So here's the final chapter. I hope you like it.

James' POV

I sighed in frustration and closed the map. Snape seemed to be moving towards Remus again. I'm not sure if I was being paranoid or not, but things weren't looking good.

Lily and I had agreed that it seemed Remus had some secret, but he wouldn't even come near us, let alone talk to us.

I rubbed my face tiredly. I was worried about both of them.

Sirius seemed to have snapped. He acted so happy. Eating and laughing with us, but he wasn't really there. He always looked so far off, and his laughter and smiles never seemed to reach his eyes. They remained dull and stormy. He spent the time he wasn't in class or sitting in the great hall with us in our dorm room. Empty fire whiskey bottles were not uncommon to trip on in the middle of the night. Like before. When the Snape incident happened.

Remus was distant. He didn't talk, not even to the professors. He looked smaller, more fragile than I could ever remember seeing him. He looked worse now than after the Snape incident. I wanted to him. I really did, but I didn't know what to do. He didn't seem to want my help, no matter how much he seemed to need it. I felt so useless. To both of them. I just didn't know what to do anymore.

Remus' POV

My hand was shaking as I scratched out the 'siriusly' I had just written on accident for the third time in the past minute. My parchment was starting to look like someone had been trying to color the whole thing black with all the scratched out words. All the same. Always the same words.

I gave up, throwing my quill down in disgust with this assignment, but more severe, was the disgust with myself. I rested my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. The tears feel through the gaps in my fingers, and I couldn't stop them.

I wanted to go back to him. I would run, tripping and flailing back to him if I could. I knew I couldn't. He was better off without all the pain being associated with me brought. I moved my arms, using them as a pillow as my head dropped heavily to the table. There was a void in my chest: A great, gaping, black, foul hole in my chest. And it was burrowing it's way closer and closer to my heart. It wasn't there yet, but it was getting so close. It wouldn't be long now.

A great pain shot through me as I saw the barely visible 'Sirius' on my parchment. No, not long at all.

James' POV

"So, you really think that Remus and Snape…" Pete trailed off, leaving the sentence in the air.

I nodded reluctantly. "There can't be any other explanation. Why would they always be so close together on the map?"

Lily looked skeptical. "I know what I saw, but maybe it was just coincidence. Remus has always seemed so… Siriussexual." Lily said, waving her hands in a manner that suggested she didn't have a better word.

"Well, maybe we thought wrong. I mean Sirius always seemed straight but he wasn't. So why couldn't Remus do something unexpected?" I said a little helplessly.

"Speak for yourself. Sirius always seemed a little fruity." Lily scoffed.

"Well, sorry my gaydar's not up to par." I deadpanned. A ghost of a smile appeared on Lily's face.

"So…" Pete interrupted nervously, and the smile evaporated. "So you think Remus dumped Sirius for Severus?" Pete asked timidly.

"That would be my guess. It's my only reasonable conclusion…" I replied.

A loud crash was heard from directly behind us along with the shattering of glass.

"What?"

We whipped around to see Sirius, standing behind us in shock. His bottle of whiskey broke on the floor, shattered into a million tiny pieces. From the look on his face, I would guess that the bottle on the floor closely resembled his heart. Lily pulled her wand out, and cleaned up the mess, and I had to wonder if a broken heart could be fixed as easily. I wished it could, for his sake.

"Sirius…" I started, a lie ready on my lips.

"Tell me you're serious." He interrupted, knuckles turning white as he clenched his fist. The look on his face as it morphed from shock, to horror, to a slight understanding, to almost accepting.

"No, I'm not Sirius, you are." I tried weakly.

I could see the tears swimming in his eyes. I didn't want him to cry anymore. I looked desperately at Lily for help, but she looked as helpless as I felt.

"Don't screw with me Potter. Are you telling the truth?" He tried again, saying it in a way straightforward and unavoidable.

"I…" I started, ready to lie to him. I stopped though. He deserved the truth. I cleared my throat as it constricted with the pain of what I was about to do. I tried to gear myself up, but nothing could prepare me to crush my best friend.

"I'm sorry Sirius." I said. It was all I could manage to say. Sirius nodded, shakily.

I steeled myself up for the tears, and the anger, but Sirius was always unexpected. Instead of tears, or screaming, which I could have handled, he sat down in defeat. His shoulder sagged, but a small, sad smile played out on his face.

"I guess that's it then? Nothing I can do but let go now." He said, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand.

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times. What had happened to Sirius Black? The Sirius Black I had grown to know? Back a few years ago, he would have hexed someone who broke up with him, let alone left him for another guy. Sure that was back when he was pretending to be straight, but still how had he come this far from what I'd grown to expect? I looked at Lily. I would never be able to just let her go like that. I'd fought hard to get her, and I'd fight hard to keep her. Lily looked just as stumped as I did. So which required more love? Fighting to keep them, or easily letting them go?

"You must really love him." Lily finally whispered.

Sirius smiled, ghost of the past clouding his eyes. "Unconditionally. Uncontrollably. If letting him go is what he wants, how can I not give that to him?"

Lily's POV

I stormed into the library with a sense of purpose. I paid no attention to the other people in the library. It was making my way to the back corner, and nothing was going to distract me now.

I found Remus huddled in a chair, head resting on the table. Some of my anger vanished at the sight of him looking so broken and withered.

I walked over and he made a noise as a sign he knew I was there. I put my hand on his back.

"Remus, we have to talk. It's important. It's about Sirius." I said sitting down.

As soon as his name left my mouth, he made a strangled noise and sat up so fast it was a wonder he didn't get whiplash.

"What about him?" He asked, voice quivering. His red-rimmed eyes bore into me.

"I have to know Remus, did you break up with him for Severus?" I asked carefully, slowly, trying to convey a tone that would make him think that I wouldn't judge him either way.

"No! God, no! What ever gave you that idea?" He asked, a look of utter horror etched across his worn features.

"But…" I said, unsure of how to continue. His reaction was so real; even he couldn't have faked such disgust.

"But, I saw you hugging him by the lake?" I said, but it came out as more a question.

"I slipped in the mud! I fell onto him, and that was it." He said, waving his arms wildly.

"But… On the map, you've always seemed so close together." I said, accusingly.

"He got hurt that night, and I helped him back to the castle." Remus answered, like it was obvious I should have known. Maybe I should have.

"So then why has he been following you around?" I asked, finally deflated and at a loss of what was happening.

He looked just as puzzled as I suddenly felt. "What? I haven't seen him since that day at the lake."

"Then I have to know, why did you dump him?" I asked, earnestly curious as to what made him do it.

"I had to. He kept getting hurt because of me! I didn't deserve him. I don't deserve anyone. I'm a monster." He finished in a whisper.

"Remus Lupin, are you telling me this is all some deranged sort of self punishment?!" I asked, anger pulsing back into my veins.

He didn't answer.

"Remus! How could you do that? Can't you see that you've hurt him more?! He thinks it's all his fault. He thinks you left him for Severus. "

"But I di-" He started.

I cut him off. "I know you, didn't Remus." I said, exasperated. He flinched back.

"I know you didn't." I said, softer this time. "But he doesn't. You should go talk to him. Apologize for being so stupid. Do you know he's been drinking again? You remember what happened the last time he drank this much, don't you?"

I could tell he remembered by the look on his face.

"He's also started smoking again. He's going to get lung cancer. Remus he loves you." I said fiercely. I softened my tone again. "He loves you, Remus. Do you know what he did when he came to the conclusion that you left him for someone else? He just said 'I guess I'll let him go.' He didn't shout. He wasn't mad. He was willing to let you go, no matter how much it hurt him, if it made you happy."

Remus bit his lip, tears surging closer to the edge of his eyes.

"He loves you so much Remus, and you love him."

"No! I'm over him." He said. I'm not sure if he was trying to tell me, or himself, but I knew he was bluffing.

"Really?" I asked quietly, pulling his paper towards me, and looking at the crossed out 'Sirius's' and 'Siriusly's' all over his paper. I should it to him. "You can try and lie to me, but you can't lie to yourself."

He looked down at the table.

"Remus, look at me." He brought his eyes up slowly to meet mine.

"You deserve love as much as any of us. Probably more if I was being honest. You're dying inside. I can see it. You still have time to make it better. Go talk to him. Make it right."

He nodded. Slowly at first, but the fiercely and stood up. "Thank you." He said, conveying in the tone of his words that he meant for more than this talk.

I nodded, and smiled slightly. Then he was gone.

I stood up, feeling lighter, and went to walk around the corner. I needed a book anyway. Two birds with one stone.

What I didn't expect was to run headlong into Severus Snape. "What are you doing here?" I asked, affronted.

He looked at me guiltily, and I narrowed my eyes when he muttered 'nothing' too quickly.

I pulled out my wand. "Why are you here? Why have you been following Remus around?"

He swallowed, but didn't back down. "What do you think I've been doing? I knew they'd be watching him closely. What better way to get back at Sirius than make him think I was fooling around with his boy toy?"

My mouth dropped open in shock. "You planned that?" Then more angrily, "How could you?!"

He gave me one of his twisted smiles. "Oh, it wasn't that hard."

I wanted cut the smile right off his face and feed it to the giant squid. I scowled, and turned around, before I did something I'd regret.

"James won't be happy about this." I said airily over my shoulder. I'd never liked watching James torture Severus, but I think I could make an exception for this. I didn't have to look back to hear him swallow hard.

Remus' POV

I ran as fast as I could to the common room. I waited anxiously as the fat lady swung, all too slowly, to open and let me in.

I dashed in, and found James and Pete sitting playing chess.

"Where is he?" I panted. James looked up, shocked.

"Remus? What-"

"Later! Where is he?!" I almost shouted, from nervousness, anticipation, need, and pain.

"Dormitory?" James said, bemused.

I didn't wait for any more, just dashed up the stairs.

I looked around. The dorm was messy like I remembered though I hadn't been in here for almost two weeks. I noticed with a sad, painful twang that though I hadn't slept in here for those two weeks, my bed was rumpled, but Sirius' wasn't.

When I didn't immediately seem him in the room, I walked quickly over to the bathroom.

I walked in, not bothering to knock.

Sirius' POV

When the door opened, I sighed, and turned from the mirror where I was combing my hair, ready to tell James that yes; I was ok for the fifth time. When I first tried to come up and take a shower, he'd banged on the door, screaming about not giving up. I don't know if maybe he thought I was about to off myself, or what, but he wouldn't let me lock the door. I know he cared for me, but that was a bit much.

The words died in my throat.

Before me was not James. Or Lily. Or even Pete. It was Remus. My… Snape's Remus.

I was hyper aware of my whole body. From the explosions in my chest, to the water rolling down my chest, to the towel precariously wrapped around my waist. The towel being the only thing between me being naked.

I gapped at him. He stood awkwardly there in the door way. Too skinny, extremely exhausted, but there, and whole. Looking over his appearance, I could see that maybe this had taken its toll on him too. The difference between him and me though, was that I had had James, and Lily, and Pete for support. He'd had no one. But maybe Snape.

"Sirius." Remus breathed, and the sound of his voice, something I hadn't heard in 11 days, [Exactly 11 days, 18 hours, and 15 minutes to be precise. I knew down to the second, but that just made me sound even more pathetic than I was and felt.] made my heart warm and swell.

His voice shuddered with emotions too muddled together and mixed up to name other than need and love.

"What are you doing here Remus? Why aren't you with Severus?" I asked, voice calm. I think it surprised him that I didn't sound angry, or bitter.

"Sirius. I would never leave you for Severus. I don't know what James and Lily were thinking, but I was never interested in him, and I never will be." He told me honestly, eyes misting over slowly.

The words gave me a large of sense of relief. I smiled slightly, but I didn't know what to expect. Just because he didn't want Severus didn't mean he wanted me.

He stepped into the bathroom more, shutting the door behind him. Then he was suddenly there, and real in my arms. He folded into me perfectly, the way I remembered so vividly. He was skinnier than I remembered, pointy even. I don't think he'd eaten since The Breakup.

He was shaking in my arms, violently trembling with what I suddenly realized was sobs. He was saying something over and over into my neck.

"I'm sorry." He sobbed desperately.

I swallowed hard, and pulled him closer to me, holding him tight against my chest, unwilling to let go. "I just wished you'd have told me what I'd done wrong." I said quietly into his hair.

If anything, he sobbed harder. "Oh Sirius, it was never your fault. You were always so perfect. I didn't feel like I deserved someone so perfect. You did so many nice things for me and all I did you was put you in the hospital wing." He hiccuped. His tears ran down my neck.

"You never hurt me." I said, stroking his hair. I missed the feeling of him in my arms. It didn't matter that I hadn't seen him in 11 days. It was like that hadn't happened. I didn't need to hear him apologize.

"No, I didn't directly, but I as good as loaded the gun myself." He said, clinging desperately to my shoulders.

"What gun?" I asked, bemused.

"Never mind, it's just a saying." He said, moving his hand like was going to gesture with it, before deciding he didn't want to let go and clinging tighter.

I held him away from me, and looked into his face. The pain and love mingled in his eyes, and it greatly affected my already aching heart.

It took his face in my hands. "Don't ever leave me again. Never, ever again." I said, tears spilling over.

He nodded quickly. I pressed my lips to his roughly, needy. This is what I had been living without. I slipped my hands up his shirt, as his hand roamed over my back.

I traced the burn mark there. The faint, but not fading, marks on his back. This was our reality. Our world wasn't perfect, our lives were muddled and confusing and difficult. It wasn't going to be easier. It would never be easier for us: A werewolf and the disowned son of an all pureblood family.

We might argue. We might disagree. We might not always get along, but that's what made us us. We weren't perfect, but we loved each other. That would never go away, and that was all that we needed.

Fin.

So thanks for sticking with me and reading all of these. Please tell me what you thought.

I've got a few ideas for some new stories. I might go back and write about how this all got to where it was. I was also thinking of a weird twist on 'Aladdin'. Just tell me what you think.

Thanks so much. Love you all.