Sirius waited on the mound in the meadow, angled toward his star because they were all still shining, and because he trusted Remus to return. This time he could see Remus coming before he heard him because the dome of the sky was lightening above and around him, almost imperceptibly at first. As the stars faded, Sirius almost began to panic, but then the sky began to shed its somber grays almost impatiently it seemed, and far away, on the edge of the world, Remus appeared.
His silhouetted form stopped and waved for a moment as the day broke behind him, and Sirius could do nothing but stare. His face was wet when Remus reached him, but he made no move to wipe the damp tracks away. His eyes were caught up in the bright highlights of Remus' hair, the mix of colors in his irises as they widened and contracted with every change of emotion that played across his face.
"Why are you crying?" Remus touched his cheek, looking at him with concern.
"Because I'm looking at the sun." Sirius' wobbly smile grew stronger as Remus' mouth curved up in response.
"Soppy, Sirius. Very-"
Sirius lunged at Remus, and they fell to the ground, wrestling and laughing together in the tall, sweet-smelling grass, the blue sky all around them.
"Are you an angel?" Sirius asked, hovering over Remus on all fours, and Remus snickered.
"Compared to you, maybe."
"I think you are."
"Pretty manky one, yeah?"
"Bite your tongue." Sirius prodded the center of Remus' chest. "You're beautiful."
"No, that's always been you."
Sirius sat up to push the hair back off his face, his face lighting up in a brilliant smile. "This really is a dream, isn't it?"
Remus nodded warily. "Yes."
"I've decided I don't mind because it's the best dream I've ever had."
"Sirius."
"And since it is, could I...could I could have James back, too?"
Remus made a soft sound, looking up at Sirius helplessly.
"Oh, God. Remus don't cry. I'm sorry. It was a crazy idea. It's all right."
"No, it's not. I'm sorry. So sorry, Sirius. That's something I can't do, but I can help you remember him better. James and Lily both. And you remember Harry, don't you? I can help you find Harry."
"Harry." Sirius breathed the name with wonder. "Yes, I remember Harry. Wee Prongs. I'd like to find Harry."
Remus sat up, fixing on Sirius' face with determination. "Then you have to do something for me. You have to remember. Everything. Come back to yourself. You have to wake up. Really wake up."
Sirius reached for Remus' hand, gripping it tightly. "Isn't it enough? I've remembered so much, haven't I?" Shame-faced, he dropped his chin. "I'm afraid, Remus."
"I know, but you're the bravest person I know."
"There are bad things where I am," Sirius whispered. "They take everything away."
"I know. I know, but I can help you get them back." Remus squeezed his hand painfully tight. "Just like I've been doing every night. You remember James, don't you? Lily and Harry? And you remember Peter and what he did. We can find him and make him pay for what he did. We will. Together. But first I need you, Sirius. I need you to come back all the way."
"Will you..." Sirius crept closer, hiding his face in the curve of Remus' throat. "Will you be there if I wake up?"
"Silly, Padfoot." His hands smoothed over Sirius' back, dancing across his ribs to make him squirm and giggle. "Of course I will. You know who I really am."
Smiling, though his mouth trembled, Sirius looked up, eyes wide and hopeful. "My Remus?"
"Yes, always." The tenderness in Remus' voice made Sirius' chest ache in almost painful joy. "I looked for you such a long time. Scoured through more musty scrolls than I can count. Oneiromancy is a rather obscure branch of magic, I can tell you that much. They wouldn't let me come see you, you see. I tried. I really did, Sirius. Even Dumbledore couldn't get me in, but he helped me find another way, though he wasn't all too sure about it in the beginning. But I figured it out, and I went looking. Thought I'd bollocksed it up after a while when I couldn't find you for so long, but I did. I found you. And now we'll always be together."
"Together," Sirius echoed.
Remus smiled and raised his hands, spreading his fingers wide to let the rays of the sun shine between them, "Now watch this."
The dream changed, a window in the sky opening up to a great flowing procession of space and time that caught Sirius up and disembodied him as flashes of images burned like sunspots behind his eyelids: a tiny boat in a violent sea, moored in the middle of choppy waves, a naked man-Remus-bobbing in the water near a rocky shore until he could breathe air once again, Azkaban, the Cloak to slip past the unwary Warden, the knife to open locks, Patronus-a silver version of Padfoot-to drive the Dementors away. Escape. Water. Freedom.
In the end, it happened just as in the dream. As the dawn broke around them, they huddled in a sodden, frozen heap in the bottom of the wave-tossed dinghy, too exhausted to cast a warming charm yet, all blue lips and trembling chins, and identical teeth-chattering smiles.