A/N: This is the final chapter of third year! Can't believe we've made it this far! To be honest, I wasn't quite happy with how this chapter turned out (3rd year is my least favorite in canon), but hey, at least it's on time! Updates are still regular, and I'm posting as fast as I can write! Just a hint, The Goblet of Fire was my favorite book in the series, so in this universe the fic will start getting more intense starting fourth year. I hope you're as excited as I am!

Hogsmeade [May 21st]

James Potter crouched on the ground, observing the footsteps in the mud. It was difficult to make out direction the fugitive was running solely from the prints, since it looked rather chaotic–as if he'd been running in several different directions.

His frown grew more severe as he rose, observing the long stretch of empty land on the border of Hogsmeade. There was nothing here for miles. And yet, as he glanced back at the patch of mud imprinted with footprints, he was positive there were two distinct sets of prints. One set looked like it definitely belonged to the Sirius Black he knew–or at least, used to know, James corrected himself. The other set of footprints was considerably smaller, and seemed a bit odd at the scene.

What could Sirius Black be up to here? There was nothing visibly threatening this far away from Hogsmeade. And who was the person with him?

James was deep in thought as he considered the possibilities. He could've caught that bastard, and his accomplice. If only he hadn't received the notification that Black was spotted in Hogsmeade too late, he could've been there to hunt the criminal down himself. He sighed, walking away from the scene to where his second-in-command, Anthony, stood speaking to their team of Aurors.

"We've concluded that Sirius Black was indeed here prior to his attempt to escape through Hogsmeade, but we've also discovered something rather alarming. Black was not alone. There is another set of footprints aside from his own," Anthony was saying, "We have yet to decipher who those other set of prints belong to."

"Could it be an accomplice of his?" One of his men suggested, crossing his arms across his chest, "He broke out of Azkaban last summer, surely he couldn't do it alone."

"If he's a suspected member of the dark, then perhaps he was with a Death Eater?" somebody else pointed out.

James shook his head slowly, quickly identifying who had spoken, "I don't think so, Nolan. For one, Sirius Black is a known fugitive, probably a greater threat than any other Death Eater. Second, as much as I like to believe otherwise, Black isn't stupid. He knows how dangerous it is for him to step outside of whatever hovel he's been hiding at. Why would he come out all the way here, in the middle of nowhere Hogsmeade, just to meet up with a fellow Death Eater? Not to mention, in broad daylight."

"Pretty risky of him," Anthony whistled, "No wonder he was in Gryffindor. Man's got guts, I'll give him that."

James scowled, "Don't disgrace the Gryffindor house by associating it with anything to do with that traitor."

Anthony shrugged, "Sorry, Sir. I just meant to say he was reckless like I heard all Gryffindors were…" He trailed off, cowering slightly under the irritated glare James bestowed upon him. "What do I know, I was home-schooled," He muttered under his breath.

"Maybe he's onto something," Jackson, another one of the higher-ranked Aurors, called out, "Not about the Gryffindor thing, but about Hogwarts itself. Maybe Black was trying to get into Hogwarts again."

Nolan frowned, "I doubt it. This is literally the middle of nowhere. If Sirius Black was trying to get into Hogwarts, I doubt he would've come out here. He'd want to get to a location closer to the school to avoid getting caught. It seemed like Black just wanted a private location, somewhere he knew he wouldn't be disturbed. Perhaps he just needed a secluded area to meet with his accomplice?"

"But why Hogsmeade?" Someone asked, "It's mostly shops and vendors. Nobody lives out here unless they need to be near Hogwarts for some reason."

"Maybe his accomplice is in Hogwarts," Anthony snorted, "I wouldn't put it past him to imperious a little first year into doing his bidding for him."

"Don't be ridiculous, Anthony," Nolan scowled. He cocked his head to the side as a thought came over him, "It's someone in Hogwarts, but I don't think it's a student."

"You think it's a professor that's been collaborating with him on his nefarious agenda?"

James' eyes widened suddenly. "Not just any professor," He growled, "I know exactly who it is."

"So, Remus Lupin." Sirius remarked casually, throwing himself onto the aged armchair in the Shrieking Shack, "It's been years."

He dusted off the cobwebs that clung to his perfectly tailored clothing. The second his old friend had pulled him into the Shrieking Shack, they'd hidden out in the secret passageway until after the Aurors had torn everything apart looking for him inside the run down house. As soon as the Aurors had left dejectedly, the two of them emerged from their hiding place. He would've been panicked, but Remus assured him there was a way out of his current situation.

"Not to be crass, but the Aurors are kind of after me," Sirius had whispered, trying to to keep quiet as they heard footsteps tear apart the Shrieking Shack looking for him.

"We can use the floo in my office to get you out, don't worry about it," Remus had waved his hand, unconcerned with the matter.

"Sirius Black," Remus mocked, leaning his arm against the fireplace, "And here I was afraid I'd never see you again. Without me saving your ass like always, I figured you'd get yourself killed."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Moony," The black haired man grinned, stretching out his arms, "But here I am."

"I've missed you," Remus admitted, "The past few years just haven't been the same without your idiotic decisions and snarky justifications."

Sirius bit his lip and glanced out the window, or at least where the window had once been. Now it was covered up with wooden boards nailed to the wall. He took a deep breath, trying to control his tumultuous emotions at his friend's words. It didn't work and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Why didn't you try to help me, Remus?"

Remus shook his head vehemently, "Of course I tried to help you! But the Ministry wasn't even willing to give you a proper trial, let alone hear a word of what I had to say. And it certainly didn't help matters when it was revealed that Dumbledore believed you were guilty as well."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "I'm beginning to hate that old coot." He propped his feet on the rickety coffee, glancing up at his friend curiously, "And then what happened? You just stopped trying to help me?"

Remus looked uncomfortable under his friend's heated gaze and he did his best to avoid those dark, angry eyes.

"Answer me!"

"I tried my best, Sirius," Remus began meekly, "I tried everything in my powers to release you. But after all my efforts kept getting shot down, I couldn't keep going on like that. I had to stop eventually. I told myself you were strong, that you could get through this."

"It was a life sentence, Remus," Sirius rolled his eyes, "The only way I could get through it was if I died."

"I thought one day your charges might be cleared and you could join us again, as a free man," Remus defended himself, "I couldn't just break you out of Azkaban myself. That's against the law, you know!"

Sirius felt a quiver of anger roll down his spine, "Yes, and throwing me in Azkaban without a trial was certainly in line with the law. I thought our friendship meant more to you than the Ministry's bloody laws, Lupin. If our positions had been reversed, I wouldn't have let you stay in that prison for even a day, you know."

"Don't do this, Sirius," Remus pleaded, "You're asking me to break the law for you. I'm not like you, I follow the rules and I could never disobey them. You don't know the position I was in. You don't know if you would've done anything differently had you been in my place."

"I waited, you know." Sirius whispered, "I waited everyday for someone to come tell me my name was cleared and I was free to go. I waited for one of my lifelong friends to come save me from my hell. Do you even know what I had to go through?" He seethed.

Remus shook his head sadly, "I can't even imagine, Sirius."

His friend scoffed, "Of course you can't imagine it. Azkaban is worse than hell, Remus. It's full of power-hungry wardens just dying to see your blood spilled across the floor. They'll beat you and they'll torture you and they'll starve you, just for their own amusement. They'll keep you in total darkness so you can't tell when the night bleeds into the morning and when the sun comes up. Time stands still in that prison." His voice broke slightly as he added, "And if they kill you, it doesn't matter to them. They never even considered you a human in the first place."

"I'm sorry!" Remus shouted, his eyes watering slightly, "I know I should've tried harder to clear your name. I know I should've broken you out of there myself if it had come down to it! I'm sorry, Sirius!"

"Sorry doesn't fix things anymore!" Sirius roared, jumping up from his armchair, his eyes blazing with an unfathomable amount of anger, "It's not like when we were in school and I had to serve detention with you, Remus! I had to spend years in Azkaban!"

"What do you want me to do, Sirius?" Remus asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "Write you a letter? Bake you some apology cookies? Throw myself into Azkaban?"

Sirius sighed, returning back to his seat, "I just want to know why now. Why did you choose to help me now of all times? I broke out of Azkaban with the breakout caused by those Death Eaters last summer. Why did you wait almost a year without trying to even contact me?" He paused and reached for his wand, "Are you setting me up?"

"Setting you up? What?" Remus sputtered, "I'm trying to help you, you blasted idiot! Why would I save you from the Aurors, only to send you into a trap?"

Sirius relaxed slightly and explained, "When I went to see James a couple months ago, he pretended to forgive me, to help me, and promised we were friends again. And then he called the Aurors on me. It's a long story," Sirius shrugged nonchalantly, "but it's left me with a few trust issues, as you can see."

"I didn't know James did that. I didn't know he was even capable of doing something like that," His friend grimaced, "And to answer your question, I only waited this long because I didn't know where you were and I didn't want to risk seeking you out, in case of accidentally outing your hiding spot. I'm here to help you, not set you up."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "So you're not afraid of helping someone who supposedly murdered a dozen muggles and spent most of the past decade in Azkaban?"

"Hm," Lupin thought aloud, "I suppose I might be afraid, if I actually thought you'd committed the crimes you've been accused of. But since I don't believe you could've done something so inhumane, I'm going to have to stick with my resolution to help you."

Sirius snapped his eyes up to meet his friend. "You believe me?" He asked cautiously, "You don't think I did it?"

"Of course you didn't do it. You would never join the Dark. It's just not the kind of person you are, Padfoot," Remus grinned, "Anyone who believes you're a Death Eater is a fool."

Sirius smiled back, trying to hide the emotion in his eyes. Everyone from his past, except Lily, had turned their backs on him. They had believed the worst in him, despite knowing him for decades. But now somebody believed him. Somebody saw the truth in his words. His best friend actually trusted him. The feeling was indescribable.

He casually brushed his gaze over his left forearm, which was covered by the full-sleeved robes he had taken to wearing recently. He felt the dark mark itch furiously against his skin the second he glanced at it. Remus believed he wasn't a Death Eater. Sirius didn't even want to be a Death Eater, but now the mark on his arm proved otherwise. Technically, he only joined the Dark because they had saved him from Azkaban, and he believed all his other friends and family had abandoned him. The dark mark was a constant reminder of where his current loyalty lied, and he wasn't sure how to explain his situation to Remus. The less his friend knew the better, at least until he found a way out of it.

He realized he'd been silent for a long time and so he asked, "What are you doing in Hogsmeade anyways?"

Remus Lupin nudged his head towards the flicker of dark night that peeked out from the nailed wooden boards over the window, "It's a full moon tonight."

Sirius froze, "Why haven't you chained yourself up? You haven't sealed any of the doors! I know it's been a while since we did this last back in seventh year, but don't you have to make sure certain precautions are in place before you turn?"

Lupin smiled, "It's been years since we've been in school, old friend. I have better control over my transformation now. I still have to turn, but I can willingly turn at any time in the night."

Sirius winced, "Does it still hurt to turn?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, "Considering I have to break every bone in my body and sprout fur and claws to turn into a werewolf, yes it still hurts to turn. But it's gotten better since I've gotten used to the pain over the years."

"Are you still taking your wolfsbane?" Sirius demanded to know.

"Yes, mother," His friend rolled his eyes, "Once a day, every day. But you'll never guess who's been brewing it for me: Severus Snape."

"Snivellus?" Sirius wrinkled his nose, "You sure he's not purposefully botching it up and making the potion toxic?"

"No, Sirius. Snape is even more skilled with brewing potions than he was when we were in school. He hasn't 'botched it up' yet." Remus smiled, missing his friend's immaturity.

"If you say so," Sirius yawned, getting up and stretching his arms over his head, "So do you want me to stun you if you get out of control again, like back in the good old days?"

Remus frowned, his sharp eyes catching the smudge of black on his friend's arm that peeked out of his sleeve as he stretched. He kept his voice light as he asked jokingly, "Did you get a tattoo while you were in prison? Does it say 'Mum'?"

Sirius stilled for a second, slowly lowering his hands back down and forcing a smile, "As if I'd want to get Walburgha's memory anywhere near me."

"What is it then? Can I see it?" Remus asked politely, his hand curling in his pocket.

Sirius shook his head, "It's still a bit sore, mate. I'll show it to you another time."

Remus furrowed his brows, "Oh come now, it can't hurt that badly. Let me see it."

Sirius leveled his gaze at his friend, "And I said I'll show it to you another time."

Remus felt his features harden, "I want to see it now, Sirius."

Sirius gritted his teeth together, "No."

In a split second, Remus lunged towards his friend and pushed his sleeve up in one fluid motion, catching the black haired man by surprise.

And there it was. The Dark Mark stood out starkly against the pale skin of his best friend's left forearm. The black poison seeped into his veins; scarring the skin tissue and making his entire arm look ugly and grotesque. Remus dropped the hideous limb with disgust.

"You lied," He said quietly, point an accusing finger at his friend–well, former friend.

Sirius turned pale and he began to stammer, "No, it's not what you think–"

"You lied to me," Lupin cut him off, feeling his temper flare as he stared harder at the dark mark burned into his friend's arm.

"Moony, I swear, please just listen to me–"

"I believed you," Lupin whispered to himself, "Everyone told me not to trust you, they told me you were a criminal. I thought you could never do something like this. You're exactly as evil as they made you out to be, Sirius Black."

"Just listen to me, Remus," Sirius began, holding his hands up in a defensive manner. He backed away slowly as he noticed the angry trance his best friend seemed to be in. "Hear me out, I swear I didn't betray you!"

"Liar!" Remus roared. He was seething now, his shoulders moving up and down in an angry manner, "You're a Death Eater!" He kicked the coffee table violently and it collapsed into a pile of shambles, "That's all you are to me now."

Sirius felt his eyes widen as Remus grunted once, hunching his shoulders and then he let out a deep snarling noise. Lupin's head seemed to lengthen and his jacket ripped away to reveal a smattering of dark fur sprouting over his skin. To his utmost horror, Remus seemed to be transforming right in front of him.

An odd thought wormed its way into his mind as he continued backing away until he stepped into the secret passageway: Remus was on wolfsbane. That meant he was perfectly capable of thinking like a human and he was aware of his actions. Remus wanted to turn at that moment. It meant his old friend wanted to kill him.

Sirius began to run, then. For his life, for his sanity, or maybe even both. He looked over his shoulder and ever so often, trying to determine how much time he had to escape. He stumbled slightly in his steps as he heard a loud growl echo throughout the passageway. He supposed now would be a good time to ask for help from the one person he trusted in this wretched situation he had gotten himself into.

"Honestly Granger, it's not even that scary. Just give it a try," Blaise pleaded, "I'll help you if you want!"

"Absolutely not," Hermione shook her head, as if to emphasize her point, "And frankly speaking, I don't think any of you should be doing this either. It could kill you!"

"Don't be such a wet blanket, Granger," Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes, "Everyone does it at least once in their life."

"Even trying it once is capable of killing you, Malfoy!"

Hadrian wearily glanced at the arguing trio, letting out a quiet yawn. It was almost an hour after curfew, and instead of taking this time to relax like he had planned, he was stuck watching his friends bicker like toddlers outside. He wished he'd thought to at least bring a book, or even a pillow.

It wouldn't have been that horrible, had any of his other friends decided to keep him company. But his dear sister had already foreseen this argument, and didn't even bother showing up. She'd clearly also informed Neville of the mind-numbing headache those three would cause him, because he wasn't present either.

Daphne had at least made an effort. She'd smiled as she walked with him, hand in hand, seeming pretty excited for their curfew rebellion. But then she had taken one look at the petty argument Draco, Hermione, and Blaise had started and she turned around on the spot, citing the need to go finish up a paper for her Muggle Studies class. Daphne didn't even take Muggle Studies.

So now he was stuck outside–alone–with only the three biggest morons he had encountered in all his existence to keep him company. They were still snapping at each other, their eyes wide with anger and shoulders coiled with unease.

Hadrian rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Can you lot just shut up?" He finally snapped. The three of them turned his way immediately, frowns permanently plastered on their faces.

They all had mirroring expressions of shock and indignation, which he would've found hilarious in normal circumstances, but at the moment Hadrian was just relieved he had gotten them to stop talking.

Unfortunately for his sanity, the silence only lasted for about half a minute.

"Hadrian they're trying to make me play quidditch with them! And they know I'm afraid of heights!" Hermione cried out, pointing an accusing finger at the two boys on either side of her, "Oh, blast it all! I knew you were lying when you said we were breaking curfew to study for Astronomy, Blaise! You don't study for anything! I'm still not convinced you even attend half your classes!"

"Oh, come on," Blaise rolled his eyes, "Don't be a baby, love. Quidditch is the only decent sport in the Wizarding World. You have to learn how to play eventually." He turned and looked to Draco for support, "Don't you agree?"

Draco, who was levitating on his newly polished broom, smirked, "She's never going to fit into our world if she keeps rejecting quidditch. Everyone loves quidditch. Hating quidditch would be like hating the air you breathe."

"For your information, Malfoy, " Hermione began, wrinkling her nose in distaste, "Plenty of people dislike quidditch. Why, there's Amy in Hufflepuff, that uptight Weasley, one of my friends in Ravenclaw–"

Before she could finish what was sure to be a long list of names, she gasped as she was hauled off her feet and into the air. Hermione froze in shock as Draco Malfoy pulled her onto his broom and shot up in the air, spiraling through the sky. She shrieked, digging her nails into his shoulder and holding on for her dear life.

She felt like her heart was about to fall through her chest in fear. Hermione closed her eyes tightly, wishing it would be over soon. Her ears popped in the high altitude, and she held onto Malfoy tighter. She gritted her teeth as she realized the wanker was actually enjoying her fear, and he was laughing at her.

When Malfoy finally landed back onto the ground, Hermione stumbled away from him immediately. She felt like she was about to dry heave and she tried her best to steady her terrified breathing.

"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it Granger?" Malfoy drawled, wearing an incredibly cocky expression.

Hermione craned her neck to look at him for a slight second. Then, before anyone could stop her, she planted her fist firmly into Malfoy's face. She felt satisfied as she heard a sickening crunch, and she stepped away from him to admire her handiwork.

"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it, Malfoy?" She mocked him, looking immensely proud at her actions.

Draco Malfoy clutched at his bleeding nose, groaning and muttering expletives rather loudly.

Hadrian watched in muted shock, his lips curving up into an involuntary smirk. If he was honest, Draco definitely had it coming. His best friend had pushed the muggleborn's buttons too many times, and frankly he was surprised she hadn't snapped earlier.

"Holy shit," Blaise breathed, "She fucking punched you in the fucking face! I can't believe this actually happened!" He laughed, tossing his head back with wild abandon. He grabbed both sides of Hermione's face and stared at her with wide eyes full of admiration, "I can't believe you did that!" He kissed her soundly on the lips, "I love you so much! I'm never letting you go!"

Hermione scowled, pushing the flirtatious black-haired boy away from her. She wiped her lips, "Blaise, ew. That was not necessary!"

Draco hatefully glared at the two of them, "I am going to kill you both!"

Before Hadrian could step in between them and neutralize the situation, a flicker of silvery light appeared in front of him. He blinked in confusion as it quickly materialized into the shape of a rather large dog, and he realized it was a patronus.

Hadrian almost fell backwards in shock when the dog began to speak, and Sirius Black's voice came out.

"Hadrian! I'm in a bit of a dilemma here, kiddo. I never left Hogsmeade because the Aurors were after me, so I had to hide out for a while. R–Remus Lupin–I think he's your defense professor this year–he tried to help me. But then Remus got mad about…something… and now he's in the middle of his transformation–he's a werewolf, by the way–and he's coming after me. I ran towards the forbidden forest, but I need your help to get the hell out of here. If you can hurry, that would be fantastic."

Hadrian blinked, staring at the spot the large dog–obviously a patronus– had been before it disappeared. He took a deep breath, trying to process the information that had just been hurled at him.

1. Sirius had never left Hogsmeade

2. The Aurors are after Sirius

3. Remus Lupin is trying to kill Sirius

4. Everyone is after Sirius because Sirius is trying to get himself killed, that bloody bastard!

Hadrian let out a loud groan, rubbing his temples in frustration. He turned to Hermione who had a very inquisitive look on her face–

"Why are you associating with the fugitive, Sirius Black?" She demanded to know, her eyes filled with suspicion and a hint of fear. She glanced at Blaise and Draco, who were oddly silent and avoiding her accusing look by staring at the ground, "Why are you two not reacting? Did you know Hadrian was consorting with the enemy?"

"Look, I'll explain everything later, Hermione. But Sirius Black is not the enemy," Hadrian sighed. He smiled weakly, "He's my godfather."

"B-But he escaped from Azkaban!" Hermione hissed, "How can he be–"

"Later," Hadrian stressed, giving her a meaningful look. "I need you to trust me, Hermione, can you do that? You know I'd never do anything to hurt you in any way."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I know that, Riddle. But I'm more worried about you. You can't possibly be thinking about going into that wretched forest and trying to help him! Why can't we just call the Aurors? What if the criminal–I mean–what if he attacks you?"

"He's not going to attack me," Hadrian snorted, "I'll be fine. I just need you to get back to your dorm. You can't be associated with this, all right? You need to go back."

"What, just because I'm a girl, that means I can't help? I'm coming too! You lot are inevitably going to do something stupid, and I can't just leave you to die," Hermione sniffed haughtily, crossing her arms across her chest as if to cement her position on the matter.

"We're going in the forbidden forest, Granger. It's not exactly forbidden because of its rainbow gumdrops and fairy floss trees. There's all sorts of hideous creatures in there," Draco snapped, looking down at her over his bloodstained nose.

"There can't be any creature more hideous than you!" Hermione replied cheerily, beginning to walk ahead of the trio of boys. She turned back to them with a challenging smile when she noticed they weren't following her, "Well, aren't you coming?"

"Quit shoving each other," Hermione muttered, struggling to walk her polished black flats. She was really starting to regret her decision to tag along. The dark forest was covered in gnarled roots above the ground and grimy patches of moss, making it extremely hard to remain flat-footed. The two boys on either side kept pushing each other in an attempt to make the other fall, which certainly didn't do any favors for her already unstable balance.

"Come on, Hermione, you're the one who wanted to come with us!" Blaise complained, narrowly avoiding what looked like a puddle of simmering, scathing liquid on the ground, "Just because we're on a suicide mission doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."

"Ssh," Hadrian hissed from ahead of them, muttering a simple locating spell, "We aren't trying to alert the entirety of Hogwarts that Sirius Black is trapped in the confines of the Forbidden Forest. Can you all stop being so skittish for just a minute?"

"Exactly," Blaise whispered as he shoved at Draco, trying to make him topple into the dirt, "We're only trying to save a homicidal maniac from another homicidal maniac. Only the latter homicidal maniac is also a werewolf. There's absolutely no reason to panic."

"I sense sarcasm," Draco muttered, reaching around Hermione to push his friend back.

"I said stop it! I could fall!" Hermione scolded, wrapping her cloak even more tightly around her.

"Sorry, Mother," Blaise drawled out, sounding anything but.

"I'd consider it fair revenge if you fell into a pile of centaur dung right now," Draco snarked, "After all, you did try to break my nose."

Before Hermione could respond, Hadrian let out a sound of triumph. He stood up from where he was crouched on the forest floor and tucked his wand back into his robes. "I think I found Sirius," He announced, already moving towards the direction his wand had pointed at.

"We have to be careful," Hermione warned to his retreating figure, "Black may not hurt you, but he is being chased by a werewolf. We need to tread with caution and–"

She let out a shriek as she was pushed to down towards the forest floor. She tried to steady herself by grabbing Blaise's arm, but she tripped over some roots and ended up pulling him down too. Hermione groaned, pushing herself off the slightly moist forest floor with her hands.

"Malfoy I'm going to strangle you with my bare hands!" Hermione growled, somehow getting herself back up into a standing position.

Malfoy darted his eyes to her mud covered hands with unease, "Don't come near me, Granger. Blaise, just tell her I meant to push you instead! Get away from me Granger!"

Blaise frowned, trying to get up from where Hermione had toppled into him. He muffled a loud cry with his hand as he felt a piercing pain shoot up his ankle. He stared at his two friends as they continued to bicker, and he cleared his throat, "I think I broke my ankle."

They both turned and looked at him simultaneously with looks of matching incredulity.

"Blaise this isn't funny," Hermione rolled her eyes. He could barely see her, even in the light the full moon provided.

"Oi mate, now is not the time to be dramatic," Draco added with a huff.

"I'm not kidding! It hurts! I can't move!"

Hermione's features softened slightly and morphed into an expression of mild concern, "Blaise, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"No, Hermione," He gritted his teeth, "I am not okay, I think I might've broken my ankle, in case you didn't hear me the first time!"

Draco groaned, "Well, just fix it Granger. You always like to prove you're the smartest witch in our year, don't you? Here's your chance."

Hermione crouched down beside Blaise, "I know the spell, but I've never actually casted it! What if I hurt him even more?" She glanced up at the blond hovering above them, "We should get Hadrian to do it."

Draco glanced over at where Hadrian was standing and he frowned. Squinting his eyes, he walked towards the spot Hadrian had been. "He's gone!" Draco exclaimed.

Hermione exchanged a look with Blaise; "You don't think he would've gone to save Black by himself, do you?"

Blaise winced, "I think that's exactly what he did."

Hermione then muttered a string of expletives that even surprised Blaise. She pushed a fluff of hair out of her eyes viciously and stood up, pointing a finger at the general direction she thought Malfoy was standing at, "Malfoy, you stay with Blaise, and I'll go after Hadrian."

Draco snorted at her words, "Absolutely not, Granger. You can't go off wandering alone in this forest, you'd get eaten by a Acromantula or something," He began to walk off in the direction Hadrian had gone and called out, "I'll go after Hadrian, and you stay with Blaise. Try to get out of the forest if you can."

Hermione didn't bother arguing, knowing the insufferable git was already long gone. She turned back to Blaise and shrugged, "See, Blaise. I told you that you'd eventually do something stupid and need my help."

"Yes, yes," Blaise waved his hand dismissively, "You're my knight in shining armor and all that rot. Can you just help me up, now?"

Sirius Black was running. He was running faster than he think he had run in his entire life. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his legs were about to collapse at any moment. The only thing that kept him running was the thudding sound of his werewolf friend chasing after him. Lupin wouldn't lose energy in his werewolf form, which meant if he stopped for any reason, his former friend would tear him apart, literally.

If he stopped for a minute, then he'd have time to think about the current situation he was in. If he stopped, he'd have enough time to fully realize his former best friend was trying to murder him. Since Remus was on wolfsbane, it was completely intentional.

His friend wanted him to die.

So Sirius kept running. He didn't want the time to ponder this realization. He didn't want the time to wallow in more thoughts filled with misery. He didn't want to stop running, because then he'd have to face reality.

Unfortunately, as fate would have it, eventually his sprint grew slower and his breathing became heavy. He could barely think, let alone run any longer. He heard the sounds of the werewolf approaching and he leaned against a nearby tree trunk, breathing so hard he could hear the blood as it rushed past his ears.

He swallowed in fear as the werewolf form of his former friend approached him, quietly appraising him from a distance. He was sure he was bruised and bloodied at this point, after stumbling across half the forest and getting slapped by branches and tripping over rocks and tree roots. He was drenched in a thick layer of sweat, but yet he had no stamina to help him run any further.

Sirius Black closed his eyes as the werewolf approached him. It prowled across the short distance between them in a few quick strides and Sirius braced himself for the impact as the werewolf pounced.

When he wasn't automatically torn to shreds, Sirius let out a sigh of relief. His relief soon turned to confusion and he cracked open one eye, terrified to see what was happening. To his shock, the werewolf had been frozen in place by a spell, of sorts. Sirius quickly took the opportunity to duck out from where he was leaning against the tree and nearly stumbled at the sight.

Hadrian Riddle was casting a bright blue spell on his former friend, forcing the werewolf to be immobilized. The boy had an angry look on his face as he glanced over at Sirius.

"How the hell did this happen, Sirius?" Hadrian Riddle yelled out, his voice laden with fury, "How in Merlin's name did you get a damn werewolf to chase after you!"

"It's not like I ask for these things to happen to me," Sirius wheezed, doubling over and panting. He could barely even catch his breath.

"Crucio." Hadrian Riddle hissed, all of a sudden.

Sirius watched in slow horror as Hadrian turned his wand on the werewolf. The creature cried out in unmistakable pain, but Hadrian seemed immune to it. His eyes grew colder as he stepped closer, doubling the intensity of his curse with each step. Hadrian began to cast some other spell that Sirius wasn't familiar with, but he watched as the unfamiliar spell caused the werewolf to growl in agony, causing it to twitch and snarl in jerking movements.

"Stop it, you're hurting him!" Sirius finally said, after he had caught his breath. "Don't torture him."

Hadrian barely glanced up from his task, "He needs to die, Sirius. We can't compromise your position. And he knows who I am now. Remus Lupin has to die."

Sirius felt his blood run cold, "You can't kill him!"

Hadrian smirked, "That's the thing, Sirius. I need to kill him. Lupin has seen too much. He knows too much. He needs to be disposed of."

He turned his gaze back to the creature and frowned, kicking it in the side viciously, "Besides, why do you even care about this hideous thing? He tried to kill you just seconds ago, Sirius."

"He's my friend. He might not believe in me, but I still believe in him. You can't hurt him Hadrian," Sirius was pleading now, locking eyes with the golden–eyed werewolf. It was nearly covered in blood from the strange array of spells Hadrian had cursed it with. If Remus wasn't dead, he was definitely close.

"Is that why you think I should I let him live, Sirius? Because he's your friend," Hadrian mocked, "You think I should do you a favor when you've betrayed me at every turn? Everyone has turned his or her back on you but me, Sirius. Open your eyes!"

Sirius swallowed hard, unwilling to admit the truth.

"They hate you for something you never did! They didn't even care to learn the truth. They sat there in their mansions and drank champagne while you rotted away in Azkaban. I was the one who saved you. I was the one who helped you. And how do you repay me, Sirius?" Hadrian smiled in a cruel rendition of kindness.

He hurled another curse at the werewolf, watching witch satisfaction as the creature cashed to the forest floor in a loud thud. It writhed against the forest floor in pain, and Sirius averted his eyes.

"You took the first chance you had to go back to Potter," Hadrian spat, "That man abandoned me when I was a child, and you ran back to him like he was some kind of Savior. I told you my secret and you blabbed to my mother, his wife, the second you met her. And when Potter turned you down," Hadrian shook his head, "You were still unwilling to accept that we were the only side that would take you. I had to suffer a punishment from my father because of you, Sirius. He tortured me and humiliated me like I was some sort of toddler who didn't finish his homework. Why?" Hadrian paused.

"Because of me," Sirius whispered.

"Because of you," Hadrian agreed, "And still, I trusted you. You were the only person I welcomed from my former life. And you turned around and ran to Remus Lupin," Hadrian sneered. "He doesn't care for you, Sirius. He doesn't believe you. You have nobody left except me."

"I'm sorry, Hadrian," Sirius said automatically. His tone was solemn as he shook his head, "But I still can't let you kill Remus, even though he may hate me."

"No, I'm sorry, Sirius, " Hadrian said slowly, "But I can't listen to you anymore. I simply don't trust you enough." He turned back to the werewolf and raised his wand, "Avada–"

"I'll join," Sirius blurted out suddenly. Once he began, he realized he couldn't stop, "I'll commit to the Dark Lord, and I'll be one hundred percent dedicated to his cause. If you leave Remus alone now..." Sirius trailed off, his voice becoming shaky, "I'll step into your side of the war and I will never look back. If you let him go, I swear to you all my loyalty. I will not deliberately seek out any Order members, and I'll follow orders given to me by the Dark Lord. You don't have to worry about Remus remembering any of this, either. Once he's in wolf form, he doesn't remember anything. Just, please," Sirius pleaded, "Let him go."

Hadrian faltered in his movements, taking a step back slightly. He snapped his neck back up to glance at his godfather, "Do you mean that?"

Sirius nodded, "I will never look back, I swear to you. Just let him go."

Hadrian dropped his wand arm and turned back to Sirius with a wry smile, "You want me to let him go, fine. I'll let him go. But if I come to learn you stepped even a single toe out of line, Sirius Black, mark my words," Hadrian's eyes turned threatening and he pointed his wand at his godfather in a flash movement, "I will be the one to kill you myself."

Sirius Black nodded a bit too quickly, chancing a glance at the barely breathing werewolf near them. "What about Remus will he be–"

"Hadrian!"

They both turned to face the voice that ran through the clearing of trees beside them. Hadrian's eyes widened as Draco stepped through the branches, brandishing his wand with a bright light at the end of it.

"Hadrian, we have to get out of here. There are Aurors–oh, hello Cousin Sirius–and they're looking for him," Draco jerked his head toward Sirius, "It sounds like there's only a few of them, but we have to be careful and we have to leave now."

Hadrian nodded once and grabbed Sirius's arm, forcing him to move ahead of them, "We have to get out of here, Sirius. Lupin is fine. He might be out of a job, but he's physically alive. You, on the other hand, might not get the same leniency from the Aurors. We need to find a way for you to get out of here."

"Remus said his office was connected to the floo," Sirius said slowly, "We can go through there."

When the two boys readily agreed, Sirius took one last look at his former friend. He was a reminder of the old life he had, and now as Remus laid there broken and bleeding, Sirius realized it was time to move on. This is what he had promised Hadrian. And so hurried through the forest, dodging and hiding from any Aurors that came close to them. He kept his promise and he never looked back.

"That was close," Hadrian Riddle commented as they snuck out of their DADA professor's office. They crept through the silent corridors and dark stairwells, keeping quiet in case Filch caught them. They had made it safely back into the castle, despite all odds. Even Hermione and Blaise had somehow made it back, with Blaise spending the night in the hospital wing to get his ankle repositioned.

It was hard to believe just minutes ago they were running from a werewolf and a team of Aurors, and so it seemed rather ridiculous to be scared of the Caretaker. The rest of the school had no idea what had just occurred in the forest right outside their windows. They had no idea of the danger they had slept through in their beds.

As Draco walked back with his best friend, he couldn't help but think back to the conversation he had overheard earlier in the forest. He wasn't sure he had heard it correctly at first, because it just didn't make any sense. His mind physically couldn't comprehend the fact.

He didn't say anything when he stepped out of the trees in the forest. He didn't say anything when he watched the ends of Sirius Black's cloak disappear in the floo minutes earlier. He didn't even say anything when they made it back into the Slytherin common room.

It was when he was about to enter into his own private room did Draco stop for a second and consider what he had overheard. It had been troubling him ever since he had accidentally heard it. He took his hand off his door handle and turned to Hadrian, a puzzled expression plastered onto his face.

"Hadrian," Draco began, with a frown, "You know I don't question you often, but were you actually going to kill our defense professor?"

Hadrian opened his own door, rolling his eyes in the process, "Merlin, no. But it was just the right amount of leverage I needed to convince Sirius to cement his position on our side."

"Of course, of course," Draco agreed. He raised an eyebrow, "One other small question: Why did you say James Potter abandoned you as a child? And why did you call Lily Potter your mother?"

St. Mungo's Hospital [June 10th]

James Potter watched his friend snore lightly, wrapped in a dark blue blanket with one of his legs sticking out of the hospital bed. . It had been almost three weeks since his friend had been put in a magical coma to help heal his life-threating injuries, and today was the day the Healers had informed him that his friend had woken up. His face was covered in angry bruises and multiple deep wounds. James could only assume the rest of his body was in the same rough state.

He stood at his friend's bedside and observed his silent, sleeping form for a minute. Then, he kicked the bed frame, forcing his friend, Remus Lupin, to awake with a start. Remus jerked back in his bed, only relaxing when he saw James Potter staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why did you seek out Sirius?" James demanded gruffly, all formalities aside.

Remus rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them completely. He avoided James's piercing gaze. "Good morning to you too, James. How are you, Remus? Do you feel better from that night when you almost died?" He muttered to himself, reaching over to grab the cup of water at his side.

In a movement so quick Remus didn't even see it, James reached out and grabbed his arm in a vice grip. His eyes were full of warning as he repeated, "Don't dodge the question, Moony. Why did you seek out Sirius?"

Remus sighed, pulling his arm away slowly and rubbing his wrist with a wince, "I wanted to know for myself whether he had betrayed us."

James crossed his arms, "And what did you determine?"

"You were right, James," Remus whispered quietly, staring blankly at the poster about dragon pox magically plastered to the wall in front of him, "He has the dark mark and everything. He betrayed us in cold blood."

James nodded in triumph, finally settling down in a chair beside Remus's hospital bed, "I told you so. You didn't believe me."

Remus shook his head sadly, "I didn't want to believe it. But he gave me no choice, James. He's a Death Eater."

James leaned back in his seat, "Do you remember anything from that night, anything that would help us track him down for once and for all?"

Remus scrunched his brows, trying to remember the chaotic events from that night. He recalled trying to kill Sirius in his werewolf form, but he was unable to succeed. He frowned, reaching for the glass of water at his bedside. Why hadn't he been able to kill Sirius? He closed his eyes, trying to think back to what had happened last night.

Someone had blasted him away from Sirius.

Someone had thrown curses at him until he couldn't breathe, until Sirius got away.

He remembered looking into those crazed eyes–green as the killing curse, cold as ice.

He was paralyzed, and not just by the spell that immobilized him. He'd seen that face before.

He dropped his water glass in shock, barely noticing as it shattered to a thousand pieces on the floor.

"Harry. Harry Potter."

James sat up straight in his seat, staring at Remus with a confused look, "What did you just say?"

Remus was pale as a ghost, and he shivered slightly as he whispered, "He saved Sirius. I saw him. I saw him, James. I saw your Harry."

A/N #2: AND that was year 3! It wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, but hey, third year is literally my least favorite book in the entire series. On the bright side, fourth year is my favorite and I've been writing scenes for fourth year since I started this fanfiction series! I can't wait to update next month! See you then!