Hey, guys! Here's a new chapter for you! I know its super late, but I'm not going to make excuses. Just know that I'm going to continue trying my hardest to update.

Unfortunately, no one guessed my favorite flavor of ice cream :( It's vanilla, bland I know, but if you sprinkle a ton of powdered nesquik over it, it's to die for.

Thank you to all my reviewers, who ,as always, get me up off my butt and write. Enjoy!

Harry awoke to the smell of pumpkins. Not at all unusual for this time of year, but definitely not what he was expecting. He raised his head to look around, only for his vision to be blocked by the drab curtains of the hospital wing. How had he gotten here? He couldn't remember. Ron would surely tell him all about it whenever he arrived. With a quick glance outside the window, Harry determined it was far too late for the hospital wing to sound so busy, much less smell like pumpkins. Why, then, could he clearly hear the deep rumble of the headmaster's voice and the sharp tones of Madam Pomfrey?

Something must have happened.

Maybe that was why he was in the hospital wing, an accident? He strained to recall any memory from before he woke up, to no avail. There was no Quidditch game the day before, he knew that for sure, so he ruled out falling from the sky. Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel any sort of bruised or broken besides his head. Maybe there was a duel? Harry didn't know, and his head was swimming too much for him to think of anything else.

He lay back down against the stiff pillows and allowed his mind to slip back into unconsciousness.

Remus had finally grown tired off Sirius's frenzied pacing. All night he'd been back and forth, back and forth, until Remus's temper had finally gotten the best of him and he all but forced the over-anxious man into his animagus form. But of course that hadn't stopped him, Sirius was far too hard headed to be forced into anything, and now Remus was forced to listen to four feet pad back and forth, back and forth into the wee hours of the morning.

He reckoned James and Lily had shown up at the shrieking shack at around eight or nine in the evening. Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was now an unsightly two 'o clock in the morning, and boy did he feel it. He probably looked worse than he felt, if that was possible, but that paled in comparison to the night's events.

Taking a quick glance over at his friend's prone forms, he settled deeper in his uncomfortable hospital chair and attempted to gather his thoughts.

So Lily and James were alive, that much was obvious, but Agrippa help him if he knew why. Dumbledore didn't seem to have a clue either, from what Remus had seen, but Dumbledore was always a bit secretive with his own thoughts. Remus had been to the house, he'd seen the wreckage, and there was no way anyone could have survived. Anyone but Harry, of course.

Oh, Merlin, Harry. What was going to happen with him? His own parents, barely older than the boy, himself. Nothing was ever fair to poor Harry. Remus longed to be able to protect Harry from all the injustices of the world, just as Sirius did, but knew there was nothing to be done. He was simultaneously proud and saddened by the brilliant young man he was becoming. Proud of his courage and strength, as anyone would be, but saddened by his ever-hardening soul. It was too much to think about for this ungodly hour, and Remus decided to let his mind rest from all of his over-analyzing.

His gaze focused again on the bland wallpaper, and his acute hearing noticed the lack of footsteps. Glancing over, he saw that Sirius had relocated from the floor to the foot of James's hospital bed, resting his furry head on his friend's feet. A slight whine escaped the dog's mouth as he became aware of Remus's gaze. Uncertainty hung limp in the air like a fog, and neither of them could do anything to help it.

Before he knew it, the sun was rising in the window, and Poppy was bustling around the hospital wing like a feverish mother hen. Fluffing pillows and checking vitals, she muttered to herself the tasks for her day.

Remus had always had a soft spot for Madam Pomfrey. After all her understanding and care during his days at Hogwarts, she still treated him like any other patient she'd ever had, and that couldn't be said about a lot of people. He watched with fondness as she was her overbearing, overprotective self, and couldn't help but feel nostalgic. How strange it was that instead of waking up to his friend's worried gazes, he was the one worrying.

He shifted his weight, and the movement alerted Pomfrey to his presence. "Oh good, Remus, you're awake. There's a bit of breakfast waiting in my office, if you'd like. Dumbledore sent the house elves down with it a while ago, along with a message to join him in his office when you've finished." She gave a quick quirk of the lips before returning to her duties.

Remus strode over to the bed that the large black dog still slept on, and shook him awake. Yawning, Padfoot looked at him with groggy loathing and transformed back lazily into his human form. Remus could barely contain a snort at the sight of a grown man curled at the feet of another. Sirius made no sign that he heard Remus's outburst, just stood and stretched out his muscles, before turning to look back at Remus. Remus made a silent hand gesture to follow and strode out of the curtains cutting the Potters off from the rest of the wing,

Sirius followed Remus into Poppy's office, grabbing some sort of pastry off the plate on her desk and flopping onto the small loveseat. Even at the worst of times, Remus mused, Sirius had a way of diffusing the tension like no other. He must have been zoning out, as Sirius commented loudly "Remus, we're all well aware that I'm attractive, but I thought we'd gotten over this staring mess in fifth year."

Remus gave a smirk and attempted to smack his friend, "You great prat," He muttered, shooting a wry glance towards the door. "There are students out there, Padfoot!"

"Just the one, Remus, every other bed is empty." He nodded towards the door. Remus stepped over to the doorframe and glanced around the hospital wing, noting the one bed curtained off near the back of the room, far away from James and Lily. Thankful for the lack of potential eavesdroppers, he returned to the office and pushed Sirius's feet back onto the floor so that he could sit.

"What's going to happen now, Remus?" Sirius's voice was soft and wondering, devoid of his previous energy.

"I don't know, Padfoot." Remus sighed. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time, I guess."

Sirius shot him an odd look. "What the hell, Moony? Where's that overthinking that has annoyed me for so long?"

Remus sighed again; he really needed to stop doing that, and looked at Sirius with tired eyes. "I just don't know, Sirius. It's not like this has ever happened before."

Sirius's eyes surveyed the werewolf. "Fair enough, mate. I'm sure Dumbledore has already come up with some sort of reasoning."

Remus barked a laugh. "Of course he has, he's Dumbledore."

They both chuckled at their old headmaster. They respected the hell out of him, but that didn't make them understand him. The thoughts of Dumbledore brought them back to fond memories of their time at Hogwarts, memories that didn't seem so distant now.

"I don't know whether to be happy or what." Sirius pondered. Remus didn't need to ask what he was talking about, that much was clear.

"Let's wait to pass judgment, Paddy, until we know what we're up against"

"Always the voice of reason, eh Remus?" Sirius laughed. "You were always like that, even worse than Lily." He shot a glance at his friend. "I reckon you annoyed even her with your constant 'level-headedness'."

Remus snorted. "I was level headed!" He defended. "It's the rest of you lot that were bloody insane!" Even now, he couldn't stop a grin from creeping over his features.

"Sure, sure," Sirius soothed. "I'm positive that you were the only sane one among us."

"Well Pete was a close second at times."

That halted the conversation. Peter Pettigrew, the fourth Marauder.

"What happened to him, Sirius? He used to be our best friend."

"Power, I reckon. Same as Snape and Reg." Sirius's voice was bitter. "I never understood that. Why people thought he would offer them power. He's nothing but a conniving snake."

Remus placed a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder. "I'm not sure either, Padfoot."

"God, all it does is tear people apart!" Sirius growled lowly. "Reg was always such a good kid. And the last time I saw him was seventh year. Seventh year, Remus. Now he's gone and gotten himself killed, the bloody prat."

Remus couldn't think of anything to say. Instead he reached out for another pastry and handed it to his friend. Sirius looked up with a grateful twitch of the lips and they fell into silence.

Who can guess what my favorite Beatles song is? To be more specific, its on the White Album.