He held his breath.
Time slowed down. He watched the curse hit Sirius in the chest. Sirius' eyes widened in shock. Then he fell.
So slowly. Remus could see everything. The way Padfoot's robes flew out behind him. How gently Padfoot's head pushed the veil back behind him.
That veil. That goddamn veil.
It all happened in less than a second. To Remus, it seemed to take forever. His best friend was gone.
Where did he go? It didn't matter; he was no longer here with him. With his friend.
I miss my friend...
Remus held on to Harry. He wanted to pull the boy in and never let him go. He was all he had left now. The only thing that remotely resembled his friends. The last petal from a garden full of dead flowers.
Harry ran. Remus could not stop him. He continued to stare at the veil. That veil.
He woke up then, gasping for breath. His eyes stung with the tears he had unconsciously shed. He suppressed the childish shudders of his body, pulling the soft sheets of Sirius' bed off his body. He would probably never figure out why he had submitted himself to the torture of sleeping in his best friend's room. He'd told himself it was to be closer to Padfoot. But it only made the emptiness inside him greater. He let out a sob, and collapsed into the sheets. Tears coursed down his cheeks freely. He did not care who heard, or who saw. He was alone. So alone.
Trying to take slower breaths, he lifted his head. He glanced at a picture on the bedside table – himself, Padfoot, and Prongs. He suppressed a mournful laugh when he saw the side of the picture end not in the smooth lines of a photograph, but with the rip of a former friend, now a bitter enemy. Wormtail's arm was all that could be seen, flailing about helplessly.
Why did that have to end? Is this my punishment? What did I do to deserve this misery?!
He angrily grabbed the photograph and smashed the frame against the wall. The glass shattered into hundreds of pieces. The picture lay on the floor, half covered by the frame.
Remus stared down at his arm, which was bleeding. A large shard of glass was protruding from his wrist, out of a major vein. He stared at the stream of blood, mesmerized. He had become almost oblivious to pain as a result of his lycanthropy. However, the sight of the flowing blood seemed to calm him.
He swiftly ripped the shard out of his arm, tossing it to the floor with the others. He sucked the piece of his wrist that was bleeding. What would he have done if he'd died?
...What if I'd died?...
The thought got him excited. What if he'd died? Sirius was dead. James was dead. Lily was dead. ...What if he was as well?
Now nearly giddy with excitement, he pulled on an old cloak. He swiftly left the room, taking the stairs three or four at a time. He landed at the bottom softly, then ran to the kitchen. The Order was in session; they'd left him to his own devices. Many were surprised and shocked to see the man who had been so broken only hours before nearly bursting with seeming happiness. His face was split in a grin.
He made his way to the cupboard, flinging the doors open. He roughly pulled a bottle of healing potion out, tossing away the lid, and dumping the entire contents on his profusely bleeding wrist. He heard several gasps from behind him, but didn't care. He haphazardly tossed the glass phial to the ground.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see the face of his aging Headmaster.
"Remus?" the old man asked cautiously, carefully searching the other man's eyes with his own. Remus dropped his gaze, still smiling.
"You couldn't protect him. You couldn't protect any of them," he whispered bitterly. He made contact again with the now pained eyes. "I will bring him back."
He smirked. Before anyone could say another word, he disapparated.
He appeared in the Ministry atrium. It was late, and there were few people around. He made his way down the levels of the Ministry, stopping in front of the Department of Mysteries. Standing with his back to Remus was Kingsley Shacklebolt. He turned around at the sound of the older man's footsteps.
"Lupin," he said in surprise, looking cautiously at the lycanthrope. He took a step forward. "Remus, are you alright?"
Remus shrugged. "I will be," he said pleasantly. "Sorry about this, Kingsley."
Shacklebolt gave him a confused look, but Remus lifted his wand and stupefied him. Dragging the unconscious man into a corner, he entered the Department of Mysteries. Making his way, he quickly arrived at his destination, remembering with wolf-like precision the steps he'd taken not but a month ago.
Remus Lupin entered the Death Chamber.
It was as he remembered. He tried to block the memories, knowing that what he had come for would far outweigh the pain he had experienced in the past. His only regret was the pain he knew he'd cause Harry. But then, the boy was strong. They didn't have a strong bond – no, Remus would have loved to have a strong bond with the boy, but in the end, they did not. Remus knew that was what would save the boy.
He stepped down the large stone steps, coming to a halt in front of the veil. He held his breath and cautiously took a step forward. He could hear the whispers of those who'd vanished through the veil, and those who had merely vanished from the world of the living. It almost seemed like they knew what he had planned, like they were calling to him.
Remussssssssssssss...
He reached out a hand, letting it feel the flutter of the veil. He could almost feel what was on the other side. Closing his eyes, he took a step forward through the veil.
That veil...
He opened his eyes. It was so white around him...it was almost blinding. He realized he was lying down, though he could not, and never would be able to, identify the substance on which he was lying. He slowly pushed himself up on his elbows, glancing around.
He found himself staring into the wide eyes of Sirius Black.
Startled, he pulled backwards. His back came into contact with a pair of legs. He cocked his head upwards to see whose legs he'd run into.
James Potter.
Mouth hanging open, too far into shock to speak, found himself being helped to his feet.
By Lily Potter.
"My God," he whispered, breathless. He gazed curiously at the sad look on each of his best friend's faces. He broke into a smile and dove at Sirius.
"PADFOOT!" he shrieked, sounding like a small child. He enveloped the taller man in a bone-crushing hug. He pulled back, however, when he did not feel the hug being returned. Sirius looked ready to cry.
"Gods, Moony, what did you do?" he whispered, his voice sounding distant.
"You're supposed to be with Harry," said James from behind him. Remus turned back to look at his friend.
"I-what? What do you mean?"
A single tear rolled down Lily's cheek, and she placed her hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Remus...don't you understand? You aren't supposed to be here with us."
Remus pulled away from her, upset. "I don't care. I can't take it anymore. I refuse to be alone!" he shouted.
Sirius shook his head, looking at his friend with pity. "But you're not supposed to be here."
Remus' face hardened. "Neither are you."
Sirius looked away. "I know."
Remus' mouth fell open. That was not the answer he'd expected. He walked towards his friend. "Come back with me," he whispered. Sirius tried to pull away, but Moony held him tighter.
Sirius pointed behind Remus. The werewolf looked at what he was pointing at – the other side of the veil.
"You came through by choice, old friend," Sirius whispered miserably. "I did not."
Frantic, Remus looked at his other two friends desperately. They shook their heads. "We did not fall through the veil to get here," they said in unison. "We cannot go back."
"...But I can?" he asked, frightened of the answer. They simply nodded.
"Then I'm taking Padfoot with me."
The resolve with which he said this shocked the three others. James and Lily were speechless as Remus walked up and hugged them both.
"We will meet again someday, my friends," he murmured. He then turned to Sirius, grabbed his arms forcefully, and pulled him along towards the veil.
Sirius was too shocked to argue.
Moony pulled him through the veil.
They landed on the floor of the Death Chamber with a thump.
Sirius turned to look at his best friend.
"Wow."
A/N: It was just a piece. I wanted to fix JKR's mistake ;) Should I continue? Make it a story? Or leave it a piece? It could be a good story...You tell me.