The day after her birthday, Adelaide woke up to the sound of tapping on her bedroom window. She had never been a morning person but seeing the unfamiliar owl piqued her interest and so, she rolled out of bed and opened the window. The beautiful owl with a mixture of brown and black feathers soured through the room and landed beside Hedwig, who she bought the day prior. Hedwig stared at the unfamiliar owl with calculating eyes before letting out a soft hoot, earning one back.
"Hello, do you have a letter for me?" Adelaide asked the owl softly, gaining the two of their attention. The owl stuck out its leg where the letter was attached and Adel removed it before topping up the food bowl which was devoured by both Hedwig and her companion.
Turning over the letter, Adelaide's eyes widened at the ministry logo. She tore it open instantly and her excitement grew as she read through it. By the end, a loud squeal left her lips and not long after, her uncle Moony stormed into the room, looking around with his wand out in alarm.
"Cub? What happened?" He asked panicked, grabbing her shoulders softly as he checked her for injury. Adelaide knew werewolves were extremely protective of their cubs, more than they were of their pack and so, she waited until he was finished inspecting her.
"You're not hurt. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He huffed as he stepped back, eyeing her with some frustration with a hint of amusement.
"You're a werewolf, Uncle Moony, not a swearwolf" She teased, shaking her head in feigned disappointment at his foul language.
Remus raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching "Don't be a hypocrite" He responded, earning a dramatic gasp from his niece as she placed a hand over her heart.
"You wound me, wolfy" He scoffed at the nickname before his eyes landed on the opened parchment in her hands.
"Your cousin owl you already?" He questioned, earning a confused look from Adel but as he pointed at the letter, her eyes lit up in excitement.
"No, but remind me to owl him later. This is from Madam Bones, she confirmed that Sirius will be having a trial next week!" his eyes widened as he stayed frozen in place. Adelaide's smile faltered as she grew worried for her uncle.
"Uncle Moony?" She sang, waving her hand in front of his face but got no response. With a small huff, she flicked his forehead which managed to snap the man out of his frozen state.
"Ouch! You little shit, What was that for?" He glared half-heartedly as he rubbed the spot she flicked. The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement, shaking her head at her uncle's language before waving the letter in the air.
"You froze" His eyes lingered on the parchment for a moment before he absently fell back onto her bed, his face returning to completely blank.
"Oh, not again"
After calming down her uncle enough to finish off the conversation, the two decided that if necessary, she would reveal her status as Lady Magic's chosen. Having such a title came with a lot of benefits and the magical world had only one other person to ever hold such power.
For the rest of the week, niece and uncle spent a lot of their time going back and forth to Diagon Alley, mainly to Flourish and Blotts where Adelaide would treat her uncle to many books she knew he had interest in. Though on one of these days, the two had their very first argument and this was due to Adelaide transferring a large amount of Galleons into his vault. The werewolf lectured her for two straight hours about him not wanting to be treated like charity and trying to convince her to return the money. Of course, in the end, she won the argument by using her large puppy eyes and a few honest tears that were spilt
The day finally came when the two were expected at the ministry for her papa's trial. Adelaide was dressed in a knee-length black dress with small platforms heels and a dark green cloak, whereas Remus decided on a dark green muggle suit with a black cloak.
"Are you ready, cub?" He called out from the kitchen as Adel finished off her hair in the living room mirror.
"As ready as I'll ever be" She responded with a sigh, nodding to herself in acceptance of her appearance.
The two flooed to the ministry and also instantly, they felt eyes follow them as they made their way to the courtroom. As they approached, Adelaide spotted Madam Bones conversing with a familiar older woman with a distinctive hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
"Good morning, Madam Bones, Lady Longbottom" Adelaide greeted the two with a bow of her head, gaining a smile from Madam Bones and a curious look from the stern older woman.
"Good morning, Lady Potter, Mr Lupin. How are you both?" Madam Bones asked softly, completely missing the shocked look on Lady Longbottoms face as she looked at Adelaide.
"We're doing quite well, thank you" Remus responded politely before turning to Lady Longbottom, who had yet to tear her eyes away from the young witch beside him.
"Lady Longbottom, it's been a while"
"Indeed it has Mr Lupin. Hello, dear, I'm Augusta Longbottom" She held out her hand to Adelaide, who smiled softly at the older witch.
"It's nice to meet you, Lady Longbottom. I'm so sorry about your son and daughter-in-law, I have only recently been informed of their situation" A sad smile formed on the woman's face as their hands broke apart.
"Thank you, dear. I'm terribly sorry about your parents too, they were absolutely wonderful people, especially that Godson of mine"
"Oh, I wasn't aware that my father was your Godson. That means you're somewhat like my god-grandmother correct?" A small laugh left the woman's lips as she nodded her head, Adelaide noticed some unshed tears in her blue eyes.
"Yes, I guess you're right. If that's the case, you may call me Augusta or Gran"
"Well, Gran, you may call me Adelaide or whatever nickname you choose" The two smiled at each other before the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard from the door.
"Madam Bones, I'm sorry to interrupt but the trial is about to start any moment" The man spoke before disappearing back inside the courtroom.
"Shall we go inside?" They nodded their heads and they followed the woman inside.
Adelaide looked around the courtroom, memories of her own trial flashing through her mind but this time, the room was filled with all the lords and Ladies that have seats in the wizengamot. Madam Bones pointed out the section for Adelaide and Remus to sit in whilst she and Lady Longbottom ventured off to their correct positions.
"Ladies and Gentleman, today's meeting will be run by Madam Bones as I am unaware of why we were called. Madam Bones, if you please" Adelaide Gripsed the railing, her knuckles turning white at the sight of the white-bearded man who had manipulated her previous life.
"Thank you, Mr Dumbledore. I have called an emergency meeting because some concerning information has come to light. Ten years ago, Sirius Black was captured and placed in Azkaban under the assumption he was guilty of betraying his friends, Lord and Lady Potter. However, after some investigating, it came as a horrific shock that Lord Sirius Black of the noble and most ancient house of Black had not received a trial-" The courtroom erupted in utter chaos, some refusing to believe that the man was anything but guilty whilst others, mostly the darker faction, was in absolute disbelief that a lord of such a prestige house was put away without even given the chance to prove his innocence.
Adelaide and Remus, however, ignored it all and kept their eyes firmly on Albus Dumbledore, who they noticed had grown extremely pale whilst his eyes lost the annoying twinkle and were replaced with complete fury.
"Silence!" Madam Bones screamed, making the courtroom quiet down almost immediately. Before she could speak once again, Dumbledore stood up with his hands behind his back.
"Excuse me, Madam Bones, but I was wondering where you gained this information and why now is it being addressed?" Adelaide turned to her uncle with a smirk, happy that the old man asked such a question because then it would be revealed that she took an inheritance test.
"I received a letter from none other than Adelaide Potter-Black herself. She had taken an inheritance test at Gringotts and it revealed that Sirius Black is and has always been her blood-adopted Father-" once again, the crowd erupted but this time, even those who previously were against the trial were absolutely outraged at the fact that he was placed in Azkaban, knowing how serious Blood adoption was in their world.
"Silence! Control yourselves!" She scolded as everyone, except Dumbledore took their seats.
"Now, as I was saying, Sirius Black had magically adopted Adelaide Potter, making him one-third of her parents. She is now Adelaide Potter-Black and if I'm not mistaken, it would be impossible for him to survive if he caused any harm to his daughter, in any shape or form" Adelaide could see how furious the old wizard was and took great satisfaction in ruining his plans.
"Very well"
"Kingsley, please bring in Lord Black" A tall bald man in plum-coloured robes entered, leading her papa, whose greasy hair lay limp passed his shoulders, his striped Azkaban robes hanging off his malnourished body.
"Papa" She whimpered, her eyes tearing up at the sight of him. She had seen him in such a state before but somehow, it seemed all that much worse this time round.
"Shhh, cub. He'll be okay" Remus whispered in her ear, wrapping his arm around her shoulder where she immediately slumped into his side. A purr-like sound rumbled through her chest, so quietly that only his enhanced hearing could pick it up. More questions came to mind for the werewolf but knew he wouldn't get any answers seeing how she didn't even realise she was making such animalistic sounds or behaving in such a manner.
"Sirius Black, you are here to determine whether or not you were responsible for the deaths of Lord and Lady Potter, Peter Pettigrew and the muggles. Do you accept the use of Veritaserum?" Madam Bones spoke out clearly and sternly.
"I do" His voice sounded croaky and harsh, though Adelaide could hear the relief of finally being able to clear his name.
"Very well. Kingsley, if you could supply Lord Black with the potion and a glass of water"
Kingsley approached Sirius, who was slumped tiredly in the chair that sat in the middle of the room. Sirius gulped down the glass of water before opening his mouth, allowing the Auror to place three drops of the potion on his tongue, that is when Adelaide noticed the foggy look in the man's eyes.
"What is your name?"
"Sirius Orion Black"
"What's your date of birth?"
"November 3rd 1959"
"The potion is working. Now, Mr Black, have you ever been a death eater?"
Whilst the interrogation was going on, Adelaide's eyes were scanning the room. First, she noticed the tense and angry look of Albus Dumbledore, who was eyeing Sirius with such hatred that put her on edge. She quickly diverted her eyes away from the elder wizard when she saw him turn towards her. She felt his firm glare on the side of her face as she looked around the room once again, seeing the pity in some of the witch's and wizards' eyes as they listened to the man's story. Some, mostly from the darker section, were looking down at her papa with blank stares, though she could see the disgust and annoyance in their eyes. Much to her surprise, however, she saw a flicker of sadness in Lord Malfoy's eyes as Sirius explained what happened the night of Halloween all those years ago.
"Those who find the defendant guilty of all charges, light up your wands" Surprisingly, only one person lit up their wand and that so happens to be one of the people Adelaide despised the most. Delores Umbridge.
"Those who find the defendant innocent of all charges, light up your wands" The room instantly lit up with bulbs of light, making a large smile form on the girl's face as she sighed in relief.
"Lord Sirius Orion Black, we hereby declare that you are innocent of all charges and are free. We at the ministry would like to give you compensation for the troubling injustice you were put through. You'll receive 10000 galleons for every year you suffered in Azkaban. We'd also like to offer you a healer to help you recover-"
"Excuse me, Madam Bones" Heads immediately turned to Adelaide, who stood from her seat beside her uncle.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I already have a healer in mind. We appreciate the offer, nonetheless" Adelaide looked down at her Papa, who was looking directly at her with wide eyes as tears poured down his face.
"Very well-"
"Excuse me, my dear but I would like to know how you have arranged a healer?" Adelaide's head slowly turned towards Albus Dumbledore, who was standing beside his chair with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Firstly, sir, I'd appreciate it if you would use my proper name seeing how I have no clue who you are" Gasps were heard throughout the courtroom, followed by some chuckles by those who aren't fond of the older wizard.
"My apologies Miss Potter-"
"My proper title, Sir. I'm Adelaide Potter-Black, Lady to the noble and most ancient house of Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin and Heiress to the noble and most ancient house of Black" Her voice was strong and cold, glaring down at the paled and shocked wizard, who's eyes were absent of all twinkle that was previously there.
"I'm sorry but that is not possible, you are a child and can only claim your titles at the age of seventeen" Albus held a smug smile on his face, which was dropped almost instantly when a laugh escaped the young girl's mouth.
"You must be mistaken, Sir. I am the last remaining member of those houses and only recently was I declared emancipated, allowing me to claim my inheritance early. Madam Bones has the inheritance test that I took from Gringotts, though there are a few things on there that only she and the minister are allowed to see" She smirked at the man before turning to Madam Bones.
"Madam Bones, on the parchment I provided there should be two new pieces of information. I would like for you and the minister to see that piece of information" The minister looked intrigued by what was shown on the parchment whilst Madam Bones seemed both curious and hesitant, though, after a reassuring smile from the young girl, the woman pulled out the test and gestured for the minister to approached her.
"Are you sure about this, cub?" Remus whispered, glancing between the courtroom and her in concern.
"Don't worry, Uncle Moony. I know what I'm doing" He simply nodded his head and turned towards the crowd when he heard a gasp escape Madam Bones' mouth.
"Lady Potter Peverell-"
"Just Lady Potter-Black is fine with me, Madam Bones" Adelaide interrupted softly, earning a slight smile from the usually stern woman.
"Do you mind coming down here?" Adelaide shook her head before placing a kiss on her Uncles cheek and making her way down to the middle of the room, where her Papa was watching her every move in awe and pride.
"Lady Potter-Black, you mentioned you took an inheritance test at Gringotts bank, correct?" The woman asked slowly as she glanced between the parchment and the young girl before her.
"Yes, Ma'am"
"Are you aware of what these two titles mean?" Cornelius Fudge questioned the girl, his voice quivering in awe and fear.
"Yes, minister-" She was interrupted by a harsh cough from behind her, she turned around quickly and noticed her Papa wince in pain, rubbing his already dry throat.
"Papa? Are you thirsty?" She asked softly as she approached the man, whose head shot up at her angelic voice.
"Just a little, sweetheart" Adelaide nodded her head with a small frown before waving her hand. Gasps and whispers erupted through the courtroom as a glass of water appeared in her hand.
"Here we go, Papa. Let me know when you want more" She whispered as she passed him the glass, who took it slowly as he looked at his daughter in a daze.
"Thank you, puppy"
"As I was saying, minister, I'm well aware of what my titles mean" Cornelius nodded his head silently, his eyes still wide in shock at her display of wandless and nonverbal magic.
"I would like to know what titles are being spoken of"