A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay, and for the apparently short chapters. As a full time art student, I can only work on my stories in my spare time - and there ain't a whole lot of spare time going around. But thank you again for all the fantastic reviews – you guys really make my day! Unfortunately there will probably be more delays in updates as the semester progresses, but I will try to do better in the future. And I will try to lengthen my chapters, but generally breaks seem to happen when they want to (in which case I try to add more than one chapter at a time).
Disclaimer: If I owned the HP world, why oh why would I get rid of a perfect character like Sirius?
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Previously:
Remus decided to wait on his 'talk' with his friend about a prospective romantic relationship with Harry. There was still time, after all, and he didn't want to weigh either of them down with serious discussions.
Besides, he wanted to bask in the joy of beating Harry Potter and three other 17 year olds in 3 races for a while longer.
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The weekend had left Remus in an excellent mood, which he had managed to carry over into Wednesday afternoon. What brought him back to reality was the way Sirius and Harry had begun to act around each other.
Brief, sideways glances had turned into full-blown stares when the other wasn't looking. They were caught more than once out of bounds after curfew, but since they usually had food or dungbombs with them, Remus was fairly sure that they weren't out snogging – just being teenage boys. Many students had begun to comment about the large black dog they saw all the time hanging around Harry Potter around the grounds. And it was suddenly like everywhere that Harry went, the dog was sure to follow – both in human and animal form.
Remus also noticed – thanks to his years of research into the mating rituals of Mr. Padfoot – that Sirius had progressed into 'pre-flirting'. While Harry and Sirius always sat together, now Sirius pointedly and unmistakably sat closer. And catching them laughing or happily chatting was no unfamiliar sight. It would bring a nostalgic smile to Remus' face as he remembered the friendship of another Potter and another Sirius Black. That is, until Sirius began – touching – Harry more often and for longer than was strictly necessary. Nothing too obvious – Sirius was too subtle and cunning for that: light touches on his arms or legs, draping an arm around his shoulders or waist as the walked, constantly bumping him when they headed off to the Quidditch pitch, and just generally hugging him and being very 'touchy-feely' with Harry.
It didn't help Remus' growing worry that Harry sent out lots of encouraging signals. He never objected to Sirius getting closer – both emotionally and physically. He and Sirius had taken to sitting together in every class, even if it meant sitting away from Ron and Hermione. Harry smiled more, especially around Sirius, and just that morning Sirius had whispered something in his ear that had caused Harry first to lightly blush from the close contact, and then to laugh loudly and nod his head in agreement. He also managed to send Sirius a hundred megawatt smile that had the other boy blushing in turn.
'And now they're planning larger pranks together' Remus thought with a sigh. It was definitely time to have that chat with Sirius about his intentions.
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Sirius came to Moony's office just like the note had asked. He certainly wasn't going to complain that Remus had gotten him out of Potions, but his friend had been acting somewhat shifty since the weekend. And now he had pulled Sirius from a class to talk to him. Clearly something was up. Something big.
He knocked twice before heading on into the office without invitation.
Remus looked up from the papers he was grading and raised a brow at his friend.
"Well, you did ask me here. Why wait for you to invite me in?"
Remus smiled and offered Sirius some tea. When they were settled, Remus started in with some small talk until Sirius called him on it.
"Moony, you didn't call me out of class to shoot the breeze. What was so urgent it couldn't wait until later? Is something wrong?"
Remus regarded his too-insightful friend and sighed. "I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted. I need to talk to you about Harry."
"Harry? Did something happen? Is it Voldemort?" Sirius asked anxiously.
Remus laughed, "Calm down Padfoot, it's nothing that serious." He winced when Sirius grinned, but continued, "I need to talk to you about what's going on with you and Harry."
Sirius eyed him warily, "What do you mean what's going on with me and Harry?"
Moony sighed again. "Exactly. I want to know if something is happening there. I know you Sirius, and I can tell when you fancy someone."
Sirius looked momentarily shocked that he had been so easily found out, but this was Moony, and Moony always knew everything. The animagus laughed and shook his head; "I should have know I can't keep anything from you."
"Well, what I really want to know is – how serious is this? Is this just a passing fling or –"
Sirius was quick to defend himself, "No way Moony! I mean, I don't know if I love him or anything, I just know that I fancy him. I fancy him like mad and I think he might fancy me too."
Moony looked at his long-time friend for a quite some time. "I guess that's all I can ask. Except maybe – why Harry?" he whined. "You could probably get nearly any boy in the school…"
A sly grin spread across Sirius' handsome face. "Are you kidding? What's not to like? He's sweet and smart and funny and gorgeous and he likes all the same things as me…"
And then Sirius was off and rolling on this train of thought, showering Remus with all the wonder that is Harry. It turned into quite possibly the single most embarrassing and annoying conversation of Moony's life. Harry was his cub, and as such occupied that lovely asexual area of his brain where such topics as his 'shag-ability' (Sirius' word) never dared venture. Remus had just decided to interrupt Sirius' lustful description of Harry and move to safer ground when the animagus jumped up, declaring he was starving after their long talk and was going to snag some food from the kitchens before heading back to classes.
As Sirius was leaving, there was a knock at the door. Both men looked surprised, but Sirius opened the door since he was there, and was mildly shocked and a little embarrassed at who the visitor was.
"Harry! How long have you – I mean, what are you doing here?" Sirius stammered.
Harry seemed a little surprised too – he hadn't expected Sirius to still be there. "Oh! Well, I just needed to talk to Professor Lupin so I dropped by in the hope he was available. I can come back later…" Harry said apologetically, moving away from the door.
"No! No, it's fine!" Sirius called out, stopping Harry before he left. "I was just leaving anyway," he explained, stepping out of the office and into the corridor.
Remus had been watching their exchange from behind his desk, moderately amused by their awkwardness. Harry had never been a lady-killer, but he had his share of success in relationships, and Sirius was usually overflowing with confidence, and was well know to have been able to get any girl (or guy) he wanted. To see them both so flustered was adorably sweet.
"Come on in Harry," he called to his cub.
Harry looked at him and glanced back to Sirius, who was making his way down the hall. "Just a second," he said, striding off toward Sirius and calling out to him.
When Padfoot had stopped and turned back, Harry moved in very close to him ('Almost unreasonably close for just friends' thought Remus) and whispered something in Sirius' ear. Unfortunately they were too far away to hear, but Remus couldn't mistake the redness of Sirius' cheeks, or the way his lips turned up in a mischievous grin as he listened to Harry. When the younger man had finished, he pulled back with a questioning look in his eyes. Sirius instantly put him at ease when he said, "Of course I will."
Harry's face lit up, and he hugged Sirius and kissed his cheek. He dashed back to the door of the Defense professor's office, and looked back at the still stunned Sirius. "Okay, so tomorrow night, seven o'clock, right?"
"Right," Sirius replied in a near whisper, and as Harry entered Remus' office and shut the door, he left with a hand to his cheek and a huge smile on his face.
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Harry leaned back against Remus' door with a soft smile on his face – lost in his own thoughts.
'Uh-oh' Remus thought 'Did he just ask Sirius out?'
"So Harry," he said, infusing calm and understanding into his voice and breaking the young man out of his reverie, "what can I do for you?"
The boy flushed, a small smile still on his face as he plopped into a chair in front of Remus' desk. "Ummmm – Yeah… Professor, I think I… I…boy this is weird."
Remus chuckled, "Tell you what, why don't you call me Remus or Moony when we're not in class? Does that make it less weird?"
Harry stared at him for a moment, and then broke out in a huge grin. "Yeah, yeah it really does."
They just sat in silence for a moment, happily regarding each other in their new level of trust and understanding. Harry broke the quiet moment with some levity.
"So, how's Tonks?" Harry asked with a smirk.
Remus knew what he was doing and laughed outright. "Things didn't work out too well on that front."
Harry feigned shock, "And why ever not Moony?" He gaped for added effect.
"Because she isn't a man."
Harry just quirked an eyebrow and waited.
Remus sighed. 'The truth comes out…'
"Because she isn't Sirius." He looked down at the desk, awaiting Harry's reaction.
But if he was expecting anger or revulsion at his announcement, he was sorely mistaken.
"Glad you're finally talking about it."
Remus looked up at Harry in shock. "You knew?"
"I had a hunch. You pretty much confirmed it when you agreed to spy on the werewolves. It took a while but I realized you weren't running away from me or even Tonks. You were running from Grimmauld Place and the memory of him, weren't you?"
Remus nodded sadly.
A deep sorrow filled his heart as he remembered his lost friend and lover. Sure, in their youth there hadn't been the kind of passion either of them sought in a relationship, so they didn't commit to each other. But after Azkaban, things changed. They were both the same, and yet so different. The twelve-year absence had made their hearts grow fonder, and somewhere between Harry's fourth and fifth year they had become lovers. It wasn't a burning, take-on-the-world romance, but it was most definitely the most wonderful, loving relationship Remus had ever had. He didn't regret it for a second.
Harry offered up a small smile. "Is it weird, seeing him here?"
Remus shook off his melancholy and gave Harry a genuinely warm smile in return. "You know, I thought it would be. But that isn't my lover Sirius, that is my good friend – no, my best friend – Padfoot. For him, there was no Azkaban, no life on the run, no betrayals of friendship. His slate has been wiped clean, and I am happy for him." A faraway look came to his eyes.
"Still, sometimes when I see him, I long for my Sirius."
"We both do."
They sat in silence, each lost in their own memories of a brave and clever man who would always hold a special place in their hearts.