Before starting, I have to point out that there will be no lines from the actual book in this. It will focus on their reactions from the end of each chapter. It begins in Prisoner of Azkaban, after Peter's true identity has been revealed.

For a Better Future

Chapter One

'One of us ought to Stun him before we leave.'

Sirius Black stepped forward. A triumphant grin spread across his gaunt, hollowed out face; his eyes, once lifeless and dull from years of imprisonment, now gleamed with hope. He had been waiting twelve years for this day; he was going to savour each moment.

'Allow me,' he said, his wand already in hand and pointing to the traitor's chest. 'Stupefy.'

The effect was instantaneous. Peter Pettigrew's eyes rolled back in to his head and he slumped to the ground with a loud, audible thud.

'That's going to leave a bruise or two,' said Sirius happily. 'Oh well.'

This was the beginning of everything. In mere moments they would be walking through the castle doors, Pettigrew in tow, and not one person from there on would be able to doubt the truth. Sirius Orion Black was innocent. Being reckless and consumed with grief were the only things Sirius was guilty of and, as far as he was aware, neither of those constituted a crime.

'What are we going to do with Snape? Should we wake him up?' Harry asked, standing over the unconscious form of his Potion's professor. Not that he was in any rush to have him conscious again considering it was he who had caused his state due to an overenthusiastic delivery of a disarming spell. Snape was going to be royally pissed off once he woke up.

'Let's leave him here.'

'Sirius!' Remus rolled his eyes. Nothing would ever quench the rivalry between those two; always would be just a bunch of children. 'I think perhaps it would be best to wait until we're back in the castle before we revive him. Let's get the truth out first.'

'I can't believe we attacked a teacher,' Hermione repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time since.

'This coming from the same girl who once set him on fire,' Ron reminded her with a smile that quickly turned in to a wince as pain shot through his broken leg.

Sirius, noting the hurt on Ron's face, looked at him with genuine guilt and remorse. 'I'm sorry about your leg. I really was aiming for the rat.'

Ron grunted and nodded in acknowledgement. It was still difficult for him to process that his rat, who he had allowed to sleep in his bed with him, and who he had confided in his deepest and darkest secrets, had actually been an Animagus this entire time, and a man he had been led to believe was a mass murdering, raving lunatic, was in fact innocent and the godfather to his best friend.

'But,' Sirius continued, rounding on Hermione, his voice giddy with excitement; his eyes gleaming with mirth. Sirius looked as though Christmas had come early. 'I do want to hear more about you setting your teacher on fire. I knew there was a reason I was starting to like you.'

Before Hermione had a chance to defend her actions, conversation was interrupted by a loud, deafening crack and the sudden appearance of a house-elf in the centre of the room. Immediately, the two adults in the room raised their wands, ready to strike before -

'Dobby?'

Harry recognised the house-elf as the one who had repeatedly attempted to save his life the previous year.

'So this is Dobby,' said Ron at the same time that Sirius said, 'You know this house-elf, Harry?'

'Yeah, he and I met last year.'

Their first meeting had almost gotten Harry murdered by his Uncle Vernon. Dobby had ruined one of the most important evening's of Uncle Vernon's career by dropping the cake Aunt Petunia had spent that entire day working on making perfect for their guests on to Uncle Vernon's boss' wife. Harry had been threatened within an inch of his life that evening. What happened next resulted in Harry's bedroom window being concealed with bars and his door locked, with him only being allowed out twice a day to stretch his legs and use the bathroom. Food was pushed through a cat flap that had recently been installed by Uncle Vernon. Dobby had been desperate to keep Harry safe, although they had different ideas of what safe meant.

'What are you doing here, Dobby?' Harry asked suspiciously.

'Dobby has come to deliver a message to Harry Potter,' said the house-elf proudly, puffing out his small, thin chest, which was concealed in a mass of woolly jumpers. It was odd seeing him in clothes, but it was an improvement on the filthy cloth he had worn previously whilst under the servitude of the Malfoy family.

Harry's eyes narrowed. He was used to Dobby's messages. Aside from almost having his uncle murder him, Dobby had caused Harry and Ron to miss the train to school, thus resulting in having them fly an enchanted car to school, which ended up crashing in to the most volatile tree on the grounds, as well as having his arm broken later on in the year thanks to a rogue Bludger Dobby had sent after him and only him. It was down to Harry's above average skill in flying that he only ended up with a broken arm and not decapitated or worse. For as much as he appreciated the effort Dobby went to, Harry did not think he would be able to survive another life saving attempt.

'Not to be rude or anything, Dobby, but you're not trying to save my life again, are you?'

Dobby blinked sheepishly and gave a small smile that did nothing to quell the discomfort settling in Harry's belly. 'Dobby had the most peculiar message waiting for him this afternoon.'

It did not go unnoticed by Harry that Dobby carefully avoided his question.

'Dobby found a letter along with a book all about Harry Potter. The letter instructed Dobby to take the book to Harry Potter at this specific time for Harry Potter and his friends must read the book or else Harry Potter and friends will not be able to change the future.'

Harry's heart was pounding. A book from the future about him? This was impossible. If there was one thing his Divination classes had taught him it was that no one could predict the future.

'Who was the letter from?' Sirius barked out; his wand still raised. Twelve years in Azkaban had not squashed out the importance of constant vigilance.

For the first time since he had appeared, Dobby looked away from Harry's face. As soon as his gaze landed on Sirius, his green, tennis ball sized eyes widened, and he let out a squeak of terror.

'Dobby,' Harry said loudly and firmly. He was beginning to feel impatient. He needed to hear more about this book and who had sent them. 'It's okay. Sirius is not an evil murderer. He's actually my godfather.'

Sirius' eyes softened. His wand wavered in his hand. 'You know?'

'Oh yeah, I accidentally overheard Professor McGonagall tell the Minister for Magic about it,' Harry admitted, his face flushed red.

'I can understand if you want to keep living with your aunt and uncle, but if you ever want a new home, once my name has been cleared of course...' Sirius trailed off, clearing his throat roughly.

Was he overstepping his boundaries? Harry had only been convinced of his innocence for five minutes, whereas he had lived twelve years with Petunia and what's his name. With their capture of Wormtail, the Ministry would have no reason not to incarcerate him (If he was being honest, Sirius was hoping for a Dementor's Kiss) and clear Sirius of all convicted charges. Once that was all done and dusted, and the Ministry granted his pardon (could he demand a personalised apology from the Minister?), then he could focus on rebuilding the life he had been denied all these years, and that started with Harry.

Harry was speechless. He was taken back to those moments while he was holed up in the small cupboard under the stairs which had once been his bedroom. When his stomach had been growling because he had been denied food for the day, and when he had been covered in urine because no matter how hard he tried to he could not hold it in for longer than a few hours, Harry had been wishing for someone to come save him, to rescue him from the prison he was in; for someone to knock on the front door to tell him he had some other family besides the Dursley's. It was all making his head spin.

'Let's talk more about this later,' Remus suggested. 'We have other matters to attend to right now.'

Sirius nodded. A broad smile spread across his face. Was he really going to get his chance to make amends with his godson? As curious as he was about the books, Sirius really wanted to make a beeline for the school, with Wormtail in tow, and get his innocence finally declared. It was the only thing standing in between his freedom.

'Did the letter say who had sent the book?' Remus asked Dobby kindly.

Dobby shook his head. 'No, sir. There was no name on the letter, which Dobby found most peculiar. The letter only instructed Dobby to bring the book to Harry Potter and friends.'

'At a specific time? Right now?' Remus clarified.

Dobby nodded. 'It said it was important to bring the book to Harry Potter and friends.'

'Where is the book now?' Sirius questioned, his voice was softer, yet still rather gruff.

His past experiences with house-elves were not pleasant. It was understandable considering the one he had grown up with had attempted to kill him a few dozen times as a child. The feelings were mutual. However suspicious he was of Dobby, he was also giving him the benefit of the doubt since he did trust Harry's judgement. If it weren't for Harry, Sirius would not have been given the opportunity to explain his side of the story.

Dobby snapped his fingers once. With another loud crack, materialising out of thin air to the ground in front of Dobby's feet, came a rather large book. Unease replaced the discomfort in his stomach as he caught sight of the front cover and, more importantly, the title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The first question that sprung to mind was what in Merlin's name was a "Goblet of Fire" and what significance did it have to him?

Remus moved towards the book. He knelt down to pick it up, wiping off the dust that had formed. 'Goblet of Fire,' he murmured, his brows furrowed. The name sounded familiar to him, he was sure he had heard of it before, but he could not place where or when.

'How do we know we can trust this book?' Hermione piped up quietly, her face turning scarlet as they all turned to stare at her. She took a breath and continued on confidently. 'Dobby turns up with a letter from an unknown source and a book that details the future so we can change it. Doesn't it seem a bit unusual to anyone else? How can we trust what it says?'

'Very true, Hermione,' Remus agreed. He aimed the wand he had been gripping tightly in his right hand at the book. 'There are a few charms and spells I can do to deem it trustworthy or not.'

The five of them watched as Remus went to work. There was a part of Harry who hoped it would prove untrustworthy; he was unsure how he felt about having parts of his life broadcast in front of the others in the room. He trusted Ron and Hermione with almost everything, and although Sirius was his godfather and Remus was his favourite teacher, he did not entirely trust them. Who knew what information the book would hold.

'I can't find anything wrong with it,' Remus announced a few minutes later.

Harry's heart sank.

'It seems to be... safe.'

'We're not really going to read it, are we?' Harry asked quickly.

'I don't see why not,' Sirius said, oblivious to the discomfort Harry was clearly in. 'Although I would like to read the letter you found, Dobby, and see what it says for myself, if you don't mind.'

Sirius was expecting Dobby to hand him the letter. Instead, the house-elf burst into tears. Sirius rolled his eyes; these house-elves were all the same; bloody nutters, that's what they were.

'Harry Potter's godfather is too kind to Dobby,' the elf wept, blowing his nose on his jumper.

'He gets like this sometimes,' Harry informed them matter-of-factly.

'All I asked was if I could read the bloody letter.'

'You asked him if he minded,' Harry explained. 'Dobby isn't used to being treated with kindness. He used to serve the Malfoy family, who weren't particularly nice to him. He views what you said to him as kind.'

'The Malfoy's are not kind to anyone,' Sirius said darkly. 'They're as bad as a family can get. It's all Voldemort this and Voldemort that with them all. Lucius must have lost everything once Voldemort disappeared that night.'

'Actually, Lucius claimed he was under the Imperius Curse and gave a particularly lump sum of money charitably to the Ministry to fund a new ward for St. Mungo's,' Remus chuckled sardonically, shaking his head. Money trumped truth. That was the unfortunate way politics worked; for as long as you were wealthy, you could get away with anything, as in Lucius Malfoy's case. These days he was extremely chummy with the Minister for Magic. Remus had to hand it to the Malfoy patriarch, he kept his friends close but his enemies closer. It was an interesting strategy and one that seemed to work for him.

'Makes sense as to why he never joined me in the house of horrors,' Sirius said angrily. It frustrated him that he was thrown in to Azkaban without so much as a hearing, let alone a trial, and then there were the Lucius Malfoy's of the world who could bribe their way free.

'Dobby, please calm down,' Hermione urged kindly, but the tone in which she spoke to him caused him to wail even more. 'Dobby, please.'

'Bloody nutter,' Sirius reiterated under his breath.

'Dobby!' Remus said firmly in what Sirius would have called his "teacher voice". It used to terrify both James and Sirius whenever he would use it on them, which was quite frequent when they had been students. Remus was of the belief if you get your work done first, you would enjoy your free time more than if you had to rush last minute to get all work completed before the next lesson. James and Sirius had other ideas.

Immediately, Dobby's weeping halted. With a trembling hand, Dobby reached inside his jumper. Harry frowned, wondering what he was doing, until he saw there was a pouch hidden beneath the mass of wool covering his torso. Out from the pouch came a letter. The letter of the hour.

Sirius snatched the letter out of Dobby's hand, unfolded it, and began to read out loud:

'"Dear Dobby, this is a matter of urgency. You need to take this book to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape. It is very important they all read it. Take the book to approximately 7:46pm in the Shrieking Shack on the outskirts of Hogsmeade village. There you will find them all. Once they have read the first book, another will follow. Once they have completed that book, then another will follow that one, until they have all read a total of four books. The books will help them to change the future for the better. Good luck."

'Hang on, there's also a side note at the bottom. It says -

'"Don't forget it's a full moon tonight."'

Remus' eyes widened; his heart hammering in his chest - he had forgotten his potion tonight. He could recall it sitting on his desk, waiting until it was time for him to take it, but he had been too preoccupied with the map, and when he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Gryffindor Tower and head down to the school grounds, he became compelled to watch, his eyes never straying from the map he had worked hard to help create so many years ago. Then he saw Peter's name on the map, as Harry had claimed he had seen before, proving an old friend was still alive. The map, after all, never lies. With all that in mind, taking the Wolfsbane potion had been demoted in his list of priorities, a decision he was currently severely regretting. His transformation tonight was going to be a rough one; they always were when he was not in control.

Remus looked at the battered watch on his wrist. It was almost eight. The sun was almost due to set, and the moon would be in full view. It was not safe for any of them to be there.

'You all need to go right now.' Remus' eyes locked with Sirius, who understood the urgency of the situation.

'Kids, this is not a joke. I need you all to get out of here. Wait for me by the base of the tree.'

'Professor Lupin, Mr Black, what are we going to do with, um, him?' Hermione asked, gesturing to the corner of the room where the unconscious form of Peter Pettigrew had just been left, still bound in his shackles.

'I almost forgot about him for a moment,' Sirius chuckled sardonically.

'Sirius will handle him and Professor Snape,' said Remus kindly, although his grey eyes were sharp. 'I need you both to quickly take Ron and leave before I transform. I didn't take my Wolfsbane potion tonight - it keeps me sane during transformations - so tonight I will not be in control, the wolf will. I do not want you to see this, and I do not want to hurt you. You have to go.'

'Sirius -'

'Harry,' his godfather said gently, 'it's going to be okay. Take Ron and go.'

Harry took a deep breath. The whole night had gotten more bizarre by the minute. A convicted mass murderer for a godfather had turned out to be innocent; a supposedly dead person turned out to be his best friend's rat; and now a werewolf teacher about to transform. It could all only happen in a magical school. Harry's life would certainly be a little less interesting had he attended Stonewall High as he believed he was going to when he turned eleven.

With Hermione on Ron's left side, and Harry on his right, together the pair of them heaved the injured red-head on to his feet, and as quickly as they could while half-carrying Ron, they strode across the Shrieking Shack and exited the room. Harry gave one last glance at his godfather before the three of them descended the stairs.

'Dobby,' Sirius said, turning to the house-elf, 'can you go alert Professor Dumbledore?'

'Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter's godfather requests of Dobby.'

'Good. Now I need you to go and tell him to meet Professor Snape on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Tell him Professor Snape has something urgent to tell him. But do not tell him about me. It's important he doesn't know anything about me yet. Okay, Dobby?'

With a nod of his head and click of his fingers, Dobby disappeared with a crack.

'And now to wake him up,' Sirius said with distaste. If it were up to him, he would leave him there; the world could use a little less Death Eater scum, and no amount of lies spun to the Headmaster could convince Sirius the greasy haired traitor had defected to their side. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. However, Sirius had already made the mistake of almost getting Snape killed by Remus in werewolf form, and it had almost cost him his friendship with both Remus and James. The time neither of them would speak to him was one of the darkest in his life; if Azkaban hadn't happened, it would have taken top place. Sirius could not go through that again.

'You can go back to your petty quarreling later, just get him out of here,' Remus snapped.

'Oi, Snivellus, wake up,' Sirius said, kicking the Potion's Master not too gently in the ribs.

It took a couple of attempts to rouse him; Harry had delivered one powerful disarming spell.

'Back to the land of the living then,' Sirius said as Severus opened his eyes. 'Shame.'

'Black!' Severus snarled, quickly groping around for his wand.

'Save your breath, you can bitch at me later. We don't have time for it now. Tonight's a full moon and Remus forgot to take his potion, although if you ask me it's probably a good thing, I wouldn't be surprised if you poisoned it -'

'Sirius!' Remus warned. It was always the same thing with those two.

'Anyway, he forgot his potion and he's going to be transforming into a big, bad werewolf any moment, so we need to get out of here. I've got the kids waiting for me by the base of the tree, and Dobby the house-elf has been sent to alert Dumbledore to meet us by the Forbidden Forest, so that we can finally get the truth set straight and my freedom finalised once and for all. Then, once he's human again, we all get to read a suspicious book from the future.'

'Black, what in Merlin's name are you going on about...' Severus trailed off as his gaze wandered from the convicted murderer to the big lump in the corner of the room. 'Is that Peter Pettigrew?'

It couldn't be... could it? Perhaps he had hit his head harder than he thought he had. The Potter brat would be paying for this one, he would almost guarantee it. How dare he attack a teacher. The Headmaster would be hearing about this; he might finally be able to open the old man's eyes to the fact Potter was almost identical to his father in every single way.

Remus let out a long sigh. 'Severus, please, there's no time to fully explain the situation right now, just know that he is telling the truth. He didn't betray James and Lily, and he never killed anyone. It was all Peter. Now I know there's no love lost between the two of you, but please take the children and go to the Forbidden Forest. Sirius will explain everything to you then.'

Severus merely nodded once in acknowledgement, before walking passed Sirius, their shoulders colliding with more force than was necessary, and exited the room without a backwards glance.

'You could have helped me with this lump,' Sirius shouted after him, rolling his eyes. It was always down to him to do the dirty work. Sirius pointed his wand at the traitorous rat. As though he was a puppet on strings, Wormtail's body snapped up, hovering a few inches off the ground.

'You better get a move on,' Remus instructed urgently.

Sirius started to move towards the door; Wormtail floated on in front of him. With a flick of his wand, Wormtail knocked in to the door frame. Sirius grinned. 'My hand slipped, my bad.'

Remus shook his head. Sure it did.

'Good luck, Moony.'

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