Harry met up with Tonks just as she arrived at the Ministry. He was utterly shocked by her appearance.
"You look… normal!" he blurted, immediately reddening as he realized what he'd just said.
"Sorry," Tonks said, a little breathlessly. "I didn't think pink hair went well with trials." Her hair was a dark chocolate brown this morning, and shoulder-length, parted simply and with a soft, wispy fringe. It exactly matched the short suede jacket she wore. Harry eyed her appreciatively out of the corner of his eye as they squeezed into the phone box.
Tonks frowned. "Have they shrunk this thing? Damn, I can't… Harry, can you reach…?"
Harry quickly reached behind her to press the numbers that alerted the Ministry to visitors.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," squawked a disembodied voice. "Please state your name and purpose."
"Nymphadora Tonks and Harry Potter," Harry said. Tonks flinched at her given name. "We're here for the trial of Sirius Black."
Two lurid orange buttons slid out of the coin return, each bearing a name and the phrase "Defense Well-Wishers".
"How'd they know we're with the defense?" Tonks wondered aloud as they pinned the garish buttons to their coats.
Harry shrugged. "Dunno, Tonks," he quipped. "Must be magic."
Tonks snorted.
At the main desk, they waited impatiently in the short queue while the woman ahead of them was given directions to the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
The witch at the desk glanced blearily at their badges. "Courtroom Six," she sniffed before Harry could ask. She sounded badly in need of a good dose of Pepper-Up potion. "That way," she added, jerking her thumb toward the lifts. "Down one level and just to your right. NEXT!"
It didn't feel at all like a courtroom, Harry thought, as they skidded to a halt at the open door of Courtroom Six. When he'd been on trial two and a half years earlier for using magic in the presence of a Muggle, Harry had been in a gloomy, dungeon-like room several floors below. Sirius was on trial for his life and freedom, yet this courtroom was bright and airy. It felt spacious despite the throngs packing both the main floor and the balcony.
Tonks spotted Remus a moment later, and she threaded her way through to him, dragging Harry behind her. "Has it started?" she asked.
Remus shook his head. He looked, if anything, worse than he had a few short hours ago at Grimmauld Place. His face was shockingly pale, and his hands were trembling slightly. "God, I'm scared," he whispered to them. "What if I say something to screw this up?"
"You won't," Tonks said, trying to sound braver than she felt. Craning her neck, she scanned the front of the courtroom. "Is… Is he here?"
"They haven't brought him in yet," Remus said, nervously drumming his fingers against his leg. "And Dumbledore won't give me any real information."
A low, sonorous chime resonated throughout the room, and people immediately began taking their seats.
Tonks quickly gave Remus' hand a squeeze. "We'll be right over there with Arthur and Molly," she said, pointing.
"It'll be alright," Harry said, giving Remus a rough hug before following Tonks. He caught sight briefly of Susan Bones, who'd been a Hufflepuff in his year at Hogwarts. Of course, he realized. Amelia Bones is her aunt. I remember her telling me that back when we were in the D.A. together. He smiled to himself. If Amelia Bones was anything like her niece, she was bound to be fair. Slowly Harry began to relax a little.
"Will the defendant, Sirius Orion Black, please be brought in."
A door at the side of the courtroom opened, and Sirius entered, escorted by Dumbledore. He looked awful – thinner than ever, his slate eyes terrified. His hair, which had been getting rather shaggy the last time Harry had seen him, was roughly tied at the nape of his neck. It only seemed to accentuate the sharp lines of his cheekbones.
Even Dumbledore looked uncharacteristically grim as he led Sirius to a chair in the cleared area at the front of the courtroom.
Sirius kept his eyes lowered, not even sparing a glance for Remus.
Tonks muttered something angrily under her breath, and Molly patted her shoulder consolingly.
"Mr. Lupin."
Remus started visibly at the sound of his name. For a split second he turned impossibly paler, then stood, nervously straightening the edges of the notes on the table before him.
"Yes, Madam Bones," he said, hoping he sounded far more confident than he felt.
Amelia Bones eyed him over the square frames of her glasses. "Would you begin your statements, please?"
Remus stood, hands shaking as he clutched the notes close to him. With a jolt in his stomach and a sudden taste of vomit in his mouth, he saw Malfoy sitting smugly in a chair near the back.
How dare he come here today!
Forcing himself to concentrate, he turned to face Amelia Bones, clearing his throat before he began to speak.
"Madam Bones…" He could feel the icy eyes staring avidly at his back. He straightened and forced himself to speak more loudly. "…I have made sure a copy of notes and findings was made available for you."
"I have it, thank you." She gestured to the papers in front of her.
"Then I take it you have read through it. If so, then it is clear that Sirius Black had nothing to do with those vicious murders all those years ago. We have a confession from the man he was supposed to have killed…"
"With the witnesses of his confession unable to speak of it, or not in an unbiased frame to testify."
Remus swallowed, gritting his teeth. He thought this might come up, that Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius and himself had been the only ones to have seen Pettigrew. There was one quick way to clear that up, but it was a direction he was unwilling to go.
Madam Bones scrutinized him carefully. "We do understand that Mr. Black was not given a trial at the time, that the evidence against him was such that immediate imprisonment was the only logical answer. However," she said as she shuffled the papers in front of her again, 'Miss Granger has certainly done a thorough job of evening things up a lot. Such a brilliant young mind…" Her voice trailed of for a moment, but she quickly looked at Remus again. "Is there any solid evidence that Peter Pettigrew did, in fact, survive?
Sweat beaded Remus' forehead. He glanced quickly at Dumbledore, who looked serious, but gave a small nod.
It looked like the only way to save Sirius was to swallow his pride and do it. "I… I am willing to take Veritaserum to provide the necessary evidence."
All eyes were upon him, all except Sirius, who still was staring blankly ahead. Remus wished fleetingly that Sirius would give him the reassurance he needed. He was scared, he admitted, scared of what the serum could uncover.
A vial was brought in, and Remus was seated in a chair in front of Amelia Bones. A swallow, ice gripped his throat, and then grew almost uncomfortably hot. He felt as if he were floating pleasantly just above his chair.
"Your name is Remus John Lupin?" Madam Bones asked.
"It is."
"How long have you known Sirius Black?"
"Since our first year at Hogwarts."
"And what was your relationship to Mr. Black at Hogwarts?"
"He was my best friend."
"And Peter Pettigrew?"
"He was a friend as well."
Amelia sat back in her chair, her expression now grave. "What happened on the night of October thirty-first, nineteen eighty-one?"
"James and Lily Potter were murdered. Harry Potter survived. Voldemort was seemingly destroyed."
"What involvement did Sirius Black have with Voldemort?"
"Sirius Black detested Voldemort and all he stood for. He wanted to kill him."
"Was Black in league with Voldemort?"
"No."
"Did Sirius Black murder Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
A whispering rustled through the stands. Some made sounds of disbelief. Remus didn't even blink.
"Did Sirius Black murder a street full of Muggles on that night?"
"No."
Madam Bones made a movement as if to say the questioning was over, but she suddenly turned back to face him.
"Before I make a decision, I wish to know one thing Mr. Lupin. We are all curious, how did Mr. Black return from the veil?"
I don't want to say! Not with Malfoy here!!
But the effects of the serum were too strong. "My love for Sirius brought him back. It protected him from death."
All whispering stopped. Remus was given the antidote and felt warmth spread through him. Then an icy cold that had nothing to do with potions gripped him. What had he done?
Madam Bones sat thoughtfully in her chair, considering Remus.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she spoke. "I believe we will need some more time to consider all the evidence. We will reconvene at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Could the guards kindly escort Sirius back to Azkaban?"
"No!"
Remus was shocked by his own daring, but after watching the haunted look on Sirius' face he couldn't allow him to be sent back to that place, even for one more night.
"Mr. Lupin?" Madam Bones asked, her eyebrows raised quizzically.
"With all due respect, Madam Bones, why should Mr. Black be detained for yet another night in that godforsaken place? Surely one night… especially if it is to be his last…" Remus swallowed furiously to stop his voice from breaking. "It could be better spent… anywhere else?"
Again Madam Bones considered him.
The silence in the room was suffocating, and Remus chanced a quick glance at Sirius. He noticed finally, one small spark in the depths of his eyes, which had not been there before. It filled him with hope and desperation at the same time.
"Very well, Mr. Lupin, I agree with you that Mr. Black should be treated with respect. Therefore I will entrust him to you for this one night."
Remus blinked, surprised. Had he heard correctly?
"But one word of warning. If either of you do not appear in this room even one minute beyond nine o'clock tomorrow, the results will be severe."
It was still more than he could have hoped for.
"Thank you Madam Bones. I sincerely appreciate your generosity." He kept his voice free of emotion and turned to leave. Did Amelia give him a very small wink before he turned? He looked back, but her face was a somber mask again.
He shrugged it off and strode across the room, not daring to look at Sirius again until he was free of the stifling room.
Once out in the hall, he leaned back against the wall, breathing harshly and feeling like he'd just been run over by a hippogriff. The door beside him banged open, and Remus cringed as the throngs of trial onlookers began trickling out of the courtroom.
Remus stared at his feet, pretending he didn't notice either the surreptitious stares or the blatant gawking.
"Well, well," an all-too-familiar voice drawled.
"What do you want now, Malfoy?" Remus asked wearily, not really caring.
"I was so disappointed," Malfoy continued silkily, "when you left my home so suddenly the other night, when we hadn't finished our little… chat."
Remus' head snapped up, amber eyes blazing with fury. "When you tried to kill me, you mean?" he hissed. Under his robes, his badly scarred arm was finally unbandaged after two weeks of Snape's and Poppy's ministrations, but the new skin was still quite tender and sore.
"Now, now," Malfoy chided. "I did nothing of the sort. You're still very much alive, aren't you?"
If Arthur Weasley hadn't chosen that exact moment to step out of the courtroom and step between them, Remus was quite sure he would have done something regrettable. As it was, Arthur took one look at Malfoy's sneer and Remus' snarl, and seized the werewolf by the upper arm, dragging him off to one side. Remus thought he could still hear Malfoy's cold, mocking laugh long after he disappeared in the crowd.
"Everything all right?" Arthur asked him. "Remus. Remus. Look at me."
Remus forced himself to meet Arthur's eyes. "Sure."
"Dumbledore asked me to pass a message to you," Arthur said quietly. "He's going to have a mediwitch check Sirius over, and he'll bring him back to the house in a little while."
"Right," Remus said dully. "Mediwitch. House. Got it."
Arthur smiled kindly at him, squeezing his shoulder gently in commiseration. "It'll be alright, Remus. You did well in there."
"I'm not so sure I did," Remus said. "What if… They can't send him back there; they can't."
"Come on now," said Arthur. "Harry and Tonks are waiting for you."
It was nearly suppertime before Dumbledore turned up with Sirius. Remus had, in a fit of frustration and impatience, shooed everyone out of the house on Grimmauld Place. He knew they only wanted to wish Sirius the best, but from his vantage point at the trial, Remus was fairly sure that Sirius was not going to be up to dealing with a crowd of people, no matter how good their intentions.
He had fallen into a light doze by the drawing-room fire, the cooling mug of tea in his hand dangerously close to tipping to the rug, when they arrived.
At Dumbledore's quiet cough, Remus awoke with a start, slopping tea onto the rug anyway. "Sirius!" he said, and leapt up to embrace the other man. After a moment's hesitation, Sirius hugged him back diffidently, his eyes distant and slightly unfocused.
Remus pulled back slightly. "Sirius?" he asked. Glancing at Dumbledore, he said, "What's happened?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Physically he's fine, Remus, but… It appears that returning to Azkaban has broken something in him," he said sorrowfully. "Sirius has withdrawn into himself."
"This… this is temporary, isn't it?" Remus looked frantically from Dumbledore to Sirius, who now was sitting contentedly in an armchair and smiling vaguely into the fire, and back again. "Isn't it?"
"No one knows," Dumbledore said. "Remus, I'm so very sorry about this. No one had any idea…" He gestured towards Sirius.
"I see," said Remus, although he didn't know how they could not have foreseen something like this. "Could I just be alone with him then?"
"Of course," replied Dumbledore. As he turned to leave, he added, "You may, naturally, firecall me if you've a need."
"Thank you," whispered Remus, but the Headmaster was already gone.
Remus knelt by the armchair, one hand on Sirius' knee. "Sirius?" he asked, searching the distant grey eyes for some flicker of recognition. "Pads?"
Sirius slowly moved his gaze away from the dancing flames. "Remus," he said. "I thought I dreamed you here."
Something utterly excruciating wrenched at his heart, and Remus swore to himself that, no matter the outcome of the trial, there was no way he would allow Sirius to be returned to Azkaban. "Come on, Sirius," he said softly. "Let's get to bed."
"Am I tired?" said Sirius, puzzled. "Alright, then." He allowed himself to be led upstairs to their bedroom, one hand trailing along the banister as he looked around in wonder.
"You know, I think I've been here before," Sirius said. "Is this your house?"
Remus fought back tears. "No, it's yours."
"Oh."
Remus had to help him undress, gently helping Sirius out of the standard-issue prison garments he'd been allotted, and into bed. Climbing in on the other side of the bed, he pulled the covers snugly over top of them both.
Sirius curled up to him, instinctively snuggling into Remus' embrace. "Nice being here with you," he yawned. "You're very soothing, somehow." Before long, his breathing had become deep and regular as he fell asleep.
"Yeah," whispered Remus, burying his face in the tangled black hair to kiss the top of Sirius' head. He wasn't even remotely sleepy himself. "You sleep, Pads. I'll keep you safe."
Wrapping his arms tightly around the other man, Remus lay awake until the wee hours of the morning, hoping desperately that this wasn't going to be the last night he would be able to hold Sirius in his arms like this.