Ch 21 pt 1

Azkaban?" She was puzzled at the request.

"Well, Madam, as you know, there are two members of House Black currently incarcerated there. One for just cause, the other not. And I am Lord of House Black. It is incumbent upon me to check on members of my House, no matter their station or situation."

Her eyebrows went up. She said, incredulously, "Lord Black?"

He gave her a broad smile, languidly held out his right hand, and flashed the House Black Lord's Ring. He then pulled out his wand and held it up. "I swear on my Magic and my Life that I am Lord Black, of the Ancient and Noble House Black. So mote it be. Lumos." His wand tip glowed brightly.

She sat back in her chair. "Well. That was unexpected. How? And why?"

He looked back at her, "That is a long and complicated story which I'm sure you would find incredulous. And I only discovered the situation by accident when demonstrating to Mr. Potter how the Goblins conduct Heritage Searches after he had done his. I was truly expecting a 'no response.'" She nodded her understanding, and a smile flitted across her lips. Ah, yes, he realized with some satisfaction, she had heard about Harry's inheriting a few extra Lordships.

"Quite a surprise, I tell you! But it's true or I couldn't wear the ring. I've already been to visit the house at 12 Grimmauld Place, and discussed a few things with the House-elf in residence."

"Amazing," she said. She shook her head, then looked up at him. "Azkaban?"

"Yes. I want Sirius moved from the High Security Section of the prison to the lowest security, if not to a holding cell here in the Ministry, while my lawyers deal with getting his release. We now know that Peter Pettigrew did not die eleven years ago, which throws doubt onto all the assumptions made when he was picked up. Add to that that Sirius was never interviewed, much less charged or convicted of a crime, and you're looking at a huge public relations disaster for the Ministry. Not to mention owing compensation for abusing so blatantly the Scion of House Black."

She was staring at him again, astonished.

"Why, if the Ministry can grab the Scion of such an important and Noble House and lock him up without evidence or a trial, or even an official charge, what is to prevent them from doing the same to the son or daughter of any member of the Wizenmaggots, or even your niece?" He was letting her know in the plainest terms possible the strategy he was going to pursue to free Sirius. "True, there was a war on, but afterwards? What's the excuse for not reviewing the evidence to make sure the ones placed in Azkaban were not innocents caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

And he knew she could see how powerful a strategy it was — both Dark and Light Houses would unite to defend their sons and daughters from what happened to Sirius once they realized how vulnerable they were. No Ministry, either Light or Dark, could be trusted with such wide reaching powers.

Using his fame as Lockhart and the powerful political power of House Black he could make sure that The Daily Prophet would keep this case from being hidden from the public. Sheer self-interest would force the Wizenmaggots to dump the Minister and any who stood with him.

He paused and smiled grimly, "The Minister and Ministry are in for some hard times ahead. If you maintain the status quo you will mitigate your portion of the blame not at all. The Nazis proved how ineffective, "I was only following orders," is as a defence. Moving Sirius and getting him the medical assistance he needs will go a long ways towards showing you knew nothing of the true situation, and that you are acting in good faith. To the public you will appear an impartial administrator of justice. After all, if you ascertain he is guilty then nothing has been lost. But if you find he is innocent and yet you did nothing to help in the meantime . . . .

"I'm not one to tell another how to run her department, but if I were you, I would immediately send Aurors to interview Mr. Black with veritaserum and determine the truth. After eleven years in that horrid place, I'm sure he is incapable of the fortitude even to attempt to fool the potion."

She was now looking thoughtful.

"By the way, as godfather to Harry James Potter, shouldn't it have been impossible for him to act in a manner that threatened Harry and his parents? His oath should have killed him if he really intended to hand Lord Potter's son over to Voldewhore."

He gave her one of his wide smiles, displaying his perfect teeth.

"So, with that mind, I'd like to visit Azkaban as soon as possible to assure Sirius I am taking the steps needed to get him out. And while I am there, I would like to visit Bellatrix Lestrange. As a daughter of House Black it is incumbent upon me to verify her condition and situation in the prison.

"And I would like to verify that Mr. Rubeus Hagrid is being treated in the manner promised by Minister Fudge. Mr. Hagrid is a good friend of mine and I find it deplorable that the Minister had him incarcerated simply because he needed a scapegoat. And this is the second time for poor Mr. Hagrid.

"And that's another case of the Ministry grabbing someone right off the street and throwing them into Azkaban without charges, trial, or conviction — am I seeing a pattern here of Ministry misbehaviour? Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is malicious intent! What would The Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter have to say about such a charge? I shall make sure to include the facts of his case with Sirius Black's case when next the Wizenmaggots meets.

"In fact, I herewith officially petition you to release Mr. Rebus Hagrid, or at the very least, move him here to a Ministry holding spell, as a show of good faith." He pulled a parchment roll from his pocket and handed it to her.

And that certainly put Madam Bones on the hot-seat — do what she should legally do and risk the heat she would get from the Minister or fall with the Minister when the Wizenmaggots roasted him for illegally throwing innocent victims into Azkaban. Gilderoy had a good idea which way she would jump.

"I would like that visit to be this afternoon."

He sat back and waited.

Two hours later, they were standing in the Warden's Office on Azkaban.

"Here's the order for Mr. Rubeus Hagrid transferring him from Azkaban to a Ministry holding cell," Madam Bones handed a scroll to the Warden as Gilderoy watched. As she had explained before leaving the Ministry, they would give him veritaserum once he was in the Ministry. If, as Gilderoy had said, he had nothing to do with the incidents in question they would immediately release him. Furthermore, they would question him regarding the incident from fifty years ago, and take action, if any, accordingly. They would be commute the fine for having a creature classified as XXXXX as a pet to time served. Madam Bones had not asked Harry how he had obtained his facts.

After perusing the scroll, the warden called to one of the guards, and said, "John! Fetch the prisoner known as Rubeus Hagrid and bring him here."

While they waited, she handed the warden a second scroll, "And here's the order for Mr. Sirius Black transferring him from Azkaban to a Ministry holding cell."

After a sharp look at the Witch and examining the scroll intently, he said, "Are you sure, Madam? He's one of our most dangerous prisoners. He's said to have been He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's most important lieutenant."

"Apparently, the rumours of his association with Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are just that, rumours. That's why we're taking him to the Ministry for questioning. There seems to be considerable evidence he might just be innocent — that he simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The warden gave her an appalled look. "No!" he said, aghast.

She nodded.

He sighed, and called to the guards in the outer office, "Gary! Take three others and fetch prisoner Sirius Black. Maximum security!" As an aside, he said to his superior, "Just a precaution. As you said, 'it appears,' and we all know that sometimes appearances can be wrong."

Again she nodded. And so they waited in silence.

Hagrid must have been close because less than a minute later he walked in with his guard.

"Professor Lockhart!" the half-giant exclaimed. He looked worse for the wear, as if he hadn't slept well in days — and he probably hadn't — and there was a sense of depression and desperation about the man.

The head of the D.M.L.E. looked up at the big man and said, "Professor Lockhart has brought evidence that your current incarceration here is a mistake of justice. We are transferring you to the Ministry for further questioning. If it goes as we suspect, you will be released from custody no later than this afternoon, with a letter of apology from the D.M.L.E."

Hagrid looked close to tears in relief, "I knew the Headmaster wouldn't forget me! Thank ye, Professor, thank ye."

Madam Bones spoke up, "Mr. Hagrid, the Headmaster had nothing to do with this. Professor Lockhart arranged everything."

Gilderoy said, "Hagrid, how good to see you. I see you have survived here, if not exactly thrived, but be of good cheer!" He gave the half-giant a blinding smile. "As Madam Bones said, I've arranged for your release after a few questions. By evening you'll be back in the Great Hall having supper with the rest of the staff and this will all be a fading memory!"

Hagrid frowned and said more to himself than anyone else, "The Headmaster didn't send you?" And stepped back to lean against a wall, frowning. His guard settled beside him, alert and wand out. Just because a prisoner appeared calm didn't mean he wasn't planning something untoward. Or wouldn't suddenly decide his best opportunity was to go on the offensive and attack.

The warden and Bone went into a discussion of the prison and the warden took the opportunity to present some items that he felt needed her attention. Gilderoy spent his time examining the office and, surreptitiously, taking a good hard look at the protective enchantments in place over the prison. He had to admit, they were quite effective at keeping ordinary prisoners in place and average Dark Wizards at bay. They would need significant upgrading, though, to hold out against what Voldewhore could bring to bear. He developed a few suggestions on improvements as he waited.

Finally, Sirius Black arrived. And boy did he look like hell! Not just thin, but gaunt, his skin stretched over his bones. His eyes, while clear and showing he was paying attention, had a haunted look of terrors never forgotten, nor far from mind. He looked around the room and was surprised to recognize Hagrid in one corner and Madam Bones in front of the warden's desk.

Gilderoy immediately greeted the Wizard. "Ah! Sirius Black! It's good to see you!" He gave him a broad smile and walked over to him. The guards stiffened slightly, but didn't interfere. He started shaking the prisoner's like a professional politician, that is, much action and not letting go. "You may not remember me; I was four years behind you at Hogwarts!" He pushed magic through his hand into Sirius, giving him quite a boost. "I've been looking forward to meeting you since Christmas when I discovered I was Lord Black!"

Sirius gave him an astonished look, both at the news and at the sudden flood of magic, pushing him to a level he hadn't had for a decade.

"Can you believe that! Me, Gilderoy Lockhart, not only a member of the famous House Black, but its Lord!?"

"Better you than me," mumbled the confused Wizard.

"Why, as soon as I found out, I started researching the family. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered you, certainly the most infamous of the family, had never been given a trial, or even interviewed to see if you really were a Death Eater." He finally let go of the Wizard's hand. That should give the sickly Wizard a jump-start on recovering.

Sirius shook his hand uncertainly, his fingers still tingling from the magical burst Gilderoy had sent him.

"That's why we're here, actually," Gilderoy continued, blithely ignoring the others in the room and their attempts to interrupt. "We're going to take you back to the Ministry where they will finally ask you the questions they should have given you eleven years ago. It's all a formality, really, as they had no evidence to lock you up in the first place.

He looked around the room, "Well, I've said enough for now. I'll let these fine Aurors here take care of you for a while. I'll meet you back at the Ministry when they release you. Make sure you wait for me, though; there are a lot of things I have to tell you. Did you know I'm famous in the Wizarding World? Yes, that's right, famous. I've written ten, can you believe it, ten bestselling books! And I have two more I'm working on right now. People all over the world simply adore me. I'm also the D.A.D.A. professor at Hogwarts, and let me tell you Harry Potter is such a fine lad you'll be amazed!"

"Harry?" Sirius interrupted, "James' son?"

"Yes, yes, of course. James and Lily would be so proud of the young Wizard. He'll be living with you starting this summer. You two will have plenty of time to catch up with each other. I know he's just dying to hear all your stories about his father and mother." Gilderoy stopped and nudged the thin Wizard with his elbow, "And none of those racy ones, you hear? The boy's only twelve and not quite ready to hear what a Ladies Wizard his father was! Although he's already quite infatuated with a certain bushy-haired young Witch, whom I'm sure he will spend hours telling you about. And there's at least two others giving him the eye as well, what with his multiple Lordships and all!"

He stepped back from the confused Wizard. "I would go with you to the Ministry, but being Lord Black means I have one more responsibility, much as I would rather go with you so we could get acquainted." He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "The stories I could tell you about myself you simply shan't believe are true, but they are! I have ten books to show the proof!"

He sighed contentedly. "Well, as I said, I do have another appointment here. I need to see to your cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. As Lord Black I have to see for myself her condition and situation." He nodded towards, Madam Bones who was watching them with an amazed expression. "She tells me that Bella is far too dangerous to allow out of her cell, so I shall have to visit her. As the Muggles say, if Mohammed can't go to the mountain, then the mountain must come to Mohammed!"

Everyone stared at him as if he were quite barmy. He hoped the Wizard was awake enough to catch all the hidden gems he had included in his apparent ramblings.

He turned to the Witch. "Well, I shouldn't hold you back from your investigations. I would most appreciate it if you could personally see to the interrogation of Mr. Hagrid first, so that Mr. Black has time to take a nice hot shower and get a few healing potions so he doesn't pass out in the middle of your interrogation. And then oversee Mr. Black's interrogation as well. You might learn some interesting facts about Mr. Potter if you examine his story carefully."

He smiled happily, "So, who is the lucky guard who will conduct me safely to see my incarcerated family member?"

Jack was not happy. He clearly wondered what he had done wrong to be consigned to escort this idiotic airhead dandy to see Bellatrix Lestrange. The man had done nothing but talk about his books and adventures at a breathtaking rate, not even noticing Jack's very unsubtle hints that he didn't care. The only reason he hadn't told the Wizard piss-off was that he obviously had extraordinary pull to get Madam Bones and the warden hopping to his tune.

"Here she is," he said tersely, interrupting the prat in mid-sentence in some silliness about curing a werewolf. "Hey," he yelled at the woman in the cell, "Get off your arse. Ya got a visitor." Before he could turn back to Gilderoy, he was hit with a stunner. Before the Wizard could start to fall Lockhart swiftly erected silencing spells and a Notice-Me-Not. He did not want anyone to see what he was doing.

Bella unsteadily stood up. "Who the bloody . . . ," she started, only to receive a stunner as well. Moving quickly, Gilderoy removed the shrunken corpse from his bottomless bag. He placed it inside the cell. He restored it to full size, then summoned Bella. He compared them side-by-side. He cast a spell duplicating all of Bella's scars and features.

Her own mother wouldn't be able to tell them apart.