"What on Earth are you reading?"

Remus, who had been hoping to go unnoticed for a while longer, looked up into the cold eyes of the eldest Black sister. He gambled that she would not scold him for it in front of the Order. Just by her sneering tone, it was obvious that she was already in a terrible mood.

"Semi-Legal Bludgeoning Hexes for Novices," he admitted.

"Give it here," Andromeda ordered, and he reluctantly handed it over. Her perfect nails closed round the dusty cover. She flicked to a random page and scanned it. "The Ministry would have your head if they saw you reading this."

"I'm not going to use any of them."

"I didn't suggest you were," she said, bitingly.

By this time, the nearer Order members had lapsed in their own conversations and were bearing witness to the exchange.

"Did Mr Potter say you can read this?" she asked, with one raised eyebrow.

"Harry said I can read whatever I like."

"Hmm." Disapproval spiked in her scent. "Well, I shall be returning this to him."

The book slid into her handbag, rustling against the skirts of her robes.

Kingsley opened his mouth to protest but Remus caught his eye and warned him off with a shake of the head. Andromeda strode off to the other end of the table. She didn't notice as the Auror leaned closer.

"You don't have to put up with her, you know. You should have let me say something."

"It's not worth making a scene over," Remus said.

"She can't just treat you like a disobedient child."

"Kingsley. Please, just leave it."

The Auror looked like he wanted to argue the point further but Remus stared him down.

"If I have everyone's attention," Dumbledore said pointedly. "I would like to call this meeting to order."

Silence fell throughout the kitchen of the Burrow and the headmaster smiled.

"Our first point on the agenda is to vote on whether to include Harry Potter as a member. He has recently reached adulthood, as we are all aware, and has expressed a wish to join the fight."

Molly Weasley was on her feet like a shot. "Absolutely not! He's not even sixteen!"

Tonks shook her head. "Voldemort is after him. At least if he's in the Order he'll know what's going on. Being better informed will give him a higher chance of surviving this war."

"Well said," Mad-Eye agreed. "Know your enemy. The lad needs all the help he can get."

"What do you think, Arthur?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Harry's a good lad, and it seems that he's matured a lot since Christmas. He's part of this war already and he's proved himself to be as able as any of us. He saved my life at Christmas, Molly. Without him, I wouldn't even be here."

"If Harry had been kept well-informed in the past, the whole débâcle in the Department of Mysteries would never have happened," Remus chipped in.

"I hardly think your voice should count," Andromeda said disdainfully. "You're obviously just going to vote the way Harry wants you to."

"Remus is quite capable of having his own opinions!" Emmeline snapped.

"Of course he is. But he isn't capable of acting on them, or even voicing them."

He felt his face flush red, as half of the Order turned to him, looking for confirmation. He couldn't meet their eyes.

"Lupin has always had a vote at meetings," Snape said evenly.

"And he has always voted the same way as Sirius," Andromeda countered. "I understood the need for the deception before but it hardly seems fair now that Harry should have an extra vote. Especially if we want to exclude him from the group. Remus here is his own personal spy."

"So we include Harry, or Remus has to go?" Hestia paraphrased. "That's dragon dung!"

"I don't know," Moody said. "I think Andromeda may have a point."

Tonks looked betrayed as her mentor sided with her mother. "How can you say that?"

"Remus deserves a vote as much as any of the rest of us," Emmeline said.

Andromeda rolled her eyes, as if she thought them all idiots. "It's not about giving the wolf a vote! He doesn't have a vote anyway- he physically can't go against Harry's wishes. It's about whether Harry's opinion should have double-weight in our decision making."

"Don't call Remus that!" Tonks erupted, at the same time as Emmeline and Hestia raised their own loud objections.

"I would never have thought you so prejudiced, Andromeda Tonks," McGonagall scolded, in a tone that had most often preceded the assignment of multiple detentions during the Marauders' school days.

Ever practical, Kingsley Shacklebolt began to list every incident he could think of in which Lupin had proved an invaluable asset to the group and finished his rendition with the assertion that if Lupin was ejected from the group then he would resign. Moody's rant about security leaks soared above every other voice and Remus' defenders clamoured to make themselves heard. Within two minutes, chaos reigned and increasingly scathing insults were slung.

"Andromeda's facts are, nevertheless, correct," Dumbledore bellowed, taking the fire from the argument and plunging them into silence.

"Are you all quite finished now?" Remus said, quietly.

Most of them had the grace to look ashamed. He made sure to catch Severus' eye and let him know that he appreciated the effort. It didn't seem to lessen the cloud of misery hanging over the wizard. Andromeda's glare could have been bottled and sold as liquid Avada Kedavra.

The headmaster smiled indulgently over all of them. "Now that you have stopped acting like children, are we agreed that Remus should lose voting rights?"

Everyone, excluding Andromeda and Dumbledore, looked queasy as they raised their hands in agreement. Severus sat with his arms crossed, grumpy, and Tonks also refused to vote in favour. Emmeline and Hestia shot guilty looks in Remus' direction.

"It isn't really fair if you have to vote the same way as Harry," Emmeline apologised softly.

When Dumbledore asked for dissenting votes, Remus raised his hand and he distinctly heard the potion master's muffled snort of laughter.

"Nice try, Remus," the headmaster smiled. "But I think you'll find that you have been outvoted."

"Darn," he said, with a theatrical sigh. "What an unexpected turn of events."

"Quite," Dumbledore said demurely, and turned the discussion back to their original topic.

Arguments for and against Harry's inclusion in the group were bandied about. The energy seemed to have gone from the meeting after Dumbledore's put-down and the atmosphere was quite subdued.

"Now, who agrees that Harry should join us as an official member?"

Remus noted who raised their hands so he would be ready to inform Harry if asked. Mrs Weasley, Hestia Jones, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape cast the only no votes.

"Good. Harry will be joining us at the next meeting then."

A sharp spike of excitement caught Remus by surprise. He looked to his left and saw Dedalus Diggle teetering on the edge of his seat, grinning. He was hard pressed not to groan. He had forgotten that the man was a raging fan. He would need to warn Harry.

"Now to our main purpose for this evening."

Dumbledore fell into silent contemplation. To his left, Minerva McGonagall rolled her eyes at his dramatic pause.

"Well, old man?" Moody barked. "What is it?"

Dumbledore feigned annoyance at Moody's impoliteness but Remus could smell that he was pleased. The wizard had always liked to play to an audience and it seemed that would never change.

"The events of last month showed me that we have been complacent about our own skills. We were lucky that there was only one fatality, and there is much we have to learn if we are to face Voldemort's supporters in open battle. It also seems that they may try to pick us off, one by one, as happened in the last war. The failed attack on Emmeline illustrates that this plan may already be in action. We need to improve. We need to learn from past mistakes and adapt."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"In the coming weeks, I will be rebuilding our network of safe houses across Britain and Ireland. The time may come when we all need to go to ground. I shall offer these houses to any Order member who is in need of one and, in the meantime, I suggest you enhance your security arrangements. It would not do to lose one of our number to the enemy.

"Tonight, we shall be reviewing the events at the Department of Mysteries in my pensieve," Dumbledore stated. "I have already received permission from Mr Potter to show his own memory of that night, and I think it would be beneficial if we can analyse our actions from as many points of view as possible. Do you all agree to show your memories?"

The aurors quickly gave their consent, used to the procedure, which was often used in law enforcement. They each produced vials from their pockets, extracted the relevant memories expertly and passed the containers over the Dumbledore. Remus had never seen Tonks display such professionalism. She didn't once look on the verge of dropping her little glass.

The exercise was a useful one, he noted to himself as the memories played out. Harry's memories were painful viewing, coloured as they were by the desperate urge to save Sirius. The seasoned Order members admitted that they were impressed by the teenager's leadership qualities and quick reflexes, and the less experienced members drank in any advice.

Remus felt physically ill as they witnessed Bellatrix Lestrange mocking Harry's loss and the scene only worsened when the Dark Lord appeared. Never had he felt so kindly towards Albus Dumbledore than he did when the old wizard swept in, wand blazing, and saved the day. The skill and power displayed was awesome to behold. Several of the witches were in tears by the time Harry reached out for the portkey Dumbledore offered him and the scene dissolved into mist around them. The nightmarish sight of Sirius falling through the veil danced before Remus' eyes even as he reorientated himself in Molly's kitchen, and he felt his nails cutting into his palms and drawing blood.

Mad-Eye Moody spent the entire duration of his memory berating himself for perceived errors that no one else would have possibly deemed important. Tonks and Kingsley both glowed with pride every time Moody paid them a compliment and scowled at his numerous corrections. Remus didn't understand why they put so much faith in the supposed wisdom of one paranoid old man. Didn't they realise that they shouldn't trust anyone absolutely? Didn't they realise that, in the end, they could only rely on themselves?

The entire Order witnessed Mrs Tonks' hysteria after seeing her daughter felled by her estranged sister. The witch latched onto Tonks' arm and didn't calm down until Snape pressed a Calming Draught onto her. Tonks seemed quite alarmed at this public display.

Too soon, it was Remus' turn to add his memory to the shallow stone basin. He hesitated to remove the precious recollections, not because the event was dear to him but because he knew he was being forced. Despite the fact that he would be helping the Order, all he could think of was the violation of being asked to do this when Dumbledore knew he could not refuse. Harry had sanctioned the activity when he gave his own memory and what was Remus' was now Harry's. He was acutely aware that even his thoughts weren't private. If Harry agreed with Dumbledore, Remus could not go against those wishes.

"Go on then, wolf," Andromeda prodded.

His hand trembled as he withdrew the memory, and the silver strand glistened with a strange dark thread. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dulled when he saw the hint of darkness but he did not comment. Instead, with an all-encompassing wave of his arms, he invited them all to join him in the pensieve.

They found themselves, for the fifth time that day, in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries. They stood on a wide ledge towards the top of the stepped room and the noise from the floor below was amplified as it funnelled up to their high vantage point. The shape of the room was similar to an amphitheatre and words spoken on the dais were clear to them.

"It's so loud," Hestia said, rubbing her ears.

"He's a werewolf," Snape sneered. "What did you expect?"

"I can hear that Death Eater breathing," she said, pointing to a hooded figure ten feet away. "Remus' hearing can't really be this good?"

"It depends how close I am to a transformation," Remus explained. "For a couple of days before and after the full moon, it's drastically better."

"How much better could it possibly be?" Moody muttered, obviously not realising that the werewolf could hear him.

"A lot better. If this was the day before a full moon, I would be able to hear every time your heart beats at the distance you are from me now."

Moody jumped and Tonks sniggered. She received a glare from her mentor.

"Disrespectful brat," he murmured.

"If we could focus our attentions on the content of the memories," Dumbledore said pointedly.

They turned to their analysis and, despite himself, Remus felt some anxiety. He tried to tell himself that he didn't care what these humans thought of him, but it was a lie. He didn't want to give Moody proof that he was a spineless pushover. He didn't want Emmeline and Hestia to think him weak. He didn't want them to look at him with contempt in their eyes as Sirius had, for being a werewolf and unable to defend himself.

The Remus of the memory ducked Dark spells as he sent out a barrage of stunners. Looking closely, the present day Order members could see that he focused his efforts on the greatest threats to Sirius. He crouched on the steps, dodging hexes with frightening agility, yet did not return any spell fire. Instead, he picked off the Death Eaters on the chamber floor with sniper-level accuracy, felling Rookwood just as the Unspeakable started to incant a crucio aimed at Sirius.

"That's really impressive," Kingsley muttered. Mad-Eye nodded in approval.

"He can't afford to be sloppy with his aim," Andromeda pointed out.

A shoelace-tieing hex sent a Death Eater sprawling down several steps, face-first.

"Creative use of non-lethal spells," Mad-Eye assented.

"Silencio!"

The silencing charm rocketed downwards and caught Lucius Malfoy in the chest. The spell he was incanting puttered out before it had left the end of his wand. An expelliarmus sent the wand flying across the floor and Remus moved on to his next target. The Death Eaters he had felled quickly rejoined the fight, revived by their comrades.

The werewolf was so focused on protecting Sirius' back, that he did not hear the Death Eater sneaking up on him.

"What have we here?" A cold voice drawled from behind the mask. "A little werewolf defending its owner."

Remus froze and turned towards the source of the comment, already lowering his wand. Moody growled.

"In the Ministry of Magic, with a wand in hand," the Death Eater jeered. "What shall we do with you?"

The Cruciatus caught the onlookers by surprise, and several of the witches gasped as Remus fell heavily to the floor. His wand slipped from his fingers. His limbs twitched as he lay on the dark steps, curled in on himself, and after several seconds he began to scream. The drawn out note of agony echoed round the chamber but none of the Order fighters looked up. The deadly engagement below continued without missing a beat.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Death Eater lifted the curse.

"Fight back, dammit," Moody said.

Remus' anger flared. "I couldn't. Unless he attacked Sirius, I had no right to raise a finger against him."

Moody looked down his nose in sheer disgust. "That's the most spineless thing I've ever heard."

Remus bit his lip, struggling to keep his mouth shut instead of starting to yell. Moody didn't know how impossible it was for him to consciously disobey that rule. He didn't know the misery of being subject to a slavery bond. He didn't understand that sometimes resistance just wasn't possible. Resistance was a luxury of the fully-human.

He turned his attention back to the memory version of himself, stubbornly refusing to plead with the Death Eater. A trickle of blood on his forehead marked where he had hit his head off the ground.

"Do you think you're better than those other wolves?" his attacker hissed. "Just because you belong to a Light wizard? Too proud to beg. Too spoiled to know your place."

With an imperious, he forced the werewolf into a kneeling position in front of him.

"What a shame you won't live to see us kill your precious master and his friends."

The Death Eater released the hold of the imperious curse but Remus did not move from the submissive position. His fear was clearly evident in his ashen complexion. Another Cruciatus struck him and the sound which tore from his throat sent Emmeline into floods of tears. He thrashed around under the overbearing force of the torture curse, helpless against the renewed assault. He screamed until his voice seized up and then his screams turned silent.

When the torture stopped, the Death Eater stepped closer and rammed his boot into Remus' ribs.

"I'm going to kill you now," he pronounced. "You should thank me, wolf. That's what you all want, isn't it?"

The sound of Remus' harsh, ragged breathing filled their ears, amplified beyond belief by the filter of werewolf hearing.

"Not going to answer? But I forgot- you can't ask for it, can you? Never mind- the pain will be over soon."

The Death Eater raised his wand and pointed it directly at the werewolf.

"Avada Ked-"

As the watching Order members gasped, a stray spell from the dais caught the man in the side of the head and he crumpled, knocked unconscious.

Remus didn't move. His body trembled and twitched with the after-effects of the curse. He remained curled up where he had fallen and a soft keening sound reached their ears. A single tear dropped onto the step. Over his head, spells continued to flash. The pitched battle taking place below waged on. He did not move.

For several long minutes, he did nothing but lie where he had fallen, shuddering. It began to seem that he wasn't going to get up. Exhaustion and agony were written clearly across his features. His limbs racked with Cruciatus after-pains, he let the battle wage on around him until Sirius' voice, laden with desperation, cut through the noise of spell fire.

"Harry, take the prophecy, grab Neville and run!"

This seemed to startle Remus into action. He flexed his fingers, pressed his palms against the floor and levered himself up, struggling for breath.

"Sirius," he gasped.

They could see the effort and sheer willpower required for him to get back on his feet. He looked like his legs might collapse beneath him at first. His wild eyes scanned the room frantically until he found his target.

Bellatrix and Sirius were duelling on the dais. The witch's face was contorted into a mask of rage and her cousin dodged or deflected everything that came his way with an insane grin.

Hobbling down the steps, Remus was intent on the duel. He dodged incoming spell fire automatically, not returning fire but shooting off some stunners at the hooded wizards trying to aim spells at Sirius' back. A cutting hex glanced his left shoulder but he shrugged it off and kept moving. He passed Tonks' crumpled form, slumped over two stone tiers. Stumbling off the final step, he threw himself towards the dais.

Rubble and debris littered the stone floor. He huddled behind a boulder someone had conjured to provide cover, pressing his shoulder against the rough surface, and waited until his line of sight was clear enough to make a move. As Sirius dodged a dismemberment hex, Remus trained his wand on his target and slowly managed to steady his hand. He sent an incarcerous at the Lestrange witch, followed quickly by a stunner and two Levicorpus jinxes, but she ably deflected all of them. The volley of non-lethal spells was enough for Sirius to realise that he was there.

"Remus!" Sirius shouted, not looking away from the fight. "Get Harry out of here!"

Sending one last hex at Bellatrix, Remus did not miss a beat as he turned to obey the order. Harry was pulling the Longbottom boy away from the dais with a firm grip and a steady stream of encouraging words. Lucius Malfoy stalked closer to the pair, murder written in his very posture,

Catching up as quickly as he could, Remus flung himself between Harry and Malfoy, throwing up a shield.

"Harry, round up the others and GO!"

Harry seized Neville by the shoulder of his robes and began to haul him up the steps. Remus kept an eye on their progress as he faced off against Voldemort's right-hand man. Malfoy's face twisted with cruelty as he sent bludgeoning curses slamming into the shield.

"You can't hold against me, wolf. Surrender now and I might kill you before I skin you. A werewolf

pelt would make fine potions ingredients."

A cloud of silver darts shot through the air and Remus' eyes widened. Keeping his shield high, he threw himself to the ground and the darts missed him, though he cried out in pain as a few grazed his shield. Malfoy grinned as the magical backlash from touching silver coursed through the werewolf. He sent another barrage of darts, this time aiming to hit the shield.

Remus' eyes bulged and he stifled a scream as the metal burned across his magic. His strength gave out beneath the onslaught. His shield dropped just as a cry went up behind him.

"DUBBLEDORE!"

Malfoy's head shot up. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Remus blanched and then Malfoy turned to run. Remus watched the man run straight into one of Kingsley's reductos and a smile lit his face. To his side, Bellatrix Lestrange's curse connected with her cousin as he laughed for the last time. The body fell back and disappeared through the tattered curtain.

The memory suddenly lurched and the edges of everything blurred. It was as if a distorted lens had been inserted between them and the scene, and the ground seemed to tilt away.

"What's happening?" Hestia said, panicked. "Is there something wrong with the pensieve?"

"Pensieves either work perfectly, or they work not at all," Dumbledore answered. "Perhaps Remus can provide some illumination on the subject. These are, after all, his memories."

"That was the bond breaking," Remus explained shakily. "My memory of everything after this point is a bit hazy."

"A bit hazy?" Kingsley echoed.

"The curse kicked in."

It was impossible to focus on anything, and they began to feel nauseous as they tried to follow what was going on. Patches of colour swirled past them. A red flash could have been a stunner, a burst of green light an Unforgivable, but none of them could tell in the confusion. Muddled shouts echoed round them on all sides. The only point of clarity was the figure of Remus himself, a source of stillness in the maelstrom. As Bellatrix's triumphant scream died away, the werewolf doubled over in agony. Trembling arms wrapped round his torso as he huddled in on himself, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Harry's yells filled their ears, but his form was indistinguishable from the blurring background until Remus somehow found the strength to lurch forward and grab him around the chest, holding him back from the veil. Harry's anguish was painfully clear, written across his young features, and his eyes glistened.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry-"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"-it's too late, Harry."

"We can still reach him-" Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Remus did not let go.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry...nothing...he's gone," Remus said, voice breaking.

Emmeline clutched Hestia's hand, their eyes filling with tears. Minerva McGonagall pulled out her flowery lace handkerchief and sniffed miserably into it. Through the haze, they could barely hear the words Harry shouted.

"He can't come back, because he's d-"

"HE'S NOT DEAD! SIRIUS!"

From Harry's perspective, they hadn't noticed the strain in Remus' voice. Now, it was clear to all that he was struggling to hold himself together. His eyes were glassy and unfocused and his desperate grip on Harry looked to be taking all of his strength.

He dragged Harry away from the dais. The boy had quieted and watched the veil with an expression of anticipation and hope, which faded to fear and betrayal with every further step as he realised that his godfather was not going to re-emerge from that entrance to the beyond. Remus rested a hand on his shoulder still, in a precautionary grip, but it no longer seemed that Harry was going to go tearing off after Sirius Black.

Neville's voice broke the terrible silence.

"Harry? Harry...I'b really sorry..."

Harry nodded in response to his dorm mate. Remus took two attempts to release Neville's feet from the tap-dancing hex, hands trembling so much that he almost dropped his wand.

"Let's- let's find the others. Where are they all, Neville?"

He turned away from the archway as he spoke. It sounded as though every word was causing him pain. The present day Remus squirmed as he remembered the mind-numbing, all-consuming agony of being unbonded, knowing that he could not possibly recollect that level of sensation- the feel of death tearing through his veins.

Neville was speaking again but he was interrupted by a loud bang and the sound of a body hitting the floor. The deranged laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange made them wince and Andromeda Tonks clutched her daughter's shoulder with an iron grip. Harry raced away in pursuit and a chorus of shouts followed him. Dumbledore felled one last Death Eater with and shouted that he was going to follow.

Mad-Eye Moody had revived Tonks, who could now be heard screaming counter-curses over Kingsley's yells of pain.

"I'll do it, lass," Moody growled. "I've seen this one before."

Kingsley stopped yelling abruptly.

"You alright, Shacklebolt?"

"I'm fine," Kingsley breathed. "Fine. Thank you, Alastor."

"Let's get this scum up to the Auror Office," Moody said.

"Remus!" Kingsley called. "Come and give us a hand!"

The werewolf barely seemed to hear the auror's request. He was almost swaying on his feet and his fingers twitched with the after-effects of the torture curse. His eyes lingered on the blurred form of the stone archway and he raised a hand to his temples, grimacing.

"Let him be," Moody muttered. "Sirius is...Sirius was his best friend."

The older version of the grizzled old Auror winced at the words. "I'm sorry, Lupin. I didn't realise you could hear that."

"No one thinks very much about what they say round werewolves," Remus said flatly. "I've heard a lot worse."

It was hard to get worked up about it while he could clearly see the distress of his past self. He watched, hairs standing on end, as the Remus Lupin of weeks ago collapsed on the bottommost step and put his head in his hands.

The room quieted. His fellow Order members dragged away the bound Death Eaters. Moody's wooden leg tapped across the stone floor and then he was alone. He sat in the heart of the Minisitry of Magic, reeling in shock and pain, with a wand illegally stowed in his pocket.

His ears caught the footsteps of an approaching figure and the blur gradually turned into a stern Albus Dumbledore.

"Is Harry alright?"

"Mr Potter came to no permanent harm. He has been removed to Hogwarts and is none the worse for his ordeal."

Remus shook his head feebly. "But Sirius...Sirius is..."

Dumbledore rested a hand on his shoulder. "Best you head up to the Creatures Department."

"Professor, please-"

His face was pale and the Order members could see him trembling.

"It's the best place for you. Go."

"Headmaster, please," he pleaded. "Don't make-"

"Go, or I'll drag you up there." His tone turned harsh and threatening. "I've not got time for you right now. Go before someone sees you."

The Order members bristled and the pensieve image dissolved around them. They floated through inky blackness, and then the Burrow's kitchen materialised around them.