"Harry," Remus greeted him back. He looked at his watch. "It's pretty late for you to be up."

"Are you avoiding me?" Harry asked in a very neutral tone, hiding his hurt and anger.

"What?" Remus was surprised.

"You've been leaving early and coming back late." Harry simply stated. "I haven't seen you since…" Harry couldn't finish his sentence.

"I know." Remus said.

"I knew about you two."

Remus stood there in silence, before finally asking: "how long?"

He was not surprised, which surprised Harry.

"Christmas."

Remus walked to the couch across from him and sat down.

"How long were-" Harry started asking, but Remus already knew what Harry was gonna ask.

"It's a long story."

"I have nothing but time."

Remus sighed.

"We were really good friends." Remus started his story. "I didn't make a lot of friends at Hogwarts because… you know." He said, and just gestured at himself, his body, and his scars, which have gotten worse since he last saw him. "But your father, Sirius, and Peter were there for me. They were my friends."

"I always had a soft spot for him," Remus stared down, and smiled. "I liked him- his mischievous smile, his black curly hair and how it fell perfectly on his shoulders, his smart mouth…" A tear made its way down his cheek, but he wiped before it fell to the floor, "but I realized that he didn't think of me that way. He was very popular and handsome, and there were a lot of girls at Hogwarts interested, and he did not let them down."

"Oh?" Harry said, intrigued. Remus chuckled.

"Yeah, he was quite the player." Remus said, and then continued: "he was dating girls left and right, so I realized he would never notice me. Until…" Remus stopped, and smiled again at memories long gone. "One day during our sixth year, your father was on a fake date with some girl in a failing attempt to make your mother jealous, and Peter was in the hospital as a result of a prank that Sirius and James pulled on him. So, it was just me and Sirius hanging out that day, doing homework, and our jokes got a little too far, and…" Remus blushed.

"What happened next?" Harry asked, adjusting his seating position.

"We had a thing going on for the next couple of years." Remus answered simply, and then elaborated: "we never became anything serious. He kept dating around, and I was satisfied by the attention I was getting from him, even though I wanted more." Remus said, a little melancholic now.

Harry felt sorry for Remus. That must've sucked.

"We kept it a secret. James and Peter didn't know, and your mother only knew cause she walked on us making out in the Restricted Section of the library, but she kept the secret." Remus stopped for a second, before continuing: "but it didn't last long anyways."

"What happened?"

"We graduated." Remus simply said, "I wanted more. I wanted to be something more than just another fun thing for him, and he wasn't ready to settle down." Remus looked up at Harry now, "ending it was hard. It was very hard. I cried for weeks, didn't leave my bed and, worst of all, I thought…"

Remus stopped, choking on his tears. He let them out, and sobbed.

"I thought I lost my best friend forever." He finished his sentence.

Harry felt his heart break, and he felt his tears fill his eyes.

After he stopped sobbing and wiped his tears off his face. "We didn't talk for a little while. We kept our distance, and then…" Remus looked to Harry: "you were born." Remus smiled through his tears. "We both wanted to be in your life, so we both were. We were finally friends again, and things were finally back to normal between us."

"Until…" Harry said, knowing well what happens next.

"Until." Remus agreed, with a sad smile on his face. "The years after he went to Azkaban were hard. Three of my dearest friends were, or were presumed, dead, and all along I thought the murderer was my best friend and the only man I've ever loved."

"When he escaped, it felt like a ghost from my past had come back to haunt me." Remus moved on, "at that point, I had pretty much moved on from him. So, waking up one day and seeing his face everywhere was… terrifying, and the idea he was after you was even more terrifying."

"So, you came to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore wanted me there." Remus said, "I think he wanted me there because he knew Sirius would be there too."

"Did he know?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Remus said, before moving on: "the first time I saw him, after his escape, I was with you."

"With me?"

"Yes, Halloween's day. We went on a walk-"

"I remember."

"When I found out he wasn't a murderer, I set out to help him prove his innocence." Remus said, "I did not think much of how we'll be after he does, if… I mean, they were gonna have him kissed."

"After he became free, I wanted to be in your life- this meant we had to be in each other's lives again." Remus said, "while he was excited about it, I was worried. I was worried it'll fall down just as it did several times before."

"What changed?"

"Quidditch World Cup." Remus simply said. "After what happened that night: the Death Eaters riot, the Dark Mark in the sky, I realized that life is too short to push away the people we love."

Remus looked up to face Harry. "Please forgive me."

"What for?"

"Everything." Remus said, "not being there for you as a child. Not being there for you now."

"It's not your fault." Harry said calmly, and Remus smiled at him sadly.

"I'd like to think that I'm a good human." Remus said, "but when I think of all of the people I let down…"

Harry said nothing. He just listened.

"I let you down Harry, just as I let Sirius down." Remus said, and started sobbing. "He died to protect me, he died because of me." Remus wiped the tears off his face: "and I wish he didn't."