#Sirius: ministry of magic

[wizarding-world-povs]

POV:

You ignore 90% of The Cursed Child because what the bloody hell was that about.

[rosamariaa]

I've been thinking a lot about a remus/sirius Ministry of Magic office AU..

Often I see ppl talking about what would Sirius work with if there wasn't a war going on and he could just live his life in peace and one of my favorite headcanons is that he would be an 'Unspeakable'. Those are the ppl that work in the department of mysteries, that by itself is one of coolest things in the wizarding world, according to me. The department of mysteries is responsible for confidential studies of death, love, time etc (A lot of crazy things that honestly no one should have to mess with but obvs they do anyways...) It's high-level security place, no one besides the researchers are allowed in those chambers. No one even knows who are those researchers and what they do, actually.

Buut, its sirius we are talking about and the guy is a genius but also can be pretty reckless and, in this specific scenario, I think he would be a borderline "crazy scientist" so. He fucks up down the line. I don't know what he does, exactly, but it's something that put his and others researchers' lives at risk. Bc of that, he is sent to work in a waaay more mundane department: Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It's a cool department!! Remember that first poa scene where harry turns aunt marge into a balloon etc? well those are the guys who they call to fix that. They even have a Obliviators division, responsible for changing Muggles' memory in case they are exposed to accidental magic. Those guys are full of themselves and annoying as hell, btw.

and I see Sirius being sent there, after The Accident. It's cool in theory, but most of the time it's puuuure paperwork and it bores sirius to no end.

well, guess who works there as well. Our guy, Remus j. lupin.

Remus isn't one to do field work so he mostly works in the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee division (god I love those long ass names). Basically he comes up with stuff to excuse magic happening in the muggle world etc. like when peter killed a bunch of muggles and the muggle paper said it was a "big gas explosion". Pure paperwork. Boring as hell.

Anyway, Sirius turns up there out of nowhere and he is the office sweetheart. It fucking boggles remus mind, like. Sirius always goes to the office parties and seems to be friends with everyone but no one knows anything about this guy. He just gets there, a almost 30 yo with a bunch of obscure work experience and no one knows what he did before that, who his family is, where he is from and how the hell does he knows the stuff that he knows.

Sirius is great at field work, he mostly works directly in the Obliviators division and remus is really great with the paperwork stuff sooo they get paired up a lot. At first, they are a bit annoyed by each other (my fav wolfstar flavor). It's funny because they actually agree with almost everything but they just approach things veeery differently and so they are bickering all the damn time. And Sirius is a Certified Little Shit™ and is constantly doing things that drives remus a bit crazy. Once they had a case of a water fountain exploding bc two wizards were fighting in a public park and instead of obliviating the muggles into believing it was only a piping problem or whatever, he went out of his way to turn it into a sort of elaborate flash mob that went viral on tiktok. Remus spent the night awake documenting everything. He wanted to strangle sirius that day.

between late nights working and lots of crazy field work (thanks to sirius) those two end up getting closer and closer. Remus still thinks Sirius is a bit insane, but now in a I-want-you-to-fuck-me-into-this-desk type way. Sirius, on the other hand, doesn't let go of his previous research. I think that back then he would, specifically, study and experiment a lot with Love, in special familial love (yep.) The thing about those confidential dept. of mysteries' experiments is that they can be pretty... unethical. And that's the break point of their story: Remus finding out about Sirius research and finally wondering at what lengths did sirius went to understand something as complicated as Love and what the fuck he did to get banished from the department back then, and worse: if he ever used remus in those experiments. and even more worse: The fact that remus doesn't stop loving him even if he did.

A last fun fact is that they, at one point, would have an inside joke about that "MIB: man in black" movie, they watched it together one late night and sirius kept referencing it when he went to obliviate muggles and remus thought it was the funniest silliest thing ever

[oliveee-star]

Imagine if Sirius got back from Azkaban early and met Draco for the first time.

Everyone was under the impression that Black had just recently escaped Azkaban and was trying to murder Harry Potter, a third year student at Hogwarts.

Of course, this wasn't true. Sirius had been let out of Azkaban and proven innocent when Harry was five, around Lily's birthday. For a whole month after he was released, he was a free man and all seemed to be well. That was before he ran into Lucius and Narcissa in Diagon Alley, where he had gone to find a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them—he wanted to read up on werewolves again since he had forgotten most of his Hogwarts days in Azkaban, where he originally learned about werewolves, obviously.

"Sirius," Narcissa said, in shock, hatred, and despite the latter—a hint of happiness as she saw her cousin for the first time in five years. To the side, Lucius lightly grabbed a young boy's shoulder—around five as well, at the time—and pulled him behind him. The boy was blonde, with grey eyes the exact color of the bars blocking Sirius from the world when he was in Azkaban; a spitting image of his father, though Sirius recognized the innocence and slight fear in the boy's eyes to be the same as Narcissa's.

"You never told me I had a second cousin," he said, his voice suddenly a bit hoarse.

Narcissa inhaled sharply, stiffening slightly before she swallowed and looked to Lucius. He was staring daggers at her. She turned back to Sirius, using the best 'you're dead to me' voice she could muster to say, "You don't."

The boy peeked out from behind his father, holding onto his hand which was also holding his cane. He tugged on his mother's cardigan. "Mum, who is that?" He babbled, pointing to Sirius.

"No one, Draco," Lucius interjected, putting an arm around his son in a protective manner.

"Yeah... No one," Sirius said, though his heart had dropped to his stomach. He quickly grabbed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the shelf and took it out. "I should be going now. Andy needs to be fed and Remus always forgets"—Andy was Sirius's and Remus's cat, named after Andromeda.

Sirius began to walk off. "Nice to see you, Cissy. Best wishes," he mumbled, buying the book and apparating away.

Back home, Sirius fed Andy and cuddled with Remus the rest of the afternoon. He didn't bother to say anything about his exchange with the Malfoy family.

Around 8 years later, Remus had landed a job at Hogwarts. Before this, he had had much trouble finding a job, so he was incredibly grateful for Dumbledore's kindness. Though he wasn't sure people wanted a werewolf teaching their children... they didn't need to know if he was. As he taught a class, he let a few words slip. "You know, this is the spell my husband uses when he's trying to protect the house-"

He was suddenly cut off by a chorus of students exclaiming, "husband?!"

"Er... Sorry, I didn't-"

"Who're you married to?" Ron Weasley asked.

"Oh, well my darling Sirius-" Remus started, before realizing he wasn't supposed to be telling them this. He and Sirius had decided to keep their marriage and where they lived on the low—mostly because Sirius was an "escaped convict" (as said by Lucius Malfoy after the exchange 8 years ago, to which the Ministry agreed out of fear of what Lucius could do), and the fact the Remus was a werewolf teaching at a magic school. The same magic school Sirius was supposed to be sneaking around in order to kill Harry Potter. In reality, Sirius had been staying with Hagrid and helping Remus with transformations in the Whomping Willow.

"Sirius Black?" Both Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy asked at the same time, and then the class went completely silent.

[adekalyn]

Snippet: And through the veil, unseen by those among the living, the two fallen Marauders smiled at the twins.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 14 - Lips

@jegulus-microfic February 14 Word count 680

Previous part First part

The attack on the Ministry was going perfectly for the Aurors and the Order. It was not going well for Voldemort and his followers.

Half of Voldemort’s forces had apparated into the atrium as he had, and the rest had flooed in using the fireplaces that lined the walls. 

The other side had been waiting for them and immediately started firing jinxes and hexes at the ambushed death eaters. Regulus had stuck with Evan and Barty, trying to draw them away from the worst fighting, but Barty was determined to get into the thick of it. 

Regulus had to sneakily stun Barty in the back while dodging an Aurors blast to get his friend away from fighting Frank.

“EVAN!” He yelled over the shouting and screaming of the battle. “EVAN HELP ME MOVE BARTY!!!” Evan broke away from his duel by shooting thick ropes out of his wand and binding the Order member before he helped Regulus drag Barty’s limp form out of the fray. “Get him out of here, Evan. We’ll have to retreat any minute now. We can’t win this battle.”

“What about you, Reg?” Evan asked breathlessly as he moved Barty further away.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll follow you soon. I promise. Now go!” Regulus started moving back towards the battling witches and wizards. He fired harmless spells here and there, making it look like he was trying. He heard the crack of apparition, and when he looked back, Evan and Barty were gone. 

Three Aurors came out of nowhere and cornered him. He raised his wand, ready to defend himself. Sirius came barreling over before any spell could be cast. 

“He’s mine!” He barked at the aurors. They left him to it, seeing the look of utter determination in his eyes. 

Regulus and Sirius started duelling. It was all flash and bangs, but it looked impressive. They took up an enormous amount of space, spreading out to make their show more realistic. 

Regulus caught Sirius with a beam of red light, and Sirius dramatically crashed to his knees, crying out, but miraculously managed to regain his feet and continue. 

Regulus performed an excellent spin in the air when a blue shot hit him and managed to fire off a stunning charm over his shoulder, narrowly missing Sirius and hitting a death eater who had crept up behind his brother. 

They continued their dance until someone screamed a spell near them, and an inferno of fire erupted around them. They stopped firing at each other and ducked their heads under their arms, protecting their faces.   

The fire raged around him in an entwining circle. The extreme heat dried his mouth and cracked his lips. There was no way out he was trapped.

He looked over to Sirius, who was in a similar state. 

“You okay?” His brother mouthed at him in case anyone could hear them. Regulus nodded, but he wasn’t sure. Sirius gave him a sad half-smile.

The flaming circle slowly began creeping towards them, crushing them together. “Sorry, Reggie,” Sirius murmured, now they were closer together. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Regulus grabbed his brother’s hand. If they were going to go down, they’d go down together.

Then, just as the fire was almost licking their boots, a madman on a broom came swooping over and scooped them up, carrying them high above the deadly flames and setting them down safely where no one could see. 

Regulus threw himself at James, and James held him tightly. Sirius pushed his way in, needing the contact as well. It was brief, but that moment meant a lot to them all. 

“You need to leave now, Reggie,” Sirius said urgently, eyes darting around. 

“Voldemort called a retreat just before I got you out. Most of them have gone.” James added as he dragged Regulus in for one last hug. 

“Thank you,” Regulus said into James’s chest. 

A loud kerfuffle behind them forced Regulus to leave the safety of James’s arms, and with a sad smile at his brother, he ran and disapparated back to Grimmauld Place.   

Next part

[potterwatchsblog]

44 years ago on 31st July, 1980:- The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, Harry Potter, was born.

Happy Birthday Harry James Potter 🎂

33 years ago on 31st July, 1991:- Hagrid showed up at the Hut-on-the-Rock with Harry's Hogwarts letter and told him "You're a wizard, Harry".

33 years ago on 31st July, 1991:- Hagrid took Harry on his first visit to Diagon Alley and gifted Harry an Snowy owl and Harry named her "Hedwig".

32 years ago on 31st July, 1992:- Harry met Dobby for the first time in his bedroom.

31 years ago on 31st July, 1993:- Aunt Marge arrives at the Dursleys Number 4 Privet Drive.

27 years ago on 31st July, 1997:- Harry Potter turns 17 years old, and his Ministry trace is removed as a result of him coming of age in the wizarding world. Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour interrupts Harry's birthday celebration to discuss Albus Dumbledore's Will with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Most importantly 59 years ago on 31st July, 1965:- J. K. Rowling's was born.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Dumbledore is a Manipulative Piece of Shit: Part 2/?

The second installment in one one of my favorite subjects when it comes to Harry Potter theories. And this time:

Fidelius Charms, Secret Keepers, and Sirius Black's Trial

So, in my former post in this series, I mentioned I had more to say about the question of why would Dumbledore want Sirius to be arrested and placed in Azkaban? How could I even make this claim that Dumbledore planned Sirius' fall?

Well, here we are, me and my collection of book qutes:

Exhibit 1: He planned for Harry to go to the Dursleys

‘Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I’m his godfather, I’ll look after him —’ Ha! But I’d had me orders from Dumbledore, an’ I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an’ uncle’s. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. ‘I won’t need it anymore,’ he says. “I shoulda known there was somethin’ fishy goin’ on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin’ it ter me for? Why wouldn’ he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 206)

I quoted this already, but this is very damning evidence. It means Dumbledore planned for Harry to live with the Dursleys completely disregarding Sirius, even when he wasn't guilty.

"But wait!" You might cry, "he thought Sirius was the secret keeper so the moment he knew James and Lily died he figured he was guilty"

That could explain it, well, except...

Exebit 2: Dumbledore Knew Sirius was Innocent

He didn't think Sirius was a threat:

“Hagrid,” said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. “At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?” “Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir,” said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. “Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I’ve got him, sir.” “No problems, were there?”

(Philosopher's Stone, page 13)

He shows no concern over Hagrid meeting Sirius, nor is he worried Sirius would go after Harry (considering he left him on the doorstep of the Dursleys. Outside. In November. Merlin, Dumbledore's awful)

Throughout Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore knew Sirius was innocent before Harry and Hermione told him. In Prisoner of Azkaban, after Harry and Hermione reveal everything they learned about Sirius in the shack to Dumbledore in the Hospital Wing, he believes them immediately. He does not ask for proof. He does not question them further. No, just their word is enough:

“But you believe us.” “Yes, I do,” said Dumbledore quietly. “But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic. . . .

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 393)

Dumbledore is lying here twice. Once, because he always knew Sirius was innocent and always planned to send Harry and Hermione to save him. and twice because at this point in the books he is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot — the highest court and legislative body in magical Britain — and he doesn't have the power to get Sirius a trial?

And how do I know he always planned to send them back in time? Well, when Harry and Hermione do go back in time, there are two interesting occurrences I'd like to mention:

They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid’s back door. “One moment, please, Macnair,” came Dumbledore’s voice. “You need to sign too.” The footsteps stopped.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 401)

“Where is it?” said the reedy voice of the Committee member. “Where is the beast?” “It was tied here!” said the executioner furiously. “I saw it! Just here!” “How extraordinary,” said Dumbledore. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 402)

Both these scenes happen during the hours Harry and Hermione went back to. And, due to how time travel works in Harry Potter, you don't really change anything when you go back in time because you already went back in time, so everything happens the same.

The fact Dumbledore is aware of Harry and Hermione time traveling earlier in the day before he told them to do so and even helps them suggests he always planned this. He always planned for them to set Sirius and Buckbeak free. Which is why he never worried for either.

So Dumbledore knew Sirius was innocent, which actually leads nicely to a big question:

Who cast the Fidelius Charm?

Let's start by collecting all we know about how the Fidelius Charm works. I explained this in the first post as well, but I'll give an overview here anyway.

As Professor Flitwick says:

"an immensely complex spell ... involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find -- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it." 

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 205)

The Fidelius Charm was a complex spell that sealed a phrase, a secret within a person. As I already covered, the phrase that hid the Potters included only James and Lily, as Harry was yet to be born. We also know for certain Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper. But we are left with a very important question— who cast the spell?

Peter Pettigrew wasn't known as the most talented wizard and we are supposed to believe he succeded in casting a complex and advanced spell like the Fidelius Charm to a satisfactory level under the pressure of already being a spy?

“Pettigrew . . . that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?” said Madam Rosmerta. “Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,” said Professor McGonagall. “Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I — how I regret that now. . . .” She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 207)

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, “Stupid boy . . . foolish boy . . . he was always hopeless at dueling . . . should have left it to the Ministry. . . .”

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 208)

No, I don't think that's likely. I think someone else must have cast the spell. And who could it be if not Dumbledore— the man who offered the use of the spell in the first place and who we know continues using it years later?

“Naturally,” said Professor McGonagall. “James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself . . . and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters’ Secret-Keeper himself.” “He suspected Black?” gasped Madam Rosmerta. “He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,” said Professor McGonagall darkly.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 205)

It means Dumbledore was in on the plan for the beginning, at least, according to what he told to McGonagall.

"Dumbledore's Secret-Keeper for the Order, you know -- nobody can find Headquarters unless he tells them personally where it is" 

(Order of the Phoenix, page 115)

We know Dumbledore cast the spell on Grimmauld Place and was the Secret-Keeper for it.

Even if Dumbledore wasn't the Secret-Keeper...

There was evidence Sirius is innocent...

Prior Incantato can be cast on wands to show an echo of the last spell they cast. It was so easy to prove Sirius' wand didn't cast a spell. This seems to be a known ministry procedure as Amos Diggory has shown.

“Prior Incantato!” roared Mr. Diggory. Harry heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell.

(Goblet of Fire, page 136)

Furthermore, a Blasting Curse just doesn't work like that. It would not leave a cleanly cut-off finger. It is described as exploding the target, so the crater Sirius was found in matched, but if Pettigrew was blasted with it, nothing would have been found of him — definitely not a finger and bloody cloths that would've burned.

Not to mention Dumbledore is an accomplished Legilemanse. It's impossible to believe he could've seen Sirius and not know he wasn't the Secret Keeper even if he didn't cast the Fidelius Charm himself.

Exhibit 3: Sirius Didn't Have a Trial Because of Dumbledore

Sirius says in Goblet of Fire:

“Oh I know Crouch all right,” he [Sirius] said quietly. “He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban — without a trial.”

(Goblet of Fire, page 526)

Meaning Sirius has never gotten a trial. To him, he was shipped off to Azkaban without even being questioned. I don't think Sirius knows Dumbledore always knew of his innocence.

“It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time,” he [Dumbledore] said quietly. “There is not a shred of proof to support Black’s story, except your word — and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters’ Secret-Keeper.”

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 405)

So Sirius may never had a trial, but Dumbledore has given evidence against him, at his own admission. Most likely he went straight to Crouch and put the final nail in the coffin to throw Sirius to the Dementors.

And again, Dumbledore is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Fudge is hanging off his every word, and this man — arguably the most politically powerful figure in the British Wizarding world during the end of the First Wizarding War and Prisoner of Azkaban — can't get an innocent, falsely imprisoned man a trial? A man who's an heir to a fortune of an old and noble wizarding family? Who are you kidding, Dumbledore?

But why would he do that?

Because a weapon with no ties is a better martyr. Because Harry is more likely to be willing to die without a real support network. And yes, Dumbledore knew he'd need Harry to die since day one. Dumbledore, at least, suspected Harry was a Horcrux, and knew he'd need him malleable and controllable when the right time comes.

“Is that where —?” whispered Professor McGonagall. “Yes,” said Dumbledore. “He’ll have that scar forever.” “Couldn’t you do something about it, Dumbledore?” “Even if I could, I wouldn’t. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground..."

(Philosopher's Stone, page 14)

"Scars can come in handy" — What an odd phrase Dumbledore. .

So, he knew, or at least, suspected Harry had a Horcrux in his scar, and when Chamber of Secrets came around:

“You can speak Parseltongue, Harry,” said Dumbledore calmly, “because Lord Voldemort — who is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin — can speak Parseltongue. Unless I’m much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure. . . .” “Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?” Harry said, thunderstruck. “It certainly seems so.”

(Chamber of Secrets, page 299)

He knew for sure.

Harry's life since that Prophecy was made about two months before he was born was tailored for Dumbledore's ultimate plan to end Voldemort. Sirius being sent to Azkaban was part of what needed to be accomplished to get him off the board and put Harry in the position Dumbeldore needed him in.

[lilyflowerpot]

NEW CHAPTER DROPPED!!

my "what if death eater ideas began to seep into hogwarts via ministry regulations" marauders era fic :P

with jily, wolfstar and dorlene! and black family drama! and wizarding politics! and euphemia potter badass-ery! and everyone's badass-ery!

take a look if it sounds like your cuppa tea <3

[miss-bronte]

In the new episode of our German Marauders Podcasts ‘Rumtreiber Radio’, we have arrived at the end of our specials for Halloween 1981.

This time, it's all about Sirius's trial. Or rather: the lack of a trial. We talk about the magical ways in which they could have proved his innocence, and why the Ministry didn't use any of them. (Plus a few conspiracy theories about Dumbledore's role in all this.) And we also discuss why there would have been no happy ending for Sirius Black, even if he had been acquitted.

If you want to support us, we would be happy to receive a positive review on Spotify or a follow <3

[sliebman10]

Magic

“You can do it, I know you can,” Remus said.

Sirius closed his eyes and nodded. He gripped his new wand, feeling the surge of magic that had been absent for so long.

“Remember…destination, deliberation, determination,” Remus said with a smile. 

Sirius burst out laughing. “Don’t make me laugh while I’m concentrating, Moony.”

But the laugh had burst the tension and Sirius disappeared and reappeared across the meadow where Buckbeak was tied. Buckbeak glanced at Sirius, not at all perturbed that he’d just appeared next to him.

“Come back!” Remus called.

Sirius nodded. If he did it once, he could do it again. He felt the familiar pressing of apparition and reappeared next to Remus.

“Yes! I did it!” he said, his silver eyes shining. “The first time in thirteen years.”

Remus pulled him close and kissed his forehead. “I knew you could do it, Pads.”

Word count: 146

@wolfstarmicrofic

[whinlatter]

author's note | chapter 8: bones 🦴

thank you for reading chapter eight of Beasts! this week, it's hotting up politically - ginny meets with the minster of magic, enjoys a hot beverage with all of her ex boyfriends, finds out about the clinton impeachment and rides the east coast mainline from edinburgh to london for free with no cancellations or delays a week before christmas. now that really is magic.

got a bumper author's note this week (and some metas to follow), plus a sneak peek of chapter nine (oh the cameos we've got coming! i've got flashback fever). i am also accepting any and all guesses for who the gang will go as for the grimmauld muggle-themed NYE party. we know anthony's going as tony blair, terry boot's deciding between a terry's chocolate orange or the golden boot, but what will the rest of the DA go as? answers on a postcard/in the askbox pls. ok let's discuss this wet and wintery chapter that i wrote at the beach during a heatwave in august, for some reason

✨ spoilers for this chapter below the cut  ✨

writing things and headcanons:

the hogwarts inquiry and graves on the ministry: the chapter opens with graves (himself an ex ministry employee, though we don’t know the circumstances of his exit yet) poking holes in the wizengamot’s approach to justice thus far in the post-war period, suggesting holding individuals accountable - especially someone like thicknesse who was imperiused - misses how the entire wizarding state is implicated in wartime crimes against muggleborns and other persecuted groups. also disillusioned by the way post-war trials are going, kingsley wants to take a different course of action to get to the bottom of what happened at hogwarts during the war. a lot of post-war fics do an amazing job doing post-war justice through criminal trials, and i wanted to do something a bit different for this fic that is explicitly interested in places and institutions and the cultures they foster (hogwarts and the ministry itself, but grimmauld place and, soon, the burrow, home to different kinds of institutions, including families). like a lot of people who grew up in the uk in the early 00s public inquiries - like the leveson inquiry into media culture and phone hacking, or the chilcott inquiry into the iraq war - really left a big impression on me (though i’m sure this is also true in lots of political cultures, not least in the US in things like senate hearings etc). i also really love seeing inquiries and hearings rendered in fiction (in tv, jesse armstrong shows like the thick of it and succession), so knew i wanted to have a go writing these into this fic. there are actually quite a few inquiries of varying scale that happen in the canon series (though none are public), so we know this is a mechanism the ministry has previously used to investigate various breaches of law or accepted norms (in CoS, arthur faces one over the car; over buckbeak in PoA; into percy over crouch; dumbledore asks for one after the dementor attack on harry, which fudge rejects; into bode’s murder at st mungo’s, and into the miscarriage of justice that saw sirius jailed for the potters’ murders). i’m literally just going to quote from taylor_fannon074’s gorgeous comment on this because it’s so well put: 

‘The Wizarding World knows that their children have been forcibly put at the center of a war they didn’t know existed for most of it. Children are the first line of attack when it comes to implementing fascist ideologies. People  areso sensitive about children and it’s a perfect weapon to utilize against anything that you want. It’s why Dumbledore became headmaster when he could’ve been Minister of Magic. It’s why the Malfoys are Voldemort’s greatest allies. If it were just about the Carrows they’d carry all the blame, now the defendants are the Ministry. Kingsley is using this tactic to direct the people’s anger towards the Ministry’s systemic oppression. He’s giving the kids a platform to talk about how a werewolf was the greatest teacher they ever had and several ministry officials tortured them. It calls the ministry’s competency into question, planting the seeds of doubt. I don’t think Kingsley aiming for a full scale revolution but trying to open the curtains and get wizards more active in their community.  He’s going after that statute of secrecy next, I can feel it in my bones!!!!’

kingsley: there are so many really great reads on kingsley as minister after the war, particularly kingsley taking on the ruthless (and manipulative) instincts of a politician, and speculation about that might clash with harry’s worldview and longstanding resentment of ministers carrying about things like public image and making moral compromises to get things done. i don’t disagree with those reads at all, and think they have a ton of basis in canon. what i knew i wanted in beasts, though, was to see if you could write a different kingsley, someone who hasn’t abandoned his principles but instead is trying to centre them. i wanted to play with the idea that all politicians are the same’, asking how kingsley’s contradictions - an avowed progressive, a lifelong ministry insider with more links to the muggle world than most, a resistance fighter turned a minister of magic trusted and admired by the children of the order - would shape his approach to try to capture post-war momentum for rebuilding and make real change, whatever that might look like. i also wanted this dynamic of kingsley and ginny having some familiarity with each other that we don’t see from the canon series that might hint at some wartime interactions we haven’t seen yet. anyway i wrote this scene with kingsley and ginny ages ago and then i read the unfinished but excellent fic about ginny and post-war justice cited below and was crushed to see someone had already written a version of the same scene much better. what a blow! (read that fic)

ginny’s card-making: ginny weasley loves to decorate and she loves christmas. canon could not be clearer about this. if you think she wouldn’t spitefully refuse to wish minerva mcgonagall seasons’ greetings then i’m sorry i think you are wrong with a capital W. graves didn’t get a card but he did get an essay because she’s warming up to him a bit but cards are only for those who aren’t on ginny approval probation 

writing on the wall: actually this is just me apologising to the anon who sent me this ask ages ago and i didn’t reply because i knew i had this scene in the bank and didn’t want to spoil it but yeah basically anon i could not agree with you more!!! i think it’s really a squandered opportunity in canon not to make more of this - in those old ootp planning notes jkr was going to have ginny write on the wall about umbridge in temper, but then removed it, so clearly was thinking of the DA wall daubing as a parallel with CoS but then… gave the line to neville lol. fuming. anyway! had to be done! thank u so much anon and so sorry again!

beasts, beings and patronuses: my favourite part of this chapter to write! (obviously that’s a lie it was the bit where harry and ginny shagged but second favourite for sure). graves goes all enlightenment subjectivity theory again smh, and then suggests what’s happened with the stag antlers might be something to do with a great disturbance to harry’s soul. @saintsenara think this is me steathily building up a tomarry endgame - other theories are circulating, all theories have me salivating

slughorn: hardcore hinny shipper, we have to stan. what’s he up to? also rina girl get back to school you're making ginny look conscientious

hermione: thank you to the extremely patient romione folks in my inbox - the trouble with this plot is that i have to keep all the romione bits off stage for now (and i have written some hermione and ron pov missing moment scenes that i might drop when this plot is fully developed and the mystery has ended) but for now i’m just sorry that so far in the published chapters the hermione plot is all unhealthy coping mechanisms and no answers!

muggle london: did i go rummaging on the freedom of information requests sent to transport for london to find out adult and child fares for central london weekend travel in 1998? yes i did. you never know when the transport pedants are going to flood your mentions !!! ‘are you a child’ ‘sort of’ could be summary of the entire fic really couldn’t it

the exes: i knew i wanted an unlikely character to speak a bit of truth to ginny, someone she wouldn’t be expecting to call her on her shit. the idea of using one of her exes to do it seemed satisfying for a couple of different reasons. i liked the idea of using a character who knows ginny well and who sees through her a bit, but also has nothing to lose throwing out some tough love to her face because they don’t really have any investment in being in her good books anymore. i also liked the idea of not taking ginny’s canonical descriptions of her relationships with her exes for granted, and using those relationships as an example of previous incidences where this character has kidded themselves, or at least come up with a retroactive narrative of something that has happened to them as a coping mechanism that actually masks a bigger, more complicated truth. (i have a longer meta on ginny and her exes i’ll post this week that isn’t expressly beasts-related where i’ll bang on about my read on what these relationships were to her, but for now suffice to say it seemed important in a fic that is at heart a coming of age ginny character study to draw in characters who were likely formative for her in her teenage years in some way). dean seemed a complicated choice, though (more about him below), so… michael corner it was. 

michael corner (or: characterisation when the character has about five whole lines in the whole of canon): 

this is michael corner this whole chapter:

i had a ball trying to figure out how to write michael corner, as the discord girlies can attest. michael is a very minor character in the series, with only a handful of scenes/appearances, and he spends most of them being a little dickhead lmao. the man never stops interrupting people to call them out/correct them. in his first scene in canon in ootp, at the hog’s head, michael sasses hermione on her motivations to set up the DA (‘“You want to pass your DADA O.W.L. too though, I bet?”’ - that earns him a snippy clapback) and then interrupts harry when harry’s being modest to both praise him but also correct him lol (‘“Not with the dragon, you didn’t,” said Michael Corner at once. “That was a seriously cool bit of flying...”’.) in DH, he yells at harry for planning to nip in and nip out of hogwarts when all the DA are living in hiding (‘“You’re going to leave us in this mess?” demanded Michael Corner’), and then gets annoyed at luna for being dumb about the diadem (‘“Yeah, but the lost diadem,” said Michael Corner, rolling his eyes, “is lost, Luna. That’s sort of the point.”’) when it comes to ginny, she calls him a ‘fool’ when he almost gives the game away about the DA in the hall, and when they’re paired up at the DA and she’s killin it hexing him he’s “either very bad or unwilling to jinx her”. given his interest in his academics - and that he’s a ravenclaw - i think we can suspect it’s the latter, a display of chivalric concern that was never going to go down well with gin. they then break up after ginny decides he’s too ‘sulky’ about ravenclaw’s loss at quidditch, after which michael immediately goes off to get with cho (michael and harry bonding over their shared type fic when). but. michael’s also someone ginny (someone who does not suffer fools!) went out with for an entire year, so can’t be a total dickhead, clearly knows right from wrong and has moments of real bravery - joining the DA in the first place, but also enduring torture that neville describes as particularly horrific for trying to rescue a chained up first-year during the DH, which would almost certainly make him deserving of ginny’s respect after the war. being in the DA under the carrows must have been an intense bonding experience for all involved, and actually would have forced ginny and michael back into each other’s lives in a way that forced them to develop some kind of working relationship. all this then added up to the decisions i made to write him as he is in beasts: someone who is grouchy, sassy, contrarian, too competitive, a bit jealous of others’ abilities (the sore loser), and fond of calling people out/correcting people, but also someone who speaks his mind and whose heart is, ultimately, in the right place, a bit of an arse but not a baddie. and i think that makes sense as a character ginny weasley would be attracted to, at least initially, and who she can get behind as someone whose opinion she will listen to, with a pinch of salt.

bonus michael headcanons: other characterisation bits that are more headcanons than anything else: michael, terry and anthony’s band. ginny is canonically a fan of the weird sisters, with a poster up in her room. the weird sisters play at the yule ball.  michael and ginny meet at the yule ball. like literally nine billion other teenage relationships, wouldn’t be fun if michael and ginny first met/got to chatting because they both liked the same band? then that became: well, dean was artistic - what if ginny’s into creatives? wouldn’t it be a laugh if michael, terry and anthony, this three piece gang of boy besties, were in a band? so that became me imagining them all in a promising but bit-too-clever-for-their-own-good indie band, alt-j or vampire weekend of the 90s, very into the smiths. (the album cover ginny recognises in their flat ‘of a white turreted castle, lush woodland by a sunlit lake’ is blur’s country house - partly because the castle in that album art looks a bit like hogwarts, but also because country house was the single that, as british readers might remember, was in a very famous race for number 1 with oasis in the battle of britpop in august 1995, which became about the middle-class southern band (blur) vs the northern working class equivalent (oasis). in my mind the ravenclaw boys would have been team blur and the gryffindor boys are team oasis lol. 90s lore!) the ravenclaw boys being low key into hallucinogenic potions is literally because michael has a throwaway line in hbp where he asks slughorn about felix felicis lol (‘“Have you ever taken it, sir?” asked Michael Corner with great interest.”). so yeah that was enough to get me imagining michael and the boys as low key stoners but also into experimenting with different psychedelic substances and writing bangin’ tunes. they’re boarding school teenage boys, after all!

dean: ah dean 🥺 one day i’ll finish that damn dean fic. the dean we see here is who i imagine dean would be after the war - more lost and alone than literally any of the other main characters, properly unhappy. unlike the golden trio, or the silver trio, dean spends his deeply traumatic war alone, and i think that would fuck him up. he has to go on the run and leave his muggle family behind, a family he’s lied to about the severity of the war (“My parents are Muggles, mate,” said Dean, shrugging. “They don’t know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I’m not stupid enough to tell them.”’). he must have struggled, as the trio did, with accessing food and finding places of safety, but also had far fewer protections than the trio (no perkins tent, no invisibility cloak, none of hermione’s abilities). he’d also have had to deal with the fact that he’s a young black boy on the run in majority white racist nineties britain, where he would be hyper visible and vulnerable to the suspicions of muggles as well as the wizarding ministry and snatchers (the police/suspicious members of the public are never going to have treated a black teenage boy who seems homeless well). he briefly has the company of ted tonks, surrogate dad figure, dirk cresswell and the goblins, but then watches all but griphook get murdered. then he’s snatched, rescued, and goes to live at shell cottage with his ex’s brother lol. he would have none of the wartime bonding and sense of group solidarity that the wartime DA seem to have built, and while it seems likely he too would join the aurors if invited to punish the people who persecuted him, i think he would feel intensely isolated and lonely as well as challenged by the demands of that job, one he never really seems to crave in canon. got our first few deamus hints here but yeah basically if michael’s going thru one kind of trauma, dean’s going through another, one that he’s never going to open up to the ex who hurt him about. he doesn’t hate ginny - in DH, when he hears about the sword theft, he shows clearly still wants her to be safe and well - but he’s had none of michael’s time to build a post-relationship working friendship with her, and the emotional trust isn’t there anymore. wow bummed myself out writing that out jesus. he could have offered her a cup of tea, though. that’s just basic brit etiquette

baby’s first almost smut: look. what was i supposed to do. these two haven't shared a bed since august. if you think they’re not fucking immediately on sight i simply do not know what to tell you

(gif courtesy of @uncontainedhybrid)

reading list: 

postwar justice (and kingsley as MoM): 

The Weight of the After by PaperyInk  Castles by @pebblysand

the ravenclaw boys: 

these three brilliant fics by chaserzachsmith (crikey)  Notes from the Ravenclaw Bulletin Board by lost_robin

grimmauld place:

haunted house by @bronzeagepizzeria Grimmauld Place: Azkaban by a Different Name by @artemisia-black

beasts and beings:

this meta by @myrskytuuli on harry potter as colonial fantasy 

on the politics of childhood in 20c european politics, especially post-war (not hp fanfiction but historical non-fiction lmao): 

the lost children and kidnapped souls, both by tara zahra 

songs from the playlist for this chapter:

la jeune fille en feu by para one and arthur simonini | i horó 's na hug òro eile by duncan chisholm | blue ridge mountains by fleet foxes | lull by vraell and rosie h sullivan | if we make it through december by phoebe bridgers | please, please, please let me get what i want by the smiths | wading in waist-high water (solstice version) by fleet foxes | feels like a dream by alice boman and perfume genius

and a sneak peek of chapter 9 because now we're at grimmauld and you know what that means... 🐕‍🦺🐾

‘Wow. What a shithole.’ ‘Fred!’ ‘Don’t lie, Mum, you think it’s a shithole, too, I can see it on your face.’  ‘Well, yes, but don’t be rude, this is someone’s house.' ‘Be as rude as you like,’ says a bored voice. They all jump, turn to see a man standing at the foot of the stairs: tall, gaunt, long hair like curtains framing a ten-thousand galleon face. ‘I assure you,’ says Sirius Black, ‘this house is an insult to shitholes everywhere.’

[a-morningstar-120]

Sirius: I’ll come silently.

Auror Officer: Come on, Mr. Black. I don’t have all day.

Sirius: I read that Muggle prisoners get to choose a last meal before execution. Do you think I could have one? Azkaban sounds a lot like execution.

Auror Officer: Damn you, Black! I’m hungry.

Sirius, smirking to himself: Maybe we should get that checked out.

[rampanttheories]

On the Order of the Phoenix

At some point in time between the third task in GoF and Harry getting picked up during the summer the Order of the Phoenix was called back into existence and subsequently moved into Grimmauld Place.

Presumably, Dumbledore vouched for Sirius' innocence around that time as otherwise I doubt Molly Weasley would allow her children in that place and Sirius would probably get attacked by three competent aurors at varying stages of their careers.

Speaking of which:

Three competent aurors with a drive to do good (as evident in their joining a militia against Riddle) learned of Sirius' innocence and wrongful incarceration. And not one of them did anything about the gross miscarriage of justice under their noses. Which sounds off to me.

We have a very young auror at the beginning of her career and a blood relation to Sirius, so overall with very limited influence on the topic in Tonks. A retired auror known to be close with Dumbledore, who is subject to a smear campaign at that point, and a known paranoid bastard in Mad-Eye Moody. And an auror established in his career in Kingsley Shaklebolt. In my eyes the most likely candidate to attempt something.

From what we see of Kingsley he is well respected in the Ministry and regarded by the Minister himself. Fudge brings him along to try and arrest Dumbledore later in the year which speaks to a certain level of social and political aptitute. Additional evidence in this direction are Kingsley being appointed magical bodyguard to the muggle PM during Scrimgeour's term and Kingsley's own election to Minister of Magic following the Battle of Hogwarts. So we can assume him to be well-connected and able to raise topics at opportune moments in a way accessible to his audience.

The Ministry at this point in time is having an awful time and has been for pretty exactly two years. Starting with Sirius' escape, which rattled faith in Azkaban, the dementors and the aurors specifically who failed to re-apprehend him. Continuing with the repeated issues with the dementors at Hogwarts. Continuing on further with the embarassment of the Quidditch World Cup being overrun by deatheaters. And finally, most recently, the desaster the Triwizard Tournament ended up being with the UK having two champions, audience-unfriendly tasks, a judge disappearing, a champion dying and finally the claims the magical world's latest terrorist was returning from the presumed dead. And of course, the initial escapee was still on the run. The Ministry was scrambling to at least appear in control of everything, both domestically and internationally. Hence the attempts to discredit Dumbledore and Harry as the other regional public figures and seize control over Hogwarts.

Kingsley could absolutely go up to the ambitious Scrimgeour, I doubt his aspirations were unknown, and suggest building a small task force to catch Sirius Black. After all, the Ministry and especially the Aurors needed a win in the public eye and with all the other things going on Black wouldn't expect it. So if he could maybe have access to all files pertaining Black? The potential for Fudge becoming the scapegoat for all the recent troubles and Scrimgeour emerging as a new and trusted leader based on achievements remains unsaid yet is understood by all.

Potentially Scrimgeour takes the idea and runs with it himself. After all, the Ministry is adamant about aurors not being actively needed at the moment, he has the time. And he reads every single document on the case Black. Including any trial records and evidence filed. Which is astonishingly little.

Concerningly little.

Promisingly little.

Especially since Fudge was personally involved in the case and has been publicly bragging about it (see PoA in the Three Broomsticks). So it would very naturally reflect badly especially on Fudge and his administration if Black's guilt were to be re-exmined. And Scrimgeour himself would not only be a fresh face, but one righting the wrongs of his predecessors. With the support of a notorious house if the only surviving bearer of the name Black owed him a favour. It would also neatly subvert the issue called Potter. He'd probably be very busy getting acclimated to a new godfather if custody was transferred from that muggle family. Fewer claims of a second coming of that bloody bastard. All the better. Smear campaigns against children were never a good look on anyone. Now to get that innocence established, weren't there statements Fudge ignored last year...

Kingsley is very happy to stand back and watch self-interest get the right thing done. Scrimgeour would remember who gave him the idea and the Order would gain a powerful supporter and fighter. Wins across the board in his book.

TL;DR: Kingsley not doing something about Sirius' innocence is bullshit. Especially not when at that point everybody was ready to see Fudge go and establishing Sirius as innocent would be a perfect thing for him to fall over. Political intrigue accidentally fixing problems ensues

[stabbyapologist]

♡ Queen ♡

[adekalyn]

*Dumbledore trying to make changes in the magical world to keep everyone safe now that Voldemort has returned*

The Ministry: too much change is not a good thing. Ask the climate.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 30

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

𝕴 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖇𝖇𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 prophecy from Harry and all the Death Eaters' wands twitched towards me.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, not noticing that the prophecy was no longer in his hand.

The Death Eaters laughed. My eyes were focused on Trang's. She looked absolutely terrified and she also looked sick. Her hands were trembling, her face pale, her legs shaking underneath her. Had they tortured her? There was a lump in her pocket that looked like it might be her wand. Of course they let her keep it, she didn't know enough to defend herself.

"The Dark Lord always knows." A woman hissed somewhere nearby. That was probably Bellatrix.

"Always." Lucius said, his eyes glinting and on me. "Now, give me the prophecy, Kane."

"I'll make you a deal." I said steadily.

"No!" Trang shrieked. "Elizabeth don't make any promises." Lucius shook her and glared at me.

"What is she talking about? Promises?"

"Because," I said swallowing hard. "When I make a promise, I always keep it."

"So what kind of deal are we talking about?" Lucius asked, his eyes narrowing. The other Death Eaters seemed more hesitant, less sure of this idea.

"If you give me Trang, and let the others walk away, I will stand here until you count to eighty and then hand you over the prophecy." I said, raising the orb up. My other hand was in my pocket, clutching my wand, my fingers crossed. "I promise."

"NO!" Trang yelled again.

Lucius Malfoy was surveying me with interest.

"Elizabeth don't." Ernie gasped in horror. I ignored all of them, keeping my eyes on Lucius, blocking my mind from him if he tried to penetrate it.

"Fine." Lucius said. He tossed Trang towards us. I didn't move, as I had said I wouldn't move, and so Hermione stepped in and grabbed her.

"Go." I said to the others, still holding the prophecy out. I turned back to them and then nodded slowly to Harry before facing Lucius who was counting under his breath.

"Let's go." Harry said to the others and they all dashed down a corridor, pulling Trang with them, leaving me alone with the ten Death Eaters.

". . . fifty-one, fifty-two. . ." Lucius muttered. I could feel the Death Eaters closing in. I kept my head high and my hand out, the orb balancing precariously in the palm of my hand. Each time he said another number, my fingers inched closer to clenching my fists around it.

". . .seventy-five." Lucius's voice was getting more and more excited with each number he was saying. My heart was pumping ferociously in my chest but I kept my face completely neutral.

Lucius finished counting and held his hand out. I stepped forward, making to put the orb in his hand and then paused and said, "You should know my fingers were crossed." I whipped out my wand and created fire, spinning in a circle and then dashed down a corridor, turning a corner, shoving the prophecy into my pocket and turning in a cat, glad that I was a black cat.

I made my way back to the room with the clocks and turned back into a human and shoved the prophecy in Harry's hand. "Hurry up." I said. "They're angry."

I could hear roars of anger and then said, "Everyone smash a different shelf, maybe we can collapse them on them." The nine of us all shouted, "REDUCTO!" The shelves started to fall and we darted through door with the clocks, shutting the door behind us.

"What now?" Harry hissed at me.

"I don't know!" I said tersely. "I've pretty much changed the future so what I saw before isn't going to line up!"

"Well, what did you see before?" Harry asked.

"We all got split up from each other." I said, eyeing Trang who was standing there, shaking. She had a wand in her hand and absolutely no idea what spells to use. "And we all received a lot of injuries. Of course, Ernie and Susan were never part of the original vision either so. . ."

We were all just standing in the clock room, listening to the screams and shouts from the prophecy room. Malfoy was shouting orders to the other Death Eaters to split up and find us.

"Under the desks." I whispered and we dove under the desks as three of the Death Eaters entered the room.

"They might've run straight through to the hall." A rough voice said.

"Check under the desks." the other voice said.

Harry shouted, "STUPEFY!" and one of the Death Eaters fell to the ground. Susan got another one with a stunning spell.

Neville shouted "EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry and the other Death Eaters wand flew out of their hands. "Get out of the way, Harry!" Neville yelled and Harry dove to the side as Neville shouted, "STUPEFY!"

The bell jar exploded behind the Death Eater. "Accio Wand!" I said, pointing my wand at Harry's wand and it flew towards me. I tossed it to Harry.

"Stupefy!" Hermione shouted and the Death Eater collapsed backwards toward the bell jar. His head sank through the surface of the bell jar and we all watched as his head started to shrink, becoming the head of a little baby.

"Time. . ." Hermione and Ernie said together in awestruck voices.

The mirror was growing hotter in my pocket. "Shut the door Luna!" I shouted and then pulled the mirror out of my pocket. "I'm a bit busy!" I snapped at Kingsley.

"Where are you guys?" Kingsley asked in his deep voice.

"We're in the Ministry." Hermione said, grabbing the mirror from my hands. "There's Death Eaters everywhere-"

The door slammed open again and two new Death Eaters came hurtling inside and shouted, "IMPEDIMENTA! IMPEDIMENTA!"

We were all flung backwards, Hermione and I landed harshly in the corner and the mirror landed propped upside down against a wall, showing the entire room and what was going on. Multiple faces appeared in Kingsley's side of the mirror. I think one of them might've been Dad's but I didn't have time to see.

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" a Death Eater shouted loudly. "IN AN OFFICE OF-"

"Silencio!" Hermione shouted, jumping to her feet.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted, pointing his wand at the other Death Eater.

The Death Eater that Hermione had silenced made a slashing movement with his wand and I ducked as purple flames headed towards Hermione and me. Hermione wasn't so lucky- they passed through her.

"Oh!" Hermione said and then crumpled to the floor motionless. Susan lost her head and screamed.

"HERMIONE!" Harry shouted and fell to his knees, crawling towards her. Neville crawled rapidly towards her and a Death Eater landed in front of the desk. I tripped him which caused his foot to miss Neville's wand but still hit his nose, breaking it.

"Episky!" I said quickly, snapping Neville's nose into place. Neville howled in pain, rolling on the floor. Ernie, Luna, Ginny, and Ron were nowhere to be seen. Susan was helping Trang to her feet, pointing towards an open door.

I stunned the Death Eater and Harry came over to Hermione, shaking her. "Hermione. Hermione, wake up. . ." Harry said as the baby-headed Death Eater wandered out of the room.

"Whadid he do to her?" Neville asked, his nose bleeding. He was talking thickly. Susan joined us and said, "I pointed Trang back to the main room."

"Good." I said vacantly. I was feeling Hermione's wrist for a pulse, the way Madam Pomfrey had taught me seven months ago. "Neville, carry Hermione with us while we find the others." I waved my wand at Hermione's body and then said, "She should be light enough. Susan, Harry, and I will do the fighting." I looked up at Susan, "Unless you want to take Hermione back to the entrance?"

Susan shook her head, looking determined. "I'm fighting Elizabeth. "

I nodded. I grabbed the mirror, ignoring their faces, and stuffed the mirror into my pocket. Together, we crept out of the office and back toward the door into the black hallway which was deserted. I noticed that mine and Hermione's fiery X's were no longer on the door. I wondered how far Kingsley and the others were.

"We could leave Hermione here." I suggested half-heartedly but after the room stopped spinning, three people came out of another door and Susan and I raised our wands immediately.

"Ron, Ginny- are you alright?" Harry asked dashing towards them. I could tell immediately that they were not.

Ron and Ginny's faces were both extremely white. Ron was giggling weakly and there was a dark liquid trickling from his mouth. I wasn't entirely sure it was blood. Neville was sitting down, Hermione next to him, still unconscious. Susan and I stood back to back, making sure that no one was going to barge in on us unexpectedly.

"Where's Ernie?" I asked fearfully.

"Don't know." Luna said, frowning. "Ginny's ankle might be broken, something cracked. Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets, it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark-"

"Like a space simulation." I murmured, my heart beating fast. Everyone was here except for Ernie. "I need to go find Ernie."

"I'll come with you." Susan nodded. Trang appeared out of a door at that moment, ashen faced Ernie next to her, sprouting a blood nose and limping.

"Let's get out of here." He muttered.

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" Ron said on the other side of the room, still giggling. "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus- ha ha ha-"

"Anyway, one of them grabbed Ginny's foot. I used the Reductor Curse and blew up Pluto in his face but. . ." Luna continued and gestured to Ginny's ankle.

"And what about Ron?" Harry asked.

"I don't know what they hit him with but he's gone a bit funny. I could hardly get him along at all." Luna said sadly.

"Harry, you know who this girl is, Harry?" Ron asked, giggling hysterically. "She's Loony. . . Loony Lovegood. . . ha ha ha. . ."

"We've got to get out of here." Harry said firmly.

"Hear hear." Ernie said, wiping his nose.

"Is it broken?" I asked peering into his face.

"Don't think so." He said.

"Elizabeth I'm so sorry." Trang whispered. "None of you would be here if it wasn't for me."

"No." I said, shaking my hand. "You're here because you're my friend and they used you as bait. It's my fault."

"There they are!" Bellatrix shrieked from behind us. Stunning spells filled the room and Trang fell, stunned. I scooped her up and followed Harry into a room as he smashed through the door. Neville followed with Harry and Luna with Ginny. Ernie and Susan brought up the rear, deflecting the spells and then Harry slammed the door in their faces.

"Colloportus!" I shouted.

"It doesn't matter! There are other ways in- WE'VE GOT THEM. THEY'RE HERE!" a man's voice shouted. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Trang were placed in a corner for them to stay. The rest of us raced to the doors, shouting "Colloportus" and then I heard Luna shriek behind me and I turned.

"Get Potter!" Bellatrix shouted, stunning Susan.

"Hey!" Ron shouted, staggering to his feet. "Hey, Harry, there are brains in here, ha ha ha, isn't that weird, Harry?"

"Ron get out of the way, get down-" I shouted.

"Honest, Harry, they're brains- look- Accio Brains!"

Harry, Neville, Ernie, and I froze and against their will, the Death Eaters froze too as we watched the brain fly through the air a bit like a flying fish, and then started to unravel. Ernie looked faint, sweat glistening on his brow. It was like watching film unroll.

"Ha ha ha, Harry, look at it- Harry, come and touch it, bet it's weird-"

"RON NO!" Harry shouted, leaping towards him. The Death Eaters continued to watch. Ron caught the brain in his outstretched hands and it wrapped around him.

"Harry, look what's happen- no- no, I don't like it- no- stop- stop-" Ron shrieked.

"Releshio!" I shouted and the brain fell from Ron's body.

Now that the fun was over, the Death Eaters went back to attacking us and I body slammed Ernie to the floor, pulling him out of the way. Harry held the prophecy up above his head, running from the room. The Death Eaters followed him like bloodhounds after a rabbit. We were left behind.

I jumped up. "Neville, Ernie, stay here, watch over the rest of them."

"No!" They both said.

"Please." I begged them. "At least one of you."

They stared at each other and then Ernie said, "Fine. But Elizabeth. . . stay safe."

I nodded and raced after Harry, Neville on my heels. I then doubled back but Neville raced on and I heard him shout, "He's dot alone! He's still god be!"

I crept to the doorway and then raced down as Malfoy said, "It's Longbottom, isn't it? Well, your grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause.. Your death will not come as a great shock. . ."

"Longbottom?" Bellatrix asked and then laughed. "Why, I had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy. . ."

"I DOE YOU HAB!" Neville shouted.

"STUPEFY!" I shouted and the spell hit Bellatrix in the face. YES!

The Death Eater stupidly released Neville who moved out of the way. There were about seven of them left and they all surged over to me. I stunned Malfoy and then dodged the other spells. I was fighting six on one and then Harry distracted two of them so now it was four on one.

But that was okay, I thought vindictively. I was going to win. Harry and I were the last ones standing. A stunning spell had hit Neville in the face.

My wand and my brain were moving in sync and I wasn't even speaking verbal spells at this point. There were shields to throw up and spells to cast and I was like a bit of a machine. . . a character in a video game where you just spammed the button so that you didn't die from the little minions.

And then there were two doors that opened up into the room and Sirius, Dad, Uncle Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley came through.

I didn't even looked over, still fighting for my life. Dad was running towards me, his wand raised, bellowing spells. But the four Death Eaters had only eyes for me and one of them collapsed as Dad's spell hit him. The other Death Eaters looked around and realized that members of the Order were there and immediately, two of them turned to fight dad while the other one continued to advance on me.

Uncle Moody appeared out of nowhere, stunning the Death Eater. "Good fight Kane." He said, his eye spinning and then turned to fight Antonin Dolohov. I stunned another Death Eater that was fighting dad and then felt hands grabbing my neck, pulling me down. I struggled against them.

Bellatrix was hissing into my ear. "So Lupins' your daddy? Oooh the Dark Lords going to be so pleased when I bring you in. . ."

I struggled against her, trying to flip my wand around so that I could send a spell her way. She dragged me along towards the stairs, though I made it difficult for her. I thought as hard as possible, and she started to scream and I grinned vindictively, pulling away from her, releasing her from the torture spell.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She screeched and both Dad and Kingsley looked up to see who she was talking to. She shot a killing spell towards me and I dove behind a rock. We started a vicious duel and I realized that I was standing where Sirius was standing in my vision and my heart started to pound even more.

In my peripheral vision, I saw that Mad-Eye was lying on the floor, blood running from his head. Sirius was wrestling with Dolohov, Kingsley was fighting Rookwood, Dad was fighting Mulciber, and I couldn't see where Tonks was. Why hadn't more members come? Where was Bill? Mr and Mrs. Weasley? Mundungus? And then Ernie was running down with Luna, their wands out to come and join the fight.

I blocked Bellatrix's attempted stun, gritting my teeth. "You really want to do this?" I asked her, sending my own stunning spell at her. I wished that stunned people stayed stunned for a much longer amount of time.

"I'm sure the Dark Lord won't miss you." She said, her teeth bared.

Then Sirius was there, pushing me aside to take up the fight. "NO!" I shouted at him, pushing him away. "Stop, she'll kill you, I foresaw it."

Sirius didn't listen to me and battled Bellatrix. I wouldn't leave his side. I wouldn't let her kill him. No!

But Sirius wasn't laughing the way I had seen in my vision and most everything had gone completely wrong tonight anyways that I would be surprised if she did end up killing him. The future rarely alters, a random voice said in my head, making my heart jolt with unpleasantness.

Dad was dragging me away for some reason. "NO!" I said. "No, I foresaw she was going to kill him. I need to stop it!" I jerked out of dad's arms, running back to Bellatrix and Sirius and was immediately intercepted by a Death Eater who I recognized was Nott. He was the one that had asked Lucius to bring me into the alleyway before he delivered me to Voldemort. He was the one who'd kissed me. He was the one who's knee I had broken.

Dumbledore was in the doorway, his wand raised and his face white and furious. But before I could concentrate on that, I was engaged in a duel with Nott. Some of the Death Eaters made a run for it, to which Dumbledore pulled them back like they were puppets with invisible strings. Nott didn't notice and neither did Bellatrix.

Dumbledore had rounded up many of the Death Eaters, advancing on Nott who, with a well placed spell, sent me flying over Sirius' head and I crashed into Bellatrix.

I screamed, feeling the Cruciatus curse being placed on me and my sight was immediately blinded by black spots. I could hear Sirius roaring faintly and Dad yelling my name and then the pain was gone. Sirius had Bellatrix in a chokehold, both his hands pressed down on his throat.

I rolled over. Mad-Eye had crawled over to Tonks, attempting to revive her.

"Sirius!" I screamed as Bellatrix, gasping for air, groped on the ground for her wand. I leapt towards her and she sent me flying across the room again and I crashed onto the stone steps next to where Ernie was standing, watching Dumbledore.

"SIRIUS!" I screamed, grabbing the back of my head. I no longer cared about myself. I barely even recognized that I was in pain. All I could think about was Sirius. I raced back down the steps, my body throbbing from the multiple crashes. But I couldn't sit around in pain. I had to save Sirius. I had to save Sirius. Dad threw out an arm to catch me and I ducked under it, continuing to run.

Then Sirius was on his feet, grabbing his wand and dodging her stunning spell. They were getting closer to the rocky dais where the archway stood. "No!" I shrieked, looking around. Dumbledore was advancing for the fight with Bellatrix. Dad's arms finally drew around me and he pulled me to the ground.

Was Sirius dead? Was he really? My brain seemed a bit fried. I was shaking not sure if I was seeing the real thing or the vision. My vision seemed all black and spotty and gray.

"Sirius. . ." I whispered.

"He's right there." Dad said in a worried voice and I blinked and saw that yes, Sirius was still fighting. Sirius was still standing. Harry was standing next to him. And unfortunately, Sirius was starting to laugh. "Nice one James!"

My heart lurched.

"No, no, no." I murmured, grasping dad's arm. "No, he's laughing dad! She's going to kill him!"

And I watched helplessly as the green light flashed out of Bellatrix's wand. "NOOO!" I shrieked, jumping to my feet, running to where Sirius's body was falling in slow motion. Dumbledore had nearly been there. Dumbledore had been a millisecond away.

I watched, tears flowing down my face as Sirius' handsome face fell threw the archway. I found myself turning to Bellatrix and found myself surprised at how close we were, perhaps only eight feet between us. She was grinning and then I found myself on the ground, twitching and screaming. A pain exploded somewhere in my stomach and I blacked out.

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