I don't own Harry Potter.

All of the blood that was left in Sirius' already pale face drained. "What did you say?"

"Sirius, you die," Lupin whispered, equally pale.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yelled Sirius.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Yelled Snape.

"Jerk," Harry muttered.

"I heard that, Potter."

"So, Remus, how do I… you know… um…"

"…die?" Snape supplied cheerfully. "…kick the bucket? …croak? …drop dead? …become deceased? ...depart from this world? I have more if you'd like…"

"No, Severus, we get the point," Remus replied. "Sirius, you die in a battle in the Department of Mysteries."

"How?"

"You fall behind a curtain."

"That's it? Did I hit a wall? Split my head open? Get hit with the killing curse? Get horribly maimed?"

"No, you just fall behind a curtain."

"Well, that's…"

"… disappointing? …embarrassing? …pathetic? …humiliating?"

"That will do, Severus."

"…that's LAME! What, I don't even get a proper death scene? Was I not good enough? I just fall behind a curtain; that's it, game over? THERE HAS TO BE MORE! READ!"

Lupin looked mildly shocked and continued to peruse the book's pages. He shut the book and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's it. The most climactic thing after your death is Harry's temper-tantrum in Dumbledore's office. Apparently he's going to take losing you rather hard."

"Temper tantrum? My, my, Potter at fifteen? Can't you act a little more… your age?"

"Hey, I'm not the one doing a jig after my arch-enemy croaks!"

"Careful, Potter!"

"What, so you can insult me but I can't insult you?"

"Precisely."

"How fair is that?"

"That, Potter, is school."

"Professor Lupin, what happens after that?" Hermione asked.

Lupin sighed and picked up the sixth book and opened it. After a few pages, he muttered, "Traitor…" He shot Snape a dirty look.

"What?" Snape's eyes widened. "What about me?"

"You make an Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa Malfoy to help Draco accomplish a task which was assigned to him by V--"

"DO NOT SPEAK THE DARK LORD'S NAME!!"

"—oldemort."

Peter shuddered. "Sirius, my blood's all gone to my head."

"Good, maybe it's filling the place where your brain should have been!" Sirius snarled.

"Seriously, can you let me down?"

"Now, Wormtail, let me share with you the predicament that I'm in--"

"AARGH!"

"Moony, what? Are you okay? Is it the moon?"

"Sluggy's back."

"Potions? What happened to--?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

"WHAT???"

Lupin looked at the trio. "Professor Snape takes the Defense Against the Dark Arts position in your sixth year."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the trio cried out.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

"Professor Lupin, why couldn't you just come back?" Harry asked.

"Well… erm… There are new laws, apparently, that greatly… erm… limit the rights of… uh… people like me."

"You mean werewolves."

"Very perceptive, Miss Granger, although I think that Lupin was talking about half-flobberworms," Snape sneered sarcastically.

Lupin merely smiled with amusement, picturing in his mind's eye Neville's boggart-Snape.

"Shouldn't you be reading?" Sirius asked, still trying to cope with the fact that he was dead. "Moony? Moony? Is it the full moon?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Sirius, I was elsewhere…" Lupin said with a final smile and then continued to read the book.

"Now can you--"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pl--"

"Silencio!" Sirius said and Peter's voice ceased to work.

"Nice one," Harry said.

"Fifth year charms… I'll never forget the wonderful uses of the Silencing Charm…"

"And neither will I."

"Can it, Snivellus."

"May I have my--"

"Silencio!" and Snape ceased to speak.

"I could definitely see the uses of that," Harry said, picturing a mute Draco Malfoy.

"Yeah, it wears off after a bit, though…"

"Still…"

"Yeah…" They said in unison.

"Wow, you two have really bonded in the past… fifteen minutes," Ron said.

"Shouldn't the moon be coming out by now?" Hermione asked, nervously.

"Nope. It comes out when we leave the Shrieking Shack," Ron replied.

"But we never discover the books in the third book," Hermione retorted. "That could change everything."

"That sounds very strange, you know," Ron said.

"Well, I suppose so. Time is such a frustrating thing to have to deal with."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"LET ME DOWN! LET ME DOWN! LET ME DOWN!" Peter screamed, the Silencing Charm finally having worn off.

"Scream yourself hoarse for all I care; I'm not letting you down!"

"Can I have my wand--"

"No."

"But I--"

"No."

"Give it to me!" Snape screamed and lunged at Sirius, trying to grab his wand, but Sirius easily stepped aside.

"You've gone a bridge too far this time, Snivellus," Remus said in a low, quiet voice, taking out his wand and aiming it at Snape.

"Look, it's no problem, Moony, I still have the wand--"

"It's not that, Sirius," Remus pressed his wand against Snape's throat. "This traitor killed Dumbledore."

"WHAT?" everybody exclaimed in unison.

"The coward killed him when he was defenseless. And then he fled," Lupin's lips had formed a tight, thin line similar to the facial expression Professor McGonagall wore when she was furious. "And I could end it… I could change it right here… One curse…"

"But… but you'd…"

"Yeah, I know. And, to be frank, I don't care."

"I have as much desire to kill Dumbledore as you do, Lupin."

"You say that now… before Voldemort – don't even say it, Severus – returns."

"Yes, and I know that he will come back. And I know that Dumbledore will die. And I still say that I do not want to kill him."

Lupin looked directly into Snape's eyes. Snape met the gaze head on. Both were silent.

"Can you let me down, now?" Peter squeaked.

"SILENCE, WORM!" Sirius roared.

Lupin lowered his wand.

"Wha--"

"Harry, he's not lying."

"But--"

"He's not. Whatever they were, Severus had his reasons for murder that night. Maybe…" Lupin looked back at the books and began to read the pages once more.

"Blimey," Ron said. "Who would have thought… out of any of us that it would be… him to… you know… go like that…"

"Yeah…"

"Merlin's Beard…" Lupin whispered, pale.

"What is it?"

"I… I can't believe it…" Lupin gave a small chuckle. "Of all people, me…"

"What is it?"

"How could she… ever… unthinkable…" Lupin muttered.

"Spit it out, Moony!"

"It's, erm, personal…"

"What, do you snuff it?"

"No, not yet, anyway… does anybody know who Nymphadora Tonks is?"

"She's my second cousin. Why?"

"Er… she just told me that she's in love with me."

This is the end of the fourth chapter. Thanks go out to Mina-chan AMD, The Amazing Chez, and Ogreatrandom for reviewing for the previous chapter! Please leave lots of reviews!