Chapter 12

Once he had shut the bedroom door and gotten halfway down the hall, Remus leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the ground where he sat holding his head. It was all too much. He let the silent tears run down his face as he sat huddled miserably on the old, worn rug. Suddenly he lifted his head and turned his face in the direction of the lounge door. Someone had just come though the floo. Wand raised, Remus dragged himself up from the floor and took two steps toward the door before he saw Sirius Black standing in the doorway. "Sirius, what are you doing? You shouldn't be here. Travelling by floo, you could be tracked."

"You look like hell warmed over Remus."

Remus dropped his wand and stuffed it in a pocket before pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his face. "Thanks."

"I brought a bottle of Rumpole's best. Thought you might need some and looks like I was too right."

Remus pushed the handkerchief back in his pocket and pulled out the two notes he needed to owl. "God yes. Rumpole's...your father did have excellent taste in Bloodwhisky (Readers: please see note below) if nothing else."

"Found 11 bottles of black Aquavit, too. Well, only 7 now."

Remus sighed and said, "I have to send these owls first."

As he said this the two men heard a fragile-sounding feminine voice calling from the bedroom. Black saw the look that briefly passed over his friend's face and reached his hand out for the notes. "Let me send them, you go to her."

Remus passed the papers to his friend without thinking and walked back toward the bedroom. Black went down the hall to the small library at the far end and crossed the room to where Remus' owl Lunessa was sitting gloomily in her cage. He opened the door and then paused. He looked at the notes and saw that one was headed to Daedalus. Black quickly crossed to a heavy oak desk, which was covered in carvings, including a 'Sator' magic square in the centre of the writing surface, where he found a scrap of unused parchment. Black scribbled a few lines and wrote a line of numbers at the end of the note before rolling it up and shoving Remus' note to Daedalus in his pocket. He then let the small tawny owl out of her cage and spoke urgently to her, "Take this one to Daedalus and the other one to Auror Tonks, right? No need to wait for replies from either, I expect." Black then waved his wand at the window and let the owl go.

By the time that Remus trudged into the kitchen, Black had already poured out two glasses full of deep red liquor. "You'll need to get started to catch up."

Remus sunk into his chair and without a word tipped back the entire glass. "Won't be a problem." Black raised his eyebrows, but just filled Remus' glass once more.

"So do I have to ask?"

"You already heard what the healers said from my report to Albus."

"Yes, we all did. But that isn't what I'm asking and you know it."

"She wants to take a job."

"Ah."

"But I think I've sorted that."

Remus tossed back his second glass and shoved it towards Black, who said carefully, "So what are you going to do then?"

"I have no idea. She's 8 weeks pregnant."

Black, who had just begun to fill his own glass again, sharply set down the bottle and looked at his friend. "I see."

"Oh, no need to worry about the odds of the baby being born with fangs. It isn't mine. It can't be."

Black almost spat out the sip he had just taken from his glass and wiped the red liquid from his lips before saying incredulously, "Ridiculous, Remus. She worshipped you. There is no way she would have cheated."

"The healers told me to within 36 hours when it had to have happened: the hours up to and including full moon. I know everything I did during that time."

Black shook his head and said roughly, "I cannot believe that Remus. I saw her with you. It was sick-making how much she thought of you."

"I thought she loved me, too. God knows I couldn't believe my luck, but I did believe it."

"You haven't told her this?"

"No."

"What are you going to do?"

"It depends on her, Sirius. If she will stay with me then obviously I want her."

Black tried to hide the pity he felt. If he were as hopelessly in love as Remus was and he believed his wife to have gotten pregnant by another man, Black knew that he would ruthlessly track the man down and kill him painfully. It didn't bear thinking what he would do to the woman either. But Remus had always blamed himself when others let him down. Remus had made excuses for James and Sirius countless times and covered for them when necessary. It should be no surprise that he would not only refuse to blame his wife, but would protect her now from his suspicions.

Remus watched Black as he sat there thinking. Remus had seen the deep pity his friend felt for him and had to look away. He felt a prickling of shame and closed his eyes. "Don't be stingy, Sirius. There's more than half the bottle left."

Several glasses later Black looked up from the rim of his glass, which he had been stroking absently with his finger, and saw Edwina Lupin standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Remus heard Black's sharp intake of breath and turned around to see where his friend was looking. "Winnie, are you alright?" Winnie was staring fearfully at the man seated across from him.

"He's Sirius Black. The man in the posters."

Black stood up and backed away slightly from the table whilst Remus stood quickly and moved across to Edwina. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, but it is alright. He didn't do what he was accused of doing."

"H-how do you know? What is he doing here?" Edwina clutched the sleeve of Remus' robe.

"Sirius is a school friend of mine, as was the man he was accused of killing. I will explain it to you, Winnie, but Sirius is innocent of the crime. He was never a follower of Voldemort."

Edwina peered fearfully up into Remus' face and said, "But he was in Azkaban. I don't understand."

Remus looked over at his friend and saw that Black stood breathing heavily with his hand hanging by his side, gripping his wand. "I will explain it, but I need you to trust me. Sirius was not guilty. He is part of our organisation. Headmaster Dumbledore trusts him, as do I."

Edwina continued to hold onto Remus' sleeve as she stared over at Black. She looked back at Remus and then turned again to face Black. "You were in Azkaban for 12 years and you weren't even guilty?" Black kept his eyes on her face as he nodded his head. "That's...that is one of the most awful things I've ever heard." Edwina whispered and crossed the room to where Black stood. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Black. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been." She looked up at the wary, dangerous looking face of Sirius Black and continued, "Did I know you? Before, I mean?"

Black cleared his throat and said roughly, "Yes."

"Will you forgive me for having been scared?"

Remus saw Black slip his wand back in his pocket and quickly glance at Remus before answering sarcastically, "Sometimes I have that effect on people."

Edwina smiled weakly. "I'm sorry just the same. Would you rather I left you two alone? I didn't mean to interrupt anything, I was just hungry."

Black pulled out his chair and gestured for her to sit down and then moved his glass around to the end of the table.

Remus was now standing right behind her and responded quietly, "No, sit down in the chair and I'll heat some soup for you. Is that alright?"

Edwina nodded and scooted the chair forward slightly. "Mr. Black..."

Black interrupted her, "Sirius."

"Sirius, would you tell me?"

Remus turned his head sharply, pausing in mid-pour, and saw Sirius nod. Remus set the soup on the gas ring and lit the flame, clenching his jaws and silently hoping Sirius would behave. "What did happen?" Remus groaned inwardly. He had hoped that she would have understood that he would tell her later.

"I would have killed him if I had a chance. He was a traitor. He had betrayed our best friend James and his wife to death, to Voldemort."

"The man who died?"

"He didn't die. He faked his death."

"Oh! And James Potter was best friend to Remus too?"

Remus answered quickly, "Yes Edwina. James, Sirius, Peter, and I were all friends in school. Peter was a traitor who betrayed the Potters, but everyone thought Sirius was guilty. Only a few people know the truth now. I didn't know the truth until recently."

Edwina thought suddenly about their conversation earlier about friendship and understood that Sirius Black must mean an incredible amount to Remus. "We can't do anything to prove you're not guilty?"

"No. I have to stay in hiding."

"Is it dangerous for you to be here?"

Sirius snorted, "Remus would say it is. The house is unplottable, I'm untraceable. I'm not worried."

Remus poured out the soup into a bowl and brought the bowl and spoon over to the table. "And you're wrong Sirius, but there isn't any point in arguing it. Here is your soup, Winnie."

Sirius watched his friend's very young wife as she looked up at Remus, who was setting the bowl in front of her. The girl didn't feel nothing for Remus; she clearly had very strong feelings for him. What was going on?

"You knew Remus at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Edwina looked up in surprise, but saw that Sirius was joking and relaxed. "What was he like then?"

Sirius laughed, "Remus was a prefect. He was a very good boy, very studious and obedient." Edwina looked as if she didn't believe him entirely so Sirius continued, "The most responsible student I ever knew."

Remus shook his head, "That isn't saying much, Sirius."

"That's true, considering you hung out with us. But he was the cleverest wizard of our year in Gryffindor. He lived by scientia lumen vitae."

"Oh."

"Nonsense Sirius, you passed everything without even opening your books."

Sirius looked at Remus and said with a laugh, "So could you have done, but you were too much of a swot. You're the one who studied under Bogdanovici aren't you?"

"Who is that?

Sirius answered before Remus, whose face was pink with embarrassment, could speak, "He was a notorious, cruel old bastard at Gammelmagisk Universitet (Readers: please see note below), who would only take on students who could pass his logic test. Remus was the first student to pass in 11 years, weren't you Moony?"

"You went to Universitet?" Edwina said with awe.

Remus nodded and spoke with an edge, "Sirius, please."

"But Universitet only takes one British student each year!" Remus nodded in confirmation. "Were you there for all your degrees?"

"No, when I taught at l'Accademia, I got a specialist there."

"I didn't know you taught at university."

"It was a special arrangement. I couldn't afford tuition."

"So you taught at Universitet, too?"

"I tutored when I was reading for the licentiae and I taught when I was studying for the master."

Edwina looked at him and swallowed the last mouthful of her soup before asking, "Could you..."

"No. I have already tried. No reputable school wants me, Edwina."

"Oh."

Author's note (wizarding liquors):

Bloodwhisky, black Aquavit, and l'Armangac Noir de Limousin are the most sought after of all wizard liquors. Bloodwhisky, which is made in County Westmeath, Ireland, is the most affordable of the three liquors majestueux. It is thicker than either its more plebeian cousin, Firewhisky, or any of the muggle whiskeys, and has a brilliant blood-like colour. Although it is made with a mash like all whiskeys, there are two important additional ingredients: bloodwillow and rhineflower. Rhineflower has a calming effect on the nervous system and counteracts many of the usual side effects of alcohol use, whilst bloodwillow is a powerful psychoactive ingredient. (Note: Firewhisky, the more common drink amongst British and American wizards, is made with a small amount of tincture of rhineflower, as well as variable amounts of ashwinder ash. The grades of Firewhisky are determined by the amount of ash that is used.)

Black Aquavit is a liquor made in Sweden and portions of Norway. It has a strong anise and liquorice flavour with a mild peat moss undertone. The mould from spoiling stygg berries (berries that grow on wild thorny bushes in the peat bogs of three small areas in Norway and Sweden) is harvested and the poisonous distillate is blended with fermented potato distillate and then aged. The extract of stygg berry slowly decays into a chemical that is potable only after a minimum of 24 years of aging in alderwood casks.

The creation of L'Armangac Noir de Limousin is a heavily guarded secret known only to two wizarding families in the Limousin region of France. The liquor, which has been known to command up to 900 galleons per cask, is said to be mildly addictive and renders the drinker impervious to emotional pain as well as heightening sensory perception.

Author's note (wizarding universities):

There are only 3 wizarding universities in Europe. In addition to these all-wizard universities, both l'Universite Catholique de Louvain and Trinity College have small programmes for training wizards and witches for careers in muggle diplomacy and international wizarding relations (Louvain also has the only all-wizard seminary).

During the Soviet years, the old Institute of Alchemy and Sorcery at the Solovki Monastery near the White Sea, was closed down and moved to the current location outside Kiev. Between 1921 and 1970 the Institute of Alchemy and Sorcery, still commonly referred to as Solovki, was rarely attended by wizards or witches who lived outside the Soviet bloc. Between 1979 and 1993 Solovki was open only to ethnic Slavic students, but was opened in 1994 to any qualifying student who could demonstrate a proficiency in Old Slavonic, the language of instruction at the Institute. Solovki has a reputation for graduating a heavy percentage of wizards focusing on the Dark Arts. The Solovki licentia programme is 2 years with a 12-month schooling calendar.

L'Accademia di l'Alchemia e Stregoneria, the campus for which was built largely with funds from the famous Medici family, is located in Florence, Italy. This is the university most often attended by wizards from Western Europe. Although the most prestigious programmes are Medical Arts, Structures of Organic Potions, Applied Transfiguration, and Theoretical Charms, the university offers licentiae in 19 programmes. L'Accademia has both three and four year licentia programmes the length of which is determined by subject of study.

Gammelmagisk Universitet, which was established in 1371 by King Waldemar IV, is now located on the Island of Fyn on the campus finished by King Christian III in 1546. Gammelmagisk Universitet is commonly referred to as Universitet (literally meaning University) in non-Germanic countries. This university is the most prestigious wizarding university in the world. Danish and Scandinavian wizards are given precedence in admission. Quotas of between 1-2 students are set for each country with which the Ministry Governing Danish Sorcery has amicable relations. However only 40 students are admitted each year with rare exceptions. Degrees are notoriously difficult to obtain with only 45 of students achieving licentia. All licentia programmes are set by the Schoolman/Schoolwyf and can take from three to five years to complete depending on the Schoolman's determination.

Note: The legendary Da Wang Li Shimin University, which was located in old Chang'an and long considered the top wizarding university, despite the fact that European, Arabic, and African wizards were denied admission until 1704, was closed in 1949. The current state of wizarding education in China is unfortunately abysmal. Only 413 scrolls and 207 books from the famous university library are known to have survived the fire that destroyed the old university compound.