Emptiness filled the dusty hallways. Silence soon followed. Nothing moved. The residents at 12 Grimmauld Place were fast asleep, dead to the world around them. That was except for two. Remus Lupin lay awake in his bed. It wasn't close to the full moon, about half way through the cycle, and that was exactly why he felt so awake, so alive. His hearing was above human average, and the quiet of the house was beginning to drive him made as he lay there creating shapes in the darkness.

He sat up and yawned, running his hand through his hair. That's when he heard a noise. It sounded like music. A piano? It sounded beautiful. Confused and intrigued, Remus carefully opened the bedroom door and crept towards the sound of the haunting music. After careful tracking, Remus found that the music was coming from the ground floor library. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened to the unknown player and their piano. A funny, happy sadness filled Remus as he closed his eyes, and let the music fill his ears. Fill his heart. His soul.

The floor came to meet Remus as he sat down, leaning against the door. With his heightened hearing, he thought he heard the player faulted for just a second just as he sat, but it was almost unnoticeable. His breathing slowed and a smile crept across his lips. It was blissful moments like these that made Remus question if life was, in fact, real.

"Bloody hell!" Remus exclaimed as he suddenly fell backwards, awakening from his daydream. The music had stopped.

"Morning Rem." A voice said above him.

Looking up, Remus saw Sirius standing above him. Sirius smiled as he helped his best friend back to his feet.

"What brings you down here this early?" Sirius asked happily, dusting off Remus's back for him.

"I heard some -stop it already." Remus said, swatting Sirius' hands away. "I heard someone playing the piano and I was curious. It was you, wasn't it?"

Sirius avoided his caramel coloured eyes, he answered.

"Yeah that was me." Sirius sighed before going back into the room again.

"Since when did you play?" Remus asked, following him. Sirius sat down at the piano and didn't say anything for a while.

"My mother made me play. It's the only thing I've done that made her proud of me. Every single holiday we celebrated and every family reunion or party she would gather everyone in here for drinks and conversation, and I would play. Even if it was my birthday celebration I would have to." Sirius said, his tone was distant, as were his eyes. "Reg loved hearing me play, he adored the music I made. Whenever one of us couldn't sleep, usually him, I would play a song or two, like the one you heard tonight, to calm us down and make us sleepy. Many times our parents found us asleep down here, they didn't mind."

"I never knew that about you." Remus said softly, perching in the piano stool next to Sirius. His eyes looking sympathetically over Sirius's distant expression. "Why did you never tell us about your talent?"

"Because I hate it. I despise playing. I hate pianos with a burning passion. Every song I know has at least one memory linked to this godforsaken family. Every. Single. Song." Sirius spat with hatred.

"Then why play tonight?"

Sirius was silent for a moment. His finger slowly ran over the keys, pressing some softly in a gentle melody.

"Because I couldn't sleep. It's this house. It's the memories. They're killing me." Sirius said, his voice desperate, but barely audible. "I can't stay here any longer, Rem. I honestly can't. Strange thoughts run through my mind every time I open my eyes. When I see something from my past. It feels like when I went back to Hogwarts a few years ago; the ghost of our past were everywhere I turned."

Tears were slowly rolling down Sirius's red tinted cheeks. Remus pulled Sirius into a hug, letting him bury his head into his bare shoulder, not caring that it was getting wet with tears.

"This will be over soon. You'll be freed and Harry come live with you. Things will get brighter." Remus said reassuring, rubbing Sirius' back soothingly.

"And you. You're going to stay here too." Sirius said, pulling away. Both still held each other but at arm's length, smiling stupidly.

"Hell no, share a bathroom with you again, definitely not." Remus laughed.

Sirius laughed too, his face still sticky with tear marks. Wetting his thumb with his tongue, Remus wiped away the trails. Their eyes locked for a few moments longer than they should have done. Remus kept his hand on Sirius's face.

"I should head back to bed. It's almost morning and I haven't slept." Remus said suddenly, breaking the eye contact. Dropping his arms he stood up and faced Sirius. "Are you coming?"

"No." Sirius said, clearing his throat. "No, I'm going to stay here a little longer."

"Goodnight Sirius." Remus said.

"Goodnight Rem." Sirius said.

And Remus left.

But something stopped him from going completely. Sneaking back, he poked his head round the doorframe again, and saw Sirius staring sadly at the piano keys, his finger playing a silently melody that was no doubt stabbing his mind like a knife. An urge to go in there and drag Sirius up to bed and to cuddle and hug him overcame Remus, but he knew tonight wasn't the night for comfort cuddles. As he climbed the stairs to his room, he could hear the piano's wonderful sound again; it was the same song that had brought him to Sirius that night. Smiling as he curled up under the covers, Remus thought of the different ways that night could have ended.

He fell asleep to the soothing sound of longing.