Proper Life

"Dad, come on," Harry groaned, bouncing on the heels of his feet and staring anxiously into the fireplace and out the window once more where the sun had barely graced the treetops.

"I am coming son, give me one more minute," James huffed at his child, scurrying down the stairs and fastening a cloak on. "Now have you finished all your summer homework?"

"Yes," Harry ground out, "I promise I did it all last weekend," he huffed, already walking towards the fireplace.

"Have you written to Sirius, made sure he knows to meet us there?" He called after Harry, who was already taking up a pinch of green powder.

"He knows Dad, because we talked about this ages ago before he left. Come on, Uncle Remus said he got me something really special for my birthday." Harry retorted, tossing the Floo Powder in and waiting impatiently for the green fire to roar to life.

James was moving towards the kitchen, but Harry was no longer listening as his father continued telling him to wait. After stating his location, he disappeared with a whoosh. James rolled his eyes as he poked his head in to see his wand laying on top of the kitchen table where he'd left it. James pocketed it as he finally went to the fireplace and mimicked his son's actions. He stepped out of the new fire, dusting off ashes and calling out, "Remus, make sure you don't-"

Then froze at the destruction before him.

Harry was pinned to the ground, a great beast that was hardly distinguishable through the mounds of silver fur had its jaw fastened tightly at Harry's right arm that had clearly been thrown up to protect his neck. The monster was jerking its head from side to side, as if determined to rip the whole limb out of socket, ignoring the screams and please of its victims.

James recognized all of this in the split second it took for his wand to appear, and to throw a curse. It bounced off the furry hide, being of no more use than the other three he then tried.

All the while his feet were moving, he continued running closer, calling Harry's name and alternately threatening the creature to get away from his son, which seemed to fall on deaf ears. It wasn't until he was right on top of it and aimed a heavy kick at its head that he recognized what his brain was refusing to show him.

It was a werewolf.

He didn't stop to think of the improbability in this, he simply changed form and continued his attack, now using antlers to pierce where the heart should be. This finally garnered some attention, the beast swatted him away with a hind leg, but Prongs took no notice of this. He released a guttural noise only a desperate animal could, continuing to tackle and pounce; determined to give his life to force this creature to release his son. He reared back and went for another blow with his horns, years of practice giving him the gain, this time stampeding so hard they all rolled.

This finally dislodged the brute from Harry, who tried to crawl away and clutch at his limb all at once. It also tossed Prongs into a wall, but he refused to allow himself to be stunned long. The werewolf was already shaking itself and preparing for another lunge at Harry.

The simplistic animal nature he now carried told him to run, flee while he had the chance, but he dominantly ignored that and instead charged once more, still aiming for the heart. The creature dodged, but with moves long perfected he merely caught the beast and threw it across the room. This time it crashed into a wall, feet away from an open door. He didn't stop to think, never pondered what or where it even led. With every bit of strength he had, he muscled the creature back, back some more, ignoring whatever blows he received himself in return. As shadows began passing around it finally put true attention on him, muzzle and fangs forcefully fighting back and landing its own blows. He only briefly registered teeth sinking into his flank, when finally the blackness of the entryway covered them both.

Mustering any reserves of strength, he pressed all of his weight, and was suddenly weightless. There was a crashing sensation all over, and it was only as his hooves clattered across the musty ground did he recognize, basement. That was all he allowed himself, he was already sprinting back up the stairs, fleet-footed and stampeding back into the open area, his hind legs smashing the door closed behind himself with so much force he wondered if he didn't break it.

Didn't matter, he was already transforming again, his wand back in his hand as he cried several spells to keep that door sealed no matter what. Not moments after he was done, there was a tremendous BANG as the werewolf slammed into the door, still determined to go after it's pray. James only waited a second, then after another satisfying crash, turned away in contempt. That thing wasn't going anywhere now.

The room was spinning, he staggered over to his son, murmuring his name constantly and wondering where all the blood had come from. In a semi-hysterical moment as he gazed down at his sons bleeding limb, he realized that was going to leave another scar.

"Harry, Harry," he kept muttering over and over again pleading with the world for a sign of life.

"Dad," he groaned, his face pressed into the floor as he continued to curl around in his own pool of blood. "It hurts."

"I know son, I know, I got you," he murmured.

James reached down and placed a reassuring hand on his good shoulder, and tried as gently as possible to roll his son over. After a few more panting breathes Harry did move, and James couldn't help but release a curse at what he saw.

Harry was pale as a death already, sweating and fisting his hand into his shirt just above where a gaping wound was weeping down his wrist, still spewing blood. James reacted at once, never having put his wand away he used it now to murmur a few spells he knew well.

It didn't yet occur to him to question why they worked as easily as they did, the wounds beginning to close shut and staunching the blood flow. Casting one more murderous look back at the still banging door, he instead hoisted Harry to his feet and stumbled back over to the fireplace, promising over and over again it was going to be okay. It was a tight fit but they made it in and once again experienced the wooshing sensation when James sent them off again.

Not a full second passed after the spinning stopped when he stumbled into the gleaming white lobby of St. Mungous, crying, "help, someone!"

He was surrounded by Healers in moments, all asking questions and trying to separate the two at the same time. James realized some of his delirium was still lingering when he kept a tight hold on his son, refusing to let him go even as he recognized this was why he'd brought him here.

4

"Here you are Poppet-"

"Mum!" Poppy groaned, burying her face in Olly's fur as her mother poked her head into the room. "I pleaded with you not to call me that while Leo was over!"

Ms. Tulin's face just smiled adoringly at her daughter, shaking her blonde hair around with amusement as she put a few letters on the desk. The crinkle lines around her light blue eyes turned in once more as she smiled lovingly at the pair. "I've told you, it's a mother's job. I've got to enjoy it now while you're not off at school so much, speaking of," she gestured to the sealed and heavy envelopes. "An owl arrived with these for you two." Even after three years, Leo smiled at the delight on the Muggles face as she announced such a thing.

She waved goodbye and departed just as quickly while Leo stifled a laugh and stroked the cats black and orange fur to coax the owner to look back up. "Don't sweat it, I think it's cute."

Poppy sighed and brushed the curls out of her face as she replaced her purring cat onto her pillow and got up to investigate the letters. Leo followed, and the two grinned down at their new book lists.

"Hogsmeade at last!" Leo cheered at the newest paper. "This is going to be a blast, we finally won't have to ask Ginny to smuggle us those Butterbeers, and we can go hang around the Shrieking Shack!"

"I'll bet Harry's even more excited than you are," Poppy chuckled, "his dad finally letting him go."

"Oh you've no idea," Leo agreed, though he'd shared his sneaking suspicion his cousin had tried to figure out a few secret passages. What he didn't know was how well Harry had worked them out, nor was he going to ask, he didn't want to spoil the fun of finding them himself.

"I still can't believe you took Muggle Studies," Poppy snorted as she compared the two book lists, "you've got me for that haven't you?"

"I figured you got tired of me asking you to explain air conditioning," Leo shrugged, keeping his smile alive and his secret to himself.

"Well it's not like that's going to stop, between you three, even Luna when she graces us with her presence," she finished dramatically, before finishing in a smaller and very real voice, "how did I manage all my friends being pureblood?"

"Luna's a half-blood," Leo quickly corrected, recalling Luna easily bringing up something the others had no idea she was so comfortable talking about. The girl did love to share whatever little knowledge she had of her mother though.

"Yeah, but it doesn't feel like it when I'm the only one who knows what a telephone is," Poppy muttered, twirling her wand around in her fingers now.

Olly seemed to sense her distress as much as her friend, the feline leaping onto the desk and rubbing her face against the letter. She smiled and began stroking the sleek face, purring all that was heard for a few moments before Leo threw an arm around her. "Look, I took Muggle Studies for fun, not because I don't want you around! We're your friends whether you can ever describe why those Muggle shoes light up or not, trust me! I used to know how that feels and I don't want you to ever feel the same."

"Your dad's been better about that though, yeah?" She asked quickly, her own insecurity instantly forgotten as she looked up.

"Oh definitely," Leo assured at once, all sincerity now. "He's spent half the summer just me and him, it's been great. I was a bit relieved when you asked me over to be honest, I almost needed a break," he finished with a laugh.

"Isn't he supposed to be here by now?" Poppy added, eyeing the clock above the desk. It took a moment to remember how to read the bloody Muggle thing, but then Leo put together same as her, "yeah, he's almost two hours late actually. Not that I haven't enjoyed being here all day, but do you think I should just go over to Uncle Remus' without him?"

"And have him pop into this kitchen scaring me mum half to death?" Poppy protested.

Leo nodded in agreement and pulled her back to the bed, though he hadn't even realized his arm had still been around Poppy the whole time, it felt so natural. He peered back down at the new school lists instead to change the subject rather than wonder how long he could leave it there. "I hope you and Luna enjoy Care of Magical Creatures, Harry made it seem like a lot of fun last year."

"I hope we start with a Hippogriff lesson too," Poppy agreed at once. "I want the one Harry was talking about, the sweet tan one."

"Wasn't that supposed to be the odd one that wouldn't hurt a fly?" Leo thought back. "You've got to come over to my place soon, you'll love Buckbeak. My dad got him from Hagrid ages ago on a whim, it's sort of hilarious how much the two fawn over each other."

"I can't believe Ginny didn't want to take it with us," Poppy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy sound like the hardest ones, what's the matter with our friends picking those instead?"

"At least we've got Divination together, Harry's always telling me what a snooze fest that class is so we get a dozer there." Leo smiled as he tightened his arm and tried to push down the almost possessive glee he felt at constantly reminding himself of that news. Finally a class the two of them shared that Mikey didn't.

Poppy, clearly noticing nothing, finally shrugged out from under his arm and beckoned him into the hallway. "Come on, if you're dad's going to be late, I should probably let mum know she's got to feed us now."

Leo followed her back down the narrow hallway, the creaky flight of stairs, and down into the modest living room. He stopped for a moment to grin out at the view. Growing up in the shadow of a mountain had always made him feel protected in the valley of his home, but he now saw the wide rolling hills of this place just as open and friendly as his best friend. He'd always thought Muggles lived in tightly packed houses so close to each other they'd looked like sardines from the sky when he'd viewed them, and was more than happy for this pleasant, isolated bungalow.

He entered the kitchen to find Poppy and Ms. Cindy Tulin laughing loudly, a fine layer of flower covering them both.

"I wish I could just magic this away for you," Leo said at once as he went to the cupboard and handed her what she needed to start wiping this up, slowly.

"Oh nonsense," she corrected in a sing-song voice. "What's the fun in making a mess if you can't laugh while fixing it?"

Another hour later and they were tucking into a light meal when Poppy's mum turned to him with a sudden exclamation, "oh, Leo dear, didn't you say your dad was a mechanic?"

"Yeah," Leo said in surprise. "He loves Muggle vehicles, builds some himself. Keeps him really busy, he's been gone all day now trying to track down this one part."

The delighted smile on her face was strange for Leo to see, whenever he'd brought this up at Hogwarts students looked at him like an alien. He knew his dad was ostracized from normal pureblood families for this reason, that didn't make it less strange to see it so accepted to this Muggle woman.

"Well I hope he doesn't mind terribly, but my car was making an odd sound when I took it into town yesterday. I don't mind you staying as late as you like of course, so perhaps I could steal him away before you two whisk off, have him look at it."

"I'm sure he'd love that," he exclaimed, just as there was a rapid knock on the door. "Probably him now," Leo laughed as he got up, both of them following. "Of course he'd arrive now when food's served, Uncle James always said he had a knack for-" words froze in his throat, it was as if he'd opened the door to the grim rather than his dad's disturbed face.

4

"Face it, he's hiding something! Those bites don't match anything in our records-"

James looked up sharply at the hushed voices approaching his room, focusing for what felt like the first time in hours on anything other than his sons still breathing chest.

"For now Smethwyck, let's just get the boy healthy, if we must we'll contact the Ministry later." Harry's Healer responded calmly, before the door was opened and the kindly elder man stepped in.

James took wearily to his feet, keeping his hands protectively close to Harry's bedside no matter how much his brain kept telling him that was no longer needed. "Why hasn't he woken up?" He demanded at once.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I actually came to ask you about that," he said cordially. "We've run every test we can, and we can't seem to identify what attacked your son, which is likely what's causing this sudden coma. You're sure you didn't see anything of what attacked him?"

Panic seized his throat shut as his life warred between his eyes. He could tell the truth, that he had no idea what did attack his son, because it couldn't be Remus! That had not been Moony, he knew that with every fiber of his life, but at the same time, he didn't know what did happen!

The fact that a werewolf was teaching at Hogwarts was not common knowledge by any means, even just hinting at the association could put his friend in such deep trouble...but none of these plaguing questions explained the impossible. Something werewolf like had attacked his son, and he hadn't been able to find Remus anywhere to ask what!

If he didn't tell what little he knew, what would happen to Harry? He needed answers, he needed help. He'd written to Sirius the moment the Healers had gotten his own wounds to stop bleeding, something he'd barely acknowledged. He didn't know how long it would take him to respond though and get here. Moony had the mirror last, and he wasn't answering any of James' desperate attempts to get a hold of him.

He wanted Lily.

She'd know what to do the second this had gone up in flames around him.

"Mr. Potter?" he couldn't even remember the doctor's name, he barely acknowledged his surroundings anymore, eyes back on his sons still beating heart. The wounds had been sealed shut as easily as his own, all the blood he'd lost had been replaced. There was indeed bite marks left in place marring his arm, but it was already faded into his skin as if it were years old thanks to their charms. He'd seen a werewolf bite before. It wasn't a perfect match, but similar enough.

"I-"

"James!"

Sirius was here at last, James' head snapping up at once hearing his voice echo down a whole hallway. He couldn't bear to leave Harry's side even for this though, so shouted back, "Sirius!"

He was stumbling into the room before his voice had even faded, pale as death as he took in the scene. Leo was right behind him, all eyes as he took the place in.

Sirius cursed up a storm as he tackled James in a hug before bending over Harry, hand brushing along the slight movements of his chest. "You gave me a damn heart attack Prongs! I thought you two were here dead!"

"So did I," James admitted as he weakly sunk back into his chair.

"What happened!?"

James closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and refused to let himself hesitate over this decision anymore, time to make a choice.

"Sir, do you mind giving us a moment? This is my brother, I'd like to be the one to tell him, the situation. I'll come find you if I remember more."

If he was suspicious, he hid it well. "Alright then, come get me if there's any change at all in Harry."

"You have my word," he promised that much, waiting several moments after the door was closed before leaning in close and speaking as softly as possible, "get a hold of Dumbledore, you two need to go to Remus' place now and find out what happened."

It took a shorter amount of time than James expected for Sirius' face to flicker with understanding, and fear. "Prongs, what are you saying? It's the middle of the day, and a full moon was over a week ago-"

"I know!" He half shouted, having done every scenario possible in his head and coming up just as empty on explanations. "There's a, creature, in Moony's basement, that's what attacked Harry. It was strong Pads, but it wasn't anywhere near as powerful as a real werewolf, trust me on that. There was something off about it, but I hardly sat around doing a bloody paper when it was trying to eat my son!"

"So Harry's not," they'd said the word werewolf so many times, it hung in the background of so many conversations it was as casual to them as Voldemort's name years ago. Now though, with a fate hanging over Harry's head...

"I don't know," James kept saying that, and it hurt worse every time. "He won't wake up, though they healed the wound- I mean, look at it Sirius."

He had, and he was again, as well as Leo. He was sitting beside his cousin on the bed and tracing the new scar with a completely blank expression. It was impossible to tell how much of this he was taking in past his own shock.

"I'm scared Sirius," James all but mouthed the words as he looked at the pair. "I, I should have told the Healer, I know that, but I can't, what if that was-"

"I'll take care of it Prongs," Sirius cut in with flat determination, grabbing his shoulder painfully tight, and making sure the desperate father looked him in the eyes. "You did the right thing, Ministry probably would have had Remus arrested the moment you hinted at any of this without a second thought, I'm going to find out what happened, I promise James."

He hugged him one last time, went to his son and gave him the same and a quickly whispered promise he'd be back. He paused to brush his hand along Harry's forehead before leaving.

4

"Leave that to me," Dumbledore instructed as more brutal snarls erupted from beneath their feet. The second they'd stepped foot in here, a powerful series of bangs continued upon the sealed away door. "You take the rest of the house, find Remus."

Sirius bristled at being told what to do like some student of his, but didn't argue the point either, as that had been exactly what he was intending. He went through every room in the house with the shortest steps possible, hoping to find an unconscious body, his mind offering every shadow as a pool of blood or worse.

He circled back to the main room in no time though with nothing to show for it, took a deep breath, and began again, combing every square inch of every room now for anything out of place, and there was plenty of that to be found.

The kitchen, like every room, was trashed. Instead of Remus' usual immaculate space, where it was uncommon for every trace of dust not to be burnished away while he called this place home over the summer, every bit of furniture was broken, cups and his teapot lay in scattered remains. Claw marks were gouged right out of the cupboard door, but it was impossible to tell if the destruction was purely from the creature wreaking havoc on the place, or if this had been done to Remus before he inexplicably vanished. He went through every cupboard and drawer trying not to remember laughing about Moony insisting upon his own place out here by a marsh of all things, finding the little isolated cottage perfect for his needs. He and James had tried to convince him he'd be perfectly safe with them at his house, of course they'd keep the kids safe...

He slammed a door shut so hard it fell right off its broken hinges, and Sirius swallowed painfully around his hammering heart, refusing to let his eyes linger on a gift with Harry's name printed on the side sitting forlornly in the far corner of the kitchen, half buried by the broken table.

The other rooms were only slightly more put together, much more in his friend's usual style. In his original haste he hadn't given Remus' room the time to let it sink in, but now Sirius was turning slowly on the spot as this offered something to the story at least. There was a brush on the nightstand he'd swear he'd never seen before, a tan leather jacket half sticking out from under the bed, a trunk with seven different key-holes in the far corner, and a pair of boots knocked over he'd had to step over in the hallway to small to be a mans.

The obvious answer hovered in front of him, and these things presence bothered him damn near as much as Remus' continued absence. It scared him how much he had to struggle with his mind to recall if Moony said he was seeing anyone, let alone casually enough for something like this to be happening.

His eyes flickered back to the trunk again, his mind hovering painfully on it for some reason he tried desperately to understand-

"Sirius, would you join me please?"

He only hesitated a moment before complying, stopping in admiration at the sight before him.

Dumbledore truly was a gifted wizard, no one had ever denied that, and even fewer still would at seeing this.

He didn't know how it had been done, but the large silvery beast was now hovering in the middle of the room. Awake, mad eyes tracking all movement with animal skill, but unable to do more than continue its deep threatening growls from however Dumbledore had encased it in the transparent sphere somewhere between a glittering cage and a tank.

Sirius instantly knew what James had been talking about, it most certainly was werewolf in shape, but there was something off he could more instantly identify than Prongs having to wrench such a monster away from Harry.

The snout was short, the teeth protruding from its maw jagged and misshapen. Those were hands, not true paws, but covered in the thick silver fur amassing its whole body, including the tail jutting out at a painful looking angle. He stepped cautiously closer and saw why, the fur had grown straight through trousers.

He stumbled back in surprise and looked to Dumbledore to see the contemplative look on his face.

"That's not Remus," he said at once with complete confidence.

"Of that, we agree," his old headmaster said calmly, now walking slowly around the tank. "What exactly has happened here though is the true question. My original thought was a poorly done transfiguration, but this poor soul has a much deeper problem than a wayward spell. I can not reverse this, nor can I pull together anymore how any of this came to be."

"Whoever this is attacked Remus and Harry," Sirius said at once. "Then they, Merlin I don't even know, tried to," he couldn't come up with anything past that himself.

"I did however, manage to find these on person," Dumbledore held up a key-ring, with several keys clinking in place. "Our next mystery shall have to be retracing steps somehow, to find where these could possibly-"

Sirius snatched them away and was already back in Remus' room, his movements hardly even his own. Dumbledore was right behind him without question, his sprightly steps keeping up without issue.

A sense of deja vu was flooding Sirius' brain as he shoved each key into place and opened the lid, sympathy and fear for Moody being at the bottom of this- "Remus!"

Whatever his brain had been trying to conjure was gone in the same second as he landed beside his friend, tapping him painfully on the face, hands shaking worse than ever. "Remus! Moony, come on mate, please be okay," he stopped to press his ear next to his heart, and only felt his continue as he heard the reassuring thuds. He pulled his wand in the same second and cried, "Innervate!"

Remus didn't stir, and Sirius could only take the slightest moment of relief he seemed unharmed despite this, not a scratch on him as far as he could tell.

Sirius made no protest, instead keeping a firm hold on Remus as Dumbledore gently lifted them back up. Dumbledore waved his wand himself, but still Remus' head merely slumped into the crook of Sirius' neck. This was no normal sleep, he already knew without Dumbledore speaking to himself, the absent snores from his friend spoke that loud and clear for him.

"-let's get him to Hogwarts."

That did get Sirius' attention. "I don't know if Madam Pomfrey can handle this, and James needs to know we found him. Let's get to St. Mungos-"

There was a resounding crack in the house, and Sirius automatically cast the nastiest hex that came to mind in protest that merely shot off the wall and went sailing out of sight into the living room. Voldemort himself couldn't rip his friend from his side now.

"Remus, we've got to- Remus!"

Dumbledore was moving back into the living room, while Sirius stumbled further into the room, torn between lying Remus on the bed to better maneuver for a fight or keep him at his side for a quick getaway. Nobody should be able to apparate straight into his home, something was wrong.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

"Miss Tonks, a surprise to see you-"

"Sir, is that-? Where's Remus? He's got to get out of here, now!"

"Please calm yourself, and I'll explain as much as I-"

"I can't, you don't understand! The other Auror's are on their way-"

Decision made, Sirius clutched his wand and his friend and meant to turn on the spot, but not fast enough.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

All around the property, the noise akin to what a gallows would sound like, and Sirius had not been able to leave as they arrived. The work of the Ministry surely, they'd allowed themselves to apparate in, and put up wards to stop their prey from leaving. Half a dozen voices shouted into the high-noon sun, "werewolf Remus Lupin! You are under arrest by order of the Ministry of Magic for the attempted murder of Harry Potter!"

4

POTTER'S HAIRY ATTACK

July 31st is not a recognized holiday amongst the common wizarding folks, nor nearly as infamous as a day many have called in jest Harry Potter Day, but the two have one very important thing in common that was nearly ripped from our lives by the jaws of Hogwarts own-

"Stop!" James snatched the paper away and began tearing it into tiny little pieces that were soon fluttering around the room like mock confetti. James sank back into his chair, hands still shaking as he ached to tear a million more Evening Prophets to shreds rather than this unbearable waiting game.

"Sorry James, should have read it to myself first," Sirius admitted, slumping in the chair beside him.

"It's not true though!" Leo said at once as he watched the two somehow look even more sickly than when the paper had been delivered by a preoccupied Healer. "Uncle Remus couldn't, he'd never-"

"Of course not Leo," Sirius was quick to soothe his growing panic. "Dumbledore's looking into this with the full might of being the Supreme Mugwump behind him, he'll get to the bottom of this, and I should be out helping," he finished in a much lower mutter in hopes his son wouldn't hear.

James still did. "If you could think of anything else to be out there doing, you'd be doing it Sirius. You damn near got arrested today with him for trying to stop this, probably would have if Dumbledore hadn't been there. I should have- please," his voice cracked painfully. "Please Padfoot," he couldn't keep going, but Sirius didn't need him to as he sunk farther in his seat and didn't make to move again as they went back to their silent vigil.

The two sat painfully straight in their seats, the younger boy watching the tense set of their shoulders with more fear than he was his cousin. He'd never seen them fight, and it was clear they were trying to keep that true when Uncle James leaned over and whispered, "I didn't say anything Sirius, you know I didn't. I don't know who found out, how-"

"Only three people knew about this James," Sirius said to the opposite wall without looking at anyone, "and I don't see Dumbledore throwing him to the wolves at a time like this. I know, okay, I wouldn't be any more right in the head if this had happened to Leo, I'm panicking too-"

"But I didn't! I didn't tell the Ministry or anyone!" James hissed even lower, he was looking past weary now and just plain affronted he had to repeat himself.

Sirius forced himself to nod he'd heard, but for now, that was all he could manage.

It seemed to last for years, the two remaining silent and praying for the slightest noise from Harry. Leo eventually nodded off beside him, the two curled up in the same bed normally would have warmed the fathers' hearts for such a constant scene from their younger days being played out again in such mockery.

Without the kids awake to keep their defenses up though, their worry only grew. Sirius took to pacing the room restlessly, letting every stray thought out in a whisper in hopes James would latch onto and help along any theory, but his mate had his face buried in his hands that were still shaking.

He'd gotten no warning of this.

Their life over the past thirteen years had been a whirlwind since that fateful night, the events sticking out in painful clarity and sharp focus now as he examined each turn his life had taken to land him here. The past three years though, had been oddly...predictable.

He tried to pin down what he could, to focus more clearly than ever on that sense that had been bothering him since Harry started school. It was the most elusive Snitch in the world though, evading capture and only giving him little glimpses, the shimmering nudge of a feeling worse than the slipperiest mist.

The Quidditch World Cup would be happening next month, and he'd argued with himself about buying tickets for the first time in his life. It shouldn't even be a question, he'd silently argued with himself, but that hadn't stopped him worrying over it for ages before Harry finally convinced him with Lily's eyes. He'd caved, and then Sirius had tried to laugh the whole thing off and made the spectacularly absurd bet of a thousand galleons on Krum getting the Snitch but Ireland winning. It was like a dream, or a nightmare, but one he couldn't shake as inevitable in coming.

The same feeling had been present all last year, when he'd been so sure something involving Azkaban, something very, very wrong would happen, and then he'd laid eyes on the news of Peter's escape.

Deja vu had tried to whisper in his ear as he kept an eye on Ginny for no discernible reason the rest of that day after seeing Arthur and Lucius brawl in Flourish and Blotts, he'd joked to Remus about keeping an eye on Lockhart.

Even farther back still, and a part of his brain tingling like a live wire every time he talked to Remus about something being hidden in the school that first year.

The details weren't always right, the edges of his vision often felt distorted lately like he was trying to see double past his own glasses.

This had come without warning, and he didn't know what came next.

He tried to dig back, to the very first time. When he'd very first ignored this sixth sense, and it had cost Lily her life. Every instinct in the world had told him not to trust Peter, his beloved wife and both of his friends had cautioned him against it, but there was the smallest part of James that refused to believe the inevitable betrayal. She had suffered the price, and James had spent the following years repressing inside of him why they had been right. Because if he looked too long at himself, the guilt would eat him alive, and all of this would truly be his fault-

A girl with brilliant pink hair fell face first into the room to break the litany inside.

He and Sirius were on their feet the second this unknown appeared, in front of their kids and prepared to do more than stun any stranger who dared encroach on this modicum of safety in this place, but she got unsteadily to her feet and immediately recognized her mistake.

"I'm sorry! I, shouldn't have just barged in here, I know, but-"

"Who are you?" Sirius demanded, taking a step farther, keeping James and his now startled son even safer behind him.

"Wait, I know you," the vivid hair stuck out in James' memory, but his unease merely grew as he vaguely recognized, "you were that Auror last year on the case of finding-"

"Yeah, Tonks, Nympahdora, pleased to meet you," she tried to brush off, her skin sickly pale as she kept watching the two, neither of whom lowered their wands. "I figured you'd want to hear this-"

"Who's your dad?" Sirius interrupted, the name tugging something at the edge of his memory he hadn't let himself think about in a long time-

"Edward, goes by Ted, is that really important right now?" She flared, clearly growing angry, even as Sirius cursed and rubbed his forehead for the sudden implications before him.

"Sirius?" James asked in concern, shifting his weight in preparedness to take flight any second.

Sirius surprised him by stuffing his wand away instead. "She's alright Prongs, sorry, I'll ah, explain later, you," he barked, "explain now."

"I'm trying!" She said back just as snappy. "I was the one at Remus' bloody trial, he's always going on about you two so I figured you'd like to know-"

"What trial?" The two chorused, shouting so loud Leo startled right out of the bed.

"Dad, what's going on?" He whispered, but the quiet plea in his voice drew all adult attention.

Sirius couldn't look him in the eye even as he looked desperately at him, then James, then at Harry.

"I'll explain as soon as I know cub," he promised, before starting to wave the two out the door.

James hesitated, feeling as if his soul were torn in two, dragging his feet but not actually stopping Sirius pulling him into the hallway along with Tonks and shutting the door behind them.

Prongs kept his hand on the handle even as he forced himself to pay attention as Tonks began again, "I get it's a shock, the whole thing was put together like a madhouse. I only managed to stay in because I claimed to be one of his arresting officers. It was completely barbaric, a sham to even call it that! Dumbledore tried his best, but, but Remus didn't even wake up through the whole thing and they still kept him chained to that ghastly chair. Dumbledore could hardly build a case in defense, he only just talked them down from the Kiss like they gave to that, that creature, whatever it was! It can't even be called that now, can it? Fudge, he was whipping the whole trial into a frenzy about Remus doing some, some horrid experiment to cause this and-"

"Quit stalling," Sirius hissed in such a dangerous voice Tonks froze on the spot, her wild movements coming to a complete stand still. "What aren't you telling us?"

James watched her dark purple eyes slowly fill with tears as she whispered, "they sentenced him to life in Azkaban."

4

Azkaban had always been the place of nightmares, of that nobody had questioned, but the threat of this prison seemed to have hung over the Marauder's heads more than most, though none had been able to put into words why until now.

He was four years old, and pain was all he'd know the rest of his life. The scars ran deeper than his now infected blood, the feeling of his very life being torn apart once a month a horror he'd never truly learn to cope with no matter how much he experienced it.

He tried to cling to what happened next, his parent's faces' promising love and support, not abandoning their son like so many others had, but he couldn't remember the sound of his mother's loving promise, his dad's confident smile Remus would survive this. No friendly dog, stag, and rat swam up to meet the vicious monster he would always become, no matter how much he pretended the problem had been solved, all he knew was that pain now.

"Lily...Harry?" James whispered into the wind, as the sight before them seeped into their brain, an image they all should have seen coming but could never be prepared for. "Harry! Lily!" The scream tore from his throat, James was sprinting over the threshold and out of sight without a backward glance.

"Remus, please- you have to understand!" The traitor bleated, a shadow of a bruise already forming, the wild look in his eye alien. "Forgive me," he whimpered, pressed so firmly into the ground he seemed to be trying to go right through it, the missing arm that had once housed a Dark Mark exposed at just the wrong time when it burned no longer present. "I, I tried to save him, he would have died too if I, I hadn't lured him out tonight-"

"There is nothing to forgive," I replied softly, for one small moment hope flickered across his face, before I finished, "because there is nothing left of the man I would have forgiven."

It was all that existed, Remus would never see the other side. The Aurors arriving, James cradling Lily's broken body before taking Harry far away from that place, he stood in the shell of what was once a home and felt nothing but the horror that night was.

"You shouldn't have left, you coward!"

"The only reason you weren't the traitor is you put yourself above what my son needed!"

The words, shouted in anger at him, long since forgotten by the two who had said it, never quite left him. He tried to pull up the first time James had smiled since Lily's death, getting to be there the day Harry took his first steps. Sirius had graced his arms with Leo, promising they really did understand...the longer he begged himself to feel that warmth the farther away it seemed.

He begged, pleaded, screamed to wake up from this nightmare, until finally as it all began again, each time worse than the last, it dawned on him he was awake.

4

"Awake, before the sun's even up, can you imagine!" Ron groaned as they trudged up the hill.

"The Quidditch World Cup is worth more than sleep!" Neville laughed as he helped Hermione over a particularly large hole.

"Your sister isn't upset about not coming is she?" Hermione asked, watching Ginny chat happily with Leo up ahead. "When is she starting school anyways?"

Neville's smile went a little odd like it always did the sparse times she'd been mentioned, or brought up by them. "Nah, she isn't much for the sport. I'm not either, probably wouldn't even know what a Keeper was if Ron didn't talk about it every five minutes."

"Oi!" Ron hooted in protest, waking him up far more effectively as he launched into a spiel for his friend about the grandness of what they were about to attend, all positions included.

Harry nodded out of obligation and didn't hear a word. Sleep wouldn't be of help, nor did he think even the World Cup would be. Every time he closed his eyes he was back in that hospital room, waking to the sound of stressed voices and Leo crying at his side. Then chaos as Healers and his family triple checked he was alive and well with no side effects to what had happened to him, and as far as anyone knew, there weren't any. Whatever had been forcing him asleep had passed out of him the moment his supposed attacker was sent away, only further solidifying in the public's eye their true culprit was caught.

It should have been a relief to escape to the Weasley's for the rest of the month, his dad and Uncle promising to keep their kids updated on any news as they were whisked from their home, a promise that had yet been kept. At least they were away, from the millions of letters pouring in from both well-wishers and protesters alike bombarding his opinion that had all vanished after the first day, but not soon enough for Harry not to know what the whole world now believed happened.

He didn't care about the rest of the world, he just wanted his Uncle Remus back. Instead he was left in the dark on if that was ever again going to be possible, just like always, as he was shipped away to his friend's house while his dad and Uncle Sirius were doing Merlin knew what to try and fix this, once again without including Harry.

He felt so useless, vulnerable even, as he traced the new scars on his arm through his shirt. A full moon had come and gone, there officially seemed no adverse side effects to what had happened to him, but that still didn't stop the recurring feeling of how trapped he'd felt that day, until his dad had saved him. There just had to be something he could do.

"We're here!" Mr. Weasley announced as they reached the top. Everyone began spreading out looking for whatever the Portkey was, but Harry just stood listlessly on the edge, watching the first rays of sun come up. He'd never been so uninterested in Quidditch in his life.

4

"Life is never dull around Hogwarts, eh?" Ron said cheerfully as the feast was finally served. "We've got another new teacher, Slytherin's got a new head of House, now there's going to be a Triwizard Tournament!"

Harry said nothing as he looked all the way across the hall, to his cousin sitting forlornly alone at the Slytherin table and not even making an attempt to eat, and he wasn't the only one displeased at that table to his surprise. Professor Lupin had made leaps and strides last year to try and incorporate complete Hogwarts unity, taking every complaint against a Slytherin student with the same judicial mediation he would if Harry and Leo were fighting over whose turn it was to pick that night's game. Whereas Slughorn had made a bit of a nuisance of himself last year by throwing parties that Harry had avoided and outright ignored.

Now Professor Lupin was gone, and the whole world was convinced they knew why, and Slughorn wasn't doing much of a job keeping his displeasure at his announcement as the new Head of House off his face. Rumors had already spread plenty last year he'd only come out of retirement as a last-ditch favor to Dumbledore and quite the pay raise, now he had even more responsibility.

Discourse in the Great Hall had been at an all-time high, now there were whispers of unease all centered around his Uncle's name, and his replacement wasn't soothing very many nerves.

"Ron," Hermione snapped, nudging him painfully in the side so that he coughed on his next bite of potato.

"Oh, Harry knows I, of course I miss Professor Lupin," his best mate was quick to retreat, but Harry wasn't angry, he was just tired. Even though he still couldn't sleep.

4

"-sleep?! Harry's not going anywhere, he's staying right here until we sort this out!"

Harry froze from rising out of his chair, as touched as he was surprised his dad was letting him stay as the argument only grew more heated.

"James please," Dumbledore kept himself as calm as ever. "If there was any more to be said, I would have done it, but there is nothing more we can do. Harry is now a part of the Triwizard Tournament, as we have no way to break the magical contract that now binds his magic."

James continued pacing as if he hadn't heard a word, and Harry almost did want to leave, it was scary to feel the anger pouring off of him in waves. "Where's Moody? I want a word with him! I thought you hired him on, after I told you that was a bad idea, to prevent shite like this from happening!"

"I understand your frustration James, anybody I would have picked to replace Remus would have-"

"One of my best friends is still in Azkaban while you can't run a school without getting my son killed! How is it every time something falls into your lap-"

"James, please," Minerva finally stepped forward, she clearly sensed the danger more than the headmaster bringing up Remus had been. Her eyes were on Sirius though, who was still clutching the back of Harry's chair for support, his breaths coming out in short, sharp little pants like he was trying to stop himself from vomiting.

James forced himself to take a breath and hear his old favorite teacher's words. "Without knowing the exact Confundus Charm that was used on the Cup, there is no way to reverse this."

"I'll be okay dad," Harry spoke for the first time, trying for a smile that even to himself felt forced. "The, the tournament's supposed to be, safer this year, right?"

James' face twitched, like he was trying to return the smile but it was too inlaid with worry to manage as he turned back to Dumbledore. "Right, that's right. Tell him what these bloody tasks are now, that way we can at least help him through as much as -"

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Dumbledore said gravely, his fingers stapled together seeming to strain a bit now, but his voice remained steady. "We are not told of them until a month in advance, and that is only to ensure the safety precautions put in place by those above our heads who put this together. Were we to assist Harry in any way, it would be paramount to cheating, and that would-"

"Break the bloody contract, yeah, I got it," James snapped, beginning to pace again. It was blessedly quiet for a few more moments as the reality of what Harry was hearing really sunk in, what he was woefully unprepared to do...

"I still want to talk to Moody," James spoke again, irrationally pinning this on him. "You said he was going to investigate everybody in this school-"

"Including Minerva, and myself, as impartially as he is capable of," Dumbledore kindly agreed.

"Right yeah," Sirius finally spoke up, voice hoarse. "Being a past member of the Order and all, I'm sure that'll go over swimmingly."

Dumbledore inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I will pass on to you whatever he brings me the moment I have it James, Sirius. Now then, I believe Harry's had enough excitement for one day. If you would like to continue, I have no problems staying up all night discussing this with you James, but Harry should be off to bed-"

"I'll decide that for my son," he snarled, taking a dangerous step forward, while the other three looked on in painful surprise. It was almost a tangible feeling in the air, the broken spirals of trust unraveling before their eyes. James shook himself then, forcing himself to take that step back, and beckoned to his son. He and Sirius followed him out, remaining in silence back down the stairs.

He only just got his breath back as they reached the corridor, where Neville, Hermione, and Ron were waiting. Harry looked up at the two with a new kind of weary expression. "You two aren't, ah, going to walk me back to the tower, are you? I doubt I can cause any more trouble up a few floors."

James burst out laughing, the noise so foreign lately it sounded painful, but still genuine. If his son could still manage such a thing like teenage embarrassment after today, maybe his life wasn't as screwed up as he feared. "No Harry," he promised, only hesitating a moment before pulling him into a brief, but tight hug. "I love you," he whispered like he was trying to stop the pictures themselves from hearing him say it.

Harry laughed quietly as he looked up at him and really smiled. "Love you too Dad. I'll be alright, I promise."

"You'd better," he nodded, finally releasing him. Harry gave his Uncle Sirius just as tight a hug before waving and heading off, his friends immediately bombarding him with questions if he was alright and what had happened. The moment he was out of sight, the burning fire that had ignited him in Dumbledore's office was right back, without anything holding it back now.

Sirius waited all the way until they were past the gates before quietly whispering, "Prongs, what are we going to do?"

"I'm done waiting on Dumbledore," James said what had been building in him for three long months. "We're breaking Remus out."

4

"Out with it MacMillian!"

Mikey spat his bit of Drooble's into a spare bit of parchment and gave it an unhappy toss into the bin.

"Now then," Professor Moody continued, his wide blue eye lingering on his perceived troublemaker, "who here can tell me about a boggart?"

Poppy's hand instantly went up, just as it always did when mention of any beast was involved. Leo wasn't paying attention anyways as she got five points for Hufflepuff to whatever answer she gave.

He had to give their new DADA teacher some credit he supposed though, when he snapped at him for clearly not paying attention and summoned him to the front of the class to try first. He tossed his hair without concern, thanks to Uncle Remus he'd learned how to handle boggarts since he was seven.

His footsteps wavered at the memory flooding back, what if he never got that again-

"Constant vigilance!"

He startled and instead of the Ridkilus curse, shouted Lumos at nothing, leaving him stumbling back in fright as the boggart- fire-crab scuttled even faster towards him. In a blind panic he still wished his Uncle was here, or his dad, or Harry-

The boggart latched onto his newest fears, and fed off of what he knew his worst nightmare was. Now a dementor remained hovering over, and the crying, loud bangs, and animal growls all echoed through his head that he'd tried to suppress the past year were there once more, nearly drowning out the yell;

Stay away from my son-

"Five points from Slytherin! Next time, try paying attention to the lesson Mister Black," Moody said not unkindly as he stumped forward and offered a hand up. He hadn't realized he was on the ground, and took it with a shaking limb, scurrying to the back of the class, trying to ignore the mutterings of fellow Slytherins.

"You'll do anything to get us more house points knocked," one of his roommates hissed as he went past.

"Leave him alone," Mikey growled, pushing his way in between them and staring the boys down, even though most of them were a few inches taller. Poppy was already at their side, wrapping a secure arm around his shoulder.

Moody demanded attention once more from his class, breaking up whatever fight had been about to erupt.

School moral seemed at an all-time low lately, an unorthodox number of Hufflepuff's erupting in fights with all the houses lately, especially the Slytherins. Leo didn't really understand the houses frustration at not getting a champion.

He wished he knew how Harry was handling it, but he rarely saw his cousin outside of meals, and he looked as pale and stressed as him most days without the extra worry of the school gossiping about him as usual.

Leo felt almost back to normal by the time class ended, trying to push the strange experience back down like he had last time. It was even harder to shake off without Uncle Remus poking his head into the compartment door to check he was alright before hurrying away.

"Leo?" Poppy caught his hand, forcing him to stop in the hallway and look at the two.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" He thought he hitched a believable smile into place, but knew as his friends exchanged a worried look he'd fooled no one.

"You're Uncle's going to be alright," Poppy said a touch louder than was necessary as she looked deep into his eyes. "Hagrid went to Azkaban during our first year, remember, and he was back because they proved he didn't do what everyone said. Same thing will happen again."

Leo toed the floor, struggling to hold back tears. "I don't know if it'll be so easy Poppy, Hagrid wasn't hiding being a werewolf."

"Nobody here cares about that though!" Mikey shouted loud enough half the students passing by stopped and stared before going along. "The parents ruddy shouldn't either!"

"We get why you didn't tell us," Poppy promised, "but you know we don't care, right? You can talk to us."

Leo suddenly realized the tears had fallen free, and swiped at them for a few moments before whispering in a chocked voice, "I miss my Uncle, I can hardly sleep I'm so worried about him, but that's not what happened in class."

Mikey frowned in further concern, but Poppy nodded without surprise. "You wouldn't tell us what you heard around the Dementors last year, even though we both said it just made us miserable, I could tell it was worse for you."

"You'd think a boggart would be laughable," he tried to do so now, it came off stiff no matter how hard he tried.

Poppy squeezed his hand, and Leo returned the feeling before finally trying to describe the madness in his head. "I hear a bunch of different noises, all at once, things that shouldn't even go together. An animal growling, yells, screaming and banging. I think, I think I hear me crying, louder than all of it," it was the only part he was absolutely sure of, before he whispered the truly baffling part, "but then I hear a shout, a man to stay away from his son. You'd think that'd be my dad right, but, I don't recognize the voice."

"It's, strange to be sure," Mikey frowned, crossing his arms and tapping his chin. "You never asked your dad about it?"

"They were, a bit busy last year. I wanted to, over the summer, but I could tell they were still worried about Pettigrew being on the loose, and he was trying so hard to be cheerful and give me attention I, I didn't want to," he finished lamely. "Now, with everything happening to my Uncle Remus, I keep hearing it in my head, I keep dreaming about it even."

He couldn't even begin to imagine what it all was, but amazingly took some relief his friends were just as baffled as him. It made him feel less foolish, like the answer wasn't dangling just out of reach and he was stupid for not grasping it.

Then Poppy yelped in surprise, Leo turned hopefully to her for an answer, but still holding his hand painfully tight now she began towing them off, "well, let's hope Professor Trelawney has some answer's, we're so late!"

4

Late evening would not be the ideal time for a prison break anywhere else except Azkaban, where time mattered very little in the grand scheme.

It was risky, and made both feel as if they'd rather break into Gringotts than go through with it. If even one part of their hastily thrown together plot went wrong, they'd be joining their friend rather than rescuing him, leaving their kids orphans.

Both knew this, neither had suggested an alternative. A day was all they'd given to prepare, one more hellish night of leaving their best mate to suffer, and now they were flying through a stormy sea with only hope, and an untested theory.

Azkaban truly was the perfect place for a prison, and a prison break. Isolated so far out, with only monstrous creatures of no true intellect made this a perpetually flawed place in theory, but in practice the nightmare was enough to deter Voldemort himself they were sure.

The sheer building seemed to climb high into the sky forever, they hadn't even gotten close enough to distinguish the rough black walls from the surrounding storm before the cold set in. A deep, soul searing bleakness that had their hands shaking so hard, Buckbeak began steering automatically away without their decision.

It took years of practice and trust for Sirius to convince the hippogriff to keep going on just a little farther, the closer the better.

The rest of the view was no better. It sat on an island, gritty sand loose and packed full of bodies on sight and ready for their next victim. Duped intel promised this was also the only entrance, and exit. It worked perfectly for them, lightly jumping off their steed, hardly able to see as he flew back home at once in the gale winds. It was hooves and pads that landed and struck out without hesitation farther in.

The dementors were creatures of feeling, only sustaining their own by leeching it off others. They sensed the new arrivals, but could not fully grasp such animals as a threat. Many of the souls they housed in these walls were so far gone it was nearly impossible to distinguish them from yet another victim flinging themselves from the top in a spot of madness, and they were banking on that. Their query lay in the hallways of pure solid blackness.

Fetid smells met their enhanced nostrils, so riddled with death their minds nearly seized in place, their own animalistic nature nearly overtaking them at the first whiff and sending them back fleeing. Years of practice dominating this paid off, and the two wove seamlessly past the guards floating along.

The higher up one went, the fewer concentration of dementors, and the less the security. It was all open halls and little caves to die in, for dementors needed no bars to keep their pray captive, their own heads did that. The cells were housed on the lowest floors, guarded twenty-four-seven. These were not the ones sentenced to a few months in this place for some forgivable infringement, but saved for those who had no hope of escape. Most did not survive past the first year, only those of no remorse had a hope of lasting. It was here Peter had survived, and the only way they could think that possible, was using Wormtail in a way other prisoners could not.

They had no proof of this idea, but it was all they had to go on. He had shown remorse to Harry, he had found a way to leave in his body far more equipped to handle the freezing water for such a swim others could not. Prongs and Padfoot could only let themselves feel the small, twisted bit of mercy in this idea now in hopes they could use it to their own advantage for the one who had not deserved this.

It seemed to be working in their favor, so far. Now came the difficult part. One aspect was already ruined by their animal instincts not at all being as enhanced in here as they would have liked, the smell not being the only problem, the darkness seeping straight from the walls and trying to hold their breath in place were not so easily shrugged off unless they focused on the cold and why they could not succumb to it, leaving them little space inside their heads to look for their friend. Determination drove them on, as they looked into each new face, forcing themselves to see every pair of sunken eyes, every lifeless soul that followed their path without care.

The night before a new moon would have normally found Remus in peak health at this time of the month, boisterous and more engaging with the cycle so far out of reach from him. The two had never stopped watching its progress through the night's sky even in his absence to be absolutely sure of such a thing, and were momentarily convinced they'd found the wrong person as a result.

Werewolves ran on one basic instinct, hunger, and to be deprived of that set the monster to killing itself in protest, as they knew first hand. Use of the Wolfsbane potion repressed that so deep inside, higher reasoning on par with a sane wolf would finally win out, but now, before their eyes stood thirteen long years of a freed animal.

The madman before them looked more feral than any monster. The rest of this hellhole had an eerie silence, broken only by the sharp slap of the sea, but the scream had led them right here. It was a long, unbroken, feral noise so deeply embedded in his throat it promised to never end. His body lay upon the floor, broken in every way it could be and still stubbornly clinging to life just to make him suffer that much longer.

Any other being on Earth would have backed away, fled and prayed to whatever God they knew to purge from their mind what lay before James and Sirius, but the two hardly shared a glance, before preparing themselves for the hard part.

Even Sirius, being the smaller of the two, was too large to fit through the bars. He'd been prepared for such an event, and had talked Prongs into letting him be the one to do this. He'd been here only once before as a human, and they had to bank on that lone experience to get them through this next part, as he staggered to his human feet, and blasted the door away to gain entrance.

The dementors knew at once, of course, and began converging on the cell. Curiosity, like a playful child, had them seeking out this new, but they lost interest at once as the soul that flared, alive and full of hope, dulled back to the madness sensed in all around.

Prongs laid himself gracefully on the ground next to him, covering him with his warm hide and licking at the exposed wounds on Moony, waiting patiently as Padfoot took every care in the world to nestle Remus onto the stags back. They had to move slower now, but remained unhampered from outside forces, their only delay the charge between them.

The North Sea was their greatest obstacle. Sheer force had to not only drive the two animals far enough away the dampening, maddening affects the dementors had on their magic was left behind as well as the danger of them swooping in too fast before they were caught, but dared to risk attempting the waters for too long, lest exhaustion drag them under. The trickiest game they'd ever played, and still they won. As Azkaban finally began fading into the background as another wave crashed around them. The two changed, the three refusing to let the currents pull them apart, but instead apparated home.

James and Sirius staggered, lost that fight, and fell to the grass, but both spat the last of the salt water from their mouths and staggered right back to their feet, keeping their charge between them as they dragged him to the nearest bed. "Just like old times, eh Prongs?" Sirius whispered as he set to work at once trying to warm him, ignoring his shaking hands as they passed over so many new scars, including the slash marks across his face.

James shook his head at him, or was still shaking from the dripping water pouring down his back, it was hard to tell. His voice echoed slightly in the house, but the two needed to hear each other to chase away their own nightmares to come no matter how sardonically. "Right, yeah, just like it was back then."

4

"-then, if you please, he turns right to her, looks her right in the face and says, Caesar, you are quite the fowl!"

The whole common room seemed to burst out laughing at once, while Hermione huffed again and glared at the obnoxious twins. "This is unbelievable," she muttered to Neville. "I can't study in the library anymore without Krum always in there, and those two never seem to do any work! How they ever plan on doing anything after school if they can't focus in it is beyond me."

Neville nodded sympathetically as he said, "yeah, next time we go, I'll spend some extra time looking up some good muffling charms."

Ron shot a scowl at Neville for no discernible reason, but he'd been doing that increasingly this year to only Harry's confusion, again only surprising him when his best mate snapped with force, "you could always invite us to these private study sessions you know?"

Hermione frowned reproachfully at him. "Ron, I haven't asked you to come study with us in the library since second year, as you routinely told the pair of us you and Harry didn't need such a thing."

Ron went back to glaring down at his knees, and Neville sighed, finally deciding to intervene in the obvious here. "How about, instead of letting the twins get to you like usual, you just ask a friend to go to the Yule Ball with you instead? It doesn't have to be a date."

"You implying something Neville?" Harry chuckled as he scribbled mindlessly on the edge of his transfiguration homework. "Should I be asking you to dance with me in front of everyone?"

Neville just frowned at Harry for not at all picking up what he meant, but Hermione's eyes lit with understanding, and hope.

Ron chewed on the idea for a moment, before he looked straight up at Hermione and nodded, clearly likening to the idea. "Yeah, alright. Hermione, you're a girl, mind going as my friend-date?"

Hermione sighed. It wasn't exactly the most flattering way he could have asked her, but after all, this was Ron. It could have been worse. "You really know how to flatter a girl Ron. I'll go with you, just for the distant hope I might spill a bit of manners in your lap."

Ron looked torn on whether she was actually accepting his invitation or further insulting him, but was saved the argument by Neville again interrupting on his friend's behalf. "And Harry, I asked Ginny to go with me as a friend, because I heard her talking about how she really wanted too, but I don't mind at all if you want to ask her instead. I don't mind going alone, but you'd look a bit silly up there trying to waltz with Moaning Myrtle."

Harry laughed in surprise before he smiled gratefully at Neville and readily accepted the idea. "Have you seen her today, so I can ask her now? Don't want to surprise her at the last minute."

"She was in the courtyard with your cousin and their group of friends after lunch, last I saw her," he shrugged.

Harry sighed as he began packing away his things, taking special care to fold up the paper he'd been working on so as not to lose his progress, and set about traipsing the whole castle instead, muttering about how a map of this place would be damned useful on days like this. Ron decided to go with him rather than pretend to do his own homework.

"What about you then Neville?" Hermione turned to him with a pleased grin, that happened to be a bit sly. "You've helped set up those two idiots without even realizing it, care to treat yourself now? Or are you going to ask Hannah as a friend-date as well?"

Neville only slightly blushed, but there wasn't a trace of remorse as he casually responded, "I haven't the faintest what you're talking about."

The two were still laughing quietly as the twins finally departed themselves from their amassed crowd and came over to ask where Ron went, they needed to borrow his owl.

4

"Owl arrived," Sirius announced, slapping the bit of mail against his palm to hide his agitation as he came back into the room and flopped back down in his usual spot at the foot of the bed.

"And?" James asked without opening his eyes, still sprawled in the chair as if he hadn't moved for centuries.

"Just the pleasant reminder that a lovely Ministry Official would be by today to, ah, ask our opinion on the subject," Sirius said dryly.

James nodded without surprise, hardly looking up as Sirius bounced right back to his feet and went to do one last sweep of the wards around the house.

There was still no change, and he couldn't decide if he was grateful or even more worried.

Remus had woken up three times over the past two months, each time more memorable than the last.

The first was still the worst. He hadn't recognized them, hadn't even seemed to realize he was free no matter what they tried, he just started up screaming like how they'd found him until he passed out again.

The second had just been strange, and somehow even more disturbing, just in a different way. He'd jolted awake, but then simply laid there looking up at the ceiling. Nothing they did had roused any sort of response, until his eyes closed, and he'd fallen right back asleep like nothing had happened.

The last time had been the most promising. He'd shuddered back into consciousnesses, and for the first time really looked at them, but it was also the briefest. He'd tried to speak, lost his will halfway through slurring their names, and fallen right back into unconsciousness.

Whether lucky or not, last month had been a lunar eclipse. Like the dozen or so they'd been with him before, he had not changed on this night, though they'd almost hoped for it. Even Moony awake and trying to kill them would be better than this, nothingness.

Tonight they would be getting just that. For the first time, James was almost grateful for this bloody Triwizard Tournament sucking his son in, as he'd elected to stay at school over Christmas holiday, and the two hadn't been forced to either lie to their kids or make them swear to keep this a secret from the whole world like they were.

He had sent an accompanying letter back promising he understood his son staying again for this break, and requested he borrow the cloak. Harry had done so promptly, with a note asking why, James had yet to answer.

"Here," Sirius pulled him from his thoughts by placing the Invisibility Cloak in his hands. "We should be all good, but I still want to make sure we haven't left anything too conspicuous about."

They'd been doing so ever since they brought him here and the Ministry had arrived that same night to ask questions, but better safe than sorry. Today he started by burning the piece of paper he'd kept in his pocket as a distraction, it wasn't doing them any good.

Any number of things could be causing this to Remus, and they were at their wit's end trying to figure it out. A combination of his time around the dementors, the original attack they still had no idea about, or even some other combination of a werewolf's ability to be addicted to wolfsbane and withdrawals after all these years! They'd gone over anything and every scenario possible, and they were closer to solving the mysteries of what happened after death before this!

A sharp knock on the door came but a few moments later. Sirius leveled himself up from the couch, leaving the fire to roast warmly behind him as he opened the door to a now familiar sight.

"They sent you?" He asked in surprise.

"Don't look so pleased Sirius," Tonks rolled her eyes as she came in, a quill and parchment already in hand. "So, let's get this over with one last time, yeah? Has Remus John Lupin been in contact with you since his escape?"

"No," Sirius snapped, and damn did the truth of that hurt.

"Do you have any knowledge of his current, or future whereabouts?"

"No more than why you keep harassing us," he sneered.

"Right, of course," she agreed with pure sarcasm. "Now then, a few of the inmates report seeing two large, animal like creatures darting about inside-"

"And you're going to believe those loons? The ones who would welcome seeing the grim in such a place," Sirius raised a piuse brow.

Tonks actually smiled for a moment as she copied his statement, continuing a few more patronizing questions before looking up at him again. "James here? Be easier to get this out of the way all at once."

"He's in his room," Sirius huffed, "I'll go-"

"No, I will," Tonks was already walking. "I need to search the house anyway, thoroughness and all that."

Sirius crossed his arms and waited impatiently, leaving the door wide open so the chilled December air could leach in and make his feelings as clear as possible. They had Remus secure in constant warming charms, it wouldn't do any worse, and he breathed gratefully the fresh air.

She returned in a fair bit of time, jotting a few last things down, before rolling up her parchment and tucking them inside her robes, hands smoothing out the front with nerves. "Excellent, you did everything to form," she grinned up at him like she was in on the joke, before her expression turned serious. "Now where is he?"

"Told you didn't I? Wanker could be in Tibet for all I know."

Tonks didn't just scowl like any normal person, her eyes flashed red with anger, her whole face lit up like she was going to erupt into a volcano in a sudden flash of anger. Her voice came out surprisingly fragile though. "You can trust me Sirius, please! I told you, we, well I, I have something I need to tell him-"

"Right, yeah, he slept with you a few times and now you've got some delusion you're soul mates," Sirius snapped, as unimpressed now as he had been when she tried to say all of this last time. "I'm telling you same as you're going to tell the Ministry, piss off!"

She bit down on her lip for a moment before finally leaving, Sirius slamming the door as she left in hopes it would make him feel better. It didn't.

"I don't think I've yet gotten this story," James spoke surprisingly calm as he kept himself moving in Harry's old rocking chair. He had a new broom design sketched out between three different sheaves of parchment across the seemingly empty bed in front of him.

Sirius brushed one aside, patted around for only a moment before he found the edge of the cloak and pulled it off so they could see his newly scar lined face once more, and then took his place back on the edge of the bed and still took his time before answering carefully.

"I had this cousin, Andromeda, most decent pureblood I could ever stand to be around-"

"Except me a course?" James asked, the first hint of a smile in what felt like years at this point edging along his face. This was not a life or death conversation, there was no worry to be had from the two actually talking again about some old family history of Sirius'.

"What in your fat head makes you think I can stand you?" Sirius smirked back, before the smile dropped, and he squirmed a bit before continuing, "well ah, she got married to a Muggleborn, and she isolated herself from her family, most of the wizarding world really so that their kid wouldn't have to know what that sort of shunned feeling would be like. Andromeda wrote to me when the little bloom was born, we used to keep in loose contact as she remembered I was a decent sort-"

"Oh how wrong she was," James couldn't help but interrupt again with an actual snort of laughter.

Sirius couldn't return the jest, his smile remained strained. "Well, I only met their daughter a handful of times, before..." he trailed off miserably, James didn't need him to elaborate. "Honestly, I forgot they even existed until she fell into St. Mungo's that day, so much has happened since then," he finished in a whisper.

"And Tonks doesn't know any of this?" James concluded.

"I'd assume not, or the little spitfire would have likely brought it up herself by now," Sirius snorted. "I don't know how much longer it's going to last though, how long do you think until she lets my name drop to her parents and this comes out?" He paused with a genuine sigh of regret. "I don't like being so harsh to her, she's what, my second cousin removed or something? She's clearly a decent one. Safer this way though, at least for now," he finished with an unnecessary sideways look at their charge.

"She seems to really care about him," James offered as he began carefully folding up his sketches. "I heard her trying not to cry in the bathroom I think."

"I can't believe he didn't mention their little fling himself!" Sirius huffed.

"We've been a bit, distracted," James said fairly. "I'm sure if it ever got past sleeping around with her he would have told us-"

Sirius snorted violently. "Prongs, he's had over a decade, almost two, to have a relationship past a casual snog and he's never once-"

"Exactly what is it going to take to get you two to stop gossiping about my love life like old harpy's?" A quiet, raspy voice asked from the head of the bed.

Somehow, among the first lively conversation the two best friends had shared in ages, Remus had woken up.

"Moony!"

4

"-Moony's what they call him all the time, it's like a not funny werewolf joke or something. I don't know, I never asked! The point is Ron-"

"I'm not disagreeing Harry, it's a brilliant idea," Ron nodded along, "I just don't see how you're going to convince Hermione and Neville of this, or hide it from them, whichever you're planning- Ginny!"

It had taken them a whole other day to catch up to her down by the lake now, even sharing a common room didn't always help finding one student in this castle. She was chatting happily with a group Harry recognized well by now as her usual friends from other houses. He didn't know why the Hufflepuff girl went crimson at the sight of him and stepped behind Leo, he thought they'd all be used to him coming around by now. The four of them were building something in the snow he couldn't yet identify, and he suddenly stopped with nerves.

"What's up?" Ron's sister prompted, as Ron looked expectantly at Harry to answer.

"Erm, well I don't mean that you have to, or that it's not your decision because obviously it's up to you, but Neville said, not that he didn't want to, but I mean-"

Ron looked at his best mate like he'd lost his mind and spat out to his sister, "Harry wants you to go to the Yule Ball as his friend so that he doesn't have to dance alone. It was Neville's idea."

"Oh, yeah, okay," she smiled, and then turned back to begin patting more snow into the sculptures hide.

Harry, still red in the face from the cold he was sure, left as quickly as he could.

"My cousin's such an arse," Leo glared after him and turned pitiful eyes to Poppy.

"Why?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"Poppy asked him to the Yule Ball, and he said no the same second," Leo sniffed.*

"I don't want to go with Harry Potter," Poppy was quick to correct as she saw Ginny start to look guilty. "I just, really wanted to go, it sounds so amazing, and I heard he'd have to dance in front of everyone and I know how to a bit so I offered..." she trailed off still red in the face.

"I'll ask Neville if he'll take you now," Ginny offered.

"Nah, I heard Ernie and Hannah talking on the way out here. Neville asked her, like as a date," Mikey snorted.

"You don't have to say date like it's a hex," Leo frowned at him. "Are you saying you wouldn't have asked a girl to go as your date if you could?"

"No fourth year's going to want to go with a third year as a date," Mikey rolled his eyes, and Leo couldn't explain to himself the pleased feeling welling inside this was where Mikey's thoughts automatically went.

Regardless of odd, unpredictable emotions lately, he turned eagerly back to Poppy. "You and I can sneak in then, if you really want to go so bad."

"Really? That'd be great!" Her whole face lit up like the hinkypunk's lantern she was carving out. "I don't even care if we get caught, it's high time I served a detention with you anyways! Oh this is going to be so much fun, did you bring a suit? I have the letter written out to ask mum to send me a dress," and she babbled delightedly the rest of the evening about the event to come, Leo smiling right along every second.

4

"-second only to the Firebolt model of course! It's a shame you won't be here next year for Quidditch again Warrington-"

Leo traipsed past Malfoy in disgust. The little whelp had been sucking up to 'the real Hogwarts champion,' all year, though as far as he knew the two had never had a proper conversation before this year outside of those jokes they called Quidditch practices. It was disgusting really, and he wished he could take a quick bath again already just from having to walk past his own common room to leave early.

He was held up by Pansy checking her reflection, and sneering at her as he left. "And where are you off to Black? It's not as if anyone would ask such a disgrace like you out."

"I'm off to set your cabin on fire you ponce," he snapped. "It'll be an improvement really!" He wished he could slam the stone wall behind him rather than it gliding back into place, but he shook out his long dark hair and refused to let such trivialities bother him tonight as he began his way out of the dungeons.

It didn't stop him from fidgeting the whole way up the stairs. He glanced down at his dressrobes again with worry, forcing himself not to rumple the material in his hands nervously as he wondered how he looked in it. He hadn't taken the time see for himself, afraid he'd chicken out and just wear school robes, but Poppy had been very adamant about wanting to 'go the whole nine yards,' whatever that meant, but he took the idea in stride and had asked his dad for advice on what to give someone as a treat on a night like tonight along with this last minute attire.

He'd sent back a flower painted back, and he'd laughed impossibly hard for his dad somehow coming through without even getting the joke, as he'd also kindly told him to mind his own business when he'd asked who this was all for.

He ascended the last few stairs holding painfully tight to the stem and almost afraid he'd break it before he could spot Poppy in the sea of new colors; but then he did.

Poppy hadn't managed to do much with her hair either, the waterfall of curls still hanging free all around her, but highlighted like new bronze against the colors of her dark gold dress. He could see the happiness shining in her hazel eyes as she was holding onto the arm of a Beauxbatons boy. He didn't even have to be in hearing range to know Poppy must be talking to him about some creature, he'd know that light in her eyes anywhere.

Jealousy slammed into him with such force he nearly fell back down the flight of stairs. Finally, he had a name for this feeling that had been cropping up so much lately, and froze with no idea how to go forward with it.

Then Poppy caught sight of him, and pulled her new friend over. "Leo, the most brilliant thing's happened! Luc here asked me to be his date!"

Leo was quick to scramble a smile into place for his friend, but he could feel how fake it was before Poppy's eyes flickered in surprise and hurt as she got even closer. "That's, great Poppy," he managed through only a slightly tight throat. "I, guess I'll, head back-"

"Leo, wait," Poppy let go of his arm to catch his hand, the flower now crumpling between them and falling to the floor unnoticed as he held her eyes steady. "I thought you'd be happy? Now we can stay as long as we want, we don't have to sneak around."

He raised a dark brow at her, and when Poppy still didn't seem to get the implications, enunciated clearly, "well, I'm happy for you."

"Us," Poppy corrected, looking as confused as ever. "Why can't he be both of our dates, he said he didn't mind."

"Poppy," I snapped in exasperation as I snatched my hand away, "listen to what you're saying, if that was allowed then they wouldn't have even bothered making this a Ball!"

"Your attention please! I need the Champions to come forward!" McGonagall called from the front. Leo hardly looked up as Harry and Ginny went past, chatting together. Neither was even blushing this time.

"Leo, please, at least try," Poppy pleaded. "I'm positive Sprout and Slughorn won't say anything, no one will! Let's just, just try to have fun tonight."

Leo realized what an arse he was being as his friend reached for his hand again, and he let her, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Sorry," he muttered, "I, you just, caught me off guard is all. Thought we were-"

Then the doors were opened, and they were carried inside on the flood of students.

The Beauxbatons boy, who'd been standing there looking politely baffled through the whole exchange, separated the two for a moment while politely escorting both inside, and to Leo's surprise, not a single person looked twice. He grinned as they entered the newly minted Great Hall and tried to put himself back in that joyful mood.

"I, guess I should thank you," he smiled at the foreign student.

"Luc Millefeuille," he said with a heavy French accent. The rest came out in rather broken English, making Leo wonder if he had understood a word of what anyone had been saying all night. "Lovely evening."

Poppy gave him the kind of fond smile one would to a strangers child. "From what I gathered, that famous Quidditch player, Krum right, asked his date and she said yes, dumped him in the Entrance Hall last night. Poor bloke."

"It wasn't that Delacour girl was it?" Leo asked as they settled in seats. Not usually one for school gossip, he followed enough to not be surprised at the large things, and this was certainly up there.

"No, she went with Roger Davis," Poppy then gestured to the high table, and he took it upon himself to glance up and see Krum staring moodily into his new plate of food and not talking much to the athletic looking girl he was supposedly on a date with. Harry and Ginny sat nearby, talking about Quidditch presumably by their hand movements, but as this was the first time they were even having a conversation it fairly could have been about anything. His eyes passed right over Fleur and Roger, and gave little care to Cassius Warrington and the Durmstrang girl he had his arm slung around.

It was a novelty for the two friends to finally get to sit at the same table to eat and laugh together in here, and before they knew it music had flared to life, and their supposed date had vanished as well.

"I didn't even see him leave," Poppy said, clearly contrite.

"I think he'll manage," Leo snorted as he caught sight of him now chatting up the Patel twins with a fellow Beauxbatons boy. "Oh, I love this song!" He trilled, grabbing Poppy's hand and pulling her towards the crowd. "Come on Poppy, show off those dance moves you were bragging about!"

"I don't think they go with this beat," she laughed, staying close to Leo and beginning to move to the rhythm all the same.

Harry and Ginny went flying past, laughing at their own clumsy footwork and having to constantly grab each others hands to stop from falling. His friends Ron and Hermione weren't much farther away, talking more than dancing, they kept moving closer to each other every few seconds to still be heard, and the two eventually seemed to have it and were now arm in arm, talking right into each other's ears. They stopped and seemed to spot something in surprise, Leo looking over just in time to see Neville blushing and pulling away from having kissed Hannah.

Leo lost interest eyeing other students, especially older ones who were now being even more on display than the younger teenagers and having the teachers step into a few instances. Most of them scattered out into the large, maze like garden outside. None of the students noticed Karkaroff had left as soon as he could, or a blue beetle clinging to Hagrid's coat as he and Madam Maxime made their exit.

4

"Exiting from behind the greenhouses in three, two, one," the two launched perfected snowballs at an unsuspecting group of Ravenclaw sixth years, who cursed wildly and spun on the spot for the culprits. Unable to find them, they went storming in the direction they thought, in the completely wrong direction.

"Returning to school after breaks should be illegal!" Ron howled with laughter after he was sure they were out of sight. He picked up more freshly fallen snow and began wadding it up into another ball. "We've only got one more day and I never want to go back!" He lobbed his weapon across the courtyard, nailing Sally-Ann Perks in the spine. She shot a filthy look at nothing, unable to spot them hiding under the awning behind a gargoyle, and quickly went for cover back inside.

"Then let's stop talking about it," Harry said, crunching his own snowball into the perfect shape and easily picking his target. Micheal Corner stood no chance.

Then Warrington came into sight, and Harry automatically lowered his arm. He still didn't regret telling his fellow Hogwarts champion about the dragon challenge, he would have done it for the lowest Slytherin like Malfoy not to face that unawares, but the information he'd returned telling Harry to open his egg underwater had yet been tested as a truly even balance for the two rival students. He worried it was a trick, that this would in fact somehow break his egg, but with the next task looming on the horizon he was going to make himself try it tonight with no other options.

Ron followed his lead and resisted his next throw as well, the two watching as he went on his way across the grounds.

The two continued after that until they ran out of fresh snow and were rubbing their hands for warmth and went heading back inside, Harry trudging just slightly slower than Ron, rubbing at the scar across his arm.

He knew he should have been working on the egg long before now, but he'd been so distracted by his own project he gave little thought to anything else lately. He was now receiving weekly letters from both his dad and Uncle Sirius promising things would take a turn for the better soon and they'd explain properly when they saw him again. He was no fool, he knew they'd asked to borrow his cloak for something involving his Uncle Remus, and their polite refusal to return it any time soon meant whatever they were planning had not yet worked. He had no proof his plan to help would be of any use either, but at least he was doing something! He had all four of his friends on board, now he just needed to test the waters with his cousin.

That would be the riskiest part. He didn't think he'd rat him out, on the contrary, Leo would demand to be a part of it and there was no way he could hide it from him, Harry would need his help to keep the secret come summer. The problem was, he'd want to be more involved than Harry felt safe letting him. Even though he was only a year younger, he'd always see him as his little cousin, and there was the added problem he'd be just as likely to want to tell his friends as Harry had. The more people that knew, the more likely it was to come out.

He didn't want to wait another year, but he was starting to fear he'd have no choice. He always had eyes on him, but during this tournament he felt he was barely treading in, perhaps he should prioritize over doing something so illegal. Besides, he still hadn't found a way to steal any mandrake leaves.

4

"Leave him alone for five minutes, would you Sirius," James caught his shoulder as he tried to slip towards the room once more. "I'm worried too-"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Sirius tried to duck under his arm and carry such falsities at once. "I left, erm, something in there-"

"He's been waking up every day now," James needlessly reminded, "and got up to walk around the room on his own yesterday. I've got some soup on, see if he can hold down real food today, can't you wait until that's done? Give him a bit of privacy-"

"He's had enough privacy to last him a lifetime," Sirius said darkly.

James sighed, but relinquished this battle, not that he could have really stopped him anyways as Sirius went back into the room.

He was awake this time, rubbing a hand tiredly along his seemingly permanently shadowed eyes. His fingers kept fumbling along the deep etches in his face, and the second Sirius heard a few quiet whimpers escaping his mouth he tried to smother behind his fingers, Sirius was right beside him again, trying to pull him into a hug.

Remus let him for only a moment before pulling back away, looking more over his head again as he whispered, "sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry for," he scowled, reaching out for him again, but let his hand fall back as Remus merely flinched away.

Moony tried to correct himself, taking another uneasy breath and letting his shoulder bump against Sirius' as he swung his legs over the bed and sat up more properly. His hands still shook, he barely looked able to keep himself upright.

Sirius had never been so furious in his life as he slowly, tentatively reached out a hand again, and Remus still went stiff before relaxing at the touch on his shoulder. Sirius had to fight off every instinct not to let his hand form into a fist, to instead get up right this second and strangle the life out of every monster who had done this to him-

"Hope you're hungry this time," James elbowed his way into the room, juggling three bowls.

"Yeah, of course," Remus' smile looked painful as he accepted it, but damn him if he wasn't trying to act like this was perfectly normal. They tried to pretend they weren't watching him as he fumbled with the spoon for several moments until he got his hands under control, but then he did indeed wolf down the entire meal, even smacking his lips a bit at the end.

"I've got more," James promised.

"Thanks, but not right now," he set it aside and ran tremoring fingers over his chest. "Let's ah, see how that settles first. Was good though," he added quickly. Meeting their eyes shouldn't be such a rare sight. "Thanks Prongs."

"How do you know I didn't make it?" Sirius asked with a pout.

"Because it either would have tasted like old socks, or I would have found one in there," Remus responded automatically.

James snorted into his bowl, and Sirius couldn't even pretend to look affronted at this first real, lively response they'd gotten from him since he'd been here. So of course Sirius had to instantly ruin it.

"Remus, what happened? How did you end up in that trunk that day!"

The Ministry would pay dearly for what they'd done to him as a result, but the true culprit behind what had started this would come first.

Unsurprisingly to either of them though, Remus cast his eyes down in shame, and whispered, "I don't know."

They'd expected it, surely he would have said something the moment he'd awoken if he had, but Sirius persisted anyways. "Nothing? I know you Moony, surely you-"

"My tea tasted strange," his voice kept growing quieter with every word. "I was, wrapping Harry's gift, and, thought it was off, but- that's it," he finished abruptly. "Everything went black."

"Alright Remus, we can work with that," James said quickly, snatching his bowl away and trying to convince Sirius to leave with him through stern glares. "Why don't you get some more rest, we can worry about it later-"

"If you had any leads this problem would already be solved," Remus bluntly called out their tripe. "I'm sorry I can't help, but, please don't leave." He kept his eyes on his lap, still hardly speaking above a whisper, "I, don't want to go back..."

Sirius hadn't moved regardless of what look Prongs gave him, he sounded slightly deranged as he growled, "you'll never go back there again!"

Remus startled a bit, then he looked up at the two again and clarified, "back to sleep, I, I've had enough of that," he trailed off pitifully before slumping back on the pillows anyways.

There was a tangible moment of silence that Sirius couldn't bear to last. "Alright, have it your way then," and he grabbed Remus' hand, towing him back upright and then to his feet.

Movements still stiff and clumsy, the smile on his face was pure bliss to the two as they kept him upright and moving towards the front door. "Where are we going then? Can't hardly take a trip to the Leaky Cauldron, my being a wanted criminal and all now."

"As if that would ever stop us," James scoffed.

They didn't go far of course, despite their jokes they weren't insane enough to risk taking Remus from here for now, so Sirius instead picked the nearest pile of snow and shoved him into it.

Remus spluttered out the white mush and shook it out of his face, gasping more than he should as his hands trailed over the cold that he'd thought he escaped- then Sirius shouted, "dog pile," and landed next to him with a whump of more flying powder. James was just as quick to land beside them, so they could all finally laugh again. The world finally felt right.

4

"Right on time!" James muttered without surprise as a now familiar knock on the door had him opening it before Tonks could even finish.

She nearly stumbled over the threshold in surprise, but straightened herself out and smoothed the front of her robes, her hands lingering oddly this time causing a lump to be left in place instead.

He hardly noticed, already trying to dismiss her again. "No, we still don't know a damned thing Tonks, now if you could kindly-"

"If that was true, you two wouldn't be sitting cozy at home and rolling your eyes every damn time you see me!" She got right to being angry this time rather than pleading.

"And you showing up here once a month on the full moon will spontaneously make us tell you will it?" He snapped back, regretting the outburst as he saw hope flare alive in her. He was quick to squash that, letting the agony of everything he was going through poor out all at once on her. "Well you need to get this through your head woman, Lupin's on the run from the Ministry because a gash like you couldn't keep her fat mouth shut! Who did you brag to you were sleeping with a werewolf, huh? To get him caught up in a mess that involved him nearly killing my son!"

She flinched and stumbled back from him so fast she nearly fell flat on her arse. He reached out instinctively to steady her, but she crossed her arms and backed even farther away. "I, didn't know you felt that way," she said quietly now, and the look in her eyes showed he'd finally done it, scared her away from coming back. "I'll ah, leave you to it then."

Guilt swelled alive in him as she departed, not helped at all when he closed the door and saw the dark, reproachful look on Remus' face appearing from underneath the cloak. "Bloody hell Prongs, that was way too harsh!"

"I panicked, maybe over did it a bit," he muttered lamely.

"A bit? James, Sirius over does it a bit when he won't shut up about that time he nearly got all of Hogwarts to say his name in one day. That was," he stopped and shook his head at the display he'd just witnessed.

"I don't blame him one bit," Sirius said from the stairs, where he'd been standing the whole time, prepared to dive towards either party should things go bad. "It's dangerous her constantly coming around here Remus, and if we didn't stop her now, she might have just come up when a full moon fully rises and caught us at the worst time."

"She was sweet," he sighed, sinking low into the nearest chair and staring at the door in regret, "but she also had this, this fire in her, sharp and witty. She didn't deserve that," he finished with one last scowl at James, before adding softly, "I trusted her. I think we can tell her."

"We can't risk it," both of them protested at once.

"The second task's next week," James bluntly reminded. "I'm going to have to come up with a heck of a story to say why Sirius isn't going to be there-"

"I don't need a babysitter," he quietly muttered, but was ignored, again.

"- and we still need to figure out what we're going to do once summer rolls around and how to explain to the kids what's going on."

"It's just not safe right now Moony," Sirius more kindly added. "Until we know who sold you out, we can't trust anyone. Even Dumbledore still doesn't know you're here-"

"I know, I know," he groaned, burying his lined face into his hands, his words coming out muffled now. "Guess I'm just feeling a little..." he didn't finish, James and Sirius exchanging a worried look.

Remus had never talked in his sleep before Azkaban, but he had been lately. Muttering's mostly, of the memories that still haunted him. Awake, he tried to act more normal, but it was just that, trying. He'd done a terrible job covering how he still felt imprisoned, albeit with better company. The two worried if they didn't come up with a solution to this soon, he'd do something drastic. It was not at all out of the realm, the two knew, for Remus to make a run for it.

4

It had happened without warning. He and Warringoton should be back at the front of the maze now, not...he had not a clue why they were in a graveyard.

Again Harry had to blink to let his eyes adjust to the new surroundings, his skin crawling as he found himself finding the place more and more familiar. Then he realized Warrington was still beside him, and this was no dream.

"The cup was a portkey? Is this, part of the tournament?" He asked, voice seeming instinctively quiet.

"Don't know," Harry admitted just as softly, both keeping their wands drawn for whatever was to come.

It came from the gloom, shuffling towards them on misshapen legs. Harry's scar began to burn. It was all the warning they got.

"Avada Kedavra!" The voice was of pure ice and venom, promising death the moment it ended, and this time it delivered. Cassius Warrington fell dead, and Harry crumpled to the ground beside him, holding his forehead and screaming his pain, but neither enough to hide the look of shock on the Slytherin's face.

He was numb as he was dragged farther in, a wand being lit just managing to illuminate the name Tom Riddle upon the gravestone he was being tied to. The arm that held him in place as he was bound and gagged reeked as if it too had been freshly pulled from a grave, the skin squirming as if live snakes lived beneath the flesh, but it was powerful, Harry could not budge a single finger as the black ropes held him down.

The rest of the figure was even worse, as it shuffled away towards a great stone cauldron in place. He only saw in flashes as the wand swung around the misshapen feet as if they'd been broken and repaired several times, the lengths of two separate legs equaling the odd gate. The faces were the worst, two souls merging from one neck; one pointed and rat like, the other flat, with slits for nostrils and red eyes. Where they connected was blurred around the edges, as if the world itself could hardly contain what had manifested from such untold Dark magic.

Wormtail, or Voldemort, it was impossible to tell which was truly controlling anymore the body they both housed, went through the motions of rebirthing once more; the flesh, blood and bone serving its purpose, and Lord Voldemort rising first, free from his confines and robeing himself, whole once more.

Harry had the exact perfect angle to see into the bottom of the cauldron, where the potion had dissipated, leaving the flayed, charred mess of human remains still stirring its last feeble breath.

Voldemort took no notice, or care as he summoned his Death Eaters. He shared his story with those present of nearly stealing the Philosopher's Stone before he was thwarted, how seeing the werewolf Lupin teaching at the school gave him the idea of one last loyal follower and his travels to Azkaban for one last chance. How Lord Voldemort had endured yet more time in another man's body before his powers granted him his own.

His followers were in awe as their master first acknowledged the gaps in his ranks and praising those who could not be here, such as the Lestranges still forced away in Azkaban, and his most loyal servant at Hogwarts. There were some who were not so fortunate, who ignored his summons, such as Karkaroff, who would suffer. Then he greeted those present with visible disappointment.

Lucius, his old slippery friend, stayed cowed the entire time.

Macnier, a Ministry lackey like so many others now.

Snape, who swore his talents into Voldemort's service once more on the spot.

Voldemort's downfall came to his surprise, as Lily Potter, through Priori Incantatum, sent Harry and Warrington back on their way as she, Bertha Jorkins, and Frank Bryce bought them the time he needed to flee. He Summoned the cup to him, which instantly took him and Warrington away, back to Hogwarts.

4

Hogwarts was in chaos, and James didn't care. It was the first time he'd truly let himself react to an unknown impulse, but he couldn't afford to let the guilt from his past in now. Alastor should not have taken Harry away while the rest of the crowd panicked over his arrival and the Slytherin students dead body, but James had eyes only for his son.

He had to fight his way through the crowd, losing precious time, the two just out of sight gracing the schools' shadows. By the time he reached the Entrance Hall he'd lost sight of them, but it mattered not, he could make his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Remus' office, which was now housing his replacement.

The door was blasted open just in time, knocking the impostor out, the look of horror on his son's face would haunt his nightmares.

"Dad!" Harry launched himself into his fathers waiting arms, he held his son protectively, smotheringly tight for a few moments before trying to drag him out. "Come on Harry, let's get you safe-"

Harry didn't seem up to arguing the point, hobbling painfully but dutifully with him so that James was tempted to simply lift him up and carry him away, but then the door was blocked by Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Thank goodness," Minerva said in relief, stepping forward to inspect Harry herself. "Come along Potter, let's get you to the hospital wing-"

"No Minerva, Harry should stay for this, he should understand." Dumbledore was bent over Moody's body, inspecting him critically.

"Understand that your most trusted Auror has gone mad! He's been through enough tonight Dumbledore-" James began to bluster, but was cut off.

"This is not Alastor Moody."

He nearly fell over from vertigo at the realization of how much that didn't surprise him. Why did he already know that...

He looked down at his son and still wished to ignore everything but keeping his boy safe, but then he really looked at him. Fourteen years old, having lived through Merlin knew what while that Portkey had taken him away and he'd come back with a body of a classmate, and still his son could look steadily into his eyes, silently telling him he was prepared to hear whatever came next. When had his little boy grown so much from that terrified child having his name pulled from the cup?

"Yes, alright," he conceded, he had to start trusting Harry knew what he could handle now.

Barty Crouch Jr. was a wealth of information over the events of this year thanks to Dumbledore procuring a truth potion straight from Slughorn's private stores apparently. James damn near killed him on the spot when he revealed what he'd done to Bertha Jorkins, the poor girl that was now and forever the pitiful werewolf like creature with her soul removed because Jr. had been warned werewolves could not be used for Polyjuice Potion by Peter, so he'd needed another means to get Remus out of the way.

A slipped in sleeping drought, that affected Remus long enough before the botched framing attempt was interrupted, Bertha Jorkins being unaffected by that part and awakening as a half-mad werewolf but still infecting Harry with the sleeping draught through the bite, he'd laughed through the whole events, wishing he could have been there to see it rather than lying in wait for whoever the next DADA teacher would be to replace them instead.

It was a good thing McGonagall was left in charge, James wouldn't have lasted alone in a room with that psychopath as he followed Dumbledore and Harry up to his office now. His son was a trooper, he could never again deny that, as he still managed to fill in the rest of the blanks for them.

After all that, Dumbledore finally acquitted Harry could have some peace and rest, only delayed a few moments more by having to deal with so many in the Hospital Wing waiting on him.

Fudge was a disgrace to the Ministry itself when he made his appearance, the man was lucky there were children in the way or he would have decked the useless sod.

He stayed protectively near his son's, not really taking in the room around him as Dumbledore gave commands to begin reforming the Order, something that went right over Harry's head for now, but he knew he'd have to share soon. Until then, his boy deserved to have at least one fear alleviated. James waited until the rest of the room was thoroughly distracted before whispering the news to Harry about his Uncle Remus being safely at home. He'd wait to talk to the other two before giving such news to the rest of the Order.

The delight that lit Harry was almost enough to erase what had brought about the second war.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

I don't like settling for off screen growth, but at the same time, it's not like any of the moments I cut would surprise anyone who actually read the series, it's a part of Harry that was already established in the original cannon and just took a few more years to grow in here. That's sort of what's driving this fic, and also had it dragging so long to publish, my inability to either over elaborate on everything vs cut it up like this. You're seeing the later, and I've got to say, I'm at least enjoying this more. Flows less well, but reads a bit better if you know what I mean.

The pairings set up in here seem likely to continue at this point, as the canon pairings won the poll. Surprised me too. Except for Wolfstar, because sorry, I already went a whole fic not being able to write them together.

*To anyone who recognizes what line I plucked this from the books, you have my insane attention to recalling such details, and I'm now in love with you, no arguments.