Chapter - 101 : Balancing Acts and Hidden Talents

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Umbridge became even more toad-like as she sent the Chief Warlock a poisonous glare. "Forgive me, Professor Dumbledore, but your judgement has been shown to be faulty on previous occasions, has it not?"

A rustle swept through the purple-robed Wizengamot members and Sirius heard whispers about little Harry Potter's misguided placement in the Muggle world. He clenched his hands in frustration, hating the fact that his godson's death was being used to discredit Dumbledore and convict an innocent witch. Sirius had his own grievances against the Headmaster, but when it came to judging the case of Mary Cattermole he supported the man wholeheartedly. Unfortunately Dumbledore's influence within the Wizengamot had weakened since Harry's death and his words weren't enough to counteract Umbridge's bigotry.

Sirius' head snapped up when his grandfather got to his feet in the balcony above him. He felt rather apprehensive, uncertain of what to expect from his Paterfamilias, but ended up pleasantly surprised. "I must agree with our Chief Warlock," Arcturus Black said firmly. "I find the evidence speaks for itself. I vote that the accused is not guilty."

The debate dragged on for another half hour, but eventually the judges were called on to reach a verdict. The shock of hearing the Black Paterfamilias agreeing with Dumbledore must have swayed many of the Wizengamot members, since when the final votes were tallied those in favour of an acquittal won by a slim margin.

Despite the favourable end to the proceedings, Sirius was scowling as he strode out of the courtroom. He found the obvious bias of the Wizengamot despicable. He was sure that without Arcturus adding his weight to Sirius' testimony, the outcome would have been quite different. Mary Cattermole's narrow escape from Azkaban unsettled him, the whole thing reminding Sirius too much of the injustice he himself had suffered.

Sirius didn't feel up to returning to work that day and decided Moody wouldn't mind him leaving an hour or so early. He made his way to the apparition point, impatient to leave the building. He didn't even want to speak to Arcturus. The man had been instrumental in the Wizengamot reaching the correct verdict, but Sirius suspected Arcturus had been supporting his grandson rather than standing up for the ideals of justice and equality. Perhaps that opinion was unfair - Arcturus may also have been reminded of Sirius' wrongful imprisonment after all - but Sirius wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards any members of the Wizengamot at the moment.

"Auror Black! Auror Black!"

Sirius almost ignored the voice calling his name, but after an internal debate Sirius slowed his steps. He relaxed when he turned around to see Arthur Weasley hurrying towards him. Arthur was one man he knew for certain didn't harbour any anti-muggle prejudices. If anything the opposite was the case, with the words 'muggle mad' often used to describe him.

"Auror Black, I'm glad I caught you. I hope I'm not keeping you from anything important?" Arthur stopped in front of Sirius and fidgeted nervously.

"No. Not at all," Sirius said, surprised that he'd been addressed so formally. They'd been members of the Order of the Phoenix together and had been on first name terms. He hoped Arthur wasn't one of those wizards who still believed him guilty of betraying the Potters. "How can I help?"

"Oh... I just… I wanted to take the opportunity to apologise," Arthur said.

Sirius was baffled. "What for?"

"Well, that is to say, it was my family that harboured Pettigrew for all those years. I assure you though, we had absolutely no idea of the truth. We all thought he was a normal rat or we never would've let him into our home…"

Sirius knew there had been an extensive investigation launched by the Ministry after his release from Azkaban. Fudge had been determined to absolve himself of any blame for Sirius' incarceration and was only too eager to shift responsibility onto others such as the Weasley family. Sirius himself was very definite about where the blame truly lay, however. "Don't worry, Arthur. I know you had nothing to do with any of it," he said.

Arthur sagged in relief. "Oh, good. Excellent."

"So how are you and Molly and the kids doing?" Sirius asked, hoping to move the conversation onto happier topics.

"We're all doing well, thank you," Arthur said with a bright smile. "Bill and Charlie have started working and little Ginny is still at home, but the rest are all at Hogwarts with your own son. I believe Ron and Orion are in the same year in fact."

"Is that right?" Sirius said, even though he knew it was true. Ron Weasley had featured in many of Orion's stories about his old world. "Hmm, yes, I think Orion may have mentioned your son once or twice."

"As for the extended family," Arthur continued. "There I have to thank you. It's a very good thing you're doing, with Godric's Hollow, I mean. Molly has been beside herself with worry over Fabian." He glanced around and then lowered his voice. "He's had a very hard time of it ever since he was bitten. Molly and I've tried to help him, but…"

Sirius filled in the rest of the sentence: but the Weasleys didn't have much and what they did have, Fabian wouldn't be comfortable accepting. "I'm glad I've been able to help," Sirius said honestly. "I just wish I could do more."

After a few more minutes of conversation they said goodbye and Sirius continued on his way. He was just as upset as before, but now his thoughts had another problem to focus on. Instead of muggleborn discrimination, it was the unfair treatment of Werewolves. At least he was able to do something about the second problem. His plans were well underway; he'd hired workers (all Werewolves themselves) to renovate the house at Godric's Hollow and had spread word of the refuge through Remus.

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