It was still light outside when the train pulled up at the station, and the few students who had endured the journey got off the train, leaving their luggage behind, and headed back up to Hogwarts.

Remus considered his options, and was seriously contemplating heading to the common room when the growl of his stomach dictated his next move.

He headed for the Great Hall.

The room was fuller than he had expected, considering it was the holidays, and he soon spotted Peter and James sat together at one part of the Gryffindor table.

"Moony!" James called, his voice bright with delight at the return of his friend.

"Hey guys," Remus returned, glancing around them to see if-

Peter shook his head, "He's upstairs. Been there pretty much all week, though I don't know why. He hasn't said anything's the matter, he's just…not been quite engaged."

Unsure about what he should think of this development, Remus climbed over the bench and sat down. He was hungry, and until that had been satiated, he wouldn't think too clearly.

"How has your week been?" Remus asked the two of them, conversationally.

Peter shrugged, his mouth full of chicken. James motioned with his hand, as if to suggest that his week had been mediocre.

"Neither here nor there, really," James answered after swallowing his potato, "But Peter's right in saying that Sirius hasn't been much of himself."

"Can you blame him, though?" Remus asked. He had been pondering the night of the Parents' Evening every day since he had caught the train back to his villiage, and despite his own grievances, he still recognised that Sirius might have been raw about what had occurred with his mother.

"What? Oh, you mean the thing with his mum? I don't think that's it. When he came back to the Hall, after you'd followed him out, he didn't look quite as lost. No, he looked a bit brighter. He didn't seem too fazed when his mum left, either, just like he'd got over it already. You must have done something to help him," James smiled, "Only, he seems to have been off with us since. He went to find you, just as Dumbledore was reorganising the room and everyone was leaving, but I don't think he found you."

"No," Remus replied, feeling slightly hollow, "I'd gone just after he came back to the Hall. There was something my dad had to get done," he lied, "So we had to head off."

"Yeah, I figured," James feigned a look of indignation, "You didn't say goodbye."

Remus rolled his eyes, and said nothing for a while as he appeased his appetite.

"So," James began after a moment, "What happened with you two anyway?"

Remus frowned; a mixture of uncertainty and fear.

"Didn't you ask Sirius?" he replied, not looking up.

"Yeah, but that was the odd bit. When I asked, he just said to ask you. That was before he left to find you, though, and since then he's pretty much just stayed in bed. He's nuts. Not only has he missed out on the holidays, where we can go just about anywhere without interference, but we could have camped out at Hogsmeade or anything… and instead he's just kept to himself."

James' soliloquy did not particularly appease Remus' anxiety, and he paused to consider.

"Well?" James prompted, and Remus could tell that he had been impatient to find out for quite some time.

"Nothing happened," he lied, "I just pressed the issue a bit. Then he told me some element of the truth, and decided he didn't want to hide out in Professor McGonagall's room all day."

James, listening intently, nodded.

"Well, he certainly looked all the better for it. I figure he might still have been a little torn, but overall he looked quite different."

"You're better asking him all of this," Remus interrupted, pushing his plate away from himself as he stood up.

"I would if he bothered to leave his bed," James muttered, "Are you going to go and see him?"

"If he's awake," he lied again. In truth, Remus just wanted to find himself a thinking spot, and reflect upon what he'd just found out. Of course, he wanted to just rush upstairs and confront his best friend, and then it would be out of the way. But, he decided, facing Sirius without being sure of himself wouldn't be any help.

"Tell him to get his arse down here, then," James demanded, to which Remus simply nodded as he walked away from the table.

He would go up to the dormitory at some point, before James and Peter got there, but for now Remus was sure he would feel better just sitting in a corner of the library in contemplation.

It was he, after all, who had kissed Sirius. Not the other way around.

Remus made his way down the Great Hall, barely glancing at his surroundings, and hardly noticing the person trying to get through the door as he left it.

"Sorry," Remus muttered, distracted.

"Just move out of my w-"

Remus looked up at the familiar voice. His eyes met Sirius' and they each widened in surprise.

"James is waiting for you," he said suddenly.

Sirius shrugged, "He's been waiting all week."

Remus made a non-committal sound, walking around Sirius. He wasn't sure what to say, so instead he just said, "I'm going to go to the library."

"Of course you are," Sirius noted dryly.

Remus raised his eyebrows briefly, issuing a half smile.

He heard Sirius exhale, and then-

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Sirius asked, stepping away to let the door of the Great Hall fall shut.

In all honesty, Remus minded considerably. He concluded, however, that this wouldn't be beneficial to point out, and instead shook his head.

"I don't mind," he said eventually.

Sirius felt aggrieved at his friend's reluctance, but nodded.

"I know, it's not going to be fun but… We have to talk, don't we?"

Remus looked at Sirius then, properly for the first time. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes, and he didn't look his usual well-kempt self at all.

"Yes," he agreed, "I guess we do."

-

To be continued...