"Unfortunately the reason that Snape went to Remus' office was that he had brewed the Wolfsbane potion for Remus and was bringing him a dose. In his eagerness to capture me he left the potion in Remus' office. Within moments of us leaving the Shrieking Shack, Remus transformed. I turned into my dog form to fight him off and somewhere along the line Pettigrew escaped. Remus ran off into the forest and my last memory is of being slumped over at the edge of the lake with Harry and Hermione standing over me trying to cast the patronus charm.
"So Snape never actually saw Pettigrew?" prompted Amelia.
Sirius shook his head ruefully. "We should have bound him in ropes and forces him to wake up and see the truth for himself."
"And what of your escape?" asked Scrimgeour.
"I woke up locked inside Professor Flitwick's office. I knew that the Dementors were being sent for and I didn't have a lot of hope of escaping. So, you can probably imagine my surprise when Harry and Hermione turned up outside the window on the back of a Hippogriff. They broke me out and we flew up to the Astronomy Tower where they got off. We said our goodbyes and I flew off with the Hippogriff."
"Would that Hippogriff be the same one that just hours earlier had escaped before the execution order against it could be carried out?" queried Scrimgeour.
"Correct," answered Sirius. According to Harry, Buckbeak was only sentenced to death because Lucius Malfoy's son didn't pay attention in their Care of Magical Creatures class and got himself hurt as a result. Lucius then threw his name around along with a bit of gold and bullied the members of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures into doing what he wanted them to. Harry doesn't take too kindly the innocent being sentenced to death."
"Well, Mr Black, your story corroborates with what Harry Potter told us so I believe we have enough evidence to get your case heard before the Wizengamot." explained Amelia. "Just to be sure we will also be getting testimonies from Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. We will also be getting a full and truthful account out of Severus Snape. If he does indeed confirm that he was unconscious during the majority of the events in the Shrieking Shack then we can add more charges to him when his trial comes around. I would also like to speak with Remus Lupin about that night and contact both Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore about their actions on the night that James and Lily were killed. However, those three appear to have vanished off the face of the earth."
"Madam Bones, I have answered all of your questions," replied Sirius. "Please return the favour. What is going on with The Order of the Phoenix?"
The sun had not even begun to think about rising in the sky when Harry was shaken awake from his slumber by Sarah.
"We got an owl from Amelia," she said by way of explanation. "Sirius was captured earlier in Hogsmeade. She and Rufus Scrimgeour are interviewing him now. They're hoping to get him a trial tomorrow morning, before the rest of The Order of the Phoenix get their trials."
Harry sat up in his bed and grabbed his glassed off of his bedside cabinet.
"Good," he replied as he put them on. "It's about time he was freed."
"I woke you up because once they're done with Sirius they want you to go to the Ministry and provide your own testimony." said Sarah. "I know that you have told Amelia everything you know about Sirius already but this time it will all be official. Go get yourself cleaned up and then I'll take you to the Ministry."
When Amelia finished telling Sirius exactly what had been going on, the former Azkaban inmate was seething.
"How dare that whiskered old wanker do this? Who the f*ck does he think he is?"
"All questions that we would like him to answer as well, I can assure you," said Amelia. "In many ways The Order of the Phoenix is just as bad as the Death Eaters. Although we have no evidence that any of them have ever committed murder, some of their actions are equally vile and while the Death Eaters justify their actions with claims of the importance of Blood Purity, The Order carry out their actions in the name of Dumbledore's nebulous Greater Good. Not only that, but many of them follow Dumbledore because he has something on them that he could use against them. They do his bidding rather than face up to what they did."
Sirius slumped forward in his seat and buried his face in his hands. "But this is Dumbledore we're talking about…"
"That's the mentality, Sirius," said Rufus. "I see it has been getting to you too. Think about it Sirius, Dumbledore knew of your innocence over a year ago. Until a few months ago he was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. During that time he did not once come to either myself or Amelia to present any evidence of your innocence."
Amelia then added "Kingsley Shacklebolt was the Auror in charge of the mission to track you down. He knew of your innocence once he joined the Order and yet rather than bring this to our attention he instead chose to waste Ministry time, money, manpower and other resources by sending Aurors on a wild goose chase in Tibet. Dumbledore knew you were innocent and that you did not get a proper trial and yet he has done nothing to push the matter with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Cornelius Fudge would not have had the authority to order my Department to stop any investigation and Dumbledore knows it. Instead he chose to keep the matter quiet, leaving you officially a criminal on the run and therefore unable to attempt to have yourself declared Harry Potter's guardian."
Sirius was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Remus Lupin is trying to make contact with the werewolf packs. Dumbledore wanted him to try and convince them not to side with Voldemort's forces in the coming war. Hagrid is somewhere in France. He was working with Madam Maxime of the Beauxbatons Academy in order to try and make contact with the Giant colonies, for the same reasons as Remus was sent to the Werewolves."
"I see," said Amelia. "Are you sure Dumbledore was trying to get them to stay out of the war and that he wasn't trying to recruit them for his own cause?"
Sirius shook his head. "As far as I know, it was just about keeping them out of things. We were getting a bit worried about Hagrid though – he was supposed to return before the new school year started so as to not arouse suspicion. We heard from Madam Maxime a few weeks ago. She had returned to Beauxbatons but she had Hagrid had been forced to part ways."
"Has Dumbledore sent anyone to look for Hagrid?"
"No,"
Rufus pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "Everyone was so disparaging of Ludo Bagman last year for not sending someone to look for Bertha Jorkins and now Dumbledore has gone and done the same thing."
"I'm afraid that we don't have the resources to do anything about it now," said Amelia. "We're stretched thin as it is. We've got people here organising the trials, we've got others on the lookout for Dumbledore and we've got people looking out for Malfoy and his ilk."
Sirius looked up at that. "Malfoy? Lucius Malfoy?"
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