Warning: Language, and reference to slash.

Prologue:

Oh, she hated them. Her hate wasn't simple or straightforward, it coursed through her very veins. Her hate was like a wound. Her whole being would shake with hatred at just the thought of them. She felt sick when she saw them together. Touching, kissing. It made her want to hurt them. And on top of it all – that Lupin was a werewolf. He was nothing more than a disgusting dog, unfit to walk with normal witches and wizards. She wouldn't just make them feel pain. Oh no. She would make them suffer. And with that happy thought, she smiled and began to plan.

Sirius had been acting odd lately. Remus knew that Sirius was busy and stressed, working in the auror office round the clock ever since the wizard serial killer had appeared a few weeks ago. Sirius had been going to work before Remus was awake and coming home late at night. Remus felt like he might as well have been living alone, for how often he got to see Sirius. But Remus hadn't commented. He knew how important Sirius' job was.

Remus could tell that Sirius was just pushing the food around on his plate instead of eating it. "You all finished?" Remus asked.

"Yeah" he handed Remus his plate. As Remus left the dining room for the kitchen, Sirius put his head in his hands. He couldn't take it any longer. It was eating at him. He couldn't stand one more moment thinking about it, picturing it. When Remus came back in fastening his traveling cloak, Sirius felt his anger begin to bubble to the surface. "Where are you going?" His voice sounded surprisingly normal, despite the anger building inside of him.

"I'm meeting Mark tonight." Remus said as he put his cloak on. Sirius felt himself snap.

"No." Remus paused in the middle of fastening a button.

"No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean, no, you cannot go see Mark."

Remus bristled, "I can't? You're telling me what I can and cannot do?"

"No, I'm just telling you what you can't do. You're not allowed to see Mark."

"And why am I not allowed to see Mark?" Remus asked calmly.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Sirius snarled, standing up. "Do you think I don't know what's going on between you?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Remy. I see the way he looks at you."

"Of all the ridiculous-"

"Last time I checked you were my boyfriend – and I'm not sharing you with anyone else!"

"I am not your property Sirius. And Mark is just a friend!" When Sirius' fist connected with his jaw, the pure shock of it had him falling to the ground.

"Don't you fucking lie to me! Every night you go out with him, every night you come home smelling like him. Never spare me a passing thought, do you?"

"Sirius you haven't even been around!" Remus was furious, "You've been so busy with work that I hardly even see you anymore! And when I do see you, you just want to be left alone!"

"Don't turn this around on me! Don't you dare make excuses!"

"I'm not making ex-" But Sirius grabbed him by the front of his jacket and hauled him up so they were eye to eye.

"Did you bring him here?"

"What?" Remus spluttered. Sirius' grip tightened.

"Did you bring him here, to our house? Did you fuck him? Fuck him in our bed?" Remus pushed Sirius away from him.

"If you think I would ever cheat.. Ever be deceitful – then you don't know me at all. I've done nothing but support and love you. And this is what I get? Well, fuck you." Remus started to walk away.

"Remus if you walk out that door-" But Remus left and slammed the door shut behind him.

Remus was fuming. He loved Sirius and only Sirius, but the damned idiot was too stupid to even see it. Remus' jaw was throbbing. He tentatively touched it and then winced in pain. Sirius had never hit him before… It crossed a line somehow, and Remus felt betrayed. Sirius had promised to never hurt him. Sirius had always been the one to heal his injuries, not cause them. Remus sighed. No matter how angry he was, he had already forgiven Sirius. That's what you do when you love someone. And how can I be mad at him for loving me too much? For wanting me all to himself? That's the way I feel about him after all. Figuring Sirius still needed time to cool down, Remus decided to do some shopping. The muggle stores were prettily lit for the upcoming Christmas holidays, so he decided to wander around for a bit before returning home.

Sirius didn't know if he wanted to hit something or sit down and cry. He opted for the first, since he had too much pride to give in to the latter. The red haze hadn't dissipated from his view. He was not going to lose Remus. He couldn't live without him. He didn't know what he would do without him. Without Remus…his life was blank. Everything disappeared into a void, a meaningless nothing. He had to get Remus back, had to hold him and not ever let go. He had to find Remus, and he knew just where he'd be: cuddling up with that snot-nosed Mark, complaining about how mean his boyfriend Sirius was. The anger flooded him with renewed force and he stormed out of the house and apparated.

He found Mark sipping coffee in a café. He was too far gone in his rage. All he could think of was his hate for this man he didn't even know. He stepped into the café and walked straight up to Mark.

"Where is he?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Where's Remus."

"I don't know, he was supposed to meet me here a while ago. Say, aren't you-"

"His boyfriend? Yeah, that's me. You fucking asshole."

"What?"

"You stay away from Remus! He's my boyfriend and I'm not about to-"

"Whoa whoa, hold up. I'm not…like that." He held up his left hand. "Straight and married."

"W-what?"

"Remus and I are just friends." Sirius' legs wouldn't support him anymore. He slid into the chair across from Mark, ignoring the murmurings of the other occupants of the café.

"So you two haven't-"

"God, no. No offense or anything." Sirius shook his head. He had been wrong. Completely wrong. He had yelled at Remus and blamed him for something that had never even happened. He felt the anger slide out of him to be replaced with a new emotion: guilt. Mark looked curious, "He talks about you a lot you know. He's quite over the moon about you. What made you think that there was something going on?"

"Well I just figured…I'd come home late at night and just find a note from him saying he was gone meeting up with some guy named Mark. And then it was always 'well Mark does this, or Mark says that' and it just seemed like…"

"I haven't known Remus all that long but he doesn't strike me as the type to cheat. He's uncommonly loyal." Sirius said nothing, sitting in dazed shock. "He was lonely, you know." Sirius' head snapped up. "He always talked of how busy you were with work. He wasn't complaining or anything, in fact his voice was filled with pride when he mentioned your work, but I could tell that he missed you."

"I-I have been rather busy lately. He never said anything though, he should've told me how he felt, and I would have tried to make time!"

"And perhaps maybe you should have tried telling him how you felt, and asked instead of jumping to conclusions?" Mark sighed. "You're both so concerned about the other that you don't even realize the other feels exactly the same way. Why don't you go find Remus and patch things up? He's probably worried about you".

"Right," Sirius stood and was about to leave before he turned back, "I'm sorry about, well everything. And…thank you."

"No problem. Remus has been a good friend to me, I'm glad to repay the favor."

It was all too easy, once you thought about it. The perfect opportunity had just fallen right into her lap. Black had left the house without even putting up any protective wards. She had simply walked up to the door, murmured a simple Alohamora and walked inside. All she had to do now was make a few changes to the house and wait. She had to resist the urge to laugh; soon they would be suffering.

As Remus walked home, he thought it strange to see that their house lights were off. Had Sirius gone to bed already? He walked up the steps and unlocked the door. The house was pitch black. "Sirius? Are you home?" He walked into the kitchen to set the grocery bags down on the counter when suddenly he felt a blinding pain on the back of his head. He collapsed onto the floor. He heard giggling before he drifted into unconsciousness.

She hit Lupin from behind with a wave of her wand and kicked at him with her foot to make sure he was unconscious. Laughing, she waved her wand. Ropes appeared and wrapped around Lupin tight, the spilled groceries disappeared and with a final look about the place, she grabbed Lupin's forearm and apparated them away.

Sirius apparated in front of their house. Odd. The lights were off. Had Remus still not come home yet? He walked inside, calling for Remus. The house was empty. He walked upstairs into their bedroom and dropped his wand he was so shocked. Their closet door was open and all of Remus' clothes were gone. The bureau, too, had open drawers, revealing nothing but Sirius' clothes. The silly items Remus liked to collect and put about the room were gone. Remus had left? After eight years of being together, one stupid fight and he was gone? No, no, no. This couldn't be. He couldn't live without Remus. He collapsed to his knees, heartbroken. "I've ruined it. Remy…"

Remus awoke to a terrible smell and a terrible headache. He felt as though his head had been split in two. He tried to sit up and groaned when the room spun. He must have a concussion. He realized his hands and feet were tied. His wand was gone and he was sitting in a dark, stone room. The only light came from a cauldron, boiling on the other side of the room. The smell emanating from it was awful. He had no idea where he was. He tried to remember how he ended up here, but had no recollection. All he could remember was that he was looking for Sirius and he had been attacked from behind. Sirius. Merlin, Remus hoped he was okay. He hoped that whoever had attacked him hadn't managed to get Sirius as well. Please, please, please, let him be safe.

And just then, the door to the room creaked open. Remus struggled to turn round and see who it was, to know who had attacked and imprisoned him. Who he saw standing in the doorway, shocked him to his bones. His breath left him in a whoosh. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sirius?"

Sirius smiled an evil grin that Remus didn't recognize. "Sirius, what are you doing? What's going on?" Sirius closed the door quietly behind him and walked toward the cauldron.

"You know, I've always hated you, Remus."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"You're just a werewolf. A dog. I never really loved you. You were never good enough for me. You see, the truth of it is that I could do so much better than you." He gently began to stir the cauldron. Remus said nothing. He had always been scared that one day Sirius might realize just how dangerous and poor he was. Sirius might not want to be with him anymore – but Sirius would never hurt him. The punch to the face had been nothing. Surely. This couldn't be happening. This was a nightmare and he was going to wake up any moment. Wake up safe and sound in Sirius' arms. But Sirius came over to him, and forced his mouth open. He poured the potion down Remus' throat, holding him there until he choked down every last drop. Remus coughed.

"Sirius. What did you do? What did you give me?"

"Just a little potion, I've been working on. This way you'll learn the true meaning of worth and status."

"Sirius-"

"It's okay." Sirius patted his face. "You won't remember a thing. Time will change just for you".

And he watched as Remus fell into unconsciousness once more, and watched as the potion began to slowly take effect. As Sirius watched Remus change, he changed as well. His hair grew longer, and his face became more fatty. The poly juice potion had worn off. And standing there, giggling in evil mirth was Doloros Umbridge.