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Chapter Three: McGonagall

Hogwash. That's what it was, Remus had decided. Complete and utter hogwash. There had been no change in Secret Keeper. Peter was dead, blown to pieces, and Sirius had been the one to deliver that final, fatal curse. Why did he do this? For betraying James and Lily and revealing their location to Voldemort, thus resulting in their deaths, and leaving their son as an orphan. Unfortunately for them all, Peter had been the one to track him down first. Sirius was a better wizard, there was no denying that. Peter had never stood a chance against him, not when he could barely perform even the most basic of spells. The only reason he had become an Animagus was because James and Sirius had been there to hold his hand and guide him through. It wasn't a knock on him, because he tried hard but magic just did not come naturally to Peter as it did for others. The idea that Peter had been a Death Eater was preposterous. It had to be.

But was it? If Remus was being completely honest with himself, he had no idea what he truly believed. Four days had passed since his excursion to Azkaban prison. During this time, he had gone back and forth multiple times between deciding that Sirius had spent a decade wrongfully imprisoned, and, somehow, Peter had duped them all, to vehemently believing Sirius was indeed guilty of all accused crimes. The biggest reason for this was the fact Sirius had been James' best friend. Remus had caught Sirius soothing a crying Harry by singing, very badly, to him, as James and Lily slept, both passed out on their couch in the living room of Godric's Hollow, still wearing clothes covered in Harry's food and spit up. Sirius had spent the entire night singing to him so James and Lily could finally get some rest. There was a love he had for Harry that not even the best actor in the world could fake.

For ten years, Remus had lived, as content as one could in his position, with the knowledge that Sirius had destroyed their lives. There were days where he still did not fully accept the events of that Halloween night, although he tried his damn hardest to get on with his life. Some days were good, some not so good, but he tried. Then, in the space of half an hour or so, doubt had been planted in his mind. There was a part of him, a part he could not fully verbalise, which was thinking that maybe, just maybe, Sirius actually was innocent. A cascade of information had swirled through his head over the past four days, yet, for the life of him, he still could not make up his mind. It was beginning to drive him insane.

What was he to do? There was no chance he could go to the Ministry and demand they give an already convicted man a trial for the crimes he had been spent the past ten years imprisoned for, crimes for which there were witnesses. On what evidence? Remus had nothing but the word of a madman to go on. That was not going to be enough. He alone would not be enough.

There was one person he knew who had remained in touch with him through the past decade. This was a person who was respected and revered throughout the community; a person who would not accept his decision to isolate himself from the world. Remus had no doubts that if anyone could help then it would be this person. All he had to do was send a letter. Remus quickly gathered a pot of ink and some parchment, then sat down at his dining table to write.

I'm very sorry it has taken me a long time to reply to your previous letter. The anniversary is always a very difficult time and I have been quite busy as I have finally managed to find some work at the local library. A reason for this letter today is because I do have something quite urgent that I would like to discuss with you if you are able to spare an hour or so to see me very soon. I await your owl. Hoping you are well.

Yours faithfully,

Remus Lupin.

Remus scanned through the letter, hoping it sounded okay. When he was satisfied, he folded it in two, then proceeded to make his way over to a corner of his living room where his aged barn owl was happily perched in his cage, enjoying the mouse he had found on his latest hunt.

Gallifrey had been a surprise to him, but a welcomed companion. Roughly two years ago, he had come across the poor owl, lying at his feet, with an awkwardly bent wing. He had been injured. With some care and attention, Gallifrey had made a full recovery within weeks. Gallifrey hooted at Remus, presumably in thanks for helping him, spread his now healed wings and flew out of the open window in to the summer air, with Remus never expecting to see him again. Hours later, much to Remus' surprise, the exact same owl came flying back through the window, a mouse stuffed in his beak, which he promptly dropped right in Remus' lap. Shocked and, albeit, slightly disgusted, Remus could not help but smile at the proud expression this owl was sporting. Within the space of a few weeks, this owl had completely stolen a place within his heart. A part of him did not want to get attached. This was not his owl; he belonged to someone else, perhaps a child who was greatly missing him, or an older, middle-aged witch or wizard who needed him as company. Remus knew he could keep him, therefore he tried to encourage him to leave, but despite his exhaustive efforts the owl would not leave. No matter what Remus did, he still did not leave. Instead, his big, wide eyes gazed intently at Remus, before gently nuzzling his side. This was when Remus decided on a name for him; he could not keep referring to him as 'that owl' or 'you'. He decided on Gallifrey, which he received a hoot of agreement for. Every time Gallifrey left for a hunt, he always returned. Remus tied the letter to his feet, gave him an affectionate scratch, then watched as he spread his wings and soared out in to the cold and wet November afternoon.

There was nothing more Remus could do now except wait.

It was two days before Gallifrey returned with a reply.

Remus had been sitting in front of his fire, curled up with his latest addition from the local library where he was currently employed. Remus had been extremely lucky when it came to finding this position. One of the librarians who had been there for several years was currently off with child, thus Remus knew this would only be a temporary position. Having been there for six weeks, he had already experienced one full moon, and thankfully it had not caused many problems for him as of yet. However, it usually did and Remus, ever the pessimist, was just waiting for the moment it would all come crashing down around him and he would once again be unemployed.

There had been a tapping on his window, and looking over Remus could see Gallifrey waiting patiently for him to open it so he could fly in and drop off the reply Remus had been eagerly anticipating. Remus untied the letter, then fed Gallifrey a couple of owl treats before the owl went to settle in his cage for the night for a well deserved rest. It was a long trip from the middle of Wales to Scotland. Once he was settled, Remus unfolded the letter and read.

Dear Remus,

I am very glad to have received your letter. Of course the anniversary is always going to be difficult for you. James and Lily loved you dearly. Despite this, I hope you are also well and are settling in very nicely to your new job. I myself are well, thank you very much for asking. The term is almost over for the holidays, so the children are becoming increasingly difficult to teach. Harry is settling in very well. He has become fast friends with Molly and Arthur Weasley's youngest son, Ronald, and has been spending a large amount of time with a bright Muggleborn witch. The three of them, would you believe, outsmarted a fully grown mountain troll on Halloween night! While the rest of the teachers and I were attempting to usher the students back to the safety of their dormitories and track down the troll, which we believe Peeves let inside the school as a Halloween prank, the three of them came across it first and decided that it was a good idea to try and tackle it without the help of an adult. Thankfully, they were all okay and neither of them required any medical treatment. It reminded me of four particular students I used to teach. I would be delighted if you would join me for a spot of tea on Saturday afternoon to discuss this urgent matter of yours, and, of course, it would be wonderful to see you again.

Sincerely yours,

Minerva McGonagall

Remus smiled as he read about Harry. Life had not given Harry a great start, and was cruel to take his parents away from him at such a young age, but knowing he was a happy kid who was settling in to school with a few friends caused Remus' heart to lighten. Although, Remus did wish that Harry would leave defeating mountain trolls until he was a little bit older, maybe after he was fifty, or perhaps even never. As Minerva had explained, neither of them had been harmed, and Remus was extremely thankful for this. Not many people could take on a mountain troll, let alone one that was fully grown, and live to tell the tale. It was definitely something his father and Sirius would have been eager to do themselves at that age.

There was a part of Remus which was filled with regret at not getting the chance to know Harry as he was growing up. It had been at the request of the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, who had been convinced Harry would need to spend time away from the magical world until he was ready to return. The night his parents had died, and Voldemort had attempted to murder little one-year-old Harry, had turned him in to the most famous child in their world. He was the Boy Who Lived; the one who was responsible for bringing about the downfall of the darkest wizard of their time. There was going to be a lot of attention focused on him. Dumbledore believed Harry did not need to be brought up surrounded by the fame, so he sent Harry to live in the Muggle world with Lily's older sister, Petunia, and her husband and son. Remus had never met them before, but he had heard many things about them from Lily, mostly unpleasant things. Her sister had never been accepting of Lily's status as a witch. Jealousy was a very unattractive form. There had been many times when Remus had caught Lily in tears over her sister's cold attitude toward her, and he knew she had been broken up about not being asked to be Petunia's bridesmaid at her wedding, when it had been something the pair of them had discussed at great length as children. Before Lily's Hogwarts letter had arrived, they had been best friends and completely inseparable.

Remus did often find himself wondering what life was like for Harry. It was not easy for anyone to lose a parent but it was even more difficult for a child to grow up without both of his. From the letters he had received from Minerva, Harry was a happy and healthy child. He was polite, hard working, and extremely modest in his talents. Minerva had revealed to him in a previous letter that Harry had been given the position of Seeker in the Gryffindor House Quidditch team. It is commonly known that no first year ever made the school teams. This made Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. James would most certainly have been proud of him.

Folding up the letter, Remus walked the short distance from his living room to his bedroom, where he placed the letter inside the drawer of his bedside table. Suppressing a yawn, Remus shrugged out of his shirt and unzipped his trousers and put on the pyjamas he had folded up that morning, then placed his clothes neatly in the dirty washing pile. Remus climbed in to bed, flicked his wand once to turn the lights off, placed it on the side, then closed his eyes. Within minutes he was fast asleep.

The next few days followed in a blur. Remus went through his daily routine which usually consisted of waking up, then heading to the library for a short shift, doing some cleaning when he came home, perhaps he would spend the evening comfortably situated in front of his large, warm, roaring fire with a book, or even wrap up warm to brave the cold November night for a stroll, as well as finding some time to cook himself some food, and of course going to sleep. More than anything he wanted the days to pass quickly so that it would be Saturday and he could finally make it way up to Hogwarts to see his former Head of House and Transfiguration professor and discuss what he needed to. Remus was still undecided about the situation. It was beginning to consume his thoughts. He was desperate to speak to Minerva, to be able to have another opinion, particularly from someone he admired and respected as much as he did her.

It was now one thirty in the afternoon on Saturday and Remus was now preparing to apparate to Hogsmeade, where he would take a short walk through the village to get to the school as it was impossible to apparate directly on to school grounds. One minute Remus was standing in the garden of his cottage (he had also made it impossible to apparate or disapparate inside his property), and with a quick turn on the spot, Remus found himself around the corner from the Hog's Head pub. The four of them had spent an awfully large amount of time in the Hog's Head when they had been in school. James and Sirius convinced the barman to sell them Firewhiskey despite being underage.

Wrapping his coat tighter around him, Remus started to walk, saying a brief greeting to those he passed who he knew back from his school days. It was nostalgic walking through the village and in to the school grounds. He had made this journey many times before, usually under better circumstances. Once the castle came in to full view, Remus took a moment to stand in place to take in the familiar sight of the place he used to call home. It was there he had made many memories, both good and bad. Being there again was very bittersweet. However, Hogwarts would always remain home for him.

On his way passed the greenhouses, Remus was fortunate enough to bump in to his former Herbology professor, Pomona Sprout. At first she did not notice him as she was lost in her own thoughts, as she usually was, he remembered. There had been many students who had made fun of the plump little witch for her love of plants. They're just plants, they're so boring. She needs to get a better, more interesting subject to teach. It's not as good as Defence. We were taught this really cool spell the other day... Remus could still hear them saying. He was one of the very few who particularly enjoyed Herbology. She adored the plants and she adored her subject, which made their lessons all that much more enjoyable, to him at least. It was very rare these days to find someone who was not ashamed to be vocal about something they were completely passionate about.

'Professor Sprout,' he called out to her.

As soon as she heard her name, the Herbology Professor turned to look at him. The moment she realised who it was, her eyes widened with delight, and she squealed, 'Remus Lupin, is that you?'

'It is,' he replied kindly. 'It's wonderful to see you again Professor.'

'None of this Professor nonsense,' she admonished, walking alongside him as they headed up towards the castle entrance. 'You have my permission to call me Pomona. I haven't been your teacher now for a very long time.'

Remus groaned, but there was a smile on his face. 'Don't remind me,' he teased. 'I'm getting old.'

'You're getting old, just remember who you're talking to, boy,' chuckled Professor Sprout - Pomona, he would have to remember that. 'What brings you to Hogwarts today?'

'I'm actually here to visit Minerva. She has been kind enough to invite me for some afternoon tea.'

'Be sure to have some of her ginger biscuits,' Pomona told him. 'I don't know where she gets them from, but they are absolutely delicious and they go marvelous with her sweet tea!'

Remus chuckled. 'I'll have to remember that. Have you had a busy term?'

'Not particularly too straining. It'll start getting busier after the holidays once we start preparing the older children for their exams. I have gotten some wonderful new Hufflepuff's this year though, I must say, and we've had some first years excelling at Herbology, particularly this one Gryffindor. Neville Longbottom. I believe you knew his parents.'

'I did,' Remus said sadly, knowing what had happened to poor Frank and Alice. 'We were friends. They became very close to James and Lily, since they were pregnant at the same time.'

Not too long after James and Lily had been killed, the Longbottom's had been tortured in to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's more extreme and loyal Death Eaters, alongside her husband, his brother, and Barty Crouch Jr. Bellatrix was also Sirius' cousin. Both Frank and Alice were now in the Spell Damage ward at St. Mungo's hospital. Their son Neville was born the day before Harry, and neither of his parents recognised him anymore. Neville was now being raised by Frank's mother.

'It's very sad indeed,' said Pomona. 'Neville is a bright one. James and Lily's boy, Harry, is also in that class. He looks very much like James. Those two poor boys without their parents.'

'It's cruel and unfair what happened to them.'

They continued speaking up until they reached the entrance hall where the went their separate ways, with Remus heading up the grand marble staircase that led to the upper floors and Pomona needing to head to the left to where the Hufflepuff common room and school kitchens were located.

Before she left, Pomona drew Remus in for a quick hug and said, 'You best come back and visit me soon, Remus Lupin, and make sure to look after yourself, you hear.'

Remus smiled at her. There were several members of the staff who, despite knowing about his condition as all of the teachers had to be made aware during his time at Hogwarts, were very parental when it came to him. Pomona Sprout was one of those teachers. Admittedly, there had been several teachers who were not and did not agree with Dumbledore's decision to allow him to attend the school.

'I will. You take care now.'

It was a short walk from the entrance hall to Minerva's office, which was located in one of the largest towers of the castle. He knocked twice on the closed door. It took barely a minute for his former professor to open it. She smiled when she saw him.

'Good afternoon, Remus,' Minerva greeted.

Remus kissed her on both cheeks. 'It's good to see you again, Minerva.'

'Tea? Biscuits?' Minerva offered, closing the door behind her.

Remus unzipped his coat and placed it on the back of his chair. 'I wouldn't say no to either. Pomona was just raving about your ginger biscuits.'

'That woman does enjoy them a bit too much. She's requested they stock them in the kitchen.'

'How are you?' Remus asked politely as Minerva poured the tea. Most found this peculiar as all she would need to do is wave her wand, however, just like Remus, Minerva had one Muggle parent, and was used to being able to pour her own tea and wash her own dishes. There was something satisfying about not being too reliant on magic to do everything. It was something most Purebloods did not understand.

'I'm very well, thank you. I have just had to dock another twenty-five points from Gryffindor due to the Weasley twins and their latest harebrained scheme involving the Slytherins. It's like having the four of you back in school again. They give you a good run for your money.'

'Would you believe it if I told you I tried to stop James and Sirius?'

Minerva stopped pouring to shoot him a look of pure scepticism. 'I know for a fact that you, Remus Lupin, were the brainchild behind many of the so-called Marauder's plans.'

'Then why did you appoint me prefect?'

'Because you were the least troublesome out of the four of you,' said Minerva with a smile.

'Peter wasn't too bad - thank you,' Remus said as Minerva handed him a hot mug of tea and a plate of biscuits to go with it.

'Peter Pettigrew, may he rest in peace, was not particularly prefect material.' Her words caused Remus to feel uncomfortable. Was Peter dead?

'He is part of what I wanted to discuss with you today.'

Minerva looked concerned. 'Is everything okay, Remus?'

Remus sighed and rubbed weary eyes; he had not slept very well since his visit to Sirius. 'I'm not entirely sure,' he admitted. He took a deep breath. 'I went to Azkaban to see Sirius.'

'Why in Merlin's name would you do that?' Minerva asked, not bothering to hide her shock.

'I'm ashamed to admit that I got very drunk on Halloween night. It was in my drunken state that I came up with the idea to visit him. I was upset and wanted to know why he became a Death Eater. I was still feeling very upset and angry when I woke up the next morning, so I went straight to the Ministry, and they took me to Azkaban. I'm not proud of it.'

Remus then dived in to his tale detailing the events of his visit to Azkaban. Minerva had wiped the shock off her face and had replaced it with a neutral expression; there was no telling what she thought about it.

'... and that was when I left.'

Minerva was quiet for several minutes as she soaked up the information, although, to Remus, it felt much longer than that. She mulled over it as she took a sip of her tea. Eventually, the silence was broken.

'If I'm being honest, I'm not sure. Peter Pettigrew a Death Eater? It sounds preposterous.'

'That's what I thought,' Remus admitted.

'But you don't think that anymore?'

'I'm not certain either.'

'I think this situation calls for something a bit stronger than tea.'

It was Remus' turn to be shocked. 'Minerva! I will pass on that. It was alcohol that got me in to this situation in the first place. I'm not going to be drinking for a while at least.'

'More tea?' she offered.

'I will take some tea.' Remus sighed. 'This has been keeping me up for a week. I've been going back and forth between deciding Sirius is guilty and deciding he's innocent. Before I went, I was so sure he was guilty, but for some reason there is a part of me which thinks he could be telling the truth. Azkaban is different for him.'

Remus then proceeded to explain his thoughts to her and the way not everything seemed to add up. Why would Sirius, someone who had fought so hard to cut all ties with his Pureblood, Slytherin obsessed, Voldemort loving family and everything that they believed, only to join Voldemort's ranks in the end? How could Peter, as the inept wizard he was, be accepted by the Death Eaters? There was two sides to every story. There was two sides to this one, and both were as equally as possible. It was this reason that Remus wanted to give Sirius a trial. Like he had said himself, either he was going to be found innocent and allowed to walk free or he was going to be found guilty and go straight back to Azkaban to live out the remainder of what life had had left.

'I cannot do this alone. I'm going to need some help getting him a trial. Will you help me, Minerva?'

'This is important to you, isn't it?'

Remus nodded. 'It is. More than that, Harry deserves to know the truth, and if he is innocent, Sirius deserves to be able to breathe free air again. If he is found guilty after all, then we will know for definite. I just have to know now. It's been ten years, Minerva.'

'Then I will help you.'

And I'm also aware that many people will be wondering why Remus never went to check on Harry himself if he knew what Petunia and Vernon were like. With Lily's death, Remus was convinced she would be filled with regret and remorse, and would treat her son differently for her sister's sake. The saying about people never changing is utter rubbish - people do change. Petunia may never have, but others do. Lily had been a witch, she wasn't. All she had was Vernon and Dudley and the idea that they had a perfect life. I do fully believe Remus would have thought Petunia would have been different after finding out Lily was dead. Deep down, she still did care for her sister, she had just suppressed it for so long that she didn't truly know how to show it. Besides, Remus was a werewolf, shunned by the wizarding world for something he had no control over. Even if he wanted custody, he had no claim to Harry. Petunia was his last living relative. With Sirius in prison, it just was not an option for him, and Petunia had more rights to custody than anyone else.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.