SIRIUS BLACK: OUR FORGOTTEN HERO, Rita Skeeter
With yesterday's shocking news that Sirius Black is innocent, we at the Daily Prophet have returned to the beginning to find out who the real Sirius Black is and what might have motivated those in power to incarcerate an innocent man.
Black was the eldest son of Orion and Walburga Black, the first Black in history to be sorted at Hogwarts into Gryffindor. There, he made friends with James Potter, a distant cousin through Dorea Black. He and Potter were considered inseparable throughout their school days. Head of Gryffindor Minerva McGonagall recalls that 'it was as though they shared the same brain.'
At the age of sixteen, Black left his family after a disagreement over their open support of You-Know-Who and was given sanctuary by the Potters, a family that had always stood for the Light. Another friend of the Potters, Amos Diggory, notes 'Black was Potter's brother in all but blood.'
After graduating overall top of his class, Black joined the Hit Wizards, partnering with Potter during training. Ex-Senior Auror Alastor Moody, his training instructor, remembers 'Black was a great Hit Wizard; the best. There was nobody better at taking down Death Eaters.' Indeed, Black was so good, he was promoted quickly and is the officer of record for eighteen Death Eater executions in battle.
In his personal life, Black was linked with several witches. Polly Bell remembers fondly; "After James and Lily wed, Lily went on a bit of a match-making exercise for Black trying to get him to settle down. I think he went on the dates to make her happy – he'd stood by James as his best man you see.'" Black had a bit of a reputation as a rake but the ladies we spoke to recalled a perfect gentleman.
In late 1980, Black was captured by Death Eaters while undercover abroad. His rescue was shrouded in secrecy (although ten of the executions mentioned above are listed around the same time) and he was badly injured. He recuperated with the Potters and after the birth of their son, Harry, was named as godfather. Healer Clarence Abby told the Prophet that Black was actually present at the birth and it was he who handed his godson to the proud mother and father; 'He doted on the child, anyone could see it."
It is on this latter point that one wonders if Black's swift exile to Azkaban following the events of October 31st 1981 was less to do with his guilt and more to do with determining the future of the Boy Who Lived. With Black removed from the equation, the orphaned Harry was placed in the muggle world, and strangely, Black's sacrifices during the war, his long stand against You-Know-Who, and his deep friendship with the Potters were all swept under the carpet.
Rumours abound that now that Black has been declared innocent he will sue for the custody of Harry Potter and return him fully to our world. We at the Prophet wish him every success and welcome our forgotten hero home.
Remus wondered if he should feel slightly nauseous at the outpouring of simpering as he folded the paper and tossed it to the side. Brian's press strategy was going well though and the seeds had been planted for the announcement of Harry's guardianship. He wondered if Albus had felt sick reading the Prophet that morning. He hoped so.
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He really had to get over his anger at Albus. He did owe the old wizard for providing him with a magical education, and Albus was a great wizard who was deserving of his respect.
Except in the matter of Harry and Sirius.
He wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to forgive Albus for the Dursleys, and for not checking whether Sirius had received a trial and condemning him to twelve years of hell.
Yes, Remus thought dryly, he was doing really well at getting over his anger at Albus. He glanced at the clock and pulled the Potter file back towards him.
He'd fired the Financial Manager earlier that afternoon and put Poon in charge. The good news was that the main bulk of the estate had gone into lockdown; monies were supplied to the various caretakers of the properties for maintenance but nothing substantial. The investment portfolio though had been left to rot from what Remus could gather. A lot of money had been lost. The outlook wasn't too bad – Harry was still wealthy – but if it had been left until Harry had reached seventeen, Remus believed Harry's estate would have been halved in value. Kipbold had been as unimpressed as Remus when he had explained the reasons behind the termination.
He put the Potter file aside and started to go through the mail that had arrived. It had been almost a week since Sirius had informed the Black family members that there was a new Lord Black. They had been told to reply back care of Gringotts and Remus had collected the mail while he'd been there. Most of the distant relatives already had a Head of House in a good position to serve them, such as the Weasleys, and so Sirius had ignored those for when his identity would be announced. But Remus had been impressed at how he'd tracked down other relatives who were not so lucky, or who had been blasted from the tree.
"Dear Lord Black – or should that be Cousin?
Thanks for the recent letter to touch base and see what the Hitchens clan is up to in Canada. There's just me and my sister Fiona now.
Fi married last year to a woman called Ola; they're both happy and thinking of adopting a baby.
I'm married to a beautiful woman myself – Joanne. We have three rugrats – Amy, and twins Billy and Ray. Amy is twelve and attends a special school for the gifted in Vancouver – we're very proud of her. Billy and Ray are still in kindergarten but are great kids.
We'd love to stay in touch – Jo's thrilled at the idea we're related to an English Lord!
Cheers,
Rob Hitchens"
The marriage of Isla Black to a muggle man called Hitchens had started the line from the Black perspective but it hadn't produced a magical offspring as far as Sirius could tell. Rob Hitchins, Isla's descendent, was a muggle working for a consultancy firm but it hadn't stopped Sirius from sending his 'are you OK?' letter. As Sirius pointed out, his mother was probably rolling in her grave. Remus read over the letter again and noted the phrasing around the girl's schooling. It was the usual cover story for magic. Sirius would want to investigate more.
"Sirius,
You old dog you can't fool me! The news of your innocence just reached me via international law enforcement channels. I'm glad you're the Lord and I expect you'll redecorate the whole House.
Australia is great – Uncle Alphard was right about that – you really should have come with me! I'm a respectable Senior Auror here in Sydney these days, married Anna, a muggleborn, two years ago and she just gave birth to my firstborn Jason.
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/gokublack444🎉