Remus apparated to Edinburgh on shaking legs. He managed to get close to the centre of town, appearing in a disused car park behind a supermarket.

It was only around four o'clock, but he had not eaten since the early morning, and after his cathartic cry he suddenly found himself ravenous.

Finally giving into his compulsion to commit petty theft, he used Accio to summon a man's wallet from his bag as he walked past. Remus found a few notes and some coins, mentally thanking the Paul Davidson whose name and photo were on the driver's licence. He also found a card with VISA written on it, which he knew worked in the machines the muggles used.

Remus asked an older lady wrapped in a shawl where the nearest cashpoint was, and, hiding his face behind his scarf, he managed to take three hundred pounds out before the machine refused to give the card back and started beeping. He made a hasty retreat, trying to tell himself that Paul Davidson would thank him when Remus saved the muggle world from the scourge that was You-Know-Who.

Remus walked on until he found a chippy and bought himself a serving of haddock and chips, and a cup of tea. Sitting at a rickety table beside the window, he ate quickly and then ordered another round of chips, ignoring the raised eyebrow from the man behind the counter. He was on the run, after all. He had to keep up his strength.

But what was next? Remus had told Sirius to meet him, but the auror had no reason to trust him. Remus certainly would not have, if he had been in Sirius' shoes, unless Moody and Sirius Black had worked out who Remus was, and planned to use the appointment as a means to ambush him.

Remus finally decided that he would go to the pub, stand outside amongst the muggles, and watch from a safe distance to see who went in and out.

But it was only coming up to five o'clock, and he had three hours to kill. He opted for walking aimlessly around Edinburgh, taking in the twinkling Christmas lights. There was a brass band playing variations of Christmas carols, surrounded by a throng of muggles. A nearby park had been commandeered by a German Market, with rows of wooden stalls selling crafts and lights and gifts. Remus even dared to purchase a cup spiced mulled wine, sitting on a wall to drink it as he watched the happy shoppers walk by.

Remus was not sure what he would say to Sirius if the man did show up wanting answers. He would have to put a lot of trust into Black if Remus decided to tell him everything.

He would have to tell Sirius he was a werewolf, if the man had not realised it already, which would definitely throw a spanner in the works. Regulus had used the very thing to get his foot in Remus' door, but it would be the opposite of unhelpful now.

But Sirius would not turn up alone, despite how much Remus wished he would. It would be stupid to do such a thing. He would bring Moody along at least. Moody was not exactly hard to miss, with his bulky frame and awkward gate, but what if he disillusioned himself, or used Polyjuice?

Remus wondered if it might be better to disillusion himself and slip Sirius a note explaining things a bit better, perhaps with another time and place to meet.

Remus finished up his drink and tossed the paper cup into a nearby bin before setting off down the street again, one hand deep in his coat pocket, clutching his wand, and the other continually reaching up to tap his inside coat pocket where the little black book was sitting.

Did Remus need Sirius' help, he wondered, as he walked along? Maybe not. A small voice in the back of his head said he should be heading straight to Hogwarts, but it was still too far to apparate, especially with his nerves like they were. If he splinched himself, he would be in dire straits.

Last time it had gone wrong it had taken half of his thigh off, and he had had to take himself to St Mungo's and stand there making a scene in the lobby, yelling at the healers that he deserved to be treated whilst his blood had dripped into a pool on the tiled floor. He could not have a repeat of that.

Were there magical shops in Edinburgh somewhere? If he found one, he could perhaps buy a broomstick and fly up to Hogwarts. Or perhaps it was better if he went to a muggle hotel and rested for a few days, recovered his wits, and then apparated to Hogwarts bit by bit until he got there.

Remus did not need Sirius. Really, the auror was more likely to be a liability than any help, and he would not be good company if he found out about Remus' supposed connection to his brother's death.

Remus was just around the corner from the pub when he stopped in his tracks, unsure what to do. It was too risky. Perhaps if he had gone to the pub earlier, he could have left a note behind the bar for Sirius, telling him to meet Remus somewhere more private, but it was half past seven now, and if Sirius had alerted the aurors then the place would be surrounded already, waiting for him.

'Stupid,' he muttered, turning on his heal. Was he that desperate for companionship that he would risk his life like that? He refused to be the next Fenrir Greyback, the vilified werewolf on the front page of the Prophet with his dripping decapitated head lying on a dirty dungeon floor.

'Hello there,' said a posh, silky voice right in front of him.

Remus came to a vicious stop, lurching backwards as he came face to face with Sirius Black. The man was sneering with obvious venom, his eyes like daggers.

Remus took a step backwards and pulled out his wand, but Sirius was too quick. He disarmed Remus with one swift movement and Remus' wand went flying into Sirius' hand. In his peripheral vision he saw muggles turning their heads, and Sirius seemed to see it too, because he pocketed both wands and with a snarl rushed forwards to knee Remus in the groin.

With a groan of pain Remus' body crumpled, his back curving inwards and his hands flying straight down to protect his crotch. He barely had time to blink back the water in his eyes before Sirius Black had punched him in the jaw.

Remus went flying to his knees. He spat blood onto the pavement, distantly hoping he had not lost yet anothertooth, then he received a harsh kick to his stomach and collapsed onto the cobbled street.

'I'm going to watch them cut you into pieces,'Sirius spat out as he kicked Remus again. He was still in his biker jacket, and despite everything Remus still had the time to notice how devilishly handsome Sirius looked, standing over Remus like that.

'Stop, please,' Remus cut out without thinking, curling up into a ball as another kick hit him in the ribs. To his surprise the kicking did stop and, chancing a glance upwards, he saw Sirius being held back by his older colleague.

'That's enough of that, Black,' Moody said gruffly.

'He deserves it,' Sirius yelled, struggling against Moody as he attempted to go at Remus once again. His voice cracked as he yelled. 'He murdered my fucking brother.'

Remus coughed hoarsely, tasting more blood in his mouth, feeling his tongue slick with it. Fumbling at his mouth with his fingers, he realised he only had a split in his lip and on the inside of his cheek. He tried to push himself up off the ground but his whole body was aching horribly.

'Sirius, please, not here,' Moody growled, as Sirius continued to twist in his arms. 'There are muggles watching.'

'I don't… care,' Sirius said through gritted teeth. With a slam of his elbow into Moody's stomach, Sirius broke free and came at Remus again, going for his head. Remus brought his arms up over his head, wincing as he waited for the blow, but two more sets of feet entered the fray and pulled Sirius off him.

'Let go of me,' Sirius yelled, as Remus felt a strong set of hands pull his arms behind his back and yank him to his feet.

Remus caught Sirius' eye, and the auror once again pulled at the hold of the people around him, who Remus now assumed were more aurors.

The gig was up, and he had barely lasted a day. Regulus had died for nothing, and Remus had failed.

He felt rough hands searching him, reaching into his pockets, pulling out his muggle money and his packet of fags. He held his breath, waiting for the auror to find the little black book, but then Sirius flew at him once again, and the aurors needed all their effort to keep them separate.

'Sirius, for Merlin's sake,' Moody yelled. They had drawn quite a crowd of muggles now, and Sirius finally seemed to realise he could not attack Remus with such an audience.

They had not found the book yet, Remus thought with a faint hope. There was still a chance. If he could somehow get his wand back, and throw them off…

But he was surrounded by six aurors, and each of them had a wand. Remus could not see the person behind him, but he felt like a strong and broad man, if his iron-like grip was anything to go by. The other aurors he could see were dressed in plain muggle suits. There were two women, one with dark hair cut into a sharp bob at her chin, and another who was wearing a pair of glasses and had her jaw clenched as she looked Remus up and down. The sixth of their company was a thin and balding man who was helping Moody to hold Sirius back.

The auror with the glasses made a move off towards the crowd of muggles, waving her hands and calling in a soft Edinburgh accent, 'Nothing to see here, nothing to see.'

Remus watched as Moody cast a quick muffliato from inside his cloak. Sirius had stopped struggling and straightened where he stood, but Moody was still keeping a tight hold of his upper arm. Sirius leant towards Remus as much as he could, his eyes glinting like electricity and his mouth formed into a cruel sneer.

'I'm going to stand there and watch as they chop your head off, you disgusting, foul creature,' he said with enunciated spite.

Remus was being held fast. He could not move, could only stare at Sirius. The man looked more blood-thirsty than Remus had ever seen a person look in his entire life, and he felt a stab of fear. Sirius was not even a Death Eater. He was someone he had been tempted to trust, and he would be happy to see Remus both beaten up and murdered.

'If I let you go now, are you going to behave?' Moody asked, yanking Sirius' arm and giving him a piercing look.

Sirius nodded curtly. Moody released him, pulling him back as he did, so as to keep a distance between him and Remus.

Remus' body was twinging with pain, and he wanted to cough, but the way the auror was pulling his arms behind him made his lungs feel constricted.

The other three aurors that were not holding Remus were doing their best disperse the crowd. Sirius let out a huff of indignation, apparently now unable to look at Remus.

'I shouldn't have done that,' Sirius said, panting and wiping his mouth.

Moody only fixed Sirius with a stern gaze. 'You didn't use your wand, at least.'

'Oh, Merlin,' Sirius let out, shaking his head, and pushing his palms into his eyes. 'I've broken my vows.'

Moody huffed under his breath, glancing at Remus as he went. 'We'll have a word about this later, Black,' he intoned, reaching out to pat his colleague on the shoulder firmly.

The aurors had managed to disperse the crowd. They came back to the group, looking at Moody expectantly.

'I've got a feeling Sirius' little outburst won't make it into the official reports, right?' Moody cocked an eye at the two aurors.

The woman with the glasses cleared her throat, then nodded. The thin, balding male auror just shrugged.

'Wait,' Sirius said, looking between his colleagues. 'You mean…?'

Moody nodded. 'Most aurors would be happy to give you a hand if we weren't in such a public place. And who knows,' he said, shooting a leering look at Remus, 'once we get it back to the Ministry, they might let you have another go.'

Remus felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. He had expected to see satisfaction from Sirius at that, but instead the man went still, and a dark quality seemed to pass over his face.

The auror behind Remus let out a deep huff of laughter and shifted his grip on Remus' arms. Feeling a respite from the pressure on his lungs, Remus leant himself forwards as much as he could, spitting onto the floor and coughing. Both Sirius and Moody took a step back and sent him disgusted looks.

'I didn't…' Remus said hoarsely, coughing again before he said, 'I didn't kill your brother.'

Hatred flared onto Sirius' face. 'Do you want another round of it, werewolf?' he bit out, taking a step forwards, but Remus was not as scared as he had been before. The harsh glint seemed to have left Sirius' eyes.

The man holding Remus renewed his grip. He had the strength of a troll, and once again Remus could barely move.

Moody was eyeing Remus with a look as equally disdainful as Sirius'. 'The werewolf still thinks it can lie his way out of it,' he said, shaking his head. 'What did I tell you, Sirius?'

Remus rose himself up to his full height as much as he could and attempted to regain some of his usual composure. He was not sure if it mattered if they thought him guilty of the murder or not. He was a werewolf either way, and when the Death Eaters caught up with him, he would most likely be found in some dark corner of the ministry with a knife in his back. The best he could do now was go out with what remained of his dignity.

'I'm sure you must think yourselves quite clever, catching me like this,' Remus said, letting his voice melt into the drawl he had used at school when it was clear a prejudiced teacher did not like him. It had always served to make him feel better when they were looking at him like he was no better than dirt beneath their shoe. He would not snivel or grovel at them, would not plead with them to be liked, because it never worked.

The auror behind him shifted his grip, then snapped something onto Remus' right wrist.

Remus was immediately distracted by a bright hot pain coming from the same area. He struggled and managed to pull his left arm away before the auror could trap it with his other wrist in what Remus now realised were a set of silver handcuffs.

Remus swung away from the troll of the man, and the auror lost his hold on the handcuffs. He went to grab Remus by the upper arms instead, holding him in place.

'For Merlin's sake, Higgs, muggles are still watching,' Moody hissed.

'It's a slippery one,' Auror Higgs said through gritted teeth.

'I'll deal with him,' Sirius said darkly, taking his wand out of his pocket and raising it into the air.

'Put that away, Sirius.' Moody swiped his hand forwards and pulled Sirius' arm back down to his side. 'You've got the werewolf's wand. He can't get away.'

Remus' wrist was now searing with pain. 'You brought special cuffs just for me?' he bit out derisively.

'For scum like you, yes,' Higgs replied with a satisfied air.

Remus could already see blisters forming on the soft underside of his wrist. He wanted to scratch and tear at the handcuffs, to yell at the auror to just take the damn thing off, but he would never do it. The man would only laugh.

Things were going from bad to worse. There was only one thing Remus could think to do.

He turned his attention towards Sirius, gazing at him fiercely. 'I suppose you don't believe what I told you earlier on the train, but it's the truth.' His voice only wavered a little bit, and he was quite proud of himself.

'What truth?' grunted Moody, both of his eyes swivelling to Sirius.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. 'I don't know what he's talking about.'

'I'd shut your mouth if I were you,' Moody growled at Remus. There was a flicker of anger across his face, or perhaps… was it worry?

The two women shared a look, and the auror behind Remus let out a low huff as he pulled Remus back to him, trying to take a hold of the hand cuffs to secure Remus' other wrist, but that only pulled the silver further into Remus' skin and he could not help but cry out. He angled himself away from the auror as much as he could, fumbling around the cuff with his other hand without thinking, trying to get it away from his skin, but that only brought the skin of his hand into contact with it.

'Let's get him to the alley so we can apparate,' Moody said, nodding his head to the side.

'It's alright,' Auror Higgs said. 'Withers is bringing a muggle car around.'

Moody huffed. 'Waste of bloody time if you ask me.'

Remus felt desperation flare in his gut. He knew it was no use appealing to Moody, so focussed his attentions on the younger auror beside him. 'I know you're aurors,' he cut out, as he felt another pull on his arm and another wave of pain from his wrist, 'and you're just doing your job, but you can't agree with what You-Know-Who is doing to this country.'

Sirius' was standing up to his full height. His eyes looked searching. Remus caught his gaze, and he did not look away.

'I'll be executed sooner or later,' Remus continued. 'I've got nothing to lose now, do you hear? Not now that you've caught me. I'm telling you…'

Auror Higgs wrapped a big meaty arm around Remus and grabbed him by the mouth, pulling him backwards and cutting off his words. 'Enough of your nonsense.'

'He'll bite you, if you're not careful,' Moody said with complete sincerity.

Auror Higgs snatched his hand away at once and started pulling Remus away instead.

Remus twisted around and looked at Sirius beseechingly. 'What I was telling you earlier, remember? I know I sound mad, but it's important. Your brother has started something that will turn the tide against You-Know-Who. You have to listen to me.'

Higgs was breathing heavily as he tried to combat Remus' struggling, but he managed to pull Remus to the side of the road as a car swerved towards them, coming to a stop with a screech and a harsh pull on the hand break.

'What did he tell you on the train, Sirius?' Moody asked quietly, as they followed on behind.

Sirius' voice came out in a hiss. 'He didn't tell me anything.'

A rather short woman with curly blonde hair jumped out, her witch's robes swirling around her feet. She slammed the door of the car and shot it a look of contempt. 'Why does the stupid thing need so many pedals and buttons?' she complained.

Then, turning to the scene before her, she raised her eyebrows with delight when she saw Remus. 'You caught it, then? I was convinced he would slip through your net.'

'Is that why you took your time, Withers?' Higgs asked irately. 'We've been putting on a right show for the muggles out here.'

'Alright, alright,' Withers huffed.

'Young Black here is coming with us,' Higgs said. Only Remus saw the significant look he gave her.

Withers turned to Sirius with a bright smile. 'Right-o.'

'What for?' Moody asked gruffly, his gaze flicking between Withers and Sirius.

'He's the one who spoke to the werewolf on the train,' Higgs said decisively. 'And you've got business up here, Moody. Black can go back to the ministry with the werewolf.'

Moody grumbled, but he did not object. 'Off you go then, Black,' he said, with obvious reluctance.

'What?' Sirius asked, spinning around to his co-worker with wild eyes.

'You heard.'

'I'm not getting in any caruh with that thing.'

'It's pronounced, "car", I think you'll find,' Remus said pleasantly.

Immediately Sirius took a seething step towards him, raising his wand again.

'Sirius,' Moody cried. 'You're becoming a liability. Get in the bloody car.'

Higgs pulled Remus along with such force Remus thought he was close to dislocating his arm. The auror opened the back door of the car and pushed him down onto the seat.

'You're in the back with it, Black,' Higgs nodded.

Sirius was having a whispered argument with Moody, but then he swivelled on his heal and walked around the car, sat down inside, slammed the door shut, and tried to keep as far away from Remus as he could.

'Keep your wand handy,' Moody said to him, leaning through the front passenger door. 'I'll see you back in London, Black.'

'Yeah, see you,' Sirius muttered, glaring out of his own window and refusing to look at his colleague.

Higgs and Withers got in, with Withers behind the wheel again. Moody, the three other Aurors, and several muggles watched them as they drove off down the road.