Inwardly sighing, Harry's voice betrayed no emotion as he spoke, "If you would like the Cup back, just ask Voldemort, he has it or it's still lying on the ground in some graveyard. I was a bit busy running for my life to stop and pick it up."
Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor were listening, enraptured, as Harry told them that he had been face to face with the Dark Lord. He seemed to be telling the truth but they were still wary of it. It would wreck their little worlds and they weren't ready for that. Like most of the Wizarding Populace, if it wasn't staring them in the face, they preferred to ignore the situation.
Dumbledore was watching Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Fudge closely; he ignored the Champions because they would follow his lead when the time came. Remus and Hermione didn't seem surprised; he surmised that they had all spoken briefly somehow before everyone showed up in the office.
He crossed his fingers and slowly tapped his chin with his thumbs, lost in thought. He was trying to formulate his response in such a way that wouldn't irritate everyone present. Buying more time, he turned to the other three Triwizard Champions and said, "You may return to the Great Hall for the award ceremony and party." Giving each of them a piercing gaze, he said, "Do not speak of what happened here this evening. It could lead to dire consequences if you did."
Remus understood the threat hidden in the Headmaster's words but he doubted that any of the Champions had noticed it. 'It's impossible for them to not talk about what they heard here. Before tonight, everyone in the school will know that Harry Potter claimed that Voldemort has returned.'
Fudge was shifting colors like a kaleidoscope, white and red were the two most prevalent ones. Dumbledore figured that Fudge was warring with himself on which way to proceed. Ultimately, he knew that Fudge would only do what Lucius told him so this was mostly to allow Fudge the illusion that he actually thought for himself.
Deciding to see if he could indebt Sirius Black to him, Dumbledore said, "Minister, we have proof that Sirius Black is innocent. Peter Pettigrew was the Potter's Secret Keeper and he betrayed them to Voldemort."
Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Hermione were interested in the direction this conversation was taking. This was a blatant attempt at manipulation by Dumbledore, but if it freed Sirius, that was good enough for them. They knew enough about the Headmaster's manipulative side to ignore the fact that he wanted them indebted to them for this attempt, successful or not.
Fudge was shocked at this statement, but he quickly recovered his long-standing view on the Black situation. His voice was sarcastic as he spoke, "Really, Dumbledore. Do you happen to have Peter Pettigrew locked up? Without a body, you have no case. You know that Veritaserum isn't fool proof. One good Memory Modification Charm and anyone would believe, under the serum's influence, that they had seen Pettigrew alive. The same goes for Pensive Memories. They can be altered or faked entirely, that is why they aren't allowed in court, and we rely mainly on eye witness accounts."
Dumbledore knew that this was a sticking point but he had thought of a way around this, "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Remus Lupin, and a Mr. Ronald Weasley have all seen Pettigrew alive and well, Minister. I told you as much one year ago and yet you did nothing." He finished, pushing as much of the blame for Sirius' fugitive status onto the Minister as he could.
Harry's heart plummeted in his chest. He had effectively ensured that Sirius would never be free when he accidentally killed Wormtail in the graveyard. 'Voldemort knew what he was doing when he burned the body,' he thought bitterly as he listened to the political maneuverings. One thing was for certain, there was no way that he was going to mention a dead Pettigrew in the presence of anyone other than those he absolutely trusted.
Hermione felt the bitterness from Harry when Wormtail was mentioned and she knew it didn't bode well for Sirius.
Fudge smirked at Dumbledore and replied, "Your own Potions Professor, Severus Snape, gave a statement to Law Enforcement last year stating that Black had Confunded everyone that evening when he escaped. Their testimony is worthless and you know it. Don't waste my time without a body; I'm not going to look like a fool by bringing that up without iron clad proof."
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