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gingersparkTitle: Dreaming of magic
Fandom: Dreaming of sunshine, Naruto, Harry potter
Summary: DOS team 7 reborn into the Harry Potter universe
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Fandom: Dreaming of sunshine, Naruto, Harry potter
Summary: DOS team 7 reborn into the Harry Potter universe
Previous Next
Amelia Bones
The first Amelia heard of what would become known as the "Sirius Black Situation" was the man's request to contact his family head, which had eventually found its way to her desk. Such requests were exceedingly rare from Azkaban inmates, especially after they'd been imprisoned for more than a month or so. The request from Heir Black was therefore highly unusual. She couldn't make sense of it – why now? What had changed? He couldn't have received any new information in prison, and if he had something to say to his house head then why hadn't he sent the request years earlier?
The request was, however, entirely legitimate, and Heir Black had a right to private correspondence with his family head. The request had caused a bit of a ruckus on its' way to her, and Amelia had decided to deal with it herself, to avoid any "unfortunate accidents" with the correspondence. The war was years in the past now, but emotions still ran high, especially regarding a traitor.
The request was, however, entirely legitimate, and Heir Black had a right to private correspondence with his family head. The request had caused a bit of a ruckus on its' way to her, and Amelia had decided to deal with it herself, to avoid any "unfortunate accidents" with the correspondence. The war was years in the past now, but emotions still ran high, especially regarding a traitor.
She walked into Azkaban's sole visitor's room to the sight of Siri- Heir Black chained loosely to a writing desk, with a dementor guard to either side.
Heir Black jumped to his feet with a rattle of chains and the same cheeky grin she'd seen at Order meetings during the war.
"Morning Amelia." He glanced at her robes, and her badge of office. "Congratulations on becoming department head, always knew you'd make it." He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think I'd rate the head of the DMLE just pass on a letter though."
She'd expected him to have changed, and he had, in a way. He seemed tired, a little sad around the edges, and of course he was filthy. But he seemed entirely sane. Amelia felt off balance. She'd spent the morning bracing herself to see a shadow of the man she'd known (or thought she'd known) during the war. She'd known he must have retained something of himself to send the letter, but this was unprecedented.
She let none of her uncertainty show, ordering the Governor to remove the dementors and then dismissing him.
Alone in the room with Heir Black she pulled out the stationary she'd brought with her and placed them on the desk.
"Thanks Amelia." His smile was the same. Slightly wryer than she remembered perhaps, but the same half-smirk.
"I'll seal it and take it to Lord Black when you're done." She said stiffly, retreating to a chair in the corner. The desk had inlaid privacy charms, and she would be unable to see what he was writing from any angle in this room, not that she'd look. The privacy of correspondence between noble family members and their family heads was enshrined in law.
Amelia had honed her observation skills through her years in law enforcement, and she put them to use as she watched Heir Black roll up his sleeves and begin to write.
There was no hesitation in the way he used a quill, even though he hadn't written in half a decade. He never paused his writing – he had likely composed this letter in his head while his request was passed around the DMLE. He was composed and focused on his writing. His hair was dirty and lank, but it looked tidy. It was rare for inmates to pay any attention to personal hygiene, but clearly he'd made an effort. That said more about his sanity than anything else Amelia had seen – whether it was a good or bad sign she wasn't sure. She was painfully aware she'd never even suspected the man of reporting to Voldermort, had trusted him, and that he could be lying to her with every gesture. That she couldn't see the death eater didn't mean he wasn't there.
He stopped writing, neatly closing the inkwell, folding his letter and slipping it into an envelope. He sealed it with the wax she'd provided, enchanted to protect the secrecy of the letter. To Amelia's surprise, he didn't hand it to her, instead leaving it lying on the desk and turning in his chair to face her.
She felt trepidation as she realised he'd trapped her. She couldn't take the letter from the desk herself, she had to wait until he removed it.
He was intently focused on her. "So, Amelia, did you ever get round to reading my trial records?"
"I'm familiar with the case." Only in the broadest of senses, it had been a chaotic time. Amelia had never felt the need to read the details of a closed case, especially for a man she'd cared for and been betrayed by.
"Really Amelia?" He looked sceptical, shifting slightly, and her attention was drawn to his forearms. His arms were thinner than she remembered, when they'd caught her eye during the war. What caught her attention now, however, was the bare, unmarked skin.
She must have failed to keep her shock from her face, because when she looked up he was smirking slightly.
"Do me a favour Amelia?" Her mind whirled. He didn't have a mark. Crouch said he was a Death Eater, but he wasn't marked. Cold horror settled in her stomach. "Look up those trial records for me would you?"
When she nodded numbly he smiled at her, reaching for the letter. She took it, turning briskly to leave the room.
"Thanks Amelia" He called after her, sincerity clear in his voice.
*
A few hours after delivering the letter to Lord Arcturus Black's estate Amelia was sitting at her desk opposite Julian Oakham, her assistant. Both of them were staring in horror at the places where trial documentation should be. Sirius's file had no record of a trial. The Wizengamot records for the time a trial should have occurred, (even the full year after she'd ordered Julian to pull for her) also had no record. With steadily climbing dread, she'd helped Julian read through the trial records section of the Prophet, and also found nothing.
"I know they caught him red-handed, but..." Julian scanned the documents again, and Amelia knew it was in vain. Sirius Black had never had a trial. She knew he was guilty, the evidence had been incontrovertible, but this was an unacceptable oversight. Or - she recalled his blank forearm as her stomach sank. She had known he was guilty, but all of a sudden she wasn't so sure.
Amelia now had some excellent guesses regarding the contents of that letter, and the impending political shitstorm. They had imprisoned the heir of an ancient and noble house without a trial. This kind of blunder would be a problem even if he was a powerless muggleborn who turned out to be guilty. If they'd imprisoned the heir of an ancient and noble house and he turned out to be innocent?
She couldn't even imagine what damage that would do, let alone what else might have been missed in the chaos after the end of the war. Dear Merlin! Amelia rested her head in her hands. They'd have to go over every single case, from Merlin-knows when until she'd taken over herself. She'd known the department had been badly run under Crouch, but this? This was a disaster.
The only bright spot was that she knew exactly who was to blame, and he was only a floor away. Striding out of her office, wand in hand, Amelia headed for the office of Bartimeius Crouch.
*
Arcturus
Arcturus scowled as his cousin Cassiopeia read the letter from his estranged grandson.
The Bones girl had brought it just as he'd been enjoying his usual post lunch whiskey and telling Halton about the old days. Getting an unexpected visit from the head of the DMLE was the most interesting thing that had happened to him in years.
Irritating boy, disrupting his life like this. Couldn't the irresponsible rascal have written before he'd quietly resigned himself to the death of his house?
Orion's sons had been the last heirs, and Arcturus was still furious at Walburga for what she'd done to them. She'd pushed Regulus into getting involved with that upstart fanatic and gotten him killed. Arcturus had expected that her older boy would get over his rebellious phase and return to the family, right up until he got himself thrown in prison.
Now this! Dumping the whole damned situation at Arcturus's feet. He'd always been a loud, melodramatic child. Arcturus really had hoped he'd grow out of it.
"Well, I see why you wanted me here immediately Artie." His cousin's face had sharpened into what he'd always thought of as her 'plotting face'. "The boy is right, the house of Black cannot stand for this."
He sighed. "But why now Cassie? What on earth does he mean 'granted the gift of sanity by a benevolent spirit'? How did we miss the absence of a trial?"
Cassie scowled. "Well, I imagine we missed it because you were avoiding associating with the boy because he was running about with Dumbledore's band of muggle lovers, and I was in France visiting Marceline."
"I'm too old to get back into politics Cassie! I'm retired." He poured himself another glass of whiskey, only to find it flung out of his hands with a quick flick of Cassie's wand. "Cassie! That was-"
"You old fool, don't you realise? This is that odious little slimeball Crouch's fault! The pathetic little boy who thought he could search my house for 'dark artefacts'." She was more animated than he'd seen in years.
"Ah." He remembered Cassie's fury over that attempt, despite the warrant's failure in the courts. "That one." Had the brat thought he could get away with acting on a grudge against the Blacks? A slow burning anger took hold in his heart, as he pushed his half empty bottle aside and searched for a quill.
Cassie was smirking at him. "We can destroy him Artie. Just like the old days."
"Remind them why they feared the name of Black." He mused, sitting up straighter. "And ensure the survival of our House."
"Precisely." Cassie pulled out her blackmail book. "We'll start with Crouch and his cronies."
*
Amelia
Spending an hour dressing down her predecessor and cursing his office (strictly within the bounds of legality of course, there were no laws against cursing things to smell like dragon dung and eat quills) had made her feel slightly better, but she still shook with fury.
"Obviously guilty indeed" she muttered to herself. "Everyone has a right to a trial, Crouch, everyone." People scattered as she stalked back to her office, and she was vaguely aware under the seething fury that she must be alarming them.
Julian jumped as she closed the door a little harder than she'd meant to.
"Ah, Amelia. I've got a draft of a letter to Lord Black if you'd like to look at it?" She must still have been scowling if he was this jumpy.
She took a deep breath. "Thank you Julian, I'll take a look at that now. He'll already have got Sirius's letter, so it's rather urgent."
Julian's draft was a mess of crossings out, but it was exactly what she needed. Damage control. This would be a blow to the reputation of the DMLE, but hopefully she could confine it to Crouch's era. Part of that was acting as quickly as possible, writing out a formal apology to Lord Arcturus Black for his grandson's lack of trial, and committing to fixing it immediately, as well as making a public statement on the matter.
She'd barely sat down when Alan knocked on the door, bearing a tea tray. He greeted them cheerfully, placing the tea and sandwiches on a side table and pulling up a chair.
"Thought you might be wanting a cup of tea after dealing with that, Madam Bones." He smiled sympathetically at her.
Alan had finished his two year traineeship the year before, and was to the surprise of no one, the department's rising star. The muggleborn boy was brilliant, having blazed through the entrance tests and traineeship with the sponsorship of Alastor Moody, who actually approved of the boy. Of course, Alastor had been the one to handle the boy's case when he'd killed a death eater in self-defence towards the end of the war. Amelia could still remember the then thirteen year old sitting in the interrogation rooms, nervous but resolute. They'd persuaded him to give up his knife by that point, but he'd still been drenched in the blood of the fully trained death eater he'd taken out with it.
Alan was kind, friendly and personable, but Amelia had seen the body, and the alarming precision of the cuts severing the artery and spine. Alan never seemed intimidated by anything, he was respectful to those above him, but never actually wary. He had even struck up a genuine friendship with Alastor. So no matter how harmless he seemed, Amelia would never forget that there was a core of ruthless steel in the young man.
He was brilliant, capable of pulling together disparate threads of information and drawing conclusions no one else could see. He had a memory for minutia that Amelia had never encountered before, and a bone deep paranoia matched only that of his mentor. He was also an incorrigible gossip (without ever breaching information security procedures) and had contacts everywhere. She would reprimand him for his information gathering habits, but his encyclopedic knowledge of gossip was so frequently useful, and she knew it was part of what made him such an excellent detective.
"So, I asked around a bit, and it turns out no one remembers anything about Sirius Black getting a trial, even though he was a notorious mass murderer."
Amelia really should stop being surprised by how much he knew.
"I even asked old Algie, and you know what he's like with his diaries, and there's nothing. It's like it never happened." He added with a wry grin.
Algernon Longbottom had been the Longbottom proxy during and after the war, and kept a diary of every single meeting he ever attended, along with what he ate and (according to rumour) how often he went to the toilet. It was safe to say that if it wasn't in Algie's diary, it hadn't happened.
Amelia was a good deal less certain of Sirius's guilt than she had been, and now she knew exactly who she wanted to re-examine the case. If there was something to be found, he'd find it.
"He asked me to look up his trial records and he doesn't have a dark mark." Best to lay all the facts on the table if she was going to get Alan to investigate.
"How did the rest of the visit go?"
She answered all his questions about her meeting with Sirius, picking up on new aspects of Sirius's behaviour even as she answered his questions. When he was done with his information gathering he excused himself with Sirius's file to cross check and follow up with witnesses.
After completing the final version of the letter to Lord Black, she wrote out orders for Sirius to be moved to the ministry holding cells, as was appropriate for a suspect held before trial. She handed the orders to Kingsley with a curt "Never had a trial, move him to the ministry cells" and glanced at the clock. It was past midnight and therefore far too late for polite visiting hours, and her visit to Lord Black needed to be as formal as possible. With a sigh, she transfigured herself a bed and curled up to get a few hours of rest before meeting with Lord Black in person.
*
Sirius
Sirius was honestly not expecting to be removed from Azkaban practically the same day he wrote to his grandfather. He'd expected he'd need to wait for Lord Black to kick up a fuss, if Sirius's letter had managed to convince him, but apparently Amelia was an incredibly efficient department head.
He was brought to the ministry in the middle of the night by Kingsley and a stern faced auror he didn't know. Sirius spent the entirety of the boat trip entertaining himself by making polite small talk and watching them twitch.
When he was brought to his new ministry cell, he was overjoyed to find soap and a small sink, along with a clean change of clothes. He washed, revelling in being properly clean for the first time in years, and then fell asleep in clean clothes.
When he jolted awake at the sound of footsteps a few hours later he was brought to an interrogation room. He ignored the grumbling of his stomach, aware that he was likely being watched and couldn't pull out his food book, no matter how much he was craving chocolate.
He didn't have to wait long before a cheerful man swept into the room bearing food. He ignored the friendly "Morning Sirius", attention occupied by the sausage baps and mugs of tea.
He looked at his interrogator questioningly as the tray was placed between them.
"Dig in."
Sirius spent the next few minutes entirely focused on the experience of his fresh, hot sausage bap.
When he finally looked up, realising he was moaning in pleasure, his interrogator was politely pretending to ignore him and eating his own bap.
"Prison food pretty bad?" The man said, smirking slightly.
Sirius nodded, finishing the last bite of sandwich and wrapping his hands around the mug of tea.
"I'm Investigating Auror Alan Boscastle, I'll be handling the investigation. Do you know what you were charged with?" The man grimaced when Sirius shook his head.
"Alright then, you have been charged with two counts of accessory to murder, flagrant and wilful violation of the statute of secrecy, and thirteen counts of murder. I'm here to take your testimony as to the events of October the 31st and November the first 1981."
"Just realised no one ever did?" Sirius smirked.
"Pretty much." Alan grinned. "Madam Bones cursed half of Crouch's office when she finished chewing him out." Sirius smiled at the idea, it sounded just like Amelia, and he'd heard stories about her inventive curses.
Sirius took a gulp of tea and settled in to tell Alan everything.
*
Amelia
Amelia had barely had time to get out of the transfigured bed in her office and use a few refreshing charms before Alan knocked on her door. When she let him in he looked uncharacteristically grim.
"That bad?"
He grimaced. "Worse, Madam Bones." He collapsed into the chair across from her. "He wasn't just imprisoned without trial, he's actually innocent on top of that."
Amelia winced as the awful, sneaking suspicion she'd had since the moment she saw his unmarked forearm was confirmed. "You're certain?"
Alan nodded. "His story makes a good deal more sense than the official one, and he certainly believes it. It matches up with the evidence found at the scene too, I'm pretty sure he was framed. His wand is still in evidence storage, and the last spell cast was a tracking charm."
"You don't think he's guilty of anything?"
"He's an unregistered animagus, and he pulled a wand in front of muggles, but that's it." Minor crimes which should have resulted in fines rather than prison. Oh, this was a disaster.
"That's not the worst of it." Amelia's stomach dropped. What in Merlin's name was worse than a miscarriage of justice that had left the heir to an ancient and noble house in Azkaban for years? "If Black is telling the truth, Peter Pettigrew is a traitor, a mass murderer and a death eater. He's also alive, at large, and a rat animagus who has motivation to target Harry Potter."
"Merlin's balls..." Amelia buried her face in her hands and took a moment to breathe and think through the implications.
DMLE incompetence had imprisoned an innocent man and let a dangerous murder free for seven years. Worse, this catastrophe potentially endangered the child hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world. Pettigrew probably hadn't been able to find the boy, or he'd have acted before now and there had been no news of an attack on the boy who lived. She prayed his death hadn't been quietly hushed up, and shoved that thought down to focus on what she could do.
All possible leads would be years cold. The man was likely living as a rat, and could be absolutely anywhere.
"Is he at least a distinctive looking rat?"
"Grey-brown, about average size, missing a toe on his right front paw?" Alan looked as dismayed as she felt.
Merlin's beard he wasn't even a distinctive looking rat! How many rats with missing toes were there Britain? Was he even still in the country?
Amelia desperately wanted a drink, but she pushed that aside. She needed to have as much information as possible before meeting with Lord Black.
"Transcript?"
Alan placed the roll of parchment on the desk.
"Your opinion on Black?" Alan was sharp as a tack and had spent longer with Sirius than she had.
"Like you said, much saner than he should be after seven years in Azkaban. Less angry than I'd expect, given the situation. He's still furious at Pettigrew, and I'm pretty sure he was intending to kill him at the time, but I'd say he's unlikely to try that again, especially given how badly it turned out. He's in control of himself. The couple of times he started snarling about Pettigrew, he reigned himself in pretty quickly." That was an impressive change given what she'd known of his temperament before Azkaban. It didn't fit. People didn't come out of Azkaban saner and more stable than they went in, ever.
"Clever, but not very subtle. Clocked me as muggleborn, decided to try for sympathy by pointing out that a muggleborn in his situation would have no recourse. A bit blatant, but still miles above what I'd expected from a man seven years out of practice." Well, Amelia had suspected he'd played down any "Slytherin" traits in an effort to distance himself from his family. Sirius had been raised as a pureblood heir, it shouldn't have been surprising that he was competent at playing people even so many years later. The man had a point though. Who knew how many innocent people Crouch had put in Azkaban?
Amelia reminded herself that couldn't focus on that now, not right before the meeting with Lord Black.
"You'll be joining me when I visit Lord Black." She stated.
"Yes Madam Bones."
*
Alan
The country manor belonging to the house of Black was imposing, mostly because it was a castle. A castle with very pretty gardens, but very blatantly a castle.
This wasn't a slightly fortified manor, or a show of wealth with decorative crenelations. This was a building constructed primarily to be defensible, with a turret in each corner. Its forbidding grey walls were windowless, with only arrow slits and the front doors interrupting the smooth stone.
The wards he and Amelia had walked through as they stepped onto the grounds had rung with power to his senses. Alan trusted his sense for magic, and the protective power felt old, powerful and vicious. That was without even mentioning the nasty traps Alan could feel scattered through the entire area under the protective dome.
A quick glance as they approached the front doors confirmed that, yes, that was a portcullis above them. It felt as strongly magical as the wards, rippling with the same vicious power.
This place would be a nightmare to attack, and he could see how it had stood undefeated through the centuries, even aside from the alarming reputation of the Blacks themselves. He was rather interested in meeting Madam Cassiopeia Black, queen of gossip and blackmail. Her presence would likely make this meeting trickier for the DMLE though, and they were badly positioned as it was. Madam Bones' goal was to avoid the wrath of the Blacks targeting the current department and interfering with their work. Unfortunately, the department was entirely responsible for this catastrophe.
Lord Arcturus Black had been known as a canny politician, but all Alan's intelligence gathering skills indicated that Madam Cassiopeia and her little book and society teas were behind a good deal of that success.
They were greeted at the door by a stone-faced butler, the human servant a clear demonstration of the Black's status and wealth, and escorted to "His Lordship's study."
The butler opened the door the reveal Lord Black and Madam Black seated at a desk in a large, wood panelled room. There were no other chairs.
Madam Bones bowed deeply and Alan followed suit. Lord Black nodded in response.
"Lord Black, I am here in my capacity as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to present our formal apologies in person for the egregious mishandling of your heir's case, and to assure you that every effort is being taken to remedy the situation. This is Auror Boscastle, who is our most promising investigative Auror and will be handling Heir Black's case." Madam Bones proffered the apology letter.
Lord Black remained an impassive wall as he accepted the letter, but Madam Black seemed intrigued.
"Boscastle? Would you be the muggle born boy who killed the Selwyn boy# with a kitchen knife?" She asked.
"Yes Ma'am. Your information network is as formidable as the rumours say." He risked a small grin, meeting her eyes. Her answering smile was smugly predatory, confirming all the rumours of her character.
"Well, at least you're not spineless." She turned to Madam Bones. "He'll do."
Madam Black's approval appeared to be important, as it was only then that Lord Black deigned to actually speak to them.
"How do you intend to proceed?"
"We have already removed Heir Black from Azkaban, and he is currently in the Ministry holding cells. Bail paperwork has been sent to the minister. Once he signs off on it, Heir Black can be released pending trial on charges of being an unregistered Animagus and breach of the statute of secrecy. All other charges have been dropped."
Lord Black raised an eyebrow. "And what will be done with those responsible for the failures of your department?"
"An investigation is ongoing into the circumstances that led to this situation, and, in accordance with departmental policy, if any person involved is found to have been negligent or malicious, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." Madam Bones stated.
Lord Black looked satisfied with that proclamation, while Madam Black had a gleeful twinkle in her eyes.
Alan was certain Madam Black either already knew, or would find out about, Madam Bones's trip to Crouch's office and draw the correct conclusions. The head of the DMLE was on the warpath. The vengence of Madam Bones was unlikely to satisfy the bloodthirsty Blacks, but it should convince them of her intentions and get the department out of the spell-path.
They left the Black manor relatively confident that the revenge of the Blacks would not directly target the current department. Alan had also received an "invitation" (which he was sensibly interpreting as an order) to attend tea with Madam Black. He was still trying to figure out if he should be flattered or alarmed when they reached Madam Bones's office.
A red-faced Minister Fudge was waiting for them inside, and a frazzled Julian seemed incredibly relieved to see Madam Bones.
"Amelia! What in Merlin's name is this?" The minister for magic brandished a crumpled sheet of parchment at the department head.
"It's a bail form for a prisoner who never had a trial, Minister." Alan was please his boss had decided to take the calm and reasonable tack, and settled unobtrusively by the door to watch the show.
"You can't just release mass murderers!" Fudge blustered.
"Heir Black was never convicted, and is no longer the prime suspect in the relevant murders, those charges have therefore been dropped. He is charged with being an unregistered Animagus and breach of the statute of secrecy, neither of which are crimes requiring pre-trial detainment." Madam Bones's tone was commendably even.
"HE'S GUILTY!" Alan winced as he caught a flicker of rage in Madam Bones's eyes.
"Sirius Black has never been tried, and is therefore presumed innocent."
Fudge went even redder. "He was caught red handed! He's a death eater! He betrayed the Potters!"
"Minister, I provided an updated report on the Sirius Black case to your office yesterday. Perhaps you should refer to that report?" Madam Bone's voice was icy.
"You can't believe some story Black made up to try and weasel out of prison!" Fudge protested.
"The report contains an analysis of the evidence and the department's reasons for believing Black innocent, Minister. Regardless of your opinion of his guilt, Sirius Black was never even interviewed, never mind tried, and therefore has a right to a tria-"
"You can't put him on trial!" Fudge interrupted. "Amelia, please, the war is over, no one wants or needs this dragged up again. It'll be a nightmare."
Alan felt the temperature of the room drop. "Minister, are you telling me that you wish to ignore justice in the interests of political convenience?"
"It'll bring every single conviction after the war into question, Amelia you can't do this." Fudge whined.
"Minister, this is my job. I have sworn an oath to act in the interests of justice, and I cannot leave an innocent man imprisoned simply because it is convenient."
"I'm not letting you release that madman! I won't do it Amelia. The public wouldn't stand for it."
As entertaining as watching a man decide to commit slow political suicide was, Alan knew that this was likely to delay Black's release, potentially for months.
"Minister, perhaps you'd like to review the evidence before you stake your reputation on the man's guilt?" Alan suggested, earning a glare from the Minister.
"We'd have re-try every bloody case, it'll make us look incompetent!" The Minister visibly attempted to compose himself. "Crouch is a good man, and I trust his judgement, Sirius Black will not be released."
"Minister, Sirius Black has a legal right to a trail, which he will have. That is not subject to public opinion. If you wished to deny a man the right to a fair trial, I would not have advised selecting the Heir of the Black family. I have just returned from a meeting with Lord Black and Madam Cassiopeia Black, who are both rightfully outraged at the illegal imprisonment of the Heir to their house."
Fudge paled slightly, but rallied. "You'll destroy your career Amelia. Over a madman. He's guilty! We all know he's guilty. I don't know what you've done to the trial records, but I'll find them." He turned and stormed out of the office.
"Well." Alan started. "That was interesting. I really should get back to work though." He grinned. He had the best gossip in years, and word should be spread about the Minister's approach to justice.
Unfortunately, if the Minister wasn't prepared to sign off on the bail forms, Sirius would be stuck until the trial. Why the minister thought it was a good idea to set himself against truth, justice and Madam Cassiopeia Black, Alan wasn't quite sure. Surely he didn't think he'd win?
*
Naruto
When Shikako had come back from a visit to Sirius saying the man was going to try to get himself out, Naruto was delighted. He hadn't met Sirius yet, but Kako said he was cool, and Harry deserved someone other than the Dursleys looking after him.
They'd conducted their raid on the Weasley house in the small hours, Naruto waiting outside the ward boundaries while his teammates, who were better at stealth and slipping through wards, searched the house for rats. They'd come back carrying a rat with a knockout tag stuck to its tiny forehead, and Naruto had been relieved they hadn't broken into some nice people's house for no reason.
Shikako really hadn't been sure he'd be there. Moving on after the natural lifespan of a rat might be the most strategically sound choice, but most people weren't as clever as Kako.
She'd pulled together a reversible "Homorphus" array inside a week, even busy with their usual lessons.
The man it had revealed was distinctly rat-like even in human form, but he did look enough like the picture (labelled 'Alice with Peter and Remus')Sasuke had found in Neville's house that they were certain of his identity.
Keeping the man currently known as Peter Something-with-a-P-but-not-Parker unconscious felt wrong, but Naruto knew his teammates were right that they couldn't risk him seeing them. Their information on him was still pretty sparse, as they couldn't ask the adults around them without it being odd, and therefore memorable. Shikako still wasn't sure enough of Sirius's mental stability to bring the subject up with him.
Peter was going to stay asleep until Shikako and Sasuke finished studying his dark mark. Sasuke was bent over the mark, sketching out the way magic moved within it, while Shikako made notes on the wizarding sealing techniques that had been used to make it.
"How are we going to hand him over without them realising it was us?" Naruto asked.
"So, Sirius says when his Grandfather kicks up enough of a fuss, they'll probably appeal for information on rats missing a toe. We should be able to do it after that without drawing too much attention. We can just say we found him in the garden and I had a feeling." Shikako answered, not pausing in her note-taking.
"It should pass – they won't use veritaserum on children." Sasuke added.
"Kay." Naruto returned to practicing making pieces of paper whirl above his hand (he really wanted to get a rasengan working again) until Kako sat bolt upright with a start.
"Pettigrew!"
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"His name, it's Peter Pettigrew, I knew I knew it." Shikako smiled happily and went back to her notes.
***
Longest chapter yet. It sprouted a plot?
Thanks to notanautomaton and Charlie Forrest for the beta.
So, talk to me about Alan. Theories, suspicions?
***
Longest chapter yet. It sprouted a plot?
Thanks to notanautomaton and Charlie Forrest for the beta.
So, talk to me about Alan. Theories, suspicions?
no subject
Date: 2019-01-18 08:31 pm (UTC)(The gossip expertise briefly made me think Aoba, but there's really much less story resonance for him, and just because Kakashi didn't cultivate a chatty reputation doesn't mean he wasn't tracking all the gossip in Konoha. Situational awareness is important!)
Also, I am pleased by Amelia Bones and her passion for justice. :D
no subject
Date: 2019-01-18 08:39 pm (UTC)Honestly I was just very frustrated that no one at the ministry ever noticed and got him out.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-18 08:48 pm (UTC)Huh, *not* Kakashi? Okay, I'm kind of at a loss as to what other reincarnated ninja (because that backstory definitely suggests ninja) makes story-sense to introduce at this point. I guess I'm back to Aoba because intel ninja and gossipmonger, cheerful and friendly and (like all shinobi) also quite dangerous underneath the surface.
Aoba doesn't have any ties to Sasuke or Naruto, though... is it only ties to Shikako that matter in terms of the reincarnation mechanism? That would sort of make sense. But also it would mean that there are potentially a LOT of other reincarnated ninja floating around, and it would be kind of odd if there weren't a whole subculture of them for the team to join. Maybe there is? I'm now re-evaluating everything I thought I knew about this story... NOT a "Team Seven reincarnates" story, but a "Shikako drags everyone else along with her to the next life" story?
no subject
Date: 2019-01-18 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-19 12:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-19 12:46 am (UTC)Actually I hadn't noticed the second name bit, I was just going for keeping the first letter mostly the same.
Oh, there would have been a lot more blood if it had been Anko. She'd really have freaked the aurors. Aoba was able to play resourceful teenager well enough that it got mostly believed.
KAKASHI OR AOBA
Date: 2019-01-19 12:48 am (UTC)Who else would be a gossip master? Ino, but I think wrong age bracket and gender when you kept the team pretty close. Same reason to discount Anko (plus Alan's pov didn't sound like her), Shikamaru... maybe Tenzou? If you're keeping the team 7 thing. I have no idea how many people you're bringing in! So Aoba, then Tenzou, then Kakashi would be my guesses.
Oh, also the rest of this is great and I can't WAIT for crouch and pettigrew to get whats coming to them. Crouch junior and fudge too, maybe.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-19 09:55 am (UTC)So anyone from the younger generation too? Like Ginny's age, maybe Chiyako or Konohamaru could be her classmates later? Or maybe Ginny got a twin lol! ....is that too many Weasleys? (CAN you have too many Weasleys? Hm...)
Just found your fic
Date: 2019-01-24 04:48 pm (UTC)My predictions if not in Gryffindor, then
Sasuke Ravenclaw
Naruto Hufflepuff
Shikako Gryffindor
Re: Just found your fic
Date: 2019-01-24 08:42 pm (UTC)Re: Just found your fic
Date: 2019-02-05 05:16 pm (UTC)I think Sasuke was considered for gryffindor - he knows how above his level itachi is, and he still tries to fight him, but DOS sasuke prioritises his loyalty to his friends, and he was willing to work for years to be as good as itachi.
Naruto goes to hufflepuff by default, and it's a good fit, but he would also have been considered for slytherin. He's not your average slytherin, but he's cunning and ambitious. Pranks and wanting to be hokage?
Shikako has a lot of ravenclaw traits, but at the end of the day she's loyal to her family and friends, and she works so, so hard. I mean, it's not a huge plot point, but she does so much physical training in the early arcs.
They all value working hard, and they all believe in "those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash"