Chapter 233
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-Room of Requirement - Sometime later-
"He didn't lie when he said he was going to cook the best meal in the world." Sirius said, munching on a chicken thigh while holding a plate of rice and potatoes in his other hand.
Sirius was now out of the cage I'd prepared for him, sitting in front of a table laden with food, gorging himself with happiness and satisfaction.
"Can you not talk with your mouth full?" I asked, looking at him in disgust.
"Sorry" he said, swallowing his food, "It's been a long time since I've had any real food other than the leftovers and slops they give in Azkaban"
"Sigh... This sucks," I said, and Sirius shrugged.
Sirius then continued to eat, and meanwhile I looked at him noting his ragged appearance and feeling his troubled but controlled emotions.
The man in front of me lacked the beauty and elegance commonly found in those of the Black family. The man in front of me was very thin, probably malnourished, with a sunken face and dark circles under his eyes, pale and weak-looking, with long messy, dirty hair and yellowed teeth.
I'd seen pictures of Sirius from when he was arrested, and even with his half-crazed appearance he still looked more…human.
Now, the only thing I saw was someone suffering from depression and probably other mental trauma caused by the large amount of time they spent exposed to the Dementors' presence.
As I studied Sirius he finally finished eating, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh.
"It's really nice to be able to eat until I feel full again," he said. He then looked at the remaining food that was on the table, "But unfortunately my stomach still can't handle so much food... I really wanted to try this stew"
"Nothing a few potions and a healthy nutrition for a while won't fix" I waved my hand carelessly, "After that you'll be able to eat whatever you want without worrying about your fragile stomach suffering some setback"
"I highly doubt I'll be able to do that" Sirius huffed, and I looked at him confused, "After I finish settling my business with the rat bastard, I'll probably have to spend the rest of my days on the run, unless I'm arrested again or handed over to the dementors." he said with a shrug, grimacing at the last part.
"And who said you're going to be having to spend your life on the run or in prison?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"And is there any other option for me?" he asked dryly.
"Hmm, I don't know, how about being exonerated?" I asked as if stating the obvious.
...
...
...
"I hadn't thought of that"
"Don't tell me," I said dryly.
Sighing, I then decided to change the subject, knowing that we would come back to this subject at some other time.
Seeing that Sirius was ready to answer my questions I asked the Room of Requirement to changed into a more comfortable place, and with a thought the room began to change.
Now we were in a replica of the Gryffindor common room, much to Sirius' surprise, who still hadn't gotten used to the room.
The chairs we were sitting on turned into two large chouches, with a fireplace burning on our side and a table separating us.
Sirius looked around in surprise, feeling the familiarity of the place before shaking his head to regain focus.
"I was going to ask how you're doing it, but something I've learned in my years at Hogwarts is that you should never ask a Ravenclaw a question about magic or anything complex," Sirius said looking at the details of the room. He then shrugged and decided to ignore the room, turning to me.
"I would be offended if I didn't agree with you" I huffed, "But well, putting that aside, now I want to hear your story" I said, and Sirius sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily.
"Well... where to start?" he wondered, and after a few seconds of rearranging his memories Sirius began to speak, recounting everything from the moment he befriended James Potter to the moment he fled Azkaban.
He talked about joining the Order of the Phoenix in the first wizarding war, and that sometime between the war they discovered that Voldemort was after the Potters.
He talked about the Fidelius Charm and how the Secret-Keeper was chosen, talking about his 'foolproof' plan to deceive Voldemort and his followers.
He talked about Pettigrew's betrayal, and then about how he handed Harry over to Hagrid, for the half-giant to take him to Dumbledore, and that without his godson to take care he began his hunt for the rat, only to be framed by him in the end when the rat blew up an entire street and several people, escaping in his Animagus form.
He then told me about as he discovered by an article in the Daily Prophet that the Pettigrew was alive and that it was at Hogwarts, where it could harm Harry, thus making him decide to escape prison.
Everything he was telling me I already knew, but hearing the whole story from Sirius in a calmer situation gave me a new perspective as so many details were added.
When Sirius finished telling me the whole story he lowered his head and started looking at his hands, and meanwhile I looked at him realizing his anguish.
"Well, that explains a lot of things," I said, and Sirius lifted his head to look at me curiously.
Noticing his gaze I started to answer his unspoken question.
"I'm a muggleborn" I started to say, "And from the moment I knew I was a wizard and that I had to go to a whole new world I decided to keep myself informed about everything that has already happened and was happening in that world, and that obviously involved the war that took place 13 years ago"
Seeing Sirius paying attention to my words I continued.
"And one of the most important events was obviously your 'betrayal' and arrest, and after some research I realized some discrepancies in your case, and also that your betrayal made no sense" I said, and Sirius looked at me for a moment.
"Where did you get the information about the war and about us?" he asked me.
"With old newspapers, reading some books, and asking the ghosts and castle portraits" I shrugged.
"Oh" was the only thing he said.
"But that aside, it was with these researches that I realized you might not be the traitor and murderer that everyone thinks you are. And that was confirmed the moment I found out Pettigrew was alive," I said. I then crossed my legs and leaned back on the couch, "And when I heard that you were spotted near the castle I immediately knew what you wanted to do, and so I waited for you. And when I saw you entering the Hogwarts grounds through my map I asked for Nyx to follow you"
"Nyx?" Sirius asked me confused.
"My cat," I said, and then nodded toward a corner of the room.
When Sirius turned to look where I pointed he saw a black cat with blue eyes lying lazily on a cushion.
"She's very good at tracking someone, and even better at stealth," I said, catching Sirius' attention, "I knew you would probably only act when there was no one around, which meant it would have to be at Halloween feast after the visit to Hogsmeade, and so when Nyx found you walking the fourth floor corridors she warned me, and with that I just had to wait for you on the other side of the only passage in that corridor that I knew led to Gryffindor Tower."
When I finished speaking Sirius could only stare at me with his mouth open like a fish out of water, too shocked and surprised to react.
"I...I'm seriously glad that you just wanted to talk to me" he said after getting over the shock, looking at me in wonder, "I don't even want to imagine what would happen to me if you thought I really was a criminal." he said fearfully.
And listening to him I just smiled, making him look at me with even more fear and caution, much to my amusement.
"No need to worry, you're not on my list of 'people who must die in a sudden unfortunate and tragic accident'." I said smiling at him.
"Thanks?" he said confused.
"Well, jokes aside, we should start preparing my plan to exonerate you soon," I said, and Sirius looked at me for a moment before turning to the fireplace.
"Why are you trying to help me?" he asked me, looking into the flames.
"Because you are innocent?" I said like it was obvious, "And besides, Harry is my friend, and I'd be a terrible friend if I didn't help him reunite with his godfather" I shrugged with a small smile on my face.
Sirius then looked at me with a small smile on his face, before sighing and looking at the floor.
"Well, but it won't be easy to do that" he said, "Actually, in the situation I'm in it's almost impossible for me to be exonerated"
"And why do you think so?" I asked curiously.
"No offense, but what can a child and a fugitive criminal do? I doubt the ministry wants to listen to either of us," he said with a small frown.
"Yes, that's true" I said nodding my head, "But who said it will be one of us who goes to the ministry to talk to the minister?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Huh?" Sirius looked at me confused, "If it's not going to be one of the two of us, who is it going to be? I don't think there are many people out there who would want to help me or even hear my version of events."
"Actually, I wouldn't be so sure," I said, with the image of Professor McGonagall, the Headmaster and Professor Lupine coming to my mind.
"Well, even if you're right, that person has to be someone with some influence, otherwise they'll just be ignored," he said, realizing that this plan might not be that simple.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, I know the right people who can help us" and with that a mysterious smile appeared on my face.
End.
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(End AN: Unfortunately this week I was without internet because the rain knocked down a tree that hit a power pole... It was a bad week)