Choices

"Shocking business… shocking… to think Black was aided by one of his old friends… a werewolf. And a Hogwarts teacher at that. It's a miracle poor Harry Potter survived through this ordeal," said Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic. "I really must have a word with Albus about his poor choice in hiring teachers, really now. It's a good thing you were there, Snape."

"Thank you, Minister," answered Professor Snape modestly.

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

Oleandra, Harry, Ron and Hermione had been brought to the Hospital Wing. Who knew if Lupin and Black had cast any dark magic on them without their noticing? And what if the saviour Harry Potter had been bitten by a werewolf? Fudge didn't even want to entertain the possibility of such a thing happening.

For once, Oleandra was in good shape. Usually, she'd be the one to be severely injured, but this time Ron had taken the brunt of the damage; each one of the Gryffindor Trio was covered in cuts and bruises, and Ron's tibia had been snapped clean in half.

"Sir," Harry addressed the Minister, as Madam Pomfrey was tending to his cuts. "It might be worth listening to Professor Lupin's account."

"Whatever do you mean, Harry?" said Fudge gently. "Snape caught you and your friends holding the werewolf and Black at wandpoint; they were very clearly in league together. What else is there to ask? They were after your life!"

"But Professor Lupin could have killed me at any time, but he never hurt me in any way," Harry insisted. "And they said that Peter Pettigrew was the one who had betrayed my parents; not Black. They said he was an Animagus; he's been posing as my friend Ron's rat for twelve years, now."

"Dear, boy, that's simply ludicrous," said Fudge worriedly. "Poppy, is the boy quite all right?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded; his will was still his own.

"And where, pray tell, is said rat?" Fudge asked.

Harry had no clue where Scabbers had gone; there was nothing he could say. Maybe Black had gone mad from guilt in Azkaban, and imagined a scenario in which he was innocent? But Lupin had sworn he had seen Peter Pettigrew's name on the map… 

Meanwhile, Oleandra was doing some thinking. Did she really believe Lupin and Black's outlandish story? They had absolutely no proof, and Ron's rat was gone. There was also another thought nagging her in the back of her mind; she had to somehow convince Daphne to go back in time to save Buckbeak. She had seen her, so she absolutely had to go, or time would break!

"Finally, this nightmare is over," said Fudge. "Black should be getting the Dementor's Kiss right about now; we'll see about this Lupin's fate during his trial; Albus insisted on it."

"But Black never did get a trial, did he?" Hermione pointed out. "Shouldn't he at least be heard out?"

"Whatever for?" asked Fudge impatiently. "I was one of the first on the scene, after he murdered poor Pettigrew and all those Muggles. If you'd seen what I saw… And of course, we looked through the Muggle witnesses' memories. There's no doubt that he did it."

"But he still deserves a proper trial," said Hermione stubbornly. "And I think it might be worth looking into Peter Pettigrew's case; he might really be a rat Animagus. And you could at least interrogate Professor Lupin before doing anything drastic."

"Minister, I think they might have been Confunded, all of them," said Professor Snape. "They all seem oddly fixated on rats, for some reason."

"I'm not Confunded!" Oleandra chipped in helpfully.

"Quiet, Greengrass," said Professor Snape. "Count yourself lucky I haven't expelled you."

Indeed, as the Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape had that power over students in his House. It was a good thing he was in a forgiving mood, since he'd caught two of the people he hated most in this world!

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore entered the Hospital Wing. To Oleandra's surprise, her sister Daphne was tagging along with him, for some reason.

"I would like to speak to the children alone," said Professor Dumbledore. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy— please leave us."

"Headmaster!" spluttered Madam Pomfrey "They need treatment, they need rest —"

"I'm afraid this cannot wait," said Dumbledore seriously. "I must insist."

"The Dementors should have arrived by now," Fudge said, giving his pocket watch a look. "I'll go and meet them. Albus, I'll see you upstairs. Snape, are you coming?"

But Professor Snape refused to budge.

"Surely, you don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape told Dumbledore with narrowed eyes. "Sirius Black has shown himself capable of murder at the age of sixteen. Don't you remember how he nearly killed me?"

"Of course I do," said Professor Dumbledore quietly. "But I must speak with Harry and the others alone."

Professor Snape harrumphed and turned on his heel, leaving the headmaster alone with Oleandra, Daphne, Harry and Hermione at Ron's bedside.

"What am I doing here?" asked Daphne straight away. "Was my sister doing something stupid again?"

"I do not have much time," said Dumbledore. "We had known for a long time that our side in the war had a mole. I suspect that's the reason why Sirius Black never told anyone he had asked Peter Pettigrew to become the Potters' Secret Keeper in his place."

"Then, you believe Sirius?" said Harry. "But…"

"I simply do not know," said Dumbledore. "But I choose to believe in Remus, and his story."

"Then, you can get them both exonerated?" asked Hermione.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," said Dumbledore seriously. "Severus caught Sirius and Remus together. There exists absolutely no proof about their wild claims about Ronald's rat being Peter Pettigrew. What's more, everyone knows they were close friends, and now, the secret is out about Remus being a werewolf. Nobody would believe such an outlandish story. And what's more, Sirius has not acted like an innocent man; he attacked the Fat Lady, and entered Gryffindor Tower armed with a knife."

"But you believe them," said Harry. "There must be something you can do."

"Yes, I do believe in them," said Dumbledore mournfully. "But I cannot go against the law, or make others see as I do. I have a sneaking suspicion that after Sirius receives the kiss, Remus will undoubtedly be the next, despite Cornelius's assurances to me. And most of all, what we are desperately lacking is time." Dumbledore looked meaningfully at Daphne and Hermione.

"That's against the terms we were made to sign," said Daphne flatly.

"Oh!" said Hermione.

"Oleandra, Daphne," said Dumbledore, lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'm aware that I cannot force you to do anything against your will; the decision is yours."

"Now listen carefully: Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. As for Lupin, he's locked in the dungeons, in Severus's office. I've cast the Homorphus Charm on him personally; he shouldn't be changing back into his wolfish form, even under direct moonlight, for the next half-hour." 

Dumbledore paused for a moment.

"If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, all of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, Miss Daphne, you know the law — you know what is at stake… You — must — not — be — seen."

"I am going to lock you in. It is —" Dumbledore consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Three turns should do it. Good luck, all of you."