Platform 9 ¾…

'Are you guys sure you haven't seen my dad?' asked Remus for the umpteenth time, as he peered through the bustling crowds on his tiptoes.

James and Sirius bought him down to the soles of his feet by his shoulders. 'Cut your old man some slack, eh? You've only been waiting for ten minutes,' said James, ruffling his hair. 'My parents haven't come either, you know.'

'Yeah, but your dad's always late. Even Wormtail's mum came quicker and that never happens…ever,' replied Remus worriedly.

He wasn't the anxious type, he really wasn't, but John Lupin was never a minute late to pick him up from the station. Remus had been borrowing the Daily Prophet from James for quite a while now and the obituaries were starting to take more of the paper than ever while the rest of it was reserved to cover Voldemort's attacks alone. To add effect to reality, Remus had watched the children of the victims being taken out of school to attend funerals, all the while praying for his own family because his parents were in much more danger than his friends'; his mother was a muggle.

'He'll be here,' said Sirius reassuringly and there was something in his eyes that told Remus that he believed it but it was gone quicker than it had come, replaced by his usual mirth. 'Besides, don't know what you're complaining about. Summers are dull, especially this one.' He frowned darkly.

'Ignore him, Moony,' smirked James, patting his back. 'He's just sore that I'm dragging him over to visit Gran this summer.'

Remus frowned, still keeping an eye on gates to the platform. 'I met your Gran. She was nice enough if you ask me.'

'She hates me,' wailed Sirius. 'The old bat gives me these awful looks all the time and just begging for an opportunity to humiliate me. I'm telling you, it's that Black-Potter rivalry thing that has her against me.'

'Padfoot,' said Remus exasperatedly. 'You used her husband's ashes to fill the kitty litter. I'd say her hatred is justified.' He smiled when James sniggered. 'Besides, nothing can be as bad as staying over at-' Remus's eyes widened when he noticed a very familiar figure emerging from the gates. 'AUNT NASH!'

She'd spotted him. Oh God, she'd spotted him!

'Remoo!' Her blonde hair whipped in the wind menacingly and that smile; oh, it meant trouble. What could she be planning now; experiments with make-up, shoe shopping, or worse, stuffing Remus with badly baked homemade cookies? No, no, Remus was sixteen now; she couldn't do this to him. This was all his mother's plan, he knew it!

'What's she doing here?' He turned to his friends who were wearing identical amused expressions. They'd all heard stories about Aunt Nash, but Remus's reaction was priceless. 'Quick, hide me!'

Remus never did get the chance of survival because he was too busy being swamped by over tight hugs and waxy lipstick kisses on both cheeks. 'Guess who came to pick you up today,' she sang chirpily.

Remus groaned and wiped his cheek. He turned to James and Sirius, who were biting the corners of their mouths to stop themselves from laughing out loud. 'Aunt Nash, these are my friends, James and Sirius.'

'Pleasure to meet you,' both of them chorused. 'Remus has told us so much about you,' grinned James.

'Well, what darling little friends you have, Remoo!' she exclaimed, pinching both of their cheeks, much to the surprise of James and Sirius. 'I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to go see John. You can apparate, can't you?' she asked, turning to Remus, slightly more serious. When he nodded, she smiled. 'Good. We'll have to walk a bit to find a safe spot.'

Remus nodded dumbly and followed his aunt towards the gates, waving his friends goodbye. 'Aunt Nash, where's dad?'

Nash's lip tightened. 'St. Mungo's, I'm afraid. Don't worry,' she said, quickly smiling when she saw Remus's face. 'It's nothing serious; minor back injury. He got off better than a few of the others.'

Remus felt the slight pull of magic as they walked through the barriers and into the centre of platforms nine and ten. 'How?'

Aunt Nash turned to him, surprised. 'Didn't your parents tell you, Remus? John's been shifted to Magical Law and Enforcement. He's got back his auror position.'

Remus's eyes widened. That was big news; he knew how much being an auror had meant to his father. Remus was happy for him in some ways, but… 'Why?' asked Remus, feeling slightly confused and perhaps a little selfish.

'New strategy, I suppose. Ministry doesn't have enough aurors to counter Voldemort's attacks. They've been shifting people from all departments into DMLE,' she said, frowning and taking a turn to the left. 'Even the ones responsible for irrigation. If that's not enough, they've been running house to house with flyers and leaflets, practically forcing anyone above the age of seventeen into the fields. Disgusting, but what else can you do?'

Remus wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell of garbage. 'Does that mean that they'll-'

'Come to you as well?' She turned to him kindly and tucked his hair behind his ear. 'I'm sorry, Remoo, but you're still high on the list of suspects as Death Eaters, along with the purebloods. The Ministry's desperate, but they can't afford to take chances either.'

Remus's face fell. He had been hoping… 'But then dad-'

Nash snorted derisively, as she started walking again down some windy pathway. 'John's in the Order, isn't he?' Remus had never seen his aunt this serious. He knew she was a smart woman; her degree in Magical Law proved that, but she had never really treated him like a grown up before. 'The Ministry's been trying to merge the Order as part of it for ages - to keep track of their work and gather information. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were against us.' She stopped at dead end near a moldy corner. 'You know which ward to apparate to.'

Remus nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. The familiar sensation of the life being squeezed out of him gripped his body and with a soft 'pop', he found himself in St. Mungo's, stumbling over both his feet. His aunt caught him just before he fell to the floor, and he grinned, embarrassed. Apparating was still new to him.

Suddenly, a loud, booming voice echoed across the corridors, shaking both of them out of their skin. It must have originated from the room two doors to their left (if Remus's hearing did any justice) and sounded incredibly familiar too: 'DON'T YOU DARE BRING THAT THING NEAR ME!'

'Guess I won't have to tell you where your dad is,' chuckled Aunt Nash. 'Look, I'm going to go pick your mother up now, okay? She's probably sick with worry. Can you handle your father for a while?' When Remus nodded, she kissed him on the forehead and smiled. 'And then we can spend some time together, eh, Remoo?' She ruffled his hair and disapparated.

'I'M PERFECTLY FINE, I TELL YOU!'

Remus knocked on Door Five and entered to find two healers, struggling and failing to hold his father down on the bed. He shook his head exasperatedly. These healers must have been new, else they would have brought an entire battalion or at least stunned John Lupin while they still had the chance. In fact, if they'd been wise enough, they would have stayed well out of range until they were sure his father was knocked out completely. One of them was already sporting a split lip.

'LET ME GO!'

'Hey, dad,' greeted Remus softly, standing beside his father's bed and shooting a reassuring look towards the healers.

John Lupin stopped struggling and grinned. 'Hello, Remus, come to see your crippled father, have you?'

'Yeah,' said Remus, smirking a little and embracing his father.

John Lupin patted his son's back. 'Good to see you, boy - and don't think I can't see you,' he snarled suddenly at the healers. 'Trying to stab a man with needles while he's having a moment with his son. Absolutely dishonourable.'

The healers looked at Remus exasperatedly and he sighed, tightening his hold on his father's chest and effectively holding him still, if only for a moment. Thank God, for his werewolf strength. 'Sorry, dad,' he whispered before signaling the hesitant healers to give John the shot.

John growled angrily but otherwise, didn't complain. 'Bloody, traitorous son,' he grumbled once the healers had fled from the room, shooting thankful glances towards Remus. 'Don't even know why I have to get those useless shots.' He rubbed his spine disdainfully and leaned back into his pillow. 'Those damn potions do more harm than good. That was the tenth sort they punched into me. Won't work if I swallow them apparently. Been sore all day.'

Remus shrugged. 'You should have been more careful then.'

His father snorted. 'You're starting to sound just like your mother, you know that? Besides, I had a job to do.'

Remus didn't know why he felt this angry with his father, but he felt the need to express this newfound rage anyway. 'It wouldn't have mattered if you'd gotten the job done and died in the process!' He screamed suddenly, hands flying up.

John laughed loudly. 'Would have taken more than a few Death Eaters to kill me! You should have seen me, Remus, had them by their ankles, I did!'

Remus recognised this tone. It was the same one John used to talk in during his elaborate story sessions with his son, where he would describe his various auror escapades. At that time, Remus thought it was the most exciting thing he'd ever heard but back then, his father hadn't actually been standing in the middle of the battlefield; back then, someone like Voldemort hadn't existed.

John Lupin frowned at his son's disapproving look. 'Look, Remus, sometimes accidents happen-'

'This wasn't an accident, dad. You don't know what Voldemort is capable of. He's-he's…' Remus remembered his first meeting with the mysterious red-eyed man, and shivered. 'Evil,' he finished slowly.

John Lupin sighed and ran a hand through his son's hair, pushing it out of his eyes. 'I know what you're thinking, Remus, and I'm sorry I can't promise you that it won't happen. But right now, there are other things to worry about than our own stinking skin. Do you understand that?'

Remus did, but he refused to acknowledge it.

'The present might look helpless now, but if we keep fighting for what we believe in, someday, we might just have a future.' He sighed when he saw Remus looking down, obviously still in denial. 'We can worry about this later, okay?'

Remus didn't want to have to worry about it at all. He hated it; hated the anxiousness he felt every time he turned the pages of the Daily Prophet; hated how his father had to fight merely over the fact that they existed - just because John had fallen in love with his mother. More than anything, he wished Voldemort would just shrivel up and die.

John shifted sideways, wincing a little in pain and patted the space on his side for Remus to sit. 'Come here and tell this old codger of yours what you've been doing at school. I miss Hogwarts,' he said, smiling.

Remus hated how brave his father was…

XxxxX

Remus sat on the edge of his parents' bed, shivering slightly. The cupboard mirrors behind him reflected the moonlight in an eerie pattern around the room, and he briefly wondered how he'd find it more comforting to sleep here during his younger years. 'Dad,' he whispered, shaking his father's ankle. 'Dad, wake up.'

John grunted, twisted, turned, and fell back to sleep again.

'Dad, come on, get up.'

'Remus, be a good boy and go play with your toys,' mumbled his father into the pillow. 'Daddy's busy.'

'Dad!' Remus shook harder this time.

John Lupin shot awake, eyes wide open and hand already reaching out for his wand. When he saw his son, however, he relaxed and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. He noticed that his sudden movement had woken up his wife as well and glanced at her apologetically.

'What is it, baby?' asked Del, slowly sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp. 'Did you have a nightmare?'

Ordinarily, Remus would have made a sarcastic comment about how he was too old to come running to his mommy after a bad dream but resisted. His mind was too preoccupied with…he'd been thinking very hard…and-

'I needed to talk to dad,' whispered Remus, fingering the edge of their blanket.

His father groaned and fell back to the pillow. 'Remus, we can do that tomorrow as well. Go back to sleep.'

'No,' said Remus petulantly. 'Now, I want to talk now.'

John sighed and sat up, rubbing his face irritably. 'Teenagers. Go on then,' he said, waving his hand exasperatedly.

Remus took a deep breath. He'd decided this; spent nearly a month thinking about it. There wasn't supposed to be any hesitation; he was going to do this even if his father said no. 'I want to join the Order,' he said finally, though his tone came out less firm than he'd hoped.

There was silence for a while, as John Lupin just blinked and scratched his head. But when the answer did come, it was from Del instead. 'No.' Her expression was firm, the sharp lines on her face prominent through the yellow of the lamp.

Remus gaped and John simply blinked some more.

'You can join the Order if you want, Remus,' his father said finally, yawning a little. 'But you have to know that there are a lot of responsibilities and d-'

'I know,' hurried Remus. 'I've given this a lot of thought and-'

'Didn't any of you hear me?' ground out Del, completely furious now. 'I said, no.'

John turned to her, frowning. 'You should be proud-'

'Well, I'm not,' she snapped back. 'I don't think my son volunteering to go get himself killed is admirable, thank you very much.'

Remus had never seen his mother this angry before, and he shifted closer to her, trying to calm her down. He looked at her for an explanation, confused. Yet inwardly, he'd already made up his mind. He was joining the Order, even if it meant he had to run away from home to do so.

'I'm tired of waiting for you, John. Every single day, I nearly cry myself with worry while you go around waving that wand of yours.' She held her head in her hands. 'I hate having to go to the hospital every time because more often than not, you come back with serious injuries. I hate it-'

'It's for a cause, Del,' John said, putting a comforting hand on her head.

Frankly, Remus didn't care about the cause. He had much more selfish reasons for joining the Order. He was doing this because he wanted to protect his friends and family, the rest of the world be damned.

'There is no cause!' shouted Del, pushing his hand off her. 'To me, it looks like a big chess game between Dumbledore and Voldemort with you as the pawn. You're just another expendable piece in their big game, can't you see that?' There were tears rolling down her cheeks now, and Remus held her hand tightly.

'If that's what it means to protect the people I care for, then so be it!' shot out John.

'The people you care about are already dying! I'm not sending my only son into this war of yours, John…he's just a baby…and what if- what if-'

'I'm not going to die, mum,' said Remus slowly, rubbing her hand with his thumb. 'But I need to do this, okay? I just – it's important.' He pleaded with his eyes, hoping she'd understand.

She turned away from her son and looked at her husband instead. 'John, please, you can't do this to me,' pleaded Del. 'I'm begging you, please don't do this…'

John bit his lip and looked at his wife, then at his son. 'Graduation,' he said finally, running a frustrated hand through his hair. 'We'll talk about this after graduation, not now…'

Remus was just about to protest when there was a sudden tap on the window. It was an owl - James's owl, to be precise. He got up and opened the window to let the ruffled bird in, but it preferred to stay outside and simply put its leg out. Remus untied the parchment and read.

Moony,

Uncle Alphard's dead. Funeral's tomorrow, 11:00 in the morning, near the old graveyard.

-Padfoot

XxxxX

Sirius Black hated funerals with a passion. He hated wearing ridiculously shiny shoes and itchy dress robes, underneath which (due of his extreme stupidity), he'd worn a pair jeans and a t-shirt; and it was the middle of a bloody sweltering hot summer. Most of his hair stuck to the side of his face, and there were constant beads of sweat running down his back that did nothing to soothe his already irritated skin. The chairs were hard, the priest talked too much, and even though Sirius was hungry, the grass looked more appetizing than the food on the table.

To make thing worse, he didn't know half the people here and quite a few of them were crying, which made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He didn't blame any of them of course. From what he'd heard, Uncle Alphard had been an incredibly nice man and it was still hard to believe he'd died this quickly. Sirius had expected to at least see him once after graduating. In fact, he'd even made plans during his time in James's house to perhaps pay a visit to his uncle.

He glanced at all the people comforting each other and suddenly felt very lonely; secretly wishing he had someone he knew with him. James wasn't allowed here and even though he had sent letters to both Remus and Peter, none of them had showed up so far and probably wouldn't since the funeral was nearly over anyway. The woman behind him wept loudly and Sirius flinched. Even after six years, he never got rid of the Black family trait of despising theatrical displays of emotion in public.

So, instead, he sat down on his seat firmly and quietly, listening to priest ramble on about how great his uncle was, as his hand occasionally strayed to the key in his pocket. The key to Alphard Black's vault - he was rich, he realised - and good thing too, because the Potters (bless their souls) were starting to pay for most of things now.

'Sirius.'

Sirius startled. He had to admit, he hadn't expected the new voice beside him, but he'd recognised it just the same. It was hard not to. 'Father,' Sirius acknowledged without looking away. He had no intention of seeing the part of his life that had abandoned him in his time of need.

'How are you?' Orion Black asked slowly.

Sirius snorted derisively. 'Why do you care?' When he didn't receive an answer, Sirius looked up and wasn't at all surprised to see the age-old expression of superiority and disdain on his father's face. Orion Black may have grown older, looked wearier, greyer, but he still carried the family name with pride. 'Why are you here, Father?'

Orion Black's eyes raked over his son's form, inspecting every angle. 'I've come here to pay my respects,' he said, finally looking away.

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'You've come here to see if Uncle Alphard left you any gold.'

Orion Black's smouldering grey eyes turned to him fiercely. 'Contrary to popular belief, Sirius, I am here for Alphard. Whether I approved of him or not, he was my brother, and I had a duty towards him, just as you do yours.'

Sirius said nothing; and for that single second, as they stared into each other's faces with adamant expressions, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he understood his father. It wasn't that Orion Black didn't care, nor was it that he enjoyed the rules he lived by; but to him - pride, name, and duty overshadowed any sort of inhibitions he might have had about the Black way of life. It was just how he'd been cultured and had Sirius not been put into Gryffindor, he would have ended up a mirror image of his father.

'Regulus will be joining the Death Eaters soon,' said his father, pursing his lips together firmly.

'You must be proud,' said Sirius sarcastically. He shouldn't care, he shouldn't even be surprised, but then why was his throat constricting so?

Orion Black sighed heavily and not so subtly, changed the topic. 'You might think what you're doing now is right, Sirius, but you'll soon find out that you are nothing but a burden to these people you call friends. It's time you stopped this foolishness and came back home to where your true family is.'

Sirius looked back to the priest, who by now had finished his speech, and was preparing to leave. 'I am home, Father, as in my opinion, sharing blood doesn't necessarily reassure one of family ties.'

His father's fist twitched involuntarily. 'I assumed you'd say that and as you are no longer under my custody, I cannot force you against your will. But I say this, Sirius, you may stay wherever you please, but at least do the right thing and join the Death Eaters as Regulus has done.'

'No,' said Sirius immediately. The audacity of his father to even consider-

When Orion Black spoke next, his voice held extreme irritation. 'I'm dying, Sirius, do you understand that?' His right leg crossed over his left. 'Your mother has Kreacher whispering poison into her ears, and your brother will be alone with her. The Death Eaters are his sole salvation, but he is still a child, unless you stand by him…for once.'

Sirius felt a sharp twang in his chest. His father was dying? It was like his whole life had taken a turn against him in that one small moment. 'I can't side with Voldemort, Father,' he said, shaking his head and silently cursing his voice for cracking. 'It's against my principles. It's wrong.'

His father laughed, harsh and cruel. 'What's right and what's wrong, who can truly tell? It's, as you have pointed out, merely a matter of principles.' He stood from his seat and straightened his robes. 'I leave you here today, Sirius. It's clear my words are worthless to you, but I go with one last warning. There will come a time when Regulus will be asked to murder you. Who do you think he will choose – the brother who was never there in his time of need or the Dark Lord who was?'

Orion Black left before Sirius got the chance to reply.

After that, Sirius wasn't sure how long he sat there on that bendy plastic chair, his head in his hands, as he tried to fight back tears of frustration. His father's words weighed heavy on his mind, and he wondered if Orion Black had been right. Just how long did his father have to live, and how much did Regulus need him?

He couldn't think, couldn't breathe as he tried and failed to figure out what he was supposed to do. Which way was right? He couldn't let his family fall apart like this no matter how much he hated them; and Regulus, his little brother - Sirius couldn't just let him plunge into the dark side, his guilty conscious didn't allow it. Blood was rushing to his head like a dam finally broken, pounding furiously and trying to break the walls of his skull. Sirius breathed heavily and dug his nails painfully into his scalp to just stop. Please stop.

It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder was Sirius finally able to look up. Remus was sitting beside him, a concerned look on his face. 'Hey, you okay?'

Sirius smiled weakly. 'Yeah, Uncle Alphard wasn't too close anyway. Only saw him twice my entire life, you know,' he tried nonchalantly.

His eyes must have betrayed him because Remus frowned at Sirius's explanation. It looked like he was about to protest but then settled for that quiet, serene smile that he usually reserved for the Marauders alone. 'Where's Wormtail and Prongs?'

Sirius wiped the sweat collecting above his brows. 'Wormtail's still in Scotland, and the Potters have been banned from all Black family gatherings ever since one of them launched dung bombs in a wedding and ran away with the groom.'

Remus laughed and Sirius felt an odd tingle up his spine. He diverted his eyes from Remus's face and noticed that his friend was wearing the oddest collection of clothes – an overly large brown coat (John Lupin's?) over a pair of denim jeans and sneakers; he either hadn't bothered wearing a shirt underneath or had taken it off at some point because of the heat. It would probably be the latter because Remus usually wasn't the type to sport ridiculous outfits, and Sirius remembered how his werewolf body tended to be warmer than others; something about the metabolism perhaps. In any case, Remus looked much worse off than Sirius…

'Sorry I'm late. Got caught up in traffic. How are you going home?' asked Remus, tightening his hold a little on Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius looked at his hands. Home - he was beginning to truly question the word. Was he really that much of a burden to the Potters? 'Apparating, I guess.'

Remus didn't miss the look in Sirius's eyes but again, he chose not to pursue it. Instead he looked around and when he found the grounds to be practically empty (save for the hosts and a few other preoccupied people), he let his hand travel to the base of Sirius's hair and stroked soothingly. 'Do you want to go for a drive? Take your mind of things…'

The prospect seemed enticing, especially when Remus's fingers were doing such a great job at rubbing away the tension he felt. 'Where to?' he asked, leaning further into his friend's touch, too miserable to care if anyone saw. No one knew him here anyway.

Remus's deft fingers instantly slipped away when he noticed a few people walking in their direction, and Sirius suddenly felt at loss. 'Away from here.'

XxxxX

This felt good, thought Sirius, as he sighed into the seat. Riding in Remus's car was like walking through the soft breeze on the beachside – smooth and comforting. He could feel himself dozing off, the effects of the muggle soda (as delicious as it was) slowly wearing off and making him even drowsier. Even the songs that had been blaring on the radio seemed almost far away and all Sirius could really remember of them now was how shocked he was to find Remus singing each one word for word, especially the songs by the amazing Freddie Mercury (hmph! Sirius could be amazing if he wanted to. In fact, he already was). The harsh wind mussed his hair, but none of them could be bothered to pull up the windows, especially not when the air conditioning in the car was doing more harm than good (a common trait of a Mercedes, Remus had concluded, while he helped Sirius recline his seat backwards).

But none of these contributed to the reasons he felt better. No, it was just something Remus did. Perhaps it was the small smiles or the subtle touches or maybe it was the fact that he was there; whatever it was, it left Sirius calmed and slightly more reassured than he'd started out.

Still, the long drive had given him a lot of time to think, and he knew that even though the Potters would argue against it, Sirius was slowly becoming a liability. He could avoid that now because by December, he would a man of his own - seventeen and very much legal. As for Regulus, Sirius wondered if he should ask Remus about it but cancelled the idea almost immediately. This was his problem after all and for once, he'd have to solve it himself.

A problem at a time, he reminded himself, as he reached out to wipe more sweat from his forehead. In fact, he could solve one right now.

Sirius sighed and opened his eyes, only to realise that Remus had already stopped the car. He just managed to register the fact that they were actually in an abandoned construction site before he found a warm weight straddling his stomach and a pair of lips crushing forcefully into his. Not at all unwelcome though, as Sirius wrapped his arms tightly around the body over him and pulled it closer.

'Sorry,' whispered Remus, breaking away and closing his eyes lazily. 'Just so bloody hot…'

Sirius had a cocky feeling that Remus wasn't talking about the temperature. Take that, Freddie. He didn't get to dwell on the matter for very long though because suddenly, Remus's fingertips were leaving tingles on his skin everywhere it touched, and Remus's lips were placing the slightest of kisses down his jaw before relenting to hot open mouthed ones over his neck and shoulders. Sirius wasn't exactly sure which sort of heat he was feeling, but he was bloody burning to ashes.

'Moony,' gasped Sirius, attempting feebly to push Remus off. It wasn't that his advances weren't welcome, but Sirius still had a few things on his mind that he wanted cleared, and he needed to talk to Remus for that.

'What?' Remus's voice was hoarse as he trailed an insistent mouth down his chest.

'I needed to ask you something,' said Sirius burying his fingers deep in soft brown hair. 'Now.' He moaned, as Remus licked an incredibly sensitive area. 'Please…'

'Mm…go on,' responded Remus, obviously not paying much attention.

'It's just that…' Sirius rasped out. 'We've been doing this for almost a year…' He was finding it very hard to concentrate on his words with Remus's slick body sliding over his, and he turned them instead, so that he was on top. 'And…I still like this…'

'I know,' smirked Remus, cupping the crotch of his pants.

Sirius gasped. 'Can we stop?' he breathed reluctantly. 'Just for a minute.'

Remus sighed and nodded, briefly kissing his lips before sitting up. 'So, what's bothering you?' he asked casually, smiling and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Sirius watched the continuous trickle of sweat teasing Remus's skin, mesmerised slightly. He shook himself and shifted his eyes to meet curious amber ones. 'I was wondering…I'll be turning seventeen soon…and I'm rich and all now, thanks to Uncle Alphard…'

Remus leaned against him, folding his hands on top of Sirius's left shoulder and resting his head on them. 'Hm…and?' he asked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.

Sirius smiled slyly, brushing away the hair that fell into Remus's eyes. 'And I've been thinking of getting a place of my own, sort of…so I was wondering if you'd like to move in…you know, after school and all…' The unwavering confidence he'd had so far dropped faster than a boulder in the sea when Sirius saw Remus's shocked face. The brunette had obviously not expected this, and Sirius quickly struggled to explain. 'It makes more sense really…I mean, expenses would be less…I could pay the rent and you could pay the bills…'

'Padfoot…'

'And at the rate Prongs and Lily are going…it's only a matter of time they get a place together…' Sirius's hands were now moving wildly now, enunciating every word. 'And Wormtail still has to take care of his mother, but he'd probably go off with what's her face anyway…and I don't want to be alone…and it won't look suspicious, really…and-'

Remus clamped a hand over Sirius's mouth, effectively shutting him up. 'Padfoot, I'd love to move in with you,' he said in between chuckles.

Sirius removed Remus's hand. 'Yeah?' he asked, a wide grin already spreading across his face.

Remus laughed. 'Yeah.'

Sirius jumped so high that he nearly pushed Remus over. 'You watch, Moony, it'll be so great. We could have a small little place, just you and me…maybe in…I don't know, Driffield or someplace.'

Remus leaned his forehead against Sirius's. 'Driffield?'

Sirius pulled him closer by the waist, eyes already shining with anticipation. 'Yeah…it'll be so great! We could watch the sunset during evenings…run in the fields…'

'Grow asparagus for a living…' continued Remus, mocking Sirius's dreamy expression.

Sirius slapped his arse playfully. 'Spoil the mood, will you? Here I was, trying to be all romantic.'

Remus faked indignance. 'Me? Spoil the mood? I was trying to seduce you into the best shag of your life, and you wanted to talk about how we could live in Driffield and adapt to the lives of Farmer John and Esmeralda.'

Sirius frowned for a long time, and Remus wondered briefly what he was thinking so hard over.

Finally, he spoke. 'So, who's going to be Esmeralda?'

Sirius never really got his answer, because Remus decided right then, that it would be much wiser to just continue what he'd started, thank you very much.

XxxxX

jka1: Everyone seems to like jealous Sirius a lot. Anyway, hope you liked this one…I spent more time on it, so I'm hoping it's good. Padfootslittlegirl: lol…wish I had dolls like that. Serpent91: I agree, their love is absolutely canon. WhiteWolfCub: Well, I'm supposed to snobbish then, aren't I? Anyway, Sirius on top? I'll see what I can do. Lady Molko: I like to think Remus didn't go violent, because JK describes him as someone very forgiving and who generally loves his friends a lot. And snoring is a cruel fact on life…all guys do it. Seanbiggerstaffrox: Thank you, even though it wasn't one of my best. Lykaios Nyx: Lol. Lily was just trying to help, but I'm glad you still like her. LunasStar: Yeah, I tend to write angst a lot, so I thought, why not put in some fluff in the next few chapters. Don't want it to end up like The Days of our lives or anything. Woodgie: Lol. It's 28 here during the winter. (sighs) England. My entire family lives in Stafford, and I'm stuck here. Not that I'm complaining. The football fever's great and atleast we have central air conditioning (unlike my poor sis). Annieboo92: Psycho Lily has a nice ring to it. Anyway, hope you're feeling better…I'm not very good at saying nice things (Lol. Ignore that), and maybe this chapter made your day too? jean kitsune: Well, I'm mostly unemployed because I take a lot of subjects, and sometimes I need to study even during the vacations. I do sing in a couple of places when people ask me to – school concerts, wedding receptions and stuff. Anyway, enjoy talking to you, guess its something to do with both of us being mental. KawaiiMegami86: Lol. I usually find Sirius harder to write, because I'm very used to reading Sirius as a copy of James's character that sometimes I tend to slip into it. But then, I reread the story and I remember that Sirius has to be a little angrier, maybe a bit more mean, at the same time, very caring as well. He's like a conflict of emotions, you know. Devastatia: First off, thank you for your absolutely elaborate review. Nothing like one to cheer you up, you know. I've always pictured Remus as this very affectionate person as well, it sort of shows in the books, and Sirius. I absolutely adored writing Sirius in his mean stages. I'm not really sure why…mean characters usually tend to be more fun, because you can make them as insane as you like and no one ever questions it. Hpfan4life1313: So they did. I figured it was time, Remus just took it easy. Anyway, hope you like this chapter just as much, or even more. I'm not complaining. fluffys-sidekick: Thanks. Cute nick by the way. Elementalist: I wouldn't mind you as my stalker…in fact, it would make me very happy if you were. And your review was an absolutely hilarious read (that's a good thing, in case you were wondering). You had me laughing at places and grinning like an absolute idiot with your excellent comments. It looked really weird because I was listening to a song about death at that time, but luckily, no one was home. You can write as long a review as you want…it could never be annoying, honest. MagicalWinry: Thanks, but I like this one better, because I actually bothered spending time on it, and perfecting things out a bit. Greenrose: Smoking is very bad for you. I knew that when I landed up with a mild case of bronchitis. The cigarette is just for the effect…Remus isn't a regular smoker…just when he's really anxious or something. Faery Goddyss: I absolutely agree with you when you said it wasn't the best. I didn't like it at all, when I posted it. This one…I'm partial to the car scene, but that's about it. Goldfish682: I'll take the compliment in both ways, if you don't mind. SpikesDreamer: Yeah, Lily's a good girl, but she's thick sometimes. And I made James that way, because he's sort of the leader, the one responsible for taking care of them all. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. Remo: Lily's not a love hater, but she doesn't like Sirius much and doesn't trust him, so she's trying to protect Remus in that way, because she doesn't understand that the guy knows what he's doing. As for my name, that's easily solved…it's Noreen. It's supposedly French, I don't know. Luermide: Hm, I think they should take it in turns. Sirius can top next time, yeah? (winks) Vamp468: Yeah, a lot of stories put Remus as a wimp, who can't stand speeds. As for the cigarettes, I figured he would be stressed during his time in the Lupin cottage, and would take his father as a role model and start smoking as well. Anyway, I'm hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much. sola-bola: Smokin' Remus. Oh, the joys of double innuendos. Gold Silk: Well, you got the LOTR bit right. I'd watched the entire series the day before for probably the seventh time, and it just stuck there. siriusly delusional: Hippy parents? I think that's in Falling in Love. It's under my author's list even though it's not written by me. As for glam rock, not a very big fan of guys in glitter. Kohl…no probs, and I'll see if I can find a nice plot to fit in Voldy and Rem. Freakanature: Well, I tried to make Remus a little uncomfortable with Sirius in that chapter despite having forgiven him, to make things more realistic. I'm not sure if you're talking about that or not, but I hope you are. Or else, there's a boo boo in my plot. mad.hot.love: Lol, I'm not complaining about computers. Mine is an antique and if I start…Dumbledore is old. Dying is painful…your friggin' soul's being taken out of you, for god's sake!