The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who had put on quite a bit of weight lately, wiped the sweat from his face. He found Dumbledore's efficiency almost unbelievable. He said capture Voldemort, and Voldemort was captured. He said find the Horcruxes, and they were found.
There Voldemort was, little more than a skin now, lying in the dungeons beneath the Ministry of Magic. And Dumbledore had brought him another accomplice.
Quite a few Death Eaters who had tried to storm the Ministry of Magic some time ago, as well as spies who had lurked within the Ministry for years without exposure, had also been arrested and locked up with their master.
These achievements had sent Fudge's reputation soaring. As a result, he had spent the past year smiling at everyone he saw. His reputation among the Ministry staff had also become exceptionally good; after all, a kind and approachable superior was a rare thing indeed.
So now, whenever he saw Dumbledore, it was like seeing his long-dead father. Especially when Dumbledore appeared in his office carrying a stone statue, Fudge immediately rose to greet him.
Back to the matter at hand, after hearing the account, Fudge wiped his sweat and nodded firmly at Dumbledore. "Rest assured, Dumbledore. Sirius can be declared innocent and released immediately. But you know this matter cannot be publicized."
He narrowed his eyes and glanced back at the statue. Understanding at once, Dumbledore lifted the spell on Peter, then put him back into a deep sleep.
Dumbledore waved a hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry. As long as Sirius is released, that will be enough. I trust the commentators at the newspapers won't gossip about it."
At those words, Fudge immediately smiled again. The features on his considerably plumper face squeezed together, and Dumbledore laughed as well.
They shook hands. Dumbledore said, "Then I won't disturb you any longer, Minister Fudge."
With that, he left.
Sitting in his office, Fudge smiled as he looked at the sleeping Peter. He was waiting for the Aurors to come up and take the man away. As if remembering something, he hurriedly pulled out a small mirror and fixed his hair.
Maintain your image, Fudge! You are about to become the greatest Minister for Magic in England's history!
The gaunt man escorted out of Azkaban by the Dementors stood there at a loss. Twenty minutes earlier, he had been told that he was free. After enduring torment every moment of every day, he now stood in the cold wind 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 next. He knew even less about where that rat-like traitor was now.
Whenever he thought of him, he thought of his friends.
Anger, hatred, and guilt immediately filled the man's heart.
The emotions made him howl in agony, the sound carrying far through the night. There was nowhere for all that pain to go. He had not gone mad over the years only because he knew he was innocent—but what kind of truth was a truth known by only one person?
Misunderstood by everyone, facing a sunless cell and those terrifying Dementors every day, he had wasted more than a decade in prison, only to be released today.
"Sirius?" A familiar voice called from behind him.
The gaunt man with the thick beard spun around. His eyes were full of disbelief. He saw someone who should have been dead. He saw Lily Potter.
"You, you... No, I... this..." he stammered, making Lily burst into laughter. While Sirius was still reeling from the shock, the corner of his eye caught another figure.
He saw Severus Snape standing there with a gloomy expression, dressed entirely in black.
Yet his bearing was completely different from before. His hair was no longer greasy and shiny, nor were his clothes filthy. He was even wearing a crisp suit, and his leather shoes gleamed brightly. Compared to Sirius in his tattered black robes, they were worlds apart.
He pointed at Snape, his arm trembling. "You... what is going on with you?!"
Even if Sirius were beaten to death, he would not believe Snape had come to greet him upon his release. True, they had gone too far back then, but the fact that this man had devoted himself to Dark magic proved he was no good.
Lily had been right to choose James instead of him. These thoughts flashed through Sirius's mind. Snape could not even be bothered to spare him half an expression. With a blank face, he shifted slightly aside, revealing the red-haired, green-eyed girl behind him.
She stood there, then stepped forward and called sweetly, "Godfather."
Sirius went completely blank. He looked at Lily, then Snape, then turned to Harley again. If the questions in his heart were written into a book, they could probably fill half an Oxford Dictionary.
"So that guy has already been caught?"
Sirius had changed into clean, neat clothes. His hair and beard had been trimmed as well.
Though he was still terribly thin, he at least looked far better than the beggar he had been before. He sat on a newly bought, comfortable red sofa in the restored Potter Manor, where flames roared in the fireplace.
Lily brought him a blanket to wrap around himself. Snape chose not to sit down. He was alone in the garden outside the door, "admiring the night sky"—a clumsy excuse. Unfortunately, even Lily could not persuade him otherwise. He simply did not want to share a room with Sirius.
Harley had returned to school, as she had classes tomorrow. Lily was immensely pleased by the girl's diligence in this regard.
"Yes, he was sent to the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort too. They have both been captured. Sirius, we are completely safe now."
Lily looked at her husband's friend. Some traces of his youthful handsomeness could still be seen, but he was far too thin and weak, like a living skeleton wrapped in skin.
"But your case probably cannot be reported in the papers, Sirius. The Ministry of Magic likely won't allow it."
Lily added, and Sirius gave her a carefree, dashing smile. "I don't care what other people think of me. Seeing that you and Harley are all right, I really... I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."
His smile vanished in an instant, and his eyes reddened.
Lily smiled and poured him a cup of hot tea. Sirius pulled the blanket over his head, and his muffled voice came from beneath it. "So how did you, uh... I mean, how did you come back?"
"Severus did it."
"Him?!" Sirius yanked the blanket off his head and sprang up from the sofa, asking in shock.
"Yes, him." Lily nodded calmly.
"But... but he?"
Sirius had suffered too many shocks in the past few hours, and he was almost numb. His ability to speak seemed numb too—or perhaps it had gradually deteriorated over more than a decade in prison. He stammered and gestured wildly, doing his best to express his confusion.
"All right, all right. Sit down first. I'll explain it to you slowly."
"Over the past year, the Wizarding World has undergone tremendous changes. A man whose name they never told me changed the entire teaching system at Hogwarts. He brought an entirely new way of casting spells and a great deal of profound knowledge. After Severus learned it, he revived me."
"Then why..."
"Why didn't he revive James too, is that it?" Lily asked, as though she knew exactly what he wanted to say.
Sirius's previously righteous expression quickly turned guilty. Lily glanced at him, lifted her teacup, and took a sip. Then she said leisurely, "It seems you still know just how excessively you treated him back then."
"But he was a—"
The words Sirius wanted to say were swallowed under Lily's stern glare. Lily looked at him and said seriously, "I won't deny that he did take the wrong path before. But he has spent the past decade making atonement for himself. If he had not pleaded for mercy, Harley might have died too."
As Lily spoke, her voice grew louder.
"If not for him, I would not be standing here. I would not have identified Peter, and you would not have gotten out. How dare you ask more of him? Think about it, Sirius Black. Think carefully! How could magic that brings people back to life possibly come without a price!"
Sirius lowered his head and listened miserably. After a while, he stood and walked toward the door.
"What are you going to do?"
"Go apologize to him." Sirius's voice carried back, filled with the air of something he had no choice but to do.
Lily smiled as she held her tea.
Third update. I feel completely drained.
Before you continue