Remus swallowed the urge to yawn and tried to focus on his meeting with Brian. They were in Brian's office in a wonderful old building just off Diagon Alley. The office was large but unpretentious, it suited Brian. There was a large bay window letting sunlight flood across the sturdy desk and comfortable chairs, the bookcases that lined the room were filed with legal books and journals.
"Everything go as planned with obtaining custody of the boy?" Brian asked as he reviewed the parchments in front of him.
"Pretty much." Remus replied, recalling the previous evening with satisfaction before his mind drifted to earlier that morning.
He'd bundled a newly de-aged Sirius and Harry into a car they'd hired at five o'clock to drive them to the airport. They'd both tugged at his heartstrings; it had been like looking at what could have been had Sirius taken guardianship when Harry was a baby. Harry had made a very cute sleepy five year old; Sirius had made a very dangerous looking twenty-seven year old. Remus had insisted on taking a photo.
"He's a remarkable thirteen year old boy if he didn't kick up a fuss about being sent to a health clinic." Brian said dryly, setting the parchments aside.
Remus grinned. "Ah, well, we might have led him to believe it's mostly for Sirius's benefit, and the most he'll get is a check-up and then he can have a holiday."
"Sneaky."
"It was a bit of a conversational landmine." Remus recalled. Sirius had handled it well. In fact, Sirius had handled the whole evening with remarkable skill only faltering over the topic of Dumbledore momentarily. Remus was proud of him. When Sirius was healed, he was going to be a fantastic father to Harry.
And Sirius did need healing. Remus had caught him drifting mid-sentence; staring off into space with a haunted expression. He was skin and bones despite Kreacher's cooking and the nutrient potions the house elf insisted Sirius drink every morning. But for all that Sirius was surprisingly focused on one thing: Harry.
James would be proud of Sirius and how he'd embraced his role as Harry's godfather, Remus thought fondly; Lily, on the other hand, would be open-mouthed in disbelief at Sirius's transformation from a somewhat reckless youth. Remus was only saddened that Sirius hadn't been given the opportunity to transform twelve years before.
The confirmation that there had been no trial hadn't been a shock to them but it was still a blow. Sirius had spent the day after hearing the news in a fury. Remus had channelled his anger into going over their plan with a fine toothcomb so nothing could go wrong. It had been hard the previous evening trying to explain to Harry their anger at Albus without listing the growing complaints they had against him – the primary of which was Harry's treatment at the hands of the Dursleys.
Remus had a feeling that Harry needed to be healed as much as Sirius. His size and stature spoke of malnutrition and given the way he had broken down when Sirius had confirmed he was Harry's guardian and wanted him…Merlin. Remus had never felt so useless.
"Did you get a chance to ask the young man about prosecuting his relatives?" Brian asked.
If Remus hadn't known his lycanthropy blocked mind-reading of any description he'd have been worried that Brian had picked the topic straight out of his head. He sighed and nodded. "He said and I quote 'I just want shot of them.' Sirius and I are agreed that they won't come near him again so that's done."
"Ah. Well, can't blame the boy, and it's probably for the best; a prosecution would have been an ordeal for him." Brian murmured. "I assume you looked at the report compiled by Amelia Bones?"
"Actually, no." Remus shook his head. "Sirius took a copy for the healers at the clinic but he wouldn't read it. He said Harry would talk to us when he was ready. I won't read it because I fear if I do I'll hex the Dursleys if I have to deal with them again."
Brian raised an eyebrow. "Some would say they deserve it."
"They'll get their comeuppance eventually." Remus promised fiercely. "Sirius and I will ensure it once Harry is of age and Petunia can't even remotely threaten to take Harry away from Sirius."
"You think they'll try and reverse the guardianship?"
"It's unlikely but I'm not ruling it out," Remus said, "mostly because I wouldn't put it past Vernon Dursley to realise that if they got a new house for Harry that they could potentially extort more."
"I assume that Black would prosecute them for extortion in that case." Brian said, picking up the cup on his desk.
Remus nodded, draining his own cup of tea. Sirius would if Remus had anything to say about it. "A topic for another day," he said, knowing they'd meandered from the purpose of the meeting. "Are we organised for the press this week?"
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