Finding Home

(the sequel to "No Better Mistake")

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, or any other related characters from the world of Harry Potter. I also don't own the setting, plot lines, relationships, etc. ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH HARRY POTTER BELONGS TO J.K. ROWLING, not me.

NOTES:

Not much to say here! I will update quickly, because this chapter is sort of short. Please let me know your thoughts!

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3

It was strange how Remus, in a new home, far away from school, in the summer heat was so reminded of the previous, frigid Hogwarts winter over the next few days. It seemed, like it had then, that he was in a walking dream—no one else around to disrupt him from his time with Sirius, no real work to do… as long as you didn't count the various boxes still left unpacked, which always seemed to be abandoned halfway through, interrupted by an afternoon nap or romp, every time Remus tried to start opening them. It took him a whole day to unpack the tiny living room, despite the fact that it was barely big enough for the furniture they'd squished into it, mostly because he found himself constantly distracted by the image of Sirius just outside the window, washing his motorcycle. It was obvious that no one had lived in the house for quite some time—but the two, with the aid of several of Remus' books, were becoming quite proficient in household spells. Unfortunately though, neither of the two boys knew how to cook much of anything, but Remus found himself surprisingly willing to eat whatever Sirius made, especially because the heat in the kitchen typically caused Sirius to make it shirtless. He was like a school-aged child with a big crush, expect that Sirius was his, all his, and he didn't have to hide his gaze as he watched Sirius cross the room. However, their many years of friendship created another layer of their relationship. When they weren't caught up in an embrace, or, as Remus often did, gazing wordlessly at the other's back, they functioned as old friends, comfortable as ever just in their own skins.

A few days after their friends had helped them move in, they both were in the kitchen, attempting to prepare a recipe for soup that James and Lily had sent by owl. Remus was absentmindedly stirring a pot on the stove across the room with the aid of his wand; Sirius was chopping vegetables on the counter, not trusting himself to do it with magic. It was difficult to take this task seriously as they had spent most of the day doing very little, and due largely to the fact that most of what they had eaten over the past few days consisted of cold cereal and alcohol, which seemed to be all they'd brought in terms of food.

"Does it look like it's a full boil?" asked Remus, squinting his eyes to try and peer into the pot, but making no efforts to stand up. He deftly dodged a potato that Sirius flicked at him, who turned around to stare into it as well.

"Dunno how you can see anything from over there," Sirius laughed, prodding the fire underneath in an attempt to further warm the still water.

"I can't," yawned Remus, abandoning the task by setting his wand down and lowering his head onto his arms, "we're rubbish at this stuff, Sirius."

"Too true," Sirius agreed, grinning, also leaving his roughly cut vegetables on the counter. He flopped down in the seat next to Remus, which, as usual, creaked massively under the addition of his weight. They both waited a minute to see if it would remain in one piece, and when it did, Sirius continued, "we need a girl here."

Remus raised his eyebrows at Sirius, who hastily corrected himself. "Er—not that it's only women who are good at cooking—or that I want a woman here, instead…" Remus laughed at him, and Sirius quickly changed the subject: "I start that job at the Ministry tomorrow, you know."

Remus picked his head up off his arms, bracing his chin on his fist and looking thoughtful. He had known this, of course, but realizing the magnitude of it was another matter altogether. "I can't believe it's so soon," he admitted, gazing across the table. Becoming an Auror was an extremely dangerous, extremely well-respected, and extremely dignified job—and, at the moment, Sirius didn't look any one of those things. In the heat, he was wearing dirty, cuffed-up jeans and an old t-shirt; his hair, which probably hadn't been washed that day, falling out of the messy gathering Sirius had pulled it up into. His hands were somewhat stained with grease from his bike; his dirty fingernails cut and bitten down to nubs. Remus knew he didn't look much better—he was dressed in a very similar way, looking equally as unclean—but he, at least, wasn't about to walk into the Ministry of Magic. He was about to point this out to Sirius, to ask him what he was going to do about it, when Sirius spoke again.

"The letter said to look professional," he growled, wrinkling his nose, and Remus had to suppress a smile. Sirius despised having to look more formal than denim; only ever putting up with their school uniform because he had too, and looking nice for James' parents because he cared. Even in those occasions, he'd always found some way to remain comfortable; whether it was "misplacing" his tie, wearing his old, battered Chuck Taylors, or somehow always forgetting to shave. Sirius had a good amount of thick, dark hair, both on his face and head; so that his long, waving hair was another point of contention. Remus couldn't ever remember it being as short as his own, or James'. Even when they were first-years Sirius had refused to cut it, probably as an act of independence against his clean-cut, Slytherin family, and since the time they were fourteen, even when it was obvious that Sirius needed a razor daily, he'd refused too. However, despite this, Remus knew Sirius had the clothes and the ability to look nice if he tried; as he now kindly told him.

"Thanks," he responded, nudging Remus on the arm. "I'm sort of apprehensive about this whole thing in general," he admitted, pulling his hair out of its tail and shaking it out onto his shoulders. "I don't really know what to expect."

"You'll be fine," Remus reassured him, smiling. He was quite sure that Sirius had all the desired skills to become an Auror. He was brave, of course, and despite his varied school marks, really very intelligent, as he had shown in their N.E.W.T. exams, scraping up nearly identical marks to Remus, who had studied like mad. Defense Against the Dark Arts had always been his best subject. He had even admitted to Remus that he had been the one to notice the patterns in Remus' behavior that led him to discover his secret; and he had always been the most patient with Remus as he was in his werewolf state. Even Sirius' Animagus form was astounding—he had been the first to achieve the full transformation, with his change hilariously similar to the large constellation of which he was the namesake. Unfortunately, these were achievements he couldn't share with the teachers of Hogwarts, who, up until their last year, had typically regarded him as somewhat of a class clown. "They picked you for a reason, Sirius, you know that."

"Yeah," said Sirius, but he didn't sound too convinced. He rose from his chair again, turning back to the now somewhat wilting greens. "This is bullshit," he remarked, looking from his sad-looking vegetables to Remus' still-cold pot of water, "what do you say we just go bother Lily and James?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Remus, and he was happy to see Sirius' grin beginning to return. Thinking it might be a bit rude to just Apparate in, they both made their way into the living room, and a few sparks from their wands were all it took to bring the stone fireplace into roaring flames. Sirius took the pot of Floo Powder from the mantle, and, throwing a generous quantity of the dust in, yelled the address of Lily and James' house in the wizarding settlement of Godric's Hollow. Kneeling down, both Sirius and Remus stuck their heads into the now green flames, their gazes shifting very suddenly from their own battered home to that of their friends.

"Hello," called Lily pleasantly, gazing at the two of their heads being licked by the acid-colored flames. "You look… dashing."

Remus looked over again at Sirius, now noticing that Sirius had a spring of parsley on his chin, but chose to ignore it as Sirius spoke. "We were wondering… could we bother you for a bit of supper?"

"What happened to the soup?" Lily frowned.

"Uh—" Remus faltered. Lily was sitting in her own living room, several miles away, reading a book and looking extremely well-kempt, especially compared to the two heads in her fire. Remus was very aware that his hair, uncombed, was sticking to his forehead. "It didn't quite work out."

James, who was sitting beside Lily, laughed. Lily, turning to him, also cracked a smile. "Oh, come on, then," she said, and Remus and Sirius, edged their way into the room, standing up as they emerged from the flames.

"But don't make a habit of it!" she called as she walked toward the kitchen. "I can't be making food for all four of us, you know! It's not like James has any idea what to do…" She left to retrieve the food, leaving Sirius and Remus to take their seats on the sofa. James looked at both of them, running a hand through his already-mused hair.

"Same time next week, then?" he asked, grinning.

"Isn't it great to be an adult?" responded Sirius, stretching his bare feet onto the coffee table.

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Dialogue has been a big thing in this story for me - lots of reading out loud to myself and my friend Taylor to see how it sounds! How do you like it?