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For Magicalalice xo

Tuesday, October 17th, 1978

Sirius Black's 19th birthday

Potter Manor

The air was sharper, crisper, harsher that Fall. Summer had crumbled away with the slightest prodding from its fellow season. The leaves shifted from vibrant shades of green to vivid hues of coppery oranges, deep reds and golden yellows. A gust of breeze would rip the leaves from their branches, and they would swirl about magically before they settled onto the browning grass.

September had been cold, but dry. It had rained once or twice, but a thick fog was ever present in its place.

Months. It had been months, and they hadn't heard a peep from Remus. James worried that he was still alive, but Hermione and Draco were convinced he was.

"We would feel it through our bond if he'd died," Hermione'd said one foggy September evening. "Just like we did with Mum and Dad. We would feel it if…if he was gone."

James had slept poorly last night. It was a full moon, and he could never sleep more than a couple hours during one since Remus'd left. They unsettled him, causing his worry to multiply exponentially. Remus had neither Wolfsbane potion nor his pack, so the full moon's toll would be heavier, and crueller on him and Moony.

I just want to know he's okay, James thought sadly.

James was sitting on the front porch steps—the top one—elbows on his knees, with a mug of earl grey tea in hand. The mug was ceramic, sky blue, and it had a ribbed texture like waves across the body. James's thumb absently toyed with the handle. The hot liquid inside permeated through the mug and warmed his hands on the frigid morning.

The rest of the Manor's occupants were slumbering away in their respective rooms. James doubted any of them would rise any time soon.

Sirius had returned late last night as he'd gone to Hogsmeade the prior evening. Riley had snuck out of the Castle to spend time with him. They'd celebrated his birthday in a cozy booth at the back of the Three Broomsticks: Riley had baked a small vanilla bean cake with chocolate frosting, and had attempted to write happy birthday across it. Her lettering needed a bit of work, but it was still legible; she promised she was going to get better at it.

They'd spent the evening cuddling in the booth, drinking butterbeer, catching up and feeding each other cake. Sirius would normally be worried about anyone seeing them together, as he constantly feared for Riley's safety, but the girl had convinced him it would be okay. Besides, there had only been a few patrons milling about, and none of them had spared the young lovers a spare glance.

Lily had been working on the Visualisation process of her animagus training well after midnight; Hermione stayed up to assist her. Draco had shifted into Paws and gone for a run in the Orchards; James offered to join him, and Draco's expression was contorted with sorrow as he refused.

A howl—as if on cue—came from the Orchards. Draco must still be wandering amongst the trees and fog. James's head turned in the general direction, but the Orchard's trees were dark, eerie shadows shrouded by the morning's fog.

James took a small sip of his tea, the hot liquid warmed his insides and his fingertips tingled. James peered down at his feet. He was wearing black socks, and he'd pulled them over the bottom of his grey sweatpants. A red tartan, woollen blanket was around his shoulders (he wasn't wearing a shirt, but the blanket kept the cold at bay).

James experimentally flexed his toes. His feet were still sore. His entire body ached. Auror training was by no means easy.

Moody deigned to give them the week off starting yesterday, and James could not have been more grateful. They were in need of a break. The man had been working them tirelessly, a minimum of eighteen hours a day, for months.

Constant drills, cardio, they'd even done weight training. Excellent Aurors were in both peak physical and mental shape, he'd said. As a result, James and Sirius had gained muscle mass, and any extra flab on them was practically eradicated.

They sparred constantly: rotating between pairs, and two against one scenarios, and eventually they would work their way up to several against one. That's when the real fun began, according to Moody; he'd declared it with a toothy smile.

Constant vigilance: they had to be aware at all times, because Moody had a despicable habit of hurling hexes willy nilly. Sometimes in the middle of conversation, from behind, head on, from around corners. Constant vigilance! Moody would bellow. James started at the slightest movement as a result. Lily had tried to hug him from behind the other day, and he'd almost tackled her and pinned her to the ground. Thankfully, he'd stopped himself before he laid a hand on her.

Lily had the good grace to hold out her arms with a tender smile, and hug him tightly until he forgot about the concept of time. Lily stroked his hair and whispered nonsensically in his ear for a while, and he buried his face in her shoulder and drank in her scent.

After their break, they were going to be paired off with actual Aurors. The Aurors-in-training would continue their ruthless physical training, but they would be moving on to learn other skills from their assigned Mentors. They would be honing their potions, herbology and transfiguration skills. Learning how to apply them to various real life situations.

"If you don't carry at least one or two healing potions for emergencies then you're a fool," Kingsley had said as he stopped in to report to his superior on an ongoing investigation.

Kingsley was a wealth of knowledge, charming and friendly. He'd also matched with James for subsequent training. James was sure it was a blessing and a curse. Kingsley wouldn't take it easy on him, James could tell in his bones.

He may also ask about Hermione. I can tell he wants to, James thought, bemused by the notion. Something Draco would most likely not be pleased about. Kingsley's infatuation with Hermione had not subsided in the slightest.

James stared at his covered toes, drinking his tea.

The quiet stillness of the morning was disrupted by a prominent crack that beat against his ears. James's head shot up, and a hand twitched towards his wand in his right pocket. He carefully placed his mug on the step to the left of him.

Several feet away, the fog swirled in a disjointed circle, the twisting was tighter at the bottom closer to the ground. Everything stilled once more. The fog settled. James narrowed his eyes, standing up. He pushed the blanket off of his shoulders, and it dully thumped against the wood as it landed on the porch. The cold air nipped at his bare skin.

A tall figure was edging closer through the fog. James swallowed thickly, wand in hand. A golden warmth flared in his chest, intangible threads anchoring him to another became taut, and there was a sheen to the air in front of him.

James held his breath. The figure emerged from the fog just shy of the porch steps. Remus John Lupin had returned.

The wizard halted at the base of the stairs. His sandy blond hair was shaggy, it reached his shoulders and partially covered the left side of his face. There was a fresh scratch on his cheek. He was limping, and not resting any weight on his right side as he stood. One arm was cradling his ribcage, the other crossed his body, clutching the opposite shoulder.

A ragged black jumper that was shredded along the hem and littered with holes hung loosely off of his frame. Remus had lost considerable weight. His collarbones were protruding sharply. His grey trousers were dusty, the knees were ripped, and he was barefoot.

Remus grimaced, and then smiled sheepishly. "Did I make it in time?"

James was flummoxed. It was as if he'd summoned his Alpha through sheer willpower and want. James was rooted to the spot, he could feel the wooden floorboards through his socks. James wasn't entirely sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, that Remus wasn't a fabrication of the fog.

James was riveted by Remus's appearance, so much so that he didn't catch the shadow that sped through the fog towards them. A white wolf bounded from the fog, silver and midnight blue eyes flashing. His teeth were bared.

Paws whined, sat back on his haunches, and stared at the backside of Remus. Remus made to look at the wolf, but he lost his balance, faltered and dropped into the dirt. He made a move to get up, and his body shook.

Draco shifted forms, and the human sprang towards his friend. Draco's silk black outer robes whipped out behind him as he moved, they were open and exposed his chest—his pink scars were on display. His black sweatpants were cinched at the ankles, well-fitted, and they stretched across the strong muscles in his legs as he knelt beside Remus.

James got a proper look at Remus's back; the jumper was shredded. Large claw marks had ripped it apart, and there were large gashes that dug nastily into his flesh. From the angle, they couldn't have been self-inflicted.

"Welcome home, Moony," Draco said bitterly, hands hovering over the large wounds, scrutinising them.

"We need to get him inside. He needs medical treatment!"

"You've been getting basic Healer training during combat training I assume," Draco said, meticulously assessing Remus's wounds.

"N-Not really," James sputtered as he jumped down the stairs, landing in the dirt beside his brother. "We were meant to start that round of our training next week."

"It's okay. Go wake up, Hermione. Tell her to grab all the potions from our storage that she can think would help. Describe the wounds to her. I'll levitate Remus to his room." Draco paused, squinting at the gashes. "The bleeding has mainly stopped, but he'll most likely need blood replenishing potions."

Draco closed his eyes, hands still over Remus's wounds and his hands glowed green as he muttered healing incantations.

James noticed the trails of dried blood that ran down the backs of Remus's trouser legs. He nodded shakily and on unsteady legs he rose, wand tucked back in his pocket as he bolted for the house.

Sirius was about to get an unexpected birthday gift.

Feeble light filtered in through his curtains. Sirius was tangled in his black sheets like a well-made burrito, and some of his hair stuck to his cheek. Sirius pried his eyes open. He smacked his lips together. He inhaled deeply, and traces of freshly mown grass and parchment tickled his nostrils. Sirius frowned groggily.

That's odd, Sirius thought. Sirius was toeing the delicate tightrope between reality and dreams, only half-awake. He'd had a lovely dream about Riley. They were cartwheeling through a field of wildflowers, it was the end of summer, and she was in a floaty, yellow sundress that captured the sun. Her lingering scent clung to him as he hadn't showered when he got home; he'd stripped down to the nude and dove under his covers.

It was his birthday. The thought was a loose concept, and eventually it cemented in his mind. With a faint smile, Sirius sat up; still rolled up in his sheets.

The sound of muted conversation outside his room floated in through his open bedroom door. Sirius yawned as he untangled himself. Scratching his chest he deftly bounced off of his bed. He headed for his chest of drawers opposite his bed. The top drawer was open, and he languidly fished around for a moment before he found black boxers. He slipped them on, one foot in at a time. He pulled them onto his hips and when he let them go, they snapped against his skin.

There was a pale pink scrunchie on his wrist that Riley had given him last night (she pulled it out of her own hair, and she gifted it to him). Sirius closed his eyes and took a sniff of it. It smelt of sunshine and daisies. He sighed as he opened his eyes. He expertly pulled his hair into a short, high ponytail as he strolled out into the hallway.

The sound that had been dampened before, hit him all at once. Hermione was screaming. It was a shrill, aggressive sound that he hadn't expected. Sirius winced, and absently followed the sound to his right and towards Remus's bedroom.

Sirius's legs stiffened with each step as his senses woke, as the scent that had teased him earlier increased. The metallic smell of blood had mingled into it, tainting it. Sirius's mouth pressed into a thin line.

Fearing the worst, he rounded the corner and entered Remus's room. He stuttered to a stop as he saw his Alpha lying facedown on his bed, hair obscuring most of his features. His shallow, even breathing and steady heartbeat indicated he was unconscious. Stone poured into Sirius's veins, and he examined the situation. Hermione was on the bed beside Remus, applying a thick, chunky green paste to his back with a wide, two inch brush, a shallow black bowl was in her other hand. She was in emerald lingerie, and he could see her nipples through the sheer, lacy fabric, but he couldn't care less.

Lily was dressed more modestly in a pink nightgown (it made her hair seem darker, richer), and she was focused on sorting through a myriad of various coloured and sized vials on Remus's bedside table. Draco was crouched beside her, and the two were speaking in hushed tones.

James had pulled up a wooden chair at the foot of Remus's bed, staring at Remus's back. His arms were crossed over his chest, he was slouched in the chair, one leg was extended out in front of him, the heel of the other was raised and his knee bounced around erratically.

"What the fuck?" Sirius muttered. They all froze for a nanosecond, called out birthday wishes, and with apologetic smiles returned to their respective tasks. Sirius wandered over to James. The wizard straightened out, and patted a thigh. Sirius straddled his best mate's thigh without question, leaning back against James. James threw an arm around Sirius's midsection.

"Happy birthday, Pads," James said softly. Sirius was staring at the ladder of Remus's ribcage. It was more pronounced now.

Has he been eating at all? Sirius worried, clutching at James's arm. "He just showed up?"

"He asked 'did I make it?' when he arrived, so I think he was trying to make it back for your birthday."

"Once Moony puts his mind to something, he achieves it," Sirius said, his tone measured yet wistful.

"It's been months. He didn't write, or contact us in any way…I know he was undercover or whatever…but is this how it's gonna be? He disappears for months and then shows up out of the blue?"

"You say that like you expect him to leave again," James commented.

"You don't?"

"I hope not." James absentmindedly played with Sirius's ponytail, fingering the scrunchie. "From Riles?"

"Yeah."

"She's doing well?"

"Yes. Even with the extra difficulty imposed on her with classes this year, she seems to be managing well…I miss her," Sirius confessed.

"I know, mate. But, it'll be the holidays soon, and you can see her then."

Sirius exhaled heavily through his nostrils. The year had sped by after Charlus's passing. The thought of his adopted Father still struck a chord of grief in his heart, and his chest tightened painfully. Time was moving twice as fast as normal, and all he wanted to do was stop for a moment. Just one. So he could breathe.

The last few months had blended together under Moody's rigorous training regime, and yesterday was the first time he felt like he was above water. Taking a minute to not worry about potential threats or dark wizards who would one day try and kill him had been bliss. Riley's infectious laughter and glittering hazel eyes had definitely helped.

"Fuck. We're gonna have to cancel our tattoo appointment today."

"Tattoo appointment?" Sirius wondered aloud, twisting to look James in the eye. James's fingers thrummed a beat across Sirius's toned abs, and he grinned bashfully.

"It was meant to be a surprise, our joint gift to you…but I figure you may not want to go get tattooed today, since Remus is back."

"No…not today," Sirius confirmed. "We can reschedule."

I guess it's a good thing my cake is chocolate, Sirius mused.

Sirius faced the group once more: Draco was half on the bed and using a dropper to administer a burnt orange tinted medicine into the werewolf's mouth, Lily was pacing, holding two vials in hand and muttering under her breath, and Hermione was cross-legged and bent close to Remus's back, nose scrunched as she inspected her handiwork.

Sirius kept his eyes trained on Remus's form, waiting till they burned and dried out before he blinked. He was afraid Remus would vanish if he looked away for too long.

"We gave him blood replenishing potions, some nourishment supplements Mipsy had, and general healing potions. My initial examination didn't show anything alarming, but I am also not an expert, so we'll just have to hope for the best," Draco announced. Hermione nodded gravely. Lily's knees gave out, and she slid to the floor.

"Should we call Alfred?" James asked.

"Yes. To be on the safe side," Hermione replied, she dropped the brush in the bowl, and placed it on the bed beside her. She reached up, and slowly worked her scrunchie out of her hair; the curls had tangled around each other and her locks were a mess. She tried to drag her fingers through her hair, but they caught on knots along the way. She groaned softly.

Hermione adjusted her bra straps. Draco suddenly seemed aware of her attire. He nimbly removed his robes and thrust them at her. Hermione rolled her eyes, but put the robes on, neatly folding one flap over the next and she secured them neatly with the robe's thin sash. "I need a fag," Hermione mumbled.

"I'll floo Alfred," Draco said haggardly. The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than usual.

"I'll join you," Lily offered. Draco smiled tiredly down at the redhead. He held out a hand. She accepted it and he helped her to her feet. Draco gestured towards the door, and Lily led the way to the nearest fireplace.

"Bastard," Hermione grumbled at Remus. She tenderly brushed hair off of his forehead. "I can't even hex him now. It would be cruel to attack an injured man."

"Did he say how it happened?" Sirius inquired curiously.

"He didn't say much before he passed out," James answered, he was rubbing the pad of his thumb across his bottom lip. His eyes were glazed over in deep ponderance.

"I guess I'll have to wait until he's healed…then I can hex him." Hermione was having a conversation by her lonesome, brow knitted together as she considered the idea.

"He seems to have had a rough go of it. Maybe don't hex him?" Sirius suggested. Hermione turned a keen eye on him, as if he was spewing controversial propaganda.

"What about a jinx? Or I could dye his hair a ghastly yellow for a month?"

"The yellow could work."

James groaned, shaking his head. "No hexes or jinxes. Can we come back to reality and recall that Remus is currently seriously injured?"

The depth of his wounds was nightmare fuel, it had cut through muscle and almost hit bone. Hermione was grateful that Remus's spine and all the delicate circuitry that surrounded it had escaped unscathed.

"Hopefully not seriously injured," Hermione sniffed, shoulders crumpling as she slid onto her side. Her face was in line with Remus's nape, and she stroked the skin at the base of his neck.

"He's really home," Sirius said, stunned.

"He is," James responded, voice peppered with disbelief. They had spent months hoping for this moment, and now that it was finally here they were scampering around headless, unsure what to do with themselves.

Sirius shifted onto James's lap, cause he knew his leg must have been tired supporting his weight for so long. Sirius gazed at the pair lying on the dark blue sheets.

Sirius wished he could be as optimistic as James pertaining to Remus. Sirius desperately hoped that Remus would be staying for good, and that he wouldn't leave for the werewolf packs again, but, there was a nagging voice in the corner of his brain hissing that before they knew it, Remus would disappear once again.

Merlin, I hope I'm wrong and you stay, Sirius thought as morning officially broke and the sun's rays reached into the room.

Sirius's one birthday wish was that Remus stayed with them, where he belonged. Sirius snuggled into James, and his best mate only hugged him tighter.

Please stay, Sirius wished. He wished it with all his might, and Remus's scent engulfed him. The only thing left to do was to wait and see.

The lack of reviews on the last chapter was a bit depressing. I don't really wish to complain about it. I may not always respond to reviews, but I do see and read all of them. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and this story, and continue to read and enjoy it in the future. I hope everyone's weeks are going well x