A fortnight into the summer break and Remus had enough letters to wallpaper his bedroom with. He had pages upon pages of Sirius's smooth, slanted cursive; of James's bold, cramped print; of Peter's thin, wavering handwriting. He folded each letter and kept them in a drawer in his desk. He'd want to read through them again one day, he knew he would. He liked that – revisiting old memories and the sort.
He began keeping a calendar. He crossed off each day as he counted down to the start of school.
When the full moon came he met it with eager anticipation. It meant he was a day closer to being back with his friends. Back at Hogwarts. Back where he felt – and was it wrong of him? – most at home.
Remus's father took him to the station on September 1st while his mother stayed at home and cleaned the attic. She'd hugged him goodbye at the house and asked for his forgiveness ("I'm so sorry, Remus, I just can't leave when there's so much work to be done, you understand, don't you? You've always been a smart boy. My little genius, you are.") and then she waved from the window as they left the yard.
"She should go outside more often," Remus said quietly, not sure if he was supposed to talk about it. "There's nothing to be afraid of out here."
His father wore a look of intense worry that didn't lift, not even when Remus stared directly at him. His mother would have hidden it.
"Have a good year," he said when they stood on the platform, and he ruffled Remus's hair like he'd often done when he was younger. "Don't get up to too much mischief."
Remus smiled at him the way he knew he ought to, but he couldn't help feeling as though he was being farewelled by someone else's father. By someone he didn't know.
No one had ever told him so, but Remus knew it was because of his father that he'd been bitten as a child. The guilt still lingered around him, still hid in the way he looked at Remus and in the way he handled each full moon. It was clear in his thoughtful frown and quiet politeness, obvious in that beseeching sadness that clung to him.
Remus never asked his parents about it. It would only upset them.
He found his friends on the platform and they boarded together. Sirius's parents were nowhere to be seen, and Sirius seemed all the happier because of it.
The train was alive with excited chatter and people kept walking past their carriage, and each face brought back memories. Remus had somehow managed to forget that there were so many people in the world, that while he had spent his summer hidden away at home the rest of the universe had continued on without him.
Despite the excitement of being back with his friends, Remus struggled to stay awake. The motion of the train lulled him into a drowsiness that he didn't have the will to escape. His body was still exhausted from the last full moon and he'd had little sleep the night before. When his eyes slid shut he didn't bother to open them again.
He woke when the train stopped at Hogsmeade. The three of his friends watched him with identical looks of concern.
"Sorry," he said groggily, "did I miss anything? I didn't mean to fall asleep."
James pulled his trunk down from the overheard luggage compartment for him. "You were tired, it's okay," he said softly.
Remus blinked the sleep from his eyes, smiled at him, and then followed the crowd out of the train and on to the station. He still felt half asleep. Twice he had to pinch the fabric of Sirius's robes between his fingers so he wouldn't lose him through the sea of bodies. He felt so drowsy that he worried it might happen without much effort on his behalf.
"What's wrong with Remus?" he heard Peter whisper to James as they waited for a carriage to take them to the castle. "Why's he look so sick?"
Sirius turned to Remus immediately and began telling him a story about his mother, who had apparently tried to order the family house-elf, Kreacher, to lock him in the attic as punishment for decorating his bedroom in Gryffindor colours. Remus knew it was his attempt at distracting him from Peter and James, but he didn't mind. He listened and offered sympathy and laughter where it was necessary.
During the summer he'd somehow managed to forget how charismatic his friends were – Sirius especially – and now that he was back with them he felt himself calming, felt the tension easing from his joints and his chest lightening. He was always his happiest at Hogwarts – or rather, always his happiest with his friends.
"Black, Regulus!" was called first out of the new students, and Sirius sat up straighter beside Remus, his eyes bright and hopeful. People at their table turned to glance at him uncertainly, their thoughts clear on their bewildered faces – Sirius had a brother?
The boy who stepped forward from the throng of younger students was pale and thin with black hair. He looked exactly like Sirius. When he sat on the stool and the Hat was dropped down around his ears, Remus was sure he heard Sirius whisper a prayer.
There was silence.
Then, "SLYTHERIN!"
Sirius dropped down into his seat, no longer stiff-backed and excited. He stared after his brother as he removed the Hat and wandered over to the Slytherin table; he glanced at the Gryffindor table anxiously before he disappeared from view.
People were watching Sirius, expecting a reaction.
"I guess lightning never strikes twice," he sighed, trying to smile at them.
Sirius had never said much about his brother other than that he had one and he was small and annoying. He never wrote to his family, never received anything from them, and he'd never once talked to his cousins while at school, who were prominent and popular in Slytherin house. But despite all of that, Remus couldn't help thinking that Sirius was different with his brother. The look of hope on his face and in his posture, his whisper of, "Please, please..." before the Hat called out its decision...
The rest of the students were sorted and then the feast appeared. There came a gasp of thrilled surprise from the first years – was that how they'd sounded last year? – and then there was the chorus of cutlery and chewing and pleasant conversation throughout the hall.
Remus chewed listlessly on a salad while James tried to tempt him with meat.
"Not hungry," he said, and it was true, he wasn't, he hadn't been all day.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Peter asked, apparently now worried enough to ask Remus directly rather than whisper about him behind his back.
He nodded drowsily. "I've got a cold, that's all." He pretended to sniffle.
Sirius kept looking at the Slytherins.
"You're good at this," Lily praised him, and Remus shook his head.
"Nah, not really." Inspiration struck him, and he added, "James is, though." It wasn't a lie – James was the best at Transfiguration out of all of them. McGonagall was frequently exasperated at his lack of motivation, however. She claimed he didn't care about his grades and was only in class for the fun of it. She was mostly right.
"James," Lily repeated, and she sounded disappointed. "Really." It wasn't a question – it was an expression of blank and utter disbelief if Remus had ever heard one.
"Yeah," he said, "he's actually smarter than you might think, considering how... er, how..."
"How idiotic he behaves? How pompous he is? Proud? Arrogant?"
Remus took offense. "Hey!" he whined. "He's not that bad!"
She sighed, and it was as though all the anger and hostility was being let out of her. She seemed to deflate. "You're right, I'm sorry."
He didn't push it any further. He'd done his duty, he'd put in a good word for James. The ball was in his court now.
They continued their Transfiguration homework; Remus helped her with the written work, and she gave him tips on the wand-work. They worked well together, Remus thought.
They'd been working for an hour when someone entered the library, and Lily sighed, "Severus is headed this way. I asked him not to come here. I know you don't get along."
Severus reached them just as Remus was about to deny what she'd said.
"Lily," Severus said politely, nodding at her in somewhat cold acknowledgment. "Lupin," he added darkly, looking briefly at Remus, his eyes black and glistening. He always managed an air of grimness, Remus had found. It was off-putting.
Lily cleared her throat and said a little awkwardly, "I thought we were meeting later, Sev?"
"We are. I came here looking for someone else, but they don't seem to be here yet." He looked around the library as he spoke.
Remus rolled his eyes. He had his doubts about the truthfulness of what Severus had just said. It was most likely that he'd come to spy on Lily, to make sure Remus wasn't trying to steal her away from him. He wouldn't put that sort of creepy thinking past the other boy.
"I saw that, Lupin," Severus snapped, and his eyes were on him again, dark and beady and cold.
Remus was sure Severus was about to start shouting at him – about things he felt Remus had personally done, or about the things his friends had done and Remus had allowed – but a familiar voice interrupted them and caught their attention.
"Severus!" called the voice, and if Remus hadn't been certain that Sirius was currently helping James train for the upcoming Quidditch try-outs, he'd have thought his friend had just spoken.
Severus turned in the direction of the voice. "Regulus," he said, low and pleased in a way that made Remus frown, "I was just looking for you."
Up close Regulus looked even more like Sirius than Remus had thought possible. His hair fell in the same casual, unruly way, and his eyes were the same light grey. He smiled at Severus and Remus couldn't help but think that it was Sirius, it was Sirius and he was smiling at Severus, and he was in Slytherin robes and it was impossible.
Regulus stood beside Severus and told him he'd saved a table, and his books were there, and he just had to run back to the common room to get his spare quill, so could he look after his things for him, please? Severus agreed smarmily, clearly enjoying the show. He'd probably set the meeting up, Remus thought. Set it up when he knew Lily and Remus would be in the library so Remus would see and would tell Sirius, who would get upset about his brother being friends with the boy he hated.
Oblivious to the role he was playing in Severus's game, Regulus smiled and started for the exit. As he left he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes – Sirius's eyes – met with Remus's. He frowned, confused, and looked away before left the library and disappeared.
"Wow," Lily breathed once Severus had disappeared to wait at Regulus's table. "They could be twins."
"They're not," Remus said, which made him feel stupid. Of course they weren't. They were in different years, weren't they? Lily knew they weren't twins. It was just that Remus suddenly felt the need to assure her that he knew Sirius, knew him better than almost everyone. They were friends, best friends.
"Severus mentioned he was tutoring someone," Lily murmured, "but I didn't think..."
Remus could only wonder what Sirius would do if he knew his younger brother was on a first-name basis with Severus Snape. Remus resolved never to mention it to him, for fear of dying in the explosive rage that would ensue.
James was dressed in a Quidditch uniform that was almost too big for him, and his glasses had been replaced with Quidditch goggles. He shook all over with nerves and adrenaline as he gave his wand to Sirius and demanded he look after it for him.
"Curse anyone who looks like they might be better than me, okay?" he croaked, and then he jogged out on to the pitch to join the rest of the students who were trying out for the team.
Peter got out his wand and pointed it at a fifth year boy who was near James on the pitch, stretching and readying himself for his trial. A malicious look on was on Peter's face. Sirius yelped and swatted his across the back of the head before he could utter a curse.
"Stupid boy," he sighed, shaking his head exasperatedly, "he didn't mean it."
"I'm not so sure," Remus groused, watching James dry retch into the grass.
Sirius looked queasy. "I don't think I can take it if he loses, Remus," he said through thin lips. "I can't watch him lose."
Remus choked around a smile and wheezed, "You sound like you're his mum!"
"Mrs Potter's a fine woman, with legs that go for miles," Sirius told him in the same worried voice, his eyes glued to James who was now on his broomstick up in the air with the rest of the students trying for Chaser. "I'd be honoured to be her."
"Don't worry so much," Remus advised, and at the same time he reached over and took Peter's wand from him before he could curse the same boy he'd been eyeing earlier.
"Aw!" he complained.
"Hey, have you talked to Regulus yet?" Remus asked, hoping to distract Sirius from worrying so much. It worked.
Sirius froze, noticeably tensing all over. "No," he said thickly, "I haven't. And I don't intend to."
"He's your brother," he reminded him gently.
"He's a Slytherin, too," Sirius countered. "I bet our parents have already named him as their heir. They were probably worried he'd go the same way as me and then they'd be forced to procreate once more." He put on the high, unpleasant voice he often used when he was pretending to be his mother and squawked, "I'm keeping all my clothes on! Don't look at me! Don't even speak! Don't breathe so loudly! Do you want this son, or not? Come on, hurry up! Kreacher can cook a frozen turkey faster than this! Eugh, disappointing as ever. Let's hope this one's worth it."
Remus spluttered and coughed and managed to rasp, "You're foul!"
"They're foul!"
"James is winning!" Peter shrieked.
He told his friends he was sick with dragon pox and then disappeared to the hospital wing before they could start interrogating him about his lack of symptoms. He probably could have thought of a better excuse, but he was running out of them. Dragon pox would have to do.
Madam Pomfrey met him with a smile. "I've been researching all summer," she told him, jumping right in. "I was right about what I told you last year. It's worse for teenagers. Growth spurts, hormones – none of it helps."
"Great," drawled Remus, whose body was already a big enough mess, and whose transformations were already quite excruciating. "Really great. That's just wonderful."
"From what I've read there's not much that can be done to stop the pain," she went on sadly, "but there are relaxation techniques that have been reported to help."
"Relaxation techniques," he repeated blankly.
She nodded and with a flick of her wand, summoned several books from her office. "Here," she said, and he took them. "They might help. They're for meditation."
He read the titles with a doubtful frown. River of Relaxation featured a picture of a man floating down a river, a dumb look on his face. Remus, needless to say, wasn't too sold on it.
"Leave them here," Madam Pomfrey said cheerily, "and tomorrow you can take them with you. Read them when you can. They might come in handy."
"Snivellus!" James bellowed, hands cupped around his mouth to make the insult louder. "Snivellus, watch where you're going!"
On cue Sirius muttered a tripping curse that sent Severus sprawling over the stone floor. His bag sprung open and his books and parchment scattered everywhere. There was the sound of smashed glass, and ink began to pool around him.
Sirius and James hurried forward to reach him before he could get to his feet and draw his wand on them. Sirius had him petrified on the floor before Severus stood a chance.
Remus hung back. He hated to think it, but it was embarrassing to be seen with his friends just then. Severus hadn't done anything to them, and the way they'd spontaneously attacked him...
"Snivellus, your ink's going to stain your things!" Sirius laughed, picking up one of his books and allowing the ink to drip from the soaked pages.
"I'll kill you," Severus snarled from the floor, unable to move a muscle to defend himself, "I'll murder you both."
"Hey!" cried Peter indignantly. He no doubt felt excluded from the threat.
"Lupin," snarled Severus, his voice so full of hate that it sent Remus a step back, "Lily won't think you're so high and mighty once she hears about this!"
James laughed nastily. "Oh, running to mummy, are you?" he asked. The people who had gathered around them laughed too.
"Jealous, Potter?" Severus hissed, and the dark cloud that passed over James's face was enough to get Remus to step in.
"We've got Transfiguration," Remus said, hurrying forward, placing a hand on James's arm, "we can't be late or McGonagall'll kill us."
"Yeah," James muttered, face cold, "yeah, you're right. But first, let's hide Snivellus's things."
They left Severus immobilised on the floor, but only after all of his books had been Vanished.
Remus's face burned hot with shame for the rest of the day.
He tried reading the books Madam Pomfrey had given him. He read chapter after chapter, studied diagram after diagram, and yet he didn't know quite how to do it.
Let yourself go. Allow the silence to wash over you. Release your anchors and float away.
Remus scowled at the words, snorted "Anchors!" under his breath, and shut the book with a soft thud.
He'd try them later.
He forgot about the books until a month later when Sirius accidentally stumbled upon them.
"What are they?" Sirius asked when he saw the books beside his bed, hidden (or so Remus had thought) under his Potions textbook.
"Books," Remus replied.
"You're a great help," Sirius said, deadpan. "Books. I'd have never guessed."
Remus turned to dig his best sweater out of his wardrobe, which gave Sirius the opening he needed.
Sirius had the books before Remus could have hoped to stop him – his legs still hurt from the last full moon, he didn't want to be chasing his friend around.
"Empty Mind, Full Soul," Sirius read aloud, his expression tightening in worried confusion. "Peaceful People? Remus, what are these books for?"
He saw no way out of it. "Meditating," he groaned, massaging his forehead where a headache was growing. "Apparently I'm stressed." He glared at Sirius and said pointedly, "I can't see why, though, since I live such a stress-free life and I have such caring, helpful friends."
Sirius wasn't letting himself be distracted. "Stressed according to whom?" he asked, voice tight.
He could tell him. He could tell him that Madam Pomfrey thought he needed the books. He could lie, say his mother sent them. He could avoid the question altogether – could start a conversation about Quidditch, about homework, about Regulus.
"Remus," Sirius said gently, and Remus lifted his eyes to his face. He looked confused and sincere – like he wanted to help.
"Madam Pomfrey," he ground out, and the change in Sirius's expression was drastic. His eyes widened, his skin paled, and he looked twice as likely to be violently and horrifically ill all over the dormitory floor.
"You've been to see Madam Pomfrey?" he croaked, like the idea was absurd. Remus nearly laughed – if only Sirius knew how often he saw the woman. "Why? What's wrong? Are you sick?" He still had Peaceful People in his hand and he waved it around as he cried, "Why is she giving you books about meditation?"
Sirius looked concerned, and behind the nervous annoyance at the books having been discovered, Remus felt genuinely touched. It was surprisingly nice knowing Sirius cared about his health, as strange as it sounded.
"It's nothing," he said quietly, "I'm just stressed, that's all. School's getting on top of me. That Potions essay's due tomorrow and I haven't even started the Transfiguration assignment. It's hard being studious, Sirius. You wouldn't know, since you're just, y'know, naturally brilliant and everything, but for us little people it's difficult." He took a deep breath and tried to stop rambling. "But yes. Stress. School. Work. Books. Does that – is that an answer? Is that okay?"
Sirius met him with a doubtful look that warmed the light grey of his eyes.
"I'm fine," Remus assured him, and how was it possible that he felt bad about it, that he felt a new weight of guilt settle upon his shoulders? He wished he could just tell him, just get it out there in the open and have done with it.
I'm a werewolf, he thought. Can you hear me? I'm a werewolf.
"The minute I find out you're sick, Remus Lupin, I'm killing you," threatened Sirius, who pointed Peaceful People at him like his mother might point her finger while scolding him.
Remus snickered and took the book from him. "Yes, mum."
They celebrated Halloween in a different way than the year prior. James claimed he'd discovered a secret passageway out of the school, one that only he knew, and that it'd be for the best if they tested it out when the majority of the school was at the Halloween ball.
"And if we get caught?" Remus asked reluctantly, following his friends through the abandoned halls. "What then?"
"We run, obviously," Sirius cackled.
They were headed in the direction of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Remus gnawed nervously on his lip and wondered if James wasn't just leading them on a wild goose chase.
"Here," James said. They were standing before the statue of the one-eyed witch that was just outside the classroom they'd been in earlier that day while learning how to identify cursed objects. Remus had done well, but he was sure he'd understand it better when he read over Lily's notes with her later. "It's through her."
"Through her?" Peter echoed.
James took out his wand and cleared his throat. "Err," he murmured after a moment, a look of doubt now colouring his face, "give me a second." He approached the statue and began whispering to it, tapping it with his wand as he did.
"He's gone barmy," Sirius moaned. "What'll I tell his mum? Dear Mrs Potter, your son lost his marbles trying to get into a one-eyed witch statue. Yours, Sirius."
"Shut up," James told him with a breathless chuckle, and then, "I think I've got it. I just... I forgot for a bit, that's all."
Remus smirked. "You forgot the password."
"It's been known to happen to the best of us," he replied. "I bet even Dumbledore forgets the password to his office every once in a while." He tapped the statue with his wand and said, clear and precise, "Dissendium!"
The hump on the statue opened, revealing a small tunnel inside. James turned and grinned smarmily at them.
"Yeah, yeah," Sirius snickered, "you're a genius – we get it already. Come on, let's go."
It was the first secret passageway they found, even if James did later admit he'd overheard a sixth year student talking about it.
Now that James was a Chaser it was expected of Remus to attend his games. The year before Remus had managed to weasel his way out of several matches by claiming he had homework or that he wasn't feeling his best. This year he doubted the same technique would work.
"You're one of my best friends, Remus," James exclaimed as they made their way down to the pitch after breakfast the morning of a match against Ravenclaw. He was still eating his breakfast and had several pieces of toast in one hand. "You should be honoured to watch me fly!"
Sirius snorted and punched James in the arm. "Arrogant git!" he teased.
"You wait and see," he said through a splitting grin, "I'll make sure we win this game."
They sat in the Gryffindor stands and screamed themselves hoarse with the rest of their house. Remus hadn't thought he'd enjoy himself, but there was something contagious about the cheers of his housemates that left him bubbly and excited. When a Ravenclaw Beater sent a Bludger into James's arm, nearly knocking him off his broom, it was Sirius who had to hold Remus back before he stumbled out of the stands and tried to run on to the pitch.
James, true to his word, still managed to win the game.
The cheering was deafening, and Remus loved it.
James and Peter had gone through the one-eyed witch statue to steal some supplies from the Honeyduke's cellar while Sirius and Remus were pilfering food from the Hogwarts kitchens. Gryffindor's victory against Ravenclaw was a cause for celebration.
"Let's not take too much," Remus said as they walked. Last time they'd raided the kitchens they'd left with more food than they had any intention of eating and it had weighed on his conscience afterwards. "I feel bad abusing their generosity."
"They're only house-elves," Sirius said breezily, a lifetime of pure-blood certainties assuring him he was correct in his judgement, "they don't care."
Remus gnawed on his lip and shrugged.
They turned a corner, nearing the kitchens, when someone walked head-long into them.
"Merlin, sorry," Remus gasped.
The boy they'd collided with brushed his robes as though he'd dirtied himself and looked up to say something, when they all realised.
"Sirius," said the boy, his voice dripping with suspicion, as though he suspected Sirius of following him or setting up the accidental meeting.
"Regulus," Sirius grumbled, sounding equally paranoid. He crossed his arms and slid almost unnoticeably closer to Remus. "What're you doing walking around at this time of the night?"
Regulus glared at him. "I was hoping to catch someone alone so I could murder them and perform sacrificial ceremonies on their corpse in the name of the Dark Lord. You?"
"I was hoping to save a Muggle child from dangerous Dark wizards and then sacrifice myself in the name of the light, myself."
"The usual, then," Regulus said casually, nodding as though they were having a perfectly normal conversation.
"Well," sighed Sirius, rocking back on to his heels and then back down on to the soles of his feet, "it sure has been fun catching up with you."
Regulus grinned at him nastily, all teeth and narrowed eyes, a look that Sirius often gave Severus, and he said, "It's been a real hoot."
As if synchronised, the two of them continued walking in their original directions. Remus stared after Regulus for a moment before he hurried to catch up with Sirius.
"What was that?" he hissed. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but that was a very worrying conversation, Sirius! Sacrificial ceremonies? Saving Muggle children? I don't even want to know what kind of messed up stuff goes on in your house."
Sirius's eyes were flinty and dark. "Come on," he said, "let's just get the food."
Remus turned the conversation over and over again in his head, trying to decipher the Black code, but came up blank each time.
"Any luck with the books?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she healed a cut that had caused his right eye to swell so badly that he couldn't see from that side.
He allowed his shoulders to slump as he whined, "They're stupid."
"Don't be like that," scolded the woman, "don't dismiss things simply because you don't understand them. That's foolish."
He sighed and rolled his one working eye.
"Cheer up," she told him as she produced a chocolate bar from her apron pocket. "Here," she said, snapping some off, "eat this. It'll make things better."
Surprisingly, it did.
"Muggles drink orange juice with their breakfast, you know," Remus said the following week as he held his glass of pumpkin juice and stared at the murky liquid. "I don't – I mean, they drink the juice of oranges. I understand that pumpkin juice is orange, I didn't mean – hey, don't look at me like that, Sirius, I'm making perfect sense, you just don't understand what I'm trying to say here."
"Why do we let him sit with us, James?" Sirius asked teasingly, but Remus's stomach clenched and hardened all the same.
Why did they let him sit with them?
"I don't know, Sirius," James said playfully, watching Remus with fond eyes, "I like him, I think we should keep him."
Sirius hmmm'd contemplatively and then said, "Yes, I agree. Let's keep him."
Remus smiled shakily at them, feeling horribly exposed as both of them studied him, and then went back to looking at his pumpkin juice. He stared at it as though it held the meaning of life in its dark orange depths.
The post arrived then, taking Sirius and James's eyes from him as they looked up to watch the arrival. The hall filled with owls that swooped over the tables and Remus watched as Bradley Burvich at the Ravenclaw table received a letter that landed in his porridge.
"I was thinking," James began conversationally, toying with the scrambled eggs on his plate he hadn't yet eaten, "we should stay here over the Christmas break. We could explore. The place will be practically empty."
Remus's eyes travelled unbidden to Sirius's face. He was looking at James with something akin to suspicious astonishment.
"Your parents," he said, "won't they be upset?"
"Nah," James told him, and Remus heard the casual lie.
"I'll stay," Peter offered. "I don't do nothing at home, anyway."
They all looked at Remus. He swallowed audibly.
"Come on, Remus," wheedled James, "it'll be an adventure! Like in those books you read!"
He bit his lip. He wanted to stay, sweet Merlin's pants he wanted to stay, but his mother, with her tiny hands and her sad eyes, and their cellar, with its damp air and its cold floor –
"You don't have to," Sirius told him comfortingly. "You can go home if you'd prefer." He grinned, laughed, and then said, "We're not about to chain you up so you-"
Remus flinched so violently he knocked his fork off his plate. It landed on the floor with a clatter. Peter dived to retrieve it, a magpie swooping for silver.
"I'll stay," Remus told them. If his voice shook they didn't mention it.
He wrote to his parents, but knew it was his mother who'd need convincing. He could hear his father already, could hear the gruff no-nonsense way he'd say, "There's no need to carry on, he's not an infant. He's with Dumbledore, he's safe, now cheer up."
Professor McGonagall came around the common room with the list, pausing before each student as she did, asking where they intended to spend the break.
"And you four?" she asked when she came to them.
"All staying," said James, a smile broad on his face. He looked proudly at the three of them.
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'll be watching you very carefully, then," she warned them as she scratched their names down on the parchment, her quill so long and large that it jerked wildly with the movement of her hand. The feather must have tickled her once or twice on the ear.
"She's a sweetheart, that one," Sirius sighed after her.
James snorted and threw his own shoe at him. "If you start saying things like 'I bet I can bring out the younger woman in her' I'll know you've been replaced by an imposter."
Sirius grinned, happier than Remus had seen him in months.
TBC
