A/N: I'm sorry to have to tell you that I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, which means a serious lull in updates. I plan to post the next chapter on 11 July.

Thank you for the reviews of the last chapter. It killed me to let Sirius die – aside from the lack of time I had to devote to it, I think that chapter took me forever to write just because I didn't want to do it. I hope I did him justice.

Thank you again for reading and reviewing. I hope you like this chapter!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Broken Hearts

"Remus. Remus, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

With momentous effort, Remus turned to look at Kingsley. "I can hear you," he muttered. He swallowed hard. "I'm fine."

Kingsley looked at him sympathetically. "Listen, Remus, we need to get everyone back to Hogwarts. It's safe there, and Madam Pomfrey will be able to heal everyone – a couple of the kids are really hurt, and I think that Tonks and Moody need some special attention."

Finally fully realizing that others were injured, Remus jumped to his feet. "Where is everyone?"

"Over there," Kingsley said, indicating the section of the room where he had left all the wounded.

Remus hurried across the room with Kingsley and Neville at his side. He grimaced as he looked at the teenagers, his eyes lingering on Hermione, who looked the worst of all of them as she lay motionless on the ground.

"What happened to the students?"

"I'm still trying to piece the details together," Kingsley replied. "I'm sure Neville will be able to help us with that."

Neville nodded, his face reflecting the importance he felt at being trusted to give his account of the night's events.

"What happened to Moody and Tonks?" Remus asked.

"I didn't see what happened to Moody," Kingsley said. "Tonks was dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange – she was hit with at least one curse, then fell down the steps. She's been out cold ever since then."

Remus cringed at the thought of the abuse her body had taken. "At least she's beyond the pain."

"For now," Kingsley agreed. "I'm sure she'll feel it when she wakes up."

Remus nodded, and looked around. "Are Dumbledore and Harry back yet?"

Kingsley shook his head. "To be honest, Remus, I think it would be better if we got everyone out of here without waiting for them. It just doesn't feel right to me … it's like something horrible is about to happen. I don't want these kids here when all hell breaks loose."

Remus nodded. "You're right. Let's get everyone back to Hogwarts."

Madam Pomfrey had apparently been alerted that they were on their way; she was waiting for them when they arrived. She shook her head as she looked at all the wounded teenagers and adults shuffling into her office.

"Remus, how well do you remember your healing charms?" she asked.

"Well enough," he said.

"Good," she said. "See what you can do for Neville and Luna."

As he crossed the room to tend to his former students, Remus wanted to hug Madam Pomfrey. This was exactly what he needed – a distraction that would keep him from thinking about Sirius.

He healed Neville and Luna quickly, and looked to see if he could help someone else. Moody was already healed and barking orders at Kingsley, who looked almost as if he was listening to the older man just to placate him. Ron and Hermione were lying on cots next to one another. Hermione was out cold, but Ron was awake and laughing for no apparent reason. Remus let his eyes skim over them all until they fell on Tonks.

She was lying motionless on a cot, her face nearly as pale as the sheets beneath her. Madam Pomfrey was bending over her, clicking her tongue as she tried one spell after another to no avail.

Remus crossed to stand beside them. He looked down at Tonks a bit fearfully.

"How is she?" he asked.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "She needs more medical attention than I can give her here."

"You're sending her to St. Mungo's?" Remus asked in surprise. His own personal experience had taught him just how talented Madam Pomfrey was. If she couldn't help Tonks, could anyone?

She nodded. "The healers there can help her more than I can."

Remus swallowed, feeling regret fill his entire being. Why, why, why hadn't he just told her how he felt when he had the chance? "Will she be all right?"

"Oh, yes. She'll need to stay with them for a few days, but she'll be fine in the end."

Remus nodded, feeling the first faint glimmers of hope he had known since watching Sirius fall through the veil.

"Everyone will be fine, Remus," she said, patting his cheek. "No lasting damage beyond a few scars."

He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thank God."

She looked back at Tonks. "I should let her parents know what happened. Did you see the accident? I'm sure they'll want to hear about it."

Remus shook his head. "Kingsley knows what happened."

She nodded, looking at him deeply. "Are you and Tonks …?"

"Are we what?" he asked, suddenly incredibly tired.

Madam Pomfrey couldn't seem to find the words she wanted to use, and so asked another, somewhat related question. "Do you want to go to St. Mungo's with her?"

He smiled sadly, knowing that it was only his own reluctance to admit his feelings that kept him from being the one to accompany her to the hospital. "No, she should be with her family now."

Madam Pomfrey nodded uncertainly. "Is there someone I can call for you? I don't like the idea of you being alone right now."

"No, I'll be fine," he said, smiling sadly again. "There's no one …"

Realization dawned, nearly knocking him off his feet. The color drained from his face, and Madam Pomfrey reached out a hand to steady him.

"Remus, are you all right?"

"I need to get to France," he said in a rush.

"To France?"

"Yes. I need – I need to see Olivia."

Remus Apparated into Olivia's house, hoping that she would be home. To his dismay, she wasn't there.

"She can't know already," he said. "Please, please, let me be the one to tell her. I don't want her to hear it from someone else – from someone who doesn't know how she feels about him."

He left Olivia's house and ran down the street to Dana's. He threw the door open without knocking and ran into the house.

"Dana!" he yelled. "Dana, are you home?"

Footsteps ran toward him. "Remus?" Dana asked incredulously.

"Uncle Remus!"

Remus embraced Laura as she threw herself into his arms. "Hello, love," he said softly. "I had forgotten that you'd be home already."

"So you didn't come just to see me?" she teased.

"No, darling."

Dana studied Remus's face, horrified by the utter despair etched on his features. Mentally preparing herself for the worst, she felt tears filling her eyes. "What's happened, Remus?" she asked. "You look awful. Something terrible has happened, hasn't it?"

"Do you know where Olivia is?" he asked, releasing his goddaughter.

She shook her head. "No."

"I need to see her."

Dana's hands flew to her mouth. "Is it Sirius?"

Remus nodded.

"Has he been found by the Ministry?"

Remus shook his head.

A tear slipped down Dana's cheek. "Oh, God, no. Please don't tell me …"

Remus put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "He's gone, Dana. He died."

She gave a cry, and crumpled against him. As she sobbed against his chest, he began to cry with her. It was really true. Sirius, the friend he had rediscovered after so many years, was gone.

The kitchen door banged open and shut. "Dana? Laura? Are you here? I brought breakfast!"

Dana gave a cry, and jumped away from Remus. "Liv?" she called.

Olivia came into the foyer carrying a large paper bag. "I went to get some of those pastries that Laura likes since this is her first breakfast home for the summer …" Her voice died as she realized that Remus was there, and that both he and Dana were in tears. "Remus," she said, her voice tight. "I suppose you haven't come with good news."

"No," he said. He took the bag from her hands and put it on a chair. "Olivia, there's something I need to tell you."

"Say it quickly, Remus," she said, obviously trying to be brave.

He took her hands in his and drew a deep breath. "There was a battle at the Ministry tonight. Have you heard anything yet?"

"No," she said, her eyes widening. "Should I have?"

Remus drew a shaky breath. "The Death Eaters were they. They wanted – they wanted the prophecy about Harry."

"But only Harry or Voldemort could take it from the Ministry," she said.

Remus nodded. "They lured Harry there."

"How could they have done that?"

"They – Voldemort put a vision in his head. Harry thought that Sirius was there, being tortured."

"Oh, God," she moaned, squeezing Remus's hands. "He went to save Sirius, didn't he? Oh, God, Sirius will never forgive himself …"

"Harry's fine," Remus interrupted. "We found out what was happening and went in to get him."

"He's okay," she said, relief obvious on her face. "Who went in after him?"

"Well, I went with Tonks, Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and – and Sirius."

"Sirius went into the Ministry?" she yelled. "What is he playing at? Doesn't he realize how dangerous that is?"

"He knew what he was doing," Remus said evenly. "He – he had to save Harry."

"Well, Harry's fine," Olivia said. "He should be happy."

"Yes, Liv, Harry's fine … but Sirius isn't."

"What do you mean? Did the Ministry officials get him?"

Dana gave a muffled cry, and turned away. Olivia looked at her for a minute, then swung her eyes back to Remus's face.

"Remus, please tell me that the Ministry officials got him," she said in a choked voice.

Remus drew another shaky breath. "The battle was in the Department of Mysteries. We – we were in the room where they study death. Do you know it?"

"Yes," she said. "It has that veil in the center …"

Remus nodded. "Sirius was dueling with his cousin Bellatrix. Do you remember her?"

"How could I forget? Her face is all over my office. I can't believe she would show up there. The potential for being caught …"

"I think serving Voldemort carries more weight than anything else," Remus said.

"She dueled with Sirius?"

"Yes. They were up on the dais with the veil … Bellatrix hit Sirius with some curse."

"What curse?"

"I don't know, to be honest. But – Liv, when the curse hit him, it knocked him backwards. He fell … Olivia, Sirius fell through the veil."

Dana gave another choking sob. Laura stepped forward and put her arms around her mother.

Tears filled Olivia's eyes. "Remus. Are you telling me that Sirius – that Sirius is – that Sirius …"

She couldn't even ask the question. Remus felt a tear slide down his own cheek as he nodded.

"Sirius is gone, Liv. He died."

Olivia gave a heart-wrenching cry and began to fall. Remus caught her and grabbed her to his chest. She reached out blindly and twisted her hands into his robes as she began to sob. Remus rocked her back and forth, his own tears falling into her hair.

Remus held Olivia until she was able to stop crying. By that time, Dana had pulled herself together and made a pot of tea. Olivia accepted a cup from her with shaking hands as she curled up next to Remus on the couch.

"How could this have happened?" she asked numbly. She took a sip of her tea mindlessly. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"None of this was supposed to happen," Remus said. "Kathleen, James, Lily, Peter … none of it should have happened."

Dana ran her hands through her hair. "Do you remember our first day back to school in seventh year? Our biggest concern was that James and Lily would kill one another working together as Head Boy and Girl."

"I wish we could still be that way," Olivia said hoarsely. "James and Lily would still be alive, Kathleen would have kept Peter from Voldemort, Remus would still have Laura, and Sirius …"

Dana and Remus looked at one another as Olivia's voice faded.

"Why did he go?" Olivia asked in a small voice. She turned to Remus, her eyes suddenly flashing with anger. "Why would you let him go? How could you let him do something like that?"

The guilt that he had managed to push aside until now crashed in around Remus. "I tried to tell him …" he said feebly.

"Not hard enough, you didn't!" she yelled. She jumped up from her seat, spilling her tea everywhere. "Dammit, Remus! Why couldn't you have just kept him in that house? Why couldn't you have just made him stay in one place?"

Remus jumped up to face her. "Do you have any idea how he felt?" he yelled. "Do you have any idea how guilty he felt over James's and Lily's deaths? He blamed himself, Liv! He told me time and again that he was the reason they had died! That if it hadn't been for him, they would have been alive!"

"That's ridiculous and he knew it," she said dismissively, tears beginning to run down her face again.

"No, he didn't," Remus said. "I told him over and over that he shouldn't feel responsible, that it was Peter's fault … Liv, the truth is, he was the one James and Lily trusted to keep them safe. They made Peter their Secret Keeper because Sirius wanted the extra protection of the double bluff, but it backfired in their faces. He felt that he let them down – that he failed them.

"But they also trusted him to keep Harry safe. He was his godfather – the one who was supposed to protect him if James and Lily couldn't. How could I fight with that? How could I tell him to sit quietly at home while Harry faced unspeakable danger? How could I convince him not to go?" Tears raced down Remus's face as his voice grew louder and louder. "How could I tell him to wait while I fought Voldemort for him?"

"You should have tried harder!" Olivia yelled. She threw the empty teacup at him. "You should have made him understand! You shouldn't have let him –" She stopped abruptly as she sobbed.

"How could I?" Remus screamed back at her, barely containing his own sobs. "What could I say? I could never compete with James when he was alive, Liv! How was I supposed to compete with his ghost? How was I supposed to tell Sirius to ignore a promise he made to a man that he believed was dead because of him?"

Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Well, you should have a better idea now," she hissed. "You should know exactly how he felt, Remus, because now Sirius is dead because of you."

"Olivia!" Dana yelled. "How can you even suggest something like that?"

"It's true," Remus said, collapsing back down onto the couch. "I should have tried harder. I shouldn't have let him go."

"No!" Dana cried. She sat down next to Remus and took his hand in hers. "This is not your fault, Remus. We grew up with Sirius. We know – we know the type of man he was. He would never, never have sat at home while Harry was in danger." She looked up at Olivia. "Don't you remember how devoted James and Sirius were to one another? They were more than friends – maybe even more than brothers. James was more of a brother to Sirius than Regulus was, at any rate. Sirius would never have let James walk into danger alone. And, Liv, you know as well as I do that he was as devoted to Harry as he was to James. Remus is right. How could he ever hope to stop Sirius from trying to save Harry?"

"I don't know," Olivia sobbed. "But, Remus, you should have tried harder."

"I did everything I could," Remus said brokenly. "Olivia, do you honestly think I didn't try? Do you think I wanted to come here today and tear your heart apart? I would give anything to be able to change what happened. I would give my life to bring Sirius back to you."

Olivia began to sob even harder as she collapsed on the couch on Remus's other side. "Oh, God, Remus, I'm sorry. I know that Sirius was one of your best friends, too, and I know – I know you would never have tried to hurt him or me."

"It's all right," Remus said, pulling her close.

With Olivia leaning on one side and Dana on the other, Remus finally felt his tears beginning to stop. Maybe, with these two women, the last of his childhood friends, he would begin to find healing.

Remus stayed with Olivia and Dana for three days. He couldn't help but feel bad for Laura during that time. She was used to seeing him as a cheerful "uncle," not as this melancholy shadow of himself. Promising himself that he would invite her to England for a visit as soon as everything had sorted itself out, he spent as much time as possible trying to keep her from seeing the true depth of his grief.

After three days, they all knew it was time to move on. They had to get back to their normal lives, or they would never move past their grief. Olivia and Dana went back to work, and Remus went back to London.

He didn't want to go back to Grimmauld Place. It was the very last place in the world he thought he needed to be. But, what choice did he have? Even if he wanted to go back to his old house, he knew that he needed to collect his belongings. Besides, Dumbledore probably still wanted him to live in the house to keep their headquarters in order.

Drawing himself up and bracing himself for what lay ahead, he Apparated into the library of Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"Remus!"

Remus opened his eyes in surprise. He only had time to realize that Tonks was in the room before she had thrown herself into his arms.

"Tonks!" he exclaimed. "Are you all right? How long have you been out of St. Mungo's?"

"I'm fine," she said. "They released me this morning."

"Why aren't you at home resting?" he asked, ever the Healer in training.

She shook her head. "I tried, but I couldn't sit still. I've been really worried about you, Remus. I wanted to talk to you while I was in the hospital, but you never came to visit. I made Kingsley go look for you, but he couldn't find you."

"I've been in France," Remus said. He swallowed hard. "I had to go tell Olivia and Dana about Sirius."

Tonks bit her lower lip. "How did that go?"

"As well as expected."

She nodded. "How are you, Remus?"

He smiled sadly and shrugged. "As well as expected," he said again.

She took his hand and led him to the couch. They sat down together, and she looked deeply into his eyes.

"You can tell me the truth, you know," she said. "I won't break."

"I know that," he said, smiling again.

"Remus," she said, "listen to me. Sirius was my cousin, but he was your best friend. I'm not going to even try to pretend that I understand the pain you're going through, but I'm more than willing to listen if you'd like to talk."

"I think you understand better than you know," Remus said. "I believed he was guilty for all those years, too. Neither of us knew the truth. Both of us had to rebuild our relationships with him over the past couple years."

She nodded. "I wish we could have had more time."

Remus nodded, his eyes shining with tears. More time. Hadn't he been living his life as though he would always have more time? Hadn't he wasted weeks and months thinking about how he felt about this woman sitting next to him? Even when he had realized his feelings, he didn't say anything to her, fearing that it would jeopardize their friendship. Did he really have the time to hold his tongue? Shouldn't he tell her what he felt?

"Really, Remus, are you all right?" she asked with concern in her eyes.

"Tonks, I really don't know if I have the strength to talk about this right now."

"All right. Do you want to talk about something else?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her. He wanted to. He had to.

He couldn't.

"I really don't want to talk at all."

She looked at him uncertainly. "Do you want me to go?"

"I don't want to be alone," he said, shaking his head. "Can you just sit with me for a bit?"

"Of course."

They started off sitting next to each other, but soon found their way closer together. Barely realizing what he was doing, Remus put his hand down on Tonks's leg. She glanced at him, then lay her head on his shoulder. He shifted to put his arm around her, holding her against him. Softly sighing, she cuddled against him.

"Tonks?" he said softly.

"Yeah?"

What did he have to lose? With all that had happened recently, he was sure that he needed to tell her. Who knew if he'd have another chance after tonight? He pulled his Gryffindor courage together, and finally said the words that Sirius had been begging him to say for months.

"Tonks, I – I need to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

He drew a steadying breath. "I have feelings for you."

She sat up to look at him. "Feelings?"

"Yes. Romantic feelings."

Her cheeks colored and she bit her lip in an effort to hide the beaming grin that was spreading across her face. "Really?"

He smiled slightly. "Really."

"My God, Remus, I've been waiting to hear you say that for ages!"

"You mean, you …?"

She giggled. "I've had a crush on you since we first met."

Remus grinned in spite of himself. Although Sirius was right when he said that Remus had no idea how to sweet talk a woman, Remus was quite sure that he knew how to act. He closed the distance between them, capturing her lips with his.

Remus wanted to cry again as he felt Tonks's lips against his. It had been so, so long … And as their tongues intertwined, as they fell back onto the couch, as he settled on top of her, he realized that what he felt was more than "caring" or "fancying." He didn't have a crush on Tonks – he was falling in love with her.

He was falling in love with her, and he was terrified.