And here's chapter four! Thank you to every one for their reviews and favorites and alerts, I really appreciate it!

WARNINGS: child abuse (physical and sexual, though I think it's mostly just implied in this chapter), mild torture (implied), language, and SLASH

When Harry woke up the next morning, he found himself curled up between Remus and Sirius, buried under the thick blankets on their bed. Sirius shifted in his sleep slightly when he felt Harry move. His fingers tightened around Remus's hand where they were twined together over Harry's thin body. Harry yawned and rolled onto his back so he could look up at the ceiling, feeling safe and protected with the comforting weight of his adoptive parents' arms draped over him.

"Morning, sweetheart," Remus said softly.

Harry started, surprised at the voice in his ear, and turned to face Remus. "Morning."

One corner of Remus's mouth twitched into a smile, but Harry could still see the purple circles under his tired eyes.

Harry stretched and rolled his shoulders, cracking his back. "Remember I'm going to see Ron at ten."

"I remember," Remus said, shifting to lie on his back and letting go of Sirius's hand. Sirius whined in his sleep at the loss of contact, but didn't wake up; he just rolled over and slept on. "Sirius and I were planning on going into Diagon Alley today to get your birthday presents."

"Don't go overboard," Harry said, equal parts wishing they wouldn't and wishing they would. They weren't the poorest they'd ever been, though they were by no means rich, and Harry sort of hoped that Sirius had convinced Remus to get him a broom this year, since they could afford it. Remus had found a job at a Muggle shop where they didn't miss him a few days a month and Sirius had been steadily employed as an Auror since the war ended. However, something bad always seemed to happen just when it seemed like things were under control, and Harry knew Remus was concerned about saving as much as they could for the times when he was between jobs. In the periods where Remus had been unemployed because of the difficulty of finding a job as a werewolf, Sirius's paycheck covered the rent and food, but not much else.

"Overboard?" Remus raised his eyebrows innocently. His hair was a ruffled mess and he was wearing one of Sirius's t-shirts that draped off one shoulder and flannel pajama bottoms and Harry was suddenly struck by how young he was, how young Sirius was, too, and how much they'd taken on before they had even turned twenty three. "I will do no such thing. Your godfather, however, is an expert at going overboard when he goes gift shopping, and sometimes it's better for me to just let him have his fun."

"I heard that, Remus," Sirius mumbled into the pillow. "Don't act like you're above spoiling him, because you've been the one to indulge him in whatever he's wanted since the day he was born."

"You make me sound like a brat," Harry whined good-naturedly, hitting the back of Sirius's head lightly. "He's not that bad."

"My, God, Harry, you have no idea," Sirius rolled over so he could prop himself up against the headboard and look at the dark haired boy, smiling teasingly. "He literally couldn't stand to let you cry when you were a baby. Lily always told him to let you cry yourself out, so you'd learn to calm yourself down. He couldn't do it; he'd sneak in and rock you until you fell asleep."

"I never agreed with that idea in parenting," Remus smiled sheepishly. "It's not like you knew what was going on; you just wanted someone to pick you up and hold you."

"It obviously didn't do too much damage," Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius, but frowned when he realized Sirius's gaze was blank and far away.

"Please, Harry," Sirius held the baby tightly and hunched over in the uncomfortable hospital chair as Harry wailed as loudly as his little lungs would allow. "Please, stop, stop crying…"

Sirius's voice choked with his own tears and he fought the urge to join Harry and just curl up an cry and scream and yell because Lily and James were dead, oh, God, no, they were dead and Harry didn't have parents anymore, and Sirius's best friend and the woman he loved and married and had a child with were gone, declared dead five minutes ago, officially, and they would never see Harry get his Hogwarts letter or fly or graduate or get married…

"Sirius!"

Sirius's head jerked up at the familiar voice and he had to admit he was stunned to see a drained, beaten Remus Lupin staggering across the hospital waiting room towards him. Remus was wearing a shirt that was huge on him and stained with blood and dirt and pants he had to keep hitching up. His hair fell into his eyes in thick clumps. He was bruised and bleeding, his bottom lip split open and a dark splotch forming rapidly on his face, but he was somehow still standing and determinedly making his way over to Sirius and Harry.

"Remus!" Sirius stood up, swayed on his feet, steadied himself, and reached out to push Remus into a chair; he looked ready to pass out. "What happened? I thought you were underground until next week. Are you alright? My God, Remus, are you okay? Do you need to get checked out? Do you-?"

"I'm fine, Sirius," Remus cut him off quickly, yanking Sirius down into the chair next to him. "Sit down, for God's sake. Are they..? I heard, but…is it true?"

Sirius blinked back tears, feeling a lump creeping up his throat and choking him. He nodded and swallowed hard; it hurt. He returned his attention to Harry. "Shhh…Harry…please…please stop…" Harry continued to cry.

Remus stared at his hands, dazed. Sirius wished desperately that Remus would take the baby; he could always get Harry to quiet down. He knew it wasn't fair, that Remus had been through just as much hell as he had that night, but he selfishly wanted someone to fix this. "Why are you back?"

"My cover was blown," Remus replied mechanically, his voice blank and face expressionless. "They found out I was part of the Order. I got away before they could…I got away in time." He paused as a shudder ran through his body. He hoped Sirius didn't notice. "You found them?"

Sirius nodded and Remus met his partner's gray eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sheer amount of anguish and desperation and fear he saw. Sirius didn't like to show weakness, not even to Remus; he was at the end of his rope, ready to break down.

Remus realized Harry was crying, something he was usually so tuned in to, but the ringing in his ears had seemed to drown it out. He reached out and took Harry in his shaking hands. Sirius released him and watched as Remus adjusted the baby against him so he could rub soothing circles on Harry's stomach and Harry's ear was pressed to his chest.

Sirius ran a hand through Harry's unruly hair (don't think of James, don't think of James…), relieved when Harry's cries quieted and he drifted to sleep. "How do you do that?"

"Heartbeats tend to calm children down," Remus replied automatically, bowing his head over Harry so his hair hid his face. His body was shuddering with the after effects of the Cruciatus. His head pounded and his eyes burned. "My brother used to hold me like that when I got upset…" Remus's voice broke on the word brother and he hunched over further, practically wrapped around Harry like some sort of cocoon.

"Let's go home," Sirius begged quietly, wrapping his arms around Remus's waist and pressing his face into the werewolf's shoulder. He felt a tear slip down his cheek. "Please."

Remus had Apparated them home and collapsed. Sirius had frantically torn the shirt open to see what was wrong, and saw how thin Remus had gotten, the mottled mess of bruises his chest had become, the long, jagged tears ripping through his pale, damaged skin, and he'd felt Remus's taxed body shudder under his hands and jerk spasmodically; he recognized the symptoms from Auror training and from what he'd heard about the Longbottom's fate.

"Oh, God, Remus," he breathed and moved to lightly slap Remus's face. "Remus, wake up. C'mon. C'mon, babe."

Sirius realized that Harry was still in Remus's arms, clutched to his chest even while Remus was unconscious. He pried the baby out of Remus's arms and carried him to the spare room where they had the extra crib set up for when they babysat. Harry didn't wake, thank God. Small blessings.

Sirius returned to Remus, who had begun to stir and was coming around. His eyes flickered open and met Sirius's. Sirius didn't bother trying to hide the tears running freely down his face.

Remus reached out and pulled Sirius to him without hesitation. Sirius returned the embrace just as fiercely, pressing his face into Remus's neck. Remus felt tears drip and curve around his collarbone. Remus himself couldn't find the energy to cry; he felt strangely detached, and completely drained.

After a few moments, Sirius sniffled loudly and stood up, pulling Remus with him and supporting him as he guided the smaller man to the bed in their small flat. Remus collapsed on the mattress and curled up into a ball, unable to stand anymore.

"He's an orphan," Sirius said softly, breaking the silence.

Remus raised his face from his arms and shook his head. He was quiet a moment before replying softly, "No, he's not."

Sirius still remembered that Remus hadn't slept and had spent the night trying to fight off the vicious shudders of pain wracking his body. Sirius had held him and Remus had clutched Sirius's shirt tightly as he'd rode out the waves of pain.

Looking at the man today, Sirius figured no one would see the hell Remus had been through; they would see a quiet, kind, albeit scarred man who genuinely wanted to help people and take care of his family. He didn't give off the dangerous air of someone who had been pushed to extreme measures in order to survive and who could kill without batting an eye. The thing most people didn't realize was that Remus was as dangerous when he was himself as he was when he was a werewolf. As mild as he appeared, he was a goddamned good wizard, and Sirius had seen him take down Death Eater like it was nothing, using the Killing Curse with disconcerting ease when it came to protecting the other Order members. Sometimes he was afraid for Remus and the amount of anger and self-destructive tendencies he had, hidden carefully away from everyone else.

"What are you staring at?" Remus shifted self-consciously.

Sirius blinked and shook his head, looking away and out the window. It was overcast, and the clouds cast a dark shadow over the grass that made it appear a rich emerald green. "Nothing. You're seeing Ron today, right, Harry?"

Harry nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost nine. "I should go shower and get changed. I'll let you both know before I Floo over there."

He climbed over Sirius and out of bed. When he shut the door behind him, Remus slipped out of bed and plodded over to the closet. He selected a red turtleneck with a stretched collar and a pair of dark jeans from the hangers and tossed them onto the bed. "So have you decided which broom he'd like?"

"Hmmm?" Sirius hummed distractedly, watching Remus peel his t shirt off and toss it aside. His pajamas hung low on his slim hips. Sirius could see the lithe muscles of Remus's body move fluidly under the pale, scarred skin as he started to pull on a white t shirt to wear under his sweater.

He paused as he pulled the shirt over his head. "You're staring again."

Sirius smiled and leaned forward on his knees to grab the front of Remus's shirt and pull the smaller man towards him. Sirius pressed a kiss to his parted lips. "How could I not, beautiful?"

Remus smiled against Sirius's lips and pushed him away lightly. "Stop it, Sirius."

"I know you still don't believe me," Sirius pulled him back against his body as he kneeled on the edge of the bed so his knees bumped Remus's thighs. "But you are."

Remus gave Sirius that smile that made Sirius sure the man was just humoring him and didn't believe him in the slightest. He pursed his lips and twisted them into a small smile. "I wish you could see what I see."

Remus laughed and shook his head. "I really doubt that."

Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged Remus down for one more kiss. He looked into the kind hazel eyes inches from his own, taking in the man in front of him; the soft hair curling around his neck, the small smile tugging at his mouth, the feel of the trusting, relaxed slim body pressed against his own, the scars that swirled over his stomach and arms and the many more that were currently hidden under clothing, each of them a testament to the raw strength their owner possessed, the gentle hands in his own dark hair that threaded the strands through slim fingers as they moved across his scalp. "Seriously."

"Remus?" there was a sharp rap on the door and Romulus's voice called through the door. "I have no idea where anything is in the house. Can you come into the kitchen?"

"Yeah," Remus answered. He let out a soft sigh and dropped his forehead to the top of Sirius's head. Sirius felt Remus's warm breath ruffle his hair. After a moment, he kissed Sirius's hair and straightened up. "I'll meet you downstairs."

Sirius yawned and nodded, letting go of Remus reluctantly. "I'll be right there."

"Morning, Remus," Romulus greeted his brother when he finally made his way down to the kitchen. Romulus glanced at his watch. He had to "meet his lawyer" in an hour.

"Good morning," Remus replied, moving to the cupboards and shifting through the shelves. "What do you want? We have oatmeal. Do you still like oatmeal?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Romulus nodded, leaning back in his chair.

Remus set about heating up water in a kettle in the stove and nervously rearranged the boxes in one of the cupboards for something to do so he wouldn't have to turn and face Romulus, his shoulders tense. He wouldn't look at Romulus, and Romulus had to admit that it hurt.

"How have you been, Remus?" Romulus tried, hating how forced this was. He remembered when they were younger and the boy told him everything; there wasn't much about Remus's life that Romulus didn't know. Now he didn't even know where Remus worked. "Do you have a job?"

"I work at a Muggle shop downtown," Remus replied tersely. "I've been there for two years now."

Romulus nodded, taking in the information and storing it away. The kitchen was silent for a few moments, besides the creaking of the warming kettle. "You and Sirius…are you…areyoumarried?"

"What?" Remus turned to face his brother, having not understood the rushed words.

"Are you and him…married?" Romulus repeated more slowly, watching Remus closely for a reaction.

Remus looked away before their gazes could meet and leaned back on the counter, gripping the edges so hard his knuckles turned white. "We can't. Werewolves don't get much sympathy, but werewolves who fall in love with someone who's the same gender as them get even less. The Ministry would never allow it."

"I'm sorry," Romulus muttered, eyes trained on Remus's face.

Remus smiled humorlessly. "We both know you're not."

Romulus deserved that, he knew, but it still pained him to know that Remus was right.

The first time he noticed, Romulus had been walking down the stone hallways of the castle to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, books piled in his arms and talking to Mike as they made their way to class. He paused when he felt people's eyes on him as he walked by, and he could have sworn one group of girls stopped whispering right as he passed, like they'd been talking about him.

He brushed it off and continued on to class.

When the same thing was still happening by dinner that night, he finally broke and snapped, "Why the hell is everyone staring at me?"

Mike shifted uncomfortably and shrugged, trying to look innocent and failing miserably.

"Mike, c'mon," Romulus sighed. "What is it? How bad can it be?"

He regretted it the second he said it. Especially when he heard Mike's hesitant response. "It…people found out that your brother's dating Sirius Black."

"What?" Romulus snorted, glancing over at the Gryffindor table. Remus was in his usual place with his three close friends. He and Black weren't even touching, they were just eating dinner like usual. They were even on opposite sides of the table. "No, he's not. That's ridiculous. Remus isn't…he's not…" How could he be, after years of continued abuse from their father? How could he let any man touch him like that when it would be so closely linked to the memory his father brutally ripping away his innocence?

"Snape caught them snogging out by the Willow," Mike shrugged. "Poor git's a bit put out. He always had a thing for your brother."

"What?" Romulus's voice rose a little in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"You should see how Lucius looks at him," Narcissa Black leaned over, dropping into their conversation, and rolled her eyes. "It's disgusting."

"Lucius?" Romulus repeated, stunned. He'd slipped up; he used to keep steady tabs on his brother and took notice of the people that seemed interested in him for less than innocent reasons, which was a number too high for Romulus's liking. Since he'd left home, he had to admit to himself that he hadn't been watching out for Remus at school as well as he should have. "I never noticed this. How did I not see any of this?"

"You didn't want to," Narcissa shrugged. "He's your brother, of course you don't see him like that. But he's not bad looking, Romulus. He's pretty, and Lucius tends to be attracted to pretty things."

Hearing the word 'pretty' being associated with Remus made Romulus's stomach twist. He remembered the way their father had stroked Remus's hair and called him that, twisting the simple compliment into an insult.

"That's probably what Black sees in him," Romulus jumped a little when he heard Lucius's voice from behind him. The seventh year moved to perch on the seat next to Romulus and smiled. Romulus suppressed a shudder at the venomous air the grin had to it. Lucius made him want to cringe, but since Romulus was now officially in the Order, Dumbledore had given him clear instruction to try to get into Lucius's band of suspected Death Eaters. As much as he loathed Lucius, he had to put up with him for the sake of the Order. "Really, Lupin, Black's slept with half the students in this school. He probably liked the challenge of getting your brother to take him into his bed; Merlin knows I've been trying for years. Your brother is going to end up hurt."

Romulus gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists. "I really doubt you care much for his well-being, Malfoy."

"You're right, I don't," Lucius agreed readily, tilting his head and watching Remus from across the room. Romulus wanted to slap him for looking at his baby brother like that. "But I know you do."

It was strange and ominous and made Romulus uncomfortable, but he was still thinking of Lucius's previous words. He was right, Black was probably going to sleep with Remus and then move on, and Remus didn't deserve to be used like that with what he'd been through. What he was going through, Romulus reminded himself. Remus was still at home during breaks, ordered there by their father. Romulus didn't like to think of what happened when his father and Remus were alone together in that house; his chest constricted with the crushing weight of guilt.

He stood up, anger growing as his mind raced with the thought of Remus being hurt by Black, of him willing to throw away the slim chance at having a semi normal life by shacking up with this guy, of Black leading him on…

"Remus," he snapped, coming to a stop a few feet from the Gryffindor table. "We need to talk."

Remus stiffened and turned around on the bench to face his older brother. "You and I don't have anything to talk about."

"I think we do," Romulus snarked, taking a step towards Remus.

Remus stood up and crossed his arms. Romulus could see Black on the other side of the table looking uncertain as to whether he should step in or not. "What do you want, Romulus?"

"I want to know why the hell you're sleeping with Black?" I snarled, more harshly than I meant to.

Remus flinched, but didn't look away. By now, the surrounding tables had stopped talking to listen, but Romulus and Remus barely noticed. "It's not any of your business who I'm in a relationship with."

"I'm your brother, or course it is," Romulus corrected him sharply.

"You're not my brother," Remus said lowly, his hazel eyes darkening. "You made your choice."

"I may not live in that hellhole, but I'm still related to you," Romulus ignored the sting that barb left in his heart. "And I forbid you to continue on with this ridiculous relationship. He's using you, Rem."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Remus smiled bitterly. Most of the great Hall was silent by then, everyone enthralled by the argument between the two brothers who rarely spoke about their home lives or each other; even the teachers were listening. "You can't just walk in and out of my life when you want to. You haven't even spoken to me in almost a year. Why should I listen to you?"

"Because I want what's best for you," Romulus said truthfully, taking a step closer. Remus took a skittish step back.

"Don't say that," he commanded softly. "If you wanted what's best for me, you wouldn't have left."

"Is that what this is about?" Romulus demanded. "Are you dating him to spite me? To spite Dad?"

"You and Dad have nothing to do with this," Remus growled. "Not everything I do has to be about you."

"Remus, you're confused," Romulus said, forcing himself to remain calm. He gripped Remus's arm firmly. Remus flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away. "You don't know what you want. It's understandable that you don't see what's happening. Black's offering you validation that Dad has never given you." He pulled Remus closer and added lowly. "Do you know what Black really wants from you?"

"You're wrong," Remus yanked his arm out of his brother's grip and took a step back to put more distance between them. "You don't know what you're talking about. That's not the only reason someone would want a relationship with me, Romulus."

"You don't see it, you've never seen it, you're so fucking innocent for someone who's been through what you have," Romulus shook his head and spoke quietly, suddenly acutely aware of everyone listening. "The way people look at you…For God's sake, Remus, you have no idea how hard I've worked to keep people from using you like this."

"He isn't using me," Remus repeated firmly, setting his jaw. "Please. Just leave me alone, I don't need you anymore. That's what you wanted all along, wasn't it?"

Romulus didn't know what happened, or what came over him, but one second he saw a flash of white and the next, his hand was stinging and Remus was clutching his cheek where a vibrant red mark in the shape of a palm was forming.

Remus's expression didn't change, and Romulus saw some of the teachers leap up to break apart the argument. "I think Dad's made it obvious that hitting me won't change anything."

Romulus raised his hand, but when he went to bring it down across Remus's face again, he found he couldn't; someone had caught his wrist in a tight, unrelenting grip. Romulus found himself face to face with a, obviously very angry Sirius Black. When Black spoke, his voice was eerily calm. "Never. Again."

"Let go of me," Romulus grunted, trying to pull his hand out of Black's iron grip.

"I swear to God, if you ever fucking touch him again, I won't be nearly as calm as I am right now," Black growled, his face inches from Romulus's.

"Sirius," Remus snapped wearily, gripping his boyfriend's arm and tugging his sleeve. "Just…just come on, okay? Let him go."

Black obeyed at once, and Romulus was so surprised he almost fell over as he was forced to quickly redistribute his weight to stand straight again. Romulus raised his eyebrows; Sirius Black didn't take orders, and he definitely didn't fret over any of his past conquests the way he was fretting over Remus right then. Black touched Remus's cheek and winced, but was all too aware that Remus had been hurt much, much worse than this before. Black sighed softly and trailed his hand down Remus's arm to take his hand.

"Boys!" McGonagall snapped, coming to a halt a few paces away from them. "I want all of you in my office. Right now."

"I think I'll be joining you, Minerva," all three boys started when Dumbledore's voice put in from behind McGonagall. "I have a few questions myself." His serious, troubled gaze lingered on Remus before flickering back to McGonagall.

"What did Dumbledore ask you about that day, when he took you to his office?" Romulus asked, recalling how he'd seen Remus leave Dumbledore's office right after Romulus had been allowed to leave after being suitably lectured by McGonagall. Remus had been rubbing his eyes irritably and practically collapsed into Sirius's arms outside the gargoyle, clinging to the taller boy like he was the only thing Remus had left.

Remus pursed his lips and moved the screeching kettle from the stove. "You remember that?"

"Yes," Romulus replied shortly. "What did he say?"

"He was asking about Dad," Remus replied quietly, pouring the hot water over the dry oats in the chipped glass bowl. "He was concerned that you had left, wanted to know why. He asked about how Dad and I got along. Things like that."

"What did you tell him?" Romulus asked carefully, afraid he was asking too many questions and would scare Remus into shutting him out and refusing to respond.

Remus turned and put the oatmeal on the opposite edge of the table from Romulus, as if he was afraid to get too close. He snorted derisively. "What do you think I told him? You left because you and him fought and you were an unruly teenager who wanted more freedom than he'd give you. Him and me got along great. No problems."

"He believed you?" Romulus asked.

Remus shrugged and picked at a spot of dried sauce on the counter. "No. But he couldn't do anything about it if I wouldn't tell him."

"You should have," Romulus said quickly. Remus shot him an accusing glare and opened his mouth to reply, but Romulus cut him off. "No, I should have. You were just a kid, you don't deserve to get blamed for that. I should have told Dumbledore what was happening the second I got to Hogwarts, I should have told one of our Muggle teachers when we were little, I should have told someone."

"We didn't have a choice," Remus said quietly.

"Yes, we did," Romulus shook his head.

Remus raised an eyebrow, the way Romulus remembered so clearly from when Remus had done it constantly as a teenager; their Dad had hated it. Romulus smiled a little. "That used to piss Dad off."

"Why do you think I learned how to do it?" Remus smirked, leaning back on the counter.

Romulus laughed, and Remus jumped a little, like the sound surprised him. It wasn't perfect, but at least Remus was talking to him again.

Romulus smiled, but his chest ached with an empty, guilty feeling; he hated that whatever progress he made with patching up their relationship over the next few days would be torn to shreds a matter of hours after the Moon.

The way I wanted this chapter to happen didn't happen, because it got too long, so I'm just going to split it into two and give you guys an update now. I hope you liked it.

Review if you have a second! I didn't get too much of a response for the last chapter and I want to know if people are still interested, or if you're all thinking, "What the hell is she doing with this story?" Let me know what you think! (Especially about the flashbacks, because I know there are a lot of them and people don't always necessarily like that. I just thought it would be the best way to tell certain parts of the story.) I'm thinking next chapter will be part one of "The Reason Sirius Hates Romulus So Much", which, believe it or not hasn't happened yet, even if Romulus has kind of been a jerk.

Thanks for reading!