Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter; I've tried to be quick with this one and I don't think I've done too badly (especially as yesterday I got my exam results! And celebrated, of course.) For the benefit of this story, Godric's Hollow is a quaint little village.

Chapter Nine

It was four O'clock in the morning and Sirius, Remus, John, James and Lily were sitting around the table, drinking butter beer and eating hot toast, in the kitchen of the house James and Lily had recently bought in Godric's Hollow. The rain drummed against the kitchen window so fiercely that Sirius half expected the glass to shatter.

"Just when we thought life was looking up," said Remus miserably. "The flat had to be on fire."

"If I ever get my hands on-" threatened James. Lily shushed him.

"Look on the bright side, Remus," Sirius said. "Things definitely can't get any worse!"

"Well, actually..." Lily began. She shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Remus."

"Oh God."

Remus settled his head in his hands as Lily told the story of how she had been concerned about Remus losing his job at the muggle library and so had gone along to offer to help out in his stead.

"And?"

"The filing system was so complicated and the librarian's handwriting was so difficult and I don't know a lot about books and it's been so long since I spoke on a telephone..."

"And?" asked Remus, fearing the answer.

"I placed an order for 100 copies of 'Crime and Punishment'."

Remus groaned. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, then went silent.

"I'm fired, aren't I?" Remus said.

That night they slept on James' sofa. John had been given the camp bed in the nursery upstairs (painted with blue and pink stripes because James thought the unborn child was a boy but Lily was rather hoping for a girl). It was freezing downstairs in the sitting room, although that was not the real reason why Sirius and Remus clung to one another so closely.

"Are you really upset about the flat?" Sirius asked, as Remus was just on the brink of sleep.

"Don't give a damn," said Remus. "Home isn't a place; it's the people in it."

"True."

Remus was lying on Sirius' arm. His weight had left the arm numb but Sirius didn't care. He pulled Remus even nearer to him as the clock above the mantlepiece struck five.

"I love you too, you know," said Remus after ten more minutes had passed in silence.

"I am glad."

Remus felt himself begin to drift off. The stress of the previous day had taken its toll on him. "I'll tell you what I do know," whispered Sirius after a while. He too sounded tired.

"What?"

"It's bloody cold in here."

"Go to sleep, Sirius," Remus growled.

The clock struck quarter past five; the lovers slept.

The following morning dawned absurdly bright and fine after the recent rain. Sirius and James were the only people in the house up at nine O'clock; they ate a leisurely breakfast of sausage and bacon together and talked over the recent events.

"You made a damn fine woman!" Sirius complimented James.

James was quick to reply. "Mention that again, Sirius, and you'll have my wand up your arse!" He looked suddenly downhearted as he realised the wand he had owned since he started Hogwarts was broken.

"I'm sorry," said Sirius.

James shrugged away the apology. "You two are more than worth the loss of a wand," he said. "I wonder where Orion is now..."

"In a gutter if there's any justice in this world."

The two men fell silent.

"Do you know where I can find a cheap house to rent?" asked Sirius eventually.

"There is... No.. No, you wouldn't like it."

"What?"

"Well, if you follow the main road through Godric's Hollow to the South and then take the first left turning..."

And that was how Sirius first heard about Oak Tree Cottage.

They set off to see the cottage that very afternoon. The sky was pale blue, only punctuated by cotton candy clouds. Godric's Hollow was a small village with just twenty houses, a shop and a church that dated from 1587. The place was surrounded by woods to three sides but lay open to the South.

"James asked me to get some milk." Remus excused himself as they walked through the village.

Two minutes later he emerged from the corner shop, milk in hand, to find Sirius standing across the road talking to an old man. Sirius grinned and waved.

"I shot down five of the buggers," the old man was saying to Sirius as Remus approached. "And the Kaiser had a withered arm, you know?"

"Fascinating," Sirius said. He introduced Remus as his 'particular friend'.

"How do you do," said Remus.

The old man looked at Sirius and then at Remus suspiciously. Then a broad smile spread across his wrinkled face. "I say, are you two pansies?"

Remus looked blankly at Sirius. "Flowers?" he mouthed.

Sirius, however, seemed to understand. "Yes, I rather believe we are." He winked at Remus. "And unashamed."

"Jolly interesting," said the old man. His broad smile had softened slightly and become wistful. "I used to have a friend who was a pansy."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. He was a jolly nice chap; he fell in love with a young Italian called Giorgio- he deserted the army, you know. I haven't seen him since."

"And when was this?" asked Sirius politely.

The old man frowned. It made his skin look like crumpled cardboard. "Now let me see," he said. "I sometimes forget dates."

"No matter," Sirius said dismissively.

"No! No. Just a moment. Ah yes! Tuesday 3rd January 1916 he deserted."

Remus had to suppress a laugh. Sirius just smiled.

"I suppose you want to be off now, Giorgio," said the old man addressing him.

"It's Sirius."

"Of course. I don't suppose you want to see my medals?" The old man looked vaguely hopeful.

"Another time, perhaps," said Sirius. They shook hands and the old man expressed his pleasure at having met 'Giorgio'.

They were walked the two miles from the village to the cottage. The going was easy enough: they had followed a winding country lane for the first mile and three quarters and had now turned off along a dirt track to their left.

"He was completely bonkers," Sirius said. "I liked him."

"So we're pansies, are we?" asked Remus. "I honestly didn't know what he was referring to."

"Sure you didn't," Sirius teased.

The dirt road turned sharply to their right and the cottage lay before them. It was the sort of place that Remus had always believed existed only in fairy tales. It was shaped like a perfect box and had a thatched roof. The walls (although they could see little of them) were made of sand-coloured stone; three of them were coated in ivy, against the other lay a piece of trellis with climbing roses crawling up it. The windows were tiny and the white paint on the front door was peeling. A huge oak tree overhung the entire cottage.

"This whole place is bonkers," said Sirius. "I think I'm in love."

"We can't afford it," said Remus looking at the cottage dubiously. On closer inslection it appeared to be in a state of extreme dilapidation.

"It can't be that expensive," said Sirius. "No electricity. No running water. No heating. I bet it's cheap! And we're wizards so it's not exactly as if we need any of that stuff anyway."

"But running water!" cried Remus.

"There's a stream round the back. Let's go and look."

Sirius loved the stream as much as he loved the cottage. He took off his shoes, rolled up James' trousers and waded in. "It's perfect!" He kicked out and sprayed Remus with icy water.

"Your heart's really set on this, isn't it?" asked Remus.

Sirius stopped splashing and nodded.

"Then we'll find a way."

They borrowed money off James and off John, although neither of the two could really afford to lend any. The vast majority of the money went towards the deposit on the cottage's rent and the rest bought a new wand for Sirius (who was now to sit his practical Stealth exam in under a week).

Two days later they moved in.

As to how they would survive without Remus earning his librarian's wage, Sirius had a cunning plan. He was so charming with the villagers that he soon wangled invitations to three dinner parties, a cheese and wine supper and a cocktail party. With only one set of clothing each they spent the days wearing various gigantic shirts that James had leant them, while Remus washed their own clothes in preparation for the evening out and for the one day that Sirius had to apparante for a lecture at the auror headquarters.

Sirius repeatedly thanked God that he had been wearing his most seductive clothes when the flat was set on fire; this annoyed Remus who had been dressed for a day stacking shelves in a muggle library.

On their third day of living in the Oak Tree Cottage, they attended the cheese and wine evening at the local vicarage. "God knows how you befriended a vicar," said Remus through a mouth of Stilton.

Sirius drained his fifth glass of wine. "Are you suggesting I'm not godly?"

"Yes," Remus said, moving onto the Wensleydale.

They were interrupted by the vicar, who was so fat and red faced that Remus could only suppose the man lived off cheese and wine. They found themselves promising to attend a church service the next Sunday.

"Today's our one week anniversary as a couple," said Sirius once the vicar had gone to harass another young couple.

"I can't believe it's only been a week," Remus mused. He cut himself a slither of Brie.

Sirius just shrugged. "It's been the longest week of my life!" He poured himself another glass of wine. "Let's drink a toast! To us!"

"And to our penniless life in a fairytale cottage!" There was no bitterness in Remus' voice. He cut himself a chunk of bright orange Cheddar.

"Well, you know what they say... For richer for poorer..."

"We're hardly a married couple, Sirius!"

"All but paper, love," he said. "All but paper..." Sirius he gave Remus one of his most winning smiles (usually reserved for the purpose of gaining dinner invitations). "I'm sick of this place. Let's go."

He dragged Remus away, ignoring his protestations. "If you eat any more cheese you'll get fat!" he said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. Once outside the vicarage he started laughing hysterically. His eyes were glittering.

"You're drunk!" Remus said accusingly.

Sirius stopped laughing. "Drunk on happiness, maybe," he replied. He swung one of his arms round in a wide arc, gesturing at the velvet sky with its pinpricks of stars. "You know what?" he asked.

"What?"

"I sometimes think we're all made of stars!"

Remus shook his head. "You're a stupid sod," he said affectionatly.

And this remark just started Sirius laughing again. "That's why you love me!"

And it evidently was love that made Remus Lupin pull Sirius Black towards him, kiss him fiercely, push him up against the vicarage wall, kiss him some more, then drag his more-than-willing lover to the nearest empty meadow and make love to him under the stars.

And Sirius, if he'd had the chance to speak, might well have said that the past week -as well as being the longest and most stressful- was also the best week of his life.

The ending was rather good, anyway.