Cub, Wolf, and Dog

Chapter 1- Innocence Proven.

It is a beautiful day today. One of those days when you look up to the sky and think to yourself that you should enjoy the day. And it is in this beautiful day that our story starts when a red-haired child was staring of the window near the kitchen table while eating his lunch.

Ronald Weasley was sitting between his only sister, Ginny and his twin brothers, Fred and George. He was listening to his eldest brother Bill, who was preparing to take the required tests he would have to take in order to be accepted as a qualified curse-breaker at Gringotts -one of the most important banks in the wizarding world. He was currently reviewing over a couple of notes on Transfiguration such as the animagus reversal spell which Ronald -or Ron, as he family used to call him- did not know about.

Ron had also two more brothers, Charlie and Percy who were, at the same time, talking about a place called Hogwarts, or, better said, Charlie was telling Percy, who listened very attentively, another story about the magical Hogwarts -which was the school for witches and wizards. Charlie was Ron' second oldest brother and he had just finished his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While he was there, he was named prefect and captain of the Quidditch team for his house, Gryffindor. As for Percy, he was the third oldest brother in the Weasley family; he was nine years old and loved everything about Hogwarts, which it was the reason he listened so carefully to every story his brothers would tell him.

Sitting next to Percy, eating a rather large chunk of cheese from the left-over was a small rat, Percy's pet, Scabbers, which Percy had found some time ago hiding near a rubbish bin in their local town of Ottery St Catchpole. At first, Percy thought that it belonged to someone, so he took the rat home and asked his father - Arthur Weasley - to find out if anyone had lost a pet rat. Mr. Weasley -who worked at the Ministry of Magic for the misuse of Muggle Artefacts department- asked around his working place, but nothing had turned out. He later told his son that no one had claimed Scabbers therefore; they could stay with the rat for it seemed to be an ordinary garden rat. But first, Mr. Weasley had warned Percy not to get too attached to it, since it would probably live for a maximum of two years. Of course, that was five years ago. And despite what his father told him, Percy grew very much in love with Scabbers.

Ron finished his second serving of Treacle tart sponge pudding and rubbing his now inflated belly, decided that it was enough of a really good meal. He had always had a big appetite, ever, since he was a small baby.

"Are you finished Ron?" asked Molly Weasley -Ron's mother- spotting on Ron's empty dish.

"Yes mum," answered Ron, flashing his innocent five-year-old smile.

"Then take your plate to the sink. After that, you can go back to play," replied Mrs. Weasley.

Jumping up Ron carried his dish over to the sink, and went upstairs to go on reading his new second-hand Quidditch book. Like the rest of his brothers, Ron also loved Quidditch; his favourite team was the Chudley Cannons.

Not five seconds had passed when Ginny repeated her brother's actions with the slight difference that she went back to her room where she was playing with her dolls. Ginny - or Virginia, as it was her real name - also loved Quidditch as much as her brothers but sometimes, she preferred to play girly things.

One after another, the remaining Weasley children were leaving the dinner table to go back to their previous businesses. Charlie invited Ron, Fred and George to go outside with him, into the paddock behind the Burrow, to play some broom tags since Ron was too young to play real Quidditch, and the twins had only just started learning the basics. Meanwhile, Percy was trying to persuade Bill to show him some magic charms. The Burrow was protected by charms so that any underage wizardry couldn't be detected - although Bill was of age and did not need the protection.

"Please Bill, please show me one quick spell!" pleaded Percy, on his final attempt.

Bill sighed and replied, "Percy, if I do one spell on Scabbers to show you some magic, will you shut up?"

"Yes, I'll be quiet. Shall I put Scabbers on the floor?" Percy asked while nodding enthusiastically.

"Alright!" said Bill while looking for his book of charms, where he rapidly found a very simple spell, the Animagus Reveller. He was pretty sure that no spell like this would work on a common garden rat as old as Scabbers was so he picked up his wand, turned around, pointed it at Scabbers, and chanted in Latin, "Manifesto verum esse! - Reveal your true form! -".

Bill was paralyzed by the sight of the rat. Scabbers slowly transformed into man - a small balding man - who was missing one forefinger. After a quick recovery, Bill bound him and then shouted, "MUM!"

***

Molly Weasley was still sitting at the kitchen table, keeping an eye on the washing and an eye on the four boys that were outside, playing on brooms when she heard Bill shouting for her in a panicked tone. Without a second thought, she jumped out of her seat and rushed up the stairs to the second landing.

A gasp escaped her after stopping outside Bill and Charlie's room, as she saw a whimpering man on the floor, his hands and feet all bound with a rope. All of a sudden, she went back to her seventh year at Hogwarts when four small boys under the names of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter, joined the Gryffindor house without the slightest thought about their fates. From that scene to the present, Molly Weasley remembered the events that had just occurred a few years ago: two of those boys were murdered, another was imprisoned for both murders and the other... well, no one really knew were the other was, as he used to change his location every often so he could not be found.

But after tonight, everything would change. Peter Pettigrew, who was murdered by the hands of one of his friends -the one in prison- was there in the Bill and Charlie's room, and he was very much alive.

"Peter Pettigrew?" asked Molly, completely calmed.

Bill knew about his mum's voice tone when she was calm -calm before a storm- as most people would say, since everyone in the Weasley family knew it was better to stay out of her way when she would use that tone, and that included his dad.

"Y-y-y-yes," stuttered a frightened Peter.

That was all Molly needed to hear, as she remembered when she heard about 'that infamous night' five years ago. It had been all over the newspapers; Sirius Black kills thirteen Muggles and Peter Pettigrew!

The rumours had said that when Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the age of one, Sirius lost everything. Peter had corned Sirius saying that he had killed Lily and James Potter, and then, in an angry rage, Sirius had blown up the whole street, and that had included blowing Peter to smithereens. After that, as Sirius Black was taken to Azkaban under a life sentence, he was laughing maniacally.

But the facts, as obvious as they were, did not occur that way. Obviously, something else had happened in that street where Sirius had cornered Peter. Something had happened, something that made Peter cut off one of his fingers, blow-up the entire street, transform himself into a rat, and take-off into the sewers for five years.

Snapping back to reality, Molly ordered Percy to get her wand as fast as he could. She then turned to Bill and ordered him to use the Floo network to go to Hogwarts, "We need professor Dumbledore and some Veritaserum, now, here!". Both boys ran out of the bedroom and did as ordered. Percy returned a few seconds later, carrying his mother's wand. Handing it over he explained that Bill had left to Hogwarts safely, and that he would be back shortly. She nodded. Grasping her wand, Molly pointed it at Peter Pettigrew and asked, "Why?"

"I-I- I didn't d-d-do a-a-anything," whimpered Peter, pathetically.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WHY ARE YOU LYING?" shouted Molly furiously, the famous Weasley temper coming out, at last, "WHY DID YOU FRAME SIRIUS BLACK FOR A MURDER THAT HE DIDN'T COMMIT? WHY PUT ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS IN AZKABAN? WHY?"

"Molly?" a very calmed voice said. It was the voice of Albus Dumbledore. Hogwarts' Headmaster.

Turning to face Dumbledore, Molly sighed relieved, as she now realized she was not to get any further shouting at Pettigrew.

"Dumbledore, thank goodness you are here!," sighed Molly.

"Well, what an unexpected surprise! Tell me, Peter, what are you doing here? Do you know that for nearly five years we have thought you were dead, or worse, that you were murdered by one of your best friends?" asked Dumbledore.

Although his voice was calm his eyes - a blue that would normally twinkle - were as cold as a stormy winter's night looking as though they were made of ice.

"Tell me Bill, what exactly happened?" asked Molly, directing everyone's attention to her eldest son.

Stepping forward, Bill explained, "Percy wanted me to perform a spell, so I tried the animagus reversal spell. I knew that spells and charms could not work on a common rat. When he transformed, I quickly bound him and called for mum,"

"You did the exact right thing," praised Dumbledore, "Now..."

Dumbledore pulled out a phial of clear looking liquid, and approached to Peter. He forced Peter's mouth open and poured three drops onto his tongue. Then, he stood back and watched as Peter's face went blank and emotionless.

"Are you Peter Pettigrew?" asked Dumbledore

"Yes," answered Pettigrew, deadpan looked in his face.

Dumbledore carried on, "Were you James and Lily Potters' secret keeper?"

"Yes,"

"Did you sell them out to Voldemort?"

"Yes,"

"Why?"

"The Dark Lord had offered me power if I could get the Potters to turn over to his side,"

"Why did you and Sirius switch places?"

"Because it was the perfect bluff. Everyone would think that Sirius was the secret keeper. No one would expect the weakest person in the group to be in charge of something so important,"

"Is Sirius innocent of murdering thirteen muggles?"

"Yes," answered Peter.

Before Dumbledore could ask one more question, Pettigrew's face began to return to its normal colour; before a look of anger crossed it, shortly followed by fear - fear of being thrown into Azkaban-.

Turning back to Molly, Dumbledore said, "It looks like we have made a dreadful mistake in sending an innocent man to Azkaban. Molly, would you please get in contact with Remus Lupin? Explain to him what has happened today and bring him - and Bill - to the Ministry. I will be waiting for you in the Minister's office. With any luck, Sirius Black will be cleared of all charges tonight."

Then Dumbledore turned to Pettigrew, and cast several charms on him in order to stop him from transforming back into his rat form, or disapparating, or even walking two hundred meters away from him.

Once that was all done, Dumbledore pulled Pettigrew to his feet and apparated with him to the Ministry since the disapparating charm was only on Pettigrew to stop him from doing his own apparating anywhere. However, it did not stop someone else form apparating both.

***

All the members of the Weasley family were sitting at the kitchen table, waiting in silence. Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny had already been told about what had happened an hour ago upstairs. They were all waiting for Remus to arrive.

Molly had sent an owl to him two hours ago, asking him to urgently apparate in The Burrow, as soon as he received the post. Finally, a 'crack' was heard, announcing the arrival of a tall man, with light brown hair flecked with grey, and well worn clothes on, who walked into the kitchen.

"Molly Weasley," he greeted as he shook Molly's hand.

"How are you, Remus?" asked Arthur, approaching the man to give a gentle pat on his shoulder.

Arthur had crossed paths with Remus J. Lupin several times before and they would always make a little time to ask about each other's lives.

"Fine, thank you! How have you been?" answered Remus.

"Very well, very well! Would you mind sitting down?" asked Arthur while approaching a chair near the table. Remus sat next to Ron and Ginny who were watching the scene feeling very curious.

"What has happened? By the tone of your post, Molly, I knew something very important had come your... our way. What is it?"

Remus had been working in a muggle restaurant for the last eight weeks. So far, they had not found out about his condition -he was a werewolf- as muggles do not have that sort of thoughts.

"Remus," began Molly tentatively, "We... uh... how should I say this? We... found him.... He was not dead.... He is alive!

"Who?" reluctantly asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"Peter Pettigrew! He is alive, Remus," said Molly, holding his hand tight, "He is alive!"

"W-what?" asked Remus apparently calm, the colour of his face slowly vanishing.

"Pettigrew is alive," stated Arthur.

"But, that would mean..." Remus stopped, his voice suddenly silencing.

"Then, that would mean that Sirius... he was... he is..."

"Innocent", stated firmly Arthur.

Nodding slowly, Molly said, "It seems that the Ministry sent the wrong man to live in a Dementor infested rot house!"

"Are they releasing Sirius? Where is Peter? Does Dumbledore know about this?" Too many questions were crossing Remus' mind, hungry for answers.

"As far as we know, Sirius might be released tonight. Pettigrew is at the Ministry with Dumbledore and yes," answered Arthur, "they're just waiting for us now,"

"Us?" questioned Remus.

"Bill was showing Percy a spell on Scabbers which revealed Peter Pettigrew," answered Molly.

"Oh right,"

"Well come on, we better head off," stated Arthur getting in his feet, "With any luck Sirius will be a free man today."

All the others did exactly as Arthur and followed him into the living room, where he handed out some floo powder. They all travelled via Floo network to the Ministry of Magic in London.

***

The waiting continued. Remus as well as all of the Weasley's were waiting in what looked like a muggle doctor's waiting hall; waiting to be called in by Dumbledore. So far, only nine year-old Percy had been called and was being asked why he had not thought of using a spell on the rat before. He had replied that over five years ago his dad had tried to find out if anyone had lost a rat like this one, but no one ever came forward to claim it so they assumed there was nothing wrong with it, that it was just another common garden rat with a life expectancy of two years.

After Percy's statement, Bill was called in the Ministry's office and told the same story Percy had told before with the only change that it was him who had actually cast the spell on the rat in order to keep his little brother quiet.

"Remus!" called Dumbledore.

Remus got up and started for the Minister's office, which seemed a long way off but was only really three strides away. As he entered the office he saw two empty chairs, one for himself and one for Dumbledore. Sitting behind a large cherry wood desk was none other than Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself.

"Ah! Good you're here, please sit," instructed Fudge.

Sitting down, Remus asked, "Excuse me, Minister Fudge but I am wondering why have I been called in?"

"Well, Mr. Lupin, you have been asked here today because we need to know certain things about Peter Pettigrew like, for example, why was he an unregistered animagus," answered Fudge in a very serious manner. He continued with a threatening tone in his voice, "Be warned, Mr. Lupin. If you are thinking about hiding something from me - from the Ministry - or about wasting my time, we have our own ways to find the truths that are hidden from us!"

"That... would be a very silly thing to do Minister," said Remus in a cold tone,

"Oh, and why is that, if I may ask?" asked Fudge with a little twist of his lips, in a curious way.

"Because finding the truth with the use of Veritaserum is not an option when it comes to a werewolf. You'll see it has a range of number of things that could, and would possibly go wrong, ranging from killing that person or just making them violently sick."

Cornelius Fudge sat there motionless. He would have never guessed that the young man in front of him was something like a Dark monster. Regaining his composure Fudge asked, "Oh! What must we know about Pettigrew?"

Sighing Remus began telling the truth, "When I first started at Hogwarts, I tried to hide my lycanthrope condition from my friends -my best new friends-; James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. After a while though, they figured it out and knew that when transformed they would not be able to keep me company as humans. So, in our third year there, James and Sirius came up with the idea of becoming Animagui. I tried to stop them by telling them that they would get in trouble but still, they went ahead. Anyway, it wasn't until our fifth year that they were able to transform into animagus; Sirius became a dog, James became a stag and Peter, obviously became a rat."

"Did it not occur to any of you that they would be breaking the law?" questioned Fudge seriously.

"Listen, Minister," said Remus, "when you have been classified as a 'dark beast' for most of your life, you don't really get too many close friends. When they decided to do this for me, I wasn't prepared to report them,"

"Fine, fine," interrupted Fudge waving off any other explanations, "I guess there is nothing left for me to do than to release Black. Sirius Black is cleared of all charges, but he must register as an animagus, or I won't hesitate to put him back in Azkaban for another two months,"

"Thank you, Minister," said Dumbledore, speaking for the first time in the night, "But you must surely compensate his wrongful imprisonment and let the wizarding world know about what has happened so that they will not unnecessarily harm him once he is out there,"

Stuttering, Fudge replied, "W-w-world... of course I will,"

"Good. Now, I suggest you get some Aurors and release him," instructed Albus, "Then get a Dementor to administer the kiss to Mr. Pettigrew. I do not want to see a Dementor anywhere near Sirius Black!"

All Cornelius Fudge could do was nod with his head before moving from behind his desk and towards the fireplace from where he began to command orders at the Aurors for the release of Sirius Black.

After he had pulled his head out of the fire and sat back down, he returned his attention back to the two men still sitting in his office. Smiling, Fudge explained that he had already sent two Aurors to Azkaban in order to escort Sirius Black to St Mungo's -the wizarding world's hospital- were he would be checked through medical examinations. After that, he would have to testify under Veritaserum effect, to see if his story matched Peter Pettigrew's and then, he would be released. If the case was that the stories did not coincide, Sirius Black would be administered the Dementors kiss at the moment.

"Very well," replied Dumbledore, "now, I believe this has been quiet an emotional day for all and I think it is time we leave. Goodbye, Minister."

"Bye Albus, Mr. Lupin," replied Fudge curtly, trying to hide his disgust towards Remus.

When he stood from the chair he was sat, Remus inclined his head before leaving with Dumbledore following him in his wake.

Back in the waiting area, all of the Weasley family were still waiting, although the two youngest ones were asleep.

"Remus, Albus, how did it go?" asked Arthur, as soon as they entered the hall.

Smiling, Dumbledore answered, "I would say, Arthur,that it went very well. With any luck, Sirius shall be free tomorrow morning."

"Where is he going to live?" piped up one of the twins, George.

"With me, until he wishes to live somewhere else," answered Remus smiling kindly at the young boy, "Now, it has been a very long day, it will be a long day tomorrow and I wish to go home. I might be seeing you soon. All of you take care."

With a chorus of goodbyes from the Weasley's and Dumbledore, Remus made his way to the atrium, and apparated back to his small cottage somewhere in Nottingham.

"Well, he seemed to take all that news well," commented Molly curiously.

"I think, Molly, it is only just sinking in. He will probably feel happier tomorrow, once everything is over and Sirius is back in a caring home," explained Dumbledore, "Now, I suggest you take your family home. I'll see you all again soon."

All the Weasley's gave the Headmaster their farewells, and as Remus did before, headed towards the atrium were they would use one of the fireplaces to floo back home.

That night, everyone went to bed early, all exhausted. Little did anyone know that with the release of Sirius Black not only one but two lives would be changing, one of them being the life of a five year old named Harry Potter.

***

The house was in ruins. There was nothing left but rubble and the odd puff of dust rising from the wreckage. There was no sound, nothing could be heard. Everything was in silence. It was as if death had snatched everything away, leaving all in a deep silence.

Sirius Black was desperately searching through the rubble, looking for his best friend -James- while tears were blurring his sight. Moving a rather large pile of bricks and wood from what used to be a door, he found the body of James with his glassy, wide-open eyes showing a look of horror on his face. Sirius kneeled besides his best friend -his family- and with aching grief, he closed James' eyes. It was then, he heard it. Someone or something sniffling, crawling away from James body. Sirius followed the sound of small sniffling.

He entered what was once the nursery, where the body of James' wife -Lily Evans-Potter- laid dead, the same expression of horror on her face. Closing her eyes, Sirius looked up and saw a baby sitting near her. It was Harry -their son-. Even though Harry was a baby, it seemed like his small brain was very confused, which showed through his emerald green eyes as well as through a small trail of tears that rolled down his baby face. He had started crying when he wasn't able to wake up his mum, feeling very frightened. Stretching forward, Sirius pulled little Harry out of the rubble while checking if he had not been hurt. It was then, when he noticed a small cut on his forehead shaped like a lightening bolt.

"Hush, hush Harry. It will be alright," tried to sooth Sirius while choking in his own grief.

Pulling out a blanket and shaking the dust off it, he wrapped it around the now trembling little baby. Once the small boy was all wrapped up, Sirius slowly stood up on his shaking legs, and walked away from the wreckage.

"Sirius wha' yer' doin' 'ere?"

Looking up, Sirius saw the outline of Hagrid -the gamekeeper of Hogwarts- and once friend to all the Marauders.

"It's Harry," began Sirius, his voice unnaturally calm, "he's alive!

"Aye I know," replied Hagrid, "Dumbledore aske' me ter' take 'im to Aunts and Uncle's,"

"But I'm his godfather. I'll look after him. I'm all he has left," protested Sirius.

"Sorr'," apologized Hagrid, holding out his hands.

Not protesting again, Sirius was handing Harry over to Hagrid when a thought struck him 'find the traitor; make him pay for what he's done.'

"Take my bike, Hagrid," offered Sirius

"Why?"

"I won't need it again," explained Sirius. "Hagrid, make sure Harry is well taken care of, make sure he knows that we all love him and please tell him who he is,"

"I will do," replied Hagrid.

Before Hagrid could say anything else, Sirius had run off down the street and round the corner into the distance.

Sirius had only managed to get half-way to where he knew Wormtail would be hiding out, when daylight had crept up on him. Resting for a moment against a wall, he did not hear the steps of someone who approached him from behind, someone who began to shout.

"YOU KILLED THEM! YOU KILLED JAMES AND LILY! WHY DID YOU KILL THEM, SIRIUS? WHY?"

Caught by surprise, Sirius turned around to find Peter Pettigrew -known as Wormtail- standing right in front of him, wand pointed at him -and a large crowd gathering around them because of his shouting-.Taking his wand out, Sirius didn't even get the chance to cast a disarming spell when Peter shouted again.

"WHY DID YOU..."

But instead of carrying on, Peter had blown the street apart, killing the crowd of muggles that had gathered around them. Before the smoke cleared, Peter cut off his forefinger and transformed into his animagus form of a rat to later run down into the sewers.

The scene went black as if in a muggle movie before Sirius regained consciousness of his surroundings as that of Azkaban prison but this time, he was in a cell, with about six Dementors guarding him, then he heard some familiar voices...

"You killed us!" whispered James.

"No!" moaned Sirius

"You killed me, your best friend. You killed my wife. You killed Peter!" taunted James.

"No!" repeated Sirius,

"Yes," snapped James.

"NO, I'M INNOCENT!" screamed Sirius, waking up all covered in his own sweat. It was nothing but a dream, a vivid memory that would come over and over again whenever he tried to sleep, a painful reminder of his unimaginable fate.

Sirius tried to gather his senses back after waking up when he noticed something was missing; the memory of his friend's deaths were not flashing through his mind every second anymore. Sure, they were still there but they seemed to be vanishing, in fact, not only those but all of his terrible memories seemed to be disappearing from his mind.

Bending over to look beyond the bars from his cell, he noticed the Dementors were not there, "is it Christmas already?" asked Sirius to himself while getting up to look out of the small hole that was supposed to be a window. He noticed that it seemed to be a warm, cloud-free day, "Hmm strange," thought Sirius.

Leaning back against the hard cold crumbling rock, one thought rushed through his mind, "I'm innocent." It was this one thought that had kept him sane through all the long years he has been there in Azkaban.

"Are you sure he is sane?" someone asked.

Sirius head jerked up at the footsteps approaching - hopefully - to his cell. It was obvious two men where coming near but who could they be, Sirius did not know.

"I dunno, the Dementors say he keeps muttering 'he's alive, I'm innocent,'" answered the second man, an accent in his speech.

"Well, I doubt Minister Fudge would just release a murder unless something had proven him innocent, right?" questioned the first person again, a clear Birmingham accent.

"Damn, you really are naïve, Auror Rouse," chuckled the other man, "Fudge has probably come to realize that this manic deserves the kiss, at last"

"Don't joke about them things, Auror Christian," complained Rouse.

Chuckling again Christian replied mockingly, "Awww is the new Auror scared of the Dementors?"

"Shut it!" exclaimed Rouse, "Let's get on with it,"

Still laughing, Christian replied, "Of course, Auror Rouse. You wouldn't want to be here when the Dementors came back, would you?"

Muttering something about 'cold heartened bastards' Rouse stalked off, coming to a stop at cell number 18. There he waited for Christian to catch up. Five minutes later Christian - still smiling - came up to him.

"Well, you've got the keys, open it!" snapped Rouse, deeply irritated.

"Alright! Don't get your knickers in a twist," replied Christian calmly.

Sirius couldn't believe his ears; they were actually letting him out! If it was only to be sentenced to receive the kiss at least, he would be able to leave the cell for a short while. A smile almost broaden free on his face before he reminded himself that if it did, the aurors could believe he was defiantly insane.

"Sirius Black," started Christian unlocking the door with a set of charmed keys and charms, "the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, wants you to get checked over at St. Mungo. There you will take some Veritaserum in order to confirm a story that was told to the Minister earlier today."

Sirius just sat there, stunned, 'has someone found Peter?' asked Sirius to himself. Very slowly, Sirius rose to his feet unsteadily from not walking around for five years.

"Well, don't take all day," snapped Rouse, still disgruntled, "We have to be at St. Mungo at seven,"

"Okay," answered Sirius hoarsely.

Both aurors looked at each other before sharing the same thought, 'he's sane?' Shrugging, both men turned back to stare at the prisoner, who was supporting himself by leaning heavily on the side wall. He was obviously, too weak to stand on his own anymore.

Sighing, Rouse stalked into the cell and helped Sirius to stand on his own, and then lead him out of the cell. The two aurors led the way through the maze of corridors that was the fortress of Azkaban, and then walked out through two heavy metal doors that led outside into the dying sun light.

Sirius stopped for a moment to just let the cool air whip across his face. This moment seemed like a lifetime but it was only a couple of seconds before he was roughly pulled into the boat that would take him and the aurors back to the mainland.

"Get settled Black. It will be a forty minute trip," instructed Christian.

Sitting with his back to the prison, he waited for the boat to start moving. A minute later, the boat swayed out of the dock and rocked -left and right- as it moved forward. The swaying started to make Sirius feel seasick so he leaned over the side just to make sure that if he did end up being sick, he would not make the boat stink.

"Look, Auror Rouse! The poor convict is going to be ill," taunted Christian quietly.

"Jeeze, Christian! Leave the bloke alone!" replied Rouse unimpressed, "If he is going to be kissed let him have these last few hours as though he wasn't a convicted felon!"

"I was only joking, Rouse," surrender Christian, "I'll leave the bloke alone if you want me to"

"Yes, I would want that. Now shut up!" snapped Rouse.

The boat lapsed into a strained silence since the two aurors were angry at each other and therefore, they were not speaking to each other. Meanwhile, Sirius was trying to keep his stomach's contents within his stomach, so he was trying not to open his mouth. And the person controlling the boat... well, some people have said that he was given the kiss as he had never talked, smiled, cried, or even gotten angry. In fact, some aurors would try to provoke him to get a reaction, but he would still be the same emotionless being.

Finally, forty minutes later, the three men were standing on dry solid ground, happy to be back on land again and away from the prison and the rocking boat.

Christian walked a little into a clump of trees and returned five minutes later with an old trainer that was splitting at the seems and losing its sole.

"Come on, Black we need to get going," instructed Christian pulling Sirius hand onto the portkey with his and Rouse's hand, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1."

There was a pull just beneath their navels as they were pulled forward through space, and landed in a private room at St. Mungo's Hospital.

"Sit still, whilst I go find a healer," instructed Christian as though he was some sort of animal.

Christian left Rouse alone with Sirius with a look that clearly stated, 'you-lose-him-you-lose-your-job.' As a sign of understanding, Rouse smiled slightly, as Christian left with the snap of the door.

While waiting there, Sirius finally took in the man's appearance; he was short, round, about 5ft 5in, with light-brown hair that would surely turn blonde if it was any lighter, and he was thin. He was wearing comfortable-looking robes of a deep blue colour.

Rouse noticed Sirius staring at him and decided to introduce himself, "Hmmm... I'm Albert Rouse,"

"Hi," mumbled Sirius before a coughing fit took hold.

Rouse grabbed an empty beaker and tapped it three times saying 'Aqua' and water was poured into the glass which was then handed over to Sirius, who gulped the water as though he had never tasted it.

Setting the glass down Sirius replied, "Thanks... Albert!"

"Please, call me Rouse, everyone else will,"

"Will?" questioned Sirius quietly.

"I'm new. This is only my second week on the job and I get sent to Azkaban..." answered Rouse smiling.

Sirius smiled back, or at least he hoped he did. It probably turned out like a grimace with the muscles not being used in such a long time. Before Rouse could say anything else Christian came back into the room with a young woman -a healer- who had dark, blonde hair, brown eyes and a soft smile.

"So, you're Mr. Black?" questioned the healer.

"Yes," answered Sirius, shocked that anyone would address him as 'mister'.

"Well, I am a healer; healer Jones or, if you may, you can call me Sam," said the young woman, "I will run a few tests on you to make sure your body works alright. But first, why don't we get you into some fresh clothes? Through that door behind you, there is a bathroom. Why don't you go there, get washed up and get dressed? Then, we'll get you a meal. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Yes," said Sirius again, his voice not too loud, at the caring woman.

Getting up slowly, Sirius made his way towards the door and opened it. He was so amazed by the sight he met that he could have jumped out of the joy he felt if he wasn't feeling already exhausted from the trip and the walk to the room.

The room was decorated in a white marble stone effect, with a bath the size of two rather large Jacuzzis next to each other, and there were even several showers that were just as big. At his left, he saw a pile of clean, beige robes just waiting to be worn.

As fast as his tired body would let him, Sirius literally peeled his clothes -rags- off and jumped into shower filled with warm water, just taking in the fact that he was actually in a shower with fresh water. After two hours washing himself -a whole hour dedicated to washing the muck out of his hair- Sirius got out, dried himself with a very soft towel, and dressed up in the crispy clean robes. Wearing a genuine smile -and noticing it didn't feel forced- Sirius went back into the hospital room.

Healer Samantha, or Sam for short, feeling very pleased to see a clean and properly dressed Sirius Black, stepped back into the room. She had sent the two aurors for their dinner so that she had some privacy while checking over her patient.

Smiling, Sam instructed Sirius, "Doesn't that feel really good? To feel, to be clean again... Well, let's get through with the examination so I can let you eat. Then, you will be left alone so you can get some sleep. So jump back up on the bed!"

Sirius just nodded and jumped or rather climbed back on the comfortable looking bed and let the healer go through all the main practises required. Finally, two hours later, Sirius was declared mentally stable. Although he was severely malnourished and needed plenty to eat but he was fine. Once the ice had broken between them, Sirius had told Sam about something he did when he was a student at Hogwarts -without naming names-.

He was finally left in peace around nine, so he could have some dinner made of chicken soup and buttered crusty bread which was all his stomach could handle at the present time. By a quarter to ten, Sirius was lying on his side thinking, 'This time tomorrow I may be free,' a sweet smile drawing on his face as he was falling quietly asleep - no nightmares plaguing his dreams-.

***

"I'm sorry, you can not see the prisoner yet," an irritated Christian said.

He and Rouse were sitting in two uncomfortable chairs, declining anyone who wanted to enter the room to see Sirius, with the exception of the healer. Currently, they were declining access to Albus Dumbledore.

"I am also sorry as I am here on behalf of the Minister," explained Dumbledore again, "I need to talk to Mr. Black about a matter that concerns his imprisonment,"

Sighing, Rouse replied by finally giving in, "Fine, go on in, headmaster; just keep it short, please,"

"Thank you, Auror Rouse," gratefully said Dumbledore, "and please stop calling me headmaster. You are no longer at Hogwarts,"

"Right," said Rouse, opening the door and calling into the room, "Black, you got a visitor!"

Sirius had been enjoying a nice simple breakfast of cereal, toast and fresh orange juice when the door opened and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room, causing Sirius to choke on a bit of toast.

"Come now, Sirius. Surely my presence does not shock you that much?" asked Dumbledore lightly,

"Headmaster -cough- what are you -cough- doing here?" asked Sirius, taking a sip of his orange juice to stop his coughing.

Sitting down on a chair besides Sirius bed, Dumbledore explained, "Dear Sirius, how have you been? Are they treating you fairly? Well, let me tell you why I am here, why are you here. A few days ago, I received an urgent message from Molly, sent by one of her sons, Bill. They asked me to go to the Burrow and bring some Veritaserum with me. When I got there, I found Molly Weasley with her wand in her hand, pointing it at a strange man, while shouting at him something about his deceit."

Sirius sighed, and then he asked "Was it P-P-Peter?" disbelievingly still.

Nodding slowly Dumbledore answered, "Yes, it was him. I questioned him myself and a lot of things came to light, like the fact that you were not the Secret Keeper of the Potters"

"Peter was," said Sirius grievingly, "I thought, I was doing something meaningful. Peter would be the Secret Keeper and no one would know; it would be the perfect bluff,"

"It was," replied Dumbledore, earning a confused look from Sirius, he went on, "When Harry defeated Voldemort, I was still thinking that you were the Potters' Secret Keeper; I would have never known you were not their Secret Keeper anymore unless you had had a trial."

Nodding, the room fell into a comfortable silence. Sirius went back to eating his half finished breakfast.

"Once you have finished," Dumbledore said, "the guards will come in with Fudge and you will be administered Veritaserum. After you have been questioned, I will let someone see you."

Swallowing the last piece of toast, Sirius replied, "Who?"

"You will find out soon," answered Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

Sirius was going to ask something else but before he got the chance, the door opened and the two aurors walked in with Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

"Ah, Albus! You are already here," greeted Fudge cordially and then, looking at Sirius, he added, "Black, nice of you not to blow anything up!"

"Minister, please," warned Dumbledore.

"Very well, then. Have you got the Veritaserum?" asked Fudge, not bothering to apologize for what he had said.

Dumbledore pulled a bottle of a clear-looking liquid out of his robes. Uncapping the bottle, he indicated Sirius to cooperate and asked him to open his mouth. He then dropped three drops onto Sirius tongue; the effects were immediate. Sirius' face went completely blank and no emotions showed.

"Are you Sirius Black?" asked the Minister.

"Yes," answered Sirius emotionless, his eyes blank.

"Were you the Potters' Secret Keeper?" asked Fudge.

"Yes, I was their Secret keeper at first. But then, I switched with Peter Pettigrew the week before their deaths,"

"Why?"

"We assumed Voldemort would come after me for being closer to the Potters, so I suggested the change. I would stay in my place as I was but Peter Pettigrew would be the proper Secret Keeper and no one was to know,"

"Very well," sighed Fudge, "Are you an illegal, unregistered Animagus?"

"Yes,"

"What form do you take when you transform?" interjected Dumbledore curiously.

"A dog,"

"I think you have all the correct information?" questioned Dumbledore.

Although Dumbledore had posed his sentence as a question, no one missed the finality in his voice ending the questioning.

"Of course," answered Fudge, "Sirius Black, you are cleared of all charges that were against you and led to your conviction five years ago. The Ministry has given you 30 thousand galleons for in convinced and a written statement will be placed in the 'Daily Prophet'" explained Fudge.

With one last fleeting look at Dumbledore, Fudge left the room followed by the two aurors - like sheep on a herd - closing the door behind them.

Dumbledore pulled out the antidote and gave it to Sirius. Sirius came out of his trance-like state; shaking his head at the same time he realized that Dumbledore was the only one with him in the room. Smiling, Dumbledore congratulated him, "Well done, Sirius. You are a free man,"

"A free man?" asked Sirius, a tiny sound of hope sensed in his voice.

"Yes," answered Dumbledore, "Now, I know someone is waiting for you outside."

Dumbledore rose out of his seat and strode over to the door to open it. He exchanged a few words with the person standing at the other side; he nodded and then stood back so the person outside could enter the room. There, standing in the threshold, was someone Sirius had not seen for five years; Remus Lupin.

"Go and sit down," instructed Dumbledore.

Remus entered the room and sat on the empty chair. Dumbledore smiled and left the two young men alone. Both men avoided each other's eyes and no one spoke, making a tense silence.

Sighing, Sirius broke the silence a minute later by saying, "It has been a long time,"

"Five years, I would say it has been too long for someone who was innocent," said Remus.

Turning to look at Remus, Sirius said, "You understand why we did not tell anyone, don't you?"

"I understand why you did not tell me," answered Remus, "Because you thought I could be the traitor!"

You were always disappearing!," replied Sirius forcefully, "Never telling us what you were up too!"

"I was looking for jobs, Sirius," snapped Remus, "I could not work in the wizarding world whilst Voldemort was about!"

"Why didn't you just tell us that?" retorted Sirius irritated,

"Because I knew that if I told either you, James or Lily, you would all try to help," countered Remus,

"That is what friends are for, Remus," pointed out Sirius,

Sighing defeated, Remus replied, "You had all done so much for me already. I could not ask anything else from you or from James or Lily. I did not want you to do anything else for me,"

"Remus, I, James, and Lily were not just your friends, we were your extended family," answered Sirius, "But for what it is worth, I am sorry we ever doubted you,"

"That is worth a lot to me," smiled Remus, "Thanks, Padfoot."

Sirius smiled at the use of his old nickname, which instantly brought back memories; good memories of times he had forgotten about when he was in Azkaban.

"Say, do you have Harry, Moony?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Uh- you must know, Padfoot, that I did try to gain custody of Harry, but Fudge would not allow someone like me to take care of him," answered Remus hesitantly.

"So, where is Harry?" asked Sirius slowly.

"He lives with his Aunt and Uncle, the Dursleys, in Surrey," answered Remus.

Remus was surprised when Sirius practically jumped off the bed, ready to leave the hospital, when Remus stopped him in his tacks by asking.

"Where are you going?"

Turning back round Sirius answered, "I am going to get Harry,"

"Sirius, Harry does not know anything about us," said Remus before Sirius could complain, he continued, "Albus thought it was for the best until his time to go to Hogwarts came. I do know that he was supposed to be told that his parents were murdered by a madman."

Sirius went back over to the hospital bed and flopped down on the bed looking as a flame quietly put out.

"Great, so you mean to tell me that I will have to go through all the adoption process to get custody of my godson?" questioned Sirius.

"Yes, exactly," answered Remus, "But look on the bright side, at least your innocence has been proven. I think it is time for us to go home?"

Sirius got up, a smile slightly shining on his face. Remus also got to his feet and embraced Sirius in a manly hug. Before both young men left St. Mungo to go home, they spent the day gathering some things, as well as buying new ones like a new wand for Sirius.

10