“There were definitely five horcruxes,” Twilight said. She leaned back into the comfortable chair across the desk from Albus. They both looked at the ruined ring on his desk.
The ring was blackened by the corrosive basilisk fang, now in the box beside it. One stab from across the room was all it had taken. The ring’s protective spells had barely had time to react to the assault.
Still, Albus stared at the ring forlornly. A priceless treasure desecrated by an egotistical madman. The Gaunt family ring. Handed down through the ages, inherited from the Peverells.
And, if he was correct, one of the Deathly Hallows.
He had been hasty. He should have kept the cloak for a few weeks more. Then he would have had all three, together. The dream of wizards and witches for centuries.
The wand had been the first true clue that the Hallows existed. He knew it the moment he touched it all those years ago. He had ignored Gellies’ bragging beforehand, but when he had won the duel, he knew. And Gellie, despite his protestations, hadn’t really wanted to win that duel.
No more than had Albus. Not if it meant killing the other. Which was the only way the wand could lose — not wanting to win lost the wizard the wand’s allegiance.
It felt more . . . alive . . . than any wand he had ever encountered. He knew, deep inside himself, instantly, what it was.
The cloak was probably a Hallow. No definite clues there, though. Just that it had survived intact and in perfect working condition for centuries. Most cloaks lost their effectiveness in a few decades.
A distant ancestor of the Potters had married a daughter of the Peverells, he had discovered in his research. Just as had a distant ancestor of the Gaunts.
The Peverell ring, he could see, was definitely a Hallow. The clue was deeply carved into it. A round black stone with triangle containing a circle, both bisected by a vertical line. The Peverell coat of arms.
The stone was insert in a gold ring, now broken and scared. The stone itself had a jagged crack through the middle of it. Had it been destroyed? Were its legendary powers lost forever?
If only he had kept the cloak for another week, he would have known if the legends were true, that the three items were gifts from the avatar of death.
Or merely extremely powerful artefacts? Albeit ones created by a wizard who could rival Merlin in power.
Only experimentation would find the secret. Experimentation he would do when he was alone.
Maybe he could borrow the cloak back from Harry?
“You’re sure?” Albus said, glancing at Twilight.
“Yes. It fits the curve nicely. There are two we haven’t found yet, for sure.” She sighed. “But we don’t know if there are any horcruxes previous to this one.” She pursed her lips, thinking.
“Then we know he has six parts to his soul with these, so if he wanted seven, he would need one more horcrux,” the wizard said.
“But was he planning on one more? Or had he already created it? Was Harry the accidental fifth or sixth?”
They sat a moment, each lost in their thoughts.
Dumbledore sighed and opened his secret drawer. He reverently put the destroyed ring in it. A moment later, the basilisk fang joined it. He closed the drawer.
“It is so weird,” Twilight said, “To know that those two items were on your desk, and now I have no idea where they are.” She shook her head and shivered.
“Thank you for your assistance in this matter,” he said.
“Gladly.”
“I might have another in a few weeks.”
She smiled broadly. “Excellent!” She paused a moment, as if considering, then said, “I wonder if you could help me, now,” Twilight said.
Albus quirked one of his eyebrows and slightly tilted his head. After all the Equestrian had done in the last few months, she had never really asked him for anything. Ordered, perhaps. Berated, certainly.
And not without cause, he had to admit.
“It has to do with Sirius Black.”
The other eyebrow shot up.
“I’ve read all the accounts of what happened the night Harry was orphaned.” She looked at him.
“And the facts are lacking. And what facts are presented seem to be contradictory.”
He frowned.
“Harry and I would like your help in determining the truth.” Then she explained the contradictions: Sirius betraying his best friend for no apparent reason; Sirius being the godfather; Sirius hating all Death Eaters; the unlikeliness of a child hiding his true feelings from both all his friends and the adults around him; how his own family vilified him for being against Voldemort; his wand never being tested for spells; and the real impossibility of an explosion tearing apart muggles yet leaving only a finger of the victim?
And then she asked why Sirius, unlike most of the known Death Eaters, was never given a trial, not even an interview. Others caught at the scene of their crimes, such as at the Longbottoms’ home, all received trials. Why hadn’t he?
“He supposedly was laughing and saying he had killed them. Did no one suspect he might have been hit with a laughing charm? He was fighting another wizard, after all. And then maybe hit with a confundus, as well? Both would explain his actions when captured,” she reasoned.
“In Equestria, if someone had presented those facts in an accusation to the Princesses, Sirius would have been questioned immediately. And if he refused to answer, he would have had to have been released on insufficient evidence.”
She stared at Albus. “Yet you have him in Azkaban.” She shook her head. “He was one of your fighters in your secret Order of the Phoenix. Why didn’t you see him? Why didn’t you want to know what had happened? A commander should always question when his troops get in trouble. Especially if it’s something that is contrary to their character. It could have been a setup, after all.”
She shook her head. “It seems as if someone wanted him in prison, and didn’t care about evidence. They just used popular opinion against him because he was the son of Orion and Walburga Black. And the reputation of the Black family.”
He leaned back. He had never really considered the evidence that way. In the confusion of the last days of the war, just getting the Death Eaters on trial had been a struggle in the Wizengamot. And the attacks had continued for weeks afterwards, further muddying the waters. Only the Death Eaters they had caught in the act had gone to Azkaban. And they were ones who had fought back against the aurors and been captured at the scene.
And Minister for Magic Bagnold had assured him that Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Barty Crouch, Senior, had taken Sirius Black’s confession, himself. That the evidence was incontrovertible. That Sirius Black, James Potter’s close friend, had been an undercover Death Eater, guilty of betraying the Potters, and killing Peter Pettigrew. And guilty of killing a dozen harmless muggles.
Albus had believed his friends in the Ministry. He hadn’t considered that maybe they held grudges against the flamboyant wizard. Or his parents.
He had known the Order had had a security leak, all those years ago. There had just been too many occasions where his people had been led into a trap. At first, he had thought it was Remus, the werewolf. But seeing how devastated he had been on discovering his friends were dead, Albus had quickly realized that the wolf couldn’t have been the problem. And with Sirius’ “confession” it seemed the traitor had been identified.
He sighed. Then told the princess all he knew that had happened that night. He had been fighting other Death Eaters when the alert had happened. He had sent Hagrid as the only wizard he could spare, and whose magic resistance might have stood a chance against whatever was happening in Godrick’s Hollow. And Hagrid had told him of the events at the Potters’ house.
Twilight listened closely, then said, “That makes no sense.” She frowned darkly. “If Sirius Black had wanted to kill Harry, he had plenty of time to do so before Hagrid arrived. And Sirius could have been well away by the time he did arrive. No one would have suspected Sirius in the least.”
Albus had to admit she had a point. Reluctantly, he said, “What would you have me do? I can’t release him without solid evidence.”
She grimaced. “You mean like the ‘solid’ evidence used to convict him?”
He sighed. “The Wizengamot and Minister Fudge would fight me on this, if I tried to get him released without evidence. As far as they are concerned, it is done and over with.”
“I want him to have a trial. In front of witnesses. To ask him if he’s a Death Eater. To ask him if he betrayed his friends. To ask him if he supported Voldemort. And to test his wand, assuming the Ministry still has it.”
She shifted in her chair. “I’ve tried having a solicitor look into it, but no one in the Ministry will talk to him. They all dismissed his arguments as irrelevant. That alone tells me there’s more going on than someone wants us to know. If the wizard was truly guilty, why not talk about it? Why not spread the truth of his heinous actions? Why not show everyone the conclusive evidence? Why depend on rumours and popular opinion to convict a man?”
She sighed. “Unless he’s innocent, they know it, and they want him to remain in Azkaban.”
She leaned forward. “You can ask to see his wand, and test it before witnesses. Do it quickly, before anyone can taint the evidence.”
He leaned back in his chair, and stroked his beard.
“It the wand test is inconclusive, ask to visit the wizard himself. Talk to him. See what he remembers. Find out if he really did betray his friends. At the very least, ask why he did it.” She shrugged. “If he admits it, then the case is settled. No trial is necessary.” She stared at Albus. “If you meet with him and say he is guilty,” she grimaced, “I will drop the matter.”
It was her turn to lean back in her chair and wait.
It was a long wait.
Finally, Albus stirred. “Come, let’s do it now. We’ll view his wand and see what we can glean from that.” He walked to the floo, threw in the floo-powder, and said, “Ministry of Magic, Atrium.”
The Ministry was mostly closed on weekends, barring emergencies, but there was always a guard on duty. They headed across the large lobby to a desk with the sign SECURITY suspended over it.
Twilight had never been in the atrium before, and he watched as she looked around interestedly. She barely glanced at the highly polished, dark wood floor, but did notice that the peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that continually moved and changed — the runes that protected the ministry from muggle discovery and kept the ministry workers safe. The many gilded fireplaces on either side of the long hall, set in shiny dark wood walls, were empty, at the moment.
She most certainly did notice the fountain halfway down the atrium’s length. The larger than life-size golden statues stood in the middle of a circular pool. The symbolism of the centaur, goblin, and house-elf staring adoringly at the wizard and witch was hard to miss, and he was sure she hadn’t. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur’s arrow, the tip of the goblin’s hat, and each of the house-elf’s ears, so that the tinkling hiss of falling water filled the atrium.
As the only ones present, their footsteps echoed through the hall, backed by the tinkling water from the fountain.
Albus found himself blushing slightly at the look she gave him as they passed the fountain.
“Chief Warlock!” said the badly shaven wizard in peacock-blue robes as they approached behind the desk. He hastily dropped the Playwizard he had been reading into a drawer.
“I have a visitor I’m escorting,” said Dumbledore, gesturing toward Twilight.
“Step over here,” said the wizard, smiling uncertainly at the Head of the Wizengamot.
Twilight walked closer to him and watched curiously as the wizard held up a long golden rod. It was thin and flexible. He waved it up and down Twilight’s front and back.
He put down the golden instrument and held out his hand. “Wand, please,” the security wizard said politely.
The wizard placed Twilight’s wand onto a strange brass instrument. It looked like a set of scales, but with only one dish. It began to vibrate. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore this off and read the writing upon it.
“Eleven inches, two alicorn-hairs core, been in use four . . . months? That correct?” He frowned and reread the parchment, then looked back up at the clearly adult witch.
“Yes, it is. I got it in August.”
He shrugged. “I keep this,” he said, impaling the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. “And this is yours,” he added, gently handing the wand to Twilight.
“Thank you,” she said. Smiling as she took it back and slid it into her holster.
“Thank you, Eric,” Albus said, eyes twinkling.
The wizard’s eyes grew wide, and he blushed, flattered that the Headmaster remembered him from Hogwarts. “No, thank you, Chief Warlock. I hope your business today goes well.”
The wizard slowly sat back down, and watched as the two headed for the gates at the end of the Atrium. It didn’t take them long.
With a great jangling and clattering a lift descended in front of them and the golden grille slid back. Twilight and Albus moved inside it. Neither had anything to say after Albus pressed the appropriate button.
A voice, Albus knew it was a spell, announced each floor as they passed it. Finally, the voice said, “Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services.”
They exited and headed down the hall. Albus lead the way into the Auror Headquarters. A young auror sat at a desk just inside the door. He straightened as they entered. He also had been reading a book — a training manual. He laid it on the desk, stood, and said, “May I help you, Chief Warlock?”
Albus smiled and stroked his beard. “Yes, Jim, I believe you can. I would like to see Sirius Black’s wand, and test it with the prior incantato spell. I just discovered that that test had never been done.”
The wizard, flattered that Albus remembered his name, said, “Why? He was convicted ten years ago.”
“I’m afraid not. He was never given a trial. And someone has raised the point that without performing that spell on his wand, which was never done, we can’t be sure he was the cause of the explosion that killed so many.”
The auror frowned. “I’d like to help, but only the Head Auror is allowed to give that permission, especially considering whose wand we’re talking about.”
Albus nodded genially. “I know, so if you could notify Rufus of my presence and request, he can supply such permission.”
The young wizard stood uncertain for a moment, then nodded. He walked over to a fireplace, ignited it, and floo-called Rufus Scrimgeour. Rufus was not pleased, but minutes later he was standing in front of the Chief Warlock.
“What’s this about pulling Sirius Black’s wand?” he demanded gruffly.
Dumbledore carefully explained what they had realized — that the available facts just didn’t seem to support the theories.
Frowning, the auror said, “Anyone but Black, I could do it without question. For him, I’d better contact Amelia.”
Ten minutes later, the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was nodding her head thoughtfully. “You’re right. Well, we can settle this rather quickly. Rufus, take us to the wand lockup.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were looking at each other, stunned. A shield spell, a tracking spell, an apparition, a long-range tracking spell, an animagus reveal spell, and a tracking spell were the first six spells that came off the wand. The wand repeated the last four spells several times.
“Are you sure this is Black’s wand?” asked Amelia, looking at Head of the Aurors.
“Positive,” said Rufus. “It matches all his records and this,” he held up an evidence ticket, “shows that this is the wand that was taken from him. The seal shows it hasn’t been taken from the box since it was put in it ten years ago.”
“Well,” said Twilight dryly, “we know he is innocent of the charges of killing Peter Pettigrew and the muggles in that street.”
Amelia stared at the purple-haired Equestrian. She had read about the Equestrians at Hogwarts, Albus knew.
Rufus took a breath, then said, “But he’s still guilty of betraying the Potters and their deaths! And being a Death Eater.”
“Maybe,” said the Director.
Scrimgeour gave her an uncertain look.
“He never had a trial, so we really don’t know, now do we?”
“He confessed!”
“But to what? Everyone thought he was confessing to killing Peter and the muggles.” She pointed at the wand. “But they were wrong, weren’t they?”
She looked at the Chief Warlock. “I think a visit to Azkaban is in order.” She sighed. “Because this concerns Sirius Black I should advise the Minister I am going there. But it’s not necessary.” She glanced at the three members of the Ministry and Twilight.
It took only another ten minutes before they were standing outside the Auror Station opposite Azkaban. The boat trip across the water took another thirty minutes. All five wore the Dementor medallions to protect them from the frightening creatures.
Despite the heavy use of warming charms, they were all goose-bumped from the cold. They were met at the entrance to the prison by one of the Dementors. Albus could see the wide-eyed and horrified look on Princess Twilights face as the creature opened the gate to meet them.
“I am the Ministry Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones. Take us to prisoner Peorth Colhx three nine zero.” Amelia said firmly to the creature, her hand on the medallion.
It floated impassively for a few minutes, then drifted away from the gate. After a moment, the group followed. Despair hung around them like an invisible cloak. Dumbledore cast a patronus, which then flew above him. The warmth it radiated made them instinctively cluster closer to him.
They followed the creature as it went lower and lower in the prison-tower until finally they stood in front of a particular cage in the row built into the corridor wall.
Amelia quickly cast a spell to keep their conversation private — both ways.
The wizard on the rock bed in the cage just looked at them hollowly. At first, Dumbledore thought the wizard might be mindless, given his blank stare. After a moment, though, he frowned, stood, and staggered to the bars separating them. Sirius Black was a mere shadow of himself, compared to how he had looked and acted ten years ago.
“Headmaster?” he managed to croak. “They finally told you they arrested me?” He stared at the old wizard, hope in his eyes.
The three ministry officials exchanged looks. Amelia Bones stepped slightly forward. “Sirius Black,” she said.
The wan wizard turned his head to look at her. He squinted and frowned. “Amelia?” Then he looked at the other man. “Rufus?” He looked at Twilight and just stared. “I don’t know you,” he mumbled.
“Sirius Black,” Amelia repeated, “Are you a Death Eater?”
He leaned his head back, then frowned deeply. “NEVER,” he said as loudly as he could. “I would NEVER be a Death Eater. I’d rather die first.” He looked lost for a moment. “James is dead. Lily, too. I saw them. Just lying there. Dead,” he whispered. “Why aren’t I dead instead of them?” He perked up, “Harry is safe! I gave him to Hagrid.” He turned back to the Chief Warlock. “Harry’s safe, right? You have him safe, right?”
Albus nodded, “Yes. Harry is safe. And quite well.”
“How did He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named . . . ,”
“Voldemort, Amelia,” Albus chided.
She gave him an irritated glance, and started again. “How did He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named find the Potters.”
Sirius Black slammed his head into the bars, starling them. “It’s my fault! I killed them!” he cried. “I talked them into changing the Secret Keeper to Peter!” He sobbed. “I said I would act as a decoy. No one would suspect little nothing Peter. But everyone knew James was my brother. I was the obvious choice. The Death Eaters would come after me! Not Peter.
“And I could take care of myself. Peter was barely average.” He stopped and stared into nothing. Then he laughed. “Peter fooled us, he fooled us good.” He stared around wildly. “Peter! Where’s that rat Peter!” he said viciously.
He leaned against the bars and looked up at the Headmaster. “Peter was the leak. He had joined the Death Eaters months ago, not long after we graduated.”
He banged his head against the bars, again. “I gave their lives to old Voldie. I served them up on a platter.” He was barely standing up.
Amelia looked at him for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” she said.
He looked at her. “I’d swear on my life and magic that what I said was true, but,” he looked around the small cell he occupied glumly, “As you can see, I don’t have my wand.”
Then he abruptly lurched sideways, to stand in front of her. “Do you have veritaserum? I’d gladly take veritaserum.” He stuck out his tongue as if he expected her to pop a few drops on it right then. After a moment he closed his mouth and appeared disappointed.
“Amelia! How nice of you to stop by.” He stood straight. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you tea. How have you been?”
She turned to Jim. “I think we’ve seen enough,” she said. “Open the door.”
Albus gave the witch a significant look, and a nod. He had taken a good look into Sirius’ mind when the wizard was right in front of him. He had delved deep enough to determine that the wizard was telling the truth.
It wouldn’t hold up in court, in fact it couldn’t, given that he had acquired the information without the subject’s consent. But it had been enough for him. His student had been left to rot in a corrupt institution’s prison for ten years. He wouldn’t stay another day.
Jim looked horrified. He moved as fast as he could to open the cage’s door.
Seeing the door open, Sirius almost fell out into the corridor.
“Don’t try to walk,” Albus told him, “Let me carry you.”
Getting out of the prison took far less time than getting in, even with manoeuvring a burden via the locomotor charm.
“This will set the wizarding world on fire,” murmured Rufus.
“Won’t it just,” said Amelia.
Rufus shook his head sadly. “Who would have thought such a mistake could be made?”
“And it makes me wonder what happened to Peter Pettigrew? After all, if Sirius didn’t cast that exploding hex, who did?”
They spent the rest of the trip back in silence. Except Black, who alternated between disjointed babbling and weeping. Twilight kept most of her attention on Sirius, casting warming charms and cleaning charms. And assuring the wizard that Harry was happy, that she was taking care of him, and that he could see the boy as soon as he had recovered enough.
When they floo-d back into the auror offices, Rufus called in several aurors from their assignments. At the same time, Amelia called in several healers from St. Mungo’s. Rufus assigned his people to keep watch on Sirius while the healers did what they could to restore the wizard’s health and sanity.
While they were working, Amelia took advantage of the veritaserum stocks. With the healers and aurors at her side, she took Sirius at his word, and had him repeat his testimony in front of witnesses.
The news that Peter had blown up the street before Sirius could curse him, that he blew apart the street with a wand behind his back, was earth-shattering for them. That Peter also killed everyone within twenty feet of himself and sped down into the sewer as a rat just added to their dismay.
She then repeated the testing of the wand in front of the same witnesses.
By the time they had heard and seen the evidence, the ministry workers were more than horrified. They could not imagine how an innocent wizard had ended up in Azkaban for ten years without a trial and no substantial evidence. It broke virtually every procedure and rule the aurors followed.
“There is a Wizengamot meeting on Monday,” Dumbledore said. He looked over at Amelia. “After I open the session and before we begin regular business, I shall call for the immediate trial of Sirius Black, seeing as he never received one ten years ago.”
She nodded her understanding. “And if anyone objects?”
“Then I shall say he has waited ten years for charges to be placed when the law mandates the arrested person must be charged within a reasonable time of the arrest, not more than a month after the arrest is made. If they still refuse to give him a trial, I shall tell them I have no recourse but to dismiss the case with prejudice. Which the law requires if charges are not brought within that time period.”
She nodded in understanding. “And if they say it was all legal under the War Powers Act pushed through by Minister for Magic Bagnold and Department Head Barty Crouch?”
He smiled pleasantly. “Then remind them that if they let this stand and don’t give Sirius Black a trial, then they are setting a precedent for the Ministry to arrest any person, at random, at a crime scene, regardless of blood status, and throw them in Azkaban, without recourse by the arrested person or their family to protest. All the Ministry would have to do is say there is a crisis.”
Amelia grimly smiled back. “That should get them moving.”
She conducted the two to the elevator, then stormed into her office. As she had told them, she began laying out how the case on Monday would be presented. And began issuing written orders that would be on their targets’ desks come Monday morning.
Plus, Amelia ordered a review of the record of every prisoner in Azkaban. She did not, as she had said, want there to be any other “forgotten” innocents in prison while she was in charge!
۸-_-۸
I think several people are in for a very rude next several days. I think Crouch Sr. is going to have his little secret out very soon as well. Superb chapter!
Can't wait for Sirius to learn that Twilight is Harry's new mom. Also, thank goodness that ponies get things done.
Love this story so much, I just wish it was longer! I know 3-4k words isn't super short but I love how everything is falling into place. Sirius is getting out and I can't wait to see how he'll fit into the MLP universe. Remus as well, I'm surprised he hasn't said anything to Harry. Can't wait for the next update! As short as they seem, I'd rather have shorter chapters twice a week than longer ones only once a week. Keep up the great work! Happy Valentine's Day.
Okay Sirius did not know Peter was alive, it's why he let himself be arrested without a fight. He didn't know Peter escaped until he saw scabbers in the paper giving him the motivation to escape prison.
Not a fan of this chapter, just way too convenient. The fact that noone spoke to him at all in 10 years or the fact that Sirius was in any condition to tell them everything is unbelievable. He was unstable before Azkaban no way is he currently Sane enough to to talk after 10 years in Azkaban.
Lets do some math.
So far we've effectively deleted books 2, now 3, we're gathering Horcruxes like 6 and 7, all in the middle of book 1. I'll count that as about half a book for 1 and a quarter book each for 6 and 7. Someone else can run the numbers better, but looking right now we've effectively taken care of 3 books already rather quickly and cleanly.
What's next, getting Umbridge removed from the Ministry before she has a chance to show up? Going through bureaucracy and the correct channels for Harry to see the prophecy, keep it on a shelf in his room in the cyrstal castle?
This is all amounting to a worse look for Voldemort than his missing nose. Which tells me... Starlight and/or Elly are going to be playing decidedly antagonistic roles.
9457857
By this point I think we all should be expecting this story to be set in an alternate universe for both MLP and HP. There are just too many differences from how each universe is shown in canon that it can be viewed any other way. Just sit back and enjoy the differences as the story unfolds.
I liked this approach to Sirius' situation. And while some might think he's too lucid, in HP canon he saw Harry's name on a newspaper and broke out. His current state isn't that far off from that
Mind you... I love fics were Sirius survives and gets to actually play a role. Kinda hope 'Scabbers' makes a run for it early here. And would love to see how Voldemorts plans will change in this story.
9457836
I wonder if he's going to try and date her.
IDK, my shipping senses jump all over the place.
9457921
I suspect Twilight acted because she looked into an alternate timeline (i.e. Magic School Days) and decided she wanted a coltfriend, too.
9457921
I /know/. I got the same shipping tingle. I mean. Its kinda classic. A beautiful, young princess comes and saves you from years of false imprisonment, having rescued and adopted your best friends son, your godson. Sirius isn't too bad off, remember. He was spending most of his time in prison is his dog form. I could... rather see the pair of them getting on.
Because that kind of Story Hook is something epic romances are made of.
Awesome chapter! Twilight's horror at seeing first hand the conditions of Azkaban and its 'guards' was pretty satisfying. I wonder if she'll petition for the dementors' containment or destruction at some point. They are honestly a fucking terrible punishment to inflict on another being. Though Sirius is going to be devastated when he learns that Dumbles knew be was imprisoned, he just assumed he was guilty like everyone else.
WHOOO!!!!!!
9457930
You read my mind.
9457931
I haven't really read MGS. Is there still bashing? or is it past that point and I can jump in without feeling CRINGE.
Wow, look at that, Ol' Albus getting things done. Just needed someone to open his eyes to what he had in front of him.
9457848 Keep in mind Remus is or was a member of the Original order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore say it risks Harrys safety to visit him or even see him. Lupin will follow that assuming like others Dumbledore has taken precautions to keep Harry safe
9457857 Not talking to Sirius is cannon from "The Prisoner of Azkaban".. His sanity afterwards is also canon as the Dementors didn't affect him in canine form as much human
9457860
Well, in terms of the normal Harry Potter timeline events, what's going to happen next is Sirius will be released, return to his old parents house, and Harry to come help clean it up, they will discover the locket hoarcrux, and destroy it too.
9457884
Alternate universes are fine but it shouldn't excuse poor writing. At least when MSD did this it had the excuse of the entire justice system going through reform so it made sense to get him out so easily. Here we just have the laziest logic imaginable.
Seriously it was that easy? Bullshit. Sirius went to prison without a fuss because he was stricken with guilt due to his actions leading to the Potter's death if he wasn't willing, to say anything in his defence back then he wouldn't say anything now. Sirius was not a very stable man it's made clear that everyone believed his guilt because he acted like a guilty man (just look at his actions after his escape).I'm not against Sirius getting out early but at least put some effort into the writing so that it's believable.
This comment has nothing to do with this story, and I’m sorry but I’m too lazy to PM on mobile.
9457950
I haven’t read the two latest chapters yet, but we’ve moved somewhat past bashing (Lyra does blow up his office when she sees him, she’s Harry’s guardian in that one if you forgot) but we’re currently on Equestrians (AJ, namely) misunderstanding nudity taboos in regards to their shirts, and have been for a few chapters. A lot of filler attempting at humor, but not a lot of content to pull you in right now. There’s a lot of plot threads over there though, so maybe soon we’ll get something.
9458001
For number 3 it quite possible that no one asked him the question of why. We have from canon the fact that Crouch Sr had been willy nilly throwing accused of being Death Eaters in prison. He only gave his own son a trial to show everyone his complete contempt of his son’s life choices. We also know that he authorized using the unforgivables on the Death Eaters so this is very likely what could have happened.
For number 4 he probably in canon knew Peter escaped but had no clue where he had gone into hiding at. Once he saw the picture he had a big lead and he went for revenge. Keep in mind he got that paper from Fudge who remarked that Sirius was rather sane. Even according to Sirius his guilt kept him sane and only moved once he realized that Harry was potentially in grave danger.
9457950
Since I have no idea what level of "bashing" induces your cringe reaction, nor do I know at what point you stopped following, all I can tell you is that there are still many characters angry with him, but it is not regularly in the top ten of plot points being focused on. Although I expect the next chapter to have a fair amount of recriminations and bad words directed in the general direction of Dumbledore, just due to an event foreshadowed in the latest chapter.
9457860
I was expecting this since the secret camera, if the author decides to do every year at hogwards, this story will never finished, and the equestrians would be there just hanging out, so taking care of the books triggered by equestrian's intervention will make this fic not last forever XD.
9458017
Those are very reasonable explanations but it doesn't excuse the nonsense in this chapter. Take time for things to happen rather than having Twilight just know everything and be able to convince everyone with incredibly half assed logic.
The freeing of Sirius should have been spread out over the course of the story not done all at once. If it has to be fast just have Peter be revealed early. That could have been done easily by having Twilight screw up the anti changeling wards in a more believable way.
9458001
This chapter did not state Sirius was laughing because of a charm at least not really, that was just Twilight pointing out that it was a possibility also in Canon they never did ask Sirius if he was a Death Eater, they never questioned him in the first place, all that happened is that they found him surrounded by death and destruction laughing that he killed James and Lily which from his perspective is true and they simply shipped him off to Azkaban, plus knowing Sirius's character he would vehemently deny being a Death Eater if they ever asked him which they didn't, this wasn't bad writing it was the author keeping Sirius in character and staying true to the canon.
Wow, so things from books/movies 1,2 and 3 are all wrapped up before year one is over, I can't wait to see how you handle the other years for Harry and his friends, also which of the CMC are you going to have Harry get together with, unless you go for the herd idea and all three Fillies share Harry then.
9458031
Okay, you are right about him never being asked but it was still way to easy to even get to that point. I'm not saying the laughing charm isn't a reasonable explanation but I am saying it's a pointless detail. There is any number of reasons he could have been laughing and it doesn't really matter why so why have Twilight attempt to explain it at all. Just stick to the important details why he was laughing was not something Twilight needed to provide an answer to.
The question she should be trying to answer is why Peter would go after Sirius in the first place? The public believes Peter was the one to hunt down Sirius (as that is the scenario that makes the most sense considering the outcome) so how could Twilight possibly know it was actually the reverse after all Sirius never told anyone he was going after Peter.
9458068
Who was chasing who is irreverent, Twilight was trying to determine if Sirius was responsible for those deaths not what led up to it, right now the question of what happened is more important then the how or why, by looking at Sirius's wand one can determine whether or not he killed Peter and those Muggles and by questioning the man one can determine what happened and figure out who betrayed Lily and James, Twilight is smart enough to know that, and she has had months to look into things before she confronted Dumbledore about it. And technically Sirius was released to St. Mungo's on the technicality of having not recived a trial within the time required for him to get one and he has yet to be acquitted as Dumbledore still needs to give him his long overdue trial.
9458098
Testing the wand proves nothing as Sirius could have been using a different wand. Questioning him also proves nothing because after 10 years in prison he would be willing to say anything to get out and reading his mind proves nothing because he could be crazy enough to truly believe the lie.
Honestly, Sirius is free why even pretend. Despite the lack of real evidence Twilight is gonna get him acquitted because she's perfect (except when convenient to the plot in the case of the anti-changeling wards) We already know the outcome because the author has never really been able to do anything unexpected. If there was even a chance of something going wrong the author would have built up some tension instead of just rushing towards the obvious outcome.
945806 From what they seem to be going for is a herd of the CMC and possibly Ginny. That is why they refer to themselves as a herd, though Harry doesn't realize this yet.
9458114
It was the only wand on him when he was arrested and thus checking it would be enough to prove reasonable doubt about his guilt and questioning the man in the presence of someone like Dumbledore would reveal if Sirius actually believed that he was innocent and again he was released on a technicality, he still needs to be acquitted.
9458114
So what are Starlight Glimmer and Elle then? Sometimes the best way to fix things is have an outsider take a look at it. If the Muggles had been aware during Voldermort’s first rising they definitely would have asked the right questions because they would have the expectations on how to act. The problem is Wizard kind is several centuries behind in several different things and this is a blind spot for them. Once Glimglam makes her moves expect the ponies to be on the back foot.
9458159
Just another example of the one-sided nature of this fic. Wizards are incompetent idiots so the only thing that can pose a threat to the perfect ponies are Equestrian threats.
Yeah, and the books do this in a far more entertaining way. They don't just have Harry and friends fix everything with no effort. It's an exciting adventure full of unexpected twists and dangers, this is just Twilight "perfect" Sparkle fixing everything easily because "Lawl wizards are dumb". It doesn't make for a very interesting story when there is no real conflict, the Hero always has all the answers and they can fix everything with ease.
9458015
9458020
I think I'm just not going to touch it again.
It's too focused on it if that makes sense.
i like this one. It deconstructs ideas in the originals but offers meaningful and well thought out replacements too them.
9458114
In the eyes of law, if defendant's weapon was proved to not be the one use to committed the crime, and no other possible weapons were found, then it was more than enough to question the accusation.
While it was true that Sirius could have use another wand to commit the crime, but since there was no evident that he used another wand or found the accused wand, there was no clear evidence that linked him to the crime. By your own logic, any other wizards could have use another wand, dropped it in the crime scene and fled away when Sirius arrived was also a strong argument and could hold standing in court unless they could proved that Sirius was the one who use it. You cannot just assume that everyone who stumbled on the crime scene must be criminals.
9458178
Yes and if this was brought up 10 years ago that might have mattered. But in the last 10 years, various rumours and stories have convinced everyone that Sirius is an insane mass murderer who was one of Lord Voldemort's most loyal followers, just look at Fudge who truly believed Sirius was the monster everyone said he was. Reasonable doubt isn't gonna convince anyone to let him go free, it would take hard undeniable evidence (like providing the real killer) to convince the courts that he is innocent.
9458197
Yet in a similar kangaroo court Harry managed to get off simply by Dumbledore pointing out the law, reasonable doubt should be able to work especially if Dumbledore is acting as the judge as he would ensure that the law was being followed and would emphasize the importance of reasonable doubt.
9458197
You think 'reasonable doubt' 10 years after could not change the conviction? You clearly haven't watched Cold Case Files. I highly recommend it.
9458178 They can just use the TIme Turners to go back and see exactly what happened!
I'm sure this will cause no problems at all!
(And then somebody steps on an incredibly important butterfly, which leads to the Sun asploding 20 years later.) CURSE YOU CAUSALITY!!
9458215
Dumbledore got Harry off because despite Fudge's best efforts people still respect Dumbledore and Harry is still viewed as a hero. All they needed was a good reason to let Harry go and he gave them one, even then half a dozen members of the court plus Fudge and Umbridge chose to vote against him.
People fear Voldemort way too much to let one his most loyal followers go free regardless of what the law says. Wizard courts work on majority vote not unanimous all you need is enough people scared of Voldemort to refuse to let Sirius free on some technicality.
I think Twilight did not follow Dumbledore to Azkaban, right? I wonder what effect could have a dementor in her.
9458242
Hence why Muggles are superior to wizards. If evidence is brought in a muggle court, then chances are that a review of the trial could take place.
What you describe fits mostly in tyrannies and countries where the law is subject to the ones applying it rather than serving justice. In short, the Wizarding World in a nutshell.
9458260
Yet the muggles system still allows innocent people to go to jail and vicious killers to go free so you can't say it's that much better.
9458262
We are humans - which is akin to say 'assholes', so I guess you got a point there.
Besides, current law is supposedly based on evidence... unless the one on trial belongs to a select few that enforce immunity to the law for themselves, which indeed has happened wherever 'royalty' is involved, or if they go to the same club to play elite and know each other.
9458271
well, no system is perfect. It's why this whole thing is just nonsense if Sirius had been given a trial 10 years ago he would have gone free. But 10+ years later even Lucius couldn't escape prison, the courts simply can not be convinced of Sirius' innocence with such weak evidence but I imagine its gonna be pretty easy for Twilight, she'll probably pull a spell out of her ass that instantly proves his innocence.
9458291
This is an MLP fanfic site, so of course the ponies will have the advantage.
However, the other posters' points are right - even if a hundred years went past, this does not change the fact that a miscarriage of justice was done. And Crouch is a hypocrite, what with having his son in his basement instead of Azkaban where he belongs, and yet not bothering with investigating further.
9458297
Yeah but that really only applies to bad fan-fics and I really don't want this to be a bad fan-fic.
Yes but that doesn't matter, you aren't gonna overturn such injustice with flimsy evidence especially when the courts are clearly working against you. The only way to convince the wizard courts of Sirius' innocence is with undeniable evidence.
9458244
I think she did. And I think the Dementors have a better chance meeting Twilight than Pinkie (Goddess of Joy).
9458311
Am I to think that Harry Potter canon story is the epithome of greatness? I prefer this fic over canon, being honest with you - even if certain points you and other posters have raised are indeed right in terms of plot development.
Innocentius Maximus, pro Deus Ex Machina! *Poof*
'Lucius Malfoy testifies against Sirius Black despite having his own arse in the line, and the whole Wizengamot goes into uproar in support of the Malfoy'. There you have it folks. Justice: Wizard Style.
Seriously speaking though, Dumbledore does raise a point - it gives a precedent of process that could very easily bite them in the ass. Maybe a less noxious sentence with restraints in a different prison until evidence arrises? The ponies can do anything so I bet restraining magic is one of them.
9458338
I'm not saying they are perfect but they at least knew how to tell an interesting and exciting story. One of the biggest problems in this story is that there is no real conflict driving the story forward and any conflict that does come up is easily resolved, at this point it's pretty much just a fix-fic at worst and Magic School Days at best. Which doesn't make it bad just disappointing.
Thankfully Harry Potter and the Crystal Empire is looking like it will be the kind of story I hoped this one would be (despite my dislike of a certain naga-pony).
9458423
I have to admit that you got a point there - rather than adventure, this story is full-on Slice of Life - though I have to say this: the HP collection would've ended up like that if the plot points get solved by third parties rather than by Harry and Co.
And this story has plenty of third parties monkeying around with wrenches if you know my drift.
Remember one of the posts from the previous chapter, that states that Harry was no hero? It is quite sad, but true nevertheless - canon HP was defined by the kids being forced into doing what needed to be done in order to survive, but in this story?
The adults - the ponies at least, and some muggles - take that away but give Harry and Co. a better place to learn and to develop as people rather than becoming something similar to child soldiers. It is a price to pay for changing the plot to this degree. Personally? I appreciate it for what it is rather than comparing it with the source.
Could it be better executed? Perhaps. But this kind of writing and release schedule is hard to compete with, and have made this story very popular in return.
9458444
There's nothing wrong with bringing in a third party to easily resolve the original plot but then you better be prepared to replace it with another interesting plot. That's what separates fix-fics from legitimately interesting stories. At this point, we aren't getting anything nearly as interesting in exchange for all these easy wins.
Even MSD after playing fix-fic (in admittedly a far lazier way than this story) delivers a more interesting story despite the nonsensical way in which it's told.
Hell Harry Potter and the Crystal Empire spends the beginning quickly resolving the climax of book 2 (while poking fun at it) but only to introduce an interesting central conflict that drives the whole story forward.