A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I really appreciate constructive criticism, so any helpful suggestions will be nice. Oh, and for future reference, the Sirius and Remus of the other world (the one where James is still alive) will from now on be referred to as Padfoot and Moony, in order to avoid any confusion.

Chapter Two

Remus groaned as he rolled over in his bed. He was cold. It was the middle of July, and he was cold. But then, he was used to having Sirius' warm body next to him in bed. He blinked his eyes as he looked at the alarm clock. It was six in the morning. Remus wasn't really surprised that he'd had trouble sleeping – it was always hard for him to get to sleep without having Sirius' arms wrapped around him.

He wondered briefly where Sirius was, before it hit him hard, the way it did every morning: Sirius was dead. As the memories of recent events returned to Remus, he felt a fresh wave of despair wash over him and he sank back into the bed, putting his face in his hands. "Sirius…" he breathed, fighting back the tears that simply saying his name brought on.

The past few weeks had been especially hard on Remus. His mate was gone. Remus had lost the only one he'd ever loved, as well as his best friend. Sirius had been the first person outside of Remus' parents to accept him for who he was, and now he was gone. It had been painful enough to loose Sirius the first time, when he thought the other man a traitor. Now, Remus felt as if there was a whole in his heart that could never be filled again. It was a struggle just to get out of bed in the mornings, because he knew he'd be facing another day in this wretched house without his beloved. There wasn't a single room in Grimmauld Place that didn't remind Remus of Sirius in some way. He half wished that the Order could find new headquarters, just so that he wouldn't have to see so many things that were a part of Sirius.

Remus groaned again as he finally decided to get out of bed. It was no use just lying there, so he got dressed and headed down to the kitchen, where he knew that Molly would already be cooking breakfast. The moment Remus stepped out onto the dark landing from the room he'd once shared with Sirius, and never would again, he could smell something delicious wafting up the stairs from the kitchen.

"Hello, Remus. How are you feeling this morning?" Molly gently asked, as she bustled around the large room,using her wand to directvarious pans to fry bacon, and making pancakes.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose. I haven'tbeen sick this morning, at least," hereplied with a small sigh, taking the mug of tea the Weasley matriarch offered him.Remus had been sick almost every morning for the past two weeks, and he still couldn't figure out why. That, and the fact that the full moon was only three days away was making things even harder for him.

Molly patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "The past few weeks have been hard on all of us, Remus," she said with a sad sigh. "We all miss him, you know. I might have fought with Sirius a good bit, but he was my cousin, after all, and I did care about him. But we've all got to be strong, especially for young Harry. Sirius was his godfather after all; the closest thing the poor boy's ever had to a father, and now he's lost him as well."

"I know," Remus choked out. He could feel his eyes burning with tears once again. "But it's hard...Sirius meant something to me, too, and I- I don't-" As Remus struggled for breath, and tried to keep himself from breaking down in front of Molly, he felt her take a seat next to him at the table. She sat there for a few moments, before pulling him into a gentle embrace. This caused Remus to loose it. He started sobbing almost immediately. Remus knew she didn't understand his real reasons for crying, that she probably thought he was simply morning the last of his group of true best friends, his packmates. That much was true, but Molly had no idea that Remus had loved Sirius more than anything, and always would. He didn't care. She didn't need to know all of that. Perhaps one day Remus would tell everyone the truth, but he couldn't stand to do that yet. The pain of loosing Sirius was still too fresh.

After eating a brief breakfast and apoligizing to Molly for breaking down like that, Remus returned to his and Sirius' bedroom - no, hisbedroom,and his alone - and sagged against the wall as soon as his door was shut. Breathing deeply, Remus slid to the floor as he felt his knees give out. He tried but failed to stop his sobs.

"Sirius..." He cried. "You left me! Why! You promised you'd never leave me...you promised," Choking slightly on his sobs, Remus forced himself to take another deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "You can't be dead," he sobbed. "I need you, Sirius, and you're not here...Please, come back..."

Sirius transformed back into himself, and registered the shock on all their faces. They knew who he was - Animagus forms couldn't be faked by Polyjuice Potion, or anything else. Nevertheless, all three men kept their wands trained on him as Sirius slowly approached them. He held his hands up to make sure they knew he wasn't holding his own wand.

"Who are you?" James growled suspiciously, keeping his wand up.

But Moony was the one who answered that. He lowered his wand, looking intently at the man, who was essentially the double of his mate. "He's Sirius," he said, glancing briefly at his two companions before turning back to Sirius. "I don't understand how this is possible, but I can feel the pull towards him, just as I can towards you, love," he said to Padfoot, who was looking at Sirius in utter confusion.

Sirius nodded. "I can feel it, too. The bond isn't nearly as strong as it is between me and my Remus, but it is there. Listen, I came here to speak with Professor Dumbledore," he said calmly. "I'll do my best to explain how I came to be here, though I'm not exactly sure I understand it all myself. But you'll have to trust me," Sirius added, looking pointedly at James, who still hadn't lowered his wand. James looked to his companions, both of whom nodded.

"I think we can trust him, Prongs," said Padfoot, as he overcame his shock at seeing another, if more battered version of himself. James nodded and lowered his wand.

"All right," he said. "Let's go see Dumbledore. I've got a sneaking suspicion that your sudden appearance might have somethingto do with why we're here, and the faster we get an explanation from the Headmaster himself, the better, I say." At that, the four men made their way into the castle, James still keeping a wary eye on Sirius.

A/N: Sorry this is so short, but I'm sort of pressed for time right now, and as much as I hate to say it, I've got more important things to worry about - like school. Anyway, please read and review!