Part Two

Promptly Written

Bella arrived at Malfoy manner and was soon escorted by their house elf to the library where she found her brother in law searching through his extensive book collection. With a sigh, wishing she could hex the pretty boy just for existing, she instead announced: "I spoke to Narcissa and Andi, I know that you wish to get rid of your new ability, but I might have a use for it, so wait, please."

When Lucius looked up, wearing a frown from what he was reading, she announced: "I was thinking about it, there are a few, like Slughorn who might be able to overcome veritiaserum, even the recipe that Snape makes, your ability couldn't have arrived at a better time."

"I am not allowed to be involved. You know my family's history with the Weasleys and I am quite positive that at least Arthur's wife is up to her neck wrinkles in this mess. Arthur too, but I am sure that he is following her lead." Lucius stated while moving to his desk still holding onto the book he had removed from the shelf.

"I didn't agree, but after speaking to Andi, I sent a note to Riddle and McGonagall, they suspect that you are correct. Now, we are questioning Arabella Figg, if you have the time to go to the Ministry." Bella stated.

Closing his book and picking up his gloves and pulling them on, he reached for his cane/wand and followed her to the living chamber where his wife was speaking to their son. Watching a bit bemused at the gathering pile of items next to her, he eavesdropped and patted his son on the back while informing him. "Draco, while I applaud your generosity, I am rather certain that Sirius and your aunts are going to be taking young Harry shopping. Your help could be requested as young Harry won't know much about magical toys, but it should be his choice..."

Draco looked at his father and said "But that could take days, father. What is he going to be playing with until then? Besides, he obviously needs new clothes too."

"Draco, Harry really isn't up to playing much right now," Bellatrix stated. "He is going to need time to regain his health, but I will agree to let you send him some clothes and how about two toys and maybe a few books to keep him interested in staying immobile."

With that, Draco went to the piles and drew out some toys and then scrambled up to his room to get some of his books to send to his cousin before sliding down the banister to return before Dobby who snapped his fingers and returned the rest of his pile to his room. "Mother already sent some clothes."

"We will drop these off on our way to the Ministry," Bellatrix promised as she thanked her nephew and went to the floo. Calling out Black Manor house, she was soon in the kitchen in time to watch as Harry and Sirius were eating grapes.

The thrill the small boy got when each grape burst in his mouth had her wishing she had killed the Dursleys but unfortunately, Amelia Bones had informed her that the criminals had survived the fire. "Young Draco sent you a few books and some toys to borrow until we can go and purchase you some of your own Harry."

Harry stared in shock at the books placed next to him and the plush stuffed animals and small flying toy broom with a wizard mounted on it as well as the games. "For me, to use?"

"Yes, but we are going to get you healthy so that we can take you to purchase your own toys, so for now, I want you to obey Andi's orders and take it easy," Bella said as she messed up his already messy hair. "Come on, Pretty boy, your country needs you."

Sirius chuckled at the flush on the blond wizard's face as Bellatrix dragged him to the floo. "Harry, you have to forgive Bellatrix, she truly does like Lucius, it's just that she..."

They heard the sound of a swish and then a wizard fell out of the floo, grumbling, he attempted to stand and then using his wand got rid of the ash on his robes. "Sirius, young Harry. I truly apologize for the manner of my arrival, but I was escaping my daughter."

"Ted, what harm could a seventeen-year-old do that you felt the need to do a somersault into a floo?" Sirius asked after introducing his cousin's husband and his attorney to Harry.

With a heavy sigh, Ted sat down and told Sirius "She has been having issues with her powers, and I was helping her practice when she changed her hair color, I mentioned it reminded me of Delores Umbridge and she was attempting to hex me."

"If you compared her to the toad, I am not surprised at your need to exit quickly, more like I am surprised she missed," Sirius stated. "Wait, whatever happened to dear ole Delores?"

"She was working for the Ministry, but decided that the way to advancement was stabbing others in the back and attempting to blackmail more powerful witches and wizards, needless to say, she quickly got caught and after her trial, she was sentenced to muggle prison. Riddle likes that option for pureblood wizards and witches who betray magic itself."

Harry was struggling to stay awake and Sirius gently escorted him to his room then returned to hear about his portfolio and to ask Ted about the Potter estates. "Dumbledore tried to steal them, but he wasn't named in James and Lily's will, so he was only able to gain access to Harry's trust vault after stealing his guardianship. When he tried to declare Harry dead a few years ago, thank goodness the goblins refused him access to the family accounts."

"How much did he take out of the trust vault?" Sirius inquired.

"We aren't sure as it refills itself yearly, I have the goblins who are interrogating Dumbledore's contact at the bank. This goblin Griphook, he seems to have been playing Dumbledore to gain access to the sword of Gryffindor but he kept detailed records of every single transaction that Dumbledore or anyone else made from the Potter Trust account. They are going to turn the records over after Griphook's trial. It's doubtful he will get more than stripped of his position and vault though because he was defending the greater Potter legacy and accounts. What has the goblins upset is his desire to control the Gryffindor sword that was given to the Potter family as a friend of the goblins gift."

Within minutes of meeting Arabella Figg, Lucius Malfoy exited her interrogation cell and was washing his hand in disgust. Seeing Riddle and Bella, he nodded and said "I am going to need a stiff drink after dealing with her. She knew how the boy was being treated, did nothing because she was jealous of Lily Potter and her being magical when Arabella wasn't. She also took money from Albus, what amounts to about 200 galleons a month."

"So, 78 months worth of funds," Tom stated while doing the calculations in his head. "More than likely the money came from Harry's trust vault."

"She took pleasure in that, as well," Lucius replied with a grimace as he used a dict-a-quill to write out all he had seen.

Amelia Bones who until then had been a silent observer took his note to the cell with her and looking at the squib stated "You should know as a squib you don't have the option of refusing veritiaserum, so let's just be honest and save me the time. So, how about we start with did you know that the funds you were living on came from the Potter boy's vault."

When Arabella tried to deny it, Amelia went into the notes that stated the exact wording that Albus Dumbledore had told her when he gave her access to the funds, which had Arabella convinced that Dumbledore had stupidly written down everything and she began to confess.

By the time the hour was up, she was being told her rights and warned that she would face trial in front of the Wizengamot and would most likely be sentenced to muggle prison. Arabella was relieved not to be going to Azkaban as she signed her confession.

Amelia Bones had one of the aurors she trusted return the woman back to her cell and went to speak to the Minister who was staring at his hands which were clenched tightly into fists to keep control of his anger. "So, confirmation on Slughorn and that there is a good chance Poppy Pomfrey was obliviated into forgetting treating Potter."

"Lucius, we need to visit with the Hogwarts staff, they are being kept in separate rooms on the court level," Amelia stated as she found herself agreeing with Bellatrix Black on using his special ability. "It is the fastest way to clear the staff."

Lucius hated to do this, he found himself feeling the emotions that the person who he was touching felt at that time, but he agreed and soon found himself speaking to Minerva McGonagall who had been already cleared. She was clearly feeling guilty over being hoodwinked by the former headmaster. "If you could start with the heads of house. Please."

"Slughorn is guilty as sin, but I need to find out what he knows." Amelia Bones announced then told Minerva about Remus Lupin being given a shower and then a sober up potion then being put to sleep. "When he wakes up, I was hoping you would be there, I feel it might help with his anger."

Lucius Malfoy exited the waiting room that held Slughorn and once again washed his hands before using the dict-a-quill to write down what he had seen then silently handed it to Madam Bones. "That man, it's all about what is in it for him. He knew, he was angry at Lily Potter for turning down his offer of an apprenticeship to marry Potter and to do the charms apprenticeship with Flitwick. He also was rather eager to gain access to the Potter legacy, but the estate shut down with James and Lily's deaths."

With that, Lucius went to speak to Flitwick and Sprout, both of whom were cleared and filled in on what Minerva had found out. Sprout had been sickened to hear the entire story whereas Flitwick was angry at being used by the former headmaster.

"I have asked Severus Snape to step in and teach for the upcoming year, but he will only do so for one year, so we have to begin our search for a new potion's master." She informed them then thought about it and said "I can teach the NEWT level Transfiguration, but we also need someone to teach the lower level students. Plus, we need a head of Gryffindor house."

Lucius was grateful to find out that the majority of the teachers were free of influence, minus finding out that Trelawney had faked a vision to get hired but was soon dealing with the auxiliary staff. A handshake with Argus Filch had that man quickly fired in spite of his protests that the late headmaster had promised him a job as long as he wished for one.

Minerva offered him a pension, then made it clear that it was either leave with a future income or do so without. He grumbled and swore then agreed to take that offer. Poppy Pomfrey was found to have many, many memories removed and she offered to resign, but Minerva talked her into getting help for her missing memories and staying on for the sake of the students.

Rubeus Hagrid who was immune to legimacy and veritiaserum proved susceptible to the magic touch of Malfoy and while he wasn't knowingly complicate, he was found to be culpable in several of the headmaster's plots. What was worse was that the half-giant was convinced that they were maligning a great man in spite of being shown that Harry Potter was alive and that he had been forced to be a house elf for muggles.

In the end, Minerva had allowed him to keep his job on a probationary period, but she sadly knew that eventually, he would have to be forced to part ways with Hogwarts. For now, they dealt with his expulsion and Riddle was shocked to find that Hagrid blamed him for it.

"He holds me completely responsible for his getting expelled? Why?" Upon being told what Hagrid believed, Tom frowned and shook his head. "I merely told Dippet that Hagrid had a pet spider after it had eaten that girl Myrtle's cat. I had no idea he would be expelled for it."

"Dumbledore convinced him that you insisted that you insisted on his being expelled," Minerva stated.

"Speaking of those spiders..." Lucius waited until the door closed and announced: "They are loose in the Forbidden Forest and the size of Hagrid and there is an entire colony of the dangerous beasts."

Amelia Bones sent word to Amos Diggory who was in charge of that department and when the man joined her, saw his anger. "I have a son about to attend Hogwarts, what on earth was Albus thinking?"

"That particular spider was brought to Hogwarts via Hagrid, you might wish to check over what other exotic pets he has and has had over the years," Minerva informed him.

Minerva was feeling relieved to find out that the majority of her staff would be returning, except for Slughorn and Trelawney whose confession had all of them gritting their teeth as they realized that her false prophecy was what had Dumbledore going after the Potters and almost the Longbottoms.

"I will be speaking to Lupin this evening, but intend to wait to speak to my aurors and the rest of the Ministry personnel tomorrow." Amelia Bones announced. "Good work, people."

"I agree, great job. Tomorrow, Bella, I need you to deal with arranging for the remaining funeral attendees to be picked up and for there to be someone there to deal with the children of those we bring in." Tom announced. "Plus we need to consider when we arrange for the Wizengamot to learn the rest of the situation. They now know that the headmaster was hiding the Potter boy and pretending he was dead, now we need to lay out our case as to why."

"I can't help feeling that it's going to get worse before it gets better," Bellatrix replied with a grimace. With that, she entered the lift and was soon joined by Barty Crouch which had her even angrier. His son had killed her husband in a jealous rage over another man, and Crouch Senior had tried to deny it and had cast her late husband as the aggressor and his son as an innocent taken in by an older experience wizard.

Thankfully, Barty Junior had in his arrogance confessed all in front of the entire Wizengamot but it had allowed them to strip her of her inheritance from the Lestrange estate which had infuriated her because that had been the whole reason she had married him. It had been part of their betrothal agreement and Bella had agreed to it because she had her own interests and had been pushed to marry by her father.

Bella arrived back at Black Manor, grimacing at being thirty years old and stuck living at her family estate. She had enough money but didn't have the time or inclination to do anything about the situation. Now, however, there was Sirius who was surely going to wish to place his own stamp on the place and his godson to consider.

When she realized she was hearing no signs of the other two, she went looking and felt her heart melt at what she saw. Sirius in human form was sitting next to Harry's bed reading while the small boy was fast asleep with a stuffed purple hippogriff tucked in next to him. "How long ago did he fall asleep?"

"Right after an early dinner," Sirius replied as he lifted his head and closed his book. Lifting it, he gave her a wry grin and announced. "A gift from Narcissa, that old etiquette book that we were raised by. I thought it was for Harry until I read the attached note."

"She did mention something about your lack of control and your less than acceptable behavior." Bella snickered and then with an assessing look his way reminded him. "Well, you are the head of the Black family, dearest."

With a shrug, he pointed out. "As wealthy as I am, as powerful as the Black name is, as good looking as I will be again, I truly don't give a shit, after all, I could be as ugly as Umbridge and mothers are still going to be throwing their daughters and sons at me. Problem is, time spent with the dementors sort of takes away the drive and the ability to spawn heirs. Thankfully, I already have Harry."

Bella looked at the small boy fast asleep and said "You should consider blood adoption, Sirius. Harry, he already has a great estate on his shoulders, a powerful one which means he already has those matchmaking mamas already salivating at his marital prospects."

"I am rather concerned that if I were to do so, it might create a rivalry, not give Harry a brother," Sirius admitted. "I thought about Draco, but he is to inherit his father's estate and it becomes a Noble one as of this year. Unless...you could have a child."

Bella felt her lips trembling and her heartbreak but knew she had to be honest with her cousin. "I can't have children, it's why father agreed to the marriage with Rodolphus. Do you remember when I fell off my broom at Hogwarts, I injured myself but was scared to tell the healer, mainly because of father's warnings about Dumbledore. So I stayed silent and waited until I returned home for Michaelmas, It was too late for them to fix things."

"Oh, Bella." Sirius saw her grimace and how she closed down and felt for her. While Bella wasn't the most motherly of their sisters, it was rather clear that she felt this dearly. "I am so sorry."

She gave him a small smirk and then admitted "I have enjoyed having Harry around a bit, so you might have to deal with my sticking around at least as an adopted aunt, that is if Andi doesn't take charge like she tends to. Plus with her daughter at Hogwarts, she is looking for a new project."

"Poor, poor Harry," Sirius said with a smirk as he looked at his sleeping godson. "Prongslet went from being unloved to soon he is going to have to hide away to escape it."

"Speaking of those who love Harry, we located Remus Lupin, or I should say he was found and arrested for attempting to destroy the supposed Great Man's tomb. He stunk so bad and was so intoxicated that I arrested him and took him to Amelia to deal with." Bella stated. "They are going to question him tonight, but only after giving time for the sober up potion to do its work. He was already on his fifth vial of the stuff."

"Remus has a hard head for liquor do to his affliction, so if he was that drunk, he must have drunk half of England's liquor supply," Sirius announced.

"From the way, he was dressed and smelled, I am certain he has been drinking steadily for the last few years." She said. "He needs to be questioned, but I am rather certain he will be cleared."

Minerva McGonagall returned to Hogwarts with the majority of her staff, all of whom were feeling sick to their stomach at having worked so closely with a mega-maniacal madman such as Albus Dumbledore. Sprout was expressing disgust with Horace Slughorn and was listening to Filius Flitwick as he once again mourned the loss of the strong magical abilities of James and Lily.

When she had calmed everyone down and had informed all of the teachers that Severus Snape would be stepping in to fill Horace's shoes for a year, there was a small cough and then one of the younger professors inquired as to why he was only doing so for a year.

"Severus is stepping in to help because he was once close to Lily Potter, but his personality isn't quite suitable for teaching. He prefers research and brewing and to be honest, will be an absolute bear to deal with. He has good reason to loath Hogwarts due to how the headmaster treated him and his friendship with Lily Potter. Plus, Black, Lupin and Potter and he were rivals, nothing too serious happened, mainly because of Ms. Evans later Potter, but there is hard feelings there."

Septima Vector who attended Beauxbatons school shook her head and admitted: "The more I hear about the last several years, the more grateful I am that my parents sent me to school in France."

"You have no idea." Charity Burbage stated. "The headmaster exacerbated the natural rivalry between the Lions and the Snakes to the point that there were often battles between classes in the corridors, especially on a Quidditch weekend, though, it didn't require a reason for those two groups."

"He did so to create unrest, we found out when we read his notebooks." Minerva quietly informed them. "He also repeatedly refused to allow me to hire another Lion to teach so that I couldn't pass off head of house duties to them. I had too much on my shoulders and was under the impression that he was helping keep an eye on my house. Instead, he was allowing them to run loose and further incite the rift between the houses. First thing I intend to do is hire someone to teach the younger transfiguration students so that means hiring someone from the house of the Lions."

"Where is Sybil?" Kettleburn asked. Hooch and Aurora Sinesta looked up from where they were quietly talking and also noticed that Trelawney was missing.

Minerva gestured for the staff to follow her into the Great Hall and had them seated at the Ravenclaw table. "Sybil was kept by Amelia Bones, turns out she was hired by Albus Dumbledore after supposedly seeing a prophecy. She faked it, to get hired. I know from reading Dumbledore's notebooks that this was the prophecy that sent him after the Potters."

"Oh god, a fake prophecy got James and Lily killed?" The stricken voice of Poppy Pomfrey had everyone feeling ill as they began to understand the dynamics at work. "That woman, we all laughed at her obviously fake sight, but to hear this...how could she?"

"You should know, I also fired Filch. He doesn't belong in the same building with students, not with his views on punishment and his bitterness. Also, Amos Diggory is going to be leading a team into the forest to remove anything that doesn't belong there. We might have to offer Hagrid emotional support as he is going to be upset by this."

"Minerva has anyone spoken to Quirinus Quirrell. He was to leave on sabbatical to get real-life experience, at least that was the way that the headmaster described it." Burbage mentioned the professor who had previously taught the class she was to begin teaching that year.

"He was rather horrified to find out that the headmaster had set him up to be taught by a vampire, he was spoken to by Amelia Bones and her team, they cleared him of any wrongdoing but soon realize that he was to be turned and made the mistake of informing him. Quirrell quickly turned in his resignation and was last seen on a boat to
Canada." She informed her staff.

"Why would the headmaster wish to turn him into a vampire?" Kettleburn asked.

Minerva bit her lip then told them what else they had found out. "It turns out, he has done something similar as an experiment before. It seems as if Remus Lupin's rather unfortunate meeting with Grayback wasn't quite the accidental meeting that it was said to be. Lupin's family was set up by the headmaster."

There were some sounds of staff members muttering dark thoughts and she sadly nodded her head. "We are unsure how far back his manipulations go, so I expect to be hearing of other unpleasant and similar stories for a long time. However, for the sake of the students, we must move on and do what we can to return Hogwarts to be the premier school in the world."

Tom Riddle sat in his office, fingering the journal he had once been encouraged to keep by the headmaster, his thoughts were dark as he wondered about how much influence the man had had behind the scenes regarding his life. Thankfully, he had been turned from the darkness due to finding the diaries of Salazar Slytherin in his chamber otherwise who knew how badly his life would have turned out.

As he went over the list of names and grievances, he couldn't help wondering if Harry Potter was to have been yet another one of the headmaster's nasty little experiments. Thankfully they had rescued the boy before the headmaster had been able to arrange for his arrival at Hogwarts before he could begin to turn the boy to the darkness.

Shuddering as he once again realized how deeply the older wizard had been involved in his nightmarish life, he closed his old journal and went to find out if his beloved was finished dealing with her staff. He needed her warm and her healing touch. Exiting his office, he saw Amelia Bones was still working and went to suggest that she heads home.

"One more interview, Remus Lupin has woken up. I would prefer to get him out of one of my cells so that it is freed up so that I can use it tomorrow. Besides, Minerva asked me to deal with him tonight as a favor to her. I am only waiting on Malfoy to return from his home, he went to eat dinner." She admitted as she pushed back from her desk. "I had my house elf bring me dinner here, but put my dessert in stasis, I intend to eat my slice of chocolate cake, speak to Lupin and go home to collapse in my bed."

The Minister chuckled and said, "You are going to fall asleep at your desk, don't or I will arrange for Bellatrix to ensure that you stay home for the next few days."

"Oh god, the last time you did that, she set a whole slew of animated pink and purple bunnies after me, I still have nightmares when I think about it." Amelia said shuddering then couldn't resist joking "Are you sure she is on our side?"

"Yes, because with her sense of humor, if she wasn't, she would have sent scorpions or spiders." He said with a quiet chuckle as he exited the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. "Besides, how scary could bunnies have been?"

Remus John Lupin heard his stomach growl and felt clear headed for the first time in three years. As he looked around his jail cell, he noticed that the guard watching over him was apparently trying to get his attention.

"Would you like some food? I will get you something to eat as long as you promise not to throw it up. I can't stand vanishing puke. It makes me wish to throw up as well and it just creates even more puke."

"I could do with a bite to eat." He replied cautiously.

The guard called out for a house elf and Lupin was soon eating what seemed to be chicken soup and freshly baked bread. When it appeared he could keep it down, he finished his meal and was soon offered a pear for dessert.

With a heavy sigh, Lupin admitted: "I would kill for some chocolate."

"Sorry, as far as I know, the house elves aren't allowed to feed that to people in jail cells." The guard replied. "Though I heard you weren't actually a prisoner, more like that you were stuck here like they often did that cretin Dung Fletcher."

"I will take over from you, Davis." Amelia Bones stated as she entered the lockdown ward. "Go home, and be ready for tomorrow. It is going to be another killer day."

"Are you sure Madam Bones?" He asked then when she nodded, he said "Great, my wife is going to be rather eager to see me, she has barely seen me since this all began last week."

"Go, go home, I would hate to be named as a respondent in your divorce." She good-naturally retorted. "If I remember right, you have twins don't you?"

"Yes, and they just hit their terrible twos, and one has been showing signs of magic." He replied with a tired sigh. "Good night, Lupin. I am sure that you will not be here again, so good luck."

With that, he left the ward and Amelia Bones looked at the wizard with still long hair but clean clothes in her cell and released the shield that kept them apart. "Why don't you listen to my tale and then you tell me yours."

As she escorted him to her office, she met up with Lucius Malfoy who held out his hand to Remus Lupin. The werewolf hesitated before shaking his hand then was sent inside. Amelia looked at Malfoy and asked. "Well?"

"I will let him tell you, but you were right, he is an innocent in all of this." He replied then told her what had delayed him. "I came from the Leaky Cauldron, there was a bit of a meeting there, some of the usual suspects including the owner Tom and I saw at least the Weasleys going into a private room."

"I am bringing in my aurors tomorrow for questioning. Hopefully, they will be able to answer the remaining questions, but I am more scared of what the answers are going to be. In truth...in truth, I am not sure that even they have answers because Albus Dumbledore kept a lot of things to himself."

"The best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone." He reminded her then announced "I have to head back home, but you should know, while I was at the bank, I saw the goblins directing Griphook to the exit. He was being escorted by several guards."

"I was notified while you were gone, they are sending me the records tomorrow morning. Griphook was stripped of his position if not of his vaults. Turns out, he was allowing the removal of the funds from the Potter vault, but unless they left the bank, they were quickly returned without the knowledge of those who remove it."

"What about Figg?" He heard her chuckle and raised an eyebrow.

"Turns out, he was removing the funds from a bank account controlled by the headmaster labeled Order of the Phoenix." She stated with a grin that faded as she then told him. "That most of the funds removed from the trust vault went to that account. Griphook has accounted for most of the funds that way."

"Most?" He asked.

"I hate to tell you this, considering your issues with the Weasleys, but he paid for the education of the children from the Potter trust and Molly Weasley herself apparently had a key to the Potter vault."

"Merlin, James Potter must be bloody furious in his afterlife if he knows about that," Lucius replied with a soft whistle. "See you tomorrow, and Amelia, go home, get some sleep."

"I wish everyone would stop telling me to do that." She crossly replied while entering her office to find Remus Lupin staring at a photo she had of the young Potter boy that she had taken off a reporter who had snuck into the hospital. "He is fine, at least he needs very little long-term medical attention."

"I thought he was dead," Lupin said his voice hoarse. "Until I read in the prophet about the headmaster and his lies and manipulations, I thought that I had once again let someone down due to my affliction and that he had died."

Amelia felt for the wizard seated across from her and reached out to grasp his hand. "You had no chance against Dumbledore. He would not have let you testify even if you weren't a werewolf, in fact, there is a good chance you would be dead or in a cell next to Sirius Black if you were."

Seeing his amber colored eyes look up at that, she said "Dumbledore was determined to control the Potter power, estates and legacy. He tried with James, but thanks to his falling in love with Lily, it didn't work. It was why he was so determined to control Harry from his birth. Plus, there was a fake prophecy that he believed that was real."

"Fake?" He said then looking crushed guessed. "The one that Trelawney told to Dumbledore, that he used to place James and Lily under the fidelius charm, it was fake?"

"Trelawney had seen her great-aunt give several real ones, she knew how to do it. When Dumbledore was going to refuse to give her the job, she panicked and faked giving a supposedly real prophecy, unaware that the headmaster was so paranoid about exposing his secrets that he would believe it to be about himself."

"So, how many lives did she ruin by faking that thing." He asked bitterly. "James, Lily, lost their lives, so did Sirius to a certain extent, my cub, he was treated as a house elf in the papers are right."

At first, confused as to what he was talking about when he mentioned his cub, she thought about what Sirius had said when first freed, and realized that all of the Marauders considered Harry theirs. "You know, Sirius refers to him as his pup. He has also called him Prongslet."

"Prongs Junior," Lupin said sounding lighthearted for the first time since he had sobered up. "Lily got upset when we tried to find something to describe the baby as when she was still pregnant. We eventually settled on Prongs Junior, but then my werewolf one night, Lily was in danger and the werewolf took over and got her help. I didn't even realize that after that, I kept referring to Harry as my cub, but Sirius did and got into the act and began to describe him as his pup. James was less than amused but Lily found it funny."

"I heard about that, back when he was still an auror trainee. Some grumbling about how next the two of you were going to want him to call you dad or something similar." She said with a quiet contentment at remembering the trainee that James Potter had been. "He kept trying to set the two of you up with women he would meet."

"I know, do you know what it is like to have random women show up at your house and claim to be there for a date, a date I would know nothing about." He stated while shaking his head. "How is Sirius doing?"

"He has his good days and his bad days. He is seeing someone to help with his nightmares. We are also finding that his animagus form acts as a shield against the worst effects of the dementors and that he still feels safe as Padfoot." She replied more soberly. "I saw Harry yesterday when they rescued him from the Dursleys. Bellatrix set their house on fire after finding out how they treated the boy. I had to settle things down a bit and went to the hospital to speak to her. Harry was meeting with Andromeda Tonks who was treating him for his medical issues."

"She will take good care of him." He admitted. "She used to treat me until I stopped going to her for treatment."

"I heard about that." She quietly replied. "Andromeda suspected the reason and felt guilty at being grateful that you did. However, from what I understand, it doesn't help, does it?"

With a grimace, he admitted, "No, but she is a mere child, that it happened... is practically criminal."

"You didn't do it on purpose and Ted and Andi know that." She gently replied. "Still, why didn't you go to Poppy?"

"I didn't wish to put her in any danger, by that time, I suspected that the headmaster had something to do with the evidence against Sirius, not that I suspected he was behind the deaths himself, nor that Peter had helped him." He replied. "When he refused to allow me to testify, I should have suspected something, but was so sure that he was the great Albus Dumbledore and that he was on the side of the light."

"None of us suspected him until he started to attack the Minister. Tom gave me his memories, did the same for Bella and Amos Diggory. It shook me, but not those two. Turns out the wizard wasn't quite as able to hide things as he believed, but most had pieces of the puzzle, none put the entire puzzle together until Minerva McGonagall went looking for records to prove Tom innocent of what the headmaster accused him of during his time at Hogwarts."

"I thought that Professor McGonagall was his biggest follower," Remus admitted.

"She became so when he showed her so-called evidence of Tom's guilt and turning to darkness. He doctored some memories and she was convinced that her ability to see darkness was at fault and who could be more light than a man who has a phoenix as a familiar." She replied with irony in her voice. "Turns out, that phoenix go with those with great magical power, not with light or dark. When she met Riddle again, after a head injury at her stone cottage, she recalled all her lost memories and realized that she was being lied to. She went looking for proof and found it and lots more."

"I tried to fight the headmaster over custody of Harry, but lost that battle too, then when he told me that he had placed a ward to keep dark creatures away from my godson, that he was lost to me, I felt this deep urgent need to take my own life." He admitted. "Thankfully before I could there was a full moon, which broke the compulsion, but for the last few years, since Harry's supposed death, I have been feeling the same compulsion, and this time was unable to break it except by drinking the thought away."

"What broke it?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"The headmaster's death. I still believed my godson was dead, so I was determined to at least gain some measure of vengeance for his death. Then Bellatrix showed up, I was in a state to fight against her magic." He replied. "I want to know the truth and I want to see my godson if he wishes to see me."

"As for knowing the truth, we are still looking into the matter, but as for Harry, that is up to Sirius and since he has repeatedly been sending me owls wanting to know when you were sober again, I am rather certain that time with your godson can be arranged." She replied. "However, there is another matter that I must tell you about first. It is regarding how you became a werewolf."

He let out a bitter laugh and said "Let me save you the trouble. I had a run in with Fernir Greyback, he told me all about it. Tried to get me to join his pack. I refused and had to fight him to get him to leave me alone. He and I now give each other a wide berth, but from what I heard, he is growing weak and will more than likely lose control of said pack which is currently in Russia."

"Albus Dumbledore has a lot to answer for." She replied. Then asked him if he had someplace to stay that evening that was close to town. "I might have a need for you tomorrow. We are bringing in several of my aurors who might have more answers to my remaining questions."

"Fine, but keep me away from Moody, he came looking for me several times and I have repeatedly escaped him," Remus replied. "Oh, and I know where to locate Pettigrew, even if I can't get close to him. He is hiding at the Weasley home, as a pet rat for one of their sons."

"Weasleys, it keeps coming back to them." She stated, wondering his opinion of that family.

"Arthur suddenly fell in love with Molly and he has been under her spell since Hogwarts. He will do anything to keep her happy and has done so. The problem is that he had the lineage she wished for but good ole Molls was unaware that the Weasleys had lost their funds due to his father's gambling habits. Rumor has it, she was determined to have a daughter which only made things worse considering their lack of funds, seven kids are six too many." Remus replied as he stood to go. "I will crash at the Leaky Cauldron tonight."

"Be careful, Tom appears to be Dumbledore's man." She warned only to see a feral smile appear on his face. "I won't tell you to rein in your anger, but keep it on a slow burn, we will be dealing with those unconnected to the Ministry in two days."

Harry woke up for a second morning in his soft bed with fluffy pillows underneath his head. He heard the knock on his door and said come in to find that his Aunt Bella was dressed and that this time her hair looked as if she had run a comb through it. "Good morning, Heir Potter."

Hearing him giggling at the address, she raised her eyebrow and said "The correct reply is good morning witch."

"I can't call you a witch, it's an insult." He said sounding offended.

She chuckled and entered further into the room and gave him a whack with a pillow before announcing. "And I was just kidding. The reply should be good morning Aunt Bella and then be asking why you are being awoken at the crack of dawn."

"I can't tell the time with the curtains drawn." He admitted as he sat up and rested his weight on his elbows then pulled out the lump now behind his back. Finding the purple hippogriff, he blushed and tried to hide it from his aunt who merely leaned in and whispered that she kept a pink dragon with her for years.

"Now, as to why I woke you up, I am going to be heading into work early this morning and wished to be sure that you ate a healthy breakfast so that when Andi demands to know that, I can truthfully reply that I saw you eating." She said then called out for the house elf to bring him his breakfast.

Then when she saw the fresh plums, stole one using magic and saw his eyes widen then with an impish grin stared at the plum in her hands and to her shock it disappeared and reappeared on his tray. "Outstanding. Harry, it is very rare for a wizard to be able to control their accidental magic and for you to be doing so at such a young age after learning of magic only two days ago...simply outstanding."

When he blushed and stuttered the words thanks, she glared at him and announced. "However, just for that... Kreachure, please bring Harry a pear."

Not sure why that was a punishment, Harry saw the pear pop in and to his surprise, she levitated the plums right back into her hands. "You won't trick me a second time."

With that, she left the house, the laughter coming from the young boy magic to her ears as she bit into the ripe and juicy plum. Apparating from just outside the wards, she arrived at the Ministry at the same time as Amelia Bones who looked eager and completely refreshed in spite of her long day. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes, I am hoping that with the help of your brother-in-law, this won't take as long as I fear," Amelia admitted. "I arranged for a meeting with several of my aurors, as cover I am looking for a new deputy, but that is only so that I can speak to them individually and hopefully with less drama."

"I heard about the meeting held at the pub." She announced with a grimace. "How did it go with Lupin?"

"He was cleared, I kept him around, mainly because I have heard how he frequently got the drop on Moody and that might appear necessary because unfortunately, he is my prime suspect for the guilty party." She admitted.

When they arrived in the lobby, the two witches parted, Amelia to her department and Bella to her bosses office and to her amusement he hadn't arrived yet. Since his reunion with Minerva McGonagall, he was no longer the first person in the office nor the last to leave. Shuddering as she thought what could have detained the older wizard, her mind went to a very sad place and she shuddered at the thought of old people having sex.

"Dare I take a peak and find out what that was about?" Her boss asked as he entered his office. Seeing her pale, he chuckled and announced "Bella, someday you two are going to age and when you do you will find that the only thing that changes is your body, not its desires or its abilities."

"Oh Merlin, kill me now. Please?!" She begged and when they both had tea and she had eaten her remaining plum, amused at how good it tasted for being stolen, she looked at the reports generated overnight. "So, Slughorn took poison. He was always weak."

"I wish to know how he hid it on himself," Riddle replied. "I also want you to go speak to Croaker about this prophecy and find out if it is in the hall. We might have to have the Potter boy come to remove it, but I would prefer that we do so without his help if at all possible."

"Trelawney is facing fraud charges, I also see that Amos has arranged for several aurors to help deal with the infestation in the Forbidden Forest. I still think that McGonagall needs to fire Hagrid. He has endangered the students by hiding that those spiders are nesting inside it." Bella answered.

"He will leave when the time is right, let it be for now," Riddle replied. "Quirrell's story interested me, mainly because Dumbledore tried to guide me into going to Albania as well. Oh, and Minerva has hired a curse-breaker from Gringotts to see what they can find about the supposed curse I was to have placed on the Defense Against the Dark Art's position."

Bella chuckled and replied, "I wish to ask one question, is anything going to be done about Binns?"

"One mess at a time, Bella. I didn't even bring that up to Minerva, she already has too much on her plate with Hogwarts due to start in four weeks." He replied. "As it is, she is seriously considering offering your brother-in-law the position of transfiguration professor."

"Not a good idea, I recall how impressionable teenage girls are and with how pretty Lucy is, I am almost certain that Cissa would end up having to hex them away from her husband." She replied with a smirk on her face as she imagined how that would go.

"The problem is that there are so few masters in the art, thanks to the headmasters slowly culling away anyone who could outdo him. I am sure that that was another part that lead to Potter's death, his incredible talent in transfiguration." He replied with a heavy sigh. "I fear that the only reason Minerva survived was that Dumbledore wished to use her against myself."

Shaking her head at the thought, she then opened the next file and grimaced. "Are you sure we can't kill the Dursleys?"

"No, though I applaud the urge, I can't allow it. Besides, they are going to be facing muggle social workers for the mess that they created with their son. I spoke to the muggle Minister and he has arranged for them to be investigated for their son's bullying behavior and his other issues. We are keeping quiet regarding Harry other than to announce that he was removed and returned to his magical relatives. They will face kidnapping charges for that, but I expect them to be freed for them, but it turns out that they were being paid twice to take care of the boy, the muggles were doing so also."

Bella didn't like it but found that she had no say, but she would keep a close eye on the muggle justice, just in case she didn't feel that they were punished enough. Besides, she was sure that the boy would be freed and she was positive that he was going to be a problem.

Amelia Bones watched as the Longbottoms, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, and Emmaline Vance spoke to Alistair Moody as they sat there gathered with a good portion of her aurors who had already been cleared. As she spoke about needing a new deputy and how she wished the process to be fair, she insisted on interviewing everyone in alphabetical order, even those who protested about not wanting the position. "I do apologize for the inconvenience, but I made the vow on my magic, so I am rather afraid that I must insist on interviewing each of you."

With that, the very blond Lucius Malfoy entered the department and was soon giving his spiel that they had agreed upon the day before. She saw that Moody seemed suspicious but it was clear that he wasn't sure what to think of the situation.

As Amelia went through her staff, she assured those who were already in the clear that they were and explained the charade. One of them, Thomas Clearwater stated "I am not so sure that your plan is going to work. I overheard Moody speaking to his people about something earlier."

"We have ways around his tricks." She informed him and went to the next name on her list. Eventually coming to Hestia Jones who was the first true suspect. When Lucius Malfoy send her the paperwork detailing what he had seen when he had brushed up against the witch, she grimaced and called her in.

"Hestia, thank you for taking the time to deal with this." She stated and when the witch was seated, Amelia placed a privacy ward on the door and watched at Hestia tried to hide her relief at her using the standard ward and not anything more specific.

She went through her questions as if it was an interview, then sat back and asked. "Are you interested in this position at this time?"

"In truth, no," Hestia replied.

"Fine. However, before you go, what is your opinion on this mess with Dumbledore, after all, you were a Lion, I know that your house was particularly close to him." She asked and was given the same pat answer that most members of the house did.

"What about the Potter boy, what do you think about that?"

"I am shocked." She admitted and gave the first honest answer since she had entered the room. "I don't know what to think. I just don't know. I understand the lie, to keep him safe from those who would harm him, but I was in the courtroom, I know that Sirius Black took a magical oath, so I just wish that the headmaster had told us who he truly feared."

"He claims it was to protect him from the Minister, but as you know the Minister himself took a vow that he had no intentions of harming Harry Potter and that he had nothing to do with his parent's deaths." She probed.

According to Lucius, Hestia was having doubts about the headmaster being right about it being the Minister after Harry, but she was true of the belief that someone had to be attempting to kill the boy, why else would Dumbledore have lied about his need to protect the boy. So clearly, Hestia was a true believer even if she hadn't done anything illegal.

Dismissing the witch, Amelia made a few notes and then called in Alice Longbottom. Looking at the notes provided by Lucius, she grimaced as she realized the fears that the witch in front of her had regarding the supposed danger to her own son due to the twice-damned fake prophecy.

Having gone through the interview process yet again, she went on to ask the personal questions she had asked each auror to cover for what she was truly doing. "Alice, what do you think of the headmaster's death."

To Amelia's surprise, she ended up with an auror having hysterics in her office as she admitted to being terrified that without the headmaster's protection her son was under a death watch. Amelia was beyond furious when she realized that Alastor Moody had played with those fears the night before and that Alice was completely convinced that her son Neville was the boy that the prophecy was about. "Alice, I have heard the prophecy, your son, is safe."

"That is your interpretation, I have heard others." She announced.

"Alice, go ahead and go, I will look elsewhere for a deputy." She stated, releasing the witch and knowing that there would be a huge sense of betrayal when the Longbottoms finally learned the truth. "Before you do, I assure you, young Neville is safe. I can't tell you why I know this, but you will be hearing about it this afternoon at our daily briefing."

With that, she sent the witch out and skipped over her husband informing Frank that she would speak to him after he had calmed his wife down. With that, she spoke to her next name on the list, and since he wasn't a suspect, the interview went much quicker,

"Moody, I know that you are close to retirement age, so I will skip you and perform a quick interview later." She stated as she skipped over the older auror and went to her next few names and finally called in Shacklebolt. Lucius' notes stated that he was suspicious of the headmaster now that the truth was becoming known but that he had some interesting information that she would love to know.

So finishing up her fake interview, she asked him. "So what do you think of the mess with the headmaster?"

Kingsley shrugged and then announced "I believed in him, was convinced that he was honest, after all, he claimed to not want the job, told me that they were pushed upon him after his defeat of Grindelwald. If I had known of his manipulations, I would have been warier, but I wasn't. He played me. You should know, he had me reporting to him what was going on in this office. I wasn't the only one doing so either."

"Thanks for being honest with me." She replied. "What about the situation with this supposed prophecy and the Potter and Longbottom boys."

"Before we found the book, I would have been all for hiding the boy, no matter what, but now..." He shook his head and admitted "There is something screwy about this entire mess. How could he know that this particular prophecy was about those two boys, it is too vague and there are too many variables. He wasn't all knowing, he merely made it seem so by using his vast network of eyes and ears here at the Ministry and other spots."

With that, she allowed him to leave and called in Emmaline Vance who it was clear was torn between honoring her former headmaster and her common sense. After asking her the questions that she had prepared, then went to what she was really after.

Emmaline attempted to prevaricate but with a frown, Amelia got her to tell her the truth. "I just don't know, I was so sure that he was right, but we had a meeting last night and during it, I was shocked to find out that others are asking questions about the headmaster's motives."

"I have to admit, that I myself have questions, but am going to allow the investigation to work itself out." she lied and then asked. "What about the Potter boy, what do you think about his being alive and that he was being abused."

Emma shrugged and said "I am glad he is alive, but I doubt the abuse, after all, he is a small boy, for all I know, he was sent to bed without dessert. You know how kids exaggerate things. I am quite certain that the headmaster of all people wouldn't leave a child to be abused."

"Thank you, Emma," she stated then asked her to send in Frank Longbottom. When Frank joined her, she asked her questions then quickly moved on to asking about Alice. "She seems terrified, Frank. I don't understand, why is she so certain that this prophecy is about your son."

Frank sighed and then looking at his boss admitted "The headmaster told us that there were two possible children who could fulfill the prophecy and that it was more than likely the Potter boy. I never thought about it again, but then Neville, well he hasn't shown much magical ability, Amelia. Alice is terrified that he wouldn't be able to defend himself. I have to agree,"

Amelia allowed Frank to keep speaking and listened carefully as she heard Frank admitting that he was glad that it was the Potter boy. "I thought you were friends with James and that Alice was Lily's godmother. Yet, you didn't fight for custody of him."

"Of course not, the headmaster said the prophecy was about him. If it was Harry, well we had to be concerned about Neville first." Frank admitted. "I didn't wish to bring the danger into my house if I could avoid it. Selfish I know, but I love my son, Amelia. I am sorry for what the Potter boy went through, but Albus fully intended to make it up to him, it was why he was going to arrange for the Weasley family to take care of him, to take him in."

Amelia nodded and then asked, "Frank, what if Albus was wrong?"

"Then I will do my best to protect Neville, to keep him safe from this prophecy." He vowed.

"What I mean is what if he is wrong about this prophecy, what if it isn't real." She asked.

"I spoke to Alastor, he believed it to be real," Frank replied as if that settled the entire situation. "Amelia, I am sure that all of this has been exaggerated about the headmaster manipulating things, I mean, why would the headmaster sign a betrothal agreement between the Weasleys and Potter if he was so guilty. Surely if he was in it for the power, why would he just hand it off to the Weasleys via this marriage agreement."

Amelia covered her anger, she had suspected that the Weasleys were up to their indigent necks in this mess, but that they had essentially sold their daughter into marriage in order to fund their sons' education, pissed her off. Still, she thanked Frank and sent him to join his wife.

Writing a note, she sent an owl note to Sirius Black about the supposed betrothal agreement knowing that he would have to be the person to end it. Calling in Mad Eyes, she went through her charade almost certain that he knew it was one, then went to her doorway and called in Remus Lupin who she had seen arriving an hour before and Lucius.

When the blond handed her his paper on Mad-Eye, she thanked him and then looking at Mad-Eye, closed her door after Lupin had entered the room and announced. "time to end the charade, Alastor."

"I don't know what you are talking about." He said as his hand slipped further into his robe, clearly already armed with his wand.

"Alastor, we found the headmaster's journal, I know that you are up to your neck in his shenanigans. I know that you have an escape plan, but the floo has been closed and blocked from my end. Edgecomb was found out last night and has been fired." She stated and saw his eye spin as if to determine his next lane to escape.

With that statement, she placed a small cube on her desk and lit it up and when she saw him wincing in pain, announced: "I just turned off all avenues of magical escape and thanks to Mr. Lupin's affliction, he can overpower you if you were to try to escape."

"Always knew that you would turn on me." He gruffly announced. "Its the way of the beast."

"Lupin, don't take your eyes off of him. I need to read this." She announced before reading what Malfoy had gotten from Moody. The first statement, that Moody was a paranoid nutjob, had her chuckling but that went away when she read about his plan to kidnap the Potter boy and keep him hidden away as per the headmaster's plans in the event of his death.

What made the situation worse, was that Moody knew that the headmaster wasn't lily white but still chose to follow the man. "You know that he killed the Potters and did nothing to arrest him?"

Moody heard the growl escape from the werewolf and sneered at his former apprentice trainee and announced. "The headmaster said that James and Lily were a threat to the peace of our world as we know it. I accepted it as collateral damage. And since you seem to have a list of my crimes, aye, I knew that the boy was really alive but thought dead."

Amelia looked at the former auror and announced "You are officially retiring today, you should know, I wanted to fire you without you receiving your pension benefits, but was overridden by the Minister, who felt we owed you for what you did in the battles with Grindelwald. By the way, did you know that the headmaster and he were lovers?"

"Aye. He regretted his mistake." Moody announced.

"Let me guess, he told you that, in those exact words." She said with a mirthless chuckle. When he nodded, she said "You were a fool, he wrote about it in his journal, he regretted the mistake of having told Grindelwald about the Peverell legacy and that he allowed him to get the wand, nothing more. He had no regrets of the millions of muggles who died as a result of his lover's ascendancy to madness and that most died because he waited, expecting Grindelwald to come back to him. When Grindelwald made it clear that he had used Albus' infatuation to gain the information he wanted, that he didn't intend to share the power with Albus was when he decided to defeat the bastard."

"In truth, he kept the Wizengamot from going after Grindelwald and managed to play the various factions against one another, until it was almost too late. You, you lost your eye and your leg to his hubris in thinking he could convince Grindelwald to come back to him." Amelia explained as she saw his denial. "It's true, we have all of his memories that he stored in the tower and his journals. It's over, Alastor. The Potter boy is with his godfather who would take you down even before you had to deal with the rest of the Ministry."

"Sirius Black is no threat to the headmaster's plan." Moody confidently stated. "It's too late for him to interfere. We took the final step last evening."

Amelia saw his confidence and saw that Remus Lupin was looking at her, clearly concerned about the way the old wizard was behaving, so she leaned back in her chair and with a cold smirk on her face told Alastor. "Molly Weasley is in for quite the surprise when she tries to file the paperwork. James Potter wasn't a fool by any means. He wasn't so blinded by the headmaster's supposed light reputation."

With that, she asked the older wizard to strip and when he refused, she looked at Remus and asked him to help her remove the older wizard's robes and all he had on underneath. When he did so, if a bit reluctantly, she soon had two spare wands, a knife and several poisons on her desk, then with a cold expression on her face demanded his wooden leg.

In a hollow space, they found yet another wand and a portkey. With a grimace, she used a sharp point to remove his magical eye and found that it was also a portkey. Throwing a pair of muggle style scrubs at him, she told him to dress. She saw his anger at what she had done and refused to give him back his eye and when he was dressed, called for two aurors she trusted to levitate him to a cell.

There were some stunning comments as the spectacle moved through the bullpen but when Amelia came to the doorway, she announced. "I am ordering an all hands on deck meeting at noon. Any auror not here is to be considered a fugitive and will be arrested."

With that, she shook her head and looking at Remus Lupin directed him where to find Sirius and his godson then looking at the Longbottoms who were clearly affronted on the behalf of their mentor, announced "Sybil Trelawney's prophecy was a fraud, she admitted it to us last evening. Anything more, you will have to wait until my briefing."

With that, she went to join Bellatrix for lunch in the commissary and was soon venting to the younger witch about the stupidity and lack of common sense of their world. "They truly were sure that the headmaster was telling the truth, oh, you should know, they believe that they have a betrothal agreement between House of Weasley and House of Potter."

Bellatrix burst into loud laughter and looking at Amelia asked. "The headmaster really had them snowed, didn't he? Did Molly forget what James vowed after finding out what she attempted while still in school."

"Molly Prewett Weasley has bullied and potioned so many people into agreeing to her wishes, that she truly believes she is invincible, I can't wait to shut her down. Even better, I am tempted to tell the Minister, you know how he feels about people using love potions." Amelia said with a shudder of fear.

TBC