A/N: TW Rape. Also battle/kidnapping?/injury. All of this is toward the end of the chapter though. I'll leave a mark (***) for where to abandon ship if these are triggery for you.

James, Lily, Peter and Mary had set up their picnic dinner in the middle of circular patch of grass surrounded by a path by the time that Sirius's motorbike roared into existence and landed beside them. Without so much as turning to confirm the identities of the riders, James called over his shoulder, "What took you two so long? I thought you'd caught up."

Sirius hopped off the bike and offered a chivalrous hand to Remus, guiding him off and steadying him. "Had to stop. The little woman was..."

"I was getting a little nauseous, that's all," he said, concealing himself behind Sirius upon realizing that his fly was still undone and doing it as fast as he could

Lily nodded sympathetically. "You too, Remus?"

"These motorbikes are rough," Mary added, leaning her head against Peter with a comfortable smile.

Remus crossed his legs, dropping to the ground and laughed, looking suggestively at Sirius, including him in a joke to which no one else was privy. "Yeah," he laughed. They chatted happily as Sirius fussed about his bike and how it was parked and, once he finally sat down, draping his arms around Remus' midsection and picking a crisp off the plate only to be swatted away moments later, he added finally, "This is nice."

Looking down shyly, Mary replied, "Yeah. Mum used to bring me here years ago so I could practice my spells without hurting anyone or anything." Lily laughed incredulously, remembering a particular lesson in which a certain girl wound up transfiguring her own shoes into roller skates instead of the pair on the desk. It wouldn't have been bad, had she realized it before standing up.

A smug grin crossed James' face as he stretched out a bit, taking Lily with him, and earning eye rolls from the rest of the place. "What's this place called, again?" he asked, as Lily smacked his hands away.

"Roundshaw," Mary answered.

"Nice, he said, nudging Sirius with his foot.

With that in addition to the leading glare from Peter, Sirius got the memo. "Very, very nice, indeed," he surveyed. "I must say, I'm impressed, Mary."

Her smile broadened genuinely. "Thanks, Sirius. You know... I think this is the most time I've ever spent in the same room with you, despite seven years of school in the same house and everything." That was likely the fact. She was a recent addition to their motley crew, but since Peter had started disappearing for days at a time, he seemed to be trying to cram everyone into one slot of time. Peter reached his hand across her lap, grabbing an apple out of the basket. "Not to mention that Peter," his eyes widened upon hearing his name, then readjusted, realizing that there was nothing wrong, "and I have been dating since sixth year."

Sirius shook his head and scowled. "Well, it may have escaped your notice but this is, in fact-" he gasped, "not a room."

The rest of the group looked at him expectantly. Mary looked mildly hurt. Lily looked shocked at how rude his statement had come across. James and Remus merely rolled their eyes, knowing that there had to be more to that statement. It wasn't until Peter, with surprisingly accurate aim, especially in the eight years they'd known each other, heaved the remainder of his apple at Sirius' head.

Sirius took a bite and winged it back at the smallest boy, hitting him square in the middle of the forehead, accuracy unsurprisingly spot on. "But-" he spat, "I have noticed and I am now finding..." the other four, less Remus who looked at Mary and tried to gauge if he should end this abruptly and apologize on the dunderhead's behalf, continued their gaze as he muttered something that sounded vaguely like "surrogate tits."

The boy in his lap's head snapped up, "I'm sorry, what?" he asked with a hesitant, forced laugh that caused the rest of their group to laugh at him.

Blowing his hair from in front of his eyes as a disguise for the sigh he released, he repeated, over enunciating this time, "That I regret it." He rolled his eyes for emphasis and hid behind Remus, his efforts to play it cool failing miserably. Truth be told, he'd still been holding out some hope that Peter and James would wind up together so they'd never have to break up their marauding and hijinks. But nothing could be that easy.

Popping the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth, she said, "Well, thank you. That was profoundly sweet." After a moment, she added in a staged whisper, "And, truth be told, I have to agree."

They chatted in the setting sun until James had passed out curled around Lily, who was trying to knock Remus' last gobstone out of their makeshift circle, only to miss completely and have it gob all over her. Sirius let out a rough chortle at the sight of prim and proper Evans covered in goo. He leaned up and whispered something into Remus' ear that clearly didn't play to her modest sensibilities. Remus giggled a bit and set a resounding slap to the joker's thigh. Unaware that the joke was, in this case, on her, Lily stood up, brushing grass from her pants and moving a step away from the group. "Should we set up some enchantments so the muggles don't realize that there are people still here?"

Sirius thrust his hip into the small of Remus' back, smiling suggestively. "Go ahead, Moony."

The sun burned the mist from the morning air. James crawled out of his and Lily's tent and fell flat on his stomach to a smattering of laughter to the members of the group who'd already awakened. "How do muggles do this?" he whined, hoisting himself off the ground and sliding in next to Peter around their small fire. "Accio mug," he commanded, wiping sleep from his eyes and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot that hung across.

Peter looked over at him, "Do what?" He hadn't had too much trouble with any of it, granted he'd been used to sleeping on the floor. Whenever the four of them would stay in the same house, Sirius and Remus would clamber for the bed, James would then make a mad dash for the couch leaving Peter on the floor. He didn't much mind, though.

"Camp," he replied, flopping backwards as though it would help any.

Sirius walked back toward the group from where he'd been concealed behind a tree, relieving himself. "What do you mean? It's no different than my flat," he said with a laugh.

Propping himself up on his elbows, the man on the ground rolled his eyes. "Pads, your flat has a bed and a couch," he said. "We slept on a blanket on the ground."

Rather confused, the scruffier of the pair asked, "You did?"

"Didn't you?" he asked, starting to feel that this entire process was getting out of hand.

"Well, Moony and I spent some time on the floor," he drawled, "but that was our own choice because we ran out of space."

James furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by that?"

For the first time in some years, Sirius found himself at a loss. His mouth hung a bit open as he drug his fingernails across his lower lip. "Sometimes, he likes to get a bit more active in our go rounds and it's a bit easier to get under him if we-"

James sprung to his feet, tossing the now empty tin cup at his shoulder. "No, I meant by 'your choice', moron."

"Well, I guess... why don't you go see for yourself?" Sirius responded with a jerk of his head in the direction of his and Remus' tent.

After a moment of deliberation, after all, he'd fallen for more likely pranks from Sirius before, James headed to the tent. Peeling back the flap, he leaned in, expecting perhaps a cot on either side or something of the like. He leaned through and, when the room wasn't as small as he'd expected, he froze, staring wide-eyed at the full room, and then at Remus, who was sitting on a King sized bed, pulling a T-Shirt over his head and then turned back around, leaving the tent. He stood up to his right size, took a walk around the tent and then stepped inside, still a bit scared to stand up.

Remus loosed a small laugh but quickly disguised it as a cough. He waited expectantly for some sort of a reaction from James but none came. He merely gaped.

After giving him a moment to let it all sink in, Sirius walked in behind him, clapping his hands on James' shoulders. "Wha?" He hung his head around and asked honestly. "Do your parents not have these?"

"No," he said, finally coming around. "But now I feel like I've seriously been missing out."

Pursing his lips, he shrugged a bit, "Oh yeah, well..."

But James cut across him again, unmoving. "PETER!"

The pair took another step toward Remus to allow in the next person. Peter came rushing in and crashed headfirst into Sirius with a terrible thud. "What happened? How many of you are..." As soon as he was fully inside, Peter need hardly look up before, "Merlin!"

"Oh, what? Your family doesn't have one either? I thought every wizarding family had these." Sirius moved away from the two and took a leap toward the bed, flopping down dramatically. "Regulus and I each had one for the times when Mum and Dad would toss us out on our ear." His face fell a bit at the thought of his brother and he reached for Remus, entwining their hand. "They really came in handy."

Missing the hurt in the last statement, Peter pressed on. "And did you have it with you at school?"

"No. Why would I have needed it there?" he asked, unceremoniously pulling Remus across the bed and on top of him.

James paced a bit, going off on a tirade. "Well, let's see. Nights spent in the Dark Forest, nights spent in the hallway after McGoogley told the fat lady not to let us in after hours, that time we snuck into the girls' -"

Remus raised an eyebrow to his boyfriend who merely shrugged, still cutting James off before he could go into full detail of that night's activities. "Okay. I get it. It would have come in handy. I get it. Well, we have it now, don't we?"

"Yeah. We certainly do. Speaking of which- Pete, you're coming with us for whatever this special meeting Dumbledear has in store, yes?" James asked, turning to the boy at his right who seemed to jump at the sound of his name.

He shifted nervously away from James and sat down on the small table in the corner. "Um... Probably not." He rubbed his hands together and looked away.

"Why?" Remus queried.

"I just..." he stammered. "I don't think I can."

Though he wasn't sure what the deal was of late, James merely shook his head. "Alright then. Should we report back to you, then? Tell you the gist of it?"

Visibly shaking, Peter nodded to signify that that should be the plan. Sirius reached over and nudged the smaller boy on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Wormtail." Another mere nod. "What's eating you?" He asked, sitting cross-legged at his friend's feet.

"Nothing, nothing. Just..." he looked at Sirius for a moment, then completely away. "It's weird that we're all splitting up now. Like nothing's going to be the same."

Sirius moved a bit closer, putting his hands on Peter's arms. "Hey now, the only one going anywhere is Moony and we'll see him all the time anyway." He looked back at James who seemed completely dumbfounded by the sudden outburst of emotion. "We still have Marauding to do that just can't wait." Following his gaze, he turned his head ever-so-slightly to maintain eye contact. "We'll see each other middle of next week, won't we?" He looked over to the bed, where Remus was still sitting. His expression changed a bit, frowning. He wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that his changings were to be now seen as joyful occasions, but ultimately it did make him feel a little better to know that he wouldn't have to be alone. Sirius nodded and James crossed to the bed, plopping down next to Remus and dropping an arm around his friend. "Nothing's really going to change, Pete."

As Sirius finished his sentiment, there was a rustle from the opening of the tent. Lily shook the two opening flaps, speaking first "Are you boys all-" but when she finally managed to get herself into the tent, all she could manage was an astonished "Woah."

From behind, Mary leaned on her friend's back and peered in. "Oh, you have one too, Sirius?" She pushed Lily in a bit further, examining the pictures on the table, trailing her fingers idly over the dark wooden frame. "We got one of these when I was first accepted to Hogwarts."

Springing to his feet, the tent's owner sprung to the girl's side excitedly. "Thank you!" He clapped his hands around her arm and pulled her close, landing a cartoonish kiss to her cheek.

This was a bit too much for the girl. She was dumbfounded. "Uh... we should..." she stuttered, shocked by the sudden display of fondness. "We should go if we want to get Remus to King's cross in time." She shook her head as though to rid the previous moment from her mind.

Dropping his hands to his thighs and willing himself to get up, Remus merely moaned, "Okay." And so they went about taking down their tents and putting an end to their enchantments

Remus, the one who should have been the most eager to get going, seemed to be the only one dragging his heels. Of late, he'd been second guessing his desire to go back to Hogwarts. He knew that it was important that he did but something told him that the Order might have needed him more. When he'd voiced his concerns to Professor Dumbledore, the closest thing he'd gotten to a real answer was just before they'd taken off for their little road trip. He'd told him, "The importance of a person is not measured in battles, but in lives. You'll be doing more than your share of the Order work at Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin." Truth be told, he wasn't sure what good he could do anywhere, but that was for another time. He needed to be secure and, in that moment, security was within the walls of a Scottish castle.

The group moved towards where they'd parked their bikes and chatted away. Mary and Lily were at the front, giggling a bit as they walked arm in arm. In an interesting switch, it was the boys who were quiet. James walked a pace ahead, Remus and Sirius were in the middle, hands interlocked, Peter was a step behind, staring at his feet. James tossed a casual look over his shoulder and fell back, falling in next to Sirius and breaking the eerie silence. "You know, Pads, I don't know how you ride all the time." Remus and Sirius exchanged a snide smile, Sirius opening his mouth slightly as if to warn him not to go there. James didn't seem to notice and tugged lightly at the fabric around his crotch. "My nads are still throbbing."

Even though he'd been trying to be good, he just couldn't resist. This was too good. "You don't think that could have something to do with Evans... excuse me, The Missus being draped around you from behind, now could it?"

"Sex only works that way for you knob gobbers," James laughed, landing a punch to his shoulder.

Peter leaned forward, chiming in. "Actually, Mary prefers to-"

"Woah, woah. Enough," Remus laughed, putting up his free hand and clapping it over Peter's mouth. "That's more than enough." As he had every time that'd happened since they were eleven, Peter nipped lightly at the palm of Remus's hand until he let up.

He reached forward and mussed the taller boy's hair a bit. "Still our little blushing flower, aren't you? Gotta keep it clean for the kiddies."

"Oh yeah, real clean, seeing hat I'm going back to the place that produced you heathens," he said in retort, climbing onto the bike behind Sirius.

James stood next to their bike for a moment and answered "And you too, oh genteel one," before striding off to his own motorbike and clamoring on with a grimace.

"Nevertheless," he called after, "I have to keep some sort of an image of an upstanding nature, don't I?" Before he could finish his statement, they were taking off for the sun, engines roaring and heading for destiny.

Three motorbikes squealed to a halt in the parking lot of King's Cross station. Sirius hopped off his bike an pulling Remus along with and the group set off for Platform 9 & 3/4. "How're we set for time?" Sirius asked.

James looked down at his watch and said, "I've got 10:56. It'll be tight, but if Moony makes a run for it, he'll make it."

"I..." he looked dumbfoundedly between his friends for a moment before settling on Sirius.

But the words needn't have been spoken. "I know," he said.

Remus still wasn't sold on it. "You could still come with me," he said, pulling Sirius closer, whispering almost confidentially.

"What?" he responded, "And have you glare at me when I chase after McGoogleybear? What if they were to stick me with her?" He leaned his forehead against Remus' and loosed a throaty laugh.

"With your Transfiguration marks?" he scoffed. "Not bloody likely."

"Remus..." Lily said, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I know, I know." He reached his hands up to Sirius' strong jaw and pulled him close, pressing his lips tenderly to his and after, whispered a soft "I love you," leaving hardly a hair's breadth between them.

Sirius, too, closed his eyes, feeling the ache of missing him set in already. "I love you, too," he breathed.

Remus bolted up, green eyes searching the dark ones he'd known for so long, hardly believing what he'd heard. "That's the first time you've said it back."

The other merely smirked. "It's not the first time I've meant it." The soon to be professor in training crashed back at his boyfriend, throwing his arms around his neck, somehow forgetting that this was not exactly the time or place for a passionate snog.

"Moony!" James hissed, grabbing his friend by the shirt and pulling him back to reality.

Remus looked around at his friends and then to the stone wall between platforms 9 and 10. "Right, okay. I have to..." He kissed Sirius once again.

Indulging him for a moment, the taller boy kissed him back hard before pulling away. "Go," he said, gesturing to the wall.

"I have to go," he nodded. With that, Remus turned on his heel and made a run for the wall, vanishing into it and leaving his friends behind.

The group remained silent for a time. Each shifting restlessly as they stared at the entrance to the platform. After a while, groups of parents and siblings began to reemerge from seemingly nowhere. James and Peter exchanged a look that spoke volumes, each knowing what had to be done, no matter how much it hurt. Peter grabbed a hold of Mary's hand and kissed it gently. James draped his arms around his wife, holding her tight, realizing again for what might have been the millionth time how grateful he was to have her in his life. Sirius just stared.

Moments passed. The platforms began to clear out. James looked down at his watch again. 11:04. He clapped his hand down on Sirius' shoulder and sighed. "Come on, Pads."

"Yeah, mate," Peter concurred. "It's not gonna do you much good to stand there staring at the wall."

"I know. I just can't help but hope that..." Sirius trailed off. He'd been holding on to the selfish hope that maybe he'd changed his mind. But that wasn't his Moony.

Lily saw it in his eyes and stepped toward him, pressing her cheek to his briefly, before turning him around so that he'd look at her. "Sirius, he didn't miss..."

James, Peter and Mary had turned back to the wall and gaped. A voice joined Lily's. "The train?" Lily's mouth hung open, seeing Remus stride toward them out of the barricade. Sirius whipped around and took the few steps toward him. His hands wandered to Remus' face as though it had been weeks. He couldn't believe it. "Yeah. I did. Looks like you lot'll have to accompany me up to the castle."

A broad grin spread across Sirius' face. He hugged Remus tightly, running his hands down his arms and grasping for his hands. He peered around the other boy an smiled at the rest of the group. "Okay, boys. Saddle up your hogs and away we go."

They moved quickly toward the exit and out into the parking lot, laughing and rather excited to be continuing their journey. When they reached their bikes, they hopped on quickly and started the engines.***

All, that is, except James. Despite dreading the pressure of the bike for another six hours, he just had an increasingly funny feeling. A handful of familiar faces seemed to be pacing the perimeter of the lot. He crossed to Sirius' bike and leaned over to his friend. "I'm not trying to be a prick or a worry-wort or anything, but... isn't that your cousin?"

Sirius whipped his head to the spot where James was indicating. "Shit," he hissed, clamoring to the ground and turning to James. His eyes dashed from corner to corner, surveying the oncoming storm. "Do you see any more of her cronies?"

He shook his head, then turned to a nod when she was suddenly one of five pacing the perimeter. "D'ya think they're here for us?"

"Why else would they be here?" he snapped, gesturing for the rest of their crew to join him. "There's going to be a fight here. Are you all ready?"

Before anyone had the time to think, let alone prepare or answer, Bellatrix Lestrange was barreling toward them. "Watch out, Baby Cousin! We're not here for you," she screeched, knocking him out of the way and grabbing Mary by the hair. A tall man locked his arm around Peter's neck and apparated out of sight.

"Don't touch her!" Lily screamed, casting a knockback jinx at the deranged woman and starting the battle.

Wands cast streaks of different colored light as they fought, though the Marauders & co weren't entirely sure what this was about. While they didn't know what Mary was supposed to have done, they weren't about to let this lot take her.

The group scattered, taking on the sudden crowd of opposing forces, still keeping each other in sight. An ear piercing "Crucio" split its way through them, the red beam headed straight for Lily.

James called out to her, mid strike. "Lily!" But he was too late. She was already under the effect of the spell, writhing in agony. "Expelliarmus!" As soon as the spell broke, he pulled Lily behind a nearby car.

Bellatrix was sent flying back. In a flash of dark smoke, she was gone. For the moment, at least. The air fell still and he stayed crouched behind their makeshift shelter, protecting her.

"James!" Lily whimpered "Are they gone?" She groaned, pulling herself up to a sitting position.

He looked around, trying to draw a conclusion. "I don't think so."

Sirius and Remus could be heard casting protective spells behind them. She searched the parking lot. Mary was crawling around through cars looking for the attackers' feet. Peter, however, was nowhere to be found. "Where'd they take Peter?"

All he could manage was a light shake of his head. "I don't know." When Lily shot a concerned look at him, he responded, "we will find him though."

A gut-wrenching scream perforated the air. Lily looked around and a large man was lumbering toward her. "MARY!"

James darted over the hood of the car and grabbed her. While he was getting her to safety, she was struck unconscious, but at least she was alive. He propped her up against the car. "Mary?" No response. "Mary!" Still nothing. "Fuck!" He ran his hands through his hair nervously before turning to his wife. "Lily, take her and hide."

"No," she answered, eyes widening in disbelief. "I'm not going anywhere." She was not having his chivalry for a moment. Not today. Not with this lot running around.

A spark of green light landed between the pair of them. He reached for her and pushed her toward the building. "Go!"

She dug in her heels and turned around, swatting his hand away. "NO!" He pushed again so she turned around and kissed him, pulling his lower lip between her own. "I'm staying, damn it."

He looked her up and down. "I had to marry a damned ginger." He laughed, kissing the top of her head and lightly shoving her back, firing a curse at the man coming behind her. The man fell to the ground and he grabbed her by the hand, stashing her between two cars.

"Yeah, and a stubborn one at that," she said when he'd finally turned away.

The battle raged on and a well-dressed blonde man strode towards them. Pulling his wand from his walking stick, and brandished it at the pair. His speech was elongated, leaving James adequate time to hit him with a binding jinx, grab Lily and the now stirring Mary and make a run for it. They dashed across the lot, heading for Remus and Sirius.

As they'd not had Mary with them, they'd managed to stay moderately clear of a large portion of the trouble. That wasn't to say that they weren't in a threat zone. The two men that had found them were unyielding.

The more resilient of the pair grabbed Sirius by the hair, pulling him down an alley then threw an arm across him and effectively pinning him to the wall behind him.

"Sirius!" Remus dashed forward, trying to place the familiar face. After a moment, he froze. Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who'd attacked him, leaving him in the form he was today. His blood ran cold as he tried desperately to pry the man from him.

Greyback merely laughed. "Get 'im, Dolohov." From behind the small, yet foreboding man wrapped his arms around Remus, digging his wand into the crook of his neck.

"Moony!" Sirius cried, making an attempt to wrench himself from the man's arms.

Trailing his nose along Remus' neck, he inhaled deeply. "I can smell it on you." He laughed menacingly, digging his sharp fingernails into his arm.

"What?" Remus growled.

He scraped his nails up Remus' side before clamping it over his mouth. Sirius managed, only for a moment, to dig his wand from his pocket. He aimed his wand, curse forming on his lips before- "Expelliarmus." His wand clattered to the ground and the pair of them were now completely defenseless against the Death Eaters.

Remus fought tirelessly in the man's arms. He desperately wanted to get free of his grip. A strangled "Mnngh" was all that was heard.

Despite the trapped young man's best efforts, the smaller man held him tighter and hissed into his ear. "You're one like him, ain'tcha?" He moved the hand that had been covering Remus' mouth and wagged a finger at Greyback. He'd heard the stories of the young boy old Fenrir had turned but he'd never imagined he'd actually be able to get his hands on him.

After years of training by his friends, he now had the perfect opportunity to make use of their nasty, juvenile tactics. Remus made a guttural, grinding noise and then spat right in the attacker's face.

Dolohov smiled, wiping away the wetness and slamming his hand back over the younger man's mouth. "Feisty," he cooed, thrusting his hips up hard.

Feeling the aggressor's hardening cock, Remus screamed. Though his screams were muted, the effect was not lost on Sirius. He thrashed and kicked, trying desperately to reach. Greyback pushed harder on Sirius' chest, making it rather difficult to breath. But he had to fight. For Remus.

Remus wriggled and stomped and kicked, trying to make his way out of his arms. Finally, not knowing what else to do, his basic survival instincts kicked in and he clamped down hard on the flesh between his attacker's forefinger and thumb, careful not to draw blood, knowing the horrifying consequences that could come if he did.

"Hmm..." Dolohov mused, biting in turn at the nape of his neck. "I like that in a fuck. Wouldn't that be nice after all of this?" He slid his hand down Remus' chest into the waistband of his pants, eyes flickering up to Sirius all the while. "A nice little victory for me?"

The pair of marauders thrashed wildly, trying to free themselves. Sirius squirmed, reaching his hands for Remus', likewise outstretched. Remus kicked his feet back, trying to create a distance between the two of them. He was desperate to get away, to get to Sirius, find the others and get out of there.

Seeing how clearly his actions upset Sirius, he forced Remus around and pushed him up against the wall a distance away from him. "We'll see how your little boyfriend likes seeing you completely mangled..." he hissed, undoing his pants and grinding hard against his victim, flashing a toothy grin at Sirius, "or is he used to it?" His words deceptively soft, he began rubbing his bare prick against Remus'. "Hm?" Remus turned his face to Sirius and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Dolohov's free hand grasped tightly at the younger man's jaw. "Look at me! Do you let him see you become the creature you truly are?" When his questions went unanswered, he merely growled, "Fine, we'll put that pretty mouth of yours to good use. He pressed his mouth firmly against Remus', forcing his snakelike tongue into his mouth and moaning deeply. When he pulled himself off with a sickening smack, he forced Remus to his knees and began fucking his mouth.

Sirius managed to find a moment, just one, that had Greyback off of him ever so slightly. He grabbed a hold on the werewolf's arm and twisted it back, spinning around him, grabbing his wand and quietly rendering him unconscious. Dolohov, eyes closed and head bowed, noticed nothing.

Remus, however, through his now rampant tears, followed Sirius' every motion, fearing that if he moved in the slightest, Dolohov would notice and snap his neck.

From behind the attacker, Sirius took aim. "Stupefy!"

In an instant, Dolohov was on the ground, out cold. Sirius rushed forward to catch Remus who began to fold over in half, sobbing. He threw his arms around his boyfriend and rocked him back and forth, now crying himself. "I've got you. I've got you," he repeated. Knowing that there was nothing for him to say, he still felt that he needed to keep talking or Remus would forget it was him. "You're okay. I've got you."

Remus wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. "Please, don't leave me. Don't let him take me, Sirius," he wailed.

Taken aback, he got to his feet, pulling Remus with him and draping Remus' arms around his neck. "I'm not leaving you. Not ever." He swept the boy off his feet and started walking back to the mouth of the alley. "I promise." Unsure if this was the proper moment, he whispered "I love you."

Lily's voice came screaming from the distance. "Sirius! Remus?"

"Moony?" James screamed after, desperate for a response, "Padfoot?"

"James! Lily!" Sirius picked up his gait a bit. "We're here. We're over here." He took a few moments and appraised the frightened looks from Lily, James and Mary and added, partially as a reminder for Remus, a confirmation for himself and of course for the group facing him, "We're safe."

It was only after he'd settled himself down a bit, sliding Remus into the sidecar that he looked around again and took his companions into consideration and saw a distraught and confused Mary standing between his bike and James and Lily's that it hit him. "Where's Peter?"