"I pretty much froze." Remus flushed with embarrassment. "I'd been fighting so hard to see Harry that I lost sight of the fact that he wouldn't be the same cheeky chap who called me Mooey and demanded cuddles as soon as I walked in the door. Instead there was this quiet intense thirteen year old boy who didn't know me from Merlin and…I hadn't considered until I actually saw him; what if he doesn't like me? What if he finds out about my furry problem and…" he stopped abruptly.
Sirius paused in his pacing and threw himself into the second visitor's chair opposite Remus. He could understand Remus's position. He'd had his own moments of disorientation with Harry; of trying to reconcile the happy baby he'd loved so unconditionally with the teenage boy he was watching over, had talked to so very briefly; a teenage boy he didn't actually know and who didn't know him. "So you waited."
Remus nodded unhappily. "I realised that I should have just told him as soon as I introduced myself and bugger my lack of courage and Albus's well-intentioned concern." He sighed. "Because that's the thing, Padfoot: on the face of it, all of Albus's actions look like well-intentioned concern and a desire to protect Harry, especially when you consider Harry's role as the Boy Who Lived." He paused again. "Taken individually, none of Albus's actions are sinister."
"He circumvented the system and the will." Sirius pointed out.
"Yes, but did he know for certain the contents of the will? Do you remember if he was a witness?" Remus responded.
Sirius shook his head. He couldn't remember who had been the signed witnesses with any clarity.
"And, without the will, taking Harry to Petunia was probably what the Wizarding Orphan Office would have done anyway," Remus continued, "Petunia is Harry's closest living family. Add to that Harry was probably safer in the muggle world from the Death Eaters looking for revenge at the time, and I'm sure Albus keeping everybody else away from Harry was also meant to ensure that safety." He gave a small shrug. "And, from some comments Albus let slip, I think he hoped Harry would have a normal upbringing since our world had already given itself over to The Boy Who Lived madness."
"Exactly how did that get started?" Sirius asked. "Nobody really knows what happened beyond the bare facts and…"
"Probably a combination of Hagrid and Peter." Remus interrupted. "Hagrid was never the most discreet of the Order and I rather suspect Peter or rather Wormtail was there that night. I think he saw what happened and told the tale to whoever he could as soon as he could to ensure attention was on Harry and away from himself."
"Damn it." Sirius snapped. "If he was there when I was there…"
"Then he knew you would be searching for him." Remus smiled sadly. "It explains why he managed to get the better of you."
Sirius pushed the thought away and refocused on Harry. "OK," he said slowly, "so we provisionally accept that Dumbledore placed Harry with the best of intentions…" When he'd considered the matter alone, he'd reached that conclusion but it was somewhat comforting to know Remus was in agreement.
"But it doesn't explain why he's missed the abuse since." Remus interrupted.
Sirius stilled. "You know that for certain?"
"I ended up spending a great deal of time overseeing detentions for the Weasley twins, Fred and George." Remus began. "Minerva kept giving them to me as revenge for our school days, I think, and…"
"What does this…"
"You remember Ron is Harry's best friend." Remus interrupted. "The twins are in Gryffindor and on the quidditch team with Harry. They're very fond of him; consider him an honorary Weasley."
Sirius's confusion dissipated.
Remus folded his hands over his stomach. "Last week, at the beginning of their detention, I made a comment that I was worried about the home life of a friend of theirs and while I didn't want to put them in the position of breaking confidences, I would appreciate any information they could give me." He sighed. "They immediately knew it was Harry and were very reluctant to talk, but once they began…"
"They couldn't stop." Sirius finished.
Remus's eyes flashed angrily. "The summer after his first year, they found him locked in his room and barely fed. They recovered his trunk from a locked cupboard under the stairs which had an old picture taped up saying 'Harry's Room.' They said that they didn't think Harry had received Christmas or birthday presents. They know his muggle clothes are hand-me-downs. The rest, well, it's all speculative."
Sirius grabbed the arms of the chair, his knuckles turning white.
"When I resigned, I tried to talk to Albus about what the twins had told me and he didn't seem at all surprised." Remus said in a calm tone that belied the furious light in his eyes. "He claimed that while yes, Harry's relatives didn't provide the best care, the Dursleys continued to be the safest place for Harry. In my opinion, he's being wilfully blind not only to the mistreatment, but to the effect such mistreatment has on a child."
Sirius raised his eyebrows at the very evident snarl in the words. "Maybe we should drop this. Neither of us can afford to go after muggles or Dumbledore with murder in mind. We're going to get Harry away from them, I swear."
His friend stared at him for a long moment, but the heat in his eyes faded. "I never thought I'd see the day Sirius Black advocated caution."
"Harry," Sirius said firmly, "is more important than anything. I've learnt my lesson."
"Well said, Sirius." Remus reached over and patted his arm proudly. He hesitated momentarily until Sirius made a get-on-with-it gesture. "I'm just wondering if you want me to tell you about Harry's first two years at Hogwarts?"
"Of course! I want to know all about Harry!" Sirius responded immediately. Why would Remus be so hesitant? He froze. "Did…did something happen?"
Remus sighed heavily. "I'm afraid you're not going to like this."