Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any character from the series. If I did, I wouldn't be writing those stories for free.

Barbaric World

Chapter 1 – The Rejection Letter

When Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, read Harry Potter's reply letter, she was initially happy but that emotion quickly changed.

Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,

I am grateful for the chance to become a student of the same magical school my parents attended. However, I must decline for I have no intention to rejoin a barbaric world where the Government can make people rot in prison without bothering to check if they're really guilty of anything they're being imprisoned for.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Professor McGonagall was livid. She knew the Dursleys's hatred of magic and their overall behavior made them unfit to raise magical children but she never thought they'd make up that kind of lie to make Harry reject the world he belonged in. She was about to rub Harry's reply on Headmaster Dumbledore's face to make him realize the mistake of leaving Harry with those people when she had a change of mind. Knowing Dumbledore's stubbornness, she expected him to somehow make Harry remain with the Dursleys and Harry needed someone to get him to go to Hogwarts and permanently remove him from his muggle relatives. She instead decided to go to the Ministry of Magic to report the Dursleys. At the Ministry lobby, she was easily recognized by the receptionist. "Professor McGonagall?" She asked.

"Yes, Doris." She replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to see Amelia Bones. It's an emergency."

Like most people who learned Transfiguration from Professor McGonagall, Doris was somehow afraid of her. However, she still had a job to do. "Be as it is, Professor, I still need to check your wand to verify your identity." While Gryffindors were known for their recklessness, Professor McGonagall knew refusing to comply would likely result in Ministry Aurors delaying her even more so she agreed to let Doris take her time to mention the description of her wand and when it had been purchased. After that, Professor McGonagall was guided to the office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "Professor McGonagall, you said you needed to see me because of an emergency." Amelia Bones said. "What happened?"

"Harry Potter's muggle guardians made up a terrible lie about the Wizarding World to make him unwilling to return to it." Professor McGonagall answered.

Amelia Bones was appalled at this news. "What did they make him believe?"

"As of now, Harry Potter believes the Wizarding World to be 'a barbaric world where the Government can make people rot in prison without bothering to check if they're really guilty of anything they're being imprisoned for'." Professor McGonagall explained.

"How did Headmaster Dumbledore react to this news?" Amelia Bones asked.

"I haven't told him, Amelia." Professor McGonagall replied. "I'm afraid he'd pull strings to keep Harry with those people unless it's the only way to make Harry attend Hogwarts."

Amelia Bones then led Professor McGonagall to the Wizarding Child Services office to check on Harry Potter's records. Upon reading them, Amelia Bones found several irregularities. "It's been almost ten years ever since Harry Potter was left under the care of his muggle relatives. Why are there no records of members of this department visiting him to see if he's being properly cared for?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore offered to check upon him and keep Ministry officers off the case." The officer answered.

"And you trusted him?" Amelia Bones asked in surprise.

"He's Albus Dumbledore, the hero who defeated Gellert Grindewald." He explained. "Not to mention that each Death Eater found within Ministry ranks made the decision sound more sensible."

"Talking about Death Eaters within our ranks, why does Sirius Black remain listed as Harry Potter's magical guardian?" Amelia asked mildly upset at seeing that traitor's name still associated to the Wizarding World's savior.

"He's Harry's Godfather and the first choice of guardian appointed in the will made by Harry's parents." The officer explained. "That makes him guardian until he relinquishes this status or somebody brings us a reason he couldn't or shouldn't be."

"He's accessory to the murder of Harry's parents and the attempted murder of Harry Potter." Minerva McGonagall intervened. "That should be reason enough."

"It would be had the Department of Magical Law Enforcement sent us records of Black either being found guilty at his trial or pleading guilty." The officer replied while staring at Amelia Bones. "Don't look at me." Madam Bones replied. "Sirius Black was caught and sent to Azkaban during Bartemius Crouch's time as head of my department. It's not my fault he forgot to have the records of Black's trial sent to you."

"Ladies, were any of you present at the court session where Sirius Black answered for his crimes?" The officer asked.

"No." Amelia answered. "Crouch wanted it to be in closed court to keep rioters from enforcing vigilante justice and Death Eaters from trying to break Black out."

"Excuse me!" Minerva interrupted with her 'strict teacher' mode. "I believe we have a more urgent problem to solve."

"Professor McGonagall is right." Amelia Bones replied. "I'll have someone send you a copy of Sirius Black's trial records while two aurors and I will interrogate the Dursleys."

"I'm going with you, Madam Bones."

Meanwhile, at Number 4, Privet Drive, Petunia Dursley was making the final touches on her son Dudley's and her nephew Harry's Smeltings uniforms. "Harry, are you sure responding to that Hogwarts letter was a good idea?" Petunia's husband Vernon Dursley asked. "Those people might refuse to take no for an answer."

"Uncle, if I refused to answer, they would probably use this as an excuse to accuse you of forcefully preventing me from attending that school." Harry explained. "Sure, you may be right about that lot not taking no for an answer but I still believe I've diminished the chances."

Right after that, they heard the door bell. Vernon answered and was horrified at the sight of two men and two women wearing robes. "Whatever you're selling, we're not buying!" Vernon rudely shouted as he tried to shut the door but Minerva McGonagall interrupted him. "You'd not want your neighbors to see you at your property, would you, Dursley?"

With a sigh, Vernon Dursley reluctantly allowed them in. Petunia soon recognized the Transfiguration Mistress. "You?"

"Do you know her, Mum?" Dudley asked his mother.

"That woman is Minerva McGonagall, Dudley." Petunia Dursley explained. "She's with the school your cousin's parents attended and is the one who officially introduced your Aunt Lily to that barbaric world. McGonagall, when did you intend to tell her your lot's Government has the power to send people to Prison without caring if they're guilty or not?"

"Petunia, I know you hate our world but making up those stories to make Harry hate it is a new low even for you." McGonagall firmly replied.

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall." Amelia Bones interrupted. "But I am the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and it's my job to investigate this."

"You?" Vernon asked. "What happened to Bartemius Crouch?"

"He was transferred to another department." She answered.

"Good." Vernon replied. "I hope you haven't continued his policy of denying people the right to a trial." That comment caught the attention of all wizards and witches other than Harry Potter. They were expecting the Dursleys to be magic-hating bigots who had no idea of who's who in the Wizarding World and instead they turned out to not only know the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was once headed by someone named Bartemius Crouch but also accuse specifically him of doing what they taught Harry to hate their world for.

"Preposterous!" Minerva McGonagall claimed in outrage. "Name one person who became a victim of such miscarriage of justice."

"Sirius Black." Vernon replied, scaring all his visitors. Albeit, if Amelia Bones were to be honest with herself, she was half expecting something like that given the Wizarding Child Services have never seen records of Black's conviction.

"How dare you describe him as a victim after all he did?" McGonagall asked in anger.

"McGonagall, don't make me repeat myself." Bones demanded.

"After what he's been accused of doing, you mean." Petunia replied.

"You can't be doubting he's guilty." One of the yet to be identified wizards said.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe we've been introduced yet." Vernon gruffly stated.

"These are Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror John Dawlish." Amelia replied. "But I agree with Auror Shacklebolt. There's no doubt Sirius Black betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who and later killed Peter Pettigrew and several muggles."

"That's the conclusion your barbaric lot jumped to." Harry intervened. "There's not even proof Peter Pettigrew really died."

"That's enough!" McGonagall angrily shouted. "Madam Bones, please do something."

"Please be quiet, Professor McGonagall." She asked and then directed her attention to Vernon Dursley. "Mr. Dursley, would you tell me the names of the Wizarding Child Services officers who evaluated you and your wife as guardians of Harry Potter?"

"Does your lot have Child Services?" Vernon asked in surprise. His surprise paled in comparison to Amelia's. "The person who left Harry Potter with you and your wife should have told the both of you about this standard procedure for when a child of magical parents is left with muggles."

"We just found the boy at our doorstep with a letter." Petunia hastily replied.

Before Amelia Bones had a chance to say anything else, an owl showed up and delivered her a message.

Director Bones,

We found ourselves unable to comply with your request. We were unable to find records of Sirius Orion Black ever being taken to court to answer for any crime. All we found was the official list of crimes he was arrested for and an order to send him to Azkaban.

Cordially,

Donald Perkins

"Well, it seems your claims were more well-founded than I thought, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley." Amelia replied. "The case will be properly investigated but, why didn't you notify me before?"

"When we asked Crouch to hold a trial for Harry's Godfather, he threatened to turn us into Sirius Black's cellmates." Vernon explained. "After that, and knowing how several people from your lot are prejudiced against people like us, Petunia and I were too afraid to set foot in your world or keeping up with news from it."

"Well, in name of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I apologize for not noticing this gross miscarriage of justice before." Amelia replied, shocking Minerva McGonagall and the Aurors. "I'll go back to the Ministry and fix this."

"Madam Bones, you can't be serious!" Professor McGonagall was appalled. "Sirius Black is obviously guilty. "And you can't leave Mr. Potter with those people!"

"Those people's reason to convince Harry Potter to stay away from the Wizarding World turned out to be legitimate." Madam Bones replied. "Nobody except Harry's magical guardian can force him."

The two wizards and two witches then left the Dursley household. "Well, Harry. You were right about replying the letter." Vernon commented.

"And it went better than I hoped." Harry added. "Sirius Black will finally have a chance to defend himself. My only worry is that McGonagall woman. She didn't seem to take it well that I refused to attend Hogwarts."

"Well, it's not like she can do anything about that, Harry." Petunia replied. "You're going to Smeltings and there's nothing she can do about it."

How wrong she was.

While Amelia Bones was dispatching Aurors to fetch Sirius Black from Azkaban for questioning and checking records from other Azkaban inmates sent to Azkaban during Bartemius Crouch's time as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Minerva McGonagall was at the Wizarding Child Service office. "Professor McGonagall, why do you want provisory magical custody of Harry Potter?"

"To make him attend Hogwarts despite his muggle relatives tricking him into fearing the Wizarding World." Professor McGonagall explained. That was enough to make the officer grant her request. Anything to make their savior return.

Please review. To the readers expecting a third year of "Removing Dudley from the Equation", I intend to return to that. Eventually.