Disclaimer, Warnings, Thanks: See the first five chapters.

---

Endless Possibilities

Interlude

---

Remus J. Lupin lay quite still in the bed he had once shared with the man he loved, one arm curled around the dark-haired teenager sleeping beside him. Sirius' death had been hard on them all, but it had crushed Harry completely. He had finally fallen asleep after hours of crying, absolutely exhausted. Remus gently brushed Harry's bangs away from his face, one fingertip lightly tracing the scar on the child's forehead. Until now, he and Harry had never quite reached the level of closeness they should have; it tore at Remus' heart to think they only became so close after Sirius was gone.

It had been his mate's fondest wish to finally be proven innocent so he could take Remus and Harry away from Grimmauld Place and start new, the three of them their own little family. Tears sprung to Remus' eyes as he remembered lying beside Sirius in this bed the summer before. His mate's eyes had been shining as he talked; his mind was a million miles away from the dingy atmosphere of Grimmauld Place.

Just us, Remmie. You, me, and Harry. Like it should have been after - after James and Lily died. I know we can't get back the time we missed, but we can start making up for it. I love you... and I love Harry. I just want to spend time together with you both...

Remus didn't move to wipe away his tears, letting them trickle onto the musty pillowcase. He swallowed hard, Sirius' smiling face refusing to leave his thoughts. Sirius hadn't smiled much during his stay at Grimmauld Place, but when he did, it had always been lovely. And he had never smiled for anyone but Remus. Not anyone.

Harry gave a small whimper beside him, and his eyes flickered open. He blinked myopically at Remus, looking concerned and sleepy. Remus reached over, picked up Harry's glasses from the nightstand, and handed them to him. Are you okay, Harry? he asked softly.

Yeah... no. Harry reached out. One fingertip traced under Remus' eye. When he withdrew his hand, his finger was wet. You're crying.

I suppose I am. Remus sat up and dried his eyes on his sleeve.

You loved him a lot, didn't you? Harry whispered.

Yes. I did. Remus looked out the window at the silvery crescent moon. We both did.

There was a long pause. Harry stared glumly at the floor, playing absentmindedly with a hole in the knee of his jeans; Remus tried not to remember the last time he had spent the night in this bed, making love to Sirius before falling asleep in his arms. Only a day later, and Sirius was dead.



Remus looked up, startled; he still wasn't quite used to Harry calling him by his first name. Y-yes, Harry?

What... what are you going to do? I thought.... I mean, Sirius was your - he was your mate. What... happens now?

Remus shook his head. I don't know. I'll just... have to get used to being without him.

Harry put his arms around the professor and hugged him. Remus sniffled, hugging back, as Harry's tears dripped onto the shoulder of his robes. They remained like that for a long time, until their tears dried up and their noses were stuffed up with crying. Even when they were quiet, they continued to hold each other, trying vainly to lessen each other's pain. Finally, Harry's eyelids drooped; he fell asleep with his head on Remus' shoulder. Remus lowered the boy back onto the pillows, pulling the blanket up over him. His heart ached as he looked at Harry, knowing the boy had lost the three people he needed most, and also knowing that the responsibilities of being father, mother, and godfather now rested on his own shoulders.

It was what James and Lily and Sirius would have wanted. Remus was the only one Harry had left, now. It was his duty to take care of Harry, to provide him with love and support and guidance, to protect him from Voldemort and his followers. If it weren't for that, Remus felt he would have killed himself the minute Sirius fell through that veil.

He laid down beside Harry and put his arm around the boy. He was so tired. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

He had a very strange dream. He saw Sirius, clothed entirely in black and wearing gobs of makeup, a guitar in his hands, playing a song and singing to a massive crowd. He saw himself, shouting at a woman with long, dark hair. He saw Harry, looking strangely different, and Lucius Malfoy with his hand inside the woman's dress. He saw Sirius, Harry, Hermione and Ron in fancy dress robes, being served coffee by Minerva McGonagall. He saw Sirius again, tears running down his cheeks as he bent to kiss a sleeping child; Bellatrix Lestrange, dressed in a red negligee and drinking brandy. He saw his lover in a tuxedo, sitting on a subway in Japan. And lastly, he saw himself and Sirius making love on a leather sofa in what appeared to be a Muggle office.

Remus awoke with a gasp, sitting up quickly. He put a hand over his heart, panting. A quick glance assured him that he had not disturbed Harry's sleep. What had that dream been about? All those different versions of Sirius... what was it all about? Was this a normal dream to have after losing one's lover?

He looked back at Harry and bit his lip. He couldn't bear to tell Harry the whole truth about losing Sirius. The fact was, Remus himself now had a limited time to live. He knew very well that after the death of their mates, werewolves just pined away until they died themselves. But how in the world could he tell Harry that? How could the child stand the shock of losing him on top of the loss of his godfather? It was true that Remus had no idea how long he had left; it could be several years, or maybe just a few days. But it was cruel. It was a knife to the heart to look at Harry and think that everyone who loved him would soon be dead.

The werewolf lowered his face into his cupped palms and began to cry once more.

To Be Continued.

---

(A/N: I know this technically didn't fit in with the challenge requirements, but hey, I'm writing this for my own amusement, not the challenge! This was such a sad chapter. I wrote it while watching The Shawshank Redemption', wearing my pj's with the Hostess cupcakes on them. Yes, Hostess cupcakes. In case no one could tell by the author's notes in my stories, I am a huge Stephen King fan. I've read most of his books (I didn't care for the Dark Tower series; I read the first one and found it boring, so I never read 2 through 6), seen most of his movies, and watched every episode of Kingdom Hospital'. He's my favourite author besides J.K. Rowling.

The werewolf thing. I don't know if werewolves really pine away until they die after their mates die, but I thought it would be horribly romantic, and would add interest to the story, so there you go. Besides, if werewolves and their mates are supposed to be so powerfully connected, doesn't it make sense that they'd follow each other into death? Doesn't it? Ah, hell. I make up half the stuff I write about werewolves anyway. My cousin tried to point out to me that only the alpha male and female of a wolf pack mate for life, but I ignored her. It ruined my theories about Remus and Sirius.)