In the days that followed Magnus' talk with Andromeda, Magnus found himself slipping into a schedule of sorts, between his usual classes, lessons and his duelling sessions with Professor Flitwick and Andromeda, and then the studying sessions and Heir lessons with Daphne, Tracey, Harry and Neville.
Magnus found himself constantly preoccupied with something to do, the only times he didn't were either at night or when the heir lessons that the girls and Neville were giving him and Harry already covered something that he had learned from his grandparents' portraits. And those time he spent wisely working on his occlumency and finishing the final touches that he wanted to add.
And now he was ready to add the final touch to his mental mindscape that would safely secure his thoughts and memories from almost anyone.
As his friends talked around him at the table in the library, Magnus sat with his hands on his lap, his eyes closed as he stood mentally inside his mindscape.
The once large and vast library that he had spent numerous hours organising in his mind now stood empty, the many shelves bare. And in the centre of the room was a large desk with a comfortable leather chair behind it.
Walking around the desk Magnus day in the chair and looked at the large desk. It was solid oak, intricately decorated with carvings of various magical creatures, all swirling around the House of Blacks family crest on its front.
Atop the desk was a half-dome of glass that glowed a pale silver before he reached forward and waved his hand over it.
As he did so the glow turned from silver to blue as a holographic screen appeared above the desk and a similar keyboard appeared over the top of the desk as the screen requested a password. This was why he had taken to building his mindscape as he had first, it was simply the easiest way he could think to bring everything he knew together in one place before he could secure it properly.
Reaching to the keyboard Magnus typed for a few seconds entering the password he had chosen and the screen flashed before opening to a windows ten operating system as suddenly everything appeared back on the shelves, every book, every trinket and object he had used to use as a visual represent his various thoughts and memories back in their rightful spot. And from this desk Magnus could access them all, it was both the most efficient way to access his memories as well as the most secure to keep anyone from reading his mind. He was betting that no pureblood wizard, especially Dumbledore or even Voldemort would be able to get into his memories now. After all, neither of them would have any clue about muggle technology. So even if either of them got into his mindscape they could access nothing.
It was rather simplistic but also the most genius way of securing his mind and thoughts. And Magnus thought himself quite clever for having thought of it. Of course, that didn't mean he would just be lowering his shields and letting anyone just enter his mindscape, oh no he would make them work for the disappointment they would find once they did.
Opening his eyes once again Magnus was greeted by the sight of a rather bored-looking Harry as Daphne lectured him on the rather droll topic of eating utensils and how to sit properly when at a formal dinner. He found it amusing just how long-winded Daphne could make the entire topic.
"Okay, I get it," Harry groaned, "start from the outside and work in with each course, keep my back straight and don't lean into ea… Ouch!" He said before jumping when Tracey shot a low powered stinging hex at his thigh.
"Thank you, Tracey," Daphne said to her friend before looking to Harry, "you also forgot about keeping your elbows down and away from the table and most importantly never to interrupt when someone else is already speaking unless you have their leave to do so"
Magnus couldn't help but chuckle as Harry rubbed his leg, "as much as I'm sure we all find Harry's lessons amusing" he said getting a stink eye from Harry, "I'm afraid that I will need to bow out for the remainder of this lesson, I have a prior engagement that I need to attend to, heir business I'm sure you all understand" he said as he stood up from the table.
"Very well," Daphne said promptly, "will we see you at dinner once your business is done"
Magnus nodded, "yes, it shouldn't take too long, I just need to write a letter and check over some parchment about some things," he said suppressing a smirk at his own hidden pun.
With that Magnus collected his things and began to return to the Ravenclaw dorms. While it was true that he had business to attend to, it wasn't related to his role as Heir Black, more so his position as one of the heirs to the marauders. It was time that he got in contact with a pair of red-headed twins and retrieved the map.
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It was half an hour later that Magnus was sitting in his office behind his desk looking over the freshly-inked letter that he had finished writing, rather pleased with how he had worded it knowing rightly that it would get the twins attention.
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"Messrs Forge and Gred,
Masterminds of pranks and providers of hilarity,
I am sending you this note to request the return of my ancestors' heirloom, I am of course referring to the Marauders Map that I know you both have in your possession after pinching it from Filch's office in your first year, marvellous work by the way.
I, the nephew of Padfoot, and the son of Prongs require the map to follow in the great pranking footsteps of the first Marauders, and humbly request its return with the promise that once we are capable we shall duplicate the map and provide both of you with a copy each, so that you may pass them down to your own sprogs and heirs once you have graduated. I also promise that when the time is right I will introduce you personally to the two remaining marauders, I am sure they would be most interested in meeting their two biggest fans.
If you will comply please give the note to my familiar and he shall return it to me.
Best regards
Nephew of Padfoot and Son of Prongs
P.S just so you know, the marauders' names originated from their animagus forms, which they acquired in their fifth year. If you wish to live up to your idols you may wish to attempt such a feat yourselves, I most certainly will be doing the same."
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Smirking to himself as the ink dried he neatly folded the parchment and placed it into a letter and sealed it with a drop of wax with a stylized M press over the top, and to finish, the letter was addressed to "the red-haired devil twins"
"So let me get this straight. You want me to deliver this letter to these Weasley twins and expect them to just hand over their map just like that?" Erebus asked from his perch, "you're taking an awfully big risk with this, what's to stop them taking the letter to McGonagall or the Headmaster?"
Magnus smirked, "They won't, firstly they are pranksters themselves and they look up to the marauders they'll respect the fact that the map belongs to Harry and me. Secondly, they can't do so without exposing the fact that they have the map and it would be confiscated if they did, third and finally they won't want to pass up the chance to meet their heroes, a promise of which I fully intend to make good on either way. They won't want to risk that chance by ratting on fellow pranksters"
"And I suppose the fact that if it even looks like they are going to I can just grab the letter and flame away leaving them with nothing to prove their claims just slipped your mind" Erebus drolled.
Magnus nodded, "I thought it went without saying, also the fact that the letter is being delivered by a Phoenix of all messengers would more than likely shock and awe them into complying"
Erebus ruffles his feathers at that, "I don't know whether to find your use of my magnificent a complement or insulting that you are using me for shock and awe"
Magnus gave an actual bark of laughter and just held up the letter, "oh go on then, you know you want to. If just to see the looks on their faces"
Erebus seemed to glare at Magnus for a moment, looking like he wasn't going to do it before with another ruffle of his feathers took off from his perch and flew over and snatched the letter from Magnus' outstretched hand with one of his talons before turning in mid-air and smacking him across the back of the head with one of his wings with a thought of "Arse" before vanishing into a swirl of crimson flames.
Magnus rubbed the back of his head rolling his eyes at Erebus' antics, "overgrown chicken" he grouched before reclining back into his chair to wait for his familiar's return.
He didn't have to wait long as but only a few minutes later Erebus returned in a burst of flames overhead making a U-turn in midair as he dropped the parchment onto Magnus' desk before soaring back to his perch.
"Done," Erebus said as he stretched his wings before settling on his perch.
"That was fast, I would have thought you'd have basked in their awe a bit longer" Magnus smirked as he took up the parchment.
"Oh please, I may be prideful but I don't make me sound so vain, I know I look good, doesn't mean I want to be gawked at because of it" Erebus snorted.
"Duly noted," Magnus remarked as he drew his wand and tapped it on the parchment as he spoke, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" before watching with glee as the magics took effect and bit by bit the map appeared.
Grinning he opened it and began to look through it, this was perfect. With this, he would be able to move forward with everything he wanted to do without having to be paranoid about someone watching him. Sure he knew that in the books Dumbledore claimed to have never known about the map nor the marauders' animagus forms but he found it doubtful. While he was sure that James, Sirius and Lupin would be able to hide such things, Peter was another story. While he was a spy that wasn't until later in life and if Regulus had been able to learn about their forms it would be child's play for Dumbledore especially for a master of Legilimency, all it would take would be a single glance into Peter's eyes and all their secrets would be revealed.
After spending a few minutes going over the map and admiring it he closed it up and cast the concealing charm again before putting it away into the top drawer of his desk. He had every intention of showing it to Harry, but in due time, right now he didn't need to know and besides it was a risk to do so until he was completely ready, until he had his heir ring and his own occlumency barriers in place. Which reminded him, he'd need to be sure to introduce that to Harry in the coming weeks to get him started. The sooner Harry's mind was protected the better, he doubted that he could truly keep Voldemort out with that piece of him in his forehead. But it was worth a shot and until he took the snake faced fucker down they'd have little other option.
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Magnus hadn't been the only one who had been keeping themselves busy as of late. Ever since he had discovered Sirius' lack of a trial. Ted had been working overtime, putting in every hour that he could into digging into any other discrepancies he could find revolving around the deaths of the Potters and Sirius' near-immediate arrest and incarceration, and what he had found made him both shocked and disgusted him.
In the wake of the death's of Lily and James, and the subsequent fall of the dark lord, the Ministry had swooped in and all but claimed their house in Godric's Hollow as a public venue to mark the end of the war. They had paid no money to the potters for the claim, they had just taken it. On top of that, there had been no evidence at all collected from the inside of the house at the time only the bodies of Lily and James along with their wands, everything else had been left to the elements over the years and was now no doubt destroyed.
It had all been so badly mishandled that it had taken him days of searching to actually find the further reports that he had been looking for on the various matters.
Sirius had been captured mere hours after the deaths of the potters, two miles from their house amidst the chaos of a muggle massacre that apparently had been the result of a muggle gas line somehow exploding due to a spell that Sirius had fired resulting in the deaths of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew, leaving only a finger of the last as any evidence that he had been there.
But Ted immediately caught on that the whole thing was merely conjecture and suspicion on the part of the arresting aurors, given that none of them had even thought to check Sirius' wand before they snapped it. Nor had any one of them thought to ask any of the surviving muggles in the area what happened before they obliviated them. The whole thing felt like a cover-up of some kind, to Ted, or just an extreme lack of investigative intent.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
With all that he had found Ted knew that he would need more, a lack of evidence on the matter only proved poor file keeping and wouldn't get him very far, and so he had put in even more time searching for other trial records around the time, getting every record that he could and every datebook for the courts around the time that Sirius was meant to have his trial to prove that it had never been scheduled and thus never happened. And he found them.
With all the evidence in hand, he was able to construct a detailed timeline of events around when Sirius was meant to have had a trial, making sure every minute was accounted for so that there would be no possible legal way for a trial to have been held.
It was when all of his evidence had been gathered and all of his files were in pristine order to be presented that Ted had made his appointment with the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones. It had been another week before he had been able to get a time slot with her because she was always kept busy overseeing the entire auror department, and it had only been so soon because of his previous position with the aurors that he got bumped up the list. But he wasn't about to complain about the favourable attitudes that got him to see her sooner.
When the day finally came he flooed directly into the auror bullpen area in his best suit, his folders and documents neatly tucked under his arm as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the familiar room.
Desks were lined in rows with two-meter spacing between them, with various aurors at them dealing with every aurors most dangerous and tedious foe, paperwork. That was one thing that he didn't miss about the job, every arrest had to be recorded in triplicate and filed with different departments that had their own documents that needed to be filled in, and by the looks of things, it had only gotten worse since his early retirement.
"Dad!" Ted heard his daughter call as he saw her get up from one of the desks and came over to give him a hug, "what are you doing here?"
"Hello Dora," Ted greeted her as he hugged her back, "I'm just here for a meeting with Madam Bones, about you know what," he said as he released her and gestured to the folders under his arm.
"Oh?" Tonks said as she realised her eyes widening slightly knowing how long her father had been working on this, she had barely even seen him when she got home from her extra training sessions with Moody.
"What's all this then," Moody's gruff voice sounded as the veteran auror made his way over to them, "what brings an old sot like you back here then ted?" he said good-naturedly before his magical eye flickered to the folders, "here to see the boss lady are ya, well fair warning she's in a mood, that toad in the pink cardigans was down not half an hour ago, Amelia's been bitching ever since"
Ted nodded and shook Moodys' hand, "thanks for the warning, I doubt I'm about to make her day any easier then" he mused.
Moody gave a bark of a laugh, "Of course yer not, you're a paper pusher now, I doubt it if you were" he smirked before putting his hand on Tonks's shoulder, "come on girl, back to the training room, yer break is over."
"What!?" Tonks said shocked, "it's not even been three minutes, you said I had five," she protested.
"Always expect the unexpected" was Moodys' only response as he dragged her back through the rows of desks.
Ted chuckled as he saw them go before turning his attention to the back of the bullpen, where he knew Amelia's office was located. Walking down through the rows of desks he came to the open door and knocked on the door frame as he peeked inside the doorway.
The office was just as he remembered it, Amelia ways was a creature of habit, a large oak desk sat in the middle of the room on wine red carpet, the walls were done up in a deep oak brown with many photographs lining the back wall, along with various framed newspaper clippings of important cases that she had helped to solve and put to rest over the years.
And sitting behind the desk was the woman herself, her chestnut hair pulled back and in a tight bun, her monocle in her eye as she read over a thick sheaf of parchment work on her desk a frown on her face as she glared at the parchment as if willing it to burst into flames.
That glare disappeared however as she looked up to him and she blinked for a moment as the glare faded to a light scowl and a small confused frown, "Ted? What are you…" she began to say before looking up to the clock on the wall and blinked again, before muttering a curse under her breath, "Sorry Ted, our meeting I know," she said as she folded the parchment and pushed it out of the way, "time got away from me" she sighed.
Ted gave a light chuckle, "I know how it is Amelia, rough day?" he asked as he walked in, closing the door behind him before he took a seat across from her at her desk.
"More like a rough month, several of them in fact" Amelia sighed as she plucked her monocle from her eye and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "it's just cut back after cut back, the Ministry has cut our funding by a third twice in the past four months, Cornelius claims that because crime is at an all-time low since the war we don't need as many aurors, bloody damn politician. And he doesn't even have the stones to come down here and tell me myself, instead, he sends that infernal woman to do it." she groaned, "I just want to hex her.
"Umbridge, yes I remember, always hated her, but I doubt there is a muggle-born who has heard of her that doesn't," Ted sympathised.
"Yes, dreadful woman," Amelia agreed as she put her monocle back in place before leaning back in her chair, "Now, I doubt you made a meeting with me to just come here and gripe about how stupid and unpleasant politicians are Ted, what can I do for you. Do you have a case for me to have looked into?"
"Something like that Amelia," Ted said as he put the folders on his lap, "I take it that you have heard about recent events, of Andy's banishment from House Black being lifted?"
Amelia nodded, "Yes, this new heir Black, Magnus, seems to be making quite the impression with his actions, first coming out of nowhere, then bringing back your wife and daughter into the fold, and then his duel with the Malfoy heir," she listed, "Moody gave quite the review of his duelling prowess, no doubt a benefit of having Andy as an instructor"
Ted nodded with a smile, "yes, he does certainly like to make a strong first impression. He did so with my wife, I and my daughter by having our Gringotts account manager call us in for a meeting upon his request before propositioning us for Andy and Dora's reinstatement into House Black, and retaining my services as a solicitor for House Black for a weekly retainer that is more than generous."
Amelia arched her eyebrow as she kept her monocle in place, "I see, clearly he's rather smart then, I take it you are here to see me on his and House Black's request then?"
Ted nodded and put the folders on the desk, "I am, this was something that Magnus asked me to look into, on the down-low. Something bothered him about it and I can see why. It's also something that I feel that you will want to handle personally given who it pertains to," he said as he slid the folders across her desk to her.
Amelia looked at them for a moment as she waited for Ted to continue, when he didn't her curiosity got the better and she reached over and took them up, "and who just might that be?" she asked as she flipped the first file open to bring up a set of court records.
"Sirius Orion Black, and his incarceration without due process or fair trial," Ted spoke, keeping his tone calm as he braced for what he knew was about to come.
Out in the auror bullpen, every auror nearly jumped out of their desk chairs when the door to Madam Bones office practically shook with a yell of "WHAT!!!" the first of many as Ted began to lay out all of his findings for her and run her through the timeline to prove his facts.
And after two hours of explanation, Madam Bones sat behind her desk, her monocle hanging from her neck as she shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes squeezed shut as she muttered under her breath, "Bastards, bastards, bastards, bastards, the whole bloody lot of them."
"I take it, I've convinced you then," Ted said as he put the last of the parchment away.
"Of course you bloody well have," Amelia said as she took her hand away from her nose and stood up walking over to a small table with crystal glasses on it and poured herself two fingers of the brown liquid, "something never sat right with me about his arrest, I didn't want to believe it," she said as she downed the glass before pouring herself another finger, "I knew I should have looked into it, but I was only a junior at the time, and I let myself be warned off by the higher-ups, like a stupid cow,"
"Don't beat yourself up Amelia, it won't help matters now, what matters is that we fix this now that we know," Ted stated plainly, "Can we count on your support?"
"Of course you bloody well can, what kind of question is that," Amelia said as she sat down in her chair again, "you were right to be sneaky about this, this whole thing spells political scandal for the ministry, if anyone caught on to what you were doing it would have been hushed up. We'll have to move slowly and carefully, and I'll have to call in nearly every favour I have, but we'll get him out of there and get him a trial, but do you know what concerns me the most?"
Ted nodded, "If Sirius wasn't the Potters secret keeper, who was?"
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Things had not been going the way he had planned, not at all. This was not how he had envisioned his first year at Hogwarts going. He was supposed to be respected, revered, treated like a prince in Slytherin house. He was the heir Malfoy after all but that had all changed when he lost the duel to Black.
What little respect he had gained had completely vanished as soon as he had lost the duel and his position as heir to House Malfoy.
Since the duel he had been treated as the lowest of the low, he had lost all his allies, well not all he still had Crabbe and Goyle but that was only because he was still a Malfoy and their three houses had an alliance, but it wasn't like he could rely on them for much other than muscle.
Any potential negotiating power he had for making allies had vanished along with his status and with it any chances of him rising within Slytherins ranks once again.
He had sent a letter to his mother asking for advice, he had first thought to send a letter to his father but Severus had advised him against doing so. His father was less than pleased with this mess that he had caused, and while he thought it unfair he could see his reasoning.
He was waiting for her response before he made his next move, he wanted to make Black pay for this but he wasn't stupid. The duel had shown him that he couldn't take Magnus in a fair fight, he wasn't so deluded to think that it was a fluke that he won. He wanted to make someone pay for this but he knew he needed to be patient for the time being, one thing that he learned at his father's knee. If you didn't have allies nor the power to take your enemy down yourself, you had to wait until your enemy showed a weakness you could exploit. So that's what he would do, he would watch and wait for the right time to strike and then he would have his revenge.
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Narcissa Malfoy nee Black was not a happy woman, she hadn't been a happy woman ever since her parents had arranged her marriage to Lucius all those years ago after she had made the mistake on praising his appearance and cunning to her parents in the summer of her first year at Hogwarts, and by the time she returned to the castle for her second year they were betrothed.
Of course, she had expected to be betrothed at some time, it was to be expected really, and she had tried to make the best of it. She had made sure that her parents had worded the contract in a specific way so that she would be taken care of and would live a life of luxury with very little responsibilities beyond the basics.
The one role she had in the marriage was to produce an heir for house Malfoy, or as she had made sure to have it worded was to give birth to a Malfoy. And with recent events, it was a good thing she did.
When Lucius had returned to the manor after overseeing the duel between Draco and this new Black Heir he had been furious. He had informed her that Draco was no longer heir Malfoy due to an oath he had taken to save face after a comment from the young Heir Black.
After hearing that she had expected what was to come next when he approached her with his plan to birth another heir for the house to reinstate Draco. She had immediately drawn her wand on him much to his shock before informing him that she would play no part in his plan.
When he had tried to quote their contract she had recited the actual wording of the contract and explained that she had upheld her end of it when Draco was born. That if he wanted to follow through on his plan, he would have to find another woman to give birth to his second heir.
When he had drawn his wand in his rage she had disarmed him and stunned him. And she had to admit that both felt good. After years of putting up with his cold attitude and biting her tongue when it came to raising Draco.
She had left him in his office after that and had secluded herself in her room ever since then, relying on the house-elves for her daily needs while she planned her own next move.
She knew that she couldn't stay here for much longer, nor could Draco. With the loss of his heir status it meant that he was now expendable should Lucius decide that his idea to produce a second heir to fix this mistake was better as a replacement.
She knew she would need to think up some way for them to get out of this, and her first thought was to seek sanctuary with her former house. She was still a child of House Black and Draco was as well by blood. She could send a letter to him and ask for his aid in this matter.
If he was willing to bring Andromeda back into the house then it meant that he valued family above traditions she could use that. While she might have been upset about his taking Draco's position as Heir Black she wasn't going to allow what little anger she had for the fact blind her to her current situation.
Lucien had yet to attempt to get into her private quarters but she knew that was only because of the wards she had erected in the hallway outside and the strengthening charms she had added to the doors themselves. She made sure to reapply them every night before she went to sleep for her own safety.
As her Lord, Lucien would face no consequence should he force himself on her, she was his wife and she had no doubt that she would find any support in the winzingamot should she cry rape.
All of the dark families believed it was a woman's place to serve their lords' needs, and as the wife of a suspected death eater, and a dark witch herself, she doubted that any of the light would even bat an eye at her suffering.
No, her only hope was to reach out to her sister and hope that she could convince the future Lord Black to give her and Draco the aid they needed.
She was sitting in her favourite chair passing the time by reading one of the many books she had in her private library. When Dobby appeared at her door.
"Begging Mistress's pardon, a letter has arrived from Master Draco for Mistress, Dobby took it before Master Lucien could burn it," The small elf said bowing as he held the letter out for her.
Putting her book down Narcissa got up and took the letter and Dobby disappeared with a pop as she walked to her desk to read it.
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"Mother,
I wish that this letter bore good news but it doesn't. Things are not going as well at Hogwarts as I had hoped. With the loss of my Heir status my position in Slytherin house has all but dwindled to nothing. My so-called friends all but treat me as if I was a pariah like I was some lowly mud blood.
I know that father has some plan to try and reinstate my status as Heir Malfoy but I write to you now to ask your advice on what I should do in the meantime.
I want to get revenge against Magnus for what he has done but I know I cannot beat him by myself, I plan on waiting until he shows weakness to make my move, just like father taught me.
I hope you are well, and send you all my love.
Your son,
Draco."
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As soon as she was done reading the letter she immediately began writing both her response and her letter to her sister. She had planned on waiting closer to the summer before she contacted Andromeda but if Draco was thinking about attacking the Black Heir then there would be no chance in him being given sanctuary.
As much as she loved her son there was no doubt in her mind he took after his father when it came to his line of thinking.
Lucien would no doubt seek his own revenge, but while Hogwarts was still in session both he and Draco would be safe.
With her letters written she quickly called for Dobby to have them sent, she could only hope that they reached her son and Andromeda before Draco did anything that could lose them both any chance of sanctuary with her birth house.