Remus Lupin felt like he was going to puke. A hand had reached through his stomach as he was sleeping and tied all of his internal organs into tight knots. It must've left his heart alone for some ungodly reason because though he could feel the pain in his stomach, his heart was gone. He swore it stopped beating.
Remus' hands were shaking as he stared in horror at the dreadful newspaper article. At the very top of the obituary section of his daily paper, was the names of one of his closest friends, and the woman which he loved.
Remus' eyes hurt as he read, slowly, as if even his eyes didn't want to complete the action, the rest of the obituary. They'd been murdered. That, and their fortune, was why Remus supposed their names were so big across the paper.
He mouthed the words, mumbling slightly as he read, "...murdered by a dark wizard that hadn't been seen...so long....James was found...as if protecting Lily and their infant son...Authorities have filed reports from witnesses... Betrayal." The word caught Lupin's attention, "Betrayal?" He continued reading, "Continue for more details on betra...page 26..."
Lupin quickly flipped to the page. He couldn't breathe as it was. This wasn't real. Anytime now, he'd wake up and find four letters all from James after he'd excitedly scribbled on parchment about Harry doing this thing or that. He'd wake up to his small owl screeching in his ear and dropping his mail on his face. Lupin would pet her head, and she'd try to playfully nip at his finger, then fly off again.
Yes, that would be what would happen. And, he'd read the letters, replying with a nice word about James' son in his neat handwriting, and send his owl off again, after giving her a quick breakfast.
He might even make himself something nice to relax him after such an awful nightmare. That's all it was. A nightmare. Because the powerful James and Lily Potter couldn't die.
And yet, Lupin never woke up. Rather, he was met with an even more treacherous article. "Black to be tried for secondhand murder...for the murde...for the...Black...Sirius Black to be tried for...assist in..." Lupin felt faint.
They even tagged on a picture of the suspect, so there was no doubt that Lupin knew him.
Lupin felt his lip trembling. No. No. There was mistake. No one, not one person, loved and supported James and Lily Potter more than Sirius Black. No one.
Lupin remembered when Sirius had come bounding up to him, bouncing in excitement and grinning. He'd wrapped his arms around Lupin's neck, pulling back to tell him the news that James had asked him to be their godfather.
Sirius had been there every step of the way when James and Lily started raising Harry. Lupin considered that Sirius had maybe even been *too* hands on.
But, he saw the love and adoration in Sirius' eyes when he'd first held Harry. Little fingers wrapped around his pinkie. Sirius looked up at Remus and smiled. He'd laughed this breathless, airy laugh that should've knocked Remus off his feet.
Remus' heart suddenly fluttered back to life. No. No way. Sirius had been friends with James since their first year and there is absolutely no way he'd turn against him. No way he'd put a child he loved so much in danger.
No way.
Remus felt the newspaper crumple in his hands. The trial was happening soon. Remus, with a fiery passion burning in his chest, threw on one of his nicer overcoats and took a fistful of Floo powder.
Lupin's eyes widened at just how many people were gathering for this trial. News spread fast in the wizarding world.
He was recognized by someone as, ''That scrawny kid who used to hang out with James, poor guy.'' Another person commented, "Yeah. Wasn't he *really* close to Sirius." The first person snickered, "A little too close."
Remus sighed, exhausted already. The recognition did grant him access to the court room. He pushed through and sat near the front of the court room. Why they decided to make this a public trial, Remus wasn't sure. Perhaps it was due to how many lives James and Lily affected. And...wizards were vengeful people. No doubt some would want the head of whomever gave away the Potters' location.
Including Sirius.
Remus felt his heart pounding. He was sweating bullets. It'd been a bit since he'd seen Sirius, admittedly. The last time was when Harry was just a couple of weeks old. Sirius had left... somewhere after that. Lupin couldn't remember.
Lupin did, however, remember the bit of loneliness he felt without Sirius' lively attitude. His bright smile. His messy hair. Messy on purpose, of course. Sirius always did care too much for his looks. (Though it paid off.)
Remus' eyes snapped up at the sound of a door coming open to his right. The prisoner's side. Remus had wanted to be as close to Sirius as possible. Just like always...
Sirius had an expression of pain on his face. One that made Remus' heart clench even tighter. Sirius was wearing clothing he never should've been. Black and white striped prisoner's clothing. His hair was laying limply over his shoulders. Somehow, they even managed to suck the life out of his curls.
His eyes were more sunken in than they'd ever been when he was with Lupin or the others. Blue and purple rings under his eyes stood out against stark white skin.
His eyes were scanning the room, somehow still calm even in this circumstance. Then, his eyes connected with Remus'. And, life came back to them. Remus was subconsciously drifting toward him. He'd stood up, even, leaning over the bench in front of him to Sirius.
Sirius smiled lightly. A sad smile that shouldn't have been on his face. Then, the bigger men holding his arms behind his back pushed him roughly forward. Too rough.
Remus watched, helpless, as Sirius was shoved down into a chair in the center of the room.
Questions upon questions were thrown upon Sirius. He couldn't possibly answer all of them. Remus was biting down at his thumb, anxious because he knew there was no way Sirius hurt the Potters, but there was somehow evidence that it was someone close to them. And who closer than Sirius Black?
Remus was dead certain that Sirius hadn't killed them. Sirius Black was a lot of things-a bit vain, flirtatious, loud, funny, hyperactive, cute, but he was no murderer.
Until they pulled out one final bit of evidence. Sirius' defense, who was doing an awful job in Remus' opinion, had pointed out that they had no proof that it wasn't another friend of James'. It could've been Sirius, Remus, or even Peter that gave away their location!
Then, the opposing side held up a finger. A single, detached finger. That belonged to Peter Pettigrew.
Lupin was going to be sick. Tears stung at his eyes. He had an alibi. Studying to be a teacher. He had always been disconnected from any form of social interaction. They knew it wasn't him because it didn't make sense.
And, Peter was dead.
That left Sirius.
And Sirius didn't have an alibi. His family had been known to be caught up in the darker side of magic. Sirius...There were more witnesses. Saying they'd seen Sirius and Peter arguing. Fighting. Sirius had been livid.
And there was only a finger left of Peter.
Remus went numb. He couldn't move, couldn't formulate thoughts, couldn't breathe.
The jury, the judge, the people watching, they all thought Sirius to be guilty. And Remus... he'd never been one to deny facts...
Remus finally managed to move. He stood, turning his back on Sirius before he could look at him another time. Lupin kept his eyes on the ground, unable to ignore the crowd's whispers about this and that.
Sirius was being convicted. He was being dragged away. He'd be searching once more with frantic eyes for him, for Remus. Remus, who left in enough time to avoid it.
Remus didn't bother apparating back home. He didn't have the energy. His mind was numb. Blank. He was in a state of disbelief.
Tears fell freely from his eyes, swelling them and streaking his cheeks with wetness.
It wouldn't be for several days afterward that he was finally able to leave his bed...
...
A/N: Yay. Another late night, sloppy angst fic. Fantastic.
