Chapter 6: The Capture

21st December – 15:00

The headmaster was seated behind his desk, enjoying a delicious chocolate frog, while he re-read his plans on how to destroy Voldemort fully and win the war that was constantly raging on around him. Thus far, he had concluded that the dark wizard was looking for ways to avoid death; for death was Voldemort's one true horror.

Dumbledore knew that to possess all three of the Hallows could be one way of achieving this goal - by making one a Master of Death - but as two of the Hallows were currently in the headmaster's own possession, and one of the others in Dr James Potter's, that scenario was unlikely. Then there was the idea of the Philosopher's Stone, but Nicolas Flamel currently had that safe and secure...

Then there was the other way, Dumbledore had only ever heard of it in the darkest of legends... It was old magic; forbidden magic. Magic only Voldemort would be foolhardy enough to try and use. The word was Horcrux. The darkest of all the Dark arts. To split one's own soul apart through murder was the most despicable act.

But that was what made it purely Voldemort...

Dumbledore was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts by a loud knock upon his office door.

'Come in, Sirius; James.' He called out. The door opened, allowing the duo to enter. 'Please have a seat, boys. I thought you might have come to see me at some point after Dolohov's suspicious murder. Chocolate frog?' James shook his head and took the chair on the right, while Sirius took the left. The latter looked around the room, trying to put his thoughts into words.

'Ever heard of Fenrir Greyback, Sir?' He asked, finally. Dumbledore seemed taken aback by the question, but answered it none the less.

'He is Voldemort's werewolf, if I'm not mistaken, and I know that he is the most ruthless and most powerful dark creature of all time.'

Sirius nodded.

'Indeed... That is to say: he was the most powerful, he has been murdered, you see. Yesterday evening actually. Moody's at the scene now.' Sirius elaborated. 'You know how the system works obviously.'

'The murderer takes the place of the former leader.' Dumbledore confirmed easily.

'Precisely! It might be important to point out that this new leader is the same werewolf that killed Dolohov and various other Death Eaters recently. I don't think he knows what power he holds yet, but I know it won't be long until he finds out, and when he does, I fear he will be in terrible danger of himself as well as others.'

'I see...' Dumbledore stated. 'Why the sudden interest though, Sirius? What possible significance does this new lycanthrope have compared to Greyback?'

'It might be important to point out, Sir, that it is unlikely that we will have to worry about Moony joining Voldemort – if we play our cards right, that is. However, with this power, Moony is a danger to himself as well as others. Place yourself in his shoes and think what having an army at your command would do to you. What would happen if one day that power became too much and destroyed him? Or made him even more despicable? This is the significance... among other things.'

'Why do you care about the welfare of a murderer though, Sirius?' Dumbledore questioned, curiously.

'I wondered the same, professor.' James imputed.

'Because I believe that there is something more to Mssr Moony than what meets the eye, Sir.' Sirius replied, expression strangely guarded.

'In other words: Sirius probably fancies him, or maybe fancies his brother, but his Vulcan brain cannot comprehend such emotions and is instead thinking up pathetic excuses to cover it up because Sirius Black simply cannot emote.' James translated.

'I really need to have words with Lily about what Muggle programmes you're allowed to watch.' Sirius muttered under his breath, huffing petulantly. Dumbledore smiled, but let the subject drop.

'I see... Sirius, when you came here today, what was it that you wanted to achieve?' He asked. 'How can I help you in all of this?'

Sirius perked up at that.

'I have a plan. I need information from Moony, but first I'm going to need the Order to help me capture him so that he can get the help that he needs.' Sirius answered.

'And The Order is to help how?'

'Well... Sir, I will need to borrow the Shack so that I can lure Moony to me. The location of the order will not be a problem – Moony trusts no one, and works alone... For now, and I'm pretty sure he already knows the location of headquarters anyway. When he comes though, be sure to have some people there to reprimand him. I do not want this situation to get out of hand.' When Dumbledore seemed hesitant, Sirius continued, 'Whatever you may think of him, Sir, I believe that Moony is capable of change, and maybe... Maybe then, we can use his power over the packs to our advantage with regard to the war, Sir?'

Sirius knew that anything that would help Dumbledore win the war would be intriguing for the old Headmaster. It was utter balderdash, what he was saying, of course. Sirius had many reasons for wanting to help Moony, but no; he did not believe Moony was capable of change. Not at all.

The lie had its desired effect though, for Dumbledore proceeded to rest his chin on his palms in interest.

'I'm listening...'

21st December 18:00

'You know, I don't understand-'

'You say that a lot, you know.'

'Ha ha, very funny.' James responded dryly. 'I was actually going to say that I don't understand you. At all. I thought I did, but as usual, you've managed to completely prove me wrong. You talk all this crap about how love weakens us; how attraction and infatuation is a plague that stagnates defeat, and all that bollocks, but you can't comprehend that you're just like the rest of us, can you?'

'I am not like you!' Sirius responded harshly, sulking in his armchair in the Potters' living room. His lips had formed a pout and his arms were crossed petulantly.

'Aren't you?' James countered.

'NO!...' He shouted. 'I'm not?...' The second part sounded more of a question than he originally expected, causing him to look down in contemplation, chin resting on his chest.

'You're giving in to sentiment, Padfoot. You're completely contradicting your firm beliefs and yet you only chose to disregard them with this case – and for the sake of such an awful person at that! I realize now though, that for all his faults, Moony was right, you do need him... How human you must be, Sirius, to rely on such a vile creature and have the ability to overlook that creature's flaws, for the sake of thinking that it is capable of change.'

'I'm not. I don't know what you're talking about...' Sirius huffed.

'How can someone as brilliant as you not deduce that there must be some other reason that you've been treating this case differently from all the others? Tell me though, is it because he's your intellectual equal or because you have a connection?'

'How would you know about my other cases, James. You weren't there.'

'You're right, I wasn't, but I know that you solved all the other cases perfectly.' James replied, earnestly. He was going to make Sirius see sense. 'The rate you're going with this case though, surely, you must realize that if you carry on like you are now, it is obviously destined to end badly.'

'You don't know what you're talking about, James!' Sirius argued, harshly, before turning in his armchair so that his back faced James' worried expression.

The latter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, covering his face. It was only when he felt soft hands on his knees that he looked up to find Harry peeking up at him curiously with his innocent albeit curious emeralds.

'Daddy, okay?' He asked with concern. James smiled down at his son and ruffled his hair before he answered,

'Yeah, Harry. Uncle Padfoot's just being annoying, that's all.' His smile never faltered, even when he shot a quick glare at Sirius's back. Then, he noticed that Harry was holding something in his tiny little hand. 'What's that you've got there, love?' He asked, softly.

The one year old held his hand out to his father, who gently opened his fist. Settled, in the middle of his son's palm, was a glimmering Moonstone. 'Harry, honey, where did you get this?'

'Me, Minnie playing.' He shrugged. Minnie was the family cat (who may or may not have been named in honour of Hogwarts' most beloved teacher: Minerva McGonagall).

'I see...' James muttered. 'Can I keep it, Harry?'

'Yep. Present.'

'Thank you.' James then ruffled his son's hair one more time, causing Harry to squeal in amusement, before returning his attention to Sirius, who was still facing the other way – although his back had tensed quite visibly during the conversation.

He chuckled without humour. 'Oh, Padfoot. You better snap out of it or else.' He lectured, vexed. His voice only remained low and calm for Harry's sake. 'You owe this to Harry to keep him safe.' When his friend made no sign of replying, he continued, 'Remember, Sirius: when Harry was born, you made him a promise. Don't break it now for the sake of a heartless monster...'

Sirius turned his head around to face James and looked at him in contempt.

'You think I have forgotten? When I made that promise, I intended to keep it and still do now. Don't underrate how much I care about Harry, James. I may not be handling this situation well – from your perspective, that is, for despite what everyone may think, I do know what I'm doing – but know this: whatever happens, I will never let Harry come to any harm; on my life, I will protect him just as much as you and Lily would. Am I understood?'

James looked at Sirius staggered. Whatever response he was expecting, it was not that. Not only did Sirius just admit to actually caring about another person verbally, but he also expressed how he would willingly give his life up for the protection of the one child that James loved more than anything else in the world. Suddenly, he felt a whole new kind of reverence for his friend, although he felt ashamed, for this revelation should not have come as such a shock for him – Sirius had always been loyally protective of those he cared about.

'Yes, Padfoot. I believe you. I'm sorry.'

'Good.' Sirius grumbled.

It was the last thing James heard the Consulting Auror say for the rest of the day... for despite the extensive age gap, Sirius's tantrums could match that of his Godson's any day.

23th December 1981 – 21:00

The Order of The Phoenix headquarters was located on the outskirts of the quaint little village of Hogsmeade. It was built in the 1970's as a secure safe house for the Order members and Dumbledore had often used it for arranging and executing meetings for members of the aforementioned. The location was often referred to by the locals, indifferent to the conspiring uses of the house, as "The Shrieking Shack".

The house had been nicknamed as much because the old Headmaster had placed a set of charms upon the house when it had first been constructed; one of which was a spell that caused any outsider to be repelled by the house – this was made possible by the house producing incessant screams of what sounded eerily like wailing spirits whenever anyone came within close proximity of it.

And so here was where Sirius waited. The Shack had a total of five rooms: two safe bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and a dining room. The Auror was currently waiting in one of the bedrooms. He was lying upon the bed decorated in purple, smoking his first cigarette since Harry had been born. He closed his eyes tranquilly as he inhaled the addictive tar that he had missed for so long. He knew James and Lily would be having a fit if they saw him now, but Sirius was far too entranced to care.

Difficult times called for desperate measures of relief, was his argument.

When he heard delicate footsteps sound upon the rickety, wooden staircase, his eyes opened lazily, watching as a shadow silhouetted upon the open door.

'Those things will kill you, you know.' The shadow spoke, smoothly.

'And here I was thinking that the title of "bringer of Sirius Black's death" was reserved for you.' Sirius replied easily.

'I do not wish to kill you, Sirius, but you always have to make things so difficult.' Moony stated, tiredly, as he came into view. He leant his head against the door frame as Sirius opened his eyes fully, to observe the man, intrigued. He took one last drag and used the bedpost to put out the cigarette.

'Yet so far, you haven't made one single attempt to kill me.' He stated bluntly.

'Timing is an impeccable asset in my work, Sirius. As well as that, I think we are still hoping that you'll stop prying into my affairs. I know Remus is worried for you.' He laughed, cruelly. 'Poor brother... If only you knew...'

He coughed abruptly, as if stopping himself from spilling something private – the action intensified Sirius's curiosity and interest immensely. 'Anyway Padfoot, what I mean to say is: this situation was fun before, but now it has grown serious. I need you to not get involved, or else the consequences will be severe.'

'You know why I summoned you here, I take it?' Sirius asked, choosing not to acknowledge Moony's previous words, although internally, he was very much perturbed by their meaning.

'Oh, you mean from your little note you sent me?' Moony dipped a thin, scarred hand deep within his pocket and retrieved a folded piece of paper. Clearing his throat dramatically, he read, '"Moony. I must wail for your presence, as it is required immediately. I'd give you the address, but if you are as much like me as you say you are, I am sure you'll figure it out for yourself as to where I want to meet you. Sirius." Seems very nebulous, Sirius, but yet I seem to have made it. It was rather obvious. As for your original question, I'm pretty sure that you asked me here so that you and your little friends could capture me and try to cure me.'

'Why would you think I'd want to capture you? What makes you think I believe there is a cure for a creature as repellent as you?'

'You don't like to admit it, but I'm afraid you are letting your sentimentality get in the way of your quest for justice, Pads.' Sirius's lip curled as Moony repeated parts of James' words back to him. 'You believe that I can be cured because you honestly don't want me dead.'

Satisfied with Sirius's lack of response, Moony continued. 'Like I've said before: without me, you're nothing. Also, with regard to your letter, it is with regret that I have to say that it was petty. You think I'd fall for something like that?' he further inquired. 'I knew this was a trap from the start, Sirius. You know, you call me your intellectual equal; would you have fallen for something as mediocre as that?'

Sirius smiled, knowingly.

'No, I suppose not, but yet here you are. As I keep reminding you, I know you better than you think, Moony. I knew that, even though you would know it were a trap, you wouldn't be able to resist coming anyway. I know that – had our places been reversed – I would have come, merely due to the fact that I hate to leave a puzzle unfinished.'

'It would appear so, wouldn't it?' Moony sighed, dramatically, puffing out his cheeks. 'So, what's going to happen to me now then?'

'You're going to be taken to my brother's. You know what his occupation is, of course.'

'Naturally.'

'Yes, well, I will place you in his hands, I trust he can cure you, as you entitle it.' Sirius explained, stonily.

'You are a fool if you think that Moony can be cured, Sirius.' Moony replied, coolly. Then, much to the animagus's horror, Moony threw his head back and laughed dryly, although there was a touch of lunacy in there too. Sirius's lip curled again in repugnance and he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. He then walked over to Moony, who had, at this point, stopped laughing and was matching Sirius's piercing glare, unflinching.

'First mistake: you are wrong if you believe I think you capable of change. Two: before they take you, there is some information I wish to extract from you.' Sirius muttered, face less than a metre away from the lycanthrope's. Moony scoffed before chuckling.

'I should've known.' He whispered bitterly, before bobbing his head around mockingly and droning out, 'Remussss.'

It was not a question; he was stating a fact. Sirius visibly recoiled, but did not deny it. 'Of course, the answer to your question is so blatantly obvious, Sirius. Surely you must have figured it out by now? I have given you enough information, but it seems that you – much like dear, old Prongs – did not listen.' All mirth had now vanished from Moony's face as he looked with those hard eyes at Sirius, as if searching for something.

The latter stepped back as a loud CRACK sounded from the bottom floor of the house. 'Here they come to take me away. They want me to talk? I have nothing to say.' The werewolf mumbled, eyes never leaving Sirius. Even as five wizards burst in through the door, his face remained impassive.

It was only when all five Order members had stunned him simultaneously that Moony's eyelids fluttered closed and – with a contented smile – he collapsed upon the bedroom floor. Sirius watched with wide eyes, startled by the encounter. While they were levitating the lycanthrope out of the room, James came rushing in towards Sirius.

'I can't believe it! That actually worked? That was the most pathetic way to deceive someone into being lead into a trap in the whole of history, yet it worked! What the hell happened?'

It was only then that Sirius looked up from the spot where Moony had collapsed, and finally acknowledged the fact that James was actually there with him. He seemed surprised at first to see his best friend in the same room as him, but then quickly shook his head to bring himself back to reality.

'It was weird, Jamesie.' He finally croaked. 'Like, really weird.' James looked at him worriedly.

'What was weird?' He asked.

'Moony knew the consequences of coming; he didn't fall for it for a second, yet he came anyway. Moony knew that wizards had come to apprehend him, yet he did nothing to stop them. Moony didn't put up a fight; he went willingly... I-' Sirius gulped. 'I – I don't-' He tried again, but to no avail.

Why are those three words so difficult to say?

'You don't know?' James finished for him. When Sirius could only mutely nod as if he was going to be sick, he chortled. 'Oh Merlin! That's something you don't experience everyday...'

'Shut up, Prongs!' Sirius spat, annoyed. 'This isn't funny. Moony's being weird... well... weirder than usual. I don't know what he's planning or what he wants. It's worrying...'

He looked so forlorn at this tiny confession that James' laughter stopped abruptly and instead, he placed a reassuring hand upon his friend's shoulder in comfort.

'Is there anything you have found out?' He asked, hoping that he might distract him from his knowledge (or lack thereof).

'Yes.' Sirius replied. James sighed in relief, but the animagus didn't notice. 'He knows. Moony knows about the packs.'

'How do you know?' James asked, intrigued. Sirius hesitated, attempting to – like Moony – repress his boasting of how he made his deductions.

He lasted a total of 3.5 seconds...

'The fur on the lining of his coat. There were many ranges of colour. Considering the fact that Moony's hair is of a light brown/grey complexion and is curly, and the fact that there were several different sizes and colours of hair on his clothing, suggests that Moony has been in the presence of others recently. Now, considering the fact that we know Moony to be as much of a misanthrope as I am and is loathed by society for what he is, could suggest that he paid a visit to the people that he'd feel the least uncomfortable around (people that plainly moult but never seem to lose any volume to their hair). Namely, werewolves. Considering the fact that there was a glimmer of triumph in his eyes when he first walked in here implies that he recently came across some sort of revelation. There were also hints in the things he said. I could go on but I realize I'm becoming tedious.'

'No, don't stop! Carry on.' James pleaded, shocked at Sirius's lack of "I'm smug prick and I know everything" attitude. Sirius smiled at how eager his friend was.

'Come on, James, what good would it do?' He replied. Before his friend could contradict him, however, the animagus brushed the steady hand from his shoulder and walked towards the door. The house was quite silent now, for the Order had now apparated away with the restrained lycanthrope.

Sirius placed a hand on the door frame and bowed his head, apparently deciding whether or not he should say what he said next. To James, he looked like an emotional wreck, but it was all part of a façade; Sirius needed to protect James, and so had to fake his hopeless demeanour to deceive his best friend, as well as everyone else - Moony included.

'I'm placing my trust in Regulus to sort this out. Usually, the idea of requiring the help of my little brother is repellent to me, but I think – this time – he may just sort this out. He's not as involved as I am and therefore, by allowing him to take Moony, I am taking a step back from this case... for the sake of my family. I informed Reg of the details, and what needs to be achieved, so I know he will handle it well.'

James crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at his friend.

'You make excuses, Sirius. You would protect my family anyway, regardless of how dangerous a case proves to be. You never simply "give up" because of the chance of there being a danger. We both know what this is really about.' Sirius's lips were sealed in a thin line that could match McGonagall's.

James snorted. 'This Remus must be very special, if you're relying on your brother to find him.'

Sirius's head whipped up and looked at James with puzzled incredulity.

'Interesting...' He murmured. 'Interesting that you said Remus... instead of Moony...'

On on that note, he walked out, deep in thought; leaving James to stare at his back exasperatedly.

Thank you all so far! Let me know what you think, reviews appreciated. I'll update soon. :)