Remus took a long shower and then carefully re-dressed his wounds. He made his way to the kitchen to write a letter that would soon be sent to Dumbledore. Sirius made himself and his injured friend a late lunch of soup and snack crackers. It wasn't much, but it was filling. Black sat down across from Lupin and opened up the Daily Prophet.

A barely visible drizzle was heard against the windowpane. The gentle tapping was nearly the only sound in the entire house. It was not a tense silence, not even a bored one. Oddly enough, after all the commotion with the full moon, the silence was for once content - and warm.

Both ex-marauders seemed to have forgotten their argument they had less than a day ago. It was almost as if Siri's apology was in saving Rem's life - and Remus was being too secretive and so paid for that by nearly dying. They were even now, and there was no need for mushy long-winded apologies. It's strange logic, yes, but simple and effective.

Moony cherished the quiet, knowing all too soon it would be disrupted by his announcement. Pausing from his writing, Rem placed his quill down and looked around the room. It was hard to believe that this would be his last night here - possibly his last night here /ever/. But no, he would not think about that. He could not die on this mission. He simply wouldn't let himself.

Lupin soon became impatient with himself and so decided not to wait for Black to bring up the subject. Tapping into his old Gryffindor courage, he spoke up.

"Sirius, I need to -"

Padfoot threw down the paper angrily snarling, "I can't believe that son of a b***h coward!"

Eyes wide, Remus tried to ease the tension. "Uh.I'm sorry?"

"Not you! Fudge! All of 'em!" Siri shouted, gesturing passionately towards the paper.

"Oh." was the quiet reply.

"They /still/ won't accept what is happening! They're lying to themselves and the people they /claim/ to be protecting! Those idiots - they think Voldemort will just go away if they ignore him! They're all crazy."

Before Remus could think of anything to say, Sirius stormed out the door and into the front yard mumbling something about needing fresh air. Rem sighed heavily.

"I should have known." He thought glumly. "The burden's gotten to him already."

Wincing slightly as he stood, Moony limped briskly to the open door and looked out at Padfoot through the screen door. He was about 15 feet away from the house, standing very still in the misty rain. The grass at Black's feet glistened in the lazy sun. Though birds were chirping and forest creatures played tag among the trees - surrounding Sirius was an aura of darkness. The air surrounding his form seemed thick with despair - colors were duller and the sun was no comfort.

Lupin was not concerned about the escaped convict's physical safety. There were plenty of trees and magical wards protecting the area from prying eyes. The real issue was his mental state.

"I have to help." Remus thought.

The only problem was, he had no idea what to say. How could he possibly hope to make this tortured man feel comfort and reassurance? Moony stepped out of the house and towards his friend, all the while hoping to be hit with some kind of inspirational pep-talk that would lift Siri's spirits. Life usually is not that simple, though. Rem was left to devise his own plan of action.

"Hey." Was Lupin's brilliant, hard-hitting opening line.

No response. 'Oh well, might as well jump right into it.'

"I know they are all fools, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. Dumbledore knows the truth. That's what is important, right?"

Padfoot just sighed in answer. "Sirius, come on. You're not alone anymore; you don't have to close up and hide your emotions so much. Please, tell me how you feel so I can help."

"You can't help, Remus. You can't help because you don't know how I feel."

For some reason, Moony was greatly offended by this statement. 'How dare he assume what I feel?'

"Oh really? And how exactly would you know that? You don't know exactly how my life has been these past years. I have a feeling you're going through much of the same crap I am feeling today and have felt before."

"I somehow doubt that." For the first time Black turned to face Lupin. Rem was holding most of his weight on his left leg and looking back at Sirius with a calculating and some how pained look on his face. There was a crease of tension between his eyebrows.

"Of all the people you know, I understand you more than anyone. I have also been wrongly accused of murder, hated for something you cannot control. I know what its like to hide in caves and forests because of who you are." Rem broke off - turning his gave towards the trees not 15 meters away.

"So you understand me because you're a werewolf?" Padfoot sounded un- impressed.

"No." Moony countered sharply - hurt by his friend's lack of sympathy.

"I also feel the same guilt you do, for Lily and James. I was always the so-called smart one. I should have seen it coming - should have seen the signs. I also feel remorse at not believing your pleas of innocence - all those wasted years spent hating you. And I felt awful thinking of Harry living with those muggles. I hated myself for being too cowardly to try to contact him. But the worst part was being so alone."

"There was no one around to go to for advice, no one to talk to or relate to. I thought Peter was dead and I had no idea you were still sane. My whole family was gone in one night - and to me - it was all my fault."

"Padfoot, do you see now that you're not alone in this?"

In answer Black turned around and went to sit down on one of the old chairs on the porch. Lupin took it as a good sign. At least he was clam enough to sit down. And now he was closer to getting inside and hopefully spending some time together before their last night under the same roof.

Remus slowly, almost cautiously, followed Sirius to the porch as if fearing he'd run away. He took a seat beside his friend and waited for him to say something. After a short pause, he did talk. His voice was heavy with gloom and had a slightly ashamed quality to it.

"I know I'm not alone. But it still feels like it. I feel so trapped, Moony. And I miss Harry. I can't stand it, not being able to do anything or help anyone ." Siri trailed off as if he had more to say but he was simply too tired to continue speaking. Some emotions are simply too complicated to put into words.

"I fully understand what you mean, Padfoot - believe me. I've spent a good number of years in my own private hell full of regret and painful memories." He paused and took a breath. "The real thing you have to watch out for is self pity. It sneaks up on you and before you can do anything you're drowning in it."

When Black showed no sign of speaking up, Rem continued. "Don't go blaming yourself for things utterly out of control - it does nothing to help the situation. Do your best not to dwell on the past - look at the brighter side of things."

Sirius gave a snort of sarcastic laughter. Remus' shoulders sagged.

"Hey, you're not in Azkaban anymore, right? You have food, decent clothes, and a warm place to stay. Not to mention Harry adores you."

"But I can't see him Remus! He's not here with me. And I'll be back in my cell the moment I fall asleep tonight - I assure you. Damn it Moony there is no brighter side! Not when you live in the shadows . "

"You're wrong." Lupin said lowly and softly, shaking his head.

"How can you say that when your whole life had been one long hopeless struggle for normality and happiness? Prejudice, loneliness, regret, you said it all yourself."

"This isn't about me." Muttered Remus.

"What?" said Sirius. "I didn't catch that last bit."

"I - " Lupin took a deep impatient breath. "I don't know." He deadpanned.

Padfoot turned his face down and away from Lupin's.

"I honestly don't know why I can say that. I don't know why I don't just give up. I - I'm sorry."

"You can't help me, then. I knew you couldn't. It's all right, though. Don't feel bad about - "

He stopped mid sentence as Moony had shot out of his chair and turned to face Sirius with an amber fire in his eyes. "No." he snapped. "I will help you. I will prove to you that justice is not dead in this world! It's alive as long as there are still people willing to fight for it!"

Black just stared up at the werewolf for a moment, absorbing what was just said. His eyes were wide with surprise at the outburst but the rest of his face seemed oddly still - as if in a trance.

Remus stared hard into Siri's eyes, waiting for his words to take effect. Slowly, slowly but surely, confusion spread over Black's countenance.

"But," He said slowly. "What do you mean fight for it? I can't do anything. I'm in hiding. I'm to stay out of sight; you know that."

"Yes, you're quite right about that, Sirius. That is why I'm going to be doing to fighting for you this time around."

"Uh, okay." Said Black with a raised eyebrow.

"But what did you mean about justice, Rem? You've lost me. The only way justice could come about is if Wormtail was caught and I was - " He paused in disbelief. His eyes shot to Lupin's.

"If I was free." He finished softly.

. "Exactly."

Sirius searched Moony's face for a hint of mirth or some other tip off that this was a joke. But all he found was a solemn and determined gaze tense with anticipation. He was standing solidly - equal weight on both feet. His thin shoulders were pulled back slightly. It became clear that Remus wasn't lying.

Slowly Remus relaxed and sat back down beside Sirius, carefully looking at the ground near his feet and not anywhere near his friend's gaze.

"You - you're not serious about this are you? I mean ... how? What- "

"Let's go inside." Said Lupin abruptly.

The screen door shut quietly behind them, leaving the animals to their games.

~~~~~*~~~~~

A/N - Thank you for reading and please REVIEW and tell me what you liked about it! I'll take any comment that's not a flame! I know it's not my best but I tried .

Sorry I took my time with this installment. I was busy reading book 5. I'll probably jump on the bandwagon and write a few things to try and cope/show the love/ express my grief. Part of me is still in denial, though. I know I often say Remus is my #1, but to be blunt it's kind of a draw between the two canines. I'm just glad he will live on here on ff.net.

Next chapter - Remus explains him self and they say goodbye.