Chapter Thirty Five

A great gasp ran through the crowd, there were mutterings and whisperings … and then deadly silence. In that silence, Peter seemed to suddenly realise what he had said, squeaked in alarm and clapped his hand to his mouth. Everyone was staring up at him now, and he stared back at them all - terrified.

Sirius felt the grips of the aurors on him begin to slacken - as they too stared up at Pettigrew in confusion - and he shook them off and kneeled up taller.

'So you admit - James Potter made you his secret keeper?'

'Yes - a week before he died.' Another squeak - another attempt to stop himself from talking.

'And you admit that it was you who sold James and Lily to Voldemort?'

There was an intake of breath and a collective shudder, as Sirius said that name - but he ignored the entire crowd and kept his eyes fixed firmly on Peter.

'Yes! It was me.'

'You were Voldemort's spy?'

'Yes.'

'For how long?'

'Over a year…' tears were coursing down Peter's cheeks now, his shoulders were shaking - and his eyes were darting around for any possible escape. But he still could not stop himself from spilling out his darkest secrets.

'And Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?'

'Were innocent!' Peter cried. 'All along - they knew nothing about it. They were always loyal to James and Lily - to Dumbledore. They would never join the dark side. I framed them. I framed them both!' And then he buried his head in his hands and began to weep in earnest.

...

Behind him, Scrimgeour and Savage had pulled their wands - and were keeping him covered. One by one, the aurors were abandoning Sirius' side and converging on Peter.

'Careful,' Sirius said to them, 'he's an unregistered animagus too. He can turn into a rat.'

'We've got him,' Savage said.

...

Sirius got back to his feet. He was very aware of the crowd all watching him - but he didn't let himself look at anything but the sobbing and shuddering Peter. 'One last question, Peter - have you used the imperius curse on the Dursleys?'

There was another intake of breath from the crowd.

'Y-yes!' Peter confessed - wailing. 'I had to, don't you see? All I wanted was to be famous, to have my name in the paper and get cakes in the post. And Ri- Rita Skeeter said I was yesterday's news. I ha- had to do something. So I went to see Harry but the - the muggles hate magic. They wouldn't let me in, they wouldn't agree to meet with me, here - so what could I do, Sirius? What choice did I have?'

And he began to sob even louder, crumpling up like an old paper bag, and wheezing and shaking.

...

'Well, well, well,' Scrimgeour said from behind him, his tone was nasty. 'Even without being a Death Eater, use of an unforgivable curse is life imprisonment in Azkaban.'

And Peter began to howl. 'I- I didn't mean any harm! I - I swear it, I do. I just wanted my name in the paper. Oh - oh - Sirius, forgive me. Don't let them take me to Azkaban. I'm not strong like you, I won't survive.' He rocked back and forth, his face was all red and screwed up and his nose was starting to run.

'You're pathetic,' Sirius spat at him. 'You threw me and Remus to the dementors, sold us out - told everyone what Remus is, and now he's all alone in prison, awaiting execution and he's still making less of a fuss than you are. I can't believe I ever thought he was the spy - that I trusted a waste of skin like you over a man as good as him.'

Over in the press pit - the reporters were busy taking photographs of everyone they could, and scribbling down everything that was said.

Sirius ignored them though. The blood was ringing in his ears as he watched Peter writhe, and moan and squirm and beg for a mercy that he so definitely did not deserve.

...

Savage conjured some manacles and - as he clamped them on Peter - Peter began to scream and howl and plead so desperately that people began to look away, embarrassed for him and his total loss of dignity.

'No - no - you mustn't! Sirius, don't let them! Sirius! Don't let them take me away! Tell them I meant no harm! Sirius! James wouldn't let them take me! James would understand…'

'DON'T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME!' Sirius roared - and he was shaking with anger now. 'YOU KILLED HIM. YOU KILLED LILY. AND YOU WERE PERFECTLY HAPPY FOR HARRY TO DIE TOO. AND JAMES POTTER WOULD NEVER FORGIVE ANYONE WHO TRIED TO HARM HIS WIFE OR SON - LEAST OF ALL SOMEONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HIS FRIEND!'

'What could I do? What could I have done? The Dark Lord was taking over everywhere - he would have killed me.'

'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED FOR YOUR FRIENDS AS WE ALL WOULD HAVE DIED FOR YOU.'

'I'm not brave, I'm not strong…'

'I think,' Kingsley said - he laid a hand on Sirius' arm and gave him a warning look to keep him from interrupting, 'we can all see that for ourselves, Peter. Now - Scrimgeour, Savage, you take him away.'

Peter began to shriek and gnash his teeth, but his two protection-aurors-turned-guards grabbed hold of him, showing no mercy, and apparated out of the pub.

The sudden silence, after Peter's desperate wails, was deafening.

...

'Now,' Kingsley carried on calmly, 'Williamson, Berrycloth - I think the Dursleys need to be taken to the Ministry and checked over. If it's true they have had the imperius curse placed on them, then it needs to be removed and charges need to be laid against Peter Pettigrew for the use of an unforgivable curse… Don't apparate them there, they won't like it. Take the car.'

The two aurors nodded and helped the Dursleys to their feet, leading them through the crowd and towards the door. Sirius stretched his arms out, 'can I have Harry?' he asked, trying to take the baby from Petunia. 'I'm his godfather, he belongs with me.'

But Kingsley shook his head. 'Not yet. You need to come with us to the Ministry.'

'But -'

'There will be a trial. We need to hear your side, you need to testify about Peter. And then ...then you need to speak to Dumbledore about Harry.'

'I'm his godfather, I'm his guardian. It's what James would have wanted.'

'You need to tell that to Dumbledore - come on.' He began to lead Sirius away, the other aurors and Ministry wizards began to apparate back to work, and the editor of the newspaper was standing up, ready to dismiss the crowd after all the excitement.

...

On his way out, Sirius passed a confused looking Caradoc Carew. 'Oh,' he said, remembering. 'This is Albert's wand - I borrowed it.' He handed the wand back over, they would give him his own back at the Ministry now - he didn't need Albert's any more. 'And the cactus on the kitchen window sill? That's Albert. You need to change him back.'

He headed back over to where Kingsley was waiting for him. Snape was standing there too - his face was a bloodless mask of rage; his lips were thin; his eyes were burning and a pulse twitched visibly on his eyelid.

'You need to come with us too, Severus,' Kingsley was saying. 'This is going to take a lot of sorting out… Severus?' he said again, when the other man did not answer.

Slowly, Snape wrenched his eyes away from whatever nothingness he had been staring into. 'What?'

'The Ministry - we need to go there, see that justice is done.'

'Justice,' he spat. He gave Sirius a look of purest loathing, venom distilled into a glance - and then apparated away.

Kingsley and Sirius looked at each other, and Kingsley shrugged. 'Come on then, Sirius, let's get you in front of the wizengamot.' He took hold of his friend's arm, and together they apparated back to the Ministry.

It felt strange to be back in the dark, underground corridors of the Ministry - after all this time. Sirius could hear Peter's distant wails echoing around the hallway, bouncing off the stones of the floor and walls … and he remembered how last time he had been here, it had been him yelling his head off.

He hoped he had maintained more dignity than Peter.

At least he had been yelling to Remus, at least he had been yelling on behalf of Remus - unlike Peter who was screeching and wailing and begging on behalf of his own miserable self. Sirius had not cared for himself one jot, his only interest had been in protecting Remus - that was more dignified than what Peter was doing, wasn't it?

...

Now Remus - Remus had been dignified. He had stayed quiet and worked not to show any fear and hadn't asked anyone for anything. He had held his head up and looked his accusers in the eyes and showed them he was better than all of them. Even when they had arrested him half naked, even when they had sentenced him to death … he had still been brave, still acted with dignity.

Because that was who Remus was.

And Sirius would have him back soon. He felt his whole insides warm at the thought, and all his muscles - places he hadn't even known were tense - relaxed, now that he had succeeded. He had brought the truth into the light - everything was going to be OK - for both of them.

...

Kingsley led him into the courtroom - and Sirius stopped in the doorway in surprise, when he saw the whole wizengamot already gathered there, wearing their official robes. He hadn't realised they could gather so fast.

Barty Crouch Sr, who looked like he had aged twenty years since last Sirius had seen him, was sitting in the judge's chair. Down on the benches, in the middle of all the other council members, the hideous, toad witch - Madam Umbridge - who had acted as judge at the last trial - was looking extremely sulky at her relegation.

Severus Snape was sitting on the witness bench, his face was still a mask of rage. 'I'll be with him,' Kingsley said to Sirius, 'you need to sit there.'

He nudged Sirius to one of the great, stone chairs that sat in the middle of the chamber. Feeling nervous, and with many a glance at Kingsley, Sirius sat down, gingerly. He closed his eyes. Nothing happened. He opened them again - the chains in the arms remained lifeless, he was not chained to his seat - like last time - nor was he surrounded by aurors. He relaxed again.

Meanwhile, Kingsley had gone to sit beside Snape. Snape was ignoring him. Berrycloth, the auror who had been protecting the Dursleys, had joined them as well. Snape was ignoring him too. Kingsley and Sirius looked at each other again, shrugged again, and then waited for the wizengamot to stop talking among themselves.

Eventually, Barty Crouch Sr. banged his gavel down. 'Order in the court,' he called out - and everyone on the council benches went quiet. 'Bring in the prisoner!'

...

The door opened, and immediately the whole chamber was filled with the most dreadful, undulating, wailing sound which echoed off the vaulted ceilings and bounced back to the stone floor. It sounded like nothing so much as a banshee being brought in. People began to cover their ears.

And then, snivelling and sobbing and shuddering and clanking in his chains, Peter was led into the courtroom and - like had happened to Sirius and Remus last time - was unceremoniously shoved into one of the stone chairs by the aurors guarding him.

As soon he sat down, the chains on the arms sprang to life and snaked up Peter's own. He threw his head back and howled in anguish, and writhed feebly beneath them.

He caught sight of Sirius sitting beside him, 'Sirius!' he moaned, 'Sirius don't let them do this to me - Sirius, tell them I meant nothing by it, tell them I didn't know any better. Sirius they c-can't do this. Don't let them. We're friends, Padfoot - don't let them do this to me!'

'Don't call me that,' Sirius snarled, feeling the anger build up in him again, as he saw how pathetic Peter was … that he and Remus had nearly been finished entirely by something so small and weak and helpless. 'Only my best friends call me that. And you are not one of them. You killed my best friend. You sent me to prison. They sentenced to death the man I love - because of you. You stinking, snivelling rat. We are not friends, Peter. I will never be your friend again.'

Peter was now weeping so hard he was struggling to breathe and - even tied down as he was - he was still managing to rock back and forth in abject distress and misery.

...

Crouch banged his gavel down again. 'Members of the wizengamot,' he said, 'we are gathered here today to try a most unusual case … a most unusual case indeed. Today it is not only Peter Pettigrew on trial, but our whole justice system. We may have been guilty of a very grave miscarriage of justice - and that is not something we can shrink back from. Lessons must be learned.'

There was a rumble of noise among the council benches. Umbridge looked even more unhappy.

Crouch peered down at the sobbing man. 'Peter Pettigrew, you are hereby charged with being a spy for He Who Must Not Be Named, with conspiring to murder James and Lily Potter and with passing information across to the dark side during our recent war. How do you plead?'

Peter just let out a great wail.

'I must have an answer, Mr. Pettigrew. Guilty, or not guilty?'

'I - I …' he gasped. 'I didn't mean it, please - I just wanted my name in the paper. I just liked getting the kind things in the post. I never meant any of it - please let me go home. I've learned my lesson, I'll not do it again.'

Crouch frowned. 'We'll put that down as a "guilty". Now -' he turned to Sirius, 'Sirius Black - you were previously charged and convicted of these crimes. You plead not guilty - how say you now?'

'I'm still not guilty. Peter is.'

'Mr. Pettigrew is your friend, is he not? Do you refute entirely the idea that you and he were in cahoots together?'

Sirius turned to look at the sobbing, wheezing Peter - the disgust plain on his face, and then he turned and looked back at Crouch, raising an eyebrow.

'Well, quite,' Mr. Crouch agreed. 'We'll mark it down that Sirius Black refuses to acknowledge any connection in crimes with Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. Pettigrew,' he turned back to Peter. 'Please tell us how these crimes came to be.'

'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry - I didn't mean it. None of it. I just - just wanted to be in the paper … Someone asked for my autograph, and Florean Fortescue gave me a free sundae and that was… that was all I wanted…'

...

Up in his judges' chair, Crouch looked weary. 'Pettigrew - can I remind you that, assuming no new evidence comes to light, this is your one and only trial. This is your chance for justice. We are letting you speak on your own behalf - a luxury not every man charged with crimes such as yours gets … perhaps one we should give more often…'

His expression became pained, and Sirius realised he must be thinking - not of the sham trial that he had himself received, along with Remus - but the one Crouch had recently given to his own son. Perhaps, if they had let Barty Crouch Jr. testify as they were now allowing Peter to, another young man could have been saved from the dementors.

...

'I just …' Peter struggled to get his words out, past his own sobs. 'I was afraid…' Snot and tears were streaming down his face. 'I thought - I thought … You Know Who would kill me and I - I was afraid to die. I thought "what's the use?" What could any of us stand to gain by fighting him when he was so powerful? So I - I took my chances and I…'

He broke out in a fresh howl. 'I never believed any of his wicked ideas! I never killed any muggles. I just told him what our side were up to, passed along secrets that Dumbledore would tell The Order … and in return he wouldn't kill me. I never asked to be the damn secret keeper! That was Sirius' idea … but when … when You Know Who heard about it, he said I had to go through with it … Well, what could I do? It was them or me. But I didn't mean it - I'm not dangerous. I don't need to - to go to prison, please - tell them, tell them I'm sorry, Sirius.'

'You're sorry, all right,' Sirius said to him, his voice was dangerously quiet. 'You're sorry you got caught. You couldn't care less about James and Lily - not even now.'

'I loved James and Lily!' he burst out. 'I just - I just …'

'It's just your stinking skin meant more to you than their entire family. Little Harry included.'

And Peter crumpled - like a balloon with all the air taken out. He seemed to fold in two and just wept quietly, 'I don't need to go to prison. Don't send me to prison. I don't need to go to prison...' over and over.

...

As this was the quietest he had been since the trial had started, Barty Crouch Sr took the opportunity to speak to Sirius instead. 'So, Mr. Black - it seems things have not been quite as they appear. Would you be so kind as to tell us what exactly has happened. How is it that the Potters are dead?'

Sirius bit his lip. 'Peter's right. It was my idea for the switch. I was so stupid. I thought - well, we knew someone in James' inner circle was the spy - and I thought it must be Remus. Because he's so powerful and clever and talented and brave - and you all treat him like he's an animal. Why would he want to fight for you lot? Why would he want to protect a world that casts him out and treats him as if he's dirty? And Peter … well look at him, can you blame me for not believing, in a month of Sundays, that he would dare go to Voldemort and stand in front of him?'

Crouch stared down at where Peter was wheezing and shaking and still muttering to himself. 'Duly noted.'

'But James - he wouldn't believe it was any of us. He wanted me for secret keeper and for me to tell Remus the secret so he could keep on visiting.'

'Why did that bother you? - If he wasn't the secret keeper, the wolf could not divulge the secret; even if he knew it, even if he wanted to.'

'The wolf has a name. The wolf is an innocent man.'

'If Mr. Lupin was not the secret keeper, he could not divulge the secret,' Crouch repeated. 'So why did it bother you?'

'Because you can't force a secret keeper to tell you the secret. It has to be done willingly. But you can kill a secret keeper - and then everyone who knows the secret becomes the keeper. And they can divulge it at will. I was sure that Voldemort would go after me - that he would kill me and so make Remus a secret keeper, and get the information that way. But if I was never the secret keeper … killing me would achieve nothing. Remus still couldn't tell Voldemort where James and Lily were. And I thought that, even if I was dead, no one would ever think we had used Peter because... Well …' he glanced at the weeping man beside him and then looked up at the judge.

'Duly noted,' Crouch said again.

'This way, Voldemort would never kill the correct secret keeper - would never find him to do it - and so Remus would be utterly unable to betray Lily and James further than he already had. They would always be safe from him. It was completely foolproof … apart from one thing … Remus was never the spy. Peter was. And when I convinced James to make the switch - I handed the Potters over to Voldemort on a silver platter.'

'Well - that seems to be in order,' Mr. Crouch nodded. 'Members of the wizengamot - do you see any reason to not clear Sirius Black of all charges?'

...

There was a murmur of noise along the benches - as the council members discussed. And then an irritating little 'hem hem,' cut through the noise. Madam Umbridge had got to her feet, though she was so short it barely made any difference.

'Forgive me, Barty,' she said - in her high pitched, girlish voice. 'It's so silly of me, but… there's something I don't understand. If Mr. Black is innocent, as he now claims - why did he run away on the night of the Potters' murder - and take poor, little Harry with him?'

'That's a fair question,' Mr. Crouch said, turning back to Sirius. Toad Face looked unbearably smug.

...

Sirius glowered at her before answering. 'I suppose it was stupid … looking back over everything. Remus said we should go to Dumbledore - maybe it would have saved a lot of trouble. But - I knew Dumbledore thought I was the secret keeper. I knew he would mobilise against me and I knew that, if I was arrested, I wouldn't be able to keep Harry. And … James …. he was …'

He bit his lip and fought down the fresh wave of pain that threatened him. 'He was dead on the floor - all stiff and staring - and I could hear him … in my head … telling me I had to look after Harry now he was gone and … I suppose I panicked. I couldn't - couldn't let him down you see. James, I mean. I'd already let him down so badly. I'd already let him die … I couldn't let someone else get hold of Harry.'

...

Up in his judge's chair, Crouch nodded. 'Well - that seems in order to me, Dolores? Does it answer your question satisfactorily?'

'Not quite, Barty. I'm still confused. Forgive me, Mr. Black…' She gave him a very saccharine smile, 'but there's something that just doesn't make sense. Now your testimony about Mr. Potter was … very moving to say the least. But I don't understand - knowing that Dumbledore believed you to be the spy, knowing everyone would believe you were the spy - why did you run straight to the werewolf - a creature that, by your own testimony, you had - until five minutes before you went to him - believed was the real spy?' She gave a little laugh that - as it always did - made Sirius want to punch something. 'Perhaps you can see why I don't think your actions add up?'

'I made a mistake about Remus,' Sirius said, through gritted teeth. He did not bother to correct her on using Remus' name - he knew he would get nowhere. He could not shame her with her own bigotry as he had Crouch. 'I realised that much, when I stood in the ruins of my friends' home and saw what Peter had done. I knew if I left without him, he would believe Dumbledore. He would grieve alongside … this.' He shot a disgusted look at Peter, who was still weeping. 'I couldn't let that happen. I needed him to know the truth.'

Umbridge's smile was wide in her froggy face. 'You were happy for Dumbledore to tell the world that you were the spy, but not this one … well, man, as you will no doubt try and claim it is.'

'I could bear everybody's hatred but Remus'.'

'Oh how touching.' She laughed again. 'Why should we believe that?'

'Because it's true. Because I love him.' He felt his face grow warm as he said that.

'You "love" him. This animal. That you thought was the spy. You want us to believe you love him?'

'I do,' his voice burst out in an angry yell - and he stared daggers at the hideous woman. 'It hurt more than I could bear to cut him from my heart, when I thought he was working for Voldemort - and even in that house of death, it brought indescribable joy when I knew I could love him again. I went to him because I love him. He ran away with me because he loves me . And there was nothing more sinister or complicated to it than that. We are in love.'

...

There was another murmur right the way along the council benches, as they discussed his outburst, and Sirius felt his face flame even brighter. He noticed Dumbledore, in particular, staring at him. There was an unusual fire in his blue eyes.

Crouch banged his gavel. 'That seems to me in order … I cannot believe a man would … make such a thing up. Even for his freedom. Two men is … and then when one of them is a werewolf …'

There was more talking among the wizengamot. Sirius felt so hot, under their scrutiny, that he thought it was probably possible to fry an egg on his face. But he refused to look down. He kept looking at them all, defiant in his love.

...

The gavel banged again. 'Order! Ordaah!' Crouch called, as it took a moment for the voices to die away. 'Well, if people are not yet convinced of Mr. Black's innocence, we will proceed against Mr. Pettigrew until the case is proven. I call to the witness stand Kingsley Shacklebolt.'

Over beside Snape, Kingsley got to his feet.

'Mr. Shacklebolt, you were the arresting officer, that is correct?'

'Yes, sir.'

'But you were there to arrest Black?'

'Yes.'

'Why did you change your mind?'

'We had Sirius in our grasp, had just successfully apprehended him, after Severus had spotted him in the crowd. But, as we put him under arrest, he shouted a question to Pettigrew - asking who the real secret keeper had been. Pettigrew answered it had been himself - and, under more questioning, he revealed the extent of his treachery. Based on what he told us, I felt there was no choice but to bring Pettigrew in to face justice.'

'Thank you - I call to the witness stand, Severus Snape.'

Kingsley sat back down - and Snape stood up.

'Mr. Snape - is there good reason to believe the testimony Pettigrew gave?'

A muscle twitched in Snape's jaw, and when he answered, it was from between gritted teeth. 'Yes.'

'Why is that?'

'I had a vial of veritaserum in my possession - the most potent truth drug known to wizard kind. It had gone missing. I saw it in the hand of the man who, once the polyjuice potion wore off, was revealed to be Black. He had - I believe - put the veritaserum into Pettigrew's drink and then waited until he took a sip to start his questioning.'

...

Umbridge was back on her feet. 'Hem hem. Forgive me, Barty, Mr. Snape … but is there any chance that the veritaserum was faulty?'

If it was possible, Snape actually looked angrier than he had before. 'None.'

'How can you be sure?'

'I brewed it … myself . I have used it successfully on witnesses during my search for Black.'

'How can you be sure it was successful?'

The muscle twitched again. 'I used it on Black's mother. Under its influence she revealed to me the true nature of Black's feelings for the wolf … she was horrified. She threatened to curse me if I told anyone. I assure you - she did not reveal her son and heir's … bestial inversion of her own free will.'

Sirius felt himself go bright red again. But Umbridge seemed to be out of objections, and sat back down again.

...

'Very well,' Crouch said, nodding. 'I call to the witness stand Mordecai Berrycloth. Mr. Berrycloth - you were in charge of protecting the Dursley family, is that correct?'

'It is.'

'And, earlier today, it was revealed they were under the imperius curse - and had been so placed by Pettigrew, is that correct?'

'Yes.'

'You removed it and spoke with them?'

'I did. They remember Pettigrew visiting them; they remember him pointing his wand and shouting something - as muggles they do not remember the spell - and then they said they have been feeling strange ever since, as if just floating along - with no worries or troubles, just knowing they needed to go to The Leaky Cauldron today.'

'Thank you.'

...

Crouch turned to his fellow council members. 'So members of the wizengamot - what say you? For the crimes he is charged with, who says Peter Pettigrew is guilty?'

Every hand but Umbridge's went up.

Peter howled and screamed and tried to break loose of his chains. They all ignored him.

'And for the crimes he is charged with, who says Sirius Black is not guilty?' Again every hand but Umbridge's went up.

'Very well - the punishment for using an unforgivable curse is life imprisonment. And for being a Death Eater and a spy and causing the deaths of Lily and James Potter - I hereby sentence Peter Pettigrew to a second term of life imprisonment. No hope for parole… but I warn you, Pettigrew - with these crimes against you, if you are ever anything but a model prisoner, I will authorise for you the use of the dementors' kiss … and that is not a sentence I give lightly. Please do not make it necessary.' He looked at the aurors. 'Take him away.'

Peter began to scream and fight in earnest. 'No - no, I won't go. I didn't do anything. Please you can't. Not the dementors! Not Azkaban. Please - I'll do anything! Sirius, please - don't let them - Sirius!...'

He was dragged from the room, still weeping and struggling and screaming. As the door closed behind him the sudden silence in the chamber crashed down on them all.

'Sirius Black - you are free to…'

'Hem hem.'

...

The council members did not even bother to hide their eye rolling, this time - but Umbridge was back on her feet.

'What is it this time, Dolores?' Crouch asked wearily.

'Have we forgotten the slight matter of the crimes Black has committed? His break out of Azkaban …'

The whole wizengamot exploded in noise - and didn't settle down again even under Crouch banging his gavel. Eventually Dumbledore got to his feet. The sight of him standing there, his white hair gleaming in the candlelight and his blue eyes blazing with their unusual fire, brought hush to the chamber where nothing else had. 'I think I speak for us all, when I say that, as Sirius Black was wrongfully convicted and wrongfully imprisoned - by us, we are in no position to punish him for breaking out of a jail he had no good reason to be in.'

The wizengamot began to applaud. Umbridge bristled angrily. 'Well, what about the fact that he is an illegal animagus?'

'Dolores, he has served three weeks in Azkaban. We will simply amend his criminal record from murderer to illegal animagus and call it time served.'

The wizengamot all laughed.

...

Crouch banged his gavel again, 'order! If that's everything resolved then - Sirius Black you are free to go.'

Sirius got to his feet, 'what about Remus?' he asked.

Crouch hesitated and then nodded. 'Very well, the werewolf will be brought back here to be retried and then released - if his account of events tallies with your own. We have no reason to hold him. Much less execute him.'

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief … But up in the benches, Umbridge's toad-like face wore an expression that looked like she had just been told Christmas was cancelled.