He had to see. He had to see if his oldest living friend was still the same man he'd once been.
"You've only got ten minutes before your chocolate drop melts, and trust me, you do not want to still be inside when it's gone," said the Azkaban guard, a short wizard in a rumpled purple robe.
"I understand. I won't be long."
The guard opened the thick, vaultlike door, and Remus was overwhelmed by the chill terror of the Dementors. He put the enchanted chocolate in his mouth.
It helped, but couldn't completely negate the Dementors' despair, layered over his own natural grief.
No happy people ever visit Azkaban, he reflected. There are always layers of sadness for them to build on.
He walked down the corridor with careful dignity, fighting the urge to run back for his wand, trying not to flinch when the Dementors passed too near.
From behind closed doors came the sounds of the prisoners—screaming, pleading, quiet sobbing, wild threats…There were others, he knew, who he couldn't hear. The ones who had fallen silent. Forever.
Only one door was open in that hallway. Remus walked into the room. A Dementor moved into the doorway, blocking his only exit.
"Expecto patronus," said Sirius Black, with the air of one who has repeated a prayer a thousand times and no longer has any hope that it will be answered.
"I'm not your Patronus."
"You made the Dementors go away." His voice cracked; his eyes were bright and opened just a little too wide.
"Sirius…"
"Remus." Sirius took a sudden step forward. Remus jumped back, almost into the Dementor's bony arms. "Remus, you can't be afraid of me…Are you?" Without speaking, Remus stepped sideways to get out of range of both the Dementor and Sirius. "I'm not a killer! You know me! You know I didn't kill them!" He lunged, fell, and ended up clutching at Remus's muggle suit. "Remus! You've got to believe me!"
"Liar!" He pushed him away. "Traitor! They saw you kill Peter and all those others! You as good as murdered Lily and James—and your own godson!"
"No!"
"Feeling guilty, Sirius? Wishing you could bring them back? Well, you can't. They're dead, Sirius. Dead! Do you understand that? They are dead because of you. And you don't even care, do you? You'll lie as much as you have to to get out of here, but you don't give a damn about the lives you've destroyed."
"I never meant—" He took another step toward Remus.
"You stay back." The temperature of the room dropped sharply. Remus turned to see the Dementor moving toward them.
Automatically, Remus put himself between the specter and his old friend, groping for the wand he had left with the guard.
The Dementor reached for Remus.
What am I doing protecting him?
"Remus, please, the boy? No one would tell me."
"He lived," he said tersely. Sirius sighed.
"Thank God."
At that, Remus felt a stab of guilt, but it was too late. He had already ducked under the Dementor's arm and out into the hall.
"Remus? Remus! You can't leave me here! Please!"
More Dementors converged on the open door, brushing past Remus as he ran for the exit.
"Expecto patronus! Expecto patronus! Expecto patronus!"