Disclaimer: Don't own any of them except for Amanda, Perseus, Orion, and Athena. They are mine…heehee.
Author's Notes: This is story is SOMEWHAT non-cannon because of the fact that I make Lily and Remus good friends before he becomes friends with the rest of the gang. If you've got problems with that, just let me know, and…I make a mental note of it…and…er…I dunno. Whatever. Anyway, I also add little new spin to the love story between Lily and James. You'll see a lot of small details and story ideas based on some movies out there such as Face Off, Braveheart, and While You Were Sleeping, but I think you'll like…I hope. Heehee, well, enough of my babbling! Off you go to reading!
~Chapter 1~
"AMANDA!"
The peaceful silence that had surrounded the large, handsome manor was split by the shrill voice of its master. Its mistress had been sitting in the parlor, along with her daughter and son, enjoying a nice cup of tea when the voice called out again, closer this time, and more urgent then the voice had ever sounded.
"AMANDA! CALL THE HEALER! NOW!"
At the sound of the words the entire family jumped up, the mistress, Amanda, ran to the fireplace to call for the family doctor, the two children ran to the door to open it for their father. What they saw would be ingrained in their memories for the rest of their lives.
"Father! What happened?!" the boy asked as he helped his father carry the prone body of his youngest brother into the family common room. The daughter, though older than the boy, seemed a bit too shocked to do anything that would help. She stood there at the door, staring at the spot her father had once occupied. Her complexion, although naturally pale, seemed as white as the blouse she had on at the moment.
"Mistress Athena? Young mistress? Was that the master?" The girl shook herself from her moment of pure shock before getting into her business like mindset.
She looked down at the small house elf. "Mindy, go get some hot water, bandages, and a clean towel, please…"
"Yes, mistress," without another word, the elf disappeared to retrieve the things she'd been sent for.
Athena took in a deep breath before stealing herself for what she was about to see again. When she walked into the common room she saw her mother in tears near the couch, her father frantically running around looking for various things that might help his youngest son, and her brother sitting on the floor, holding her other brother's hand, murmuring comforting words.
"I never should have sent him out when I knew that it would be getting dark…oh, I never should have…" Athena walked over to her mother and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, Athena…what are we going to do? What are we going to do?"
"Mother, it wasn't your fault," she soothed, "there was no way you could've known." Although her reaction to first seeing her father and brother at the doorway was anything but cool and collected, Athena lived up to her namesake. She was blessed with an incredible intellect as well as the ability to stay calm in hectic situations.
"Oh, but…what kind of mother sends her seven year old son out on an errand at night time?! Oh…what are we going to do? What are we going to do?"
Athena's attention was drawn away from her mother when the house elf, Mindy, returned with all the things that had been asked for. "Thank you, Mindy, you may go," she said calmly as she took the things from the small servant. "Orion, let me take a look." Her brother moved over to let her clean the wound. "Oh, God…"she whimpered when she saw the actual cut.
"What? What is it?" Orion demanded.
Athena didn't acknowledge her brother's question, instead she looked to her father who had gone to her mother to help comfort her. "Father…was this…" the solemn look in his eyes told her that, yes, it was what she thought.
She couldn't help but let the tears flow down her cheeks as she went back to cleaning her baby brother's wound. "Perseus…what…who…I don't understand. How could anybody attack a seven year old boy?" her mother demanded as she buried her face into her father's chest.
"It wasn't a person, Mandy…It was a werewolf…"
Amanda's head shot up at the words. "But, Perseus…there are no werewolves in England…there aren't."
"Apparently…there are…and our son just got bitten…"
The family sat in silence as they waited for the doctor to arrive. Athena looked over at her brother again. He looked so young. True that he was small for his age, born two months premature, but now he seemed smaller than usual…and the blood…God, the blood that was leaking out of him. A small part of her, hidden in the deepest reaches of her soul, hoped that the doctor wouldn't arrive on time. It wasn't because she wanted to rid the world of another dark creature, no, her baby brother could never be a dark creature. She just didn't want him going through the pain that she knew was coming for him. She remembered some of the stories she'd read in school about how the Ministry dealt with werewolves, and she didn't want that happening to him.
"Athens?"
Her attention was drawn back to the present by the sound of her little brother's nickname for her. "Shhhh…it's alright, Rome…you're going to be alright," she soothed as she glided her hand, palm facing down, over her brother's face, her finger tips grazing his lips ever so slightly. (*) "You're going to be alright…"
"Athens…" he mumbled as he drifted off into unconsciousness again.
"Shhh…Don't worry, Rome…I won't let anything happen to you, I promise…"
***
~*Nearly three years later*~
Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station in London was once again alive with the hustle and bustle of wizarding families sending their children off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For the Lupin family it was their youngest child, a boy, by the name of Remus. He was young for his class, his birthday being in that time period where he could either be very old for his grade or very young. The headmaster decided that in Remus Lupin's case, very young would be better.
The arrival of the letter had come as a surprise to the family, who had expected for Remus not to be invited to attend Hogwarts. Of course, that wouldn't have stopped the family from educating the young boy, all four of his other family members being Hogwarts graduates. The letter, however, had been a welcomed surprise.
The Lupins had questions and doubts at first, being very protective of their youngest, and had considered not allowing him to attend. They had thought that, perhaps, it would be safer for Remus and the other students at Hogwarts if he did not attend, but Dumbledore had been adamant about him being a Hogwarts student. Arrangements had been made to accommodate Remus' special needs, and Dumbledore assured the family that they would take good care of the boy.
One would think that after sending two other children off to Hogwarts, the Lupins would be used to saying goodbye every September 1st, but as mentioned, Remus was a special case. His much older brother and sister, his brother being 21 and his sister being 24, were also reluctant to let their baby brother grow up.
"Okay, son, I want you to be careful…and write if anything goes wrong," Perseus Lupin said to his son as he placed a strong hand on Remus' small shoulder.
"Be careful, Remus," Amanda Lupin bent down to give her son one last hug before making room for her other son to say his goodbyes.
"Study hard, little man, okay? But don't forget to have fun either…and pray that you don't get stuck in the Slytherin house." Orion Lupin stared down at his little brother with a large grin. He knew that there was no way Remus would be sorted into the infamous Slytherin house, one look at the little boy and anyone could see there wasn't an indecent bone in the child's body, but he still couldn't help but be wary about it.
Orion ruffled Remus' sandy brown hair before making room for his sister. "Okay, now promise me that you'll write everyday."
Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. "I promise," he said as he looked into his sister's eyes. She gave him one of her looks. "I promise…really…I'll write you, Athens…Okay?"
She looked at him for a moment, kneeling on one knee so she could see into his soft hazel eyes. "You take care of yourself, Rome, you hear?" Her eyes began to fill up with tears as she glided her hand over his face in the manner she'd always done since the first day she'd seen him. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too," he whispered as he did the same to her.
"I think you should get on the train, son, before it leaves without you." Perseus knew that if he didn't break things off between his two children, they wouldn't want to let go. He helped load his son's trunks into a compartment near the end of the train before saying his final farewells and leaving.
Remus sat alone in his little compartment as the train began to pull away from the station. He stuck his head out the window in time to give one last goodbye to his family, the only friends he'd ever known. He was thankful that he was alone in the compartment when he felt the familiar sting of tears welling up in his eyes. ~You're not going to cry on the first day of school,~ he thought bitterly as he roughly wiped away the offending droplets before they had a chance to roll down his cheeks.
"Aw, is little crybaby homesick already?"
Remus' head shot up at the sound of the cold teasing voice. He hadn't realized someone had pulled open the door. The boy was tall and slim, with white blond hair, and sharp features. He also had three other boys with him, two were large and ugly, like trolls, the other was tall and slim as well, but with black hair and a sharp, hooked nose.
"What's the matter? Too scared to talk?" the blond asked with a cruel smile on his face. Remus remained silent and turned away, looking out the window. "Don't turn away from me when I'm talking to you," the boy said angrily. He reached over and flung Remus around with such force that he fell off his seat. "What are you? Some kind of mute?"
"Just leave me alone," Remus finally mumbled as he started to get back up.
"So, it does talk…who said you could get back up?" As soon as Remus was on his feet he was shoved back to the ground again by the larger boy. ~So this is what Orion meant by bullies,~ he thought with an inward groan.
"Why don't you leave him alone, Malfoy?"
Remus couldn't see who spoke the words, but he could tell that his "new friend" knew who it was from the sound of the voice. "Bugger off, Potter, this isn't any of your business," the boy, Malfoy, growled.
"School hasn't even started yet, and you're already bothering someone. So, we're making it our business," a second voice shot.
"Where there's one, there's always the other," the tall boy with the hooked nose muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"That's what friends are for, Snape. But then again, I supposed you wouldn't know that, would you? Tell, me, do you know what friends are?"
"Why don't the four of you leave before we start something?" the original voice, Potter, Remus assumed, stated calmly.
Malfoy looked down at Remus for a moment, sizing him up, before straightening himself out. "Let's go. The baby down there doesn't seem like much fun to pick on anyway."
With a few last shoves and choice words Remus' four bullies walked out of his compartment. He looked up to see who he assumed was Potter and his friend, both with their trunks behind them, standing in the doorway. "Do you mind if we join you? All the other compartments are kind of full and a bit too crowded." Remus just nodded his head as the two boys made their way into the compartment and shut the door behind them. "My name's James Potter, and this is Sirius Black."
"Remus…Remus Lupin."
"Remus, eh?" the boy, Sirius, said as he sat down in the seat across from him. "After Romulus and Remus?"
"Yeh, it's somewhat of a family tradition to name your kids after famous Greek or Roman mythological characters," he answered shyly.
"Well that's cool," Sirius nodded in approval.
Remus watched as James finished putting his trunk away before adding quietly, "Thank you…for your help with…that situation."
"Don't worry about it…Malfoy and his goons are all just piss and wind," James said with a grin. "My father warned me about Malfoy…I think he's a Slytherin third year or something."
"Yeh, you can tell Snape's going to be a Slytherin too …" Sirius muttered as he leaned back in his seat.
"Good riddance…at least we won't have to deal with them all the time then."
"What makes you so sure about that?" Remus asked.
"Well, because it's safe to say that non of us in this compartment is going to be a Slytherin. You see, my father was a Ravenclaw, and my mother was a Gryffindor…so I have to be either one of those, I'm hoping for Gryffindor. Potter, over there, well…every single member of his family was a Gryffindor. And well…I don't know you yet, but you look too nice to be a Slytherin," Sirius stated matter-of-factly.
"Looks can be deceiving though," Remus mumbled.
Sirius gave him a disbelieving look. "Maybe in some cases, but not in yours. I mean have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror? You, with your large puppy dog eyes and those long lashes, and that quiet, timid manner you've got…Trust me, Remus, you wouldn't last an hour in the Slytherin house."
"Yeh, if you end up a Slytherin, I swear I'll eat my wand," James grinned.
Remus just stared at the two boys and shrugged. If only they knew the darkness that resided inside of him, hidden in the deepest reaches of his consciousness. If only they understood what it was like…
~Oh, stop pitying yourself, you bloody git,~ he thought bitterly as he turned to look out the window. He didn't notice the fact that Sirius and James both gave him curious glances. It seemed as though the two boys were friends from outside Hogwarts. ~I wonder,~ he thought silently as he turned back and saw the two of them playing a card game on the floor of the compartment, ~I wonder what it's like to have friends…real friends other than your family.~ He sighed as a depressing thought came to him, ~I suppose I'll never know.~
***
"So what do you think of him?" Sirius whispered as he and James walked towards the very large man calling for all of the first years.
"What do I think of whom?"
Sirius just rolled his eyes before sighing. "You know, that boy, Remus, we shared a compartment with. He seemed quite strange, didn't he?"
"I thought he was alright, kind of quiet, but pleasant all the same," James shrugged as he got into one of the boats with Sirius by his side as the large man, Hagrid, ordered.
"Yeh, I suppose so, but what was all that jabber about looks can be deceiving…do you think he WANTS to be a Slytherin?" Sirius made sure to keep his voice down so that the other boy in the boat with them wouldn't hear, lest he be a Slytherin.
James smacked his friend on the back of his head. "Don't be thick, nobody WANTS to be a SLYTHERIN…unless, of course, you're Snape or Lucius Malfoy."
"That was completely unnecessary violence, James Edward Potter." Sirius glared at his friend playfully before turning back around and searching for the boat that the boy in question was in.
After a few moments of squinting into the darkness, he finally spotted Remus in the boat with Hagrid. There was also a chubby little boy with white blond hair, and a girl with flaming red hair. Remus and the girl were chatting quietly, the girl occasionally stopping to giggle at something he said.
~Well, the bloke's got to be pleasant if he's made friends with a GIRL already,~ Sirius snorted as he turned back around. He would never understand why some boys kept girls around as friends. All girls did was squeal and giggle about nonsense, and all they cared about was not getting dirty or breaking a nail. Girls were no fun at all.
Sirius had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed he'd walked into the main hall of the castle already. He was jolted back to reality when he heard a voice demanding all the first year's attentions. "ATTENTION PLEASE!" He looked up to see a witch standing before them at the top of the grand staircase. No matter how much he disliked people of the opposite gender, he had to admit that the witch was a very handsome woman. Not pretty like some of the girls in his class may be called, but beautiful in an old-fashioned, noble way. She somewhat reminded him of his mother back home.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! In a few moments, you will walk through those doors and into the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Whatever house you are sorted into will be your family for the rest of you years here at Hogwarts. All of your victories and loses will be shared with the rest of your house. Points will be awarded for every good deed you do, and taken away for every mistake you make. At the end of the year the house with the highest number of points will win the House Cup. Now…please remain here until you are called for. And do try to stay quiet."
Without another word she turned and walked down a long corridor, disappearing behind a sharp turn. As soon as she was out of sight, the entire first year body burst into conversations ranging from what houses they wanted to be sorted into, to exactly what was involved in the sorting ceremony. Sirius, for once in his life, remained silent and took a look around the hall. His ear picked up on the conversation Remus was having with the red haired girl.
"I still don't understand, Remus…"
"It's really not that complicated, Lily…once you go in there you get sorted into your house. It doesn't hurt or anything." Remus smiled shyly.
"But what are the houses for?"
"Well, there are four different towers, one for each house, and when you're sorted, that's the dorm you'll stay in for the seven years here. Your house is also the people you'll take classes with, and most probably become close friends with."
Sirius couldn't be sure, but at the mention of friends he could have sworn that Remus' voice took on a rather sad note. He didn't have time to consider this, however, because at that moment the magnificent doors to the Great Hall swung open. All the first years were surprised to see the witch standing just inside the doors. "Follow me, and please remain in a single file line."
Sirius shuffled himself into the line that was forming right behind James. He looked around in awe at the ceiling and at what seemed like the endless sea of black fabric. "If you'll all line up along here please. Now, when I call your name, please step up and take a seat on the stool. I shall place the sorting hat on your head and you will then be sorted into your houses. ARCHAN, SAMANTHA!"
Sirius watched as a small girl walked up to the stool and took a seat on it. It took a moment before the hat yelled out, "RAVENCLAW!"
"ADAMS, BRENDAN!" The little boy Sirius and James had shared the boat with walked up to get sorted. The hat declared him to be a, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"BAKER, JONATHAN!"
~Okay, we're in the B's now…just relax…you know there's no way you're going to get Slytherin. So, be happy with whatever you get,~ Sirius told himself as he waited for his name to be called.
After a seemingly endless list of B's, ~HOW MANY BLOODY B's CAN THERE BE?!~ the witch finally called out, "BLACK, SIRIUS!"
He felt James squeeze his shoulder supportively before he walked up to the stool. The hat wasn't as heavy as it looked, but it was so big that it fell down to his nose. ~Ah, let's see…Black…Your father was a Ravenclaw, no?~
~Yes,~ Sirius swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in his throat. ~And my mum was a…~
~Gryffindor. Yes, I remember. But you are the issue at hand. Let's see what you've got in that mind of yours. You've definitely got the brains from your father, and the courage from your mother, but there's also a great deal of loyalty in you…Ah…what's this? I see that you are also capable of doing what needs be in order to get the job done right. The Slytherin house may be a good choice for you--
~OH GOD NO! ANYTHING but SLYTHERIN!~
~--but you don't want that, do you? I think that in this case the maternal characteristic outweighs the paternal, best be…~
"GRYFFINDOR!"
***
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus watched as the girl he'd met on the boat, Lily Evans, was sorted into the Gryffindor house. A growing sense of dread grew within him as he ticked down the letters remaining between the E's and the L's. Sure, there was nothing really to be afraid of…that is, if you were normal. But he wasn't normal, was he? No, not even in the wizarding sense. He bet that every single person in the room, save Dumbledore himself, would grab something silver if they were to find out what type of blood was coursing through his veins.
Werewolf. Dog. Creature of Darkness. Vermin. Every single one of those words had been spit at him in his short life time, and nothing could ever make him think that it would stop. He didn't understand why Dumbledore felt the need to have him here. All he was, was a threat to the entire student body, as well as the faculty. All it would do was give him hope.
Hope. It sounded good to normal people, but to creatures like him, it was cruel. Hogwarts would give him hope, showing him that things can be normal, just to have it snatched away as soon as he stepped off the train at Kings Cross station again.
The only way for him to survive life would be to not loose hope. But hope was such an easy thing to loose. So, the only way not to loose it, would be to never have it in the first place.
He was happy with his life the way it was, with his family. Athena and Orion were the best of the best when it came to siblinghood. They were the best friends a creature like him could ever wish for. They were enough for him. So what if he didn't make any friends here? He'd gotten through the past two years without any friends, hadn't he? It wouldn't be too hard. It was nothing he couldn't handle.
"LUPIN, REMUS!" Remus startled back to the present when the woman called his name. If he hadn't known any better he would have sworn that she gave him a small smile. Without looking either to his left or right, he walked forward towards the stool with his back straight, and his head held high. He kept his eye on his destination, making sure not to meet anybody's eyes.
It startled him at first when the witch placed the hat on his head. Remus, being significantly smaller than the other children, found that the hat fell down to cover a great deal more of his head than it had with everyone else so far.
~Ah…I've never had anyone like you before. Yes, you are one of a kind, aren't you? Let's see…You're set on not making any friends, are you? Hmmm…I hate to disappoint, little one, but you will…~
~I don't care what you say, you stupid hat, I'm not making any friends here!~ he thought stubbornly.
~Ah, but you will…and let me tell you why. You want, you yearn for a connection that you can't find within the bonds of your family. There's nothing wrong with it, and no one can blame you. You've spent the last two years alone, haven't you? The little girls and boys in your area were forbidden to play with the little strange Lupin boy. You don't want to admit it, but there's a slight glimmer of hope growing within you, wishing that maybe, just maybe things will be different here.
~Now, let's see…you've got an incredible intellect…yes, you definitely posses the mind of a scholar. Ravenclaw would be the obvious choice here, wouldn't it? But like you said, looks can be deceiving…~
~How did you know I said that?~
~Shut up boy and let me finish digging about your mind…let's see what else. Ah, not surprised to see a great deal of loyalty in here…~
~But I don't have anyone to be loyal to! How do you know I'm loyal?! You don't make any sense,~ Remus sighed inwardly.
~Boy! Let me do my job. Now, where was I…ah, loyalty. You don't need someone to be loyal to in order to have the ability to be loyal within you. Now, lets see…courage would be the main factor in sorting you into Gryffindor…and you came here after all, didn't you? Took a great deal of courage to do that. So courage is not something you're lacking.~
~Courage…yeah, sure…I've been hiding for the past two years…what courage do I have?~
~When are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut?~
~But I'm not talking…~ Remus argued.
~Yes, but I can hear you, let me finish sorting you…Slytherin…seems like you believe you belong with them, but it doesn't take brains to figure out that you're wrong. You wouldn't survive a week in that house.~
He sighed and rolled his eyes. ~Well, at least you gave me more credit than Sirius did.~
~Ah…the Black boy…hmmm…Now, your father and sister were both Ravenclaws, and your mother and brother were Hufflepuffs. Not one Gryffindor in the family, eh? I think that in your case, your courage wins out…~
~But I'm NOT…~
~Better be…~
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus didn't get a chance to argue again. Immediately after the name had been called out, the woman lifted the hat from his head, and shooed him off the stage. He walked to the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to Lily and across from Sirius. "Wow, that took a while," Lily whispered to him. "Why did it take so long?"
"The hat and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on some things," Remus muttered.
"Did it want to put you in Slytherin?" Sirius asked with a grin.
Remus rolled his eyes. "No, the hat seemed think that I'd be eaten alive in that house."
"SEE! I told you, you wouldn't last an hour in that house…" Sirius started excitedly.
"Yeah, but it did give me more credit than you did."
Sirius stared at him with a dumbfounded look on his face before asking, "What does that mean?"
"Nothing…How many more people do we have to wait on?" Remus asked changing the topic.
"Er…about twenty more people to sort I think," Lily said, shooting a scalding look at Sirius.
~Well, seems like Sirius and Lily are off to a good start,~ Remus thought sarcastically.
By the end of the sorting three more girls, James Potter, and the little chubby blond boy that Remus had shared a boat with were sorted into the Gryffindor house. Introductions were made and Dumbledore's speech was given, warning all not to go near the Whomping Willow lest they get a black eye or concussion, supper was eaten, and the new first years were brought to their dorms.
Remus still didn't understand why the hat had felt the need to put him in Gryffindor. Despite what the hat said, he wasn't brave. He'd come to Hogwarts only because his parents had asked him to. He wanted nothing more than to be at home, safe with his brother and sister, who, he KNEW, loved him. Here, there was no one. He was alone, and he'd be that way until Christmas and then again until summer.
~You're alone, Remus…That's the way it'll always be. Might as well get used to it.~ That was the last thought running through his young mind before he drifted off into a troubled sleep.
***
Sirius didn't exactly know what woke him up, but there he was, sitting on his bed in the middle of the night, with classes only a few short hours away. He tried going back to sleep, but something was keeping him up. With an aggravated sigh, Sirius heaved himself out of bed and made his way quietly down towards the common room.
To his surprise he wasn't the only one up. Remus was sitting by the fireplace talking to someone. Sirius really couldn't make out any details, but he could tell that the head belonged to a woman with long dark brown hair and soft hazel eyes. ~It has to be his mother,~ Sirius thought with a smile.
It had been two weeks since the start of school, and all had gone well…well, as well as can be expected in most cases. He had made connections in every single house, except for Slytherin, and he was rising in the popularity ranks in the Gryffindor house. The only two people that he hadn't become close with were Lily Evans and the boy he was watching now.
He knew why Lily didn't like him much, but Remus was a different story altogether. Lily was friends with other people, popular among all the girls and most of the boys. Remus, on the other hand seemed to like being on his own. He distanced himself from his three roommates, James, the chubby blond, Peter, and himself. The only person he was seen socializing with on occasion was Lily.
Sirius didn't know what was going on with Remus, but he was set on finding out. Normally he'd leave issues like this alone. If a person wanted to be by themselves, then let them, but there was something about Remus that made things different. He isolated himself, but he always looked so sad, and lonely. He looked like he wanted a friend, needed the connection that can only be found between two good friends, but something was holding him back. Sirius aimed to find out just what was keeping Remus from reaching out and making a connection.
His attention was drawn to the conversation Remus was having with the woman.
"Is there something wrong, Rome?"
Remus shook his head. "No…I…I guess I just wanted to see your face…hear your voice. I don't really like it here, Athens…"
~Ahha! So it's his SISTER!~ Sirius thought triumphantly.
"You're just a bit homesick right now, but after you make some friends…"
"But I don't want to…" Remus said in a non-joking manner.
Athena stared at her brother before gently saying to him, "You don't mean that, Remus. You can't go through life without making a connection like friendship."
"Why not? I've done for the past two years, haven't I?"
"Now you listen to me, Remus Joshua Lupin," Athena said with a bit of anger in her voice. She took in a deep breath and started a bit more calmly, "I know what you're thinking…as long as you have Orion, mum, dad, and me, you don't need friends, but you do, Rome. You do. Mum and dad, despite what they say, are not going to live forever. Orion and I…with jobs like ours, and with the strength of dark magic growing…you need to accept the fact that we won't be here for the rest of your life. I swear that we'll be there for you for the rest of ours, but we can't be there for the rest of yours."
"Athena…Don't…"
"Remus, promise me that you'll make an effort to make some friends…promise. You can't go through life alone. You need people, friends, bonds in order to give your life meaning."
Remus fought back the tears, but it was a losing battle. "I just…I miss you, Athens…I want to be home. I go to sleep every night, hoping that it's all a dream, that I'll wake up and be home, where I don't have to worry…worry and be afraid all the time." The tears were running down his cheeks now, and he sniffled. "It's too hard…I can't do this, Athens…I can't."
"Yes you can. I have faith in you…it doesn't matter what others think, Remus…it doesn't. You are a wizard, and you belong there. It is your right. What happened two years ago could not have been helped, and it wasn't your fault. Things happen for a reason, Remus. The sooner we mortals can accept that, the happier we'll be."
"I miss you," Remus muttered again.
Sirius watched as Remus held out his hand and glided it down his sister's face, making sure not to burn himself. He saw Athena's hand slide into view and do the same thing to Remus. "Take care of yourself, Rome…and please…do as I asked you to."
***
(*)--This is from Face Off. So, if you need help picturing what Athena is doing, then watch the movie. It's good anyway, you may actually enjoy it. *Wink wink* *Grin*