HP : THE TRAUMA AND CHOICE

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From The Three Broomsticks Harry used the floo system to get to the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. Getting to his solicitor's chambers with Wormtail a fat, trusting lump in his pocket was the easy part. Getting past the secretary was nearly impossible.

"But it's an emergency!" Harry argued. "Please just tell her that I'm here."

"I'm sorry but Ms. Bones has specifically stated that today is her preparation day. She is not to be disturbed this – hey! Don't wave your wand around here!"

"Expecto Patronum!"

A moment later Prongs leapt out of Harry's wand. He darted through the door and into Ms. Bones' office. The secretary glared at Harry. A moment later, Ms. Bones emerged from her office.

"Who – Mr. Potter! Your hearing is next week."

Harry shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "I know. I just needed to give you an important piece of information. I could only sneak out of the school today."

Ms. Bones slowly nodded. "Please follow me Mr. Potter."

In Ms. Bones' office, Harry transfigured one of her lovely glass paperweights into a tiny steel cage – just big enough for a rat. Mrs. Bones, seated behind her desk, arched an eyebrow at Harry.

Harry fished Scabbers out of his pocket and quickly shoved him into the cage. Then, while holding the door shut, he tapped the top of the cage twice so that the door simply became part of the bars. There was no way out for dear old Peter.

"Mr. Potter, I feel that I must inquire as to the reasons behind your visit. Surely it isn't to dazzle me with your skills in transfiguration."

Harry grinned. "That's the animagus Peter Pettigrew. He betrayed my parents, killed twelve people, and framed Sirius Black for everything."

Ms. Bones sucked in a sharp breath. In the cage, Scabbers went wild. He frantically threw himself against the sides of the cage and clawed at the bars. Harry leaned down to favor Pettigrew with a vicious grin.

"I found him for you" Harry said, his attention once again fixed firmly on his solicitor. "Now I expect you to make things right."

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Ms. Bones had been practicing law for over fifty years but it was safe to say that Harry James Potter was her most difficult client. Ever. Even at their first meeting she could tell that he was a child that seemed to possess a Hufflepuff's loyalty, a Slytherin's cunning and ruthlessness, and a Gryffindor's bluntness and determination to succeed despite all obstacles – including the most powerful wizard in the world. And the boy wasn't an idiot either. He was young Susan's age but he was not much of a child.

Frankly, she would not be surprised if he was the next Albus Dumbledore.

At first, his issues had seemed fairly straightforward. While emancipations based solely on the state of one's magic were rare to the point of nonexistence in today's world, it was still a viable law on the books. Given his personality, magical power, and miserable background as well as the circumstances surrounding Albus Dumbledore's guardianship, it was a difficult but not an impossible request. Suing for the return of Mr. Potter's possessions was actually a much easier case provided that Harry was either considered of age or Professor Dumbledore was not Mr. Potter's legal guardian. Although someone – probably the professor in question – had made it nearly impossible to track down the Potters' wills that objective was still within the realm of possibility.

Mr. Potter's third objective – the freedom of Sirius Black – was the one that she had tagged as being impossible. Despite what Harry claimed, Sirius Black was guilty. But Ms. Bones took her professional obligations seriously so she had made discrete inquiries. Nothing promising had come of them. Then Mr. Potter had disrupted her preparations for a different client, plopped a rat that he claimed was the transformed Peter Pettigrew on her desk, and demanded that she 'make things right.' Honestly.

"That is Peter Pettigrew?"

"Petrificus Totalis."

Mr. Potter moved the frozen little body around until she could clearly see that one of its front paws was missing a toe.

"The reason that the largest part of Peter Pettigrew anyone found was his finger was because Pettigrew cut his finger off before he changed into a rat and escaped into the sewers. See? This rat is missing a toe because he's Pettigrew and he's missing a finger."

"Mr. Potter –"

"If you summoned the Aurors and got them to do that charm that makes animagus change back into their human selves, then you'd see that I'm right. And if they made Pettigrew take Veritaserum then everyone would know that Sirius wasn't my parents' Secret Keeper."

Well. He certainly made it sound easy.

"Mr. Potter the law states – "

"I don't care what the law states" the boy snapped as the light in his eyes shifted from reasonable if somewhat sly to pure, reckless determination. At least now she had an inkling of why the boy had not become a Slytherin. "I hired you to make this all work. Your job is to get Sirius' name cleared. You said you were having difficulties so I borrowed my best mate's pet and brought the traitor to you. Now find a way to make this work with the law."

"Your spells –"

"I can hold them for awhile."

Ms. Bones nodded. "Please remain here while I consult my library and one of my partners. He specializes in criminal matters. If you need anything please feel free to ask Ms. Hargrieves for it."

The boy made an impatient face but nodded.

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Want to know what happens next? 100+ advanced chapters await you on Patreon! Be the first to read what others will have to wait for. Join the community and read ahead today!

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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