Disclaimer: If JKR wishes to murder me for desecration of her marvelous invention, she is probably within her rights do so. Otherwise, let it be known to all and sundry that I didn't invent any of these characters, the story universe, or most of the plot. Carry on.

The phase of the moon has changed again. This phase is called the First Quarter. Do you know what that means? To be a quarter? No, not like the money.

Yes, that's right. It's one fourth, like a half cut in half. Very good. Ah, yes, I know it looks half full, but the moon isn't just two-dimensional...do you know what that means? Ah, very good...it's actually more like a ball. I know you see one half of the moon lit up, but in real life it's only one fourth lit up.

Now, to the story...this one begins a year later, the night of a full moon, after a certain disastrous occasion...what? No, actually it wouldn't make more sense to tell it after the full moon. Because, you see, this is the first big obstacle in a series of horrible events leading up to one big catastrophe...oh, you'll see what the catastrophe is. But that's a story for another night.

Sirius fidgeted in his chair, feeling that this interview couldn't end soon enough. It seemed suddenly hot and stuffy in Dumbledore's office, and the tension in the room was too thick for him. He couldn't lift his head without meeting Dumbledore's piercing, disappointed gaze, and he didn't dare look in James' direction at all. This was it. This was it, for sure. He had gone too far and they were never going to let him go back, and his parents were going to murder him, and he didn't even want to think about what they would do if they found out Remus was a werewolf..

"I have spoken to Master Snape," Dumbledore was saying, "And he as agreed to keep his silence. However, it was very hard for me to extract this promise from him. I will be very frank with you - if you provoke him any more, I highly doubt that he will keep it. Do you understand me?"

Sirius forced himself to look up and nod. He heard James say "Yes, professor" very quietly from his left.

"Sirius."

Dammit. He had to look up again.

"I do not need to tell you how disappointed I am."

"Yes, sir."

"You will have detention with Mr. Filch two nights a week for the rest of the school year."

Sirius stared. He had expected to be expelled. He deserved to be expelled. "You're not going to expel me?"

"And what reason would I give for doing so?"

Sirius tried to imagine his parents' reaction if they found out even a part of the truth behind the matter, and shuddered. "I see, sir."

"That is not the extent of your punishment. You will make a full written apology to Master Snape, which Professor McGonagall will read before delivering it to him."

An apology to Snape. Fantastic. Sirius felt he would rather be hung upside-down by his ankles like Filch was always threatening to do to him.

"You will also," Dumbledore was saying, "Go down to the Hospital Wing in three days and visit Remus."

Sirius had been staring at his hands again, but now he looked up so fast he thought his neck would snap. "No," he whispered. It was the worst possible punishment Dumbledore could have given him. He didn't want to look at Remus for another month at least. He didn't want to know what disappointment would be found there.

"I believe that will be all," Dumbledore said. "You are both dismissed."

"Wait," Sirius said, "Are you going to write to my parents?"

"For once, Master Black, I will not. I believe we should reveal the details of this incident to as few people as possible."

Sirius let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

They had barely left the office when James turned to him with the angriest look he had ever seen. "DAMMIT, Sirius! What the HELL were you thinking?"

"I don't know! I don't think I was thinking!"

"THAT'S obvious! I could kill you right now, I really could!"

"Look, I'm sorry!"

It happened so fast that afterwards, Sirius couldn't have told you how he did it - James reeled back and punched him in the eye, then grabbed his collar and shoved him against the wall. "Sorry? You're SORRY! What the hell good does that do me? What good does it do Remus?"

Sirius tried to answer and choked, so James relaxed his hold and let him go.

"I really am sorry."

"I don't bloody well care if you're sorry. Sorry does me no good."

"Well, then what the hell do you want me to do? Go back in time and not do it?"

James glared at him. "This is NOT funny."

"I know that! I'm sorry!" He didn't know what else to say.

"Don't apologize to me, you dolt. Apologize to Remus." And that was all James said before he turned on his heel and left, leaving Sirius standing alone in the corridor, feeling like dirt.

Sirius had never fully realized the meaning of guilt until the three evenings later, when he made his way to the Hospital Wing to talk to Remus. Just the sight of him lying there, bandaged and bruised and looking like death warmed over, was enough to make him want to swear an oath of priesthood for the rest of his life.

But that wouldn't undo what he'd done, and it wouldn't get Remus to trust him again, so it wasn't worth it.

His throat worked. "Remus," he said quietly.

It seemed like years before Remus' eyes finally opened to look at him. "Sirius," he said, "I didn't think I'd see you here."

"Dumbledore told me I had to," Sirius admitted, knowing that there was no use in making up a white lie.

Remus cracked a smile that looked so painful it was hardly a smile at all. "Wise man, Dumbledore."

"Yeah." Sirius took a deep breath. "How're you holding up?"

"Better. Madam Pomfrey took care of the broken bones, and in a few days my joints might not hurt every time I move a muscle."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

There was a silence that stretched on for hours, which was a new experience for Sirius. He had never felt tongue-tied around anyone, and especially not Remus. "I'm sorry," he blurted out finally, when the silence became too much to bear.

Remus just raised an eyebrow at him.

"James nearly killed me, you know." He pointed at his eye, which was still black and swollen. "I had to write an apology to Snape, and James made me take notes in all our classes so you wouldn't miss anything, and they're good, for once, I even got Lily to help me so they wouldn't look like chicken scratch. I've got them right here, you can keep them as long as you want. I begged all the teachers to let you take your tests later and they all said yes, so you won't be too far behind, I'll help you with your essays and everything, and dammit, Remus, say something!"

"You promised."

Anything but that. Sirius looked away, unable to meet Remus' eyes. "I know."

"I trusted you."

"I'm sorry."

"Of course you're sorry. You're always sorry, after you realize what the hell you've done. Dammit, Sirius, Snape could have died. And I know you don't like him all that much, but if something happened to him, what do you think would happen to me!"

"I didn't think about that."

"I know you didn't think about it. Sirius, even if he didn't die and I didn't die, you could've been expelled!"

Sirius looked at him in surprise. "I would have thought that would be the least of your worries," he said quietly.

"Sirius, do you know how many people in my life have found out about my condition and still talked to me afterwards?"

"How many?" Sirius said, feeling slightly curious.

"Five. My mother, my father, you, James, and Peter."

"Oh. Remus, I'm sorry." Every time he said it, he meant it more.

"You keep saying that. Stop it. You're forgiven."

Sirius stared at him. "You're not serious."

"No, you're Sirius."

"Remus..."

"I meant it. Stop beating yourself up about it. You made a dumb mistake, but it came out all right in the end, and it'll mend in time. There's worse things that have happened to me. Now, can I see those notes you were talking about?"

Five minutes later, Sirius left the Hospital Wing feeling three times more guilty than before.

James was watching him when he came into the Common Room that night. He took one look at Sirius' face as he sat down, and said, "He forgave you, didn't he?"

Sirius stared. "How did you know?"

James shrugged. "It's Remus. He's not the type to hold a grudge. He's too nice."

Every time Sirius thought it wasn't possible to feel any lower, someone drove the nail in deeper. "You know, it only makes it worse."

"That may be why he did it."

Sirius groaned and rested his head against the edge of the table. "I have to find some way to make him trust me again."

"Good luck," was all James said in reply.

"Class! Quiet down! Black, that means YOU!"

Sirius looked up at Sinistra with wide, innocent eyes. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you! Don't give me that look! Now, class, as I was saying, if you look closely enough, you can just barely see the outline of Lupus. Can anyone remember which constellation that is?"

Lily's hand shot up in the air, to no one's surprise. When Sinistra nodded at her, she quickly rattled off the answer: "Lupus, or 'the wolf,' is located between Centaurus to the the west and Scorpius and Norma to the east. In the north Lupus borders on Libra, and to the south it can be seen on top of Circinus."

"Very good, five points to Gryffindor," Sinistra said, "Now, can anyone tell me the mythology behind Lupus?"

Remus put his hand in the air, to the mild surprise of everyone. Remus was well known for doing all his schoolwork and getting good grades, especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he preferred not to raise his hand in class. But he answered the question calmly, without looking nervous in the least.

"To the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was known simply as Therion, and Centaurus was thought to be offering it for a sacrifice," Remus said, "However, by the early seventeenth century, it was considered a wolf."

"Thank you, Lupin," Sinistra said, "Five more points to Gryffindor. Now, if you turn your telescopes--"

"Hey look Moony, it's you," Sirius was whispering to Remus.

"It's a constellation, Sirius."

"Yeah...it's you."

"Black, Lupin, please pay attention. As Miss Evans said, Lupus is located between Centaurus...can anyone tell me about it? Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Centaurus is supposed to be a centaur, and..."

"Sirius, please don't tell me you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night to take me to the Astronomy Tower," Remus said as Sirius pulled him across the school grounds.

"Ew, Remus, your mind is dirtier than mine is! I'm not even taking you there! I just wanted to show you something!"

Remus shuddered. "Ewwww..."

"MOONY! GROSS! I didn't mean THAT! You have a dirty mind!"

"Yes, you already said that. Could you let go of my hand? You're cutting off my circulation."

"Whine, whine, moan, moan..." mumbled Sirius, but obeyed. "We're here anyway."

Remus looked around, then turned back to Sirius, one eyebrow raised. "This? This is what you dragged me out of bed at midnight to see?"

"Yes, isn't it cool?"

"Sirius, it's a frozen lake in the middle of December. And it's cold! What's so cool about that? It's Christmas Eve! You're going to wake me up at an ungodly hour of the morning tomorrow, and you pulled me out of bed this late to see the lake?"

"That's not what I wanted to show you, Remus. Look up at the sky."

"I'm looking. There's stars. The moon. First Quarter, I'll be a monster in about two weeks. Wow. So what. Can I please go to bed?"

"Remus, you're impossible. You can see all the stars tonight!"

"Right. All the stars. Wow. Lucky me. NOW can I go?"

"Remus, stop being a sarcastic, bitter wolf and just listen. Remember, Astronomy, last year, right before the end of term?"

"What about it?"

"Remember the constellation we saw?"

"Which one, Sirius? I haven't got a clue what you're talking about!"

"Lupus, you brainless wolf," Sirius said cheerfully. "Anyway, I was looking the other night, and - well, it's right there, see?"

Remus grinned. "Canis Major. There's your star, Sirius."

Sirius grinned. "Yep. We're in the sky, Remus."

"No deer or rat," Remus observed quietly.

"Yeah...just us canines."

"That's why you didn't force James and Peter out of bed, isn't it?"

"Remus," said Sirius softly, "It really is just us, isn't it? I mean, we're in our seventh year...James, he's in the seventh heaven now that he's finally won Lily over, they'll be married as soon as they're out of Hogwarts...and Peter..."

Remus sighed. No one was quite sure what was up with Peter. Some days he seemed perfectly normal, and some days he was just so...weird. "He's scared, Sirius," Remus whispered, "We all are. But we can take care of ourselves, can't we? But Peter..."

"He's Peter," Sirius said, a little dismissively. "We'll be there for him. He'll make it. But he'll be on his own more than he should, you know how his mother is."

Remus sighed and sat down on the cold, frozen ground, feeling himself shiver. Part of him wanted to conjure a fire or something, but he didn't want to ruin the beauty of the night with light, so he decided he'd wait a little while before trying. "So, James is all paired off, Peter is still figuring out what he wants with his life and here we are, sitting outside in the freezing cold air, discussing the stars."

"They're not even in the sky at the same time," Sirius was saying, as if thinking aloud, "Canis Major in the winter, and Lupus in the summer. Two completely different times. I wonder what that means?"

"Oh, well," Remus said with a smile, "We're not exactly far apart, are we? Same school, same dorm, same classes..."

"I wonder what it means, though. Will we be so far apart in the future? What if--Remus, what if something happens to us? All of us? Something that splits us apart?"

"Then that would be exactly what Voldemort wants," said Remus, his voice heavy. "I-Padfoot, you don't think-we're the only ones in the sky, what if we're the only ones left but we're separated and--"

Sirius shuddered. "That's scary, Moony." They were both quiet for a moment. Then Sirius turned to look at Remus. "I'm sorry, you know." He didn't need to explain what about.

"It's been a year, Sirius, when are you going to stop apologizing?"

"When you've forgiven me?"

Remus sighed heavily. "I forgave you a long time ago."

"When you trust me again, then."

"Trust takes a long time to build, with me."

"Then I'll keep apologizing for a long time."

"Anyone can apologize," Remus said quietly.

Sirius studied him. "I'll prove it to you, then."

"Good." Remus looked up at the sky, his eyes falling on the constellation of Canis Major. In his mind's eye, he could see Lupus just as clearly as the real thing. "Just us canines," he whispered softly.

"Cave Canes, Remus," Sirius reminded him, "We'll always be there, in the sky, no matter where we are in real life."

Later, Remus would remember this statement and cherish it for the rest of his life. But for now, he just smiled again. And yawned. "It's late, Sirius, can I go to bed now?"

Sirius' laugh rang in the night air, and all seriousness was abandoned instantaneously. "Hey, you feel like turning Snape's hair pink? Be a nice Christmas present, don't you think? Get what he deserves for staying the holidays here--hey, what if--"

Remus shook his head, laughed, and followed Sirius back into the castle.

Hmmm? What's that? Why can't you tell anyone? Ah, that's a very good question, dears, and I'm coming to it. Now, go to bed. You've been up late, and you have a busy day tomorrow. Good night!