DISCLAIMER: I am not getting paid for this! I am just doing this for fun! I don't own Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, or any of the other Harry Potter characters mentioned in this fiction. Thank you.

Chapter One

Shadow was not enjoying his summer vacation yet, even though they were now living in one of Sirius' old properties, known as Grimmauld Place, which was completely gutted of anything dark before they moved in. It was also the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. No one could blame him for not enjoying summer, not really. Not after what happened at the Triwizard Tournament. He knew it was his fault that Cedric was killed, and that Voldemort was back. Even though his Mama, Dad, and Severus kept trying to tell him it wasn't his fault, he knew it was. It was already July and he had yet to go see his friends or fly out on a broom with his dad, he just didn't feel like doing much of anything. He could hardly sleep anymore; in fact, he avoided any room that was dark. If the light was off in his bedroom when he finally decided to try to go to sleep, he stood staring into his dark room for several minutes before all but running back down the hall and curling up on the couch with his head on either Remus' or Sirius' lap. Severus was also there, as a house guest, to help him if he needed it.

If he finally did get to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares that would not go away, no matter how many times he would wake up from them; they would just start up again from where they left off once he fell back asleep. The nightmares weren't even the worst part at this point…the worst part had to be…the…the bedwetting. Shadow had never, in his life, been a bed wetter and now, it happened every time he fell asleep, granted, that meant it wasn't often, but it still happens!

Oh, and his parents and Severus knew about the bedwetting. How could they not? One of them went into his bedroom to see how he was every single morning. Shadow had taken to drinking large amounts of coffee and tea and eating large amounts of sugar, just in the hopes that he would stay awake so he wouldn't have a nightmare and wouldn't wet the bed. However, once Remus discovered this, he hid the coffee and the tea and, much to Sirius' dismay, threw out anything with high amounts of sugar in it.

Shadow actually threw a fit after he couldn't find the caffeine and sugar he had become so dependent on. He vaguely remembered stomping his foot and screaming at Remus to give it back. This resulted in a hard swat on his backside by Remus and Sirius placing him in a corner for a timeout stating "If you're going to act like a five year old, then I'll treat you like a five year old."

That corner was actually where he was standing right now, a scowl on his face and his arms crossed. He had tried to move from the corner, stating he was almost fifteen. That did not end well for him as Sirius grabbed him by his arm, turned him around, gave his backside two swats and led him back to the corner. Sirius now stood directly behind him, making sure he stayed put for the whole fifteen minutes.

After what seemed like an eternity to Shadow, Sirius turned him around and told him the fifteen minutes were up. Shadow glared at Sirius' hand that was resting on his shoulder, shrugged it off, stomped off to his room, and slammed the door shut behind him.

Remus came out of the kitchen after he heard the door slam. "What was the bang?" He asked once he made sure Shadow wasn't in the room so he could drink his coffee. Since Shadow hardly slept now, he was always in the living room, making it so Remus couldn't have any coffee or tea and the lack of caffeine was giving him a serious headache.

Sirius stared down the hallway and sighed. "Shadow slammed his bedroom door shut." He turned to face his husband. "Remus, this is getting ridiculous. I understand he went through a lot but his attitude has gotten out of control."

Remus bit his lip and stirred his coffee before taking a drink. "He…We just need to give him a little more time. He's processing a lot of emotions and—"

"No, he's repressing a lot of emotions, Remus." Sirius cut his husband off. "We tried things your way, Remus, and he hasn't gotten any better. I know you don't want to admit this, but Shadow needs psychological help!"

"My baby isn't crazy!" Remus yelled at Sirius, dropping his coffee onto the floor as he clenched both hands into fists. The mug fell to the floor with a crash.

"I never said Shadow was crazy!" Sirius yelled back, flinging his hands into the air. "He went through something very traumatic! He needs help that we can't give him, Remus!"

"No!" Remus shouted stubbornly. "I can fix this!"

Sirius pulled at his hair. "This isn't like the time he tripped and hit his head on the coffee table, Remus! Kisses on the forehead and you singing to him aren't going to make it any better! He watched someone get murdered!"

"Are you two quite finished?" Severus came up from their basement, wiping his hands on his potion's apron.

"Severus, help me! You know Shadow needs help, right?" Sirius looked imploringly at the Slytherin. He never thought in his entire life he'd get along with the man, but he found that he could be amusing if he wanted to be. The two had become friends, faster than Severus and Remus had, which was understandable considering their history.

Severus didn't say anything for a while; just made sure his hands had no potion residue on them. Finally he looked up and looked at both Sirius and Remus. "Yes, I do."

Sirius looked triumphant whereas Remus looked ready to kill him. "I'm not taking Shadow to see a shrink!" Remus raged, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "They won't understand him! Most people will be prejudice against him because he's a werewolf! Not to mention all of the lies the Ministry is spreading about him and Dumbledore through the Daily Prophet. No, I'm not putting my baby through that."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. Ever since Shadow got back from school, Remus had begun babying him more than usual. Sirius knew Shadow didn't care that he was babied, but it wasn't what Shadow needed right now. He needed someone to listen to him, not drop everything at his beck and call, which is what Remus did. Sirius didn't know what to do. He wanted to do what was right by his son, but he had no idea how. "We could take him to a Muggle psychologist?" He finally suggested.

Remus glared at him. "Right, then he'll be judged because he's gay and so are his parents. It wouldn't go over well, Sirius. No. No shrinks. No doctors. No healers." He crossed his arms stubbornly, as if that ended the matter.

Severus decided to speak up at this time. "I have a master degree in psychology." The other two stared at him dumbfounded. "I got it while getting my masters in potions. I have already diagnosed Shadow. He is obviously suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. He has several re-experiencing symptoms, the nightmares and it's also affecting him physically."

"The bedwetting," Sirius asked.

Severus nodded. "Not the most common physical symptom, but it does happen. He also has all of the avoidance symptoms." Severus raised his hand and began to count the symptoms on his fingers. "He refuses to talk about what's happened, he refused to say goodbye to Fleur or Krum at the end of term, meaning he doesn't want to be reminded of the tournament, his new found fear of the dark, he won't go flying or do anything that used to amuse or entertain him, and he hasn't written Ron or Hermione all summer. Those are the five avoidance symptoms."

Remus had begun to shake his head while Severus was talking. He didn't want to believe this. "Not to mention," Severus continued. "Hyper-arousal symptoms; he gets angry very easily now, and if I remember correctly, he is usually like Remus who never gets angry, and he has problems sleeping now, as well."

Sirius had been listening with rapt attention. "What about treatment, Severus?"

Severus walked over to a window and stared outside for a moment or two. "There are four I could suggest to you, but it would depend on Shadow's willingness to get my help." He turned back to face the other two. "Would you like to hear the treatments?" Sirius nodded eagerly, Remus did as well, though with some reluctance. "Well, there's Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy. In a nut shell, I gradually get Shadow to talk with me about what happened, help him identify his upsetting thoughts that are highly distorted or irrational and through that I help him see the truth in what happened and give him the real picture instead of what he sees in his mind." He paused. "I don't recommend this method as I am not as close to Shadow as you two and he would not be willing to open up to me." Remus looked like he was about to say something, but Severus interrupted him. "You can't do it yourself, Remus, before you ask. It's all about asking the right questions to get him to think about the right things, say one wrong thing and the result might end up in him getting worse." Remus gulped and nodded.

"The other methods?" Sirius asked, placing a comforting hand on Remus' hip.

"Family therapy, we would all sit down and Shadow would tell us how he's feeling and you two tell him how his behavior has been affecting you. I do recommend this one. Another is anti-depressant medication, however this one is out, because most of this medication does not work on werewolves and I've yet to perfect one that does. There's also EMDR—"

Remus held up his hand. "No need to continue." He turned to look at Sirius and Severus watched as the two communicated with just their eyes. He looked away. He knew he wasn't over Remus but he also knew he had blown any chance, even if Remus wasn't married, the man would not have taken him back, not after what he had said. "Severus?" his head snapped up when he heard Remus call him. "I think we've decided on family therapy and the first one you said. We want a combination of treatment…is that possible?" Severus nodded and his heart clenched painfully when Remus smiled.

"Shall I start today, then?" Severus looked away from Remus when he said this.

Remus and Sirius both paused. "Perhaps tomorrow afternoon…" Sirius said, scratching the back of his neck.

Severus nodded in understanding. Tonight was the full moon, Shadow just could've been acting this way because he was irritable due to the full moon…although Severus doubted that, and he could tell, by the look on his face, that Sirius did as well.

A/N: So? How was the first chapter of Grim Child? I had several votes for this title and it fits the best. I was originally going to do something along the lines of Prophecy Child, but I thought Grim Child worked better. Oh, and I just want you all to know that…there will be at least three more "Child" installments. Alright, let me know what you all thought of it. Drop a review! :)

Luv,

PGF