I've been away,

Searching for a reason

Another purpose to find

I've sailed the seas

Fought m many demons

I've looked to gods in the skies

I've stood in hell

Where many had to suffer

I stared the devil in the eyes

Walked many roads

To witness ancient idols

And found the great gates of fire

Live again

All roads end

I'll be coming home

Tend your light

'Cause on this night

I'll be coming home

(Avenged Sevenfold- Coming Home)

Remus:

"Never thought I'd see this place again. It feels just so weird to be back here." Sirius stared at the big black door in front of him, clearly hesitating to open it, biting down onto his lower lip.

"You all right there, mate?" I stepped closer to him and put a reassuring hand onto his shoulder. He started and cast a quick look at me, giving me a brief yet clearly forced smile. "Yes, of course. Well, let's have a look if it's still as awful as I remember, shall we?" With a sigh, he pushed the door open… a little harder than he had probably meant and it bumped into something with a resounding crash. Sirius' curse was immediately swallowed in a sound that bore a striking resemblance with the scream of a banshee. Mirroring Sirius, my hands shot up to cover my ears and I grimaced as I recognized the voice. "BLOOD TRAITORS, FILTH, HALFBREEDS, DARING TO STEP FOOT INTO THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!" Sirius turned his head to look at me and gave me sarcastic smile. "Home sweet home. Good to be back." His look turned bitter as he turned back around and started to look for the source of the commotion.

"What on earth is that?" I followed him, closing the door behind us and righting the clothes rack it had bumped into. "Thought you'd recognize my dear Mum's voice, even after all those years, Remus. I always considered her a hard one to forget, myself." Sirius voice dripped with bitterness and sarcasm.

"Oh, trust me, I remember her voice just fine. But as far as I remember, she died quite a while ago, didn't she? Must be a portrait or something, I guess." My best friend simply nodded and prowled down the hall, following the sound of the screeched insults uttered in his mother's voice.

Oh yes, I remembered Mrs Black just fine. The rest of the family as well. Casting a dark look at the lovely severed elf heads and other abominable sights next to the stairs, I followed Sirius, wincing at the continued onslaught of atrocities yelled at us. It had been quite some time since I had been here, the last time probably around the age of fifteen. I could still remember the horror at the sights this house provided and the people who lived in it. "Hah, there you are. Well, why don't you shut up now, you miserable old hag?" Sirius stood a little further down the hall staring into an alcove with his hands on his hips.

The voice grew even more menacing. "You! What are doing here? Last I heard, you were on the run from the Dementors. What do you think you're doing here, disgracing the house your ancestors lived in, you filthy little creature?" Sirius uttered a hard laugh. "Funny you should be the one to call me a filthy creature. Guess it is little hard for you to look into a mirror nowadays, isn't it."

When I stepped next to him, my eyes fell onto a portrait of an old woman I recognized immediately as Mrs Black. Her eyes shifted from Sirius to me and, I hadn't thought it possible, narrowed even more. "As if it isn't enough that this piece of filth is standing here in my house, he's brought the werewolf as well." The werewolf remark stung of course, but it was not as if I hadn't heard it before.

"Good to see you, too, Mrs Black."

Her lips pulled into snarl. "Shut your mouth and get out of my house, you abomination."

"Don't you dare call him that!" Sirius cut her off angrily, his eyes flashing dangerously and his hands shaking.

I held up a hand to tell him to back off and turned around to his mother's portrait again. "As far as I can tell, this is not your house anymore. You're dead, are you not? So, technically, it's Sirius' house now. He is the only Black left."

"This is not his house! It never will be. He is a disgrace to the House of Black, associating with werewolf and mudbloods and bloodtraitors…"

"Yes, yes, yes but nevertheless, I think it's time for you to shut up, now." I gave her another pleasant smile and before she could start another rant, I pointed my wand at her, put a sleeping spell on her and pulled the curtains in front of her closed with a snap. "Pleasant woman, isn't she." Sirius cast the curtains a dark look before turning around and letting his gaze roam the place, grimacing at what he saw.

I certainly agreed with him. Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place looked much as I remembered it from my visits back when we were kids, but it was much messier now and looked even darker and shadier if possible. The whole entrance hall seemed to be dark and gloomy and filled with cobwebs.

" I think it's time for a little light, don't you think?" I tried to keep my voice as pleasant and calm as possible, especially since I could practically see Sirius' mood plummeting by the increasingly disgruntled look on his face.

He gave me a curt nod and grimaced in disgust when the blast of light from my wand filled the hall with light. "God, this place has gone to the dogs. Where on earth is that wretched house elf, has he died as well?"

I followed him as he made his way through the house, grunting at the level of mess surrounding us. When we reached the kitchen, which was best summed up by the word filthy, he turned around, met my eyes and gave a short bark of laughter. "Well, now at least, this place fits the name and hearts of the family who has lived here all these years. More than ever."

Shaking my head with a short snort of laughter, I let my eyes roam the room in front of me. It was a strange feeling to see it again now after all these years. It seemed like forever ago that we had spent Christmas dinner at the Blacks. Not a particularly happy memory that was. Grimmauld Place had definitely never been the proper place for a cosy Christmas dinner with its grimy decorations and general air of gloominess.

Usually, all of us had been spending Christmas at James' place but that particular year, the Blacks had insisted on throwing a Christmas bash, inviting a number of selected pure blood wizard families, including the Potters. Sirius himself had been ordered to be present for that occasion, putting him in an exceptionally bad mood, which even the fact that his friends had been attending the party as well, hadn't been able to change. He had spent most of the night scowling at everything and everyone, his expression of disdain only changing when it turned to loathing whenever one of his cousins or his parents approached him.

"Earth to Remus, you still with me?" I shook myself out of my thoughts and glanced at my friend, who was standing by the door and watching me curiously. "Sorry, got a little lost down Memory Lane." Sirius grunted. "Hard not to, isn't it."

With a sigh, I stepped closer to him. "I know this isn't easy for you. Coming back here, I mean. But this house is now yours. And what's more- it's Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix now. So… let's stop thinking about things we can't change and rather focus on getting all this filth out of here, what do you think? Maybe we'll be able to make this place a little more… habitable."

Sirius gave me a short grin. " Yeah, sure. Shouldn't take us too long now. Maybe about three or four years." The both of us laughed at that when a scuffling sound behind us made us whirl around with our wands at the ready.

"Who dares disturb my mistress' rest? Who are you and what is your business here?" I lowered my wand at the sight of the tattered old house elf standing before us, glaring at us with suspicion in his eyes… even though I thought to have detected a trace of curiosity as well for a moment.

"I do." Sirius stepped forward behind me, pocketing his wand. "So you are alive, Kreacher. I had wondered, seeing the state this house is in."

Kreacher's eyes focused on Sirius and grew wide at the sight of him. "Sirius Black. Can this truly be… the young master has returned?"

Sirius pushed a hand into the untidy curls floating around his still very much haggard face. "Good, you still recognize me. Take a good look at this face, because from now on I will not only be the 'young master' but your only master. I am the last of the Black and I have returned. So I guess that means you'll be serving me from now on." Kreacher continued to stare at him for a moment without giving a reply.

Sirius raised one eyebrow. "Did you hear what I just said? Or have you turned temporarily deaf?" Kreacher uttered a short grunt. "Kreacher heard every word master said. Kreacher only wonders how master happens to be back. The last Kreacher heard master was locked up in Azkaban."

"Oh yes, of course. Of course, you know nothing at all about my escape from Azkaban. My dear mother just happens to have acquired clairvoyant skills now, is that the way of it?"

"Kreacher doesn't know what master is talking about. Kreacher has not left this house for decades." At that, Sirius crouched down, staring the elf hard into the eye. "Listen, Kreacher. I have never been very fond of you, you have always been a foul little creature and I know these feelings are very much reciprocated. But I am the last Black, rightful heir to this house, therefore you will serve me now. Meaning you will not lie to me nor continue to have your little chats with my beloved mother. And neither will you mention my whereabouts or any other information about me or my companion to literally anyone. Are we clear on that?"

Kreacher gave Sirius a curt little nod, accompanied by a look filled with pure loathing. When Sirius got up again and turned around to face Remus, Kreacher departed through the kitchen door, the sound of his low muttering still reaching them. "Master thinks he can just barge in here and have Kreacher lick his shoes. Master is an ungrateful little swine, a blood traitor, he is. Consorting with werewolves, Mudbloods, blood traitors. Master broke his mother's heart, he did."

Sirius barked a short laugh. "My mother had no heart, Kreacher. And if she should indeed have had one, it was made out of stone or iron, so basically impossible to break. And just a little heads up, my ears work just fine, I can hear you." Kreacher did not deign to reply.

"So, you're going to stay here?" Sirius nodded and started to have look in all the cabinets surrounding him. "Yes, I think so. Better than a cave, isn't it? Not by far perhaps, but at least I don't have to live like an animal in here. Besides, Dumbledore wants me to stay here."

He turned around and gave me a quick look. "What about you, Remus? We haven't really had a chance to talk about everything happening after you quit your job at Hogwarts."

I shrugged, crossing the hall to have a look at the living room. "Well, there's not really much to tell. It's public knowledge that I'm a werewolf now, so as you can imagine, the prospect to get a new job is slim to none. And who would willingly let a known werewolf rent their apartment?" Even though I had aimed at a more or less neutral tone, the bitterness lacing my voice was hard to miss. Especially for Sirius.

"I would. And don't you care about them, Remus. Don't you give a shit about what they say about you. They don't know you." I gave my best friend a quick smile, seeing that he had stopped his rummaging and was instead leaning against the wall, looking at me closely.

"Bit hard not to, isn't it?" Sirius sighed and shifted his gaze to the floor. Uttering a bark of laughter, he glanced up at me again. "My, my, how have the mighty fallen… We used to be some of the most popular kids in school, getting along with practically everybody. Except for the Slytherins, but they don't count. And now look at us… the werewolf and the escaped mass murderer. We've really come a long way, haven't we, Remus?"

The smile on his face was partly bitter but for the most part, he really did seem to consider it amusing to some extent. Incredible, Sirius was. Even after having spent twelve years in Azkaban, he still hadn't lost his sense of humour and could even joke about it.

"Well, at least there's still the two of us." Sirius nodded. "Yes. So, when are you going to move in here with me?"

Started I almost dropped the dusty book I had just picked up from the desk in the living room, staring at my friend in confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You need a place to stay and I need my best friend. We have spent far too much time apart, anyway. So, it's a win-win situation, really. And there are no if and buts about it. I didn't ask you whether you wanted to move in, I simply inquired when you would move in." I shook my head, smiling.

"You're serious? Let me tell you, I don't think your mother would very much appreciate you letting a werewolf move into her precious house. And neither would the rest of your lovely family."

"Damn my mother, damn my family! They're all dead anyway. Besides, the only real family I've ever had were the four of you."

I could feel my throat constricting at these words. The four of us… There had been no four of us for such a long time. There had only been me. Remus Lupin, the one left behind. For the longest time, I had believed two of my closest friends dead, one of them at the hands of the third one, who had turned traitor and betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort and then killed Peter and twelve innocent Muggles when the latter had come after him to challenge him for what he had done. There had only been me left, torn with grief, disbelief and hatred. I had never been able to believe that Sirius would have done something like this, that he would have betrayed his best friends to Voldemort.

Well, as it turned out,he hadn't and it had been Peter, after all. And so suddenly, my whole world had been flipped upside down again. Two of my friends were still alive, the one a runaway traitor and coward, the other had been sitting in Azkaban for twelve years for a crime he had not committed and was now finally standing beside me again, after he had managed to break out of Azkaban. Enough to make anyone's head hurt. Whatever, I was just so glad to have my best friend back and to know him to still be the man I had always believed him to be.

"Earth to Moony? Where did you just go?" Sirius gazed at me curiously. Shaking my head, I gave him a weak smile. "Just glad to have you by my side again, Padfoot."

His lips turned up into a smile as well and he gripped my arm and gave it one hard squeeze. "So am I. More than anything. It used to be the four of us against the world… now I guess it's just Moony and Padfoot against the world, is it?" I huffed a shaky laugh.

"I guess so."

Sirius shook his locks energetically, taking a deep breath. "Alright, enough with the sentimental. Back to business, you'll be moving in, yeah?"

Sighing, I gave him a quizzical look. "Do I even have a choice?"

Sirius shook his head with a broad deviant grin.

"Well, then. Agreed."

The sudden sound of the bell, immediately followed by Walburga Black's screeching made both of us wince and roll our eyes in annoyance.

"You go get the door, I'll shut her up", Sirius growled, his eyes flashing sparks. Not knowing whether to laugh or wince at Mrs Black's screeching, I made my way towards the front door, casting a quick look out of the spy before opening.

"Hello there, Professor!" Two identical mischievous grins were the first thing to great me as Fred and George Weasley both jumped forwards to clasp my hand.

"Fred, George, good to see you. But just call me Remus as I'm unfortunately not your teacher anymore." I smiled at twins affectionately. The two of them were the biggest troublemakers I had ever set my eyes on… well, with the sole exception of us when we were their age.

"Ah, so you are the famous Professor Lupin. We have heard so much about you, Sir." The woman standing behind them, who was obviously Mrs Weasley, as she bore quite a close resemblance to their children, came forwards to shake my hand with a broad smile.

"Mrs Weasley, I take it? Please, just call me Remus."

"Only if you call me Molly."

As I was about to turn to greet the other two people standing next to the Weasleys, a loud bellowing was to be heard.

"Will you finally shut up, you bloody bitch? I've had to listen to your screeching all of my life, you really have to torment me from the grave as well? Shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!"

"YOU ABOMINATION OF MY FLESH! IS THAT ANY WAY TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE THIS INSTANT AND TAKE YOUR FILTHY HALFBLOOD FRIEND WITH YOU!"

"This is MY house now, if you like it or not! Because you are DEAD! And I will bloody well bring anyone I like into this house, no matter what their blood status is. And you know why that is? Because I am not a bloody lunatic like you and the rest of my wretched family!"

"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE MONSTER, YOU ARE NO LONGER PART OF THIS FAMILY, HAVEN'T BEEN FOR MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS. AND GOOD RIDDANCE, YOU HAVE PUT SHAME UPON US ALL, UPON THE NOBLE-…"

"I spit upon your Noble House of Black. Yes, I am no longer a part of this family, THANK GOD, but I still bear the family name, therefore this house is mine. SO SHUT UP NOW."

"TAKE THAT BACK! TAKE THAT BACK NOW!"

"What? That I spit upon your Noble House of Black? Thought that would please you, you old hag." Sirius' voice had a most unpleasant sneer in it now and I couldn't help wincing at the level of noise they were making.

Turning around with a sheepish expression on my face, I gave everyone an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. This was one of the more pleasant surprises this lovely house harbors"

"What? Sirius or the portrait? It is a portrait, I presume?" Mad-Eye Moody gave the entrance hall a suspicious glance before throwing me a wry grin. Chuckling I nodded.

"Yes, it is a portrait and a particularly… difficult one at that, as you can hear. As soon as she hears any noise, she starts screaming and well, we haven't really figured out how to shut up her up permanently. We thought a Sleeping Charm would do, but it does not seem to work this time. Or Sirius just enjoys arguing with her, that's a possibility as well. Why don't you just come in and make yourself at home while I go give Sirius a hand?" With that, I swivelled around and hastily made my way down the hall, as the screaming turned even more vicious.

"What in the world is going on? Why haven't you been able to shut up her up yet?" Sirius whirled around to glare at me, his lips pursed in a ferocious snarl.

"What?" Rolling my eyes and pulling out my wand, I pointed it out at Mrs Black, who was still throwing insults at her son and muttered a Sleeping Charm again, making her fall asleep.

Sirius grumbled as I turned around to face him with my hands on my hips and my eyebrows raised. "Show-off. She kept insulting me."

Just as I was about to reply, a loud crashing noise came from downstairs, followed by a curse. Sirius and I barely had time to look at each other in alarm when Mrs Black's eyes flashed open once again and screeched out loud "BLOODTRAITORS!FILTH!HALFBLOODS! WHAT NOW? WHO HAS THAT BLOODTRAITOR NOW BROUGHT INTO MY HOUSE? SIRIUS BLACK, YOU ABOMINATION OF MY WOMB, IF I WERE ALIVE I WOULD SKIN YOU FOR THIS. HOW DARE YOU, HOW DARE YOU BEFOUL YOUR PARENT'S ANCESTRY? KREACHER! DO SOMETHING!"

"Wow, death so does not suit you, Great Auntie!" Startled at the sudden sound of a female voice behind us, I nearly dropped my wand. As I turned around, I blinked startled at the flash of colour meeting my eyes.

A sudden grin illuminated Sirius' face as he stared at the young woman standing in front of us, her eyes focused on the portrait, grinning unabashedly at Mrs Black. Now that I looked at her more closely, she did seem familiar. No, wait, it couldn't be…

"Oh my… It can't be little Nymphadora?" Her eyes flashed towards him at that but before she could reply, Mrs Black seemed to have found her voice again.

"AND THE NEXT BLOODTRAITOR HAS ARRIVED. THE FREAK! THE FREAK GIVEN BIRTH BY MY BLOODTRAITOR NIECE DARES STEP OVER MY DOORSTEP! AS IF THAT ONE IS NOT ENOUGH FOR ME TO BEAR."

Still grinning, the woman pointed her wand at Mrs Black. "Well, it sure was nice talking to you, Auntie Walburga, but I am afraid your voice is giving me a headache right now, so surely you won't mind if I shut you up now." Pushing past me, she took a few steps closer to the portrait until her face was only inches away from Mrs Blacks, making Sirius shudder in disgust, and stared her right in the eye, her smile still firmly plastered on her face even though her eyes seemed to have turned to steel.

"And just a warning: Never ever dare to talk about my mama like that again! She is a hundred times the woman you were. So, now that we've established that: Nighty night!" She muttered the incantation before Mrs Black even had the chance to reply, grinning in satisfaction as her victim's eyes closed again and she fell asleep with her mouth slightly open.

Then the woman whirled around, making her bright pink curls fly in all directions. "Why hello, Sirius! Yes, indeed I am. But for future references: I go by Tonks now. So please do me a favour and never ever call me that wretched name again or I will have to hurt you." With that, she took a two quick steps and threw her arms around his neck with a laugh.

"It's so good to see you again, cousin. We missed you so much." Sirius raised his eyebrows, grinning down at her and hugging her back tightly.

"Oh really? You missed a convicted murderer who was imprisoned in Azkaban for the killing of a dozen muggles and one fellow wizard? A man, who had supposedly betrayed his best friend and his wife to Voldemort, resulting in their murder?"

"Oh shut up! Momma never really wanted to believe her favourite cousin had turned a murderer and neither did I. I've only ever seen Momma cry twice in my life before… when the news of your imprisonment reached us and when Dumbledore told us that you were innocent. Oh God, don't tell her I told you that or she will absolutely kill me."

"Sweet Andie. How is she?"

The woman stepped back again. "Oh, I nearly forgot. She wanted me to give you a message."

Sirius' eyebrows shot up again. "Well, go ahead."

An evil grin appeared on the woman's face and quick as a snake, she struck Sirius across the face, making him gasp in surprise. Taken aback, he reached up gingerly to touch his cheek while staring at the pink-haired witch in front of him, still grinning like mad. Then she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft peck on the injured cheek. "With love from Momma."

Sirius' eyes jumped up to meet mine, a very comic wide-eyed look of astonishment and confusion in them that finally did it. I burst into laughter.

"Moony, you traitor", Sirius whined with mock-outrage but after a few seconds I could hear his bellowing barks of laughter join mine, as well as the laugh of the girl. I could honestly not remember when I had been laughing this hard for the last time. Probably dated back to the time when James and Lily were still alive.

Finally, our laughter died down again and I was clutching my sides while Sirius was pulling his cousin into his arms again. "Taught you well when you were a kid, haven't I? You seem to have turned into quite a cheeky one."

"You bet! The teachers at Hogwarts loved me!" She grinned at him teasingly.

"Carried on our legacy of mischief-making, did you? Well, tell Andie I say thanks for the message and ask her what the hell that slap was for."

"That slap was for "being an idiot who broke his favourite cousin's heart with his idiocy". That's a quote by the way." Finally, she turned around and gave me a curious look, big brown eyes taking me in closely, flashing in recognition.

"Remus Lupin! My, my, the two of you really did get old."

My eyebrows flashed up. "Well, you still recognized us, so that's something I guess."

Grinning she stepped towards me and held out her hand. "Well, it's good to see you again. I have the fondest memories of you guys coming to visit Momma when I was a kid."

So did I. I was still pretty much frozen in place, once again getting dragged down Memory Lane as I stared at the young woman in front of me. God, it had been such a long time. Trying to ignore the pang of pain in my chest, I bit down onto my bottom lip and gave her my best attempt at a smile.

"Tonks, what are you doing here, anyway?" Sirius slung his arms around her shoulders, leading her down the steps.

"I brought her along."

A bright grin appeared on Sirius' face as he let go of Tonks and jumped down the last two steps to greet Moody, who was waiting at the foot of the stairs, his electric blue glass eye twirling around like mad, trying to take everything around him in.

"You are a ruddy idiot, you know that, right?" His other eye was glaring at Sirius.

"Oh, c'mon Mad Eye, I am sure the lectures can wait until later." Tonks stepped past Mad Eye, patting his shoulder with a wink. "How about we join the rest of the others in the kitchen now?"

Mad-Eye sighed and looked up at us. "She's right. Let's move it."

"Charming as ever" Sirius murmured to me with a grin, making both of us chuckle.

As we followed Tonks and Mad-Eye into the kitchen, Molly Weasley greeted us with bright smile.

"All right, I expect everyone is hungry, am I correct in thinking that?" Her statement was followed by a loud and resounding yes by her twin sons, an enthusiastic nod from Sirius and a growl from Mad-Eye. With a good-natured laugh, she turned her back on us and took inventory of the kitchen.

"I'll help you, Molly." Tonks stepped next to her and reached out to grab the pot Molly had just picked up when the latter twirled around with a bit of a strained smile.

"That's so nice of you, darling but I think I can manage on my own. You've had a long day at the ministry, why don't you sit down and relax a bit?" Before Tonks could reply, Mad-Eye had grabbed her elbow and pulled her with him. "Go sit down before you manage to wreck Sirius' whole kitchen when you've only just arrived."

Tonks scowled. "I was not about to do any such thing."

Mad-Eye grunted. "Not on purpose."

With a huff, the young woman spun around, making her pink curls twirl around her, her hands on her hips and a defiant expression on her face. "And just what do you presume to imply, Mad-Eye?" The latter just grunted again and patted her shoulder as he passed her.

I exchanged a curious glance with Sirius but just as the latter was about to open his mouth and ask Tonks and Mad-Eye what that had been about, the door to the kitchen swung open once again and Dumbledore himself entered the kitchen.

"Well, I am glad to see that most people had been expecting have already arrived. Molly, dear, did you hear anything from Arthur?"

Molly nodded, putting down the spatula she had been wielding. "Yes, he should be here any minute, Albus. Are you hungry, I was just about to whip up some food?"

"Well, yes, that would be lovely. It's always distinctly unpleasant to talk about heavy matters on an empty stomach. Well, hello everyone."

Dumbledore stepped towards Sirius and me with a warm smile and the usual twinkle in his blue eyes behind his glasses. "Sirius, Remus. I trust you are fine?"

Sirius cast a dark look around the room. "As fine as I can be, being back here." The bitterness in his voice was obvious and most of the people present looked up and glanced at him in question. He did not seem to notice, though, too caught up in unpleasant old memories, I suppose. Trying to snap him out of it, I cleared my throat and elbowed him gently in the side. Startled, Sirius glanced at me and then at the rest of the room.

"Oh, dear. Sorry, where are my manners. Hello everyone and welcome to my lovely home." The last three word were heavily laced with sarcasm and once again, he cast a dark look around the room. Then, he briefly shook his head and fixed a bright smile on his face.

"Well, we'll just have to make the best of it, won't we? So, you must be the Weasley twins. Fred and George, am I correct? Harry has told me quite a lot about you." With his hand outstretched, he stepped forward to greet the twins, who were both beaming at him. In the very last second, though, before Fred could grasp his outstretched hand, he pulled it back and gave the boy a suspicious look.

Immediately, Fred's broad smile was replaced by a look of innocence as Sirius' gaze travelled over him musingly. "I know that look. I've seen it on my face plenty of times when I was young. You are up to something, aren't you?"

Fred blinked up at him, his face positively blank. "Me? Up to something? No, why would you think that?"

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, right. Let me tell you something, Mr Weasley. This kind of thing is not going to work on me. Never forget that it was the four of us, who fabricated the map you've had in your possession for several years. Never forget that it was the four of us, who were your successors as pranksters at Hogwarts. And never ever try to fool me because it won't work. And I wrote the book on the innocent puppy dog- eye, so spare yourself the effort."

Fred exchanged a look with George and as they turned back around, they were sporting identical beaming grins. "I think I might like you." Fred gave Sirius a salute, which the latter imitated with a grin of his own.

"I think I might just like you, too. From all I've heard, you've done a great job of following in our footsteps. Well done, gentlemen."

I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the wall with a smile. As I looked up again, my gaze caught Tonks's, who was watching me avidly. As I had never been very comfortable with attention and did not like being stared at, I quickly looked away and focused on Fred and George again, who were now shaking hands with Sirius. Hm… introducing those three to each another should certainly prove interesting. The twins were quite a handful as it was but adding Sirius to the mix…

Dumbledore seemed to be thinking something along those lines as well, as he was fighting a grin as his eyes met mine. "Remus, how are you?" Clasping my hand with his, he gave me a warm smile. As always, he gave me the impression that his bright periwinkle blue eyes were able to see much more than others did, of seeing right through me, through all the pretences and all the walls I had erected around me.

"I'm fine, Albus, thanks. Yourself?"

"Well, same old, same old. Voldemort on the rise again certainly makes for an interesting pastime." Dumbledore chuckled, even though his eyes had darkened slightly at these words.

"I imagine." My dry reply made my former headmaster smile at me with a distinct expression of fondness on his face, giving my hand an encouraging squeeze again before turning around to look at the rest of the people present.

"Hello there, Alastor. I see you have already brought another recruit into our midst. Hello, Nymphadora, long time no see. I've heard you're an Auror, now? Well done. Well done, indeed."

The little pink-haired witch smiled up at him cheekily as she stepped forward to shake Dumbledore's hand. "Yes, indeed. Hello, Professor, good to see you again."

"I'm not your headmaster anymore, dear. You may call me Albus."

"May I ask you a favour then, Albus? Would you be so kind as to call me Tonks?"

Another chuckle. "Ah, yes, I forgot. All right, then, Tonks. You don't seem to have changed a lot in the years I haven't seen you. Still objecting to be called your given name, still cheerful, still sporting electric colour hair – "

" – still unable to walk a few steps on a flat surface without tripping." Moody interrupted Dumbledore, casting a glare in the direction of Tonks. She tossed her hair and huffed in indignation.

"Hey, I might be clumsy but at least I have a few character traits considered important for a human being which you are seriously lacking, Mad-Eye! Pleasantness, for a start!"

"Pleasantness is overrated. And now shut your trap, girl."

"Shut up, yourself."

My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline and I exchanged a baffled look with Sirius, who looked just as taken aback as I probably did. I had never heard anyone dare to speak to notorious ex-Auror and ex- Head of the Auror Department in that way. Alastor –Mad-Eye – Moody was a warrior of quite some renown, but as Tonks had said, he was not exactly known for his pleasantness. He intimidated most people, or even scared them, as he tended to be rather gruff and direct. Due to his job and the things he had encountered during the First War, he had also become known for an ever increasing level of paranoia, which had finally compelled the Ministry into making him retire a few years back even though Moody was still more than capable of doing his job. Plus, he had always been rather out-spoken and with the years, his displeasure with the Ministry's methods had become more and more pronounced.

Well, even if most people tended to be intimidated by Moody, the young woman certainly wasn't. Her hands were still on her hips and her eyes were firmly locked on Moody's one beady dark as well as on his electric blue artificial eye, which was always spinning madly in his eye socket, as the two of them engaged in a stare-off.

I couldn't help but feel impressed with the young woman. I had never seen anyone except for Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall talk back to Moody, let alone insult him.

With a grunt, Moody finally shook his head and gave Tonk's shoulder a good-natured shove. "You'd better sit down before I decide to kick your arse."

Huffing, she grinned at him. "You're welcome to try, Mad-Eye. I can't promise you'll succeed, though. You trained me well."

"I certainly did." There was a distinct sound of pride in Moody's voice as his lips actually pulled into a bit of a smile as he looked at her.

Sirius seemed to be just as fascinated by the exchange as I was, mouthing a "What the hell" in my direction with wide eyes and an impressed look on his face. I just shrugged, feeling in awe myself. I was not exactly scared of Moody but nevertheless... I was rather attached to my body parts so I would not dare to get on his bad side.

As we all settled down onto the table, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As all of you are already aware of why you are here today, I will make it very brief. Yes, the rumours are true. Voldemort, or You Know Who, as most people prefer to call him, is at large again, having killed one of my students and fought Harry Potter on the day of the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. I have tried to get the Minister to acknowledge this fact right after this dreadful incident but unfortunately, he, as well as the majority of the wizarding community, refuses to believe this. Except for us and a few others, who will join us for our first meeting tomorrow evening. For the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix since the end of the First War. Most of the people, who will be joining us there, were also members of the original Order of the Phoenix, during the first War. There are a few among us here as well, who were or who were affiliated with it even though they did not partake in the fighting itself. Fortunately though, it is not only the old lot, we have a few new recruits as well. Nymphadora – pardon me, old habits die slow – Tonks, for one. Sirius has been so kind to provide this house as Headquarters for us, therefore, all future meetings will be held here."

While Dumbledore spoke about his efforts to convince the rest of the wizarding community that Voldemort was indeed very much alive and at large again, my thoughts drifted off. I could remember just fine, when it had been the original Order of the Phoenix crowded around Dumbledore, listening to his every word. I could see James' face as clearly as if it had been yesterday, staring at Dumbledore, a determined look on his face, determined to fight Voldemort, determined not to let anyone see that he was scared. And Lily, sweet Lily, who had been right there, at his side, trying to keep an optimistic smile on her face, trying to hold onto her belief that everything would turn out fine, that she would get her happy ending.

Peter, right next to me, chewing on his bottom lip, as twitchy and nervous as always but trying to copy James' determined demeanour. Sirius, right there at James' right hand side with a confident grin on his face, as always, even though it didn't really seem to reach his eyes, which had a grave, haunted look in them, if you took the trouble to take a closer look and look past his boisterous attitude. And me, silent, grave, trying to cling to any shred of hope I could find.

We had lost half of the original order during the First War, Edgar Bones, one of the most able fighters I had ever seen; Benji Fenwick and the Prewett brothers, who had still managed to crack jokes and make everyone laugh even during the darkest of times; my classmates – witty, brave Marlene McKinnon and her best friend Dorcas Meadow, who had made all of us crack up quite a few times when her witty, sarcastic self managed to slip past her silent demeanour… and of course, James and Lily Potter. My best friends.

A sudden squeeze of my hand brought me back to the present. Startled at the burning feeling in my eyes, I turned my head to meet Sirius' gaze next to me. The look in his eyes, which were glistening suspiciously as well, told me all I need to know. He had been thinking the very same thing I had. Without saying a word, I squeezed back, closing my eyes for a moment to fight back the tears that were threating to escape. Yes, I had lost James and Lily. But at least, I had Sirius back. For years, for more than a century actually, I had been forced to believe that it had been Sirius, who was responsible for our best friends' murder. That it had been Sirius, who had betrayed Lily and James to the Dark Lord. That it had been Sirius, who had cold-bloodedly murdered Peter and a number of Muggles when Peter had supposedly tried to confront him. While Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban, I had been all alone, believing three of my friends to be dead and one of them, the one I had always been closest to, a traitor responsible for their death's.

I had never been able to fully wrap my head around it, as the Sirius I had known would never have been capable of such a thing. The Sirius I had known would have moved mountains for the people he loved, would have died for his friends. He had had more reason than any of us to hate the Dark Arts as well as Voldemort and the ones who followed him. Part of me had always refused to believe that Sirius had betrayed us. And as it turned out that part of me had been right.

At least I had Sirius back. I was not alone anymore. The thought of Lily and James' death might still tear me apart but at least I had someone to share my grief with, someone who I knew missed them just as much as I did.

Finally, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again, blinking a couple of times. My eyes were still burning a little but I was positive that the threat of crying in front of everyone had passed. As I looked up, my eyes once again met a couple of dark brown eyes, staring back at me.