Desperate Times

Thump, thump, thump.

Go away. Not getting up. The gentle patter of rain outside was relaxing, making it all the less likely that he would get out of bed and answer the door. He snuggled down deeper under the warm duvet and let his mind drift into that blissful half-awake, half-asleep stupor.

Thump, thump, thump.

Louder. As his sleep-fuzzed brain regained its grip on consciousness, he began to realise that whoever was knocking was probably not enjoying the rain as much as he was.

THUMP, THUMP!

"Mmmm, coming," he mumbled incoherently, clumsily dragging himself out of bed and making his way slowly to the front door. He flinched as he turned on the hall light, the brightness stabbing painfully at his sleepy eyes.

Squinting, he unlocked the door and peered out into the dark rain, shivering as a blast of cold air hit him. He could see the lonely little road that ran past his house, the distant lights from the nearest city dotting the horizon with tiny pinpricks of light. He watched as flurries of leaves were blown over his front lawn, twirling and dancing in the wind like frenzied ice-dancers. But no one was there. He frowned. Suddenly something extremely cold, wet and furry brushed up against his leg, making him jump. He looked down in time to see a large black dog disappear into the living room.

Padfoot? He quickly re-locked the door and walked into the living room to see a tall, thin man standing in front of a suddenly roaring fire, shivering. Remus stood and gaped gormlessly for a moment or two and tried to collect his thoughts, earning a wry smile from the man in his front room. He gave himself a mental shake. "Sirius?"

Sirius nodded. "Remus. It's good to see you again." He looked closely at Remus, as though suspecting that the feeling wasn't mutual.

"What--I mean...why...?" Get a grip.

"Dumbledore sent me."

Remus nodded dumbly. It had been about a year since he had last seen his old friend, and the circumstances had not exactly been ideal for catching up. If you have kept your head, he told himself bitterly for what seemed like the millionth time, that wouldn't matter now, though, would it? He took in Sirius' haggard appearance. He was still painfully thin. Remembering his manners, he dragged Sirius through to the kitchen. "You look starved. What do you want to eat? I have soup, or--"

"Soup's fine," Sirius interrupted, sitting down at the old wooden table. "Just whatever you have."

Remus busied himself making soup and toast.

"This is a nice house," Sirius commented, sounded slightly nervous. Remus realised his welcome had been less than warm.

Feeling guilty, he nodded, offering a tired smile. "Yes, I have a job at the moment so I'm not doing too badly as far as money is concerned."

Sirius looked pleased. "Where?"

"An apothecary a bit down the road. Even better, the woman who owns it knows about my lycanthropy and she doesn't care. It pays well. I think she does it more because she enjoys it than because she needs the money."

"Moony, that's great!"

"I suppose it is," he said, smiling at the old nickname. He was incredibly grateful to old Mrs Summers for hiring him even knowing about his condition, and he was very fond of her and his job, but he had loved teaching and felt that his knowledge could be put to better use.

"I've got a lot to tell you," said Sirius after a pause.

"Go on."

"Well, the short version is that Voldemort is back, thanks to our old friend. That's the main reason I'm here."

Remus' head jerked up. Voldemort back? All of a sudden a million questions formed in his mind, along with a rush of whirling emotions. He stared at Sirius, trying to make sense of what he had just said and settled on, "How?"

"Pettigrew," Sirius spat. "He helped regenerate him. He's back."

Remus put a bowl of soup and some toast down in front of Sirius. "But...how?"

Sirius told him about the Triwizard Tournament as he ate, from suspicious beginning to tragic end. "And that's why I'm here," he concluded. "I've been to everyone else already, so, well...Dumbledore said...I mean, if it's okay with you...that I...er..."

"You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want," Remus said, correctly interpreting his friend's sudden unease. "It'll be nice to have the company." He shook his head and gazed out the window into the night. "I can't believe Harry managed to escape. And poor Cedric. His parents must be beside themselves. He was a great kid; really bright. What a waste..."

Sirius sighed. "All of the houses were pretty upset about it, not just Hufflepuff. He was pretty popular. And Dumbledore told the kids exactly how he died. Said something about the truth being preferable to lies, according to Harry's letters. He's right, of course, but I doubt many parents will be happy about it. And Fudge is making things difficult. He's trying to say Harry's crazy and Snape should be sacked. And while I agree with the latter, the former is utter crap."

"Well, he'll have to admit to the truth sooner or later. He's going to have an interesting time trying to explain away Death Eater attacks if he doesn't."

Sirius nodded mutely. It struck Remus anew how much older Sirius looked. Although his old friend had filled out a bit since they last saw each other, traces of the old Sirius were almost gone, hidden beneath a starved, gaunt mask. His thin body was still trembling with the cold and his hair hung lank and lifeless over his face as he stared morosely into his empty soup bowl. Remus' mind drifted into the now all too familiar train of thought that always began with his wondering why they couldn't have spotted that Peter had turned against them. How could they have been so blind? They had been constantly on their guard, regarding everyone they didn't know with a certain amount of suspicion, working non-stop to try to clear up in the wake of the almost daily Death Eater attacks and hide them from the Muggles. And yet, they had failed to spot that one of their own had betrayed them all. Little Peter. A coward and a murderer...And to kill a child. Because that's all Cedric really was. He hadn't even left school, probably had little, if any, idea of some of the horrors that existed outside of Hogwarts' protective walls...

Sirius broke the silence. "We'll have to meet up with the rest of the Order at some point; try to come up with some sort of defensive plan that won't attract the Ministry's attention."

"Fine. Do they all know about you, then?"

"Some, not all. I thought old Gus might kick up a bit of a fuss, but he seemed really pleased. He hasn't changed much. Arabella Figg was stuffing food in my face the whole time I was there. When the hell did she get all those cats? The little cretins kept mistaking me for some sort of scratching post." He rolled up his sleeve and revealed a criss-crossing pattern of thin red scratches. Remus chuckled. "Everyone was okay. Dumbledore owled them all to tell them I was coming. Molly Weasley knows as well."

"Good. Come through to the living room. It's warmer in there."

They settled down in front of the cheerfully crackling fire. A thought struck Remus as he stared into it. "Where did you get the wand?" he asked.

Sirius grinned. "Well, let's just say I may have...borrowed it from someone..."

"Sirius!"

"He was drunk and he tried to kick me! As Padfoot, I mean. It's his own fault he's now wandless."

Remus sighed, smiling at the image of the big black dog running off with some bloke's wand.

"So, Prof. What was it like having free access to the staff room at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked. A mischievous grin spread over his face, taking years off it.

Remus laughed. "Believe it or not, Padfoot, I had better things to do than put itching powder in Severus's chair."

"What could be better than that? He lost you your job. Harry told me."

"Well...it was for the best," Remus said uncomfortably. He almost had himself convinced.

"Not for the kids, it wasn't. Harry said you were everyone's favourite teacher and the only DADA teacher they'd had who knew his stuff. You're a good teacher. Christ, you even managed to teach Harry to conjure a Patronus, and that Patronus saved quite a few lives, mine included. They were all really sorry to see you go. Mr. Popular, eh?"

Remus, slightly embarrassed, said nothing. He would have loved to have stayed, but it just wasn't an option. He could have killed James' son that night. James and Lily's son. He could never have forgiven himself if he had harmed anyone, and the only way to be sure that he wouldn't was to stay well away.

Sirius seemed to pick up on his change of mood. "One mistake. Harry told me about the Wolfsbane Potion. Anyone would have forgotten under the circumstances, and it all worked out okay."

"Not for you, it didn't," Remus reminded him lightly.

"I'm hanging in there," Sirius said, with a ghost of the old cocky Sirius Black grin. "Anyway, I'm safe at the moment. With the Ministry trying to cover up Voldemort's return, the heat's been taken off me a bit."

"That's something, at least."

"So does the potion really work?"

Remus nodded, sipping his tea. "It's amazing. It's probably a bit like the Animagus transformation, only a bit more...painful. I could think completely clearly so just went to sleep in my office until the next day."

"But Snape had to make it for you."

Remus smiled. He had been slightly ashamed that he had had felt a small, childish satisfaction when he realised that Dumbledore was making Severus make the potion for him. It was obvious that Snape was more than a bit afraid of him, but his pride forced him to disguise it as disgust and hatred. Which, he reminded himself, was probably also pretty close to the truth. "Yep. He hated every minute of it, but he didn't really have a choice."

Sirius' laugh turned into a huge yawn. Remus saw that his eyes were drooping. He stood up and extinguished the fire. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

Sirius followed him down the hall to the spare room. He looked around appreciatively. "Very nice, Moony. Beats the floor of a cave, at any rate."

"I'd certainly hope so. Goodnight, Padfoot."

"Goodnight, Moony."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius woke up to bright sunlight streaming through a large window on the wall opposite his bed. He stretched luxuriously and yawned, shielding his eyes. If he had had a nightmare last night it must have been fairly tame because he couldn't remember it and he hadn't woken up during the night. It had been the first night in God knew how long that he hadn't slept as a dog. He hadn't been brave enough until now. The Dementors came back to him in his dreams, forcing the guilt and grief back down upon him in sickening waves. He knew he was innocent most of the time, but when the Dementors got too close, things got confused. Suddenly he was a murderer. A cold-blooded, evil man who killed his best friends and orphaned their baby son...he killed Peter, left Moony to deal with his difficult life alone...but then it would shift. He believed Remus to be capable of killing two of his best friends...he had been to stupid, too cowardly to be the Secret Keeper..."Well, Snapey, if you're that desperate to know, who am I to keep it from you, you slimy bastard? Just push the knot on the base of the Whomping Willow and take a look..."..."Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?"..."The evidence speaks for itself, Black. You are hereby sentenced to like imprisonment in Azkaban, never to be free again, and there may you rot...there may you rot...THERE MAY YOU ROT..." Sirius sat up abruptly, rubbing his eyes vigorously, as though trying to wipe away the awful thoughts and memories. Don't dwell on it, Black, he told himself fiercely, it's over.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He was glad to be at Moony's. His friend's calm demeanour always made him feel like things would be okay. Sirius looked around the room and smiled in spite of himself, feeling very happy for Remus that he had a job that was allowing him to live properly. He remembered back...before...that he went through jobs like most people went through clean underwear, because of bigoted idiots who couldn't see past his disease. With another yawn he got up, padded over to the door and went down the hall to where he remembered the kitchen to be.

Remus was sitting at the table, reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up. "Afternoon, Padfoot."

Sirius plonked himself down the chair opposite his friend. "Afternoon?"

Remus nodded. "It's half past two. Sleep well?"

"Like a log. It was the best night's sleep I've had in years."

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, a bit. Can I get a bath first, though? I feel horrible." His hair felt matted and greasy, he felt grubby all over and he desperately needed to shave. He certainly looked the part of the insane escaped Azkabanian.

"Of course. The bathroom's at the end of the hall."

Sirius stayed in the bath for well over an hour, scrubbing. One of the things that reminded him most forcefully that he was an escaped convict was that he rarely had any time, or place, for that matter, to wash. He spent much of his time feeling dirty and disgusting. Once he was satisfied, having scrubbed his skin red, shaved and hacked a few inches from the bottom of his newly clean hair, he got out and dried himself with a large blue towel. He cast a critical look at his torn robes, which were lying in an unsightly heap on the floor. Upon opening the bathroom door, however, he was pleased to see that Remus had left a clean set just outside. They were slate grey and new, by the looks of things.

Feeling happier and more like his old self than he had in months, he made his way back to the kitchen. Remus wasn't there, but Sirius heard voices coming from the living room. He stopped dead, barely resisting the urge to panic and run away, and transformed into his large, fuzzy alter-ego. Peering cautiously around the door, he was relieved to see Albus Dumbledore's head in the fire, talking to Remus. Sirius changed again and walked in. Albus smiled when he saw him. "Ah, Sirius. You're looking well."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I feel well." Better, anyway.

"I was just telling Remus here that the Order will be having a meeting tomorrow at noon. You could come in your Animagus form if you like, as Remus's pet dog."

Sirius cast an amused look at Remus, who was smiling slightly mischievously. If he thinks he's getting me into a collar and leash he can think again. "Of course."

"Excellent. I have something in mind for you two but I'll explain all tomorrow. I'd best be off now. I have a meeting with Cornelius."

Sirius snorted and muttered, "Good luck."

Dumbledore smiled briefly and was gone.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"There is no way. Okay? No."

"It's more convincing like this. Look at the size of you!"

"No, no, no. I mean it! They won't question you!"

"We can't risk people getting suspicious! Everyone's on edge enough as it is."

"They won't be! No one's going to care..."

"And do you want to wait and see?"

"I...but...you--"

"Great! I knew you'd agree in the end!" And with that Remus walked cheerfully, albeit quickly, out of the living room, leaving a disbelieving Sirius standing gaping after him. You can run, but you can't hide, he thought darkly. He glowered around the room in general, wondering how, despite his determination that Remus was not going to make him back down on this, he was now standing with a cheerful red collar in his hand.

Remus' voice called through to him from the kitchen. "And don't moan about it or I might accidentally make it pink and flowery."

Sirius, knowing it was probably wise to take Remus at his word, kept sullenly quiet.

**

Once they were satisfied that the house was locked up, and Remus was satisfied that Padfoot had his collar on, they set off by Floo to Hogwarts. The two of them stumbled ungracefully out into Dumbledore's office with five minutes to spare, where most of the Order already sat around chattering. Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody sat in a corner glaring suspiciously around the room, magic eye rotating wildly. It seemed, and understandably so, Remus supposed, that last year's experience had done his already considerable paranoia no favours. Albus was chatting amiably to a young man whom Remus recognised as the eldest Weasley boy. Bill, if he remembered correctly. Minerva McGonagall sat regally in an armchair, talking to Arabella Figg. Remus saw to his great amusement that the conversation was looking rather heated. He knew that when the two women got into a debate about something, there was no stopping them. Equally opinionated and strong-minded, neither would back down, and their 'discussions' could go on for hours. There had been some memorable ones in the first war. Gilbert Whimple entered right behind Remus and Sirius. There were a few other people whom Remus recognised, but did not know. "Remus Lupin!" called a gruff voice. "How are ye, lad? It's been a while, eh?"

Remus smiled and took a seat beside the aging Ministry worker. "Mundungus," he said warmly. "It's good to see you again." Mundungus Fletcher worked in the Improper Use of Magic Office, and had done for as long as Remus had known him.

"Aye, lad, it is that." He nodded down at the distinctly annoyed-looking dog sitting at Remus' feet. "And I suppose this is Si...er...Snuffles, then?"

"Yes, it is," said Remus, looking down at a disgruntled Padfoot in amusement.

Mundungus snorted with laughter. "What in God's name have ye put around the poor thing's neck? He looks like a bloody girl!"

Padfoot narrowed his eyes and snorted. Remus laughed. "I told him if he didn't behave it was going to be pink." He turned his attention to Sirius. "And if you so much as move a muscle when Severus arrives I'll top the ensemble off with a pretty bow."

Mundungus burst out laughing, a hoarse rumble. "Aye, I can just see it," he said, reaching down to scratch behind Padfoot's ears. Remus cast Padfoot another amused look, which was reciprocated with a soft growl.

At that moment the door burst open and in stalked Severus Snape, black cloak billowing, looking even sourer than usual. What was annoying him became apparent immediately when Hagrid followed him in. "An' that's when I realised I wasn' givin' them the righ' kind o' lettuce," he was saying loudly, apparently completely oblivious to Snape's lack of interest. Snape stomped over to the window and threw himself down into a chair, while Hagrid completely abandoned his tale and made a beeline for Padfoot.

"An' who's this?" he asked. He looked at Remus. "Well if it isn' Professor Lupin!" he said cheerfully. "How've yeh been?"

"I've been well, thanks, Hagrid," replied Remus. "Yourself?"

"Not bad, not bad," came the reply. He wasn't looking at Remus, however, but at Padfoot. "Look at the size o' that! What kind o' dog is he? I could've done with a dog that size when I was lookin' fer a playmate fer Fluffy!"

"Er...I'm not sure, actually. He was a stray until he turned up on my doorstep. I decided to take pity and take him in."

"Yeh...fine size o' a dog, that. I'm no' sure about the collar, though. No' very in-keepin' with his size, like...bit girly if yeh ask me..." He eyed the collar doubtfully.

Remus barely swallowed a laugh as Padfoot bristled and shot a doggy-glare at him.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please?" came Dumbledore's voice over the chatter. Everyone quieted down immediately. "Thank you. Now, before we start, there are a few people I'd like to introduce. Firstly, for those who do not know him, this is Bill Weasley, Arthur Weasley's eldest." He indicated the red-haired man to his right. "He works for Gringotts as a Curse-Breaker. Simon Keddle," here he nodded towards a tall, thin man with a goatee, "works for the Daily Prophet. Daphne Miles, Aizel Beckett and Gilbert Whimple work at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Committee on Experimental Charms, respectively."

There followed discussion about the (admittedly few) Death-Eater attacks that had so far taken place. It seemed that the Death-Eaters were choosing their victims carefully and had so far only attacked Muggles. The Ministry were, in effect, helping them out by turning up soon after, clearing up the mess and trying to hide that it ever happened.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to get someone in there first," said Arabella. She looked at Daphne. "You'll hear about these things fairly quickly, won't you? Working where you do? If we make sure there's always someone standing by, you could contact them immediately and they can get to the site of the attack, hopefully before the Ministry. If we can get evidence, Mr Keddle can easily put together a story about it. Then there won't be any way for Fudge to deny that You-Know-Who is back."

Daphne Miles nodded thoughtfully. "I could, but I'd have to be informed every day who I'd be contacting. And there's no guarantee that I'd get the news before someone else did."

"Are there others in your department who will be willing to help?" asked Arabella.

Minerva interrupted. "Arabella, all that will happen there is that we will have a wide-scale panic on our hands. It's amazing what people will do for money, and Minister Fudge could perfectly easily counter-attack with accusations against us. We'll need far more solid proof than that before we can make the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named public, especially if we're going to be accusing the likes of Lucius Malfoy of dark activities. Many of the Death Eaters Harry Potter saw in the graveyard that night work for Fudge."

Arabella leaned forward. "I disagree, Minerva," she stated simply. There were collective groans around the table as everyone familiar with the proceedings prepared for the imminent argument, but Remus saw a twinkle in the Headmaster's eye. Arabella continued. "Fudge cares more about his position than he does about the safety of his constituents, yes? If anything will persuade him to take precautions, it's public opinion. And if the public believes that Lucius Malfoy and whoever else are involved in the Dark Arts, it won't be long before the Minister acts accordingly."

"Lucius Malfoy is a very influential man, Arabella," Minerva said, also leaning forward. The fact that they were both dangerously light in tone was usually indicative of tempers flaring. Around the table, Remus was aware of people looking nervously at Dumbledore. "He can and will make things difficult for us. Fudge is a blithering fool. And if we make the rift between us and the Ministry public, there will be chaos."

Arabella looked annoyed.

**

Twenty minutes later, everyone at the table except Minerva, Arabella and Dumbledore were staring vacantly around with glazed eyes. Even Padfoot was sprawled messily on the floor, the picture of canine boredom. Minerva and Arabella were really going at it now, and Dumbledore was attempting in vain to placate the two women.

"If you think that he's just going to change his mind like that," Minerva said hotly, snapping her fingers, "then I'm afraid you're very much mistaken!"

"Now, if we can just--" began Dumbledore.

"We cannot keep something this big a secret!" interrupted Arabella shrilly. "The Minister is far too--"

"Ladies!" rumbled Dumbledore, and the two women, along with everyone else in the room, jumped and stared at him. He continued, as pleasant as ever. "I'm glad we're tossing ideas about, but I fear we will have to move on. There are other things to discuss, and I would like to get to them fairly soon, if you please."

Looking suitably abashed but no less angry, the women fell silent.

**

An hour later, the members of the Order were preparing to leave. "Severus and Remus," said Dumbledore. "If you two could stay here for just a few minutes more, please."

Severus shot a poisonous look at the large black dog lying at Remus' feet. Sirius wasted no time in baring his teeth menacingly. Snape scowled but said nothing.

"Now then," said Dumbledore cheerfully one everyone was gone. "Lemon drop?"

Snape shook his head, glaring at the bag of lemon drops as though it was single-handedly responsible for his being stuck in a room with the two people he hated most.

"No, thank you," Remus replied.

Sirius regained his human form and stuck his hand in the bag, receiving a very pleased look from Dumbledore. "Thanks." Snape snorted and muttered something under his breath.

"Now, I'll tell you all what I need you to do for me." He looked at the three men, no doubt taking in the Death Stares passing thick and fast between Sirius and Snape and the determination Remus was putting into ignoring them. Dumbledore sighed. "You probably won't like it, but I can't think of anyone who I would rather have do this. That, and everyone else has jobs that they cannot leave. I can find a part-time Potions teacher for while you are away, Severus. And, of course, you will be paid."

"Away?" asked Snape, looking viciously at Sirius and Remus. "Away with them?"

"Yes," Albus replied. "Tell me, have any of you heard of a man named Vladimir Comaneci?"

Remus frowned slightly. The name certainly rang a bell. Sirius and Snape both shook their heads.

"He resides in Romania and is the head of a powerful werewolf clan." Oh. Snape raised his eyebrows in a what-do-those-disgusting-creatures-have-to-do-with-me? fashion and glowered at Remus.

"Now, we know that Voldemort will try to get the werewolves on side, and we need to prevent that. Preferably by persuading them to fight for our side. If not, then even for them to stay neutral would be a big help. So I need you three to go to Romania and see what you can do."

Severus looked horrified. "What?" he exploded. "You want me to go to Romania, with them, and try to make friends with the werewolves?"

"Yes, Severus, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "You need to learn to work together and I believe that your combined powers and skills will be invaluable."

Sirius was looking furiously at Snape. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Where can we find him?" interrupted Remus, preferring to leave the fireworks for when they were not in the Headmaster's presence.

"He is reputed to be staying somewhere just outside of a town called Brasov. I expect he'll know of your arrival, so if you cannot find him, I'm sure he'll find you."

"And how long do you want us to stay there?"

"Well...unless there is absolutely no way of persuading them and they utterly refuse...as long as it takes, I think."

Remus nodded. Sirius and Severus didn't, choosing instead to sit scowling at each other. The Headmaster sighed. "I believe that if the three of you work together, you will be successful. Severus, I will need you to bring supplies so that you can prepare the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus, please."

Snape nodded, looking from pleased. "Yes, Headmaster."

Albus clapped his hands together cheerfully. "Wonderful! Now, is tomorrow too soon to leave? I have sorted out accommodation for you. There is a cottage just outside the town of Brasov that I believe will be suitable." The Headmaster looked at Snape. "If you are summoned, Severus, you will be able to Apparate immediately, which will prevent any suspicion."

Snape nodded tightly. "The only problem is," continued Albus, "that you cannot Apparate into the cottage. You will have to Apparate into Brasov and walk from there."

Another nod. "Fine."

"Excellent. In that case, you should probably get plenty of rest tonight. Apparition to somewhere so far will require a good bit of energy."

The three men bid the Headmaster goodbye. Surprisingly, neither Snape nor Sirius said a word when they got out. Snape swept past them with a dark look when they got out and Sirius muttered "Git" softly before transforming, but no more. Remus hoped that they could show as much restraint when they were away.