Carve Me Open / r.l. + s.b. /

Game Over

"Remus," Fleamont sighed. "James is only upset."

"Your damn right, I'm upset," James hissed. "You made me lie to my best mate, and for what? What good has it done?"

Remus decided to leave the arguing to James and his father, appealing to Lily this time. The poor girl was on the verge of tears, her flushed cheeks splotchy and wet. This was straining her, he knew, but the truth was on the brink of exposure. Remus needed to know. He held her face in his calloused hands.

"Lily," he soothed her frazzled nerves.

She shook her head slowly, those tears that had swelled running over the pads of his fingers, "Please, don't make me, Remus."

"Tell me."

"I can't, Remus!"

"You don't get to decide what I know and don't know," he reasoned. "It isn't fair."

Dumbledore stepped in, calm and placid voice rising over the shouting between father and son, "As recent tragedies would prove, Mr. Lupin, life is far away from fair. Some things are better left unsaid."

Remus felt silent aggravation bubble in his throat, his nerves on their last leg.

"What the fuck happened!"

"Julienne is dead."

The room fell silent, even the voices of Fleamont and James were hushed in a mere second. From a distance, Sirius had been doing his calming exercises unbeknownst to the rest of their small posse in the waiting room, gathering the courage to spill the truth. Sirius' voice was weak and tired, reminding Remus so much of his own self through the years.

But that hadn't mattered.

Remus was no stranger to loss; it had rummaged throughout his own lifetime like a dark creature that fed off despair. Friends, family, opportunities, and a future – they were all lost in the blink of an eye. The consequences were still rippling through time. It wasn't an odd feeling anymore; in fact, he'd gotten so used to it that he could control the pain. Hearing of Julienne's death had hit him like a brick to the face – suddenly and punitive. However, that hadn't been the straw that broke the camel's back.

They lied. All of them. Lily and James. Fleamont and Dumbledore. Minnie? Sirius.

He stared at them all, too dumbstruck to form coherent words. The words seemed to jumble in the back of his throat, obstructing his airflow and choking him to death. Now, this was an odd feeling one could never find themselves accustomed to. Betrayal. They'd never betrayed him before. None of them. Not Peter or James, not Lily or Sirius. He'd trusted all of them – Fleamont and Dumbledore included.

"Albus," Minnie gasped, looking just as stunned as Remus. "Is this true?"

As if the man could feel remorse, he nodded solemnly, "It is, yes."

Remus let his eyes fall on his friends. Lily had resolved to crying into James' chest, the weight of this revelation too much for her to handle. But she'd known. For months, Lily had known! She'd received time to grieve, and Remus had not. Remus should've been crying, not her! Still, he couldn't find it in him to weep. The heat in his chest – this carnal rage he'd only felt before transformations – distracted him from his mourning.

Remus found his attention landing on Sirius, hoping to hear that it was all a ruse. It couldn't have been; they didn't lie to each other. Remus had thought their progress stretched for miles. To know that his lover had lowered himself to such depths as to lie – it broke his heart. Truly. It was shattering in a way he hadn't thought he'd ever feel again. Air turned into blades, scraping against his vocal chords.

"Sirius?" His voice cracked, and Sirius winced at the sound. "You... Why would you keep that from me?"

Sirius remained silent, eyes cast to the floor in a display of shame. It did not move Remus. Not one bit.

"Answer me," he demanded, voice rising several levels. Sirius backed away from his lover, but Remus denied him the chance to tuck his fucking tail and wallow in his own self-pity. "Fucking answer me!"

"I don't know," he mumbled, voice soft.

Remus gasped unironically, looking struck with awe as if that'd been the golden answer, "He doesn't know!"

James' eyes cautiously darted between Sirius and Remus, taking apprehensive steps toward them just in case things got physical.

"You didn't fucking know," Remus repeated. "What a wonderful reason! Well, weren't you ready with your face down and your arse up to go behind my damn back?"

"I didn't know," Sirius began, his words failing him as they always did when it was the most important.

"Didn't know? Didn't know what," Remus asked, stalking toward Sirius with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Didn't know right from wrong? What a fucking surprise!"

"Moony," James sighed. "Will you just calm down?"

Remus shoved James roughly, sending him spiraling backwards onto his bottom, "Don't you dare come near me, bastard!" He glared daggers into the people he'd once thought were friends. "You go on and on about chivalry and fairness, yet you turn around and lie to me! How could you?"

"We thought it was for the best," Lily said, clearly thinking such an explanation was enough.

"No," Remus focused his attention on Fleamont. "You wanted me steady enough to do your fucking dirty work, didn't you?" The adults said nothing. "You wanted me stable enough to do work with the Werewolf dens. That's the catch! If you don't have me gaining allies, then you're all fucked, huh? Well, you know what, do it on your fucking own! I'm through."

McGonagall seemed to be the only one with a beating heart as she stepped forward, eyes pleading with Remus to reconsider. But he didn't want to. He didn't want to see any of their fucking faces! He wanted to leave for good, never looking back at these traitors.

In his final moment in that bright waiting room, he cornered Sirius with dark eyes and tight lips, "It's done."

The only thing he registered as he apparated to Walter's Ash was a resounding cry.

"No, Remus!"

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Sorry guys :/ It must be done. Much love to all of you.