Hand-me-Downs

Remus and Sirius spent that day stripping the walls in Sirius's old bedroom of paper, then, reasoning that the old wallpaper paste was very unlikely to be cursed, used scouring charms to clean up the leavings of it. Around dinnertime, they had it ready to start painting, but decided to wait until tomorrow to start, so that they could sleep there that night without fear of getting paint on Lupin's Castle accidentally. They didn't waste their time after dinner, but decided to get a start on Regulus's old bedroom.

The furnishings there were richer than those in the first bedroom had been, more like those in the master bedroom. On the initial sweep through, they hadn't disturbed any of it, and now when Lupin opened the wardrobe and made to empty it, it seized him with its oak doors, trying to pull him in and lock him inside as a couple in a painting on the wall began screaming at him. Sirius coming to help was met with a volley of punches from the drawers, and even when he pulled Remus free of it, the wardrobe began marching across the room after them. Sirius hit it repeatedly with Reductor curses until it stopped moving, then went to quiet the painting down. The Weasleys came running in to investigate the noise, but by that time, nothing was left but a mass of smashed wood and tangled cloth that made no further mischief as they prodded at it.

As best Remus could tell, it hadn't been a formidable curse, just a superficial trap that an adolescent Regulus had put in place to prevent any meddling with his belongings. Still, it was enough to make them all glad that unlike his brother, Regulus hadn't been much for keeping books in his room.

Molly, Charlie, and Bill said goodnight and went back downstairs to take the kitchen Floo to the Burrow. Sirius was just suggesting that they retire for the evening as well, when Remus, still picking through the remains of the wardrobe, found the floor panel of the main compartment suspiciously unharmed. The curses that had smashed the rest of the wardrobe to bits hadn't so much as marred its finish. Several more experimental spells failed even to scratch it, and as they tried to think why such a simple panel of wood would be so powerfully protected, Sirius guessed that it must have been a magically-created "false" bottom in which something important was stored.

He and Lupin tried a few spells and passwords to open it, but both of them had a good guess as to what the password really was: "Voldemort." Until his death, Sirius's brother had been a Death Eater, they both knew, and the war had made all of wizardkind afraid of the Dark Lord's very name in part because his Death Eaters were known for using items that were activated by speaking it aloud--items ranging from secret compartments, whose contents were safe because no one but a Death Eater dared say the password even if they guessed it, to their dreaded blacklists that, when addressed as "Voldemort", would mark in various colors the names of persons he wanted tortured, controlled, captured, or killed. Worse yet, rumor had it that he was aware of it every time someone spoke his name. Cooler heads knew that that was impossible even for the most powerful wizard, but it did seem that he could tell whenever and wherever his name was used as an incantation or password. Now that he had returned, the possibility made even Remus Lupin and Sirius Black afraid to say "Voldemort" within earshot of this piece of wood. At the very least, they would have to take it far from the house before trying it, so as to protect the Order's location, and Sirius agreed with Remus's suggestion that it would be best to turn it over to Dumbledore and let him handle it.

Once Remus had cast a magical messenger to Dumbledore, telling him they had found an item that needed his attention, they returned to Sirius's old now-stripped bedroom and set up the Castle in the Sky. After all of that, its warm, homey interior felt like a breath of fresh air despite its cramped proportions. Remus was strangely thankful, too, to see Sirius take off his father's robe and put the old prison robes back on to sleep in.

Squeezing into bed, Sirius remarked that at this rate they wouldn't be able to leave a stick of original furniture in the house, and while Order members' hand-me-downs were good, everyone would only have so much to spare.

Lupin doused the magical light in the cabin with a "Nox."

"I wonder where we stand with Shacklebolt, if Arthur thinks we can trust him," Sirius mused after a few moments in the dark.

"He seemed to have a good feeling about it, last I spoke to him..." Remus said.

"Be very handy, to have the Auror who's after me in the Order. The goblins never talk about your business, and if anyone else saw Shacklebolt sniffing about my vault, well, he has the perfect reason."

"Good point. Maybe better not to bring it up to Arthur, though, until he decides about Shacklebolt for himself..."

"Don't want to skew his judgement, no."

"If Dumbledore comes for that panel tomorrow, maybe mention it to him..." Remus said with a yawn.

"Mm."

After breakfast, Sirius and Lupin unloaded the supplies from the Castle to start painting. Leaving his own robe in his house, Remus somewhat hesitantly accepted Sirius's offer and put on another one of Orion Black's old robes over his clothes. He tried to pick one that would be comfortable to wear, but even this slippery-soft fabric prickled his skin strangely where the long-hanging cuffs touched his wrists. His knowledge about the previous wearer gave him an odd feeling--surely Alastor would have detected anything that wasn't ascribable to that.

Sirius had a good laugh at the irony of using hand-dyed silk brocade embellished with Fire Crab shell to protect a shabby old sweater-vest from splattering paint, but he was unequivocal that his father's clothes were more expendable than his friend's. After looking hard at Lupin in that robe and declaring that it didn't become him at all, Sirius went so far as to brush a great stripe of blue paint across his front, and they both laughed at that.

While Remus started on the walls, Sirius was struck with an idea. Taking a can of paint and a brush under his arm and laying down on his back on the floor, he cast Decido Capita--the reverse-gravity charm that he and James used to use for pranks in their school days. He immediately fell upward onto the ceiling and caught himself easily on his free hand and knees. From there he could easily reach the upper portions of the walls that Remus couldn't reach from the floor, and he set about painting the ceiling bright blue as well. That might not have been strictly necessary, but it made Lupin smile--he just had to warn Sirius not to paint himself into a corner.

All around, the task was surprisingly enjoyable. Just as intended, the blue color palpably changed the room's entire aspect. Everywhere they painted, it became a new and different place than it had been when they first entered it a few days ago--it felt fresh and cool and safe, although Sirius joked that anyone who slept there would probably dream they were a fish. By late afternoon the walls and ceiling were half-painted, and the floor sufficiently splattered that they'd decided to paint it, too. And of course, a blue door was the original superstitious prescription, but Remus planned to paint it last so that it could be left to dry when they wouldn't need to come and go through it.

Molly called them down for dinner, and this time persisted with her idea concerning Harry. She had thought that Sirius might let them take care of the house and stay with Arabella. After all, the old lady was working all alone to keep the neighborhood safe from the Death Eaters, and while it might be an obvious place for the Ministry to look for him, they didn't know about his Animagus form, so he would only have to be certain to act convincingly like a dog. Of course, she added, it would depend on what Dumbledore said to the idea. Surprisingly, Sirius just nodded and said hardly anything. Lupin would have expected some immediate reaction positive or negative, and even if Sirius were mulling it over, it seemed a strange way for him to act.

The Weasleys excused themselves right after the meal, saying they were needed at home, and as soon as the fireplace had died back down from the last handful of Floo powder, Sirius finally said something openly. "Did she suppose I hadn't thought of that?"

"Hm?" Lupin turned from the dishes. With their initial cleansing-by-hand already done, he'd just set them to washing themselves with a wave of his wand.

"The idea of me staying at Arabella's. Of course I'd thought of it. The whole time I was there, while you were... Well, it was a fight every day not to go out and pounce on Harry on the sidewalk and lick him all over, but I didn't want to toy with him, you know, before we had things settled..." Sirius said sadly.

"I'm sorry I put you through that. When I had to turn myself in for Full Moon, I didn't know where else--"

"Oh, it's not your fault. But she says that as if I'd just leave you all here to deal with this place, with my family's dungeon of a house..."

"I'm sure she didn't mean any slight," Lupin said. "She knows you love Harry and was just trying to help, maybe smooth over disagreements a bit..."

"Oh, I know..." Sirius admitted. "It's only... I can't take guard duty, the only thing I can give the Order is this awful place... Well, I'm not just going to saddle you all with it and go running off on a holiday to please myself while you all break your backs, risk the Ministry packing you off to Azkaban, and listen to Dear Old Mummy scream at you. ...I ought to have told her not to bring it up to Albus; he'd either shoot the notion off the pitch or say something about I could do important work by helping Arabella, when I know he considers that all in hand. I don't know which would be worse, being knocked down again or being patronised."

Remus hated to take the tangential issue, but he had to ask: "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just wasn't in the mood to make trouble... Saving my energy for more progress on the room. I thought maybe we could get the walls and ceiling done tonight, and that's a lot left to do."

"I had thought the same," Remus said. "If you'd like to get started again, I'll be up shortly."

Sirius paused and seemed to consider it. "No, I'll wait for you."

Once the dishes were finished, they went back upstairs; the still-unpainted area of the walls and ceiling looked dauntingly large, but they agreed to make an effort at finishing it before bed. The hours marched on into the deep darkness, and even as Lupin's body began to ache with sleepiness, the work was still no hardship. He and Sirius began chatting to keep each other awake, and the fatigue turned them to increasing silliness and ready laughter.

With less area to cover, Remus finished the walls within his reach an hour or so past midnight, while Sirius still had a large swath of ceiling left. Using the reverse-gravity charm to help took a few tries, since Remus was less skilled at it than his friend and also very tired, but together they finished the upper portion of the walls and kept attacking the ceiling. Lupin could tell that the hour was starting to get the better of him as the area remaining got smaller and smaller, but felt larger and larger at a much greater rate.

Kneeling upside-down on the ceiling, he eventually became dizzy and confused and had to look at the fireplace to remind himself which was the floor, but then turned back only to find that he had forgotten what he was doing. Trying to understand the paintbrush in his hand and the sea of blue in front of him was a struggle, and when his eyes drifted closed for a moment, he realized the answer: he was a fish. It was so obvious, he couldn't imagine why he hadn't known all these years, and he felt himself taking a great leap out of the water...

THUD!

Dozing off for a moment had been enough to break the spell and drop Remus hard on his back. No serious harm done; it just left a gripping ache. He fuzzily heard Sirius cast the counterspell and drop down beside him, and was already more than half asleep again as Sirius pulled the silk robe off him, led him by a hold under his arm, and lay him down in a soft, warm bed.

Something bright buzzed around Lupin's head, disturbing a deep, black sleep and an uncomfortable dream whose memory was already escaping him--he vaguely thought it had involved chasing a shadow and never being able to see the person attached. The twirling light was uncomfortable, but he struggled toward it as something heavy seemed to pull him down...

He felt Sirius move beside him, not against him like the last few weeks, but in ripples across the surface of the something he fought to free himself from. The light that he was using as a beacon stopped moving and died away, but when he managed to make a blunted sound of distress, Sirius took his shoulder and effortlessly brought him up. He woke half-sunk into a thick featherbed, covered in plush blankets and throws.

"That was a message," Sirius yawned. "Everyone's here and Kreacher won't let them in to wake us up, so I suppose he is good for something..."

"Unnh..." Remus sat up and shuffled off the thick bedcoverings. Bright sunlight filtered wanly through the windows and bedcurtains. "What time--?" Bedcurtains!? "Sirius, is this your parents' room??"

He looked around and gave a start, ran to the door and threw it open before giving a sigh of relief. "Of all the idiotic--! Sorry about that, Moony. Dear Morgan, we're lucky nothing happened. I was so tired when we finally fell asleep, I must not have been thinking..."

Lupin got up, and they emerged into the hallway to find Kreacher there waiting to greet them with a deep bow. "Master awakes; Kreacher bids good morning. Interlopers, mongrels and blood-traitor trash, they tried to disturb my Master's rest, but Kreacher is a good servant, kept trashy people away..."

"Fine, fine," Sirius said, "but if those 'trashy people' are members of the Order, they need to be able to disturb me anytime they like. Understand?"

"Kreacher is a good servant, understands and obeys his Master," he said, departing with several more bows that flopped his leathery ears against the floor.

"Well, he certainly seems to have changed his tune," came Alastor Moody's grizzled voice; he emerged from Regulus's bedroom and came over to them.

"It's probably because I threw him against the floor the other day... Something he could relate to..." Sirius muttered.

"Any trouble in there? Why didn't you come out earlier?" Alastor questioned, his magic eye drilling into them.

"We stayed up very late working..." Lupin yawned. "I don't know when we finally... What time is it?"

"Quarter past noon. By the look of that bedroom we thought that might be what happened, but we finally had to messenger you to make sure you could get out. Everybody's down in the kitchen, and step lightly around Molly. They had a row at the Burrow last night."

That woke Remus a bit more. Fred and George's "product development" continuing despite their mother's efforts was the closest thing he knew of to a Weasley family fight, and that had never reached the "step lightly" point--until now?

Alastor led them down to the kitchen, with Lupin bringing up the rear. Sirius was wearing the green robe with the gold braid, and watching him descend the stairs in it from behind gave Remus an unsettling sensation of deja vu that he couldn't quite identify. As he puzzled about it, he found himself thinking that it was strangely free of paint spots. Was that strange? Had Sirius worn that one yesterday? His thoughts threatened to tangle exhaustedly again, and he pushed them aside as they entered the kitchen.

Most of the Order was indeed gathered there. Albus Dumbledore looked up from pacing placidly before the fireplace. Arthur and Molly Weasley both sat at the table, across from Dedalus Diggle and Emmaline Vance. Bill was at the sideboard assembling sandwiches from a leftover beef roast and irregular slices of bread that wheezy old Elphias Doge was cutting for him. Mundungus Fletcher was absent as usual, Severus was staying well away from any meetings or suspicion--Dumbledore could easily fill him in on anything later--and Arabella was still keeping to Little Whinging, but her cat Tibbles leapt off Diggle's shoulder and upset his violet top-hat as Lupin and Sirius entered. The cat made a run at Remus and jumped directly into his arms.

"Terribly sorry to keep you all waiting," Lupin said. He stroked Tibbles, who purred and kneaded claws on his shirtsleeve, and sat down next to the Weasleys as Sirius took a chair across from him. Alastor stayed standing in a strategic spot near the door.

"Quite all right," Dumbledore assured them. "I know you've been working hard here. Arthur was just telling us about some potential new members he's been speaking to at the Ministry..."

For their benefit, Arthur repeated what he'd been saying, that he now felt quite positive about Hestia Jones, a witch who worked in the Ministry's Owlery and Mailroom--a humble job, but one that gave her a strategic view into who was in contact with whom. He was talking seriously to a couple of Aurors, as well: Kingsley Shacklebolt, whom he'd mentioned on a previous occasion, and also Nymphodora Tonks, who he thought was related to the Blacks. He looked over at Sirius as he said it, but had to ask directly to get a terse confirmation. Sirius said that she was a cousin whom he hadn't seen since she was a child, but at least her mother Andromeda had never participated in the pure-blood snobbery--in fact she'd been disowned for marrying a Muggle-born wizard.

Bill gave Remus an extra saucer of meat for Tibbles, because the cat kept stretching out a paw to grab at his sandwich.

Various other topics were addressed: Albus gave a status report of the word he was getting from Hagrid and Mme. Maxime, and said that he himself had been speaking with the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, although their decision hung in the balance of a philosophical debate upon the nature of destiny and freewill that he had no power to settle for them. At the least, he said, Firenze advocated fighting against the Death Eaters' evil and would help them as much as possible. Guard duty at the Department of Mysteries was also discussed; Lupin was to take a watch tomorrow night.

Alastor offered Remus the use of his best Invisibility Cloak for standing guard, and Albus promised to get the Wolfsbane Potion for him, since it would be needed in less than two weeks now. If Severus was unable to prepare it, Dumbledore said he would take it upon himself to make other arrangements. Remus most gratefully accepted both offers.

Molly's voice was a bit unsteady, but nonetheless she asked about Harry; Dumbledore still maintained that Privet Drive was the best place for him. When Molly began to wonder aloud if Arabella could use some help there, Sirius--speaking for only the second time--cut her off with a short "I don't think that's necessary." He had taken the top off his sandwich and picked at it moodily. Albus said that in an ideal situation they might consider it, but for now they didn't have hands to spare, and Arabella was very capable.

They wrapped up talking about the work on the house. Everyone had taken a good look around while Remus and Sirius slept in, and all agreed it was coming along very nicely and that "the Blue Room" in particular was shaping up into an excellent, if rather loud, safe haven.

Unfortunately it was true that completing the work would take money, which could be tricky not only to get, but also to spend without raising suspicion. In the second place, it had to be said that Mundungus Fletcher knew how to procure things off the record--Molly ground the heel of her hand against her eyebrow--and Lupin suggested getting what they could from Muggle flea markets, lawn sales, and similar. Such things were out of Wizard view and generally below the radar of even Muggle authorities.

As for where to get the money, Dumbledore had quite a lot, but the others agreed that with the Ministry holding him in such scrutiny as it was at present--Arthur dropped his sandwich, scattering beef bits, and Bill went to make him another one--it would be best for him to avoid doing any such thing that could be traced, although he could get a subtle amount. Sirius was the only other member of the Order to be truly wealthy, and he could even less afford to leave a financial paper trail; he stayed quiet as the others discussed it, and Lupin, still waiting for Arthur to be certain about Shacklebolt, held off mentioning the idea that the Auror might be able to get access to Sirius's money. In the end, everyone would do what they could, and the Order would scrape by on a few sickles here and a few galleons there, much like in the old days. Arthur even offered his beloved Muggle Coin Collection. It didn't add up to more than a few pounds, he admitted, but they were welcome to it.

And of course there were hand-me-downs. Dumbledore ventured to say that he had too many posessions, running mainly to magical devices that would be useful around the headquarters, but he lamented that very little of it was much good for sleeping on. Everyone agreed to have a look at what they could spare. However, only when everyone but Dumbledore and the Weasleys had left--Diggle prying Tibbles off Lupin's sweater to take back to Arabella's house--did Molly promise three bedroom sets and break down crying.

"Percy and I had it out last night," Arthur explained, while Bill came over and held his mother's heaving shoulders. "It ended with him storming out of the house and swearing he'd never be back..."

"I just don't know what to do with his stuff that he didn't take," Molly quavered. "Everytime I look at it... But everytime I think of taking it out, I... Oh...!"

"Don't think about that now," Lupin said. "You've done so much already, you don't have to think about that..."

"And we can't help about the money... The kids still in school and... and..."

Lupin looked up for a moment as Sirius got up and crossed silently to the door. Dumbledore caught him and asked about the item that had needed his attention; Sirius only half-turned his head, not enough for Lupin to see his eyes, but he could tell that that matter was taken care of and turned back to the Weasleys as the two of them left.

Molly was still sobbing. "I wish I could... I just cook and clean and..."

"Don't think that way. You've been a tremendous help," Lupin assured her, taking her hand.

"I ought to be able to just give you... I know he's not coming back, he said..."

"He got hot last night, Mum. Eventually he'll figure out he didn't mean it," Bill assured her as he rubbed her shoulders.

"In a way it's... It's just as well he left the house." Arthur said, picking bits of his first sandwich off the table as if cleaning them up, but half the time he missed his plate and just dropped them back on the table or onto his lap. "Fudge gave him a post in his own office, Junior Assistant or some such thing. With how Fudge is these days... He's looking for excuses to fire anybody who has anything to do with Dumbledore, probably wanted to get something on me. Probably he's... He's just using Percy..." Molly gave a great sob as Arthur rolled and squeezed a fibrous sliver of meat between his fingers until it became a sort of shapeless lump of paste. "I tried to warn him..."

"That's what really set him off," Bill explained softly. "But you know, he was always such a rulebook type, always thought that the Ministry is the Rightful Authorities and that you can't go against the Rightful Authorities without being in the Wrong..."

"And Fudge can... can give him what he wants..." Arthur added very softly, "...things I never..."

"I w-wanted to!" Molly sobbed. "I tried... We gave him everything we could--he ought to know!"

"I had Percy in my class..." Lupin offered. "Hidebound, ambitious, maybe... I'm sure he must think he's doing the right thing..."

Bill failed to suppress a derisive noise.

"...But he's also very intelligent, too intelligent to blind himself forever, I think. Maybe he lost his temper because he was desperate somehow; maybe he's begun to see through it already..." Lupin mused softly. "Percy is someone who holds himself to very high standards. It's very painful for someone like that to admit when they've been wrong, but when he does, he'll be thankful that you didn't lie for his comfort or give up on him. ...I was only his teacher one year; maybe I'm speaking out of place..."

"No, that would be Percy all over, just being stubborn," Bill said.

"Maybe you're right..." Molly sniffled. She dried her eyes with her napkin and seemed to calm somewhat, staring distantly at the table, at Lupin's hand...

Suddenly her face froze for a moment, and Lupin felt her fingers tense under his--a flash of realization that a werewolf was touching her. "I'm sorry; I should have thought better..." he breathed, lifting his hand away. Of course it would be his hand--the place to recognise a werewolf in human form. Probably she could feel the fine hair on it, and even when he tried to transfigure the unusually-long ring finger, it still never looked precisely right...

Unsure what else to do about the awkward moment, he rose from the table and left up the stairs, although he could feel all three of them watching him go.

Upstairs, Sirius was back on the ceiling painting. "Are they all right down there?"

"More or less, I think. I wondered about you; you left without a word."

"Oh, the way Molly and I have been having at each other lately, I'd have done more--" He cut off suddenly at the sound of footsteps in the hall.

Albus appeared in the doorway; the suspicious panel from Regulus's wardrobe was tucked under his arm. "Remus, may I have a bit of your time?"

"Of course."

"Don't worry, Sirius, I'll have him back before dinner," Dumbledore said, but Sirius just kept painting as Lupin came out to join him in the hallway. "I agree with your assessment of this," he said, indicating the panel. "I'd like you to come with me and investigate it in my office, if you would. Voldemort certainly knows by now that he has enemies there, so we would scarcely be tipping our hand."

"I'll be what help I can," Lupin answered.

"You give yourself too little credit." Dumbledore took off the two-tasselled hat he was wearing, bent over, and set it on the floor. "Portus," he said, turning it into a Portkey with a wave of his wand. "On three?"

Remus nodded, Albus counted down, and they touched the hat together. The Black House streaked away, unmeasured space rushed past at incredible speed, and just as suddenly, Dumbledore's tower office at Hogwarts snapped into place around them. Dumbledore lay the wooden panel on his desk, then dusted off his hat and put it back on, while Lupin took a moment to look around and feel the atmosphere of the room--of Hogwarts. It had been just over a year since he had last been inside the castle, and as far as he was concerned, there was nowhere like it, so he let himself enjoy the sensation with a touch of wistfulness.

"You look as if you've missed this place," Albus noticed.

"I must say I have, even since I was a student... Silly of me..."

"I shouldn't think so. I myself couldn't imagine leaving it for long, can hardly remember a time when I could," Dumbledore admitted. "As Headmaster, I would be happy to have you back, you know. Your position is open again and getting more difficult to fill, just when I no longer thought that possible."

Remus immediately shook his head. He couldn't risk teaching again after losing control and running loose on the grounds the night Sirius had been saved--not only had his transformation put anyone at risk of being bitten, but it had caused the chaos that resulted in Wormtail's escape as well as Sirius's capture and near-execution. "You already have my answer. Besides, with the Ministry watching your every move, it would only give them another weapon if you were to knowingly break the law and hire a werewolf."

"Worse things than that can happen, Remus. The Defense Against the Dark Arts position is more crucial than ever, and the Ministry has been threatening to find someone if I can't. I'd rather deal with them at arms' length than within the school itself."

He just shook his head. "I'm certain you'll find someone..."

The Headmaster paused for a moment. "Have you spoken to Sirius about casting the Fidelius Charm?"

Lupin nodded. "He agreed to it readily enough."

"Really? At the meeting he seemed to be in quite a mood."

"Maybe he is," Lupin said, frowning. "He didn't seem all that happy about the charm personally, but he knows it's sound strategy and isn't letting his personal feelings get in the way of that." The notion of Sirius being in "quite a mood" rang false to him, however. Of course he had noticed that something was wrong, but that was too simplistic an explanation. When Sirius was upset or moody, he became sharper-tongued, not silent...

"Well, let's have at this, then, shall we?" Dumbledore said, picking up the panel. "Safer to avoid looking or reaching in, and the floor of a wardrobe wouldn't expect this... Stand aside, Remus." He cast a cushioning charm on the office's stone floor, held the panel up finished side out, said "Voldemort" loud and clear, and thrust it forward through the air. Surely enough, a flurry of parchments, books, phials, and other assorted items was thrown out of it and landed softly on the charmed floor.

"Now, where to begin...?" Dumbledore wondered aloud, peering first at the littering of Death Eater artifacts, then at his collection of magical instruments and devices.