AN- I may make some enemies with this chapter, I hope not. But one of the things this story is about is not hiding who you are and what you believe. All I request is that if you are offended e-mail me, or (since ffn doesn't give out e-mails w/o an account any more) if you don't have an account write a review w/your e-mail address.
The AU'ness will start to show up more in this chapter.
Harry woke up with butterflies in his stomach. He had not slept well, all night he had had dreams of being expelled from Hogwarts. His hearing was only a day away! For once, Ron was awake before Harry. He was sitting a top his bed reading the latest issue of Cannons: the Cannoning world of the Chudley Cannons. "You up, then, mate?" Ron asked when he noticed that Harry was awake.
"Yeah." Harry said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"Breakfast should be ready. Let's go see." Ron said.
"Sure, let me just… get ready, then I will join you." Harry said, noticing that Ron was already fully dressed.
Harry went, washed up and came downstairs. He saw that Sirius was also already at the Breakfast table. Sirius gave Harry a concerned look. Harry smiled back bravely. "You will be fine." Sirius mouthed. "Besides, it is a day away. Think about it tomorrow."
Harry gave Sirius an 'easy for you to say' look. He sat next to Ron and Hermione. He noticed that Hermione was also nervous. He also noticed that the breakfast table was fuller then at almost any other time. Harry suspected he knew why. Time to get the attention off of me and my hearing. "So, Mrs. Weasley, what is on the plan for today?" Harry asked.
"Well, I thought we would continue working on the basement."
Everyone winced, the basement was the dirtiest part of the whole house. "Well, there are a whole lot of us here today, and more qualified wizards and witches than at any other time. I thought we would seize the opportunity." Mrs. Weasley said, apologetically. Harry, Sirius, and Hermione were the only ones not really upset by this.They all knew it would keep Harry occupied so that he was not thinking about the hearing. True enough, it kept them occupied. So much so that Harry did not notice Moony coming in about two hours after lunch, until Mrs. Weasley called for supper. "Moony, when did you get here." Harry asked surprised, seeing him by Sirius.
"Oh, about three hours ago." Remus said.
Sirius chuckled. "I guess someone has been really busy."
"I guess." Harry said, then he realized that Sirius was making fun of him. "Hey, I bet you didn't notice until Moony came right next to you and started cleaning.'
Remus chuckled. "He has you there."
"Not for long." Sirius said, and he chased Harry around the rather substantial part of the basement that had been cleaned.
Remus, Ron, and Hermione stood and laughed as they watched Sirius and Harry chase each other.
"Ron, Hermione, and Harry DINNER." Mrs. Weasley squawked.
"We had better go." Ron said, hearing the no-nonsense tone in his mother's voice. "Come on Harry, we really do NOT want to mess with my mom when she has that tone in her voice."
Harry sighed. "You are probably right."
"We should go too." Remus said, "Otherwise we will go to bed hungry, and I will have to hear your stomach rumble all night."
"I thought you liked a rumbling stomach."
"No. No I don't. Come on, let us go eat."
"Fine." Sirius said, mock-glaring at him. "Eating is more important then being with your boyfriend… fine."
"Sirius." Remus said, truly annoyed.
"I am sorry." Sirius said, rolling his eyes a bit. Remus really had lost some of his sense of humor. Why did Sirius have to go on someone else's schedule in his own house! This should be his and Remus's sanctuary. Their place to love and live.
Sirius shook his head; wow it had been an entire ten hours since he did this kind of introspection. Some record for the Grimmauld Place Sirius.
As if reading Sirius's thoughts, Remus whispered to him. "I went by and cleaned up some more of 'our place."
"Take Harry there." Sirius said, roughly. "Let him see it."
Remus sighed. "Let's eat, then we will talk about it."
"A.K.A. You'd love to, but don't think Professor Dumbledore will agree."
"A.K.A I don't want to get into a long argument before both of us have eaten something. Plus, Harry probably needs moral support with half of the order here staring at him on the eve of his hearing that will determine whether or not he will be able to practice his art."
Sirius got up and went to the table. "Sorry we are late." Remus said, with a charming smile.
"That is okay." Mrs. Weasley said, trying to be supportive.
Sirius sat next to Harry, and Remus sat next to Sirius. Nearly everyone at the table could feel Harry's nervousness. He excused himself early to go to 'bed'. Sirius excused himself soon afterwards. Remus felt it best if Sirius talked to Harry alone, for awhile at least. It would calm Sirius down as much as Harry. Especially since Remus expected Professor Dumbledore to come by… a calm Sirius would be a good idea.
Remus chatted with everyone for awhile, trying to get them to calm down as well He knew that everyone was tense. Harry getting kicked out of Hogwarts was bad for everyone on many levels.
"Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny, it is time for bed." Mrs. Weasley said, her tone leaving no room for arguments. "Ron, tell Harry it is time to turn in. He has a big day tomorrow, and he should be well rested"
Remus knew that was his cue. "Molly, I will be back in a bit to help with the dishes."
He went to the room he shared with Sirius. Sure enough in a few minutes Sirius came there. "Poor kid, he is worried sick." Sirius said.
"Wouldn't you be." Remus asked.
Sirius pulled Remus to him. "I need to hold you." He murmured.
Remus held Sirius. Remus knew the trick with Sirius was to let him talk when he was ready. One rarely can force Sirius to talk. Two hours later, Remus checked the time. "Professor Dumbledore should be coming round soon." He commented, he looked down and saw that Sirius was asleep in his arms. "This is getting to be routine." He said to himself as he got ready to gently remove his arms.
But as he did he found himself being tackled and pinned to the bed. "I thought I had learned all your tricks, long time ago, Padfoot." Remus said, as he looked into the love of his life's eyes.
"Aw, what would be the fun in that." Sirius said.
Half an hour later. "Padfoot, you are such a good distracter. I am sure that Professor Dumbledore is here, and Molly is looking for me. She'll have a heart attack when she doesn't find me in my allotted bed. I am going to go now."
"I am coming." Sirius said.
Remus sighed, he knew that Sirius was going to speak to Professor Dumbledore, he just hoped that Sirius could keep his cool. Remus watched as Sirius made sure his appearance was tip top. Remus smiled slightly to himself. Sirius felt that a prime appearance was incredibly useful in intimidating. Rather like Vernon Dursley… Remus winced. Sirius would have killed him had he heard that thought, to be compared to Vernon Dursley, a man who had tormented Harry so when he should have and could have loved him… this would have been worse then being compared to Voldemort for Sirius.
"I will see you downstairs." Remus said, after making sure his appearance was neat and tidy.
"Yeah." Sirius said, a bit absent mindedly as he spruced up.
"I can't believe I will have kept Professor Dumbledore waiting." Remus said, to himself. Because, while Remus may not be completely happy with Professor Dumbledore, he still respected and loved him for who he was, a rallying point for all those opposed to Voldemort.
Albus Dumbledore was sacrificing all that he had worked for, being Chief Warlock, a position on the International Council of Wizards, and EVEN his Order of Merlin for crying out loud. He deserved that Order of the Merlin. Even though Dumbledore didn't talk about it, defeating Grindewald probably was not a piece of cake
Albus was not only asking for sacrifices, he was also making them. For that, and many other things Remus respected him.
Remus found, to his relief, that Professor Dumbedore had not arrived yet. "Remus," Molly asked in surprise, "what are you doing, still awake?"
"I think Professor Dumbledore may come by to speak with me, I just wanted to make sure I was awake and ready if he did."
"Ah." Molly said. "Well, can I offer you some tea?"
"That would be lovely." Remus said, not realizing how tired he was until Molly offered him the tea.
Molly accioed the tea tray. "Too tired." She explained to Remus's questioning look.
Remus poured himself tea, refilled Molly's cup, and settled back.
Professor Dumbledore arrived about three minutes later. "Ah, good to see you are still awake, Remus. I was afraid that you would already be asleep."
"No, I got your hidden message yesterday, and when you didn't arrive last night, I knew you would tonight." Remus said.
"Ah." Professor Dumbledore said, he seemed to be waiting for something.
"Oh." Molly said, a bit flustered. "I will… go warm another pot of tea, and get some biscuits."
"Thank you, Molly. Is Arthur awake by any chance?"
"He has not returned from work yet. That is why I was still awake. I am expecting him to be here in a few minutes." Molly said, as she got up.
"Now, Remus, be honest in your report. I want to hear all of your suspicions."
"Lucius Malfoy's control on the ministry is getting very troubling. While on my guard duty I have seen Malfoy pass very close to… it. I believe he is hoping that Fudge will tell him the secret to the magic protecting it." Lupin said. "I also believe that he was more cocky this morning" Remus said, after hesitating a moment. These were, after all, only suspicions. He couldn't back them up with substantial fact.
"He as in Malfoy or Fudge" Dumbledore interrupted.
"Malfoy. Then I have seen him in a long while. He is really looking forward to tomorrow."
Dumbledore seemed to age a decade right then. "The Order can not afford to have Harry expelled." Dumbledore looked into Remus's eyes. "What will Sirius do if Harry is expelled."
Remus looked at Dumbledore askance, the man seemed to be assuming that Harry would be expelled. "He would go after Amelia Bones."
Dumbledore shook his head. "If it is just Amelia Bones, Harry will get off with no problem. She is fair. I honestly believe she is someone the order could've recruited with some ease had it not been for the politics of the situation. She stays above it. What worries me is that Malfoy knows that. If he is looking cocky…"
"…Then it probably is not Amelia Bones we have to worry about. Or at least not a free Amelia Bones." Remus said, glad he had told Dumbledore about what he observed in Malfoy.
Dumbledore sighed. "Well, we just can do our best."
"That is true." Remus said, trying to cover his sudden heightened unease. He had thought that Dumbledore had a plan when he convinced the Minister to give Harry a hearing.
But know he knew that Dumbledore's plan, to have him before Amelia Bones a fair and unbiased arbiter, seemed to be under fire. "Remus, maybe Malfoy just thinks that Amelia Bones will be taken in by the politics of the situation." Dumbledore said, as if sensing Remus's growing anxiety. "If that is the case, we are fine. She won't be. This is not to say that it is a guarantee she will exonerate him, but if he puts on the case I know he has…"
"Yeah." Remus said, only half-believing Dumbledore.
As Remus was talking, Sirius was coming down the stairs behind him.
"Is there anything else from guard duty you want to report." Professor Dumbledore said, with a smile to Sirius as greeting.
Sirius sat down next to Remus and Remus wracked his brains, but could not come up with anything. Professor Dumbledore asked him some questions, and then they sat in comfortable silence, even Sirius.
Arthur came soon, followed by Molly. "Sorry it took so long." He said, completely exhausted. "That Fudge… he has me on my feet all day, then just as I am about to leave he 'asks' me to do something else."
"Quite all right, Arthur." Professor Dumbledore said, getting up and helping Arthur into a chair.
"Now, the issue is how to get Harry to the ministry safely, without drawing too much attention to ourselves."
"Well," Arthur said, "I was thinking of taking him to work with me. It is a known fact that Ron and Harry are friends, and that he stays with us for long periods of time over the summer. Who is to say that we are not coming from The Burrow."
"Hmm." Dumbledore said. "This does solve the problem of drawing attention to ourselves. But, it does have the negative effect of reminding Fudge of how close you are to those he hates."
"It isn't like he ever forgets." Arthur said, with a half-smile. "I am sure he has someone watching me at almost all times. Plus, I think he expects it, he hasn't loaded my calendar for tomorrow."
"What about Perkins?"
"Good old fellow, nothing to worry about with him."
Dumbledore looked at Molly. She looked a bit worried, but she nodded.
"It is settled then." Dumbledore said, after looking around the room to see that no one had any objections.
"Professor Dumbledore." Sirius said, his tone of voice making Remus close his eyes. Sirius had been being so cordial and kind. As if seeing Remus's face, Sirius toned down his voice a bit so it was a lot more friendly. "Harry will need some moral support. He is worried sick. May I accompany him as Padfoot."
Dumbledore seemed to age again. "Sirius, I am afraid you cannot."
Sirius's face darkened with rage. "Sirius, try to understand." Dumbledore said, trying to placate him. "The Death Eaters know about your disguise. With what Remus has told me about Malfoy frequenting the place… all they would have to do is force you to transform, and turn you in."
"Then I'd escape again!"
"After getting Harry into loads of trouble and drawing attention to Arthur."
"I would not get caught."
"We can't be sure of that, Sirius. I am sorry." Professor Dumbledore said, his tone conveying the finality of what he was saying.
Sirius considered just stalking off, but that would be childish. "Excuse me." He said, tight-lipped, and then he stalked off.
Dumbledore sighed, and put his face inside his hands. Then he looked up. "Well, I must be going. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done."
"Good night, Professor." Molly, Arthur, and Remus said.
"Well, I shall be going as well." Remus said. "Good night, Molly, Arthur."
Remus nodded to the couple and went to his and Sirius's room. He heard, rather then saw Sirius at first. "Harry is going to need me."
"He knows that you are with him, in spirit at least." Remus said, holding Sirius.
"That is not good enough. Drat that Dumbledore!" Sirius said.
"Sirius, that is not fair. He is just trying to keep you alive."
"I would rather be dead after actually having lived!"
Remus sighed, he had no answer to that. He knew in his hearts of hearts that both Professor Dumbledore and Sirius were right on some levels and wrong on others. It would take a careful blend of the two's positions to get to a perfect right.
"Sirius, get some sleep." Remus said, trying to offset Sirius's brooding.
"In a bit." Sirius said, staying up. "You definitely need to sleep. You will have to go on some Order mission soon, and I will not have you getting yourself killed because you didn't get any sleep."
"Yes, sir." Remus said jokingly. But he was tired.
(An-grr, I misremembered OOTP. I thought the conversation Harry has w/Molly et al. happens in the morning of the hearing, but silly me it is the night before. Just pretend it happens in the morning. Other then that, no changes read pages 118-155.)
Meanwhile- Sirius sat brooding in his rooms. Remus came to visit him, fully dressed. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
"What do you think." Sirius snapped.
"I think you are not doing well at all." Remus said, refusing to play games.
"I am just so nervous."
"And you did not even hear my revelation about Lucius Malfoy, and Professor Dumbledore's response." Remus thought to himself.
"You are not the only one who is worried." Remus said to Sirius.
"I am, Molly, Arthur, Tonks, practically the whole Order is worried about him."
"How many of them are worried about him, rather then the boy-who-lived."
"Molly, Arthur, you, I, Tonks, the Weasley children, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagal, Flitwick, I can go on." Remus said.
"Point." Sirius said with a ghost of a smile.
"I have to go soon. But before I go, I want to see you engaged in something worthwhile, that will help get your mind off the hearing." Remus said, firmly. "Up!"
Sirius obediently got up from where he was sitting on the bed and followed
Remus downstairs. "There are some nasty things in the basement. Have fun." Remus said.
After sending Sirius to the basement he walked to the door to leave, as he did, he saw that Molly had a similar idea with the kids. He chuckled as he saw her banishing them to the basement as well. "Good, they can all commiserate together through work." Remus thought to himself.
He was only going for short duty for now, he wanted to be home at least an hour before Harry was. To help Sirius if nothing else. To do that, he would have to quickly leave so he could finish his task and be back.
Remus left, and was able to be back half an hour before Harry. He found Sirius still in the basement where he had left him. "You were right, Moony." Sirius said, panting when he finally noticed Remus . "This is good for working out frustrations and forgetting. The other kids are in the kitchen, if you are wondering."
They heard the door open. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and positively bolted to it. When they did they breathed a deep sigh of relief, as they heard, "I knew it!" (Go to the top of page 158.)
"All right, all kids, upstairs, now." Mrs. Weasley said, her headache at hearing, He got off making her irritable.
"Sirius, Remus, I need to talk to you, now." Harry said, something had been burning at him ever since the end of the hearing. "Maybe in Sirius's room."
"What's up." Sirius asked, promptly as they got there and shut the door.
"My hearing made me realize something. The value of truth and friendship. I have been here with you almost all summer. I know how deeply you are in love with each other, how much you have dealt with, together." He paused.
(AN-end of chapter the usual 11 pages? End on a Cliffie? No, not my style. She HATES cliffies, so I will make this chapter longer, and fill you in on what I plan.)
Their eyes told him they were confused, told him to continue. "I know how much you would love to get married. If not legally, because Fudge is a bigot, then at least in your hearts, witnessed by your friends."
"Harry." Remus said, frightened and tempted by the idea. No longer having to live in secrecy. In fear of others finding out. Hurting by the fact that he had to secretly seek kisses and hugs, and say 'I love you' to the man he loved.
"Listen here, I will tell Ron and Hermione right now, as a test run of sorts. Then tonight, most of the Order will come together because of the hearing. Then if you don't tell them, I will."
"Harry." Sirius started.
"Harry is right, Sirius. We can't hide in the closet forever. I love you, and I want the world to know that. I want our relationship to be sanctified in front of those we love, just as we had planned." Remus said, taking Sirius's hands.
"Just as you had planned." Harry said, pouncing on the slip.
"Before Voldemort forced your parents into hiding, we were going to have a commitment ceremony, if not a marriage. Lilly had been planning it with full energy." Remus said.
"It was rather funny, a very pregnant lady waddling to so many shops in Diagon Alley." Sirius said, his eyes showing how much it meant to him that she had done this.
"Apparition can get screwed up because of the hormones, so she often had to take long rides on the Muggle Subway… And a panicky James would be checking up on her, every ten minutes. He wasn't allowed out much, you know, because of the fight the Aurors were always On Call. But whenever he could, he would as well."
Harry smiled, his eyes tearing up as he heard how good friends his parents were.
"So now," Harry said, coming back to his argument. "Let me, and the others in the order have a chance to do that for you. You can expect a reaction from Severus, when he hears. But, guess what, since when has his opinion mattered to anyone who is not a Slytherin."
Sirius smiled slightly, as did Remus. Harry knew that so badly wanted to be convinced to do this. "You can expect at least a few people to be on your side. Professors Dumbledore and McGonogal. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, and Ginny. If not many more."
Sirius looked at Remus and they spoke to each other with their eyes for a bit. Then they sighed. "All right, go, talk to Ron and Hermione, see how they take it."
"Ron, Hermione." Harry said, entering his and Ron's room. "We need to talk."
Hermione looked like she had been expecting this conversation for some days. Ron looked a little nervous, like he hadn't been expecting it and didn't know what it was about. "There is something I need to tell you. I will tell you in one go." Harry said, suddenly nervous. This was Sirius and Remus's life he was talking about. He steeled himself and said, as quickly as possible, "Pr-, Remus and Sirius are in love, and they are going to announce their intention to get committed."
Hermione clapped her hands in joy, which made Harry take in a sigh of relief.
Ron just looked stunned. "Whoa." He said. Ron's reaction worried Harry a bit. Hermione's reaction was a bit predictable, but Ron's…. "Wicked." Ron said, finally. "That's what you have been hiding all summer, you have been sneaking to see them, because they were hiding their relationship."
Harry and Hermione were a bit shocked that he had noticed. "What." He said, when he saw them staring at him. "You think I wouldn't notice. You were gone practically every morning." Ron said, reminding Harry that they had been sharing a room, so Ron was in a position to notice these things.
"How do you think everyone else is going to react." Ron asked, quietly, surprising Harry and Hermione for the second time that day.
"I don't know." Harry said honestly. "But I do know, that this will show the true colors of many in the Order."
"Agreed." Ron and Hermione said. "All we can do is show that we are there for them and that anyone who isn't, is not worth their time." Hermione said.
"We are with you, Harry. And with Remus and Sirius." Ron said.
"Thank you, guys." Remus and Sirius said, startling the trio, they hadn't noticed a very nervous couple at the doorway.