Julian's two friends were left stunned and disbelieving after he finished giving them the broad outline of what had happened so many years ago. He could hardly blame them for struggling to process it all at once, since it was a great deal to take in. About five minutes later, Harry was the first to finally break the silence with a question. "How did this even happen if Peter was hidden so well?" he asked in confusion. Julian pointed at himself. "That would be entirely because of me, actually," he said honestly.
"You see, after I learned what really happened to Harry's family, I started digging into their past and found a lot of things that didn't make sense. After looking further, I figured out the truth of the situation. I will admit Peter had hidden himself very well, but he forgot one very important detail that exposed him and set all of this in motion, lifespan. The average lifespan of a normal rat like his Animagus form is only about five years, and Ron's family has had him for over ten, even though he was already fully grown when they first 'found' him."
"I came across several coincidences that simply refused to fit together until I uncovered the truth, and once I did, I knew something had to be done. I just waited until the school year was over before acting," Julian explained, being truthful to a point about how everything had unfolded. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ron asked, looking wounded and angry at the same time. Julian sighed and shook his head. "And what exactly would that have accomplished besides warning the rat and letting him escape while the only family Harry actually has left rotted in Azkaban? This was the best option, and I did the best I could with what I had," he said honestly.
After that, neither Ron nor Harry said another word to Julian for the rest of his time at the Burrow, which he accepted as the cost of his actions. Dumbledore and Lupin arrived as well to take Peter to the DMLE and begin the appeal on Sirius's behalf. At Dumbledore's request, Julian had to remove the ring from Peter's neck after the old wizard promised that he would not allow the man to escape. Julian was reluctant to give Peter even the slightest bit of freedom in case he tried to flee, but he did as asked while making his displeasure obvious.
Julian himself, however, borrowed some of the Weasleys' Floo powder so he could go to the Ministry and deal with the greatest obstacle to freeing Sirius, Minister Fudge. He stepped out of the green flames in one of the Ministry fireplaces and brushed the thick soot from his clothes before heading toward the sign marked {minister's office}. Despite how young he was, no one seemed inclined to stop him after seeing the look on his face, one that made his determination abundantly clear. Before long, Julian reached the secretary seated at the desk outside Fudge's office, the woman who worked directly under the minister.
She was a heavyset woman dressed in bright pink with carefully curled brown hair and a constant smile fixed to her face. She noticed Julian at once and gave him a careful once over, reserving judgment until she spotted the lord ring on his finger and decided he was worth her attention. "Is there something I can help you with, young man?" she asked in a sugary voice that sent a shiver up Julian's spine because of how deeply wrong it felt. "Would you please inform Minister Fudge that Julian Ravenclaw would like an audience?" he asked calmly.
The woman wore a calculating look for a few moments before nodding and stepping into the office behind her desk. She made sure to shut the door behind her so Julian would not hear anything being said inside. A few minutes later, the door opened again and she stepped back out with that same revolting false smile still on her face. "The minister will see you now, Mr. Ravenclaw," she said. Julian nodded and passed through the doorway. The office was neat and orderly, with several photographs of Fudge posing beside famous people along with a few framed certificates.
At the center of the room sat a large dark wooden desk, though Julian could not identify the wood beneath the thick layer of lacquer. "Ah, Julian, what a pleasant surprise to see you. Please, make yourself comfortable!" Fudge said, eager to ingratiate himself. Julian took the chair opposite the desk and greeted the minister politely. "Dolores, would you give us the room please?" Fudge asked, and though she did not show it openly, the woman was clearly unhappy about being excluded.