It was nice not being in the hospital, Sirius knew that, but it wasn't as nice having nowhere to go. Miraculously, most of his apartment was intact. The smoke was terrible, but the fire hadn't reached his floor yet when the firefighters got there.

But there was no question about it: his apartment was uninhabitable. And so, Sirius had to move back into the dorms. "Only temporarily," Dean Russell had said, and he could see how nervous she was. The only card in her deck was her ability to revoke his right to live off campus. With that gone, there was no need for him to bother going to his sessions. He let her dangle for a bit, before breaking the news to her that there was no need for her to worry.

He wasn't going to be going to his sessions, because now there was something new taking up his nights. Physical therapy, day and night. Anyway, she managed to get him a dorm without a roommate, so it wasn't too bad, if a bit small. He'd met his physical therapist at the hospital already. She was there to teach him how to use the crutches - Sirius was adamant he didn't want the wheelchair, and she'd told him it was best he started on crutches rather than worked his way up to it.

Sirius rarely got winded playing soccer or doing sprints for gym class, but after a few trips up and down the stairs with crutches, his only working leg was trembling and wobbly, his whole body was sweating, and his lungs were crying out for a break.

His cast had just been taken off, and Sirius hadn't dared to put even a little bit of pressure on his leg. According to Christie, his physical therapist, the hard part was just starting.

But ten minutes in, all she was doing was moving his ankle back and forth and slowly bending her knee. That was all she was doing - and yet, the pain rendered Sirius unable to speak. Every time she noticed, she took a quick break. He was warned that it would be painful, but still, he hadn't felt prepared. He'd long since grown used to the constant throbbing, but he'd been able to tune that out. This was sharp, jabbing pain.

He breathed in, out, in, out, trying to focus on the sound of his breathing instead of the pain. The other patients at the clinic disappeared. Only his breathing and the pain and - Remus? Remus. Standing at the door and slowly walking in. He'd been Sirius' shadow practically since the accident, and Sirius couldn't say he minded. But usually, he let him do the physical therapy stuff alone.

Soon enough, Remus spotted him and walked over to where Sirius was sitting, trying to control his face - which was a mix of bewilderment and concern. Suddenly, Sirius was acutely aware of how he must have looked. He was sweaty all over, and he was biting his bottom lip to keep from crying out in pain.

"What are you doing here?" he breathed out, and Remus blinked as if shaking himself out of a reverie.

"You've got a philosophy test Friday."

"What? Remus, you don't have to stay."

"C'mon, I thought we had a deal." Out of the corner of Sirius' eye, he saw Remus smiling. "I'm not getting paid for nothing, am I? Actually I'm not getting paid at all anymore-"

"What?" Sirius said, finding his breath again. "Why not?"

"I talked to Dean Russell and told her we were through with the whole tutoring thing now that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, we've talked about it. She wasn't happy." There was a pause. "Seriously, you're off the hook, go."

Then, Remus smiled, and Sirius swore it felt like a goddamned miracle. He felt the pain subside a little. "Will you come off it? I'm not your tutor anymore. I'm your… friend. And friends help each other when they need it. You came through for me, now it's my turn. And we're meant to discuss opinion and truth today."

Christie bent his leg again, and Sirius managed a nod, finding the pain taking his breath away again. There was a long silence and Sirius didn't look at Remus.

"But, you know what? We have some time for that, and you're pretty solid on philosophy so maybe I'll just… keep you company." Sirius felt a smile playing at his lips. He knew what was left unsaid. Remus let him know that he wasn't going to have to go through this alone, and that thought almost made the pain bearable.