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Let Love In	By : Kimmimaru Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Remus/Sirius Views: 3124 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters or settings by JK Rowling. I make no profit from this story.

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Rise of the Phoenix

Remus sat despondently in a chair, eyes on the fire in the hearth as it died down to ashes. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and he jumped, blinking slightly in surprise. The knock came again, several sharp bangs. He stood and made his way to the door, opening to reveal Sirius.

"Remus!" Sirius looked distressed as he stepped over the threshold. "We have orders from Dumbledore." He said, striding into the house as Remus closed the door behind him looking confused.

"What? Why?" He asked, following his lover to the living room. When Sirius turned around Remus saw a familiar gleam in his silver eyes. "War." Remus muttered.

Sirius nodded. "Dumbledore's reconvening the Order...we fight."

Remus nodded sharply, hands tightening into fists at his sides. "He's back..." He didn't need to see Sirius nod to know. "Then, I suppose we have work to do." He smiled weakly and turned around, Sirius followed him into the tiny back garden and they stood in the darkness. As one they lifted their wands to the sky, taking deep breaths and speaking in unison.

"Expecto Patronum."

Several silvery animals shot into the sky, separating and flying in different directions. They watched them go, leaving only darkness behind. Sirius didn't think when his hand found Remus' they stood there, hands clasped as the prospect of war dawned on them like a dark shadow. Their eyes were glued to the sky as they waited with bated breath, finally Sirius turned to Remus, his silver eyes as bright as the stars above them. His face was grave as he leaned in, kissing his lover gently. "This time..." He whispered. "This time we will win."

Remus smiled, but it was twisted. "We can't know that...Last time..."

Sirius shook his head silencing him. "Last time was different! We weren't prepared, not really. This time, we have warning, Dumbledore will be able to put in place all the proper preparations..."

Remus pulled himself away, fear obvious in his eyes. "Last time we lost James and Lily...this time we'll lose even more...we could even..."

Sirius sighed, tipping his head back to gaze up at the stars. "This isn't like last time! This time we have to win...this time we have to make sure he's destroyed once and for all...for us, for our friends...for Harry!"

The silence was heavy as Remus followed Sirius' eyes and they watched the sky. He shuddered as the wind picked up, blowing their cloaks around their feet and hair into their eyes...Remus felt cold dread sink into his gut and he clutched at Sirius' hand. "Don't die!" He whispered quickly. "Whatever happens...keep your promise to me."

Sirius looked at him and smiled. "No dying before you do, I promise."

Remus returned the smile slightly lopsidedly. "We'll do it together." He muttered.

Sirius could only nod before returning his eyes to the sky, as he watched he could see the Dog Star above him and after a second it seemed as if it had gone out...there was only impenetrable darkness where once had been a small silver dot and he swallowed the fear that sat heavily in his chest, he couldn't make Remus worry.

The Order of the Phoenix was gathered, the drums of War sounding deep within each of their hearts as old friends and new friends, old allies and new, all gathered around the small kitchen table in Remus' home. The silence was intense, Sirius sat in a corner, one leg drawn up while his arm dangled across his knee as people spoke quietly to each other, shooting him nervous glances. Remus paced nervously, unable to help himself, memories spewed forth from the depths of his mind like sewage water and he was unable to help seeing blank dead eyes, empty corpses, blood spattered streets and he sighed heavily, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall at Sirius' side. "It has to be different..." he whispered to the ceiling. "It has to."

The silence stretched on as people shifted in their seats, they could hear the distant bell toll from the small Norman church in the village. Sirius felt each heavy dong like a nail to his heart and he hung his head, trying not to close his eyes in case he saw those faces...faces of loved ones lost.

When the meeting was under away, introductions over, Dumbledore looked gravely around at them all, crammed awkwardly into the tiny kitchen. Sirius sat, leaning against the table, scratching random patterns into the wood with his pocket knife, earning worried looks from some of the others.

"I think our first order should be to find a Headquarters, one that has suitable magical protection and of appropriate size."

Sirius slowly lifted his eyes. "My mum's dead, right?" He asked slowly.

Remus gave him an odd look, "What?" he asked, confusion obvious.

"Grimmauld Place is perfect..." Sirius ran the glittering blade in a line down the table, making an awful noise and making people flinch. "My father put loads of protection on it...against Muggles mostly. He didn't want them to come calling..." he chuckled slightly, shoving the fingers of his free hand into his hair. "If my mum's dead, and Regulus too...that automatically makes me the sole benefactor of that god awful place."

"What is your point, boy?" Moody growled from further down the table.

"My point, Mr. Moody, is that my old house is free...and well protected, therefore suitable for the purposes of which the Order wish to use it for." Sirius slammed the blade of his knife deep into the wood. "As much as I despise the thought of returning...if it will help the War then I will have to live with it."

"Very good, Sirius. We will have to make sure it is safe but once we are certain we can use it."

"I'm pretty sure my mother would have written me out of her will, for obvious reasons, but I think that there was a clause that said that it would go to the last surviving male member of the family...which would discount my cousins and leave me. I'll go see if that's right with Remus..." Sirius stood slowly, the eyes that watched him were still nervous, always holding that hint of suspicion but Sirius ignored it.

"Very well, I will expect to hear back from you soon. Sirius, please stay hidden."

Sirius smiled wonkily, wrapping long fingers around his knife and pulling it from the wood. "Of course, Albus, you know me...ever the responsible one." He threw his head back with a sharp laugh before following Remus out of the house.

Sirius gazed up at the black door, the snakes head knocker glinting beneath the street lights. Slowly he lifted his wand, tapping it once and watched with mingled horror and fascination as the door creaked slowly open. He glanced nervously over his shoulder at Remus who gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm with you, Sirius."

Sirius nodded, turning back to the dark hallway and stepping over the threshold. The hall was dark and he lifted his arm, preventing Remus from entering with a soft whisper the lights flickered on revealing dust covered carpet, paintings lining the walls and an odd umbrella stand that resembled a leg of a Troll. Sirius' eyes landed on the curtained portrait and he knew what slept behind it, he turned slowly. "Keep silent!" he hissed softly and Remus nodded looking nervous. They crept in slowly, Sirius' fingers gripping the wand as he moved cautiously down the hall way, fighting memories of screams and hatred. His eyes flicked quickly towards the stairs and felt a sickening jolt as he saw the broken banister, he gazed at it, fingers tracing the splintered wood as he remembered being slammed into it. He took a shaky breath and turned back to the kitchen.

Remus gazed around in fascination, it was obvious why Sirius hated it...the snake motif was everywhere, the portraits were watching them warily and the curtains that hung down the wall seemed to breathe. He shivered, the house was undeniably creepy. Sirius moved through the house, discovering empty rooms, dust covered furniture. The whole house appeared empty until he stepped into his parent's room and saw a small, shrivelled looking figure standing by the bed. "You're still alive?" Sirius exclaimed, eyes wide and glittering as the candle stubs in the chandeliers burst into life.

Remus peered curiously over Sirius' shoulder as he saw the shrunken figure turning slowly. "House-elf?" He asked slowly, seeing a very dark look cross Sirius' face.

"And what is this Kreacher is seeing? A traitor, come back to beg forgiveness from the Mistress for his betrayal?"

Sirius hissed, the noise snake-like and Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. "I am master of this place, Kreacher, you will address me as befits that status!" He sneered, his voice cold.

Kreacher merely gazed at him, his eyes full of malice. "Of course, Master, Kreacher must obey the Ancient and most Noble house of Black...even if he does not care for the delinquent who broke my mistress' poor heart." He bowed low as he muttered.

"Shut up!" Sirius snapped. "What the hell have you been doing all this time? The place is filthy! You're a house elf who doesn't even bother cleaning? What use are you?"

"Kreacher has been cleaning, Master, he is being obeying his Mistress all these years."

Sirius' sneer grew. "Good god...you've been taking orders from that bloody portrait down stairs haven't you? You mad thing..." he shook his head. "Well, at least try and keep this place tidy, you useless sack of bones..." Sirius turned. "We have guests." He swept away ignoring the tightening in his chest as he fought the dark emotions all this was bringing up.

Remus followed Sirius as they entered the kitchen, Sirius slumped down heavily, dark eyes scanning the cracked walls, the dirty pots and the dripping tap. He lifted a shaking hand and pointed at some tiles on the floor that had cracked into a star shape. His eyes were almost black in the low lighting. "That happened when I was twelve, my father caught me stealing food and slammed my head into the tiles after tearing out a chunk of my hair...that was pretty messy I must admit." He chuckled humourlessly and Remus gazed at the patch of broken tiles looking queasy. "The amount of times I was asked to bend over this table when my father decided my grammar was incorrect and punished me for it..." He closed his eyes, bowing his head. "This...is going to be harder than I thought..." He whispered and felt arms surround him in a warm embrace.

"Except it's not the same, Padfoot." Remus whispered. "Because I'll stay here with you. You don't have to be alone, not anymore."

Sirius lifted his head, turning it so he gazed into Remus' sympathetic eyes, he smiled weakly and kissed him slowly. When he pulled away with a soft moan he smiled. "Let's tell the others it's safe." He whispered.

The Order set up within the dark walls of Grimmauld place, Sirius wasn't expecting to end up living with the Weasley's who moved in saying that it would be better for them to be closer to the centre of activity as they lived so far away. Remus stayed with Sirius, watching helplessly as his lover moved through the house like a ghost, sometimes gazing at areas of carpet, sometimes locking himself in his room and refusing to come out. The darkness surrounded them, dulling the laughter and making voices seem distant as they waited for some sign of what was happening outside.

Sirius sat in his mother's drawing room, in a corner as he read the Prophet, Remus found him and watched silently from the door way as he saw Sirius scoff and throw the paper across the room and into the crackling fire. "Fucking useless fools!" He hissed. "They don't know what they're doing!"

Remus moved in, kneeling before his lover and taking his hands gently. "They'll find out the truth eventually, I'm sure of it. In the meantime let's try and concentrate on keeping Harry safe."

They set up a watch, people to keep an eye on Harry while he was with his Aunt and Uncle, each of them taking it in turns to make sure the boy stayed safe and out of trouble, the meetings were fraught with tension, voices were strained as Dumbledore revealed to them the truth behind Voldemorts obsession with Harry...

Sirius gazed at Dumbledore, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"The reason that Voldemort insists on trying to kill Harry Potter is not simply due to vengeance..." Dumbledore said gravely, his eyes filled with sadness as he looked across the table at Sirius and Remus. "Fifteen years ago, or thereabouts, a prophecy was made. This prophecy foretold of a boy to be born at the end of July, a boy fated to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all, releasing Wizarding kind from his evil...this prophecy is what made Voldemort hunt down Lily and James Potter, this prophecy is the reason Voldemort attacked and murdered Harry's parents."

Sirius felt his chest constrict, his silver eyes were wide. "No!" he gasped. "W-Why? Why didn't you tell us this?" he stood, his chair flying out behind him, Remus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sirius...calm down, Please..." He began but Sirius cut him off with a look.

"Dumbledore...why didn't you tell us?" He said, gazing at the Headmaster as if this was the first time he was really seeing him. He licked his lips slowly as realisation dawned on him, he hung his head. "Did...did James know? Does Harry know?" He asked in a croaky whisper.

"I did not tell James or Lily the real reason Voldemort was after them...they did not learn the whole truth. I am...sorry."

"Sorry?" Sirius' head jerked up and he was shaking with fury. "You kept such vital information from them? What if it...what if it had saved their lives? What if..."

"Nothing could have prevented their death's Sirius, the information would have merely made them worry even more. It was...unnecessary..."

"Unnecessary?" Sirius repeated, eyes glittering. "If I had known! If I had...If I had been more aware...I wouldn't have told them to use Peter!" he was shaking so violently the table rattled beneath his fingers and he was having trouble breathing. "I could have been secret keeper..." he lifted one hand and covered his face, guilt and fury making speech impossible. He felt Remus' hands on his back as he was pushed gently into a chair.

"We cannot change the past, Sirius." Dumbledore said softly, guilt obvious in his voice. "But we are able to prevent future disaster...now then, Voldemort is going to try to take this prophecy from where it is kept in the bowels of the Ministry. Am I correct in assuming he is taking steps to procure it for himself, Severus?"

Snape, who had been frowning at the table looked up and nodded. "He has been speaking of it, I do not doubt that he will be making his move shortly. The fact that the Ministry are so determined to keep his rise a secret has him confident that his plans will succeed."

Sirius swore softly, glaring at Snape. "How do we know that your information is correct, Snivellus? What proof do we have that you haven't been kissing Voldemort's arse since you were welcomed back into the fold?"

Before Snape could retort Albus interrupted. "I trust Severus." Dumbledore said simply. "Now, moving on...about Harry's protection...I would like each of you to take it in turns to watch him, make sure nothing happens to him. Mundungus, you will borrow one of Alastor's cloaks and take first watch."

Mundungus sighed and nodded. Sirius sat back, listening as people were given their jobs, and as they all stood he hung his head dejectedly. He heard Snape's hissing whisper as he left. "Have fun sitting here alone, Puppy." He left in a swirl of cloak and it was only Remus' tight grip on Sirius' arm that prevented him from hexing Snape.

When news came that Harry had been attacked Remus was woken from an afternoon nap by a loud scream and a crash. He bolted out of Sirius' bed and ran down stairs, drawing his wand hastily. He entered the drawing room and saw Sirius, holding Mundungus against the wall by his throat, his face twisted in fury. "You fucking useless waste of space!" Sirius hissed, his voice dripping with venom. "You were given a task! A task to watch Harry...and you go and ditch him! How dare you!" Sirius raised his fist, punching Fletcher in the face so he squealed.

"I-I din' mean to! 'e looked alrigh' so-so I left 'im!"

Sirius laughed humourlessly and bent low, face inches from Mundungus'. "I don't want to hear your fucking excuses!" he dragged him up, throwing him back into the wall, he reached for his wand, pointing it directly between the ginger mans droopy eyes so they crossed before he squeezed them shut with a pathetic moan. "You could have got him killed!" Sirius screamed, but before he could curse the pathetic git he was thrown backwards and found himself sitting in a chair, he blinked in confusion and saw Remus standing in the door way but stood behind him was Dumbledore...and he was furious.

The Weasley's and Hermione stood nervously by the door way as Dumbledore advanced on the man who squeaked in such a way it made Sirius think of Peter and when he thought of Peter fury rose with it. He shook as he dug his fingers into the chair he was sat in, unable to move due to some force that held him there. "Sirius, allow me to deal with him...we cannot have fighting in amongst our ranks. Remus, please take Sirius somewhere to calm down before he hurts someone."

Remus nodded moving quickly into the room and grabbing Sirius by the scruff of his robes and pulling him away. They went to the kitchen where Sirius was deposited into a chair and Remus sat opposite him, his eyes scanning Sirius' face as if he was a bomb yet to explode. "What were you thinking?" He asked slowly, carefully trying not to reignite Sirius' anger.

"That scumbag!" Sirius hissed, fists clenching on the table top. "He was supposed to be watching Harry! He was supposed..." he buried his face in his hands. "What if he hadn't had his wand on him? What if..." He shuddered, unable to comprehend the full scale of the potential disaster.

"He's fine though, Sirius." Remus said consolingly.

Sirius took a breath, closing his eyes before suddenly standing. He swept from the room, Remus on his heels, he ignored his protests as he ran up the stairs, slamming open his bedroom door and making the sign swing. He went to his old desk and rummaged around, withdrawing some parchment, a quill and ink. As fast as he could he scribbled a note and went to the Owl that sat snoozing in a cage, he coaxed it awake and tied the letter to its leg opening the window and letting it soar into the night. There was a knock on the door and they turned to see Arthur standing there watching the owl leave. "Ah, I see you sent one as well." He said calmly with a small smile.

Dumbledore appeared behind them, he still looked slightly angry. "Sirius, I will return soon, I must go to the ministry, Arthur tells me they have expelled Harry from school..."

Sirius' eyes widened. "They what? They can't do that! He was protecting himself!"

"Do not fear, I shall do what I can to right this situation. Have patience and stay here." He gazed sternly at Sirius who clenched his teeth, hands tight at his sides as he nodded stiffly.

Sirius was sat listlessly in his mothers room, throwing dead ferrets at Buckbeak and watching him devour them with wicked snaps of his beak when a soft tapping noise on his window made him sit up and look out to see Hedwig staring at him with amber eyes. He sighed and opened the window allowing the beautiful bird to hop onto his arm ruffling her feathers. He saw three scrolls attached to her leg and undid them, absently he stroked her head while she hooted softly as he read the letter;

**I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.

With a heavy sigh he shook his head. "I'm sorry Harry..." he muttered as Hedwig hooted more sharply at him. When he lifted his hand she nipped his finger, he winced. "Ow! What the hell?" He muttered, gazing at the angry owl. She screeched, flapping her wings and bashing him over the head as he sucked at his bleeding fingers. "Stupid bird..." He watched her take off and fly around the room once before landing on the desk, he watched her kick the ink well and hoot again. "I can't! You don't understand...Dumbledore's orders, Hedwig."

She seemed to glare at him before huffing and taking flight again, snatching the other two scrolls out of his hand and flying out the door into the corridor. A while later he heard Ronald swearing loudly and Hermione whispering something.

Finally they found out what exactly was happening when Dumbledore returned, he was frowning as he swept into the kitchen to see Sirius leaning back in a chair, eyes on the ceiling and a bottle of Firewhisky on the table, his long hair fell into his eyes and he acknowledged Dumbledore's presence by taking a deep swig straight from the bottle and letting the chair slam forward onto the floor. Remus entered the kitchen and sighed when he saw Sirius drinking, he walked over taking the bottle from his fingers. "I think you've had enough." He said and put it back in the cupboard.

"Awww...Moony, I was drinkin' that...spoil sport." He mumbled, folding his arms petulantly across his chest.

"Boredom is hardly an excuse to drink, especially when we've been so busy cleaning up this place." Mrs. Weasley said sternly as she entered, followed by Ron, the twins and Hermione. "You should help us instead of sulking in your mothers room with Buckbeak."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yes mother." He hissed softly.

"If you didn't act like a child I wouldn't treat you like one, Mr. Black."

Remus smirked, unable to hold back the small chuckle. Sirius shot him a glare. "Shut up." He snapped. "And stop smirking like a prat."

Remus shook his head, remaining silent as Sirius brooded like a stroppy teenager. "Now then," Dumbledore said as everyone gathered. "The Ministry have agreed to hold off full Expulsion until a hearing which will take place on the twelfth of August, before which time we will be removing Harry from Privet Drive and bringing him here." Sirius looked up, his eyes sparkling. "He will remain here for the rest of the summer."

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, sounding somewhat relieved. Hermione bit her lip, she looked worried.

"So, how will we be removing him from Privet Drive without alerting everyone?" Remus asked.

"Now that, is up to Alastor."

Everyone turned to the grizzled old Auror as he stumped into the kitchen followed by several other people, a small woman with shockingly violet hair and a smile, a tall dark skinned man and a few others. Sirius felt his eyes narrow at the young woman, then recognition flooded him and he stood up, swaying slightly. "Nymphadora!" he gasped, the girl looked at him. "Merlin! Wow...you've grown so much!"

She smiled. "Wotcher Sirius." She said as Sirius ran around the table, pulling her into an embrace.

"You look like your father!" He gasped, releasing her and looking like his grin would split his face in two. "Except...I think I can see those good old Black genes in there."

She pulled a face. "Not a compliment if you ask me, oh and I hate being called Nymphodora! My mum has seriously bad taste in names...It's Tonks."

Sirius laughed. "Ah, how is she? Dromeda?"

"She's fine...she was glad when I told her you were innocent, said she'd like to hear from you."

"Haven't heard from her in so long..." Sirius muttered, swaying drunkenly on his feet.

"As touching as this moment is, we should be arranging how to get Harry to safety as soon as possible!" Moody snapped irritably.

They formed a plan to remove Harry after much debate and when they came to decide who was going Remus nominated himself, as he was sure Harry would welcome a familiar face...at least a familiar face who had not tried to kill him. "I want to go!" Sirius asked, his eyes on Dumbledore. "Please!"

"No, Sirius." Dumbledore replied calmly. "This is going to be far to dangerous as it is, if you were spotted..."

"I-I'd go in disguise! No one would know...please, Dumbledore! I'm going insane locked up here!"

"No means no." Dumbledore said softly, ending the argument by turning to Moody. "When will you leave?"

Sirius ignored the rest of the discussion as he slumped in his seat, gazing at his hands. He felt Remus touch him lightly on the shoulder. "It's alright, we'll be bringing him back here." Sirius said nothing.

**Words taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
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