Epilogue I – Hearing

Sirius was pale, Janus thought. Abnormally pale. Not that he particularly cared about it, but to him Sirius looked to be on the border of physical collapse. Not that it was surprising, come to think about it. Veritaserum did not only force the one who took it to tell the truth, it had severe physical side-effects on the people who took it. Janus couldn't recall the number of times that he had seen suspects puke their guts out during an interrogation after they had been given Veritaserum. So far, Sirius had been able to keep his stomach contents to himself, but if this took any longer, Janus wasn't so sure that would remain so.

Being present during Sirius' interrogation had actually not been part of Janus' daily schedule when he had come to work this morning. But then he had found Moody waiting for him in his office, informing him that Sirius' hearing had been scheduled for today, ten o'clock, the Minister's office. Fudge must have had serious doubt's about the guilt of the man he had proclaimed a murderer and Voldemort's second in command only two years ago, seeing that he had rushed to set this meeting. And it had been hushed up pretty well, too. Not a public trial, a private hearing with only the Minister, the accused, his representative and representatives of law enforcement being present. Janus hadn't received an invitation – hadn't expected to receive one – yet being present was exactly what Moody had requested of him.

Technically, this was no problem. Janus was one of the highest ranking Aurors in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his presence would not cause as much as a raised eyebrow. Officially, Kingsley Shacklebolt was present during the hearing because he was the Auror in charge of Sirius' investigation. Janus had never concerned himself with Sirius' case, at least not professionally. He hadn't known anything about the whereabouts of his brother's friend since his escape from Azkaban, not until the events in the Department of Mysteries earlier this summer. Again it had been Moody who had told him what the Order believed to be the truth about Sirius' story.

It hadn't surprised Janus, really, to get to know that his brother had been aware of Sirius' whereabouts all the time, yet he had resolved not to involve himself into Sirius' case. Especially not because Remus was Sirius' friend. Personal involvement always was a source for problems for somebody in his position, and it was something Janus had always tried to evade. All the more angry was he with Remus for bringing him into this position, for associating with a criminal on the basis of a friendship that had existed more than fifteen years in the past. For associating with a criminal, period. Alleged or not, innocent or not. Somebody in Remus' position simply could not allow himself to get into trouble with the Ministry. Just as little as Janus could, probably even less.

Evading those problems of personal involvement had worked perfectly until this morning. Moody hadn't given any specific reason why he wanted Janus to be present during the hearing, he had rambled something about keeping an eye out, relying the information from the hearing to Moody so that the Order knew what had happened. Which was complete bullshit, and Janus knew it. The Order would get to know what had happened soon enough. Sirius would relate it to them, as would Dumbledore, who was also present during the meeting. Just because Moody could not be present without arousing suspicion – could hardly ever be present anywhere without arousing suspicion – it didn't mean that the Order needed any additional ears.

Janus could only imagine one reason why Moody had asked him – him who was neither a member of the Order nor had any interest in Sirius' case other than a superficial curiosity – to be present here. And that was that somebody else had asked Moody to do it.

There was only one person Janus could think of, yet he was absolutely at a loss as to imagine why his brother wanted to have him here. Yet there was no other explanation that made sense. Moody would have told him if the old Auror had had any specific reason why he wanted Janus involved, but he hadn't. And the only other person who connected Sirius' case to him, on an either professional or personal level, was Remus. There simply wasn't anybody else.

It didn't surprise Janus that Remus hadn't asked him personally. They hardly ever spoke to each other nowadays, anyway. Yet why Remus should see a need to have Janus present here at all was a mystery to Janus. To make him see and believe the truth about Sirius? The truth Remus believed in? That didn't matter just one bit.

Janus didn't give a damn whether Sirius had committed the crimes he had been imprisoned for. If he was truly innocent, it was tragic that he had been in Azkaban for so long. Janus had been to Azkaban more than once, and he wouldn't want to spend just one night in that place. But whether Sirius had been imprisoned there innocently or not didn't make a great difference to him. There were big enough problems for him to deal with in the here and now, and he didn't have the power to change the past.

Judged from what he had seen today, it had been a complete waste of time to come here. Janus didn't have a high opinion of Minister Fudge's rhetoric skills on a good day, and today he had started the hearing with an endless droning on of what might or what might not have gone wrong during Sirius' initial arrest, emphasising the situation back then, the stress the war had put the Ministry under, the fact that they were only humans. It was a pitiful sigh, really, seeing the Minister making profound excuses before it had even been proven that Sirius was innocent. And even if he was, excuses would not give him his lost twelve years back. There simply was no excuse for imprisoning an innocent man without proof, period.

Then Black had been given the Veritaserum, and Fudge had started questioning him. Sirius had shown all the signs of somebody who was questioned under Veritaserum – he had given straightforward answers, yet it had been obvious that he was uncomfortable answering. No small wonder. Once he had been given the Veritaserum, it had been impossible for him to hide anything. Most criminals were afraid of the Veritaserum because it rendered them unable to say anything but the truth, but another effect which hardly anybody considered was that it also didn't allow the one who had taken it to hide anything.

More than once during the interrogation, Sirius had been struggling hard to suppress his feelings – anger, sadness, grief – without any success at all, and as he had been given a high dose of the potion and the interrogation drew on for more than one and a half hours, the process must have been physically and mentally exhausting.

All in all, no small wonder that he was pale as a wraith.

Fudge had also grown paler during Sirius' questioning, but that was probably due to the answers he had given. Up to this day, the Minister might have been hoping that Sirius was guilty, if not for everything he had been accused of, then at least for something, but Sirius' answers shed an entirely different light on the events that had taken place all those years ago. Sirius had stopped talking a few minutes ago, and now everybody in the room was waiting for Fudge to speak.

He did, finally, after he cleared his throat and ran a hand across his face.

"Mr. Black, seeing that you have been given Ministry-approved Veritaserum, I believe there is no reason to doubt that what you have related to us is true." He nervously wrung his hands and for all the world made the impression that he was hoping for somebody in the room to speak up and disagree. Nobody did.

"Then I think now we should start discussing how to proceed from here. You will surely understand that there is a lot at stake for everybody involved. We're talking how to deal with the press, we're talking financial compensations and all that."

From where his chair was leaning against the wall to one side of the room, Janus noticed with interest how some of the colour returned to Sirius' face and his eyes began to sparkle furiously.

"I don't give a damn about that, Minister. No matter what you're going to do now, nothing will give me back all those years I've lost. There are a few things I indeed want from you, but it most certainly isn't anything you're going to talk about now, so cut the crap. I am innocent, and I want back a little of what was taken from me. Not much, but I want it right now."

Fudge looked as if something had crawled into his mouth and died there. "And what is that?"

"I don't particularly care for financial compensation, so you can stop worrying about that. I have enough money, I don't need anything from you. I most certainly won't let the Ministry buy itself free of its guilt, and much less I want you to start determining how much a lost life is worth. I want a public announcement that I am innocent, so that I won't get killed by a lynch-mob the first time I step out onto the street. I want that quickly, and I want it so clear that everybody understands what really happened back then. And most importantly, I want custody for my godson. And not at some point in the future, I want it now."

Fudge started to speak, then stopped short, shook his head, and started again, seemingly confused and agitated. "The Daily Prophet can put it into tomorrow's edition. As of today, as soon as this meeting is over, everybody in the Ministry and law enforcement agencies will be informed. But I cannot give you custody for Harry Potter just like that."

There was a furious glint in Sirius' eyes that reminded Janus strongly of the at times short-tempered youth he had gotten to know. "And why not?", he hissed out.

"We're talking not about an ordinary teenager here, Mr. Black. Even if we were, the granting of custody is not an easy decision that can be made in the spur of a moment. And Harry Potter is more than an ordinary teenager. We need to make sure that his best interests are kept. And that he's sufficiently protected."

Janus had to hide a smile. Personally, he'd say that Fudge didn't give a damn about Potter's wellbeing. The Minister didn't care one bit about the boy, that should have become obvious during the past year. And Sirius seemed to see that as well.

"All you want is to keep him under your influence so that you can use him", he said, his voice raised. "Last year you could not repeat often enough that he was nuts to believe in Voldemort's return. And now that you can no longer deny that he's back, you want to make sure that you can use him for your own good should the opportunity arise. But I won't let you, do you understand me? Harry has been told often enough that he is no ordinary teenager, for once he could do with living like one. I'm his legal guardian, his parents made it my task – and my legal right – to take care of him should anything happen to them. It was a right the Ministry has taken away from me, entirely unjustified, and now I claim it back. Right now. I think you're getting away pretty well in that bargain, Minister Fudge. And if you don't grant me the custody for my godson, rest assured that I will sue you and the Ministry for everything I can think of. I will go public with it, and then we'll see for how long you'll manage to remain in your office."

"Are you threatening me?"

Sirius looked him square in the eye. "If you're trying to deny me my right, you're damn right that I am threatening to pursue every chance to get my right."

Dumbledore, who had followed the whole procedure silently, smiled, stroke through his beard, and finally spoke up for the first time.

"Cornelius, I really think there is no legal ground for you to deny Mr. Black his right."
"Dumbledore, you're saying you're on his side in this?"

Dumbledore nodded, which didn't surprise Janus at all. "Yes, I am. Maybe you should ask Harry what he wants. It isn't too long until he comes of age, he's old enough to have a say in this. And I assure you that he wants Mr. Black to be his guardian. I am not comfortable with the idea to remove him from the regular protection his blood relatives provide, but it's Mr. Black's right, and it should be his and Mr. Potter's decision."

Fudge made a face as if he had been stabbed in the back, then he pulled out a quill and wrote something into the file that was lying open in front of him.

"All right, the Department of Family Affairs will send somebody over to ask Mr. Potter about the custody question. Seeing that your financial affairs are laid open to the Ministry due to your imprisonment, there is no need for a financial check up. Given that Mr. Potter agrees to live with you, all I demand is that you cooperate with the caseworker from the Department of Family Affairs. If they advise a medical check-up and treatment, you will agree, and if they advise psychological check-up and treatment, you will agree. On that basis, we can agree on the custody question."

Sirius thought for a moment, then he nodded. "I will cooperate with the caseworker, but I want the custody sealed today, after they interview Harry. I most certainly won't give you the chance to back out of this one."

Janus had a hard time suppressing a smile. Sirius wasn't stupid, on the contrary. And Fudge looked as if he had swallowed a lemon. "All right", he pressed out from behind clenched teeth. He signed a parchment from the file and put down his quill. "I've just signed your official pardon. You're leaving this hearing as a free man, Mr. Black."

"I'd like a copy of the pardon, if you don't mind."

Fudge nodded, signed another parchment and pushed it across the table. Sirius picked up the parchment, folded it, and put it into the inner pocket of his robes. Then he sighed deeply, though Janus could see clearly from his position that his hands had been shaking slightly as he had picked up the parchment.

"All right, if that's about it, I'd like to go home now."

Fudge nodded sourly, obviously still trying to figure out from which point on this meeting had slid out of his control. Sirius got up from his chair, patted the pocket of his robes as if to make sure that the pardon hadn't slipped out. He nodded at Fudge, smiled quickly at Dumbledore, then turned towards the door. As he turned, his eyes met Janus', and for a short moment, something like surprise showed on his face, as if he hadn't noticed his presence until now. It was gone within an instant, then Sirius turned towards the door and left the Minister's office. Everybody else began filing out as well, so Janus got up from his chair and followed them out of the room.

As he walked down the corridors towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he tried to make up his mind about the meeting he had just witnessed. At least it had been interesting. Considering his own interests, it had been a complete waste of time, and it bugged him not only a little that he still didn't have a specific idea why Moody had wanted him to sit in on the meeting. Why Remus had wanted him to witness it, should his brother really be the one who had initiated his being here. And if it had been Remus' idea, why he had bothered to come. He had a damn lot of work to do even without his brother interfering.

When he finally reached his office, he kicked the door shut behind himself with a little more force than necessary, sank down in a chair and stared into the cold fireplace. The pot with floo powder was standing within reach, but even after he reached for it, he kept toying with it for a long time before he knelt down and made a call.

Epilogue II – Spinner's End

It was still dark at Spinner's End as two figures in dark robes made their way towards the outskirts of town. One of them was hurrying in front while the other was trying to keep up. The figure in front stopped as it reached a point from where the odd assortment of houses in front of them could still be seen, allowing the other person to catch up.

"Cissy, wait for me. You can't do this."

The woman in front turned around to her companion. "I've told you not to try and stop me, Bella. I have to do this."

"We don't know if we can trust him. I don't trust him. You cannot do this."

The woman called Cissy shook her head. "But I trust him, always have. The Dark Lord also trusts him."

"I believe…Cissy, I think he might be mistaken."

This earned her only a headshake. "Just listen to yourself, Bella! I don't think he is, I think he's the only one who can help me now. I cannot lose…he's my only child, I cannot lose him. I need to do this. If you don't want any part in this, you can always leave."

"No, I most certainly won't leave. If you think you have to do this, I will come along and pay very close attention to what he and you tell each other. Don't you understand? I cannot allow you to betray our Lord."

The first woman shook her head. "I would never betray him, you know that. But I will do anything I can to save my son. The Dark Lord trusts him, and if this trust is as strong as I think it is, then he will already know the plan, and I won't betray anything. I will be careful, but I have to do this. If you had children, you would understand."

"If I had children, I would be glad if the Dark Lord put so much faith in them. I would gladly sacrifice my son for such a noble task."

The first woman shook her head. "You don't have children", she said softly, then she resumed her former walk in the direction of the houses. The second woman followed her suit, this time making sure to keep up her pace with the first.

"Are you sure that this is the place?"

The first woman nodded. "Yes, I am."

"But…but this is…there are muggles around. Only muggles. It's just so…so unlike him."

Narcissa Malfoy wordlessly continued her stride towards one of the houses in Spinner's End. Bellatrix Lestrange hesitated for a short moment, then she followed her cousin towards this unlikely place of residence for one of Lord Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters. But whatever Narcissa was going to tell Severus Snape tonight, she would be there to listen.

The End