Title: Every Dog Has Its Day
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of the characters mentioned in the story (so far) or anything affiliated with JKR, except several copies of each of her books.
Summary: What if, while Sirius was on the run during book three, he took a single moment to indulge in rational thought? Maybe it would have turned out differently.
Enjoy!
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The filth all blended together after a while. The black dog, his coat filthy and mattered, pressed himself against the wall of the dingy back alley, waiting for the group of drunken twenty-somethings to pass. Breathing an almost audible sigh of relief, he relaxed as they moved on, not that they had any reason to notice or care about a mangy stray in some run down part of the London Metropolis, but one could never be to careful, especially when one was a escaped prisoner from the hell hole that was Azkaban.
Transforming into his human persona, the previously scruffy dog became a scruffy human. Crouching down to examine his small stash, finding nothing had changed from when he had looked thirty seconds earlier. The meagre pile contained only three items. A Muggle pen, a sheet of dirty brown parcel paper he had found in a dumpster, and a single silver coin; a sickle, to be precise.
The man, Sirius, crouched down and began to scrawl a letter he had been planning for several days.
Professor Dumbledore,
I know in your eyes I deserve absolutely no time or thought, but I hope you can suspend your perceptions of me for a few short minutes. After that you may do whatever you wish, at least I would have tried.
I seriously considered not sending this to you. I have no doubt that whatever previous trust you placed in me has been shattered, and in the shards remain only bitterness and hate. I do not fault you for that, but if you must hate me, hate me for what I have truly done and not for what I have been accused of.
I did not betray Lily and James Potter. I would never, could never, and will never. I assume at this point your quiet anger is about to over-flow at my gall for daring to speak of them, but I beg of you to carry on reading.
Imagine yourself in the shoes of Lord Voldemort, almost thirteen years ago, on the verge of taking total control, with only a small child in your way, a child who could destroy everything you have worked so hard to achieve. (Yes, I know of the Prophecy.)
Now, the father of this child you may select out of the two possibilities has two friends (I will explain Remus later). One, his brother in all but blood, reasonably well publicised to be his most trusted friend and partner, and another, a talent less tag-along, often omitted in the grand scheme of things. Who would you think he would choose to be his Secret Keeper?
Naturally assume the first. Now, I, being the fool I was, decided independently that I knew this, and concocted the 'perfect' bluff. I asked James to switch the Secret Keeper at the last second, substituting Peter who was also going into hiding. No one would think we would use him, and so when they came after me, as they would have if it had worked, I wouldn't be able to tell them anything.
As you may have guessed, it didn't work. That awful, disgusting rat of a Pettigrew was the traitor. Who would have ever thought that that worthless sack of…well, you get the idea, would ever have the balls to go over to Voldemort?
And do you know why Remus has no idea any of this? Because I foolishly though he was the traitor. He could never be the traitor. I truly am an idiot, but that is not the question for debate. You see, even if you did believe me so far, there is still the matter of the twelve Muggles and Peter that I supposedly murdered. I did not. I wanted with a burning desire to kill Pettigrew, but I would have never harmed an innocent Muggle, and I didn't even get a chance to get rid of the scum that is Pettigrew.
I'll tell you briefly of that accursed day, the day when Peter managed to destroy everything in my life that I have ever loved. I tracked him down, unfortunately on a crowded Muggle street. He yelled to the entire street that I betrayed Lily and James. He cut off his finger and drew his wand, and blew up an entire street. He then transformed into a rat.
Yes, I know, why? How? He is an Animagus, as am I, as was James, if you wish to know why, ask Remus, but please do not blame him. For now, all you need to know that he is one. He transformed and I can only assume he scurried down into the sewers with all the other rats. How fitting.
Moving on, you will require proof, and I can provide you with it. The Weasley family recently, well I suppose it was over a month ago now, appeared in the Daily Prophet. There was a picture of their entire family on the front page. Fudge gave me a copy on his newspaper when he inspected Azkaban. I recognised a person on that picture. Peter. Sitting on top of what seemed to be the youngest boy's shoulder was the rat I knew so well. Force the Animagus to reveal his true form and you will have all the proof you need. I think I have said all I need to say, if this works, which I sincerely hope it does, I will know and contact you again in one form or another.
I hope you can find it in yourself to doubt the accepted truth just long enough to find an innocent man not guilty.
Sincerely,
Sirius Black
Albus Dumbledore put the letter down and removed his half-moon spectacles. Sighing, he mulled over all this possible new information. He did not believe or trust him by any measures, but this letter deserved some consideration. His first task would be to talk to one Mr. Remus J. Lupin. He was planning to visit him today anyway, and there was no time like the present, especially when one had a meeting with him in exactly six minutes.
Dumbledore stepped towards his fire, throwing some of the powder into the roaring fire, simply watching for a moment, as the flames turned to a delicious deep green. He took a deep breath and crossed the boundary, entering the flames a speaking 'Lupin Cottage' clearly through the smoke.
Stepping out gracefully, he surveyed the clean but worn surroundings of Remus' living room.
"Remus?" He called out gently. A moment later and a tired looking almost-young man appeared through an open doorway, drying a plate on a dishcloth.
"Oh, Professor Dumbledore. Sorry, I must have lost track of the time. How are you? Would you like a cup of tea? Have a seat."
Dumbledore smiled, amused, before taking a seat and accepting a cup of tea Remus had conjured up, they talked about pleasantries for a few moments before Remus brought up the real issues.
"So, Professor, what did you want to talk about? While it is a pleasure to see you, but I assume this is not a social call."
"No, I'm afraid not. This morning I received an interesting letter." He reached into his cloak and drew out the scrap paper on which the letter was written and handed it to Remus.
Remus took the letter and began read it; a stony expression crossed his face as he recognised the handwriting, which remained throughout the time he was reading. As he finished, he folded the paper and handed it back to his old headmaster.
"When did you receive this?" He asked coldly.
"Only this morning, I thought I should confirm at least part of his story before investing any more time in it." He paused. "Is he an Animagus, was James and Peter?"
"Yes." Remus breathed. "In our second year, he and James discovered what I am, and instead of rejecting me, they decided to help me. They chose to become Animagi, along with Peter, it took them a while, but they did succeed. James became a stag, Peter a rat, and Sirius, Sirius became a dog." He smiled, somewhere between sadness and nostalgic joy.
"I will not push you now any further on matters of your youth, since no harm ever came of your actions. Do you see any reason why we should not go visit the Weasleys to at least check out his story?"
Remus smiled gratefully. "No, are you busy for the rest of the day?"
"No, although I did originally want to come here to discuss the possibility of you teaching the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes this year?"
"I'd love to, though are you sure it would be safe?"
"Yes, there has been a wonderful new advancement in potions, Wolfsbane. Have you heard of it?"
"Yes, I used a sample last month, and it was much better than usual."
"I will have Professor Snape prepare you some each month. I'm sure he would be more than…happy to help out." Remus raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure. To the Burrow, then?" He asked, looking almost eager, but apprehensive. He didn't want to get his hopes up; the letter was either a clever scheme by Sirius, or the ramblings of a mad man. Remus nearly smiled at that thought, with Siri, you could never tell if his ideas came from true genius or sheer insanity.
/Flashback – Remus POV/
"I think we should move in together." Sirius murmured into my neck as we lay on his bed in the dorms.
"No you don't." I replied, running my fingers through his silky tresses of ebony hair.
"And how do you figure that out?" He had stopped his attentions on my neck and was instead looking directly into my eyes.
"This is just one last fling at Hogwarts before we become adults. You know you won't want me when you can have practically anyone you want in the real world. I just hope this won't break up the Marauders." A sighed resignedly. I knew that rejection would come one day. Sirius and I had been together for two months, a record for him, I think, but I was under no delusions that this man would want me in his bed and in his life when we left school, and I wouldn't allow myself to believe otherwise.
"Is that all I am to you?" He asked. He seemed almost angry.
"That's is all I am to you." I said simply.
"You think you're so smart, don't you? You read all day and observe everyone around you and think you know everyone's motives but you missed something so crucial to your own life. Idiot." He snorted the last word. I was upset now. Not only had I been told I was wrong about something, Sirius had removed himself from my side and was now sitting up, fumbling with a pack of cigarettes that he knew I hated when he smoked in bed.
"And what, pray tell, have I missed." I must have sounded so condescending because he rolled his eyes before answering.
"I'm fucking in love with you, you asshole." And that was how I got my first declaration of love. Moving in together was definitely one of Sirius' more brilliant ideas, though I still thought him insane for suggesting it.
"Good morning Molly!" Greeted Dumbledore as he apparited outside the Burrow.
"Professor?" She replied, looking up from her chickens. "What a surprise. Would you and Remus like to come in?" She smiled warmly and gestured to the house.
"Yes thank you, and please, call me Albus."
"Of course Professor." She agreed, ignoring him entirely. Dumbledore only smiled.
A further twenty minutes later and we had covered every topic of weather, the price of chicken farming and current events imaginable. Of course, current events did eventually lend its way to one escaped convict Remus had spent twelve unsuccessful years trying to forget.
"Well, actually Molly, that is part of why I came to see you today. I know this will seem strange, but I beg you just to go along with it, all will explained with time." Molly nodded, and Remus was again astounded by the level of trust people put in Dumbledore, not that he put in any less himself. "I believe one of you children owns a rat."
"Yes." She answered, puzzled.
"May we see him? The rat, I mean." Looking utterly confused, Molly got up and stood at the bottom of the stairs, calling for Rom to bring Scabbers down. I few minutes later the occupants could hear the crashing of footsteps on the stairs and another red head appeared, this one clutching a rather fat rat in his hands.
"Yeah mum, why do you want to see Scabbers."
"I don't, Professor Dumbledore does. Come on then." At the mention of Dumbledore, the rat began to squirm fiercely in Ron's hands, but Ron kept a strong grip on his rat.
"Hello Ronald." Greeted Professor Dumbledore, "This is Remus Lupin, he will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts next year, and I presume this is Scabbers?"
"Yeah, um, hi, Professor." Ron answered nervously, what would the headmaster want with his rat, anyway?
"May I?" Dumbledore gestured to the rat, and Ron reluctantly relented his hold to the older man, who gripped the rat tightly within his hands.
Dumbledore then turned to Remus with a raised eyebrow. Remus nodded slowly, and whispered, 'possible'.
By now, some of the other Weasley children had entered the living room and were watching with interest as Dumbledore questioned their mother and brother on how long they'd had the rat, and other things pertaining to the less than significant pet. Ginny looked a little nervous, the last time she had seen the headmaster was after her possession by Voldemort, Percy was as ever puffed up with self-importance, and the twins were strangely quiet.
"Ron, I would like to ask your permission to perform a spell on your pet. I have reason to believe that this is an illegal Animagus. All the spell will do is force himself to reveal his true form, if it really a rat, then no harm will come to him."
Ron looked a little offended that his pet may have not been a pet at all, but nodded.
Dumbledore withdrew his wand and pointed it at the rat, with a flash of light; the rat began to morph into a human, growing bigger and becoming less furry all the while. Ginny and Molly gasped, Ron looked sick, and the twins whispered 'wicked' in unison.
"Hello, Peter." Greeted Remus coolly.
"R-r-remus!" The man squeaked.
"What the bloody hell did you do to Scabbers?" Exclaimed Ron, who received a bat over the head for his a language
The man – Peter – looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away, but seemed to be kept in place by invisible bonds coming from Dumbledore's wand.
"So Peter, would you care to inform us why you have been hiding in rat form for the past twelve years?" Asked Dumbledore, all hints of sparkling banished from his eyes.
"I was hiding…Sirius…he tried to kill me!" Pettigrew squeaked again.
"But Sirius was in Azkaban, surely you would have felt safe with him behind bars?" Questioned Dumbledore. The Weasleys looked on in almost morbid fascination, while Remus looked somewhat sick.
"He's escaped! I knew he would!"
"You knew Sirius would escape a prison from which no one has ever before?" Asked Remus sceptically, regaining his voice.
"I believe that this can all be cleared up by Veritaserum, so no more questions and no more lies until then!" Dumbledore exclaimed, and with a flick of his wand had Peter being forced down onto the faded sofa nearest to him. "And look, I happen to have a bottle on me."
By now, Remus had extracted his own wand and pointed it at the former-rat. Dumbledore waved his wand again and Peter opened his mouth. Taking a slivery vial from his cloak, Dumbledore dropped a small amount of the white liquid into Pettigrew's reluctantly open mouth.
"Are you Peter Arnold Pettigrew?" Dumbledore seemed to have taken on the roll of inquisitor.
"Yes." Pettigrew's voice was harsh and clipped. He had no control over what he was saying.
"The same Peter Arnold Pettigrew who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 1971-1978, sorted into Gryffindor?"
"Yes."
"I believe there is no doubt to his identity. Remus, do you concur?"
"Yes." This time it was the werewolf who spoke the single word reply.
"You were a friend of James and Lily Potter. We're you their Secret Keeper?"
"Yes."
"Did you betray them to Lord Voldemort in October of 1981?" Even under Viritaserum Pettigrew flinched.
"Yes."
"Did you murder thirteen Muggles, destroy a street, fake your own death, and frame Sirius Black for all of your crimes?"
"Yes." That was the final breaking point for Remus. He leapt at the man, no, thing, on the sofa and began, wand all but forgotten, to throttle the ugly little man.
Dumbledore took his time before drawing Remus off. He quietly murmured, "He is still needed to clear Sirius' name." Remus backed away instantly and leaned against the closest wall, breathing heavily. Pettigrew gingerly touched his neck.
Dumbledore gave an almost imperceptible roll of his eyes before sending a stunner at him, as well as conjuring robes that wrapped themselves tightly around his body. He also sent an eerie blue light which would stop him transforming unassisted into a rat for the next twenty-four hours.
"So that wasn't a rat then?" George asked, breaking the silence. Remus shook his head.
"No. That was a traitor of the worst kind, and I hope he rots for what he did to Sirius." No one could miss the blatant anger and hurt at the thought of Pettigrew.
"Professor? One of the questions, I mean, you asked him if he framed Black, you mean, he's innocent?" Asked Molly, she seemed just as confused as her children.
"Yes, I have no doubt that it was Peter, and not Sirius who committed all those atrocities over a decade ago. Remus?" Dumbledore sighed heavily.
"It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I can't believe I never thought about it. Sirius had one hell of a temper, and he occasionally acted without thinking, but he would never purposely betray his friends."
"Molly, I'm sorry for causing so much confusion in you living room, but if you don't mind, we will be taking Mr. Pettigrew to the Ministry to be arrested. There is also an innocent man who spent twelve years in Azkaban to be pardoned." Dumbledore turned slightly. "Ron, please do not mention any this to Harry, I believe Sirius, Remus and myself should explain it."
"What's Harry got to do with it?" Ron questioned warily.
"Sirius is Harry's Godfather." With that final statement Dumbledore apparited with Pettigrew, leaving Remus standing in the Weasleys' living room, he smiled apologetically before Disapparating himself.
"And to think, I was expecting a quiet day in this house." Commented Molly before going outside to feed her chickens again.
"Sir, has there been any sign of Sirius yet?" Remus asked as he almost collapsed into a chair. They had only just returned to Hogwarts from the Ministry. An auror squad had taken custody of Pettigrew for a few hours while a trial was arranged, but it was mostly a swift proceeding for once. Peter had been found guilty, and Sirius innocent, even though he had never seen the inside of any courtroom. It was announced it an extra addition of the Daily Prophet that Sirius Black was free of all charges and Pettigrew had been sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss, which was scheduled for a week the next day.
"Remus, the news was only released an hour ago, Sirius will have to find out about the trial and find a way to contact us before we will see him again. Do not worry about finding him, he will come to us."
"I know, I'm just can't help it, the last time I saw him I screamed at him that he was worst than his entire family put together, that I was ashamed to know him, and that," He paused, almost chocking on emotion, "that I didn't love him."
"Do you?" Dumbledore asked bluntly.
"Yes." Remus whispered. "I mean I have hated him for so many years, but I never stopped loving him, I don't think I could have."
"Love can create a magical bond, something that no wizard, no matter how old and apparently wise could explain, but I believe you and Sirius share such a bond." Dumbledore smiled gently.
"Professor, has anyone ever been released from Azkaban after such a long time?" Remus asked.
"No, the longest sentence anyone was ever released after was eighteen months, I believe this person was eventually okay, he was different from when he went in, but nothing was fundamentally altered." Dumbledore answered, knowing what Remus wanted to know.
"Sirius has always been strong, I just don't know how much more he could have taken, I mean, James was like a brother to him, and Siri never had a chance to grieve before being thrown away in a place where he was haunted by his worst nightmares."
"I have every confidence that you can help Sirius deal with everything that has no doubt accumulated over time."
"I hope so." Remus said sincerely. "Is anyone going to tell Harry what has been going on?"
"I believe he ran away from his aunt and uncle's house over a week ago. He is fine, staying in Diagon Alley." He assured Remus when he saw the look on his face. "If Sirius come…home, before school begins, I will go see him at the Leaky Cauldron, if not, I will speak to him when he arrives at school."
Remus hesitantly nodded his agreement.
"Remus, you have already accepted the position of DADA teacher, I hope today's revelations have not changed that?"
"No, I would still love to teach, and defence was always one of my favourite subjects."
"So I assume you will be living in the castle, I was wondering if you would like to move in earlier, as I will be offering Sirius a room here when he turns up."
"I would love to, is may be good to get my bearings of the school again before I start teaching, and I have a lot of lesson plans to write up before the start of term-" Remus was interrupted by a mixture of a knock and a whine at the door. He raised an eyebrow to the headmaster, and gestured to the door, silently asking permission to open it. Dumbledore nodded.
Remus stood slowly and turned the door handle, revealing not a person, but a rather large, black dog. Remus flung himself to the floor and wrapped his arms around the dog in a sort if pseudo-hug, as the dog transformed into a human and returned the gesture.
Dumbledore watched the scene for a few moments before gently clearing his throat. The two men stopped, rising to their feet.
Dumbledore took a moment to survey a person he had not come into contact with for almost a dozen years. His hair, which had previously always been clean and tidy, hung dirtily around his elbows, his teeth had yellowed over the years, and his waxy skin clearly outlined his protruding bones, but the biggest change was the eyes, eyes that had previously shone with emotion, and often mischief, seemed deadened and cold, but Dumbledore noticed that if he looked deep enough and hard enough, the spark was still there, not as bright as it once had been, but still, the potential to heal was there.
"Welcome home, Sirius." He smiled warmly and embraced the slightly taller man, who looked quite astounded at being welcomed so well.
An hour later, Sirius and Remus were sitting in a parlour-like area of a suite of rooms. In the middle there was a common area, with a large bathroom off through one door, a study, and two bedchambers through other.
Sirius had spent a good three-quarters of an hour soaking in the warm water of the tub, before putting on the first clean and new robes he had had in years that had been left by the house elves.
Remus smiled sadly as his former lover fingered the material softly, almost reverently. At the moment they were waiting for the house elves to return with dinner, which Remus assumed would be a bountiful feast.
"Remus?" He called softly; everything he did now seemed tentative, almost afraid.
"Yeah Siri?" Sirius smiled at the name.
"Would you cut my hair please?" He asked. Remus nodded and disappeared into the bathroom; Sirius could hear him rummaging around under the sink. He came back, a towel in one hand and a pair of Muggle scissors in the other. Sirius moved to sit so Remus was granted access to his hair.
"How long?" He said, slinging the towel around Sirius' shoulders.
"I think if you cut it to shoulder length I should be able to comb it out." He said as a reply, not really answering the question, but instead offering a his opinion on the situation.
Remus nodded, though he knew that Sirius could not see it, and began to cut through the now course locks with the heavy scissors, letting them fall to the floor in ebony waves. When he was half done the house elves arrived, left the food, scurried around for a few minutes before leaving without a word, they understood that this was private.
As he finished, Remus put the scissors down, picking up a brush that had not been there before, and slowly began to untangle the other man's hair, letting the ever smoothing tresses run between his finger as he had so many years ago. Sirius had noticed, but was content to allow his former lover to continue.
When done, the pair sat at the central table, Remus cleaning the hair away with a spell, and began to eat. Sirius took his time, savouring every bite like it could be his last. Neither spoke, but the silence was not uncomfortable.
Soon the two…friends went to their separate bedchambers. It had been an exceedingly long day and there would be a lot more to do tomorrow. While Sirius had been officially cleared, he still had things to discuss with the Ministry, and then there was Harry. Technically, Sirius was still his legal guardian, and since he was about to be pardoned, he would be eligible for custody. Despite the fact that Harry had no memories of him.
"No, James, I didn't mean to…I'm sorry…sorry…no I didn't…I didn't know…no…no…JAMES!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting up, panting heavily. A moment later Remus burst through the door a moment later, wand drawn. He lowered his weapon realising what was going on and climbed onto the bed, hugging his shaking friend to his chest, holding him and making calming noises.
Sirius looked up, calmed slightly, and looking as though he was seeing him for the first time. He snaked an arm around Remus' neck, and pulled his face to meet his lips. Tentatively, his tongue protruded from his mouth and licked Remus' lips, requesting permission to enter his former lover's mouth.
"Sirius…" Remus groaned pulling back slightly, "What are you doing?"
"Kissing you." He replied and continued his assault on his mouth.
"Where are we going with this?" Remus stopped again.
"Hopefully to the height of ecstasy later tonight." He tried to continue in his actions.
"Are you sure you want this?" Remus interrupted for the last time. Sirius responded by reaching down to undo the drawstring of Remus' pyjama pants. Snaking his fingers in between the sensitive areas of his groin, he smiled satisfied as he heard Remus moan softy, shifty his body into a more comfortable position.
Sirius trailed kisses down Remus' neck, his left hand undoing his shirt buttons as he went. His lips soon found their way to Remus' nipple, and he scratched his teeth over it gently, making Remus groan in pleasure. Sirius continued his attentions to the delicate tissue around the nipple for a few minutes, and then paused, finding a scar marring the soft skin that hadn't been there before.
His hesitation was only momentary before he gently caressed it, first with his fingers, then with his skilled tongue, soothing the emotional pain the Remus associated with the scar with physical attention.
Remus stopped Sirius' tender ministrations. It was his turn to pleasure him. Pulling back, he saw a look of confusion, followed by hurt, cross his lover's face. Remus smirked, shuffling down until he came to face Sirius' partially tented pants. He licked his lips in anticipation.
A mere moment later long fingers wrapped themselves around the soft fabric of Sirius' boxers, removing the cotton barrier. Starting at the base, Remus slowly and deliberately moved his tongue up to the tip, lapping up a drop of pre-cum.
He began moving his hand up and down, pumping hard in anticipation, his mouth still moving hungrily around the tip, eating up all of the milky fluid eagerly.
Sirius pushed his hips upward, submerging himself as far as he could into Remus' willing mouth. For a few minutes, Remus worked relentlessly in his efforts, making Sirius happier than he had been in years, he loved and needed to be back in the arms – and mouth- of his lover, Sirius came hard, and Remus swallowed without gagging, hungrily cleaning off Sirius' cock with his tongue before licking him lips.
He looked up the bed at Sirius who had a contented, but very tired smile on his face. He slipped up the bed and wrapped his arms around his mate, ignoring his own…problem in favour of not leaving a man he had loved for almost two decades. Sirius had no more nightmares that night.
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So that's it for chapter one.
Please forgive sporadic updates, the frequency will depend on reader interest and how bored I am with my life.