His eyes scanned over the photograph of the lovely family: proud parents and
excited children. He wondered how many children he and Mia would have had by now.
He wondered if Remus would have found his mate and settled down to pop out a few
pups. He wondered if James and Lily would have had more than just Harry. Sirius decided
that Harry could have used a sister. James and Mia were a perfect pair growing up, and he
was certain that Lily would have insisted on having someone like Mia there to temper the
ego that Harry would have certainly inherited from his father.
Smirking at the thought, he scanned the photo again, taking notice of the two
youngest children in the picture. The brother had his arm wrapped around his sister, both
smiling brightly, and there on the boy's shoulder was a rat.
Sirius's smile faded as he noticed something strange about the rat's toes: one was
missing.
August 3rd, 1993Remus groaned as he woke up in the dark cellar. He hated this cellar even more
than the Shrieking Shack. He longed for the Potter Orchards where he could actually run
around but, as it was, his only available space was the bloody cellar that had been properly
warded against his wolf form. The same form that made its appearance each and every
month, taking full control of his body and leaving him broken, wounded, and exhausted
the following morning.
Shutting the cellar door behind him, Remus locked it with a tired wave of his wand
in a futile attempt to make it disappear for another month. He stretched his sore muscles
and stopped in front of a mirror that hung on the wall in the hallway to check if he had
inflicted any more permanent damage to himself.
"No scars," Remus whispered to himself thoughtfully. "Just bruises. Much obliged,
Mr Moony." He winced as a deep-set pain shot through his lower back. Sighing, he stared
at his reflection. For being only thirty-three, Remus figured that he looked much closer to
forty. His skin was pale and sallow, his sandy blond hair was turning grey, and the dark