A/N: It's finally here!!!! Yay! Are you excited or what? I certainly am. A great thank you is in order for my dad's friend at work who fixed my laptop. And thank you guys for being so patient and supportive!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, other than the new plot.

Ch. 9

Sirius hid in the shadows of the hallway as Harry peered, invisible, over the banister at the hooded man creeping through his aunt and uncle's house. There weren't any lights on, so it was hard to distinguish the figure's shadow from other appliances in the room. The man stopped beside the coat rack by the cupboard under the stairs and stripped off his cloak, revealing the very familiar face of-

"Remus!" Harry cried, and ignoring Sirius's protests, dashed down into the hallway to greet him. Remus turned toward Harry with an amused smile.

"Did I scare you?" he asked, glancing up at Sirius, who was trudging down the stairs. Although he looked relieved at seeing his friend, there were still faint lines of worry on his face. He drew Harry's wand and pointed it at Lupin's chest.

Harry was shocked, and suddenly felt very stupid for running to the man without making sure that it really was Lupin. That had been one of the major rules to follow; never greet someone until you were sure that the person wasn't being impersonated by a dark wizard. Dumbledore had specifically told him that. He backed away to his godfather's side and looked on as Sirius lit the wand and peered into Lupin's face.

The man was obviously exhausted; his eyes held large rings underneath that were so dark they could have been mistaken for bruises. The eyes themselves were weary, and his graying hair disheveled. If Harry looked close enough he could read a little pain in the man's features.

Sirius spoke in a menacing whisper, "Where were you on the night of November 20, during our fifth year at Hogwarts?"

Lupin sighed, rubbed his temples, and replied, "I was with you and James when you accomplished the animagus transformation for the first time in a deserted bathroom on the second floor. A girl's bathroom, if I remember correctly. Do you always have to be so dramatic, Sirius?" Sirius's wand dropped, and he reached out and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"'Course I do," he said, grinning widely. "I mean, after that little stunt you pulled behind the garden fence, I thought it was only appropriate that I repay you." Lupin frowned, and glanced at Harry before asking, "What exactly did I do behind the garden fence?"

Harry bit his lip. "Er, you mean that wasn't you?" A prickling feeling began to creep up the center of his back and up his neck.

"What wasn't me?" Remus asked, alarm spreading across his features rapidly. "What did you see?" Sirius watched the exchange silently, then marched back to the window and peered out into the early morning light.

"You didn't happen to see a cloaked figure wearing a mask anywhere near the garden, did you, Moony?" Sirius asked, turning back to watch Remus's facial expression grow cold with dread.

"No," he growled, sounding very much like a wolf, and stalked over to join Sirius at the window. They began muttering together, their voices far too jumbled for Harry to make out. He sighed and tried to relax his body a little. He knew it was much safer now that Remus was here in addition to Sirius; it also meant that they had two wands instead of one.

He dropped himself onto the bottom stair and leaned against the wall, watching Sirius and Remus argue about something. The injustice of the situation welled up inside him once again, just as it had the previous night. Why wouldn't the death eaters just leave him alone? What was so important about a thirteen year old boy with no extraordinary magical powers, average grades, and a family who hated his guts?

The sun had risen fully now, and cast a beam of light into the hallway that landed at Harry's feet. It would be too light now for any death eater to attack the house, wouldn't it? The veil of darkness had always been their ally in creating destruction and mayhem.

There was a faint shuffling from upstairs, and Harry craned his neck around to see Uncle Vernon peering down the stairwell at the three wizards. When his eyes met Harry's he gave a loud squeak of terror and bolted back to the bedroom. With an exasperated sigh, Harry turned his attention back onto Sirius and Remus's muttered discussion.

"-floo powder, would you?" Sirius was asking, glancing back at the living room which held the electric fireplace. Lupin shook his head, and replied, "We could use the invisibility cloak…."

"How d'you mean?" Sirius inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"There's floo powder at Mrs. Figg's. I'll just run over there, grab some, and call Dumbledore."

"No way! I'm not letting you go by yourself with Death Eaters out there!"

"Calm down, Sirius. It's light now, they'd be mental to show themselves at this time of day. Besides, it's not like Harry's going to come with me." At this, they both looked over at Harry, whose face blanched at Lupin's words.

Lupin realized his mistake a moment too late. "No! Harry, that's not what I meant-"

But Harry interrupted him, shaking his head angrily, "You guys shouldn't even be here. Why don't you both go back to Mrs. Figg's house and stay there, where it's safe." When Lupin walked over and tried to grab his shoulder he shied away, and stood up. "I'm not worth the risk, so why are you visiting? Here-" He fumbled with the invisibility cloak and tossed it into Lupin's stunned hands. "Take it and leave. Sirius will go with you, it's not safe for you to go by yourself." He turned and left the hallway.

Harry could hear hurried footsteps following him as he made a beeline for the little bathroom off the kitchen. Sirius's hands grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, and he struggled.

"Harry- Harry, stop-" His godson had pried one of his hands away from his jacket, but the other was still clenched painfully tight. "Moony didn't mean it that way-"

Red hot fury, unexpected and foreign, reared up inside of his chest like a snake ready to strike. Harry snarled menacingly at his godfather, which shocked Sirius into dropping his hands long enough for Harry to bolt into the bathroom and lock the door behind him.

His peace didn't last for long; Sirius's hands were soon pounding on the door, his voice coming through the wood shouting for him to open up or else he would do it with magic.

The anger roared through his veins like poison, driving him over the edge. He wanted to scream as loud as he could, not caring whether or not he'd rip his throat apart. He'd had enough of this! He scanned the cramped room for an escape route, his hands trembling in his boiling fury, moving on their own accord. It was as if everything that had happened to him that summer had combusted into one great, flaming fireball that was about to explode if he didn't get out. Images of his uncle standing over him, Death Eaters stalking him through the neighborhood, and Sirius lying, bloody and shaking, on the floor of Voldemort's fortress flashed through his head with frightening speed. Out, out, get him out! Before he even knew what he was doing, his fingers were fumbling with the screen of the window he couldn't remember opening, clawing at the clasps desperately before Sirius could enter and put a stop to his antics.

Just as the screen came tumbling down, the bathroom door flung open with a crash and Sirius stood, taking in the scene before him. A frightened expression quickly replaced the exasperated one that was upon his face. In a single movement, he had grabbed Harry's wrists in one hand, flicked his wand to replace the screen, and dragged him back into the kitchen, where Lupin was sitting at the table with his face in his hands.

There was a tense silence for a few moments, and Harry's anger seemed to deflate out of him like a popped balloon. Suddenly he was exhausted, and his knees gave out as Sirius guided him to a chair across from Remus.

It was another few moments before Remus could lift his head. When he finally did Harry avoided making eye contact, instead began tracing his fingers over the swirling wood of the table awkwardly. Something in his body felt empty to him… almost like something had disappeared….

"I'm so sorry," Remus began, his gentle voice cracking slightly with strain. "Harry, you took it the wrong way. I only meant-"

"- That I'm a danger to everyone who walks down the street with me?" Harry finished quietly, a spark of anger returning. Within a split second, another foreign red hot jolt of fury roared through his veins, causing his hands to spasm and his scar to flicker. Just as quickly the feeling was gone.

There was another long silence. Apparently neither Sirius nor Remus had noticed anything strange happen to their charge. What's going on with me? Harry wondered desperately.

Remus stared at Harry in pity, and it was Harry's turn to bury his face in his hands. As the anger left again, it was replaced by a feeling of shame and stupidity. "Bugger. I'm the one who should be sorry," he murmured, shaking his head. "I was just so angry, it's not fair to you that by associating with me, Voldemort's going to be targeting you next." He ran frustrated hands through his hair, and Sirius thought with amusement, that's exactly the same thing James used to do when he was under pressure.

"Well, Harry," Sirius began cautiously, "not much can be done about that, I'm afraid. But that doesn't mean we don't want to be with you. You're still my best godson."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "I'm your only godson!" Sirius sniggered a bit, and when it died down he replaced the amusement with seriousness again. "Why did you open that window, Harry?"

Harry bit his lip when Remus's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "I- I dunno," he stammered nervously. "I mean, I felt weird- almost like I was being controlled by something stronger than me-"

"Sometimes anger can do that to a person," Remus interjected mildly. "Just try not to let it happen again. We don't want you to get hurt, so be careful." Harry nodded, his cheeks pink.

??

The incident in the bathroom was the last Harry felt of the undesirable anger for the remainder of the summer. Remus had returned to Mrs. Figg's under Harry's invisibility cloak to contact Dumbledore, and the Headmaster strengthened the wards on the Dursley's house the following day. Things had then gone as smoothly as expected, once the Dursley's discovered that their house had been "tampered with." It was on the night of August 31st that Remus flooed over to the Dursley's residence (the fireplace had been connected to the floo network for approximately ten minutes while Remus traveled), after requesting that Professor Dumbledore accompany him in a visit to Harry. All Remus had revealed to Dumbledore was that they "had something of extreme importance to tell him."

When Dumbledore arrived at the entrance to the fireplace, he was greeted by the scene of Harry, Remus, and the dog Snuffles all seated in different armchairs. Dumbledore glanced at Snuffles, his blue eyes twinkling merrily, before saying, "Good evening, gentlemen. Would anyone care for a lemon drop?" They all shook their heads, the dog included. If possible, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even brighter than before as he strode further into the room, navy blue robes billowing out behind him.

After Dumbledore had found a seat in an armchair considerably like the ones occupying the other beings in the room, he rested his elbows upon the armrests and his chin upon his fingertips, almost like he was praying. He looked expectantly at Remus, who was nervously perched on the very edge of his own chair.

Remus cleared his throat and started, "Well, erm, Professor Dumbledore, we- that is, Harry and I- felt the need to tell you some information that we have gathered over the past few weeks." Here he stopped, as if unsure of how to continue, so Harry butted in.

"I know about Sirius Black," he said, getting straight to the point. "And I also know that he's-"

"- That he is innocent?" Dumbledore questioned, peering into Harry's eyes curiously. There was a knowing smile etched upon his wrinkled face.

Harry was shocked. "How- how did you know that? Sir?"

"Ah, Harry. I have known almost as long as you have, my dear boy. In fact, I knew who Sirius was the first time I laid eyes on him since his escape from Azkaban. Although I still questioned his innocence at that time, I must admit. Now, however, it is clear to me that he is indeed innocent, for he has not laid a hand on you since he began his stay here in the Dursley residence." The speechless silence continued on for a whole minute. Needless to say, Harry, Remus, and Sirius were dumbstruck.

"You left him alone with me before you knew for sure that he was innocent?" Harry asked, bewildered. Dumbledore smiled.

"Harry, my dear boy, I felt confident that Sirius had been the one to help you escape from Lord Voldemort earlier this summer. You wouldn't have been able to escape on your own, not with those particular injuries." It was a few moments before Dumbledore added, "But I still wonder how he managed to attract the entire blame from the ministry concerning the incident with Peter Pettigrew. Would you care to inform us, Sirius?" Dumbledore tilted his head toward Padfoot, smiling serenely. There was a pause, and then Sirius transformed with a small pop.

"I daresay, it is good to see you again," Dumbledore stated, nodding his head at Sirius. Sirius smiled sheepishly before launching into his story of angst and betrayal. When he was finished, the smile was gone from Dumbledore's lips and his blue eyes lost their twinkle.

"I want to assure you, Sirius, that I will do my best to find Peter Pettigrew and clear your name. But in the meantime, I ask all three of you to keep your eyes peeled. Particularly you, Harry. One may never know when they are being watched." Harry suppressed a shiver.

Dumbledore continued to survey the group, deep in thought. "It might be wise to have you close by, in case we make any progress," he addressed Sirius. "I don't think Remus would have any objections?" He turned to Lupin.

Remus grinned, "Of course not. I would be delighted."

Harry watched the exchange curiously, unable to follow the conversation. Sirius noticed, winked at him, and said, "We'll keep it a surprise. You'll have to wait for the Hogwarts feast tomorrow to find out." Harry scowled, but accepted his comment without protest.

Dumbledore rose from his armchair and nodded to the two men and Harry. "This has been absolutely delightful," he said, "However, I must now return to Hogwarts. There is much to do before the students arrive tomorrow." With a parting smile, the headmaster sprinkled some floo powder into the flames and was swept away.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you were talking about?" Harry asked glumly.

"Nope," Sirius and Remus replied together.