Chapter 13 -Hope

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is life, but it isn't mine (just in case you haven't already figured that out after 13 chapters haha).

'Come on, Padfoot; don't be shy.' Remus teased lightly as he dragged a pale Sirius by his Harry-free arm towards the stone.

'Pa'foot! Pa'foot!' Harry cried joyously, clapping his chubby hands together.

'Moony, I can't do this...' Sirius pressed urgently, fighting Remus's strong grip. The werewolf stopped towing Sirius and looked the man squarely in the eyes.

'What are you afraid of, Padfoot, love?' He asked soothingly, taking Harry from Sirius when he felt Sirius's skeletal form begin to shake under the toddler's weight -he was still worryingly weak and malnourished. The werewolf placed Harry on his shoulders in a typical shoulder carry, much to the delight of the giggling Prongslet, who loved the height Remus gave him.

It was brilliant that Harry was now able to grow up with them; the cub to their shrunken pack.

'Moonyyyy!' Harry squealed, clinging to Remus's head when he was seated.

His fist banged heavily on the wooden desk; the sound emitted upon the contact echoed loudly throughout the room.

Dumbledore did not even flinch, his face remaining as calm as ever. Remus could only watch as this demeanour only served to enrage Sirius more so.

'Harry is much safer with Remus and I. What could Petunia Dursley provide him with that we can't?!' Sirius shot at Dumbledore, 'I will not allow my Godson to be raised with these people. Remus told me they put him in a cupboard under the stairs! Their own nephew!'

'Sirius, please understand that when Lily died-'

'Yes. I am perfectly aware of the blood magic that Lily performed that night so that Harry could survive Voldemort -you explained this to us the night after the trial, Sir.' Sirius bit back, impatiently.

He let out an annoyed growl and removed his fist from where he had banged it on the desk. The animagus then started to pace restlessly, refusing to look at Dumbledore. Remus momentarily watched Sirius with a feeling of great solicitude for the man, before turning to address Dumbledore himself. Sirius was clearly not going to sort out this situation while he was executing one of his legendary Black tempers anyway.

'Albus, I respect that you have made these decisions purely out of Harry's best interests with regard to his safety. I relented my argument before about my wanting to obtain custody over Harry because I believed that he would be at risk with me due to my lycanthropy and lack of money -not to mention the fact that my state of mind at the time was unpredictable at best- but now things have changed.

'I know you believe that blood is thicker than water, Sir, but with that there must also come love. After all, you have always taught us that love is the most powerful source of magic we can ever obtain. Surely, despite the connection Lily and Petunia had though sisterhood and blood, Harry is better protected with Sirius and I: the ones that love him most. I admit that the blood that runs within Petunia Dursley's veins is essential for your plan to keep Harry safe, but blood does not define who your real family is...'

The lycanthrope thought of Sirius's childhood and all that his friend had had to go through regarding his estranged family as he said this. Remus thought of how he would do anything to avoid Harry going through the same ordeal that Sirius did.

He continued, 'Family; love; protection. It is not gained through blood alone. Sirius and I love Harry more than anyone else in this world right now, and I will do everything within my power to make sure that Harry grows up with his family; his real family. A family that will love and nurture him, and not keep secrets from him or tell lies.'

'Please understand, Sir, we do not want to put Harry in any more danger by asking you of this. Quite frankly, we want the opposite. You can protect Harry from Voldemort your way, but can you also protect him from himself? From the Dursley's neglect? Harry should not grow up unloved and alone. After all, solitude and isolation is never a good thing for a child.'

He paused and sighed as he tried to communicate his point. Sirius had stopped pacing by this point and had listened intently to Remus's words with a flicker of hope in his eyes when he had spoke. The duo waited in anticipation as Dumbledore closed his eyes -appearing to be brooding over his decision. Finally, he opened them, studying them both. When he spoke, his voice sounded resigned.

'I can not disregard the protection Lily placed upon Harry.' He stated inarguably, 'But I am also aware that the point you are making is also of great importance. Remus, I think...' He hesitated, 'We may be able to make a compromise.

'Harry will be bought into yours and Sirius's hands. You will care for him; love him, like a family would, like James and Lily would have done.' He looked pointedly at Remus. 'But he must also live with the Dursley's.' His tone was urgent and unnegotiable as he fixed both of them with an unwavering gaze. 'Remus, your lycanthropy -forgive me- is indeed a threat to Harry's safety as well as your own. I assume Sirius's animagus form was mastered with the intention to aid your transformations?'

He looked questioningly at Sirius who nodded defensively, still slightly annoyed at the Headmaster.

'Ingenious idea, by the way. You and James certainly did your research.' Dumbledore praised.

'We'd do anything for Moony.' Sirius replied, shrugging, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

'Indeed. However, before we go off on a tangent, I must press that this arrangement would have some level of risk, and we can not afford to have Harry's, nor any of yours, safety placed in jeopardy.' Dumbledore continued. 'Therefore, Harry will be placed with the Dursley's the days prior and post each full moon. That is the compromise. Harry's blood magic will still be in place, and his safety will be guaranteed. No arguments.'

Sirius nodded grudgingly. He knew the terms were sufficient and he did not want to push Dumbledore. In all honesty though, he could not deny that it was a good compromise.

'Sounds like a plan.' Remus responded for the two of them, 'Thank you, Albus. For everything.' He nudged Sirius forward to say something.

'Remus is right.' He agreed, nodding his head. 'Thanks, Albus. Things have just been so hard, what with James and Lily. It's not fair that they couldn't watch Harry grow up, and -as Harry's Godfather- I wouldn't want to know what they'd think of me right now if I couldn't even manage to be able to persuade you to allow Harry live with me...' He gazed towards Remus, who had averted his eyes and bowed his head. 'With us.' He corrected, smiling contently as the werewolf did the same from behind his wall of hair.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts and looked into Dumbledore's eyes. 'Thank you.'

Sirius looked up at Remus ashamed.

'I don't think they'd want to see me, Moony.' He whispered. Remus reached out and stroked Sirius's hair away from his face.

'Of course they would want to see you, Pads. They're your family. No one blames you for what Peter did. You have no reason to believe that Prongs and Lils wouldn't want to see you.'

'I guess...'

Remus smiled collectedly, moving his hand downwards from Sirius's face to clasp one of his shaking hands, leading him (gently this time) towards James and Lily's grave.

The journey appeared to be an endless one for Sirius, each step felt like he was walking through water; each one more tiring than the last. Remus then stopped, causing Sirius to also stop automatically. Harry was too busy playing with Remus's now almost shoulder length curly hair and making unintelligible babble to understand the importance of where the trio were currently standing now.

'Hello again Prongs; Lily.' Remus spoke softly, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them -discounting Harry's drabbling. 'Sorry it's been so long, but to make up for it, I've brought someone with me you might like to see.' The lycanthrope stroked Sirius's arm soothingly, allowing the animagus to gain his confidence. Nervously, in response, he shuffled forwards, looking at his shoes, timidly.

The great, arrogant Sirius Black? What happened to all the confidence and resilience? he thought bitterly.

'Hiya Prongs... Hi Lils...' He whispered, biting his lip. At a loss, he looked up at Remus with a woebegone expression before he collapsed to his knees, daring to look upon the grave finally.

Sirius carefully traced the intricate cursive of James Potter and Lily Potter with roughened fingertips, sighing as he felt Remus's comforting touch upon his shoulder as he dropped down beside the animagus.

'You all right, Pads?' He asked benevolently. Sirius broke his gaze from the inscription, and instead looked quickly from the innocent green eyes of Harry into Remus's own worldly emeralds, seeing understanding and concern in them, along with something else unexplainable...

Usually, Sirius would not be able to take Remus seriously, what with all the unorthodox positions Harry was shuffling into to play with Remus's hair, but there was a certain mawkishness in the air that instead made Sirius remain sentimental.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Moony.' He rasped out, flashing Remus a slight smile. He then turned back to grave, sighing, 'I know it's been a while guys, and I'm sorry I couldn't visit you both sooner...' He began, emotionally.

The world went silent as he spoke, even Harry went silent, somehow understanding that his Godfather needed quiet time to persevere through this -an understanding of which both Remus and Sirius were grateful for. 'I want you both to know that I thought of you every day. I couldn't visit you in Azkaban obviously, but honestly these past few months afterwards: I have had no excuse. I guess I was just weak; scared. I figured that you would blame me for everything...

'I am technically the reason that you're both not here now with us... with Harry... Everyone knows it's Wormtail now, and they blame him... and they're right, I blame him too. He betrayed us all. But besides that, I was still the one that made you switch secret keepers. I was guilty, however unintentional my actions were towards this outcome. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... I should've saved you, but I couldn't...'

He exhaled shakily and immediately Remus was there, wrapping his arms around him comfortingly, Harry joined the embrace as well.

'Pa'foot okay?' He asked innocently, patting Sirius's shiny hair before resting a chubby cheek on the crown of his head consolingly, despite the fact that the toddler was still positioned on Remus's shoulder like an awkward parrot.

'Yes thank you, my love.' Sirius chuckled shakily against Remus's chest. The lycanthrope's sharp cheekbone had also come to rest on Sirius's head beside his Godson's as he rocked the three of them. Remus stared at the marble stone and murmured,

'Prongs was the most accepting friend we could ever have had. He was a natural leader, and he was always able to understand; be compassionate and kind whenever he needed to be. He matured a considerable amount these past few years and was as loyal as any friend could be. More importantly though, Sirius, he would've forgiven you, had you actually done anything wrong.'

His words vibrated against Sirius's head as he continued, 'Lily had the ability to see the goodness in people, even and especially when that person could not see it themselves. She saw the good in you and the good in me. She saw the goodness in James, and in Severus and she never stopped. She was so brilliant; kind; considerate and beautiful with her words in every way possible. Also, Sirius, she would never have blamed you for this. She would never have thought that what happened was ever your fault. Neither of them would have.

'They both loved you and they both understood why you did what you did. You only wanted to protect your family. That action alone is what makes you different from Peter in every way, Padfoot. You loved them and wanted to keep them safe. That is no reason for you to berate yourself.'

Sirius nodded once. He knew this, deep down, but guilt had plagued him for so long; it was difficult to comprehend.

'I know, Moony... Thanks.' He sniffed unattractively and pulled away from Remus and Harry, composing himself. Seeing the lycanthrope's expression he chuckled, 'Sorry...'

'It's fine, Pads.' He winked. Sirius smiled and turned back towards the Headstone.

'So, guys, here we are...' He spoke to his best friends, a note of his old, confident self was beginning to show in his voice, 'It was Harry's second birthday yesterday. I hope that wherever you are now, you got to see him. He's so happy, but I know he misses you. It's sad that he knows there's a big hole missing from his life but doesn't know how or why; it makes him moody and irritated, but Remus and I are trying... We're doing our best, I promise.'

Suddenly, his tone changed from mawkish to bitter.

'Dumbledore reckons Voldemort could return soon, I just thought you ought to know.' Remus looked at Sirius supportively. 'Moony and I have promised to help when he does, but Remus found out some game changing information when he went on his mission to capture Peter. Infomation that could help us immensely...'

'Dumbledore sent me on a mission, Sirius. I was with some Death Eaters.' He explained, holding a hand up to silence Sirius when he started to interrupt. 'I managed to convince them that I was also a Death Eater; I travelled with them for months, hoping to find information. They informed me that they were on a quest to bring Voldemort back.'

Sirius shivered at the thought. 'Indeed.' Remus added noticing Sirius's discomfort. 'I managed to persuade them to delay their quest though by convincing them that Wormtail was alive. It seemed they all had as fierce a grudge against him as you did, Pads.'

Sirius nodded.

'Yeah, I noticed that in Azkaban too.' He confirmed. 'I often heard some of the Prisoners' moaning his name while they slept, "Kill the Rat" was the most common one, I think. It was... disturbing almost...'

'Yeah, no wonder Wormtail went into hiding... Anyway, I managed to manipulate the leader into delaying their search by convincing them to help me search for Peter instead. They agreed without much hesitation.' Remus explained.

Sirius looked at loss for words.

'M-Moony... You do know how risky you were being, right?' Remus raised an eyebrow.

'Funny, back in school I could've sworn that it was the other way around.'

'Moony, this is different. You could've be killed!' He stated, earnestly.

'Sirius, it was fine. I'm fine. I'm alive, aren't I?' Remus soothed.

'Alive doesn't constitute as fine, Remus.' Sirius said through clenched teeth.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means Peter did some talking while we were in the Ministry cells. Something about blood and burnt flesh. Anything you'd like to tell me, Moony?' Remus bit his lip.

'I opened the box that came with the letter I burned, Sirius. That necklace.' Sirius's eyes widened as Remus fisted the pendant through the material of his shirt. 'What does it do, Padfoot?' The animagus ignored the question, and instead replied,

'Who hurt you, Moony? Tell me right now. Who tried to hurt you? I swear to Merlin-'

'It doesn't matter, Sirius.'

'It bloody well does matter, Remus. Who?'

'He's dead. That necklace killed him when he tried to-' He shook his head, not finishing his sentence. The lycanthrope spoke barely above a whisper, 'I was so scared, Pads...' Sirius's eyebrows lowered as he tried to control his anger. He covered Remus's shaking hands with his own and softened his tone.

'What happened, Moony?' He asked softly. 'What did they do you you?'

'They didn't do anything. It's what they... it's what he was going to do...' He took a breath. 'The Death Eaters. We were escaping the Ministry and I apparated them to the forest between my father's house and the Weasley's. Do you remember the place?' Sirius nodded. 'I caught Wormtail's scent and lashed out at one of the Death Eater's.' A deep breath. 'Moony was so close then, it was worrying, but when I was confronted, I let slip Peter's nickname. Stupid. Stupid!' Another controlled breath. 'I called him Wormtail. It all escalated downhill from there. They knew I'd lied to them from the start, but when I wouldn't tell them who I was, things got... out of hand.

'The Death Eater I pushed, he was the leader. He tied me up and pinned me to the floor and tried to...' He did not finish his sentence. He looked up wordlessly at Sirius letting his eyes speak for him. Sirius's expression proved fit for murder.

'The bastard! Did he-?'

'No.' A sigh of relief. 'But he would've done. When he tried to touched me though, it hurt him; burnt him. When he touched the pendant you had given me, he melted entirely.' His expression turned inquiring. 'Padfoot... what does it do?'

Sirius lifted one hand to run it though his inky hair nervously and puffed his cheeks as he exhaled.

'I placed a charm on the pendant. It was old magic. It acts as a sort of protection, but it only works if the person who it was intended for wears it. It's designed to protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you. When I saw you those past few months before Halloween, before all this shit had to happen, you would constantly look as if you were wounded or hurt. You looked as though you had gone days of having torture inflicted upon you. It was painful to watch you suffer, so I bought the pendant and placed a charm on it. I had to sample a drop of blood from both of us for it to work, but with the moon, it was easy. I never knew the limits of the charm though, Moony, I swear... I had read about it somewhere and the idea just came to me... I just wanted to protect you. I was the only one that could protect you. I couldn't give it to you straight away though...'

'Because you didn't trust me.' It was a statement, not a question, but Sirius lowered his gaze and nodded anyway. Remus bit his lip again.

'Thanks, Padfoot.' The werewolf whispered. It was spoken with such sincerity that Sirius jerked his head upwards to meet Remus's gentle gaze, confused. 'You did save me.'

Sirius nodded, blinking back tears. He coughed abruptly and attempted to change conversation.

'So...what's the news on Voldemort?' He asked, concern quivering through his voice.

Remus hesitated before answering.

'The word is: Voldemort's in Albania.' He saw the look of shock on Sirius's face and pulled him into a soft hug, which Sirius responded to passionately.

'So he's actually alive then...' He whispered sadly against the crook of Remus's neck.

'No. He's not alive, Sirius, he's stuck.' Remus theorised.

'What makes you say that?' He asked, pulling back to look at the lycanthrope properly.

'Well,' Remus began, looking unsure on how to explain himself. 'The Death Eater that... you know... Well, he mentioned something about Horcruxes. Ever heard of them?' He asked, hopefully. After some thought, Sirius shook his head, a little peeved.

'I'm not sure, I recognise the word though...'

'Yeah, me too...' Remus empathised. 'I think it's something to do with the soul, though. I've come up with a theory. On Halloween, something Lily did must have prevented Harry from being killed by Voldemort. I'm assuming that he tried to use a killing curse on Harry, meaning that the spell must've backfired or something, with the intention of killing Voldemort himself as opposed to Harry. But something else must've happened. On that night, Voldemort must have lost his physical body, but his soul managed to remain on the Earth somehow. It's the only explanation that I can think of, however improbable it may seem. Also, if Voldemort was still fully alive, he wouldn't go into hiding, he's too persistent and power-hungry to give up everything this easily.

'I've concluded -and I think you'll agree- that something obviously went wrong that night, meaning that Voldemort must have had a back up plan to keep his soul latched to his world, so that if something like that did happen he could come back... He's alive, but he'll be weak, almost too weak to still be living, let alone perform magic, he's waiting, I think... although I can't be sure, and I don't know if I want to find out.' Sirius nodded understandingly.

'Makes sense... and I don't blame you, Moony. That's a clever, albeit scary theory, I must say...' He stated admirably, then added, 'So forgive me when I say, I hope your theory is bollocks and that Voldemort's dead in a ditch somewhere.' Remus let out an apprehensive chuckle.

'Yeah, me too...'

'It turns out that Voldemort made several Horcruxes while he was powerful. That basically means he split his soul, preserving each split section within an object of value. We don't know how many times he could have done it, but Dumbledore reckons it could've been at least five times... maybe even seven. The objective now is to find these Horcruxes and destroy them before Voldemort is able to resurrect himself. Hopefully with all of them gone, we can keep Harry safe from harm.' Sirius explained to the cold stone.

Remus motioned him to stand, obviously thinking that Sirius had exerted himself enough.

'Things will get better, you know.' Sirius continued, now standing.

'I know, Pads, and I'm sure Lily and James know too.' Remus replied

They stood side by side, facing the grave. The summer breeze whistled softly as they paid their respects to their friends; their family -gaining the closure they had thrived for, for months. Harry squirmed, wanting to get down. Remus complied with the toddler's wishes and placed him on the grass standing.

Harry sensed the melancholia in the air and placed himself in the gap between the two adults, facing the grave which showed more importance than Harry's simplistic two year old brain could comprehend.

'Pa'foot.' He called, reaching out for Sirius's frail hand. Sirius looked down at his Godson, placing a smile on his otherwise desolate face for him. He took Harry's chubby hand in his own willingly. He seemed to cheer up considerably as his felt the warmth of the two year old's hand in his; his smile no longer looked like a façade. Harry smiled back, content with managing to make his Padfoot better.

'Moony.' He called out this time, reaching for the lycanthrope's own long, thin fingers. Remus looked down at the toddler. The smile that graced upon his features was not fake, as Sirius's had first been. Harry's smile only brightened when Remus ruffled his hand through Harry's unruly hair before taking the offered tubby hand. His hand looked so small within Remus's; innocent and pure.

Harry looked between the two men who had taken him away from those other people delightfully.

Harry had not liked living with those other people. They had had a scary child called Dudley who liked to frighten Harry. Those people had also liked to put Harry in a small dark room at night that had creepy spiders in, and those people used to made Harry sad when they told him that he could not see his Mummy and Daddy and uncles again when he asked...

But they were wrong. Harry had seen his uncles again, as Moony and Padfoot did come for him. They had saved him, like those super hero's in Dudley's comics do. Moony and Padfoot had worn black capes and had magic wands and they had hugged Harry and told him that 'Mummy and Daddy had to go away to fight all the evil Dragons in the sky to protect Harry.' This had made Harry quite sad as he had missed his Mummy and Daddy terribly. But Padfoot had also said that 'everything was going to be all right now, because Padfoot and Moony were going to look after Harry instead of the mean people Harry didn't like.'

Harry knew they were telling the truth, of course. Everything was going to be all right. Padfoot and Moony would never lie to Harry because only naughty people lie and Padfoot and Moony are not naughty people, thank you very much. Harry still had to live with those other people sometimes though, but that was only for a little bit. Usually, Harry would be scared of going back there, but Moony would always make Harry feel better by telling him that 'We will always come to rescue you if you're in trouble, young Prongslet.' Padfoot would also tell Harry that 'If the Dursley's are mean to you, Harry, you must tell Padfoot and Moony, and then Moony will turn the big purple man into an even fatter walrus and Padfoot will turn Dudley into a smelly pig.'

Harry did not know what a walrus was... but he thought Dudley would make a very good pig indeed.

And so the three stared upon the grave of Lily Potter and James Potter. Remus and Sirius knew they would never forget the sacrifice their friends had made for Harry to live; they knew that their friends would be missed quite terribly, but they also knew that they could not live in the past.

Voldemort needed stopping, but that is not not they were living for. They were living for each other, and for Harry.

Because together, they were unstoppable; together, they were a family.

Together: they found a home.

Apologies to all the reviewers. I know that I have been bad at replying to them, but I want you all to know that I appreciate every single one of you who have reviewed and stuck by this story. Thank you so much. I hope you all enjoyed Hopeless, and I hope that -as a first fic- it wasn't too bad. Thank you once again, please review! :)