Sullen Siren

"And in the mirror he read his truth and counted all the new-old ways he'd failed." Remus Lupin reflects on the many ways in which he fell short.

"You set me up with one of your castoffs. Again!" A drunken and surly Remus comes home to a sober Sirius.

"No one knew Remus Lupin loved her too." James wasn't the only one to love Lily.

"He watched it bleed its color day by day and remembers that once, his world hadn't been so blank." The Dementors took many things from Sirius.

"He went there because he wanted to remember, and he stayed because he had no other place to be." In the time between the Order of the Pheonix and Goblet of Fire Remus returns to a familiar place, and is met by a familiar face.

"He was like an idiot savant when it came to mayhem." MWPP go pranking, first kisses happen, and Remus is grumpy.

Remus' faith is betrayed. (*slash*, Remus/Sirius)

When the war ends, the survivors are left to reap the spoils, and Hermione sees exactly what is left.

The war is over, the good guys won. But that doesn't always make for happy endings. "It's over Harry, he's dead. You won. Don't you remember? It's done. YOU'RE done."

Molly Weasley has good days and bad days.

Remus wakes up with Sirius.````"In the morning he woke up and it wasn't real."

Bartemius Crouch Sr. has dinner with the Dursleys. "Bartemius didn't understand special children. He didn't know the numbers behind what made one child special and another not."

Lily grows up and grows away from her sister. "Lily always remembered her sister as a flower. Their mother's flower maidens, they had always been, and she worked hard to remember that now."

James is spending all his time with Lily, and Sirius is good and tired of it.

Sirius goes to tell Moony that the war begins again, and some reunions are awkward, no matter how eagerly they are anticipated.

"Remus Lupin watched rats."

Time changes everything, and even the most precious days must end. Remus and James talk as their lives change, and old loves turn to new ones. When the smoke clears and love is ended, there's always one person left alone.