Yay, Sirius is back with his twoo wuv! *fangirl celebratory dance*

Here's Guilt-Induced Extra Chapter – hope you enjoy. :)

Oh, also – I have no idea when Hector Dagworth-Granger was around. He may have been around in the 1980s, he may not. Just ignore my pitiful mistakes. Or tell me in my review box! ;)

DISCLAIMER: I own no part of the Harry Potter books, films, etc. Everything belongs to JKR/Warner Bros.

All bits from the book(s)/film(s) are in bold

The Meaning Of Family

Chapter Seventeen

'You are sure you will be up to this, Sirius?' Dumbledore asked, as they stood outside the hospital wing, twilight falling around the castle. Sirius nodded quickly.

Sirius's health had taken a turn for the worse as they had prepared to leave that morning; he had suddenly become dizzy and disorientated, and Madam Pomfrey, after much inspection, had concluded that he had better stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the day, as he was clearly not up to going anywhere anytime soon. After forcing him back into bed, she had given him a potion for a dreamless sleep, and he had woken that evening, well-rested and looking slightly healthier. Remus, naturally, had stayed by his bedside all day and refused to leave his side even for a moment. He had eaten little and looked rather haggard, Madam Pomfrey thought, after much of the day spent worrying about Sirius. However, he and Sirius had both insisted that they leave the hospital wing that evening, as Dumbledore had told them that they were to collect Harry from his aunt's house, as long as they were fit and well enough for the journey.

'I want to get Harry back as soon as possible,' Sirius said earnestly. Remus automatically curled an arm around his waist, knowing full well how desperate he was to get his godson back.

'Very well,' Dumbledore replied. 'Now, as you both know, Petunia and Vernon Dursley will likely be most displeased at our visit, so please try to be as civil as possible, come what may.'

Sirius snorted. 'Civil! I'll treat them as they treat Harry, and god help them if they treat him like he's any less than perfect,' he growled.

Dumbledore looked grave, and Remus couldn't help but feel the same. Even without a wand, Sirius might react dangerously if he became angry at the Dursleys' treatment of Harry. Remus hoped against hope that they'd treated Harry as a second son, but from everything Lily had said about her sister in the past, he wasn't going to hold his breath.

'Just… keep cool, Padfoot,' he whispered in Sirius's ear. Sirius growled under his breath, but made no other reply.

'Shall we?' Dumbledore said. The two younger men nodded and followed Dumbledore out beyond the grounds of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade village. Once they were outside the Three Broomsticks, Dumbledore and Remus each grabbed one of Sirius's arms and turned on the spot. There was a loud crack, and then the air was as still and silent as before.

'Now, before we go and retrieve Harry from his aunt and uncle's, there is a small detour I am afraid we must make.'

Sirius looked angry and disbelieving. 'What?' he cried, outraged. 'But we need to get Harry back now! We haven't got time for a bloody great detour!'

'A small detour is what I actually said, Sirius,' Dumbledore remarked calmly. 'This will only take a short time, and I assure you it will benefit you, Remus and Harry.'

Sirius frowned, confused; Remus said, 'What do you mean, Professor? What's this about?'

But Dumbledore merely shook his head and said, 'You will see when the time comes. Now come along, both of you.'

Sirius sighed. 'I hate it when he does that,' he muttered to Remus, who muttered back, 'I know, me too.'

They each grasped somebody else's arm, and all three turned on the spot and Disapparated – Sirius and Remus quite unaware that Dumbledore had heard everything.

'Remus, this is an old friend of mine: Charles Dagworth, the great-grandson of Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers.'

'Lovely to meet you, Remus,' Dagworth said pleasantly, rising up from his red velvet armchair to hold out his hand. Remus took it and smiled awkwardly as he looked around the smallish, old-fashioned living room. The deep red curtains were drawn across the dark blue night and a sliver of moon was just visible in the gap between them. Remus glared at the silver orb hanging insolently in the sky – in just two weeks' time there would be a full moon, and Dumbledore still hadn't told him what would happen when that time came. Of course, he couldn't just go home with Sirius and Harry and risk hurting them; on the other hand, he was determined not to let Sirius go ever again. He had tried not to think about his next looming transformation while he was with Sirius, and had hoped (though not too much) that Dumbledore would sort everything out. He could feel the anxiety creeping up inside him now, the thought of the upcoming full moon nagging at him relentlessly. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the silver crescent, but the image seemed to be burned on the inside of his eyelids, and he couldn't get rid of it. His hand tightened on Sirius's.

Sirius looked up from the plum-coloured carpet at the increase in pressure of Remus's hand on his. Remus was squeezing his eyes tight shut, but his face was turned to the window and the moon was just visible in the night sky. Sirius squeezed his hand and whispered, 'Don't worry, Remus. It's going to be alright.'

'Remus, Charles has something very important to show you,' Dumbledore said quietly, aware that the sight of the moon had caused Remus to become rather distressed in his own, discreet way.

Remus was aware of Dagworth getting up and leaving the room, but didn't open his eyes until he felt Sirius's gentle tug on his hand. He looked at Dumbledore, who was smiling.

'You needn't worry about the moon any longer, Remus,' he said, smiling as though he knew something Remus didn't. Remus silently cursed him for being so cryptic all the time. He sighed as Dagworth re-entered the room with a smile, a small vial of something and a stack of papers, the latter two he placed on the oak coffee table before drawing up his chair and motioning for Remus to sit across from him.

'Albus has told me about your problem, Mr. Lupin,' Dagworth said, rifling through his papers and selecting one. Remus frowned.

'Um… problem?' he asked. Dagworth smiled again.

'Your lycanthropy,' he clarified. He handed Remus the paper he had selected; Remus scanned it quickly. It was full of equations and formulae, and the title at the top of the page read:

Wolfsbane Potion – Formula

'W-Wolfsbane Potion?' Remus stuttered, trying to comprehend the whole thing. Was this what Dumbledore had meant about not having 'worry about the moon any longer'? But… how could it solve his lycanthropy problems? There was no cure for werewolfism, no way he could become fully human again, however much he wished that there was. So how on earth could this seemingly new potion help him?

'The Wolfsbane Potion helps to suppress the werewolf instincts once a werewolf transforms each month – in short, Remus, taking this potion once a month will help you to keep your human mind once you transform into your wolf form,' Dumbledore said, answering Remus's unspoken question as though he'd read his mind.

'Wait… so – I won't be dangerous anymore?' Remus asked. 'I'll be able to live with Si – with other people?'

Dumbledore nodded in confirmation. 'Charles has created the potion, which is now ready for use, and would like to give you the opportunity of being the first person in the world to try it.'

Dagworth smiled and held up the glass vial, which Remus took to be an invitation to take it. The latter all but stumbled forward, so eager as he was to take it if it meant he couldn't be dangerous anymore – if he didn't have to be apart from Sirius anymore. He reached keenly out for the little bottle, hand stretching out for it – his fingertips were inches from the crystal when a voice spoke out.

'No!'

He whipped round and was startled to see Sirius looking mutinous and disbelieving, his eyes fixed on the vial and burning with hatred – Remus had almost forgotten of his presence.

'He's not going to take that. I won't let you make him take it.'

Remus's eyebrows knitted together in confusion – why was Sirius so adamant that he shouldn't take the potion? Unless… unless he didn't want Remus to be safe? Remus started to panic. Perhaps Sirius wanted him to be dangerous, so that he wouldn't be able to live with Sirius and Harry. Maybe he wanted an excuse to get away, to be free of Remus. Maybe Remus had totally misjudged his feelings, perhaps he had been completely blind and maybe Sirius just wanted rid of him but couldn't tell him after everything that had happened…

'Sirius –' Dumbledore began, but Sirius cut him off.

'You can't give him that, it could be dangerous!' he shouted.

Oh. Remus breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Sirius wasn't trying to get rid of him after all – he certainly hoped not. Looking up into Sirius's angry eyes, he did his best to smile and said, 'I'm sure they're not going to poison me, Sirius.'

Sirius didn't smile back. 'They haven't tested it, they don't know what it's going to be like.'

'Sirius –' Dumbledore started once more; again, he was cut off.

'I've been drugged before – they slipped Veritaserum into something they gave me at the Ministry – and it's not good, you know,' Sirius said. 'You don't know where you are, what's happening to you – it's not good to be like that. I don't want you to do that to Remus. I don't want to have to leave him ever again but I'd rather do that than permit him to come to any sort of harm.'

There was a long silence. Remus stared at Sirius, quite unable to believe the lengths to which Sirius would go to protect him – the thought that he'd rather be on his own again in his mother's house than see Remus come to any harm was truly amazing and unbelievable, and Remus found himself unable to think or speak or do anything other than marvel inwardly at the statement his best friend had just made.

After a while, Dagworth spoke. 'Um, Mr. Black, I greatly respect and marvel at your desire to protect Mr. Lupin, and I understand it fully. However, I can assure you that my potion is not toxic – indeed, I have used aconite – or wolfsbane – in other remedies. For example, I use it in a potion I make that helps to control a vampire's urges for blood – they don't feel the hunger so strongly, you know… And of course, I would never dream of giving a potion to anyone, least of all your friend here, if I was not completely, one hundred per cent sure it was safe.'

Sirius didn't look satisfied. 'How do you know it's safe?' he retorted. 'Nobody's tried it yet.'

'I can assure you that all toxins have been removed from all the ingredients in the potion, and that, mixed together, its ingredients do not produce a toxic effect,' Dagworth said. 'Your friend, Mr. Black, will be perfectly fine.' He smiled reassuringly.

'Sirius,' Remus said quietly, 'don't worry. I'll be fine, I promise.'

Sirius still looked slightly angry and apprehensive, but he didn't argue as Remus took the vial and regarded it.

'And… I'll have to take this once a month?' he asked.

'On the day of the full moon,' Dagworth told him. Remus nodded.

'I shall give you six months' supply,' Dagworth added. 'This should be enough until it goes on sale. If you have any problems or queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact me.'

'Thank you,' Remus said. Dagworth smiled and rose from his chair, leaving the room to collect the extra vials.

'Remus –'

'No, Sirius,' he said. 'I know what I'm doing. Even if there is a slight chance that something could go wrong with the potion, I'd rather have that happen than have to live without you again. I'm prepared to take the risk.'

Sirius looked defeated. 'But I'm not,' he said in a small voice.

Remus walked over to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips, once again unconcerned about the fact that Dumbledore was in the room. Sirius sighed and sagged against him, knowing that he was defeated and lost because when Remus was kissing him like this he knew that this was everything, his whole world wrapped up in one tiny yet so important gesture – when Remus was kissing him like this, how could he argue?

'I love you,' Remus said when they parted. 'I don't want to be without you ever again.'

'Neither do I,' Sirius argued, 'but I don't want you to get hurt either.'

'I won't get hurt!' Remus said, wanting to laugh at Sirius's overreaction. 'The potion's perfectly safe. It's the only way we can be together and bring up Harry like a proper family.'

Sirius sighed, completely defeated now. 'Fine,' he said. 'But if you think anything's wrong, you have to tell me, do you promise?'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'It's going to be fine, Padfoot.' At Sirius's sceptical eyebrow raise he added, 'Trust me.'

'Listen, if it's about the speed bumps, we've already told you we don't want –' Vernon Dursley stopped in mid-rant and stared at the trio of men on his doorstep. 'What the –? Petunia? Petunia!'

The sound of hurried footsteps was heard, and Petunia Dursley appeared at the front door, wearing a nightgown with an overcoat over the top and a pair of pink rubber gloves, and standing slightly behind her husband.

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. 'Good evening, Petunia. I trust you remember me?'

Vernon Dursley's face turned green – from there it continued through an interesting array of yellows, reds and purples; in contrast, his wife turned a ghostly white. Sirius fought the urge to laugh; he looked at Remus, who looked mildly interested.

'May we come in?' Dumbledore asked cordially. 'It's rather cold tonight, you see.'

'I – what – that's – this is preposterous!' Vernon Dursley stuttered, but Petunia laid a hand on his arm and wordlessly motioned the trio inside. Dumbledore smiled and said, 'Thank you,' as he made his way past the Dursleys into the hall, but Remus and Sirius said nothing. Sirius appeared to be looking around for something, and Petunia was giving the cupboard under the stairs furtive, slightly manic glances every so often.

'You are aware of the purpose of our visit, I am sure?' said Dumbledore, who seemed to be doing all the talking. 'You received my letter?'

'Your – your letter?' Vernon said, with an air of a man outraged. Hell hath no fury, Sirius thought, as he watched Vernon turn a deeply unattractive shade of plum. 'Well – we've no time for letters from people like – people like you!' he sneered. Dumbledore frowned, as did Sirius and Remus.

'We burned the bloody thing!' Vernon continued, unaware of what dangerous territory he was treading upon, and also paying no attention to his wife's little tugs at his arm and her faint whimpers.

'In that case,' Dumbledore said, a little less politely, 'I see that we must inform you of the purpose of this little excursion – I assume you are aware that it is not purely social.'

'Not purely – bloody cheek!' Vernon cried, looking Dumbledore up and down, taking in his long, navy blue robes and purple boots; his waist-length silver hair and beard and curling his lip. 'I doubt any visit from one of your kind would be social in any sense of the word.'

'Good, then we can get down to business,' said Dumbledore shortly.

Vernon's tiny eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'What do you want from us? We won't give you anything,' he stated.

Before anybody could say anything, a thin, reedy and instantly recognisable wail was heard emanating from the cupboard under the stairs.

All five of them froze, gazes fixed on the cupboard. The hall was silent but for the cry of the baby in the cupboard.

Sirius was first to break the trance. 'What the fuck,' he hissed, his voice low and dangerous, 'have you done?'

Remus suddenly understood Petunia's frightened glances towards the cupboard door, her surprise and fear at seeing him, Sirius and Dumbledore on their doorstep – not merely because they were wizards, but because she knew that this would be their reaction to finding Harry under the stairs.

Without a word, Dumbledore strode over to the cupboard and pulled out his wand, pointing it at the door and shouting, 'Alohomora!' The cupboard door sprang open and Dumbledore reached down and scooped the bundle of blankets out of the dark, holding it tenderly. He took a long look at the baby he held in his arms before looking up at the Dursleys.

'Two months ago, I brought your nephew Harry to you after he was left without a guardian. I left him on your doorstep two months ago with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though her were your own. Do you follow?'

'Well? So what?' Vernon grumbled. 'What's that got to do with this?'

Dumbledore gave Petunia and Vernon Dursley a long, hard look before continuing.

'Surely that is clear, Mr. Dursley. You did not do as I asked. You have not treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands.'

Sirius was too angry to speak. He couldn't even shout at the Dursleys – he was sure he wouldn't have enough self-control to stop once he started. Harry was surely half-starved. He looked worse than he had ever looked when he'd lived with Sirius and Remus, even when Sirius had been certain he had a fever. His hair was scruffy and matted and he was paler than ever, the mysterious scar standing out even more noticeably on his forehead.

Remus was shaking visibly. His teeth were gritted and he was glaring at Vernon and Petunia Dursley. He took a deep breath and muttered, 'Professor?'

Dumbledore nodded curtly; he too was glaring at the frightened Muggle couple. Still silent and overpowering, he gave them one last, loathing glance before turning on his heel and sweeping out of the door. Remus and Sirius followed; there was a crack, and then Privet Drive was silent. The yellowish glow of the Dursleys' overhead lamp showed Harry's aunt and uncle, still standing rigid and shocked on their doorstep.