Suffice it to say, I think there were some great injustices done against Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the main one being that his name still hasn't been cleared. So, I've decided to do a short rewrite of sorts. Professor Flitwick has retired, Remus is back at Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Sirius is reluctantly teaching Charms until Dumbledore can find a more suitable replacement. Sirius has finally been found innocent of the murder of Peter Pettigrew, Lily and James Potter, and 12 muggles. Now that that's out of the way....
This story contains slash about two very loveable characters from the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. All things Harry Potter belong to either JK Rowling, the WB or a mixture of the two. And er... everything beyond this point that isn't the WB's or Rowling's is miiiine. All miiiine.
Chapter One: The Riddle House
The residents of Little Hagleton were awoken early in the morning, for the first time in nearly a year, by the sounds of howls and growling coming from the long abandoned Riddle House. Some were shocked, some were confused -- others were just plain annoyed. Many of them had come to consider it their birth right to get a good night's sleep, and if they could just get in there with a shot gun to put that miserable dog out of their misery...
But the morning progressed without further incident, until the sun rose high above the town and dew slowly faded from the richly green blades of grass, and Little Hagleton's inhabitants found it easier to go about their daily business than to complain about the lost sleep.
Somewhere, in the bowels of the house, in a room split by long, gnarled roots, lay two men, peacefully sleeping on a small and tattered bed, perfectly oblivious to the world around them.
"What d'you mean, 'you're going with me this time'?" Remus scoffed, looking rather taken aback by his long-time friend's declaration.
Sirius shrugged, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. It was a look Remus hadn't seen since their Hogwarts days, and it softened his demeanor considerably. "You have to admit, Remus," began Sirius, somewhat sheepishly, "that it's been quite a while since you haven't had to do this alone. Now that I'm able, I thought you might like the company of Snuffles."
Remus' eyes narrowed as he tried to keep a smile from creeping into his lips. "I've gotten rather used to going through it alone, though...," he sighed.
"It would be like we were kids again..."
Remus looked into Sirius' eyes for a moment, biting his lower lip. Finally, he perched himself on a nearby desk in the empty classroom they were occupying... It was only a few hours before nightfall, and if they were going to go, they needed to leave soon. "How did Charms go?" It had been Sirius' first day of teaching, and Remus was well aware of how very unenthusiastic Sirius felt towards the profession, even though Harry and his friends had been falling over themselves with excitement.
"You're trying to change the subject." Sirius smirked.
Remus sighed, "Alright... But you won't like it."
"When have I ever complained?"
The tunnel leading from the Weeping Willow to the Riddle House was a long one, much longer than Sirius remembered it being. Remus held his glowing wand in front of them, refusing to speak to or even look at his companion. Sirius stole sideways glances at the Defense Against Dark Arts professor, marveling at how much he had changed over the years. When Sirius had last seen him, he had been a bit too malnourished to really pay close attention to Remus' appearance. The 15 year old Remus that Sirius, James and Peter had once accompanied into the Forbidden Forest once a month to save him from hurting himself (or anyone else, for that matter) could have been standing right before him them, and he probably wouldn't have noticed.
But now, in the unwavering light Remus' lumos had provided them, Sirius could see the effects of a bitter life etched in the worry line between his eyebrows and gathering, almost unnoticeable, at the corners of his mouth and eyes. Remus had aged very well. 'You say that like he's in his 50's', Sirius chuckled to himself, unnoticed by Remus. 'I keep forgetting, we're still not that old. Just in our late 30's... Not that old.' After all, hadn't he caught girls stealing glances at him and giggling during Charms class? He was certain Remus had experienced the same treatment... The 39 year old Defense Against Dark Arts master was anything but unattractive, with his slender, aqualine nose, smooth, full lips and wide, hazel eyes set in a high-cheek-boned, gentle face. His hair fell to his shoulders now... When they were children, he was careful to keep it short and neat, but now, the graying brown locks fell elegantly about his slim neck...
Remus glanced at Sirius, who blushed at being caught in his appraisal. "Alright, Sirius?" Remus whispered, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine...," replied Sirius, just as low. They had always been quiet on the way to the Riddle house, even when they were young... Something about the mystery of the place, the stories they had been told as children, made it mystic to them, even at this age. Sirius smiled a little when he realized that now children must be told entirely new stories of the Riddle house... Stories that, though their speakers didn't know it, involved four young men in the form of a wolf, a dog, a stag and a rat just trying to make the best of hard times. He shook his head, smiling to himself. 'Reliving your glory days, eh, Sirius?'
The two finally made it to the end of the tunnel, just an hour before night fall... Remus seated himself against the wall as was his wont and Sirius reclined on the bed, ready to transform into the large, black dog James had affectionately named Snuffles (much to Sirius' dismay) to restrain him. "Alright, Remus?" he grinned, speaking at a normal tone now.
Remus nodded quietly, but Sirius knew that he was in pain... Despite all the potions and herbs Dumbledore had tried, the transformation from man to wolf had always been painful for him. Sirius remembered many nights when Remus would sit alone in the corner, silent tears streaking down his face as the time to change drew nearer, while the other three sat watching him, anxiously, not quite sure how to give him comfort, or if any would even be welcome. A sudden realization struck Sirius. 'He's strong... To go through this at every full moon, to go through so much pain, not to mention being an outcast... To survive and still smile... He's so strong.' Though Sirius had survived Azkaban and had nearly lost his mind in the process... Though he had lived on the run for nearly two years, he could not imagine living with something like this for nearly your entire life. It was a wonder Remus hadn't commited suicide yet.
Sirius watched as his fellow professor slowly closed his eyes against the room... It wouldn't be long now.
A bite at the neck, a scratch, and Sirius was happier than he had been in some time. A weight seemed to have been lifted from Remus' shoulders, as well, as the wolf flipped the large, black dog over and bit playfully at his ear. Sirius or Snuffles, as he was called in this form, growled throatily and nipped at Remus' long, wolfish nose. Remus drew back, an expression in his eyes much like one the human Remus would have used, and if dogs could laugh, Snuffles would be rolling. The two continued wrestling like that for hours, occasionally dropping down beside each other, panting. Now and then, Remus would let out an ear splitting howl (Sirius felt quite inclined to join in each time, neighbors be damned), and make to bite Sirius' paws or ears half-heartedly until Sirius finally had to defend himself again.
It was easy, as it always had been, to forget that he was a human and give in completely to instinct as they played, rolling over the hard wood floor, growling and yipping like pups. So, when Remus hopped onto the bed and curled up into a tight little ball, Sirius had no second thoughts about curling up beside him, never flinching, even when the wolf rested his large head on his ribs, nuzzling the dark fur there. It must have been just an hour or two before dawn when they finally slept...
Sirius' dreams were filled with the laughter of four young men and memories of waking up to find Peter sprawled over one of them. Being a rat, Peter often forgot that he couldn't just curl up on one of their shoulders, where it was warm, and sleep as long as he wanted, which often led to bruises and aches in the morning. On the edges of his dreams, he could hear the whispers of the boys as they slowly made their way along the tunnel, chuckling and laughing, with no idea of what the future would have in store for them... It was the first night in over a decade when Sirius didn't have a single nightmare.
(Author's note: More to come! Thanks to Lucifer no Miko for helping me with some of the technicalities, even though she hates all forms of Harry Potter slash. You're a good friend!)
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