Toil and Trouble Chapter 1 : The Trials of Sirius Black (A Harry Potter fanfiction)
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(Toil and Trouble is the first installment of a trilogy called "The Dance of Light and Shadows".)
June 26, 1988. Saint Mungo’s Hospital
As a Senior Healer at Saint Mungo’s Hospital, specialising in Dark Curse extraction, Andromeda Tonks was used to working long hours. This night was different, however. On this night, she wasn't trying to save the life of a victim of dark magic. She was in her office, poring over Prisoner Health Records of Azkaban Prison. She rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes as she went through hundreds of records, trying to find a pattern. Something that would lend credence to her theory. Something that would give her a reason to fight. For him.
Getting access to the records had been easy. Prison health records were kept more as a formality than anything else. The inmates weren't considered human. Just scum who were meant to rot, even deserved it. So their records collected dust in the archives of Saint Mungo’s.
As she read one file after another, Andromeda Tonks's suspicions were confirmed. Azkaban had broken minds, crashed spirits with few exceptions. Those exceptions included one individual.
Sirius Black.
Andromeda’s cousin, and the man who allegedly betrayed James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort.
Sirius was now reviled across Wizarding Europe for the despicable act he'd supposedly committed. An act that should have led to the kind of crippling guilt the Dementors would have relished stoking and feasting on. Until there was nothing left of the man but an empty husk.
Yet, Sirius remained unbroken.
His records showed that he was perfectly coherent during the last evaluation. His speech was intact, his orientation stable. He suffered neither hallucination, nor disassociation.
This soundness of mind should have been impossible after seven years in Azkaban.
Andromeda had found only three other record of a case similar to this. Among them was a wizard imprisoned in the early 1960s. He had maintained his mental faculties, until he died of old age eight years later. After his death, it was discovered that the man had been framed.
Azkaban could not break a man who had done no wrong. A man who clung to his own innocence so steadfastly, even the Dementors could not destroy him.
When James and Lily dies, Andromeda had felt her heart break. Though the Dark Lord had been defeated, the world also lost two good, kind human beings. And their infant son had been left behind an orphan. To be raised by relatives, and to never know the ray of light that was Lily and the roaring lion that was James.
Andromeda had always found it difficult to believe the allegations against Sirius. For she had seen first hand the bond that he shared with his friends. They were his family. The only family that mattered to him, as the one he was born into had labelled him a "blood traitor" and cast him out long ago. She remembered him as a young man. Tall, fierce with eyes and hair as black as the night, striding through Black family gatherings with that reckless grin, mocking the prejudices of their elders.
Though Andromeda was six years older than Sirius, they were quite close. A mutual disdain for Pureblood supremacism was the one thing they had in common. And the one thing that had bonded them. They'd spent many a evening talking through the charmed Black family mirrors, taking turns mocking the asinine beliefs of their parents, or simply sharing what they planned to do with their lives when they'd finally got out.
"I'm gonna travel, Andi." Sirius had often told her, "just take Remus and hop from one place to another. Muggle places. Did you know Muggles can fly? In these metal contraptions?"
Remus. Remus Lupin was probably the one person as important to Sirius Black as James Potter.
Andromeda herself had always dreamt of becoming a healer.
As it turned out both Sirius and Andromeda were able to get out of the Black family’s circle of misery sooner than they planned to. He ran away from home during his fifth year at Hogwarts, a few years before she fell in love with Ted Tonks - a Muggle-born wizard. She and Sirius had joked about which one of them was the bigger stain on the family’s tapestry.
Sirius did not get to fulfil his dream of travelling with Remus and seeing Muggle places. Right after finishing Hogwarts, he, James, Lily, Remus and Peter had joined the Order of the Phoenix. The resistance group sworn to bring down He Who Must Not Be Named
Three years later, James and Lily were dead.
When the news had broken that Sirius was their betrayer, their murderer, the man who killed twelve Muggles in broad daylight, had killed his friend Peter Pettigrew — Andromeda had had to force herself to accept it. The evidence, the eyewitness testimony was overwhelming. Or so it seemed.
When she read her cousin's file, she had expected to find madness. Azkaban, under the Dementors, broke everyone. The few prisoners who had been released — men accused of minor crimes, whose sentences were served, returned hollow-eyed, their magic permanently damaged, their speech disordered. Guilt and despair gnawed at them until nothing human was left.
But Sirius’ notes told another story. He was not broken. If anything, he was intact. Whole in a way that contradicted everything Azkaban did to its inmates.
A line that stood out to Andromeda : Subject exhibits unusual resistance to Dementor-induced collapse. It kindled a ray of hope in her heart that maybe her cousin was innocent.
August 5, 1988. The Burrow
There wasn't much to smile about in Remus Lupin's life. It had been seven years since James and Lily’s deaths. Since Sirius betrayed them to Voldemort. Since Sirius killed Peter, along with those twelve innocent muggles. Since Remus's World was torn apart. He simply existed these days, doing wherever low paying Muggle job he could find in order to get by. A reason to smile had not come about in a long, long time.
And yet, he found himself smiling as he stood outside the Burrow. The home of the indomitable Weasleys. He hadn't been here since October 1981. There were a few changes here and there, but all in all the Burrow was still the same. Quaint, hodgepodge, ramshackle and undeniably comforting. A home that had been built with care affection, and housed a loving family.
"Remus Lupin!", exclaimed Molly Weasley, as she rushed to the gate and with a swish of her wand allowed the wards to ley him in. "I cannot believe how long its been!", she said as she hugged him. He hugged her back.
"And I cannot believe it took you so long to visit us! Seven years!", she added, an affectionate reprimanded that was vintage Molly.
"Sorry Molly! It's just..."
Remus was cut off when Arthur Weasley came out of the house and enveloped him into a bear hug.
"Remus! Good to see you old chap!" Arthur said in that same jolly tone Remus remembered.
"Well come inside. Dinner's nearly ready.", Molly said ushering both men indoors.
Remus had already met the older Weasley children. Bill and Charlie were ten and eight, when he'd last seen them. Percy was five. The twins were still toddlers. Ronald had been the same age as Harry, James and Lily’s boy. And Ginny was just a little baby.
Now the children sat with him at the table, all with trademark Weasley features. Remus felt a warmth in his chest at the pride with which Arthur narrated Bill, Charlie and Percy's achievements at Hogwarts. The twinkle in his eyes when he spoke of all the mischief the twins would get up to ans the new milestones of childhood Ron and Ginny were crossing.
At least this family had remained undamaged by the war.
“So, what have you been up to Remus? We’ve heard so little” Molly asked as she sat next to Arthur.
Remus hesitated, then decided honesty was best. “I live in the Muggle world mostly. No one there knows who.... what I am. And I do Muggle jobs. Odd jobs. Construction, deliveries, anything that doesn’t mind if I vanish once a month.” He forced a dry smile. "The wolf isn't exactly a model employee. But I'm able to get by."
Ron perked up and asked, "Can you really turn into a wolf?”
"Ronald!", Molly hissed before giving Remus an apologetic look.
He just smiled indulgently.
“It's fine Molly.", he said before turning to Ron, "No, not exactly. It’s less ‘turn into a wolf’ and more… ‘very grumpy monster with fur.’"
"Whoa!" the boy said, with wonder.
One of the twins, leaned forward and asked "Do you bite?".
Remus couldn't tell if it was Fred or George. Molly answered the question for him.
"Fred! Mind your manners!"
Remus shook his head at her and said, "Only when provoked. Or when someone takea the last treacle tart.”
This got a laugh from the children.
"Mum tells us you're an excellent duelist, Sir", said Bill, already as tall as his father and confident to boot.
"I did give Death Eatets some grief during the war."
He'd almost said that it was James whose dueling skills were the stuff of legend. But he stopped himself. What would be the point of reminding everyone of a tragedy at a time like this.
After dinner, Molly ordered the children to prepare for bed while she, Arthur and Remus sat in the drawing room and sipped sherry.
Remus was just telling Arthur about Muggle communication devices called telephones, when the door to one of the bedrooms opened.
And that's when he felt it. The scent was unmistakable.
Remus knew it immediately, but how could it be?
He was dead.
Remus tried to focus on what Molly was saying but that scent seemed to blot out everything else. He knew he wasn't mistaken, but this simply could not be.
He heard one of the children, Percy probably, shouting from upstairs "Mum have you seen Scabbers? His cage is empty and I can't find him anywhere."
"Check in your closets" Molly shouted back, "he likes to hide in them sometimes, doesn't he?"
"Umm... who's Scabbers?" Remus asked.
"Oh he's just our pet rat." Arthur told him.
And that's when it clicked.
"Arthur", Remus said while getting to his feet, "is this rat missing a toe?"
"Remus... what does.."
"Answer the question!" Remus snapped, harsher than he'd meant to.
"Yes. Yes he is." Molly told him, alarmed, "why do you ask? Remus.... you look pale."
"Then... he's alive." He whispered, more to himself than anyone else. Then turning to Arthur and Molly he said "we need to find that rat. That's Peter Pettigrew in his animagus form."
"Remus, Peter is dead." Molly said, even as she and Arthur stood up.
"I've been smelling his scent for the past fifteen minutes!" Remus exclaimed, "I thought it was impossible but... Molly, Arthur when Petigrew was thought to be dead in that explosion, only his toe was left behind. He cut off his own toe and faked his death."
The Weasleys quickly arrived at the same conclusion as him.
With a swish of her wand and a non verbal spell, Molly sealed all exits of the house. Every door and window slammed shut at once.
"Bill! Charlie! Percy!" Arthur called out in a tone Sirius had only heard him use during the war, "stop whatever you're doing and find Scabbers. Now!"
Arthur and the boys looked all over the house, while Remus and Molly went outside and to check the wards. The wards at the Burrow were equipped to detect even Animagi. However, they were also charmed to not hurt animals.
They heard the squealing of one of the pigs and ran towards it. Remus got there just in time to see Peter Pettigrew, very much alive, toss a pig over the wooden fence, creating an opening in the wards. With terrible swiftness he leapt through the opening before it would close. He turned into a rat immediately after, and ran into the woods nearby.
Molly, Arthur and Remus ran after him. They cast stunning spells but to no avail. The rat was gone.
Once inside, the three adults put the pieces of the puzzle together.
It was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed the Potters. It was he who cast that dark spell that killed those Muggles. It was he who had caused Sirius Black to be arrested for a crime he had committed.
Remus couldn't stop the tears that formed in his eyes as he thought of Padfoot. His Padfoot. Locked away on Azkaban for a crime he did not commit.
A wave of guilt and self loathing overcame him as he thought of how easily he had believed that Sirius could do something so vile. Sirius who had risked his life for his friends on so many occasions. Sirius who was Harry's godfather and loved that boy as if he was his own.
Remus felt a warm hand cover his. Molly. He looked up to see that her eyes were as moist ad his own.
"That bastard!" Arthur said in a low and dangerous tone that would have made Wormtail tremble had he heard it, "That bastard betrayed James and Lily. Killed those innocent people. Sirius is in jail because of him."
"We have to tell Dumbledore. Sirius's case needs to be re-opened, he needs a re-trial.", said Molly.
Remus agreed. But he could think of one more person who would be invested in securing Sirius’s freedom once she learned of his innocence.
August 6, 1988. The Tonks House
The parchment was smudged, old ink faded, but the runes were clear enough. The last spell cast by Sirius Black’s wand was a Disarming Charm. Not an explosive curse. Not the magic that would have shattered a street and left bodies scattered.
And beneath that, a Ministry note: Trace inconclusive — high magical interference. Assumed cause : Black’s curse.
Assumed cause.
Andromeda’s husband, Ministry employee, Ted Tonks, had called in many favour with Aurors to get her access to these spell records.
Her breath caught as she read. She checked the other file — Peter Pettigrew’s. His wand had been recorded as destroyed, and no spell trace was available. Rather Convenient, she thought.
The records didn’t prove Sirius’s innocence outright, but they cracked the certainty of the Ministry’s case. A Disarming Charm was not a killing spell. And if there had been interference — magical residue everywhere, signatures colliding — it was possible the Ministry hadn’t really known what had happened at all.
Could Sirius’s trial be called that at all?
Ted listened without interruption, as she told him of all that she had discovered. When she finished, he sat back, thoughtful.
“You’re saying he might be innocent?”
“I’m saying,” Andromeda replied, “that the Ministry wanted him guilty. And they didn’t bother to prove otherwise."
Then came the knock on the door.
"Remus? Remus Lupin!", Ted exclaimed, "after all these years." He shook hands with the man he had known from a distance, but whose strength he'd always respected.
"How have you been, Remus?" Andromeda asked with that same warm smile he remembered.
"I'm sorry for calling on you so suddenly. But there's something I have to tell you. You'd want to sit down for this."
The couple ushered Remus into their drawing room. He was greeted by their teenage daughter, Nymphadora. Though she made is clear she didn't like being called that when Andromeda introduced her. Remus had only seen her once before. She'd been a little girl then, and already in command of her Metamorphagus abilities.
Those skills seemed to have been sharpened now as her hair changed to a vibrant purple even as she spoke.
"You were in the Order of the Phoenix weren't you, Mr Lupin?", she asked with enthusiasm.
Remus replied in an affirmative.
The young lady clearly had many more questions, but unfortunately for her, her mother ordered her to go into her bedroom. The adults needed the room.
Nymphadora, or rather Tonks, complied, but not before turning her nose into an Eagle's beak, as a token protest.
"Spirited child" Remus commented, amused.
"Oh you have no idea.", said Ted.
As soon as Nymphadora was gone, Remus came straight to the point.
"Peter Pettigrew is alive. He was living with the Weasley's in his animagus form as their pet rat."
"By the gods!" Andromeda exclaimed, horrified.
Remus continued. "I sensed his presence when I was at the Burrow. And I think he sensed mine as well, which is why he ran. I saw him with my own eyes, in his human form. So did Arthur and Molly."
He waiting letting his words sink in.
"Andromeda, Ted.... you do realise what this means."
Andromeda’s eyes welled up.
"Sirius didn't do it." She said, pain and anger evident in her tone, "He's innocent. And none of us ever.... he's been rotting in Azkaban for years. For a crime he never committed."
"Remus, we've been looking into Sirius’s case.", Ted said, leaning forward, "We've found many inconsistencies with the story we were told. A lot of things just don't add up."
As her husband spoke, Andromeda rose to her feet, went into an adjacent room and came back with stacks of parchment.
"Look", she said opening Sirius’s hralth records and placing them before Remus, "He's sane. His mind hasn't been broken. Have you ever heard of such a thing? That anyone could resist the Dementors. That too for seven years."
As Remus cast his eyes on the health records, Andromeda pulled out the spell records. Which further cemented their theory.
"How long have you suspected?" He asked, looking at the woman who had once treated his Padfoot like a brother.
Andromeda looked down, gathering her thoughts before she replied.
"I began to truly question that ridiculous trial when I treated victims of the Dementor induced stupor. I saw how easily it could break a person. And I was just overcome with this morbid curiosity as to what they must have done to my cousin. Sirius was always so tough. So, I accessed his health records and found that his mind was whole. Then Ted was able to get me these spell records."
She lifted her gaze, looking at Remus with intent, "I want to file a petition for a re-trial. This time with the use of Veritaserum."
"Molly, Arthur and I have already decided that we're going to talk to Dumbledore and convince him to get Sirius another trial. Molly too suggested Veritaserum.", Remus told her, his fragile hope strengthening, "Dumbledore's accepted Molly's invitation to come to the Burrow. I came here to tell you two what we've learned and to ask if you'd like to be there as well, as Sirius’s cousin. But now, what with all the evidence you've gathered, I think it's imperative that you be there with us."
Andromeda and Ted exchanged a glace before she spoke, her voice filled with determination "We'll be there."
Her husband added, "And we are getting Sirius a fair trial."
August 11, 1988. The Burrow
The fireplace in the Burrow glowed emerald green as Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock, stepped out. The centenarian wizard brushed the ash off of his robes with a practiced elegance before regarding the four other individuals in the drawing room.
“Arthur, Molly, Remus, Andromeda,” he greeted, voice warm but measured. “How good to see you again. Now forgive me, but Molly's letter betrayed a sense of urgency. So I would assume that my invitation wasn't merely for a social visit."
Arthur, calm and firm said, “Albus… it’s about Sirius Black.”
The Warlock's eyes darkened.
"What of him?"
Remus spoke first. "We have found evidence of his innocence. The most compelling of which is that Peter Pettigrew is still alive."
That name struck sharper than Sirius’s.
“Peter Pettigrew died on that street in Muggle London, Remus." Dumbledore said, "His finger was all they ever found.”
"He cut off his own finger to fake his death, Albus", Molly spoke up, her disgust evident. "And for seven years he lived in his animagus form. Right here in our home, as our pet. For seven years he fooled us. He lived off of us, sharing rooms and beds with our children, playing with them eating out of their hands." She paused as if to contain the bile that rose in her throat. "All the while, an innocent man was locked up for a crime that rat committed."
Dumbledore's gaze turned to flint.
"I sensed him when I came here. It was unmistakable, his scent." Remus said, "His animagus senses alerted him of my presence as well, which is why he ran. We saw him."
"There was no mistaking, Albus", Arthur Weasley added, "it was Peter Pettigrew. We saw him as a man before he slipped out of our grasp."
Andromeda set a neat stack of parchment onto the coffee table, sliding it forward.
“I did my own digging. First, Azkaban health records." She tapped the top sheet. “Despite seven years in Azkaban, his mind is remarkably intact. Prison reports note agitation, obsession, mutterings about Pettigrew. But no true madness. Sirius remains sane."
Dumbledore listened quietly, his expression giving nothing away.
"A man wrongly imprisoned", Andromeda continued, "one clinging to the truth, to the knowledge of his innocence reads very differently from a Death Eater resigned to guilt.”
"I obtained wand records through contacts in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.", said Ted Tonks, showing Dumbledore the paperwork, "The supposed massacre, a dozen Muggles killed in one blast, was attributed to Sirius. But the wand records preserved from that day do not match the curses described. No Blasting Curse. No evidence of Fiendfyre, no high-level destructive charm. All they do show is a series of rapid, uncontrolled spells ending abruptly. As though one wand had been silenced… and another slipped away.”
To this Remus added, “Quite in line with Pettigrew’s little talent for vanishing.”
Dumbledore finally broke his silence.
“You bring serious charges. Pettigrew alive, Sirius’s health, the wand records. If all this is true, then the foundation of an infamous conviction crumbles. But I must ask, why bring this to me, instead of the Ministry?”
“Because the Ministry won’t listen to us,” Arthur said bitterly. “Fudge fears scandal more than injustice. If word spread that the Ministry imprisoned the wrong man without a trial, it makes the Minister look bad."
"But you as Chief Warlock can get Sirius a re-trial.", said Andromeda "A re-trial along with the administration of Veritaserum. All this evidence should he enough for it to be permitted. The Wizengamot will have to let Sirius go after they hear the truth, by means of an incorruptible truth potion."
"I'll never understand why they didn't just give him Veritaserum all those years ago." Molly said, quietly.
“If Pettigrew is alive" Albus Dumbledore observed, "then he is serving Voldemort still. And justice delayed is justice betrayed."
"All right. I will lend my name, my voice to your cause. Sirius Black shall have the trial he was denied.”
Molly exhaled sharply, tears springing to her eyes. Arthur clasped her hand tightly. Remus let out a long breath, relief breaking through the years of bitterness on his face.
Dumbledore rose to his feet, robes sweeping around him, “I will summon my allies in the Wizengamot, those who still value truth over expedience. We must move quickly. Pettigrew must be found, for he is the key. But even without him, as you said Andromeda, we have enough evidence to demand Sirius’s be allowed to take Veritaserum and tell the truth."
And for the first time in seven long years, hope for Sirius Black burned bright.
Despair and shock. They were the emotions that dominated Sirius Black’s heart for the first few months after he was dragged screaming into Azkaban.
This couldn’t be real. It was all a bad dream, he'd tell himself. A nightmare. Soon he'd wake up. He'd find himself in the guest bedroom at James and Lily’s house. He'd find that the snake looking bastard really was dead, but his friends were safe. Little Harry was safe. He'd tell them all about his nightmare and they'd all laugh and Lily would tell him how silly he was.
The thing about wishful thinking is that it only deepens your wounds after it's done fooling you.
How had this happened? Sirius would ask the cold walls of his cell. And why?
He'd laughed like a madman during his arrest. In his mind, he was reliving all his happiest memories with his best friends. They were all that held him together.
Sirius’s mind kept circling back to Peter Pettigrew. That wormy, craven little traitor. It was him. Sirius knew it. His beady little eyes confirmed it when they were finally face to face. And even then, Wormtail took the cowards way out. The bastard sent a monster into his best friend's home and didn't even have the balls to face the music.
Sirius had always known that Peter was a weak, spineless, little fool who had latched on to him, James and Remus for protection. If only he'd have imagined what Peter's weakness could drive him to do.
Sirius oscillated between blinding rage at Pettigrew, at Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and at his own stupidity. Why had he even entertained the notion that the coward of the group should be the secret keeper?
No one believed him. At that sham of a trial, he wasn’t even allowed to speak. A silencing charm suppressed his voice before he could demand Veritaserum. That no one else, no Wizengamot member had thought to administer it was shocking. Or perhaps, knowing how deep the rot of corruption went, it wasn't so shocking.
Sirius remembered seeing Andromeda in the benches. His cousin who had always treated him like a little brother. The tears and disappointment in her eyes. She looked at him as though she couldn't believe he had hidden a monster inside him for so long. Couldn't believe that she herself hadn't seen it until it was too late.
And Remus. Moony. His Moony. He looked utterly broken. As if the twin blow of losing three of his best friends and the devastating betrayal of another, had broken his spirit.
Sirius wanted to tell them. Wanted to scream that they mustn't believe what they'd heard. That it was all lies, he hadn't done it. That he would have embraced death, would have gladly endured hours of agony under the Crucistus than give up James and Lily.
As he was dragged away, Moony's eyes had burned a hole into him. How could you? they had asked him.
The Dementors did what they did. Their influence began corrupting his memories of his friends and his love. He couldn't recall their faces, their smiles and laughter without also seeing James and Lily’s dead bodies. He couldn't recall Moony's touch, the feel of his lips without also seeing that broken look in his beautiful eyes.
What kept him from slipping completely into hopelessness was his anger at those who took his friends away and at the Ministry of Magic. That corrupt organisation with its cumbersome procedures and the swine who ran it. Dishonest and callous gits, the lot of them. They'd never had any intention of giving him a fair trial. They were going to send him to Azkaban no matter what.
As if scratching at a scab and drawing blood in order to keep from fading, Sirius would cling on to his rage any time he felt the Dementors would sap him of his spirit. He'd scream, he'd growl like an animal. Often as Padfoot.
But there was something else that sustained him. Knowing that he was innocent. He hadn't betrayed his friends. He'd been a right wanker, he knew that. He'd done things as a young man that he could not look back upon without feeling shame. But for all the nonsense he'd pulled in his life, he'd never ever stoop so low as to stab James in the back. Never.
I'm innocent. I didn't do it. It was Petigrew. I'm innocent....
He'd repeat these words to himself like a Mantra.
There was also hope. Maybe Moony believed he was innocent. Maybe Andi would come to see him. Maybe Dumbledore would have uncovered the truth.
But the years crawled by and no one came.
At times, Sirius would think it was best to just give up and let the Dementors take him. What was the point of fighting? James and Lily were gone. Petigrew had taken his own life before Sirius could get his hands on him. Moony and Andi believed he was guilty. Dumbledore had clearly forgotten him.
What reason was there for him to go on?
Harry
His godson's memories were still fresh in Sirius's heart. He remembered the day Harry was born, with Lily’s eyes and James's smile. How tiny and fragile he was. The day he, James and Lillly were just sitting around chatting and the little bloke had started walking on his own. Their elation as they surrounded little Harry.
Sirius needed to believe that he'd see Harry again someday. He didn't know how, or when. But a day would come when he'd look his godson in the eye and tell him he hadn't betrayed his parents. He'd tell Harry that he loved him as if he was his own. And how the memories of Harry's toddlerhood had gotten Sirius through Azkaban.
He also knew that one day, he'd have to face James and Lily as well. And when he did, Sirius would tell them that their little boy was safe and happy. He'd tell them how he hadn't allowed Azkaban to break him so he could one day see Harry and know him safe.
Maybe.... maybe he'd find Remus too. He'd hold his Moony in his arms and tell him he was innocent.
Yes. These were all the reasons he needed to fight. To survive. To keep his mind intact no matter how hard those Dementors tried to break it.
He needed to hold on. For James. For Lily. For Harry. For Moony.
Then one day, Sirius saw the silvery shimmer of a Patronus approaching his cell. It was a horse. Accompanying it was an Auror.
"Sirius Black, you are to appear before the Wizengamot for a re-trial."
January 8, 1989. The Wizengamot Courtroom
The atrium of the Ministry of Magic hummed like a disturbed beehive. Witches and wizards pressed against the golden gates of the Wizengamot Courtroom, whispering, gasping, arguing in tight knots. And the name at the centre of it all.
Sirius Black.
For the past seven years, he had been the symbol of treachery. The one who betrayed the Boy Who Lived. The Voldemort loyalist who slaughtered thirteen innocents in a single blast. To see him alive, gaunt yet defiant, marched through the Ministry’s halls between two Aurors, that was a sight that unsettled many.
High above, the doors of Courtroom Ten swung open. Inside, the great circular chamber filled with robed figures settling into their seats. Purple robes glimmered under enchanted torches.
At the highest bench, sat Albus Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock. His expression calm, his eyes watchful.
Directly opposite him, Lucius Malfoy was seated. His silver-blond hair caught the light, his cane with it's snake head handle, rested lightly by his side. His high cheekbones and pale blue eyes lent an additional coldness to a smile that could freeze one's blood.
And then Sirius was brought in shackled and nearly emaciated. He did walk with the same swagger though. That Azkaban hadn't hammered out of him. His dark eyes flicked up, caught Dumbledore’s for a heartbeat, and then swept the chamber with obvious contempt.
His eyes caught the familiar faces in the benches. Andromeda and Ted. Did his cousin still think him guilty?
And Remus. He looked as though he wanted to jump out of his seat and run to Sirius.
Sirius regarded him with ice in his stare. As he did everyone else.
The chains rattled as he dropped into the chair. He gave a sharp bark of laughter.
“A trial, eh?,” he muttered, loud enough for the nearest rows to hear. “Is this going to be just another sham like the last one?"
The murmurs became audible.
Dumbledore raised his voice. “This court convenes to address a grave matter of justice long denied. Sirius Orion Black stands accused of the following crimes: betrayal of James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort resulting in their deaths, aiding Lord Voldemort, and the murder of twelve Muggles and one wizard named Peter Pettigrew. He has spent the last seven years in Azkaban without the benefit of a fair trial. But today, the truth shall be heard.”
Lucius Malfoy rose gracefully to his feet, bowing his head in a parody of respect.
“Chief Warlock, before we waste precious time reopening old wounds, I must object.", he said in his signature drawl. "The prisoner was apprehended at the scene of his crime. The evidence was overwhelming. To drag the Wizengamot into a spectacle will only undermine the Ministry’s credibility.”
A murmur of agreement echoed from some benches.
But Andromeda Tonks stood from the observers’ gallery, her voice clear and ringing.
“With respect, Lord Malfoy, but what credibility? A man was imprisoned without a fair trial. That is an affront to every principle of our laws. If the Ministry’s reputation suffers, it is from that injustice, not from seeking to correct it.”
Lucius’s smile thinned.
Dumbledore’s gavel struck once. “The objection is noted and overruled. This court shall proceed.”
A Ministry prosecutor, a middle aged witch, read the charges again, painting the familiar picture of Sirius’s guilt.
When she sat down, Lucius rose again.
“Members of the Wizengamot, I beg you to put an end to this nonsense. What message do we send if we unravel our justice system because of whispers and fanciful conjecture? That the word of a werewolf and some conveniently produced documents outweigh what so many wizards know to be true?”
He paused for effect. “Black was Voldemort’s spy. He'd been secretly working for him for quite some time. He was the Potter's Secret Keeper, and the only way the Dark Lord could have entered that home would be if Sirius Black allowed it."
Dumbledore inclined his head toward Remus Lupin. “The defense may call its witnesses.”
Remus stood, pale but steady. His voice carried a quiet intensity.
“Seven years ago, I believed Sirius guilty. I hated him for it. But recently, in the Weasley home, I sensed Peter Pettigrew’s presence. His scent, his heartbeat, his magic—it was him, hiding as a rat. Mr and Mrs Weasley and I saw him in his human form as he escaped."
“Preposterous,” Lucius cut in, “Are we expected to take the word of a creature who isn't even human? Whose condition clouds his judgment?"
“Enough.” Dumbledore’s voice cracked like a whip. His blue eyes pinned Lucius. “Might is remind you Lord Malfoy that this witness is sworn."
Remus held Lucius’s gaze and did not flinch.
One after the other, Molly and Arthur Weasley also took the stand. They corroborated Remus's testimony, telling the Wizengamot how Pettigrew lived in their home as a rat. As their beloved pet, Scabbers. How he made his escape as soon as he sensed Remus Lupin's presence in their home. How they saw him as himself as he got away from them.
Then Healer Andromeda Tonks stepped forward and placed her stack of parchment on the evidence stand. Her voice calm and clear as she spoke.
“Exhibit A : Azkaban records. Despite being exposed to Dementors for seven years, Sirius Black’s mind is intact. A guilty man consumed by Dementors collapses into madness. Sirius endured because he clung to one truth, his innocence.”
She flipped to the next. “Exhibit B : Ministry wand records. On the day of the explosion, Sirius’s wand registered no Blasting Curse. No wide-area hex. Only disarmament charms, shield charms, and one Stunner. Such spells could not have caused a massacre."
The chamber erupted in whispers.
Andromeda’s went on, “If Pettigrew is alive, as testimony indicates he is, then this entire conviction collapses. We cannot condemn a man for crimes another committed.”
Sirius was eerily calm. Simply watching the proceedings, with his countenance revealing no emotion.
Lucius Malfoy rose again, cool and composed. “Intriguing. But let us think logically, esteemed Members of the Wizengamot. Does it not strike you as convenient that evidence surfaces now, after seven years? And how easy to claim that Pettigrew lives when he cannot be produced. How easy to forge records with sympathetic allies in the Ministry.”
He swept the chamber with his gaze,
“This isn't justice, but subterfuge. If we free Black, we arm the enemy. We damage the reputation of this great institution. Public trust will crumble. Do we truly wish to gamble our safety on the word of a werewolf and a disinherited Black?” Those last two words were spoken with a subtle sort of disgust that Lucius seemed to have mastered.
A low rumble of assent circled the benches. Lucius sat down, effortlessly smug.
Andromeda rose, and spoke again.
"We do not expect this Courtroom to release Sirius Black on the bases of these evidences and testimonies alone. We ask that he be given a dose of Veritaserum. Let the truth come out of his own mouth."
The Chief Warlock spoke.
"I would ask the Wizengamot to vote on this request. Surely the evidence is sufficient to allow for the accused to take the truth potion."
The Wizards and Witches on the bench convened, and a few minutes later a piece of parchment was given to Dumbledore.
On reading it, he announced "Permission granted!".
For the twenty minutes that it too for the potion to be administered and take effect, it seemed every breath in the Courtroom was held. Remus never took his eyes off Sirius.
Once he was deemed fit to be questioned, Sirius Black was made to stand before the Chief Warlock.
"Sirius Black, were you the Secret Keeper for the Potter family’s home at the time of their death in 1981?" Dumbledore asked.
"No. I was not.", came Sirius’s voice, rough but clear. "Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper."
"Did you act as Voldemort’s spy, or assist him in any way?"
"No. Never."
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles on the 2nd of November, 1981?"
"No. I did not. Peter Pettigrew cast that Blasting Curse."
The Chief Warlock rose to his feet.
“Sirius Black was once denied a proper trial, an outrage against our laws. Today we have heard testimony, seen records, and heard truth that cannot be denied. Now we may choose to cling to fear, or we may choose to honor justice. If we condemn a man without trial, if we silence truth because it is inconvenient, then we are no better than those we claim to fight. The Ministry’s credibility rests not on hiding its mistakes, but on admitting them.”
The gavel struck. “We proceed to deliberation.”
The Wizengamot conferred in hushed voices, the chamber thick with tension. Lucius moved from bench to bench like a serpent, whispering, coaxing.
Sirius lounged back, mask of indifference failing to hide the tremor in his jaw.
At last, when Dumbledore called for the vote, one by one, wizards raised their wands.
The tally glowed in midair, silver runes flickering. Gasps rippled as the numbers climbed.
Innocent.
A majority. Clear and undeniable.
Dumbledore’s voice rang out. “By the will of the Wizengamot, Sirius Orion Black is acquitted of all charges.”
The chains snapped from the chair, clattering to the floor. Sirius staggered to his feet, rubbing his wrists.
Lucius Malfoy’s smile was gone, his face pale with fury.
Andromeda couldn't stop her tears from falling, even as Ted had an arm around her. Remus closed his eyes, relief flooding his worn features.
Dumbledore raised the gavel once more. “Let it be known that justice, though delayed, has not been denied. This session is adjourned.”
Sirius Black walked free at last.