A/N: Sorry about taking so long (again!). My life has been insane lately - I ended up going to regular school instead of online courses, and I'm in soccer, so I come home from school late and do homework (or occasionally sleep - I hate Mondays) and crash. Therefore I've had very little time to write. On the other hand, I actually have a social life now, which has been wonderful.

I've been thinking a lot about where this thing is going to go. Some things will be the same as in OotP (Grimmauld Place, and other things), and some won't be. I can tell you right now that the climax will definitely be different, and the prophecy will play a different role. By the way, I swear that the next chapter will be longer. And it won't take me nearly as long to get out as the last few have. Promise!

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this chapter. Oh, the horror!

Chapter 5: Talks and Revelations

It had been two and a half weeks since Harry's incarceration, and Dumbledore still appeared to have no idea what to do. Remus was getting increasingly worried about his former student, and he noticed that Sirius seemed agitated as well. His friend no longer ate as much, and came down to the breakfast table with large circles under his eyes. Sirius was also spending a lot of time shut up with Buckbeak. Remus had no idea how much Sirius knew, but realized that the dog Animagus was aware that something was off.

"Professor Lupin?"

Remus turned to smile at Hermione. "Call me Remus, Hermione. I'm not your teacher anymore."

"Um, all right, Remus." She picked at the floor with her toe. "Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and I are going to Diagon Alley to get presents for Harry's birthday next week. Do you want to come?"

Remus's heart twisted in his chest. They don't know. "I think I should stay here. Full moon's coming up in a few days." He sat on the couch and gestured to the armchair across from him. "Would you sit, please? I have something to tell you."

Hermione obliged, casting a curious look at him.

"I don't know if Harry's going to be here for his birthday," he began.

"But I thought - "

"Harry's in prison. The Ministry is blaming Cedric's death on him."

Hermione froze. "In prison meaning at the Ministry, or out at Azkaban?"

Sometimes Remus wished the girl wasn't so darn clever. "Azkaban."

He glanced at her. Hermione was pale, but composed. "Thank you for telling me. Am I allowed to tell the others?"

"I'll leave it up to you," Remus echoed Dumbledore's words to him about Sirius. "I don't know if I was supposed to tell you, though, so would you try to keep it quiet?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course." She stood, picking up her book bag. "I think I'll wait till after we go shopping. We can still have a party when Harry gets out."

Remus watched as Hermione exited the living room, shutting the door behind her. Something had been off about their conversation. But she had seemed genuinely shocked, so either the fifth-year was a very good actress or she honestly hadn't known.

The grand piano in the corner looked very appealing. Carefully he slid back the lid and began to play. Just a few lines into the piece, the living room door opened again.

"Why, it's Moony, the man of many talents! He can turn into a wolf, hex people beyond recognition, stop dementors, and play the piano," Sirius laughed, though his eyes were haunted. Remus shivered involuntarily. He had long since learned that this particular look was associated with Azkaban.

Thinking it through quickly, he made a decision. Sirius had to know. Having been in Azkaban himself, he had more of a right than anyone else to know that his godson was there.

"Padfoot, you're the hex genius, remember?" Remus said lightly. He gestured for Sirius to come sit next to him on the piano bench. "Listen, Sirius. I have to tell you something."

Sirius's eyes sharpened. "It's about Harry, isn't it." He didn't phrase it as a question.

Remus's jaw dropped. "How did you - "

"Remus, I haven't had a letter from him in over two weeks. He's my godson. Of course I noticed. What's happened to him?"

The former professor sighed. He should have known that something like that wouldn't escape his friend's attention. "Fudge had him arrested and taken to Azkaban for killing Cedric Diggory."

Sirius didn't say anything. Only he didn't look surprised… more relieved…

"You knew?" Remus gasped, putting two and two together. "How?"

"Eavesdropping. But Moony, it means a lot to me that you trusted me enough to tell me yourself. I just don't… I can't…" As Remus watched, Sirius's eyes spilled over and he began to sob. He put his arms around his friend and rocked him back in forth as Sirius cried his heart out.

"Shhh, Padfoot. It's going to be okay. He'll be out soon." Remus crooned. "You're getting my robes wet."

Sirius let out a strangled laugh. "I'm sorry. I just can't stand the thought of him in that hellhole… it nearly killed me. I would hate the thought of him in there even if he'd been pampered all his life, and Harry's past is far more tragic than my own. He's gone through so much; lost so much. Merlin, Remus, I wish I could just take all that pain away…" His voice trailed away as he buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry. You know I don't usually cry like this - "

Remus put his fingers under Sirius's chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Sirius, don't," he said gently. "Harry's strong. He'll pull through. You can't torture yourself because of something that isn't your fault." He let his voice become softer. "I would know. How do you think I felt when you were in Azkaban? Trust me, I didn't take comfort. I guess, in my heart, I never believed you could hurt anyone so badly, let alone Lily and James."

"You believed in me?" Sirius croaked.

"I don't know," Remus laughed bitterly. "Part of me thought that there was too much evidence for it not to be true. But another part thought that the boy who stuck by me when he knew what I was, who ran around Hogwarts turning statues orange, who would have died for what he believed was right, could never have been able to kill anyone. When I saw Wormtail on the Map, how I felt…"

"When I saw you, I knew I was home," Sirius said in a low voice, tears still coursing down his cheeks. "You and Harry. I had part of my family back. The living part that I actually want to claim, even if it's not by blood"

Remus pulled his friend - the man who he thought of in his heart as his adopted brother - close, allowing his own eyes to spill over. "We'll get him back, Padfoot. I promise."

"Is Dumbledore doing anything?" Sirius asked, wiping his eyes.

"Not that I know of. He seems lost, like he doesn't know any way to get Harry out. And he probably doesn't, or he would have used it."

"I could break in," Sirius said quietly, not meeting Remus's gaze.

Remus's eyes widened and he grabbed his friend's shoulders. "Sirius, you can't. If you're caught, they'll give you the Kiss. Harry would have lost the person he trusts most for nothing. If you simply rush in there, you might as well condemn Harry to death, because I don't know if he'd get over it." He shook Sirius roughly to emphasize the point.

"Relax, Moony." Sirius showed signs of a genuine, albeit crooked, smile. "I wouldn't go in there without a plan. But I think I can do it." He looked away again. "I already have a strategy. I was going to wait for the full moon. You'd know where I went if I disappeared suddenly. I'm glad you told me yourself, Remus,"

"I am too, Sirius."

They were silent for a minute.

"So what's this plan of yours? Anything I can do?" Remus asked, breaking the moment.

"I had intended to Portkey to some field, ride Buckbeak out to Azkaban, break Harry out with my new wand, ride Beaky back off the island, and then Portkey back in."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "The wards?"

Sirius chuckled. "I should be able to get around those, as the owner of the house. And the Fidelius charm is only on the Order, not on the house itself."

Remus fairly choked. "And you came up with this yourself?" His tone suggested just how much he doubted it.

"Er, no, actually," Sirius squirmed. "Hermione helped with that particular theory."

"I should have known, but she's a good actress," Remus groaned. "Just who is in on this bloody plan of yours?"

"Language, Moony," Sirius teased as he ticked them off on his fingers. "Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. And now you."

"So what's left? I want to help," said Remus seriously. "Anything."

Sirius looked down. "What I mostly need is an alibi."

"An alibi? But if you come barging into the kitchen carrying Harry, they'll know…" Remus shut up as he caught on. "You mean so that nobody will suspect that you've gone, since you're not supposed to leave the house."

"Exactly." Sirius nodded.

"Well, when do you want to do it? Full moon's in four days, and you were going to do it then, right? If you want to up the plans, I can work with that, too."

"I wish," Sirius said unhappily. "Without a new wand, all the plans are useless. But if it's not here by the moon, I'm glad to know that I won't have to wait a month to get another chance." He smiled slightly. "I'd probably go mad."

Remus squeezed his hand. "From worry."

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me so well," Sirius complained half-heartedly.

"No you don't," countered Remus amiably.

"True." Sirius stood. "I - " he yawned widely and sat stumbled a few steps before collapsing on the couch. "Don't stop playing," he muttered. "I like it."

Remus watched, amused, as his friend's eyes fluttered closed and his breathing evened out. Tenderly he picked up a blanket and tucked it around the sleeping form. He knew quite well that it had to be the first decent sleep Sirius had had since his godson's imprisonment.

What should I play? Remus wondered, flipping through the sheet music on the piano and selecting a Bach aria. It felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Maybe everything really would work out.

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I apologize for this being so short - I'm home sick from school today, and still feel like cp, and am going to go lie down now! I love you all - please review!

Lunaterra

P.S. We're currently taking care of several very sweet mutt puppies, so if anyone wants one and is willing to fly a long long ways...