"That's what I thought too, Minister," she echoed. "Those were way before your time in office, of course, so I'm not blaming you, but it's an incredible oversight. But Black told us and proved it later - and this is the almost unbelievable part - he said that he wasn't the Potters' Secret Keeper - it was Peter Pettigrew."
"But - how?"
The Minister's mouth gaped in shock once more, but Blake noted that he wasn't objecting any more.
"They swapped at the last second," Daphne confirmed. "Professor Dumbledore, I'm assuming you weren't informed?"
The Headmaster of Hogwarts had been strangely quiet, and he merely nodded confirmation.
"Lupin wasn't told either - Black didn't trust him, it seemed. But they swapped - Black didn't trust Lupin, and Lupin didn't trust Black. It made sense too. Black was from a family with some of the worst Death Eaters, and Lupin was frequently undercover in werewolf circles - both could've been double agents, so they both didn't trust each other."
"But it was Peter Pettigrew the whole time!" Blake said suddenly, as if with renewed confidence.
"What was the only part of Pettigrew they could supposedly recover, Minister?"
"His - his finger?"
"Exactly! Minister, you went to visit Black in Azkaban, didn't you?"
"Yes, but-"
"You had a newspaper, right?"
"I did, but-"
"Do you remember what was on the first page of it?"
Blake answered his own question before Fudge could.
"It was the Weasley family, wasn't it?"
The memory seemed to come back to Fudge quickly. "Yes, yes it was, but how does that relate to anything?"
"The Weasleys have a family pet, Minister," Daphne interjected. "It was in the picture too - a rat - a rat with a missing toe. Do you know what Pettigrew's Animagus form was?"
Fudge looked puzzled for a few seconds, before realisation and horror dawned on his face. But before he could speak, another voice interrupted.
"Therefore, Sirius Black is innocent, and Peter Pettigrew is alive and the true culprit - that is what you are both trying to say?" Dumbledore said sharply. The pair nodded, and Dumbledore turned to Snape.
"And you can vouch for them, Severus?"
Snape seemed to struggle to admit it, as if he was trying to swallow the world's worst tasting Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans but he too nodded.
"But that's surely impossible!" Fudge finally cried out. "I remember Peter Pettigrew - you do too, Dumbledore! A small, chubby boy was he not? He wouldn't…"
Fudge trailed off quietly. There was a moment of silence, before Dumbledore spoke again.
"I think we both know, Cornelius, how little the word 'impossible' means when it comes to the treachery and deception of Lord Voldemort."
The Minister of Magic protested still, unable - or perhaps unwilling - to believe that they'd all been so wrong about one of the most monumental events of magical Britain's history.
He needs a little push, Blake decided.
"From what I've read - well, I'm not sure, Minister - but I heard the previous administration let off a bunch of Death Eaters and messed up evidence and all sorts of errors - is that true?"
Suddenly, Fudge's body language shifted, as if a light bulb had just lit up in his head.
"Yes, yes," Fudge replied slowly, before erratically nodding his head. "They were notorious for it!"
Got him.
"And what happened after all of this?" Dumbledore asked Blake and Daphne.
"We tried to leave, got attacked by Dementors, Lupin transformed - oh, and by the way, Sirius Black protected us by fighting Lupin after he transformed - and Pettigrew got away."
"So, essentially, there is no evidence of Black's innocence, apart from your word?" Dumbledore asked, with a sparkle in his eyes.
"Yes," Blake sighed loudly, quickly glancing at Daphne. "My word, Daphne's word, Professor Snape's and Lupin's, and Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's - and Black's himself."
"Wait-" Daphne interjected. "There's another way we could prove his innocence."
All eyes turned to Daphne.
"We need to find Peter Pettigrew." There was a moment of stunned silence.
"Ms Greengrass," Fudge said. "I'm sure you understand - Peter Pettigrew is known as a hero - not just in Britain, but the whole world! If we were to start searching for him now, there would be an uproar!"
"That's true," Blake agreed. "Especially when it seems like the only evidence is a bunch of kids and people from Black's school year."
"Thank you, Blake!" Fudge said.
So what's your plan then, Minister? Blake shuddered to think how little trust he had in this man to lead a country normally, let alone in times of crisis or war.
"But, Minister, there's another option - it doesn't have to be public - or even official - surveillance, does it?"
"What - what do you mean?"
"The Aurors often act secretly, in the interests of national security, don't they? I don't know about you, but if I were Peter Pettigrew, I'd be running on very few options right now. If he reveals himself to the public, he'll be targeted by everyone - the public for lying and potential treachery, and Death Eaters too. Black said they thought Pettigrew betrayed them - you have to remember that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named died as a direct result of Pettigrew's information. That leaves Pettigrew with only one real option - one person that he could rely on for protection - You-Know-Who himself."
Fudge's eyes widened.
"You're saying Pettigrew could be trying to revive him as we speak!?"
"It's certainly plausible, isn't it, Cornelius?" Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "I've always told you that I believe the Dark Lord was trying to return - and now we know he might not be working alone."
Fudge hesitated.
"There's a lot of possibilities here, I have to say - no solid evidence… Black could've just Confunded you all… And besides - You-Know-Who is dead, isn't he?"
Dumbledore sighed quietly.
"I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I'm willing to take Veritaserum and be subjected to Legilimency. And besides, if we were Confunded, you could literally reverse it and we'd be back to normal, right?" Blake countered.
"Actually, Cornelius, I took the liberty of cancelling any potential Confundus charm when I first saw them in the infirmary."
Fudge sighed once more.
"I'm not sure…"
"That's fine, Minister," Blake said with a small smile. "I trust you'll come to the right and best decision. And besides, none of this was your fault - it's a culmination of all the previous administrations' failures."
Fudge was visibly uplifted by Blake's words, but before he could respond, someone burst into the room.
"Headmaster! Minister! It's been 10 minutes now - Greengrass really must get her rest!"
"Of course, Poppy," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Our apologies."
Blake and Daphne both got up wordlessly, recognising their time there was up. But before they left, Blake couldn't help but ask one final question.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
"Hm?"
"What's going to happen with Professor Lupin?"
Dumbledore's eyes looked downcast.
"I'm not sure, Blake. We shall see."
Blake nodded, before he turned to leave - he knew what that meant.
Daphne was ushered to her bed and Blake was forced to go back to his dorm, but neither of them could shake that guilty feeling.
Lupin's getting fired because of us.
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