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"It never made sense to me that Black betrayed the Potters." Alastor answered after a long silence. "James Potter and Sirius Black were brilliant as partners through the Hit Wizard boot-camp training we did back then. The idea that one would betray the other was inconceivable. When Black muttered that it was his fault during his arrest, it sounded to me like he was taking responsibility for a plan that had gone wrong – I'd heard him say the same thing in the same tone when we lost a man on a mission he'd led."
"Black was a brilliant Hit Wizard." Amelia remembered. She hadn't known him well – she'd been a senior Auror with her own team and missions – but the scuttlebutt about him and Potter had been impressive.
"He was bloody brilliant," Alastor stated bluntly, "and his take-down rate was exceptional." He stabbed her desk with a finger. "If anyone had asked me who was the least likely to be a Death Eater, my answer would have been Black: he took out far too many of them to be one of them. The way he killed Pettigrew didn't make any sense because Black was skilled enough to make it a clean hit without blowing up the street." He sighed. "My immediate theory for Black's betrayal was the Imperius. That once he came back to himself, he went insane with grief and wasn't thinking clearly. That when Pettigrew caught up with him, he didn't know what he was doing and lashed out. It was the only thing that made sense to me."
Amelia mulled it over. It was a credible theory – explained Black's actions with the baby but not the lack of an explosive spell – and if true, it would mean Black heading for the secure ward at Saint Mungo's and not Azkaban.
"Of course my theory doesn't explain why Pettigrew went after Black on his own-some." Alastor continued. "I'd, uh, met him a couple of times and he was a good kid but he never struck me as the avenging angel type: Black, yes; Pettigrew, no."
Amelia made a snap decision and stopped the quill. "Alastor, there is new evidence about Black that has surfaced with his recent exploits at Hogwarts. It seems Pettigrew could be alive. I'd like you to sit in, disillusioned while I interview the witnesses. They're due to arrive in an hour."
Alastor agreed. They went over the little evidence they had and Alastor was as disturbed by the wand and forensic evidence as Amelia was. As the hour for the interviews drew close, Alastor sat out of the way, disillusioned with a silencing charm around himself.
Remus Lupin arrived five minutes early and Amelia allowed him entry, taking in the new, if simple, clothing he wore, the scars of his lycanthropy and the pleasant demeanour. She shook his hand and explained the procedure, made him take an oath of secrecy, and set the quill to record.
"Mister Lupin, you've been called here today to give evidence in the case of Sirius Black concerning events at Hogwarts. I'd like to focus specifically on the night Black was caught and escaped." Amelia began. She motioned at him to speak.
"It was the night of the full moon and I was in my office when I happened to glance at a map of Hogwarts that I and some friends constructed when we attended the school."
"Friends?" queried Amelia.
Lupin's lips quirked. "James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew."
Amelia hadn't realised he'd known them, but then she was a good twenty years older than Potter and Black, and Lupin hadn't joined the Department as they had done. She nodded slowly. "You happened to glance at a map?"
"The map is charmed to show every individual and their position within the school and surrounding grounds. I noticed that Sirius and Peter were both on the map very close to Harry – Harry Potter – and his friends." Lupin winced slightly. "I was shocked to see Peter as I had believed like everyone else that he was dead."
"Your testimony is that he's alive?" Amelia asked pointedly.
"Oh, he's alive alright." Lupin growled. "I immediately realised that Sirius was innocent of killing him and if he was innocent of killing Peter then…"
Amelia inclined her head in understanding. "You wondered if he was also innocent of killing the Potters?"
Lupin gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "Yes, and why Peter had felt it necessary to lie about his continued existence. I ran out to the Shrieking Shack to confront Peter and Sirius." He picked up the glass of water Amelia had supplied and drank a sip. "When I got there, Peter was still in his rat form…"
"He's an animagus?" Amelia interrupted.
"Yes, and he'd been living for years as the Weasleys' pet rat." Lupin breathed in deeply, clearly trying to control his anger. "Severus Snape turned up and well, Severus has a history of bad blood between myself, Sirius and James; he was determined to capture Sirius and his behaviour alarmed the children. The children's disarming spells went awry and he got knocked out. We finally confronted Peter and the truth came out: Peter had been the Secret Keeper. Peter had known Sirius knew he had betrayed James and Lily and so set him up. It was Peter who cut off his finger and blew up the gas main in the muggle street. Peter transformed into a rat immediately to escape the explosion, disappearing into the sewers."
"What happened then?" Amelia prompted when he fell silent.
"We bound Peter and started back towards the school, only I'd forgotten about the moon and as soon as I got outside…" Lupin grimaced. "Sirius was able to run me off and ensure I didn't hurt anyone. It was entirely careless of me."
"But unintentional." Amelia noted. "I'll have to make a note of the incident in your official registration file as this statement will be a matter of public record but I'll also state that it has been explained to my satisfaction and you're cleared of intentional harm."
"Thank you." Lupin said somewhat embarrassed.
"Please continue." Amelia prompted.
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