Chapter Five
Remus and Sirius had agreed to meet the others at King’s Cross and take the train with them. Dumbledore had asked if they could go on the train, to protect the students if anything untoward happened. Untoward things seemed to be happening more and more of late.
As usual, the Weasley family was running late. By the time they reached the train station, Remus was already standing there, with Sirius in his dog form, chatting with Hermione, who had come separately. Harry waved and hurried over, with Ron in tow.
Sirius bounced over to him and jumped on him enthusiastically, knocking him to the ground and licking his face. Harry let out a muffled squawk and began pushing half-heartedly at his head.
“Someone’s been spending too much time in dog form lately,” Remus observed under his breath to Hermione, who nodded.
“Get off, Si – Padfoot!” Harry protested, only remembering just in time that he couldn’t use Sirius’ real name.
Sirius sat back, grinning at Harry.
“Yes, I’m sure you think this is very funny,” Harry grumbled, sitting up and brushing off his clothes. “Meanwhile, I have drool all over my face. Blech.” He wiped it off. Sirius obliged by leaning over and licking his face again. “Padfoot!”
Remus walked over, with Hermione behind him. “Sorry,” he said. “He’s not very well-trained.”
Sirius turned to Remus and growled playfully. Remus reached down and scratched behind his ears.
“Oh, Potter,” a familiar voice drawled. “On the ground where you belong, I see.”
Sirius sat up straighter and began to growl in Draco’s direction, his hackles rising. Hermione just gave Draco a disdainful look. “We could hex you again, you know,” Ron said, extending a hand and helping Harry up. “We studied and learned some good ones over the summer.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure you could,” Draco said. “That would go over splendidly when we got to school, wouldn’t it. Especially with a professor right here, who would be obliged to do something about it,” he added, with his usual obnoxious smirk. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle were hovering behind him menacingly.
Harry brushed off his robes again. Before he could come up with what he was sure would be a really good comeback, Remus smiled at Draco and said, “Hello, Mr. Malfoy. How was your summer holiday?”
There was a slight pause. Draco looked slightly taken aback. “It was just lovely,” he finally said.
“That’s good to hear,” Remus said. “Now you’d best be on the train before it leaves. The prefects have the two front compartments, you know.”
Draco sneered at them, then glanced at Hermione. “Will you be joining us, Granger?” he asked. “Or didn’t you make the cut?”
“Oh, I made it all right,” Hermione said. “But I wouldn’t share a compartment with you if it was the last one to the school.”
Ron and Harry both glanced at her, looking impressed. Coming from Hermione, that was saying quite a bit.
“Have fun mixing with the other riffraff,” Draco said airily, and started towards the front of the train. He glanced at Sirius, considered saying something, and then walked away. Crabbe and Goyle followed, apparently too dense to realize that they wouldn’t be allowed to ride in the prefect’s car.
Harry turned to Remus. “Why on earth were you being nice to him?”
Remus shrugged. “For one thing, I didn’t want any of you to get yourselves in trouble. Secondly, being nice seemed to unnerve him quite well. Besides, I went to school with his father. I’m not sure I hold Draco entirely at fault for who he’s become.”
“Well, he could try to overcome his upbringing,” Hermione said.
“Yeah,” Ron said indignantly. “Harry grew up with those nasty annoying people – sorry, Harry – and he turned out just fine.”
Remus shrugged. “Then call me a bleeding heart, and let’s get on the train.”
Sirius licked his hand. Remus smiled at him, and they all got into the train, finding a compartment together. A few minutes later, the train departed the station, heading for Hogwarts. They had barely started to talk when the door slid open.
“Oh!” Neville stopped. “Sorry, didn’t realize anyone was – Professor Lupin!”
Remus smiled. “Hello, Neville. Have a good holiday?”
“Yes,” Neville said. “Gran and I went travelling. Most excitement I’ve ever had. Well, aside from school.” He looked at Remus, puzzled. “Are you going to be a professor again?”
“There were no other applicants,” Remus said apologetically.
“But that’s wonderful!” Neville said. “You were my favorite Dark Arts teacher. I’ll go tell everyone!”
“That’s really not necessary,” Remus tried to protest, but Neville had already left the compartment. Remus blinked after him, and Sirius let out the dog equivalent of a laugh. “Oh, shut up, you,” he said, glaring at Sirius. “It’s not like anyone else will be coming in to – ”
“Professor Lupin?” Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan stuck their heads in. “Welcome back! Neville’s just told us!”
Remus managed a feeble reply. Sirius rolled onto his back and continued to laugh. This went on for quite some time, until Remus finally burst out with, “Doesn’t anyone in this school remember that I’m a werewolf?”
“Well, now that you’ve mentioned it,” Lee Jordan, who was the one congratulating him at the time, “Yes, but we rather find it interesting.”
Remus let his head thud back against the seat. “Interesting,” he said bitterly, once Lee was gone. “I’ve been persecuted my whole life and doomed to turn furry once a month, and they all find it rather interesting.”
“You were persecuted unfairly,” Hermione pointed out. Sirius crawled up onto the bench and put his head in Remus’ lap.
“And they find it interesting,” Remus repeated.
“It’s better than finding it horrifying,” Hermione replied.
“No,” Remus said wearily. “I’m not really sure it is.”
Hermione gave him one of her narrow-eyed looks. Ron and Harry both cringed, awaiting the lecture. “Are you daft? You take proper precautions, you haven’t hurt anyone yet. It’s not your fault you’re a werewolf. Why should it be horrifying?” Ron and Harry nodded along to this speech.
“Well, that’s rather funny,” Remus said softly, “because I recall you using it as a reason to not trust me in your third year. And I think Ron’s reply was ‘get away from me, werewolf.’”
The three of them looked shame-faced. “You were keeping it a secret,” Hermione said. “It did seem rather incriminating. It wasn’t really the werewolf bit.”
Remus shrugged. “I don’t blame you. Only one person has ever truly been able to accept what I am.” He reached down and scratched behind Sirius’ ears again.
Sirius glanced up at him and licked his hand again.
“I really am sorry,” Hermione said.
“Yeah, we really are,” Ron added earnestly.
“I’m used to it,” Remus said. “But you must admit that it’s slightly disconcerting, after getting that sort of reaction my whole life, to be told that I’m rather interesting. Like a curiosity, something to put on display. Perhaps in a zoo, that might be nice.”
“I don’t think he meant it like that,” Hermione said. “I think he meant it as . . . unique. Something integral to you. A good quality.”
Remus just gave her a tired look.
“Hermione, stop trying to make him feel better,” Harry said.
Hermione wilted.
Ron kept trying. “But we didn’t understand then, you know,” he said to Remus. “I mean, you hear all the rumors and the stories about werewolves, but it never really occurs to you that they’re people the other twenty-seven days of the month. You’re the first one we’ve ever met. You must allow us our misconceptions.”
Hermione blinked at him, surprised by his speech. Harry smiled slightly, hiding it behind his hand.
“I suppose,” Remus said.
The door opened. “Anything from the trolley, dears?” the witch asked.
“Yes,” Harry said quickly, standing up. The gloomy mood was threatening to swallow them all. He bought as much candy as he thought the five of them could possibly eat and shared it out. Remus declined most of it, though he did take one of the pumpkin pasties and nibble at the corners.
Sirius nudged a chocolate frog at him. Remus smiled and let it out of its box, holding onto it and extending it to Sirius. Sirius blinked at it, unsure of how to get it without biting off Remus’ fingers. Remus sighed and let it go. It immediately sprang towards the still open compartment door, and Sirius bounded after it.
“Right, then,” Harry said. “He’ll just go and give half the train a heart attack, thinking they’ve seen a Grim. Excuse me.” He stood up and went after where Sirius was bounding down the hallway.
He came back a minute later with Sirius in tow.
“Did he catch it?” Ron asked with interest.
“Yes,” Harry said. “And he’s quite proud of himself.” He slid the compartment door closed after them, and sat down with his candy.
Sirius nudged another chocolate frog towards Remus.
“Oh, yes, I’ll open another one so you can leap all over us this time,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “Maybe you should just have a pasty.”
Sirius pouted.
****
Dumbledore looked quite himself, and for a few moments Harry allowed himself to think that perhaps it would be just like any other year at Hogwarts. The last one had ended rather unfortunately, but that didn’t necessarily mean that this one was going to be filled with misery. Actually, with Sirius sitting at his feet, he felt more secure than he had in any other year.
He wasn’t sure if familiars were technically allowed in the Great Hall, but Sirius was a big dog and no one had tried to stop him from coming in. Harry scanned the front table, glancing at the teachers. Remus was sitting on the end, as far away from most of the other teachers as they’d been able to make him without looking awkward. Harry scowled. Snape and Hagrid were both back from whatever errands they’d been running over the summer, though Snape looked somewhat paler than usual. He was also glaring at both Remus and Sirius with abandon.
“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore said, beaming down on all of them. “There are quite a few new additions to our staff this year, and I would like to introduce them before we begin the feast. To begin with, many of you may remember Professor Lupin, who has again agreed to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.”
There was a loud cheer, though also an undercurrent of mutters, mostly from the Slytherin table.
“Professor Figg,” Dumbledore said, gesturing to a woman on his left, “will be teaching a class on magical dueling this year. What with recent developments in the wizarding world, we have agreed that this is for the best.”
Harry nearly choked. The small woman with graying hair sitting next to Dumbledore was indeed Mrs. Figg.
“What’s wrong?” Ron asked, patting him on the big.
“Her house smells like cabbage!” Harry managed.
Professor Figg saw him staring and waved gaily at him.
Harry managed to wave back, with great effort.
“Professor Fletcher,” Dumbledore continued, gesturing to another new face, “will be teaching a class in hand-to-hand combat. I know that this may seem unnecessary to many of you, but it is not a required class, and I think many of you would do well to learn it. It only takes a slight amount of power to rid one of their wand.”
There was another general mutter. Harry barely heard it. He was still busy staring at Figg.
“There is only one additional required class this year,” Dumbledore finished. “And that is a class in magical first aid, which Madame Pomfrey has kindly agreed to teach. It will be added to all your schedules. After dinner, you may sign up for any additional courses you would like to take, or change your electives.”
Harry went from shocked to gleeful. “Goodbye, Divination!” he declared. “Magical dueling, here I come!”
“Right there with you,” Ron agreed.
Dumbledore said a few more words, then sat down, and the food appeared. Everyone immediately began to stuff their faces. Harry was in a much better mood. He glanced up at the high table to see that Hagrid had moved over so he could sit with Remus, and felt even better.
Sirius bounded around cheerfully, making his acquaintance with most of the Gryffindors, before padding up to the high table to sit with his head in Remus’ lap for the remainder of the feast.
“Hey, will Si – er – will Padfoot be staying with you?” Ron asked, as they ate. “Or will he be sleeping in Professor Lupin’s room?” He lowered his voice and added, “So he can, you know. Be human.”
“We talked about that some,” Harry said. “It basically depends on what he feels like. Since he is Professor Lupin’s dog, after all,” he added with a smile.
“Mm hmm,” Hermione said, and glanced up at the two of them at the staff table. “So I see.”
****
“Did Dumbledore say what he wanted to see us about?” Sirius asked, looking questioningly at Remus as he fastened his robes. Given that once he left the teachers’ wing, he had to be in dog form, Sirius wasn’t troubling himself with looking nice. He was wearing a sweater and jeans, with no robe.
“Something about the order, I would expect,” Remus said. “The first meeting is tonight.”
“I thought it was at eight,” Sirius said, frowning.
Remus shrugged. “I’m not about to question Dumbledore. If he wants to see us, then see us he shall.” He took Sirius’ hand and led him out of the room. The teachers had all been informed of Sirius’ presence, and been told by Dumbledore that they were to believe his innocence unless they had solid proof otherwise. As none of the teachers particularly wanted to argue with Dumbledore, they had accepted this.
He transformed before they headed out into the main hallway and headed up to Dumbledore’s office. He was waiting behind his desk, reading. “Ah, here you are,” he said when they came inside.
“You wanted to see us?” Remus asked politely, giving him a questioning look.
“Yes, yes,” Dumbledore said. “But more precisely, Polaris asked to have a word with you.”
Sirius, still in dog form, made a choked noise and started to back towards the door. Polaris was his brother, older by two years, and had been quite famous as an Auror before Voldemort had vanished. Though Sirius had contacted him at the same time he had contacted all the order, it had been by letter and he had made very sure that his brother wouldn’t recognize his handwriting.
Remus grabbed him around the neck before he could escape. “I’d be delighted to speak to Polaris,” he said cheerfully. “Is he here?”
“Sure am,” Polaris said, stepping out of one of the many corners of Dumbledore’s office. He was like Sirius in many ways, though they were markedly different after Sirius’ time in Azkaban. They looked alike, except that Polaris was a few inches taller and better built. His dark hair, unlike Sirius’, had not been cut, and reached his midback.
“Nice to see you again,” Remus said, straining to keep hold of Sirius, who was still trying to escape.
“That’s quite a big dog you’ve got there,” Polaris observed. “Having a bit of trouble with him, are you?”
Sirius whined in the back of his throat.
“Oh, honestly, Sirius,” Remus said impatiently. “He’s not going to turn you over to the dementors on the spot. Will you just transform and have done with it?”
Sirius shook his head no. Polaris gaped at the two of them.
“Ah . . .” Remus looked up at Polaris. “Perhaps you could have a word with him, convince him that you’re not going to do anything untoward? He’s a bit skittish, understandably.”
“Sirius?” Polaris asked, walking forward and kneeling in front of him. Sirius went stock still. “You never told me you were an Animagus! You . . . bloody prig!”
Sirius whined again. Remus sighed and spoke up. “He and James and Peter all were. It’s a rather long story. I take it that Professor Dumbledore didn’t see fit to tell you anything?”
“No,” Polaris said, giving Dumbledore a glance. He was sitting behind his desk, looking like absolutely nothing was wrong. “I take it you’ve been elected to explain, have you?”
“Well, you’d better assure Sirius that you’re not going to hand him over and maybe we can get him to transform,” Remus told him.
Polaris sighed. “If Dumbledore isn’t doing anything, I’m not going to. You are my brother, after all.”
Sirius looked between the two of them. After a long moment, he transformed back to being human. He stood slightly behind Remus, feet shuffling slightly. “Ah . . . hi,” he said to his brother.
Polaris gave him a look. “Fourteen years and you don’t even have a hug for your older brother?”
Sirius looked slightly surprised, then came around Remus and gingerly hugged his brother. From the way he moved, he obviously expected Polaris to try to kill him at any moment. Polaris hugged him much tighter than Sirius was hugging back, but after Sirius got used to the idea, he returned the embrace.
“Now does someone want to explain what’s going on?” Polaris finally asked.
“I’m innocent, I swear!” Sirius said, then added, “Innocent . . . ish.”
“Ish?” Polaris asked skeptically.
Remus sighed and intervened. “I’m sure Professor Dumbledore will be giving the full story at the meeting of the order in a half hour, so for now, suffice it to say that Sirius was wrongfully imprisoned and now he’s back working on our side.”
“Oh, I see,” Polaris said, though there was a frown on his face that heavily suggested he did not, in fact, see. “Well, all right then. As long as I get the full story when everyone else does. Which I had better.”
“I missed you,” Sirius said. “I really did.”
Polaris gave him a look. “Er, well . . . I’m sorry,” he offered. “For not realizing you were innocent and barging in to save you.”
“Because he would have,” Remus said dryly. “You Blacks are all alike. Not a one of you has a whit of common sense or ability to think ahead in the slightest.”
“I thought ahead!” Sirius protested.
“In the until-dinner sort of way?” Remus asked.
“I fully planned, at least once,” Sirius said, poking him in the chest.
Polaris chuckled. “Good to see that you two have sorted things out, in any case,” he said. Remus tried not to blush, and succeeded admirably.
“Yes, well, what did you expect?” Sirius asked.
“I’m not sure,” Polaris said. “You were never the easiest person on earth to predict. Probably because of the aforementioned lack of ability to think things through. Now, don’t give me that look. It’s a common Black flaw. For example, if I thought ahead, I would have killed Lucius Malfoy the moment we met.”
Dumbledore let out a dry cough. “That, I do believe, would be called seeing the future, Polaris.”
“Well, I should have been able to,” Polaris said. “Or at least killed him once I realized that he was the posterchild for evil.”
“Yes,” Sirius agreed, though in his eyes, Wormtail was far more evil than Lucius could have ever thought of being.
“See?” Remus teased. “Lack of foresight.”
Sirius wilted. “You’re horrible. You know that, right?”
“Of course I do,” Remus said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
“So . . .” Sirius turned back to Polaris. “What have you been doing? You must have had a life in the last fourteen years.” Remus’ answer having been entirely unsatisfactory on this front, Sirius was determined to find someone who could tell an interesting story or two.
“Well, got to be an Auror for a while,” Polaris said cheerfully. “Retired from that once we had mopped up most of You-Know-Who’s crowd. Oh, I tried so hard to prove that Lucius had been a Death-Eater. But he got around me at every turn.” Polaris paused, then added, “But now that he’s one again, I’m sure I’ll find an excuse to kill him.”
“Vendetta, much?” Remus asked, amused. Polaris had been in the same year as Lucius in school, two years ahead of Remus and Sirius. Their hatred for each other had been even more well known than that between Sirius and Snape.
“You can have him,” Sirius told Polaris. “I have other fish to fry. And rats to shake.”
Polaris paused in confusion. “That must be part of the story, I assume.”
“Could you tell by the murderous look in his eyes, or what?” Remus asked dryly.
Polaris cleared his throat. “In any case, after that, I traveled a bit. You wouldn’t believe some of the bizarre magical customs they have in Japan. No wands, just paper, and holding their fingers funny ways. Anyway, came back here, since then I’ve been doing the basics. You know, hunting down vampires and things. Oh, not werewolves,” he added hastily, looking at Remus. “That is, not unless they had been proven murderers and all that.”
Remus managed a wan smile. “That’s all right, Polaris, I know the public’s general opinion.”
“Visited home for a while,” Polaris added.
“I miss Mum and Dad,” Sirius said, then asked eagerly, “How are they?”
“Well, I can’t really say as good as ever,” Polaris said. “Didn’t much take to it when you were, you know, put in Azkaban.” He gave Sirius a concerned look as he shuddered. “Mum’s still working at St. Mungo’s. Dad’s opened up a shop in Diagon Alley, though. You should swing by! It’s got all sorts of neat things in – oh, I suppose you can’t.” Polaris looked vaguely abashed. “Ah, sorry about that.”
“I could if I went as a dog,” Sirius said. “I could bring Harry, introduce him. Sort of.”
Remus gave him a look. “You spend altogether too much time as a dog,” he said, but it was in a mild tone not meant to start arguments.
Sirius tilted his head to one side in a very doglike manner, giving him a confused look. “Really?”
Remus sighed. “Yes, Sirius. Really.”
“Oh,” Sirius said. He frowned. “I’m not sure I precisely agree with that. Lets me sleep at night.”
“I know,” Remus said. “And the longer you sleep as a dog, the less you’re ever going to want to sleep as a human, until I finally have a pet instead of a lover.” He blushed. “Ah . . . I have to go,” he said hastily, and hurried out of the office.
Sirius was looking after him indignantly. “Can you believe that?” he asked Polaris.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Remus is only concerned about you, Sirius. There have been cases of Animagi that spent so much time in their animal form, they became unable to transform back.”
“I like being a human,” Sirius insisted. “It’s just not very conducive to getting around . . . well, anywhere people can see me. Or around Harry.”
“Poor Remus is probably just upset that he can’t make the nightmares go away himself,” Polaris observed. “He always did have a guilt complex, from what I remember.”
“And now he just thinks he deserves all the persecution,” Sirius said.
Polaris looked at him gravely. “It was a long fourteen years for him, too, you know.”
“It was probably long for everyone,” Sirius replied.
****
Remus was at the meeting on time, though he looked slightly discomfited. He sat down next to Sirius, who was back in his animal form. The other members of the order were slowly filing in. He glanced around and saw all the teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and their son Bill, Ollivander, Polaris, and several other familiar faces.
Dumbledore sat at the head of the table and called the meeting to order. Everyone immediately quieted down. Sirius was sitting very close to Remus, with his head pressed against Remus’ knee. Whether it was because he didn’t like the crowd or was afraid of being discovered, or that he was trapped in the same room with Snape, Remus was unsure.
“We have several matters of business to attend to,” Dumbledore said. “To begin with, I would like to give all of you a specific account of exactly how Voldemort was able to rise. I have received many owls on this matter, and most of you know the basic details, but I feel it best that we all be informed.”
It took him nearly half an hour to explain what had happened in full magical detail. By the end of the story, everyone was shifting uncomfortably.
“I have made no headway with the Ministry on the subject of removing Azkaban from the guard of the dementors,” he continued. “Though I will of course continue, I would appreciate the help of all here who are members of the Ministry.” Several people nodded.
“Secondly, an envoy was sent to the giants.” Dumbledore turned to Hagrid. “If you would give the order your account?”
Hagrid, turning red from all the attention, nodded and stood. “Well, ah,” he said. “Weren’t too happy t’see me, they weren’t, but it went all right in th’ end. Didn’ make no promises, but seemed to think ‘bout what Olympe and I said. Didn’ seem too fond of the idea of You-Know-Who comin’ back neither. So even if they don’t help us, I don’ think they’ll be helpin’ him.”
Dumbledore nodded and thanked him as Hagrid sat down. “There is one other matter that I would like to discuss at tonight’s meeting,” Dumbledore said. “And that would be the matter of Sirius Black.”
Sirius wondered if he could crawl under Remus’ chair, but Remus had a firm hand on the scruff of his neck. There was a general murmur of surprise from the room, but no one said anything aloud.
“It is important for everyone here to understand,” Dumbledore began, “that Sirius Black is not a traitor, nor was he ever.” The murmurs grew louder. “Peter Pettigrew, with the aid of Dark magic, betrayed James and Lily Potter, and shifted the blame to Sirius.”
Sirius had to suppress a snarl at Peter’s name. There were several shocked faces in the hall. Snape was scowling.
“Sirius, if you could kindly show yourself,” Dumbledore said, glancing at him.
Sirius’s head hung for a second, then he shifted back into human form. There were several cries of alarm, but they were quickly suppressed.
“To the end of confirming this,” Dumbledore said, over the growing noise, “I would recommend that Sirius be given Veritaserum and tell his story. I know that the Ministry would not accept this as adequate proof, as certain members of Voldemort’s Death-Eaters were able to counter the effects; however, as Sirius has my trust, I hope this will be enough for all of you.”
There was a general nod. Remus gave Sirius a gentle push up towards the front of the room. Sirius cringed, then walked up to the front. Dumbledore pulled a vial of clear liquid from his robes. “If you would, Sirius.”
Sirius sighed. “Oh, fine,” he muttered, and sat down in the chair besides Dumbledore. “Don’t ask anything embarrassing,” he said.
Dumbledore’s lips twitched in a smile. “I would never dream of it, Sirius.”
“Right, then.” Sirius made a face and swallowed it. Within seconds, his eyes had gone blank.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Sirius, if you would be so kind as to tell us what happened on the night James and Lily Potter died? Perhaps you should begin with the performance of the Fidelius Charm.”
“James thought the Fidelius Charm would be the best way to hide from Voldemort,” Sirius said in an empty voice. “He wanted me to be his Secret-Keeper and I agreed.” There was a low murmur from the room. “But the day before the charm was to be performed, I thought that it should be Peter. I would have been the obvious choice. Voldemort would have gone straight for me. Peter was agreeable. We performed the charm at once.”
“And that night?” Dumbledore prompted.
“I went to make sure Peter was safe in the place he was hiding,” Sirius continued. “No one was there. There was no sign of a struggle. I got frightened and went to check on James and Lily. I found the house in a smoking ruin. James was dead. Lily was dead. And Harry was just sitting there, dead silent. Hagrid came then. Said that you had asked him to pick up Harry. I loaned him my motorcycle.”
Hagrid was nodding along to this.
“He was very nice,” Sirius said. “I went to look for Peter.”
“And when you found Peter?”
“He was in a crowded street. I was a bit out of my head. Confronted him. He yelled to everyone that I had betrayed Lily and James. Then he held his wand behind his back and blew up the entire street, killing everyone. He cut off his own finger, transformed into a rat, and went into the sewer. Then the Ministry came.”
“You were laughing!” someone in the order cried out.
“Yes,” Sirius said.
“Why?” Dumbledore asked quietly.
“I was a bit out of my head,” Sirius repeated. “Two of my best friends had just died, betrayed by another. My godson had been taken from me, and I had been framed for it all. By Peter Pettigrew. I taught him half the spells he knew.”
“Peter was an Animagus?” somebody else asked, frowning.
“Yes.”
“Explain that!”
“In our fourth year, we decided that we had to do something to help Remus. We came up with a plan that we could become animals too, to keep him company. It took us a year. We performed the spell. Peter is a rat. James was a stag. I am a dog.”
The room was silent for a long minute.
“How did you escape from Azkaban?” Polaris called out, looking intensely curious on this subject.
“I changed into a dog,” Sirius said. “It kept me from going entirely insane. The dementors got confused, because they don’t sense animal emotions in the same way. I slipped past them. Swam to shore. I came to Hogwarts looking for Peter. He was here as a rat.”
There was another moment of silence.
“Are there any more questions?” Dumbledore asked the room at large. No one said anything. “Then I trust this is sufficient. Remus, if you would bring Sirius back to his seat, please?”
Remus nodded and stood. He took Sirius by the hand and led him back to his seat. It would take the Veritaserum at least another fifteen minutes to wear off.
“Sirius will be residing here this year,” Dumbledore told the assembled members of the order, “to protect Harry. The staff have been informed, but as of yet, very few of the children know. I believe it is unnecessary to ask you to keep this to yourselves.”
There was a general nod.
“In that case, this meeting is adjourned,” Dumbledore said. “I will call for you again when I have further news.”
****
Chapter Six
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