While Buckbeak had no problem being fed or petted by Lupin, the hippogriff appeared to draw a firm line under being ridden by him. After several attempts to win Beaky around, Sirius conceded defeat. Lupin had found the whole episode highly amusing, much to Sirius' annoyance, but as he had pointed out to him after Beaky had flapped his huge wings and clawed at Sirius for the last time, broomsticks were less likely to object to his condition and throw him off in the middle of the Pennines.

'You haven't ridden a broomstick in almost twenty years, Remus,' Sirius said irritably, still shooting angry glares at Buckbeak. 'You'll break your bloody neck.'

'I'll be alright. I wasn't looking forward to sitting that close to you for hours anyway,' Lupin said, watching his friend with a look of restrained amusement as Sirius struggled to keep hold of Buckbeak's chain.

Sirius's anger fractured as a resigned smile finally broke through. He threw his head back and let out a bark-like laugh, slapping Buckbeak's back and throwing the chain down in defeat.

'Ah, bugger it. I give up. I sometimes think I'd be better off with a cat or a toad.'

'But they don't fly, Sirius,' Lupin replied. 'Besides, they are far too normal for you.'

'And you're an authority on what's normal, aren't you, Remus?'

'More than you are, my friend,' Lupin smiled as he dragged his trunk and Comet 260 outside and locked his door with a barrier charm. He enchanted the trunk to weigh as much as a feather and tied it onto his broom before pulling on his travelling cloak. 'If I didn't have this thing to take, we'd be better off Apparating.'

'I bloody hate Apparition at the best of times. Why do you think I enchanted the motorbike?'

'Because you were a rebellious little bugger?'

Sirius chuckled. 'Well, yes, that too. Apparating always makes me sick. And you don't get to see as much, so stop complaining. This'll be fun.'

'We'll see,' Lupin grinned. 'Right then, I'm ready if you are.'

Sirius hauled himself up onto Buckbeak's back and wrapped his hands firmly around the chain-reins as Beaky reared up and flapped his huge wings, still intent on making Sirius know that he didn't appreciate being compared to a toad.

'Alright, alright! Whoa, Beaky!'

Lupin laughed as he kicked off from the ground, looped up around the garden and then touched back down.

'Mmm…seems to me that you're the one who should be worried about falling off, Sirius. Are you sure you wouldn't rather borrow a broom?'

'You hear that, Beaky? He thinks a broomstick is better than you.'

Buckbeak squawked loudly and shot up into the air, rapidly gaining on Lupin's Comet as they flew through the cloud cover, beyond the rain, levelling off when the sky finally became blue and the sun began to shine again. Sirius drew up beside Lupin, grinning as he watched him trying to cast a drying charm over himself after being thoroughly soaked coming through the clouds.

'Might have been quicker getting off the ground with that bloody old stick,' Sirius laughed, 'but you didn't have the foresight to use a water repelling charm, did you?'

Lupin shoved his wand back into the folds of his robes and screwed up his eyes against the drying effects of the air rushing by them. 'You could be gracious in defeat, you know, Sirius.'

They travelled northwards steadily as the day wore on, not daring to dip below the clouds again until they were only two miles away from Hogwarts castle, according to Lupin's compass, which not only told them in which direction they were travelling, but also the time, the date, the weather they were likely to encounter on the journey and the remaining distance to their destination.

Although it remained cloudy, the rain held off until they landed just outside the main castle gate not far from Hagrid's hut.

'Hello there, Sirius!' Hagrid said warmly, emerging from between the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a bunch of dead rabbits clutched in his hand. 'Didn't 'spect yeh back so soon. And yeh brought Professor Lupin too! Welcome back, Professor.'

'It's just Remus now, Hagrid,' Lupin smiled, smoothing his long, thin fingers through his hair as he dismounted from the broomstick.

Sirius waited for Buckbeak to open his wing then climbed down, landing on the rain-sodden ground with a soft thump.

'Hey, Hagrid, is it alright if I leave Beaky with you again for a while?'

''Course it is!' Hagrid grinned, tossing one of the rabbits into the air. Buckbeak caught it effortlessly and began gambolling around Hagrid like a hungry dog, nudging him with his beak and squawking loudly. 'Hey, down there Buckbeak! He dun 'alf get excited after a run, dun'he?'

'And he's had plenty of those for the time being. Better get him into the forest quickly though. Before anyone sees him'

'Oh, don't yeh worry about us. We'll be fine. I'll take 'im right in,' Hagrid replied. 'Yeh better be headin' up to the castle quick though. Dumbledore's bin expectin' yeh.'

'Yeah, I know. We'll go straight up,' Sirius said, affectionately rubbing Buckbeak's feathery head. 'Now you behave for Hagrid, Beaky, you hear me?'

Buckbeak flicked him in the face with his tail before running off after Hagrid, still nipping at the dead rabbits in his hand.

'Bloody hell,' Sirius muttered, wiping away the grass and mud that Buckbeak had sprayed over his face, 'that hippogriff'll be the death of me.'

Lupin was laughing as he said, 'Locomotor Trunk!', and started walking up towards the gates. 'As I said, Sirius, broomsticks are less trouble.'

'Maybe. But broomsticks don't keep you warm when you're sleeping rough.'

Dumbledore was already waiting for them in the Great Hall when they arrived.

'Sirius! And Remus, too! An unexpected pleasure. It's good to see you again.'

'I must confess, I hadn't intended to return quite as soon as this, Professor,' Lupin replied, an apologetic smile on his face as he lowered his trunk to the floor, 'but Sirius can be quite persuasive.'

'You are always more than welcome here, Remus, you know that. Hogwarts is far too quiet during the holidays anyway. I shall have Filch prepare a room for you in the guest quarters. He will take your trunk up for you.'

He nodded to Filch, who had been standing behind them, listening to every word as he picked up Mrs Norris from the floor and tucked her under his arm.

'Yes, sir,' he said begrudgingly, shuffling off towards the dormitories, Lupin's trunk floating after him as though pulled by invisible strings as he mumbled something that sounded decidedly derogatory about being a porter for half-breeds, but Lupin ignored him. Of all the people he might have been insulted by, Filch was one he cared about the least.

'Now then,' Dumbledore continued, 'I expect you're hungry after your trip. Why don't you freshen up and then we'll meet back in the Great Hall for dinner in around half an hour?'

'That sounds great,' said Sirius, stretching and kneading his lower back with his knuckles. 'Where's Ariadne?'

'I believe she is still with Severus. I haven't seen a great deal of either of them. They have been very busy, but I gather the potion is nearing completion now.'

'Good,' Sirius nodded. 'Well, I'll leave her to it and see her at dinner then.'

Dumbledore smiled, inclined his head politely, then headed across to the Great Hall.

'Come on, Sirius,' said Lupin when he caught him eyeing the open doorway that led down to the potions dungeon, 'you can see her later. Let's go and warm up a bit with a Firewhisky first.'

Sirius sighed, wondering what exactly she and Snape had found to talk about for the past few days, but in lieu of anything else to do, he followed his friend upstairs.

In retrospect, Sirius supposed that perhaps he should have dragged Lupin down to the potions dungeon first so that he and Ariadne could have some time alone to say the things that needed to be said away from the pressure of politeness required at the dinner table. He should have realised that Lupin's sudden desire for a Firewhisky had more to do with his reluctance to see Ariadne again than an urgent need for some alcohol in his system. But then we are all wise in hindsight.

'Remus,' Ariadne smiled awkwardly as she sat down at the table for dinner. 'It's…good…to see you again.'

'You too, Ariadne,' Lupin said, then lowered his gaze to the table as though he could think of absolutely nothing else to say.

A profound and deafening silence descended over the room after these few words as everyone pulled up their chairs and began dishing out potatoes, roast beef, Yorkshire puddings and vegetables. Sirius glanced from Ariadne to Snape to Lupin, wondering if he could make the earth open up and swallow him just by willing it. Lupin and Ariadne just sat there, looking at anything but each other, both probably wishing that dinner could be over as quickly as possible so that they could go back to hating each other in peace - at opposite ends of the castle, if possible.

Dumbledore reached for the gravy and began pouring it over his dinner. 'The potion is ready then, Severus?' he asked, as though completely impervious to the tension.

'It is, Headmaster,' Snape replied. 'Ariadne and I have tested it and it seems to work exactly as it should. As does the poison.'

Dumbledore nodded gravely. 'Which one did you decide to use?'

'An aconite and valerian derivative. Whatever I use will be painful, but I believe this will be tolerable.'

'Indeed,' Dumbledore nodded. 'I have nothing but respect for your courage, Severus. All is in place then. The meeting, I believe, is scheduled for tomorrow night, is it not?'

'It is, sir,' Sirius replied.

'Then I shall contact the head of the Magical Law Enforcement department tonight to make sure they know that the arrangements have been confirmed. Remus, will you be accompanying Sirius and Ariadne?'

Lupin, who had been sullenly and quietly pushing the vegetables around his plate with no signs of any kind of appetite whatsoever, was startled from his reverie. Anxiously, his gaze darted from Sirius to Ariadne before turning to Dumbledore.

'I hadn't planned on that, sir. No.'

'Then why are you here, Lupin?' Snape asked rather coldly. 'You resigned from your post, did you not? Or does Black need someone to hold his hand?'

Lupin gave his usual tolerant, forbearing smile. 'Your memory is as sharp as your tongue, Severus. I never got around to thanking you for your kind words to the Prophet about me.'

'Remus, I don't think that - ' Dumbledore started to say, but Ariadne cut him off.

'Leave him alone, Remus. He did what he thought was right to protect the students. You placed them all in great danger by being so irresponsible with your medication.'

Sirius, Lupin and even Snape himself stopped, forks halfway to their mouths as though they'd all been hit with a Glacius charm. Only Dumbledore carried on eating.

'Ariadne,' Sirius said with an awkward little cough, glancing across at an extremely injured looking Lupin. 'I think that may have been a little harsh, don't you? Remus has never hurt anyone, you know that. He was trying to protect the students himself. '

Ariadne sighed, dropping her fork onto her plate a little harder than was necessary. 'I apologise for my…directness,' she said reluctantly, as though Sirius had extracted the words from her, causing her pain. 'But you have to see it from the parents' point of view. Severus did what he thought was right, just as you did. You were negligent in not taking the wolfsbane, Remus. You could have killed Harry and the others. You could have killed my brother. He was right to let parents know. Teaching is not an appropriate job for you with your condition and I think you know that.'

Lupin nodded, his smile managing to look strained, polite, but very hurt at the same time. His already pale skin blanched and his blue-grey eyes seemed to sink further into their sockets. 'I daresay you are quite correct, Ariadne. I was negligent. But no-one could punish me over what happened more than I have already done myself.' He wiped his mouth with his napkin, dropped it next to his plate and stood up. 'Forgive me, Headmaster, Sirius. It was a delicious meal. I have a few things I need to attend to, so if you will excuse me.'

'Remus, there's no need for you to go,' Sirius said quickly, 'come on now, finish your dinner. You've had nothing to eat all day.'

Lupin held up his hand. 'It's alright,' he said firmly, his eyes widening in warning. 'Sit down, Sirius.'

'No, it's bloody not alright, Remus!' he yelled, even as Lupin slipped quietly and unobtrusively away.

'Sirius!' Dumbledore said sharply. Sirius spun to face the Headmaster. 'That is enough! Now is not the - '

'Like hell it is,' Sirius growled, thumping the table, sending glasses of water spilling across the cloth. 'How dare you speak to him like that, Ariadne? You know how he has tortured himself over what he is! He was your friend, for Merlin's sake! I suppose I was wrong to leave you alone with your brother for so long. Didn't take long for the poison to seep in, did it?'

'Now, look, Black,' Snape interrupted, 'you can say what you will to me, but you will speak to Ariadne with more respect.'

Sirius tore his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Snape. Red sparks fired from the end. 'Speak again, you sick bastard, and it'll be the last bloody thing you ever say,' he spat through clenched teeth, his eyes wide, dark and hate-filled before turning on Ariadne. 'And you…I don't have the words to describe what you've just done. I am so bloody angry with you, I…I have to get out of here before I do something you'll regret.'

He stormed from the room to angry protestations from Dumbledore and Ariadne, but he was too furious to care. He had never expected her, of all people, to be so blinkered and prejudiced as to come out with such bigoted comments about someone who used to be one of her best friends. He didn't understand it. She had accepted his story when he had told her what had happened that night at the Shack, she had even expressed sympathy for Lupin at the time. What had changed?

Only one thing possibly could have, he thought, as he opened the front doors, ran down the steps to the courtyard and transformed into Padfoot.

Snape must have said something to her. He must have. She was far too empathetic and generous a person to have come up with such ideas on her own. She always looked for the best in people, she never had allowed prejudices to cloud her judgements before. Only Snape could have poisoned her so.

Sirius ran as fast as he could around the edge of the lake and out towards the mountains that encircled Hogwarts. He pushed himself, running harder and faster until his paws were sore, his lungs were screaming for air and every muscle ached and protested its punishment, but it was the only way he could vent the anger and frustration he felt without breaking someone's bones. Far better to take it out on himself than to do what he really wanted to do at the moment.

To do exactly what Lucius Malfoy had asked him to.

'Damn it, he is the most volatile, argumentative, impulsive man I have ever met in my life,' Ariadne said as the door slammed behind Sirius. 'Any time that anyone thinks differently to him, he just - '

'Ariadne, I don't think you should be quite so judgemental about him,' Dumbledore said calmly. 'You cannot expect him to be in control of his feelings all the time. Not after spending so long in isolation. He has always been impulsive, but his anger arises from his devotion to his friend and that is a quite admirable quality to possess. You cannot expect him to spend twelve years in a cell with Dementors inches from his door and not suffer at least some lasting effects. Overall, he has coped with the experience remarkably well.'

Ariadne sighed in exasperation, covering her face with her hands, gently massaging her temples.

'However, I do agree with him that your judgement on Remus is also a little severe. He forgot to take the potion because he was so concerned that Sirius was trying to kill Harry. It is a lapse that he has severely punished himself over. You will never know how severely.'

Snape looked as though he'd swallowed bile. Nonetheless, he said, 'The Headmaster is right, Ariadne. Of course Black will defend his friend, as you defended me. It was thoughtful of you, and I appreciate it, but I would not want you to alienate him on my account.'

Ariadne's hands slid slowly over her face as she turned to her brother. 'Did you just stick up for Sirius?'

'I highly doubt it. However, I know that you are fond of Black, despite all our better judgements, and I believe it would not bode well for our attempts to deceive the Death Eaters if you were to quarrel now over something that is essentially in the past.'

'But it isn't, Severus. Remus never showed any loyalty to us when we needed him. I'm finding it hard to forgive that. He said some terrible things about us both...he hurt me, Severus. Deeply. He was our friend, and he let us down.'

'Remus was as deceived by Wormtail's actions as much as any of us. He did not want to believe such terrible things of his best friend. He has suffered too, in his turn. Greatly,' said Dumbledore, with a weighty look at Snape. 'Don't judge him too harshly either.'

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'I am afraid that morality was not on my priority list when I allowed the fact of Lupin's lycanthropy to leak beyond Hogwarts,' Snape admitted, avoiding her eyes. 'I am not proud of my behaviour. It was motivated by jealousy, anger and frustration caused by Black's escape. You have to understand that I still believed him to be guilty at that time, Ariadne.'

'Oh?'

'It could have been much worse, but it wasn't. I admit that Lupin has always been responsible with his potion before. They were...extenuating circumstance that night. A poor collision of fate and full moon.'

'But Severus, you said that - '

'I was wrong. I admit it. I have given my reasons and I am sorry that you are disappointed in me, Ariadne. My long held concerns about Black with regard to his influences on you - '

'He never influenced my decisions, Severus.'

' - and it infuriated me when I thought that he had escaped justice again.'

'Alright,' she sighed, massaging her temples again, 'it's alright, Severus. It's done now. It doesn't really matter what the reasons were. But we do have to try and make peace between ourselves now or what we're planning is never going to work.'

'Ah,' said Dumbledore, smiling, 'at last, progress. Perhaps a good idea would be for you to go upstairs, Ariadne, and speak to Remus before Sirius gets back. It appears that there may be some bridges to rebuild.'

'Yes,' she agreed with a tired smile. 'Will you excuse me, Headmaster?'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Of course.'

Ariadne left Dumbledore and her brother to clean up the remains of dinner and headed upstairs. She had no idea where Sirius had gone, but she very much doubted he was still in the castle. Knowing him, he would have transformed and run off to the woods to expend some energy.

She knew that he was angry with her, but she also knew that he would be an entirely different person when he got back after working off his fury and as long as she apologised - particularly if she had apologised to Lupin too - then she had no doubt that Sirius would forgive her. When he understood her reasons.

These were strange days for them all - she wasn't the only one who had been tested.

She knew that Lupin had been placed in the same wing but a few doors down from her and Sirius. With some trepidation, she headed down the corridor to the large oak door at the end. She knocked.

'Who is it?' Lupin called from behind the closed door.

'It's me, Remus. Can I come in?'

A pause, and then, 'Wait a second.'

She waited, listening to bolts being retracted. Then the door swung open. He didn't wait to greet her. He turned around and went back to sit at the writing desk beneath the window. It stood open, revealing the full majesty of the breathtaking views of the lake and mountains beyond Hogwarts. A pile of parchments lay on the desk with a scattering of charcoals. Lupin bent his head over his work, busily sketching the panorama beyond the window. Ariadne quickly scanned the room, taking in the old, worn books on the bed, the battered case at the foot of the bed and the threadbare cloak hanging from one of the bedposts.

A very sharp, and very uncomfortable, pang of guilt pierced her stomach.

Remus was as deceived by Wormtail's actions as much as any of us. He did not want to believe such terrible things of his best friend. He has suffered too, in his turn. Greatly. Don't judge him too harshly.

Greatly...

'Remus?'

'Hello, Ari,' he said flatly, not lifting his head from his work.

'I...I owe you an apology. And an explanation.'

His shoulders rose and fell as he sighed, his charcoal ceasing its scratches against the parchment. He put it down, wiped his fingers on a rag and turned to face her. 'Would you like to sit?'

'No, I'm fine, thank you.'

Lupin nodded, fidgeting with the edge of his frayed cardigan, his eyes fixed on a space on the carpet between them.

'I'm sorry, Remus,' she sighed. 'I shouldn't have said what I did.'

He shrugged. 'It doesn't matter. You said nothing I didn't expect. Or that wasn't true.'

'I should have been more understanding of the circumstances. I know you would have tried to do the right thing.'

'It really doesn't matter. I am quite used to hearing such things.'

'But you shouldn't expect to hear them from an old friend. My behaviour was inexcusable and I am sincerely sorry if I hurt you. There is an explanation for my over-sensitivity and I wish I could give you all the details, but I can't without breaking a confidence. Suffice it to say that the past twelve years have been very difficult for me with no friends…no family…and now I not only have Sirius back, but I have my brother, too. I'm not the only one who's been through tough times, I know that now, and the realisation of that fact where my brother is concerned has led me to be a little defensive over him but that was no excuse for me to say the things I did. I really am sorry.'

Lupin appeared to be lost beneath Ariadne's apology. He hadn't expected it to be quite so…sincere…particularly after Sirius' outburst, the most colourful parts of which had been audible even from half way up the staircase.

'Well…thank you,' he said softly. 'Apology accepted.'

'Could we start again?'

'That sounds like a good idea.' Lupin smiled warmly. 'It's good to see you again, Ari. How have you been?'

'Oh, you know...okay,' she said, seating herself on the edge of the bed. 'A little lonely, to be honest. What about you?'

'Great…six sackings and one resignation under my belt and I'm only thirty-three. That has to be a record, doesn't it?'

'It beats mine, I suppose. Just the one sacking, but I wasn't able to even get interviews for anything else.'

'It hasn't been easy for any of us, has it? And Merlin only knows I understand loneliness,' said Lupin sadly. He sighed. 'But I try and look on the bright side. The house is paid for and I have my sketching to keep me busy. Dumbledore has been very generous in allowing me to Summon food from Hogwarts. For everything else, thank goodness for magic or I'm not sure how I'd have managed.'

Ariadne nodded. She understood his situation, which had been difficult even before James and Lily's deaths. Uncomfortable guilt prickled at the edges of her consciousness at once again discovering someone who had suffered far more than she.

'I can't help feeling that things would have been so different if I'd tried harder to understand your point of view back then, Remus,' she sighed. 'I know you were feeling James and Lily's loss as deeply as I was. And Sirius'. For different reasons, I know, but… We shouldn't have said the things we did to each other. The years could have been so much easier for us both if we had remained friends.'

'Perhaps,' Lupin muttered sadly. 'But there is no point in dwelling in the past. I think all of us would have preferred things to turn out differently. We are different people now, Ariadne. Products of our experiences. Hopefully better for them.'

She nodded dully, feeling tears welling in her eyes and a lump in the base of her throat, although she wasn't altogether sure why.

'Anger does make fools of us, doesn't it?' he said softly.

All she could do was nod. The power of speech was beyond her then.

He leaned forward and covered her hand with his. 'It's alright, Ari. I understand.'

'I am so sorry, Remus,' she said in a choked whisper.

'I know. I'm sorry, too, Ari.'

Silence descended on them again as Lupin held her hand, waiting for her to win her battle with her composure. She took a deep breath and squeezed his fingers.

'But we're here now,' she said as brightly as she could manage. 'We still have the future. We can still make things right.'

'We can,' said Lupin with a smile. 'I must admit, Sirius did have to twist my arm to get me to come, but I'm glad I did. Did he tell you why he wanted me here?'

'No, I haven't had the chance to speak to him properly yet. I doubt he'll even want to be in the same room as me for a while.'

'Oh come on, you know Sirius. He's probably run off somewhere to work out his temper. He'll be fine. He never could stay angry with you for very long.'

'I don't know. This was different. You should have seen the look on his face. All the same, I appreciate your support. I did miss you, you know.'

'I missed you, too,' he smiled, 'though I wouldn't mention that to Sirius. He's already given me two permanent scars this month. I should hate to sustain another.'

She chuckled appreciatively. 'Look, as soon as he gets back, and if he's still speaking to me, why don't you come up to our room and we'll have a few drinks, do a little reminiscing? I think that might do us all some good.'

'I'd really like that, Ari.'

'Great. See you later, Remus.'

He nodded, watching her as she gave him one last smile before leaving him, pulling the door closed quietly after her.

That wasn't so bad after all, she thought. Humble pie wasn't as bitter as she imagined it would be.