The Potter Manor Chronicles

Chapter Three

"What is it, Harry?" asked Ginny lifting her head slightly. Harry sat up and untied the letter from the owl's leg. He opened it and read as Ginny watched him, her eyes full of concern.

Harry,

I just heard about your new living arrangements. I'm very happy that you don't have to endure those horrible Muggles alone anymore. I hope that you are well. Mother is still insisting that I go to therapy about Cedric. It's all rubbish. The therapist does not even listen to what I tell him. Talking to my friends seems to help because they actually listen.

Give my best to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione,

Cho.

Harry glanced up at Ginny as he finished reading. "It's...from Cho," said Harry as he handed the letter to Ginny.

"Oh," said Ginny as she began to read. "How did she find out you're here?"

"Arabella must've told her parents. She's been friends with them since they were at Hogwarts." Harry began to fidget nervously. Ginny noticed and started to giggle.

"Do you still have the crazy notion that I have a problem with you being friends with Cho?" Ginny asked. Harry felt himself go scarlet.

"Sorry," he said.

"For what," asked Ginny taking Harry's hand in her own. "You said it yourself: once you got to know Cho, you realized that you just liked her as a friend. And that was before we started dating."

"I know, Ginny," said Harry. "I guess I've just been a little jumpy about everything lately."

"Who wouldn't after everything you've been through." She squeezed his hand and looked at the letter again. "Do you think it'll be alright with Sirius and Annie if Cho comes here for a visit?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you read her letter. She prefers talking to her friends rather than the therapist. It sounds like she could use some time to relax."

"That sound like a good idea," said Harry as he put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her lightly on her forehead. "But there's no way Ron and I are letting her see the Quidditch plays we've been working on for next year."

"That's fair enough," said Ginny with a giggle.

"Well it looks like someone is feeling better," said Ron as he and Hermione approached Harry and Ginny who stood up.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Sorry about that. I guess I'm just going to be moody and unstable for awhile."

"We're used to your moods by now," said Ron with a grin.

"Besides, you're not the only one who can be moody and unstable," said Hermione jerking her head at Ron whose ears turned pink.

At that moment, Sirius and Dudley ran up to them and stopped. Sirius transfigured a rock into a cup and dipped it into the lake. "Here, Dudley, drink this," Sirius said. There was a surprising note of kindness in Sirius' voice. "We'll have to do some cool-down exercises, but I believe you've done enough for your first day. Good work."

Dudley looked at Sirius with surprise as drank his water.

"Anyone up for Quidditch?" asked Ron.

"Always," said Harry with a grin.

"Arabella says you were quite the beater when you played for Gryffindor, Sirius," said Ginny. Sirius put his hand on his cheek melodramatically and pretended to blush. Dudley looked around at the group with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension on his face. He had overheard his father referring to Quidditch as more abnormal rubbish. Dudley was sure that whatever a beater was, Sirius was probably very good at it. (A/N: you can see Sirius playing a beater in my fic "Substitute Seeker" on Riddikulus. Shameless plug *lol*)

"I'm sure Fred and George would be just as impressed with the way you hit bludgers as they are with the creativity of your pranks," said Hermione.

"Maybe even more impressed," said Ron.

"What do you say, Sirius?" asked Harry. "Want to join us?" Sirius grinned.

"Alright, but I'm playing a Chaser," he replied. "I really don't have the urge to hit bludgers at any of you. I can only join you for a little while though, I'm afraid. Remus, Annie and I have to run into town in an hour."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Oh, you know, we have a few things to pick up," said Sirius with a shrug. Harry knew that there was something more, but figured that his godfather had said all that he was going to say.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Ron. "Let's go get the broomsticks. And you're playing too, Hermione. No excuses." Hermione rolled her eyes, but was smiling as Ron took her hand and pulled her toward the mansion.

"Come along, Dudley," said Sirius. "Let's get those cool-down exercises done before you pass out.

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Remus stood in the Apothecary shop staring at the Wolfsbane. He did not dare touch it. He hoped that Annie would come soon because he hated standing in a shop full of potion supplies.

"Well something seems rather fascinating, little brother," said Derek from behind Remus. Remus turned around and smiled at his brother. He set down the potion ingredients he held in his arms and embraced Derek. Both of the Lupin brothers had a perfect mix of their parent's appearances. To look at them standing next to each other was to know for certain that they were brothers, but no one would ever guess that Derek was eight years Remus' senior. Remus had several lines on his face and his hair was flecked with gray due to more than thirty years of transformations. Derek, who had rarely been ill in his life, was line and gray free.

"Any news?" Remus asked in a barely audible whisper.

"C'mon," said Derek. "There's a room in the back of this shop where we can discuss this." Derek jerked his head in the direction of the room. He grabbed the Wolfsbane for Remus who paid Sally Smitty, the shop manager. Sally gave the two brothers a wink as they went into the back room.

"You know her?" as Remus as Derek closed the door.

"Yes," said Derek. "We were in the same year at Hogwarts. She was a Slytherin who I got along with. She helped us a lot during the first war."

"I had no idea," said Remus.

"There are a lot of people who still have no idea about the role Sally and a lot of others play, which is probably why she's still alive." Remus nodded.

"So, why did you want to meet me here?" he asked.

"I just thought that you and your friends ought to know a few things that the Daily Prophet isn't reporting on," Derek answered. Remus snorted.

"Do they ever report on anything that actually needs to be reported?" he asked. Derek smiled and shook his head.

"It doesn't look like we'll be getting any real support from Fudge," said Derek.

"There's a shock!" said Remus sarcastically.

"He's having The Department of Magical Law Enforcement go after people for stupid offences like riding their broomsticks too fast or, I don't know--giving Bertie Botts to Muggles. He just wants it to appear as though the ministry is actually doing something."

"So Fudge just plans on letting Voldemort take over everywhere?"

"I think that he just wants to let Dumbledore fight his battles for him. That way, if something goes wrong, he can blame Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix; and if something goes right, he can take the glory," said Derek.

"Does that mean that he'll keep his nose out of what we're doing?" asked Remus.

"I think so," said Derek. "He did put a stop to an article that was supposed to be printed in the Daily Prophet this evening."

"And just what exactly was the article about?" asked Remus. Derek began to shift uneasily in his chair. "What?" asked Remus.

"You," Derek answered.

"Me? What about me?"

"Well, that editorial writer, Paula Norton, she--er-- wrote an article saying what an irresponsible act it is to have Harry Potter living under the same roof with a..."

"Werewolf?" Remus supplies. His brother nodded soberly. "Oh."

"How can you take this so lightly?"

"Derek, I can't force anyone to like werewolves, and let's face it, once a month I am dangerous."

"That isn't your fault and people like Paula Norton and Rita Skeeter are acting like it is. Besides, you take your potion, don't you?" Remus nodded. Derek put his hand on Remus' shoulder and looked him right in the eyes. "You're a victim, Remus. When will you understand that?" Remus smiled and shook his head.

"I do understand that, Derek. Dad has been saying the same thing to me for over thirty years. When will you understand that I just don't want to make anyone else a victim?" There was an awkward pause. "So, why did Fudge bother to stop the article?" (Remus and Derek are referring to things that happen in "Mudbloods and Monsters" on The Dark Arts. Shameless plug, shameless plug, he-he)

"He's afraid of giving bad press to any of Dumbledore's people. Besides, I think that he knows it's a bad idea to publicize Harry's new home...Speaking of Harry..."

"Yes?"

"Well, you know that the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is vacant yet again."

"There's a surprise," said Remus.

"Right, well, Dumbledore spoke to me this morning and asked if I was interested," said Derek as he fidgeted nervously.

"You're going to accept, aren't you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"Why."

"You know why, Remus. I know how much you loved teaching. And you can pretend as much as you want, but I know how much it hurt you to leave."

"I had to, Derek, and no lectures," said Remus holding up his hand as Derek was about to object. "We went through this less than five minutes ago."

"Alright, alright," said Derek. "But tell me honestly, how would you feel if I did accept the job?"

"I'd feel confident that the students were getting proper lessons," answered Remus with his eyes twinkling.

"It wouldn't bother you?"

"Not in the least. I'd be happy and you can tell Mum and Dad the same. I know how much defeating Voldemort means to you, Derek. You know just as well as I do what it is like to lose someone to him." Derek's eyes became over-bright. His wife, Amelie, had been killed when a group of Death Eaters had attacked some Ministry offices. It had killed Derek to raise his son, Jerrod, without a mother. Remus had always thought that Derek had done a good job. Jerrod had been in the same year with Charlie Weasley and had played Chaser with him on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had also become Head Boy. Jerrod was one of the people at the Ministry who had been contacted by Arthur Weasley shortly after the Tri-Wizard tournament.

"Well," said Derek breaking the silence. "Let's get out of here, shall we? I want to say hello to Annie and Sirius." The two brothers stood up, exited the room, walked through the shop, and on to the streets of Diagon Alley.

Remus suddenly heard a familiar scuttling. He looked over to see a rat running into the alley between the Apothecary shop and the used robe shop next to it. Wormtail! he thought.

"Dad! Uncle Remus!" Jerrod called from across the street. He ran over to them. "Is Aunt Annie here? I think I've found a plant she might be interested in." Although Remus and Annie had broken off their engagement, Jerrod had always thought of Annie as his aunt.

"She's in Quality Quidditch Supplies with Sirius looking for something to get Harry for his birthday," Remus answered.

"Let's go meet them, shall we?" said Derek.

"You two go on ahead," said Remus. "I have to find something real quick."

"Is anything wrong?" asked Derek.

"I'll let you know later," said Remus in a tone that Derek understood perfectly well.

"Come along, Jerrod," said Derek.

"We'll see you in a few minutes," said Jerrod as he and Derek headed down the streets. Remus waited for them to be out of sight before he turned and headed down the alley where he had seen Wormtail.

"Peter!" he called. "I know you're back here! Show yourself!"

"Hello there, Moony," said Peter as he stepped out of the shadows. "Didn't want to get anyone else involved, I see. You haven't changed a bit."

"What do you want, Peter?" asked Remus coolly.

"I just want to talk, Moony." Remus felt a surge of anger, but kept it under control. As a boy, Remus loved hearing Peter call him by his nickname. But Peter had lost that privilege when he had sold out so many other people Remus cared about to Voldemort.

"Murder anybody to save your own skin lately, Peter?" asked Remus casually.

"My, my aren't we high minded. If I recall correctly, you would have killed me in the Shrieking Shack if Harry hadn't stopped you."

"Yes, I would have," said Remus coldly. "You betrayed your friends to save your own neck, you let Sirius rot in Azkaban for your crimes, and you bled Harry to resurrect Voldemort after you begged for your life at our feet!"

"My friends," said Peter. "Well, let's talk about my friends, shall we? I remember when everybody was working on the mystery of your illness. I was your friend too, but they decided not to include me, because they didn't think that the stupid little fat kid could take it. When they finally did tell me, I was scared at first. Your girlfriend practically bit my head off. Annie's got quite a temper when it comes to you. It didn't occur to me until after Harry was born that the lot of you just thought of me as your charity case." (The events Peter is referring to occur in "Remus and the Dementor" and "Assembled Puzzle" both can be found on The Dark Arts. Another shameless plug *lol*)

"That's because we were your friends, Peter," said Remus hotly. Peter ignored him.

"Everybody thought that you all were so clever. They didn't know how easy you were to manipulate. Why, with a few little comments I was able to get you and Sirius to stop communicating. Sirius was considering the possibility that you or Annie could be the spy. He never thought that everyone would end up thinking that he had been the spy after Lily and James died. You were all just so clever, weren't you? Well I'm the one who will live to see the new world. I'm the one who chose the right side. You'll all be dead soon. Tell me, Moony, do you still feel clever?"

Remus didn't answer. He merely folded his arms across his chest.

"I must say, Moony, I'm still impressed with your self-control. Sirius would've been knocking the stuffing out of me by now. You always were my favorite, Moony. If you answer a few questions, I just may be able to convince them to let you live."

"If he answers our questions, we might let him live," said Lucius Malfoy stepping out of the shadows flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Why hello, Lucius, " said Remus pleasantly, though he could feel his pulse quicken. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Still the funny man, Lupin," said Lucius. "We shall see how funny you are when you're wearing this." Lucius held out a large, heave, silver chain. Remus' eyes widened as he took a step backward.

"Now, Moony," said Peter. "You won't have to wear that horrid thing if you just cooperate."

"Why don't the lot of you just eat a nice, steamy pile of dragon dung?" whispered Remus.

"So clever, aren't you, Moony?" said Peter with a twisted smile. "You know, I always thought that Sirius was the impulsive one and that you were the one who thought things through. You really weren't thinking when you followed me down a dead-end alley all by yourself, were you?" Peter shook his head and made a tutting noise. "You don't even have your wand out."

Remus gave himself a mental kick. He hadn't bothered to take his wand out before following Peter. Going for it now would prove a fatal move. Remus racked his brains for an escape plan, but nothing came to mind. He took another step backward and found himself against the brick wall. If only the ministry hadn't ordered the anti-apparation fields around Diagon Alley.

"Now, we know that you met up with you brother today," said Lucius. "Would you be ever-so-kind as to tell us what the two of you were discussing?"

"The weather," Remus answered lightly. "It really has been lovely, hasn't it?"

Lucius snapped his fingers and Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward and seized Remus' arms and pinned them behind his back. Remus kept his face impassive.

"Well let's try again," said Lucius. "How can we find Harry Potter?"

"Read The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, it's one of my personal favorites," Remus answered coolly.

"I'm sure Wormtail didn't want it to come to this," said Lucius as he raised the chain to put it around Remus' neck. "But I for one, will enjoy it." Crabbe tore off Remus' shirt and Lucius draped the chain around his neck. Remus felt it seer into his skin, which began to smoke and sting with agony. Remus could no longer hold in the cry of pain.

"Now tell us what we want to know," said Lucius.

"NEVER!" Remus shouted. His eyes began to roll up into his head. I'm going to die, he thought. I'm going to die here and now!

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"Remus should've been here by now," said Derek checking his watch nervously.

"Do you have any idea where he might be?" asked Annie.

"He said he had to go find something," said Jerrod. "He insisted that we go on without him."
"Did he?" asked Sirius.

"Yes," said Derek. "It was as if he suddenly noticed something he couldn't ignore. He muttered something under his breath, but I couldn't make it out."

"We'd better go look for him," said Sirius. "I don't like the sound of this." The four of them stood up and exited the Ice cream shop. "You said you were just outside of the Apothecary?" Sirius asked Derek who nodded. Sirius transformed into the large, black dog and headed for the Apothecary. He found Remus' scent and followed it down the alley. There was another scent. Wormtail, Sirius thought. He quickened his pace and the others followed with their wands out. There was a cry of agony in the distance. The group broke into an all-out run and found Wormtail with Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing over a writhing Remus. There was a heavy silver chain around his neck. Padfoot darted in between Remus and the Death Eaters and started to growl.

"Expelliarmus!" Annie shouted. The wands of the four Death Eaters flew out of their hands and Annie caught them.

BANG! Snake like chords shot out of Derek's wand and twisted themselves around Peter, Lucius, Crabbe, and Goyle. He and Jerrod kept them covered with their wands as Sirius transformed and Annie ran to Remus' side. They looked frantically at each other. The chains were fused with Remus' skin, but they had to get them off somehow. More and more silver poison was seeping into Remus' bloodstream every second. Sirius quickly pulled out his wand and transfigured the chain into copper. The burning and smoking stopped. Annie pulled some Euchalypitious potion that she kept in case of emergencies out of her pocket. She began to massage it gently onto Remus' wounds and slowly pull the chain off. Sirius pulled off his cloak and draped it over Remus. Derek sent up a distress signal from his wand.

"You're going to be alright, Moony," Sirius whispered desperately. "Just hang in there." Remus smiled weakly up at Sirius. His eyelids seemed to be getting very heavy as Annie held his head in her hands and stroked his hair. "Just stay with us, Moony. Do you hear me? Stay-with-us."

"What's taking them so long?" asked Jerrod impatiently. "We have to get uncle Remus to St. Mungo's."

"We can't take him there," said Annie.

"Why not?" asked Derek.

"It isn't safe. We'll have to take him home. We can contact Madam Pomfrey. She'll know what to do." Annie's lip began to quiver and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes. Sirius' eyes moved from Remus' face to Annie's.

"Doesn't anyone matter to you, Peter? First Harry, now Remus," shouted Sirius angrily. He stood up and kicked Peter in the side. Peter cried out through is gag. "I'm quite certain, you're not in nearly as much pain as you've caused Harry and Remus so do everyone a favor and stop the whining!" Sirius looked as though he was about to kick Peter again, but the Ministry officials arrived at that moment.

"What's happened here?" asked the first official.

"These Death Eaters," said Derek indicating the bound and gagged men. "Were torturing my brother for information."

"It looks like your brother needs some immediate medical attention," said the second official eyeing Remus with some concern. "We'll need all of you to come in for questioning."

"Look," said Annie. "We don't know what they were questioning him about, we just got here in time to see them torturing him. Remus is in no condition to answer any questions. Please, we need to get him home right now."

"Alright," said the first official. "We'll take these men in, but we'll need a statement as soon as possible." With that, the two men grabbed the chords that bound the four Death Eaters and dragged them down the alley.

"Just how do you plan to get Remus h to your place?" Derek asked Annie and Sirius.

"I can Apparate," said Remus hoarsely. "Just help me get outside of these fields."

"Are you sure, Moony?" asked Sirius anxiously. Remus nodded. He started to sit up. Sirius' cloak slid off of him. Annie and Sirius helped him to his feet. Remus tried unsuccessfully to keep himself from shaking head to toe. Sirius grabbed his cloak and draped it over Remus' shoulders.

"I'm going to conjure a stretcher so you can save your strength," said Derek. "And no arguments, Remus. You need to save your strength for apparating." Derek conjured the stretcher and Remus collapsed onto it with no resistence.

"We'd better take the back way," said Sirius. The others nodded in agreement.

"Do you know where to find Madam Pomfrey, Jerrod?" Derek asked. Jerrod nodded as he looked nervously at his wounded uncle. "And contact your grand parents, tell them what has happened."

"No!" said Remus weakly.

"Remus," said Derek. "Mum and Dad have to know."

"Net yet," said Remus sitting up again. "They have enough work to do without worrying about me. We can tell them after I've had time to heal. Please, Derek."

"They may hear about the inquiry, Remus."

"Fudge will probably want to keep that quiet, being that Lucius Malfoy was involved. Please, Derek."

Derek sighed. Remus was probably right. Derek just wished that his younger brother didn't feel like he was a burden on his parents. He nodded.

The five Wizards made their way behind the shops of Diagon Alley and into a back street of Muggle London. Annie and Sirius helped Remus to his feet. Jerrod cast one last concerned look at his uncle and disapparated.

"I'm up to this, really," said Remus with a weak smile at his friends. "I promise I won't splinch myself." Sirius gave a weak laugh that was not at all like his usual dog bark.

"Everyone ready?" asked Annie. The others nodded. Fortunately, Derek knew where they were going because he hade visited the Potter Manor several times to drop Remus off when he would visit James during summer breaks. He and Jerrod had also been among the wizards who had helped put up the protective wards before Harry and the Dursleys had arrived.

A few seconds later they were standing in front of the veil that protected the Manor. Vernon was standing there waiting rather impatiently.

"Do you weirdos think that you're playing some sort of highly amusing joke? I've been waiting for over half an hour!" Vernon shouted as his face purpled.

"Oh, shut up, Vernon," said Annie as she waved her wand and lifted the veil so they could enter.

"What happened to him?" asked Vernon eyeing Remus suspiciously. "Get mixed up in something sticky?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Annie repeated hotly. Vernon obeyed and ran into the mansion as though afraid he might catch something from Remus.

Sirius, Annie and Derek helped Remus up to his room and set him on his bed. His breathing sounded terribly painful to them.

"Just stay awake until Madam Pomfrey treats you. Can you do that, Moony?" asked Sirius gently. Remus smiled and nodded. Sirius was fighting to keep his anger at Wormtail under control in front of Remus. The day had started out so well. Harry had his friends with him and he seemed to be finally enjoying himself. Peter just had to go and ruin everything. Sirius' blood boiled as he thought of the way Peter had begged for his life in the shrieking shack, yet he hadn't hesitated to harm Harry, Remus, and several others.

"What's going on here?" asked Harry from the doorway. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were with him. "My uncle's down stairs going on about how one of you..." Harry's jaw dropped as he saw Remus lying on the bed. Ron had gone very pale and Ginny had clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my! Professor Lupin, are you alright?" asked Hermione.

"Could you four go outside and wait for Jerrod?" asked Annie. "He's bringing Madam Pomfrey over and we need to lift the wards for them when they get here."

"Al-alright," Harry croaked. He turned and headed downstairs and outside with his friends.

"What happened to him?" asked Ginny as they made their way across the front lawn.

"Looks like silver burns," said Hermione. "I hope it didn't get into his blood stream."

"It must be pretty serious if they've called Madam Pomfrey over," said Harry grimly. "Annie, Sirius, and Derek can usually take care of Remus' injuries on their own."

"Do you think they caught whoever did that to him?" asked Ron nervously.

"I hope so," said Harry. "It looks like something Wormtail was involved in." Ron's ears turned pink. He had always felt somewhat responsible for bringing Wormtail into Harry's life.

"To think, I made such a huge fuss over that useless rat!" he said through gritted teeth.

"You had no way of knowing, Ron," said Harry.

"It never occurred to me to wonder why he was living so long. I should've suspected something."

"The rest of us should have noticed something as well," said Ginny putting her hand on Ron's shoulder.

"No one person is to blame," said Hermione. "A lot of things happened that allowed You-Know-Who to come to power. He's just the latest result of the prejudices of the Wizard Community." Harry looked at Hermione strangely. She did have a point, but he still couldn't help but blame himself even though he constantly told everyone else not to blame themselves.

Harry looked up to see Madam Pomfrey and Jerrod standing just outside of the veil. "ANNIE!" he yelled. "THEY'RE HERE!" Harry saw Annie lean out of the window and flick her wand. The veils were lifted and Jerrod and Madam Pomfrey stepped inside.

"Where is he?" asked Madam Pomfrey briskly.

"We'll show you the way," said Hermione. They led Madam Pomfrey and Jerrod up to Remus' room. Madam Pomfrey nearly dropped her bag.

"Annie," said Madam Pomfrey. "I'll need your assistance. The rest of you clear out." The sharpness in the school nurse's voice left no room for argument, even for Sirius who always seemed to find room to argue.

They all stood out in the hall waiting anxiously. Sirius slumped against the wall and buried his face in his hands.

"What happened?" asked Ron timidly.

"Death Eaters," said Derek. "They were trying to get some information out of him so they put a heavy silver chain around his neck."

"W-was Wormtail one of them?" asked Ron. Sirius nodded, his face still buried in his hands.

"Were they caught?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," said Derek. "Peter, Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle."

Harry looked at Ron. If Lucius Malfoy had been caught under any other circumstances, Ron probably would have said something like Ha! I can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's face when we get back to school! But this situation was gravely serious.

"Remus isn't going to...die, is he?" Harry asked.

"NO!" said Sirius finally looking up. His face was full of determination. "We just all need to be more careful from now on, like we should have been today. When you get back to school in September, I don't want any of you to go anywhere by yourselves." Sirius looked particularly hard at Harry.

"I'm the one who let him wander off by himself," said Derek with no small amount of self disgust. "I, of all people, should have known better. He's been doing that sort of thing since he took his first step. That's how he ended up getting bitten in the first place."

"What?" asked Hermione. Derek suddenly looked embarrassed as though he had said too much.

"I really shouldn't say anymore, it's a very personal matter to Remus. Let's just say that he was always good at sneaking out in the middle of the night."

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey walked out. Everyone quickly got to their feet. The nurse took a deep breath.

"Remus will be alright," she said as everyone gave a sigh of relief. "But the silver getting into his bloodstream has taken its toll on him. He'll need plenty of rest."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," said Derek.

"How does your head feel, Harry?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"It's been fine today," said Harry.

"Well, if there are any more problems, don't hesitate to call me."

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That night, after everyone else had finally gone to bed, Annie and Sirius sat in vigil over Remus' bed. Derek and Jerrod had been called to meet with Dumbledore. Annie had given Remus a sleep potion. Her eyes moved from a sleeping Remus to an ever-watchful Sirius. Sirius' eyes were still haunted by twelve years of Azkaban. He was still too thin for a man his height. They're in bad shape, both of them, she thought wistfully. She could have blamed Wormtail or Lucius Malfoy or Cornelius Fudge for their condition, but no one person or on thing could be blamed for their suffering. The c many causes dated back to the beginning of time.

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Harry lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. He kept thinking of Remus and everyone else who was not safe inside. He was glad that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were safe. Harry held onto that thought as he finally drifted off to sleep. He had a most peculiar dream that night. It was rather like being inside a pensieve....

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Okay, I promise that Fred, George, and Neville will come to visit Harry in the next couple of chapters. This story will be needing some comic relief!