6. Unwelcome Guests
They expected Harry's dreams to become more frequent. But he started to experience more of the daydreams, too; similar to the one he had had during the Divinations class a few months before. Harry felt increasingly intimidated by them and though he told them about the dreams immediately and even though he once got violently sick and still told them what he had seen. Sirius commended him:
"You are one brave little fellow, Harry! Your sense of duty is unbelievable. I know you're going through hell with these dreams, but you're still coming to us with their contents."
The problem was that they knew what Voldemort did, but they only knew the moment it happened, there was no way to find out where he wanted to go next. But even though Harry was badly plagued by them, he learned to watch for every single detail, which he then passed on to Albus Dumbledore.
Two days after Harry's birthday Remus told the children that it was a full moon night ahead. Ronja knew exactly what that meant and Rashid had learned in the past few months. When Remus brought the children to sleep he got an extra tight hug from Ronja.
"Sleep well, darling. I will be alright," he said and kissed her good night.
"I'll try to, Daddy. For you."
"I love you, my little one. Don't worry."
"Okay."
The children were already asleep when he went to his shed. Sirius went along with him to set up the wards. He kissed Remus and held him tight for a moment, then Remus pulled himself free and went into the shed. Sirius closed the door gently and sealed it magically. He added a silencing charm. Then he put his hand on the door and said:
"I don't think I'll sleep much tonight, love. But you have a good one, please!"
Only with pains he moved away from the shed and back to the house. Every fibre in his body screamed to be with his lover during the night, but he had to watch over the children. Now also his children. In his heart he had already adopted them and that stirred his loyalty and his protective instincts. He looked back to the shed and finally entered the house. They had not turned on any light, just a small candle burned where the stairs began. And the moment, Sirius entered through the open door to the terrace he heard an unfamiliar noise. Someone who crept up the stairs. Sirius' alarm bells went on, he followed suit and saw a shadow, pointed his wand and said quietly:
"Stupefy!"
The shadow crumpled in a heap and fell down the stairs. When Sirius saw who it was he almost screamed with delight. He stretched the unconscious man out, turned him around and bound his elbows together on his back, then bound him with ropes all around his body. He remembered how Harry had told him, what the silver hand was capable of. Sirius hoped that he was alone. He levitated Wormtail into the bathroom and dropped him on the floor. Then he checked on Harry. Harry had just turned off the light a few moments earlier.
"Harry, are you still awake?"
"Yes, Sirius. Why?"
"Well, come out, we might have unwanted guests. I have stunned and bound one of them and put him in the bathroom. But we should try to find out if he was alone."
"I'm coming. Am I allowed to use my wand?"
"Of course! That's self defence!"
Before they did anything, they floo called Albus.
"Are the wards still in place, Sirius?" Albus asked.
"I'm not sure about all of them. He might have breached them as a rat. Can you send us assistance?"
"They will be there in just a few minutes, Sirius! Hold out and watch over Pettigrew!"
"I will."
Sirius decided against going after anyone who might still come in. He had heard nothing from the children's rooms and sent Harry up to check on them. Harry came back after a few moments and told him they were both well and asleep.
"I even turned on the light to make sure."
"Good. They know now that we're still up and I don't think they will do much when they see the lights on. We'll just guard the door here until Albus' people come."
It took only twenty minutes. Minerva came with Arthur and Bill Weasley, and they had Alastor Moody with them. They came in quietly and told Sirius they had not seen anyone else. Sirius asked them to make sure no one was around the shed.
"Why?" asked Moody.
"Remus is in there. It's the full moon tonight. He's got the potion, so he's not dangerous, but he says he lashes out in pain during the transformation so he secludes himself none the less."
"Ah, Lupin. Almost forgot. Now there's one sensible man. Young Mr Weasley, would you go and have a look around?" he asked.
"I'm off..."
Bill went out and Moody asked:
"Now if I remember right, Dumbledore said you caught someone?"
"Right in here, sir! Come and have a look..." Sirius said and grinned.
They had checked on Wormtail several times and renewed the stunner. He was still lying in place and was just about to wake up. Sirius pointed his wand and cast a hold Animagus spell. Moody heard the incantation and asked back:
"Now why did you do that, Black?"
"Because his Animagus form is a rat, sir. Guess how long you could hold him without this spell."
"Oh. That's good to know, I'd say."
Pettigrew glared at them. And he glared at Sirius who stood there, quite casually now and looked down on him with contempt.
"No, Peter, I'm not going to kill you. I would much rather watch you going where you sent me for twelve years! What were you after, tonight? Harry?"
Pettigrew preferred not to say anything. Sirius breathed hard to keep his calm. He never even mentioned the children, it was better that the rat didn't know he thought. Moody levitated Pettigrew out in the living room. Then he asked:
"Is the Floo available?"
"To call, yes. To travel it has to be reset."
"I only need to call. The wards seem to be down mostly, so they can apparate. I'd rather you went and hid, Black, there will be colleagues coming who don't know about you yet."
"Okay. I can do that like this..."
Sirius transformed into Padfoot. Harry stood next to him and grinned. Half an hour passed and Bill had returned from his round.
"If any other Death Eaters were here they have left, I found no sign of anyone."
"Can I go and tell Remus that everything is okay?" asked Harry.
"I don't think he'll even understand, and in any case you're not to open that shed!" said Moody.
"No, I won't, but I can talk to him through the door, I suppose."
Sirius transformed and said:
"You'll have to take the silencing charm away. It's not needed anymore anyway."
"Okay."
"I'll come with you," said Arthur.
"Thank you."
They went out and Harry took down the silencing charm, then he called:
"Remus? Remus, can you hear me?"
A sharp bark sounded back from the shed.
"Good, I guess you can. We have caught Wormtail! When Sirius came back to the house he heard a noise and saw a shadow heading for the stairs. He stunned him and it turned out to be Wormtail! Ronja and Rashid are fine. We're waiting for the Aurors to come and take Pettigrew into custody. You can rest and just go to sleep now!"
Another bark.
"I'm going back to the house now. Sleep well, Remus!"
Arthur and Harry went back to the house. In the bright light of the moon they saw another hooded figure trying to get into the house and then a second one. Arthur held Harry back and said:
"Shh! They can see us as well as we can see them. Duck! Then we crawl to the house..."
They did that and it took them some time, but they got there before the Death Eaters did. They alerted the Aurors who had just arrived:
"We've just seen two more. We have to go up and get the children safe!"
Two Aurors and Harry ran up the stairs and went to get the children. They were still sleeping, and were woken rather brutally. Each of the Aurors took one of the children and brought them down the stairs. Two of their colleagues were looking for the Death Eaters. Pettigrew had grown completely still, because he now knew that the Aurors also knew about the other Death Eaters. Harry had pointed out the window to his room, where they had tried to get in. All the Aurors had to do was wait by the door. They let the first one pass, then plucked the second one and when the first one turned he was taken from the back. Arthur pulled the hood and the mask from both of them. One of them was McNair and the other was Goyle. Harry presumed it was Gregory Goyle's father. Moody questioned them and while there wasn't much to get out of McNair, Goyle told them they were only a party of three for this raid.
More Aurors came into the house. They were to watch it until the morning. Some of the Aurors threw astonished glances at Pettigrew. One of them came up to Moody and asked:
"That one looks like Pettigrew. You remember the one who was supposed to be killed by Black?"
"Yes, I remember. And he is Pettigrew. And I happen to know that Black neither killed him nor the Muggles."
"You mean, he was innocent? Next you tell me he wasn't a Death Eater at all!"
"No, he wasn't. He doesn't have the Dark Mark, while this one here probably has. Has he, Potter?"
"Oh yes, I saw it myself when Voldemort used it to call the other Death Eaters to the graveyard."
The Auror stared at Harry.
"You're Harry Potter! You met this one here already?"
"Just about six weeks ago. Be very careful with this hand of his, he can destroy lots of things with it! Voldemort gave it to him in replacement of the hand he hacked off to give Voldemort a new body."
"So that story is really true? It sounded more than crazy, I had a hard time to believe it, but maybe I was led to misjudge you from that article in the Daily Prophet."
"That one will probably have a long lasting effect," Harry sighed.
"Dumbledore is watching over the boy, Auror Stevens, he'd assure you that Harry is as sane as you or I. I would believe it, you were rather quick with your reaction."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said and scratched Sirius behind the ears.
Finally the Aurors were ready to bring Pettigrew to the Ministry. Harry once again reminded them to be careful not to lose him and not to use Finite Incantatem, because of the Hold Animagus spell. No one really wanted to believe him, but Moody, having seen Sirius transform thought his part and took Sirius to the bathroom, where he asked him:
"Black, what is that spell again? Just in case we need it again."
"The hold Animagus? The Incantation is 'Animagus capere' and in case you ever need an Animagus to show himself you use 'Monstrare'. Simple and easy."
"Thank you. Let's go back, before they suspect something. You'll probably be called as a witness, they will have to let you go now."
Sirius sighed with relief.
"Can you imagine how that feels, sir?"
"No, I can't, but I would think you've had a big weight off your heart, eh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well done, Black! You were always one of the best!"
Sirius transformed back and they returned to the others. Moody accompanied the contingent to the Ministry. Three Aurors remained in the house to guard it. They had put the children on the sofa, where Rashid, covered with a blanket from Harry's bed, went back to sleep, while Ronja was getting cranky and wanted to know what was going on. Harry sat down on one of the armchairs and beckoned her to him. He pulled her on his lap and said:
"Don't worry yourself sick, Ronja, these were three bad men, but they are being sent to prison now, so they will not be able to harm you. Snuffles has protected you and we have caught the bad man Peter Pettigrew. Now you can stay here with me and maybe get a little sleep again?"
Minerva transfigured a small table runner to a warm blanket and as Harry pulled the little girl close to him, she brought the blanket and covered Ronja. Ronja contentedly lowered her head on Harry's shoulder and he held her tightly until she went back to sleep. Drifting off, she murmured:
"Thank you, big brother..."
Harry smiled. He looked down on her and rubbed her back. Soon her even breathing told him that she was asleep.
It was a long night. One of the Aurors asked why they had to wait for the morning and Minerva nodded to the shed in the garden.
"The children's father is a werewolf. He's out in that shed, we have to wait until he transforms back..." she said.
"What? But there's nothing to hear... I heard they made one hell of a racket."
"He's under the influence of the Wolfsbane potion. It suppresses the wolf, he's keeping his own mind, but he still transforms. He's actually quite harmless right now, even though he's in his wolf form, but he's afraid that he might hurt someone accidentally when he actually transforms. He says that the wolf is unpredictable during the process."
"Oh, I see. And where is the mother of the kids?"
"They're divorced," Harry explained, "she left the children in his care."
"What kind of a mother would leave her children in the care of a werewolf?" another of the Aurors asked.
"The kind who knows that said werewolf is ten times the better father than she could ever be the mother. In other words a very sensible mother who has the interest of her children foremost in her mind. Anna Lupin knows she's not as dedicated a parent as her husband," Minerva said, angrily.
"Remus is the sweetest, kindest person anyone can imagine," Harry remarked, "it's not his fault that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was even younger than little Ronja here. Once you see him together with his children you understand why their mother has entrusted him with them. He's the right one for them."
An hour later someone remarked:
"I wonder if Black will crawl out of his hiding place now, once he hears that Pettigrew has been caught."
"I'm sure he's far out of this country by now," another one said.
"I'm not so sure. We've been searching the whole country up and down, but I still have a feeling he's in Britain. Someone must be helping him."
"Well, if he's innocent and some people might know about that then they would be rather doing the right thing, don't you think?" Harry dared asking.
"Probably. If he really didn't do it then rotting in that place must have been pure hell! I did some guard duty there for a month once - they'll never get me back there again!"
"There are wizard guards there?" Harry asked.
"Yes, though they hardly ever move inside the prison. There is a guard station in the lower areas. The high security part only sees the Minister on his regular visits."
Harry and Minerva exchanged a glance.
"Did you know that Black is your godfather, Potter?" one of the Aurors who seemed a bit older than the others, asked.
"Yes, I know," Harry said.
Snuffles had taken up position next to Minerva and she kept caressing him, scratching him behind the ears and quietly talked to him like he was really a dog:
"You're the good dog, Snuffles. You like that, don't you? You've done very well, alerting Harry, he must be so proud of you..."
Sirius put his head on her lap and audibly sighed. That made her laugh and she kept on caressing him. Then Sniffles came closer and yipped at Snuffles. The older Auror watched them and said:
"These are quite cute dogs, even though the black one is so huge. What are their names?"
"The black one is Snuffles and the Dalmatian is Sniffles. Don't ask! Sniffles belongs to Ronja and she thought it cute," said Harry and grinned.
"Snuffles obviously doesn't quite agree," the Auror said, snickering.
"Oh no, he doesn't. But what can he do?" Harry replied.
Ronja moved little during the rest of the night. But once the moon set at about half past five, Harry gently lifted her and put her down on the armchair again. He went to his room to get dressed. Minerva was getting busy to gather children's clothes to take along with them to Hogwarts. Harry came back, dressed, with his trunk packed. He quickly helped her with Remus' and Sirius' stuff, then Minerva shrank everything and deposited the bag holding the small items next to the fireplace. She floo called Albus and asked him to open his floo in about 30 minutes.
"I'm going to get Remus back inside. Snuffles, come along."
"I'll go with you, youngling," the older Auror said.
Harry shook his head and said:
"No, he'll really hate that, he's a very private person. Please, you can watch me from the terrace, okay?"
"Okay."
They went outside, and Harry made sure they turned the corner so they couldn't be seen. Sirius transformed and told him which locking spell he had used. Harry nodded, Sirius transformed back and they went around the shed to open the door. Remus was back, still naked and lay on a mattress, covered with a heap of sheets, blankets and pillows. He still panted from the transformation and had several scratches and a gash. Sirius transformed and went to his lover.
"Good morning, sweetheart!"
Remus held out his arms, Sirius went to his knees, bowed down and kissed him tenderly.
"I need to sleep, love."
"You will have to come back to the house with us, Albus wants us all to go to Hogwarts. Then you can sleep, okay?"
"It will have to be, I suppose, eh? Okay. Help me up?"
"Yes, love. Here you are."
Sirius helped Remus dress into his sweatpants and a t-shirt, then Harry took over and Remus leaned on him to slowly return to the house.
"So what happened after you've come to see me? Thank you for that, by the way. I could see the lights went on up in the children's rooms."
"Yes, we had to go and take them down, I think, Wormtail got through the wards as a rat, but when Mr Weasley and I returned to the house we saw two more Death Eaters trying to get in through my room. So the Aurors waited behind the door and plucked them. It was McNair and Goyle. McNair had a bow and silver arrows, so he was clearly after you as well. We decided to spend the night together in the living room. Rashid has slept through it all, Ronja slept through most of it. Professor McGonagall is still there, so is Bill Weasley and three Aurors. Which is why Snuffles is Snuffles."
"Okay."
"Did you get some rest?"
"None. And the transformation back was a bit rough, but at least the wolf was under control enough to not damage anything," Remus said.
"You'll get rest, as soon as we're at Hogwarts."
They reached the house. Minerva had just woken Ronja and Rashid and had gone with them to gather their favourite toys, which she added to the bag. Then she said:
"Well, we can use the Floo to Professor Dumbledore's office. Who wants to go first, Ronja?"
"Okay. What's going to happen to Sniffles?" Ronja asked.
"I'll take her, Ronja," Harry promised.
"Okay. What must I say?"
"Albus Dumbledore's office," Minerva explained.
"Okay."
Ronja got the Floo powder, threw it into the flames and said, stepping into the flames:
"Albus Dumbledore's office!"
One by one the others followed. Minerva took the bag and Snuffles, Harry took Sniffles, Remus took Rashid, then the three Aurors closed the Floo, reset all the wards and practically sealed the house off. They also had the order to make the house unplottable. Arthur had returned home a few hours ago, Bill followed him home when the family had left.
When they were all gathered at Albus' office, they were welcomed by Poppy Pomfrey. Sirius had already transformed back and was taking care of Remus, who could hardly stand on his feet anymore. Poppy claimed him immediately:
"Off to the hospital wing with you, Remus, you look hurt and very exhausted... you need rest!"
Everyone in the room knew what that meant. Harry spoke it out:
"We'll see you when Madam Pomfrey lets you out of her tender loving clutches, Remus. Sleep well!"
Everyone laughed, even Remus managed a chuckle. He started to move to the door, but Sirius remained right at his side. He stared Poppy down as if to say: you know better than to try to keep me away!
"You can come with him, Sirius."
"Thanks, Poppy, because he's all I need right now. Harry, will you look after Ronja and Rashid?"
"You can count on that, Remus. They will be fine when you come back."
"Thank you! You will do what your big brother says, you two, yes?"
"Yes, Daddy," Rashid and Ronja said.
"That's my children. I'll be fine soon enough, don't worry."
Then he left the office with Sirius and Poppy. They slowly proceeded to the hospital wing, where Poppy gave them a bed. She checked Remus over and healed the scratches and the gash, then she said:
"Now you can sleep, Remus."
"I will, I'm still very tired."
Sirius made the bed a bit wider and climbed right in next to his mate. He took Remus into his arms and held him through the next few hours. They both slept and when Albus came in to check on them they were still asleep. Poppy had drawn the curtains around them.
"They are both still sleeping, Albus," she informed Dumbledore.
Albus went to have a look, then beckoned her over.
"Just like they were back in their school days, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm so glad it wasn't Sirius after all, Albus. He always seemed to be such a caring boy, in spite of his brazenness and all the bravado."
"He definitely is, he's a good man, Poppy, and I was always deeply unhappy with the thought of him as a Death Eater."
They turned away and let the two sleep.
Minerva took it upon her to put the family up somewhere. Harry asked:
"Why don't we just use my dorm in the Gryffindor tower. Enough beds there..."
"That's the quickest way, yes, Potter, you're quite right. And you're best out of harm's way there."
Ronja looked around in wonder. So this was Hogwarts. She skipped happily along next to Harry, who carried Rashid. Sniffles followed them on her leash. When they reached the portrait hole, Minerva gave a password.
"Morning glories," she said.
The Fat Lady let them in and when Ronja was inside, Harry said:
"So this is Gryffindor tower, Ronja. It's where your Daddy and Sirius have spent their time at school and I do, too," Harry told her.
"This is nice! I hope I get here, too, when I come to Hogwarts," Ronja said.
"It's well possible, Ronja, you do have the qualities of a true Gryffindor, you know," said Minerva with one of her rare smiles.
"But it's also possible you are sorted into one of the other houses, I could well see you in Ravenclaw, too."
"Anything, as long as it's not Slytherin," Ronja said.
Harry and Minerva grinned.
"You're a good one, Ronja. I'm not afraid that you will land in Slytherin," Harry said.
"Let me summon a house-elf to get you settled in. You must be starved, too, so they can bring you some breakfast, too," Minerva said.
Not twenty minutes later, house-elves were bustling around, lighting a roaring fire in the fireplace, making the dormitory ready and bringing the children and Minerva a hearty breakfast. They even brought food for Sniffles. They ate and Minerva explained:
"We still eat our meals at the Great Hall in the summer break, so you can just come down to the normal times, Harry, okay? You're free to use the library and if you're not alone, that is if you're either with Sirius, Remus or one of the teachers, you may go out and fly your broom. Is that alright?"
"Thank you, Professor, that's perfectly alright."
"Good. You know the rules and since you're a prefect now, you know how to follow them, yes?"
"Yes, Professor."
"I'll leave you alone then, I'll be at my office if you need anything. Sirius and Remus might be out for a while still. I think, Sirius was just as tired."
"We'll just let them sleep. I'll have a hand full with these two here."
"They will do you a lot of good, Harry, you never had siblings..."
"I love them already and it's only been a few days since I got to know them."
"Some children can take a heart by storm, Harry."
She resized the contents of the bag she had brought along. They had gone up to the dormitory for that, so Harry didn't have to carry anything up. Ronja ran around and hopped on one of the beds.
"Which one is yours, Harry?" she asked.
"This one," he said and pointed it out.
"Can I sleep in the one next to you over there?"
"That's Ron's. Sure you can sleep there, he won't mind."
"And who sleeps here?"
"Neville. And that one belongs to Seamus and the last one belongs to Dean."
"So you're five boys in here?"
"Yes."
"Is it fun going to school here?"
"It is, Ronja, but we really do have to study a lot, you know."
"As long as there is some fun, I'll be happy."
"We often have parties, especially if we win at Quidditch, or birthday parties, or something else. And we let everybody join in. I'm sure it's the same in the other houses."
They got out something to play and took it down to the common room, where they occupied themselves for the next few hours until lunch time came around. Harry called the children and led them out of the common room and down the stairs to the Entrance Hall and then into the Great Hall. Ronja stared up at the enchanted ceiling in wonder. It showed an almost perfectly blue sky and some scattered clouds. They met Madam Hooch, when they passed the four house tables.
"And who do we have here? Hello Mr Potter, I heard you'd be staying here for a few days. Who are those two darlings?"
"That's Ronja and Rashid Lupin, Madam Hooch! They're Professor Lupin's children," Harry explained.
Madam Hooch crouched down and greeted the children with a friendly chat and immediately got smiles from them.
"Oh, but you are sweet and well-mannered children! It's a real pleasure to meet you two. I can see that you are just like your father. He was such a popular student and so nice at all times."
When she straightened up again she accompanied the children to the head table. They met Professor Flitwick and Professor Vectra who had already returned from their vacation. Harry greeted them and presented Ronja and Rashid.
"We've already heard what happened at Remus' house, Harry, let's hope that this turns out well for your godfather," Professor Flitwick squealed. The professors assigned seats for the children, then all three of them sat down.
"So you all know about Siri now?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Albus has informed us. I'm very glad it turned out this way. Though I still wonder just how he was able to get out of my office that night. He didn't have a wand, was locked in well and it is the seventh floor after all..."
"Well, I think, I could now tell you," Harry said, putting up the most innocent face he could muster.
"You know?" all the teachers already present asked.
"Yes, I do. It's something quite illegal though, so I hope you won't hold it against me. Hermione and I got him out. We used Buckbeak whom we had snatched just before he was supposed to be executed. Sirius was able to get away flying the hippogriff."
Harry didn't mention the time turner. But the teachers must have guessed something had to be there still, because Professor Vectra asked:
"And how, pray tell, did you manage all of this when you were in the infirmary?"
"Hermione was such an eager student that Professor McGonagall had secured her a time turner to get to all of her classes. When we were in the infirmary, Professor Dumbledore sent us back to get Buckbeak saved. 'If you do it right you will save two innocent lives tonight', he said. And we did. And I cast the Patronus, that saved our lives from the Dementors. Professor Lupin had taught me, because I didn't want to risk falling off my broom anymore."
Flitwick, Hooch and Vectra found themselves speechless for several minutes. Then the tiny Professor Flitwick started to giggle and hooted and laughed and told Harry:
"Harry, you and Hermione must have been heroes that night! And no one noticed! Well done!"
Vectra just shook her head. Then she grinned. Madam Hooch took it quite easy, too, so Harry was relieved. He feared he might be called up for a trial when this would be discussed.
Then Professor Dumbledore joined them and shortly after him, Madam Pomfrey, Minerva and Severus Snape turned up and finally, as the last one currently at the castle, Professor Sprout bustled in and greeted them happily. Albus informed them that he would have a lengthy meeting with Cornelius Fudge in the afternoon.
"He will bring Ashley Grover, and I'm very glad that Ashley has so far been able to stay firmly on our side and still convince Fudge he was doing what Fudge wished. I hate to be so manipulative, but it is necessary. We don't have a minute to waste and Fudge wastes months!"
"Do you wish to have anyone around, Albus?" Minerva asked gently.
"Yes. You, Harry, Sirius, Remus, once they are awake and Arthur and Bill Weasley will also come."
"Sirius? Are you sure this is wise at this stage?"
"Yes. I'm going to show Cornelius that I have gotten hold of Sirius and that he will be quite incapable of taking him into Ministry custody if I say no."
"I think, I like that," said Hooch.
Harry liked her a lot more after that statement.
"The meeting will take place at three o'clock at my office. Please come up directly. Harry, the password is Gargantua tarts."
Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus had slept peacefully until just after noon. Remus woke first and snuggled closer into Sirius' arms. He breathed in the scent of his mate and felt happy. He knew his children were in good hands and pulled Sirius into an embrace, which woke Sirius up. But before they could indulge in any activity, Madam Pomfrey was back from lunch and noticed they were awake. She came over, checked up on Remus and said:
"Okay, Remus, you're free to go! Albus wants you two in his office at three."
"Where did they put my children and Harry?"
"Oh, sorry, they're up in the Gryffindor common room, password is Morning Glories."
"Thank you, Poppy!"
Remus gave her a peck on the cheek and smiled. She smiled back at him and said:
"It's so nice to see you are doing well, Remus. Your children are wonderful! It's good to see you two together again, though."
"Anna was good for me, for a while, Poppy. Now I have everything I really need right back at my side. And I won't have anyone take him away again. Albus and Ashley Grover will see to this."
"I'm sure about it. Now go, meet them, get dressed a bit more decently and see Albus. And get something to eat!"
Remus turned to Sirius:
"Kitchen raid?" he asked.
"Kitchen raid!" Sirius answered.
They took each other's hand and dashed out of the hospital wing, down to the kitchens, where they were fed adequately. Both looked at each other and Remus spoke it out:
"Just like back in the good old days, love!"
"Only James won't come through the door any moment..." Sirius remarked.
"Yes, but even so... it's so good to be here together."
"That's certainly true."
Then they went up to the Gryffindor tower where the Fat Lady almost jumped out of her portrait. Remus calmed her, and before he gave her the password, Sirius bowed and begged her pardon for slashing the painting two years ago.
"I was so desperate to get to a rat, but you wouldn't let me. I had chosen a time when I knew all the children would be down in the Great Hall. I'm really truly sorry and I'm thoroughly and properly ashamed of myself, Madam," he grovelled.
Finally she showed him her forgiveness and when he gave her the password, she let them inside.
"Phew! I thought she'd never forgive me," Sirius grinned.
"Pah! She was always too charmed by you!" Remus countered.
Harry waited for them with the children. He looked up and asked:
"Is that so, Remus? That's why she often sighed and kept muttering 'that Sirius Black!' - I've heard her a few times, especially when Violet comes to visit her."
"Who is Violet?"
"A lady in a portrait down in the antechamber behind the teacher's table. Haven't you ever been in there?" Harry asked.
"Not that I can remember. It didn't seem any way special."
"It's not. Just like an old-fashioned living room," Harry explained.
"Okay, so where do we sleep?" Remus asked.
"Up in my dorm. It's already got Fifth Years marked on the door, you'll find it easily. I've prepared the bed by the window for you."
"Thank you, Harry."
"Oh, and Professor McGonagall gave me the password to the prefect's bathroom, it's Pine Fresh... just in case..." Harry said, grinning.
Sirius and Remus grinned right back, got some clean clothes from the dorm and went for a shower. More memories. Untroubled days of their young love. Hours of lovemaking on softest towels or in the giant tub. Sirius breathed hard when he gave the password to the door. It opened, they spell locked it and took their shower. When they looked presentable again they went back to the tower to collect Harry and the children to go to the meeting. They turned up exactly on time, Sirius between Harry and Remus, Rashid and Ronja right in front of them. By now Sirius was still very thin, but he looked almost like his old self and when Fudge, who was already present, turned around in his chair to see who had entered, and saw him coming in he almost fainted dead away.
