Truths

By Neurotica

Seventeen

Amelia Bones Wins by Five Votes!

Former head of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, was celebrating last night after she was named Minister of Magic by the Wizengamot. It was a tight race until the end with Lucius Malfoy coming in a close second. Mundungus Fletcher had a mere six votes. Both runners-up were unavailable for comment.

Madam Bones had this to say concerning Peter Pettigrew, the alleged murderer of twelve Muggles and supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named:

"I plan to work closely with the magical community and Magical Law Enforcement to bring those who have supported He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to justice. I believe that together we can make our world a better place. A place where we can feel safe about our children playing in the sunshine without worrying about attacks—"

"Well, it's good to know someone's on top of all this; Fudge sure as hell wasn't," Remus said, setting the paper on the table.

Sirius snorted as he poured milk over his sugarcoated cereal at the kitchen counter. "I'm just glad Malfoy wasn't voted in. I think I would have taken Harry and run off to America or something if that had happened."

Remus turned in his chair and looked at Sirius indignantly. "What about me? You'd just leave me here to deal with that blond-headed git who uses more hair gel in one day than my mother used in a month, while you and Harry chase women in Miami or somewhere?"

Sirius shrugged as he sat across from Remus at the table. "Whatever works for you," he said with a grin.

"Bastard," Remus muttered, laughing.

Sirius swallowed a mouthful of cereal. "So what's on the agenda today, Moony?"

Remus reopened his paper and began to read an article on cauldron thickness. "I don't know. I've got to go to Diagon Alley for a few things, but," he added at Sirius' glare, "I figured you and Harry could spend a day here without blowing too many things apart."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully, ignoring Remus' lack of faith in him. "Yeah, I think we can find something to occupy our time."

There was a mischievous sparkle in Sirius' eyes that told Remus instantly that there would be trouble.

"Sirius," Remus said as if talking to a three-year-old. Three-year-olds would be easier to talk to at times than Sirius… he thought to himself. "Please, for the sake of what is left of whatever sanity I may have had before I met you, please, don't do anything stupid," he pleaded.

It had been a week since Harry's birthday. Since then, Sirius and Remus had discovered a few more details about Harry's life with the Dursleys: he had never once received more than a piece of tissue paper or a toothpick for a birthday gift; never received any new toys while his cousin had been spoiled rotten. Sirius had talked of nothing but the best ways to torment the Dursleys.

"What?" Sirius asked with an innocent look Remus had learned to see right through. "What would I do? It's not like I was planning to move Figgy off the street and blow up the entire neighborhood or anything." He paused. "That's not a bad idea actually," he added thoughtfully.

Remus let his head drop into his arms in exasperation. "Sirius, please!" he said, his voice muffled through his arms. "Harry's out of there now. He's happy. And as much as I dislike the Dursleys for what they did to him, it's over; let it go!"

They had gone over this a hundred times at least, but Sirius Black—if nothing else—was stubborn.

"You really think I'm just going to let them get away with what they did to Harry? What do you think Lily and James would do if they knew who he had been living with and how he was treated? They would not have just let it go!" Sirius said loudly, the last three words coming out in a sneer.

Remus lifted his head and glared at his best friend—his only friend. When he replied, it was in forced calm. "First of all, keep your voice down; Harry is still asleep. Second of all, that was well below the belt, Sirius. You know as well as I do that Harry would not have lived with those people if Lily and James were still alive. Neither you nor I could have changed what happened to them or to Harry. Do you honestly think I don't feel horrible about Harry having to go and live with them? Do you honestly think I wouldn't give my life to have given Harry a better one?" he whispered harshly.

Sirius glared back, not at all fazed by the tone Remus rarely used. "You wanted to give Harry a better life, did you? Then why the bloody hell—while I was stuck in Azkaban with only the dementors for company — didn't you get custody of him?"

Remus' face became emotionless, blank, and Sirius knew he had angered the werewolf—never a good thing to do. "Why didn't I get custody of Harry you ask?" Remus asked in a wavering voice, looking Sirius directly in the eyes. "Because the Ministry wasn't about to hand the Boy-Who-Lived over to a registered werewolf. Believe me, I tried. I tried for months. But in the end all I could do was sit tight and wait for updates about him from Dumbledore. And let me tell you, Sirius, that's not an easy thing to do, considering he didn't want Harry in contact with wizards. I think Dumbledore hoped I would just forget about Harry after a while. He wouldn't even allow me to contact Arabella Figg to see how he was. For the past two years, I haven't heard a word about Harry's well-being. I didn't know whether or not he was happy. Didn't know if he needed anything. Hell, I didn't even know what he looked like now. Not until the day you came back did I even hear Harry's name mentioned around me."

There was something envious in Remus' voice that Sirius didn't miss. He suddenly found himself feeling guilty for accusing his friend of doing nothing.

"Remus, I—"

"No. Don't," Remus said, standing. "Do what you want to the Dursleys, I don't care anymore. When you get arrested for attacking Muggles, don't call me. But don't you think for one goddamn minute that I don't care about Harry as much as you do. I'll see you tonight." Remus grabbed his jacket, even though it was a warm day, and Apparated from the cottage.

Sirius stared in mild shock at the spot his friend had been a second before. He hadn't meant to have them argue like that; it just sort of came out. He hadn't meant to accuse Remus of not caring. Sirius knew his friend loved and adored Harry as much as he did.

Remus had never told him that he tried to obtain custody of Harry, and Sirius could understand Remus' anger. It was hard for Remus to get what he wanted—whether it be a job, or a child, or the chance at a normal life—but Sirius, after being imprisoned for nearly five years gets the exact thing that Remus had wanted most after only a week of freedom.

At that moment, Harry walked out of his bedroom carrying his stuffed stag under his arm. For some reason, Sirius didn't understand why, since he received the stag a week before, Harry refused to go anywhere without it.

"Morning, Sirius," Harry muttered sleepily.

Sirius smiled slightly. "Morning, Harry."

Harry looked around the kitchen. "Where's Remus?"

Sirius sighed. "He had to go to Diagon Alley for some things. He'll be back later." Hopefully... he added in his mind.

Harry nodded and began to eat the cereal Sirius had just placed in front of him. "Can we go into the forest again?" he asked between spoonfuls.

Sirius nodded distractedly, still thinking about Remus. "Yeah, sure. After breakfast, though."

Once Sirius and Harry had finished eating, they got dressed and headed into the large forest surrounding the cottage. Sirius packed a large lunch for them; last time they'd gone out there, they were gone all day. Harry led the way expertly through the trees with Sirius close behind him. Sirius pointed out magical creatures to Harry as they passed them, and he sustained a bad cut on his hand from a bowtruckle after mistaking it for part of a tree branch he was moving out of his way.

The two ate their lunches of ham sandwiches and butterbeer in the shade of a large tree. Sirius kept Harry entertained by telling him of all the times he and James would visit Remus during summer holidays and explore that very forest.

They continued on to a large clearing the Marauders used to use for Quidditch practice and awaited the sunset that was soon to come. Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out his and Harry's broomsticks, shrunk to fit in the palm of his hand. He muttered,"Engorgio," and handed a broomstick to a beaming Harry.

Harry jumped on the broom and waited slightly impatiently while Sirius performed the charm to keep him in place in the air. Once Sirius was finished, Harry took off into the sunset, laughing, and yelled to his godfather still on the ground, "Race you!"

Sirius laughed and took off after Harry.

Remus Apparated home to once again find it in silence. But instead of the feeling of foreboding he felt when Harry and Sirius were silent for a long matter of time, he felt hesitant to find them—well, Sirius, at least. He sighed and called for his family. There was no answer. Remus walked into the kitchen to put away the potions ingredients he had purchased in Diagon Alley.

A note sat on the kitchen counter next to the sink in Sirius' messy handwriting.

Remus —

Took Harry into the forest. Be back later. Extra sandwiches in the fridge.

—Padfoot

p.s. I'm sorry about this morning.

Remus sighed tiredly. The morning's argument had been on his mind all day. None of it had been Sirius' fault—well, that wasn't entirely true; most of it had been his fault. But it had all been pointless. Remus was just ranting to Sirius for something neither could change. In truth, Remus was slightly jealous that Sirius had gained Harry so easily, but he understood why it had happened that way: Sirius was Harry's legal guardian—Remus was not. Remus was a werewolf—Sirius was not.

Remus' dealings with the Ministry had been completely futile, a waste of time. There was no way Remus would have been given custody of Harry. He was, however, more than pleased Sirius had—it was wonderful having Harry around. It sort of made things more normal for Remus again.

And it wasn't as though Harry preferred Sirius over Remus—not at all. Harry seemed equally attached to both of them in such a short expanse of time. Harry depended on Sirius for laughs, flying, and pranks, while he looked to Remus for everything else, mostly getting revenge on Sirius.

Remus reached into the fridge and retrieved one of the sandwiches left by Sirius. A chocolate frog sat on top, making Remus chuckle—Sirius used to apologize for anything stupid he did by giving out chocolate frogs. He took out a butterbeer and headed to the living room to see what was on television.

It was getting dark—the first sign of the moon was beginning to show—and Remus knew Sirius and Harry would return soon.

A few hours later, night had fallen. Sirius conjured lamps so that it was still bright enough to fly, and so he could keep an eye on Harry. As they raced around the clearing, Sirius glanced at his watch; it was nearly nine o'clock. They needed to get back soon before Remus became worried.

"Harry!" Sirius called ahead of him. "We need to get back home!"

Reluctantly, the blur that was Harry slowed so that Sirius could catch up and they gradually descended to the ground. Sirius took Harry's charm off and reduced their brooms to palm size once more.

Taking Harry's sweaty hand in his own, Sirius lit the tip of his wand and headed in the direction of the cottage. Less than a quarter of a way into the walk, Harry showed signs of fatigue; Sirius smiled and picked the boy up. Within minutes, Sirius heard soft snoring, signaling Harry's sleep.

Half a mile from the edge of the forest, everything suddenly became pitch black and cold. The stars seemed to have been shut off. The sounds in the forest disappeared. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks as the tip of his wand flickered and finally extinguished completely. He could feel his own breath becoming shallow and fast. Harry's breath on his neck was freezing.

Then there was a feeling Sirius hoped he would never feel again: the feeling of doom and despair; the feeling of losing all happiness from one's mind... The feeling of dementors.

Straining his ears, Sirius heard the rattling breath of two dementors. Panicking, Sirius swung around in the dark. He could see the dark outlines of their robes in the trees.

Harry awoke suddenly with an ear shattering scream.

"Shh, Harry, it's okay," Sirius said quickly, his voice quivering and his ear ringing. He sat Harry down against a tree. "I need you to stay here, Harry. Keep your back against this tree."

"No!" Harry cried, trying to get back into Sirius' arms.

Sirius looked fearfully over his shoulder—the dementors were drawing nearer.

He could hear Wormtail accusing him of betraying Lily and James, the names his mother had called him in his childhood; he saw James' dead body lying in the rubble of Godric's Hollow.

Sirius shook himself; he needed to protect Harry...

"Harry, don't move," Sirius said. "It'll be okay, I promise. Just stay here, okay?"

Harry could only nod as terrified tears streamed from his green eyes.

Sirius swung around, shielding Harry from the dementors' path. He thought of Remus and Harry, and how wonderful it was having them in his life once again before he shouted, at the top of his lungs, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A bright white eagle shot through the tip of his wand toward the advancing dementors. The eagle-patronus forcefully pushed the dementors away from Sirius and Harry. Sirius followed the patronus with his wand as the dementors retreated. He took a few steps forward, his patronus still gliding around the trees to keep them from danger. Suddenly, the Patronus dived behind Sirius. Sirius swung around, and to his horror, saw a dementor leaning over Harry. His godson's body lay limp in the bony hands of the dark creature.

"Get it!" Sirius bellowed at his Patronus.

The eagle dived at the dementor and pushed it away from Harry. Sirius watched for a moment as the patronus flew into the forest and flickered out.

The dementors were gone.

Dropping his wand, Sirius threw himself to the ground where Harry had fallen.

"Harry?" he whispered urgently. "Harry! Please, wake up!"

Harry didn't respond.

"No, please, no!"

Sirius picked his wand up from the ground, and took Harry in his arms. He ran full force the remaining distance to the cottage, tripping but not falling over tree roots in his way.

When he had reached the edge of the forest and could see lights on in the cottage, Sirius screamed for Remus. Remus burst through the backdoor seconds later, confusion turning immediately to horror as he spotted Harry's limp form in Sirius' arms. Remus ran to them.

"What happened?" Remus demanded.

Sirius was breathless, tears streaming from his eyes. "D-dementors," he said hoarsely.

This had not been what Remus was expecting—he thought Harry might have fallen off his broom or something. He took the boy from Sirius and led them quickly to the living room. Remus laid Harry gently onto the sofa and examined him. Harry's eyes had rolled to the back of his head, showing only the whites, and his mouth was hanging open.

Remus reached a trembling hand to Harry's throat. He sighed in relief when he found a faint pulse.

"Well?" Sirius said, kneeling next to Remus.

"He's alive," Remus said tensely.

Sirius released a breath he had not realized he had been holding. "What's wrong with him? Why isn't he responding?" he said desperately, taking Harry's hand.

"Shock, I expect," Remus said, standing. He crossed the room quickly and broke off a piece of the chocolate frog he had saved from his dinner for Sirius. "Eat it," he commanded softly. He sat Harry up gently, and placed a small piece of the chocolate onto Harry's tongue, taking care to make sure he didn't choke. "He should wake soon. What happened?"

Sirius' face was chalk-white, but still not near to the color of Harry's deathly pale face. Sirius was shaking terribly, his arms wrapped around his shoulders. "They—they came out of nowhere. I put Harry against a tree. Conjured my patronus. It drove two of them away. I didn't know there was a third. It had Harry. I-I t-think it was going to k-k-kiss him." Sirius shuddered. "My patronus drove it away, finally. Then I ran back with Harry."

Remus clenched his jaw and thought of what to do next. "I'm going to contact Dumbledore; he'll want to know about this. Stay with Harry."

Sirius nodded. He barely noticed Remus cross the room to the fireplace. His focus was solely on Harry. Sirius didn't even notice when Remus returned moments later with Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.

Remus pulled Sirius gently by the arm, away from the sofa so the new arrivals could have a better look at the boy. He was still too pale for anyone's comfort, though they could clearly hear his breathing in sharp, harsh intakes.

Remus ran a shaking hand through his hair as he watched Pomfrey wave her wand over Harry, muttering different incantations. She and Dumbledore whispered in length; Remus and Sirius were too focused on Harry, wondering if he would be okay, to care about hearing what they were saying.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the worried guardians, Dumbledore and Pomfrey stood properly.

Madam Pomfrey turned to the younger wizards with a grim expression. "He will be fine." Sirius and Remus sighed in immense relief. "He is in shock. I don't think I need to tell either of you the nasty effects dementors can have on a person. Right now, he is simply asleep; whatever went through his mind took a hard toll on him. I don't recommend moving him until he wakes. Do not wake him; he needs to do it on his own. I'm going back to the school to get some potions I want him to take. Chocolate wouldn't hurt him, or you, either, Black."

Sirius and Remus nodded as Pomfrey went back to the fireplace.

Sirius sat on the edge of the sofa, careful not to sit on Harry, and stared at his knees. How... why... did this happen to them?

"What were dementors doing out here, Albus?" Remus asked, reading Sirius' mind.

Dumbledore looked at Harry's now closed eyes and sighed. "I wish I knew, Remus. I do not know what this means. The dementors have not been out of Ministry control since Voldemort's days."

Sirius looked up, a thought forming in his mind. "Could this have had something to do with Wormtail?" he whispered, dreading the reply.

But Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not know. I can assure you, however, that I will be alerting the Ministry shortly. I will get back to you the moment I find out more."

Sirius continued staring at Harry; Remus nodded. "Thank you for coming so quickly, sir."

"Poppy will be returning soon. He'll be okay, Sirius," Dumbledore added, with a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius didn't look up as he nodded vaguely.

Dumbledore left through the fireplace just as Pomfrey had done moments ago.

Remus collapsed onto the floor next to Sirius and Harry. The past thirty minutes seemed like hours, and Remus was already exhausted with worry.

"He'll want his stag..." Sirius muttered. "He won't sleep without it..."

Remus raised his wand to the direction of Harry's bedroom and muttered, "Accio stag." Harry's stuffed stag flew obediently into Remus' hand, and he placed it in Harry's arms.

Hours passed. Madam Pomfrey returned with potions for Harry ranging from dreamless sleep to pepper-up potions. Harry still hadn't stirred once throughout the night. His breathing had returned to normal to the further relief of his guardians.

Just as dawn broke, Harry began to moan softly. Sirius and Remus, neither of whom dared to sleep a wink, sat up instantly awaiting further signs of life.

"Harry?" Remus said quietly, pushing hair away from the child's eyes gently.

Harry's eyes snapped open suddenly, and he attempted to sit up. Sirius and Remus pushed him back into the sofa soothingly.

"Shh, Harry, it's okay. You're home, you're safe," Remus whispered to a near hysterical Harry.

Sirius finally reached over and pulled Harry into his lap, rocking him back and forth.

"What happened?" Harry whispered, trembling in his godfather's arms.

Remus stood from his spot on the carpet, sat next to Sirius, and began to rub comforting circles on Harry's shaking back. "A dementor attacked you in the forest last night," Remus said hoarsely. "They're dark creatures—they guard the wizard's prison."

"Why?" Harry asked, his voice muffled in Sirius' shirt.

"We don't know, Harry, but we're going to find out."

"How do you feel?" Sirius asked quietly.

Harry sniffed. "Tired," he mumbled.

Sirius looked at Remus. "Yeah, I think we're all a bit tired, kiddo. What do you say we get some sleep?"

Remus nodded in agreement; his eyelids felt like bludgers. "First we need to give Harry some of these potions or Pomfrey will blow a fuse."

"What's a fuse?"

"Never mind," Remus said, shaking his head, not wanting to explain Muggle phrases at the moment. He handed Harry a chocolate frog and had him wash it down with a Dreamless Sleep Potion.

There was nothing left for them to do now but wait for word from Dumbledore.

Less than ten minutes later, Sirius and Harry were curled up on the sofa, while Remus found himself asleep in an armchair.