It all seemed to happen so fast. Even later, Sirius never could sort it all out in his mind. Peter’s spell caused the tank to explode so violently that it blew apart the street. Twelve muggles fell, never to rise again, along with Peter, or so Sirius presumed.
“He’s dead at last. It’s over.” Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. Another crowd of Muggles behind him now were yelling and gazing at him, open mouthed in horror. “He deserved it! He’s no more than a murderer!” Sirius spat at the crowd. The crowd was still much too shocked to respond. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed some movement. He turned his head, and could barely glimpse a rat scurrying away from the scene. Now it was Sirius’s turn to gaze open-mouthed. The rat traveled some distance and then turned once again into Wormtail, who looked menacingly upon Sirius. He gave a small wave, then returned to rat form and ran down into a sewer.
Sirius returned his stare to the crowd. None of them had so much as moved. None of them had witnessed his friend disappear, still alive. He was too stunned to move. “No…” The eerie silence was suddenly ended with the arrival of several cracks ringing through the air. Ministry wizards had arrived and were observing the damage.
It was finally too much. Sirius could take no more. He had nothing left to focus on. The Potters were gone, Wormtail was gone to who knows where, and nothing could possibly prove him innocent. He could barely hear the wizards questioning the terrified muggles, hearing them name him as a murderer. He could catch various parts of their terrified ramblings. Water began to spurt from the crater that had resulted from the explosion.
“Blew him up!” “Shouted that he had killed some people!” “Lily and James, I don’t---“ There was simply nothing left. His mind was a total blank.
“Black…” Sirius turned his head and looked at the wizard addressing him. Someone he thought was named Fudge. “Black, what have you done? Did you really kill him? Kill Pettigrew?”
This question was met with a loud bark of laughter. Cold, cruel laughter, emanating from Sirius. He himself did not understand what was so funny, but he knew that he was laughing.
“Merlin’s beard! Black….”
“HA HA HA HA HA HA!” He could not stop, the situation was too far beyond him now. He had nothing… Hours seemed to pass like seconds. He could still barely hear the questioning that was pinning him down as a murderer, the obliviators going about their work, the wizards shocked at the events that had transpired. Finally, their work was completed, and he was led away by the officials.
So I’ll go to Azkaban. I’ll wait it out. I’ve got my hatred fueling me. One day I will return and finish what I’ve started. Wormtail will die for what he’s done. Lily and James will be avenged.
The next few days seemed to pass in a matter of minutes. Everything was a blur as his life came crashing down to seemingly nothingness. Sirius was led straight to Azkaban, he picked up that someone named Crouch had sent him to prison for his “crime,” even without a trial as was custom in wizarding law.
“Azkaban … the wizard prison,” Sirius said as he gazed upon the fortress in the cold sea as he was led along by ministry officials.
“Black, why did you do it?” one of them queried as he walked into his new home. He didn’t dignify with an answer, he knew that no one would believe him. Sirius gazed around the prison and saw the horrors that everyone feared. Dark, cold cells, filled with rambling and crazy prisoners, no longer able to coherently speak. And he felt cold, very cold, as if he would never be happy again. He shifted his gaze and saw what he knew would be a brooding presence for a long time. A tall, hooded figure, with an obscured hidden face. One of the infamous dementors of Azkaban.
“Noooo…” Sirius whispered softly. He could already feel their powerful, draining effect on his mind. The cold, hopeless feeling that seeped through his entire being was throughout him now. But, something was giving him a grip on reality yet. One thought lingered on his mind. It’s not over. I’m innocent! Nothing could drive that thought from him.
He was led to a cell stationed by two of the horrid creatures. “Welcome to your new home, Black. Enjoy your ‘hosts.’” You’ll have to get used to them, you’ll never see your cell without at least one in front,” the official said as he walked off and out of sight.
Sirius sat muttering to himself, swimming in the cold of his prison. “One day I will get out, one day Wormtail will pay, he won’t get away with this…”
Twelve years later…
“Minister, have you finished with your paper?” A man wearing a lime green bowler hat and a long, pinstriped cloak seemed surprised at the question, almost amazed. “I miss doing the crossword.” The strangely dressed man reluctantly handed his copy of the Daily Prophet over to the prisoner. The recipient looked at the picture on the front for a moment. Suddenly, his vision was transfixed on one single feature. A boy was holding a rat on the front page, and this particular rat was missing a toe on his front paw.
“It’s him…He’s at Hogwarts…”