Title: Who is Remus Lupin?

Warnings: Magical AU.

Rating: M

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

A/N: This is a shorter chapter than usual but that's because I wanted to torture you guys. :D

'Nothing,' Sirius growled, slamming the book shut and sending it sliding across the massive oak table in the Lupin house library. Frustration clawed in his gut as he realised that he was now in his sixth hour of searching for clues about Wolfsbane with zero results. After he had left Remus's room grudgingly, he had been unable to visit the sandy blonde again, albeit not from the lack of trying. The blasted house elf had barricaded the door with magic, insisting that '"Master Remus" needed to rest in order to recover from his injuries. Sirius had been appalled at first and even commanded it to let him through, but the creature had insisted that it served the master of the house first and thus put Remus's priorities over Sirius's. Sirius had never been spoken to this way by a mere house elf and it irritated him to no end, but his irritation resulted in nothing but isolation from Remus for the next forty eight hours. And this seclusion and silence gave the Black heir time for thought.

And the more he thought, the less he liked it. Because it meant that Remus Lupin was not who he seemed to be; he was not innocent and there was every possibility that Mother had been right about him from the very beginning. Everything he knew about Remus Lupin came back to him and created a picture that was so unfavourable that Sirius could no longer ignore it as he had done for the past month and a half.

1. Remus Lupin had inherited everything Alphard had ever owned, despite not having any relation to him or known him for that long.

2. Remus took no time at all to be comfortable with Alphard's things: his room, his clothes, and his research.

3. Remus had lived and worked with Alphard, despite having no extraordinary talent in research or Potions, and was also the only person who could read and use all of Alphard's intellectual material.

4. Remus was still continuing Alphard's work, called Wolfsbane, but for a party that Alphard had firmly been against.

5. Sirius could not find anything on Wolfsbane in any material he had access to which arose the possibility that it was either new or forbidden.

6. Possibly the latter because Remus had admitted to it being life threatening and also indirectly admitted to it being a cause for Alphard's death.

7. The people of this town, while not unfriendly, all approached Remus with caution. This included Remus's parents. Because of this, Remus had no friends and no one in this town who was willing to speak of him when Sirius asked.

The only thing Sirius could find in defence of Remus was the gut feeling he had that despite all the evidence against him, he was a good person. He had, after all, offered Sirius a place to stay. He had also come across as kind and understanding, a man that could hurt no one and care for everyone. Remus had to be proven innocent. It was the only way Sirius could protect him from the Black family. And he was definitely innocent, Sirius's heart told him so. Yet, no one else's behaviour validated this belief and Sirius himself knew that his credibility was tainted by his more than platonic feelings for the other boy. Some days, he would go as far as to say he was in love with Remus. Today, too, was such a day.

Perhaps that's why Sirius found himself leaving the Lupin home and walking back to the church, behind which Alphard's grave lay. He wasn't sure why he was visiting Alphard; he certainly hadn't attempted it in all his time here in Louth. Perhaps he was hoping that sitting there would take him away from everything and clear his mind enough for the answers to come on their own. Or maybe he was hoping that he would be able to talk to Alphard about his problems like he used to when he was younger, before Mother had blasted her own brother off the family tapestry. There was a time when Sirius had felt his uncle had had all the answers to the world's problems, that no one could be wiser than his beloved Uncle Alphard. But Alphard had made mistakes in life , had been a flawed human being, and now, had died while leaving all this chaos for Sirius to manage in his lonesome. And while Sirius still loved him as an uncle and felt a slight pang of loss at the thought of him, the awe he had held for him had long ago diminished. It was near negligible now as he slowly admitted to himself that there was a possibility that Alphard's faults had possibly gotten him killed.

So it came as a shock when Sirius realised that he was not the only one who had turned to Alphard for answers.

It was déjà vu all over again.

Just like the first time he'd laid eyes on Remus, Sirius found him crying silently on his own. He was kneeling in front of Alphard's grave, his head resting on his clasped hands as if in prayer. Unwilling to interrupt in clearly a private moment, Sirius made sure to keep out of sight, concealed behind almost indiscernible rows of tombstones but still within earshot should Remus seem too distressed. Sirius needn't have worried; the other boy was a lot calmer than he had been during Alphard's funeral and was wiping his eyes dry once he'd finished his silent prayer.

'It's my birthday today,' Remus spoke and for moments, Sirius thought he was speaking to him. But Remus's eyes were still staring straight ahead and he made no sign to have noticed Sirius's presence. 'I'm eighteen now. I never thought I'd see the day.' He laughed bitterly. 'And I still love you.'

And then he burst out laughing as Sirius stood there in utter shock.

No, he told himself, horrified, no, no, no, impossible!

'I kept my promises, but you, Alphard,' Remus accused in a hard voice, 'you left me with nothing! Fucking nothing!'

The first feeling Sirius had after he'd recovered from the shock was betrayal. He didn't know why he felt betrayed or whom he felt more betrayed by: Alphard or Remus. But it was a cloying feeling that filled his lungs and made it difficult to even breathe. Sirius had loved Remus. Loved him.

'It didn't have to end this way,' Remus continued furiously. 'You wouldn't have died if you had just listened to what I said for once in your fucking life. If you would have just done what you were told then I wouldn't have-' His lower lip trembled and he hit Alphard's tombstone with his fist. 'I was so drunk that night; so fucking drunk and I think I let something slip because it feels like the whole town knows. They don't say anything but I can see that they're disgusted by me, by what I've done to you.'

Fuck. The betrayal was morphing and changing into something ugly within Sirius; something akin to revulsion. He had believed in Remus, loved him, and trusted him to a point where he was willing to risk everything, and it was all for nothing. Remus had turned out exactly how Mother had predicted. His fists clenched tightly on either side of him, as impulse took control and threatened to spill. He wanted to punch the other boy, beat him till his fists were bleeding; but that would achieve nothing. It would serve no justice, no purpose, and no revenge.

'Because of you, Alphard,' Remus hit the tombstone again, harder and angrier than last time. 'I have become even more of a monster than I already am.'

Rage charred his insides and unwilling to listen any more, he apparated into the Black House and straight into Walburga Black's chambers. 'You were right,' he said, watching as she turned in her seat calmly to face him. He looked straight into his mother's cold grey eyes, as he condemned the person he'd considered a friend to a life in hell, 'Remus Lupin was Alphard's whore.'

Sirius punched the mirror, screaming in anger. The rage within him was undefeatable and no matter how many times he washed his face with cold water or hit the walls, the feeling remained, growing inside him like a cancerous hate. He hated Remus Lupin; hated him for what he'd done to Sirius and the way he was making him feel. Hated that he could induce such strong emotion from him, when he himself had probably never cared for Sirius a single iota. He felt like an utter fool.

'You know, there was a time when I used to admire you,' Regulus accused the minute Sirius walked out of the bathroom, his hair soaking wet from sweat and his face from tears of frustration. 'You were never afraid to be different or stand up for what is right. You never used to let Mother bully you into doing anything you didn't want.'

'I don't have time for this, Regulus,' Sirius muttered, wiping his face dry with the sleeves of his robes. The muggle clothes he had been wearing had been discarded on the bathroom floor and trampled on in his fit of fury. 'Just leave me alone.'

Regulus was unrelenting and followed him to his bedroom so closely that the toes of his shoes brushed Sirius's heels irritatingly. 'What made you into Mother's personal lapdog, Sirius? When did you change?'

Sirius growled, turning and grabbing his brother by the collar. 'When you fucking did!' He pushed Regulus against the wall, his brother's body so slight that his toes no longer touched the floor. 'When I watched you that night in the dungeons, crying your eyes out, because Mother had left you in the dark with a boggart.'

'That was two years ago!' Regulus argued, struggling against Sirius's hold in vain.

'That was enough for me!' Sirius roared, letting Regulus fall to the ground. 'I have told you this before, Regulus, it will be over my dead body that any harm should come to you. I will do anything to protect you.' He grit his teeth, his fists clenching on either side of him. 'Anything.'

'Even leave an innocent man to die?' Regulus challenged, picking himself up off the floor and dusting himself off.

Innocent. Sirius laughed cruelly as he realised how little it applied to Remus. 'Don't be melodramatic. A life without an estate will not kill him, nor will a year in prison.' His heart clenched tightly, reminding him of the hurt and betrayal within him that was still fresh. Yet, even thinking of Remus going through any hardship made Sirius's throat close up and knees tremble. A voice inside him that still had lingering feelings for the other boy screamed no, no, no, no, and he tried his best to block it out until he realised it was Regulus who was speaking.

'Do you really believe he's guilty?' his brother asked, grey eyes that were similar to his own looking back at him pityingly. 'Sirius, do you really believe that?' When Sirius looked away, Regulus grabbed him by the wrist, forcing him to face him. 'You saw him at the funeral! You saw how distraught he was!'

It was guilt, Sirius wanted to dispute but then he saw the look on his brother's face and he knew: he had made a big mistake 'You know something, don't you?' he asked, frowning. 'What is it?'

Regulus bit his lip, looking cautiously to his left and right as if afraid someone might suddenly appear in Sirius's bedroom. He pulled out his wand and cast a quick Impenetrable charm over them and a locking charm on the door, before turning back to his older brother. 'I don't know the details, but Mother is involved somehow.'

The furrows between Sirius's brows deepened. 'That's ridiculous,' he voiced, though not without doubt. 'If Mother wanted to harm Alphard, she would have done so years ago. His inheritance is large but not enough to be murdered over. She had no reason to…' he trailed off, his eyes widening with sudden realisation as his mind replayed all the conversations he had had with Mother these past couple of months. She had taken no action until today when Sirius had told her about a dispute over Wolsbane being a possible reason for Alphard's death. '…his research.' He whispered, horrified. 'She wanted his research.'

Regulus nodded, looking back towards the door and lowering his voice. 'It's what I kept trying to tell you the day we spoke by Floo; to not listen to Mother at face value. I wanted to tell you more but Mother wouldn't allow me any more contact. She even put a tail on me at school. I was hoping you would figure things out by yourself.' He gripped Sirius's shoulders tightly, shaking him out of his shocked stupor. 'There's this bloke, Riddle. Mother has been completely charmed by him; he speaks of pureblood supremacy and starting this new regimen to ensure that only the best and most ancient wizarding heritage survive. He's planning to overthrow the government and start anew, and he's bloody serious. You didn't see his eyes, Sirius; they were slits of red, like a snake.' Regulus's grey eyes were wide and a sheen of sweat started to appear on his forehead, as if simply thinking of this man brought fear in him. 'This man is not to be taken lightly, Sirius. He is frightful and his plans are more so.'

Amidst all this information, Sirius could only think of one thing: Remus.

What had he done?

'Do you know what he wants or what this research entails?' Sirius asked urgently, his adrenaline picking up and his heart beating at a furious rate as thoughts of Remus crossed his head. She wouldn't kill him, he knew; not unless the wizard gave up his research which wasn't easily likely. But that did not mean that Sirius could bear the thought of him hurt, nor that he had wronged the boy terribly. This was his fault; his stupidity.

'No,' Regulus admitted, contritely, 'but I promise you this, he will get it at any cost.'

Sirius is still a twat. Please review. ^_^