Disclaimer: If I ever publish a book, I'll let you know, but for now, I don't own anything, especially Harry Potter.

The Brotherhood

A/N - I'm quite disappointed. I thought I could get up to 100 reviews with the last chapter. All well, I trust you can give me two reviews at least? Thanks for those seven people who did review the last chapter though, they were much appreciated.

~~~ Chapter Thirteen ~~~

Harry stared up at the Shrieking Shack. "We really have to go in there?"

"There's no other way onto the grounds," Sirius answered, "In plus, it's not haunted, remember? That was just Remus."

"Yea, okay," Harry reluctantly agreed. He went up to the boarded up door and squeezed through one of the holes. Sirius followed after him, having to break off one of the boards so he would fit.

"It's over here," Sirius led the way to where the trapdoor was hidden.

Harry looked around the deserted shack and found that there was pieces of broken furniture scattered around, and there was a thick layer of dust as well.

Harry grimaced as he saw a large spot of blood on one of the walls, which he pointedly avoided as he followed his godfather over to where the trapdoor now lay open.

As Harry stared into the darkness in which he had to climb, he let out a deep breath. He really hoped this worked.

Harry lowered himself into the tunnel, and then took a few steps forward, providing Sirius enough room to climb down beside him and shut the trapdoor, making the tunnel pitch black.

"The tunnel is mostly straight, so just keep walking, however," Sirius paused and Harry could hear a bit of amusement in his voice, "There are a few parts with low ceilings, so be weary."

Harry nodded, then remembered that Sirius couldn't see him.

"Okay," he murmured, then started forward, raising his arms out to prevent him from colliding with the walls.

It didn't take long before Harry tripped over a loose root on the ground and fell. "You alright?" Sirius questioned.

Harry grunted as he climbed to his feet. Sirius had sounded further behind him than he expected.

As he stood straight, Harry bumped his head on the ceiling. Harry cursed low under his breath and Sirius chuckled, "I warned you didn't I?"

The rest of the trip to the entrance was uneventful.

Sirius went in front of Harry and touched the root before transforming into a dog and exiting the tree. According to plan, Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak and wrapped in around him before following Padfoot.

As Harry got his first view of the castle, he felt his heart soar. He loved the castle – it was his home. However, he also felt sick at the site. Hogwarts was now full of students and teachers, and Harry knew that almost every single person in the school believed both him, and the dog beside him, to be dangerous criminals.

Beside him, Padfoot was having similar feelings.

~~~TB~~~

"You may go," Snape stated.

Ginny sighed, "Yes sir," before exiting his office. She had finally finished her last detention of the bunch that had been assigned a week before, the same day that Harry and Sirius had been spotted in Hogsmeade. However, since they hadn't been seen again, and they hadn't tried to enter the castle, most people thought that the person who had seen them was mistaken.

Ginny hoped this too.

If not, though, she wondered just what they were doing in Hogsmeade without their disguises.

Grumbling under her breath at the distance between the Potions classroom and the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginny turned a corner and bumped into something.

She had run right into a large black dog that she easily recognized as Padfoot.

"Ginny," a voice whispered, and then Harry appeared from under his cloak.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny hissed, glaring at the pair of them.

Harry glanced down at a piece of parchment in his hand, the Marauder's Map, and then opened the door to an empty classroom, urging Ginny to enter.

Ginny huffed but entered anyway, Padfoot and Harry following.

Once the door was closed, Ginny said, "I repeat, what are you doing here?"

"We're here to convince Remus of our innocence," Sirius proclaimed, now back in human form.

"He won't believe you without proof. Trust me, I've talked to him, well tried to anyway. He's kind of been ignoring me since I first mentioned you guys," Ginny replied.

"We'll make him believe," Sirius stated firmly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. I'm going to bed," Ginny muttered.

"Why are you up this late anyway? I thought everyone would be asleep," Harry questioned.

"Detention," Ginny answered simply, then turned and left.

Harry and Sirius exchanged a glance, before Sirius turned back into canine form, and Harry disappeared under his cloak.

The two crept along the empty hallways, following the map. They quietly entered the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom and Sirius changed back into human form again.

"Think the door is locked?" he asked Harry as he walked over to the office door.

"Maybe," Harry murmured.

Sirius tried the door and found it open.

"We're in," he stated.

The pair entered Remus' office and glanced around.

"Immaculately clean, of course," Sirius scoffed.

"I thought you said the entry to his private quarters was in his office? There's no doors in here," Harry commented.

"That's because you go through a portrait," Sirius replied, walking over to one of the bigger portraits.

"Password?" the man who was in the portrait asked.

"Hmm…" Sirius paused, thinking of what his old friend might use.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he finally recited.

The man in the portrait nodded and aloud them entrance.

Harry entered to see the room was quite spacious, but only had a couch that was beside a fireplace. There was two doors leading off from the main room.

"He's probably asleep," Harry muttered.

"Possibly. We'll just have to stay here and wait for him to wake up then, won't we?" Sirius said, then he walked over at sat himself down on the couch.

Harry followed.