Tried And Convicted

by P.A.R

The sequel to 'The Bonds That Tie'.

2. Chapter Two: Blind Faith

A/N: Just a quick note here, people. You do realize that Tried And Convicted is a unique story in and of itself? This is the first of my stories that I've written that was done purely due to reader request. I had no intention whatsoever of sequeling The Bonds That Tie. This story exists only because you asked for it.

So, if you ever wonder do I listen to you and take your requests seriously, I happily direct you to the next chapter.

Enjoy.

Tried And Convicted

CHAPTER TWO: BLIND FAITH

Remus sat silently before Albus Dumbledore's large desk in the Headmaster's office. Remus had left the trial and headed right for Hogwarts to report what had happened. Not much to his surprise, Dumbledore was already aware of the trial's proceedings. As was Remus sure was half of the wizarding world by now. The Daily Prophet had probably put out a special edition just for the trail results.

"Well?" Remus asked after a long time in which Dumbledore had sat quietly behind his desk with his fingers steepled in front of him. "What do you think?"

Dumbledore remained quiet for a few more moments. "Let me ask you the same question, Remus." He said finally. "What is it you think?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You know Sirius better than anyone most likely. Do you think what he said was the truth?"

"But Albus," Remus said carefully, "he was under Veritaserum. He couldn't have lied."

"You're not answering the question, Remus." Dumbledore said kindly. "Do you think..., or better, do you believe what Sirius said was the truth?"

Remus almost answered immediately, repeating his last statement. But he stopped himself, pausing for a minute to think over the events again.

Finally he turned a resolute stare to the Headmaster. "No, Sir." He replied. "I do not."

"Why?"

Remus paused again as he considered an answer. But this time none came to him. Finally he just shook his head. "I'm sorry, Albus Call it 'blind faith' if you have to. But I just can't believe Sirius could ever have done that to James and Lily. And never to Harry. He loved all three of them like they were his own family. And he's just wild about his godson. Always has been. I will never believe Sirius was involved in what happened to James and Lily."

"And you, Remus," Dumbledore replied, "are likely one of the best judges of human nature I have ever met. And I will call it 'blind faith', if you don't mind. But it is what most things in the world are based on and more often than not it seems to be right. So I think we need to look at this situation from now on from that point of view."

Remus studied the old wizard for a moment. "Sirius lied." He said flatly.

"Yes."

"But why would he lie?"

"That, Mr. Lupin, is what we need to find out."

"Albus, he was under Veritaserum...."

"So you keep saying. And I think that is the best place to start."

"Start?"

"How do you know it was Veritaserum?"

Remus thought for a moment. Dumbledore had a very good point. He didn't know that for sure.

"Well?" Dumbledore prompted.

"It would have been administered in front of witnesses, Albus."

"Who were...?"

"Well, people from the minis........"

"Ministry." Dumbledore finished for him as Remus' voice trailed off. "And they have no stake at all in seeing Sirius convicted."

Remus gave Dumbledore a skeptical look. "But...., Albus, you're talking about their knowingly convicting an innocent man."

Dumbledore smiled slightly at the man before him. "I wouldn't be so fast to say 'knowingly'." He replied. "I would tend to say 'overenthusiastically' perhaps."

"Overenthusiastically?"

"The ministry believes Sirius is guilty. With the same conviction, most likely, that you believe him innocent. All they lack is a confession. Or, in other words, 'proof'."

"So, they gave Sirius something other than Veritaserum." Remus suddenly sat up in his chair. "Albus, if that's true, we need to get to Sirius. Have a medi-wizard check him. That's the only way we can prove any of this."

Dumbledore waved Remus down. "Calm down, Remus. Sirius isn't going anywhere just yet. You yourself said the jury would be out until tomorrow. He's safe where he is for now. I think first we would do well to listen to what an expert has to say on the subject."

Remus was about to question who they could go to for such an evaluation. But Dumbledore already had his wand pointed at the fire in his office.

"Professor Snape. A moment of your time, if you could."

Remus frowned. "Snape? He's hardly an expert."

"Severus was the best potions student in his year, Remus. The best this school has ever seen, in fact. He didn't get the position he's in because I just needed someone to teach potions. There were numerous applications for that position when it came open. I hired the best candidate."

"But, Albus......." Remus began. But a flare from Dumbledore's office fire cut him off. The merry little fire blazed to life suddenly. But just as quickly its happy enthusiasm seemed to burn out as a tall figure in black robe materialized within the flames. With all the air of a man who had just had the most important moment of his life interrupted by some trivial matter, Severus Snape stepped into the Headmaster's office.

"You called." Snape asked in a voice that positively dripped with loathing. Something Remus couldn't understand at all. Of all people, Snape had no reason at all to resent the old wizard.

"It wasn't a 'call', Severus." Dumbledore replied with a pleasant enough smile. "It was simply a request of some of your time."

"I wasn't aware anyone made requests of me anymore." Snape bit off the words as he spoke them. But before he said anything further, his eyes suddenly found Remus. "What is he doing here?" He asked, his tone switching to something that tried to sound like hatred, but utterly missed the mark.

"Severus," Dumbledore said kindly, indicating the other chair in front of his desk, "if you would be so kind. We have need of your expertise, please."

Snape seemed to consider the old wizard's words. Remus swore he could practically see the battle going on behind the coal black eyes. The man wanted nothing more than to leave. But his pride had been dragged in the formula, and that was something nearly impossible for him to walk away from. And thankfully, this time, he didn't.

Snape slowly seated himself in the chair, notably moving it a few inches further from Remus' as he took a seat in it. Once he was settled, he wrapped his long thin fingers about the front of the arms of the chair and fixed his attention on Dumbledore, but said nothing.

"We have a small matter in which we need your opinion, Severus." Dumbledore explained, keeping his tone conversational. One listening would have thought he was about to do no more than discuss the weather for the day and ask Snape if he agreed with it. "Remus is going to explain the circumstances to you, and I would like very much to hear your opinion of them."

Snape turned slowly to the man sitting next to him.

Remus could practically feel the hatred. Some days were better than others between them. There were days when Snape was almost sociable to him. Actually talk to him. But then there were days like now. When Snape had been the recipient of a perfectly horrible day and he was just looking for someone to blame for it. An honor that fell, usually, all too easily on Remus. The ever amiable, ever convenient target of Snape's bad moods. But perhaps that was but another testimony to their friendship, no matter how tentative it seemed at times. As strange as it was, Snape seemed to feel comfortable doing the one thing in front of Remus he did in front of no other person. Bare his frustrations out in the open. He had gone as far as to rant and rave and scream his lungs out in front of him. But one thing Remus had always taken a keen notice of, was that the worse his mood was, the less of it was focused directly at him. On really bad days it seemed to Remus, Snape simply wanted an audience. Someone to hear how badly life had treated him in that particular twenty-four hour period. Or maybe he just wanted someone to care.

Which ever the reason, Remus seemed the one he sought out most regularly at the end of his worse days.

Remus always knew when it was going to be a bad encounter with his one-time friend. It would start with an invitation to afternoon tea. And even knowing what he was likely in for, Remus always obligingly went. He somehow couldn't bring himself to deny Snape his sole outlet for his frustrations. Better him, Remus thought to himself, then some poor hapless student who would inadvertently add too much powdered dragon's scales to a potion and end up with something they had to call in the magical hazardous waste disposal unit to get rid of. And Remus actually, in a manner, enjoyed watching Snape let off a little steam once in a while. It proved to him that somewhere under all that black material and stoic expression, his friend still existed. A bit older, a bit wiser, a bit more jaded perhaps. But still there.

And Snape was looking like he had had a very bad day.

Definitely an 'afternoon tea' sort of looking day, Remus thought t himself as he met the potion master's loathing stare.

"Well?" He stated slowly.

"Sirius...."

That was as far as Remus got. Snape was out of his chair at the mention of the man's name.

"This involves Black!" He nearly shouted. "You want my opinion of Black?" Snape leaned over the side arm of Remus' chair. "Trust me, werewolf! You won't like it."

"Severus!" Dumbledore met his tone. "Sit down!"

Remus had pulled back from the man. He knew better than to let himself be pulled into Snape's anger, which was so palatable to the wolf in him, it wasn't an easy thing not to do. But pulling away from it, physically and mentally, helped.

'He has a right to be angry.' Remus told himself sternly. 'He has a right to hate Sirius. He always has and he always will. Others just get pulled into the picture.'

Snape backed slowly away from Remus and returned to his seat. After a few more seconds, he turned his eyes back to Dumbledore.

"My apologies, Headmaster." He said coolly. "But if this has anything to do with Sirius Black, I am afraid you have wasted you're time. For I have no intention of helping that.....man get out of whatever he has gotten himself into this time."

"And is there any harm in listening, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, though his tone didn't leave much maneuvering for an answer.

Snape turned again to Remus. "Very well." He said. "What has the fool gotten himself into then?"

Remus paused as he glanced quickly at Dumbledore, who, with a friendly smile, gestured for him to go on as though the whole scene of a few seconds ago had never happened.

Remus took a breath, then started again. "Sirius went to the ministry this morning to be questioned...."

"He was on trial for murder." Snape broke in bluntly. "And from the sounds of it he's well on his way to a conviction.....by his own words."

"Severus," Dumbledore spoke up, his voice a little less kind this time. "Listen to Remus, please. This is important."

Snape sighed and sat back in his chair. Though he wasn't looking at Remus, and had in fact suddenly gotten very interested in the wall behind Dumbledore's desk, Remus got the feeling he was listening anyway.

"Sirius was questioned about James and Lily's murders." Remus agreed. "The ministry said they questioned him under Veritaserum."

"Then why exactly are we wasting time here discussing a murderer?"

"Severus," Dumbledore added again. "Listen to him. It is important. A man's life may depend on what you can tell us."

"If that man is Black, then he's in a very sorry state of affairs indeed. For I wouldn't cross the road to spit on the man if he were on fire."

"Severus." Dumbledore said, the kind tone back in his voice. To Remus it sounded very much like the tone one used on an unruly child to make him listen to you. "Sirius made a mistake one day a very long time ago. One that might have had terrible consequences. But he was a young boy, who wasn't thinking past the moment. Now, I am sure we have all made mistakes. Things we wish we could do over. Things we wish others would overlook as the exuberance of youthful whiles."

Remus was sure Dumbledore was reminding Snape about the incident that had divided Snape and Sirius even more than they already were. The night Sirius laid a trap for Snape in the tunnel under the Whomping Willow. Leading the young man into a face to fang encounter with a werewolf.

But as he watched the expression on Snape's face alter, he wasn't so sure anymore. Snape seemed to be listening to the old man's words like he had never listened to anyone in his life. To Remus it seemed as though Snape wasn't even breathing anymore.

"Now, please," Dumbledore repeated, "listen to what Remus has to say."

Snape seemed this time to listen to what Remus had to say. But that was all he seemed to do. He didn't so much as alter his expression as Remus recounted the events of that morning to the potions master, finishing with Sirius being led out of the room at the end of the questioning.

"They gave Black Veritaserum?" Snape asked when Remus stopped talking.

"Well, that's really part of what...."

"They gave it to him before the trail." Snape filled in. "They questioned him. He answered. I fail to see what there is to discuss here, Headmaster." Snape turned his attention fully back to Dumbledore.

"Remus seems to feel that there is the possibility that perhaps the ministry arranged for Sirius to be given something else."

Snape looked nearly astonished. "For what purpose?"

"To prove him guilty of a crime he never committed." Remus put in quickly.

Snape turned his hard cold stare back to Remus. "And you know this because....?"

"I know Sirius."

Snape sat for several seconds simply staring at Remus as though the man had lost his mind completely.

"Because you 'know' him." Snape repeated slowly. "That's your evidence of any of this? Because you 'know' him?"

"Severus, I know Sirius would never have......."

"Not because you have any proof. Not because you saw them give him something other than Veritaserum. Not because of one shred of evidence. But because you 'know' him."

"Severus, you don't understand."

Snape gave Remus a very cold smile. "But I do, Remus." He stated in his smoothest, silkiest voice. "You say your friend is innocent for all of the very same reasons you say the ministry says he is guilty. Now, who exactly are we to believe?" Snape turned back to the Headmaster. "You'll have to forgive me, Headmaster." He stated, getting to his feet. "But I have work I must get back to. Perhaps when Mr. Lupin has found some evidence to support his claim, I would be more inclined to listen. Until then, I'm afraid I have no time for 'speculation'."

Snape was stepping into the fire before Dumbledore could say a word to him. And in a flash from the flames, he was gone.

Remus turned a defeated look to Dumbledore. "Now what?"

"Give me time to speak to him, Remus." Dumbledore replied with a small smile. "In the meantime, why don't you go back to the ministry and see how Sirius is doing?"

Remus paused for a moment. Time was getting very short, and he was starting to get worried. But he forced his fears back down and simply nodded to the Headmaster as he got to his feet and left the office.

Q&A

Family Life

DragonMistress: Oh, my! Such a review! My goodness! Thank you! I do try to stay somewhat in cannor with my stories and keep much to the original style. I'm so very pleased you liked the story. And watch for the sequel coming out soon, Family Relations.

Tried And Convicted

Nagini: Yes, Dear. You were first. It's nice to be loved. And I am happy to be back.

Elizabeth Bathory: I'm glad you are enjoying the story. And I don't think you'll be disappointed with the stories I suggested. They are well worth the read.

Mr. Happy Java Man: Love the name, by the way.

O.K., this is going to take some explaining. I was going to look old Avery up to see what everyone was talking about, but I decided to just explain this the way I wrote it. No, there is no connection between the two characters. I just needed a name for this character and 'Avery Trennerson' is the first thing (believe it or not) that popped into my head. And you haven't seen the last of Mr. Trennerson.

Now, you know I can't answer that! That's nearly the whole point of the story.

Thank you for being forgiving about the deadline thing.

Peacockgirl: And I'm happy to be back. Thank you.

P.A.R. is NOT mean to Sirius! I let him live each story, don't I? Really! Technically, I haven't killed a single character to date.

Don't worry too much about the sleep thing, Dear. I do some of my best writing late at night.

hpfan: So, how is the view up there? Heard it's pretty.

Now how can I answer ANY of that? Kind of makes the story redundant, don't cha' think?

I can answer the last question, however. Sirius was on trial for James and Lily's murders only. Not for attempting to murder Harry.

Silverfox: O.K., the only thing I can say here is that that was really Sirius. Not an imposter.

Wait a minute. You had a story that wasn't suppose to have any chapters at all? Dear, then you have no story. I mean, the first thing you put up, regardless, is 'a' chapter, right?

I'm glad so many people are looking forward to meeting Orion Black. and I hope the love affiar holds out to my actually getting him to publication, or posting. Currently the first story he is in, Enemies, is turning into a bugger. I'm doing my best with it, but it has some very definite problems right now.

Indiana jones: Well, I can darn sure tell you it ain't gonna be Harry! I don't torture babies.

Currently the story is ten chapters long, so there will definitely be more.

Sailor Sol: What did I do with him? Wrote another award winning story, looks like to me.

O.K., 'nough sunshine up my skirt.

Once again, folks, all I'll say at this point is that that was the real Sirius. Not an imposture.

Karla: O.K., I think this is a first. You're getting a gold star, Karla, but at the present time, I can't give it to you because I can't say why you're getting it. But you hit on something major in your review that, due to story content, I can't comment on. But I will deliver that gold star when I can, and can tell you why you're getting it without spoiling the story.

As to your other questions, I can't comment on Mr. Green just now.

In regards to Avery Trennerson's character, as I put in my answer to Mr. Happy Java Man, I was going to go look up this character's reference in GoF, but decided against it and choose to simply answer it as I would have normally. Avery Trennerson has no connection to the Avery in GoF. He is an independent character. The similarity in names is purely coincidental.

Where Dumbledore was in all this was answered in this chapter.

Hang in for that gold star, Dear.

Abby: Oh! Such a GOOD question! Tried And Convicted is set about a month after The Bonds That Tie ended. Sirius was given a reprieve from questioning by the ministry until he got better.

My father is doing very well. Thank you for asking. He has good days and bad days, depending if he does too much or so. But he is coming along nicely.

sweets: Ohhhhhh, harddrives taking a dive is a bad thing. P.A.R. knows all about this! My 286 was hit by a power surge. Try finding a new harddrive for that! But, I did manage to recover my files, and a very nice computer man I met through my last job sent me A couple of spare harddrives. So I'm set for a while.

How do YOU know Sirius is innocent?

Thanks for the review.

All reviews are as of 08142002 prior to posting.

Three wise woman would have....

Asked for directions.

Arrived on time.

Helped deliver the baby.

Cleaned the stable.

Made a casserole.

Brought practical gifts, and

There would have been peace on Earth.

See you Sunday (barring, you know, certain circumstances).