Remus received another owl the following morning; this time it was a welcome one. It carried an envelope holding two separate pieces of parchment. He fed the owl and opened the first letter. It was from James.

Hey Remus, how are you doing? It's been too long mate, would you fancy coming round to our place soon? My parents have agreed to let me have a few more people around than they normally would, since it's my eighteenth birthday next week. Oh, and Lily says hello. James.

He smiled and moved onto the second letter; this time it was from Sirius.

Hello, my lover! Sorry I haven't written to you lately, The Potters' owl had broken its wing, but we wrote to you as soon as it was healthy enough to fly again. I'm sorry. I've missed you so much. Please come to James' birthday, I'd love you to be there. I'm not sure if he planned on writing to Pettigrew and invited those two (ugh) but I sure as hell hope not. I miss being close to you. Hope you're keeping well, please owl us soon. I love you. Padfoot.

Remus grinned from ear to ear and set to work on replies immediately. He wrote a general response to say that he would be there in three days and thanked James for inviting him, then wrote a separate and private letter to Sirius, explaining that he felt the same; that he wanted to touch him again, too. He opened the window and sent the owl on its way.

"Remus, lunch is ready!" He heard his dad shout up the stairs.

"Coming, dad!" He replied. He tucked his letters under his pillow, closed the window and made his way from the room. When he entered the kitchen, the smell of steam wafted up his nostrils and he saw his mum spooning tomato sauce onto plates of pasta. His favourite. He extended a casual, friendly greeting before sitting himself at the table and waiting for the food to be placed in front of him.

Suddenly an owl he recognised from the school owlery flew through the open window, dropped a letter on the table and left again, pausing only to steal some food from a bowl on the workspace. It was the results from his N.E.W.T.s.

"What did you get?" His dad asked, laying the newspaper he'd been absorbed in down on the table.

"Straight 'Outstanding's!" Remus gasped.

"Oh!" Exclaimed his mum, "well done son!"

"Thanks." They ate in silence.

"Have you told your dad yet?" She suddenly asked, near the end of the meal.

"He heard, surely. When I told you?"

"I don't mean that."

"What do you mean then? Oh." She meant about his sexual preferences. "Mum, is that really necessary?"

"Your dad deserves to know, too."

"I wasn't ready to tell either of you yet!"

"What haven't you told me?" His dad intervened.

"Remus likes boys," stated his mum, plainly.

"What?!" roared his dad. "You are no son of mine! How can you continue the family name if you will never have children?"

"David!" Protested his mum, but it made no difference.

"You stupid werewolf!" Yelled his dad. "Be gone!"

"Might I remind you," Remus pointed out calmly, "that it's your fault I'm a werewolf. You offended Fenrir Greyback. When I was four."

"Be gone!" His dad repeated, returning to his newspaper. Remus looked at his mum for help but none came. She just sat there, staring into space. Hurt, he wolfed down the rest of his food, grabbed his exam results and left the room, trying not to let his tears show.

When he got into his bedroom, he kicked his anger out, making a massive hole in the wall. Not that he cared. He quickly gathered his every last possession and shoved it all into his trunk, not caring that it was a jumbled mess. He had to shrink a few things. Then he lifted up the loose floorboard and extracted the piles of money – both wizard and muggle – which he had accumulated over the years; he placed them in the trunk and used his wand to blast some massive holes in the wall and floor. He heard his mother yell upstairs; demanding to know what was going on. He responded by blasting a hole through the floor into the kitchen and looking down at his parents.

"Bye," he told them, then turned on the spot and was sucked into darkness.

The Potters' house materialised in front of him. He wrapped his wand in its cloth and placed it gently in his trunk. He noticed he was on the first floor. If he remembered rightly, James' room occupied the entire second floor. He took his wand out again.

"Reducio," he muttered a few times. His trunk shrunk to the size of a small briefcase and he placed his wand back within it, picking it up and creeping slowly up the stairs. When he got to the top floor landing, the door was open just a crack. He saw the Potters' owl fly through the window and James and Sirius reading his notes. Quietly he knocked on the door.

"Come in, mum," he heard James say. He suppressed a giggle.

"Oh hello, son," he said as he entered. He placed his trunk in the corner and sat down on Sirius' bed beside him, as offered.

"I thought you were coming on Thursday?" James asked.

"I intended to," Remus told them. "But then... then..." and the tears crashed out of him as he told them the entire story. Sirius put a comforting arm around him and they listened to him talk. When he finished, Sirius embraced him in a full hug and swayed gently. It felt good to be in his soulmate's arms again.

"I'll go get us some drinks," James said. "Would you like anything else?"

"Something to quench my hunger would be nice, thanks," said Sirius, and James left the lovers in peace.

"I hate him!" Remus blubbered. "Why does he judge so?"

"I don't know, love. But I'm here, don't cry. Shhh," Sirius soothed him in a whisper. "My parents would have been the same. I never want to set foot in Grimmauld Place again, either."

"As long as I have you, that's all that matters to me, Sirius," Remus told him. At that moment, an owl flew through the open window and Remus groaned. He recognised it to be the owl of Marlene McKinnon.

The letter it carried contained a long complaint detailing her feelings for him and how she felt betrayed by him, felt like he led her on by inviting her to the dance and that she still accepted his apology for what she called 'this mess'. She also informed him that despite what he said, how could he not love her? He was making a grave mistake but she was ready to accept his apology anyway.

The two boys read the tedious plangent with their heads together. When they had finished, Remus grabbed a quill and on the back of the sheet, he inscribed a reply.

Marlene. I didn't lead you on. YOU asked ME to the dance and I agreed; I didn't promise I'd take things any further. I don't see why you want me to apologise and this is the last time I write to you. Please do not bother to reply as I wish for no further involvement with you. End of story. Hope you find somewhere else to satisfy your undying love, because mine, he added with unspoken, mutual consent from the dark-haired boy, rests with Sirius Orion Black. We love each other and no-one could ever change that. Goodbye Marlene.