“To be fair,” Neville continued, “there is a Wizarding Child Services department at the Ministry that looks after the welfare of Muggle-borns, Half-bloods, and even Pureblood children from lesser families. It’s simply barred by law from interfering with the treatment of children from Wizengamot families who aren’t established Heirs Presumptive—which I wasn’t until my magic saved me from that fall. From what I can tell, I was an unusual case. Most wizarding children show some sign of magic in early childhood.” He shrugged.
“Our system of government depends on keeping as many Wizengamot seats filled as possible, especially Ancient and Noble ones. As far as the law is concerned, if I’d been a squib, it would have been better for me to die young so the Longbottom seat could pass more quickly to an actual wizard. Honestly, Hermione, as a Muggle-born you actually have more legal protections than Theodore Nott. He could be thrown out onto the street tomorrow—or worse—on his father’s whim.”
“You can see now why I’ve been studying all this so obsessively,” Harry said to Hermione.
“By leaving me with the Dursleys and failing to look after me, the Potters and the Headmaster violated several centuries-old laws.” He turned back to Neville.
“And not to change the subject, but you seem remarkably well-informed about Theo’s home situation.”
“I can make some educated guesses.” Neville glanced around the Library to ensure they weren’t being overheard.
“Last summer, Gran made me study files she’d compiled on all the children I’d be at Hogwarts with whose parents were known or suspected Death Eaters. She has a personal grudge against the Malfoys for what the Lestranges did to my parents, but Lucius Malfoy wasn’t even that bad by comparison. He was accused of bribery, financially supporting a terrorist organisation, and minor Muggle-baiting. If he took the Dark Mark of his own free will rather than under the Imperius, he probably murdered at least one Muggle, but that’s basically impossible to prove. He’s an arrogant, bigoted snob, but relatively harmless next to most suspected Death Eaters.”
Neville leaned forward.
“Tiberius Nott, on the other hand, was accused of all that plus the murder of a dozen Muggle-borns and Merlin knows how many Muggles. The killings were usually… extremely violent. Gran called him a psychopath and said he was probably the worst Death Eater never to see the inside of Azkaban.”
“Why wasn’t he imprisoned if he was that bad?” astonished.
Hermione hissed, “You can thank Sirius Black for that. His trial transcripts are still sealed, but according to the information released to the press, he confessed to placing over two dozen Wizengamot members under the Imperius Curse for You-Know-Who—including Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, Parkinson… and Nott. That got all of them off the hook despite the Dark Marks they carried. Gran believes Black knew he was finished, so he took the blame for every suspected Death Eater who hadn’t been caught red-handed.”
“Is it possible to see those press accounts?” Harry asked.
Hermione pointed to the upper floor.
“They have bound copies of The Prophet going back decades.” Harry nodded. Get faster updates on g.com.
That would be another addition to his ever-growing list of studies—alongside regular classwork, Wizengamot law, and wizarding genealogy.
“You know, Neville, if you’re genuinely worried that childhood trauma might be limiting your magic, you should speak with Madame Pomfrey. It could be something correctable. I’ve already talked to her about my size—the Dursleys weren’t exactly generous with nutrition—and the nutrient potions she gave me are supposed to bring me up to Jim’s height within a year or two.”
“I’ll… think about it. Thanks.”
After some more discussion of school matters, the trio separated.
Hermione and Neville headed back to their common room while Harry made for the archives, starting with the volumes from 1981.
The results were unenlightening.
You-Know-Who’s death had been front-page news on November 1st.
Two days later, the paper officially credited “Jim Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived,” even though there were no firsthand witnesses to the miraculous event.
It was simply accepted that Voldemort had attempted the Killing Curse on Jim and some strange backlash had destroyed him, leaving the boy with the Dark Lord’s mark on his brow.
Harry idly wondered whether the V-shaped scar might contain some fragment of Voldemort’s evil—perhaps explaining why the Boy-Who-Lived was such a monumental prat—before dismissing the idea.
Voldemort might be evil, but Harry suspected he would at least have been smarter and less obnoxious than Jim.
There was no mention whatsoever of Harry’s own existence.
The traitor Sirius Black had been arrested on November 3rd by James Potter himself.
He was tried under the controversial “Death Eater Laws”—temporary measures passed in 1980 to help the wizarding justice system cope with what amounted to an armed insurrection by a large portion of the ruling class. Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.
Harry found himself wondering why Voldemort hadn’t simply had his followers pass laws to give him what he wanted instead of resorting to mass murder.
The Death Eater Laws were infamous for authorising Aurors and hit-wizards to use Unforgivable Curses against marked Death Eaters, but they also allowed for secret trials rather than open Wizengamot proceedings.
Trial transcripts were sealed from the public, and even the Aurors guarding prisoners had to submit to Memory Charms afterward to prevent them from revealing participants’ identities.
Ostensibly this was to protect witnesses and judges from retaliation.
Before the law, several judges who had convicted Death Eaters had later been murdered.
The article on Sirius Black’s trial stated only that the transcript had been magically certified by the Court Scribe and presided over by three anonymous Wizengamot members eligible to serve as judges in criminal cases, all bound by magical oaths of fairness.
The evidence against Black consisted of sworn affidavits from James and Lily Potter declaring him their Secret-Keeper, expert testimony from an Unspeakable (Harry added the term to his growing list of things to research) confirming that a Fidelius Charm could only be broken if the Secret-Keeper voluntarily revealed it, and a lengthy confession in which Black proudly admitted to being a Death Eater, betraying the Potters, and placing numerous influential Wizengamot members under the Imperius Curse.
His sentence was life in Azkaban for repeated use of an Unforgivable.
Ironically, the betrayal of the Potters barely factored into the sentence—since no one had actually died as a result.
Having learned what he could about Voldemort’s fall, Harry returned the volume and turned to his genealogy research.
After an hour of careful note-taking, he composed another letter to his solicitor and sent it off with Hedwig before heading to dinner.