Chapter 8: A Visit to the Granger’s and a Prison Break. Part 5

"Language young man!" Andromeda scowled at Harry who had the decency to look abashed. He saw Tonks give him a look of schadenfreude from the corner of his eyes.

'Hmph, let's see who gets the last laugh.'

Andromeda swished her wand and conjured a stretcher next to the dog. She pointed her wand at the unconscious dog and whispered, "Animagus Revelio."

The dog slowly morphed back to his human form. Nymphadora let out a loud gasp. Andromeda looked furious, and Ted and Harry looked grim.

Sirius's condition can be summed up in one word, horrific. His tattered clothing was the least horrifying aspect. His frame was bone thin, and his cheeks were sunken in. He had numerous bruises and bloody scratches throughout his body. It was a gruesome sight to see.

With another flick, Sirius was moved into the stretcher and the stretcher levitated a couple of feet about the ground.

"I will spend some healing him and make sure that there are no complications. I expect to have him somewhat functional sometime later today," Andromeda explained as she tried to rein in her emotions.

Everyone one nodded and the stretcher followed Andromeda as she walked into her office.

"Bloody hell," Tonks let out softly. Ted did not say anything, and Harry just sighed.

The three of them moved into the living room and sat in silence, dazed from the morning's turn of events. Ted broke the silence.

"Well, we owe Dobby and your owl for finding him so swiftly," Ted stated blandly. "In fact, I am impressed with the ease he brought him here. He really is a special elf, isn't he?"

'You have no idea.'

"The best there ever is. He is a great friend too, though he has taken it upon himself to make fun of me as much as he can get away with," Harry smiled fondly.

Tonks's hair shifted to a dark purple. "I thought mum said you were raised by muggles. How did you get an elf?"

"I tricked Malfoy to free him. He made sure that a dark object that belonged to Voldemort enter the school through a first year. I destroyed the object and placed a sock that I wore that day inside the object. When he came to visit the school, he was a governor before he got sacked, I gave him the object. He handed the object to Dobby and I had Dobby open the object. Dobby found the sock and it was enough to set him free. Since then, we have been together as friends."

"Cor blimey, you two just fooled one of the slimiest wizards going around," Tonks whispered almost reverently. She snickered at Malfoy's loss. "Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke."

"Absolute bastard who needs his innards cleaned out," Ted grumbled lowly. Harry and Tonks simultaneously turned to face Ted, who narrowed his eyes at the younger duo. "Neither of you are telling a word to Andy that I swore."

"You see, there is this really great concert that the Weird Sisters are going to put on next month. I'll keep my mouth shut for a few tickets," Tonks smiled sweetly at her father.

"Not happening, you are a grown woman with a job. Figure it out," Ted bluntly retorted.

"Then you wouldn't mind explaining to mum why you were swearing in front of a perfectly impressionable young lad?" Tonks persisted with her sickeningly sweet smile.

"Lads nowadays know how to curse like a sailor from birth," Ted replied shamelessly.

"You can explain that to mum, as I said," Tonks repeated, her smile widened.

Father and daughter continued to stare at each other. Harry rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I am getting a little anxious waiting here without doing anything. In the meantime, you two could figure out your little issue."

Both the Tonks members just gave him a grunt. Harry muttered, "Goodbye to you too."

With a snap, Dobby appeared and popped him over to his tent.

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Harry spent most of his time practicing magic. He was not in a state of mind to practice mind magic at all. The Hat excused him for today, he knew it would be counterproductive to do any mind magic under high levels of emotional stress. Neither could he gather enough concentration for any academic pursuit.

"Master Harry, Mrs. Tonks told Dobby that the dog-man is up," said Dobby.

Harry got up and held his hand to Dobby without a word. Dobby popped him over to the living room.

Ted was seated in an armchair as he read a book. When he a familiar pop, he looked up from his book to see Harry and Dobby standing in the middle of his living room. He stood up and left his book on the chair.

"Sirius has been in a right state since he regained consciousness, so be prepared for anything," Ted warned warily. Harry just nodded in return.

The trio walked down the corridor and knocked on the door. Andromeda opened the door, she looked exhausted from the last several hours. Ted quickly stepped forward, gave her a chaste kiss, and wrapped an arm around her waist. Andromeda leaned on him, releasing the breath she held on to for the last several hours.

Harry stepped into the room. Sirius sat on his bed, cross legged and he faced the window and wore a hospital gown. He did not notice the visitors that just stepped inside. Harry softly whispered, "Sirius."

Sirius snapped his neck in the direction of the new voice that entered the room. His eyes widened, "James?"

Before Harry could even correct his godfather, he furiously shook his head. "No, you are not James. You have Lily's eyes."

Realization crashed on the Azkaban escapee. Tears dripped down his face, his body shuddered with his sobs. "Harry, oh Harry I am so sorry! They died! They died because of me, they died because of me!"

Harry closed his eyes. It was difficult for him. It was difficult because he now got meet the godfather he lost at the Department of Mysteries. It was difficult to see someone who cares so deeply about him in shambles.

'Sirius never let a single tear fall the first time we met. Bloody hell, he never even had the opportunity to come to terms with his plight in the previous timeline.'

Nymphadora entered the room with no sign of her usual clumsiness. She stood by the doorway and Sirius noticed her with widened eyes. "Oh Dora, how big you have grown. I am so sorry. I am so sorry!"

Sirius wept, he wept till he started to get hiccups. None of the Tonks family nor Harry say or do much except watch the man pour his heart out. Andromeda looked like she wanted to hug her cousin, but Ted kept his hand firmly on her waist.

'Here we go.'

"Sirius, we are going to administer the veritaserum to you. We need the full account of what happened that Halloween," Ted explained in a neutral voice.

Sirius slowly nodded and held his tongue out. Ted walked up to him and placed a drop of veritaserum on his tongue. Not even a minute later, Sirius's expression turned blank, a sign that the potion was administered successfully.

"Name?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"What was your house at Hogwarts?"

"Gryffindor."

"Your animagus form?"

"A black dog, falsely considered as a grim."

Ted balled his fists, Andromeda and Nymphadora shuffled uneasily. Dobby fidgeted away nervously, he muttered under his breath various threats of dismemberment.

The tension in the room was palpable. Harry held his breath despite his knowledge of his godfather's innocence.

"Did you betray the Potters to Lord Voldemort?"

"No."

The relief that spread across the room was evident. Andromeda collapsed on to a chair nearby, sobs threatening to break free. Nymphadora immediately loosened her stiff shoulders and hurried to her mother's side. Ted relaxed slightly and Harry sighed.

"Explain in detail what happened."

And so, Sirius explained what happened on that day in vivid detail. How they named Pettigrew as the secret-keeper and announced to the world it was Sirius to play the ultimate prank on Voldemort. How he felt something off about Pettigrew missing from his accommodation that night. How he took his bike to Godric's Hollow as he feared he would splinch himself badly due to his state of mind then. How he found the dead bodies of the Potters, Hagrid's interference, confrontation with the worm and finally how he ended up in Azkaban.

Everyone gasped when they found out the true perpetrator behind the fateful Halloween night. Peter Pettigrew. The boy who rode the coattails of other three of their infamous group, The Marauders.

"How did you escape from Azkaban?"

"I was able to handle the dementor's influence due to my other form. I snuck through the bars of the prison cell and snuck into the Warden's boat and made my way out of the prison."

Sirius paused here for a bit and Ted quickly administered the veritaserum again in fear that he would breakdown again.

"When the Minister visited last week, he threw a newspaper into my cell. On the front page of the newspaper, I found the rat living quite the life of comfort."

"Rat?" Nymphadora inquired, confused with the new revelation. "As in a betrayer?"

"Not just that. His animagus form is a rat. The Marauders mastered out animagus forms way before we got out of Hogwarts. Pettigrew was on the red-headed boy's arms."

Andromeda's eyes widened and she ran out of the room. She came back immediately with a newspaper. She held out the newspaper for everyone to see.

"Are you sure that the rat is Pettigrew?" Ted questioned. "Are there any chances that you are wrong?"

Sirius shook his head. "None. Look closely at the rat, he is missing one of his claws."

True to his word, the rat was missing one of his claws. Harry remembered one other fact that would convince the Tonks family. "Ron, the boy who is holding the rat, told us that the rat has been around the family for more than ten years. Rats don't live that long."

At that moment, the veritaserum started to wear off again. Andromeda quickly approached Sirius and administered a sleeping draught. Sirius instantly fell asleep. She turned to the rest of the family who were still reeling from today's revelations.

"Well, that proves his innocence," Andromeda murmured wearily.

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Ted Tonks stepped out of the floo network and made his way into the Atrium of the Ministry. A man in his twenties who looked as if he was bored out his wits manned the guard station of the Atrium.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please hand over your wand," he mumbled lazily.

Ted felt sympathetic for the young man's plight. Not many people were presented the opportunity to pursue a career that gave them meaning in life; even less have the chance to remain in their field. He carefully handed his wand to the guard.

"Fourteen inches, Ash wood and dragon heartstring, in use for thirty-one years. Here is your wand and have a nice day," he declared blandly.

Ted flicked a galleon at the man. The guard's eyes bulged at the sight of the aerial coin. He got up to catch the coin and fumbled a few times before he caught the coin, tripped over his feet, and fell to the marble floor of the Atrium.

"Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," a soothing voice announced.

Ted walked through the floor, his deep blue robes flaring at the hems. His stony face discouraged anyone from approaching him. Today, Edward Tonks was a man on a mission.

He walked directly to the desk of the secretary for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He raised his chin and almost declared, "I need to meet with Madame Bones."

"Do you have an appointment with her?" the secretary responded without even looking up at Tonks.

"No."

"Then you shall- "

"You shall go tell Amelia that Edward Tonks of Ogden and Tonks is here to meet her on an urgent matter," Ted interrupted her icily.

The poor witch was now utterly shaken by the announcement. She gazed fearfully at the rigid form of Ted Tonks.

"Now."

The poor witch scrambled out of her chair and scurried over to Madame Bone's office. She returned a minute later, clearly out of breath. She stammered, "M-Madame B-Bones will see you now."

Ted gave her a slight nod and subtly handed two galleons for her effort. The poor secretary was still dazed as he disappeared into the office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Ted casually looked around the office. The office was utilitarian, there was no wasted space neither were there any useless décor. Everything about the room screamed that its current occupant is a hard taskmaster.

Amelia Bones sat behind a big oak desk. A formidable woman in her late forties, she is the first female head of her department. Her red hair slowly taking on a more salt and pepper hue. She adjusted her monocle as she stood up.

"Mr. Tonks, I assume that you have business of significant importance to barge in without an appointment."