Unforgivable

Chapter Two: Misgivings, Misdeeds, and Ministries

Sirius refused to submit to the petty wishes of his father.

He started to pack immediately, then realized how futile this was. There were none of his school supplies that would aid him now. Nonetheless, hopeful, he changed into his only set of Muggle clothes. It hurt to think about them at all - the worn red T-shirt and pair of blue jeans had been given to him by Remus.

Remus.

He put into his pocket what appeared to be a few pieces of wood and a tattered piece of parchment. Both of them were just wishes now, useless little tokens which would never mean anything to anyone. They were sentimental, reminding him of the life - the lives - he had destroyed.

Remus.

He lay on the black silk sheets, looked at the dark walls and the Black family emblem that glared at him from every square foot of the room, and started to cry.

_-_-_

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had come to a reluctant decision. As if they hadn't got enough on their hands, what with the purist, the Hitler of the wizarding world, Voldemort - or, as frightened people had taken to calling him, You-Know-Who - roaming the countryside, they had a sixteen-year-old killer to deal with.

They had taken six volunteers to go find the Black boy and bring him in. What with the family, difficulties as to getting the authorization to do this had come into play. Finally, however, they had all the correct information, and they were on their way to gather him and take him out of the custody of his parents and into the custody of the law.

For Jasin Columbine, it was his first mission, and he was quite nervous. He had volunteered, however, wishing to prove himself. He wasn't going to back out now.

Number twelve, Grimmauld Place, was a very old and well-guarded house with many windows. All of them were darkened when the DMLE officials arrived, but when they knocked it was only a moment before a boy opened the door, with long dark hair that was roughly cut off just below his chin and stubborn grey eyes.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" the boy asked politely, but Jasin, at least, noticed how his eyes had widened when he saw the lettering on their robes.

"Is this the Black residence?"

"It is."

"And is Sirius Black available?"

"Yes, I think so. If you would follow me?"

They moved from the dim light of early morning inside, entering an even dimmer entryway, and moving along for a time until reaching a brightly lit kitchen, where another boy, slightly older with shorter hair, sat at a table with his back to them, wearing Muggle clothing. He did not turn around.

"Sirius?" the boy who had answered the door said hesitantly.

"Regulus, I've warned you."

"Sirius, there are some people here to see you."

"Where?!" Sirius was on his feet in an instant, whirling around and jumping into the air when he saw the six silent DMLE officials standing there. "Oh." He looked suddenly frightened, and waved a hand. Regulus gave him a fleeting glance as he hurried out of the room.

Sirius Black took a step forwards to shake the hand of the man standing closest to him, which happened to be Jasin. His grip was firm and he kept confident eye contact. He shoved his hands into his pockets then, stepped back again, and said carefully, "Well, what can I do to help you?"

"Mr. Black, you've been accused of being responsible for the death of a fellow classmate, Severus Snape, is this true?"

Sirius blinked, opened his mouth blankly as if to say something, then closed it and nodded once.

"Is it true that you led Mr. Snape to the transformation place of a werewolf?"

Another nod, this time accompained by a look of fright in the boy's eyes.

"Is it true that the said werewolf was a friend of yours and you knew very well the dangerous nature of werewolves in their nonhuman form?"

"Yes, sir," Sirius said, throat dry. He groped behind him, picking up an untouched glass of water and downing it in two gulps, never taking his eyes off the man who was speaking.

"And is it true that you did this all with the intention of your actions leading to Mr. Snape's death?"

Sirius dropped the glass. It shattered onto the floor, but he didn't move, seemingly frozen in place and suddenly shaking. After a long moment, he shook his head violently.

"Well then, what was your intention?"

"Sir," Sirius whispered, panic shining in his eyes, "sir, I wanted Snape to know what Remus went through. He had no idea, sir. He had nearly killed one of my friends the day before, sir, and he was constantly trying to hex us -"

"The name of the friend who Mr. Snape 'nearly killed', if you please."

Sirius took in a sharp breath and his lips moved soundlessly.

"Sorry?"

"James Potter," Sirius whispered. "James Thomas Potter, son of Harold and Allison Potter." Tears gleamed in his eyes.

"Is it correct, then, Mr. Black, that your intention was for Mr. Snape to be lead to Remus Lupin so that Mr. Lupin would bite him and Mr. Snape would become a werewolf as well?"

"Sir," Sirius whispered, voice wavering out of control. "Yes, sir."

There was a muttering from the DMLE officers, and Jasin heard one of them distinctly say in an urgent whisper, "Earl, did you see the bruises on his brother's throat? Earl, I think they were handprints."

"Mr. Black," Earl said, in a suddenly dangerous voice, "have you ever tried to kill anyone else?"

"No," Sirius said at once. "Never."

"Not, for instance, your brother Regulus? You never tried to, say, strangle him?"

Sirius' face went deathly pale. He didn't answer, and Earl said quietly, "Find his brother."

A moment later, an also-pale Regulus walked into the room.

"Regulus," Earl said gently, "has Sirius ever hurt you?"

Regulus shook his head slowly.

"Then where did you get the marks on your neck?"

Regulus gasped, shooting a frightened look at Sirius, who was looking at him with desperation, and said in a deathly voice, "I - I snuck into - into Knockturn Alley and - ran into some people who don't - like me very much."

"Could you give us their names?"

Regulus bit his lip hard and, looking terrified, said nothing.

Earl sighed. "Sirius Black, we are hereby going to arrest you and bring you in to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. You will be placed in a cell and await your trial. The Wizengamot will decide whether or not to charge you as an adult and choose a punishment. We have records of your confession. Anything you say now may be used against you before the Wizengamot. You may choose a defender. Through him or her you may request witnesses to your crime."

Sirius had stood still and silent for all of this, but at these words something dark flickered in his eyes. He looked breifly at Regulus, and said quietly, "Sorry." Earl looked up, cut off midsentence, in time to see Sirius Black vanish. Where he had been stood an enormous black dog. One of the DMLE officials screamed, "GRIM!" while Earl, Jasin, and one of the others lunged at the dog. Jasin grabbed its tail, but too late - Sirius had pulled away. Shooting through one of the glass windowpanes and bounding out of sight, the black dog left in his wake six shocked Ministry representatives, numerous shards of flying broken glass, two upturned chairs, and a fifteen-year-old boy at the window, screaming out the same name over and over again.