Title: Who is Remus Lupin?

Warnings: Magical AU.

Rating: M

Artwork: Sirius x Remus ID by Sirius-x-Remus

A/N: This isn't beta'd yet, but I'll be giving it a second read after posting and fix all the errors. Feel free to let me know if you find any. Enjoy!

Sirius scrutinized his reflection in the hallway mirror, his heart beating at a nervous pace. He didn't know why he felt so anxious; perhaps because this was his first time ever asking anyone on a date and also his first time ever wanting to be in a relationship with someone so badly. It was a good plan, he reckoned – he was going to ask Remus for dinner tonight and hint at it being possibly a romantic affair. If the other boy showed an interest, Sirius would classify it as a date, and if not, then he would simply brush it off as an apology dinner for acting the way he had last week in the lab. Despite his bullet proof plan, Sirius sincerely hoped the latter would not happen. He wasn't quite sure how well he would take rejection, but if the strength of his feelings were any indication, then there was every chance that he would crumple to the ground and cry his eyes out while nursing his bleeding heart.

Sirius always did have a penchant for drama.

He checked the mirror again before walking to the end of the hall where the library, where Tiffy had mentioned last seeing the sandy blonde. Even as he walked, his hands smoothed invisible lines in his clothes and fussed with his hair nervously. He could almost hear the blood pounding to his and he took a few deep breaths to steel his resolve, before poising his knuckles in front of the closed door to knock.

'I need another week.'

Sirius paused, realising that he was spared from the humiliation of a possible rejection for a few extra minutes. Remus appeared to be in conversation with someone, either by the muggle telephone or by Floo, as Sirius had not seen anyone come into the house today. He paced in front of the door, debating whether to come back later or redo his proposal in a more appropriate time of day or even simply suggesting it casually over dinner rather than making a big show of it.

'You can't hurry it. If the ingredients aren't in balance, it might as well be poison.'

Sirius paced the length of the carpet again, wondering if he should come back. It seemed like Remus was having a conversation about work, possible the Ministry and was not having a particularly easy time of it. He wondered what the poor bloke was being pressured into; it could not be easy having to pick up where Alphard left off all by himself. Sirius had never thought about it because the sandy haired boy was always so cheerful around him, but Remus was probably having a very difficult time with his research and was now under both constant pressure and scrutiny to deliver. In fact, when he truly thought about it, Remus was almost always working, even when he spent time with Sirius, either in the garden or the labs and sometimes even during meals.

'Of course I know how important this Wolfsbane is to the whole cause! If anyone understands, it's me!'

Sirius bit his lip, hesitating only for a second before curiosity got the better of him and he pressed his ear to the door. He found it odd that he could only hear Remus's voice but not the other party's. Were they perhaps talking on the muggle telephone instead of the Floo? It seemed an odd mode of communication for the Ministry to use. Whatever they were speaking about, Remus sounded furious; Sirius had never heard him shout so loudly before.

'Well, Alphard isn't the boss of me and he certainly isn't here to stop me anymore. That problem has already been taken care of for you, hasn't it?'

Sirius only just held back his gasp, covering his mouth with his hand as he pressed his ear even closer to the door. 'It's nothing,' he whispered to himself. 'It's a misunderstanding.' He urged himself to not jump to conclusions like the last time, especially since he hadn't heard the other end of the conversation. He just needed to ignore it; ignore every little horrible thing that seemed to be tainting his image of the perfect Remus Lupin. If he ignored it, all the facts would change and Remus would be Remus again – the person Sirius had taken more than a fancy towards. If he walked away right now, he would not have to confront any of the fears he might have or face the repercussions of them becoming a reality.

'Just wait for me to call you. I'm going to be useless for three days of this week anyway and I have someone living with me at the moment, so I don't want you coming in, and getting him involved.'

He should walk away.

He could still go unscathed if he walked away right now.

'It's not any of your concern who he is, but he needs to stay away from this as much as possible, especially him. Especially him.'

Sirius's fists clenched as he tried to control his uneven breathing, which sounded loud and intrusive in his ears.

'Yes, all right. Goodbye.'

Sirius walked away, telling himself that it was still not too late to un-hear everything. He had heard nothing after all; nothing at all if he didn't think about it too closely or scrutinize every bit of information. However, even without putting much thought into it, his mind easily concluded that this was definitely not a call from the Ministry. Remus had definitely been liaising with someone else, someone who Alphard had been firmly against when he had been alive; enough to oppose to whatever the sandy blonde was conceding to at the moment and also enough to have disastrous consequences if the young Black were to get involved, probably because Sirius was directly associated with Alphard and would possibly not react well to whatever it was that was being done. The word, Wolfsbane came to mind again. Sirius was not an expert in Potions, certainly not at the level Remus was, but he was sure he had never heard of such a thing before. Louth had no wizarding library and Sirius could not apparate to the London library without having his absence noticed, nor could he apparate home empty handed without raising questions of his return. He could not ask Regulus to look without his mother over hearing and Sirius had no one else to contact. The best starting place for him would in fact be the Lupin library, right here where whatever this Wolfsbane was had likely originated.

Tomorrow, he promised himself. Tomorrow morning, he would sneak into the library when Remus was busy in the lab or sleeping in since he tended to work late into the night. If he got caught, he could always make excuses of boredom and wanting to do some light reading. Sirius was sure the key lay in finding out what Wolsbane was. Remus would not have hurt Uncle Alphard. He was innocent. He was definitely innocent.

'Sirius, how much longer do you plan to stay here, in Louth?'

Sirius was startled out of his thoughts by Remus's voice and he blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the boy before him. He had come to garden for some privacy, assuming that Remus was going to be working in the lab today, but judging by his state, it seemed that the other boy had been here for quite some time. The sandy blonde was wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt under his gardening apron today; as always, covered in dirt and mud. His usual sun hat had been abandoned, possibly because it kept slipping off his head from the sweat that dampened curls and brow. His skin was looking very clammy and pale, and his body language was tenser and more agitated that usual. If Sirius had not listened into the conversation earlier, he would have assume Remus had taken ill –even his pupils seemed more dilated than usual and the always persistent flush in his cheeks was definitely missing. Yet, he still graced Sirius with a cheerful smile.

Remus Lupin was definitely innocent.

'Tired of me already?' Sirius asked with a smile, rolling up the bottom of his trousers and joining the gardening kerfuffle. Remus rarely ever told him what experiment he was working on, but often let him pick out the necessary ingredients from the garden or even handle some of the mental ones (like the incident with the mandrake) in the lab. The Black heir wondered if he were handling Wolfsbane ingredients right now and if he should try to be more observant.

Remus chuckled. 'Of course not.' He carefully clipped away the dittany in front of him, taking care to only catch the leaves and leave the stem untouched. 'I ask because I will need you to stay at the inn for a couple of days starting tomorrow. I should have told you earlier but it honestly slipped my mind. I'll be conducting an experiment that might be a bit hazardous and I'm not quite comfortable with you staying here and endangering yourself.'

Sirius hummed, grabbing a pair of small scissors from Remus's tool kit and starting to help. 'Will you be conducting the experiment tonight?'

Remus breathed in sharply and nodded. 'The moon is a critical factor in the process; it can't be done any other way. I'll be sealing off the perimeters of the house, so no one can get in or out, including me.' His fingers were shaking.

Sirius found it odd that Remus would be willing to seal himself in. If the experiment was as hazardous as he claimed, then surely he would want a preplanned escape route should anything go wrong. However, Remus had only just forgiven him for his behaviour in the lab last week and Sirius was not willing to agitate the boy any further at this point. Not before he knew more about what was going on. So despite his misgivings, he nodded in agreement. 'I understand. I'll leave before moonrise. Will you be all right?'

Remus Lupin was definitely innocent.

Small pink lips tilted up in a smile. 'I've done this before; though this is my first time without Alphard,' he paused, switching over to the Aconite plant. 'I suppose it might be a bit more difficult without hi-.' He hissed in pain, suddenly dropping his scissors and using that hand to cradle the other that had been holding the plant.

'Are you all right?' Sirius asked alarmed. 'Let me see,' he forcefully pulled Remus's right hand to him, his eyes widening in shock at the extent of visible damage to the skin. Remus's fingers were blistering, the skin starting to crack and bleed profusely. A slight rash was starting to spread to his palm and wrist and Sirius stemmed that first with a quick healing spell. 'Fuck me,' he whispered, touching his wand to the wound and concentrating on the strongest charm he knew. 'What did you do?'

Remus's eyes watered from the pain, but he held still. His already damp skin was breaking out into a feverish sweat and blood bloomed in his cheeks and neck. 'It's nothing. I always forget I'm allergic to this God damn thing.'

Sirius had never seen an allergic reaction this severe to anything, much less a plant. 'I'll pick it for you later. Once I'm done healing, I'll ask Tiffy to get you some ice. It will calm down the swelling a little bit. You should rest for a bit; you don't look well.'

'Thank you,' Remus gritted his teeth as another wave of pain passed through him from a fourth healing spell. 'How's your brother?' he asked, clearly avoiding Sirius's advice by changing the subject. 'It's been a while since you spoke of him.

'He's well, I hope,' Sirius replied, trying not to think too much about Regulus and if Mother was keeping her end of the promise.

Remus tilted his head questioningly. 'You hope?'

The black haired boy sighed. 'Recently, he's starting to have a lot of his own opinions.'

Remus laughed then cringed when the last of his wound cleared off to reveal smooth skin. 'I feel a sense of Déjà vu here. Your uncle once told me the same thing about you.'

A single black eyebrow lifted. 'Oh?'

Remus nodded, his breathing clearly laboured (another sign of illness?). 'Yes, but he didn't seem as displeased about it as you.'

Sirius snorted. 'Well, he never saw me suffering the wrath of the Black dungeons, did he?' He muttered derisively before realising that he'd said it aloud. 'I'm sorry, please forget I said that.' Remus Lupin was a stranger and no matter how much he knew about the Black family through Alphard, Sirius was not comfortable with anyone knowing the gritty details. Even his best friend from school, James Potter, hadn't known for the same precise reason as Remus: Sirius hated pity.

And the look Remus was sending him at that moment was so full of it that it ate through his insides and made him feel insignificant and weak. 'Sirius,' Remus started hesitantly, 'are you-'

'Everyone has their secrets, right?' Sirius interrupted harshly, throwing back Remus's words against him. 'I'd rather not talk about it.' In his anger, he hadn't realised that he was still holding Remus's hand and squeezing it in a way that was undoubtedly painful. However, the other boy didn't seem to be complaining at all, patiently letting Sirius ride out his anger. Sirius looked down again, at the pale hand enclosed within his own; it was beautiful like everything that was Remus. Long fingered and delicate, but covered in old scars that had not healed properly. The scars were something Sirius had noticed many, many times, but did not ask because he had a feeling it had much to do with Remus's parents. Sirius's own scars were less visible – emotional instead of physical. He traced one of them with his thumb, gently, apologising for his roughness earlier.

When he looked up again and saw kind, understanding amber eyes staring back at him, Sirius knew he could not cap his feelings anymore. He leaned in and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to the other boy softly. His heart beat like mad in his chest and the affection he felt for Remus increased tenfold when he realised he could taste a hint of chocolate under all those layers of dirt and grass. He swallowed the hitch in Remus's breath, wanting to push the kiss further, but caught himself from going too far and reluctantly moved away.

'Sorry,' he whispered against the other's lips, not feeling apologetic at all. He stared into Remus's shocked eyes, mesmerised by the flecks of green and gold swirling within them. 'Sorry, I know I shouldn't have, but-' He swallowed, a hesitant hand rising to caress Remus's cheek. 'That was uncalled for, but I really, really wanted to kiss you.'

'I-' Remus struggled to get words out, his eyelashes fluttering as he blinked and tried to comprehend the situation.

He did not seem to be discouraging their proximity or Sirius's fingers gently twisting into his hair. His skin was hot to touch, abnormally hot. It was not nerves after all; Remus was definitely ill. 'Let's talk about this when I come back, okay?' he said softly, rubbing soothing circles into the back of the other boy's neck. When Remus, clearly relieved, nodded, Sirius pressed a kiss to his forehead and pulled him into a hug, comforted by the fact that he was at least not being pushed away or rejected. A tiny bubble of hope rose in his chest as thin arms wrapped around him and a cheek rested on his right shoulder.

Remus Lupin was without doubt innocent.

Sirius walked in to the Lupin home on a Wednesday afternoon, relieved to be in a familiar place once again, after two hellish nights in the inn. He wondered when he had become so accustomed to having the luxury of companionship, when half his life, he had spent at the Grimmaul Place. He had missed Remus terribly and had kept replaying the kiss between them again and again in his mind, crafting what he would say when they finally met. He had promised to talk about it when he returned, but still didn't know what he could say to convince Remus to be with him.

'Is Master Sirius liking some breakfast?'

'A cup of tea will suffice, Tiffy,' Sirius muttered, putting his bag down to be taken upstairs. 'Is Remus in the lab?' he asked, looking at the house elf running between the kettle and the counter, where a book too large for her was open. 'What in Merlin's name are you doing?'

'Tiffy is learning to bake birthday cakes, Master Sirius,' Tiffy replied, without stopping. 'It is Master Remus's birthday day after and Tiffy wants to bake a birthday cake with all the chocolate Master Remus is liking. Tiffy isn't ever baking birthday cakes in Grimmauld Place; Mistress forbids it.' Sirius knew that without Tiffy telling him; Sirius's first every birthday cake had been courtesy of James Potter, when they had raided the Hogwarts kitchens on his twelfth birthday. 'If Master Sirius likes, Tiffy can serve some cake Tiffy makes for practice with tea? She can sends it up to Master Remus's room and Master Sirius can be having it together. So that Master Remus is feeling better.'

'Remus is still ill?' Sirius asked, already helping himself to some of the biscuits Tiffy had laid out on the tray.

'Very ill.' Tiffy lamented, shaking her head sorrowfully. 'Master Remus is very ill. He cannot be getting out of bed; poor Master Remus.'

'Did one of the experiments go wrong?' Sirius asked worriedly, dusting biscuit crumbs from his hands. Remus had mentioned that it was a regular routine for him and wasn't likely to go wrong, but the illness had only been a slight fever when he had left. Surely, it could not have escalated so quickly. 'Is everything all right? You remained, didn't you?'

Tiffy shook her head. 'Tiffy did not remain, Master Sirius. Tiffy is under strict instruction to only return yesterday morning.'

Sirius frowned in confusion. Why would Remus allow Tiffy to return a day earlier than Sirius? It made no sense whatsoever; surely a house elf would be in more danger of a wayward experiment than a wizard due to its size. A wizard was also likely to be of more help during a crisis. Unless of course, Remus was purposefully hiding something from Sirius; something that he was working on that Sirius couldn't know or get involved in.

Shoving that thought to the very recesses of his mind, Sirius bounded the stairs towards Remus's bedroom, taking two at a time. He did not bother knocking, simply bursting into the room and coming face to face with the sight of Remus Lupin, looking as if he'd been run over by the Knight Bus. Both his eyes were heavily bagged with purple, stark against his deathly pale skin and his sunken cheekbones. The pungent scent of potions was heavy in the air, clearly working on healing the mess that was currently Remus. Sirius never should have left. He should have resisted the idea of Remus working when he was clearly ill; would have if he'd known it was this serious.

'Oh good, you're here. I need a piss very badly and I find bed pans terribly humiliating,' Remus greeted in a chipper voice, as if everything was normal and he didn't look death warmed over. 'Give me a hand, won't you? These legs won't cooperate with me.' He beckoned Sirius over, latching on to his shoulders for support when Sirius finally gained enough sense to come closer. 'How was your stay at the inn? I hope you didn't miss me too much.'

'Why didn't you tell me you were this sick? You look terrible,' Sirius finally voiced, still not over his shock, as he supported almost all of Remus's weight and walked slowly to the bathroom. The other boy felt much lighter than he looked and Sirius could tell from his movements alone that it was the lack of energy that was hindering Remus from moving freely. Worry niggled in his gut the more Remus's feet dragged, and he wrapped both arms even tighter around the boy protectively.

'You always know how to pay a compliment, Monsieur Black,' Remus fluttered his lashes, bursting out laughing when Sirius's face was anything but amused. 'Don't worry; this has happened before. I'm all right, I promise.' He patted Sirius on the back reassuringly and then shifted his weight against the wall near the toilet.

'You don't look all right to me,' Sirius muttered helping the boy balance as he struggled with the drawstrings of his bottoms. 'You should go to a hospital. I could apparate you to Mungo's in London.' He tried to keep his eyes firmly on Remus's face, as the bottoms dropped to the floor. If there was any time for Sirius to exercise propriety and decency, it was now, when faced with the potential to see a sick man's cock. 'If this is happening often, then you need proper medical attention. Tiffy isn't trained beyond simple healing spells and neither am I.'

'I am,' Remus countered, flushing the toilet. 'I told you, this has happened before and I'm able to take care of myself surprisingly well. It helps that I heal quickly. A little help?' He looked pointedly at his trousers that were pooled around his ankles and Sirius had no choice but to look as he helped pick them up. He pretended that the brush of his fingers against the back of Remus's thighs was accidental, feeling ashamed of taking advantage of a sick man. 'I'll be as right as rain tomorrow morning, you'll see.'

He smiled so sweetly that Sirius could not help but feel an uncontrollable wave of affection for him. He pushed away limp sandy blond curls away from his pale face, feeling Remus's feverish breath against his face and his dilated eyes following the movements of his fingers. 'You're so beautiful,' Sirius whispered, not bothering to filter his words and pressing his forehead against the sandy blonde's. 'You're really, really beautiful and I don't know why, but I care about you. I really, really care about you. Fancy you to bits actually.' He felt the other boy laugh weakly and taking it as encouragement, he leaned in for another kiss.

This time, Remus kissed back, tentatively, their lips meeting in the softest of touches. Long fingers buried into black hair, as Sirius's own hands settled on Remus's waist, both holding the boy upright and pulling him closer. He had never been kissed this way before; gentle and exploring, tongue searching and lips caressing – every movement filled with such affection and care that it made each brush of lips even more intimate and sent a wave of arousal coursing through Sirius's body.

'I can't do this,' Remus breathed, pulling away. His forehead was still resting against Sirius and despite his words, their bodies were so close that there was barely an inch of space between them. 'I shouldn't do this.' His hands rubbed against Sirius's sides as he warred with conflicting emotions that could be seen clearly on his face.

'Why not?' Sirius asked, his stomach sinking. 'Do you have a boyfriend?'

Remus shook his head.

'Are you worried that you might turn straight?'

Remus laughed weakly. 'I haven't worried about that since I was thirteen.'

'Are you dying? You can't get into a relationship because you're dying and might hurt the other person.' He speculated, only half joking. Remus had already mentioned that this sickness was chronic and given his state at the moment, the reality was that Sirius's speculation was extremely possible.

'I'm very much alive, I'm afraid.'

'Are you worried about getting your heart broken?' Sirius asked, looking deeply into amber eyes.

'Sirius,' Remus sighed exasperatedly, slowly turning so that they were now standing with their sides pressed together. It was a cue for Sirius to help move him out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. 'It isn't me, it's you.'

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'You know that's not how the saying goes, right?'

Remus rubbed his face tiredly and rested his head on Sirius's shoulder. His breathing was unusually loud and laboured, his energy at its limit just from walking the few steps it took to the bedroom. Sirius wondered if he could somehow get a doctor into the house when Remus was asleep to check up on him; this sickness was definitely not an ordinary one.

'Sirius, you don't know who you are yet,' Remus started softly. 'You're trying to move away from home, but at the same time you're unable to let go. You're trying to be different, but you're trying to be like them as well. You are here in Louth today because you are trying to get away and find yourself and that's brilliant. It really is, which is why I'm trying so hard to help you. But what happens when you realise you need to go back? What happens to me? What happens to you? Who do you become then?' He wrapped an arm around Sirius's waist and squeezed in a side hug. 'You are constantly at a juxtaposition with yourself, Sirius, and until you know which side you want to be on, you cannot be in a proper relationship with anyone, much less with someone like me.'

'What do you mean someone like you?' Sirius asked, pushing the bedroom door open with his foot.

'I'm not who I seem, Sirius.'

Regulus's words echoed in his head: not everything is as it seems. 'What does that even mean?' Sirius asked shakily, not wanting to know and wanting to know at the same time. All those questions and doubts he had had about Remus these past few days came back to him, and he tried his hardest to quell his curiosity. He didn't want to taint the image of Remus he had in his mind; he couldn't live with a truth that was anything less than favourable.

'You don't want me,' Remus whispered in a shaky voice, unable to look at Sirius anymore. 'No one ever did.' There seemed to be a deeper meaning behind his words but the sandy blonde never gave him a chance to demand an explanation. 'Besides, I don't know if I'm ready or if I can…' he swallowed, looking up at Sirius nervously, almost as if afraid to speak anymore, as he was helped back into bed. His movements were slow and sluggish, as he struggled to lift his feet off the ground and under the sheets. 'I don't know if I have the emotional strength to be with anyone right now.' He lifted his arms slightly, allowing Sirius to hook his hands under his armpits and then pull him upwards to align with his pillow. 'I-' he suddenly howled in pain, curling up on his side and away from Sirius's hands.

'What's wrong?' Sirius cried, panicked, his feet shuffling as he debated whether to move closer or give Remus a wide berth. The boy was clutching the right side of his ribs, his face scrunched together in what looked like excruciating pain. His entire body was trembling and pools of sweat started to collect on his forehead and the hollows of his collarbone. 'Let me have a look,' he approached cautiously, brushing back Remus's soaked hair behind his ears and feeling alarmed at how his fingers felt like they were being scorched against the boy's skin. 'It's okay. Let me have a look.' He waited for Remus to nod, the boy letting out short sharp bursts of breath as he tried to control the pain. 'Shh,' he lifted the sandy blonde's shirt gently and gasped at the sight before him.

There was a large gash starting from just underneath Remus's armpit across the expanse of his ribs. It had been hastily healed, puckered, and red and angry, but the movement had jolted the wound open enough to start the bleeding again. Even beyond the obvious, there were small bruises and cuts everywhere the eyes landed. Not a single patch of skin had been spared and Sirius had dismissed it earlier in the bathroom as old scars, but now, upon a closer look, they had clearly been recently healed.

'What the fuck is this?' Sirius asked, both angry and horrified. He pulled out his wand, quickly getting on to work on healing even as he demanded answers. 'Tell me what happened! Are you working on something life threatening? Did something go wrong or has someone done this to you?' He remembered the conversation he's walked in on a couple of days ago and the way Remus was being pressured into hurrying up. 'Remus, I am asking you to tell me how you got hurt so seriously!'

'You know Sirius,' Remus growled, his tone clipped from agitation and pain, 'you are much more tolerable when you ask fewer questions.'

Sirius grit his teeth and moved back, Remus's words quickly turned his anger and indignance to betrayal, hurting far more than they should. 'My mother says the same thing,' he informed him curtly, his grey eyes swirling. He would have stormed out if he hadn't been hyper aware of Remus's wounds and the fact that there was still more healing to be done. So he sat back down and focused what magic he could muster, despite his anger interrupting his concentration, on fixing what he could. He would have to ask Tiffy later to see if she knew any more first aid; something of this scale was definitely beyond him.

Remus sighed loudly, one shaky hand reaching to rest on Sirius's knee. He was clearly still in pain and Sirius could not help but be in awe of how well he bore it. 'I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to say. Questions are a good thing, Sirius. Questioning things will help you differentiate between right and wrong, and will also help you understand on which side of the line you stand on. You have a right to them.'

'But I don't have a right to answers?' Sirius asked bitterly, pushing away Remus's hands when he felt his feelings for the other boy softening his resolve.

Remus breathed deeply, pushing himself to lie straight on his back again. 'I'm sorry.'

Sirius put his wand away as the last of his spells were complete and the gash, while far from gone, had faded into a red scar. 'Why? Don't you trust me?'

'It isn't that I don't trust you, Sirius.' He placed a hand upon Sirius's, squeezing softly. 'It's just that I don't trust everybody else.'

What did that mean, Sirius wanted to ask. 'You told me that, earlier, you had Alphard to help you out. Did this happen because he wasn't there?'

Remus looked up at the ceiling, almost as if he was contemplating how much he could say. 'No. This would have happened regardless. The fault is entirely mine.'

If anything, Remus's answer raised only more questions, and he wondered how far guilt could push Remus into answering more. 'This thing you were working on – this potion, does it have anything to do with Alphard's death?' He waited with baited breath for Remus's answer, following the way the amber eyes shifted and refused to meet grey. He felt his heart stop when Remus nodded again after a very long pause. One more, Sirius realised. He needed to ask one more question. 'Did Alphard really die of heart problems like they told everyone?'

Remus turned away, pulling the covers over himself. 'Please leave, Sirius. I'm tired.'

This alone was enough answer. A part of him had known from the very beginning that Alphard's death was far from natural but he had told himself again and again that he was overthinking. Because with Remus's denial came the proof that his Mother had been right from the very beginning. 'Do you know how he really died?'

'I just want to sleep, Sirius, please,' Remus pleaded but Sirius was not so easily satisfied, not when Pandora's box of secrets had finally opened to him. He was so sick and tired of secrets. Everyone seemed to be keeping something from him – his mother, Regulus, Remus; he was through struggling to see through a blindfold. He needed to know. He needed to know the truth about Remus so that he could prove to everyone that the boy he cared for so much was innocent. So that Mother could be proven wrong.

'Was it a wayward experiment or was it a person that killed him?' Sirius pressed.

'Please, Sirius, please, just stop,' Remus sounded like he was going to cry now; his voice cracking and wobbling as he spoke.

'Just like this time, was it your fault?'

Remus turned, his eyes ablaze as he growled through gritted teeth, 'Stop it.'

Sirius breathed deeply, ignoring the discomfort in his chest as he asked his final question. 'Are you responsible for the death of uncle Alphard?' No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, Sirius felt a fist hit his jaw, too weak to do any damage.

'I SAID, LEAVE!'

Sirius is a twat. Please review. ^_^