'Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warning: Language, mild violence

Chapter 38 – Aftermath & Accountability – Sirius Black

Lost in thought, Albus Dumbledore moved along the corridors of the castle, thinking of his conversation with Severus Snape as he made his way back to his office. Much to Poppy's dismay, when her follow-up examination revealed that Severus was, indeed, recovered from his injuries, Dumbledore supported the boy's desire to return to his own dormitory. Severus had been through quite an ordeal; the introvert in him needed to return to his familiar surroundings to process the events of the evening.

As he passed the staircase that led to the Gryffindor Tower, the Headmaster reversed his path and ascended the ancient stone steps. Arriving at Minerva McGonagall's door, he hesitated only momentarily, then raised his hand and knocked. Dumbledore heard rustling coming from behind the door then it opened, revealing the Head of Gryffindor House, hurriedly pushing one final hairpin into the tightly coiled knot of hair at her crown. Her face registered surprise at finding the Headmaster standing at her door.

"Albus! What are you …what's happened?"

"Minerva, may I come in? I can only stay a moment."

She pulled the door back further to allow him entry to her rooms then closed it behind him. Gesturing to one of the two chairs before her blazing hearth, Minerva seated herself in the other. Folding her hands in her lap, she met Dumbledore's gaze and lost her struggle to control her impatience. "Well, Albus?"

"I have only some of the detail, but there was an incident this evening involving Remus Lupin," the Headmaster began.

Minerva's hand flew to her throat and her face paled. "He hasn't … the wolf didn't…"

Dumbledore shook his head rapidly. "No, no; Remus hasn't attacked anyone – exactly." Quickly, he explained what he knew thus far – omitting any reference to Ofelia Bullstrode's potential condition - and said that he was on his way to meet with Sirius. "I would anticipate that there will be repercussions far beyond any consequences you and I could bring to bear. I thought it wise to let you know what was happening in advance of that meeting. I will, of course, fill you in on everything once I've met with Mr. Black."

Minerva nodded. "Thank you, Albus. You know, as high spirited and reckless as the boy is, I cannot see Black endangering Remus intentionally. They are too close and Black has always been far too protective of Remus for that."

Albus rose. "I agree, Minerva. I am hopeful that more light will be shed on the reason behind the boy's actions. I will Floo call you when we've finished. At the very least, I suspect you will need to escort him back to the Tower."

"Albus," Minerva put her hand on his arm as he reached for the door handle. "Will you need to notify his parents of this incident?"

"To do so would expose Remus' condition," Albus shook his head. "He doesn't deserve any more exposure than he's already suffered. And, despite the severity of what he's done tonight, I don't believe that subjecting Sirius to his parents' wrath serves any positive purpose; do you?"

Minerva shook her head. "But Mr. Snape may easily speak to Regulus Black about Sirius' actions; they share the same House, after all."

"Severus Snape will never speak of this incident. I have his word." Dumbledore patted McGonagall's hand where it rested on his arm. "I really must go now. Mr. Black should be waiting."

Although her expression was doubtful, Minerva stepped back and allowed the Headmaster to exit. Closing the door behind him, she sighed. Let's hope, for Remus' sake, that Snape would honor his word.

XXXXXXXX

Although he had made the trip to Dumbledore's office many times during his Hogwarts career, Sirius could not remember a time when he had been more apprehensive about speaking to the Headmaster. His heavy black boots made slow progress over the stone floors as the distance lessened between himself and what was certain to be an unpleasant fate – although it couldn't rival the conversation he'd just had with James and Peter when they'd delivered Dumbledore's message. Sirius' heart clenched as he thought back to the scene in the 5th year dormitory room they shared.

Sirius was perched on the window seat in his dormitory when the door opened and two of his friends walked in. He was gratified to see James' injuries had been healed. Peter said nothing just glanced over at Sirius before sitting down on his own bed.

"Dumbledore wants to see you, Sirius," James informed him tonelessly, taking off his bloodstained robes and tossing them on top of his trunk. "He's with Snape now; he said you should have a seat outside his office and he'd come get you when they were finished."

Sirius rose from his seat. "What happened when you met with him? What did he say? How much trouble are we in?"

"'We'?" James shot back at him. "'How much trouble are we in?'? Why in Merlin's name would we be in trouble? Peter and I went down to the Willow to prevent Snape getting killed! I don't think that necessarily merits detention!"

Sirius couldn't help himself, "In a perfect world, it might."

James' punch landed on Sirius' left cheekbone, just below his eye. The force of it sat Sirius back down on the window seat. Although he automatically brought his hand up to cover the spot, his shock at James' blow prevented Sirius from feeling the physical pain.

"You insufferable bastard!" James stuffed his fists in his pockets to avoid striking out again. "You don't get it, do you? How can you sit there and make jokes about Snape being killed when it would have been Remus who paid the price for it? You hate Snape – fine; I don't have any love for him, either. But I wouldn't send him to his death for it – especially if the situation involved one of my best friends doing the killing! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Sirius exclaimed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You don't even ask me what made me do it? You just haul back and punch me in the face? You don't think that maybe – just maybe – Snape threatened Remus himself? That maybe I did what I did because I thought it would protect Remus from him?"

James' eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me that you sent Snape down to the Shack because you thought that would be the best solution to anything Snape might have threatened him with? Because that would actually protect Remus?"

Sirius rose and approached James. "He was going to have him expelled – along with the rest of us."

James shook his head. "If he'd killed Snape, he would have been worse than expelled. If he'd killed Snape – or turned him – Remus would have been executed." At the horror reflected on Sirius' face, he added, "Didn't think about that, did you?"

"You don't know for certain that they would have done that to him! Besides, it wouldn't have been Remus; it would have been the wolf. He doesn't have control of the wolf at full moon, Jamie!" Sirius stepped backward until he fell back onto the window cushion.

"The Ministry doesn't care about the distinction, Sirius. To them, Remus and the wolf are the same being. What the wolf does, Remus is responsible for. You know this!" James had turned and sat down heavily on his own bed. "I'm not interested in why you did it; that you did it is bad enough. I'll leave it to Dumbledore to suss out what's behind it."

"Jamie, you're my friend," Sirius protested.

James looked at him, his expression sad. "So's Remus."

XXXXXXXX

Sirius shook his head, pulling himself from his thoughts. He glanced to his right and saw the stone bench pushed up against the wall of the corridor and walked over to it. Sitting down with a thump he brought his hand to his cheek again, feeling a sting when his fingers encountered bruised and swollen flesh. James hit me, he thought, still slightly shocked by the idea. Oh, they'd wrestled as kids and every now and again, a stray elbow would hit an eye, or someone's foot would make contact with a rib, but that was childish horseplay. This was completely different; this was from anger – and in response to a comment the likes of which both of them had made since first encountering Snape in first year. Even as that thought crossed his mind, Sirius knew that it wasn't entirely true. Whilst they had said much about Snape, and had launched several pranks that had embarrassed the Slytherin wizard, this was the first time that he had been put in serious danger. Sirius recognized that, for James, it wasn't Snape's safety that sparked such a violent, physical reaction; it was Remus'. Remus. He couldn't imagine how his best friend would react when he was told of what had happened tonight. I really don't want to think about that, Sirius thought, rising. It was time to face Dumbledore. Sirius just hoped that Snape was not in or around the Headmaster's office when he arrived. He wasn't sure he could handle that encounter at the moment.

XXXXXXXX

Sirius arrived in the waiting area of Dumbledore's office and immediately took a seat. He had heard no voices coming from beyond the Headmaster's closed doors and so he reckoned that Dumbledore had stepped away. Probably wanted to walk Snape back to the dungeon just in case I wanted another shot at him, Sirius thought. More likely, he went to roust out McGonagall so she could start thinking about my punishment.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore's quiet voice startled Sirius and he jumped at the sound.

"Professor," he mumbled.

The older wizard gestured toward his office, indicating that Sirius could precede him. "Please, come in. We have much to discuss."

Once he was inside the office and seated before Dumbledore's desk, Sirius found it difficult to be still. He was worrying the ragged cuticle of one thumb when Dumbledore spoke again.

"You look a bit worse for the wear." Sirius looked up and found Dumbledore gesturing toward his cheek.

"It will heal; I'll be fine," Sirius replied.

"I wasn't under the impression that you were with your friends at the shack this evening. How did you receive that injury?" Dumbledore pressed, wondering if Snape's threats against Sirius had turned physical, as well.

Sirius sighed. "James wasn't too impressed by what I did. This is his reminder that I'm a selfish prat who doesn't have his priorities lined up very well."

"Do you agree with his assessment?"

"James doesn't have the full story," Sirius responded. "He wasn't interested in hearing it, apparently."

"Why don't you share it with me, then? I find that I have a great interest in hearing what precipitated your actions tonight," Dumbledore sat back in his chair and folded his hands on his lap. When the room remained silent, he added, "Talking to me about this isn't optional, Mr. Black."

Sirius looked up at Dumbledore, his face pale. "I know that, Professor; I'm trying to figure out where to start."

"As you may know, I've already spoken with Mr. Snape as well as with Messrs Potter and Pettigrew and I have their versions of tonight's events. That should help you select your starting point."

Sirius took a deep breath. "Snape has been watching us for awhile now. I decided that if I ran into him tonight, I would find out why. I was on my way to meet James and Peter…"

"…to wait outside the Willow during Mr. Lupin's transformation, I understand," Dumbledore interrupted quietly. At Sirius' surprised expression, he continued, "I had known about your discovery of Mr. Lupin's condition, of course. Mr. Potter explained to me that you three walk to the Willow with him each full moon, wait there while he transforms in the shack, then go back to your dormitory. You meet him the following morning and walk back up to the castle with him."

Sirius managed to nod. "We do. At least he has company during part of the night – and people he knows and trus – people he knows when he comes out of the shack in the morning." Sirius hoped the Headmaster didn't comment on his stumble over "trust"; he was certain that he would not be among those Remus trusted when he discovered what had happened this evening.

"Go on, please."

"I was on my way to meet James and Peter, as I said, and I came out of the castle and turned the corner to head down to the Willow. Snape caught my arm as I passed him and he started talking about how he knew what we were all about with our monthly treks off the grounds. He said that Remus was leading vast parties in Hogsmeade with drinking and all manner of debauchery. Remus! How anyone could ever believe that is beyond me!" Sirius paused. "Remus is the least likely amongst us to ever take part in that sort of thing, leave alone organize it."

"There's more, I suspect," Dumbledore prompted.

"Snape said that the opportunity to have us expelled had finally presented itself and he was going to make sure he didn't squander it – or words to that effect. He said that you wouldn't tolerate that sort of behavior and that you'd have to get rid of us once you knew what we'd got up to," Sirius said.

"But you knew that I was aware of the truth of Mr. Lupin's excursions off the grounds each month. You had to realize that when Mr. Snape came to me with his story, I would be able to refute it – without, of course, revealing that truth. There has to be more to Mr. Snape's threats than you've let on."

Sirius looked at the Headmaster and nodded, slowly. "Sir, Snape – that is to say – I, there is …" He looked at Dumbledore imploringly. "Remus' 'secret activities' aren't the only things Snape's on about. He's brought someone else into this mess, but they don't deserve it; they have nothing to do with any of it."

"This other person is a student, I take it?"

"Yes."

"And how has Mr. Snape brought this student into the matter?"

"The student has a secret of their own, and it is imperative that it not be revealed at this time."

"And Mr. Snape has threatened to do so?"

"Yes, sir."

"To me?"

"I believe that you were on the list, Professor," Sirius said carefully.

"Ah, so there are a number of people who would have an interest in the information?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Let us leave this for a moment; we'll come back to it. Please go on with the events that led up to Mr. Snape's trip to the Whomping Willow," Dumbledore watched the young Gryffindor closely as he spoke.

Sirius could no longer remain still and now rose and began to pace in front of the desk. "The things that he threatened – he was so sure he had all the answers – there were people who could suffer tremendously as a result. I just couldn't let him go off and talk about things when he had them so wrong – when they weren't his secrets to tell! He thought Remus was doing something so against anything he would ever do; I wanted Snape to realize that he didn't know everything about Remus – about, well, about everything he thought he knew." Sirius stopped pacing and turned, standing directly in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I told him that he was wrong and if he wanted proof of his error, he should prod the knot at the base of the Willow, slip through the opening in the base of tree and follow the tunnel below."

"And you sent him straight into the path of a fully grown, transformed werewolf," Dumbledore commented. "I wonder what you thought would happen once Mr. Snape had gone into the tunnel."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm not completely certain. I think I just wanted to frighten Snape enough so that he would stop following Remus – and the rest of us. I wanted him to understand that Remus wasn't someone to be trifled with, I suppose."

"And the other matter, the one involving the unidentified student, I suppose you also wanted him to abandon his plans to pursue that," Dumbledore added, watching Sirius with an odd look on his face.

"Yes, sir."

"Please sit down."

"Sirius, I feel certain that I know the identity of the other student involved in this matter and I would very much appreciate you both confirming it as well as disclosing the true nature of Mr. Snape's threat."

"It's not my secret to tell," said Sirius, miserably.

"Nor was Mr. Lupin's," Dumbledore said, frankly.

"No," Sirius' voice wasn't much more than a whisper. "Please, can't you just let this go? Can't you just focus on the part about Remus?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I suspect that you already know I cannot. What Mr. Snape shared with me cannot be 'let go', as you've suggested. You must tell me your version – and explain yourself – before any course of action may be determined."

Sirius drew a deep breath. "The other student is Ofelia Bullstrode." He looked up at the Headmaster. "Did I confirm your suspicion?" At Dumbledore's nod, Sirius leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees and looked the Headmaster directly in the eye. "Professor, Ofelia is pregnant and, despite what Snape has undoubtedly told you, I am not the father. I know who the father is, but I am not going to give you – or anyone else – his name. Snape, however, plans to share Ofelia's news with her brother and my cousins which will, of course, result in my parents hearing the lie as well. You can appreciate how well that will go over. Given the other half of what happened with Snape – sending him to the wolf – I reckoned that you'd just expel me anyway and I'd end up right back at Grimmauld – right within reach of my mother."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Did you think that I would automatically believe Mr. Snape without having this conversation with you? After what happened with your mother over Christmas holiday and more recently, in this very office, do you have so little trust in me?"

Sirius blinked rapidly, feeling his emotions finally rising to the surface. He was determined to fight them back down. Finally succeeding, he replied, "Having trust in people hasn't worked out very well for me today." Sirius touched his bruised cheek absently. "So, how does my version match up with Snape's?"

"Mr. Snape has some very different ideas than those you've shared with me," Dumbledore said softly. "You've played your part very well these last months; he is completely unaware of the friendship that exists between you and Miss Bullstrode. Having witnessed that myself – and now seeing your obvious reluctance to further compromise her rather complicated situation – I find Mr. Snape's version of the truth to be somewhat lacking."

Sirius looked back down at his hands as he felt the tears – this time of relief – rise again. "Thank you, sir," he whispered after a few moments. "Sir, did Snape give you the name of the person who told him about Ofelia's condition?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He did, after quite a bit of persuasion. As we were walking down to the hospital wing, he disclosed his source."

"Does Ofelia know someone told about her situation? Is this person likely to tell others about Ofelia's condition?"

Dumbledore considered the question carefully. "I will be speaking with Miss Bullstrode tomorrow and will let her know the source of the information. I will not, however, be making her aware of the full circumstances of tonight's events. That serves no purpose and creates more risk for Mr. Lupin. The individual who told Mr. Snape about her observations did not do so maliciously and so it is my feeling that she would not indiscriminately spread this news. I believe that she most likely confided in Mr. Snape because of the nature of his relationship with Miss Bullstrode. She perceives them to be friends, as she perceives herself to be. I suspect she feels the same way about the friendship she has with Mr. Snape and Miss Bullstrode as you do about yours with your friends. There's a built-in loyalty factor. If I were to ask her, I'm sure she would be stunned to think that her discussion with Snape could be viewed as disloyal in any way."

Sirius winced at Dumbledore's mention of loyalty. He was sure that any loyalty James and Peter felt toward him had died when James' knuckles had connected with Sirius' face.

"You are very concerned about the security of Miss Bullstrode's condition," Dumbledore observed quietly.

"Many people would be hurt by the lie Snape has told were it to come out," Sirius replied.

"And so, sending Mr. Snape to the shack tonight was the better choice because only two people would have been hurt by the confrontation that would have ultimately occurred?"

Sirius' head shot up at the question. "No! That wasn't what I was thinking at all!"

"But that was your choice, Sirius. You guarded two secrets: Remus' curse and Ofelia's condition. Both were threatened tonight; you chose to protect Ofelia at Remus' expense. Consciously or unconsciously, that was the result of your action."

"I didn't," Sirius ran his hand through his already tangled hair. "I sent Snape to the Willow because I thought he would be terrified into silence about both."

"You're more intelligent than that, Sirius. At some level, you had to know that there was a very real possibility that Mr. Snape would be physically harmed by Remus in his wolf form. Was your objective to frighten Mr. Snape into silence, or was it to silence him in whatever manner eventually occurred?" Dumbledore needed Sirius to look deeply within himself for the answer.

"You think that I'm capable of murder?" Sirius asked hoarsely. "You think that I would deliberately send another person to their own death and use one of my friends as the weapon?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, Mr. Black."

Sirius shook his head. "It matters to me."

When Dumbledore remained silent, Sirius shook his head again and walked over to stand by the fireplace. After long moments spent staring into the flames, Sirius said, "I only wanted him to be scared enough to leave us all alone. I hate Snape, I won't lie to you, but I wouldn't deliberately send him to be killed."

Dumbledore's expression softened. It was rare that his insight into a student wasn't correct, but it was always gratifying to have that accuracy affirmed. "Sirius, ask me again."

Sirius looked at the headmaster, his expression confused. "Ask you … oh. Right. Do you think me capable of murder?"

Dumbledore gestured toward the guest chair so recently vacated by the boy across the room. "Please; come and sit down." After Sirius had settled, he continued, "I do not think you capable of murder; I never have. I think you are a young man who has endured much – and at the hands of those from whom you should never encounter such treatment. I think that you have an uncanny sense of self-preservation and that this quality sometimes leads you to make choices that are more selfish in nature than they should be. I believe that this was one of those choices. There were severe ramifications – in your mind – to having Mr. Snape broadcast his views about Miss Bullstrode's condition. I don't believe you thought through any aspect of your decision beyond making sure you weren't expelled and, therefore, sent back to London – back to your parents." He paused, his face bemused. "I'm curious; did you not think expulsion to be a possible consequence to your actions in sending Mr. Snape to the Willow?"

Sirius' eyes closed briefly and he dropped his head. "No, sir." Merlin, please don't expel me. I know I deserve it, but please don't send me back to London; not yet.

"Sirius, look at me," Dumbledore spoke quietly. When he had the young man's attention, he said, "I am not going to expel you. It is not because the offense you have committed is not severe enough to warrant it; it is, indeed. You will not be expelled because I cannot do so without revealing Mr. Lupin's condition – and that is something I will not do – nor will anyone else. Mr. Snape and I have an understanding and he will disclose nothing of what has happened tonight."

Sirius' eyebrows rose in surprise. "You believe him?"

Dumbledore's face was stern. "I do; for reasons that are mine alone. I do not intend to disclose them to you, but you may rest assured that Mr. Lupin's secret is safe. Three is another reason that I will not send you back to London at the moment: the dissolution of your betrothal to Miss Bullstrode is too recent. I do not trust that you will be safe there at the moment. You will, however, be punished."

"Yes, sir," Sirius replied, wondering what was coming and, at the same time, not really caring. He could take anything as long as he didn't have to return to London in the immediate future.

"One hundred points will be taken from Gryffindor House for your lack of judgment in endangering several students by sending Mr. Snape to the Willow this evening. In addition to Mr. Snape, Messrs Potter, and Pettigrew and, of course, Mr. Lupin were put at risk. You will also be removed from the Quidditch team for the remainder of this season and the whole of next year." Sirius felt a pang at being removed from the Gryffindor Quidditch team but, again, knew he deserved it.

"Yes, Professor," Sirius nodded.

"There's one more thing, Sirius," Dumbledore peered at him over his half-moon glasses and, for the first time, Sirius noted that there was nothing of the typical twinkle in his eyes.

"Sir?"

"Mr. Lupin will, undoubtedly, have a far more difficult time of it tonight as a result of the wolf's glimpse and subsequent loss of prey. He will wonder as to the cause of such a difficult full moon. Once Madame Pomfrey has judged him able to have visitors, you will be the one to tell him what happened tonight – and your role in it."

Sirius shook his head and raised his hands, palms outward, as if he could ward off the edict just issued by Dumbledore. "No, please, Professor. Don't make me do this. I'm not the one who can deliver this news to Remus." I can't bear to see the look on his face when I tell him what I've done. It will make Jamie's punch in the face look like a Christmas gift by comparison.

"You are the only person who can deliver this news to Mr. Lupin. If he has questions about the incident, you are uniquely qualified to answer him," Dumbledore spoke calmly.

"But, Professor, if he hates me for what I've done, I don't think I can stand to see it," Sirius' voice trembled.

"Sirius, this isn't about you. It's about Remus. He deserves to hear the truth from the most reliable source of it; you are that source. Furthermore, he deserves to feel whatever he feels when he hears that news. And you, Sirius, will never learn a more valuable lesson than being there to witness what thoughtless action can do to an innocent person. Particularly when the innocent is someone we care about. It will be a lesson that, if you learn it well, will stand by you throughout the remainder of your life. I hope that it will serve you well," Dumbledore was firm and Sirius knew that there was to be no argument.

"May I go back to my dormitory now, sir?"

"Yes, of course."

Sirius rose and walked slowly toward the office doors.

"Sirius?"

He turned toward the Headmaster, still seated at his desk.

"It is often the most painful and difficult of lessons that remain with us – and guide us – long after they are learnt."

Sirius nodded again then resumed his path to the doors. When he had finally closed them softly behind him, Albus Dumbledore removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"An impetuous, inconsiderate boy, my great-great grandson," an imperious voice sounded from the wall of portraits opposite the headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore replaced his glasses and sighed, looking over at the portrait of Phinneas Nigellus Black, one of the former headmasters of the school. "Impetuous, perhaps, but his actions are a direct result of the way your great grandson and his wife have treated the boy. It is most disconcerting to see the damage that can be inflicted by parents such as his."

The portrait image opened its mouth, painted eyes flashing. Perhaps thinking better of the response he was prepared to offer, his lips snapped shut without further comment and he turned his face away from the current headmaster.

Dumbledore smiled grimly. "Yes, it rendered me quite speechless as well."

XXXXXXXX

As the door closed behind him, the subject of the headmasters' conversation leaned back against its sturdy surface. Sirius closed his eyes as he thought back to the consequences of his earlier actions. He realized that he could take James' anger and, with less problem, Peter's cold shoulder. Sirius was even prepared to shoulder the anger of the other members of his House when they saw the severe drop in points he had cost Gryffindor.

What he couldn't imagine surviving was the loss of Remus' friendship which was sure to follow when Sirius told him of his betrayal – and to none other than Severus Snape.