Written for the 'Every Wolf Deserves a Star Challenge'

2.) Flimsy (Word)
20.) Spirit (Word)
24.) Ghost!Remus (Word)

1.) "Idle chitchat, how annoying." (Dialogue)
2.) Immaculate (Word)
3.) Negative (Word)
4.) Embrace (Action)
5.) Sliver (Word)

I've been wanting to write Ghost!Remus for a while now, I'm glad this prompt was offered, it gave me the chance to write it (though it wasn't the MC I had originally hoped to write).

Til' Death Unites Us

Hogwarts wasn't everything Sirius had hoped it would be.

He had left home with high hopes, but that changed at his sorting. He found himself being placed into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. In the space of a few seconds his family turned against him and he found himself completely in his family, and alone in a Hogwarts house that didn't want nor trust him. He was after all a Black, and they were considered to be dark wizards. No-one could see that he was different.

Sirius found himself constantly alone and eventually stopped trying to make friends. All he heard from the other Gryffindors were negative remarks, and he was sick of them. He resigned himself to the fact that for as long he was at Hogwarts, he was going to be alone and friendless... but maybe after he left, it would all be different?

A few months before his OWL's, Sirius found himself in the library. He didn't care much for studying, but he was alone and bored. It wasn't as if there was much else to do. The dorm was quite a noisy and unwelcome place. He had hoped that after five years, his dorm-mates would have warmed up to him, but he still felt as unwelcome there as he did the first night.

It didn't matter to him that the library was closed, he let himself in and began his search.

"Advanced Astronomy," Sirius muttered, his eyes darting over the books as he tried to work out what the bookcase contained. Spotting some books on defensive spells, he turned around, looking at the bookcase on his other side. Not for the first time, he cursed the bookcases for not having signs indicating what they contained.

"The Astronomy books aren't over there," came a soft voice from behind him, causing Sirius to drop his textbook in shock: he had set wards on the door to alert him if someone came in, and those hadn't gone off.

Sirius quickly spun around, ready to make excuses. He expected the speaker to be a prefect, given that the person had spoken in a soft voice, rather than the stern tones of a teacher. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of a ghost, a boy only a few years older than himself. His gaze moved over the figure, taking in the prefect badge on his cardigan worn over a shirt and trousers. His outfit was immaculate; the only thing messy about him was his shaggy hair. Sirius found himself wondering what colour it was.

"Who are you?" Sirius blurted out. He had been at the school for five years now, and not once had he seen this ghost.

The boy just smiled slightly at him. "That's not important," he replied. "I saw you looking around and thought I'd help you."

"Because you were a Prefect?" Sirius gaze shot to the badge pinned to the boy's chest and the boy's smile widened.

"Maybe, or maybe because you come in here a lot and look a bit lonely."

Sirius bristled, he didn't want pity from a ghost. He surveyed the ghost through narrowed eyes, opening his mouth to defend himself.

"A bit like me when I was a student," the ghost continued, seeing the defensive expression on Sirius' face. "I hid away in the library too."

Sirius wasn't sure what to say to that. He followed the spirit as he led him through the bookcases, finally stopping at one on the far end.

"Astronomy," the ghost told him.

Sirius quietly thanked him and turned to the bookcase. When he had selected his book, he turned back to find that the ghost was gone.

~O~

It was a couple of weeks before Sirius spotted him again. Sirius had snuck into the Library to find his ghost standing by the counter. He was staring longingly at one of the books, his gaze eagerly moving across the words on the copy that had been placed on the place upside-down.

"Do you like reading?" Sirius asked, causing the ghost to quickly spin around to look at him. Sirius was secretly glad to have startled the ghost in the same way he had startled him. He watched the ghost nod his head.

Sirius took the book from the shelf. "Well, if you come and sit with me, I can turn the pages for you," he offered.

"No, if you're busy -"

"Just doing a Herbology Assignment," Sirius said with a smile.

He walked over to a nearby table, opened the book and he flicked to the first page. "Just say my name when you want me to turn the page." he said, before heading over to a bookcase to collect his own book. Upon returning, he saw the ghost waiting eagerly, next to his book.

"What's your name?" the ghost asked.

"Sirius. Sirius Black," Sirius replied.

"I'm Remus Lupin."

Sirius shared a smile with Remus and turned the page for him before turning his gaze to his own book. His eyes kept darting up until Remus' gaze meet his. Sirius grinned as he reached over, turning the page again.

"Thank you," Remus whispered. "I haven't read a book in years."

Sirius felt warm inside. "I haven't had anyone want to sit with me in years," he whispered in return.

~O~

Sirius quickly realised that there were certain days that Remus came to the Library, and Sirius made sure he was also there to see his new 'friend' (if that was what they were). He insisted each time that Remus pick a book for himself and afterwards they would sit in silence, Sirius studying and Remus enjoying the book.

"Exams are in two weeks," Remus said one evening, ignoring the book in front of him. "I was thinking... how about I quiz you?"

"Quiz me?" Sirius asked, looking up from his book and meeting Remus' eyes. He wondered (not for the first time) what colour Remus' eyes were.

"I got straight O's for mine," Remus continued. "Well, all except potions of course. I was terrible at potions."

Sirius nodded slowly. He had seen other students doing this, but as he didn't have a friend, he had no-one to ask to help him.

"Does this mean we're friends?" Sirius asked.

Remus smiled at him. "I think we've been friends for a while now, don't you?" he asked, grinning widely when Sirius nodded his head eagerly. "We could start tomorrow, if you're free?"

"I'll be here," Sirius promised. He could put his special project off for a few days. He never usually saw Remus on a Wednesday after all, and he looked forward to spending the extra day with his best friend.

~O~

It was his first night back in the castle, and even though Sirius didn't have much reason to be in the Library, he had decided to leave his unpacking to the following morning so he could go there. He hoped Remus would make an appearance. While he waited, he began casting all the spells written on a bit of parchment.

He had worked hard. It wasn't easy finding spells that recognised ghosts after all, or ones that used voice commands. The only easy spell was the time one. But he had spent a whole summer being ignored by his family, spending the majority of that time in the library, learning spells. He was confident it all would work.

"What are you doing?" came a voice from next to him. Sirius beamed at Remus before continuing his spells. It was a few minutes before he turned back to the curious ghost.

"Go and touch one of the books," he said.

Remus looked at him curiously as he walked to a bookcase, his fingers slowly reaching for a book. Just as his hand went through the book, the book flew to the table.

"Touch the cover," Sirius continued, enjoying Remus' surprise. He was glad that it had worked as there were no ghosts in Grimmauld Place to test the spell for him.

Remus quickly moved across to the table, his hand reaching for the cover. The instant his hand went through it, the cover opened and Remus turned to Sirius in shock. "What -"

"Whichever page you reach to touch, it'll flip open. I can only get it to flip one page at a time, so if you were looking at a book and wanted to go to a certain chapter, it'll take a while... but it's something. Now you can read the books at least," Sirius said.

"Does it just work for me?"

Sirius shook his head. "It'll work for all ghosts," he replied. "I'm going to give the parchment to Professor Dumbledore as it would need to be recast in case the charms wear off, or in case it doesn't apply to new books coming into the place."

"But... this must have taken you ages to work out," Remus said, his hand resting on a page, causing it to flip over. He stared in amazement.

Sirius watched Remus' face light up as page after page turned under his touch. He knew he would never tire of the sight. "It was worth it," he said. "Isn't this what friends are for?"

"Did you spend your whole summer on this?" Remus asked.

"I tried to stay hidden," Sirius said. "Father keeps talking about this group... I grew up in a home that hates anyone considered below us – not that I think that way myself," he quickly said, realising that he didn't know Remus' blood status. "But this group seems to hate more intensely. It scared me. I spent my time in my room or our library."

"Didn't you go out?" Remus asked.

"We're not allowed out," Sirius replied. "Plus, you're my best friend, I've never had a friend before and wanted to do something nice for you."

He felt something cold against his skin and flinched. "Sorry," Remus said. "That was stupid."

Sirius looked at Remus' face, inches from his.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I... I kind of tried to hug you," Remus admitted. "Sorry, I forgot that I couldn't."

"It would have been nice," Sirius said, trying to imagine what it felt like to have Remus' arms around him. He could only think about how wonderful it would feel.

~O~

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, having found Sirius hiding in one of the unused classrooms, sitting on a desk with his feet resting on one of the flimsy chairs.

It had been the first time Sirius had missed one of their get-togethers, and Remus had been quite worried.

Sirius hesitated for a long time. "My brother ignored me today," he finally muttered.

"Doesn't he always?" Remus asked.

"It's my birthday," Sirius whispered. "My parents... not even a card. For Regulus' birthday last month, they sent him the latest Quidditch broom."

"Do you like Quidditch?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded. "It's not really the fact that he got something that I didn't. I have enough to get myself one if I wanted... it's the fact that they hate me. It's like nobody cares about me."

"I care about you," Remus whispered, causing Sirius to give him a somewhat shaky smile. "I have an idea. Meet me on the first floor in ten minutes."

Sirius watched Remus disappear through the door and waited for a few minutes before heading downstairs. He found Remus waiting outside of the Quidditch Office.

"Well, aren't you going in?" Remus asked, his hands in his pockets as he smiled at Sirius.

With a quick spell, the door was open and Sirius walked in, his eyes moving across the ghosts that were gathered in there.

"Remus, what are you doing here?" a ghost with glasses said, standing up. "Aren't Fridays your private days?"

Remus looked at Sirius, and the guy followed his gaze.

"Oh," he said, grinning. "This is who you've been meeting. Does Moony have a boyfriend?"

"James, shut up," Remus muttered.

"Remus has a boyfriend, Remus has a boyfriend," James chanted. "Aww, he's blushing."

"It's Sirius' seventeenth birthday," Remus said, looking around. "I thought we could all hang out?"

Remus turned back to Sirius. "These are my friends, Lily and James. Guys – this is Sirius Black."

Sirius smiled at them nervously. Remus hadn't really mentioned his ghost friends much.

"Hey – we might be related," James said. "My mother was Dorea Black."

"Dorea Black?" Sirius muttered. "I think she was my mother's aunt. So we're second cousins."

"Cool," James replied.

"Are you the one who charmed the Library books?" Lily asked.

"Of course he was," Remus said.

"Thank you for that, it's nice to be able to do more than stare at book covers," she said, smiling at Sirius. Sirius returned the smile.

"Well, seventeen is a big age," James said. "Now, what we're going to do is sneak into Hogsmeade. When I went to school here, there was a secret tunnel..."

~O~

Sirius found himself much happier. Before, he only saw Remus on Tuesdays and Fridays, but now the other ghosts were cool with him hanging out with them in the Quidditch Office.

He liked that he was a part of something – that he finally had friends, though he sometimes found himself jealous when Remus would pay attention to James or Lily instead. He felt like Remus was his. Remus was his best friend and the most important person he had.

But he kept his mouth shut. I wouldn't do to show how jealous he was in front of Remus and risk losing him.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you... you're Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Ah," Remus said, "I was wondering when that would come up."

"So..." Sirius pushed.

"Well, basically... I was a Werewolf," Remus admitted, watching Sirius carefully for his reaction. "I was bitten as a child but still came here, Dumbledore let me attend. I had a really bad transformation in my last year, a week after my mother passed away, and I didn't survive it."

"I'm really sorry," Sirius said, wanting to reach for him.

"I left the year before you started. James was five years above me, and Lily was two above."

"If only I was here at the same time as you," Sirius said. "I'd have been your best friend and looked after you during your transformations."

"You couldn't have during -"

"I would have become an Animagus," Sirius said. "Werewolves don't hurt animals, only humans, so I could have stayed with you the whole time."

"You know, that's the nicest thing I've ever heard," Remus said. "That's why you're my best friend."

~O~

"Mr Black, at our last meeting, you had no idea what to do about your future," Professor McGonagall began. "Therefore,your schedule this year is incomplete. Lessons start tomorrow and I need to know what classes you want to take so I can adjust your schedule accordingly."

Sirius bit his lip for a moment. "I'd like to stay here as a Professor," he said.

Professor McGonagall studied him for a moment, before sorting through the leaflets in front of her.

"Do you have a subject preference?"

"Are any of the teachers retiring in the next few years?" Sirius replied.

"Defence -"

"Except for that. Didn't James Potter die in his first year of teaching that?" Sirius asked. "I was thinking... Magical Creatures, or Charms or Astronomy or something?"

Professor McGonagall smiled. "I do believe that there will be a position soon," she said. "But becoming a Professor is a lot of hard work."

"I can work hard," he promised. Sirius knew that he wanted to stay at Hogwarts more than anything. He didn't want to leave Remus. Remus was the only person who had truly cared about him and had not cared about his name or his house or his blood status.

He was determined that he was going to return to Hogwarts.

~O~

Fingers wound through his hair as lips pressed against his. A tongue eagerly slipped into his mouth as it parted in surprise.

Sirius was too shocked to try and pull away. When he had been assigned Benjy as a partner in Potions, he hadn't expected for Benjy to kiss him.

Sirius had never really thought about why he didn't want to date the girls at school – they would flirt and flip their hair at him, but it annoyed him more than anything else. But kissing a guy – he liked it. He shyly brought his own hands higher, trying to find something to do with them.

But once he pulled away and opened his eyes, the enjoyment vanished and guilt washed over him. He felt like he was doing something wrong.

Because, for a moment, he had imagined it was someone else holding him, someone else kissing him.

He had imagined it was Remus.

"So, do you want to... go to Hogsmeade with me?" Benjy asked.

Guilt overtook him. "I'm really sorry," he whispered. "That was a great kiss, but... I'm not interested in you." He had no intentions of leading Benjy on.

Sirius tried not to think about Remus as he watched Benjy walk away.

When that failed, he tried to tell himself that he was only thinking about Remus because Remus was his best friend –and people talked to their best friends about these things.

Sirius headed straight to the Quidditch Office and found Remus chatting with James. He stopped when Sirius walked in, turning to give Sirius his full attention.

"Sirius? You've never come in here during the day, is everything alright?" Remus asked, looking concerned.

"Someone kissed me," Sirius said, feeling like he was confessing that he had done something wrong somehow.

"So, was that your first kiss?" Remus said.

"Yes, and it was with a bloke," Sirius added. "Remus, I think I might be gay!"

Remus nodded. "So, tell me about it?" He pushed.

"Well, it was a bit wet, bit strange, but it felt good..." he trailed off, not wanting to admit why he hadn't liked it once it had been over.

"Are you going to date him?" Remus asked. Sirius could hear something in Remus' voice and he could see that it wasn't the usual smile Remus gave him. The smile Remus wore now looked forced.

Sirius slowly shook his head. "I like guys, but... it just didn't feel right with him," he replied.

"Oh, all right," Remus said. Sirius could swear that he heard relief in Remus' voice, but he was too blinded by the beaming smile to really question it. He returned the smile, not paying any attention to James and Lily who were staring at the pair sadly.

"So... it's the holidays soon," Sirius began, changing the subject. "I was wondering if you wanted to come and visit?"

"Visit?"

"It'll be fun. Just... come in the night, my parents would be angry if they saw a ghost."

Remus nodded. "I will," he agreed shyly.

"Right, so I live at twelve Grimmauld Place, London," he said. "Just any-time you want... it would be nice to have company."

~O~

Sirius curled up into a ball, trying to stop himself from whimpering in complete agony. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"You could have joined us," she whispered. "You could have brought honour to our family name. You could have taken your rightful place as heir..." she danced over, grabbing his hair and yanking his head up so their eyes met.

"You could have had everything you ever wanted," she hissed. "But if you aren't with us, you are against us. You are with the blood-traitors and the Mudbloods."

"They are better than you are," Sirius spat, thinking about Remus' Lycanthropy and half-blood status, not to mention Lily being a Muggleborn. Two of the best people he knew.

"Lies!" she roared. "They are filth. Wait and see, we will eradicate the world of them. My Dark Lord will purify our world. No longer will we hide away."

"Idle chit-chat, how annoying," Sirius told her, closing his eyes and waiting for his punishment.

Sirius' body began to spasm again, pain flowing through him as another Crucio fell from her lips. His throat began to burn from his shouts.

"Had enough yet, cousin?" She asked, finally lifting the curse. Sirius opened his eyes. He was trying to take deep breaths, even though his body ached from the attempt. "This is your last chance," she continued. "You could have everything you've ever wanted."

All Sirius wanted was Remus.

Well, that and his cousin's death.

He raised his head slightly and spat at her feet. He heard her screech before the Unforgivable hit him again.

Sirius was wishing for his death when she finally stopped, distracted. His eyes opened slightly and her gaze was on her arm. She was pulling up her sleeve. Sirius mustered all his energy together and dragged himself a couple of feet across the floor to where she had thrown his wand.

He grabbed it and pointed it at her.

"Avada Kedavra," he roared, his voice hoarse from all the screaming.

He watched in satisfaction as the witch hit the floor. He tried to push himself from the floor but was in agony. As he stumbled towards the door, he came face to face with Bellatrix's husband.

It took him a second to glance at his wife's lifeless body before Sirius was hit with a green light.

~O~

Sirius felt a hard floor underneath him and scrambled to his feet, searching desperately for his wand. It took him a moment to realise he wasn't in a dungeon any longer.

"What – Sirius?" Came a familiar voice.

"Remus?" Sirius spun around and took a step backwards as his gaze fell on a boy that was moving towards him – one that wasn't a spirit any more. "Remus, is that you?"

"What happened?" Remus asked as he grabbed his arm and stepped close to him, pushing Sirius' hair from his face. Sirius almost groaned as the hand moved away again.

"I wouldn't join the Death Eaters," Sirius said. "She was torturing me for two days, but I never gave in. I killed her, I killed my cousin, Bellatrix."

Arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly.

"Last thing I remember is that husband of hers, when I tried to leave. I was so weak. So tired. I wanted to... I thought I was going to die there."

Remus moved from the embrace. "Sirius," he began, looking behind Sirius for a moment, where James and Lily were watching. "I'm sorry," he began.

"I... I don't understand," Sirius replied. "Why do you look like this? How am I here?"

"Sirius, the reason you see us like you do, is because you are the same as us," Remus said softly.

"The same... like... Are you saying that I'm a ghost?" Sirius asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Remus nodded, reaching out and taking Sirius' hand again. "I think you're here because life treated you unfairly and you didn't want death to do the same."

"I guess that makes sense," Sirius muttered. He looked closely at Remus, shifting closer and reaching to brush the shaggy hair from his eyes, noting the way Remus leaned into his touch.

"Amber," he murmured.

"What?"

"I've been wondering for a long time what colour your eyes were," he whispered. His gaze darted to Remus' hair, moving down his body, before he threw his arms tightly around Remus, clinging to him.

"I can finally do this," he said, enjoying the feeling as Remus' arms came up around him in a tight embrace. "So, how does this ghost thing work?"

"Well, you're one of us now, you're a Marauder," James said, from behind him. "We basically hang out and convince Peeves to play pranks on people and do whatever we want. Sometimes we listen out for dark wizards in Slytherin and report it to Dumbledore."

"So, can I stay here?" Sirius asked, looking around. "If you don't want me to, I understand, but -"

"Of course you can," Remus quickly said. "We'd love to have you stay."

"Love being the operative word, right, Moony?" James said, grinning widely.

"Now I don't have to leave you at all," Sirius said, a sliver of hope running through him at James' words. What did James mean about love, and why did Remus look so shy all of a sudden?

Sirius hoped it meant something - the same way Remus seemed so eager for his touch must have meant something.

"Well, you would have finished here and gone on with your life -" Remus began.

"I was actually going to be a Professor," Sirius admitted. "I was going to come back."

Remus smiled, a blush covering his cheeks. Sirius couldn't tear his gaze away.

"You seem to be taking this whole ghost thing quite well," Lily pointed out. Sirius glanced at her and smiled.

"Well, everyone who has ever cared about me is in this room, and now I get to stay with you..." he said, looking between the three of them. "Though I guess I can't eat or play Quidditch, but that's a small price to pay." His gaze moved back to Remus. "Like I was ever going to leave you."

"I didn't want you to leave," Remus admitted. "I didn't want you to die either, though."

"Remus, I would have left for my training to become a Professor and come straight back, just for you. You... you are the most important person in my life, and you're more beautiful than I imagined," Sirius whispered, causing Remus to blush deeper.

"Come on, love," Lily said, pulling James' hand. "I think we better give the love-birds some space."

Remus opened his mouth to argue with Lily, but nothing came out when he looked into Sirius' stormy grey eyes.

"You know, when I kissed Benjy... well, I was imagining it was you," Sirius whispered. "How stupid of me, falling in love with a ghost, while I was alive."

"How stupid of me, falling in love with someone who was alive, when I'm a ghost," Remus replied.

"But now I'm the same as you, and ghosts... well, we don't die," Sirius said. "So..." he closed the distance between them, his lips inches from Remus. "I want to be with you. I've only ever wanted you, Remus."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked.

Sirius smiled. "Of course. I would be with you forever if you gave me that option," he said, swallowing hard as he felt Remus' breath against his lips.

"We're ghosts, so forever means forever," Remus whispered.

"Perfect," Sirius uttered. "I -" He was cut off as lips pressed desperately against his and hands held him close.

For the first time in his existence, he was truly happy. He had friends and he had Remus.

Sirius could really get on board with being a ghost.

Review Please :)

Thanks to Jordi for betaing, and for Raybe and FF for listening to me complain about this story not behaving how I wanted it to (and for helping too).

Thanks to Sable Supernova for helping me come up with a title :)

Thank you to Rayniekinnz for my birthday-fic: 'I'm Not a Cereal Killer, I Promise!' Also to HP Slash Luv for also writing me a birthday fic - 'Mood.' Both fics can be found on my profile, so go and take a look. Thanks for the birthday messages :)