Updated 12/23/22 to match revised version posted in AO3

Chapter 12: Mending the Rift

It wasn't that Sirius didn't appreciate the Gryffindors coming to his defense. It was a relief to be able to walk in the corridors without being constantly assaulted. It was just that he had a strange feeling that his friends (well James and Peter at least...he doubted Remus cared) thought this would be the end of it. As if that was all it would take for the pureblood Slytherins to admit defeat and leave him alone for good. Sirius knew that was far from true...the Slytherins were being forced to change their strategy, that was all.

Professor Sprout had held him back in class that morning to speak about his homework assignment, which she insisted wasn't completed properly because he had answered the questions without explaining the reason for his answer.

Had Sirius been aware of this requirement? Yes.

Had he completed it incorrectly despite that? Yes...but in his defense it had been a matter of practicality; writing out long winded answers was busy work in his mind.

"This will need to be redone, Mr. Black," Professor Sprout stated handing him back the assignment with an 'INCOMPLETE' scrawled in red ink.

Sprout was a fair teacher, and he had ignored clear cut instructions...so he should have simply agreed to redo it as requested. Instead, with false politeness he asked, "Did I get any of the questions wrong, Professor?"

"That's not the point, Mr. Black. How do I know you didn't copy the answers off a friend if you don't explain the reason for your answer." She was clearly exasperated with him.

"Well...did anyone else get all the questions right?"

Sprout's face reddened, and that was enough of an answer. "This will be marked incomplete, unless you turn it in before noon tomorrow with the required explanation for your answers. Do you understand?"

Sirius was very tempted to tell her he wasn't going to redo it and 'mark it incomplete', but the small amount of self-preservation he still had left stopped him. He muttered an affirmation, balled up the sheet of paper, stuffing it into his bag. He sped out of the Greenhouse as quickly as possible. He was probably going to be late for Study Hall, but he wasn't going to ask an already peeved Professor Sprout for a late pass.

The bell sounded just as he turned the corner to the Great Hall. He wasn't the only one running late. Remus stood before him, his hand on the Oak Door, about to push it open. There was an immeasurable silence between them when Filch came crashing down the hall.

He pointed a grimy finger at Sirius. "I caught you! I caught you, Black! You won't get away with this! Not this time!"

Sirius stared at the caretaker genuinely baffled. Then to complicate matters, Professor Keenan stepped out of the Great Hall looking for stragglers.

"Black, Lupin, you should be inside," the Professor reprehended. "Mr. Filch, is there something I can help you with?"

"I don't need your help, Professor. Just let me have Black for a few hours, and I'll have the confession I need."

"Confession for what?"

"The Trophy Room has been vandalized! There's glass everywhere. Trophies broken! Curtains ripped! Graffiti! I know Black did it."

"No, I didn't!" Sirius protested.

Keenan glanced over at him and then back at Filch. "Do you have proof?"

Filch grinned in a menacing way. "Course I got proof. Two portraits saw the boy."

"Saw Sirius?"

"Well, he was crafty enough to wear a hood, but portraits saw his robes."

"Gryffindor robes?"

"No! Saw the Black family crest!" Filch pointed straight at the Black family shield adorning Sirius's robes. Because of the coldness and dampness of the castle, Sirius wasn't the only student to wear a warmer robe over his school robes. Though there could only be one other person in possession of a robe with that symbol on it.

"I didn't do it!" Sirius repeated.

"Black's a liar and a sneak-"

Remus coughed loudly, "Sorry to interrupt." Sirius, Filch, and Keenan all turned to look at Remus who had been quietly watching. "But Sirius couldn't have done it. Sirius had to stay behind in Herbology…and I waited for him – because – because we needed to talk. We've been fighting and we needed to talk. So, we did – we talked. We hurried straight here so we wouldn't be late. So, you see it couldn't have been Sirius – I was with him. The portraits must have been mistaken."

For a second, Sirius could only stare dumbfounded at Remus – then he remembered himself and jumped in to confirm he had been with Remus. The first rule of a good lie was to make sure there was some truth...and while they all lied on occasion to get out of trouble, it always surprised Sirius to see Remus do it so casually.

Filch's face turned an angry red, and he began sputtering nonsense.

"That will be enough." Keenan stated. "This will need to be further investigated. Mr. Filch, if you could close off the corridor to the trophy room. Leave it as it is. I'll speak to the portraits myself and alert the other Professors." He gave Sirius a piercing look. "I will be verifying your story with Professor Sprout that you were kept after class."

"Yes, Professor."

Filch was furious, and he left raging about the injustices in this school and lack of proper punishments.

"Let's go inside." Keenan held open the door. Sirius went in first, as he passed Remus; he muttered a barely audible thank you. Sirius headed straight for James and Peter. He noticed Remus hesitate and they both noted that Keenan was watching their interaction. Remus looked unsure and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief when Remus joined them. The story of their reconciliation wouldn't hold up if they continued to sit separately

James and Peter looked at them dumbfounded. Sirius shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Remus, who forced a smile. Sirius quickly scrawled an explanation on a parchment and slipped it over to James. The four boys quietly began working, and while Sirius didn't dare think too deeply about why Remus had lied to protect him...he couldn't help the spark of hope that their friendship wasn't completely lost.

Professor Keenan was starting to believe that if his Hogwarts teaching career didn't work out, he might have enough experience to try his hand at criminal investigation. He didn't know if it was just his luck to be teaching a particularly deviant group of students or if it was like this every year, but there were often incidents that required further investigation.

Currently he was looking into two things and they both centered on Sirius Black. The first had to with the cursed school bag that had meant to injure Sirius...only to hurt Peter Pettigrew. The investigation was still ongoing and unfortunately, they were no closer to apprehending the perpetrator.

As required, Dumbledore had alerted the Ministry, but they seemed to believe it would be a waste of their valuable resources to send a Ministry Official over. Though traces of Dark Magic were found both on Peter and Sirius's bag, by the time Professor Keenan had looked them over, no further information about the curse could be gleaned. Keenan knew the Headmaster preferred to investigate on his own, but he wondered if the Ministry's apathy had to do with the fact the intended victim was Sirius Black.

Right now, Keenan was focused on the other matter. He was trying to figure out who, wearing a cloak with the Black family crest, had destroyed the trophy room. He had originally thought this investigation would be easier than the other, but he wasn't so sure.

The Black brothers stood before him, so alike in some ways and so unalike in others. The tension between the brothers could be cut with a blade, and they were barely able to look at each other. It was becoming uncomfortably clear that this was the first time the brothers had spoken since Sirius's departure from Grimmauld Place.

Sirius acted as the more guilty party. His defenses were up, and his dislike of Keenan evident. Regulus spoke with politeness and respect. He had answered each of Keenan's questions, even though he suspected he was lying. In truth, Keenan believed both boys were lying. He just wasn't sure what they were lying about. Were they lying about their own involvement, for a friend, or about something entirely different?

Regulus had not been surprised by his summoning. The Slytherin had entered with a story too well-rehearsed to be the full truth. He'd admitted his cloak had been missing for days but hadn't reported the missing item because he expected it would turn up. Regulus had a strong alibi as well. He had been having tea with Professor Slughorn and other members of his 'Slug Club', as the students liked to refer to it.

There were other signs that pointed to Sirius as the guilty party. He had questioned the portraits himself, and they had all been adamant that the person wearing the Black family crest robe had been 'tall' (at least taller than thirteen-year-old Regulus). Sirius's alibi might not be a Professor, but Remus Lupin was a prefect, well regarded by the staff, and trustworthy. The boys might have been friends, but considering what had transpired between them, it was unlikely Lupin would lie for his friend.

He knew he could have punished Sirius despite the lingering doubt without any pushback from anyone, but instead he continued to press the brothers for me information. He was leaning towards the possibility of Regulus loaning his cloak to a housemate. It was up for debate whether Regulus had known it would be used to frame his brother or whether he had been kept in the dark.

Keenan tried again to question Regulus, rewording the question slightly differently. "Is it possible you forgot you loaned the cloak to a friend?"

Regulus answered politely, "I am sure, sir. I had my cloak last week. And my friends are all well-off...we don't need to lend articles of clothing to each other."

"Why don't you just admit you were involved? It's not like mother and father will reprehend you for framing me."

"Or maybe you were trying to frame me," Regulus snapped back.

"If I wanted to get back at you, I wouldn't go about it in such a convoluted way. Everyone would know it was me," Sirius voiced.

Regulus glared. "I told you my cloak is missing. If someone borrowed it and tried to frame you, I am not responsible."

"Very convenient," Sirius muttered.

"Look, I haven't been involved in any of it," Regulus said; there was a pleading to his tone.

Sirius stared at his brother and then scoffed. "I don't believe that for a second."

Regulus bit his lip looking upset. "I haven't. Someone took my cloak, and I wasn't even in the library that day. I haven't asked anyone to hex you. They've been doing it all on their own."

"You haven't tried to stop them either!"

The younger boy's face hardened. "Why should I? You've made it perfectly clear that we're not family. That I'm not your brother."

Sirius's eyes flashed angrily. It appeared the brothers had forgotten they were standing in front of a teacher. They were both clutching their wands, and nervous a duel was about to erupt, Professor Keenan cleared this throat loudly.

Sirius and Regulus momentarily stopped scowling at each other and looked at him; Sirius unreadable and Regulus guiltily. Perhaps he should put them both in detention, and be done with it?

"Ok. That's enough for today," Keenan said instead. Their emotions were running too high, he wasn't going to get anywhere. "Regulus, I hope if you hear of any information regarding the trophy room or your brother's hexed school bag or any other incident that you report it to me or your Head of House."

"I will, sir. And I have told you all I know."

Keenan dismissed Regulus leaving him alone with Sirius. The tension in the room had not dissipated with the boy's departure. Keenan had never directly addressed the aftermath of meeting with Mrs. Black with Sirius. He didn't have to be a mind-reader to know Sirius distrusted him. He was continuing to fail in his promise to Dumbledore.

"If I say it was me, will you drop this?"

"I'd wonder why you changed your mind."

"You should drop it, sir."

"Let me worry about how I should do my job." He glanced at the clock. "You still have 45 minutes left of your detention."

Sirius sighed tiredly. "Doing what?"

Keenan rattled off a few tasks – wiping down the desk, washing the blackboards, and sweeping the floor. Simple, boring, non-strenuous tasks. Maybe he would drop the investigation. Was there a point in continuing it? The best he could hope for was the culprit would develop a conscience, and turn themselves in. Or there was always the possibility that the guilty person, believing he or she had gotten away with it, would brag about it.

He looked back at the large stack of seventh year exams he had yet to grade. He had wasted enough time, and he really should get back to his real teacher's duties.

Sirius returned from detention, grumpy after the conversation with his brother. He didn't remember how it had happened, but Keenan's questions about the trophy room had rapidly delved into more personal matters. The very last thing he wanted to do was talk to Professor Keenan about his family, and what had occurred over break. Flashes of the conversation between him and his mother brought back all sorts of feelings that he would rather forget.

It had been the first time he had spoken to Regulus since he had run away. Sirius had known their relationship would never be mended, which was why he hadn't expected his brother's words to hurt. Regulus had always parroted their parents' beliefs. If their parents didn't acknowledge him as a member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, then why would Regulus?

He let the portrait door close loudly behind him. Everyone in the common room looked his way and several students glared in annoyance. Sirius headed straight up to the dormitory when he didn't spot James or Peter. He found them lying about in the dorm, and they had a message for him.

Remus wanted to talk.

Borrowing James's invisibility cloak, so he wouldn't be yelled at by the prefects for leaving the common room with curfew looming, Sirius headed to the spacious passage on the fourth floor behind the mirror.

He stood before the ornate mirror, the silver border glistening despite its old age, and squashed the cloak into the inside pocket of his robe. He didn't know what to expect from Remus. Would he be angry and furious? Or would he be cold and indifferent? There was only one way to find out. He took a deep breath and found the latch behind the mirror.

Stepping in, he saw that Remus had transfigured the cushions they'd stashed in the room shortly after discovering it into a small round table with two chairs. He'd also lit the cluster of candles in the middle of the room. It didn't create an awful lot of light and the ominous shadows cast on the walls added to the building tension of the impending conversation.

"Sit," Remus ordered. He was already seated with an open butterbeer.

Sirius sat unsurely as Remus slid over an unopened butterbeer. Should he begin? Wait for Remus to speak first?

Before he could decide, Remus cleared his throat. "Are you trying to get expelled?

Sirius frowned. This was not how he had expected the conversation to start. "Didn't think you cared..." he replied cooly.

"Of course, I care! And if you don't think that Filch isn't advocating for your expulsion-"

"Filch?" Sirius asked in confusion. "What are you-? Oh! You think I did it? Why would I wreck the trophy room?"

"I've given up figuring out why you do anything!"

"Then why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you cover for me then?" Sirius asked. "If you think I did it, why'd you cover for me?"

"I don't know!" Remus shouted. Then he seemed to slump over as if all the anger was deflating out of him. Remus repeated it again, this time softer. "I don't know." Remus fiddled with the bottle in his hands, and he took a long swig of butterbeer.

"I'm not the only person in the castle with Black Family crested cloak."

"Your brother? Regulus set you up?"

"Maybe...or he allowed someone to borrow his cloak and let them do the dirty work."

"But why would-"

"Have you not been paying any attention?"

Remus looked pained by this question. "All this fuss because you ran away?"

"Fuss?" Sirius snorted. "That's one way to put it."

Remus was the one to now look puzzled. "And you are still wearing the Black Family Crest...even after everything? You've always hated how your parents marked all your possessions that way."

"It's my warmest cloak," Sirius replied defensively. "The castle is drafty."

"And it would make them angry?"

"I think I've already accomplished that. This is about using the only weapon I have."

"That would be?"

"I don't care how far I drag the Black name into the mud."

His parents could disown him, burn his name off the family tree, drain his bank account, but his actions still reflected on the family. They could hurt him, but he could hurt them back. Barring erasing the memory of his existence from society, there would always be purebloods that would hold his family accountable for his actions.

"Is that smart?"

Sirius shrugged. "Time will tell."

A silence stretched between them again. It seemed neither wanted to delve into the subject of the Whomping Willow Incident. Remus fidgeted and then grimaced. It was over a week until the next full moon. Remus shouldn't be showing signs already...

"You aren't all healed...from the last...month?" Sirius asked carefully.

"I'm fine."

"We could still-"

"Come with me?" Remus asked. His voice was hollow, and his eyes burned intensely. "That will never happen again."

Sirius thought back to the moment the truth had dawned on James and him; their monthly disappearing roommate was a werewolf. It had been a shock, but they had never thought of abandoning their friend. He then thought of the horrible transformations Remus had endured before this year. Remus had only a half a year of reprieve and he'd ruined it.

"I'm sorry." It jumped out of his mouth. He'd never said those words so easily, and his voice was slightly thick. "Remus, I'm so sorry."

Remus sighed, looking despondent. "I don't know if that's enough."

"I know. I ruined everything."

"I trusted you. I trusted you with my fears. I trusted you'd keep me away from humans during our adventures." Remus shook his head. "How could you? You knew – you know – the one thing I was frightened of the most was biting someone." Remus's voice shook…though Sirius couldn't tell if it was in repressed anger or in anguish.

Sirius swallowed. He wished he had an excuse to give Remus, but he didn't. He felt ill. He felt horrible. "What do you want me to say?"

Remus let out a bitter sounding noise. "Are you serious? You want me to tell you what to say? If you don't know then clearly this conversation is pointless."

"No, that's not what I meant. I don't think I can give you what you want to hear."

"And what is it that I want to hear?" demanded Remus.

"You want me to tell you it was all a bad dream – that I never told Snape and that none of it ever happened."

Remus tensed and shifted in his seat.

Sirius gave Remus a long and hard look. "And I can't do that. I can't go back in time. I can't change what I said. If that's what you are looking for then yes this conversation is pointless."

Remus had been staring at the floor while Sirius had spoken and he now lifted his head up. "I want – I want to know why…because I can't understand it. One day you're ripping the Daily Prophet into shreds because of an opinion editorial in favor of compulsory werewolf registration and – and the next day you tell Snape how to get to me while I'm transformed. How can you explain that?"

Sirius was at a loss for words. He scrambled to explain. "I just – it was – special circumstances."

"Special circumstances?" Remus didn't look impressed.

"I was upset after speaking to Professor Keenan-"

"Since when has a reprimand by a teacher ever bothered you?" questioned Remus harshly.

"He called in my mother."

"I know that, but so what?"

Sirius took a deep breath. He never shared the darker parts of the Black family with Remus and Peter. They knew bits and pieces, but never the full extent of the disappointment he was to his family. How could he explain to Remus the humiliation and anger he'd felt? "Forget it."

There was an unreadable expression in Remus's eyes. "No, tell me."

"Everyone knows my family and I have our differences. I'm aware there is a general assumption that I am at least partly at fault by being disagreeable. My parents' obsession with blood purity is written off as a family proud of their heritage…protecting their legacy. Professor Keenan certainly thought he could have a reasonable conversation with my mother." Sirius let out a dry laugh. "He quickly found out how wrong he was. My mother called him a mudblood."

Remus had gripped the bottle in his hand tightly. "That was rude of her."

Sirius plunged on knowing if he didn't continue, he might not be able to. "She made it clear that I'm an utter disappointment. She – she suggested Dumbledore bring back corporal punishment. I was angry and humiliated. And the worst part would come later; my mother would make me pay for Keenen calling her in. Once she left, Keenan tried to talk to me…I had enough, so I left. Then Snape appeared-"

Sirius stopped. He felt a bit short of breath. He glanced over at Remus, wondering how to continue. Speaking about the next part would not be any easier than it had been to speak about his mother's visit.

"Well go on," Remus said leaning back against the chair. There was a different look in his eyes now and Sirius hoped it wasn't pity. He didn't want to be forgiven if it meant Remus pitied his situation. Still Sirius continued telling Remus about the confrontation; his fear that Snape had known Remus was a werewolf, Snape believing they snuck out to meet Remus on full moon nights and the resulting words.

Remus listened carefully and didn't interject until the end. "Snape actually said he could find me near the Whomping Willow?"

Sirius nodded.

Remus looked as shaken as Sirius had remembered feeling. "H-how could he possibly know that?"

"I suppose we weren't as careful as we thought," Sirius said

"If what you say is true – if Snape was that close to knowing about it all then – then why give him the very information he was seeking? How would telling him how to immobilize the Whomping Willow in any way hinder his pursuit?"

It was similar to what James had asked him during their 'talk', and he still didn't have a proper answer. "I don't know. I didn't really think it through. Snape was standing there, so smug, thinking he'd figured it all out. I thought a good scare might be exactly what he needed."

"I could have killed him! Or worse I could have bitten him…turned him into-" Remus raked his hand roughly through his light brown hair unable to say the word werewolf. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

"I know. I know. I wasn't thinking." Sirius ran a hand through his own hair. His voice had a pleading note to it. "I was trying to protect you. I know it doesn't sound like it…but it was because I didn't think through the consequences. It terrified me to think Snape even had the slightest hint about the truth of your disappearances. Do you know the sort of people Snape hangs around? If he told any one of them…"

"Your plan failed spectacularly. Snape knows everything. He could tell anyone at any moment." Remus took a deep breath. "I have to live with that possibility. I have to live with the fear he could shout it out at any moment!"

A lump was forming in Sirius's throat. He could see how upset Remus was and it was his fault. He knew he could be a bit of selfish berk, but for years his friends had been more of a family to him than his own blood. He'd never meant to hurt Remus like this. To make himself feel better as much as Remus, he asserted, "Dumbledore wouldn't allow it."

"Dumbledore wouldn't be able to stop it. Not with all the letters from the parents about a Dark Creature attending classes with their precious children-" Sirius was about to open his mouth to protest. "And don't- don't say I'm not a Dark Creature."

Sirius never knew exactly what to say when Remus got like this. He always tried to argue that it didn't matter, but he knew better than anyone that it did matter. The wizarding world was full of prejudices and the rise of Voldemort was giving these prejudices a legal stepping-stone.

"If you get kicked out of school because of me… I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably drop out too."

"A right pair we'd make. A werewolf and a blood-traitor. No OWLs. No NEWTs. Ten sickles between us."

It was a wonder Remus was able to interject any humor into his tone, and Sirius wasn't sure how to react to it. Joke back or stay serious?

"I have some gold. I'd give it all to you," Sirius offered, going for serious.

"Let's hope Snivellus is a better secret keeper than you."

Sirius felt his face burn at the implication, but he knew he also deserved it. Sirius was convinced the only reason Snape had kept quiet was because Dumbledore had something on him. But he knew better than to voice that now.

Sirius sat still again wishing he knew what Remus was thinking. He knew that he had to make something else clear. "You know that I don't think of you as a weapon or a monster to set on my enemies, right?"

"I believe you think that to be true."

"I don't!"

"Snape threatens all of us, and your first instinct is to set me on him."

"To scare him! Not to have you bite him."

"What about another werewolf?"

"What?"

"If you could have gotten rid of Snape by sending him to meet another werewolf – would have cared then?"

Sirius stared at Remus with incredulity. "Plotting to have Snape killed and caring if he was killed are two very different things."

"And the innocent werewolf that had no say in murder? Or do you believe werewolves are such deprave creatures that they can kill without remorse?"

Sirius stood up, anger rising in him. "If you can't forgive me...if we can't be friends. Fine. But I am not a prejudiced git like my family!" He turned away angrily having to get out of there before he said something else.

"Sirius. Wait..." Remus called.

Sirius stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face Remus.

"I - That was out of line."

"Snape would cheer if any of us dropped dead! Snape would have cheered if they executed you!"

"This isn't about him. I'm hardly on Snape's side, Sirius! This is about you, and your mistakes...and the person you are turning into."

"I am trying."

"So am I."

Sirius sighed, and he walked back to take a seat.

"I could try harder." Remus looked as if he was debating how to say the next sentence. "I think we all find hanging out separately with James and Peter tiring?"

"A bit."

"Then let's stop. Let's go back to being a group of four. Ok?"

This compromise by Remus should have cheered him, but after all the words they'd exchanged...he didn't know where they stood. "Ok," he replied.

"I'm going to head back," Remus said.

"James let me borrow his Cloak. You can take it."

"Can't we squeeze under it together?"

Sirius hesitated. He had too much on his mind to go to bed, but he could see this gesture for what it was – an olive branch.

Out in the corridor Sirius threw the cloak over them. The years of practice of sneaking in pairs under the cloak had not been lost because of their fight, and they quickly and easily, in tune with each other's pace, weaved their way back to the Gryffindor Tower without a hitch.

Remus insisted he be the one to show himself at the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower to give the Fat Lady the password. She mildly scolded Remus, but let him in.

There were still a few students out in the Common Room. They glanced Remus's direction, but as he was a prefect, so no one questioned him. Sirius, still under the Cloak, followed behind Remus and he almost gave himself away when Remus stopped dead in front of him.

"Hey, Evans."

"It's past curfew, Lupin." She had her hands on her hip.

"I know."

""Go on before someone else sees you."

"Night Evans."

"Good night."

Sirius took the Cloak off once they were out of sight and on the stairs. "Well, I'm impressed."

"What?" Remus asked distractedly.

"Evans didn't even chastise you."

"She feels sorry for me. Probably thinks I was wandering the halls alone and miserable."

"She would have definitely put me in detention even if I had told her I was wandering the halls alone and miserable."

"She's not as stuck-up as you think."

"First James, now you?"

"Shut up or I will put you in detention," Remus muttered, but he was smiling slightly.

And while Remus hadn't said he had forgiven him and while Sirius knew their friendship was tenuous at best, he found himself smiling too.