July, 1986

A thin, young man stood stone faced next to an older man with a flowing grey beard. The older man was instantly recognized as Albus Dumbledore. He was Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; famous in his own right prior to becoming Headmaster, he had taken on a larger than life stance nearly six years ago when Lord Voldemort was defeated by an infant.

The young man that stood next to Dumbledore looked to be overwhelmed about being in front of a crowd. His sandy brown hair moved with the wind, and he squinted his eyes towards the sun and flashing lights of reporter's cameras. His robes were well worn; he had insisted to Dumbledore that he didn't need a new set, that it was fine how it was. Standing in front of this crowd of thirty or more reporters from around the world, however, made him feel self-conscious.

His ears perked as the man to Dumbledore's right continued to drone on. The young man tried to concentrate on what the Minister of Magic was saying, but it was hard. His stomach was in knots, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear.

A question from a reporter broke the young man's thoughts. "Minister Abramson, I understand that you're stating this young man, Remus Lupin, is the one that tracked down Peter Pettigrew and turned him over to authorities. Is Mr. Lupin an auror?"

The young man — now identified as Remus Lupin — felt his lips curl as if it was a sick joke. Remus was a werewolf; he was bitten at a young age. There was no way that he'd ever be able to be an auror. Although two of his best friends in the world were Aurors, Remus would never pass a background check. Werewolves were still heavily prosecuted for their existence.

Minister Abramson replied to the reporter, "It is our understanding that Mr. Lupin was able to identify Mr. Pettigrew, even though Mr. Pettigrew was heavily disguised and unrecognizable. Mr. Lupin did the correct thing and alerted authorities immediately."

Remus stole a glance at Dumbledore, who simply nodded. The new Minister of Magic was having a tumultuous first month as Minister. This was the third Minister of Magic since the end of the Great War in 1980, just five years ago. The first Minister was arrested and tried as a Death Eater, a supporter of Lord Voldemort. The second Minister was found dead in his house just three months prior; while there was no official cause or reason announced yet, Remus had a sick feeling that it was due to his heavy prosecution of those who supported legislation to ban muggle-born wizards and witches from school.

The Great War had caused much instability in everyone's lives. While several years had passed, the war had taken its toll on families. Remus had lost everyone he was close to. Thought to be a spy during the war, Remus had systematically been shut out of many of his friends lives…, even those he would have died for.

Remus felt a sharp pang in his chest. Lily Potter had been one of his closest confidants since he was a young boy of 11, just starting school. She had married another close friend of his - James Potter. Together they had a son, Harry. Lily and James died protecting Harry from Lord Voldemort himself; in return, Harry defeated the Dark Lord. It didn't come without a price, however; Sirius Black, another close friend of Remus', was thought to be the reason that Lily and James and Harry all had their lives ripped apart. To make matters worse, Sirius then blew apart Remus' fourth and final close friend, Peter Pettigrew.

For punishment for his crimes, Sirius was spending the rest of his life in Azkaban. Or, so they had thought. Just a week prior, however, Remus was shopping at the ever popular Diagon Alley. He had spotted a red headed young man — Percy Weasley — carrying a rat around. A very recognizable rat, if you were Remus. Remus knew at once it was Peter, and called the authorities. Before Peter could get away, again, he was apprehended and arrested. Peter now awaited a fate worse than death; a dementor's kiss. His soul would be removed from his body, and he would be stuck with his pathetic existence until it was time for his physical body to die. At the age of 26, Peter Pettigrew was preparing for his last few days as truly human.

"Minister!" cried out a reporter. "What are the Ministry's plans for Sirius Black now that it is found that he is innocent?"

The Minister shifted uncomfortably. Since it was announced yesterday that Peter Pettigrew had been located alive, the news was printing unhelpful things about the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately when Sirius Black was captured, the Minister was in the hands of the Death Eaters. He threw Sirius Black, someone considered to be a traitor by those most loyal to Lord Voldemort, in the wizarding prison of Azkaban without a trial. No one had ever thought to have one; all accounts report that Black was simply mad at the scene. Looking back, Remus thought, it all made sense.

"Mr. Black is being released as we speak; he will be heading to an undisclosed location. The Ministry will be paying reparations to Mr. Black for the time he has spent in Azkaban, as well as any pain and suffering he may have experienced at our hands. Mr. Pettigrew will be receiving the kiss of the dementors today at 2:00."

A flash of photography bulbs went off, and a flurry of questions. The Minister's spokesperson ushered Minister Abramson out of the way. "That's enough questions for now!" he bellowed, as Remus and Dumbledore were escorted away from the speaking podium and down a long corridor.

After walking for what felt like ages, they entered the Minister's office. It was smaller than Remus expected for such a grand position, and it was severely outdated. The thing, however, that caught Remus' eye first was the silhouette of the person standing in the shadows, by the window. He would have recognized that shape anywhere.

"Remus. Albus." A voice came from the shadows as the door to the office closed. The Minister was sitting behind his desk, a strained look on his face.

Remus took two steps forward before stopping. "Sirius?" His voice held doubt in it, as if he almost couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Really, though, he couldn't. He never thought that he would see Sirius Black in the flesh again.

Sirius stepped forward into the light, and Remus felt his stomach knot once more. Sirius' face was thin. His hair was longer than Remus had ever seen it, and it was matted and knotted. Sirius had dark bags under his eyes, and a sinister smile. He looked truly untamed. He looked unhinged, in many ways. Azkaban had aged him; he looked closer to 40 than to 25. Remus felt unsure of the words to say.

"Sirius, how are you?" responded Albus Dumbledore. He too had taken several steps forward, but he stopped short of approaching Black completely. Dumbledore's blue eyes shone brightly, confident that this was going to end well. Remus felt less sure.

"I've been better," spat Sirius. Remus could practically feel the anger radiating off of him. "I want my god-son, Dumbledore. The Minister," Sirius sneered, "informs me that he is even unaware of Harry's location. The most famous wizard in the world, hidden from view."

The Minister's head perked up at the mention of his name. "Mr. Black, with all due respect, this meeting is to just formalize the terms of your release."

"It's a little late to fucking send me back, Minister." Black laughed maniacally. Remus shuddered; this felt like the scene that had been described by the news outlets when Sirius was arrested. The Minister recoiled in his seat as Sirius took the steps necessary to be in Remus' space.

Remus stared into Sirius' eyes for a moment, shuddering. He never thought he'd see his friend again. He never thought he'd see Sirius this angry, either. "I am sorry for what has happened to you," Remus muttered lowly.

Sirius' features softened, but not by much. He appeared to be hardened by his time spent in Azkaban. "I am sorry that I was foolish and thought it to be you."

Remus felt a pang in his heart. How lonely had it been to be the one that everyone thought was a spy. And how lonely it felt, to think that three of your best friends was murdered by another best friend's denial. And then to turn it around and realize that everything had been backwards.

"Harry is safe," Dumbledore stated, breaking Remus' train of thought. "There's much to discuss about his living situation. Here is not the place for the discussion. Would you like to finish with the Minister and then join Remus and I at Hogwarts?"

Sirius sneered, but conceded that it would be his best bet on ever seeing Harry again. Within the hour, Sirius was having his photo taken shaking the Minister's hand, a contract of reparations laying on the Minister's desk. The Minister looked like he could use a shot of firewhisky, or perhaps a bottle.

The three men headed for Dumbledore's office through the Minister's floo network after the Minister profusely thanked Dumbledore for his support throughout all of these arrangements today.

Remus felt exhausted when they arrived back at Hogwarts. The past three days had been emotionally exhausting, and a full moon was coming up. While there was the promise of a new potion to help make transformations less painful — wolfsbane, they called it — Remus didn't have access to it. When he was at Hogwarts, his friends were able to make the transformations better; they were still painful, but he at least had the support of those who loved him the most. The past six years, without any close friends to speak of, Remus had suffered greatly. He had been unable to hold down a job, and had been evicted half a dozen times when he was unable to pay rent. Remus had recently been thinking of returning to the werewolf community where he spent time undercover during the Great War.

Dumbledore took a seat behind his large desk. There were books, papers, and all sorts of magical items strewn across his office. Remus and Sirius both plopped into the seats in front of Dumbledore's desk; they'd been here before, but today it felt like it had been in a different lifetime.

"Sirius, I'm going to tell you about Harry's location, but it is a long story. Today has been a long day, and I would please like your word that you're not going to interrupt me while I'm telling it. I know that you have a lot of anger and a lot of questions, but I can't help you if you don't let me explain." Dumbledore's voice was caring, but his eyes twinkled with a spark that dared Sirius to argue. Sirius just shrugged and then nodded his head in understanding.

"Lily saved Harry's life that day by shielding him. She cast one of the most beautiful spells she could have, and it left a protection on him. For that protection charm to still work, Harry needs to be with his blood relatives—-"

"—-But!—-" Sirius took an elbow to the ribs from Remus. Even Remus hadn't heard this story from Dumbledore. His life was far too unstable to ever be considered safe enough to be near Harry. He was desperate for any information on the child who survived his two best friends.

Dumbledore's eyes glinted with anger for a moment, before he decided to continue. "As I was saying, he is with his blood relatives. Lily had a sister, Petunia. She had married by the time Harry was born; they have a child his age as well. He is safe there from all harm that could possibly come to him."

"I know that Lily and James intended for you to raise Harry, however I'm not sure if that's possible. He needs to be near to Petunia at least once a year to ensure that the protection charm works. There's still a lot of people out there who would likely rejoice in Harry's demise." Sirius shifted uncomfortably, but remained silent. Remus ran his hand over his face; he wished that this was all a dream.

"I don't think that it would be good for you to see Harry in this current state of yours. You're angry, and you need to think about your own health." Remus looked over at his former friend — current friend? — and watched as Sirius gritted his teeth. Remus snorted; Sirius so disagreed with Dumbledore.

"With all due respect, Albus," Sirius said defiantly. He had no intention of stopping, either, it seemed. "I am angry because you are the one that forced them in to hiding. You are the one that promised it would be okay. You are the one that thought I'd be too obvious. I would have died for them!" Remus stole a glance at Sirius, and watched a tear streak down his cheek. For the first time today, Sirius seemed… human. "I would like to have custody of my god son."

Dumbledore removed his spectacles from his face, and rubbed his eyes with two long fingers. "I suppose it would be possible for Harry to just visit with his aunt and uncle yearly, but I still do not feel that you're ready and able to care for him at this time."

"Let me try." Remus looked into Dumbledore's eyes, willing him to let Sirius try. There was no doubt in Remus' mind that if Sirius could endure all of what he had for the past six years, he would probably be the most equipped person to handle whatever else life threw at him. Even if that "whatever else" was an almost six year old boy.

Dumbledore sighed a heavy sigh. Remus could tell that he didn't like this idea at all. "You can retrieve the boy in ten days time, on his sixth birthday. Provided that you have a clean, safe living environment for him."

Sirius jumped from his chair, joyful, shouting and carrying on as if he were a teenager again. The lines that had seemed to be etched onto his face from stress all seemed to disappear. He looked to his friend Remus, who seemed to be a little bemused by the scene. "Alright, Rem! Will you help me get my family's house in order?"

Remus seemed to be taken aback. Had he been forgiven? "The full moon is in two days time," he reminded Sirius, who shrugged. "I'm not sure what help I'd be."

Remus' answer didn't seem to disappoint Sirius; he looked like he had just won the lottery. "Rem, I don't care what help you'd be. I want to start over; I want to move past all of this shit. But we're the last two marauders left. Lils and James would want you to help. I fucking know it. They weren't convinced you were the spy, but Peter? He seemed so fucking stupid. Please, Moony? Please help."

Remus stole a look at Dumbledore; he nodded once. Remus looked back to Sirius, and then sighed, "Alright."

Sirius began jumping up and down, carrying on again. Remus sighed another heavy sigh, 'what have I gotten in to?' Closing his eyes, he thought: It'll be good to start over. This could be good.