Harry Potter and his whole world belong to JK Rowling. I am borrowing a few characters from her.

How Low Can You Go

The mirror that Harry was holding slipped from his hand. He was still dreaming, that was all. He was only dreaming that Sirius had just said that he wasn't dead. He watched as the mirror bounced on the stone floor and slid away from them.

"Harry? Remus?" Sirius was calling for them, wondering where they'd gone. Remus glanced at Harry and then bent to pick up the mirror.

"It slipped, Padfoot," Remus said softly. "The mirror slipped out of Harry's hand. I put an Unbreakable Charm on it, so it's okay."

Harry saw Sirius nod. Remus sat on one of the benches and Harry sat next to him.

"You're really not dead, Sirius?" Harry asked. Sirius nodded. "But how can you not be? I mean, do they feed you and stuff there?"

Sirius chuckled. "I don't need to be fed, Harry. I should clarify. I'm not dead. However, I'm not alive. I'm somewhere in between. It's like when you're somewhere between asleep and awake. I don't need to do anything that was necessary when I was there. I'm not on a physical plane, I guess you could say."

"So you're like a ghost."

"No. Ghosts are the souls of people who have died but chosen to remain behind. I still have my body. My soul, too. My thoughts, my wishes, my hopes, my dreams, they're all still with me. I'm just…here." Sirius paused. "But don't worry, you two. I won't be able to come back, so my Will still stands. You both still get half of the Black fortune." A grin flitted across his face as he looked up at them. Harry felt anger boil up in him and knew that Remus was angry as well.

"You know I don't give a damn about your money, Sirius," Remus growled. He looked at Harry. "From the look on Harry's face, he doesn't either. We want you to be here, not your bloody money."

"Ah, Moony. All I wanted was for you to have some new robes."

"You're lucky you're not here, or else I'd have hexed you by now," Remus said angrily. Sirius grinned. "Okay okay. I'm sorry, I was only teasing you. I was trying to lighten the atmosphere. I could feel how tense it was from here." Sirius turned his eyes to Harry. "Could you excuse us for a moment, Harry? I need to talk to Remus now. We'll talk some more later, okay?" Harry nodded and walked over to the others. They all looked exhausted. Harry knew how they felt.

"How are we going to get back to headquarters, Harry?" Ron asked as soon as Harry sat down. Harry shrugged.

"The underground wouldn't still be running," Hermione said quietly. "It's much too late." "Probably the Knight Bus," Ginny answered.

Ron groaned. "I hate that ruddy bus."

Harry laughed. He didn't really enjoy taking it either. As transportation, however, it worked. He and Ron sat back against the benches, chatting about how great it was that the mirror had worked. They watched Hermione and Ginny sitting together. They were weaving plaits into each others hair out of boredom.

"Girls are strange creatures," Ron said quietly. Harry chuckled. He looked over to where Remus sat facing the mirror. He and Sirius appeared to be arguing, because he kept gesturing with his free hand. As Harry watched him, he shook his head a few times.

"Moony, you're not listening to me!" Sirius' shout carried across the room. All four of them looked over at Remus. He smiled calmly at them, then told Sirius to keep his voice down.

"I wonder what that's all about," Hermione said softly.

Ron shrugged and leaned back on his elbows. He was about ready to drop from exhaustion. Harry knew how he felt, for it was purely the excitement of seeing Sirius again that was keeping him awake.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all nearly asleep, and Harry was starting to think about joining them, when Remus came over to them. The others woke with a start.

"Sirius wishes to speak to you three," he said with a smile. "Unfortunately, he wants it to be away from Harry." Harry looked at the mirror furiously. Sirius grinned sheepishly up at him.

"Sorry Harry, but I need to tell them things that you shouldn't hear. Yet, anyway." The others took the mirror from Remus and moved to the opposite side of the room with it. Remus sat next to Harry.

"So your plan worked," he said softly.

Harry grinned and nodded. "It was your plan too," he answered. "It never would have happened if not for you."

"Ah, please. It never would have happened if you hadn't mentioned it in the first place. I did the magic. You thought of it." He turned to smile at Harry. "James would have done the same, you know. Come up with the brilliant plan." Harry smiled sadly. "Are you still angry at him for what you saw in Professor Snape's Pensieve?"

Harry shook his head. "Not in the slightest. Snape deserved everything he got and probably more. It bothers me that he attacked that time without any instigation, but I'm sure Snape would have done the same."

Remus sighed. "Yes, Severus would have. And did, on many occasions. He would usually go after Peter or myself. I was a good student, a strong student, but not nearly as clever as your dad or Sirius. Once Snape realized that I was a werewolf, also, he would attack me right after a full moon. He knew I was weakest then, I suppose." Harry felt the familiar hatred boil up inside him at the thought of Snape attacking Remus when his defences were low.

"I hate him," he said softly, with conviction. "I hate him more than I hate Bellatrix Lestrange, or even Voldemort. I don't trust him at all."

Remus rubbed his chin, not looking at Harry. He nodded slowly. "I'm not fond of him myself, Harry. You have to remember though, he's out there risking himself to find out what he can for the Order."

Harry glared at Remus, who still wouldn't look at him. "How can you defend him, even a little? It's his fault that Sirius is dead, if it's anyone's. Or gone, or whatever Sirius is. It's also his fault that you're no longer teaching Defence at Hogwarts."

Remus looked at Harry then. He shook his head once. "No, Harry. It's my own fault that I'm no longer teaching. I wasn't careful enough. I could have killed innocent people, or worse, I could have made them into werewolves as well. I would never have been able to live with myself if that had happened. Snape didn't lose me the Defence job. The wolf lost me the Defence job."

"12? That's great!" Sirius' voice burst into their conversation again. Harry looked over at the others and saw that Hermione's face was pink and she was smiling.

"OWLs," Remus and Harry said at the same time, grinning at each other.

"He's sure loud," Harry said quietly, with a chuckle.

Remus nodded, still grinning. "He never could keep his voice down. That was usually what got us caught."

Harry glanced sideways at Remus. "May I ask what you two were arguing about? I mean, it's none of my business-"

"It's alright, Harry," Remus answered with a smile. "I'm afraid that I can't really tell you, though. Just a harebrained scheme that he's cooked up. He tells me that there's not much else to do but sit there and think, so he's been thinking of ways to help us." Remus shook his head, looking sadly over at the other three, crowded around the mirror. Harry followed his gaze and saw the Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all beaming down at the mirror. He caught a glimpse of Sirius, and he was also smiling. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end even more.

Bang!

Harry jumped, looking around immediately. Remus was on his feet, and had grabbed both Cloaks from the floor. He ran over to the others and threw one Cloak around them. Sirius let out a holler that Remus ignored. He ran back to Harry and covered them both as well. Harry held his breath. Once more Croaker slipped into the room, wand already aloft and lit. "They're here, he says. Well, there's nobody here. I don't know who or what he's talking about." Croaker once more did his search of the chamber. Remus was also holding his breath, his eyes on Croaker. Croaker had finished his search and was just about to exit when he turned suddenly. "Accio Cloak!"

Harry heard Hermione gasp, but they didn't become visible. He realized almost too late that his own Cloak had started to move toward Croaker, but Remus had quickly grabbed it tight around them both. Croaker looked around once more, still muttering to himself. "Nobody here, sir," Harry heard him say as he left the chamber.

He breathed for the first time in several minutes.

"Hermione," Remus hissed from behind him. "Where are you? Leave the Cloak on, but lift it a bit so I can see your feet."

To their left, three pairs of feet became slowly visible as the Cloak was lifted. Remus quickly moved toward them, Harry at his side. He slipped under their Cloak, keeping the other Cloak up as well. Harry felt as though he was under a large tent. Remus pointed his wand up and muttered something that Harry didn't catch and it appeared that the two Cloaks had been magically sewn together. Remus took the mirror from Hermione's shaking hands.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius demanded as soon as he saw Remus. "Are you alright? Harry?" He turned his eyes to his godson. "Remus, is he alright?"

Four sets of eyes immediately turned to Harry. He looked around in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"You're really pale, Harry," Sirius answered.

"Well, no kidding," Harry said sarcastically. "One, it's really late here and I'm tired. Two, there's some maniac looking for something, probably us, every couple hours."

"He's not a maniac, Harry, he's just doing his job," Remus said quietly.

"I'm fine," Harry said irritably. He glared at Sirius, who was glaring right back. "I was hidden under the Cloak, he didn't see me. Or anyone else for that matter, because somebody was smart enough to grab the Cloaks." Sirius continued to glare, but his expression softened slightly.

"As to what he was doing, I've no idea," Remus said to Sirius. "Like Harry said, he appeared to be looking for someone. Maybe Fudge is having his Unspeakables prowl the Department of Mysteries every night now."

Sirius appeared to be pacing. The mirror was bobbing slightly. "I don't like this, Moony. I don't like it at all." The mirror abruptly stopped bobbing. He looked out at them sadly. "You should go home," he said softly. "I don't want any of you to get caught. Not for me.

"The mirrors will work from Headquarters. You should go back there, if that's where you came from." Everyone looked round at Harry once more. He lowered his eyes to his godfather.

"Are you sure you're alright, Sirius?" he asked urgently.

Sirius laughed softly. "I am as well as I can be, Harry. It's you that could get hurt, if you're not careful." He sobered when he saw the serious expression on Harry's face. "Really, Harry. Please, you have to go. I don't want you to get into trouble. As I said, the mirrors can be used from Headquarters. If you need me, say my name. I won't take as long to answer this time." Sirius grinned at him. "If I need you, I'll call you."

Harry noticed that his godfather's eyes were still sad, and he knew as well that his own eyes looked the same. He wasn't ready to say goodbye again. Not yet.

"Harry," Remus said softly, resting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "We can still speak to him, and from the safety of the study. You could show him what you've done with the house. You'll talk again soon."

Harry nodded. He handed the mirror to Remus, who took it and said goodbye to Sirius quietly. His eyes were bright when he handed the mirror to Hermione, who in turn handed it to Ron. Soon, it was back in Harry's hand. Sirius smiled at him, his eyes were also bright.

"I miss you, Sirius," Harry said again quietly.

Sirius nodded. "I miss you as well, Harry, but you've found me once more. We'll be able to talk through the mirrors. It will be just like it's always been. You won't have me physically, but I'll always be within shouting distance."

Harry nodded, quickly swallowing the lump in his throat. It wouldn't do to cry. He smiled at Sirius.

"I'm so glad we got to talk."

Sirius grinned. "Me too, Harry." He looked at Remus. "And you, Moony." Remus nodded at Sirius. He raised his wand. "Congratulations on your OWL results, Harry," Sirius said quietly.

"Finite," Remus muttered, and the mirror went blank.

* * *

They made it safely out of the Ministry building. Ron glanced at his watch as they moved slowly out on to the sidewalk.

"It's almost two," he said softly. "Mum is going to kill us if we're not back soon." They moved down the street, heading toward the Underground Station.

"You four stay under the Cloak. I'll call for the Knight Bus. Hopefully, we won't have to let anyone know that you're here," Remus said quietly, looking around. After Harry's nod, he slipped out from under the Cloak, muttered "Finite," once more, and the Cloaks separated into two. "I thought it might be easier to move quietly if it's just two per Cloak." Remus looked around quickly, making sure there were no Muggles anywhere. He flung his right arm out. There was a loud bang! and the violently purple, triple decker bus came to a halt in front of him.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus-" Stan Shunpike started. Remus cut him off.

"I know, I know," he said impatiently. He held out a handful of gold.

"It's only-" Stan started once more, but again Remus interrupted him.

"For your silence," he said, tucking the galleons into Stan's hand and folding his fingers around them. "No one is to know that I was here tonight, understood?"

Stan nodded and stepped back. Remus had transfigured some stones to make it look like luggage. He floated them up the stairs, giving Harry and the others time to board. All the other beds were empty.

"Grimmauld Lane in London," Remus said quietly to Ernie, also slipping galleons into his hand. He chose his own bed, sitting carefully on it. He felt the bed move as the others moved to join him.

"We'll be a bit," Stan said. "There's a couple other blokes upstairs."

Remus nodded shortly. "Take your time, I'm in no rush. I apologize for my abruptness."

"S'alright," Stan said with a grin.

Remus turned to where he figured the others were. Harry wondered if his senses weren't better because of his Lycanthropy, because he faced them squarely. He doubted he would ever ask, however.

"We'll be back to Headquarters soon," he said very softly. There was another loud bang as the bus jumped from London to the country.

Harry had no idea where it was, but his scar suddenly seared with pain. He let out a yelp and clutched at his forehead.

"Harry?" Ron asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Shh!" Hermione hissed.

Harry was doubled over, his scar throbbing. The bus jerked to a stop.

"Oh my god," Remus said softly as the back of the bus exploded.