"No!" Sirius roared, his eyes blazing red with fury. His face twisted with rage as he lunged against the bars, voice cracking under the weight of emotion. "Even if you killed me right here, I would never betray James and Lily! Never! I'd never side with those monsters!"
His sudden burst of strength caught Alex off guard. For a second, Sirius nearly tore himself free, his desperation giving him unnatural power. But Alex tightened his grip in time, forcing Sirius' arm back through the bars, keeping him pinned.
"You didn't betray them?" Alex narrowed his eyes. He could see it now, Sirius wasn't lying. His face, his body, everything about him screamed raw, tortured truth. And that only raised more questions.
"Then how?" Alex pressed, voice low but forceful. "How did the Dark Lord find them? If you didn't give him the location, who did? And why the hell didn't you ever tell me the truth? What have you been hiding all these years?"
His words weren't just words, each one carried the weight of a subtle spell, slipping past mental defenses, digging into the heart of Sirius' thoughts. The magic made every syllable ring louder, hit harder.
"Stop… stop torturing me," Sirius gasped, tears now welling in his eyes. "I never wanted to give them up. I didn't… I couldn't. But it's still my fault. I am guilty. I let them die… I let them, " His voice broke, and the rest of the sentence dissolved into broken sobs.
Alex stared at him, frowning deeply. "You didn't? You couldn't?" he repeated, trying to make sense of it. "You knew they were protected by the Fidelius Charm. That spell's absolute. As the Secret Keeper, only you could reveal their location. Unless…"
Alex stopped talking, piecing things together in his head. His mind raced through every detail, every word Sirius had said. Even Bagnold, the guard standing off to the side, was now watching with a furrowed brow, silently absorbing the implications.
Sirius wasn't listening anymore. He was crying openly now, shoulders trembling as years of guilt and pain broke loose all at once. He was lost in the shadows of his past, drowning in it.
Alex stood quietly for a moment, then spoke again, his voice calm, but carrying a sharp edge. "If what you said is true… if you didn't reveal their location… and if you couldn't reveal it… then there's only one explanation left."
He leaned closer, locking eyes with Sirius, who had gone still, his bloodshot eyes wide, staring. "It means you weren't the Secret Keeper at all. Someone else was."
Alex had made his judgment with surprising ease. The logic was actually simple. If Sirius hadn't lied, then there could only be two reasons why Voldemort had been able to find Lily and James. One, the Fidelius Charm had failed somehow. Or two, Sirius had never been the Secret Keeper in the first place.
But back in his second year, Alex had discovered that he couldn't contact Lily anymore, which proved the Fidelius Charm was indeed working. There had been no break in the spell.
The Fidelius Charm was incredibly powerful, it couldn't be bypassed by force, no matter if you used Legilimency, Veritaserum, or even torture. Unless the Secret Keeper willingly revealed the secret, it remained hidden from everyone else.
That left only one possibility.
Sirius' expression twisted with pain as Alex voiced his thoughts. He clutched his head with his only hand, his voice hoarse with anguish.
"Stop... don't make me relive it. It's all my fault. I betrayed James and Lily's trust... I chose the wrong person!" He pressed his forehead against the cold iron bars of his cell, as if punishing himself.
Alex didn't stop. He wasn't trying to hurt Sirius, he needed the truth. "Just as I thought," he said quietly. "If you weren't the Secret Keeper, then the real one had to be someone you trusted deeply. Someone close to you. That narrows it down to you, James, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew."
He paced a little as he reasoned out loud. "If it wasn't you... and Peter always came across as cowardly, timid. You likely wouldn't have picked him under normal circumstances. So, was it Lupin? Did you choose him?"
Then Alex stopped, shaking his head. "No, that doesn't add up. If it had been Lupin who betrayed the Potters, you would've gone after him with everything you had. But that didn't happen." A sudden realization hit him. "Wait, it was Peter. It had to be him, didn't it?"
"You switched the Secret Keeper to Peter to throw Voldemort off, hoping no one would suspect him. But that clever idea backfired. Peter was the traitor inside the Order of the Phoenix. By trusting him, you unknowingly handed the Potters' secret straight to the Dark Lord. And when they died... you immediately went after Peter. That's what happened, right?"
The more Alex spoke, the more the events aligned. It all made perfect sense.
Sirius was silent. His body trembled slightly as he stared blankly ahead. The weight of the past clung to him like a heavy fog.
"So I was right," Alex said quietly. "You didn't betray them. Peter did. You're innocent."
Sirius finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "Alex, you're sharp. Smarter than most. But even if I didn't give Voldemort the secret myself... I'm still to blame. I suggested we switch the Secret Keeper. I believed Peter. I trusted him. If I hadn't made that decision... James and Lily would still be alive. I might as well have handed them over myself."
Tears slipped down his face and dropped to the stone floor.
Alex's voice softened. "So this is why you let yourself rot in Azkaban? You think staying here will make the guilt go away?"
Sirius didn't look at him. "Being here is the only thing that makes it hurt less. The only way I can feel like I'm paying for it... Alex, just leave me be. Let me stay here. It's the only thing I can do for James and Lily now."
Alex stared at him, feeling both frustration and pity. "But you're innocent. Staying locked up in this place doesn't change the past, and it doesn't help anyone. If you really regret what happened, if you want to make up for it, then go out there and do something. There are still Death Eaters out there, still people who helped the Dark Lord. If you really want to atone... fight them. Do something that matters."
Alex could see how broken and hopeless Sirius had become, so he took a deep breath and tried to speak gently, patiently, hoping to reach him.
"I can't picture myself walking out of here, Alex!" Sirius suddenly lifted his head, and the look in his eyes was filled with despair. "I've been trapped in this place for so many years, and I can't forget what I did... or rather, what I failed to do. It was my mistake. I can't forgive myself. You should just leave me here, let me waste away in this dark corner. That's what I deserve. As for the Death Eaters still out there, I trust Dumbledore. And I trust you. You can handle it. With or without me, it won't make much difference."