The Cruelty of Fate

A/N:

Okay, here’s the pseudo-sequel to my Lily/James Cruelty of Fate. The reason why I call it a pseudo sequel is that it is the same story, but I had to split it up so that it would fit the rules of portkey. Those of you looking for a great, fluffy, h/hr romance will not find it here, in fact, there will never be a Harry or Hermione POV in the entire fic, except for maybe an epilogue. H/Hr also won’t appear until probably 4-5 chapters in, after Sirius has escaped from Azkaban. Obviously, they will not be entering a relationship any time soon after that, but rather the marauder’s will be there to observe and pick up the signs. They won’t actually get together until WELL into the fic, nearer to the end than the beginning, and their relationship will not be a major factor in the story either, as it is all told by the remaining marauder’s. But it WILL be there, with Sirius and Lupin hinting at it in years three, four, and five, until they finally do get together. The majority of the beginning will be basically the background of what has already happened in the books, but from a different perspective with extra scenes written in.

Also, this fic will be very confusing if you do not read the first part first! The L/J fic that starts it all can be found HERE!

The actual story probably won’t go up till tomorrow, so kill the time waiting by reading the fist part! And please drop a review in with your comments or criticism, and pointers on what I messed up on would be nice as well. Just to warn you, chapter two contains a rather cruel torture scene, while chapter four shows the deaths of the Potters, Lily and James. And I didn’t write it ambiguously, you WILL actually read them dying, as well as their last thoughts and such.

The fic also answers a lot of mysteries surrounding that plotline that JKR hasn’t revealed yet, like why Voldemort didn’t want to kill Lily and why and how Peter Pettigrew became a traitor. Obviously they aren’t necessarily correct, but as I wrote them, it made perfectly good sense to me, and it does seem plausible.

As far as how quickly it will be updated, I would expect once every 2-3 days, and the same with my other fic that is going on right now, Harry Potter and the Arithmetic Theory. I’m splitting the time between the two, although it’s hard writing the latter as I don’t really like where I’ve taken it, but it’s too late now. <sigh>

I’m also not one of those author’s that responds to feedback in my beginning author’s notes for each chapter, but if you ask a legit question, I’ll try to remember and answer it in the author’s note, rather than in my own reviews section (this way more people see it).

Okay, well that’s all for now, so I’ll see ya tomorrow (hopefully) and I hope you enjoy the story!

Cheers!

A/N: Here’s chapter five of the fic (the first four were in the prequel), it covers everything else that happened in the past after Lily/James died. More torture in this chapter, so beware! Once again, I implore that you read the L/J Cruelty of Fate fic before this one.

*****

Chapter Five

- Sirius -

An eerie wind chilled the bones of a dashing, slick haired man. His hair was nearly invisible in the black of night, as it blended in with the darkness. The man had a determined walk about him, whistling casually, his gray eyes fastened on the small cottage that lay a few hundred meters in front of him.

Sirius Black had come to check on his friend Peter Pettigrew, who had only the night before performed the Fidelius Charm, entrusting the protection of Lily and James Potter’s whereabouts to him.

An uneasy feeling of dread settled over Sirius as the house grew larger in his vision, a feeling so uneasy that he broke into a run. Why were the lights off? Surely Peter was expecting him, they had discussed this only the night before! And if Peter wasn’t there, then what did that mean?

Finally, lungs screaming for air, legs aching in distress, Sirius arrived at the stoop of what Peter Pettigrew was supposed to be calling home. It had been a brilliant idea really - everyone knew how loyal Sirius was, how great a wizard he had become. He would be the obvious choice of Secret Keeper, who else would it be?

That was why the honor had been given to Peter, as no one would suspect the bumbling, clumsy, poor wizard of being trusted with such vital information. There were no flaws seen to Sirius, it was perfect. Voldemort would chase him for days, weeks, months, years, even, if need be and luck prevailed, all while he had never been the secret keeper at all.

But there was a condition that he had not considered, had not believed to be possible. No, Peter could not have been the traitor! Could he? Was he a good enough wizard to fool them all?

There was only one way to find out. Sirius preformed an unlocking spell on the door to the cottage, and was treated to a scene of horror.

Not many people would be horrified of an emptied cabin, one that had absolutely nothing in it. Except for one who knew his best friend’s life, as well as that of his wife and son, depended on the safety of the one living there.

The house had been filled only a few days before, and now it was empty, Peter was gone. And there could only be one reason why.

In a rage Sirius ran back to his motorcycle and took off for Godric’s Hollow, where he knew the answer to his burning question would lie.

*****

- Albus Dumbledore -

Albus Dumbledore was working silently at his desk in the headmaster’s office of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when suddenly, one of the wards he had set up around England, wards that notified him whenever the dark mark was cast, started to hum in the back of the room.

Out of his chair much quicker than a man of his age should be able to do, he glided over to the alarm, and cursed silently at what it was telling him.

Godric’s Hollow had been attacked.

*****

- Sirius -

A loud roar filled the air over Godric’s Hollow as Sirius floated in from above, his question answered. A large, misty cloud floated above, Number Twelve, Godric’s Hollow. The cloud was green, and in the shape of a skull, with a serpent protruding from the mouth.

Tears of sadness and anger welling up in his eyes, Sirius pushed past the crowd that had gathered around the house and made his way inside, preparing himself for what he was about to see.

Everyone recognized him, and the man standing guard at the house’s entrance let him by without a word. Inside, the house was in shambles. A massive amount of magic had obviously been used, so much that it was going to cause the house to fall apart.

But none of that mattered now, as he saw a single figure slumped in the corner of the living room. His face and hands had been sliced multiple times, most probably by the tea glasses that were now laying in shards all over the room. One lens of his glasses was shattered, the other merely cracked, closed eyes hiding beneath them.

Sirius couldn’t take it any more and let out an anguished sob, turning away from the dead body of his best friend. But something wasn’t making sense. Voldemort had com, obviously, but why had he gone? Sirius thought he would have stayed and gloated, knowing full well that no one could oppose him any longer.

As he approached the nursery, his dread overwhelming, he heard a sound that made his heart leap into his throat. It was short, it was quiet, but it had been there. Harry had just let out a little cry.

Before he even knew what happened, Sirius was standing in Harry’s room, taking in the sight before him. Lily was dead, laying on the floor beside Harry’s crib. Sirius once again had to divert his eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay, but failing miserably.

But inside Harry’s crib, there was movement. A cold shiver tingled down Sirius’ spine. Could it be?

It was. The tears flowed freely when Sirius peered over the edge of the baby’s crib to see a wide-awake and perfectly healthy Harry Potter staring back at him. Harry looked a little worse for the wear, but for the most part he looked normal, his emerald eyes showing that he was too young to understand what had just happened to his parents.

But there was a new feature to Harry, something that had not been there before. Just off-center, on Harry’s forehead, there was a scar. The shape of a lightning bolt, the scar burned a deep red, as it had obviously only just been created.

Sirius gasped in realization…and the dark lord will mark him as his equal…

Even in the harsh reality of the deaths of his best friends, Sirius was able to form a small smile. Voldemort had tried to kill Harry, tried, but failed. And now he was gone. Not forever, no, Voldemort had taken precaution against that, but for the time-being, the world was a safer place.

He picked up Harry softly, wrapping the young child in a blanket, and cradling him, walked out of the house, to a crowd filled with expectant neighbors and foreigners alike. He saw the eight foot six inch Hogwarts groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, near the front of the crowd.

Sobbing, he walked up to him and placed young Harry in his arms. “Take him to Dumbledore for me Hagrid,” He whispered, fighting through the tears. “Lily and James are dead,”

Hagrid’s face paled to the ghostly white that had once been the color of the now defeated Voldemort’s skin. He gave Sirius a soft pat on the back, a pat that nearly toppled Sirius over. “There, there now, Sirius. It’s horrible-” He choked on the words, tears spilling out onto his humongous face. “Horrible, what ‘appened to Lily and James, but you’ve still got young ‘Arry, ‘ere, don’t’ ya?”

Sirius shook his head sadly, and gestured at his motorbike. “Take my bike Hagrid, I won’t need it where I’m going. Oh,” He figured he better tell the good news as well. “Voldemort’s gone, by the way. Harry drove him off.”

Without waiting for the crowd’s startled reaction to this, Sirius dissapparated, determined to find and kill the traitor who had murdered his best friend.

*****

- Dumbledore -

Dumbledore had received a short letter from Fawkes, who he had sent to Hagrid, that told him everything that he needed to know.

James and Lily are dead. Harry is still alive, no idea how. He’s got some scar on his forehead now, dunno what that all about.

Albus had shed a sad tear when he received the note, wondering how he had never figured it out. Sirius was their secret-keeper, and apparently, Sirius had been the traitor all long. How had he not picked up on the signs? Well, that was easy, there had been no signs.

How could he have let this happen? How could he, Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in all the world, have let James and Lily die? This never should have happened, and now he had to do one of the most difficult things of his life, writing a letter to Harry’s only remaining family, Lily’s muggle sister Petunia, and her husband Vernon.

Dear Petunia Dursley,

I am afraid that this letter is a bearer of bad news. Your sister, Lily Evans Potter, and her husband, James Potter, were murdered tonight by an evil wizard. Miraculously, their son Harry survived, but he is still in grave danger.

The only reason Harry was able to survive was because of the love that your sister had for him, a love that flows in your blood, and your blood alone. I implore that you please take Harry in and raise him as your own, your home is the ONLY place in the world that he will be safe. While under your care, no harm will be able to come to him.

Do not allow Harry the truth until you feel he is ready to handle it. Sometime before his eleventh birthday, he will receive a letter from the school that I am Headmaster of, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is the same school that your sister attended, more detail will be given to you when the time for Harry to come to Hogwarts has arrived.

In return for Harry’s safe-keeping, I will charm your residence with some of the most powerful protection spells known to wizard-kind, not only to repel from our own kind, but these spells will also protect you residence from ever being the target of theft, or vandalism. No man or woman with malicious intentions will ever be able to set foot in your house while these charms are intact.

The fate of the wizarding world lies in your hands, Petunia. I implore that you take Harry in and raise him as your own, so that in the future, he may make this world a safer place for all of us.

With Utmost Compassion and Sorrow,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Sighing, the old man sadly placed the letter into an envelope, sealing it slowly. When the letter was finished, he took a long walk to Hogsmeade, wanting to collect his thoughts and piece together the evidences of what exactly had happened.

As he reached Hogsmeade some time later, he let out a long, sad sigh, still no closer to his goal of the truth than he had been an hour ago when he began to ponder upon it. With one swift look around the small wizarding village of Hogsmeade, he apparated to Pivet Drive, in Little Whining, Surrey.

*****

- Peter -

He had never been so terrified in all his life, at least not that he could remember. Peter had never thought of what implications the prophecy could have, of what could happen when Voldemort attacked the Potter’s.

All the death eaters knew of the plan, they all knew that Peter was the one that had given the information that sent him there. And now they all knew that the dark lord had met his downfall.

Peter’s dreams of power and, more importantly, acceptance, were vanquished as he realized that he no longer had a place in the world. He was a traitor to those of the light, although they did not know it.

To the death eaters, he was a traitor, because he had caused the dark lord’s downfall. Somehow Snape was avoiding any and all criticism, even though it was he who had started this whole thing when he told Voldemort about the prophecy.

Peter didn’t know what to do. By now, Sirius had no doubt found out the truth, and knew that he, Peter, had been the traitor all along. But he, Sirius, had no proof. In fact, when the evidence presented itself, it would be Sirius who looked the culprit.

Sirius wasn’t stupid, Peter knew this. Black knew that he was going to take the blame for this, but he wasn’t going to do it without a fight. Peter knew how fiercely loyal Sirius had been to James, how much the two loved each other.

Peter knew that Black was going to come after him, and then kill him.

But what Peter had was time, time to devise a plan, and time to cover his tracks. If he planned everything just right, he may just come out of this alive, which to him, was all that mattered in the end.

*****

- Petunia Dursley -

It was an early morning for Petunia Dursley on the day of November 2, 1982. She had not slept well the last two nights, and she had no idea why this was. But because she was up early, she decided that she may as well go downstairs and retrieve the milk cans, then begin making breakfast.

Slowly she rolled off of the bed that she shared with her husband of only a few months. Dudley had been quite the surprise to them both, but they had taken responsibility and married, just like they should have. Petunia was a very responsible person, unlike that…freak…her sister.

Throwing on a warm robe to keep the early morning chills from getting to her, Petunia left the room she shared with her husband, wincing at the creaks that the floor under her emitted, but thankfully her husband did not awake and she was able to make it the rest of the way in peace.

Petunia frowned at the untidiness of her living room, one of the pillows on her couch was off-center! She remedied that quickly, then tidied up the kitchen refrigerator ( a few magnets were slightly skewed, and there was a minor smudge spot in the corner) before heading to the front door so that she could retrieve the milk cans.

What she saw when she opened the front door to the house was not what she expected. “AHHH!” She screeched, seeing a baby boy sleeping peacefully on her stoop. There was a letter laying on top of him, and with trembling hands, Petunia picked it up, undid the seal, and read it slowly.

When she had finished it, she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. One thing she had learned from her sister was to always follow her first instinct, no matter how much she didn’t like it. Wondering if it was wise to follow the advice of a woman whose instincts had gotten her killed, she nevertheless picked up the baby basket and brought it inside along with the morning milk.

*****

- Remus Lupin -

He couldn’t believe it. They were dead. He had come as soon as he heard the news, and was instantly in tears at the sight that lay before him. The Potters house, where he had endeavored in so many great memories, had fallen to the ground, dying with the tow people who had built it.

He didn’t know how Sirius could have done this. Why would he have done this? Were he and James not the best of friends? Sirius had always been so loyal and faithful, it seemed impossible for him to be a traitor. But here was the evidence. Sirius was the only person who could have given away the Potters location, and their safety, as he was their secret keeper. He had told him himself!

Lupin now realized that he was alone. James and Lily were dead, Sirius was a traitor, Peter had fled, no doubt afraid that Sirius would come after him next. Let him come, Remus thought to himself. Let Sirius come and try to kill me, Merlin knows I’ll be ready for him.

*****

- Alice Longbottom -

A few weeks had passed, and even now, the parties were still raging, celebrating the ‘death’ of the dark lord, even if Albus Dumbledore maintained that he was till very much alive, just weak, and near power-less.

Alice had shed many tears for her friends over the last few weeks. So many memories, such a tragic end. Why had Sirius done this? Never in a million years did she think Sirius would ever have been capable of betrayal, especially of James Potter.

Now she was at home in Godric’s Hollow with her husband, Frank, for a day of peace and quiet, as Frank’s mother had taken Neville for the day. They had taken the Fidelius off of their selves, seeing no need for it now that Voldemort was gone. Oh he wasn’t dead - of that they were sure - but he was of no threat to anyone right now.

But that didn’t hold true for his supporters.

Her and Frank were sitting silently in their living room together when it happened. The front door to their house was blown inward, the explosion so strong that it knocked Alice and Frank from their loveseat and to the floor, their wands being summoned away.

Into their house stepped Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., and two other death eaters that she did not recognize. Bellatrix sneered at them, Barty smiling at her side, flicking his long, straw-colored hair aside.

The two unrecognized death eaters were casting multiple sealing and silencing charms around the house. Frank and Alice were completely helpless. “What do you want death eater!?” Frank spat at the woman, wanting to get right down to business.

“Oh, Bella, looks like quite the feisty one, eh?” Said one of the death eaters that Alice didn’t recognize.

Bellatrix smiled at him. Yes, Rodolphus, quite the feisty ones. Well, the more energetic they are, the louder they scream! Crucio!”

Alice watched on in horror as her husband was hit by the unforgivable curse, and his large body dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. “Stop it!” She screamed, unable to watch her husband in such agony.

“Only if you tell us what we want to know, Longbottom,” Barty Crouch Jr. broke in, raising his wand at her. “Or will we have to do the same to you?”

“I’m not telling you anything!” She screamed, tears already flowing.

“Oh really? What I pity. Bella, take the curse off of him, let’s have some fun.” Crouch turned his maniacal gaze on Alice just as Frank was released from the curse. Frank shakily rose to his feet, and the moment he looked over at Alice…

“Crucio!” A thousand knives felt as if they had been simultaneously stabbed into her body, and then it felt as if a bag of salt was tossed over her open wounds. She had felt the pain before, but never when she was so helpless. She was screaming, of that she knew, and no doubt they were interrogating her husband as she writhed on the floor.

Suddenly, the pain was gone, and only the ache remained. Her scream was replaced with that of her husband’s, who was now under the Bellatrix’s Cruciatus Curse. Barty Crouch kicked her solidly in the jaw, sending her sprawling backwards. “Now tell us what the prophecy entailed! Or face more pain than you ever can imagine!”

“Over my dead body!” She spat, despite the scream of pain in her throat that her screeches of pain had caused.

Barty sighed, raising his wand. “Very well then. Crucio!”

Once again Alice felt as if she was on fire, burning alive while being stabbed to death, the pain was so great. This time the pain lasted much, much longer, she was not released of her pain until the sun was no longer gracing the sky with it’s presence, but rather had been replaced with the black of night and an ominous storm front.

It took her a moment, but she was finally able to get enough strength to open her eyes and look at Frank, who had passed out from pain. “Ready to tell us the prophecy now?” Barty sneered, yawning as he watched Bellatrix kick Frank in the gut.

Prophecy? Alice thought. What? Oh - that prophecy! “NEVER!” She screamed, blood rising up and out of her throat as she did so.

“Foolish woman,” Crouch spat, obviously angered at the woman’s resistance. “Crucio!”

Alice felt as if the pain would ever stop, it hurt so much that it got to the point where it didn’t hurt at all, but it was rather just a normal feeling. When the curse was taken off of her, the sun had risen yet again, the outside grass wet from the storms the night before.

But Alice knew none of this. What? Who are these people? Where am I? Who? What? WHAT’S GOING ON!

“Ready to talk yet, woman!” Barty spat over the screams and moans of Frank Longbottom, whom Bellatrix was torturing only a few feet away.

“W-hat? Who - who are you?” Alice responded, wondering what the man wanted, and why he seemed to be so angry.

“ARRGGHHH!” He screamed, picking up a plate and hurling it across the room. He turned to Bellatrix, though Alice had no idea who she was. Had she ever seen these people before?

“It’s no use Bella,” Crouch said in dejection, hanging his head. “She’s gone too, we held them under the curse for to long. Bloody, it’s been three days! They’ve both lost their minds!”

Bellatrix, defeated, nodded, but not without an evil smirk. “Well, let us leave them then. Some fates are worse than death,”

Alice didn’t understand what was being said, and was utterly astonished when the four black-robed occupants of the room simply vanished into thin air, making loud popping noises.

But minutes later she had already forgotten about them, and, deciding that she was tired, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Her and Frank never truly awoke ever again.

*****

- Sirius -

It had taken him two weeks, but he had done it. Sirius followed the leads, followed the rat’s tail, and finally, he had found him. Sirius could see him now, only a few meters down the road, a few more steps and he would have him cornered.

He waited until an opportunity presented itself, and then, not caring that he was in a muggle city with many muggles watching, pulled out his wand and came up to the traitor from behind.

“Hello Peter.”

*****

- Peter -

“Hello Peter.”

Pettigrew stopped, paralyzed with fear. Or at least, putting on the show of being scared. He knew that Sirius would find him, and he also knew that Sirius had been following for quite some time now.

Working up all the cunning he could muster, he spun around to face the handsome face of his once best friend.

“How could you Sirius!” He screamed, making sure all the muggles in the area could hear him, which they did.

Sirius, so startled by the outburst, said nothing. “How could you betray Lily and James like that? I thought you were their friend! And you got them killed! Well now I am going to avenge them!”

*****

- Sirius -

Sirius couldn’t believe what was happening. What was Peter doing? Suddenly, Peter winced in pain, and Sirius noticed his wand moving behind his back. Quickly he swung his wand upward, ready to scream a spell.

“MAXIMUS REDUCTO!”

*****

- Peter -

Peter screamed the explosion spell before Sirius could react, and took the time the distraction had given him to transform into a rat and crawl straight through the hole he had created, making his escape. He smiled inwardly.

The whole street had seen Sirius raise his wand, and in the confusion of the moment, there was no way anyone could have been able to tell who had actually spoken the spell. But to the onlookers, they saw him make and accusation, Sirius raise his wand, and then the street explode, all in perfect order. It would appear to anyone that Sirius had been the one who cast the spell.

He had escaped.

*****

- Sirius -

He stood, unbelievingly, at the spot where Peter had once been, now nothing but a crater with a finger inside of it. He surveyed his surroundings, and noticing the looks he was on the receiving end of, knew he was doomed.

Peter, there worst wizard in their class, had just gotten the better of him. Peter had set him up perfectly, and played out the scene to make Sirius look the traitor, and the killer.

There was nothing he could do about it, except to wait for the hit-wizards to come and pick him up.

The irony of it struck him like nothing else, and he laughed.

Sirius Black spent the next ten minutes before he was shackled up and taken to Azkaban laughing, a cruel, deep laugh that haunted all those who had heard it.

Sirius knew that he was probably going to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban, but he didn’t care. On the off-chance that he may get out, one quota stayed with him.

Irony is sweet, but payback’s a bitch.

*****

A/N: Okay, so that about wraps up the L/J era, the next chapter is going to start with Sirius in Azkakban, before he has spoken with Fudge and received the Daily Prophet article where he sees Peter.

I really hope you like this fic, cuz I’m lovin’ writin’ it!

Cheers!

A/N:

This is a short one, sorry! I had to finish it before the MTV awards tonight, so I cut it down a bit. Hopefully you’ll like it anyways!

*****

Chapter Six

- Eleven and Three Quarters Years Later -

- Sirius -

The sanest man in all of Azkaban was currently sitting in his cell, curled up in a fetal position, and had been as such for quite some time. Sirius’ hair was now long enough to reach his shoulders, as he had not been allowed a haircut for his entirety in the wizarding prison.

Sirius shivered slightly and involuntarily, something he had been accustomed to. He was the most heavily guarded prisoner on the island – and yet, he was the sanest of all, and also happened to be innocent as well. He heard the screams coming from other cells, then the quiet as those that were to loud were kissed by the dementors, whether the Ministry of Magic allowed it or not.

That was one thing Sirius was sure that Cornelius Fudge – the new Minister Of Magic – kept from the public. Speaking of the devil, the man was walking towards his cell now, seemingly engrossed in a newspaper.

Fudge had been by his cell once or twice in the past few years since he had risen to the position of Minister of Magic. Sirius never would have suspected one of the squad of hit-wizards that had come after him would eventually be Minister of Magic. But the earth was still circling the sun, so Sirius figured he couldn’t be doing all that poorly.

“Good evening Minister,” Sirius said, walking from his cot to the prison door where Fudge was standing. Cornelius seemed to shiver slightly as Sirius addressed him, no doubt unnerved that he was still in his right mind, even after nearly twelve years of imprisonment.

“Black.” Fudge responded coolly, believing this man to be a somewhat insane cold-blooded murderer of Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles.

“May I take a gander at that?” Sirius asked politely, motioning at the paper the minister was holding. “I haven’t heard of the outside world in ages. Need to check up on the Hippogriffs, you know?”

Cornelius seemed to consider him for a moment, and, deciding that giving him the magazine would not do anyone any harm, he chucked it through the bars to Black. “Eat your heart out,” He told Sirius, before turning on his heel and leaving the confines of the most restricted and well-protected part of the prison.

Sirius picked up the paper, like a fat wizard picking up a Honkeyduke, and opened to the first page, which showed a line of red-heads. Weasley’s, no doubt. He thought with a smile, remembering the muggle-loving pureblood family.

His jovial mood changed from shock to displeasure and finally to hate when his eyes settled on what the article told him was the Weasley’s youngest boy, Ronald Weasley, who just happened to be best friends with none other than…Harry Potter!

What he saw on the boy’s shoulder made his blood run the cold of a winter rain, whilst his rage burned as if he was in a fiery inferno. There was a rat, a pet, no doubt, propped on the shoulder, but not just any rat. Sirius had run the grounds enough times, late at night, to instantly recognize him. Any doubts he may have had vanished when he saw the missing toe.

Peter Pettigrew was living with the Weasley’s, he was very much still alive. And worse yet, he was in close proximity to Harry Potter, the boy that Sirius would protect over any other on the planet.

He had failed James. He would not fail Harry.

Sirius spoke in his sleep for the first time that night, puzzling the dementors outside his door…

“He’s at Hogwarts…He’s at Hogwarts…”

- Remus -

A tea kettle was furiously thrown across the kitchen of a cheap flat in downtown muggle London, crashing against the far wall and shattering, sending shards of glass and hot tea all over the room.

Remus had just returned from yet another job interview in which he was predestined to be denied, because of his status as a werewolf. Remus had had to live the last twelve years off of muggle wages, unable to find a true job in the wizarding world. Some of the money James had left him in his will had helped (Remus was dumbfounded at the prospect of him being put in the will, but then he realized that James had most likely safeguarded himself in case Remus was the spy, and therefore if he had died Remus was not the culprit, but his friend, and hence, the will), but it wasn’t enough to last twelve years.

He wasn’t even allowed to apply for the Magical Creatures Division in the Ministry of Magic. He couldn’t work for the government in any way because of his werewolf status, which left him seeking customer-satisfaction jobs, which he was obviously not accepted in either.

So for the most part, Remus Lupin, who had been a three year prefect at Hogwarts, graduated second in his class behind only Lily Evans, with a recommendation from Albus Dumbledore himself, had had to live in the wizarding world with no money except those that he could get as a muggle, and even that was tricky, as he had no way of proving his existence in the muggle world.

Remus threw his head back and sighed, massaging his eyes with balled fists. Would he ever find a job? Would he ever find true happiness again? Of the three best friends he had had, two were dead and one was in prison for killing them.

In these times, it really sucked to be Remus John Lupin.

- Sirius -

It had been nearly a week since he had seen the article, and Sirius was planning his escape. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that no one had ever escaped Azkaban before, and that it wouldn’t be easy. But they didn’t know that he could transform into a dog and slip between the prison bars, invisible to the blind dementors.

He had tested this time and time again, transforming to his dog form when the dementors brought in his food (or rather, a pile of rubbish that was somehow classified as a third-class vegetable, but Sirius thought this was appropriate, as most people in Azkaban were vegetables anyways), and noting with great pleasure each time that the dementors seemed confused by his actions.

Sighing, Sirius looked up to the stars, mainly the constellation he had been named for. Not many people knew – in fact, no one knew aside from Remus, James, and Peter – that Sirius was quite taken with Astrology and the studies of the stars. So he knew exactly where they should be in the night sky from his position every night, he also knew by these constellations and the position of the moon exactly when low tide was, which would be the easiest time for him to make it to shore.

That would be tomorrow night.

- Peter -

Peter had always been quite a good pet, first for Charlie, and now for the youngest Weasley sibling, Ron. The days since the Potter’s deaths and Voldemort’s demise had had their ups and downs for Peter.

He knew that every death eater in Britain wanted his head on a pike, after all, it was his information that had lead to the dark lord’s downfall. And if he revealed himself to the wizarding world of good, well, then it would be all to obvious what had happened on that Hollow’s Eve, so many years ago.

He hadn’t always been with the Weasley’s, of course. He had actually started his life after Godric’s Hollow in the sewers of London, before moving out into the forests, and eventually to a muggle village. There he was able to walk around as a man, something that he found very hard to do now. There was no way he could hold his form for more than a few days, that was of course, until he learned to sleep as a rat, something he now did quite a lot.

After he had lived in that muggle village for a few years, he finally left it and returned to Britain, where he found the then young Percy Weasley and was able to christen himself in with one of the Wizarding World’s most well-known families.

Things had gone perfectly for Peter until that trip to Hogwarts with Ron. Peter may not have been a genius, but he could do simple arithmetic. He knew that Harry Potter would have been entering Hogwarts at the same time as Ron Weasley. He also knew that all the Weasley’s were Gryffindor’s, and that James would turn over in his grave if his son didn’t become one.

So Peter knew there would be complications, but he had never counted on the idea that Ron and Harry would become the best of friends, with the bookworm girl Hermione Granger alongside them.

He had had some tense moments around Harry, but felt confident when he had bitten that brute’s finger on the first ride to Hogwarts. Surely Harry could never expect Ron’s faithful pet to be the man responsible for the deaths of his parents, could he?

But anyways, none of that mattered to Peter now. He was in Egypt, with the Weasley’s, for a well-deserved vacation. Of course, it was the last bit of peace that Peter would ever have.

- Sirius -

It was time. Tonight would be the night that he did the impossible. Tonight, Sirius would be the prisoner who escaped Azkaban.

He was ready. Sirius had already taken on the form of his animagus, a dog, like the star he was named after, and patiently waited for the dementors to bring him his food. That would be when he would make his escape, straight through the bars and down the corridor, off the edge of the floating island and into the chilly sea below.

He had no idea why he hadn’t thought of this sooner, why it had never occurred to him before. He supposed it was because then, escape had been a happy thought, a dream, and it was sucked away by the dementors. Now though, now escape was an obsession. This was not a happy thought, but rather a thought fueled by hatred and anger, and the dementors could not take it away from him.

Sirius had waited for almost twelve years to get Peter, and now was his chance. As soon as the guards brought the food in…oh! Here they were now!

If he had the strength he would have smiled. Sirius nimbly slipped through the bars, the dementors looking confused but not knowing of what was happening. But this was the easy part. Sirius knew that he was still deep within the island’s confines, and it would take him a long time to get out.

But that was all in the future, Sirius had to survive in the here and now. It wouldn’t take the dementors long to figure out what happened, so he had to make some serious haste. He flew around the bends and corners, praying that he was going the right way, oblivious of the screams of the prisoners he passed. After all, how often did one see a large, near-death black dog storming down the corridors of a high-security prison?

He hit his first snag only a few minutes into the adventure. Two dementors were crowding the southern corridor in front of him, where the stars told him he was going to have to go. Though they could not see him, the dementors sensed him and had no doubt been warned of the escape. Sirius knew that if he didn’t make it past them he would be kissed, a fate worse than death.

Cautiously, he strutted forward, looking, waiting for an opportunity to bolt past them. When the didn’t budge, Sirius knew he would have to take drastic measures. When in health, he would have had no doubt of his ability to perform this trick, but as weak as he was…

He shook his head defiantly, not allowing himself to think of failure. The corridor was dark, only an occasional flash of lightning providing light. The hallway was musty, walls covered in moss, those parts that weren’t were falling off the wall and crumbling onto the floor.

Sirius took one last glance at the width of the corridor, it was probably about eight feet, that would be just at the top of his capabilities. With a loud bark of determination he tore after the dementors, praying that he had the energy to pull this off.

The dementors stood their ground, which Sirius had expected. At the last moment, he swerved to the left side of the corridor, and, as Sirius knew they would, both dementors scurried over to block him, each wanting the kiss for themselves, giving Sirius his opening.

Leaping in the air, he kicked off the wall and shot to the other side of the passage, then kicking off again ended up behind the dementors and down the corridor in a full run.

Panting, Sirius kept running, fighting against the cold that was encircling him. The happy thought of deceiving the dementors was going against him, slowing him down, as was the thought that the end of the tunnel was ahead, only a few more seconds and he’d be out of there…five…three…one…

SPLASH!

- Remus -

A phoenix suddenly appeared in front of Remus Lupin, as he was reading the Daily Prophet in his favorite chair by the fire. But the roar of the fire was nothing next to the roar of emotions that erupted inside the werewolf’s mind when he read the letter attached to the phoenix’s leg.

To my old friend Remus,

Remus, I do not have much time, so I must be brief. Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. It is rumored that he is after Harry at Hogwarts. Because of this, I was able to pull some strings, and I have been allowed to offer you the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts this year. Please send your response with Fawkes immediately.

With Hope,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Remus took several sharp gasps and sat down hard, clutching his chest. Sirius had escaped? No one escaped from Azkaban!

There was only one response he could possibly fathom to give, he scribbled it down quickly and told Fawkes to return it to Dumbledore immediately.

Yes.

*****

A/N:

So there ya go! Please drop me a review with your thoughts! Can’t make it better without some good criticism and support!

Cheers!

A/N: I know, I know, it took me FOREVER to get this update out, but here it is. This is the first chapter that I wrote something right alongside cannon, only in Remus’ POV rather than Harry’s third person omniscient. I hope you enjoy the chapter! (oh yeah, and the one Lupin scene I was talking about belongs to JKR, not me)

*****

Chapter Seven

- Sirius -

His eyes opened slowly, weighted down by fatigue and copious amounts of water. After he had opened his eyes, it took a moment before he could see anything at all, but when his surroundings finally did come into focus, everything was in the monotones of white and black.

Groggily, he stood, first on four legs, but after a few seconds he only had two, as he had returned to his natural form. Sirius looked around in a daze, wondering just how far from Hogwarts he was.

What had once been black and white was now vibrant in color, from the bluish green of the ocean water to the brilliant blue sky, clashing sporadically with the white wisps of clouds, or the occasional flying creature.

The sun was out in full force, baking him to the bone, transforming the sand beneath his feet into an oven of nature, fit to burn the flesh from his feet.

But none of this mattered to Sirius now, he was free. Free from the confines of his miniscule cell, free of the horrid cold that was dementor breath, once again free to hold a happy thought, without it being taken from him by a bloodthirsty monster.

He stretched wearily and took long strides across the golden beach towards his future, where he would confront his past.

- Peter -

Peter had been having quite the time in Egypt. He had to admit that after living so many years with the fire headed Weasley’s that he had grown somewhat fond of them. Of course, he would not protect them with his own life, never would he do that, there was nothing in his mind that warranted death.

But it was a day like all the others, the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, was being tortured by the twins Fred and George, while the last Weasley boy in Hogwarts, Percy, stood by and tutted in annoyance and disproval.

Of course, he hadn’t been like that the entire time, Percy always was quite the strict and law-abiding Weasley child, but he had let his guard down and had some fun in Egypt, until Fred and George attempted to lock him in a pyramid. After that, Percy was back to his same old self, berating his younger siblings for acting like children and polishing his Head Boy badge every chance that he got.

Peter remembered, perched on Ron’s shoulder, watching Percy polish his badge for the thousandth time, how James had reacted when he got his Head Boy badge…

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were all sitting around one of the corner booths of Diagon Alley’s finest pub, The Leaky Cauldron. All four of them were clutching their Hogwarts letters, as they had just been delivered that day, and they all decided to meet for a butterbeer and to see who got the coveted badges.

Though they couldn’t be for sure, the Marauder’s were fairly positive that one of them would get the Head Boy badge, and another would certainly get a prefect badge. Now normally this wouldn’t have mattered at all to James and Sirius, but with the prospect of Lily Evans being Head Girl (though that wasn’t confirmed either, there was really no one else to contend with her), James was praying for that badge so that he could spend more time with her.

Sirius ribbed him constantly for how much he had reformed himself trying to get Lily to see him as anything more than an obnoxious prat, but James didn’t care. He firmly believed that he and Lily were the perfect couple, and that if he got Head Boy, she would think of him more fondly for it.

“Who wants to open there’s first?” Remus asked, glancing around.

Sirius in response, raised his glass of butterbeer and said, “I say we do it at the same time! Who’s with me?”

Laughing, the other marauder’s lifted their glasses and spoke their mantra, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good!”

After each boy took a long swig of butterbeer, they ripped apart their envelopes, to which James gave a yelp. “YES! Head boy!”

Remus and Peter gaped at him, while Sirius cracked up and was rolling on the floor in laughter. James, throwing all sense of dignity away, jumped up on the table and started dancing and whooping, flashing his badge around for all to see.

At just that moment, Lily Evans walked in, a mixture of amusement and disgust on her face when she saw James dancing on the table, spraying the contents of his butterbeer all over the place.

James had his back to her as he danced, ignoring the warning signs he was getting from Peter and Remus as he started chanting and dancing horribly out of tune.

“Oh yeah! Me and Lily sharing a room,

So she can help me polish my broom,”

At this point Sirius was crying in laughter, while Peter had started to chuckle and Remus was trying to stay loyal, but the corners of his mouth were starting to curve upwards. Lily did not seem to pleased at all.

“We’ll stay up all night,

And I’ll show her all my might,”

Peter had now fallen to the floor now as well, rolling next to Sirius, while Remus had to put his head on the table to keep James from seeing his laugh. Lily’s mouth was in a firm line, showing that she didn’t find this humorous in the least.

“I know she doesn’t like to fly, so I’ll take her inside,

And show her a whole new kind of ride!”

Most of the pub had caught on to the spectacle now, many of them joining in on the laughter that Sirius, Peter, and Lupin had started. James seemed oblivious to it all.

“If she ever gets sick of writing and has time to kill,

She can put down her utensil and suck on my NINE INCH QUILL!”

After this last outburst, the Leaky Cauldron erupted in laughter, and Lily decided that she had had enough. “Hem, hem.”

James froze on the spot. “Bloody hell,” He winced, turning around. “Hey there Evans, have a nice summer?”

Lily smiled at him coolly. “Very nice, thank you.” She motioned to the older man and woman standing next to her. “James, I’d like you to meet my mother and father.”

James groaned as his face went full flush. Sirius and the other marauder’s were still laughing hysterically. “Yes, James Potter, Lily’s told us all about you…” Mr. Evans said, glaring at James.

After a few more quick words, the Evans’ left and James slumped back in his chair, his face as red as a muggle stoplight. “Brilliant Potter, just brilliant…” He muttered to himself, not caring about the laughter that was ringing all around him. How could he ever get Lily to like him now, or her parents approval?

That was one of Peter’s favorite memories of the marauder’s, back before there was a traitor among them. Before he had joined the dark lord. Why had he joined the dark lord? That was easy - fear. Fear of death. But he hadn’t ever been afraid of death before, had he?

Peter let out a small squeak, the pain his thoughts were causing him becoming to much. Instead he focused his eyes across the room, where Arthur Weasley was speaking with his wife Molly, the morning’s copy of the Daily Prophet clutched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were going white.

Peter pondered for a moment over what could possibly be wrong, but judging by the looks on the elder Weasley’s faces, it was bad, very bad. As Arthur finished whatever he was saying to Molly, she cast a sad glance at Ron, before wrapping her husband in one of her trademark hugs.

Mr. Weasley dropped the newspaper as he returned the hug, allowing its contents to be revealed to Peter. The face that looked back at him froze him in his tracks. As did the headline. Peter fainted dead away, off of Ron’s shoulder and onto the floor.

Sirius Black Escapes From Azkaban

- Sirius -

He had to see him. He just had to. Sirius realized that he was probably risking a lot by doing this, but he did not care. He had to see Harry. He had to see James’ son, his Godson.

So now he found himself in a deserted alleyway, only a short distance from the Dursley’s. Sirius knew all about the Dursley’s, of course. Lily’s muggle sister had married some horrible man named Dursley, and together they had had a son, near Harry’s age, named Dudley.

Even though Petunia seemed to hate her sister Lily with all her heart, Lily was still very caring of her sister, and made sure that she was as well protected as could possibly be. Sirius knew that the Dursley’s were the only choice for young Harry, or at least in Dumbledore’s eyes. James would have wanted him to be with Remus…

Sirius squeezed his furry brows at the thought. Remus…they had parted on such horrible terms, Sirius didn’t know if they could ever befriend one another again. Each had accused the other of being a spy, and they were both wrong. It had been Peter, it was Peter all along. And Sirius was going to kill him for his betrayal.

And then he was there. Sirius gasped when he saw a miniature James run into the alleyway, he didn’t even take the time to wonder what he was doing there in the first place. Then Harry looked right at him.

For a fleeting moment, emerald green eyes met clouded gray, but their eye contact was broken when a large bus apparated into the alleyway, whisking Harry aboard and away. But it had been enough for Sirius. He would protect the boy from anything. Even if it cost him his life.

- Remus -

Because of the fact that he had been appointed Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts on such short notice, Remus was forced to ride the train on the way to Hogwarts. He had been quite the loner ever since his best friends had left him, James and Peter to death, Sirius to Azkaban. In fact, he had not had any friends in the last twelve to thirteen years at all. No one wanted to make friends with a werewolf.

Of course now, he was hardly a werewolf at all, sure he still transformed for every full moon, but with the new Wolfsbane Potion, he would be completely harmless, not a danger to anyone.

Lupin hoped that he would make some friends at Hogwarts, though he would not even try to make amends with Snivellus. There was really only one person he truly cared about meeting though, and that was one Harry Potter.

How had he turned out? After living with those muggle relatives for so long, would he be just like them? Magic haters? But he couldn’t be if he was going to Hogwarts. He had heard from Albus that it was uncanny just how much Harry looked like James when he was child, only with Lily’s eyes.

Remus sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes, seeming to all outside observers to be asleep. His thoughts on how long it would be until he met Harry were answered when the door to his compartment suddenly opened.

“Who d’you reckon he is?” Hissed one of the boys, which, Remus did not know, as he had his eyes closed. Rather than reveal himself, he decided to continue his façade of sleep and see if he couldn’t discover more about the students at Hogwarts. A little eavesdropping never hurt anyone.

“Professor R.J. Lupin,” Whispered another voice, undoubtedly female.

“How d’you know that?” The same male voice asked again.

“It’s on his case,” The girl responded, sounding slightly annoyed to the trained ear. If not for his enhanced hearing that accompanied his werewolf status, he may have never noticed it. Not that it mattered anyways.

“Wonder what he teaches?” The same boy whispered again, seemingly rhetorical.

“That’s obvious,” The girl whispered in an all to familiar know-it-all voice that Remus himself had used for years as a student at Hogwarts. “There’s only one vacancy, isn’t there? Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“Well I hope he’s up to it,” The boy responded, sounding doubtful. “He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn’t he? Anyway…” Remus felt a pain of embarrassment wash over him. Here was a child that thought he looked to pathetic to be a defense professor? Well, he’d be sure to show him wrong. Remus’ thoughts were interrupted when the boy continued his sentence. “What were you going to tell us?”

Remus perked his ears up at this, he had forgotten that he heard three sets of footsteps come in to the compartment. But the voice he heard was one that he recognized, and definitely not one that he expected.

Remus had known that voice ever since he was eleven years old, but the owner of that voice was dead, which left only one possibility. Harry Potter, James’ son, was in his compartment. Remus listened intently to the entire conversation, stricken by how mature young Harry must be.

He was a far cry from James, who at that age cared for doing nothing more than sending wind charms up young witches skirts or leaving firecrackers in the potion cauldron’s. When Harry was finished with his story, the girl spoke again, her tone dripping with emotion, “Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh Harry…you’ll have to be really, really careful. Don’t go looking for trouble Harry-”

“I don’t go looking for trouble,” Harry replied, sounding slightly offended. “Trouble usually finds me.”

Remus couldn’t help but smile at that. James had always been out, looking for trouble. He had always said that his son had better be just as bad a rule breaker as he was or else. It seemed that little Harry didn’t need to go looking for it though, because it managed to find him just fine.

After a few more moments of conversation, in which he discovered that the other boy’s name was Ron, that Harry would not be allowed to Hogsmeade, and that the young girl seemed to know everything about everything, Lupin was finally forced to break his façade, as the train stopped and the corridors went black, and a few other students entered.

There was shifting around in the compartment, and Remus immediately cast a flaming spell on one of his hands for light, approaching the compartment door. “Stay where you are,” He commanded, his voice sounding rather raspy after not being used for so long.

Then, confirming his fears, a dementor peered inside of the cabin, and taking one deep breath, through the youngsters into chaos. Harry feinted dead away, his friends Ron and Hermione dropped next to him in an instant, the girl looking close to tears with fear for her friend. The youngest girl in the corner was shivering madly, while the chubby boy next to her that could only be Frank Longbottom’s son stared at the opposite wall, seemingly in a trance of fear.

Gaining his bearings, Remus spoke to the abomination in the doorway. “None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.” When the dementor did not budge, he pulled out his wand and muttered, “Expecto Patronum.” Sending a small white whisp at the dementor, making it flee.

As Harry came to, Remus reached into his briefcase and pulled out a slab of chocolate, snapping it in half with a loud CRACK that made everybody jump. He handed a piece to Harry. “Here,” Harry took the chocolate that was offered. “Eat it. It’ll help.”

Not exactly what Remus had imagined his first words to James’ son being, but they had to do, nonetheless. The conversation then turned to dementors, and the rest of the train ride was quiet after that, other than when Remus had sent an owl ahead to tell McGonogall of the situation. But Remus had achieved one of his primary goals for the evening. He had talked to James’ son, and not made a fool of himself. In fact, he had given him some rather good advice regarding dementors.

He rode in the same carriage as Harry on the ride up to the school, amused with the behavior of the young witch Hermione, as she stuck her head out the window to get a better view of the castle.

When they finally departed from the carriages, Harry was confronted by the same boy who had come into their compartment earlier. “You feinted Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually feinted?”

“Shove off Malfoy.” The red haired Weasley boy retorted. Malfoy…Remus knew the Malfoy’s alright. As evil as can be, except for Narcissa, of course. Lucius Malfoy, no doubt this boy’s father, had been one of Voldemort’s inner circle, but was able to weasel his way out of Azkaban, claiming the Imperius Curse.

No one knew why Narcissa had ever married Malfoy. While not the nicest of people, she had been at least sympathetic to most, or at least to purebloods. She was very foul-mouthed towards muggleborns, as was her upbringing. Remus and the rest supposed that she had eventually been forced into the marriage, as there were no other worthy or suitable pureblood suitors left.

Remus stepped out of the compartment before the Malfoy boy, no doubt by his tone and the way he carried himself just as bad as his father, could start any real trouble. “Is there a problem?” He asked, stepping out of the carriage and looking at the young Malfoy, trying hard not to glare.

“Oh, no - er - professor.” The boy responded sarcastically before turning heel with the two brute friends that were beside him following suit.

They walked in silence until McGonogall interrupted them, calling out for Harry and Hermione. Harry he could understand, but why would the headmistress want to see Hermione as well? He did not have time to dwell on the fact as he was lead away to the sorting ceremony, as well as a very unhappy Ronald Weasley, who obviously thought he was being shunted.

Well, let the boy learn, Remus thought bitterly. I’ve been shunted all my life.

*****

- Sirius -

He wasn’t quite sure how he had done it, but he had found it. There he was, a large, black, shabby dog standing in the grass darkened by night in front of the castle that he had once called home.

The students had already arrived, Sirius could see the carriages pulling in, though there was no possible way of telling who was who. Sirius knew that he obviously couldn’t stay in the castle, there was no way that he could do so undetected, even with numerous hidden rooms that he had discovered with Remus, Peter, and James.

No, there was only one place that he could stay and not be bothered - the Shrieking Shack. It was where Remus had been taken for his transformations, where they had met up with his for their monthly runs around the Hogwarts grounds, late at night.

That was where Sirius headed now, towards the huge whomping willow on the edge of Hogwarts grounds, it’s limbs stationary, but Sirius knew better than to assume the tree harmless.

Sirius found the nearest twig that he could, and transformed it into a long rod, prodding the know with it. He sighed sadly as he put his wand away, wishing he could have his old one back. Sirius had been forced to steal this one from an unsuspecting man who had it sticking out his back pocket. Oh well, the man could buy a new one, Sirius couldn’t.

Sirius trudged his way into the back of the shrieking shack, and laid down on the lone bed in the room, sighing at its creak. The bed was uncomfortable, no doubt about that, but it was far better than the cot he had had in Azkaban. His stomach rumbled, rivaling the loudness of the bed’s creaks, eliciting yet another sad sigh from Sirius.

All he had had to eat in the last few weeks since he escaped Azkaban were rats. Of course, there was one rat that he wanted to eat above all others, one that would replace the guilt that filled his stomach with satisfaction.

On this thought, Sirius smiled and closed his eyes, drifting into the most peaceful slumber he had had in many years.

*****

A/N: Okay, dunno when the next chapter will be up, hopefully sooner rather than later. Not this coming Saturday, but rather the one after it, I leave for my first vacation of the summer, and I won’t be back home till July 5. Then on July…14, I believe, I’ll be heading out to Jersey, then Chicago for a triathlon, and won’t be back home until August. I really don’t know if I’ll be able to update during these periods or not. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to while in Joyze, but other than that…I dunno.

Please drop me a review, they’re great for my ego!

Cheers!

A/N: Here you go finally! This will cover everything from the bogart to the flight of the fat lady, leaving you with a nice little cliffy. R/R! Oh! And obviously, I don’t own many of the convos in this chapter, you know the ones. They belong to JKR, I just did them in Remus’ POV.

*****

Chapter Eight

- Peter -

Peter had a lot of things on his plate now. First there was Sirius, who had now escaped from Azkaban and was on his way to Hogwarts. Most of the wizarding world thought that he was after Harry, but only Peter knew the truth. Sirius was coming after him.

He had no idea how Sirius had figured it out, but that was the only solution in Peter’s eyes. And Sirius rarely failed in his conquests. He had failed in killing Peter once, he would not fail again. This thought sent shivers down his spine every time he thought about it.

His other problem was that maniacal cat of Ron’s friend Hermione Granger. It wouldn’t leave him alone! Every time they were within the same vicinity, the damned cat tried to kill him. He had no idea why, but it was the truth.

Things were looking very bad for Peter Pettigrew.

- Lupin -

“Good afternoon,” Remus addressed the class with a smile. “Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today’s will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands.”

Remus had to suppress a smile at the response that he got for this, apparently the students hadn’t ever had a practical lesson before. He hadn’t been as nervous for the other classes as he was for this one, but then again the other classes hadn’t had the son of his deceased best friend in them either.

When everyone had finished putting their things away, he spoke up again. “Right then,” He was amused to see how many heads snapped to attention at his voice. “If you’d follow me.”

He lead them through the hallways and down to the staff room, impressing Dean Thomas along the way after he shot a wad of gum up the school poltergeist Peeves nostril. Professor Snape was residing in the staff room when they entered, quite an unpleasant surprise for Remus, who still hated Snivellus with a passion, and hated even more that he had to pretend to be civil with him.

Remus was reluctantly about to shut the door when Snivellus spoke, “Leave it open, Lupin. I’d rather not witness this.”

Thank Merlin for that, Remus thought to himself, happy that he would not have to deal with the greasy git for the next hour.

Snape strode across the classroom, his black robes billowing behind him, but just before Remus thought he’d be rid of the man for the rest of the class period, he spun around to address Remus once more. “Possibly no one’s warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear.”

Remus was silent for a moment, raising his eyebrows at Snape, only the two of them knowing that the gesture was one of hatred. How dare he pass judgment on Neville like that! After all that kid’s been through…of course, that’s probably the smarmy git’s intention anyways.

“I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation,” Lupin responded coolly, trying not to let his hatred of the man show too much. “and I’m sure he will perform it admirably.” Just as his parents would have, Snivellus. He added as an afterthought in his head. Remus took satisfaction in seeing Snape curl his lip in a sneer, making his already ugly face even more difficult to look at, and leave the classroom without another word.

“Now then,” Lupin said, returning the class’ attention onto him. They obeyed wonderfully, and Remus began his speech on boggarts, having his questions answered by Hermione, who no doubt knew everything there was to know about everything, and he forced an answer upon Harry, so that he could use it as an excuse to not allow Harry to go against the boggart. He most certainly did not want to set Lord Voldemort on a class of third years.

So after a long period of screams and laughs - Remus almost died when he saw Snape in a dress, but thankfully none of the students took notice - the period finally ended. Remus noted that it didn’t seem that anyone had realized that his greatest fear had been a full moon - no one except for that Hermione Granger. He had seen her brows scrunch together in thought at the sight of it, but he doubted that she had discovered anything…yet.

- Peter -

Peter currently sat curled up at the bottom of Ron Weasley’s bed, shivering in fear. What was with that cat? He thought, as the previous day’s events flashed in front of him. That mad cat had tried to kill him again! and how had it known where he was? And why did it want him dead?

Peter was scared at the only conclusion that he could come to - Sirius had befriended that cat. And now he had recruited it to catch Peter for him. Life had become a living hell for Peter, and it showed no signs of letting up.

- Lupin -

Lupin was leaning against the wall of his office, taking a casual glance out the door when he saw a certain emerald-eyed third year walk by, looking very downtrodden. “Harry?” He said, hoping to catch the young man’s attention.

Remus still had not told Harry about how he knew James, as did Sirius and Peter Pettigrew. He hadn’t seen the point in it, not yet. From what he had collected about Harry, learning that his father’s best friend had betrayed him would crush the poor boy.

When Harry spun around and peered into his office, Remus spoke again. “What are you doing?” He asked sympathetically. “Where are Ron and Hermione?”

“Hogsmeade,” The young wizard responded, trying and failing to sound casual.

“Ah,” Remus responded, now understanding Harry’s foul mood. “Why don’t you come in? I’ve just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson.”

“A what?” Harry questioned, interested, as he followed Lupin into his office.

“Water demon,” Remus answered, looking at the ugly green creature in the large tank of water situated in the corner of the room. “We shouldn’t have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle.”

The creature showed it’s long, spiky teeth to the duo before darting behind a clump of weeds in the center of the tank.

“Cup of tea?” He questioned the young man, hoping that he would accept and he could get his first true impression of James’ boy. “I was just thinking of making one.” He added as a cover. No need to allow Harry to figure out that he was - in a sense - interrogating him.

“All right,” Harry responded, sounding indifferent. Lupin suppressed a smile. The boy had no idea what this was going to be about, but he didn’t want to defy a professor, and he also didn’t want to continue moping around the castle in solitude, so apparently having a cup of tea with his professor was the only option left to him.

Remus tapped the tea kettle with his wand, heating it up for them to drink. “Sit down,” He said, pulling the lid off the kettle. “I’ve only got teabags, I’m afraid - but I daresay you’ve had enough of tea leaves?” He finished with a slightly lighter tone, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

“How did you know about that?” Harry asked.

“Professor McGonogall told me,” Lupin responded, passing a mug of tea to Harry. “You’re not worried, are you?” He asked, hoping to get his first look into how alike Harry was to James. James had hated Divination with a passion, but had not asked questions about Harry’s prophecy, he knew better than to question Dumbledore. But as far as school Divination Professors went, James would have laughed in their face and then stuck a filibuster in their morning tea the next day.

“No,” Was the short response he got from Harry. That didn’t really tell him much, but at least he didn’t believe in the stupid tea leave prophecies - what a joke. But Lupin quickly became alarmed by the look on Harry’s face, as if something was troubling him.

“Anything worrying you, Harry?”

“No,” Harry replied, and by the look on his face, Remus knew that he was lying, he had seen the same look on James’ face a thousand times before when he was confronted by his professors. “Yes,” Harry amended quickly, startling Lupin and setting his tea back down on the desk. “You know that day we fought the bogart?”

“Yes,” Lupin responded slowly, not knowing where this conversation was headed.

“Why didn’t you let me fight it?” Harry asked, surprising Lupin..

Remus raised his eyebrows. “I would have thought that was obvious, Harry.”

Harry looked shocked that Remus had even answered the question at all, but was obviously no closer to the answer when he asked again, “Why?”

“Well,” Remus said with a frown. At least I know he doesn’t have the quick wit and intelligence that Lily had. “I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort.”

Harry gaped at him, making Lupin frown even further. Did he inherit any of Lily’s traits, aside for the eyes? “Clearly, I was wrong,” Remus continued, still frowning. What’s he so surprised about? “But I didn’t think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staff room. I imagined that people would panic.”

“I didn’t think of Voldemort,” Harry said with sincerity. “I-I remembered those dementors.”

“I see,” Remus responded, now deep in thought. “Well, well, I’m impressed.” He smiled slightly at the look of astonishment that crossed Harry’s face. Yup, he’s James boy alright. “That suggests that what you fear most of all is - fear. Very wise, Harry.”

“So you’ve been thinking that I didn’t believe you capable of fighting the boggart?” Remus asked, finally understanding Harry’s mood towards the boggart lesson.

“Well…yeah,” Harry said, sounding much happier than he had been before. “Professor Lupin, you know the dementors-”

What Remus knew about the dementors though, he never found out, because just then someone knocked on the door. “Come in,“ Remus called, and Snivellus came through the door with a steaming potion in hand, his eyes narrowing at the carbon-copy of James at age 13, except more mature, of course. Once again genuinely trying to be civil with Severus, he spoke, “Ah, Severus,” He smiled, realizing that the potion was his wolfs bane. “Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?”

Snape complied and set down the goblet, his eyes wandering from Harry to Lupin, obviously in confusion over what was being discussed. Probably hoping that I’m not telling Harry about the pranks we pulled on him back when we were all at Hogwarts. “I was just showing Harry my grindylow,” He said, smiling pleasantly.

“Fascinating,” Severus replied, in that all-to-annoying drawl of his, never even bothering to take a peek at the tank. “You should drink that directly, Lupin.”

“Yes, yes I will,” Remus said, hoping that Snape would leave now.

“I made an entire cauldron,” Snape continued. “If you need more.”

Remus knew full well what Severus was trying to do now, reading the glint in his eyes. He was trying to get Harry to figure out his werewolf status. Well, the time had not yet come for that, so Remus decided to end the conversation there.

“I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus.”

“Not at all,” Were the last words Snape spoke before retreating from the room.

Remus smiled when Harry looked at the goblet in curiosity. “Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me,” Remus said, omitting the fact that Dumbledore had to almost threaten him to get Severus to make the potion in the first place. “I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex.” He sniffed in the sickening stench of the potion as he picked it up. “Pity sugar makes it useless.”

“Why-”

Remus answered the question before Harry could ask it. “I’ve been feeling a bit off-color,” He said truthfully. “This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren’t many wizards up to making it.”

“Professor Snape’s very interested in the dark arts,” Harry said suddenly, looking like he was ready to tackle Lupin’s goblet to the ground as he sipped from it.

“Really?” Remus said, trying not to sound like he already knew this very well.

“Some people reckon-” Harry paused for a moment. “some people reckon he’d do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job.”

Remus finished the goblet to cover his smile. Harry hardly knew him at all, and he was already protecting him. He screwed up his face as he pulled the goblet down to rid himself of his smile. “Disgusting,” He commented. “Well, Harry, I better get back to work. I’ll see you at the feast later.”

“Right,” Harry said, and putting down his teacup, nodded and left without another word, the goblet still smoking.

Remus chuckled lightly as the door creaked to a close. He is definitely James’ son.

- Sirius -

It was now late at night on October the Thirty First. It was not lost on Sirius that it was twelve years ago this night that James and Lily were killed, and Voldemort temporarily defeated. How fitting that he would kill Peter on this very night; an anniversary present, of sorts.

Sirius knew that by now, every student and professor in the school was gathered in the Great Hall, filling their stomachs with some of the best food in all of Britain. It saddened him that he was not going to get any of that great food, but it provided him with a great chance to attack Peter, as he would be unprotected in the boys dormitories in Gryffindor Tower.

Sirius quickly transformed into a large, black dog and bounded out of the whomping willow, then slowing down his pace, trotted to the entry hall, where he was able to slip by the dementors without a problem.

He felt a bit nostalgic as he wandered his way to Gryffindor Tower, taking many short-cuts along the way, slightly put-out that it was obvious no one had used them since the marauders themselves.

After nearly a half hour of wandering, Sirius arrived at the portrait hole, the same fat lady portrait there now as had been when he went to school at Hogwarts, nearly twenty years ago…

Taking a swift look around to make sure no one was there, Sirius assumed his natural form and slowly walked up to the fat lady.

“Please let me in,” Sirius asked her pleasantly.

“Password?”

“Damn!” Sirius spat, cursing the portrait. “Don’t you recognize me? I am Sirius Black, I was in Gryffindor House quite a few years ago. Can’t you just let me in?” He knew he was losing his temper, and fast, but he couldn’t help it. This close to Peter, only to be denied by a damned painting?

“I cannot allow you access unless you give me the password.”

Sirius clenched his hands in an effort to keep his calm. “There is something very important in that tower, something that only I know the importance of. It is imperative that you open - this - ruddy - portrait hole!” He was nearly screaming at the end, but was just able to hold his temper.

“Once again, I will not allow you inside without the password, so unless you have some kind of power to get past me without a password, than I suggest you leave, or I will be forced to summon the password.”

Sirius gave the fat lady a sickening smile. “You’re right - I do have means of getting past you - a pocketknife!” His temper finally broken, Sirius whipped out his trusty pocketknife and slashed at the portrait, seemingly trying to cut straight through it and into the common room.

The fat lady gave a loud screech and fled the portrait, which Sirius cut to shreds until he could no longer lift his arm. When he was finished, he leaned against the portrait, panting. He closed his eyes, forcing back the tears that were threatening to form from his failure, when he heard a loud cackling noise from up above.

“Ooh…wee ickle Sirius Blackikens have a wittle tantrum?”

“Peeves.” Sirius muttered, not even bothering to look up. Giving the poltergeist a one-finger salute as he walked by, Sirius disappeared into one of the many hidden passageways in the castle and began to try and devise a new way into the Gryffindor Tower.

- Lupin -

He was running down the hallways, towards whatever the ruckus in the Gryffindor Tower was, wondering what the problem was. He was slightly surprised at the sight of every Gryffindor student standing outside the portrait hole, peering at the spectacle that had been the fat lady, but was now an empty portrait that had been slashed to shreds.

Sirius.

But why? Remus thought with a frown, not understanding Sirius’ motives. He knew that all the students would be at the feast, so why would he try and attack now? Maybe he wanted to hide and surprise Harry when he came in?

Quickly scanning the crowd, Remus instantly spotted the boy in question, the muggleborn Hermione Granger clutching his arm as if it would be the last time she ever saw him.

“We need to find her,” Dumbledore addressed the professors, apparently he had arrived on the scene before the rest of the teachers had. “Professor McGonogall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the fat lady.”

“You’ll be lucky!” Cackled a voice that Remus knew all to well to belong to Peeves, the school’s extremely annoying poltergeist.

“What do you mean, Peeves?” Dumbledore asked him, in a very calm and collected voice. Remus had always marveled at how Dumbledore was able to stay calm in a time of crisis, but he supposed he could have never defeated Grindelwald if he couldn’t.

“Ashamed, your Headship, sir. Doesn’t want to be seen. She’s a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, crying something dreadful,” His voice was sounding quite amused. “Poor thing.” Remus doubted that anyone in the corridor actually believed for a moment that Peeves felt sorry for the fat lady at all.

“Did she say who did it?” Dumbledore asked quietly, knowing full well what the answer would be.

“Oh yes, Professorhead,” Peeves said mysteriously. “He got very angry when she wouldn’t let him in, you see.” The poltergeist flipped over and grinned at them. “Nasty temper he’s got, that Sirius Black.”

The corridor, which had been bustling with activity and sound, was suddenly deadly quiet. “Very well, thank you Peeves.” Dumbledore said calmly, breaking the tension. “All Gryffindors, please make your way to the Great Hall, where you will be sleeping tonight. Percy, do lead the way please.”

Percy nodded and stuck out his chest as if he had just been assigned with the most important task in all the world, then barked orders and led all of the students out of the corridor and to the great hall.

Dumbledore in turn began to give out orders of his own. “Minerva, please alert the other Heads of House to the situation, and move all students to the Great Hall. Severus, please find Mr. Filch, and begin a thorough search of the castle. Remus,” His eyes twinkled as they fell on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. “Please conduct your own search, in your own way, if you please.”

No questions were asked, and the teachers split up immediately to do their jobs. Severus tore down one passageway, looking for Filch, while McGonogall went down another, presumably to Flitwick’s office. Remus, on the other hand, swept across the corridor to a portrait of an ugly midget dancing around a roaring flame.

“Rumplestiltskin.”

The short one stopped running around the fire and turned to face Remus. It considered him for a moment, then nodded. The portrait swung open, to reveal the cold stone wall behind it.

Taking a deep breath, Remus dove head first into - and through the illusionary wall, landing on his stomach on the other side. He smiled as he stood, looking around. Good memories. His smile broadened when he saw that the lamps had been lit.

Sirius was here.

But how long ago? Well he would find out, but Sirius knew these tunnels better than he ever had, so the likelihood of that was about equal to Remus becoming Minister of Magic. Nil.

But he had to try.

- Sirius -

Sirius panted as he sped around yet another corner. He knew Remus wasn’t far behind him. He mentally chastised himself for this. If he wasn’t so intent on beating himself up for moping around after not being granted entrance to Gryffindor Tower, he would have realized that he could have put an end to all of this nonsense tonight.

Remus had been one of his very best friends for eight years. Surely he would have not killed Sirius right away, and he would have been able to tell him his story. They could have gotten Peter that night, but Sirius was to fatigued to think well, he had also missed one of his turns.

So he and Remus had a long goose chase through the hidden passageways of Hogwarts that night.

*****

A/N: Okay, that’s the last update for a while, cuz I’m going on vacation. Hit me up with a review if you can! I love ‘em! (And as I’ve said before, they’re good for the ego, lol)

Cheers!