***WARNING***

This chapter contains

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back for Chapter Seven. I'm glad that the end of Chapter Six wasn't the disaster that I thought it had turned into. Things are hopefully going to stay moving fast now, let me know what you think.

In my defense I'm horrible at action scenes, so any feedback I can get in that area in particular will be a huge help!

Also, I'd like to apologize for the delay in the update. My work load at school and at work is getting a little more intense. I'll be only updating once a week for a while. My goal will be to update on Friday night or Saturday morning so that people have the weekend to read. I apologize, but I will try to keep the updates regular.

"Well this is a surprise." Greyback said in a deceptively calm voice as he walked further into the clearing.

Remus slid the puppies off his lap and toward their mother before standing up quickly, Sirius rising up next to him.

"I didn't tell him about this place, Fenrir, I promise. He followed me here." Remus began explaining himself quickly.

Sirius' eyes snapped over to where Remus was still standing beside him, feeling insulted that he would throw him under the bus so quickly, having thought that they'd just shared a rather meaningful moment.

"It's fine, Remus. I'm not angry." Greyback said calmly, though there was an acid in his eyes as he waved Remus to him.

Remus moved to obey immediately, though Sirius grabbed him by his arm, yanking him back toward himself more violently than he'd meant to.

"Now hold on just a fucking second!" Sirius snapped. "Do you really think that I'm going to hang around and let whatever this is go on?" He asked, motioning between Remus and Fenrir with his free hand.

"And what is it that you think is going on between us?" Greyback asked.

He seemed calm, but Sirius could see his fists clenching at his side and a slight tremor in his shoulder, as though his body wanted nothing more than to tear into him.

"Quiet, Remus." Sirius began again as Remus started quietly asking him to leave it alone. "You really want to know what I think? Well first of all, I think that there's an inappropriate relationship going on between you two that Slughorn might be interested to hear about. But what really gets on my tits is that I think that you killed Jona, and framed Remus for it." Sirius steeled his nerves as he spoke so boldly.

"Sirius, stop it." Remus said with a bit more force in his voice this time.

"Is that what you think?" Greyback asked, his mouth twitching into a putrid smile. "I'm surprised he told you about that at all, but you clearly don't know anything about him if you feel that way."

"I know enough about him to realize that he looks like shit when he gets back to our room after playing around with you. I know that you have the whole school terrified of him. That's what this is about, isn't it? You were jealous that he fancied Jona, so you got rid of him, cut Remus off from all the other boys here, and left him emotionally dependent on you all in one nasty swoop, didn't you?" Sirius spat accusingly.

"Sirius, stop it!" Remus nearly shouted now, yanking his arm out of his grasp.

Sirius was surprised when Remus yanked himself away so violently and felt a sudden sting of betrayal as Remus made his way over to Greyback, who pulled him close to his chest. Remus kept his back to Sirius, not wanting to have to see that betrayed look of disgust that he was sure was marring his handsome features.

"Remus is very sick, Black. And your meddling has only made things worse for him." He was petting the back of Remus' head gently, his other hand resting on his arm.

"I think you're bluffing." Sirius said through his teeth.

"Did he tell you about his family?" Greyback asked, as though he were pulling a trump card.

"He did, actually. And if you think that I'm going to let something like that deter me-" He began, but was cut off.

"Do you know what that kind of experience can do to a child's mind? The rage that he felt toward his parents still haunts him, and sometimes it cant be controlled" He finished quietly, looking down at Remus and touching his cheek.

Sirius had a hard time telling if the compassion that he saw there was real, but it was very convincing.

"He has fits." Greyback continued, looking back at Sirius again. "I know he cant control it, so I've done what I can to help keep him safe. I kept him from being arrested for the accident with Jona, and I keep him locked in my office when he has them now so he can't hurt any one else."

Sirius felt his stomach begin to clench uncomfortably as he listened to Greyback. Every cell in his body told him not to believe a word this man said, but the sincerity with which he delivered it made his rationality tell him that his gut could be wrong.

"Remus, is what he's saying true?" He asked, looking at the back of Remus' head, wishing that he would turn around and look him in the eye, but all he caught was the nod of his head.

Sirius felt his mind explode in white static. He couldn't think straight. Had he been wrong all this time about both Greyback and Remus. He'd thought Remus was incapably of murder, yet he admitted very believably to the savage murder of his own parents. Granted, he had reason, but the brutality with which the act was performed still left a bitter taste in Sirius' mouth. If he'd been wrong about Remus, could he also be wrong about Greyback. Whether it was appropriate for them to have a relationship aside, could Greyback truly be trying to keep Remus safe, and nothing more?

"Now if you're finished making things worse, we all need to get back to the grounds. I wont report you to Slughorn this time, Black, but you need to stay away from this place. Come on, Remus." He finished gently before leading Remus back down the path, guiding him gently by his hand.

Sirius sank back down to where he and Remus had been sitting, the puppies waddling over to him again. He felt lost all of a sudden. He felt like any progress he'd made with Remus was gone, and he couldn't help feeling rejected and betrayed. Maybe he had read Remus' signs incorrectly.

He stayed in the clearing for nearly a half hour, playing with the puppies half-heartedly as he let his thoughts settle down. With a quick scratch behind the mother's ear he finally made his way back to the grounds of the school. Since all his time had been spent trying to get close to Remus, he now was unsure what to do with himself. He considered finding where Greyback had taken him, thinking he could spy on them and try to catch them doing something that would rebolster his initial suspicious, but remembering the way that Remus had abandoned him for Greyback made his interest in the mystery falter. Instead, he went to the pitch where he figured he would find James and spent the rest of the day losing himself to the physicality of sport. He was glad that his mind was forgivingly blank as he played, and only then did he realize how much time he'd spent thinking about Remus and his problems. He'd never meant for it to become so consuming.

That night, when he returned to his room to find it empty he told himself that he wouldn't let it keep him up, and crawled into bed. It was 3am before he fell asleep, though, and Remus had not so much as peeked in. In the morning Sirius was woken up by the loud chiming of bells, as always happened on Sundays. Rolling over he saw that Remus' bed was still empty. He felt his stomach lurch unhappily, but reminded himself that he wasn't interested in what Remus does any more. After showering he meandered down to Mass where Peter gave him a pathetic look.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, seeming a half concerned and half disgusted.

Sirius knew that he didn't look quite his best, but he didn't realize that showing up with still-wet hair would make his kicked puppy feel quite so obvious.

"Lupin blew him off." James said, who'd found out the day before on the pitch.

"Isn't that normal?" Peter asked, looking between the two of them.

"Just drop it, you two. I don't want to talk about it. I'm done worrying about him, so if we could just not talk about him for a whi-" He stopped himself as he noticed an empty spot in the pew where Remus and Greyback always sat. He craned his neck, trying to locate them in the crowded church. "Did you guys see Remus come in this morning?"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about him for a while." Peter said with a teasing grin.

"Shut it, Pete, I'm serious." Sirius snapped at him.

"We've not seen him come in." James said, sounding far more sincere. "Haven't seen Greyback either."

Sirius felt like he may vomit on the back of the pew in front of him. Even though Greyback kept Remus out late several nights a week, they had both always attended Mass. He knew that something was wrong, he could feel it, and his whole body began prickling with fear that was bordering on panic.

"Tell them I'm sick if anyone asks." He said hastily to James and Peter before getting up and running from the church, heads turning to watch him.

Sirius felt his heart racing, but somehow knew that it wasn't just because he was running. Fear was twisting his stomach as he ran first to Greyback's offices, then to the locker rooms and archery range, each place empty. He couldn't explain how something as trifling as their absence from church reaffirmed all of his suspicions, but he knew in his heart with more certainty now than ever, that Remus was too gentle to have violent fits, no matter how traumatized he might be. It was what he saw in Remus' eyes when he told him about his parents that reassured him. He could see in the wavering golden glow that Remus was disgusted with himself for what he'd done. And it was that self loathing that Greyback was culturing and keeping alive in order to control him. He didn't need any more evidence. The shockingly powerful emotions that had stirred in Sirius for the other boy was all the evidence he needed.

Unsure of where else to check he ran back toward the church, pushing himself through the opening between the building and the fence. As soon as he reached the cover of the trees he felt his skin prickle again. He could tell something was not right, and as he broke through the foliage into the clearing he felt his whole body go cold and his stomach convulse in an attempt to purge itself.

He'd found Remus, but not in a state that he'd expected. Remus sat near the tree where they'd shared their kiss the day before, his legs bent awkwardly underneath him as though they had crumpled under his weight. The coppery smell that filled Sirius' nostrils drew his attention to the blood smattered on the ground and the bark of the trees. Sirius could make out three little red lumps in the leaves and with another wave of nausea he realized they were the puppies. By the shelter was the larger form of the mother dog, her head indiscernible, only a red mess where it should have been. While Sirius could not see Remus' face, he knew that he was conscious as he swayed and shook where he was sitting, seeming to be staring at one of the bloody lumps near him, his hands and arms smeared in red.

Sirius felt his brain shudder to a stop. When he caught sight of the jagged stone about six inches across that was laying beside Remus' knee and the blood and bits of flesh that covered it, the horror of the situation settled in him.

"Remus?" Sirius thought he voice sounded overly weak, and thought it was so quiet that Remus may not have heard him.

Remus had heard, though, and as he turned shakily toward him Sirius felt his stomach lurch in protest again and had to cover his mouth to keep himself from being ill as he caught site of the blood and tiny fleshy bits smeared over his mouth and cheeks. Remus' lips quivered as they opened, seeming like he wanted to say something to Sirius, though before he could get any words out, he jerked forward and was violently sick. The awful sound of retching pulled Sirius out of his shocked state and he hurried over to Remus, taking his shoulders and leaning him further forward to keep him from getting vomit on himself.

"I-I'm sorry," Remus began, having to pause as he heaved again. "Pl-lease, I'm sorry." His heaving turned into sobs as he brought a hand up to wipe his mouth, the drying blood still smearing.

"Shh. Just relax, Rem. You're alright now, okay? Just relax. Take a deep breath for me, okay?" He babbled, rubbing his back and soothing circles. "Can you stand up?" He asked, rising to his feet and guiding Remus up on shaky legs. "Lets get you back and cleaned up, alright? Then we'll talk."