"..."

Sirius pushed back the Invisibility Cloak, letting go of the fake Peter's collar, allowing him to slide to the ground.

"Dumbledore..." Sirius swallowed, not daring to meet Dumbledore's eyes. He and James had made a terrible blunder – Dumbledore had warned them repeatedly before this to give careful thought to their choice of Secret-Keeper...

"Professor! Sirius is innocent – Peter was Voldemort's man! And we just heard Voldemort's voice too..." Harry quickly jumped to Sirius's defense.

"No need to rush, Harry, I won't make rash decisions just because your explanation isn't swift enough," Dumbledore reassured them. "When I saw Peter Pettigrew was still alive, I already had an initial guess."

Then, Dumbledore's gaze turned to Sirius, that clear blue sight seeming to pierce through the regret and sorrow in Sirius's heart.

"What killed the Muggles on that street?" Dumbledore asked Sirius.

"Peter cut off his own finger and used the wand hidden behind his back to cause a massive explosion – it was too fast, I couldn't stop him in time..." Sirius said. "He'd been passing information to Voldemort's side all along. I was furious then, I just wanted to kill him..."

"Meaning, you and James secretly changed Secret-Keepers, and the new Secret-Keeper was Peter, is that right?"

"Yes..." Sirius said painfully.

"I regret that when you were arrested, I provided evidence to the Ministry about you being the Potters' Secret-Keeper, because at the time I didn't know about the change and also believed one of us was a traitor," Dumbledore said. "But now that the truth is clear, I will do everything in my power to help you clear your name from these baseless accusations."

Harry and Sirius both looked at Dumbledore with grateful expressions.

"Can't you just contact the Minister for Magic directly? Get him to come and collect Peter sooner?" Harry asked eagerly. "That way, there won't be any more accidents..."

"I can certainly contact the Minister at once, but I don't think that's a good idea," Dumbledore refused the suggestion.

"But – but if we don't contact the Ministry, Sirius will still be a fugitive –" Harry said urgently, "Professor –"

"Harry... listen to Dumbledore..." Sirius said to Harry in a hoarse voice.

"You said we mustn't abandon the justice in our hearts!" Hermione also pleaded for Harry. "Professor Dumbledore, and Sirius Black really is innocent – couldn't you –"

Dumbledore made a gesture of pressing the air, signaling for everyone not to be impatient.

"As I said, I will help Sirius clear his name; that was not just a courtesy," Dumbledore said. "But we cannot contact Fudge now – at least not before we are ready with preventative measures."

"What preventative measures?" Harry asked anxiously.

"From my understanding of Fudge – and believe me, he often writes to me for advice, so I have a certain grasp of his character – he will believe the Ministry should not, and cannot, admit they mistakenly imprisoned someone for twelve years," Dumbledore said.

"But that's not right, is it?" Cohen suddenly remembered something. "Fudge wasn't the Minister for Magic twelve years ago, and he wasn't even working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Wouldn't clearing the case be a great achievement for him?"

"A very reasonable deduction," Dumbledore explained to Cohen. "But you overlooked one point, Cohen: compensation. The Ministry mistakingly arresting someone requires a price and compensation – especially since the Ministry's actions when imprisoning Sirius back then were not according to regulation, straight to Azkaban without a trial. Coupled with twelve years of innocent imprisonment, the Ministry will not want to see Sirius exonerated."

"But they are upright –" Hermione said, puzzled. "I mean, as a judicial body, the Ministry should deal with matters truthfully..."

"Even if the party involved reaches a private settlement with the Ministry, public opinion will force the Ministry to pay a price, because people always want to witness more intense, more dramatic conflict," Dumbledore said, considering the young wizards' understanding, and didn't dwell on this topic too much.

"I don't need money," Sirius frowned. "I don't need a title either – just..."

"I understand your desire for freedom, and I believe you wouldn't clash with the government over this," Dumbledore continued. "But the Ministry won't let it go. You are the last heir of the Black family; that name can stir up a lot of buzz, and Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet will surely not miss this headline – Fudge certainly knows this too."

"When they can't guarantee that an accident won't happen, then they can only deal with the 'accident' itself," Cohen understood Dumbledore's meaning.

And suddenly understood why there was such a scene in his prophecy.

"Dealing with the 'accident' itself..." Harry gasped. "You mean..."

"They'll kill me, and just pretend none of this was true," Sirius was unexpectedly calm.

"That's disgusting..." Hermione looked troubled.

"No way!" Harry said angrily. "We're all witnesses!"

"Children cannot testify as witnesses," Cohen said in a low voice. "And once Sirius and Peter are taken away by the Ministry, we won't be able to interfere with what happens inside – the best outcome might be receiving a Ministry apology letter at Sirius's funeral, and since Sirius's entire family has no male heirs, the Ministry's compensation could be paid out first and then flow back to the Ministry through asset forfeiture channels."

"But do not despair because of this," Dumbledore said. "Firstly, the Ministry's subsequent actions are only our conjecture; they may, of course, be willing to pay the price for arresting the wrong person. Secondly, I have a relatively reliable plan that can prevent the Ministry from holding Sirius and Peter in a holding cell before trial."

"This plan requires Cohen's help and cooperation," Dumbledore lowered his head and met Cohen's eyes over his half-moon spectacles. "In the Wizengamot trial system, there is usually an accuser and the accused. If the accused requires it, there will also be a defense counsel to defend them. Generally, the accuser of a criminal will be a relevant Ministry official or the victim and their family. And the Ministry will temporarily detain the accused who are considered a danger to society."

"But when the accuser takes extremely dangerous measures against the accused before the trial ends, the accused's defense counsel has the right to end the Ministry's temporary detention, release the accused, and vouch for them, ensuring they can attend the trial normally."

Dumbledore explained the regulation. Harry and Ron were a bit lost, but Hermione quickly understood Dumbledore's meaning.

"You mean... if the Ministry really plans to secretly get rid of Sirius, we can legally and properly get Sirius temporarily out of the Ministry's control until the trial begins?" Hermione asked. "But how can we do that? I mean, we'd have to catch the Ministry people harming Sirius, but we can't follow..."

"I can," Cohen raised his eyebrows.

Hermione suddenly understood, covering her mouth in surprise.

"What?" Harry was confused.

"I can turn into a Dementor," Cohen explained. "Follow Sirius, and then make a fake move when Fudge orders the Dementors to perform the Dementor's Kiss on Sirius and Peter's souls –"

"You can really turn into a Dementor!" Ron exclaimed. "I thought your 'bloodline' thing was just having some extra special abilities, like part-Veela..."

"You've told your friends already?" Dumbledore showed a surprised expression, though Cohen felt Dumbledore probably knew the moment they walked in. "Frankness is indeed needed among friends, and also more tolerance and understanding. Please believe that friendship is determined not by race, but by thought."

That last sentence was clearly for Hermione and the others – though it took them less than two minutes to accept the fact that Cohen was a safe Dementor.

"Oh, Cohen..." Hermione rushed forward and hugged Cohen. "I can't believe I actually thought before... thought..."

"Thought I was an evil Dementor deliberately getting close to you just to eat your little wizard souls, right," Cohen said dryly.

"No, no!" Ron also came over and hugged Hermione and Cohen – of course, Cohen knew what Ron was thinking.

He simply didn't want Hermione hugging Cohen alone. This age is precisely when a slight crush starts to sprout.

However, Cohen had no interest in trying to pursue Hermione like protagonists in other Harry Potter fanfiction – firstly, Cohen didn't like humans, and secondly, Hermione genuinely made Cohen feel very unsafe.

No Dementor would like someone suddenly casting a Patronus Charm right next to them.

Harry was a bit flustered on the side for a moment, then finally joined the hug – now there was a strange substance of "humans surrounding a Dementor" in Dumbledore's office.

"Friendship..." Dumbledore wiped the corner of his eye. "The most wonderful emotion in school."

Sirius's mouth twitched.

He and James never had scenes like this.

"Alright," Dumbledore clapped his hands after the three released Cohen. "Now that everything is clear, let's begin preparing for the next arrangements – Sirius, Cohen, and Peter will stay here. Harry, you three go back to your dormitory first. Don't let anyone find out you've had contact with Sirius before his name is cleared."

"Alright, alright..." Harry nodded quickly, afraid of messing things up.

After Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the office, the atmosphere in Dumbledore's office changed instantly.

"Harry heard Voldemort's voice?" Dumbledore looked at Cohen.

"Why are you looking at me!" Cohen said righteously. "I didn't summon Voldemort!"

"..."

Dumbledore rested his chin on his crossed hands, looking somewhat helpless.

His gaze seemed to say, "Tricking an old man is not a good thing."

"Hogwarts is a place with no trust..." Cohen sighed. "I want to drop out and go home. I'll go and be a daily couch potato with my dad..."

"I'm not blaming you –"

"If anyone asks who taught me in the future, that I'm so useless, I'll just say I was Dumbledore's student," Cohen continued talking to himself.

"Alright, alright," Dumbledore said, rubbing his temples. "I won't misunderstand you, nor will I think you have any deep connection with Voldemort..."

This was the technique of a master clearing things up, no need for those flashy mind games and intricate schemes.

"Really?" Cohen tilted his head and asked.

"Really," Dumbledore said.

"Then I'll barely believe you," Cohen nodded. "Voldemort came to ask me to resurrect him, and I agreed."

"What!" Sirius couldn't stay put anymore.

"Quiet, Sirius," Dumbledore had been with Cohen for two years. How could he not know what this child was thinking?

If he was really helping Voldemort, Voldemort would have been resurrected long ago.

"See, you're rushing again," Cohen pointed at Sirius. "You've never really thought I was a good person –"

"But you're bloody helping Voldemort!" Sirius roared. "Harry even considers you a friend!"

Twelve years in Azkaban had made his emotions extremely unstable now – it was a testament to his willpower that he hadn't gone mad.

So what he couldn't understand now was why Dumbledore could remain so calm when Cohen said he was going to "resurrect Voldemort."

Had Dumbledore betrayed them too?

"Cohen," Dumbledore warned. If Cohen pushed any further, Sirius wouldn't need a defense.

"Alright," Cohen backed off a bit. Teasing Sirius any more next to Dumbledore would probably make the man truly lose his mind. "After I told him I currently had no way to resurrect him, Voldemort wanted Harry's blood, Peter's flesh, and Voldemort's father's bones for the resurrection, and asked me to help kidnap Harry."

Hearing "kidnap Harry," Sirius's fingers cracked as he clenched them.

"Harry did not come to any harm," Dumbledore reassured Sirius. "Cohen is on our side. Do not harbour hostility and baseless hatred towards him."

"His emotions are clearly full of hostility and baseless hatred," Cohen said. "But never mind, I'll continue – the plan is roughly like this..."

Cohen explained how he had created a fake Peter puppet and a fake Portkey.

"This Peter is fake?!" Sirius's eyes widened. "Where's the real one?"

"Locked up in my trunk, of course, you dog person! Otherwise, that little rat would have run off with your rashness!" Cohen said, exasperated. "My pet Basilisk is more steady than you."

"Very clever, Cohen," Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "So, what are your plans going forward?"

"From my understanding of Voldemort, he is likely to come back to you afterwards – for a second attempt at resurrection."