Challenges Overcome

"You wanted to see me, Professor Lupin?" Harry Potter asked his former teacher one day in mid-August, as he stepped into his bedroom.

Lupin looked up from his desk. "Yes, Harry. However, I'm not your teacher anymore, and as I've been saying for the past weeks, please, call me Remus."

"All right, Pro-um, Remus. Anyway, what did you want to speak to me about?"

Lupin spoke the one word Harry was hoping he wouldn't. He had so far avoided really talking about it all summer. "Sirius."

Harry swallowed convulsively. "What about him?"

Lupin sighed. "I know you think he's dead. But Harry, he's not."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Lupin sighed again. "I mean, Sirius did not die from going through the Veil." Before Harry could say anything, Lupin held up his hand. "I know, I know. I told you myself that he did, that day in June. But only recently has the Order found out some things about the Veil. We have a leak from the Department of Mysteries," he added, with a hint of a smile. "When the Veil was first discovered, it was thought to be a way to kill someone. Indeed, the Ministry used to use it for executions. But in 1843, some magical scrolls were found in India, telling about the Veil and what it really did."

"What does it do?" Harry asked, in a choked whisper.

"We're not sure entirely. The scrolls merely said that anyone who goes through it is 'wandering'. We interpret it to mean that they do not die, but wander through the Land of the Dead as living souls. There may be a way to communicate with Sirius, and the others, and possibly even bring them back, but we don't know enough."

Harry frowned. "Why are you telling me this?"

Lupin sighed a third time. "Ginny mentioned to me that you seemed entranced by the Veil when you saw it first, and asked if I knew anything about it."

Harry suddenly remembered the whispers. "Yeah, I thought I heard someone there...so did Luna Lovegood. But...you're telling me that Sirius might be alive? How long have you known?"

"A few weeks," Lupin admitted.

"You've known that Sirius might be alive for a few weeks, and no one told me? He was the closest thing to a parent I ever had!" Harry exploded.

"I know, Harry, but--"

"This is just like last summer! No one tells me anything! And Sirius might be alive, and there might be a way to get him back, and I'm just finding out about this?! Who else besides the Order knows?"

Lupin looked away from Harry. "Well, Harry--"

"Who else knows?"

Lupin sighed yet again. "Well, Ron and Ginny, and Hermione. And of course the Unspeak--"

Harry interrupted angrily, "So it's all right for Ron and Ginny and Hermione to know something important about my godfather, but I can't know?"

"It's not like that, Harry!" Lupin interjected.

"Seems like it to me! No one understands how I feel about this!" Harry raged.

"That's not--!"

Harry was unable to restrain himself any longer, even though he was speaking to his former professor. "YES, IT BLOODY WELL IS TRUE!"

"Harry--" Lupin tried to interrupt, but to no avail.

"NO ONE SEEMS TO GET IT! I LOVED SIRIUS, EVEN THOUGH I ONLY KNEW HIM FOR TWO YEARS! AND I THINK HE MAY HAVE LOVED ME! NO ONE ELSE EVER HAS!"

"Of course--"

"AND NO ONE LOVED SIRIUS, EITHER! ESPECIALLY NOT Y--" Harry was cut off by Lupin slapping him across the face. His hand flew to his cheek and he gasped.

"Don't ever say that no one loved Sirius," Lupin said, angrier than Harry had ever seen him. "And don't you dare to presume that I didn't love him. I did, more than you can imagine."

Harry glared at Lupin, hand still pressed to his cheek. "You didn't try to stop him going."

"Of course I did!" Lupin snapped. "I begged him to stay here, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't stand by and let you get hurt."

Harry's glare lessened a little, but he still replied, "You stopped me going after him."

"Of course I did," Lupin said again. "If I had let you follow--"

"At least I would be with Sirius, whom you don't seem to care about!" Harry replied angrily.

Lupin scowled. "I told you, I loved him. I care about him very much."

"You loved him," Harry repeated, the disbelief evident. "Then why did you let him go?"

Lupin sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "Because, Harry, sometimes we have to let the ones we love go. And I didn't want to stop him from doing what he wanted to do, which was protect you. So I told him I loved him, and kissed him, and we--"

"Wait, you kissed him?" Harry interrupted. His cheek was bright red where Lupin has slapped him.

Lupin bit his lip, color flooding his cheeks. "Yes. We were...more than friends. We were going to tell you," he added hurriedly. "We just didn't know how you'd react."

Harry gawked. Sirius...and Lupin? Were--

"You were lovers," Harry said. It wasn't a question.

Remus nodded. "Yes. We have been, for a long time."

"I...I'm sorry," Harry said hesitantly. "For yelling. I um, shouldn't--"

"It's all right Harry," Remus said tiredly. "I'm sorry for slapping you, I never should have done it."

Harry unconsciously brought a hand to his cheek. "I deserved it...Remus?"

Startled that Harry had called him by his first name, Remus replied, "Yes?"

"Can we...can I help you find a way to get him back?"

Remus closed his eyes, and a single tear slipped out. "I hope so." He opened his eyes and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I really hope so."