The giddiness of a curse dodged propelled Remus out of the castle and halfway through the Willow passage before it really wore off. The damp, oppressive dark of the underground tunnel eventually won out, though. So close to the Full, Remus should have been practically immune to the cold and restless with energy; instead, his legs felt unnaturally heavy as he walked. When was the last time he had slept properly? Too many long nights and early mornings trying to track down Peter were really getting to him, Remus acknowledged, but he was running out of time.

Finally, he reached the shack and was relieved to realize this time he didn't have to do anything about Minerva's surveillance enchantments. He strode to the upstairs bedroom and opened the door, only to be immediately barrelled over by Padfoot. He was much too light for his size but still heavy enough to knock Remus to the floor; strong enough, too, to slobber all over Remus' face before he was able to push the dog away.

"Down, Padfoot," he exhorted.

Padfoot whined and licked just as enthusiastically at Remus' restraining hands.

"Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you too," Remus said, as he acquiesced to scratch the matted hair behind Padfoot's ears. "I've brought you more food, Pads, but let's take a walk first, yeah?"

Padfoot barked his approval in a thankfully dog-like manner, and Remus opened the front door of the shack to let the dog out in front of him. They walked into the Forest some ten minutes, stopping occasionally for Remus to cast detection charms, until Remus declared their stretch of the forest safe.

"Go ahead and transform back," he murmured. Instantly the dog at his side was a man.

"It really wasn't a dream?" Sirius' hoarse voice whispered.

"You still have your wand?"

Sirius held it out in confirmation, looking at the wand in his hand with an air of holy reverence.

"Not a dream?" Sirius asked again, his haunted eyes still glimmering with uncertainty.

Remus' heart ached to see Sirius still so unsure. "Not a dream," he confirmed.

Sirius nodded absently.

"I brought you more food," Remus said. "Did you bring the blanket with you?"

Sirius made a quiet, strange sound that Remus couldn't identify before it was covered up with a cough. "I actually left it in my cave," he said.

"Your cave?"

"Er, well, not my cave, exactly, but it's where I've been sleeping, a lot, especially before you showed up. Er, well, not showed up, but-"

"I know what you mean," Remus cut in. Sirius seemed strangely nervous.

"I just figured, if the shack isn't safe, I would bring you back there today and we could talk freely."

"That's a good idea, Pads," Remus said with a small smile. "Lead the way."

They walked for some twenty minutes in the direction of the mountainside that loomed behind Hogsmeade valley, talking softly about creatures Padfoot had met in the forest and then creatures Remus had met during his on-and-off twelve year career in magical pest control. They kept it as light-hearted as possible, which was easier to say than do with several metaphorical erumpets trudging behind them.

At the foot of the mountain, Sirius turned into Padfoot and began scrambling up the rockface. Remus stared at the dog's retreating form with dismay before turning his gaze to the daunting bunches of boulders and rocks covering the steep, winding path Padfoot was cutting. It looked particularly foreboding in the darkness and the shadows of Remus' wandlight, but he really would follow Sirius anywhere, wouldn't he?

With a heavy sigh, which soon turned into huffs of exertion, Remus followed Padfoot up the mountain, wobbling precariously every time the basket of food he was carrying threw off his balance, and then finally ducked through a narrow fissure in the mountainside. He found himself in a medium-sized cave, warmly illuminated by several floating balls of flame, empty but for a small pile of objects and clothes in a back corner. Sirius was already transformed back and sitting serenely on the aforementioned blanket; Remus thrust the basket of food at him to rest both hands on his knees.

"What the hell, Pads?" he finally gasped out.

"It's practically the Full, you're fine," Sirius scoffed back at him. "What happened to all that restless pre-moon wolf energy?"

"It died with James and Lily," Remus retorted before he could think it through.

Sirius went very still.

Remus realized the callousness of his words and grimaced. It had seemed the safest off-hand answer, given the other truthful option would have been, "it shrivelled up into nothingness along with my heart when you went to Azkaban," but all things considered he probably shouldn't have been so candid at all.

Sirius' already dull grey eyes glazed over, his breaths became shallow, and his neck was twitching.

"No," Sirius was whispering, so quietly Remus wouldn't have been able to hear it a week ago, "No, James, no, my fault, no…"

"Shit," Remus said, hurrying to Sirius' side. He touched his arm gently with his fingers, and then, when Sirius didn't react, ran his hand along Sirius' arm and shoulder. "Sirius," he murmured. Sirius stopped whispering but kept twitching. "Sirius, come back. You're… well, you're in a cave, near Hogsmeade, but you're not in… you're with me. Remus. Moony."

Sirius blinked. "Moony?"

Remus wrapped both his arms around Sirius' worryingly thin frame. "That's right. I'm right here."

"Moony," Sirius breathed his nickname as if it held all the secrets to the universe.

"Hey, Pads," Remus whispered, throat rasping against his guilt like sandpaper. "Sorry about that."

Remus continued to hold him as Sirius' breathing evened out. He still smelled somewhat like mud and cold sweat, but much more like Padfoot, and Remus' inner wolf purred contentedly at the familiar scent. As Sirius calmed down, Remus started to pull away, only to catch a faceful of matted hair for his efforts.

"Sorry about that," Sirius finally muttered.

Remus finished detaching himself from Sirius and sat back against the cave wall, side by side. "I'm sorry."

"Moony, you don't-"

"Let's not," Remus hurried to beg. "We'll be here all night."

Sirius emitted a humorless snort and nodded his acquiescence. "I'm glad you're here, at least," he said, so sincerely it made Remus' stomach hurt.

"How'd you find this place, exactly?" Remus redirected, glancing around at the rock walls.

"Back before you- before I- well, at first I wasn't sure if the shack was safe, especially after I broke into Hogwarts the first time; I figured someone'd come looking for me there, so I decided I couldn't stick around the shack all day. But I still needed somewhere to sleep close by- I'm rambling, aren't I? Anyway, I found this little cave. And if you're worried about McGonagall or whoever checking the shack again, I figured we better come here."

Sirius had curled into himself slightly by the time he finished his explanation, fidgeting with his hands. Remus couldn't figure out what he was nervous about, but between his body language and the rambling, his agitation was clear.

"It's nice," he said, trying to put Sirius at ease. "You were probably right about the shack. I'm sure Severus, at least, has been keeping an eye on it this year."

"Snivellus?!"

"Oh, yeah, he's the potions professor."

"They let that greasy-haired git teach children?!" Sirius' jaw was literally hanging open. "Tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was," Remus sighed, pushing the basket of food towards Sirius. "Here, eat something, you'll feel better."

Sirius reached for the basket but kept grumbling his dismay. "Won't make the poor sods he's teaching feel be- why isn't it opening?"

Remus snorted. "Oh yeah. Tippy said she put some surprise in there that I wasn't allowed to see until I was with my 'lady friend.' She's really been upping her game; it's terrifying."

"Tippy?"

"The house elf who's been giving me food. She's a right gossip and I think she fancies herself a matchmaker. Whatever you find in there, I swear I had nothing to do with it."

Sirius smiled, a shadow of his old mischievous grin but a recognizable shadow nonetheless. "I like her already. How do I open this thing then?"

"Oh, I think we both need to- there," Remus grabbed the lid of the basket and yanked it open in tandem with Sirius. He pulled out a large bowl of shrimp fettuccine, some kind of garden salad, and two artichokes with dip. He set them out on the blanket as Sirius reached in and retrieved a large box underneath, which he opened to reveal an entire multi-layer chocolate cake topped with an envelope.

"She wrote you a letter?" Remus groaned.

Sirius flashed him the front of the envelope, clearly addressed to 'Master Remus' Lady Friend' in large, only slightly wobbly letters. Remus buried his face in his hands.

"You is being cordially invited to a fancy dinner in the Hogwarts kitchens whenever you and Master Remus is wanting to visit," Sirius read aloud, laughter growing in his voice. "Tippy is very excited to meet you. Do not let Master Remus say no! I hope we is meeting soon. Love, Tippy."

"Merlin's saggy tits."

"This is the best thing I've ever read," Sirius proclaimed.

"She must know I've been vanishing the flowers and candles, and this is how she's getting her revenge."

"Flowers and candles?"

"You have no idea," Remus groaned.

"Please tell Tippy I love her," Sirius answered, carefully folding the letter back into its envelope and stowing the invitation away in his small pile of belongings.

"I am not egging her on. She's a menace."

"She's amazing. I'm making her an honorary Marauder."

"Better her than Wormtail," Remus remarked.

Bitterness took over Sirius' face so entirely that it was hard to believe he'd been smiling half a second ago. Remus mentally berated himself in the miserable silence that followed.

"You'll help me find him, won't you?" Sirius whispered.

"Of course," Remus rushed to answer. "I've been looking for him every day."

Some of the tension melted from Sirius' shoulders but he still watched Remus uncertainly.

"I tried a tracking spell with Penny's blood," Remus explained, "so I think he's still on Hogwarts grounds, but he must be in the forest because I can't find him on the Map-"

"The Map?!"

For a moment, the cave and the last twelve years dissolved into irrelevance. Remus felt his face stretch into a toothy grin. "Guess who had the Map, Pads?" But he couldn't wait for Pads to guess. "Harry!"

Sirius turned his entire body at a right angle to look Remus full in the face."The Marauder's Map?"

Remus nodded.

He looked stunned. "Harry found the Marauder's Map?"

"Technically I think the Weasley twins found it- Gid and Fab's nephews, they're right horrors, you'll love them- but they gave it to Harry, yeah."

Sirius un-twisted himself to lean back against the cave wall contentedly. "Prongs would be over the moon."

"He was," Remus replied fondly.

Sirius went suddenly stiff beside him. "Er, Moons?" he whispered tentatively. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I really need you to be the sane one here."

A peal of laughter escaped Remus before he could stop himself. This did not seem to help Sirius relax at all. Remus eventually choked down his hilarity, and also his knee-jerk response that it was about thirteen years too late to expect Remus to be the sane one anyway.

"Remember yesterday when you asked how I knew Peter was the secret keeper?"

Sirius hummed in affirmation.

"And I said you wouldn't believe me if I told you?"

"Something along those lines, yes."

Remus turned to look at his friend. "Well, Prongs told me."

Sirius closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cave wall. He kept his eyes and mouth shut for what felt like minutes but was probably only a few seconds before he spoke. "If this is some kind of joke, Remus, you should know it's not remotely funny."

Remus reached out as if to put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, but aborted the movement halfway through in a fit of uncertainty. He flung his arm out to the bowl of pasta instead and nudged it towards Sirius. "First of all, you'll be in a better mood for humor once you've eaten something," he said.

Sirius scowled but accepted the food and dug around in the basket before huffing and grabbing his wand to summon a fork.

"Secondly," Remus continued, once Sirius had started eating, "I've been teaching Harry how to protect himself against dementors, and his Patronus is Prongs."

Sirius' smile was a mixture of fondness and lingering uncertainty. "The same stag as James'?"

"No, Pads, it's literally Prongs. I've been talking to him."

A handful of artichoke leaves paused halfway to Sirius' mouth. "Do you realize how crazy you sound? Patronuses can't talk."

Remus scoffed. "He can't talk but I swear it's literally Prongs. The first time Harry managed a corporeal Patronus he veered off right at me and did that bloody dumb howl you lot made up as a sign for Moony."

The forgotten artichoke leaves finally found their way into Sirius' mouth and he chewed slowly, reflectively.

"That's not normal Patronus behavior, is it?"

"It's definitely not. So I called Harry into my office the next day and had him cast it again and he literally answered questions, Pads. And then he told me he was glad you broke out of Azkaban because you were good and Wormtail was bad and, well, one extremely stressful game of stag charades later, I had the whole story."

Sirius lowered another handful of artichoke to turn and look Remus in the eyes. "You're serious?"

He looked so vulnerable in that moment, part hope, part disbelief, part shadows of Azkaban that never seemed to truly dissipate, and Remus really should have tried to assuage his fears with sincerity, but-

"You're Sirius."

Remus cackled as Sirius groaned loudly, though the corner of his mouth was twitching.

"Beaten at my own game!" he moaned.

"You're losing your touch," Remus bragged, still chuckling. Sirius shoved him with one hand while the other kept eating. "Just wait 'til I tell Prongs… although I think he's probably watching us right now, or something, unless he's talking to Harry."

"Can I see them?" Sirius asked, a forkful of creamy shrimp this time suspended, forgotten, at chest-height.

"Harry and Prongs?"

"Yeah."

Remus sighed. "Harry begged to come with me tonight. He's really excited to meet you."

Sirius smiled. Then the shrimp fell off his fork and he lunged for it with the ungraceful desperation of, well, a starving man.

"I don't think it's a good idea to bring Harry to see you yet, though, and Prongs agrees," Remus continued.

"Probably don't want to risk sneaking him out of the castle to see an outlaw," Sirius mused.

"That, but also he's pretty sensitive to the dementors, not to mention Peter's still running around somewhere out here."

Sirius at least had the good sense to lower his forkful of salad before letting himself get distracted this time. "He's not in the dorms with that Weasley kid?"

"No, he faked his own death and must have fled the castle, because he hasn't been on the Map. But he's still on the grounds if my tracking spell is anything to go by."

Sirius choked on what appeared to be a chunk of cucumber. "He faked his own death again?"

Remus paused to contemplate Sirius, who was mid-slurp into a mouthful of fettuccine. Remus could have sworn he'd already mentioned much of this to Sirius, which meant he'd either been so shocked that he hadn't paid attention to Remus's words, or that prolonged exposure to dementors had lasting effects on Sirius' ability to retain long-term memories.

Then again, Sirius the teenager had only ever tended to pay attention to his friends when he could be bothered to, so maybe Remus didn't need to make too much of it yet.

"Yep. I didn't get all the details but Prongs confirmed it was him and that he's not really dead."

"Fucking toss-face rat wanker," Sirius spat. Remus hummed his agreement.

They sat in companionable silence as Sirius finished the dinner and started in on the cake.

"Tell me about Harry?" he asked as he cut himself a second slice.

Remus took a minute to gather his thoughts, shifting to recline more comfortably against the rocky wall behind him. "He's a great kid, Pads. Thoughtful, determined, staunch in defense of his friends. Curious, too, in the penchant-for-trouble kind of way."

Sirius laughed.

"He looks so much like James sometimes that it hurts, and he flies even better- have you seen him fly?"

Sirius nodded and swallowed down a mouthful of dessert. "I snuck out to a match a while back, whenever that was with the rain and the dementors."

Remus shot him a sly glance. "Saw his broom get destroyed, then, did you?"

The look that Sirius returned him was entirely too nonchalant. "Oh, did it? I must have missed that."

"I'll have you know half the staff and I wasted a good two months of our lives trying to find the death trap on that Firebolt."

A shadow of grief flitted across Sirius' face, giving Remus pause. He tried to imagine how it would feel to send his godson a gift for the first time in thirteen years just for everyone to think it an assassination attempt; then he felt even guiltier for not personally sending Harry any gifts over the years. So when Sirius ignored the topic of the Firebolt, Remus let it drop.

"Prongs'd never live it down, but you're right," Sirius said instead. "Harry's a natural."

"Nah, James would be so proud. But it doesn't go to Harry's head, you know? He's kind, like Lily. Didn't even bat an eye when I told him I was a werewolf."

"Of course not," Sirius scoffed. "He's Prongslet."

"Yes, well," Remus demurred, "He's shy, too- can't have gotten that from either of his parents."

Sirius snorted.

"Oh, you'll like this- he's got some kind of rivalry going on with the Malfoy boy."

"Cissy and Lucius' son? Bet he's a right prat."

"Oh, he is," Remus agreed. "But you didn't hear that from me. Harry can't stand him."

"That's my boy!" Sirius crowed.

"He's a pro at Defense, too. Top of his class, easy. And a good thing, too, because according to Minerva he can't go a single year without almost getting himself killed thrice over."

Sirius held up a forkful of cake as if it was a glass of champagne. "Tradition!"

"Don't- no, not, like, blowing up cauldrons while trying to prank the Slytherins, Pads. Like, Voldemort keeps trying to come back and finish what he started."

Sirius choked, spraying crumbs onto his trousers and a wide swath of the cave floor. "What?!"

Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes. Merlin, he was exhausted. "It's a long story, and this is probably not the right time-"

"Like hell, Remus! How is it that Voldemort's trying to kill Harry when he's supposed to be dead?!"

"Er, according to Dumbledore, he's not quite as dead as everyone likes to think."

"Dumbledore!" Sirius exclaimed. "Can't he protect Harry?! How is Voldemort even getting into Hogwarts for this? And who's protecting him over the summers?!"

Remus grimaced; as much as he wanted to put off the very long tales of Harry's misadventures at Hogwarts, he really did need Sirius on the same page about Harry's summer guardians.

"Er, about that," he began.

Sirius must have seen something in his face because he set aside his half-finished plate of cake expectantly.

"His family sucks."

"His… foster family?" Sirius asked.

Remus made another face. "Petunia."

It took a second for Sirius' Azkaban-addled brain to place the name. "Pet- Lily's sister Petunia?"

"That's the one."

"WHAT?" Sirius jerked forward, eyes wide. "Who sent him to live with Petunia?!"

"Er, Dumbledore. Listen, Pads-" Remus had to grab Sirius' arm to keep him from clambering to his feet. It was disconcerting to note that his fingers almost completely encircled Sirius' skinny bicep.

"Sirius," he begged, pulling him back to the cave floor. "Listen."

"Petunia!" Sirius was still exclaiming, ignoring Remus' pleas. "That prissy little hag!" Sirius gasped then, a deep, dramatic gasp that upon anyone else or in any other circumstances would have seemed affected. "Is she still with that horrible walrus of a husband?!"

"Sirius," Remus said again, loudly. Sirius started, suddenly, as if he had forgotten and only just remembered that Remus was there. Remus lowered his voice, trying to sound soothing. "There are things I need to tell you, but you have to stay calm, okay?"

"Oh, don't use that voice on me, Rem."

"What voice?"

"The voice you'd use to coax a scared animal into taking a treat, or something. The one you're doing right now to placate me."

"Well, you needed to be placated," Remus retorted. "And frankly, if you're going to act like a nervous animal, you should expect to be treated like one."

"Shove off," Sirius grumbled.

"Actually…" Remus contemplated Sirius for a moment. "Is there a reason you haven't made use of the hairbrush I bought you?"

Sirius' hand rose automatically, and rather self-consciously, to his tangled locks as his cheeks darkened. "It's tiring," he mumbled. "Makes my arms hurt. And it hurts my head when I just spell the brush; hair's too tangled."

"Accio hairbrush," Remus murmured. It came flying into his hand. Remus pulled Sirius down sideways so that his head rested in Remus' lap, his body parallel with the cave wall.

"You don't have to-" Sirius started, struggling against Remus' guiding hand.

"It'll calm you down," Remus soothed, starting to brush. Predictably, Sirius' shoulders almost instantly began to sag and he unfolded his legs to get comfortable. It was a comfort to Remus, too, this familiar ritual, performed dozens of times in their youth. Even before he became Padfoot, Sirius had always exhibited a dog-like tendency to relax when someone played with his hair- a discovery his friends had made ample use of as relations between Sirius and his parents soured.

So Remus slowly and steadily worked the knots out of Sirius' hair while he told him all about Prongs' grudge against Dumbledore, Team Potter's investigations into the Dursleys, his interview with Ron and Hermione. Occasionally Sirius would mumble sleepy commentary- "Weird that Snivellus is pretending to care," or "I'm glad he's got such good friends"- but mostly he just closed his eyes and let Remus talk.

It felt a bit like coming home, strangely enough, sitting in this cave with Sirius and brushing out twelve years' worth of mats from his hair. The strands that came untangled were wiry and dry, a far cry from the lovely thick locks of Sirius' youth, but still soft under Remus' fingers. His hair was lightly laced with grey, especially around the temples, but the grey hair was silkier than the rest and a beautiful contrast against a sea of black, especially glimmering as it was in the light of the conjured flames.

Sirius turned slightly as Remus reached the hair on the far side of his head, and Remus found himself staring rather more than strictly necessary at his face, still gaunt and waxy, but peaceful. Illuminated in the flickering firelight, the hollows of his cheeks and around his eyes looked unearthly, his face taking on an ethereal shadow that made him look like some strange and beautiful god of the afterlife.

Remus didn't realize his hand had stopped brushing or that he'd trailed off talking until Sirius' eyes snapped open, wide pupils black and bottomless as if to stare into his soul.

"Rem?" His voice rasped out as a mere whisper but it broke the strange daydream Remus had been caught in.

"Er, sorry," Remus hastily grabbed hold of a tangled lock of hair and cleared his throat. "What was I saying?"

Sirius' eyes lingered on Remus' face for another few moments, but Remus imagined that from that angle it would've been hard to decipher his expression very well. "Minnie's been on your arse about an alternative guardian," he prompted.

"Er, yes, well, I was hoping that would be you," Remus answered, hand stilling once more with a jolt of uncertainty.

"Of course, I'm his godfather," Sirius answered. "Just gotta kill Peter first and then Harry's all I care about."

"Kill Peter?" Remus echoed shrilly.

"Of course, what do you think I broke out of Azkaban for?" Sirius responded, his voice distressingly calm and sleepy for the subject at hand. "Can't let him hang around Harry, might as well properly commit the crime I was locked up for."

Remus stopped brushing and stared at his friend until Sirius realized something was wrong and opened his eyes.

"Sirius, you can't kill Peter."

"He can't hide from me forever, Moons. I'll find him."

"No, I mean, you can't kill Peter because we have to turn him in to prove your innocence."

Sirius snorted. "Crouch'll kill Peter himself before he lets anyone testify to my innocence."

"The devil with Crouch; he was kicked out of law enforcement years ago. I've got a meeting with the new head of the bloody DMLE in four days."

"Amelia Bones?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, you know her?"

"I overheard a couple of her statements about me on the wireless. She seemed much more competent than Fudge, which was not encouraging at the time."

Remus chuckled. "She is, but she's also fair, according to Minerva. We've asked for her help with Harry's investigation, given it's, well, Harry Potter, and I'd like to ask for her help with your investigation too."

Sirius twisted around in Remus' lap and hoisted himself up on his palms to look Remus in the eyes. "Remus, you can't go sticking your neck out for me; the Ministry will eat you alive. If anyone finds out you're a werewolf trying to defend a mass murderer-!"

Remus heaved a frustrated sigh despite his best efforts not to let himself get riled up. "Thank you, Sirius, I know how the Ministry feels about me. I promise I'm trying to be rational about this. I'd love to be able to present her with some kind of, of proof that Peter's alive, maybe memories, I don't know. But even if I can't, I at least intend to prod her towards giving you a trial."

"I had a trial, Moons; it lasted all of three minutes and I sobbed through the whole thing." He was obviously trying to be matter-of-fact about it but the bitterness that leaked out with his words was impossible to miss.

"A proper trial, then," Remus said. "Veritaserum and everything."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "You really think that's possible?"

"It's for Harry, Pads. It has to be possible."

Sirius rocked himself back to sit with his shoulders against the cave wall, looking forlorn. There he sat for several minutes, fury then concern then determination then resignation cycling across his features. "We need to catch Peter alive and turn him in to clear my name so I can take Harry away from Lily's horrible sister," he summarized dully.

The longer they stewed on the details of what this would entail, the more daunting their mission seemed. The late hour and the strength of the moon hit Remus all at once, weighing down his shoulders and aching in his bones.

"I won't give up, Sirius," Remus promised. "But for now, I have to sleep."

Sirius nodded with weary eyes that seemed to echo Remus' despair. "See you tomorrow."