The atmosphere in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office was unusually quiet at this moment. The usual twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was gone, replaced by a subtle crease of concern, and likewise, his deputy looked just as deep in thought, as if a thousand worries were running through her mind.
"...Why, Maverick?" McGonagall asked after a moment of thought, forgetting to even use the formal "Professor" as she usually did.
"You have wealth, fame, and power... so why involve yourself in the country's politics?" Her eyes studied his face, trying to make sense of the young man she had known for over two years but who suddenly felt... like a different person.
"Because I can't stand how backwards this country's magical government is, Professor. Fudge needs to step down, and a more competent minister is desperately needed."
"By competent, you mean Lord Greengrass? How are you so sure he won't be the same… or worse?" she pressed.
Maverick let out a quiet sigh. "Look, Professor, it's out of sincerity that I'm sharing this with you. Even if you choose not to persuade the votes in your faction to cooperate, I'm confident I can still secure the minimum support I need."
He paused, his eyes flicking between the two of them, stopping briefly on Dumbledore, who had remained silent the entire time. Then he added, "I just don't want you to be caught off guard when everything unfolds."
Hearing his answer, McGonagall didn't know what else to say and could only turn to her mentor, hoping for his take. What Maverick was asking for was simple enough—just their support when it came time to vote to impeach the Minister for Magic. His reasoning was also sound because, truth be told, she wouldn't mind seeing the current Minister replaced as well.
But decades of working under Albus Dumbledore had shaped her thinking, and many of his principles had rubbed off on her over the years. One of them was: never meddle in public opinion.
In Dumbledore's eyes, public opinion was as dangerous as any powerful wizard, and when such a wizard set out to shape the minds of the masses… well, he had seen firsthand what came of it half a century ago.
"Do you know why I never meddle in this country's politics, or in any magical community's for that matter, Maverick... even with all my power?" the old man said at last.
Maverick didn't answer. He just waited, letting the silence stretch until Dumbledore chose to fill it.
"It corrupts," Dumbledore said simply. "Too much power concentrated in one place always leads to the same end. And absolute power—"
"—corrupts absolutely," Maverick cut in, waving a hand in mild dismissal. "I'm familiar with the proverb, Headmaster. And forgive me for being blunt, but I am not Gellert Grindelwald."
His gaze locked on the old man's, unflinching, as the sudden name-drop pulled the room into an awkward silence. Even Lupin, who had been quiet for some time, visibly flinched, feeling as though the temperature had dropped a few degrees.
Who doesn't know that name was a taboo—especially in front of this old man?
"Let me be perfectly clear, Headmaster..." Maverick pressed on. "I have absolutely no interest in subverting the Muggle world, nor do I fear their technology will one day grow to a point where they have the power to subdue us."
"If anything, I wish the two worlds could one day coexist peacefully as humans, and not as Muggles and Mages." He paused, letting his words settle before adding,
"And that day will come, eventually. You've both attended enough of my Muggle science lectures to know it's only a matter of time before we're discovered by the Muggle public. There will be chaos, of course, but after some time—maybe years, maybe decades—the world will enter a new age. The only thing we can do is control how we get exposed and minimize the chaos that follows."
Honestly, Maverick didn't plan on bringing up the Statute of Secrecy tonight and had only intended to talk about Sirius Black's case and impeaching Cornelius Fudge.
However, now that the conversation had drifted in this direction, he thought it was not a bad idea to at least give them a vague heads-up before eventually revealing his plan to break the Statute in the coming year. Only vaguely, though, as he did not want to go into details just yet. For that, he would bring in his strongest backer to persuade the old man… and if that did not work, make him either fall in line or stay out of the way.
Cough.
"I believe we've strayed from the matter at hand, haven't we?" McGonagall said suddenly, clearing her throat, looking a little nervous. After all, Maverick was getting dangerously close to the biggest taboo in the magical world—and she didn't want to have that conversation. Not now. Not ever.
"You're right, Professor," Maverick said with a sigh, pretending he had only brought it up on a whim. "I only came to talk about Sirius Black's case and impeaching the Minister of Magic… so—"
He turned back to Dumbledore again, and, softening his tone, asked, "—tell me, Headmaster… will you cooperate?"
Upon hearing Maverick address him directly, Dumbledore's expression flickered once more. Since the name of his old lover had been mentioned, he had remained silent—not out of anger, but deep in thought, weighing the young man's words, especially the comparison to Grindelwald. Maybe he was reading too much into it. They were similar in many ways, yet very different in others.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that Maverick carried a dangerous motive for taking charge of the Ministry of Magic—even if it wasn't him personally who would sit in the seat.
Alas, perhaps I am indeed overthinking it. With that thought, he finally brushed the thoughts aside.
Then, as if a quiet decision had settled in his mind, he leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table.
"You shall have my full support in clearing Sirius Black's name," he said, nodding thoughtfully. "Provided, of course, that all you have shared today proves true. And as for the matter of impeaching Cornelius…" He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, "for the sake of a brighter future for magical Britain, I find myself inclined to lend my support to that cause as well."
Maverick clad a smile at that. "Thank you, Headmaster. Though you might as well say it's for the greater good…"
"Professor Caesar!" McGonagall cut in, a twitch in her brows.
"Right… right… sorry, couldn't help myself," Maverick chuckled, glancing at the old man who, instead of taking offense, just smiled back, amused.
"When shall you take us to see Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, then?" he asked, leaning back a little relaxed in his chair.
"I can bring them both here now, if you like," Maverick replied, glancing between the two. "Or you can come with me to where I'm keeping them…"
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged a glance and silently agreed it would be better to bring them here directly. And so, Maverick left with Lupin, taking the Floo Network—first to where Black was, then to Greengrass Manor to pick up the rat—and returned to the office in less than half an hour.
---
"And who might this be, then?" McGonagall asked, her sharp eyes fixed on the unfamiliar figure who stood beside Lupin, nervously rubbing the back of his head.
"Right... I forgot," The man in question glanced down and said as he slipped a ring from his finger. Instantly, his features changed, revealing a face they all knew—wearing that all-too-familiar grin.
Seeing his true appearance, a flicker of surprise crossed the two deans' faces, and McGonagall stood from her chair and approached him.
"Uh… Professor, I hope I'm not in any trouble," Black said, swallowing nervously. Despite having graduated long ago, he still feared the stern professor. But to his surprise, she suddenly pulled him into a motherly hug and patted his back gently.
"You poor thing. I apologize for allowing you to suffer in that wretched place all these years."
Sirius flinched at the sudden embrace but then sighed and relaxed into it. "I chose to stay silent, Professor. It's nobody's fault," he said, voice more emotional than he let on.
McGonagall stepped back, then finally turned her gaze to the other man—the true culprit behind it all—locked in a small cage, chained up. "Why is he unconscious?" she asked.
"It's better if he doesn't see you both otherwise it could get complicated during the hearing." Maverick said. "But if you need to interrogate him, feel free to use Veritaserum after changing your appearance. Or I have a memory of our interrogation that you can watch."
"The memory will do…" Dumbledore said, rising from his chair. He walked over to Sirius, resting a hand on his shoulder and offering the same apology for neglecting him. Then, taking the vial Maverick had handed over, Dumbledore and McGonagall both leaned in to examine its contents without another word.
---
Half an hour later.
"Professor Caesar. And you two!"
As soon as she raised her head from the Pensieve, the stern headmistress glared sharply at the three men, eyes blazing with all the words she chose not to say aloud.
"Did you give them the wrong memory?" Sirius nudged Maverick, whispering.
"No, of course not. Probably…" Maverick mumbled, tilting his head toward the fuming lioness.
"Do you call that interrogation? Merlin… that was downright barbaric!"
Dumbledore walked back to his chair and sat down, making no move to stop his deputy's outburst. To be honest, he wasn't fond of the brutality either—the endless cycle of beating Peter Pettigrew and then healing him, repeated for over an hour, so much so they had to skip most of it.
Finally, after sizing up the two culprits—Lupin and Sirius—to her heart's content, McGonagall sank back into her seat. But not before casting a sharp glare at Maverick, clearly knowing he had allowed it to happen.
The brief episode ended quickly, and Dumbledore and McGonagall now fully grasped the clear proof and truth behind the whole incident. They talked a bit more, with the portrait of the dead headmaster joining in—rambling on at Sirius about marrying a few wives—before finally calling it a night.
With the meeting finally over, and after returning the rat and Sirius Black to where they had been picked up, Maverick and Lupin made their way back to their offices.
Settling into his chair in his own office, Maverick reflected quietly on the night's events, thinking, things had gone about as well as they could have.
The old man was on board—though not entirely convinced—but that was enough for now. The next few months until the end of the semester would hopefully pass quietly at Hogwarts. Yet beyond the school's walls, before the holidays, Maverick still had a pressing matter looming on his schedule—something not quite tied to the magical world, but destined to play a crucial part in his plans for the coming year.
Smartphones. Well, not quite smart—at least, not yet—but the world's first truly mobile phone with a color touchscreen and a built-in camera. Maverick's company on the Muggle side had been working tirelessly to bring this vision to life, pouring countless hours into research and development. Now, after months of trials, they were finally in the testing phase, with a planned launch set for late November. This wasn't just another gadget; it would be a game changer.
Though the world's technological evolution had, in some ways, raced ahead faster than Maverick remembered from his previous life, everyday inventions like public computers and cell phones followed a familiar path—a steady, predictable climb.
Therefore, he didn't need to be a Tony Stark-level genius to make a name for himself in the Muggle world. With knowledge of the future twenty years ahead, he was confident he could build a technological empire on the Muggle side just as well.
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