Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with the books. I am only borrowing the characters, places, spells, and some plot devices for my own entertainment purposes. They will be returned, cleaned and polished, to their original owner, JK Rowling, as soon as I am finished with them.

The Brotherhood

A/N - This chapter was last modified on 28 December, 2011.

Chapter Five - Denial

It was the sudden sound in the deep silence that made Harry wake up. He lay still for a moment, trying to figure out where he was. The ceiling was clearly not the same one he had woken up so often to at Azkaban. After a moment, he remembered. He and Sirius had escaped. They were in Remus' house. He then realised what the sound was that had woken him. The Floo had just gone off. Somebody had entered the house.

Desperately hoping it was just Remus, though even that could be just as disastrous as other things, Harry jumped to his feet. He whirled around just in time to see a pair of Aurors come out of the kitchen, wands held at the ready. They stopped at the sight of Harry and one immediately sent a spell toward him. He ducked out of the way, behind the sofa, and the spell flew over his head. It hit the bookshelf, causing an avalanche of books to tumble to the floor. Harry hoped that none of them were particularly expensive, because several looked rather charred.

The Aurors moved closer, their footsteps echoing on the wood floor. Harry slowly straightened, raising his hands high to let them know he wasn't armed. He made sure not to make any sudden movements and hoped that the Aurors didn't shoot him down anyway.

"Where's Black?" one of the Aurors asked, looking around warily, searching for him.

Harry was wondering the same thing, but he didn't look around. He didn't want to be caught unaware again in case the Aurors decided to attack him. Harry remembered Sirius promising he would be on guard, but clearly, these Aurors had got passed him somehow.

"Well? Speak, boy!" the other Auror ordered.

Harry stared at the two Aurors, not really sure what to do. Even if he had known where Sirius was, he wouldn't have revealed his knowledge. He glanced momentarily toward the front door, wondering if he could possibly make an escape. Wherever Sirius was, he was not being any help. All Harry knew was that he absolutely did not want to be sent back to Azkaban this soon after escaping.

Hoping that he was up to this with his lack of energy, Harry suddenly dove, barely missing the spells that the Aurors sent his way. He rolled to his feet behind the other sofa and made a wild dash toward the door.

Unfortunately, he was not fast enough. He heard a spell that he only faintly recognised, and suddenly ropes bound him. He crashed to the ground hard, crying out. The two Aurors came toward him, both wands pointed at him. Both looked beyond angry at his attempted escape.

Lying on the ground, bound in ropes, Harry could think of no other thing to do but call for help.

"Sirius!" he shouted.

The two Aurors looked around, searching for where the other man might make his entrance. Harry struggled against the ropes while he had the chance, hoping to get free. It didn't work. The ropes were tight.

Suddenly, a great black dog came barrelling out from the hallway, knocking the closest Auror over. The second Auror yelled and shot a spell toward him, but Padfoot dodged behind the sofa. Hidden from sight, he transformed into his human form. Jumping out again, he stunned both Aurors before either of them could react to his sudden appearance.

Harry, relieved, let out a breath and laid his head back on the ground.

Sirius came over and peered down at him. "You okay?" he asked, his expression showing worry.

"Yeah," Harry nodded breathlessly.

Sirius released Harry from the ropes, and then both of them turned to look at the unconscious Aurors. "We'll have to Obliviate them. They saw my Animagus form. I won't be able to use it any more if I don't remove the memory from their minds," Sirius commented.

Harry nodded mutely in agreement, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had been uncomfortably tight. He watched as Sirius Obliviated both men, his face an expression of complete concentration. When he was finished, he rubbed his face tiredly. "I hope I didn't permanently ruin their minds. I'm a little rusty," he muttered.

Harry found that he didn't care all that much what happened to the two Aurors. He was just glad that he wouldn't be heading back to Azkaban. "Where were you, anyway?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged. "The attic. I was exploring, and I found some of your stuff. The Invisibility Cloak and a couple of other things that you probably want to keep. The Cloak will be useful, at least,"

Harry perked up as he heard that. "Wait, why did Remus have my stuff?"

"I don't know. You said you hadn't even met him before, right?"

"Right," Harry confirmed.

"Then perhaps he just offered to take it, though why he did that..." Sirius shook his head, looking mildly perplexed. He glanced warily back at the two Aurors and murmured, "We should get out of here, while we still can."

Harry nodded, agreeing completely.

"And, we need to find you a wand. We can't have you defenceless, just in case something like this happens again," Sirius added, tucking his own stolen wand into his pocket. He stooped down and swiped both wands from the unconscious Aurors. "See which one fits better,"

Harry took both wands and gave them a wave. Neither seemed to have the power of his old wand, but the shorter one, with a lighter wood, felt better in his hand. He gave Sirius back the other wand and tucked his newly stolen wand into his pocket.

Sirius tucked the other wand away in his pocket. "We might need it," he muttered, seeing Harry's curious expression.

Harry nodded in understanding. Having an extra wand up their sleeve might save their life.

Sirius went back over to the hallway and picked up a pack, which Harry presumed had the Cloak and some other things in it, from its bulkiness. The pair left Remus' house, not bothering to look back.

It was an early morning on the Werewolf Preserve, where Remus Lupin was situated at the moment. It wasn't by choice that he was staying in a cabin there. He was on a mission for the Order. Dumbledore had asked him to try to recruit werewolves. It wasn't going very well at all. The opposition, namely, Voldemort and Fenrir Greyback, was very persuasive.

Remus stretched as he came out of the cabin he shared with one other werewolf, Stan, and peered up into the sky, where the sun was already shining brightly. It wasn't exactly the best of places to stay, and Remus was very much missing the comfort of his own home. Unfortunately, he owed Dumbledore a great lot and he couldn't just refuse the task asked of him. He was the only man for the job, being the only werewolf in the Order. Besides, he would've spent his entire life here, if it hadn't been for Dumbledore. He could spend a few weeks here to try to repay his debt.

Stan exited the cabin behind him and the pair silently made their way to where breakfast was being served. Standing in the line, Remus glanced around at the ragged line of werewolves that filled the area. Men, women, and children all gathered together here, and all looked weary of their lives. Remus would too if he had to permanently stay here.

"An owl!" someone cried.

Everyone's eyes turned to the sky in time to see a brown owl swoop down over the wall. In its talons was a letter, neatly rolled and sealed.

Owls were rare things to see at the Werewolf Preserve, mostly because the majority of the people stuck there didn't have any outside family or friends that would try to communicate with them.

The owl fluttered over to Remus and landed on his shoulder. Most of the people gave him a hostile look as the owl came to him. He was just a visitor, an outsider to them, and he knew that he would never really be accepted here in the Preserve.

Taking the letter from the owl, Remus turned to avoid the glares of those around him and broke the seal. The owl hooted a dubious farewell and took off, but Remus didn't notice, too involved in the letter as he was.

"Remus, what is it?" Stan asked.

Remus turned. "I have to go," he said, "It's urgent,"

Stan's eyebrows went up as he watched Remus hurry away from the breakfast line, tucking the letter into his pocket as he went.

Remus' stuff was still gathered tidily in a pack in his cabin and Remus was able to grab it quickly before rushing out of the Preserve, ignoring all the looks he was getting.

As soon as he was outside of the gate, Remus Apparated away, going to Hogsmeade. From there he Flooed up to the Headmaster's Office, using the Floo in the post office.

Dumbledore turned from his seat at his desk when Remus came in.

"Ah, you received my letter, then?" Dumbledore asked. His face was grim, and for once, he looked his age.

Remus collapsed into a chair across from Dumbledore. "Please, tell me it isn't true. He hasn't escaped! He can't possibly have!" Remus cried out, distressed.

Dumbledore watched him, pity on his face. "I'm afraid it is true. Sirius Black and Harry Potter both escaped from Azkaban last night. They Flooed directly to your house, which they fortunately found empty. Aurors came after them and they departed,"

Remus looked up. "Why would they go to my house?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful as he folded his hands in front of him. "I believe they may be searching for you, Remus,"

"Why, though?" Remus asked.

"Perhaps they are seeking revenge, for whatever reason. Or, they may think that you will find them innocent," Dumbledore suggested.

"But that's insane," he protested.

"Indeed it is. But you have to remember, Remus, that these two men just escaped from Azkaban. They very well could be insane,"

Remus lowered his head into his hands.

Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing. "The Ministry has put wards up around your house to prevent them from coming back. If they do return, it will trip an alarm that will send Aurors there immediately. You should be safe there, for a time,"

Remus nodded miserably. "What about the werewolves?" he asked.

Dumbledore hesitated before answering, "I believe that mission may be somewhat of a failure at this point in time. Perhaps, we will try again at a later date. For now, however, I suggest you go home. Perhaps a cup of tea is in order, and a bit of Calming Draught,"

Remus nodded agreeably. "Right,"

Dumbledore offered his fireplace for Remus to Floo home, and Remus did so. Stepping out into his home at the other end, Remus gaped at the mess that had been left behind from the struggle that had obviously taken place.

"So much for a relaxing afternoon," he muttered, annoyed.

A/N - Catch something wrong with this fanfic, including typos, misspelled words, or a plot line that just doesn't make sense? Let me know, please.

I write fanfictions to better myself in my original story/novel writing. I strive for the best, but I admit to occasionally missing things. If you see anything that needs to be fixed, or you just have any advice or comments, let me know, in a review or PM. Also, I won't respond to every review, though I'll try with PMs. I just don't have the time. However, if you ask a question, I will try to respond with an answer. Thanks.