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10 Steps to Remus	By : SylverIce2 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Remus/Sirius Views: 3008 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
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It was at Halloween that Bellatrix LeStrange escaped Azkaban. Dumbledore fought with the Ministry, but
eventually had to give in and allow Dementors to be posted at various locations
on the grounds.

�This is very grave indeed.� Dumbledore stared out at the sea of
students, debating how much to say.
�Please, keep close to the school.
Not only because of Bellatrix LeStrange, but because the Dementors are a
danger themselves. Dementors suck the
joy from people.�

Minerva McGonagell frowned. �Never before have those things been
allowed on Hogwarts land. I don�t like
this at all.�

�Neither do I, Professor. But we�ll manage somehow.� Remus smiled distractedly as Padfoot whined
softly and nosed his ankle.

The strange attacks began at the
same time as Harry�s dreams. While
Sirius hunted the grounds, Remus put the finishing touches on their addition to
the map.

As soon as the spell settled into
the map, the alarm was going off. The name
flashing on the map was the last one that Remus suspected. He stuck the map in his back pocket as he
pulled his two-way mirror out of his desk and took off running towards the
Whomping Willow.

�Sirius � meet me at the
Willow!� The werewolf drank his potion
down as he rounded the final corner into the Main Hall. The moon hadn�t risen yet, but he knew he
wouldn�t have enough time.

As the two men met up, Remus
gestured with the mirror. �Peter�s got
the kids in the shack.�

�Peter Pettigrew? But how?�
Sirius waved his hand, transformed, and hurried to press the knot that
stopped the thrashing. As they raced
through the tunnel, Remus explained.

�We never thought to look for his
animal form. He�s been hiding at the
Weasley�s as Ron�s pet rat.�

�The perfect cover. Why would we look in Harry�s dorm?�

They reached the Shack and paused,
counting silently and then bursting through the door as a well-organized
team. Carefully, they moved through the
house to the final room. They could
hear voices inside, and Sirius kicked the door down.

The three teens were alone, Hermione
and Ron shouting at one another as they held their pets apart. At the crash of the door banging the wall,
all movement froze.

Remus dove at Ron, snarling with
anger. The boy yelped, dropping the
rat, and the werewolf snatched it out of the air.

�What are you doing? Professor Lupin?� Hermione was shocked by the rage burning in the man�s amber eyes.

�Peter Pettigrew. So nice of you to join us.� Remus pointed his wand at the struggling
rat, intoning the spell to force the AniMagus transformation.

The stocky man who appeared in front
of Lupin cowered. �Sirius, Remus, so
good to see you again.�

�Dear Wormtail. We have missed you so. And now you�re going to pay for what you did
to James and Lily.� Sirius bound him in
coils of rope, petrifying him and levitating him as Remus rounded the three
teens up and started the little procession back to the school.

�Moony��

�I know.� He passed his wand, the map, and the mirror to the other man,
dropping back to the end of the line.
Harry was grinning � he�d been keeping track of the moon since he was
old enough to understand what Remus was.

And as they crossed the field, Remus
began to transform. Howls and shrieks
filled the air as the man fell, writhing.
But the potion in his system protected them all. He didn�t tear at his own skin, and when the
worst was over, a huge silver wolf stood calmly where the teacher had fallen.

�Blimey. Professor Lupin is a werewolf?�
Ron�s eyes were nearly bugging out of his head.

�That was awesome.� Harry�s grin was even wider. He�d been begging to see since he was old
enough to understand, but it had always been too dangerous.

Sirius growled at Pettigrew. �I should let him eat you, you slimy traitor.� But the werewolf pressed against Sirius�
legs, whining softly, and pushed him forward.

The group was met in the Main Hall
by Dumbledore and a team of Aurors.
Sirius� grin was more like bared fangs.
�Headmaster, would you care to renew your acquaintance with Peter
Pettigrew? I believe that he�s been on
the Ministry�s wanted list for nearly thirteen years.�

�Charmed, I�m sure.� Dumbledore inclined his head, stroking his
long beard. �Minerva, please see to the
children.�

Professor McGonagall stepped out
from behind the Aurors and rounded them up, Harry looking back and waving
surreptitiously to Lupin.

�Mr. Black, Professor Lupin. Shall we retire to my study while Mr.
Pettigrew is removed to Azkaban?�
Dumbledore headed off, one of the Aurors following him. Everyone settled in, declining the
Headmaster�s offer of Muggle sweets.
�This is Auror Wellesly Tippington.
He�s been assigned to research how this could have happened.�

Sirius snorted, slouching in his
chair. �They bloody well ballsed it up,
and the slimy little git hid as a rat for years.�

Anger sparked in the Auror�s
eyes. �Because he was an unregistered
AniMagus. How could we guard against
that if we didn�t know?�

�Gentlemen.� The elder wizard raised one hand. �There�s no sense in getting upset. The important thing is that he�s been
captured. This finishes any
conversation about Mr. Black being a part of the conspiracy against his own
godson, yes?�

�Yes. But there�s still the matter of the werewolf you have on staff��

�Professor Lupin is a favorite of
the staff and students alike. He has
never harmed anyone.�

�Remus follows all the registration
board�s rules. We�ve stayed in country,
at the registered address, with the requisite silver bullet just in case. He�s been careful to avoid unnecessary
stress at the full moon, and I�ve kept careful watch over his transformation
times so that he couldn�t escape. And
obviously you can see how well the Wolfsbane Potion works on him.� Sirius gestured at Remus, who was sitting on
the floor at his feet, perfectly calm as he listened to the conversation.

�Remus Lupin has been a valued
member of the Order of the Phoenix for twenty years. He risked his life to bring Voldemort to justice. In that time, he has lost both of his parents,
three of his closest friends, and many fellow Order members. I have never had any cause to doubt his
loyalty.�

�That�s wonderful, but he�s a
werewolf teaching children. The parents
must make the decision. If you don�t
announce it, we will.� The Auror stood
and left.

The werewolf managed to look
dejected, slumping to the ground with one giant paw over his nose. Sirius dropped to his knees and ran
reassuring hands over the thick fur.
Dumbledore smiled. �It will be
fine. I�ll make the announcement at the
final feast.�

Harry�s face was tight with
worry. Sirius could see him sitting as
close to the Head Table as possible, the boy�s eyes never really leaving Remus
Lupin�s face. Remus, on the other hand,
looked supremely cool about the whole thing.
But Sirius had known him for twenty-four years, and there was a tension
in Professor Lupin that hid behind that soft smile.

Dumbledore took his place at the
table, calling for silence. �Before we
find out the winner of the House Cup, I would like to talk with you. This is a serious matter, and I must ask
everyone to keep an open mind.� He
paused, waiting for the crowd to settle.
�Everyone has heard about the traitor, Peter Pettigrew, being caught on
these grounds. What is not common
knowledge is that Professor Lupin was one of the two men who apprehended the
Dark wizard.� There was a wave of
applause, causing Remus� cheeks to pink.
�The other fact about Professor Lupin that is not widely known is that
he is a werewolf.� The shock rippled
through the room.

�He is perfectly safe to be around,
thanks to my Wolfsbane Potion.�
Professor Snape rose at Dumbledore�s beckoning. �The potion allows him to keep his mind. If he takes the potion, he is merely a large
wolf.�

�Professor Lupin has proven that he
will remember the potion even in the gravest of situations. His first priority is the safety of the
students here at Hogwarts.� Dumbledore
raised his hands. �Is there anyone who
objects to keeping him as our Defense Against Dark Arts Professor?�

The general hue and cry seemed to be
coming from the Slytherin table.
Finally, Harry stood up. �I
think Professor Lupin should stay. He�s
the best teacher at Hogwarts! His
lessons teach us things we truly need to know, especially since Voldemort is
trying to come back. Why should it matter if he turns into a wolf?�

�He is tops. We don�t think he should go either.� Fred and George Weasley stood, speaking in
unison. Ron, Ginny and even Percy rose
as well. Hermione, Neville, and most of
the other Gryffindors were quick to follow.

Arguments were breaking out at the
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, and, slowly, other students were standing to
show their support. Even some of the
braver Slytherin students were standing.

Lupin�s hand was tight in Padfoot�s
fur, his lungs barely filling with air as he watched three-quarters of the
student body stand in his defense.
Dumbledore was smiling. �We must
be sure that everyone knows we are united as a majority. Everyone stay standing until you sign this
petition to keep Professor Lupin. We
must make sure that your parents understand your wishes.� A flick of his wand sent the parchment
around to the Gryffindor table, where Harry signed it with a flourish, passing
the pen to Hermione.

The Slytherin table had only a few
supporters. Most of the table was
filled with grumbling; the loudest was Draco Malfoy. After a very long time, the petition reached the Professors�
table. The first teacher to sign was
Professor Snape, causing another tide of muttering from the Slytherins. The Potions Master eyed them coldly, and
made a show of turning to Lupin to talk.

When they were settled in Remus'
room after the Feast, Harry knocked on the door, slipping inside and dragging
off the Invisibility Cloak. �Can I talk
to you for a minute?�

�Of course, Harry. What's wrong?� Remus ruffled the boy's hair and handed him the cup of tea that
he'd just finished making. He'd turned
to make more as Harry sat down.

�I'm a Parselmouth.�

�My godson is a Parselmouth?� Sirius dropped to lie on the bed. Harry was sitting tensely in one of the
armchairs, fingers tight on his cup of tea.
�How? How is that possible?�

Remus calmly sat on the edge of the
bed. �You overdramatic child. It is not the end of the world.� He smiled fondly at his godson. �It�s all right, Harry. I suspected as much when the Chamber of
Secrets opened last year. You were
hearing the basilisk in the pipes.�

��Mione thinks that some of
Voldemort rubbed off on me when the spell backfired when I was a baby.�

�That would explain some of the
other things too. The dreams, the scar
hurting when he�s near. You�re
connected somehow.�

�Then we�ll have to be careful. If Harry can do this, it stands to reason
Voldemort could find Harry the same way.
The link can flow both ways.�
Two pairs of eyes widened with panic, and Remus sighed. �Drink your tea, Harry, you�ve got to get
back to bed soon. Sirius and I will
discuss this further, and see if we can�t come up with a better protection
spell.�

Remus let himself fall over
backwards once Harry left. Sirius stuck
his face in the other man�s, staring hard.
�What are we supposed to do?�

�For one, be supportive. Wailing at Fate isn�t overly helpful,
Padfoot.�

�But it�s fun!�

�Secondly, we�ll do exactly as I
said. We made the Marauder�s Map. We survived the deaths of our best friends
and the war they lost their lives to.
We�re halfway through raising a child.
We can do anything.�

�I wish James and Lily were
here.� It was the first time either had
said those words. The wounds were still
fresh enough that neither wanted to admit to missing the Potters.

�James would plow forward, attacking
things��

�While Lily would help you plot and
create some frighteningly efficient spell that I would cast as the guinea pig��

�And Peter would clean up.�

�Those were good times, right,
Moony? He wasn�t always a
traitor?� Sirius� smile faded, and he
fidgeted with the bed cover. Remus was silent,
thinking.

�I don�t think he turned till after
graduation. He was our friend. He just � lost the way.�

�He never was as strong as us.� Sirius pulled Remus into a hug, needing the
reassuring contact.

�We have to stay strong, though,
Padfoot. We can�t fail James and Lily
now.�

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

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10 Steps to Remus