Dawn

Sirius had never thought that he could cry like that. Not after his time in Azkaban, he had always thought that his imprisonment there had taken away his ability to get lost in tears and sobs, his ability to feel such a deep pain and hurt.

But he still could do it, he had done so for hours now. He only wished that there was no reason to do so.

"Don't cry…"

The words had been barely more than a whisper but Sirius immediately turned around towards Harry. His godson was still lying in bed, obviously sleeping. Reality struck Sirius and he turned back towards Remus. It couldn't be, could it?

Remus' eyelids fluttered and his lips moved.

"Moony? Can you hear me?"

Remus produced a weak smile and slowly opened his eyes.

"Yes Padfoot…can hear you. Your sobbing…would have…woken the dead."

A wave of relief shot through Sirius.

"Don't talk too much. You need rest. I'll go and get Madam Pomfrey."

He stood up and ran towards the nurse's office who gave him a killing look. But as he told her why he was running around in the infirmary she smiled and went to her patient. She examined him carefully and then turned towards Sirius, relief in her eyes.

"He's weak and he needs to rest, but he's fine. The physical wounds will heal and he seems to have his mind together, well at least as much as he had when he still was at school with the other three of you. He'll be fine, it will take some time but he'll be fine. I'll send one of the ghosts to tell Professor Snape."

She went off and Sirius sat down beside Remus, once again taking his hand into his own.

"What's wrong with Harry? Why is he lying there?"

"Shhh. Don't panic. He's just exhausted so I told him to sleep. I'll tell you later." He looked into Remus' eyes and suddenly it all flooded out of him.

"Oh Merlin, Moony I thought you were dead. Everybody thought. I…I went to your funeral, it…I can't find any words to describe how awful that was. I…I thought I had lost you forever…"

Remus pressed his hand tightly. "I know."

Sirius' eyes widened. "How…?"

"Malfoy was so kind to supply me with the Daily Prophet nearly every day. I've seen the pictures from the funeral. Sirius, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be, it wasn't you fault."

"I mean about what I've said. That day when we were fighting, before they kidnapped me. I shouldn't have said that, I realized that it made things even worse for you. And I really didn't mean it. The thought that you were mourning for me drove me mad. I wanted nothing more than telling you that I'm alive. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, I wanted to hold you, to tell you that everything was all right but I couldn't. I'm so sorry."

Sirius shook his head.

"Don't be. I should have started talking about Azkaban ages ago. That we fought was my fault and not yours.

You're back and you're alive, that's all that matters now. For a couple of hours I was afraid of loosing you again. Loosing you without telling how much you mean to me would have been too much to bear, not once again.

Remus, I…I want you to know that despite how badly we might fight in the future, despite all awful things that I might say to you in the heat of the moment, I love you. You're my friend, you're my brother and I love you. Nothing can change that."

Remus smiled.

"I know. Love you too Padfoot."

Sirius pressed his hand gently.

"Now sleep. Madam Pomfrey will have my head if I keep you awake. We can talk later."

Remus nodded and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep immediately. Sirius smiled and gently stroke his cheek.

Then he closed his eyes and thanked all the gods he knew for bringing Remus back to him.