"Carry On"

"Carry on, my wayward son.

There'll be peace when you are done."

"Carry On Wayward Son," by Kansas

When I heard the knocking I was sitting in an armchair by the fire, midway through rereading "War and Peace". Now that I was, once again, out of a job, I had a lot of spare time on my hands.

I stood slowly, my right hand easily finding the wand hidden in my left sleeve. At the door, I carefully freed the locks and pulled it open.

"Remus," the man on the other side grinned. He was dressed in a ragged Hawaiian-print shirt and dirty jeans. His hair only hung to his shoulders- he had obviously cut it, though it didn't seem like it had been washed since I saw him last.

"Sirius?" I asked, grinning back. I grabbed him into a tight hug, and he laughed. It wasn't like the resounding laugh from my memories. It was a duller sound; empty, almost. Still. It was a start.

I pulled back, keeping my hands on his thin shoulders, and frowned. "You shouldn't be here."

A crooked smile played across his face, a smile that I clearly remembered from our boyhood. "I know."

I shook my head, taking a step back. "I'll put the kettle on, shall I," I said, leaving the door open and headed for the small, tidy kitchen near the back of the cottage. "I know it's not much," I said, motioning around.

I heard the door slam behind me as Sirius came in, following me. "Bloody hell, Remus, this is heaven compared to some places I have lived in."

I grinned wryly as I filled the kettle with water and pulled tea bags from the cupboard. "I suppose you're hungry?" My only answer was a huge grin, so I reached into the fridge and pulled out half a chicken and a bowl of rice- the remains of my supper.

Sirius let out another gruff laugh and collapsed onto one of the stools at the table, pulling the food towards him. "What have you been doing with yourself lately? I guessed you wouldn't be staying at Hogwarts after… it wasn't easy finding you, though."

"Dumbledore thought it would be best if I stayed low for a bit. Just in case." I handed him silverware, though he didn't seem to need it. He was already tearing the chicken apart with his hands.

Sirius let out a low growl but didn't say anything. If we had had it our way, there would not have been any reason to hide, and Sirius knew it. Then again, we would have had murder on our hands.

"In any case," I continued, "It's nearly impossible to get a job with my condition. I was lucky with Dumbledore… I've been catching up on my reading, mostly."

"Newspapers?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow and motioning to a stack on a bench near the table.

"Oh, er, yes. That, too. I don't get much contact with the outside world. It's the only way I can find out what's happening."

"Anything interesting?"

I sighed and set down tea cups, then rummaged in the cupboard. "No. That is, yes. But nothing to do with Voldemort." I found a box of cakes near the back and set them on the table, too. "I suppose you heard that Dumbledore has brought Moody out of retirement?"

"Yes. And I don't like it. It's one of the reasons I decided to come back north."

"And the Triwizard Tournament?"

For a second, a light flickered in Sirius' eyes. "It sounds…"

I raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Dangerous?"

A goofy grin spread across his face. "Brilliant."

We both burst out laughing, and it was almost as if we were back in our dormitory at Hogwarts. The kettle started whistling, and with a wave of my wand it rose in the air and filled out cups.

"Fancy trying to get in to see a challenge?" he asked, dipping a tea bag into his cup.

My smile faded. "Sirius…"

He sighed. "I know. I know. It would be fantastic, though."

I nodded slightly. "It would. If only we weren't a highly wanted criminal and a known werewolf, that is." I lowered myself into a chair. "So, what have you been doing with yourself?"

Sirius shrugged, downing his tea in one gulp. Automatically, the kettle floated over and refilled the cup. "Nothing, really. I went down to the Caribbean for a while… thought that would be safe. Brazil. Then Canada. Back to Jamaica for a spell."

I squinted. "You do seem tanner…"

Sirius smirked. "That's probably just dirt, mate. I've been traveling for the past month. You can't believe how hard it is to catch a plane when you're wanted for murder…"

"So any particular reason you came back?"

"Harry sent me a letter… said his scar hurt. With Moody at Hogwarts, Karkaroff and Snape nearby, and Wormtail on the loose… I thought it'd be better if I were here, rather than somewhere in South America."

"Have you been in contact with Dumbledore? Do you know what he thinks?"

Sirius barked. "Been in contact, all right. He's the one who told me where to find you. But you know how he is… won't tell anyone anything unless it fits into his plan. I suppose we'll find out sometime. Still, I wish…"

I nodded. "He's always been like that. Remember back at school?"

"We'd never have learned anything without the Invisibility Cloak and some clever spells, that's the truth. But we're not children anymore."

"No. But I bet he's not happy we never told him about your transformations."

Sirius grinned, suddenly seeming ten years younger. "No, bet he isn't. But those were good times. Useful, too. Without that I never would have been able to escape…"

"It was dangerous. And stupid. And childish, and selfish on my part. And yet I'm still thankful to all of you. You made my transformations bearable."

"Glad to do it, we were, too. James always said it was the best thing he ever learned at Hogwarts." Sirius' eyes turned cloudy as he thought back. "He was the first to get it, James. I remember how Peter screamed when he turned around and saw Prongs!"

"I remember how you screamed when you turned around and saw that you had a tail," I said wryly, laughing.

"Well, I'd never had one before," Sirius told me, joining in the laughter. "What about the first time you went down to the Shack to change and we were waiting for you?"

"That was the first time Peter was able to change, wasn't it?" I asked, thinking back.

"Yes… he just succeeded that afternoon. We thought we'd surprise you."

"It was a surprise, alright. All I could think was, Peter's a rat?"

Sirius' expression darkened. "We should have known the form always fits the person… he's a rat through and through, and if Harry hadn't stopped me-."

"I know," I said quickly, putting up a hand. "Me, too. He deserved it. Still. I don't doubt we'll meet again, someday."

"And next time, he won't be getting away," Sirius growled, sounding more like his Animagus form than a human. "You can bet on that."

I looked around at the table, now full of empty dishes. "I suppose you'll be headed to Hogwarts next? Where will you hide?"

Sirius shrugged. "I was thinking maybe those caves, over by Hogsmeade. I'll be near enough to the village to beg food and such, but far enough away so it doesn't get suspicious."

I nodded. "I'll pack you some food in the morning, then. You can run a bath through that door to the left," I told him, "And I can make up the sofa. I don't think there's any harm in you staying the night."

Sirius looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "I appreciate it."

"It's what friends are for," I told him seriously.

He slowly got up and headed for the bathroom as I cleaned the kitchen. I went through the food I had, looking for anything that would last. Everything I found I tied up in bundles and set on the counter. Afterward, I set up the couch in the parlor. By the time I was finished, Sirius had come out of the bathroom and sat down in my arm chair. Clean, he looked much more like the man I remembered.

"There you are," I told him, putting the pillow into place. "It may look a bit ratty, but it isn't uncomfortable."

Sirius nodded. "It'll be fine."

"Well, then…" I looked around awkwardly. "I suppose I'll be going to bed now, too. It's getting late."

Sirius nodded again. "I want to leave early tomorrow. I don't want to get you in any trouble."

It was my turn to nod. "I left some food for you in the kitchen. It should last you a while."

"Thank you."

"Will it be safe to write? I know you'll be hiding, but-."

"Safe enough," Sirius said. "As long as you send in descript owls." He paused for a moment. "It would be nice if you wrote."
I smiled slightly. "I thought I had lost three of my best friends. Now I have one back. I don't want to lose him again."

A wide grin lit up Sirius' face. "I thought the same. And it's not so easy to get rid of me."

"So I'll write," I told him.

"And I'll answer."

We were silent for a minute.

"Good night," I said finally.

He nodded. "Good night."