Chapter Text
“Are you sure this will—”
“It’ll work Evans, You know it will. You’ll all be safe. This will all be over soon and I’ll be teaching Harry curse words in Italian. Don’t worry about your family.”
“I think she’s worried about you, Padfoot.”
“Don’t, I’ll be fine. Come on, you know me! You’ll be back to seeing my beautiful face soon enough.”
“Will we, Star?”
“He’ll be fine, love. What do you expect? It’s Sirius.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Sirius woke, screaming. He screamed at the dementors, angry that they'd pulled that memory from him. He screamed knowing that no one could hear him. There were too many voices. That’s what happened when the dementors made their rounds. Sirius turned into his animagus form and the terror lessened slightly. He breathed a sigh of relief and curled into a ball, trying to remember the better memories.
“Come on,” Sirius cajoled. “You can do it, Harry. Say it. Say Padfoot, will you?”
“Mama,” said Harry.
“Well, that’s just rude, I look nothing like your Mother,” Sirius scoffed. “I look much better. I mean her fashion sense is just terri—”
“I think he was pointing at me,” Lily said dryly.
Sirius sighed and handed Harry over to Evans. He tapped his foot impatiently.
“No matter how much you pout and whine, Harry isn’t going to just say your name. I don’t know why you’re so worried about it, Star. He’s only five months old.”
“He can say your name and James!”
“They aren’t terribly hard to say, you know.”
Sirius threw himself over the couch and pouted. Remus came in with tea and biscuits with a book under his arm. Remus nudged Sirius to budge over so he could sit on the couch as well.
“Moo!” Harry laughed as Lily put him in Remus’s lap while she stirred tea.
“He can say your name?! Harry, mate. You’re killing me here. I’m wounded. I’m dying, practically on my deathbed. Just say my name once before I go. It’s all I need. Padfoot. Pads. Go on.”
Harry laughed delightedly as Sirius pretended to be dying on the couch. Sirius smiled at the sound. He closed his eyes and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Remus put Harry on Sirius’s chest and he immediately gave Sirius a hug, squealing. Sirius immediately brought his arms around the tiny baby. The warmth spread through his chest at Harry’s giggles.
“It’s alright, Harry,” Sirius whispered. “You’ll get it one day, mate.”
Harry’s green eyes stared into Sirius’s and he started to smile. It really was a rather beautiful smile, even without the teeth, but—
“SIRIUS!”
Sirius got pulled from his thoughts with the sound of his name. He went back to his human form and let out a breath as he felt the pressure of depression that seemed to permeate the air of the place. They must charm it to feel that way. It can’t just be the dementors.
“Bella!” he responded with a smile. “How is my lovely murderous cousin doing? Oh no, sorry, that’s Narcissa, isn’t it? Have you seen her recently, Bells?”
Bellatrix screamed and Sirius heard her crashing against the bars. He knew the dementors would come soon when they felt his amusement. He knew it was fruitless to goad Bellatrix, but he found it was better than just ignoring her. She had done terrible crimes. To his friends. She deserved to be here. Yet she was also one of the few who could hold their train of thought for longer than a few seconds. If he was careful on the better days, when Bellatrix was semi-coherent, he could convince her they were kids again. It didn’t happen as often anymore. He wished he could keep his emotions inside, wished that he didn’t get a sense of twisted happiness when Bellatrix was sane enough to hold a conversation.
“Hello?” Bella called. “Is anyone there?”
“Bella, is that you?” Sirius replied, hoping this was one of the better days. He was in luck.
“Sirius, what the hell are you doing at the house? You’re meant to be at the ball. It isyour birthday, isn’t it?
Pretty important one. At least, that’s what Cissy is saying. I don’t see why she’s so excited. We’ll have to suffer through your improvident behavior at school now, as well.”
“Oh, is it my eleventh birthday?” Sirius asked, genuinely surprised that Bella would regress that far back.
“Obviously.”
“Apologies, dear cousin. I’ll try to improve my thoughtless actions.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You never do.”
“Have you placed a glamour on this godforsaken room? It looks nothing like the cellar…of course you did, no one else could make it look so disconsolate.”
“What’s with all the vocabulary words?”
“Would you rather me speak in Japanese?” she asked, quickly switching to Cantonese instead. “When’s the last time you practiced? Your Mother would be furious if she found us speaking english, you know.”
“I’m not a child, Bells,” Sirius replied in lazy Italian.
“Maybe not, just an annoying, spoiled brat who never seems to have enough,” she smirked, switching to French. “Do you think it’s easy knowing that I have to see your repugnant face every day?”
“Dear me, cousin,” Sirius drawled in Latin, wondering how many languages she could remember in this state. “How many languages must we go through today?”
“Latin, really?” Bella scoffed, moving onto Greek. “A two year old could pick up those languages. You’re just a supercilious eleven year old.”
“I’m 30 years old, Bella,” Sirius responded, tiredly in Greek.
“Right,” she scoffed, finally going back to English. “And I’m a squirrel named Sparkles.”
Sirius laughed and immediately regretted it. The warm feeling in his chest faded as four dementors glided toward their cells. Sirius transformed, trying to lesson the effects of the four dementors, but Bellatrix had no such protection.
“NO! Leave me alone! Who are you? Run, Sirius. I’ll fight them off. They—they…My Lord. I’ll—I’ll get them for you. No, I wasn’t talking to Sirius. He’s a blood traitor. I serve only you my lord. NO! Please, please…”
She screamed and laughed and cried.
“Sirius!” she screamed, and he knew that Bellatrix was gone. “They’re coming to get you! No—no, I’m sorry, My Lord. I’ll kill them. I will. For you. No. Please, My Lord. PLEASE! NO!”
That had happened after the third year in Azkaban. She would always refer to Sirius as a child and every time Sirius would try to keep his emotions in check. He tried to prolong the conversation as long as he could. Sirius may despise his cousin for what she did, but having someone to talk to was better than stewing in his own memories.
“Sirius!” she yelled again. “You’ve let the frogs loose again! They—your…kill them. Kill the frogs! Ha ha ha ha.”
How the great can fall. Bellatrix used to be beautiful. She used to speak with grace and power. Azkaban had taken everything from her...well, taken anything she had clutched onto before Voldemort’s downfall. She sat in wait for a master that would never come.
“He’s going to come for us, you know,” she cooed. “He’ll come for us all. We will be honored above all else.”
“For the last time,” said Sirius with an air of impatience. “I wasn’t the spy, I didn’t kill those muggles, and Peter…he didn’t die because of me.”
“Take pride in it, you fool. Those muggles deserved it. They did it. It’s their fault. Their fault. The mud of the earth. Dead. All of them. Die. Dying…”
She started muttering again and Sirius sat back against the wall. He loathed Bellatrix. She killed and she tortured people without remorse. She did it because she had to, just to please her master.
“Why couldn’t I have been alone?” Sirius asked no one in particular.
He didn’t really wish it, though. Even with Sirius’ feelings towards his cousin, he also knew the affects it would have on his brain if he weren’t to talk at all for 12 years. He had to keep sane and the only way to do that was to count out loud or practice wand movements. He went through the instructions on how to make a pepper-up potion. No one paid attention. No one would notice him making odd motions or dancing around his cell. No one could.
They were all in their own worlds, trying to make sense of their fractured mings. There were the screams of people who had gotten placed too close to the dementors and were forced to relive every horrid moment in their lives. There were the screams of the normal nightmares and since most of the people there were Death Eaters, it wasn’t exactly hard to imagine what their nightmares were about. Then there was the ever-present muttering of the insane. No, there weren’t people to talk to. There was silence in the cacophony of voices.
“You’ll never get out of here, Sirius.”
Sirius jumped a bit. It was the quietest he had heard Bellatrix talk in a very long time. She even sounded somewhat sane.
“Why do you think that, Trixie?”
“Don’t call me that, you dog.”
“It’s not really an insult, Trix, if it’s true. I am a dog.”
“You’re an idiot. You’ll never get out of here, you know.”
“What makes you think I want to? Obviously, I’m trying to spend some quality time with my dear cousin.”
“Poor baby screams in his sleep. ‘Save them! Save them!’ It doesn’t sound like you ever do. Your friends are dead. No one is coming to help you, pet.”
“My friends are not dead…not all of them.”
Sirius tried to sink back into his good memories, but his thoughts turned to how his friends must be dead. They wouldn’t have left him here for this long if they weren’t, right? Unless they believed it. Unless they believed the story that he had created himself. His fault. Stupid.
“How are you so sure, Sirius? Your little Potted plants seem to be growing weeds over their bodies. Their graves are molding, baby cousin. Did you know I put those stupid blood-traitor friends of yours into a scramble looking for you. I guess I was wrong. I guess you weren’t the spy. But your friends? Your friends are dead.”
“They’re not dead!”Sirius shouted.
“Ooh, baby is mad,” she cooed. “Wittle ickle Siwius finks his fwends haven’t abandoned him. Well, guess what?! THEY HAVEN’T COME TO SAVE YOU!!”
She burst into a fit of giggles while Sirius raged. They weren’t dead. They? Who was left? Surely Molly and Arthur were alive…At least their children, right? Severus was going to teach at Hogwarts after his internship, wasn’t he? Alice and Frank. Neville was Harry’s age. Harry. Which of his friends had died while he wasted away in his own personal hell? Why had no one visited him or sent him letters? He knew that there were prisoners who got them. It was rare, but it happened. Barty Crouch Sr. had visited his son before Jr. died just from the weight of this place. Preston Parkinson had gotten letters from his niece and siblings. Could they be dead? Could all his friends be dead?
Not all of them. Not Rem—he couldn’t have died. Not him. Sirius didn’t want to think about him. He didn’t want to think of his best friend dead. The only one left. He couldn’t have died.
“I asked them about you,” Bellatrix whispered happily. Sirius tried to ignore her. “The mousy girl and her stupid friend. Oh, they screamed. They cried and they cried and they cried, but they mentioned you. Yes, Sirius, your last friends in the entire world. They mentioned you. Do you want to know what they said?”
Sirius remained silent. He didn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that he was scared of what she’d say about Alice and Frank.
“They said that you should rot in hell for what you did to the Potters. They said that you were a coward. They told me to tell you, Sirius. They wanted you to know how utterly worthless you were to them. Shhhh. This is my favorite bit, Sirius. The girl kept screaming for a pretty flower. ‘Lily, save me! Save me, Lily, please. It hurts, Lily. Make it stop.’”
She laughed and Sirius bit at his lip until it bled. He didn’t notice the tears running down his face until he was in a ball on the floor. They had thought it was his fault. They all did. That’s why no one had come for him. They hated him just as much as Alice and Frank. No one wrote him letters because they thought he was a murderer. What had he done? Tears fell silently, as he stared at the wall. He tried to remember a world that didn’t hate him. He tried to remember his friends and Harry, but it made him feel worse. He was supposed to take care of Harry. Alice and Frank would have taken him in, but they were lost to a different hell. It was his family’s fault. His blood. How could Sirius blame anyone when they were right? His family was despicable; vile. Every piece of evidence pointed towards him. His fault. My fault.
Remus wouldn’t hate me, Sirius thought fiercely. But the alternative was worse. Remus couldn’t be dead, but if he didn’t hate him and he wasn’t dead, then where was he? Ten years in Azkaban. Sirius had been ready for torture. He had been ready to be hurt and bloodied and killed by his own family. He had been ready and he told Lily and James that it was the best plan of action. How could he be so stupid? How could he not have known? It was his fault. Sirius had allowed Peter to become secret keeper. He had forced James and Lily to make it so. It was his fault. He deserved to be in Azkaban. Deserved this.
Harry was still out there, though. Harry, at the least, should know the truth about his parent’s death. Sirius couldn’t bear the thought of the boy thinking his own godfather killed his parents. They’re gone. Dinner shift came around and screams sounded throughout the prison. Sirius ate his tasteless food and stared at nothing. It was odd. Something in the air was off. Sirius sat up straight, trying to pinpoint the odd feeling. It wasn’t sad which was why it caught Sirius’s attention. It was something other than pain. Hope, his mind placed after a minute.
Behind him, a silvery lynx prowled around his cell. Sirius gasped. It was a patronus.
“Sirius Black, on this day, the 22nd of June, 1992, there has been new evidence added to your case. You will have a trial on the 28th of June.”
The patronus burst into smoke and the feeling of hope and safety, faded. The words lingered in Sirius’s head. Singing like a choir. He’d be getting a trial. That’s all it would take. That’s all he needed to prove his innocence. Someone had given him a trial.
“What was that?” Bellatrix demanded.
“That, dear Trixie,” Sirius laughed. “That was my friends saving me.”
“Impossible!” she shrieked. “They’re dead. They’re all dead! There’s no one left.”
“Well, you’re obviously mistaken. I’ll be getting out of here quite soon, I should think. Is there anything you’d like from the outside, Trix? How about I bring you back a keychain? You really hate those.”
For the first time in a very long time, Sirius laughed. Bellatrix screamed in outrage, but Sirius just smiled. He would be getting out. He tried not to think of his friends hating him. He tried to believe they were the ones who set the trial. He tried to think about living in a house and having food and playing music. He thought about meeting Harry again and asking about Hogwarts. He must’ve gotten to the school by now. He thought about Remus. He imagined him smiling and saying that he missed Sirius. He imagined someone giving him a hug after ten years of isolation. He had one thought as the dementors came to suck up all of his happiness; six more days.
—◊◊◊—
“How was your last term, sweetheart?”
“It was fine, Mother.”
“I heard you got detention?”
“Yes, Father.”
“I think we should speak after dinner, Draco.”
“Yes, Father.”
“There’s a big trial coming up, isn’t there, Lucius?”
“I’ve nothing to do with it. I was told I’m not allowed to be on the counsel.”
“Who’s the trial for, Mother?”
“You wouldn’t know him, Draco. Please terminate this line of questioning.”
“His name is Sirius Black. He’s my cousin, he—”
“Narcissa.”
“Draco has a right to know his own family, Lucius.”
“We needn’t expose our son to a murderer.”
“A murderer?” Draco asked.
“You don’t know that for sure, Lucius.”
“And you think any different? He was found after he told The Dark Lord of the Potters whereabouts and he killed twelve muggles. He went as far as to laugh at the deaths. Disgusting excuse of a person.”
Draco tried not to refute the disgust in his Father’s face. He might not talk about it, but Draco knew about the people his Father killed. The other Slytherins wished they could be taught defense by Lucius. His reputation among the higher pureblood societies was quite formidable.
“They have new evidence,” Narcissa stated.
“Do they now? What could possibly excuse that serial killer? Why do you know about it anyways? You don’t work in the ministry, Narcissa.”
Narcissa pulled a letter in her pocket and immediately handed it to Draco. Lucius raised an eyebrow, but waited for Draco to read it. It had the Ministry seal on it and Draco had a confused look on his face. His Father took the parchment and read it quickly.
23 June, 1992
Dear Narcissa Malfoy,
You are hereby summoned to appear before the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to serve as a juror for the trial of Sirius Black. There has been new pressing evidence pertaining to Black’s trial. The trial will be held on 28 June, 1992.
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
“How very interesting,” Lucius smiled. “Now, why would they invite my wife to the jury and not a high representative of the Board? I think I should go over some major points of the case with you, dear. This is a very important one, I think.”
Draco stared at his Father in confusion. Lucius rarely took notice of Narcissa, allowing her to paint or tend to plants to her heart’s content. What was so important about this case? Whatever it was, it saved Draco from the talk with his Father. He silently thanked the person who found new evidence. It gave him more time to breathe. Five more days.
—◊◊◊—
“Stop it!”
“Why should I do that?”
“I’ll hex you, Bill. I will!”
“You haven’t even got a wand to back the threat, little one.”
“I will have! You’ll see. I’ll be better at magic than all of you! Please, Bill.”
“Well, since you said please.”
Bill handed Ginny back her drawing. He had to admit that it was a rather pretty painting, even if he had no idea what it was of. Ginny ran off to her room to store her drawing. She never really showed anyone but Percy. Percy never ridiculed her drawings or stole them. She thought of showing Charlie, but she was rarely home. She had come for two weeks. It had been just her, Charlie, Bill, and their parents, while they waited for the Hogwarts boys to come back home. When they did, Charlie shocked the boys half to death. Bill was probably the most surprised, taking off his glass and rubbing his eyes, muttering about how blind he was. They all took it rather well. Fred and George sealed the deal by announcing they’d be off to Diagon Alley to gift Charlie a stolen toilet seat. Mum was decidedly not amused at that.
Bill had stayed home for a bit longer and mum insisted on cutting his hair again, to which he replied that if Charlie didn’t have to, then he wouldn’t.
“Ginny! Mail’s here!” Ron shouted.
Ginny ran downstairs and helped Ron sort through the various letters and papers. She put them in boxes she had made for each of her family members. She had had a full year of being bored out of her mind and she decided a mail sorting system was a requirement. She picked her own magazines from the pile and noticed that two of the letters had the ministry seal.
“Mum, Dad! Mail for you,” Ginny called.
Molly and Arthur came in from different parts of the house. Molly had been gardening and Arthur was working on the new flying car that he was working on. They looked interestedly at the letters from the ministry. They opened them and read the jury summons with confused looks on their faces.
“New evidence? For Sirius?” Molly questioned
“I guess so. Who’ll watch the kids?” Arthur responded.
“Oh, come on. We can take care of ourselves,” Ron complained.
“We can watch them, mum. We’ll make sure the little tykes get fed and watered and put to sleep after a long day.”
Ginny turned to the voice with a roll of her eyes.
“Fred,” Ginny started, as the boy had just ran down the stairs.
“He’s not Fred, I’m Fred!” George stated behind Fred, while Ginny rolled her eyes.
“I think after eleven years I can tell my brothers apart, thanks. The last time you two watched me, my hair turned blue.”
“It was a nice shade, wasn’t it?” George smiled.
“It came out eventually!” Fred laughed.
“How long is Bill here again?” Arthur muttered.
“All of them, though? We should probably get someone to help him, Arthur.”
“He’s of age…and Percy’s with him, if anything. It’s only one day, Molly.”
“Well, I guess we should twin-proof the house, then. Oh dear. We’ve only got four more days.”
—◊◊◊—
“Dad, a letter.”
“Thank you, Luna. Would you mind the Blibbering Humdingers? They’re rather springy today.”
Luna wandered off to mind the Humdingers while Xenophilius read the letter. He was rather interested. The ministry rather liked to ignore his existence. He had tried to warn them of the Rotfang Conspiracy and how their aurors were trying to shut down their government. They never seemed to listen. Perhaps he would be able to talk to someone when he aided the trial of one…Sirius Black. He looked at the date and told Luna he would be gone for the day in three days’ time.
—◊◊◊—
“Neville, you’re to go to the Weasley’s on the 28th.”
“Really, Gran?”
“Well, I seem to have a prior engagement. Get ready. You’ve not much time to pack. Tsk. The ministry is always sending late notice. Two days!”
—◊◊◊—
“You’ve a letter, Da,” a voice with a strong Scottish brogue announced.
“Is it the school again? I told them we would see to it later.”
“No, it’s…erm—The Ministry o’ Magic. Don’ know what that’s about. Have you gotten in trouble already? You’ve just got the job.”
Alistair Nguyen-Boyd ruffled his boy’s hair and took the letter.
“Ba, you’ve a letter as well!”
“The Ministry of Magic?” Dao shouted back. There was a round of curses in both Polish and Vietnamese as Dao entered the room to take the letter from his son’s outstretched hand.
“Yes, dear,” Alistair responded to a scathing remark towards the Ministry. “but they’re my employers now and they’ve helped our son get into school.”
“A little late, though,” Dao grumbled. “We’ve only had a days’ notice.”
—◊◊◊—
Harry woke to the shouting of Aunt Petunia. He got up quickly and made their breakfast as nicely as he could muster. He served them silently, buttering them up for when he asked to go to the trial of his godfather. He had been thinking about it for a week now. Only a week to come up with a plan. You had to be precise with the Dursleys. Don’t ask for anything before they’ve eaten food. Don’t ask while Dudley is around. Ask before they are late to work, but late enough that they won’t have time to think on their answer too long.
Fortunately, he was saved from having to ask the Dursleys anything at all. Uncle Vernon told Harry to get the door, gesturing with his hand behind his morning paper.
Harry obediently went to open the door, trying to think of the best way to tell his guardians that he was meant to testify on behalf of an alleged murderer who also happened to be his godfather. Harry absentmindedly opened the door, expecting to see a package or letter the mailman had forgotten. Harry’s brow furrowed at the sight of two pairs of black loafers instead.
“Smart enough, or shall I change them?” A familiar voice chuckled.
Harry whipped his head up to see his Uncle Remus and Professor Snape. The latter seemed rather uncomfortable to be in muggle clothes, but Remus looked calm and just as happy to see Harry as Harry was to see him.
“Uncle Remus!” Harry hugged his Uncle, happily.
“Who’s at the door, boy?” said Uncle Vernon, walking towards the front door.
Harry stiffened slightly and Remus felt the change in behavior. Remus side-stepped in front of Harry as he held a hand out to Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon smiled as he saw the smartly dressed men in front of him.
“Hello, gentleman,” he said cordially. “What brings you to my home, this fine morning?”
“Vernon Dursley, I presume,” Remus smiled, as Vernon shook his hand warily. “My name is Remus Lupin. This is Severus Snape. I was a friend of James. We’re here to—”
“Who’s James?” Uncle Vernon asked.
Remus blinked.
“James Potter, Harry’s Father.”
“Harry’s—” a look of shock crossed Vernon’s face as he processed the information. “But James…He was one of those…”
Snape raised a brow and Remus put his hand on Harry’s shoulder, positioning himself in front of Harry. Harry could see Remus’ wand near his hand and it seemed Uncle Vernon noticed it as well.
“You’re a—one of those, those…things! A freak like the boy is!” Uncle Vernon sputtered. “How dare you come to my home! How dare you bring your filthy, disgusting…tomfoolery to my house! Get out! Get out!!”
“And what are you doing, boy?” Vernon snarled as he noticed the hand on Harry’s shoulder.
He reached out to pull Harry back, but Remus and Snape quickly positioned themselves between Vernon and Harry. Remus took his wand out, keeping it low enough that no one but Vernon would be able to see it behind his robes. Uncle Vernon had a frightened look on his face and his eyes darted around, as if to check whether the neighbors were about to pounce.
“I think I will leave,” said Remus with a raise of his eyebrow.
He summoned Harry’s things while Vernon stared. The door under the stairs burst apart as Harry’s trunk was released from the locked cupboard. Hedwig’s cage was treated much softer and Harry caught the cage deftly.
“Wha—what are you doing?!” Vernon sputtered, angrily.
“I’m taking Harry to meet his Godfather,” Remus said as though he were talking about bringing Harry out for a cup of tea. “Have you heard of him? His name is Sirius Black. He’s on trial for the murder of twelve innocents using magic.”
The fear in Uncle Vernon’s eyes was greater than Harry had ever seen before. Harry tried not to laugh at the horror in his Uncle’s face. For the first time, Vernon was speechless. Remus seemed to make all of Harry’s possessions disappear without a glance, then turned back to Vernon sharply.
“I shall be taking Harry for the duration of the summer if it’s to your liking. If it’s not, I will anyways. It seems I’ve a lot to tell Sirius about his godson and how he’s been living. I think he’ll find you particularly interesting, Vernon. Tread carefully. I wouldn’t want anything…terrible to happen to you. Goodbye.”
With that, Remus turned and pushed Harry and Snape down the street.
“That was brilliant!” Harry grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Vernon speechless!”
Snape and Remus had angry looks on their faces, but they weren’t looking at Harry. Harry quickly realized that the anger wasn’t actually geared toward him as the two men glanced back down his street towards the Dursley’s.
“This is why you made those potions,” Snape stated tonelessly.
“You said they were so you didn’t have to go to Madame Pomfrey,” Remus said sadly.
Harry looked down at his feet as they walked around the corner. He didn’t want to answer. Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, but quickly closed his mouth. The two men looked down towards Harry as he tried again.
“Will you really be taking me the rest of the summer?” he asked quickly hoping they wouldn’t get mad at him for asking.
Remus stared. Harry tried to pull his hand back from Remus’, thinking that the man wouldn’t want to touch him anymore, but Remus knelt down in front of Harry with a sad smile on his face. Remus felt a flood of guilt. Why hadn’t he come to save the boy sooner?
“Yes, Harry,” said Remus, squeezing Harry’s hand. “I have a feeling you’ll be stuck with me for quite awhile. If you’ll allow me to.”
Harry’s answering grin could light up the country. Remus told Harry that they were going to the Ministry of Magic and that they’d have to apparate. Harry wasn’t sure what it was, but Remus quickly turned and it felt like Harry was being compressed into a pancake. The feeling of compression lifted just as fast as it had come but they were in a completely different place. Harry gasped and Remus patted him on the back.
“Sorry Harry, it’s always terrible your first time. Are you alright?” Remus asked.
Harry nodded, taking in the bare room.
“We’re in Remus’s flat,” said Snape, answering Harry’s unasked question. “We’re meant to be at the ministry in two hours, but we wanted to get you a bit earlier. We wanted to make sure…that you would be able to come.”
Remus went to make some tea and Harry sat in one of the chairs. The flat was bone bare. There weren’t many personal fixtures at all, it was as though Remus had just moved in with nothing but the clothes on his back. Harry vowed that he would liven the place up a bit as a thank you for taking him in. Harry noticed his things in the corner of the room and asked Professor Snape if he could let Hedwig out of her cage.
Snape had been disgusted as he noticed Vernon had locked the poor owl in her cage for all this time. Snape unlocked the cage and gave the owl a few treats. Harry apologized to Hedwig and she nuzzled her head against Harry’s neck affectionately, before flying out an open window. Snape cleaned the cage, muttering about animal abuse.
Harry pulled out one of his books and sat back against a chair. Remus returned with a tray and Harry moved to make the tea.
“It’s alright, Harry,” Remus smiled. “I’ve got it. What are you reading?”
“The Important Figures of Quidditch. Hermione got me the book. She thought I’d find it interesting. I haven’t been able to read it.”
“Why not?” Remus asked handing Harry his tea.
“Well, the Dursley’s locked it in my cupboard…Well, I guess it’s not my cupboard anymore. They let me sleep in the second bedroom now. It’s loads bigger and there’s less spiders and—what?”
Remus and Snape were looking at Harry with shocked faces.
“Do you mean to tell me that you used to live in a cupboard?” Remus asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes,” said Harry, with a confused look on his face. “It was only when my Hogwarts letters started coming that they let me go to the bedroom.”
Harry ended the conversation by sipping his tea and looking back at his book. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to swear. Instead, Remus turned his thoughts to the coming trial, trying to push down his anger.
“What are we meant to do about the trial?” Remus asked Snape.
“We have to present the evidence and get Sirius properly evluated,” Snape responded, sitting down opposite Harry, allowing Remus to change the subject. He, too, looked ready to go straight back to the Dursley’s for another talk.“I’ve told you this, Remus. Please stop asking the same idiotic question.”
“I’ve not asked that before and I’m just trying to get ready for the trial, Severus.”
“All he needed was a trial in the first place, Remus. If Sirius had been given a fair trial ten years ago, he would have been exonerated. This new evidence only furthers his innocence. The only thing you should worry about is that terrifying haircut of yours.”
Harry laughed at that and Remus smiled at the sound, before scowling at Snape.
“We obviously haven’t got time for that,” said Remus.
“You’ve had all week. I thought you’d at least have the decency to look in the mirror. While you’ve been ignoring your hideous haircut, I’ve been making sure Silver has all the information he needs.” Snape paused, looking at Remus’ head. “Honestly, have you seen yourself?”
“Yes!” said Remus to another round of laughter from Harry.
“I could certainly cut it for you.”
“I’d rather not end up bald.”
“Sirius will think you look like a caveman.”
Remus paused at that and thought about what Sirius would think of his hair. That was a sight he needed to see. The shock and horror would be amazing. Remus wondered how long Sirius would stare before he did something about it. Unless…Well, unless he didn’t want to see Remus at all. He had no reason to want to. He probably thought Remus was a terrible person. Sirius wouldn’t want to speak to him. Sirius hadn’t ever sent a message back to him. He despised Remus for leaving him; abandoning him.
“Do you think he hates us?” Remus muttered.
He didn’t want to think about Sirius looking at him with hate. He didn’t want to think about what might have changed after ten years. Remus looked at Snape and noticed a sadness in his eyes. Snape had heard his question and was just as scared as he was. They had left their only friend to his own mind for ten years. Harry pointedly stared at his book, trying not to think about what his godfather would think of him.
Remus started filling Harry in on the logistics that they’d covered in the past week. They had sorted out that a man named Paul Silver would be Sirius’s Criminal Defense Lawyer. Albus had gotten the best lawyer that money could buy, but Paul would be doing it for free. Albus had pulled some strings to try and prove to Remus that he wanted to make amends. Remus kept a cold indifference towards the headmaster and would keep it until Sirius was free. Dumbledore had another thing to worry about after what kind of household Remus had just taken Harry from. After the trial, Remus thought. He could deal with that anger with Sirius on his side. Remus took Harry’s hand as the trial was meant to start in an hour, Snape said they shouldn’t be too early, but Remus didn’t care and apparated them all to the Ministry.
Harry gasped at the sight of all the wizards and witches going about their days. They went through security and Remus and Snape led Harry down to the trial rooms. They went down multiple staircases. Deeper and deeper they went until the air started to get colder and the doors looked older and more grimy.
“Why does it look like this?” Harry asked, staring at the rusted light fixtures.
“This is where the worst criminals are tried,” Snape replied. “This is where the murderers, the insane, the very worst of our kind are to be given trials. This is where we will try Sirius Black.”