53

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE:

Maybe I had misjudged Sirius's character this whole time, Harry thought as Sirius embarked on a furious rant about bringing murderers into the family. I had hoped that some of it would be Dumbledore's spells, but it seems that if anything, they had been hiding this vindictive nature – unless that's a result of Azkaban and I just didn't notice it the last time around? Harry had removed the last of Dumbledore's spells before this conversation, but it hadn't seemed to make a difference.

"Bad enough that we have you as Head of the family; now you bring Narcissa and fucking Malfoy into the family?!"

"Alright, that's enough," Harry stood, refusing to be talked down to any longer. "As your Head of House, I demand that you sit down, shut up, and listen to me." Against his will, Sirius was pushed into a seat and silenced. "Now then. Narcissa is perhaps just as bad as her late husband, but I don't know for sure, and the only way to know is to find out. I am not bringing her into the family and giving her free reign – she is under my command, and she will act as befits a Black. She will learn about the Muggles she reviles – as should you – and so will her son. She will watch over children not her own, with other supervision in place that I will choose, and you can be sure that at least one of the caretakers will be either a squib or a Muggleborn. Tutors will teach the children not only about magic and magical culture, but about Muggle society and other races. As long as a child is growing up under my protection, that child will learn of all sides of an issue. Narcissa will not be raising little Dark Lords. The other Pureblood families that fell under my control will either learn to cast aside their prejudices or learn to live without the funds they had previously; Death Eaters who were tricked into joining Voldemort will be supported and reintegrated into society. And you will look for a mind healer as soon as you are declared innocent. You are acting frankly unstable, and at this rate you will drag the name of Black into the dirt more surely than Narcissa. Do you understand me?"

A sullen glare was his only reply, and Harry narrowed his eyes. "Very well. Sirius Orion Black, you are confined to this house and barred from accessing the family vaults until such a time as I choose to release you. If you are called to the Ministry for legal business you are free to go there and return straight here afterwards, letting me know before you leave the house. You will not send Winky to run any errands for you without my permission, nor will you use any other house elf." Harry sighed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but I really see no other choice. Please talk it over with Remus or Harry; if they can convince me that I made the wrong choice, then I'll release you from those commands." It was with a heavy heart that Harry turned and walked away, feeling guilty for suspecting his godfather of being mentally instable. But really, what else could he think?

In a way, Harry was glad that Remus hadn't been around after all.

OoOoO

Albus Dumbledore sat alone in his hospital room, the Daily Prophet open on his lap. I'm dying, and yet barely rate a third of a page, he thought numbly. Voldemort was gone, defeated by Albus's own protégée – and with a simple cutting curse, if the article was to be believed – and Harry was well on his way to becoming the new Minister of Magic. Harry featured prominently on the first three pages of the Daily Prophet: The title page dedicated to Voldemort's defeat, the second page with a Q&A from Harry's Veritaserum session, and the third page filled with other people's opinions on the man – while Albus was relegated to the fourth page.

This isn't what I wanted. Dumbledore would have clenched his fists if he still could. He was so weak that he disgusted himself. Look at what the Light Lord has become, he thought bitterly. No better than my poor Gellert, locked up in Numengard without his magic. No – I still have that, he thought rebelliously, wandlessly levitating his newspaper just to prove to himself that he could. Few wizards could even cast wordless spells, but even under the effects of a Dark curse Albus was capable of casting wandlessly. I am not dead yet, he raised his head, a determined glint in his eye. I will not be held down.

OoOoO

Minerva took a deep breath and rose from her chair, slowly making her way around the Head Table to stand facing the student body, the other teachers at her back.

"Might I have your attention," she said clearly, the words traveling easily through the hall and quieting the last few students that hadn't already fallen silent when she had started walking.

"This morning we received many shocking surprises, and already wizarding Britain is different from how it was just a week ago. Now it is time for Hogwarts, too, to change – and some of you may have already noticed the first change." Murmurs ran through the hall, only a few students seeming to understand what she was alluding to. "Today the Hogwarts Inquisitor and Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Dolores Umbridge, was brought before the full Wizengamot for a trial." Several gasps rang out, and while fewer students than she had hoped looked surprised, silence prevailed.

"Madam Umbridge was sentenced to life in Azkaban on the charges of abuse of power, abuse of rank, abuse of trust, ad hominem abuse, child abuse, defamation, discriminatory abuse, intimidation using violence or the threat of violence, official misconduct, physical abuse, prejudice, racial abuse, and torture," Minerva recited, the words forever burned into her mind. Closing her eyes, she spoke on. "I was not Headmistress at the time, but as Deputy Headmistress I feel that I should have seen the things that woman was doing within the walls of Hogwarts. I should have paid more attention to the detentions my students were assigned. I should have supported you when it was my responsibility to ensure your wellbeing. No student under my charge should have been tortured," she forced out, her fingers interlaced so tightly before her that they were white.

Opening her eyes, Minerva forced herself to look at her students, the children that were, and had been, her responsibility. "I swear to you today," she said firmly, "that it will never happen again. While I am at this school, none of my charges will suffer as you have. I cannot undo what has been done, but I hope to mend the trust that has been broken. I place myself in your hands," she inclined her torso until she was in a deep bow, face to the floor. Shocked silence engulfed the room, and Minerva closed her eyes, hoping it would be enough. There could be no repairing what had been done, but she hoped that a new start would be possible.

Straightening slowly, she then looked at each table in turn, catching different students' eyes. "My door is open to all of you," she said softly, the acoustics of the room carrying the words to her students' ears. "I am now Headmistress of Hogwarts, and as such will endeavor to be impartial in all things. Whether badger, snake, lion or raven, you are welcome in my office for any concern you may have. It remains to be seen whether I will continue as Headmistress in the coming school year, but for now let us work together to the best of our abilities."

Taking a step back, Minerva indicated the vacant Defense Professor's seat. "Madam Bones has agreed to lend us qualified Aurors to catch you up on your missed studies, with a separate Auror for each year level. OWL and NEWT students will have the option of taking their Defense Against the Dark Arts examinations at a later date if they do not feel by the end of the school year that they have caught up on this year's studies. It will appear in tomorrow's newspaper, I am sure, but Cornelius Fudge is no longer Minister of Magic – Amelia Bones, former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has taken on the position of interim Minister and will be in the formal running for the post." A small smile quirked at her lips at the looks some of the students turned on Miss Bones, several comments along the lines of 'Your aunt is Minister of Magic?!' sounding out along Hufflepuff Table.

"That is all for now," Minerva announced, "and if you have any questions, all of our doors," she indicated the teachers sitting at the Head Table, "are open to you." Her smile grew slightly. "However, I would ask that you wait until tomorrow, as I have not yet have time to brief the other teachers on the situation. I am sure that tomorrow we will all be far better informed, and I will ensure that notices detailing the planned changes to Hogwarts are posted on the Houses' bulletin boards before the end of the week. For now," she inclined her head, "I wish you all a good night."

The student body erupted into frenzied conversation as groups of students discussed the newest changes, the actions of their new Headmistress, and the possible changes to Hogwarts; Minerva however found her eye caught by several students, all wearing grave expressions and giving her a slow nod as soon as they locked gazes. Minerva needed no further confirmation to know that these were the students tortured by Umbridge, and a single tear ran down her cheek at the number of them.

How did no one notice?