A/n: So there is only one more chapter after this one. So, R/R and enjoy!
Sleeper6: Yes, he could. He thought that Sirius had been lying to him the whole time. When you get really hurt sometimes your mind can jump to the extremes. Thank you for your review.
xMoonxNxStarx: Yes. Thank you for your review! I appreciate it!

Chapter 8

Remus' life seemed to be in a standstill after that. Nothing seemed to matter… Eventually, he grabbed himself up, and managed to cook something for him to eat. He had some food in the house. He ate in the living room, though… He and Sirius had always eaten at the kitchen table. Afterwards, Remus cleaned up, and went and laid back down on the couch. He still couldn't believe it… He was certain that this… hurt, that he felt would stay with him for the rest of his life. Nothing could heal it…

Well, eventually, he did heal, albeit slowly. It was still a sore spot, but eventually, he stopped himself from thinking about Sirius, and when he did… he didn't feel like breaking down and crying as soon as he did. It did, however, take a while for him to be able to sleep in the bed that he and Sirius had shared so much.

He didn't contact anyone. Not Stacey, not Dumbledore… The way Remus saw it, there was really no reason to.

Remus got into a routine. For a while, he would get up, make breakfast – if he had food at the time – and then look for a job. He managed to find one, at a local bookstore.

That fell through. After Remus making excuses for leaving for three months, they fired him.

So, Remus looked for another job. He got one at another bookstore in another town. They eventually found out that he was a werewolf, putting two and two together, and fired him, calling him a "freak" and telling him to never go anywhere near them, or their families.

It had hurt Remus, but he didn't expect anything else. The people who had accepted him where dead… minus Stacey, of course, but he had not been really close to her. Lily had been, but Lily was dead…

So, most of the time, Remus had no job, nothing… He didn't have money to be new robes, so his were all frayed and patched. He managed to scrape by with food, but saving up his what little money had had and got when he worked, so that he would always have a little money to buy a little something that he could get by on.

Remus read a lot. He didn't really have time to do much else. When he got bored, he would look at some of his old robes to see if they need patching or anything. If he couldn't do that, he would try to clean the house, but, since he never messed it up, it never needed cleaning.

All the while, there always felt like there was something… missing in him, in his heart. He knew it was Sirius, and Remus wondered if everyone always felt like this when they lost someone that they loved, or if it was just Remus, if only he felt… empty and incomplete. Remus eventually thought that part of it was maybe just him, and the fact that he was a werewolf. Werewolves mate for life, and Sirius… he had been his mate, physically, emotionally, everything…

Remus still found it hard to believe that Sirius could have done what he did. He sure fooled everyone… Sirius had always seemed so sincere, so heartfelt… Sweet words, a sweet letter here, a wonderful Christmas present there… Sirius had almost seemed… perfect for Remus. Their relationship, while it had been rocky, and had had it ups and downs, and overall, been wonderful. The passion, the fire… the love… Remus wanted to believe that it had all been honest, but a part of him could not believe that Sirius could have done that, and still loved him. That was just too much of a betrayal. Obviously, Remus had been played for a fool. Remus wasn't quite sure he'd ever get over it. Part of him wanted to forget… the other part, was generally confused about it all.

Remus just tried to shut that part off. Don't think about it, he told himself. Not James, not Lily, not Peter, and especially not Sirius. Not anything. But that was, of course, easier said than done. For a while, they were all he could think of…

But, slowly, the hurt slowly faded… It didn't disappear, but it faded… It was still there, if he dug deep enough. It would never leave, he knew that. Was that that muggle saying? "Time heals everything"? Personally, Remus thought they were full of it. Time doesn't truly heal anything. In fact, Remus thought that Time made things worse. Because, as Time went on, you kept thinking about things that had happened… Time didn't heal anything…

Eventually, Remus received a letter from Dumbledore.

Dear Remus,

How are you? It's been a while, I know. Things are going pretty well for me here, as well. Hogwarts is doing fine. Mostly… Let's get to the point of this letter…

I'm having some problems in filling the Defense Against the Dark Arts position here at Hogwarts. Some people say it's cursed…At the moment, I can't think of anyone that can take it… except for you. Remus, now, I know that you would have reservations about taking it, but… if you would… I would love for you to come at teach here. I cannot think of a more qualified applicant.

I assure you, Remus, that the proper… precautions… will be taken. I know that you do not wish to hurt anybody, and believe me, I have already thought of everything…

So, if you would please give a reply as soon as possible, whether you accept this position or not, I would be most appreciative. I do want to, however, remind you that I cannot think of a more qualified applicant for this position, werewolf or not.

I wait eagerly for your reply.

Sincerely,

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

At first, Remus didn't know what to think. His first thought was, of course, that he couldn't possibly take the job, no matter what Dumbledore said, but then… Dumbledore had said that he had taken the proper precautions…

Remus debated over it for a while, then finally decided on his course of action, and wrote Dumbledore back.

Dear Headmaster,

I'm as well as can be expected. I'm glad that you are doing all right, and that everything at Hogwarts fine. I am sorry, as well, to hear about your "curse" upon the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. I do, however, have reserves in accepting your gracious offer to teach it. I trust you, and I also trust it when you say that you have taken the "proper precautions" but I am still hesitant…

I have thought about this for a while, Dumbledore… I have finally decided on a course of action after thinking about your letter.

I do trust you when you say that you have taken the proper precautions, so I'm sure you will be delighted to hear that I am accepting your position.

I wait anxiously for your reply, Dumbledore, and can't wait to be at Hogwarts once again. This time as a teacher…

Your former student,

Remus Lupin

Dumbledore's reply was enthusiastic. He was excited to have Remus teaching, and glad that he had a competent teacher. Remus wasn't quite sure what he meant, but shrugged it off. Dumbledore gave him instructions, and Remus followed them, getting a ticket to the train to Hogwarts, due to the fact that the full moon was a few days before.

Remus slept the way there, waking up when a Dementors stormed into the compartment that he had been in, which Ron Weasley, Hermoine Granger, and Harry Potter had been in.

Overall, the trip there had not been very bad… Remus did not expect the Dementor, however… Many things were changing since Sirius escaped… Remus found himself thinking about him more and more, no matter how hard he tried not to… Remus, however, went to school, not expecting the he events that would follow.

A/n: Hope you enjoyed. Only 1 more chapter. R/R!