Remus had never once set foot in Sirius's childhood home, but the expression on his old friend's face when he stepped up to its serpent-adorned door was enough to make him loathe it.

"Go on, Sirius," Dumbledore prompted from behind them, standing with Mad-Eye Moody and a young pink-haired woman Remus had never met before.

Swallowing, glancing quickly to Remus as if drawing strength from him, Sirius pulled out his wand to unlock the door and led the way inside.

12 Grimmauld Place was dark and dank; it was clear that it hadn't been inhabited for years, ever since the death of Sirius's mother over a decade ago. Its entrance hall was covered in sprawling cobwebs, the ornate portraits hanging from the peeling walls crooked and concealed behind layers and layers of dust. Remus caught sight of a rat scurrying for cover and shivered; ever since he'd learned that Peter had betrayed them, he'd developed a distinct repulsion towards his Animagus form's counterparts.

Suddenly, the threadbare velvet curtains covering one of the portraits drew back, and a terrible screeching filled the house. "Blood traitors and half-breeds polluting these halls! How did you find this place? Get out of here, all of you, NOW!"

The screaming was coming from a portrait of an old woman in black; it took a moment for Remus to recognize the picture's subject behind all the dust, but he realized she was a woman he'd caught brief glimpses of from time to time at King's Cross: Walburga Black, Sirius's mother.

Walburga's dark eyes fell on her son as he approached her. "You! Of course it's you! The biggest blood traitor of them all, here to besmirch your ancestors' home as only you can! My greatest disappointment—"

"Silencio." Sirius swished his wand at the portrait, and Walburga fell instantly silent, though her mouth remained open in a never-ending shriek.

"Let's see the rest of the house, shall we?" Dumbledore said lightly, stepping inside and making a point to avoid glancing at Walburga's portrait.

Stiff-jawed, Sirius nodded and led them all down the hall into a large dining room. "This is probably the best place to hold our meetings," he murmured, running a hand down the table's dull mahogany wood. "There's a drawing room upstairs, but this is a bit more intimate."

There was a great clattering and an oof from behind them—Remus turned to see that the pink-haired witch had tripped over a pair of boots left near the door. "Watch it, Tonks," Mad-Eye growled as he hobbled his way around her, glancing suspiciously across the room.

"Did he say Tonks?" Sirius asked, pulling his attention away from the old table to study the witch. "As in Ted Tonks?"

The witch grinned. "That's the one," she said. "He's my father; I'm Nymphadora, but I haven't let anyone call me that since I was a little kid."

"I met you," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows. "My cousin Andy—your mum—brought you here to see me when you were just a baby. You're a Metamorphmagus, right?"

In response, Tonks momentarily changed the color of her eyes from brown to piercing blue. Remus and Sirius both whistled, impressed.

"It's not as cool as turning into an animal, though," Tonks said, her again-brown eyes flicking from Sirius to Remus. "I definitely can't change myself into a dog or a wolf—maybe I could manage the nose, but that's about it."

Remus blinked. Of course Tonks had known he was a werewolf—everyone knew now—but he hadn't been expecting her to bring up his lycanthropy so nonchalantly, and he certainly hadn't been expecting her to call it cool.

"Tonks!" Mad-Eye's voice called from somewhere down below. "Help us in the kitchen, won't you?"

"Yes, sir." Tonks briefly grew Mad-Eye's mangled nose before following his voice into another room; even Remus couldn't help but smirk at the sight of it.

"Come with me, Moons," Sirius said once she had gone, gesturing upwards. Remus followed him obediently back out into the hall and up several flights of stairs to a door on which Sirius was engraved on a golden nameplate.

Remus glanced at Sirius from the sides of his eyes. "Is this…?"

"My old bedroom." Sirius pried open the door and led the way inside.

Sirius's room was just as dusty and unused as the rest of the house, but in every other regard it could not look more different. Its walls were covered in roaring lions and Gryffindor banners interspersed with the magazine photos of Muggle girls in bikinis Remus had gotten for him long ago. Looking around at it all, Remus felt like he was seeing a brand-new side of Sirius he'd only ever heard about before: Sirius the black sheep, Sirius the rebellious, neglected son.

"I put Permanent Sticking Charms on all of these," Sirius said, gesturing to the banners and photos. "Nice to know no one was able to get them off."

"Sirius, you're—" Remus stopped suddenly, glancing back towards the open door. "What's that noise?" It sounded like someone was muttering to themselves out in the hall.

Sirius sighed, rolled his eyes, and whisked out of the room, returning with a wrinkled old house-elf in tow. "Mistress would hate this," the elf was saying. "Hosting Mudbloods, serving her blood traitor son…."

"Shut up, Kreacher," Sirius snapped. Kreacher's muttering instantly stopped; he was bound to Sirius, forced to do exactly as he ordered. The sight of it made Remus feel deeply uncomfortable.

"Listen up, you little git; I'm in charge now, not that old portrait of my mum downstairs or whoever you've been listening to all these years. You're not going to insult anyone, and you are not going to pop out of here to tell any of my parents' Death Eater friends about what we're doing here. Understand?"

Trembling, looking as though he'd rather swallow a jar of Flobberworm mucus, Kreacher gave Sirius a bow so deep his nose brushed the dusty floor. "Of course, Master. Kreacher is your…your humble servant."

The elf rose from his bow and turned to shuffle from the room, Sirius's eyes glittering with loathing as they followed him out.

"You shouldn't be so awful to him," Remus murmured. "It's not his fault he was brought up with your family."

"I wish I could kick him out," Sirius said quietly. "But he's got to stay here or he'll blab to everyone about the Order." Sirius ran his hands through his hair as though he wanted to tear it all out. "I hate this place, Remus. So much. And Dumbledore's going to make me stay here permanently, he won't let me leave on any missions…."

"That's because the Ministry's still after you," Remus pointed out. He chewed his lip. "You'll have me here, though."

Sirius blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I sold my cottage last week," Remus said in a rush, wondering why he hadn't told Sirius before; "I'm going to be living at headquarters whenever I'm not on duty."

"You sold your cottage?"

"Yeah, I did. I…I needed the money, since I haven't been able to find work with all the new anti-werewolf laws, and—and I thought you'd want me to stay here with you. Dumbledore thought so too."

Sirius opened his mouth as if wanting to give voice to something he could not put into words. Then, once his mouth had fallen shut again, he wrapped his arms around Remus and buried his head against his shoulder. Remus hugged him back, holding him as tightly as he dared.

"Thank God, Re," Sirius murmured. "With you, I might just be able to survive this shithouse after all."