Before long, a burst of green flames leapt from the fireplace behind Dumbledore. The fire flashed once and vanished so quickly that Harry almost thought he'd imagined it.
Then, a short leg clad in suit trousers stepped out from the flames.
"Dumb—" Fudge's usually cheerful voice stopped dead in his throat, and even his movement faltered for a beat. For in the somewhat crowded office stood a handsome, refined-looking young man, smiling at him with what could only be described as a kindly nuclear radiance.
"Haha, Mr. Gold! I didn't expect to see you here… about that matter last time, it was rather impolite of me—" Fudge chuckled awkwardly, lowering his voice.
"Don't worry about it, dear Minister," Charles said pleasantly. "A little conflict only helps us get to know each other better."
And he truly didn't mind — after all, he wasn't the one who'd been stepped on.
Fudge, however, clearly did mind. He looked as uncomfortable as a Kneazle in a bathtub, his face turning red while a sheen of nervous sweat appeared on his forehead. He trembled slightly as he removed his hat and began dabbing his face with a handkerchief, doing his best not to meet Charles's gaze.
"W-what happened, Dumbledore? Calling me here at this hour—and Arthur, you're here too." He spoke quickly, scanning the room with his small, restless eyes.
He noticed the ragged, tramp-like man lying on the floor but didn't recognize him as the recipient of the Order of Merlin. Instead, his attention was drawn to the boy standing amid the group — the not-so-conspicuous Harry.
"Wait… is that… the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter?"
Dumbledore had clearly prepared his words in advance. While Charles had gone to fetch Harry and Ron, Dumbledore had already confirmed the truth in his own way.
He had refused to use Veritaserum, but Legilimency served much the same purpose.
Wizards often insisted that Legilimency wasn't mind-reading — yet it could peer into a person's thoughts and memories, especially when cast by the most powerful wizard alive… who also wielded the most powerful wand in the world.
"Please, have a seat, Cornelius," Dumbledore said calmly. "I apologize for summoning you at this late hour, but there is a righteous soul who has been wrongfully imprisoned and now urgently needs to be saved."
"Excuse me? I don't think I follow," Fudge said awkwardly. That was exactly what he disliked about Dumbledore — couldn't the man ever just talk plainly?
"Sirius Black," Dumbledore began, "for years we have believed him to be a follower of Lord Voldemort—"
At the name, Fudge flinched violently, as though someone had scraped a fork across his nerves.
"D-don't say that name, Dumbledore! Call him You-Know-Who!" he pleaded. Even after a decade, the name still haunted Britain's wizarding world like a ghost.
But Dumbledore paid him no mind and continued, "—but we may have been mistaken."
Sirius Black?
Harry heard another unfamiliar name and grew increasingly confused. Why was he even here tonight? And what did this man have to do with him?
Molly Weasley, however, wrapped her arms protectively around Harry's head, as though shielding him from pain he didn't yet understand.
"What's the meaning of this? Black was framed? Surely you can't be serious, Dumbledore! He—" Fudge began, eyes widening, but then hesitated, glancing at Harry.
"—He was a traitor! If not for him spilling secrets… and he confessed to his crimes!" Fudge could still recall the man's wild, deranged laughter from ten years ago.
"It seems it was you who were mistaken," Charles said evenly. "Look carefully, Fudge. Think — do you recognize this man?"
"Eh—" Fudge frowned, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall the face of someone who had been "dead" for ten years.
"Peter Pettigrew," Charles supplied, "the man believed to have been murdered by Black — hailed as a hero. But in truth, he never died. He transformed into a rat and hid for ten long years."
"T-transformed… into a rat?" Fudge repeated uncertainly. He didn't really believe it — but the man on the floor was indeed missing a finger.
"Yes. He's an unregistered Animagus, and a skilled one at that. Unfortunately for him, I saw through the disguise," Charles said with a grin.
At that, both Ron and Percy finally burst out, unable to contain themselves.
"Wait, Professor — you're saying he's Scabbers?!" the brothers shouted in unison, their faces pale.
Especially Percy — after all, he'd lived with Scabbers for years!
"Exactly," Charles confirmed.
"Ugh, that's disgusting! I let him sleep in my bed!" Ron groaned, horrified.
"That's nothing — I kissed him! Blegh!" Percy's eyes went glassy. "If Penelope ever finds out, she'll think I'm revolting!"
"Well… you kinda are," Ron muttered quickly, determined to hide the fact that he had once kissed Scabbers too.
"Are you serious, Dumbledore? This isn't a joke!" Fudge said sternly. For all his incompetence, he was still the Minister for Magic — and he understood what this revelation meant.
"There may be minor discrepancies in the details," Dumbledore said with certainty, "but I need you to take Peter Pettigrew into custody at once, and have Sirius Black brought from Azkaban for a retrial. I believe this time, he will tell the truth."
"This is… madness," Fudge muttered, feeling dizzy. But he didn't object. At this point, he wasn't yet Dumbledore's political adversary.
"Move quickly, Cornelius," Charles urged. "This will be good for you. Imagine it — the Minister for Magic personally overturns a wrongful conviction and restores justice. Your reputation will soar."
"You know, that… actually makes sense," Fudge said, eyes brightening. "I'll head to the Ministry right away—"
But just as he turned to leave, a hand stopped him.
"What's the rush? The Ministry's long closed by now," Charles said smoothly, slipping an arm around his shoulders and steering him aside. "And besides… there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"W-what… what is it?" The excitement drained from Fudge's face in an instant. He trembled, glancing helplessly at Dumbledore — but the Headmaster was already focused elsewhere, his gaze falling on Harry.
"Come here, Harry. I imagine you must be wondering why I've called you tonight…"
Dumbledore's voice faded in Fudge's ears, growing quieter and quieter—
(End of Chapter)