Author's Note: Hi! I'm back! I know I said I was going to update on Monday, but things got a bit out of hand and my Calculus homework jumped me. :D. But here I am! If I didn't mention it before, the story is a fifth year fic. This chapter is sort of a filler, but important stuff is mentioned, so read it anyway. The next chapter is when things start heating up.

Before I start, I'd like to give a shout out to Tolkare, who faved this story,and also to bobert0774 and ECSAgirl for putting this on their alerts. Thanks you guys!

On another note, the pairing choice for Harry is still open, so if you'd like to suggest a pairing for him, be it slash or not, just send out a review! It doesn't need to be long, just "Harry/(whoever you want)", and I'm good.

Okay, I'm just rambling now. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling and do not own Harry Potter in any shape or form.

The Bells are Tolling

The stairs seemed longer than usual as Remus walked up to the third floor. Thankfully, Molly had gotten the children in their rooms and locked the doors before he'd arrived, so the second floor was silent. It wouldn't do for them to see Harry when he was supposed to be six feet under. He looked down at the fifteen-year-old boy in his arms, and sighed. He could already see a significant amount of change, and there was still a day to go until he woke up. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he had reached the landing until he looked down and saw that there were no more steps.

He had been thinking back to the Order meeting that was still going on downstairs. They had all decided that the third floor would be the best place to put Harry. Ron, Hermione, and the others were staying on the second floor, and the only one on this floor were he and Sirius, who already knew of the situation.

The bedroom that Albus had indicated was at the very end of the hallway. It was bigger than most of the rooms in the house. When he stepped through the door, careful to make sure that Harry's head didn't hit the side, he saw that the room had already been prepared for Harry's arrival. The bed had been made and a several sets of robes had been hung up in he armoire. The desk near the far wall was stacked with books which ranged anywhere from muggle fantasy novels to books on vampires, such as Doug Hifflan's The Comprehensive Study of a Vampire. Remus knew that the author was unbiased, which was a rarity in the Wizarding World, because he had read The Comprehensive Study of a Werewolf when he was younger.

Remus had just lain Harry down onto the bed in the bed and was just leaving to go visit Sirius when Albus entered the room.

The cheerful headmaster who randomly offered sherbet lemons to strangers was no more. In his place was a 113-year-old man who seemed to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. In a way, he did. Being Headmaster at Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and head of the Order was no easy task, and it was a surprise that he hadn't burned out from all the stress long ago. But it seemed that this situation was affecting him more then he let others believe. Albus didn't keep many close to his heart, but Harry Potter was one of them. James and Lily had been as well, and a part of Albus had died with the young couple on that fateful October night so many years ago.

Stepping forward to stand next to him, Albus put a heavy hand on Remus' shoulder. Words went unspoken, but the deep, aching sadness in those blue eyes was obvious. Remus just nodded to him, and stepped back to let the man work. The first thing he did was to imbibe everything in the room sans Remus and himself with strengthening and durability charms. When Harry woke up, he'd have a hard time controlling his strength, and this would be in place to make sure that he didn't break anything or try to escape. Next, Albus summoned restraints, which he also charmed then clapped around Harry's wrists and ankles, securing the other ends to the wooden frame of the bed. Harry didn't twitch throughout the whole ordeal.

Before they left the room, the Headmaster sent a reflection charm at the window, which immediately sent the room into darkness. Upon closing the door behind him, Albus cast a silencing and locking charm on the room, and at a stray thought, an alert charm as well. It would alert Albus the moment Harry woke up.

They both stood there for a long minute, gazing at the mahogany door with the initials proudly carved into the wood. Albus was the first to come to his senses, and turned to Remus.

"I'll come for you when it is time."

He turned back to the door, and sighed.

"For now, I think it's best if you go to Sirius. The meeting is over, and I do believe we'll need all he rest we can get."

"Yes Headmaster."

With a final nod, Albus and Remus parted ways, Albus going downstairs and Remus making his way to Sirius room, which was on the other side of the corridor.

Sirius' door was, unsurprisingly, locked. Remus sighed and knocked.

A hoarse voice from within spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"It's me, Remus. Will you let me in?"

He waited for several moments, his ears picking up the sounds from inside as Sirius moved about.

The door was thrown wide, hitting the back wall with a loud thump.

Sirius was a mess. More so than Albus, though Albus was more familiar to Harry. But Sirius had been the one to find Harry in the first place, in that tunnel several blocks from Privet Drive. Sirius' eyes were dull and lifeless. He hadn't shaved for weeks, and by the stench rolling off him, showered either. He moved to the side to let Remus through, then shut the door behind them. The only light in the room came from the small window, but it was enough for Remus to see the mess in front of him.

The furniture was thrown about, some broken, others simply lying on their side. The The bed sheets were in a tangled heap on the ground, thrown off in reaction to nightmares, perhaps? The walls, were ripped and torn by claws, and there were numerous gouge marks in the wooden floor as well. The only thing left untouched was the dresser besides the bed, on which was propped a photo of Sirius and Harry.

Remus remembered that photo very well. It had been taken after the Quidditch World Cup fiasco, just before Harry had gone off to Hogwarts for his fourth year. In the photo, their faces were stretched wide into a grin: Sirius' joyful, that he was finally with his godson, and Harry's cautiously hopeful, that he might finally have a place to call home. Neither of them would know of the horrors that would come about that year: the death of that innocent Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory, or the revival of You-Know-Who.

Sirius was obviously in mourning. He blamed himself for not getting to Harry faster, for not noticing the blood until it was too late to do anything but put him in the ground and hope for the best. The photo on the dresser was for Sirius a memory of a far happier time he'd rather live in.

Remus looked away from the photo back at Sirius. Everything was quiet except for the sound of their breathing, but Remus spoke up anyway.

"I put him in Regulus' room."

Sirius looked up from the photo sharply, and a flicker of emotions ran across his face. Anger at Remus for pulling him from the happy memory, and sadness as reality came flooding back in. Sirius ignored Remus' comment.

"It's easier as a dog, you know."

It was matter of fact, the way it was spoken, but it still hurt Remus, only because he knew what Sirius was talking about.

"The pain?"

"Yeah."

Animals didn't have the same range of emotions and thoughts that humans did. For Remus, when he transformed with the Wolfsbane potion, he forgot his human life, and the petty worries and concerns that came with it. Remus understood why Sirius preferred to spend more time as a dog than a human. The pain that ached in his heart was dulled. He didn't have to remember.

"Sirius…"

Remus was prepared to gently explain that no, it wasn't safe to spend that much time in his Animagus form, that he might get consumed, but he didn't. They had all been dealing with the situation in their own ways, and for Sirius, this was his coping mechanism. Instead, he tried to comfort his friend.

"This doesn't mean he's gone."

Sirius stiffened.

"Things will be…different…. but Harry is still with us. He isn't going anywhere."

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the taller man, bringing him into a firm hug.

"Mourning is for the ones who've passed on. You're wasting your tears, Sirius. When Harry wakes up, he'll need us to be strong."

Sirius took in a big, shuddering breath.

"Be strong, Sirius. We need you."

The tears that Remus had refused to shed now spilled over. Fat, salty tears that made their way down his face and soaked into Sirius' shirt. They would need all their strength to get through the following few nights.

Annnddd, that's a wrap! Don't forget to drop a review this time, which lets me know if this story is worth continuing. See you next week!

-cpk62008