A/N: Okay, so my wonderful beta reader ­­Grim's Angel 13 couldn't beta read this chapter because Hotmail is being a total bitch and wouldn't let me copy and paste or send an attachment of this chapter to her. So, this chapter isn't edited so forgive me for any mistakes…I was rushing to get this chapter up. Sorry Tori!

Luvguurl (x3): Don't worry, Harry is the one with the problem and Sirius the rescuer. I just wanted to show that Sirius isn't such a happy guy after getting out of Azkaban. Thanks for reviewing!

Sunnysparkles: Thanks for the review and birthday wish! I'm glad you enjoy my characterization, and I think this is the chapter you've been waiting for!

Mooncheese: Thanks for the review and birthday wish! Yes the chapters are short, but by doing that I can update quicker. It's give and take my friend. Thanks for all your faithful reviewing!

La de da: So everyone is waiting for Harry and Sirius to interact, I'm getting there haha. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for your input!

Ladyfyre: Thanks for my birthday wish! You're the only one who seems excited to see some Snape POV! I'm not that big of a fan but I think he makes for an interesting character. Thanks for the reviews!

LadyButtercup: I'm watching this like musical animated movie…it's so weird. Anyways, I love you Megan! Thanks for reviewing!

Emma: Thanks for my birthday wish! I did, in fact, have a very happy birthday. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks so much for all the reviews!

Stinky Stan: Smack Snape? We can start a new SS, Smacking Snape. Actually, that sounds like a really bad romantic comedy. I should use that somewhere…Anyways, this fic is mostly about Harry's problems for now. Sirius had to take care of him first before himself you know? Anyways, thanks so much for your input and excitement!

Unknown: I apologize for my short chapters, and I'm glad my chapters are 'getting good' haha. Thanks for your review!

Laryx: Thanks for my birthday wish! I'm so happy you enjoy my story, and I'm updating whenever my health allows me to! Thanks for the review!

Maya100: I'm glad you like all the emotion put into it. There's a quote from Frank R. Stockton that goes "a study of the human heart…leads us through devious mazes of passion." I really like that quote and if you haven't read the Lady, or the Tiger I highly suggest it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything HP related.

Asleep

Chapter 5

What's going to happen now? Remus asked himself as he stood helplessly watching Sirius cradle Harry. As soon as they had reached the top floor of the house Remus wished there was some way to stop his friend from reaching Harry when everything he had smelled became clearer tenfold, but in his animagus form Sirius was already a few paces in front of him and nearly in Harry's room already.

The room had been dark and cramped right away when they first stepped in, and as the moments passed it just seemed to keep getting smaller and smaller. The grim like dog of course ran straight to Harry without taking any notice of its surroundings before it assumed the form of a man again. The other man, tall and light haired, stood solemnly at the door trying to soak in the events that the room had seen in the recent past.

Walking forward to where Sirius sat crunched over his godson, the werewolf reached forward to inspect Harry when something in the boards below him caught his attention. Not only were the boards uprooted and dilapidated, but his sharpened eyes could make out smaller structures wedged in between the wood splints. Letting his hand fall short, he ran his hands over them but quickly moved them to hold his head when he realized what they were and what they meant.

Fingernails. There were fingernails stuck within these boards, as if Harry had tired to drag himself across the floor. As much as he tried to keep his face stoic enough to assure someone (if only himself), he could feel his face drawn worn as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and a grimace pulled harshly at the corners of his mouth.

Why? Harry, why couldn't you have told someone? How long has it been like this? Oh, Merlin, we should have known something like this would happen after last term. We should have at least suspected…after no word from him at all…Remus' thoughts turned erratic and randomly skipped over pictures of a smiling third year Harry Potter.

"We have to take him with us," Sirius was rambling, thinking much like Remus now only out loud reminding him of the night he saw him in the Shrieking Shack as a raving lunatic. "He can't stay…James and Lily would kill me…remember how he used to say my name? He had his modified versions of Padfoot even before he could say dad…"

"Sirius…Sirius give him to me for a moment please…" Remus tried gently as he began tenderly coaxing Harry out of his friend's tight grip. "Sirius please…"

"NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM! GET AWAY FROM ME!" His old time comrade screamed as he kicked him away. Sirius had snapped. His long unkempt hair fell menacingly into his face as he hunched lower over his godson with widened eyes. His body shook as he began rocking both him and the boy in his arms in shuddering heaves. Every few seconds a part of his body, his head or an arm, would have a spasm as he tried to close himself off from the werewolf next to him.

"SIRIUS! Please, just calm down. You're no good to Harry like this…" Remus said smoothly, fully back to teaching mode as the current situation forced him to push away his emotions once again.

The animagus was now hyperventilating as he scrambled to his feet. Flailing around limply, Harry's appendages bent at strange angles around Sirius' tightly grasping arms. Remus was choking back the tears in the back of his eyes at the sight as he had no reassurance of any of Harry's vitals, and by the looks of it his friend wouldn't be giving him any chance soon.

"Oh, by Merlin," a snide voice made its presence known to the other members of the room. Remus didn't know how long Severus had been standing there, but his smirk was deeper than usual. The wolf inside him wanted to push the man out the door, so as not to see his best friend in such a state, but his body stopped when he heard the greasy haired man send several spells Sirius' way. Next thing he knew Sirius was laying awkwardly on his back with his feet twisted under him unconscious and Harry limply sitting on top of him.

"Severus," Remus bit back the urge to use Snivellus as he spit out a response in vengeance, "I really don't think now was the time for that-"

"Now isn't the time to let Black show just how much Azkaban has made him insufficient to be around other people," Snape said calmly, making the Lycanthrope remember he was supposed to be the collected one. "Especially people who always seem to need some kind of medical attention like Potter."

Suppressing the growl deep within his throat, Remus watched Snape cross the room in three strides and bend down next to the two crumpled figures on the bedroom floor.

"NO!" He yelled vehemently as he saw Snape reach out to check Harry. "I'll be checking him myself thank you."

Remus was still attempting to bite back his anger as he closed the space between Harry, Sirius, and himself. He felt Snape bump shoulders with him hotly as the man stood up and backed off, a smirk still set on his face as he watched.

Closing his eyes tightly for a moment, Remus calmed himself in what he hoped was enough not to let his panic shift any of his observations as he tenderly lifted Harry off of Sirius before making sure the animagus, still unconscious, was more comfortable laying on the floor with the boy still in his arms, just as limp as he had been in his godfather's arms.

Crawling on his knees, the werewolf shifted Harry onto his worn bed before pulling out his wand. He muttered spells to check his pulse, temperature, and body functions. He was honestly better than Remus expected. He obviously had some kind of virus that had set in after his neglect of simple eating, sleeping, or bathing that had put him off for the worse, but with his limited healing knowledge he couldn't make any certain statement of exactly which virus it was.

As Remus lifted Harry's baggy shirt off him, his severe malnutrition was depicted harshly in the form of his ribs sticking out individually. There were several smaller cuts and bruises on his torso, but as his eyes trailed further up his arm the deeper the long, irregular cuts became. The worse of what he could currently see was on the top of Harry's shoulders. Here, instead of long scrapes, there were actual chunks missing of his flesh. The only conclusion he could bring from this was that Harry had taken to hugging himself and digging his fingers into his shoulders. Looking back down, the Lycan gently picked up a hand and sobered even more if possible at them.

Both of his hands were complete pulp, extremely bloody and looked as if the tops of them had gone missing. Remus' own hands had long been covered now in the young boy's blood and he was struggling to keep down all of his emotions for the time being. He listened to the sharp sounds emitting from Severus in annoyance as a way to distract his feelings as he continued his examination.

Flipping the light body over, Remus jerkily jumped to his feet and stumbled back a few steps as his noisy breathing came in quicker and quicker gulps.

Oh Merlin…Merlin…look at this…how could that awful family not do anything about this...Oh Merlin…Harry…Remus thought as he helplessly ran his hands through his hair, leaving streaks of a dark red there.

His whole back looked about as bad as his hands, almost like a whole layer of skin had been scraped off. There were some spots that would dip down as if multiple layers were gone as Remus could make them out by the different colors of flesh around the missing gaps.

Remus stumbled forward toward Harry again and scooped him up and held him tightly as he tried to push back some of his hair from his forehead that the blood had plastered there. As he did so, there, visible brightly from his pale complexion, was his scar. His lightning shaped scar. This all had happened because of that scar. Remus felt like trying to scratch the thing off himself with his own fingernails.

"Stop there, Lupin," Snape had decided to make himself known again. "You're acting just like Black. You see it would have been easier for me to have just checked him, but your incompetence of listening to anyone leads you once again into a sticky situation…And as much as I hate to say it, Black was right. He can't stay here. We'll have to take him back to Headquarters. Oh, stop giving me that look, Lupin. If he did all this to himself then he obviously needs to be around people who can take care of him mentally…where we'll find someone like that who has the time I don't know. The mutt obviously isn't up to the job."

Watching as Snape moved around the room collecting some of Harry's things, Remus stood up trying to gather his wits about him. He shifted Harry so he would be more comfortable in his arms, then stepped over to Sirius where he revived him to consciousness.

Blinking rapidly, Sirius adopted a look of bewilderment as he slowly sat up looking around. A look of realization was shortly displayed before he scrambled to his feet and glared at both Snape and Remus.

"Sirius, stay calm, we're taking Harry with us to Headquarters," Remus tried to keep his voice even. Sirius looked angry for a moment, before his face went completely slack.

"Remus! Remus, his back! Look at his back!" Sirius barked as he rushed forward to his godson.

Shit, why couldn't I have stayed calm enough to have covered him up after I was done checking him over? Remus thought as he stepped back away from Sirius.

"Sirius, please just…just stop. We're taking Harry with us. You can help him recover once we get back, just calm down."

The animagus only looked at him angrily. He opened his mouth before shutting it. He glanced sideways at Snape, and realizing what he was doing called out to him.

"He keeps some things under a loose floorboard somewhere."

"Really Black, and which loose floorboard would you wager that is?" Snape spit back. "Oh really…Black, what is one of the things he keeps there?"

"Er, his wand and his-"

"Accio wand!" A small thump was heard under a floorboard next to the end of Harry's bed. Snape quickly peeled the board back and threw it lazily across the floor. He picked up the few belongings stored there and threw them into the bag he had brought with him. Just before he closed it he pulled out three vials and strode over to Lupin where he began uncorking them.

"Open his mouth, Lupin," growled Snape. Barely waiting for the man to comply, he then filtered all three of the potions one by one into the boy's mouth. "That will hold him over for now, but the last one will wake him up shortly. I suggest we get him back to Headquarters before that happens."

Remus nodded. He had slowly become more and more numb over the past few minutes. Snape had already started towards the door when Sirius stepped even closer to him and Harry.

"Give him to me, Remus," he barked. There was not an ounce of kindness or room for question present in the command.

"No, Sirius," Remus tried to reason, "You have to stay as Padfoot. You know that-"

"GIVE ME MY GODSON!" A deathly silence was left hanging in the room like a long forgotten mistletoe.

"Sirius…no…please…it's too dangerous," Remus pleaded quietly. His best friend's words had hurt him, and now his silence did nothing to sooth him. He could only stand there, even number now, as he felt Sirius pull Harry out of his arms as if he was not worthy. Though he stared straight ahead where his friend's face had once been, he saw Sirius move around, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around his godson before walking out the door of the room, leaving him alone.

Downstairs he could hear Snape's voice berating the Dursley's before turning his efforts to Sirius, who apparently was already out the door with Harry. Snape's voice wasn't carrying up the stairs anymore, making Remus believe he too had walked out the door, leaving him all alone in the house.

Feeling lightheaded and sick, Remus Lupin made his way out of number four Privet Drive, and seeing no one in sight, made his way towards the end of the street and into an alley where he apparated back to number twelve Grimmauld Place alone, too numb to wonder if Sirius and Harry had made it without being seen.

A/N: Okay, so that chapter was longer, and while you may have enjoyed it, I surely did not! It was utter hell for me! Which is exactly why you should review for my efforts! And I know I kind of beat up on Remus a bit here at the end and I might have made Sirius look a bit mean, but Sirius is totally my favorite character so no worries. I won't make him look like a bully anymore.