Finally, they reached the fourth floor. This level was utterly silent. The air felt heavier, colder. The cells here were like black pits, nothing could be seen within, and not a sound came out. But even without noise, the presence of the prisoners could be felt like a weight pressing down on them.
"These are the real monsters," Colin said quietly. "The repeat offenders. The ones no one speaks of."
He turned to Bagnold and gestured ahead. "Ten cells down, that's where Sirius Black is being held."
"Good," Bagnold replied with a nod. "You've done well. You can return to the top floor. The rest is our business."
After Colin left, Minister Bagnold gave Alex a small nod before drawing his wand and tapping it gently against himself. In an instant, her figure vanished into thin air, just as planned. This was what she had discussed with Alex beforehand, she would make herself invisible to give him a moment alone with Sirius.
Alex nodded back in understanding, then quietly turned and walked toward the cell that held Sirius Black. He hadn't seen Sirius in years. Not since everything had gone wrong.
When he reached the cell, he finally laid eyes on the man who had once been one of his closest friends. The room wasn't exactly cramped, it was larger than most, but the stone walls and floor were filthy, stained by time and neglect. In one of the dark corners, far from the reach of the dim light, a thin figure huddled against the cold.
Sirius Black. His beard was long and unkempt, his robes torn and clinging to a body that looked far too frail for someone still in his twenties. He was slouched over, bones visible beneath the skin, and in the biting chill of winter, he wore nothing more than a thin, tattered set of prison robes. He looked less like a man and more like a shadow of one, more like someone in their seventies than someone barely thirty.
"Sirius..." Alex called out softly, his voice tinged with both pain and concern. Seeing him like this was more than difficult, it was heartbreaking.
The figure in the corner flinched. At the sound of his name, Sirius slowly lifted his head. His face, once full of fire and mischief, was now worn and hollow. His eyes, once bright with life, now stared blankly at the floor in front of him. But the light from outside the bars caught his features, and for the first time, he seemed to realize someone was standing there.
Sirius blinked slowly, eyes locking on Alex's face. At first, there was nothing, just confusion. Then came the slightest flicker of recognition.
"Sirius, it's me," Alex said, squatting down so they were eye-level. "It's Alex. Alex Wilson. Do you remember me?"
The name seemed to spark something in Sirius. He narrowed his eyes, studying the young man in front of him like a distant memory had just come back to life. "A-Alex?" he croaked out, uncertain.
Alex saw the change immediately. The confusion in Sirius' eyes began to clear, replaced by a flicker of emotion. "Yes. I'm here to see you, Sirius. I've come to talk to you. Please, come closer, I have something important to say."
But instead of moving toward him, Sirius recoiled. His expression twisted into one of terror, his whole body trembling as he let out a choked cry. He scrambled back into the corner, pressing himself against the wall like he was trying to disappear into it. He covered his head with his arms and buried his face in his chest, his voice breaking as he shouted.
"Go away! Leave me alone! You shouldn't be here!" His voice was raw and filled with panic, as if Alex's presence was too much to bear, not comforting, but terrifying.
Alex's heart sank. The man before him wasn't the Sirius he remembered. That Sirius had been bold, carefree, even reckless, but this one was broken, shattered by years in Azkaban. Now he was just a shadow, not of who he used to be, but of someone who had stopped believing he deserved to be human.
"Sirius, please," Alex said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm here to help you."
But Sirius only shook harder. His voice turned hoarse, almost animalistic as he shouted, "Go! I don't want to see you, I killed them! James, Lily… I killed them. It was me…"
"No, Sirius," Alex tried to say, but Sirius wouldn't listen.
The man kept repeating those same words over and over again, as if saying them might make them true, or maybe, in his broken mind, he already believed they were. No matter what Alex said next, Sirius didn't respond. He just sat there, curled in on himself, haunted by ghosts no one else could see.
Seeing that Sirius was completely unresponsive and refusing to talk, Alex could only sigh in frustration. But even so, something about Sirius' words didn't sit right. The pain in his voice wasn't fake, it didn't feel like some elaborate act. If Sirius really had betrayed James and Lily willingly, why would he show such deep remorse? Especially in a place like this, where there was no one to impress and no need for lies.
Alex turned his head slightly, glancing at the empty air beside him, where he knew Minister Bagnold was still standing under the Disillusionment Charm.
From her invisible position, Bagnold shrugged as if to say, 'I warned you.' She had warned him, after all. Sirius wasn't in a state where you could expect a clear conversation.
But Alex wasn't ready to give up so easily. He had spent years digging for the truth, chasing shadows, and fighting silence. Now, with Sirius right in front of him, he couldn't just walk away. He had to find out what happened that night.
Still, he could tell, words alone weren't going to work. Not with Sirius like this.
Taking a breath, Alex opened his hand. A small glass vial appeared in his palm, filled with a faintly glowing liquid. He turned toward the invisible Bagnold and mouthed the word Draught of Peace.
She paused for a moment, then gave a silent nod of approval. She, too, was interested in what really happened back then, not necessarily because she believed Sirius was innocent, but because she was still curious about how the location of the Potters' home had been exposed. That mystery had never been fully solved.
With her silent consent, Alex uncorked the vial and, using a quiet spell from his control-type magic, began to guide the potion toward Sirius. The liquid shimmered as it floated through the air, slowly drifting down until it settled around the huddled figure like a soft mist.