"Mr. Black, where were you on the night of July 31st of this year?"
"At the permeant residence of Peter Pettigrew, who was believed to be at his home for the duration of the evening." He spat the name like it left a foul taste in his mouth.
A sigh went up among the jurors, many of whom had clearly not been expecting the trial, which they believed to be just a formality before his imprisonment, to run on this long.
"And whose belief led you to this conclusion?"
"Pettigrew himself!" He closed his eyes for a moment, tipping his head toward the ceiling and swaying slightly in the chair, as though he could see something that no one else could.
The Minister momentarily closed her eyes and resisted the urge to massage her temples – she could feel a headache coming on, and the continuous casting of multiple Patronuses certainly wasn't helping. As tensions rose, the Dementors were growing restless, and if Black didn't calm down soon she would have to force them out to avoid an unwarranted attack. "You are saying that Peter Pettigrew invited you to his house the night of the 31st, when he himself was not there?" They had found the boy's house empty, with no signs of a struggle or forced exit.
He held her stare, and Minister Bagnold raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer. Sirius mimicked her action, though how anyone could raise their eyebrows with so much sarcasm and distain Millicent had no idea.
"The residence of that rat-" Here he stopped and smirked, knowing that Lupin knew what he meant, "was under protective spells to keep him safe with the Potter's Secret."
"Secret? You were the Secret-Keeper for the Fidelius Charm that was placed upon the home of Lilly and James Potter, according to official records." She paused, realizing what this could mean. "Evidence was given by several sources, including Albus Dumbledore, that support these records. Are you saying that this information is incorrect and that you were not the Secret-Keeper for this Charm?"
The very room held its breath – under the influence of the Veritaserum, Sirius could only speak what he believed to be real, and it was very hard to believe that you were not entrusted with a Secret when the process required sealing it in your very soul. Whatever came out of his mouth was the full and honest truth, and it could change the course of the rest of the trial – and his life.
His grin grew into a full smile, and he closed his eyes, knowing the weight of his next words and exactly what was going to happen when he said them.
"Yes, Minister. Your information on the Charm is incorrect."
A dozen voices started up a once. Parchment was thrown, evidence was read, and the Minister of Magic had no idea how to proceed. If the Ministry was wrong – if Black had not been the Secret-Keeper for the Potters – there was no way he could have revealed the location of the Potters to anyone, much less HIM. Trying to maintain some semblance of order, she calmed the jurors around her and leaned toward the man on her right.
"Mr. Crouch, please make a note to review with Albus Dumbledore later this afternoon. I feel that he may have been misinformed."
"Misinformed?" Crouch paused, his quill hovering mid-word. "Wouldn't he know who held the Secret? Was he not present at the setting of the Charm?"
"No." They both turned to the man in the middle of the floor, who had answered the question for them.
"The Charm was set by James Potter, Lily Evens Potter, and myself. Dumbledore was not there, as he had other matters to attend to at the time."
"And Pettigrew? While one does not have to take part in performing the Charm to keep the Secret, they do at least have to be present." The Minister was on the edge of her seat now, her brain scrambling at this new load of information.
He once again raised his head to meet her gaze, as though they were the only two in the room.
"It was originally intended for Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, and myself to cast the Charm and make me the Secret-Keeper. However, (this was said with dramatic flair, and if he could have been waving his arms for emphasis he would have been), Remus had fallen ill and Albus Dumbledore had been called away in an emergency for the school. Pettigrew remained as a witness, but it was decided at the last moment to make him the Secret-Keeper in place of myself. No one else knew about this, as was part of the plan to confuse anyone who might have been looking to reveal the information to…unfriendly sources." He scanned the room, as though accusing his accusers of taking part in the betrayal. Minister Bagnold suddenly felt as though the tables had turned, and that it was now the Ministry of Magic who was on trial. As this thought passed her mind, she couldn't help but to wonder whether or not they were begin found guilty.
The room sat in shock, and Lupin seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. It was the night of the full moon when they had cast it, but putting it off would put the family in danger so he had insisted that they set the Charm without him. That had been the last time he had seen them alive.
The silence resumed.
"Mr. Black, why did you change Secret-Keepers at the last minute? I presume you have a good reason if you gave up the position yourself."
"Several of Voldemort's-" He broke off as the room gasped, and several witches and wizards looked around, as though expecting the Dark Lord to come bursting through the door yelling "I object!" Sirius continued as though nothing had happened.
"-followers were aware that the Charm was being placed and that I was the intended Secret-Keeper. By changing the Keeper at the last minute and not telling anyone, it kept up the appearance that I still held it. Anyone who knows Pettigrew knows that he is prone to moments of weak will and would therefore be highly unlikely to be trusted with such an important Secret."
The Minister paused in her questing as those around her began to talk amongst themselves, several cautiously debating the merits that Black might just be innocent.
"Mr. Black." The room quieted, and Sirius answered the Minister's unasked question.
"Knows Pettigrew, Minister, not knew. You heard me correctly." He could see the pieces began to click in her mind, and his smirk relaxed, as though to lessen the blow of his next words.
"Peter Pettigrew is alive."
It was a full 10 minutes before Minister Bagnold could restore order, and the Dementors, growing excited, were forced from the room. The silver cats dimmed, then faded completely, releasing the growing tension in her shoulders. One Patronus was draining enough, but maintaining all three was more than she could handle at the moment. The man in chains sat calmly through the chaos, feeling the stare of the man behind him but refusing to meet his eye. It was time that their secret came out, and Sirius knew revealing what he could do would eliminate any chance at escape if he was sent to Azkaban. However, he was now sworn to the truth, and if exposing himself meant bringing that rat back to face what he had done, Sirius was willing to give up his life, especially if it meant that the werewolf at his back could finally leave in peace, knowing that not all of his friends were traitors in the end – only one.
"Mr. Black, will you please repeat your statement."
The man in chains sat with his eyes closed, but his grin was once again sharpening on his face.
"Peter Pettigrew is alive, Minister." He paused.
"And I know how to find him."
The poor Minister, not at all expecting this, was still struggling to keep up. Pettigrew becoming Secret-Keeper for the sake of security is one thing, but a man blasted into a thousand pieces – alive?!
"How would that possibly be, Mr. Black?" She struggled to maintain her professional air, but his response sent all thoughts of professionalism flying out the window like an owl after breakfast.
He grinned maniacally now, and Lupin tensed, realizing what he was about to do.
An instant later, Sirius Black was gone.
The court was in uproar; the jury shouting, the Minister banging her gavel, and Remus Lupin fighting for all the world to stop the smile that was forcing its way onto his face against his will. After all, how often does one get to see a massive, bear-like black dog standing in a prisoner's chair in the middle of an underground courtroom, with his tail wagging furiously and the ghost of a grin on his face. Just as Minister Bagnold was about to call back the Dementors and demand a search, Sirius Black reappeared in his chair, wrists chained and shoulder shaking in silent laughter, eyes pressed shut and mouth clamped against the amusement that was trying to force itself out. As the court came back to order, he finally looked over his shoulder at his friend, catching his eyes for the first time in far too long. Sirius, grinning, saw the eyes of a teenager looking back at him; even in court, even with his life in the balance, he could never pass up the chance to show off the one thing he was good at, Remus knew. There was concern in the werewolf's eyes, too, but Sirius had no intention of revealing his friend's secret – only those of himself, and the traitor that they finally had the chance to take down.
"Mr. Black, are you proposing evidence that you are an unregistered Animagus?" Poor Minister Bagnold had given up on trying to remain organized, instead hoping that someone was writing all this down (the entire jury, in fact, was simply gaping openmouthed, with only Barty Crouch Sr. still taking notes).
"Yes." Sirius looked back at her, and she could feel a small grin of her own forming, unable to resist the teenage excitement and pride in his eyes at having successfully pulled off the surprise.
"How long have you been able to successfully achieve this transformation, exactly?"
"Six years, Minister."
"Six…" There were whispers throughout the jury, all of whom were doing some very fast math.
Bagnold cleared her throat. "Are you telling me, Mr. Black, that there was an unregistered Animagus on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for your fifth, sixth, and seventh years of magical education?"
His smirk, if possible, grew, and he was still struggling to hold back his laughter. He paused a moment to pull himself together before answering.
"Actually, Minister, there were three."
It took the entire remaining part of his hour to explain, and Sirius left out almost nothing. He told the story (quite dramatically, Lupin would later add) of the tale of the four Marauders, the boys who thought they could take on the world all on their own. He told of his idea their second year, to become Animagi, to let them leave the grounds whenever they wanted without getting caught. He described in detail the thousands of books it took to figure out how to do it, including several nights to the Restricted section under the cover on an Invisibility Cloak. They watched Professor McGonagall, he said, as she Transformed between her human and feline forms. They learned what to think and what to say to get it just right, and when they day finally came, he told of how each Transformed in turn, leaving and returning to their human selves without a hitch. He wove the tales of many nights of celebration and sneaking out, and how these nighttime wanderings taught them more about the world than their lessons ever did. He told them, in truth, everything.
Almost.
He didn't say, for one, where the Invisibility Cloak was now (no one thought to ask, and for that he was thankful). He never once hinted that McGonagall had encouraged their research, even though she never knew what they had eventually achieved (she was just proud that they were impressed by her Transformations). Most importantly, however, he never once cried wolf.
It was just the three of them, he said, that transformed in the end. Lupin had helped with the reading (here, Minister Bagnold couldn't help but to glance at the awe-struck man in the back of the room, who seemed amazed that Sirius thought so much of the Transformations), but he had never attempted to become an Animagus himself. Why, the jury asked, when three of his friends had managed it, why didn't the fourth follow?
"He did, in his own way," Sirius had said, glancing back once more at the shocked expression from behind him. "He never had to try it on himself – he always said that three pets were enough, and we didn't need anymore."
"Besides," he finished, finally feeling the Veritaserum fading from his system. "When you've finally found a family, why should you have to try to change who you are to fit in?"
Eight months later, with the help of the remaining Marauders, Peter Pettigrew was found in the hands of a poor wizarding family in the form of a rat, missing his right index finger and refusing to take his human form. The confused family handed over the rodent, gladly accepting a year's worth of gold in return. A simple spell revealed Pettigrew's identity, and a dose of Veritaserum confirmed everything that Sirius Black had said on trial, as well as the memories of their Transformations retrieved from all three living men. At the word of Sirius, Pettigrew was careful with the memories he gave up, and while the Animagi pair was forced to register with the Ministry, the secret of the werewolf stayed quiet, with the Minister of Magic remaining silent on the issue. She knew, of course, that Remus Lupin had been bitten as a small child (he had gone to St. Mungo's after the incident), but as this information was not necessary for the trial of Sirius Black, she felt no need to share it with anyone else.
Her eyes sparkled as she made her way through the hallway to his holding cell, this time a nicer room in the upper levels of the Ministry.
"We found his wand." Sirius stood up at the sound of her voice, a smile on the edges of his lips. He moved toward the cell door, looping his arms loosing through the bars. "And?"
This time, the Minister was the first to break her serious composure. "And you were right. It was found that the last spell it cast was a Blasting spell, while the last spell from yours was a defensive Shield that matched the magical particle remains found on the scene."
His breathing picked up, and he refused to say anything in case she changed her mind. He hadn't dared to hope until now, not when Remus knew the truth and not even when Pettigrew was found. The Minister raised her wand and directed it to the lock on the barred metal door.
"Sirius Orion Black III, it has been found in the Court of Magical Law that you are innocent of all counts of murder held against you, wizarding and Muggle alike." The door swung open between them and Sirius stared, shocked in place. "You are free to go."
Suddenly, he sprang forward, and a massive black dog jumped to brace its paws on the Minister's knees, tongue licking and tail wagging so hard it was a blur. Pulling himself together, the man once again emerged, and hugged the startled woman tightly in thanks before taking off down the hallway to the dark-haired man that was waiting for him. He, too, got an exuberant bear hug that nearly knocked him over, laughing louder than he had in almost a year. The two young men were soon above ground in the sunlight, rushing for the nearest train station in search of a map that would lead them to Little Whinging and Privet Drive. He would have to live there through school, they knew (Dumbledore had explained why, to avoid any godson-kidnapping schemes in the future, much to Remus's disappointment), but that didn't mean they couldn't go to see him.
After all, the new generation had a legacy to carry – and the Marauders weren't about to let him carry it alone.