Chapter 54
"I was waiting for my chance to take revenge for years and years" she moved closer to him, obviously enjoying his discomfort.
"I also know that Pettigrew is alive, but I never intended to clear your name. You humiliated me and nobody will do that unpunished. You should have never crossed me, Sirius"
Sirius now jumped from the bed in rage.
"You nasty old wench" he shouted. "Do you really believe I would ever touch you?"
"You will, and you will like it and beg for more" she said in her annoying girlish voice.
"HA! That's what you are dreaming of, I will never..." Sirius called.
"IMPERIO!"
Sit on the bed and kiss me, Sirius heard a voice in his head.
It would be so easy to just give in.
Sit on the bed and kiss me, the voice commanded again.
Sirius slowly walked over to the bed, like a puppet on a string.
Yes that's it. Now kiss me! You know you want to do it
The dark haired wizards' head moved forward about an inch.
Now place your hands around my waist and embrace me.
Sirius didn't move. He just stayed in this ridiculous position trying to fight her off.
EMBRACE ME! the voice commanded again.
Sirius hands started to shake furiously, but finally he placed them on the woolly material of Umbridge's cardigan.
Big beads of sweat started to form on Sirius' forehead but he remained in a certain distance to Dolores.
Umbridge's eyes were glinting in anticipation. She already pursed her lips awaiting the kiss, when she heard footsteps approaching.
She had to make it count now and had to take matters in her own hands. Her head moved forward to kiss Sirius right on the lips, but her plan failed.
At the very moment someone knocked at the door and Sirius turned his head, so her lips only touched his cheek.
"Miss Umbridge? Would you please open the door?"
She cursed loudly while she transfigured the bed back into office furniture, straightened her clothes and cuffed Sirius again.
Before she took the wards and the silencing charm off, she lifted the Imperius curse and sat back at the desk.
"Enter" she growled.
Dumbledore opened the door and smiled widely at Sirius and Umbridge.
"How can I help you, Albus" she said sweetly.
"I have heard, that your are holding Sirius Black under arrest and I'm here to make sure that he's free to go"
"I'm very sorry, but I'm positive that this is not going to happen. Mr Black is waiting for the dementors and then the final punishment will be given."
"I'm here to present you new evidence that just came into my possession. It proves that Sirius Black has never been the secret keeper of Lily and James Potter" Albus stated while he watched the Undersecretary closely over his half-moon glasses.
Sirius looked totally baffled and couldn't say a single word. The curse still seemed to be affecting him.
"What evidence may that bee that came into your possession NOW after ever a decade?" Umbridge sneered.
Albus handed her a sealed scroll of parchment.
Umbridge waved her wand over it to make sure that nobody had tampered with the seal.
When she opened the scroll she gasped.
"What?... But how?... How did you get that? This can't be authentic!"
Sirius looked confused from Albus to Umbridge and back. "Would anybody tell me what's going on?"
Umbridge regained her composure instantly.
"I will have to prove if this is truly written by James Potter"
"Oh my dear, this shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure we have enough samples of Mr Potter's handwriting." Albus said.
Sirius recognized that the old wizard had a hard time to remain serious.
"ACCIO sample" Umbridge called.
Instantly a piece of parchment appeared on her desk. She waved her wand over the piece of parchment and then over the scroll and both started to glow red.
"It seems to be authentic" she said icily.
"Then I dare say you have to release Mr Black until his trial" Dumbledore said happily.
"I will not let Mr Black go anywhere until Minister Fudge has approved...this" she pointed her stubby finger at the scroll.
"Then I think we should inform him instantly"
Sirius still had no idea what this meant. How did Dumbledore get a written proof about who the secret keeper really was into his possession?
Dumbledore threw a little bit of floo powder into the fireplace and called "Cornelius Fudge"
A few seconds later, the minister's face appeared in the fireplace.
"Albus! Why are you disturbing me?" he growled.
"Cornelius, I'm awfully sorry to interrupt your surely very important business, but there is something that needs your immediate attention." Dumbledore stated. "I need you to approve that Mr Black is allowed to leave"
"Sirius Black?" Fudge gasped. "Albus, are you dreaming? Miss Umbridge, have you called the dementors yet?"
"I don't think they will be necessary. Could you please join us or we also could see you in your office" Albus smiled.
Fudge grunted and stepped out of the fireplace.
"What is it?" he growled.
Umbridge handed him the scroll and the minister's eyes bulged.
"It is authentic" she said blankly.
"Albus, I have no idea how you got this into your possession, but it still doesn't explain, who killed Pettigrew."
"Peter is still alive" Sirius called. "How often do I have to repeat that?"
Fudge snorted in disgust.
"No matter how you see it, Cornelius, Sirius did not betray the Potters and so he had no reason to kill Peter. You need to learn to live with the fact that you imprisoned an innocent man for so many years ", Albus said simply.
Cornelius face was red of fury and he shot nasty glances in Sirius direction, who was trying to digest the facts.
"So you know the law Cornelius. You have to release Sirius and I offer to make sure he does not leave the area until his trial."
Fudge seemed to ponder his options but finally he had to resign.
He walked up to Sirius and said through gritted teeth "You are free to go but when you do not come back for your trial, I will hunt you down and skin you alive myself"
"Albus, what was this about?" Sirius called when they walked away from Umbridge's office.
Dumbledore smiled widely and the familiar twinkle in his eyes was more obvious than ever.
"How did you get that parchment? Albus... ALBUS!"
The white-haired wizard did not reply but kept on walking.
"Where are we going now? I hope you will at least answer that" Sirius said slightly annoyed.
When he received no answer, he just groaned "Ok then leave me in the dark"
He scuffled after Dumbledore who led him to one of the large fireplaces in the entrance hall.
Dumbledore threw some floo powder into the flames and beckoned Sirius to stand next to him.
"Camelot" he called and the spinning sensation set in.
Camelot? Sirius thought before he hit the floor with a thud.
-------------
Severus rushed through the empty hallways of Hogwarts to the dungeons.
He still couldn't believe that he got away without even being under the Cruciatus curse.
When he opened the doors to his private chambers and took off his shoes.
He was still furious about the Dark Lord.
I can't do this... I just can't he thought while he started to undress.
He walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on.
I knew he would come up with something like that, the twisted old bat.
Severus got rid off the rest of his clothes and stepped under the shower, but he had the feeling that not even all the water on this planet could clean him from what he just experienced.
While the water washed over his body, certain thoughts didn't leave his mind.
I made a promise when I helped her to complete the ritual and I'm not going to break it, not for my own sorry hide. And I received trust when I couldn't even trust myself anymore and I'm not going to betray them.
He felt the urge to scrub his skin off and rip his hair out, but in the end he just stood under the shower until he ran out of hot water.
I need a plan. The Dark Lord is watching my every move, so I cannot inform them, but I cannot keep them in the dark either.
Severus knew he was trapped and he didn't have much time to find a way out.
During Christmas break, the students were safe, but he still had to carry out the Dark Lords order and he had, maybe for the first time in his life, not the slightest idea.
He put comfortable clothes on and sat down in his sitting room. After a few minutes he gave up his attempts of reading the Potions Almanac. He just couldn't concentrate.
Severus got up and walked over to his private lab. This was the only place he really felt comfortable and safe. Surrounded by the shelves that held his potions ingredients and next to his cauldron, he knew he could find a way to get out of this alive without killing anymore people.
He only needed to search his mind and the best way to do it was sleep. Grabbing one of the vials from a shelf, he went to his bedroom and swallowed the content.
He praised himself for discovering this very useful brain-intensifier. It was truly useful when you needed to solve a problem.
The potion master settled down in his bed and minutes later he was sound asleep.
------------------
Kelsey and Kayla stumbled out of the fireplace and while Kayla managed to grab the mantelpiece, Kelsey fell forward and hit the kitchen table with a thud.
"Oh my poor dear! Did you hurt yourself" Mrs Weasley said with a very concerned voice.
Kelsey mumbled something intelligible as he rubbed his head.
His twin recognized Zara's bright smile when she recognized who had just exited the fireplace.
"Sit down my dears and have a sandwich" Mrs Weasley urged and pushed them to two free seats at the table.
Kayla smiled broadly when she looked at Harry. She was sure that what was about to come would be the greatest Christmas present he ever had.
Ron looked slightly confused at Kayla, not knowing the reason for her silly smile, but he decided to ask her about it later, when his mother wasn't around.
Kelsey, who had the seat next to Hermione, recognized, that she was shifting excitedly on her chair. She was eager to hear what happened and if the potion had worked.
They all enjoyed their meal and then showed Kelsey and Kayla where they could sleep. As soon as the door behind Zara and Kayla's room had closed, the Ravenclaw assailed her for information.
"Where have you been all day?" she inquired. "Did you see Harry's parents? Did the potion work? WOULD YOU TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?"
Kayla laughed heartily "If you would let me say something, I would tell you what happened"
"Sorry" Zara mumbled and said down on her bed.
Kayla then told her friend everything that had happened so far, only interrupted by some Oh's and Ah's of the Ravenclaw girl.
When Kayla was finished, Zara was twirling trough the room shouting in a sing-sang voice "We did it! We did it!"
-----------------
Sirius got up from the floor and grunted "I'm getting to old for this".
Then he looked around and recognized a little sitting room that he had never seen before.
"I thought we would go back to headquarters, Albus. Harry will be out of his mind by now"
"I'm positive that you would not want to miss that" Albus smirked.
"Miss what?" Sirius inquired
"Not what! Who!" James voice could be heard.
Sirius stumbled backwards, totally shocked, when he saw his oldest school friend coming closer.
James laughed loudly when he saw Sirius getting paler and paler, looking for a way to get out of that nightmare.
"Albus, who is this?" Sirius shouted.
"I thought that was obvious Padfoot. It's a shame that you already have forgotten your best friend"