Stealing Harry, 8 of 11

[sam_storyteller]

"Try him again."

Remus, chin resting on his crossed arms on the table, watched as Scabbers heartily, and with no sign of being an evil traitor, nibbled on a cob of corn.

"He's a rat, Snape," he sighed.

"If you tell anyone -- anyone -- about the Animagus transformations -- " Sirius began, but Snape held up a hand and prodded the rat with his wand. It squeaked.

"I'm not going to go squealing your dirty little secret," he said drily.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Sirius muttered rebelliously.

The three men, along with Andromeda, were crowded around the kitchen table while Nymphadora and Bill went about the business of making up enough beds for people to stay the night. Ted kept Harry occupied by making various bits of crockery crash into the wall. Sirius had given this activity his wholehearted permission and approval as nominal owner of the place, and Andromeda had finally admitted she'd always hated that pattern anyhow. Snakes, the pair of them agreed, had no place being painted onto plates, creamers, water jugs, or sippy cups (the sippy cups were proving extremely durable).

"If I could go over this again, for clarity's sake..." Andromeda said, crossing her arms as Remus began to pull bits of corn off the cob for Scabbers to eat. "Remus."

"Werewolf," Remus said, without looking up.

"Sirius?"

"Animagus," Sirius replied.

"At age fifteen?"

"Aye."

"How?"

Sirius rubbed his jaw. "Lots of trial and error."

"And Peter too?"

"Even more trial and error," Remus sighed. "And James too."

"And Lily?"

"Nah -- she thought it was sort of..." Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Well. She thought it was a bit like playing dress-up, you know."

"And none of you were suspicious of the fact that one of your closest comrades' inner animal was a rat?" Snape asked sardonically.

"I'm more concerned with the fact that when Peter vanished, nobody mentioned this," Andromeda said sternly. Sirius gave her an utterly unashamed look.

"Nobody would have believed us," Remus replied. "Sirius didn't even believe that Peter might still be alive. And it would have meant trouble for us. It seemed safer to do it this way."

"Up until he tried to slit Harry's throat," Snape put in, glancing over his shoulder. Harry cheered as a large platter smashed to smithereens.

"Listen, the point is, this isn't Peter," Remus said tiredly. "It's just a rat. I don't see any reason Bill can't take him back to Percy with my most heartfelt apologies."

"So how did he know?" Sirius asked, rubbing his eyes. His head still ached, though it was slowly improving. "They must have known we'd be there on that particular day. The only people who knew were you and I, and the Weasleys, and Dumbledore and Snape."

"We didn't talk about it -- except at the shop, but then only..." Remus paused. "Do you suppose..."

"No. No, there's no way, we'd know," Sirius said. "If Peter Pettigrew was hiding out in my bookshop, we'd know."

"If he was there when we put the wards on it they'd have -- " Remus covered his mouth with his hand. "If he was in the shop the wards wouldn't affect him, he'd be a part of them, he'd be able to hurt Harry anytime he liked."

Sirius let his head drop to the table. "He must have seen an opportunity. Helped Bellatrix escape -- a rat can go a lot of places in a prison. Do you think -- "

Remus nodded slowly. "He must have been."

"In my bloody bookshop!"

"It'd be a very Peter thing to do," Remus shivered at the idea of Peter Pettigrew, living as a rat right under their noses. And he foolishly running off to the four corners of the earth in search of him --

"How long, do you suppose?" Sirius asked softly.

"Years, if I know Peter," Remus replied. "He wouldn't have tried to do anything so long as we were stronger than him -- and where's more safe than where he can hear every word we say? There's the bakery down the road if he's hungry, and an animagus knows better than to make noise during the day when someone's about..."

"I need a long bath," Sirius growled. "And then I'm going to burn the bookshop."

Andromeda stroked the hair on the back of his head comfortingly. "We're safe here, though. This place was warded empty. Everyone in here's safe."

"We should go to Sandust, just in case -- " Remus began to rise, but Andromeda stopped him.

"The pair of you are in no condition to check anything out -- you shouldn't even have gone to the Weasleys'. Severus can do it, can't you?" she asked. Snape looked taken aback.

"I see no reason -- "

" -- no reason why not? Excellent. You're welcome to stay here once you've returned, or -- you can floo back to Hogwarts from Sandust, can't you?"

Snape was silent, but there didn't seem to be any way out of it. "I'll look in on it, on my way to Hogwarts," he said finally, and swept towards the fireplace. When he was gone, Andromeda sighed.

"Such a nice-looking man to be such a prat," she said, and Sirius grinned at her as she summoned Ted and Harry. "I think it's time for bed," she continued, giving Harry a small shove towards the stairs. "Bill! Dora!"

"Don't call me that!" came Nymphadora's reply.

"We're going to bed!" Andromeda called. Bill came down the stairs, accepting Scabbers from Andromeda and tucking the rat in his pocket.

"I'll sleep with Harry," Sirius said, but Andromeda shook her head again.

"You need to actually sleep. Bill can stay with him. Ted and I'll be next door, and Nymphadora can have the little bedroom next to that. You can have the room across the hall," she said firmly and, before Sirius could object, she'd begun to lead Harry up the stairs, followed by Ted and Bill.

"Did you ever have even the slightest upper hand against her?" Remus asked.

"Not in my life," Sirius sighed. "Good thing she likes me. Let's go then..."

They climbed the stairs slowly, calling good-nights as doors closed, until they were alone in the dim corridor.

"I think the bedroom only has one bed..." Sirius began, but Remus laid a hand on his arm, stopping him. He rubbed his face again. "I don't know if it's wise, leaving him in another room."

"Sirius."

"I know that Andromeda's nearby and Bill's there, but -- "

"Sirius -- "

"I just think..." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and met Remus' eyes. "What is it?"

Remus moved forward, forcing Sirius back against the wall with his presence, a serious look on his face, though his eyes were warm.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked slowly. "Your head, I mean, and all."

"Yeah, reckon so. Be better in the morning, if I can -- " Sirius broke off. Remus had bowed his head a little, and his breath warmed Sirius' jaw. "Are...are you all right?"

Remus' nose bumped against his cheek, and Sirius exhaled slowly.

"So...full moon..."

"Not waiting," Remus murmured, and Sirius felt the press of his body, pinning him to the wall. It was rather sudden, but not unwelcome, to feel the warmth of another person after a very long, painful, confusing day.

"Any...reason?" he asked, barely finishing before Remus kissed him.

His mouth was warm, lips smooth, and his hands, always stronger than they looked, slid down Sirius arms, fingers twining around his wrists. Sirius closed his eyes, having run out of stupid questions for the moment.

"I thought you'd died," Remus said, against his cheek, lips moving along his jaw. "I haven't..."

Another warm breath stirred the hair behind Sirius' ear.

"I haven't been very grateful for what you've done," Remus said, tugging on an earlobe with his teeth. Sirius moaned. "And I was wasting time when I knew..."

Sirius raised a hand to turn Remus' head, pulling it back so that they could kiss properly again. They pushed away from the wall and stumbled backwards, into the other side of the corridor. Remus winced and reached up to rub the back of his head when it knocked against the stone, but he laughed too.

"The door would have more give," he said. Sirius smiled, in relief as much as anything. Compared to what was happening here and now, the pain and fear was becoming something pleasantly distant...and Bill was watching over Harry...

"Bed'd be favourite, though," he answered, and then realised he'd probably said too much. Remus was going to bolt again --

Remus' smile spread slowly.

"Yeah...door has a knob on it. Might poke," he agreed, reaching to his left to open the door. Sirius, hardly believing his luck, allowed himself to be tugged inside.

The door closed behind them and Sirius absently slid the lock while Remus lined kisses down his neck, nipping and sucking. Sirius hadn't been aware people could kiss like that, and certainly hadn't expected Remus to --

Remus laughed against his skin when he met Sirius' shirt collar, and began work on the buttons on his shirt. It was all Sirius could do to find his hands, let alone do more with them than tangle in Remus' hair, head tipped back, breathing deeply against the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm.

"Don't fall down," Remus said, one arm slipping around his waist as he straightened, and Sirius realised he'd been about to overbalance.

"Bed," Sirius answered, and Remus nodded against his forehead.

"We did discuss that," he murmured. "Sure you're all right?"

"...overwhelmed..."

"Yes," Remus said critically, slipping his shirt off his shoulders as he walked Sirius towards the enormous old bed, sheets musty but freshly laid. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you."

Sirius dropped backwards onto the bed, propping himself up on his elbows, watching Remus undress with remarkable grace. When he fumbled with his belt, Sirius reached out and took his wrist, pulling him forward.

"Wasting time," he said, and Remus laughed against his neck, nuzzling the nylon dog collar Sirius wore under his shirt, the one with the name tag charm he'd given him hanging off of it.

"Put a little effort into it, Pads," he replied, and Sirius gripped his hips suddenly, pulling them tight against each other.

Remus growled, and for the first time Sirius realised it was a heartfelt reaction, that it was him, and not even the idea of someone, anyone, touching Remus -- that it was his hands making Remus plead into his mouth, it was his body Remus was pressing further onto the bed, his stomach that those long deft fingers were brushing against as they pushed his trousers down.

Remus was pleased, and it was Sirius' doing.

Sudden jealousy washed over Sirius -- jealousy of all the 'rare book dealers' who had come to see Remus in the shop over the years, of the other men who'd discovered Remus before he had. He wondered if Remus had felt this flare of loathing and regret for every woman he'd seen Sirius with.

They struggled out of the rest of their clothes, wrestling a little on the bed until Sirius ended up pinned by Remus' hips and legs, brown hair brushing his forehead, brown eyes open on his as they kissed. And then closing as his hands slipped down over Sirius' hips and thighs.

Sirius tensed, suddenly in unfamiliar territory, unsure what was expected of him, and Remus immediately froze.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice rough and low. Sirius dropped his head back, closing his eyes again. This felt so good, and so confusing, and so much a release that he wasn't sure he could form words.

"I just...I've never..." he swallowed. Remus' hand left his thigh and slid up his body, stroking his cheek lightly. "I don't quite know what to do."

Remus' voice was rich with confusion. "But you said...you and James -- "

Sirius swallowed again. He'd thought he could wing it, but this was a little more complicated -- and he didn't want to screw it up. This was Remus. This mattered.

"We never really got this far," he whispered, feeling himself turn scarlet with embarrassment.

"Sirius Black," Remus said, and the confusion had modulated to something that sounded perilously close to rage. "You utter, utter sham."

Sirius opened his eyes. It wasn't rage -- it was amusement. Remus was laughing, silently, eyes dancing.

"Faker of the first order," he gasped, dropping his forehead to Sirius' collarbone, resting it there. Sirius, relieved, tipped his chin up again.

"But you've done this before," he prompted imploringly.

"Many, many times," Remus said smugly. "I don't know how your luck's been over the years, but there is a certain segment of the population who enjoy the sight of a scruffy werewolf in a waistcoat..."

"Like me," Sirius said. Remus' breath hitched, and Sirius became suddenly aware that they were naked and that when Remus breathed in like that his whole body moved -- sharply -- against Sirius'. Remus bent, hooked a finger in the collar and used it to lift him an inch or two from the bed. He kissed him almost chastely, and then nuzzled him just under the jaw, releasing him back to the bed. Sirius felt his own breath draw in sharply when he realised Remus wasn't going to take the collar off...

"Fake," Remus murmured, kissing his way over his collarbone, down his chest. "Phony."

"I had to be -- uhm -- persuasive," Sirius answered, as Remus' teeth grazed the smooth skin of his abdomen. Remus' hands were on his thighs again, thumbs drawing small circles.

"I wonder," Remus continued, lips sliding along the edge of a hipbone, "Why you bothered, when you know..."

Lower still, and on skin sensitive to the touch.

"That sooner or later I always say yes to you," Remus finished, lifting his head for a moment.

"It's the -- " Sirius had intended to say it was the getting there that mattered, but Remus had just done something with his tongue that made Sirius incoherent, and then he gave up; Remus, after all, had his mouth already occupied. Sirius wanted to push himself up on his elbows again, watch just how Remus covered the head of his cock with his mouth, but he could only arch and moan and promise himself that next time -- a world of next times -- he'd make Remus teach him that, and the idea of doing to Remus what Remus was currently doing to him, with such thorough enjoyment that Sirius felt him moan, nearly put him over the edge. Remus heard the ragged quality of his cries and leaned back slowly. Sirius whimpered.

"It's been rather a long day," Remus remarked conversationally, although Sirius could hear the desire welling up in his voice. "Perhaps tonight isn't the night to try everything new."

"Remus, I don't know what you're on about," Sirius gasped, "but please make your point and let's go back to doing that..."

Remus' warm weight left his thighs and moved up along the length of his body, slightly to the side. He rested a hand on Sirius' stomach and, when Sirius turned his head, he smiled.

"This?" he asked softly, backs of his knuckles brushing Sirius' erection tantalisingly.

"Something like that," Sirius moaned. Remus continued the gentle stroke, two or three times, before wrapping his fingers around Sirius' cock and breathing into his ear.

"I thought I'd lost you," he said, as Sirius bucked and thrust, writhing against the steady rhythm of his hand. "I'm sorry -- I was an idiot to wait -- when I could have you like this -- an idiot -- "

Sirius fumbled, hands still not quite his own, finding the hard, smooth muscles of Remus' hip. He walked his fingers down the skin until Remus jerked and caught his breath.

"Please, Sirius," he said softly in his ear. The quiet, imploring tone, combined with the sudden heat of his arousal, made Sirius' fingers twitch. Which in turn made Remus tighten his grip, slightly, and stroke faster --

He tensed as he came, mouth open but silent, muscles clenching, eyes tightly shut. Remus continued to move against him, brushing his hand, and Sirius was just barely conscious enough above the distraction of his own pleasure to open his eyes and watch Remus' face as he came.

They lay, Sirius exhausted and Remus warm and heavy on top of him, until Sirius began to shiver. They parted company just long enough to mutter a cleaning charm and crawl under the heaps of blankets on the bed, and then Sirius curled close, Remus drawing up against him. He wanted skin contact, everywhere possible, and Remus seemed more than agreeable.

"Long day," Remus whispered again. "Time for sleep now?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, feeling his body fully relax for the first time in -- well, weeks, at least.

"D'you know," Remus mumbled, already drowsing, "why I always made you shelve the books at the shop?"

An odd question to ask, but then it had been a very strange day.

"No, whyzat?" Sirius muttered against his shoulder.

"Hands," Remus answered. "I always thought you had the most splendid hands."

"Mmh."

Remus inched closer, until Sirius could comfortably bury his face in the soft hair at the back of his neck. "I wasn't wrong."

Sirius drifted one of the hands Remus had so admired over his waist and down across his body. "Thank you," he murmured.

"For what?" Remus asked, around a yawn.

"Trusting me."

"Mmh. You made it worth my while, I feel," Remus remarked, and Sirius smiled. "This is what I wanted. It's...what I didn't remember. From the Shack. This part."

"This part?"

"Warm. Safe. You," Remus mumbled, as his breathing slowed and deepened. "M'sorry," he muttered sleepily.

Sirius, feeling as though he'd somehow won a prize he didn't really deserve, fell asleep with Remus' skin under his lips, the smell of him in his nostrils, feel of his body against him.

***

Andromeda Tonks (though she'd never, in her mind, stopped calling herself Andromeda Black, a conceit common to the women of the Black family) was a wise and forgiving woman, if somewhat negligent in the baby-names area. She knew Sirius and Remus were friends; she had suspected something more, as indicated by two unmarried men pushing thirty who spent all their time together. She hadn't known Remus was a werewolf, but she suppressed the instinctive horror of it which most old Pureblood families instilled in their children. After all, it wasn't as if he wasn't also a nice person.

She certainly hadn't known Sirius was an Animagus, but nothing her cousin did could surprise her anymore -- really it had been that way since he was eleven and the Sorting Hat called him for Gryffindor.

Sirius answered her knock, the morning after Peter and Bellatrix's disastrous attack, half-dressed, trousers hanging loosely off his hips.

Over his shoulder and only out of the corner of her eye, she could see Remus, quite clearly naked, sprawled and tangled in the sheets of the bed.

"Sleep well?" she asked innocently. Sirius tried to put his hair into some kind of order and nodded. She kept her eyes firmly on him. "Good. There's breakfast, if you'd like. Ted's cooking."

"Thanks -- we'll be down -- " Sirius said muzzily. Behind him, Remus stirred. "Ten minutes?"

"I'll hold you to that," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

And murmured "Well done, Sirius," as she walked away.

***

"Who was that?" Remus asked, pushing himself up, blinking sleep from his eyes. Sirius shut the door.

"Andromeda. She says breakfast's up."

"Mm." Remus rubbed his eyes, and Sirius allowed himself to enjoy the sight of Remus Lupin, naked, newly-awake and entirely unselfish-conscious about it. "Good, I'm starving."

He slid out of bed and was halfway through dressing before he paused and turned.

"Sirius," he said slowly.

"Yes?" Sirius asked, pulling his shirt around his shoulders.

"Last night..."

"Don't tell me you thought that time was a dream, too."

Remus blushed deeply. "No, it was...much...better..." he stammered. "I just -- are you -- "

Sirius looked up from his buttons. Remus' face was lined with fear and concern, eyebrows vaguely knitted together. He crossed the room, holding out Remus' discarded shirt as a sort of bizarre offering. When Remus grasped it he pulled, bringing the other man off-balance up against him.

His arm went around Remus' waist, and his mouth was on Remus' before either of them could properly draw breath.

"I'm not scared if you're not," he said, and Remus laughed at the ancient in-joke between them -- that had always been what they'd said at school before starting some monstrous prank or other.

"Is it okay if I'm scared?" Remus asked quietly. "A little?"

"Yes -- yes of course -- Moony..." Sirius cupped his face with one hand. "You did it. You took what was there for you. I'm there. Here, I mean."

The reaction he was having to the proximity of their bodies could, he thought ruefully, leave very little doubt of that.

"I told Andromeda we'd be down in ten minutes," he said, "or I'd remind you."

Remus grinned wickedly then, and slipped a hand down over his stomach, and lower -- stroking him gently through his trousers. "Feels as though you'd like to anyway."

"Moony -- I can't go down to breakfast with -- " Sirius' half-whine was cut off by a gasp as Remus' fingers slipped his flies open, tugging his trousers and underwear down. Mouth followed fingers a moment later and Sirius moaned, softly, as Remus used his tongue again -- really, one day, must learn that --

He was still barely awake and susceptible to all sorts of things; Remus kneeling in front of him and the idea of Remus kneeling in front of him, the warmth of his mouth and the slight graze of teeth all seemed to hit him at once in a wave. His hips thrust, body moving independent of thought, and he doubted they'd even taken five of their ten-minute alottment before he sucked in a tight breath and tried to push Remus away. Remus gripped his hips tighter, pulled him closer, and Sirius came, legs nearly giving out.

Remus smiled and licked his lips, and then Sirius' legs did give out and he stumbled backwards against the bed.

"We now have..." Remus glanced at the clock, "three minutes to make ourselves presentable."

"But you -- " Sirius stammered. "I mean I could..."

Remus grinned as he pulled his shirt on.

"Some of us have a little more self-control," he said loftily. Sirius stared.

"I'll take that out of your hide, later," he growled.

"I look forward to it."

They dressed, more or less neatly considering their clothes had already seen a birthday party and an attempt on their life, and descended the stairs in a clatter. Harry met them halfway, cannoning into Sirius.

"Morning!" he cried. "Come have sausages and waffles!"

"Sausages and waffles, how can I say no?" Sirius asked, allowing the boy to lead him into the kitchen. Remus followed, a hand placed gently on the small of his back until they parted to sit. A nearly-empty plate showed Bill must have gone home with Scabbers already, and Ted and Nymphadora were helping themselves to the dish of sausages, passing the syrup and jam.

It was the most bizarre breakfast Sirius had eaten in some time. To be sitting in the home he'd spent his mostly wretched childhood in, listening to his godson prattle on about Bill and having just survived a spirited attempt on his life -- all this was strange enough.

But then he would find his attention had drifted to where Remus was very carefully licking a bit of jam off his fingertip, with a tongue that, half an hour before, had been --

Sirius had to pause at this point and take several deep, calming breaths.

Remus smiled wickedly at him over his plate.

"Have you thought what we ought to do next?" Andromeda was asking, and Sirius turned to face her.

"Next?" he asked, and then remembered that someone had tried to kill them the day before.

"Clearly you're going to have to tell the Ministry about Peter's abilities," she said, cutting up her sausage. "Arthur Weasley's already given the Aurors a report about the attack. Severus Snape sent an owl to say he looked in on the shop but didn't find anything, and Albus Dumbledore's in a state." She whistled low. "I don't think you're in the running for Head Boy right now, Sirius."

"Never wanted to be," Sirius replied evenly.

"Yes, well, Remus is about to lose his prefecture," she added. Remus cocked a half-smile at her.

"You know, they act as if we do this sort of thing on purpose," Sirius said to Remus. "I don't enjoy fleeing for my life."

"Did enough of it at school," Remus answered.

"Yes, but the point is, I didn't arrange it. It's not our fault my psychopathic cousin and ex-best friend want my godson dead."

"Sirius," Andromeda warned, and cut her eyes to Harry, who was putting syrup on his latest helping of waffles.

"If we can't keep him safe..." Remus left the thought hanging in the air until Andromeda put her hands, palm down, on the table.

"We'll find a way," she said. "If I have to find her myself. Harry belongs with you. And besides," she said, more thoughtfully, "She's wrecking our good name."

Sirius had a moment of deja vu -- Andromeda was a good woman and had never shown an ounce of the old Black priggishness or bigotry, but she was still a Black to the very core, and the Black name still meant a lot to her. He met her eyes and nodded. It was his name. It meant something to him, too.

"So we'll have to tell the Ministry -- can we pass it through an Auror? Moody'd be able to handle them. Do we..." he paused. "Do we have to tell them about me? Or Remus?"

Andromeda glanced at Remus, who was studiously helping himself to some sausages. "I don't see why," she said finally. "Though you ought to register, Sirius, if only to avoid trouble later."

Sirius grunted noncommittally.

"Snape had an...an interesting suggestion," Ted said hesitantly from the end of the table. "He thinks Peter might go back to the bookshop."

Sirius chewed thoughtfully. "You know, he's just dumb enough he might."

"Surely not," Andromeda said. "Peter wasn't very good at magic, but he had a deviant little brain."

"Not a very original thinker, though," Remus put in. "I mean. Once he found something that worked he stuck with it. He wouldn't have gone after us for no reason -- life was more comfortable with us in it. He wouldn't leave somewhere safe unless he had to."

"We could set a trap," Nymphadora suggested, then flushed scarlet when all eyes turned towards her.

"Auror training, did you say?" Sirius asked Andromeda, who grinned and nodded. "Bout time she met an Auror proper then, isn't it?"

***

Alastor Moody hung up his Muggle bowler hat on a hook inside the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place and growled a greeting at Sirius as he stumped inside.

"Dumb luck," he said. "Pure dumb luck."

"Seems to run in the family," Sirius replied, knowing that Moody's grim and threatening tone was an act. Remus was still somewhat in awe of the older man, but then Remus liked to circumvent authority by other means than confrontation. One or two good shouting matches over the years had brought Sirius and Moody to an equable if somewhat tense understanding.

"Not a single ward on the Weasley place. Big high hedges for hiding in. Are ye daft, man?" Moody continued.

"No, sir," Sirius said. "Just wanted to let Harry have a real birthday for once."

"Constant vigilance!" Moody boomed, following Sirius into the kitchen. He thumped his way to the middle of the floor and took in the breakfast table where Ted, Remus, and Andromeda were sitting. Nymphadora stood nervously behind her mother, and Harry behind Remus. Moody let the sack he was carrying fall to the ground.

"Lupin!" he barked. Remus nodded. "You saw her first."

"Smelled her," Remus answered. "Bill Weasley saw her, though, I think."

"Smelled her?"

"She hadn't washed," Remus said. "She smelled like rot."

"Where's the Weasley boy?"

"Gone home," Sirius said.

Mad-Eye seemed resigned to this. "Speak with him later."

He kicked the sack he'd dropped towards Remus, who bent and lifted it, untying the knot holding it closed.

"Brought the lad's broom. What's left of it," Moody added. Remus took out a handful of slivers, each about as long as his hand, and glanced over his shoulder at Harry, who bit his lip.

"My racing broom..." the boy said, voice shaking a little.

"We'll get you another one," Remus answered. "We should be grateful. This could have been your leg," he added, holding up a smashed piece of wood.

"Never mind that now. Black's got a plan," Mad-Eye prompted, turning to Sirius, who was staring at the piece of wood with a hard, cold look on his face.

"I'll kill them both," he said. "With my bare hands."

"Better to toss 'em in Azkaban. Really make 'em suffer," Moody put in.

"The plan is Nymphadora's idea," Sirius said, pulling himself back to the present. The girl opened her mouth to protest the name, but Sirius continued. "Snape -- "

"Right," Moody barked. "That one. Taking the lad places he oughtn't be going, Dumbledore said something about it. Go on then."

"Peter must have been hiding out at the bookshop. Snape thinks he might go back there, especially if he doesn't know we've guessed he's holed up there. We thought we ought to try trapping him."

Moody scratched his chin with a sound like sandpaper on wood.

"There are spells to expel an animagus from animal form..." Nymphadora said hesitantly.

"Aye," Mad-Eye agreed, regarding her. "You'd be the trainee, then."

"Yes, sir."

"Scared of me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Ought to be," Moody grunted. "Right then. Takes care of half the problem. Can't find the fugitive without the rat, though. Any ideas on that front, trainee?" he asked.

Nymphadora bit her lip. "Veritaserum on him when we catch him, though that's dangerous. Or...we could...use him to catch her...he's hiding her somewhere. Probably warded," she said, gaining speed. "And if we want to catch her we've got to lure her out, so -- get her to come to the bookshop -- "

She faltered under Moody's unblinking gaze, and fell silent.

"I think it's a good idea," Harry piped up fearlessly. Moody glanced at him.

"Not bad," he agreed, and Nymphadora swelled with pride. "Black, you're the chess player. Your own home, your own child, so we're at your disposal."

Sirius sat and let his fingers drift over an empty teacup, considering matters. Remus coughed quietly, and Sirius glanced at him. Remus tilted an eyebrow and stroked the scar on his jaw.

Message sent and received. Indestructible Lupin is also at your service.

Damned if he'd send Remus into danger alone. Not now. Not when he was so close to everything he needed for happiness, with only Peter Bloody Pettigrew and his own cousin Bellatrix standing in the way.

Besides, Remus didn't have it in him to kill two people.

At least, Sirius didn't think he did.

"We need to make them think they're safe at the bookshop," he said slowly. "Bellatrix needs a reason to come after us there."

"I think they already took what they needed from us," Remus said, touching Harry's hand where it rested on his shoulder. "Though I don't know why."

"We should...find out," Sirius answered. "And...we should -- we need to know what they're thinking, what they're planning."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Andromeda put in. Sirius glanced at her. She looked down. "She's family," she said. "We remember."

Sirius bowed his head too. He couldn't deny it, much as he wanted to. And Peter had been one of their inner circle; no matter what he was now, ten years ago only James and Remus had been closer to Sirius than Peter.

Moody was watching him with a look that was almost smug. He and Dumbledore had warned them of the dangers of taking Harry from the Dursleys.

"Right then," Sirius said finally. "Harry stays here. Andromeda -- "

"We'll stay also. We can clean," Andromeda said brightly. Nymphadora let out a tiny groan.

"Remus, can you find out why he'd want that blood?" Sirius asked. Remus drew his eyebrows together.

"I'll need a few books from the flat. And..." he paused. "It would help if I had...well -- "

Moody cleared his throat. "Saw Dumbledore before I came here. Said we might put Snape to work. Man's climbing the walls for lack of employ."

"He could mind his business, if he wanted a job," Sirius grumbled.

"Snape would be a help," Remus said. "He has access to Hogwarts' library, and he knows Dark Arts."

"So d'you," Sirius replied.

"Not the way he does," Remus murmured.

"Merlin forbid you ever should," Moody snapped. "Blood magic and kin-protection charms! Damn mess, the lot of it."

"Can I see Professor Snape?" Harry asked, and most of the adults looked at him. "I'm good at books. I could help."

Sirius covered his face with one hand, rubbing his jaw in thought.

"Why don't we go and look at the library," Remus suggested. He gave Sirius a warning look as he left, leading Harry. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, children."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nymphadora demanded, as the kitchen doors swung shut.

"He's worried we're going to hatch a half-witted plan," Sirius answered absently.

"Well, you have done in the past," Andromeda pointed out. "Really, Sirius, stealing the boy from his family without even making any preparations beforehand -- "

"How many times do I have to say this? They were locking -- " Sirius began to snarl about what the Dursleys had done to his godson, then caught himself, glancing at the door Harry had just passed through. "I'd rather take my chances with Peter than with the Dursleys," he muttered.

"And I'm sure Harry feels the same," Ted said smoothly. "That's not the problem right now. The problem right now is that Bellatrix Lestrange is loose, and Peter Pettigrew too, and they clearly have a plan. We might consider telling the Ministry there's a dead man on the loose. They've got a lot more firepower than an Auror and a couple of shopkeepers," he added ruefully.

"I'll talk to the Aurors," Moody grumbled. "Ought to know there's been a sighting of Lestrange, and that Pettigrew's still alive, fingers or no." He pointed at Sirius. "You give Lupin and Snape today and tomorrow to find out what the wicked pair're after. If we don't know by then, we'll bloody start putting out mousetraps."

Sirius nodded. "In that case, I ought to help with the research also," he said, almost as a question.

"I'll go back to your flat with you," Ted said. "Looks like your wards may or may not work -- you can fetch clothes, and anything you're worried Pettigrew might get his hands on."

"Take the lass," Moody grunted. Nymphadora blinked. "Nothin' like field work. I'll fetch Snape, explain everything. How're the Weasleys holding up?"

"Fine, so far as I know," Ted answered. "You might check in on your way to get Snape."

Moody nodded curtly and floo'd out to the Burrow without another word, leaving the Tonks family and Sirius in the kitchen.

"Well," Andromeda said after a brief moment. "That'll clearly take some time, he'll have to argue a bit with Severus. I'm going to go home and get some cleaning supplies."

"You don't have to do that," Sirius protested weakly.

"I might as well, if you're going to be here a while. And anyway if you're serious about selling it to us, I'd have to do it then." Andromeda gave him a falsely bright smile. "Besides, it'll keep my mind off of things. Don't wait for me; I won't be gone long, but you might as well get a jump on the day."

She tossed a pinch of powder into the fireplace, stepped inside, and vanished. Ted glanced at his daughter, who was watching Sirius.

"I'd better go tell Remus we'll be gone," Sirius said. "I'm not sure we ought to leave just the two of them alone in the house."

"Moody and Snape'll be back soon, I'm sure they'll be fine," Ted said reassuringly. "We'll wait here."

"Ought to lock them in the library," Sirius grumbled as he climbed the stairs. Behind him, he heard Ted chuckle and ask Nymphadora something indecipherable. He caught the words "Moody" and "dangerous job", and grinned a little.

He let himself into the library quietly; his father had charmed the bookshelves to spit books at anyone who talked above a certain level, and he'd been a very bruised young child when he'd finally taken an interest in reading but hadn't figured out the charm. It had, on the up-side, taught him to be nimble since he was forever dodging large leatherbound books until Bellatrix had taken pity on him, despite her belief that he was insane for wanting to read for pleasure, and told him about the charm.

Bellatrix had once been beautiful and nice to her young cousin, and everything Sirius wanted to be.

He shut his eyes, standing in the entranceway of the library. He'd genuinely liked Bellatrix, as a child.

Then they'd grown up, and it had all gone to hell the day Sirius walked out of this awful old house, if it hadn't already gone to hell when Bellatrix married Lestrange and joined Voldemort.

And she's the one, he reminded himself, who's responsible for that bandage on Harry's shoulder.

The thought gave him strength of a horrible sort, and he opened his eyes, taking in the long, dusty shafts of sunlight thrown across the floor by the library windows. If he listened hard, he could hear Harry's high child's voice asking a question, and Remus' deeper reply. He followed the sound silently until he could make out the words.

***

" -- actually read all these books?"

"I don't know, Harry. Some people buy books just to own books."

"Why?"

"Because they like having books around, perhaps. Or they think it makes them look clever, I suppose."

"I don't think some of these books would make anyone look very smart at all. This one's too big."

"Put it on the table, there, I need that one."

"I guess just about everything in the world is in these books somewhere, huh?"

"Everything we know about it, anyway. You know, all these books belong to Sirius. He inherited them after his mum died."

"Sirius had a mum?"

"Course Sirius had a mum. So have I. Well -- his mum and mine are both dead, like yours. And Sirius' dad, too. Which is why all these books belong to Sirius."

"Sirius hasn't any parents either?"

"No, Harry."

"Like me?"

"Sort of. His parents weren't as nice as yours."

"Sirius could open another bookshop with all these books."

"That he could, but I don't think he will. Some of them are...not very nice books."

"Like the ones you keep on the top shelf?"

"In a way. If I lift you up, can you take that one for me? Grand, Harry, thanks."

"Are there fun books in here? Like storybooks?"

"I doubt it. Maybe. Sirius told me he used to spend a lot of time in here, reading. Which explains a lot, really."

"What's he gonna do with all these books, then?"

"I don't know. Sell them to Andromeda, maybe."

"I like her. When I grow up I'm going to marry Nymphadora."

"Have you told Nymphadora that yet?"

"She said she wouldn't have me till I was eighteen, and I'd have to fight Bill, but that's all right, as he's wretched at duelling she says. I'd definitely marry her if her mum has all these books."

"Well, Sirius might give them to you instead, you know."

"I'd rather have Sandust's books."

"Me too, Harry."

"Sirius hasn't any parents? Really?"

"Really."

"He must get lonely."

***

Sirius rapped on the edge of the bookshelf, and Remus looked up from the book he was reading, startled. "Making trouble, Harry?" Sirius asked. Harry, who'd been happily building a tower out of Caspan's Magical Grimoire Index, volumes E through X, smiled brightly at him.

"Harry's been helping me get books off the high shelves, haven't you lad," Remus said, setting a red, cloth-bound book on a table he'd apparently charmed to follow him around. It was floating an inch off the floor, already groaning under the weight of dozens of various-sized volumes. Harry nodded solemnly.

"Finally earning your keep, eh?" Sirius asked, leaning against one of the shelves. "Harry, there's a window-seat the next shelf over, if you lift it up there should be a box of comic books in a hole under the cushion."

Remus lifted an eyebrow as Harry crossed the central aisle. Sirius gave him a grin and a shrug. "Had to stash them somewhere, and the house elves were always poking around my room."

They heard Harry laugh delightedly, and Sirius leaned over just enough to see the boy settling onto the cushion with a Wizarding comic in his hands.

"What's the decision?" Remus asked softly.

"We have until tomorrow evening to figure out what they want. After that Moody's going to call the Aurors in, I think. I'm going back to the flat to pick up some clothes, and Frog -- is there anything you need?"

"My shaving kit, and a few books -- I'll give you a list," Remus said, taking a scrap of parchment out of his pocket and scrawling on it with a quill from the table.

"Andromeda's gone to get some cleaning supplies -- she's determined to dust from cellar to attic," Sirius added. "Ted and Nymphadora are going to come along with me."

Remus was nodding as he wrote. Sirius grasped the end of the quill between two fingers. Remus looked up.

"You'll be all right? Here alone with Harry?" Sirius asked.

"We're safe here. From the outside," Remus added, dusting off a book. "Nothing in here I can't handle."

Sirius let go of the quill and Remus dotted a final i, handing it to him. Sirius' index finger brushed his thumb, and they both smiled.

"Listen...I don't, you know. Get lonely," Sirius said. "I hated my parents."

"You heard us talking."

"Some of it. I'm not lonely," Sirius repeated.

"Well, I'm glad."

"I'd better to say bye to Harry. I won't be long."

He felt Remus' eyes on him as he bent to kiss the top of Harry's head; as Harry lifted his face to Sirius, stiffly because of the bandage, and smiled encouragingly. He felt Remus still watching him as he turned to leave, letting himself out as quietly as he'd arrived. It made his skin tingle in unfamiliar, not entirely unpleasant ways.

***

Andromeda was noisily cleaning the kitchen when Sirius and the rest of the Tonks family returned; Moody was sipping tea in a corner, and indicated with a mutter and a wave of a hand that Snape was already in the library. Sirius barely paused to set down two hastily-packed satchels of clothing in their bedroom, snatch Frog, and grab the pile of books Remus had requested, before he pushed his way into the library.

The table Remus had charmed to follow him was now resting firmly on the ground in the central atrium of the library; Remus was hunched over it, sunlight turning the book-pages -- and his hair -- bright gold. Snape was standing to one side, leafing through another volume, and Harry was sitting cross-legged on the table itself, still reading comics. He looked up and grinned when Sirius entered. Snape looked up also, and scowled.

Sirius set the books at Remus' elbow, deliberately brushing his arm with his hand, and passed Frog over to Harry.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said, tucking Frog next to his hip. "Gonna read with us?"

Sirius reached into his pocket and took out the rest of his cargo for Harry -- the blue snake that Snape had given him as a birthday present. He saw Snape's eyes follow his hand as the small reptile curled close to Sirius' fingers before sliding across them and around Harry's wrist. Harry, delighted, held up his hand to Snape, who gave him a brief nod before returning to his reading.

"Ted and Nymphadora are going to help Andromeda -- they thought they'd get in the way here. Where've we got to, then?" Sirius asked, seating himself next to Remus and picking up a book off the pile. Remus rested his cheek on his hand, a gesture left over from their Hogwarts days.

"I'm on blood rituals, and Severus is looking at hexes aimed primarily at children. Though I do think if he'd wanted Harry dead he could have been more direct about it than he was. Wouldn't have taken all that much effort to roll you off him," Remus said quietly. Snape flicked the fingers of his left hand dismissively before turning another page. "Most blood rituals require willingly-given sacrifices on the part of the wizard performing the spell -- like the nomos spell I cast on the flat. Things that require innocent sacrifice..." he glanced at Harry, who had hung the docile snake around his neck; he leaned closer to Sirius, lowering his voice further. "This is deep, dark magic, Sirius. We're talking necromancy, demon-raising, torment curses...the sort of thing Bellatrix would practice, I suppose -- I always pegged Peter as more of a yes-man who found the wrong person to say yes to." He took the book out of Sirius' hands, replacing it with another. "Have a look at some of the necromancy stuff. Possibly Peter's trying to resurrect...someone. I don't know that he's bright enough, but..."

"Lupin." Snape's voice was quiet but crisp, as he held out the book he'd been reading, so that Remus could examine the text. "Quite possibly it's not actually for a spell at all. There's a compendium of potions by base ingredient, I believe; I'll retrieve it from Hogwarts tonight. Have you a copy of Libris Sanguinorum?" he asked Sirius, who looked surprised at the directness of the question.

"The one with the bloody hand on the cover?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, the third edition."

"I think so. Fascinated me as a kid," Sirius said, not quite able to believe he was being civil to his archnemesis. "Try the third aisle down, with the house-elf head on the end."

Snape swooped off, and Remus made a notation on his parchment. Harry appeared to be watching them over the edge of his comic.

"Can people talk to frogs?" he asked, when he saw Sirius watching back.

Even Remus tore his attention away from his book for that one.

"Not normally," Sirius answered cautiously. "I guess there are spells...don't see why you'd want to, really. Frogs can't have much to say."

"Snakes do," Harry answered. "Snake says he likes me better than your fuzzy old pocket."

Remus looked amused.

"He says you had coins in your pocket and they were lumpy," Harry added. Sirius reached into his pocket and brought out a handful of sickles. "Also they were cold," Harry added, as Snape returned, carrying a ghastly green book with a lurid bloody hand on the front cover.

"It was that or he starved," Sirius answered. "I don't know when we'll be able to go home again, Harry."

All three men stared as Harry hissed.

"Harry -- " Sirius began, but Harry continued to hiss and make small, strange noises in his throat, as the snake curled up over one of his ears and down near his mouth, looking for all the world as if it were trying to hear him better.

"What on earth..." Remus said, now totally distracted from research.

"He says it was still cold." Harry shrugged and returned to his comic.

"Harry, did you just talk to that snake?" Sirius demanded. Harry grinned and nodded. Remus' jaw had dropped. "Not for play, Harry. For real."

"I'm not playing," Harry replied. "Or telling tales. Ask Professor Snape, he believes me."

Sirius turned ever so slowly to Snape, who was wearing one of the most smug expressions Sirius had ever seen.

"Is he a Parselmouth?" he asked, feeling like the biggest fool in the world.

"I was," Snape said, silkily, "forbidden from telling you. Dumbledore's orders. I understand you take great delight in defying such things, but I, unfortunately, had a career to consider. I cannot, after all, be responsible for your lack of obser -- "

"YOU KNEW?" Sirius roared, and a flock of books immediately flew out of the nearby shelves in attack formation. Harry squeaked and ducked, Remus tried to fend them off, and Snape stood very still, like a Zen master witnessing an avalanche of a very literary nature. When Sirius emerged from the melee, Snape raised his index finger to his lips and made a very soft shushing noise.

The shush may have been his death knell, except that Remus instinctively blocked Sirius from getting his fingers around Snape's throat. After a second, Sirius realised that Harry was watching with great interest.

"Outside," Remus ordered. "Now. Go. Shout at Dumbledore if you have to, but if you're going to be uselessly loud, you may as well let the rest of us work in peace. And you," he added, turning to Snape, "Are going to tell us everything you know, just as soon as I get through this section on poisoned daggers."

"How can you -- " Sirius sputtered, but Remus pressed his thumb over Sirius' lips, silencing him quite effectively.

"I have a limited capacity for dealing with crises," he said, emphasising each syllable. "I cannot at once process an attempt on Harry's life, Peter living as a rat for eight years in your bookshop, two grown men who can't be arsed to be civil to one another, and Harry's Doctor Doolittle act simultaneously without a great deal more alcohol than I currently have. Either go shout somewhere else, the both of you, or stay here and actually make yourselves useful."

Both men were silent for a minute; finally, Sirius picked up a book and plonked it down on top of the first one, flipping angrily to the index. Severus, hesitating, took a careful seat well on the other side of the table. Harry leaned forward over his comic and whispered to Remus, "You're not going to turn them into turtles, are you?"

"I'm seriously considering it, Harry," Remus replied. "How long, incidentally, have you been able to talk to snakes?"

Harry shrugged. "Since I can remember. Nobody ever believed me. Am I in trouble?"

"No. But I wouldn't start hissing in public, all right?"

"It's not like anyone ever notices," Harry sulked.

"As a favour to me, Harry?"

Harry lifted a hand to delicately stroke the snake's head. "All right, Remus." He bent forward. "I'll keep your secret, too."

Remus bent forward. "What secret is that?"

Harry turned his comic around and showed Remus one of the picture pages. In it, a caged werewolf was savagely attacking the bars of its prison.

"Oh bloody hell," Remus said, with feeling, right before five or six books attacked him.

***

"Those were some very bad words," Harry said over his crisps, as he and Remus recounted the library attack for the Tonkses and Moody, minus a few key details.

"Indeed they were," Remus agreed. "I'm sure a couple of grimoires upside the head were only what I deserved."

Down the stairs floated the muted sounds of Sirius and Severus having a really mighty row. Harry seemed unconcerned by it; Remus was going to leave them to it. Moody seemed to be positively enjoying it. The general drift seemed to be that Severus ought to have told Sirius his own godson was a Parselmouth, and Sirius ought to have noticed it himself if he was so bloody great at being a godfather in the first place. Remus had quietly confiscated both their wands just before announcing they ought to stop for dinner.

"We should look into getting rid of that particular charm," Ted said around a mouthful of sandwich. Nymphadora had made the sandwiches, and none of them wanted to see what the kitchen looked like after half an hour of crashing and clattering, but he had to admit they weren't bad-tasting.

"You say you wanted to put in a shop on the ground floor, Andromeda?" Remus asked.

Andromeda smiled and nodded. "We thought we could get one of those new portkey-storefronts, have you seen them? The storefront opens onto Diagon Alley but the actual shop can be nearly anywhere in London. Certainly wouldn't get much business around here. Neighbourhood's definitely gone downmarket in the last ten years."

"Give you a hand, if you like, once everything blows over," Remus offered. Upstairs there was a crash.

"Reckon we ought to go make sure nobody's going to die?" Ted asked.

"Let 'em to it," Moody grunted. "Do 'em no harm."

"I could certainly show you how to set up accounting, I've been keeping Sirius' books for a few years," Remus continued. Andromeda seemed to choke on a piece of chicken, and Ted thumped her back.

"We'd appreciate that," Ted said, scraping the tomatoes off his sandwich. There was a muttered "Sorry, dad" from Nymphadora.

"How did your research go?" Andromeda asked, when she'd cleared her throat. Remus frowned.

"I'm not sure. It...worries me," he said slowly. "I don't think it's meant to harm Harry at all, or Peter wouldn't have -- " he broke off, glancing at Harry, who was stealthily stealing one of Ted's discarded tomatoes. Andromeda nodded. "Severus thinks perhaps it's a potion, he's going to do more research tonight."

They all listened philosophically to another thud from upstairs.

"It's a good thing he likes Harry," Remus said with a smile. "I can't imagine either of them would take the sort of abuse the other dishes out, otherwise."

"Hard to imagine him liking anyone," Nymphadora muttered.

"At any rate, we're narrowing the field on why they wanted that blood. Slowly. We won't know what to do until we know what Peter's planning, but by the time we find out he may have already done it."

"S'why there's a time limit," Moody put in. "Can't afford to wait any longer, not with that crazy b -- " he looked at Harry, who was interestedly examining his false eye. "With that Bellatrix on the loose."

"Why's it move on its own?" Harry asked. Moody reached up and, to a chorus of disgusted groans from the rest of the company, took the eye out, dropping it in his water glass and holding it out for Harry to look at. The eye rolled around in the water until the electric blue pupil was fixed on Harry.

"Must you give anatomy lessons at the dinner table?" Andromeda asked delicately.

"He asked," Moody grunted. He took the eye out of the water and popped it back into place. It swiveled upwards. "Looks like Black and Snape're pretty well finished," he added, as Sirius came clattering down the stairs. He gave them all a sullen, angry look and threw himself into a chair next to Remus. Snape followed. Andromeda offered sandwiches.

"Nymphadora made them," she said, just as Sirius bit into one. Sirius paused for a moment, apparently decided to go through with it, and bit the rest of the way. Snape eyed them with the suspicion of a man who's seen exactly how many ways the sandwich-maker in question could screw up a potion.

"I'm going to Hogwarts," Snape growled. "For further research. I'll return tomorrow."

"Don't hurry back," Sirius said under his breath. Remus kicked the back of his leg. Harry got up from his chair, took a sandwich off the platter, and offered it to Snape. He hesitated a moment before accepting.

"I'm sorry Sirius yelled at you," Harry whispered.

"I'm not," Sirius added. Snape gave them all a sweeping, slightly disgusted look, tried to appear as though he wasn't actually bending to hug a nine-year-old boy goodbye, and then vanished into the kitchen fire with a toss of floo powder and a snarled "Hogwarts!"

"Good talk, was it?" Remus asked mildly.

"He should have told us."

"Does it occur to you he was trying to, without breaking a promise?" Remus asked.

"No, that doesn't occur to me, why didn't he just tell us?"

Remus sighed. "He gave Harry a snake, Sirius."

Sirius frowned for a moment, until comprehension dawned in his eyes. Remus saw his suddenly understanding look, and nodded.

"Why didn't you point that out before?" Sirius demanded. Remus shrugged.

"Does you both good to shout a bit," he said calmly, and Andromeda began to laugh.

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