"Still think we should have left him," Sirius commented, causing Harry to let out an amused snort as they finally made their way out of the whooping willow.
Harry was levitating Peter while Sirius was helping Ron walk (which was fair given that Sirius was the one that caused his injury), meanwhile, Hermione was in the back, levitating Snape. Harry and Sirius had both been happy to suggest leaving Snape in the shrieking shack with Lupin, but Hermione wasn't in the mood for jokes. Harry was only half joking about it, unlike Sirius.
"Now, to the school," Harry said after they shut up the entrance.
"Beautiful," Sirius whispered upon seeing Hogwarts lit up in the night sky. "Just like how I remembered it."
"The view is pretty nice," Harry nodded.
'I agree,' Venom commented.
"Ow!" Ron hissed as they continued walking along.
"Sorry about the bite," Sirius apologised. "I reckon that stings a bit, eh?"
"A bit? A bit?!" Ron repeated with disbelief. "You nearly tore my bloody leg off!"
"I was going for the rat," Sirius began explaining. "Though, things are a bit different when you're a dog," He added before turning to Harry. "You know, James had suggested a few times that I make the change permanent. I thought about it, the tail I could live with, but the fleas, they're murder." He finished, shaking his head while Harry looked undoubtedly amused.
"Uurgh." Snape groaned as he started waking up, only for Harry to hit him with a body bind spell which unintentionally caused Hermione to drop him.
"Harry!" She complained.
"Hermione, you can't just drop teachers like that," Harry scolded her in a fake-disappointed voice. "Shame on you." He said, causing Sirius to start laughing.
"Why did you hit him with a body bind?" Hermione asked, staring between Harry and Snape.
"Because he's a flight risk," Harry said defensively. "and mostly because I can since he's unconscious enough for me to get away with it."
"Fair." Snorted Sirius.
"Anyway, let's get going before the dementors come along," Harry said, stopping Hermione from arguing more. Reluctantly, the girl kept quiet and levitated Snape again before they started walking towards the castle just as the atmosphere suddenly started to get a lot colder.
"Dementors!" Sirius froze and started staring around frantically as everyone suddenly started feeling horrible. No less than a few seconds later, Harry and the others saw the dementors coming for them.
"I got this," Harry said, cancelling his spell, causing Peter to land harshly on the floor and let out a pained grunt as he did so. "Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled, aiming his wand into the air. A bright, blue and white flash shot out from his wand before his Patronus shot out. The dementors got closer before Harry's charm collided with them and started sending them back. Harry wasn't sure how many dementors there were but it felt like a ridiculous amount.
'No creepy flying bitches are going to get the better of us,' Venom growled. 'Put in more power.'
Harry growled before he forced more power into his Patronus shield, his shield pulsed before it expanded massively, forcing the dementors farther back until they decided that their best option was to flee.
Once the dementors were far enough gone, Harry cancelled his spell, leaving him panting and staring at the others who were, in turn, staring back at him. Hermione and Ron were looking at him with wide eyes along with the now awake Snape and Peter Pettigrew while Sirius was staring at him with awe.
"Was that Prongs?" He breathed out.
"I think it was," Harry laughed lightly.
"Harry!" A voice called, Harry turned around and saw Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall rushing towards them. The two elderly teachers stopped in front of them and stared at all of them with disbelief.
"What happened?" Professor Dumbledore asked, his eyes narrowed.
"It's a long story." Harry sighed.
"I remember the last time I was here," Sirius said with a fond smile as he sat in a bed in Hogwart's hospital wing while Harry sat in a chair next to him, a few beds down Ron was in a bed with his leg in a cast with Hermione sitting next to him while Peter was laid unconscious in the bed opposite Sirius. "I had a broken arm treated, it had gotten hit by a beater bat when I was playing quidditch."
"You were on the house team?" Harry asked inquisitively.
"Oh yeah," Sirius said with a small chuckle. "I was a beater," He added with a grin. "We were playing against Slytherin and their beater decided to take a swing at me when the referee wasn't looking, I got my own back later during the game and broke his nose."
"Were you any good?" Harry asked after a brief laugh.
"One of the best, if I do say so myself, though I wasn't really the star player," Sirius smirked. "That was your old man, he was one of the best chasers that Gryffindor had ever seen and was one heck of a captain."
"I'm a seeker," Harry informed him. "Haven't lost a game since my first year."
"First year?" Blinked Sirius. "They let you play in your first year?"
"I'm an exception to a lot of rules." Harry shrugged just before the doors to the hospital wing opened, allowing in Minister Fudge along with a couple of aurors. Also with them was Snape who Harry couldn't help but notice was supporting a neck brace.
"Aurors, seize him!" Minister Fudge yelled upon seeing Sirius. The aurors immediately pulled out their wands and aimed them at Sirius.
"Ah, ah!" Harry said sharply, raising his wand and aiming it at the aurors as he stood up and faced them, keeping himself between them and Sirius. "Good evening, gentlemen, I think there might be a misunderstanding here."
"It's as I told you, Minister," Snape said, rubbing his neck. "Black has confounded the boy."
"Clearly," Minister Fudge said in agreement, staring at Harry with pity.
"Look, Sirius is innocent," Harry began. "I know it's hard to believe but..."
"Just what kind of spell do you have on him, Black?!" One of the aurors demanded.
"I haven't put him under any spell!" Sirius growled.
"He's right, he hasn't," Harry continued. "He didn't kill anyone, he..."
"Black's probably got him under the imperius curse," The other auror guessed. Harry growled, he sensed that Venom was getting more than a little annoyed and truthfully he was also getting more than a little pissed off by their inability to listen to him.
"Don't waste time and get him!" Barked Fudge. Harry took a deep breath before he decided to put an end to this with a little help from Venom.
"Enough!" Harry's venom-enhanced voice boomed in the ears of everyone, causing them all to stop dead in their tracks. Harry took in another deep breath before he started speaking in his normal voice. "Now, if you all would open your eyes, please look at exhibit A." Harry gestured to the unconscious body of Peter Pettigrew.
"What?!" Both the aurors blurted out.
"T...that's Peter Pettigrew!" Fudge gasped.
"Indeed, it is," Another voice said just before Professor Dumbledore entered the hospital wing along with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. "I find it very curious that he's alive, don't you?" Dumbledore asked in a conversational voice. "However, before we move onto that question, I would like to ask, why did you come straight here without first meeting me? I do believe that I had asked you to come to my office first."
"When I arrived in Hogwarts, your potions master told me how Black had confounded Harry Potter to attack him and that they were in the hospital wing." Fudge explained.
"Did he?" Dumbledore asked, staring at Snape who looked furious.
"How would he know?" Harry snorted, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "He was absent and unconscious through most of it."
"Potter, if I am wrong then that means you knowingly attacked a teacher," Snape pointed out, glaring at Harry.
"I attacked you because you were about to feed an innocent man to the dementors," Harry glared right back at him.
"There is nothing innocent about him!" Spat Snape.
"High praise coming from a death eater parasite!" Sirius snapped at him.
'Parasite?!' Venom's voice echoed in Harry's head.
'He's talking about Snape, not you,' Harry pointed out.
'I still don't like that word, but fine,' Venom growled.
"Sir," Hermione spoke up, addressing Minister Fudge. "Ron and I had heard everything, Pettigrew admitted that he was the one that betrayed Harry's parents and that he was working for you-know-who."
"He was the one who killed all those muggles as well," Sirius grunted. "When I confronted him about his betrayal, he shot a spell at a gas line, causing the whole street to blow up. Little rat cut off his finger and made a break for it."
"Why wasn't any of this revealed at your trial?!" Fudge demanded to know.
"I never got a trial!" Snarled Sirius. "Old Barty decided to just toss me in and throw away the key!"
"I...I can't believe that," Fudge said, shaking his head. "Barty Crouch gave everyone a trial, including his own son for Merlin's sake!"
"Well, clearly not everyone," Harry said, gesturing between Peter and Sirius. "Think about it, if Sirius didn't get a trial then how many other people didn't?"
"That is indeed a cause for concern," Professor McGonagall spoke up before she turned to Fudge. "And what do you propose to do about this?"
"I...um..."
"Minister," Dumbledore spoke up. "Do you not agree that it's necessary to make sure that the ministry makes sure that everyone in Azkaban has received a trial?"
"But...I..."
"I understand that it'll be difficult, but I'm sure that the public would be much more happy whilst knowing that their beloved Minister is doing his best to right the wrongs of his predecessors." Dumbledore smiled kindly at him with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I...well...you're right!" Fudge quickly agreed. "Yes, I should do my best to fix the mistakes of the previous administration."
"And make sure that Sirius gets a trial," Harry added.
"Um...yes, yes," Fudge nodded his head. "Aurors, take him and Peter to a holding cell where they will await a trial for the crimes that they have been accused of."
"Yes, Minister Fudge." The aurors nodded before making their way toward Sirius and Peter.
"Be gentle with Mr Black," Madam Pomfrey instructed them. "He still needs to recover."
"And I suppose it shouldn't have to be said," Harry spoke up. "But I do think it's best if Sirius doesn't have any contact with any dementors while he's waiting for his trial."
"No, he won't," Fudge quickly nodded his head. "I promise you, Mr Potter, he'll be looked after perfectly until his trial. Also, speaking of the dementors, what happened to the ones around Hogwarts?" He asked Dumbledore.
"Ah, they all tried to attack Mr Black before a patronus drove them off," Dumbledore explained.
"A single patronus?!" Fudge blurted out. "Drove off all of those dementors? Whose patronus?"
"Why, it was young Harry's," Dumbledore smiled. Instantly, Fudge and his aurors all stared at Harry who gave them a bland smile and a small wave.
"That's my godson," Sirius said proudly before the aurors started taking him and Peter away.
"What of Potter?!" Snape demanded once Sirius was gone along with the aurors, Peter and Fudge. "He attacked me! He attacked a teacher!"
"A teacher? Who?" Harry asked innocently.
"I demand that he be punished!" Snape hissed, already furious that Black was not being thrown to the dementors, and was now even angrier about the possibility of Harry not being punished.
"You go right ahead and punish me," Harry replied. "The second you do, I'll file a complaint with the ministry about your lies regarding Sirius."
"I did not..."
"Your lies that could have resulted in a man's soul being sucked out," Harry cut him off.
"No less than Black deserves!" Snarled Snape, not noticing the disturbed looks on Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey's faces.
"Why don't we feed you to the dementors since it seems to me that you have even less purpose being alive than him?!" Harry hissed. "The only thing you do is make life difficult for everyone else."
"Shut it!" Snape pulled out his wand.
"Bring it!" Growled Harry before the two aimed their wands at each other.
"Enough!" Dumbledore's magically amplified voice boomed, causing nearly everyone to flinch. "Lower your wands, now." He ordered.
Snape and Harry continued glaring at each other for a few moments before Snape shot Harry a hate-filled glare and spun around before storming out of the room, Harry growled before lowering his wand.
"Fucking man-child," Harry whispered under his breath.
'We should kill him,' Venom told Harry. 'Harry, we should kill him.'