Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish it was.

Author's Note: I'm so, so sorry that I've taken such a ridiculously long time to update. When May started, I had to devote all of my free time to a very large school project, and after that, I had exams. I've also been busy with a lot of different things this summer, so I didn't have any time to write. It really didn't help that I had a bad case of writer's block either. Again, I'm terribly sorry you all had to wait so long for this chapter. I really hope it's worth the wait!

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Sirius opened his eyes blearily and peered around a room that wasn't his own. Only once he became aware of a strong arm wrapped protectively across his waist and the wonderfully familiar scent of its owner did his whereabouts and last night's events flood back to him. Sirius couldn't help but grin stupidly into the pillow when he recalled the feel of Remus' lips upon his own.

He flipped over to his other side, carefully, so as not to wake the other boy, and gazed into Remus' peaceful sleeping face. All the pent up desire and hopeless longing Sirius had experienced while watching Remus sleep the other night was replaced by comfort, serenity, and an inexpressible happiness that made Sirius feel as though butterflies where fluttering in his abdomen. He leaned forward slightly to place a chaste kiss on Remus' lips.

Remus' eyes fluttered open and he grinned slightly. "I could definitely get used to waking up like that every morning. I'd take you over an alarm clock any day," mumbled Remus sleepily.

"Personally, I'd love to be your daily wake-up service, except I don't think your mom would be too keen on that idea," said Sirius, sleep evident in his voice also. "Mind if I go take a shower?"

"Sure, go ahead, first door on the right. I'm gonna sleep a bit longer," said Remus, closing his eyes again. Sirius, not capable of restraining himself now that they were together, kissed Remus once more before exiting the bedroom.

While he showered, he couldn't refrain from grinning slightly as he analyzed the previous evening. A nagging little voice in the back of his mind told him that he had acted out of pure weakness and would be reaping the consequences very soon. But this was drowned by a much louder voice that kept triumphantly screaming I'm with Remus! over and over again like a broken record.

This bliss was instantly marred, however, as soon as Sirius pushed back the shower curtains and stepped out of the tub with a towel around his waist. The sudden sensation that he experienced was much like being kicked hard in the stomach. Feeling completely winded, he stared wide-eyed through the steam at the mirror.

Quite like the first message he had received from David, this new one was also etched in condensation, as though scrawled by a single finger. Unwillingly, Sirius stepped forward so as to read the words more clearly:

You can't escape me.

Sirius continued to stare at the mirror, dumbfounded, as several more minutes crept by. He was only shaken from his trance by a resounding knock on the bathroom door, followed immediately by Remus' calm voice.

"Sirius, when you're done in there, come out to the kitchen. My mom made pancakes," he called.

"Okay, I'll be out in a bit," replied Sirius. He was surprised to hear his voice come out sounding dry and cracked.

"Sweetie, are you alright? You sound kind of funny," said Remus, his voice noticeably less calm now.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go have some breakfast, I'll be out there in a minute," said Sirius, hastily clearing his throat. He did feel slightly more cheerful, however, upon hearing the pet name from Remus.

"Okay, if you're sure."

Sirius, still staring at the fading message on the mirror, listened to Remus' footsteps retreat in to the kitchen. He hated lying to the boy, but he didn't want to tell him until he had mulled it over by himself first.

Nobody but the ghost could have etched that message on the mirror, Sirius was sure of it. The door to the bathroom creaked loudly when opened and shut, and if someone had entered through it, he would certainly have heard. Even if he had somehow been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard the door and someone had, in fact, entered, he sincerely doubted that anyone in this house, especially Remus, would be so cruel as to make the inscription.

Sirius was also equally sure that had he spotted a message like that in his own bathroom at home it would not be such a shocking occurrence, as he had grown accustomed to expecting things like this at the manor. No, what shocked Sirius the most was that David's spirit was so hell-bent on making contact with him that it had strayed from the property of the Wellington Manor to make sure that Sirius knew that it wouldn't leave him alone until Sirius fully understood what it was trying to tell him.

This troubled Sirius very much. He believed unquestionably that he would be rid of the ghost during the times he was off the manor's grounds. He recalled briefly the fully encompassing feeling of safety he had felt sleeping in Remus' arms, how he felt that as long as he was in Remus' house, the spirit couldn't touch him. How woefully wrong he had been about that. At least one thing was certain; he would never feel that sense of safety again if he didn't figure out whatever the hell it was that the damn ghost wanted him to figure out. Sirius also wondered, with another pang of misery, how it would be if he never figured out the ghost's secret and he was plagued by the spirit for the rest of his life. He had never, up until this moment, wanted so badly to discover the secret that David Wellington had kept hidden during his life and wanted to divulge now in his death.

Sirius eventually tore his eyes away from the mirror, the note written upon it now almost entirely faded. He changed into fresh clothes with slightly fumbling fingers and then made his way out to the kitchen, from which he could smell cooking sausages.

When he entered, he observed Remus sitting at the kitchen table, absorbed in an article from The Wellington Daily Prophet and Karen tipping a sizzling pan of sausage links on to a plate.

"Good morning, Sirius! Sleep well?" said Karen kindly after she'd set the frying pan in the sink.

"Very well, thank you," said Sirius, smiling back at her as he sat down next to Remus, who was folding up the newspaper.

"I went in to check on you boys about five minutes after you'd gone to Remus' room, you know, just to make sure you two weren't doing anything…um…inappropriate. Well, I was so surprised, I don't think I've ever seen anyone fall asleep quite that fast before," said Karen conversationally as she started scrubbing out the pan. "I was going to move Sirius in to the guest room, but you both looked so peaceful where you were, I didn't have the heart to wake you. But that's the last time, I'm sorry. Sirius, I love having you here, but now that you and Remus are involved, I just can't let you sleep over here anymore. You can understand that, can't you? I mean, I'm sure your mother would feel the same."

At this last remark, Sirius snorted in to his orange juice. "That's an understatement. If my mother found out I was with Remus, let alone gay, she'd inform me of the enormous shame I'd brought upon our family, disown me and then go in to a state of permanent shock. I don't even want to imagine my father's reaction, which I'm guessing might be a bit more violent."

Karen looked scandalized. "What kind of people could do that to their own son? Personally, I can't even imagine a circumstance under which I could disown Remus!"

"What if I organized and carried out a mass genocide and blew up the entire state of Massachusetts?" responded Remus dryly.

"I'd still love you with all my heart," said Karen lightly, kissing Remus on his head and then heading to the door leading to the back yard. "I'm going to go water the plants and check that Anna hasn't wandered off into the woods again. If you two need anything, just holler."

The instant she closed the door, Remus said, "So, are you going to tell me what was going on earlier or am I going to have to pry it out of you?"

"You don't have to pry anything out of me, I was planning on telling you anyway," said Sirius defensively, somewhat taken aback by the abruptness of the question. He told Remus all about the threatening inscription on the mirror and his concerns about what it might mean.

"Well, I have heard of ghosts that latch on to people instead of a dwelling, so it's not completely unheard of," said Remus rationally, though Sirius could tell he was deeply unsettled by the occurrence. "But I think you're right, the only way to get rid of it is to find out what it wants. With any luck, we'll have it figured out by the time we have to present our research to the class. How 'bout we head over to the library after school tomorrow and get some research done, does that sound good?"

"Yeah, let's do that," said Sirius, pleased that Remus was able to take a rational view on the matter instead of panicking. It felt nice to Sirius that he had someone he could rely on.

After they finished with breakfast, Sirius helped Remus with the dishes. Once they completed the task, Sirius backed Remus against the sink and they started to kiss rather aggressively, Remus' hands wandering under Sirius' shirt and across his back, Sirius' hands moving through Remus' honey locks.

Remus pulled back after several breathless minutes and said, "Either my presence is making you exceptionally excited or your phone's on vibrate."

"What? Oh, right…" Sirius rummaged in his jeans' pocket until he withdrew his cell phone, which was, indeed, vibrating. He read the caller ID and snorted, but answered the phone, nevertheless. "What the hell do want Reg?"

"What's wrong with you? You're breathing like you just ran ten miles," said Regulus, sounding slightly curious.

"I had to run to get my phone," lied Sirius. Remus was biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"You'd better get your ass over here quick, mom's having a shit fit," said Regulus, who seemed thoroughly unconcerned. "You were supposed to be here half an hour ago to have your suit tailored for the family party two weeks from now."

"Fuck!" exclaimed Sirius, slapping himself on the forehead. "I completely forgot! Tell mom not to have an aneurism, I'll be there in five minutes." He hung up the phone, feeling extremely morose. "I've gotta go."

"This completely sucks," said Remus, looking put out, "I was looking forward to making out with you on the couch for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, me, too. I'll see you later. Tell your mom thanks for me," said Sirius, kissing Remus one last time before he collected his things and headed out the door.

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"Where the hell have you been?! I've told you over two weeks ago that our tailor was coming to the house today to get your suit ready for our party!" shrieked Rose Black from the top of the stairway the moment Sirius had set foot inside the entrance hall. Her eyes were bulging slightly in their sockets; the effect was somewhat unsettling.

"Exactly, so I've had over two weeks to forget the tailor was coming," said Sirius exasperatedly. "I was at a friend's house, calm down. It's not like I've been smoking weed all morning like dear Regulus has undoubtedly been doing."

Rose ignored the last remark and called, "Just come up to your room so Madam Malkin can take your measurements."

"Madam Malkin? What happened to Greg?" asked Sirius perplexedly as he joined his mother at the top of the staircase.

"I heard from my dear friend Sophia that Greg is a," she cringed at the next word as though she detested the very idea of it, "queer. I didn't think it prudent to subject my sons to that sort of trash."

Sirius didn't know quite how to respond to this so he simply fell silent. He had always liked Greg, he was very funny and kind, not to mention he made the best suits Sirius had ever owned. He marveled inwardly at how dim his mother actually was not to have picked up on Greg's homosexuality at the get go, seeing as he had the gayest lisp Sirius had ever heard. He could hardly believe that she had stooped so low as to fire him because of it, though, the stone-cold bitch. He wondered how much worse she would take it when, or if, she found out about his own sexual preference. He decided to put it from his mind. Sirius just hoped that this Madam Malkin was up to the task of withstanding his mother's constant nagging.

It turned out, however, she wasn't. Mrs. Black's steady flow of criticism was making Madam Malkin so nervous and twitchy that she kept accidentally poking Sirius with her pins. After a particularly painful jab on his leg, Sirius swore so loudly that a surprised Madam Malkin sent pins rolling all over across the floor. Not bothering to retrieve them all, she grabbed her things and left quickly once she had finished.

Once Madam Malkin and his mother had exited his room, Sirius started searching for and picking up the pins scattered across his floor. He thought that he had seen some go under his armoire. When he had managed to tug the heavy piece of furniture from the wall, however, he saw something that drove the pins clear from his mind.

Etched in to the polished dark surface of the wood, in the back on the top left-hand corner, was a pair of initials:

D. N. W.

&

R. S. S.

Forever

As soon as Sirius had gotten over the initial shock of finding yet another unexpected inscription that day, he retrieved his digital camera from his desk. Once he had snapped a few photographs of the initials, he uploaded them to his laptop. He sent the pictures to Remus along with a hurriedly written explanation.

When his cell phone rang at 9:30 that night, Sirius knew it was Remus calling to talk about Sirius' discovery.

After they exchanged greetings, Remus said, "That's so amazing, I can't believe you found that! If that really was David who carved that into the wood, we know that he actually was in love with Rebecca. Do you think he's the one who wrote it?"

"Without a doubt," replied Sirius, "The way he forms his W's is a dead giveaway. Of course I'm comparing it with messages that no longer exist, so if we're going to introduce this in our presentation, we'll have to have more research to back it up."

"Definitely. We'll do some work on that after school tomorrow. Well, I have to go, my dad's calling me. I wish you were here to kiss me goodnight," said Remus quietly.

"Me too. I guess I'll just have to give you your goodnight kiss tomorrow instead. G'night, Rem," Sirius spoke in to the phone.

"G'night, Sirius," said Remus and then hung up.

As Sirius lay in bed, waiting for sleep to claim him, he wished vaguely that he had asked Remus what is middle name was and made a mental note to ask him the next day.

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Author's Note: So there you have it, I hope it was enjoyable! I'll have the next chapter up sometime next week.