Always. Forever.
Ron woke up to screaming. Horrible screaming. He’d never heard anything like it, before he could register what happened his body acted accordingly. His subconscious realized that the screaming was coming from the other bed and immediately ran to his best friend. Ron saw Harry flailing about, seeming desperate to get away from whatever his mind decided to trap him in. Harry was clawing at his forehead, leaving scratches along his hairline and around scar.
Ron grabbed Harry’s hands and tried to pin them to his side, Harry continued to scream and struggle under his best friend. “Harry! Harry! It’s just a dream! HARRY!” Ron tried to wake him up but nothing was working. After what seemed like forever, but was only about two minutes, their door burst open. In the doorway stood Remus, Sirius, Hermione and Ginny. Sirius and Remus paused before immediately rushing to Harry’s side.
Remus grabbed Ron away from Harry and pushed him towards Hermione and Ginny. Hermione immediately wrapped Ron up in a hug. Ginny was too stunned to make any move, she just watched one of her brothers break down in his best friend's arms. And another scream bloody murder while his godparents attempt to calm him down.
Sirius tried desperately to keep Harry calm. Sirius pulls Harry into his arms and squeezes his arms to his side. He looked over the top of Harry’s head to look at Remus with fear in his eyes. Both men had tears in their eyes when Harry’s body started to slow. He seemed to relax a little before his eyes started to open. Remus sat down in front of Harry as he started to wake up.
“Hey Harry, are you with us yet?” Remus asked. Harry’s eyes seemed to register what was being asked, but didn’t seem to have the energy to respond.
“No please, they're not real. It’s not real….. it’s not re… not real..” Harry faded off into sleep, however, he remained in Sirius’ arms. Sirius gave Remus a sharp look, silently telling him to get the other kids out of the room. Remus nodded and turned to the others.
“Come on guys, it’s early enough for some breakfast. Let’s go see what we can dig up. Let’s let Harry sleep; he seems like he needs it.” He then ushered all the kids out of the room and down the stairs leaving Sirius and Harry alone.
“Oh Harry, what are we going to do….” Sirius trailed off.
Downstairs was silent. Remus had begun to make some eggs and toast for the teens as well as a bit of tea for himself. He still couldn’t exactly process what had happened, but no one had started to talk so he didn’t want to push too hard. Once the food was prepared and served they all sat down for a tense early breakfast. It wasn’t until about 10 minutes in did Sirius walk down the stairs. He sat down and Remus passed him a cup of tea.
“How is he?” Remus asked
“Sleeping like normal. Like nothing ever happened.” Sirius responded.
“What do you think he dreamt about?” Ginny asked.
“It almost looked like his reaction to what he sees when dementors get close…” Hermione trailed off.
“I have shared a room with him for almost five years now. I’ve never seen anything like this. Closest would be when Voldemort came back. But Hermione is right, the way he passed out… that was so similar to the dementors.” Ron said, surprising everyone. He looked around at the raised eyebrows and shrugged. “What? I may not seem like I pay attention but I do. He’s my best friend.”
The rest of the breakfast remained quiet. Harry still hadn’t woken up and the sun had started the rise. Remus and Sirius went back to the kitchen and started to cook for the rest of the kids and adults. It was around 9 am when everyone made their way down the stairs, save Harry. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and Remus had been up for around 6 hours at that point. They were dead on their feet.
When Molly and Arthur came down to see the teenagers nearly asleep at the table they looked over at Remus and Sirius. “We’ve had a long night, we’ll fill you in later, we should probably grab Dumbledore and Snape when we do too. Anyway, we’re going to head up to get some sleep, the kids should too” Remus looked at the teenagers who barely protested to get up and move away from the table. “Molly, breakfast is already served and has a heating charm on it so it should still be warm. We’ll see you guys later” and with that they followed the teens up the stairs.
When they got to Sirius’ room he opened the door and closed it behind himself and Remus. Sirius sat there and looked at Remus. “I hate that we weren’t there for him. How could I go after Pettigrew? Why didn’t I stay with him? With you? We could’ve avoided all of this?”
“Pads, you did what you thought was right. Was it completely stupid? Yes. But it’s not your fault, we didn’t know Peter was the spy. Blame Voldemort, not yourself.” Remus said, searching for Sirius’ eyes that were glaring holes into the floor.
“Moony I thought you were the spy. I will never forgive myself for that. I ruined everything between us…” Sirius paused.
“You remember that time in fourth year when we played truth or dare?” Sirius nodded. “Well, remember when you kissed Marleen McKinnon and how upset I got?” Sirius nodded again and went to cut Remus off. “Now let me finish, that’s when I knew I loved you. I know you know I loved you. I know you loved me. When you got arrested and sentenced to Azkaban, my heart shattered. I just lost James, Lily, Harry, and Peter. My entire family in one night, then I find out that the man I loved caused it?” Remus had tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over. “Then, 13 years later, my best friend's son comes to me and tells me he sees Peter on the map. And everything I had sincerely hoped to be true was, you were innocent, you were the man I fell in love with all those years ago playing truth or dare. I hated that I loved you while in Azkaban, but I was meant to love you. And it will always be you.” Remus finished. Sirius had finally looked up from the floor, tears streaming down his face.
Sirius paused a moment before launching himself at Remus. The moment their lips met it was like every single firework in the world lit up. When they finally pulled apart Remus looked at Sirius again. “Because I love you, I know that we will do right by Harry. We weren’t there then, but we can be now. We’ll get your name cleared and he’ll live with us. It’ll be like it’s meant to be.”
Sirius nodded and smiled before leaning in for another kiss. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say you loved me again. I thought I blew it. Remus I will always love you, forever.”