Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts…

Lily Evans was completing her Potions essay when the portrait hole slammed shut loudly, making her literally jump out of her skin. She slammed her quill down angrily with every intention of telling off whoever it was for being so careless, when there was an enraged yell, and she looked up to see none other that James Potter marching across the common room. Havoc and Potter – what a surprise.

'SIRIUS BLACK!'

Sirius, who had been reading (for once), had hardly looked up from his book when, to Lily's utmost surprise, James grabbed him by the collar of his robes and hauled him out of his seat.

Sirius's eyes widened. 'Prongs, what-'

James's fist collided sharply with his jaw and there was a collective gasp from the occupants in the common room, as Sirius stumbled back in surprise. But James was clearly not satisfied with one punch because before he got the time to collect himself, Sirius was tackled to the ground, arms held together tightly to prevent him from fighting back.

'You fucking bastard!' roared James, punching Sirius in the eye. 'I warned you! I told you not to hurt Moony, but you just couldn't fucking resist, could you?'

Sirius didn't even struggle against James's assaults. He simply lay there; limp as his so-called best friend continued to punch him in the head, his chest, his stomach, both unaware of the ruckus they were causing in the common room.

Lily frowned and got up from her seat immediately. She didn't know what this was about and how Remus was involved, but it had to stop. It was odd though, she'd never seen the two of them fight this violently before. They were like blood brothers after all, and their arguments had never really lasted over a minute. Still, if Black and Potter wanted to kill each other, they could very well do it in the privacy of their own dormitories.

She put her hands on James's shoulders and was surprised when he pushed her away roughly.

'Get the fuck off me, Evans and for once, mind your own sodding business!' growled James, as he punched Sirius in the gut.

Lily blinked rapidly before looking desperately at the rest of the students in the common room who were watching with amused horror. 'Help me!'

'I hope you're happy, Black!' screamed James, struggling, as Lily and two other older prefects tried to pry him off of Sirius. 'He's gone! Remus has gone home!'

Lily almost loosened her hold then. Remus had gone home? Why? What could Black have done that was so serious? Was he hurt?

Meanwhile, James was putting up quite a fight until with one final shove to Sirius shoulder, he let himself be pulled away. For such a skinny boy, he had a lot of strength in him. Surprising what rage and adrenaline could do.

Sirius, however, seemed to break out of his reverie only after James's last statement, and he grabbed his hand pleadingly, completely oblivious to the blood running down his nose and chin. 'Wait…' he choked out. 'Remus…'

'He'd better come back, Black,' warned James, shrugging the restraining hands off his shoulders and straightening his shirt. 'He'd better come back.'

XxxxX

John and Remus had hardly made it to the living room of their house when they heard frantic running from the kitchen and in the blink of an eye, Remus was being pulled into a tight hug by his mother.

'Oh, baby, you're alright,' she said, kissing his hair and squeezing him tighter. 'I was so worried.' Del smiled and looked into her son's amber orbs, affectionately brushing the hair out of his face. She frowned when Remus's eyes immediately cast down to his feet. 'Do you want to me to get you something, Remus?'

Remus shook his head, disentangled himself from his mother, and started walking up the stairs. His head was bowed low; his shoulders slumped, as if drowning in shame. Del frowned as she watched his hands shakily open the door to his room.

'He'll be staying here a while,' said John finally, when the door to Remus's room had clicked shut.

Del didn't reply, just nodded and started up the stairs herself with a firm intention to comfort her son. Her baby was obviously taking this particular incident very hard, though she couldn't fathom why. Remus had always been a little sensitive, but he'd never seen the point in brooding.

She startled when John stopped her by the wrist. 'I'll talk to him.'

To Del, his voice sounded cold, uncaring, and her answer was instant and firm. 'No.'

John's grip tightened, not enough to hurt, just enough to keep her from moving. 'I said, I'll talk to him.' He moved up two steps higher, towering over her, challenging her to refuse.

Del snatched her hand back sharply and glared at her husband. 'Fine,' she spat. 'But I'm warning you, John. If Remus sheds a single tear on your behalf, I swear to God, I'm taking my son and leaving.'

John simply turned his back to her statement, climbing to the top of the stairs. The daggers that Del shot into his back either went unnoticed or were completely ignored. He's my son too. He breathed a frustrated sigh before knocking on his son's bedroom door and entered before he could get a reply.

John found Remus sitting on his bed, knees drawn up to his chest and head buried deep within its crook. The little sun that Remus had allowed through the crack in the curtains only served to highlight how truly pale he was and the light cast an overbearing shadow on his weak frame. Remus was clutching on to the blankets around his shoulder loosely and shivered when he heard John close the door behind him. Was Remus afraid of him?

Remus hugged his knees tighter as he came closer, pulling the blanket closer to himself in the process. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered into his knees when John made to sit beside him.

'What for?' asked John, puzzled. From what Dumbledore had told him, none of this was his son's fault. Not that he'd doubted Remus in the first place.

Remus looked up, eyes shining brightly in the dark. 'For everything. For…for always making life so hard for you. For never being able to do anything right and making you even more ashamed of me. For being more of a freak than I already am.' Remus choked. 'For the healers not killing me the day I was bitten -'

John slapped Remus so sudden and hard, that it left large, scarlet fingerprints in contrast to his pale cheeks. Remus stared at him in shock, breathing heavily and raising his hand to gingerly touch the stinging red marks. A tear cascaded down his cheek, unbidden, and no sooner had it fallen to the sheets that Remus broke down, heart wrenching sobs racking his thin frame.

He wasn't crying. He was - relieving himself of all the pain he'd kept bottled for so long - because, John realised, because no one ever let Remus cry. He was always expected to be the strong one, to just take everything in and never say a word. It reminded John painfully of the small boy he would hold during the very first transformations, the one who would be so helpless and could never understand why he was going through so much pain.

'Come here,' he growled out, reaching out a hand towards his son.

When Remus didn't respond, John pulled him forcefully into a rough embrace, holding Remus's shaking shoulders firmly, kissing his forehead, and rubbing his back comfortingly. 'Shh…I'm here, Remus.' He could feel his son's tears soaking through the shoulder of his shirt and pulled him closer. 'Daddy's right here.' It was exactly what he would say those mornings when he'd hold his wand to a gaping wound and try his best to heal them.

'Please don't hate me anymore, dad. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me anymore…don't hate me…' And then, even those few words dissolved into tears, and Remus was weeping uncontrollably into his chest, fists clenching around his shirt, so afraid to let go.

John stroked his light brown hair soothingly. I could never hate you, Remus. And it was the truth. Though he'd never admit it, for that one moment, when Dumbledore had told him what had happened, John's heart had literally stopped. His mind had started supplying him with morbid scenarios of what could happen to Remus, and oh god, what if the ministry found out and decided to take action. Then the last words he'd ever said to his child would be about not accepting him, and he'd never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to his Remus, his only son. The boy who'd always made him so proud.

It had hit him then, back when he was running to the hospital wing, furious at Dumbledore for not informing him sooner. He had acted precisely like his own father had ten years ago; when John had brought Remus back from the hospital to his grandpa's to cheer him up. The very same indifference, the same prejudiced attitude and ignorance. Back then, John had never hated his father more and that hate only grew over the years as Chris Lupin continued with his façade. John knew that Remus would never hate him, but it would be exactly how his son would remember him as well - as a bastard who couldn't look beyond the box to see that everything was still the same.

John let Remus go, his eyes savouring the sight of his son alive and well. 'I'll have to ask you to keep it down,' he said, smiling and wiping away the wet tracks on Remus's cheeks. 'Your mother said she'd leave if I made you cry.'

Remus's laugh came out with another strangled sob but to John, it was the most comforting sound in the world.

XxxxX

'You know, Moony, we're special,' said Sirius, closing his eyes contently.

Remus smiled into his hair, shivering when Sirius reached up to brush his lips against the dimple on his right cheek. 'Mm…how so?'

They were sharing a bed in James's house. Well technically, Remus's makeshift bed remained unused since Sirius's one was so much more comfortable. They were lying together under the warm blankets, both bare chested and sharing slow, lazy kisses in the dark, with only James and Peter's snores interrupting the quiet of the night. Their legs were entwined between each other, and Sirius's upper body lay on top of Remus's torso, head pillowed comfortably against his shoulder. Remus's arms held him loosely around the chest and nothing in the world could feel more right.

Sirius traced the vein on Remus's hand with his thumb. 'Well, we're not like other people, are we? I mean, we're together, but it's not like we have to give each other flowers and chocolate all the time, or write soppy poetry about how our eyes shine like beetles or something silly like that. We don't celebrate anniversaries, and we can get away with socks for birthday presents. Special, see?'

Remus laughed quietly and kissed the side of Sirius's head, just above his ear. 'Sirius, you never give me any chocolate because I already have enough to feed an entire nation, and I never give you any because I end up eating most of them myself.' He nipped Sirius's ear affectionately. 'Flowers make Padfoot sneeze and most magical ones are poisonous anyway.' Sirius pulled Remus's arms tighter around himself, pouting slightly. 'Anniversaries are out of the question because none of us know exactly when we got together and as for the socks…I'd kill you if you ever think of getting me any for my birthday.'

Sirius pouted. 'Did I mention that we were also horribly unromantic?'

'Dreaming again, Remus?'

Remus snapped out of his daydream to see his mother leaning against the swing he was sitting on. It had been bought a long time ago during Remus's younger years. Back then, he would spend hours in the backyard trying to make it go higher, completely ignoring his father's explanations about how garden swings never went above a few inches from the ground. Now, after fifteen long years, the black paint was finally chipping and the hinges creaked noisily from the years of piled up rust.

Del Lupin moved around it to sit beside her son and held out a plate of freshly baked cookies. She smiled when Remus grabbed two and shifted his eyes to his father, who, for some reason had taken to preening the garden today. Well, the reason probably involved Del screaming herself hoarse this morning, but Remus didn't have to know that. John needed to set an example after all and if she was lucky, she might be able to convince Remus to clean out the garage.

'You've been drifting off a lot lately. Someone special on my baby's mind?'

Remus bit into his cookie harder than necessary and smiled bitterly. 'You needn't worry about that anymore, mum. It's pretty much over.'

Del chewed thoughtfully. 'Lover's spat?'

Remus's laugh came out loud and mirthless. 'It would seem,' he said, letting his mother guide his head to her shoulder. 'That my love was nothing more than a joke to him.'

'Mm…' Del handed him another cookie. 'Sometimes Remus…' She paused, frowning as she caught the smell of nicotine off his clothes. Perhaps, John was smoking beside the laundry again? 'The people we love the most hurt us in ways we'd never think possible.' Her eyes shifted to her husband who seemed to be killing their plants rather than preening them. 'But they don't do it because they don't care about us. Just, at times, stupidity gets the better of them.' John cursed obscenities at her prized rosebush. Del turned to look at her son whose eyes had glazed over a bit. 'That's what we're here for. To guide them through that stupidity, and also because no one else will have them.'

Remus chuckled and reached out for a cookie across her lap.

'That's why, Remus,' Del paused, watching her husband walk towards them, muddy and dirty and looking incredibly grumpy. 'Sometimes it's best to just forgive and forget - and don't touch those cookies with your filthy hands, John,' she snapped, her voice changing abruptly from parental to annoyed.

John ignored her and bit into the largest one. 'My sister here yet?'

Remus's head shot up so suddenly that he pulled a muscle. 'Aunt Natasha's coming over?' he asked frantically looking around and rubbing his neck.

'Didn't your mum tell you?' John frowned when Del moved the plate out of his reach. 'She wanted to know why you were home in the middle of a school term, so I told her you were sick. She immediately wanted to come over. She should be here, right about…' He checked his watch. 'Now.'

As if on cue, they heard the clickety clack of high heels against the pavement, and Natasha Lupin burst through the back gate, her blonde hair whipping cheerfully in the wind. 'Remoo!'

Remus groaned, hiding his face in his mother's t-shirt. 'Mum, how could you do this to me?'

Del smiled and finger combed his hair. 'Now, Remus, be nice. You know Nash loves you like hell, and she doesn't have any children.'

The last time Aunt Natasha tried to proclaim her love, Remus had ended up with hair puffed up like an old lady at a tea party. It took an entire week and very painful scrubbing to get all the hairspray out. 'Why can't she just get a dog?'

'Good Lord, look how big you've gotten! I can hardly reach you!' Remus grimaced as his aunt smeared his cheeks with lipstick filled kisses. 'You're shaping up to look just like John, though much cuter.' She pinched his cheeks and then grimaced as her eyes raked over his face. 'John was right. You must be sick; look how pale you are. We need to get you to bed right now, and I'll whip up some-'

Remus looked at his parents helplessly.

'Let him go, Nash,' chuckled John, as he lit up a cigarette, much to the disapproval of Del. 'I'm teaching my boy how to drive today.'

Remus wasn't sure which was worse – getting killed by his father or getting killed by his father's sister.

XxxxX

Sirius looked down at his feet as the cool waves rushed over his bare toes. They'd adopted a faint tinge of pink by now and the heavily wrinkled look of an old man. How long had he been at the lake - an hour, maybe two? Time seemed to pass by when you're miserable and alone and thinking of the only person who knew how to make things better for you.

If the Giant Squid attacks you, I promise to go down hand in hand.

He sighed and lifted his legs out of the water, pulling on his shoes and stuffing the socks into his pocket. He'd have to go back to the dormitory; judging by the loud thunderclaps and the sudden bursts of light cutting through the sky; it wouldn't be long before the heavens decided to pour. The night skies themselves had gotten a shade darker, slowly turning starless, save for one star.

Why reach for something so far away, when I have the real thing right here?

Remus…

Sirius wondered if Remus would ever come back. The rumours had already spread, brewing from the public fight he and James had had in the common room; and even though Remus's absence had been explained away as sickness, the rest of the school knew better. Even those who hadn't been in the common room that night knew Sirius had done something horrible and soon came out with explanations of their own - some going to the point where they suspected Sirius had killed him. It wasn't far from the truth.

In a few days, Sirius had transformed from the most popular boy in school to the most loathed. The Gryffindors hated him for doing whatever he had to poor Remus Lupin, the nice boy who was always so polite and helpful. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs followed suite for very similar reasons, and the Slytherins simply made use of the opportunity to jeer at Sirius whenever he passed by. Everyone hated him and for the first time in his life, he realised how Remus must feel after every trip to the ministry.

You don't know what it's like, Sirius, to be hated everyday of your life for something you can't explain…

He wrinkled his nose as he passed by the Infirmary, the pungent smell of antiseptic very nearly choking him. Remus hated hospitals. He hated how they were always so white and dull, and he would often beg and plead to please get him out of this hellhole.

When I was bitten, I had to stay in the hospital for ages and everyday, I'd cry and cry about how I hated it there. Finally, my dad got fed up and bought this box of glitter crayons. He told me to draw on the walls and lighten things up a bit. And if they try to stop you, you tell them how strong your daddy is, he had said.

How would Remus be feeling now, stuck at home with the burden of Sirius's stupidity? Would his parents add to his misery - with John Lupin refusing to acknowledge him, and Delilah Lupin trying to play peacemaker between her husband and her son? Sirius felt a sharp twinge in his chest at the thought of his friend hurting.

He entered the common room, eyes automatically falling over the loveseat in front of the fire. He and Remus would creep down here, sometimes at three in the morning, just to be alone and away from everyone. Kisses were slow and languid then, exploring and expressive; sometimes even unnecessary as they sat in the dark in an exaggerated cuddle, talking about inane things.

Padfoot, will you just shut up and kiss me!

Sirius entered their room, taking up his usual space on Remus's bed and running his hands over the sheets. He hadn't let the house elves clean them because they were the only things that pointed towards the existence of another boy previously living here. Everything else - clothes, books; they'd all been packed up and sent back to the Lupin cottage.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sirius saw James entering the room after a morning shower, dripping water on to the floor. James never learned, despite all of them having nearly broken their tailbones from slipping on wet floor.

Do you know how bad that will look on my morgue report, Prongs? Remus Lupin, ferocious werewolf, murdered by a puddle of bath water?

'Up for a game of Quidditch after lunch today?' James asked casually, sorting out his clothes from the laundry pile.

Sirius startled. James hadn't talked to him since… 'You're not angry anymore?'

James turned to face his friend. 'No, Sirius, I'm still bloody furious. But I also know that you don't think sometimes, and that you didn't really mean what you did. Besides, I miss you, you're my brother, and I'm willing to forgive you.'

Sirius nodded dumbly, as James flopped down on the bed beside him. He felt like a heavy load had been lifted off his chest. It hurt to only be able to talk to Peter, and he could feel the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. 'Thanks. I really am…sorry, I mean.'

'I know,' said James, pulling his shirt over his head. 'And I'm sorry about the face. I shouldn't have hit you that hard.'

Sirius shrugged. 'I deserved it.'

'You did, but I think I overdid it a bit.'

Sirius didn't argue, and his gaze shifted to Remus's pillow instead. 'Do you think he'll ever forgive me?'

James laid an arm around Sirius's shoulder. 'Without a doubt.'

'How do you know? This isn't like some book I borrowed and forgot to return, you know. I mean…I nearly…' Sirius didn't finish his sentence and searched James's face for an answer.

'Because it's Moony.' The answer was that simple.

I can never stay angry with you for too long, Padfoot.

'Will he come back?' asked Sirius, his eyes glancing at the letters on his table that he hadn't had the nerve to send.

James bit his lip. The replies Remus had sent to his own letters had been short and devoid of any useful information. 'I don't know, Padfoot. I honestly don't know.'

XxxxX

John watched as Remus drove through the roads back home. It had hardly been a week and a half, and the boy was driving better than his old man had ever managed. Well, why wouldn't he? After all, he had John Lupin teaching him, with a little monitoring from Del, of course. But that was hardly noticeable. The fact was that, throughout their little driving sessions every morning, John had noticed how focused and sharp Remus was. His boy had potential, he had to admit, and John was starting to feel that holding him back for any longer would be a crime by itself.

'Remus,' he said, after a long period of contemplation.

Remus, who had been nodding his head to the music playing on the radio, turned his head slightly, not taking his eyes off the road. 'Hm?'

'For as long as I know you, you've never - turn left from the corner - given up on anything.' John adjusted the front mirror to see the annoying bloke who kept honking his horn. 'No matter how many times you've failed, I've always seen you stand up again…'

Remus pretended to be distracted by the constant noise behind him, but there was a telltale blush creeping up his cheeks.

'And it's been almost two weeks since you've come back home, and damn it!' John pulled down the window and made a very rude gesture to the car behind him. Stupid bloody…

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Mum will kill you, you know. Corrupting my virgin eyes and all.'

John growled. 'You didn't see anything; you had your eyes on the road the whole time. Anyway, I don't think this time should be any different, and it's not like your mum and I don't want you to stay, but,' he growled when the incessant honking started again. 'Excuse me, Remus.' He grabbed his wand from the dashboard and flicked it irritably. Immediately, the honking stopped. Ha! Now you can spend your time figuring out where your bloody engine went. 'As I was saying,' John continued, ignoring Remus's amused laugh. 'I think it's time you went back to school, Remus.'

Remus smiled, eyes twinkling merrily as he took a left turn. 'I think so too, dad.'

XxxxX

Padfootslittlegirl: Lol…yeah, don't worry. Things always get better with those two…but I won't tell you exactly how long it will take. LunasStar: Hope you like this chapter…if it's a little too dramatic, blame it on the music I'm listening to (my sister's singing, and ouch!). ReginaLucifer: Well, you got your wish about Remus and his dad. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. jka1: So, tell me, does Sirius need to suffer more, or is this chapter enough? Tyleet27: Whoa, you just summarised everything I wrote in this chapter, except for the Remus wanting to be isolated bit. Um, very much speechless. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. MagicalWinry: For the sake of my treasure life, I made this chapter a slightly less angsty one. Messr-Paddifoots-love: Of course John and Remus will make up. The whole prank was actually a secret plan made by Sirius to get them to reconcile, and it worked perfectly. Now all he has to do is find a way to get Remus to come back to him. Luermide: Well, I took the 'it'll be over soon' statement to a whole new level, didn't I? Still, should keep you happy. Freakanature: Yeah, the little snot hates writing, but has potential. And I think my chapters jumped from very upsetting to only remotely upsetting. Those therapy sessions at the clinic must be paying off. Woodgie: Well, since you've pleaded so much, I updated as fast as I could. And yeah, I always sorta pictured James to be the leader, the one who's always looking out for everyone and keeping the Marauders together. SpikesDreamer: I love James too, and I tried to portray him as this sweet guy despite being a little on the arrogant side. Hope I've done it right. Nuitah: Well, Remus is not a woman, but I guess you got the idea right. I did want to show that one of the reasons Remus loves Sirius so much is because he has the qualities of the person he most looks up to. Yamisukui: Well, in that case, my mission has been accomplished. So, that's what delicate means! Ha! I learned new English…sounds a little weird coming from an English person, doesn't it? And yeah, I rushed it a bit, because most of time, I find myself falling asleep when I read in detail about how Snape got Sirius angry and James ran to the shack and all. Hopefully, this one's better spaced out. BlackMercifulFaerie: In some ways, Remus wants to go home, because like all human beings, during times of distress, he wants to be with his parents or in a place he's most familiar with. Serpent91: Thank you! I hope this chapter's left you just as speechless. Harold Diggory: I agree with you. Things cannot end this way. They have to end nicely with this chapter. (grins) sola-bola: No, it's not wrong. It's actually quite in the lower levels of sadism. You like to watch Remus suffer, and I like to watch everyone suffer. runningwithscissors75: It makes me absolutely cheerful when I read your review, because you assure me of a job well done, and emotions well conveyed. And you should totally fall in love with the fic, just to make the writer happy. Seve-Suzie: Oops, I used another cliffhanger. WhiteWolfCub: Odd, I always thought America was more tolerant towards these sort of things, not counting your president. Sorry, don't mean to insult him or anything, and I'm not in any position to make judgments. Free reign of thought and all. jean kitsune: I can't believe we're fighting over who gets beat up the most. Well, I'd have to say you win, because I've given my people their share of bruises as well. My temper is one of my weak points. Seanbiggerstaffrox: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter. KawaiiMegami86: Yeah, it's not fair that James had to die. Stupid /# Peter. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. I'm not that proud of it, but I'm partial to the scene with Remus and Del on the swing. Remo: Well, I guess you didn't have to wait very long for both your questions, eh? And yeah, that was one of the saddest chapters I've written, so I decided to lighten things up a bit in here. Goldfish682: Well, I'm glad you decided to give my story a chance, and yeah, it does have a lot of grammatical errors, not to mention my formatting gets mucked up when I post the chapters. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter…keep reading! Annieboo92: Hm…I just took James's anger to a whole new level, didn't I? Hey, I've always wondered, how do you guys know if someone's asking you if you're mad as in insane, or mad as in angry? My friend, who's an American too, asked me if I was mad once…and I just stared at her, and I was like, I shouldn't be after all the money I spent on therapy.