A sirius matter

Chapter 14 - Meeting Amelia Bones

"…I thought we were about to have a yelling match with Dumbledore, but he suddenly backed down and said that he'd never allowed himself to consider that he'd made a mistake leaving me with the Dursleys. I put up with them all those years for nothing!"

Harry and Hermione were talking to Sirius through his two-way mirror the morning after Dumbledore had visited.

"I'm glad that he at least admitted it was a mistake," commented Sirius. "What happened then?"

Hermione answered. "Well, he thought it might be a good idea to find new guardians for Harry. If you weren't a fugitive, you'd be the first choice. He asked my parents about adopting Harry, but they didn't think I'd want to be Harry's sister. He figures the Weasleys already have enough children, which I'd agree with."

Sirius looked thoughtful and sighed. "I was prepared to take Harry with me the night his parents died. But since Dumbledore interfered and had Hagrid take him to the Dursleys, I had to try to get revenge on Wormtail. I got him cornered and then he faked his death, leaving me to take the blame! The next thing I knew, I was being thrown in Azkaban and sentenced to life without a trial! I wasn't even questioned!"

Hermione's eyes went wide. "N-no trial?"

"That's right," answered Sirius, "After Harry vanquished Voldemort, the ministry wanted to pretend they'd helped, so they started arresting every suspected Death Eater they could find. The ones who got out like Lucius Malfoy were the guilty ones. The ones like me who stayed were the innocent ones."

"But don't they have to try criminals?" asked Harry. "I mean, Fudge sentenced you to the Dementor's kiss, but it had never been proven that you belonged in prison in the first place."

"Most people at the ministry don't care about justice. They wanted to look good then by putting me in prison and now by destroying me."

Hermione looked deep in thought. "But Sirius, can't we demand a trial with veritaserum to prove your innocence since you've never had one?"

Sirius replied, "Fudge won't let you do that! Although, if you can prove I have the right to a trial, maybe Madam Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, could demand I have a fair trial. She's a fair person. If they have yours, Ron's, and Moony's pensieve memories, it might work. But they'd have Snape testify as well."

Harry clenched his fists at the mention of the greasy git while Hermione mentioned, "But if they use his memories, they'll see that he missed most of our conversation and is therefore an unreliable witness."

"The trouble is, you'll have to give yourself up for a trial, and knowing Fudge, he'll have the Dementors suck out your soul before you can ask for a trial," said Harry.

"There may be a way," stated Hermione, "The question is, Sirius, would you be willing to show up for a trial if Madam Bones were to guarantee you wouldn't encounter Dementors?"

Padfoot paused for a few minutes to think. "Well, it would probably be better than staying in hiding, but I won't surrender until the day of my trial. Anyway, there's something else I'm curious about. If Dumbledore put those wards around your house, why can you still use your portkeys?"

Hermione smiled. "While he was setting up the wards, Harry and I were watching how he made them. I asked him how long they'd last, and he said several years. I then asked if he'd make it so that I could apparate in, as well as make portkeys. He reminded me that making my own portkeys was illegal, but made the adjustments anyway. I watched him do it. I'd already read all about those wards so I know that he really did it. He doesn't have a clue that I can already make portkeys."