Updated 8/29/21
Harry sprints down the hall, shoving through groups of tired students wandering toward breakfast. After much shouting and a lot of fancy footwork, he bursts through the door into the defense classroom.
"It wasn't me; I promise!" Harry shouts, out of breath to a bemusedly packing Remus.
"Oh, I know. My money, if I had any, would be on Snape. He never did forgive me for almost eating him."
"But, I- Wait, eating him?" Harry says with disgust, "Have you seen the state of his hair? You'd get indigestion and all sorts of nasty things."
"Had I been human at the time, I would have agreed with you. Werewolves, however, are not so picky about how they receive their meat." Remus says with a wink, "In any case. I trust that it wasn't you who exposed me to the prophet. And honestly, even if it was you, I don't care all too much. It was bound to come out ever the summer; too many of your classmate's parents would remember me from school. Dumbledore tried his best to shield me, but our Sixth year someone leaked my condition. I was only allowed back for my seventh year by the skin of my teeth and any infractions would have seen me expelled and my wand snapped." Lupin says tiredly.
"But, you'd have already taken your OWLs by then. You were a full-fledged wizard." Harry protests.
"No, Harry, I was a dark creature." Lupin says resignedly, "There is a reason I disappeared after the war died down; it wasn't safe for me. I'm going to have to disappear into the muggle world once more over the summer."
"But, I just found you." Harry says. "I just learned who you are, and that- that-"
Remus crouches and puts a hand on Harry's shoulder, "I'm sorry Harry. I know it sucks for you. But you are safer with your relatives than with me. I'm headed to the continent to find a pack to run with for a few months so any angry parents won't find me. A werewolf pack is no place for an unturned child, and I would die before I let you suffer the same curse as I have. I know Sirius left some provisions before he was locked away, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them come to light. Your life is going to be changing Harry, fast. Whether you want it to or not, so much is going to change in the next year."
"Tell you what, I'll do my best to be back in polite society by the time next term starts after the summer is over, but I can't promise anything. Again, I'm sorry Harry. James and I talked about this when he was deciding on godfather, and we both agreed it was too risky for you to go to me. Not only for the people I will be around, but also the hunters."
"The Hunters?" Harry asks, to which Remus gives him a look. "I do hope you pay more attention in your other classes. Werewolf hunting remains an acceptable practice in some countries, Britain included. In fact, our Ministry goes so far as to have a bounty for the heads. You may have crossed paths with one of the 'professional' hunters yesterday, Walden Macnair. I already expect him to be waiting for me at the front gate."
"That's despicable." Harry says.
"I agree. So too did your parents. We were going to change it all, to rewrite our society one day. Never got the chance, did we? It's your burden now. Yours and your friends' job to fix our mistakes and repair out broken society."
"I won't let you down." Harry promises.
"Oh, cub, you couldn't. I will always be proud of you, Harry. You're so much like your parents, and so much better." Remus says, wiping at a tear as he waves his wand, sweeping a row of reference books into a bag.
"We're running out of time," Remus says softly as he gets another section of the room packed away. "There are a handful of things we need to talk about before I leave."
"Number one," He turns around holding a familiar map, "Since I'm no longer your professor or bound by the rules laid out in the Hogwarts Charter, I feel no guilt in giving you back a family heirloom. Use it well." He smiles at Harry.
"Secondly, the protections your mother left you. Dumbledore stretched them to cover your aunt's home, but doing so weakened them and thinned the barrier. If you aren't familiar with Fawcett's principle of strength-space dilation then ask your friend. It'll show you just how weakened they've become. If you can find the anchors and uproot the protections, you might be able to snap it back to just you. Given how your time here has gone, doing so would serve you well."
"Lastly, and this is not something I ask of you lightly; What do you intend to do about Sirius?
When Harry doesn't immediately answer, Lupin continues, "As much as I love justice and doing the right thing, shouting about his innocence will do you no favors, assuming you believe his story."
"Do you believe it, sir?"
"I do. Peter hiding for all these years makes no sense unless he truly feared something. And Sirius being in Azkaban has long been known and celebrated. There was no way for him to remain ignorant of his capture. So, Peter had no reason to be hiding.
Sirius loved your father, swore a blood bond with him. He liked Lily as well, and vehemently hated his family and everything they stood for. The Sirius I knew from school would sooner die than betray them. An Imperius could have been used, but even then, he would be innocent, wouldn't he? And something as significant as that would have been found at his trial.
And lastly, his actions after breaking out from Azkaban. His first stop was finding you and checking on you. After that, he made his way to Hogwarts and started hunting Peter. Were he a true follower of the Dark Lord, he would have attacked you that night in the dorms instead of Peter."
"He wouldn't do it for revenge?" Harry asks quietly. "I'd like to believe him, but if he was my godfather, he left me and went after Pettigrew. He left me."
"Sirius was a Black, and as much as he pretended otherwise, he had the Black Madness. He could go into frenzy and forget everything else. I suspect that is what happened with Peter when your parents were killed. And he could have been chasing revenge on Peter over killing you. We kind of looked down on Peter as a lesser wizard, but he did graduate his NEWTS. A fully trained wizard is nothing to scoff at, no matter how far behind you think they were."
"You don't sound convinced." Harry observes.
"No, but I suppose I am a but biased. As many years as I hated Sirius for what he 'did', I stood by him after but a few moments. Seeing Peter- how can I atone for hating an innocent man for a decade now that he's dead?" Remus shakes his head, "I believe Peter was the traitor, and Sirius was blamed for Peter's crimes. My friend died an innocent man and his murderer is walking free."
"So, what now? We both know he was innocent." Harry says.
"Yes, but we need to be smart about this. Sirius died without proving his innocence, and shaking that bone will only bring us hardship. The Ministry won't want to admit it, the other purebloods won't want to face it, and whoever killed him can't want the attention an investigation would bring. Better for all of us if we pretend the story is true, that he really did betray your parents." Remus explains.
"I don't like it." Harry says.
"I know, I'm not a fan either. But neither of us can go borrowing trouble. Especially not you. I suspect that if Sirius had a will it's going to be coming into effect, and if not, then the lordship of house black will be in the air. And you, Harry, are one of the prime candidates for inheriting the lot. I wouldn't be shocked if Andromeda Tonks, Sirius' older cousin, reached out to you. Be careful dealing with her. She was tossed out for marrying a muggleborn, but up until then she was a dutiful daughter of house Black. She can be a powerful ally, but never forget that she, like everyone else, has an agenda and goals. And once your desires no longer align, I don't know what she would do."
Harry takes the advice to heart and walks with Lupin to the doors by the great hall.
"This is goodbye, Harry. For now." Remus says, ruffling the boy's hair. "There is a storm brewing, but it is not here yet. Go, enjoy the time you have left this year with your friends! Try not to antagonize your uncle, or anyone else. A low profile would make this easier. But, knowing you," Lupin squeezes Harry's shoulder, "trouble will come knocking."
"Professor, you should know by now." Harry says, "It doesn't even bother to knock anymore, just sits on down for tea and biscuits on its own."
"Hah! Enjoy your final days here, prongslet." Remus says fondly. "I'll be in touch." With that, the werewolf walks out of the gates of Hogwarts, boxes in tow.
Harry watches the figure of his professor and honorary uncle shrink for a minute before turning back to face the school. Remus told him to have fun, but Harry had things to do first.