Chapter 38-Sirius Black
Waves crashed and the wind blew as cold air rushed into the face of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He shivered violently, pulling his robes around him tighter and stepping into Azkaban prison. He always detested going to Azkaban for inspection, but it had to be done. The two aurors who had accompanied him stood to either side of him, leading him down the dark, bedraggled hall, the sounds of moans and screams filling his ears. One of the auror's was Godric Dumbledore, who always came along for inspection, and the second auror was young, as it was every inspection. The second auror was never the same; instead the newest, less experienced one there was at the time. The inspection of Azkaban was a good place for the auror's to experience the sense of dread they would have to face before being able to take the next step in their training.
It wasn't long before the three of them reached the first cell, and the inspection began. The first cell checked out, as did the next three, and the next four. And then Godric, Fudge, and the quivering auror stepped into the next cell.
This cell was as small and dreary as the others. At the opposite wall sat a musty old bed, and sitting atop it was a gaunt man with long, black hair. At the sound of the cell door creaking open, he raised his head, his greasy hair falling in front of his empty grey eyes. He lazily brought up a bony hand to sweep away the hair, and his lips curled up a fraction of an inch as his gaze fell onto his visitors.
"Godric," he croaked.
Godric inclined his head politely, eyeing the man before him warily before replying, "Sirius Black."
Fudge looked between the two men, curious, once again, as to how they knew each other. Of course, the Dumbledores were well acquainted with many in the wizarding world, but every time there was an inspection of Azkaban, the two acted as if they'd been good friends at one time. Perhaps they had, but Godric would never reveal that information to Fudge. Something else Cornelius noticed was that Godric looked as if he wanted to tell Sirius something each time they saw one another, but each time Godric was unable to say it, and he would stare at Sirius with a look similar to pity.
"How are you?" Sirius asked Godric in a weak voice.
"Well enough," Godric responded. "And you?"
Sirius looked about himself, his eyes falling on the small barred window above his bead, where a dementor was floating by. Sirius smirked. "I'm good. How are your…siblings?"
That look came across Godric's face then. That urge to say something that he just couldn't seem to get out. And once again he could not say it, and he answered, "They're…fine."
"Just fine, eh?" Sirius asked, looking a bit upset, his eyes searching Godric's.
"They're fine," Godric repeated. "Including the new addition".
"The new addition?" Sirius asked, sitting up straighter. "Whose?"
"Mum's," Godric smirked.
Sirius chuckled. "Can't say I'm surprised."
Fudge was surprised, but not that there was another Dumbledore, he had already known that. But he was surprised, as he was every time he came to Sirius Black's cell, to see the man seemingly normal. He didn't look normal, but he acted like it. He was much saner than most within Azkaban.
"What's its name?" Sirius asked.
"Minaveara Ariana. She looks just like Mum."
"Must be beautiful then. Anymore additions I should be aware of?"
Godric hesitated, and that look crossed his face once more. But he shook his head. "Not yet."
Sirius nodded, and he looked to Fudge, his gaze falling on Cornelius's robe pocket. "Can I have that paper?"
Fudge looked down at his robes confusedly, realization dawning on him when he saw the Daily Prophet protruding from his robe pocket. He had received the Prophet that morning, but had yet to read it. He wasn't much worried about it, and so he pulled the Prophet from his robe pocket and handed it to Godric, who walked it over to Sirius. Godric patted Sirius on the shoulder, the two men said goodbye, and then Godric, Fudge, and the pale auror retreated from the room, the cell door closing with a bang.
Sirius sighed when they had gone, his heart aching at the thought of no human contact until the next Azkaban inspection. He pushed his hair back from his face and looked down at the front page. What he saw there made his heart stop momentarily.
The headline read, in large bold letters: 'WHO IS AURORA BLACK?'
Sirius, who had been about to lie back against his musty pillows, sat up quickly, staring at the name there. His eyes fell to the picture under the headline, and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. There were two people in the picture. The one that stood out most was the woman with long, auburn hair and bright green eyes. The woman was no doubt Isadora Dumbledore. Sirius would have known her anywhere, as she remained to this day to be the woman who held his heart. Not only that, but he could never forget her smile, and in the picture she was smiling down at the girl beside her. The girl was similar in features to her mother, but hardly. Instead the girl had black hair, and it wasn't Minerva's raven hair either, it was the same black hair that everyone in the Black family had. Sirius knew it well, and he could tell even in the Prophet picture. The girl also had grey eyes, his grey eyes, and the smile…it was his.
Sirius quickly unfolded the Prophet to read the article below the picture, which began: A mystery has risen! The Daily Prophet has recently been informed that an Aurora Black has just recently attended her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The question is, who is she? Rumors informed us of Isadora Dumbledore, 33, having a child some years ago, but never had we known the child's name or biological father. It was no surprise, as many of the Dumbledore children have kept most of their family as far from us as possible in order to keep their children away from all the publicity. However, Isadora has never been known to even be in a relationship, nor are we aware of one now. We may have found the answer as to why Aurora Black really was hidden.
It seems all too obvious that Aurora Black is indeed the daughter of Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer, who is currently residing in Azkaban as punishment of his crimes. The reason behind hiding Aurora away was likely because Isadora was too ashamed. After all, Sirius Black was the reason for the death of Isadora's triplet sister, Aurora Dumbledore, as well as Lily and James Potter. Aurora Black not only holds the last name of the Black family, but she has similar features as well. She was born less than nine months after Sirius Black was arrested. It can not possibly be just a coincidence.
And so, the question now, is more of what this Aurora Black is really like. Will she be a murderer like her father? And is the girl even aware of who her father is? Is anyone in the Dumbledore family aware for that matter? If Isadora hid Aurora this long, then perhaps she was able to keep the identity of the father hidden as well. Perhaps Isadora Dumbledore is not as innocent as she seems and she too took part in the murder of her sister and friends.
Here Sirius stopped, gripping the edges of the Daily Prophet tightly, causing it to crumple in his fists. How dare they accuse Isadora and his daughter of such a thing?
His daughter.
It seemed impossible, but was it really? Perhaps he was merely shocked. After all this time, he had had a daughter. He hadn't particularly wanted one eleven years ago, but he hadn't been opposed to it either. After all, he had been planning on asking Isadora to marry him, so having children was just the next step. He knew Isadora had wanted a child with him, but they had planned to wait, especially since they had yet to even inform anyone of their relationship. The only people who had known were Lily, James, Aurora Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Three of those people were now dead and Sirius had no idea where the other two were. He wished that Peter was dead too. Because of Peter he had never met his own daughter, never even known of her existence. And now here she was, being badgered by the Daily Prophet because of his so-called 'crimes.' It was true, she did look very much like him, and she did have his last name. And, if his memory served him correctly, Isadora had been feeling a bit off a few days before he had been arrested.
His heart filled with pain and anger, regret and confusion. Isadora had never told him, had never contacted him. She had kept Aurora a secret from her own father, and what if Aurora really didn't know he was her father? And if she did, would she still love him? After eleven years of not being there for her, being labeled a murderer, would she still accept him as her father? Did Isadora truly believe that he had ratted out Lily and James to Voldemort? Would Isadora ever believe him if he told her otherwise?
Then again, perhaps it was best that Aurora had been hidden, and maybe that was why Isadora had never come to see him. Maybe she knew that if people found out who Aurora's father was they would make the accusations they had in the Daily Prophet just recently. Aurora would have never been able to live a normal life, nor would Isadora, and could Sirius really blame Isadora for not wanting that for herself and their daughter? The answer was no, he could not. All he wanted was for them to be happy.
He wished that he could go back eleven years, make things right. Save Lily and James so that Harry would have parents. Save Aurora Dumbledore, so that Minerva and Albus wouldn't have had to go through that pain, so that Isadora wouldn't have had to go through that. So that Sirius could have known his daughter, raised her, watched her grow, be there when she received her letter to Hogwarts, and take her and her mother to Diagon Alley so that she could get her school books and her wand. But he would never be able to do that, he would never get those years back. Harry still didn't have parents, Aurora Dumbledore would never get married or have children, and Sirius may never know his own daughter.
Sirius felt the pain swarming him once more, plaguing his mind with repressed memories, and the dementors began to float around him hungrily. His head fell as a tear rolled down his cheek, and the Daily Prophet slid from his grasp. However, before his vision was blurred with tears, he saw an article below the one about his daughter. This one was about a family called the Weasleys that had won some money, but that wasn't what caught Sirius's eye. It was the rat, sitting on the youngest boy's shoulder. Sirius picked up the Daily Prophet once more and stared right at the rat, which was missing a toe. Sirius would have known that rat anywhere. By quickly skimming the article, Sirius discerned that Peter Pettigrew was Ron Weasley's pet rat, and that Ron Weasley would be returning to Hogwarts that year.
With fierce determination, Sirius willed away all painful memories and thought of only one thing. All he knew was that he had to turn into his animagus form, and then he could leave Azkaban. The dementors would never notice him. He would swim all the way to shore, he had to. He would find Peter Pettigrew and reveal him for what he was, he would clear his own name, and then he could finally meet his daughter. He could see Isadora again after all these years. He could see Harry, no doubt all grown up and just like James. He could see the quadruplets again and finally see the mischief he had heard that they get into. He could meet the youngest of the Dumbledores, Pleisthenes, Perseus, and Minaveara. And that's what gave Sirius the strength. The strength he needed to escape from the hell in which he lived.
"Weddings are so boring," Andromeda whined for, to Callisto and Anexandra, the millionth time that morning.
"I swear to Merlin, Andromeda, if you say that one more time," Anexandra warned, adjusting her dress robes uncomfortably.
"You'll do what?" Andromeda challenged, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at Anexandra.
"I'll wipe that look off your face that's for sure," Anexandra said, glaring at Andromeda.
Callisto stepped between the two of them and said, "Don't start fighting. We just got these dress robes on and Mum will murder us if we mess them up. This is Poseidon and Rayn's wedding, we're here for them. Remember that."
Anexandra and Andromeda folded their arms across their chests and sighed. Just then Pleis, Perseus, and Mercury stepped out from a door close to the three quadruplets, all three of them grumbling about their dress robes and fidgeting with their sleeves. The three girls smirked. At least they weren't the only ones that had to suffer in the summer heat with thick dress robes on.
"Poseidon had to pick the worst time of year to get married didn't he?" Mercury muttered when he reached the three girls.
"It was either that or a wedding in the rain," Pleis grumbled.
"Horrible choices if you ask me," Perseus said.
"But its Poseidon's wedding, he and Rayn get what they want," Callisto said smartly.
Anexandra sighed, "You're incorrigible."
"No!" Andromeda suddenly exclaimed, and the five Dumbledores jumped slightly.
"What?" Callisto said.
"You're not allowed to say that!" Andromeda shouted at Anexandra.
Anexandra raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"
"Incorrigible! I don't even know what that means!"
Anexandra, Callisto, Pleis, Perseus, and Mercury exchanged a glance, and then the five of them burst into a fit of laughter, which didn't stop until Mariska and Ororo stepped into the room, adjusting their dress robes and looking less than pleased as well.
"Alright, people," Mariska said breathlessly. "They're just about ready, time to make our grand entrance."
"We're supposed to have a grand entrance?" Pleis asked.
"No," Mercury answered, ushering the children towards the door. "But about half the wizarding world is out there, bud, it'll be a grand entrance."
"Hang on," Andromeda said, stopping and holding out her arms, causing the others to come to a halt as well. "Where is Eliana? Not that I want her to be near me or anything, but she has to be here too-"
"She's already out there," Ororo said. "She's sitting with our fabulous grandmother."
Anexandra smirked at Ororo's sarcasm, but Andromeda stomped her foot and cursed, "Damn!"
"Andromeda!" a voice from behind said as Minerva, Althea, and Isadora entered the room.
Andromeda spun around and quickly said, "Sorry, Mum!"
"What are you cursing about?" Minerva demanded as she hurried towards the group.
"Eliana is sucking up to grandmother!" Andromeda exclaimed, as if the mere thought was dreadful. "Eliana cannot get grandmother's house when she croaks!"
"Andromeda!" all Dumbledores present exclaimed, except of course Andromeda herself.
"What?" Andromeda said a bit irately. "It's a nice house!"
Minerva sighed and shook her head before attempting to usher everyone out the door. Before they made it to the door, Godric, Apollo, and Albus stepped into the room and joined the group.
"How is he?" Minerva asked Albus as their children chattered away incessantly.
"Not even slightly nervous," Albus smiled. "Surprising really, I about had a heart attack before I married you."
"That's because you were afraid I wouldn't show up," Minerva said knowingly.
"Well, you did have about a million reasons to leave me, my dear," Albus said, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Albus, even if there were a million reasons for me to leave, I'd still find one good reason to stay." Then Minerva turned to her children and said, "Okay everyone, out the door, let's go, move it."
The children did as their mother said and made their way out the door, Albus and Minerva remaining behind. And indeed, it was quite a grand entrance, as photographers began snapping pictures and people attempted to get the Dumbledores' attention.
Minerva and Albus sighed before the doors closed and the loud speaking and picture snapping was nothing but a faint roar. When Poseidon was ready, he took his place at the front of the Great Hall in Hogwarts where the staff table usually sat, and Albus and Minerva took a seat at the front with their children and Poppy and Rolanda, who had been looking after Minaveara. It seemed an unspoken tradition for the Dumbledores to get married at Hogwarts, as all of them had so far. Minerva and Albus's wedding had been outside near the lake, but their eldest children had gotten married in the Great Hall or, in Godric and Mariska's case, in the Gryffindor tower.
Poseidon, whether he wanted to or not, was not able to have his wedding in the Gryffindor common room. He had far too many guests. He had never been one to tell people what to do, and so he had not forced the Daily Prophet reporters and the nosy people of the wizarding world to leave. Then there was the entire group of Dumbledores, as well as Rayn's family. Then many Ministry officials that Poseidon had worked with and Rayn's Quidditch team. Not to mention Poseidon's and Rayn's friends from elsewhere, such as the Weasleys. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger also attended the wedding, as did all the staff members of Hogwarts who had stayed at the castle for the summer. Unfortunately, because there were so many reporters, Isadora and her daughter Aurora 'could not attend the wedding.' Instead they pretended to be friends of the family and changed their appearances. The Daily Prophet hadn't given the two of them or the rest of the Dumbledores any peace after the article had been written, and they received stares everywhere they went. Especially after word got out that Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban. Going to such a public wedding was just not an option for Isadora and Aurora, but they weren't going to miss Isadora's baby brother's wedding, and so they were now sisters, Annabelle (Isadora) and Laura (Aurora).
Eventually the wedding began, and Rayn and the wedding party were beautiful in their wedding ensembles. The wedding ended relatively quickly, and only those who had been formally invited to the wedding could attend the reception. The reception took place in Rayn's rich Aunt Shirley's back yard, but Isadora and Aurora continued to be Annabelle and Laura, as a few of Rayn's relatives were not so friendly when it came to Sirius Black. Seeing as it was Poseidon's wedding, the Dumbledores didn't want to cause an argument, especially with their own short tempers.
So, while the adults chatted animatedly and danced, the children sat off to one side of the yard, fanning themselves with plates and attempting to think of something that would entertain them. This was rather difficult, since they had not been allowed to bring anything to the wedding with them. Fred, George, Pleis, and Perseus had had to turn out their pockets before they could even step foot into Hogwarts, and the same applied to the reception. Harry had managed to sneak in some Exploding Snap cards, which he, Ginny, and Ron were currently playing. Hermione and Callisto were reading, Andromeda continuously whined, and Anexandra filled her plate of food multiple times. 'Laura' was frowning at the newest addition of the Daily Prophet, which was no doubt saying something or other about Sirius Black and his daughter. Fred, George, Pleis, and Perseus were trying to think up pranks they could get away with without receiving punishment, but they weren't coming up with anything.
Ron sighed, his elbow resting on the table and his chin in his hand. "Your turn," he murmured to Harry, but there was no movement from Harry. "Did you fall asleep on me, Harry?" Ron asked as he looked up at his friend, but Harry most definitely was not asleep.
His eyes were wide and he was staring at something over Ron's shoulder.
"What is it, mate?" Ron asked, spinning around in his seat.
The rest of the children turned away from what they were doing to look at what Harry was staring at as well. At first, they could see nothing, but then Aurora spotted a big, black dog sinking back into the wooded area behind it. The children didn't quite understand what Harry was so surprised about, but Aurora was even more afraid than Harry looked.
She jumped to her feet suddenly, her chair falling to the ground behind her as she screamed, "MUM!"
The entire group of people at the reception fell quiet immediately. Startled, Callisto and Hermione dropped their books; Fred, George, Ron, Pleis, and Perseus fell back in their chairs, Harry and Ginny jumped, Andromeda screeched, and Anexandra dropped her plate of food.
In an instant Minerva, Albus, and Isadora were at Aurora's side. Isadora checked her for wounds and asked her repeatedly what was wrong, Minerva did the same for the three quadruplets and the twin boys, and Albus pulled out his wand and searched the surrounding area for signs of danger.
Eventually the children were on their feet and surrounded by everyone that had been in the backyard. After being fussed over, the children didn't seem to want to talk, but Isadora and Minerva weren't going to leave the children alone until they told them what had happened. Aurora and Harry still seemed frozen, and the three quadruplets were trying to figure out what the significance of the dog was. The Weasleys and Pleis and Perseus didn't want to get anyone into trouble, as they had no idea what was going on, and so Hermione spoke first.
"We…we don't know what happened," Hermione said slowly, looking to the others for some sort of answer, but none of them moved or spoke up, so she continued. "Harry, he saw something, so we looked, but, we didn't see anything, until-"
"It was him," Aurora interrupted, staring at her mother, her voice low so that many curious onlookers were straining their ears. "The dog, the one you showed me a picture of…it was him."
Minerva and Albus looked at Isadora in question, but Isadora knew exactly what Aurora was referring to, and she had gone deathly pale.
"He was here?" Isadora whispered, and Aurora nodded in response.
"Who was here?" Pleis suddenly asked, but no one turned to respond to him.
"It was just a dog, wasn't it?" Perseus added, again no one spoke.
"Come along children," Albus said after exchanging a glance with Minerva.
"Why?" Ron asked. "Where are we going?"
"I do believe it's getting a bit late, Molly, Arthur," Minerva said, disregarding Ron's question as Rayn returned Minaveara to her. "Perhaps we should reconvene this discussion elsewhere, and then we should be getting the children washed and to bed, yes?"
Catching on, Molly and Arthur nodded and began ushering their children out of the reception, saying their goodbyes and apologies, Albus and Minerva doing the same. When the rather large group had finally made it out of the reception they decided to meet at the Dumbledores. A few minutes later, the children were all sitting silently in the living room and the adults were discussing things in the kitchen.
"What's the significance of this dog?" Molly asked worriedly as she, Arthur, Isadora, and Albus sat down at the table. Minerva was making a pot of tea while bouncing Minaveara in her arms.
Isadora, who was still looking pale and was now wringing her hands, looked up at Albus, who nodded without a word.
"Sirius Black," Albus answered.
Molly gasped and Arthur frowned.
"What do you mean Sirius Black?" Molly asked, gripping Arthur's hand. "How is he-"
"He's an animagus," Minerva cut in as she sat the tea onto the table and summoned some tea cups.
"He's an animagus?" Arthur repeated, seemingly baffled.
Albus nodded as Minerva took a seat at the table and readjusted Minaveara in her arms. Isadora stared at her folded hands that rested in her lap.
"But how do Aurora and Isadora know he's…" Molly trailed off, sudden realization dawning on her as her eyes widened and her gaze turned to Isadora, whose eyes were closed and her lips turned up in a grimace.
"It's true?" Arthur whispered, staring at Isadora in surprise. "You mean the Daily Prophet was right for once?"
"No," Minerva said angrily, sitting up straighter in her chair and setting her tea cup on the table rather forcefully. "The Daily Prophet is still nothing but gossip. They were correct in their assumptions that Aurora was Sirius Black's daughter, but that does not mean that she or her mother are murderers and traitors."
"Nor is he," Isadora said then, her voice barely a whisper as she opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at the people set around the table.
"Isadora," Albus began, almost wearily.
"He's innocent," Isadora said, a bit louder this time, her lips thinning in anger.
"Sirius Black?" Molly asked disbelievingly. "Innocent? But that's not possible. There were witnesses-"
"They lie," Isadora insisted, rising to her feet. "I don't know how, but I do know that the Sirius Black I knew would never kill thirteen people, and he most certainly would not sell out his friends."
Molly, Arthur, Minerva, and Albus exchanged quick glances, and then Minerva spoke, quietly, calmly, "The Sirius Black we knew wouldn't have done that either, but something happened, Isadora-"
"Why won't you believe me?" Isadora exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. "I'm your daughter for Merlin's sake!"
"We want to believe you, Isadora," Albus said. "You know we do, but there were witnesses, aurors-"
"Oh, yes, because the Ministry is always so reliant," Isadora spat, spinning on her heel and striding over to the window, pressing her forehead against the glass.
It was rare that Isadora Dumbledore spoke so vehemently, especially to her own parents, but she still loved the father of her child, and she couldn't believe that he was a murderer. At this thought, Isadora knew what she had to say to convince her mother at least.
Isadora turned around to face Minerva, who was watching her daughter with a pained expression. With tears in her eyes, Isadora whispered, "What if it was Dad?"
Minerva seemed confused by the question for a moment and she opened her mouth to question, but Isadora cut in.
"What if it was Dad that they were accusing of murder? What if the entire Ministry of Magic claimed to have seen him murder two people, twenty people, two hundred people? Would you believe them?"
Minerva didn't speak for a moment, instead staring down at Minaveara. Then she mumbled, "It's not the same-"
"But it's exactly the same, don't you see?" Isadora said, almost desperately as she walked back over to her mother and fell to her knees in front of her so that Minerva was forced to look into her eyes. "Sirius, he's practically the same person as Dad, just a few different eccentricities. But the morals, the values, the loyalty, it's still there. It's always been there."
"Then why did he escape from Azkaban?" Minerva asked, though she seemed to already know the answer, she just needed more convincing. "Why did they hear him mumbling in his sleep, 'He's at Hogwarts,' 'She's at Hogwarts.' Why would he say that?"
"Because he saw the Daily Prophet!" Isadora said, her voice filled with hope. "He knew Aurora was his daughter and he wants nothing more than to meet her. Dad would do that, if he was falsely accused and stuck in Azkaban and he had to find out through the Daily Prophet that he had another child. He would escape, wouldn't you, Dad?" Isadora asked, rising to her feet once more and turning to her father. He said nothing, so Isadora returned her gaze to her mother. "He may not have said, 'He's at Hogwarts,' it could have been a misconception, or maybe he knew that Harry would be there, maybe he wants to see his godson again too."
Minerva and Albus stared at Isadora, the contemplation plain on their faces, but that urge, that feeling that Isadora could be wrong…
"I don't mean to sound rude," Molly said then, quietly, looking anxious, possibly nervous to speak her opinion. "It's not my place to ask, but, if you knew of Sirius's innocence, why not speak at his hearing nearly twelve years ago? A Dumbledore could surely have persuaded the judges."
The hope in Isadora's eyes faded to be replaced by regretful tears. She took a step back from her mother and gripped the back of a chair, leaning heavily on it as her head fell. "Because I was a fool," she whispered, sucking in a deep breath and looking back up to stare straight into Molly's eyes. "I was young, distraught, afraid…pregnant. They aren't excuses, just facts. I wanted nothing more than to march right down to the Ministry of Magic and shout in his defense until I was no longer able to speak, and then I would write until my hands broke and I was no longer able to write. I didn't care if I had to rot in a cell in Azkaban myself, as long as I had my say and did everything in my power to attempt to prove Sirius's innocence. But something stopped me.
"Somehow, I knew that I couldn't do what I had intended. I was feeling ill, but not only that, something in the back of my mind continued to stop me. And so I waited, hoping that he would be proven innocent without my help. When he was sent to Azkaban, I had every intention of doing what I felt I should have in the first place, but then I found out that I was pregnant with Aurora. As much as I wanted to save Sirius, I wanted to keep our child safe just as much. I couldn't be shipped off to Azkaban because I had to care for a child. I was responsible for another life, a life that I had created. I felt that if I went to defend Sirius, they would think that I had helped him, and my child would never live to be born, or it would be born in a dreadful prison and taken away to live with its grandparents, or someone else. I couldn't allow my child to be taken from me, and I couldn't make my parents take care of another child when they already had seven still at home, especially since one had recently been murdered.
"And even if I wasn't shipped off to Azkaban, it would be all too obvious, once Aurora was born, that Sirius was her father, especially if I defended him the way I would have. All I wanted was for Aurora to have a normal life, to have anything I could give her. But I sheltered her too much. I kept her a secret from her own family. I realized my mistake too late, and I've been trying to make up for those mistakes, but the fact remains that I can't defend Sirius on my own. I still can't go to Azkaban because I still have to look after Aurora, especially now, when the Daily Prophet has labeled her a murderer before she's even begun her second year at school. People are going to talk, treat her like she's different.
"I have to save Sirius, because I didn't the last time I had a chance. I was too afraid, and I can't ask any of you to understand, after all, Ravenclaw isn't known for its bravery, but Gryffindor is. All I want is for someone to believe me, help me, help Sirius, and help Aurora. If anything, she doesn't deserve this. She didn't ask to be brought into this world as my daughter. Sirius isn't a murderer or a traitor, I just…I just know it."
The silence that ensued after Isadora's speech was deafening, and no one seemed to know what to say, to think, or even where to look.
Arthur was the first to speak up and ask the question on everyone's mind. "And what if you're wrong? What if Sirius Black really is a murderer?"
Isadora seemed to contemplate this before replying, "Then I will owe you all my life."
"Isadora," Minerva said sharply, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Don't say that."
"I'm sorry, Mother," Isadora said grimly. "But my life is all that I have to give. But if you're still looking for proof, if Sirius was a crazed murderer, why didn't he kill the children when he had the chance? They were unarmed and, unfortunately, we weren't watching them. If he really had killed thirteen people at once, then he would have had no trouble killing the children, but he didn't, because he wouldn't kill someone, and most definitely not a child."
With that last sentence, Isadora swept out of the room and she and Aurora were gone before Albus had fully risen to his feet.