SPOILERS: POA, Two Households, possibly Broomflight.  References drawn from the books.

CONTENT: Slash, Angst, Humour, Romance

RATING: PG13

CLASSIFICATION: Sirius/Remus, AU

WARNING(S): A touch of maudlin sentimentality here and there.

SUMMARY: Sirius Black returns to a world that has moved on without him … but fortunately Remus Lupin is still there for him.

DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter series and all the characters associated with it are the property solely of J. K. Rowling, her agents and publishers.  No infringement of any rights is intended from the creation of this story.  Nor is any money being made from it.  This story is written solely for the entertainment of the author and her friends; please do not redistribute without permission.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Apologies to King Solomon for random abuse of "The Song Of Songs".  And thank you to all the people who told me I should continue this story, without realising that it would take me the better part of a year to finish and post it; you are all wonderfully patient where Two Households is concerned, and I appreciate it!

NOTES: I usually write Sirius/Remus as an add-on to a different primary pairing, but I had a sudden urge to write about them rather than other people.  There are also things from early in the Two Households story that I've wanted to write about for a while.  Two Households as a universe mainly hangs on a couple of AU premises: that Harry is Sorted into Slytherin when he goes to Hogwarts, and that Pettigrew is caught earlier in the storyline of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - specifically at the time when Sirius breaks into Hogwarts and into the Gryffindor dormitory.  There is no Shrieking Shack scene in the Two Households universe, and Lupin doesn't inadvertently ruin the capture of Pettigrew by turning into a werewolf, although Harry does rescue Sirius from the Dementors in the Forbidden Forest.  Regrettably, I've never fully gone into how this scenario works out so there are holes in the storyline that I haven't plugged yet.  That doesn't really concern this story, however, as it starts after all the fun of the capture is over.  This looks at how Remus and Sirius cope with the early days after Peter Pettigrew is caught and Sirius is finally exonerated of betraying the Potters, and also how Harry ends up going to live with the two of them.  It's also worth mentioning that this story was originally a great deal shorter and I think the place where it previously stopped is fairly obvious.  Since I decided to continue it and ended up with nine more chapters than I originally bargained for, I've semi-split it up into three 'books' and Book I ends where the original story ended.  As for the title … I gave it its title before I decided to continue it, so I'm not sure how well it fits anymore, but I can't think of a better one so it remains Song Of Songs.

Comments would be welcome, as always.

Song Of Songs

by Mad Martha

Book I: Hogwarts

Part 1

Remus Lupin pushed open the door of his bathroom and walked inside, to discover Sirius Black standing by the side of a bathtub full of steaming water.  He was still fully dressed and staring at the bath with dazed eyes, but at the sound of the door opening his head turned with jerk and the dazed look was gone, replaced by a moment of borderline panic until he saw who it was.

Best to act casual, Remus thought, as though the panic wasn't there.  "I brought you some clothes," he said quietly, putting the small pile on a stool by the washbasin.  "They're mine, so the trousers might be an inch or so too long, but I suspect the waist will be a close enough fit.  A bit worn, I'm afraid, but they're better than what you're wearing at the moment."

When he looked up again, the dazed look was back in Sirius's eyes.  No wonder, considering the night he'd had.  It was at times like this, though, that Remus didn't fully understand the wolf under his skin.  He had the most desperate urge to grab Sirius and smell him, which was insane because even a normal person could probably smell the man from twenty paces, and as a werewolf he'd tracked the scent of him halfway around the school the previous evening.  There was no getting around it; Sirius was filthy, and it wasn't just the accumulated dirt of eight months on the run.  It was twelve years' worth of ingrained prison grime mingled with the stench of uncounted years of human misery, and it told Remus that even his worst imaginings of Azkaban lacked some detail.

And we call ourselves a civilised people.

Striving for a lighter tone, he smiled slightly at his partner.  "You won't get any cleaner by looking at the water, you know."

"I washed in a river …."  Sirius paused, visibly trying to remember something.  "It was some time ago.  So cold … it didn't make much difference."

"That's why soap was invented," Remus said.  He hesitated.  "Do you - do you want a hand?  We're probably going to have to cut your hair anyway."

Sirius grimaced.  "I, er ... I think I might have lice."

Remus was suddenly reminded of an incident from when they were at school together and there had been an outbreak of head-lice among the Gryffindor first years.  Sirius had been quite irrational about it, even though Madam Pomfrey had the situation under control within a day or so of finding out.  Remus still had no idea why Sirius had been quite so horrified at the idea of catching them, although he supposed it must have had something to do with his childhood.

"I think you might too," he said matter-of-factly, "which is why I asked Poppy Pomfrey for a bottle of her special shampoo.  Come on, Padfoot - into the bath with you and we'll sort out the livestock situation straight away.  And one of the house-elves is bringing a meal in a while - you can't eat it in all this filth."

He had to help Sirius to remove the appalling rags of his prison 'uniform' and it was painful to see how thin he was underneath, how bruised and scarred.  He'd been an exceptionally handsome young man once and the remnants of that physical beauty were still visible to someone who knew what to look for.  But his finger- and toenails were all torn, his hair and beard were matted, there was an unfamiliar tattoo on one arm, and there were a couple of ugly injuries on his shoulders that did not look recent and showed signs of infection.  And worst of all was the hollowing and lining of his face and neck until he looked years older than he really was.

"We need to get Poppy to look at these wounds when you're cleaned up," Remus remarked, struggling to keep his voice steady as he helped his partner to bathe.

It took two changes of water before Sirius's skin was really clean, and he was indeed crawling with lice.  Remus waited until the surface dirt was gone before making him wash all over twice with the disinfectant shampoo.  It was difficult to tell if his hair was truly clean; it unravelled a little under the determined onslaught of soap-and-water, revealing itself to be a thick mess of varying lengths and Gordian-like knots.  Remus picked up a pair of scissors he'd brought with him.

"I'm probably going to have to cut it quite short," he warned.  Once again memory intruded; of a nineteen year old Sirius with shoulder-length thick black hair that continually escaped from the bit of cord he tied it back with.

"Do it," Sirius said, indifferent.  "Shave it off, if you have to.  I'm going to shave my beard off, it itches like mad."

"All right, but wait until I've finished here …."

Great clumps of hair fell away.  Not sure how best to proceed, Remus concentrated on getting rid of the worst of the snarls so that he could pass a comb through it, then he tidied up the length.  It ended up at around collar-length; Sirius stared at himself in the mirror for a long space before approving the change.  Remus made him wash it with the disinfectant a third time for good measure, then picked up a small bowl of shaving foam.

"Here, you'd better let me do this as well."

For a moment their eyes met and Remus felt a sharp sensation in his belly, almost anticipation.  Shaving someone - if one wasn't a barber - was a curiously intimate act.  One did not entrust one's throat to a razor in just anyone's hand, after all, and it involved a physical closeness, a concentrated attention, that most men were unwilling to submit to from another man, except in the most neutral of circumstances.  Or most heterosexual men, at any rate.  Remus remembered James Potter (dear old James, so accepting of their relationship as long as he didn't have to see anything that might threaten his concept of masculinity!) being quite outraged when he inadvertently saw Sirius shaving Remus once.  It's - it's weird! he'd spluttered.  That's not what you said when I shaved you this morning! his wife had retorted.

For a moment Sirius's pupils dilated until the dark grey irises almost disappeared.  Then he smiled.  "Do yourself while you're at it," he said.  "Why the hideous 'tache anyway?  It makes you look like a middle-aged man."

"That's the general idea," Remus retorted.  He began to slather foam over Sirius's cheeks.  "I'm a teacher, it pays to look solid and trustworthy."

"Is that why you're dressed like your father?"

He glanced down at his tweed trousers, linen shirt and braces, and smiled ruefully.  "As I said, solid and trustworthy.  Nobody is going to look at me and worry that I might seduce their teenaged daughters.  Or sons, for that matter."

"They don't know much about it then.  Old Crimblethorpe who taught us DADA one year - remember him? - had the tweedy-and-side-whiskered look too, and he ended up having to run for it when they found his collection of sketches at the end of the year."

"I suppose we should be grateful it was just sketches," Remus remarked.  "Especially as you and James turned out to be among his favourite subjects."

He picked up the razor but Sirius caught his hand, staying it for a moment.  "What do you mean?  Where did you hear that?  No one ever told us who the pictures were of!"

Snape had taken great pleasure in telling him at the start of the year, along with making certain insinuations that Remus was determined Sirius would never hear about. 

"There was some talk about it in the staff room a while back," he said calmly.  "Now hold still ..."

Shaving the beard took some of the years off Sirius's face, although it also served to emphasise his terrible gauntness.  He sighed with relief when it was gone, though, and examined his own face in the mirror as though he'd never seen it before.  Perhaps he hadn't seen it in twelve years; Remus didn't want to speculate.

"I think you're presentable now.  Ready to try some clothes and something to eat?" he asked.  He stood up and took a towel from a nearby chair, unfolding it and holding it out with a smile.

Sirius got up with an effort.  He was a little unsteady, perhaps from the need for a decent meal, and accepted Remus's assistance in climbing out of the tub.  Remus wrapped the towel around his waist and reached for another one, only to be forestalled by Sirius putting a shaking hand on his shoulder.  His face was a riot of desperate emotion, and Remus at once abandoned what he had been doing and pulled his partner into a fierce hug, heedless of the soaking it gave him.

"Moony ..."

"I know, love, I know."

"I don't care what they say, Moony, I'm not going back to that place, I won't ..."

Remus stared into space over Sirius's shoulder for a moment, feeling a cold and sickening sensation in his gut.  He remembered the day they dragged Sirius away to Azkaban as though it was only that morning; watching, forcing himself not to intervene - which would surely have been suicide - his head telling him that his lover was a murderer even as his heart and the wolf that forever lived under his skin both howled a desolate protest that this was wrong, that they couldn't take Sirius away from him like this, that he would surely die without him.

He very nearly had.  Sometimes he had wished that he could.

It was different now.  Now they had proof that Sirius was an innocent man, but Remus had no faith in Ministry justice anymore.

"No," he said quietly.  "You're not going back there.  We'll work something out, Padfoot, even if the two of us have to go on the run together.  I won't let them take you away from me again, I promise."

~~~

A meal was waiting in Remus's private rooms when they walked in, and waiting with it was Professor Dumbledore.  His eyes raked over Sirius, missing nothing, but his slight smile was genuine.

"A definite improvement, Sirius," he observed.

"Is it ever, sir," Sirius replied fervently.  He hesitated by one of the empty chairs at the table.  "Is Wormtail ...?"

"You may rest easy.  Mr. Pettigrew is in secure custody," Dumbledore told him calmly.  He gestured to the chair.  "Please - you must be hungry, both of you."

Remus didn't feel particularly hungry himself but he thought that perhaps Sirius would be more at ease if he wasn't the only one eating, so he sat down and began to uncover the dishes.  The food was fairly plain by the usual standards of Hogwarts fare - soup, bread, cheese, some little savoury pies, and some fruit - but it was undoubtedly a feast for Sirius after Azkaban and eight months of scavenging, and it was better that his stomach not be shocked by rich food so soon.

"Headmaster," he asked warily, as he ladled Sirius a bowl of soup, "Peter hasn't been confined in the dungeons, has he?  Given his Animagus form - "

"Oh, quite so, Remus.  Have no concerns on that head.  Under the circumstances it seemed safer to confine Mr. Pettigrew to his animal form and cage him.  He's not unused to such quarters after all, having spent twelve years as a child's pet, and Professor McGonagall will suffer no qualms or misplaced urges to release him for whatever reason."  Dumbledore gave him a bland look, then tapped his wand gently against the side of a china teapot on the table..  "Tea, gentlemen?"

Ouch.  Remus had known, intellectually at least, that Dumbledore could be both frighteningly perceptive and surprisingly ruthless when he chose, but that little speech could be read in a number of ways, all of which were unflattering to somebody.

Sirius's attention was all on the food, though, as Remus handed him his bowl and pushed the platter of bread closer.  He began to bolt the soup at once and Remus reluctantly grabbed his hand, staying his spoon for a moment.

"Easy, Pads.  Take it slowly and have some bread with it, it's not going anywhere."

Sirius actually blushed when he realised that not only had his manners gone astray, but he was holding the soup bowl close to his chest as though afraid it would be snatched back by somebody.  He put it down, looking mortified.  All Remus could wonder in that moment was what kind of conditions prevailed in Azkaban that Sirius was so afraid his food would be taken from him; he was sure he didn't want to know, for his imagination was quite bad enough.  Trying to cover the moment, he buttered a bread roll and Dumbledore poured the tea, and for several minutes there was no conversation.  Sirius finished his soup and bread and looked the better for it; it was enough to satisfy him for the time being and he sat back with a sigh, regarding his china teacup as though it was something very precious before picking it up and cradling it in his hands.

"We should discuss what will happen next," Dumbledore suggested quietly, and some of the relaxation in Sirius's shoulders vanished.

"You must have notified the Ministry," he said, and the restraint in his voice upset Remus's stomach all over again. 

The headmaster inclined his head.  "I have.  It will probably be mid-morning before the Minister and his people arrive, however, as Hogwarts is still locked down and the Floo will only permit firecalls, not transportation."

"Will I be taken into custody?"

"I feel certain that will be the case."  Dumbledore looked at him over the top of his half-moon spectacles.  "You must view the situation from the Ministry's viewpoint, Sirius.  You are a convicted murderer - "

"No trial," Remus interrupted, and surprised even himself with the level of bitterness in his voice.

"Convicted under emergency powers, but convicted nevertheless," Dumbledore said rather apologetically.  "There were certain procedural violations which I believe we may be able to put to good account, however.  No tests performed upon your wand, no Veritaserum administered during questioning - "

"No questioning, full stop," Sirius said, and he managed a small smile.  "A lot of accusations, but no questioning."

"Precisely.  No matter how sure your captors were of your guilt, you should have been properly processed according to the law, even under emergency powers."  Dumbledore paused and took a sip of his tea.  "There are other things to be grateful for.  I have a high regard for Barty Crouch, but his judgement during the war went somewhat astray and he was removed from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when Cornelius Fudge took office as Minister.  The man now in charge of the Auror Division is Rufus Scrimgeour, and while he is a difficult and zealous man he is generally unswayed by politics.  I feel reasonably confident that if we present him with hard facts and evidence, he will give you a fair hearing, as will Amelia Bones who is currently in charge of the Wizard Courts."

"Forgive me, Headmaster, but I wish I had your confidence," Remus said.

Dumbledore considered him for a moment or two, before smiling gently.  "The road ahead is difficult, Remus, but I believe that with fortitude we may find a solution.  At this stage it is important to convince Cornelius and Rufus to give full and proper consideration to the evidence in the case.  That we have Mr. Pettigrew in our keeping will go a long way towards this."

"But will Fudge believe even that?  I have a lot of history with the Ministry, Professor, and their ability to ignore what they don't want to see or hear is unparalleled!"

"Mr. Pettigrew will first have to explain why, when clearly he was not murdered by Sirius, he chose to spend twelve years as a family pet rather than comfort his elderly mother by reassuring her of his good health," Dumbledore replied.  "Fear alone will not be good enough, especially as he must surely have been aware that Sirius was no longer a threat to him.  He must then also explain why he attacked the two of you last night and tried to escape, even when there were more than adequate witnesses to ensure that he was in no danger of his life.  These are not the actions of an innocent man, Remus; he has much explaining to do and, judging by his behaviour in my presence early this morning, he is not equipped to do so.

"And finally, I have acted in a very underhand manner and gone behind Rufus Scrimgeour's back to request the retrieval of Sirius and Peter Pettigrew's wands from the Auror evidence store.  A friend at the Auror Division is conveying them here as we speak, so that they may be examined by Rufus and Cornelius personally as soon as possible, rather than waiting for any waters to by muddied by the passage of days."

Sirius let out a long breath.  "All right ..."

Dumbledore smiled.  "Have I neglected to mention that I have no intention of handing you over to the Aurors without the presence of legal representation for you and suitable guarantees from the Minister and Chief Auror?"

Remus let go of some of his own tension..  He still didn't entirely believe this would work - wouldn't believe it until Sirius was publicly exonerated and set free - but he had to admit that everything that could be done was being done to procure that result.  Sometimes you had to make a leap of faith, and although it had been growing more and more difficult for him to step off that precipice lately, he had to make himself do it this one last time or he might as well give up on life entirely.

"Legal representation," Sirius said thoughtfully, staring into his tea.  "My family's solicitors?"

"Yes - unless you would prefer someone else?"

"No, they were always good at their jobs.  I'm just wondering what my mother will have to say about it."

Dumbledore met Remus's eyes across the table for a moment.  "Your mother is dead, Sirius," he said softly.  "Forgive me - it didn't occur to me that you wouldn't know."

Sirius looked up, clearly surprised but not precisely shocked.  "When?"

"About six months after your brother was sent to Azkaban," Remus said.  "She suffered a massive stroke after his conviction and never fully recovered, I believe."

"Oh."  A pause.  "I knew about my father," Sirius continued frankly.  "Reg told me."

Remus blinked.  "He did?"

Sirius gave him a tight little smile.  "They put him in the cell next to mine.  He shouted for a few days, before he realised that'd just make the Dementors pay special attention to him ..."

Remus had another horrible lurching sensation in his stomach and apparently so did Sirius, for his face turned white and he swallowed rapidly.  Remus got to his feet quickly.

"Padfoot?"

"No - no, I'm okay.  Sorry."  Sirius swallowed again and took a deep breath.  "You know what?  I don't want to talk about Reg or my parents right now.  Just - just promise me the Dementors won't be there when I have to deal with Fudge and Scrimgeour."

"The Minister is already aware that I will not permit Dementors to enter the castle," Dumbledore said, with a note of finality in his voice. 

"Right ... thank you."

"Quite unnecessary, dear boy."

Sirius nodded shakily, and took a series of quick sips of his tea.  The colour began to return to his face. 

"Tell me about Harry," he said after a moment or two.  He looked between the two of them.  "Where is he?"

"Undoubtedly he is preparing to take his breakfast with the rest of the school at this moment," Dumbledore said kindly.

"May I see him again?"

"We shall see if that is possible.  There may not be time, but you must be aware that he will probably be called upon to give testimony regarding the events of last night."

Sirius managed a smile.  "He's a good kid."  He looked at Remus and the smile grew stronger.  "You did a good job with him, Moony."

"Me?"  For a moment Remus was thrown by this, then he realised what Sirius meant and coloured slightly.  "Oh, not me, I'm afraid.  If anyone is to be congratulated on Harry's successes, it's Harry himself I should imagine."

Sirius's brows drew together in perplexity.  "But I thought - isn't that why you're here?  You're his godfather too ..."

"Harry doesn't know that, Sirius."

"What?  But - "

"The Ministry refused to let me take custody of him after you were arrested," Remus said with some difficulty, for his inability to do his duty by Harry had been a source of shame and frustration for years.  "The werewolf laws were tightened up after the war, you see."

"Then where does he live?  Who's looking after him?"

"Harry currently resides with his aunt and uncle," Dumbledore supplied.

"His ..."  For a moment Sirius looked blank, then horrified.  "Not Petunia Evans?"

"The same.  She is his nearest blood relative," Dumbledore replied calmly.  "This is too complicated a history to give you in full at this moment, Sirius, but in brief - when Lily Potter gave her life to save Harry, she set up conditions that happened to be ideal for a piece of benign blood magic which has provided Harry with significant protection throughout his life.  That magic relies upon him residing with his mother's sister, however."

He might have saved his breath; Sirius barely registered the explanation.  "That miserable bigoted cow!" he exploded.  "You're not telling me that he's been forced to live with her and that repulsive husband of hers?  My God - he'd have got a warmer welcome from my dear old mother, I'll bet - "

"Sirius!" Remus interrupted sharply, alarmed at the violence of Sirius's outburst.  "Harry is fine, do you understand?  Fine.  He's healthy and normal and - "  His mouth froze on the words well adjusted, for he couldn't in conscience say that when he didn't believe it to be true.  As far as he could tell from the contact he'd had with Harry, Remus felt that the boy wasn't, in fact, well adjusted at all.  He was withdrawn, wary and secretive, asking as little as possible from others and giving nothing in return.

Dumbledore was unmoved by Sirius's anger.  "I do not deny that Mrs. Dursley has been less than nurturing towards Harry, Sirius.  Nevertheless, it was vital that he was protected, especially in his early years, and the blood magic I spoke of has performed that office better than any protections we could afford him save custody here at Hogwarts.  Hogwarts is not and never has been a suitable environment for small children."

Sirius sat back in his chair very slowly, gripping the arms tightly.  Then all at once he seemed to crumple in on himself a little.  "Oh Christ," he breathed, covering his eyes with one shaking hand, "what the hell have I done?"

"Sirius ..."

"This is my fault.  If I hadn't been so desperate to go after Peter myself, none of this would have happened and Harry would at least have been safe with you and me, Remus.  Not forced to live with that - that woman and her wretched family."

"Sirius, don't.  Beating yourself over things you can't change won't help you.  You've got to concentrate on getting through this mess with Peter now, and then maybe there'll be opportunities to change things later."

There was a light tap on the sitting room door.  Sirius jumped, his eyes once again getting the panicky, fugitive look that Remus had seen earlier in the bathroom, but Professor Dumbledore calmly got up and went to the door to admit Madam Pomfrey.

"Ah - there you all are," she said briskly.  "Headmaster, Minerva has asked me to tell you that Kingsley Shacklebolt has arrived and is waiting for you in your office."

"Indeed?  He made very good time."  Dumbledore looked across at Sirius.  "Kingsley Shacklebolt is the Auror in charge of recapturing you, Sirius.  I believe he has brought the wands as I asked, but I must speak with him.  Might I suggest that you go with Madam Pomfrey to the infirmary?  For the sake of a semblance of normality, Remus must take his morning classes for the time being, and it would be unwise for you to remain in his quarters should my conversations with Kingsley or the Minister not go as I predict.  This would be the first place they would search."

"I'm surprised they haven't searched the school at least once already then," Sirius said rather dryly, but he got to his feet.

"Oh believe me, I was the first person they questioned when you escaped," Remus said wryly.  "It was one of the most compelling reasons for accepting Professor Dumbledore's offer of a job.  At least here they couldn't turn my quarters over whenever they felt like it."

"Should it prove necessary, Sirius, I shall send someone to you to warn you," Dumbledore said, with a ghost of a smile.

"Who can you trust with that other than Moony?" Sirius asked, a little sceptically.  "They're bound to make sure he's secure before they go after me."

"I think we may safely trust Harry not to give you up to the authorities," Dumbledore said, and there was a distinct twinkle in his eyes as he said it.

~~~

The infirmary was empty and quiet when they arrived there, but Madam Pomfrey installed Sirius in one of the little isolation rooms just in case.  "It has direct access to the back stairs as well," she remarked, with a small smile.

Sirius stared up at her as she laid out a tray of dressings and ointments on a little table beside his chair.  "Do - do you believe me, then?" he asked hesitantly.

"I believe the evidence of my own eyes and the word of the Headmaster and Minerva McGonagall," she replied briskly..  "If Peter Pettigrew is alive - and I've seen him - then you can't have murdered him, can you?"

"That's only a small part of it," Sirius said.

"Well, I recall the end of the war quite well, Mr. Black, and I remember that it was only Mr. Pettigrew's claim that you murdered all those Muggles before you supposedly killed him.  As I said - he's alive.  If he could falsify his own death, then why not the deaths of many others?"  She gestured to his shirt.  "Take that off, please, and let me see your back."

Sirius removed the shirt mechanically.  "James and Lily Potter ..."

"That was always the hardest part of the story to swallow.  Ah - these are nasty gouges!  How did this happen?"

"I was attacked by someone in the prison yard and the marks won't heal."  But Sirius wasn't deflected.  "Obviously it wasn't too hard to believe that I'd betray my best friend and his wife, or people wouldn't have believed it."

"Easy for people who only knew your name and reputation, and not you yourself."  For a moment the nurse put her hands on her hips and gave him an exasperated look.  "Are you trying to convince me otherwise, young man?"

Young man?  He felt a hundred years old.  He'd been in Azkaban for almost a third of his life.

"It's what everyone else will say, isn't it?" Sirius said.

"You've convinced Albus Dumbledore," Madam Pomfrey said dryly.  "He's not exactly everyone, Mr. Black.  Now - you need to hold still.  This may hurt a little, but I need to drain the wounds ..."

She cleaned the two wounds and dressed them, then matter-of-factly inspected his hair to be sure that he was clear of lice - "We don't need another outbreak of that in the school just yet, thank you" - and gave him a truly horrible potion to drink.

"I did a rotation at Azkaban early in my career," Madam Pomfrey explained rather grimly, as he gagged and spluttered, "so I know the surface parasites are the least of your problems.  Most of the prisoners sicken from intestinal worms, not poor nutrition, although there's no denying the food could be much better."

The potion had certain natural effects, after which Sirius felt as though he hadn't eaten a meal at all.  Madam Pomfrey brought him some sandwiches and recommended that he try to rest until Professor Dumbledore sent word.

Rest was impossible though.  Sirius's brain was alight with everything that had happened in the last twelve hours, from breaking into Gryffindor Tower and seizing Wormtail, to the mad chase through the Forbidden Forest that had followed.  Throughout it all, two things stood out with glaring prominence: young Harry racing to his rescue as the Dementors attacked, and Remus's face gazing at him across the breadth of the headmaster's office, white with shock and relief.

He had meant what he said to Remus.  No matter what it took, no matter if he died in the process, he was not going back to Azkaban.  If he died now trying to escape, at least Harry and Remus would know the truth.  It would be enough - although he would much prefer to live and live freely.

Exhausted, Sirius let his head fall back against the chair he sat in.

Are you really my godfather?

Such desperate, hungry eyes - Lily's beautiful green eyes, set in James's face.  Soaking wet and covered in dirt, but such vital life vibrating through that teenaged body, such hope on his face.  Such power in him, as he cast a Patronus to put any Auror to shame.

Are you really my godfather?

Yes ... yes, I really am.  I'm sorry.

And the life flowing back into Remus's worn, tired face: It wasn't you at all!

No, it wasn't me.  I'm sorry.

It might as well have been him, though.  His own actions had condemned him, his own rashness and lack of forethought.  Common sense should have told him that any man with the patience to plan and wait as Wormtail had would have a back-up plan if things went wrong.  But Sirius hadn't been able to bring himself to believe that Peter Pettigrew of all people might betray them, let alone outwit them all.  He had relied on the man's maudlin crush on James, whilst holding his intelligence in contempt.  Part of him, a very deep, hidden, barely acknowledged part, had even believed that Peter was expendable - a willing sacrifice in his devotion to James and Lily.  None of them had ever dreamed that he could cravenly eat dinner with the couple one day, and betray them the next.

I'm so sorry, James.  I'm so sorry, Lily.  I let everyone down.

Sirius stayed in his chair, smelling the clean, slightly antiseptic smell of the infirmary and listening to the sounds of the school drifting through the window, and was still wandering the labyrinth of his self-condemnatory thoughts when footsteps approached the door of his room several hours later.

It wasn't Harry.

For a moment Sirius couldn't decide whether to be glad or disappointed.  He settled for nauseating uncertainty as Remus pushed the door open and stepped inside, closely followed by a tall, dark-skinned man whose bearing screamed 'Auror' despite his unusually vibrant robes.  Only one though; and no Dumbledore, no Fudge, no MLEs, no Dementors.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked him, smiling slightly.  He still looked strange, with that unfamiliar moustache and worn tweedy clothes and his professor's robe over it all.

"I think so," Sirius said warily.  He couldn't take his eyes off the second man, and an all-too-familiar panic began to rise up in his chest.  He hadn't felt it in all the time he'd been on the run, so focussed had he been upon finding Wormtail, but ever since his rescue by Harry the fear had been close to the surface.

"It's all right, truly."  Remus paused.  "Sirius, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt.  He's the Auror in charge of recapturing you."

"And is that what you're here to do now?" Sirius asked with a reasonable facsimile of calm.

"I'm here to take you into custody," Shacklebolt said, in an unexpectedly deep voice.  The corners of his eyes crinkled up for a moment.  "But it's just a formality, Black."  He offered a hand.  "It's a pleasure to finally meet you.  We always knew it would be hard to catch one of our own, but you were an education for the trainees in how they should never underestimate an opponent."

Sirius stared at the outstretched hand, uncertain how to take this.  "Should I be reassured by that?" he asked, looking between Shacklebolt and Remus.

"It's all right," Remus repeated with emphasis.  "It took some time, but Dumbledore persuaded Fudge to view the new evidence."

"And Peter?"

"He did his best to claim he was in hiding for twelve years because of his fear of you," Shacklebolt said.  "I think Fudge might actually have accepted that as an explanation if it had just been him there and not the others - "

"But Scrimgeour and Amelia Bones jumped all over Peter right away!" Remus said triumphantly.

"Amelia Bones?" Sirius said, bewildered..

"I happened to be passing by her office on my way from the evidence vault," Shacklebolt said, his expression bland..  "She was quite interested to find me conveying two wands to Professor Dumbledore at short notice and insisted on accompanying me to Hogwarts."

"She took Peter's statement apart at the seams, Padfoot!  He tried to wriggle out of it by claiming that there were still other Death Eaters on the loose, but he couldn't explain why you went after him specifically, how he knew in advance of everyone else that James and Lily were dead, or why he faked his own death after you supposedly killed all those Muggles.  Or why, if he did that to escape you, he didn't return later to reassure everyone and offer testimony against you."

"Madam Bones insisted on testing your wands there and then with Priori Incantatem," Shacklebolt said.  "Your wand was essentially clean.  Pettigrew's, however, replicated several instances of the Avada Kedavra curse, on top of the Slicing Hex he used to sever his finger and a number of other significant curses, including the other two Unforgivables."

"He's going to Azkaban, Sirius," Remus said softly.  "Any of the Unforgivable Curses would be enough for that.  He wasn't an Auror at the time; he didn't have licence of any kind to use them."

"But you're taking me into custody," Sirius said to Shacklebolt, and he couldn't keep the fearful note out of his voice.

"The evidence will have to be presented to the High Court," Shacklebolt said.  "Everything must be open and above reproach this time, and the members of the Wizengamot will want the opportunity to see for themselves that Pettigrew is truly guilty and you are innocent.  So for the time being I must take you into custody, but you won't be returning to Azkaban.  I'll escort you to a holding cell myself, and you'll remain in my custody - not the Minister's - until you've had your hearing."

"How long will that take?" Sirius asked, beginning to feel shaky.

"Some days, I'm afraid, but the High Court has to be summoned and the prosecutors need time to prepare a proper case against Pettigrew.  Likewise, your legal representatives - who are waiting in the Headmaster's office, by the way - will want some time to view all the evidence and prepare a proper defence for you.  But you may rest assured that you'll be safe in my custody.  The Aurors under me are all entirely reliable."

"Besides, I think Fudge has been convinced," Remus said, and he was smiling.  "He was terribly shocked by everything he saw, but he was making noises about making sure the trial was watertight this time and starting to put a positive spin of sorts on the news.  It might actually make him look good, after all, if he can right an injustice that his predecessor committed."

Sirius didn't know what to think; it was too much information all at once.  Eight months of living on a knife's edge meant that his instincts were screaming for him not to trust this, that it was a trap and if he submitted now he would find himself back on the prison boat to Azkaban, surrounded by Dementors.  But what other options did he have?  He could transform and try to make a run for it, with this very efficient Auror right at his heels ... or he could go against every instinct and trust them.  Trust Remus.

Trust Remus.  He hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time he hadn't quite trusted Remus enough, in spite of the love and werewolf bond that lay between them.  Remus was staring at him now, his eyes begging him to take that leap of faith.

Sirius could feel himself breaking out into a cold sweat and forced himself to say the words before his jaw locked completely.

"So how do we do this?"  His voice sounded stiff and scared even to his own ears.

Shacklebolt was an ocean of calm though..  "Professor Lupin and I will escort you to the Headmaster's office.  The Minister of Magic, Chief Auror and Madam Bones are waiting to speak to you - an informal questioning, but your family's legal representatives will be present to assist you.  Then I'll accompany you to the Ministry and place you in formal custody.  Again, your legal representatives will be able to attend you - "

"Can Moony come with me?"

Shacklebolt's eyes flicked to Remus for a second.  "I've read your file - he's your legal spouse, yes?"

"We're legally handfasted," Remus put in, "but you know I'm a werewolf."

"I'm comfortable with you accompanying us," Shacklebolt said.  "We're halfway between lunar cycles so there's no problem as far as I'm concerned, so long as you don't try to wander off in the Ministry building.  I believe Professor Dumbledore intends to come along too."

"All right," Sirius said quickly, before he could change his mind.  "Let's - let's do this now, before I lose my nerve."  Which was a laugh, really, for he'd lost his nerve the moment Shacklebolt entered the room, but he still had his pride, such as it was after twelve years in prison.

"I have to do two things first," the Auror said almost apologetically.  He drew a small strip of flexible metal out of his pocket.  "Firstly, I need to put this around your left wrist.  It's to stop you tr