He had no memory of leaving the hellish prison, and yet Remus found himself sitting in Dumbledore's office, shivering as he chewed on some chocolate, trying to shake off the remnants of the Dementors effects on his body.
Dumbledore sat calmly in front of him, gaze unreadable in the way it always was, and Minerva sat at Remus' side, her hand on his arm, trying to offer him any type of comfort.
Three weeks didn't seem like a long time to most people - but these weeks had felt like decades for Remus, and now, all he could think about, was what if Sirius was telling the truth?
Three weeks locked away in Azkaban, surrounded by Dementors, leaving him struggling to remember any good in his life.
Surrounded on all sides by Death Eaters - Bellatrix's laughter audible from almost every direction, cruel words dancing through the ice cold air, thrown towards anyone and everyone she could think of.
Locked away, suffering, while knowing he was innocent of the crimes he was there for - being blamed for the murder of the man he considered a brother-
Remus felt sick.
He had allowed this to happen- he hadn't tried hard enough to get Sirius a fair trial- he knew that it was weird - he knew that it was wrong - but he hadn't done anything! He had left the only person he had left in this world to suffer alone.
Remus realised he was crying, the chocolate he'd been eating abandoned on the Headmasters desk, his entire body still shaking.
He was aware that Minerva had explained the situation to Dumbledore, and he was beyond thankful for her, Remus wasn't sure if he could have spoken at all in that moment.
He felt as if he'd collapse the moment he tried to do anything more than sit here.
"Remus?"
Dumbledore's voice was soft - the man over his years on the earth had seemingly perfected the art of speaking in a tone so gently that it could put almost anyone at ease, and Remus wondered how he had learned such a talent.
Looking up at the familiarly worn face of his headmaster, feeling like a teenager all over again, sitting in his office after a bad Full.
"I take it you believe Sirius?"
Remus thought about that for a moment - did he believe him?
He had struggled to believe that Sirius would do anything that would risk putting James, Lily and Harry in harm - but Peter...
Peter wasn't anymore believable.
He hadn't believed that loyal, protective, strong willed Sirius would betray his friends - so how could he believe that kind, nervous, loving Peter would?
"I.. don't know" he croaked, his own voice sounding strange to him - like it wasn't entirely his own.
His eyes burned with fresh tears as he continued.
"I- I think.. I think so?"
He forced a shuddering breath into his lungs, feeling as though someone was tightening something around his throat, "I- He- He wants to have a fair trial- I want him to have a fair trial- A trial with Veratisyrum. I- I need to know- I need to know if he's telling the truth, sir, I-"
Dumbledore held up a hand, an understanding look on his face.
"I understand, Remus, I do - and I will push to get Sirius a fair trial as soon as possible. I cannot say the Minister will like it, he seems particularly distressed about the idea of being seen as... unreliable, and as such, it may take a while - but I assure you, Remus, we will know the truth before long"
Remus stared tearfully up at his old headmaster.
"Tha- Thank you, sir" he managed to croak.
"And now, I must encourage you to try and get some rest - you are clearly exhausted. The past three weeks have been incredibly stressful for you, and today even more so.
Have some water, something to eat, and get some sleep - try to keep your mind on something else for a short while if you can"
Remus nodded, mutely.
He stood, stumbling slightly - Minerva quickly grabbing his arm to steady him.
"Come on, dear, I'll take you home"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remus shuddered.
It had been yet another three weeks.
An entire six weeks since James and Lily had been horrifically murdered.
And finally- finally, Remus found himself sitting in the underground court room he had been to a few times during the Wizarding War.
Dumbledore sat at his left, and Minerva on his right - behind him sat Moody, along with a couple other Order members Remus couldn't be bothered to identify right now.
Hagrid had been unable to accompany them - but had promised to meet them outside once court had ended.
It was cold - and Remus found himself wishing he'd grabbed James old sweater once again - and he seemed unable to stop shivering.
In the middle of the circular room, sat a singular wooden chair.
There were chains on the arms, the legs, and even the back of the chair - it looked like some kind of torture device.
Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stood above them all, a group of men and women dawned in expensive looking robes sat behind him, and beside him, was Barty Crouch, glaring down at the empty chair with disgust.
Remus wondered what he was imagining.
They sat there for almost half an hour before the trial began.
The door at the back of the court open - Remus sucked in a cold, painful breath of air, and he felt Moody place a hand on his shoulder.
The figure that stumbled through the door was skeletal, with long, matted black hair falling over his face.
His arms were chained in front of him, each step causing the metal to clank and clatter.
Behind him glided a Dementor, urging him forward.
The room seemed to freeze over, all positive emotions sucked from the room, leaving Remus with a feeling similar to that of drowning.
Sirius stumbled to the chair, all but falling into it as his legs seemingly have out beneath him when he reached it.
He didn't look up as the enchanted chains clasped tightly around his ankles, wrists and waist.
Remus wondered briefly why he had to be so tightly contained - the previous trials Remus had attended, they'd only had their wrists and ankles binded.
Sirius seemed to struggle to breath - before slowly looking up at the court.
His pale skin looked ghostly in the flickering light of the many fires dotted around the room, his clothes hung off of him like he was draped in lose fabric instead of the shirt and trousers he was actually dawned in, and everything about him was dirty.
Face smudged, hands blackened, clothes stained with dirt and crumbling, decaying stone.
"Sirius Orion Black," The Minister began, "Son of Walburger and Orion Black - both deceased - and brother to Regulus Arcturus Black, also deceased - you have been called here today because you, and others, believe that you are entitled to a fair trial to plead your case.
Is this information correct?"
"Yes."
Sirius' voice was rough and weak, barely audible from where Remus sat in the crowd.
"You have been accused of giving information to the Dark Lord, breaking the conditions of being a Secret Keeper, betraying your allies, aiding in the murders of James Fleamount Potter, Lily Potter, and the attempted murder of Harry James Potter, as well as the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, not only putting the Wizarding Secrecy statute at risk, but also committing a horrific mass murder almost completely unheard of in the history of the Wizarding World.
It is of the understanding of the Ministry that you have agreed to be administered Veritaserum during your questioning today, is this correct Mister Black?"
"Yes."
Fudge motioned to an Auror - a stern looking woman wearing red robes - who walked forward, holding a small vile of clear liquid.
She stopped at an arms distance away from Sirius, a chain around his wrist was loosened, and Sirius reached forward slightly.
The witch placed the vile in his hand, opening it as she did.
Sirius, maintaining stubborn eye contact with the Minister and Crouch, downed the whole vile in one, much to the surprise of the court, reporters, and crowd.
Fudge cleared his throat as he schooled his expression, nodding at the witch, who took the now empty vile from Sirius' grasp, stepping back as the chains pulled his wrist back to the arm of the chair.
"As is customary, we will begin with a few preliminary questions to ensure the serum is in effect," Fudge explained, looking down at his papers with an expression that showed he hadn't been expecting to use the questions he'd written.
Remus found himself staring, with the distinct feeling of being drenched in ice cold water, at the man he had loved for so many years.
"Your name is Sirius Orion Black, correct?"
"Yes."
"You left the Black family home at the age of sixteen, correct?"
"Yes."
"Where did you go after you left your family home?"
"James' house"
"The Potter family home?"
"Yes."
"Any particular reason?"
"James is my brother, not by blood"
"What is your most painful memory from your childhood?" Fudge asked.
Sirius seemed to struggle against the serum for a moment, before finally, "My- mother used the Cruciatus Curse against my brother when I tried to leave the Summer after my third year at Hogwarts.
She threatened to keep doing this every day I wasn't at home if I left"
Sirius seemed physically pained by the memory as it was ripped from his mouth.
Remus closed his eyes, physically shaking, as he remembered the situation Sirius was talking about.
He had been distraught.
Frantic letters begging for help sent to all three of them- help for Regulus.
But they couldn't do anything about it - all stuck at their own homes, unable to do more than write their own responses and try, and often fail, to visit him.
Fudge paused, taking a breath.
"Were you, at any point before, during, or after the war, knowingly sending information to the Dark Lord?"
"No."
Remus released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding - it came out in a rush, close to a shuddering sob as he dropped his head into his hands.
And for the first time since he entered the room, Sirius looked up to the crowed.
Remus felt Moody's hand tighten around his shoulder, but he didn't look up - he didn't want to look at the man he had left to rot for three weeks before doing anything to help-
Fudge took another breath, his skin now several shades paler as he seemed to realise what a monumental mistake he had allowed to take place.
An innocent man locked in Azkaban and a mass murderer still on the lose.
"Were you, at any point before or during the war, under the imperious curse or otherwise forced to give information to the Dark Lord?"
"No."
"Have you, at any point before, during, or after the war, given information that could be used against the Ministry, the Order, or the Wizarding World to Death Eaters working for the Dark Lord?"
"No."
"Were you the Secret Keeper for the location for James Fleamount Potter, Lili Potter, and Harry James Potter?"
"No."
"Who was the Secret Keeper?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
Another sob was wrenched through Remus, and he soon found himself unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face, trying to muffle his cries with his hands, clamping his mouth shut as Moody's hand began to rub his arm in an attempt to comfort him.
The chill that fell over the court was not caused by the Dementor still in the room.
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
"Did you kill any of those twelve Muggles?"
"No."
"In your own words, explain what happened that Halloween night."
Sirius took a breath, closing his eyes, before beginning to speak.
He was shaking, tears running freely down his face, the sound of rattling chains echoing silently through the hall.
"I- I was worried. I tried to contact Peter, but he didn't answer. I tried to contact James using the double sided mirror we used - but he didn't answer either.
I Apparated to Godric's Hollow- I saw what had happened to the house and I saw James- laying in the doorway- I-" his voice broke and if it wasn't for the serum, Remus was sure he would have stopped talking.
"I saw Hagrid, he had Harry- I tried to go upstairs to Lily but he stopped me - told me I- I wouldn't want to see her- not like that-
I gave Hagrid my motorbike - he took it to take Harry somewhere safe-
I thought- I thought something had happened to Peter - I thought Voldemort," a shiver ran through the court, some people cried out in fear, Fudge looked close to passing out at the name "-had somehow found a way to force the information from him-" Another struggling breath broke off Sirius' rambling.
"I tracked him down and chased him down a Muggle street.
I was trying to get him to tell me what happened - and then- then he started yelling at me- he started acting like I had betrayed James- and I saw his arm- I saw the Mark- I froze- I was better at duelling I should have been able to stop him but I froze and he reached for his wand- He cast a long range explosion- killed those Muggles- cut off his finger and used his ability as an Unregistered Animagus to escape."
Sirius was sobbing now, struggling for breath, nails digging into the palms of his hands.
Silence filled the court for a long couple seconds, only broken by Sirius' cries.
And finally, Fudge spoke up once again.
"Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus?"
Sirius nodded, "Yes"
"And his form?"
"A rat"
"Are you an Animagus?" a witch asked from behind Fudge, and Remus fought the urge to scream at her that the question had nothing to do with the situation.
"Yes," Sirius bit out, "We became Animagi in our fifth year. My form is a dog. James was a stag"
A murmur ran through the crowd, before another witch stood.
"You will not be charged for that - we will count three weeks as your punishment for that crime"
Sirius nodded mutely.
Fudge took a breath.
He turned to his court, asking for those who believed Sirius should be cleared of all charges to raise their hands.
Near everyone did - aside from one or two people who didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Fudge nodded, turning to face Sirius.
He banged the gavel, which echoed near deafeningly through the court, "Cleared of all charges, and reparations will be sent to you for your time wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban - as well as the damage to your reputation done by the charges filed against you.
Starting now, the hunt for Peter Pettigrew begins - the information you have given the Ministry today will greatly aid our search for him."
Sirius broke down in tears once again, the chains around him letting go of his skeletal body as the court was dismissed.
Remus stood quickly, despite the nausea it caused, stumbling over the stands and down towards the middle of the room.
Moody had tried to keep a hold of him, standing along side him and trying to keep him steady - but Remus' frantic movements made it incredibly difficult for the man to do so, and he eventually gave up - instead merely following behind to make sure Remus didn't end up hurting himself.
Remus' foot caught on something on the final stand and he ended up half falling the rest of the way to Sirius, who was now kneeling on the stone floor.
Remus collapsed to the ground, his knees colliding painfully with the stone, and he knew there would be bruises later but he didn't care, as he threw his arms around Sirius' frail form.
Sirius tensed, flinching as he did, quickly beginning to stutter out a jumble of words that Remus didn't even begin to try and understand.
"I'm sorry, Sirius!" he cried, his voice shaking with tears, clinging to the man tightly, as though he was afraid he'd just disappear.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry- I should have never believed- I'm sorry! I love you- I love you so much and I'm so sorry I left you- I'm sorry I thought- I'm sorry- I-"
Sirius wailed in his arms, collapsing into his hold as he gripped Remus' shirt tightly with both hands, burying his face into Remus' chest.
Distantly, Remus was aware of people around them - but he didn't care.
In that moment, nothing else mattered.
In that moment the only thing that mattered was the man held within his arms.
All that mattered to Remus in that moment, was Sirius.