Hours later people began arriving at the house for the Order of the Phoenix meeting. Many of them, such as Tonks and some of the professors from his school, Harry recognized but most he did not. He, along with the Weasley children, were told to wait upstairs during the meeting and warned not to come downstairs unless their lives were in danger. Ron and Ginny grumbled unhappily about it but Fred and George immediately began discussing ways to listen in without going downstairs. Harry felt confident that within a few weeks they would have figured out someway to learn what was being talked about, but for now they were out of luck.
The meeting lasted over an hour and at one point Harry swore he could hear Sirius yelling from all the way upstairs, although he had no idea what Sirius was so angry about. Despite their earlier protests Harry and the others managed to stay upstairs the entire time. It was easier for Harry because he knew Sirius would tell him anything he needed to know anyway, but by the end Ron was on the verge of running down the stairs.
"All you're going to do is get yourself in trouble, Ronnie-kins." George said teasingly. "You've got to be smart about this, not just run off without a plan."
"Oh yeah?" Ron replied. "If you're so smart, what's your plan?"
"You'll see." Fred answered with a smile.
"You two never tell me what you're doing!" Ron said unhappily. "I only find out about what you're doing when you prank me."
"This prank isn't for you, little brother." Fred assured him. "Although, now that you mention it, it has been a while since we've pranked you…"
"Very true, Fred." George agreed. "We'll fix that. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, or even the next day. But we'll be coming for you Ron. Count on it." Ron angrily left the room after George's vague threat and the twins immediately started laughing at his reaction. Harry silently watched the conversation between the siblings and tried to stifle the laugh that was trying to work its way out. He and Ron had not spoken to each other much since his arrival at the house but Harry hoped that they would be able to get along and maybe even start to repair some of the damage that had been done to their relationship over the last year. He wanted Ron to his friend again, but he knew that would be impossible if Ron wouldn't grow up a little.
"We're done." Sirius announced as he walked up the stairs with Remus following close behind him. "Weasley's, your mother wants you all downstairs." The Weasley children nodded and walked out of the room leaving Harry, Sirius, and Remus alone.
"So, what happened?" Harry asked.
"Not here, we don't have much time left." Remus answered. "Follow me."
Harry wondered what was going on but followed them, wondering if there was any danger. They walked up another set of stairs to the third floor and then to the end of the hallway. When Remus opened the door Harry saw that a large steel cage that looked like a prison cell had been built inside.
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"It's the full moon, Harry." Remus explained. "I have to be locked up. Even with the Wolfsbane potion I will feel safer knowing I can't get to you."
"I'm sorry, Moony." Harry replied. "I didn't even realize that was today." Remus nodded and walked into the cage. As the door closed a loud click was heard signalling that the door was indeed locked. Remus made sure to carefully hand his wand and coat over to Sirius before sitting down in the middle of the cage.
"It's not a problem." Remus said. "Thank you Padfoot, for setting this up for me."
"We're brothers, Moony. Of course I'd do this for you." Sirius replied. "How much longer?"
"I'm not sure." Remus answered. "But soon."
"Moony…" Harry interrupted. "Does it hurt? When you transform?"
"Yes, it does." Remus replied from inside the cage. He scratched his chin as if thinking about how he wanted to answer. "But the Wolfsbane helps. So does having Padfoot around. When he and your father were finally able to complete their Animagus transformations and spend the nights with me when I was a werewolf it was one of the happiest moments of my life."
"I wish I could do that for you." Harry said sincerely.
"I know you do, and I appreciate it all the same." Remus said with a smile. Then suddenly his smile turned into a grimace and he raised his hands to his head as if he were in pain. "Padfoot, check the lock!" Sirius ran over and pulled on the lock but it was secure.
"It's good, Moony. Don't worry." Sirius assured his friend. Remus nodded a little but then the transformation overtook him. Remus moaned in pain as his body started to change shape and coarse hair sprouted all over his body. He dropped to the ground and Harry watched in fascination as his hands slowly became paws and his face elongated into a snout. Soon the painful transformation was complete and a large ferocious looking werewolf was sitting in the cage where only moments before his normal looking former professor and friend had been. Moony sniffed at the air and seemed to glare at Harry and Sirius but did not make any move to attack them. The Wolfsbane potion was working as intended.
"I wish he didn't have to go through that." Harry said as he looked at the werewolf pace inside the cage.
"So do I." Sirius agreed. "Come one, let's sit down." Sirius led them over to a small table and a couple of chairs that had been placed in the room and sat down.
"How was the meeting?" Harry asked finally.
"Boring for the most part. Snape was being a jerk, as usual." Sirius answered. "There was one thing that I thought you should hear now before you find out tomorrow. Dumbledore found out we were having lunch at the Greengrass's tomorrow…"
"And let me guess." Harry interrupted. "He doesn't think we should go."
"No, not that." Sirius answered. "He wants me to offer Daniel Greengrass a place in the Order of the Phoenix, like he had done in the last war so long ago." Harry's jaw dropped open in shock, he had not been expecting that. "What do you think he'll say?"
"I have no idea." Harry answered honestly. "I get the impression he doesn't like Dumbledore very much."
"Sometimes the old man makes it easy not to like him." Sirius replied. "I'm going to make the offer anyway. It'll be up to him to decide what to do." Harry nodded, thinking that probably was the best way to approach it. Suddenly Moony howled and Harry's attention was brought back to him.
"Sirius, how did he become a werewolf? What happened?" Harry asked. Sirius sighed a little before answering.
"He was just a little kid when it happened, not even old enough to go to Hogwarts." Sirius answered. "His father had somehow insulted a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback and as revenge Greyback made sure he was near the Lupin's house on the next full moon. When night came he changed and attacked. Moony's parents were ok but he got bit, there wasn't anything they could do to stop the infection once that happened."
"Whatever happened to Greyback?" Harry asked.
"He's still out there somewhere." Sirius answered. "He followed Voldemort in the last war so it's possible he has rejoined the Death Eaters. He particularly likes biting children, the sick bastard."
"Oh." Harry responded, unsure of what else to say. "I'm glad you and my dad were there for him."
"Me too." Sirius said. "Back then he was so scared that when we found out he was a werewolf we wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore. But James just swore we would learn to be Animagi so we could still be with him, and we did." Sirius sat back and smiled as he thought about happier memories from his younger days. Harry decided not to say anything because he felt like he was intruding on a private moment.
"It's getting late, I think I'll go back downstairs." Harry said a few minutes later. "Coming?"
"In a little bit." Sirius said. "For now I think Padfoot wants to come out and play." Harry smiled as Sirius transformed into a large black dog that briefly came over and licked Harry before running off towards the cage where Moony sat watching them. Harry observed the two friends for a moment and thought he might never see anything as odd as a smiling werewolf. As the two animals began to play Harry left the room so the two old friends could spend time together like they had so often before.
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