Ministry of Magic | 23rd December 1981 | 9 AM
"Chief Warlock Dumbledore, what made you request the retrial of mass murderer and Voldemort's right hand Sirius Black? He is the one that betrayed his best friend, and such a person deserves life in Azkaban. The Daily Prophet requests your comments."
On 22nd December, Dumbledore requested the retrial of Sirius Black, and it passes with close to zero opposition due to the reputation of Dumbledore. The very few who opposed the retrial were actually those of the dark side, including the Malfoys and Notts.
"I believe that a lot of illuminating details will emerge from this trial, and I sincerely wish that my hunch is true."
After parting those few words, Dumbledore left to the court room. The trial was to be held at 9:30, so he decided to be a bit early. However, he was not even close to being the first person there. Many from the light side were already there, and in their eyes was a fire.
At 9:30, Dumbledore went to the Judge's bench and sat at the head of the table. He was joined by the then minister of magic, Millicent Bagnold, and Head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch Sr.
"The official trial of Sirius Black commences on 9:30 AM on December 23rd 1981." Dumbledore banged the gavel. Someone immediately raised his wand.
"Yes Lord Abbot."
"Lord Abbot wishes to correct Chief Warlock's statement. Lord Abbot believes the correct term is retrial."
"That is incorrect Lord Abbot. A trial for Mr Sirius Black was never held. Now, would the charges on the accused be presented."
Gasps echoed through the hall. Azkaban was one of the worst places in the world to exist. That a person was imprisoned without a trial was horrifying.
Meanwhile an Auror came forward. He was Leo Selwyn, one of the senior aurors in the department. He cleared his throat.
"Mr Sirius Black is accused of the murder of Peter Pettigrew Order of Merlin First Class, serving the Dark Lord, the murder of 12 muggles and the usage of magic in front of muggles."
"Bring the accused." Dumbledore beckoned an auror to his right.
Sirius Black was brought into the court. He did not look well, his hair was very dirty and messy. His clothes were torn in various places, and his face looked very haggard. Even a few weeks in Azkaban had a major impact on the youth.
"Sirius Black," Dumbledore started, "Do you agree to the usage of Veritaserum for this hearing?"
Sirius Black was still very confused about what was happening. He blurted, "Yes."
An auror came forth with a vial in his hand. The vial was filled with a clear liquid. The auror pulled back Sirius' head, and poured three drops of the clear liquid into his mouth. A few minutes later, Sirius' mind became a bit muddled. He looked around, but didn't look as tense and confused.
Dumbledore said, "The questioning of Sirius Black will now take place after the administration of Veritaserum."
He looked at the paper on his desk, and asked the first question.
"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
Sirius' simple answer drew in gasps and heaps of confused stares. Dumbledore however continued unperturbed.
"Who killed Peter Pettigrew?"
"No one as far as I know. I didn't kill him, so he must have run off in his animagus form."
Sirius snarled after he finished his statement. Dumbledore was shocked. He felt stupid, he knew that Pettigrew had an animagus form, and he didn't know of any curse that killed a person and yet left a body part, but he didn't connect the pieces together.
He moved to his next question.
"Did you murder 12 innocent muggles?"
"No. Pettigrew was the one who threw the curse, then something exploded."
"Were you a supporter of Voldemort?"
Everyone hissed deeply, no one else dared to say his name aloud, even though he was proclaimed dead. The fear in everyone's heart hadn't disappeared yet. Everyone listened intently. They were shocked by the previous answers, but this questioned was the most crucial for deciding whether Sirius was a cold murderer, or innocent.
"No."
The whole hall became quiet. No one save the actual death eaters expected this answer. Dumbledore furrowed his eyebrows. He was relieved and feeling guilty at the same time.
"If you were not a supporter of Voldemort, who was it that told Voldemort where the Potters lived?"
"I convinced the James and Lily to make Peter the secret keeper since I was the obvious choice. I didn't know that Peter was the spy in the order at the time. I didn't suspect any of the marauders then."
Sirius slumped to his chair and started sobbing. Dumbledore continued to the last question, even though it was more of a formality.
"Did you use magic in front of muggles on 1st September 1981, knowing the consequences of your actions?"
"Yes."
"The jury has completed it's questioning and will give it's decision in 10 minutes." Dumbledore and the rest of the jury left the room and came back after 10 minutes. In this time Sirius was fed the cure to veritaserum.
Dumbledore announced, "After discussion, the jury finds Sirius black innocent on the counts of murder of Peter Pettigrew Order of Merlin First Class, serving the Dark Lord and the murder of 12 muggles; and guilty on the count of improper usage of magic. The jury pardons the accused of the crime on basis that it was committed due to extreme emotion. The jury also decrees the withdrawal of the order of merlin from a Peter Pettigrew, and authorizes his bounty of 1000 Galleons. As Sirius Black is godfather to both Charlus and Harry Potter, he is awarded custody of both. The jury now declares this session closed."
A gavel banged the table.