Severus Snape was seated in Albus Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had yet to tell him what he was needed for. Albus, himself, was looking over a small stack of parchment and effectively ignoring the glares sent his way.
It was another ten quiet minutes before Severus' snapped. "If you don't mind the interruption, Albus, what do you want?"
The Headmaster blinked up at him, easing his spectacles down his nose and smiled brightly. "Oh, I do not mind, Severus." And he inched the lenses back up and continued to read.
Snape ran a hand down his face and bit the ball of his thumb to keep from screaming.
There was an unsteady knock on the door and Albus finally seemed to come around. He shuffled the parchments together and waved the door open with a cheery, "Please, come in!"
Severus frowned deeply as Remus Lupin slowly shuffled in, dragging his right leg slightly. At the wolf's heels trotted Padfoot. Dumbledore stood from his chair with a keen look of worry and helped Lupin to his seat.
"There now, Remus, can I get you something to drink? Tea perhaps?" The wolf nodded with a weak smile and accepted the cup conjured for him. He set the saucer onto his left leg and stretched the right out, leaning toward Snape to keep the weight off of his hip.
Dumbledore watched them all silently in turn before clearing his throat and thumbing through his pages again. With a bright smile he tugged a rather lengthy note from the middle and set it to the top. He carefully snapped his wand and a tingle of magic rushed across the skin of all occupants. Albus then looked down at Padfoot and nodded. Instantly, Sirius Black reverted to man and sat down sloppily in the chair next to Lupin.
"Goodness, you two look a fright," Albus said in docile tones. "I take it the night was a long one?"
"And rough," Sirius admitted. His voice was sandpapery and dry. He swallowed greedily from a newly conjured cup of tea and reclined in his seat with a sigh.
"Well then, I do hope this will bring some sunshine to your dismal day!" Albus perked up again, turning the long parchment around and offering it up to Sirius. The animagus took the paper and scanned it over. His eyes widened, then narrowed as he reread the parchment.
"What is it?" Remus asked, trying to look over at the paper but unwilling to apply pressure to his aches.
Sirius finally looked up, a little aghast and grinned widely as he passed the paper over. While Remus read he took the initiative to have his questions answered.
"How in the world did you manage this Albus?"
The Headmaster leaned back in his chair and touched the side of his nose with a long finger. "Ah, that is not the important question. Rest assured it is all legal." The blue eyes lost a bit of twinkle as he spoke again, "Though I am sorry that you no longer have legal claims in the eyes of the Wizengamot."
"I never even wanted the place," Sirius said with conviction. He looked over at Remus and his expression softened. "But it will still be a far sight better than where we are now."
Lupin finally passed the parchment back and took a shaky sip from his tea. "You now have the property rights to 12 Grimmauld Place. What do you plan to do with it?"
"Grant its use to the true owner of course!" Albus smiled again, retrieving the parchment and returning it to his stack. "Sirius will now have a safe haven to stay without fear of being captured and persecuted. And not a moment too soon I might add."
Remus flushed lightly and stared down at his teacup.
"This is all highly touching, but why am I here?" Severus finally interrupted, on the verge of storming out of the office.
Dumbledore only smiled brighter and offered them all a lemon sherbet. "Why, you are here because you have an important role in this affair."
"Which is?"
Albus retrieved a familiar book from the stack on his desk and passed it to Snape. The dark wizard looked it over, flipped it open to be sure, then raised an eyebrow instead of asking the question. "Yes, Severus, I would like you to continue your research on Remus' problem."
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Snape stormed, rising from the chair and tossing the book down into it. He began to pace, raving about the absolute impossibility of what Albus was asking. It was only a short second before Sirius had lept from his chair and was agreeing with Severus' assessment--refusing to allow the 'greasy bastard' any where near Remus while he was ill.
Remus, completely ignored despite the fact that they were all arguing about him, set his teacup on the floor and took the book from Severus' chair. He opened the cover and flipped in a few pages. His face lost color and he began to shuffle through the pages quickly. At the top of a page near the middle, his name was bolded and underlined as a header. He read down through the paragraphs, his hands shaking and letting loose a low keening moan that finally drew the attention of the others.
He held his breath as he turned the pages again, pausing over a passage that told of his mauling his own mother. The book fell from his numb fingers to the floor and he looked between the three startled men with glazed eyes. His stomach was roiling.
In an unsteady, painful gait he rushed toward Albus' personal quarters and burst into the small bathroom, retching into the sink.
Albus' eyes held no sparkle as he stood from the chair and went after the werewolf. He left the two remaining wizards with a parting look that told them to behave.
"Why'd you have to leave that where he could see it?" Sirius snarled, snatching up the book and shaking it at Severus.
"He's a grown man, Black. If he needs to be babysat, it's your responsibility not mine." Snape snarled, snatching the book from the animagus' hands and tucking it under his elbow.
Albus returned, supporting Remus back to his seat. The werewolf was sickly looking, hands shaking badly and sweat beaded along his upper lip. Sirius sent another glare at Snape before sitting down beside him. He attempted to put a comforting hand on Remus' arm, but the wolf shied away.
"What is that?" Lupin croaked out after a few minutes of highly uncomfortable silence. He pointed a shaking finger at the book he could see clamped to Snape's side.
Albus sighed with deep regret and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It is what it seems, Remus. It is a compilation of those who are now, or who have been werewolves."
Lupin shook his head violently, "But it's too small to be on all werew-- all of them, so why am I there? How do they know?"
"It is written in my hand, Remus, used and seen by my eyes only," Albus paused and turned his eyes to Snape and corrected himself, "until very recently. You are correct, it is not on all werewolves, only those that have been turned by Fenrir Greyback."
Lupin bit his tongue rested a hand on his stomach to keep it from revolting. "Th-the details..."
"It took much digging and even more research to authenticate." Dumbledore smiled sadly, "There are no valuable texts on lycanthropy, I'm afraid. But with the ever-present threat of Fenrir Greyback and all that he has ever done, I found it necessary to mark his deeds. If nothing else but to find a pattern to his madness."
"Is there?" Severus interrupted, wholly intrigued despite himself.
Albus shook his head, "None that I have been able to correlate." He returned his gaze to the lycan and offered a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry, Remus."
Lupin waved his hand dismissively and then curled it around his shoulder, covering the still aching bite scar.
"Why me, Albus?" Snape interjected into the growing silence. He had yet to be satisfied with an answer.
"Because you have already pinpointed the disease, Severus," Dumbledore ignored the shocked look he got from Remus and continued. "You already create the Wolfsbane that Remus must drink regularly, it is only fitting that you continue your research. You already know more about Remus' inner workings than most people that consider him a friend."
Sirius bit his lip to keep from making a very rude comment and instead turned his eyes to his friend. Remus was bone white, still hung up on the 'disease' comment and looking highly embarrassed about the whole situation.
"I still beli--"
"You know what's wrong with me?" Remus interrupted in a quiet voice. Snape clamped his mouth shut and looked hard at the lycanthrope.
After a tense moment, Snape nodded stiffly. "Yes."
"What is it?"
"Lupus Disvestire Apostasis." Snape crossed his arms over his chest, easily tucking the controversial book into the folds of his robe with a slight of hand.
"What does that mean?" Remus looked up at him, then at Albus. Dumbledore looked intrigued, even tugging lightly at his beard and nodding to himself as he thought.
"It means your fighting yourself, Remy," Sirius answered. Lupin gave him an incredulous look with a bit of hurt.
"You knew?"
"He told me about it last night while you were sleeping."
"Well then, what-- I mean, how do I fix it?" Remus asked, voice rising in panic.
"We do not know," Severus said coolly from his position.
"I--I see." Remus frowned, fingers tightening around his shoulder. Instead of dissolving into tears like Snape expected, Lupin's jaw tightened. He looked ages older, even more than what the premature greying of his hair had already done. The pain and sickness kept him looking pinched and fatigued.
"I'll do what I can." Snape blurted, then was furious with himself.
Lupin blinked his honey-colored eyes at him and gave him a facsimile of a smile, "Thank you, Severus."
Snape nodded tightly, locking eyes with Dumbledore, willing the older wizard to interject with any form of dissent so that he could take it back. The Headmaster only smiled and nodded, "Indeed, thank you, Severus. Do keep me posted and let me know if I may help, yes?"
"Of course, Headmaster," Snape ground out. He sent one last look over Lupin and Black before snorting and storming out of the room.
Albus stood, the remaining occupants joining him. "Come," he motioned, plucking up the deed to 12 Grimmauld Place, "Let's get you home, hmm?"
12 Grimmauld Place was just as lackluster and decrepit as Sirius remembered it. Of course, in Sirius' mind his old family house was always dank and dreary. His mother's portrait still hung in the hallway where it always did and when the woman's eyes landed on him she shrieked loud enough to turn his hair white.
It was several vicious minutes of slander and biting words before Albus threw up a silencing charm for the hallway and shuffled them through. As soon as they passed the barrier the woman's voice was gone and left a ringing in their ears.
"It could use a decent cleaning," Albus quipped with a smile, shaking cobwebs and dust from his robe hem. "I'm sure if you ask Molly, she would be more than happy to pop in and help you in her free time."
Sirius gazed around himself in awe and disgust. He was caught up in memories of his past and didn't seem to hear what the Headmaster had said.
Lupin shuffled past them and upturned a kitchen chair, not even bothering to brush the crud from it before sitting down heavily. "I'm sure she would, Albus," his aching throat growled out. He tried to smile to take some of the effect of his voice out of it, but Albus didn't look worried and continued his circuit of the room.
"I appreciate help with this, Albus," Sirius finally came back to himself. He made a face as he upturned another two chairs and cleaned them roughly with the sleeve of his robe. "What can I do to return the favor?"
The Headmaster smiled lightly, eyes twinkling and sat down in the offered chair. "Well, Sirius, I am glad that you asked for it saves me the trouble with groveling."
"You could still grovel if you would like," Sirius grinned, propping his feet onto the tabletop.
"Until the floor is clean, I think I will forgo it," Dumbledore smiled back before clearing his throat. "I would like your permission to use your house as the new headquarters."
Sirius' feet dropped to the floor and he gaped. "You want them here?"
"I would," Albus nodded, "it is not a place that any know of but a handful, and all of those are members of the Order already. It would be quite beneficial to have a steady place for meetings instead of sending off letters that might be intercepted stating where the next meeting will be held. I will ward the house carefully, of course, to prevent any unwanted visitors from popping in. It is as much a refuge and hideout for you as it would be a safe-house and meeting place for the Order."
"I would be honored, Albus," Sirius said in all soberness. He wrinkled his nose as he looked around, "It will have to be cleaned nicely first of course."
"It makes no difference," Dumbledore shrugged, "The kitchen will be large enough and between the three of us, we could set it about right before I leave today."
"Bully!" Sirius stood and flung open cupboards, hacking as dust motes and webbing flew in all directions.
Albus smiled, relieved to see Sirius taking things so well. He turned his gaze to Remus and found the wolf practically sleeping upright, curled into himself and leaning against the table.
He left Sirius to his delirious cupboard sweeping and crossed to the den. The room was full of more dirt and webbing, the furniture coated in layers of dust. He withdrew his wand and cleaned the filth from the air and blew all the dirt and debris out of an open window. Smiling at his handiwork, Albus transformed a broken armchair into a bed. He made sure that though the room was not spotless, it was livable before returning to the kitchen.
"Take that dust bunny!" Sirius crowed as he entered, jabbing a pile of fluff with a stick and flicking it toward an already overflowing trash bin. Remus had since taken to watching his friend parade about.
"Show them no mercy, Padfoot," he whispered weakly, grinning as the ex-convict had far too much fun throwing things from the countertops.
Albus paused beside Lupin and rested a hand carefully on his uninjured shoulder. The werewolf looked up at him in curiosity. "Come with me, Remus, I think you could use a lay down."
Lupin shook his head and tried to deny it, but Albus had already pulled him to his feet and steered him into the den. A fresh bed with crisp linen and a thick mattress was too much to resist. The lycanthrope crossed the room on his own and sank shakily down into it without any further prodding.
Albus watched with sad eyes as he rolled onto his side to face the sunlight before whimpering as he fell asleep.
Sirius was standing on the table, yanking down webs with his hands when Dumbledore came back. He paused to blink down at him before continuing on. "Where have you two gone then?"
"I've put Remus down for a nap in the den across the hall." Dumbledore drew his wand and conjured a feather duster that twirled the webs around it. Sirius pouted as it whizzed by his head and took out the one he was stretching for.
"Good," Sirius nodded as he hopped from the table to the floor. He sighed softly, "He could probably use a decent rest and something hearty to eat. So long as Snape--"
"Severus is doing what he can to help, Sirius," Dumbledore interrupted. "Do not alienate him because of your schoolyard feuds, he is an intelligent man."
"Yea," Sirius hissed. Albus cleared his throat and Black nodded, his shoulders dropping in defeat. "Yes, Albus, I know. As long as he helps Remus and doesn't start with that snarky attitude..." Sirius trailed off and took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'll do what I can, but he has to be fair to Remus."
"I'll speak with him," Albus promised. "Now, let's get this room into shape, shall we?"
...oOo...
It took the better part of three hours to get the kitchen into useable conditions again. The countertops were clean and shiny, the cupboards cleared out, and old foods thrown to the compost pile.
Sirius was now the filthiest thing in the room. He was grinning from ear to ear, webs hanging from his hair, dust and soot smeared across his face. Albus was still spotless. "Wonderful, Albus!" Sirius ran a hand across the counter and stuck out his tongue as his hand left a mucky trail across the surface.
"There now, it isn't a bad start," Dumbledore admitted. He cleared away Sirius' smudge and walked across the hall to check on Remus. The werewolf was still sleeping heavily.
Black sidled up behind him and peeked at his friend. "I'll have to fix him something to eat." Sirius frowned as he thought about the fresh kitchen. "We haven't anything in our pantry."
"I'll send Fawkes with some packages when I return to Hogwarts," Albus reassured. "Kreacher is still somewhere in the house, Sirius. Perhaps you should try to find him and get him back into service."
Sirius made a face, "That damned house elf... He won't serve me Albus."
"Of course he will. It is his duty to the master of the house. And you, Sirius, are his new master." Albus turned from the den and shut the door behind him. "I'm going to put up a few temporary wards. Once I speak to other Order members we'll put in a team effort to put permanent wards into place."
"Thank you, Albus," Sirius said with all sincerity.
A sad smile crossed the Headmaster's face, "It is the least I can do."
Sirius watched as the Headmaster flooed away and took in the new silence of the old place. It was not long before the creeps began to take over and Sirius made his way into the den to sit near Remus. At least the wolf's ceaseless breathing broke the odd ambience and shook the old memories away.
He could not stay there forever, he knew, and reluctantly he began to search other rooms on the first floor. Remus was still sleeping and sick, therefore he didn't quite dare to tread upstairs and out of earshot should his friend need him.
The linen closets were full of moth-eaten sheets and mouse pills. What had been the point of having a damned house elf if it did not at least clean?
Two hours of heaving broken furniture and shuffling faded upholstery had left Sirius sweat soaked and itchy. Remus had only woken once during his belated spring cleaning to use the toilet. After he attempted to help Sirius move a small couch, and nearly breaking his foot by dropping it, Sirius sent him back to the make-shift bed to rest some more.
Fawkes had yet to come with any provisions and Sirius was starting to get a little worried. He didn't doubt that Albus would send what he promised, but he was hoping to have something whipped up for Remus before night fell.
Cleaning was out of the question for the rest of the night. Wild centaurs couldn't drag him into a filthy room and shove a broom into his hands. He popped into the den to check on Remus and found his friend sleeping fitfully in the slanting early evening sun.
With a sad sigh, Sirius pulled the door to and snagged a stale towel from the linen closet. He made it to the bathroom and cringed at the grime that littered the room. Perhaps it should have been high on the priorities list. Either way, it was too late now, so Sirius ignored it and dropped his clothing to the floor and climbed into the sticky shower to ease some of the sledge away.
When he closed his eyes, the greasy streaked walls disappeared and he could imagine he was in a Swiss spa where blonde natives were waiting to take him to a warm room for a massage. When the hot water ceased minutes later and iced him to the bone his fantasy was shattered. He left his clothes on the floor and wrapped his towel tightly at his hips. He was sure there must be some clothing upstairs. Sirius grimaced at the thought, not only would they probably be dirty as well, but he'd wind up wearing his father's clothing.
The door to the den was ajar when Sirius started down the hallway to check on Remus. He paused to push it open only to see it empty. Curious, he tried to think of where Remus would have gone when he heard soft talking.
The kitchen was the most obvious place and Sirius went there. Remus was sitting at the table, head bowed over a bowl.
"...I can't seem to sleep enough."
Sirius looked around the empty room and grew increasingly worried. Remus was talking to himself.
The animagus came forward and pulled a chair out beside his friend. Lupin blinked in sleepy surprise and smiled at him before lifting a spoon to his lips. What appeared to be beef stew half-filled the clay bowl.
"Moony, who are you ta--"
"It is all part of the process I imagine," a familiar voice interrupted. Sirius' head snapped around to the pantry and he watched in growing agitation as Severus Snape came strutting out with half a loaf of French bread in his hand. The potions master sneered at Sirius before dropping the bread onto the table in front of Remus.
"Thank you, Severus," Lupin mumbled, blowing on his broth and eating another bite.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius growled, gripping the tuck of his towel in his fist.
Snape cocked an eyebrow, "What I was told," he snarled cryptically.
Remus broke a piece of bread in his hands and dipped it into his bowl, "Albus sent Severus with some provisions, Sirius."
"And he cooked for you?" Sirius goggled, horrified as Remus took another large bite.
"He did not," Severus snapped in sarcasm. "That came from Molly. She's been filled in on the circumstances and immediately brewed that up. I am merely the lowly messenger."
"You were talking when I came in," Sirius redirected, more than a little relieved that Remus wasn't eating something that Severus had created, and done unspeakable things to.
"Yes," Remus nodded, "Severus believes to have made a little headway... at least he is stepping in the right direction."
"Good," Sirius mumbled, feeling his stomach tighten in hunger as he watched Lupin eat. "Where--"
"On the counter," Lupin supplied with a grin.
Snape scoffed as the animagus nearly toppled his chair getting up. "I have a lot of research to do, so I'll leave you flea-bitten mongrels to each other."
"Of course," Remus smiled. "Do you have any advice for me?"
Severus did a double take at the doorway. It wasn't the first time someone had asked his advice, but normally it consisted of whether or not to murder a certain muggle loving wizard or how to properly mush a toad's eye for maximum effect. "Not yet," he said with uncertainty. "Though I would not fight what your body wants. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat."
"Alright. I'll see you soon, then, Severus."
Snape grunted and billowed out of the room.
Sirius sat down heavily with a large bowl of stew and devoured half of it before he looked up again. Remus was watching him bemused. "What?"
"Nothing, Sirius," The wolf smiled and offered up a chunk of bread. Sirius took it obligingly and broke it into pieces in his bowl. Remus shook his head, still smiling, and returned to his meal. "I appreciate you trying to get along with Severus."
"Yes, well..." Sirius waved his spoon with a sour face. "So long as he doesn't start anything I suppose I'll make do. He is trying to help after all." The animagus scowled into his bowl, wishing he didn't need to rely on the Death Eater spy at all.
Lupin's spoon hit the bottom of the bowl and he suppressed a yawn. "If you don't mind, Padfoot, I think I might have a lie down."
"Of course," Sirius got up as Remus did, his cooling stew forgotten. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, I'm alright," the werewolf said softly, waving from the entry and disappearing into the den.
"Yea... alright." Sirius sat down and looked into his bowl. He found he didn't have much of an appetite anymore.