Chapter 3: House of Straw

Rennes, Brittany, France

February 12, 1986

Remus felt as though his whole body had broken out into a cold sweat as he read the old edition of the Daily Prophet. The paper was several weeks old and he had bought it on a whim just weeks ago but then had forgotten to look at the paper in his rush to pick Orion up from the school and get their dinner started. He had forgotten all about the paper for several weeks and had only found it that morning while he was doing some long overdue extensive cleaning of the papers, magazines, and unimportant mail that he often allowed to pile up by the back door. He often gave himself points for taking the items from the front of the house to the back of the house. It wasn't the various papers piled up, nor that this paper was several weeks old that had him breaking out into a cold sweat. It was the title across the front page.

"SIRIUS BLACK WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED WITHOUT TRIAL!"

Remus sank onto the bench beside the pile of papers and he began to read over the article.

Famous son of the House of Black, Sirius Black, was brought from Azkaban Prison for questioning due to the insistence of the House of Black. The House of Black represented by Pollux Black, had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice for the wrongful holding of a son of their House without proper trial. The Department of Justice could not find any record of a trial for the notorious Sirius Black, though they did suggest that the original paperwork of the trial had simply been lost or accidentally destroyed. That no one in the Justice Department could claim to have been at the trial of Sirius Black all but proved to the public that Sirius Black had never had a fair trial.

Due to the statute of holding, Sirius Black could have walked away a free man due to him having never had a trial, but the House of Black made the surprising move of insisting that Sirius Black, weak from Azkaban, be given Veritaserum and questioned about his involvement with He Who Must Not Be Named, his Death Eaters, his betrayal of the Potter's, and his murder of Peter Pettigrew and eleven Muggles.

Our readers might remember that Veritaserum is a strong truth serum, one that is believed to be impossible for one to lie or withhold answers when under its effects. Veritaserum is very carefully regulated by the Ministry of Magic in order to ensure that it is only used for the good of the Wizarding Public.

Under Veritaserum Sirius Black revealed that he was an enemy of He Who Must Not Be Named, had never been a Death Eater or a supporter of He Who Must Not Be Named in any way, he had not betrayed the Potter's and was not their Secret Keeper, and he had not murdered Peter Pettigrew and eleven Muggles. He revealed that it was Peter Pettigrew who had been the Potter's Secret Keeper because the public would more easily believe that Sirius himself would be the one chosen. Sirius thought it would better protect the Potters if it was believed that he was their Secret Keeper when he was not. He went after the true Secret Keeper after he saw his Godson, Harry Potter, safely from the ruined cottage at Godric's Hollow.

This raises many questions dear readers. Is Sirius Black the only victim of our Justice System during those tumultuous times? Is Peter Pettigrew still alive and is he still a follower of the ideology of He Who Must Not Be Named?

This publication respects the privacy of Sirius Black as he begins the road to recovery. We wish him well and hope that he is willing to take the time in the future to speak with us.

Lydia Windstrom

Daily Prophet

Remus stared at the paper for several moments before he let it fall from his now listless fingers. Sirius was innocent. He hadn't betrayed James. He hadn't murdered Peter. Peter was the one who had betrayed them. He had gotten James and Lily killed. He had framed Sirius for the crime. Innocent. Innocently imprisoned in Azkaban. All those years lost that Sirius would never get back. Years of missing his friends. Years of not getting to take care of Harry and not getting to know his sons.

His sons.

It really was plural, wasn't it? For all that he at times hated to acknowledge it, Orion was Sirius's biological son. If Sirius had not been incarcerated in Azkaban, Sirius would have tried to do the right thing by Orion.

He would have failed! He was certain that Sirius would have never been as good of a father to Orion as Remus was. That was reason enough to keep Orion hidden from Sirius, wasn't it?

Sirius always said that his family was evil, so of course Remus needed to protect Orion from them. Sirius's family had gotten him freed so now Sirius would owe them, he would also be trying to play nice with his relatives so that he could get closer to his son, Leonis. Would Sirius break ties with Lord Black if Remus contacted him about Orion? Not likely. He doubted that his friend was able to make decisions for himself right now, just freed from Azkaban as he was. Would Sirius ever be well enough to take care of Orion properly? Remus didn't think so. He didn't believe for a second that life with Sirius could ever be good for Orion. Sirius never thought things through. He rushed head first into danger. He was, at best, the fun uncle but not the responsible one and certainly not the responsible father.

He needed to take a trip to the Wizarding Bank and make sure that his rights as the adoptive father of Orion de Rais was truly secured. He knew it was in the Muggle World but he had only ever turned in those documents when setting up his accounts in the Wizarding Bank. He had never asked for an estate manager to go over it for him and make sure that the Black family could not take Orion from him. He had been a little bit afraid that the Goblins would realize that Orion was a child of the House of Black and then feel obligated to alert Lord Black to the existence of the child.

'Face it Remus, this is not something you can avoid forever,' he thought to himself with some bitterness. Short of moving himself and Orion to Australia, New Zealand, or South America, he sincerely doubted that he could avoid the Black family finding out about Orion. He had always been playing for time and nothing more.

He wouldn't be able to keep Orion from his blood family forever. The question was who should he approach about it, Sirius or Lord Black?

Lord Black held the power in the family, he could try to legally take Orion away from him. For that reason alone, he feared contacting the man about Orion. Sirius might feel gratitude toward Remus for taking care of Orion, but he would still want to take Orion from him. That was not something that Remus was willing to allow. He couldn't, just couldn't accept losing his little boy. Would Sirius hear reason? Would he accept that because Orion had grown these many years with him that he should be allowed to stay with Remus? They could attempt to incorporate Sirius into Orion's life. His son had only had him since the death of Marianne when Orion was only two years of age. Surely his boy would benefit from having more family. Sirius could slowly get to know him and Remus would be able to keep Orion safe and healthy and happy.

Remus ran his fingers through his blond locks. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Orion. Maybe he shouldn't risk talking to Sirius. Maybe he should run away with Orion after all.

No. He couldn't do that. Sylvia had left a legacy for her son and it was currently in Remus's hands to care for it. He was enjoying it. He loved his job. He loved the community he lived in. He really loved taking care of Orion and improving the De Rais stores. They were growing in popularity and due to the many magical clients that Remus had been gaining of late, he was seriously contemplating opening a De Rais books in the Coure de Leon in Lyon.

Lyon was the location of the largest wizarding shopping districts in France. The Coure de Leon, or Heart of the Lion, was a large plaza in the heart of Wizarding Lyon. Seven streets branched off the Coure de Leon and they were likewise full of shops and other fine establishments that catered to those who wielded magic. It was his hope to be able to find a nice building on the Coure de Leon or close to it for his shop. He knew that the rent would be high so close to the heart of the plaza but he felt it would be well worth it. Most customers frequented the stores near the plaza.

Setting up a store in a Wizarding center was not exactly what Sylvia had in mind for her son's legacy, but Remus consoled himself with the belief that Sylvia only wanted the best for Orion. She had been a muggle and he was unable to tell her about the Wizarding World. He couldn't tell her he was a Wizard and the child she was carrying was a potential Wixen. He certainly could not have told her that he was a Werewolf. He had never thought much on the Statute of Secrecy before because it had not really affected him, until he met Sylvia. He was grateful for it then because it gave him a good reason to keep his lycanthropy from her.

The truth was that he was a coward.

He had been too cowardly to attempt to tell Sylvia about the Wixen World. He had been too much of a coward to tell Sylvia he was a Wizard affected by Lycanthropy. He had been too much of a coward to tell Sylvia that her child stood a very good chance of being a Wixen. He had been too much of a coward to tell her that he loved her.

He was now thinking like a coward in regards to Sirius and the Black family. He had contemplated leaving it all, taking Orion and running away with him. Hiding from Sirius was not something that he should do. It was not fair to Orion to keep him hidden away, always looking over his shoulder for some unknown danger because Remus would never tell him why they were running and hiding.

He raked his hands through his blond hair and then shook his head once then twice. He couldn't give in to cowardice. Where was his courage? He had been sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. He had traits for Gryffindor House. He should show them more often.

"Dad?" Orion asked quietly from a few feet away.

Remus slowly turned his head to see his son standing in the kitchen doorway looking very uncertain. "I'm alright," Remus started to say but when Orion's eyes narrowed he knew he couldn't just lie to the boy. His Orion was not an oblivious child. The boy had been watching over him and taking care of him for a few years now at the end of the full moon nights. He was astute, amazingly astute for such a young boy.

"Alright, I'm not completely alright," he began again and held out his hand to the boy, silently entreating him to come closer.

Orion rushed to him and gripped his hand. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared of losing you," Remus admitted and then he bent down and picked up the Daily Prophet and showed the Headline to his boy. He watched as Orion read it and then the boy looked to him with wide blue eyes.

"So, does this mean that he was innocent?" Orion asked of him.

"Yes," Remus felt a lump in his throat and found it hard to speak for a moment. "He was put in prison without trial. I was with your mum then, doing what I could to take care of her and you and learning from her all about preserving books and running the store. I didn't know that Sirius had not gotten a fair trial."

"It's not your fault, Dad," Orion said, simply full of belief. "But this means he's out of prison."

"Yes, he needs to spend time with the healers because of what being in Azkaban can do to you," Remus told Orion as gently as he could.

Orion nodded sadly. "I'm sorry that he's so sick, but he'll get better, now won't he? Now that he's away from that awful place he'll have loads of help getting better?"

Remus hugged his boy and placed a kiss to the top of his mop of raven curls. "Yeah, he'll get better," he promised Orion.

"Why were you scared?" Orion asked of him.

He took a deep breath and then admitted, "because, I am going to have to contact him and tell him about you. I'm afraid he'll insist that you go live with him."

Orion hugged him tight, wrapping his arms around Remus's neck and curling close. "I don't want to leave you. You are my dad. I know that he's my birth father, but I don't know him."

Remus hugged his son close and sighed. "It was no fault of Sirius's own that he has not been in your life," he reminded the boy. "He was falsely accused and imprisoned. He would have been with you if that had never happened. You would like Sirius, Ori."

"But, I don't want to leave you!" Orion sniffled.

Remus felt himself close to tears and hugged the child close. "I will do all I can to make sure that does not happen, but you must meet Sirius."

Orion slowly nodded. "I want to meet him, I want to know him," the boy said and then he pulled back and stared at him with blue eyes that were all the brighter due to his tears. "But I don't want to be taken away from you. You are my father, not him. You have been the one to do what he couldn't do. I won't blame him for not being here these years, but he cannot take you away from me now that he can be here. I don't want that, I would rather not know him than let that happen."

"Oh Ori," Remus said in a rush as he once more hugged his son. "I love you and I promise you that I will not let you go. We'll figure out a way for us to keep each other and for Sirius to become a part of your life."

Orion nodded and allowed him to hold him for a few more minutes. He reveled in the action since he knew that in a few more years his son would decide that he was too mature to be coddled. He then thought of Sirius and how he had missed many of Orion's first's. He had missed the boy's first steps, his first words, his first day of school. Sirius didn't even know that this son existed.

He would do what he could to keep Orion, but he would try to make things work out well with Sirius. He wanted Sirius to be there for more of Orion's firsts. His first day of Wixen Education, his first crush, and his first kiss. Sirius had more experience with the ladies so perhaps he would give Orion pointers, and then Remus could lecture him on not letting himself be a heart breaker like Sirius. Yes, that would be good. Both raising Orion. He could live with that compromise so long as Sirius allowed him to keep Orion.

Thank you dear readers for your kind likes and reviews. It might still be a while before we read Remus and Sirius meeting again in Winterwolf. Please remember that Sirius still has many months of recovery time ahead of him and also that Remus does not know where Sirius is and he wants to be discreet about finding him. Next Chapter: Remus shops for a building in the Coure de Leon to open his first Wixen book store.