Amelia badly wanted to hex the woman. She had lacked the compassion to make Harry's life better when he stayed with her, and followed Albus Dumbledore's word as though it was law. And why hadn't Figg reported any of the mistreatment she had to have seen?
"At least someone was making regular reports about the boy's welfare to the proper authorities." Alastor said briskly, obviously thinking along similar lines to herself.
"Oh Albus made the official reports. He and I didn't have anything formal, Alastor. I just contacted Albus every so often usually just after I'd baby-sat Harry." Figg's eyes crinkled as she smiled. "I always used to smile when I'd see the occasional photo I managed to take and send to Albus end up in the Prophet."
So that's how pictures of the boy had been released to the public; Amelia had always wondered. Amelia darted a look at Alastor – she wasn't certain she could stay another moment without yelling at Figg.
Alastor got the message. "Well, it's been nice chatting to you, Arabella, but we must be off. You can tell Albus the wards look fine."
Amelia smiled tightly as she offered her own terse goodbye and immediately apparated to the Ministry. Alastor was a moment behind her. They waited until they got to her office and under heavy privacy wards before she erupted.
"Did I just hear that right?" demanded Amelia. "Did that…that woman…" she was almost incoherent with anger.
Alastor pointed at her desk. "Get the Ogden's out."
She did and by the time she'd knocked back one drink she'd regained some measure of control.
"You have to understand Arabella's not been wholly with it since her husband and her son were killed standing right next to her in a Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley." Alastor said, nursing his own drink that he'd poured from his flask. "Her husband was a friend of Albus's so Albus looked after Arabella after his death, made sure she got her inheritance despite her being a squib, and set her up properly in her new kneazle breeding business."
"Hence her loyalty to him." Amelia sighed heavily, her ire slightly tempered with Alastor's explanation.
"Unfortunately Albus could tell her that grass was pink with purple dots and she would believe him." Alastor agreed. "So, having heard from Albus when she first got there that the Dursleys wouldn't treat the boy well, it probably never occurred to her to tell him again because she thought he knew." He sighed. "As for her convoluted thinking that giving the kid some affection when she watched him would mean the Dursleys wouldn't bring him back…" he grimaced, "well, your guess is as good as mine."
"She could be right." Amelia conceded. "The Dursleys would probably be that petty." She poured herself another drink. "The results from the scans are horrifying. He lived in that cupboard under the stairs for years and there was a long list of verbal abuse and minor physical injuries. They periodically starved him, Alastor, sending a kid to bed with no food as a punishment but taken to an extreme."
He nodded. "He has the smallest of the bedrooms upstairs. There are locks on the door outside; evidence that there were bars at the window at one point. I would guess he's been locked in before. His furniture is broken, dilapidated. He barely has enough clothes to justify a wardrobe – all of them seem second-hand. His school clothes are good quality but they're in his trunk. He keeps his valuables under a loose floorboard under the bed. He has food stored there."
"In case they lock him in there again?" Amelia rubbed the back of her neck. "Any other child, Alastor, and I would have removed him from that house already."
"Even I know you're going to need to be politically savvy about this." Alastor comforted her. "Look, Albus and I have been friends for a long time and he is…a great wizard but he's not infallible even if he sometimes thinks he is." He sipped his drink. "He messed up. He obviously knew the muggles might have an issue accepting the lad as their own, he dismissed the first report of mistreatment from his agent who then failed to report further incidents, and he failed to check on the lad himself. Then, as the boy's Headmaster, he's failed to see the signs of abuse since Potter started at Hogwarts. The boy's far too thin for his age; somebody should have noticed."
"Or it's been ignored."
"Or it's been ignored." Alastor agreed dryly.
Amelia sighed heavily. "You know what else bothers me."
"That he didn't know his Dad was a Hit Wizard?" Alastor suggested. "It bothered me, I can tell you."
"Well, yes, that too," and Amelia, "but what I was referring to was something Brian Cutter said to me about the new Lord Black."
Alastor's eyebrows shot up is his grizzled forehead. "A new Lord Black? And he's hired Brian Cutter?"
She explained about the letter from Lord Black to Cutter, the meeting in Cornelius's office, and saw that he got the political implications immediately; Moody had never been stupid. "Cutter has a copy of the Potters' will and Sirius Black was named, after the Longbottoms, as guardian." She put her glass down and gazed at Alastor. "Albus Dumbledore took illegal custody of Harry Potter, placed him with the muggles, and failed to ensure that one of the named guardians on the will got a trial!"
"I can see how it doesn't look good, Amelia," Alastor admitted, "especially in light of the fact that he didn't place Black in protective custody at Hogwarts either, but I don't think Albus would deliberately keep a man in prison for twelve years if he knew he was innocent."
"Not even for his vaunted Greater Good?" Amelia asked pointedly.
Alastor conceded that with a huff. "Admittedly, Albus can justify almost anything to his greater good but not something unquestionably wrong. Keeping the boy behind blood wards where he might be unsafe from his relatives, no. Keeping the boy behind blood wards where he might be unloved, yes. Condemning an innocent man to Azkaban for twelve years, no. Not stepping in to clear Black's name because Albus thinks Potter will be safer where he is, maybe."
Amelia grimaced; the lines separating the statements Alastor had made into acceptable and unacceptable were very thin but they were there. "You know him better than me." She allowed.
"And knowing him, regardless of my belief that I don't think Albus would keep the boy there if faced with all the evidence we have of the muggles' neglect of the lad, I would advise you to get Potter's new guardianship situation sorted out before Albus ever gets wind of it." Alastor said bluntly.
"Understood." And Amelia knew who she was going to call first.
o-O-o
Sirius reread the letter from Brian again. And again.
Completely cleared subject to Minister's signature.
Did Lord Black have a way to contact Sirius Black?
The Ministry wanted to know if Sirius Black would be prepared to assume immediate guardianship of Harry Potter.
He read it again.
Remus impatiently plucked it out of his numb fingers and read it. "Padfoot! We did it!" He slapped Sirius's back, jolting him forward. "Congratulations! Didn't I tell you sending Bones round to the muggles would increase your chances to get custody of Harry? You owe me five galleons! And don't think…" he suddenly looked at Sirius who hadn't moved. "Are you OK, Padfoot?"
No. Yes. He really had no idea. His emotions swung in a pendulum from crazed happiness to complete astonishment to total fear that he was going to mess up with Harry and – what had he been thinking?
Sirius rubbed his forehead and dragged his mind back into focus. Harry. Harry. Harry. He was doing this for Harry and it had worked. "Sorry," he said, realising belatedly that Remus was regarding him worriedly, "just," he flapped a hand at him, "surprised. I thought it would take more time or something."
"But you are pleased?" probed Remus carefully as though he was afraid Sirius would explode or break or something.
"Beyond happy." Sirius confirmed. He took the parchment back. "I'll write back to Brian. I guess it's time to come clean on my identity with him."
"Give me an introduction." Remus ordered. "I can liaise with him in future, and Merlin knows I need to go over some legal stuff with him as your steward. Your records are in a right mess."
"But I'm still rich, right?"
Remus sighed. "Let's just say you have enough to cover the five galleons you owe me."
"What five galleons?" asked Sirius innocently.
Remus's eyes narrowed dangerously.
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