A/N-sorry for any weirdness for this chapter's format. Not sure what's up with the system right now. Also the next chapter will be the last one for part 1.
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Part 1
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Sirius Black sat on a stool within the corner of a small windowless room. The only source of light was a single glowing orb on the ceiling, leaving the only door in shadow. His blurry eyes turned to a bed at the wall next to him. He sighed letting his dirty hair drift over the dark rings under his eyes. After a few minutes he made his way to the bed and lay down, looking up at the ceiling. "Sorry for dragging you into this Remus. I never thought the ministry would find me." He rolled over trying to find a comfortable sleeping position, but it was like the bed had been designed to be uncomfortable. Eventually he managed to get his eyes shut, but sleep still didn't come.
So he lay there waiting, for whatever the ministry did with him. There was no escaping a place like this, not with so many aurors and ministry workers. Even the door seemed impossible to open, not that he hadn't tried it anyway. He looked at the door for a few seconds, then noticed something. The old brass handle was turning. He shuddered a little, not sure what to expect. The door opened silently and a woman with fiery pink hair popped her head out. Tonks looked at Sirius, making eye contact. "Oh, you're awake. Wotcher Sirius?" She pushed the door further, letting it squeak. "There's someone here to see you."
Sirius sat up. "Really? Who?" He looked back at the open door and Mcgonnagall and Harry stepped in. Sirius smiled standing up.
"Sirius!" Harry hugged him.
"Good to see you Harry." Sirius tried to keep any shaking out of his voice as he hugged his godson. After a few moments both let go. He raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?"
Tonks facepalmed before responding. "Fudge is an idiot. He thought Harry was under a confundus charm."
Sirius shook his head at the statement. "What!? Why??"
"Because he's an idiot, and he found Harry's letters to you." Tonks pulled out some veritaserum. "But at least he agreed to release you if you got interrogated by an auror."
"Really? That's great!" Sirius beamed.
"Yeah, just let me know when you're ready and we'll start." Tonks walked over to the corner stool and sat down.
Sirius and Harry stared at Tonks as she started humming to herself. "So...are you gonna interrogate me?" Sirius asked.
Tonks faced Sirius. "Oh, are you ready? I thought you'd want to talk to your godson and do the interrogation alone for privacy."
Harry and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure." Harry started walking out of the room. "I'll see you on the outside." He smiled back at his godfather as he went through the door.
Tonks pulled out the veritaserum vial and uncorked it. Then she handed it to Sirius who drank it. "Well, here goes. Have you ever worked to aid Voldemort in any way, and do you have any loyalty to him whatsoever."
"No. I was fighting against him, like the other members of the order of the phoenix. After he killed James and Lily, I had as much reason to hate him as anyone." Sirius gritted his teeth. "But I might as well have. As much as I hate to say it, I killed my best friend."
"And how did you do that?"
Sirius looked ready to cry. "I trusted Pettigrew. I thought he'd be the perfect secret keeper, someone Voldemort would never suspect. But in the end, all I did was seal James' death warrant. I put his life in the hands of a traitor."
"So, Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters. Is he a danger now?"
"Yeah. He didn't even hesitate. As for danger. I think he'd attack someone if he thought he could get away with it. I tried to kill after what he did."
"How did he escape you anyway?"
"Blew up a city block and transformed into a rat. He's an animagus like James and me." Sirius and Tonks both went wide eyed as Sirius kept talking. "That's where we got out nicknames: Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail."
"Sorry." Tonks said under her breath. She cursed herself for the slip up before continuing to the final question. "Would you ever try to harm Harry Potter in any way?"
Sirius shook his head. "No. I'd try to keep him safe in any way I could. I already failed my best friend. If I let anything happen to Harry, I could never forgive myself. I won't let anyone hurt him, no matter who they are. If anyone even tried, I would make them wish they'd never been born."
Tonks smiled. "Well, that should be more than enough to clear your name. With that testimony under veritaserum, you'll be a free man in no time." She pulled out another vial. "Here. This will cancel the effects of the veritaserum."
Sirius caught the vial and drank it. "Thanks." A look of relief crossed his face. "Well, the animagus thing might be a problem. But, at least I won't be handed over to the dementors for something like that." He threw a glance at Tonks. "I suppose you have to tell them."
Tonks sighed. "This entire interrogation is being watched. So...it wouldn't matter anyway."
Sirius shrugged. "It is what it is, I guess. Still..." A shiver ran down his spine. "I really don't want to go back to that island."
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Part 2
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Several ministry officials went through the memories Tonks had given them to make sure Sirius Black was innocent. There was no sign that she was under a confundus and no one could find any holes in the given testimony. Under veritaserum, it had to be true.
When the news reached Fudge he was sitting in his office with Dolores Umbridge discussing as he looked over and signed papers. "So what do you think of this? Do you think Black could be innocent?"
"Well, it's veritaserum. It has to be the truth right?" Umbridge said. She pretended to think for a moment. "Actually, if he's innocent, and can be trusted. He'd make for an incredibly resourceful auror. Escaping Azkaban is no small feat."
"Hmmm. Perhaps. But I'm still not sure about his mental state. And I'm still certain. I mean, laughing around the bodies of a dozen muggles, what more is needed to prove his guilt?"
Umbridge shrugged. "Perhaps he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for the laughter, the effects of grief aren't always predictable. If he was mourning his best friend there's no telling what his reaction would've been."
Fudge sat back in his chair. "Yes. I suppose you're right. It's always possible." He turned to see the door open as a few witches and wizards walked in. "So, what's the news?"
A woman with brown hair stepped forward. "Minister, by all accounts, it appears that Sirius Black is innocent. The one who betrayed the Potters and killed those muggles was Peter Pettigrew."
Fudge nodded until he noticed the woman wasn't finished with her report. "However. We've discovered that Mr. Black is an unregistered animagus."
"Well that complicates things. He'd have to serve 3 more years in Azkaban considering the amount of time he spent there already." Fudge stood from his desk and walked out the door before turning back to Umbridge. "You know, that auror suggestion gives me an idea." He walked down the hall, along with the other ministry officials. The only one left in the office was Dolores Umbridge. After about a minute, making sure the minister was gone, she made her way into the hall heading towards another office. She opened its smooth wooden door to find Lucius Malfoy at a desk.
He looked at Umbridge raising an eyebrow. "So, is the next part of the plan ready?"
She took her time sitting down in a chair in front of Lucius. "Yes. If all goes well, Sirius Black will become an auror. Is everything on your end set up?"
Lucius nodded, and a sinister smirk formed on Umbridge's face. "I have to hand it to Mr. Crouch. That young man is a true mastermind."
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Part 3
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Cornelius Fudge walked into a well lit stone room with a wooden table in the center. Sirius and Harry were sitting at the table eating and talking when they saw the minister of magic. They both looked at Fudge with suspicion as he walked. "Do you mind if I take a seat with you two?"
Harry shrugged and Sirius nodded. "Sure. What do you want?"
Fudge took a seat at the other side of the table, then faced Sirius. "On behalf of the ministry I would like to apologize for your false imprisonment. As part of that, all related charges will be dropped."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you say it like that?"
Fudge nodded. "Well, there is one other problem. You're an unregistered animagus. A crime with a 20 year sentence." Sirius grimaced as Fudge paused before he frowned. "While you were in Azkaban for 12 years, that still leaves 8 years of such a sentence."
Sirius' face went white, terror spreading through him. Harry glared at Fudge. "You threatened Sirius with a dementor's kiss for a crime he didn't commit, and now you're sending him back to that awful place!? Hasn't he suffered enough!?" He stood up wanting to strangle the minister of magic, but Sirius held him back, giving Harry a stern look.
"Well, actually, about that." Fudge straightened the collar on his robes. "You see, there is a way for you to avoid any time in Azkaban. If you were to serve as an auror for one year, all charges would be dropped."
Sirius didn't react for a few moments, as the news hit him. He was a free man. And if Fudge was true to his word, he wouldn't face any charges for being an unregistered animagus. He didn't like the terms, but what choice did he have? "I'm not sure I want to work with the ministry, but I suppose I can't complain about staying away from Azkaban." He thought for a few more seconds. "And, I'll theoretically have a way to hunt down Wormtail."
Fudge nodded. "Very well." He stood up. "In that case, you start two weeks from today while everything is put in order. I'll send an owl with more details." The door closed behind the minister of magic, and his footsteps slowly echoed into silence.
Sirius stood up, picking up his wand. He looked at Harry smirking. "So. You ready to get out of this place?" Harry nodded and they apparated outside Grimmauld place. Lupin and Tonks were waiting for them at the gate.
Lupin smiled, trying to hide the dark circles under his eyes. "So, I take it you're a free man?"
Sirius shrugged. "More or less."