It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 21

                                       Chapter 21- Boxing Day at the Burrow

Remus walked into the parlor, later that evening, to find the kids chatting away, asking questions about each other's lives, both Muggle and Magical.   Glancing around, he returned their greetings, but a frown was forming on his face.

"Where's Sirius?  I thought he'd be here with you lot, when I didn't find him in the kitchen."

"Well, now that you mention it, he hasn't been in here at all this evening, has he?" answered Ron, looking round at the rest, who were shaking their heads.

"We thought he must be down in the kitchen with Mum," Ginny added.

"She thought he was in here, playing host," replied Remus.  Then he snapped his fingers.  "I bet I know where he's been  . . . he often goes and hangs out upstairs with Buckbeak."

"Buckbeak is here?  Really?"  Emma's eyes opened wide.  "Oh, I'd love to see him."

"Come on then, let's go track down both of them," called Remus over his shoulder, as he led the way to the very top of the house.

The attic room that served as Buckbeak's stable had been magically enlarged to accommodate the winged Hippogriff,  with double doors overlooking the back of the house,  with a small deck  attached.

When Remus opened the door, Buckbeak swung his head around and gazed at the crowd of people in the doorway.  As he realized he was seeing two of Harry, Ron and Hermione, he shook his head and cocked it first to the right, then to the left, as if trying to figure out what was happening.

"Better do this one at a time," Remus suggested.

"Right," Harry agreed.  "Come on Dan, let me introduce you.  You know the routine, don't you?"

"Too right I do," gasped Dan, as he bowed, keeping eye contact with the huge animal.  After a pause, Buckbeak nodded his head and allowed Harry and Dan to approach him.

"Buckbeak, this is Dan; he's a new friend, he's a Muggle and he gets to pretend to be me in Muggle movies . . ah . . well . . ." Harry stuttered to a stop, wondering how to explain movies to the creature looking from him to Dan with his large, luminous eyes.

"Hello, Buckbeak, I've heard all about you and you are every bit as handsome as I was told.  Would you mind if I touched you . . . petted you?"

In answer, Buckbeak lowered his head and Dan scratched just behind Beaky's  'ear' tufts, as he had with the animatronic Beaky, with whom he was used to dealing.  He did, however, get the same reaction, much to his surprise; a deep, rumbling 'purr' of contentment.

Remus, in the meantime, had sauntered over to the door which opened onto the deck, where he could see Sirius sitting on a stool, staring out over the rooftops.  He let himself out and pulling up an empty crate, joined his friend.

"Making yourself scarce for a reason?"

"Had a fair bunch of things to think through, sort out and deal with, old sod," was the morose answer.

"And you've come to what conclusion, if you don't mind my asking?"  Remus leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clenched, waiting.

"That I spent almost half of my life in Azkaban for something I didn't do, that I screwed up trying to get my revenge by letting Peter escape.  I'm slated to die, stupidly, and Harry will have no family left, at all, except the Dursleys, if  I don't  get it right this time.  Also, I was a total ass at school and I have a lot of crow to eat, as far as Severus is concerned.  Hopefully, the truce, or whatever this is, that's already going on between us isn't just because we're both  . . .  what's that Muggle expression? . . . between a rock and a hard place."