Funeral Songs

The days until Sirius's trial disappeared alarmingly quickly for Remus. He knew a week had elapsed, but it still felt as if only a few mere minutes had passed between him lying there on the first night of his engagement, his body entwined with Sirius's, and now, walking through the Ministry of Magic to attend Sirius's hearing.

Remus's stomach twisting painfully with nerves as he followed Harry into the large, echoing room in which the trial would be held. Dumbledore was standing there, waiting for all the Order members who were there to attend the hearing. He had taken Sirius from 12, Grimmauld Place in the early hours of that morning. Remus tried to stop himself thinking about whether his parting with Sirius earlier that day would be the last time he'd ever see him; if Sirius was convicted today there would be no time for goodbyes. He'd be swept straight off to Azkaban Prison and an awaiting life sentence for murder without a single last word to Remus, or anyone else.

Dumbledore made a particular point of sitting next to Remus in the viewer's balcony, laying a reassuring hand on the werewolf's shoulder as they sat down. Remus could hear people trying to make idle conversation around him, but his own voice seemed to have left him with Sirius that morning. Instead of trying to talk to others, Remus looked around him at his surroundings. The balcony was full already; Sirius's case was world-famous. Remus was less happy to hear snippets of the conversation around him. Most people seemed to think Sirius guilty, and wanted him back in Azkaban. The room below the balcony was empty at the moment, although a chair had already been set out facing a long raised platform. On this platform was a long table, with five chairs placed neatly behind it.

A sudden hush fell over the audience as the lower door to the room burst open, and five people walked in and up to the five chairs. The only one Remus recognised was the central figure: Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic. The door burst open again, and immediately a dire coldness fell over the room as two Dementors glided in the threshold. Remus fought to keep control of his head, pushing back the images the Dementors conjured... hearing about James and Lily's death, seeing Sirius condemned in all the papers... Stop it, Remus told himself sharply. It's the Dementors... only the Dementors...

Between the two Dementors came Sirius. He looked pale and drawn in the presence of the guards of Azkaban as he was forced into the solitary chair. As the Dementors backed away, chains sprung up from the chair, binding Sirius's arms and legs securely to the chair arms and legs. Remus's hands tightened on the balcony rail he was gripping as the Dementors left and Fudge stood up.

"Sirius Black, you are hereby accused of mass-murder of muggles, and the murder of the wizard Peter Pettigrew. How do you plead?"

"Innocent." Sirius's voice cut through the stifling atmosphere of the courtroom like a knife.

"Innocent." Fudge repeated. "And you have asked for another trial under the influence of the drug Veritaserum, have you not?"

"I have." Sirius spoke again, his voice impassive.

Fudge nodded to the witch sitting on the far right of the table. "This, Mr. Black, is Miss Ophelia Levine, head of the Potions and Magical Chemicals Department here at the Ministry. She will be responsible for administering the drug."

Sirius nodded as Miss Levine rose from her chair, accepting a small vial from the Minister. The witch moved down from the platform to Sirius's chair, removing the stopper from the bottle and holding it to Sirius's lips for him to drink. When the vial had been drained, Levine pulled her wand from her robes, speaking the charm "Veritasero!" for everyone to hear as she pointed her wand at Sirius's still open mouth. A jet of purple light shot from her wand tip and down Sirius's throat, making him choke. Remus half stood up, mind set to protect Sirius, but Dumbledore brought him back to his senses with a quick tap on the hand. Purple smoke was now rising up from Sirius's mouth, curling above his head. Everyone watched with rapt attention as the words I speak no lies materialised from the smoke above Sirius.

"The potion has worked, Minister." Levine stated as she removed the smoke from the room with a flick of her wand. "Mr Black is bound to speak only the truth." Fudge nodded in acceptance, and the witch took her seat on the platform again as Fudge rose once more from his chair.

"Mr Black, did you kill Peter Pettigrew, and the street full of muggles?"

"No." The potion made Sirius's voice come out as a monotone, hardly recognisable as his own. There was an excited murmur from the balcony.

"Do you know who did?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Fudge looked over at Ophelia Levine, thinking the potion had not worked. "But Pettigrew is dead, is he not?" Fudge queried hesitantly.

"No, he is an animagus." Sirius spoke. "He transformed into his animagus form, a rat, that day of the murders. He framed me by cutting of his finger, killing the muggles, and then transforming and fleeing from the scene. As I was the only one there, it looked as if it were me." Sirius went on, with a few prompts from Fudge, to reveal the whole story of Peter Pettigrew's betrayal of the Potters, his framing of Sirius, and his renewed allegiance with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The whole room was in stunned silence by the end of Sirius's rendition, struggling to absorb all the new information they were now confronted by.

"Well..." Fudge said, in a similar state of shock. "Is that all you can tell us?"

"Yes," Sirius's voice was becoming more his own, a sign that the effects of the Veritaserum were wearing off.

"Then my colleagues and myself will retire and discuss what we have heard. We will return presently with our verdict." With that, the five witches and wizards rose and left the room, leaving Sirius manacled to the central chair. Immediately the balcony burst into excited chatter. Remus alone sat silently, eyes fixed on Sirius below him. They'd done all they could; Sirius's fate was in the hands of the Ministry now.

The jury were only gone ten minutes, but to Remus it felt like years. When they returned, the room yet again fell into deep silence. Remus was certain everyone must be able to hear his heart beat, which was thundering beneath his chest. In what seemed like painfully slow motion, Fudge stood and spoke. "We have thoroughly discussed what we have heard today, and the decision is unanimous. Sirius Black?"

Sirius looked up, locking eyes with the Minister for Magic. He could read the verdict in the other man's eyes before he even spoke, and he dropped his head again, tears already forming in the corners of his eyes.

"We, the jury, have decided you to be innocent of the crime put against you. Please leave this room as a free man in the wizarding world, and go with all our most sincere apologies for putting you through Azkaban as an innocent man. Please accept our promise that we will not rest until Peter Pettigrew is captured."

As the chains of Sirius's chair burst loose, the room erupted into cheers. It seemed that everyone watching had been converted to Sirius's cause during the trial, as everyone was celebrating his release. The Order all jumped to their feet, hugging and crying and cheering their hearts out. Only Dumbledore and Remus stayed seated, Dumbledore wearing a grin of satisfaction while Remus looked to be in complete and utter shock. For the first time in the best part of fifteen years, his lover... his fiancé... was a free man. They could be a couple... a normal couple. He was snapped from his reverie by Dumbledore placing a hand on his shoulder and gently standing him up. "Come on, let's go and greet Sirius." Remus grinned as he followed the rest of the Order from the balcony.

Sirius was with Fudge in the majestic entrance hall of the Ministry when the Order found him. The children, Harry, Ron and Hermione, were the first up to him, and were all swept into a bone-crushing hug. Remus noticed they were all crying as they hugged Sirius, all so relieved to see him free. Then Sirius went through the other members of the Order, hugging Tonks and Molly Weasley, shaking hands with all the men, and swapping words with all of them. Last but one he came to Dumbledore, shaking hands with his old Headmaster heartily and pouring out words of thanks, which Dumbledore brushed aside with a warm grin. And then Sirius was facing Remus, and all possible words escaped him. Silently he gathered Remus into his arms, putting all the love and care he had for the other man ino a lengthy kiss and holding him so tight it actually hurt, though Remus didn't care. All Remus's tears that he had been fighting back for so many years, tears of fear and relief, all suddenly broke free, escaping him in ragged gasps as he held Sirius. He was crying in the middle of Ministry of Magic, surrounded by witches and wizards including the Minister himself, but he didn't care. All he cared about was that he was in Sirius's arms; he was in the arms of a free man.