Author's Note: Readers, if you decide to stop reading my fic, it's okay. However, there's no need to block me from PMing you over this just because I refused a suggestion.
Chapter 6: My Godson is with WHO?
Cornelius Oswald Fudge loved being the Minister of Magic in spite of the duties that came with the position. In his opinion, the worst duty was having to inspect Azkaban Prison once per year. 'No wonder I didn't have much of a competition.' He thought. The scariest part wasn't the inmates in spite of two of them being Death Eaters Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange. It was the Dementors. He hated them but needed them so the prison would remain escape-proof. Speaking of Sirius Black, he's been doing time in Azkaban for longer than any other inmate at that moment so Fudge expected him to be the most insane of them all and that fear made Fudge decide to leave him for last. Upon finally inspecting Sirius Black's cell, what surprised him the most was that Black seemed to be too sane for someone who's been so dangerously close to Dementors for all those years.
"Fudge?" Sirius asked in surprise upon recognizing him from the night he was arrested. "Did Bagnold send you in her stead?" He asked in mockery. Sirius Black was definitely the same prankster from before being sent to prison.
"Have more respect, Black." Fudge demanded with a mix of bravery and stupidity that's make Severus Snape think the Minister was a Gryffindor. "I am the new Minister of Magic."
Sirius wasn't certain if it'd be any help pleading his case to Fudge but a new set of ears for his pleas of innocence couldn't harm or so he thought. "In that case, Minister Fudge, I'd like to file a complaint against the previous administration for never taking me to the Wizengamot to answer for any crimes in spite of the fact I've already been here for… how long have I been here?"
"It'll be ten years in little less than three months assuming you'll still be here by then, Black." Fudge clarified.
"For more than nine years and three months." Sirius completed his complain.
"Why should I bother?" Fudge asked in disdain. "You're obviously guilty, Black."
"I'm innocent, Fudge." Sirius protested.
"The Imperius Curse cannot be used to force Secret-Keepers to reveal Fidelius-protected secrets, Black." Fudge replied. "Everybody knows that."
"I wasn't pleading innocent on grounds of the Imperius, Minister." Sirius explained. "I'm pleading innocent on grounds of not doing anything I was accused of doing."
"I was there when you confessed, Black." Fudge argued.
"I didn't confess." Sirius protested. "I only said it was my fault because I was the one who convinced James and Lily to use Peter Pettigrew as the real Secret-Keeper."
"Several witnesses stated you're the Secret-Keeper, Black." Fudge said.
"The muggles merely overheard Pettigrew accusing me, Minister." Sirius explained. "He shouted that accusation to mislead them."
"Albus Dumbledore also gave testimony establishing you as the Secret-Keeper, Black." Fudge stated.
"We didn't tell him about the switch." Sirius replied.
"A likely story, Black." Fudge commented, tired of humoring the prisoner. "Even if you somehow convince the Wizengamot of this, you'd still be here for killing those muggles."
"I didn't kill them, Fudge." Sirius explained. "Pettigrew caused the explosion to fake his death."
"Black, you'll need Veritaserum to convince the Wizengamot." Fudge stated.
"Okay." Sirius shocked Fudge with the reply.
"I'll tell Amelia about this, Black." Fudge said. 'When pigs fly.'
"Amelia?" Sirius asked in wonder.
"Amelia Bones." Fudge explained. "She's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"What happened to Crouch?" Sirius asked.
"Black, certainly you didn't think he'd be able to keep that position after what his son helped the Lestranges do to the Longbottoms, did you?" Fudge condescendingly asked.
"Fair enough, Minister." Sirius replied with an even bigger hope of getting out of Azkaban. He already knew Amelia Bones to be more fair-minded than Bartemius Crouch Senior.
"Is there anything else you'd like to state about your case, Black?" Fudge formally asked.
"No, Minister." Sirius happily answered.
"In that case, I have to leave so I can inform Amelia Bones of the miscarriage of justice you're suffering." Fudge lied. He just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"May I have that newspaper, Minister?" Sirius asked.
Fudge looked at his issue of the Daily Prophet and made his decision. "Whatever. I've already read it anyway." He dropped the newspaper and left without a clue to this deed's consequences.
Upon reading the paper, Sirius was quite happy for getting news about his godson but also sad it was only possible because of the press. Hungry for news regarding Harry, Sirius was glad to see him with Frank and Alice Longbottom and their son Neville. 'So cute.' He thought. 'Prongslet happily living with Frank, Alice, Neville, Snivellus… What?' Sirius frantically stared at the photograph to be certain he wasn't hallucinating. Upon finally accepting it's Severus "Snivellus" Snape at the photograph, he frantically read the article in hopes of finding out his school rival was just passing by when the media caught his godson. What he read drove him even more incensed: Crouch not only denied him a trial but also gave Snivellus his place as Harry Potter's Godfather. While there were several occasions Sirius Black wouldn't believe the Daily Prophet's printed word, the photograph and the fact lying about godparent relations was too much of a taboo left no ground for doubt.
"MY GODSON IS WITH SNIVELLUS!" Sirius angrily shouted. He was so furious it was a miracle he managed to wait until that night before trying to escape. Being an Animagus not only helped to protect his sanity from the Dementors but also made it easier to slip through bars.
The next morning, the Dementors reported they no longer felt a human presence at Sirius Black's cell. Believing that Sirius Black finally lost the will to live, the human guards eagerly went to his cell hoping to see a Death Eater's corpse. Instead, they found an empty cell and then chaos begun.
End chapter.