Chapter three: "the soft sound of snow."

After dinner that night Harry, Ron and Hermione cleaned the dishes and silverware. They then placed them neatly inside the cabinets. Well except for Ron who broke nearly half of the ones he touched. Luckily Mrs. Wesley was there and with a deep sigh mended the plates and glasses back together.

" Are you going to ask him, Harry?" whispered Ron leaning over to Harry to prevent his mother form hearing them.

" After I finish this." replied Harry scrubbing away at a fork that did not want to come clean.

"Go on, I'll finish the rest." Said Hermione.

Harry set down his sponge and started to move toward the door.

"And where are you going?" asked Mrs. Wesley.

"I was going to work on my homework. I figure I'll get it done early this break and then I can have more time to relax." Answered Harry as though he had better rehearsed this lie then the others.

Mrs. Wesley smiled, "You go right a head, Harry dear." She nudged Ron as though to tell him he could learn a thing or two from Harry.

Ron waved good bye with a half smile and a glance of reluctance at his mother.

"Good night, Harry." Said Hermione.

Harry crept up stairs and down the hallway until he came to Sirius and Professor Lupin's study. Harry was sure that Sirius would be there tonight since he and Lupin were working on something involving Voldemort's were about. Harry knocked on the door and heard Lupin's voice telling him to come in. Harry stepped inside and glanced around noticing that Sirius was not in sight. Only Lupin stood at the desk studying a heap of parchment and open books intently. He looked up at Harry waiting for him to speak.

"Have you seen Sirius?" Harry asked.

Lupin turned his gaze back down to the books and papers sprawled messily across the table.

"He just left to help Hagrid outside." Lupin responded.

"Oh," Harry mumbled, " I wanted to ask him about-."

"Artemis Hacate." Lupin finished as he closed one of his books and walked over to one of the tall bookshelf.

Harry nodded, "yes."

Lupin placed the book back on the shelf and smiled wearily, " of course, who could forget Artemis Hacate?"

"Were you good friends with her?" asked Harry afraid that there may have been hidden sarcasm in Lupin's tone.

Lupin made his way back to his desk, " I'd hope so being that she was my wife for eight years."

Harry felt like hitting himself in the head. Now that he pieced it together she didn't seem like Sirius' type at all. She was indeed the kind of down to earth woman that Remus Lupin would fall in love with.

The door opened harshly and Sirius made his way in, but stopped to stare at the two before him that had become so silent.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

Harry looked to Lupin and back to Sirius.

"No." replied Lupin not looking up from his work.

Sirius eyed his friend suspiciously and then turned to Harry.

"I need to show you something," said Sirius as he led Harry out of the room.

Once the two of them were outside in the snow covered back yard Sirius spoke up again.

"You asked him about Artemis, didn't you?" asked Sirius.

"I didn't know-." Started Harry as he followed Sirius to the stump of the old tree that Hagrid had been chopping wood on earlier.

Sirius sat down on the stump and Harry did so on the ground next to him.

" I won't say you don't have a right to know about her," said Sirius, " she was in fact your godmother."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but Sirius held up a hand, "I know what your thinking, but the way your parents saw it was that if anything happened to me you could stay with Remus and Artemis. Of course both of us know that didn't play out as we had hoped. Dumbledore thought it best for you to live with the Dursleys. There was already too much mayhem going on in the wizard world."

Harry gazed downward at the snow below him and asked Sirius the question that had been on his mind, " What happened to her?"

Sirius glanced at the sky as though she may have been listening. His gray eyes seemed to turn darker.

"Voldemort killed her, didn't he?" breathed Harry.

Sirius switched his gaze to harry and shook his head.

" I did." Came a voice from behind them.

Harry turned to see Lupin standing behind them hands in his pockets and a scarf around his neck loosely.

" It was an accident, Moony." Said Sirius trying to comfort his friend.

Lupin's pale blue eyes watered, but he wiped them dry and gazed at the snow as it fell softly down from the skies.

"It was six years after your parents died," he began, " Artemis and I had settled down in Ireland which was where we both were raised. My father and every father before him was a werewolf hunter. Ironic, isn't it? After he died he left the house to Artemis and I so we could start a family. The convenience of living where we did was the fact that there was a small forest located a few acres away from our home. Well, every full moon I would hide myself deep within it and place a barrier spell upon myself. That way I couldn't come in contact with an other creature." Lupin paused and breathed in deeply as though every bit of the story was ripping out a piece of his heart slowly.

Sirius began to pick up where his friend left off, " one night Remus forgot."

"I tried to be careful, we both tried. Being young we thought nothing like it would ever happen. It would never happen to us as long as we were careful. But you slip up once and your world can come crashing down on you and over and over your mind keeps telling you, 'everyone told you so'. And you realize that you were a fool for ever thinking you would be different." Lupin stopped again and stared at the snowy ground. His eyes began to water and few tears dropped upon the frozen earth without a sound.

Without glancing up Lupin continued, " it was one morning right before the sun came up. It was the last day of my transformation that month. Artemis had come outside to start her chores early I'm guessing. If she had only waited twenty more minutes the transformation would have been over. Of course how was she to know that I had forgotten my spell? She thought she was safe from me," Lupin let out yet another deep and shaky breath before going on, " I don't know how far she made it outside of the house before I got to her. All I can remember is waking up that morning and finding her mangled body next to mine. I held her in my arms apologizing for everything, but she only smiled and whispered that everything was all right and that she'd be fine. The next thing I knew her body had become limp."

It was silent except for the snow falling to the ground. Harry and Sirius both feeling Remus' pain stared down at the ground fearful to say another word.

"I hope that answers your question, Harry." Said Lupin breaking the unbearable silence in the air.

Harry only nodded and Sirius gazed up at his friend catching his tear filled eyes.

"I'm sorry." Said Sirius.

Lupin took one last look at Sirius and without so much as a sigh left to return inside.

When Lupin had disappeared Sirius turned to his godson, " That's what snooping around gets you."

Harry, feeling even more guilty stared up at Sirius, " I didn't know." He said defending himself.

Sirius sighed, "Why did Moody even bring this up?"

"I asked him about it. I'm sorry, really I am."

Sirius placed a hand on top on Harry's head and gave a half smile, " I know, but some things are better left alone."

A/n: that's all I have for now. I know, I know! It's completely AU! If you want to flame. Flame! I can't stop you. But this was a fun story to write and I hope you some what enjoyed it. Well, read and review.