Disclaimer: JKR owns all of the rights.
"Really, Albus, I don't see why this couldn't wait," grumbled Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.
"Just trust me, my dear boy," responded Albus Dumbledore as he continued marching towards where the Weasley Clan was staying. Cornelius Fudge walked next to him, exasperated, and they were followed by three Aurors. This was, no doubt, going to be an interesting day in the Weasley family.
Of course the Weasley family knew the Headmaster; there had been many meetings between the elderly man and the parents. They had seven children and just a few months prior, Albus had to sit the grieving parents down in his office to tell them that, yes, their only daughter (and most likely their youngest son) had died in the Chamber of Secrets. Naturally this meeting was made quite happy when Harry Potter had stumbled in and proclaimed that everyone was okay (except for Lockhart, but Dumbledore didn't truly miss the man, if you asked him privately).
The Weasley family was home to Harry Potter's best friend, Ronald Weasley. And, Ronald was in question because of a tale that Remus Lupin had weaved for the man. Dumbledore didn't doubt what Lupin had claimed, but he also hadn't told the Minister of Magic where he heard the ridiculous rumor as the Ministry rarely believed the tales of werewolves. It was tragic to deny someone so bright equal rights, but there would be other times to conquer diversity in the wizarding world. This was not exactly the best time.
"Do they even know that we're coming?" Fudge's tone was clearly annoyed; Dumbledore was amused. The man wasn't really concerned about the family knowing that the Minister and Headmaster were coming, rather he was concerned that they were "wasting precious time," as he had put it earlier.
Just the day prior, Dumbledore had believed Sirius Black to be guilty of killing his best friend. Now he knew that it was, indeed, Peter Pettigrew who was responsible. "Naturally. I sent them an Owl this morning. Don't worry," Albus assured him with twinkling blue eyes. The Minister had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"I really don't have time to be doing this, Headmaster. I do have urgent matters at Azkaban."
"As you've said before, Cornelius. However, this... story deserves to be looked into. After all, would you like to be locked up for twelve years for a crime you did not commit?"
"N-no! Of course not, Dumbledore! Don't be preposterous!"
"Then humor me," Dumbledore advised. They had reached the place that the Weasley's were staying at. Dumbledore raised one hand and knocked twice. Almost immediately the door flung open, revealing the two Weasley twins, Fred and George.
"Hello Professor -"
"- fancy seeing you here-"
"- dad mentioned that you'd be-"
"- stopping by today, but he didn't exactly -"
"- say why. And, hello -"
"- Minister Fudge! It's a pleasure -"
"- to meet you! Why -"
" - don't you come in?"
"Charming," the Minister said dryly as he took a step into the small room. He obviously had never seen the Weasley twins in action. Fred and George, although they spent too much time pranking, were quite bright; Albus knew that they would be a lot brighter and have achieved a lot better grades if they put one fourth the effort into school that they did into pranking.
"I hope your holidays have been quite enjoyable, boys," Albus said warmly.
The boys nodded and Fred - or was it George? Even Albus Dumbledore could be confused at times! - and they both chanted, "We'll go get mum and dad for you!" before running off into the back room.
Not even a moment later, a flustered Molly Weasley came out from the back room. Arthur was quick on her heels, all smiles. "Minister, Headmaster," they greeted together.
"What can we do for you today? Your letter was a bit, ah, vague," Arthur said with a small smile, though he was clearly bemused by the Auror squad that had flanked the Headmaster and Minister. Surely, if the children were in trouble (and you never knew with children like Fred and George!) they wouldn't be in so much trouble that an Auror squad would need to accompany the Headmaster.... right?
"I have heard a story - and, I believe it to be quite true - from a confidence that... Sirius Black is innocent."
"Black! Innocent?!" Molly exclaimed, looking quite confused. "Hardly! Albus, my dear Headmaster, he murdered all those poor muggles in broad day light! And his supposed best friend, James and Lily! And Peter! How can he be innocent?"
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. That's exactly what I've been trying to tell the Headmaster. Of course you know Albus and the way he is when he gets some story mixed up in his --"
Albus silenced the Minister with a sharp look. "I have received notice by, ah, how do I say this without giving away their identity? Well, I received news that... well, can I see your son's rat?"
"Ron's rat?" Arthur was even more confused at this point. He shared a look with his wife and it was clear to see that she was even more confused than her husband. "What's Ron's rat have to do with anything?"
"I believe him to be an illegal animagi," Dumbledore responded cooly.
"Really, Dumbledore! You didn't even tell me the whole story! This is too far fetched to even believe. I'm sorry that we've bothered your holiday," Cornelius apologized as he started to turn. However, Dumbledore reached out and, looping his slender fingers around Cornelius' upper arm, held the Minister in place.
"I just need to see the rat, Arthur. If he is really a rat and not, let's say Peter Pettigrew, nothing will happen to him," he assured the couple. Cornelius struggled against his grip, obviously thinking the old man was weak, but Albus made no move to let him go. The Auror Squad, interested by this new piece of information, made no effort to save their boss from the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Everyone knew that Albus was far more agreeable and interesting than Cornelius Fudge was, anyway.
Arthur nodded and turned on his heel and left the room. A moment later, he brought a tired looking red-haired boy out who was clutching his rat like it was his life line. "Wha'samatter?"
"Nothing is wrong, Ronald," Albus assured the tired boy, who was obviously just woken up by his father. The boy continued to look at the Headmaster for a moment. If nothing was wrong, why was the Headmaster, the Minister of Magic, and three Aurors standing here?
"Then... why do you need my rat?"
"We just need to run a test on him, my dear boy. I promise that no harm will come to him," Albus said with a smile and twinkling blue eyes as he held out his hand for the rat. Ron debated handing the Headmaster his rat for the briefest of seconds and then he plopped the scared looking rat onto the Headmaster's outstretched hand.
"Brilliant, thank you," Albus said cheerfully.
The Headmaster looked pointedly at Molly and Arthur, silently telling them that he would like privacy. "Right, then," Molly said gracefully, steering Ron away and back towards the back room (Ron's protests could be heard quietly as his mother dragged him away: "But, mum! That's Scabbers! Why do they need to see him?!"). Arthur nodded once and went off after his wife and youngest son.
Albus turned to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the second in command of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic (Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour had a previous engagement and could not attend.). This was all very well, as Shacklebolt had known Sirius Black as a younger man, when they had both been part of the Order of the Phoenix. Kingsley had been one of the three to accompany the Headmaster and the Minister. The other two were newer recruits Nymphadora Tonks (who, ironically, was related to Sirius Black) and John Dawlish (the Minister swore by Dawlish and refused to go anywhere without the bloke). "Would you like to do the honors, Kingsley?"
"Of course, Sir," Kingsley responded in his slow, deep timbre of a voice. "Tonks, Dawlish," Kingsley said with a nod towards the rat.
The two Aurors stepped forward. "If I may, Headmaster?" Tonks asked, holding her hands out for the now struggling rat.
"Call me Albus, Tonks," he said with a chuckle as he handed the rat over. The rat bit and scratched at Tonks' hands, but she made no movement to drop it. Kingsley aimed his wand and cast the spell to reveal the animagi that was hiding within the rat's body...
***
"Can today be anymore impossible?" Fudge demanded angrily as he stepped foot onto the island that Azkaban Wizarding Prison rested on.
"I'm sure it could," humored Albus Dumbledore. Kingsley bit back a laugh as he stepped in front of the two powerful wizards and led them towards Sirius Black's cell.
After Peter Pettigrew had been revealed, the Auror Squad immediately secured him and Tonks and Dawlish had transported him back to the Ministry for further questioning. However, it was clear, even to someone as thick as Minister Fudge seemed to be, that Pettigrew's state of living meant that Sirius Black was most certainly not guilty. After assuring the screaming Molly Weasley that all was well, the trio apparated to the dock where a boat was waiting to take them to the small island. Apparition directly onto the island was impossible for security reasons, but the boat ride was short.
The fortress was not quite; it was quite the opposite, actually. The screams and howls of the prisoners echoed off of the walls and seemed to follow the trio as the made their way to the high security ward. Currently, Sirius Black was the only prisoner in that section of the prisoner. His cell was guarded by no less than four dementors at any given time. To put it mildly, Sirius Black was in a living hell.
Approaching the cell, the dementors scattered as Cornelius Fudge dismissed them with a wave. The cold feeling that the small group felt was hardly any comfort. Everyone in this prison had already lost their mind. Of course, they'd have to do a quick interview with Black and Albus sincerely hoped that his mind wasn't too far gone. It was imperative that their questions got answered to the best of his ability before they returned the prisoner to the mainland. It was imperative that they knew for certain before the Minister offered retribution and made an official announcement to the Wizarding World.
"Who in the hell put him in here without giving him a trial anyway?" Fudge muttered as they took a couple more steps towards the cell.
"I do believe that would be Barty Crouch," replied Dumbledore, knowing that the Minister didn't really care.
"Black! Get up this instant!" Kingsley barked through the cell doors. "Stand back," he warned the Prisoner, his wand on the man as he opened the cell door with a key. He motioned for the man to come closer and he immediately cast a spell that placed shackles on Sirius.
Pleased that Sirius was properly restrained (after all, you could never be too careful. Just because he wasn't a murdered before he came here didn't mean twelve years in this place had been easy on his strained mind.), Kingsley led Black out into the hall where Dumbledore and Fudge stood waiting. Black's eyes took a second to adjust to the brighter lighting and he was clearly confused as to why his former Headmaster and the current Minister of Magic were standing there.
"And to what do I owe this great pleasure, men?" Sirius rasped, his voice weak and strained from years of silence. Black never had been one of the ones that screamed in his sleep. He was rather quiet, as far as inmates went. Then again, he had one up on everyone: he was innocent. That wasn't really a happy thought, so he was allowed to keep it to himself.
"We've just got a few questions for you, Sirius," Albus responded without really telling him anything. He didn't want to get Sirius' hopes up, although he was more than confident that the story would correspond with what they had found already that day, and Remus' story from the previous day. If everything worked out as planned, they would be out of here in no time.
Sirius remained silent as he was lead down the hall and into an interrogation room. He was roughly shoved into a cold, hard seat; it seems that there was no love lost between Kingsley and him. They had spent several years working side by side as Aurors in the first war. Most importantly, they had both been members of the Order. But memories faded and some people you thought you knew became murderers and convicts. Sirius knew that story far too well.
A loud cracking noise made three of the men jump and Albus just chuckled. He offered all of the men a piece of chocolate and then he took the final one for himself. "We just had some questions to ask you about the... events of twelve years ago, Sirius."
Sirius barked out a harsh laugh and for a brief second, he held a fiercely crazy look in his eyes. "About time, then! What happened to change your mind? To force your hand to come talk to me?"
"I've heard a story from someone and I'd just like to see if you could collaborate it. We could provide you with some lovely Veritaserum if you'd like that instead, Sirius."
Sirius sighed. He rather not be drugged for anything. "What would you like to know?"
"Who was the Potter's secret keeper?"
"Dumbledore! He really does need to be administered Veritaserum for this! He could lie and make it --"
"Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said harshly, interrupting the Minister's blubbering.
"And what made them change from you to Peter?"
"They thought... well, you see, I convinced James that Remus was the spy. I really thought he was. I mean, the werewolves were giving Lord Voldemort-" Sirius ignored Fudge's flinch at the name. "- more and more support and it just made sense. Lily didn't buy it. James knew that it wasn't me. He knew how much I abhorred dark magic..."
Sirius inhaled deeply as he reorganized his thoughts. This was harder than he thought. He wished he had more chocolate, but he wasn't foolish enough to ask for more. Looking back at Dumbledore, Sirius continued on with his tale. "I told him that they'd go after me first; it'd be so obvious. Who else would know the Potter's secret than me? Everyone knew that James and I were closer than brothers. I had him switch to Peter. No one would ever suspect Peter! As if anyone would trust him with information so important!"
"And they agreed to the switch?"
"Yes. Anything to keep themselves and.. Harry safe. I don't... he... Merlin," Sirius croaked, unable to finish. Sirius looked down at the table, ashamed. He had thought about it many a long night. If it hadn't been for Sirius' foolhardiness and unwillingness to believe that Peter could achieve anything great... Lily and James would still be alive.
James and Sirius had been closer than brothers. Ever since they had met on the Hogwarts train, they knew that they were destined to be great friends. Although both of them came from Pureblood families, it was clear that you couldn't get any different upbringings than the ones they had enjoyed (or in Sirius' case, detested) in their young lives. While James had been pampered and spoiled, Sirius had been beaten and cursed. Yet it hadn't mattered at all.
And Lily! Lily. Lily Evans, the brilliant red-haired witch with the bright green eyes that her son had shared in common with her. James' boy through and through, except for the eyes. You'd have never thought she bore the boy except for the eyes. And Sirius had loved Lily more than he should have. He bit his tongue at the wedding and let his dreams, his heart, go. He had watched as Lily loved James and relished in the little things. The moments that hadn't mattered as much to Lily as they had to him.
But they hadn't been meant to be. It was clear to see that it had to be James and Lily. James was the one who was more mature; he was the one who would be able to provide better than Sirius. Lily chose James (although she loved Sirius quite a lot) and Sirius had vowed to do everything he could to protect them and his god-son. He had failed, but... if given the chance, he'd do it all over again. But this time.... this time... he'd save them. He wouldn't convince them that they needed to change Secret Keepers; he'd inform Dumbledore of the switch...
"Sirius, my dear boy," came a voice and a hand on Sirius' shoulder caused him to jump. It was only then that he realized that he was shaking uncontrollably and the table in front of him seemed to have splashes from tears on it. Sirius could feel the hot liquid seeping down his cheeks, but how... why?
"I killed them," he croaked finally.
"See, Dumbledore! There is obviously a reason as to why Pettigrew was hiding as a rat!" Cornelius deduced.
"I don't think that's what he meant," Dumbledore mumbled. "Sirius, can you elaborate? How did you kill them?"
"I convinced them to switch. If it hadn't been for me... If I had just done it like James asked... They would have hid there forever and Voldemort would have never of found them! But I convinced them to switch to him! I killed them!"
Sirius was getting very emotional at this point and the Headmaster was starting to worry about how much damage Azkaban had done to his mind. Although he had seemed quite with it - not as insane, you could say - it was clear that his mental state was quickly unraveling. Reaching into his robe, Dumbledore produced the photo of the Weasley family that had appeared the previous day in The Daily Prophet, and he placed it gently on the table in front of Sirius.
"What's the meaning of--" Sirius cut himself off as he snatched up the photo and stared in horror at the rat on the boy's shoulder.
"Can you tell me who that is, Sirius?" probed Albus gently.
"Peter," he replied breathlessly.
Albus nodded to Cornelius who rolled his eyes and motioned for Kingsley to free the prisoner of his binds. Sirius didn't seem to notice as his eyes were still locked on that photo. Albus cleared his throat and Cornelius seemed to remember that he had a job to be doing.
"Right, then. Mr. Black, the Ministry of Magic would like to offer you a full pardon and a retribution of 100, 000 Galleons."
"Harry," croaked Sirius, who didn't seem to care about the money. His eyes searched for the ancient Headmaster.
"We'll discuss it. I do believe that it could work..." Albus had seen the longing glances that Sirius had shot at Lily Potter for years. She had loved him, too, in her own way. Not as much as James and not as much as her son, but she had loved him. It would be easy for the wards to be changed and for her son to be placed in his god-father's care.
Sirius nodded and exhaled. Slowly, the man stood up from his seat and took Dumbledore's arm. He was shaking like a leaf from the pure exhaustion that had been the last near hour of his life and just from the exhaustion that it was to be a prisoner in the fortress. It was hell here and he'd be glad to be getting back.
As they walked back to the boat, Kingsley and Fudge ahead of the other two men, Albus and Sirius talked in hushed voices. Remus, it seemed, had figured everything out on his own. It had taken him twelve years, but he at least had the balls to speak up. Sirius admired that and he'd have to give Remus a very big hug before he even spoke to him.
"You can stay the night at Hogwarts tonight, Sirius. Then we can discuss where we'll be going from there," the headmaster told the exhausted man gently. Sirius had nodded. "Do you have any means of supporting Harry?"
"Well, I've got my families gold and, from what the Minister said, I'll be getting a nice payback for my years spent in hell." Would that be enough?
"I think it would be beneficial for you to get a job. Remus will be teaching at Hogwarts starting this fall," Dumbledore informed him gently.
"Yeah? That's good, really. I'm glad. He's always had a tough time of life. It's not fair," Sirius said with a sigh.
"I have an opening for a Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Sirius. I'd like for you to consider it. I think that Harry put it on his schedule for the upcoming year." Dumbledore had a feeling that saying those magic words - Harry - would cause the man to at least consider it. The truth was, Dumbledore didn't want Sirius just going out into the world on his own. As a young man, he had been quite unstable. He had never really had a loving home until his parents had kicked him out. Now he was going from a prison to the real world. Dumbledore knew that it would be good for him to be around Remus and... well, that could very well be arranged.
"I know nothing of teaching, Headmaster," responded Sirius softly. He had no idea what to do with a bunch of kids. But Harry with Lily's eyes and James' body would be there...
"Hagrid has been eyeing the position. Would you perhaps like to try co-teaching?"
Sirius shrugged, unsure. "Can I... think on it? It's been a long day."
"That it has been, my boy! Of course you can sleep on it," he promised. It was at this point that the boat - when had they gotten into the small boat? wondered Sirius - reached the mainland. Offering Sirius his arm, Dumbledore apparated with the young, drained man to Hogsmede.
What an eventful day, indeed!