A/N: Okay, so, those of you who know me know I've gotten a bit Regulus crazed lately. I am hopeless for him and I thought it was about time he got a starring role in one of my fics. (Though, ironically, he doesn't show up until part two.)

Disclaimer: For some reason, JKR still won't return any of my calls. (Therefore, she owns, while I merely corrupt and distort.)

Warning: SLASH. Is it ever anything else from me, these days?

Rating: T – for 'Oh, God, the angst!' and lots of foul language. (The M rating is for part three.)

Well, this is my first ever Sirius/Remus, Remus/Regulus triangle, so I hope it works.

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Part One: Sirius's Betrayal

Remus opened his eyes blearily, noting a familiar head sporting distinctly disheveled black hair floating altogether too close to his face. He groaned slightly and closed his eyes again.

"He's waking up." He heard James's voice whisper, though it may as well have been screamed for all the pressure Remus suddenly felt throbbing between his temples.

He tried to open his mouth to tell his friends to kindly keep it down, but it came out as more of a muffled sort of, "ungh," which, he was disappointed to note, couldn't really be considered proper English at all.

"How do you feel?" He heard Peter ask tentatively, his squeaky voice slicing through Remus's skull like a knife, or rather, like a knife that had recently been left sitting much to close to a fire.

"Like hell." He somehow managed to mumble throatily, wincing at the sound of his own voice. Had he always talked that loud?

James handed him a glass of water and he downed the entire contents greedily, marveling at the cooling sensation of the liquid as it slid down his throat.

"What happened?" He finally asked, his words coming a bit easier but still not without their scratchy edge. "Where were you guys?"

The quick terrified expression that was shared between James and Peter caused Remus to sit up abruptly, wincing as every aching joint in his body protested his sudden insanity.

"Did I hurt someone?" He asked breathlessly, not liking the way his closest friends were suddenly avoiding meeting his eye.

It was then, finally, that Remus noticed the absence of the fourth member of their little group – the fourth marauder.

"Oh, God." He whispered, feeling rather like he was about to be ill. "Where's Sirius?"

James and Peter shared that same look again and Remus lost his temper and his patience simultaneously.

"Where the fuck is Sirius?" He demanded, his vocal cords screaming in protest. "What did I do to him?"

"Nothing. Remus, you didn't hurt Sirius." James assured him quickly.

Remus blinked up at James several times, trying to read his expression. For a second he almost thought he saw a flicker of anger flash across James's features. But it must have been his imagination, he reasoned, because why else would James possibly be angry about the fact that his best friend had escaped last night unharmed?

After a few seconds of heavy silence, Peter added softly, "No one else got hurt, either."

Remus allowed himself to lean back into the hospital bed once more, willing his heart to slow down to its normal pace. Sirius is fine, Sirius is fine – he just kept repeating the simple phrase over and over like a mantra inside his head until he could believe it was the truth.

"Then where is he?" He asked, once he had managed to calm down a bit. "What is going on?"

"Listen, Remus…Snape knows." James told him with a heavy sigh.

This statement was met with complete silence. Now Remus felt sure he was going to be sick.

"Knows what?" He asked, already knowing the answer and yet somehow still needing to hear it out loud.

"Sirius told him how to get past the willow," James elaborated, his hands unconsciously curling themselves into fists as he spoke, "and, of course, being the prat that he is, Snivellus actually did it. He only caught a glimpse before I pulled him out of there, but it was enough, and…"

Remus hadn't heard a word out of James's mouth after the first sentence.

"Sirius," he repeated in a whisper, interrupting James's narrative. "Sirius told him?"

The fleeting look of anger from before returned to James's face, this time taking up residence.

"He said he thought it would be funny," he said, spitting out the last word like a curse. "Oh, yeah, real funny to get Snape murdered by a fucking werewolf, never mind that said werewolf happens to be your fucking boyfriend!"

"James!" Peter hissed, trying to stop the other boy from going into a full blown rant. We were supposed to be breaking it to him gently, he wanted to remind him, but given that Remus was still in the room he settled for an exasperated sigh.

"You know Sirius," he attempted, once James had gotten the message and fallen silent, "he just doesn't think things through. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you or…or even Snape, for that matter. I mean, you know, he just he didn't think."

Remus was once again lying back against the headboard, his palm against his forehead and his eyes closed. Peter couldn't even be sure he was listening.

"I mean, you should have seen him last night," he continued uncertainly, "he didn't get any sleep…I mean, not that any of us really got any sleep last night but…I mean, he would have been here but it's just that we didn't think…I mean, we thought that maybe…well, he wanted to be here he just…he's really sorry."

James snorted angrily and Peter shot him another warning glare.

"Can you guys just, can you just go?" Remus asked quietly, eyes still closed.

"What?" James asked, frowning down at his friend in concern.

"I'm sorry." Remus sighed, opening his eyes a bit and attempting a half-smile. "I'm just I'm really exhausted. Can you just go, please?"

James glanced over a Peter.

"Of course." He said eventually, concern still etched across his features. "We'll just well just let you rest."

"Everything's going to be okay, Remus," Peter added, once they were halfway out the door, "you'll see."

Remus didn't think anything could possibly be farther than the truth. Everything was not going to be okay. Sirius had betrayed him. The person he trusted the most in the entire world had just told someone his biggest and most dangerous secret as a fucking joke.

Nothing made any sense to him anymore. How could Sirius have done this to him? he wondered, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought. And why? Was it really all a joke to him?

As if in answer to his silent questions, Sirius appeared in the doorway that James and Peter had just vacated, looking red-eyed and upset. The look on his face implied desperation, but the steps he took towards Remus were slow and careful.

"Moony," he said softly, his voice pleading with Remus to look up at him.

Remus stared determinedly down at the sheets.

"I'm sorry," Sirius's voice came again, slightly more broken, and closer now. "You have no idea how sorry I am."

Remus finally looked up, taking in all the pain that shone on Sirius's face, the sincerity that was evident in his voice – and he found himself unaffected by any of it.

For the last three years, long before they had begun…whatever this was, even the slightest look of pain or hurt had caused him to go running to Sirius's side. Even now that they were together, it was obvious that Remus's affections were much greater than Sirius's. In some ways, Remus had always expected betrayal from Sirius – but not like this.

Now when he looked at Sirius, all he felt was achingly empty inside. He felt like Sirius had stolen something from him and he wondered vaguely why he had given him that kind of power.

"Don't worry about it," Remus said when he finally spoke. "It's okay."

Sirius leaned over and embraced Remus fiercely, not even noticing when Remus didn't respond in kind.

"I'll never hurt you again," Sirius whispered into Remus's neck.

"I know," Remus answered.

Because I won't let you, he added silently.

Never again.

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So, there's the first part! Reviewers get my undying gratitude (and cookies!).

Coming soon… Part Two: Regulus's Betrayal – "Regulus knows how his brother feels about Lupin; he's seen the furtive glances, the almost touches."

But that doesn't stop it from happening.