"Professor Dumbledore meant he should await trial!" Professor McGonagall sputtered, her face scarlet with indignation, trembling from head to foot. "This case needs a full review – look at Peter Pettigrew there – he's alive, and he's confirmed to be the real traitor!"
"Well, Peter's still alive, isn't he?" Fudge said, waving a hand dismissively. "One witness is quite enough, perhaps they were in league after all–"
"You know that's utterly impossible!" Professor McGonagall stared at Fudge, her voice dripping with disappointment.
"He clearly meant to attack, he practically leaped at us!" Fudge blustered, puffing himself up. "The Dementors were here for protection – don't forget Sirius Black vaporised a whole street!"
"If he were going to attack, he'd have done it while he was explaining everything to Professor Dumbledore moments ago!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "How can you possibly–!"
"As Minister for Magic," Fudge squawked, his voice losing its bluster, "I have every right to bring protection when confronting a dangerous fugitive! Especially after the incident over Christmas – young Barty Crouch Jnr tried to murder his own father, you know!"
"In any case, since he's... well, deceased," Fudge's voice trailed off, becoming almost inaudible. "I'll be taking Peter Pettigrew back to the Ministry, and we'll proceed with the Wizengamot trial next week..."
A voice cut through the tension. "Why all the shouting, might I ask?" Professor Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, striding calmly into his office. "As you requested, Cornelius, I have indeed submitted all the necessary paperwork to the Wizengamot. Assuming no further... complications, the hearing should be scheduled for late next week."
"There's hardly any need for a hearing now, Albus," Professor McGonagall said, her chest visibly rising and falling with fury. "He insisted on bringing two Dementors into the castle! And then allowed one of them to attack Sirius!"
"A hearing can still... still happen..." Fudge stammered, clearly unnerved by Professor Dumbledore's steady gaze. "Peter Pettigrew is alive, after all, isn't he? We can question him, see if... if the previous Minister made an error, or if Peter was just hiding all this time out of fear..."
"Without the benefit of Veritaserum, Cornelius," Professor Dumbledore said calmly, "I find it difficult to imagine anyone voluntarily giving up an Order of Merlin, Second Class, and the honour of a fallen hero for a lifetime stay in Azkaban." His gaze sharpened slightly. "Cornelius, am I to understand that the Ministry of Magic employed extremely dangerous measures against Sirius Black?"
"He's a murderer! An escaped convict!" Fudge squawked again. "The result would have been the same if he'd been apprehended sooner!"
Professor Dumbledore repeated, his voice soft but carrying immense weight. "Cornelius, am I to understand that the Ministry of Magic employed extremely dangerous measures against Sirius Black?"
"Albus... what are you talking about, he's dead–" Fudge glanced nervously towards where Sirius lay.
"Then that settles it," Professor Dumbledore said. "After all, any action resulting in death clearly qualifies as an extremely dangerous measure."
"So what if it does?" Fudge retorted indignantly. "I apprehended and dealt with a dangerous fugitive! I don't understand why you're all–!"
"Is that truly the case, Cornelius?" Professor Dumbledore's voice turned cold. "If he were dead, he could provide no further evidence. And Peter Pettigrew, without the administration of Veritaserum, is unlikely to provide any credible or truthful testimony. As I recall, the Ministry has very strict regulations regarding the use of Veritaserum in Wizengamot hearings; it typically requires one party, either the accuser or the accused, to voluntarily submit to it before the other can be compelled to do the same."
"Dwelling on this is quite pointless now, Dumbledore, the Dementor has already done its work–" Fudge insisted. "Let's just proceed as planned. Peter will face the Wizengamot, and if, by some chance, there was a... a slight error in judgement, we'll ensure Sirius Black's family is informed without delay..."
"You know perfectly well the Black family line is extinct!" Professor McGonagall snapped, her voice sharp as a jinx.
"Well, by rights, that's the procedure, whether he has family or not..." Fudge mumbled. "The allocation of assets is a matter for the Estate Distribution Committee..."
"However, the rather fortunate news," Professor Dumbledore said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, "is that Sirius Black doesn't appear to be deceased after all."
All three sets of eyes snapped to Sirius, who was just starting to twitch, following the subsequent plan Cohen had planted in his mind –
"What in the blazes–" Sirius gasped, shivering. "I... I felt like I was gone..."
Sirius's eyes fixed on Fudge, whose jaw had dropped. It was Fudge's turn to stare, utterly speechless.
"No, no, how... how is this possible..." Fudge stammered, his mouth agape, completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing.
"'When the accuser takes extremely dangerous measures against the accused before the conclusion of the trial,' Professor Dumbledore quoted calmly, 'the accused's advocate is entitled to terminate the Ministry of Magic's temporary custody, secure the release of the accused, and provide a personal guarantee ensuring their presence at the duly scheduled hearing.'" He paused, his eyes fixed on Fudge. "It seems, Cornelius, we cannot with confidence entrust Mr. Black to the Ministry's custody, as the Ministry has quite clearly demonstrated a severe disregard for his safety, a matter crucial to his ability to attend his trial."
"But the Dementor... it clearly... it KISSED him..." Fudge spluttered, still unable to process how anyone could survive the Dementor's Kiss with their soul and consciousness intact. He glared desperately at Cohen, but the Dementor appeared, infuriatingly, to be just a Dementor.
"I did warn you at the start of the school year, Cornelius," Professor Dumbledore said, his voice quiet now. "The Dementors of Azkaban are not reliable. They are ill-suited as prison guards, and frankly, dangerous as a police force. Their unpredictability is simply too great."
"So... well then..." Fudge muttered, subtly trying to catch the eye of the other Dementor, attempting to signal it to have another go.
Much to his frustration, however, that Dementor was deep in conversation with Cohen and paid him no mind whatsoever.
"[What do you believe the meaning of your existence is, as a Dementor?]" Cohen was apparently deep in philosophical discussion with it.
"[To eat.]" It replied simply.
"[Right, but I mean, if you weren't stuck in that dreary old fortress, and no wizards were trying to hit you with Patronus Charms, what would you want to do?]"
"[Eat more?]" It said.
"[No, I mean... that's not your only drive, is it?]" Cohen was trying to encourage the Dementors to have loftier goals. "[Surely you must have some ambition? Like conquering the world, farming humans, splitting off little bits of yourselves to raise as your own, or something... if you were completely unrestricted, free to roam the entire planet, the whole world open to you, what's the one thing you'd most want to do?]"
"[Go 'all over the world' to eat more?]" It seemed utterly baffled by Cohen's questions.
"[Alright, never mind.]" Cohen said helplessly, leaving the Dementor to repeatedly attempt to bypass Fudge's sputtering Patronus Charm and take a bite out of him.
"Utterly revolting," Professor McGonagall said with distaste after Fudge had finally skulked out, taking his remaining Dementor with him. "He wasn't anything like that when he was at school – Albus, I distinctly remember him being a rather polite, even timid, student."
"Politics does have a way of changing people profoundly, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. "It's precisely why I've always been wary of becoming too entangled. Ambition and power... they can make people do things quite unlike themselves."
"Or perhaps it reveals their truest self," Professor McGonagall mused, shaking her head. "But I did see that Dementor..."
"That," Professor Dumbledore said with a faint smile, "was Cohen. I asked him to assist in a small piece of theatre. It appears to have been remarkably effective."
"Cohen?!" Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, looking utterly astounded. "I thought... I thought he'd merely inherited some unusual abilities from them..."
"I believed the same at first," Professor Dumbledore admitted. "It seems, however, that Cohen is rather more... complete... than we initially surmised."
"Are you quite sure exposing a child to such... complications... at his age won't impact his development?" Professor McGonagall asked, a furrow in her brow. "Cohen is a genuinely good boy, even if he does enjoy a bit of mischief like the Weasley twins... I worry seeing the more disappointing side of the wizarding world will..."
"I don't think he'll be disappointed," Sirius muttered, a slight grimace crossing his face. "He seemed rather cheerful today – except maybe when he kissed me on the forehead."
"If he was happy kissing you on the forehead, then there's even more cause for concern," Professor McGonagall said, her tone bone-dry. "Black, twelve years in Azkaban... why did you never attempt to clear your name all this time? I, along with so many others, truly believed you were the traitor, not Peter."
"Because I honestly believed Peter was dead," Sirius said heavily, regret etched on his face. "That he'd died in the blast... and I was at fault – James and I shouldn't have been so arrogant, so foolish, as to try and outsmart You-Know-Who... changing the Secret-Keeper to Peter... I was a complete idiot..."
"Being betrayed by a friend is not your fault, Sirius," Professor McGonagall said kindly, patting his shoulder. "None of us could have possibly guessed he was the traitor..."
"You can remain here at Hogwarts for the time being," Professor Dumbledore said. "Though as you haven't been officially cleared yet, it would be best if you remained out of sight of the students, so as not to cause undue disruption..."
"Of course, Albus, whatever you say," Sirius agreed quickly. "Honestly, I'm perfectly happy just being a dog..."
"No," Professor Dumbledore said firmly. "Unregistered Animagi is a crime that carries a heavy sentence in Azkaban, and you mustn't mention your ability to transform at the trial."
"Professor Dumbledore is quite right, Black," Professor McGonagall added sternly. "An unregistered Animagus caught transforming again would likely face at least another ten years in Azkaban, not to mention the fact that you used the form to... ah... 'escape'..."
"I shall need to temporarily modify certain parts of your memory," Professor Dumbledore said. "This is necessary because you will be required to take Veritaserum during the hearing, which should compel Peter Pettigrew to reveal everything. Furthermore, given Cornelius's behaviour, Pettigrew is likely to be... quite malicious towards you."