The sun was up, and life at Hogwarts continued as normal. Well, as normal as life could proceed with dementors hovering beside every entrance. In truth, there was a sort of shroud over the school that day. There was less excitement in the voices of the students as they greeted their friends, less attention payed to the lessons. It was not yet winter but there was a chill in the air, and many had donned their winter robes.

"Professor!" Harry's voice reached Lupin's ears at the worst possible time.

He was on his way to the infirmary. He'd done his best last night stealing some supplies, but Sirius's condition was stable, at best, and he needed to make a second run. He hated all this, sneaking around after Dumbledore had worked so hard to get him a job. But the life of an innocent man was at steak; an innocent man and his best friend.

Harry was not alone. The smart girl with the messy hair—Hermione—was with him.

"Sir," she began, as they approached.

"Yes?"

"I don't wish to bother you, but the strange wizards in the great hall. Who are they?"

"Do you know?" Harry asked, quickly adding, "sir?"

"Just call me Lupin, and I'm afraid that no, I do not. I wasn't aware Hogwarts was expecting any guests. "I'll tell you what. If I find out I'll be sure to tell you. You'll be coming to class later today, I'm sure." He winked.

"Of course, professor." Hermione answered, looking a little bit offended, though that may have just been her face.

As he turned to leave Harry called him back once more. "Lupin... um... about last night. Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

Too observant, that boy, just like his mother, Lupin thought.

"You just left really quickly. I don't know. You seemed a bit upset, I was worried I'd done something to offend you."

Lupin forced a smile. "Nothing like that. I was tired. It was awfully late that you were up, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked down sheepishly, and Lupin took his leave. He did not have much of a foundation of knowledge in medical magic, but he was a fast learner. Though deep inside something to him the bleeding wasn't Sirius's only ailment.

News of the mysterious visitors spread fast through the school. Students clustered and watched, talking in hushed voices, despite Filches repetitive suggestion that they should all get to class. They didn't dress like any wizards or witches they'd seen before. They all wore matching attire, the under part of which muggleborn students in the throng quickly identified to be business suits. Over top they wore long black robes, open with tight fitting sleeves and stiff collars. When Dumbledore appeared to lead the group of five up to his office he found himself pushing through a crowd of onlookers who had collected conspicuously around the doors to the great hall.

All this commotion elsewhere in the castle made Lupin's mission slightly easier than it would have been. Some herbs, bandages, he added the spoils to the food he'd stolen earlier that morning and hurried back to his office. It had occurred to him last night the trouble he would be in if he was caught. They had nowhere near enough proof to convince anyone of what he had realized, and with his... condition... they probably wouldn't hesitate before throwing him in Azkaban. The problem of where to hide Sirius had been of the greatest concern, but he believed he'd come up with a rather clever excuse.

Pulling his thick, black drapes over the window and securing both it and the door with the most heavy duty protection spells he knew, he opened the door to the wardrobe which had once housed the Bogart. It was much bigger on the inside. Why, there were studio apartments around the same size.

Sirius Black sat in the very back corner, slumped forward and wrapped in a blanket. Lupin sat down next to him, waiting for his friend to look up.

"How are you?" he finally asked, though the question sounded stupid once it had left his mouth.

Slowly, Sirius raised his head. He could really have used a shower, dirt on his face and what appeared to be a twig tangled in his hair.

"I'm going to kill him, Remus," he croaked, with a cold in his eyes that Lupin had never seen there before, that made him almost unrecognizable. "I'll squash that rat and it'll be the happiest I've been in twelve years."

"If you kill him," Remus took great care as he guided Sirius from the wardrobe, "then we'll have no one to send back to Azkaban in your place."

That seemed to shut him up, and Sirius stayed silent, with oddly vacant eyes, as Lupin applied the herbs and changed the bandages. He'd sat Sirius down on the big armchair he had in his office and sat cross legged on a footstool himself while he worked.

"You're going to have to promise you'll stay in there," Lupin broke the silence, nodding towards the now open wardrobe.

Sirius grunted, sounding very noncommittal.

"Seriously, Sirius." He couldn't help but smile a little at the memory of an old joke. "The castle is crawling with dementors. They say they'll stay at the entrance but they don't. Dumbledore has a real problem with it. I think he's talking to the Ministry about it."

The man before him shuttered, before speaking the longest string of words since he'd woken. "Dumbledore's the smartest man I know. Having those things this close to children, they're madder than they're saying I am."

"Well, you'd know." Again Lupin found himself regretting the words as soon as they'd left his mouth. "About Wormtail."

He changed the subject and just like that the fire was back in Sirius's eyes, and he leaned forward in anticipation.

"Severus has him," Lupin admitted. "I think he's taken a liking to him." He gave a forced laugh. "Imagine if he knew it was Peter. He carries him around with him sometimes. He might not even be there even if I could break into his office."

"I'll kill Snape too, the dirty bastard."

"Now how is that going to convince anyone you're not a murderer?" Suddenly a more positive topic of conversation struck Lupin. "Don't you want to see Harry? You're still his godfather. Shit, if you got cleared they might even let him live with you."

Sirius's eyes had really warmed at the prospect, and Lupin felt a little better seeing this. There was even a slight curve to his upper lip. He was smiling, not the mad one he was known for but a real one, a kind one.

"He looks just like James, don't you think?" Sirius asked.

Funnily enough, Lupin's first thought on seeing him had been of Lily.

Sirius continued. "I followed him around a bit, before I found Wormtail. I didn't know what to do with myself. The way those Dursleys treat him..."

The anger was back all of a sudden. Remus had noticed that it was one of his friends two states. It was either the rage or a sort of dull trance, like his soul had been taken already. The only time he'd broken the cycle is when they'd been discussing Harry.

As Sirius ate, ravenously like he hadn't done so in days—he probably hadn't—they talked. Lupin tried to keep them on topics he knew his friend would like. Mostly, it was memories from their Hogwarts days, as right here in the castle they could almost imagine they'd never left. In twelve years he'd not spoken to his best friend, and yet it was still natural. It was like no time had passed at all. Lupin was genuinely happy, despite the circumstances, optimistic even. For he knew one thing. Now that Sirius was back, and he knew the truth, he would be unable to allow him to be taken from him again.

The clock on the wall sadly brought their conversation to a close as the feast was fast approaching and Lupin knew he was already pushing his luck. Despite the obvious necessity of the situation Sirius did not seem eager to return to the wardrobe. He stared at the doors looking particularly ragged and it occurred to Remus that he would have to get him something to wear aside from a badly damaged prison uniform.

"I spent twelve years in a cell about that size," he said, "afraid to leave because of the dementors outside. This really isn't all that different."

Lupin grimaced. "If there was any other way... But every witch or wizard, every muggle in all of England is looking for you."

All of a sudden it was not a man but a familiar black dog standing in front of him. Padfoot gave a look like he was an ordinary dog, begging for food at the end of the table.

"Not a bad idea." Lupin raised an eyebrow. "You want me to take you for a walk, boy?"

The massive hound bristled, baring its teeth and growling, but Lupin was not intimidated.

"How about this?" Lupin tried. "Tomorrow sit in on my classes, as long as you're smart about it. Don't cause trouble or draw attention. There are no dementors past the gates and you'll get to see Harry."

Just like that Sirius was back, stepping obediently into the wardrobe with a dramatic flourish and a half bow.

"If can get Wormtail," said Lupin, as a parting word of reassurance, "I will."

As he walked to the great hall he wondered if maybe he should go to Dumbledore. Maybe not with the information that he was hiding Sirius Black, but once Peter was proven to be alive that could come later. If there was anyone who would stand behind them it was the headmaster. He'd try to pull him aside after the meal.

It felt strange, sitting with the staff instead of at the familiar long tables. He'd gotten mostly used to it but the long talk with Sirius had brought it back. From his new birds-eye view of the room he could easily watch the strange wizards and witch in the suits who had appeared near the doors. They did not come in, and he noted that not all of them were present. Where were they? He suddenly had a horrible picture in his head of them opening the wardrobe door to find Sirius. Anxiety rested heavy in his stomach and he could barely eat. It felt like eyes were on him, from the mystery suits and from his fellow teachers. They knew he and Sirius had been friends. It must be on their minds, the question of if he was helping him.

Across the ceiling of the great hall floated thin, grey clouds, barely obscuring the dusky sky. He'd heard the students as he'd walked to his place, and even now, voices wafting up from the floor below. Sirius was near the only topic of conversation. He'd been spotted nearby just days before, by a muggle who'd called her local authorities.

"I bet he's here right now," he'd overheard one fifth year saying, obviously trying to frighten the younger students that listened attentively.

"Nu-uh," one had protested. "You've seen those dementors. Not even Black could get past them, he couldn't."

"He did once."

"How do you reckon he did it?" Someone asked, in a different conversation.

"I bet he's working with them," hissed an especially inventive Ravenclaw. "Those Azkaban guards. They're evil, Black's evil, it makes sense. He'll probably come right up to the gates and they'll just give him a high five and let him pass."

If only that was true... From the look of Sirius it appeared that the dementors had not been kind to him the years he'd been away. He'd been in high security, Lupin knew that. How that differed from the rest of Azkaban he was unsure, and though his curiosity had been peaked he was afraid to ask.

From the far end of the table he felt Snape's eyes on him, beady and mocking. If he hadn't now been a respectable professor Lupin knew without a doubt that he would have socked him, broken that hooked nose. Childhood grudges were one thing, and sure they'd been a bit cruel back in the day, but Severus held a grudge like no one he'd ever known. To make things worse, he was forced to go monthly to Snape to collect that wolfsbane potion. That was by far the worst thing about his time at Hogwarts so far. It was all disdainful looks and cruel jabs. In theory he was lucky to have Snape, seeing as he was one of the few potion makers talented enough to brew it... but he just couldn't feel gratitude when the man acted as he did.

That was it. Maybe he could grab Wormtail from Snape's office when he went to collect his potion. But that wasn't a very good plan, and he hoped that this would all be over before he was in need of it. He could only keep Sirius in a wardrobe for so long, and the full moon was five days away.

Dumbledore got up to make a speech, and as paranoid as he was Lupin feared that it concerned Sirius, as many had previously. His stomach had not unknotted for the duration of the meal.

Instead, if was something much worse. "Ladies, gentlemen," he began. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce my brief coming absence here at Hogwarts. I depart for the Ministry tonight. I should only be there a day, two at most, but something has come up and it is imperative that I go. In my absence, the ministry has sent guards to help both in security and in... dealing with the dementors."

Albus Dumbledore had an impeccable poker face, but Lupin couldn't sense a buried anger in the man, a discomfort as he spoke of the strange witch and wizards at the back of the hall. Though it could have just been the dementors. His hatred for them was not hidden.

"Classes will continue as usual. Staff, please report to Professor Mcgonagall until I return."

He had to speak to Dumbledore before he left. There was no time. As the headmaster dismissed the feast, Lupin got to his feet and prepared to give chase.