Hindsight

Guidance

The next morning's Daily Prophet carried a detailed – and extremely embellished – article on the First Task. It was no surprise to Harry or Hermione that it had been written by Rita Skeeter. She had sent the section regarding Harry for pre-approval the previous day, and Harry was quite pleased that the printed version was no different from the version that he had approved.

Azkaban was quite the stick to the carrot.

There had been a short article in the paper the day after the Task, but this 'retelling' covered several pages and greatly exaggerated the accomplishments of each of the Champions.

'Oh, my,' gasped Hermione.

'What?' Harry asked, quickly swallowing a mouthful of sausage.

'The Horntail. It died later that day on the way back to Romania,' she said, pointing at the paper, 'It seems like it scratched its own throat out. The dragon handlers were puzzled as to why.'

She leaned in close to his ear. 'Was your Confundus Charm too strong?'

'I'm not sure,' he whispered back, 'I put a lot of power behind it. Maybe the dragon fully lost its mind. I don't know. I don't speak Dragon.'

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. 'All you'd have to do is roar and grunt.'

'That's literally the same as speaking Troll.'

'Is it a wonder why so many wizards are polyglots, then?'

Harry and Hermione both laughed. They were interrupted by an owl swooping down in front of them, carrying an official-looking letter.

'It's from the DMLE,' Hermione said, pointing at the stamp on the envelope, 'It must be from Madam Bones, about Sirius!'

Harry ripped open the envelope, and he and Hermione read the letter together.

Dear Mr Harry J. Potter,

I am Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry for Magic. I am contacting you regarding a development in the case of Sirius Black. On Saturday, I received a curious package from Gringotts. It contained a notarized copy of your mother and father's will.

In it, it was explicitly stated that Sirius Black had been made your godfather at your birth through the Godfather Ritual. If you are unfamiliar with what this means, the Godparent Ritual is a magical process that binds a person to their godchild. After this process is complete, magic enforces that the godparent can under no circumstances, willingly or unwillingly, take any action that brings direct harm to the godchild or the godchild's family.

I am sure that you can see the ramifications of this. Magically, it is impossible for Sirius Black to have betrayed your mother and father to the dark wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that the true secret keeper and betrayer of Lily and James Potter was a witch or a wizard other than Sirius Black.

An official DMLE summons for questioning under truth serum has been sent to Mr Black. As he was never formally charged, a denial of guilt under Veritaserum will be sufficient for him to leave a free man.

As this case so intimately involves you, I, as the Head of the DMLE, present you with an official summons on Wednesday, 1 December 1994 to attend the questioning of Sirius Black. You may be asked to answer questions related to this case. One witness on your behalf may accompany you. Present this letter to your Head of House as a permit of absence. No other commitment is to take precedence over your presence. No individual may legally prevent you from attendance. Two Aurors will be at Hogwarts at 10:00 sharp on the morning of 1 December to escort you and your guest to the Ministry of Magic.