Sirius is silent for a long time. He opens his mouth once, then closes it again, and Dorea's heart begins to sink, as the idea thought that James had lied to her when he reassured her that of course they had chosen the right person- she trusted Sirius, didn't she?-to keep him and Lily safe, becomes more and more absurd. James had never lied to her in his life, and she couldn't bear the thought that he had done so on a matter of such importance- had he not trusted her. Surely her son had trusted her- but he had trusted Sirius, and if James hadn't lied then Sirius had betrayed them and that was worse than the thought of James not trusting her-
"I thought..." Sirius begins to talk slowly. Every word seems to take an enormous effort to say; Sirius seems to be choosing each one carefully. "That...they would be safer...if we bluffed...it had never...never crossed my mind that he was the traitor...I thought...he wasn't brave enough to betray us...after all, I'd been vocal enough about killing the traitor if I ever found out who it was"
The pieces slot in to place suddenly, and Dorea whispers- "Oh Sirius. Peter? Peter was the secret keeper?"
Sirius laughs humourlessly. "The worst part of it is- I suspected Remus. My words were aimed at Remus...I've let him down as well as James..."
Dorea shakes her head emphatically. "No. No, Siri, you've let no one down. Not Remus- well, perhaps Remus a little. But not James, never James. I'll talk to Crouch; tell him what you've just told me. We'll arrange a trial- veritiserum will prove what you're saying is true, and if Peter really was a death-eater...they'll forgive his death- they'll probably still have you sentenced for the deaths of those muggles, but – I'm sure Charlus can persuade his friends amongst the Wizengamot to show leniency- to make allowances for grief-"
She trails off, noticing that Sirius is staring at her with a queer expression. "What?" she asks quietly. He looks half amused, half horrified, as he says-
"I didn't kill those muggles. Peter did"
Dorea is stunned. "You-what?"
"Peter blew the street up. Then he cut his finger off and transformed in to a rat-"
"Sirius Orion Black."
He shrinks back at her quiet, deadly tone. "Are you telling me that you have been sitting in Azkaban for three months, without having committed any of the charges laid against you?" she enquires, voice dangerously soft. Sirius blushes- a splash of colour brought back to his face finally- "Did you not think to tell someone all this when you were questioned-"
"I don't remember being questioned..." Siri interrupts, a confused look clouding his eyes. "I don't...remember questioning...I remember-one of the aurors slapping me when I asked...I think I asked...to see you and ..."
Dorea goes cold suddenly, her annoyance forgotten in light of this new revelation. If Sirius doesn't remember being questioned, it would imply he wasn't- which would explain why the Department for Magical Law Enforcement had been so cagey when Charlus had asked for the transcripts of Sirius' interrogation- there weren't any. "Sirius..." she says softly, reaching out for him-
"NO TOUCHING" the auror behind him barks. Sirius flinches and Dorea jumps as well, having forgotten the man was there. He's six foot tall and burley- but Sirius is her son, the only one she has left, and so-
"Sod you." Dorea snaps back, leaning forward and caressing Sirius's cheek. He offers her a shaky, tentative smile- and then the auror yanks him roughly by the shoulder and shoves him to one side. The chair he's cuffed to looses it's balance and topples over, there's a crash and a sickening crack as Sirius hits the floor, and his wand arm slams in to the concrete floor, the weight of the chair and Sirius himself crashing down on top of it. He barely whimpers, and Dorea is on her feet, fury welling up inside her chest.
"How dare you!" she cries. "How dare you? Have you not been listening-"
"He's a liar, ma'am." The auror says. "All members if the house of Black are liars and dark magic users. Now-"he raises his wand, pointing it directly at her. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Dorea pulls herself up to her full height, which is, admittedly, not very high- but the full force of her glare more than makes up for it. "I'll leave." She sniffs. "I have a trial to arrange for my son, after all. And when he's found innocent, you may rest assured that I will sue the wand off you, and any of your colleagues who have abused my son in any way. Sirius- I love you, and I promise: I'll have you out of this place as soon as I can."