"THREE!" 

"NO!"

"HARRY!"

Remus saw what he was about to do in the hairline second before they'd cast the spells and he shoved his elbow into Sirius so hard that Sirius's wand jerked up - only just enough - a brought red jet of sparks flew from his wand and into the far wall, blowing away a gigantic chunk of the wall.

Fading orange sunlight from the sun setting outside burst in.

The jet had been red, though, Remus realized, and not green - not the killing curse then, neither of the spells had been.

"You can't kill him!" Harry sobbed, "You CAN'T!" He shook his head.

Both Sirius and Remus looked equally terrified by the newly punched hole in the wall and how close it had been to that being Harry Potter they'd blasted open instead.

"Harry... this piece of verminous cack is the reason why you have no parents," Sirius whispered, anger streaking his words. "This cringing bit of filth would've seen you die, too, without turning a hair."

"I know," Harry gasped. "I know but - but we'll take him back to the castle. We'll give him to the dementors. Let him go to Azkaban, like what's right... I - just - just don't kill him."

Peter reached up and touched Harry's hand, grabbing onto it. "Oh thank you - thank you! Thank you Harry, thank you, Harry!" he sobbed, "Thank you!"

"No, stop that! Stop!" Harry jumped back and pulled his hand away from Peter. "Don't touch me! I - I'm not on your side. I just -- my dad wouldn't have wanted his best mates to become killers because of you. You aren't WORTH IT."

No one moved or made a sound.

"You're - you're the only person who has a right to decide, Harry," Sirius nodded.

"He's right," Remus whispered.

Sirius nodded. "But just - just think what he - what he did... and -- avenging James --?"

"So let him go to Azkaban," Harry answered quietly. "Let him sit in a cell for twelve years - without anyone to believe he's innocent because the truth will be known about him and everyone will know exactly what he did. Let the dementors have him... If anyone deserves that place... he does."

Peter was wheezing with panic.

"Very well. Stand aside, Harry," Remus said.

Harry looked at Remus, hesitating.

"I'm going to tie him up," Remus explained. He held up his hand again. "I swear."

"On my dad's honor?" Harry asked.

Remus smiled, "Yes. On your dad's honor, Harry."

Harry stepped aside.

Remus cast the spell and the cords shot forth and bound Peter, gagging up his mouth and wrapping his legs and arms tightly.

"If you transform, Peter, and try to escape, though - we will kill you." Sirius growled. "Agree, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry agreed.

"Right." Remus's voice was nervous. "Right. Alright." Suddenly, he was quite businesslike. "Okay. Ron - I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey can, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get back to the castle and she can get you some skele-gro potion. "Ferula!" he cast and bandages began wrapping Ron's leg into a splint. Remus helped Ron up to his feet. "C'mon, up you hop."

Ron winced, but he was able to hobble a bit and he smiled painfully at Remus. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.

"He's fine," Remus answered.

"Unfortunately," intoned Sirius.

Remus bent over to check his pulse, then nodded, "Yeah. He - he's fine." He paused, then, "We'll, er -- levitate him. I think it's best if we let him stay out until we're back to the castle, given how, er... enthusiastic he was to... help us along there."

Remus picked up the invisibility cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket, along with Severus's wand.

"Two of us should be chained to this," Sirius said, pointing at Peter, "To make sure we know exactly what he's up to."

Ron volunteered, and so did Remus, whose knees were hurting something terrible and he figured they could hobble along the tunnel together...

Soon enough, they were a funny little parade, walking through the dark tunnel, illuminated only by their raised wands - Roger Crookshanks in the lead, then Hermione, with her wand lit bright, followed by Ron, Peter, and Remus, then Harry, and finally Sirius who was guiding the levitating body of Severus Snape along with his wand. Snape's head may or may not have bumped every hard surface along the way - whether by accident or by purpose, either way, there was not much effort being made to avoid the phenomenon, Harry couldn't help but notice.

The motley collection of them walked along down the tunnel, though Sirius hung back a small ways, watching the others, his eyes following the loping gait of Remus's pace. They moved along at a fairly good pace, and when they reached the other end of the Whomping Willow, Sirius climbed through first to still the tree. Harry climbed out of the hole at the base of the tree, and stood in the last rays of the setting sun on the grounds of Hogwarts, looking up at the castle.

Sirius suddenly appeared at his side.

Harry glanced up at Sirius and caught him staring back. Sirius didn't flinch away, nor did he look even remotely apologetic for staring. Harry flushed.

"I was thinking," Sirius began slowly. "While we were - walking."

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

Sirius said, "Harry, I know you - you live with your aunt and your uncle and I understand that they're your family, your - your real family. And I understand you've just spent an entire year thinking I - thinking all that - you know, about... me..." He paused. "And I know... I'm not - I'm not perfect. Merlin's nut, your father would bust his bullocks if he heard me even try to pretend that I was..." he laughed. Then, "Harry, it's just -- if we bring Pettigrew up to the castle.... D-d'you know what that means, Harry?"

"It means you're free," Harry answered.

Sirius nodded, "Yes. But. But it also means I have a - a house, Harry. A house and - and it's mine. And --" He licked his lips. Blimey it was like fourth year, trying to ask someone - anyone - to the Yule Ball, and suddenly he remembered the quarter he and James had thrown, trying to pick which girls to bring and he suddenly remembered how one of them had stood upright on it's hairline side. He chuckled. Then, focused back on Harry. "I - I was ... Harry, I'm -- I'm your Godfather."

Harry's eyes widened. "My what?"

"Your godfather. Your mother asked me to be - and - and your dad - he - he told me if anything ever happened to you, he wanted me to - to step in. To take his place. I told him that he was a ruddy fool if he thought anyone could ever take his place and he laughed at me for that but I was completely serious." He paused. "I always am. Completely Sirius, that is."

The joke took a second to sink in, then Harry laughed.

"I know you probably don't want to --" Sirius said quickly. "I'll understand. No feelings hurt. But if you want to --"

"Yes." Harry said the word so fast that Sirius froze in surprise and Harry said, "YES, I definitely want to! I want to so much! I mean, when can we go! I'm ready right now."

Sirius laughed, "Well, nobody's been in it for years so it's probably a right flithy stye by now... but I - I'll fix it up. I'll - Il'l fix it up for us. We can - we can have a home." The last word was weighty, and deeply meaningful - something that both Sirius and Harry longed for.

"Yes," Harry said, excited. "I can't wait until --"

But he never got to finish the sentence because Sirius, who was looking up at the sky smiling until that very moment, suddenly realized what he was looking at. "FUCK!" he yelled, cutting Harry off and Harry looked surprised. "Fuck! Sirius repeated. He held his wrist out before him and then he whipped about. "HERMIONE! GET AWAY FROM THE TREE!"

"What?" She looked up. She was just bent over, pulling Remus Lupin up from the tree and she looked over at Sirius with confusion.

"GET AWAY GET AWAY!" Sirius was screaming, and Harry watched as he broke into a run back toward the tree.

Harry rushed after him. "Sirius?" he asked, calling out after what was apparently his godfather. "What's happening?" he asked.

"FULL MOON!" Sirius bellowed. He threw himself at the tree, yanked Remus up and frantically started melting the chains that held Remus to Peter and Ron... and even as he did, Hermione gasped because she could see now that Remus lay stiff, convulsing on the ground, his eyes rolled back into the back of his head, mouth opened as his nose was elongating into the snout...

"RUN!" Sirius shouted and he waved his hand for Harry and Hermione to go and get the hell out of there.

He hooked his arms desperately under Remus's shoulders, hurriedly pulling him across the lawn, his legs dragging, even as the bones were cracking, reshaping themselves...

He'd spent full moon nights with Remus this year - a couple of them, actually - but then, Remus was taking wolfsbane potion those nights and he really was a tamed werewolf... in part, at least. And now - now -- Bloody hell, he was about to not only take on the werewolf but also to have to get the wolf away from the castle... away from Harry...

"Fuck, fuck, fuck - Moony, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I forgot! I forgot it was the night!" he gasped, wincing, sharing the pain through his love magic, the same as Lily had taught him to years and years ago... And he was pulling Remus as hurriedly as he could, which admittedly was not very quickly, the line of trees leering at him, too far off to make it to before the transformation would completed...

He let go of Remus's shoulders. Remus fell onto the grass, the final pieces of him changing before Sirius's eyes and Sirius threw himself into a transformation and his body rippled with black fur and he backed up, squaring off protectively, growling, snarling, baring his teeth, preparing to fight a werewolf...

"Be careful out there, Padfoot," James's voice echoed in Sirius's head. "It's a weird world and I love you way too much to see you be hurt anymore by it, you crazy fuck."