The Release of Sirius (3/5)

The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who had put on a fair bit of weight recently, was busy wiping sweat from his face. He found Dumbledore's efficiency nothing short of miraculous; Voldemort was captured as soon as he said so, and Horcruxes were found just as easily.

As it stood, Voldemort—now reduced to nothing but a layer of skin—was currently lying in the dungeons beneath the Ministry of Magic, and now Dumbledore had delivered yet another accomplice to him.

In the past while, many Death Eaters who had attempted to storm the Ministry, or those spies who had been lurking within the Ministry for years without exposure, had been rounded up one after another and locked away alongside their master.

These political achievements had sent Fudge's reputation soaring, leading him to beam at everyone he met throughout the year. His standing among the Ministry staff had also become excellent; after all, an amiable superior was a rare find indeed.

Therefore, seeing Dumbledore now felt to him like seeing his long-deceased father, especially when Dumbledore appeared in his office once again, this time hauling a stone statue. He stood up immediately to welcome him.

Returning to the matter at hand, Fudge wiped his sweat after hearing the account. He nodded and said firmly to Dumbledore, "Rest assured, Dumbledore. Sirius can be exonerated immediately, but as you know, this matter cannot be publicized."

He squinted and glanced back at the statue. Dumbledore, understanding the implication, dispelled the magic cast upon Peter, though he left him in a deep slumber.

Dumbledore waved a hand and said with a smile, "Do not worry. As long as Sirius is released, I trust the critics at the newspapers will not be wagging their tongues about it."

Hearing this, Fudge smiled again, his features bunching up on his pudgy face, and Dumbledore began to laugh as well.

They shook hands, and Dumbledore said, "Then, I shall not disturb you further, Minister Fudge."

With that, he departed.

Sitting in his office, Fudge looked down at the sleeping Peter with a beaming smile, waiting for the Aurors to come up and take the fellow away. Seemingly remembering something, he hurriedly pulled out a small mirror to tidy his hair.

Maintain your image, Fudge! You are about to become the greatest Minister for Magic in British history!

The gaunt man, having been sent out of Azkaban by the Dementors, stood where he was, at a loss. Twenty minutes ago, he had been told he was free. He, who had suffered torment every waking moment, now stood in the cold sea breeze of the island, his heart filled with melancholy.

He did not know why he had been released, nor did he know what he was supposed to do. He knew even less where that rat-like traitor was now.

Thinking of him brought his friends to mind.

A sudden surge of rage, hatred, and guilt flooded the man's heart.

These emotions forced a painful howl from him, the sound carrying far into the dark night. With no outlet for his inner agony, the only reason he hadn't gone mad over these years was the knowledge that he was innocent—but what was the truth worth when only one person knew it?

Misunderstood by everyone, facing the sunless cells and those terrifying Dementors every day, he had wasted over a decade in prison, only to be released today.

"Sirius?" A familiar voice called out from behind him.

The gaunt, bearded man whipped his head around, his eyes filled with disbelief. He saw someone who should have been dead; he saw Lily Potter.

"You, you. No, I, this..." he stammered, causing Lily to burst into a giggle. While Sirius was still in the midst of his shock, his peripheral vision caught another figure.

He saw Severus Snape standing there with a gloomy expression, dressed in black.

However, his demeanor was vastly different from before; his hair was no longer greasy, and his clothes were no longer filthy. He was even wearing a crisp suit, and the leather shoes on his feet were polished to a shine. Compared to Sirius, who was dressed in tattered black robes, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

He pointed at Snape, his arm trembling: "You, what is going on with you?!"

Sirius would rather die than believe Snape had come to pick him up from prison. Granted, they had indeed gone too far back then, but the fact that this man had been obsessed with Dark Magic had already proven he was no good.

Lily choosing James over him had been the right decision. These thoughts flashed through Sirius's mind. Yet, Snape couldn't even be bothered to give him half an expression; he turned slightly, expressionless, to make way for the red-haired, green-eyed girl behind him.

She stood there, stepped forward, and called out softly, "Godfather."

Sirius went completely blank. He looked at Lily, then at Snape, then turned to look at Harley. If the confusion in his heart were written into a book, it would surely rival half an Oxford dictionary.

"So, that wretch has already been captured?"

Sirius was now wearing clean, neat clothes, and his hair and beard had been trimmed.

Although he was still shockingly thin, it was at least much better than his previous beggar-like appearance. He sat in a newly purchased, comfortable red sofa in the restored Potter Manor, with a roaring fire burning in the hearth.

Lily brought him a blanket to wrap around himself. Snape had chosen not to sit; he was in the garden outside, "admiring the night sky" alone—a clumsy excuse. Unfortunately, even when Lily urged him, he wouldn't listen; he simply didn't want to share a room with Sirius.

Harley had returned to school, as she had classes tomorrow. The girl's sense of responsibility in this regard brought Lily great comfort.

"Yes, he has already been sent to the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort as well; they have both been captured. Sirius, we are completely safe now."

Lily looked at her husband's friend. Even now, one could still see a hint of the handsome man he had been in his youth, but he was far too thin and weak, looking like a skeleton covered in skin.

"But your case probably cannot be reported in the papers, Sirius. I doubt the Ministry will allow such a thing."

Lily added, and her words were met with a carefree, indifferent smile from Sirius: "I don't care what others think of me. Seeing you and Harley safe, I am just... I don't know what to say."

His smile vanished in an instant, and his eyes reddened in the blink of an eye.

Lily smiled and poured him a cup of hot tea. Sirius grabbed the blanket and covered his head; his muffled voice came from beneath it: "So, how did you... er, I mean, how did you come back?"

"Severus did it."

"Him?!" Sirius snatched the blanket off his head. He sprang up from the sofa and asked in shock.

"Yes, it was him." Lily nodded calmly.

"But... but him?"

Sirius had experienced too much shock in these few short hours; he was almost numb. His language function seemed to have gone numb as well, or perhaps it had gradually atrophied during his decade-plus of imprisonment. He stammered, gesturing wildly, trying his best to express his bewilderment.

"Alright, alright. Sit down first, and I will explain it to you slowly."

"Over the past year, the wizarding world has undergone great changes. A man whose name they wouldn't tell me changed the entire teaching method at Hogwarts. He brought a brand-new way of casting spells and a vast amount of profound knowledge. After Severus learned it, he resurrected me."

"Then why..."

"Why not bring James back to life as well, is that it?" Lily asked in return, as if she knew exactly what he was going to say.

Sirius's originally righteous expression quickly shifted to one of guilt. Lily glanced at him, lifted her teacup to take a sip, and said languidly, "It seems you do realize how excessive the things you all did to him back then were."

"But he was a—"

The words Sirius wanted to blurt out were swallowed back under Lily's stern glare. Lily looked at him and said gravely, "I won't deny that he strayed from the path before. But for these past ten-plus years, he has been atoning for his sins. If he hadn't pleaded for mercy, Harley might have died as well."

The more Lily spoke, the louder her voice became.

"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be standing here, I wouldn't have identified Peter, and you wouldn't be out. How dare you demand even more from him? Think about it, Sirius Black, think about it carefully! How could magic capable of resurrecting the dead possibly come without a price!"

Sirius hung his head, listening in dejection. After a while, he stood up and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To apologize to him," Sirius's voice drifted back, carrying a tone of reluctant necessity.

Lily smiled and lifted her tea.