January 16th, 1976

10 P.M.

Remus lay half-asleep against a wall of the Shrieking Shack. 2 hours. He had waited 2 hours for Sirius, and would probably wait all night. He was probably just delayed by Filch, or had a time trying to convince Miranda why he couldn't go out that evening. Or maybe he forgot...

Was it all a big joke? Sirius was one to pull such things, but Remus had never known him to be so harsh. This was serious - no pun intended. Remus had seen it in his eyes the night before. "Well," he reasoned to himself, "he was pretty drunk..."

And that's probably what it was, Remus decided. Sirius was drunk, and was trying to cover for himself this morning by continuing to sound interested. Oh, he'd have a pliable excuse tomorrow, and the next time if there was one...Remus had seen this happen too many times, with all of Sirius's ex-interests. It was a one-night stand without the sex. "It was only a kiss," Remus muttered to himself. "Didn't mean anything, 'cept we were both drunk..."

He should've known it was too good too last. Remus was honest enough with himself to admit that yes, he could fancy a boy. Sirius...well, maybe he hadn't matured to that level yet. Or maybe he just didn't feel that way. Sirius could ignore his one night with Remus - he had distractions in the form of every other girl at Hogwarts. While Remus had his books. And although entertaining, they just didn't measure up to what Sirius had.

It was about more than the sex...it was about the companionship. James had Lily. Sirius could have anyone he wanted. But Remus was stuck with Peter all the time, and while Peter was a good friend, he could not replace the empty hole that a lover would fill.

"It was only a kiss," Remus said hollowly.

Feeling very empty, he left the Shrieking Shack and headed back to the dormitory.

The dormitory was empty. No James (obviously with Lily), no Peter (who knew where he got off to sometimes) and no Sirius. The third being the main concern. And then the answer became so simple - the map.

Remus reached into his trunk and pulled out the parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered, fearing what he would see.

The ink materialized on the paper, and Remus's eyes searched every inch for Sirius's name. And then he saw it, but was confused. Sirius was in the dungeons, alone, with Severus Snape.

It was common knowledge that the two boys detested each other, and Remus was afraid that Sirius was doing something that would land him in big trouble. Picking the invisibility cloak up (and wondering why neither James nor Sirius had it), he headed for the dungeons.

The corridors were deserted. Even the prefects were strangely absent, and Remus caught no sign of Filch. Bewildered by this strange phenomenon, he quickened his step. The halls seemed more foreboding than usual.

"He's in with him, Sirius," Snape's hiss cut through the silence. Remus stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't see the pair yet, but he was afraid to go any farther.

"I don't believe you," Sirius said, his voice shaking, a quality it was unaccustomed it. "He's not, he's the only one I can trust! Besides, why are you telling me? You're with him too."

"I am not," Snape's voice became distant. "Not because I wasn't invited, mind you, Black. But I saw your brother there, shamelessly proclaiming his adoration for the Dark Lord."

"So you expect me to believe that Voldemort just let you go after you turned him down?" Sirius accused.

"I don't care what you believe, Black."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sirius's voice broke.

"Because I enjoy seeing you in misery. I've implanted the doubt in your mind. It will slowly eat away at you, until you can't trust a word he says but you won't confront him about it, because that would be admitting that you believed me over your darling brother."

Remus inched closer, carefully keeping the cloak wrapped around him. He saw Sirius and Severus standing in a small inlet, Severus appearing smug and Sirius appearing close to tears.

"I'll kill you," Sirius said, fumbling for his wand. Severus was faster; Sirius's emotions were slowing him down.

He didn't even think about it. Remus lunged in and brought Sirius to the ground with him, covering them both with the cloak and dodging Snape's curse. They ran through the corridors, Remus praying that no prefect would show up as they were doing a piss-poor job of being quiet. Finally they made it to the (thankfully empty) Gryffindor common room, where they collapsed on the couch.

"Sirius," Remus said softly. "Do you believe him?"

"Do I have a choice?" Sirius was obviously trying not to break down. "Why would he lie?"

"To make you this way," Remus replied.

Sirius buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe…not Regulus…"

Remus sighed. It did seem to run in their family, but he didn't dare tell Sirius that. "Sirius, you know your brother better than Snape. Listen to yourself, not him."

"I don't know what to believe," Sirius said sullenly. "He hasn't been himself lately."

Was Remus supposed to hug him now? What was appropriate? All Remus wanted was to make him feel better, yet he hadn't the slightest idea of going about that. Awkwardly he placed his hand on Sirius' knee. "I don't know your brother, but I know you and if he's anything like you then this Death Eater business is just some elaborate plan worked up by Severus to make you a mess."

"Yeah…you're right…" Sirius smiled, and seemed to wipe every worry from his face. But somehow Remus knew that this wasn't the end of it.