Right then... haven't written anything for a while, and found this lurking in the nether regions of my mind. Enjoy, please scribble a review and have a lovely day...
o-o
He went to visit Sirius once. Just once. He had sat silent in the boat, tossed through the crashing waves towards the jagged hulk of rock that formed the foundations of Azkaban. He was quite surprised when the little dinghy actually reached safe harbour; he'd been expecting to be smashed against the grasping rocks.
The warden had leered as he scrambled to the damp stone steps of the jetty. The sneer had only deepened when he learned the purpose of Lupin's visit. It stayed etched on his pasty, sinister face as he slunk along the dank corridors. Remus soon lost count of the barred doors as they made their way deeper, keeping his eyes averted from the inhabitants. They passed a Dementor, and he tried to look inconspicuous, profoundly relieved when it let them pass unquestioned. He wondered how the wardens kept their sanity here, coming to the conclusion that they probably didn't. Wrapped in his thoughts, he was taken aback when the warden stopped suddenly and gestured to one of the cells before shuffling back the way they'd come, leaving Remus in the gloom.
He just stood there. Not ten feet away, Sirius Black lay sleeping, huddled up on a thin mattress under a tattered blanket. Remus could see his chest rise and fall, hear the ragged catch in his breathing. He was close enough to smell the acrid, fetid stench of his old friend's unwashed body.
He could have woken him. Sirius had always been a light sleeper. One word would have been enough to bring him to the bars…
The clouds outside passed over and moonlight flooded the cell, illuminating the sleeper. Remus blinked against the sudden light.
The time in Azkaban had taken its toll, but still, softened by sleep and moonlight, Sirius' face held hints of his old boyishness. He still had that old trick of scrunching his eyes up, and the corners of his mouth still quirked with his dreaming. He didn't look like a murderer…
Remus felt the bile rising in his throat and swallowed hard, suddenly almost overwhelmed with hatred for this man, this pathetic, vile worm of a human being. He had admired Sirius Black, looked up to him and looked after him. He had trusted him. Only a few years ago, he would have laid down his life to protect Sirius, and yet, he'd done this. The one man on whom they'd thought they could depend had delivered James and Lily Potter to the Dark Lord; offered up their lives on a silver platter, and tried to cover his betrayal with murder. He'd shed the blood of innocents. Remus couldn't stand to look at him anymore. Turning on his heel, he started back the way he had come.
A hoarse, sleep-filled voice followed him.
"Moony?"
Remus quickened his steps, almost running to get away from that place. He ignored the knowing smirk of the jailer as he slipped down the slimed steps into the boat. He ignored the drenching spray and roaring ocean all around him as they left the prison behind. He simply sat, trying not to be sick with the pain and anger that had welled up from the depths of his soul.
He never went back.