Part II
Remus' eyes fluttered open as he heard the dormitory door click shut, and felt the curtains around his bed stir. Watching unnoticed through the gap in the drapes he could see Sirius' outline in the faint light of the crescent moon as he rounded the end of Remus' bed, so silently that he might have been in his animagus form as he crept across the room. He drew his cloak off with the faintest rustle of cloth, before climbing into bed and rolling onto his side, so that his face was no longer visible.
Glancing at the clock on his bedside table Remus could see that more than an hour had passed since his friend had left, believing they were all asleep. He sighed, ever so quietly. This was not the first time this year that he had watched Sirius come and go late at night, without telling anyone. It was true that in previous years Sirius had snuck out late at night, but never as utterly silently, as carefully, and in the mornings that followed there were always quiet comments, not so subtle insinuations about where he'd been. Sirius had long had a reputation with the girls.
This year was different though. Oh, he was still popular, and Remus was certain that almost any of the girls in the school (and probably more than a few boys) would be ecstatic if Sirius showed an interest in them. During the day, he behaved much as he had in earlier years, flirting with as many girls as he could get away with, wreaking havoc with the marauders…but these nightly excursions were something very different than last year's visits to the Astronomy tower with half of the sixth year girls.
Remus had no idea where Sirius might be going, or what he was doing, but he could tell that something was very plainly bothering him. It seemed though, that Padfoot did not want his fellow marauders to know about whatever it was. As far as Remus knew he was the only one who had noticed Sirius' unexplained nocturnal wanderings, and he wasn't planning to tell the others. He'd never tried to follow him, or watch him on the map when he slipped off to wherever he went.
But Remus was worried. He knew that Padfoot had had a difficult summer with his parents. And he suspected that maybe there was more to his decision to leave home than Sirius had let on, mentioning only "a big fight," which he claimed neither he nor his parents would ever forgive.
Perhaps it was time he stopped waiting for Sirius to talk to him, and started thinking about how best to approach his friend. Maybe, if he came alone, Sirius might just tell him what had been troubling him these past months.