This cut-and-dry trial had very little suspense to speak of. In the end, the Wizengamot voted unanimously to sentence Peter Pettigrew to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Sirius was officially exonerated and declared acquitted on the spot. Although, even without Fudge's formal declaration, Sirius's status was already functionally no different from a cleared man.
Under standard legal procedures, before being declared innocent, Sirius would still have been held in Ministry custody as a suspect alongside Peter Pettigrew.
However, with Dumbledore guaranteeing for him, Sirius not only avoided a stint in holding, but was even able to spend a wonderful Christmas holiday with his godson back at the Black estate.
The moment Fudge brought his gavel down, an endlessly thrilled Harry leaped up onto his seat and cheered at the top of his lungs.
While it was a rather improper display, no one present particularly cared.
On the contrary, for the waiting journalists nearby, it provided the absolute best news material: a joyful, embracing father and godson figure, contrasted against the despicable traitor wailing in despair beside them.
No one felt a shred of pity for a traitor who sold out his friends. As soon as the trial concluded, Peter Pettigrew was hauled out of the courtroom by two Aurors.
Outside the Ministry of Magic, a prison carriage drawn by four Thestrals stood ready.
Pettigrew would be loaded into the carriage and escorted to Azkaban under the guard of six Aurors.
There would be no delay; execution of the sentence was immediate.
London, Tower Bridge by the River Thames.
A figure wrapped in a black robe stood silently atop the granite-and-steel structure.
On the lower bridge deck, traffic and pedestrians came and went, but not a single person noticed the shadow perched high above.
As one of the individuals relevant to the case, Snape had received an invitation to attend the trial.
However, he had not gone to watch it. Instead, from the moment the proceedings began, he had remained waiting silently in this very spot.
Once Peter Pettigrew was loaded into the prison carriage, if it flew along the shortest direct line to Azkaban, the carriage would pass directly over this location.
Indeed, Snape's target was Peter Pettigrew—and Azkaban itself.
Watching the tiny black dot gradually enlarge against the distant horizon, Snape's wand slid smoothly from his sleeve.
Finally, here it comes...
Four Thestrals pulled a coach whose doors were tightly locked, soaring through the sky with two broomsticks following close behind.
Space twisted and swirled. In the very next second, Snape's figure attached itself to the underside of the carriage like a phantom.
Under the concealment of a Disillusionment Charm, the two escorting Aurors riding broomsticks behind the prison carriage couldn't detect him at all—to say nothing of the Aurors driving up front or guarding inside.
In the middle of the distant North Sea, amid cold, desolate waters, sat a lonely, isolated island.
Gale-force winds whipped up seawater as towering waves crashed against the shore, washing over and over against the black-stone island.
Drifting densely across the entire expanse of sea were hundreds of monsters wrapped head-to-toe in black cloaks—Dementors.
This was the infamous Arkham... no, Azkaban.
While London had been bathed in pleasant sunlight, Azkaban was engulfed in a raging tempest.
Amid the thick, pitch-black storm clouds, a black prison carriage led by Thestrals cut through the sky, heading straight toward the island.
The Auror driving pulled the reins, directing the Thestrals to slowly descend.
Landing safely in a violent storm like this was no easy task, but luckily, they touched down on the island without further incident.
Wiping rain from their faces, the four Aurors who had been exposed to the elements all the way here cursed Azkaban's miserable weather.
At this moment, they deeply envied their two colleagues inside the coach responsible for watching Pettigrew.
Fortunately, they would swap duties on the return trip—the four of them would get to sit inside the carriage while the other two got up close and personal with the storm outside.
Dawlish drew his wand and tapped the carriage door. The entire row of magical locks clanked open one by one.
"Out you get," Dawlish said. But before the words had fully left his mouth, trouble struck.
Several spells flew out abruptly from the side, stunning the four Aurors near the carriage in the blink of an eye.
Snape's figure emerged from the rippling air just as the door to the prison carriage opened a crack.
The two Aurors inside had no idea what was happening outside; they were knocked out by two Stunning Spells before they could even draw their wands.
Perhaps the swarms of Dementors covering the island had given them a false sense of security, convincing them that an attack in a place like this was impossible. Consequently, Snape didn't encounter a shred of resistance as he flattened all six Aurors.
Otherwise, in a direct, head-on fight, taking down these six would have taken considerable effort.
The sky-full of roaming Dementors noticed nothing of what had transpired on the ground.
Upon closer inspection, one would see a faint, shimmering barrier enveloping the large area surrounding the carriage, completely cutting off the Dementors' senses.
Looking at Snape, who seemed to have dropped straight from the heavens, Peter Pettigrew—who had already given up all hope of surviving—was moved to tears.
He never could have imagined that Snape, a fellow Death Eater with whom he had barely exchanged a few words in the past, would run such a immense risk to raid Azkaban and rescue him.
Through his own wild imagination, Pettigrew worked himself into a blubbering mess of gratitude.
What he didn't know, however, was that Snape hadn't come to save him.
Pettigrew was just about to step out of the carriage to blurt out a few words of thanks to his great benefactor, but what met him instead was:
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of sickly green light struck, and Peter Pettigrew fell back stone-dead, the look of lingering gratitude still frozen on his face.
For this disgraceful traitor who had informed Lord Voldemort and indirectly caused Lily's death, Snape holding back from striking him down with a Killing Curse the moment Kyle caught him—and letting him live until now—was already utmost generosity.
A tongue of fire erupted violently from his wand tip. With a flick toward the motionless Pettigrew, Snape reduced the body to a heap of ashes in an instant.
Guided by magic, a massive wave surged along the coastline, washing right over Snape's feet.
Not a single trace of Peter Pettigrew's existence remained in this world.
After altering the memories of the six Aurors so they believed they had successfully delivered Pettigrew to Azkaban, Snape revived the unconscious group.
Under the influence of the Imperius Curse, the six men stepped onto the carriage in a daze and set off on their return journey to the Ministry without delay.
The effects of the Imperius Curse would wear off midway through their flight back, and they wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Only after finishing all of this did Snape turn his gaze toward the tall, looming castle forged of black rock ahead.
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