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Chapter 26: A Rodent In Chains
🕑 Added 2024-06-25 19:17:49 +0000 UTC[--[P]-[W]-[M]--]
Chapter 26: A Rodent In Chains
[--[P]-[W]-[M]--]
3 November, 1991 - Sunday
Jonathan Grey
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The next morning, I was leaving my room, having just finished another spar with my Deadra Conjuration, when Professor McGonagall appeared at the entrance to the dormitory. Her eyes were a little bloodshot with bags around them, indicating she had been crying again and probably didn’t get enough sleep. "Mr. Grey, if you could come with me, please," she said, gesturing for me to follow.
I nodded, following behind her. We walked briskly through the corridors, making our way to Professor Dumbledore's office. When we arrived, the Headmaster greeted me with a warm smile, looking almost as sleep-deprived as McGonagall. "Good morning, Mr Grey. Are you ready?"
"Yes, sir." I nodded. Unlike them, I slept rather well. Not that I didn’t feel bad for Sirius, I did. But I just kept thinking about all the ways this could have been avoided from all sides, whether it be Sirius just telling the people who captured him what really happened instead of telling them that he killed them, or James and Lily telling Dumbledore of the change, provided he didn’t already know. I get that he had survivor's guilt, but damn, he would have been better for Harry’s upbringing than what he actually got.
Better yet, Dumbledore and his group of flaming chickens could have made sure the trials sorted for all the Death Eaters were approved and actually put them in Azkaban instead of letting them free, which would have revealed Sirius was innocent and put people like Malfoys behind bars. Two birds, one stone.
Dumbledore led the way to the large fireplace in his office. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder from a small container on the mantel before gesturing for McGonagall and myself to join him in the fireplace. "Together," he said, stepping into the fireplace.
With a collective nod, they threw the powder into the flames, which roared to life with a bright green hue. "Ministry of Magic Atrium," Dumbledore announced clearly, and the three of us were whisked away in a swirl of emerald fire.
We stepped out of the fireplace into the grand Atrium, some wizards and witches going about their business. With it being a weekend, there weren’t nearly as many people walking about so we wouldn’t have to struggle through a crowd. Without wasting any time, Dumbledore led us towards the DMLE offices, using the elevator to get there.
As we entered, we found a woman [Observe] let me know was Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, engaged in a conversation with one of her officers. She was discussing the arrival of Sirius Black, who had been brought from Azkaban for the trial they had set up for Peter Pettigrew. Good to know Dumbledore isn’t trying to get him killed off for his grand plan but I'll continue the wait and see approach, hopefully my intervention won’t be necessary.
Amelia looked up as we approached, eyes tightening a little when she noticed me. "Ah, Albus, Minerva, and this must be Mr. Grey. Welcome."
"Good morning, Amelia," Dumbledore greeted her. "Mr Grey is here to give his statement regarding yesterday’s events, and afterwards get a potential Animagus added to the registry."
Amelia blinked before nodding, her gaze turning to me as she did so. There was a mixture of…something in her eyes, which only gave me the feeling that Tonks might have been mouthing off about me at some point. "I’ll believe it when I see it. Mr. Grey, if you could follow me, we'll get the statement sorted."
She led them to a nearby office where a magical recording device was set up to take my statement along with a dicta-quill. Taking a seat, McGonagall and Dumbledore flanked me, standing right behind my chair.
"Now, Mr Grey," Amelia began, having already taken the seat on the opposite side of the table, one of her officers taking the other next to hers, taking a moment to check on the recording devices, "I need you to recount everything that happened yesterday in as much detail as possible. This is a formal statement, so please take your time and be thorough."
I did so, starting from learning about Animagus, the spells used to find Animagus, that Ron had talked about his rat being basically a decade old, and finally the capture and reveal of Peter Pettigrew. I made sure to leave a bunch of stuff out, like the Marauder's Map, my enchanted trunk and my actual Animagus form, because they were frankly irrelevant to Pettigrew's capture. Amelia listened intently, occasionally asking clarifying questions, while the recording device captured every word.
When I finished, Amelia leaned back in her chair, clearly impressed. "Thank you, Mr. Grey. This statement will be crucial in Peter Pettigrew's trial." Seeing me nod, she stood up, signalling the end of the session. "You may go about the rest of your day now. We will contact you if we need any further information."
With that, she left, the other officer following her out, carrying the dicta-quill notes and the recording device with him. Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Well done, Mr Grey. Let’s head out, we must have your Animagus form officially registered. You can also attend the trial if you want to, or Professor McGonagall can take you back to school afterwards."
“Sure, I’ll attend,” I shrugged as we left the room, heading to the elevator again. “I might as well see it through, I guess.”
Reaching the Registration Department, we were met with a bored witch at the desk doing some reading. As she looked up and recognised the visitors, her smile widened. "Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall! It’s a pleasure to see you both again. How can I assist you today?"
Dumbledore returned her smile. "Good morning, Ms. Fawley. We are here to register a new Animagus. We will need an Animagus registry form and a room for proof and testing, if you don’t mind."
"Could we get a large room, or at least one with an expansion charm?" I asked, “The form is on the bigger side, so.”
Ms Fawley raised an eyebrow in confusion as she went to retrieve the form from her files. Why she didn’t bother just using magic for that is beyond me, would have used magic to rush this along and get back to my book if I was her. "A large room? Is the form a whale? Will you need a large body of water added to the room?" she said.
"No, the water won't be necessary." I shook my head.
“Is that so?” Fawley asked, curiosity piqued. “I take it you’re the new Animagus? A little young, aren’t you?" she added, handing me the form while glancing at the professors for confirmation. Only to raise an eyebrow when they answered with a nod.
"I am." I nodded, taking the form and borrowing the quill to fill in my details. When I filled in the section about my Animagus form, Fawley glanced at the entry and then at me with a sceptical look.
"A dragon, really? Y’know, there are other ways of skipping school, ones that don’t involve bringing professors all the way here," she said, glancing over at Dumbledore and McGonagall, who both smiled reassuringly.
"Did you use one of those methods of skipping school?" I asked.
“Of course not, I was a good student,” Fawley shook her head. "Alright then, follow me." She led us down a hallway to an expanded room, a large empty aquarium with enchanted glass in the middle, large enough for a whale to swim around in. Seeing everyone giving her a look, Fawley shrugged, “It’s the biggest room we’ve got, unless you want to do the paperwork to get permission to expand any of the others, but that would take a while to get approved.”
Bureaucracy, still one of the biggest reasons I don’t want a desk job. It would have been as bad in the non-magical world, but when you have the ability to warp reality in the palm of your hand? Yeah, doing a Merlin is sounding better and better. Hermit life for the win. Well, until I accomplish the Doom and become a king of my own kingdom.
"Okay, Mr. Grey, you may proceed with your transformation," she said, her tone still carrying a hint of scepticism.
Giving them a nod, I made my way up the steps along the side of the empty tank, gaining some distance for the transformation before doing so. In moments, I stood before them in my full dragon form. Dumbledore and McGonagall instinctively palmed their wands, their and Fawley’s eyes widened in astonishment, the previous scepticism having melted away as they took a few steps back during the change. "I-it’s not possible," Fawley whispered. "A dragon Animagus. I've never seen anything like it, magical Animagus are impossible."
"You see, Ms. Fawley, Mr. Grey is quite extraordinary," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling as he stared up at me staring down at them. “Rather talented with Potions and Transfiguration, if Hogwarts faculty members are to be believed. I assume he used your expertise in those subjects to achieve this.”
“Well,” my voice rumbled as I shrugged and spread my wings to show my full glory, startling them as I did so. “It’s a gift.”
“...You can speak in that form?” McGonagall was the first to speak after a short silence of their stares.
“Of course I can.” I nodded, raising my hand to create a large [Fireball], then putting the [Fireball] on my nose to balance it like I had seen seals do in my previous life, “I can do magic too. It’s rather useful, in case someone tries to put me in a wyvern enclosure.”
“...Remarkable,” Dumbledore, barely above a whisper.
Cancelling the [FireBall], I returned to my human form and walked back to them. Fawley quickly completed the registration process, constantly peppering me with questions about how it feels to have so many limbs and such. McGonagal, on the other hand, spent a few minutes making sure I didn’t hand the potion I used for myself to others just in case it didn’t work as well and caused complications, which I acknowledged. There was never a potion to begin with, so I plan on actually keeping that promise.
"Thank you for your patience," Fawley said, handing me a copy of the completed document. "You’re officially registered now. Congratulations."
"Thank you." With that, we left, heading for the courtroom for the trial.
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I should have gone back to Hogwarts with McGonagall.
The start of the trial was so boring I almost fell asleep. They spent most of the time just acknowledging the people attending before catching people up on the case and yesterday’s events. The only thing keeping me awake was using [Observe] on the people in the room to gain some level of insight into the Wizengamot’s allegiances. I might need to go after some of these people, better to make sure they are not being forced into working for Moldy Shorts. Unlike normal court hearings, this one was kept secret and expedited to take place literally the next day, so there weren’t as many onlookers crowding the observation section.
The courtroom itself looked similar to how it looked in the movies. It was large and circular, with high, dark stone walls. Pettigrew sat chained to the enchanted chair in the middle, magically bound, gagged, and magically silenced due to his constant squirming, looking just as pathetic as he was yesterday. The Wizengamot members all sat in tiered rows, some on benches and others on chairs with family emblems on them. I’m not sure what that was all about, but I would assume it was because some families were wiped out and those spots had to be filled in, or they were branch families of big houses.
After what felt like an hour, they finally got to the end of their retelling of all the evidence against Petter, mine and McGonagall’s statement included. Dumbledore stood to address the room. "Given the overwhelming amount of evidence against the accused, I now ask Peter Pettigrew if he has anything to say in his defence." With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore undid the gag and silencing charm placed on Pettigrew.
Peter's eyes darted around the room in panic, resting a little longer on some of the people I had already confirmed were Death Eaters. He swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he spoke. "I-I was under the Imperius Curse! I was forced to do everything! I had no control over my actions!"
Mutterings of disbelief and anger rippled through the chamber as he gave the already foreseen defence. Dumbledore raised a hand to silence the crowd, his gaze fixed on Pettigrew. "You claim you were under the Imperius Curse, Peter. Do you have any evidence to support this claim?"
Pettigrew's face paled further, his desperation growing. "N-no, but you have to believe me! Volde—he-who must-not-be-named forced me! I didn't want to do any of it!"
"The Imperius Curse is a serious allegation, Mr Pettigrew, but without evidence to support your claim, it is difficult to accept it as truth. There is also the fact that you have already confessed under Veritaserum. The Fidelius charm placed on the Potter home would not let the information be forced out of you without your own free will, even under the effect of the Imperius Curse.” Dumbledore's expression remained stern.
That would have been a perfect time for Pettigrew's lawyer to interject and say something about Veritaserum being administered without permission, but not a single lawyer was willing to come to the man's defence with all the evidence stacked against him. Even Malfoy sat by when the question was asked, not offering his own lawyer. Then again, he doesn’t know that Moldy is still alive, so there wasn’t really any benefit to defending Peter and making himself look bad in the eyes of the very few people who were dumb or ignorant enough to actually believe he was Imperiused.
“Please…I had no choice,” Peter squirmed.
“The actions you took were deliberate and calculated, far beyond what would be expected under the influence of such a curse. Memories have also been extracted regarding the crime as further evidence, Madam Bones, if you would?"
Amelia nodded to her subordinate, who was holding a small silvery vile of memories. Receiving the prompt, she turned the vile into a large bowl which immediately started projecting on the wall. It started with Pettigrew using the blasting curse to kill the muggles as he was running away from Sirius. It was so gruesome of a sight that some of the courtroom inhabitants threw up after seeing all the body parts strewn all over, and then having to use a spell to clean up after themselves. Then it went on to show him using the severing charm to cut off his finger before changing into his rat form.
“Thank you,” Dumbledore nodded at Bones and her subordinate before turning his attention to the squirming rodent. “Does the accused have a defence against the evidence provided?”
“P-please…I-I wasn’t strong enough to oppose h-him…” Pettigrew cried, “I’m s-sorry, I w-wasn’t strong enough.”
The room fell silent as the members of the Wizengamot fell silent, actually listenign to the man this time. I would guess that some of them were the same, leaving the fighting the the order fo the flaming chickens instead of actually doing anything to stop the man-child.
After a few tense moments of deliberation, Dumbledore announced the verdict. "For the crimes of Murder, Mass Murder, Unregistered Animagus, Fraud, Attempted Murder Of A Child, Aiding A Criminal, Aiding A Terrorist, Treason, Framing An Innocent, Violation Of Magical Regulation. Peter Pettigrew, you are found guilty of all charges. You are hereby sentenced to death via Dementors’ kiss or the vai the Veil."
I was a little surprised Dumbledore didn’t try to get him life in Azkaban instead, but who knows what was going through the man's head. This could well be his way of trying to reduce the amount of variables for when Moldy returns.
“Sirius Black,” Dumbledore continued, putting an end to some of the mutterings that followed his previous words, “...Will be freed and compensated for his wrongful incarceration and asked for a statement upon his freedom when medically cleared to corroborate the information provided as it was revealed Sirius Black had never even received a trial.” He took a moment to look around the room before finalising. “If there are objections, take this moment to come forth.”
When no one did, the gravel was struck three times, and it was done. The few journalists that made it started snapping pictures while Peter's wails of despair echoed through the chamber as the guards moved to take him away.
I kind of felt bad for Sirius, the fact that Sirius was already here but wasn't medically cleared to make his statement could only mean the Dementors, or guards, really did a number on him. Considering the verdict, it better not be the guards, because if I were Sirius, I would sue the living shit out of them and show the memories to prove it.
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“So, what will happen to Black and how come they couldn’t decide on which penalty he gets out of the two?” I asked McGonagall as we were walking toward the Floo, back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had to stay behind and discuss the amount they would be giving Black for the number of years he wasted away in prison, among other things.
“I believe he was collected by a dear friend of his from their school days and taken to St Mungo’s to get some healing,” McGonagall replied as we turned a corner. “When that is over, I believe he will get to decide which of the two punishments will be awarded to the rodent.”
‘I believe’, that means she didn’t actually see them. Guilt was worse than I thought. I honestly didn’t know what to say. So, as we reached the Floo, I said the only thing that came to mind, “One of the best parts about having access to someone you believe you have wronged, is that you can apologise.” McGonagall paused just before entering the fireplace, intently listening. “Not everyone gets that chance. Sometimes they are taken from us, and you’ll never be able to see them again.”
I was speaking from the fact that I will never be able to see my family again. Granted, I didn’t really have any pressing things to apologise for, I was kind of a ‘avoid stressful situations at all costs and try to relax’ type of guy. But I could only imagine. The look McGonagall gave me made me realise she must have thought I was talking about my new life’s fake parents. I didn’t correct her. If my words work, then that’s what matters.
“I think I’ll be just fine, Mr Grey” McGonagall gave me a small smile as we stepped in, placing a hand on my shoulder. “But thank you.”
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"I Did My Waiting! Twelve Years Of It!"
— Sirius Black
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Author Here
I wished I had watched more Law shows to make this interesting, maybe I could have brought in some loopholes in the system that were set up to allow him to go free, but there was just so much evidence against him it still baffles me how more Death Eaters aren’t in Azkaban or dead.
The Dawg father is finally free. It took a while and could have been done sooner, but we got there in the end.
I don’t really have a picture to show John’s looks, both human or dragon, but I imagine he looks like the profile image. If you guys can find a better look, then feel free to suggest it. I’ll try and get one set up at some point.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC and original ideas. All credit goes to their respective owners.
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Thank you for reading.
As always, stay awesome.
Until next time.
Comments
Lightest_Reader
The golems are pretty cool. They are definitely making it onto the list. Which reminds me, I need to go back and finally complete that game.
Holosagewolf
The golems and crafting potential of ancient magic is amazing. Just look at the golems in the game. Hence why i brought it up
Lightest_Reader
Honestly, with how overpowered he already is, learning ancient magic isn’t as much of a priority. It is on the list though, so he will learn it at some point.
Holosagewolf
Whats your stance on ancient magic from the legacy game? Will it be included?
Anthony Maxwell
I've been thinking I would kind of like to see some secondary perspective in the story from both Dumbledore and Snape. As I feel like the secondary perspective is kind of lacking in the story.
Anthony Maxwell
So I guess their will be no dropping the soap jokes for example mc : quick piece of advice Peter pettigrew on how to survive in the big house don't drop the soap. Peter pettigrew why?? Mc: because I suspect you'll find out quickly why they call it Azkaban.
Lictor Magnus
It was described two chapters ago. “Conjuring a large mirror, something I was glad I could still do even in my Animagus form, I looked at my full form, and what I saw took my breath away. I had basically transformed into an Alduin look-alike but the size of Smaug from the Hobbit movie. My dark and imposing scales shimmered in the light. Unlike Alduin and Smaug, though, I had arms separate from my wings. Powerful, clawed, muscular arms. With the wings extending from my back rather than being attached to my arms like those wyverns that call themselves dragons. My massive wings were folded neatly against my back, but I could easily manoeuvre them like I would my normal limbs in human form.”
Lictor Magnus
It’s always nice to see justice done. Sirius getting out a few years early as a free man is going to totally change Harry’s life for the better.
