"Albus this is a very dangerous situation, surely you agree with me that we can't allow the public to know that he's here", Cornelius Fudge's word echoed across the ward, and despite himself he allowed his voice to rise by several octaves as he argued with the man before him. Albus Dumbledore was widely regarded as the greatest living Wizard; his defeat of Grindelwald had made him a legend across the wizarding world. Yet for all his power and wisdom, Fudge thought him to be incredible naïve. "My dear friend, I am fully aware of the risks involved with Mr Blacks tenure here, but to deny him medical help when he clearly needs it would put us at the same level as Voldemort himself", Dumbledore's voice was gentle but fire, and despite the calmness to his words Fudge couldn't suppress a wince at the name. "Sirius was found amidst a swarm of Inferi, conjured from the muggle victims of the duel. Until he awakes, it would be wrong to deny him this hospitality. St Mungo's is the safest place for him right now", Dumbledore's logic made sense to the junior minister, and yet he couldn't deny to himself that he was nervous around Sirius Black. He was nervous around Dark magic in general; not that anyone could blame him. In the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters had taken its toll; Fudge estimated the death count to be somewhere in the hundreds. The dark wizards had no regard for muggle life, and Fudge had been on the scene just moments after these attacks, and he had struggled with the scenes ever since.

"The evidence is clear Albus, we found Sirius Black with the body of young Peter Pettigrew, torn to shreds, in the middle of a muggle street. He created Inferi for Merlins sake!" Fudge was afraid, and Dumbledore knew that. Fudge never dealt well with dark magic, it paralyzed him with fear and controlled him. Secretly, he thought very little of the junior minister, although others around him praised Fudge as a brilliant wizard. "The only course of action we can take here is to send him straight to Azkaban. We can't run the risk of another massacre", Fudge pleaded, desperate to stop the threat that Sirius held. "You may be right. The Minister for Magic will be here soon", Dumbledore pulled his wand from his robes and muttered 'Rennervate'. All at once, Sirius' eyelids fluttered open and met the piercing blue of Albus Dumbledore. For a brief moment Sirius struggled against the ropes that bound him, and he reached for his wand only to find it missing from within his robes. Finding no possible escape, he contented himself by staring into the eyes of Dumbledore, searching for a sign of trust. For his part, Fudge nervously stood behind him, a fearful look on his face as he stared toward the revived wizard. "James…Lily…Peter sold them out…He killed them Albus", Sirius' rage had evaporated, his bloodlust and desire for revenge burned out after the fight. Now he wanted nothing more than to see his friends again; to see James and Lily just one more time. No tears came from his eyes, but a piercing howl as his mind replayed his mistake over and over again. The Death Eaters will come for me, but they won't suspect Peter. The thought would haunt him forever, knowing that he delivered the Potters to Voldemort. In his mind, Sirius was to blame.

"Sirius, you need to calm down and think for a moment. I need to know what happened, I need to know why you killed half a dozen muggles and created Inferi. I need to know why you killed Peter", Dumbledore's words were blunt, but the emotion in his voice was palpable. He too had lost dear friends, but he was far too old to let himself wallow in grief and self pity. "NO! I AM NOT A MURDERER!" Sirius' scream echoed down the halls, startling the cowering junior minister. Dumbledore however only stood stoically, expressionless save for his eyes which swam in despair and hope. "I didn't kill the muggles", Sirius' voice was on the verge of breaking. Dumbledore admired the strength of the young wizard. "Sirius, when we arrived we found you, we found the Inferi, and we found the remains of Peter Pettigrew", Fudge interrupted Sirius with a surprising amount of animosity in his voice. "We found Peter's wand snapped, and we found you covered in blood. What's to stop us putting you in a cell in Azkaban for the rest of your natural life?" Fudge's lack of tolerance towards dark magic was well known throughout the ministry; and with good reason. During the war, Death Eaters under the command of Bellatrix Lestrange managed to capture a small contingent of ministry officials and aurors, Fudge among them. For weeks at a time they were tortured, abused and mangled. Only four had managed to survive the ordeal, though none were saved. Fudge fell victim to the Cruciatus Curse, as did Frank and Alice Longbottom. The Longbottoms were two of the most powerful aurors employed by the ministry, they had personally seen to the capture of over 20 Death Eaters including Rodolphus Lestrange; one of Voldemort's inner circles, his capture had enraged Bellatrix. To their credit, Frank and Alice managed to endure 12 days of torture before they broke under the curse. Fudge managed to escape with his mind intact, but the Longbottoms were reduced to a state that he could only describe as 'zombie-like'. The war had taken its toll on the Ministry, and Fudge was unwilling to allow any display of dark magic go unpunished.

"Sirius, we need to know the truth. Would you allow us to use Veritaserum on you? It may be the only way to reach the unaltered truth" Dumbledore ask with genuine concern for the young Black. Fudge blanched at the suggestion, it was evident to that he wanted Sirius sent away without a trial. His fear of the dark arts was so crippling that he would be willing to condemn a possibly innocent man. Dumbledore couldn't simply allow this to happen. James and Lily had been favorites of his for along time, and he had always liked Sirius, Remus and Peter during their stay at Hogwarts; despite the pranks, the four boys were well liked among the teaching staff and showed a great deal of potential. It was unfathomable to him that any of the four young Gryffindors would ever use magic this dark. "I'll let you use just about anything on me if it means I don't have to go to Azkaban". Sirius shuddered at the thought of being condemned to the magical prison. "NO! We can not allow this…this…MONSTER to remain free for any longer. He MUST be sent to Azkaban NOW!" Fudge wailed, desperate to put Sirius behind bars. "He slaughtered half a dozen innocent muggles! He desecrated the dead and created abominations! He ordered the Inferi to rip Peter Pettigrew limb from limb. He is too dangerous, he must be sent to Azkaban".

"I think… that Fudge has a point…" All three wizards turned to look at the source of the voice, and were appropriately shocked when Millicent Bagnold walked through into the room, wand held aloft in one had, a small vial of a clear liquid in held in the other. Fudge looked towards the Minister for Magic in relief and glee. The Minister had agreed with him, and Sirius would be sent straight to Azkaban. "Indeed his does Minister, but can we really justify sending Sirius to Azkaban without knowing all the facts?" Dumbledore argued, desperate to learn the truth behind the incident. "That's why she brought the Veritaserum", Sirius' cracked voice startled Fudge, but Millicent threw a smile in his direction. "You are knowledgeable Mr Black. I have little doubt that you are indeed a powerful wizard. But powerful enough to summon Inferi? We shall see". The Minister showed no fear as she approached Sirius and offered the vial to him. "I think you know the effects of this potion Mr Black, are you certain that you consent to this?" She was offering him a choice, out of pity perhaps. Pity on a man who had apparently lost everything and resorted to dark magic. Millicent wasn't a vengeful person, and she was well known in the wizarding world for her respectful treatment of suspected Death Eaters. Reaching up to pluck the small vial from her hands, Sirius swallowed the contents in one mouthful and failed to suppress a shudder. "I don't remember the tasting being this bad last time" he spoke in a monotonous voice, the potions effects were swift and effective. "Mr Black, would you please tell us of the events leading up to the death of Peter Pettigrew".

Under the effects of the truth serum, Sirius retold his story. "We decided to change secret keepers…we thought it would keep James and Lily safe. The Death Eaters knew of my friendship with James, but they would never suspect Peter". The plan had seemed foolproof. "Peter was secretly a Death Eater, and he gave Voldemort the location of Godric's Hollow. When I found out that James and Lily were dead, I went looking for Peter". In his mind, Sirius willed the people around him to believe him, and he was happy that Veritaserum was being used. It was incredibly hard to counter the effects of the potion, making it an extremely reliable method of extracting the truth. "I confronted him in a muggle street and we dueled for a brief moment before his curse took effect. I don't know what spell he used, but it caused an explosion that killed the muggles near by". In the back of his mind, Sirius felt pity towards the muggles. While he did not care for them personally, they had not deserved the fate that befell them. Being turned into an Inferi by a vengeful Death Eater would rate among the worst fates Sirius could imagine. "Mr Black, did you create the Inferi?" Millicent's graceful voice echoed pleasantly across the room as Fudge looked on.

"No…I did not. Peter created them". Sirius' monotone voice did little to show the hatred burning inside him. Creating Inferi was a hellish act; to deny someone the peace of death and force nature to bend to your will. "I didn't know how to kill them, so I apparated away from them, toward Peter. He didn't notice what I had done, and I used 'Sectumsempra' to cut off his wand hand". Dumbledore's eyes sparkled at the revelation, and his voice cut across Sirius', "Minister, I believe I know what happened. Controlling Inferi requires concentration and power. When Sirius disarmed Peter, he lost his control over them". Sirius nodded slowly, "My spell dismembered his hand, and the Inferi turned on him". Under the effects of the truth serum, Sirius' words were honest and truthfully, but Fudge was unwilling to accept his innocence. "Surely you don't believe him Minister! He is obviously a dark wizard, he must have found a way to circumvent the effects of the Veritaserum" Fudge shrieked. Dumbledore could only shake his head at the fearful junior minister. "Cornelius, I will ask you to remain composed. You represent the ministry and your current manner is more befitting a muggle", Millicent's words bringing a smirk to the face of Dumbledore. "Albus, you are perhaps more knowledgeable than most others. Is there a way to counter the effects of Veritaserum?" Racking his mind, Dumbledore thought of the possibilities, though very few of them seemed applicable to Sirius. "Unless he has managed to take an antidote within the last 10 minutes, it is highly unlikely that Mr Black would be able to ignore the effect of the potion." Dumbledore spoke truthfully; all the methods that he had thought of involved powerful use of Occlumancy, and being a highly accomplished Legilimens himself, he knew that Sirius did not posses the power necessary.

"Minister, you must not let Black fool you! He is a dark wizard and he MUST be sentenced to life in Azkaban. We must protect our world from dark magic", Fudge's voice strained with fear and loathing. He was becoming more and more unraveled, unwilling to believe in Sirius' innocence. "I have no intention of trusting a potion alone Cornelius, I will be entirely certain before my decision is made." Millicent spoke gently but with authority, and at once the stuttering junior minister fell into a reserved silence. Reaching into her robes, she procured a second wand; one that Sirius immediately recognized as his own. Placing the wand on a bedside table, the Minister aimed her own wand and spoke a soft incantation, "Prior Incantato". Luminous reflections emanated from Sirius' wand, glowing with a white radiance. The reflections slowly shifted colour from stark white to a crimson red, and then to a jet black, before the spell ended. "Mr Black, would you please tell us what the last three spells you cast were?" Dumbledore had guessed the spells used by Sirius from the results of the Reverse Spell Effect charm, and was thus unsurprised when Sirius spoke in a monotone voice. "The most recent spell I cast was 'Sectumsempra'. The one before that was an empowered Stunner. I'm not entirely sure what the black vapour that came from my wand was". Fudge leapt at the chance, "Minister its obvious that those black vapours were what created the Inferi!"

"No Fudge, I do not know what they were, but I DO know the incantation to create Inferi. The magical energy used in the spell glows with dark green, not jet black. Whatever the vapours were, they were not what created the Inferi", Dumbledore's expression remained calm and collected, but no one in the room could ignore the hint of anger in his voice. Dumbledore was growing tired of Fudge; the man seemed determined to create problems for the Ministry rather than solve them. "Minister, you've seen it for yourself. We all saw the spells that Sirius cast, and none of them were capable of creating the explosion that killed the muggles". Millicent's wand waved once in the air, and the bindings around Sirius dissolved. "Mr Black, while I can not condone this vigilante justice, you have committed no crime here and your actions resulted in a powerful Death Eater's demise. By my right as Minister for Magic, I pardon you." Sirius' expression was still being influenced by the truth serum, but in the back of his mind he was relieved that the truth had been revealed. He would be spared Azkaban.