A/N
Hey sorry chapters have been later than usual. I've been dealing with a shoulder injury that has been making typing a bit tricky. Thanks for sticking with it.
Also, I would genuinely really appreciate any reviews or comments, thoughts, criticisms, feelings, whatever. For a fic this long, and especially with my life getting so chaotic right now, having some kind of feedback makes all the difference with my motivation. It helps me feel less like I'm pouring my heart out into into the void. For everyone who has commented before, I really appreciate it.
"The risk is too high, Sirius. I appreciate that you are looking out for Harry's best interest, however I must prioritize his ongoing safety above all else. Agents have been placed around him to watch for signs of trouble," assured Dumbledore with great patience.
"He watched a kid die!" exclaimed Sirius in a furious rush that he clearly wanted to be a shout. Would have been a shout, were it not for the hideous portrait that lay sleeping in the front hall above them after a fierce struggle from his last outburst. "He must be going out of his mind! He should be here with us."
Remus flinched almost imperceptibly at the mention of Cedric's murder, but stood firm by Sirius' side in the kitchen that was now blessedly curse free, if not clean. Ordinarily he would try to diffuse the situation, but as he happened to be very much in agreement with Sirius, he was rather interested to hear a satisfying justification from Dumbledore.
Minerva McGonagall stood opposite Remus and Sirius, arms folded and lips tightly pursed. She exchanged a tense glace with Remus, though like him, she chose not to interfere.
"Harry is where he needs to be for his own protection. He will be able to come here in due course. All of us share that goal. I only ask that you trust that I am putting Harry's safety first," reasoned Dumbledore.
"But-"
"I have business to attend to, I'm afraid," he said politely in a way that clearly indicated the conversation was finished.
Sirius' mouth hung open for a moment before he closed it tightly, jaw clenched. He took a step back towards Remus, clearing a path for Dumbledore.
"Minerva will be walking you through the preparations that will need to be made in advance of the first Order meeting. There should be plenty to keep you busy inside this house," he said with a pointed look at Sirius, who had expressed great displeasure at the newly tightened restrictions on his movement. He turned to Remus. "Good to see you Remus, as always."
Remus nodded politely. "Always a pleasure, Albus."
Dumbledore swept out of the room in the direction of the entrance way, escorted by Minerva, who seemed to have private matters to confer on before she was left to deal with the two decidedly unsatisfied men.
Sirius shot Remus another frustrated look. Remus gave him a commiserating one in return. Neither spoke. Sirius strode over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair, but instead of sitting down, he opted to lean against it while remaining standing, clenching his fists tightly over the top. Remus wandered over to join him, though he actually sat down, reaching out for his nearly empty teacup that had gone unpleasantly cold as the conversation with Dumbledore had grown heated. He didn't take a sip. Just held it, tapping his finger against the ceramic absently.
Sirius' knuckles grew increasingly white as a minute passed. A muscle in his jaw twitched slightly. Just as he finally took a breath in, turning to Remus as if to speak, Minerva came back into the room.
A beat.
A sigh.
"Well, I suppose we should get right to business," she said tiredly as she took her own seat.
The three of them managed to get through all of the items at hand without any further conflict. Remus had grown used to a certain level of informality during his time working with Minerva at Hogwarts. Of course, she was never going to be an easy-going person, but they got along well as peers and he'd largely shaken any residual feelings that he was not a real adult in her presence. He got a few looks from Sirius when they exchanged some mild banter about a few of his former students as the meeting progressed.
By the time they had brought all official matters to a close, they were all a little more at ease.
"It was good seeing you again, Remus, as always," she said with a small smile.
"You too, Minerva," he smiled back.
She looked over at Sirius who immediately shot her a big, toothy grin. This was the first time since his escape that the two of them had actually seen each other in anything other than panicked passing.
Now that business was over and tempers were cooled, she finally had a moment to see the man in front of her as he is, rather than as a walking state of crisis. The man that she had known as a bright-eyed boy so long ago.
"Nice seeing you Minnie," he said with a wink that sent both her and Remus back to a simpler time.
Sirius let out a small yelp of shock as she crossed the short distance between them and pulled him into a tight hug. "It's good to have you back, Sirius," she said, her voice a little watery.
She quickly composed herself as she pulled away, brushing the front of her robe and clearing her throat. "So, you'll be remaining here at Grimmauld Place, then, Remus?" she asked, nothing but professional.
"A few days, yes. Until the meeting. It'll take the both of us to make this place functional by then."
She nodded, not quite able to tell if Remus also noticed the way Sirius tensed back up at the mention of his imminent departure. With one final tight smile and farewell, she left them.
They stood in silence another few moments until they heard the front door close, at which point Sirius whipped around to face Remus, a smirk playing across his lips.
"Albus and Minerva, is it? Forget the cooking, Moony, I never imagined I'd see this day," he teased.
Remus rolled his eyes. "You've been calling them Al and Minnie since you were twelve."
"Yeah, but I'm me. You are decidedly not me."
"Yes, well… actually, they both insisted after I started working with them. It took some getting used to," he admitted sheepishly.
Remus was glad that Sirius was seemingly in a better mood. They had only been at Grimmauld Place for two days, and his moods had varied wildly. For almost the entire first day he hadn't spoken. As soon as they entered the house alongside Dumbledore they had been confronted by the screeching visage of Sirius' deceased mother, howling at the 'blood traitors' and the 'filthy half-breed.' Even Dumbledore had appeared a little taken aback.
"Well Moony, now you know where I inherited my wit and charm," Sirius had said once they finally wrestled the curtains closed, followed by a loud bark of laughter. It was the last words he spoke until that night, nearly twelve hours later.
He absently nodded along as Dumbledore impressed upon him how vital it was that he not leave the premises now that he was there. How important it was that neither of them reveal any details of the organization to Harry.
The next day, when he was once again speaking (ranting) in full force, it was largely to passionately curse out Dumbledore for those same directives.
In the time they had been there, they had managed to make the house ever so slightly more habitable. They had started with Sirius' bedroom. He thought it the easiest place to begin as it was the less likely to be in some way cursed, though he couldn't say what his family had done with the space once he'd left home.
They had to sink a good few hours into clearing out the Doxies. Not to mention the thick layer of grime and dust.
Remus had laughed out loud at the sight of his walls. The pictures of bikini clad muggle girls draped across motorbikes. The Gryffindor regalia that was more excessive than the decorations in the Gryffindor common room itself.
"You really weren't fucking around," he had commented affectionately.
"I guess not."
"Should have brought me home for family dinner if you wanted to really piss off the parents," Remus joked. "Werewolf boyfriend trumps half naked poster girls, surely?"
"They would have killed you," mumbled Sirius offhandedly.
"What?"
Sirius looked up at Remus from where he had been attempting to vanish a patch of mold. His face was completely impassive.
"They would have killed you. If I brought you into this house and told them what you are, you would not have left here alive."
The statement was so completely matter of fact. No hesitation. No doubt. Just an unpleasant, unarguable truth. Remus' smile had fallen as Sirius had gone right back to work.
At first they had considered that Remus take Regulus' room for the time that he was there. Sirius stood outside the door for half an hour without opening it. They instead opted for a guest bedroom on the same floor, with the Master being reserved for Buckbeak, who would be retrieved from Remus' property just as soon as they were sure they could get him there safely.
So, yes. It was rather nice to see Sirius back in good spirits. At least for the time being. He had no doubt the next shift would not be far away.
"Should be a laugh getting the old gang back together for this meeting," said Sirius with a grimace.
"I think there's going to be some newcomers, too," said Remus.
"One in particular."
"Don't start, Pads-"
"I'm just saying, I can hardly be blamed if I feel the need to punch him in his greasy, gitty face is all."
"You can and you will. You're an adult. You're on the same side. If I could play nice for a whole year you can do it for a few hours."
"He didn't try to get your soul sucked out of your body, did he?" Sirius snapped.
Remus looked down, putting his hands in his pockets. He shook his head slightly, banishing the image conjured by Sirius' words.
"No, but he did out me to entire wizarding community as a lycanthrope so if I can restrain from decking him then you can too. To be fair, I think he genuinely still thought you were a mass murdered at that point, not that it makes it okay…"
"As if he wouldn't still throw me to the Dementors first chance he got."
Remus hesitated. "Yeah, probably. Still, Dumbledore seems to think-"
"Yeah, I know. I know. I'll rise above," he said with a wave of his hand.
Remus still looked skeptical, but he let it drop.
"Well, if we want to be ready for this meeting then the first thing, we'll need to do is make sure this kitchen is fit for more than just making tea. Come on, let's get to work and maybe it'll be good enough that I can cook something better than porridge for dinner tonight."
