A/N Just to make sure everyone understands, in the interview part, the bits in italic are her thoughts.

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters, locations etc. are sadly not mine, but JK Rowling's

What the Papers Say



SIRIUS BLACK BLOWS UP MUGGLE STREET, KILLING OLD SCHOOL FRIEND PETER PETTIGREW

As the Wizarding community celebrates the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, yet another tragedy strikes our midst. Peter Pettigrew, best friend of the recently deceased Lily and James Potter, hunted down known Voldemort supporter, Sirius Black, in an attempt to avenge his friends’ deaths. “He was always hopeless at duelling,� said Minerva McGonagall, teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where Pettigrew, Black and the Potters had been attending “Of course, he stood no chance.� Peter Pettigrew was seen to be muttering under his breath before pulling out his wand to attack…

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…From the sworn testimony of Paul J. Thompson, a Muggle, taken before the Ministry of Magic Investigatory Board in connection with the events of November 1st in Charing Cross, London.

Q. Mr. Thompson, where were you at about half past one on the 1st of November?
A. I was walking out for lunch near Charing Cross when I heard a commotion in the parallel street.
Q. Did you go and investigate?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see anything unusual?
A. There were two men standing there, dressed very oddly. They…
Q. How do you mean oddly?
A. They were both wearing cloaks and big pointy hats; I thought that they were stand- up comedians or something.
Q. Were they arguing?
A. Yes. They seemed to be having an argument of some sort. One of them said something like, ‘Lily the same serious, how could you?’ It made no sense to me. They might as well have been talking another language, for all I could make of it.
Q. What did Sirius Black do then?
A. Sirius Black?
Q. The man he was speaking to.
A. He did nothing.
Q. Are you sure?
A. Yes. It was the other short, fat man who did something. He muttered something under his breath and waved a piece of wood behind his back, the whole street exploded and then he…
Q. Thank you, I think we have heard enough. Townsend, I think your Memory Charms have addled him a bit. He is of no use to us anymore. Obliviate him…

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…Sirius Black got there first, however, and, in broad daylight, blew up the Muggle street. Ministry Officials were quickly called to the scene and trained Obliviators rounded up Muggle bystanders to wipe their memories. An elderly wizard who wishes to remain anonymous told the Daily Prophet, “I thought we had seen the end of this when I heard the news last night. I thought we had seen the end of these mass killings, tortures, missing persons, but I guess misery never ends.� Members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad have been examining the scene for remains of the brave Peter Pettigrew…

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… November 1st, 1981
Dear Diary,
I have just had the most horrific day of my life. I think I now know what hell is like. I had been lucky through the whole of You-Know-Who’s reign of terror; I had never seen a dead body. Now I have seen several, torn limb from limb, thrown into the huge crater that opened up in the ground. The Muggles will be told that it was a burst pipe or something, but I know what it was, who it was, I know who the sickest man alive is, Sirius Black. I will have an image of the triumph on his face as he towered over poor Peter Pettigrew burned into my mind for ever. He killed them, he killed them all. Blasted everything in sight to smithereens. And do you know what he did then? He laughed. He stood there and laughed. The street was covered with bodies, all that was left of Peter Pettigrew was a finger, and he laughed. He was still laughing when they took him away. Oh, he went quietly alright, if you can call laughing hysterically going quietly. He didn’t really have a choice. They wanted to give him the Dementor’s kiss right there and then, but they had to charge him or something first. He killed everyone, that’s all that matters. So what if he hasn’t been charged, he deserves it, goddamn, he does…

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…All they could find of the man that sacrificed himself to aid the capture of Sirius Black was a finger. It has been returned to his mother along with a posthumous Order of Merlin First Class. The Daily Prophet managed to get an exclusive interview with Mrs. Pettigrew. She said, “He was never very brave and I often felt ashamed of him, it is some comfort, however, that he died doing the bravest thing that I have ever heard of.� Still, some experts on the matter have told the Daily Prophet , that, “It wasn’t a brave thing to do, far from it. He was angry about his friends’ deaths and rushed into a foolhardy decision. Nobody except trained Aurors could expect to face Sirius Black and live to tell the tale.� This is not the opinion of many people though and the majority of the Wizarding world will forever mourn his passing as a hero’s death…

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...Prudence Pettigrew answered the door. It was those infernal reporters again. She knew she would have to give an interview sooner or later. However painful it might be, they would keep pestering her, so she said, “Yes. I suppose I’ll have to talk to you.� The reporters rushed in immediately, before she could change her mind.
“Sit down over there,� she pointed tiredly to the sofa, the one he used to sit in. She could just see him there now, laughing, telling her about some prank or other he and his friends had played, telling her about James and Lily’s wedding, telling her about their son. She shook her head to clear the memories and sat down on the armchair. She watched as one reporter made himself ready to interview her while the other got out his quill and parchment to write down the transcript:

H. Cochrane: So, Mrs. Pettigrew, did you know where your son had gone last Thursday?

P. Pettigrew: Does it matter?
No I didn’t. He had been out all day. He must have left early that morning.

H. Cochrane: How did he manage to find out so early about the deaths of Lily and James Potter?

P. Pettigrew: How am I supposed to know, he just left and never came back. I don’t know, he may have heard it from Albus Dumbledore

H. Cochrane: He was in close contact with Dumbledore?

P. Pettigrew: Oh, my God. I can see them writing all this down. ‘P. Pettigrew.’ I can just see him now, prancing with excitement as I sewed it onto all his clothes, rushing into my arms after his first year and telling me he needed them all sewn on again and, finally, in all the newspapers, reporting his death. Why me? Why him? Why us?
Pardon?

H. Cochrane: Was your son in close contact with Professor Albus Dumbledore?

P. Pettigrew: I don’t think so, but the Potters were and Dumbledore knew that he was one of there close friends.

H. Cochrane: I understand that your son was quite close to the Potters.

P. Pettigrew: Isn’t that what I just said? Doesn’t he realise how painful this is for me? This is my son they’re talking about, my beautiful son.
Yes.

H. Cochrane: He must have been angered by their deaths.

P. Pettigrew: Of course he was, you stupid man.
Yes, he was.

H. Cochrane: How do you feel about the way your son died? Do you think he was a brave hero or do you feel, as some people are saying, that he did a very foolhardy and rash thing?

P. Pettigrew: How can they talk about him like this? He was a real person, yet they are analysing his actions as if he were a robot. Do they get a thrill out of hurting people?
He was never very brave in his lifetime and I often felt ashamed of him, it is some comfort, however, that he died doing the bravest thing that I have ever heard of.

H. Cochrane: What do you want to say to all those people who are criticising him for his, in your eyes, heroic actions?

P. Pettigrew: I don’t think I can carry on doing this. I had expected them to have at least some understanding of what I am going through. But I must be strong, I cannot show them how much I just want to break down and cry.
I…I would tell them to ask themselves if they…if they would ever have the guts to…to do what he did.

H. Cochrane: Ah. So you are saying that everyone should just throw themselves at danger without a second thought, like Peter did?

P. Pettigrew: How can he throw his name around in that careless manner? How can he?

At this point, she could bare it no longer. Prudence stood up, tears streaming down her face. “You don’t know anything!� she screeched. “You don’t know anything at all! You think that the death of a brave, loving man is just something to analyse and debate about. You are just an unfeeling moron who knows nothing about love or loyalty. Get out of my house this instant!�

“Please, Madam, just sit down and we can talk this over-�

“Talk what over? You have done enough talking this afternoon, now it’s my turn and I’m telling you to get out of my house right know and take your unfeeling, hurtful comments with you!�

The reporters hurriedly gathered up their bags and scampered out of the door. Prudence stood there, staring at them until the door had slammed shut. Then, she took a small photograph out of her pocket and collapsed on the sofa, shuddering. “My son, my beautiful son…�

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…His killer, however, is being shown no mercy by the Ministry of Magic. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, told us: ‘We have to crack down on villains such as Sirius Black. He will be sent to Azkaban with no trial and if he shows any resistance, consequences for him will be severe. If anyone has any information whatsoever on any followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I urge them to speak up at once. These people deserve no mercy.’ The Wizarding community is now just waiting, in the hope that this will be the last tragedy to strike our midst for a long time to come.

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Remus Lupin slowly put the Daily Prophet down on the table beside him. He was tired and this was the fifth version of events that he’d read from various magazines and newspapers, but still it just would not sink in, Sirius, it couldn’t be. He’d known that someone was passing on inside information, but, Sirius, it just didn’t make sense. He scored through the paper again, trying to find a loophole, something that could explain it all away, but there was nothing. Sirius had betrayed two of his best friends and that was what he was going to have to live with, spending the rest of his life wondering if there was something he should have noticed, some clue that could have saved the Potters. As he glanced through all the sheaves of parchment laid our before him, Remus noticed one thing, one identical detail in every single version. Sirius laughed. Why? The more Remus thought about it, the more he was sure that there was something in it, some hidden clue, but then again, maybe it was just as the papers said – Sirius Black, the raving loony.