Chapter 25: Inheritance and Influence
Back in England, Pollux Black and his sister Cassiopeia were poring over ancient Latin codices and assorted scrolls. Two and a half years before, after Pollux had been boasting to Aries about his vast store of legal expertise, the boy had asked his great-grandfather whether there was anything that could be done to free his father from Azkaban. Ever since then, despite the onset of his illness, Pollux had set himself the goal of clearing the name of Sirius Black.
This task had taken on greater urgency due to the old man's advancing decrepitude. Pollux knew that he had little time left to live, and his cousin Arcturus had also been rather ill of late.
There were no other Black wizards left to help guide Aries, and Pollux had no wish to see his heir pass entirely under the influence of the damnable Abraxas Malfoy, who, most unfortunately, seemed to remain in excellent health.
It had taken every ounce of influence he had left at the Ministry, but Pollux had learnt the appalling details of Sirius's incarceration. It horrified the old man that a Black could be so easily deprived of the customary rights belonging to wizards of their class and social standing, and he had managed to frighten Abraxas and Arcturus into using their influence and wealth to help remedy the situation. They had said nothing to Aries, however, not willing to raise false hopes in the poor boy.
Now, after a series of newspaper articles about Black contributions to wizarding history, a number of generous donations to the Ministry and the opening of the new Orion and Walburga Black Memorial Wing at St Mungo's, everything was finally ready.
Pollux and Cassiopeia were preparing the final details of their case. They would go before the Wizengamot the next day, and Pollux had every confidence he would be able to secure his grandson's release. He was, after all, P. C. Black, Chief Warlock Emeritus.
.....
Albus Dumbledore sat wearily in his chair the next morning, not eager for the day's work to begin. The Wizengamot confronted many unpleasant issues at the best of times, and today's docket promised to be especially painful. The very first case was a petition brought by Pollux Black.
Pollux had always been a rather unsavoury character, manipulative and vindictive. He had many enemies and few friends. But he was richer than Croesus, and his legal knowledge was unsurpassed. Dumbledore did not know what precisely the crotchety wizard had in mind, but he knew that whatever it was promised to make his life exceedingly difficult.
All the Blacks seemed to have that talent, and Dumbledore had recently been surprised (and, secretly, a bit disappointed) to learn that Sirius, whom he had happily believed to be the end of the miserable line, had managed to reproduce, with a Malfoy no less, and that the son, Aries, would be attending Hogwarts in a little over a year. Dumbledore naturally intended to do his best not to prejudge the unfortunate boy, but his origins were hardly auspicious.
He reluctantly called the Wizengamot to order, and two of his least favourite people in the world appeared in front of him: Pollux Black and his spinster sister Cassiopeia, who had wreaked havoc on the Hogwarts Board of Governors since before Dumbledore had become Headmaster. Cassiopeia stood straight and proud, but Pollux sat hunched over in an ornately-carved walking chair.
'Professor Dumbledore,' Pollux announced, his voice shaking. 'Honoured members of the Wizengamot. I come before you this morning with a most serious grievance concerning a gross miscarriage of justice that has been perpetrated by the Ministry of Magic against my grandson, Sirius Orion Black.'
Dumbledore turned pale. What did the old man have up his sleeve?
'I have learnt that my grandson, the heir to the Headship of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, was thrown into Azkaban nine years ago without even the benefit of a trial,' Pollux continued. There were several gasps, and several more angry murmurs. Pollux flicked his wand and sent a scroll to the evidence desk.
'This scroll contains a copy of the order to imprison Sirius immediately, without a trial. It bears the signatures of Millicent Bagnold, then-Minister for Magic, and Bartemius Crouch, then-Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.'
A similar scroll appeared before each member of the Wizengamot. They unravelled the scrolls and looked them over carefully. The angry murmurs increased.
'As the honourable members can all plainly see, the offences cited in justification of my grandson's imprisonment are two,' Pollux went on. 'Sirius is firstly accused of having betrayed the Potters to Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and secondly of murdering Peter Pettigrew and a number of Muggles. These crimes are certainly heinous, but we must not allow their seriousness to obscure our sense of justice. Every witch and wizard has an absolute right to a full trial.'
Dumbledore frowned. He did not like where this was headed.
'The injustice in the present case is greatly exacerbated by the frivolous nature of the evidence on which the decision was based,' Pollux said. 'It is claimed that Sirius Black was the Potters' Secret Keeper, and therefore the only one who could have betrayed them to the Dark Lord. Yet we have no solid evidence to confirm this.'
'Actually, Pollux, there is no doubt that Sirius was the Potters' Secret Keeper,' Dumbledore said. 'I gave evidence on this myself.'
Pollux smiled condescendingly. 'Quite right, Headmaster,' he said, emphasising his obstinate refusal to refer to Dumbledore as Chief Warlock, and sent another scroll to the evidence desk. 'You have before you the official testimony of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. As you see, the professor is quite adamant that James Potter told him that he intended to make Sirius his Secret Keeper.'
'Are you insinuating that the Chief Warlock told a lie?' an angry witch demanded.
'Not at all,' Pollux said calmly. 'However, his so-called evidence is inadmissible. Professor Dumbledore said that James Potter said that he was planning to make Sirius his Secret Keeper. This is only hearsay.
The Headmaster has no direct knowledge that Sirius was ever in fact the Secret Keeper, nor even that the Fidelius Charm was actually performed. I would remind the Wizengamot that under the rules of procedure laid down by Merlin himself, hearsay may not be used to convict a wizard of a crime.'
'What about Peter Pettigrew's evidence?' another wizard asked.
'Ah, yes, Peter Pettigrew's evidence.' Pollux smiled. 'Alas, here too we are dealing with hearsay. An Auror reported that a Muggle claimed that Pettigrew accused Sirius of having betrayed James and Lily. One might as well throw a child into Azkaban because another wizard heard a house-elf claim to have heard the child threaten to kill another child after losing a game of Quidditch.'
More murmuring erupted. Dumbledore knew he was losing control of the situation.
'There is also the murder of Peter Pettigrew to consider,' he pointed out.
Pollux laughed. 'And what evidence is there to prove that? An Auror reported that a Muggle claimed to have seen the two wizards arguing, followed by an explosion. The Evidence Statute of 1236 clearly states that Muggle evidence is not to be relied upon in such cases, and rightly so, inasmuch as the unreliability of Muggles in any such situation is obvious to all right-thinking people.'
'Sirius was found at the scene of the crime afterwards,' Amelia Bones reminded the old man. 'He laughed madly at the murder.'
Pollux narrowed his eyes. 'Precisely, Madam Bones. He laughed madly, a response that I believe indicates only that Sirius was driven momentarily insane by the sudden tragic loss of three of his closest friends. What further evidence is there? Was Priori Incantatem performed on his wand? Was he interrogated under Veritaserum? If so, there is no evidence in the record of anything of the sort having been done.'
Dumbledore sighed. 'Are you asking for Sirius to be given a trial?'
'At this late date?' Pollux snarled. 'Don't be preposterous. Sirius has sat in prison for nine horrible years, without ever receiving a trial. All the evidence provided is flimsy at best, nonsensical at worst. The only witnesses to the supposed crimes are dead or long Obliviated. On the basis of the Criminal Trials Act of 1739 I demand that Sirius Black be released immediately, the case dismissed and his record cleared.'
'Now you're the one who's being preposterous,' Dumbledore replied.
'Hardly, Headmaster,' Pollux drawled. 'The Criminal Trials Act clearly specifies that no pureblood witch or wizard is to be held without trial for longer than thirty days. In the event that such a violation does occur, the accused is to be released at once and cleared of all charges.'
Dumbledore sighed. This was shaping up to be a very unpleasant day indeed.
.....
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