Chapter Two

Remus was very thankful for his friends – without them, he wouldn't have been able to handle the loss of his family as well as he did. It helped him to know that he wasn't alone, even with his family gone. The other Marauders mourned with him, and barely left him alone. It became a sort of contest between the three of them to see who could make him smile or laugh, or at the very least, stop looking quite so sad. However, it was Sirius who seemed to help the most. Though he could hardly be considered sensitive by anyone's standards, Sirius had a much better understanding of what true pain was than either James or Peter did. While his family wasn't dead, and although he hadn't been on good terms with them for years, Sirius knew what it was to lose loved ones. He'd still loved his family, after all, and as much as he'd hated their attitudes towards – well, everything – it had hurt him a great deal to have to leave. Because of this, Sirius was the one to get Remus to open up about his family.

One afternoon about three weeks after Remus had gotten the news, Sirius had charged up to the dormitory in need of a shower after a particularly difficult Quidditch practice. When he found Remus lying on the bed and staring off into space, tears streaming down his face, Sirius decided that enough was enough. He cautiously approached his friend, dropping his broom on his bed. "Remus? Are you – I mean, I know you're not okay, but – do you, y'know, want to-"

"No." Remus said flatly. He knew what Sirius was going to ask, and he did not want to talk about anything. He sighed. "Sorry for snapping, Sirius, but I just want to be left alone."

"Well, too bad," Sirius said, sitting on the edge of his friend's bed. "I think we've left you alone long enough. Besides, I know from personal experience that you'll feel better if you talk about it, Moony. So talk."

"Sirius, talking isn't going to bring my parents and little sister back," Remus said finally turning to face his friend.

"I know. Nothing's going to bring them back, or make the pain go away, Remus," Sirius said sympathetically. "I know that. But I also know that talking might help you come to terms with what's happened."

"Come to terms with it?" Remus asked incredulously, as he unconsciously rubbed the spot on his right arm where he'd been branded a few days ago. "Sirius, they're dead. Dead because of some stupid pureblood maniacs, who hated the fact that my mother was a halfblood. How do you come to terms with the fact that your entire family has been murdered because some tyrant decided that they didn't deserve to live? I don't want to come to terms with it. I want them back. I want the pain to just go away," Remus said, as he broke down in tears again.

Sirius looked at his distraught friend and felt his heart constrict. He hated seeing Remus in pain. "I know you want them back Remus," Sirius said as he pulled his friend into a tight embrace. "I also know that the pain isn't going to go away. But this isn't the end of the world. As hard as it might be to see that now, things will get better. It'll be difficult, for a long time, but eventually, it won't hurt quite so much."

"How would you know, Sirius? You chose to leave your family," Remus said, leaning in to the comforting hug. "You said it yourself – you hated them. You've never- .This is entirely different."

"It isn't, really. I hated my family, yes. But I also loved them, even though I didn't want to. I never stopped wishing that my family would be like yours, or James', or even Pete's. I wanted them to love me back," Sirius said, pushing his long ebony hair out of his eyes. "And even though they aren't dead, that doesn't mean that I haven't lost them. It doesn't mean that I don't want them back, in a way. I still want to be hugged and kissed by my mum, even though she hasn't done that since I was four. I want that back, but I know I'll never have that feeling again, at least not from them. I mean, my brother is a prime example. Did you know that when Regulus and I were younger, we used to be practically inseparable? And now, I don't even know where he is. He should be here, getting ready for his OWLs. But he's not, and I don't know why. He could be - the point is, Remus, people don't have to be dead to be gone. And people don't have to share a name or blood to be family. You, James, Pete – you guys are my family. My real brothers, now that Regulus is-. Without you three, I'd never have gotten through the summer. You never let me alone when I was going through that, and we're not going to leave you alone, either. Friends – brothers – don't do that."

Remus could tell that Sirius meant everything he'd said, and was touched. Maybe Sirius was right. "All right," he said, with what was probably his first true smile in weeks. "I'll talk – if only to get you off my back." And so he did. He and Sirius spent half the night talking, alone. James and Peter had come up once, to see why they hadn't come down to eat, but one look from Sirius had them heading back out without question. They seemed to realize that Remus needed to talk to someone who understood his pain first. They knew he'd talk with them later.

The werewolf was very grateful to his friend. Sirius had been right. Remus wasn't finished mourning, by any means. But he no longer felt the need to lock himself in the dormitory for hours on end, or throw himself into his work with more vigor than ever before. He could talk about his parents and sister without breaking down. Remus was still in pain, but he knew that he would eventually be able to move on, and the pain would lessen with time.

Remus wasn't the only one to lose relatives in the attack. His village was full of wizarding families, and many of the students at Hogwarts had cousins or siblings or grandparents who lived there. Three first year Gryffindor girls, Katie, Sara, and Michelle McGenis had an older brother who'd left school three years ago who'd been killed in the attack. He'd been living there with his wife and newborn son when the Death Eaters attacked. A seventh year Ravenclaw boy had been notified that his older cousin, a pureblood witch who'd made the mistake of marrying a Muggle was now dead. Two fifth year Hufflepuffs had lost their grandparents and an uncle to the Death Eaters. It seemed that the only house whose members had not been affected in some way by the attack was Slytherin.

In the weeks after the attack, Hogwarts changed a great deal. It was as if the very life had been taken out of the student body. Everyone (with the exception of the Slytherins) was tense and sad; especially those who had lost loved ones. And things, unfortunately, weren't getting any better. Death Eater attacks were an almost daily occurrence, meaning that by the end of November, there was hardly anyone who hadn't been affected personally by the war. The fact that the Slytherins had yet to lose any family members yet was something that no one failed to notice.

For years, there had been a rift between the Slytherins and the rest of the school, especially the Gryffindors. Despite that, while it may have been odd for people from other houses to be friends with Slytherins, it wasn't anything to worry about. However, as the year progressed, most of the other students seemed to agree that all Slytherins were bound to be future Death Eaters, and were therefore dangerous. The Slytherins were no longer people to be taunted or pranked (unless you were a Marauder). They were people to be feared, people you didn't turn your back on. The rift between the Slytherins and the other students soon became a great gaping chasm, one that no one could cross. Inter-house friendships died because being seen in friendly or at the very least non-hostile conversation with one of the green-clad students was grounds for suspicion.

It didn't even matter if the person you were talking to was a relative – in fact, that only made it worse, as a fourth year Gryffindor found out. Catherine Gale, one of Gryffindor's best Quidditch players, was seen talking to her cousin, Derick, who was a seventh year Slytherin, a few weeks after 'the massacre' as some students had taken to calling the attack. It didn't matter that he was one of the few Slytherins who didn't share his housemates' dislike of Muggleborns or halfbloods. All that mattered was that he was a Slytherin, and she was talking to him willingly. The fact that they were related meant that most people automatically assumed that she was going to become a Death Eater, like he was thought to be.

When the Daily Prophet began to publish reports on Death Eater arrests, things only worsened for the students. Even the students who hadn't been friends with Slytherins were ostracized. Mark Jonson, a third year Ravenclaw whose older brother had been arrested for killing Muggles, was now treated with fear and hatred by his own housemates. Cheryl Carlyle, a sixth year Hufflepuff, was abandoned by her friends when it was reported that her mother was brought in for questioning about practicing the Dark Arts. Gryffindor first year Charlie Wright had a cousin who'd been involved in 'the massacre', and as such, he was now seen as an object of fear and hatred by his year-mates. The Slytherins, of course, were more than thrilled with this turn of events.

They were the only ones not abandoning their housemates – the only ones who were willing to treat those who'd been ostracized by the other houses with any sort of nicety. It wasn't long before Charlie could be seen sharing meals with the first year Slytherins. Mark had taken to helping the Slytherin third years with their homework in the library, and Cheryl was rarely seen out of the company of one or two of the older Slytherin girls. The Slytherins with open arms welcomed all of them and more.

This also meant that pureblood names like Malfoy, Lestrange, and Black were no longer names to be respected but feared and even hated. If you were a Black or a Malfoy or a Lestrange, you didn't have to be in Slytherin to quickly become an object of scorn and hatred. Caitlyn Malfoy, a first year Hufflepuff, was abandoned by her housemates right along with Cheryl. Deryl Lestrange, who was a seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, was ignored by his friends and hated by everyone – except the Slytherins. They too were welcomed into the arms of the Slytherins without a second glance. It wasn't long before Sirius, who'd always hated the Slytherins, and had never left anyone in doubt about the fact that he did not support his family's beliefs was given the same treatment by his housemates.