Harry Potter and The Shadowed Light

Far fetched reality

Previously

How the trial had gone so wrong he would never know. And Sirius—how dare he be freed! Albus had worked so hard to ensure he was locked away. Getting him sent straight to Azkaban without a trial hadn't been easy and it had taken a lot of skill to hide the fact for a decade. How Harry had found out he didn't know and he wanted to. Being in the dark wasn't right - he needed answers! The boy was destroying years of work, turing his own people against him; even Severus, a man he had depended on hating Harry, was supporting the brat!

He would have to work harder next year to regain his influence on the boy. Perhaps he would benefit from having a younger female friend? Ronald had failed miserably but Ginevra, she had potential. Yes, she would be perfect....

4th August 1992

After the trial yesterday, the three of them had returned to Grimmauld Place happy with the result. Sirius even asked Kreacher to make a cake in celebration of the result, which the house-elf did, albeit reluctantly.

"You know this is only a temporary victory, right? He won't stop," Harry warned the two men, who were happily toasting to the result.

Sirius sighed and sat down. "I know, but I want to celebrate this little victory. We have some breathing room for now - he's officially locked out of your accounts and he has no power over you other than being your Headmaster."

Harry nodded. He was reluctant to celebrate yet as he knew how tricky the man could be. He would have contingency plans, Harry would bet his magic on it. Eventually leaving the men to their alcohol, he made his way upstairs.

~

With the custody trial over with, the only thing left to do was attend Pettigrew's trial, which was scheduled for tomorrow. However, Sirius was reluctant to go, let alone allow Harry to attend.

"But don't you want to see justice being done?" Harry asked. He wanted to watch Peter be sent down. He had plans for that rat which involved Pettigrew's lips and those of a starving dementor.

"Yes, but Harry, I don't want you there! That spineless coward is the reason your parents are gone. He's the one who betrayed them," Sirius explained, sounding both angry and sad.

"I understand that - that's why I want to go!" Harry said. Well, it was that and the residual hatred from the Peter he knew in his other life.

Sirius stared at Harry intently, his grey eyes scanning the boy. Harry looked so intent, his emerald eyes hard with determination. "You really want to go?" he asked, his voice resigned. He didn't want to go and see that traitor. He didn't want to waste another minute on him. It was because of him that he had lost a decade of his life, that Harry had grown up unloved, that James and Lily were dead. He was done giving that rat time and attention.

"Yes," Harry stated.

Sirius sighed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat down opposite Harry. "If it means that much to you, we can go," he said eventually.

Harry let out a breath. He didn't know why Sirius was so against going to his trial but he wanted to watch as the rat went down. "Thank you," he said, relieved.

As he had the day free, Harry eventually returned to his search for answers. However, as he stood to leave the kitchen, his attention was drawn to the window, where a large black owl was perched. Flicking his wand, Harry let the owl enter and watched as it swooped in and landed next to him, its large dark eyes staring intently at him.

Reaching out, Harry quickly ran through a few detection spells before he picked up the letter, ignoring the package for now. After all, he hadn't survived the last war by taking unnecessary risks. Picking it up, he instantly recognised the handwriting. Flicking his wand to summon a few owl treats, Harry went to pet the bird who moved subtly away for him, obviously taking after his owner in his dislike for physical contact.