"Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there... Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was the students, Minister..."

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape... They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now... I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves... and of course, both Potters have always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster —"

"Ah, well, Snape... Arabella and Lyla Potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a blind spot where they're concerned."

"And yet — is it good for them to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try to treat them like any other student. And any other student would be suspended — at the very least — for leading their friends into such danger. Consider, Minister — against all school rules — after all the precautions put in place for his protection — out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer — and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too —"

"Well, well... we shall see, Snape, we shall see... They have undoubtedly been foolish..."

Lyla lay listening with her eyes tightly shut. She felt very groggy. The words she was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from her ears to her brain so that it was difficult to understand... Her limbs felt like lead; her eyelids too heavy to lift... She wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever…

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister, I'm afraid not. By the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, the girl's, Malfoy —"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

There was a pause. Lyla's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of her stomach…

She opened his eyes. Everything was slightly blurred. She was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, she could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to her, bending over another bed. She squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.

Lyla moved her head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Arabella, still asleep. To her left, Draco. Moonlight was falling across his bed, his eyes were open too. He looked as tense as a statue, and when he saw that Lyla was awake, pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.

Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Lyla's bed. She turned to look at her. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a small boulder.

"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Lyla's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.

"How's Ron?" said Lyla and Draco together.

"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're — Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Arabella was sitting up, and picking up her wand. "

I need to see the headmaster," she said shakily.

"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's alright. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now —"

"WHAT?"

Lyla jumped up out of bed; Draco had done the same. But her shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.

"My dears, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed — have they had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Lyla said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's —"

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"Oh, my dears, you're all very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control..."

"YOU HAVEN'T!" bellowed Arabella sharply. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"Minister, listen, please," Draco said. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and —"

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them... Black's done a very good job on them..."

"WE WERE NOT CONFUNDED!" Lyla roared, temper getting the better of her.

"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. These three are my patients, and they should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed, we're trying to tell them what happened!" Arabella said furiously. "If they'd just listen —"

But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Lyla's mouth; she choked, and she seized the opportunity to force her back onto the bed.

"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave."

The door opened again. It was Dumbledore, followed quickly by Hermione. Lyla swallowed her mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black —"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist —"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with them," said Dumbledore calmly. "It'll only be a moment, and have just been talking to Sirius Black —"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. 'Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive —"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That's because you were knocked out!" said Draco earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear."

"Mr. Malfoy, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young man is disturbed, we must make allowances —"

"I would like to speak to the children alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy— please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest —"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The Dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak with them alone," Dumbledore repeated. Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Arabela, Lyla, and Draco. They all burst into speech at the same time.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth—"

"We saw Pettigrew — he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf —"

"— he's a rat —"

"— Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off —"

"— Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius —"

But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word — and the word of a couple of thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

"Professor Lupin can tell you —" Draco said.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than death. I might add that werewolves are so distrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends —"

"But —"

"Listen to me. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

"But— but he hates Sirius," Lyla said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him —"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady — entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife — without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

"But you believe us."

"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic..."

Lyla stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground beneath her was falling sharply away. She had grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. She had expected Dumbledore to pull some amazing solution out of the air. But no... their last hope was gone.

"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Lyla to Hermione, "is more time."

"OH!" Hermione gasped.

"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, quickly explain the laws— you know what is at stake... You — must — not — be —seen."

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