Disclaimer: No, I do not own, never have, never will. Damn pity though! This is for my own enjoyment as well as that of my readers and I am making zero profit.

A/N: First off, my sincere apologies for this. This story is a rewrite of Harry Potter and the Legend of the Phoenix. I had the most terrible writer block for it and when I reread it myself, I found I really didn't like where it was heading. Now, this story will not be exactly the same although there will be some scenes that you will find familiar if you have read Legend. I am so sorry about all of this but I really didn't like how the other story was going. For this story, I promise you I will update at least once a month. Thank you all!

It was a dark and stormy day, which suited Remus Lupin just fine. The weather fitted his mood just perfectly. He was in no mood for the bright, cheerful summer sun. No, the darkness and the rain suited him far better.

When he had woken up that morning, he had actually been annoyed by the rain. Remus had planned to tend to his garden, but mother nature was taking care of that herself. His plans for the day had been ruined.

It wasn't until he got the Daily Prophet that morning that he suddenly didn't mind the weather. The headline of the news nearly made his heart stop beating. There, in big bold letters, it said HOGWARTS TRI-WIZARD CHAMPION DEAD UPON COMPLETION OF THE LAST TASK.

For a full minute, the whole world seemed to move in slow motion. The first thing that jumped to his mind was that Harry had been killed, until he realized that the paper hadn't said which Hogwarts Champion.

As time jumped back into motion, Remus frantically grasped the newspaper and scanned the article for the name of the dead champion. When Remus finally found the name, he immediately sighed in relief. The boy who had died was the other Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory.

He did feel guilty about being relieved that it was Cedric who had died, but he was only to glad that it hadn't been Harry. How had Cedric been killed though? And what of Harry? The article didn't mention the cause of death, it only stated that there had been a tragic incident.

Remus rubbed his eyes wearily and noticed with a growing sense of dismay, that is was only nine in the morning. Today would have the makings of a long day, he just knew it.

Remus had been quite correct, it had been an especially long day. The rain didn't stop pouring down for a second, and his mood had only gotten darker with the day.

Thoughts of Harry and what had happened in the Third and final task tormented him. He wanted answers but he knew that he would just have to wait patiently like everyone else.

A crash of thunder boomed through his cottage, making Remus jump. It sounded like the storm was right on top of him! Ignoring the storm, he poured himself a cup of tea, only to jump out of his skin when thunder boomed again, this time, accompanied by someone banging on his door.

He cursed silently as the tea burned him from where he spilled it, and hurried to the door. It was probably some poor soul who had gotten caught in the storm.

When he opened the door though, he couldn't see anyone in the inky blackness.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" he questioned.

He was just about to shut the door when something large and heavy pounced on him and pinned him to the floor.

Remus stiffened and discreetly tried to raise his wand, until the thing that had attacked him, licked him. A flash of lightning revealed that the huge thing pinning him down was none other than Sirius in his animagus form.

"Padfoot!" Remus groaned. "Get off!"

Padfoot barked and licked Remus once more before bounding off the poor werewolf.

Once the door was shut, Remus whirled around and glared at Sirius. "Sirius, that is disgusting! Why do you insist on doing that?"

"Oh, because I can and I know it will gross you out," Sirius said with a smirk, after he had returned to his human form.

Remus gave up trying to be serious and laughed along with Sirius. "All right, all right. You really have to stop popping up like that out of no where. You scarred me half to death!"

"Oh you know you love me Moony," Sirius teased as he embraced Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes but hugged Sirius back. "What are you doing here though Sirius? I thought Dumbledore told you to lie low?"

Sirius's expression suddenly became very grim. "Circumstances have changed Moony. Have you seen today's paper?"

"Yes, it's been eating away at me all day. That poor boy! Still, I'm just relieved that it wasn't Harry," Remus said.

Sirius scowled and started pacing up and down. "You don't know the half of it Remus. I think that it was Cedric who got the better end of the deal. Harry, Merlin only knows what he is going through."

Remus's eyes widened. "What! Cedric is dead Sirius! How can Harry be worse off than Cedric?"

"Cedric died a quick and painless death. Harry was left with the aftermath," Sirius said wearily as he sat down next to Remus.

"How do you know how Cedric died? The papers didn't say anything," Remus said worriedly. How did Sirius know all of this?

"I know because I was there when Harry explained what happened. Good god Remus, hasn't he been through enough in his life! Why did this have to be added on top of everything!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus felt his heart jump into his throat at Sirius's words. Harry so far had had a terrible life. Between losing his parents, being raised by those abominable muggles, not to mention being the Boy-Who-Lived.

"What more could there possibly be?" he asked hoarsely.

"Much more than you can imagine. Far worse than even I thought possible," Sirius said darkly. "Cedric was murdered in cold blood in front of his eyes Remus. Right in front of him!"

"What! Murdered! By whom?! Why?" Remus asked wide eyed.

"That my friend, is the worst part. He was murdered by Wormtail, on the order of Voldemort," Sirius said bitterly.

Remus nearly fell off the couch in shock and horror. "Voldemort?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, Voldemort. The cup was a portkey. Harry and Cedric had decided to take it together and they were transported to a graveyard. Wormtail killed Cedric nearly a second after they had arrived, and bound Harry to a tombstone," Sirius said, recalling his own horror as he had heard Harry's chilling tale.

"My god," Remus whispered.

Sirius nodded sadly in agreement. "It gets worse though Moony. Wormtail used Harry's blood and somehow returned Voldemort to his former strength."

"Then the Order," Remus started to say.

"Yes, the Order has been recalled, which is one of the reasons I am here," Sirius said.

"My god. What about Harry! What happened to Harry!" Remus asked.

Sirius's eyes hardened in anger. "The bastard tortured him Remus. Harry got away though, thanks to Prior Incatatem. Dumbledore can explain it better than I can."

Remus was shaken. Voldemort had risen once more. It seemed like a nightmare come true. And once again it seemed, Harry was in the middle of everything. He could only imagine how Harry felt. "Thank goodness he's going straight to the Burrow with Molly. Merlin knows he's going to need all the support he can get."

Sirius scowled darkly and put his face in his hands. "I wish that was so Moony. God I wish that was so."

"No! He wouldn't! Not after..." Remus said incredulously.

"Oh but he would Moony. The blood protection at Privet Drive is why he has to go back there every summer. If you ask me though, he would be safer anywhere but at the Dursley's. You remember what Lily had to say about her sister," Sirius said.

"Yes, and none of it was good," Remus said grimly. "How soon can we get him out of there?"

"Albus said it would only be a month before we could go retrieve him. Maybe, Molly can pick him up right before his birthday! I'm sure he would appreciate that!" Sirius said.

Remus scowled. "That's one month too long, but it's better than the whole summer I suppose."

"Yes, yes it is. I just hope the Dursley's don't give Harry any grief," Sirius said quietly.

Remus nodded in fervent agreement before falling silent. Both men knew that the possibility of the Dursley's being sympathetic to Harry were slim to none.

Silently, they both stared out the window and watched the storm, their thoughts revolving around the boy who had stolen their hearts from the moment he had been born.

TBC