A/N: This is the Final chapter and may or may not contain a few words from the chapter; Owl Post Again.

Chapter Seven: Freedom!

As Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Snape waited for the Headmaster, Sirius pointed Ron's wand at his leg and said, 'Ferula.' Ron's leg had been bandaged tightly to a splint, 'I can't mend bones as well as Madam Pomfrey, but you should be okay with a field dressing for now …'

'Thanks, at least you aren't stupid enough to try, unlike that git, Lockhart …' replied Ron wincing slightly.

'Hmm, I sense a story here, do tell!' said Sirius.

'I had my arm broken by a Bludger during a Quidditch match last year, I still caught the snitch, but I passed out for a few minutes. When I came around, I was semi-blinded by a set of white teeth; Lockhart. He then offers to fix my arm, but despite my protests, he tried anyways. The brainless git says something like; "Braccium Immendo!" the trouble was, he hadn't fixed my bones, he had removed them! Madam Pomfrey was livid and I had to take the most disgusting potion called Skele-Gro, and had to stay overnight in the Hospital Wing,' said Harry.

'Lockhart? Gilderoy Lockhart? I remember him he was a Slytherin a year behind your Dad and me. He had a thing for your Mum, but she just hexed him, I heard he barely knew one end of a wand from the other, so what was he doing at Hogwarts? Relearning first year spells?' said Sirius.

'No, he was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He had written a load of books documenting all these great things he'd supposedly done, but Ron and I discovered he was a fraud. He basically went around finding the wizards who had done all the stuff in his books, getting the information from them, then he'd do a memory charm on them and hey presto; a new book would hit the shelves of Flourish and Blotts. We all had to buy them last year as they were set books and his idea of homework was composing poems about "his deeds",' said Harry.

'Shit! What the hell was Dumbledore thinking hiring him?' Sirius exclaimed.

'Well, he was the only applicant for the job that year,' replied Harry.

'Huh. Well, that's no excuse. Nobody would've been better than Lockhart. I take it the Defence job is still jinxed?' said Sirius.

'Yeah, that's the rumour,' said Ron.

'We've only had one decent teacher so far, and that's Professor Lupin,' said Harry.

It was at that moment the Headmaster arrived. He majestically cast his eyes around the room, the way only Albus Dumbledore could. He, of course, recognised Peter Pettigrew immediately, not to mention the fact that Harry and Sirius seemed to be joined at the hip as Sirius had his arm around Harry's shoulder laughing at the thought of Moony being a professor.

'Good evening to you all, there is an excellent explanation for all of this, I assume?' said Dumbledore.

Together, Harry, Ron and Sirius explained everything to Dumbledore and when they had finished, Dumbledore decided it would be a good idea to relocate to his office and summon someone the Ministry.

So, Sirius and Hermione helped Ron to his feet and began to support him as he stood, while Snape grabbed the still stunned Pettigrew by the scruff of his robes and began dragging him behind him as Harry and Dumbledore took the lead. However, as the group emerged from the Whomping Willow, it was not long before they were set upon by a hundred or more Dementors, but Harry and Dumbledore both with their wands outstretched cried,

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' and a silvery stag as well as a Phoenix appeared and sent the Dementors scattering.

'A stag?' said Harry, 'why a stag?'

'Your Dad was a stag when he transformed, it was also his Patronus,' said Sirius answering Harry's question. 'Who taught you how to do that? After all, it is well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level.'

'Professor Lupin taught me after I was attacked by Dementors during a Quidditch game against Hufflepuff,' replied Harry. Sirius couldn't help at being proud of his godson and decided that whoever had the stupid idea of stationing Dementors around a school was going to get – at best, pranked into the next century.

'We really need to learn that spell, Hermione,' said Ron.

'Absolutely,' she replied.

Eventually they all arrived at Dumbledore's office. Hermione and Sirius helped Ron into a chair as Hermione sat beside him holding his hand. Snape tossed Pettigrew into chair and bound him to it. Harry took a seat next to Sirius.

'I shall summon Madam Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and tell her to bring an Auror for Mr Pettigrew,' said Dumbledore. Harry and Hermione, who had never seen a Floo Call before, watched as Dumbledore made the call. It was ten minutes later when a woman with short grey hair wearing a monocle, emerged from the fireplace with a tall black Auror, who seemed imposing but greeted the Headmaster like an old friend just as Madam Bones had done.

'Evening, Albus. I hope I find you well?' she boomed.

'What she said,' said the Auror.

Dumbledore chuckled and said, 'I am very well, thank you, Amelia, Kingsley. I hope you are both in excellent health?'

'I'm fine,' they answered at the same time.

'Weird,' Ron murmured to Hermione who merely smiled back at him.

'How do you wish to proceed, Madam Bones?' enquired Dumbledore, but it was Sirius who answered,

'I'm willing to be interrogated with Veritaserum, if you prefer?'

'An excellent suggestion, Severus, do you have any at all?' said Dumbledore. Snape nodded and left the room for a short time, before returning with a small vial containing a colourless potion. Snape handed the bottle to Madam Bones who administered the correct amount required and began the interrogation.

'What is your full name?'

'Sirius Orion Black,' answered Sirius.

'Are you a Death Eater?'

'No.'

'Have you ever served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in any capacity?'

'No, I'd rather die.'

'Were you the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter?'

'No.'

'Who was?'

'Peter Pettigrew.'

'Please tell me exactly what happened.'

'It was my idea to change to Peter. I thought it was a perfect bluff. When I discovered what Peter had done, I chased him down, but before I could curse him, he began shouting that I had betrayed James and Lily for the whole street to hear. Then, with his wand behind his back, he blew up the street, cut off his own finger, before transforming into a rat and running into the sewers.'

'Why did you attempt to enter Gryffindor Tower on Halloween?'

'I tried to grab the rat. I saw a picture of Peter in The Daily Prophet sitting on a boy's shoulder. I recognised him immediately and decided to escape Azkaban to protect Harry. The article mentioned the boy would be at Hogwarts. Where Harry was.'

'How did you escape Azkaban in the first place?'

'I'm an Animagus. I never registered. The Dementors are blind and so I was able to slip past them as a dog.'

'Thank you, Mr Black.'

Madam Bones seemed satisfied at Sirius' testimony, and then she turned to revive Pettigrew to give him the truth serum.

'Your full name?' she asked.

'Peter Pettigrew.'

'Are you a Death Eater?'

'Yes.'

'Did you betray the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when you were the Secret Keeper?'

'Yes.'

Madam Bones decided that was enough and had the antidote given to both men before giving her verdict.

'Mr Black, you have given your testimony in the presence of witnesses and under the influence of Veritaserum and I declare you to be a free man. You will need to present yourself to the Wizengamot to overturn your conviction.'

'I was never convicted by the Wizengamot as I wasn't given a trial. I was sent straight to prison by Barty Crouch,' said Sirius.

'I see. Well in that case, as you did not receive a trial, you will receive a full pardon, a full apology, reinstatement into the Aurors – if that is your wish, and a large compensatory amount of gold from the Ministry of Magic.'

'Thank you, Madam Bones.'

She turned to look once more at Peter Pettigrew and said, 'Peter Pettigrew, you will be remanded in custody to await trial for your crimes.'

The Auror named Kingsley seized Pettigrew by the arms tugging him to his feet and made to leave with Madam Bones who had already walked over to Dumbledore's fireplace. Then with a quick good-bye, they Flooed back to the Ministry.

'Wow, I can't believe it! You're free!' said Harry excitedly.

'Yep, thanks to you and your friends, Harry. Now, as your godfather, I was wandering if maybe you wanted a different home? I mean if you wanted to, you could live with me?' said Sirius. Harry could not believe his ears. Go and live with Sirius? Never see the Dursleys again?

'Yes! Have you got a house? When can I move in?' said Harry enthusiastically.

Before Sirius could reply, Dumbledore spoke, 'I am afraid that that is not possible.'

'What? I am his legal guardian, Dumbledore, not you!' Sirius said angrily.

'Sirius, please calm down and listen to me for a moment. Harry has very powerful protection while he stays at that house. I evoked some ancient magic that while he stays there, he is safe from Lord Voldemort and his followers. The good news is that Harry only needs to return there once a year and stay for a minimum of one full day. During this one day or so, you could keep him company in your dog form,' said Dumbledore.

Harry and Sirius decided the idea had merit, and so Harry would, unfortunately, go back to the Dursleys and just maybe have some fun at their expense.

'Excuse me, Professor, but can I please go to the Hospital Wing, now?' said Ron.

0o0

Ron stayed in the Hospital Wing over the next couple of days with Hermione refusing to leave his side. The Daily Prophet had reported the news of Sirius' innocence and Pettigrew's guilt. Sirius had also received his compensation, as well as his wand from the Ministry. He had stayed at Hogwarts in his dog form to keep Harry company while Ron and Hermione were in the Hospital Wing, at least until the news had been broken. However, it was not all good news. Professor Lupin had resigned. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been sad to see him go. Lupin had given back the Marauder's Map and recovered Harry's invisibility cloak, too. It seemed that Lupin wanted Harry to have some fun discovering and exploring the castle's many shortcuts and secret passages.

A few days later, Peter Pettigrew escaped en route to Azkaban following his trial, but Sirius did not seem to care. He assured Harry that it was very unlikely that he would ever return, because not only would the Ministry hunt him down, Voldemort's old supporters would, too.

There was still a week left of school as Sirius found the trio relaxing down by the lake. He snuck up on them before shouting, 'BOO!'

All three of them jumped, and Sirius laughed.

'Bloody hell, Sirius!' yelled Ron.

'Language, Ron! Honestly, was that necessary, Sirius?' said Hermione calming herself.

'Yes, absolutely, it's the last week of school and there are pranks to be played!' replied Sirius gleefully.

'Not really in the pranking mood, Sirius. How was your trip?' said Harry.

Harry asked this question because Sirius had been trying to organise a few things for the summer, as well as visiting old friends. Today he had been to Gringott's.

'Everything went okay. I just claimed the Black Family Vault for my own and confirmed my status as the Heir of The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black – a load of bollocks if you ask me, but there you go. I also made a will naming you, Harry, as my heir,' Sirius replied.

'Me? Why?' asked Harry, shocked.

'Because, Harry, I am the last of the Blacks. My younger brother; Regulus, died years ago, and I don't have any children of my own. At least that I know of,' said Sirius. 'Anyway, I came to say cheerio for the time being, I'm still arranging somewhere to live, but I should have it taken care of by the time you finish this week. I absolutely refuse to live in my ancestral home as it's a shit-hole and I hate the bloody place. So, I'll be seeing you on platform nine and three quarters when you arrive back in London and I'll be in my dog form – Snuffles.'

'Right, okay. I'll see you then,' said Harry standing up to hug his godfather.

'All right, take care, Harry, and you two keep an eye on him for me and don't do anything I wouldn't do!'

Both Ron and Hermione blushed as Sirius left.

0o0

The end of term feast in the Great Hall had been one to remember. Gryffindor had won the House Cup, due, in part to Harry's role in winning the Quidditch Cup, and Dumbledore had also praised Harry, Ron and Hermione for uncovering the truth and clearing the name of an innocent man.

It was on the train home when Hermione told Ron and Harry about the Time-Turner and that she was dropping Muggle Studies, (despite passing the exam with three hundred and twenty per cent), to have a normal timetable next year. Ron and Hermione were also trying to get in as much snogging as possible before they arrived back in London. But the excitement did not end there when an Owl arrived for Harry from Sirius telling him that he had found them somewhere to live, that he had bought Harry the Firebolt and that Ron and Hermione could visit whenever they pleased and that Ron could keep the Owl as Sirius said it was his fault that he no longer had a rat. Ron held the Owl out for Crookshanks to sniff and the cat had purred, telling them that the tiny, crazy Owl was just that.

The train pulled into Platform nine and three quarters at last. Grabbing their trunks, the trio disembarked the train looking for Sirius and Professor Lupin. At last they found them, standing together, Lupin spotted them and waved them over.

'Hello, you three. Good journey? Well, this is Snuffles. Oh, and as I'm no longer your teacher, you can all call me Remus.'

Remus and Snuffles led the trio back through the barrier to the muggle world, where the Dursleys were waiting.

'Vernon Dursley?' said Remus, 'I am Remus Lupin. I would like to have a little word with you about Harry and about how he is treated in your house. Now, any more bad treatment of Harry will no longer be tolerated and it will have consequences. His godfather –'

'Godfather?' said Vernon, 'He doesn't have one!'

'– Will be most displeased if Harry is mistreated while in your care. It is to that end that Sirius wishes that this dog stays with Harry. He is extremely intelligent and well trained; also, I'd advise you to treat this dog as though he can understand every word you say. You are not to feed him dog food, either, normal human food only. Harry will be corresponding with his godfather, his friends and me. If neither of us hears from him, you will face very severe consequences. Are we clear?' said Remus as if there been no interruption.

'All right, you've made your ruddy point!' said Vernon rudely. 'Come along, Boy, and bring that mutt if you must!'

Snuffles growled menacingly at the Dursleys to make them pale.

'His name is Harry. I would suggest you use it from now on, as at least one of you provides plenty of edible flesh,' said Lupin.

'See you soon, Harry,' said Hermione giving him a hug.

'Yeah, I'll write about the World Cup,' said Ron shaking hands with Harry before leading Hermione over to where both of their parents were waiting.

Ron greeted his parents before he gave them a formal introduction.

'Mum, Dad, this is Hermione Granger, my girlfriend.' Both his parents smiled at them and took it in turns to warmly greet Hermione.

Hermione turned to her own parents and said, 'Mum, Dad, this is Ron Weasley, my boyfriend.'

Hermione's parents shared a chuckle with Ron's parents before shaking hands with Ron.

'Would you care to join us for dinner tomorrow night, Ron?' said Mrs Granger.

'Yes please, Mrs Granger, I would love to, thank you,' Ron replied.

'All right then, that's settled, Richard, why don't you take Hermione's trunk and you and I can put it in the boot?' said Mrs Granger, knowing that Hermione wanted to say goodbye to Ron properly. Mr Granger got the hint, took the trunk and led his wife to the car.

As soon as they were out of sight, Ron pulled Hermione into a slow, deep kiss full of love and promise. When they broke apart, Hermione's eyes were full of unshed tears.

'Hey, hey, please don't cry. I hate it when you cry,' said Ron soothingly.

'I'm sorry, it's just that I miss you already,' she said as a few tears leaked out.

Ron raised his hand to gently wipe her tears away with his thumb and said, 'I know, love, I'm already missing you too, but the good thing is you'll be able to Floo call me when you get home and I'll know you got there safely. Also, don't forget, I'll be over for dinner tomorrow night and hopefully we'll be able to get some alone time to snog, too. So, the quicker you go now, the quicker you'll be home and you'll be able to Floo me.'

'Hmm, I like the sound of that. I'd better go, my parents are waiting,' she said quietly, before sharing one last kiss with him before she left. Ron then turned to his family who had been watching, and together they left King's Cross Station for home.

A/N: That's it done at last! I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope I haven't butchered what was a good story in the series. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read, review positively and favourite this story, as well as put it on alert. But I do have a few reasons for writing this.

One; I didn't buy the fact they could not prove Sirius' innocence due to the trio being thought Confunded. Sirius never used Ron's wand except to Disarm Harry and Hermione, and a quick Prior Incantato would have proved that. Also I believe Wandless Confundus Charms are impossible – despite that scene in the HBP movie. Not to mention the fact that the trio could have submitted their memories and had them viewed in a Pensieve. Knowing I was going to change things, I had Harry grow a pair and actually tell Fudge what happened, because I didn't want Buckbeak to die either.

Two; on the blurb for the Bloomsbury kid's paperback for GOF, it says that Harry and Ron begin to notice girls. WHAT? I started noticing girls at EIGHT, not fourteen going on fifteen. I mean, bloody hell, I had my first crush and kiss at nine, my first love at ten and my second love at thirteen. Okay, admittedly my first love are the Oakland Raiders but it still counts. Their progress will always be my top priority, sorry ladies. Well, unless you're Emma Watson, Aliona Vilani, Eliza Dushku or Sarah Michelle Gellar. That's one of the reasons I had Ron and Hermione get together in my story.

Three; It all just wrote itself in my head, so I had to write it properly on paper and then post it with a few extra bits.

Harry, Ron and Hermione will return.