Best Served Cold

Chapter 8

"What's the next item on the agenda?" asked Fudge.

"The next item is the case of Sirius Black. A recent census of the prison revealed that Black was sentenced without a trial. And no paperwork was filed to keep him incarcerated without one," said Bones.

That caused a collective blink.

"There's forms for that?" said one brave wizard.

Bones made a face.

"There's forms for everything. Fortunately they have a new department prankster."

"Department prankster?" repeated Madame Longbottom.

"It's the designated prankster who keeps some of the more ridiculous forms from being used. More to the point, it was one of the Auditing department who found the error in Black's paperwork."

"What are you trying to say, Madame Bones?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm saying we have to hold a full Wizengamot trial, just to keep the bureaucrats happy. Otherwise, they'll never shut up about the fact Black's in there without a trial or the proper forms filled out."

Everyone made a collective grimace at the thought.

"Let's just schedule it for next week and get it over with," said Malfoy.

Sirius took his first breath outside Azkaban. Even the rain smelled sweeter being outside that hell hole. And in a few short hours, he knew he'd be a free man.

Sitting chained in that awful chain, the first thing Sirius did upon being given a chance to speak was...

"I demand Veritaserum!"

There was a ripple of whispers among the Wizengamot, before the Aurors came in with the Ministry approved veritaserum. Three drops and two hours later, and the Wizengamot was in uproar.

Sirius Black was innocent.

Unseen by most, Harry was watching the entire trial with a bowl full of popcorn under his invisibility cloak. He had filed all the proper forms to watch the show, but he didn't want to alert Dumbledore that he wasn't at the Dursleys.

He had spent all of a week before going to 'intern' at the Ministry. As far as he was concerned, he wards were charged enough.

Sirius would be getting a full year of rehabilitation now that magic had proven him to be innocent. All on the Ministry's knut. More than that, they had to pay him for the years he illegally spent in prison.

And of course it opened Barty Crouch up to an investigation from the Ministry barristers.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black was like a dog on a bone, and a discreet rumor had her bringing Aurors to ensure he wasn't harboring a convicted Death Eater in his home.

The house elf was hysterical, but Crouch was busted for harboring his son under the Imperious Curse.

He wasn't in trouble for switching his son with his wife (he had filled out the forms for that) but the Imperious was an Unforgiveable and he had been casting it outside wartime allowances. An that was a crime, considering he hadn't filled the forms out for that.

Which meant after a quick and shocking trial, father and son were promptly sent back to Azkaban sharing adjoining cells.

Barty Crouch wasn't happy, but then again he could respect that Potter had set his dogs on him using the process that he had lived by. He had been outmaneuvered by a superior paper pusher.

~

Harry took one look at Lockhart, before he schooled his face into his usual expression for dealing with idiots who so royally deserved a...personal...visit from his department. A long, intimate one where they pretty much went back all the way to the point when the witch or wizard graduated Hogwarts, and thus opened themselves up for an audit.