was a massive room, big enough that I had a section for training magic and a section for my physical training. The magic training section had different types dummies set up to test multiple types of magic, targets for practising my accuracy, and a soft cushion I sat on to meditate sometimes. My physical training area looked like any home gym; dumbbells lined up, in front of a bench with a barbell rack set up. Just beside it was the stand for all the plates. I couldn't lift many of them yet, so it certainly was weird for an 11-year-old to have something like this, but I didn't like doing things half way.

By the time we were done touring the manor, we were both extremely hungry, luckily the elves had prepared a huge celebratory lunch for Sirius. The elves, Sirius and I spent the next few hours just eating and talking. The elves regaling Sirius with slightly exaggerated, stories about my wandless magic experimentations, or the many near-death scares I gave them practising my flying with the broom. Sirius soaked them all up, laughing along with the elves and I, as we reminisced on those times.

Eventually, I had the elves take Sirius to bed, he still wasn't 100% and would need naps throughout the day to keep him well rested, since he was having constant trouble falling asleep at night. We had discussed him living here, this being his home just as much as mine. He had accepted readily, while joking about how he was mostly staying for the elves. I told him that I would be back at Hogwarts when he wakes up from his nap, so he would need to send a message through the elves, if he wanted to talk to me. I figured I had taken enough advantage of the leniency Dumbledore had showed me for being out of Hogwarts when he saw me at the Wizengamot meeting.

I had Tipsy drop me off near the 2nd floor girl's washroom after checking the Map and seeing Dean and Ron in our shared room already, didn't need them asking unnecessary questions. As I was making my way to library, I had seen Neville and Hermione there, I was stopped by Snape. He told me Dumbledore wanted to see me in his office immediately. He still behaved fairly rude with me but I could see cracks of genuine admiration, from time to time.

It was once again just Dumbledore and I, in his office. I was glad he realized how improper it was to have Snape and McGonagall at our meetings, despite how much he trusts them.

"In all my years, I have not been wrong often, Harry," Dumbledore started once I was comfortable. "And maybe that's why, I was too arrogant and careless with my decisions towards your upbringing. It was foolhardy to believe every decision I made was the best one. And so, once again I am sorry, Harry Potter. I made too many mistake in regards to your upbringing." 

"Thank you, Headmaster, and I would like to apologize for leaving Hogwarts without permission, but it was a situation that came about abruptly-" I tried to explain myself but he interrupted me.

"It's okay Harry, I understand that once you received news of Sirius' possible release, you had to be there and I can see how it would be difficult to get permission, in such a short time. So, I won't ask how it was that you were able to leave Hogwarts without raising alarm, IF you promise that it will not happen again." He had said the last part with a stern tone and expression.

I gave him a nod to show my consent but, on the inside, I was face-palming. Even Dumbledore glossed over house elves, maybe there is some form of magic that causes most wizards to be completely ignorant of house elves.

"That aside, Harry, we need to talk about this mysterious guardian of yours. From what Amelia tells me, he knew quite a lot about the night of Voldemort's death, and I think he knows more than what Peter could have told him. It is imperative that he tells us everything he knows. As your magical guardian, I should be aware of all the pertinent information regarding your life." 

And there it was, I knew Dumbledore would find someway of inserting himself into the situation. And just as he was improving my opinion of him, it came crashing down. Two steps forward, one step back; that's what they say right?

"I'm sorry to say Headmaster but you won't be my magical guardian for much longer. Now that my godfather has been released from his unjust imprisonment, he can take up the responsibility my parents asked of him." I said, not hiding the irritation I was feeling towards him now.

"Harry, while that may be true, but Sirius still needs time to heal. I think it would be difficult for him to take care of a child by himself."He tried to explain, as if I was an ignorant child.

"But he's not by himself. He'll have all the help he needs to take care of me, after all I've been looked after fairly well since leaving the Dursleys. Besides, I don't think the ministry will give him a hard time when transferring the guardianship, they can't afford to." I countered with a smirk.

He then tried asking more about how Pettigrew was found if he was hiding as a rat but I deflected it by saying I hadn't been told that information. He believed me, thinking that my guardian would not tell me everything for compartmentalization, like how he usually did with canon Harry. Talking to Bones had further cemented his theory of a mysterious wizard raising me. I needed to remember to thank Bones…no Amelia…I needed to remember to thank Amelia for not blowing my cover to Dumbledore.

When he realized he was getting no information out of me, he dismissed me from his office. I had made sure to leave no clues for Dumbledore to find. I even had one of the elves fetch an identical rat to Pettigrew's Animagus form, with the missing limb. I wondered how the entire Weasley family would have felt finding out their family pet rat was actually Pettigrew but now they would never know, for the best I thought.

Chapter 21 - Fluffy vs Quirrell, Round 2

The next week at Hogwarts was very uncomfortable. Almost every student and professor couldn't stop gawking at me. The news of Sirius' release and the subsequent imprisonment of Pettigrew sent the entirety of Hogwarts into a frenzy, the following Monday morning. I knew it was going to get chaotic when the Prophet was delivered so I chose to have the elves bring my breakfast to the Room of Requirements. While all of Hogwarts was coming to terms with the shocking news, I was having a calm and quiet breakfast in the company of Albie and Tipsy. Sebas and Nabel were back at Potter Manor, taking care of Sirius.

The elves and I had agreed on a rotation schedule that allowed all of them to spend time with me. They, themselves, also coordinated who would take up the positions of watching over Hagrid and Quirrell.

The week was hard mostly because a few students would not stop asking questions about Sirius and Pettigrew. Draco and his two stooges were the worst, making jokes on Sirius' long and wrongful imprisonment at Hogwarts. Asking if Sirius even had a soul left after spending so much time at Azkaban. It took all effort out of me not to jinx them to oblivion, as I still needed to keep myself conserved while Voldemort was still in the castle. Unfortunately, someone had taken a photo of Sirius and I leaving the Ministry, and it became the front-page picture so I couldn't even lie, saying that I didn't know anything since I wasn't at the trials. It also didn't help that students aren't usually allowed to leave Hogwarts, during the year, so I was also being asked if I loved using my fame for pulling favours from Dumbledore.

Hermione and Neville had done everything they could to help me relax during that week. They started having their meals with me, outside the Great Hall, in an empty classroom we had commandeered as our dining room. I didn't want anyone to know about the Room of Requirements yet, I wanted it to remain as my own private, virtual training room. They also never asked me any questions about the trials, rather made sure I knew they were happy for Sirius and I and that they would be there for support if I needed it. Considering they knew a little about my life before Hogwarts, they were most likely just relieved that I finally had an adult figure in my life that could help take care of me.

It was something I knew they had an issue with before but never voiced it knowing how I felt about adults. I had never outright stated it but they picked up on it from my behavior in classes with the professors and the few interactions outside of classes, they had seen. It wasn't that I hated all adults, but since I'm technically an adult, getting treated as a little kid was exhausting. I can understand from the point of view of the professors, which is why I never behaved rudely with them and stayed as respectful as I could. But clearly, I couldn't hide my annoyance though as both Hermione and Neville had picked up on it.

After the first week though, everything calmed down quite a bit. It was like the weekend hit the refresh button for everyone, and they went back to carrying on with their lives. For the next few weeks, I got back into the same pattern as before. Classes during the day, studying with Hermione and Neville right after. I would then head to the Room of Requirements for training, staying past midnight.

Sirius and I started exchanging messages through the elves. I had him avoid going to Grimmauld Place, telling him that I would like to be there with him when he goes to visit it for the first time. I told him it was because I was curious about the Black house and all the magical artifacts it may contain and wanted to explore it with him.

But truthfully, it was because I wanted the chance to get the locket that Kreacher probably has been keeping safe for all this time. And I didn't want Sirius to sell it or throw it out, not knowing the significance of it. We ended up agreeing on visiting the house in the summer and in the meantime, he would slowly work to integrate himself back in society. I told him that I had quite a few business ideas for us to start working on, once he gets all his affairs in order, to push him to do it sooner. We had also planned to create an identity for him in the normal world, while we were getting myself legally emancipated from the Dursleys, that was still priority one. Something Sirius had agreed wholeheartedly.

The twins had also, officially bequeathed the Map to me. After I told them that they would be meeting one of the creators of the Map at the end of the year, specifically Padfoot. Though I still owed them those favours, they made sure to specify that. I agreed easily, told them I was actually looking forward to it.

I had already talked to Sirius about meeting them, he was more than excited to, after I regaled him on some of the pranks they had pulled off. He was pleased knowing there was a new generation of Marauders at Hogwarts, namely the twins and I.

He included me because of the deception that I was able to pull off on Amelia and also because he wanted me to keep it going as along as I could. Considering the wizarding world loved to have powerful wizards become larger than life, i.e., Voldemort, Dumbledore, Grindelwald…Me! It would be the perfect prank to pull. He had become more insistent on it after I told him, Dumbledore had believed it, too. His idea definitely had merit, have everyone distracted by the mysterious wizard so they don't pay attention to me. This might be the beginnings of my superhero journey, something of a trial run, before I join the normal world.

And so, knowing my battle with Quirrell is approaching at the end of exams, I had the elves track down a cloak made of dragon hide, if they could. I had no idea, if such a thing existed, but if it did my elves would definitely find it.

I didn't want to rely on a conjured cloak all the time, something physical would be much better for hiding my identity. I had asked for the same length as the one I had previously conjured, about 7 feet long. With my 5-foot height added to my levitating, the cloak would cover all of me with no problem and hide any "steps" I would take. The eerie levitating vibe that Amelia described was something I wanted to remain about the persona. I also mastered the colour-changing charm so that my eye colour changed to a blood-like red, with an intimidating glow about them. I would also charm the hood of the cloak, to cast a dark shade over my head so only the eyes would stand out. I had contemplated keeping them my natural green, but they were too distinct, I'd be recognized right away.

My elves delivered just in time for exams, they had tracked down the cloak for me and made some modifications to it so I could attach the Cloak of Invisibility on it. Albie had told me that Hagrid had a dragon egg he was taking care of sometime ago, so I knew things were progressing like canon. Quirrell would use the harp to knock Fluffy out and proceed ahead for the stone. Previously, I was going to be there ahead of time, but now I wanted to meet Quirrell after he gets to the mirror. Just so, I could increase the odds of Dumbledore catching a sight of the mysterious wizard after "he" defeats Quirrell.

But before that I had to get past my first-year exams, though they didn't challenge me at all. I knew for a fact I was getting all O's, except for Herbology. I swear Plants hate me in this life! I was fine with the theory, but the actual cultivating of the plants was where my lack of talent showed. As for DADA, I didn't have to fake my lack of skill as the theory questions and the practical were super simple. I guess Quirrell was too focused on the stone to make proper tests, didn't bother me but I knew it would be something Hermione would complain about.

...And I was right, at the first meal after exams were done, Hermione had complained about the simplicity of the DADA exam. Other than that, she was happy with how she had done, expecting all O's except maybe for Flying. She was better than canon Hermione on a broom, I'd made sure of that. Every wizard friend of mine must at least be able to stay on a broom and fly around a little bit. Neville, had also done very well on the exams. Expecting some O's, and some EE's, nothing lower.

After the meal, I told them that I was going to call it an early night. They, understood since I had a Quidditch game the next day. And luckily Dean had been in the room when I entered so I had a witness for me being here the entire time. With an alibi secured, I closed my curtains and had Tipsy take me to the Room of Requirements. I would wait till I saw Quirrell get past Fluffy on the Map, before making my way to the Third-Floor corridor.

I had to wait about 2 hours before I saw Quirrell approach the room Fluffy was in, and I confirmed that Dumbledore wasn't anywhere in the castle on the Map. Knowing it was time, I had Sebas bring me my new cloak and put it on. I conjured a mirror to see how I looked and it was very similar to how Zero looked. Except my cloak was more rough looking being made of from dragon hide. As I finished putting the cloak on, Quirrell had gotten past Fluffy. I gave him an extra 5 minutes before I had Sebas take me Fluffy's room.

When I got there, Fluffy was out cold, with the harp tossed to the side of him. I cast the Rennervate charm on him and he slowly came to, confused about his surroundings. I let my hood down for him, so he could recognize me and once I knew he did, I called my wand out to cast the diminuendo charm on him. I relied on the power of the wand to ensure nothing went wrong with the spell. When he realized what I had done, he looked angry but I appeased him with some treats I had prepared beforehand. He was now as big as a husky, so could easily fit through the trap door. Once he looked happy enough, I pull my hood back up to hide my face and then picked him up as he finished his treats. I then jumped down the trap door to the awaiting Devil's snare, which I quickly took care of, with my overpowered Lumos charm.

Relying on my wind magic, I was able to levitate my self down to the ground, no problem. I kept Fluffy in his smaller form as I made my way into the room with the 2nd trap, the flying keys. I didn't even bother with the broom that was waiting there. Instead, used my wand to force gusts of wind to push all the other keys away while pulling in the broken key.

The third trap was the same as in canon, the wizard chess board. I did play chess in my old life and I was fairly good but I wasn't in the mood to play through a game right now. And so, I put Fluffy down on the ground and cast the counter-charm to return him to his original size. I then took out a treat and pointed at the pieces, and he understood immediately. He ran right at them, as they all started moving towards him. Huh, so if you ignore the game, you get attacked by all of them. Not wanting Fluffy to get hurt due to the numbers against him, I ran after him.

He tackled one pawn down, as another tried to attack him from behind. I was going to help him but it was not needed as he used his tail to whip that pawn away. As more tried to join in on the fight, I acted first calling my wind magic to form wind blades that I started launching at the pieces. They weren't strong enough to cut through them, yet, but they were doing enough damage to take significant chunks off them. Between Fluffy and I, it took us 15 minutes to defeat all of them. Every time they came close to hitting me, I would use my wind magic to push their weapons to the side of me. I had come very far in my control of the wind and the power I could put behind it. As for Fluffy, his agility was proving too fast for the pieces. This room was a lot bigger than the one he was guarding previously, so he could properly show his prowess here.

As per canon Quirrell's trap, the troll, was already knocked out; letting us go past it without any issues. Snape's trap was easy to get past as well, the riddle only challenging me for a minute. I gave Fluffy half of the correct potion, while I emptied the rest. We both made it through the fire with no problem. Before we entered the final room, I conjured ear plugs for Fluffy as I had practised earlier in the year.

This time I didn't have to incentivise Fluffy with a treat, he started growling at Quirrell the moment he came into view. He probably remembered him from earlier and was angry at him. I had to raise my hand to tell Fluffy not to attack him yet, I needed to stall for time as much as possible. Hearing the growling, Quirrell turned to face us, fear and confusion evident on his face.

"Who are you?" Quirrell asked me, with a bit of a tremble in his voice. He was speaking to me but his attention was on Fluffy.

I made sure to cast a wandless Sonorous spell before I spoke. Understanding the theory behind the spell allowed me to change my still child-like voice to a deep voice that commanded presence.

"You should be more worried about the dog than with who I am." I responded, while pointing at Fluffy with my thumb.

"I already got past him once, I can do it again easily. As for you, do you have any idea who-" he tried to intimidate me but I started laughing in response, causing him to pause whatever else he was going to say.

"Are you trying to scare me? The idiot who couldn't even curse a broom properly." I said mocking him. I saw his eyebrows raise in surprise.

"It was you?" Quirrell demanded in anger.

"Yes, it was me."I responded. "I must give you credit though, you had all of Hogwarts fooled with your exasperating stuttering and idiotic behaviour, though I don't think you were faking the latter."

I could hear him snarl in frustration but still remaining peaceful, wary for Fluffy.

"Let me speak to him." I heard a frail and weak voice say from behind Quirrell, the voice of Voldemort.

"But Master, you aren't strong enough." Quirrell tried to reason with him.

"I want to speak to him. Do it!" He commanded Quirrell who acquiesced and started taking off his turban.

It seemed like Fluffy could instinctively tell something bad was coming out, he started growling harder and louder. When it was completely off and Quirrel turned around, I had to start petting Fluffy to calm him down as much as possible. He wanted to tear Quirrell/Voldemort apart. Voldemort ignored Fluffy's threatening growls and began speaking to me.

"It seems Dumbledore has taken to asking for help from outside his usual pool of useless filth he calls wizards. Why would you want to work for that old fogger, join me and I can promise you unlimited power?" 

"A recruitment speech from you? Look at the idiot you are currently inhabiting. If all you can do is, turn me into another version of that, then you're the most pathetic Dark Lord ever. You've already been defeated once by a baby and look at the state it left you in. Who knows, maybe next time you'll be defeated by a bird?"I answered mockingly.

He yelled out in anger and ordered Quirrell to kill me. Pretty stupid thing to do out loud, when I had an attack dog waiting by my side. Added to that, Quirrell had to actually turn around before he could attack me. The time it took for him to turn was all I needed to give Fluffy the signal to attack.

Just as Quirrell was getting his wand up to fire a spell, Fluffy had already made it to him. He had to jump back to dodge one of Fluffy's paw coming straight for his face. He didn't dodge fast enough though, as the sharp nails cut through his robes, reaching his bare chest. One swipe from Fluffy was enough to leave him bloody.

"You fool, put the mutt to sleep first!" Voldemort, tried to advise Quirrell.

I didn't move from the spot I was in, just enjoying the show in front of me. The only thing I did was cast my Magic Perception spell, to notify me when Dumbledore arrives. Meanwhile, Fluffy and Quirrell continued their battle, with Voldemort constantly screeching at Quirrell to stop being a weak fool. He had tried conjuring another harp to put him to sleep when he was able to create some space between them. Unfortunately, Quirrell didn't know it wouldn't work and had paid the price with a bite to his right shoulder for his carelessness.

The fight between them went on with Fluffy dominating the entire time. The first paw that struck Quirrell had done a lot of damage, so he was always on the back foot. After a few minutes, I got bored of watching Quirrell get pummeled and joined the fight. He, at this point had forgotten about me, too occupied with Fluffy and now had his back towards me. As I raised my wand, disguised, I saw Voldemort's face distort to dread as he tried to warn Quirrell. Too late though, my casting was too fast.

When the spell hit Quirrell, both Voldemort and him started screaming in pain as the he crumpled to the ground. It was one of the electrocution spells I learned from the Manor library. I fired it once again when I saw him start getting up off the ground. Once again, they both started screaming out in pain. Fluffy had come to join me by my side, when he saw me take action. We had come to develop great chemistry between the two us.

"You useless fool! You failed despite the power I bestowed on you!"Voldemort screeched out, as I sensed someone, probably Dumbledore, enter the room behind me.

It seemed Voldemort had enough of the beaten down, as the same black shade I remembered from the day I lost James and Lily, rose out of Quirrell. I could see a resemblance of Voldemort's face in the shade. It tried to fly at me, like it did in canon, but I called my wind magic to blow it away before it got close. Seeing that it could not get close to me after trying once more, it flew out through the ceiling.

Quirrell had fallen unconscious when the shade left him so I went up to him and checked his status.

"He's dead" I stated for Dumbledore, who had still not moved from the door. When I looked towards him, I could tell he recognized my disguise from however Amelia had described me. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Are you the one who killed him?" He asked grimly.

"I'm not sure, could have died from his injuries or because old Voldie's soul left him." I replied curtly.

"You don't seem too concerned about someone's death being on your hands." Dumbledore accused me.

"Depends on whose death it is. Quirrell willing let Voldemort take his body and wanted to kill me. Though I did interrupt his attempt to steal the stone, so he was probably angry about that." 

"And how did you know the stone was here and one of my professors was going to attempt stealing it?" He inquired with a suspicious expression.

"I think the more important question is why you, allegedly one of the most powerful wizards ever, didn't realize one of your own professors was possessed by Voldemort, allowing him free boarding on the back of his head?"I deflected his question with one of my own.

"I had my suspicions on him working for Voldemort but not that he had fallen so low to let the Dark Lord take residence in his body. I didn't-" He attempted to explain but I interrupted him.

"And why bait him to the school at all? There are numerous innocent children he could have taken hostage at any time and made you give up the stone. Maybe Quirrell's stupidity affected Voldemort's thinking, but what about you? How could you put the students at risk?" I asked gravely. I could see that outcome had escaped him when his eyes widened in alarm.

"I can admit to forgetting about Voldemort's ruthless nature, but that doesn't excuse you coming to Hogwarts unannounced and engage in battle with one of my professors. Regardless of his condition, you should have come to me if you had any suspicions." He argued back with a stern voice.

"You had your chance after he tried cursing Harry's broom. But you did nothing for months so I took action today" I replied.

"So, Snape was right, someone else had intervened that day. It was you, wasn't it?" he inquired.

Perfect! I wanted him to leap to that conclusion so I made sure to confirm it for him.

"Yes, it was and lucky for Harry I was there. That's twice you have failed to protect Harry when he was under you care. Do not let there be a third time. Or I will take him out of this school" I threatened him.

"You can't do that." He denied vehemently.

"Yes, I can. I've been tacking care of him for years, and I won't stop now. He wants to be here, in honour of his parents, the only reason I let him come to this school. But if he is put in grave danger again, he is out of this school!" I stated firmly.

"I will not let you take him away!" He responded in anger.

This time Fluffy felt he went too far as he started growling and snarling at Dumbledore. As he paused to look towards Fluffy, I cast two spells simultaneously. The benefit of all those years of practising my magic control. And having the Wand of Watoomb as well. With the wand I cast a Lumos Maxima, this one much more powerful than any simple Lumos charm I had used. Simultaneously, I cast another Sonorous charm, wandless. This time to create a loud bang! The two spells combined, acted like a flash-bang.

The suddenness of it caught him off-guard, and as the combination was intended for, it caused him to drop to the floor in pain. Trying to cover his ears to stop the ringing he was probably feeling. I took advantage of that to call Sebas and have him take me back to the Room of Requirement to get changed. When Dumbledore would be able to gather himself, all he would find is Quirrell's body and Fluffy, who was still growling angrily at him when I left.