A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys and for those I had to bribe to do so…the moneys in the post. First I would like to say–

'Hold on their sis I have a bone to pick with you'

Pinko, what the hell are you doing here?

'You spelt his name wrong…you spelt his name WRONG, how could you he's our second to favourite character?!'

reads reviews…um, oops.

'That's it your out of here, I'm carrying on with the story.'

Hay it's not my fault I'm dislexix…um…dislexis. Damn why did they make this word so hard to spell, it's just cruel!

'You're not dyslexic your just thick now get outta here'

Fri leaves the site very ashamed of herself…

'So on with the story children…'

Chapter 2: Questions & Doubt

part 1

"Ow come on give me a break!" Sirius said exasperated as he raised himself to his knees. He had been working on his flying motorbike since waking. Even though that was only half an hour ago he was already starting to wonder why he had bought the beautiful pile of scrap metal. Even though he was inside the garage, the shade didn't stop the blistering heat from making him even more agitated.

"Here you go hun" A talk blonde women wearing nothing but one of Sirius's t-shirts cooed offering Sirius a cup of tea

"Cheers, Katie" Sirius said gratefully accepting anything that would draw him away from the demon machine. He flashed a smile and a wink at her but all he received in return was a slap round the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sirius yelled leaping to his feet.

"Kami…my name is Kami" She yelled back at him. Kami turned abruptly and stomped into the house.

"Ow" Was all Sirius could muster.

"Identify yourselves" A middle aged women said addressing Caden. Remus and Caden had arrived at the Ministry accompanied by Caden's partner Byron.

Caden was a sweet man he joined the Ministry the same day as Remus, they had spent the whole day trying to work out where their desks where in the cavernous building. They both worked in separate areas but every so often they stopped by for a chat about what the other was up to.

On occasion Caden had told Remus about Byron, and everything he heard was bad. Byron was very much an ask-questions-later man, he looked like he was carved from stone and his jaw was so rigid you could sharpen a knife against it.

"Aurors Caden Briar and Byron Zeric, we've brought in Remus Lupin for questioning" Byron spoke for Caden. The receptionist eyed Remus with disgust before allowing them through.

The time between the Aurors arriving at his home and him stepping through the doors to the Ministry where lost to Remus. He barely even noticed when Byron roughly pushed him into the car and sped off down the road. Caden only spoke to Remus when he was reading him his rights and even then he looked everywhere but at Remus.

Remus was still in shock, he hoped and prayed that what they were saying was a horrid joke or that he was going to wake up at home still strapped in tight to his restraints.

Nobody told Remus where they were going, they didn't need to he could tell by the look on Caden's face that they where headed to Interrogation. As they walked down the lengthy hallway workers stopped their frantic labour and stared at Remus. A woman from the same department as Remus gasped as she saw him, hands shackled and being guided by the illustrious Aurors. Others who Remus had known for quite some time just looked away pretending they hadn't seen him, as if just recognising him would insinuate they where involved.

Remus's head pounded with each step, his heart felt like a lead weight in his chest and again that persecuting voice rang in his ears 'What have I done?'

"Baby, I'm sorry it's the heat I…" Sirius said desperately trying to stop the rampaging woman from leaving. She was already fully clothed and heading towards the front door.

"You what? Come on Sirius you what?" Kami asked turning around and staring at her soon to be ex-lover.

"I'm sorry" He said pulling an awkward face trying to win her back over.

"What's my last name?" She asked very coolly.

Sirius's eyes widened, he had to know this he had to. He moved his mouth without producing any words, mouthing every letter of the alphabet.

"Um…Becker" He replied hoping he was right.

Her hand collided against his cheek again sending a surprising amount of pain through the shamed mans face. Kami turned unlocked the door and walked through flicking her hair as she strode down the path.

Just as she was about to unlock the small gate at the end of the path a hand beat her to it. She looked up and saw James standing there.

"Hi Kami is Sirius in?" He asked taking a step back as he saw the livid expression on her face. Sirius suddenly appeared by her side rubbing his cheek.

"James would you mind telling this pig what my last name is?" Kami said looking from James to Sirius.

"…Brooke, what–" James started very confused however Kami cut him off.

"See, a guy who I've met twice can remember my name but you can't" She screamed at the embarrassed Sirius. In one swift movement Kami opened the gate and marched down the road.

There was an awkward silence between the two men until James burst into laughter.

"Shut up it's not funny" Sirius said trying to hide his smile.

"You must be able to use your head board has a toothpick by now" James said as the two men walked down to the house.

"What?" Sirius queried.

"Well the amount of notches you have in it" James replied.

Remus had heard tales of torture devices, bulky guys standing in a corner cracking their knuckles and a collection of pain educing potions that was placed in front of the felon just to make them sweat. Of course he hadn't believed a word of it until Caden and Byron brought him into the fabled Interrogation room.

Byron threw him down in a chair and both Aurors left him alone slamming the heavy steel door behind them. The room was actually quite pleasant, decorative candle sconces holding large church candles lined the room. Illuminating the dusty red brick walls, the floor was solid wood as was the table and solitary chair that Remus was occupying. On the wall next to the door there was a large two-way mirror, he stared at his reflection for a moment. Then without any warning or hesitation his eyes began to well, his head dropped low and the tears fell freely onto his lap. Despair consumed Remus, tearing away at what little grip he had on reality. Ever since he was a boy Remus had fought in vain to try to prove to people he wasn't a monster, that he was a human being with a heart and soul who cherished everybody who had ever touched his life.

Was he really capable of killing a child?

"So, what do you want?" Sirius asked bluntly. They had been friends for so long that passing pleasantries weren't necessary any more.

"The missus had to go out, and I got bored" James stated relaxing himself in a cosy armchair.

"So I'm stuck with babysitting duty then?" Sirius groaned before flashing another winning smile. He took a seat next to James sighing loudly, they both sat there motionless quite comfortable not making conversation. Until James once again dissolved to laughter, this time instead of Sirius scolding him he too saw the funny side of the event with Kami.

"I can't believe you dated someone called Kami Brooke, she sounds like a stripper!" James said through laughs.

"She was" Sirius stated completely straight faced. "I think" He added creasing up.

"What is it with you and women of ill repute?" James asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ow please don't, you sound like Molly Weasley" Sirius put on a whiny feminine tone and continued. "Why can't find a nice girl Sirius? Someone who you can have lots of widdle babies with…" He reverted back to his regular tone "CONFORM SIRIUS CONFORM!" They both fell about laughing until they were red in the face.

There was a loud crack in the fireplace so sudden both men gasped slightly, a figure quickly emerged and moved rapidly to the men.

"Hello Arthur we were just talk–" Sirius started still somewhat pink. However before he could finish there was another crack from the fireplace, this time Lily appeared.

"Has someone arranged a party and not told me about it?" Sirius directed the question at James with a smile; however James' expression had changed from levity to deep concern. Sirius turned to see that Lily was crying.

"What's happened?" James asked bolting to his wife's side to embrace her.

"Remus has been arrested…for murder" Arthur said, he was very pale and there was an equal amount of worry in his voice.

"What?" James breathed the words not believing him. He clung tightly to the quivering redhead in his arms.

Sirius sat back down, his jaw dropped and then closed. He repeated the process several times before finding any words. "Explain" was all he could say.

"Last night a girl was killed by a werewolf, she lives…lived, in the same area as Remus so they assume he did it" Arthur said swallowing hard as he finished.

"Wha?...how, how do you know this?" James stuttered not sure what else to say.

"One of the receptionists at the Ministry found out and passed on the gossip" Arthur stated with malice. Before anyone else could ask anymore unimportant questions Sirius leapt out of his chair and strode over to the phone. He picked up the receiver and roughly punched in a few numbers. Despite the unbelievable situation Arthur couldn't help but stare in wonderment at the muggle device.

"Who are you calling?" James asked astonished. James couldn't believe that he would make a phone call at a time like this.

"Peter, if he ever picks up" Sirius muttered through clenched teeth. "Come on, come on…Pete, its Sirius look…yeah…look shut up and get over mine NOW…I'll explain when you get here…JUST DO IT" He snapped as he slammed the handset back down. "We're going to the Ministry" Sirius said forcefully as a loud crack erupted from the fireplace.

Remus felt like he had been sat there for days. He rocked back and forth on his chair, holding himself firmly. He had been crying for so long the tears felt like battery acid on his eyes and stung as they rolled down his cheeks.

The door swung open and Byron walked through holding an A4 brown envelope, he took one look at Remus and snorted. "Crocodile tears won't wash this away, their talking about handing you over to the Dementors" Byron added with a sadistic smirk. Remus shivered and weakly raised his head "Best not disappoint them" Remus replied. He wished for anything to rid him of the feelings swelling inside him, even if it meant having his soul sucked out by a Dementor.

Byron leaned over Remus, his muscular form over shadowing the broken man. "This is 6 year old Avery Lee" He said drawing a picture from the envelope and placing it on the table in front of the Remus.

The first thing that struck Remus was the beautiful tresses of long blonde hair, the light shone on her silky locks making it look as pale as snow. Her glorious mane surrounded an angelic face, piercing blue eyes blinked at Remus. She smiled up at him making little dimples in her cheeks stand out. He could taste the bile at the back of his throat. "Or should I say that WAS Avery Lee" Byron pulled a second photo out of the envelope. His eyes darted to the second picture, a tiny body lay face up in a pool of blood. Her eyes were still open however the sparkle no longer resided in them, her milky skin was shredded by elongated claws and teeth. Remus leapt from the chair, he threw himself against the nearest wall and threw up. He closed his eyes as he coughed and sobbed but all he saw was blood, torn flesh and Avery's desecrated remains.

"You did a good job on her, that's a closed casket for sure" Byron chirped with a slight laugh. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Remus gasped between panic stricken breaths.

"Starting to wish Caden was here instead of me, are you?" He said spitting out Caden's name. "How he ever managed to become an Auror is beyond me, you should have seen him before I came in here all doe eyed and pain ridden" He continued with mock sympathy.

"The Minister thought it better if someone who isn't…emotional involved with you to do the questioning" He said sideling up to Remus.

Remus dropped to his hands and knees, he sobbed loudly not trying to conceal his tears. Byron let out a frustrated sigh then grabbed Remus by his hair, he wrenched the man to his feet and threw him into the chair. However due to the intense force with which Byron did this Remus promptly lost his balance and tumbled to the floor, he lay facedown clutching his throbbing head.

"Hmm, what might this be?" Byron asked in a sing-song voice. Remus cagily turned and faced Byron trying to hide the look of pain that had been inflicted upon him. Byron held in his hand the lock of hair that had fallen out of Remus' pocket.

"I keepsake possible" Byron questioned running the lock between his fingers. Remus' eyes widened he had lost the ability to construct a sentence and instead knelt next to Byron quivering. "Answer me" Byron bellowed at Remus before hauling him to his feet and once again pushing him onto the chair.

"I…I" Remus stuttered. "Did it" Byron questioned slamming his fist on the table while still clutching the golden strands. Suddenly the door flew open and another man entered the room "Zeric, how many times do I have to warn you about your brutality?" The man erupted, he was taller then Byron but was no where near as muscular.

"He was just about to confess" Byron replied flippantly. "Well that really is amazing considering as you didn't ask him any questions" The man retorted infuriated.

"Sir I– " Byron started to defend himself but the second man raised his hand not wanting to hear another word. Instead he walked round the table, summoned a chair and addressed Remus.

"My name is Gabriel Flint I am the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, however some people forget that" Gabriel said aiming the latter part at Byron.

Gabriel scanned the desk and furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed the pictures and the lock of hair.

"Has your solicitor arrived yet?" he asked Remus forcefully but without intimidating him. "I don't have one" Remus uttered.

"Would you like the Ministry to provide you with one?" Gabriel queried still looking at the hair. Remus' eyes flitted to Byron for a moment before answering.

"Yes, please" he replied vigorously. Gabriel stood up and picked up the lock. "Questioning will be postponed until they arrive, I'll have to send this off to be examined" He stated gesturing to the strands in his palm.

Gabriel walked to the still wide open door and left, though he called back sharply for Byron to leave as well. However before following his boss' instructions Byron gripped Remus' shoulder tightly and whispered in his ear "I'm going to make you suffer", this sent another ripple of terror through Remus that lasted long after Byron had left.

"What do you mean we can't see him?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth while leaning up against the metal rails separating him from the snobbish secretary's booth. Since Voldemort's uprising security at the Ministry had increased tenfold, and at the moment anyone lower then the Minister was scrutinised before entering.

"Are you family?" She asked curling her lip at the enraged man. "As good as" Sirius replied sharply.

"We can't give out information to anyone who isn't family, you'll just have to wait until he is released" She retorted turning her back on Sirius.

Sirius returned to the group growling with frustration. "What do we do now?" Peter asked slightly bewildered.

"We sit and wait, they can't keep him in there forever" Sirius replied taking a seat in the entrance hall. "I have an idea" Arthur chimed.

"I'm an employee here so they have to let me in, I'll find out whatever I can and relay to you guys" He didn't wait for a reply instead he just walked straight through while the disgruntled secretary looked on.

"I don't understand how they could arrest Remus, we've all seen that room it's locked up tighter then Azkaban" Lily stated while James draped his arm around her, she had stopped crying but her voice was still broken.

"They've made a mistake; Remus would never harm a kid let alone…" James let the last part of his sentence trail off. "Yeah, but James you have to remember that every full moon that…thing, isn't Remus" Peter said quietly staring intently at James.

"What, you…you don't think he did it, do you?" James asked rising to his feet and taking a step towards Peter. "No of course not, but look back over the times he's almost killed us, and that was years ago can you imagine how strong he is now that he's in his twenties?" Peter stated while backing away from James. "He didn't do it…HE DIDN'T" James screamed while pointing at Peter, his hand was shaking so hard all conviction was lost. Sirius stepped between the two men and faced James "Hay come on man sit down, this isn't helping anyone especially Remus" He said tenderly while gently pushing James towards a chair and away from Peter. Lily grasped onto her husbands hand tightly and whispered some reassuring words into his ear. Sirius spun on his heels and stared at Peter furiously for a few moments before returning to his seat.

Remus waited for hours, his only visitor was a member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad who had come to collect hair, blood and saliva samples to be sent off for examining. He sunk into an emotionless state, the world and everything that had happened to him faded away as every inch of him became numb. He didn't even notice when the door finally opened and Gabriel, Byron and a women entered the room.

"Remus, this is Emeray Scott she will be your legal representative" Gabriel stated while summoning two more chairs. Remus looked at the women he couldn't believe his eyes she looked about 14; Emeray noticed the shocked expression instantly.

"How old are you?" He asked slightly intrusively.

"I'm 22 I've just graduated Law School…this is my first case" She replied nervously. Remus put his head in his hands again as everyone took a seat, even though his eyes were closed Remus could feel Byron's sadistic smirk.

"Please verify that you are Remus John Lupin for the record" Gabriel said very professionally. "That's me" Remus utter raising his head.

"What were your exact movements before sunset?" Byron asked leaning closer to Remus. "Um, I met some friends at a pub in London at about 3 o'clock I stayed there until…5, got home half an hour before sunset, chained myself into the restraints and took my Wolfsbane I don't remember anything after that until waking up today" Remus answer putting as much thought into his reply as possible.

"You're absolutely sure you took your Wolfsbane?" Gabriel asked. "Yes, I always make sure I'm fully stocked before each full moon" Remus replied forcefully.

"Well that's funny, because we have your toxicology report here and there aren't any traces of Wolfsbane in your system" Byron said placing a folder down on the table. Remus suddenly remembered how his mixture had tasted very strange but before he could say anything Byron continued. "However we did find a huge quantity of Re'em blood in your blood stream, it gives an average person the strength of ten men so you can only imagine the power a werewolf would have" Byron said very satisfied with himself.

"That is completely unproven, there has been no testing on werewolves since 1956 when it was outlawed" Emeray stated firmly. Remus' worries about his solicitor started to fade. "1954…experimental testing on werewolves was outlawed in 1954, and Re'em blood was discovered in 1877 by which time some testing had already been carried out" Byron retorted smiling cruelly. Remus' fears started to rise again.

Emeray frantically looked through a stack of papers she had brought with her "Ow, yes but those reports were vastly exaggerated and have been widely discredited" She replied very embarrassed.

"Widely discredited…tell that to Torin and Coral Lee" Byron spat at Emeray. "Hay that's enough" Gabriel said sharply eyeing Byron sternly.

"Remus, did you know anything about this?" Gabriel said turning to Remus again. "Of course not, I do remember my potion not tasting anything like usual but I didn't have any time to work out what it was" Remus answered while his mind raced with all the fresh information.

"Remus why do I get the feeling like your not giving me all the details? Look due to the Werewolf Constitutional Act of 1904 we can't charge you with murder, however if you deliberately sabotaged your restraints or were experimenting with strengthening potions you will be sent to Azkaban for at least 25 years. If you want us to help you we need to know everything" Gabriel said compassionately but with force. "I'm trying; it's so hard to remember, I…" Remus began to well up again as words left him.

"You said that you went to the pub, did you have a drink?" Byron asked sneering at Remus again. "Yes" Remus whispered. "Did you get drunk?" Byron said prolonging the last word. Remus paused for a second; he raised his head so he was eye-to-eye with Byron "No…well not really" He replied without much confidence.

"Ow, I know when I go out with my mates I like to have a good time…and a good time usually involves getting completely lashed" Byron pushed the matter further.

"My client has answered your question, please don't compare your social habits to that of his" Emeray chimed in. "Well I am sorry I was just wondering what exactly he means when he says 'well not really'" Byron said looking from her to Remus.

"Exactly how much alcohol did you consume?" Gabriel asked. "Um, about 3 or 4 pints" Remus answered scratching his head.

"3 or 4 pints" Gabriel mimicked his answer "Well that's enough to impair anybody's motor skills, did you feel light-headed or dizzy?" Gabriel continued. "Slightly…but I know I chained myself up tightly and the door was magically reinforced so I couldn't have gotten out" Remus uttered trying to convince himself more then his interrogators.

"Remus, we examined your home…there was no damage to the door of the room with your restraints in. It was wide open" Gabriel said calmly…

A/N: Kay guys I seem to have contradicted myself, this chapter is so friggin long I'm going to cut in into two parts. What do you think so far? Am I cruel enough to make Remus guilty or is there foul play afoot? And what was that 'situation' between Peter and James all about?

By the way I decided to scrap having someone play Remus' solicitor I don't think anybody would want to play an inept law school grad, but will she redeem herself? Well I find that having reviews helps my imagination flow...hint, hint nudge wink ok you get my point!

P.S The bit with Kami and Sirius really happened to a friend of mine, you guys might not find it funny but I cracked up when I heard. No offence to anybody named Kami of course…