October, 1981…

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. 'You're the best writer amongst us, Moony, so I figured you could write this article better than either of us, really.'

James smiled at Remus, who replied with a weak one of his own; it felt like ages since his lips had turned upwards and the sentiment now felt painfully foreign on his face. 'There's no guarantee that the Daily Prophet will actually publish it, James. It's a direct attack against Crouch's methods and right now, he's about the only thing that people think they can actually depend on.'

James frowned; the deep creases gracing his forehead making him look unspeakably old. 'Look, I know some of dad's old friends, alright? I can get this through. Seriously, don't tell me you actually want Peter to stay like that in Azkaban?'

Remus traced the flowery patterns on the tablecloth, hesitating only for a moment. 'No,' he replied, remembering the hideous and nightmarish scene from their trip to Azkaban, 'I don't.'

James leaned up on his elbows, coming invasively close to Remus's face as if sharing a secret. His face, however, was pleading and willing Remus to understand his plight. 'It's cruel, Moony, what they're doing. I'm not going to stand for something so completely inhumane. We get Peter out of there, and he gets a chance to be cared for in Mungo's or at least given an easy death.'

Remus nodded, pushing back his chair and getting up. 'I'll try my best to make this work. I have to go now, James.'

James blinked in confusion. 'Why? It's only been…' He looked up at the antique grandfather clock – a Potter heirloom. '…half an hour since you came. Stay a while…have dinner.'

Remus shook his head and tried smiling in what he hoped looked appreciative. 'Some other time maybe.'

James held Remus's upper arm gently, questioningly. 'It's Lily, isn't it?' he asked, looking unsure and perhaps a little guilty. 'Look, I'll talk to her, yeah? I know she's being a little pushy about this whole matter, but she really just wants to see the two of you happy again.'

'I'm fine,' Remus replied, his body going rigid at the indirect mention of Sirius.

'Moony, if you're upset with me…'

'I'm not,' Remus interrupted, trying not to look at James's hurt expression. He didn't want to have to feel that wrenching guilt at James's pathetic and sorry face. He didn't want to have to feel anything because everything always ending up hurting too much.

'Then stop ignoring me, damn it!' James yelled suddenly, punching Remus lightly on the arm. 'Both of you pretend as if I don't even exist, like I don't care or understand what the fuck's going on!' His voice cracked a little and he pushed Remus angrily, not allowing the werewolf to talk. 'Hell, I don't think Padfoot's even said hello to me in a month – he stays with Harry mostly. And you! You act as if I'm not even your friend anymore!'

'You're misunderstanding,' Remus managed to say before being grabbed by the collar and pushed again quite roughly by a man who was a good few inches shorter than him. James seemed really angry this time, angrier than usual even. His face was turning a bright red, his magnified eyes glaring holes into Remus behind his glasses, and his fists clenching tight to restrain himself from hitting anyone. It was a good thing Harry had gone to Lily's parents for the day, or else he would have started crying at the sight of his father.

'Starve yourselves…bruise yourselves…kill yourselves,' James spat, enunciating each word with a violent shove. 'Why should I drag myself down to both of your self inflicted tortures, right?' He towered over Remus as the werewolf was backed into the chair and forced to sit down. 'I never judged you, never taken sides. I always tried to help whenever either of you needed it. So don't fucking throw me aside like trash when the pair of you are drowning in your fucking issues.'

'I'm not-' Remus tried, wondering what was the best way to placate James's sudden outburst; what was he supposed to say when most of it was true? He couldn't quite deny it, and he had no excuses to justify himself except that Remus just wanted to be left alone. He wanted to be dependant only on himself, to have complete control, so that nothing -no one - like that ever happened again.

'James, I-' Remus shouldn't have come over to the Potter's in the first place, despite James's pleas about Peter on the Floo. Things always went downhill between them nowadays. Some way or the other, Sirius would be mentioned and tensions would fly high, leaving Remus with the urge to just run. To scream and tell them that it was none of their business and that he no longer cared anymore, so they could stop it now. 'I'm sorry, James,' Remus squeezed out finally, looking up at his friend's angry eyes.

James's eyes softened and he moved away, falling into the chair beside Remus dejectedly. 'When's the last time you called me Prongs?'

Remus shrugged, looking away.

'It's always James now, isn't it? Why not Prongs? What's changed?' James asked sadly.

'We grew up.'

James chuckled humourlessly. 'Remus, we both know that this pretense of being uncaring doesn't work on me. I'm not Lily. I'm your friend, your brother – I can read you like a book.' He pulled out his wand, the old Marauder glimmer back in his eyes, though not as bright as it used to be. 'I'm warning you, don't ignore me. I'll strap you to this chair if that's what it takes. Don't test the waters with a bloke who spent the whole day cleaning dirty diapers.'

Remus breathed heavily, forcing a bit of himself on the surface, if only to please James and make him feel better. He tried to grin, but felt it coming out a bit more twisted and pained than he intended. 'Dinner, eh?'

XxxxX

'I-I come with a warning – no, a request – please-'

Dumbledore cast a muffling charm around them, watching as the leaves and branches still whipped around them but made no sound. 'What request could a Death Eater make of me?'

'The prophecy…the prediction…Trelawney…'

'Ah, yes.' The Prophecy. The one thing Dumbledore had been agonising for months now, trying to decipher it's meaning, to find out who would bring the Dark Lord's to his knees. Knowing that Voldemort knew about it, despite Dumbledore's attempts to keep it hidden was no surprise. Trelawney's prediction had been unexpected after all and also not the most strategically placed. 'How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?'

'Everything – everything I heard! That is why – it is for that reason - he thinks it means Lily Evans!'

XxxxX

'Prongs, where's Harry? I have the most brilliant-' Sirius's running stopped almost as abruptly as his speech, as his eyes fell upon Remus, sitting beside James on one of the couches. Their eyes met – gold against silver – before both of them looked away.

'So, what's this brilliant thing of yours?' James asked, trying to cut the tension between his two friends. He eyed the bright orange packet in Sirius's hand warily, wondering what sort of gift his friend had bought Harry yet again, how much it cost, and how big a fit Lily was going to have over Sirius doting and spoiling Harry so much.

Sirius grinned, though James noticed that it was half hearted and a little miserable – not unlike the ones his friend had been wearing for the past few weeks. Sirius was quite deliberately avoiding Remus's eyes, and Remus was staring abnormally hard at the bright orange packet. 'Well,' Sirius said in a conspiratory voice, 'I figured I could take Harry to his first trick or treat in this!' Sirius pulled out a costume from his packet and held it up with flourish.

James gaped, taking in the bright red robes and the prowling golden lion adorned on the chest. The robes had obviously been modified and made brighter and shinier to appeal to children, but there was no denying what it represented. 'Gryffindor Quidditch robes!' James exclaimed in excitement; they were truly the smallest pair he'd ever seen, but didn't fail to send him into a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

James turned to look at Remus to see his reaction, but was confused to see a frown upon his friend's face. James couldn't quite read Remus's expression, not with the mask he'd put on, but he thought he could see brimming horror and maybe anger. Scratching the back on his neck lightly, James looked back at Sirius to see what could have caused such an averse reaction. It took a while for James to understand that Remus was not looking at the packet, but rather at the healing horizontal cuts on Sirius's wrist where the sleeve of his leather jacket had slid down.

'Does it hurt?' Lily asked softly as she dabbed the cleaned cut with James's aftershave. 'I could-'

Sirius shook his head. 'Let it be,' he replied softly, purposefully avoiding James's gaze. 'No one will see.'

'It's deep,' Lily explained, gently winding a bandage around Sirius's wrist.

She looked at her husband who shrugged; she probably didn't understand why Sirius was doing what he was. James did. But only to a certain extent, and while he didn't approve of it, he felt that Sirius had a right to choose the way to remember his mistakes and repent for them.

'It'll mark if we don't,' she persisted, clipping the bandage tightly.

'Good,' Sirius replied, taking his hand away and flexing his wrist experimentally.

Sirius must have noticed Remus's gaze as well, because he suddenly switched the costume to his other hand, letting his left fall and clutching at the sleeves of his jacket tightly within his fingers.

'Harry's at Lily's mum's place, but they should be home soon. Why don't you sit with us for a while?'

XxxxX

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…"

'Did you expect the Longbottoms instead?' asked Phineas, looking down at Dumbledore from his portrait.

"…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"

'I was expecting someone older,' Dumbledore replied truthfully. He looked up at the rows of Headmaster peering down at him anxiously, waiting for his verdict. 'The thought had crossed my mind, but an infant…' He chuckled humourlessly. 'My best guess was Charlie Weasley, oddly enough.'

"…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…"

'Can we change what's already been written? Haven't we learned from experience that a Prophecy is inevitable?'

Dumbledore sighed. 'The outcome is inevitable, not the consequences. That is my theory.'

There was a murmur between the Headmasters, some agreeing to Dumbledore's opinions, other debating whether anything could truly be done to avoid such a situation. For the first time, even Phineas was showing concern about matters outside the school grounds, but only because he knew that the last of the Blacks, his grandson, was somehow involved in this while ordeal.

'Severus Snape…did he mention when Voldemort intended to attack?'

Dumbledore shook his head, his face looking so sad and pained that many of the Headmasters had to look away. 'Voldemort doesn't trust his most faithful servants…and with good reason, don't you think?' Dumbledore wiped his glasses with the sleeve of his robes. 'Snape came to me the minute he got the news…but the question is…how soon was this news revealed to him?'

"…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"

XxxxX

The fireplace suddenly swirled green, startling all three Marauders. Remus and Sirius had both drawn their wands almost immediately, face tight with adrenaline rush. Summoning his own discarded wand, James mused how synchronised the two of them were even though they were hardly talking to each other. It was almost as if one could read the other's mind and anticipated exactly what the other would do.

'Professor Dumbledore!

'I'm sorry to come uninvited, boys,' the Professor said gravely, stepping out of the grate and dusting off his robes. James noted that his usual twinkle and cheery smile was missing. 'I'm afraid I have some grave news. You might want to sit down.'

XxxxX

'You're afraid he might have been too late.'

Dumbledore looked out his window, at the scores of student running around the grounds. Classes were over for the day and their joyous laughter resonated all over the castle, bringing life to the grey stone walls. 'Fear is only as deep as the mind allows,' Dumbledore replied ambiguously.

"…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

XxxxX

'I should…I need to call Lily,' James whispered shakily. Remus was sure James's knees would collapse as he walked over to the muggle telephone Lily insisted on keeping. 'Make sure they come back straight away,' James said to no one in particular, and Remus felt the fear bubbling in him ready to erupt. It was a miracle by itself that James wasn't screaming or crying from helplessness right now, because Remus was barely restraining the urge to. Perhaps it was only the shock of the news that was still holding his friend upright.

'Professor, what do you propose we do?' Remus asked Dumbledore when he noticed that even Sirius seemed too distraught to speak. Who wouldn't be? With a Prophecy like that, who wouldn't be?

'The Fidelius Charm,' Dumbledore replied, looking at James with a thoughtful expression. The young Potter must have heard them because he suddenly turned, looking even more worried. 'I'm sure you boys have studied about it in school. The mechanics are complicated, but it seems to be our best solution for at the moment.'

'The Fidelius Charm,' Remus repeated softly, as he looked down at his feet and recalled everything he'd learned back in Hogwarts. 'You'll need a Secret Keeper for that. Someone to protect the location within his mind.'

'They're safe,' James called out, walking swiftly towards them. His voice sounded a little pitchy, but relieved nonetheless. 'They're on their way now.'

'Let me be your Secret Keeper, James,' Remus said immediately, not even giving the chance for James to sit down. 'You've seen what I'm capable of. You know I can defend you best.' A decision as serious as this needed some thought, he knew; they had to analyse the situation, find out problems or other alternatives because the Fidelius was too complicated for even the smartest of people to cast. Then again, when it came to Harry and his two best friends, Remus had never considered hesitation an option. 'So, if you agree, I'd guard your secret with my life.'

'NO!' Sirius cried suddenly, startling everyone in their seats. It was the first time he'd spoken since the news of the Prophecy had been revealed to them. 'No. It should be me. I'm the obvious choice and even if something happens…if they find out somehow and I…' Sirius swallowed heavily, sparing Remus a quick glance. 'Even if I die, the Fidelius will hold.'

Remus frowned. 'You can't protect everyone, Sirius. As you mentioned, you're the obvious choice. If Voldemort were to target anyone, it would be you first.'

'That doesn't mean I would reveal the secret!' Sirius replied heatedly, eyes seeming overly bright. 'I would never-'

'No one questioned your loyalty here, Sirius!' Remus snapped, feeling blood pound in his head from anger at Sirius's insolence. 'But putting your neck on a silver platter when there's clearly an easier solution is just plain stupid!' He rose to meet Sirius's intense glare the same time Sirius flew out of his own seat with defiance. It was turning out exactly like one of their old fights; they would always get angry at each other over something, always try to push each other to gain the upper hand. What was Sirius thinking anyway, sacrificing himself like that when Remus had already proposed the idea first! 'Just let me be the fucking Secret Keeper, you bloody git!'

'No! I forbid you to! I won't let you-'

'You're not my bloody owner!'

'I'm only trying to-'

'I think,' Dumbledore interrupted with a very loud and deliberate cough. 'That this conflict would be solved if I were to offer.'

In the heat of the argument, Remus had, quite honestly, even forgotten James and Dumbledore were still there. He blushed a bright red and sat himself down again, turning his focus away from a still standing and gobsmacked Sirius to look at James.

Face buried in his hands, James laughed bitterly. 'Some day this turned out to be, eh? Just minutes ago, I was trying my hardest to get the two of you to speak two syllables to each other, and now you're fighting over who wants to get murdered first.' He ran his hands through his hair, clutching tightly at the roots. 'Fuck! He's just a baby, damn it! Sorry, Professor.'

Dumbledore smiled kindly. 'We don't know when Voldemort will strike, so the sooner you decide, the better the chances of young Harry being safe.'

James nodded. 'When can we cast it?'

'Tonight,' Sirius interrupted before Dumbledore could reply. 'We do it tonight. I don't know how the spell works, but we'll learn.' He looked at Remus and the others defiantly, as if willing to challenge him. 'We'll have the Fidelius set up in an hour, I promise you.' He quickly knelt in front of James, resting both hands upon his best friend's knees. 'There's only one way to do this, Prongs, and you know it. The Professor's already has enough on his plate without us dumping such a responsibility on him.'

Dumbledore sighed exasperatedly. 'The decision is yours to make,' he replied to Sirius's apologetic gaze. 'But it must me done quickly and wisely.'

'And you can't choose Remus over me, Prongs. I'm your brother. You can trust me, but Remus…' Sirius looked resolutely ahead, as if pretending that Remus wasn't even in the same room as them as he finished his sentence in a deliberately audible whisper, '…he's a werewolf, Prongs.'

James's gasp of anger was masked by the sudden ringing in Remus's ears. It stung. Even though Remus knew perfectly well that Sirius had only said it in an attempt to get Remus to back off. Even though Remus had trained himself for over a month now to be immune to everything related to Sirius, to not care at all. It stung, burning through his veins and causing his heart to jolt painfully.

Remus shrugged, trying to appear blasé and unaffected by Sirius's comment. 'Yeah. Alright. As long as Harry's kept safe…' He smiled softly at Dumbledore (who looked sad but un-interfering) and patted James reassuringly on the back. 'It's always been Sirius anyway.'

XxxxX

'That was really below the belt, Padfoot.'

Sirius looked at Harry, slumbering peacefully against his father's shoulder; James hadn't let go of his son since they'd come back from visiting Lily's parents. 'I won't be long, I promise. Dumbledore gave me a good list and I'm sure I saw them at the Auror Library.'

I understand why you did it, but…he was really hurt,' James continued, his grave tone seeming almost comical as he rocked on his feet to keep Harry asleep.

Sirius sighed, looking past James's shoulder to where Lily was making one last Floo call to James's mother. 'Look, Prongs,' he said finally, rubbing his face tiredly, 'it's not your part to worry about the two of us right now, yeah? Harry's top priority at the moment and I need to leave as quickly as I can.'

James nodded reluctantly and gave a yelp of surprise when Sirius suddenly pulled him into a painful hug. They detached almost as quickly and Sirius gave James his most winning and carefree smile – the sort he'd always give before a marvelous prank they knew they were going to get away with. 'See you.'

'It was low of me,' Sirius whispered to himself, as he looked at the blood-red moon through the tinted window of his helmet. 'But it had to be done.' He tried not to think about how Remus had reeled back in shock at Sirius's comment; the movement had barely been noticeable, but Sirius knew Remus more intimately than anyone else. 'I'll apologise,' Sirius assured his guilty conscience, 'if he can even bear to look at me anymore.'

As he approached Godric's Hollow, Sirius lowered his bike slightly. It wasn't very far now; and feeling safe and close enough to a magical community, Sirius switched off his invisibility shield. Godric's Hollow seemed unusually bright for this time of the night – there were too many lights, too many houses that were awake and if you listened close enough, there was also the beginnings of a confused commotion. Frowning, Sirius pushed to the maximum speed, feeling resistance pick up tenfold, and threaten to push his body off the seat. His jacket strained against him as he dived downwards for a landing, still a few blocks away from the Potter's cottage.

Misjudging the distance between the ground and himself in haste, he failed to pull back in time and crashed into an ungainly heap, his motorcycle falling on top of him and crushing him. There was an ephemeral moment where Sirius was too paralysed with pain to even move; his head throbbed and his vision swam despite the helmet on his head having taken most of the blow.

'Fuck.'

XxxxX

'Fuck.'

Remus dunked his head underneath the tap, breathing heavily through the cool water that poured across his scalp. He could taste the bitterness of his own sweat as it washed away down the sink.

His heart was still pounding wildly against his chest; hard and fast enough to crack ribs and deafen Remus to all surrounding sounds except that frantic thumping.

The dream had been so vivid.

He screamed. Screamed and screamed someone's name so loud that his voice sounded strained and hoarse, on the verge of breaking.

Remus shut his eyes tightly, trying to remember whose name it had been. In the dream, Remus had known, had heard, and it had sent him spiralling into an even deeper nightmare. Remus had heard and comprehended, and fallen to the ground in despair, wishing he were dead, wishing it were him instead.

His throat felt oddly sore.

He rested his head against the cool tiles, trying to remember. But it seemed that the more he tried, the more he forgot. It was like trying to hold sand in fisted hands: everything seemed to slowly slip away until all Remus was left with were mismatches traces of what he'd seen.

He was surrounded by rubble and he was walking through it. Not over it, but through it, as if he was a ghost. The sharp edges didn't cut, the broken cement didn't bruise, the body laying face down on the ground didn't move…

Remus's whole body felt as if on fire and he pressed harder against the cold bathroom tiles. 'Calm, Remus,' he soothed himself softly, 'it was just a dream. Calm down. It was just a dream. Just a dream, Just a-'

Dull brown eyes stared back at him lifelessly and he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was as if he was expecting them to light up, blink, wink mischievously...

But they didn't let him wait, to stare a little longer to see if those eyes would respond to him again.

Long, red cloth wrapped tightly around his eyes, entwining across his face and pulling him away. His hands came up almost immediately, struggling to free himself before the cloth got too restraining…and he let out a terrified scream when he found himself with a fistful of hair.

'-dream. Just a dream, Remus. Stop it,' Remus scolded himself, punching the wall with his fist angrily. 'You're being stupid. Stop it. It's just a dream. What's wrong with y-'

There had been lightning. The most unusual sort he had ever seen. It hadn't been a bright gold across midnight blue; not at all like the ones he used to watch as a child with awe-filled fascination and the slightest bit of fear. It was a bright, liquid red and he reached out a shaky hand to-

XxxxX

-wipe away the blood only to have more pooling around the cut. 'It's okay, Harry,' Sirius choked out, cradling the crying child close to his chest. 'Padfoot's here. Everything's okay.' He pressed his wand against Harry's forehead, whispering a quick incantation, 'Episkey!' The wound instantly closed, but cleaning up the rest of the blood with the edge of sleeve revealed a long thin scar the shape of a lighting bolt.

He needed to get out of here quickly. People were starting to swarm and it would only be a matter of time before they would cause enough commotion to bring in Death Eater attention. Sirius didn't know where Voldemort was, didn't know how Harry had survived through this whole ordeal, and he didn't care. He needed to escape, needed to save his godson before that bastard came back to finish the job.

He pulled out a blanket from underneath the debris, dusting it and casting a quick cleaning charm before wrapping it tightly around Harry's fragile body.

XxxxX

Oddly, the aroma of tea did nothing to calm Remus's frayed nerves.

He spooned out abnormal amounts of sugar, not sure how it was going to help but feeling the need to do something, try anything to quell this anxiety bubbling steadily within him.

The carpet brushed against his bare feet as he walked into the living room with every intention to spend the night watching a lot of junk TV. Nothing could send him to sleep better than old re-runs of the romantic soaps his mother used to love watching. He toyed with the remote for a while, switching channels randomly before settling on the one he thought looked most boring.

Sipping his scalding tea carefully, Remus looked at the half moon outside and wondered-

XxxxX

-if apparating would be too dangerous. His bike was a mess, but not beyond flying. However, time was of the essence here, and traveling on the bike was going to waste a large, unnecessary amount of it.

Sirius bit his lip urgently, his mind in turmoil: a wild frenzy of thoughts and alternatives. Harry had fallen asleep, exhausted and spent, his tiny heartbeat calm against Sirius's own anxious one.

He was this close to breaking into hysteria. There was nothing he could do, nothing made sense anymore, and he could see people nearing them with every passing second. Neighbours? Death Eaters? He couldn't possibly fight them alone, especially not without endangering the child in his arms.

'I'm so sorry,' Sirius said in a strangled voice, 'Prongs, Lily…I'm so sorry.' He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the crown of his godson's head, picturing bright green grass and a black, steel swing on the back porch…

XxxxX

'REMUS!!'

Remus jolted awake from an uneasy sleep for the second time that night.

'REMUS, OPEN UP, PLEASE!!'

He blinked sleepily: once, twice, not quite registering the loud banging against his house door. It took a few minutes of staring blankly at the television to realise that whoever it was, was still screaming his name, and that the almost desperate voice sounded very familiar.

'REMUS!'

Remus's eyes widened in realisation. 'Sirius!' He nearly tripped over his feet in haste, knowing that the apprehension he'd been feeling all night had somehow been a trigger, a sign towards reality. He'd know. This whole time, some part of him had just known…

'REMUS, IT'S ME!! PLEASE, PLEASE, OPEN THE DO-'

The door swung open, and Remus barely had time to take in Sirius's disheveled appearance, because Sirius was pushing past Remus into the house and locking the door with various protection spells and charms. It didn't take very long for Remus to notice the small bundle of blue balanced precariously in Sirius's arms.

'You need to help us, Remus, please. You need to help us,' Sirius babbled, sealing the muggle lock on the door as well. 'I didn't know anyone else I could go to and I don't think I was supposed to apparate, but I didn't know what else to do, so I-'

Remus grabbed Sirius by the shoulders, stopping his rant momentarily. 'Sirius, tell me what happened.'

Sirius swallowed, his eyes shining brightly. 'I don't know. We were supposed to cast the Fidelius, and I think I was too late. Fuck, I was too late and James and Lily were-'

Remus felt his throat close up, remembering the dull hazel eyes from his dreams. 'No…'

'I found Harry, underneath the wreckage and I had to get him out, Remus. I had to…I don't know how he survived, but I think Voldemort's still alive…'

Sirius took a deep, shuddery breath, before continuing to blather incoherently. Remus wasn't even hearing half of what he was saying; his mind had seemingly stopped functioning the moment Sirius had revealed James and Lily's-

NO! They couldn't be dead. It was impossible! James and Lily…they were…they were…invincible. Remus had seen them minutes ago, hadn't he? He had kissed Lily and Harry on the cheek and even gotten one of James's manly, awkward, back-patting hugs. They had been there, and Remus had been so confident that they would be fine, despite James's nervousness. The defiant expression on Sirius's face had left no doubt in Remus's mind, even if it had hurt to look at him back then. So how could they have just…? Hadn't Dumbledore assured them that everything would be all right, that things would work out fine and that they had still had time to cast the Fidelius and…

'They might follow us, Moony, because I apparated and they can track us down that way. It isn't that difficult. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess but I didn't know what else to do, or who else to go to, and apparating was the fastest way out of here because I think I crashed my bike pretty bad, so-'

Sirius's rants were interrupted by loud multiple sounds of apparition and almost on instinct, Remus summoned his wand from the couch.

'The lights are on! Quickly! Break open the door!'

Sirius's charms on the door must have been weak or hastily put, because no sooner had Remus's wand flown into his hand that the door burst open to reveal a flurry of black robes and raised voices instructing to surround them and 'cast on command'. Remus wasn't sure who reacted first: them or him, but his instincts kicked in at the nick of time and he found himself shielding Sirius and Harry with his whole body and casting a strong Protego around the two of them just as three bright jolts of Stupefy was shot towards them.

'There's a child here!' Remus screamed, strengthening his protection shield even as Sirius crouched down into a tight ball to protect Harry with his own body. 'Petrificus Totalus!' Two more spells from the back bounced against the shield, and Remus felt panic rise against his throat. 'Expelliarmus! Stupefy!' His eyes darted around quickly, heart speeding up when he realised that there were six of them and hardly two of them to keep Harry from getting hurt.

The whole room was lit up from wayward spells from even different wands, bright green and red – zigzagging across the room and hitting random objects. A jet of purple grazed Remus's ear, burning a hole through the skin there and shattering the lamp behind him.

Dimly, Remus could hear Harry beginning to cry. 'Stupefy! Protego! Stop it!' Remus cried again, looking back, past the strong shimmer of his magical shield to make sure everyone was all right. 'Plegia! Stop it! You'll hurt-'

'STUPEFY!'

Remus wasn't sure if it was his own disoriented mind, or if he had actually heard the echo of that same incantation thrice, as he flew off his feet and hit his back against the wooden banister of the staircase, hard. There was definitely a crack, though Remus suspected it was probably the rail and not his back, even if the pain coursing down his spine seemed almost like he'd been speared right through.

'REMUS!!'

Remus fought to keep his conscious, struggling against the darkness around the edges of his vision. He needed to keep his shield up for Harry and Sirius, or they would get hurt. What would he tell James and Lily then? If their son and best friend got hurt, Remus would disappoint them horribly and they'd never want to come back again or even see Remus again.

'YOU BASTARDS, WHAT DID YOU DO?'

XxxxX

For those who haven't had the urge to kill me last chapter, here's another opportunity. This chapter is long overdue, I know! Honestly, I don't have much of an excuse except that I didn't want to write it. I knew I had to kill off James and Lily at some point to force Remus and Sirius together again, but then the time actually came and I totally lost my nerve. Sighs! But I promise that with this chapter, my unending list of tragedies end. Yes, I'm giving up on murder, cruelty, and any other form of torture that I could possibly use. This is the point where I'm going to stick to what I like best --ROMANCE.

Oh, and before people accuse me of forgery, the dialogues with Snape and the prophecy bit were taken from the books and incorporated with my own scenic descriptions.

There's also a lot of scene transitioning in this chapter. I've never tried it to this extent before, but I thought it would be a good way of showing how Remus and Sirius's minds connect and also how one incident kind of relates to another. Anyway, let me know if I did it horribly…

Also, I just found out that hasn't been sending me any alerts or notifications, so to those I haven't replied to, I'm really sorry! I didn't even know until today! Now, let me reply to all the lovely people who reviewed anonymously:

Gemz:Sorry! I know its been long and I hope you haven't lost interest and that this chapter was upto par. I think things will be easier to write after this because I have to just focus on getting those two back together again.The person who left a dash for a name: Yes, there is a promised happy ending. And let it be known that I never ever break my promises, so don't let the news in this chapter deter you. Shoshoni:Sorry! Sorry! I've updated now, and I'll definitely be updating lot more frequently!! Oh, and I'm not in college. I'm in university. (proudly puffs chest!!) Seth:Well, first let me say that I'm absolutely thrilled to be your first…reviewee? Review receiver? Whatever, and glad that you can identify with the characters. I should bang my head against the wall now because I just did the exact opposite of what you requested me. The break thing. I know, I know. And I promise that I'm done. Happy ending…here I come!! Ayame-Paradise: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the angry last chapter. But the anger ends here and so does all my tragedies. Happiness is good, don't you think? Sarina:Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter as well!! Ainek:Hmm…you're opinions make sense of course, but I kind of saw it with varying points of view. The suicide thing at first felt a bit extreme to me as well, but the more I thought of it, the more it felt like something Sirius would actually do. He's the sort of person who needs drive, like in Azkaban, the only reason he didn't give up was revenge. Kind of like that…and when he loses it…well, he becomes sort of destructive. I think… Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! A Person: Lol. Actually, my hair's the kind that looks perpetually messy. It's got a mind and kind of its own. It can't even decide whether it wants to be curly or wavy, so I'm stuck with half of both. So, yeah, I pretty much have the worse side of it. Jasu:Thanks! I hope you liked my experiments with a different style of writing too. cackles the witch:Well, I don't know how far the end of the story is, but the pups making up is pretty much a nice summary of the next chapter. :D aclytie:That scene actually did inspire form the part where Remus tells Harry that no one deserves the kiss. I love Remus's patronus too! I know a lot of people write it as a Grim, but I wanted to keep John alive in some way. Katefish: Thanks! I hope you like Sirius better in this chapter, though this one focuses a little less on the characters and more on the situations. I don't think I've ever done something like this before, so well…I hope you enjoyed it!! Michele: Oh, the reunion will be worth it. With the end of this chapter, you can expect the pups to be practically clinging to each other. And the drama! Don't forget the drama!! Jay: One cannot deny the power of makeup sex. Lol. That's all I'm saying. I think I've already dropped too many hints to the coming chapters. …: I'm guessing you didn't even feel like maximizing the screen this time. A lot of pain and angst, I know, I know. And probably a lot of horrid writing too. Sorry!! Kyshal: Thank you!! I tried out a new style this time, so I'm hoping it turns out just as well if not better! Cheers! Mk: Ah yes, the wandlight thing. I'm so embarrassed. I was so focused on writing all the grit that I completely overlooked the light issue. But I did change it…lol. Hope you liked this chapter. Cheers!!