At Long Last

Remus lay on his bed trying not to move. It was the night of the full moon and his body ached. It knew all too well what was going to happen tonight. Part of him wished fiercely that he would just die. That someone like Snape would just shoot him. Closing his eyes he heard a knock on the door. Slowly he rose from the bed and looked out the window. Aubrey, the Auror that had been assigned to the Sirius Black case, stood there, arms crossed, looking quite unhappy.

"Just come on up," he yelled from the window. She looked up and waved at him.

"Okay," she said. Remus had no sooner returned to his spot on the bed than Aubrey appeared in the doorway. "Oh god, are you sick?" she asked concern in her hazel eyes.

"Full moon's tonight," Remus said.

"Oh," Aubrey muttered. "Can I get you anything?"

"No. I already took the Wolfsbane. Now all I can do is wait,"

"Would you like me to wait with you?" she asked.

"You don't have to," Remus began.

"I know I don't have to," she said conjuring a chair and sitting beside the bed. "I want to."

"You mean you're not afraid? Sitting with a werewolf can be dangerous,"

"Danger? I laugh in the face of danger. Ha Ha Ha Ha," she said smiling. "I'm not afraid. You've taken your potion. You'll be like a big dog right?"

"That is correct," Remus said.

"Well then I have nothing to worry about," Aubrey said with a smile. Remus lay back and smiled. He hadn't had anyone sit with him during the full moon for a long time. How he had wished that it were Sirius. "I'm not the one you want to be sitting here am I?" Aubrey asked after a moment.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked acting clueless.

"You wish Sirius were here with you," she said quietly. Remus put his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"To me yes, to most probably not. You probably don't talk to many people about him...the way you describe his eyes is a dead giveaway that you love him," Aubrey sighed and looked at Remus. "Why don't you just tell him that you love him?"

"I can't," Remus said tears forming in his eyes. He sat up, using the wall to keep him upright. "I was going to tell him the night James and Lily were killed. I had the whole thing planned. And then everything went to hell and he was snatched away from me. I can't bare that sort of pain again. Can you imagine how bad it would be if he knew and he returned my feelings?"

"Remus, he's innocent," Aubrey said. Remus looked at her in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Sirius. Is. Innocent." Aubrey said slowly emphasizing each word as if she were speaking to a child. "I'm going to go to my boss in Germany and show her. Then I'm going after Pettigrew. Once I get him Sirius is in the clear,"

"But what if he eludes you forever?" Remus whispered. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks now and Aubrey felt so sorry for him. He didn't deserve to be so alone. Sirius should be with him now.

"Where is he now Remus?" Aubrey asked.

"Right behind you," Sirius said. Aubrey jumped from her seat and raised her hands as if in surrender. "What are you doing to him?" Sirius demanded advancing on Aubrey. She began to stutter a reply but he pushed her away from Remus. He hugged Remus tightly and Remus buried his head in his chest. He stroked his hair and spoke soothingly in his ear. Aubrey curled up in the corner of the room wondering if Sirius would give her a chance to explain or if he would just curse her. After a moment Remus' sobs subsided. "What did she do to you Moony?" Sirius whispered.

"Nothing. She's done nothing. She has what I think may be good news though," Remus said. He hoped that Sirius could not see in his eyes what he was desperately trying to hide.

"And what's that? Moony she's an Auror!"

"I know Sirius if you would just let her explain,"

"Fine," Sirius said turning on Aubrey. "Explain." She did not move and she tried not to breath. Sirius had frightened her. No one had managed to scare her the way he had.

"Aubrey," Remus said looking at her from the bed. She was curled up in a tight little ball, unmoving. Remus rose from the bed and approached her. Touching her on the shoulder she looked up at him and he realized that she was crying. Wincing in pain he sat beside her on the floor. "What's wrong?"

"I...I didn't mean to upset you," she began quietly so that Sirius would not hear her. "I was just about to offer to go and get him for you. I don't like seeing you so sad. You've been through so much... both of you...you deserve to be together. But you're afraid to love him and he doesn't know it. He frightened me when he appeared like that. I'm not easily frightened but he managed to." She finished. She wiped her eyes. Rising to her feet she helped Remus up and helped him back into bed.

"Sirius I would like you to meet Miss Aubrey Phoenix," Remus said motioning toward Aubrey. "Aubrey, meet Sirius Black,"

Aubrey nodded. "Did you get your necklace back?" she inquired. Sirius nodded. "Good," Aubrey said. The room took on an awkward silence. The sun was dipping below the horizon. "Mr. Black," she began suddenly, "after reviewing all of the facts of this case as well as going by what I've been shown from my visions and I've come to the conclusion that,"

"That what?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"That you're innocent." Aubrey finished. Sirius' jaw dropped. "You have your necklace right?" the necklace to which she was referring was one that the marauders had created their final year at Hogwarts to keep track of each other. Touching the name on the necklace showed the location of that person's necklace. Usually this meant the other person as well.

"I do,"

"Why don't you touch Peter's name now?" Aubrey suggested. Sirius did and saw a portrait of Salazar Slytherin hanging above a large fireplace. Riddle Manor no doubt.

"I'm going after him," Sirius snarled. He turned to leave and felt a cold but firm hand on his wrist.

"Don't go," Remus said quietly. It's now or never. He thought to himself. Sirius looked at him in surprise.

"I have to go,"

"No you don't," Aubrey said. "I'm the Auror here, I'll go,"

"But..."

"Look, I insist you stay with Remus," Aubrey said. "He almost lost you once, he doesn't need to lose you again,"

Sirius was still clueless.

"I think you two should talk," Aubrey said looking Remus in the eyes.

"I can't," Remus said beginning to cry again. Sirius noticed the hopelessly lost look in his best friends' eyes and it all came together. No words were spoken. Moving with the reflexes of a cat Sirius sat down beside Remus and kissed him.

"I love you too Moony," he said as Aubrey closed the door behind her.