Sirius Black's Secret Love

Chapter 17 - Habeus Corpus

Harry felt his stomach lurch into his throat. He saw the bailiff come forward with the bottle of Veritaserum and opened his mouth with hesitation.

"It goes under the tongue," the bailiff barked.

Harry lifted his tongue and felt the liquid drop into his mouth. He started to feel like ice was running throughout his veins. His mind was beginning to feel numb. He struggled to concentrate and remember his plan with Hermione. He closed his eyes tightly. The signals, the signals, concentrate, concentrate...he muttered to himself. It´s like the Imperius Curse, just keep focusing your mind...

"Mr. Potter, do you know Sirius Black?" asked Cotton Mathews.

"Yes. He´s my godfather."

"Do you recognize these letters which were found in your trunk?"

"Yes, they are letters from Sirius."

"How long have you been corresponding with him?"

"Two years," Harry replied.

"Have you known his whereabouts for all that time?"

"Yes. This year he´s lived in Little Whinging - a few blocks from my aunt and uncle´s house. The year before he was hiding in a cave outside Hogsmeade."

"Who else knew that?"

"Professor Dumbledore knew about both. Ron and Hermione knew about the cave, but not about Little Whinging. And there was Professor Figg, Snape, Remus Lupin and Mundungus Fletcher that knew his whereabouts this year."

Mathews gave a wicked grin to Hermione. "And can you tell the court how Sirius Black escaped from the castle at the end of your third year?"

"Hermione and I were told by Dumbledore to try and make things right. He said we could try and save two innocent lives that night. So we used the Time Turner that Hermione had in order to take multiple classes simultaneously and we went back three hours in time."

"Go on," Mathews said menacingly.

"We untied Buckbeak, a hippogriff who had been scheduled to be executed. We hid him in the forest safe from view and then we waited there until we saw our other selves emerge from the Whomping Willow. When the Dementors started to swarm around our other selves, I summoned a Patronus and it chased the Dementors away. Later we flew Buckbeak up to Professor Flitwick´s office and Sirius climbed out the window. We went back to the hospital wing just in time and no one knew what had happened, except for Dumbledore."

"Well, well, well. I understand now why Miss Granger was so eager to avoid any questioning. She appears to be guilty of harbouring a fugitive as well as violating a contract with the Ministry of Magic over controlled magical objects. She also helped a prisoner to escape. Yes, I shall enjoy using the Veritaserum on you young lady when your time comes," Mathews sneered.

Hermione´s face was crimson, but her eyes had a hard steely determination in them. She did not blink or turn away from Mathews´ stare. Then he brightened and turned back to Harry.

"Yesterday, what happened after Sirius Black left Hagrid´s hut?"

"Our amulets became activated - they grew hot - which meant that one of us was in mortal danger. I listened to Dumbledore´s instructions to get my broomstick and Invisibility Cloak and to meet Professor Snape. He and I flew over the forest in search of where they were holding him. We started to..."

"Did you attack Bode or Croaker?"

"I attacked Bode, Snape got Croaker," said Harry.

"And how did you attack him?"

"I saw pine needles on the forest floor. I transfigured them into sewing needles and sent them in his direction. They flew into his face. Then I returned them to their normal form."

"Yes, that is what led to his blindness. If he had proper medical attention immediately his vision might have been saved. What happened to Macnair?"

"Buckbeak who had been living in the Forbidden Forest saw Macnair. The hippogriff was trying to protect Sirius, he probably remembered that Macnair was the one who was supposed to execute him. Buckbeak charged him and crushed a lot of bones and caused internal injuries. I called out to Buckbeak just as he was about to crush his skull and begged him to stop. Snape disarmed them all and readied them for transport back to the castle. I released Sirius and we were all levitating them back on stretchers to the castle when we were arrested."

"Tell me, Mr. Potter, this past summer when you were home. Did you see your godfather when he was living only a few blocks away?" asked Mathews.

"Yes. I went over there every day."

"And did you do anything while you were there?"

"Yes, Professor Figg and Sirius were giving me private lessons."

"Piano lessons? Dance lessons? What kind of lessons?"

"Magic lessons. They helped me with Transfiguration and also with Animagus training," Harry said.

"Ahhh, more charges against him. He admits to repeatedly violating the underage wizarding law. Flouted the law in fact. And engaged in unauthorized Animagus training, to boot. Please tell the court, what kind of animal were you training to become?"

"A snake."

"A Snake? That´s your inner spirit? A Serpent? Ladies and Gentleman, what more do I need to show you that this lad is Evil? In his own words, Harry Potter admits to acting to free a prisoner, to aid, abet and harbour a fugitive, he admits to attacking Ministry of Magic agents, to violating the Ministry of Magic´s strict regulations regarding Time Turners, to flouting the underage Wizarding laws, and not only can he converse with snakes, but his inner spirit is that of a serpent. A symbol that is widely recognized as belonging to the darkest of all wizards. He deserves to be given a life sentence in Azkaban!"

He then turned in a flourish to Hermione and snarled, "Your witness!"

Hermione was beginning to stand when Soraya started crying. Professor Figg tried to rearrange her clothes to feed the baby but her manacles were in the way.

"Excuse me, Judge Diggory. But my daughter needs to be fed. Could someone please remove the restraints from my hands so that I can feed her? She may also need to be changed. Perhaps this might be a good time for a recess? I´m sure others might appreciate a chance to relieve themselves."

Diggory looked about the room and heads were nodding in every direction.

"Very well, the court stands in recess," he said as he rapped his gavel. "We will reconvene in fifteen minutes. Bailiffs, please ask the defendants if they wish to use the facilities and escort them if they do."

Hermione walked up to Harry as he was being taken away by a bailiff.

"Did you get the stuff?" he asked.

"Yes, but I still don´t know why..." she stammered.

Harry looked at her and mouthed two words he had learned from working with her on his expulsion defence. She looked at him with a furrowed brow and then started to thumb through her law book. As she started reading a look of comprehension dawned on her and she gave Harry a huge smile. He breathed a sigh of relief as he left the courtroom. He knew she could make this work. He just had to keep his wits about him.

After the courtroom reconvened, Hermione stood and looked at Harry. She smiled and licked her lips, "Well, Harry..."

He blinked slowly and said, "Er, yeah, Hermione?"

"Okay, we´ll start," she said brightly. "He at least passed the signal test. Harry, you were never given the opportunity to tell the court why you trust Sirius Black. What happened that night two years ago at the Shrieking Shack when we first met your godfather?"

Harry relayed the story of how Ron was dragged to the shack and how he and Hermione had followed in an effort to rescue Ron. How Remus Lupin had followed them to the Shrieking Shack thinking that they needed rescuing, but wound up instead siding with Sirius. He retold the strange story of the Marauders and how three friends became unregistered Animagi to help Lupin in his werewolf state. Then he told how Scabbers was revealed to be Peter Pettigrew, the Potters´ actual Secret-Keeper and the person who had betrayed Lily and James Potter.

Minister Fudge stood at this point.

"Your lord, as entertaining as this may be, I must object. I heard this fairy tale two years ago. Frankly, I´ve become very tired of it. Professor Snape himself was in the Shrieking Shack that night and swore that Black had put the children under a Confundus Charm. I don´t know why Snape has sided with Black now, but...I see no evidence to contradict that while Potter may believe he saw Peter Pettigrew, that it wasn´t just him being Confunded."

Harry Potter started to sneeze. He sneezed three times.

Hermione then crossed to Judge Diggory´s desk. "Your lordship, at this time - I would like to bring forth the evidence that Minister Fudge is demanding."

"What?" Diggory asked in surprise.

She dug into the pocket of her robe and brought forth a small bottle. "Here your lord, is a bottle of ordinary Muggle medicine. Serum of epicac. You can inspect it, there´s nothing magical or untoward about it. It´s unopened and untampered with."

"And what do you want to do with this?" he asked.

"Harry Potter asked me to get this for use during these proceedings. I didn´t understand why until a few minutes ago. Please let me administer this to my client and you will see. And can someone get a basin for him?"

A bailiff quickly returned with a basin, which was handed to Harry. He took a few swigs from the bottle and soon started to look green around the gills.

"Mr. Mathews could you have your wand drawn and at the ready please?" Hermione asked as she watched Harry intently.

Harry began to retch violently and Hermione thrust her hand into the basin. She grasped the tail of a wriggling rat with a silver paw.

"Habeus corpus! You have the body," she said to gasps throughout the room.

A few of the spectators in the front row seemed to have trouble keeping their lunch down in response to the scene before them.

"Please Mr. Mathews, if you could transform him for us please," said Hermione as she held the rat aloft.

Mathews trained his wand on the rat and blue-white light sparked all over it. The form grew and stretched until Peter Pettigrew stood before the courtroom. Cotton Mathews quickly disarmed him and conjured ropes around Pettigrew´s arms and legs. Shrieks were heard throughout the court.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Peter Pettigrew," Hermione announced. "A man who had been awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class posthumously for having tracked down Sirius Black and for having `lost´ that duel. It should be obvious to everyone in this room that he is not dead. Perhaps that indicates the award he received is something he did not rightfully earn. I ask that the court allow me to interrupt my cross-examination of Harry Potter and allow me to interrogate Mr. Pettigrew."

"So granted," said Diggory.

Minister Fudge started fidgeting in his seat.

"Could you please administer Veritaserum to this witness?" Hermione asked the bailiff. She glanced at Diggory, who nodded assent.

The bailiff stepped forward and yanked Pettigrew´s head back. He put the dropper under his tongue.

"For the record, could you please state your name for the court and any aliases you may have," Hermione asked.

"My name is Peter Pettigrew. I also go by Wormtail. I was also known as Scabbers," he said tonelessly.

"A Fidelius Charm was performed to protect James and Lily Potter. Were you the Potters´ Secret-Keeper?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Was Sirius Black also a Secret-Keeper?"

"No, it was Sirius´s idea that I be made the Secret-Keeper. He thought it would be a good bluff because no one would have expected that the Potters would entrust such a responsibility with me."

"How did Voldemort find the Potters?" asked Hermione.

"I led him to their house."

"He is your master?"

"Yes," he said shivering.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"What happened the day after the Potters were killed and when you saw Sirius Black?"

"Sirius tracked me down. I knew he wanted to kill me for revenge, but he was afraid to do anything with so many Muggles around. I caused a diversion and then I threw a tickling charm on Sirius. It distracted him long enough for me to cast a flame-freezing charm on myself and then cause an explosion that killed a dozen or so Muggle bystanders. The curse was so violent that it exploded my wand. I cut my finger off and dripped blood all over my robes and threw them out with the finger onto the pavement. Then I transformed into a rat and ran down the sewer."

"Did you find your way into a wizarding family?" Hermione prodded.

"Yes, the Weasleys. I belonged to Percy Weasley for many years and then later to Ron Weasley."

Percy shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Two years ago, the night you escaped after Sirius Black exposed you for what you were, what did you do?" asked Hermione.

"I left and found where my master had been hiding in Albania. I helped nurse him back to health. He needed a body to possess, so I kidnapped a Muggle baby from a park and he possessed that body until we could perform a ceremony and get him his own adult body back."

"Did Voldemort come up with a plan for Harry Potter?" she asked.

"Yes. I met Bertha Jorkins by accident at a tavern, but brought her back to my master. He tortured her and found out about the Quidditch World Cup and plans for the Triwizard Tournament. He also found out that Bartemius Crouch, Jr. was still alive and living in his father´s house."

Gasps were audible from the crowd around them.

"Please continue," Hermione urged.

"Crouch, Sr. had spirited his son out of Azkaban when his wife was near death. She died in the wizard prison while appearing to be her son with the aid of Polyjuice Potion. Crouch, Jr. had lived secretly in his father´s house and under the Imperius curse for years. My master and I overpowered Crouch, Sr. and liberated Barty Jr. My master planned that Crouch, Jr. would impersonate Alastor Moody at Hogwarts. Crouch and I went to Moody´s house, attacked him and held him prisoner in his own magical trunk. Crouch used Polyjuice Potion to pass himself off as Moody all year long. Crouch was the one to put Harry Potter´s name in the Goblet of Fire. He helped Potter by giving him hints during the year so that he would win the tournament and be transported by Portkey to the graveyard. There I performed a ceremony where I cut off my hand," he raised his silver hand to the crowd. "I also took Harry Potter´s blood forcibly to create the potion which brought my master´s body back."

There were now screams from all over the room. Terror was evident in their faces.

"Silence!" Diggory banged his gavel. "I will have silence in my courtroom. Anyone who speaks out of turn will be removed."

Hermione took a deep breath and then continued.

"Just a few more questions. Who killed Cedric Diggory?"

"I did. My master ordered it."

Judge Diggory´s eyes were trained on Pettigrew and were filled with pure venom.

"What happened last Halloween night at Azkaban?"

"Wallace Avery and I accompanied our master. He promised the Dementors that they´d have better prey if they followed him. Most of the prisoners were released and joined my master immediately. Two were hopelessly insane or near death, so they were killed to make it look like the Dementors might have killed everyone. It was a deliberate attempt to sow confusion."

"Why was Sirius Black in the Forbidden Forest yesterday?" Hermione asked.

"We were setting a trap for Harry Potter. I was to bring him back to my master."

"The Ministry officials that were with you, are they Death Eaters?" she asked.

"Macnair is. Bode and Croaker are spies for us. They´ve never been formally initiated as Death Eaters."

"Do you know anything about Charlie Weasley´s death?"

"Yeah, Macnair was responsible for it," he answered. "It was to punish Arthur Weasley for not joining my master´s forces."

Mr. Weasley´s face had a look of absolute murderous rage. Percy sat shaking his head as if he couldn´t believe what he was hearing.

"How many people in the Ministry are Death Eaters?" she asked.

"My master has recruited supporters and spies in every department. I don´t know how many there are, but there are at least thirty now."

"One last question for you," Hermione said as she levelled her eyes towards Fudge. "Is Minister Cornelius Fudge a Death Eater?"

"No, but he´s been a long-time supporter and spy."

The room erupted into chaos. Fudge stood up and started stammering excuses. Percy looked shocked and moved away from Fudge as quickly as possible. Judge Diggory banged his gavel violently, trying desperately to regain control of the courtroom.

A tall and very elderly looking wizard stood in the back of the room and commanded, "Sonorus!"

His voice was then magically amplified in the room. "As a ranking member of the International Confederation of Wizards, I would like to make a motion to recess from these current proceedings. We should offer the current Minister of Magic the ability to identify a barrister if he so chooses and in one hour´s time we shall reconvene to begin an inquiry into the charges that have been levelled against him. Along with the very real possibility that a confidence vote shall be called at any time."

Diggory looked up at the man and a relieved look crossed his face. "Is there a second?" he asked.

"SECOND!" the room seemed to shout in unison.

"All those in favour?" Diggory asked.

"AYE!" came the thunderous reply.

"We´re adjourned until further notice," Diggory said rapping his gavel.

The room erupted in noise once again. People were angrily denouncing Fudge. The words `Death Eater,´ `Fudge,´ and `disgrace,´ were heard repeatedly. The bailiffs didn´t know how to respond to the entire room standing and milling about.

At first there was confusion as to what was to happen with the prisoners. Harry sat in his chair and waited for someone to come forward. Finally Mr. Weasley came and spoke with Cotton Mathews, who nodded after awhile. Mr. Weasley then went and talked with several of the guards who came forward and ushered the five prisoners across the hall into a waiting conference room. They were unshackled and told that they had to remain in this room until further notice. The conference room had a massive oak table in the centre of the room surrounded by large carved wooden chairs.

As soon as he was unshackled Harry looked desperately around the room for Hermione. He needed to find her. He found himself pushing people aside looking for her. When his eyes finally met hers he felt like they were the only two people in the room. He called out her name, rushed to her and pulled her into his arms. He had a fleeting thought to simply give her a friendly congratulatory kiss on the cheek, but instead he wound up kissing her solidly on the mouth. This was the first time he had ever kissed a girl and as soon as his lips touched hers, the Veritaserum took hold and he found that his desire for her put all thoughts of a chaste kiss out of his mind. The overwhelming urge to kiss her that he had first felt at Christmas was now being completely surrendered to.

Harry´s passion was quickly met by Hermione´s lips, which responded to him. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. Her mouth opened and as their kiss deepened, Harry felt as if he was falling in her arms. His head was spinning out of control and he wondered how he had resisted kissing her for so long.

"Ahem," someone said quite loudly behind them.

The loud clearing of the throat brought Harry back to reality and reminded him that they were in a room full of people. He broke the kiss and saw Hermione´s closed eyes and her lips pursed in mid-pucker in the air. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him very surprised. They were still locked in an embrace and Harry was grinning down at her.

"Thanks Hermione," he beamed. "I knew you could do it. We would all be in Azkaban right now without your being there to help us. You were incredible."

Once again someone cleared their throat behind Harry. He turned around and saw that it was Professor Snape. Harry began to blush furiously and then let his arms drop from Hermione´s side. Snape came forward and extended his hand to her.

"Miss Granger, I wanted to extend to you my deepest gratitude. You did an admirable job in there. I was very impressed."

"Thank you, Professor Snape," Hermione squeaked as she shook his hand.

Professor Dumbledore made his way forward and also shook her hand.

"Yes, you did a fine job Miss Granger. I expect someday to see you as the Minister of Magic."

"Thank you," she gasped, "Thank you very much Professor Dumbledore."

"No, the thanks belong to you, Miss Granger," he continued. "Not only from those who you so ably defended, but the Magical Community at large. You helped to show that Justice means divining the Truth and not just administering a truth potion and asking one-sided questions."

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry interjected. "What do you think is going to happen now?"

"I am optimistic that all the charges against us will be dropped," he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "And that charges will soon be brought against Macnair, Bode, Croaker, Pettigrew, Avery and Fudge before the night is over."

Hagrid then came forward and embraced both Harry and Hermione in a large bear hug. Their feet were raised four feet in the air before he set them down.

"Blimey, you were ruddy brilliant, Hermione. I shoulda had you come an´ defend Buckbeak. I didn´ know what I was doin´, but you," and he squeezed her again. "You knew jus´ what to do."

Hermione looked like she had the wind knocked out of her and began to wheeze. Dumbledore stepped forward to usher Hagrid away to another part of the room.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, I´ll be fine. Just let me catch my breath," she gasped.

Then Sirius and Professor Figg stepped forward. Sirius was holding Soraya in his arms and reached down and gave Hermione a warm kiss on the cheek.

"Where were you when I was first arrested? I needed someone like you back then," he beamed and kissed her on the other cheek. "You were fantastic. The panel of witches and wizards were very impressed with you. You won´t have any trouble in finding an occupation when you graduate. Your difficulty will be in wading through all the hundreds of offers that´ll be coming your way."

Professor Figg then embraced her, "Thank you Hermione, for saving my family."

"I´m glad I could help," Hermione said modestly and then turned to Harry. "Why didn´t you tell me about your swallowing Pettigrew?"

"I couldn´t. We were surrounded by Ministry officials. I tried to give you subtle clues, but was afraid to say anything explicit. I knew that if I could produce him in front of a courtroom full of witnesses that it couldn´t be covered up."

"How did you know when to use that stuff in the bottle?" Sirius asked her.

"Harry told me that he´d sneeze three times when he needed it. But I had no idea why until he mouthed the words `habeus corpus´ right before he left the courtroom in recess. Habeus corpus is Latin for `show the body.´ As soon as I looked it up I understood because Harry had said something before we got on the minibus about needing to bring up Scabbers in the testimony," Hermione said laughing. "When I thought of how he was a snake Animagus, I realized what he must have done in the forest."

Soon food was brought into the conference room and everyone was milling about laughing, talking and eating. The room took on an almost party atmosphere. The worries of the last day seemed to have lifted and they were hoping that they´d soon have good news. They had just piled their plates with food when shouts and disturbances were heard from across the hall. A few minutes later, Moody walked in.

"They´re dropping all the charges against all of you," he growled. "You´ll be transported back to Hogwarts by the Knight Bus within the hour. The former Minister will be transported to Azkaban along with the Death Eaters and spies you apprehended awaiting their trials. They also issued a warrant for arrest out for Wallace Avery. Albus, they were wondering if you might stay around here to help in the full inquiry."

"I´ll stay through tomorrow evening and then I must get back to Hogwarts. I would recommend that Arthur Weasley be placed in charge of the matter. He´s been with the Ministry for decades and I´m certain that his loyalty has never wavered."

"Very well, I´ll tell them that you´ll help get things started, but that you won´t be in charge of the inquiry," Moody said as he clunked his way out of the room.

"And I think," Dumbledore said to Harry, "that there´s a good chance that your expulsion hearing might be cancelled due to recent events. Especially given the fact that the person filing the complaint against you has just been forcibly removed from office after having been revealed as an agent for Voldemort. You should also be aware that it was my good friend Albert Albini who moved to adjourn the proceedings. I think he probably saw enough testimony tonight to form an opinion regarding your integrity and where your loyalties lie."

Dumbledore then turned to Snape, "Severus, I´ll be leaving you in charge to see that everyone gets back to school safely on the Knight Bus. Please tell Professor McGonagall that I should be back at the school tomorrow night. I also need to see about the security at Privet Drive. I want to make sure that Fletcher and Lupin haven´t been detained and that yesterday´s attack hasn´t weakened its defences."

Sirius took Professor Figg´s hand and led her into a corner. He had a determined look on his face.

"What is it Sirius?" she asked.

He gently handed her their daughter and got on bended knee. "Arabella Figg, will you marry me?"

She looked at him, her face filled with emotion, "I would love to."

He stood up and began kissing her passionately, with baby Soraya squirming between them. When Sirius broke the kiss, he turned to Harry, "Will you be my Best Man?"

"Of course!"

"Hermione, I´d like you to be my Maid of Honour."

"Certainly, Professor Figg," she replied.

"Well, I guess all we have to do is decide where and when," said Sirius.

"At Hogwarts, of course," Dumbledore interjected. "We´ll have it on the day that the Hogwarts Express leaves so you can have it as intimate as you´d like. Anyone that stays like Mr. Potter and Miss Granger can take the Knight Bus home the next day. Congratulations you two. It has been far too long since we´ve had something to celebrate. So with that in mind, you have my approval to spare no expense on this celebration. And Sirius, you should stay in the faculty quarters tonight. You can go back to Little Whinging in the morning."

Dumbledore then leaned over and gave Professor Figg a warm kiss on the cheek, "I´m happy for you."

"The first thing I´m going to do when we get back to Hogwarts is send an owl to my parents," Sirius announced. "I need to tell them that their son is alive and well, innocent, cleared of all charges, that I´m hopelessly in love with the most incredible woman who´s agreed to marry me and that they are grandparents."

"I think they´re going to love getting that letter," Professor Figg said. "I´ve never met them before. Do you think they´ll like me?"

"They´ll adore you," he said embracing her, "and they´ll go crazy over Soraya. I´m sure that my mother will Apparate into Hogsmeade the minute she reads the letter. She won´t waste any time in getting to know her only grandchild."

"What´s she like?"

"She´s wonderful and umm, she´s heard a lot about you," Sirius said with a sly smile. "I used to tell her things about my job and she´d always interject that I needed to find a girl just like you to settle down with. So I wouldn´t worry too much about whether or not she´ll like you. She began using you as the gold standard for me to find a partner and that´s without even having met you. And that was long before I had fallen in love with you."

Professor Figg smiled and kissed her fiancé.

"Thanks, I don´t feel quite so nervous. Hermione, come over here," Professor Figg motioned, "we need to start talking about wedding plans. I think this weekend we should go to Hogsmeade and look at dresses."

Sirius walked up to Harry and spoke to him in an undertone, "Tonight when we go back on the Knight Bus, if you don´t profess your undying love to Hermione, then you´ll be the biggest fool I´ve ever met. You will never find another woman who is so devoted to you, that cares for you because of who you are and not due to your fame or looks. Do your best to make her forget every other boy she has ever met. Kiss her like she´s never been kissed before. I´ll do what I can to help you get some privacy."

Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded. He returned to Hermione´s side and slid his arm around her back and squeezed gently. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

Later as they all were leaving the Ministry of Magic behind, Harry and Hermione were about to enter the Knight Bus when Sirius tapped his godson on the shoulder. "Follow me, you two."

Sirius led them up the stairs to the second level on the bus and to the bed at the very back. There was no one else in any of the nearby beds. He conjured some curtains to surround the bed.

"Why don´t you two take this opportunity to just talk quietly or...maybe finish that kiss?" he said slyly.

Harry and Hermione blushed.

"Umm, Sirius, don´t you think that might get in the papers if we went behind a curtain?" asked Hermione.

"Let´s hope that they´ve got a little bit more important news than idle gossip to cover tomorrow. You know, like how the trial went and how Fudge was disgraced and removed from office? Maybe print something about there being proof that Voldemort has risen. Or maybe they might even issue a retraction or two about me."

Sirius then motioned to Harry. They walked a few paces away and Sirius said to him quietly, "Keep it clean. Hands on top of the clothes and stay on top of the blankets."

Harry nodded and felt his face blush even further.

Snape came striding towards them and looked very disturbed. "Black what is the meaning of this curtain? Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, I think we need to remember some propriety here. We are still officially on Hogwarts´ business. I think this curtain would serve to allow inappropriate behavior."

"Severus," said Sirius softly, "Let´s give the kids some privacy. They´re young and in love..."

"And I thought she said they weren´t a couple," Snape said coolly.

"Well, um, I think all that has changed. And I believe that part of her testimony fell under the category, `I think thou dost protest too much.´ Severus, after a day like we´ve all had, they deserve to have a little celebratory kissing. Believe me, they won´t do much more. These beds are charmed so if anyone tries to umm, use them for other purposes that the bedsprings will have an amplified squeak heard throughout the bus."

"And how would you know that?" Snape asked.

"Well, in my younger and reckless days..." Sirius began.

Snape waved his hands in trying to stop him from continuing, "Of course. I don´t know why I questioned your knowledge of such things." He then turned to Hermione, "Very well, I shall allow this curtain to stay. But I remind you to not bring any embarrassment to Hogwarts. I would also like to mention to Miss Granger that the effects of Veritaserum will still be in effect for about another hour or so on Potter."

Sirius then turned to Snape, "Severus, I never properly thanked you for helping Harry to rescue me. I´ve also never apologized for the horrible prank I pulled on you so many years ago. I was a prat, a blooming idiot and a bloody asshole. I was reckless and there´s no excuse for what I did and I want to say that I am sorry. I´m glad that James had the presence of mind to intervene on your behalf before anything tragic happened."

Snape nodded, "Thank you, Sirius. I appreciate that."

Sirius clapped his hand on Snape´s back and said, "Let me buy you a drink. There´s a bar on the third floor. Maybe we can try to put aside all the garbage from our childhood years and start working on getting to know each other as adults."

Snape eyed him warily as they walked away together towards the front of the bus.

Harry turned to Hermione. They both had wide-open mouths.

"I can´t believe it," Harry began. "Sirius and Snape seem to be trying to get along with each other. I never thought I´d see that."

Hermione took him by the hand and they slipped behind the curtain and sat down on the bed. They looked at each other and Harry´s heart melted. He took her face and held it in his hands. As he gazed into her dark brown eyes he knew that he had to tell her what was in his heart. He wasn´t sure if he was just following Sirius´s advice, if it was due to the Veritaserum, or if he simply needed to admit to himself and to her all the feelings of attraction he had been experiencing towards her for months. All he knew was that he had to tell her exactly how he felt about her.

"You are so beautiful. I realized today just how much you mean to me. I love your passion for justice, your quick wit and your unswerving loyalty. You´re not only my best friend, but you´re the woman I love," he said softly.

"How long have you felt this way towards me?" she asked.

"I started feeling strongly attracted to you at Christmas when we talked after that reading I gave you. I had never really seen you as a whole person before and my heart went out to you when I saw you in such pain. I knew that it wouldn´t be the right time to say anything about how I felt towards you then, it would have only complicated things. And then you wore that red dress. I had a hard time controlling myself and not kiss you then. I was afraid that it might ruin our friendship if you didn´t feel the same way towards me."

"I wanted you to kiss me then," she said. "I wanted you to tell me to dump Viktor. I would have done it. But it´s probably a good thing you didn´t. I was such an emotional train wreck then. If you had told me that night that you were interested in me, I´m sure I would have scared you off by being so needy."

Harry brushed the hair off her face. "Today when you said so confidently that we weren´t a couple, I began to think that maybe you weren´t interested in me."

"I had to say it that way. I told the truth, but I was afraid that if Judge Diggory knew what was in my heart, that he would never have allowed me to defend you. I´ve wanted us to be a couple for so long. I´ve dreamt of us together. This past month I had to literally stop myself from kissing you half a dozen times."

"Me, too," Harry admitted. "I´ve been so worried that I might not see you again if I were expelled. I would have made my move after you broke up with Krum, but there was that picture in the paper. I didn´t know if you´d ever forgive me. Then after Charlie´s death, I became really worried about your safety more than ever. I didn´t want to make you any more of a target for Death Eaters than you already are. Now, I realize it doesn´t matter and I can´t deny my feelings for you any longer."

Hermione´s eyes started to water and she leaned forward to kiss Harry. The Knight Bus jerked forward with a loud Bang! This threw them backwards onto the bed with Hermione on top of him. Their mouths hungrily connected and their kissing became intense.

Harry´s mind began swimming with images of Hermione. He saw her the first day they met on the Hogwarts Express...being attacked by a mountain troll...going under Fluffy´s trap door...her throwing her arms around him before he faced Quirrell alone...Nearly Headless Nick´s Deathday party...her pouring the Polyjuice Potion in glasses...looking like an overgrown cat...then petrified...her screaming "you solved it!" after he vanquished the Basilisk...carrying Crookshanks in Diagon Alley...hiding her head behind a book when McGonagall seized his Firebolt... telling Hagrid that she would help him defend Buckbeak... slapping Malfoy...the look of fear on her face when they first saw Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack...flying with her on Buckbeak to save Sirius...walking with her at the magical spectacle of the Quidditch World Cup...the terror later that night in the woods...the anger she felt at Winky´s mistreatment by Crouch and Diggory...helping Harry with Summoning charms before the first task...walking in on Viktor Krum´s arm at the Yule Ball...

That last image stuck in Harry´s mind. He was now trying to actively change that image. He saw himself dropping Parvati´s arm and walking over to Hermione - tapping her on the shoulder and taking her in his arms and kissing her for the whole school to see.

Harry started to feel a warmth spread through his veins and throughout his body. His mind seemed to sharpen and he realized that the Veritaserum was wearing off. New sensations started to flood his body. Harry became very aware of Hermione´s body lying on top of him and her firm developing breasts pressing down on his chest. Her hands were running through his thick long hair. One of her legs was resting across his body and one of her hips was gently grinding into his pelvis. He felt as if steam were rising in his body. Hermione seemed to have sensed that the intensity of his passion was now surging because she rolled onto her side and Harry turned over to meet her gaze. They lay there smiling and looking at each other.

"I love you, Harry Potter. I started loving you the day that you jumped on the back of that mountain troll and stuck your wand up its nose. It was so incredibly brave and so incredibly stupid. I couldn´t believe that anyone would risk their life for me. I´ve been in love with you ever since," Hermione said softly.

Tears started to form in his eyes as he began to kiss her tenderly and then passionately. Harry finally understood what Sirius had told him about love all those months ago. Love was the most powerful magic he had ever felt and his heart felt like it had swollen in his body and was about to burst. He was in love and was loved in return - it felt far better than he had ever imagined.

*

After they left the Knight Bus, Harry and Hermione walked slowly arm in arm back to Gryffindor Tower. Neither wanted to enter the common room and end the evening. They stopped and kissed in front of the Fat Lady.

"´Tis a little past curfew isn´t it?" she asked them slyly.

"Carpe diem," Harry responded.

"All right you two," the Fat Lady said as she swung the portrait open.

They climbed in through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. It was deserted and silent.

"Would you like to talk?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. Harry looked at the fireplace and thought it would be nice to have a fire, even though they didn´t need it for warmth. "Incendio!" he called and immediately there was a roaring fire. Hermione took Harry by the hand and led him to the large wingback chair sitting in front of the fireplace. He sat down and she curled up in his lap. They sat there gazing into each other´s eyes. Harry´s left arm was wrapped around her back while he softly stroked the side of her face.

"Harry, when I saw that picture of you looking at me. I was embarrassed, but I was also encouraged. I knew that you were starting to see me as a girl and not just as a friend."

"I couldn´t miss that fact when you were wearing that dress."

"Harry, have you ever dreamt about me?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "Constantly. I´ve dreamt of holding you, kissing you and...touching you all over."

Harry brought his face to hers and gave her full lingering kisses. His right hand went down to her waist and slowly moved up to caress her left breast. Hermione uttered a soft moan and she began unbuttoning her blouse. She took his hand and placed it underneath the silky fabric of her bra. Harry felt the hair on his scalp tingle. The sensation of feeling her breast was far better than he had ever imagined. He softly pinched the hard little nipple between his thumb and forefinger and then slowly felt the small little bumps on the areola.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione murmured as she nibbled on an earlobe.

She shifted in his lap and moved his hand to cup her exposed breast. She put her hand behind his head and started drawing him near her. Harry felt his breath on her chest and was a centimetre from kissing it when...

Creakkkk!

"Harry is that you?" asked Ron´s familiar voice coming down the stairs.

Harry´s head snapped back and he jerked his hand out of Hermione´s blouse. She was busily redoing her buttons and trying to smooth her hair.

Ron came into view and saw the two of them together in the wingback chair. There would be no way to deny what had been happening between them.

"Umm, Harry, Hermione, were you two..." Ron sniffed.

Harry blinked. "Er, we were....kissing," Harry said with a goofy grin on his face. Ron would have had to find out sooner or later about them. There was no point in trying to lie to Ron when he was caught with Hermione sitting on his lap.

"So are you two...?"

"A couple," Harry said happily.

"Oh," said Ron stupidly. He didn´t seem like he really wanted to deal with that fact just yet. "What happened yesterday and today? Where were you and Professors Dumbledore, Snape, and Figg? There were all kinds of wild rumours flying around, but I don´t know what to believe."

Harry and Hermione stood up and moved over to sit down on one end of the couch. They sat holding hands and she leaned against Harry. Ron sat down on the other end of the couch and looked very uncomfortable.

"Well, first off, Professor Figg gave birth," said Hermione licking her lips.

"What? She was pregnant? I thought Malfoy was just being mean about her gaining a little weight," exclaimed Ron.

"Well, she tried her best to keep it a secret. She´s tall and so it doesn´t show as much as it does with shorter women," explained Hermione. "I mean I´m sure that when I get pregnant I´ll look like I´ve got a watermelon under my skirt."

"Thanks for the visual," Ron said shaking his head.

"Well it´s true," Hermione said defensively. "Tall women have a lot of advantages over us `vertically challenged´ women. That´s just one of them. They´ve got a longer trunk so they carry their pregnancies differently. Plus she had been wearing full robes, which can hide a lot."

"She´s also pretty adept at Disillusionment charms," added Harry. "Anyway, that´s why we left yesterday after breakfast. She sent us word that it was time."

"Why did she want you there, Harry?" asked Ron his eyes narrowing.

"Because Sirius is the father and he was there, too," answered Harry.

"What?" said Ron in visible shock. "Did you know about those two?"

Harry nodded. "Umm, yeah. You see, Professor Figg used to be my babysitter."

"What?" Ron and Hermione asked in unison.

"Except she didn´t look like she does now. She took an aging potion and looked like she was in her eighties. She was in charge of my security growing up. Remember at the beginning of the year when she said she had provided security for a private client? Dumbledore hired her to provide my protection. Anyway, last summer she and Sirius started tutoring me extensively. That´s how I got so good at Transfiguration. They helped me become an Animagus."

"W-what kind of animal are you?" Ron asked nervously.

"A snake."

Ron looked disgusted.

"I know. I´m not too thrilled with that either. Anyway, last summer when I saw them together it was pretty obvious how they felt about one another. When she came here to teach, Sirius stayed at her house watching over the neighbourhood. I hated not telling you two about my summer, but they were worried about his safety. They swore me to secrecy. Anyway, I didn´t realize she was pregnant until last week when she asked me to stay after class. She propped her feet up and I saw the way her robe hung on her body. That was when she asked me to help her when she was in labour."

"Sirius was there at the birth," Hermione interjected, "but I didn´t recognize him. He had changed his appearance and voice and even though he was right there beside me I didn´t know it was him."

"So she gave birth and then..."

Harry then told Ron all about Sirius leaving a little while after Soraya was born, his being taken hostage and how Harry and Snape rescued Sirius and captured the Death Eaters. Then how things got turned upside-down after they returned to the castle. How instead of the Death Eaters being taken away by the Ministry of Magic, that Harry, Sirius, and Professors Dumbledore, Snape, and Figg were arrested and taken for an emergency trial and how Hagrid, the midwife and Hermione were brought along as material witnesses because they were at the birth but not considered part of the conspiracy to safeguard Sirius.

Ron was fascinated to hear about the court proceedings and how Hermione was able to convince the assembled panel to allow her to act as a barrister. He shook his head in wonder. "They obviously didn´t know how intelligent and clever you are."

"Once she started speaking in front of the assembled crowd, they didn´t have a prayer to dismiss her. She was so impassioned that Judge Diggory was shamed into allowing her to be our barrister," Harry said with pride.

Ron became livid as Harry and Hermione explained how Draco Malfoy had tried to pass himself off as Ron using Polyjuice Potion. "I´m going to kill Malfoy. When the investigators from the Ministry came and started tearing apart all of our possessions looking for whatever it was they wanted, they must have found a loose hair of mine somewhere."

Harry nodded. "The ministry is riddled with spies for Voldemort. I don´t envy your father for working there right now. Oh and you didn´t hear the best part --"

Ron leaned forward, "Go on..."

"Fudge is no longer the Minister of Magic. When Hermione got to my cross-examination, I wound up regurgitating Wormtail in front of the whole gallery. They then had living proof that Sirius was innocent. Hermione got to ask some questions of that damned rat and he implicated Fudge as being a Voldemort supporter!"

"No. Way." Ron said with his jaw wide open. "But Harry, how did you get Wormtail inside of you?"

"Oh, when we were in the forest I saw him in his rat form. I turned into my Animagus form and swallowed him," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"Ewww, and then you just threw him up in court? I think I´m gonna be sick. But, ah, how come Wormtail wasn´t, you know, digested?" Ron asked looking a bit queasy.

"I put a spell on him before I swallowed him," Harry explained. "I got the idea from that Greek Mythology book Hermione showed you. I thought if I could just capture him that way, then I wouldn´t have to worry about that vermin escaping again. I was more worried about him transforming back to his human state while inside me. Thankfully my spell worked to keep him safely in his rat form while in my stomach. Anyway, they recessed our proceedings so they could investigate Fudge. An hour or so later we were told that we were free to go and that Sirius´s name was cleared!"

"Wow! I can´t...I can´t believe I WASN´T THERE!" Ron bellowed. "Of all the things we´ve been through together, why wasn´t I there for this?"

"I think Fudge wanted you to be a ringer to provide damning testimony. But they couldn´t trust that you would say the things they wanted said to implicate me, so they got Malfoy to do it because he at least knows us and could try to imitate you. No one would be able to get away with trying to imitate Hermione," Harry gave her hand a squeeze.

"I´m going to kill Malfoy this time," repeated Ron coldly.

"We´re not sure if he did this on his own or if he was under the Imperius curse. He´s still being held at the Ministry and will not be here tomorrow to take the O.W.L.s." said Hermione.

"Oh yeah, those," Ron said simply. "Well if it turns out he wasn´t under the Imperius then maybe the Ministry will do us all a favour and throw his bum in Azkaban."

"That would be nice," said Harry. "It turns out that your prediction did come true. I thought at first it just described Professor Figg giving birth, but it covered Sirius, Pettigrew and Fudge. You´re going to be an amazing prophet."

"Thanks," said Ron beginning to blush.

Harry remembered something, "Oh and you´ll never believe this, but Snape actually complimented Hermione for her legal defence."

Ron shook his head muttering, "And I missed it."

"I think he was very grateful that he didn´t have to testify," said Harry. "There´s no telling what he might have said under Veritaserum and since he´s a former Death Eater, I´m sure he´s got some stories to tell."

"That´s very true," Hermione nodded. "Oh and Sirius and Professor Figg are getting married."

Ron threw up his hands, "That figures. What else happened today?"

Harry and Hermione shared a look with one another and Ron started blushing furiously. Hermione then shifted in her seat.

"Speaking of O.W.L.s, I think we should be go to bed. We need some sleep," said Hermione as she stood.

"Yeah, we should probably turn in," Harry said as he stood. "Sorry I pushed you yesterday, mate."

"That´s okay," Ron said. "I understand now why you were in such a hurry and why you couldn´t tell me anything."

They walked to the foot of the stairway and then Hermione turned and gave Harry a full kiss on the mouth. "Goodnight."

He watched her as she climbed the stairs with his heart feeling as light as a feather. "Goodnight," he said breathlessly.

"You sure had a full day," said Ron.

"Yeah, it started out that I was standing trial and could have been sentenced to a life term in Azkaban. We wound up clearing my godfather´s name who had been wrongly imprisoned for a crime he didn´t commit, the Minister of Magic was exposed and arrested for being corrupt, I helped to get three Death Eaters and two spies arrested, there´s going to be a full internal investigation at the Ministry of Magic, I´m going to be the best man at Sirius´s wedding and I fell in love with my best friend. All in all, it´s been a good day," said Harry as he was climbing the steps with a smile that ran from ear to ear.

Harry didn´t care what Ron thought of him and Hermione being together. Ron would have to learn how to deal with it. Harry knew that he probably wasn´t being fair with him, after all it had only been two weeks since he had psychically willed Ron and Hermione apart. Right now Harry didn´t care about fairness. He was in love and when he thought of Hermione´s kisses, his entire body felt incredibly warm. He knew what he´d be dreaming of tonight.

**

End notes: I´d like to thank the following people for reviewing my work: Acyla; Cheerdancr89; Cousin Yogurt 99 aka ~*Sparky*~; daftyduck; Habeus Corpus; Hermes Weasely (aka Lilinator), Kel; kew, Lisse Granger, Maria 1314; Mione Anne Potter; sb,is,sos,2.mi,hart; Sonya Rose Jamie Potter; and vasquezc. And a special thanks to sbulloch and Hermes Weasely who chose my story to be their first registered review! I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I see that it´s someone´s first posting. And for those guests who posted but aren´t registered yet...what are you waiting for? The water´s nice, come on in.

Stay tuned. The final chapter is coming soon. The famous playwright Anton Chekhov once wrote "one must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." With that in mind, I introduced a certain prop back in Chapter 5 that has not been used yet. I do like to take colourful risks with my writing. So never fear, I wouldn´t introduce that kind of prop unless I was willing to have it be used. This of course will give a slightly different meaning to the phrase `climax of a story.´ Besides that, I have a few more surprises up my sleeve.