Arch of Death - Chapter Six
---
Well, this is a longer-than-average chapter. Enjoy. By the way guys--I'm serious when I say the slash is going to be minimal. I fully intend on covering my Remus/Sirius urges in ANOTHER fic (up soon, if you're interested), but this entire story is compiled of many of MY theories as to what canon's going to be like. Included is minimal Remus/Sirius. I highly doubt JKR would even come outright and SAY the two were together--and I'm going to do very little with that anyway. Harry isn't going to be all slashly (unfortunately. I'm a Harry/Draco shipper)...he has his own relationship with a girl to deal with later on, once we get to Hogwarts. Wow. You guys are funny..."SLASH? Ewww!" :o) And I mean that in the best way possible.
Aimée (www.phoenixashes.net)
---
Harry, Dumbledore, Remus and Snape stepped off the lift and into Level 2 of the Ministry of Magic, where Harry could see the rows and rows of cubicles each housing an individual Auror's desk and personal belongings. As he looked around, the strange sense of calmness still filling him, he noticed that Professor Snape hung back a bit, almost as if he didn't know the others all too well. Before he could question his antics, Dumbledore steered him toward the right and through a pair of shining wooden doors, revealing a pristine office.
"Albus!" a woman's voice sounded. Harry looked over toward the desk, where a familiar-looking woman sat dressed in robes of the deepest purple.
"Amelia," greeted Dumbledore warmly. The two met in the middle of the room and embraced, and Harry looked away, toward Remus, who seemed to have a flicker of recognition dancing within his eyes.
"Well now," the woman—Amelia—said after a moment, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the front of her robes as she turned toward Harry. "Hello, Mr. Potter—I'm quite sure you don't remember me."
"Err," mumbled Harry. "No, I'm sorry."
She nodded. "That is to be expected. You were, of course, under a great deal of stress when we met face-to-face. My name is Amelia Bones, Harry, and we met at your hearing last year, when that imbecile Fudge and his little mistress Umbridge tried to have you expelled."
Recognition shot through Harry like a bullet, but after he nodded and greeted her with the smallest of hellos, he glanced toward Remus, surprised by the animosity with which Amelia Bones had spoken.
"Many members of the Ministry are—less than fond, shall we say, of Fudge these days," admitted Madam Bones. "He will of course be present at the interrogation, seeing as how we are gathering evidence for such a high-profile and potentially dangerous criminal—"
"He's not a criminal," said Harry firmly, looking into the short woman's eyes defiantly. "It's Pettigrew who—"
"Save it for the interrogation, Harry," muttered Remus, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Madam Bones lowered her eyes. "Harry, I must admit that I am hesitant to believe you at this moment. After you are under the influence of Veritaserum, of course—"
"Of course," said Dumbledore easily, taking a step forward. "My Potions Master has graciously agreed to supply the Ministry with three vials, as requested. Severus?"
Professor Snape stepped forward and produced the three vials from within the folds of his robes, handing them carefully to Madam Bones. She thanked him with a bow of her head before examining each vial closely. She stepped back toward her desk, where three crystal-clear cauldrons stood, each filled with a sky-blue mixture that, as Harry sniffed the air, he found smelled of violets.
Carefully, Madam Bones uncapped one of the vials and slowly angled the glass container over the first cauldron, allowing only a very small amount to splash down into the potion. To Harry's surprise the potion turned blood-red and instead of the smell of violets, emitted one more similar to dead fish. She repeated this with each vial until, seemingly satisfied with the results, recapped the vials and set them gently down upon her desk.
Remus tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder, and Harry glanced up toward the man to whose height he was rapidly gaining. In that single moment, as Harry looked into Remus' sorrow-filled eyes, he realized exactly how important this was to Remus.
"Fudge and Shacklebolt are due at any moment," said Madam Bones, glancing over toward a glowing clock that hung upon her wall. Barely a second after she had spoken, the double doors burst open, revealing a red-faced Minister of Magic and a harassed-looking Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry masked his surprise at seeing the black man standing before him; he had seen him only minutes before, sitting around the breakfast table stuffing his mouth with toast.
"Dumbledore," said Fudge crisply, walking pompously past the small cluster and taking a seat behind Madam Bones' desk. He eyes the color of the potion in all three cauldrons warily before looking up toward Harry, and then toward Snape. "I see the potion has tested to be correct."
"You expected anything less?" said Dumbledore in a jolly voice, but Harry could tell the Headmaster was anything but happy.
"No, no," bumbled Fudge, nervously shifting a stack of papers he had brought with him. "All right—Harry? Shall we get started? Kingsley will be asking the questions. He is one of our best Aurors and was the one to lead the hunt on Sirius Black."
Harry nodded numbly, still surprised by the absence of anxiety within him. Had Moody been correct in his assumption that someone—that Snape had slipped something into his drink the night before?
Snape stepped forward, holding one of the glass vials and a goblet full of what looked to be tea. He set the goblet down upon the desk and deftly removed a small portion of the serum with a dropper, and moments later Harry watched as three drops of the potion were added into the drink. Slowly, Snape handed Harry the goblet, and without a moment's hesitation, Harry drank deeply, surprised when the tea tasted exactly as it should.
He swallowed a mouthful of tea and blinked, his eyes unfocused behind his glasses for a second. He saw Professor Snape's face loom before him, and felt his mind detach and float. It was a pleasant sensation, but Harry was alarmed by the lack of control he found himself to possess.
"Ahem," Fudge cleared his throat. "Now—Auror Shacklebolt? Shall we proceed?"
Harry felt someone—Remus, he supposed—steer him down into a plush chair he hadn't noticed. In fact, he mused, it might have not been there when he first walked in. He glanced up toward Dumbledore, who was eyeing him with a certain amount of concern.
"State your name for the record," requested Kingsley quietly from directly in front of Harry. He shifted his gaze so he was looking at the black man, and he felt as if he were floating as he answered the man's question.
"Harry James Potter."
Kingsley nodded. "And what is your relation to Sirius Black?"
"He's my godfather," answered Harry in a strangely hollow voice.
"When can you first remember meeting Black?" asked Kingsley, looking down a piece of parchment he was holding.
"On the night of June the sixth, 1994," answered Harry in a monotonous voice. "He dragged my friend Ron through the Whomping Willow—"
"Dragged?" questioned Kingsley.
"By the leg," answered Harry. "Hermione and I ran after them, and Crookshanks stopped the tree for us so we could get through—"
"Did you recognize Sirius Black?"
"No," said Harry with a shake of his head. "He was in his Animagus form."
"Animagus?" Kingsley asked, doing a wonderful imitation of complete and utter shock. "Sirius Black is an Animagus?"
"Yes," answered Harry. "He turns into a great black dog—a grim."
Kingsley nodded and wrote something down in his notes. "And what did Sirius say to you?"
"He said he was innocent," replied Harry. "He told Hermione, Ron and me that it wasn't him who had killed all those people—it was Peter Pettigrew."
"Who is Peter Pettigrew?"
"He's Voldemort's right-hand man," answered Harry, his mind balking at the mere mention of the revolting man. "He helped Voldemort rise on June the twenty-fourth, 1995. He was also a friend of my father's, Sirius' and Remus' when they were all at Hogwarts."
Harry heard a strangled sound somewhere behind him, and he knew it to be Remus. He hated to bring up a past that must have been extremely painful for the man to relive, but he knew it was essential to convincing Fudge that Sirius was innocent.
"Is—is Pettigrew also an Animagus?" Kingsley asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Yes," answered Harry hollowly. "He turns into a rat."
Fudge began to cough heavily, almost as if he were choking on something lodged deep within his throat. Harry ignored him, however, all of his attention focused upon Kingsley.
"Was it Peter who killed all of those people on November the first, 1981?" Kingsley asked softly, his voice trembling. If Harry hadn't known him to be acting, he would have felt far more triumphant by far. Fudge's coughing fit more than made up for that, however.
"Yes," said Harry, his mind exalting. "He confessed on June sixth, 1994, to myself, Sirius, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Sirius and Remus were prepared to kill him, as he had all of those people, but I asked them not to."
"Why?" Kingsley asked, shocked, and Harry could tell his reaction was real.
"Because I didn't want them to be murderers like him," replied Harry. "Peter Pettigrew was my family's secret-keeper when the Fidelius charm was cast. He and Sirius switched places, unbeknownst to everyone except my parents, and less than a week later he gave away my family's location to Voldemort. After Sirius cornered him, he blamed him for everything. Everyone thought Sirius was the secret-keeper, so it wasn't very hard to do, and afterwards, he hid his wand behind his back and blasted the street apart, killing all those Muggles."
Kingsley blinked, and Harry saw Fudge turn a nasty shade of purple from behind Madam Bones' desk. "Who was it that told you this, Harry?" asked Kingsley.
"Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Albus Dumbledore," responded Harry. "Peter Pettigrew admitted to
everything I've said, and I saw him at Voldemort's resurrection, along with many other Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy—"
"That's enough!" snapped Fudge, standing up abruptly. "It is not his job to report a who's who list of You-Know-Who's supporters, Shacklebolt."
"Yet it helps support the evidence," Madam Bones pointed out. "Cornelius, I see nothing wrong with what the boy is saying."
Fudge shook his head fiercely. "Boy, is there anything else you'd like to say regarding Sirius Black?"
"Yes," replied Harry. "He is innocent of everything the Ministry has accused him of. He has never killed anyone in his life, and I'm not the only one who has seen Peter Pettigrew alive."
"But you are the—most trusted," said Madam Bones with a sigh. "Thank you Harry, Headmaster, Professors," she said with another bow of her head. "I see no reason for you to stay any longer. Kingsley will present this evidence in front of the Wizengamot at a later hour, and if your presence is required at the hearing, we shall owl you with the details."
With that, Remus motioned for Harry to stand, and the four of them—Dumbledore, Remus, Snape and Harry—made their way out of the office, leaving behind a very confused woman and a sullen and angry Minister of Magic.
Harry was thoroughly convinced Sirius' chances of survival had just slipped from slim to none.
---
Well, this is a longer-than-average chapter. Enjoy. By the way guys--I'm serious when I say the slash is going to be minimal. I fully intend on covering my Remus/Sirius urges in ANOTHER fic (up soon, if you're interested), but this entire story is compiled of many of MY theories as to what canon's going to be like. Included is minimal Remus/Sirius. I highly doubt JKR would even come outright and SAY the two were together--and I'm going to do very little with that anyway. Harry isn't going to be all slashly (unfortunately. I'm a Harry/Draco shipper)...he has his own relationship with a girl to deal with later on, once we get to Hogwarts. Wow. You guys are funny..."SLASH? Ewww!" :o) And I mean that in the best way possible.
Aimée (www.phoenixashes.net)
---
Harry, Dumbledore, Remus and Snape stepped off the lift and into Level 2 of the Ministry of Magic, where Harry could see the rows and rows of cubicles each housing an individual Auror's desk and personal belongings. As he looked around, the strange sense of calmness still filling him, he noticed that Professor Snape hung back a bit, almost as if he didn't know the others all too well. Before he could question his antics, Dumbledore steered him toward the right and through a pair of shining wooden doors, revealing a pristine office.
"Albus!" a woman's voice sounded. Harry looked over toward the desk, where a familiar-looking woman sat dressed in robes of the deepest purple.
"Amelia," greeted Dumbledore warmly. The two met in the middle of the room and embraced, and Harry looked away, toward Remus, who seemed to have a flicker of recognition dancing within his eyes.
"Well now," the woman—Amelia—said after a moment, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the front of her robes as she turned toward Harry. "Hello, Mr. Potter—I'm quite sure you don't remember me."
"Err," mumbled Harry. "No, I'm sorry."
She nodded. "That is to be expected. You were, of course, under a great deal of stress when we met face-to-face. My name is Amelia Bones, Harry, and we met at your hearing last year, when that imbecile Fudge and his little mistress Umbridge tried to have you expelled."
Recognition shot through Harry like a bullet, but after he nodded and greeted her with the smallest of hellos, he glanced toward Remus, surprised by the animosity with which Amelia Bones had spoken.
"Many members of the Ministry are—less than fond, shall we say, of Fudge these days," admitted Madam Bones. "He will of course be present at the interrogation, seeing as how we are gathering evidence for such a high-profile and potentially dangerous criminal—"
"He's not a criminal," said Harry firmly, looking into the short woman's eyes defiantly. "It's Pettigrew who—"
"Save it for the interrogation, Harry," muttered Remus, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Madam Bones lowered her eyes. "Harry, I must admit that I am hesitant to believe you at this moment. After you are under the influence of Veritaserum, of course—"
"Of course," said Dumbledore easily, taking a step forward. "My Potions Master has graciously agreed to supply the Ministry with three vials, as requested. Severus?"
Professor Snape stepped forward and produced the three vials from within the folds of his robes, handing them carefully to Madam Bones. She thanked him with a bow of her head before examining each vial closely. She stepped back toward her desk, where three crystal-clear cauldrons stood, each filled with a sky-blue mixture that, as Harry sniffed the air, he found smelled of violets.
Carefully, Madam Bones uncapped one of the vials and slowly angled the glass container over the first cauldron, allowing only a very small amount to splash down into the potion. To Harry's surprise the potion turned blood-red and instead of the smell of violets, emitted one more similar to dead fish. She repeated this with each vial until, seemingly satisfied with the results, recapped the vials and set them gently down upon her desk.
Remus tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder, and Harry glanced up toward the man to whose height he was rapidly gaining. In that single moment, as Harry looked into Remus' sorrow-filled eyes, he realized exactly how important this was to Remus.
"Fudge and Shacklebolt are due at any moment," said Madam Bones, glancing over toward a glowing clock that hung upon her wall. Barely a second after she had spoken, the double doors burst open, revealing a red-faced Minister of Magic and a harassed-looking Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry masked his surprise at seeing the black man standing before him; he had seen him only minutes before, sitting around the breakfast table stuffing his mouth with toast.
"Dumbledore," said Fudge crisply, walking pompously past the small cluster and taking a seat behind Madam Bones' desk. He eyes the color of the potion in all three cauldrons warily before looking up toward Harry, and then toward Snape. "I see the potion has tested to be correct."
"You expected anything less?" said Dumbledore in a jolly voice, but Harry could tell the Headmaster was anything but happy.
"No, no," bumbled Fudge, nervously shifting a stack of papers he had brought with him. "All right—Harry? Shall we get started? Kingsley will be asking the questions. He is one of our best Aurors and was the one to lead the hunt on Sirius Black."
Harry nodded numbly, still surprised by the absence of anxiety within him. Had Moody been correct in his assumption that someone—that Snape had slipped something into his drink the night before?
Snape stepped forward, holding one of the glass vials and a goblet full of what looked to be tea. He set the goblet down upon the desk and deftly removed a small portion of the serum with a dropper, and moments later Harry watched as three drops of the potion were added into the drink. Slowly, Snape handed Harry the goblet, and without a moment's hesitation, Harry drank deeply, surprised when the tea tasted exactly as it should.
He swallowed a mouthful of tea and blinked, his eyes unfocused behind his glasses for a second. He saw Professor Snape's face loom before him, and felt his mind detach and float. It was a pleasant sensation, but Harry was alarmed by the lack of control he found himself to possess.
"Ahem," Fudge cleared his throat. "Now—Auror Shacklebolt? Shall we proceed?"
Harry felt someone—Remus, he supposed—steer him down into a plush chair he hadn't noticed. In fact, he mused, it might have not been there when he first walked in. He glanced up toward Dumbledore, who was eyeing him with a certain amount of concern.
"State your name for the record," requested Kingsley quietly from directly in front of Harry. He shifted his gaze so he was looking at the black man, and he felt as if he were floating as he answered the man's question.
"Harry James Potter."
Kingsley nodded. "And what is your relation to Sirius Black?"
"He's my godfather," answered Harry in a strangely hollow voice.
"When can you first remember meeting Black?" asked Kingsley, looking down a piece of parchment he was holding.
"On the night of June the sixth, 1994," answered Harry in a monotonous voice. "He dragged my friend Ron through the Whomping Willow—"
"Dragged?" questioned Kingsley.
"By the leg," answered Harry. "Hermione and I ran after them, and Crookshanks stopped the tree for us so we could get through—"
"Did you recognize Sirius Black?"
"No," said Harry with a shake of his head. "He was in his Animagus form."
"Animagus?" Kingsley asked, doing a wonderful imitation of complete and utter shock. "Sirius Black is an Animagus?"
"Yes," answered Harry. "He turns into a great black dog—a grim."
Kingsley nodded and wrote something down in his notes. "And what did Sirius say to you?"
"He said he was innocent," replied Harry. "He told Hermione, Ron and me that it wasn't him who had killed all those people—it was Peter Pettigrew."
"Who is Peter Pettigrew?"
"He's Voldemort's right-hand man," answered Harry, his mind balking at the mere mention of the revolting man. "He helped Voldemort rise on June the twenty-fourth, 1995. He was also a friend of my father's, Sirius' and Remus' when they were all at Hogwarts."
Harry heard a strangled sound somewhere behind him, and he knew it to be Remus. He hated to bring up a past that must have been extremely painful for the man to relive, but he knew it was essential to convincing Fudge that Sirius was innocent.
"Is—is Pettigrew also an Animagus?" Kingsley asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Yes," answered Harry hollowly. "He turns into a rat."
Fudge began to cough heavily, almost as if he were choking on something lodged deep within his throat. Harry ignored him, however, all of his attention focused upon Kingsley.
"Was it Peter who killed all of those people on November the first, 1981?" Kingsley asked softly, his voice trembling. If Harry hadn't known him to be acting, he would have felt far more triumphant by far. Fudge's coughing fit more than made up for that, however.
"Yes," said Harry, his mind exalting. "He confessed on June sixth, 1994, to myself, Sirius, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Sirius and Remus were prepared to kill him, as he had all of those people, but I asked them not to."
"Why?" Kingsley asked, shocked, and Harry could tell his reaction was real.
"Because I didn't want them to be murderers like him," replied Harry. "Peter Pettigrew was my family's secret-keeper when the Fidelius charm was cast. He and Sirius switched places, unbeknownst to everyone except my parents, and less than a week later he gave away my family's location to Voldemort. After Sirius cornered him, he blamed him for everything. Everyone thought Sirius was the secret-keeper, so it wasn't very hard to do, and afterwards, he hid his wand behind his back and blasted the street apart, killing all those Muggles."
Kingsley blinked, and Harry saw Fudge turn a nasty shade of purple from behind Madam Bones' desk. "Who was it that told you this, Harry?" asked Kingsley.
"Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Albus Dumbledore," responded Harry. "Peter Pettigrew admitted to
everything I've said, and I saw him at Voldemort's resurrection, along with many other Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy—"
"That's enough!" snapped Fudge, standing up abruptly. "It is not his job to report a who's who list of You-Know-Who's supporters, Shacklebolt."
"Yet it helps support the evidence," Madam Bones pointed out. "Cornelius, I see nothing wrong with what the boy is saying."
Fudge shook his head fiercely. "Boy, is there anything else you'd like to say regarding Sirius Black?"
"Yes," replied Harry. "He is innocent of everything the Ministry has accused him of. He has never killed anyone in his life, and I'm not the only one who has seen Peter Pettigrew alive."
"But you are the—most trusted," said Madam Bones with a sigh. "Thank you Harry, Headmaster, Professors," she said with another bow of her head. "I see no reason for you to stay any longer. Kingsley will present this evidence in front of the Wizengamot at a later hour, and if your presence is required at the hearing, we shall owl you with the details."
With that, Remus motioned for Harry to stand, and the four of them—Dumbledore, Remus, Snape and Harry—made their way out of the office, leaving behind a very confused woman and a sullen and angry Minister of Magic.
Harry was thoroughly convinced Sirius' chances of survival had just slipped from slim to none.