A/N - Hey everybody! Wow, it took a while to finish this chapter - I'm sorry! Life just became rather hectic, and I had virtually no time to write. Oh well - here it is now!

Oh, and to anybody reading this that is also one of my reviewers for TwoWay Mirrors - I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but like I said above I've had almost no time to write. However, I promise chapter 20 will be posted in a week or so (probably sooner). Please be patient with me, I'm trying!

Alright - time to explain a bit about this chapter. Halfway through it switches view points - it starts off from Remus' perspective, goes to Harry's and then back to Remus'. Hopefully won't be too confusing - I put ::::: in between the view points, so you should be able to figure it out.

Disclaimer time! JK Rowling owns everything you recognize. The quotes belong to the people who said them...(Epicurus, Blaise Pascal, and Erica Jong, in that order).

Enjoy!

Death is Nothing

Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.

- Epicurus

Chapter 3: Worth Fighting For

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.

- Blaise Pascal

Love is everything it is cracked up to be...It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.

- Erica Jong

He hated everything about this house. He hated the shrunken heads adorning the halls, hated the house elf that cursed under his breath every time they passed, hated the dank, menacing feeling that seemed to seep throughout the entire manor. But most of all he hated the memories.

There were many of them, too many to count. Everything he passed reminded him of Sirius; every room brought some new recollection. He had never liked memories, not since, fifteen years ago, he had lost all four of his friends on the same night. Memories were painful. And he was tired, deathly tired, of pain.

"Remus, dear?" He glanced up from his desk and saw Molly Weasley standing in the doorway, a kind, understanding smile on her weary face. "Hedwig just arrived; she has a letter for you." She shifted slightly, and Remus could see Harry's snowy owl perched on her shoulder.

Remus frowned slightly. "Thanks, Molly." he said softly, holding out his arm. Hedwig fluttered off of Molly's shoulder and flew over to him – giving Remus one last, small smile, Molly turned and walked back down the hall, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Remus sighed wearily and turned to Hedwig, who had perched herself on his forearm and was blinking her large amber eyes up at him reproachfully, though he couldn't imagine why. "Thank you." he murmured, as she hopped off his arm and onto his desk. Remus untied Harry's letter from around her leg and, frowning slightly, slit it open and began to read.

Dear Professor Lupin –

I'm sorry to bother you, but something really strange just

happened and I need your help. If possible would you please

come back to Privet Drive so we can talk – if you can't I'll

tell you next time I see you. Thanks.

- Harry

As he read it his frown deepened. He sat lost in thought for a moment, until Hedwig's impatient hoot brought him sharply back to reality. Grabbing his ragged muggle coat off his bed, he scribbled something down hastily on a scrap of parchment and straightened. Casting his eyes around for his wand, he saw it lying on his bedside table and, grabbing it, stuffed it into his pocket before disappearing with a resounding crack.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped and spun around – a man with light brown, grey flecked hair was standing behind him, his hands in the pockets of a rather tattered overcoat. Harry relaxed. It was Lupin.

"Hedwig, er, got to you, then?" said Harry, feeling slightly foolish now that Lupin was actually here.

"Yes." said Lupin softly, sitting down on the curb next to Harry. "What's wrong?" Something in his concerned voice made Harry catch his breath painfully; for a moment he had sounded so much like –

"Harry?" said Lupin gently. Harry forced himself to let out his breath.

"Professor," he began slowly, not exactly sure how he was going to explain this, "I, er, had a dream, a night ago...," Remus merely looked at him silently, and Harry let out another breath before continuing. "It was...weird. I was in the Department of Mysteries, in the room with the, with the veil...," He shook his head slightly before going on. "I was the only one there, and I was standing in front of the veil, and I...I touched it."

He turned to look at Lupin, expecting him to say something, but Lupin was merely staring straight ahead at the dark alleyway ahead of them and remained silent. So, sighing, Harry continued.

"What happened next...it was strange. It felt like someone was trying to rip something from my chest, but at the same time like someone else was trying to keep whatever it was there. And it hurt." He shivered slightly.

"Then it was all over, and I was standing on this strip of land in the middle of a lake. It was storming out – there was lightning flashing across the sky, and waves were crashing onto the rocks. And suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I spun around, and, and Sirius was standing there...,"

Lupin sighed, almost as though he had been expecting this, and said softly "And what did Sirius do?"

Slightly taken aback by Lupin's manner, Harry said, somewhat awkwardly, "He, he told me that I wasn't supposed to be there, that I had to leave...he said that 'they' would find me if I didn't go...." Harry fell silent, and for a moment both he and Lupin gazed wordlessly at the alleyway in front of them.

At last Lupin prompted gently, "Did he say anything else?"

Harry shook his head, startled out of his reverie, and answered quickly "No, he didn't....he looked scared, though, and sad. Really sad." Harry turned to look at Lupin, a confused look in his eyes. "But before I could say anything to him something happened – a, a wave came over the rocks and crashed into me. It felt like I was on fire, like I was burning up from the inside, and when I woke up it kept burning." Lupin turned sharply to look at him, a strange look coming into his eyes.

"Are you sure you weren't imagining it?"

Harry hesitated a moment. Then slowly, almost reluctantly, he pulled down the collar of his shirt and showed Lupin the words emblazoned into his flesh. "Professor," he said slowly, while Lupin gazed, speechless, at his shoulder, "Do you think that, maybe, Sirius could be, that he's not...dead?"

He was sure there were many explanations for the appearance of the words carved into Harry's shoulder, sure that if he could just collect his thoughts he could come up with some other, more logical reason. But a part of him refused to believe that; a part of him wanted, more than anything, to believe that Harry was right, that Sirius really wasn't –

"Have you told anybody else this?" he asked, noting, with a detached feeling of surprise, that his voice sounded calm and reasonable. Harry shook his head.

"No." he muttered, looking not at Remus but at the alleyway that he appeared to be so fascinated with. "I, I don't know why but I...I thought that I should tell you, first."

Remus sighed, wishing more than anything that he could bury his head in his hands. Dumbledore was the one Harry should have told this to, not him. He had no idea what it meant, if it meant anything it all. Which it doesn't. he reminded himself, following Harry's gaze down the alleyway. It was just a dream, nothing more than that.

Oh? said a sarcastic voice in the back of his head. Just a dream? Then what, pray, does 'HE IS OURS' mean?

"That was where I first saw him." said Harry softly, distracting Remus from his musings. "Sirius, I mean – I saw him there the night I ran away from my Aunt and Uncle's house." He turned to look at Remus, a faint hope shining in his eyes. "Is there a, a chance that he could be alive, Professor?"

"No." said Remus, his harsh tone surprising both Harry and himself. "He's dead, Harry. He's not coming back." He stood up, distantly aware of the fact that Harry was staring at him open-mouthed, and turning around, began to walk back the way he had come.

You are a fool. said the voice contemptuously. Denying what you know in your heart is true. Had you fallen through Padfoot would have gone after in an instant – what happened to Moony?

"He died." replied Remus listlessly, knowing that he was speaking to thin air and not really caring. "He followed Padfoot through the veil."

A/N - Poor Remus. I'm pretty mean to him, aren't I? And, I still haven't advanced the plot much, even though it's only supposed to be 5 chapters long! Actually, it's going along faster than you're probably thinking. Which reminds me - if you have any questions/theories about this, you can send them to me in a review and I'll a) Answer them in the next chapter, b) review your story and answer them, or c) not answer them because it would give too much away.

Oh, by the by - I know that chapter was short, but I promise that either 4 or 5 (I'm not sure which yet) will be long.

And now, it's time for doing my favorite thing of all - answering my reviewers!

Misthea - Wow, lots of questions! I'll try and answer them all... You'll see! Although, (and you're probably going to hate me for saying this), you've already met 'them'. You just don't know it yet =) / He did! / You'll see! / same answer as last question / Remus has rather mixed feelings about the message - the real question is how he's going to react when he sees how Harry reacts to it.

Well, I originally planned on updating every other, but TwoWay Mirrors is proving rather stubborn at the moment. Don't worry, it'll be updated soon!

lyssreader - Thanks!

SiriusElvenStar - You were really left speechless? Wow, thanks!

randomperson619 - Glad you like it =)

BellaBlack - thanks!

Padfoot n' Moony - Hope this was soon enough!

Nethwen - Glad you like it - characterization is one of my favorite parts of writing, so I'm glad you think they're all in character.

Icy Tears - See reply to Padfoot n' Moony =)

Alright - I'm pretty sure that's it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and keep 'em coming! Bye!