2: Later

Sirius closed his bedroom door soundlessly and carefully avoided the creaky plank in the floor, but his efforts were unnecessary. As soon as he settled under the quilted down comforter, the silence broke.

"Everything all right, then?" said Remus.

"Yes, yes, just a nightmare," replied Sirius rather unconvincingly.

Remus moved for the first time, raising his head from the pillow. "You were gone a long time."

"I know. It... There was more than that." Sirius sat up, wondering why he'd even bothered to climb back in bed; now Remus wouldn't get any sleep either. Oh, bugger that, what better time to talk, when we won't be interrupted? Sirius scooted toward the center of the bed as Remus curled to press his warm belly against Sirius's back, pulling his pillow alongside. The upper rooms were always cold, and neither man wanted to be too far out from under the covers. When they had finally settled into a more cozy arrangement, Remus looked up at him expectantly and waited.

"Mother of Merlin, Remus. You won't believe what just happened," Sirius finally sighed. He wasn't sure how to say it without sounding like a lascivious egomaniac (a line he treaded frequently enough without even trying).

To his relief, Remus raised a single brow and nodded. "Let me guess. Harry did something a bit unexpected."

"Bit of an understatement! Good grief, he bloody propositioned me right there in my old bed!" Sirius had not said it loudly, but he lowered his voice still further. "On my life, I'm not exaggerating, Remus; this wasn't some subtle little ploy, this was a full-on--"

"I believe you, love," interrupted Remus with a wry grin. "No need for details, really. I've seen how he looks at you, Padfoot. Been expecting it for some time now."

Sirius stared down at him, aghast. "You what? Why in hell haven't you mentioned it then?"

"I might have been wrong. Besides, you would have only scoffed and accused me of a perverse imagination. I know by now when you need to find out something for yourself."

Sirius gave a short, cynical bark of laughter and relaxed further under the covers, settling onto his side to face Remus. "Guilty as charged."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing! What, it's not like anything could happen, can it? I told him we'd have to wait until he comes of age, and that was that."

"And the other twenty-nine minutes you were gone?" said Remus, though there was no mischief in his voice.

Sirius sighed. "We talked. I'm an idiot, Remus. I'd never explained how things... work. No one did. He's been growing up at Hogwarts, learning bits and pieces from other children who are all too shy to talk about it, and of course what little he's picked up from Lily's creepy Muggle sister. He was confused."

Remus bit his lower lip, frowning. "Morgan le Fay. I never even thought about it. His friend Hermione is Muggleborn too, and the Weasleys would never utter an unkind word about anyone's choices..."

"Exactly. So I set him straight. I think."

Remus grimaced. "Not the way your father set you straight, I hope."

"Feh! Hardly!" growled Sirius. "Polar opposite of that 'Little Talk,' thank you very much. Though I was losing the straw from my broomstick with every word... I don't think I've ever felt so ridiculous! I kept remembering how Dad sounded so foolish and behind the times, and how insulted I was, that he thought he was telling me anything I didn't know already. But I suppose it was different for Harry, he really didn't know, and I wasn't trying to fill his head with a load of hateful pureblood bullshit."

Remus smiled warmly. "Of course you weren't. How did he take it?"

"Better than I did," said Sirius ruefully. "He said it explained some things he'd been noticing." Sirius paused reflectively, realizing that this was a rather touching admission on Harry's part. "He's a good... lad."

"I imagine he didn't care much for being called a lad."

Sirius closed his eyes and exhaled. "He presented some rather compelling arguments against it, in fact." He let his head hang forward, stretching against the tension in his neck. "It was all I could do to leave the room, Moony," he finally blurted. "I mean, 'no' is hardly my favorite word to begin with, and he... oh, Remus, he looks..."

"I know. I know exactly what you mean. Did I ever tell you how I met him? The second time, that is, when he wasn't just a baby. I was on the Hogwarts Express." Remus's eyes lost their focus. "I rode it up, that year I taught at Hogwarts. I hadn't been doing very well when Dumbledore found me. No work and I was starving half the time... I didn't think I could Apparate that far, to tell the truth. So I got on the train, and it was so warm and clean, I just nodded right off. I heard some students join me in the compartment but I was too sleepy even to open my eyes. I didn't even dream.

"The train stopped and I woke up, and I knew there was trouble--not a light on, and the students were horsing around in sort of a nervous/courage routine. I could feel Dementors--you know how that is. One barged right into our compartment. I heard one of the children hit the floor before my Patronus would come."

Sirius clicked his tongue sadly and put a hand on his lover's cheek. If Remus couldn't summon his Patronus during an attack, he was in dire shape indeed.

Remus pressed his face tenderly against the hand, then continued. "So then a bit of chaos, and the lights came on, and boom, there was James Potter laid out on the floor of the train. I thought I'd died. Two children leapt to his side and started fanning him and so on, and I just stood there thinking that death wasn't bad at all, if it was just being on the Hogwarts Express with James. I thought these must be his new friends. It was only after he opened his eyes that I realized no, I was alive, and that wasn't James. I knew it had to be Harry, because those eyes could only come from Lily."

"I know," whispered Sirius, and both of them fell silent for a moment.

"I still miss them," Sirius finally said heavily. "I want to do right by their son. But when Harry looked at me tonight..." Sirius turned away, gritting his teeth.

Remus made a small scoffing sound and gently tugged Sirius back to look him in the eye. "I suppose I'll always be second fiddle when it comes to those Potter men," he said with a wink, but Sirius could feel the sting underneath it.

"Don't give me that. You know I love you, Remus," he said stiffly. "Besides, if the tables were turned, I know damn well you'd be tempted to give me the heave-ho in favor of Harry." Remus laughed out loud, pushing up onto his elbow for a quick kiss.

"Well, who wouldn't?" Remus said, settling back down with a twinkling eye. "To catch any young sorcerer's eye, particularly a dangerous beauty like Harry. Not that it would happen for me." Sirius steeled himself to deliver a harsh rebuttal, but Remus quickly shook his head.

"Don't misunderstand. That wasn't a 'poor little me.' I just meant that the two of you have your own set of circumstances. Harry met me when he was still young. He was almost a year older when he finally met you--a critical year, I think. I was a teacher and a mentor. You were a friend. You gave him gifts, and you stood up to his aunt and uncle. And you were already in love with him, for years and years. He had only to open himself up to you for all the love he'd been longing for his whole life."

"Remus." It was more of a breath than a word. Remus's expression softened; he reached up to brush away a single tear with his thumb.

"Don't be sad, love. I'm glad you could give him that. James and Lily would want it that way. They chose you for his guardian, instead of Petunia. They didn't want him to grow up cold and sterile; they wanted him to be loving and giving, like you."

Sirius groaned. "I don't think this is helping, Reem. Damn it! I just left him alone downstairs, when he wanted me to stay."

"Well, yes, but I agree, James wouldn't approve of you shagging his underage son, circumstances notwithstanding."

Sirius shot him a poisonous look. "Bloody hell. You always could turn a phrase, Moony."

"It's a gift," he said with a guilty shrug. "What are you going to do, Padfoot?"

"What can I do? If I go to him, I'll give in to it. I know it."

"But you want to go."

Sirius groaned again. "'Want' is a four-letter word, Remus."

With a wistful smile, Lupin whispered for a moment in Sirius's ear and rolled away, returning his pillow to the head of the bed and settling under the covers. Sirius bolted upright, wide-eyed and gaping, then gripped Remus's shoulders.

"Reem, are you sure? You won't mind?"

"I'm fine, Sirius. To be honest, I've been looking around a bit lately myself."

Sirius's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "You have? Who?"

"Someone from the Order," Remus said shyly. "One of the Aurors."

Thinking quickly, Sirius broke into a broad grin. "My cousin? With the hair?" Remus nodded, and Sirius yanked him up into a rough hug, laughing. "Nice. She's a bring-home-to-Mum sort." He withdrew his arms slowly, taking one of Lupin's hands between both of his.

"Yeah, I've noticed," muttered Remus awkwardly. "She's far too young and... delicate, but with the Wolfsbane potion... Who knows?" He fixed Sirius with his gaze. "So go on. Don't fret about me. I'll see you two in the morning."

Sirius felt the rush of blood to his face, and he pushed Remus into the pillow with a sharp kiss. For the second time that night, he leapt from the bed and down the stairs.

* * Epilogue * *

Harry heard footsteps, then a soft knock at his door. His entire body immediately began to shake. It had to be him, it had to. He had to gulp a few breaths before he could answer. "Sirius?" He thanked the stars that his voice didn't crack.

The latch rose, but the door opened only an inch. What was he doing? Changing his mind? Harry held his breath until the door swung wide, but there was no one standing in the doorway.

Harry had barely registered some odd clicking sounds when a huge black mastiff came flying into his bed, practically knocking him out of it. For a moment, there was only a whirlwind of large paws and fur, then the pooch yipped, turned in a circle twice, and plopped down beside him. His tail thumped joyfully against the quilt.

Harry laughed loud and long, the sound carrying all the way up to the top floor bedroom. He settled under the covers, draping his arm over the dog with great affection. "Goodnight, Sirius."