Author's Notes- yeah, yeah this took a while, but this chapter is longer then the other one so I hope that you are happy. A lot of people asked how Remus would 'see' how depressed Harry was so that is what the beginning part is for. It does seem a little cliché but I haven't really seen any quite like it. But please review.

Disclaimer don't own, don't sue- you know the drill.

Rating & Summary- you should already know chidren

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THANK YOU EVERY ONE!

Amones of Magic glad you liked the whole Remus idea I hope that I explained it well enough:sweat drops:I understand with muses… if they didn't help, sometimes, I would kill them :glares at muses:

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As is the nature of humans, they do not like being inferior in any way- they are extremely afraid of anyone or anything different from them who posses a threat. All in all, they are very selfish, namely concerned about their own hides. When anything is a threat to their existence, they do anything they can to get rid of it (even when the so called threat really isn't all that dangerous). It is in human's instincts to survive at all costs, no matter who they hurt along the way. Ostracizing the menace is how they usually deal with it, because no matter how much they want to run away, doing so is not always an option; because their fear is still intact, beating down the threat is not always possible.

Being a werewolf was extremely trying for Remus Lupin. Hell, it would be hard for any one. Very few would let one into their numbers, and even fewer more would accept one as a friend. Being excluded from everyone his whole life was harder then he would ever let on. Even his own father seemed to fear and push him away; only his mother was ever there for him.

Then he was allowed into Hogwarts, where he wanted to go only for the education. He never dreamed that he would make friends there. James was the first of the marauders that he befriended, which later lead to Sirius and Peter. They were the best thing that ever happened to him. But he still felt out of place with them. None of them cared for studies, unlike him. All of them lived in the world as if there were no problems, but Remus was not that ignorant. No matter how hard he tried, he never did quite fit in with the others; they didn't know of his biggest secret, and because they didn't, it left a barrier between the four of them.

But all of his friends were very observant- they noticed how he was absent once a month, and they decided to do some investigating. Needless to say, they did in fact find out his secret.

They confronted Remus- he had been terrified that they would abandon him as every one else had- and he had been in for a surprise. Instead of wanting to burn him on a steak- or shoot him with a silver bullet, for that matter- they welcomed him as a friend. That barrier was broken; they crossed the path, and became closer then any friends at Hogwarts.

But the damage none the less had been done. All the years of abuse and abandonment from the world had taken its toll on the chestnut haired boy. Shy and extremely cautious was how he lived his life now. The scars were forever embedded into his brain, and even some into his skin. He had spent many of his years in a depressed state, which took him a long time to break out of. But even so…he never would forget.

Many years later, an older (and greyer) Remus Lupin was power walking towards the hospital wing. The signs had all been there, he had even experienced them himself… so why hadn't he noticed it? The question banged inside his mind.

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James had only been awake for a few moments, but it was hard pressed to tell. Even though he had gotten a just amount of sleep the night before, he really wanted nothing more then to curl up in a blanket and sleep. But he couldn't let himself do that. His normally bright hazel eyes were dull and red rimmed. Purple, almost bruise-like, bags hung from his eyes. His messy black hair was stuck up, as usual, everywhere. But now it had that nasty, almost greasy look too it. Normally it took a few days with out sleep to give this look to someone- or a hefty amount of alcohol- but because of all the stress he was under added to the lack of sleep, he could accomplish it in one day.

His glasses still hadn't been put on, and his large hands were constantly rubbing at his eyes trying to soothe their weariness. His eyes, though rather hard to see anything, were fixated on his son's form. They had, thank the lord, been able to get him to the infirmary in time. Magic does work wonders, though he was extremely drained and would be a little inactive for a while.

The actual thinking part of his brain had shut down now, leaving nothingness in its wake. His mind apparently had thought too much earlier, and now he was facing the consequences for it. With his mind's absence, he was left with nothing to do but stare at Harry. Deep down he was grateful for not being able to think. His mind had been in shambles previously, and thinking about anything even remotely stressful now would not be health conscious.

Silence was the prominent factor in the hospital wing, the kind that almost makes your ears hurt because it is almost as if you have gone deaf. James was relishing in this silence.

Well… he was, of course, until the entrance door was opened. Albeit it was slowly and softly, but the door still made that annoying creaking noise that comes with age.

Remus Lupin slowly entered the room, he had run as fast as he could to get here, and the effects were showing. His breathing was ragged (though he was able to keep it quiet), he was flushed, and his clothes were rumbled. He knew that since he was in an infirmary, he needed to be quiet.

He slowly opened the door, walked in, and softly shut the door behind him. Looking around the white room he spotted Harry on the bed, pail as ever- however, he noted, it was a vast improvement from before. The covers on his bed were rumpled slightly making him wonder if Harry had woken up at all- or maybe James simply had done it. The father himself was sitting at the end of the bed on a makeshift chair. Remus almost winced- he looked worse off then Harry did. Remus knew that he had slept some, but it certainly looked like he needed more. Why, James hadn't looked this bad since he and Sirius decided to sneak out from Hogwarts one night and get pissed as hell. He looked similar to this the next morning.

Remus could almost say that he pitied him, but that wouldn't be the right word. He felt some sense of remorse he supposed, but again there really wasn't a word to describe what he felt about the situation.

He felt almost angry, not necessarily at Harry, but more along the lines of himself. He should have been able to see the signs, shouldn't have given him the chance to hear something like what he did. That wasn't to say that he wasn't the least bit mad at Harry, but he couldn't bring himself to be- he loved him too much. He wanted so much to be able to yell at him when he came to for being so stupid, but he knew that he wouldn't. Feelings were so fickle sometimes. He wanted to say that he felt mad, happy, sad... anything that he could. But he felt confused. There was a horrible stuffy feeling in his chest that left him feeling something akin to hurt. The feelings had been much worse earlier, but they had toned down now.

Walking over to where James sat he sat on the bed next to Harry's and sighed quietly.

"We screwed up, huh?"

James quickly whipped his head to look at his long time friend who was now staring at Harry distantly. It took him a moment to function what he said.

"Define 'screwed up' in a situation like this," James muttered trying not to really think about anything.

"We should have known James, not only about this- but about the Dursleys as well. He trusted us, he looked up to us- but it really doesn't seem as if we helped any. We really should have known." Remus' voice had taken almost a longing note to it, letting James know that his mind wasn't all on the conversation. But he still failed to see how the blame fell to them at all.

"…how? You may be a hell of a wizard, but you are not psychic. There was no way for you to have known anything."

"But we should have, we should have known, should have been there for him. I could tell something was wrong, I didn't know what, but there was something and I didn't do anything about it." Remus sounded very detached now, still lost in his thoughts.

James looked over at his friend- he looked torn apart. He had rarely seen Remus like this- eyes unfocused and cloudy (most of which happened after an encounter with a biased werewolf hater). He hated seeing him like this; it really hurt him. Standing up slowly, and wincing at the pain his aching legs gave him, he slowly trotted over to the bed that his friend was moping on and sat down next to him. He leaned his head on Remus' shoulder. He used to do this all the time in his school years, though Remus had always been the one who was tough and could comfort them. But those years were gone, it was his turn.

Taking his head off of his friends shoulder, he reached over and pulled Remus' head to his, as a replay of what used to happen as children. Although this time, the roles were reversed.

"I can't really say that I know how you feel… because I really don't, nor would I want to know, to be truthful…But I do know, however, that this cannot be your fault. I guess that I can understand that guilt is apart of the process, no matter how little fault that you had in it- if you played a part, you feel guilty I suppose. But even through all of that, it doesn't mean that the guilt should fall to you…

"I have known you for years, and not once have you been one to act rashly or wrong on purpose, you have always done as you thought was right. Even if sometimes it didn't turn out in the right…And once again you did as you thought was right, you did what you could- and I could ask nothing more from you."

Through out his entire 'monologue', James had spoken in a dull whisper. To most, it would seem as if this conversation was insipid or pointless to James- but those who knew him well would know other wise. James was a light-hearted man, the somber parts of conversation usually left up to Remus, but the few times that he spoke seriously from his heart you knew that he meant it.

Remus seemed soothed by James' words, allowing himself to relax against the shoulder provided and even lean fully into the man.

Both sated for the moment, they turned their full attention back to the reason that they were there. Harry hadn't changed, not that they had expected him too, but they were always hopeful. James sighed again and leaned his head against Remus'.

The moment was set, silence was once again beginning to creep, but Remus still couldn't resist putting in his last two cents.

"I missed you."

Leaning his head up and looking down at Remus, he noticed that he looked much more at peace then before. He smiled softly before laying his head down once more and closing his eyes again.

"And I you," And James meant it; he was finally back with his brothers.

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Back up in Gryffindor tower, a black haired Adonis was set upon a small (for his size) bed. One could easily tell that he was asleep, but one could just as easily see that it was not a peaceful one.

The blankets had long since been thrown off of his body; instead he was now tangled with in the sheets surrounding him. The thin shirt he was wearing was bunched up and now extremely wrinkly. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, with little trails rolling across his face. His eyes were shut painfully tight.

Every once and a while he would roll across the small bed on to his side, or stomach, or back. Arms would often thrash as he clutched the sheets. He almost looked in pain. But anyone who had had this problem before knew that he was having a nightmare, and an awful one at that.

The raven hair man gave one last twist, before he flung himself off of the bed and onto the ground. Bluish-grey eyes snapping open instantly.

Looking rapidly around the room, Sirius Black wondered what had just happened. All memory of the night terror seemed lost in the depths of his mind. He really hated when that happened. So many times had he had a dream like this and could not remember it in the morning. It was even worse when he could only remember it for a short time and THEN forget it. But the memory of the dream would only come back to him when he had that odd sense of déjà vu. It all just really bugged him.

Staring at the room he was in he realized that he hadn't been in a room like this once since his schooling years. His eyes held confusion, until they closed quickly, remembering the night before.

Harry….

Oh shit was the only thought running through his mind. They had really mucked that up hadn't they? Sirius simply could not understand why Harry would do something like that… but he had never really been an expert on things like that. His mind ran briskly as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

But that only led him to another question- well, back to his first question anyways. Why was he here? And where was every one else?

Trying to stand up with out tripping over the sheets he stretched out his still limbs, which made him moan almost happily. Deciding that his best choice of action would be to find James or Remus he walked almost dazedly to the door, lost in thought as he went.

Not really wanting to think, but unlike James earlier, his thoughts would not leave him in peace.

Rubbing slightly at his sand filled eyes, he tried to steady himself as he walked rather clumsily down the common room steps. Looking around again, but this time in the common room, once again he saw it void of any persons. James and Remus were not in this room either.

Checking off the places in his head that they would go, he could only figure that they would be in either the kitchen or with Harry in the infirmary.

Walking almost somberly to the common room exit he tapped on it slightly to wake the Fat Lady. Almost instantly the picture swung open and he dragged himself out.

Trekking down the hallways not really bothering to pay attention to where he was going, he knew the way to the infirmary by heart. Considering how much they cared for Harry, at least one of them would be in the hospital wing.

The trip took only moments so before he knew it he was standing outside the door to the infirmary not doing anything. He knew that he wanted to go in, but something was stopping him. He had that feeling in his stomach, like when you shoot suddenly to a high altitude and you feel a light and somewhat cold feeling in your stomach. You almost feel sick, but Sirius knew that he wasn't. Thinking back to an old saying that he had heard muggleborns say…'butterflies in the stomach.'

He knew that he wasn't nervous or anything like that so it must have been something akin to that.

Clenching his eyes closed he leant his head against the cold wood of the door. The feeling in his stomach was making his throat tight and his head spin. He wanted to sit down, but he knew that he might as well go in and see if any of his friends were on the other side.

With his head still on the door he reached his hand out and felt around the wood softly, seeking the handle. Long fingers slipped against the cool metal of the knob, he brought the rest of his hand to rest on it, curling his fingers around. Twisting and pushing, he tripped in, almost falling. Stepping in he looked around the long wing, turning slightly- at the end of the room on the right- he saw two of his friends sitting on the bed together.

Each was leaning against the other appearing to be in an aloof state of mind and calm state of mind. Walking over, well more like sliding over, he stood in front of them slightly. He turned to look at their peaceful expressions for a moment before turning his head to Harry.

He knew the news about Harry hadn't really sunken in fully yet, he must have been in some sort of denial. When it did, then he knew it wouldn't be pretty, so for now he just stared distantly at Harry.

When he looked back at his friends he saw James had set his head up and was looking at him. Feeling surprised, though not really showing it, he stared right back. James lifted his hand and motioned to the spot on the bed next to him. Taking the hint Sirius slid over to the open place and sat down.

James pointed at Remus and then brought his finger to his lips telling him to be quiet. Remus obviously hadn't been getting enough sleep and for once he actually was.

Weaving his hand through his hair he turned his attention to the window. It was still dark out, and you could still see the stars from where they were. Placing his hands on the part of the bed behind him he leaned and placed some of his weight on to them. Trying to relax he knew that after Remus and Harry woke up they would need to talk.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE- Well, I hope the length was at least better then last time, so as always any ideas (especially on things like pranks and such) PLEASE tell me. Also- please review.