"Come in, Remus. Thank you for coming." Dumbledore said, sighing as Phineas immediately closed his eyes and began snoring.

"This is fortuitous timing." Remus said, sitting down as if he thought it might explode. "I wished to speak with you as well." He paused for a long moment before continuing. "I wish to tender my resignation."

"I see." said Dumbledore. "May I ask why?"

"Due to the events that transpired last night, I forgot to take my Wolfsbane potion. If Severus hadn't Conjured it for me, the results would have been catastrophic. Such a lapse is inexcusable."

"This simply means that we must find a more foolproof way to ensure that this does not happen again. Everyone is allowed the occasional lapse in judgment."

"I-I appreciate that, Headmaster, but if I may say - I think you are underestimating the gravity of the situation-"

"On the contrary. I am perfectly capable of seeing that losing the first competent Defense professor Hogwarts has had in years would be a great tragedy."

Lupin shook his head. "No, it's just too risky."

"What's this really about, Remus? The risk is the same as it was at the beginning of the year."

Remus looked down at the Headmaster's desk, and Dumbledore was struck by the fact that Lupin looked more like a student than a Professor at the moment.

"Headmaster, I...I knew that Sirius was an unregistered Animagus. And I said nothing. Did nothing. I put every student at this school in danger."

There was a long silence as Dumbledore processed this.

"Why?" he said finally, unable to keep the tone of disappointment out of his voice.

"I...I knew that if I told you, the truth about why he was an unregistered Animagus would come out. You see-"

And he explained how James, Sirius and Peter became Animagi so they could keep him company during his monthly transformations. How they had become emboldened and begun to wander the grounds during those times.

When Lupin finished, Dumbledore sat back in his chair.

"I suppose you convinced yourself that he was using some other method to gain access to the castle. After all, if he had been You-Know-Who's most powerful servant, he would doubtlessly have had access to incredibly powerful Dark Magic."

Phineas coughed loudly, though his eyes remained closed.

Dumbledore sighed. "In other words, you did not see the truth because you did not want to see it. A trap we all fall into from time to time."

"Still, I should have told you."

"Indeed you should have. I trust you have learned a valuable lesson, and will not make the same mistake next time."

"But you told me the position was jinxed! That no one lasted more than a year!"

"And you took the position anyway. Commendable."

"But then how...what would happen if I agreed to come back next year?"

Dumbledore drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment before responding.

"I do not know."

There was an awkward silence. Remus swallowed hard.

"Perhaps…" said Dumbledore. "...perhaps there is another way. I did have a fine candidate in mind to teach Defense next year, in the event that you fell victim to the curse Voldemort placed on the position. And Professor Hagrid could use some assistance with Care of Magical Creatures. After the incident with Buckbeak, I should think it would be helpful to have someone on hand to help keep an eye on things."

Remus considered this for a moment.

"And how would we avoid another potentially unfortunate incident?" he asked. "I will not accept your offer without additional protections in place."

"Let me think on that. For now, can we say that my offer is conditionally accepted?" He held out his hand for a handshake.

Remus sighed and shook his hand.

"Excellent." said Dumbledore. "Now, I wonder if I might impose on you to assist me with a matter of great importance this summer. Sirius seems rather set on moving Harry out of his aunt and uncle's home. I have placed certain powerful protective charms on his current residence - charms which would be ineffective anywhere else, since they require the presence of a blood relative. I have explained this to them, but they are undeterred."

"That doesn't surprise me." said Remus with a sigh.

"I have an idea which would allow Harry to continue to live there, but allow Sirius to keep an eye on him. Being someone who knows Sirius very well, I would ask that you help me develop this plan and then present it to him."

"Of course, Headmaster." said Lupin. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

Sirius leaned back in his chair, slowly chewing on his sandwich and pondering the plan Remus had just explained to him.

"It's a start." he said. A mischievous grin began to creep across his face.

"A start?" replied Lupin. He watched the progress of the grin as it grew, all too aware of what it meant. "It's the same plan Dumbledore used with Arabella Figg. It worked."

"Did it now?" Sirius said. The grin disappeared. "Tell me, Moony. If placing Arabella Figg in that neighborhood was such a success, why is Harry so eager to live with me? A man he just met, a man who until a few weeks ago was a condemned mass murderer?"

Remus did not reply. Sirius continued. "I spoke with Arabella. Do you know what she said? She said that on the few occasions that Harry was brought to stay with her, she had to be careful to not treat him too well. Otherwise his aunt and uncle wouldn't bring him back."

Remus looked at him in disbelief. "Surely she's exaggerating."

"I grew up in a situation not terribly unlike Harry's, and I assure you she is not. Those Muggles treat him like garbage. They're lucky they weren't the target of any of his outbursts of accidental magic."

"Then what do you propose?"

"I need to figure out a way that Harry can call that place his home but spend as little time there as possible. I need to do it without using magic on the Muggles, to avoid any undue attention from the Ministry. And I need them to agree to whatever plan it is. Which they won't do if they know I'm a wizard."

"Ah. Is that all?"

"Well I didn't say it would be simple. But I have to do this. He should have been living with me for the last twelve years. And thanks to my mistake-"

"The only mistake you made was trusting Peter. A mistake we all made."

Sirius shook his head. "It was more than that. I thought I was smarter than everyone else. Thought I could fool old Snake Head himself by switching Secret Keepers." He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"Are you sure you aren't repeating your mistake?" Lupin said in a gentle tone. "Now you're second guessing Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore is a wise man. But he doesn't understand these situations like I do. He overestimates the power of family."

"He believes in the power of love."

"As do I. But these people don't love him. So love has no power there."

Two weeks later, Sirius rode the Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross with them.

"I'll be seeing you very soon." he said with a smile and a wink. "I don't want to say any more - this will work better if your shock is genuine."

"Alright." Harry said, grinning. "Just don't do anything that gets you chucked back in prison."

Sirius placed his hand over his heart. "I solemnly swear that though I am up to no good, I will not get chucked back in prison."

Harry watched him depart on the train, hopeful but nervous. He exchanged goodbyes with Ron and Hermione, and watched them depart with their families, unable to prevent himself from hoping that soon he would have what they had always had.

Uncle Vernon seemed even grumpier than usual when the Dursleys picked him him up from King's Cross. He regarded Harry with a particularly piercing glare as Harry loaded his trunk into the boot of the car.

"Get a move on boy!" he snapped. "There's a very important client coming over for dinner, and if you make me late—-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Harry climbed in the car and slammed the door. Why did he have to put up with this treatment when he could live with Sirius?

He tuned out the conversation in the car and stared out the window. What had Dumbledore said? As long as he lived with the Dursleys, Dumbledore could not harm him at Four Privet Drive. Well, he wasn't there now. Voldemort could still get him whenever he left the house.

The rest of the ride passed uneventfully, with Harry's mood worsening the further they got from Hogwarts. He tried to think what Sirius' plan could be, but he couldn't imagine how his godfather was going to pull off a plan that satisfied Dumbledore and the Dursley's.

Four Privet Drive came into view, and Harry's mood bottomed out.

"LOOK OUT, VERNON!" Aunt Petunia screamed.

Harry had just enough time to see a man step in front of the car. Uncle Vernon slammed on the brakes, and they came to a halt with an awful screeching sound and a loud thud. The odor of burning rubber filled the car.

"Oh my God!" said Petunia.

Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Harry all leapt out of the car and rushed to see if the man was alright. He was lying on the ground, groaning.

Harry's eyes widened as he realized it was Sirius. He was wearing a smart looking suit, though his hair and beard looked about the same. He wore a pair of wire rimmed spectacles.

Uncle Vernon's face turned white.

"G-get back in the car!" he said in a loud whisper. "Now!"

Petunia was shocked. "Vernon, what are you-"

"Now, Petunia!" He began herding the three of them back toward the car.

"DURSLEY!" roared Sirius as he got to his feet unsteadily.

"Vernon! Do you know this man?" Petunia said.

Vernon looked terrified. Harry had never seen him like this before. His entire body was tensed up as he turned around to face Sirius.

"Mr. White!" he said. "I-I didn't realize it was you!"

"What's the meaning of this?" Sirius demanded.

"I'm so sorry!" Uncle Vernon replied. "You're, ah, not hurt are you?"

"OF COURSE I'M BLOODY HURT!" Sirius shouted.

"It's my nephew's fault." Vernon said, desperation in his voice. "He distracted me."

Sirius turned and looked at Harry. Harry saw his jaw tighten for a moment.

"Your nephew's fault?" he said, wincing in pain. "What kind of man blames his own mistake on a child?"

"Vernon, who is this?" Petunia demanded.

"Felix White." said Sirius in a strained voice. "I'm the director of Lakeside Construction, and we were going to sign a contract with Vernon's company tonight."

"Y—-you're our dinner guest?" Petunia squeaked.

Vernon looked like he might pass out. No doubt the thought of a business partner getting a glimpse of Harry filled him with mortal terror.

"I-I hope this incident won't m-make you change your mind, Mr. White." Vernon said.

Sirius considered this for a moment, and then made a dismissive gesture.

"Hitting me with your car I could forgive, but blaming your nephew? A real man would take responsibility for his actions."

"Ah, you see Mr. White—-" Vernon began as they entered the house. "The thing about my nephew is…he's...troubled." Vernon said. "He goes to a...special school."

"Really?" Sirius seemed interested in this. "And how has that been working out?"

Uncle Vernon seemed unprepared for follow-up questions.

"Ah...well…" He looked to Petunia for support.

"We should get out of the road." Petunia said. "Mr. White, come inside so you can sit down."

Harry had no idea what Sirius was up to. How was he going to pass himself off as a Muggle? Why had he allowed himself to be hit by a car? Why was he posing as the owner of a construction company?

"It's...been better." Aunt Petunia said when they were all sitting in the living room. "But he's still difficult to deal with."

"He was having one of his...fits...when, we, uh…" Vernon trailed off.

"When you plowed into me with your car?" Sirius said. He shifted in the seat and winced.

"Ah ha...yes."

"Well, perhaps I've judged you too harshly. In fact, we may be able to help each other out."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Vernon said.

"Lakeside Construction is affiliated with a government program for boys like your nephew here. They come to work with us for the summer. To learn the value of hard work. I'd be happy to take him on."

"How wonderful!" said Aunt Petunia. "But he gets plenty of hard work here during the summer."

"And…" Vernon said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "I wouldn't feel right subjecting you to his...abnormality. You see-"

Sirius chuckled. "You wouldn't be. I don't even see these boys! It's my foremen who'd be dealing with him. They've seen it all, I assure you."

"Oh, but we need him here...there's always so much yardwork to be done." Petunia said.

Sirius sighed and leaned forward in his chair, as if he were taking them into his confidence.

"Let me be frank." he said with a sigh. "I've won a contract for a massive new apartment complex. But I need a very specific drill in order to dig the foundations. The bedrock there is nasty stuff, you see. That's why I contracted with your company."

"The problem is this - we've come to rely on the labor of these troubled boys, but I just can't find enough of them this summer. And we have to employ a certain number of them for the government to subsidize their pay. If I can't find one more by tomorrow, I can't do this project. Which means your company loses my business."

"Ah, well...when you put it that way…" Uncle Vernon swallowed hard. Harry could only imagine the difficulty he was having. Sirius had really put him in a bind. "When does he start?"

Sirius smiled. "Tomorrow morning. Bright and early."