Chapter Text
Haru's POV
I was on my way to the owlery. Even though the Japanese Wizards often communicated using telephones (although their use was monitored), other countries still used owls to communicate, so we had to accommodate them. I arrived, asking the manager of the owlery if I had any mail. She smiled and handed me an envelope, and I retreated to my dorm to read it.
Mr. Rengoku,
I hope that you are well. This is regarding your godfather, Sirius Black, who, as you know, has been imprisoned in Azkaban for treason, betrayal and murder. Recently, it has come to my attention that his case may not have been handled correctly, and I have found that there is room for doubt as to his guilt. I would like to push forward the paperwork to procure him a proper, public trial. However, I would understand if you would like this trial to be private, considering that this involves your own family. If you could respond to my letter at the earliest convenience, I will be able to get everything in order for you.
With regards,
Madame Bones
I considered the letter for a moment. As I had hoped, she had looked back on the case, and had found things wrong with how it was handled. I quickly found a fresh piece of paper and pen, and began to write...
Madame Bones,
I appreciate you reaching out to me considering this matter. I agree that the case of my godfather's guilt was handled poorly. I would like for this to be a public event so that those who perpetuated this are not able to hide. I do not wish for any injustices related to his imprisonment to be metaphorically swept under the rug. You have my full permission to proceed with a public trial. I ask that you wait for a day that I can attend. I also wish to meet the man-whether he is proved guilty or not. On the topic of his guilt or lack thereof, I assume Veritaserum will be used?
With regards,
Haru Rengoku
I carefully folded my letter and placed it in an envelope, sealing it. I returned to the owlery and gave it to one of the birds there to send to Madame Bones. I returned to my dorm, finding Akira, Takeo, and Haruto, who I was the closest with at the school given our shared occupation, working on a potions essay together.
I had worked hard to do well in potions, as it was a skill that was occasionally useful in the Corps. If you ever encountered a wizard or witch who was also in the Corps, then many of the healing remedies could save their lives. I didn't have a natural talent at it, but I worked hard enough to combat my lack of skill with an increase in effort. It was for this reason that Haruto practically threw himself at me when I entered the room.
"Haruuuuu!" he exclaimed. "I desperately need help with this homework question!"
I grinned at my friend as he started hounding me about some random potions question. After a tranquil evening of working on homework, it was time to go on patrol. We slipped into our bathroom to change into our slayer uniforms, quickly gathered our swords, and slipped out, joining the other group of slayers that occupied the castle.
In order to prevent a good percentage of the school population from wearing themselves out with patrol every night, we were split into two groups, each group taking every other day of the week. The occasional senior would go on longer missions, but most patrols were within thirty miles of the castle. The slayers had split this ground into eight sections, with a squad of four slayers assigned per section. We kept the squads of four the same each time so they could learn to work as seamless teams. If these teams were in the same year, they usually shared the same dorm.
My squad mates were Akira, Takeo, and Haruto, of course. It was the reason why I was so close with them. We had to be in order to have a functioning squad. As we ran in formation, Haruto, as the most experienced of us being a rank Tsuchinoto, while we were rank Kanoto, ran in front. Takeo and I took the middle, running side by side, ready to back Haruto up at a moment's notice. Akira took the rear, watching our backs. This diamond formation made it more difficult for a Demon to do as much damage, even if we were taken by surprise.
As if so happens, our formation paid off. Haruto jumped to the side with a shout as a Demon leaped at him from behind a tree with a snarl, teeth bared. While Haruto dodged, Takeo and I jumped at Demon, giving him some breathing room. Akira stood at our backs, watching our surroundings closely. It was rare, but it did occasionally happen that two Demons would work together to kill us, with the first serving as a distraction while the other one snuck behind us to take us out. In these cases, the Demons were usually weaker, so we three were capable of handling them. Thankfully, that wasn't the case this time, as no other Demon appeared.
This Demon, however, was proving to be a struggle to kill. It's Blood Demon Art allowed it to be able to control the surrounding vines in the forest, and it kept throwing them in our faces and at our feet to trip and restrain us. The only good thing was it appeared to not be able to create vines, just manipulate the ones already present. The bad thing was that this particular part of the forest was infested with vines. If we fought until it ran out of vines, it would take the whole night. Or we'd become exhausted and get eaten. Whatever happened first.
Total concentration... Wind Breathing... Sixth form... Clear Storm Wind Tree!
I sliced apart the vines coming at me, calling out to Takeo and Haruto.
"Takeo! Go for its head! Haruto and I will give you an opening!"
Both nodded as we charged forwards, hoping to take the Demon out quickly. The creature roared, shooting forwards as many vines as it could. It was clearly angry that we were fighting back, no doubt hoping for an easy meal. I dodged a vine coming at my head, not hearing the slicing sound it made behind me, or the noise of pain. My full focus was on keeping the vines off of Takeo as he charged for the Demon's head. Finally we were close, and Takeo jumped up, sword at the ready as he lunged for the neck. Haruto and I both yelled as we sliced up the vines trying to knock him from his course, a mix of Wind and Water surrounding us. And then, it was all over. Takeo sliced his neck in a single smooth application of the first Water Breathing from, and the Demon fell to the ground, disintegrating into ash.
I leaned against a nearby tree, panting as I struggled to get back into Total Concentration: Constant- a skill I'd been trying to master. I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself when a shout jerked me out of my peace. My eyes flew open, head jerking towards where the other three slayers were. Akira had crashed to the ground, barely conscious, clutching his shoulder. His hand and uniform were stained red.
Any tiredness I had was gone in an instant. Haruto and I pulled medical supplies from our uniforms, hastening to his side. My heart pounded in my chest as I prayed that I wouldn't lose a squad member tonight. Takeo guarded our backs as we treated our comrade.
"Haru! Get the bandages ready and grab a cream that will help the blood clot. I'll apply the antiseptic and pressure to help staunch the bloodflow."
Akira let out a wordless, pained noise, thrashing his head in pain as he finally lost consciousness. Still feeling slightly numb and speechless, I nodded, trying not to panic. Our squad had been lucky in that we had never lost a member before. Most squads had lost at least one. I prayed that our luck would hold out. As Haruto pulled off his haori, pressing it against the injury-a deep cut that sliced down the back of his shoulder, I searched for the cream that was specifically given to slayers for situations like this. The wound wasn't necessarily a fatal one, but the blood kept pouring out so we needed the injury to close up before the blood loss became fatal.
With slightly shaky hands I applied the cream to the injury, trying not to jostle Haruto from where he was applying pressure. Once the bleeding started to slow, I gently held Akira up as Haruto bandaged up his shoulder. Once that was done, Takeo and I lifted him up before starting back towards the school. With one of us severely injured, it would do us no good to get ambushed by a Demon.
It took us hours, with each of us rotating who carried Akira and who led the group, to reach the school. We had sent our crows ahead to inform the Headmaster and medical team of the situation. Once the medical team got ahold of Akira, we were left, covered in his blood, and staring up at our Headmaster with concern.
"Will he be alright?" Takeo asked quietly.
The man smiled gently down at my friend.
"Akira-san is in good hands. I believe that he will recover."
He placed a gentle hand on our heads, ruffling them.
"You all did well in taking out that Demon. I have a feeling that will you rise through the ranks quickly enough."
I frowned. While it was nice to be able to rise through the ranks every once in awhile, that wasn't my main goal. I just wanted to save people.
A few days later, I visited Akira. All I heard was that he would live, but he had not been well mentally. He would hardly accept visitors, even his own squad. In the end, he would only allow me to be the one to visit him. I knocked gently on the door, announcing my presence.
"Emi-Sama? I am here to visit Akira-kun..."
The elderly head nurse of the school smiled at me as I opened the door. Her smile was a little sad.
"Of course, Rengoku-San. Right this way."
She led me to the bed where Akira was resting. My friend was lying on his good side, facing away from me. I frowned at him in concern, sitting on the empty bed next to his.
"Akira-kun...? What's wrong? The others and I have been worried about you."
My friend sighed, before finally turning around to face me. I nearly gasped. His eyes were red and puffy. He'd been crying, although his tears seemed to have run out giving that his eyes were currently dry. He sighed at me, opening his mouth, closing it, and then opening it again. He turned to stare at the ceiling.
"You don't have to explain everything... we just want to make sure that you're okay," I tried to console him.
He finally looked at me again, opening his mouth as he tried to speak one more time.
"I... I have to leave the Corps..."
I stared at him in shock. It was rare for slayers to leave the Corps. For many of them, it was either that or becoming a shell lacking in purpose and the will to go on. While some may argue that the Corps is using their grief and anger to their advantage, I knew that many would go nuts without a way to fight back against the creatures of the night. Akira himself had joined out of revenge for the death of his parents, and he was an excellent slayer. I frowned at him, feeling as though there was more to this.
"What's going on, Akira-kun? This isn't like you..."
My friend sighed, staring up at the ceiling again.
"The injury to my shoulder and back cut some important arteries and muscles. Even with intensive therapy and potions, I'll never be able to fight the way I did before...I'll only hold everyone back now. The best way to keep from getting one of y'all killed is to step away from the fight..." it appears as though he still had some tears to shed as they trailed down his cheeks. "I just hate how weak this makes me! I can't avenge my parents anymore! I can't climb the ranks until I find the one who killed them! All of this work to get where I am... and a stray vine from a Blood Demon Art takes it all away!"
As he spoke, I felt a sudden rush of horror. That stray vine... I had dodged one, forgetting that Akira was behind me. Since he was guarding our backs, he must not have been paying enough attention to dodge it. As immense guilt filled me, I slipped off the bed, sliding to the floor and bowing, my forehead touching the floor.
"I would like to apologize, Akira-kun! I believe that this was of my own doing! I dodged a vine during the fight, and I believe that is the one that injured you!"
Akira sighed, placing his good hand on my shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, Haru-kun... I should have been paying more attention to the fight behind me. I'm sure that one of the vines would have gotten to me eventually-that Demon Art was super nasty."
I frowned, looking up at him.
"But you trusted us to have your back, and I failed at that..."
Akira sighed.
"It was a Demon. It's impossible to be able to 100% protect anyone from a Demon-unless you're a lot stronger than we are, in any case. Just... let it go, okay?"
I continued to frown up at him, not feeling the slightest bit better. Akira sighed, running his good hand through his hair.
"Well... if you really want to help... you can help me find the Demon who killed my parents..."
I listened closely as he described the creature and promised to keep an eye out for it, and kill it if I ever got the chance. I left the ward feeling both heavier and lighter than I'd felt in a long time. I had technically lost a squad member, even if he wasn't dead, but had been able to give reassurance to said squad member that I would avenge his parents on his behalf if given the opportunity.
After I told an upset but understanding Haruto and Takeo about Akira, I slipped off to have some time to myself. I soon found myself in the owlery, I place I had been frequenting as I had been anxiously awaiting news from Madame Bones about Sirius Black's upcoming trial. I greeted the woman who cared for the birds, asking her about any incoming mail that might be for me. No doubt assuming it was from a romantic partner, she handed me a crisp letter with a smile and wink. I smiled weakly back at her and retreated to my room to read it.
Mr. Rengoku,
I am pleased to hear your reply. The trial for Sirius Black will be held on March 26th at exactly noon. While you will not count as a witness due to being an infant during the crimes in question, you will be permitted to attend the trial and speak with the man afterwards. However, at least three aurors must be present by law if he is found guilty.
With regards,
Madame Bones
I stared down at the letter. March 26th was about three weeks away. I scanned my calendar for the date. A Saturday. Perfect. I immediately went to the Headmaster's office to get a permission slip to be gone that night, as well as to make sure that my squad and I didn't have patrol...
"Speaking of which, I wonder who our new squad mate will be..." I mumbled to myself.
March 26th came quickly. Given the time change, I was to leave Mahoutokoro at seven in the evening of the 26th in Japan's time, making sure to be there an hour early. This time, I didn't come to Britain alone. Because I wasn't coming incognito, I needed to be accompanied by an actual adult. Masachika-Sensei was recovering from some injuries after dealing with a particularly nasty Lower Moon, so he had been assigned to accompany me while he was off duty for his recovery.
We both calmly walked into the chamber where the trial for my godfather, Sirius Black, was to be held. I did receive some looks and whispers as I entered the room, but I paid them all no mind. I was here to see how the trial played out, speak with my godfather, then leave. I was certainly not here to pander to a group of power-hungry leeches.
Half an hour after Masachika-Sensei and I found our seats, the trial began. Since Madame Bones had been the one to call this trial, she began the session.
"The trial regarding the trial of Sirius Black, who has been charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew, the betrayal of Lily and James Potter, and treason by his alleged association with the Dark Lord Voldemort, shall now begin. Let the accused now be brought forth, and given Veritaserum."
Her words were finalized with the bang of her gavel on her desk. In response, a door was opened in the lower part of the chamber, and a scrawny, wild-looking man appeared. He was dragged to a lone chair bolted to the bottom floor of the room, and his hands, feet, and neck were chained to it. One of the guards pulled out a small flask from his pocket, and roughly grabbed the man, who seemed to be Sirius Black himself, by the chin as he forcibly dumped the liquid in the vial down his throat. Once this was done, the guards retreated to the edges of the floor, still keeping their eyes on Black and their hands on their wands, looking as though they expected the man to suddenly break free of his chains and attack them-never mind how malnourished he clearly was.
After a minute, during which it was confirmed that the Veritaserum was working, Madame Bones began her questioning.
"Sirius Black, you are here on charges of murder, treason, and betrayal. How do you plead?"
Finally, the man lifted up his head as he attempted to speak. Finally, after a round of violent coughing, his rough voice filled the air.
"Not. Guilty." was all he said.
There were many suspicions whispers at his words. Madame Bones regarded him for a moment before she continued.
"Sirius Black; did you give the location of Lily and James Potter to Lord Voldemort at any time before their deaths?"
Silence reigned again as everyone awaited his answer. Black let out a weary chuckle.
"No, I didn't give their names to that man. It was Petrigrew, Peter Petrigrew, who gave their location to him."
His words caused the whispers to get even louder. Madame Bones frowned down at the man.
"I must ask you to elaborate on your answer, Sirius Black."
The man leaned back in his chair, the bitter smile on his face clear from where I was sitting.
"I thought I was too obvious a choice for a Secret Keeper, so I begged James to change it to Peter. I agreed to be the decoy, and we never told anyone, not even Dumbledore. In the end, he turned coat and told Voldemort their location. So, while you could argue that I did kill my friends by changing their Secret Keeper to that slimy rat, I never intended for them to die... I would have traded places with them in a heartbeat."
Everyone had, by now, stopped all pretenses of trying to be quiet as their chatter filled the chamber.
"Liar!" One of them screamed. "He's a liar!"
Madame Bones gave him a severe look.
"Unless you'd like to personally attest that the Veritaserum is of low quality, then there is no way that Black is lying. Please control yourselves in a manner befitting a member of the Wizengamot."
Thankfully, her sharp words helped everyone else to calm down and allow her to continue her questioning.
"Sirius Black, do you or do not deny the charges of the murder of Peter Pettigrew?"
Black snorted.
"Murder implies that he's actually dead. I do not deny that I tried. What else was I to do? I'd realized that he was a traitor the moment I heard the news that Lily and James were dead. After making sure Harry would be okay with Hagrid, I confronted him in public like an idiot, and he used the situation to fake his own death. He blew up the street, cut off his own finger, turned into a rat, and escaped down the drain."
Silence filled the room at this revelation. One of the other people in the room who I did not recognize spoke up.
"I'm afraid I don't understand... Peter Petrigrew has not been registered as an animagus. How can you prove your words?"
Black seemed to frown as the truth forced itself out of his mouth.
"He's unregistered. I helped him become one."
Murmurs rang out through the chamber again.
"I'm sure you know that such actions are illegal?"
The man frowned.
Black rolled his eyes.
"Yes, of course I did. However, it was something that needed to be done at the time. Ask Albus Dumbledore for more details if you'd like."
Finally, they pulled away from the topic of Petrigrew being an unregulated animagus.
"Sirius Black, how do you explain your words at the time of your capture, in which you all-but confessed to the Potters' deaths being your doing?"
The man sighed, expression heavy.
"I was in a horrible state of mind at the time. I had said that because I believed it to be the truth. If I had stayed as the Keeper, my friends would still be alive."
Many more frowns were present upon hearing this but no one verbally objected.
"Sirius Black," Madame Bones spoke again. "Have you ever cavorted with the Dark Lord Voldemort in any way?"
Black spoke again, his voice ringing in the silence.
"Never..." was all he said.
Madame Bones banged her gavel on the desk again.
"The special session now enters a time of deliberation, during which we will examine the evidence presented to us and come to a verdict. Sirius Black may now be returned to his cell."
The same guards dragged the man out. I examined him as they did so. His head was hung low, but from his body language I could gauge a sense of relief. Whether it was from simply being able to tell his version of what happened or some other reason I couldn't say. I looked up at Masachika-Sensei.
"What are your thoughts? Is he guilty?"
My Sensei sighed, frowning at the sight of my godfather being dragged out of sight.
"If the potion was not tampered with, then I see no reason to doubt his innocence. However, I do have reason to believe that his character might be in question. The way he handled the betrayal of Petrigrew doesn't sit right with me."
I nodded, sighing.
"Yeah... I don't know why he went after him alone. It just made him look even worse."
I started paying attention again as Madame Bones called the chamber to order.
"Before we discuss the evidence, we will take a preliminary vote. All in favor of holding the accused as "guilty"..."
Many of them lifted their hands... about half if I had to guess. Madame Bones was noticeably not one of them. She gave them all a nod.
"I see. Now then, we will discuss each piece of evidence that Black has presented us with. First is the statement that Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper at the time of the Potters' murder. Would anyone like to attest this as a false claim?"
Silence reigned for a moment, before one person raised her hand.
"I do know that Veritaserum is a powerful potion. However, it is not infallible in that it simply makes people tell what they believe to be true, not necessarily what is true. How do we know that Black's time in Azkaban has not skewed his mind? Perhaps he came up with this tale as a way for him to cope with his imprisonment by convincing himself that he was the one who was wronged, and then he told it to himself so many times that he actually believes it to be true?"
Murmurs rose in the chamber again. I myself tapped my chin in thought. The woman's words did make sense. It was possible that this was the truth-that he had warped his mind into believing himself to be innocent. I looked at Madame Bones, who appeared to be deep in thought.
"Your argument is valid, Madame Secretary. The only way to confirm that this tale is true and not the ramblings of a madman is to find Pettigrew himself-under the assumption that he is alive. Him being an animagus could be confirmed by questioning Albus Dumbledore and seeing if he knows anything about it. This could go a long way to proving Black's innocence or guilt."
Everyone seemed to approve of this course of action. Madame Bones banged her gavel on the desk for a final time.
"This special session is now in recess until Dumbledore is brought in for questioning or evidence is found proving Peter Petrigrew is either alive or dead. Dismissed."
I rose to my feet, stretching my arms above my head. I had known that the trial would likely take up more than one day, but it was still annoying to be proved right. Unfortunately, so much time had passed that a trial was nearly pointless. Any evidence was over a decade old by now. Sensei and I made our way to the entrance, where Madame Bones was waiting. I gave her a look.
"I know that Black's trial is not completed, but I'm sure that he will be returned to Azkaban in the meantime. Is it alright if I speak with him today instead of at the end of the trial like we agreed on?"
The woman smiled at me.
"That should be easy to arrange. Please follow me."
She took us back to her office, where Sensei and I were made to sign a few documents.
"These are mostly liability forms," she explained. "It means you can't sue us if anything happens to you while in Black's presence."
I nodded, understanding. Sensei, as my acting guardian, signed a few things as well. Once we were done, she took us to the basement where the temporary prison cells were. She led us to the back, where a sign saying "Maximum Security" was on the door. She turned to us after opening it.
"His guards will be present the entire time. If he gets violent and tries to attack you, please immediately leave the area with your guardian. I will contact you through owl about any future sessions and his sentencing."
I nodded in gratitude, bowing respectfully.
"You have my thanks, Madame Bones."
I entered the room, regarding the man in one of the cells. He was sitting on the ground, looking down at his hands. I cleared my throat to get his attention, and his head shot up as he looked at me. I could see the moment he recognized me in his eyes.
"Harry..?" He shot to his feet, getting as close to the bars as he could with the chains on his ankles that were connected to a giant ring on the floor behind him.
"You-you're safe! And look at you! You've grown so much! I'm so happy to see you!"
I frowned at his words. I tilted my head to look at him.
"Why did you choose to go after Pettigrew? Why didn't you stay and take care of me? Wouldn't that have been what my parents wanted?"
Something that had bothered me the whole time was that Black didn't have to go after Petrigrew-or at least go after him alone. His recklessness caused him to abandon me. Perhaps he didn't intend to do such a thing, but if he had taken a moment to think about the best course of action, I might not have needed to be rescued from my abusive aunt and uncle.
Black sighed. He retreated back from the bars and was now leaning against the wall.
"Well... I'd like to say I wanted to make sure he didn't come after you, too... but I'm not so noble as that. In truth, I was angry and wanted revenge. One of my closest friends turned out to be a traitor and got James and Lils killed. I wanted him to pay."
I frowned, tilting my head.
"So you chose revenge over me? Plus, you had to have known that he would pin this on you since everyone thought you were the Secret Keeper. Why didn't you tell anyone else that he was the Secret Keeper? You probably could have told Lupin. I'm sure he would have believed you."
Black sighed.
"Actually... we had been wondering if Remus himself was the traitor. We couldn't trust anyone else."
I frowned, nothing that he didn't touch the first question I asked him.
"I see..." I said. I turned to the door. "I need to go. Goodbye."
I needed to get out and spend some time thinking.