A/N: First off - 100+ reviews! Wow. Thank you everyone so much for supporting this story, you are all simply amazing human beings. Second thing, this chapter is shorter than my usual ones because I thought you'd rather I update sooner rather than later, and this seemed like a good place to end this particular part of the story. That said, don't be surprised if the next chapter takes a while, uni has started again and my professors seem insistent on piling on even more work than before. Ugh. Don't worry, though, I will never abandon this story.

The day was turning out worse than Remus had predicted. It had firstly been the date that Tonks had set for them to properly 'go over the details', as she said, of their separation. She had arranged to come for lunch at noon (ironic, he'd thought, since she'd so often missed meals when they were together anyway) and had, surprisingly, showed up on time.

They'd gone over the details. Teddy would spend one week with Tonks, and then one week with Remus. Tonks already had Teddy this week, so that meant Remus would have his son the next. Since Teddy was still too young to attend any sort of school, they'd decided to put off the decision on what to do about that until later.

Tonks would also get Teddy at every full moon night, regardless of whose week it was.

It was the fairest arrangement they could come up with. Remus hated pitching his son back and forth like a volleyball, but he and Tonks couldn't agree on any other way. And in the end, the meeting had been mostly amiable. Tonks had even laughed a little, squeezed his hand briefly – not an I-love-you squeeze, but a we're-fine squeeze. She had let go quickly, but he'd gotten the message.

She had just been about to leave. If she'd left five minutes earlier, even, things might have been different. But she didn't. And just as she stood up, thanking Remus for lunch (he'd made spaghetti, again), out of nowhere came Harry's Patronus, galloping towards him, tossing its antlers. He was reminded again, briefly, just how similar to James' Animagus form it was, when it opened its mouth and Harry's voice, which sounded slightly anxious and exasperated at the same time, came blaring through:

"Remus, Sirius needs to come back to Grimmauld Place. We have an urgent matter to discuss with him."

Message delivered, the Patronus turned and trotted away into thin air, oblivious to the sudden silence that had descended over the room.

The kitchen seemed to have been suspended in time for a moment. Panic raced through him as several realizations hit him all at once: 1) that Harry's message about Sirius had been delivered directly in front of Tonks, 2) he was going to have to tell Tonks about Sirius, 3) Harry was under the impression that Sirius was at Remus's house, and 4) Sirius was most definitely not here.

The silence stretched on. Unable to look up, afraid of what he might see on Tonks's face, Remus turned his back on her and reached for the coffee pot, gripping the handle as he tried to think.

"Remus?" he heard her ask tentatively. "Did… did Harry say Sirius?"

He clenched the coffee pot harder. "Er, did he?"

Good one, Lupin.

He felt her edging nearer. "I'm pretty sure he did."

There was a crack; Remus looked down in astonishment to see the previously complete handle of the coffee pot broken neatly in half.

Right then.

Taking in a deep breath, he dropped the broken pieces onto the counter, brushed his hands, and turned around to face Tonks. "Okay," he said. "Okay. Just listen, Dora, and please don't jump to conclusions. Yes, Harry did say Sirius. He's… back from the Veil."

Tonks blinked at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. Then she flashed him a smile that surprised him with its warmth. "But that's great! So he's alive again?"

"Well, yes," Remus said slowly.

"But how is that possible?"

It dawned on him then that he had never really interrogated Sirius on the subject, and that he couldn't actually properly answer her question. An idiot, Lupin, that's what you are. A big bloody fool. "I… I'm not sure."

Now Tonks was frowning. "What? How can you not be sure? You mean you didn't bring him back?"

Wordlessly, Remus shook his head.

Tonks stared. "That's not right," she said sharply. "There's something wrong here. For people to come back from the Veil they need to use Dark magic."

He stared at the tiled floor. "I know."

"You—" Tonks broke off, took a breath, and started again. "You should have told me, Remus. Or at least an Auror. We should have been alerted, this could be the work of another Dark Lord—"

"That's not possible," he said, heart pounding. "And Harry's an Auror," he added, though he knew that argument held about as much water as a desert.

"Harry's an Auror in training, and surely you can see that he's not impersonal to this situation!" She had slipped completely into her Auror mask, and was gathering her things briskly. "I have to go and tell Kingsley. The Ministry should know. We have to get Sirius and talk to him about this."

It took a full thirty seconds for the implications of her words to sink in. Tell Kingsley… the Ministry… get Sirius…

He lurched himself after her, catching up to her just as she reached his front door. "Dora, wait!" He said, wildly grabbing her arm. "Just wait. Look. Please don't tell anyone else just yet, all right? I'm sure Harry, Ron and Hermione are looking into this already. I know for a fact that Harry's told Minerva, which in all likelihood means Dumbledore also knows, and that's the best help we could hope for, I mean if there's anyone who could—" He stopped, realizing that he had started rambling.

Tonks regarded him. She glanced down at his hand on her arm, then back up to meet his eyes. "What did you mean before?" She asked.

Caught off guard, Remus blinked. "Huh?"

"When you said 'don't jump to conclusions'. What did you mean?"

Remus thought back to what he had said and silently cursed himself.

"I just—I just meant…" he said weakly, knowing he had absolutely no idea how to finish the sentence.

Tonks' gaze was steady. "You meant, don't jump to the conclusion that he is the reason for our marriage failing, didn't you?"

Remus didn't answer.

"How long as he been back?"

Silently, Remus cursed Harry for his untimely Patronus.

"Remus?"

"About three months now," he said, resigned.

Tonks watched him for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was surprisingly gentle. "I'm not going to assume anything, Remus," she said. "But maybe you should."

Before he could ask her what that meant, she had already continued, reverting back to a business-like manner. "I won't say anything yet, alright? I'll wait until you find him, at least." Carefully, she worked to prise his fingers from her arm.

"Until I…?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Unless you've actually hidden him in one of your rooms while we've been talking in the kitchen, I think Harry's message means that he's missing. Am I wrong?"

"Fuck," he said out loud.

Tonks turned back towards the front door. "Good luck, Remus. If you need help…" She hesitated for only a small fraction of a second, "Just ask." Giving him a tiny smile, she walked out of his house and he watched her Disapparate.

He hurried back inside for his wand and to send a message back to Harry. Then, he wandered around his kitchen for a while, absentmindedly sweeping the broken coffee pot into the trash. When no response came from Harry after half an hour of pacing, he decided that help was needed. He threw on his coat, for once grateful that Teddy wasn't currently under his custody, and without a second thought turned rapidly on the spot.

###

Sirius had, in fact, gone to Remus's. At first.

He'd wanted to use the advantage of surprise to corner the werewolf and force him into a proper talk. Perhaps, he admitted to himself, he'd also wanted to do a little more than talking.

But when he'd gotten there, just as he'd raised his hand to knock, he caught sight of movement through one of the windows – a blur of pink hair and white skirt. Marauder instinct kicked in and before he could stop himself he found himself crouching below the frame and peering inside.

It was Tonks, chatting with Remus in the kitchen. He watched as she smiled, laid a hand gently on Remus's. Saw Remus flash a smile in return.

He'd walked away, feeling familiar pricks of jealousy stabbing at him. But it was more than jealousy: seeing them together for the first time had made him realize that Remus had an entire life that did not include him. It rammed home the fact that neither of them were in Hogwarts anymore, and that they were no longer fighting a war – they were both grown-ups leading everyday, regular lives. Remus had a wife and a son. A family. A stage that he and Remus had never gotten to.

He said they'd separated.

Reminding himself that the conversation could be completely innocent, Sirius stopped in his tracks and half turned.

There was a flash and a muted pop, then suddenly two black robed figures were standing in front of him. Sirius had no trouble recognizing either of them, even though they were both supposed to be dead. But then, so was he.

"Pettigrew," he snarled. He looked at the other, and an even stronger burst of hatred flared up. "You."

"Finally got you, Black," said Fenrir Greyback, looking completely nonplussed at the loathing that was emitting from Sirius's entire body. He grinned, baring two rows of yellow teeth. "Your bloody godson has set up some rather excellent protection charms at your old place, know that?"

"As he clearly should," Sirius snapped. His fingers reached for his wand, before he remembered that he was unarmed.

The other man was squat and pudgy, but his features were still distinctly rat-like. "You n-need to come with us, Sirius," Pettigrew stuttered.

Sirius sneered. "You're going to have to make me, Wormtail."

He had the satisfaction of watching the other man cower away from him. At least I can still intimidate that traitor of a rat.

Greyback, however, had no such qualms of any kind. The werewolf stepped right in front of Sirius and grabbed his arm in a forceful grip, bearing down on him with gleaming yellow eyes. "That would be my pleasure, Black," he said, and Sirius felt the uncomfortable sensation of Side-Along Apparition as the neighborhood around him blurred and vanished.

Hidden in the shadows, a lean man with pale blond hair stepped forward, his usual haughty disposition creased with thought. After a moment, Draco Malfoy too Disapparated.

###

"But where the hell could he have gone?!" Harry exploded for what seemed like the fiftieth time, pacing around the circumference of the kitchen and staring in exasperation at the occupants in the room.

Ron had buried his face in his arms so that only his red hair was showing. Under the glow of the setting sun, it almost seemed to be on fire. Beside him, Hermione was frowning, staring at the table.

Sirius had been officially missing for the entire afternoon.

They'd checked everywhere they could think of. Hogwarts. Godric's Hollow. Hermione had even Apparated into the Department of Mysteries to the Veil, just to make sure. There was no sign of his godfather.

Agitated, he kicked at a kitchen chair and it toppled.

"And where the hell is Remus?" He added. He had, in a futile attempt, gone around to Remus's in case his old professor had decided to secret some hours away with Sirius alone, but Sirius definitely had not been there. Neither, for that matter, had Remus.

Hermione looked anxious. "You don't think he's gone and done something stupid, do you?"

"He's our old DADA teacher," Ron said, lifting his head from his arms. "He wouldn't."

"But we're talking about Sirius." Hermione exchanged a glance with Harry.

Harry didn't reply. The impending feeling that something was very, very wrong had only grown since the afternoon. Something was definitely not right.

He suddenly realized Hermione was still talking.

"…we might have to call in reinforcements if he doesn't show up by tonight."

Reinforcements. Harry frowned. "We can't contact the DA about this, they'll think we're nuts. And besides, we've lost touch with—"

"Not Dumbledore's Army, Harry," Hermione said impatiently. "We're not at Hogwarts anymore. Although who I'm referring to is actually still at Hogwarts—"

His mind clicked. "McGonagall!" He almost shouted. He didn't ever remember feeling such relief in saying his old professor's name before. "I forgot we told her. This is brilliant, she'll know how to find him."

He pulled on his jacket hurriedly, heading towards the front door. He could hear Ron and Hermione scrambling to catch up. Yanking the front door open, he almost tripped over a person who had been sitting on the front porch, leaning against the door he had just pulled back. His heart sank a little when he realized who it was.

"Ginny?" He said, and then remembered.

Oh bollocks. Our date.

Ginny stood up, brushing off her jeans, and faced him with her arms crossed, a determined look on her face. He knew that expression, and his heart sank even further down to his toes.

"Look," he said, knowing it was far too late but not knowing what else to do, "I'm really sorry about missing our lunch, something came—"

"Three hours," she interrupted. "I sat in that café waiting for three hours, Harry. Everyone in there knew I'd been stood up. What? What could possibly have come up that made you completely forget about our date?"

Damn, damn, damn.

She pinned him with a steely glare. "You're not going to get away with some vague explanation here, Harry. I want to know what came up. Exactly."

He had to get to Hogwarts, the sooner the better. Sirius could be in danger. He looked back at Ron and Hermione desperately.

"It's a bit of a long story—"

"I have time," she said, voice like steel. "What came up?"

His brain was working into overdrive but coming up blank. It was Ron who finally answered. "Not what, Gin. Who."

Now she looked confused. "Who came?"

Harry twisted around to stare at Ron, widening his eyes desperately to try and convey his message. He couldn't possibly be thinking about—

"Malfoy," Ron said, giving the name an appropriate sneer. "As in Draco Malfoy. He decided to pay Harry a visit. Found out we had some old textbook of his that we never returned and threw a hissy fit about it. The git's always been a bit uptight about his stuff."

Harry could almost feel the surprise radiating off from Hermione. Silently, he thanked Merlin for having given him Ron Weasley as his best friend.

Ginny was staring at her brother in disbelief. "Draco Malfoy came here?"

"Yep," said Ron, bobbing his head up and down. "Bloody ferret just can't leave us alone, even after the war."

There was a momentary pause. Feeling incredibly jittery, Harry had the overwhelming urge to stamp his feet in frustration. Instead, he held back for a minute, then said tentatively, "I'm really sorry about missing our date, Gin."

She studied him, looking slightly thoughtful, which confused him a little.

He cleared his throat. "But, er, see, I'm in a little bit of a hurry…" He braced himself for a fresh wave of furious ranting.

Instead, Ginny stepped aside wordlessly and gestured for him to continue walking. He looked at her, surprise, then back at Ron, who shrugged and mouthed 'women'.

Seizing the opportunity, Harry shot his girlfriend a grin, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried past her. He heard Ron and Hermione following close behind.

Once out on the pavement, he cast a quick glance around, then gave a nod to his best friends. Together, with a familiar pop, they disappeared.

I can't seem to stop myself with the cliffhangers. Please don't hate me. I'm trying to build up to the climax here.

People! I have such exciting things coming up, regarding Remus & Sirius and in terms of actual plot (though I have a feeling people care more about the former than the latter, which I understand completely). So please review, and I'll update as soon as I can!