Chapter 2

Remus Lupin sat in a small hut in the far countryside of Scotland. Privately, the only option he had at the moment, he would admit that it was a far cry from the comforts of Hogwarts, but that door was closed to him now. He shook his head as he considered the childish reaction of Snape, still holding a grudge against him for Sirius's action. Even James and I forgave that mangy dog years ago for that incident and my life was just as much in danger.

It was a new moon, leaving the wolf within him at its quietest. As a result of the peaceful scenario, he sat outside, watching the sunset, nursing a cup of tea. The breeze was chilly, but he had a small fire going in the outdoor fire pit. He'd enjoyed adding that feature. It was him putting a nice touch on this small place he'd saved for over the year.

The silence around him soothed his spirit as he considered what to do next. Sirius had managed to somehow get into Gringotts last year to give Harry an expensive present. This summer, he'd done the same and managed to name him a steward for the Black Family accounts. He'd also claimed his Head of House status in the bank to allow business to be carried out in the family name, though the goblins had politely requested he do so through an intermediary to prevent further issues with the wizarding Ministry.

As a result, Remus had a decent salary now, not that he could argue against the charity. It was the designated proper amount per the Ministry. Some part of him had to chuckle that the very Ministry that made his life difficult had finally made it easy. Still, he lived simply. He didn't need much. He was a man of simple pleasures.

He chuckled as the thought of his first duty crossed his mind. That day, he'd delivered the notices to Azkaban and the Malfoy Estate, two polar opposites in appearance with the same bad news arriving to each. Sirius had ejected his two proper pureblood cousins, reclaiming dowries for each.

Oddly, Bellatrix's dowry had been the easiest to reclaim. It was still in her personal vault. With the various activities she'd been up to with her husband while wearing masks, they'd never gotten around to merging their vaults. He'd requested that everything be reviewed, cleansed of dark magic and placed in the Black main vault, an inventory of the main vault and the additions from the Death Eater's vault sent to him as part of his duties. It surprised him the level of work he was going to have to do to maintain his title.

Narcissa's had been more problematic in that the merger had gone through. Anticipating the fight over his blood status and condition, he'd paid the fee to have a goblin recovery team join him for the delivery to the manor. Items had been reclaimed, a draft for the gold had been written and he'd left as expediently as he could without showing fear. He was certain that Lucius would try to curse him in the back, but the man had stayed his hand for some unknown reason.

The sun had just slipped almost out of sight when he noticed a white speck on the horizon. He squinted, then recognized the owl as a snowy owl. "Hedwig?" He spoke softly, knowing that the owl probably couldn't hear him. As it neared, he was more certain that this was the owl he'd seen with Harry on various occasions.

She perched on the arm of his chair and extended her leg, allowing him to remove the letter she carried. "Thank you, Hedwig. I don't have any treats, but there is a lovely field, you should find some mice if you want to hunt. I can summon one if you don't feel like it, though."

Hedwig bobbed her head, then took to wing. Soon, she was diving to the ground, and he opened the letter, breaking the plain seal. For a moment, he pondered the lack of a marking on the two halves of the wax circle "I wonder if Harry knows that he can use his family's seal."

Dear Professor Lupin,

I'm writing to you for advice. Against my will, I have been entered in the Triwizard Tournament. Despite the school's leadership acknowledging that I did not do this and that I'm in great danger from not only the events of the Tournament, but also from whomever placed my name into the running for this, they've turned a blind eye to everything. My friends have turned on me. Right now, I'm hiding in a classroom that no one uses. I hired a house elf to help me and she's hiding the door from anyone I don't want to see me, but I need help. I don't know who else to turn to and I know you seemed to like me as a student before you had to leave.

You're not a Hogwarts professor anymore, so you can make suggestions as to how I can proceed. I can't go to the faculty for help due to the rules, not that I think they will help me anyway. Even McGonagall has basically said I'm a disgrace…I should never have asked that question in Defense, but I thought it might be on the exam….

Can you send me some recommendations for study material so I can try to survive this? Please?

Harry

Remus tossed back the remainder of his tea and stared at the letter. "Hedwig?"

The owl landed on her previous perch, seeming more content now that she'd eaten. "Can you stay for a while? I want to write back, but I need to think about my response."

The owl bobbed her head and he smiled at her. "Clever girl. Let's go inside for a bit. I have a better perch for you if you want to rest. I don't have an owl, but I keep a perch and a water dish for visiting owls." He frowned. "I should make sure I have some treats, too, huh, girl?"

He offered his arm and she leapt to his wrist, gripping just tight enough to maintain balance as he carried her inside.

On a beach on an isolated island that no one could see, much less arrive on without the special portkey that he had collected from his vault, Sirius Black lay in the sun. His mind was not on the sun or the pleasant supplies of food that he'd arranged via a vendor in Diagon through Gringotts, but on the island itself. He knew that paradise was the last place he should be. Unlike his friend Remus, who tired of the anti-Dark creature sentiment in the paper, he kept a subscription to the Daily Prophet. This was delayed by a day due to delivery issues, but he still was aware that his godson was in a dangerous position.

He considered slipping back into Britain, but held his thoughts in check again, the thought going through his head that Remus had made sense when he suggested going here. "Go, recover, gather your strength and we'll work on finding a way for you to live in the open. First, you need to lose the Azkaban look."

Several weeks of filling meals and time in the sun had helped with that. Having a working wand and a chance to recover some of his training had helped, too. Remus had sent a few books from the muggle world and, despite his reticence to exercise, he'd found some of the workouts in them fun to do on the beach. If he needed to cool off, he could leap to the right and fall in the water.

The chime of his mirror distracted him from the fonder memories of his stay, and he reached out, slapping at the sand until he felt the warm glass. "Hello?"

"Sirius, I think we have a problem."

"Lucy threatening to sue or something? Just sic the family lawyer on him. If Archibald has passed or retired, ask his office for a recommendation. I want someone as ruthless as I remember him being."

The lack of a response from Remus was a sign to Sirius that things were not as he expected. "I got a letter from Harry."

Sirius sat up, pulling his sunglasses out of the way as he positioned the mirror in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"Were you aware of the Triwizard Tournament?"

"I read the papers, as you should if you're going to be a good steward of my resources," Sirius said admonishingly. "He's in it, but it's a school tournament. How bad can it be?" Some part of his memory had tickled at the name of the tournament, but nothing more specific than a vague feeling of unease had jumped out at him. He may have loved History, but school history was dead boring to him. Too much gloating about how each school was the world's premier institute of learning or whatever nonsense they were putting in their brochures.

Remus frowned, then spoke again. "It's not just a school tournament, Sirius. He shouldn't even be in it, not sure how the law's going to work on the fact that he's underage in an of age event. " the man shook his head, mumbling to himself for a moment before continuing.

"Apparently, it's his second year all over again. Everyone's turned on him and even the faculty are pushing back at him. I don't understand some of what's in the letter, I think he left out a few details that would make it make sense, but I'm worried about him. He said he was hiding in an unused classroom and wants study aids because he doesn't think the professors will help him."

"Even McGonagall?"

Remus sighed. "The letter said she called him a disgrace."

Sirius growled quietly. "I want to come back…but I know, we need a plan. This isn't going to be me from that Halloween, Moony."

Remus visibly relaxed. "Good. I have an idea, but I want to use Black resources for this."

Sirius waved his free hand. "Done. I made you steward of the accounts; I made him my heir. Thankfully, Gringotts doesn't care about the Ministry convictions, only what magic allows." He scratched his chin, thinking idly that he needed to shave. "What are you thinking?"

"How do you feel about teaching?"

"Depends on the subject and the student, though I think I know who you mean."

"Check your box tomorrow. I'm going to send you a few things from good ole' Blighty." Remus smiled. "I think it's time the Marauders played a big one this time."

Sirius barked a laugh. "About time. Let's take down the Ministry, too, if we can. Pull a real Guy Fawke's style rearrangement but we actually succeed in our event."

Remus shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow. Let's see how this goes first."

The image faded out and Sirius carefully placed the mirror to one side. Something about having a mission to complete felt invigorating. He rose and gathered his bag. Slinging it across his back, he started jogging again. It was time to get going again.

AN: A thanks to a review that pointed out a spelling error in the prior chapter, that is resolved in that chapter and I'm working to locate any instances in future chapters.

Also, there was a guest review that attempted to answer the question of where I got the "McGonagall/Disgrace" scene. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the listed author. I even tried variations of the name in the search, and I copied from the review before that, not trusting my own spelling. Any other suggestions? Please let me know and thanks again for reading.