Sirius Black - To Be Convicted Guilty
Sirius Black
Azkaban
November 3, 1981
I'm sorry, Remus, Sirius thought to himself sadly, Fuck, I am so sorry.
He had tried so hard to prove to everybody that he wasn't like his family, tried so hard and now it didn't even matter. Now he was just like them. A traitor, a murderer, a Black.
He had failed everyone. Failed Lily and James, failed Regulus, failed Remus and failed Harry. If he had been brave enough and kept the title of secret keeper, Lily and James would be alive. If he had been a good enough brother, Regulus might still be alive. If he had trusted Remus and told him about the swap, Remus wouldn't be alone. If he had been a good enough godfather, Harry would be happy.
He hadn't even gotten a trial. Closing his eyes, Sirius thought back to the pitiful day he had sat in chains in front of the wizengamot as they convicted him.
'You have been brought here before the Wizengamot today so that we may convict you of the heinous charges committed by Sirius Orion Black, this is as follows: The assisted murder of Lily and James Potter, the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve other unnamed muggles and the breach to the Statue of Secrecy,' Barty Crouch had called out as Sirius sat in a chair which chained him. Crouch looked at him in disgust.
'Are you Sirius Orion Black?'
'Yes,' Sirius had answered, ashamed by his own name, the constant reminder of his family.
'Are you responsible for the fifteen deaths I labelled before?'
'I-' No, he wasn't responsible for the deaths, not really - and Peter wasn't even dead!
'Well are you or not Black?'
'No!' Sirius had croaked defiantly. 'I didn't-'
'Witnesses say that Black had his wand pointed at Pettigrew and was threatening to kill him before he blew the street up!' A voice shouted from the rows in front of him and Sirius recognised Amelia Bones.
'I-'
'He's been gathering inside information for You-Know-Who!' a witch with curly blonde hair added.
'No-'
'He's probably behind most of the recent deaths!' a small wizard with sleek black hair agreed.
'Please, that's just-'
'And he was laughing! Laughing after he killed all of those muggles!' a wizard Sirius saw to have dark hair. Well, he had been half delirious then!
'I was-'
'Was he responsible for the Mckinnon's deaths? The Prewetts? The Meadows? Benjy Fenwick? Caradoc Dearborn? Edgar Bones?' called out a witch with light ginger hair.
'They were my friends!' Sirius argued in defence.
'Lily and James were your friends! Pettigrew was your friend!'
'I didn't-' Sirius began but was cut off by Crouch.
'All those in favour of convicting the accused of all charges?'
All the hands in court went up and Sirius' heart sank, He was not guilty!
'Sirius Orion Black, you are sentenced for life in Azkaban!' Crouch declared and several wizards and witches cheered.
'NO!' Sirius screamed, 'You can't! I'm not guilty! I'm not guilty!' scabbed hands grabbed Sirius and he felt the sickening chill of dementors.
'I'm not guilty!' Sirius screamed again, 'You can't! Don't send me to Azkaban!' more and more dementors circled around him, grabbing him as he attempted to push them off.
'I'm not guilty! Don't send me to Azkaban!' fog entered his mind and he saw the bright green flashes of James' and Lily's deaths, he saw Peter's face as he transformed, he saw his mother torturing him in the basement of Grimmauld Place, he saw Remus' scarred body after returning from a mission with the werewolves, he saw the articles in the Daily Prophet announcing the deaths of Marlene, Dorcas and Regulus.
'DON'T SEND ME TO AZKABAN!' Sirius shrieked as the dementors pulled him from the courtroom. He saw James' lifeless body, he heard Lily's dying scream and felt the bang of their house exploding, he saw Voldemort's red eyes staring into his soul as he attempted to brand Sirius a death eater...
'I'M INNOCENT! DON'T SEND ME TO AZKABAN!' Sirius pleaded with the courtroom as he was dragged out. James' face flashed in front of his eyes - Lily's, Mary's, Marlene's, Dorcas', Regulus', Remus' and Harry's...
'I don't want to go to Azkaban...' Sirius whispered as tears filled his eyes and he fell to his knees, ignoring the hands of the dementors. 'James, Lily, Remus- I don't want to... please help me...' but Lily and James were dead and Remus thought he was a traitor.
'I'm innocent, I really am... I don't want to go to Azkaban...'
And he was in Azkaban. Aurors had grabbed him after he fought off the dementors and apparated him here, in this filthy cell, thousands of miles away from Harry and Remus.
And it was his birthday. His twenty-second birthday and he was spending it in Azkaban, just like he would be spending the rest of his life there.
But he was innocent, he knew that even if no one believed him.
He was innocent.