THERE WAS NO EASY WAY of breaking the news to Charlus that his husband had been sent to Azkaban, but Maeve knew by his reaction alone that she could have gone about it in a better way. However, at the time, she had been overwhelmed by his gut-wrenching reaction over finding out that his family had been killed and the whereabouts of his nephew was unknown. Despite all her time at St Mungo's she had never dealt with such a case, and there had been no training offered with how she was supposed to handle everything.

If any of the other Healers had been responsible for relaying information, they would have told Charlus straight off the bat that he didn't need to worry about his husband because Sirius Black was well known as a murderer among the wizarding world. There would be no sympathy as they saw it as nothing more than good riddance that he was rotting away in a cell. They would simply tell him that he was better off that Sirius wasn't at his side.

Nonetheless, it broke her heart to watch as Charlus slipped further into a depressive state. There was no way he could hold back his crying, demanding that Maeve tell him why Sirius was in Azkaban of all places. She couldn't bring herself to tell him right away, knowing he was fragile from just waking up. She also needed him to be calmer or they risked Charlus hurting himself.

So for the time being, Maeve felt as though she had no choice but to place him under a sedative-like enchantment to get him to relax.

Immediately following the incantation, Charlus flopped back onto his bed, unmoving. But his eyes remained fixated on her, tears still streaming down the sides of his face. How could someone who was really nothing more than a stranger weigh her down with such guilt in such a short span of time?

"Whatever it is," Charlus whispered to her, " he didn't do it. He wouldn't do something to land himself in Azkaban, not with Harry...not...believe me, he wouldn't."

Even without knowing the full story, Charlus was already prepared to defend his husband's name. Maeve was biting down on her tongue to the point where she was sure she was about to bite through it. Of course, Charlus knew Sirius Black better than she did, but Charlus was also unaware of the events that had taken place since his arrival at St Mungo's.

She approached his bed again, sitting at his side. Grabbing one of his hands, she wasn't sure if the gentle squeeze she offered was meant to comfort to him or herself.

"Mr Potter," Maeve began, " I think we should hold off on having this conversation until you're better. A lot has happened in five years time and already it's been an overwhelming experience for you. I think you should rest up now-"

"Rest?!" he practically screeched as his eyes widened.

Maeve wondered if he had full control of his body if he would have taken to smacking her off of his bed for making such a suggestion. At least from his tone and the way he rolled his eyes, she could tell that he was not taking "rest" as an option.

"I've been at rest for six years," he said, " I don't need any more of it. What I need to know is why my husband is in Azkaban, who put him in there, and what I need to do in order to get him out. Do you understand?"

While there was an urgency to his voice, Charlus still managed to remain polite, leaving Maeve to nod her head. She wasn't sure what he would be able to do in order to get Sirius out but she could give him the truth of what she knew. With a nod of her head, Maeve released his hand and turned to fully face him to deliver the story.

"It happened after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked your brother's home," she said. " It was revealed that Sirius had been the Secret Keeper for your family. Albus Dumbledore I believe was the one who revealed that information to the Ministry and people feared that others were going to be targeted after Sirius revealed the location of the Potter home. They started to track him, but when they found him..."

Her voice trailed off for a moment, not sure if she could continue. However, Charlus had no patience for a dramatic pause as he was hanging off of her every word.

"They found him and then what?!"

"Well," Maeve continued, rubbing her arm, " he had found Peter Pettigrew. "People say he was laughing like a mad man at the time while Peter shouted that Sirius had betrayed the Potters. Next thing you know, Sirius blew up the whole street, killing Peter and twelve other muggles that were just bystanders. Fudge placed him under arrest."

"And?"

Maeve's brows furrowed in confusion, uncertain of what he wanted her to say. "And he was sent to Azkaban?"

Charlus took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "What about his trial? What did Sirius have to say?"

"Uh, to my knowledge, there wasn't a trial."

"Come again?"

"There wasn't a trial."

Charlus wasn't usually one for losing his temper so easily, it had been one of the defining differences between him and James growing up. James had always worn his heart on his sleeves, his emotions clear whether it was happiness, annoyance, or anger. But Charlus was one to bottle up most of his emotions because he didn't want to come across as a burden or over dramatic.

However, for Maeve to tell him that Sirius wasn't given a trial, it didn't make a bit of sense. It meant that Sirius hadn't been given a chance to defend himself or tell his side of the story before he was transported to Azkaban. He didn't even want to touch upon the subject that Sirius had been the one to betray James and Lily because it was absolutely ludicrous. Anyone who knew Sirius knew that the Potter family was his family, the people he devoted himself to because they had given him a second chance at life.

He had been best friends with James, Charlus' lover since the time they were all in Hogwarts. Sirius had been there when Euphemia and Fleamont had come down with Dragon Pox, helping James and Charlus take care of their parents in their final moments. He was named one of Harry's godfathers, one of the best men at Lily and James' wedding. Yet, people had the audacity to believe that Sirius had betrayed Lily and James.

And while many didn't know about the Secret Keeper change, things obviously weren't adding up.

"Dumbledore," Charlus said, " Dumbledore didn't defend him? Sirius dedicated himself to the Order, night and day. Did more than any of us, more than any Auror, and he had nothing to say about it? He just let Sirius go to Azkaban without a trial?"

"I understand you're upset about your husband's fate, Mr Potter, but the evidence was quite clear at the scene of the crime. The only thing they found of Pettigrew was his index finger, nothing else. People saw Sirius laughing hysterically in the street, they reported him to be a mad man. I know that's not the man that you remember before but-"

"Don't," Charlus stopped her before she could continue, " don't you dare try to tell me that somewhere in between three weeks time that Sirius decided to go rogue on the Order. After a decade of friendship and everything else, don't try to convince me otherwise. He would have died for me, my brother, for Lily, and for Harry without question. I know that for a fact and I know other things too, which is why I need to speak with Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge as soon as possible."

Maeve tried to reason with Charlus, thinking that he was just in a stage of denial over the whole matter. She couldn't blame him for that, but he insisted that an owl be sent to Dumbledore and Fudge requesting a meeting with the two men. And after that, it was clear that he didn't want to talk to her anymore. He turned his head to look out the window of his room and stared off, tuning her out completely with the silent treatment.

She knew not to take it personally, after all, Maeve knew that she would be in complete hysterics if she had been on the receiving end of such news. Charlus was handling it a lot better than most probably would, but that was more than likely because he was still in shock as well. Sure, the tears fell, but it hadn't become his reality yet.

It wouldn't be his reality until he stepped foot out of St Mungo's and realised that the only way to visit his brother and sister-in-law would be to visit their marked graves.

When that kicked in, Maeve didn't think Charlus would be as strong as he was at that time. He would need someone to be there for him and of course, the one person that he would probably turn to first was in Azkaban. Knowing all of that was to come his way, the least she could do was send a couple of owls notifying Dumbledore and Fudge that Charlus Potter was awake and demanded their attendance.

After Maeve had left, the sedative enchantment wore off but Charlus had little options of what he could do. He was left completely stunned with how things had turned so terrible in his absence. Eventually, the tears dried on his face, but the aching of his heart didn't come close to dulling and a headache was sure to form from all the thoughts that were racing through his mind at the moment.

When Sirius had left him that evening before Bellatrix and the Death Eaters arrived, they had been in full agreement that Peter was going to be made the new Secret Keeper. Lily and James were well aware of the plan as well, but that was it. The fewer people knew, the better chances they had at keeping Harry safe and that even included keeping it from Dumbledore.  It all seemed foolish now to keep the plan from him, but at the time, they thought they had it all figured out.

So if what Maeve was saying was true, what would possess Sirius to betray the Potters? If anything, it didn't make a bit of sense.

Peter was the Secret Keeper, so it meant that he would have had to reveal the location in order for Voldemort to pursue the Potter family. But if Peter had done so unwillingly, wouldn't he have been in terrible condition, perhaps even dead once the information had gotten out? Voldemort and the Death Eaters didn't like to leave trails and they sure as hell weren't known to practice mercy. And if Peter survived, wouldn't he have alerted Dumbledore and the Order before, in hopes of saving Lily and James?

They would have been able to intervene and stop Voldemort before it happened. But even if they didn't, why would Sirius hunt Peter down afterwards? If he hadn't gone through with trading off the Secret Keeper location, why did he go for Peter before anyone else? Why not Remus, who had actually accused him of being a traitor before anything happened? Remus would have been the one to expose him before anyone else with how things had left off between them.

If Sirius' whole plan was to destroy the Potter family, had he really started in ten years in the making? Had he worked his way to gain their trust, even married one of them, in hopes of just betraying them in the end?

No, Charlus didn't believe that, because it didn't make sense.

The only way Charlus could ever believe that Sirius would do such a thing, was if he was under the control of the Imperius Curse.

But that was why he needed to talk to Dumbledore. If they hadn't been willing to give Sirius a trial before, Charlus hoped that new information would be able to help.

He expected after the news of him waking up that surviving members of the Order would be there to greet him or talk to him. And he especially thought that Dumbledore, of all people, would be one of the first. After all, Charlus had dedicated his own life to the Order too, and it had been his nephew that had obviously been the boy of the prophecy, so why wasn't he coming for a visit?

Truth be told, Charlus was convinced that he was still in a coma, living through a nightmare. It was the only explanation of how things had gone to shit so quickly. It explained why Maeve was the only one who came to talk to him and interacted with him on a daily basis. She was probably just someone he made up in his mind to comfort himself through such dark thoughts. Everything she had told him, were just Charlus' worst fears when it came to the war.

None of it had happened.

When he finally woke up, the war would be over or maybe it would still be taking place, but either way, James and Lily would be alive, Harry would be in their care, and Sirius would be right there, so happy to see him. He blamed himself for what happened to Charlus, and he asked for forgiveness over and over. Sometimes, Charlus thought he could feel the warmth of Sirius' hands grab his, but whenever he opened his eyes, it was Maeve, coming to check in on him.

"Did you send the owls?" he asked her finally, breaking the silence between them. "Anything?"

"I did send the owls, one to Dumbledore and one to Fudge," she said, " just like you asked. But no, I haven't heard a response from either one. I would just give it time-"

"I have given them time!" Charlus snapped. "It's been days and all I've been doing is sitting around here, twiddling my thumbs and waiting on them. I have crucial information that I need to tell them, how long am I supposed to wait? An innocent man is rotting away in Azkaban and there's...there's nothing I can do about it."

" I understand you're frustrated, Mr Potter-"

"Please, just call me Charlus," he grumbled, "and of course, I'm frustrated. Anyone would be in this predicament. I don't understand, Dumbledore of all people. He told us when we first joined the Order that if we needed anything, he would be there."

"Well, Charlus," she said, "the war has been over for quite some time. And he had to return to Hogwarts, the term is in session. Maybe he's busy with other matters. Not to say that those matters are more important, but maybe he has to make time to come here. You know, make sure that everything is situated at the school before he comes to pay you a visit. As for Fudge, he very well may be busy with Ministry matters right now."

"And while they sit on their hands, Sirius is in Azkaban, serving a sentence that he was wrongfully accused of. The longer they wait..."

He placed his face into his hands for a moment, not even wanting to think about what sort of hell Sirius was experiencing at that exact same moment. Every witch and wizard knew that Azkaban was one of the darkest places on earth, especially for those accused of heinous crimes.

Maeve thought about sending another owl, urging at least Dumbledore to respond faster as Charlus' health did depend on him making good progress. However, before she could say anything to Charlus again, there was a crashing sound from the outer hall outside of Charlus' room. She hurried over to assist a Healer that had been knocked down, only to be pushed aside as well by the patient that was attempting to escape.

With the hall being blocked off by others, the patient had no other option but to run into Charlus' room. It was only then that he looked up,  ready to apologise to Maeve for being short with her.

But nothing was said right away as his eyes fixated on the woman before him. She paid him no mind, pacing back and forth before his bed, her hands trembling, as she mumbled something under her breath.

It seemed Charlus was getting his first visit from an Order member finally.

"Alice?"