Become a Normal Person Like Me

"Let me go." Sirius looked utterly disheveled, no longer resembling the elegant, handsome aristocrat he used to be.

He gripped the handle of his suitcase awkwardly. He had clearly packed in a hurry, and the corner of a shirt dangled from the gap in the case.

"Padfoot, don't be like this." Lupin looked at him anxiously. "James... James is dead, and Wormtail is dead. We became neighbors by sheer chance, after all this time. Don't go!"

Sirius shook his head in anguish. "Remus, I'm the one who wronged you. I should have made you the Secret Keeper for James and Lily back then. Then none of this would have happened."

Lupin gave a bitter smile. "It's all in the past, isn't it? We're still young. We're only in our early thirties. We have a long future ahead of us!"

"No!"

Sirius seemed to have heard something unbearable. He flung his suitcase into the corner and screamed like a madman.

"No, Remus, you don't understand. I have no future!"

"I have no future!"

Tears streamed from his eyes.

The terrible experience of being imprisoned in Azkaban hadn't broken him, but now he seemed to be on the verge of collapse at any moment.

"Come on, mate, don't be like this!" Lupin hurried to grab Sirius by the shoulders, but Sirius flung him aside with all his strength. The force sent Lupin crashing into the wall.

The impact was like being punched by Hagrid, and Lupin couldn't help letting out a cry of pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sirius stumbled forward in a panic, then his expression darkened. He backed away and huddled in the corner, crouching there just as he used to in his cell at Azkaban.

"I don't blame you, mate. Think about me. Think about Harry!" Lupin said anxiously.