Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me	By : xXxLuckyxXx Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 74965 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. I just play in her world.

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
Chapter 20 : Padfoot and Moony – May 15, 1994

They decided not to wait till dark to find Sirius Black. Even with Harry's magical marker, it was going to be hard enough finding the man who had eluded both the aurors and dementors. So Harry went back and gave his excuses to his friends, saying Professor Snape recruited him to help gather potions ingredients as part of his Healing lessons. Meanwhile, Snape delivered the finished Wolfsbane potion to Lupin and grabbed a couple other items they may need, including a pensive.

They knew Sirius was still somewhere close to Hogwarts. After all, the dementors, who could sense the general location of Sirius Black's soul still hovered around. Harry called all four of his elemental sprites as his modified 'point me' charm took them unsurprisingly into the Forbidden Forest.

"What are you going to do if Black doesn't comply with your demands?" Snape asked as they walked, both guided by Flama's light and their own lumoses. They still had a couple hours till nightfall, but beneath the thick trees of the forest, light was becoming scarce.

Harry really hoped his nominal godfather would cooperate because he didn't want the responsibility of Sirius' freedom on his conscience. "We'll have to make him understand," Harry said firmly. "But even if he doesn't, and he's innocent, I don't think I can live with myself if I let Black get Kissed."

Severus nodded in understanding. He may have hated Black with a passion, but even Severus could unbend enough to feel a tinge of sympathy towards a man who was wrongly imprisoned for nearly all of his adult life. Though he was privately reviewing his memory charms. If Black was going to be the stubborn and idiot Gryffindor he was in their school years, then he wasn't going to have any memories of Harry or his involvement to report back to Dumbledore.

They walked deep enough to pass through Hogwarts' wards and still Harry's wand kept pointing them deeper. Suddenly, Harry stumbled and tripped and would've fallen if Snape hadn't caught him.

"Must you be so loud," Snape hissed, the anticipation of their hunt making him snappy. "You have the grace of troll."

"It's not my fault that rock came out of nowhere," Harry argued.

Snape gave him an incredulous look, as if he couldn't believe Harry actually said that.

Harry flushed, but pointed back where the rock still was. "I swear it came up just to trip me," he swore and went back to investigate the pyramidal rock, no larger than a fist. Seeing something carved into it, Harry brushed aside the stray leaves and twigs, unearthing the rest of the carving. "Hey, it's got a snake engraved into it," he announced excitedly.

Hearing this, Snape went to investigate. "Don't touch it," he warned, knowing better than Harry how well guarded Slytherin items were.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not an idiot," he said and heard Snape mutter something that sounded suspiciously like, 'couldn've fooled me.' "So what do you think it is?" To Harry, it reminded him of the tiny carving in the 2nd floor girl's bathroom that lead to the Chamber of Secrets. "I wonder…" And before Snape or Terra could stop him, he hissed the command, §Open§

Suddenly the ground beneath them rumbled, and Terra was pulling at Harry's robe urgently.

"What did you just do," Snape growled, pulling out his wand.

Harry looked back guiltily but before he could answer, the ground just vanished right out from under him. Harry screamed as he fell, but luckily a relatively soft bed of decomposing leaves and roots cushioned his fall. It was still painful though.

"Harry!"

"I'm okay!" Harry called upwards, seeing Snape's alarmed face peering into the hole. Then he turned around and extended his lumos light to illuminate the hole. "It looks like an abandoned tunnel," he said and checked his other wand, which was still pointing towards Sirius Black. "I think Black has been hiding in these tunnels."

Severus muttered something, could have been a curse, before jumping in as well. Of course, he landed neatly on his feet, which made Harry scowl. Next to his teacher, he really did feel like a troll in a potion's lab.

"Looks like an abandoned tunnel," Harry said, remarking on what looked like half-finished support systems. The tunnel was kept from collapsing mostly by wooden structures and some stone. There was also a tingle of old magical residue. Still, it looked like it could cave in any moment. "Flama go ahead of us to light the way, and Terra follow her and make sure these tunnels don't cave in. Or if it does, warn us." The two sprites twittered before moving ahead. "Aria, Triton, watch our backs."

Severus followed Flama's light. "Stay behind me," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, but as they moved deeper, he ended side by side his teacher, only to be pushed back again with an irritated huff.

After a few minutes, Flama started flickering to get their attention. When she had it, she pointed excitedly to the ground, her flame doubling in height. "Footprints," Severus said and knelt down to examine them carefully. "Canine in variety."

Harry cocked his head thoughtfully. "What if Sirius Black is also an animagus? And it's a dog or wolf?"

"Considering Pettigrew is a rat, it wouldn't surprise me," Severus agreed. "It's most likely how he's survived Azkaban all this time and escaped it."

"And how he gets around the school undetected," Harry finished.

The paw prints eventually branched off in a dozen directions, off to a dozen side tunnels. Assuming it was because Sirius Black wasn't simply lost and going around in circles, then he must know this underground labyrinth very well. Much better than they did.

Along the way, there were also other snake carvings and they even passed a snake statue. "I think when Salazar Slytherin first built his Chamber of Secrets, he wanted to integrate these tunnels into it, but never got around to it."

Severus raised an eyebrow at the mention of the famed Chamber. He wouldn't be surprised if Harry said he'd even been down to the Chamber itself. In fact, it was a safe assumption considering how Harry had accidentally opened these tunnels with a parsel password. "Originally, Hogwarts served as both a school and a castle that could weather through a battle. These tunnels were likely collapsible, by a magical trigger, trapping muggles who tended to storm the castle from time to time."

Harry nodded in fascination. "How come we don't learn this kind of stuff in Binn's class," he grumbled. "This is the kind of stuff they should really be teaching us."

"Because it shows muggles in a bad light, something that goes against the Headmaster's plans," Severus answered.

After a while, both Flama and Terra came to a stop and took up defensive position around Harry. But before he could ask what was going on, they suddenly heard the sounds of growling and snarling heading towards them at an alarming rate. It was coming so fast that Harry and Severus only had enough time to raise shields before the largest black dog Harry had ever seen exploded out of tunnel's bend right in front of them.

If the situation wasn't so dire, Harry would have laughed at how it stumbled and skidded wildly around the bend. Instead a stupefy was on the tip of his tongue as he studied this snarling beast.

On all fours, the top of its head reached Harry's shoulder. It had matted and dingy fur, lean to the point of skeletal, but you could still see how very strong it was. But most notably were the flashing blue eyes that penetrated them with an all too human intelligence. Harry's experience with Marge's dog, Ripper, turned him off dogs, and every fiber of his being was screaming for him to run. But he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for nothing. Harry took a small gamble and called out. "Sirius? Sirius Black? It's me, Harry Potter."

"Harry," Severus warned, wanting to pull the boy back, but was wary that any movement would cause the snarling beast to strike.

"I got this," Harry told his mentor, without taking his eyes off the dog. "You remember, James' son."

At the mention of his father, the snarling and drooling stopped and it started sniffing. Severus raised his wand higher as the dog slowly crept up, and Harry stood stone still allowing the dog to sniff him. He must have passed some kind of canine test because instantly the dog began to pant and wag his tail happily. Harry let out a breath of relief and gingerly petted its head.

Suddenly, the dog disappeared and was replaced the by man himself.

Harry jerked back with a yelp of surprise. "Bloody Merlin!" Even Severus twitched a little.

"Oh, it is you!" the man nearly shouted and in a single move, swept Harry's smaller form, backpack and all, into a huge bear hug. "It's so good to see you again. But what are you doing here, Pup? Never mind that, you can't stay…the dementors, they'll get you."

As Sirius babbled, Harry couldn't help but feel bad for his godfather. This was a man who was, as far as they knew, wrongly convicted and spent more than a decade locked up in the one place that could be called 'hell on earth.' He seemed to be a little better than the last time Harry saw him, even after hiding in these dark tunnels all this time. After all, it took a sharp mind and a strong will to stay hidden for so long.

"If you could stop smothering the boy, Black, perhaps he'll be able to answer," Severus sneered. He didn't like how easily Harry, who shied from physical affection, docily accepted Black's embrace.

At the sound of Severus' voice, Sirius immediately dropped Harry to the ground and in the same move pushed Harry behind him. Harry spared a moment to grumble about why everyone felt like he needed to be protected.

"What are you doing down here, Snivellus?" Black snarled.

Severus gritted his teeth at the hated nickname. "Only Merlin knows why, but we're here to save your worthless hide."

"Or take me away," Sirius growled, sounding distinctly canine.

Hearing the change in pitch, Severus took a threatening step forward, aiming his wand directly over the other's throat. It was so easy to fall back into their detestable habits. "Gladly, you insufferable mangy dog. Just give me a reason to call the dementors down here."

"Woah, woah," Harry leapt forward, placing himself between the two men and their raised wands. "Sirius calm down," he cried, only gaining a flicker from Sirius. "We're not here to take you anywhere. We know you're innocent. We know it was Pettigrew who betrayed my parents."

That drew Sirius' complete attention. It seemed in this fragile mental state, Sirius could only focus on one thing at a time to the exclusion of others. It was probably a side effect of staying in his animagus form for so long. And then the man's blue eyes suddenly started watering, and Harry shifted uncomfortably, recognizing the first sign of crying.

"Oh Harry, Prongslet," he started to cry softly, seemingly forgetting that Severus was even there. "It was all my fault, all my fault…"

Harry shook his head. "No, it was Pettigrew's," he insisted, but Sirius kept on as if he hadn't spoken, making Harry growl in frustration.

"If I hadn't made James switch us…Merlin, I as good as got James and Lily killed…Don't you see? I thought I was too obvious a choice," Sirius said, desperately willing Harry to understand. "We thought there'd been a spy among us…No one would expect James to choose Peter…" At the mention of the fourth Marauder, Sirius' eyes grew dark and flashed dangerous. "But he was the spy all along. .."

Harry tried to make sense of Sirius' broken train of thought. Combining these little clues to what Marvolo told him before, Harry felt like he got the gist of the situation. "So you must have thought Lupin was the spy and convinced my father to choose Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm. But once the charm was cast, Pettigrew went off to tell Voldemort. But what happened afterwards? Did you really go off and kill a dozen muggles?"

Sirius shook his head emphatically, pacing tightly in the small tunnel. "No! No, you see? It was all Pettigrew! When I confronted him about his betrayal, he cut off his own finger before casting some kind of bombarda at the muggles who were staring. And in the chaos, he disappeared into his rat form. I saw with my own eyes. He escaped into the sewer system."

Privately, Harry was relieved to hear Sirius really hadn't killed all those bystanders. But still… "I'm sorry, Sirius, but we need to confirm this. Would you mind taking a little Veritaserum from Professor Snape?"

Sirius instantly froze at the idea of taking anything from 'Snivellus.'

"Oh, come on," Harry wheedled. "If you're going to trial, you'll have to take Veritaserum anyway, and you know Professor Snape's is the best."

Thankfully, Sirius was aware of Severus' reputation as an accomplished Potion's Master. Even in their Hogwarts years, the Slytherin was brewing at the mastery level. "Alright, but no funny business," he warned.

Severus rolled his eyes before producing a small vial of clear fluid. He dropped two drops onto Sirius's tongue and waited for the man's blue eyes to turn glassy. "What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"What is your animagus form?"

"A black grim-like dog."

"Were you responsible for the Potter's death?"

"Yes."

Severus paused, and Harry sucked in a startled breath, but then Severus reworded his question. "Did you betray their location to the Dark Lord?"

"No. It was Peter. He told You-know-who where James, Lily, and Harry were."

"Did you kill those muggle bystanders?"

"No, that was Peter too."

"How did you escape Azkaban?" Technically, this question was unnecessary to prove Black's innocence, but Severus wasn't going to let the rare opportunity of having Black under veritaserum pass without taking advantage of it.

"I was skinny enough in my animagus form to slip through the bars and swam off the island until I reached the mainland."

Satisfied with all the answers, Severus administered the antidote. "When you do go to trial, you'll have to convince yourself that you weren't responsible for their deaths," Severus advised.

For the first time, Sirius looked between Harry and his childhood nemesis in hope. "So you'll tell Albus now right? And Remus too." His eyes suddenly widened at the memory of his friend. "Oh, Remus! You have to tell him I'm sorry for thinking he was the spy."

Harry and Severus traded glances. "I don't think Dumbledore wants you to be found," Harry said carefully. At Sirius look of surprise and confusion, Harry held his hands up. "Now, hear me out and try not to jump down my throat until you hear everything, okay?"

Dubiously, Sirius nodded.

"12 years ago, Dumbledore was and still is the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamut," Harry began. "A criminal trial of this magnitude cannot proceed without him. Even if you at first confessed to the crime, it is still in his power to grant you a hearing, right? Don't you think after such loyal service and financial support in the war, at the very least he could do was give you a hearing?"

Sirius nodded, but he was still clouded with confusion. "That doesn't make sense, Pup," he said. "Why would Albus betray me?"

"If you put that underused substance between your ears to work for once, you'll realize the motive behind Dumbledore's actions," Severus sneered. When only blankness came back, Severus rolled his eyes. "After that night, Harry Potter became known as the Boy-Who-Lived. He was hailed as a boy-hero, and it was widely believed he vanquished the Dark Lord."

Sirius brightened hearing this, getting side tracked. "Yes, I have read it in some of the newspapers and whatever I could get a hold on….wait a minute, did you say widely believed?" he asked, showing that behind the mild insanity was a very sharp mind.

Severus nodded. "Our esteemed Headmaster believes that Voldemort was only temporarily weakened that night. Since then, there has been subtle signs to show he is steadily growing in power. And guess who Dumbledore thinks is destined to finish off the Dark Lord when he returns?"

They were all silent for a moment letting Sirius digest what Severus told him. "Wasn't there a…a prophesy?" Sirius asked, mostly to himself, straining himself to remember the bits and pieces before his incarceration. "Yes, I remember there was. It was why James and Lily went into hiding in the first place." And then he spun sharply, pinning Harry with a concentrated look. "Absolutely not. You are not going out there to fight Dark Lords or his filthy Death Eaters! I absolutely forbid it! Not until you're at least 80 years old!"

Harry chuckled weakly, because while the words were sort of funny, Sirius was absolutely…well, serious. "Now do you see why Dumbledore wanted you out of the picture?" Harry asked softly. "You were named my godfather and could over rule any decisions Dumbledore had for me."

Suddenly, Sirius paled at the implication. And then he asked, his voice filled with dread, "What exactly happened after I handed you off to Hagrid?" He instinctively knew something else, something bad, happened that night. At their blank looks, he elaborated impatiently. "I was the first to find you. I even had you in my arms, carried you out of the wrecked home, but then Hagrid came up to me and said Albus sent him. That Albus had a way to keep you safe." Sirius shook his head. Now, 13 years too late, he realize something was fishy. "I don't even know how Albus knew what happened that night to send Hagrid, but I was so angry, so devastated that I didn't even think! How could I hand over the baby that every Death Eater was looking for to a man who hadn't even finished his Hogwarts' education? Merlin, I was so stupid!"

That was actually a good point, Harry thought. Hagrid may be lovable and a friend, but that didn't mean the half giant was the brightest wand in the box nor was he capable of protecting a baby.

"So I handed you over," Sirius continued, his eyes glazing over as he recalled what happened long ago. "Some part of me still knew Hagrid was vulnerable, so I wanted him to reach Albus as fast as he could. I gave him my motorbike and watched him drive off while I went in search of the betrayer." Then Sirius' eyes cleared and he turned questioning eyes towards Harry. "So what happened after?" he repeated.

As Harry listened, he was also reorganizing his occlumancy memories. "I think it's better if you actually see," Harry said, pulling out Severus' pensive from his backpack. Then he filled it with four memories and waved a hand to invite Sirius in. "We'll stay out here," he added.

"And Snivellus has already seen these?" Sirius asked suspiciously, with no small amount of jealousy. Even half mad as he was, he could tell that his best friend's son was close to their hated school rival.

"Will you stop calling him that," Harry pleaded, knowing how the name must be testing Severus' resolve. "That stuff happened back in your Hogwart's years. If Severus could forgive you for sending him into a werewolf's den on the full moon, I think you can get over this stupid rivalry!"

Sirius actually winced at the memory. He nodded grudgingly before diving into the memory bowl.

"Are those the same memories I viewed?" Severus asked, almost feeling sorry for Sirius who had no warning of the horror he was about to see.

Harry nodded. "Similar ones. Just as bad. But I also included a conversation I had with my Aunt and Uncle after I found out I was a wizard. It'll explain how Dumbledore left me alone, on a November night, at their doorstep with only a letter to explain what happened. It'll also tell Sirius exactly what I've been told about my parents for as long as I could remember. For ten years, I truly did think James was a no good drunk who killed himself and his wife in a car accident. As I grew older, I even started to resent him."

Severus mentally winced. Knowing how James and Sirius were so close, they were practically brothers, that little tidbit was just going to add fuel to the fire, and no doubt that was Harry's intention. The little lion in snake's clothing could be very devious if he wanted.

When Sirius finally resurfaced, it seemed like an entirely different man who went in. "Where the hell is that Old Man!" Sirius snarled. "How dare he! He promised you'd be safe, he promised you'd be taken care of! But he sent you to Tuny! He actually sent you to Lily's bitch of a sister! I was there when Lily told Albus in no uncertain terms that if anything happened, you were not to go to Tuny! And James was not a drunkard nor would he be offed by some stupid muggle contraption like a car!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. That was more of a reaction than he had expected. Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to convert Sirius back to his dark roots after all. But then Harry's musings were suddenly interrupted, when in a fit of thoughtless rage, Sirius spun around and blasted a reducto at the tunnel walls with his stolen wand.

"Woah!" Harry shouted, squinted at the rocks and debris that rained down on them. Terra and Aria immediately got to work clearing the air and securing the tunnel.

"Get a hold of yourself, Black!" Severus snapped. "Or do you wish to bury us all down here?"

Realizing Severus was right, Sirius took a deep breath, and promptly choked on the dust he inhaled. Between the three of them and their refreshening charms, they were able to get the air breathable again. "Sorry about that," he muttered, chagrined, but then forgot about it when his eyes landed back on the pensive. He shook his head in disbelief. "Where was Mooney all that time?" he asked, confused and bewildered. "Surely he wouldn't let you stay there. He knew what Tuny was like."

Harry shook his head. "He disappeared. I never even knew of him until Dumbledore brought him back to teach DADA this year because of your escape. I even told him what my suspicions of Dumbledore were, but I think Dumbledore convinced him you were actually guilty or something, because my parent's will were read shortly after that, and he didn't stand up for me when Dumbledore tried to take 70% of my Potter accounts."

"Or your guardianship," Severus added. "He intends to send Harry back to Tuny for the Summer."

Hat the mention of Lily's sister, Sirius growled lowly. "I don't know what Moony…er Remus has been doing all this time, but that's not going to happen, not while I'm here," he said firmly.

Harry was pleased to hear this. "I'm glad you said this, because my guardianship is up for question. My parents named you as my godfather, and Severus and Dumbledore as alternates. Severus has been working to keep me out of Dumbledore's hands, but while my case was open, Lucius Malfoy found out and put in a bid for guardianship too. Unfortunately, out of the three, Lucius has the best chance of winning, even if he hadn't been named in my parent's will."

"So you need me to assume guardianship of you," Sirius finished, sounding delighted at the prospects.

Harry didn't say he preferred Severus Snape, if he had a choice, so he merely nodded. "I don't need a parent," Harry continued, laying out the terms. "I just need protection from all these people trying to control my life." Harry felt a little guilty when the other man's blue eyes dimmed in disappointment, but pushed the feeling aside.

"I know we don't know each other very well, but what if I want to be your godfather, for real?" Sirius asked, sounding sad.

Harry shook his head. "I don't mind getting to know you, but I've got plans that I won't let anyone interfere with, even Professor Snape." Seeing the despondent look on Sirius' face, Harry softened his tone. "There are things about me that you wouldn't like," he said. "I'm doing things that you won't agree with. It'll be easier on all of us if we're just friends."

Sirius shook his head in denial. "I don't care. I've already missed out on so much of your life…your first steps, your first baby teeth…I was going to teach you to fly and play Quidditch. I was going to be your favorite uncle and spoil you rotten! You've gotta let me into your life, Pup!"

Harry almost got a little teary eyed at the possible future he'd missed out on if Dumbledore hadn't stuck his overly large nose into everything. "That sounds nice, but like I said, I don't need a parent. To be honest, I wouldn't even know what to do with a parent who actually cares," he admitted awkwardly.

"Enough of this," Severus stepped up, seeing how uncomfortable Harry was. He had been afraid that Harry, in a desperate yearning for a family, would suddenly accept Sirius with open arms, but for once he was glad for Harry's streak of stubbornness and independence. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he'd be horribly jealous if his place as a father figure was taken by Black, of all people. "All this is moot if we don't clear him of all charges."

At this, Sirius glared darkly. "Pettigrew," he spat. Clearly his hatred of the Rat overpowered his hatred for his childhood nemesis.

"I've actually just captured him, with Professor Snape's help," Harry spoke up, deliberately giving his mentor some credit. It might make Sirius more grateful towards Severus. "If you promise to just sign on as my godfather in name only, then I will have Professor Snape and my lawyer, Andromeda Black Tonks, turn him over to the ministry. They'll make sure the ministry doesn't try anything funny. After we get Pettigrew's confession, you won't be Kissed on sight, and can turn yourself in to get your name cleared."

Sirius looked a little sad when Harry said he'd be a godfather in name only, but nodded. "That sounds like a plan, but don't think I won't try to get to know you better," he warned playfully.

"As long as you don't try to stop my plans from moving forward," Harry returned with an equal grin.

"Merlin save me, if this is how Gryffindors negotiate," Severus muttered.

That reminded him. "And Professor Snape is part of the deal too," Harry added. "I don't want to have to play referee whenever you two are in the same room. That means no juvenile pranks and name calling," Harry told Sirius and then turned to his teacher. "And no baiting Sirius' temper either."

He got grudging nods from them both. Still, Harry knew it won't be a while before he could turn his back on these two rivals. "Now, how do we keep in contact with you?" Harry asked. "I'd hate to have to come all the way down to these tunnels whenever I need to talk to you."

"Do you have any mirrors in there?" Sirius asked, glancing down in the bag.

Neither Severus nor Harry really cared much about their appearances, so it was the one item he didn't have in his all-purpose backpack. "I have an idea," Harry said, pulling out his old glasses.

The two men watched curiously as Harry popped out the thick lenses. Then he transfigured them into mirrors before enlarging them into the size of a large hand.

"Good idea, Pup, but that won't last long," Sirius said. "First Law of Transfiguration."

Harry gave Sirius a pointed look, just before using his wand to nick himself. He dripped a drop of blood on each mirror, before waving his wand over the two items, sealing the magic with his blood. As long as he lived and his heart was still beating the mirrors will stay transfigured.

"That's blood magic!" Sirius gasped, looking up at Harry in horror. Then his eyes turned to Severus, who wasn't surprised at all. Not like he was.

"Now you know what I mean," Harry said a calmly. "And don't you blame Professor Snape either," he added, knowing where Sirius' next thoughts were heading. "I'm teaching myself with some outside help. Professor Snape had no idea about any of this until earlier today."

"But this stuff is dangerous," Sirius pleaded.

Harry shrugged. "I'm careful to keep myself under control."

Sirius could not stand the idea of James' little son practicing dark magic. "No, No. I won't allow it, Prongslet. I won't let you get tainted by this magic. It brings you in and twists you all up inside. Believe me, I've seen it."

"You do not have a choice, Black," Severus said, almost gleefully. "You have no right or authority over Harry." The unspoken 'I do' was clearly understood.

"Why you greasy..." Sirius' snarling advance was abruptly stopped by Harry's mild stinger.

"You two are worse than a pair of feral kneazles!" Harry burst out, exasperated. He had expected Sirius to be out of it, but he couldn't believe how juvenile Snape was acting as well. He felt like the two adults were fighting over him or something.

Sirius looked at Harry sheepishly, and Snape relaxed his stance slightly. Knowing this was the best Harry was going to get out of them, he brought them back to the issue at hand. "Sirius, I'm all for getting to know you, but Professor Snape's right. I make my own decisions," he stressed firmly. "And I know what I'm doing."

For once, instead of automatically arguing back, Sirius studied the boy before him, judging with his own eyes. It was true, he admitted. Sirius could tell Harry was indeed in full control. There was no hint of that dark insanity that gripped his cousin, Bellatrix Black, and if Sirius was honest the boy looked much stronger and happier than he did in the pensive memories. If, in any way, Severus Snape was responsible for Harry's healthier condition, then he suppose he couldn't in good conscious still hate the man.

So Sirius exhaled sharply and nodded in understanding. "I won't tell anyone," he said. "You have my word as the Black Lord. But I'll be keeping an eye out for any signs that you're slipping."

"Go ahead," Harry replied easily. "But you won't find anything." Then he handed over the pair of finished mirrors.

Sirius took them and applied several complicated charms, and following Harry's example, gingerly added a drop of his own blood to seal the magic. "See your old dogfather knows a thing or two about the blood arts too. So, if you're going to insist on doing this, I want you to come to me if you have any trouble practicing," he said and darted a glance at Snape. "And I suppose Snape as well," he added reluctantly. It was more important to him that Harry felt safe asking for help and advice than blunder along while practicing such dangerous magic. And admittedly, Severus Snape was highly skilled in the dark arts.

"I appreciate that," Harry said, accepting the demonstration for what it was. Considering the legacy of the Black lineage, he wasn't surprised that its scion was trained in the Dark Arts, at least until he ran away. "The next order of business is to make sure you survive until your trial," Harry continued as he pocketed the communication mirror and restored his memories from the pensive. "It's good that you do know something of the Old Ways," he said and pulled out a handful of Knotgrass. "Can you make a Knot of Misery?" Harry pulled out his own ball of knots to show him.

Sirius studied the ball closely, shivering at the echoes of misery he could feel radiating from it. Then he looked at Harry sadly, knowing just how bad his childhood had to be in order to produce such a powerful Misery Knot. He nodded solemnly, but just as he reached out to pick up the grass, they could hear steady footsteps reverberating down the tunnel.

They all turned towards the sound in alarm. "Are you guys expecting anyone?" Sirius asked, though the answer was obvious by the way the other two held their wands in the offensive position.

"No," Harry answered and glanced at Severus. "My sprites would have noticed if someone had followed us down here."

Hearing this, Sirius transformed back into his dog form.

"Aria, could you carry the intruder's scent to Black," Severus asked.

Aria complied, shifting the air until they were down wind. Both Harry and Severus eyed the dog between them for any sign of recognition. They got it when the dog's tail began wagging happily, and he returned to human form. "It's Remus," he declared excitedly, happy to be reunited with his friend again.

Harry and Severus traded troubled looks, but Sirius didn't notice it.

"He probably tracked you guys down," Sirius continued as the sounds of careful footsteps came closer. "It is the full moon after all."

Not knowing whether Lupin's interference was a good thing or not, Harry and Severus lowered their wands slightly, but remained alert. Finally, the form of Remus Lupin appeared in Flama's light.

"I didn't think my nose was lying," Remus sputtered, staring at Sirius like he was seeing a ghost. Then he glanced at Harry, standing next to Severus. "Come here, Harry, nice and slow," he said, holding a hand out.

Harry rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't noticed, I've been down here with Sirius, my godfather, for the past hour."

Remus shook his head, confused. "But you know he betrayed your parents. He came here…"

"Moony!" Sirius barked, suddenly reminded that this friend still believed he was guilty. "It was Pettigrew! We switched at the last moment, because I thought I'd be too obvious a choice."

Remus' wand suddenly became lax in his weak fingers. "That can't be. Albus said you had confessed."

Harry suddenly felt disgusted by Remus' unwavering faith in Dumbledore. "And if you visited your friend even once while he was in Azkaban you'll know that he hadn't confessed." Harry was going to add more, but Severus held him back.

"This is between them," Severus told him. "Let them hash it out."

Harry saw the wisdom in that and nodded.

"I only said I as good as killed them," Sirius elaborated. "Moony, come on. You know me. I couldn't possibly betray James or Lily or their little Pup. How could you believe otherwise?" There was a lot of hurt in those words.

"I don't know," Remus muttered. "There were all those witnesses, and Dumbledore said you confessed."

"It almost seems like you want Black to be guilty, Wolf," Severus sneered. Like Harry, he was also getting tired of Lupin brainwashed arguments. "Is it too painful to admit how wrong you were? How your blind faith in the Old Coot's sentenced your best friend to 12 years of misery?" There was a sadistic satisfaction for bringing the other man down, and it clearly showed on Severus' face.

Lupin's head snapped to Severus, his eyes flashing amber. "Stay out of this, Snape!" he nearly barked before turning back to Sirius. "There were witnesses, of your confession and of you killing Peter," he repeated.

Sirius shook his head. "What? A bunch of muggles who don't know the first thing about magic? All they saw was Wormtail blowing up the block along with a dozen bystanders before disappearing in his animagus form." Sirius took a step forward, imploringly. "You were the smartest of the four of us. Harry's told me he told you about Dumbledore. Which story makes more sense to you?"

"They were childish conspiracy theories," Remus said weakly, repeating Dumbledore's reasoning. "Harry and his friends like to play detective. He's been angry, isolated, not to mention with everything going on since he came to Hogwarts…"

Sirius was momentary distracted, wanting to know what things had happened to Harry, but he made himself focus. "And was his abuse a conspiracy as well?" Sirius challenged.

Remus scowled. "They were merely rough housing," he said. "A few bumps and bruises…"

"Lupin, if you finish that sentence, I will lace your next dose of Wolfsbane with silver," Severus growled.

Remus was brought short by the very real threat, and even more shocked by the snarl that graced his normally carefree friend's face.

"They were not just bumps and bruises," Sirius barked. "Albus sent our Pup to Tuny! You remember her, right? Lily's sister, looks like a giraffe and hates all things magic? I could understand how you left me to rot in Azkaban, but how could you leave our little Prongslet in her hands? Without even checking on him once!"

Remus took a step back, shaking his head in denial, but it was just dawning on him just how badly he had messed up. And then, he suddenly curled in on himself as if in pain. Harry was tempted to sneer in disgust at how weak the other man was. So what if these revelations changed everything he knew about the benevolent Headmaster? The truth hurt. At least he didn't have to live through what Harry and Sirius suffered. But then Remus gave a small whimper of pain that was entirely of a physical nature.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, sensing some kind of wild magic radiating from Lupin, who suddenly started clawing at himself.

"It must be nightfall," Sirius answered, as the realization sunk in. "He's changing!"

Harry stared at his DADA teacher with wide eyes. "But he took the Wolfsbane, so it should be okay, right?"

"Did you take the Wolfsbane, Lupin?" Severus shouted. "I left it on your desk as usual."

They all held their breaths. The answer came when Lupin suddenly looked up, his face grotesquely deformed in mid-transformation. "Run!" he growled, his voice half lost.

A chill ran down Harry's spine when he saw those amber orbs flash. Just then, several things happened at once. Sirius ordered Severus to take him and run, while he changed into his dog form. He collided in a snarl of teeth, fur, and claws with the now completely transformed werewolf. Then Harry was suddenly picked up, and Severus sped through the small gap that Sirius provided for them.

Between one heartbeat and the next, Harry finally got his wits about him. "Aria, Terra, Flama, find us the quickest way out of here!"

The three sprites sped on ahead, using wind currents and the earth to locate an exit. Meanwhile, Harry managed to clamp his legs securely around his teacher's waist, and hiked himself up so he could look past his teacher's shoulder. It was then he noticed how fast his teacher was moving. "You're flying?" Harry asked, momentarily distracted. He could see his teacher's feet were several inches above the ground, and in the air he could easily keep up with Harry's sprites who were making random tight turns at blurring speeds. "You have to teach me…"

"Not now, Potter!" Severus snapped.

Harry clamped his mouth shut, hearing the strain in his teacher's voice. No doubt flying without the aid of a wand or broom was taxing on Severus' magic, and the concentration needed to keep from running into the tight walls had to be phenomenal.

The snarling and growling that they left behind them suddenly ended in a pain yip. "Sirius!" Harry gasped, but then all thoughts of Sirius fled his mind when the growling resumed, only much closer than before. In fact, judging by the sounds, the werewolf was gaining on them quickly.

"Snape!" Harry shouted when he could see the werewolf explode from around a bend, its jaws snapping and its claws slashing ever closer with each swipe and lunge. Instinctively, Harry cast a reducto, momentarily forgetting that most Light curses would simply bounce off a werewolf. And that's exactly what happened to Harry's reducto, it bounced and crashed into the walls, threatening a cave in.

"When we exit, I'll do my best to hold the beast back," Severus shouted. "You run back to Hogwarts as fast as you can!"

Harry didn't have time to respond when Severus cast his own reducto at a small opening that Aria and Terra found for them. They flew out of this hole, just as the werewolf got a hold of Severus' billowing robes.

"This is bad…" Harry clamped down like an octopus on his teacher, clenching his eyes tightly in preparation for the blow that would surely kill them.

But then his accidental magic kicked and a flare of black fire painlessly engulfed them both. In a single blink, they suddenly landed inside Severus' personal quarters, inside Hogwarts. For a moment the two merely blinked, unable to believe their eyes, and the only sounds coming from them were their harsh breaths. Then, Severus gingerly released his death grip on Harry, who slid weakly down to his feet. Black fire was still licked at Harry's skin when they separated, but it was slowly flickering away.

"Harry, are you okay?" Severus asked carefully, still staring at the black flames in avid fascination.

Harry nodded jerkily, though he could still hear the echoes of the werewolf snarling mere inches from his face. "I'm fine," he said shakily, patting away the unnerving sight of the fire on his skin. Oddly, it didn't hurt at all. "What just happened?" But just then his vision turned dark and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard his teacher call his name in alarm.

A/N: Phew that was exciting! To me at least. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I hate them myself and rarely use them, but this has been going on for 13 pages, so I had to end it somewhere. Also, if Sirius seems discombobulated, I meant to make him appear scatter brained. He needs to see a mind healer before he'll be normal again. Crazy Sirius is hard to write! As for Severus, he swings from one emotional extreme to the other because he still harbors deep resentment against the Mauraders, but he's trying his best to behave for Harry, even though the old Sadistic Severus peaks out once in a while.

And for my most controversial character...Remus. Honestly, I really feel bad for how wussy I made Remus in this chapter, but it was rather irresponsible and unforgiveable of him to forget to take his Wolfsbane. I compare this to someone who knows he's an epileptic. Normally epileptics aren't allowed to drive because of the potential accidents they can cause, unless they can show they have their ailment well controlled by medication. Canon Remus is like that, an epileptic who forgot to take his meds, and crashes into a prison transport vehicle, freeing a murderer (Pettigrew), and endangering other drivers. In our courts today, such a man would be held at least partially if not completely liable, even though he cannot help his condition. That is why I am being so hard on poor Remus.

Just an aside, I find it amusing that so many people thought the sprites were cute. Considering how they don't really talk and I barely gave them a physical description, I was surprised at how they took on a life of their own.

Sorry for the long A/N. Next up : The aftermath
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In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me