Author's Note: TW for references to self-harm, and past suicidal ideation (in a flashback). Please be safe. I am so glad you exist! You are loved!

I also discuss anti-depressants here. I know that medication can help people and it has not helped others. I personally take medication, but it does not help me dramatically. I just wanted to put a disclaimer out because just because I have it working for a character, doesn't mean it will work for everyone. I know that it's a whole can of worms. Whether you take medication or not: I am glad you are here.

Urgwaew: Hi! Thanks for your review! And you definitely didn't sound patronizing, but someone had told me that it could and I had never thought about it that way. You are so kind and I am sooooo glad that my affirmations mean something to you. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so glad to hear you like Draco and Harry's relationship! There's more in this chapter that I hope you'll enjoy! You are such a wonderful soul and I can't thank you enough!

James Birdsong: Thanks for the review! I appreciate you!

I am so sorry for the shorter than usual chapter. My mental health seems to have taken a bit of a dive and it was too much for me to figure out more so I thought I'd post what I could do. I hope you like it! I'll have the next chapter up within a week! I wish it would be sooner but I'm taking it day by day. Thanks for being understanding! You are loved!

The rest of the vacation flew by. The Black-Lupin-Potter clan had a marvelous time in Australia and Draco enjoyed his time with Severus. It was soon the day before classes. Harry was with Minerva and Draco was with Madame Pomfrey, helping her restock and get ready for the new term. Remus decided this would be a good time to talk to Severus. Remus went to Severus' office and knocked on the door, waiting until Severus allowed him to come in.

"What can I do for you, Lupin?" Severus asked, looking up from the potions journal he was reading.

"I was wondering if you had time to talk. Is this an okay time?" Remus asked.

"I suppose. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Remus took a seat. "First of all, I wanted to know when you thought Harry should have his next Occlumency lesson with you."

"This week. Saturday. We'll see where he is at," Severus replied.

"That sounds good."

Severus sighed and said, "What else?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened over break."

Severus stiffened up and then silkily said, "Thank you for taking Draco on your vacation for a day. He enjoyed himself."

"Well, you're welcome, Severus, but it was no trouble. Draco was lovely."

"As he should be, but I'm glad to hear it."

"Severus," Remus began gently, "You were not sober enough to take care of Draco when we were going to drop him off the first time."

"After a night of what I had to go through, I doubt you would, either!" Snape snapped.

"I'm not judging you, Severus, not at all," Remus assured him.

"Then what are you doing?" Snape grouched.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I am perfectly adequate, Lupin. I am capable of taking care of Draco and handling my responsibilities."

"I'm glad to hear that, but what about you? Are you going to take care of yourself?" Remus asked.

Severus scoffed. "I am not a patient, Lupin."

"Maybe not, but you're a member of the staff here and under my responsibility. And Draco is a student here and my responsibility as well. You can't take care of Draco if you aren't taking care of yourself. If you won't heal yourself after a meeting, you can't necessarily help Draco if he needs it."

Severus wanted to argue and punch, kick, and slap the werewolf in front of him. However, he had a point. "I loathe to admit it, but you have a point. I will make sure I am healed next time and able to take care of Draco. That boy has been let down enough and doesn't need it again."

Remus smiled. "Good. And if you ever need anything, with you or with Draco, my door is always open."

"Thank you, Lupin," Snape replied, once again looking down at his journal.

"I'll take that as my leave. Thank you for your time, Severus," Remus said, standing up.

Snape gave a wave of his hand and Remus walked over with a small smile on his face. Same ol Severus.

The night before everyone returned, Remus and Sirius wanted to talk with Harry.

"Harry, can you come in here, please?" Sirius called out. He and Remus were in the sitting room and Harry was in his bedroom.

They heard a thump and then footsteps heading their way.

"What's up?" Harry asked, coming onto the room.

"Sit down," Sirius said.

Harry did as Sirius said, but a flash of panic went across his face.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," Remus assured him.

"Oh, good," Harry said, relief going across his face.

Since the Dursleys punished him for anything and everything, Harry was always afraid he was in trouble, even if he hadn't done anything. Being raised by two marauders didn't help matters, either. However, both Remus and Sirius understood and were always more than happy to dispel Harry's fears.

"We wanted to talk to you about what this semester is going to look like," Remus said.

Harry nodded and got comfortable on the couch. He felt a bit nervous, but there was no reason to be.

"You have your wand and you can be by yourself. We were going to start having you spend some time in your dorms if you're ready," Remus continued.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. He had missed his friends.

Remus and Sirius smiled. "Good. We were thinking on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you would spend the night in your dorms. Then, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday you would spend the night here."

"What about Saturday?" Harry asked.

"It would go back and forth, but that's another thing we wanted to talk to you about. You have done a really fantastic job of clearing your mind. With your nightmares, we think it's time to go back to occlumency lessons with Professor Snape."

Harry nervously bit his lip. "Do I have to?"

Remus gave Harry an apologetic smile. "Yeah, Cub, I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to."

Harry sighed and shrugged. "I know. I know it's important and all and why I have to do it, but it's not fun. and I'm exhausted after it."

"Which is why you'll spend many Saturday nights here."

Harry nodded, thinking it all over.

"How does that all sounded?" Remus asked gently.

"It sounds fair, but-" Harry hesitated.

"But what, Pup?" Sirius asked kindly.

"The first night back. I know I spend Sunday nights with you but can I please spend the first night back with my friends? I've missed them."

Sirius and Remus both smiled at Harry. They had discussed this already so they were on the same page. "Yes, Pup. You can spend the first night with your friends. You won't have to sleep here until Tuesday night."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Harry said, truly smiling.

"We are happy that you're happy," Sirius said, giving Harry a warm smile.

"There's one important thing to mention," Remus said.

"Yes?" Harry asked, a bit nervous.

"Whether it is your scheduled day or night here or not, you are always welcome here. You can come here anytime. You need to come here if you feel like you aren't going to be safe. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Moony Da," Harry replied seriously.

"Good," Remus said, giving him a small smile. "What questions do you have?"

Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I think I'm good."

"If you think of any, let us know," Remus said.

Harry nodded. "I will! I promise!"

"Now, do you have any work that needs to be done?" Remus asked.

"Moony Da!" Harry groaned.

"I know you've completed almost all of them," Remus prodded.

"Do I have to?!" Harry whined, slinking down on the couch and throwing himself on the floor.

Sirius turned away and covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Yes, you have to. I think you have Transfiguration left," Remus said.

Harry groaned again before saying, "Fine! But I'm going to ask Granddad for help!"

"Go ahead," Remus replied, smothering a smile as Harry defiantly stood up and marched to his bedroom.

Sirius kept his mouth covered as Harry marched back out of his bedroom with his books and anything else he needed and walked out of the door with his nose high in the air.

When the door shut, Sirius lost it. "Merlin!" he laughed, "was I really like that? Was it that bad?"

"Oh, Padfoot, no!" Remus assured Sirius.

Sirius smiled haughtily.

"You were much, much worse," Remus admitted slyly.

Sirius' smile was wiped off of his face and he play-growled. "I'll get you for that."

"Go ahead and try," Remus said.

Sirius chased Remus around the room before pinning him against the couch where they had a rather intense snogging session before going back to their respective work.

Meanwhile, Harry eventually stopped marching in the hallways but did make his way towards Dumbledore's office.

"Headmaster?" Harry asked as he knocked on the door of his office. The gargoyle just lets Harry in now.

"Come in, Harry," Albus replied.

Harry opened the door and made his way to the headmaster's desk where he set down his armload of materials.

"And what's all this?" Albus asked amused.

Harry was going to reply, but then saw the papers in front of Albus. "Are you busy, Sir? I can leave."

"Nonsense," Dumbledore said, waving his hand. "How can I help?"

"Well, it's my transfiguration homework, Sir. I could do it by myself, but it'd take longer. I know you have a bit of experience in the area and I wanted to know if you would help."

"I do have a bit of experience, yes. Do you want my help as your grandfather or headmaster?" Dumbledore asked, his mustache twitching.

"As my grandfather who is good at Transfiguration?" Harry asked, raising his voice at the end.

Dumbledore laughed heartily and nodded. "Sit down, son. Let's get started."

Harry beamed and grabbed a lemon drop as Dumbledore looked at the assignment and started talking.

Later on that evening, after dinner, Draco and Harry found themselves in the room Harry had brought them to earlier in the vacation. They had chatted on the way there and were quietly reading their own books together.

"Draco?" Harry asked eventually.

"Yeah?" Draco said, looking up from his book.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Uh, people come back? Did you hit your head?" Draco teased Harry.

Harry shook his head. "No, I mean what's going to happen with us tomorrow?"

Draco sat up now and closed his book. "We're going to attend the feast? What do you mean?"

Harry sighed. He was fidgeting with his fingers nervously. "I mean, are we still going to be friends? Or do you have a part to play? I know Professor Snape has his role and he has to be cruel to me. I just didn't know if you had to, too."

Draco could hear the apprehension and hope in Harry's voice. Draco felt his heart breaking for Harry. Merlin, who knew being a big brother was so emotional!

"No, Harry," Draco began. Harry looked immediately relieved. "I don't have to play a role like Uncle Sev. It's known that I stepped away from it all. Sev has to look like he is going to lure me back in, of course. But no, we can still be friends. Ha, it'll probably be pretty funny seeing the reactions of some of them."

no"So, we'll be good?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter. We'll be good," Draco reassured him with a smile. "You're an annoying little cousin, you know."

"Ha! You're stuck with me now!" Harry teased, sticking his tongue out.

Draco threw a pillow at Harry in response, which he gratefully grabbed.

Draco noticed that Harry's fidgeting was calmed down by the pillow and that Harry seemed more at ease.

"Does that help?" Draco asked.

"What?"

"The pillow. I saw you fidgeting. You seem calmer with the pillow."

"Oh. Er, yeah. it does. I need to keep my hands busy sometimes. Fidgets can help or holding onto something soft," Harry explained.

Draco nodded. "That makes sense from a healer standpoint, too. What else helps you?"

Harry was a bit uncomfortable with the questions but knew Draco was only wanting to help. "Different things. Quidditch, hot chocolate, using a punching bag," Harry added with a smile.

"That's good to know. I really am here for you, Harry. I know you have your Gryffindor friends, but you all can be overbearing. If you need a subtler approach, you know where I am."

"I know you can be overbearing too if you want to be."

"Damn right I can. And don't make me do it to you!" Draco replied.

Harry grinned and then looked at Draco thoughtfully. "You know, Professor Lupin would be happy to answer your questions. I don't mean you have to see him as a healer or anything, but if you want some information on mind healing he'd love to help. I'm sure it would be helpful to you as a healer."

"You're right. Mind and body healing are very intertwined. I have been wanting to learn more about it. I don't want to bother him, though."

"Bother him?!" Harry scoffed. "Believe me, he would love it. He'd be helping and teaching at the same time. Please, do it anytime. A happy Moony means a happy Sirius which means we all benefit in class."

Draco chuckled at Harry's reasoning, but there was truth to it. "Alright, I'll have to ask him about it. Thanks, Harry."

"Don't mention it. What are cousins for," Harry replied with a smile before they both got back to their books.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus were in the sitting room of the Marauder Quarters.

"You didn't just want Harry gone on Sunday for his sake, did you?" Sirius asked as he sat down next to Remus. Remus was sitting on the couch, staring out of the charmed window. It isn't a real window, but it does have a live view of the view out of Gryffindor Tower as if they were looking out of one of those windows.

Remus smiled sadly and shook his head, but didn't bother to stop looking out the window. "No, I didn't. I didn't know if you would notice."

"I may not be a therapist, but I am your husband and I love you. I could never forget that."

"I just keep thinking about that night," Remus whispered.

January 1978

"Moony? Moony? Sirius whispered in the dark. He had stolen James' cloak and didn't even explain why. He could tell something was wrong with Remus. Sirius had been searching the whole castle and was checking the last place, a tower that only the four of them knew existed. They couldn't visit it often because you could see them from the owlery, but it was pitch black and after curfew and the first day back after the holidays. In addition, it was their very last term at Hogwarts.

"Moony? Are you here?" Sirius whispered again. "Moony!" Sirius hissed.

Remus didn't reply, but a sniff alerted Sirius to his location. Sirius went towards the sound and saw Remus near the window, sitting on the ledge.

"Moony? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, dropping the cloak.

Remus didn't reply. Silent tears were falling down his face.

"Remy- what's going on?" Sirius asked, hurrying over to him and putting his hand on the werewolf's back.

Remus shook his head. He lightly tried to push Sirius' hand away, but Sirius didn't budge.

"No, I'm not moving. Let's get you down from the edge, c'mon."

Remus shook his head harder this time and shoved Sirius' hand harder before burying his face in his hands.

Sirius hadn't seen Remus like this since the incident in 5th year. He was worried. "Remus?"

"Please, just go away," Remus finally whispered, his voice hoarse.

"I'm not leaving you. Please, come down."

"No!" Remus said forcefully.

Sirius saw that Remus was going to shut down and he wanted to prevent that. Something was seriously wrong.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to. I'm here for you," Sirius assured Remus gently. "When you're ready to talk, I'm here. Just know that you are not alone and you make the world a better place. I love you."

Remus gave a small teary smile in response but still didn't make eye contact with him. Remus once again looked out the window and Sirius lovingly rubbed his back. They stayed there for a long while. For Sirius, it felt like hours. Finally, Remus spoke.

"What if it doesn't get any better?" Remus whispered. Sirius would have missed it if it weren't for his Padfoot hearing.

"Love?" Sirius said quietly, hoping he would elaborate.

"This is it, Pads. We have a few months left and then we're done. What if it doesn't get any better? What if this is it?"

"Remus! No!" Sirius began, but Remus cut him off.

"I don't see anything good for myself. I just keep thinking 'what if I just fall?'."

Sirius silently gulped. He was scared for Remus.

"I-I can't handle leaving the place that accepted me. I can't handle leaving my friends. I ca- can't-" Remus broke down sobbing.

Sirius swiftly engulfed Remus in a hug. Remus fell into Sirius, holding onto him tightly.

"You're okay, love. You're okay," Sirius whispered into Remus' ear. Sirius managed to slowly lower Remus from the ledge until both were sitting against the stone wall. Remus laid his head on Sirius' shoulder.

"You have me. You have James. You have Peter. You have Lily. Merlin, Rem, I will never leave you. I love you and I can't imagine my life without you."

"But what about Hogwarts?" Remus sniffed.

"Yeah, Hogwarts has been great, but we don't even know what's out there. You will always have me and I will always accept you. Besides, we need to raise James' kid together, whenever that happens," Sirius teased Remus.

Remus gave Sirius a watery smile. He was calming down and coming back to reality now that he was hearing Sirius' heartbeat and feeling the skin-to-skin contact.

Sirius continued to talk to Remus, telling him affirmations and silly stories, as well as hope for the future.

Then, it was quiet for a while until Sirius spoke again. "Remus, did you take your potion tonight?"

Remus has been prescribed an anti-depressant potion since his fifth year. He's gotten loads better with it and therapy, as well as finding good coping mechanisms.

Remus didn't reply.

"Remus," Sirius said warningly.

"I ran out over break. I haven't had any," Remus admitted.

Sirius had to bite his tongue. Remus knew the medicine was important. Sirius took some deep breaths and when he calmed down he said, "We are going to get you some more, okay? If you ever run low, you tell me, okay?"

"Okay, Sirius," Remus agreed.

"And you're meeting with Minnie. Tomorrow," Sirius added firmly.

"Sirius-" Remus began to protest.

"No, Remus. You know you need some help right now. I need you. And hey, all those kiddos you'll help need you," Sirius said, smiling and poking Remus in the ribs.

For the past year and a half, Remus has expressed interest in being a mind healer. Sirius knew that Remus loved to help others and that, whether good or bad, the thought of helping others would almost always make Remus feel better.

Just like Sirius thought, Remus had a warm smile on his face. "Yeah, those kids. I do want to help people."

"I know you do. You already help people as it is. We need you. Sometimes, you just need some help yourself."

"Thank you," Remus whispered to Sirius, once again laying his head on his shoulder.

"Anytime. I love you, Remus."

"I love you, Sirius."

Sirius and Remus stayed there until sunrise. Then, Sirius promptly brought Remus to the hospital wing to get more of his potion and then got Professor McGonagall who talked to Remus right then and scheduled more meetings for them.

Remus still didn't know how life would be after Hogwarts, but at least he had Sirius and the hope of helping others and for now, that was enough.

"I was so close to leaning over the edge," Remus admitted, his eyes misty. "I don't even like to think about what I would've done if you hadn't come and found me."

"I will always find you. Always," Sirius said. He put his forehead against Remus' and stayed there before pulling away. "How are you feeling tonight?"

Remus finally met Sirius' eyes. "Better than I was that night."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Well, I hope so."

"But seriously, I'm okay. I'm not in a bad headspace. I'm a little melancholy, sure, but not full-on depressed or anything. It just makes me think about my students who are struggling with the same thing. And now, Harry. Gosh, my heart aches knowing how he's feeling."

Sirius nodded and leaned into Remus. He could empathize with that. "I know, love. I know. I also know how much you've helped him."

"I hope so. Sometimes I wonder if he'd be better off seeing a different therapist."

"Remus! Do you remember the conversation we had with Harry at the beginning about this? He made it very clear to us that under no circumstance was he to see anyone except you. Poppy even tried once, remember, and it didn't work. And the other mind healers we have set up for him after his other incidents? Never spoke or interacted. if he did, he went through the motions. You, Remus Lupin, are the reason he is getting better. And Harry's hard work, of course. You are the mind healer he needs," Sirius reminded Remus, poking at his chest.

Remus smiled. "Thank you, Sirius. I needed to hear that. And to get me out of my self-pity."

"Your feelings are valid," Sirius said in his Remus impression.

Remus rolled his eyes and Sirius hugged him. "You are a wonder."

"Thanks, Padfoot. For everything."

"You are my world. The sun and stars. And the moon, of course." Sirius said, smirking.

"I'm not Moony for nothing," Remus replied, kissing Sirius.

Sirius has made many moon references to Remus over the years, but this one had to be in the top ten.

Remus would take being Sirius' moon any day.

Alternatives to Harming Yourself:

1. Talk to someone you care about and/or trust

2. Exercise

3. Get outside and get some fresh air

4. Have a warm beverage

5. Write something down

6. Go to therapy/ contact your therapist

7. Be with your pet or another animal

8. Take a nap

9. Play or fiddle with a fidget

10. Do something artistic (draw, paint, use clay, play-doh, fingerpaint, etc)

11. Play a game

12. Bake or cook something you like to eat