Chapter three and only one review!? Is it really that bad? I hope not.... Anyways, this chapter isn't completely canon, but it's the best I could do.

Horror and Miracle

"Remus?" Sirius called tentatively as he climbed through the grate into the apartment he had not visited in many days. He took a few moments to look around. It did not look as though Remus had spent any time in the living room or kitchen since his departure. The couch looked just as disheveled as Sirius had left it, and the kitchen looked completely undisturbed.

"Rem?" he called again, walking softly towards the hallway in which their room and bathroom were. He quietly turned the handle on their bedroom door, and peered inside. The lycanthrope was sleeping not-so-peacefully in their once-shared bed. His face was twisted in a grimace and his limbs were twisted and trapped in the blankets. He walked swiftly to the bed, his brow creased with emotion at the state of the man he had left so broken. Sirius reached out a hand and gently touched the werewolf's arm, whispering his name once more. The man stirred, his face scrunching up in agony.

Remus opened his eyes slowly, blinking several times in the light, trying to shake Sirius' voice from his head. He must have been dreaming about him again. And yet, he could still hear the voice, loud and clear as though his lover were sitting right beside him. As the grogginess of sleep erased itself from Remus' mind, his eyes shot open wide, and he bolted upright in the sheets. He stared for what seemed like ages into the face he had wanted so badly to see. Now, in his current state of mind, he could not keep the feral anger of the wolf from his features. He watched as Sirius physically shrunk back.

"What do you want, Sirius?" he asked, his voice laced with all the anger and frustration of a lone transformation and heart-wrenching desertion.

Sirius placed a hand gently on his thigh, emotion thick in his voice as he uttered, "Forgiveness. I just want forgiveness."

Remus flinched away from him. "Why should I forgive you? What bloody reason do I have to forgive you?" His face was softening, though the emotion his anger was replaced with was just as strong. His face sagged with the weight of their situation, his eyes glossing over with weeks' worth of withheld tears. "Days ago, you couldn't stand the touch of me," he said quietly, plucking at the disheveled bed sheets beneath him.

Sirius's features were strained with sorrow and regret. "Please, Remus," he begged, grasping the other man's fingers desperately. "We've made it through worse. I need you right now. I need you to be on my side!"

Remus laughed a horrifyingly malicious cackle. "You need me to be on your side right now?" His voice was rising alarmingly in his anger and disbelief. "Where were YOU when I needed you!? Where were YOU when I nearly chewed my arm off alone in the Shrieking Shack?!" For emphasis, he lifted his sleeve to show his mangled forearm. Sirius visibly winced as he glanced at it. "What the hell could you possibly need me for?" He had to stop; he felt as though he may burst if he continued. His chest heaved as he stared into the eyes of the one person who meant everything to him. He knew tears were falling through his lashed, but he ignored them as he stood up and walked away from the bed and its newest occupant. His skin was flushed with hot anger once more.

Sirius could do nothing but stare at him and apologize over and over and over. He had made so many mistakes in their past, though this one may very well top them all. "Please, Remus," he begged, knowing and not caring how pathetic he sounded. "Please, understand what I was going through." His voice dropped off, as the two men both shared thoughts of a slaughtered James, Lily and Harry. At this, Remus allowed his anger to fade. He took a heaving breath before coming to sit beside his lover.

"I know, Sirius," he spoke softly, trying so very hard to keep his voice even. "I know what you were going through. These are hard times. The hardest times." The truth of the statement was undeniable. He laid a gentle hand on Sirius' thigh, still not completely comfortable with the way Sirius had avoided his touch all those days ago. When the man did not remove the werewolf's fingers, Remus felt himself physically relax. His mind, however, was still going miles a minute.

After several minutes of well-deserved silence, Remus spoke up, his tone and demeanor light. "I got a letter from Lily," he began quietly. "She told me she and James had chosen you as their Secret-Keeper. I'm not sure if a congratulation is in order for that." His brow creased as his thoughts moved to a Sirius stolen away by Voldemort, being continuously tortured for the whereabouts of the Potters. Something both men knew the Dark Lord would never get out of him.

Much to Remus' surprise, Sirius' face lit up. "They did," he began. He looked as though there were something else he was bursting to say, but he kept his grinning mouth shut. He had decided to tell Remus about his brilliance later when they arrived at the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow. He didn't want to get into it at that moment. Though, the thought made Sirius stand up suddenly. "Come on, Rem," he said, holding out his hand, his grin never faltering. "Let's go to James' to celebrate their safety!"

Remus nodded, letting a small smile slip onto his own lips for the first time in ages. He led the way out of their bedroom and headed for the fire. Before he reached it, Sirius grabbed his arm and spun him around to face him. Remus only had seconds to peer into Sirius' eyes curiously before the man threw his lips onto the werewolf's own, pressing hard and eagerly. It was clear what Sirius wanted right then, but Remus playfully pushed his lips away, where they dropped to press wet kisses over his neck and shoulders.

"I thought we were going to James'!" Remus exclaimed, laughing as Sirius knocked him onto the couch in the most dog-like manner, before planting his knees on either side of his hips.

"We are," Sirius replied, continuing his string of kisses. "Just give me ten minutes."

Again, Remus laughed openly as Sirius pulled his shirt over his head, trailing kisses down the lycanthrope's chest. "Oh, you only need five." For this, he received a sharp bite on the stomach as Sirius made to remove his pants.

***

Half an hour later, both men were pulling on their last pieces of discarded clothing, laughing like old times. Laughing like they had never left school, like life had never hit them in the face in full force. They laughed like they were not in the middle of a bloody war.

Again, Remus headed for the fire, and again, Sirius stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Oh, come on, Sirius!" Remus shouted playfully, but forcefully. "You've had your fun. I'd like to see James, Lily and Harry now."

Sirius smiled, pulling the werewolf away from the fire. "We are going to see them," he began, rolling his eyes. "I'd just like to take my bike. I haven't ridden it in weeks."

It was then Remus' turn to roll his eyes. Sirius was, of course, referring to his muggle motorcycle he had purchased as a graduation present for himself, and then spent the better part of a month charming it to fly. Remus knew Sirius only loved the bike second-best to him. "All right," Remus resigned, heading towards the door. Sirius sauntered victoriously behind the lycanthrope, closing the door with a snap behind him.

Ten minutes later, they were in the air, soaring over pinpricks that were cars and dark blobs that were houses. Remus clung tightly to Sirius' waist, never feeling totally safe up here. He had his wand out, just in case something devastating was to happen. Fortunately, it only took half an hour to reach Godric's Hollow in the air. It wasn't long before the small village was in sight. Remus, having clenched his eyes tightly throughout most of the ride, jumped violently at the sound of Sirius' harsh voice.

"FUCK!" he had screamed, the motorcycle tilted at a fierce downward angle. Remus looked over Sirius' shoulder, his eyes searching and quickly finding the source of Sirius' rage. He own stomach twisted into a horrible knot. There it was, gleaming maliciously in the sky. Though he had seen it several times on the pages of the Daily Prophet, there was no comparison to the real thing. The Dark Mark glittered in the sky over the place where the Potters' home should have stood. All Remus could see was broken and burned timber encased in pluming clouds of dark smoke. The motorcycle made contact with the earth violently, bouncing several times before Sirius brought it to a skidding halt. Both men removed themselves from it swiftly, allowing it to crash onto its side without a care. They were running blindly, side-by-side towards the smoke.

It was surreal. Neither man could believe or understand what had happened. The devastation made Sirius' knees weak. Though he felt like his legs might buckle, he ran full-force until he reached the edges of the rubble. He stopped only briefly before charging head-first into the damage, Remus screaming from behind him that the house may fall in on them. Sirius did not listen or care, and only vaguely noticed the bright lights of spells being shot past him as Remus tried to make the path of debris before them stable enough to walk on. Sirius reached the stairs just as a spell hit them. He took them two at a time, heading straight for Harry's room. When he reached it, he could not stop from retching violently.

"Remus!" he screamed, knowing his lover had fallen behind. "Harry's room, Rem!" The werewolf reached the entrance cautiously, his skin paling to paper-white as he stared down at the lifeless body of Lily Potter.

"No!" he whispered fiercely. "NO!" He dropped to his knees beside the woman, his hands scrunched painfully in his hair. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real.

Sirius sat on the floor, tears streaming from his stormy eyes. After seeing the body of Lily Potter, Sirius had no urge whatsoever to search for James. He did not think he could bear the sight of the lifeless body of his oldest, closest friend. It was all too much for him to handle all at once. He knew, without a doubt, that James was indeed deceased, but seeing him was an entirely different experience Sirius couldn't bear. He knew he should be the one to find James' body. He owed him that at least. But he could not bring himself to get up and look for him.

Instead, he looked at Remus in desperation. "Do you think there's any chance that Harry…?" His voice trailed off as Remus shook his head, logical thought always quick to take the place of emotional irrationalism. He knew just as well as Sirius that there was absolutely no way James or Harry had made it out alive. If Lily was dead, as she so clearly and brutally was, then James had died defending her, and Harry had died at the loss of his mother's defense.

At that precise moment, something shifted on the other side of what used to be Harry's bedroom. Both men ignored it, figuring some part of the house was falling in. Though this should have concerned them both greatly, neither man had the mental strength to care. They avoided the body between them as devastation claimed their every thought and movement.

"Siri!"

The eyes widened on both men at the small sound. For a second, Sirius thought he had imagined the excited voice of his Godson. But when he saw the look on his lover's face, he knew Remus had heard it too. He shot up from the floor, his eyes falling upon the shape of a small, ash-faced child standing in the remnants of a crib, smiling with blissful obliviousness.

"Harry!" Sirius ran towards the ruined crib, lifting the baby out of the mess and holding him close to his chest. "Remus! He's alive! Harry is alive!" It was a miracle and it was stunning and it couldn't be real, but here he was alive and breathing and warm in Sirius' arms.

"Come on!" Remus yelled, heading for the blasted doorway, "We have to get him out of here before the whole house comes down!"

Sirius nodded once, before following the werewolf down and out of the broken house, Harry clutched safely to his chest. When they reached outside, Sirius could only splutter his disbelief at the child's survival. Harry, oblivious to his great loss, could only laugh and play with his Godfather's hair, happy to be with a familiar face.

"Look at him, Rem," Sirius said, quietly as he turned the child around. "Look at his forehead."

Remus took a step closer, surprised he had not noticed it before. The small child had a very distinct cut upon his forehead. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt. That alone was enough to tell Remus the child had had a terrible curse inflicted on him, and somehow, miraculously, he had not been harmed. At the realization of the true nature of Harry's situation, Remus whispered urgently, "We have to get Dumbledore."

Sirius looked back towards him, nodding, though he didn't really seem to understand Remus' urgency. "I'm not leaving Harry," Sirius said, looking at the boy with determination. "Apparate to Hogwarts and bring him here." Remus tried to protest, but Sirius refused to hear any of it. He gave the werewolf a quick kiss and a gentle shove. Remus, understanding this to be his goodbye, twisted and disappeared through the tight hole that was space and time.

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