Dumbledore inhaled deeply.
"Luckily, however, we managed to intervene. Blake Renshaw, a student who was in the infirmary, had suspicions about the fake Professor, and while everyone was outside, watching the Third Task, he broke into the room, searching for any clue - and there, he somehow found the real Moody, and together, they immediately alerted him, and from then I subdued the imposter, gained the information on the whereabouts of the revival, which Harry Potter then informed me of, via Patronus. I luckily knew the place, and Apparated there, taking along the Aurors and Minister with me - and, unfortunately, Blake Renshaw, who snuck a hand onto us at the last moment, no doubt wanting to make sure his friend was alright. There, we engaged with the Death Eaters present, and Lord Voldemort. Although the majority of them got away, we are pleased to announce we have some captives."
Dumbledore whisked his wand, bringing forward and waking up all the captives, as the crowd went wild. Amplifying his voice, he continued.
"Peter Pettigrew. Lucius Malfoy. Vincent Crabbe Sr. Gregory Goyle Sr. William Avery. Walden Macnair."
The crowd's noise crescendoed and Blake searched the crowd, looking for the children of this men. The only child of the prisoners was Goyle, considering Malfoy and Crabbe were still at St Mungo's in recovery, but Blake made sure that he savoured the look on Goyle's face as he looked at his father, bound and bleeding before them.
"We will now be taking these men for interrogation before trial and sentencing," Dumbledore announced, as more and more Aurors arrived on scene. A tall, serious looking woman joined them - Blake immediately recognised her as Amelia Bones, Deputy - though probably promoted now - Head of Magical Law Enforcement. She beckoned Dumbledore, Fudge and Scrimgeour towards her, and the 4 of them spoken in hushed tones, a Muffliato charm having been discreetly placed too.
As soon as they finished their conversation, Scrimgeour began instructing the Aurors to take each prisoner, one by one, out of Hogwarts, and presumably to Azkaban.
"Professor," Blake said, tapping Dumbledore on the shoulder. "Sirius," he whispered.
"Already handled, Blake," Dumbledore responded with a smile, looking towards Amelia Bones.
"I can also announce that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is no longer actively searching for Sirius Black under criminal charges - rather, we would like to bring him in for questioning, in order to properly understand the situation. If anyone has any information-"
"I'm here," a loud, Amplified voice said smugly, and Blake couldn't help but grin as he turned to face the familiar voice. The crowd expanded around him in shock as Sirius's figure appeared, seemingly from Disillusion, and the man marched up towards them, the crowd parting before him. He ruffled Harry's hair and winked at Blake on the way up.
"So, Minister," Sirius said, grinning at Fudge wolfishly, "when am I going to receive compensation for the failures of the Ministry? And an apology? Being thrown in Azkaban without trial? Surely there are laws that've been breached!"
Fudge went white with shock as he stammered to respond.
"Come- come now, Black," he said, scrambling. "That - surely, you can't expect us to - I was not Minister when you were imprisoned!" he finally produced triumphantly. "And Barty Crouch Sr is probably dead! No longer in charge! This administration-"
"Yeah, I don't care," Sirius said dismissively. "I'm sorely tempted to publicly demand compensation from the Ministry for my treatment. Twelve years in Azkaban, my wand snapped - I wonder how many Galleons that's worth? And what will people say? Imagine the outrage!"
Blake was beginning to think that Sirius was laying it on a bit too thick, but apparently, he was wrong. Fudge grew increasingly paler as he spoke, and quickly promised Sirius that he would ensure that he would be sufficiently compensated.
"I'm sure the two of you can discuss these details later," Dumbledore interrupted, a small smile on his face. "For now, Cornelius," he continued more seriously, "perhaps, it is best if we discuss next steps?"
"O- Of course," he responded, still looking at Sirius (who seemed like he could barely contain his laughter). The Heads of Departments made their way back into the castle, leaving the crowd outside, still as loud as a factor, discussing the events of the night.
"All students," McGonagall wasted no time in rallying the students, "please return to the castle now. Prefects, make sure everyone's back!"
Blake and Harry made their way to each other quickly, right before a sea of students engulfed them.
"Oi, Potter, is it true?"
"Renshaw, did you fight Barty Crouch Jr?"
"Did you fight Death Eaters?"
"Did you fight You-Know-Who?"
"Did you get any of the Death Eaters?"
"Silence!" Snape bellowed loudly, and the students immediately were forced into silence. "Potter, Renshaw," he said coldly, sneering. "Our two celebrities. Go ahead to your dormitories ahead of your fans. We wouldn't want any accidents, would we?"
Harry stared back at Snape.
"Voldemort said there was a space for a Death Eater that was missing."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and left, leaving Snape red-faced and seething.
"I'll take care of Potter, Severus," McGonagall quickly appeared from nowhere, shouting at the rest of the Gryffindors.
Blake wasted no time in getting away from the angry man, quickly walking towards the castle. Tonight's debrief, he thought with a grin, is going to be amazing.
/
"So, you actually caught Malfoy?" Tracey said, amazed. "That's - that's crazy!"
"Not really," Blake responded. "He wasn't as strong as I thought he'd be."
"You said the Dark Lord told them to target you?" Daphne said sharply. "That's worrying."
"What I'm more surprised about is how you managed to block 20 Killing Curses at once," Zabini said.
"Transfiguration," Blake said simply.
Zabini snorted. "You make it sound so easy."
"It is eas-"
"Shut up."
"Anyway," Charlotte said pointedly. "The point is, you have a target on your back."
"I know," Blake said, sighing. "But I've already made arrangements about that," he continued, thinking about his owl, James.
"Malfoy's not going to be happy," Tracey said quietly.
"So what?" Blake snorted. "He's a piece of sh*t, just like his dad. If it comes to it, I'll send him to Azkaban too."
"D'you think they'll know?" Tracey asked. "That you captured him?"
"Definitely," Zabini said grimly. "The Ministry will want to keep public favour and morale high - they need to show all their wins, and what better way to do that than make heroes out of him and Potter? Shut up, Renshaw, I'm not calling you a hero, I'm saying that's what the Ministry'll say."
Daphne sighed, shaking her head.
"Either way," she said, looking up at the clock in the room. "We'll only know what's going to happen tomorrow, in the Prophet."
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