Starlight
Theme #18: Little Prince

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"Moony! Moony! Moooooooony!" a voice hissed in his ear. Remus groaned and rolled over. Something bounced onto his bed. "Moony! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Go away, Sirius," Remus muttered, his eyes clenching tighter and pulling his covers over his head. "It's in the middle of the night."

"Wake up!" Sirius whispered cheerfully.

"Why?" Remus asked Sirius and the heavens that seemed to hate him at the same time.

"Come oooon!" Sirius said, his voice musical. Remus groaned again and stuffed his head under his pillow.

Seconds later, Sirius was pulling the covers away from Remus' body. Remus shivered as the cool night air assaulted him and he tried, fruitlessly, to reclaim his covers without having to open his eyes. After realizing that it was, indeed, hopeless, Remus reluctantly opened his eyes, only to glare darkly at Sirius.

"What?" he growled out, cranky and grumpy.

Sirius didn't answer him. Instead, he grabbed Remus' wrist and tugged him upwards. Remus was about to protest before Sirius grabbed Remus' heaviest cloak and a scarf. Then he was tugged unceremoniously out of the dorm room and up the long flight of stairs towards the top of the dormitory tower.

"What the heck are you doing?" Remus muttered out angrily. He only tugged on his arm half-heartedly. Sirius still didn't answer him.

They reached the top of the tower and Sirius charmed the door open with a flick of his wrist. Remus, muttering to himself, let Sirius drag him out into the cold winter night.

"It's freezing!" Remus complained. "And it's the middle of the night! Sirius why—?"

"Shut up and look, Moony," Sirius reprimanded without malice in his voice.

Remus looked to where Sirius was pointing and his eyes widened. The entire sky was falling. He watched it in awe, as star after star fell towards the earth, streaking across the sky in a criss cross of patterns. Remus' honey colored eyes surveyed the horizon, watching stars disappear behind snow-capped mountains.

"Wow," was all Remus managed to say.

Sirius was smiling at him widely. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is," Remus agreed, happy Sirius had awoken him. He watched the endless cascade of falling stars and his eyes softened. "You shall have the stars that laugh."

"Huh?" Sirius asked, still looking at Remus.

Remus smiled benignly. "It's Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. He's an author."

"What'd he write?" Sirius asked curiously.

"The Little Prince," Remus remarked, a smile creasing his lips. "It's a wonderful book. It's originally in French, but it's been translated before."

"Never heard of it," Sirius confessed.

"It's a beautiful story," Remus said, his eyes turning wistful. "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."

"What does that mean?" Sirius asked, skeptically.

Remus watched the falling stars, streaming across the sky, laughing for Saint-Exupéry. He smiled and laughed quietly, wondering which star belonged to the Little Prince.

"It means: One can only see with the heart. The essential is invisible for the eyes. It's very meaningful. The fox told the Little Prince that."

Sirius traced the sky with his eyes, watching the stars. "The essential, huh?"

"It's a wonderful book," Remus repeated, closing his eyes.

"Are the stars essential?" Sirius asked after a long silence.

"Perhaps," Remus said, his eyes still closed. He took a step towards Sirius and their hands rubbed for a brief moment, a spark of warmth in the bleak winter. "Thank you for brining me here, Sirius."