6)

6) Padfoots Corner

Sirius Black innocent!

The assassination attempt on Harry Potter yesterday brought forth some shocking news, Sirius Black is and has always been innocent of the crimes he was imprisoned for.
The corps was identified by the Ministry as Peter Pettigrew without any doubt. In an emergency meeting the Wizardgarmont cleared Sirius Black. He is going to be given a hefty sum for his unlawful imprisonment on top of the inheritance of the Black family since his mother died recently.
"The Daily Prophet" hopes that the rumors are true and Mr. Black is still sane and turns up healthy.

"I hope that as well, Remus." Dumbledore put the paper down.

Remus had hurried back home when he couldn't reach Sebastian. Luckily Harry was all right. After a dose of sleeping potion and a good breakfast Harry was fine.

"I am absolutely sure," Remus, Sebastian and Harry sat in Dumbledores office, "and here is a good place to start searching."

"Why do you think Sirius might be here?"

"The school has always been his true home. I know he is not in the castle but I would like to take a closer look at the grounds."

"How do you know he is not in the school?" Sebastian took the words right out of the Headmasters mouth.
But they didn't get an answer. Remus just smiled and Harry saw how Moony patted the piece of paper in his pocket. That was the Marauders Map and for the others it just looked like a bit of parchment.

They had searched all day when they finally reached the Shrieking Shack.
Sebastian was shocked about the state it was in. Remus had told him about the transformations but he hadn't known how brutal the wolf could be.

Remus knew immediately that Sirius had been there. Not only was his scent all over but pinned on the wall was a piece of paper. Dirty and torn, but clearly the picture Remus had given him in Askaban.

Moony knew were to look now.

Remus and his friends had known the grounds of Hogwarts better then the Headmaster. How they managed to get by the dangerous creatures unharmed and undetected was still puzzling Dumbledore as he followed Remus who had taken a path he was not familiar with.

Sebastian stalked after the Headmaster, wand drawn he was glaring angrily at the wilderness that grew steadily thicker.

Harry didn't seem to know any fear. He had no eye for their surroundings as he followed Remus to the man that meant so much to them.

Sebastian had never understood their tight friendship, he had suspected once that Remus and Black were…well… . But no, Remus had laughed himself silly when asked. No. Remus isolation had always had the one reason, his lycanthropy, and that's why he was always close to the few friends he had.

'How, by Merlin, were they supposed to find the man in this forest?' Sebastian was wondering from time to time.

"Remus, where are you leading us? Why are you so sure he is still here?" asked Dumbledore when they reached a small clearing.

"The picture in the Shack was a clue for me. I am the last one who knows about this place, he wants to make sure I am the one who finds him. We saw the Grim here for the first time. This place is called Padfoots Corner for that reason."

"The dog? You had the dog from the forbidden forest?" Sebastian stared at Remus. A grin spread over the werewolves face. Then he turned his face and called into his forest:

"Sirius! Peter is dead, you are free! Come on Padfoot!"

Why was he calling for the dog now?

"Sirius?"

Before Sebastian cold stop him Harry had stepped up.

"Padfoot?" he asked into the bush.

There was the sound of breaking twigs and slowly a massive shadow stepped out of the bushes.

Remus escaped a relieved sigh when he saw the dog.
Dumbledore shook his head and murmured something like: " …should have known…", while Harry went and hugged the dog.

In just this moment the dog turned into Sirius Black! An Animagus!

The man was horribly thin, hardly looked like he had on the pictures. He held Harry tight and was whispering to him.

Remus knelt down by them.

"Come on, lets go."

"He is really dead?"

"He is."

Sirius had problems standing up with Harry in his arms. "Good."

Harry had fallen asleep in Sirius arms when they had entered Dumbledores office and Sirius didn't want to put him on a couch.
Remus had told their story with Sirius' help.
Dumbledore was shocked, he was asking himself just how much dark magic Sirius had learned from his evil family?

"I hadn't thought you would ever use this kind of magic."

"I hadn't up to that point," Harry shifted a bit but didn't wake, "we couldn't let Remus die, it was our last chance. It proved to me that magic is only as dark or light as the one casting it."

"If I heard someone else say that I would be concerned." Dumbledore smiled about the way Sirius was holding Harry.

"James aloud Lily to participate knowing she was pregnant?"

"And I was really angry that they hadn't told me before," said Remus.

"You wouldn't have done it if you had known", Sirius returned before continuing. "James laughed him in the face and told him it was their decision."

"The Ritual explains a lot. Peters death for example when he attacked Harry. He betrayed the circle. And why Remus was sure that Sirius was innocent. Even if Sirius hadn't been with him he couldn't have killed Peter without dieing as well. And it explains why Remus couldn't tell us about Padfoot."

Dumbledore kept talking: "Peter must have been in horrible pain in his last moments. The ritual had joined your blood. Peter had broken the circle and the circle punished him."

"What happened exactly, I mean, how did he die?" asked Sebastian. Sirius wasn't really interested. He looked at the sleeping form of his Godchild and only listened partly to the conversation.

"We will probably never really find out. What killed Peter could probably best be described as a Cruciatus."

"The Cruciatus doesn't kill," Sebastian exclaimed.

"It does, if it is strong enough." Sirius finally said. "What I do not understand is how Peter could betray James and Lily." Sirius stared out of the window.

Dumbledore thought about it for a while before he answered.

"He just gave Voldemort the address. No magic is without fault. But maybe Peter thought the ritual had failed before and it would again."

"He was wrong about that." Sirius said in an icy tone.