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Two dark heads peered over the edge, watching the scene unfold beneath them. Below, a sandy-haired man with a face full of scars was destroying the tiny, secluded wilderness cabin he called home. The walls were pock-marked with dents and missing chunks of plaster. One window was missing completely, a bare frame letting in the rain water from the downpour outside. A second window had jagged hunks of glass hanging from the edges, a fist-sized hole in the ⁹ center, and from their vantage point, the men could see drops of blood glistening when lightening flashed. A third window, not spared in his rage and grief, displayed a giant spiderweb of cracking from the impact of the man's treasured photo album being thrown acoss the room.
The two men watched in silence as their friend raged from room to room, throwing things and stomping on them, kicking furniture and beating his fists and head against the walls. Suddenly, the man dropped to his knees in the midst of his destroyed belongings. He lowered his head to the floor and drew in a great, shaking breath, before beginning to sob, the storm doing nothing to muffle the sounds of his anguish.
Still, the two dark haired men said nothing, only shared a sad glance before turning their attention back to the scene below them. For many long moments, the werewolf, for that's what Remus Lupin was, cried, his breath becoming strangled, his shoulders bunching and his chest heaving. He cried so hard he couldn't gulp air into his body. He sobbed so long he couldn't hold himself up anymore and slowly lay down on the floor, surrounded by the shattered remnants of a life poorly lived.
Together, the two friends watched the werewolf's hand slide across broken pottery and crooked pewter. His fingers closed around the leg of a small, stuffed creature. As he pulled the animal to his chest, a black, shaggy dog that looked more like a bear, James turned to Sirius and said "did you know?"
Sirius, with sad gray eyes full of longing, turned to his brother and said "of course I did. But I was scared and now it's too late".
Behind them, a pretty, red-haired witch who hadn't been top of her class for nothing, rolled her eyes.
"Don't be daft, Sirius. You're not dead, only gone." And with that, she kicked him off the edge into the mist.
"Think he will find his way back, Lils?" James asked.
"He'd better. His life isn't over yet, and Remus and Harry need him".