Another one down. I haven't gotten my laptop yet, but it should be any day now, and when it comes, I swear updates will come much quicker. Also, next week I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out so I'll be home A LOT more than usual, so that should also help quicken the pace!

Thanks to all who have reviewed!

BTW, if anyone can't read my other chapter Sexy Black has told me how you can fix it yourself, because it'll take me 5 hours to do it myself, it's those damn smart quotes which I shut off part way through this chapter...there may still be one or 2---anyway, this is what you do according to Sexy Black "On the Internet, to fix the coding, just right click on the page, go to encoding, and then hit 'Unicode(UTF-8)'" ~~~Thanks Sexy Black!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's in a cave," Sirius shouted as he shot up in the hospital bed. Sunlight was pouring through the thin curtains surrounding the bed he had been sleeping in. The unfamiliar surroundings through him off guard for a moment, but he soon realized where he was. Harry wasn't in a cave, he was right there beside him.

But when Sirius looked down, he saw no sign of the messy-haired, green-eyed boy.

He looked left and right several times in sheer panic and then climbed out of the bed. He peered out of the curtain and still saw no sign of his godson. "Shit!" he cursed and then transformed into his dog form.

He trotted out from behind the curtain and started smelling around for Harry. It was difficult as the bed Harry had slept in still smelled like him. Sirius circled the room several times, but found no sign of him. Panicking even more Sirius ran towards the only familiar scent in the room. Remus's bed.

Remus was soundly sleeping when he got there and Sirius barked several times to wake him. Slowly and groggily he woke up. As he heard the sounds of Sirius whining he tried to roll over and look at him. It so happened, however that he rolled right on to the large cut on his side. He flinched, moaned and rolled onto his back once more. He then angled his head as far as he could to see the dog.

"What are you doing?! What happened?" he hissed.

Sirius whined several more times and then ran to the edge of the curtain. He grabbed hold of it with his teeth and pulled it until it was fully closed. He then transformed back into his usual form.

"Harry's gone!"

"What do you mean gone?"

"I went to sleep and he was right next to me, and then when I woke up he was gone! I can't smell him anywhere!" he hissed.

"Do you think Dumbledore took him away? What happened between you two anyway?"

"No time for that...he believes me, I'll tell you the rest later. I need to find Harry...what should I do?"

"I don't think you should leave this area...even as a dog, it's not safe."

"But what if he just wandered off? He could be lost anywhere in the castle...you know how easy it is to get lost!"

"Sirius, calm down. This castle is safe. And if Dumbledore believes that you've done nothing wrong, as you say he does, then he's not going to let you lose Harry."

"I don't like this Remus...we've been through enough."

"I know you have. You should just sit here and wait."

Sirius did as was told and collapsed onto the side of the bed. "I just want to go home."

"Back to America?" Remus asked tentatively.

Sirius nodded and Remus looked down.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing."

"Something's bothering you...what is it?"

"Well-you just got back...I was hoping you'd maybe...stay a while, so we could catch up."

Sirius half smiled at Remus, "I wish we could...but we can't stay here. It's not safe here at all...look what's happened already."

"I know, I know, I just--you know."

"Yeah...I'm sorry Moony. It's for the best though...for Harry."

"I know."

"Harry wants you to come with us."

Remus did a small double take. "Really?"

Sirius nodded. "What do you say to that?" He asked with a grin.

It was so obvious that Remus wanted to say, "I'd LOVE to go back with you! I've been so lonely all these years!" But instead he just shrugged.

"That'd be nice, but it would never work. What with my lycanthropy...and you two already have your life back there...I couldn't possibly."

Sirius stopped grinning and nodded. "I figured you wouldn't want to. You're probably really happy here still."

"Oh if you only knew how false that statement is," Remus wanted to say. Instead, he said, "I've been alright."

Sirius nodded and then sighed. "I really wish I knew where Harry was."

As if on cue the distant sound of laughing children was heard. Every second it got louder and louder until a door was opened. Sirius quickly transformed into his dog form and ran out from behind the curtain.

There he found Harry walking side by side with Ron, talking animatedly about Candy Land. Apparently Ron had never heard of the game Harry loved so much. As Harry talked Ron kept trying to switch the conversation over to quidditch but Harry wouldn't have it until he had described all the good people and all the bad people of the game. Behind the boys, laughing heartily at the conversation was Dumbledore. Sirius barked angrily and trotted up to them.

Dumbledore glared down at him and pointed to the bed that he and Harry had slept in. Sirius obediently went to it and waited for Dumbledore. When he got there he shut the curtain around the area.

Sirius quickly transformed, "Where was he?!"

"In the great hall."

"The great hall?! You took him to the great hall?!"

"Indeed I did, the boy needs to eat."

"He did NOT need to eat in the great hall. Harry happens to be a very recognizable child considering the large scar on his forehead! If people see him here, they're going to start wondering about me!"

"Sirius, keep your voice down. You need to remain calm. I will not put you or Harry in any danger, I know what I am doing. It so happens that student breakfast is long over. Every student is in his or her class, there was no one to see them."

Sirius still glared at him. "You should have told me."

"Obviously. You need to refrain from losing your temper so easily while you are here Mr. Black. Had Poppy seen you wandering around, even as a dog, she probably would have cursed you to high heavens. You need to be more careful."

"I need to know where Harry is at all times."

"And from now on I'll be sure you will."

Sirius grumpily sat on the bed.

"Will you allow us to go home now?"

"I'm not stopping you, Sirius, but have you thought about how you're getting home?"

"I was planning to apparate myself and Harry back."

"I don't think that's wise."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Indeed I do."

Sirius waited. "...Well?"

"I will set up an untraceable portkey."

"I didn't know there were untraceable portkeys."

"There was a time when there wasn't. My dear friend Mad-Eye Moody has found a way."

"How long will that take?"

"I can have one by tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?! Albus every second we're here Harry and I are in more and more danger...I want to go back today...now!"

"Sirius...it's not safe to apparate that distance. Especially when people are out for your head. Another day here won't kill you."

"I just want everything to be normal again."

"I know, Sirius, I know."

Sirius sighed and decided to change the subject. "How's Remus's condition?"

"Poppy says he'll make a full recovery."

"Does he need to be in the hospital wing now?"

"I assume not...he simply needs to take it easy."

"Do you think you could get us a room where we can talk freely?"

"Of course, Sirius. Transform please and follow me."

Sirius did as told.

Dumbledore glanced at him and then said, "You want Harry with you I assume?"

Sirius nodded his shaggy dog head and barked quietly.

Dumbledore then led the way out. He summoned a wheel chair from a corner of the room and brought it towards Remus.

Remus was staring sadly at the ceiling and didn't even notice Dumbledore and the dog approach.

Sirius jumped up and put his paws on Remus's chest.

Remus gasped and then laughed softly, petting the dogs head.

"The dog would like to take you from the hospital wing. Are you feeling well enough for that?"

"Of course."

"Very well," Dumbledore said and helped Remus out of bed and into the wheel chair.

He pushed the chair through the wing and stopped at the bed in which Harry and Ron were sitting and talking.

"Mr. Potter, I need you to follow me. Mr. Weasley, please stay put. I'll be right back, as I imagine your parents will be arriving soon."

Ron suddenly looked frightened, "My parents are gonna kill me!"

"I wish I had parents," Harry piped in as he climbed off the bed. Sirius felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. "But Sirius is all I need!" The pieces sprung back together and he felt warm all over.

"What did I tell you about saying his name?" Dumbledore said sternly, but with a hint of kindness."

"Sorry," Harry whispered, again in awe of the power that the simple sight of Dumbledore held.

"Come with me."

Harry nodded and began walking behind Dumbledore, and for the first time noticed the dog who had been standing next to Dumbledore. He pulled on Dumbledore's robes and asked quietly, "Is that him?"

"Yes, my dear boy, that's him."

Harry grinned and stepped closer to the dog and gently pet its head. Sirius turned and licked his face. Harry laughed and then remembered what he had done to the dog the previous day. As before, he grabbed onto the scruff of the dog's next and pulled himself onto his back. Dumbledore got behind Remus's wheel chair and pushed him out of the Hospital wing, into the main halls of Hogwarts.

They came upon a large tapestry of a griffin on the stone wall and stopped. Dumbledore muttered a spell and the curtain drew back revealing a vast metal door. Another spell and the door opened inwardly revealing a cozy looking room with leather couches, leather recliners, and a roaring fireplace.

"Will this suffice Mr. Black?"

The dog nodded his head.

"I'll be back with lunch in about three hours. Keep yourselves entertained, but please do not wander into the school. Students often wander."

Again the dog nodded.

"I'm re-locking the door. Have fun."

They all watched him go and once the door made a clicking sound, signifying it was locked, Sirius transformed back into his human form.

"I like when you do that!" Harry exclaimed. "Could you do that forever?"

"Forever, no. But I've been able to since before you were born."

"Cool!"

"Your dad could do it too."

"Really. My dad could be a dog too?!"

"Not a dog, your dad turned into a stag."

"What's a stag?"

"Do you remember when we went to the zoo? And we saw the deer?"

Harry nodded, "The horse with horns?"

Sirius crinkled his nose, nodded, and laughed. "I love your descriptions."

Remus watched the two with a small smile playing on his lips, but his eyes revealed that he wasn't really happy. He had been alone the past three years, but Sirius, he had been having a good time, with good company. He had someone to love him and to love.

Harry sidled over to the window where there was a set of chess pieces talking to each other on the floor. He quickly joined in the conversation and the pieces tried to explain to him what chess was all about. Sirius laughed at the amazed Harry trying to understand such a complicated game.

"So Moony, now that we have no worries, let's talk. What've you been up to?"

Remus put on a happy face and told of the few good things he'd been doing. He had had a few odd jobs here and there and tried to make it sound like he had left them all on his own terms. The truth was, he had to leave each one after a month, once the employers realized what he was.

Sirius looked suspicious about this, but didn't say anything right away. A silence fell over them and he noticed Remus's face was slowly losing every bit of happiness he had been showing.

"Tell me the truth, Remus."

"That is the truth, I did all those things," he said defensively.

"Then why do you look like someone just died? You look miserable."

Remus looked down and muttered, "I am miserable."

Sirius looked at him sympathetically, but said nothing.

"Do you think this has been easy for me? I can assure you, it hasn't. You may have been closer to James and Lily, but their death has affected me just as much as it has affected you. You had someone else to fall back on though. Harry. He may have been just a baby, but he gave you meaning, a purpose. These past years I've often just woken up and asked myself, 'What's the point?' I just don't see the point of my miserable existence...I'm a lonely old werewolf, nothing more." Remus ran a hand roughly through his light hair and leaned back in his wheel chair.

"I'm so sorry Remus...I wish I could have taken you with me, but that could never have worked. It just--"

"I know, Sirius, I know. I've told myself that a hundred times, but--it doesn't make it hurt any less when I think back to the day when I realized you were gone, James and Lily were gone--God even when I realized Peter was gone!"

Sirius was quiet for a moment, and then said aloud the exact words he had been thinking, "I don't know what to say."

Remus just shook his head in a final way, "You don't need to say anything, really. I'm sorry I just went off at the mouth like that it's just--it's been hard."

Sirius nodded and sighed. "Maybe your life would be better if you weren't alone all the time."

"What are you saying, I should find a girlfriend or something? No girl wants to date a werewolf."

"I've told you since I've known you that any girl would be lucky to have you, but that's not what I meant."

"Well what did you mean."

"Why don't you come stay with us, in Rhode Island? Emily's going to college soon, and I'll need someone to watch him while I work anyway. There's enough room in the apartment. I have a spare room that I use for storage which will be more than enough room for you--"

"Thanks Sirius, but I couldn't do that to you two. Not only would my werewolf tendencies be too much for you to handle, but you already have a life together. I don't want to intrude on what you guys have."

"You wouldn't be intruding! You'd be making it better. The werewolf thing would be a problem, but we're Marauders! We can solve any problem. I don't want to leave you here wallowing in your miserable life. I want you to wake up and want to take on the day--not just roll over and fall back asleep!"

"It just won't work."

"Yes it will--we'll ask Dumbledore and he'll help us find a solution for full moon nights. It'll all be wonderful again."

"Sirius, I'm not going to Rhode Island."

"Why?!" Sirius asked, now feeling slightly hurt that his friend wouldn't take up his offer. "I want you to, Harry wants you to! Give me one good reason why you can't come."

"I don't want to."

Sirius looked at him, letting a small amount of the hurt he felt show. Remus didn't look like he regretted it at all, but he did. He honestly would have loved to go to Rhode Island, but he knew full well that once he had settled in with them, he'd soon wear out his welcome. He didn't want to be anyone's burden.

"Fine," Sirius muttered and turned towards Harry. "Hey, Bud, why don't you come here for a second."

Harry bid farewell to the chess pieces and ambled over to them. Sirius pulled him up and sat him on his lap. "Harry, this is Remus Lupin. He's a good friend of mine and was also a friend of your mom and dad's...Say hello," Sirius added when Harry just stared at him.

"Hi," Harry said shyly.

"Hi," Remus mumbled. "You've gotten big Harry. Last time I saw you, you were just a little baby."

"Well, I'm not a baby anymore," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

Sirius laughed and ruffled his hair. Remus just smiled at him and said, "I can see that."

They made small talk like this for at least an hour, but Remus's refusal had put a damper on the little reunion. Sirius didn't blame Remus for it at all, he understood perfectly. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt that his friend so vehemently opposed coming to stay with them. Sirius knew that it would be for everyone's best for him to stay with them.

Remus also noticed that the conversations hadn't been going the way they were planned. He held back things from Sirius and felt that Sirius was doing the same back. The situation was very awkward and they soon ran out of things to talk about.

Finally after a few "So..." and "Well..." comments Remus came out and said exactly what he was thinking. "This really sucks."

Sirius grinned and said, "Yeah, it does. It shouldn't be like this."

"But for some reason it can't be any other way."

"It's been a long time...but I just expected it to be like it always was. I guess that was a bad assumption, huh?"

"Remember what James used to always say?" Remus asked with a small smile on his face. "Never assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME."

Sirius laughed, "James said that ALL the time, even when it wasn't funny anymore."

"He had lots of phrases like that one."

"Damn I miss him."

"Me too...don't miss Pete though."

"Eh, me neither...bastard." He had a distant look in his eyes and without realizing it let out a low growl. Harry turned and looked up into his face and shrunk back. Sirius then snapped out of it. "What's wrong?"

"You looked scary."

Sirius gave Harry a small smile, "I was just thinking of what I'd like to do to one of the bad men who took you away."

"Okay."

Sirius smiled and turned back to Remus. "I hope we find him. Sometime he has to come out of hiding, and when he does, I'm getting my name cleared.

Remus looked at him and nodded firmly. They both believed firmly in the idea, but in the depths of their hearts they knew it was nothing more than a pipe dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Dumbledore had locked Sirius, Remus, and Harry in the room he returned to the hospital wing. What he found there made his heart catch in his throat.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were standing in front of their youngest son who was bouncing up and down on a hospital bed. "...And then this man with a dog came and they were going to take me home...and then the dog turned into Sirius Black! And then the man made it so I couldn't move at all and hid me! And then Sirius Black, and Harry Potter and the man and me...we came back here to the castle--"

At this point Dumbledore was too stunned to move and both of the Weasley's mouths were wide open. They both turned to him and glared.

I'm too late, Albus thought to himself. I should have given him a memory charm before I took the others away. Dumbledore could have slapped himself.

"What's the meaning of this Albus? Sirius Black at Hogwarts? You brought him here to Hogwarts?!"

Dumbledore took a deep breath and prepared to explain. He knew full well that it would be a long shot to get the Weasley's to remain on his side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, what did you think? Not much action in that chapter, but I thought it was pretty good, and I left you a nice cliffie too! I just love doing that. Please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!