A/N: - I am so sorry to have to say this – but there will be a character death in this chapter – a major character death – my favourite character ever in any book I have ever read. But I have to do it – and reading the Half-Blood Prince has assured me that it is the right thing to do – for I fear his character is soon to be destroyed anyway, though not by any spell or injury…so here it goes…review for me…and sorry…

Chapter 21 – The Clock Is Ticking

"What!" Hermione whipped round anxiously.

"Attack – we're being attacked again?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"I thought he wasn't going to attack again until he was back to full strength," Ron gasped.

"Clearly not – back in the Castle – NOW!" Hagrid ushered them back as Voldemort's forces mustered outside the school gates.

Bursting into the Great Hall, Dumbledore strode up to the staff table to address the students, flanked by Snape and McGonagall.

"Students, we have come under attack far sooner than we had anticipated. You are all to remain here until we have secured a safe passage out for you. Do not panic and do not leave the Hall as I have placed every defensive spell known to wizard-kind on this Hall and they will keep you safe. Now we must leave you," he strode back out, unaware of the three students following him under the invisibility cloak.

"Stupefy!" an exhausted voice gasped as Harry rounded the corner to see a terrified Ravenclaw boy trembling on the ground as he tried to take down some particularly large Death Eaters.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" another voice boomed and the boy dropped to the ground, dead. All but one Death Eater, the one who had used the killing curse, ran off in search of another victim.

"NO!" Hermione squealed, revealing herself to the hooded Death Eater that remained, who then removed his hood and revealed himself to be none other than the thoroughly hated Peter Pettigrew.

"Ah ha!" Pettigrew grinned sadistically, "my first victims – and what victims they are to be."

"Keep. Away. From. Them." A slow and silky voice warned.

"Snivellus, what a very pleasant surprise – I heard you'd gone soft."

"We mean it, Wormtail…harm them and you will pay with your miserable excuse for a life," Lupin stepped up beside Snape, grasping the Potions Master's shoulder to stay steady as he was not really supposed to be up and fighting.

"And Remus, you managed to pull through, I see – well, make no mistake, you won't be surviving this!" Pettigrew made to lunge at Lupin but Snape stepped calmly into his way and barred him from getting to the Defence teacher, who was now by the students and ushering them away swiftly.

"Do you think Snape will be ok?" Hermione asked as they ran.

"For now, that is not your concern," Lupin snapped back uncharacteristically, "now I do not know what you three were doing out of the Great Hall, and I don't really want to know – but I do want to know whether you fully understand how reckless you're being."

"We wanted to help…" Ron trailed off uncertainly.

"By getting yourselves killed and wasting our time when we should be hunting for Voldemort? Oh yes, how helpful," Lupin commented smoothly.

"So what do we do now?" Harry piped up.

"You barricade yourselves in my office – I will find Severus – we were supposed to be tracking something down for Dumbledore. Stay in here," he pushed them into his office, "until Severus and I return."

"But---"

"No buts, Harry – it's you we have to protect here – and battling Pettigrew wasn't part of the plan."

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, sounding slightly bitter.

"Sorry will get you nowhere – what's done is done – don't move," Lupin replied briskly and was gone.

"We can't just stay here!" exclaimed Harry.

"We have to," Hermione shot back, "you saw how mad Lupin was at us – he won't thank us for running off."

"Then you stay here, but I'm going."

"Harry, no!"

"See you guys later – I have a Voldemort to vanquish," Harry grinned determinedly at them and darted out of the room, leaving Ron and Hermione, bewildered, in his wake.

As he wandered through the corridors of the castle, Harry started to feel a little less confident with himself; with every step he took, new doubts, fears and questions raised themselves, forcing him to think of all the possible consequences of his actions. Hogwarts was eerily silent and it unnerved him to the point at which he seriously considered turning on his heels and running back, screaming, to Lupin's office to beg forgiveness from his friends and from Lupin. But his intense pride mixed with his teenage surliness spurred him on and he carried on moving. Swearing as he heard footsteps behind him, he picked up his pace dramatically. His own ragged breathing the only sound, for which he was thankful, he shut his eyes for a couple of seconds. Bad move, he decided afterwards; he ran smack-bang into someone at top speed. Fearing the worst, he opened his eyes.

"Professor Snape!" he gasped, eyes as round as dinner plates as he then turned back to see who was following him through the corridors. Right on cue, the owner of the footsteps skidded round the corner.

"Hello, Harry," Lupin panted, out of breath from the chase.

"Uh-oh…" Harry couldn't meet Lupin's disappointed gaze; he was in for it now.

"Uh-oh indeed," Lupin spoke dryly, "I told you not to go anywhere."

"Nothing happened though, did it?" Harry protested, "And I was being careful!"

"Yes, so careful that you shut your eyes while running and then collided with me," Snape added icily.

"I don't normally agree with Severus, Harry, as well everyone knows, but he has a point. The orders you are given are for your own safety. Voldemort is now in the castle and looking for you. We don't want him to find you."

"Yes, Professor, I understand."

"Lupin," Snape interjected urgently, "he's on his way."

"How did you---" he looked at the Marauders Map, which Snape had snatched off him without him realising and cursed, "We have a problem," Harry gulped. Lupin studied the map carefully,

"We'll have to distract him," he stated calmly.

"What are you going to do?" Harry tried to get his teachers to elaborate.

"Harry, we're going to distract Voldemort and we want you to run. Go to Dumbledore's office and, for Merlin's sake, stay there!"

"What will happen to you?" he looked from one to the other. Snape was sporting a bloody nose from his fight with Pettigrew and Lupin was already weak anyway from not being fully recovered by a long shot from the incident at Voldemort's lair.

"I don't know…" was Lupin's half-thoughtful, half-worried reply. Harry drew out his wand miserably. This was all his fault; all because of him. If he had followed orders and not left the Great Hall then they wouldn't be in this situation.

Sure enough, three minutes later, Voldemort, Pettigrew and a hooded Death Eater came charging round the corner.

"First things first; I believe I am owed a favour," Voldemort greeted them silkily, glaring at Lupin and holding up a staff. Both werewolf and Potions Master looked almost terrified at what was about to happen, "Remus Jonathan Lupin, by the powers of the staff I command you to bring me Harry Potter!"

"No…" Harry whispered to himself as Lupin took a step towards him. But, to his surprise, the werewolf stepped in front of him and whirled back round to face Voldemort.

"No," he snorted, "never."

"But you – the curse – you – ugh!" he threw the staff at Pettigrew, who caught it.

"Master, call the Servants of the Dais – I'm sure they would love that," an excited Pettigrew squeaked to his Master, practically bouncing up and down on the spot. Turning to the Death Eater, he barked, "I order you to take the staff!"

"Ok," was the reply but it came from Lupin, "you fool," the werewolf laughed, "you gave an order and you possessed the staff when I was saved by the Altar," he snatched the staff from Pettigrew and set fire to it with his wand, "it's over."

"PETTIGREW!" Voldemort roared, "SERVANTS OF THE DAIS – COME FORTH TO MY AID – ALL TO THE GROUNDS OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY…all save for the most recent, who shall be bound to me…"

"Now you'll see true power, Moony," Pettigrew spoke in a voice that could almost have been friendly.

"I serve thee, Master, command me as you see fit," a familiar voice spoke as a figure materialised in front of them.

"Padfoot! Sirius! It's not possible!" Lupin gasped, now moving towards Sirius, who stood between Pettigrew and Voldemort.

"How fitting, Remus that you are to be killed by those you once called friends. Get him," Voldemort cackled. Pettigrew needed no telling twice but Sirius stood rigid, watching the proceedings, and Harry could have sworn he saw a faint glimmer of reluctance in Sirius' otherwise blank eyes. Peter was trying to wrestle Lupin to the ground but his silver hand was still gloved and so Lupin, easily stronger than Wormtail, threw him off without effort and pulled himself up, running over to Sirius.

"Sirius?"

"Sorry…Remus…" Sirius' pained voice answered.

"What---" Lupin was cut short as Sirius rugby tackled him to the floor. Snape was standing between Voldemort and Harry, keeping half an eye on the other fight but deciding Lupin, even in his current state, could handle it for the while.

"Sirius…" Harry's voice cracked as he watched Sirius and Lupin tearing each other apart. His Dad's two best friends in the whole world were turned on each other. Getting Sirius in a headlock, Lupin caught his breath and tried to break through to his friend,

"Padfoot, listen to me! You can beat this! Harry needs you! And what about Wormtail? We were supposed to destroy him together – you and me together were going to kill him!"

"R…Remus…" Sirius shuddered.

"No!" Pettigrew barrelled into the unsuspecting Lupin and pinned him down, his silver hand now visible and tightly around the werewolf's neck. Meanwhile, Sirius was fighting and beginning to break free. The mist in his eyes cleared at last as he saw his Godson's horrified face and visible terror, Voldemort's glee and the cause of both; his last remaining best friend was dying. Lupin was scrabbling desperately against Pettigrew's grip but to no avail. Freeing himself once and for all, Sirius let out a ferocious battle-cry and leapt in to haul Pettigrew off of his lycanthropic friend.

The Death Eater now had hold of Harry from behind but Snape still remained between them and Voldemort, blocking all the hexes and curses sent his way. Harry was focussed on his Godfather, still in shock at his return. Raising his wand, the Death Eater took aim at the oblivious Snape who whipped round just in time to block the attack, then finding himself drawn into one-on-one combat with the Death Eater, leaving Harry in a face-off with Voldemort.

"Crucio!" Voldemort shrieked with manic laughter as Harry fell to his knees. A few moments later, he released the boy from the curse, moving forward and grasping Harry's wrist, preparing to flee.

"Expelliarmus!" a new voice joined the fray, disarming Voldemort in the blink of an eye. Sighing in relief, Harry craned his neck to look at the newcomer and acknowledge them, only to discover that it was McGonagall and Dumbledore, the latter of which was now in a heated duel with you-know-who himself, McGonagall going to his aid soon after.

Ten minutes passed and the battles, all three of them, were still raging. Snape was winning by a long shot against the Death Eater and was preparing to deal out the final blow to him. The Death Eater took a moment where Snape appeared distracted by Voldemort to aim at Harry and Snape took his chance,

"Avada Kedavra!" a flash of blinding green light caught its target full on in the face; the Death Eater went limp – dead.

McGonagall and Dumbledore were still fighting Voldemort and Harry was left on the sidelines, still recovering from the Cruciatus curse. He saw that Sirius had been stunned and Lupin was struggling to breathe, on the floor and at Pettigrew's mercy. The rat-like man raised a dagger triumphantly, readying himself to bring it down when he was seized roughly from behind and had both his dagger and his wand wrestled off him by Professor Severus Snape, whose greasy, curtain-like black hair framed a flushed and furious face.

"I thought you hated the Marauders, Snivellus,and "sneered Pettigrew coldly," what happened?"

"I did hate them – but I hate you more than I ever hated them!" spat Snape softly in the struggling Pettigrew's ear.

"Letting me kill him would be merciful, you know – he's dying anyway. You know as well as I do that he has a matter of minutes to live. What heroism is there in prolonging the agony?" Pettigrew's sly words snaked deep into Snape's conscience and he wavered, with a glance down to the pale and bloody form of Lupin, but he wavered only for a second.

"Black deserves to say goodbye," he growled in response, tightening his grip and twisting one of Pettigrew's arms so viciously that Harry thought her heard a click. The balding man screwed up his nose in pain and squealed quietly.

Dumbledore and McGonagall had Voldemort occupied and Harry, now pretty much recovered, could afford to look round to where Snape had hold of Pettigrew, but his eyes were soon drawn elsewhere…

Sirius groaned as he sat up and blinked, his fuzzy mind clearing slowly as he came round. He grinned lopsidedly at Harry but Harry's gaze was not directed at him – it was at something behind him. Turning in confusion, Sirius saw Lupin leaning against a wall and struggling to breathe, clutching his throat, which had swollen. His eyes were pleading with Sirius and the now pale-faced friend scrambled over and took hold of the werewolf's shuddering shoulders. He could tell that Lupin's time was fast running out.

"C'mon, Moony, stay with me here – you can't just leave me when I finally break free!" his voice trembled as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Padfoot, I---"

"Sssh, save what strength you have left for staying with us until we can get you to the hospital wing, ok?" Sirius attempted to grin and Harry felt a stab of pain in his heart and thought he saw the ghost of a smile flicker across his Defence teacher's face, albeit briefly.

"Padfoot, we both know I won't make it out of this one – I've…I've been too lucky already this year," Lupin gasped, running a shaking hand through his blood-matted brown hair and across his now ashen face.

"You're talking rubbish, Remus," Sirius laughed mirthlessly, sounding slightly hysteric, the laugh of someone with no hope. Lupin winced as a raspy breath caught in his throat and made his breathing even shallower, "Remus Jonathan Lupin, I swear to God that if you die on me then I will personally kill you!"

"How does that…work?" Lupin genuinely seemed to laugh faintly, raising an eyebrow as a shadow of his former self lit within him and surfaced.

"See? Sounding like your normal self again already! Oh come on, Remus, you know how much trouble me and James would have got in – well how much more trouble we would have been in – if you hadn't been around to get us out, and sometimes in, to it, even after we left Hogwarts," Sirius racked his brain for anything to keep his friend distracted from the prospect of death, "remember the time we accidentally used Lily's best dress as a changing mat for Harry and spilt the contents of the nappy all over it?"

"She went ballistic…" Lupin trailed off.

"And do you remember how you kept her occupied for five hours while we bought an outfit identical to the one we destroyed?"

"Yeah," Lupin's voice was becoming more and more distant and his eyes were beginning to cloud over.

"No…please, Moony, don't do this to me," the distraught Sirius was fighting back a river of tears, "I lost Lily and James to this piece of scum," he jabbed a finger in Pettigrew's direction, "I can't lose you too – what would I do?"

"You'd still have Harry," Lupin answered.

Harry made to go to Sirius at this point but Snape's hand on his shoulder held him back and Harry twisted round to face the surprisingly weary looking teacher,

"Leave them be," he sighed, "Lupin hasn't got long left."

"How long?" Harry asked in a voice barely audible. He could have sworn he saw a glimmer of sadness on Snape's features as he replied.

"Not long…not long now…"

"But I need you here too – Merlin, Remus, I've got so many things to repay and make up for: the time I almost got you and Snape killed; the times you've got me out of a tight spot, of which there have been many; the incident before I knew you had Lycanthropy when I bought you a silver chain for your birthday and made you wear it – you were so ill and none of us knew why; the time when we first found out you were a werewolf and I completely over-reacted; the time in our seventh---"

"Sirius, stop," Lupin cut him off, "you owe me nothing – those experiences are all an important part of my history and I wouldn't…" he winced but forced himself to continue, "Wouldn't give them up for the world; not even for the chance to be normal."

"You don't mean that," Sirius was now starting to cry a little, tears cutting distinctive pathways down his cheeks through the blood and grime that was caked on his entire body.

"I do mean it…every word of it…listen, Padfoot, you have been the best friend I could've asked for over the years and…and it almost killed me when we…thought you were dead. But now…now you have Harry, who you have to look after…and you have to…to keep going…" Lupin's words were becoming more and more disjointed as he fought harder and harder for breath.

"Moony, no, don't leave me," Sirius clutched at one of Lupin's already frozen hands and tried in vain to warm it.

"I'm sorry, Padfoot, I really am…take care…and don't be…too reckless," he managed a small grin, "after all – I can't have---" he choked on his words and broke into a violent coughing fit. Sirius, now sobbing freely, pulled his friend into a tight hug, which was returned weakly for a few seconds. But after a few long moments, Lupin stopped shaking, stopped coughing, stopped breathing, and was still.

"Please…no…" Sirius pleaded softly, laying his friend gently down on the stone floor, still grasping one of the werewolf's icy hands in both of his own. There was no denying it now, and no turning back time, and no chance of a miracle; Remus Jonathan Lupin was dead.

Snape bowed his head and a silent tear snaked a solitary wet streak down his face, dripping off his chin and onto the floor. Pettigrew sniffed loudly, causing Sirius to gradually raise his head, letting go of Lupin's hand, a new fire in his eyes. Snatching the dagger off of Snape before the Potions Master could react, he plunged it into Pettigrew's abdomen with all the force he could muster.

"You low-life! You killed him – one of the only people that ever actually liked you back in school and you've killed him! You know how much he meant to me! You scum! And now you're going to pay!" he stabbed Pettigrew over and over, again and again, even after the man was dead and crumpled on the floor, until he could continue no longer and fell to his knees. Harry began to shuffle forwards to him but Snape got there first and hauled the distressed Sirius to his feet, holding the man up as he seemed to have lost the will to stand by himself.

"I'm sorry, Black," Snape mumbled.

"He didn't deserve to die…"

"I know,"

"He endured so much…"

"I know,"

"And I could have helped…"

"No-one could have helped. Not even the most skilled witch or wizard."

"What about the Altar?" Harry piped up, hope surfacing evidently as Sirius' eyes also lit up.

"The staff was destroyed – it cannot function unless the staff is whole," Snape crushed the final hope.

"I can't believe he's gone," choked Sirius, pulling Harry into a tight embrace, "the only close friend I had left – now I'm the last Marauder."

"It'll be ok," Harry soothed, not knowing what else to do. But he couldn't say more as Voldemort grabbed him from behind and threw down some sort of Smoke Bomb, fleeing and taking Harry with him.

Harry found himself in the middle of the Quidditch pitch facing Voldemort. He whirled round as he heard McGonagall, Dumbledore, Sirius and Snape yelling angrily as they ran from the castle. Snape was warding off Death Eaters but was stunned from behind and McGonagall was forced to take him up to the hospital wing. Harry and Voldemort were firing hexes at each other in a mad haze of flashing lights and sparks. Voldemort momentarily froze Harry but Dumbledore soon freed him and the fight continued. Sirius was now the one warding off Death Eaters that were swarming to help their Master. He was killing them mechanically, without a second thought.

"Avada Kedavra!" but the voice was not Sirius. Harry had fired it at Voldemort but it hit a Death Eater who threw himself in front and when the light cleared Voldemort himself had vanished; fled in fear.

"Harry, are you ok?" Dumbledore rushed forward and took him by the shoulders, making to steer him back up to the castle, "I should have warned you – a mere killing curse will not be successful in a normal battle situation while there are some willing to die to protect him. Come on,"

"No…Sirius needs help. I can manage fine – he, however, is nowhere near fine."

"Neither are you – and Sirius is a grown man."

"Doesn't make a difference – he's still hurting from Professor Lupin's death."

"I mean, in the physical fight. SIRIUS, WE'RE GOING!" bellowed Dumbledore to the other man, who nodded woodenly in return.

The three traipsed back up to the castle and, while Dumbledore tried to take them up to the hospital wing, Sirius headed off back towards the corridor. Harry followed, but noticed as he passed the Defence classroom that the door was open. Venturing inside, he found Ron and Hermione running up to him, anxious and distressed.
"Harry, Sirius is mental," Ron stated bluntly, "he's raiding the office for something and won't tell us what it is."

"He's just sobbing and won't talk and is muttering incoherently to himself."

"You'd better show me," Harry followed them and found Sirius raiding one of Lupin's trunks, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sirius, come on, pull yourself together. He didn't react like this when he thought you'd died."

"He promised not to. I left him a letter, in case I died, telling him to keep a brave face and not to do anything rash in front of you or the Order. And he's always bottled up his feelings anyway…"

"That explains it…" Harry sighed, a lump forming in his throat.

"Um, Sirius, mate," Ron interrupted, "I don't think Professor Lupin will approve of this,"

"I thought I'd find yeh here. Dumbledore said there were three bodies in the 'allway to collect and I heard yeh talking and --- Sirius Black? Yeh're dead – this can't be happening, can it? Wait a moment, wha's wrong?"

"Hagrid, there's something you should see. Sirius, you coming?" Harry asked. Sirius nodded and abandoned his search for the while and followed solemnly, head bowed, now crying silently with the occasional sniff, having finally composed himself.

The first body was that of the Death Eater and Hagrid scowled at it, using his pink umbrella to levitate it. The next was that of Pettigrew, blood everywhere and stab marks all over his body, face contorted in agony. Sirius growled and balled his fists; Ron grimaced in disgust.

"Yuck, who did that to him?"

"Not even he deserved to die like that," Hermione added softly, pity almost showing in her voice.

"I agree – a nasty way to go, if you ask me – and a pretty heartless way to kill someone. It's like whoever did it wanted to cause pain," Ron scowled at the body. Sirius was trembling, unable to control his boiling and seething rage any longer.

"Heartless? So I'm heartless! What about him and how much pain he's caused? His death was quick and he deserved it!"

"You did this?" Hermione's jaw dropped.

"Why?" Ron murmured.

"Why?" Sirius echoed, "I'll show you why – follow me," he marched round the closest corner and the others followed.

"Merlin's beard…" Hagrid gasped hoarsely at the sight that greeted him.

"No, but --- but that means --- Pettigrew killed him?" Hermione choked on her words. It should have been more a statement than a question but Sirius nodded slowly anyway.

"Sirius, mate, I'm so sorry," Ron put a hand on Sirius' shoulder but the man shrugged it off. Hagrid let the levitated body of the Death Eater drop to the ground and bent over to gently lift the limp body of Remus Lupin.

"We'd better take 'im up to the hospital wing," Hagrid sighed, "the Order will want teh see 'im."

"The staff is gone…I mean, the fragments are gone." Sirius looked round but then moved to Hagrid, "let's go – leave these bits of scum for Filch to clean up." He left with Hagrid, leaving the three students trailing in their wake.

"Poor Sirius," Ron sniffed a little.

"Harry, are you ok?" Hermione asked gently.

"It was awful, Hermione – not like the killing curse, where it's instant. It seemed to take so long and it looked like it was unbearably painful – and then I couldn't even kill Voldemort – he got away…"

"Harry, come on, you're in shock – let's follow Sirius and Hagrid."

When the exhausted group burst into the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey rushed over and began bustling around them, as was her nature. She had been told of Sirius' return but not of the death of Lupin and so she instructed Hagrid to lay Lupin on the nearest bed, intending to treat him, but when she saw Sirius' face she looked back at the werewolf. Taking a few cautious steps over, she reached out with trembling fingers and held them to his throat, leaping backwards with a shriek. She led them to the far end of the hospital wing and Lupin was led on the bed reverently. Sirius sat down in a chair and Madame Pomfrey started checking him over and trying to get him to take some sort of Dreamless Sleep Potion or at least something for the shock and to calm him down. But he refused everything he was offered, turning his nose up in revulsion.

"Sirius Black, you will at least drink some water," she pushed a glass into his hand and he reluctantly drank it, unaware of the fact that it had a sleeping draught in it. Within moments, he was asleep, holding onto one of Lupin's hands and with his head resting on the edge of the bed. Harry took a woollen blanket from the end of another bed and draped it over his Godfather while Hagrid used another to cover Lupin's body so only his head and shoulders were visible.

The members of the Order burst through the door about half an hour later and, after having the story of Sirius' return hastily explained, instantly rushed to where Sirius was still asleep. Madame Pomfrey had suggested moving Sirius to an actual bed but, when it came to it, she didn't have the heart to carry it through.

"Sirius? Remus?" Mr. Weasley moved forward.

"Are they going to be ok?" Tonks asked, frowning in concern.

"Sirius is in shock and incredibly distressed with a few minor injuries," Madame Pomfrey explained but noticed Mrs. Weasley heading round the other side of the bed, eyes fixed on the motionless Lupin, "no, Mrs. Weasley, I wouldn't do that," she protested but could only watch helplessly as Mrs. Weasley led a hand across Lupin's forehead.

"He's freezing," she spoke softly, taking up the hand Sirius didn't have hold of, "ice cold, almost like he's…" she broke off as she realised what was happening. She desperately felt for a pulse before screeching and crying out in despair and dropping his hand.

"Dead?" Moody growled, keeping his voice carefully steady.

"I'm afraid so,"

"How did Sirius take it?" Tonks bit her lip as she fought back tears, turning her eyes woefully to her cousin.

"Not good," Harry piped up, "I was there when it happened – he was, and still is, inconsolable."

"Oh, poor Sirius," Mrs. Weasley sniffed, blowing her nose.

"Was it…quick?" Tonks gulped.

"I wish I could say yes. But it was dreadfully sow – Pettigrew finally succeeded in getting the 'upper hand', as it were, but Sirius broke free of Voldemort's control, and---"

"We were told of Sirius' return," Moody nodded.

"But it was too late. If Snape hadn't stopped Pettigrew bringing the dagger down then Sirius wouldn't even have had time enough to say goodbye," Harry had to stop. Of the Order members that were present, over half of them were dabbing at their eyes while Mrs. Weasley, Tonks and Ginny, who had just arrived in time to hear the story, were forced to sit down from the shock of the news. Fred and George were shaking their head and also then had to take a seat.

"So young – criminal, ain't it, Pomfrey?" Moody wrung his gnarled his hands, his magical eye still glued to Sirius and Lupin.

"Criminal indeed, Alastor,"

"How is Black?" Snape's silky voice joined the group.

"Not good, Severus,"

"I have to admit that it was not a pleasant event to witness," Snape muttered. For all the hatred he held for the Marauders, he would not have wished such a painful death on any of them.

Hours later, Sirius came round to find Dumbledore stood beside him.

"Sirius, Remus' body is gone."

"Gone? Whaddaya mean 'gone'?" Sirius slurred his words drowsily.

"I mean, taken – gone. Taken by someone – the same person that took the fragments of the staff."

"What! Why? How?" Sirius was fully alert now and fully aware that his dead friend's body was no longer there.

"I think it was someone whom I thought to be dead – the wizard who made the Altar – the staff was destroyed and his spirit was released and I suspect he found a body to use and has gone to try and bring Remus back to use as ransom, but I doubt it will work."

And somewhere deep in the forest, a blinding white light erupted from a stone Altar, a man stood beside it.

"Once again, a new player is in the mix, and the 'half-breeds' will rise and have justice!"

A/N: - Think Lupin's alive? I warn you, think carefully – think again…and review.