Summary: Lupin Tonks, Black. Sirius keeps stumbling across an old pensieve. Lupin and Tonks help him deal with the memories as Christmas approaches.
Set in December, Order of the Phoenix. I'm just playing with the wonderful characters created by JKRowling.

Pensieve Moments

Remus Lupin clearly had a bounce in his step as he made his way up the stairs to his room at Grimmauld Place while a cold December wind whistled outside. The pink envelope he carried in his hand was obviously a honey note from a certain Auror who was currently out of town on a mission. Unlike Howlers, honey notes kissed you sweetly and dissolved into a sparkle of confetti. So up he went with his spirits quite high despite the dismal nature of his current abode.

Until he heard the voice.

"No, stop it! Stop hurting him! Please!"

"Sirius?"

Lupin rushed to his friend's aid with his wand drawn. His heart began to beat wildly as several questions flashed through his mind. Who was with Sirius? And who was attacking? How had Order Headquarters been breached? The thoughts ran through his head as quickly as the fear that he was about to lose Sirius.

He could hear Sirius pleading again and his voice was now breaking. Lupin almost ran by the open door because it was in a place that had never had a door before. A room of requirement at Grimmauld Place? He got to the doorway and froze.

Lupin could see that Sirius was kneeling in the middle of the dimly lit room, but there was no sign of an attacker. His friend was clearly in distress, however.

"Sirius?" Lupin kept his voice quiet and he saw Sirius stiffen when he heard his name called. "Sirius, who's attacking you?"

Lupin stepped closer while Sirius remained quiet. His eyes scanned the room for any sign of hostiles hiding in a dark corner. Another disturbing thought loomed in his mind: Sirius had truly gone mad. He spoke again, his tone a bit indulgent.

"Sirius, is someone with you?"

Sirius could only shake his head, but it was clear he was trying to regain control. As Lupin approached, his height gave him a vantage point that clearly indicated the source of the dim lighting. Sirius was kneeling in front of a pensieve.

Lupin dropped to one knee by Sirius and put his arm around his shoulder. "Whose pensieve is it, Padfoot? Yours?"

Sirius shook his head, but was finally able to speak. "My father's. Kreacher was hiding it."

Lupin frowned and peered into the pensieve. It took only a moment before he was practically carrying Sirius out of the door as he rose and backpedaled away from the vile image.

"Damn it, Sirius, you don't need to relive that!" Lupin sounded furious, but it was all directed at the elder Black. Had the man emptied his thoughts just to torture his son from beyond the grave?

Lupin waved his hand to seal the door as Sirius slumped against the wall of the hallway now. Neither man took note of the house elf who was slinking away.

Lupin tried to control his breathing, then sat down beside Sirius who was now rubbing his knees a bit anxiously. He could barely hear Sirius when the man began to speak.

"Snuffles. The dog was the real Snuffles."

The information made Lupin feel sick to his stomach and he, too, now felt like the eight-year old boy he had seen in the pensieve. He got control and prayed that getting Sirius to talk it out was the right thing to do. "He was your dog?"

"He made this snuffling noise all the time, big nose you see. Everything I knew about canine behavior came from having him as my constant companion."

"I'm sorry, about the way you lost him," said Lupin. "Your father was cruel to force you to witness that."

"The worst of it was that he did it just to show off that he'd mastered the damned wizard whip incantation," said Sirius. "Can you imagine what Snuffles felt like, feeling it ripping into his body?"

Lupin swallowed a bitter laugh, but couldn't help but touch one of the scars marring his face. They were a lasting reminder of a Grandfather's disgust at his lycanthropy and a man who was a master of the wizard's whip. "The pain would be excruciating."

"I couldn't get close to Snuffles again until he was dead. It was the first," Sirius caught his breath and felt Remus pulling him close. "It was the first time I truly understood death."

"How did you find the pensieve?" asked Lupin. "That room has never been accessible before."

"Dunno, just stumbled onto it today," said Sirius as he drew a deep breath. "You sealed it well?"

"Don't go back to it, Sirius. You don't need to relive those memories." Lupin's voice revealed his concern, and he held Sirius' gaze until he nodded.

They remained quiet for a moment until Lupin looked at the floor and realized he'd dropped the honey note. He reached for the pink envelope surreptitiously, but Sirius, now looking for any distraction, noticed the maneuver.

"What's that?" His voice held an innocent inquisitiveness.

"This? Uh, well, it's just a note from Tonks," admitted Lupin. Why did he suddenly feel like they were back at Hogwarts? Of course, back then he wouldn't have gotten a note from a girl.

"That's not just a note, Moony, that's a honey note!" Sirius seemed to be gaining some pleasure from needling his friend, so Lupin gave in to the teasing.

"I suppose it could be," he said evasively.

"Well, let's see it. The last time I saw her as a child, Tonks was trying to get the spell right," said Sirius as he rubbed his hands.

Lupin felt his interest perk. "Really?"

"Ten years old and she had discovered boys were more than just nuisances. Unfortunately, I was the guinea pig for her trials."

"Wait. Ten-year olds aren't supposed to do magic," said Lupin. He pointed a long finger at his friend. "You were corrupting a minor."

"And I suppose you're immune to her puppy dog eyes?" asked Sirius.

"You have a point there," agreed Lupin. "So, what happened?"

"Well, it," Sirius began chuckling, "and then," he sniggered some more, then his mirth grew into an infectious laughter.

Lupin joined in, although mostly from relief that Sirius wasn't upset about Snuffles anymore. He managed to ask, "What? What did she do?"

"Let's just say that Tonks was a natural for incendiary charms," said Sirius. "You remember the last time we were all together at Christmas?"

"Yes, it was Harry's first Christmas. I remember how radiant Lily looked when she was holding him up so he could see the fairie lights on the Christmas tree." Both men nodded at the memory and a wistful smile appeared before Lupin continued, "You came in with a singed beard and burnt smelling hair, then gave us some cock and bull story about fighting demons."

"The demon was named Nymphadora Tonks and her weapon was the honey note." Sirius shook his head. "Poor thing didn't know whether to be upset that she couldn't get it right or impressed by her ability to get such huge flames."

Sirius then patted Lupin's shoulder and said with greatest sympathy, "I feel for you, mate."

"Tonks has managed to get the honey note right," assured Lupin with a smile. He opened the note and said, "See."

Sirius' barking laughter rang through the corridor as soon as the explosive pop sounded. He pointed to Lupin's face, now covered with soot from the quick flame and burnout that had consumed the envelope.

The wisps of gray smoke rising about Lupin's ears added to his mirth so that soon Sirius was clutching his stomach in glee. He croaked out, "She's burning for you, Moony."

"Oh, shut it, Padfoot," said Lupin as he nudged his friend with his elbow. Sirius promptly fell over with laughter.

They could hear Tonks' voice now emanating from what was left of the note. "Remus,I'm not sure this will come out right since I'm in such a rush, but I should be back in London by the end of the week. I miss you terribly. And if I muck this up, well, I promise to make it up to you."

The note then flamed again suddenly and left yet another layer of fine ash on the luckless recipient.

"I told her you were a besotted git," said Sirius through his chortles. "Be sot, be soot, besotted."

"Be quiet," grumbled Lupin as he offered the man a hand up.

Although his face was blackened, Lupin's heart was light. And if laughing at him served to distract Sirius from the pensieve, then it was worth the indignity. Besides, he intended to make sure Tonks was very consoling for her honey note mishap.

"But this talk of Harry and Christmas reminds me. I'm thinking of giving him some books that will help with his Defense club," said Lupin as they walked down the hall toward their rooms. The Professor was dusting off the soot from his hair as he walked.

"Really?" asked Sirius as he waved away the fine ash wafting his way. "Anything like the last book you gave me with the naughty pictures?"

"No! I intend to give Harry the three volumes of Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts. What do you think? I don't want him to feel like I'm trying to impose my curriculum on him. "

Sirius could imagine that Lupin would sacrifice his precious volumes to help Harry and the boy clearly respected Lupin's lessons. He cleared his throat before saying, "My godson should have freshly printed editions, Remus. Let me know when you can go shopping for the books and you can purchase them from both of us."

"Sirius, I don't need a handout," objected Lupin. "I do get a modest stipend for my work with the Order."

"I was asking for a favor, Remus, but if you won't oblige, then I suppose I'll have to send Dung out to do my Christmas shopping. He mentioned a new book he'd seen called Scoring on the Quidditch Field, but it wasn't about flying on a broomstick. Well, actually, there is a bit of that, too. That should grab Harry's interest, don't you think?"

"Fine, I'll select the books; you buy. Satisfied?" asked Lupin.

"I always get my way, Moony, so, of course. Besides, you intend to get something for Tonks this Christmas, don't you? Or have I misread your intentions towards my little cousin?"

"I've got something in mind," admitted Lupin as they came to Sirius' door. "You'll be all right now?"

"I'll be fine, Remus. Go wash up. Charcoal is not your color."

Lupin gave him a salute and left Sirius to enter his room. The heir of the noble house of Black closed the door and rested against it for a moment. The images from the pensieve came to his mind again, but he pushed them away with a purpose. Then his eyes fell to the full bottle of fire whisky that was on the nightstand. Sirius licked his lips before he approached the bottle.

His attention was so absorbed on the alcohol that he didn't detect Kreacher skulking in the corner. The house elf had a horrible grin on his face as he watched the man open the bottle and take a quick drink. Kreacher was already planning the next time Sirius would stumble upon his father's memories. After all, he was only obeying Master's wishes. Sirius Black had ordered him to reveal his father's treasured possessions. Kreacher was steadfast in his loyalty to serving the noble and ancient house of Black.

TBC

Author Notes:
This leads up to the events in December. Kreacher starts becoming a subtle player in things and Harry notices that Sirius smells like he's been drinking when they arrive at number twelve. I think 3 chapters will take me through this and I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading. I hope the shifting emotions made sense.

If you are new to the series, hit Queriusole and you'll find the list, but you can read this as a stand alone.