Chapter Eight

Dumbledore arrived early the next morning, which was rather discomfiting for Sirius and Remus, as they were still in bed together and thus without apparel. Fortunately for them, they were awake, talking quietly while Remus played with Sirius' hair.

"Uh," Sirius managed, when Dumbledore walked in.

"Oh, dear," Dumbledore said, although there was a faint smile on his face. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Uh," Sirius said again.

Remus offered up thanks that at least Dumbledore hadn't arrived while they were actually having sex, which they had been up until about a half hour previous. "Er, not at all," he said to Dumbledore politely, blushing. He glanced at Sirius and noted that he, too, had the decency to blush. He was also trying to slide more underneath the blankets. "Although you may want to give us a few minutes to dress."

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore said, stepping outside the room. Remus blinked after him.

"Well, ah, that was . . ."

"Um," Sirius agreed.

They both got out of bed and pulled their clothes on as quickly as possible. Then Remus opened the door to let Dumbledore back in. Sirius sat on the edge of the bed, which was still a mess of sheets and blankets, and wondered if he should fix it.

"Sorry about that," Remus said to Dumbledore, embarrassed.

"Not to worry," Dumbledore said, a slight twinkle in his eyes. "It's good to see that you're enjoying your stay. I was waiting to see if you were going to come visit me, but alas . . . you seemed quite content to hide in here."

"Sorry," Remus said. "I didn't realize you wanted to see us."

"I had an offer which concerns you both," Dumbledore said, settling into a high-backed chair that hadn't been there moments before. "Sirius, in particular, I know you were eager to get out of the castle and have a task to accomplish."

Sirius' jaw dropped slightly. "Something to actually do?" he asked. "Without collecting dust?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "I very much doubt you will collect dust on this journey I'm about to request you undertake."

"Somehow that doesn't sound good," Sirius said, but he wasn't looking any less eager.

"There is something in the Forbidden Forest," Dumbledore said, "of which I'm sure you two already knew if only by reputation. There is, after all, a reason why all those creatures inhabit it -- they are drawn to the magic, as was the castle itself. Unfortunately, it could prove quite disastrous if Voldemort were to get his hands on it."

Sirius nodded, still listening. Remus had put some water on for tea, and was also paying close attention, but there was a strangely closed expression on his face.

"Therefore," Dumbledore said, "it's become clear to me that we must send an envoy to those who chiefly protect it. These would be the werewolves that run in the Forest." He nodded at Remus. "As you are also a werewolf, I believe that they would be more likely to listen to you than -- "

"No," Remus said flatly. That was all. Just that one word.

Sirius looked over, slightly startled at the finality of Remus' tone.

Dumbledore closed his eyes momentarily, looking pained. "Remus," he said softly, "I know that this task would be difficult for you. Yet I still must ask -- "

"No," Remus said again, his voice more rough. "I won't do it. I can't do it."

"Remus -- "

"For one thing, I can tell you exactly what they'll say," Remus interrupted. "They hate us, they hate Voldemort, they hate all wizards. Then they'll go on to remind us that there's absolutely nothing we can offer them. They won't help us, but they won't help Voldemort either. And then they'll tear us into pieces for coming onto their territory."

"That sounds less than pleasant," Sirius admitted.

Dumbledore stood. "Remus, you are the only one I could possibly entrust this task to. And Sirius -- " He turned to the other man -- "you are the only one who could possibly protect him on the journey. I know that this is not an easy decision, but I do ask that you consider carefully."

With that, he turned and left the room.

Sirius stood up and took the tea cups from Remus' shaking hands.

Remus slowly turned to him. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice almost steady. "I know how much you would have liked to get out of the castle and have something to do."

Sirius shrugged, trying to be good natured about it. "What's the real reason you won't go?" he asked.

Remus closed his eyes. He knew that it was a testament to how much Sirius loved him that he wasn't snarling at him for keeping him locked away in the castle longer. Still, he couldn't bring himself to say anything about what had happened. "I don't want to talk about it," he said abruptly. "God, don't you remember what happened in my first year here?"

Sirius nodded. He could vividly recall every detail. "Of course I remember. You disappeared for two weeks. We were terrified."

"And do you remember what I looked like when I came back?" Remus asked, almost snarling.

"I'm not arguing with you," Sirius said, curling up on one of the overly padded chairs by the window. "I just want to know why you're so vehemently against going."

"Because there's no point to it," Remus said insistently, pacing back and forth.

Sirius shook his head. "Maybe, but that's not the reason you don't want to see them."

Remus sat down heavily and stared at the wall, then closed his eyes briefly. "You have no idea what they're like, Sirius," he said wearily.

Sirius didn't reply for a long minute, thinking of what had finally clinched his realization that Remus was a werewolf. Right on the full moon, Remus had completely disappeared; not even Dumbledore seemed to have known where he had gone. Hagrid had finally come out of the Forbidden Forest with him a week later, bloody and bruised. "It scared me when Hagrid brought you back and you wouldn't tell any of us what happened," Sirius said gently, hoping to prompt Remus to talk to him. "I think that was the first time you had ever just totally shut me out."

"You didn't even know I was a werewolf then, did you?" Remus asked, puzzled. Sirius wondered if he was purposely trying to steer the subject away from the incident, or if he was honestly curious.

"I suspected heavily," he said. "And then you disappeared. That seemed to confirm it in the worst way. It didn't worry me that you might have been one, what worried me was the fact that you might have been taken away from us because of it."

"They wanted to take me away," Remus said softly. "To make me one of them."

"Is that what you wanted?" Sirius asked, giving Remus a close look.

"I -- I don't know what I wanted," Remus admitted. "I suppose a part of me did want that, yes." There was simply no way to describe to Sirius the way he simply didn't feel like he belonged as a human; the way everyone else looked at him funny, knowing that something was just a bit off. He got up and began to pace again.

"So what scares you so much about them?" Sirius asked, watching him move restlessly back and forth.

"They're . . ." Remus' voice trailed off as he searched for a word. "They're feral. They're wild. They're werewolves, damn it, and they're everything I am and wish I wasn't."

"So you're not afraid of them, you're afraid you fit in too easily with them," Sirius stated, having long ago abandoned tact and replaced it with intuition, particularly where Remus was concerned.

"I . . . yes. No. No, if it was just that, it would be too easy," Remus said, and laughed bitterly.

"So what is it then?" Sirius asked.

"To start with . . . they hate me."

"Why?" Sirius asked, startled. "You said they wanted you to be part of their pack."

"They did . . . then. But they couldn't make me what they wanted me to be." Remus paused, then added in a discouraged tone of voice, "If even the tame werewolves who live in London disdain me as a traitor to my own kind, what will the real wild ones think?"

Sirius shook his head, doing his damndest to understand but not doing very well. "How can you be a traitor? You are who you are. You change every month and that's the end of it. It's not like you can suddenly change your mind about it."

"Because I don't . . . embrace it. I don't have a pack, Sirius. I'm not one of them. I just share the same affliction. Werewolves hate wizards . . . yet I became one. I got special permission to come to Hogwarts. Those who could have been wizards resent me, and those who couldn't have only contempt for me." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't expect you to understand."

"Well, I'm trying to, whether you expect it or not," Sirius stated. "They could have come to Hogwarts just like you did. And you most certainly do have a pack. It's a bit small at the moment and it was always a bit strange, but you have one."

Remus just shook his head. "You can't apply logic to this. Maybe they shouldn't resent me or hate me, but they do. Nothing will change that."

"Besides a swift kick to the ass, you mean," Sirius snarled, looking quite feral himself, and annoyed that anyone would dare hurt his Remus, even indirectly.

Remus sighed, appreciating the sentiment; but the comment didn't really help any. "We can't go, Sirius. It wouldn't make any difference."

Sirius gave him a funny look. "I wasn't trying to change your mind. I just wanted to know why you made it up so quickly. Your reply was rather abrupt and vehement, and as a rule, you're reasonable and willing to discuss things."

"You saw what they did to me last time I was there . . ." Remus said, not quite angrily, but almost as if he was trying to justify his decision to both Sirius and himself.

Sirius nodded, remembering all too well. "And I never could decide whether you seems better or worse for it. In the end, I went with thinking it wasn't so great, if only for the fact that you seemed very uncertain of yourself after that."

Remus couldn't help but wonder what positive changes Sirius thought could possibly have come out of that incident, except for the fact that he could no longer deny his true nature to his friends. "They . . . they made me really see it. That I was never going to belong. That I was always going to be caught between both worlds . . . hated and feared here . . . despised and resented there."

Sirius shook his head, not sure how to comfort him. In the end he just stood, walked over to Remus, and stopped his pacing by wrapping his arms around him. "I think I understand, but I find myself thinking that the werewolves are just as predjudiced as those idiots at the Ministry that allow everyone else to treat you badly."

"It's not the Ministry, Sirius!" Remus yelled, pushing Sirius away angrily. "It's everyone! It's ninety percent of the wizards out there! They hate me and they fear me. I got used to that a long time ago, but I try -- I try not to think about what the other werewolves think of me. They could have been my family. They could have taken care of me, but I gave that up."

"You're right," Sirius said suddenly. "We're surounded by right fucking bastards. And I'm sorry you gave up what they could have given you." His voice was rising steadily; it was his turn to begin pacing like a caged animal. "I'm sorry it was taken away from you and what you got instead blew up in your face. I wanted to be your family. James and I both did. I wanted to take care of you! I wanted to! I'm sorry I couldn't!"

As suddenly as the anger had showed, it disappeared, and Sirius just folded down onto the floor, his arms wrapped around his chest. "I'm sorry I can't. I'm obviously not worth much, but . . ." He looked up at Remus, his eyes unreadable. "Maybe this is your chance to get back what you lost. Maybe you should just take this opportunity and not look back. This world is a mess. You might be safer with them."

"Sirius . . ." Remus sagged down next to him, pulling him into a hug and feeling lousy for making him so upset. "What I gave up, I gave up willingly. And even knowing how it turned out, knowing everything that happened, I would choose the same way. You're worth the world to me." He reached out and brushed Sirius' hair out of his face, meeting the other man's eyes. "I would rather have you than have the love of every other werewolf in the world. You're worth everything to me. I don't want to go be with them. What I am frightens me, Sirius . . . it always has, because no one taught me how to deal with it. I wouldn't be all right with them, and I certainly wouldn't be safe. That's not what I want from life. I don't know what I want . . . but not having you simply isn't an option."

"I just want you to be happy and I can't seem to make it happen," Sirius said miserably, slumping against Remus' shoulder. "I can't seem to do anything anymore."

"It's not you. The world is conspiring against us." Despite the humorous quality of the words, Remus did not use a joking tone. He meant the statement seriously. "I would be happy if none of this were happening. It's not you that's making me unhappy."

"I know that," Sirius said, his voice quiet. He was leaning up against Remus as if he were trying to use Remus' relative stability to try to pull himself together. "You know, I looked up all sorts of information on wolves after I found out what you were. I wanted to know about every part of you."

"I know." Remus smiles a little sadly. "You're the only person who ever wanted anything to do with that side of me. James and Peter followed your lead, that was all. They tolerated it, but you . . . you cared for that part of me too."

"It's the reason I got the idea for the Animagus transformations," Sirius said, although he was fairly sure that Remus had already been aware of that. "It was the only way I could think of to get you out of the cage you always ended up in."

"But I was never really out of it," Remus said softly.

Sirius shook his head as best he could while resting against Remus. "But that's not your fault, or the fault of the wolf that's part of you. I'd be angry at everything with two legs too, if I was locked up against every instinct that was part of me." He laughed, a little sadly and bitterly. "See? Look at me, I am angry at nearly everyone." He shook his head again, putting himself back on track. "But you should never have been taught that the wolf was a monster. It's just a wolf, exactly as it should be."

"You can say that," Remus said dryly. "You haven't met any real werewolves. You've only met me."

"You are a real werewolf, you silly twit. Unless those teeth, the fur and four feet were just an illusion all these years." Sirius smiled a little wearily; he had worn himself out. "You're just not like they are, that's all."

"They are monsters, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "I try to be different . . . but sometimes I think it's just an act."

"I believe you about them; I'm just not sure it has a whole lot to do with the wolf part of them," Sirius said. "I don't think you could ever be a monster. Dangerous yes, but a monster? No."

"Maybe." Remus didn't precisely sound convinced, but he did sound glad that Sirius had said it.

"Are you ignoring me?" Sirius asked, sleepily amused. He was still very easily tired, and the fit of emotion had exhausted him. He felt he would be very content to fall asleep in Remus' arms, still on the floor.

"No . . . I'm just having trouble believing you. But I believe that you mean it, and I think that's enough."

"All right for now," Sirius said. "When I completed the Animagus spell, I think the magic made me a dog so I could be closer to you. To give you a pack or something. Someone you could relate to, no matter what."

Remus smiled slightly and did not comment on the random change of subject. "It is a small pack . . . but it's all I need. You are all I need."

Sirius nearly replied in kind, but knew that it wasn't true. He needed Harry just as much as he needed Remus, albeit in different ways. Without that to say, he settled on, "I love you."

"I love you too," Remus said, nuzzling at his cheek in a very wolflike fashion. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Sirius was still feeling sleepily content, curled up in Remus' embrace. It was probably the best he had felt in quite a while; the emotional outburst had been tiring, but it had gotten out some things that had needed to be said. After a bit, Remus sighed and said, "So when do you think we should leave? To go see the werewolves, I mean."

Sirius peered up at him. "I thought you didn't want to go?"

"I don't," Remus said, and shrugged. "But we still have to."

"If you're sure," Sirius said, at length. "Don't let Dumbledore bully you."

"If he's requesting it, that means it's important . . . and this is something that no one else would be able to do."

"All right," Sirius said, then added, "But God help them if they try to hurt you."

"They will," Remus said with certainty. "And you'll have to let them, if we want any respect from them at all."

Sirius shook his head. "That's fear, not respect. That won't get us far."

"Trust me, Sirius," Remus said gently, hoping Sirius didn't get annoyed. "I know how pack dynamics work. You can only get anything by fighting for it. I'll have to fight. We both will."

"So we will," Sirius said, then grinned. "It almost seems like a decent price to pay for getting out and moving around."

Remus smiled back. "Well, it'll definitely be an adventure."

"I always did like adventures."

Remus leaned down to kiss his forehead. "I know."

****

Snape strode down the hallway with a flask in his hand. It contained a black, vile-smelling liquid. He could have done something about the smell, but quite frankly, he didn't consider Sirius and Remus worth that much effort. The potion had been difficult enough to concoct without adding to it.

He knocked on the door to the Room of Requirement and waited impatiently. Remus cracked it open a few seconds later, then stood back to let him in. He looked worn and tired, but no worse than usual. Sirius was pacing back and forth, staring out the large windows. He seemed to be trying his best to wear a hole in the floor.

"Hallo, Severus," Remus said, politely.

Sirius stopped halfway in his track and turned to look at Snape. "Oh," he said, resisting the urge to snarl.

"How lovely to see you, too," Snape replied.

"As much fun as it would be to watch the two of you glare at each other all day," Remus interrupted dryly, "I believe it would be a waste of time. I take it that's the potion?"

"Indeed," Snape said, nodding shortly. Sirius reached out for it, and Snape glared but let him take it.

He popped off the top and sniffed at it, then made a face.

"And?" Remus asked expectantly.

Snape sneered at him. "Take a capful every twelve hours. Don't mix it with anything. You can go short, as in eleven and a half, but don't go over twelve. That flask holds a month's supply."

"Excellent," Remus said. "Thank you, Severus. I'll let you know how it works."

Sirius opened his mouth to say thank you, and settled for not saying anything nasty.

"I'm sure," Snape said.

"How long did it take to brew?" Remus asked.

"Three days."

"Ah, good," Remus said. "Not too long. We may need a few more batches of it soon, unless it loses potency after a while?"

"Not as long as you keep it sealed," Snape said. "Why, pray tell, do you need months worth in advance?"

"We're going on a mission for Dumbledore," Remus said, with a polite air of finality that advised Snape to not ask any questions. "We don't know how long that we'll be."

"I see," Snape said.

"Probably not," Sirius said, with a sharp smile.

"Don't make me forget an ingredient next time," Snape said, and swept out of the room, his black robes flapping behind him.

"God, this stuff smells awful," Sirius said. He downed a capful of it anyway.

"How's it taste?" Remus asked.

"Like rancid skunk."

Remus smiled. "However do you know what rancid skunk tastes like?"

"Well, I've smelled rancid skunk," Sirius said. "And taste is mostly smell."

Remus cleared his throat. "Shall we go outside for a bit? It might improve your mood."

"Oh, please," Sirius said.

****

The potion did exactly what Snape said it would, to the point that even Sirius had to admit that he was grudgingly impressed. His tendency to try to sleepwalk had stopped, and he was much more awake and alert during the day. Remus occasionally moped about the fact that Sirius would have to take it every day for the rest of his life, but Sirius whapped him upside the head every time he caught Remus doing it.

Dumbledore was very gracious about their acceptance of the mission, and both he and Sirius decided it would be best to not ask Remus what had changed his mind. Sirius knew there had to be far more to the entire situation than he was being told about, but figured that he would find out when he got there. Or sooner, if Remus was feeling magnanimous.

About three weeks after Sirius was resurrected, he was on his feet and moving around with some competence. Between Pomfrey's revivifying potion and Snape's soul-binding potion, he was almost back to normal. Not that he had ever been normal, but it was a start.

Through some very complicated planning, they eventually met at Fred and George's, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry had moved in with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer a few days previous, and Molly had reluctantly (and with Dumbledore's assurance) allowed Remus to escort them to Fred and George's for the day.

"I knew that Molly would let me," Remus said, as they left the Burrow. "She thinks I'm a responsible adult. Hermione's meeting us there, isn't she?"

Harry nodded. "She can't help but know where Fred and George's store is. She gets the Daily Prophet. They must have spent half a fortune in advertising."

"And making it all back in spades," Ron said, sounding somewhere between envious and gloomy. "They've already started offering to fix up the house for Mum and Dad. Poor Mum is beside herself with fury, and then beside herself on the other side with joy."

"Oh, just let them," Remus said, amused. "They can fix everything they broke in their lifetime."

They took Floo Powder to Diagon Alley, then walked quickly to the twins' shop, trying to avoid looking conspicuous. Remus wasn't too worried about anything untoward happening, but he thought it would be best to not invite trouble.

Fred and George's shop was crowded, but Harry and Ron expertly wound their way through the crowd and up the narrow spiral staircase that led to the small apartment the twins shared. Sirius was in Grim form, and curled up by the twins' fireplace.

"Wow, he really is alive," Ron said, sounding a bit more shocked than Harry would have appreciated.

Sirius rolled his eyes, then got to his feet and pounced on Harry, licking his face enthusiastically.

"Get off!" Harry protested, although he was laughing. This had no effect whatsoever. Remus, snickering, grabbed Sirius by the scruff of the neck and pulled him off backwards. Sirius mock snapped at Remus, then pounced on him.

"I give up," Remus announced, and promptly engaged in a sort of wrestling match with Snuffles the Adorable Grim.

"I've seen stranger things," Hermione said tartly from the doorway, "but this does go on the list."

Sirius looked up at her, with a mouthful of Remus' sleeve, and looked vaguely guilty.

"Hallo, Sirius," she said, beaming at him. "It's good to see you."

Sirius considered pouncing on her, but decided that her indignance wasn't worth tangling with. He sat back, transforming to his human form. "It's good to be back," he said, smiling back at her. "Thank you."

Remus sat up. "You drooled on my sleeves," he announced.

"Oh, get over it," Sirius told him. "You have a wand, use it."

"So do you," Remus retorted.

"Well, yes, but you're the one that's complaining."

"Jeepers," Ron said, "you two really do act like an old married couple."

Both Sirius and Remus shot Harry a look.

He shrugged. "I had to tell them. They're my best friends."

"Well, you didn't have to," Sirius said. Harry looked a bit guilty at this statement, looking at the ceiling. "Never mind," Sirius added.

"The story wouldn't have made much sense otherwise," Hermione said, sitting down primly on the twins' battered sofa. "He didn't mention it at first, but Ron and I kept asking him why Professor Lupin had gone in instead of Harry himself, so he told us. By the way, how did you get your wand back, Sirius?"

"Oh, Dumbledore did it somehow," Sirius said. He hadn't precisely cared enough to get the details.

"It was left in the Department of Mysteries," Remus clarified. "Sirius had dropped it right before he fell through. Dumbledore collected it, saying that I wanted it as a keepsake, then gave it back to us. We're going to need it."

"Uh oh," Harry said, giving them both a hard look. "Where are you going?"

Remus looked at Sirius. "You're his godfather; you tell him."

Sirius gave Remus an affronted look, then looked back at Harry nervously. "Just a minor adventure into the Forbidden Forest."

"No adventure in that forest is ever minor," Hermione said.

"I beg your pardon," Sirius said. "We did have a couple while we were still in school."

"Why are you going in there?" Ron asked, sounding a bit horrified at the concept. He remembered his last misadventure in that forest all too well. "There are spiders."

"And centaurs," Harry added, "that are none too pleased with mankind at the moment."

"Yes," Remus said dryly, "we're going to go see the one group in the Forest that may well be even less pleased with us than them."

Hermione thought about this for a second, while Ron and Harry watched her mentally tick through the possibilities with interest. "The werewolves," she finally decided.

Remus nodded. "Werewolves."

"That sounds like a remarkably bad idea," Harry said.

"Doesn't it, though," Remus said dryly. "But don't worry, it's actually very unlikely that they'll kill us. They know me, you see. They don't like me, but they know me, which means that they'll at least hear us out before sending us along our way."

"And what exactly do we want from them?" Hermione asked. "They seemed happy in their own little world."

"They are," Remus said, "but that little world won't be safe much longer. Have you ever wondered why the forest gathers so many magical creatures -- why it attracted the castle itself?"

"I had," Hermione said, and Ron and Harry both rolled their eyes at her. "But it's not in Hogwarts, a History. Or in the library at all, that I could find."

"Trust you to have looked," Ron said, rolling his eyes yet again.

"What?" she asked indignantly.

Remus cleared his throat, interrupting them. "The forest is home to something immensely large and magically powerful. No one, including Dumbledore, is sure of exactly what it is or how it got there. What we do know is that it's what fuels and protects Hogwarts -- and that Voldemort knows this fact."

"Oh dear," Harry said.

"So we have to get the werewolves on our side before Voldemort talks them into joining his," Hermione surmised.

Remus smiled at her, his what-an-excellent-answer smile.

"Exactly," Sirius said. "The werewolves are the single most powerful group in the forest, even superceding the centaurs."

"Unfortunately, they're also the most violent and misanthropic," Remus added. "Which is why the mission has to be mine and Sirius'."

Harry shifted in his chair, looking unhappy.

"We won't be gone forever," Sirius said to him. "Hopefully not even too long."

"I just . . . I don't believe Dumbledore would send you out on a mission already," Harry said, trying not to sound as desperately miserable as he was. "You just got back, and I haven't hardly seen you . . . I thought you would be at school next year, so we could visit you."

"Unfortunately," Remus said gently, "time is very pressing on this issue."

"And when we get back, I will be at Hogwarts," Sirius said, in a tone that implied dire things for anyone that dared try to gainsay him.

"All right," Harry said. "Just . . . don't get killed again."

"I'm very attached to my life," Sirius assured him. "Very."

"Why don't the werewolves like you?" Hermione asked Remus, with a curious look in her eyes that made him rather nervous. When Hermione attached herself to a subject with that look, it generally meant that she wasn't going to let it go until she had her answers.

Given that, he thought it was best to tell the truth. "I once received an invitation to join their pack," he said simply. "I turned it down in favor of going to Hogwarts and becoming a wizard."

Hermione gave him a look. "I see."

"Yes, yes, that's a very vague, simplified version of it," Remus said, amused. "But it's all you're going to get."

Sirius glanced at Hermione, his mind whirring into gear. If Hermione was so rabid about house-elf rights, he was anxious to see what would happen if she got hold of the idea of werewolf rights. "Werewolves and wizards have never gotten along," he said. "A bit daft, if you ask me."

Harry lifted his eyebrows at Sirius, who shrugged and smiled a little.

"I knew wizards were against werewolves," Hermione said. "As stupid as that is. But I didn't know they were against wizards. Is that because wizards have always treated them badly?"

Sirius glanced at Remus, but the former teacher appeared to want no part in Hermione's new movement. "I think that's part of it," Sirius told her.

Hermione looked at Remus. "Are you the only werewolf that's a wizard?"

"Technically, no," Remus said. "But I am the only werewolf that became a wizard after being bitten. Plenty of wizards have gotten bitten and stayed wizards, but that's somewhat different."

"Do they have all their rights taken away?" Hermione asked.

Remus cleared his throat. "To put it succinctly, yes."

"Oh, go on," Ron said. "You'll really get her going. It'll be fun; we can charge the people downstairs a Knut to watch."

Hermione glared at him. "Do you think it's fair?"

"Course not," Ron said defensively. "But preaching on a soapbox to the four people who agree with you isn't going to do you much good, now is it."

Hermione paused. "Well, no, you're right. But I can get my facts in line so I can get my soapbox set up when the school year starts."

Ron turned to Harry and said gloomily, "We're in for a long year, mate."

"Tell me about it," Harry said. "However, don't most werewolves want their rights back? Unlike, say, a certain group of house-elves that shall remain unnamed?"

"They liked the hats," Hermione said tartly.

Harry wisely said nothing.

Remus decided to intervene. "It depends. Many of the werewolves living in society would very much like their rights. However, the group we're going to go speak to is somewhat . . ." He paused, searching for a word. "Feral?" he finally came up with.

"They wouldn't hurt you, would they?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, they most certainly will," Remus said dryly. "I said they wouldn't kill us. I never said they wouldn't hurt us."

"But -- " Harry and Hermione said in unison.

Remus cut them off by holding up his hand. "There's no other way," he said quietly. "Sirius and I know the risks and we're prepared to take them."

"We can deal with this," Sirius assured them. "Without losing a limb."

Harry looked even more unhappy.

Sirius would have pulled him into a hug, but he wasn't sure if that would make Harry feel weird, being in front of Ron and Hermione.

"How long do you think you'll be?" Hermione asked. "So we know when to get worried."

Remus cleared his throat. "I don't imagine more than a few weeks, but I was going to suggest we bring one of those two-way mirrors that James and Sirius used to fancy so much in separate detentions. They're not that expensive; I was going to pick one up while we were here."

"That would be a good idea," Sirius said, nodding, and Harry seconded this enthusiastically.

Fred and George poked their heads into the room. "Store's closed up for lunch," Fred mentioned. "We have some, if you like."

"I'm not eating anything out of your hands," Ron said. "I'd turn pink or something."

"Rats."

"Yes, perhaps that too," Hermione said.

****