Heyo once again my loyal readers and reviewers. I love you all so much! hugs for all

Lono: Just how much candy did you eat?

I just had a Take 5 and two cookies.

Ryus: That's all?

Yepper doodles. Anywho, Dorayaki, I apologize for making you hate Sirius. I love him too, but you know, it just seemed like such a good plot line. And who knows? Maybe in time I'll make him redeem himself. If this coupon is redeemable in Massachusetts that is. ((Looks at the coupon curiously before throwing it to the side))

The Miss Marauders, I will not have Dusk visit Sirius for another couple of chapters. It just doesn't fit into my wonderfully evil plot you see. And are you mad? Why would you ask what's with Dusk? I don't even know what's with Dusk and I created her!

Chaeli.meep. , are you a government drone? Azul, we shall check the bus for wires tomorrow. ((Looks around her)) It's a conspiracy!

Loko: Let's get on with the story before Twilight gets going on her conspiracy theory.

Once they got back to the house, Remus and the children went upstairs while Mrs. Weasley went to the kitchen to start on dinner. Remus made sure that the children weren't following him before entering the room he and Sirius had been sleeping in. Sirius was sitting on the bed, waiting for him expectantly.

"Did you have a good day at work, Moony?" Sirius slurred, reaching out for the werewolf.

"Yes, I did." Remus said, going to Sirius. He cringed when he smelt alcohol on his breath. "How was cleaning?"

"Most unpleasant." Sirius said before sloppily kissing Remus. "You're so sexy. Let's have sex."

"Not right now, Sirius." Remus said, "Dinner will be soon and the children are still up."

"C'mon Moony…" Sirius said, "Don't you love me."

"I do love you, Padfoot." Remus sighed, "I'm just tired from work. That's all."

"I'll make it so that you won't be tired anymore." Sirius said huskily, going to kiss Remus' neck. Remus grimaced and pushed him away. "What's wrong?"

"You smell like alcohol and I refuse to have sex with you while you're drunk!" Remus yelled, "You aren't the man I fell in love with all those years ago!"

"If you loved me you wouldn't care about what I do and don't do!" Sirius yelled back, seemingly sober now. "You don't care about the fact that I have nightmares! You don't care that I'm stuck in this damn house for Merlin knows how long!"

"I care about what you do and don't do because I love you!" Remus cried, "Maybe the nightmares would stop if you just worked slowly to get past them. I will help you, but your drinking problem is only making things worse! And we keep you in this house for your protection! You are a wanted man!"

"I do not have a drinking problem! Why would you even imply that!"

"You do have a problem, Sirius." Remus said softly, taking Sirius' hand. "We can work through it."

"I don't have a problem, Remus." Sirius growled, "You only wanted to think that I have a problem so that you can fuss over me some more! I'm not buying it!"

"You are drowning yourself in that crap!" Remus hissed, "And you're setting a bad example for Harry! What do you think he thinks when he sees you walking around the house with that drunken swagger you have now or when he finds you passed out on the couch? What do any of the children think when they see you? You are a wreck, Sirius!"

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Sirius yelled, "I don't have a drunken swagger nor do I pass out on the couch!"

"You do pass out on the couch! The only reason you never wake up there is because we always bring you up here." Remus said, "None of us want the children to see you like this. Sirius, I hate seeing you like this. I want the old Sirius back. Please, stop drinking."

"I'm not going to stop drinking, Remus!"

"But Sirius-" Remus was cut off when Sirius slapped him.

"Stop weaving your web of lies, Remus." Sirius growled before tossing Remus across the room. Remus hit the floor with a yelp. He looked up at the larger man, tears welling up in his golden eyes.

"Sirius, please…" Remus cried out in pain as Sirius kicked him. He took his chance to get away when Sirius prepared to strike him again. The raven haired man howled in pain when he hit the wall instead of Remus.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron sat in the room that Ron and Harry were sharing. Ginny was hugging a pillow to herself. Hermione was clinging to the textbook that she had brought into the room her. Ron seemed pale and shocked. Harry was horrified as he heard what was going on in the room below theirs.

"Wow…I didn't know that they fought." Ron said finally, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Maybe Professor Lupin puts up a silencing spell around the room while they fight." Hermione said in a strained voice, "He wanted to hide it from us. Well, except you Harry. He told you."

"He never told me that it had gotten to the point where Sirius was abusing him, though." Harry said, "He wants to protect us so much that he isn't thinking about his own wellbeing."

"We should help him." Ginny said, "He doesn't deserve to live like this."

"But what could we do?" Ron said, "Sirius is still going to get to him."

"We can convince Remus to leave him." Harry said, "It'll be hard, but it's the only way we can help."

"It might make Sirius realize his mistakes also." Hermione said, "Once Professor Lupin leaves him, then he won't have anyone fussing over him and trying to get him to stop drinking. Maybe it'll be enough to get him to see how much he's hurt him."

"The only problem is keeping them apart." Ginny said, "Professor Lupin would still need to come to the meetings and he wouldn't be able to stay away from Sirius for long."

"Well, we can't get Lupin to leave Sirius." Ron said. The others stared at him. "What? Haven't you guys seen how determined he is to help him out of his slump."

"Then starting tonight we begin Operation: Save Remus." Harry said, "Its just a matter of convincing him that Sirius is a lost case, that's all."

Remus sank into a worn armchair sadly. He wiped away tears, only to have them replaced with more. The candles flickered slightly as if to comfort the werewolf in some way. He stared into the flames, deep in thought. He didn't notice when Harry entered the room silently.

"Remus?" The werewolf jumped at the sound of his name. Harry smile sheepishly at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Its alright Harry." Remus said gently, "Why aren't you with your friends?"

"I'm worried about you." Harry said, "We heard the fight that you and Sirius got into."

"It was nothing more than a lovers' quarrel. Don't worry about it." Remus said with a weak smile.

"But I could hear you crying out in pain!" Harry cried, "He beats you, doesn't he?"

"Harry, please don't concern yourself with this." Remus said, "I can handle it. Everything will be right in the end. You'll see."

"No." The young wizard said, "No, everything won't be right in the end. You know why? It's because something will happen to one of you and there will be no one to say 'I'm sorry' to."

"That's not true." Remus said, "We just need to work this out. We'll get Sirius sober and then we'll get him his freedom."

"But what if Sirius doesn't want to get sober?" Harry asked, "What if things get worse?"

"I'll be fine." Remus said with a weak smile, "Now go be with your friends. I would like some time to think alone."

Harry glanced at his ex-professor uneasily before leaving the room. Remus sighed as he turned back to the candles. He had learned a meditation technique that only required concentration and he felt that now was a good time to meditate and clear his mind.

The flames seemed so warm and welcoming to Remus. He felt relaxed and safe. Like nothing could disturb the peace he was experiencing right now. That was, until Sirius decided to barge into the room.

"REMUS!" He yelled, "I'm not through with you!"

"Look at the flames…" Remus said softly, "Aren't they so beautiful? Look at them dance."

"Remus…?" Sirius approached the werewolf warily. He noticed the dazed look on his face. A twisted smirk made its home on Sirius' face and he slapped Remus, pulling the smaller man out of his daze.

"What was that for!" Remus cried, rubbing his cheek. He had a good feeling that he was going to have a good sized bruise there in the morning.

"I said that I wasn't finished with you." Sirius said, "And I'm not."

"Sirius…please, don't…" Remus yelped as Sirius punched him. He couldn't get away from the assault no matter how much he tried. It didn't matter anymore. Sirius would get what he wants and that was that.

"You never loved me!" Sirius cried as he kicked Remus. Fresh tears were now creating their own trails down Remus' cheeks.

"I do love you Sirius!" Remus cried, "Whatever makes you think that I don't is wrong!"

"Don't tell lies, Remus." Sirius hissed dangerously. "Because after I get free, the Ministry will favor my word over yours."

"I love you!" Remus cried, throwing himself into Sirius' arms. He started sobbing into his shoulder. "I love you… I always have and I always will. Please…don't leave me."

"You can't sleep in here alone tonight with your pretty dancing flames." Sirius hissed, shoving Remus into the chair. "Good night."

"Good night…" Remus whispered, before curling up into a ball in the chair. He took a few ragged breaths before he fell back into his daze. The flames offering him comfort with their strange little dances. "Let the man I love return…" He blew out the candles before summoning a blanket for himself.

And there we have it. Chapter 5! Please review. Oh, and if you don't see an update within the next two weeks, please assume that I've been grounded due to mid-terms. ((grumbles)) Damn theory.

Lono: Study harder then.

((Hands her theory book to Lono.)) Do you wanna try to get a better grade than me? ((thinks about it.)) Never mind. You're a genius. Maybe I should just go and pass the test so that I don't have to worry about it. ((sigh)) Well, I'll see you guys next update. Laters!