Remus was currently sitting in the Weasleys dining room twiddling her thumbs waiting for the ministry officials to arrive. He tried not to think about the stunned boy, no man lying in the next room with Arthur for supervision and Molly was with the kids.
The Aurors had agreed to come as soon as Remus had explained half the situation through a floo call, she wasn't in the order of phoenix for nothing after all. It didn't really matter though, if they didn't come to collect him, she would take him there herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and Moody and surprisingly Dumbledore along with Barty Crouch. An odd combination of men separately but they had been quite the trio against the dark lord. They must believe her if they were all here in the middle of the night based on one call that she made, they might also want to keep this a secret.
"Remus, I hope you are well," said Dumbledore kindly.
"Ya haven't heard from you in quite a while," said Moody, great, he was one of the people who thought her 'absence' was suspicious. Barty Crouch just looked constipated, the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black would not do well for his political campaign, at all.
"No I have not been well Albus, and you haven't heard from me because I have been busy trying to get evidence to get my husband out of jail Alastor the same husband you put in Azkaban without a trial Mr. Crouch," she said.
"Shall we see this evidence of yours Mrs. Black?" said Barty Crouch professionally, well then here we go.
"This way," she said and began walking to the master bedroom where peter was currently lying on the cold floor.
"Here you go, back from the dead, Mr. peter Pettigrew," she said, her voice was cold and bitter, never had she imagined she would be saying peters name like this.
Shock bloomed on all three men's faces but they tried to hide it like the professionals they are.
"How do you say Mr. Pettigrew escaped the blast Remus," asked Moody.
"He is an unregistered Animagus. He just transformed into his rat form and ran down a drain I suppose" she said simply
"And do you have any proof for that"
"He is not the only one, James, Sirius and I are-- were also Animagi, I was natural and they all transformed in our fourth year. If you want proof then I'm sure you can test him once you unstun him Mr. Crouch" she said
"This doesn't change anything, Sirius Black is still charged with the murder of thirteen muggles and--"
"Don't you dare say it, Sirius would never betray James, peter did it and framed Sirius for it by killing all those muggles"
"What are your terms," said Barty Crouch
"What"
"You are clearly trying to negotiate something Mrs. Black, what are your terms' ' well that's Barty Crouch for you, ever the to the point politician.
"My terms are that you call the jury now, as soon as you can get all the members of the court to wake up, you do not ask me any more questions. The trial needs to be quick and concise, use Veritism and get his damn statement, I want my husband out of that hell hole by tomorrow evening."
"And if we don't agree to your terms"
"Then I'm going to use every ounce of the Black legacy and money to sell my story to every newspaper in the world and press every single charge possible on everyone who was involved in Sirius's imprisonment, make sure you experience exactly where you imprisoned him."
"And what's in it for us if we agree"
"Other than knowing that a mass murderer is safely locked up in Azkaban and an innocent man is not suffering in his place, if you do this my way, I will give out a statement pardoning the ministry for the wrongful imprisonment and not kick up a fuss about it. You knew you fucked up Crouch, you can either make it look like you accept your mistake and correct it gracefully or be dragged in the mud for it."
She could feel the weight of her words sink in and Dumbledore was the only one who remained calm "very well Mrs. Lupin. I think your claims are reasonable considering the position you are in" he said and the other men half nodded along.
"We can arrange for some Veritism and arrange for the trial first thing in the morning and your husband will be released if he is indeed found not guilty"
Remus snorted at that "oh and I don't want any extra charges for the Animagus thing, me and Sirius will get registered quietly in your own time"
They all nodded, well what else could they do, lash out at a couple 21-year-olds for not getting their Animagus registered in the middle of a war. "I will owl you the time of the trial," said Crouch.
"I can stay here to keep an eye on him," said Moody pointing at peter.
"I've fought death eaters Moody, I'm sure I can handle a stunned man alone"
"I insist" he repeated, he sounded genuine enough. Remus realized that Moody was not really against her or anything, he was just his 'constant vigilance' self Moody didn't want to keep Sirius in prison if he was really innocent, he just believed that Sirius is not innocent. Well, that's ok, he'll know the truth in a bit. She decided to accept if that doesn't mean she didn't have to stare at Peter any longer.
"Ok then"
"Remus, if you're telling the truth, which I think you are, I'm happy for you," said Dumbledore.
"That it was not my husband but my best friend, how is that supposed to be any better Albus? You know I loved Peter just as much as the rest of them, we all did," she said, tearing up, her voice raw. She still couldn't understand what made Peter do it.
"Remus it's not your fau-"
"I just want to be done with this Albus, please make the required arrangements right now"
"Sure"
The other two men left without another word.
YOU ARE READING
Little Angel
FanfictionRemus's life turned upside down on the night of 31st October 1981. Her best friends were dead, her husband has been wrongfully imprisoned, her godson is taken away from her. All because of one man, a man she has known since she was eleven and truste...
