A/N
The last part of this latest scene; be warned, it's quite long.
Recap
The elderly wizard nodded, looking pleased. "Good." He enlarged the Pensieve even more. "I want everyone to gather around. We can't all take turns in going in, so we'll have to do it like this, I'm afraid. I was hoping this could be done with all of us dealing like the civilized people we are...but apparently, my faith in you was wrongly invested."
He started putting his memories into the Pensieve, via his wand. "Allow me to tell you the truth, concerning that Halloween night, fourteen years ago."
Chapter Twelve: Memories of a Murderer
Remus paused with one hand on the kitchen door and turned to stare at his friend, who was leaning slightly against him. His face was pale – paler than it usually was – and there was no denying the wariness in his eyes.
"You don't have to do this," he said, earnestly, once more. "I can go and tell Dumbledore that you're not feeling well, and-"
"-No," interrupted Sirius, softly. "No, I can't do that. I want to face them. I have to." He managed a smile, although it looked more like a grimace. "Thanks Moony. It…it means a lot, knowing that…you at least, are still willing to…help me…"
Lupin placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder as he smiled at him. "Let's just go and get this over with."
The silence that greeted him when he entered the room was slightly unnerving, but Sirius found that he didn't care. Remus stood beside his friend, glaring around the room – and noticing the guilty expressions on most of the faces.
The silence soon turned awkward.
"I hope you are feeling slightly better, Sirius, my boy…?"
"Of course, Pr – Dumbledore," said the dark-haired man, "It's not like I've never experienced the Cruciatus curse before."
He looked haughtily at everyone in the room. "Besides, being Voldemort's faithful spy has given me a tolerance for certain spells," he added, sarcastically.
The dark-haired man's attention was now fixed on the witch who was slumped in her seat, with her back to him. He unconsciously wondered if she was alright, before looking at Dumbledore again.
"-Can you ever forgive us?" Grey eyes met the brown ones of plump Hestia Jones, and a moment's silence passed, as Emmeline Vance nodded, a sorrowful expression on her face.
"What does it matter?" he asked, at last. "It's not like my forgiveness is going to change anything…" The witches looked rather downcast at his words.
A half-smile appeared on his lips. "Looking as good as ever though, Em, 'Tia. You don't seem to have aged a day."
Tonks suppressed the urge to laugh as she caught the flush on Hestia Jones' face, even as Remus rolled his eyes. Emmeline, on the other hand, just shook her head.
"How can we still trust him?" Mad-Eye's question dampened the mood once more.
"You know, I am in the room too," said Sirius, coolly, seeing that the question had been addressed to Dumbledore. "Do feel free to pose any questions you have about me to me."
Mad-Eye glared at him.
"Fine then," he said, "How do we know that you haven't…bewitched Dumbledore, or better yet, put him under the Imperius Curse to make us believe you?"
There was a pause as Sirius and everyone else – except Dumbledore himself – gaped at Mad-Eye.
"You really are a little lacking up here aren't you?" questioned Sirius, tapping his head lightly. "Do you honestly think that anyone could do that to Dumbledore? I may be 'Voldemort's right-hand man'," he paused, rolling his eyes at the winces he received for using the Dark Lord's name, "but even such a man would not be able to boast of being capable of that."
Dumbledore chuckled.
"Sirius, you are making me blush," he said, humbly, eyes twinkling as usual.
"The Ministry's been chasing an innocent man all this time?" questioned Kingsley, looking slightly ashamed as he looked at Sirius. "I…I don't quite know what to say…"
Sirius snorted.
"Yeah, don't worry about that. I'm sure that the lot of you are bursting to apologize. If only apologies would change the – Snape…"
The pale-faced man sneered at him.
"Black," he spat.
"What crawled up your ass and died?"
"-It would do you good to-"
"I still don't believe him. He's somehow managed to trick us. He is a murderer after all."
"He is no more a murderer than you and I," snapped McGonagall, as she sat up straight in her seat. "No, I take that back. Out of all of us here, you are the only person who earns the title of a 'murderer' for the lives that you have taken during your long years as an Auror."
"They were Death Eaters-"
"-And yet, they were still murders. But we don't call you a murderer. And you have no right to label an innocent man a murderer."
"Oh, is that so? Well, you didn't seem to think he was innocent at the time either, Minerva, if I can remember correctly. You believed him to be guilty of betraying Lily and James Potter too!"
McGonagall's shoulders slumped slightly at the Auror's words. "You've nothing to say for that, eh? Because it's true! So stop being a hypocrite, Minerva."
A low growl escaped Sirius' throat, causing Remus to look at him, startled.
"There was nothing else that she could do," snapped the dark-haired man. "She wasn't in a position of power to change anything, unlike you and certain others." He sneered at the old wizard. "Don't blame others to try and cover up your inefficiency at your task, Mad-Eye."
Mad-Eye opened his mouth once more. "You know what? I don't want to hear it, Mad-Eye. I don't want to hear what I know you're going to say." He roughly pushed past Remus and headed towards the Pensieve. "How about I show you then, huh?"
Placing his wand against the side of his head – appearing paler than he was before – he pulled out various silvery strands of memories from his head, before dipping them into the Pensieve. "Go on, all of you"
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll be checking up on Peter next week. He should be fine. You'll be fine. My adorable godson will be fine," said a striking male, a smile on his face.
"It's not that…well, not just that," murmured the pretty red-head. "For this bluff to work, they must think that you're Secret Keeper." She paused. "What if they do come after you?"
"Lils, that's kind of the whole point-"
"-Yes, but-" her voice broke off. "-We lost Gideon and Fabian, and…and they were powerful enough to protect themselves…you…you're just one person…what if-"
"-Lily, look at me." Green eyes met grey. "I'll be fine."
"But - oh, alright! Be the over-confident prat you've always been!" She was smiling. He chuckled as she threw her arms around him. "But promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise you that-"
"-Oi, oi, as much as I love you, and promised to share everything I own with you, I'm going to have to put my foot down on the wife," teased a messy-haired, bespectacled man, as the red-head glowered at him.
"You are so sleeping on the couch tonight for that comment." The dark-haired man chuckled at the expression on his best-friend's face, stopping when he suddenly found himself in a fierce embrace.
"Ooof – Prongs, mate, can't – breathe-"
"-If you don't get through this whole thing in one piece, I will hunt you down and kill you again myself, alright?"
"You're – kinda – killing me already – leggo – can't – breathe –"
The scene shifted, to show a small, dark cottage.
"Peter?" He knocked on the door – the special coded knock – but received no answer. "Oookay, little guy, I know you're in there. It's me. You first met me at lunch on –" A particularly strong gust of wind pushed the supposedly heavily locked door open.
Suddenly tense, he walked inside with his wand drawn and moved quietly.
A painstakingly thorough search later did not reveal the cottage's usual occupant. "Merlin, Voldemort couldn't have-" he blanched, "-captured…" he murmured, feeling slightly dizzy.
Captured, because of him…
He frowned. Something wasn't right, though. If he had been caught unaware wouldn't there be – "There aren't any signs of a struggle…" he murmured. "But what does that mean --- unless…" His face paled in the light that was emitted from the tip of his wand. "No…could it possibly - him?" Grey eyes widened in fright. "Merlin, no!"
He turned and fled.
The scene changed once more; this time revealing a quaint, two-storey house…that was partially on fire.
"James! Lily! Where are you?!" he yelled out. There was nothing in the corridor that led to the front door, so he continued, running as fast as he could, not thinking to draw his wand.
"Oh god, James! Please, oh Merlin – Lily!! H-Harry!!" There was a desperate gleam in his eyes as he moved forward, when he suddenly tripped over something. Quickly regaining his balance, he whirled around, fear pounding in his ears.
He froze when he saw what he had almost tripped over.
For a long moment, he simply stood where he was, ignoring the heat of the slowly-spreading fires. He blinked, and soon found himself on his knees beside the…still figure of-
"Jamesie, this isn't f-funny…" he whispered, voice breaking as he knew, he knew that this was no joke. "J-James…Pr-Prongs…please – please –" The hazel eyes were open, and it looked as though he was just…lying down, thinking.
Grey eyes glistened. "NOOOOOO!!!" It was a pained, heart-breaking howl that escaped his lips as he buried his face on the unmoving chest, clutching at the blue shirt. "N-no…it – t-this wasn't …I – Peter – Merlin, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry -"
He jumped up suddenly and hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time and made his way to the little nursery.
A strangled sob escaped his throat when he saw her lying on the ground, vibrant green eyes wide open. There were dried tear stains on her cheeks, and he soon found tears running down his cheeks as well.
"What have I done…? Oh, Lily…what have I – I –" The sudden loud wail startled him and he gasped when he located the its source. "But…how-? You - oh, Harry!" He moved swiftly, picking the child up and holding him tightly against his chest. He might have been breaking every bone in the toddler's body.
Pulling back slightly, he stared at his godson. "You really are…a-alive…" He frowned, as he freed a hand to brush at the mark on his forehead. "You're bleeding…" He used one end of his shirt sleeve to wipe away the blood, causing the toddle to wince. "What's this…a…lightning bolt…?"
He jumped, startled when he heard the heavy footsteps moments before a hulking figure entered the room.
"Hagrid…" He watched the giant sob earnestly, only looking away when he felt a small hand on his cheek, and met the tearful green eyes of his godson.
And just like that, the scene changed again, for the last time. It showed a…street, this time. It was a familiar Muggle street, with two figures standing underneath the light being emitted from two streetlights.
"You little bastard," snarled the dark-haired man, his shoulders trembling as he advanced on his shorter, lighter haired companion.
"S-Sirius, p-please-"
"-What did Voldemort promise you, you little rat? What did he say to get you on his side?"
"I – don't – Sirius, I –"
"-How proud you must have been when I – when I suggested the bluff. No wonder you didn't make a fuss about it, saying you were too weak and whatnot – you were just eager to pass on the information to Voldemort!"
The plump man was shaking openly, the fear evident in his watery eyes.
"I had no – choice, Sirius, he – he suddenly appeared and – and demanded –"
"-DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU COWARD!" yelled the dark-haired man, eyes flashing dangerously. "You were the spy. You were the traitor. You were the backstabber we should have been aware of – not Remus."
"I-"
"-But I don't understand, Peter. Why? Why? What did we ever do to you? I thought we – we were friends…" his voice broke. "J-James…wasn't he…weren't we all…friends?"
"He's powerful, Sirius!" cried out the short man, now staring right into the grey eyes. "He promised me so much…for loyalty…he promised to protect me –"
"-PROTECT YOU FROM WHAT?! WE WERE THE ONES WHO PROTECTED YOU, RIGHT FROM THE MOMENT WE BEFRIENDED YOU!" The yelling had caught the attention of quite a few of the neighborhood Muggles, as lights were switched on in nearby houses.
"But you couldn't protect me from him!" screamed the pasty-faced man. "You wouldn't have been able to protect me from him!"
His 'friend' blinked.
"Peter…all you had to do was tell us – approach us. You know we would have done anything-"
"-No, I didn't know that! You were all powerful as it was, you wouldn't have wanted to protect an insignificant thing like me! I was just looking out for my best interests and-"
"IS THIS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT?! JEALOUSY?! YOU BETRAYED JAMES AND LILY TO THEIR DEATHS OUT OF PETTY JEALOUSY?!" His wand was out now, and emitting sparks from its tip as the dark-haired man lost his temper. There was a wild, dangerous light in his grey eyes, and it frightened the traitor. "I swear, I swear on all that I hold dear, I am going to kill you, Peter Pettigrew!"
There were tears in his eyes as he said it, and, for a moment, the shifty-eyed man wondered if those tears were for him, for the fact that he had said that he would kill him.
But he soon snapped out of his daze when he saw the Muggles gathering around. An idea suddenly came into his head, and his eyes gleamed.
"YOU! YOU BETRAYED THEM! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY LILY AND JAMES?!" The dark-haired man stared at him, taken aback.
"What? What are you talking about-" he suddenly noticed the people gathered around and an uneasy feeling entered his gut. "Shut up, Peter, I-"
He watched his supposed friend's lips move, and the next thing he knew, there was an explosion. He was thrown back a few feet, but was on his feet almost at once, blinking against the putrid smoke. A quick charm cleared it from his sight.
He paled when he saw the bodies littered on the ground; the unmoving bodies. Others – those still alive – stared at him in fright. Spinning around quickly, he glanced at the spot his companion had been standing in, and his eyes widened when he saw the pale digit lying on the ground.
He stood, staring at the lifeless finger for a long time, not evening hearing or noticing the loud 'pops' as Ministry officials Apparated around him. He did not hear the panicked cries from the Muggles, or the curses that the Aurors were muttering as they surrounded him.
It had struck him that their timid little Peter…had not been so foolish and empty-headed after all. A pair of rough hands grabbed him from behind, and he soon felt ropes binding his wrists together behind his back.
"Bastard," growled a tall, frightening grizzly-haired man, as he clenched his shoulder painfully, not noticing the still wet tear tracks on his captives face. "Bastard. Murderer. You ought to rot in prison. I will see to it that you rot in prison, if it's the last thing that I do. Azkaban will do nicely for you."
The wild gleam returned to the man's eyes. As he was led away, all he could do was throw his head back and laugh at the irony of the situation. All he could do was laugh as grief, guilt, anger and fear fought to gain dominance in his heart.
The images started to blur until they were out of focus, before disappearing completely. The silence in the kitchen was thick, brimming with emotion.
It was Molly Weasley who seemed to break the trance with a loud sniff. All at once, everyone turned their attention away from the Pensieve.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Remus blinked furiously, trying to clear his eyes of the…tears that the obviously painful memories conjured up. Slowly, he turned to his friend and his heart went out to him.
The once cocky, proud young man was taking shaky steps backward, his face a worrying shade of white. His grey eyes glistened too, but he didn't seem to notice. No, he seemed to be in a faraway place.
Before he could reach out to him, a chair was pushed back forcefully, its legs scraping against the floor in a cringe-worthy sound.
The dark-haired, elderly witch strode forward briskly, not appearing the slightest bit wary as she had been before.
He watched as she reached Sirius, stopping only when she was standing before him. She said something softly to him – something he couldn't catch – and when she received no reply, she gingerly touched his arm.
The next thing she knew, her arms were full of a hysterically crying man, as he clung to her desperately. She only faltered for a moment, before wrapping her arms around him, stroking his hair in as comforting a manner as she could.
She turned to glance helplessly at her superior, who had a sorrowful expression on his face as he watched the still clearly grieving and guilty man.
He needs to let go of the guilt…he must…it wasn't his fault…
Soon, Lupin was standing with the two figures, placing a hand on his friend's trembling shoulder and squeezing it lightly. Tonks was the next to join them, rubbing her mother's only favorite relative's – her only favorite Black relative – back.
McGonagall was able to rest her chin on her former student's head, as he was slouched while he cried. She continued to stroke his hair, murmuring softly as she – as they all – held him.
"Let it out, Sirius, let it out…" She didn't realize that she herself was crying until her vision became blurred.
A/N
Alright. It's over. It's done. I won't have to write about this scene anymore. And now I've gone and depressed myself, by remembering how unfair it was that people had to believe that Sirius was guilty and how he had to die for his name to be cleared.
Urgh.
I don't think I'll make any future chapters as long as this – I just wanted to finish it without going into a fourth chapter.
Hope you all enjoyed that. I'm going to go and…have some chocolate, I think.
Well, till next time,
Siriusgirl1