Will-o'-the-Wisp

Rrrrring! Rrrrring!

"Oh, whose idea was that damned telephone?" Sirius mumbled, his face buried in Remus's neck.

"Yours, I think," Remus half-gasped.

Rrrrring! Rrrrring!

"Maybe one of us should get that," Remus murmured, not terribly convincingly. He didn't really want to stop what they were doing.

"It's probably just a telemarketer," Sirius said dismissively, kissing Remus's shoulder and running a hand down his ribs.

With immense difficulty, Remus pushed a surprised Sirius off of him. "Siri...it's almost midnight. Whoever it is wouldn't call unless it was important."

Sirius looked at Remus in surprise, then sighed and reached for the telephone.

Rrrrring! Rrrr--

Sirius snatched the telephone off the cradle and jammed it against his ear. "H'llo?" he mumbled.

"Sirius?" It was James, his voice sounding a little shaky. "It's me."

"Your timing's lousy," Sirius grumbled, glancing over at Remus, who had rolled onto his side.

"Forgive me for interrupting your beauty sleep," James snapped, his voice dangerously sarcastic. "My dad didn't plan his heart attack in advance."

"What?" Sirius bolted upright, alarmed. Remus rose up on his elbows, looking worried. "When?"

"Just a few minutes ago," James answered, and now Sirius could hear the tears in his voice. "Mum contacted me in a panic...Lily and I just got here."

"Where are you?" Sirius asked urgently.

He heard James gulp on the other end of the line. "Abbey Practice."

Sirius tried to think where it was. "That's in London, isn't it?"

"Dover." James sounded close to panic. "They won't let me in to see him...just Mum...I'm really worried."

"Hold on, we're coming," Sirius promised. He hung up the telephone and threw back the bedcovers.

"Siri? What's wrong?" Remus asked anxiously.

Sirius turned. "James's dad had a heart attack."

Remus's eyes widened. "Oh, poor James...where are they?"

Sirius tugged on his blue jeans. "Hospital in Dover. I told him we'd be right there."

"Damn straight." Remus grabbed for the blue jeans he had discarded.

The two were dressed in a matter of moments and dashing out the door. Sirius paused at the closet only long enough to grab his leather jacket and Remus's blue jean jacket. "Come on!" he called over his shoulder, rushing to the shed adjacent to the small house the two men shared.

Remus hesitated. "Siri, wouldn't it be faster just to..."

"Just come on!" Sirius insisted. Remus sighed and hurried to catch up with his lover, who had already slung one leg over the seat of the large flying motorbike his friends had given him for his sixteenth birthday. Remus climbed up behind him and wrapped his arms around Sirius's waist, closing his eyes in preparation against the inevitable.

Sirius switched on the bike and gunned the motor; the motorbike shot off down the street at nearly twice the safe speed. "Hang on!" he yelled back to Remus, who screwed up his eyes and gripped Sirius tighter. A second later, the bike and the two men were airborne.

Once they were up in the air, Remus didn't mind the ride so much, although he had never been much of a fan of heights. "I still think Apparation would've been faster," he yelled to Sirius, his voice raised to be heard over the roar of the motor.

"Could you concentrate properly with something like this over your head?" Sirius shouted back. "Yeah, we might've got there faster but I probably would have splinched myself--or you--in the process. This is safer."

"If you say so," Remus said uncertainly.

The bike finally touched down outside a large hospital, fortunately in the back where few would see them. Sirius turned the motor off and helped Remus down, and together they hurried into the hospital.

Inquiries with a nurse yielded that James and Lily would be in the waiting room. Sirius led the way down the hall, where they found Lily sitting in a chair looking anxious and James pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"James?" Sirius asked, hurrying up to his friend. "How is he?"

James shook his head. "I don't know...they won't let me in to see him...Mum's in with him, but I can't do a damn thing but stand here and panic."

"Hey, calm down," Remus said gently, putting a hand on James's shoulder. "Your dad will be okay."

"How do you know?" James barked, jerking away.

"Because he will," Remus answered, his voice calm and unruffled. "If he survives, that's great, and he'll be fine. If he dies...well, he'll be okay then too, because he won't be sick or hurt anymore. And I know I sound like I'm giving a lecture on death to a five-year-old, but...well, the last time I knew anyone who died it was my grandfather, and that was how my mother explained it to me." He shrugged a little. "Sorry."

James sighed and dropped into a chair, his face buried in his hands. "I appreciate it, Remus, really I do, but...somehow, I don't think it's going to help. I just hope my dad's going to be all right."

Sirius sat down next to him, Lily on the other side. Remus knelt down on the floor in front of James and looked up at him anxiously.

They sat like that for a few minutes, trying to comfort James. Suddenly, the door opened.

All four of them rose to their feet and turned towards the door as Hope Potter came into the room, her face pale and drawn. Sirius felt his stomach drop into his shoes at the sight of her face. It's too late, he thought numbly. He's gone.

"Mum?" James asked. His voice was high, almost frightened, like a small child who's had a nightmare. "Mummy, how's Dad?"

Hope raised her eyes to look at her son and put her hands on his shoulders. "Jamie, honey, he...he's gone to a better place."

James met his mother's eyes for a long minute, then suddenly broke down and bawled like a baby. Hope held him and cried. Sirius, Remus, and Lily looked at each other helplessly, then tried to comfort the grieving family. Somehow, Sirius knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"Do you need us to stay?" Remus asked after a while.

James shook his head, fishing through his pockets for a tissue. "No...no...you guys can go," he murmured. "Sorry I woke you up earlier..."

"Weren't asleep," Sirius said with an attempt at a smile. "Okay, if you're sure you don't need us..."

James shook his head again. "No...I'll call you once we've got the...the funeral arrangements going. I mean, I guess you'll want to come..."

"Of course we will," Sirius promised. "He meant a lot to us too."

Remus put a hand on James's shoulder. "Take care of yourself, James. We'll see you later."

Twenty minutes later, Remus unlocked the front door and let Sirius in. They hung up their jackets, returned to their bedroom, and changed into their pyjamas without saying anything. Two hours before Sirius had been irritated at James for interrupting them, but somehow it didn't seem as important now. Remus snuggled up against Sirius's chest; Sirius silently put his arms around Remus and held him close.

Neither said anything for a while, contenting themselves with the comfort of one another's presence. "I can't believe he's really gone," Remus said finally.

Sirius buried his face in the top of Remus's head. "Neither can I. He always seemed so imposing...I thought he'd go on forever."

"Me, too." Remus looked up at Sirius. "I guess...I guess no one goes on forever, do they? I mean...if Adonijah Potter can die, just like that...what hope is there for the rest of us? How long can we hold out?"

Sirius tightened his embrace. "Don't talk like that. Nothing's going to happen to us."

"Man is mortal, Siri," Remus said softly. "We all have to die sooner or later."

"I'd rather it be later than sooner." Sirius's voice shook. "Sweetheart, please. Ever since that first night...since you told me that werewolves didn't live much beyond forty or fifty...I've been praying that it was just their own stupidity that got them killed and not the condition itself. Fifty is too young. Forty is way too young. You'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll live to see James's grandkids have grandkids. We'll grow old together and make a million memories...and when we die, no one who sees us will doubt that we had a long and happy life together."

Remus closed his eyes, feeling tears begin to trickle down his face. "I...I want to believe."

Sirius lifted his chin and looked lovingly into his eyes. "Believe, Rem." He bent down and kissed Remus, speaking around his lips. "Believe."