Broken Bonds

3 - New Beginnings

The rest of the week went by quickly. Soon, Harry received two letters. One from Padfoot, informing him that the ministry had contacted him, asking for him to appear at a certain location on Friday, so that they could take him in for a trial, as they had found information that showed he had never received one in the first place. The second was from Madam Bones, informing him that the trial for his godfather would take place on Friday, at 2 o'clock.

That Friday, just over a week after his meeting with Madam Bones, Harry made his way to the ministry again. He left at one thirty, so that he would have plenty of time to find the courtroom and a good seat.

Arriving at the ministry, he made his way to the visitors desk and asked for directions to the courtroom that Sirius trial would take place in.

"The trial you're here for is in courtroom 10. Take the lift down to level 9 and the stairs to level 10. The courtroom you need is down the corridor, towards the end." Harry nodded and thanked the witch behind the desk. He made his way to the lift and waited patiently as he was carried down to level 9. The walk to courtroom ten wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.

The corridors were dark and reminded him of the dungeons at Hogwarts. He reached the door labelled Courtroom 10 and entered the open door. It was ten to two now, and the courtroom already had people sitting in there. Many seats along behind the judges seat were already full, as were seats in the viewing section. There were a few journalists present, cameras ready and quills poised. Harry made his way to the viewing section, taking a seat next to a ragged looking man. A quick glance stirred a memory within him, just like what had happened the first time he had seen Sirius.

The man was sitting on the couch, talking with his mother, as he played on the ground with his father. He couldn't quite hear what his mother and the man were saying, but he did hear his father refer to the man as Moony a few times. The memory drew to a close as the man left, his parents bidding goodbye to him.

"See you next week Remus," his mother said, just as the memory disappeared.

He carefully studied the man that was listed as a potential guardian for him. Where had he been all these years? There was quiet talk occurring around the room, and he took the opportunity to introduce himself to his parents' friend.

"Hi. I seem to distantly remember you from somewhere," he said. The man, Remus, turned to look at him, startled slightly.

"Harry? I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said.

"You're Remus, right? I can't remember much, but you were friends with my parents, right?" Harry said.

"Yes. Your parents were wonderful people, Harry. I'm sorry that you didn't get to know them."

"Thank you. Were you close with Sirius too?"

"Why do you ask?" Remus asked.

"Because if you weren't, you wouldn't be here," he said. Remus sighed slightly.

"You're right. Sirius and I were quite close. I didn't ever expect him to betray Lily and James like he did, or that he would murder that many people. I just needed the closure," Remus admitted.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here too. The closure. But I have a feeling that you will be surprised by the outcome of today," Harry said. Before Remus could reply, Madam Bones banged her gavel on the bench, silencing the crowd.

"Bring in the accused," she stated. The doors were flung open and Sirius was dragged in, one guard on either side. He didn't look any worse than the last time Harry had seen him, which he was happy about. Sirius sat down in the chair in the middle of the room and chains immediately snaked around his wrists, binding him to the chair.