Disclaimed: None of it's mine, sadly. If the world of Harry Potter belonged to me Sirius and Remus would have been together.
Living for a Monster
The past was a monster. Half-hidden in the shadows of nightmares and lost dreams, it lurked with narrowed eyes and bared teeth glinting in what little light old and forgotten hopes shed on it. It liked to growl and roar, its voice like thunder rolling in and its sneers like light reflecting off a sharpened blade. It liked to whisper with a cold cruelty hidden by a beguilingly soft tone that made even happy memories become ones of regret. The past didn't pounce, didn't rend its prey limb from limb like any normal, self-respecting monster would. No, it preferred to back its prey into a corner. It loomed over them, covering them with darkened memories of what once was and what was once hoped for. It remained there, howling and snarling and whispering until shoulders were weighed down with mistakes and breathe was held back by laments until its prey gave into it.
Yes, the past was a monster. But the past was all Remus had, now that Sirius was gone.