[Remus shuts his eyes himself, leaning against Hermione and wrapping his arms loosely around her in return as she embraces him. He nods, the smallest of movements, but it's a nod nonetheless, in response to her words.]

I know he did. He. [He lets out something of a laugh, and the sound is pained and choked, as it forces its way up his throat.] If there's one thing I never doubted about Sirius Black, it was his capacity to love. [Sometimes it drove him up the wall. Sometimes it made him doubt himself - how could he possibly think to match the unquestioning affection that the other man offered him? Like the giant dog that he was, unassuming.]

If only... If only I hadn't kept so many secrets, Hermione. If only I had trusted him as much as he had trusted me... [It was why Lily and James had died, after all. Because he had lost Sirius's trust. And in turn, he had lost everything.]