I got the address wrong- sorry to those of you who've already read this chapter! Come and join my forum at slashyshipping . forumup . org (but without the spaces). I'm all alone there at the mo…

OMG, I did not realise it had been a month! Sorry so much! There are reasons- I've got lots of bloody essays to write, I now have a job in the menswear department of a department store (best bit is playing with the tills), and I'm also working on an original story.

OO, David Tennant was in GoF… yay!

I run along the corridor, breath catching in my throat. God, Merlin, anyone who's up there and might be listening… let me get there, and quickly. Don't let that bastard hurt Remus, coz if he does- I'll rip him apart, and that'll only be the beginning of his misery.

Right, this is the right floor. And it's about here that they disappeared… I point my wand at the wall where there's normally a door, and scream an indecipherable challenge to the night. I must be getting better at doing magic without actually saying the right spell, because the stones in the wall seem to meld into a door before my eyes. I rush forward and try the cold metal. No luck- the door stays firmly shut. It's solid oak, not letting me see in. This might not even be the right room, I may have found some other hidden place.

Only one way to find out.

"Alohomora!"

The door unlocks with a small click- an anticlimax to such a charged moment. I kick the door open and see a scene of destruction. The desks are tossed around, the chairs upturned, and screaming fills my senses. For a moment, I'm frozen. Then I react. I jump over the desk in my way and see the thing I've been dreading.

Stromboli is on top of Rem, naked. It's Remus' screams I can hear. I kick out, striking Stromboli in the ribs. He falls off Rem, staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Sis…?"

I kick him again, this time in the chin. He falls back, his eyes going up into his head. I'm ready to hurt him again, but he doesn't move. "You fucking bastard!" I screech the words. "Wake up, so I can fucking kill you!" I pick up a chair and hold it above my head, ready to bring it down on his worthless body.

"Siri?" Rem's voice brings me back to my senses. I turn to look down at him. His eyes are filled with tears, and he looks ready to break down. Sitting, I gather him into my arms and hold on tight. If I loosen my grip just a bit he might go, just vanish into thin air. I can feel his thin frame shuddering with sobs, and realise with a shock that tears are also running down my face. The material of his shirt is rough beneath my hands, and I breath in his scent to surround myself with him.

"Oh God, Rem, I'm never letting you go again."

"Siri, I was so scared, he was gonna kill me…"

"Shh," I whisper fiercely into his hair. "He's never gonna hurt you again. We'll get him put into Azkaban, the slimy piece of shit." Why isn't he putting his arms around me? Oh, yeah. He still hates me, obviously. My eyes shut in pain. Can't he goddamn forgive me already? I think I've just proved that I'm willing to do anything for him. I love him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he stops sobbing and quietens. "Sirius, can you undo my hands?" I pull back slightly and stare into his eyes. He looks down, biting his lip slightly. "He tied them up so I couldn't… fight back."

I nod wordlessly and apply my wand to the bonds he's holding out to me. Then I see what I couldn't take in before. The new, fresh wounds on his front. In several places he's been burnt, the shape of a pentagram seared into his skin in several places. His eye is rapidly turning black, and there's blood smeared across his head. He's also got some words cut into his chest, but as I'm looking he pulls his shirt closed and looks down.

"Don't," he whispers.

I nod. Placing his arm around my neck, I lift him into a standing position and pull his trousers up. He winces as I do, and I'd do anything to take that pain away. "Where's your wand?" My voice is quiet, subdued.

"He… broke it."

Shit. His parents will never get him a new one. I'll have to get him one anonymously. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

"No!" The desperation in his voice makes me stare at him. He drops his gaze. "Please, Sirius. I just… can't. Not there."

"Remus." I hold his chin in my hand and force him to look at me. Tears are welling in his eyes again. "What that fucking low life did to you is not your fault. Never ever think you deserved that."

"Please, Sirius," he repeats. "I don't want to go to Madame Pomfrey. I don't want anyone to know about this."

"You need to get cleaned up. If we go to the dorm the others might wake up."

He shakes his head. "I'll go to the Prefect's bathroom."

"You're in no state to go anywhere by yourself, and I'm not allowed in that bathroom."

He bites his lip. "The dorm. We… just have to be quiet." He won't look me in the eye. Why the hell not? Just damn well look at me, Remus! I want to help you!

"OK." He takes one step and nearly collapses, before I run forward and catch him. "Put your arm around my shoulder. Lucky the dorm's near, huh?" He doesn't reply, instead concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other. I slip my arm around his waist. I have to be in as much contact with him as possible. I can't let him go.

We walk down the corridor in silence. I want to talk, but what the hell do I say? 'Oh, Remus, I'm sorry that you nearly just got raped by your boyfriend. But you know, if you'd stayed with me, none of this would've happened!' Yeah, very sensitive.

We stop before the Fat Lady. Great, she's asleep. Thanks a bunch. "Lady," I whisper. No luck. So I repeat myself, louder. "Lady!"

She blinks and wakes up, scowling at us. "What are you doing at this- oh, dear, are you all right?"

I can feel Remus shrinking back behind me, and all I want to do is protect him. "Lapis lazuli."

"Shouldn't you-"

"Lapis lazuli, Lady." She harrumphs, but swings open.

Somehow we manage to stumble up the stairs to the dorm, and open the door without it creaking too much. The soft snores reassure us that both Pete and James are asleep, and we'll be able to do this without anyone waking up and making a fuss.

The door to the bathroom opens silently, and we creep in. Remus leans on the counter. "Remus, you're going to need to take a shower."

"I can't." I stare at him. "Not with you watching."

I shrug. "Ok. I'll just sit here in the corner while you do it."

"No." He shakes his head firmly. "You have to leave the room."

"Remus, what if you fall over? You could seriously hurt yourself."

"I don't care." His eyes are set, but still downcast.

I turn and shut the door behind me. It's mirroring a few months ago, the day we first broke up. That day has repeated itself in my dreams countless times since. It really hurt. Especially in the night, when I woke up and could hear him tossing and turning, running from his demons. And I couldn't protect him. I damn well couldn't protect him from anything.

I can hear him moving around, getting into the shower. His hisses of pain as the water strikes his body come through the door as well, or maybe I'm imagining them. I wish he'd have let me stay in there. I wouldn't hurt him. I couldn't. Not intentionally. Well, not physically.

The water shuts off abruptly. Short shower. Or maybe I've just been sat here not noticing the passage of time.

He opens the door, and looks so damn fragile. His hair is wisping around his head, and the oversized dressing gown looks almost absurd. I… love him.

"Sirius?" he whispers. "I'm going to bed."

"Remus, you really should…"

"No." He halts me with one of his perfectly scarred hands. I know every scar on that hand, could trace its outlines in my sleep. "Maybe in the morning."

With that, he ghosts across to his bed and pulls the curtains shut.

OK, so it's short. I'm sorry :begs for forgiveness:

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