"Expelliarmus!"

Remus's voice echoed through the clubhouse room of the Shrieking Shack, loud and passionate. He caught Harry, Ron, and Hermione's wands and, to Remus's surprise, Sirius's wand as well came up from the floor, where it had rolled under the desk in the recently disturbed dust, where Sirius had been looking for the pictures. Remus had them - all of them - tucked up in the drawer of his desk in the castle. He looked at Sirius, who stared right back at him, the cat rising and falling on his chest as he breathed unsteadily.

It really was Rodger, Remus realized, as the cat's head turned to look up at him. How? He didn't have time to wonder - too much going on right now - but he would have to ask Sirius one day.

For now, there were other things to take care of first - more important things.

For starters, the fact that Harry now stared at Remus with a look of betrayal and disappointment on his face. He looked down at his empty palm, then at Sirius and back to Remus with eyes that were on the verge of tears. Remus knew he was regretting not getting the revenge he thought he'd had within his reach just moments before - but thank the stars he hadn't.

It had been that close - that close. If Harry had had just the tiniest smidge more determination in him -- well. 

The only person Remus had expected to see that he did not now see was Peter. He looked around the room. The old Remus - the Remus of just a couple weeks ago, who hadn't seen the name Peter Pettigrew on the Marauders Map would have been sent into a spiral of doubt. But not now, not this Sirius.

I gotta have faith.

"Where is he, Sirius?" he asked.

Sirius stared at Remus with a stoic expression, unreadable, and for a couple seconds, he didn't move. Remus had a feeling that Sirius had expected him to respond like the same old Remus - doubt and abandonment - and that was fair. After all, Remus had let Sirius down in this department so many times... and Remus regretted every one of them. But he watched as Sirius stared at him and slowly, slowly realized that maybe, just maybe, this time might be different.

Sirius lifted a shaking, weak arm and pointed at Ron.

"ME?" Ron wailed out, "What - what'd I do?"

"But --" Remus looked at Ron, then back at Sirius, "But why hasn't he --" And suddenly stuff was starting to click. "He's hiding... He's hiding from --" Remus glanced back at Sirius. "Unless - unless he was the one who --" he paused, "But you were the -- unless you switched?" 

Sirius's face lit with a small streak of hope as he watched Remus Lupin put the pieces together at last, after twelve bloody damn years.

"You switched without telling me?"

Sirius nodded slowly.

Remus stared at Sirius.

Sirius stared at Remus. 

Suddenly Remus was stepping forward toward Sirius, pushing Rodger Crookshanks off his chest, and he grabbed Sirius's hands and pulled him to his feet.

They stared into one another's eyes for a long moment. 

Remus couldn't help but remember a moment sixteen years before (he felt the ring on his finger and realized it was not quite sixteen years before. It was fifteen years... and 364 days) when he had stood on a beach at this exact equidistance from Sirius, stared into his eyes this exact same way, and made a promise that he had broken a hundred thousand times over. But he would not make that mistake again.

Not ever, ever again.

Because if he'd just bloody had the faith that he should've had to begin with...

"You didn't tell me," Remus whispered.

"Yeah, well. It was a secret, you idiot."

Sirius stared into Remus's eyes. 

"Professor!" Hermione yelled loudly, "What is --" But her words cut off. 

Remus launched himself at Sirius, throwing his arms around Sirius's neck in an embrace that neither of them had ever believed would come. Tears were in Remus's eyes as he clung onto Sirius, his arms encircling him, his face pressed into Sirius's hair... and the entire world seemed to be stopped around them. Sirius's arms hung onto Remus, too and he pushed his face into Remus's neck, his mouth pressing against his skin, closing his eyes tight.

Sirius Black let himself believe in something again for the first time in twelve years, and he felt his knees go weak as he held onto Remus.

For a second, nothing else in the universe mattered.

"I don't BELIEVE IT!" Hermione's voice suddenly broke through the moment. "Oh I don't BELIEVE it! I -- You -- YOU!"

Remus stiffened and drew back slowly, looking into Sirius's eyes and hoping that Sirius could see the regret in having to let him go, and he turned around, "Hermione --"

"--YOU and HIM!" Hermione pointed at Remus, and then at Sirius, her face livid and red with passion, tears of betrayal leaking over her cheeks. Harry and Ron looked at her with stunned faces.

"Hermione," Remus said tentatively - because he recognized the absolute anger she was feeling, not just at him but also at herself. She was fuming. "Calm down --"

"No! I didn't tell anyone! I didn't tell anyone. I've been covering up for you."

"Covering up for me?" Remus asked, confused. Then, "Hermione, listen to me, I can explain --"

"I've trusted you! All this time and you're his friend!" Harry shouted, pointing at Sirius, but looking at Remus. "All that rubbish you said - about being friends with my Dad! You were friends with Black - not my dad!"

"You're wrong," Remus said weakly. Gods these kids - had he, Sirius, and James been so fiery at that age? Well - Sirius certainly had been. But had he and James? Were normal kids like this? "I haven't been Sirius's friend." Remus said. He looked at Sirius with an apologetic expression. "I've been a terrible friend. For twelve years, I've been a terrible --- everything. But that changes now." 

Sirius's eyes flickered.

"Let me explain." Remus's voice was firm.

"No!" Hermione screamed. "Harry. Don't trust him - don't trust anything he says. He's been helping Black into the castle. He wants you dead, too. He's - he's a WEREWOLF!" She pointed at Remus.

There was a long, ringing silence.

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at Remus, Ron with a look of horror on his face. Remus felt cold, his heart in his throat. He didn't dare to look at Harry, to see if Harry had the same look of fear that Ron had on his face. He didn't think he could bare it. 

Finally, shakily, Remus said, calmly, looking directly at Hermione and no where else. "Not up to your usual standards Hermione... Only one out of three correct, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle, and I certainly do not want Harry dead." 

Remus chanced a look at Harry now, and wished terribly that he hadn't. Harry's expression was fear twisted with disgust, and Remus felt his stomach drop and his heart shattered so completely that he knew in that moment he would never, ever fully recover from that expression - no matter what happened in his life going forward, no matter how close he and Harry could ever get... he would never, ever forget the look on Harry's face just then in that moment.

"But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron's terror reached it's pinnacle at this pronouncement and he struggled to stand up, sure they were going to have to run away, his broken leg giving out under him so that he clutched the post of the bed, trying to pull himself to his one good foot with determination. Ron's leg gave out with a sickening squelch and Ron let out a shout and started to tip - Remus took a step toward him, holding out his arms, intending to brace him but Ron panicked, grabbing onto the headboard of the bed, "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, WEREWOLF!"

Remus stopped dead in his tracks, outstretched hands shaking.

"Yeah, don't touch him," Harry said quickly. 

Remus withdrew his hands as Ron lowered himself back to the floor, wincing with pain. Hermione hurried over and checked his leg, her gentle touch straightening it for him and he looked at her with teary-eyed gratefulness.

"How long have you known?" Remus murmured. 

"Ages," Hermione answered, looking up from Ron. "Since Professor Snape's essay."

Remus snorted and shook his head, "Of course... Well, he'll be very thrilled to know that. Delighted, even. I am sure he assigned the essay hoping someone would be clever enough to realize what my symptoms meant." Remus shook his head. "Did you check the lunar calendar and realize I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart turned into the full moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione answered quietly.

"You really are the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione!" Remus said, forcing a laugh.

"I'm not!" Hermione snapped, and Ron touched her arm comfortingly. "If I'd been cleverer, I'd have told EVERYONE WHAT YOU ARE!" she shouted. 

Remus closed his eyes.

"I would have told McGonagall and Dumbledore and --"

"But they already know!" Remus interrupted.

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped, looking up. "IS HE MAD?"

Remus looked down at his feet. 

"He probably thought you were trustworthy, but he was wrong - just like I was!" Harry snapped. "All this time you've been just helping him into the castle!"

"I haven't been helping him!" Remus shouted. "If you'll give me a chance, I can explain. Look --" he threw the wands to each of them in turn - Ron, Hermione, and Harry, then put his own wand and Sirius's very carefully into his belt loop, holding up his hands as though under arrest. "Look, there. You're all armed and neither of us are. Now will you listen?"

"Well isn't this just a cuddle-fest," Sirius murmured and he pushed 'round Harry, stepped over Hermione and Ron's extended poor leg, and threw himself onto the bed, stretching out as though he belonged there, as though he were settling in and needed to get comfortable. He glanced down at the floor as Ron struggled to move away from him and Hermione helped, looking up at Sirius with an anxious expression. Crookshanks jumped up on the bed and promptly curled up on Sirius's lap - as though it were perfectly normal for convicted murderers to have a lie-down in the middle of a terrible fight between a werewolf, three wizards and a witch.

In Ron's pocket, the rat let out a series of shrieks and cries and the pocket moved about rather violently under Ron's palm.

Harry looked uneasily at Sirius, then back to Remus, confused by the gesture of disarming themselves. He hesitated, then, "Well if you haven't been helping him, how did you know he was here?"

Remus's hands were still held high, palms showing. "The Map, Harry. The Marauder's Map. I took it from you, remember? I was in my office... examining it just now --"

"You know how to work it?" Harry looked shocked.

"Of course I know how to work it, Harry," Remus answered, "I - I helped write it."

"He drew it," Sirius said lazily from the bed. "All of it."

Harry and Remus looked at Sirius, then back to each other in near perfect unison. "You - you wrote --?"

"Yes." Remus paused. "Harry... Harry, I'm Moony."

"You're  --"

"The important thing is that I was watching the Map tonight... me and - and a friend. I was showing it to her."

Sirius looked up from the bed with a raised eyebrow.

"I was fairly sure you, Ron, and Hermione would go out to see Hagrid tonight before Buckbeak's execution and - I was right, wasn't I? I was searching for Peter. I saw him before - not long ago, and it's been making me crazy - crazy looking for you --" he pointed at Sirius. "Because you were in the the room on the seventh floor."

Sirius's lips twitched into a smirk of pride. 

"And I couldn't get in there, no matter what I tried. Apparently just needing to find Sirius Black isn't enough for the bloody room."

"Ah, I told it I needed a place you couldn't find me." Sirius laughed, "The room obliged."

"But I saw you - all three of you - on the grounds --"

"How did you see us?" Harry interrupted, eyes squinting at Remus.

Remus laughed, "Were you using your father's old invisibility cloak?"

"How'd you know --?"

"The number of times that I saw James disappearing under it..." Remus shook his head.

Sirius grinned.

"The point is, Harry, even if you're wearing an invisibility cloak, you will still show up on the Map!" Remus paused, "I saw you cross the grounds and go to Hagrid's hut - your father would've been proud of you, being Hagrid's friend through this hard time, just like we discussed. You did a good thing, Harry..."

Harry was still wearing a wary expression, and still seemed unsure if he liked Remus talking about James or not anymore. He stared at Remus with a mixture of distrust and anger and Remus flushed and looked down.

"I - I saw you leave, too, twenty minutes later, back toward the castle, but you weren't alone. You were accompanied by someone else."

"Some... one... else?" Harry asked. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Remus continued, without taking pause. "I thought map was malfunctioning..."

Sirius shook his head. "Not our map!"

"...how could he be with you? I wondered," Remus went on.

"NO ONE WAS WITH US!" Harry shouted.

Remus looked up and met his eyes. "And then I saw another dot... moving fast toward you labeled Sirius Black." He looked at Sirius then, and smiled, and Sirius's chin lifted slightly, and Remus looked back to Harry again. "I saw Sirius collide with you and pull two of you down into the tunnel below the Whomping Willow."

"Only one of us! ME!" Ron said angrily and he winced as his leg shifted and Hermione put her hand on it softly to keep it steady.

"No, Ron." Remus looked to him, his voice going quieter and colder than it had yet been through this entire exchange. "Two of you."

Ron looked from Remus and followed his gaze down - down to his robes pocket, which he was still clutching, which was still squeaking, fighting to get away. Ron's grip tightened and he looked back up at Remus with defiance.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" Remus asked.

"What?" Ron squeaked, nearly identically pitched as the rat, and he looked from his pocket back up at Remus, then back down to the pocket and up at Remus once more. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?!" 

Remus drew a deep breath.

"Oh Ron," he said with a sigh, shaking his head, "That's just it, isn't it?"

Ron looked confused.

"Scabbers has EVERYTHING to do with it Ron," Remus said, patiently. "Everything."

Ron looked at his pocket, then back at Remus. "You're mental."

"Could I see him - please?"

Ron hesitated and looked at Harry, who nodded, and Ron reached into his pocket, withdrew Scabbers, holding him by the thick fleshy tail, and looked at Remus with distrust. From the bed, Crookshanks let out a low growling hiss and Sirius stroked his ears.

"What does my rat have anything to do with this?" Ron repeated as Remus stepped closer, reached out his hand and took a firm hold on Scabbers. Ron stared anxiously as Remus was prodding at the squealing rat's feet.

Remus laughed and looked at Sirius, who's eyebrows raised. "Told you so."

Remus shook his head, "Bloody hell. After all this time."

"HELLO?" Ron shouted, impatiently.

Remus turned and looked at Ron, handing the squealing, fighting rat back to him. "He's missing a toe," Remus laughed.

"So?"

"So all they could find of Peter Pettigrew was --"

"-- his finger," Harry interrupted, finishing the sentence. He stared in disbelief at Remus.

Remus pointed at Harry, "Yes, exactly. His finger."

"Scabbers is injured and now you're going to make up some story about my poor rat?" Ron asked defensively.

"That's not a rat!" Sirius said dramatically, then he paused. "Well, I mean it is CURRENTLY a rat, but it's not NATURALLY a rat!" he paused again, "Although you might say that it is a rat in the sense of it being filthy, horrible, nasty and a traitor!"

"He is a rat!" Ron cried.

"No, he's not. He's a wizard," Remus answered.

"An animagus," Sirius input, "Named PETER PETTIGREW!"

Silence. All three students looked at one another, then back at Remus and Sirius. 

"You're BOTH mental," Ron said, wonderstruck.

"Ridiculous," gasped Hermione.

"Peter Pettigrew's been dead for twelve years," Harry said, breathless, nervous. He looked at Sirius, "He killed him." He looked back at Remus.

"Yeah," murmured Sirius. "I meant to..." His eyes were lingering on the rat, dangling from Ron's hand, frantically trying to get away even now, and a wild fire went into Sirius's eyes. "Little Peter got the better of me..." his voice was almost a whisper. "But not this time though."

And with incredible reflexes, Sirius lunged from the bed, sending Crookshanks flying, and he dove toward Ron, arms outheld for the rat, his eyes mental.

"Sirius NO!" Remus shouted, and he threw himself between Sirius and Ron, catching Sirius in his arms and barely staying on two feet, his knees making terrible cracking sounds as he braced himself up. "WAIT. You can't just do it like that - they need to understand! We've got to explain!"

Sirius struggled against Remus's grip. "WE CAN EXPLAIN AFTERWARDS!"

"They've - got - a - right- to - know!" Remus fought, their torsos beating against one another, wrestling one another until finally Remus caught his footing just right and shoved Sirius back with both arms so that he landed on the bed with a thump and a bounce of the mattress, the springs squeaking terribly loudly.

Something about that made Sirius laugh manically and he looked at Remus with raised eyebrows.

Remus gave Sirius a Look and Sirius laughed all the harder. 

"Sirius!" Remus snapped. "Listen. Now is not the time. You have to do this RIGHT. Do you understand? They have a right to understand. Ron's kept him as a pet for twelve years.. And Harry-- you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Sirius looked at Harry.

"All right," he said, looking at Harry. He looked back at Remus. "Alright. Tell them whatever you like... but make it quick, Remus..." he tucked his legs up in front of him, crossing them and holding onto his ankles, still staring at Harry, who stared at Sirius with shock and nervousness. "I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for."