Grimmauld Place had never been so quiet. Mrs Black's Portrait wasn't screaming. There wasn't the happy chatter and laughter of the kids. Or the stories of old times from Sirius .... Sirius.

Night had fallen, and the house was still quiet, cold, empty, apart from one slouching figure. Remus Lupin slowly wandered around the almost silent house. With every step, he expected Sirius to appear out of nowhere, smiling and laughing about how he scared him, but he didn't, couldn't.

There was no Sirius anywhere anymore, but at the same time he was everywhere again. He had lived there, grown up there before finally managing to escape, before, after many long years, he was forced to return and be kept prisoner.

As Remus looked around at his own pace, he saw little bits of Sirius everywhere; the empty or half empty bottle of Firewhisky and Butterbeer. The half eaten food in the cupboards. The smell of cinnamon and spice. Everything. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

The stairs creaked loudly under Remus's feet as he climbed up the stairs, his rough hands gently brushing the dark wooden bannister, just like Sirius would have done. He reached Sirius's room and pushed the door open carefully. It had been such a long time, even when he stayed at Grimmauld Place, since he had been in this room.

The Gryffindor scarves, ties and banners were still on the wall. Same with many old pictures. When Remus looked closer at them, he saw they were of them; the Marauders. Remus laughed again at the younger versions of him and his friends and Lily.

Lily; looking beautiful with her long fiery hair and brilliant emerald eyes. Looking alive.

James; with his messed up hair and goofy smirk. Looking young.

Sirius; mischief dancing in his eyes, looking happy. Looking innocent.

Peter; no hint of betrayal in his smile as they joked. Looking like a friend.

And Remus; smiling and laughing with the people who had accepted him. Looking happy.

Crawling onto Sirius' bed, Remus realized he was still laughing softly. Laughing when he saw the pictures of the half naked muggle girls on motorbikes. Laughing because Sirius decorated his room like this to piss off his parents. Laughing because the bed still smelled strongly of Sirius.

His laughter quickly turned to silent tears, which turned to violent and loud sobs as realization hit him like a rock.; he had lost Sirius again. He was all alone again.

Completely alone.