Ch. 1- Discoveries and Changes for the Better
As our story unfolds, the young man with the graying hair is once again quietly reading a book in his living room, as he often does in the afternoons. Remus Lupin is a retiring sort, which is perfectly understandable given his condition. For most of the month, he is the quietest, meekest person you could ever hope to meet. But beneath his small cottage, in the darkest corner of his cellar, lies a heavily soundproofed chamber protected by heavy steel walls and a thick wooden door girded by iron bars and secured with a lock that only human hands can open. It is here that he transforms once a month into the beast known as a werewolf.
His transformations are easier now, thanks to the advent of the Wolfsbane Potion and a certain Headmaster of Hogwarts who is willing to procure it for him. Because of his lycanthropy however, he has had trouble finding a paying job. He manages to scrape by, writing the occasional treatise for the wizarding journals, growing and selling medicinal herbs and potions, and receives some money from the sale of his autobiography Hairy Snout, Human Heart, as well as what little money his parents left him. And he is about to receive a visitor. More than one, in fact.
Remus looked up from his book as his fireplace flared up and turned green, signifying an imminent visitor via the floo network. He set his book aside and stood up, wand at the ready. The visitor proved to not be a threat, however, by managing to trip over his feet as he stepped out of the fireplace. The young red-haired boy fell flat on his face, and something in his front shirt pocket squeaked once in a sleepy sort of way once and fell silent. Remus inwardly chuckled as he helped the now somewhat red-faced boy up. The boy dusted himself off and, still slightly blushing, said, "Um, are you Remus Lupin?"
"I am. And who might you be?" asked Remus.
"Ron. Ron Weasley; my mum sent me to buy a few things…" replied Ron a bit awkwardly, fishing around in his trouser pocket before pulling out a neatly folded square of parchment which he handed to Remus.
As Remus turned towards to the cellar to retrieve the herbs Mrs. Weasley had wanted, a sudden loud squeaking sounded from behind him. He turned back around to see Ron trying to control a thrashing gray rat that had emerged from his pocket. A very familiar rat that was missing a toe on its right front paw.
Remus quickly whipped out his wand and pointed it at Ron, who was still trying to keep hold of the wildly thrashing rat. Ron, who looked somewhat mystified and not a little scared, nervously took a step back. Remus spoke, his voice calm and controlled. "Ron, could see your rat for a moment?"
Ron looked puzzled, but handed him over. Still looking somewhat bewildered, he spoke as Remus was carefully looking over the rat that was desperately trying to escape his grip. "Well, he's not really my rat; he's my brother Percy's, and he's letting me take care of him this term so that I can prove I'm responsible enough to care for a pet all the time-" He was cut off at this point by Remus muttering a Stunning spell at the rat which fell limply in his hand. Ron looked shocked. "Hey! What'd you do that for?" he asked.
"I'll explain everything a bit later on, but for right now, I have a few calls to make, so it would be best if you were to take these-" summoning and neatly wrapping a package of herbs and handing them to Ron "- and be sure to let your mother know I'll be contacting her about all this shortly. I have reason to be believe that this is not a rat."
Ron took a pinch of Floo powder and stumbled in to the fireplace, saying "The Burrow!" Remus stared for a few minutes at the rat he held, then placed it in an unbreakable jar he conjured up.
Several calls and two hours later, Remus stood in Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts, carrying the rat in the jar. It had woken up about fifteen minutes earlier and, after a period of frantic squeaking and wild attempts to scrabble up the side of the jar, it had settled to shivering miserably in the bottom of the jar. Remus was joined by Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge, and had just finished explaining the story of how his friends had become Animagi and how he had found Pettigrew.
"But Mr. Lupin, I don't understand how this could possibly be Peter Pettigrew. I will admit that while there have been instances of unregistered Animagi, this could be any rat." Fudge was saying.
"This is not just 'any rat,' Minister. I spent almost every full moon in my fifth through seventh years running with James, Sirius, and Peter; I know their scents as well as I know my own. This is without a doubt Peter Pettigrew. And if I am correct, he has a lot to answer for." said Remus, his eyes glinting eerily. With that, he unscrewed the lid of the jar, lifted Peter firmly out, and cast the spell that would revert him back to his human form. With a flash of blue light, Peter Pettigrew was sitting on the floor whimpering and clutching his hands together.
"R-Remus, I-it's good to see you again…" he said nervously.
"Peter." Remus nodded towards him in recognition then, covering him with his wand, asked "Professor, would it be possible to fetch Veritaserum from the potions stores in the dungeon?"
Dumbledore nodded and said, "I believe that can be arranged." He tossed a pinch of sparkly purple powder into his fireplace and said "Professor Snape, a word please." A minute later Snape's form appeared, revolving, in the fireplace. He scowled as he dusted ash off of his robes.
"This had better be important, Headmaster. I was in the middle of class, and I don't trust leaving any of the first years, let alone the Weasley twins, in my dungeon for a second…"
Professor Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, and cut Snape off. "I would not have pulled you out of your class if it were not of the utmost importance. We need a vial of Veritaserum and only you can provide us with that."
Snape's scowl deepened as he caught sight of Lupin, and he growled, "I will return momentarily." He swept from the room and returned a few moments later carrying a small vial of completely clear potion, which he handed to Dumbledore.
The elderly professor in turn handed it to the Minister, saying, "If you would care to do the honors." Swallowing nervously, he stepped forward and administered three drops of the potion to Pettigrew, who by now was paralyzed by fear.
Remus began the questioning. "Could you tell us exactly what happened, from your point of view, the day Sirius was arrested?"
Peter stated in a monotone voice "I'd been running all night. Sirius eventually found me outside a café, just outside London. He was angry enough to kill me at that point, but before he could do anything I shouted for the whole street to hear that he had betrayed James and Lily. Then, with the wand I had hidden behind my back, I blew up the street and cut off my finger to fake my own death. Then I turned into a rat and ran down into the sewer."
Remus nodded grimly. "Did Sirius betray the Potters' location?"
Peter continued. "No. I did."
Remus frowned slightly and said "How can that be, if he was their Secret-Keeper?"
Peter said "We switched at the last minute to me; it was Sirius' idea. He thought it would be the perfect bluff, but he didn't know I'd been working for You-Know-Who."
Everyone in the room stood in stunned silence at this piece of information, and the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had gone out. Fudge looked totally shocked, and as Peter was Stunned and placed in a Mobilicorpus charm, he said, "We've made a terrible, terrible mistake. By all accounts, Sirius Black is innocent of the crimes he was charged with."
A trial date was set for the next day, and a jury was quickly assembled. Cornelius Fudge was presiding, and Sirius Black was brought from Azkaban to testify under Veritaserum. Remus was in the audience. He knew he'd be called on to testify, and had worn his best robes for the occasion. He saw three guards bringing Sirius into the courtroom, shackled at his wrists. He was emaciated looking, painfully thin, with a mass of knotted hair that hung to the middle of his back. He had been dressed in new robes and a cleaning charm cast on him for the trial, but his eyes were haunted and lost. As they were bringing him in, his gaze fell on Remus, his eyes widened, and he mouthed the word "Moony…" as he was being led to his seat.
Fudge called the courtroom to order. "We are here today to determine the innocence and/or guilt of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew as regards the crimes for which Mr. Black has been convicted. Recent events have necessitated the reopening of this case, and as Mr. Pettigrew has refused to testify, copies of his earlier testimony under Veritaserum have been distributed to the jury. After a psychological examination, Mr. Black has been found competent to stand trial and will be questioned under Veritaserum in due course. We now call our first witness…" and the trial began. Numerous people were called to testify, including most of the Weasleys, Hagrid, Remus, and Albus Dumbledore, among others. Finally, Sirius Black was called to the stand. He corroborated Peter's story exactly, and the entire trial took just one day.
The jury deliberated for half an hour and came back with a unanimous verdict. After a short recess in which both Remus and Dumbledore discussed the terms of Sirius' release with Fudge, the court was called back to order. Fudge stood and cleared his throat.
"The court has reached a verdict of Guilty for Peter Pettigrew, and so we must find Sirius Black innocent of all charges against him. Mr. Black is henceforth acquitted of all charges and released from Azkaban, and is to be awarded the sum of 10,000 Galleons as compensation for wrongful imprisonment. He is once again a member in good standing of magical society and is to be afforded all rights and privileges thereof. His wand will be returned to him, and immediate custody of Harry Potter given to him as dictated in Lily and James Potter's will. As both he and Peter Pettigrew are currently unregistered Animagi, both will be registered and added to the official record. James Potter will be posthumously registered. Finally, Peter Pettigrew will be sentenced to life in Azkaban and placed under spells that inhibit his Animagus transformation. This case is now officially closed and court is adjourned." He banged his gavel once and then left the courtroom.
The guards removed the shackles from Sirius' wrists amid a hailstorm of clapping, cheering, and general jocularity. Remus vaulted the rail that separated the courtroom and rushed to Sirius' side. Sirius was stunned; he whispered "I'm free…" and Remus embraced him like a brother. After a minute, Sirius remembered to hug him back and he mumbled, "Forgive me, Moony…"
Remus looked him in the eyes. "Only if you'll forgive me, Padfoot."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After around two months of rest, rehabilitation, and plenty of sun and food, Sirius was back to something resembling his old self. Granted, he was much quieter and more brooding now, and was still rather thin, but even ten years with the dementors had not completely extinguished that spark of life that was slowly being nursed back to full flame by his reunion with Moony.
It so happened that one afternoon in late July, Remus found Sirius ensconced in his favorite chair in the living room, flipping through an old photo album. Remus peered over Sirius' shoulder to see what he was looking at; it was an old photograph of baby Harry crawling eagerly towards a happily smiling Lily. Remus fondly remembered that day and was startled out of his reverie by Sirius, who quietly said, "Harry turns eleven in a few days, doesn't he?"
He looked up at Remus, who nodded and said, "Yes, he does. Albus and I were wondering when you'd remember. We would have told you in a day or so if you hadn't remembered."
Sirius looked down a little and replied "Yes, well, I've had a lot on my mind lately…" he trailed off at the end. He then continued, saying, "So, is he still living with that sorry excuse of a muggle that is Lily's sister and her fat swine of a husband?"
Remus chuckled slightly and said, "Yes, he's still there, and as a matter of fact Albus told me he's been having some trouble sending him his Hogwarts letter."
Sirius smiled at that. "I can only imagine what the Dursleys' reaction to that was." His smile faded a little and he looked up. "I still wish I could have taken him. I remember Petunia well, and Harry can't have had a very pleasant childhood. But…" and here realization climbed like the rising sun over his face "I'm his godfather. I'm his legal guardian…" He grinned widely, happiness twinkling in his eyes. "How would you feel about having another housemate, Moony?"
Remus returned the smile in full force and replied, "Nothing would please me more. Albus and I have been talking, and he says you're more than welcome to go collect Harry anytime you like. We can go call Albus now and sort out the details."
And so, after Sirius and Remus had made up the third bedroom and arranged all the details of Harry's transition, Sirius Apparated out to a rundown hut perched on a rock out to sea, in the middle of a storm in the middle of the night.