A matter of Law

15

Arcturus sat behind his desk in his study, reading over the information that Brian Greengrass was able to find at the Ministry the day before. At least a hundred parchments, all of which were either about his grandson Sirius, or mentioned him in passing, and not one of them was a trial transcript, much less a record of any questioning. There were records from his school years, his birth record, parchments detailing his training as an Auror, and even records of arrests he'd made and trials he'd been asked to testify in. The fact Sirius was currently in Azkaban for alleged crimes without any record of proof was suspicious. He pulled the parchment he received at Gringotts closer and verified what he already knew. The order to transport his grandson to Azkaban had been signed by three people: Millicent Bagnold, the current Minister of Magic, Bartemius Crouch Sr., the former Head of the DMLE, and Albus Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Before he could lose himself in thinking of various ways to make the trio who had consigned his grandson to Hell pay, an owl tapped on the window to deliver that day's Daily Prophet. He walked to the window to retrieve and pay for the paper, and then went back to his desk. He wasn't surprised by the headline, given the way news traveled in the Ministry.

PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE!

By David Hendrickson, Independent Correspondent

In 1981, shortly after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, it was reported by this paper that Peter Pettigrew had gotten into an altercation with Sirius Black, at the end of which a street was blown apart and Peter Pettigrew, along with thirteen Muggles who apparently witnessed the beginning of the altercation, were dead.

The damage to the street and the bodies of the Muggles SEEMED to fit the reports given at the time. However, it has been discovered that Pettigrew did not die in that altercation as previously believed. He has been found alive, and is currently in the custody of the DMLE. According to my sources, he is currently being questioned about his part in that altercation. It is unknown at this time whether or not there will be a trial regarding these events.

These facts lead me to question why Sirius Black was then incarcerated. The widely accepted theory was he had been sent to Azkaban for the murder of the thirteen Muggles as well as Peter Pettigrew. Now that Mr. Pettigrew has been found alive, that theory has been proven false.

After reading the article, Arcturus nodded in satisfaction. It accomplished two things, in his opinion; bringing to light that somehow Pettigrew was able to fake his own death, and brought into question why his grandson was in prison for a crime that was now proven to have never happened. Hopefully it would cause so much confusion and outrage that Albus Dumbledore would be unable to fabricate an explanation that would be believed.

OOO

Albus Dumbledore sat staring at the paper in shock. He had been so certain that Sirius had killed his friend, and the fact that everyone believed he had been Secret Keeper for Lily and James Potter simply dovetailed into his plans for young Harry Potter. With Peter Pettigrew being questioned, it was very likely that it would come to light Sirius Black wasn't the Secret Keeper. That, to his mind, would be a disaster. Sirius could potentially be freed, and would then demand custody of Harry Potter. He wasn't aware if Sirius knew about the custody arrangements for Harry in the wills of Lily and James, but he might be able to obtain custody for the simple fact of being the boy's godfather. That absolutely must not be allowed to happen. Sirius Black was too independent and strong willed; he would almost certainly raise Harry to be the same way and question everything. He needed Harry Potter to have nothing to live for, so he could be led to what Albus saw as his destiny. He was pulled from his thoughts by Minerva McGonagall's voice.

"Albus, could what it says in the paper be true? Is it possible?"

"I really cannot say, Minerva."

Minerva huffed and put up a silencing charm before letting her Scots temper loose.