His Greatest Wish, by AndromedaMarine

A/N: I have the final 11 chapters outlined and waiting to be fleshed out. I expect to be done (like totally, completely, epilogue posted done) by December of 2015—the fifth anniversary of when I started this behemoth. The reason it will take this long is because of the sheer magnitude of these last chapters, and outlines don't mean chapter plots. But that deadline (12-10-15) is one I promise I will keep.

Fenrir Greyback

When Sirius realized where he was sitting it took him a couple more seconds to recognize that the motion at his elbow was Misty the house elf continually nudging him with a cup of tea. He looked up and met the surprisingly sympathetic gaze of his Head of House, but when Sirius wildly flung his gaze around he did not see Dumbledore. "Professor," he began, but fell silent when Professor McGonagall lifted her hand to cease him.

"I would advise taking the tea before it gets cold." When he did, she continued. "Madame Pomfrey has informed me of Remus's condition, Mr. Black. Rest assured the Headmaster has been recalled from London and arrived in Hogsmeade not five minutes ago. He is on his way to the Hospital Wing to assist Mr. Prince and our Healer."

"Good, but it's not that—"

But she lifted her hand again. "I received a message from Professor Dumbledore concerning that as well. They have all been taken to St. Mungo's. When the Healers contact the Headmaster with an update I will be sure to pass it on to you and your brother."

Sirius swallowed. "Do you know what happened?"

Minerva folded her hands in her lap and her expression changed. "At the moment, it sounds like a case of 'wrong place, wrong time.' However, it is equally possible he took offence to something your aunt and uncle said or did. As I recall, they have both openly supported the study and administering of the Wolfsbane potion."

"What—what about my—my little cousin?" Scared to know the answer, he took a hasty sip of the tea and sloshed a quarter of it down his robes. Minerva waved her wand and his front dried, and sadness clouded her face.

"She has been bitten. Of that I am certain."

Up in the Gryffindor common room, James and Peter had just finished a tremendous row, and James could be seen stomping up the staircase to the boys' dormitory bathroom. Peter slumped into one of the armchairs as Frank and Alice slipped through the portrait hole from their brief visit to the hospital wing to check on Remus.

"How is he?" Peter asked as his friends fell into the chairs across from him.

"Not good," Alice said shortly. She daren't say anything else, lest eavesdroppers other than Potter decided to listen in. "Sev and Lil are with him."

"What happened to you?" Frank suddenly asked, as he'd just finally focused on Peter and seen the bruise rising on his cheekbone.

Peter grimaced. "Ah, it's not as bad as it looks. You should see the other guy." Frank just stared at him and Peter turned red under the scrutiny. "I punched Potter in the face. Twice."

Alice whistled. "You're joking!"

"Nope. Gave him a black eye and a split lip."

"What'd he say to deserve that? Not that he didn't deserve it anyways."

"Well you heard him when he first got back right? He wouldn't leave well enough alone! Insisted I take him to wherever Remus is because 'all this running around is fishy'." He made air quotes with is fingers for effect. "I was turning to go up to the dormitory when he grabbed my arm. So I swung at him, he swung back, and I swung again. Fabian held him back after that. I was surprised I got him both times…I mean, he was a Chaser. Aren't Chasers supposed to be quick?"

Frank chuckled.

"He was all right when he got back from Hogsmeade, though," Alice said thoughtfully. "He just sat there in front of the fire, glued to Mary's face. Why pull this stunt so many hours after getting back?"

"The little wart probably thought he was an easy target once you and I left," Frank remarked.

Peter nodded in reluctant agreement and continued. "'Course, Mary didn't think I should get away with giving two when I'd only gotten one, so she aimed a kick…well, you know where." He gave Alice a half-exasperated, half-appreciative expression. "But Gideon saw and intervened before she did anything."

Alice made a sudden motion to get up from her seat, intending to march right up to the girls' dormitory and tell (or show) Mary exactly what she thought of her, but Frank stilled her with a hand on her knee. "Leave her," he said quietly. "She's not worth it."

Alice sank back down, a scowl on her face, and a hint of a smile on Peter's.

"He has a gift," Dumbledore said softly as Poppy watched Severus in astonishment, "and a fierce determination to protect his friends." Remus had been moved to the rarely-used private ward attached to Madame Pomfrey's office for his safety and security. Severus stood over Remus, whose body had not stopped seizing, chanting in a low voice, his wand moving smoothly in the air above his friend. Lily sat at Remus's side, holding his hand and watching for any change in him as her boyfriend tracked the effects of the modified Wolfsbane within the werewolf.

Dumbledore, who had not divulged the news about the attack on the Tonks family to anyone save the Heads of Houses, knew that he would have to wait until Severus had finished before telling him. Breaking his concentration and focus would not do; Dumbledore had never known transformation contractions to hit a werewolf before the full moon.

Several minutes later Severus had finished, and quickly strode over to the school Healer. "The Wolfsbane has only been able to preserve his mind. He's feeling the full effects of the transformation pain, and he hasn't felt all of it for nearly four years. He needs to stop seizing or he'll get brain damage," he said bluntly. His only experience with brain damage brought on by continuous seizing involved his first set of Frank and Alice Longbottom, but that had been caused by Bellatrix Lestrange's Cruciatus and he hadn't been able to attempt saving them. Right now he considered Lycanthropic transformation to be within the same pain threshold, and Remus needed to stop seizing. Seeing that the Healer didn't make a move to work over Remus, Severus continued. "There is a spell to lay a protective boundary between the brain and the seizing nerves," he said quickly. "I have performed it once before, but it takes great effort and enormous concentration. Lily can stay, but I will need you both to leave." There was an authority in his voice that hadn't been there for several years.

Poppy spluttered, "He needs supervision—"

"Which I will handle," Severus interrupted, a tinge of frustration edging his voice. He looked to the Headmaster. "I cannot save him if I have two worried adults hovering and making comments or excuses. Leave. Now." His voice wasn't angry or disrespectful, but rather full of urgency and desperation. He turned to the matron. "I will fetch you when I've finished."

Dumbledore didn't necessarily want to leave, but he knew that giving the young Gryffindor a quiet and comforting atmosphere was the only solution. He tipped his head and steered Poppy from the ward.

Severus returned to Remus's bedside, exchanged a heavy look with Lily, and began to lay the protective shield.

He worked slowly, as the spell was lengthy and had to be chanted repeatedly as he drew his wand in tight circles over the crown of Remus's head. He hadn't performed this spell for several years; the only time he'd used it was to prevent poor Charity Burbage, subjected to the Cruciatus, from becoming like Frank and Alice Longbottom. But then Voldemort had fed her to Nagini and Sev's sacrifice had been for naught. It was past midnight when Severus's now-hoarse voice broke, and the laying of the shield was complete. Over the past two hours Remus had gradually stopped seizing, as more and more of the nerves in his brain were given relief by way of Severus's complicated Healing. He collapsed into the chair Lily had placed behind him a quarter of an hour before, sensing that the spell was winding down and that the effort drawn by the magic had weakened him significantly.

"It's done," he whispered, staring at the pale face of his friend, whose skin shone with sweat that had colored his hair dark. He held this position for a few minutes, never letting his eyes wander. After a bout of silence, he said, "You should go to bed."

Startled, Lily looked up at him. "What?"

"He'll be fine through the night with Madame Pomfrey watching over him—that shield will last for almost a day—but you should go to bed. The Quidditch Captain shouldn't be sleep deprived before a match."

"I will if you do," she replied in a measured voice. "You're on the team too."

But Severus shook his head. "I can't. The Wolfsbane I gave him did nothing for the pain—you saw him. That was the full effect of it, and I'll guarantee the worst he's ever felt in his life. And it will keep happening until the full moon wanes on Monday morning." He paused, his brow furrowing. "I need to fix the potion. If this month is anything to go by, March will be worse by twice—if not more."

"His birth month," Lily whispered in understanding, her green eyes wide.

Severus nodded. "I won't be able to sleep until I know I have a better option for him. Not even the highest-class pain reliever can cancel out what he's felt today."

Lily knew better than to argue. No Quidditch match victory was worth the agony Remus had suffered. So she squeezed Remus's hand, gently kissed his forehead, and went around the bed to hug her best friend. They stood like that for a while, before Sev pulled away and grasped her hand. They walked into Poppy's office, where she sat behind her desk waiting for them.

"Well…?" the Healer asked, glancing from Sev's face to Lily's.

"The shield is in place. It will remain so for about a day, but by this time tomorrow he'll have transformed."

"When will he wake?"

Severus thought. "Not until tomorrow evening, and he might not wake on his own. But by then I should have a new Wolfsbane ready for him."

Surprised, Poppy said, "You don't mean to begin tonight—"

"I do. Nothing is more important right now. Please don't tell me to go to bed—what Remus needs is a better Wolfsbane, not a sleeping friend." He sighed. "Good night, Madame Pomfrey." And with that, they left the Hospital Wing.

Once outside, they stopped at the staircase, where Lily would go up and Severus would go down. "It will not be the first time I have brewed all night with no sleep."

"Be careful," Lily said, going to her tip-toes to kiss him.

It was brief, but good, and when they broke apart he rested his forehead against hers. "I am nothing else."

Sunday morning came more swiftly than any of the Gryffindor team expected. Severus had only made it back to the dormitory an hour before dawn, his second-modified Wolfsbane set simmering in Professor Slughorn's experimental lab in the dungeons. Sirius didn't speak on the way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and Lily shepherded her teammates to the seats at the end of the table so they would have an easy exit to the grounds after eating.

Lily saw Jackie with the Ravenclaw team from the corner of her eye, but became distracted when Regulus crossed her field of vision on his way over to the Gryffindor table. She waved, and he tipped his head in acknowledgement before coming to sit on her other side. As he pulled a plate of bacon towards him he muttered, "I can keep him company during the match, if you like."

"Peter said he would, too. He's already gone up—decided to have Madame Pomfrey heal his bruise while he's there."

Regulus looked at her in surprise. "Bruise? What happened?"

Lily grinned savagely at her kippers for a brief moment before meeting Regulus's gaze. "He clocked Potter a couple times and in return, Potter nearly broke his nose. Just got his cheek, though. I'm willing to bet he's going to skive off the match and start snooping again."

"He won't find—"

"Oh, no, of course not. She's got that private room, remember? He'll be fine." But her face didn't match her words, and Regulus would have bet the match that Lily wasn't entirely focused on the approaching game.

He was silent for a few moments as he swallowed a bite of food. Then, in hushed undertones, he said, "Listen, focus on the match for now. If Potter sticks his nose anywhere near the Hospital Wing I'll take care of it."

"I know." She reached her left hand to grasp Severus's, who was sitting on her other side, quietly listening to the conversation between his girlfriend and the Slytherin. He squeezed her hand and tried to ignore the headache building behind his eyes.

He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'm going to get a bit of Invigoration Draught. I'll be dead on my broom if I don't."

Lily glanced over at Sirius. "With any luck, we won't have to be in the air very long. Siri looks pretty determined."

Regulus and Severus followed her gaze to the end of the table. The elder Black had a hard expression on his face, and he kept repeatedly lifting a spoonful of porridge halfway to his closed mouth before letting the spoon tip until the porridge fell back off into the bowl. One of Regulus's eyebrows went straight beneath his bangs. "Well I'll be damned if you guys don't win this thing in the first ten minutes. I haven't seen him look like that since he got his Hogwarts letter and told our parents he'd off himself if he was Sorted into Slytherin."

Severus snorted as he rose from his seat. "I'll be right back," he said, and squeezed Lily's shoulder before leaving the Great Hall.

Lily and Regulus continued to quietly talk until Severus returned slightly more awake, by which point the conversation had evolved. As Severus sat back down and picked up his fork, he heard Lily say, "I wish I knew why Siri's like this. It's just…he can't be this worked up over Rem, can he?"

Regulus went unnaturally still, and when he spoke, his voice was oddly forced. "I guess it's not in the Prophet yet. He didn't tell you?"

The tone with which these words were spoken sent a chill down Sev's spine. "Tell us what?"

"Oh, he hasn't." Frustration laced Reg's voice. "Well—here it is, I guess. Our cousin's family was attacked last night." He said the last bit with a tight face and a white fist. "By Fenrir Greyback."

Sev's fork dropped to the table with a clatter, causing Taylor, Gideon, and Fabian to look at him. He ignored them and leaned forward to stare across Lily at Regulus. "What? Which cousin?" But he already knew. From Regulus's reaction and the horrible feeling churning in his gut he knew…it just couldn't be…

"Andromeda."

"No!" Severus said in earnest, wishing he'd heard wrong. Because now, this meant—

"Dumbledore told me himself, last night," Regulus continued quietly, keeping his voice down so not to attract the attention of the rest of the Gryffindor team. "Right now the only one they know for sure got bitten was Dora."

Severus felt his self-control slip dangerously. "Who found them?" he asked.

"Well they live on a big tract of land out in the country," Regulus said, returning part of his attention to breakfast. "But an attack like that would make anyone scream…" He poked at his food for a moment. "Their neighbors, Siger and Violet Holmes, heard them. Of course they Apparated right over and were able to drive Greyback away. Siger stayed with them while Violet Apparated to St. Mungo's, and once the Healers got there she alerted the Ministry."

"Which means—" Lily started.

"—Umbridge knows," finished Regulus.

On the Quidditch pitch, Lily shook hands with Michael Winston, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. Sirius briefly met Jackie's curious gaze and gave her a small, apologetic smile, before Madame Hooch blew her whistle and both teams kicked off into the air. A moment later the balls were released, and a furious dance began around the Quaffle.

Sirius peeled his eyes and ignored Jackie, who was trailing him but searching herself for the Snitch. Not even three minutes had gone by when Sirius spotted it, at the Gryffindor end of the pitch high above Taylor's head. He shot forward faster than Jackie could react, and within seconds he held the glittering little ball in his hand.

The stands went wild as they realized that the match was over—neither team had scored a goal.

Sirius returned to the grass as soon as he caught the Snitch, and without waiting for his teammates he stomped back through the tunnel into the Gryffindor locker rooms, the golden ball feebly struggling in his hand.

It was, without question, the shortest match ever played on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.

By the time he left the lockers the rest of the team was coming in, but Jackie was waiting for him on the other side of the door. She hadn't changed from her blue Quidditch robes, clearly waiting for him to come out. She held her broom in her right hand and brushed her slightly windswept hair from her eyes with her left. "Sirius—" she said, but she stopped when she caught sight of his expression, which softened considerably when he looked around and saw her.

"Look, I'm sorry about Hogsmeade. I promise I'll make it up to you but I really can't explain right now."

In a show of understanding that frankly stunned Sirius, Jackie went to his side, slipped her arm through his, and started walking with him up to the castle. "I know. Regulus said if it wasn't important you wouldn't have—well—stood me up. You'll tell me when you're ready, so don't worry about it."

Sirius stared at her, nearly forgetting to walk forward lest he stumble over his own feet. "You—you're not mad?"

"Not terribly. I can tell something's got you up in arms, but I won't push you about it."

Sirius sagged with relief. "You're incredible," he said hoarsely, and kissed her.

A flush spread over Jackie's neck. "Then again…you did just beat me at Quidditch." Her eyes glinted with mischief. "And in less than three minutes! How on earth—"

She was interrupted by Gideon and Fabian Prewett running to catch up to them. "Holy blazing Hippogriffs, Sirius! Do you know you just broke the Hogwarts record for shortest Quidditch match?"

Sirius's jaw fell open. "What?"

"You caught the Snitch in two minutes and forty eight seconds," Fabian crowed happily.

"The record was five and a half, which had been standing for approximately thirty years," Gideon tacked on with a gleeful yell.

"Don't wait up—"

"—we're off to the kitchens—"

"—and you can bet on a party—"-

"—lasting all the way through tomorrow!"

After giving Sirius many slaps on the back, the Prewett twins raced up the grounds to the castle proper, leaving Sirius and Jackie to gape after them in frank astonishment. The rumble of the crowd rose behind them.

"Did you know about the record?" Sirius asked Jackie as he reminded his feet to move forward.

She shrugged. "I knew there was a record, but I didn't know what it was. Not to bash on your Seeking skills…but how on earth did you catch the Snitch so quickly?"

The small balloon of elation in Siri's chest caused by the Prewett twins' revelation developed a leak, and Sirius's expression darkened. "Sometimes if I force myself to focus really hard on one thing, I'll get to a point where anything is possible. I saw more clearly, moved quicker…I just couldn't stand the thought of staying in the air for very long." He rubbed his face with the fist holding the Snitch. "I—I haven't even told my friends yet. Regulus might have. He was talking to Lily and Severus at breakfast. Um…my favorite cousin—her family got attacked by a really nasty werewolf last night. Her daughter, my little cousin, she—she got bitten. The Ministry got wind of it because the werewolf in question—well, they've been hunting him for a couple years. But that also means my cousin's family will probably be treated like outcasts now."

Jackie stopped in her tracks and looked at her boyfriend in shock. "That's—that's terrible!"

Sirius felt slightly cheerier at Jackie's outrage on his family's behalf, but his cheer turned to guilt and worry as he thought about the bleakness of Dora's future and the uncertainty of Remus's. When they had made it to the castle and walked up the staircases together, they parted on the fifth floor, where the Ravenclaw dormitories were. She have him a tight hug, careful not to prod him with her broom, and a quick kiss.

"Keep me in the loop about your cousin, all right?"

"All right," Sirius agreed. "See you later."

A House Elf brought Sirius his lunch and his dinner while he sat in the private ward of the hospital wing with Remus, who was sleeping. The rest of the Circle came and went, and at one point Alice sat with Siri for over an hour, quietly talking to him about Remus, about anything, just to give him something to do besides sit and wait and fret. Curfew was drawing nearer and nearer, and finally at five to, Alice had to leave to patrol with one of the Gryffindor seventh year prefects, since Severus had been given the night off to assist with Remus.

With an hour to moonrise Dumbledore made an appearance. Severus stood back with Lily; Peter had persuaded Sirius to take a short nap up in the dormitories, and so he was absent. Poppy bustled over with a grim expression, and waved her wand over Remus.

"Ennervate," she murmured, and Remus stirred, taking a few moments to blink his way back into consciousness.

"Wuzzgoinon?" Remus fumbled with his bed sheets before flinging an arm over his eyes to block out the light. The motion awoke fresh pain in his limbs, and he let out a moan.

Severus stepped forward with the new Wolfsbane and pressed it into Remus's palm. "Drink," he said quietly. "It will help."

The poor werewolf tipped the contents back and swallowed, grimacing as it burned on its way down.

"Can you walk?" Poppy asked gently.

Remus didn't move for a few seconds, but then he nodded. "I think so," he whispered, and when he looked up at his little welcoming committee, they all saw his eyes briefly shift to yellow.

"How will we get up to the seventh floor?" Lily asked Sev in a whisper, so only he could hear. "That's four whole flights—can Rem make it that far?"

Lily, who had never accompanied Remus and Severus during a transformation, had therefore never before seen their method.

"Watch."

Poppy and Dumbledore assisted Remus on either side as he stood. A prick of black suddenly appeared on the blank stretch of wall beside the bedframe, directly in front of the Headmaster, the werewolf, and the matron. It steadily grew larger, ballooning until there was a doorway before them. Dumbledore gave a minute flick of his wand and the door swung inwards, revealing the padded room for Remus's transformations.

"The Room of Requirement," Severus reminded her, "adjusts to the needs of its user."

Lily let a small smile slip onto her face. "And since he can't go upstairs—"

"It came to us."

Severus quickly walked Lily back to the common room, which blasted noise into the corridors once the Fat Lady swung her portrait forward, for the Prewetts' Quidditch victory party was still raging. Sirius fought through the crowd when the portrait opened, and all but accosted Severus.

Lily gave her boyfriend a fleeting kiss before leaving him in the portrait hole, knowing that Sirius would want to be present for the transformation.

The boys began to converse, and Sirius grew more agitated as they walked to the corridor with the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's ill-fated endeavor to teach trolls to dance.

Finally, the elder Black burst, "I don't care what he said before, and I'm not going to sit on my hands in the Tower, waiting for bad news. I'm going in there." Sirius finally took a breath, his cheeks red with anger. "He doesn't deserve this—"

"Of course he doesn't!" Severus exclaimed. "He deserves this the least of every human on Earth!"

"Then why won't you—" but he stopped mid-sentence and paled.

Severus gripped Sirius's shoulders. "It's not up to me. Not this time." Sirius met his gaze and Severus saw a heartbroken, terrified boy, scared to lose his best friend over something he might have caused. "It's only myself, Dumbledore, and Madame Pomfrey. This is the worst transformation he's gone through, Siri. It's as much for your protection as it is for his. If it were you...would you want him to see you in that much pain?"

Numb now, Sirius weakly shook his head.

"I promise that as soon as he returns to normal and is back in the hospital wing I will come get you," Severus said bracingly.

Sirius swallowed. "Keep him safe, won't you?"

"Of course."

And with that Sirius turned back down the corridor, and Severus entered the Room of Requirement, where Poppy and Dumbledore were waiting with Remus.

As the moon set, Remus shuddered and writhed, his wolf's body contorting and twisting back into his proper, human form. At last he stilled, and a great groan mixed with a sigh of relief left Remus's lips. Severus knelt behind Remus's head and supported it as he helped the werewolf swallow a phial of pain reliever. Remus fell back against Sev's knees and brought one arm up to grope for purchase; Sev caught Remus's hand and winced as his friend gripped with the strength of seven men. Sev's eyes glanced up and met Poppy's. With a silent nod she left, and would come back at dawn when Remus would regain his ability to walk. The Headmaster had left halfway through the night to answer a Patronus from his deputy.

It was another hour before Remus spoke.

"Why did you do it?" he asked in a half-sleepy, half-scared voice.

Severus did not have to ask what he meant. "I did not go behind your back, Remus," he said in a steady, calming voice. "Tell me what you heard."

Remus swallowed and his hand flexed. Severus released him. "I remember stopping just outside the library to do up my trainers. You and Alice were talking, and then she said something about me not being dangerous—and then you contradicted her. Said that I was 'incredibly' dangerous…a threat…and that if I ever went a moon without the Wolfsbane not even you could control me. I left then, because oh—I just couldn't bear it. All these secrets, Sev, and then that…"

Severus frowned. "But you are dangerous. I said that you are no longer a threat."

"What—then why—?"

"Being a werewolf makes you dangerous, but it doesn't make you a threat," Sev interrupted. "You're dangerous in the same way that I am."

Remus summoned the strength to sit up and face his friend. "I don't understand."

"Dumbledore is the greatest, most powerful wizard of this age. Does that make him dangerous? Of course! But does it make him a threat?" He paused, but Remus seemed content to allow his friend a good long explanation to what had transpired in the library. "No. Not intrinsically. You know my past—you know the dangerous power of what I can do, but that doesn't make me a threat—least of all to anyone in this school.

"Before I made you the Wolfsbane you were a terrible threat to everyone around you because you were not yourself. You were not human in that form and didn't know right from wrong. In that state yes, you were a threat because you could have killed or bitten someone from the school or the village. But you are diligent enough with the potion that it no longer applies. You have told me that you feel no inclination towards harming yourself or others while transformed under the effect of the potion. And that, my furry friend, is what makes you no longer a threat."

Remus looked at him with a mixture of intrigue and relief. But a shadow fell across his face again.

"Do you remember what happened on Saturday morning?" Sev asked cautiously.

"I know I scared Sirius," he replied in a glum voice. "If I could only tell him…" he looked up, and grey eyes met black. "Could I?"

Severus tensed. If Sirius knew the truth about his past things could snowball again but in a very different manner. His initial instinct was to say no, firmly, without any room for argument. But Sev's close friendship with Remus had wrought a different sort of change in him over the past five years. "Let me think about it," he said, making a mental note to figure out which memories would be the most informative but the least damaging to his relationship with Sirius.

Remus relaxed a fraction and began intently examining his hands.

"There is something else I need to tell you," Sev began quietly, really not wanting to have this conversation but thinking the ultimate outcome would be better than if it happened later.

"What?"

"On Saturday night, when Sirius went to get the Headmaster to assist with you, well—" he was hedging it, trying to find the best way to say it without delivering a detrimental blow to his friend.

"Spit it out, Sev," said Remus, oblivious to the reason behind Severus's uncharacteristic pauses.

"Greyback attacked Nymphadora Tonks and her parents."

In the stunned silence that followed these words, Remus's expression went from puzzled, to shocked, to disbelieving, and settled on a pale shade of horrified ghostly white. "NO!" he yelled. "No! What—why—Severus—"

The old Potions Master gripped Remus's upper arms to steady him. "That's why Dumbledore left in the middle of the night—McGonagall got an update from the Healers and sent him a Patronus—"

"What happened?" Remus bellowed, fighting against him.

"I'll tell you," Sev panted, "once you've stopped treating me like a jailer."

Remus slumped back with a wild expression on his face, his eyes alight with worry and a need to know more.

"I found out from Regulus at breakfast before the match yesterday morning," he began, and shifted so he was sitting more comfortably. "Dumbledore told us more, so I'll start with that. The Ministry has been trying to track Greyback for ages—but we already knew that. They lost his trail about three months ago. Mr. and Mrs. Tonks have been staunch supporters of the Wolfsbane—they even helped fund some of the testing at St. Mungo's, since after Bellatrix died and Narcissa got sent to Azkaban, Andromeda inherited her parents' fortune. From what Dumbledore's been able to piece together from the Aurors, Greyback got wind of this and hunted them down practically silently.

"As far as we know only Dora was bitten; I expect the news McGonagall has is whether her parents are infected as well. Their neighbors, the Holmes family, heard the attack and they Apparated over straight away—the father was able to drive Greyback away. He stayed with them; Violet fetched the Healers—which I'm quite impressed with; usually Apparition while pregnant makes you sicker than usual—and then she reported the attack to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures—which meant that Umbridge got wind of the attack within an hour of it happening.

"Dumbledore said that the Aurors tracked Greyback through the forest separating the Holmes Estate from the Tonks house, but lost him wherever he Disapparated. He's injured, though—Siger hit him with Confringo—you know, the Blasting Curse." He paused here to gather his thoughts. "That's as much as I know right now. Siri and Reg might know more, seeing as I'm sure both of them were still awake when Dumbledore left here."

Remus stared ahead, unseeing. "She didn't—she wasn't—" he drew a breath. "Last time, in your other—whatever—she wasn't…?"

"A werewolf?" Severus asked sharply. "No, she wasn't. And she loved you despite the fact that you were."

"She shouldn't be one," he mumbled, but got cut off again by Severus.

"No, you're right. She shouldn't. But that doesn't and won't change the fact that she is now, and while I wish she weren't, it also means that you can relate to her now, and your parents can offer guidance and support to her parents when they are undoubtedly overwhelmed by the reality of it."

Remus hung his head and buried his face in his hands. "I want to do something," he said.

"I know. We all do."

But Remus seemed to be done talking, and so Severus sat back and kept silent company until the matron returned at dawn to help Remus back into the hospital wing.

When Sirius peered into the hospital wing on his way down to breakfast, and saw Remus sitting up and talking with Regulus, he felt intense relief course through him. Severus had continued on down to the Great Hall with Lily, so Sirius went in by himself.

"You're okay," Sirius said, and both his brother and Remus looked up at him.

Remus gave his best friend a small, sad smile. "I'll be fine."

Sirius sat down, pulling his book bag onto his lap. He clutched at it, trying to remember how to talk.

Remus saved him the trouble. "Severus told me what happened," he said in a whisper, and Regulus took his cue to leave. "I'm so sorry, Siri…I wish I could tell you that everything will be all right—"

"Stop," Sirius said over him. "It's not your fault. Frank said I might project some of this on you because you're one, but I couldn't do that to my best friend—so don't apologize."

"What else can I do?" Remus asked sadly.

"Just…get better. Be you. Keep me company whenever Dumbledore gives me and Reg more news. Andromeda was more like family than my parents were, even though we're just cousins."

"And Jackie…?"

Sirius met his friend's gaze. "She'll be there too. I was too wrapped up in trying to work through the Quidditch match to tell the rest of the Circle what happened, so Regulus did it for me—the first person I told was Jackie." He looked down. "It should have been you."

Remus felt tears at the back of his eyes, but he blinked them away.

"You're as much of a brother to me as Regulus is. Sometimes more so."

The poor lycanthrope felt the tears leave his eyes and he buried his face in his hands. He'd considered the Circle his family for several years, but this admission from Sirius made him feel truly accepted at last.

Sirius saw and reached out, pulling Rem's hands away so he would look at him. "Rem, mate, you don't have to get all weepy. You know you're family to us."

"I know," he said, sniffing. "But it's different actually hearing it."

Sirius spoke softly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

At lunch the next day a second year as tall and skinny as Severus and Remus sat himself with the Circle, on the outer edge beside Sirius and across from Regulus. He shook their hands, waved down the table to the rest of the Circle, and said, "Hi, my name's Renly. My brother is the one who rescued your cousins."

Immediately Sirius and Regulus clamored for news; Dumbledore had not called them to deliver the new information from McGonagall and so they had been left in the dark.

"I got an owl from Siger this morning—he and Vi are at St. Mungo's because she just went into labor, but he said that they wouldn't let him visit the Tonks'. It might be because he's not family and being attacked by a werewolf just before the full moon made theirs a weird case."

"So Andromeda and Ted were bitten?" Regulus asked Renly tightly.

Renly shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry." He took a roast beef sandwich from a nearby platter. "I know they're in quarantine though."

"I wish I could visit," Sirius said.

"Are you going home for Easter?" Renly asked.

"Well, no," Siri said. "Our parents made it quite clear that we're not welcome at home since they got busted during that raid a couple years before Voldemort died."

Renly looked at them, confused. "So where do you stay during the summers?"

"With these lot," Sirius replied, gesturing to the Circle. "Usually Remus or Frank."

"Oh," said Renly, "well you're welcome to spend Easter at the Estate. Our parents keep complaining about not getting visitors enough and you'd be right next door to the Tonks'."

"Your brother's family lives with your parents?" Remus asked.

"It's a bloody manse," said Renly. "Siger, Vi, and Myc have the whole east wing to themselves." He bit into the sandwich. "Our parents are getting on in years, too. Papa can't really make it upstairs anymore so they stay on the first floor."

"Myc?" Asked Lily.

"My six-year-old nephew Mycroft. So, how about it? Easter at the Holmes Estate sound okay? Oh, the rest of you are invited, too. Siger said any friends of the Black cousins are welcome—and it's a huge place, so don't worry about imposing."

Severus and Lily would be going back to Ottery St. Catchpole, but would ask their mothers if they could spend a day or two in the country to visit Renly and the Tonks family.

Renly chatted with them for a while but then had to leave for his Herbology lesson with the rest of the second year Gryffindors.

That night at dinner, Dumbledore had an announcement.

"On Friday evening we will have a visitor from the Ministry coming to speak with the school," he said, and it was plain from his tone of voice that he didn't approve of this little incursion. "She will be addressing the student body on the dangers of lycanthropy and she will ask if anyone feels unsafe at Hogwarts. I urge you to speak plainly to her, be truthful and honest. That is all. Sleep well!"

The Circle all looked around at each other with varying degrees of confusion and worry on their faces, but none so much as Remus, who had turned as white as a sheet. As the students began standing and exiting the Hall, Professor McGonagall came down from the teachers' table to hand Sirius a sealed scroll. "The Headmaster would like a word with you and your brother," she said, giving him a fleeting look of sympathy.

Naturally Frank, Alice, Peter, Lily, Severus, Remus, and Jackie stayed put while the Hall slowly emptied, and Sirius opened the scroll to read it with Regulus. "He wants us to go up to his office," Sirius said.

Renly floated past and said, "Good luck. I guess he finally has something to tell you."

"We'll let you know what he says," said Regulus, and Renly inclined his head in thanks.

Now Dumbledore had underestimated Sirius and Regulus, so when they arrived at the Headmaster's office, they arrived with their entourage of friends. They trooped into the circular room and stood silently, waiting for Dumbledore to start.

"Well, I should have guessed you would bring everyone," he said, surveying the nine students in front of him. Severus gave a half-smirk and avoided the Headmaster's gaze. "I have heard from the Healers in the ward where Mr. and Mrs. Tonks and their daughter are being cared for. Nymphadora sustained a bite from Fenrir Greyback, and on the night of the full moon she transformed. Andromeda and Edward—"

Here, Sirius interrupted. "He hates that name. He's called 'Ted.'"

Dumbledore tipped his head in acknowledgement and continued. "—Andromeda and Ted sustained terrible scratches and other like-wounds, but neither were infected with the full curse. They will have wolf-like characteristics and prefer their meat bloody from now on, but they are not true werewolves."

Sirius sagged a little in minor relief to know that two had escaped Remus's fate. But Regulus stood as still as stone.

"Will Dora be okay?" Regulus asked. "She's only three."

"Nymphadora Tonks will spend one night of every month of her life transforming into a werewolf," Dumbledore replied evenly. "If the Wolfsbane did not exist," he glanced at Severus, "the transformation at such a young age might have killed her. As it is, she will be able to grow up and lead a steady life, so long as she always takes the potion beforehand."

Regulus was not completely satisfied, but at least he knew for sure that Dora was okay.

Remus hadn't dared to speak at all, and he wouldn't even look at Sev, scared that if their eyes met he would blurt out why he was so terrified on the Tonks family's behalf. It didn't matter, though, because everyone in the room except Jackie knew that Remus suffered from lycanthropy as well, so they all mistook his paleness for sickness over the fact that the werewolf who had infected him had now infected his best friend's cousin. Which really was part of it. But not all.

Severus frowned. "That's not all the news, is it?" He asked shrewdly.

Dumbledore's eyes did not twinkle, but there was an understanding there that Severus recognized. "It concerns the visit from the Ministry official," he confirmed. "Madame Dolores Jane Umbridge will be arriving on Friday just before dinner, and she will be addressing the student body on why she believes the passing of her law might have prevented the attack on the Black cousins."

At the end of this statement, everyone in the room except Remus and Jackie, and the Headmaster, burst into indignant yells.

"She can't be serious—" shouted Sirius.

"That's the stupidest thing ever," Peter proclaimed, an expression of appropriate fury on his thin face.

"No, not fair!" Cried Alice, supported in kind by Frank.

"Laws don't stop the unlawful from breaking them," Severus said in calm, but icy anger that everyone heard despite being louder than him.

"Did she actually say that to the Tonks family?" Lily asked in a high pitched, indignant voice.

"I can show her how safe laws make her," Regulus said threateningly, his hand curled into a white fist.

Dumbledore raised his hands and almost instantly the office became silent again. "I did not say that I agree with her," Dumbledore said, and Severus almost wished it had been in a yell instead of his usual infuriating calmness. "But this is a request from the Minister himself that I cannot refuse, because the parents who read the Daily Prophet will be—or already are—worried for their and their children's safety. Fear spreads more quickly than hope and reassurance; that much we know very well. Miss Umbridge will request to speak to those who are scared, but I am advising that none of you—especially you both, Sirius and Regulus—submit to this. She will try to get you alone, but do not let her. Stick together with your friends and move quickly when you need to. Her words are dangerous, but her actions more so. She will try to make you into betrayers."

Everyone looked sufficiently scared except Jackie, who just looked confused.

Dumbledore noticed this, and leaned back a little in surprise. "Ah...one of you does not know..."

It took Sirius the duration of two heartbeats to realize what the Headmaster was referring to, and immediately following this realization his gaze met Remus's and silently asked for his permission.

Remus gave the tiniest of nods, and closed his eyes, sagging a bit. Peter went over to guide him to a seat, and then remained standing by the arm of the chair like a short, wiry, guard dog.

"Jackie," Sirius began, and he took her hands in his. "We need to tell you something."

Jackie lived up to her placement in Ravenclaw House by calmly meeting his gaze and saying, "Okay. What is it?"

Sirius glanced at his best friend again. "Remus is a werewolf."

He'd expected her to run screaming from the office and never want to speak to him again, so when Jaqueline Clearwater, girlfriend to Sirius Black, blinked a few times and said, "That's it?" Sirius couldn't quite believe his ears.

"Yeah, he's—"

Jackie shushed him and went to talk to Remus instead. She knelt in front of him and he stared down at her in astonishment. "First of all, I'm really sorry you're a werewolf. If there's anything I can do, just say so. I still think you're okay, even if you turn into something furry once a month. And secondly," she looked over her shoulder at the headmaster, "a fourteen-way secret isn't much of a secret. Why isn't he protected by the Fidelus Charm?"

"Fourteen—?"

"We in this room make ten. The Deputy Headmistress would need to know for obvious reasons and then of course there's Madame Pomfrey, which makes twelve, and Mr. and Mrs. Lupin make fourteen," Jackie counted quickly. "Why no Fidelus? He could be exposed by someone else and then this Umbridge woman wouldn't need to get Siri or Reg to talk about anything, let alone their friend. She could just talk to the person who found out on their own."

"Why do you think she'll target Siri and Reg?" Lily asked the Headmaster.

"Well that's obvious," Frank interjected. "Siri and Reg are close to the Tonks family. She'd ask if they feel threatened or scared now that their cousin is a 'filthy half breed,'" he used air quotes, "and judge them as sympathetic based on their reactions. Then she would use it against them."

Several of them started talking at once again, and Dumbledore had to clear his throat loudly to get their renewed attention. "Mr. Lupin is not under a Fidelus because that is not quite how the intent behind the charm works."

"It wouldn't stop people from noticing him get sick near the full moon and get better afterwards?" Jackie inquired. Admittedly she had only read one book on the charm, and it had been ages ago. But she remembered the gist of it.

Dumbledore didn't respond to this, quite possibly because he didn't have a good answer. Jackie huffed. But then, he said, "The Fidelus is often taken to the grave. Who would have been the Secret Keeper? Not his parents, who have never met any of you except those who have visited on holidays, but brief interactions like that do not always foster the kind of trust the charm requires. It was Remus's secret to keep, and I think the trust he placed in you, as friends, is part of a stronger sort of magic that keeps him safe. But you are correct that the Fidelus Charm would have averted any curious eyes that timed his disappearances with the waxing of the full moon." He sat down behind his desk looking quite weary. "It would not work the same way if performed now that, by your astutely quick count, fourteen people are in on it."

"So what are you doing to keep him from being outed—" Jackie fell silent when Dumbledore fixed his gaze upon her.

"I? I am doing nothing except staying silent, because in the end it is not truly up to me who knows about his illness. It is up to Remus, and the bond of trust exercised between those he has told." Dumbledore looked a little scary, but not yet angry. "It will not stop other students from deducing for themselves, if they are clever enough; the strength of the secret lies in your willingness to protect him," his gaze turned to Remus, and his expression softened, "at all costs."

The one thousand students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry watched as a short, squat woman wearing nothing but pink, pink, and more pink, and a large ugly pink velvet bow on her mousy brown hair, walked in short strides to the dais where the High Table stood. It took her a bit longer than it took McGonagall and Dumbledore, owing to the shortness of her legs, and she resolutely ignored the stares she garnered as she made her way down the gap between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables.

There was a soft hum as the students whispered, and the hum died away when their Headmaster stood to welcome their Ministry guest. "Please give your attention to Miss Umbridge," Dumbledore said, and if you happened to be standing near him you would have seen the coldness in his eyes. But nobody saw except Professor McGonagall, and she did not move from her rooted position beside him.

"Hem hem," Umbridge coughed, "thank you Professor Dumbledore!" She looked out over the students as if searching for someone, but continued her speech in a brusque manner as though it had been rehearsed a hundred times. "Last week a Wizarding family was attacked by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. This came after months of hunting him, tracking him, and cornering him. In these respects we were not successful.

"Werewolves are inherently bad," she continued, watching carefully for signs of disagreement among the students. Sirius clenched his fists so hard he felt his nails break the skin, and quietly Remus unclenched them to heal the wounds. "They are vile, dangerous, and cursed. Letting them roam unchecked is nothing short of criminal. Following the death of the Dark Lord I drafted legislature to keep werewolves in check, and have been stalled and delayed at every point along the way.

"It is my firm belief—a belief that should be shared among all Wizards—that had this law been passed, the Tonks family would not be in such a position." She continued to talk for another twenty minutes, but Severus and Sirius couldn't stand it anymore.

They tuned her out and focused on Remus instead, silently supporting him through the awful words that hurt with every syllable.

At last, it was over. "I will be staying at Hogwarts for one week. I urge you to come to me with any concerns you might have for yourself, your friends, or your families. No one else should have to become what Greyback is. No one else should follow in the footsteps of the Tonks family."

But then again, maybe it wasn't. Lily saw Renly rise from his seat down the Gryffindor table. "So it was their fault that they were attacked?" Renly said in an icy calm that didn't seem to connect to his personality. "It was their fault that their daughter, who is three years old, got bitten? Or are you implying that their daughter did something herself to draw the attention of Fenrir Greyback?"

This blatant defense of the Tonks family seemed to throw Umbridge for a loop, but she quickly recovered. "And what is your name, dear?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice that made Sirius want to throw up.

"Holmes," Renly said with surety in his voice. "And you are sadly mistaken if you think you can intimidate anyone here into begging their parents to support your joke of a law. Laws don't prevent the lawless from breaking them. And Greyback is the most lawless of them all. You really think that all werewolves are inherently bad because one werewolf has caused so much harm."

"You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand," Umbridge said, all sweetness gone from her voice.

"I understand perfectly," Renly replied. "My brother is the one who fought Greyback off and rescued the Tonks family. My brother drove Greyback away with a Blasting Curse—not with a piece of parchment saying it was illegal for him to be attacking people." At this point Renly turned away from Umbridge and cast his gaze around the Great Hall. Severus knew what he was doing—drawing attention to himself so Umbridge wouldn't approach Sirius or Regulus about their cousins. "Greyback is one of approximately fifteen werewolves being tracked by the Ministry for openly refusing to take part in the Wolfsbane trials. And Nymphadora Tonks is one of a thousand other werewolves who have expressed a desperate desire to be rendered harmless when the Wolfsbane potion is released to the public. Pick your sides," he said with a glare, "but pick your sides with the understanding that only one percent of the British werewolf population has elected to throw freedom from their curse in the face of those trying to help them." He pointed at Umbridge. "She's the real enemy here."

"That's enough, Mr. Holmes," Dumbledore said softly, squashing the rising babble. Umbridge had turned red during Renly's rebuke, and the Headmaster strode around the High Table to escort her away.

A/N: Yes, you read that correctly. No, this is not becoming a crossover. It's sort of a half-segue into my next big idea. Sherlock and Mycroft do not appear in this story; only Renly does, and he's a completely original character, despite the borrowed name from Game of Thrones. Up next: O.W.L.s.