So apparently it's been a year since I updated. I'm overcome with shame, but it's been a terrible year. I've known how this will pan out for ages, but there's one aspect that I can't decide about... I'll try to make my mind up! Hope this is (in any way) worth the wait.

Mistress Birch cleared her throat then cast a Sonorus charm.

'Dumbledore has already had you vote on whether to convene on this, and you decided that it was indeed a matter for the Wizengamot. I will briefly go over the facts and then we will hear from some interested parties.

'Currently, Remus Lupin is a prisoner of the ministry. He had been living amongst muggles and had had no contact with the magic world until his old school friend turned up at the university where Lupin teaches. They, ah, entered into a relationship. Unfortunately the university authorities became aware of this relationship and, since Lupin was in a position of responsibility as this friend's lecturer, he had to leave his job. He attempted to gain employ amongst the muggle world once more and was successful, but was denied permission to work. Despite this, he accepted a job at a cafeteria. He was consequently detained.

'We have a duty to this man to hear his case. He has been arrested and kept prisoner since his detention under the authority of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures and Half-Breeds with no trial or any consideration of his case by anyone but those who took him into custody.'

She paused for a few moments as signs of the Wizengamot's displeasure echoed around the hall - boos and hisses. Shami was forcibly reminded of the House of Commons and, despite her nerves, bit back a smile.

'We will first hear the case against Remus Lupin. I see that present we have Ophiuchus Alhage with some members of his department, and,' Dumbledore whispered in her ear, 'Madam Shami Chatterjee, muggle barrister for Mr Lupin. Master Alhage, the floor is yours.'

Alhage got slowly to his feet. He was a tall thin man with grey hair and a steely gaze. He gazed around the Wizengamot, his eyes resting on Shami for a long chilling moment, before he cast his Sonorus.

'The case against Remus Lupin, werewolf XZ3289735, is a simple one. He broke the law pertaining to werewolf control and regulation and as such, my department took the appropriate action against him.'

Shami was listening intently but also watching the witches and wizards around the auditorium scribbling away on parchment with quills in every colour and size.

'Quite frankly, and with all due respect to the venerable Wizengamot, I cannot see what benefit we gain from gathering and discussing this case. The werewolf is a registered half-breed, a magical monster, and as such has no rights under the laws of the Ministry of Magic. Despite this, he and others of his kind are permitted to live free within certain limits designed to reduce the danger the lycanthrope poses to wizard society.

'Lupin breached one of these laws, an important one, by undertaking paid employment even though he was explicitly barred from this particular job. His employer was unaware of his condition and as such no precautions could be put into place to prevent him passing on his malady. In order to maintain public safety, my department seized and imprisoned the wolf; not only are we permitted to take this line of action but we should be neglecting a vital duty if we had not.

'Lupin clearly has a problem with authority. This, in one so dangerous as he, could easily have fatal consequences. The steps taken by my department are simply the minimum required to keep wider society, wizarding and muggle, from harm.'

Alhage sat down and gathered his robes about him, giving a brusque nod to Mistress Birch.

'Thank you,' she said. 'I will give you a few more minutes for note-taking and then Madam Chatterjee will speak. Then you will have the opportunity for questions.'

The hall was quiet except for the scratching of the quills and the odd murmur from someone to their neighbour. Shami glanced through her notes once more. She felt the hammering of her pulse and the trembling of her limbs, the dry mouth that she always felt before presenting her case. She took a sip from a glass of water in front of her and tried to breathe deeply and clear her mind.

'Madam Chatterjee,' said Mistress Birch finally. 'We will hear Remus Lupin's side of the story.'

Shami stood and squared her shoulders. She felt a final rush of adrenaline and then the almost preternatural calm which always washed over her before she addressed the muggle courts. She was ready.

Professor Dumbledore touched his wand gently to her throat and, when she spoke, Shami heard her voice magically magnified ring out through the vast space.

'Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, you know that I am Shami Chatterjee and that I am a muggle. You also know that it is by your standards unusual for any third party to speak on behalf of a prisoner or a person accused of a crime. I will first explain how these circumstances came about so that we can afterwards concentrate on the points of Remus's case without distraction.

'I am a friend of Remus Lupin's greatest friend, who is also a muggle woman. She asked me to intervene in this situation as she knows that that, in the muggle world, is my job and my area of expertise. I am a criminal barrister, prosecuting and defending muggles who have been accused of breaking their laws. She informed me that her friend had been imprisoned and, through other magic friends, we discovered that normal practice for people like Remus was not for an open hearing of the case for and against him, but that he would simply remain imprisoned for whatever duration the Minister of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures and Half-Breeds dictates. We also learned that he would receive any punishment, up to and including capital punishment, that the Minister deems appropriate.

'And so today you find me addressing you. I hope that you will be patient with me, as I am of course in ignorance of many details of the world in which you live, but I also hope you will listen what I have to say on behalf of Remus without prejudice arising from my lack of magic.

'Remus Lupin is a werewolf. This is an undeniable fact. He was bitten at a very young age and barely remembers a time when the curse of the moon did not hold sway over his life. He attended Hogwarts school with his peers, the only precaution a safe place for him to transform every month. He made friends, passed his exams, and went into the world a sensible and responsible young man. He joined the fight against He Who Must Not Be Named, along with his great friends James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew and, once that great threat was defeated, took a momentous decision.

'He knew that he could never be accepted in the wizarding world because of his lycanthropy. Most magic people distrust werewolves, no matter their character or behaviour during the 98 per cent of their lives in which they look, act and feel like any other person. Remus knew that and so he decided to work in the muggle world, rather than the magical one.

'Receiving the appropriate permissions, he studied a muggle discipline, English literature, working his way through university, learning his subject and making a life for himself, until he owned a home and had a stable job lecturing to young muggles about English literature from the nineteenth century.

'However, though he barely realised it for years, something was missing. In short, he yearned for someone to love him and care for him, accept him for who and what he was. This is a basic right, even for werewolves; they do not need to seek permission to find a partner, merely to marry or procreate. He did not intend to do either of these things, especially as his partner was another man. In short, when they regained contact, he fell in love with his old friend Sirius Black. His love was reciprocated and the two began a romantic relationship.

'All well and good. However, the relationship came to the attention of the university authorities who had reservations about a love affair blossoming between a member of staff and a student, despite their shared history and equal age. They gave Remus and Sirius a choice; one of them must resign their place at the university. Remus Lupin was not sacked or given his notice. He received no official warning. The university meant for Sirius to leave - after all, he had only been a student for less than a term - and for Remus, their trusted teacher of over ten years, to stay. However, Remus had a measure of pride, and so he resigned, allowing Sirius to continue to study.

'To meet his everyday expenses, Remus needed money. In short, he must find another job. In the lag time before another academic job became available - please note, nothing on his record would preclude him from finding similar employ in another university - he applied and won offers for less exalted jobs.

'He has always submitted with grace to the demands of the Ministry, and so on this occasion. With every job offer he received, he wrote to the Ministry to request permission to work, and every letter received a negative. He may not take up this job, or this, or this. Bear in mind that these jobs required work only during the days and his hours would be long over before moonrise. Remus became desperate.

'I cannot excuse he next course of action, I can only explain it. The need to earn became more and more pressing, but the Ministry denied him any opportunity to earn an honest wage. And so, Remus disobeyed. He took up a job in a café in Sheffield.

'So what happened next? His home was invaded by Ministry strongmen. They burst in and seized him without word of explanation, and imprisoned him within the bowels of this very building. He has been permitted to spend five minutes with his partner Black, and five minutes with one other friend, the respected Potions master of Hogwarts, Severus Snape. That is all. I, as his legal counsel, have not been allowed to consult with him. I cannot make report on his mental and physical state, nor can I explain to you these events in his own words. I am simply telling you the facts of this case I have learned from his friends, including Professor Albus Dumbledore.

'I am here today because I believe that Remus Lupin has been a victim of laws which will not permit him to live honestly and within the bounds of the laws. I believe that the very laws must be at fault for such an honest, upright and generally law-abiding man. He is, through no fault of his own, a werewolf. He has been for thirty years. Yet he has never harmed anyone, never infected anyone with his affliction. This must surely tell you how responsible and careful a man he is.

'I stand before you today asking one question. If such a good man as Remus Lupin can fall foul of the law, if he can be summarily taken by force from his home and thrown in prison, if he can await a fate which is decided by only one man, is there not something very wrong with the system as it stands? If such a man can, without endangering any person magic or muggle, be forced into a course of action and then for his very life rely on one man's whimsy, is that not wrong?

'Yes, Remus Lupin has broken one of the laws of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures and Half-Breeds, but I believe he had very compelling cause and that the punishment to which he is now subjected, and will continue to be subjected, is out of all proportion to the nature of his very slight offence.

'Thank you for your attention.'

She sat down and exhaled a long, shuddering breath. Dumbledore patted her on the shoulder. He was not smiling but behind his glasses his eyes looked like they were twinkling.

'Very good, Ms Chatterjee,' he murmured as the Wizengamot members' quills skated over their parchments.

'Please, call me Shami,' she said, and impulsively took his hand and squeezed it in her own.

'Are we ready?' asked Jane. She was dressed in black trousers and jumper, her bright hair mostly covered with a black scarf.

Snape nodded at her. He was also dressed in his trademark black, though not wizard garb; he was also wearing trousers and a shirt. His face was alarmingly pale and his almost-black eyes were burning.

'Come on Sirius,' Jane said gently.

Sirius stood up. He too looked tired and wan, worn out by worry and sleepless nights.

'Let's go through the checklist,' said Jane, and pulled it towards her, counting off the items as she read aloud. 'Wands. Blueprints. Distracter firecracker thingies. Smoke grenade thingies. Healing potions for Remus. Identity papers - just in case we get arrested. Bandages. Mobile phone. Rape alarm...'

'The plan,' Snape said in a low voice. 'We all know the route through the Ministry to the cells? Good. When we are attacked -'

'If, surely,' Jane interjected.

'When we are attacked,' Snape continued, 'Jane will take Lupin. I will cast shielding charms for all of us and Black will use offensive magic. Jane will use the distractions to try to confuse the attackers whilst taking Lupin to safety. Then you or I Black will attempt to summon the Headmaster. Jane will arm Lupin if he is capable of spellcasting. How can we get out of the Ministry?' This last to Jane.

'There are floos in the main entrance and by the lifts on each floor. There are apparition stations at various points along major corridors which we can use if Remus can manage it. There is the non-magic exit off the main hall near the reception. There is a portkey room on floor four though that's a last resort because we don't know where we'll end up.'

'And if you have to take a portkey?'

'If Remus can, he will send a message to one of you and let you know what has happened. If he can't, I will hide us and we'll wait until we hear a message from one of you two, if necessary stealing supplies from wherever.'

'And you know it should not come to such an eventuality, because -'

'I've got tracking charm that only you can detect, yes.'

'And if Black and I are both imprisoned?'

'We wait for at least two nights. If neither of you come to get us and Remus can manage it, he will cast a disguise on himself and we will claim to be muggle travellers. If he is not capable, I will leave him in a safe place, head for civilisation and sort out some way of getting us both back to my house.'

'Have you got muggle money?'

'Yes, and the medical kit, blankets, food and clothes you shrank into that tiny package for me,' Jane told him, fishing out a chain from down the front of her top and showing him. 'To return it to normal size I just tap the charm with Remus's wand.'

'That should work, but if by some chance his wand is confiscated or broken…?'

'Fac magno.' Jane mouthed, careful not to touch the tiny bag on the chain at the same time.

'Good,' said Snape. 'I think we are ready. All that we should do…'

He retrieved a bottle from his pocket and poured a small amount of the potion it contained into three glasses.

Jane drank hers down before he could warn her, and she squealed as smoke came blasting from her ears.

'Pepper-up Potion,' said Sirius. 'Just the thing after no sleep.'

When they had finished the potion, Snape cleaned the glasses then poured another measure from a different bottle, a beautiful rich golden-brown liquid.

Rather more circumspect this time, Jane looked inquiringly at Snape before drinking.

'Felix Felicis. Liquid luck.'

Sirius and Snape's eyes met for a moment and an understanding passed between them.

'We'll need it,' said Sirius.