He sat on his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest, biting his lip as he tried to forget the emptiness of Sirius' face as he slipped through the veil, to beyond. Remus closed his eyes, and found himself falling back into a memory:
Remus sat, pale faced and thinner than ever as he sat shaking on his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest. His three friends watched on, their faces mirroring one another's own horror as they watched him suffer.
"It wasn't your fault," Sirius said, making his way over to Remus on the bed.
"Don't," Remus said, a small shiver making his lip tremble as he spoke. Sirius stopped obediently.
"He's right, though," James said, looking pained, "It was our-"
"It was my fault," Sirius interrupted, "I didn't think. Not of the consequences on your part, at least," he tried to explain, "I didn't mean for Snape to actually go all the way into the hut, Moony."
"Just...leave him alone for a while, boys," Professor McGonagall said from behind them, "Come on. Out," She demanded, strictly.
James, Peter and Sirius left the room, but not before Sirius cast one last heartbroken and sympathetic look at his friend.
Professor McGonagall gave a quick flick of her wand, closing the door. Then she turned to look at Remus. Her expression was mixed. Something flickered across, something not unlike sympathy, as she looked at the boy before her.
"It's my fault," he said eventually, a tear running down his cheek that he wiped away hastily.
Without a word, his Head of House watched him briefly.
"It wasn't your fault," she said, echoing what Sirius had said earlier, "It was all-"
"Don't blame them," Remus said; his voice uncharacteristically cold.
With a sigh, Professor McGonagall rose from the bed, "We need to get you to the hospital bay, at least for the night," she suggested, but without any room for a disagreement.
Shrugging, Remus rose from his bed, shaking more as he did so.
She eyed him warily in her periphery as they walked along to the bay.
Almost at the hospital, they rounded a corner; coming, as they did so, face to face with Severus.
"Severus..." Remus began uneasily.
"You two can talk later," Professor McGonagall cut across, upon seeing the wave of fury across Severus' face, "Go!" She said, ushering Remus ahead of her.
Seething, Severus walked away, back to the dungeons.
"Get into the bed, Remus," Professor McGonagall said; the first time she had addressed him by his forename, "I'm going to go and talk to Poppy," she said, leaving him alone.
Once again, he resumed his knees drawn up position as he had been in earlier. Remus stayed like that for quite some time. That was until the door creaked open quietly. At first glance, no one had entered, but then Remus realised it was one of his friends, under the cloak.
"Go," Remus said, straining to sound as demanding as their Head of House had, in his own weakened state.
"Not likely," Came the voice of Sirius, as he removed the cloak from around him.
Sirius assessed his friend's stature; his pale, ill looking face, the new scratches across his arms and neck. Sirius' face saddened, knowing that he was to blame for his best friend's suffering. With a sad sigh, Sirius hopped up beside Remus on the bed, leaving the cloak behind him.
Sirius put his arms around his friend, simultaneously as Remus put his head against Sirius' chest.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said, holding his friend close, "I will never do this to you again," he continued.
"It doesn't ma-"
"Yes it does," Sirius snapped. Lowering his voice again, sounding soft once more, Sirius said, "It does. I want to be the one to comfort you, not cause you pain," he explained.
Remus gave a small sad smile; his head still buried against Sirius, as his own arms hung loosely around his friend.
"I'll look after you forever, Moony," Sirius murmured, "Until the end of time."
"That wasn't true," Remus said aloud to the empty room. 'The end of time means when we both have to leave. Together. When we're old,' Remus thought to himself. He felt himself begin to shake and shiver, as he had done that day, many years ago.
"You sounded so sincere, Pads," Remus continued, "I trusted you. I needed you. I need you." The tears rolled down his cheeks as he recalled his loss, again and again.
As he realised his friend wouldn't be there to comfort him this time, despite him being to blame again, Remus slid down onto his bed. He neither felt comfy, nor warm. He just wanted to lie there, and forget everything, until the end of time.