Disclaimer: Check back to Chapter One for the Disclaimer. Characters/places/items/etc from the book series is property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. I did make up the Truth Spell, at least to my knowledge I did since I haven't seen it in any other fan fics and it isn't in the series. It's "Vertiasmagia" which means Truth Magic in Latin. Yea, look at me, following the examples of how JK finds some of her means for potions and spells. Onto the author's note...
Author's Note: Same as Chapter One, rather not repeat everything. Anywho, onto the fan fic.
Sirius had spent nearly a week in Azkaban before he had any visitors. His hope rose when his first one was Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore could tell that even the short amount of time spent in Azkaban had already taken its tow on Sirius. The smile on his face barely reached his eyes and he looked thinner than he ever did than when he was a small boy in Hogwarts. An air of seriousness and sorrow hung around the man so thickly that it stifled Dumbledore for a bit. Once the both of them were sitting in a special room with guards blocking any way out, Sirius spoke.
"Dumbledore."
"Hello Sirius."
Thank Merlin! Someone who will listen to me without flinching. Dumbledore will help me.
"I didn't do it. Peter did."
Dumbledore looked at Sirius before shaking his head. He knew Sirius was going to be stubborn, but surely he wasn't stupid.
"Peter's dead. You killed him from what I hear."
Sirius looked at Dumbledore with wide eyes filled with disbelief and betrayal.
No! He isn't going to believe me! What hog swallow did they feed him before he entered this room?!
"No I didn't. He's alive."
"That's not possible."
Sirius grinned.
Aw... If only you knew what the Marauders were doing under your nose all throughout our years at Hogwarts. It's just too bad that I'm going to have to expose everything we did together. Poor Moony. He was hoping that Dumbledore would never find out.
"Yes it is. I want a trial. I can prove my innocence."
"Oh. And how to do you propose you are going to prove your innocence?"
"Well..." Sirius ran a hand thoughtfully through his hair before responding. "You see... There were some things you never knew about Peter and me and James. A few things that you most likely will probably never trust me again after you hear them, but well, I would rather save it for the trial so they don't think we planned it."
"I'll see what I can do. I'm going to have to pull a lot of strings in order to get you a trial, but if you feel you can prove your innocence then I'll do whatever I can."
"I know I can. All I need is a brand new pensive."
"And what are you going to prove with that?"
"Show them what I saw! Peter talking to Voldemort. Me arriving there seeing the ruins. Me confronting Peter. I didn't even have my wand out yet for Merlin's sake. I would never do that. I wasn't even their Secret Keeper."
Sirius threw his hands up in exasperation and began to pace the room. Dumbledore watched over half-moon spectacles as he waited for Sirius to calm down.
"But how are you going to explain the disappearance of Mr. Pettigrew? Short, pudgy men don't disappear in the middle of shopping areas without a trace except a finger every day, you know."
Sirius looked up at Dumbledore. He had stopped his pacing and had been staring out the ground, trying to think. He looked up at his old Headmaster, not wanting to let any chance of people hearing him say anything that might be used against him in the trial.
"Just get me a trial date."
"Okay. I will."
Dumbledore left and he did all he could to get a trial. Finally, after nearly a month, Barty Crouch allowed it. It took almost another month for everything to be set up. The trial was to take place on January 1st at midnight. When told the date, Sirius found in comical for some reason. Dumbledore had started to doubt Sirius' sanity, but fulfilled both promises. On the day of the trial, Dumbledore had an empty pensive with him. Sirius stood behind a gate, which held an invisible force field around him. Dementors were behind a closed door and only Sirius could feel their power's hold. He shivered involuntarily, but quickly pushed the feeling away. Sirius looked up when a mallet struck a wooden pad and Barty Crouch stood up.
"We are assembled here today to try Sirius Black for the premeditated murder of James and Lily Potter, the premeditated murder attempt on Harry Potter, the murder of Peter Pettigrew, and the murder of thirteen Muggles. Along with the murder of the Muggles, he is faced with charges of using magic in the presence of Muggles. How do you plead?"
"Innocent."
Sirius said it loud and clear, looking Barty Crouch in the eye. He was confident that he could prove it and pushed all doubt to the back of us mind.
"Will you please submit the proof you have that can confirm your innocence?"
Dumbledore approached the gate and handed the pensive to Sirius. The wall allowed anything to enter, but nothing leave. He also handed Sirius his wand back, which alarmed many of the witches and wizards closest to Sirius. Sirius began to explain what he was doing.
"As many of you know, this is a pensive. It's used to keep one's thoughts together and from collecting in one's mind. I will be using it today to show you what really occurred during the days of October 31st and November 1st. I will also be showing you an event from the spring of 1975, during my fifth year at Hogwarts."
Slowly, he placed the tip of the wand to his head and pulled out a single strand of memory. He did this two more times. The bowl was now filled with three silver strands floating around. Placing the pensive out on a table, he muttered a spell and a large screen of light filled the area of the invisible wall. Muttering another spell, a memory from the pensive filled the screen.
Four boys, all around the age of fifteen were gathered around a large cauldron that was bubbling. One was leaning on a desk that was close by, his eyes filled with joy and love. He had sandy blonde hair and golden-brown eyes. His was thin and had a wolfish area around him - Remus Lupin. A boy with black hair and dark brown eyes that were filled with mischief was running around, saying how the potion would be done in a few minutes. Our dear Sirius Black. Another boy with messy black hair and bright blue eyes just shook his head and told the other to calm down. James Potter. Next to the young James, was a boy with blonde hair and gray-blue eyes. He was short and pudgy and looked on the verge of tears - Peter Pettigrew.
After a few more minutes of the boys talking and watching the potion, three of them filled a cup each of the murky liquid. Remus was the only one not doing so. On the count of three, each gulped the liquid down. Remus then said a spell on each of them. One by one, each slowly transformed into a different animal. Sirius was a black dog, gaining his name Padfoot from the padded feet he had. James transformed into a stag and was named Prongs for his antlers. Then, Peter transformed and was not to be seen. The two boys who were in their animal form transformed back and looked for their lost friend. They finally found him as a rat, gaining the name Wormtail for his tail.
Everyone gasped in surprise at what they had just seen. They had just witnessed James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew become illegal Animagi. What confused them more was that the other boy had not become one. Sirius took down the screen and asked if anyone had any questions. A nervous witch stood up.
"Mr. Black, how is it that you, the late Mr. Potter, and the late Mr. Pettigrew all chose to become illegal Animagi, yet Mr. Lupin did not?"
Sirius stole a glance around the room, spotting his friend in a corner. His face had no color in it and Sirius shot him a quick look saying he was sorry and asking he can tell the truth. Remus just nodded curtly and Sirius turned his attention back to the witch.
"That is because the potion and charm would take no effect on Mr. Lupin. He's a werewolf, there for his body is immune to any animal transfigurations that had permanent effects."
Low whispering began around the room, but Remus stayed sitting where he was. A few near him scooted over slightly and sent glares in his direction. A wizard stood up, asking a question that was plaguing everyone's mind.
"Why would you, as children, take the risk of possibly dying to become an Animagus?"
"That is a quite simple answer actually. Mr. Lupin always hid his true identity about him being a werewolf from his very well, but we eventually found out. To make his transformation easier and more fun, we decided to become illegal Animagi."
A different wizard stood up and was filled with anger.
"Do you have any idea of what could have happened if he had bitten someone or the consequences of becoming an illegal Animagus?!"
"Yes, sir, we did. But all of that was forgotten when we were out running through the grounds of Hogwarts and sometimes, even Hogsmeade. There were near misses, don't get me wrong. I know it's no excuse, but we were kids and we just wanted to help a friend. Any more questions?"
Sirius ran a hand through his hair and then returned to the pensive. He had been pacing around in his small area while answering people's questions. Muttering a spell again, another memory filled the screen.
This time, the pensive showed Sirius squatting behind a bush. Then, it shifted slightly and two figures could be seen outside a small house hidden near mountains. The shorter of the two was whispering something to the taller one. The short one moved and light flashed across his face, giving away his identity as Peter Pettigrew. He then bowed and the taller one Apparated away from the scene. A minute later, Peter did the same. The Sirius in the image jumped up and dashed over to a motorcycle.
The Sirius in the courtroom stopped the image there and looked around, asking for any questions. A wizard with black flowing robes stood up.
"Why did you show us that?"
"Well, honestly, that was just in case something didn't make sense later on. For those who couldn't recognize the shorter figure, it was Mr. Pettigrew. The taller one was Voldemort."
Loud protests went up around the room and Mr. Crouch brought his mallet down hard, trying to gain calm in the room.
"Silence! Silence!"
Everyone became quiet and they sat down. Mr. Crouch leaned forward, placing his hands on the edge of his desk.
"Why do you say his name aloud when you know it causes so much chaos?"
"Why should I fear his name? Fear of one's name brings fear of the person - as I was told by a very wise wizard one time." Sirius shot a glance to Dumbledore, who nodded. "Also, I don't fear the wizard anymore than I fear you."
Mr. Crouch glared at Sirius...
Perhaps I shouldn't have said that. Oh well, too late now.
...And was about to sentence him to Azkaban for life right there, but he sat down instead. He waved a hand for Sirius to continue.
Sirius started the image back up, but fast-forwarded it to when he landed in front of the Potter's house. It lay in a heap of rubble. Everyone watched closely and they saw the reaction of Sirius at the sight and then him searching for his friends and godson. They watched as he carried James Potter out of the destruction and then go looking through the rubble. His silent defeat as he fell to his knees and cry. His joy as he heard the cry of a baby, finding Lily dead, but Harry alive. His anger at Hagrid taking Harry away from him, before giving the half-giant his motorcycle. Again, Sirius stopped the image and waited for questions. None came. He shrugged and muttered another spell.
This time, the image blanked out and then showed a frustrated Sirius walking through the Leaky Cauldron, knocking several people and/or drinks down. The Sirius in the image stepped out into the light of Muggle London and looked around. He stopped and began to walk over to Peter Pettigrew who was buying something. Peter just looked at the approaching Sirius and stepped into the entrance of an alleyway. A short exchange was made between the two men. Everyone in the room went quiet and leaned forward, looking hard at the two men. They watched in horror as Sirius dropped Peter and went for his wand, but it never made contact with his hand. The whole street around them for twenty feet was blown up and the people in the courtroom watched as they saw Peter transform into a rat, running into the sewers.
The image shut off by itself, having no more memories to show. Sirius hadn't let them see him laughing after the street blowing up, knowing it wouldn't help his case. After the image was off, several witches and wizards stood up, waiting their turn to ask questions. Sirius picked any random person. Unfortunately for him, it was one of the few who had wanted to insult his credibility
"What are you trying to pull, Mr. Black? Do you really expect us to believe that hogwash?"
"No, I knew that not everyone would believe my memories, since they are my own. That is why I have a request. May any random witch or wizard step into the area or have the wall taken down so they can perform the Truth Spell on the pensive."
No one moved. Sirius shook his head when Albus Dumbledore had moved to stand up. Everyone knew that Dumbledore had kept in contact with Sirius throughout his whole time in Azkaban. What Sirius needed was someone who hated him, would love to prove that he was indeed a murderer. The answer came to him when a man with black robes stood up and made his way down to the area. Severus Snape, Sirius' worse enemy since childhood.
"I'll gladly do the Truth Spell for the court room."
There was no need for anyone to ask who he was. Everyone knew him as one of the men Igor Karaoff had said was a Death Eater, this of course was proven otherwise beforehand by Albus Dumbledore. Everyone also had heard the rumors about Severus and Sirius' hatred towards each other.
Severus walked up calmly to the wall and stepped through, guards also stepped through with him to make sure that nothing would happen. Sirius smiled and let him go to the pensive. Severus took out his wand and pointed to the pensive and whispered "veritasmagia". A bright golden light shined from the pensive and the sweet smell of flowers after a summer rain filled the area. Severus scowled at this, the spell proving that everything in the pensive did indeed show the truth. Still scowling at not being able to get Sirius into Azkaban, Severus was let out by the guards and walked back to his seat. Barty Crouch stood up and spoke.
"The Truth Spell says that everything in the pensive is indeed the truth. There is still something that crosses my mind that needs to be explained. Tell us about the Potter's Secret Keeper."
"I was suppose to be the Secret Keeper, but I was talking to James and I...I chickened out. We were talking and decided that Peter would be the best person for the job. The perfect bluff. Who would ever expect James to use someone so weak? Also, adding to the fact, I was his most trusted best friend. Voldemort would surely come after me first, knowing everyone the Potters talked with. It made sense until Peter lied to us and sold them to Voldemort."
Many people recoiled at the Dark Lord's name, but let it pass. Mr. Crouch was going to say something, but decided not to.
"Can you please refrain from saying his name, Mr. Black."
It was more of a command than a question. Sirius nodded.
"There will be a half-an-hour recess for the jury to examine the evidence and come up with a verdict."
Barty Crouch slammed the mallet down on the wooden pad a bit hard, before exiting the room. Sirius sat down in a chair in his small area and awaited the verdict.