Remus' eyes fluttered open. He looked around at his surroundings, realising he was lying on the grounds of Hogwarts. For one fleeting moment, he found himself thinking that maybe he wasn't dead. But realisation hit him as though he'd ran straight into a brick wall ; he couldn't have survived. He'd been hit with the Killing Curse , and he was no Harry Potter , he'd had no mother by his side to protect him with her love..

And , as he also noticed, the grounds were completely empty , except for himself. He pondered, for a moment , if Tonks was somewhere there too, but another thought quickly overpowered that one. If he was really dead, did that mean he would get to see his already deceased friends again? Would he get to laugh over stupid jokes with Sirius and James again? Would he fet to have conversations that could have easily lasted hours with Lily again? Would they be united once more? The questions attacked his head like parasites. A smile came to grace his prematurely aged and worn face. He'd see Sirius again. He'd hold him again, kiss him again, be with him again...

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt for Tonks, he knew his thoughts would have destroyed her..

As much as he hated to admit it, he'd only thought he loved her, because she had picked up the pieces. She'd been there to clean up the mess of a man he'd been. She had soothed him, had eased the pain, had filled a small part of the gaping hole Sirius had left in his heart when he died.He felt guilty now, realising the lies he'd fed her, for a year...

He cared for Tonks, oh yes, but it would never be the same as how he'd cared for Sirius. It was an overwhelming feeling, it was as if every time he thought of him, his body became numb it ached for him so much, he needed Sirius..

" Two years, I've been without you, Padfoot, Two years... And it still hurts as much as it always has... "

He could still remember their first kiss. It had happened on the Christmas eve in their fifth year at Hogwarts. They were walking in the halls after dinner, discussing why they were staying at the school for the holidays. Remus has suddenly slipped on some unknown, greenish substance and as Sirius helped him up, he had pointed to something on the ceiling.

" Mistletoe... " , He had mumbled.

" Ah, so it is.. ", Sirius had replied, a mischevious grin forming on his handsome face. He pulled Remus so close that they were barely inches away from each other, smiled , and kissed him, in a way that he now longed for...

" Oh, how did I manage without you during the twelve years you were in Azkaban, Padfoot ? ".

"I don't know, but all that's over, you're with me again.. " He heard a familiar voice say to him.

Shocked, Remus turned around and saw him, the one who haunted him so much, standing there, grinning. Remus stared at him in disbelief for a brief moment, and then sprang to his feet, running towards him and embracing him, his hold so tight that the other felt he almost couldn't breathe.

" Moony, you're crushing me! ", Sirius whined playfully.

" I'm sorry, I just... Missed you, that's all ", Remus replied , blushing. Sirius just smiled knowingly, and kissed him, with a oassion he'd been holding inside for two years, finally getting a chance to release it. They clung to each other for a few moments more, and Sirius broke the silence.

" Would you like to see Lily and James now ? " , He said , smiling.

" Oh, of course, I'd love that! ", Remus responded, smiling even more than Sirius.

And the two men left into the distance, hand in hand, grateful to be together again, this time for eternity.