I went through a brief(?) writer's block there :D

"Come on, Peat," Remus said through gritted teeth, half dragging and half carrying the blond on his shoulders, "Just a little further…"

Peat groaned, wincing when a branch caught on his broken ribs.

Remus was also in pain. A curse had hit him square on the chest during the fight. The pain it brought was minor at first, but it grew more and more agonizing with every passing second.

"Remus…" The blonde croaked in slurred words, "I can't…I can't make it…"

Remus ignored him.

"Just a few steps more…look there, you see the white building? Someone I know lives there. All we have to do is go to his front door and knock…please, Peat, I promised you-"

"How d'you know?"

"What?"

"How d'you know he'll let us in? People aren't fond of werewolves like us…"

In fact Remus didn't know. He didn't know that Sirius would let him in, or would choose to ignore him again.

"He'll have to."

Remus felt a jolt of pain going through his chest. He let out a cry and stumbled, staggering to the ground. Peat fell with him.

Clutching his robes, trying to ignore the thudding pain that seemed to tear away his flesh, Remus sat up again. Peat did not.

He tried to get him up, but Peat continued to hang limp.

"Please, Remus…please stop…I can't…walk…"

"You think you can make it with just a little more rest?"

"No…I don't think I can…"

"What do you mean, you can't? Come on, we're this close-"

"Remus…I was already dying, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"The day you escaped…they…they were certain that I helped you with it. They cut my thumb off, didn't care to heal it…It got infected…"

Remus felt his heart sink. Something filled up inside him.

"...Remus…"

Peat's blue eyes slowly glazed, and Remus watched as the life inside him drained out.

He was crying in the cell.

He wanted to die.

He wanted to die, never to wake up.

"Oi. You okay?" He felt a reassuring hand pat him on the back.

He looked up.

"I want to be released…Please…"

"Look…I know how it feels. I went through the same thing when I first came here. A few weeks ago, I reckon."

"I…I already had a person I-"

"Me too. And believe me, you don't want to be released."

"Why not? Why not be released if you get used and violated?"

"Because that's not what our families would want, what our friends want. You and I've got to live through this and prove to the world that those crazy fuckers couldn't daunt us."

Remus stared at his body. The lively friend he once had.

An arch of pain went over his chest again, and he clutched his robes. Tears poured down from his eyes, whether from grief or pain or from sorrow he didn't know. His vision blackened. His breathing became labored. The pain in his chest was becoming so intense that he had trouble clinging to consciousness.

A thick fog came over him, and he was hardly aware of the sounds of footsteps hurrying toward him.

"Remus? Remus what are y-Who is that? What happened?"

The fog uncleared and Remus found himself staring at the handsome, disoriented white face and those steely gray eyes. Hot, pure anger shot inside him.

"Why did you have to be late?" He screamed, half sobbing. "Why are you always so LATE?"

Pain wrecked him again. He felt something vile come up his throat and threw up. His vision became blurred.

#####

Remus woke up. He was shirtless. A bandage was wrapped around his chest. It was bloody. The rest of his body was covered with a thin blanket.

"Moony? You awake?" Sirius said worriedly.

Remus ignored him and stared up at the ceiling, his eyes glazed with sorrow.

Sirius sighed and pulled his stool closer to the bed.

"Who was he?"

"What do you mean."

"You know who I am talking about. What happened?"

Remus looked up at the ceiling. "We were getting some werewolves out of the camp. Someone betrayed us and we got ambushed. Two got killed and seven were injured, including me and my friend...and Fenrir."

"Fenrir? Remus, he's a bloody death eater!"

"I know that. But I couldn't just leave him to die."

"You said he got injured. Where is he now?"

"I...changed my mind in the end. I killed him."

"..."

"We then disapparated-"

"So you weren't alone."

Remus smiled.

"Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought to fight back. Other werewolves gathered around. It isn't official but we formed some kind of group. We've worked with some fund money from sympathetic wizards and half breeds. But it's never enough-" He was cut off short when a disturbing cough escaped his lips.

Sirius patted him on the back. "You were shot by some kind of curse, mate. You would've died if you didn't come here in time."

Remus heaved a rattling breath. "W-What did you do with his body?"

"I…left him."

"On the snow? Just like that?"

"And what did you expect me to do? Bury him in my yard?"

"Everyone knows that you aren't supposed to put-oh, I don't know-a dead person in the middle of your yard either!"

Sirius was silent for a while.

"Fine," he said, getting up. "I'll give him a proper burial. What's his name?"

"Peat."

"And his last name?"

"Just…Peat."

"My family were the ones who reported me, Remus. My own family. I hate them."

#####

Sirius came back in the night.

"Where did you bury him?"

"In the local wizard cemetery. It's where all wizards get buried."

Remus nodded and lay back down.

"They used to bury dead werewolves in pits, back there." He murmured. "I don't know about other people, but the stench was really horrible." He forced a hollow, sarcastic laugh, and Sirius was once again reminded of how empty and broken he seemed. The two were silent for a while.

Remus slowly sat up.

"Why were you so eager to get rid of me?"

"..." Sirius was suddenly concentrating on pouring hot tea.

"No offense to James, but you could have kept me in your house. You didn't need to burden the Potters."

"Right."

"So why did you dump me out of your house? Was it because I was a werewolf?"

"No!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU KICK ME OUT LIKE THAT?"

"Remus, you shouldn't be walking around. Not with your injury."

"ANSWER ME!"

Silence.

There was always something about Remus's voice. Mild yet authoritative and hard to disobey.

"...I was scared. And confused." Sirius said slowly.

"Why?"

"Because…Remus, don't be surprised, but…I have feelings for you."

He said the last syllable slowly, as if he was admitting something he had not known either 'till he said it aloud.

"And I wasn't sure of it at first. I was confused when you were in the house. I…I didn't like that feeling. That's why I sent you to Jame's without asking you."

"..."

"And I'm confused, even now. And I'm afraid, too…"

"Why?"

Sirius chuckled. "I mean, the last time you showed real affection toward me was in our fifth year, when you-"

"When I snogged you. In the broom closet."

Sirius blushed. "I thought it was a joke."

"Yeah. That's why I backed out."

"So do you-?"

Sirius was cut off when Remus gently pressed his lips against his.

OoooooOOooooooOOOOOO Soooooooo they finally get together! (But it isn't going to last long. *evil laughter* Has anyone guessed why I named this chapter 'a bittersweet lie'?)