Okay, I'm not getting nearly the response I'd like to get out of this
story, but I guess I'll survive. I'd just like to say, however, it's a lot
harder to get motivated to update when I don't get responses. I thank all
of you who reviewed, but I just wish I could see a few more per chapter.
Anyway, this chapter I enjoyed writing, I did most of it in one night in which I stayed up quite late. I'm afraid, however, that I didn't get things completely accurate, but I hope we can all over look that!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Polaris: Thanks for the review and I'd just like to say that Drama is everyone's friend :) Also I'm glad to know that you're actually looking forward to updates, I haven't gotten nearly as many reviews as I would have liked...I guess I'll survive...but thanks again for just leaving a little note so that I know the story is read!
LeilaRose: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and that the other review wasn't insulting. I also kind of have a problem insulting other people's work unless it's constructive criticism. Anyway, hope you like this chapter as well :)
Rainbowdust: Your play by play review made me laugh, lol. And I'm glad you liked the lean on me aspect of the story, that was what I was trying to convey. Together they're going to help each other "Move On" And yes, Peter is being the monkey, which is good right cuz he ends up being a traitor and such...has to start somewhere. Anyway, thank you for the award! LOL, I really do want to make this story slash but I think it would suck if I did. It's just not something I can do. But I think it's as close to slash as it can be, so that's probably why it's satisfying you! Hope you continue to stay interested!
SexyBlack: Thanks for reviewing! My British attempts are quite small...I pretty much only use the words bloody and mate, lol, mainly because I don't understand some of the other stuff...like that mickey business and wotcher...I don't get it! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
JemmaBlackwell: I'm sorry that these last few chapters weren't the best for you. I agreed with the last comment in your review somewhat, but I wrote what I did because it was the only think I could think of to end the chapter. I've changed it slightly and hope it's a little bit better. As to the rest of your review...first, I know Honeydukes is the candy shop, but they had to go through the witch statue thing and through Honeydukes to get to Hogsmead and then to the Hogshead...I may have mixed up the names by accident in the story, but I don't think so. Also the drinking thing...I didn't want the story to be ALL sensitivity, you know. And I know that it's common for people to drown their sorrows in alcohol...which is what I had them do. I don't think it was ridiculous to have them downing the shots like they did...I've seen people do it when they want to forget something. Now here's what I'm wondering...are you British or American or something else? Because I've recently befriended someone from Austria where (like England) the drinking age is lower so drinking isn't quite the same as in America. He says we're all immature, wild, crazy, etc...but that's all I really know so that's how I wrote it. I figure that if you're from a place that has a lower drinking age you might be thinking along the lines of my friend...Anyway, I'm really sorry you didn't like the chapter, those were just me defenses, lol. I really want everyone to like what I write, so I hope that I did do better this time. Please tell me what you think of this chapter as well!
The four marauders were gathered at the Gryffindor table eating their dinner quite peacefully. However, James noticed Sirius and Remus constantly staring at the entrance to the hall. Their eyes both lit up as Severus Snape walked into the Great Hall by himself and they exchanged a sneaky glance. James watched them curiously.
"Wow Sirius," Peter said. "You really did a number on Snape!"
Indeed he had. Snape had walked in with a large bandage over his nose. Both of his eyes and the majority of his cheeks were deep purple and his lip was swollen and cracked.
"Oh," Sirius said. "That was nothing."
Again James gave Sirius a funny look but decided he would just wait and see what his friend had up his sleeve.
Sirius and Remus both had their hands under the table and their arms were moving every so slightly. James shook his head and sat back to enjoy the show. Suddenly there was a big commotion at the Slytherin table and James craned his neck to see what was going on.
Snape was standing on the bench where he had been sitting. He was singing, in the most tone-deaf voice anybody had ever heard, the lyrics to Beatles songs of the past. He jumped from song to song and back again and everyone in the Great Hall was bent over with laughter. Sirius and Remus were sniggering behind their hands as they watched Dumbledore at the head table singing along and waving his wand as if to orchestrate.
After nearly ten minutes of the entertainment Snape suddenly stopped singing and looked around. Then an extremely pissed off look came over his face and he jumped down from the bench. He stormed over to the Gryffindor table where Sirius, Remus, James and Peter were still leaning on the table laughing hysterically.
"Think it's funny? Think it's funny to do this shit to me?! We'll see how funny you find this later. We'll see!" He stormed off.
"We'll see!" Sirius mocked and they all laughed some more.
"That was a good one boys. How'd you do it?"
"Something similar to the imperious curse," Sirius said.
James jaw dropped.
Remus shook his head, "It's more like hypnosis."
"What's hypnosis?"
"It's a muggle thing where you put someone in a trance and can get them to do things. They won't do anything they really don't want to do...the only way I could explain it to Sirius was to say it was like hypnosis."
"So he actually knew all those songs?" James asked.
Remus nodded and tried not to laugh. "This one time I was walking down by the lake and he was belting out Imagine while watching the squid sunbathe...I knew I could use that eventually. Some pure blood wizard!"
Sirius laughed, "It was pure genius wasn't it boys?"
"That it was...I wonder what he's going to do to try and get us back."
"I don't know, but he had it coming...stealing Brie and all." Remus's mood went down a few notches.
"He always has it coming," Sirius added. He then yawned and sighed, "I have so much homework and I have to do at least half of it for once."
Remus laughed slightly and nodded his head. "I have to do it all."
"No you don't Rem...you're just an overachiever."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Do you remember what Wednesday is? I have to do it all."
That Wednesday was the next full moon. Remus was already feeling its pull and knew he had to get as much work done as he could that night because the rest of the week would be a no go on homework.
"Oh yeah," Sirius and James replied simultaneously
"Let's go," Remus said, and they all went up to the tower to do piles of homework.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those last few days before the full moon passed in a fury. Remus and Sirius were both getting past there problems and normalcy seemed to have found itself again amongst the marauders.
On full moon nights they always ate dinner earlier than usual so that Remus could make it down to the willow in time and that Wednesday was no different. It was a very peaceful dinner and they all shared a few laughs and quietly planned what adventures they'd go on that night in their animal forms. Sirius used his wand as a pointer to the pseudo map of the grounds he had created on the table and pointed out where the new territory he wanted to explore was. They all agreed on that plan and Sirius stuck his wand in his back pocket with satisfaction.
When they were almost finished with their meals Snape walked by their table and Sirius and James turned to stare at him. His face was now a light purple and yellow.
"Hey, Snivellus," Sirius said as he stopped beside them glaring in disgust. "Your face looks like a pansy, it suits you wonderfully." The others laughed at the corny joke and Snape glared, walking past without comment. Remus, however, noticed the faintest trace of a smile on his enemies face. He paid it no heed, however, and went back to discussing the night with the others.
"It's getting late, boys," Remus said about a half an hour before he'd have to leave.
They all stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. They made it half way to Gryffindor tower when Sirius stopped dead and patted down all of his pockets.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
Sirius threw his head back and sighed. "My wands gone."
"You must have left it on the table after you were using it as a pointer," Remus said.
"Yah," Sirius said running his hand through his hair, though he could have sworn he had placed it in his back pocket. "I'll meet you guys up there."
"Wait, Sirius, I think I want to go down early and be by myself for a little bit. Why don't you and the others meet me at like 8:30?"
"Sure you won't beat yourself up too much in that time?" Sirius asked apprehensively.
"Yeah, it's usually later at night that I cause the most damage."
"Okay, I'll see you then," Sirius replied. He watched them continue on and then retraced his steps.
Almost back to the Great Hall, Sirius found himself tripping over something and landing flat on his face. He looked up to see Snape with the same pissed off expression on his face, his left foot casually out in front of him.
"We must stop meeting like this Snivellus," Sirius said, jumping easily to his feet.
"Looking for this Black?" Snape asked casually dangling Sirius's wand in front of his face.
"Indeed," Sirius said matter-of-factly, not even bothering to grab his wand back. Snape would only pull it away; so predictable.
"You think you're funny don't you Black?" Snape snarled.
"Yeah....pretty much," Sirius said arrogantly, brushing his nose with his thumb.
Snape glared and said, "These last six years you've made my life a living hell!"
"Well that's because you're a greasy, evil, git...if you dropped the evil thing perhaps we'd be a little nicer."
"That Brianna cunt broke up with me and it's your fucking fault!" pushing Sirius up against the wall.
Sirius rolled his eyes calmly and looked into Snape's face. "Did you actually think she went out with you because she liked you? She just wanted to piss of Remus. Unfortunately it worked, but that's a whole other story. Can't really blame her for not wanting to continue to date a greasy, evil, git after you served your purpose now can you?"
Snape drew his wand and pointed it directly between Sirius's eyes. "Don't start with me Black...I have two wands, you have zero...tell me who could win this one?"
"I suppose that's the only way you could win one, huh, Sniv? When you're fighting an unarmed opponent. That's very noble of you."
"I could take on any one of you marauders any day of the week," he snarled.
"I'd like to see you take on Remus tonight," Sirius muttered quietly.
Snape's eyes narrowed his eyes on Sirius, "Is that a challenge?"
Sirius knew he had already gone too far but couldn't let himself back down from Snape now. The honor of every marauder was at stake at that moment.
"Sure is," Sirius replied. "Tonight around...let's say eight o'clock. See, there's a tunnel under the whomping willow, that's where he'll be. That big knot on the trunk; you're going to prod it with a stick and then you'll get in. That's where Remus will be. Now give me my fucking wand back before I have to brighten those bruises and make your nose a little more crooked."
Snape glared and shoved the wand into Sirius's hand. He turned and stalked away. Sirius pocketed his wand and ran back towards his tower. As he got closer he slowed his pace.
"What the fuck did I just do?!" he muttered aloud, stopping dead in his tracks for the second time that night. He looked at his watch it was already quarter till 8.
"Where the Hell have you been Sirius? Did you find your wand?" Sirius looked up to see James and Peter approaching him.
"I-I umm...had a run in with Snape," Sirius stuttered.
"Are you okay mate?"
Sirius shook his head urgently and he wiped his now sweaty forehead.
James approached, concern written all over his face. He grabbed Sirius's shoulders lightly and asked, "What did he do to you?"
"He...I...Remus!"
"Sirius calm down," James said. "What did Snape do?"
"He took my-my wand at dinner. And-and we fought and shit—damn git tripped me. Said he could take us all on any day of the week...told him he couldn't take Rem...and-and..."
James stared at him with dead seriousness. "You didn't do what I think you did..."
Sirius bit his lip and nodded.
"Fuck Sirius! What the Hell were you thinking!"
"I wasn't James! I wasn't! I just didn't want him to think he was better than us."
"Remus is going to fucking kill him! Then the ministry is going to kill Remus!"
Sirius stared blankly at James and opened his mouth to explain himself. James pushed him against the wall roughly and turned away saying, "Peter, we have to go save Snape!"
Peter and James took off at a run through the castle. Sirius slid back against the wall and buried his head into his knees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they ran out the front doors of the castle they saw the figure of Snape picking up a stick near the willow. James and Peter transformed and set off at a run towards the willow.
They ran at their top speed, but weren't fast enough, Snape had frozen the tree, and before he could so much as glance inside Moony came bounding out, as he had been waiting anxiously for his pack. (This is where I may have exaggerated the real story...hope you don't mind)
Snape froze in fear the moment he saw the wolf. Moony froze at the same time and surveyed the human before him. He had never gotten to taste human flesh and he had hungered for it for the longest time.
With a low growl Moony got ready to attack when he was suddenly knocked out of the way by his pack mate. Snape took it as his opportunity to run and set off towards the school. Moony tried to follow but James lowered his head and shoved the wolf back towards the willow with his antlers. Peter held his paw on the knot long enough for James to shove him back into the tunnel and quickly let off it. They both looked towards where Snape had run and found him laying on the ground half way back to the castle, passed out from fear.
They both transformed back to their human forms. James ran his hands through his messy hair. "I can't fucking believe that just happened," he whispered.
Peter nodded, huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath.
They both walked towards Snape's collapsed form. James pointed his wand at him and muttered, "Enervate."
Snape sprung back to his feet. "Werewolf!" he screamed and looked in every direction frantically.
"Snape, it's over, he can't get you now."
"Potter?" Snape snarled and looked at him strangely. "Black said Lupin would be...but there was a wolf...Lupin's a werewolf?!"
James nodded seriously.
"Why the fuck is that monster at this school?!"
"He's not a fucking monster!" James yelled angrily.
"Well he is out of here. The whole school will know about this I assure you! I'm going to speak with Dumbledore this instance. Black tried to kill me! You were in on it too, weren't you Potter? Pettigrew? You'll all be expelled and that...that MONSTER will be put down!"
"We just saved your fucking life Snape!" James yelled back. "Sirius did this to you, it wasn't Pete and I! We fucking saved you!"
"Like you didn't help Black plan this," Snape snarled. He turned on his heel and stormed to the castle. James and Peter followed him inside and all the way up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Snape being a Slytherin prefect knew the password to get upstairs. He pounded on the door.
After a few minutes Dumbledore opened it wearing a long night gown with a robe over it. He took one look at Snape and his company and knew something serious must have happened.
"Black and these bloody arse holes tried to have me killed by a werewolf!"
Dumbledore was taken aback by this and let it sink in for a moment. "James, go get Sirius. Severus, you'll tell me what has happened."
"But..." James began.
"I'll be listening to your side as well, and Mr. Pettigrew will be here to correct any errors."
James nodded and angrily sped off in search of his friend. At that moment he could have killed Sirius with his own two hands. Not only could Snape be dead, and Remus granted a death sentence, but now they were all in very serious danger of being expelled. James didn't even want to think what this would do to Remus when he found out the news.
He found Sirius exactly where he had left him. He was still sitting against the wall sobbing. James gave him a swift kick in his right leg which sent Sirius rolling onto his side.
"You bloody bastard! What the Hell were you thinking Sirius?!"
Sirius looked up, tears still streaming down his face. "What happened?" he croaked.
"Nothing more than Snape getting the shit scared out of him. He knows now, Sirius and he's going to spread it all over the fucking school. He's up in Dumbledore's office right now trying to get us all fucking expelled!"
Sirius looked up sorrowfully. "I'm sorry....I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, James."
James bit his lip and shook his head, clenching his fists so as not to beat his friend to a bloody pulp. "It's not me who you need to apologize to, and if it was I wouldn't be forgiving this."
Sirius nodded and curled back up against the wall.
"Dumbledore wants to see you in his office." James muttered and turned to walk away. He went a few steps and then saw that Sirius wasn't budging. He sighed angrily and turned back, "NOW!!!" He waited for Sirius to stand up and begin to follow. James then walked back to Dumbledore's office, keeping himself a few paces ahead of Sirius.
When they reached the office again James pounded on the door, and waited impatiently for the door to open. He couldn't stand being near his friend at that moment without at least giving him one hard punch to the face.
He was so relieved when Dumbledore opened the door that he practically ran inside and took the chair between Snape and Peter. There were only three chairs, which left the ashamed Sirius standing next to Dumbledore's desk, staring at the floor.
Dumbledore surveyed Sirius with the slightest spark of disappointment in his eyes. He turned back to Snape and said, "Mr. Snape, I'm terribly sorry for the ordeal you've been through tonight. However, I must ask that you not speak a word of this to anyone...not even a ghost may know. If I hear that this has gotten out you will be the one packing your bags, do I make myself clear?"
Snape blanched and looked ready to argue. Dumbledore gave him a stern look and Snape nodded.
"You may go. I'll speak with you further on this issue tomorrow evening."
Snape nodded and stood to leave. He glared at the three boys and looked ready to spit on Sirius as he walked by.
After he was gone. Dumbledore forced Sirius into the now empty chair. He stood in front of Sirius powerfully, simply staring. He waited for Sirius to look up, that time didn't come.
"I'm so, sorry professor. I didn't mean—it just came out! I-I didn't think!" he muttered, staring at Dumbledore's slippers.
"That my boy is clear. Do you realize what you've done?"
Sirius nodded slowly, sadly. "I betrayed my best friend in the worst way possible. I almost got another person killed and almost made my friend a murderer. I—I...I'll go pack my things."
He got up to leave but Dumbledore put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "Mr. Black, why did you do this?"
Sirius shook his head wildly, "I don't even know. I was just so mad at Snape and he was talking like he was better than us...and it just slipped—and my mouth took over. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I just couldn't shut up. I'm the worst person on this planet...I'm worse than my entire family...."
"No, Mr. Black, I don't believe you are. I do believe you've just made a very big mistake, but I'll not be expelling you."
Sirius looked up in awe. "I believe you are a good person, Mr. Black and that you can do great things in this world. We need more wizards like you."
Sirius shook his head.
"Yes, we just need to fine tune you a little bit more...teach you to control that temper. And to do that I'm deducting all Gryffindor house points under your name. You'll be on suspension from all school activities for the rest of the year, and you'll be serving detention with Mr. Filch every day for the next month. Do you understand?"
"I deserve nothing less," Sirius muttered. "I'm so sorry Professor."
"I know you are, which is why I'm not going to expel you."
"As for you two," he said turning his attention to James and Peter. "I'm not even going to ask how you managed to keep Mr. Lupin from tearing Mr. Snape to shreds. I don't think I want to know. You'll both be given 100 house points for your bravery, which will be added after Mr. Black's points are deducted."
"Thank you sir," James said, and Peter nodded.
"Mr. Black, Mr. Pettigrew, I ask that you go back to your tower now. I'd like a word alone with Mr. Potter."
They both stood up and left, Sirius still staring at the floor.
When the door closed Dumbledore let out a sigh and leaned against his desk. "I imagine you're quite angry with Mr. Black."
James clenched his fists and nodded.
"I must ask that you go easy on him."
"What?!" James asked.
Dumbledore held up his hand and continued, "What Sirius did was very wrong and there's no excuse for it. But I believe he did it due to his insecurities. You all have a strong rivalry with the Slytherin House, but for Sirius it's even worse. Many of them are his relatives, whom he has completely turned his back on. I think we both agree that that is for the best. However, he feels a need to prove himself and you, his friends, to them. I believe this is why he's done what he's done. As I said there's no excuse for it, but he does deserve forgiveness."
James nodded and said, "I don't think I can give it to him immediately."
"Of course not. But I beg of you, do not stay angry with him forever. There's no telling what he'll do if he's lost the only group of people he has ever felt he belonged with."
"Yes sir," James replied. He made to get up but Dumbledore stopped him by again holding up his hand.
"I have one more thing to ask of you."
"Yes?"
"I would like you to be the one to tell Remus what has happened."
"Me? Are you sure that's-"
"I'm positive that you're the best one to break the news to him. He trusts you and your judgments. Let him know what has happened and please also help him understand Sirius's motives."
"I'll do it," James said sighing.
"I appreciate that James. You know where he'll be I assume?"
James nodded, "Hospital wing."
"And please inform him that I'll be stopping by later in the day to speak with him in more detail about the event."
"Will do...may I go now?"
"Of course James. And please remember what I've said."
James nodded and said, "Good night sir."
"Good night James."
James walked slowly back to the tower. When he reached the door to the dorm he looked at his watch. It was 12:30 PM and he was drained. He slowly turned the handle and was met with two distinct noises. One was Peter's snoring. The other was the soft crying of his best friend.
James sighed contemplating whether he should ignore the crying or talk to his friend. He made up his mind and walked towards Sirius's bed where the curtains were pulled closed.
Sirius was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, head in hands, and shoulders racking with sobs he tried to suppress. James sat beside him.
"Sirius. I'm angrier with you right now than I've ever been in my life. I can't believe you've done this to Remus...and to the rest of us. Right now I can't forgive you."
He noticed Sirius stiffen slightly as he continued to cry.
"But I will forgive you mate...and Remus will too." James sat there as though waiting for a reply. He knew it would never come and for a few moments he just watched Sirius cry.
After several minutes had passed James turned towards Sirius and pulled him into a tight hug. "Everything's going to be alright Sirius."
"I-I ruined everything...I could have..."
"Yeah you could have, but you didn't," James muttered, rocking Sirius slowly. "Everyone's safe, everyone's alright."
"I—I created Moony's worst fear. He's going to hate me....you should hate me too."
"I could never hate you Padfoot....I can be bloody pissed off like I am now...but I'll never hate you."
Sirius shook his head.
"Stop crying Sirius, there were no deaths tonight."
James rubbed his friends back as he took deep breaths trying to stem off the tears. After about five minutes his face was beginning to dry and his breathing became regular.
"Thanks James...for not hating me and for stopping what I almost caused..."
"Yah Sirius..." James said. He couldn't help but become distant from his friend now that the tears had stopped. "Go to bed Sirius. We'll talk more about this in the morning." He got up and quickly headed to his own bed before Sirius could say anymore.
James slept quite restlessly that night, all the time contemplating how he was going to break the news to Remus. He was bound to know something was up when he realized his friends weren't there when he changed back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James awoke at about 8 AM the next day. Sirius was still asleep, and Peter was already gone, probably at breakfast. James didn't bother waking his friend, knowing there was no way Sirius would even consider going to classes that day. In fact, James didn't intend to either. He was going to be there for both of his friends that day, no matter how much pain it caused himself.
After getting dressed he made his way down to the hospital wing. He opened the door and heard the sound of Remus's voice. "Something happened last night, didn't it Madam Pomfrey?"
"I don't believe anything happened last night, Mr. Lupin," Madam Pomfrey replied, confusion evident in her voice. "But I need you to calm down; otherwise, you're not going to heal."
"But-" Remus said. He stopped as James entered the area.
"Mr. Potter, you know you aren't supposed to be here at this hour."
"I know, Madam Pomfrey, but Professor Dumbledore asked me to come down here and have a little talk with Remus. In private," he added.
"Well he hasn't informed me of this, so I must ask you to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere if you don't believe me go ask Professor Dumbledore. I'm surprised he hasn't already been down to see you."
Remus looked sharply at James. Madam Pomfrey eyed him suspiciously and then walked to her office, closing the door.
"James....what happened? Why didn't you guys come down last night? Why do you look so serious?"
James stepped up to Remus's bed and sat on the edge of it. He took a deep breath and began to tell Remus exactly what happened, staring at a random spot on the wall as he did so.
When he finished he looked up at Remus to find his eyes closed and his hand on his forehead.
"Sirius...?" Remus mumbled, as if verifying that it was truly Sirius who had done that to him.
"Yeah," James said taking Remus's hand off his forehead and holding it tight in his own. With his other hand, James brushed over the hair on Remus's head. "But Moony, he was upset he didn't mean to do it. You know how he can be."
"But how could he..." Remus's lip trembled.
"Shhhh," James whispered. One tear leaked from Remus's eye and James brushed it away with his thumb. Before more could follow he scooped his friend into a tight hug. Remus buried his face in and tried not to cry any harder. He succeeded and pulled away after a few moments.
"Do you think you can forgive him?" James asked quietly.
Remus shrugged looking sadly around the room. "I'm going to need to talk to him...I can't believe..."
"I couldn't either," James muttered. "But he's sorry...I don't think he's ever been so sorry for anything he's ever done in his life. He was an absolute mess."
"He should be."
James nodded. "Dumbledore's asking that we both take it easy on him...he'll be by to talk to you later. He wanted me to break the news to you."
"I want to talk to Sirius before I see Dumbledore."
"I think you should definitely talk to Dumbledore first."
"No! I want to talk to Sirius now!" Remus yelled.
James backed away slightly and nodded. "I'll just go get him then, alright?"
Remus nodded and lay back in his hospital bed after watching James walk out the door. Never in his life had Remus felt such a mixture of anger and grief at once. It was quite a nasty combination.
After about five minutes Sirius appeared in the hospital wing and approached Remus's bed. The expression on his face showed pure fear. "I'm so sorry Remus," Sirius said, biting his lip.
Remus looked up at him and didn't say a word. He simply stared into Sirius's watery eyes. Sirius held the gaze as firmly as he could. It was difficult, as Sirius could see the sadness and hurt in his friend's eyes.
They stayed that way for a while, just looking into each others eyes, neither saying a word. The silence was deadly and Sirius felt as though he was going to lose his mind if he had to face it for much longer. However, Remus had lost the will to talk. He felt as though there was nothing he needed to say or hear. Sirius had betrayed him in the worst way possible. Remus didn't even want to think about what Sirius's actions the previous night could have caused.
Remus drew a deep breath after several moments of the stiff silence and said, "What the fuck were you thinking Sirius? Huh? How could you do that to me? I really can't even imagine that there is a real reason for you telling Snape that! I just can't even fathom a fucking reason! So would you care to explain to me why you did this?"
Sirius didn't know what to say. He was more ashamed of himself than he had ever been in his life. Running through his possible excuses in his head, he found that none of them were good enough to tell Remus. He had betrayed his friend and really didn't even have a reason for it.
In response to Remus's question he simply said, "No."
"Then leave!" Remus yelled, his face crumbling as tears began to fall.
"Remus I--!" Sirius began, walking closer to the bed.
"I don't want to hear it Sirius! Just leave me alone!" He cried bitterly.
Sirius tried to put his hand on his friends shoulder. Remus slapped it away and yelled in a voice more powerful then Sirius had ever heard, "Get out of here!"
Not needing to be told again Sirius ran out of the hospital wing, trying to control his own tears that wanted to escape as well.
"I'm sorry Remus," he muttered before he set off down the hall.
After Sirius left Remus broke down further and that was exactly how Professor Dumbledore found him a short while later.
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Hope you all enjoyed that! As usual, please review for me....please???
Also, anybody seen that Gap commercial for stress free khakis? That's how I see an adult Sirius...gorgeous!!! Anybody else completely appalled at the goons they have playing Remus and Sirius in POA?
Anyway, this chapter I enjoyed writing, I did most of it in one night in which I stayed up quite late. I'm afraid, however, that I didn't get things completely accurate, but I hope we can all over look that!
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Polaris: Thanks for the review and I'd just like to say that Drama is everyone's friend :) Also I'm glad to know that you're actually looking forward to updates, I haven't gotten nearly as many reviews as I would have liked...I guess I'll survive...but thanks again for just leaving a little note so that I know the story is read!
LeilaRose: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and that the other review wasn't insulting. I also kind of have a problem insulting other people's work unless it's constructive criticism. Anyway, hope you like this chapter as well :)
Rainbowdust: Your play by play review made me laugh, lol. And I'm glad you liked the lean on me aspect of the story, that was what I was trying to convey. Together they're going to help each other "Move On" And yes, Peter is being the monkey, which is good right cuz he ends up being a traitor and such...has to start somewhere. Anyway, thank you for the award! LOL, I really do want to make this story slash but I think it would suck if I did. It's just not something I can do. But I think it's as close to slash as it can be, so that's probably why it's satisfying you! Hope you continue to stay interested!
SexyBlack: Thanks for reviewing! My British attempts are quite small...I pretty much only use the words bloody and mate, lol, mainly because I don't understand some of the other stuff...like that mickey business and wotcher...I don't get it! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
JemmaBlackwell: I'm sorry that these last few chapters weren't the best for you. I agreed with the last comment in your review somewhat, but I wrote what I did because it was the only think I could think of to end the chapter. I've changed it slightly and hope it's a little bit better. As to the rest of your review...first, I know Honeydukes is the candy shop, but they had to go through the witch statue thing and through Honeydukes to get to Hogsmead and then to the Hogshead...I may have mixed up the names by accident in the story, but I don't think so. Also the drinking thing...I didn't want the story to be ALL sensitivity, you know. And I know that it's common for people to drown their sorrows in alcohol...which is what I had them do. I don't think it was ridiculous to have them downing the shots like they did...I've seen people do it when they want to forget something. Now here's what I'm wondering...are you British or American or something else? Because I've recently befriended someone from Austria where (like England) the drinking age is lower so drinking isn't quite the same as in America. He says we're all immature, wild, crazy, etc...but that's all I really know so that's how I wrote it. I figure that if you're from a place that has a lower drinking age you might be thinking along the lines of my friend...Anyway, I'm really sorry you didn't like the chapter, those were just me defenses, lol. I really want everyone to like what I write, so I hope that I did do better this time. Please tell me what you think of this chapter as well!
The four marauders were gathered at the Gryffindor table eating their dinner quite peacefully. However, James noticed Sirius and Remus constantly staring at the entrance to the hall. Their eyes both lit up as Severus Snape walked into the Great Hall by himself and they exchanged a sneaky glance. James watched them curiously.
"Wow Sirius," Peter said. "You really did a number on Snape!"
Indeed he had. Snape had walked in with a large bandage over his nose. Both of his eyes and the majority of his cheeks were deep purple and his lip was swollen and cracked.
"Oh," Sirius said. "That was nothing."
Again James gave Sirius a funny look but decided he would just wait and see what his friend had up his sleeve.
Sirius and Remus both had their hands under the table and their arms were moving every so slightly. James shook his head and sat back to enjoy the show. Suddenly there was a big commotion at the Slytherin table and James craned his neck to see what was going on.
Snape was standing on the bench where he had been sitting. He was singing, in the most tone-deaf voice anybody had ever heard, the lyrics to Beatles songs of the past. He jumped from song to song and back again and everyone in the Great Hall was bent over with laughter. Sirius and Remus were sniggering behind their hands as they watched Dumbledore at the head table singing along and waving his wand as if to orchestrate.
After nearly ten minutes of the entertainment Snape suddenly stopped singing and looked around. Then an extremely pissed off look came over his face and he jumped down from the bench. He stormed over to the Gryffindor table where Sirius, Remus, James and Peter were still leaning on the table laughing hysterically.
"Think it's funny? Think it's funny to do this shit to me?! We'll see how funny you find this later. We'll see!" He stormed off.
"We'll see!" Sirius mocked and they all laughed some more.
"That was a good one boys. How'd you do it?"
"Something similar to the imperious curse," Sirius said.
James jaw dropped.
Remus shook his head, "It's more like hypnosis."
"What's hypnosis?"
"It's a muggle thing where you put someone in a trance and can get them to do things. They won't do anything they really don't want to do...the only way I could explain it to Sirius was to say it was like hypnosis."
"So he actually knew all those songs?" James asked.
Remus nodded and tried not to laugh. "This one time I was walking down by the lake and he was belting out Imagine while watching the squid sunbathe...I knew I could use that eventually. Some pure blood wizard!"
Sirius laughed, "It was pure genius wasn't it boys?"
"That it was...I wonder what he's going to do to try and get us back."
"I don't know, but he had it coming...stealing Brie and all." Remus's mood went down a few notches.
"He always has it coming," Sirius added. He then yawned and sighed, "I have so much homework and I have to do at least half of it for once."
Remus laughed slightly and nodded his head. "I have to do it all."
"No you don't Rem...you're just an overachiever."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Do you remember what Wednesday is? I have to do it all."
That Wednesday was the next full moon. Remus was already feeling its pull and knew he had to get as much work done as he could that night because the rest of the week would be a no go on homework.
"Oh yeah," Sirius and James replied simultaneously
"Let's go," Remus said, and they all went up to the tower to do piles of homework.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those last few days before the full moon passed in a fury. Remus and Sirius were both getting past there problems and normalcy seemed to have found itself again amongst the marauders.
On full moon nights they always ate dinner earlier than usual so that Remus could make it down to the willow in time and that Wednesday was no different. It was a very peaceful dinner and they all shared a few laughs and quietly planned what adventures they'd go on that night in their animal forms. Sirius used his wand as a pointer to the pseudo map of the grounds he had created on the table and pointed out where the new territory he wanted to explore was. They all agreed on that plan and Sirius stuck his wand in his back pocket with satisfaction.
When they were almost finished with their meals Snape walked by their table and Sirius and James turned to stare at him. His face was now a light purple and yellow.
"Hey, Snivellus," Sirius said as he stopped beside them glaring in disgust. "Your face looks like a pansy, it suits you wonderfully." The others laughed at the corny joke and Snape glared, walking past without comment. Remus, however, noticed the faintest trace of a smile on his enemies face. He paid it no heed, however, and went back to discussing the night with the others.
"It's getting late, boys," Remus said about a half an hour before he'd have to leave.
They all stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. They made it half way to Gryffindor tower when Sirius stopped dead and patted down all of his pockets.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
Sirius threw his head back and sighed. "My wands gone."
"You must have left it on the table after you were using it as a pointer," Remus said.
"Yah," Sirius said running his hand through his hair, though he could have sworn he had placed it in his back pocket. "I'll meet you guys up there."
"Wait, Sirius, I think I want to go down early and be by myself for a little bit. Why don't you and the others meet me at like 8:30?"
"Sure you won't beat yourself up too much in that time?" Sirius asked apprehensively.
"Yeah, it's usually later at night that I cause the most damage."
"Okay, I'll see you then," Sirius replied. He watched them continue on and then retraced his steps.
Almost back to the Great Hall, Sirius found himself tripping over something and landing flat on his face. He looked up to see Snape with the same pissed off expression on his face, his left foot casually out in front of him.
"We must stop meeting like this Snivellus," Sirius said, jumping easily to his feet.
"Looking for this Black?" Snape asked casually dangling Sirius's wand in front of his face.
"Indeed," Sirius said matter-of-factly, not even bothering to grab his wand back. Snape would only pull it away; so predictable.
"You think you're funny don't you Black?" Snape snarled.
"Yeah....pretty much," Sirius said arrogantly, brushing his nose with his thumb.
Snape glared and said, "These last six years you've made my life a living hell!"
"Well that's because you're a greasy, evil, git...if you dropped the evil thing perhaps we'd be a little nicer."
"That Brianna cunt broke up with me and it's your fucking fault!" pushing Sirius up against the wall.
Sirius rolled his eyes calmly and looked into Snape's face. "Did you actually think she went out with you because she liked you? She just wanted to piss of Remus. Unfortunately it worked, but that's a whole other story. Can't really blame her for not wanting to continue to date a greasy, evil, git after you served your purpose now can you?"
Snape drew his wand and pointed it directly between Sirius's eyes. "Don't start with me Black...I have two wands, you have zero...tell me who could win this one?"
"I suppose that's the only way you could win one, huh, Sniv? When you're fighting an unarmed opponent. That's very noble of you."
"I could take on any one of you marauders any day of the week," he snarled.
"I'd like to see you take on Remus tonight," Sirius muttered quietly.
Snape's eyes narrowed his eyes on Sirius, "Is that a challenge?"
Sirius knew he had already gone too far but couldn't let himself back down from Snape now. The honor of every marauder was at stake at that moment.
"Sure is," Sirius replied. "Tonight around...let's say eight o'clock. See, there's a tunnel under the whomping willow, that's where he'll be. That big knot on the trunk; you're going to prod it with a stick and then you'll get in. That's where Remus will be. Now give me my fucking wand back before I have to brighten those bruises and make your nose a little more crooked."
Snape glared and shoved the wand into Sirius's hand. He turned and stalked away. Sirius pocketed his wand and ran back towards his tower. As he got closer he slowed his pace.
"What the fuck did I just do?!" he muttered aloud, stopping dead in his tracks for the second time that night. He looked at his watch it was already quarter till 8.
"Where the Hell have you been Sirius? Did you find your wand?" Sirius looked up to see James and Peter approaching him.
"I-I umm...had a run in with Snape," Sirius stuttered.
"Are you okay mate?"
Sirius shook his head urgently and he wiped his now sweaty forehead.
James approached, concern written all over his face. He grabbed Sirius's shoulders lightly and asked, "What did he do to you?"
"He...I...Remus!"
"Sirius calm down," James said. "What did Snape do?"
"He took my-my wand at dinner. And-and we fought and shit—damn git tripped me. Said he could take us all on any day of the week...told him he couldn't take Rem...and-and..."
James stared at him with dead seriousness. "You didn't do what I think you did..."
Sirius bit his lip and nodded.
"Fuck Sirius! What the Hell were you thinking!"
"I wasn't James! I wasn't! I just didn't want him to think he was better than us."
"Remus is going to fucking kill him! Then the ministry is going to kill Remus!"
Sirius stared blankly at James and opened his mouth to explain himself. James pushed him against the wall roughly and turned away saying, "Peter, we have to go save Snape!"
Peter and James took off at a run through the castle. Sirius slid back against the wall and buried his head into his knees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they ran out the front doors of the castle they saw the figure of Snape picking up a stick near the willow. James and Peter transformed and set off at a run towards the willow.
They ran at their top speed, but weren't fast enough, Snape had frozen the tree, and before he could so much as glance inside Moony came bounding out, as he had been waiting anxiously for his pack. (This is where I may have exaggerated the real story...hope you don't mind)
Snape froze in fear the moment he saw the wolf. Moony froze at the same time and surveyed the human before him. He had never gotten to taste human flesh and he had hungered for it for the longest time.
With a low growl Moony got ready to attack when he was suddenly knocked out of the way by his pack mate. Snape took it as his opportunity to run and set off towards the school. Moony tried to follow but James lowered his head and shoved the wolf back towards the willow with his antlers. Peter held his paw on the knot long enough for James to shove him back into the tunnel and quickly let off it. They both looked towards where Snape had run and found him laying on the ground half way back to the castle, passed out from fear.
They both transformed back to their human forms. James ran his hands through his messy hair. "I can't fucking believe that just happened," he whispered.
Peter nodded, huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath.
They both walked towards Snape's collapsed form. James pointed his wand at him and muttered, "Enervate."
Snape sprung back to his feet. "Werewolf!" he screamed and looked in every direction frantically.
"Snape, it's over, he can't get you now."
"Potter?" Snape snarled and looked at him strangely. "Black said Lupin would be...but there was a wolf...Lupin's a werewolf?!"
James nodded seriously.
"Why the fuck is that monster at this school?!"
"He's not a fucking monster!" James yelled angrily.
"Well he is out of here. The whole school will know about this I assure you! I'm going to speak with Dumbledore this instance. Black tried to kill me! You were in on it too, weren't you Potter? Pettigrew? You'll all be expelled and that...that MONSTER will be put down!"
"We just saved your fucking life Snape!" James yelled back. "Sirius did this to you, it wasn't Pete and I! We fucking saved you!"
"Like you didn't help Black plan this," Snape snarled. He turned on his heel and stormed to the castle. James and Peter followed him inside and all the way up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Snape being a Slytherin prefect knew the password to get upstairs. He pounded on the door.
After a few minutes Dumbledore opened it wearing a long night gown with a robe over it. He took one look at Snape and his company and knew something serious must have happened.
"Black and these bloody arse holes tried to have me killed by a werewolf!"
Dumbledore was taken aback by this and let it sink in for a moment. "James, go get Sirius. Severus, you'll tell me what has happened."
"But..." James began.
"I'll be listening to your side as well, and Mr. Pettigrew will be here to correct any errors."
James nodded and angrily sped off in search of his friend. At that moment he could have killed Sirius with his own two hands. Not only could Snape be dead, and Remus granted a death sentence, but now they were all in very serious danger of being expelled. James didn't even want to think what this would do to Remus when he found out the news.
He found Sirius exactly where he had left him. He was still sitting against the wall sobbing. James gave him a swift kick in his right leg which sent Sirius rolling onto his side.
"You bloody bastard! What the Hell were you thinking Sirius?!"
Sirius looked up, tears still streaming down his face. "What happened?" he croaked.
"Nothing more than Snape getting the shit scared out of him. He knows now, Sirius and he's going to spread it all over the fucking school. He's up in Dumbledore's office right now trying to get us all fucking expelled!"
Sirius looked up sorrowfully. "I'm sorry....I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, James."
James bit his lip and shook his head, clenching his fists so as not to beat his friend to a bloody pulp. "It's not me who you need to apologize to, and if it was I wouldn't be forgiving this."
Sirius nodded and curled back up against the wall.
"Dumbledore wants to see you in his office." James muttered and turned to walk away. He went a few steps and then saw that Sirius wasn't budging. He sighed angrily and turned back, "NOW!!!" He waited for Sirius to stand up and begin to follow. James then walked back to Dumbledore's office, keeping himself a few paces ahead of Sirius.
When they reached the office again James pounded on the door, and waited impatiently for the door to open. He couldn't stand being near his friend at that moment without at least giving him one hard punch to the face.
He was so relieved when Dumbledore opened the door that he practically ran inside and took the chair between Snape and Peter. There were only three chairs, which left the ashamed Sirius standing next to Dumbledore's desk, staring at the floor.
Dumbledore surveyed Sirius with the slightest spark of disappointment in his eyes. He turned back to Snape and said, "Mr. Snape, I'm terribly sorry for the ordeal you've been through tonight. However, I must ask that you not speak a word of this to anyone...not even a ghost may know. If I hear that this has gotten out you will be the one packing your bags, do I make myself clear?"
Snape blanched and looked ready to argue. Dumbledore gave him a stern look and Snape nodded.
"You may go. I'll speak with you further on this issue tomorrow evening."
Snape nodded and stood to leave. He glared at the three boys and looked ready to spit on Sirius as he walked by.
After he was gone. Dumbledore forced Sirius into the now empty chair. He stood in front of Sirius powerfully, simply staring. He waited for Sirius to look up, that time didn't come.
"I'm so, sorry professor. I didn't mean—it just came out! I-I didn't think!" he muttered, staring at Dumbledore's slippers.
"That my boy is clear. Do you realize what you've done?"
Sirius nodded slowly, sadly. "I betrayed my best friend in the worst way possible. I almost got another person killed and almost made my friend a murderer. I—I...I'll go pack my things."
He got up to leave but Dumbledore put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "Mr. Black, why did you do this?"
Sirius shook his head wildly, "I don't even know. I was just so mad at Snape and he was talking like he was better than us...and it just slipped—and my mouth took over. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I just couldn't shut up. I'm the worst person on this planet...I'm worse than my entire family...."
"No, Mr. Black, I don't believe you are. I do believe you've just made a very big mistake, but I'll not be expelling you."
Sirius looked up in awe. "I believe you are a good person, Mr. Black and that you can do great things in this world. We need more wizards like you."
Sirius shook his head.
"Yes, we just need to fine tune you a little bit more...teach you to control that temper. And to do that I'm deducting all Gryffindor house points under your name. You'll be on suspension from all school activities for the rest of the year, and you'll be serving detention with Mr. Filch every day for the next month. Do you understand?"
"I deserve nothing less," Sirius muttered. "I'm so sorry Professor."
"I know you are, which is why I'm not going to expel you."
"As for you two," he said turning his attention to James and Peter. "I'm not even going to ask how you managed to keep Mr. Lupin from tearing Mr. Snape to shreds. I don't think I want to know. You'll both be given 100 house points for your bravery, which will be added after Mr. Black's points are deducted."
"Thank you sir," James said, and Peter nodded.
"Mr. Black, Mr. Pettigrew, I ask that you go back to your tower now. I'd like a word alone with Mr. Potter."
They both stood up and left, Sirius still staring at the floor.
When the door closed Dumbledore let out a sigh and leaned against his desk. "I imagine you're quite angry with Mr. Black."
James clenched his fists and nodded.
"I must ask that you go easy on him."
"What?!" James asked.
Dumbledore held up his hand and continued, "What Sirius did was very wrong and there's no excuse for it. But I believe he did it due to his insecurities. You all have a strong rivalry with the Slytherin House, but for Sirius it's even worse. Many of them are his relatives, whom he has completely turned his back on. I think we both agree that that is for the best. However, he feels a need to prove himself and you, his friends, to them. I believe this is why he's done what he's done. As I said there's no excuse for it, but he does deserve forgiveness."
James nodded and said, "I don't think I can give it to him immediately."
"Of course not. But I beg of you, do not stay angry with him forever. There's no telling what he'll do if he's lost the only group of people he has ever felt he belonged with."
"Yes sir," James replied. He made to get up but Dumbledore stopped him by again holding up his hand.
"I have one more thing to ask of you."
"Yes?"
"I would like you to be the one to tell Remus what has happened."
"Me? Are you sure that's-"
"I'm positive that you're the best one to break the news to him. He trusts you and your judgments. Let him know what has happened and please also help him understand Sirius's motives."
"I'll do it," James said sighing.
"I appreciate that James. You know where he'll be I assume?"
James nodded, "Hospital wing."
"And please inform him that I'll be stopping by later in the day to speak with him in more detail about the event."
"Will do...may I go now?"
"Of course James. And please remember what I've said."
James nodded and said, "Good night sir."
"Good night James."
James walked slowly back to the tower. When he reached the door to the dorm he looked at his watch. It was 12:30 PM and he was drained. He slowly turned the handle and was met with two distinct noises. One was Peter's snoring. The other was the soft crying of his best friend.
James sighed contemplating whether he should ignore the crying or talk to his friend. He made up his mind and walked towards Sirius's bed where the curtains were pulled closed.
Sirius was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, head in hands, and shoulders racking with sobs he tried to suppress. James sat beside him.
"Sirius. I'm angrier with you right now than I've ever been in my life. I can't believe you've done this to Remus...and to the rest of us. Right now I can't forgive you."
He noticed Sirius stiffen slightly as he continued to cry.
"But I will forgive you mate...and Remus will too." James sat there as though waiting for a reply. He knew it would never come and for a few moments he just watched Sirius cry.
After several minutes had passed James turned towards Sirius and pulled him into a tight hug. "Everything's going to be alright Sirius."
"I-I ruined everything...I could have..."
"Yeah you could have, but you didn't," James muttered, rocking Sirius slowly. "Everyone's safe, everyone's alright."
"I—I created Moony's worst fear. He's going to hate me....you should hate me too."
"I could never hate you Padfoot....I can be bloody pissed off like I am now...but I'll never hate you."
Sirius shook his head.
"Stop crying Sirius, there were no deaths tonight."
James rubbed his friends back as he took deep breaths trying to stem off the tears. After about five minutes his face was beginning to dry and his breathing became regular.
"Thanks James...for not hating me and for stopping what I almost caused..."
"Yah Sirius..." James said. He couldn't help but become distant from his friend now that the tears had stopped. "Go to bed Sirius. We'll talk more about this in the morning." He got up and quickly headed to his own bed before Sirius could say anymore.
James slept quite restlessly that night, all the time contemplating how he was going to break the news to Remus. He was bound to know something was up when he realized his friends weren't there when he changed back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James awoke at about 8 AM the next day. Sirius was still asleep, and Peter was already gone, probably at breakfast. James didn't bother waking his friend, knowing there was no way Sirius would even consider going to classes that day. In fact, James didn't intend to either. He was going to be there for both of his friends that day, no matter how much pain it caused himself.
After getting dressed he made his way down to the hospital wing. He opened the door and heard the sound of Remus's voice. "Something happened last night, didn't it Madam Pomfrey?"
"I don't believe anything happened last night, Mr. Lupin," Madam Pomfrey replied, confusion evident in her voice. "But I need you to calm down; otherwise, you're not going to heal."
"But-" Remus said. He stopped as James entered the area.
"Mr. Potter, you know you aren't supposed to be here at this hour."
"I know, Madam Pomfrey, but Professor Dumbledore asked me to come down here and have a little talk with Remus. In private," he added.
"Well he hasn't informed me of this, so I must ask you to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere if you don't believe me go ask Professor Dumbledore. I'm surprised he hasn't already been down to see you."
Remus looked sharply at James. Madam Pomfrey eyed him suspiciously and then walked to her office, closing the door.
"James....what happened? Why didn't you guys come down last night? Why do you look so serious?"
James stepped up to Remus's bed and sat on the edge of it. He took a deep breath and began to tell Remus exactly what happened, staring at a random spot on the wall as he did so.
When he finished he looked up at Remus to find his eyes closed and his hand on his forehead.
"Sirius...?" Remus mumbled, as if verifying that it was truly Sirius who had done that to him.
"Yeah," James said taking Remus's hand off his forehead and holding it tight in his own. With his other hand, James brushed over the hair on Remus's head. "But Moony, he was upset he didn't mean to do it. You know how he can be."
"But how could he..." Remus's lip trembled.
"Shhhh," James whispered. One tear leaked from Remus's eye and James brushed it away with his thumb. Before more could follow he scooped his friend into a tight hug. Remus buried his face in and tried not to cry any harder. He succeeded and pulled away after a few moments.
"Do you think you can forgive him?" James asked quietly.
Remus shrugged looking sadly around the room. "I'm going to need to talk to him...I can't believe..."
"I couldn't either," James muttered. "But he's sorry...I don't think he's ever been so sorry for anything he's ever done in his life. He was an absolute mess."
"He should be."
James nodded. "Dumbledore's asking that we both take it easy on him...he'll be by to talk to you later. He wanted me to break the news to you."
"I want to talk to Sirius before I see Dumbledore."
"I think you should definitely talk to Dumbledore first."
"No! I want to talk to Sirius now!" Remus yelled.
James backed away slightly and nodded. "I'll just go get him then, alright?"
Remus nodded and lay back in his hospital bed after watching James walk out the door. Never in his life had Remus felt such a mixture of anger and grief at once. It was quite a nasty combination.
After about five minutes Sirius appeared in the hospital wing and approached Remus's bed. The expression on his face showed pure fear. "I'm so sorry Remus," Sirius said, biting his lip.
Remus looked up at him and didn't say a word. He simply stared into Sirius's watery eyes. Sirius held the gaze as firmly as he could. It was difficult, as Sirius could see the sadness and hurt in his friend's eyes.
They stayed that way for a while, just looking into each others eyes, neither saying a word. The silence was deadly and Sirius felt as though he was going to lose his mind if he had to face it for much longer. However, Remus had lost the will to talk. He felt as though there was nothing he needed to say or hear. Sirius had betrayed him in the worst way possible. Remus didn't even want to think about what Sirius's actions the previous night could have caused.
Remus drew a deep breath after several moments of the stiff silence and said, "What the fuck were you thinking Sirius? Huh? How could you do that to me? I really can't even imagine that there is a real reason for you telling Snape that! I just can't even fathom a fucking reason! So would you care to explain to me why you did this?"
Sirius didn't know what to say. He was more ashamed of himself than he had ever been in his life. Running through his possible excuses in his head, he found that none of them were good enough to tell Remus. He had betrayed his friend and really didn't even have a reason for it.
In response to Remus's question he simply said, "No."
"Then leave!" Remus yelled, his face crumbling as tears began to fall.
"Remus I--!" Sirius began, walking closer to the bed.
"I don't want to hear it Sirius! Just leave me alone!" He cried bitterly.
Sirius tried to put his hand on his friends shoulder. Remus slapped it away and yelled in a voice more powerful then Sirius had ever heard, "Get out of here!"
Not needing to be told again Sirius ran out of the hospital wing, trying to control his own tears that wanted to escape as well.
"I'm sorry Remus," he muttered before he set off down the hall.
After Sirius left Remus broke down further and that was exactly how Professor Dumbledore found him a short while later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope you all enjoyed that! As usual, please review for me....please???
Also, anybody seen that Gap commercial for stress free khakis? That's how I see an adult Sirius...gorgeous!!! Anybody else completely appalled at the goons they have playing Remus and Sirius in POA?