Chapter 4
Magic Dance
"Hello, Sirius." Said Dumbledore, "You are looking well."
Sirius crossed the room and embraced him.
"Albus," He said warmly, "Good to see you. What brings you to this rock?" And as an after thought he added, "Oh yes, nice to see you too minister." in a tone that clearly indicated otherwise.
"Minister Fudge is here at my request." Said Dumbledore. "And warden Cromwell kindly consented to allow us to have this little meeting with you."
Cromwell rang for the house elf to bring them all some tea.
"Don't read anything into my presence." Fudge interjected "Were it not for Professor Dumbledore's insistence I'd not be here at all."
"You needn't stay on my account." Sirius shot back. "It's no secret I have no great love for the ministry. Especially when the truth of my case is fully known to them and they decide to overlook that little detail and stick me back on this rock just so the Minister of Magic can get his name in the Daily Prophet as being tough on crime."
"You did assault two of my officers." Said Fudge absently.
"Wrong again." Said Sirius defiantly, "I only assaulted one. I just threatened the other. After all, what good is a bad reputation if one can't put it to occasional use? Your fair-haired boy McNair blasted him with a bolt meant for me. It's not my fault he's a bad shot. As far as the other one goes, yes I froze him. What was I supposed to do, tickle him into submission?"
"Assaulting Ministry officials in the performance of their duties." Fudge began.
"Is a serious offense." Sirius finished, "Yes, yes I know the routine. Please, minister, spare me the lecture. Had I wanted to do your people serious injury you know full well that I have the capability of doing that and much more."
"You had the capability but not the wish to injure." Said Dumbledore.
"I suppose that's a fair statement." Said Sirius thoughtfully. "I believe in using only what force is necessary to end an encounter. If this is a way of asking could I kill if I had to, the answer would be yes."
"You were in training to be an Auror before your incident with Mr. Petigrew, weren't you?" Asked Cromwell.
"Yes, that's right." Sirius replied.
"And doing rather well at it from what my information tells me."
"I was told I had potential." Said Sirius.
"Potential? Being at the top of your class demonstrates something more than mere potential, don't you think?" Said Cromwell.
Sirius shrugged.
"You are being modest, Mr. Black." said Cromwell opening a folder on his desk. "Your evaluation calls you, and let me quote 'The most rapidly advanced student in the instructor's experience.' and 'This student has all the tools to be the best I have ever seen.' 'Steel trap mind' 'Exceptional ability' and 'Impeccable organization.' Is that about right?"
"So they tell me." Sirius replied. "That's just one person's opinion."
"Your instructor was one 'Mad-Eye' Moody, was it not?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Moody was a very accomplished Auror and a fine instructor." Said Cromwell. "One thing he did not do was bandy about undue praise or compliments. Come to think of it, he didn't do it much if it WAS due. That's quite a statement coming from him. I don't believe he ever rated anyone else much better than mediocre. He had high standards."
"Okay." Said Sirius impatiently, "So the guy liked me and I did my homework."
"He also knew you were an Animagus, didn't he?"
"It might have come up." Said Sirius wondering where this was going.
"Sirius," said Dumbledore, "There are thousands of wizards and witches in the world. Many of them have fantastic abilities but in all that, there are only ten animagi that we know of. The total number in the history of magic is less than fifty. It is a procedure that I myself have not mastered. Do you have any thoughts about that?"
"Please professor." Sirius answered. "For someone of your abilities I can't imagine anything being beyond your scope. Being an animagus is more of an art than a science. Maybe it's like being a wizard at all. Only some have the ability, although I would think that if Peter Petigrew can do it, how difficult could it be? It requires intense concentration, being one with the form you wish to attain."
"Do you have any thoughts as to why you could not assume multiple shapes?"
"It's not a matter of ability. Sure it's theoretically possible, but it's difficult enough just to concentrate on your primary form with all its little subtleties." Sirius explained, "To try to do more than one would require you to be able to pick out only the characteristics you want to assume without any of the others cluttering the process. It would require concentration and mental discipline on an unimaginable scale. I doubt Merlin himself could do it. Think of it as like a jigsaw puzzle. When you are finished putting the pieces together, you have a finished product, but one wrong piece will ruin the whole thing and I can't even guess at what would happen."
"What if I were to tell you that someone has accomplished it?" asked Fudge.
"Who?" inquired Sirius?
"Peter Petigrew."
"That mental midget? I'd say that with all due respect, you have rocks in your head." Said Sirius and after a pause added "Sir!" Then went on, "If you had said Lo Chang, or Kreskin or even Professor Dumbledore's associate Professor McGonnagle, I may have believed it. Of myself, James Potter and Peter, Peter had the most difficulty being able to transform. James and I thought, at one point that he would not accomplish it. Besides, Petigrew's animagus days are over."
"Why do you say that/" Asked Cromwell.
"Because of what he did at Voldemort's resurrection." Said Sirius patiently. "He cut off his hand, remember? Now limbs can be magically regrown but when you transform as an animagus, all bets are off. He would be a rat, or whatever else he supposedly can assume, without a front paw. No way around it. You cannot transform a magical part of your body because that comes from an external power. Like that Scottish guy used to say on that muggle space show. 'Ya canna change the laws of physics' or in this case magic. If, by some incalculable chance, he is doing it, which, I hasten to add, I sincerely doubt, he's got help. What I mean is that someone is probably doing a transfiguration spell on him and for some reason wants us to think he's a multiple animagus."
"I thought you just said that he could not transform his injured limb." Fudge pointed out.
"Transfiguration and animagus spells are similar but not identical." Sirius replied. "Yes an animagus spell is a transfiguration. But since you are supplying your own power there are certain limitations as I previously stated. The difference is that with a transfiguration, someone else is supplying the power and controlling the change. When you are transfiguring something else, you have much more control than when you are doing it to yourself."
"Well." Said Dumbledore glancing at Fudge who was looking uncomfortable, "I think we have acquired sufficient information, so I'd say it's time we got to the point of our meeting."
"Hello, Sirius." Said Dumbledore, "You are looking well."
Sirius crossed the room and embraced him.
"Albus," He said warmly, "Good to see you. What brings you to this rock?" And as an after thought he added, "Oh yes, nice to see you too minister." in a tone that clearly indicated otherwise.
"Minister Fudge is here at my request." Said Dumbledore. "And warden Cromwell kindly consented to allow us to have this little meeting with you."
Cromwell rang for the house elf to bring them all some tea.
"Don't read anything into my presence." Fudge interjected "Were it not for Professor Dumbledore's insistence I'd not be here at all."
"You needn't stay on my account." Sirius shot back. "It's no secret I have no great love for the ministry. Especially when the truth of my case is fully known to them and they decide to overlook that little detail and stick me back on this rock just so the Minister of Magic can get his name in the Daily Prophet as being tough on crime."
"You did assault two of my officers." Said Fudge absently.
"Wrong again." Said Sirius defiantly, "I only assaulted one. I just threatened the other. After all, what good is a bad reputation if one can't put it to occasional use? Your fair-haired boy McNair blasted him with a bolt meant for me. It's not my fault he's a bad shot. As far as the other one goes, yes I froze him. What was I supposed to do, tickle him into submission?"
"Assaulting Ministry officials in the performance of their duties." Fudge began.
"Is a serious offense." Sirius finished, "Yes, yes I know the routine. Please, minister, spare me the lecture. Had I wanted to do your people serious injury you know full well that I have the capability of doing that and much more."
"You had the capability but not the wish to injure." Said Dumbledore.
"I suppose that's a fair statement." Said Sirius thoughtfully. "I believe in using only what force is necessary to end an encounter. If this is a way of asking could I kill if I had to, the answer would be yes."
"You were in training to be an Auror before your incident with Mr. Petigrew, weren't you?" Asked Cromwell.
"Yes, that's right." Sirius replied.
"And doing rather well at it from what my information tells me."
"I was told I had potential." Said Sirius.
"Potential? Being at the top of your class demonstrates something more than mere potential, don't you think?" Said Cromwell.
Sirius shrugged.
"You are being modest, Mr. Black." said Cromwell opening a folder on his desk. "Your evaluation calls you, and let me quote 'The most rapidly advanced student in the instructor's experience.' and 'This student has all the tools to be the best I have ever seen.' 'Steel trap mind' 'Exceptional ability' and 'Impeccable organization.' Is that about right?"
"So they tell me." Sirius replied. "That's just one person's opinion."
"Your instructor was one 'Mad-Eye' Moody, was it not?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Moody was a very accomplished Auror and a fine instructor." Said Cromwell. "One thing he did not do was bandy about undue praise or compliments. Come to think of it, he didn't do it much if it WAS due. That's quite a statement coming from him. I don't believe he ever rated anyone else much better than mediocre. He had high standards."
"Okay." Said Sirius impatiently, "So the guy liked me and I did my homework."
"He also knew you were an Animagus, didn't he?"
"It might have come up." Said Sirius wondering where this was going.
"Sirius," said Dumbledore, "There are thousands of wizards and witches in the world. Many of them have fantastic abilities but in all that, there are only ten animagi that we know of. The total number in the history of magic is less than fifty. It is a procedure that I myself have not mastered. Do you have any thoughts about that?"
"Please professor." Sirius answered. "For someone of your abilities I can't imagine anything being beyond your scope. Being an animagus is more of an art than a science. Maybe it's like being a wizard at all. Only some have the ability, although I would think that if Peter Petigrew can do it, how difficult could it be? It requires intense concentration, being one with the form you wish to attain."
"Do you have any thoughts as to why you could not assume multiple shapes?"
"It's not a matter of ability. Sure it's theoretically possible, but it's difficult enough just to concentrate on your primary form with all its little subtleties." Sirius explained, "To try to do more than one would require you to be able to pick out only the characteristics you want to assume without any of the others cluttering the process. It would require concentration and mental discipline on an unimaginable scale. I doubt Merlin himself could do it. Think of it as like a jigsaw puzzle. When you are finished putting the pieces together, you have a finished product, but one wrong piece will ruin the whole thing and I can't even guess at what would happen."
"What if I were to tell you that someone has accomplished it?" asked Fudge.
"Who?" inquired Sirius?
"Peter Petigrew."
"That mental midget? I'd say that with all due respect, you have rocks in your head." Said Sirius and after a pause added "Sir!" Then went on, "If you had said Lo Chang, or Kreskin or even Professor Dumbledore's associate Professor McGonnagle, I may have believed it. Of myself, James Potter and Peter, Peter had the most difficulty being able to transform. James and I thought, at one point that he would not accomplish it. Besides, Petigrew's animagus days are over."
"Why do you say that/" Asked Cromwell.
"Because of what he did at Voldemort's resurrection." Said Sirius patiently. "He cut off his hand, remember? Now limbs can be magically regrown but when you transform as an animagus, all bets are off. He would be a rat, or whatever else he supposedly can assume, without a front paw. No way around it. You cannot transform a magical part of your body because that comes from an external power. Like that Scottish guy used to say on that muggle space show. 'Ya canna change the laws of physics' or in this case magic. If, by some incalculable chance, he is doing it, which, I hasten to add, I sincerely doubt, he's got help. What I mean is that someone is probably doing a transfiguration spell on him and for some reason wants us to think he's a multiple animagus."
"I thought you just said that he could not transform his injured limb." Fudge pointed out.
"Transfiguration and animagus spells are similar but not identical." Sirius replied. "Yes an animagus spell is a transfiguration. But since you are supplying your own power there are certain limitations as I previously stated. The difference is that with a transfiguration, someone else is supplying the power and controlling the change. When you are transfiguring something else, you have much more control than when you are doing it to yourself."
"Well." Said Dumbledore glancing at Fudge who was looking uncomfortable, "I think we have acquired sufficient information, so I'd say it's time we got to the point of our meeting."
