AN: I finally did it! Whew am I proud of myself. So anyways, the next chapter, which will also be published tonight, is just an author's note, explaining why I made it so Remus has AIDS. Also, so you know, I decided to throw the timeline of the disease off a bit.

AIDS was first identified in 1981, and named in 1983. It existed before that, and the first documented death due to AIDS was actually in 1959. However, it wasn't very widespread, so the doctor's didn't pay it too much mind. It's actually thought that AIDS spread from monkeys to humans as early as the 1600's. Anyways, in my story, AIDS is identified in 1961, and named in1963. It's an AU, so I reserve the right to change that.

I think all the information in this story is correct. I researched it online, and I believe the sources to be credible. However, if you spot a mistake please tell me so I can change it. Oh, and AIDS was actually called the 'Gay Cancer' in the beginning.

"Remus has what?"

Lily sighed and shook her head sorrowfully.

"AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It's the final stage of HIV."

James creased his eyebrows.

"Lily, are you sure this has been on the news? My mum watches the news every night, and I've never seen anything about this before." Lily thought for a moment and then it hit her. She snapped her fingers, and a look of triumph crossed her face.

"You may have heard about it under a different name. It's also called the 'Gay Cancer'. Or at least it was. In more recent news casting, they've been using its proper name. It's way more politically correct."

James sat in silence for a moment. This was a little too much to process. Gay Cancer? But then that would mean…

"Lily, does that mean that Remus is gay?"

"Well… no, not really. I mean, HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, so-"

James smirked.

"Wait, bodily fluids? What, pray tell, are those?"

Lily slapped James's arm in annoyance. Honestly, boys could be so immature at the most inappropriate times.

"James, this is serious!" After receiving a sheepish grin for an apology, she continued. "Anyways, like I said, HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, which are," she said throwing a glare at the boy sitting cross-legged in front of her, "blood, and, well, you know, sexual fluids. So, it's possible he got the virus through sex with another male, but he could have gotten it from a girl too. It's only called the 'Gay Cancer', because it's mostly a problem for the homosexual community. But that doesn't mean it doesn't affect others. But I really don't think that's how he got it. But you know the whole gay thing? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he was. Just look at the way he and Sirius look at each other."

James attempted to ignore that last comment, and cocked his head to the side, managing to look thoroughly confused and concerned at the same time, which was a rather large feat for someone such as himself.

"Why not?"

"Because, for him to have AIDS, he would've most likely had HIV for at least a decade. And I doubt he was having sex that early. Before a lot was known about the virus people would receive blood transfusions that were infected since they didn't know to check for the virus. That's my guess. It's possible that his mother had it and passed it onto him, but it was pretty rare still when Remus was born. All in all, I think it was a blood transfusion."

"So… let me get this straight. Remus is always weak and ill because he has AIDS."

Lily squinted a bit, and looked rather thoughtful. James thought it looked rather cute.

"Yes and no. He is weak because he has AIDS, but he has AIDS because he has HIV. You see, HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It kills off CD4+ T cells, that signal other cells in the immune system to do their jobs. Most people have 800-1200 CD4+ T cells per a square millimeter. However, once a person reaches about 200 CD4+ T cells per a square millimeter, they are classified as having AIDS. It severely weakens their immune system, causing them to become more susceptible to diseases. Their bodies can't even fight common illnesses and that eventually will cause their death unless something else comes along before that."

James breathed out and closed his eyes.

"Wow… just… wow. That has to be absolutely horrible. But what do we do now?"

Lily grimaced.

"Well, it may not be pretty, but there's only one thing to do. We confront him."

The time for them to confront Remus came sooner than expected. They got their chance the following Thursday, when they were studying with Remus in the library. Sirius was at home since he had been banned from the library a year ago for 'disruptive behavior'. It had taken a lot of work, but Sirius was finally able to trust Remus to be alone with James and Lily, or just Lily. At the moment he still didn't trust James to take care of him by himself.

The group of three was currently sitting at the table closest to the window, and was staring intently (in Lily and Remus's case) and glumly (in James's case) at the books spread across the table. Finally, Lily spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Remus, um… we need to speak with you about something."

Remus looked up at Lily, concern in his eyes from hearing her uncertain tone of voice. Lily was one of the most confident girls he knew, so if she was unsure, something was off.

"What is it?"

Lily looked down at her hands. She was nervous about this, but she and James had agreed that she should do it considering she had about ten times more tact than James could ever hope to have.

"Well… I was doing some research, and, well, we know you have AIDS." The last part came out in a small whisper, but Remus still caught it. He began shaking, and his breathing was becoming erratic. Soon tears started to come from his eyes, though they weren't distinguishable from the sweat droplets running down his face.

"Holy shit! Lily, what's happening?" James asked becoming concerned. Lily got up and ran towards Remus, placing a hand on his forehead and checking his pulse.

"It's alright, I think he's just having a panic attack. We better get him back to Sirius though, it might help him."

Lily and James gathered the books from the table swiftly, and proceeded to drag Remus to James's car. James drove as fast as he could to Remus's house, while Lily sat in the back seat, her arms around Remus attempting to comfort him

The ill boy was curled in the fetal position, and was currently sobbing while muttering to himself.

"No, not again… please don't… so close… please… didn't do anything wrong, I swear…not my fault…"

They finally pulled into to the driveway. It took some major effort, but they managed to lift Remus out of the car and into the house. They set him down on the couch, and Lily began checking the tawny-haired boy, while James fetched Sirius.

"Sirius! Sirius!" yelled the bespectacled boy as he searched for him. At last the tall boy came bounding down the stairs.

"James, what's wrong?" the messy haired boy only pointed at the body on the couch.

"Oh god, Remus!" Sirius rushed over to the shaking form and drew him into his arms. He did it with an ease that can only come from lots of practice. He carefully carried the boy upstairs and placed him in the bed they shared, comforting him, and holding him until he calmed down. He continued stroking the flushed forehead, until the boy in the bed fell into a fitful sleep. Sirius then came back downstairs where a concerned Lily and a worried James were waiting.

"What the hell happened?" he asked in a furious whisper so not to disturb the sleeping form above them.

"Well… we know. That is to say, we know what's wrong with Remus, that he has AIDS. So we told him, we thought it might be easier if he knew we knew. But he kind of panicked. We're really sorry; we didn't expect that to happen."

Sirius heaved a sigh as sat down on the couch. He combed his fingers through his hair, looking much more exhausted than he normally did.

"So you know?" he received a nod in reply. "Well, I knew it was only a matter of time, you're both smart people, especially you Lily, you'd make a great doctor." Lily smiled and blushed.

"So I guess you have questions or something. You may as well ask me, because Remus is going to need time to rest, so you won't get answers from him any time soon. So shoot."

There was silence for a moment. Surprisingly enough, it was James who spoke first, not Lily.

"How did he get it?" Sirius took a deep, calming breath.

"He… he was young. Only 6 at the time. He was at his friend, Peter's house. They were supposed to be watched by Peter's older brother. Well, turned out his brother was stoned at the time." Sirius gave a short bitter laugh. "He locked his brother in the closet and raped Remus. He infected him. The worst thing is, that because his brother was only 15 at the time he only served 5 years in a juvenile detention center.

"Remus was terrible when I first met him. He had no friends at all. He was scared that some freak accident would take place and he'd infect someone else. He still is. He won't even let me french him. He thinks that he might accidentally infect me. Oh, and close you're mouth James, I'm sure Lily already pointed out our rather, erm, close, relationship." James promptly closed his mouth.

"I love him more than life itself. If I could take the illness from him I would, but I can't. I can, however, make sure you two don't hurt him. So if you two do anything to make him worse than he already is, I will make your lives living hells."

Lily looked up at Sirius, her eyes wide and sincere.

"Sirius I promise we will never hurt Remus. Never. We'll always be there for you two. I promise."

AN: There you have it. Read the next chapter, I promise it'll be useful, and not too boring. Reviews make the world go round!