Written for Advent: Survival

A New Start

Sirius clutched the blanket and pulled it tighter around Remus' shoulders as Remus let out a cough that shook his body. Sirius hated the sound that was becoming quite common now, hating how it seemed to come from deep inside of Remus' chest. "Come here."

Remus opened tired eyes. "What?" he asked.

"Warmth," Sirius insisted. "I'm going to keep you warm." He held out an arm, not caring that the movement made him feel that little bit colder. Remus cuddled against the offered arm and Sirius used his free hand to fix their blanket around them once more.

"I'll be fine tomorrow," Remus said, his eyes closing once more. Sirius remained silent. He knew it was a lie. Remus' cough had been worsening for a few days now and it scared Sirius.

At least their walking had taken them closer to the homeless shelter. Remus hated asking people for help, but Sirius knew that Remus needed it. He needed a warm bed for a few nights whilst he recovered and if they had the shelter to provide temporary food and shelter, Sirius could use some of his precious money to get some medicine from the pharmacy - over the counter of course.

Deep down he knew Remus needed more than that medication. The cough was too heavy and Remus was getting a lot more sick, but Remus was insistent that they don't go to the hospital. Going there meant telling their names. It meant his cruel and abusive Uncle Fenrir finding him. It meant Sirius' parents (though they probably wouldn't want him anyway).

But with each day - with each cough that tore through Remus, Sirius was moving closer and closer to the idea of going to the hospital. Because he was reaching the point where he was barely sleeping, just to ensure Remus kept breathing throughout the night.

...oOo...

Armed with some of the shop's own-brand medication and a hot sausage roll and tea from the bakery, Sirius headed back into the alley that they had settled in for the day. He handed the items to Remus.

"Thank you," Remus said, his voice hoarse. "Do you want to share?"

Sirius shook his head, holding up the large bottle of water he had bought. "I'm good. I already ate," he lied. They had a few bits of food in the bag - mostly bread since it was cheap and didn't need to be stored in a fridge. He'd eat some when Remus was resting again.

Remus slowly ate the sausage roll and Sirius ignored how the smell made his stomach grumble. He had been so tempted to get his own, but knew that money wasn't falling into their laps so easily and also knew that Remus' medicine would only last a few days. That's what mattered - Remus' health. Without Remus, Sirius didn't know what he'd do.

Remus managed half the sausage roll before pushing the rest at Sirius, a knowing look on his face. Sirius wanted to push it back, but it smelt amazing. His protests were weak and it didn't take long before he reached for it, devouring it in three large bites.

He only allowed himself a few small sips of tea, insisting that was for Remus. Remus needed the warmth more than him.

After eating, he handed over the water and the medicine, insisting Remus take some.

Remus fell asleep shortly after. Two hours later, Sirius had begged a passing stranger to call an ambulance. Remus' breathing had slowed too much and he couldn't wake him up.

...oOo...

Sirius had no choice in calling it. He had been stroking Remus' hair as Remus huddled against him for warmth, but the breaths had slowed to a worrying rate. Sirius had shaken Remus, attempting to wake him up, but Remus wasn't gaining consciousness and Sirius was terrified.

Let Remus get better, then they'd run away together all over again.

Hours later, Sirius sat at Remus' bedside. Remus looked so much smaller as he lay under the white cover, a drip attached to his hand. He was pale, cold. But he was breathing. That's what mattered.

"What's wrong with him?" Sirius demanded as a doctor walked over.

"I'm sorry, I can only share that with family," the man said, his tone dismissive.

"I am his family," Sirius snapped in reply. "He has no-one else."

The doctor looked between them for a moment. "Pneumonia," he said. "He's very sick. Unfortunately we see this a lot." After a moment, the doctor continued. "I'd like to check you over too, if I may?"

"I'm fine," Sirius quickly insisted.

"Just a quick check-up," the doctor said. "If you're sick, you don't want to end up in here too. How will you look after your friend?"

Sirius hesitated. The man was right and he clearly knew what to say to get Sirius to cooperate. If Sirius was ill, it'd be better for him to find out now, so he could quickly recover and then be in top form to look after Remus. He nodded.

The curtain was pulled back after the checks, only for three people to be standing, waiting. Sirius' heart sunk and he barely registered the doctor confirming that he seemed to be in good health.

"We're from social services," the woman said, her gaze moving between the two boys.

"We're both eighteen," Sirius blurted out.

The woman didn't believe him for a moment. She let out a soft sigh. "I'm here to help you," she said. "Why don't you start by telling me your name and your former address, and then the same with your friend. We can contact your families—"

"No," Sirius snapped. "I'm not going to tell you his name because if you contact his uncle, he'll kill him."

"Kill? Do you mean he'll be angry?"

"No, I mean his uncle will hurt him again," Sirius snapped. "But by all means, go ahead and call my parents. They'll claim I died or that I don't exist or something."

The woman noted something down on her pad. "Why would they do that?"

"Because I'm gay and they'd rather I die on the streets - they kicked me out," Sirius said, crossing his arms. "You can have my name but you can't have his and you have no right to split us up."

"We're not suggesting you two be apart," the woman said carefully. "Social Services are here to help you both, not put you in danger. Unfortunately you're both under eighteen and being on the streets has proven to be a danger to you both. My department deals with those that are homeless. I can help you."

"I don't want your help," Sirius snapped. "I want to stay here and look after my friend. And when he's better, we'll move on. We only need to make it until we're eighteen and then… then things get better."

The woman shook her head. "You're both at risk of ending up back in here if you go back to the streets. If your friend is in danger at home, we won't send him back there. If your parents willingly gave you up, we won't send you back either. But we can make other arrangements."

"Orphanages," Sirius muttered. "We'd be seperated. I won't allow that."

"Amelia, there's that homeless facility run by the Potters," one of the other people offered, speaking for the first time. "He's not going to give anything until you promise they can stay together, so how about that?"

Amelia tapped her pen against the pad in thought, before turning her gaze to Sirius. "There's a new centre," she said. "It's hard work, but it's a program to get youths back on their feet. You work there for a year and you get a wage. You pay a certain amount of that wage each month towards room and food and general toiletries. The majority of the rest is put into a special account and you get a small sum. At the end of the year, you're given access to that money so you can move on and you have the savings to help you. Would that be something that you'd consider?"

"What work is it?" Sirius asked. "Will my friend be with me?"

"Is this a romantic relationship?" she asked.

Sirius quickly shook his head. There had been a couple of kisses only a day ago. Their relationship was undefined, but Sirius didn't doubt that he was completely in love.

"He's my best friend and he saved my life when I ended up on the streets," he replied. "We both promised to stick together and look after each other. He kept his promise, and… well, I don't break my promises."

"I'll make the call," the other woman said, moving from the room.

"Can I take your name," Amelia asked.

"Sirius Black," Sirius offered reluctantly. He wanted to trust her, but at the same time, she might take his Remus away.

"Sirius, I'm Amelia Bones and I see a lot of teenagers on the street for so many reasons. So many runaways who have had to deal with abusive and neglectful home lives, who believed it for the best to live on the street than continue those lives. I do not send children back into cruel homes. I find them new ones, I help them get back on their feet. I protect them. My job is now to protect both of you and I give you my word on that. Neither of you will go home, but you have to help me too. You have to give me his name. From there, I can investigate why he isn't at home, I can investigate this nncle you mentioned. I can investigate your family kicking you out because of your sexuality. My job doesn't start and end with you both, it starts with you, it ends with us making sure that these people don't do it again."

"I'm not giving you his name without his permission," Sirius insisted. "He trusts me. If he agrees, I'll pass the information on."

"Tell her," Remus croaked, causing Sirius to spin around.

"You're alive!" Sirius said, relieved. "Moony, I was terrified."

"Sorry to scare you," Remus muttered. "I've been awake for a while. Just no energy. I used to live on a farm before I lived with my uncle. He sold it. Would love to go to a farm again. Don't let them seperate us."

"If they do, we'll just meet in our place," Sirius insisted. "We'll just run away again and—"

"Sirius, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The information please."

With another glance at Remus, Sirius told everything he knew

...oOo...

No amount of coaxing would get Sirius out of that hospital room. Even when he was told that visiting hours were over and that he had to leave. Amelia offered to find him somewhere to spend the night, but Sirius wasn't abandoning Remus for a moment.

Finally Remus was moved to a spare room that was meant for those that had family staying with them, and Sirius curled up on the chair with a blanket, having pulled it as close to the bed as he possibly could. They had provided him with a small meal - something the old Sirius would have turned his nose up at. But this Sirius devoured the food quickly and made the most of the jugs of fresh water.

He wasn't sure if he could trust Amelia, and if he couldn't, he wanted to make the most of all of this before it was ripped away from them.

Remus stirred again later that night and Sirius awoke when Remus gently called his name.

"Sirius? What's going on?" Remus asked, looking around the dark room.

"Don't you remember?" Sirius asked. "You were talking earlier."

"I'm… I'm not sure," Remus admitted.

"I couldn't wake you up. I thought you were going to die," Sirius admitted fearfully. "I had no other choice but to have someone call for an ambulance. Social Services were called, I didn't give your name until you said to tell them it."

"I think I… blonde woman?"

Sirius nodded. "They have a place to send us where they won't separate us. It's a farm and it helps people get on their feet. They work there, get paid a small wage whilst the larger portion of the wage gets put into savings. At the end of their stay, they get to leave with that saved money which would be enough to get them on their feet."

"Do you trust her?" Remus asked.

"I don't trust anyone," Sirius admitted. "Well, I trust you. That's it." He hesitated before reaching for Remus' hand. "But I don't ever want to see you back here. What if next time we're not so lucky? I can't lose you so I think we should take the chance."

Remus' fingers curled softly around Sirius' hand. "Well, I trust you and trust your judgement," he murmured. "As long as they don't make me leave you…"

"I would never let that happen," Sirius whispered. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'd risk the streets every day just to be with you," Remus muttered. "You're in charge of us now, not me. Not until I'm better anyway."

"What if I make the wrong choice?" Sirius asked.

"Then I believe you made the choice with hope and the best of intentions and I won't hold it against you. I think I need to get more sleep though. I'm struggling to stay awake."

"Sleep," Sirius insisted. "I'll be here when you wake up."

...oOo...

The following day, Amelia returned and looked relieved to see that Sirius and Remus were still there. She left some toiletries and worn clothes and promised to sit with Remus whilst Sirius took a shower.

Sirius was torn between rushing back to Remus, and enjoying the hot water and the sensation of being thoroughly clean once more. A clean, dry towel to rub across his body afterwards was an amazing sensation, and he enjoyed the feel of a new toothbrush in his mouth.

Finally he emerged from the bathroom wearing the clean clothes, his old things in a bag, and he took his usual spot next to Remus.

"Is he okay?" Sirius asked. "Did he wake?"

Amelia shook her head. "He hasn't. Has he eaten yet?"

"We haven't had breakfast brought around yet. I'll wake him when it arrives, he's really tired."

"When he's more aware, I need statements from both of you," Amelia said.

Sirius shook his head, crossing his arms. "No. You'll make sure we're somewhere safe first. You made a promise. Get us to that farm place, promise that we'll be safe and we'll be together, and then you'll get what you need."

"That ball is already rolling," Amelia insisted. "There isn't space so the people running it are making space in their own home for you both. You'll share a room there. Remus' care will be moved from this hospital to the local one, where they'll make house calls to keep an eye on him as soon as he's well enough to be out of hospital. I have all the forms needed for you both to fill out for all of this. I'll wait for Remus to wake up."

Sirius nodded. It all sounded too good to be true and he knew all about that, growing up with his family. There was always some sort of catch. He just needed to understand this woman's angle.

...oOo...

Remus looked dead on his feet as the pair followed Amelia onto the farm. The doctors had wanted to keep him in longer, but Remus had been too determined to leave. The concern was that the pair would up and disappear, so Amelia convinced the hospital to sign him over to the one closest to the farm, allowing home-care.

They had spent over an hour sitting in a car, Remus asleep on Sirius' shoulder as Sirius tried to remember all the signs they passed so he knew the way back to London in case they had to leave again.

But now they were here, and Sirius was feeling hopeful. His arm was around Remus' waist, helping him along.

"Mrs Potter," Amelia said, approaching the woman watching by the door. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"And you, Miss Bones," Dorea replied, offering her hand. "These are the boys you mentioned?"

Amelia nodded. "One from an abusive home and the other kicked out."

"Because I'm gay," Sirius stated, his eyes on the woman, challenging her.

"We don't judge on sexuality here. As long as you work hard and show us that you're intent on leading a good life, that's what matters. We also don't tolerate homophobia or any form of discrimination. Everyone here is equal, no matter which God you believe in or which gender you love." She glanced behind her for a moment. "Due to your friend's health, we'll have you two stay in the house for now. There's a bedroom next to my son's room that you can have. Has Amelia explained things to you?"

Sirius nodded. "She said that each person gets their own bit of land to work on. We can grow our own things, help with the animals and stuff."

Dorea nodded. "Everything is ready for you. We have certain expectations here though in regards to work. Sometimes we have teens come and do the bare minimum, showing us they have no interest in working hard to turn their lives around. Behaviour like that leads to you being moved on. We pay adult wages here, so expect everyone to put in the proper work. It's a home, a life, a job. It's an address so you can move on from here. It's something to write on your CV - working with animals, early starts so good time-keeping, working with others. Working outdoors. There's a lot to do here. Treat this as a real job because that's what it is. Your schedules will be made according to the laws regarding how many hours someone your age can work. If something is wrong; if there's a task you can't do or if you need time off or anything, you come to me. Is everything clear?"

Sirius liked how straightforward Dorea Potter was. She looked like the sort of woman that didn't mess around.

"It's clear," he said. Remus gave a slight nod of his head.

"Good. I'll show you both to your room. Take the rest of the day to relax and explore. I'll have my son, James, show you around tomorrow. Just you, Sirius. Remus will need a lot of rest."

"I'll do all of his work," Sirius quickly insisted.

"That's not necessary. We'll take it day by day based on the information from the doctors. When he's improved enough, I'm sure I can find Remus some easy tasks. I'm not going to make him leave because he's sick, so don't worry."

Sirius squeezed his friend's waist, relieved.

...oOo...

"Did I do something wrong?" Sirius asked, walking into the kitchen where Dorea was fixing dinner.

She turned around. "Yes and no," she said. "Sirius, take a seat."

He sat, suspicious of the meeting. "What?"

"You're doing too much around here," Dorea said, getting straight to the point. "Why?"

Sirius didn't feel like he could lie to her. There was something about Dorea that made him want to be candid.

"It's the first place that's felt like a home. I… I want to earn my place here, make you not regret taking me and Remus in. Remus isn't able to do much so putting in extra hours means that I can… the extra money can go into his account."

"Let me stop you there," Dorea said softly. "This week has been wonderful. You're a nice young man as is your boyfriend… friend,... whatever the relationship between you is. However, there are laws and you can't do all of this overtime. I know you mean well, but I want you to take proper breaks and spend more time with Remus as he improves. You can take him into town, maybe get some new clothes, even go and see a film. You're a teenager and one of the joys of this place is that it's not all about work. Work does matter, but so does being a teenager."

Sirius hesitated.

"You'll have money when you leave," she insisted softly. "So use the money that you get each week and be a teenager. You both deserve it. I know for a fact that James is taking his girlfriend to the cinema on Saturday afternoon. How about you make it a double date? Movie and a trip to Weatherspoons - it's very reasonably priced. Remus is improving and James is taking the car so it'll be warm."

"I'll think about it," Sirius said, secretly excited at the prospect of taking Remus on a real date. Money had been scarce and he was scared about using it so easily, but he trusted Dorea. This was their home for now and they wouldn't just suddenly be made to leave.

Remus deserved a nice treat.

"You have the rest of the day off," Dorea continued. "I have no issue with an extra hour here and there, but that's all, okay?"

Sirius nodded and stood up to leave. As he reached the door, he heard Dorea call his name.

"I'm glad this feels like a home," she added. "My brother opened a centre like this because my parents kicked him out too. I opened this second one to support him and to aid to help those. Maybe one day there will be a third, who knows? I want to offer a real home with real opportunities to those that need them and knowing that you feel like that… well, it's one more person that I've done right by."

Sirius smiled. "I hope we get to stay for a long while." With that, he left the room and headed in search of Remus.

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