Harry Potter and the Return of the Parents

Chapter 12: The Doe Revealed

We are nearing the end of 'act 1' of this humble fic and I would love to get some opinions on how the story should progress. The chapters have been getting longer (this is the longest so far); do you consider this a good length, or is it too long? How is the pacing so far? It has always been tricky to strike a balance between plot and character interactions, so I would welcome some feedback.

Thanks once again to everyone who reads this story, whether you have stuck with my erratic uploads or are simply reading through and moving on. You are all welcome and appreciated.

I hope you are all keeping safe and sane during these 'unprecedented' times <3

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"Sirius B: Not as Black as Painted?

Sirius Black, jailed in 1981 for the murder of 13 people, was yesterday cleared of all charges. Black is perhaps best known for his notorious escape from Azkaban two years ago and has since been the subject of an international manhunt. His shock acquittal comes after the ministry uncovered new evidence at a trial yesterday afternoon. The prophet is now reliably informed that the crimes for which Black was imprisoned were in fact the actions of Peter Pettigrew, Black's close friend at school and supposed victim of the 1981 explosion. Turn to page 11 to discover how Pettigrew's extensive deception was exposed..."

Sirius closed the paper with a huff.

"Yesterday, I was public enemy number one," he said at large to the dinner table. "Now I'm a mascot of our judicial system; I can't keep up."

He tossed the paper across to James, who caught it deftly. "No mention of you two, of course."

"I'm surprised they even announced the trial," confessed Harry, abandoning his loaded plate for a moment to peer over his father's shoulder. He grimaced at the photographic Fudge on the front page, who was talking animatedly before a poster of Sirius. "Wouldn't they want to keep it as quiet as possible?"

"They didn't have a choice," said James bluntly, thumbing through the paper for the rest of the article. "The aurors have had a department-wide manhunt going for over two-years now. They can't call that off without people noticing."

Harry returned to his seat and resumed his meal thoughtfully. In the seclusion of Grimmauld Place, yesterday's trials seemed an age ago, fragments of a time when life had been deafening and strained. For over a year, Harry had carried with him a cloud of fear that Sirius would be caught and returned to Azkaban. With the burden removed, he had felt lighter than he could have imagined, floating into the sunset like Aunt Marge all those years ago.

The arrival of the Prophet had brought him heavily back down to earth.

"I suppose all the ministry needs is a scapegoat," he said slowly, pushing his food around his plate with increasing distaste. "Someone to blame for the things Voldemort is doing. It doesn't really matter if it's Sirius or –"

"Or the rat," finished Sirius bitterly.

There was a sudden cacophony of shrieks and accusations from Madame Black upstairs and moments later Arthur walked in, weary but triumphant.

"Everybody's talking about it," he declared, as Molly ushered him to a seat and piled food in front of him. "And not just about this," he continued as James offered him the paper, "but about how it happened. About you two."

"How do they know?" asked Hermione, voicing Harry's own surprise.

"It was a big trial," reasoned Arthur, tucking into the meal before him. "Not everyone is as tight-lipped as they should be. It wouldn't take much digging to find the documents legally resurrecting Lily and James; that sort of thing is public domain. And then there's the empty gravesites at Godric's Hollow, word of which is sure to have been spreading. It doesn't take too much to put it all together."