Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Again, no copyright infringement of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and publishers of Harry Potter intended. This is for non-commercial uses only. Any original characters are mine and I am usually willing to share if my permission is asked.

Please do not read this if you have a problem with slash!!!

PG for slash, violence. May become R later for violence, but probably only stick to PG13.

Sirius/Lupin

Harry reread the letter several times before meeting the worried glances of his friends. Despite his stronger bonds to Sirius, Remus was an important part of Harry's life. He had spent much more time with Professor Lupin than he had with his godfather during his third year at Hogwarts, and had it not been for the fact that Sirius was his father's best friend, Harry might have continued to be closer to Remus. Moreover, Remus was also his parents' friend, and therefore holder of some memories that he could describe to Harry. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, unless you were a Slytherin you had to love Remus for himself (A/N here author's prejudices show- Remus is my favorite character). Something about the sweet, solemn gaze and his soft, caring voice had made him a favorite in the short time he had taught Defense in the Dark Arts.

Hermione blinked back tears of fear. Could Professor Lupin be dead? She had kept his secret about being a werewolf from her own best friends because she had liked him enough to push aside her prejudices. Although Sirius was obviously more important to Harry, Hermione knew that it would take two men to give Harry a stable upbringing. It wasn't that she doubted the ability of single fathers; Sirius was a little wild, and Remus was needed to set boundaries.

Ron sighed, after reading the letter for the second time. Hearing about Sirius and Remus had been disconcerting for a boy who was constantly trying to prove his courage and stoicism. He was afraid of You-Know-Who, and he hated the thought of Remus being at the hands of the Dark Lord.

"Well, what do we do?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow will be the day that Remus asked us not to come to him before, so I will be going then," Sirius answered.

"Tomorrow?" (Ron)

"You?" (Hermione)

"We're going too!" (Harry!)

"Excuse me?" Sirius said, amazed at the courage and protectiveness displayed by this small group. He felt sad and guilty that these three children should be so used to risking their lives and facing death. Harry was involved because of his parents, but Ron and Hermione could leave anytime they wanted, and they chose to stay. He hoped that their friendship would survive the next few years. Yes, Remus was right, Harry had chosen his friends well.

"You can't go alone," Hermione answered reasonably. "And let's face it, you can't take anyone who won't take one look at you and call the Ministry. I don't think Professor Lupin would appreciate it if you were carted off to Azkaban while you were trying to save him."

Harry and Ron nodded their support for her argument.

Realizing that arguing would be fruitless, Sirius sighed and gave in. Remus had said it would be safe by then anyway.

The next day was a holiday and the trio accompanied their black dog to Hogsmeade, from where they used Floo powder and a fireplace in a small inn to travel to a small town in Yorkshire. There, they walked to the outskirts, and then through a small wooded area. Remus had to stay far from people so that he would not harm anyone during the full moon. This town was empty of Muggles as some kind of knowledge of magic was a requirement to be eligible to rent or buy a home there, but Remus knew that children and startled wizards could be bitten or killed. Furthermore, the townspeople would be more than happy to throw him out if they discovered he was a werewolf, and Remus didn't want to be evicted again.

But he had sent Sirius the address several months before, so it was easy for the children and Padfoot to find the small cottage. However, no one answered their knock, and the door opened when Sirius, who had transformed back into a man on reaching their destination, pushed lightly.

Hermione shivered. In an unconsciously protective manner, both Harry and Ron moved in front of her as they crossed the threshold. Somehow, before their eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the house, they knew something horrible had happened here, recently.

The door opened up into a living room, which had been the scene of a violent wizards duel. The signs of curses that had missed their targets scorched the walls and ceilings, while the furniture had been flung around. But it was the sleeping animal chained to the leg of a light table that drew their attention.

"But he's a wolf… and it's broad daylight!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked and confused.

Sirius suddenly cried out and rushed to the wolf. "These chains are silver, which is why they held him to such a flimsy table. He couldn't struggle against it."

He was about to try to break the chains with his bare arms, when Hermione stepped forward and raised her wand. "Linkinenea!"  The chains fell apart with a clank and Sirius gathered his friend in his arms.

"Is he all right?" Harry asked, worriedly looking at the people he already considered his godparents.

"No! The chains have been on him for a few days, and the silver has hurt him terribly. It's a miracle he's even alive, but I think he figured out a way to lie so that the chain didn't come into contact with his skin. But of course the proximity causes intense pain as well. And aside from the fact that we don't know what Voldemort did to him before, there is also the small point Hermione brought up about him being a wolf in the morning."

"But if Voldemort has the power to keep him in a certain form, can't there be a way for him to remain in human form?" Ron asked, remembering the fact that Professor Lupin hated his werewolf side.

"This is very dark magic, and some of the ingredients cannot be used by any good witches. I don't know if it can be reversed; I have not heard of it being done in my lifetime. It is a terrible curse, leaving you in the form of your nightmares…"

Harry, listening to his godfather, felt a surge of anger. His parents, the Longbottoms, 12 years of Sirius' life and now Lupin… Voldemort had caused so much grief. Baring his shoulders against the weight of the war he had been involved in all his life, he forced himself to look for Remus' wand.

Finding it, he joined the others as they made their way back to the town. The people they met on the way cried out at the sight of the wolf, but did not stop them from returning to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore and the Nurse were waiting. After giving their stories, they all took turns keeping a vigil at the side of the wolf.

Madame Pomfrey tutted when she saw the burns around Lupin's neck. She had spent years taking care of him when he was a student and then later during Harry's third year. Harry Potter himself had spent enough time in the infirmary to develop a caring relationship with the nurse, but Remus would spend a few days with her every month. Whatever prejudices she might have had against werewolves disappeared after seeing the pain and suffering they bore immediately before and after the full moon, besides the agony she witnessed during the period of transformation itself. So she had learned to love this boy, and it pained her to see him tortured. She wasn't used to treating him while he was a wolf, but working in a school for witches and wizards had made her a wonderful animal doctor, too. The werewolf was almost comatose, so she did not have to worry. It was after the medication wore off that he would become dangerous, but they hoped to turn him back into a man before that.

"So what can we do?" Harry's tone was impatient as he gazed at his godfather and Dumbledore.

"Harry…" Sirius sighed. "We've never seen magic like this before. It had to have been Voldemort."

Dumbledore looked mournful. "The training in the Dark Arts has to be phenomenal to achieve this, or it would have been possible for me to prevent Remus from ever being a werewolf in the first place. Every full moon I could just reverse this spell. But this is dark because it subjugates the moon in a way that light magic can never do. It is also rare, and there are few who know the counter curse. I am afraid that I am not one of those few."

"Will it be in the library?" Hermione asked eagerly. Ron and Harry knew that her mind was already there, trying to find the place where the book would be kept.

"No, it is commonly thought to be a myth that any of this is even possible. However, after seeing Remus it becomes obvious that this spell is not a myth, but I believe that a wolf has to be an innocent to be susceptible, so it is doubtful that Voldemort can use it on others. There are few werewolves that have not bitten or killed a human being by the time they are Remus' age. We need someone well trained in the Dark Arts, like Moody, to fight this. Unfortunately Moody is away gathering information about Voldemort, and by the time he returns to Hogwarts it will be too late. For if the sun sets on the fifth day after this spell is cast without the wolf becoming a man, he will remain a wolf for the rest of his life. There is only one other who may be able to break it, but he is sadly the one we are trying to save."

Harry wasn't the only one looking like he was going to cry. Sirius bent forward and held the paw of the sleeping wolf, while Ron gritted his teeth and looked away. But Hermione's mind had a tendency to work faster when it needed to, and it only took her a few seconds to come up with an idea.

"What about the memory thing you told me about, Harry? (A/N Goblet of Fire- Harry sees the trial of the Death Eaters after the fall of Voldemort when his parents died). Can't we look into his mind?"

Harry had told Hermione and Ron some of what he had seen, and his eyes lit up. "We might be able to see him learning how to do it!"

"And find out what happened," Ron added, his eyes glinting with excitement. Ron had always hated not being able to do anything.

Sirius and Dumbledore looked at each other with their eyes raised. "It is possible…"

* * *

A few moments later, the strange bowl was next to Remus. Dumbledore mumbled a few words under his breath and a thick, luminescent liquid poured out of the bowl and moved towards the wolf's head. It went into his ears and then the people in the infirmary (Sirius, Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione) were sucked into Lupin's living room. 

They would never forget what they were going to see.

Well, wait for the next part!

And thanks for the great reviews.