FIFTY THREE – Professor Trelawney's Prediction, Hermione's Secret, Owl Post Again

"Pomona," McGonagall said, popping her head into the woman's office, "you haven't seen Severus, have you?"

Sprout looked thoughtful for a moment. "Last I saw he was heading to Remus's office with the wolfsbane. Why?"

"I was just up with Poppy and she said Severus was supposed to drop a few potions by a while ago. I said I'd find him." McGonagall sighed, then sat down in the chair across Sprout's desk. "I suppose I'd better leave him alone for a while though. He's never happy after bringing Remus his potion."

"I think he'll be alright now," Sprout said, returning the bulk of her attention to the papers she'd been looking at. "I saw him almost an hour ago."

McGonagall furrowed her eyebrows. "An hour? He was supposed to bring Poppy the potions an hour and a half ago."

"Then he's being particularly moody or doesn't have everything done. Either way he won't want to see anyone," Sprout said absentmindedly.

McGonagall considered. Neither option seemed unlikely. "Are you done with that?" she asked, pointing at a copy of The Daily Prophet laid out on Sprout's desk.

"No," Sprout said. "Don't you have exams to grade?"

"I've done all the first years," McGonagall said. "That was my goal for the day." She reached out, grabbed The Prophet, and put her feet on Sprout's desk as she settled to read.

"Make yourself at home," Sprout said dully without looking up from the paper she was marking.

"As always," McGonagall said as she opened the paper. How much time went by before the two witches were disturbed, neither knew.

"Pomona, have you seen – " Dumbledore stopped short as he entered the office. "Ah."

"Are you looking for Severus too?" McGonagall asked with a raised brow.

"No," Dumbledore answered. "I happen to know where Severus is. Now – "

"You're about the only one," McGonagall interrupted. "Where's he been? Poppy's – "

"I need you to accompany me, Minerva."

McGonagall looked over at Sprout, who shrugged, and then rose to follow the headmaster. "What's this about, Albus?"

"Sirius Black has been captured," Dumbledore said.

"No!" McGonagall gasped, joy flooding through her. Black would be returned to Azkaban. He would no longer terrorize the school. "When? How?"

"I haven't yet had a chance to speak with Severus," Dumbledore said. "That is why I need you. We've put Black up in Filius's office, as it's so far out of the way of everything, and I need you to watch him while I speak with Severus."

McGonagall opened and closed her mouth several times. "Severus caught Black? How?"

"I've told you I don't know," Dumbledore said patiently. "I do believe you'll be pleased to know that, this year, you did not have to spend hours worrying yourself silly while Mr. Potter and his friends nearly died."

"What?" McGonagall burst loudly. "They almost got themselves killed again? Why is it always them? What have they done now?" she asked aggressively. "Where are they?"

"Poppy has them," Dumbledore said. "They're unconscious, the lot of them, which is not at all unexpected considering the dementors, but – "

"Dementors?"

"Yes, they slipped back into the grounds again tonight," Dumbledore said. His eyes betrayed the fury he hid.

"But – but – "

"Once I figure out what has gone on, Minerva, I will inform you," Dumbledore said. The pair approached the hallway where Flitwick's office was located. Snape was standing in front of the office door, his wand out, a maniac gleam in his eye. "Minerva, please stand guard over Black. Severus, come."

McGonagall drew her wand and watched as Dumbledore and Snape entered a nearby empty classroom.

"Professor McGonagall?" a voice rasped, sounding hopeful.

McGonagall jumped and pointed her wand at the door.

"Professor – it's me! It's Sirius!"

"Should I be happy?" McGonagall asked harshly. "Keep yourself quiet. I'm no more pleased to see you than Severus!"

"I didn't – "

"Shut UP!" McGonagall screeched. She pointed her wand at the door and it glowed for a moment, then there was a loud bang as though something heavy had flown across the office and hit the wall opposite the door.

"No worse than Harry's reaction," Black wheezed from the depths of the office.

As McGonagall heard Black begin to shuffle around and make his way back to the door, she felt her nostrils flare and her hands form fists. How dare he…

"I would rather have died than betray James, Professor," Black said. "You've got to believe me – Harry does!"

"Harry doesn't know the atrocities you've committed, and don't you talk about him! You've no right!"

"He does know!" Black said. "I wasn't their Secret Keeper, Professor! I convinced them to switch last minute! Everyone would have expected me. I had them use Worm – Pettigrew!"

McGonagall only scoffed.

"I know you think Pettigrew's dead," Black continued. "But that's a lie! He faked his death! He's an Animagus! He was the Weasley family rat since the night James and Lily were murdered! He's the reason I've been coming! He's what I was after! I wouldn't harm a hair on Harry's head! I'm his godfather, for crying out loud! James trusted me with his son's life! I wouldn't ever betray that trust!

"You've got to believe me, Professor!" Black continued desperately. "You've got to! You can convince Dumbledore, and Dumbledore can convince the Ministry! All this can be set right, and before Pettigrew finds Voldemort again!"

"The dementors did quite a number on you, didn't they, Black?" McGonagall asked coldly after a moment. His story couldn't possibly be any more ludicrous.

"I would have died rather than betray my best friend and his wife," Black moaned, losing his zeal. "I wouldn't harm Harry. I didn't mean for James and Lily to die…"

Somewhere deep down, McGonagall felt compassion stir for the pitiful and desperate sounding man, but the hatred she had built for him through the course of the year soon overwhelmed anything else she felt.

Snape suddenly flew past McGonagall's face, the maniac gleam still in his eye. She seemed to snap out of a trance and turned to look at Dumbledore, who had his hand set to open the door to Flitwick's office.

"Albus – "

"He does not have a wand, Minerva," Dumbledore said calmly. He then opened the door and entered the office. Try though she might, simply because she was concerned for Dumbledore's safety, of course, McGonagall could not hear a thing inside the office.

Dumbledore emerged from the office half an hour later. He gave no explanation, merely requested that no one be let in and left to find Fudge.

Curiosity ebbing away at her, McGonagall put her ear to the door, but she still couldn't hear anything. Dumbledore must have left whatever enchantments he had cast on the door.

Just a few minutes before midnight, Fudge and Snape appeared at the end of the hallway. Behind them was a pair of dementors.

"Well, Black," McGonagall said coldly, "I daresay you're about to get what's coming to you." She wasn't at all sure if Black had heard her or not, but she felt the necessity to say it anyway. "Minister," she greeted, trying not to look at the dementors behind him who were, remarkably, behaving themselves. Perhaps the promise of a soul was keeping them in check.

"Minerva," Fudge said. "Nasty business, nasty business."

"You'll be waiting for Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, of course," Fudge said.

"What are you doing here, Severus?" McGonagall queried. Snape looked almost happy to have two dementors behind him, just outside the door where his old school rival was waiting…

Before Snape cold answer, Dumbledore strode into view.

"Shall we get on with it, then?" he asked.

McGonagall thought Dumbledore had a strange glint in his eyes, but was sure that now was not the time to ask him questions.

The headmaster opened the door and –

"Where is he?" Snape snarled. Black was not in the office. Snape turned on McGonagall. "You were here the whole time! Where's he gone?"

McGonagall wiped a fleck of Snape's spit off her face and looked coldly at her colleague. "You're not suggesting I let him go, are you, Severus? I didn't hear anything after Albus left! Not a single sound! I've been here the whole time, and I haven't opened this door once!"

"POTTER!" Snape suddenly bellowed, then dashed out of sight. Fudge was quick on his heels.

"Wha – Albus!" McGonagall burst.

"I promise I will explain, Minerva," Dumbledore said patiently. "In the mean time, I think I'd better go keep Severus in check." He left without another word.

McGonagall fumed silently for a moment, then slammed the door to Flitwick's office shut with all her might and stormed back down to Sprout's office.

Sprout looked up when McGonagall threw open her door. "Something bothering you, Minerva?"

"Yes, Pomona, something's bothering me," McGonagall bit out. "We had Black, and now he's gone, Potter's pulled something again, and Dumbledore's not telling me anything!"

"WHAT?" Sprout asked loudly. The two witches began jabbering madly, trying to weave an entire story out of the tiny scraps of fact they had.

"He can't have just disappeared," Sprout said a while into the jargon.

McGonagall nearly made a reply, but Dumbledore entered the office with Flitwick. "I could hear you clear down the corridor," he said. "I gather you're curious."

"Yes!" McGonagall and Sprout said at the same time.

"Where's Severus?" Flitwick asked.

"Severus is not in a fit state to see anyone at the moment," Dumbledore said.

"Hang Snape," McGonagall snapped. "What's been going on this time?"

Without further ado, Dumbledore launched into the thrilling tale of how three third years had come face to face with Black only for him to tell them that he was innocent, that Peter Pettigrew was the true culprit. He did not go into great detail, nor did he inform his staff members as to how Sirius might have escaped.

McGonagall felt her head spinning. "So now you want us to believe that Peter Pettigrew managed to fake his own death by way of being an illegal Animagus and that Sirius Black, who was witnessed killing Pettigrew, is innocent?"

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger all have the same story. Everything fits. Most convincing, however, is that Harry knows what Black is supposed to have done, and believes him innocent. I can think of no greater proof without having Pettigrew standing before us," Dumbledore reasoned.

"The word of three teenagers isn't going to convince very many people, Albus," Flitwick pointed out.

"Signs will start showing," Dumbledore said confidently. "Pettigrew will be off to whoever can protect him. As the Weasleys no longer will, he'll try to find Voldemort, I believe." He took no notice of his staff members flinching horribly and seemed to lose himself suddenly in thought.

"I don't like that look, Albus," McGonagall said.

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "It's nothing, Minerva. Merely an idea. Well, it's getting la– "

"No," McGonagall said flatly. "No! Not another idea!"

"It's rather late," Dumbledore said over his deputy as he rose. "Good night!"

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! You are not walking away from me without telling me what this new idea of yours is!" McGonagall shouted as she followed Dumbledore out of Sprout's office.

"What do you think, Pomona?" Flitwick asked after a moment.

"Of Black?" asked Sprout. "It sounds too crazy to be made up, but I still don't know if I believe it. There's just no proof."

Flitwick nodded. "The unfortunate thing is that Albus usually ends up being right, and if he is, and if Pettigrew is alive and searching for You-Know-Who…"

"Let's hope he doesn't succeed in his endeavor, then, shall we?" Sprout suggested.


Author's Note

Oh, Snape. Poor Sour-Grape. So rarely do you have a reason to be happy... and when you do, it gets ruined!

...JK. I'm not that sympathetic to Snape. After all, how sympathetic can you be for a person that gets excited about someone getting the soul sucked out of them?

-throws hands in air- I'm open! I'm open! Pass me the revie - ball! Pass it!