A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm baaack! I know, I took forever to get this out. I'm truly sorry, but I had writer's block for ideas for the memories. This chapter is a bit angsty, but cool at the end. Go Sirius!!! The usual disclaimers apply, don't own any of it. I also don't own Lord Byron or any of his works, that goes for future chapters as well as this one. Keep that in mind, ok? Okay. Reviews will be answered at the bottom.

Harry stumbled a bit, loosing his balance coming into the memory. He righted himself and instinctively looked around. He was in a bedroom. From the looks of it, it was a woman's bedroom. He furrowed his brow and searched for Sirius.

James walked hesitantly into the room and over to a door that led out to a balcony. He looked more than a little concerned and even scared. Harry followed him to find Sirius sitting on the stone banister. He was staring out at the rolling hills that went out from the house. A forest could be seen in the distance, a dark green wisp that broke the shimmering grass into two sections.

Harry looked over at Sirius and noted the hollow look in his eyes, realizing why his father was scared. Sirius seemed lost in himself, completely disregarding his friend.

James sighed. "Sirius, you need to come in and eat at least a piece of toast. Remus tells me you haven't had anything for days."

Sirius didn't answer at first and James turned away. Finally, Sirius spoke. "What else has Moony told you?"

James turned back; a tear making it's way down his cheek. "He's told me that you haven't bathed, you barely ever drink anything. When you do it's either water by Remus's insistence or firewhiskey so that you'll become so drunk that you pass out."

Sirius whipped his head around. "Why shouldn't I, James? Why shouldn't I get drunk? Why shouldn't I grieve for her? She meant everything to me and she's gone! She's gone, no trace left whatsoever, just gone and I can't do a thing about it. What if she's dead, James? She's my whole life, just like Lily is yours. What if I never..." He started sobbing and James moved next to him and pulled him into an embrace.

"Shh, it's ok. Dumbledore said he'd find her and he will. Lynne's a fighter; she'll come back to you safe and whole. She isn't dead Padfoot, I just know it."

Sirius gasped and wiped his eyes. "Do you? Swear to it, Prongs. Swear that I'll get her back."

James smiled. "I swear you will, Sirius. And when you do, she'll have a bloody fit that you haven't taken care of yourself. Let's get you inside and cleaned up, eh?"

Sirius nodded somberly and hopped down. He led the way into the house and opened an ornately carved wooden door. James stepped in after him and Harry saw him make a face. "Jeez, Padfoot, I thought Remus was being overly dramatic when he said that you hadn't bathed for days. How can you stink so much?"

Sirius stripped out of his robe and glanced over his shoulder at James. "Is it really that bad?"

James nodded. "This is worse than that time we blundered into that patch of stinkweed and startled the skunk."

Sirius brightened at the memory and he half-heartedly smiled. "I remember that, it was horrid. To top it all off, there was four of us smelling like a bloody morgue, not just one. McGonagall was furious with us and even more so when we wouldn't explain why we had such a pungent odor."

James turned on the water to the tub and smirked. "Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't tried to tell her that it was a new cologne."

Sirius laughed a little and sank into the bath water with a groan. "How was I to know that she wouldn't buy that? It worked with all of our other professors, even Dumbledore bought it."
James opened the door to leave and gave a pained look. "He didn't buy it for a second, he just knew better than to ask us what the real reason was. I swear, that man knows a lot more than people give him credit for." He left the room and Harry followed after him. James walked over to the window and smiled as Remus entered the room "He's in the bath, does he have any clean clothes here?"

Remus gave a relieved smile and gazed around the room. "I don't know, he hasn't changed at all since we've been here. Where would he keep clothes?"

James smirked. "Probably in Lynne's closet, they were rather um, 'close.' Should we check?"

Remus flushed at the implication and nodded. "So, you don't think that they will find her then?"

James sat down heavily on the bed. "I don't really know, Moony. I mean, I told Sirius that I'm positive they will find her, but how can I be sure given what happened that night? I do know one thing for certain, though."

Remus went over to the closet and pulled out a black robe. "What's that?"

James looked over at him soberly. "Lynne said she'd marry him, she didn't leave on her own."

Stopping just before the bathroom door, Remus stopped. "I never heard whether or not he asked. I didn't get to talk to him at the festival and I certainly wasn't going to ask him once we got here. They better not harm her or they will have all of the Marauders to deal with and not just Padfoot."

James nodded. "Truly a force to be reckoned with."

Sirius, after apparently finishing his bath, flung open the door and grabbed the robe from Remus. "Hey mate. Got anything to eat around here?"

Remus grinned. "I'm glad to see you eating again. Of course there's food, lots of it. Let's go downstairs and have dinner."

The group went downstairs and fixed dinner while Harry watched his father interact with the two men Harry had become to know as his only family. He'd have to mention it sometime to them, they looked so happy together with James. Their camaraderie coming easily, teasing and laughing together as if they hadn't a care in the world. A stark contrast to the Lupin and Sirius of his time.

The scene changed again and Harry saw that he was back up in the bedroom from the previous scene. Sirius sat hunched over a book on the bed, completely still except for a ragged breath and a whimper. James sat next to him, his hands in his lap as if he didn't know what to do to offer comfort and Remus knelt on the floor in front of the pair. Harry could feel the tension in the air and wondered if this was before or after the other scene.

His question was soon answered when Sirius broke the silence. "You swore, Prongs. You swore she'd be here with me and it's been a month. How can she be alive now? I can't bear the thought of what state she'd be in, I hope for her sake that she is dead."

Remus patted Sirius's hand and shook his head. "That letter from Dumbledore may not mean what it sounds like. You know how cryptic he is, for all we know he could be telling us that she's safe and sound back at Hogwarts."

Sirius pulled his hand away and glared at Remus. "Don't try to offer me false hope, Moony. It didn't work for James and it won't work for you. It has been a month since she was taken by deatheaters and I for one have given up hope. I want her back more than anything but I have to face reality; she's not coming back. My deranged family members would have seen to that, they knew how much she meant to me."

James let out a deep breath. "Sirius, you're being awfully rational here. Why don't you lie down and sleep now, huh? We'll come back to check on you later on."

Sirius looked at James with eyes full of sorrow. "You will leave me just like that? I don't want you to go, James. I want you to read the poem that reminds me of Lynne. Would you read it to me?"

James's eyes went wide and he visibly swallowed. "Which one, Padfoot?"

Sirius handed him the book and James read the title. He stood and walked around the room with it while he read. "And Thou Art Dead, as Young and Fair; by Lord Byron" He looked up at Sirius and went on.

"And thou art dead, as young and fair

As aught of mortal birth;

And form so soft, and charms so rare,

Too soon return'd to Earth!

Though Earth receiv'd them in her bed,

And o'er the spot the crowd may tread

In carelessness or mirth,

There is an eye which could not brook

A moment on that grave to look.

I will not ask where thou liest low,

Nor gaze upon the spot;

There flowers or weeds at will may grow,

So I behold them not:

It is enough for me to prove

That what I lov'd, and long must love,

Like common earth can rot;

To me there needs no stone to tell,

'Tis Nothing that I lov'd so well.

Yet did I love thee to the last

As fervently as thou,

Who didst not change through all the past,

And canst not alter now.

The love where Death has set his seal,

Nor age can chill, nor rival steal,

Nor falsehood disavow:

And, what were worse, thou canst not see

Or wrong, or change, or fault in me.

The better days of life were ours;

The worst can be but mine:

The sun that cheers, the storm that lowers,

Shall never more be thine.

The silence of that dreamless sleep

I envy now too much to weep;

Nor need I to repine

That all those charms have pass'd away,

I might have watch'd through long decay.

The flower in ripen'd bloom unmatch'd

Must fall the earliest prey;

Though by no hand untimely snatch'd,

The leaves must drop away:

And yet it were a greater grief

To watch it withering, leaf by leaf,

Than see it pluck'd to-day;

Since earthly eye but ill can bear

To trace the change to foul from fair.

I know not if I could have borne

To see thy beauties fade;

The night that follow'd such a morn

Had worn a deeper shade:

Thy day without a cloud hath pass'd,

And thou wert lovely to the last,

Extinguish'd, not decay'd;

As stars that shoot along the sky

Shine brightest as they fall from high.

As once I wept, if I could weep,

My tears might well be shed,

To think I was not near to keep

One vigil o'er thy bed;

To gaze, how fondly! on thy face,

To fold thee in a faint embrace,

Uphold thy drooping head;

And show that love, however vain,

Nor thou nor I can feel again.

Yet how much less it were to gain,

Though thou hast left me free,

The loveliest things that still remain,

Than thus remember thee!

The all of thine that cannot die

Through dark and dread Eternity

Returns again to me,

And more thy buried love endears

Than aught except its living years."

His voice was shaky and Harry didn't think he'd get through it but James read to the end in grim determination. James closed the book, sat down in a chair, and put his head in his hands. Harry saw Remus go over to him and comfort him while Sirius looked on with tears streaming down his face.

He made no move to wipe them away and a sob escaped him. "She's dead." He whispered.

James brought his head up. "What was that?"

Sirius jumped up and grabbed a pillow off the bed and threw it at James. "I said she's fucking dead!" he yelled. Both men at the table winced when he said this and Remus moved over to Sirius.

"We don't know that for sure, Sirius. She could be just fine. We have to think positively here, okay?"

Sirius pushed him away and growled. He lay down on the bed and covered his face with his hands before saying. "Just get out, both of you. I don't want your pity, I don't want you to console me, I just want to be left alone."

James started to talk when Remus shot him a warning look and shook his head. They went out of the room together and Sirius broke down crying.

The next scene happened to be more recent. In fact, it was the day Harry had met him I the shrieking shack. He watched in amusement as the whole scene played out. His other self coming to realize just who he had thrown down on the floor. He noticed the very audible thump when Sirius's head hit the floor and he made a mental note to apologize for that when he saw him again.

The next memory came with staggering force and Harry found himself in Grimmwauld Place. Mrs. Black was screaming at a teenage Sirius about being impure filth. Sirius was matching her hateful gaze with one of his own and he picked up a vase and smashed it against the wall. "I don't give a damn, Mother! I don't give a damn about you or your stupid beliefs! You're wrong."

Mrs. Black went red with rage and she smacked him across the face. "You vile, loathsome disappointment! You slander the noble name of 'Black' just by existing! You're an abomination to this house and my family!"

Sirius stood up straight. "Well, Mother, at least that's the only kind of monster I am. Unlike the rest of you, I don't give a damn whether or not my friends are purebloods!"

His mother howled with rage and pulled her wand. "Blood-traitor! You shame of my flesh!"

Sirius snorted. "Yes, Mother. I am ashamed that I am of your flesh! I could have found some moldy old gutter-whore that would have been better!"

Harry's mouth fell open and he gave an incredulous laugh, instantly grateful that none of these people could hear him. Mrs. Black was hitting Sirius with all her might now and he was screaming obscenities at her. "And when I do get married, I'll make sure it's to a muggle!" whack "She'll be delighted to invite my dear old mum to the MUGGLE wedding chapel." Whack "She would just love to have you come over and meet our neighbors" whack "They will be muggles, too!" Whack "Or better yet, I'll marry a werewolf!" Whack "A lovely werewolf." whack "We'll live happily ever after with al of our werewolf children and I will never have to look at your retched face again!" Whack "I think I'll even change my last name to Potter so that I don't even have to think about you!"

Sirius waited but the next hit didn't come. Instead Mrs. Black seemed to be regarding him with a keen eye. "Go upstairs, I don't want to look at you anymore." She said in a quiet voice. Harry tensed, not trusting her calm demeanor and noticed that Sirius felt the same way. He followed the boy upstairs and watched as Sirius packed all of his belongings. Sirius took one last look around the room and grinned before hopping out the window into the night, running away from the Black family.

A/N: Alrighty folks, I'm gonna end the chapter here for now. I could write more, but I'm lazy and I wanna go play Halo. Yup, I made you wait all this time and now I'm gonna be selfish and play video games. First, though, I'll answer a few reviews. Doesn't that sound good? I thought so. Here goes:

Ssdiablo: Not necessarily. The most over-looked solution is often the one that is right in front of you, true? He just didn't think of werewolves as an answer. Obvious to you and me (and Moody, as he's the one that pointed it out to Remus,) but not to him. I was going to include that next chapter, but thank you for pointing it out. All of your friends like my work? Cool. Tell them to review! (haha)

Parissima: You're welcome. I'm in denial about Sirius being dead, so it carries over to my stories. He can't be, that would be too horrible on Harry. Remus is the guy for Helena, that's for sure. He's just too cool. (hehehe)

Illyria-light: LOL! I know, I meant for it to go that way! Surprising people and messing with their minds is fun.