"No, you came just in time—"
sitting by the door, Hagrid bellowed as he reached out to pull William inside. The door slammed shut, isolating the chilly air from the Scottish Highlands. In the corner, the fire in the fireplace flickered slowly and powerfully, much like how Sirius occasionally lifted the corners of his mouth.
The small... for Hagrid, it was indeed a bit cramped... room was stuffed with six or seven people, so full that William almost couldn't find a spot to sit.
Hagrid occupied nearly half the space alone while sitting on a chair by the door. Neville and Ron were squeezed in front of the fireplace warming themselves, with a game of Wizard Chess between them. Hermione sat by the bed, cradling a self-made "Five Three" book by William, clearly getting wrapped up in her studies—
On the other side, Sirius and Harry were sitting across from each other at a table slightly too large for them. Lupin was also seated on the bed, and upon seeing William, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and got up.
"Meow~~~"
Just as William sat down, Crookshanks, with its big round face, approached him. It sniffed William, ensuring no Niffler was present. Only then did it boldly knead on William's lap.
Although it's ugly, at least it's pleasant to touch.
William evaluated in his heart as he rubbed Crookshanks's belly. Indeed, stroking a long-haired cat felt quite nice. With this in mind, he turned Crookshanks's large round face away, "out of sight, out of mind."
But Hermione, apparently, wasn't bothered by her cat's looks. She leaned over, scratching Crookshanks's whiskers while reading physics problems, causing the cat to sneeze uncontrollably.
"What were you all talking about?"
William looked up, directing his gaze towards the room's center. Harry and Sirius were crossing arms, "pouring out their hearts," which led him to ask earlier, "Did I come at a bad time?" as the room's atmosphere was rather strange.
"... Recognition ceremony?"
Hermione succinctly summarized, but William furrowed his brow in confusion, "Uh... didn't you do that two days ago?" William referred to when he and Lupin left early, leaving only Harry and Sirius in the Headmaster's Office. They should have already finished bonding.
"It was more of a truth reveal."
Lupin, leaning on Hagrid's nightstand, folded his arms and said stoically.
"What's wrong with you?"
"... I can't explain it to this fool, you explain it to him."
Lupin sighed, pointed to Sirius, and left a cryptic remark before pulling his scarf snugly around his neck and swiftly exiting the small room. The space, once stiflingly tight, felt more open after Lupin departed.
"Hey! Who are you calling a..."
Sirius attempted to chase after Lupin to demand an explanation, only to nearly get his nose smacked by the heavily shut wooden door, causing him to step back in fear.
"So, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing Sirius looking significantly better than two days ago, William asked with a cheerful grin.
"..."
Gazing at William's smirk, Sirius swallowed his retorts. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a ghostly tone, "Could you... not smile so creepily?" he said, feeling goosebumps rise all over his body.
Ugh, seeing that smile now, he couldn't help but recall the evening he was caught a few days ago.
That same smile relentlessly loomed in the distance, unable to be evaded or shaken off, it hauntingly clung like a ghost... Even now, he still had some traumatic shadows of it, the kind of nightmares that jarred him awake at night.
"Mr. Black might have some issues with Professor Dumbledore—"
Hermione helpfully stepped in as the note-taker again, recounting everything to William just as it happened.
In short, Lupin had attempted for the Nth time to explain to Sirius why Dumbledore's attitude was off a few days ago, adding that during the upcoming hearing and subsequent Wizengamot meeting, Dumbledore would attend, but might not fully back him, at least not publicly—
But Sirius's stance was all about emphasizing a strong "I won't listen, I won't listen!" all but covering his ears in protest.
This left Lupin feeling like his previous explanations were a waste of breath.
Hence his passionate exit—
Then, Harry and the others arrived, and reminiscing ensued—Hermione knew it so well because Lupin had told her.
But as William understood the situation and the protagonist was about to speak, Sirius just sneered, "I know, I'm not an idiot..." Before he could finish, he saw William looking at him with what seemed like... pity (?).
The man instantly became annoyed. Just as he was about to retort, he was choked back by the curve of William's mouth, leaving him to cough heavily twice.
Dammit, this guy is totally a jinx to me...
Sirius started to curse inwardly, but he couldn't show it on the surface. In the end, he could only take a deep breath, "I know why Dumbledore did what he did. I'm very clear he's always been on my side..."
That's stubbornness, William could tell.
That afternoon, when Dumbledore seemed to believe Peter Pettigrew's words, he noticed Sirius's expression, as if the sky had fallen.
But William didn't speak up; he listened as Sirius continued, "...I knew from ten years ago. I could feel that as long as I stated one reason to avoid imprisonment, Dumbledore would definitely assist me wholeheartedly in investigating—"
"Then why did you..."
"Because I regretted it at that time. It was me who suggested changing the secret keeper, Harry. It was me who recommended that the vermin Peter replace me. I thought he was loyal. We were friends for at least a dozen years. We attended your parents' wedding together... We, we witnessed your birth together."
Sirius's emotions grew more and more forlorn with each word, "But I was wrong. I didn't expect him to be a traitor. But I thought I had killed him, that I had avenged your parents. But I couldn't bring myself to see them again... So I 'escaped' to Azkaban."
"Oh, you sure picked a place to escape to—"
William raised an eyebrow, breaking the somber atmosphere that had finally brewed in the room. Hearing his words, Hagrid, who was almost about to shed tears, nearly choked. He loosened his hold on Fluffy, who had been pinned to his lap for nail trimming, and Fluffy quickly fled to hide behind William.
Harry and Sirius's emotions were affected too; the two who had been on the verge of tears quickly averted their gaze from each other and returned to their seats.
"Anyway, I know Dumbledore's situation is tough. He really wanted to save me back then..."
"But you feel you've let him down."
"Yes, I've betrayed Dumbledore and their trust, I..."
Sirius took a breath, seemingly unable to continue, and Harry quickly reached out to pat his godfather's back.
"Alright, as long as you understand. Although I also think Dumbledore's tactics are too complicated, I don't plan to make enemies with the world."
William shrugged. Although punching Fudge in the face was indeed satisfying, the subsequent 'cleanup work' also cost him plenty of trouble. The Ministry of Magic isn't just ruled by the Minister alone. Otherwise, why would he be so eager to solve the Sirius problem?
Ten-odd people can form a small society of sorts, let alone the entire Magic Realm of the United Kingdom—
He genuinely doesn't want to be any kind of Dark Lord. This time he intervened because he saw Harry's state and was feeling off himself, so he simply decided to stand up for them. William has no interest in politics; he'd rather focus on research and emerge when he's at the peak of his power to flaunt.
"But still, there's a need for some tactics—"
William shifted his focus, then pulled a stack of parchment from his pocket, organizing it, "Here's... wait a moment, I need to confirm, you really plan to deal with Peter Pettigrew, don't you?" William's voice fell, and the room fell silent for a moment. The 'Queen' held by Ron became a bit agitated and slammed the book in her hand against Ron's fingernail, causing the boy to cry out in pain.
"...Of course!"
Sirius was momentarily stunned but didn't hesitate, answering firmly.
"That's settled then. Don't turn back later, reminiscing about your old friendships, leaving me running around like a clown."
William nodded, saying while handing the parchment to Sirius, "Here, this is what Dumbledore and I prepared for your speech and questions at Wizengamot. Old Bee will be the moderator and will give you the chance."
Originally, Dumbledore wasn't likely to take that position; there would be great resistance. But who would've thought the Minister of Magic had already been 'brought over'?
"...Won't this be a bit too much trouble?"
Looking at the stack of parchment rolled up longer than his leg, Sirius was silent for a moment, "Also, I feel this thing shouldn't encounter too many surprises—"
"Normally, yes, Peter Pettigrew will be smoothly sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in Azkaban—"
"..."
"Like he said, I used Veritaserum for a simple 'interrogation'. The amount of information about Death Eaters in his mind is more than we expected. Your old friend's Animagus form is truly perfect for snooping on secrets—just a bit of it is entirely enough for him to 'redeem himself'."
"Are you suggesting... to keep him quiet?"
"No, of course not. On the contrary, you need to find a way to get him to spill everything he knows to save himself—"
"...Why?"
"Because if he reveals too much, the number of people who want him dead won't just be limited to us."
William explained with a smile, but Sirius stared at him blankly... Damn, are all these schemers really so dirty?