***

Six sickles and four knuts. That was all the money that Remus had in the world. Knuts stashed away one by one that were picked up off the street and saved after buying fewer groceries than they needed. Four times Remus Lupin counted the coins. Six sickles and four knuts. And the next morning would be Christmas.

Dejectedly he threw himself down on the tattered couch that was only held together with countless Reparo spells, and buried his face in the cushion to muffle his curses and grumbling. There were ways, he knew, ways that he could get more money. As a wizard, he could cheat the Muggles without them ever realizing it. He could conjure some Leprechaun gold and buy an extravagant gift worthy of his partner, he could befuddle a poor shop keeper into believing he had already paid when he hadn't, or he could summon the gift straight to him. All these were things he coulddo, but they were also things he never would. Remus Lupin would never do any of those things, because Remus Lupin was an honest man.

He turned his head so he wouldn't suffocate in the well-worn cushions of the couch and looked at the flat they lived in. It was sparsely furnished living space that had once belonged to Sirius's uncle Alphard and was left to Sirius upon Alphard's demise. The one-bedroom flat was shabby, but paid for, which is all that really mattered.

The flat was situated in an inconspicuous Muggle neighborhood, and as a result, the letterbox in the foyer had never received a letter and the electric buzzer never connected to the flat. A small card attached to the letterbox read simply, Mssrs. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

The card had been displayed excitedly upon their move into the flat, but after four years of bills and potion for Remus, the generous fortune that had been left to Sirius by his uncle had dwindled to a total sum of six sickles and four knuts. Rarely, though, were the inhabitants of the flat called "Sirius Black" or "Remus Lupin", but rather they were known as "Padfoot" and "Moony" to one another and the friends that rarely visited.

Remus pushed himself off the couch so as to walk to the window in an effort to contrive a way in which to stretch his mere six sickles and four knuts to the point in which he would be able to purchase a worthy present for his partner. He had saved every knut he could for months, with the only the modest success of six sickles and four knuts. Outside the window he could see a ragged brown barn owl swooping to land on a bare, brown tree, in a brown backyard that was devoid of snow even on Christmas Eve.

Ever since Alphard's money had run low, Sirius had worked for the Ministry in a boring position that he hated, for a measly twenty galleons a week. Those twenty galleons did not go far, when one had to consider the cost of groceries for two men and the astonishing high cost of the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. Expenses had been greater than they calculated. They always are.

Only six sickles and four knuts to buy a gift for Sirius. For his Padfoot. He had spent many days planning to find something Sirius would like. Something that was reminiscent of the past when they were not forced to live in such humble circumstances. Something rare that was worthy to be owned by Padfoot.

In that exact moment, Remus whirled around and ran to the kitchen. His eyes were bright and shining as he made his way directly to the cauldron on the stove top even as all the color drained from his face.

Now, there were only two possessions in the world that neither Remus nor Sirius would part with, for it was all they still possessed other than the small flat and each other. One was a locket left to Sirius by his brother Regulus upon his demise. The gold locket was inscribed with small jewels of brilliant green in the form of an "S" shape, and it was the only item Sirius retained after he was banished from his childhood home for loving Remus. The other was Remus' monthly dose of Wolfsbane potion. Remus, you see, was cursed at a young age with the unfortunate affliction of being a werewolf. The Wolfsbane potion allowed him a significantly less painful transformation during the full moon, and allowed him to stay in their flat for the duration of the cycle without fear of destroying their home or harming Sirius.

Having made his decision, Remus pulled on his old, threadbare and patched cloak and worn leather booths. He poured the contents of the cauldron into a flask and tucked it away into his robes, and with bright eyes he left the flat and went down the street to the apothecary.

Mr. Thomas, the thin, aging man who had owned the apothecary for as long as Remus could remember, greeted him with a grunt and a nod of the head when Remus entered the establishment and walked purposefully toward the counter.

"Lupin," the old man nodded to him. "What can I do you for?"

"I'd like to sell this month's dose," Remus announced, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Would you, now," knowing yellow eyes narrowed behind thin glasses. "Why would you go and do a thing like that?"

"I—" Remus stuttered and looked down at the ground.

"Ten galleons," Mr. Thomas announced without waiting for an answer. "Take it or leave it."

Remus knew the potion was worth far more than ten galleons, but he also knew that if he tried to haggle with Mr. Thomas the old man would just turn him down flat, and he really needed the money. With a smile, he took the ten galleons and left the apothecary in search of the perfect present for Sirius.

After nearly three hours of fruitlessly searching the shops in both Diagon Alley and Muggle London, Remus was quite nearly ready to give up when he wandered into a Muggle pet shop. Padfoot had nearly destroyed his favorite blanket, and Remus had entertained the idea of replacing it until he realized it just wasn't a special enough gift for his lover. Lost in the impossible position of finding a gift for Sirius, Remus aimlessly wandered down aisle after aisle within the store, discarding ideas with every step. Not a book, not a new set of robes, not sweets, not… Remus nearly missed it the first time he wandered passed, but something called to him and when he turned around, it was there.

It was hanging on a wall with a hundred others in similar styles, but the one that had caught Remus' eye was made just so perfectly for Padfoot that it was impossible to imagine anyone else owning it. He lifted from the hook carefully, so as not to scratch the flawless leather, and ran his fingers over the soft, supple material. It had the perfect balance of rigidity for Padfoot and flexibility so Sirius could wear it under his robes during the day, and the hook on the collar was strong enough to hold Sirius' prized locket. It was a gift worthy of giving to Sirius.

He carried it to the front counter reverently and paid for it, spending nine galleons, eight sickles, and six knuts. With the change in his pocket, he rushed home to wrap the gift before his partner got back from work. Once the present was wrapped, however, his excitement gave way to reason and he collapsed onto the worn sofa.

He silently contemplated the situation he had put himself in. It wasn't often that Remus made such rash decisions, but Sirius always brought out his intense possessiveness and desire to give his partner the best of everything. By the time the fire roared to life with Sirius' arrival home, Remus had come up with a plan to spend the next full moon in the safety of the Shrieking Shack, back at Hogwarts.

Sirius was never late. He watched the time like a hawk at the end of the day and floo'ed home the minute the hands hit six o'clock. As per usual, Remus was sitting on the sofa waiting for him when he stepped out of the floo and dusted soot off his travel cloak. Tonight, however, he was nervously wringing his hands together while a small box wrapped in bright red paper sat on the table in front of him.

"Moony?" Sirius asked, slightly perplexed as to why Remus was so tense. He moved around the table to draw the brown-haired man into an embrace, relieving some of the tension as soon as his arms wrapped around the slender man. "What is it?"

"Igotyourpresent," Remus mumbled with his face buried in his partner's neck.

"What, Moony?" Sirius' fingers slipped beneath the soft, well-worn fabric of Remus' jumper to touch warm skin.

Remus pulled back just enough so his lips brushed the shell of Sirius' ear, "I got you a present."

"Did you, now?" Sirius replied, drawing Remus closer to show his interest in his 'present'. "I've got something for you, too." He could feel the smile on Remus' face as his partner finally relaxed and he drew back to look at the other man properly. "What did you get me?"

Remus reached for the box and moved it between them before Sirius could say another word.

Sirius took the gift with a grin and sat down on the sofa, pulling Remus into his lap before he opened it. "What'd ya get me, Moony?"

"Open it," Remus urged him from where his head was resting on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius tore at the wrapping until he held a small red box in his hands.

"Moony?" he asked again, trying to twist so he could see his partner's face.

"Just open it, Pads," Remus muttered.

Sirius didn't need to be told again. After opening the box, he traced his fingers along the edge of the leather, a mix of confusion and desire on his face when he reached the empty tag hook. "No tags for it?" he asked curiously and looked at his partner.

"I thought you could use it for your locket…" Remus trailed off uncertainly.

"The locket?" Sirius repeated dumbly and looked away. "My…"

"You don't have to," Remus backtracked, realizing Sirius didn't like it. "I can take it back."

"No," Sirius' voice was firm and he turned his attention back to his squirming lover. "I love it, it's just—"

"Just what?" Remus asked curiously, watching as a blush spread across Sirius' face. It wasn't often that Sirius flushed a deep crimson, and Remus found it endearing.

"I sold the locket so I could buy your gift," he admitted, reaching for Remus' hand.

"You did—Sirius, no!" Remus stumbled over the words in shock. "Why did you do that?"

"You deserve the best," he replied simply. "So I sold it to Mundungus."

"Padfoot," he whispered. "No."

"It's already been done," Sirius assured him, lifting his free hand to stroke Remus' jaw. "And now we have a large bit of land out the country."

Remus leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. "What?" he asked softly.

"We have somewhere to go during the moon," Sirius explained. "It's not right to keep Moony locked up, and now there is somewhere for Padfoot and Moony to run free."

Remus opened his eyes and smiled, leaning in to steal a soft, quick kiss. "That's good, then," he whispered. "Because I sold this month's dose to get you the collar."

"Happy Christmas, Moony," Sirius replied quietly, drawing his lover in for another kiss.

Remus was breathless when he pulled away a moment later to smile up at Sirius. "Merry Christmas, Padfoot."

***

The next moon came and went without incident, and out in the moonlit country two large dogs ran side by side throughout the night. In subsequent months, residents of the town would tell stories about the playful wolf and the large black dog with a shiny leather collar that appeared once a month to frolic during the night, or the brown-haired man who was occasionally seen in town with the same black dog.

Sirius never got his locket back, but after his birthday a few weeks later, a shiny black tag appeared on the thick leather collar, reading Padfoot on the front and Property of Remus Lupin on the reverse side.

The story of the two foolish lovers would be told for many years to come, painting them as wise men that understood the cost of love and willingly paid it with their prized possessions.