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Harry\'s Shadow	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 41818 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make not a knut off this strange work of fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
A reminder of what's on my profile; reviews whinging or complaining about the lack 'o smut in stories get deleted. If you want something that is one long, smut-filled story, find something else to read as my work isn't for you.

Beta'd by the most wonderful, amazing and stupendous Tenchi. Woman, you are the best and love you for all you do for me!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity, laying out this complicated mess to make it work and other issues.
Also, to Tash who spent several long hours working with me to make sure this would come across right.

Chapter 13

The couple of days after the traitorous rat was finally caught were a mixture of good and bad for Harry. They were also highly stressful in several ways. While classes went on like normal, despite the commotion over so much, he had to deal with several extra areas.

When it came to the fallout, the DMLE had talked to the Weasleys in the castle several times, especially the sheepish and shocked Percy since he was the one who initially found the rat. From what the twins told them it wasn’t bad or they weren’t thought to have done anything wrong since a rat was a rat, but the DMLE wanted to understand what was going on and how it came about. Harry could understand what they meant, especially since the mess hit the paper the day after, complete with pictures taken by a couple of people who had their cameras with them in the Great Hall.

Like most in the castle, he had read the articles in the paper intently, picking up everything he could and listening to what Sirius had to say on the topic. Though he wasn’t well versed in the area of the press and how some things were spun to make plenty look better than it did, he could see examples in the articles. The Ministry, from what he could tell and Sirius explained, was trying to cover themselves from the fallout since Sirius went to prison without a trial, evidence wasn’t tested at the time, no one questioned anyone and plenty else when it came to the basics of investigations by law enforcement. It was a mess, from what he could see and Sirius explained. The majority ended up trying to cover themselves and undo the damage from what came out in the paper.

Then he ended up drawn in.

Because he was Sirius’ heir and the Wizengamot decided, probably because Dumbledore was the head of it, to do what they could to undo the wrong, he ended up pulled in. While he liked how they planned to clear Sirius and other areas, what he didn’t like was his aunt ended up involved because of his age. It didn’t please him as this meant he had to talk to her and she was in the castle to discuss matters with him.

Of course, as he expected, she fussed over plenty when it came to him right after seeing him. He hated it, trying not to let his disgust show over so much while she did it in front of everyone. Since this was business, of a sort, she couldn’t continue long.

First there was a meeting with her and a Solicitor she hired to handle the debacle. Unlike what most would do, she did ask what he wanted when it came to the mess after laying out what the Ministry offered. While he was certain, something he told Sirius, this was another way to look good in the eyes of those present, he did like it. The Solicitor then explained what so much of it meant since he wasn’t supposedly acquainted with Azkaban, what went on, all of it.

After listening and making sure they explained everything to him, like the history of what happened because he supposedly didn’t know, Harry then became indignant, something he didn’t have to fake in the least. Because of what he knew happened to Sirius, he expressed the feelings he held in since learning about so much. He then made it clear he wanted whatever came to hurt, badly. The Ministry already offered plenty of money, something Harry didn’t care about, but would take, however he wanted more.

Still huffing, looking plenty upset, something his aunt tried to use to comfort him and cling, he then demanded a written apology, published in the papers, making it clear they screwed up. He also agreed to the plan of relocating the body from the burial ground on the island to the cemetery where the rest of Sirius’ family rested. Sirius told him it wasn’t a problem since the body wouldn’t be more than bones by now. They wouldn’t open the casket or examine the bones, just rebury it. Since it was all done with spells, there was nothing to worry about. As it’s something most would expect, Harry wanted it. The other request was to attend the trial of the traitor, something he wanted for not only himself, but so Sirius could attend and see justice done. Finally, he wanted someone in the government, preferably in the DMLE, to explain to him personally why the most basic of investigations wasn’t done and an innocent man ended up sent to prison without a trial.

While these were things he wanted, the two there seemed to like what he said. The Solicitor, Haskens was his name, gave a feral grin then assured him he would indeed make sure they granted Harry’s wishes. His aunt clung to him, holding him close and agreeing. While Harry didn’t like the clinging, he tolerated it, not pulling a face. After he had his say, the adults discussed plenty with Haskens assuring the two he would return the following day with as much hammered out as he could manage. In the end, he promised, Harry would be granted what he wanted.

The following day was better though, by a long shot, in many ways.

Of course, he attended classes like normal, doing what he usually did. Though quite a few were curious about what he knew, something he discussed with those close, life was going back to normal. After classes and tea, he was once more summoned to talk to his aunt and Solicitor Haskens. What he heard pleased him a great deal. While the Ministry had put up a fight, they finally agreed to all his provisions. From what the man told him, they knew it could end up plenty worse if he went after them in the role of the person managing Sirius’ estate. It pleased Harry greatly. It wasn’t the best, though. That was still to come.

As they stood in the Headmaster’s office that night, Harry tried to keep a neutral expression as his aunt once more clung to him. Instead of focusing on her, he looked around and talked to Sirius. Unlike the last couple of meetings, there were a lot of people in the office. While they introduced themselves, he couldn’t remember all the names. Some were from the Wizengamot, others the legal department, more were from the DMLE and there were some Aurors. He did remember a couple of the names.

Madam Bones he did because of Susan Bones. Minister Fudge, of course, because he was the Minister of Magic. While impressed to meet the Minister, he quickly decided he didn’t like the man. There was something about him, and his attitude, which rubbed him the wrong way.

Since he was still in school and his aunt worked, their Solicitor had arranged to meet this way to sort everything out. From what he understood, the Ministry would agree to the deal, but a few, like Fudge, wanted to talk them out of parts. Sirius told him he expected that and to just stay out of it and let his Solicitor handle whatever they said. Harry agreed as he didn’t know how to deal with any of this.

After Dumbledore conjured chairs for them, he started the meeting, taking charge as he was head of the Wizengamot. Then Fudge and a few others walked them through just what they were doing about the mess. Once they finished, they began ‘negotiating’ parts. From what Harry could gather, what they wanted was to keep as much out of the papers as possible. Sirius told him it was to save face as much as they could. It very quickly became clear it wouldn’t work.

As Fudge pushed, his aunt lost her temper. While Harry was sure it was mostly to look good, he did like what she said to everyone.

Petunia had taken a page out of Vernon’s book when it came to his rants about incompetence then went on a diatribe about what she could see was wrong, starting with they dropped Harry on the doorstep with just a note then went from there, shouting at people by the time she finished. At the end, she hissed, “How dare all of you! This whole debacle is a right cock-up since that night. You mishandled the entire thing, top to bottom. Not only is the person who was in charge of your law enforcement still where he was,” she then shot a glare at Scrimgeour and Bones before pressing on, “but you allowed an innocent man to end up in prison without a trial. He died in there with the world thinking he was guilty. Now you want to make yourselves look better? You deserve every black eye this will give you!” She then huffed and glared around, almost daring anyone to argue with her.

While Harry and Sirius didn’t like Petunia much, both loved what she said. Sirius actually laughed at it while Harry had to look down at the floor to hide the grin on his face.

While what Petunia said made Fudge flush and bluster, Madam Bones though honed in on one thing she said. Stepping closer, she held up her hand to stop the cross talk in the room then asked, “What do you mean by your nephew was left on your doorstep? As in really left on the step or metaphorically?”

“Just what I said; he was left on the doorstep,” Petunia huffed at the woman with the monocle. “No knock, nothing. Left there like so much trash. I tripped over him when I went out to grab the milk in the morning.”

“Who left him there, do you know? She asked, flushing from anger. This was most certainly the first she’d heard about it!

Head held high, Petunia lifted her chin then hissed, glaring at Dumbledore, “Albus Dumbledore. It was his name on the note left in the basket.”

Eyes widening, Amelia then turned her gaze to the aging Headmaster. “Is this true, Albus?” If it was, it was something she would start looking into. All those years ago, Albus didn’t have the authority to make such judgments or place a child somewhere. Even the most crass in the DMLE would have knocked on the woman’s door. For Merlin’s sake, you didn’t inform someone of their sister’s murder with a note!

Albus knew this would lead nowhere good and sighed then said, “We’ll discuss this privately at a later time, Amelia. Let’s deal with the case at hand so Harry can return to the dorm and Petunia may go home. Both have a full day tomorrow and don’t need kept up too late.”

While Amelia could understand the reasons he gave and nodded, she told him, tone cold, “We will. You and I are going to have a long talk, Albus! Count on it.” Then she stepped back, arms folded tightly over her chest.

“Enough of this!” Petunia hissed, glaring around. “We will not negotiate! You deserve the spanking you’re taking over this mess. We’ve explained to Harry what all this means and this is what he wanted. Are you going to deny him what he wants on the matter?”

Red in the face, sweating and flustered, Cornelius wiped his forehead with a hankie while leaning over to listen to what the head of the Ministry’s legal counsel said. As he did, he looked at young Harry, who was staring at him. When the man finished talking, he let out an imperceptible sigh then nodded.

Finally, he agreed, “Yes, enough arguing. We’ll agree to the provisions as they are.” While it galled him to write a public apology, he planned to make certain it was clear his administration had nothing to do with the debacle and were just cleaning up the mess left to them.

“Good,” Petunia grumbled, eyes now flinty as she glowered around.

“We now have some other areas to work out,” Haskens nodded then launched into them.

As everyone talked out what they needed to, Harry focused on Sirius, talking to him. This was great, what he wanted. There was still plenty to deal with, but he was sure this was the last he would have to deal with his aunt until the trial, if there was one. While he liked some of what she said, he knew most of it was to look good. Any other time, she would have just handled it on her own and not drawn him in. He told Sirius he thought the only reason she had pulled him in was so she could come to the castle and see him.

While everyone around them talked, Sirius paid attention to not only Harry, but the rest. Most wasn’t anything they needed to know, but he wanted to make sure he knew what they were planning to deal accordingly. While the rest were muddling through, he told Harry he completely agreed with the assessment about Petunia. Yeah, the woman was just using this as an excuse to see Harry, nothing more. She needed to stay as far away as possible.

“It’s all worked out then, Harry?” George asked, leaning forward a bit to listen to what Harry said. As Harry was just returning after being gone for a couple of hours, they wanted filled in. The common room was noisy because of all the excitement over the last couple of days, so he wanted to make sure he heard all the details.

“You were gone a long time,” Fred added, leaning in as well. They knew this had to do with the Sirius Black bit since Harry explained he was Black’s only heir, thus having to shoulder some of the responsibility for areas. Though his aunt was taking most of it on, from what they knew, she was involving Harry.

“All worked out, for now anyway,” Harry nodded. “Nothing to worry about. You’ll see part in the paper tomorrow as the apology will show up then. If they don’t cut a deal with Pettigrew, I’ll attend his trial. From what they explained, it will only be a one day thing. Then that’s all but the paperwork the Solicitor handles and my aunt signs off on.”

“As least it’s sorted,” Dean tossed in. “Was a right mess.”

“A real big mess,” Seamus added with a sad shake of his head.

“Mostly it was boring whatever that I didn’t pay much attention to,” Harry admitted, relaxing with a glass of juice. Then he chuckled and grinned, adding, “You lot missed the fun part, though.”

“Talk, Harry,” George grinned, assuming this would turn out good.

“What was it about?” Fred asked, wondering on the topic, though assuming they’d like it if Harry phrased it that way.

“Snape,” Harry told them, shoulders shaking. Before they could ask, and after a quick glance around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, he lowered his voice and explained, “Like I told you lot before; Aunt Petunia grew up close to him and knew the man. Well, I’ve told you about some of her letters when it comes to him. Since she was here, she let Dumbledore have it over him. And I mean blasted him. Then she demanded to talk to Snape. While Dumbledore soothed her the best he could, probably not wanting Snape drawn in because she was hopping mad, it didn’t work. As our Solicitor was there, she made it clear Snape keeps it up with me and she’s having our Solicitor go straight to the Board with an official complaint about his behavior. She then made it clear she’s seen my homework, checked it the best she could, and he’s deliberately marking my work down. What she told him was if it didn’t stop and he doesn’t act like a true teacher, she’s not only filing a complaint about him, but vowing to let our Solicitor do what he needs to so it stops. Dumbledore was not happy, let me tell you. While he didn’t say anything, you could see it on his face.”

Shoulders shaking, grinning hugely, Dean shook his head, “Oh, I bet plenty won’t like this.”

“That’s great!” Seamus laughed, eyes twinkling.

“Bet Snape won’t either,” Fred grinned.

“At all,” George chortled.

“I think he’ll back off me,” Harry then explained, looking around. “Everyone else? Doubtful there. Not sure what will come of it, honestly. I don’t want to cause problems with anyone, but what he does is uncalled for.”

“I agree there,” Dean nodded.

“Right nasty one he is,” Seamus sighed. “And he’s had it out for you from day one, Harry.”

“Honestly? Just so he leaves me alone and stops with the stupidity, I don’t care,” Harry shrugged. “It’s just Aunt Petunia being too over protective, nothing more. I just found it funny was all.”

“I bet it was,” Fred grinned.

“One of those areas which we all want to see from time to time,” George agreed with a nod.

“Makes some of it all worthwhile to think about,” they then said together.

After settling back, the twins then had Harry walk them through all he heard. Since there was some more coming from the mess, they wanted to make sure they understood the whole situation. Besides, with their family involved, they wanted to pass it along to their parents as well. It would help plenty of matters.

“Do you think they’ll cut a deal with him?” Harry asked Sirius after slipping into his pajamas and settling back. It was a tad earlier than normal when it came to him going to bed, but he wanted some extra sleep since he was tired after the last couple of days.

“Honestly? I think so,” Sirius sighed. “The Ministry will end up with a huge black eye over it. I think, if it hadn’t ended up publicized the way it was, Peter would have already been Kissed. Either way, a life sentence in Azkaban isn’t nice.” He then lowered his voice and added, “Rather poetic justice, honestly. It’s what I had to deal with. As the Dementors are bad, he’ll suffer plenty more than if he’s Kissed.”

“Just so he’s punished, I rightly don’t care,” Harry admitted, snuggling up against Sirius with a contented sigh.

“Not going to escape it this time,” Sirius assured him with a smile, holding him close.

“You going to poke him a bit?” Harry asked, looking over his shoulder at his godfather. By now, he knew Sirius was poking Remus a tad, though he didn’t know the details. As he thought it was a bit of justice there, he didn’t care, honestly, but was curious.

“Of course,” Sirius told him with an evil grin. “Going to with Remus as well. Peter—will do that bit before he lands in Azkaban. While I can easily get to the prison, not going there. Will make sure he hears from me before he goes, though.”

“Good,” Harry told him, grinning a little himself. “Snarl for me, too.”

“I plan on it,” Sirius assured him. Then he asked, “You doing fine after all this shit? I didn’t expect you would end up drawn in like you were, but it’s not a bad thing there.”

“Other than having to deal with Aunt Petunia, I’m good,” Harry told him, eyes sliding shut. “Since dealing with her is over until the trial, sentencing, whatever comes of it, I’m fine.”

“She’s growing worse,” Sirius admitted with a heavy sigh. “I agree; it was all just a show from her and she was using it to spend time with you.”

“Sirius, she’s creeping me out,” Harry admitted softly, curling up tighter to him. “This is—it’s worse and I’m almost afraid of what will come when we go home for break.”

“If it grows too bad, I’ll find a way to deal with it,” Sirius assured him, though not sure what he could do to stop it. He’d find something, though. “We’ll manage. Let’s just deal with it as it comes.”

When Harry nodded, he asked, changing topics to one not as stressful since his godson would go to sleep soon and he didn’t want to cause bad dreams, “Hear anymore about Ron and Neville? Last we knew they were looking into whatever with the dog.”

“They’re still looking,” Harry told him with a groan and shake of his head. “It’s like a big adventure with them. Not sure what they’re doing with it, but they’re trying. Hermione, from what I heard, ended up caught up in part. She wasn’t happy there and huffed at them. Either way, they see it as something they feel they need to know about.”

“It’s bad news there,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head. “The whole thing is dangerous. The Stone alone—yeah, they don’t need to mess with that. With the other parts going on, they’re going to end up seriously hurt.”

“Nothing anyone can say to them will make a difference either,” Harry pointed out. “We’ve told Fred and George who passed it on to Percy. It hasn’t deterred them in the least.”

“All you can do, honestly,” Sirius told him with a shrug. It’s on their heads now.”

“I plan to stay out of all of it,” Harry assured him. Eyes going shut, he let out a contented sigh then asked, “You going wandering tonight or staying put?”

“I plan to do some wandering,” Sirius told him with a smile. “Just not now. I’ll wait until you’re sound asleep. Most of what I wanted to hear is over anyway, like Albus talking to Snape. I’m sure I’ll pick up more from them as this has tossed spanners all over and into plenty of whatever. We’ll see.”

“Understood,” Harry nodded, not opening his eyes.

“Your homework caught up?” Sirius then asked, though assumed it was. While Harry had distractions to deal with, he was plenty diligent when it came to doing his homework, but wanted to check to ensure he didn’t have problems with some of it.

“All caught up,” Harry told him with a smile. “A bit ahead, actually. With reading anyway. A couple chapters ahead for almost all the subjects.”

“Good!” Sirius grinned, cuddling him close, chin resting on Harry’s shoulder. He then began to ask if there was anything he encountered he had a problem with or didn’t understand. So far Harry wasn’t having issues with any of the work, but he wanted to stay on top of it.

As he held Harry close, he let his hand slip under the front of his shirt and stroke Harry’s stomach, listening to what his godson said. While he had tons to deal with when it came to not only keeping Harry safe, but other areas, he would always take time to spend with Harry and their routine. This came first, before anything else, and Sirius would always make sure it did.
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Harry\'s Shadow