Ugh, final exams. The only thing that's keeping me from tearing my hair out is the fact that I am graduating this semester. So long, college! As a treat, here is the next chapter. :-) I haven't abandoned this story, I've just been busy getting my new one, Secrets of the Darkest Art, off the ground!

Dawn broke, and Remus was startled awake by someone hammering on his bedroom door. "Moony," came an impatient voice.

He threw his robes on and opened the door to find Sirius standing there, looking decidedly exhausted and disheveled. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Sirius pushed past him into the room. As Remus closed the door, Sirius spun to face him. "I need to talk to you."

Remus crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Twelve years of separation had done nothing to hurt their friendship, and he loved Sirius like a brother. Anything said between them would remain between them.

"I slept with Grace," Sirius admitted, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush.

Remus gave him a blank look. "Okay." He had long ago sensed the tension between them, and had resolved to stay out of the way. Considering Sirius' reputation while they were in school, he wasn't surprised. Actually, he was amazed that it had taken this long.

Sirius looked distraught. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair and began to pace. "That's not the problem."

His friend waited patiently in silence.

Sirius turned to look at him, his expression one of defeat. "She called me 'Reg'."

Remus blinked. "What?"

"She was confused, I think. I mean, shit, Reg and I certainly look alike, and she was half-awake." Sirius had gone back to pacing the small space Remus called home. "I found her asleep in the library and I carried her up to her room- doing her a favor, you know? And the next thing I know, she's kissing me and practically begging me to get into bed with her."

"When did she-?" Remus left the rest of the sentence unspoken, not wanting to upset Sirius any more than was necessary.

Sirius sighed. "Right in the middle of everything."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh," was all he said.

His best friend's pacing was beginning to make him dizzy, but he knew better than to ask him to stop. It helped Sirius blow off steam, and he needed that now more than ever. Sirius ran a hand through his hair again, sighing. Suddenly, he let out a bark-like laugh. "Dammit all to hell, Moony," he burst out. "I'm falling in love with the girl, and she doesn't even know who I am!" He turned to face Remus, only to frown at his friend's expression. "What?"

Remus looked bemused. "I've never heard you say that word."

Sirius gave him a strange look. "What?" he asked again.

"Love," Remus explained, trying not to smile. "You've never- not in all the years I've known you…" He trailed off.

Sirius looked perplexed. "I- I hadn't really thought about it."

"Is that why you've kept your distance from her?" That explained a lot- Sirius was probably utterly mystified as to what his emotions meant, having never felt more than a passing interest for any woman in his life.

"I guess," Sirius said slowly. He passed a hand over his face, anguish twisting his handsome features. "I can't love her, Moony. She's Reg's wife. What the hell have I done?"

"She's a widow," Remus pointed out. "A widow who has been alone six times longer than she was ever married."

Sirius scoffed. "She still loves him the same as the day she married him, you know that."

Remus scratched his head thoughtfully. "Didn't you say something about that when we first got here? About how purebloods are supposed to take care of each other's widows?"

Sirius looked away, toying with a quill on Remus' desk. "Yes, that's to ensure the family doesn't lose the dowry or the chance to get a pureblooded heir."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "What does it matter if you actually care for the girl? It's your duty to see she's taken care of anyway, right? You're the only remaining male in the Black family. She can't object to you taking an interest in her welfare."

Sirius chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "I guess that makes sense," he admitted finally.

Remus walked over and put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Have you talked to her?"

Sirius coughed nervously. "No, she was still asleep when I got up."

"So was I," Remus joked dryly, still irked at being dragged out of bed at dawn.

A guilty grin stole across Sirius' face. "Sorry, Moony," he apologized. "But I had to talk to someone-"

Remus shook his head. "No worries." He gave Sirius a gentle push towards the door. "Go talk to her."

"What do I say?" Sirius asked, slightly panicked.

His friend rolled his eyes. "Whatever you like, you idiot, just get out of my room!"

Sirius laughed and disappeared into the hallway. Remus grinned and shook his head, congratulating himself silently on his matchmaking skills.

Grace was already awake and dressed, and was sitting in the windowsill of her bedroom when Sirius returned. She looked over as the door creaked open, and he ran a hand through his hair nervously. When had he ever had trouble talking to women?

He cleared his throat. "Gracie, about last night-"

She looked away. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

He frowned, confused. "Why are you sorry?"

She turned to face him again and raised an eyebrow. "I know what I said. I didn't mean to. It just- slipped out." She bit her lip and tucked a brown curl behind her ear. "God, Sirius, I miss him so much. It's been sixteen years, and I still feel like he disappeared yesterday."

Sirius looked flustered. "Oh." He walked over and knelt beside her, afraid to touch her again.

She turned to frown at him. "Were you going to apologize for something?"

He chuckled dryly. "Well, I was going to say that I'm sorry that I took advantage of you. When you- I realized you were half-asleep, and I feel like I violated a trust or something."

"I knew it was you, Sirius," she said bluntly.

He blinked. "So…?"

"I wanted you to touch me," she confessed softly. Her eyes filled with hot tears, which spilled over onto her cheeks. "I've been all alone in this creepy old house since your mother died. My parents and sister disappeared right after Voldemort came into power. I've had no one to talk to, no one to grieve with." She gave a watery sigh. "You understand somewhat. He was your brother, after all."

"Estranged brother," he corrected quietly, reaching out to gently wipe away a salty droplet with his thumb.

She stared at him sadly. "He missed you, Sirius. So much. He talked about you all the time."

"Really?" Sirius had thought that all memory of him had been erased from Grimmauld Place.

She laughed. "Did you really think he could just walk away from you? You were his brother." She reached down and took his hand in hers. "Reg didn't agree with all of the violence. He thought the Death Eaters had taken it too far when they started murdering people. His loyalty was to his family- his blood. That's why he got involved." She smiled. "He told me about the time he ran into you in a battle."

Sirius grinned at the thought. "I forgot about that." He frowned, thinking. "That was the last time I ever saw him."

Grace nodded. "It wasn't long after that that I caught him trying to scratch the Dark Mark off of his arm. I knew he'd changed his mind; I knew he was frightened by how quickly everything had snowballed into murder and the Dark Lord's quest for power. He never said anything to me directly, though. I think he wanted to protect me." She smiled to herself, twisting her wedding band around on her finger with her thumb. The diamond's sparkle reminded her of the way Regulus' grey eyes had glittered the day they were wed. She met Sirius' eye again. "After he'd decided he wanted out, he got very quiet and contemplative. He kept to himself a lot those last few days. He mentioned going to you once. I think he was afraid to bring Death Eaters to your door, though, if he sought sanctuary with the Order. And right after that, he disappeared."

Sirius looked sad. "He loved you, you know."

A strange silence fell between them. Grace sniffed. "What happens now?" she asked timidly.

Sirius sighed. "I guess we just take our time, see where this goes, what happens." He looked up at her, and she could see the resemblance to Regulus in his features- especially his eyes. They were grey and sad. "You know, traditionally, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, anyway," he said casually.

She smirked. "Traditionally, you would have married me immediately after Reg disappeared."

He let out a bark-like laugh. "Can you imagine my mother's face if I had showed up on her doorstep? Much less appearing out of the blue and asking to marry my little brother's widow?"

Grace had to laugh at the mental image his words conjured. It would have been a disaster. "She would have cursed you on sight." She paused, remembering Walburga's concern for her oldest son the day Regulus had come home injured. "She would have patched you up afterward and begged for forgiveness, though."

"You think?" Sirius sounded surprised. "Wow, losing Reg did a number on her, huh?"

"It hurt all of us," Grace told him. "Your father died not too long after we gave up looking for him."

Sirius nodded. "I heard about that. Reg was the favorite."

"He was the only one your parents had left," Grace pointed out.

He smiled sadly. "Good point." He rose to his feet and slid gracefully beside her onto the window seat. They sat there together for a very long time, each of them thinking their own thoughts. But Grace's hand remained securely in Sirius'.

There will be another update soon, I promise! Reviews make me write faster! ;-)