"Harry? Is he doing well now?" Sirius, clearly still worried about his godson, couldn't help but ask.
"He's being looked after by Dumbledore now, but I'm not sure about the specifics. You have an obligation to raise him; that's your responsibility." Alan, seeing that his words had an effect, immediately pressed harder.
"But I still can't forgive myself... Harry... no..." Sirius cried out in sorrow again, then looked up, staring intently at Alan. "I don't have the face to see him, Alan. Can I entrust him to you? You've held him before, and you have feelings for him. Perhaps it would be better to have him looked after by you."
"Hmph!" Alan, hearing Sirius still trying to evade, immediately grew angry. "He's your godson; why push him onto me? Unless you're willing to clear your name and get out of this damned Azkaban, I'm too lazy to bother with that child."
"No... you can't do this." Sirius wailed sorrowfully. He was extremely conflicted now; on one hand, he didn't want to face reality, but on the other hand, Harry brought him a glimmer of hope. For a moment, Black fell into deep self-doubt.
Alan found that even Harry couldn't make Sirius change his mind, and he immediately felt disheartened. His old friend's will had been utterly ravaged by his own guilt. Soon, the scene fell into a silent calm. Sirius was conflicted, while Alan was pondering how to persuade him.
If these living people couldn't move him, then what? Alan's mind immediately started racing. If family and friends couldn't provoke him, then what about enemies? Was there an enemy he absolutely couldn't give up on? Thinking of this, Alan's eyes suddenly lit up, and then he realized a problem—a problem he couldn't have considered before knowing the truth.
"Sirius, are you really sure that Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed the Potters, is truly dead?" Alan looked up, staring fixedly at Black.
"Why do you bring up this painful topic again? That bastard cast a Blasting Curse to commit suicide when I caught up to him. Under that extremely powerful spell, he couldn't have survived." Sirius was not as hysterical now as he was at first, and his speech was much smoother during their conversation.
"Then can you tell me the address of the Potters' house now?" Alan asked tentatively. "If he really died, according to the rules of the Fidelius Charm, if the original Secret-Keeper dies, then everyone who knows that address automatically becomes a Secret-Keeper. If Peter really died, you should have become a Secret-Keeper too, right? Can you say that address now?"
Sirius paused slightly after hearing Alan's words, then carefully recalled the Potters' former address, and opened his mouth to speak. But he opened his mouth several times, and in the end, nothing came out, as if a mysterious force was preventing him from speaking those words.
"I... I can't say it!" Sirius also reacted at this point, his expression suddenly changing, and then he looked at Alan with a fierce expression. "That bastard! Peter Pettigrew is still alive!"
"Just as I thought." Alan had felt something was off when he was recalling the past events. Why would a timid Peter have such great courage to commit suicide when facing Sirius? Had he not thought about trying to resist? This was truly incomprehensible, and after his probing of Black, it indeed confirmed his suspicion: Peter Pettigrew was not dead at all!
"Alan!" Sirius no longer had his previous despondent expression now; his eyes were filled with fury and hatred. "We absolutely cannot let that guy go, that bastard who betrayed our trust! We must find him!"
"You can complete this matter yourself once you get out." Alan saw the drastic change in his expression and knew that he was no longer in a hopeless state. At this point, he also released his arm and slowly stood up. And after Sirius retracted his arm, he did not retreat into a corner as if to escape. Instead, he grabbed the bars in front of him, struggled to support himself, and also stood up.
"I'm going to tear that dwarf to pieces with my own hands! Alan, do you have a way to get me out? If you can't, I'll get out myself! If I don't kill that bastard, I won't have the face to meet the spirits of James and Lily in the afterlife!" Sirius reached out, grabbed Alan's collar, and spoke in a fierce tone.
Seeing Black change so suddenly, Alan was a bit surprised, but what surprised him more was that this guy was so brazenly talking about escaping from prison in front of him. One should know that the Minister for Magic was standing right next to them.
"If you're willing, I'd be happy to help you get out, though it's best to do it legally." Saying this, Alan couldn't help but turn his head and look at the empty space beside him. "Wouldn't you agree, Minister?"
"Minister?" Sirius was stunned when he saw Alan suddenly talking to the side, and then he saw a figure suddenly appear next to the cell door, none other than Minister Bagnold, whom he had met a few times.
"As long as it can be proven that Sirius is innocent, I am happy to uphold justice." Bagnold gave Sirius a cold glare. "However, if you illegally escape before your innocence is proven, I will still issue a warrant for your arrest."
"Minister Bagnold? You've been here the whole time?" Sirius was still not fully reacting after Bagnold's sudden appearance. But upon hearing the other party's words, Black also spoke firmly, "I just want to find that dead rat now. No matter what method, even if I'm hated by everyone in the world, I don't care—as long as I can avenge James and Lily!"
"He means he is willing to cooperate with the Ministry's investigation as long as his name can be cleared, and he is also willing to cooperate in apprehending the fugitive Peter Pettigrew." Alan found Sirius to be truly erratic; just now he was ready to die, and now he was like a stubborn rogue. At this point, he could only smooth things over for Black with Minister Bagnold.
After saying that, Alan looked seriously at Bagnold again. "Sirius cannot say the Potters' address. This can completely serve as irrefutable proof that Peter Pettigrew is not dead, right? Isn't such evidence enough to release him?"
Minister Bagnold's expression also became serious upon hearing this, and she shook her head slightly. "That's not necessarily true."