Remus grimaced as he opened the door of his tiny apartment. It had been a wonderful and crazy year at Hogwarts, teaching Harry, getting to know him and then discovering that Sirius Black, friend, marauder and Padfoot had not betrayed his James and Lily but that crime had been done by a certain Peter Pettigrew which he had believed dead for the last twelve years. Remus allowed himself a wry grin despite the fact the betrayal tore at his heart, a crazy year indeed. And then of course his lycanthropy had to make itself known. He knew it was his fault, if he had only taken his potion. Firmly he stopped the thought there. Over the years he knew his lycanthropy would forever hamper him and even though he had been stupid to forget the potion he would not have been able to teach another year. Enough people would have guessed. But it didn't mean he didn't regret it. If only he had taken the potion then the rat wouldn't have escaped, Sirius would be free and he wouldn't have put Harry and his friends in danger. That to his mind was his most inexcusable crime and his complete and utter fault. If he had bitten any one of them he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself, as it was it had been far to close.
The tapping of a claw against the window snapped him out of his musings. He glanced up to see a large black owl standing imperiously on the window sill a letter attached to a single leg. The window protested loudly as he forced it open wide enough to take the letter. "Sorry, I've no treats for you," he said quietly as he gently removed the letter. The owl merely regarded him for a second before giving a resigned hoot and flying off, almost as if it hadn't expected one anyway.
Discover moreFan FictionPsychologyBooksSelf-Help & MotivationalVisual Art & DesignSlightly confused, Remus flipped the letter over just to confirm it was his. He hadn't been expecting any post, he had only resigned yesterday after all. His breath caught in his throat as he recognised the scrawl,
Moony,
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First things first, as you have no doubt already guessed, I am safe and those morons will never find me. I'm writing to the pup as well so don't be surprised if you receive post from him as well. Now secondly, I've got a bit of a problem regarding myself, the pup and a certain chessmaster Dumbledore not to mention those idiots in the ministry. I need to speak to you as soon as possible.
Next if I know you Moony you will have blamed yourself for forgetting the potion and you will have resigned, not to mention you will be stewing yourself over might-have-been's. STOP IT NOW. You're only human, you make mistakes and nothing happened. I know I sound mature but I have finally decided to grow up (I can't believe it either). I don't blame you and I bet Harry doesn't either.
Now remember what the Marauder's swore.
Padfoot
By the time he had finished reading the letter Remus had a smile on his face. Sirius didn't blame him and he knew Harry didn't either. Although he still knew it was his fault it relieved him greatly to know that Sirius hadn't paid the price for the escape and didn't blame him either. The last line caught his attention again. Withdrawing his wand he tapped the parchment, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." With a flourish, lines of script appeared beneath the rest of the letter.
I know you are still blaming yourself so again, STOP IT. If you must blame anyone blame Greyback. IT. WASN'T. YOUR. FAULT.
Discover moreMyth & FolkloreScience Fiction & FantasyScience Fiction & Fantasy FilmsBooks & LiteratureScience Fiction & Fantasy BooksNow Padfoot can be found at Padfoot's Den, Black Island 59.24oN , 3.12oW
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I expect you at 11am on the 14th June. Burn this once you've memorised it. Don't apparate; fly from Kirkwall
Padfoot
Remus grinned to himself, he had nothing to do the next day anyway and he might as well visit Sirius. Job hunting in the muggle world could wait another couple of days. He'd find something. He always did. Eventually.
Sirius was enjoying his breakfast, Nixie was absolutely delighted to serve him and insisted strongly that, "Master Black sir must eat properly, he must. Master Black is skin and bones." But even as he was gradually getting used to the idea of good food again his thoughts kept returning to his godson. He had two and a half weeks before the summer term finished and if he had his way Harry would never again have to return to them which meant he had two and a half weeks to try and find a solution. Even with Moony it would be a long shot. Speaking of Moony... Sirius felt the wards twinge indicating somebody had just crossed them. From the sensation he knew they were on the access list so there was only two people it could be and out of them only one knew where he was.
A sharp rap on the door pulled him away from his food; swiftly he was standing at the door as he opened it to reveal Remus. "Quite a place you've got here Padfoot," he remarked as he entered. Sirius shrugged,
"It belonged to my uncle, I was lucky enough to inherit it. He was the most paranoid old geezer in existence, something I am doubly thankful for now." Remus nodded slightly still a little unnerved by the serious side his friend was showing.
Soon the two friends were lounging in the sitting room both nursing mugs of coffee. "So what was this problem with the cub Sirius?" He asked. Sirius leant back and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Moony, when you were teaching him did you notice anything, shall we say odd?" Remus glanced at him slightly nonplussed by the question, "Meaning?"
Sirius waved his hand in the air carelessly, "Something different about him, different from the other children say?" Remus steepled his fingers considering,
"Well he was definitely thin, fairly shy, much shyer than I expected considering he was James's son, not arrogant at all. He didn't have a clue who I was despite the fact I've been sending him presents for the last twelve years and he seemed to know very little about either of his parents. And in the extra lessons he was, I suppose the best way to describe it would be wary, as if he was preparing to bolt or..." Remus trailed off. "No it can't be, it's not possible," he shook his head continuing to deny it.
"Remus," Sirius's voice had a hint of a warning in it. When he received no answer the animagus growled, "Moony what is it?"
Slowly he raised incredulous fearful eyes to Sirius, "He'd flinch if I got too close, as if, as if," he sucked in a deep breath, "As if he was expecting to get hit." Sirius grimaced as his worse suspicions were confirmed. "You think he's..."
"Abused, yes" Sirius answered. Remus growled low in his throat, sounding like the wolf he was once a month and his eyes began to take on an amber cast as the wolf rose to the surface. The wolf inside him viewed Harry as a cub of the pack and as such his cub and nobody hurt the cub. Thoughts of turning up at the Dursley's on a full moon began to drift round his mind, so he could hurt those who hurt his cub.
"Remus, Remus," Gradually he became aware Sirius was calling his name, "I know Moony is taking control but it won't help if you go feral on the Dursley's, even if those bastards deserve it. We actually need to think." The last sentence more than anything got through to Remus, Sirius Black the marauder's resident hothead was advocating thinking through a solution! Gritting his teeth he pushed the wolf back down, "What were you thinking then Padfoot?"
"I've legally got custody, named guardian and whatnot, but only if I'm free. As soon as I'm free I can take the pup but the problem is I've got to get my freedom and that means proving my innocence, something that's going to be harder without the rat."
"So you need my help to prove your innocence." It was a statement not a question.
"Yes, come on Moony, we need a plan of action," his expression turned grim, "The last time I did something without a plan I ended up in Azkaban and that had dire consequences." Sirius's eyes were haunted as he stared out not seeing anything, Azkaban was hell on earth, but now with the knowledge Harry was suffering when he could have prevented it... Sirius shook himself hard. He was doing everything he could to rectify his mistake and he would rectify it. Remus had been watching his friend warily and was relieved to see the haunted look fade somewhat and a glint of determination enter in its place.
"The main problem I've got with that is that I can't trust Dumbledore in these circumstances," he held up one hand to forestall his friend's protestations, "He had twelve years to get me a trial Moony, everyone deserves a trial and second chance, apart from me it seems. And then he didn't put me under his protection even when he knew I was innocent, he left me to face the Kiss." His expression was stony, "If it hadn't been for Harry, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
A thundercloud was building in Remus's face, "He told me he helped you escape." Sirius snorted loudly,
"I'm sure it has something to do with his Greater Good but I won't risk the pup or my life for his Greater Good Moony," Remus nodded slowly. He looked up to Dumbledore, how could he not? The man had given him the opportunity to go to Hogwarts despite his condition and that had been one of the best things that had ever happened to him, but Sirius was right Dumbledore often worked on plans for his Greater Good and he like Sirius would not risk Harry. He was too important to both of them to compromise.
He leaned back considering, without Dumbledore it certainly would be a lot harder. Suddenly a thought came from him, "Sirius you are head of the Black family right?" Sirius made a face but he nodded. "Doesn't the Black family have rather large resources at its disposal?" Again Sirius nodded, "So wouldn't it be a good idea to get an overview of what is there before we start making plans, who knows, there might be something that can help us." Sirius let out a bark like laugh,
"I knew there was a reason you were the brains of the Marauders Moony. I'll send a note to the account manager to get an overview of all finances." His grin was rather feral, "Goblins don't care what a wizard has done as long as they can make a profit."
Within a few minutes Nixie had vanished to Gringotts and Sirius turned towards his friend, "I'm going to need your help Moony."