All Kidding Aside

"Do go on."

Unfortunately, Remus was unable to continue as the Gryffindor Common Room turned into King's Cross Station. Within seconds, the room was teeming with teenaged boys with heavily lidded eyes who hadn't quite woken up yet as well as giggling girls casting covetous glances at two of Gryffindor's most eligible bachelors. Sirius gathered he must have been quite a sight with a rumpled shirt and hair so askew that it rivaled James's notoriously untamable locks.

Remus of course looked as if he had just stepped out of the shower and ironed his clothes while they were on his body. The ever present wine dark circles under his eyes were the only sign that he had not had a comfortable night.

In the end, Remus muttered that they would discuss it at breakfast. Thus, the two reluctantly stretched and got up, bidding excessively cheery good mornings to their housemates. Sirius would later insist that each had swooned the moment he had deprived them of his presence.

They ascended the stairs and walked straight to their room without so much as a word between them. Remus pushed the door open and was not surprised to see Lily standing by James's bed and Peter looking incredibly befuddled. He wouldn't really wake up until after Charms that morning. James and Lily exchanged a glance as the two roommates began going about their morning routine as if nothing had happened.

"Umm..." James began awkwardly. "Moony? Padfoot?"

Neither boy gave any indication that they had heard him speak as they picked out a fresh set of clothes for the day.

James looked up at Lily helplessly, imploring her for any kind of assistance in this matter. Lily frowned slightly, but decided to indulge her hapless boyfriend for the time being. If she opened the door just a little bit, he could kick it down. She cleared her throat quietly, stepping forward. She opened her mouth to speak, holding up one finger in typical Head Girl fashion. "I would just like to say..."

As if choreographed, both boys simultaneously removed their shirts.

"...that I need to be going." The last came out in a rush as a red-faced Lily fled from the room.

James stared after her, even though she had slammed the door with fervor. Then he turned back to his two housemates who were still making a very good show of ignoring them... Although Sirius was doing it with his usual ostentatious and entirely unnecessary flourish. He frowned at them and said, "That was a dirty, rotten trick and you know it."

The corner of Sirius's mouth twitched as if tempted to flash his trademark grin, but he managed to check himself.

James sighed, hitting his bed sheets in exasperation. "Are you just going to give us the silent treatment for the rest of the term? Look, I really am sorry, all right? I wasn't thinking. Everything just got carried away. Can't you forgive me?"

By this time, both Sirius and Remus had finished dressing. As James finished his plea for forgiveness, both boys were gathering up their books. Before the Head Boy could make one gesture to stop them, they had exited the room. Sirius hadn't even so much as curtsied cruelly on his way out.

For several moments, James could think of nothing to say. He had never made either of the boys this angry since their first year when he had refused to share his secret stash of Chocolate Frogs. They hadn't spoken to each other for ten whole minutes before Sirius had leapt upon him and tickled permission out of him. Since then, a simple 'I'm sorry' had managed to fix anything. There was really only one other incident where each boy had been pitted against the other...

They had all sworn never to speak of it again. James had taken to not even thinking about it.

But this seemed so trivial compared to that. It had just been a simple misunderstanding. Lily wasn't as well versed in the Marauder sense of humor. She was bound to misinterpret their jokes as being serious. And Peter and James had joined in as a joke... Then suddenly James had felt real emotion seeing Remus and Sirius act like they were brothers or something else entirely. He couldn't define it, but it moved him. It had felt rather like Lily's frightening descriptions of the dentist with metal scraping against teeth and poking gums so much that they bled. And then Peter started agreeing him like he always did and James had felt like that somehow validated him when he should have known better and then he had practically called Sirius a liar, something the boy never dealt with well, and Remus was so protective of the lot of them in a predatory sort of way. His mouth had been moving and words had been coming out of it and the better half of his brain was screaming at him to just shut it, but he had ignored it and now two of his best friends weren't speaking to him.

"What got their knickers in a twist?" Peter asked groggily.

Without even thinking about it, James picked up a pillow and threw it at Peter, effectively silencing the boy. He heard him whine from underneath it, but James didn't much care at this point. He hated to admit it, but there were times when he just wished that Peter would stop talking all together.

But then again, who would he have to talk to if he did?

-----

Sirius and Remus had a hard time actually making it to breakfast that morning. It seemed that the Hogwarts Rumor Mill was working on triple time as the entire school was aware that the two of them had not gone to their room that night. Roommates getting sick of one another was hardly a rare phenomena, but it was when it came to the Marauders. It was unthinkable that they would have such a serious fight after what had happened the last time.

Thus, the two of them had been forced to deflect questions. While Remus just denied everything, Sirius took it upon himself to weave an impossible tale that could only be born from his twisted mentality.

"Ah me," Sirius said dramatically, taking on the posture of a wounded solider and looking every bit a pathetic soul. "Aye, it is true that the two brutes kicked us out of the room last night. Tensions have been mounting ever since I caught James snogging with Snivellus last Halloween, although in his defense it was dark and he was schnokered. Although, that doesn't really explain why he did it again after the last Quidditch match... But I digress. Remus and I have been doing our best to defend the fair maid, Lily's, honor. The way he treats her... Shameful. Then again, it may have something to do with the fact that she--"

Remus decided that it was best that he intervene before he soil Lily's reputation and risk being fed his scrotum for breakfast. Not to mention, he had grown quite tired of listening to Sirius at that point. Remus proceeded to haul him away from the group of enthralled females. Once he was quite sure that they were out of earshot, Remus released Sirius, who then made a grand show of gasping for air. Once he was done with this series of dramatics, Remus started walking, Sirius matching him stride for stride as they continued down the corridor. The slighter boy glanced at his companion with an expression of someone who was trying very hard to not be amused. "Must you always treat life like it is some grand opera?"

"Who would I be if I weren't the devilishly handsome, overly dramatic, mischievous sex-on-legs god in leather pants?" Sirius inquired.

"You'd be a right bit easier to live with," Remus chided. "Now this masterful plan of mine isn't going to work if you go around saying that James and Snape are an item."

A pair of Hufflepuffs happened to tune in at that exact moment and quickly scampered off, whispering to themselves in hushed, excited voices.

Remus rubbed his temple with his forefinger. This was going to be an exceedingly difficult day.

Sirius couldn't help snickering at Remus's luck, priding himself on single-handedly breaking up the dream couple that was Lily Evans and James Potter in only one morning... Granted they hadn't actually broken up and Lily was sure to strangle him when she heard and he was bound to receive a hex or two from the slimy Slytherin to boot. But sitting back and watching the chaos he had created reign had always been one of his favorite pastimes.

"So..." Sirius drawled, looking very satisfied with himself indeed. "What is this fabulous plan of yours? I do so want to get back at those gits..."

Remus smirked, his amber eyes glittering impishly. Remus had always looked a few years older than he actually was given his affliction, but when he came up with a brilliant scheme of any kind, he suddenly looked a lot healthier. Sirius could have sworn that the dark circles underneath his eyes had disappeared in his mirth.

"This must be some plan," Sirius observed. "Care to share?"

"Best wait until we get to the Great Hall," Remus replied. "It is impossible to be alone in this castle, as I'm sure you and your tens--"

"Of thousands," Sirius added.

"Of girlfriends can testify to," Remus finished without missing a beat. "Best wait until we're sure that everyone's too busy talking about us to pay any mind to what we're saying."

Sirius grinned, clapping his last remaining friend on the back heartily. "I like the way you think, old chap."

Within moments, the two had arrived at the Great Hall. Remus's eyes immediately scanned the length of the Gryffindor table. Unsurprisingly, Sirius's fans had held them up long enough so that Lily, James, and a sleeping blob that sort of resembled Peter had reached the Hall before them. James hadn't bothered to try and make his hair lie flat for years and no amount of grooming could help Peter look alert before noon, so it was no surprise that they had made it to breakfast before them. Peter was snoring away while James picked at his porridge. Lily was talking a mile a minute, apparently doing her best to cheer James up. It didn't appear to be doing much good.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, instantly fixing any imperfections that might have existed only in his mind and walked forward, muttering, "Follow my lead." Remus decided not to question and simply walked alongside him, doing his best not to snort as Sirius strode into the room with his head held so high he was sure to fall over backwards.

As they neared the two open seats by their normal companions, Remus began to note that the boisterous laughter and bubbly conversation seemed to slowly decrease. This was particularly evidenced at the Gryffindor table as members of their house went so far as to turn and watch them with rapt attention. The Gryffindor House was not known for their subtlety. It seemed to be much the same with the other tables. Ravenclaws stopped arguing magical theory. Hufflepuffs stopped helping each other with homework that wasn't due for another week. And the Slytherins, Snape in particular, leaned forward to see if the rumors they had all heard about were true.

Sirius did have a knack for garnering attention.

By the time Sirius and Remus had reached the empty space on the other side of their would-be friends, the Great Hall was practically silent. The teachers at the Head Table had even halted in their normal pleasantries to see what all of the fuss was about. Or rather what the lack of fuss was about.

Lily had been the first to notice them. It wasn't likely that she resembled a deer caught in the headlights of the Knight Bus, but she managed it then. And it looked as if that deer had just robbed a bank or something equally as horrible. She started jabbing James with her elbow to try and get him to look up from his meal,
whispering hurriedly to him. When he finally did acknowledge her, he instantly shook Peter awake, who took to snorting and mumbling incoherently. The three of them were staring at their two friends, or so they hoped, with apprehension. Lily had even resorted to her old childhood habit of chewing on her lip.

Sirius and Remus walked up to the group with entirely blank faces. Sirius wasn't about to betray anything and Remus had a strong feeling he knew what was going to happen. Showing emotion would definitely ruin the effect. The two of them stopped in the exact same instant without so much a glance between them to cue each other. They both looked at the group looking as if they might actually forgive and forget and move on with their lives.

But no one said anything. It was two against three in a silent, uneasy staring contest. And they had more than a few spectators in their drama.

Finally, James, who had never been very good with being quiet for too long, caved. "I--"

And again, as if they had choreographed this before hand, the pair turned from James, effectively shutting him down. Remus with a simple dismissal, and Sirius with a swirl of his cloak that hit Peter in the face, his nose aloft.

If anyone had actually been continuing their conversation before, they had ceased doing so in the few moments it took for Sirius and Remus to walk the length of the table and take a seat up at the front. This was the seat that was always left open because no one aside from snooty, brown-nosing Prefects ever wanted their conversation to be overheard by the Professors. To see two of the four most depraved boys in all of Hogwarts History take the dreaded seats over sitting by their best friends was almost as shocking as the revelation that Crabbe wore pink polka dotted underwear.

Coincidentally, this had been discovered after Sirius had "accidentally" made his pants vanish in their third year.

The quiet remained until Remus took a rather large helping of eggs, his metal utensils scraping unpleasantly against the porcelain serving dish. Then the Hall seemed to erupt in a flurry of activity. No one bothered to whisper as it was fairly obvious that the center of every conversation was on the break up of the Marauders. Speculations and rumors ran wild.

"Do you suppose Sirius and Lily got together?"

"He is a bit of a rogue."

"Nah, she seems like she's more of Remus's type..."

"Maybe James has actually been cheating off of Remus this whole time!"

"Ooh, and maybe he got tired of James talking the credit for all of his hard work!"

"I always thought he was smarter."

"Do you think it was Peter who did them in?"

"Bet it was."

"He always was a right little bore if you ask me."

"Maybe it was a practical joke gone horribly, horribly wrong."

"I think they finally just got fed up with each other."

"That's far too mundane!"

"Yeah, this is the Marauders!"

"It's got to be something monumental to tear them apart."

"Yeah, but what?"

"Well, I heard directly from the horse's mouth that they've been fighting for a long time..."

"Seems to have something to do with a torrid affair between James and..."

"No!"

"You're mental!"

"He'd sooner die!"

"I'd sooner kill him!"

Sirius beamed over at Remus who didn't seem quite as amused with that particular line of conversation. "Works every time," Sirius gloated. "A little tension. A little flair."

"It's like an addiction with you," Remus observed. "If you're not the center of attention at all hours of the day, I'd swear you'd start twitching and talking to chairs. Well, the ones that don't talk back anyway."

"It's not like I can help it!" Sirius proclaimed indignantly. "After all, with my dark and mysterious good looks, muscular physique, winning smile, and rich, sensuous, seductive, sexy, tantalizing, effervescent, tingly, and charming voice, how could I resist me?"

"Enough," Remus chastised, chuckling in spite of his better judgment. "Now do you want to hear my plan or not?"

Sirius immediately stopped complimenting himself on his fabulousness and leaned forward, an ardent expression on his face.

"Picture it," Remus said, absorbing just a smidgen of Sirius's story telling ability for a few moments. Sirius noticed that he sat up just a little straighter, and his eyes gleamed with youth that was sometimes lost considering all that he had been through. Not even the two streaks of grey in his hair could age him in moments like these. It made Sirius smile complacently, though Remus was too invested in his narrative to pay him any mind.

"Next Saturday is the long awaited Hogsmeade trip," Remus continued. "None of us can go after the... incident at the last one..."

"You mean the incident where we strung Snape up the flagpole in a bra and panties?"

"Yes, that one," Remus said with a nod. "The three of us were banned from the trip. Although James--"

"Prat that he is," Sirius groused.

"--got away scot-free. Peter will guilt James into staying behind as always, and Lily's certainly not going to go if James isn't going."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "All of the Valentine's stuff would depress her."

"Quite right," Remus noted. "That leaves the five of us alone at Gryffindor Tower. I propose that we tell Peter that we want to make up."

"As he is the most gullible in the group," Sirius put in.

"He will lure James and Lily to our room at a specific time. When they arrive, they will hear certain... noises that usually only happen when Prongs and Lily are left to their own devices. Only this time it will be you and me."

Sirius smirked, very much enjoying this plan. "And once they're thoroughly scandalized, we burst out and scare the pants off them."

"And imagine their surprise that we still have our pants on," Remus summarized. "Then we will let them grovel and beg for our forgiveness..."

"Do we really have give it to them?"

"Padfoot..."

"Oh, fine. We can forgive them..." Sirius muttered irritably.

"That's the spirit," Remus insisted, patting Sirius on the head.

"After they offer us a suitable bribe."

Remus shook his head, smiling softly as he watched Sirius proceed to eat his breakfast and shamelessly flirt with a Ravenclaw girl that he had cast his sights on several days earlier. Remus went back to calmly eating his eggs, eating like a normal human being as he was in the middle of his lycanthropic cycle. He would be a regular human vacuum by the next week.

Without really wanting to, Remus happened to look over at where James and Lily were sitting. Peter had apparently woken up enough to realize what was happening. He looked rather like a puppy that Remus had tried to hold as a child, just after he had been bitten. The puppy had looked terrified, yet oddly resigned to the fact that the were-child holding him was about to eat him.

Remus had set the pup down and hadn't picked another animal up since then.

James on the other hand seemed to be taking a more aggressive approach to his unwanted feelings of rejection. He was now stabbing the porridge with his spoon, looking as sour as McGonagall did when she discovered that her Gryffindor Golden Boys had executed another over-the-top prank on the Slytherin House. James was used to being like by everyone. Well, Slytherins didn't generally count, but there were even members of their rival house that didn't find James revolting. He was just one of those people that others couldn't help but like. Lily had been the one Gryffindor hold out, but James had even won her in the end.

Remus watched as the independent Head Girl laid her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Lily was a surprisingly tender girl once one managed to strip away her callous shell. In fact, in spite of a frightening temper, she was genuinely one of the kindest people Remus had ever met. Any girl who would defend Severus Snape from defamation while he called her a Mudblood had to be.

But it was no wonder that Lily was so guarded. Remus had caught sight of her family several years before at the train station. It was really no wonder with that information. But she was still human, and she had many layers. Her affectionate gesture seemed to have softened James as his posture relaxed considerably. This had obviously hurt him a lot more than any of their previous petty arguments.

And Remus wasn't pleased with it, but he couldn't help but feel some tiny bit of satisfaction because of it. He had always felt a little twinge of envy as he had watched the unending cheerfulness and popularity of James Potter. Never enough to resent him, but enough to daydream about what it would be like to be so admired. True, as a member of the infamous band of Marauders, he had gained notoriety by association. But he hadn't ever known what it was like to be adored. No more than James had known what it was like to be shunned and cast out from society.

Now James was tasting what that felt like, and though Remus almost hated himself for it, he was pleased that some poetic justice had been served.

Truthfully, he wasn't really upset with any one of them. He wasn't even sure what had possessed him to concoct this scheme or what dark corner of his mind it had sprung from. At first, he had rationalized that it was simply for Sirius's sake. Remus knew how deeply Sirius resented his family and the reputation that dogged the noble and most ancient house of Black. Any indication that he was just like them was bound to set him off. If Remus hadn't intervened, Sirius might have done something drastic on his own. It was better to wreak revenge with a smile. Anything else and they might lose their friendship forever. Sirius and Remus would simply have a good laugh at their expense, forgive them, and twenty years from now they would all look back on this and laugh together.

But now Remus was worrying that his darker nature was the real mastermind behind this. Was all of this just a plot to make one of his best friends get a taste of what it was like to be him? Did he actually resent them? Was the wolf a part of Remus or was Remus a part of the wolf?

"Still with me, Moony?"

Remus blinked a few times and looked back at Sirius looking rather bewildered. He hadn't realized he had been out of it for so long.

He smiled slightly, pushing all of those thoughts out of his mind. He was just playing a prank on James. It wasn't malicious. It wouldn't destroy anything other than his pride, and that was easily mended. He wasn't bad. He was just... Remus.

"Always," Remus said lightly, turning back to his breakfast.

-----

The rest of the day continued without much incident. Rumors still flew around the castle like wildfire in a drought, the most common of all being the secret romance between Snape and his arch-enemy, James Potter. Others included Lily's infidelity and the lot of them being under the control of the Slytherins via the Imperius Curse. The more cynical students simply stated that it was obviously another one of their grand scale practical jokes and left it at that. However, cynics were in the minority.

In spite of the implication that Snape and James were involved, it was actually a good day for the unloved Slytherin. Thanks to the schism of the Marauders, he was not forced to endure any of their mindless practical jokes. It was the first day in recent memory that he hadn't even had one dung bomb hidden underneath his robes. Of course, no one would have guessed that Severus Snape was in a better move as he had probably been born without smiling muscles and was thus forced to look grumpy and unpleasant for all his life.

The professors weren't as lucky as their greasy pupil. Remus had convinced Sirius that the plan would go off better if they didn't even acknowledge the others'
existence. Thus, there were no wayward hexes or jinxes being thrown about in the corridors. However, the stony silence between the usually inseparable group had been unsettling to teachers. And it was very hard to keep a class under control when all anyone was really concerned about was the soap opera unfolding in their midst.

Sirius was lavishing in the attention as always, but Remus had spent the majority of the day going over the fine details of The Plan (which, according to Sirius, was very deserving of capitol letters, thanks much). Over dinner, he told Sirius that they were going to have to make doubly sure that Gryffindor Tower would be entirely empty. Naturally, the only way to do that without looking suspicious was to break into McGonagall's office and take a look at the attendance list.

Which meant that they needed the Map and the Invisibility Cloak.

It became apparent that they were going to have to at least appear that they were sleeping in the same room as James and Peter. Sirius was of the opinion that chewing glass would have been a better payoff, but Remus convinced him that it was for the best. So, reluctantly, the two had gone up to their room at a fairly decent time. None of the boys spoke to each other, although Peter often looked like he was about to blurt something out. A stony look from James was all it took to nix that idea.

Remus and Sirius put on a good show of falling asleep. They waited until they were sure that James's breathing was steady enough to indicate that he was off in La-La Land, dreaming about Lily no doubt, and that Peter's snores were loud enough to mask any of the noise they would make. Remus silently slipped out of his bed, going through his trunk to find the coveted Marauder's Map. Meanwhile, Sirius was doing his best not to make too much noise as he searched James's trunk for the cloak.

"Why does his bloody cloak always have to be so hard to find in this mess?" Sirius muttered irritably, casting fervent glances up at James for fear of him waking up. One wrong move and the whole plan would be blown.

After what seemed like hours, Sirius finally located the Invisibility Cloak. He quickly replaced all of what he had been forced to empty out in his search,
flinching every time he made the slightest bit of noise. Still, James was in too deep of a sleep to notice that anything was amiss.

Remus held back the sigh of relief that nearly escaped his lips when Sirius straightened. His eyesight, still sharp as ever in the dark, picked up on every tiny, insignificant thing Sirius did in the dark. Remus watched as the other boy tip-toed in a manner bordering on parody, casting ardent glances over his shoulder to ensure that their roommates didn't awaken and catch them sneaking out. His ever immaculate hair whipped back and forth around his head, revealing ice blue eyes that were alight with the promise of adventure.

At long last, Sirius reached Remus's side. He threw the Invisibility Cloak over the both of them and reached for the doorknob. Unfortunately, they had failed to take care of the fact that the door squeaked just a little bit when they opened it. Remus quickly muttered a Silencing Charm, but not fast enough. Peter snorted loudly and sat up a little, looking around the room as if he was quite confused as to where he was.

Sirius and Remus didn't move a muscle. Sirius clamped down on Remus's arm in a painful, desperate attempt to keep from panicking. Remus bit back the urge to stomp on his foot, knowing that the situation was too dire. He didn't even dare to breathe until he thought it was safe.

Peter kept looking around, yawning and smacking his lips in a decidedly unattractive manner. He rubbed his beady little brown eyes with his left hand and scratched his thigh with the other. Of course, he couldn't see his two fellow Marauders stealing away into the night, but he had a feeling that he had heard something...

Of course, Peter's mind was still far too cloudy with sleep to realize that Sirius's and Remus's beds were unoccupied and that the end of James's gold and red scarf was hanging out of his trunk. Just moments after he had sat up, Peter half-shrugged and turned over, muttering to himself. "Gay as a couple of ferrets those two are."

Remus clamped a hand over Sirius's mouth to keep him from hexing his housemate and proceeded to physically drag him out the door. As usual, the werewolf was the only thing that kept Sirius from doing anything monumentally idiotic.

Once they were outside the room and Sirius had shut the door behind him, Remus released Sirius's mouth.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Sirius insisted innocently.

"Uh-huh."

"Really, I wasn't!"

"I'll believe that when pigs fly, if you'll pardon my lack of originality."

"You know, that can be arranged," Sirius goaded, grinning widely underneath the cloak. "And there is no pardon for you, Mr. Moony. None at all."

Remus simply rolled his eyes and started walking, giving Sirius no choice but to walk alongside him without saying a word.

"Did you know that ferrets were gay?"

"Padfoot!"

Then again, Sirius was never any good at following the rules.

The two continued down the stairs into the Common Room. It wasn't even midnight yet, so a number of their classmates were still up. Unlike the night before, the Room was now a veritable smorgasbord of activity. One sixth year was holding a tutoring session for Potions in front of the fire. Others were playing a variety of wizard games throughout the plush living room. But most of the Gryffindors who were still up only had one thing on their minds - the Marauders.

"I still don't believe that bit about James and Snape."

"Yeah, I mean, he and Lily are just so adorable together!"

"Do you suppose James is sore because he finally realized that Sirius is better than him at Quidditch?"

"He is not!"

"You're only saying that because you fancy him."

"I still say that Peter must have done something thick."

"He has been looking awful guilty."

"I hear that Peter said that Sirius was an ugly little maggot who got kicked out of his house because his parents don't love him anymore," Sirius whispered in a disguised, high voice as the passed by the group of gossiping teenagers.

Remus groaned loudly, but no one heard him over the cacophony of outrage that followed.

"Oh, how horrible!"

"No wonder he looks like he's ashamed of something!"

"He should be, saying things like that."

"Poor Sirius..."

"He must be just heartsick!"

"How could he have said such a thing?"

"I'll tell you, I have a lot of respect for Remus, sticking with him like that."

"Uh-oh, she's got that look..."

"Natasha! Remus?"

It was a good thing that no one could see the duo as the exited the Common Room. Remus looked nearly as red as Goyle had the time they had put Fire Dragon Candy in his dinner.

Sirius on the other hand was snickering mercilessly.

"Oh, do shut up," Remus muttered crossly.

"Remus has a girlfriend," Sirius sang out. "Remus has a girlfriend."

"I'm going to clock you if you don't shut it. Do you want Filch to catch us?"

Sirius continued giggling under his breath, but he insisted that he was very sorry for ever teasing Remus and would never ever do it again. Remus had taken this promise in stride, just like the three hundred thousand other promises Sirius had made over the course of their friendship. Remus was quite sure that Sirius would have a gay old time making fun of him for having a milk moustache in the morning.

The two continued on in silence from then on in, navigating the pitch black hallways without much trouble. Sirius made sure that the Cloak covered the both of them nicely while maintaining the Lumos Spell. Remus was too busy watching the figures move about on the map to pay much attention to walls, so Sirius had to also take it upon himself to steer Remus around the corners with his free hand.

"This is a lot easier with four people," Sirius observed in a hushed voice.

Remus couldn't help but smile softly. "Funny, you never say that when Peter steps on your foot."

"This is a lot easier with three people."

The two were forced to take a number of detours to avoid Mrs. Norris and the Hogwarts Ghosts. Even so, they made it to McGonagall's office in record time. Sirius swiftly doused the light emitting from his wand tip before throwing the cloak off. He knew that Remus could look at the map without any light. Sirius then strode up to the Head of Gryffindor House's desk, going right for the drawer that he knew she kept the list in. This wasn't the first time that they had broken into McGonagall's office to filch something from her, and they were well aware of where she kept her papers.

Sirius then pulled out a bobby pin and set to work on jimmying the tiny lock on the drawer. He knew better than to use a spell to open it. McGonagall had armed her desk against magical intrusion after she had discovered a large family of toads in her desks five years prior. But she had never once considered putting on any kind of Shocker Charm to keep any students from breaking in the Muggle way.

"So," Sirius said, keeping his tone as conversational as he could under the circumstances. "You like Natasha?"

Remus gave him a very annoyed look and whispered, "I can't believe that you're trying to set me up in the middle of an undercover clandestine mission."

"I'm picking a lock, not stealing the Hope Diamond," Sirius hissed. "You're starting to sound like me. You only do that when you want to avoid the inevitable conversation. And frankly, I'm a little engrossed in this lock. Gets harder to pick every time. So, if you don't mind, could we please just cut to the chase and get to your answer?"

Remus shrugged nonchalantly, deciding it was for the best anyway. "No. I mean, what kind of name is Natasha anyway?"

"The name of new money," Sirius said snootily.

"Ah," Remus said, not really sharing the sentiment as he would have been thrilled to have been new money or money at all really. "But anyway, she's a little too flighty for my tastes... I mean, sure it's me this week, but it might be Hayden from Hufflepuff the next, and Flitwick in a month."

"Well then she'd have odd taste in men," Sirius commented as he continued to have trouble with the lock. "A werewolf, a pyromaniac, and a midget."

"The 'nouveau riche' do tend to have poor taste," Remus pointed out.

"Well, I wouldn't have anything to do with her," Sirius entreated as he finally managed to pry the door open. "I hear those third years don't put out."

Sirius fished the list out of the drawer smartly, quickly pocketing it out of his own paranoia. Though if he had been caught standing in front of McGonagall's open desk with pick pocketing tools in his hand with the lights when he should have been in bed with his reputation... Well, that thought had gotten away with him, and he decided it was too obvious to continue dwelling on.

"Got it?" Remus queried, still engrossed in the goings on of the Map.

"Naturally," Sirius boasted.

"Good," Remus droned, sounding entirely disinterested in life itself at the moment. "Because Filch is coming, and it would be quite unfortunate for both of us if you weren't."

Sirius nearly cursed, but decided against it for fear of being heard. He swiftly shut the drawer, glad for once that it locked on its own. Then he ducked under the cloak, throwing the other portion over Remus, who was being entirely unhelpful simply to annoy Sirius. Clearly, he resented the slightest implication of being a pedophile. Sirius made a note to comment on the other boy's random and unwelcome bouts of stodginess at a later, less harrowing date.

Just as Remus made sure that their feet or any other appendage wasn't showing, Filch threw open the door, his wrinkled face turned sallow thanks to his lantern light. The unnervingly perceptive Mrs. Norris was at his feet, meowing at the empty space that Remus and Sirius were hiding in. Sirius once again considered kicking her and blaming it on Peeves, but managed to restrain himself.

Filch stepped in, glancing into every nook and cranny with his usual dutiful scowl. As usual, Mrs. Norris did not budge, but the Marauders had learned to stop fretting over her. As far as they knew, she was simply a cat. And felines could neither talk nor suddenly turn into a human being unless they were one to begin with. So, they felt no qualms in passing her by and venturing out the open door.

Remus began to move as if preparing to venture back down to the Gryffindor Tower, but he was quickly stopped by Sirius's hand on his shoulder. However, this time he was not so much as guided as jerked in the opposite direction.

"Ow," Remus muttered, giving Sirius a rather unpleasant look.

"Sorry," Sirius responded, clearly not meaning it. "Let's not go back to the Tower tonight. It depresses me in there. Besides, where would we go? We can't use our room, I wouldn't trust any of the other boys with something like this, the Common Room is out for obvious reasons, and I still haven't figured out how to get up to the Girl's Dormitory without nearly breaking my neck."

"Yet, you've managed it on several occasions," Remus said.

"I did say nearly."

"True," Remus conceded, taking another look down at the map to see which escape route Sirius was planning on using. It was fairly clear that they were bound for Hogsmeade no matter what Remus might have said even if he had objected. He quickly recognized that Sirius was taking the route closest to the Three Broomsticks. "You're going to work on the bike then?"

"What better way to spend an evening than plotting against our best friends and tinkering with Muggle modes of transportation?" Sirius remarked with a grin.

Remus smiled back at him, looking ever the angelic Prefect, saying, "You of all people should know the answer to that."

"Moony, you devil!"

"Yes, well-- Quiet. Slughorn's coming."

The boys quickly silenced themselves as their Potions professor who was prone to bouts of insomnia traipsed right by them without so much as a glance at a passing wind.

Shortly thereafter, they arrived upon the tapestry they sought. It was a rather amusing depiction of the Founders arguing about how the school was being run. As usual, Salazar Slytherin was ranting about Muggles running about the halls and Squibs on the staff (which had resulted in several stains on Slytherin's face to remain while the other Founders' were spotless). Helga Hufflepuff, who had always been a bit of an oddball, was doing a headstand on a chair while playing Cat's Cradle. Godric Gryffindor was snoring in a rather un-heroic manner while Rowena Ravenclaw nodded her head and responded in the right places to mask that she was doodling how Salazar might look in a dress and not paying any attention.

Remus reached out and ran his hand along the quill that Rowena Ravenclaw had not set down in all his years of attendance. The scene promptly froze as Helga was tumbling off of the chair, falling into Godric's lap. The door that was in the far right corner of the scene moved forward and opening, leading into the storage cellar of the Three Broomsticks. Sirius had been storing his bike there since one of the prettier barmaids had caught his fancy. Sirius took her on the occasional date, and she kept Madame Rosmerta from throwing them out.

The two boys quickly entered, shutting the door behind them. Sirius at once shed the cloak, striding over to an open box of Green Goblin Gin without a second thought.

Remus took it upon himself to neatly fold up the cloak saying, "None for me tonight."

Sirius moaned rather like a three year old as if he would stamp his feet in a fit of temper. "But Moony... I don't like drinking alone."

"That's only because you hate it when I tell embarrassing stories about those idiotic songs you sing," Remus quipped, settling himself beside the hulking bike that was still covered by canvas at the moment. "Besides, I thought you wanted to work on the bike."

"But... But..." Sirius pouted.

Remus gave Sirius the look of a relenting parent, one he guessed Sirius had never seen from his actual parents. "If I promise that we'll get drunk when we get Prongs and company, will you put the gin down?"

Sirius gave yet another woe be gone sigh and stared at the bottle of gin as if he might bid it a tearful good bye. Finally, he set the peridot liquid down and strode over to the bike, whipping off the canvas to reveal Sirius's beloved Shadow.

"Good boy," Remus cooed, patting Sirius on the leg. With a flick of the wrist, he had taken the attendance list from Sirius's pocket as well. He pulled the Master List of Gryffindors from his pocket (something that they took every year as it did tend to come in handy) and proceeded to begin examining it.

Sirius looked down at him, obviously impressed. "You've been taking lessons from Peter," he observed before turning his attention fully to his bike. He checked it over for anything obviously wrong. Once satisfied that his precious motorcycle had not been scratched, he picked up one of several rags laying on the floor with a bottle of wax and got to work.

Remus shrugged, furrowing his brow as he began with the Third Years. He did his best to keep from being supremely frustrated with Sirius when he came upon the name Natasha. "Peter's always saying that it's all in the wrist."

"Good thing too, fat as his fingers are."

"Now Padfoot," Remus chastised gently.

"I am not a nice person, Moony," Sirius pointed out. "I'm a Black. We're not nice people."

At that, Remus knew that a witty retort would have no place in the conversation. Especially considering that Sirius had stopped at his own words. For a few, brief seconds, any facade that Sirius regularly kept up along with the rest of mankind fell away as a veritable plethora of emotions ran through his eyes. Anger, resentment, regret, guilt, betrayal, profound sadness... And then as quickly as it had fallen away, it was remade. Sirius then attacked his bike with newfound vigor, though not enough to do it any harm.

Remus knew better than to press the issue with the boy. His family had and would always be a touchy subject. Sirius had always been rather closemouthed about it, even refusing to acknowledge Regulus for nearly three years. The Marauders knew more than anyone and enough to understand Sirius better, but no more than that. If at all possible, Sirius had become even more guarded about them since he had moved out, refusing to divulge the exact circumstances that had led up to that decision. Remus suspected that James knew something, but he doubted Sirius would ever tell a living soul that tale.

And so the two boys sat there in silence for the better part of an hour. Remus crossing names off of his list to ensure the success of the plan while Sirius continued to polish the bike. Several times, Remus almost started to ask about why he didn't bother using a spell (an answer he already knew) or something equally mundane or trivial. Each time he decided against it after taking one look at Sirius's face and went back to his work. After all, Remus was technically the only friend Sirius had left at the moment and vice versa. It would do them no good to get into an argument.

When Sirius had begun polishing the same area of Shadow the third time, he threw down the rag and cursed. He had the look of a man who wanted to kick something,
but laying a hand on the bike was not an option.

Remus raised a quizzical eyebrow at Sirius and remarked, "Very imaginative. Remind me to write that down later. Although, I must say it would be a shame if the bunny rabbit got tetanus from that, and I do so like bunnies."

Sirius would have sighed, but it wasn't in his nature. He walked over to Remus and practically fell down beside him, shutting his eyes and resting the back of his head on one of the support beams. Without a word, Remus laid a hand on this shoulder, this time solely in comfort and not control.

"Moony..." Sirius began, refusing to open his eyes. He wasn't sure if a Black could ever withstand the pain of revealing light. "I hate the Blacks."

Remus nodded and gave Sirius's arm an extra squeeze. "I know you do."

"No!" Sirius half-shouted, turning his head from Remus as if he couldn't even bear a lidded gaze to be cast in his direction. "You don't understand... I don't just hate the years of ancestry and Pure-Blood fanaticism. I do hate all that, but there's so much more to it.

"For centuries it has been nothing but an obsession in maintaining the good of the bloodline. It's like nothing else even mattered to my family. And it has come to this. Look at my parents Moony! My mother is no better than a bigoted harpy. I don't know my father well enough to describe him, and Regulus..."

Sirius trailed off. His brother in only blood was not a subject that Sirius wished to expound upon unless absolutely necessary.

"I don't just hate my ancestry," Sirius insisted vehemently. "I hate my family. I feel nothing but loathing for the lot of them... I know that they say that you can't pick the people you're related to, and that you have to love them even if you don't like them, but... I can't even find the words to describe what I feel for them.

"I long for apathy. I crave it. Anything to escape this passionate to desire to... to do something so drastic and horrible that I can't even think of it. I won't say I want to kill them. It doesn't seem just. But I want them to understand what they've done. Maybe they never took up a wand and murdered, but it is people like them who make life miserable for... for--"

"People like me?" Remus finished serenely.

"Yes!" Sirius shouted. He sat there, breathing heavily for a moment. The storage room was filled with profound, palpable silence for a that snippet of time. The only sound was Sirius as he tried to catch his breath. Remus was ever silent like the wolf stalking the night.

Finally, the wolf broke it with the abruptness of a twig snapping underfoot.

"But you'd never do that," Remus breezed.

Sirius's neck twitched as though he wanted to look at him, but he still didn't turn his head. Still, there was a change in his posture that could not be missed. "How can you know that?"

"Because you're not like them."

Sirius didn't have anything to say to that. He nearly expected Remus to continue hammering his point home, but he didn't. It seemed that Remus expected him to be content with that and take it to heart. Surprisingly enough, Sirius did.

The two sat there for some time longer. Sirius was clearly lost in thought again. Remus let him be again, and proceeded to continue scratching off names on his parchment with his quill. When he finished, he proceeded to doodle little pictures of candy bars and sweets in the corner. When he ran out of sugary things he fancied, he started scratching out a possible outcome for this prank of theirs. Lily, James, and Peter all lay on the ground, little X's for eyes. The Sirius and Remus stick figures were dancing over their prone bodies, looking rather pleased with themselves. Remus found himself spending an inordinate amount of time on Sirius's hair.

"Did I ever tell you why I ran away?"

Remus looked over at Sirius, his amber eyes going slightly wide. This was not only out of the blue, but it was certainly some coincidence. "No," Remus said softly. "I always reckoned you told James, but--"

Sirius snorted, running a hand through his silky, midnight locks. Remus once again noted with some modicum of jealously that they fell around his face perfectly, but quickly put it out of mind. "I didn't tell that bloke anything. He asked, but I wouldn't say anything. I just told him I'd had enough, and that's it."

"Really? You didn't concoct some fantastic story about your mother chaining you to the wall and your brother poking you with hot metal rods until you summoned the strength to break your shackles and then you flew off into the night on a great winged panther? Or something?" Remus queried, arching a bushy eyebrow.

Sirius smiled softly, though there was no joy behind it. He shrugged casually, but there was something in his overall demeanor that revealed that there was absolutely nothing casual about this conversation. Remus could read Sirius better than his beloved texts it seemed, and the lupine boy sensed his apprehension. Sirius was a very private person, and his family life was a closely guarded aspect of his life. Remus had assumed that he had told James about it, but... Clearly there were some things that the boy couldn't even tell his own brother in all but blood, as Regulus had never really lived up to the exalted title.

And Remus didn't want him to admit this lightly. "Padfoot," he started softly. "I appreciate you trusting me with... Whatever it is you're about to tell me. But I know that you don't like to talk about this stuff, and... I'm wondering if you're only doing this to spite James."

The dark boy turned to Remus, white outlining his ice blue irises all around. He was clearly taken aback by the psychology of the situation, and for a moment, Remus wondered if he had offended him. He was filled with the usual sense of panic and nearly began apologizing, when Sirius broke out in a grin.

"Don't worry, Moony," Sirius assured him. "You really are an insecure blob of jelly, aren't you?"

Remus almost flushed, but he hadn't done that since his third year, and he wasn't going to start up again now.

"I've been planning on telling you since I left," Sirius admitted, staring out in front of him, all hints of cheerfulness gone. "I wanted to come and find you right after I left, but... I didn't think you'd have me."

Remus darkened and the temperature in the room dropped considerably. The two boys had promised at one point never to bring up THAT subject again, but Sirius had a tendency to want to mention it in spite of the pact. Remus supposed he couldn't blame him. It was a dark period in their lifetime, and they had never given it the proper closure.

"What are you trying to say, Sirius?" Remus uttered, his tone clear that he was not talking about that incident.

Remus had never really seen the point in closure.

Sirius looked at Remus out of his peripheral vision and wisely decided to let the subject drop. "Well... I left Grimmauld because... of you."

The rebel turned to the scholar, looking at him head on for the first time since this line of conversation had begun. Sirius could tell by his friend's expression that he was surprised and rightfully so. But Remus, ever the insightful one, didn't automatically press Sirius for more details. He could tell how hard it was for the member of the Twisted and Most Prejudiced House of Black.

And it was hard for Sirius. Granted, he had been unable to talk to Remus for the earlier part of their sixth year, but after that, he had been presented with ample opportunity. James was chasing Lily with more determination than ever, seeing his stay at Hogwarts coming to an end. And Peter actually realized that he was good at something other than picking pockets, finding that he had a knack for Ancient Runes. Sirius had actually suspected that the two marauders had occupied themselves more and more so that Remus and Sirius could spend more time together.

It had certainly done wonders for their friendship. Any rifts between them were hardly forgotten, but life went on as if they had never happened thanks to Remus's blatant refusal to face their demons and Sirius's uncharacteristic respect for his wishes. And with so much time alone, there had been numerous times when the information was on the tip of his tongue...

But he could never bring himself to do it. Sirius always managed to distract himself by regaling Remus with fancified tales of his latest conquest or the next brilliant scheme that would land them a place in the annals of Hogwarts history. He kept the subject matter light, he kept Remus laughing, and he never had to face his own demons.

Nevertheless, Sirius Black was not Remus Lupin. Perhaps the Prefect could shove all of his skeletons to the back of the closet where they would no longer bother him, but Sirius couldn't do that. They kept popping out to haunt him, driving him mad. He had done his best to ignore them. He had kept himself and others laughing to drown out the darkness.

But he couldn't do it anymore.

"I left because of you," Sirius repeated, the words seeming strange in his mouth. He wasn't entirely sure why he had picked that moment to reveal this to his only friend left in the world, but he had. And there was no backing out now. "You see, I... Well, I'd been rather depressed all summer."

Remus flinched, knowing the cause. But Sirius didn't stop. This needed to be told in spite of his promise.

"I mean, I was never exactly joyful to be trapped inside that horrible place, but it was different. Normally, I'd be out just about every night with you or James or vandalizing Snivellus's home or some rot. But I wasn't even doing that anymore.

"My parents were actually concerned about me. They were apparently concerned that I was going daft. Imagine that."

Remus didn't miss the bitter irony of the situation.

"Unbeknownst to me, they sent ickle Reggie down to my room one night to find out just what was bothering me," Sirius paused, looking oddly nostalgic and wistful, as if remembering something warm and loving amidst the cold horror amassed in the hidden home on Grimmauld Place. "You know, he actually seemed sincere. When we were younger, he... He was actually a really sweet kid. We always hung around each other because Mum and Da weren't exactly pleasant to be around... Used to crawl into my bed after he had a nightmare because my parents yelled at him for it and he was... he was really small then, you know. Still is really, but he was kind of sickly. He needed protecting. He needed big brother Sirius to chase away the monsters and overzealous clowns and rot.

"But then I got sorted into Gryffindor after a few hundred decades of nothing but Slytherin blood. You know how they got..." Sirius stopped, his posture going rigid and his fists curling up at his side. Remus rubbed his back again, attempting to be reassuring and comforting somehow. He quickly realized that as heartfelt as the gesture was, it felt hollow to Sirius. Any hug or kiss he had received for nearly his entire life had been devoid and empty. They were either given for propriety's sake or to pass the time in the Astronomy Tower.

"They turned him against me!" Sirius raged quietly. "My own brother! And when he came into my room that night, acting sympathetic and willing to listen... I believed him.

"I told him... Not the whole truth. Just that I'd gotten into a row with you after a trick I played on Snape," Sirius stopped again to pound his fist against one of the support beams. "How the hell was I supposed to know that the little maggot had actually confided in my brother before he was sworn to silence!

"He went running out of the room right after I finished... And in seconds I knew. I knew that he had played me like a... a ruddy flute, and I hadn't even seen it." Sirius hung his head, clearly disgusted with his own naiveté. "I don't know how I was that stupid. I knew Regulus. I lived with him. I had seen him looking at me with the same look of loathing my mother had, as if I'd brought shame on to the family name for being who I am. But I deluded myself into thinking that he could change! That the... the little boy whose first sign of magic was putting the eye back on my teddy bear was still there.

"I knew my mother had killed him, but I didn't want to believe it.

"I ran after him, but it was too late. He'd started screaming about you and werewolves the minute he heard me coming. Snape hadn't told him who the werewolf was for fear of his life, but Regulus isn't an idiot. My mother didn't hear the whole story, and I'm sure she never did. But the minute she heard that the Remus Lupin I had mentioned over Christmas and Summer Holiday was a werewolf, she was livid.

"I can honestly say, I had never seen her that angry before. She was railing on about pets of the devil and dirty blood and half-breeds and all that other rubbish.
She was shrieking so loud, I swear she cracked a mirror. She woke up all of the old portraits and soon the entire house was shaking with rage worked up over years of racism. I had spat on whatever standing I had in that household and in that family."

Sirius stopped again, looking over to Remus. The boy looked remarkably composed given what Sirius had just told him. He may have been growing used to the casual comments thrown about in the hallway. He was used to people burning him in their ignorance to his condition. But he was still human. And those things still burned even if he was used to fire.

But Remus refused to betray any sorrow over the bigotry. Sirius couldn't even tell if he felt any at all.

Sirius continued, deciding not to dwell on it any longer. "I was given a choice. I would either swear on the most important thing to me that I would never see or speak to you again... Or I was no longer a Black.

"The entire house grew silent. It was positively eerie... Thousands of years of unblemished ancestry sat there and waited for my response. They waited to hear if any man in his right mind would actually turn his back on his blood ties - the ties that are supposed to run deepest. All of my ancestors waited on baited breath for my decision. And you know what I told her?

"I told her that my friends were the most important thing to me, and that she could go to hell as I'm sure she'd find appropriate company there.

"The entire house erupted again, but I didn't care. I spun on my heel and ran back to my room. I couldn't make out what the portraits were saying, but I could hear my old bat of a mother screaming 'blood traitor' over the din.

"I went back to my room. I packed up my things. I summoned up the motorbike. I rode it through the entire house, nearly flattening Reggiekins in the process and I flew to the Potters."

Remus stared at Sirius in utter amazement. He had never expected to be privy to this information, but to learn this? That the final straw had been... him?

He supposed that he should have been worried that Regulus was privy to his secret, but it didn't really bother him. The boy hadn't told his secret as of yet. He clearly wasn't planning on it for fear of his own life and limb. Regulus wouldn't tell his secret. And even if he did, it wouldn't matter much in the long run. Remus was scheduled to pay the Werewolf Registry the day after his graduation from Hogwarts, and then anyone who wanted to know could. And with that day looming ever closer, his secret getting out wouldn't be the end of the world.

But that certainly didn't mean he was going to take out advertisements just yet.

Still, this was quite a shock. He really didn't know what to say or how to feel about this. He was grateful that Sirius had stuck up for his friends like that.
And... he felt deliriously happy. In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he somehow found himself constantly fretting over his relationship with the other Marauders. He always wondered if maybe they were just putting up with him. Did they actually like him? Did they talk about him when he wasn't around? Did they care at all?

Of course, he knew it was largely ridiculous given the fact that they had gone through so much pain and agony in becoming Animagi for his sake. He knew it in his heart.

Yet, there were still horrible moments of insecurity that gripped him with a force he couldn't deny. He had felt it every time he walked up to the group of three boys, all of whom looking perfectly content without a fourth. He wondered if they were happier, perhaps even better off, without him.

It was in moments like that where he wondered how he could ever believe that.

"And let me tell you, you have seen nothing until you've seen Mrs. Potter in a nightie."

Remus practically fell over. He really should have seen that coming.

"Thank you, Padfoot," Remus drawled viciously. "You have once again ruined a perfectly lovely moment with sexual... things. Congratulations."

Sirius flashed a dazzling smile and added, "I am good at that aren't I?"

He started laughing himself silly over the prospect, but it died quickly. Remus was clearly not amused, still moved by the power of Sirius's earlier tale. Sirius relented and put his arm around Remus. "Moony... I really wanted to tell you that,
but... I--"

"I understand," Remus said, a smile creeping across his tired features. "More than you know."

Sirius blinked, surprised at his cryptic words, but he didn't have time to dwell on them. Remus was starting to get to his feet, letting Sirius's arm fall uselessly to his side. The boy on the floor looked up at the other, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me. You want to go to bed."

"Well, it is nearly four in the morning," Remus pointed out with a yawn. "And we still have to get this list back to McGonagall's desk... Oh, and we don't have anything to worry about. Years three through seven will be in Hogsmeade save for James and company, and there was an addendum about something special planned for the young ones to avoid any tantrums. Some kind of required seminar previewing the electives or some rubbish."

Sirius shrugged and got to his feet, feeling somewhat awkward about how this evening was ending... Then again, what had he been expecting? Life wasn't a well written soap opera. Hell, soap operas weren't well written soap operas.

"Forget about the parchment, Moony," Sirius said, hopping to his feet. He stretched as well, working the kinks out of his back. He hadn't realized how uncomfortable their seating arrangement had been. "I'll walk you back to the dorm and take it back myself. I'm not really that tired anyway."

Remus smiled. "Well, aren't you the perfect gentlemen?"

"I know how to treat a lady," Sirius admitted, smirking.

Remus laughed, the sound nearly musical to Sirius's ears after the overall depressing evening. He added his own deep chuckle to the sound, his spirits lifting with every passing breath. Maybe this hadn't been as bad as he thought.

"Hey, Padfoot?"

Sirius looked up and nodded expectantly. "Yeah?"

Remus didn't answer him immediately, looking off at some point passed him. Sirius was tempted to turn and see what was there, but he knew that the effort would have yielded no fruit. Remus was staring so far beyond him, Sirius couldn't see what it was even if he was an oracle. For a few seconds, he could feel the distance grow between the two, as if Remus had ascended on to a higher plane.

Moments later, Remus blinked and he was at Sirius's side again. A gentle, honest smile graced his lips. Again, Sirius marveled at how youthful he looked.

"Thank you."

And Sirius understood with beautiful clarity that it wasn't just for the laugh.