Alduin travelled directly to Shacklebolt Hall from Hogwarts, and indicated he needed to speak to Kingsley urgently and privately.
"What is it?" The man asked once they were alone in his study. "We've just seen each other."
"Yes, but I have news," Alduin replied. "If I were to suggest to you that Black was innocent," he continued slowly, "what would you say?"
"Have you been drinking?" Kingsley asked, giving him a searching look.
"No, though if things continue developing at this pace, I might start again," Alduin replied drily.
"Then what gave you this stupid idea?" Kingsley asked with a shake of his head. "There were eyewitnesses."
Alduin waved his hand. "Oh, sorry, I phrased it wrong. I'm not denying he killed those Muggles, I'm denying the other charges brought up against him. There was no trial."
"No," Kingsley admitted, "a source of discomfort to me ever since I was given this case. But every time I try to suggest we give him a trial once we capture him, it falls on deaf ears."
Alduin frowned. "Amelia Bones would never-"
"No, but then I suspect it never reaches her." Kingsley hesitated for a moment, then said: "Scrimgeour is rather less insistent in following both the letter and the spirit of the law than she is. Not that I think it's his initiative. It comes from way up."
"Well, Fudge would never publicly admit a mistake," Alduin conceded, "but this is all the more reason to be suspicious."
"Alduin, I don't know who your sources are, but even if they are right, he still killed those Muggles," Kingsley pointed out seriously.
"Probably, yes," Alduin agreed. "Eyewitnesses are rather hard to fool. Still, I'd rather like to get at the truth behind the other accusations, and for that, we need his evidence. Don't you realize? If he didn't do what they accuse him of, someone else did. We need to know who. I need to know who, since they are the real danger to Harry. If Dementors get to Sirius first, we will never get the truth and he will rot in Azkaban."
Kingsley stared at him. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me? Because that's-"
"You're off duty now. When you come to work on Monday, you can tell them everything. Just give me the weekend."
"You're insane if you think just the two of us can go after him and win," Kingsley said grimly.
"He's exhausted after Azkaban...but yes, more would be better," Alduin agreed. "Do you have anyone you can trust?"
"Giacomo," Kingsley said immediately.
"Good. Another trained Auror will come in handy. Call him, then, and I'll call in my own reinforcements. We're leaving Dumbledore out of this for now, too. I don't trust he didn't have a hand in ensuring there was no trial. Along with some others."
Kingsley gave him a look. "Is there anyone you do trust in this?"
"Apart from my friends, the Smiths and the Malfoys," Alduin replied immediately. He had thought about this carefully, and those were the only two families where he was sure their self-interest was aligned with Sirius.
Kingsley snorted. "Unlikely allies."
"Yes. I work with what I have. Anyway, the big news is...Black is an Animagus."
Kingsley gave a prolonged whistle. "That explains a lot." He frowned. "The standard procedure for catching one is sending Kneazles to scout the area where they're suspected to be hiding, but it would take time for them to go through the entire Hogwarts grounds even if we could get our hands on enough of them..."
"Yes," Alduin agreed, considering it, "but then I bet there are students who have them as pets. If we could get to those...I'll call Harry. You contact Giacomo."
The next morning, Harry surprised Alduin by knowing what a kneazle was. "We discussed it in Care of Magical Creatures," he said, "but I don't really know of any, except that we speculated Hermione's cat might be one, because of the way it acts...or at least part kneazle."
Alduin sighed. "We will have to try our luck, then. Could you please convince Hermione to bring her cat and meet us at the gates tomorrow at ten in the morning? We won't hurt it, I promise. We just want to talk to it."
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Harry was nervous when he headed down to the castle gates with Hermione and Neville. As he had expected, Snape was there, waiting. Harry had never quite apologized for his behaviour in the first duelling class of the year – after all, he couldn't help but feel his anger had been justified, and so he limited himself to being as respectful as he ever was in their next lesson. Snape had never demanded an apology, but Harry couldn't get rid of the feeling that Snape'd treated him differently ever since then. Not worse, really, just...differently. There seemed to be a weight of consideration in his gaze, and it made Harry nervous.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for Alduin to appear, with Mr. Kingsley and Mrs. Theodore at his side, as well as Mr. Giacomo Proudfoot. Snape let them all in, and Mr. Kingsley's eyes immediately aligned on Crookshanks. "That's the kneazle?" He asked.
"Part-kneazle, maybe," Hermione replied, sounding nervous. "I really don't know..."
"Well, we will try it." He gave the cat an intent look. "We're looking for a dog that isn't really a dog," he said. "Have you seen it?"
Crookshanks gave him a searching look and wriggled in Hermione's arms. Hermione put him down, and he went and wind himself around Mr. Kingsley's legs until the man picked him up, and then the cat stared at him from a close distance for a very long time before wriggling again.
When Mr. Kingsley put him down, he started to walk away.
"Right," the Auror said. "Let's follow it."
"Wait," Alduin said and turned to Hermione. "Thank you for lending us your cat, but the situation where we're going could be dangerous. I cannot take you with us."
"And Harry can go?" Hermione asked, affronted.
"I answer for Harry, and he wants to go – don't you?"
"Of course!" Harry said indignantly.
"There you are. I'm not your guardian, however, Miss Granger, and I cannot take you. The same goes for you, Neville," Alduin added.
"But-" Hermione began to protest.
"You heard Mr. Travers, Miss Granger," Snape said in a smooth voice, and huffing, Hermione turned to leave, Neville by her side.
"I'll tell you all about it!" Harry promised.
Then he put on his Invisibility Cloak, the others disillusioned themselves, and they set out to follow Crookshanks, who waited for them with an impatient expression in his squished face.
He led them to a huge willow Harry had only noticed from a distance until now, standing as it was in isolation not far from the forest, in a place where it wouldn't have occurred to him to go.
That was why he never noticed that the willow actually moved.
Harry stared in amazement as the huge branches waved everywhere, wondering how the hell they were supposed to get through that, since they were much easier to reach than the small cat.
But then the branches suddenly stopped, and Crookshanks sat by the trunk with what seemed to be a very smug smile.
They haltingly approached, Alduin whispering to Harry all the while to let him know where he was, and from up close, Harry could see that the cat was leading them to what looked like a hole among the roots.
"All right," Mr. Kingsley whispered, "I'm going in first, then Giacomo after me. Don't go in after us if we don't give you an all-clear."
There was a scoff that sounded like Mrs. Theodore, and then a number of sounds and two thuds.
"It's a passage," Mr. Kingsley called quietly to them. "It's clear for now."
They agreed in whispers on the order of entering. Mrs. Theodore went in and Harry went after her, immediately followed by Alduin. Snape came last.
Crookshanks joined them down there, too, they realized when Mr. Kingsley made his wand shine with a dim light, and he led them on.
They walked in silence for a very long while. It was sort of creepy: no one was visible, and the only source of light was the dim one from Mr. Kingsley's wand, which floated in mid-air with no visible source. Every step felt terribly loud in the otherwise complete silence and darkness. Harry half expected a Muggle horror film monster to jump out at him.
He would definitely prefer that to Black. At least horror monsters usually didn't know magic.
He had no idea for how long they walked – it felt like ages – when the cat stopped, giving them a look that seemed like a warning this time.
"Same order, and from now, use silencing spells," Mr Kingsley whispered even more quietly than before, and after a few muttered spells, the room turned completely silent and Harry could only orientate himself by Alduin's hand on his shoulder, which pushed him forward for a while, then stopped him before a flight of stairs. He patiently waited, until suddenly there was a loud bang and a curse upstairs, and a scramble next to them.
"Don't move an inch from here, and if anything spots you, shout and run," Alduin said, apparently cancelling the silencing spell on them, and then he was gone too.
Harry stood, indecisive, considering whether or not to listen to his cousin, when suddenly he heard a call from up the stairs. "Come up, Mr. Potter," Mrs. Theodore said. "It's over."
Harry ran inside what turned out to be a house of some sort, to see a bound Sirius Black on the ground, and an unconscious Snape next to him.
"What has Black done to him?" He asked, alarmed, as he took off his cloak, noticing that everyone else was visible already.
"Ha," Black scoffed.
"Shut up," Mr. Kingsley said, then turned to Harry and explained: "Nothing. Professor Snape attempted to attack him when he set eyes on him, unfortunately. We had to Stupefy him to prevent him from interfering."
Harry grimaced. He couldn't help but feel he would pay for it somehow.
"So now, Black," Mr. Kingsley said, turning back to him, "I suggest you talk, before I call in the Dementors."
"Why haven't you yet?" The man asked bitterly. "Perfect Auror Shacklebolt. I bet you're the head of your department by now, aren't you?"
Mr. Kingsley shook his head. "No. And I will be the one asking questions in this conversation, if there is to be a conversation at all."
"I heard rumours," Alduin said, speaking for the first time, in a quiet voice, "that you might not be guilty of all they accuse you of. I wanted to know if there was any truth in it."
"I'm not guilty of any of it, but since when do you care?"
"Well, I though it could matter to Harry, seeing that you were his godfather and all."
Sirius seemed to notice who he was for the first time. "Harry," he said, his tone wondrous, blinking very rapidly. "You look...just like James..."
Harry suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Back to your interrogation," Mr. Kingsley said sharply. "What is your version of the story?"
Black shrugged, as much as he could in the ropes that bound him. "I wasn't the secret-keeper. Peter was. He betrayed James and Lily."
Alduin slowly exhaled. "I'm glad it wasn't Lupin after all," he said. Harry was too. Of course, Black could still be lying – especially if Lupin was his accomplice – but still. It had been disquieting to think he could have had the man who betrayed his parents as a teacher for two months, though not, he supposed, quite as bad as having a man possessed by Riddle as one. It would be hard to top his first year.
"No," Black confirmed, "though I believed it was him before...that was why I suggested Peter to James..." Black shook his head. "I as good as killed them with my brilliant advice, just because I couldn't trust Remus, just because I suspected that darkness...well, never mind that. It's done. I still don't see why you care, though."
"Harry is my ward, and Lupin has been his teacher for the last two months," Alduin explained succinctly. "I'm just relieved he didn't turn out to be another murderer."
"Harry, your ward? Ha!" Black snorted. "James would have an apoplexy."
"I rather think he would prefer it to the conditions in which Harry was living at Lily's sister's house," Alduin said drily.
Black's face twisted into fury. "What did that bitch do?"
"Not now," Mr. Kingsley said sharply, cutting Harry's pleasure at hearing Aunt Petunia referred to by such a name short. "If you're right," he continued, "I supposed we can't really blame you for killing Peter, but why the hell did you take all those Muggles out too?"
"I didn't," Black said bitterly. "It was Peter."
Mr. Kingsley looked at him like he was insane. "What?"
"Yes," Black spat. "I thought he was trying to kill me and instead hit the Muggles and himself, but then I found out...he survived."
"What?" Mr. Kingsley repeated, this time even more incredulously.
"Yes," Black confirmed. "It was in the papers: a picture of the Weasley family in front of The Burrow, and on one of their boys' shoulders, a rat...I would have recognized it anywhere...Peter is an Animagus too, you see...and he's alive."
Harry stared. "You mean to say that Scabbers – Percy's rat – is actually a dead friend of my father?"
"You mean to say," Alduin said almost at the same time, "that Peter bloody Pettigrew learned how to be a bloody Animagus?"
"Jealous much?" Black asked with a grin.
"I don't believe it," Alduin said flatly.
Black grinned. "Well, he did need all the help James and I could provide – he was an Animagus too, do you know? A magnificent deer...ah, those were the days..."
"Why the hell did the three of you just decide that you suddenly needed to become Animagi?" Alduin asked incredulously.
Black grimaced. "None of your business," he spat.
"We'll get at it during the trial," Mr. Kingsley said.
"A trial?" Black said, giving him a confused look.
Mr. Kingsley gave him a look that was almost pitying. "Yes, my dear Sirius, you are going to have a trial that is long overdue. I'll take the matter directly to Amelia Bones to make sure it actually happens. Now come, it's time to get you out of here and into a discreet holding cell. Someone should probably feed you, too."
Mr. Kingsley and Mr. Giacomo took Black each by one arm, and Disapparated with a pop, just like that.
Harry was left standing in the shabby house, flabbergasted.
There was a long silence, then Mrs. Theodore said: "Should we do something about him?" And nodded towards Snape.
Alduin shook his head. "He's just Stupefied, and I think he would prefer it if we were not around when he woke up."
"I can wake him just before I Disapparate, since I expect you'll be returning to school," she suggested.
Alduin merely nodded and thanked her for her assistance, and they headed back through the tunnel, Crookshanks at their heels.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Alduin asked after a moment.
"I...guess," Harry said slowly. "I've known this was an option since yesterday, at least, so it was less of a shock, but...is he really innocent?"
"We don't know for sure yet," Alduin cautioned. "The trial will establish that, but in truth, if he's right about Pettigrew...that'd be proof enough to my mind. So we're likely to know much sooner."
"I was just so sure...you said so much about him being a sociopath over the years and all..." Harry was struggling to make sense of things.
Alduin gave a deep sigh. "I...did not like Sirius. We did not like each other, to be more precise. From my point of view, he encouraged the worst in your father."
So I was right about that, Harry thought with satisfaction. "You mean the...treatment of Professor Snape?" He asked cautiously.
"Yes, chiefly, and other similar things. But there are plenty of unpleasant people in the world who would never betray their good friends, and I did always believe Sirius to be one of them, until I woke up from the coma and saw what happened. It was easy to associate it with all the bad things I saw Sirius do, then, but if I'd been honest with myself...the betrayal never sat right with me. Murder, yes. Even torture. I always believed him capable of that, and even now I still do, under the right – or rather, wrong – circumstances. But not betrayal. Not like this."
Harry was silent for a long while. "I just...I don't know what to do, if he is proven innocent. According to what you say, he's still a pretty bad person."
Alduin shrugged. "I encourage you to be forgiving, or at east tolerant, of many Death Eaters. It would be hypocritical to say you shouldn't keep any contact with Sirius just because I don't like him. He is your godfather, after all. Just...keep in mind, please, what kind of person he is."