Ah, Justice!
(Of course, I have to write a story about justice stymied, about the concerns higher than a small child. And a story about regret, oh, so much regret).

YAY!

Thank you. I had no idea there was a sequel.

Very nice! I like the adults being adults. I would be interested in reading Sirius POV, or whoever met him from the ministry POV, as he is brought from Azkaban, and I suppose, taken to St. mungo's. I completely understand if you do not write such a thing; it just sounded like something you could write well. Of course, this topic would probably be covered in year 2, but I wasn't sure from whose POV :)

Great chapter. What will Albus do next? And I loved how excited the teachers were about the better educational opportunities this new syllabus provides. However, the four students are still sitting with them in Minerva's office. Maybe when you edit, either at the end of last chapter or the beginning of this one, they might be dismissed? ;) I was picturing them the whole time these discussions were going on, sitting silently and looking back and forth at the different speakers :)

Excellent story! It was a pleasure to read a story that dealt with Harry's abuse and the need for intervention without subjecting him to further abuse. I appreciated Severus confronting Dumbledore early on with his role in the ongoing abuse of Tom Riddle, Snape himself, and Harry, punctuating his point with the fact that Riddle became Voldemort and Snape became a DE. He utilized his information to address whether or not Dumbledore really wanted to create another Dark Wizard by continuing to abuse Harry.

Was Dumbledore bashed? No, I don't really think so. I think all of the characters who either confronted him, discussed him, or considered their past dealings with him were sincerely seeking to know whether their feelings of betrayal were just. They also wanted to know in their hearts that they were seeking justice for Harry and not just revenge.

I loved your strong Minerva. She was the Minerva I think JK THOUGHT she was giving us ... but she didn't. McGonagall was brutally honest with herself here, and she stepped up to make the needed changes. I loved her friendship with Snape. I think you kept him true to his snarky, surly, canon self, but you also allowed him to grow a bit. It was even tougher, I think, for him to lay bare his transgressions than it was for Harry to trust McGonagall. In the end, I think that being trusted and respected by Minerva had a positive effect on Severus.

It was nice, for a change, to see Harry carefully watched by adults who didn't feel the need to send him into one deadly adventure after another. For all of canon Snape's yammering on how Harry gets into one scrape after the other - as if he dreamed up these "adventures" on his own - it is Dumbledore who sets Harry on his yearly quest. It was nice to simply watch him being a Wizarding kid without risking his life in the forest or fighting the dumbell

I would have appreciated seeing Harry and Sirius connect, but we can't have everything. Ron was certainly better than canon Ron. Was it just having the responsibility of keeping Harry caught up at the beginning that set the tone for his character? Whatever the case, he was much more likeable.

I look forward to following our hero's further escapades. Again, wonderful story!

I thought one of the reasons the Hogwarts curriculum had been pared down - or dumbed down - was that Purebloods were unable to keep up, due to being weaker students. Rather than having it blatantly shown that Muggleborns and Halfbloods are stronger magically, courses the Purebloods couldn't handle were either gotten rid of altogether or weakened sufficiently for the Purebloods to pass them. It is why ICW OWLs and NEWTs are more strenuous than the British tests.

I suppose this is just fanon, although it certainly seems accurate, based on the whole "inbred Pureblood" issue. The staff sound positively rapturous at bringing Hogwarts back to what she once was.

Sorry for not reviewing the last couple of chapters. I just couldn't stop reading until I knew if Pettigrew would be captured. I must say, you played quite a cat-and-mouse game with my emotions! ;) It was very exciting! I only hope Sirius is soon out and has Harry in custody. If it happens, Sirius will owe Bathilda a lot of favors, because it was she who got Minerva and Remus to jump-start their brains and truly think about the natures of both Black and Pettigrew.

I hope things work out for Sirius and his mind isn't too far gone from Dementor exposure.

So now we know why it had to be Bathilda. She will, I hope, be the one to get Sirius a trial. Too bad Ron didn't hear that conversation. The kids might have worked out that Scabbers is Peter. Will we have to wait for two more years to figure out the puzzle? I hope not.

Bathilda tells it like it is, whether it hurts or not. Good for her.

While I will admit this Snape is much less horrible than canon Snape, he needs to get off his high horse with Remus. Remus was as much a victim of Sirius's prank as Severus was. The Marauders were bullies, it is true; however, canon tells us that Snape gave as good as he got. It must be acknowledged that his penchant for dark magic contributed to his becoming a target of the Marauders. Was it fair? No, but it is an explanation. We also know he Snape created Dark spells, because one of his spells (Sectumsempra) was transcribed in the HBP's book that Harry used. If there was one, we know that this DE probably created more.

We also know that Sirius was abused by his parents and hated anything to do with Dark magic. This was one reason he left home. This undoubtedly contributed to his hatred of Snape, because he would have probably associated him with pain and evil he received at the hands of his own family.

Snape's own confession to Minerva in this story (non-canon) certainly tells us he was no mere victim when it came to inflicting pain and death on innocents. He committed unspeakable evils in his time as a DE, a path he willingly chose. Yes, he regrets them now. I'm sure Remus and maybe Sirius regret the sins of their youth, as well. But Snape does not have the moral high ground here. He needs to grow up and let go of old grudges, just as the Marauders do ... at least where Remus is concerned. I won't speak to Sirius yet, because we haven't met him and I have no idea how he is drawn.

Oh, dear. Because there are so many chapters remaining, I suppose we are doomed to be stuck with that ding dong Lockhart at some point. The man has no shame ... and no sense. The thought of Lockhart makes me gag. I've read a couple of fanfics in which he was portrayed as a pedophile, and I have to say, I thought the characterization fit.

Perhaps Remus would be willing to teach just Harry's year in exchange for room and board and wolfsbane.

OR ... Perhaps Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel would be willing to teach DADA. They would be amazing! With two of them, the classes could be smaller, so that they could do some catching up of things not covered by the most recent trail of incompetents. Who could object to them? They could even offer up a new elective: Alchemy!

"... if the wrath in the old witches eyes ..." WITCHES is the plural, meaning more than one witch. You need the singular possessive, WITCH'S, as you are speaking of eyes belonging to only one witch.

This was certainly a packed chapter, and it brought up a few issues. I hope that Minerva's questions about Sirius at the end, to herself, spur her to ask them of Amelia. Perhaps he can be spared another year or two in Azkaban if someone does ask those questions.

Did Fawkes break his familiar bond with Albus? I wonder how that will affect him health wise. Surely the magic of the Firebird stokes Dumbledore's own magic. Will losing his familiar weaken him? Just wondering.

Well, I'm disappointed. I was hoping for Harry to have a family like the Tonkses, the Diggorys, or even Flitwick. At least it should be someone who is actually within 75 years of Harry's age rather than someone who is apparently older than Dumbledore. (Grindelwald was her great-nephew, right?) I think Amelia dropped the ball there. While Harry isn't a difficult child, he needs a positive father figure who is young enough to do things with him. Bathilda might be okay as a co-parent, but if I were Harry, I would feel as though I were just being sloughed off so I was out of everyone's hair. Well, maybe he won't care, if she is nice to him.

I'm not into Severitus stories, but I think even Sev would be a better choice for guardian.

I wonder if Quirrell will manage to escape. I hope the Unspeakables look under his turban. I do like that the professors held a united front against Dumbledore in this case. Perhaps Amelia will be able to question Dumbledore and attempt to find out what he was thinking, having Voldemort in the school with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Of course, she would probably have to use a gallon of veritaserum to get the truth, but hey! Whatever works, right?

I'm curious ... Is the Castle sentient in your story? If so, how does she feel about the things Dumbledore is doing? How does Fawkes view Dumbledore? He or she hasn't yet been mentioned, right?

I wonder who Harry's new foster parents are. The Tonkses, perhaps? Amelia herself? I can't wait to find out!

"The thought of three first years against a mountain troll? Well, it doesn't bare thinking about." I think you mean "it doesn't BEAR thinking about." Ah, I see you have used the phrase spelled correctly down the page. This one was probably just a typo or the auto-edit playing tricks.

"... miscreant young hero's ..." The correct spelling is heroes.

Ron seems to be coming off better in your story. I hope his common sense continues to prevail. Neville, too, seems to be stepping up.

Too bad Dumbledore lacks common sense. If there is a troll in the dungeons, it is completely idiotic to send the Slytherins and Puffs back to their common rooms ... IN THE DUNGEONS! Actually, since the Troll obviously moves around, it's insane to send any of the kids out into the corridors where they might meet it in their travels. Someone should also have been appointed to keep an eye on Quirrell. I hope the four Heads have already added to the protections.