Within 15 minutes, wizards started to apparate into the office. Most
looked annoyed at being called back to work on Christmas Eve. However, the
looks they all had on their faces was the same when they saw Sirius and
Peter: shock and surprise. In addition to the Cabinet Ministers, Professor
Dumbledore also appeared. That to arrive was Minister Fudge.
"What is going on here?" Fudge asked impatiently.
"An interesting development," Dumbledore said amusedly.
Reena stood up on a desk and amplified her voice.
"Please be quiet. The sooner we can address this matter, the sooner we can get home," Reena's voice boomed.
The office silenced immediately.
"As you can see, we have Peter Pettigrew here. He was given Verteserem and confessed to being a supporter of Voldemort and betraying the Potters. It is quite clear that Pettigrew is guilty and Sirius Black is innocent. It is important that we come together and make a unanimous decision about this matter."
There was a short pause, then someone spoke up.
"How are we sure that Black's innocent?"
Sirius spoke. "I can be questioned under Verteserum to prove it."
The deep voiced Auror gave Sirius a small bottle filled with a clear liquid. Sirius removed the cork the contents. His face went blank and questioning began.
"Did you betray James and Lily Potter as their Secret Keeper?" the deep voiced Auror asked.
"No. I wasn't their secret keeper," was the monotonous reply.
"Did you kill Muggles 15 years ago in broad daylight?"
"No. Peter killed them, then turned into a rat and fled."
"Are you innocent of the charges you were accused of 15 years ago?"
"Yes."
"Why did you escape from Azkaban 3 years ago?"
"I was innocent, I wanted revenge, I had to protect Harry."
The questioning stopped. The Cabinet members looked horrified at what had just been revealed to them and their treatment of the innocent man. They were silent in thought for several minutes. Reena again stood up on a desk.
"Can we review this case and change the sentencing?" she asked.
"We can have the charges against Black retracted in a couple of hours and have Pettigrew charged," Cabinet Minister Pfeffer stated.
"Officially, we have to take a vote on matters like this," Mr. Julius said.
By a show of hands, the entire Cabinet found Sirius not guilty. There was only one objection in the room.
"Are you all mad? Can't you see that this case is more complicated than a simple 'he's guilty and he's not'. We haven't even considered how to tell the public. I doubt they would receive the news that we let a mistake like this run so long. They will began to doubt our government," Fudge warned.
"We could put Pettigew on a public trial. Then the public could see for themselves that we can fix our mistakes," Cabinet Minister Dawson suggested.
"What would we do with Black in the mean time?" Fudge countered.
"We could keep him under guard at his house," Reena suggested.
"Ms. Delton, I think your input should be minimal in this matter because of your personal involvement," Fudge said, cutting her off. "We'll put him back into Azkaban."
*Thank you for all the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. I have mid-terms coming up, so the chapter after this will most likely be delayed for another 2 weeks.
"What is going on here?" Fudge asked impatiently.
"An interesting development," Dumbledore said amusedly.
Reena stood up on a desk and amplified her voice.
"Please be quiet. The sooner we can address this matter, the sooner we can get home," Reena's voice boomed.
The office silenced immediately.
"As you can see, we have Peter Pettigrew here. He was given Verteserem and confessed to being a supporter of Voldemort and betraying the Potters. It is quite clear that Pettigrew is guilty and Sirius Black is innocent. It is important that we come together and make a unanimous decision about this matter."
There was a short pause, then someone spoke up.
"How are we sure that Black's innocent?"
Sirius spoke. "I can be questioned under Verteserum to prove it."
The deep voiced Auror gave Sirius a small bottle filled with a clear liquid. Sirius removed the cork the contents. His face went blank and questioning began.
"Did you betray James and Lily Potter as their Secret Keeper?" the deep voiced Auror asked.
"No. I wasn't their secret keeper," was the monotonous reply.
"Did you kill Muggles 15 years ago in broad daylight?"
"No. Peter killed them, then turned into a rat and fled."
"Are you innocent of the charges you were accused of 15 years ago?"
"Yes."
"Why did you escape from Azkaban 3 years ago?"
"I was innocent, I wanted revenge, I had to protect Harry."
The questioning stopped. The Cabinet members looked horrified at what had just been revealed to them and their treatment of the innocent man. They were silent in thought for several minutes. Reena again stood up on a desk.
"Can we review this case and change the sentencing?" she asked.
"We can have the charges against Black retracted in a couple of hours and have Pettigrew charged," Cabinet Minister Pfeffer stated.
"Officially, we have to take a vote on matters like this," Mr. Julius said.
By a show of hands, the entire Cabinet found Sirius not guilty. There was only one objection in the room.
"Are you all mad? Can't you see that this case is more complicated than a simple 'he's guilty and he's not'. We haven't even considered how to tell the public. I doubt they would receive the news that we let a mistake like this run so long. They will began to doubt our government," Fudge warned.
"We could put Pettigew on a public trial. Then the public could see for themselves that we can fix our mistakes," Cabinet Minister Dawson suggested.
"What would we do with Black in the mean time?" Fudge countered.
"We could keep him under guard at his house," Reena suggested.
"Ms. Delton, I think your input should be minimal in this matter because of your personal involvement," Fudge said, cutting her off. "We'll put him back into Azkaban."
*Thank you for all the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. I have mid-terms coming up, so the chapter after this will most likely be delayed for another 2 weeks.