Solicitor

Carkitt Market, Diagon Alley, 4th August 1992

Today Matthew had a meeting in Diagon Alley, he was currently on the Carkitt Market in a side street of Diagon Alley in the Wizarding district. It was centered around a Victorian wrought iron arcade similar to those seen around the United Kingdom, such as Leadenhall Market. The shop facades, along with the wrought iron, were Victorian facades painted over in a bright technicolor palette. A small Gothic building sat in the center of the Market.

His goal was a Victorian-looking office building with multiple signs one of them saying Tonks Solicitor firm. He entered the building and headed to the second floor, and knocked on the Door of their Office. A few moments later the door opened and a fair-haired, big-bellied man opened the door and looked at Matthew, "Yes, how may I help you?" he asked with a mellow and pleasant voice.

"Good Morning, I have a meeting at 10 am with Solicitor Edward Tonks." Greeted Matthew.

"Ah, you are my 10 am appointment. Come in. Nice to meet you, I am Edward Tonks the Solicitor and Owner of this Law firm." Greeted Edward 'Ted' Tonks as he energetically shook Matthew's hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Replied Matthew.

"Come sit down young man. Do you want anything to drink? I have Coffee, Tea or Water?" offered Edward as he led Matthew to a desk with chairs from both sides.

"No thank you. I just had breakfast."

"Ok. So how can I help you? Under-aged Magic? Or Something else?" asked Edward.

"Well first of all. I would like to know if there is anything like a solicitor-client privilege in the magical world?" asked Matthew.

Edward blinked for a few moments before replying, "Yes there is. I am required to keep silent about anything you tell me. The Wizarding World had this kind of Law even before the non-magical world since they are vastly beneficial to Pure-bloods and their interests. So anything we discuss will be kept confidential. My Office is under privacy charms so nobody can eavesdrop." He explained.

"I see that's perfect. The reason I need legal help is quite risky and needs to be handled carefully. It's not even for me. I choose your law firm because you are related to the person who needs legal help by marriage." Explained Matthew.

"What? Who?" asked Edward with bafflement.

"Sirius Black!" dropped Matthew the bomb, coming directly to the point.

"WHAT!? Do you know who he is? What he did?" asked Edward with anger in his voice.

"Please calm down sir. Let me start at the beginning. Do you know any Curse or Spell that leaves nothing behind but a finger?" asked Matthew.

Edward began to hesitate and think for a while, "I can't think of any. Even during the war, it was the only time that all that left was a finger." He replied thoughtfully.

"Yes this kind of curse would have been specifically designed that way, and the effort is too much for that. Creating a curse leaving a specific body part intact is very complex. So Complex that it isn't worth the effort." Explained Matthew, "That made me suspicious that something was wrong, so I began to dig deeper. Why would someone betray his own brother who he dearly loved? Sirius and James Potter basically grew up as brothers, there is no way that Sirius could have faked this the whole time. A close friend, yes. But a brotherly bond would have been obvious. You should know Sirius better than me since he was the closest family your wife had. I only have my pieces of information from other people. This was the second sign that something fishy is going on."

"Yes, you are right. My wife also didn't believe that Sirius back then did it, but then he was convicted and brought to be Azkaban. His Trial must have proved that he has done it."

"Well, that's the core problem. Sirius never had a Trial."

"That's not possible. How do you know that? His records are sealed and can be only accessed with the permission of the Minister." Asked Edward with shock on his face.

"Ehm, that's why I asked about the solicitor-client privilege." Began Matthew sheepishly, "I kinda broke into Azkaban and asked Sirius personally, since I couldn't find more information this was my only option."

Edwards Mouth was now wide open and he stared at Matthew as if he grew a second head, "You did what? How is that possible? You couldn't be older than a fourth or fifth year and broke into one of the safest places of Magical Britain?"

"Yeah, I am quite the capable Wizard. With a few tricks and Original Spells, it isn't hard to bypass the Wards. After all the Ministry is quite incompetent and their Auror force is understaffed. Tricking the Dementors isn't that hard. And nobody would expect someone breaking into Azkaban." Joked Matthew.

"So you spoke to Sirius and he said he didn't have a Trial. Are you sure he didn't lie?"

"Yes, he also told me that Peter Pettigrew is alive. Sirius and Peter are both Animagi. If Sirius wanted he could actually break out any time. The problem is that he feels that the Potter's dead was their fault. It was his Idea to secretly exchange the Secret Keeper, Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper while everyone believed it was Sirius and they would come after him. But Pettigrew was a Spy for Voldemort and sold the Potter's to him. Later Sirius hunted him down because he wasn't thinking correctly. As he confronted Peter he cut off his finger, blew the street up and turned into his rat animagus form, and fled in the confusion, while Sirius was captured by Aurors and imprisoned." Explained Matthew.

"That's a lot to take in. But to even accomplish something we will need to find Pettigrew. We will also need to move fast and quickly proving his Innocents since the Malfoy's have a real interest that Sirius never gets free. So they can inherit the Black estate." Began Edward now in his Solicitor mode.

"Well, I already know where Pettigrew is. I can capture him as soon we are ready. He is quite slippery so let's not alarm him."

"Where is he?"

"Let's keep that a secret for now. I really don't want to alarm him!"

"Okay. I can contact Madame Bones, she is the Head of the DMLE and impartial on the side of Justice. She would make sure that Pettigrew doesn't disappear. I will need to find the eye Witnesses from back then and get their Statements. To collect all the proof we can I need some time." Murmured Edward.

"What about the Malfoy's? They are quite wealthy, which is a problem here in Britain." Asked Matthew.

"Once we are ready to make our move, I will contact the Goblins and freeze their Accounts temporarily. The Goblins are responsible for Inheritance, they take Line-theft very seriously. Our proof should be enough to freeze their Accounts before the Trial. As for Fudge, we will release a Statement to the Prophet and the Quibbler. He won't be able to move against public opinion. But our moves need to happen in a short time before the Trial so our Opponents are unable to Counter us."

"I completely agree. Okay, I will also inform Professor Dumbledore the day before so we will have his assistance. How much will your payment be?"

"Good Idea. Having the Chief Warlock on our side will be a great help. Don't worry about the Payment. The Black Account will pay for it once we are Successful. I am doing my Wife a Favor here. After all, Sirius was her favorite Cousin and Member of her family."

It took a while to plan the details, but now they had a real strategy to get Sirius out of Prison. If they succeeded Matthew would gain access to the Black Library and the Horcrux in Kreacher's possession. And the political power of the blacks wouldn't hurt either.

While Matthew was in his meeting with Edward Tonks, he felt through the tracker on Harry's Glasses that he gifted him to Christmas, that he got picked up by the Weasley s and traveled to the Burrow with them. If Matthew remembered right, they would visit Diagon Alley on the same day that Lockhart the fraud was signing books. Matthew would also visit the Alley to buy his School things that day just to make sure that the events followed Canon and nothing unexpected happens, like Lockhart gaining the Diary.

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