{Great Hall, Hogwarts}
{13th Oct 1991}
{3rd person POV}
...
Rigel looked around the room, and everything had been typical moments before. The owl deliveries changed that. One of the most common types of deliveries that owls make to Hogwarts is of the Daily Prophet, and by the looks of the bold black letters printed onto the front page of today's paper, he knew the day would be interesting.
'''SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! EXONERATED OF ALL CRIMES'''
'''In a shocking term of events, the Ministry of Magic revealed to the press that Sirius Black is now considered a free man. Apparently, all the charges levied onto the Black Family heir were fake as he was framed by the dark wizard named Peter Pettigrew, who was the spy that He-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED planted into Potter's house.
While the real story behind the capture of the illusive death eater remained unknown to most, a clue into the man behind the capture of Peter Pettigrew is revealed. Later during the day, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge put forward the name of Rigel Black for an Order of Merlin Class 2...'''
'Fuck, why did he have to reveal my name on the same day, now I have to deal with the increased attention.' Rigel moaned. He looked around, and already Daphne was giving him a raised eyebrow. He was pretty sure she was going to pester him about it, so he gestured her to wait. He could deal with her later, but his immediate concern was the fact that Harry Potter was making a beeline toward him after reading the paper.
A frown etched onto his face as he disregarded the scowls he was getting from the majority of the Slytherin table. I put down my sandwich and cleaned my hands with the hand towel. As I stood up, I held up my right hand to stop Harry before I stood up and walked over to him.
"I know. Just follow me." I interrupted him before he could begin. He didn't look pleased with not knowing the answers sooner, but he still nodded as he walked along with me. Under the scrutiny of the whole school, our contrasting robes fluttered as we walked out of the Great Hall, and I took him straight toward the second floor.
"The paper said you found this Dark Wizard, the one responsible for the death of my parents," Harry said as soon as we were walking up the stairs next to the great hall.
I looked at him and nodded, "Just wait. I'll tell you the story."
We arrived on the second floor, and I directed him to a locked door. I was expecting another classroom, but this room was surprisingly empty.
'Hmm, no tables to sit at.'
"Yeah, I found Pettigrew and used him to free Sirius." I nodded. Harry nodded back, looking a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.
"What's on your mind?" I asked. This Harry Potter was quite unfamiliar to me.
"I don't know. I kind of want to look him in the eye, see if he had any remorse or something..." He mumbled the last part as his eyes dipped down to the floor.
"Dude, don't worry about Pettigrew. He's a rat, the worst of the worst. Your parents trusted him, and he gave them up. Tell you what, I have a present for you," I said before I called out, "Kreacher!"
Harry had a weird look in his eyes as he looked up suddenly, but his attention was distracted by a loud pop as Kreacher teleported into the room.
"Master Rigel. What can Kreacher do?" The house elf looked at him with a hopeful expression.
"Can you get Sirius here?" Rigel asked. The elf looked disappointed, but he still adhered to his command as he disappeared.
"You can teleport into Hogwarts?" Harry asked, surprised at the obvious loophole in the Hogwarts security.
"Only the house elves can—" Rigel was interrupted by another pop as Kreacher returned, this time accompanied by a black-haired man. He looked a lot better after eating right and getting ample rest. Rigel could also see the questions in the man's eyes, but his attention shifted to Harry, and he froze.
"James???" Sirius's voice had a hopeful tone, which caused Harry to back away slightly. The small shift broke Sirius's dazed look as he came back to his senses.
"Harry?" Sirius questioned as his eyes took in the Potter heir. He took a step forward, and Harry took a step back. Before this situation escalated, Rigel decided to intervene.
"Let me make the introductions. Sirius, this is Harry Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Evans." Rigel's introduction got a grateful look from Harry before he turned to point at Sirius and continued, "Harry, this is Sirius Black, adopted brother to James Potter and best man at the wedding of James Potter and Lily Evans."
Harry's eyes snapped to Sirius, searching for something before he took a step toward him. Rigel watched as they each closed the distance before they hugged. While the bromance was sweet to watch, Rigel backed away. He had plenty more interrogations to go through. Before he could sneak out, though, Sirius noticed his movements and spoke without breaking the hug.
"Where are you going? I have several questions for you. Where did you find Pettigrew? I was looking everywhere for him." Sirius spoke as he let go of Harry.
"It's not important-" Rigel began to dismiss, but Harry interrupted him this time.
"You said Pettigrew's a rat. Scabbers has been missing for a few weeks now..." His words contained an unasked question.
Rigel sighed. They both looked like they would not let this go, so he stopped backing away and pulled out the map from his pocket.
"I swindled this from the Weasley twins. It's how they pulled all of their pranks together." I opened the map and showed Harry all the names of people just sitting in the great hall.
"The Marauders map..." Sirius whispered, his eyes having that same glossy look as when he mistook Harry for James.
'Hmm, maybe he needs to see a proper healer. Should I rope Pomfrey to take a look at him?' Rigel thought.
'I would have to talk to Dumbledore again, don't I?'
...
----------------------------------
AN - A couple of slow chapters before we move onto magic, sex, and then the Ritual.
{Abandoned Room, Second Floor, Hogwarts}
{13th Oct 1991}
{3rd person POV}
...
"The Marauders map..." Sirius whispered, his eyes having that same glossy look as when he mistook Harry for James.
Rigel knew that Sirius, from the novel, wasn't dangerous per se, but he didn't want to leave anything to chance. As he took out his wand from the inventory with a thought, the black-haired man broke out of his daze.
"Are you okay, Sirius?" Rigel questioned. He didn't want to give the wrong impression, especially since he needed the old man's help. Having Sirius free from being on the run was a shield, a shield that he had taken a lot of effort to create.
"Uhh yeah, just..." He went silent for a moment before he shook his head.
"So, who found the map, Weasley twins?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, Weasley twins, you know, Arthur and Molly Weasley." Rigel replied, getting an 'Ah' from Sirius.
"You broke into our dorm," Harry pointed out. He didn't look mad. It just looked like he was connecting the dots.
"Yeah, I saw the name Peter Pettigrew on the map in the Gryffindor Common room. Considering that he was always with you and Ron, it didn't make sense. Only after you broke out of Azkaban did I look closely into your story and figure out that the supposedly dead hero responsible for your capture is still alive and kicking." Rigel shrugged. He could see Sirius trembling a little.
"Then I made a plan, got a hold of the rat, and contacted Amelia Bones through Susan... she's in Hufflepuff our year." Rigel added, for Harry's benefit, "and then exposed Pettigrew in front of Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was pretty easy," Rigel joked at the end, getting a grin from Sirius.
"Speaking of that, have you talked to Amelia yet?" Rigel asked.
"I just got the news today from the paper that I'm apparently free; you couldn't have told me you were planning something like this?" Sirius glared, his expression not hot.
"I could, but then I would risk you doing something... Gryffindorish-" Rigel taunted, getting two affronted looks.
"Hey-" "Watch it-"
They both blocked each other's words as Rigel chuckled. He looked to Sirius and said, "You should talk to Harry. I'll inform Professor Dumbledore you are here; he would probably want to talk to you."
Sirius stiffened at the mention of Dumbledore's name, but he still nodded. Rigel looked at his face to make sure he was not stepping on any toes before he motioned toward Harry to take care of the man.
Rigel walked out of the room and made a beeline toward the headmaster's office. The walk was short, but he had a lot on his mind. He had already planned for this to make sure that Lucius didn't have any point in arguing anything or any chance to do anything. He needed Dumbledore's help.
The Gargoyle responsible for guarding Professor Dumbledore's office was as impassive as ever.
"Can you tell Professor Dumbledore that Sirius Black is currently meeting with Harry Potter for the first time? He seems a little unstable, so I need Professor's help." Rigel finished his message and waited. Last time, he didn't have to wait long, but as time seemed to pass, he began to think that maybe Dumbledore wasn't in the office.
'I should have checked before coming here,' Rigel cursed at his lack of foresight as he pulled the map out of his inventory. The Gargoyle suddenly moved. Rigel put the map back into his inventory swiftly, and when he looked up, he noticed that the staircase's movement seemed a little off.
'So he's coming down. I guess he's worried about how Sirius might influence Harry and whatnot.' Rigel thought. The Gargoyle stopped moving, and a worried-looking Dumbledore walked out; his attention was instantly on Rigel as he asked, "Where are they?"
"In an abandoned room on the second floor," Rigel replied as he began walking back. He wanted to ask if Dumbledore could inform Madam Pomfrey to meet with them, but then again, maybe he'll check on Sirius first.
"How did he seem?" Dumbledore asked.
"Honestly, a lot better than the last time I saw him. Having food to eat every day does make a lot of difference." Rigel commented. He wanted to see how Dumbledore would react.
"And what about his mental state?" Dumbledore continued, not minding the jab at all.
"Yeah... that's what I'm a little concerned about. I have no data to compare what long-term exposure to dementors could do to someone. He's spacing out something, likely lost in his memories, and he called Harry, James." Rigel admitted. He wants Sirius admitted to St. Mungos to undergo treatment, not only for Sirius's mental sake but also for himself. The ring that was supposed to arrive hadn't arrived yet, and he was getting a bit worried.
'If the worst came to worst, I would have to encourage Sirius to take over the Lordship, and only then would I get the heir ring,' Rigel thought. He had a good chat with Daphne about the requirements of the heirship ritual. He needed to do the ritual this Halloween; otherwise, he would have to wait until next Halloween, and even then, it might be his last chance.
Dumbledore didn't reply to the information as he mulled over Rigel's words. They quickly returned to the room, and Rigel heard laughter when he opened the door. Both Harry and Sirius were laughing about something when they walked in.
Sirius's face stiffened up a little when he looked at Dumbledore before his face went blank. They both stared at each other while Rigel and Harry shared a look.
"Albus..." Sirius finally broke the silence; he merely addressed Dumbledore directly by his name.
'Uhhh... Did I read something wrong?' Rigel thought. He was pretty sure Sirius and Dumbledore were okay in the original world.
"Sirius," Dumbledore greeted back. His face was serious as he stared at Sirius. Just when it looked like the situation would turn hostile, Sirius sighed and gave up the stern face.
"Harry wasn't supposed to go to the Dursley," Sirius said, giving the old wizard a pointed look.
"There was no one else. The political situation forced my hand. The whole of Winzengamot was clamoring for info about the Boy Who Lived. The only place for Harry was outside of our world." Albus replied. Harry's eyes widened as he finally gained some insight into how he arrived at the Privet Drive.
Sirius sighed, but then he nodded. Dumbledore finally moved as he walked into the room. He pulled out his wand, which caused Sirius to stiffen up.
"Just some normal checks, my boy. I can see the effects of long-term Occlumency usage on your face." Albus spoke, which caused Sirius to relax. He stared at Albus for a moment longer and nodded. While Albus waved his wand, his attention focused on Sirius; Rigel was finally close enough to Albus that he could see the famous Elder Wand in hand.
...
'Yup, I'm disarming him instead of Mafoy, that's for sure...'
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