About a month after Harry returned to school after his winter holiday, a letter arrived at Grimmauld Place from Hogwarts. Remus took it into his room, away from prying eyes, and read it over:

Remus,

My deepest apologies for misunderstanding you when you came to speak to me about Harry Potter's detentions with Dolores Umbridge. Harry spoke with me about the blood quill today. I am drafting a child abuse report to the Ministry, and I will send it off by the end of the night.

It is highly likely that Harry will have to speak before the Wizengamot. With your permission, and if you are willing to help with his testimony, Harry will be coming to speak with you this evening. Physically, he is doing well, but he will benefit from your support.

Regards,

Minerva McGonagall

Remus's heart raced. He had messed up. He should have stayed and talked to McGonagall longer. He could have helped get rid of Umbridge sooner. He should have known that no matter how corrupt the Ministry had become, they wouldn't allow child torture. It wasn't even that it was a moral issue—it would just look bad if word got out.

But if Harry had finally spoken with McGonagall and told the whole truth . . . either something terrible had happened to him, or Remus had been right. There had been another victim.

Either way, Harry would be here pretty soon, and once the report was filed, the media would be all over this. Whether it was tonight when Harry spoke to them, or in next week's papers, Sirius would find out what had happened. It was best he heard it from Remus first. This was going to be a tough conversation, but he couldn't put it off any longer.

Remus sent off a response to McGonagall, then walked out into the living room to find Sirius reclining on the couch with a newspaper. "Sirius, we need to talk."

Sirius put down the paper and sat up straight. "Is this about the boggart in the hall closet? Because I've tried getting rid of it ten times, and every time—"

"No, no." Remus took a seat on the couch across from Sirius. "This is about Harry."

Sirius's eyes widened, and he slid up to the edge of his seat. "Harry. Is he alright? What happened?"

"He's fine now. We'll see him tonight, he's coming by Grimmauld Place."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You're sure he's alright?"

Remus breathed in to affirm it, but he realized he wasn't entirely sure that Harry hadn't been hurt again, and he didn't want to be guilty of any more lying than necessary. "Did he ever talk to you about Umbridge?"

Sirius swore.

"Ah. I'll take that as a yes. But I'm assuming he didn't tell you what she did to him during his detentions?"

"Lines, wasn't it? The toad, I should—"

"Lines with a blood quill."

Sirius's face turned pale. "No."

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"McGonagall is filing a report, and—"

"I'll kill Umbridge!" Sirius stormed out of his seat and ran for the Floo. "I'M GOING TO KILL HER!"

Remus whipped out his wand. "Locomotor Mortis!"

Sirius stumbled, and he fell to the floor. "Unlock my legs, Remus!"

"No." Remus kept his wand in his hand, ready to stop his friend if he managed to lunge for the fireplace again. "Not until you promise you're not going to run off and do something reckless."

"She hurt Harry! She made him bleed!"

"She'll do a lot worse to you if you show yourself."

"I don't care!"

"You should care."

"Why?"

"Because Harry cares. What would it do to him if something happened to you?"

Sirius wriggled over to the coffee table, where he reached up and grabbed his wand before Remus could stop him. He unlocked his legs and jumped to his feet, though he swayed, and pointed his wand at Remus. "She hurt my godson. I dare you to stop me."

"He's okay, Sirius. He's got a scar, but he's not in pain anymore."

"A scar? When did this happen?"

Remus took a deep breath. "Months ago, Siri. He only just told McGonagall today."

Sirius swung around to sit up straighter, his jaw dropping, eyes piercing Remus's. "You knew about this months ago?"

Remus swallowed. "Harry came to talk to me when it was first happening. He was in pain, and I gave him a bandage soaked in Murtlap. He spent the next morning with us, you remember."

"He told me it was a Quidditch injury."

"On my orders." That wasn't exactly true, but Remus didn't want Sirius to be upset with Harry.

Sirius shouted a curse at Remus, but Remus jumped to his feet and easily blocked it. He threw another one, and Remus disarmed him. Sirius grabbed Remus by the front of his shirt. "How could you keep this from me?"

Remus locked eyes with Sirius. "Because I knew you would react like this."

"Like what?"

"Trying to run off on some quest for revenge!"

"Why didn't you? Are you a Marauder or not?"

"I wanted what was best for Harry."

"Lot of good you did him!" Sirius pushed Remus back and began to pace. "Left him in that place with that—that—"

"I know, and I feel terrible about it. There were some miscommunications."

"Why didn't you run in there and kill her when you first found out?"

"You think I wasn't tempted?"

"Then why didn't you?"

"This is a real question?" Remus's breath caught in his throat. "Okay. For one thing, I would have been arrested, and that wouldn't have done Harry any good. For another, he didn't want me to storm in there and fix his problems. For another, morally speaking, it's—"

"What if it had been James? Hmm? You'd have just let Umbridge go on hurting him?"

"Harry is not James. And even if he were, there's a right and wrong way to do things."

Sirius scoffed in disgust. "What happened to you in the twelve years I was gone?"

"I grew up. Apparently that's not something that happened to you."

Sirius lunged, throwing a punch.

Remus easily ducked out of the way. He'd have apologized for his impulsive comment if Sirius hadn't just proven it was true. "I don't want to put you in a Body-Bind, but I will if you make me."

"I don't even know who you are. You knew about this for months, and you didn't tell me."

"And your reaction is proving I was right to keep it from you."

"Well, how else should I react?"

"Like an adult! That's why Harry came to me, Sirius. He needed a mature adult, and he couldn't trust you to act like one."

"Friendship and loyalty are more important than maturity, Remus, I'll never apologize for that!"

"And that's why you'll never be his guardian!"

The words hung in the air between them. The look on Sirius's face was as if he had just been stabbed in the gut. Guilt flooded through Remus's veins.

"Oh, Siri . . . I didn't mean . . ."

"Yes you did."

"But . . . I didn't—"

"Yes." Sirius trudged across the room to pick up his wand and put it in his pocket. "You did."

Remus swallowed hard. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. He was one to talk about maturity, when he'd just made a careless remark like that. "I am sorry."

Sirius looked down, his jaw pulsing. "Harry's coming here?"

"Yes. For emotional support, and to get help with his testimony."

"Well, that sounds like a job for an adult. I'll be in my room." He turned to go.

"He's going to want to see you, too."

"Will he."

"He loves you, you know. He'd rather have his hand sliced open night after night than even risk putting you in danger."

"Well, that's not very mature."

"He's fifteen, Sirius. He doesn't have to be." Remus knew that would be another cutting comment, but it had to be said.

Sirius just shook his head and left the room.